“Woooo!! It’s the first day of summerrrr!!!”
The girls around her couldn’t help but chuckle, each participating in their own activity while the most energetic member of the group jumped into her backyard with a loud cheer. “Yeah, we heard you the last thirteen times you told us,” Rainbow Dash said, throwing a horseshoe and ringing it around a stake.
“I know,” Pinkie replied, falling down onto the soft grass below. “I’m just glad finals are over.”
“Did y’all even study for finals?” asked the blonde, moving in front of Rainbow Dash with her own horseshoe in hand.
“No, but that just makes me even happier that they’re over! Seriously, whoever thought making band a required class must have had one too many cupcakes when making the curriculum.”
Twilight giggled, pulling her nose up from her book. “It wasn’t required. You just wanted to play an instrument called the sousaphone.”
“Oh, yeah. I forgot about that.”
“Hang on, Twilight,” a flame-haired girl interrupted, handing Rarity her sunscreen back and lathering the lotion up and down her arm. “You brought a book to an end of the year party?”
Twilight blushed, burying her face deeper. “It’s never too early to get started on summer homework!”
“Uh-oh,” the quiet, pink-haired girl exclaimed, bringing her hand to her mouth with surprise on her face. “I didn’t know we had any homework to do over the summer!”
“Oh, don’t mind her,” Rarity said with the flick of her wrist as she laid herself down onto a lawn chair, pulling her sunglasses over her eyes. “She’s just trying to get a headstart like always. As if being valedictorian wasn’t a high enough goal for her.”
Suddenly, just as Twilight was about to hide herself even further into the pages of her book, a loud ring echoed from inside the house, making Pinkie Pie sit up in a flash. “Oh! Those must be the cupcakes! Be back in a jiffy!” Then, with a dust cloud trailing behind her, she disappeared back into the kitchen, making the girls giggle amongst themselves again.
“So!” Sunset announced, pulling everyone’s eyes back onto her. “This is a party, right? What did you all want to do?”
“Oh, I’m already doing it,” Rarity replied with a smile as she pulled her hands behind her head like a pillow. “You girls should join me. Best get started on that summer tan if you haven’t already.”
“Summer tan?” Rainbow chuckled. “I think I’ll pass. Besides, I’ve gotta show Applesmack over here why challenging me to anything is a bad idea.” Just as Rainbow Dash lowered her horseshoe with her tongue sticking out in concentration, however, she ended up jumping suddenly from the girl beside her coughing loudly, which led to her horseshoe travelling up rather than forward. “Wha--HEY!”
“Oh, is it mah turn now?” Applejack asked, tossing her own horseshoe before Rainbow Dash could retort and nailing it perfectly around the stake. “Whoowee! Did ya see that? Heh. Guess that means I’m the winner.”
“Oh, don’t even pretend like you won that one fair and square! I want a rematch!”
Applejack placed her hands to her hips with a haughty smirk. “Now why would I do that when I already won?”
At this point, Rainbow Dash’s face was practically pressing against Applejack’s, her eyes contorted in a glare while the blonde’s smirk never faded. “Come on! That one didn’t count!”
“Did fer me. Y’all remember our deal. Loser’s gotta put everything away.”
Rainbow slumped her shoulders as her jaw fell, but Applejack strode away with her shoulders back and a large smile across her face. Even if she wasn’t exactly happy about doing the cleanup after losing in a less-than-ideal way, there was no way Rainbow Dash was about to just leave Pinkie Pie’s backyard a mess because of some stupid game. Once she started searching for the bucket where all the pieces belonged, though, a small grin crept up on her lips.
“So what are you studying, Twilight?” Fluttershy asked.
“Oh, this?” Twilight put her thumb down to mark her page and closed the book for everyone to see. “Just some advanced calculus, but I’m not doing anything too fancy. I’m only solving some derivatives in my head for fun.”
Sunset’s eyes squinted. “Don’t people normally need a calculator to do that?”
Twilight blushed. “Not if you’re really good with cosecants.”
“Honestly, darling, we finally have some time away from school and you bring it with you?” As Rarity spoke, she continued to lean back in her chair, letting her hand wave as a proxy for eye contact. “This is supposed to be a party! Can’t we talk about something like clothes, boys, or potential summer vacays?”
