Twilight and Rarity were pulling loose branches out of trees, while AJ and I grabbed them from the ground, tossing them into carts as we sat around the park.
"Twilight, Dear? Why are we doing all this work again?" Rarity asked, and her horn glowed blue, and the branch she was holding with her magic poofed into the shape of a bird topiary.
"Well, between Rainbow being hurt by that dragon and the fact there's a nasty cold going around the Pegasi right now, three rain sprinkles were missed last week," Twilight started to explain. "So, they're setting up a major rainstorm now to compensate for the lack of rain and avoid a drought situation."
"Yes, that part I get." Rarity said, pulling down a few mote branches and making more topiary out of them. "That, however, doesn't explain why we are doing all this menial work. I have much better things I could be doing than grunt work."
"Hey! I take offence to that statement." Applejack said it loudly. "There's nothing wrong with a bit of hard work. It's good for the soul. Besides all these little loose branches, the storm might break them off the trees, where they can be thrown through windows and' stuff. There's potential for injury and property damage. Also, there's no need to waste time making things all pretty."AJ finished, holding up one of Rarity's topiary branches before tossing it roughly into the cart.
Rarity started to snap a retort back, but I decided not to let that happen.
"AJ's right on this one, Rarity. Twilight and I set it up so all these branches will be shredded down, and the wood chips will be given to Fluttershy as nesting material, plus some of it will go to children's play parks to ensure the safety of the foals. How pretty it was before won't matter in the end. It's best you save your magic for now.
The job was nearly done. I wiped sweat from my brow, looking up at the grey sky. The Pegasi on duty, Rainbow Dash included, had already placed a sky full of clouds, and they blooked dark and angry. As I looked up, a large fay drop hit me in the face as it slowly started to rain.
"Oh no! My beautifully coiffed mane will be ruined!" Rarity exclaimed as she ran and took shelter under a park table.
"Twi, take this and bring Rarity back to the library, as we discussed." I pulled a small folded umbrella that was hanging from my belt and popped it open, tossing it to the purple unicorn, who caught it with her magic. "AJ and I will just finish this last bit."
"Sure will!" said AppleJack confidently as she used her lasso to pull a partially broken branch down. As I collected the last of the branches on the ground and gathered them for the cart,
Nodding, Twilight moved the umbrella over to Rarity, and the pair galloped towards the library and disappeared behind its door.
"Prissy little thing, sometimes, isn't she?" Applejack said it conversationally.
"huh… what? Who?" I asked, not really paying attention, trying to keep the increasing rain off my glasses.
"Rarity." She responded. "She's always so fussy... and frou-frou. It'd be a lot better if she just calmed down about all that." Applejack gave a horse-like snort as she finished her thought.
"You know, I bet she'd say the same thing about you in regards to your in-the-dirt, down-to-earth work ethic. It's not wrong; don't misunderstand, but you just don't see eye to eye on certain aspects of life, and that's okay." I said, holding up my hands placatingly, as AJ turned quickly to respond angrily. "You know you're different people—uh, ponies with different interests and lifestyles—but she's still your friend. There's nothing wrong with a little playful ribbing now and again, but only if both parties are into it."
I throw the last branch into the cart and look back at Applejack, whose blonde hair was limp with the wetness and her tail matched. I felt up at my own hair, which had grown quite a bit, was often curly when long, and was hanging straight and wet across my forehead, almost to my eyes.
"We're soaked, AJ; let's get this cart up to the library and go dry off."
We got her hooked up to the cart, and she pulled it effortlessly to the library before we knocked on the door. Spike answers, holding a couple of dry and warm towels in his claws.
"Wow, you guys are soaked. You look like a mangy dog!" I shook my head wildly, splashing Spike and everything within a few feet.
"Fawkes!" came Twilight's voice as she came into the room with a tray of hot tea for everyone. "That was rude. Make sure you clean that up." She finished sternly.
Applejack and I stood dripping as we towelled ourselves off. I also took mine and wiped up where I'd splashed and the drips on the floor before we'd moved into the room with the others.
"Like I was saying before, you girls are going to spend the night! It would be dangerous for you to go home in a storm like this. Fawkes and I discussed that this was probably the best situation, given the weather.
