A Rootin' Tootin' Good Time?
"Ya sure you're up for it, Rarity?" Applejack had asked when the decision had been announced. "I'm sure I could get one of my cousins to participate with me instead."
Rarity would hear nothing of it, her decision had already been made. "It's the least I can do after how many times you've given me advice or helped me out of a tight spot. And you needn't worry about the boutique, Yona is proving to be a fantastic understudy. I'm sure she and Sandbar can manage without me for a day or two."
"But you ain't ever performed in a rodeo before!" Applejack had replied with concern.
"Well I guess it's a good thing I know somepony who can help me learn." The fashionista had declared. And that was that. The majestic unicorn would be seeking out her most athletic friend for an unusual request.
Rainbow Dash took the news as well as Applejack, surprisingly. It was Rarity's good fortune to catch the soon to be called back into action Wonderbolt just after one of her power naps. "You're actually participating in a rodeo with Applejack?" She'd blinked in surprise. "Are you sure you're not secretly Ocellus playing a trick on me or something?"
Rarity resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Ocellus knows me too well to pull something like this off and we both know it. My intentions are sincere. After all, this rodeo is for charity."
Rainbow was still uncertain. "Look, I'm sorry I had to back out on Applejack at the last minute, but it's not my fault. When HQ calls all Wonderbolts must answer," And she was quick to ponder. "Why couldn't one of our other friends do it? I mean besides Twilight since obviously she's too busy ruling."
The unicorn with a pristine white coat already had the explanation ready. "Starlight is busy with the school, Pinkie Pie is out of town on a date with Cheese Sandwich and Fluttershy's sanctuary is hosting the Equestrian Society for the Preservation of Rare Creatures' annual symposium. Rather than have one of her cousins from Celestia knows where try to drop everything and come here, I figured it would save Applejack a lot of worry if I stepped up instead."
The pegasus mare seemed to be satisfied with the explanation, but her eyes still reflected looks of concern and confusion. "And you've sought me out because..."
"-Why, because I very well couldn't ask Applejack to teach me how when she's already working herself to the bone trying to get everything set up for the rodeo. You're the next best thing, Rainbow Dash." Rarity pointed out.
Rainbow seemed to swallow hard. She was still anything but convinced. Yet she knew Rarity was incredibly skilled in the art of persuasion, having seen it for herself multiple times. "...Well, I'm still not sure this is a 'good' idea. My last coaching experience didn't go so well. But I guess if you're determined to go through with it, I can try to teach you what I know about rodeos. Not enough to be as good as Applejack or I, but enough to where you won't look like a complete fool performing in one."
At that the fashionista's eyes lit up like stars! "Splendid! I shall simply slip into a more acceptable attire and meet you at whatever location works best for you."
"Open fields on the outskirts of town in ten minutes," The brash speedster replied as she began to slip into her usual instructor and coach mentality. "Don't be late."
"You won't regret this, I promise." Rarity declared. And with the matter settled she trotted back to the boutique to more or less "look the part". There was no point asking herself what she'd gotten herself into, she already knew and nothing was going to change her mind. "It'll be difficult, but for the sake of my friendships it'll be worth it!" She thought to herself!
Rainbow Dash (wearing a whistle and her signature coach's cap) was most surprised when Rarity not only arrived at the agreed upon destination before the ten minutes had expired, but had also slipped into an attire that only Applejack had seen before (though she'd subsequently mentioned it to her friends): A light yellow hat with pink ribbons and pink and purple polka dots adorned Rarity's head, completely covering up her horn. Across her chest and hind quarters was a repeating pattern of what appeared to be white flowers with purple dots in the middle. And a pair of white, high heel boots with pink on the tops. The only thing that was different was that the basket Applejack had described being part of the attire last time was nowhere to be seen.
Rarity adjusted her hat with the tip of one of her boots, clearly opting not to use her magic even though it would've probably made the task easier. Her sparkling blue eyes reflected a look of fiery determination that for her of all ponies was surprising given what she was about to undergo. "I am ready!" She boldly declared for all to hear!
Rainbow eyed the attire with suspicion and skepticism. "Rarity, why in the wide world of Equestria are you wearing that?"
"It was the best I could do on short notice. Functionable yet fashionable," The fashionista explained her decision as if she'd planned for such a line of questioning. "The only other attire I had on me was the 'Simple Ways' outfit. The less said about that number the better."
