Perfect Days

by TwilightUCrazy

Rating: everyone
Tags: Slice of Life, Applejack, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Rainbow Dash, Random
Length: 5283

Rainbow Dash is a hatnapper!

Rainbow Dash is a hatnapper!

Published 2013-10-03 03:00:03 UTC
Last updated 2013-10-03 03:00:03 UTC

Perfect Days

Perfect Days
by TwilightUCrazy

Perfect days. That term had followed Rainbow Dash since her foalhood. It had turned into the ultimate pursuit in her life.

One couldn't just call any old regular “nice day” or even an “awesome day” a perfect day either. Rainbow Dash had a strict list of qualifications to adhere to for what made up the perfect day. If even one of those items on the list felt just a little bit off, then it didn't make the list.

Up to that point, Rainbow's day had consisted of working, napping, eating, working some more. She'd finished an hour ago, and nothing had happened to replace the tedium.

The first step to becoming a perfect day required access to the outdoors. Finding herself stuck inside wasn't any fun, unless it involved one of Pinkie's parties. Rainbow Dash didn't need a calm and clear day either – as long as it wasn't snowing to beat Tartaros, or tornadoes ripping the sky apart. She couldn't care less if it rained cats and dogs, or if it was as sunny as sunny could be.

The second step to a perfect day – and the one that she had most of her issues with – involved having something fun to do. She'd already finished her weatherkeeping duties earlier that afternoon. Not a cloud remained in the sky, save the one serving as her perch.

What did an otherwise-awesome afternoon deserve to die for?

The pegasus turned over onto her belly, and let her hooves dangle over the edge of her little throne in the sky. She contemplated Ponyville down below. She thought of her friends as a way to prevent herself from being bored to death. She could already imagine the epitaph.

"Rest in Peace: Bored to Death."

Not exactly an ideal epitaph to act as a memorial of her greatness for all eternity. She'd rather have something about fiery explosions or some epic stunt gone wrong.

If nothing was going on, then Rainbow would just have to make something happen. But Twilight had locked herself in the library all day with some kind of experiment, and Pinkie had taken the day off to celebrate the Cake twins' birthday.

That left Rainbow with one option.

A sinister grin formed on her face as she hopped off her cloud and booked it on over to Sweet Apple Acres.

Rainbow arrived over the west orchards in short order; Applejack had said something about working them that day the last time the gang had lunch together.

Rainbow would never have thought it a difficult task to spot her orange-coated friend trundling along amongst the trees nearest the house. Aside from her sharp eyes, there wasn't anything Applejack could blend in with in nature, much less on the farm.

Instead, a flash of red drew her eyes to Big Macintosh, with a large wagon in tow. Given the wooden mug in his hoof, the Apples had busted out the cider to keep cool that evening.

Looked like a cider hunt needed squeezed into her plans later on.

Granny Smith sat over on the porch of the house, rocking in her chair while sewing something – looked like a blanket from this distance. And if Rainbow Dash's eyes hadn't been playing tricks on her, she'd seen Applebloom and her band of merry blank-flankers swordfighting with sticks in the park a few minutes ago.

Just where the hay did Applejack go, anyway? She'd seen everypony but her all day!

Rainbow narrowed her eyes watchfully and set herself to a slow cruise, keeping her sharp vision trained for a splotch of orange and gold amongst the wide-ranging green landscape.

Then Rainbow saw her. Applejack had journeyed deep in the western fields, way up on top of a hill where the trees started clumping together again.

The farmgirl didn't seem to notice the white ball of fluff scooting about overhead.

It wasn't a lot of space for Rainbow to work with. She'd have to get the angle just right. The flapping of her wings could rustle the branches and alert Applejack to her presence. And even if she made a successful approach, plotting her escape could get tricky – she'd probably have to try and outrun her friend on-hoof at that point.

Rainbow never hesitated though, or if she did, she didn't show it. Daredevils needed to have at least a bit of crazy in them. The prospective challenge brought an ear-to-ear grin to her face. She let out a wicked and excited chuckle straight from the villainy handbook and rubbed her forehooves together.

Below, Applejack had become consumed with belting the middle of a particularly large and troublesome apple tree. Every year Rainbow saw Applejack hammer the trunk several times just to net its juicy prize.

Rainbow Dash watched from on high, eying her prey. Her ears, mane and coat folding back instinctively to help streamline her body. Her tail involuntarily twitched, sensing the wind direction and the changes in atmospheric pressure.

So much for a lame evening!

Applejack tilted forward for another powerful buck to the base of the tree and Rainbow smirked.

