The couple walks along a path through Whitetail Woods, though a different one than Rhino has ever been on. He looks around as they continue and remarks to the disguised changeling. "Are you sure the pets will be okay at the finish line by themselves? I don't want anything to happen to them..."
"I'm sure they'll be just fine." She turns around and boops his nose, giggling softly. "You really do worry too much." She sees the white line for the race, slightly surprised. "...you'd think it'd be gone by now, considering..."
He looks around her and sees the line as well. "Why would you think it would be gone?"
"...well..." She scratches the side of her head, thinking a bit. "...isn't this track used only during the Running of the Leaves?"
He shrugs as they walk. "Don't know to be honest, moved here in the middle of this spring remember?" He looks around more. "It does have plenty of trees to qualify for a Running of the Leaves track. Actually, on that note, why are we racing here now instead of around the park like we said?"
"That's simple. I want to go all out in this." She smirks, flicking her tail against his flank. "If you want to win that favor, then you'll have to earn it."
He flicks her back with his own tail. "On that note, perhaps we should discuss rules."
"Of course. First off, your hooves have to touch the whole length of the track." She shrugs. "I figure that covers flying and Blinking." She pauses, holding up a hoof. "The spell, not the bodily action."
He huffs but has a cheeky smile on his face. "Darn, I swear more and more ponies catch that loophole these days. Small technicality though, When I use Res in the usual way, my hooves aren't actually making contact with the surface, they are making contact with the magic between them and the surface, is that acceptable?"
"...I suppose that's acceptable." She giggles, shaking her head. "Second rule, no interfering with the other racer, magic or otherwise." She sighs, shrugging dejectedly. "...this includes teasing..."
He does a fake pout. "Ah well, no show for me, even if it did make me lose. Any other rules?"
"Other than that, I can't see anything else to add." She smiles, gently nuzzling him. "...what about you, love?"
"Well, no rules, but how about a quick summary of the route?" They stop as they reach the starting line.
"Just along the path, following the signs. One last question..." She turns to the finish line, smirking playfully. "...are you ready to lose?"
He quickly stretches each of his legs and cracks his neck. "I don't think I'll be losing. But in the event I do, I look forward to find out what you'll use your prize for." He crouches down and his horn has a dim glow to it. "Ready when you are, love."
"Go!" She launches off, quickly racing down the track. She doesn't bother to use her magic, believing that she is fast enough on her own.
Rhino frowns as the familiar glow appears on his hooves and he starts as well. He quickly catches up to her, skating across the ground using Res. He looks at her as he passes her, an eyebrow raised and a neutral expression. "Not even a countdown?"
"Figured you wouldn't need it." She uses her magic to speed herself up, passing him once more. She slides underneath a branch before using her flames to give herself an extra boost. This has the adverse effect of lighting said tree limb on fire.
He frowns again as he snaps off the branch with a quick flick of magic so that it will fizzle out on the path. He smoothly skates around it as he crouches down and puts more power into each stroke of his hooves to give him more speed. It takes some time to get up the speed, but he eventually gets to a point where he is slowly inching his way back towards her position.
She glances over her shoulder, seeing him slowly catch up. She looks forward and smirks, seeing a turn. "You're too slow!" She holds a foreleg out to the side, releasing a sudden large flame and launching herself down the path. She giggles, wondering just how her stallion was going to handle that sharp a turn.
He sees how sharply she goes around the turn and prepares himself appropriately. He leans inward as he approaches the turn and almost scrapes the ground as he whips around the corner. If one thing can be said, it's that he can maintain his speed.
She blinks, watching him tackle the turn with ease. She turns around and huffs, crossing her forelegs over her chest and pouting cutely. Even as she does this, she leans back and propels herself with fire from her hindhooves. "...you really are good at this..."
His eyes widen at her posture that she maintains while still running, though it does slow her down enough to where she isn't pulling ahead of him anymore. "How... how are you doing that?"
"Strong abs." She pats her stomach. "Benefits of working out regularly." She giggles and flips back over, putting more force behind herself, slowly pulling ahead once more.
She blinks, almost hesitating at the sight before her. "...why does it have to be that?"
A river runs right across the path, dry most of the year, at the end of spring it flows due to all the rain. It's depth is unknown, but it is a definitely respectable width. The water rolls as it barrels down it's channel.
Gel narrows her eyes, speeding up quickly and skimming over the surface. She grins when her flames make the water turn into steam, letting her flames disappear and running for a while. "There's no way he can cross that without swimming. I'll win for sure!" She makes the next turn, seeing the finish line at the end of a long stretch. "Almost there!" She sprints down the trail, grinning happily.
