//------------------------------// // I Did it for my Friends // Story: Muck and the Mare // by AleximusPrime //------------------------------// CHAPTER 5 - I Did it for my Friends It wasn’t very hard for Rarity and all her friends to get out of the fortress. They simply followed Rarity’s dirty hoof-prints to the entrance. It seemed all the dogs were either already beaten by Rarity or were hiding from her. The night had passed and it was morning now as they all walked through the forest talking about Rarity’s amazing performance from earlier. “Rarity, I gotta hand it to ya, girl, you really showed them Diamond Dogs who’s boss!” Applejack complemented. “I never thought I would see ya do somethin that brave!” “To be honest, Applejack, I never thought I would either.” Rarity replied. “But the thought of you all in that dungeon just made me so angry and determined; I just had to come rescue you all!” “Yeah, and here we were all thinking you WOULDN’T come to get us!” said Twilight remembering how they all had little faith in her before, “And lo and behold you DID come and you got yourself dirty to do it! That was quite the accomplishment, Rarity!” “Yeah, Rarity, are you sure you’re ok?” Fluttershy asked. “Oh I’ll be fine everypony, trust me. I have touched mud before many times, you know? And sure it was imported mud and was at a spa and all, but this really feels no different, it’s just a bit dirtier and unclean……but it all had to be done in the name of friendship after all, and I’m still the same old Rarity, but I’ve learned to overcome my fears.” Rarity said proudly knowing that her friends were much more important than her looks. “And getting dirty like this isn’t quite so bad, it’s actually kind of……fun! And next time it happens, at least I can say I’ve experienced much worse, right?” Spike then entered the conversation to give Rarity some uplifting words. “Actually, Rarity, I think you look kinda good like this……er, not saying that you never look good, of course! You’re always beautiful, but……I mean…like this you still look good…you know what I’m saying?” he said tripping over his own words. “It’s ok, Spike, I know what you mean. And thanks.” Rarity said bashfully. She never thought she would be told that she looked good even when she was all dirty, and the fact that Spike told her she was still beautiful made her day. “And not only did you fight your fear of mud, Rarity, but you knew how to use your magic to help us all out!” Spike told her forgetting that he might make Twilight look bad. “Yeah……I should have done the same all along…” Twilight said looking down. “Aw, it’s ok, Twilight!” said Pinkie trying to cheer her up. “We all know you meant well!” “Yeah, Twilight, it wasn’t your fault, we all still had Rarity to help us out in the end.” Fluttershy joined in. “You didn’t use your magic to fight back, Twilight?” Rarity asked looking back. “Well, I was about to, but I was afraid of misusing my powers…” “Sometimes you just have to buck right up and fight with all you’ve got, Darling. After all, they were very rude to us, and they threatened poor little Spike’s life!” she said patting Spike on the head as he blushed. “Imagine what would have happened to Spike if I didn’t intervene! Everypony would lose Ponyville’s best little dragon!” “Aw shux…” said Spike with his arms behind his back kicking his leg around. “You’re right, Rarity.” Twilight said looking happier. “Sometimes I guess when the situation gets serious next time, I’ll be more mindful of what to do with my magic.” “Yeah, and we’re sorry we were kinda annoying you about it, Twilight.” said Rainbow Dash. “It’s ok, Rainbow Dash, you all were right; I should have been more protective of you all. I’ll know what to do next time now.” “Well, now that we’re all rid of that dreadful place, I guess we can all get back home and get these gems in my boutique to finish Sapphire Shores’ dresses.” said Rarity looking ahead. They had finally come to the little grove where they were captured yesterday. “Look everypony, there is our wagon from before with the other gems!” “That’s right, Rarity!” said Spike. “Once we get back to your boutique, you and I can finish those dresses and then maybe we can-WOOOOOOAAAAAH!!!” Suddenly the ground gave away and everyone fell into a little hole in the ground that the dogs must have dug after Rarity left that spot. The wagon full of gems from the fortress stayed put but everyone else fell in and landed in a pool of think mud. This was, no doubt, the last trap meant to keep Rarity from escaping the forest. Luckily it wasn’t so deep and dangerous; they would all be able to get out quickly. Everyone lay in the mud for a second but Rarity didn’t seem to realize they were in mud at first. She had been through so much of it that she was practically used to it. But the others seemed quite surprised at first, almost as if they were the ones scared of mud now. “Oh dear, this was the last trap I guess.” Rarity said looking around at everyone else who was covered in mud along with her now. “Well, I guess we all got a little dirty in the end!” she then started laughing and before you knew it, everyone else laughed with her. “Oh well, it is just mud, right?!” Fluttershy giggled. “Yeah, it’s not like it’ll hurt us!” Rainbow Dash joined in. “Well, we might as well all get used to it then! MUD FIIIIIGHT!!!” shouted Pinkie Pie splashing mud all over the place. Soon, everyone was throwing big chunks of mud at each other and splashing themselves with it for fun. They laughed and enjoyed themselves and sooner or later they all just stopped and lay in the mud laughing hysterically. Twilight pondered what an important lesson she had learned today from Rarity and started thinking of a good friendship report letter to write to Princess Celestia. “Dear Princess Celestia, Today I learned a great deal from my friend Rarity. She always seems to be the rather feminine and sophisticated type; always afraid to get dirty, even in the midst of something very important. But my friends and I all found ourselves in a bit of a predicament and she rescued us and overcame her fear of mud. This taught me that sometimes we have to just face our fears and help out our friends when they’re in trouble, even if it means getting your coat a bit dirty in the end. I also learned that, even though magic is a wonderful thing that should be used for good intentions, it never really hurts to use them for defense every now and then, especially when you need to help out your friends. Next time they all need saving, I’ll know what to do, thanks to Rarity. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle” “Well, Rarity…” she said looking at her unicorn friend covered in filth, “…you sure showed us all today how important courage can be in a pinch! This will make a great letter to the Princess!” “I did it all for friendship, ladies, and next time it happens again, I won’t even hesitate!” “Then I hope you’re prepared for round two, Rarity!” said Spike getting back up and throwing a big mud ball at her face. “Oooooh, Spike…… IT IS ON!” she said smiling wickedly and then used her magic to lift a huge chunk of mud and throw it right at him. His eyes widened and then he was completely covered in mud. “OOOOOOH, SPIKE, THAT’S GONNA LEAVE A MARK!” shouted Applejack. “WE’LL SEE ABOUT THAT! EAT THIS!!!”” Spike then turned around and started digging at the mud with his hands causing it to fling all over Rarity. The mud fight started again and everyone laughed and made merry without any fear of it, all thanks to Ponyville’s finest mare, Rarity. THE END