Special ending chapter:
"It takes a lot of work to chillax"
“Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh!”. A cheerful voice shouted so loudly to cover up the noise of the engine of the Rainbooms' tour bus. “I can't believe we're finally doing this, you guys! I bet you're all as excited as me about this trip!”.
“Yes, Pinkie, we're also happy to be finally able to spend a relaxing day at the beach together”. Applejack's voice answered, coming from behind's her joyful friend's back. “Especially after all we had to go through to arrange this thing. Right, y'all?”. At the sound of the cowgirl's question, the rest of the girls exclaimed a loud.
“Yes!”. In unison.
“Next time we decide to talk a part time job, we simply must choose something less overwhelming”. Rarity intervened, while adjusting the large hat onto her head, one of her latest creations. “All that stress has done a number on my complexion”.
“You say that about everything!”. Rainbow Dash protested from her seat next to Pinkie Pie's.
“Well, my dear...”. The young fashionista smirked, knowing just the right thing to say in her defense. “...If you ask me, it's high time I taught you a thing or two about taking care of yourself. Let's start with the basics, shall we? Lesson number one: a lady should never leave her home without at least a layer of make-up powder on her cheeks and lipsticks. Lesson two: a lady needs to keep in her wardrobe a proper attire for any kind of situation. Lesson three...”.
“Okay, okay, you can quit it now, Rarity”. The blue-skinned athlete quickly replied, covering her ears with her hands. “... Seriously. I don't think I can keep up a conversation about these froufrou treatments without drifting off to sleep for even one more second”.
“Very well then”. Rarity answered, remaining surprisingly calm. “If this particular topic is not to your liking, I shall not carry on”.
“Oh, thank goodness...”. Rainbow Dash murmured, right before being interrupted once more by the young fashionista.
“But don't come begging me for a favour, the next time you need help with making a reservation at the spa. If I were you, I'd call them immediately: you know how busy they are on Saturday afternoon”. While Rarity was speaking, Rainbow Dash's cheeks suddenly turned red.
“I...I have no idea what you're talking about”.
In the meantime the rest of the group did not utter a word, knowing the blue-skinned youngster was not too happy to talk about her regular visits to the city spa, even if everybody knew about them already. The only one who could not help but giggle was Pinkie Pie, who however was the first to suggest they should change topic to break the embarrassing atmosphere that the debate between Rarity and Rainbow Dash had created.
“So, Rainbow...”. The pink-skinned girl intervened, trying to change her friend's mood. “...Do you have anything planned for when we get to the beach?”.
“Well...”. The other girl replied, sighing, clearly still slightly bothered by what had happened a moment before. “...I was hoping to try out my new surfboard, if the waves are high enough”.
After saying those things, Rainbow Dash pulled out an exquisite new blue board; it's color dark like the depths of the ocean, but what caught Pinkie's eye the most was a large lightning, painted at its very centre.
“Wow, Dash!”. The athlete's cheerful friend exclaimed, smiling even more than usual. “It's really awesome! I bet you'll look amazing, surfing on it”.
“Thanks, Pinkie”. The blue-skinned youngster replied, having obviously retrieved her calm and self confidence.
“It sure looks great...”. Applejack said, joining the conversation with a suspicious grin on her face “...Bet you think you're the best surfer in the whole city, don't you, Rainbow Dash?”.
“Well, I was gonna say in the whole world...”. The athlete replied, quickly understanding where the country girl was trying to get at with her words. “...but you're right: that could sound a little exaggerated”.
“Bet you think you're even a better surfer than me, right?”.
“Well, duh!”. Rainbow Dash went on saying, smirking proudly. “But don't worry, Applejack. You can always be number two. It's not that bad to admit that I was the only one who bested you at surfing”.
“Oh, yeah? How about a little bet then? Whoever manages to ride a wave the longest wins, the other gets to pay for all the ice cream that the winner buys for a month. What do you say, Dash? Are ya up for the challenge?”.
“Sure!”. The blue-skinned girl exclaimed, unable to get a hold of herself, when it came to competing, especially if her drifter was Applejack. “I hope you've got cash with you, cause, once I crush you, I'm gonna need at least ten cups. You know how hot the weather is today...”.
“Sure. But don't start whining, when I defeat you”.
“Ah, in your dreams maybe”.