“That sounds like fun!” Fluttershy shouted softly. “To be honest, I’ve never been to many places besides Canterlot or Cloudsdale.”
“Then we should all go on a road trip together!” said Sunset, rising to her feet. “What are some places you’ve always wanted to visit?”
Fluttershy tapped her finger to her chin as her eyes drifted to the sky. “I guess I’ve never really thought about that before. Is there anywhere close?”
Sunset folded her arms. “I guess there’s Manehattan, but I was thinking somewhere a little further away.”
“Are you joking?!” asked Rarity, who finally sat up from her seat. “A trip to Manehattan sounds PERFECT!”
“Perfect fer you maybe!” Applejack replied with a chuckle. “Sure, you get to go see all those fancy stores where one shoe costs more than Big Mac’s Chevy, but fer the rest of us, we’ll wind up bored, lost and--”
Before she could finish her sentence, however, the image in front of her blurred as a sudden shock of frigid temperatures ran down her spine. Even the sounds around her seemed to disappear within the vacuum she was in, but despite all that, she could still hear the gasps of the group of girls surrounding her. The gasps of every girl but one.
Applejack growled, grabbing her soggy hat and tossing it to the floor, and once her hearing and vision came back, she turned around to see Rainbow Dash with her hands around her gut, laughing at the top of her lungs. In her hand was the bucket she was supposed to be using to pick up the horseshoes with, but if Applejack’s damp clothes and cold body didn’t tip her off, the droplets of water trickling down the bucket and the ripples in Pinkie Pie’s pool definitely did the trick.
“Seriously, Rainbow?!” Applejack shouted, ringing out the end of her shirt, not that that did much. Practically her whole body was drenched with her shirt sticking to her shoulders and her denim skirt feeling heavier than normal. “What in tarnation did ya do that for?!”
Finally, after getting out a few last minute chuckles, the cyan girl pointed towards her less amused friend and said, “That’s what we in the business call ‘karma’.”
“The only business y’all have is findin’ me a towel and somethin’ dry to change into!”
Applejack stomped closer to the rainbow-haired girl, pulling her sleeve up her arm and prompting Sunset to quickly intervene before things got any more heated. “Whoooaaa! Hang on, AJ. I’m sure Rainbow Dash didn’t mean to--”
“Uhh, yeah I did.”
Sunset quickly scowled at Rainbow Dash, but not nearly as fiercely as Applejack did. “I’m gonna give y’all about five seconds to get back in th’ house and start lookin’ for something clean for me to wear!”
Rainbow Dash clicked her tongue, putting her hands to her hips. “Or what? You’ll tie a lasso around me?”
“I’ll go get you a towel,” Fluttershy intervened, getting up as quickly as she could and heading for the backdoor.
“Now hold on, Fluttershy!” Applejack called. “Rainbow here should be the one to do it!”
Rainbow Dash snickered. “I’ll tell you what. I’ll go get you a towel if you can beat me at horseshoes. Without cheating this time.” Applejack opened her mouth to retort, but Rainbow quickly held up her finger to silence her. “Oh, and if I win, you’ll have to wear those wet clothes for the rest of the party.”
The other girls at the party held their breaths, waiting for Applejack to lash out with rage, but to everyone’s surprise, she slowly exhaled a breath, lifted her shoulders back, and gave Rainbow Dash a smug smile. Even Rainbow couldn’t help but tilt her head in curiosity.
“Alright,” the cowgirl replied. “We’ll do it your way. Let’s do it from further back this time, though, just so we can prove which one of us is better.”
Rainbow Dash smiled a toothy grin. “You’re on!”
The girls all stared curiously as Rainbow Dash and Applejack moved over to the wooden stake at the end of the yard, surprised at the sudden turn of events. Sure, Applejack was the forgiving type, and it wasn’t like she was one to back down from a challenge--especially if it involved showing up Rainbow Dash. Still, though, it was almost like Applejack had cooled off a little too quickly…
Then, once both girls had picked up their own respective horseshoes, Rainbow Dash walked back to where they’d started from their last game, taking a few steps further away to give them both some extra distance. “How about right here?” the rainbow-haired girl asked. “Does this work for you?”
Applejack tapped pensively at her chin. “Hmm… Maybe a little bit further.”
Rainbow Dash tilted an eyebrow, but took a few steps back regardless. “Here?”
“Oh, come on! Granny Smith could make a shot from there!”
