Downhill (AKA 'Rarity is Really Good at Skiing')
Rarity is actually athletic
It was a cold, blustery day in Equestria. Winter had begun, hence the bad weather. Large, dark clouds filled the regularly blue sky, blocking out any sunlight that would have shone onto the ponies’ faces. The wind howled like a pack of wolves at the moon. Little fillies and even some mares and stallions huddled in their beds, frightened by the shrieking noises coming from the outside world. But most families were undoubtedly sitting by their fireplaces; the chimneys on their roofs puffing out smoke, a sign of life within. Stories about Windigoes and evil winter spirits were exchanged to warn their fillies and colts about the importance of harmony and getting along.
The storm raged on.
Weak sunlight filtered in through the windows of many, waking them from their slumber. Foals leaped from their beds, running through the house once they saw what was outside piled against their houses. Hats, scarves, and boots were thrown about in the haste to get ready. Fillies and colts across the land pushed their doors open in excitement; wings buzzing, hooves stomping and shuffling, horns sparking—as they gazed at the wonderland before them.
One small orange pegasus threw herself off her doorstep, wings fluttering. She landed on a large drift of whiteness, her light body still not being enough to push through the already hardened layer. Her light purple eyes sparkled in excitement, a grin on her face.
“Snow day!” came the hyper pitched cry.
At once the whole population of foals was outside. Snowballs were thrown, some striking their targets and some not.
A certain purple unicorn awoke at the war cry.
Twilight Sparkle sat up in bed. She stretched and then pushed the dark comforter off her body, gathering herself. She stood up and walked over to the window. She threw the shutters open.
A snowball made contact with her face.
“Come on, Twilight! It’s a snow day!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed from outside the window. Twilight shook her head to clear the snow from her face. Squinting at the near blinding whiteness of the sparkling snow crystals, she glanced at the happy families playing outside. Dash flew up to Twilight’s window and grabbed both her shoulders. Before the unicorn could object, she was yanked out her own window and dropped into the snow below her.
“Join the fun!” Pinkie Pie squealed, finishing making a snow-angel. She sat up and admired her creation, a broad smile on her face. Snow clung to her back.
“It does look fun girls, but I have some studies I need to attend to,” Twilight explained. She brushed the snowflakes from her purple pajamas and attempted to back towards the library door. Applejack abruptly appeared from behind her and slung an arm over her shoulders.
“Aw, come on, sugar cube! It’ll be fun,” the earth pony tried to persuade.
“Hey! I have an idea! Why don’t we go skiing?” Rarity suggested. Five pairs of eyes turned to her. “What?” the fashionista asked. “I can enjoy physical activity sometimes. Besides, I was quite the champ in high school. It’s a sport that never gets your fur and clothes dirty, as it’s played on snow. Quite right, aren’t I Fluttershy, darling?”
Fluttershy glanced up from the ground. “Oh, um, yes, Rarity.” She nodded.
“Then it’s settled. We go skiing!” announced the white unicorn with a firm clap of her hands, a content smile on her face.
“Here, Fluttershy, care for some help?” Rarity asked the shy pegasus, who was currently trying—yet failing—to get her skis on.
The ponies were currently sitting outside the ski lodge where they had gotten their boots and skis. The place was called ‘Hoof Hills.’ There was a small, flatter hill—for the beginners—a few medium sized hills—for average skiers—and a series of larger, tougher slopes for advanced tricksters. They were complete with jumps, sharp turns, and steep angles. Different ponies dotted the hills, some snowboarding while others skied.
The Mane Six were all outfitted in colors corresponding to their fur, cutie marks, and other features. Each of them was also wearing pair of goggles with a video camera built into the center.
“Yes, please,” Fluttershy answered, holding out her hooves. Rarity quickly and efficiently tightened her friend’s boots, attached the skis, and helped her stand up. The pegasus took one step and pitched forward. Rarity caught her and held her small hand. Fluttershy squeaked, legs shaking.
