“Ugh…not again…”
It was the middle of the night at the Carousel Boutique, and the White Unicorn mare that lived there was having the hardest time sleeping. For the last week she have been spending those nights trying and failing to get any sort of rest, resulting in her beauty sleep getting ruined.
“Another night ruined, oh where’s Princess Luna when you need her.” Rarity got up from her bed and walked up to her vanity mirror. Taking a good long look into her eyes, she could see the bags starting to form under them. “This sleep deprivation has been affecting my looks and my head. I haven’t been able to make a good dress ever since. Ooh, what is the meaning of this?”
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed several different outfits behind her in the mirror’s reflection. Curious, she went over and started to inspect them. She had almost forgotten making them, which boggled her mind as they were one of her best recently made designs. She touched the material and remembered all the work it took to make these as beautiful as possible. They certainly looked ravishing on Rainbow Dash.
It was at this moment that Rarity realized that she have found the reason why’s been missing her sleep; guilt. The guilt over what she has done to one of her best friends, subjecting her to mere servitude, forcing her into clothing she obviously didn’t want to wear. She knew Rainbow deserved it for abandoning her in a desert, but she just couldn’t shake the feeling that she went too far on her.
“Oh Rainbow Dash, I feel so horrible. I should never subject a friend to such a cruel punishment.” Rarity looked out her window in deep thought. “I need to figure a way to make it up to you.”
---
“Aaaannnd done!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she spiraled right through a large cloud, the last one for the day. Wiping off the sweat from her brow, she sighed landing back onto solid ground. “Well that’s all of them, I’m all done for the day…all done…”
Normally the blue pegasi would start enjoying her mid-afternoon nap, something she always thought she deserved whenever she cleared the skies at record time. But today however, she didn’t felt like she could just laze around like she would normally do. Instead she felt like she should be helping somepony.
Ever since last week with Rarity, she started to grow conscience towards herself every time she took these naps. Was she still the same Pegasus who would abandon a friend or two in the middle of a desert? Of course she knew she the answer was no, but given how she easily left them behind…
“Oh Rainbow Dash!”
Rainbow heard a shrill voice coming from the familiar voice of Rarity from below. Looking down she could see the unicorn waving frantically at her, as if she really needed something. Curious, she glided down to meet her at ground level. “Hey Rarity, you need some-”
“Oh thank goodness you’re here darling!” Rarity exclaimed grabbing Rainbow by the side. “I was so worried about you. I just had to find you and make sure you were okay.”
Rainbow cleared her throat prompting Rarity to awkwardly let go. “I uh…thanks for the concern Rares. As you can clearly see, I’m all in one piece.”
Rarity sighed. “Oh I know darling. It’s just that after last week with your…punishment, and all. Well let’s just say that I’ve felt so dreadfully guilty is all.”
“What are you talking about?” Rainbow asked. “I mean, yeah I hated doing all those chores for you. But at the end of the day we kissed and made up and everything worked out in the end. You really don’t need to feel guilty for something I’ve done.”
“Yes but you don’t understand dear. I have spent many sleepless nights knowing that I have went too far. I might have been in the right yes, but reducing one of my best friends to a mere maid was such unbecoming of a lady. Much less a friend or the Element of Generosity.”
Rainbow felt a sense of understanding towards her friend. Despite how much Rarity tends to dramatically overreact, but she knew all too well when one of her friends is being serious. “Well I think I get it. I mean I still forgive you either way, don’t forget that, but I guess I could find some way for you to make up for it.”
“Exactly!” Rarity exclaimed, her poise coming back to her. “In fact I have come up with the perfect solution. You know how we spent rest of that day trying on all of those dresses?”
Rainbow blushed. “Well normally I would never say this but…yeah…it was actually pretty fun.”
“Well, I thought it would be a wonderful idea if I were to try a hobby that you like.”
“A hobby?”
“Of course darling. Granted, I know that you’re more into those…brutish and muddy sports than fashion. However I am willing to commit myself through any sort of those sports so that we can be even.”
‘Sports huh…’ Rainbow thought, her mind racing to all of her favorite sports. “Well you can’t fly so that limits me a bit. But I think we could do something that we can both enjoy.”
“In that case it is settled. Fortunately, I don’t have any orders to attend and Sweetie Belle will be with her parents. So we can spend all the whole day together.”
Rainbow chuckled as another thought came to her. “Seriously Rarity? You sound a bit too positive about all of this. You do know that I’m not one to let go of an opportunity? If you’re giving me a chance to get even I’m not going to go easy on you.”