It wasn’t like a toss from where Rainbow was standing would be easy; any further and she’d run out of grass altogether! Still, though, the cyan teen took a few more steps away from the stake until she was standing on the pool tiles, opening her arms theatrically. “Now are we good to play?”
Applejack smirked. “Yup! There looks like a good spot.” The confused look on Rainbow Dash’s face finally disappeared, but just as she looked over at the stake and brought her horseshoe to eye level, Applejack slowly pulled Rainbow’s hand down, making Rainbow’s confused expression from earlier return. “How ‘bout y’all let me go first?”
“Uhh, sure, I guess.”
Then, as Rainbow Dash walked away to let Applejack have a clear shot, the cowgirl flung her wrist like it was nothing, making the horseshoe soar until it clanked against the wooden stake. It wasn’t a ringer, but it was still close enough to make Rainbow Dash’s jaw drop, at least from as far away as Applejack was.
“Your turn,” Applejack said with a smirk, folding her arms and taking a step to the side.
Rainbow Dash furrowed her eyebrows, giving her the stink eye before taking her place where Applejack stood a moment earlier. The cyan girl stuck her tongue out as she brought the horseshoe up to eye level, raising and lowering the object as she visualized the arc for the perfect shot. Everyone held their breath except for Applejack, who simply stood next to her with her arms folded and a pompous grin. Finally, Rainbow Dash lowered her horseshoe, bringing it down to her side as she reeled back her arm, but just as she was about to lift it back up to toss it forward--
“Oops.”
“WhaaaAAHH!!”
The horseshoe flew into the air, flying forward as Rainbow Dash flailed her arms and toppled backwards. Right as soon as Rainbow was about to take her turn, Applejack bumped her hips right into Rainbow’s waist, causing her to stumble back while her arms wobbled to get her balance again. As it would so turn out, however, she just happened to be standing right next to the edge of the pool, and it only took a step or two before she fell all the way backwards, falling into the water with a large splash raining onto the pool deck.
The girls all gasped with their hands at their mouths. All the girls, that is, except for Applejack, who held her arms around her stomach, laughing at the top of her lungs like Rainbow Dash had done earlier.
Once Rainbow finally stuck her head and shoulders out of the water, spitting out the excess liquids in her mouth like a fountain, she furrowed her eyebrows with a growl. She was soaked so bad that her black undershirt was more visible than the lightning bolt on her tank top. Rainbow tried lifting her leg out of the water, but her soggy skirt and tights made that as difficult as it was to move her arms with the extra weight on her jacket. Plus, it didn’t help that her wristbands had swelled up like sponges, making Rainbow cringe as she lifted her hands out of the water. The girls all watched in horror as they waited for her response.
“Hey!” Rainbow finally shouted. “That wasn’t fair!”
Finally, Applejack stopped laughing just long enough to say, “That’s what we in the business call ‘karma’,” before guffawing again.
Before Rainbow could retaliate, however, she turned her head to see past Applejack’s body, and once Applejack noticed where she was looking, she did the same. Standing in the doorway emerged a girl with two towels in one hand, the other being used to cover her gasping mouth. “Oh, my goodness!” she exclaimed, rushing over to the pool. “Are you alright, Rainbow?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” she replied in a much more composed tone. “Actually, can you come give me a hand real quick? I have something to tell you about in private.”
“OK. Let me just go grab those towels first and--”
“You don’t need to do that!”
Fluttershy flinched from Rainbow’s outburst, but once she turned towards Applejack as if she had a better idea of what was going on, Applejack shrugged with just as much confusion on her face as Fluttershy had. With a quick blink, Fluttershy got onto her knees at the end of the pool deck, leaning her head in as Rainbow Dash whispered something into her ear. Everyone waited with baited breath until finally, Fluttershy gasped again, her whole body reeling back with her hands covering her mouth.
“Oh, no!” Fluttershy exclaimed. “I could never do something like that!”
“Somethin’ like hwhat?” Applejack asked, leaning forward with her hands on her hips. Fluttershy, though, quickly jerked in the cowgirl’s direction, shaking her head frantically until a lightbulb finally went on over her head. “Hang on a sec! Are y’all tellin’ me that you were about to use Fluttershy to get back at me?”
Once the words left her mouth, though, Fluttershy cocked her head to the side. “Get back at you for what?”