At that point the two girls began to stare deep into each other's eyes. Each one's gaze was filled with vivid rage: they both looked like tigers, ready to assault the other one at any moment.
“Okay, girls”. Sunset said, from her seat. “Let's not get too competitive, before we even get to the beach”.
“Especially because we're all gonna need lots of energy. We've got a long day ahead of us!”. Twilight, who was sitting right next to her red-haired friend, added.
“Speaking of which, what do you want to do today, Twilight? Swimming in the sea water to refresh from all this heat? Sunbathing?”. Sunset asked curiously.
“I don't really know”. The purple-skinned girl replied, turning toward her friend. “I guess I'll just do whatever I wanna do, the moment it crosses my mind”.
“You mean that you haven't got a plan?”. The red-haired youngster went on saying, as her jaw almost dropped from the shock. “Wow, that's not like you!”.
“I know it might sound a little unusual, coming from me. But I absolutely guarantee that I intend to use today to relax and enjoy myself without the pressure of being on a schedule”.
“ After all the hard work you go through the whole year, I think you totally deserve it”.
“Like you did anything less than me”.
At the sound of those words, Sunset blushed even if only slightly: she knew her friend did not mean to tease her, and even if she did, the red-haired girl would not be ashamed to admit that she never minded studying and getting the best grades in the whole class. Even if that meant being called an egghead by Rainbow Dash. After all she had been chosen as Celestia's personal pupil as a filly for a reason.
“Okay, fine. You win this one, Twilight!”.
“Yay!”. The purple-skinned girl giggled, playing along. “What's my prize?”.
“Mmm...I'd offer you sushi, if I wasn't so disgusted by its sight now!”.
“Don't even think about that stuff. Your days as a sushi chef at that horrible restaurant at the mall are over now. Let's just enjoy the rest of our vacation together”.
“Sounds good to me!”. Sunset exclaimed cheerfully at that point, hugging her friend tightly.
“Anyway...”. Twilight went on saying, returning her friend's embrace. “I might have packed something in case I get bored; you know...As a back up plan”. While saying these words, the purple-haired girl pulled out what looked like to be a brand new novel from her bag.
“Ah!”. Sunset shouted in satisfaction, as she laid her eyes on it. “I knew you could not possibly come to the beach without, being prepared”.
“Well it is the newest Daring Do book. What did you expect me to do? Leave it home on a shelf with Spike?”.
“Did you say Daring Do?!”. Rainbow Dash exclaimed, raising her ears as a child the moment their parents agree to take them to the amusement park.
“I did”. Twilight giggled, witnessing the funny expression that her friend, Rainbow Dash, had put on her face.
“And when you said it was the newest novel in the series, you couldn't possibly mean the one that came out in the shops only yesterday. < Daring Do and the curse of the black mask >. Could you?”.
“I could and I did”. Twilight replied, smirking, proudly, showing off the book to the blue-skinned athlete.
“Oh, man! Yesterday I did not get the chance to go to the book store, because of soccer practice. How is it that you always get the coolest books before me?”.
“Well...”. Twilight went on saying, feeling fluttered by Rainbow's envy. “I guess I am just used to squeeze a visit to the book store into my schedule, whenever A.K. Yearling publishes a new novel”.
“Please don't tell me they sold all the copies already. The last time I had to buy one online and wait a week to read it, since at the shop in downtown had sold all the books on the first day”.
“As a matter of fact they did, but never fear, Rainbow Dash. I know you're as much of a fan of A.K. Yearling's work as I am, so yesterday I bought an extra copy of the book for you!”. The moment Twilight pulled out a second book, identical to the other one, out of her backpack, her friend felt the happiest girl in the world. As she took her personal copy of the novel in her hands, her facial muscles twitched, until the youngster put on an unnatural expression; her whole body shaking uncontrollably.
“I can't believe you did that!”. The athlete shouted as a euphoric child. “Thank you, Twilight I knew you were the best. How much do I owe you?”.
“Not a thing”. The other girl answered, smiling and shaking her hand. “I did it just to see you smile. Consider it a good vacation present”.
“But I gotta do something for you to repay my debt. Let's see...How about I...”. Rainbow Dash's phrase was cut off, when the bus, on which they were travelling, stopped all of a sudden.
“What's up, Granny Smith?”. Applejack asked the elder woman, who was as always driving the Rainbooms' vehicle. “Why did we stop?”.