“Oh come now dear. I may be a lady of class, but a bit of rough-housing is nothing I can’t handle. Honestly I feel a bit insulted that you would say that.”
“Really now?” Rainbow shrewdly asked as she cantered towards Rarity, her face coming closer than the Unicorn wanted. “You’re giving me an inch and I’m taking that mile. Of course I’ll try not to make it as bad as you did for me, but let’s just say don’t bother sprucing up your mane for me.”
Rarity felt a tingle of fear roll down her spine as those last few words were said. Rainbow knows more than well that Rarity’s mane takes well over an hour to clean up. And after the many mane products it took to clean it last time from due to the dessert, she dread to think about how much more she’ll need. “W…w…well nevertheless, I refuse to let filth dictate how I spend my life. I will see you tomorrow and that’s that.”
“Great! Just be here tomorrow at noon!”
With that Rainbow skyrocketed and flew to the direction of Ponyville. Rarity followed her until she was out of her sight. With that, Rarity made her way back home as many thoughts went through her mind. But only one thought dominated all the others; ‘The things I do for love.’
---
The moment the clock struck twelve, Rainbow gleefully laughed as she flipped in the air. She landed puffing out her chest. “Payback time Rarity! No way you’re gonna chicken out of this one.” After saying that however, Rainbow looked around at the empty field, calming herself down. “Gee… spiteful much?”
Wearing her Wonderbolts training attire of a light-blue hooded sweatshirt and sweatpants adorned with their logo, she started to do the usual stretches she used. Stretching her legs and extending her wings, she anticipated the next few hours she would spend with Rarity. This was her chance to put her out of her element just like she did to her, and she felt strangely excited. The weather was just to her liking and everything was ready for the day.
“Oh Rainbow Dash darling!”
Rainbow chuckled as she turned to face rarity. “Well it’s about time you show up. I almost thought you weren’t going to make it and I…was…”
Rainbow felt herself shaking as she quickly noticed what she was wearing. Rarity wore a pair of black compression shorts, a white tank-top, and a headband. She wore matching colored sneakers, while her mane was done up in a neat ponytail. “Afternoon darling, I’m ready for our little tête-à-tête!”
“I…um…sounds awesome…”Rainbow had a hard time believing that the mare before her was the same fashionista from before. “Although I’ve never seen you…uh…wear a get-up like that before. It’s actually a bit jarring.”
Rarity gave out a haughty laugh. “Oh darling, you should’ve known better.” She said as she jogged in place. “You must always take perfect care of your figure, and I’ve done it through many ways. Yoga, jogging, pilates, I even took a self-defense class when I was much younger.”
“Huh.” Rainbow said to herself. “Guess I underestimated you. Whatever, this just means that we’ll have an easier time here!”
“Forgive me, but it seems that you’ve never told me exactly what we are doing here.”
Rainbow smiled as she knew that it was finally time. “That’s right Rarity, check this out.” In a flash Rainbow flew right into the woods nearby then flying right back with a round black and white ball. “Hold this for a sec.”
Rarity only had milliseconds to look at the strange ball then back at Rainbow before she began to fly. Going back and forth between the field and the woods she laid down two small nets on either side before coming right to a complete stop in the middle.
Rarity couldn’t help but watch in awe at her friend’s performance. The grace and poise she demonstrated while demonstrating powerful speed at the same time, it started to rouse her up. “Oh my, seems like you have everything all set up just for me. How very kind of you Dash.”
“Well what can I say? I always come prepared.” She said as she took a step beside the Unicorn. “So this is it, we’re gonna play one of my favorite sports; soccer.”
Rarity raised an eyebrow. “Soccer? I must say I’m a bit unfamiliar with the sport.”
“It’s pretty simple really. You can only use your hooves, so no wings for me and no magic for you. All you gotta do is kick this ball into my goal, which we can just make it the one on the right. And I have to keep you from scoring a goal in my net. Sounds simple enough for ya?”
“Ha! You’re still underestimating me Darling. I have come prepared for whatever you decide to throw at me. I sure haven’t eaten a healthy breakfast and done all those stretches for nothing you know.”
Rainbow started to laugh as she heard a corny joke, which made Rarity tense up a bit. “Well then Rarity, how about I rain on this parade!”
Before Rarity could react, Rainbow flew right back into the air, zooming around the sky to gather around the large clouds that were above them. She then started to stomp on the each of them as the water started to build up until it all came pouring down onto the makeshift soccer field.