Rainbow didn't comment. She'd seen that tacky outfit and had learned afterward from Applejack what had led Rarity to even consider making such a thing in the first place. Having done plenty of things herself that she didn't like to be reminded of she decided it best not to reopen an old wound. "Well, alright. I guess that'll work. But it's only fair to warn you, I intend to put you through your paces. I'm not expecting you to become an expert but if you're gonna take my place you've gotta be at least decent enough to keep up with Applejack," And she was quick to warn. "It's not too late to change your mind and back out. I won't blame you if you do."
The unicorn with a still pristine white coat (though it likely would not remain in such condition for very long) showed no signs that she was concerned about such conditions. "I would expect nothing less than a full workout from you, darling. Do your worst if you think I can handle it!"
Taking the statement as reassurance, the brash speedster nodded her head and brought her whistle close to her lips. "Okay then. Just don't say I didn't warn you," She cleared her throat. "Now then, we'll start things off nice and simple: Let's see you run a couple of laps in those boots and really break 'em in!"
Rarity waved a hoof. "Really? Sounds like you're already going easy on me. I expected something far more complex."
"You gotta master the basics before you can try to do what the pros do," Rainbow replied. "That's how it works for the Wonderbolts, and that's how it works for rodeos or any kind of extreme sport. You don't jump into the deep end before you know how to swim. We'll get you warmed up, and then we'll go from there," With that, she blew her whistle. "Now get going! You keep on running until I say you can stop!"
"Clearly, Spitfire has taught her well in how to yell and blow a whistle." The fashionista thought as she took off as fast as her hooves would let her. All she knew for sure was that she was going to work up a sweat.
It felt like forever had passed for Rarity before Rainbow blew the whistle again, allowing the fashionista to stop. How was it possible she'd already almost exhausted herself just running in circles in her high heeled boots?
"You okay, Rarity?" Rainbow asked with concern as she flew down to her friend.
The fashionista did her best to downplay her exhaustion. "I'm a little bit winded, but I should be fine once I've caught my breath." She paused to wipe the sweat from her brows with one of her boots.
Rainbow Dash wasn't fooled for a second. "I know that's not your best, Rarity. You've gotta work up your endurance fast if you want to even hope to be in the rodeo. Applejack's going to set just as frantic a pace, and you've gotta be able to keep up!"
"Seriously, you and Applejack make it look so easy," Rarity found herself unable to complain. "I know you're more experienced than I am, but there's no way I'm in this bad a shape."
The brash speedster quickly replied. "You can still quit, you know. It's only going to get harder from here. And I'm not about to work you 'til you drop. Either shape up or go home, because in your current state you're not gonna last much longer!"
Rarity stomped a hoof down in protest, kicking up some dust when her boot made contact with the ground. She even briefly blew steam from her nostrils. "Don't even think about telling me to give up! I promised Applejack I'd compete with her in that rodeo and I meant it! I didn't get to where I was because I gave up as soon as things became difficult. If I can open and manage three successful boutiques, I should be more than capable of getting into shape for a rodeo."
"Rodeos aren't like boutiques, Rarity. You've got to be quick on your hooves and have the endurance to match," The pegasus mare instructed to her friend. "You and I both know Applejack won't take it easy just because you ask her to, and neither would you want that. If you're not willing to give up, then you need to dedicate yourself one hundred and twenty percent to building those skills! And I don't care if that's not mathematically possible!"
Hearing those words only reinforced Rarity's determination and commitment. "I can only get better if I keep at it! As long as you're willing to keep coaching me, I'm going to keep giving it all I've got!"
Rainbow smiled as she flew back up. "That's just the sort of talk I like to hear. Now let's see you put your money where your mouth is! Ready?!"
The fashionista firmly nodded. "You didn't even have to ask."
So Rainbow blew the whistle once more and Rarity took off, forcing herself to run faster than she had ever run before even though her body screamed at her to stop!
When the whistle signaled again to stop, the fashionista was sweating furiously and every fiber in her being ached. Her attire had long since accumulated a ton of dust and dirt that stained it. Even her curly mane and tail were starting to become ever so slightly disheveled. Yet all she could think about was how she could still do better. There was no reason for running to give her so much trouble.
"Not bad, Rarity. But not exactly good either," Rainbow Dash frowned. "You're improving, but you're still wearing yourself out way too easily."
"What is it I'm still doing wrong?!" Rarity complained as she kicked at the ground again! "If I can't even get the hang of running, there's no way I'll be able to do any of those crazy stunts Applejack always likes to pull off!"
The brash speedster shook her head and adjusted her coach's cap. "You can only get better by constantly practicing. If you work yourself up to your limits you'll eventually break through them. The whole reason I started with running is because you're gonna need to get good at it if you want to do anything else in a rodeo. Until you do there's no point trying any stunts."