Rhino smiles as he sees Gel cut over the river. "Good to see she doesn't let water stop her." He mentally makes the slight adjustments necessary to the circles on the bottoms of his hooves and glides smoothly across the water. "I wonder if I should take her water skating sometime... maybe I'll try it this evening..." He leans into the next turn and whooshes around it, seeing Gel ahead of him and no longer using her fire magic to boost herself. He focuses and gives it as much as he can, closing in on her.
She glances over her shoulder, eyes wide in shock as he nears her. She faces forward, cursing her luck. "Of all the times to run out of magic..." She puts her all into it, straining her legs in a last attempt to cross the line before him.
He notices her increasing her speed so that his gain on her slows. He grunts, knowing he can't go any faster. He looks ahead to try and gauge the distance left and how fast he is catching up, but he shakes his head as all he knows is that it will be close. He keeps putting all he can into each stroke of his long legs.
The competitors approach the finish, each going as fast as they can. Three little shapes are jumping up and down on the sidelines just past the finish line, cheering both of them on. Rhino steadily gains on Gel as the distance to the end grows shorter and shorter.
She looks back, seeing how close he is and tries to flare up her horn and magic for one last boost. Her only reward is sparks. "Come on..."
Rhino closes in more, his eyes narrowed on the finish. His legs pump back and forth as he skates, like pistons.
More sparks emit from Gel's horn as she breathes harder, the effort of the race catching up to her. "Come on..."
The stallion is at the tip of her tail now, and slowly moves next to her.
She looks over to him, her eyes wide as he continues focusing on the end. She squints as she tries to force enough magic for the winning burst.
Nothing.
The pets cheer as Rhino crosses the finish line half a pony in front of Gel. The two skid to a halt, both panting as the pets run over and jump onto their legs excitedly.
She groans softly, resting her chin on the ground. "...congratulations, love...you're the first to beat me at any competition..." Her tone is upset, but the smile on her lips shows that there are no hard feelings.
He crouches down and nuzzles her lovingly. "Hey... you saw how close it was. If any circumstances had been different, it could have gone either way."
"...maybe...we don't really know that..." She slowly gets up, ignoring the burning in her legs. "...what I do know...is that I owe you that favor..." She giggles, gently kissing him. "...and here I was going to ask if you would let me name our first filly..." She sighs, shaking her head.
He tilts his head. "You know you can still do that right? I had preliminary names for the other two, but since the pink one was your wish, I would have asked you first anyway." He boops her nose. "You know we don't have to race to ask favors."
She blushes softly, embarrassed. "...I-I guess we don't..." She shakes one of her legs, trying to regain feeling in it. "...and I definitely don't want to do that, again..."
He nods. "Well, it's a good thing everything else we're doing today is relaxing, huh?" He motions to the pets and they are start climbing aboard him.
"Definitely." She smiles and takes a step before falling on her rump. "...well...at least it's not my face..." She tries to move her hindlegs, frowning softly. "...I can't move them...again..." She groans, covering her face with a hoof. "...why does this happen to me?"
He shrugs as the pets all climb off for a moment while he scoops her onto his back. They all climb right back on once she is settled. "Maybe you just know how to use them so well, that you use them up." He starts on the way home.
"...maybe...all I know is that I really could use a cooldown..." She gently nuzzles his neck, giggling quietly. "...I think that lake we've been to before sounds good, right about now..."
He smiles as he turns around to look at her. "Well, what a coincidence. That's where we're going once we drop these three off."
She smiles back, nodding cordially. "I can't wait."
***
The two drop off the pets and pack up pretty much everything one would need for a trip to the lake. Essentially, this means towels, Gel's swimsuit, some drinks, and some snacks. Rhino leads them on the familiar off-the-beaten-path trail, and soon they are within a few minutes walk of their destination.
She glances around, nervous. "...Rhino? Do you think it's safe, now?"
He looks around as he thinks. "Hmm... yeah, I'd say so. We're a good 15 minutes of walking from the path if you know where you're going. Plus, like I said, no pony comes out this far. I actually see hoofprints from the last time I've been to the lake, every time I go, and there's never any extra."
She sighs in relief, quickly changing back into her normal form. She flutters her wings slightly. "...so, before we get there, I wanted to ask..." She playfully bumps his side. "...when did you want me to fulfill my part of the agreement?"
He flicks her with his tail in retaliation. "Whenever you feel like it, I suppose. Sooner rather than later of course."
"What?" She smirks, pulling ahead of him a bit. "Are you afraid somepony might walk in on your reward?"
He tilts his head. "Why? Plan on trying to seduce me in the middle of the street?"
She rolls her eyes, sighing softly. "...no...I plan on doing it at the lake..." She looks over her shoulder at him, winking teasingly. "...I think I have an idea on how to do it with what we have..."