“Rainbow Dash!” Rarity yelled as her mane started getting soaked in water. “What is the meaning of this? We cannot play under these conditions!”
“On the contrary Rares, this is the perfect setting for our game. The rain’s gonna make the floor pretty slippery thanks to all the mud, and considering the running we’ll be doing it’ll make for a pretty dirty game. You can thank the Weather Team for lending me the spare rain clouds.”
Rarity could feel the ground beneath her starting to drench, the dirt within the grass now turning to mud and dirtying up her white hooves. She shook her head. “Well, this was quite unexpected of you Darling. I must say I’m somewhat impressed at this turn of events.” Rarity then took her muddy hoof, and surprising Rainbow, wiped it over her chest, then wiped a small bit under her eyes. “But I promised you that I would spend a whole day with you, and that is what you will get. No ifs, ands, or buts about it!”
Rainbow was surprised at the side of Rarity she never thought existed. Never did she think she would ever rub mud that wasn’t from a spa over her fur. But after that bit of a shock she started to laugh as she gave a rather toothy grin, the anticipation getting to her. “Then enough talk, stand on your side so we can get this started.”
The two mares nodded as they both took their places. They stood on separate sides as they faced each other and the ball between them. Rainbow intensely stared her down, her competitive eyes fierce like a raging fire. While Rarity had a more confident,
“One the count of three.” Rainbow said as the two took a ready stance. “And three.”
Rainbow immediately rushed at the Soccer ball at top speed, leaving Rarity practically spinning in her spot. And before she could even think she saw Rainbow gallop towards the goal and kick the straight into the goal. “One, zip!” Rainbow announced.
Rarity got off the ground, the mud dirtying up her fur even more. “How dare you! That trick was unfair and you know it!”
Rainbow chuckled. “I don’t see a ref around to call foul play, so I guess its fair game.” The Pegasus then flew back at the middle the field and reset the ball. “Besides, if you wanna beat me, you gotta get better than me!”
Rarity scrunched up her face as she returned to her spot. “Well, I suppose I should have expected that from you. But if you’ll play dirty, then two will play the same game.”
Rainbow grinned devilishly as she took back her starting position. “Alright Rares whatever you say. On the count of…”
“Three!”
At the drop of a hat, Rarity stomped her hooves into the mud as hard as she could, splashing in front of Rainbow. “Hey, what the…?”
Rarity took the ball and started kicking it towards the goal, her legs moving faster than she ever thought. Rainbow wiped off all the mud as she started to growl. “Get back here!” She yelled as she galloped towards the Unicorn.
Rarity looked behind her seeing Rainbow gaining up on her. Even though she had the head-start, she knew Rainbow will steal the ball in a matter of seconds as she started to get faster. Determined to score a goal, she checked once again to see Rainbow was right at her tail, and at the right moment she quickly sidestepped away. Rainbow caught herself off-guard and slid uncontrollably on the mud as Rarity hastily kicked the ball straight into the goal.
“Yes, woo-hoo!” She cheered as she excitedly jumped up and down. “I never knew soccer could be so thrilling! Huh, that must be weird coming from a dainty lady like me does it Rainbow?"
Rainbow growled. “Oh so you want to do this the hard way huh? Well…” Rainbow flew right up to the ball and kicked it as hard as she could high in the air. “Time to play hard!”
Rarity stepped backwards as she saw the ball soar in the air. She was so focused however, that she almost slipped right onto the mud. Which gave Rainbow plenty of time to pass by her. Rarity got up just in time to give chase and catch up. The two ran faster as the ball descended back onto the ground, bouncing closer to Rarity’s goal.
“Sorry Rares, but I’m the one scoring this goal.”
“You may have an advantage here darling, but this fashionista is still in this.”
“Oh c’mon, you’re better off as a sports cheerleader than actually playing them. Maybe wearing one of those frilly skirts you must love so much.”
“Oh that is it you brute! That ball is MINE!”
Rarity sped up towards the ball prompting Rainbow to move faster. The ball was finally slowing down on the ground, and both mares had their eyes dead set on it. They both had that competitive spirit in their hearts, something Rarity didn’t knew she had when it came to physical sports.
Rainbow knew that this was time to get serious. The rush of excitement she’s gotten from all this running was some of the most intense she has ever felt. And given how this was coming from Rarity of all ponies, gave her the motivation she needed to not lose.
As the ball was mere yards away from them, they both leaped at it with full force. Diving at it with reckless abandon the two mares braced for impact as they hit the ground, mud flying in all directions. When everything was clear, all they saw was the color brown and the soccer ball on rolling slowly right behind them.