“What do you think, AJ?”. Her grandmother quickly replied. “We've arrived. Have fun girls. I'll come back to pick you up at 7 p.m.”.
At the sound of those words Pinkie Pie finally stopped holding her excitement back and shouted. “Who's ready for the best day in the whole summer?”.
“Us!”. The others cried in unison.
“Ah, this is the life...”. Twilight said, while calmly laying on her sand chair. “Just the heat of the sun and the sound of the waves. What else could we wish for?”.
“Higher waves, that's what!”. Rainbow Dash shouted nervously, standing in front of the young girl, holding her bright new surfboard under her arm. “I mean, how are we supposed to surf without proper waves?!”. The athlete went on saying, turning to Applejack.
“Don't you worry, Rainbow Dash!”. The country girl replied, seeing that her friend was as much impatient to ride her new board as her. “According to the weather forecast the wind will pick up only at 3 pm, which means that we have plenty of time to enjoy ourselves, before I can taste sweet, sweet victory against you”.
“Ah!”. The blue-skinned girl giggled, hearing those words. “Not in a million years!”.
“We'll see who's best, when the time comes”. Applejack went on saying, while a wicked grin appeared on her face. “But for now we should probably save our energies for the competition”.
While the two rivals kept talking, their friend, Fluttershy, who was not distant from them, pulled what looked like to be scuba diving equipment from the bag she had brought with her.
“Hey, Fluttershy!”. Pinkie Pie cried, as she walked to her. “What do you have there?”. The pink-skinned youngster questioned curiously.
“Oh, this? Just a little something that will help me observe the animals in the water”. The other girl replied, showing her gear to her friend. On the sand laid a pair of black scuba fins, in her hands the young animal lover was holding a diving mask and a snorkel, while her wetsuit was still in the backpack.
“Oh, I should have imagined that you were so into marine life, too!”. The cheerful girl exclaimed, once she had taken a look at Fluttershy's equipment. “If I had, I would have bought my stuff, too, so I could come with you. Too bad I didn't: all I have here is my floaty”. At that point the pink-skinned girl pulled out of her bag a rather large floaty, shaped like a duck.
“Oh, I am so sorry, Pinkie”. Her friend replied, seeing that the other girl was disappointed. “If you wanna spend time together, I can just not go and stay with you instead”.
“Fluttershy you are the sweetest person I know”. Pinkie Pie pointed out with a wide smile on her face. “But, this is your vacation, too. You should think about enjoying yourself, so don't worry about me. I said those things only because I thought it would be fun to see all those beautiful fish underwater. But, since I can't do it, I already have something else in mind”.
“Are you absolutely sure, Pinkie Pie?”. Fluttershy asked, still not entirely convinced that her friend was being honest with her. “I wouldn't want to make you feel left behind”.
“Left behind!”. Pinkie cried, laughing as if her friend had just told her a funny joke. “Please, that would be bananas! Now you go have fun, while I try to inflate this floaty. I just hope it doesn't take too long”.
“Are you sure you don't need my help?”.
“I said don't worry. Go have fun and make some aquatic animal friends. Remember to tell me everything you saw, after you come back”.
“That much I can do”. The other youngster promised, right before grabbing all of her gear and walking toward the water, ready to dive.
It took some time for Pinkie Pie to inflate her floaty completely, using only her mouth. But most importantly it took all of her energies, for when she had finally finished, she was feeling exhausted.
“That took forever!”. The pink-skinned girl, said to herself, laying on the beach with her eyes, staring at the sunny sky.
“Hey Pinkie!”. A familiar voice exclaimed suddenly; Pinkie heard the sound of steps, getting closer and closer.
“What's up Rainbow Dash?”. The cheerful youngster replied, breathing heavily.
“Wow, what happened to you? Are you feeling okay?”. The other girl asked, visibly worried, as she saw her friend's state.
“Sure, the thing is that I... had to...inflate my floaty”.
“Oh, that's why you look so terrible!”. Rainbow Dash, exclaimed, understanding the reason why Pinkie Pie was panting “Anyway, listen: as the waves aren't nearly as high as Applejack and I need them to be in order to surf, we thought of having a little swimming contest instead, but we still need a third to be our judge. You wanna come?”.
“Sure, why not? Just give me a minute to breathe and I'll catch up with you guys”.