Now Applejack was the one with her hands over her mouth, a scene which made Rainbow laugh so hard that she fell back into the water. “N-nothin’! I was just--Hang on! If Rainbow Dash wasn’t talkin’ ‘bout me, what was she talkin’ ‘bout?”
“Sorry,” Rainbow replied, poking her head back out of the water. “Top secret information.”
Applejack growled, but before she could say anything else, Twilight stood up and called, “Hey! We’ve still got those towels! Did either of you want to dry off?”
Fluttershy nodded her head. “Here, Rainbow. Let me help you out of there.”
“Yeah, I could probably use a hand now that you mention it.”
Fluttershy held out her hands, pushing her knees into the edge of the pool as Rainbow grabbed her palms and tried pulling herself out. To everyone around her, it was obvious that Fluttershy was struggling to get Rainbow out with her weak muscles, but still, she hung on with all the strength she had. Applejack couldn’t help but flinch.
“Y’all want me to help you with that?”
Rainbow Dash scoffed. “Thanks, but I don’t think I need help from the one who pushed me in here in the first place.”
“Erm… Rainbow Dash?”
“Hang on, Fluttershy. There’s something I want to rub in AJ’s face real quick.”
Applejack chortled. “Oh, yeah? And what’d that be?”
“I--Um… Excuse me. Rainbow?”
“Don’t worry. You’re doing great. Anyway, just the fact that I think this proves that you’re too afraid to play me fair and square. Admit it. I can take you any day! Rain, snow or shine. Spring, summer or--”
“WhaOOOHHH!!”
Again, everyone gasped as Rainbow Dash not only fell back into the water, but she also managed to take Fluttershy along with her. Everyone held their breath until Fluttershy’s pink hair slowly popped out of the water, followed by a pair of trembling eyes and a nose that was just far enough out to breathe again. Without wasting any time, Applejack jumped into the pool, grabbing Fluttershy by the shoulders and pulling her upper body out of the water.
Fluttershy was shivering, probably both from the sudden swim she hadn’t been anticipating as well as the cold pool water dripping down her long hair. Her light blue dress looked practically navy by now, and it would be nearly impossible to wade her way through the water by herself thanks to the added resistance.
“Oh, haysticks! Are y’all alright?”
“I… I think so. Oh, my goodness! Rainbow?! What happened to Rainbow Dash?!”
Almost on cue, the rainbow-haired girl emerged from the surface, tilting her head and smacking her ear to force out some excess water. “Don’t worry. I’m all good.”
“Glad to see somebody’s alright,” Applejack quipped, digging the palm of her hand into the water and giving Rainbow a big splash in the face.
“Don’t mind me. I’m just fine!” Rainbow shot back with a splash of her own. Applejack held up her hand to block as much of the water as she could, but she still ended up getting enough in her mouth to make her cough uncontrollably. Rainbow Dash flinched, reaching out her hand as if it could help, and then reaching it right back once she saw the look on Applejack’s face
“Why I oughta…”
Suddenly the two girls began splashing each other so hard that it was difficult to even see them through all the waves tumbling over their heads. Plus the volume itself made it to where they weren’t even audible anymore, even though basically everyone there could imagine that they weren’t exactly exchanging niceties. What was most important, though, was the one thing they hadn’t noticed.
“Girls! GIRLS! Stop for a second!”
Rainbow and Applejack both turned their heads to see Sunset rushing over with panic on her face, and once they saw where her eyes were pointing, they both flinched. Apparently, Fluttershy had been in the middle the entire time, and if she wasn’t wet before, now she was completely drenched, dripping so much water that her makeup began running down her blank, annoyed face.
“Whoops,” Rainbow said, taking a step back. “Sorry about that, Fluttershy.”
“Yeah, we’re both really--where y’all goin’?”
Fluttershy, however, didn’t answer. She just waded her way to the edge of the pool, grabbed the bucket from earlier and dunked it into the pool, her shoulders struggling to pull it back up to the surface. Rainbow Dash gulped. Applejack took a step back. Fluttershy, however, slowly made her way back to where she was standing earlier--right in between them--and poured the water onto both of their heads, half onto Rainbow’s and half onto Applejack’s.