He forms a small blush even as he ponders this. "Hmm... I look forward to seeing how you manage to be the one who pushes things forward when I'm the one who's the swimming instructor."
She giggles, brushing her tail along his cheek. "You'll just have to wait and see, love."
They make their way through the last bushes and onto the sandy beach part of the lake. "Well, I don't think it'll be too long..." He shrugs off the bags and starts digging through them. He pulls out the two biggest towels and lays them out flat on the sand, prime lounging position.
Meanwhile, she slips into her swimsuit, carefully snapping it closed before moving to her towel, smiling softly at him. "...thank you..."
He beams at her as he sets the bags in between the towels. "You're very welcome. So... how did you want to do these lessons? Shall we just start heading in the water?"
She waves a hoof at him, rolling over onto her back. "...in a minute...I just want to relax for a bit..."
He lays down on his own towel as he remarks to her. "Okay, but if you start giving me other excuses to not get in the water, just know that I'm onto you."
"I understand..." She yawns softly, shaking her head a bit. "...just gonna...close my eyes..." She slowly starts to drift off, enjoying the warmth of the sun.
He reaches over and grips her hoof lightly to try and keep her awake. "Hey, don't go to sleep okay? I don't know the next time we'll have time like this, so I would rather you not just sleep through it, okay?"
She blinks her eyes open, looking up at him. "...you're right..." She sighs, slowly sitting up. She rubs her eyes with a hoof, trying to wake herself up. "...s-so...what is the first thing, again?"
He simply points a hoof at the lake. "Water."
"...oh, yes..." She turns her gaze to it, scowling slightly. "...my mortal enemy..."
He gets up and holds out his tail to her. "Come on, I'll walk in with you and be right there the whole time."
She sighs but smiles up at him, standing up and entwining her tail in his. "...well then, love...let's get our hooves wet..."
He leads them into the shallows, the water splashing around their hooves. Adjusting his grip on the shifting bottom, he looks back to check on her.
She's trembling, in intense discomfort from the cold water in her hooves' holes. "...t-this is great...s-spending time with you...w-why is this water so cold?"
He looks up, noticing the tree over them. "Because we're in the shade. Here, follow me." He leads her into slightly deeper water, about the height of the bath water and with a direct line to the sun, so the water is pleasantly warm but not near as hot as the bath was.
She pouts, splashing a hoof in the water. "...it's still a little cold..."
He raises an eyebrow at her, splashing the water around himself before looking back at her. "It's actually normal temperature... maybe it's a body temperature difference... either way, I'm sure you'll get used to it once we get moving. Ok, so, first things first, you need to get comfortable with the water being higher up on you." He crouches down in the water so that it now goes over his back, leaving only his head and neck above it. "Try this."
She sits down in the water, smiling softly. "Is this good?"
His tail, still entwined with hers, tugs once. "Come on now... all the way. You can do it."
She frowns, fervently shaking her head. "No. There is no way I'm getting my head closer to that lake."
"This is why we came here love, to work on that." He lets go of her tail and swims around her, his neck and head the only things above water the whole time. "We're not going any deeper than this today, we're not rushing. It's just like the bath yesterday. You were moving around fine then, right?"
"Yes." She speaks slowly, an ear twitching slightly. "But then there was the option to drain the body of water just in case." She motions around them with a hoof. "I don't see how we can do that with this place."
He sighs as he comes to a stop next to her. "Look, love, it isn't even that deep." He stands all the way up to where the water doesn't even reach his body, then crouches down until his is lying on the bottom, his head and half his next still poking out of the water. "I'm not even asking you to lie down like I am, just bend your legs a little." He leans over and kisses her on the neck. "Please?"
She whines but does as he asks, bending her forelegs so her upper body slowly lowers into the water. "...this feels so strange...I-I'm not sure if I like the feeling of wet cloth on my body or not..."
"Swimsuit cloth doesn't really get wet that much love, water really just sort of runs off it. It only really soaks in after a while. Besides, this is what it's made for. That and to make you look beautiful." He gets in front of her and starts backing away towards the shore, going through the sunny patches instead of the shady ones. "Think you can follow me back to the shallows? You have to stay as far down in the water as I am as we go, okay?"
She blushes softly, slowly paddling along after him. "...I suppose...it shouldn't be that hard..." She bites her lip, nervously trying to keep up with him.
"It only gets easier, love." The water gets shallower and shallower as the two move, meaning it goes lower and lower on them until it only goes about a third of the way up their legs and they are pretty much walking. "There see? That wasn't bad."
She smiles softly at him, shivering a little. "I-I guess not...I-I could do without the cold, though..." She starts to move forward but stops, quickly sitting back down in the water with a vibrant blush.