“Oh, dear, don’t worry. You’ll soon get the hang of it. Everypony’s first try is a little wobbly. Just follow me, okay?” Rarity didn’t let go of the delicate yellow hand and led Fluttershy to what was known as the ‘Bunny Hill.’ Rainbow Dash hovered above the duo, legs tucked under her to prevent from clunking anyone in the head with her red, blue, and yellow snowboard. Applejack followed comfortably after with Pinkie Pie—a dark pink snowboard under her arm—and Twilight next to her. The shaking unicorn held out her arms for balance, a grimace on her face. She was pulling herself forward with a pair of poles. Fluttershy also carried a set. The other four ponies were without.
“Don’t worry, Twi’. Just do what we do,” Applejack said, green eyes sparkling. “This is really your first time?”
Twilight nodded stiffly. “Y-yes. And I’m really not sure what to expect.”
“Well, here’s the basics: keep your hooves pointed forward to go faster. Slant them inwards to slow down. Think of it as French fries and pizza.”
“Oh, I get it,” Twilight said, nodding again, this time less shaky.
“Now, when we get up to the pull rope, just grab ‘hold of a handle and it’ll do all the work for ya. When you get to the top, let go of the rope and slide over to the side. When you’re ready, just go forward and your skis and gravity will finish the motion. Once you reach the bottom, just think pizza,” Applejack directed. “And remember, don’t cross your skis. That ensures failure 99.9% of the time.” When Twilight was about to respond, a shrill squeak was heard from the front of the line.
Fluttershy was holding onto a tow rope, on her way to the top. She had her eyes closed, wings firmly clasped to her back. She was shaking violently, but hadn’t fallen over yet. Rarity clapped her hands.
“Good job, darling!” Rarity called. “I’ll meet you at the top in a minute!” She grabbed ahold of the next handle and hung onto it.
Truthfully, she, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack were only going down the Bunny Hill to demonstrate how it was done to Fluttershy and Twilight. Once they were sure the two had gotten the hang of it, they could go do different hills.
When Applejack reached the top—she had been the last pony in the group up—Rarity patted Fluttershy on the back.
“Sweetness, would you like me to go first, to show you?” the unicorn asked. Fluttershy nodded. “Alright.” Rarity inched forward and starting sliding down the hill at a slow pace to let them see her every move. She swerved in between the numerous poles dotting the tiny hill, using nothing but her own body weight to move.
“T-that doesn’t l-look so bad, I-I guess,” Fluttershy admitted fearfully. She felt a hand squeeze hers—Pinkie Pie—and smiled. She propelled herself forward with the poles and began sliding down the incline. Her bright pink hair flowed behind her in a cloud from where it stuck out from her yellow hat. She kept her skis pointing inward, just as Rarity had told her. Her eyes were squeezed shut.
The fashionista clapped her hands together and cheered. “Go Fluttershy! Look, you’re doing it!”
The closed eyes of the pegasus popped open. She looked down at her hooves, then around her. She smiled. “I’m doing it! I’m doing it!”
Once Fluttershy reached the bottom—greeted by a hug from Rarity—Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie went down together, swerving around each other and crossing paths. As they stopped, a huge explosion of snow rained down upon the two ponies. Applejack was next. She glided mildly down, smiling contentedly. When it was finally Twilight’s turn, she felt fairly confident. The unicorn stepped forward and began the short journey to the bottom. It was only when she realized she was going to run straight into a different pony that she panicked.
“Applejack! You never told me how to turn!” she shrieked, picking up her hooves. The group could only watch as the unicorn’s skis went skidding out from under her. Twilight landed on her butt, hands on the ground behind her, clawing at the snow. Her horn quickly lit up. She picked herself up and placed herself on her hooves.
Applejack ran forward. “Are you okay, sugar cube?” She grasped Twilight’s arm.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. Wish I had remembered magic before I fell. My butt hurts,” Twilight huffed. She rubbed at her backside. Applejack smirked and told her how to steer.
“Okay, got it. I think I’ve got it mostly down, but I’m going to practice a bit more on the Bunny Hill first, I think,” Twilight said.