Again, everyone waited to see what their reactions would be, holding the air in their lungs just in case they accidentally breathed too loudly, but out of nowhere, all three of them grabbed onto their stomachs and began laughing uncontrollably, giving everyone a chance to exhale a sigh of relief. This was probably the first time either Rainbow or Applejack had smiled basically since they arrived, at least when they weren’t laughing at the other’s expense. As much as nobody wanted to ruin the moment, though, they probably didn’t want to spend the rest of the day waist deep in pool water with all of their clothes on.
“Hey!” Sunset called, getting up from her seat as all the girls made their way over. “Any of you need any help getting out?”
“Why don’t you join us, Sunset?” Rainbow asked, splashing the flame-haired girl who reflexively held up her arm to block the water. “It’s only cold at first!”
“Thanks, but I think I’ll pass. Need a hand, Fluttershy?”
The quiet girl giggled before giving her a quick grin. “What’s the matter, Sunset? Can’t swim?” Sunset Shimmer flinched, and then so did Fluttershy. “Oh, um, I’m really sorry if you can’t. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings at all.”
The flame-haired girl groaned, putting her palm to her forehead. “It’s OK, Fluttershy. I can swim. I’d just prefer not to without a swimsuit on first.”
“Come oonnn!” Rainbow said with another splash. “It’s not like we don’t have towels!”
“Oh, yeah?” Sunset dodged another splash. “Just what were you planning on wearing home? Hopefully you didn’t think a towel would work the same as a dryer. Applejack, can you talk some sense into these two?”
“Sorry! Can’t hear ya!” Applejack put her hand over her ear like a megaphone. “Maybe you should come on in so I can hear what yer sayin’.”
Sunset groaned again, turning towards the other two girls, both of whom shrugged their shoulders without any answers. Of course, Sunset wasn’t exactly obliged to get them back onto dry land for any reason, but she wasn’t the type to just let them act stupid when she knew they would end up regretting it later. Just as she was about to try talking them out again, however, Rarity placed a hand onto her shoulder.
“You don’t need to worry about them,” she said with a smile. “They’re having fun! Why ruin it?”
Sunset folded her arms, giving Rarity a dull stare. “Because if we want this party to keep going, either they’re going to have to come out or we’re going to have to go to them.”
“Hmm. Sounds to me like this party is pretty important to you.”
This time, Sunset raised a suspicious eyebrow. “Well, duh! It’s our end of the year party! We’re supposed to be spending it together!”
“I guess that settles that, then.”
“...Wait, what?”
By the time Sunset got the message, it was already too late, and even though she tried moving out of the way, she wasn’t quick enough to avoid Rarity bumping their hips together, pushing the flame-haired teen backwards. The three girls in the pool backed up as fast as they could with the water resistance, but each of them ended up getting splashed at least a little bit by the surprise submersion.
Once Sunset Shimmer finally emerged from the water, she had an annoyed glare with eyeliner dripping down her cheeks, and that was after she’d pulled away the hair that had covered her face. Most of the water just slid off of her leather jacket, but she still had cotton and polyester uncomfortably sticking to her skin. Fortunately, her skirt didn’t restrict her movement as much as Rainbow’s or Fluttershy’s, but there was still no denying that it was far from the first option she’d ever choose to wear in a pool.
“Rarityyyyy!”
“Well, I should go back to sunbathing.”
Just as Rarity turned around, Sunset sent a big splash in her direction, hitting the back of her ankles and making the fashionista jitter-step back to her lawnchair. Twilight, meanwhile, awkwardly stepped away, trying her best to stay out of it as much as possible before she ended up taking a surprise swim herself.
“Come on, Rarity!” Sunset projected. “We’re having a party! Isn’t that why you came in the first place?”
“I can enjoy the party perfectly fine from where I am,” the purple-haired girl replied, lying down in her chair. “If any of you would like to join me in getting a summer tan, however, I’d be more than happy to share the sunshine.”
Once Rarity laid back down, it quickly became obvious that they’d never be able to splash her from where they were, especially with their damp clothes weighing their arms down. Besides, they couldn’t just spend the entire party wading through the pool; they’d have to come out at some point. Sunset sighed, placing her elbows into the edge of the pool to pull herself out, but right before she managed to lift herself up, however, Rainbow Dash looked over and found an object lying on the other side of the pool deck.
“Hang on!” she called just loud enough for Sunset to hear without tipping Rarity off. “I’ve got an idea!”