The unicorn mare frowned. "Really? Not even a few basic rope tricks? They can't be that hard to pull off, can they?"
What appeared to be a smirk formed on Rainbow's face as she flew down and landed in front of her fashion oriented friend. "You think so, huh? Then why don't we put it to a little test? Try to lasso me!"
Rarity agreed without hesitation as she lit up her horn, her hat rising ever so slowly to reveal a rope underneath it. "Good thing I was able to convince Applejack to let me borrow hers for practice." She declared, before taking the rope into her hooves and with the aid of her magic hurled it right at her pegasus friend!
The victory was short lived, however, as Rainbow (without warning) started tugging and twisting all about not unlike a wild animal! And as she did so her intent was quite clear, to slip the rope off and break free.
Rarity held onto the rope with all the strength she had, even using her magic for good measure. Yet she soon found that she was powerless to keep Rainbow Dash from dragging her about.
When at last the pegasus mare broke free, the fashionista was flung forward and fell face first into the dirt! Luckily, Rarity was far more dirty than she was hurt. And she stood up, brushing off the dirt as best she could.
The pegasus with a rainbow mane could only lightly scoff at the display. "See? Lassoing's harder than it looks. And if you were competing in an actual rodeo you'd probably get hurt or flung into something worse than dirt: Mud."
Rarity fought back a grimace at the mental notion of such a thing. "Okay, so even basic rope tricks are beyond me at this point," A deep sigh escaped her lips. "If not for the fact that I never back out of a promise to a friend, I would seriously be wondering why I'm even bothering right now. It doesn't seem like I'm cut out for rodeos at all."
"You're expecting way too much out of yourself for a first timer," Rainbow responded. "Just try to focus on one thing at a time for now. With enough practice you'll get the basics down pat, hopefully before the rodeo gets under way. So why don't we call it a wrap for now and we'll pick up where we left off tomorrow."
Reluctantly, Rarity replied with a rough response. "Oh, very well. The rodeo isn't until the end of the week anyway. I can only get better with practice, I suppose."
The next day's practice session was more of the same. At first it didn't seem to either pony like Rarity was making much progress. But after about two hours or so it was starting to become noticeable that the fashionista was at least appearing to improve. She still tired out easily, but running in small bursts didn't seem to be as much of a hassle as it had been for her the day before.
Rainbow Dash appeared to be impressed since she flashed a smile at her fashion friend. "Nice work so far, Rarity. Your running game still needs some work but you're a lot better than you were when we started."
"You'd better not just be saying that. Because I really don't feel like I'm getting better so much as I'm not getting worse," The fashionista replied while she was resting and catching her breath.
"I'm being sincere," Rainbow declared. "We can work on running more later and maybe a rope trick or two if we have time. But right now I wanna work on something that requires you to be a good runner: Fence jumping."
Rarity blinked in surprise. "How exactly will we do that? I can't see any fences or anything similar anywhere around here."
The pegasus mare didn't answer right away, she just zoomed away in a rainbow colored blur and returned shortly with several small hurdles. "Courtesy of the School of Friendship's gym. I reckon the students won't miss them for a couple of hours," She set to work on setting up the hurdles, trying to place them far enough apart for Rarity to have time to get into position for each one but close enough to make that window of time small. "Let's just see how you do on your first attempt and we'll go from there, okay?"
Despite feeling the onset of anxiety just looking at how the hurdles seemed to spaced right next to one another in sequence, Rarity swallowed hard and grit her teeth. "No time like the present I guess. Here goes... something." And after a little bit of prep work to get herself into what she thought was a good starting position, the fashionista trotted towards the first hurdle. Already, her beautiful blue eyes were eyeing the hurdles yet to come and she was thinking in her mind how best to try and approach each one.
Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the majestic mare with a pristine white coat saw the first hurdle fast approaching and judging her moment she made a rather large leap. Would she clear it in time? The result was soon clear when she heard a loud clang and briefly looked back to see her back left leg make contact with the hurdle. She didn't have time to look back and see what happened, though, because the next hurdle was coming up right that very second!
Rarity jumped, but again her back left leg made contact with the hurdle. She didn't even wait for the heels of her boots to touch the ground all the way before jumping again, because the third hurdle was already upon her! This time she just barely cleared it with all four hooves. And there was no time to celebrate since the fourth hurdle was next, then the fifth, then the sixth and so on all the way up to the tenth one!
