//------------------------------//
// Twilight and Rarity 
// Story: Playing in the Mud 
// by The Dark Wolf 
//------------------------------//

Twilight and Rarity were walking at the park one day. It was a beautiful day, and not too hot, for it had rained hard last night.

"Congratulations on selling that new fashion line," said Twilight.

"Why thank you," said Rarity. "And I already have a new idea for another one. Though... it is one I would really like to wear in the mud." She giggled a bit.

"Ooh! That reminds me, there's sure to be lots of mud puddles here after that rain."

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Let's go!"

Twilight and Rarity ran around the park in search of some mud. They splashed through big puddles, not caring how wet they got.

Finally, they found a path that was made entirely of dirt, and it was now very slick mud, nowhere close to drying due to the trees on the sides. No one ever used this path during or after rain except Rainbow Dash and Applejack, who would often race down it, especially after it rained.

"Perfect," said Rarity, feeling very excited.

"What do you say we warm up by racing to the other side of that path and back?" Twilight suggested.

"It is on!"

Twilight and Rarity started running through the slick mud. Their shoes squelched, and mud splattered on both their outfits, but they didn't mind. They really enjoyed getting dirty like this.

Equally fast, both girls were neck in neck, and then they approached a muddy puddle on the right side of the path. Rarity ran through the puddle, splashing dirty water on Twilight. Twilight let out a squeal of surprise, but giggled afterwards.

They were about three quarters of the way done, when Twilight slipped on a slippery patch of mud and fell on her back. She lay in the mud as Rarity ran ahead.

Twilight sat up, shook her head a bit, and continued running, picking up the pace to catch up to Rarity.

Rarity ran back, splattering Twilight a bit as she did so. Twilight ran faster, reaching the end of the path, turning around, and dashing back the way she came.

Moments later, she saw Rarity up ahead, sitting in the mud, evidently having also slipped and fallen. Twilight overtook her, making sure to splatter her with mud, not out of poor sportsmanship, but because she knew she liked it.

Rarity was not far behind Twilight when she started running again, but Twilight was still in the lead. She was sure they were about a quarter of the way to the finish.

Then, Twilight slipped and fell on her back again at an angle diagonal to the path, sliding a bit ahead. Rarity tried to stop, but skidded in the mud, tripped over Twilight, and fell face-first in the muck.

"Sorry Rarity," said Twilight, sitting up.

Rarity got up on all fours, now completely covered in mud back and front. "Oh, it's quite all right. I hope you weren't hurt."

"No, I'm fine."

Twilight and Rarity stood up.

"The race is still on," said Twilight. "3... 2... 1..."

Both muddy girls sprinted towards the end of the path, trying not to slip while maintaining their speed at the same time. Twilight nearly slipped but jumped and caught her balance. They were neck in neck again, about to reach the finish...

...and then they both slipped again.

Rarity fell on her back, while Twilight slipped the other way and fell on her face. Both slid forward a bit in the mud, stopping just a few inches away from the concrete path.

Twilight rubbed the mud out of her glasses. It wasn't perfect, but she'd be able to do better with some tissues she had in her waterproof bag. She quickly touched the concrete path with her finger. "I win!"

Rarity sat up. "Good game, Twilight."

"Good game, Rarity." They shook hands, both covered in mud from head to toe. "Now what?"

"Now for a good old-fashioned mud fight," said Rarity.

Twilight set her glasses and bag to the side, and they started mud wrestling. Twilight grabbed Rarity's arm and forced her facedown into the mud, but Rarity got free of her. They grabbed each other and rolled around in the mud for a bit, then Rarity sat on Twilight's back and grabbed her leg, pulling on it.

"All right, all right, you win, Rarity!"

Rarity released Twilight. "That was fun."

"It sure was." They shook hands again.

"If it were Applejack and Rainbow Dash, I'm sure they'd want a tiebreaker."

"How about we run the track again, and the first to slip and fall loses?"

"You're on."

They stood up. Twilight picked up her glasses, wiped them off with a tissue, put them back on, stood beside Rarity, and said "Ready, set, go!"

They ran down the path, often nearly slipping, but stopping themselves at the last second, and sometimes jumping to avoid falling. They splattered each other with mud, but this hardly made a difference, as there was not a single clean spot on them anymore.

Then, as they were about halfway across, Rarity slipped and fell face-first onto the muddy path.

Twilight heard her shriek and the splash. She wouldn't stop running unless she knew Rarity had lost, or else they'd have to start over. She looked behind her and saw Rarity laying facedown. She stopped running and turned around.

"I win!" said Twilight, jumping into the air. As soon as she landed, she slipped on the mud and fell on her back.

Rarity got up and walked over to Twilight. "Are you all right?"

Twilight sat up. "Of course. That was actually kind of funny." She giggled.

Rarity sat down next to her and giggled as well, shaking Twilight's hand.

"Now what?" said Twilight.

"Now, let's go rinse off in the pond."

"Sounds good."