All the girls looked over as Rainbow Dash hopped through the water towards the other side, and when she got there, all of the girls in the water raised their eyebrows. Once the rainbow-haired girl turned around, she was holding a large super soaker licensed by Hasbro™, pulling up on the forend to get her next shot ready. Fluttershy flinched, slapping her fingertips over her mouth, but the other girls in the pool smiled and nodded their heads.
Slowly, Rainbow Dash trekked through the water, trying to make as few splashing sounds as possible to avoid giving herself away. Once she tilted her head in Rarity’s direction, though, Applejack quickly got the message. If they all just stood there and watched without saying anything, Rarity would figure out that they were up to something. They had to be casual if they wanted to pull this off.
“Why don’t you try gettin’ in here, Twilight?” Applejack asked, doing neck-slicing motions to signal not to give them away. Once Twilight saw what was happening, though, she couldn’t help but take a step backwards in surprise. Twilight then looked over her to her side to see if Rarity had noticed, but thankfully, she was still laying back with her eyes closed, enjoying the sunshine.
“Oh, I don’t know,” said the girl in the glasses. “I’d much prefer just watching you girls have fun. I don’t want to get my book wet, after all! Hehehhhh.”
Applejack slapped her hand to her face. Twilight must have been the worst candidate in the world when it came to being stealthy, and if they waited much longer, it would only be a matter of time before she accidentally gave them away. Applejack quickly sent Rainbow a worried cringe, letting her know that she only had a limited amount of time left. Rainbow nodded her head, wading just a little bit faster and lowering her weapon towards her target. Unfortunately for her, though, they had forgotten about one key component…
“Man! I forgot how long it took to decorate cupcakes with twelve different coats of frosting! Oh, hey, Rainbow Dash! What are you doing with that super soaker licensed by Hasbro™?”
The moment Pinkie Pie walked out carrying a tray full of ostentatiously-colored cupcakes, Rarity lifted her head, turning first towards Pinkie Pie before whipping her neck back at Rainbow Dash. “Oh, don’t you even think about it!”
“Too late!”
Suddenly, just as Rarity lifted herself up to try and get away, Rainbow Dash pulled the forend down and released a jet of water that hit Rarity directly in the face. As she lifted her hands to try and block the water from its path, however, Rainbow Dash lowered the trajectory and started spraying her shoulders, making Rarity practically dance to get away from it. By the time Rainbow had run out of ammunition, she’d managed to completely drench Rarity’s hair and powdered-blue shirt, causing makeup to run down Rarity’s face.
The fashionista slowly looked down at her clothes, trying not to move her head too much just to keep her cold hair from brushing against her neck. The look on her face, though, made everyone wince. Rarity appeared completely despondent, lost for words as she delicately tried pulling her wet hair off of her shirt, and for probably the first time ever, Rainbow Dash looked like she was experiencing genuine regret.
“Sorry!” she blurted, hiding the gun behind her back like it didn’t exist. “I-i-it was just a prank! I didn’t mean to--”
“RAINBOW DASH! This was a brand new blouse! Do you want it to get ruined already?!”
Rainbow Dash tilted her head. “But… it looks like the exact same outfit that you wear every day.”
The comment made Rarity gasp theatrically, struggling to get out her words that seemed impossible to speak in her dumbfounded state. “It looks the same? It looks the same?! Have you no eyes, or have you just not been paying attention to the subtle contrasts of my ensemble the entire time we’ve been friends?”
Rainbow scratched her head in confusion before trying to come up with an answer. “Well, I guess I have eyes, so…”
“...Oh, it. Is. On.”
Rarity quickly charged towards the pool, making Rainbow Dash accidentally drop her weapon as she backed away as fast as she could. One the white-skinned girl made it to the edge of the pool deck, she immediately grabbed the bucket from earlier, scooped out some water and flung it towards Rainbow Dash. Unfortunately, though, Rarity didn’t exactly have much more muscle than Fluttershy did, and even after tossing the water as far as she could, she still couldn’t manage to get a drop onto Rainbow Dash, a fact that made the blue-skinned girl grin arrogantly.
“Hey, Rarity, don’t you have any eyes? I’m over here!”
Rarity stumbled as she tried leaning closer, bending her knees down before she lost her balance completely. “You get back here this instant!”
“Sorry! You’re gonna have to jump in if you wanna catch me!”
