It was the middle of the summer in Ponyville, and the heat was getting to everypony. Anypony who wasn't indoors or under the shade of a tree was sunbathing. So not very many. Though there were still a few ponies outdoors carrying umbrellas or wearing hats, as they had to do some small errands.
One of the ponies out and about in town was Rarity, wearing a large sunhat and wearing sunglasses. She had to go to the market to pick up some carrots. She just hoped that they wouldn't turn to ash once she got there.
"I cannot believe this heat" the mare said out loud, exasperated "I can only imagine what Spikey Wikey is going through with his internal heat already present." Rarity didn't really mind her boyfriend's internal heat most of the time, especially during chilly nights, but she really hoped that he wouldn't pass out from heatstroke. Yeah I said boy instead of colt! If the rest of them can say girls then boys should be used too! A little more than halfway to the marketplace, Rarity caught sight of somepony that shocked the ever-loving daylights out of her and brought her jaw to the floor. Or rather, it was the appearance of the pony that shocked her, and with good reason.
The pony she saw was Rainbow Dash. And she was naked. More than usual.
Most of Rainbow Dash's coat was gone, save for the patches that had her cutie mark, leaving her "exposed" as it were. Her feathers were still present, obviously, so she could maintain her ability of flight. Her mane and tail were also cut shorter, resembling how they were when she was a filly. She was wearing her trademark sunglasses and strolling through town without a care in the world.
Rarity remained still, with her jaw on the floor as the Pegasus came closer. As Rainbow Dash didn't acknowledge Rarity, she figured she had her eyes closed behind the sunglasses while walking. She decided to make her presence known before Rainbow got away, which proved harder than she thought.
"A...you...coat...gone..." This wasn't sufficient enough to grab Rainbow's attention. "Rainbow Dash!" Rarity shrieked, finally catching Rainbow's attention.
"Oh, hey Rarity. Hot out huh?"
Rainbow Dash suddenly found herself forcefully pulled into an alley. It was then that Rainbow finally noticed Rarity's expression.
"What?"
"R-r-rainbow! What in the world happened to you?!"
"What?" Rainbow asked, slightly confused, raising up her sunglasses to her forehead.
"Your co...most of your coat! And your mane and tail!"
"Oh that" Rainbow acknowledged with a quick glance at her body "What of it?"
"Did Pinkie and or Applejack do this to you?! I mean I know they enjoy a good prank but this seems a bit too far!"
"Rarity relax!" Rainbow shouted "They didn't do this. But it would've been hilarious, I've gotta remember that for our next prank war."
"Well then how did this happen?!" Rarity asked flabbergasted.
"Oh I did this" Rainbow replied nonchalantly.
"I...uh...de...hi...ne...what?!"
"Yeah" Rainbow began to explain "All this heat was just getting to me so I shaved most of it off. You should try it out, it's really refreshing." Rainbow shook her head to wave about what was left of her mane to enunciate her point.
Rarity was, for lack of an existent, stronger word, mortified by this information and by Rainbow's suggestion.
"I will do no such thing!" Rarity shrieked "I'm appalled that you would suggest I do it! I'm even appalled that you did it to yourself! Have you no shame?! Have you no decency?!"
Rainbow stared at Rarity for a few seconds with a cocked eyebrow before responding. She sat herself down, took off her sunglasses and closed them before she began.
"Couple things Miss Prissy" she began in a relaxed tone "One: Do you have no sense of heat? Two: I live in the clouds, a lot closer to the sun with the same sense of heat as ponies that live on the ground Three: I usually cool off on hot days by flying through the cool clouds Four: There are no clouds in the sky because the sun has and will evaporate them Five: Because of that, I had to move my home, made of clouds, to Cloudsdale to join it to a cloud cluster to support it. This is so when the heat has passed, me and the other pegasi can distribute the clouds around Equestria. So not only do I not have clouds to swim through, I don't even have my own house to cool me off. And in this heat, all my concerns of shame and decency left with my house. ... Your move."
Rarity was dumbfounded as she processed this information and began to understand Rainbow's reasoning. She still wasn't entirely fond of the result that she could see on Rainbow, but had a better understanding.
"Well...I..." Rainbow cocked an eyebrow once again as Rarity struggled to respond "I suppose I can understand your reasoning Rainbow, and though I don't exactly approve of the decision you made I can respect it. And I suppose I can't argue with you about the heat."
Rainbow gave a satisfied smile and nod at the unicorn and gave her a caring hug "Thanks Rare's, I appreciate it." Rarity happily returned the hug, though she was slightly skeeved out from touching the bare Pegasus.