"Ooh, a girl sleeps over. It's been far too long since I've had one, darling. What a fabulous plan!"Rarity chimed in her favour.
"Ahm, not really the sleepover type. I'm not really into the makeovers and frou-frou things like getting your hooves painted."
"Now really, Applejack. You could do with some 'Frou-Frou' things once in a while. Why? Look at the state of your mane after that rain. It's... well, I don't want to say hideous, but here we are."
"Rarity!" Twilight and I saw together.
"What is it, darlings? You need not cry out at once." She responded.
"That was quite rude, even if you didn't mean it as such," I stated. "I mean, my hair isn't great either. It could use a trim and a brushing, but would you call it hideous?" Rarity spluttered a bit. Looking flustered. "Applejack, your mane could use a little care. The rain isn't always good for it. Why don't you let the girls here help with it? You don't need to have it styled or anything; just take care of it." I added quickly, seeing the outrage on AJ's face and the excitement on Rarity's.
"I think there's a section on hair care in my book! Slumber 101: All You've Ever Wanted to Know About Slu..."
"I got it here, Twilight. I'd known you'd been needing it, so I kept a note where it was when I found it, back when we were looking for the elements book when I first got here." I passed the book to her before adding something else. "Rarity, would you be so kind as to give my hair a trim while Twilight helps AJ with her hair?"
Rarity looked a little flustered, but agreed nonetheless. Soon, we were set up, and I sat patiently as Rarity used her magic to gently move a pair of scissors about, snipping here and there.
"How do you like it, Fawkes?" Rarity asks as she starts to even up where it's grown out.
"Uhm, I've never been much for style. I usually have the aides brought down, and the too left a bit longer, usually so I can comb it up a bit." I respond nervously. It was admittedly odd to have trust in a flying pair of magically charged scissors.
"Oh, but darling, we simply must try out some styles. I've been experimenting, you see. Well, primarily with manes, but... It's all the same in the end, isn't it?"
"Uh, no thanks, Rarity. I'd rather not.
Shortly after, Twilight was checking her book again. I decided to have a little chat to hopefully stop the worst of the upcoming trouble.
"Hey, Fawkes. It looks like makeovers are next. I don't know much about them, but we have to do them. It's in the book, so we need to do it for it to be an officially fun sleepover!"
"Yeah, about that. You need to not take the book so seriously. From what I remember, your pushing to try things that only one of Rarity or Applejack caused them to argue. It ended with a branch from the tree outside crashing through the window. It did turn out okay, but not everyone needs to do everything, as not everyone will find everything fun. It's fine to suggest makeovers, but not everyone will participate. There's nothing wrong with this." I said, pointing at the segment of the book.
"But that's what the book says. It's an inscrutable method, tested by professionals. They know what makes fun sleepovers." Twilight responds irately.
"Twi…" I sigh, rubbing my temples. "Anyone can write a book. This isn't a peer-reviewed scientific paper. It's just a book someone wrote. Trust me, Twilight, forcing people to do things they don't like with someone making fun of them for not liking them will only lead to trouble. Please. Make suggestions. If someone wants to do it, you can do it with them; the rest of us can keep ourselves entertained until you're ready to move on to the next thing."
Twilight looks at my pleading face for a minute or two. Before sighing herself.
"You're right, Fawkes. I shouldn't be forcing anyone to do what they're not comfortable doing. I was putting myself first and enjoying my first sleepover over the comfort and security of my friends. All right. Let's have a great sleepover then!"
Afterwards, we told scary stories. Rarity sat out at first. But before long, she joined in with a great story herself.
Finally, it came time to go to bed. Before we went to sleep, I checked the window to make sure the branch was taken down, which it was. Wishing everyone a good night and hearing it back from them all, we snuggled down into our separate beds and drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, the weather had rained itself out. Twilight and I prepared breakfast, and we chatted about our favourite things that happened last night.
"Thank you, everyone, for making my first sleepover the best one ever!" Twilight said to everyone: They all cheered back their own thanks for having them. Applejack and Rarity headed off to their respective homes, waving back towards the library.