Rarity looked down at the water with a cringe on her face. Even if she tried getting in one foot at a time, her skirt would float to the top like an umbrella, an image she had to shake out of her head. Once she looked up at the girl who sprayed her and saw her floating away with a smug grin, however, giving up was no longer an option, even if her coiffure was sacrificed in the process.
“Alright. You wanna play ball? Let’s play ball!”
Suddenly, Rainbow Dash stood up straight with surprise on her face. “Wait, you don’t mean--”
“Geronimoooo!”
Before Rainbow had time to react, Rarity leapt forward into the air, but right as soon as she got to the apex of her arc, her arms and legs flailed as she fell straight down, practically belly flopping into the pool. Rainbow Dash jerked backwards, caught off guard by Rarity’s unexpected bravery, and the moment Rarity’s head emerged from the water, she started chasing after her as fast as the water would let her.
“Get back here, you shirt-wrecker!”
“Ha! Not a chance!”
Rainbow then dipped her squirt gun into the water as fast as she could and sprayed it back into Rarity’s face. Once the attack was finished, though, it was Rarity’s turn to retaliate. She didn’t splash hard by any means, but she definitely put in enough work to make the rainbow-haired girl hold up her hands while getting more water in her mouth than she anticipated.
“Take that! And that!”
“Whoa! Whoa! Time--plllpp--Time out! Time out!”
Rarity was hesitant to hold back, but once she saw Rainbow Dash practically choking on water, she gradually slowed down to a halt, watching carefully in case Rainbow took advantage of her kindness. Then, after banging some water out of her ear, Rainbow turned towards the only two girls left who were still dry, both of whom took an unwitting step backwards.
“Hey! When were you two planning on coming in?”
“Oh!” Pinkie Pie shouted. “Be right there! Yippeeeee!!”
“Hang on!” Just as the pink-haired girl was about to rush off to join them, however, Twilight grabbed her by the arm. “I need somebody here with some semblance of sanity!”
Pinkie Pie blinked. “So you chose me?”
“That’s not what I… I guess that is what I mean, but if you jump in there, that means they’re gonna go after me next!”
“So then why don’t you join ‘em? It’s just water, after all.”
Twilight scratched her cheek sheepishly. “You have a point… but I’d still like to stay dry if at all possible!”
“Sorry, Twi,” Sunset said, grabbing the bucket and dunking it into the water, “but it isn’t possible. Both you and Pinkie Pie are goin’ down.”
Twilight winced, but Pinkie Pie, on the other hand, started to giggle. It was quiet at first, almost unnoticeable until it gradually travelled up her belly and erupted into a maniacal cackle that scared both Twilight and Sunset Shimmer.
“Soooo, you wanna play rough, do ya?” Pinkie exclaimed, pulling out a cooler from underneath a table. Then, opening it up, she revealed rows upon rows of water balloons that looked like they were being preserved for a situation just like this. “I hope you girls know that THIS MEANS WAAAAAR!”
“Pinkie Pie,” Twilight said with a flinch. “Where did those come from?”
“Oh, these? I fill up a couple coolers-full every day in case someone wants to have a water balloon fight.”
“Wait! You mean there’s more?!”
Pinkie chuckled. “Well, duuhh! The ones I don’t use just end up being my bath water at the end of the day.”
“...That doesn’t sound very sanitary.”
Suddenly, Pinkie grabbed Twilight by the shoulders and smooshed their faces together. “There’s no time for sanitation in war, rookie! Now grab a couple balloons and let’s take this enemy dooooown!”
The moment Pinkie grabbed her first balloon and wound her arm back, the confident expressions on Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Sunset’s faces disappeared in unison. Then, with one quick toss, the water balloon in Pinkie’s hand landed on Rainbow Dash’s face, exploding on the spot and sending her whole body backwards. The other four girls in the pool all backed away slowly, but by then, it was already too late. Pinkie had her war face on, and there was no stopping her now.
“Fire!!!!”
More balloons began to rain from the sky, practically blocking out the sun in a barrage of chaos. All the girls in the pool held their arms up to defend themselves from the attack while Twilight watched the carnage from the sidelines, still unsure whether or not she should even join in. With a shaky hand, however, she reached into the cooler, trying to avoid Pinkie’s rapid grabs just in case she accidentally got a finger sliced off in the process.