"So are you gonna let me shave off your coat too?"
This made Rarity push Rainbow away with a scowl "I'll turn you into ash with my magic if you come near my coat darling."
The Cutie Mark Crusaders were in their clubhouse with the windows and door open to let in air. Thankfully the nearby trees provided shade that prevented the sunlight from streaming in at full. There was a noteworthy difference concerning the clubhouse attendance. There were two more individuals present. There was Apple Bloom's cousin Babs Seed, whose parents allowed her to stay over on the Apple Farm during Summer Vacation (which explains why the CMC weren't in school in the middle of the day in the middle of the week).
Secondly, there was a young male amongst them. And this young male wasn't actually a pony, but a dragon. It was Spike, who was sitting by the only window that was letting in direct sunlight. He had expanded his wings to cover the rest of his back, not only providing the rest of his body with shade, but also allowing his wings to act as sponges for him to absorb the energy from the solar rays like he was taught. Spike was currently with the CMC's in their clubhouse not just because Twilight had suggested he spend time with ponies closer to his age, but because he thought he should, especially when it came to Sweetie Belle, considering he had imprinted on her older sister as his life mate.
Due to the immense heat, the four individuals decided to relax in the clubhouse rather than risk heat stroke. Spike, as stated before, was sitting cross legged next to the only window letting in direct sunlight, absorbing the solar energy with his wings, while also simultaneously relieving the clubhouse of heat. Scootaloo was wearing her sunglasses while sitting on a reclined miniature lazy boy that was covered with a towel so as not to feel the intense heat of the artificial leather. Sweetie Belle was lying facedown on some comfortable matts on the floor. Apple Bloom was sitting on the floor and leaning against the right side of Sweetie Belle's small personal fainting couch with a wet towel on her forehead while wearing her mane down. Babs meanwhile was the one actually lying face up on the fainting couch on the left side while holding a cool can of fizzy apple cider to her forehead. The only reason Sweetie Belle wasn't lying on it was because Babs called dibs and got to it faster than Sweetie Belle.
"Hey Sweetie, toss me a can of fizzy apple cyder will ya?" called out a tired sounding Apple Bloom.
"Sure" replied Sweetie in the same tone. She levitated a can out of the cooler full of ice and cans of cider they had brought. She tossed it over to Apple Bloom who caught it with her hooves with ease. Unfortunately, Apple Bloom soon found out that the toss was a little too much for the cider when she opened the can and cider foam began to pour out. "Oh for cryin out loud" Apple Bloom said as she held the can away from her momentarily and then begin to sip at the foam.
Sweetie gave an amused "hm" as this happened, prompting AB to look at her accusingly. "Did you do this?"
"Nope" Sweetie answered "Happy accident."
"Sarcastic Ha ha"
"Damn right Ha ha" Scootaloo said with an amused smile. Apple Bloom simply ignored this and took another sip of her cider.
Sweetie finally decided to strike up a conversation. This was purely out of curiosity on something rather than attempting to relieve boredom, since dealing with heat seems to keep your mind occupied somehow.
"Hey Babs can I ask you something?"
"Shoot"
"What's 'fugetaboutit'? What is that?"
"Oh I love this scene" Spike said before Babs responded. Scootaloo leaned forward and raised her sunglasses to listen in.
"Fugetaboutit it's like uh..." Babs began "If you agree with someone, you know? Like that Shining Armor is one great peace of flank, fugetaboutit" Everypony else gave a slightly confused and amused glance at the filly, the other filly's blushing slightly. Spike knitted his eyebrows at the comment, having grown up with the older brother of his adoptive sister.
"But then" Babs continued "If you disagree like oranges are better than apples? fugetaboutit, you know?"
"Amen to that cuz" Apple Bloom said with a raise of her hoof.
"But then, it's also like if somethin's the greatest thing in the world like minga (minia) that zap apple jam, fuGetaboutit."
Scootaloo gave a chuckle to Babs's ongoing explanation.
"But it's also like sayin go to hell too, like you know like eh...'Hey Scootaloo, penguins fly better than you' and Scootaloo says 'Fugetaboutit!'"
Scootaloo cocked an eyebrow at this comment with a small smile as if to say "Oh really?"
"Fugetaboiutit" Apple Bloom said, then in a stereotypical raspy mafia voice said "AJ, fugetaboutit" earning her a laugh from everyone minus Babs.
"Sometimes it just, means eh...forget about it."
"Alright" Sweetie Belle acknowladged "Thank you very much. I got it."
