The front door opened with a creak, and Daring Do stepped into her living room. She tossed off her saddlebags, watching as they bounced off the couch and onto the floor. She was too tired to care, though, and kept walking right out of the room. It was a short trip down the hall and through a door before her destination came into view. There it stood, white and gleaming, ready to ease her tensions away after a long day of adventuring.
She trotted right up to the bathtub, gazing lovingly at the well-shaped porcelain. Daring drew her hooves across the polished faucets, releasing a mixture of hot and cold water into the white tub. She held a foreleg under the flowing water, adjusting the faucets until the water was a comfortable temperature. Once she was satisfied with that, she stuffed a plug into the tub's drain. She turned away, retrieving a little cardboard box from under her sink and placing it on the floor for the time being.
It took a little extra time and effort to remove her work shirt, since the sweat in her coat had made her a bit sticky. She tossed the shirt aside once she was free of it, and rested her hat down on the edge of the sink. After that, it was just a matter of waiting for the tub to fill, and she examined her own body as she did so.
Her coat was sticky, spotted with bits of dirt, and had a few stains from grass. Her mane was an absolute mess, with grains of dirt and a few twigs stuck in it. Her tail wasn't any better. She did her best to brush out the sticks, and managed to shake some of the dirt out. She gave up after a few minutes, choosing to simply sit and rest until the tub was ready. It had been a long day, and she was already sore from her adventures.
Once the tub was about half-filled, she poured in some powder from the box. Bubbles started to form almost immediately, and she reached in to stir up some more. The feeling of the warm water was too much for her to resist any longer, and she climbed into the bathtub. Daring drew in a slow breath, and exhaled an even slower one as the warm water soothed her sore muscles. She stirred her hooves around, coaxing more bubbles from the mixture. After a moment, she shut off the flow of water and leaned back against the far side of the tub.
She moaned quietly as the water began soaking into her coat. She'd been looking forward to this moment since that weirdo priest pony had gotten eaten by cragadiles. That had been when she'd become sure that she was going to survive, and therefore could afford to think about things other than how she was going to get out of the situation alive. That had been seventeen hours ago, and she had barely slept on the airship ride home. Perhaps now would be the time for a nap, since she was back home and the world was safe again.
She slid a little lower, closing her eyes and letting the bubbly water do its job. She rubbed her forelegs together a little, scratched at her muzzle once, and then let herself relax completely.
That's when Daring felt it: she was not alone.
Her eyes slowly opened, turning to look at the bathroom door which she'd so carelessly left open. She waited, muscles tensed and ready to spring on her attacker, but nothing came. No creaking of floorboards, no hooves tapping against the wooden flooring, nothing. She was about to relax again, figuring her nerves were still a bit rattled from her recent adventure, when a rustling sound did reach her ears.
Daring whipped around to her left, toward the window that had been placed high on the wall. She caught just a glimpse of something as it dropped down away from the window. It was something brightly-colored, like a tropical bird, and the speed at which it retreated told Daring that it didn't want to be seen.
Daring shot from the tub, splattering bubbles and water onto the walls and floor, and pushed open the window to get a better look at the spy. She slid her head slowly through the now-open window, eyes darting in all directions to find the source of the disturbance. There, partly-shrouded in a shrub below the window, were a pair of rose-colored eyes staring back at her from under a rainbow-colored mane.
"Rainbow Dash," Daring whispered through gritted teeth. "What're you doing here?"
Dash popped out of the bush, an innocent smile on her face. "Hey, Daring. How ya doin'?"
"I was doing just fine. Why are you here?"
Rainbow rubbed one foreleg against the other, giggling slightly. "Oh, I was just in the neighborhood and thought, 'hey, I should go visit Daring Do and see if she needs my help with anything.'"
"Ah, of course," Daring said with a roll of her eyes. "Well, I don't need any help. Thanks for stopping by, see ya later." Daring pulled her head in, shut the window, and sighed. She watched the window from over her shoulder for a few seconds before getting back into the tub. To her lack of surprise, a multi-colored mane slowly rose up into view through the window. As soon as Dash's eyes came into sight, however, they widened suddenly and she quickly slid down and out of sight again.
Daring grumbled to herself as she grabbed a towel and a roll of tape. She taped the dull blue towel over the window. It was a little darker inside the bathroom, but Daring didn't mind. If anything, the dim room felt more relaxing. She tossed aside the tape and slid back into the tub, sighing once again as the warm water soaked into her coat.
Daring stretched her body slowly, letting out a tiny squeak as some of her joints cracked beneath the bubbles. A smile formed on her lips as she arched her back, dipping her gray-scale mane into the warm water. She rolled over, propping her chin against and wrapping her forehooves around the edge of the tub, water dripping slowly from her hooves to the floor as she spread her wings out beneath the bubbles.
Her eyes slid closed, only to snap open again as somepony knocked on her door. She groaned briefly, but decided to ignore it. She had a feeling she knew who was knocking, but whomever it was could always come back later. She closed her eyes again as more knocking came, but they opened just a crack as a muffled voice rang out through the tiny house.
"Hey, Daring Do! Are you okay in there? You're not answering the door!"
Daring just growled a little, continuing to ignore the sound of Rainbow Dash's voice.
"Are you hurt? Do you need me to come in and help you? Daring?"
Daring's ears perked up and her eyes widened. "Wait, is she gonna...."
"Don't worry, Daring! I'm comin'!"