“Since you and Fluttershy seem to be good with this, Pinkie and I are going to head over to the advanced hills. Cosmic Wing is the most awesome and skilled course here. We’re going to go ‘board it. Seeyah,” Rainbow Dash told them. She picked Pinkie Pie—who was smiling and waving, board hanging off her left hoof—up and flew off.
Pinkie snorted. “Byyyyeee girls!” The puffs of hair that stuck out from under her hat danced in the gentle breeze.
Rarity smiled. “Fluttershy, do you. .?”
“Oh, no, you can go. I’m good with Twilight. You and Applejack go have fun somewhere more for you,” Fluttershy responded. Rarity grinned, pulling her goggles over her eyes like the rest of them, and started off towards the Cosmic Wing with Applejack following her.
“One, two, three, go!” Rainbow Dash announced, taking off. Pinkie Pie followed right after, giggling. The two weaved around the various obstacles, getting air from the snow ramps. Two jumps were positioned on either side of the path, and the two mares nodded at each other. They headed to the opposite ramps and met each other in the air. They high-fived and landed. As they grinned, a white and purple blur shot past them.
Rarity was leaving a bright trail of her colors, curly mane flowing behind her. She held her arms behind her, getting as small as possible. She leaned forward as she approached a large jump. The unicorn shot up, doing a series of twirls and spins, her legs and arms straight. She landed with practiced air, flashing a glance back at the other two mares. She grinned, teeth sparkling, then headed down a different path through a swath of leafless trees.
Applejack was a short ways behind Pinkie and Dash, going with not nearly as much speed or talent as the fashionista. She did a quick flip on a jump but landed slightly off, nearly tipping to one side.
Rainbow and Pinkie decided to show them what they were made of. The two grabbed each other’s hands, keeping their speed. Pinkie, being the heavier mare, threw her weight off to one side. Rainbow was pulled with the force, sending them into a dizzying spin. They lost no speed and launched themselves off a ramp, rotating. A dazzling twirl of colors flew from behind them. As they approached the ground, they pushed away from each other, landing with perfection.
Fluttershy sat with Twilight on the chair lift that would bring them to the top of the intermediate hills. The two were better than the Bunny Hills, so decided to go to the next level. Fluttershy was too weak of a flier to carry them all the way, but Twilight was content to sit with her friend. They reached the top and slid off.
“Together now, okay?” Twilight confirmed. She looked over at the pegasus. Fluttershy gave her a reassuring nod. The unicorn looked forward again, a look of determination on her face. “Alright—one, two, three, go!”
They duo pushed off, using their poles. They glided down the gentle slope with ease. The snow was smooth and rid of any significant flaws, making travel easy. It wasn’t until Twilight began to get confident that things went downhill.
“Come on, Flutters! Let’s take this way!” the unicorn exclaimed back to her feathered friend, who was trailing after. Twilight picked up speed, causing Fluttershy to also.
“Um, Twilight, are you sure we can do this? It looks a bit hard,” Fluttershy pointed out as they approached a sharper curve.
“Don’t worry! I got this. I’m nearly one hundred percent sure I can make—”
Oops.
Twilight had started to slow down, pointing her hooves inward, when she accidently crossed the skis over one another. The unicorn lost her balance and flew forward, skis rocketing out from under her body. They snapped off her boots and skidded away to the side. Twilight dropped like a ton of bricks, spinning along the snow. It had happened so fast—plus the fact she had been looking off to one side to see Fluttershy—that she hadn’t had enough time to use her magic.
Fluttershy couldn’t stop in time so instead opened her wings. She hovered above the downed unicorn, a shocked expression on her face. She might’ve heard something crack.
Twilight lay in a hospital bed, an agitated look on her face. She had her arms crossed; one leg held up in a sling above the bed. Five ponies were gathered around her.
“So, Twilight, did you learn a lesson from this?” Applejack questioned, a slight smirk on her face.
“Yes,” the unicorn answered.
“And that would be?” The earth pony tilted her head slightly.
“I don’t like skiing.” Five faces fell, a collective groan ringing around the room. “Also, Rarity is awesome at skiing.”