The unicorn mare felt she was basically on autopilot the whole way through the rest of the hurdles, clearing all but the last one by the narrowest of margins. Owing to a miscalculation on her part she made the jump for the last hurdle a split second too soon. Not only did she not clear it, she knocked it to the ground with a crash! And just like that the adrenaline wore off and Rarity felt the brunt of each impact on her poor hooves. "Oh, that was not good!" She collapsed to the ground.
Rainbow quickly zoomed over for an inspection! "You'll be fine. Maybe sore for a while but nothing looks out of place," Then she looked at the hurdles. "You actually did better than I expected. I didn't think you'd make it past hurdle number three."
"I suppose that's adequate for a first timer?" Rarity hopefully asked.
"Maybe, but in a real rodeo that would impress nopony," Rainbow Dash shook her head in disapproval. "And jumping over hurdles isn't the same as jumping over fences. They may look the same but there are differences. If you can't clear hurdles without knocking them over, fences will trip you up for sure. And you'll be lucky if you don't break anything after messing up enough jumps on fences."
The fashionista could only frown anew. And what was worse was that her body was already in such a state that she knew she couldn't possibly continue. Two days of practice and it felt like she was making very little headway. Would practice alone really be enough to be at least decent?
A process similar to the first two days more or less repeated itself for the rest of the week as the rodeo drew closer and closer. Rarity would spend what free time she had training under Rainbow Dash, and each day seemed to yield subtle yet significant improvements.
Whereas on day one the fashionista couldn't run for more than a few minutes at most without exhausting herself, by week's end she was able to hold out for just over half an hour. And whereas the first time she had tried the hurdles she'd just barely cleared most of them, on her last attempt she could jump over all ten without knocking even one down (albeit just barely for the first and last ones).
Rope tricks were not so easily learnt. Although Rarity's skill with the rope did improve with each session, she could hardly call herself anywhere close to an expert in them and she felt woefully vulnerable each time she tried to lasso anything that could move.
At last, the time came for Rainbow to give a final assessment on her friend's skills. "Well, Rarity, this has certainly been an interesting experience." She declared on the final day before the rodeo and after practice had ended.
"You think I'll at least pass for okay at the event tomorrow?" Rarity hopefully inquired. "Even if it's for charity I would still want the crowds that see me to experience a quality show on my end."
The rainbow maned pegasus paused and seemed to bite her lip. "Applejack would probably be the better judge of that, she knows more about rodeos than I do. Even at my best I can never beat her," After she paused for a few seconds she declared. "For a first timer, I think you'll do alright. You only really scratched the surface when it comes to rodeo performances and what you can do."
The fashionista fought the urge for her lip to quiver. "Is that supposed to be a compliment or something?"
"Well, the thing that impressed me the most wasn't your skills," Rainbow Dash answered. "But given the tight deadline I wasn't expecting you to be as good as me or even close. What I admire most though is that you didn't give up. I kept expecting you to do so as soon as it proved difficult or soon as it became painful or dirty. But every time I thought you'd quit for sure, you wouldn't think of it. You'd just come back the next day and try again."
Rarity flipped her mane with a hoof. "I very well couldn't back out after I promised Applejack I'd perform with her. I suppose that'll teach me to make promises before I know for sure what I'm getting into. I expected rodeos to require a lot of skills, but I never imagined those skills were nearly that difficult. Even knowing you and Applejack do these a lot, I was convinced I could at least get somewhere to your level."
The brash speedster let out a chuckle. "Trust me, we may make it look easy but it's far from easy. And before Applejack taught me I was just as bad as you were, probably, maybe a little bit better."
"And your point is?" The unicorn mare arched an eyebrow upward ever so slightly in suspicion.
Running a hoof through the back of her neck Rainbow tried to explain. "You did better than I would've thought possible considering all the circumstances. It's really remarkable that you kept on going. That's the hallmark of a true athlete, to keep trying no matter what the odds. It's not always about winning, even though winning is a nice bonus. What matters is giving it your A game in everything you try. So long as you do that, you can't really go wrong."
Rarity nodded ever so slowly. "Fair enough. And I must say, for somepony who was unsure about her coaching skills after her most recent attempt, you did a pretty good job with me. So I do hope that helped you get your confidence back in that regard."
Rainbow appeared to nod back. "I think it did," Then she encouraged to her friend. "Now you go home and get a well deserved rest for tomorrow. I look forward to hearing just how well you do."
The fashionista tipped her hat before departing for home. "Will do, Rainbow Dash. You needn't worry yourself. You take care of that important Wonderbolts business and leave the rodeo to me."