Daring Do sprang from the tub, trailing water behind her as she galloped out of the bathroom. Her wet hooves sent her sliding into a wall before she could fling herself down the hallway and into the living room. "No, no, no no no no no!" Daring slammed her back against the door with a splat just in time to hold it shut as it shook in its frame.
"Ow!" came Rainbow's muffled voice again. "I think something's blocking the door! Hold on, I'll find another way in!"
"I'm fine!" Daring shouted back, hopping over to her window and flinging the curtains open. "Leave me alone!"
Rainbow stood just outside the window, a rock the size of her own head held in her hooves. She dropped the rock, pulling her forelegs up to her chest as she stared back at Daring. Her cheeks flushed a little bit as she said, "Oh, heh heh, okay then."
Daring took a moment to look down at her own bubble-covered body before shooting Rainbow a dirty look and shutting the curtains.
"Wait! Don't you wanna know why I was knocking?"
Daring parted the curtain just enough to glare one eye through the window.
Rainbow pointed a hoof toward an empty patch of dirt. "Your mailbox is missing."
"I don't have a mailbox," Daring growled back.
"Exactly! I think somepony stole it."
"No," Daring clarified, "I've never had a mailbox here. All my mail gets delivered to a P.O. box in Vanhoover."
"Oh," Rainbow said with a smile, "that explains it then. You sure you don't need anything? I could go get your mail for you."
Daring turned away, letting the curtain fall back into place, and trotted back to the bathroom. "That pony has some serious problems," she grumbled, climbing back into the bubbly tub. She sat for a moment, listening and waiting to see if Rainbow would knock again, but no sound came. She sighed with relief and let a little more hot water flow into the tub.
Figuring she was finally free of the incessant fangirl, Daring rubbed her right hoof along her left foreleg, gently massaging the sore spot where she'd clotheslined a hyena that afternoon. She switched to her other foreleg for a few seconds before sliding both hooves down past her barrel to rub her rear legs. Bucking baddies in the face all day would take a lot out of anypony, and it felt good to be able to finally let her aching muscles rest.
Daring froze suddenly as something touched her. Something she couldn't see was rubbing her shoulders. Without a second thought, Daring reached back, wrapped her hooves around something soft, and hurled it over her head and across the room. Daring leapt up, balancing on the edge of the tub, and prepared to pounce as the blue object skidded across the floor with a yelp.
Rainbow Dash came to a stop against the far wall and stood up. "Geeze, I was only trying to help," she said.
Daring plopped back down into the tub with a groan. "Darn it, Dash, don't sneak up on me!"
"Heh, sorry. You just looked kinda tense, like you might need a massage or something."
Daring wasn't about to admit that Rainbow was right. She gritted her teeth. "How did you even get in here?"
Rainbow pointed to the ceiling for a moment. "Your upstairs window was open. Don't worry, though, I closed it for you."
"Well, go open it again so you can leave."
Rainbow kicked at a floor a little. "A-are you sure you don't need anything?"
"Yes! I'm sure!" Daring shouted, splashing water onto the floor as she slapped her hooves down. "I don't need you to get my mail, or give me a massage, or anything! Why won't you just go away? What's wrong with you? Are you nuts?! Leave me alone, you weirdo!"
Daring buried her face in her wet hooves, breathing heavily and trying to calm down. She peeked out between her hooves as she heard a thump, and caught sight of Rainbow. Dash was sitting now, staring at the floor and looking as heartbroken as Daring had ever seen a pony look.
Daring just groaned in frustration. All she wanted to do was sit back and take a nice, relaxing bath. After the week she'd had, she was in need of some serious stress relief, and this crazed fangirl just wouldn't....
Daring pulled her head up from her hooves as an idea struck her. She slowly turned to Rainbow, who was still sitting there looking dejected. "You know what, Dash? I'm sorry. It's been a rough day, and I'm dirty and tired and grumpy. I just want some peace so I can clean up and relax a bit, okay?"
Dash's face brightened a little, and she stood back up. "So... we're cool?"
"Yeah, we're cool," Daring said with a chuckle, her tone softening further. "In fact, since you're already here, why don't you join me?"
Rainbow's jaw dropped and her eyes went wide. "What?"
Daring leaned forward against the tub, pushing her wet mane away from her face. "It's a long journey from your house, I'm sure, and I'll bet you could use a little break after such a trip, eh?"
Rainbow's wings unfurled themselves and started flapping excitedly as a grin to rival Pinkie Pie on her birthday spread across her face. "R-really? Seriously?!"
Daring nodded slowly, eyes half-lidded. "The water's nice and warm, and there's plenty of room in here for two."
Rainbow's wings were flapping so hard that she started to lift off the ground, and she was releasing an unintelligible string of squeaks and squeals with a few discernible words mixed in. "Oh my gosh! You- I can't believe- Daring- so awesome!" Rainbow stopped giggling as her eyes rolled back and she fell into a heap on the floor.
"Uh, Rainbow Dash?" Daring prodded the blue pegasus, but no response came. She was breathing, but not doing much else. "Hmm...."
Daring dragged the unconscious Rainbow Dash through the house, tossed her onto her living room couch, and then headed back to her bath. At least she might be able to get some peace now that Dash had fainted. She made sure to shut and lock the bathroom door behind her. Back into the tub she crawled, pouring in a little more warm water before she reclined against the porcelain. No more sounds, prying eyes, or fangirling disturbed her, and she drifted off into a light sleep.