“Sure, don't take too long though: the water's perfect for swimming. Applejack and I will be waiting for you, while doing some warming-up before the competition”. With those words the blue-skinned athlete turned around, headed to the spot, where her cowgirl friend was waiting for her, leaving poor Pinkie Pie to catch her breath.
In the meantime at the opposite edge of the beach the three remaining girls were sunbathing, laying on their sandchairs. Rarity stood so motionless she gave the impression of being asleep, yet none could exactly tell whether she was awake or not without removing the thick sunglasses, covering her eyes.
Twilight was calmly reading her new Daring Do book and from the looks of it, she was caught up in the story.
Sunset on the other hand was tossing and turning on her chair, giving the impression she was getting bored. As a matter of fact she was tired of doing nothing; sunbathing was surely relaxing, but the idea of doing the same thing all day did not exactly thrill her.
Sunset knew that she could not disturb the others with her complaining, yet an idea flashed in her mind the moment she saw Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Pinkie Pie going into the water.
“Maybe they've got room for one more”. She thought to herself, right before leaving her seat and started walking toward the water.
“Where are you going?”. Twilght questioned, unexpectedly raising her eyes from the pages of her book.
“Oh, just thought of joining the others for a quick swim. It looks like they're having fun”.
“Okay”. The purple-skinned youngster went on saying, as she gazed upon the others, splashing in the water. “I'll catch up with you in a bit. Just give me the time to finish this chapter”.
“Alright then, see you in the water”. Sunset answered, as she began to run toward the shore.
Seeing her approaching, her friends waved at her, inviting to join in the fun: Sunset certainly was not the kind of girl to refuse such a thing. With a giant splash she jumped into the deep warm water of the sea and reached her friends who were just about to begin their competition.
“Applejack and Rainbow Dash are having a race”. Pinkie Pie explained; her arms were holding tight on her large, pink floaty.
“And what is the bet this time?”. Sunset asked, excited to see some action, after sitting on her chair for so long.
“No bets, Sunset”. Rainbow Dash said, turning toward her friend. “However I can't wait to see the look on Applejack's face the moment she looses the race”.
“Yeah, yeah, keep telling yourself that”. The country girl murmured, smirking. “Remember that you'll owe me ice cream for a month, after I prove I am a better surfer than you”.
“Please”. Rainbow Dash went on saying, giggling. “Just remember not to be too disappointed, when I end up winning our next contest”. Applejack was just about to reply, when she was suddenly cut off by Pinkie Pie.
“Girls!”. She cried, putting on a serious expression on her face. “As official judge of this swimming race, it is my duty to make sure both contestants respect the rules, which also means that you two cannot start any argument, before the end of this contest. Is everything clear?”.
At the sound of those words the two athletes giggled, understanding that Pinkie Pie was probably acting strictly, because she was being carried away by the idea of being a judge, but ultimately agreed to play along.
“Okay, judge”. Applejack intervened, barely holding back from giggling again. “Give us the signal”.
“If you're both ready...”. The pink-skinned youngster replied, raising her left hand. “...On your mark, get set...Go!”. As the two rivals quickly swam away, they raised a small wave high enough to end up wetting Sunset's long curls.
“ I guess this is a nice change from sunbathing”. She sighed, taking what had just happened surprisingly well.
“At least we're having fun, right?”. Pinkie, who's hair had also been covered in sea water, intervened.
“I guess we are”. The red-haired youngster replied, giggling. “I'd give you a hug right now, if you didn't need to hold on that floaty”.
“Oh, I don't need to. I can swim just fine”. Pinkie Pine replied, squeezing out of her fuchsia duck. “...See?”.
Surprisingly the moment her friend began to swim on her own, Sunset did not blink on eye. “I should have figured. You were holding that gigantic floaty just for the fun of it, weren't you?”.
“Sure! After all, what's life without a little spark of excitement from time to time?”.
“I guess that is true, even if I don't think you're being completely sincere”.
“Okay, you got me. Maybe saying from time to time isn't appropriate in my case. But, hey, what's wrong with enjoying yourself?”.
“Not a thing. If only there were more people like you, Pinkie...”.
“If that were the case, then I wouldn't be special, silly! Now about that hug...”.
“Oh, right”. Sunset exclaimed, before pulling Pinkie into a tight, affectionate embrace which the other girl returned happily.