“That was rather anticlimactic wasn’t it?” Rainbow stated.
Rarity got up and look at the empty goal. “Yes I suppose it was…but how was I Rainbow? Do you think I'm better than you now?”
The Pegasus gave a groan of disgust as she wiped the mud off her face. “You’re might be better, but I’m definitely dirtier. Aww, now I’m starting to regret making all this rain.”
Rarity took a moment to stop celebrating as she looked at herself in disgust. “I...haven’t really paid much attention, but looking at myself now, I must say that I’m going to have a dreadful time cleaning my fur. Just the mental image of all of the shampoos I’ll be using is starting to churn my stomach.”
“Yeah…this was not my best ideas.” Rainbow stated matter-of-factly. “You want to just call this game a tie for now? I’m starting to think that we’re done here.”
“W…what!? But we’re not even close to finished. Besides I’m still supposed to do what you want to do, I can’t quit here now.”
“Well, I think I wanna do something else. Something that’s a bit…cleaner.”
---
“Oh yeah, now this is exactly what I’m talking about.”
Oh I agree ever so much darling.”
The two mares were happily lounging in one of Ponyville Spa’s luxurious hot tubs, enjoying the clean soapy waters that washed away all the mud away. Their muscles, tense from all the exercise from earlier, also seemed to melt into relaxation.
“We’ll call you two over after thirty minutes.” Lotus Blossom stated to her two patrons. “After that the sauna will be ready.”
“Thank you Darling.” Rarity said back. When Lotus left she turned her attention back to Rainbow. “And thank you for suggesting the Royal Treatment. I’ll be sure to pay you back when I get home.”
Rainbow raised her hoof. “Don’t worry ‘bout it, this’ll be on me. Besides I wanted us to do this anyways after the game.”
Rarity raised an eyebrow. “You wanted to come here?”
“Eeyup! Although I’d prefer if you keep this between us. Still got that rep to keep up.”
“Of course dear, but only if you answer my question.”
“What is it?”
“Did you plan all of this? The rain, the mud, and finally this wonderful spa day? If I were to guess I would say that all this is less of a punishment and more of a friendly get-together.”
Rainbow shrugged. “Well, I’m caught red-hoofed. Sure I wanted to take you right outta your element just like you did me, but I also you rather not spend the next week stuck in your shower. All this right here, is just what we need after a day like this.”
“That I cannot agree more, dear.” Rarity felt her hooves through her now smooth mane, the majority of the mud finally out. She sighed. “I will say though, when you’re not worrying about looks, sports are actually pretty fun. I think we should that again sometime.”
“Seriously Rares? Now I’m wondering if you bumped your head on the mud.”
“Very funny dear.” Rarity sarcastically responded as she stuck out her tongue, making the both of them laugh. “Oh, but seriously, I never thought that would be so thrilling. I felt like a young filly at at the playground."
"Gotta admit Rares, you were way better than I thought you were. I never thought I would ever see you move like that." Rainbow thought for a moment. "Must've never played like that in a long time huh?"
Rarity sighed. "You can never be more right I'm afraid. While designing dresses is my greatest passion, You never get an adrenaline rush like that when you're sewing clothes at home.”
“And you never get to feel all pretty when you’re an awesome athlete like me. Sometimes my reputation can be a real pain, prevents you from being able to relax like this when you don’t want the world to see you like this.”
“Oh I can certainly relate to that darling. As a lady connected to the Canterlot Elite, I have to constantly be at my best with my looks. If word got out that I was practically playing in the mud, my image would be utterly tarnished there are times where I wish I had the ability to get dirty and play sports like these without judgement. But I am thankful that you gave me the chance to have that much fun.”
“Same here.” Rainbow said back. "It kinda pains me to say, but would like to try out more dresses if you want. I know I was forced to do it before but, I wouldn't mind if you ask me this time." Another thought came to her. “So wait, does this mean that we’re both even? No more making up for me leaving you in the desert?”
“I suppose we’re are far done making up with each other. Admittedly, the whole punishment thing was utterly silly in the first place. Let’s promise to just talk things out next time so we don’t put ourselves to anything more ridiculous.”
“Agreed.” Rainbow stated. “How about this, next time if either of us does something bad, we’ll blow the steam off by doing something like we did today. A little bit of sports and then a little bit of girly mare stuff.”
Rarity chuckled. “Now that sounds like a wonderful idea darling.”