Once she had a balloon in hand, Twilight gulped, turning towards the girls in the pool who were still all grunting from being bombarded with balloons. Finally, Twilight took a leap of courage and reeled her arm back, getting as much torque as she could before throwing her water balloon as far as she could toss it. Pinkie Pie stopped momentarily and gasped. The girls in the pool peeked to see what was going on just as Twilight’s balloon reached its apex… and landed about five feet short of the pool itself.
“She returned fire!” Rarity shouted.
“Then it’s war!” Sunset chimed in, and suddenly, every single girl in the pool turned their attention towards Twilight.
Twilight jumped behind a chair as Rainbow Dash’s squirt gun sprayed in her direction, but it didn’t take long for Rainbow to realize that by pointing her gun a little higher, she could get whatever was behind the chair too. Twilight had to improvise. She leapt forward underneath a table, barely dodging another attack. This, however, led her right into the line of fire of Applejack, who could easily splash her from where she was in the pool.
Twilight made it out just in time, but she was still on the run. Rarity and Fluttershy had found a couple of water balloons that hadn’t popped on their descent to the pool, and even though they couldn’t throw them far, they could still throw long enough to make Twilight run on her tiptoes, practically hitting her chest with her knees with every step. It was like there was nowhere to turn! Wherever she ran, she would be running directly into somebody’s line of fire!
That was when she found it, the perfect spot where nobody would be able to reach her! If she could make it to the end of Pinkie’s backyard, there was a corner just far enough away to where nobody would be able to get her wet! Using more strength than she’d ever had in PE, Twilight sprinted to the edge of the yard, dodging a balloon and one final squirt from Rainbow Dash’s weapon, and then, she made it. She was finally free. They were out of reach.
Twilight couldn’t actually believe it! She blinked a few times just to make sure that there wasn’t anything she’d overlooked, but once she realized that her plan actually worked, she pumped her fist into the air and danced with a loud cheer.
“Yeeeaaaahhh!!! Go Twilight! I did it! Who’s dry? I’m dry!”
“About that.”
Suddenly, right when she thought she was safe, Twilight turned her head to see Sunset standing behind her with a bucket full of water, and that’s when her heart sank. She’d spent so much time trying to avoid the girls who were actively trying to get her wet that she’d completely missed the one girl who was sneaking around in the background. Twilight tried to speak, but there was nothing she could think of to say that would stop Sunset from doing what she had planned.
“Nothing personal. Hopefully we can still be friends after this.”
Then, with a loud sigh, Twilight ducked her head and said, “Go ahead. Get it over with.”
And that’s when the summer warmth disappeared.
Twilight’s glasses nearly fell off of her face from the impact of the water, but even though they remained on her face, it wasn’t like she would be able to see out of them for a while. Her blue shirt and purple skirt turned into even darker shades, and her shoes were so wet that it felt like she was stepping through a puddle barefoot. Once the cascade disappeared, Twilight grabbed onto her arms, shivering violently with her knees rubbing together. Just as her teeth began to chatter, however, she saw a hand reach out towards her from her peripheral vision, and upon turning her head, the cold temperatures faded away from the warmth in Sunset’s smile.
“Come on. It’s warmer in the pool.”
Twilight couldn’t help but smile, grabbing onto Sunset’s hand and tilting her glasses back. Then, with a nod from the flame-haired girl, they both started running at full sprint until they jumped from the pool deck, grabbing onto their knees as they cannonballed into the water. Everyone waited for them to emerge from the surface, and once they did, all six of them started laughing at the top of their lungs.
“Oh. Guess the war’s over. CANNONBAAAAAALLLLL!!!!!!”
Then, before any of them could turn their heads, Pinkie Pie plunged into the middle of the group, creating a tidal wave that covered all of them in a surprise rainshower, and like before, once Pinkie Pie surfaced, spitting out the pool water like a fountain, everybody laughed at the top of their lungs. Even though Pinkie's hair had lost its poof and her jacket was giving her a big, sloppy hug, she still reached out her arms and continued to splash along with her friends. It didn’t matter that Pinkie Pie’s boots were still on or Twilight’s glasses were foggy or Rarity’s hair was messy.
What mattered were the memories they got to share together, and this, by far, was a memory that none of them would ever forget, a memory that all seven of them got to experience together. Way better than your typical pool party.