Lurching over into a steep dive, Rainbow took advantage of Applejack's distraction and rapidly beat her wings. She built speed rapidly as she tightened herself up for her descent. Her wings flared just before she hit the ground, catching the air like a parachute and evened her out into a horizontal glide.

With minor twitches of her primaries, she angled herself around the uneven terrain at about wither-height.

Over low-hanging branches and beneath listing trunks she flew, barely avoiding grazing the leaves with the tips of her wings.

Then came the tricky part.

Fortunately, maneuverability had been one of Rainbow Dash's strongest attributes since birth. She angled around trees at speeds that would make most other pegasi pale in the gills.

Applejack still bucked stubbornly at the base of Big Betty when Rainbow came streaking up over the crest of the hill and back into view.

“Heads up!” Rainbow shrieked over the whistling wind.

Applejack jerked her head up, startled at the sudden noise. Her wide emerald eyes darted around, looking for the source of the shout.

She whizzed past like a cyan comet, causing the farmpony to flinch and duck instinctively.

Rainbow immediately dropped to the ground, burying her hooves in the dirt and grass to shed speed. She jumped and landed hooves-first against the side of another tree nearby, shaking a dozen apples loose before rolling to the ground for a complete stop.

Applejack stood stunned and silent before she glimpsed at her coverless head and glared in annoyance at her.

It felt to Rainbow like an implicit promise of the reward she so badly yearned for.

“Rainbow, would ya knock it off?" she snapped irritably. "Ah'm too busy to play games witcha right now, sugarcube.” She frowned at her and held out her hoof expectingly.

Rainbow gripped Applejack's treasured possession tighter in her teeth, eyes narrowing as she grinned around the brim right at her. Her magenta eyes sparkled, her tail lashing in wide arcs.

She shook her head in defiance, tussling the hat gently and causing Applejack's coat to bristle angrily.

“Rainbow! Give that back!” she growled through her teeth. Her eyes narrowed as she took a heavy, threatening step forward.

The pegasus held the Stetson's brim firmly in her mouth and kicked up a cloud of dust as she bolted from the scene on-hoof.

“Come and get it if ya want it!” she challenged in a muffled voice.

“Rainbow, ya rat with wings! Gimme back mah hat!” she heard her friend bellow behind her. The furious flurry of Applejack's heavier hooves thundered up right on top of her like a storm front capable of hate.

Rainbow unfurled her wings and gave them a mighty flap to put on some additional speed.

She had no desire to be tied up with an apple in her mouth for a seventeenth time.

Rainbow Dash let the momentum of running downhill carry her up to top speed, and leapt off about halfway down to put a bit more ground between her and her friend. Applejack could run ever so slightly faster than her and could go for longer than she could – not that she'd admit it out loud – which meant she would need to be clever for victory.

If nothing else, she could fly away. It wasn't the Running of the Leaves, and Applejack couldn't hope to compete with Rainbow Dash for speed when she had access to her wings.

On the other hoof, though, while Rainbow did like winning, she liked winning fairly even more. She wouldn't prove anything to her friend if she cheated, other than that she was a cheater.

Once she'd gotten a good three- or four-second lead on Applejack she folded her wings at her side and looked back, grinning like she technically could have been an idiot. But only technically.

Applejack continued to shout after Rainbow, though her words were lost in the translation of powerful hooves beating against the turf.

The hat must have been like somepony had made off with her diary or something equally personal – priceless and irreplaceable as Rainbow's own wings were. It wasn't meant to go on the head or wind up clenched in the teeth of another pony. It was sacrilegious... or something. One day, Rainbow Dash would have to drag the story behind the hat out of Applejack.

First things first, though...

Rainbow full-out sprinted just to keep ahead of the pursuing Applejack. It cost her valuable stamina that she would otherwise need for a long drawn-out chase. Thankfully, the farmgirl didn't have her lasso with her, or the whole thing would've ended before it had even begun.

She made straight for the edge of the fields, running towards the open plains beyond. Her ears twitched as they picked up Applejack's hooves thudding up behind her, the impact tremors of her hooves against the ground growing stronger with every moment. Her heart pounded with exhilaration as she vaulted over a fallen apple tree.

She dared not look back.

Applejack's hooves hit the ground with a strong thump and a grunt a fraction of a moment after hers.

Rainbow realized if she didn't put some distance between them quickly, she'd never have a chance of staying in the race. Her mind's eye imagined Applejack's hot breath steaming up the trailing ends of her tail. Knowing once those teeth latched onto her, she'd lose, she began to panic. Rainbow was an athlete, but Applejack was built to wrestle.

The pegasus thought back to every chase scene in her Daring Do books. Her eyes zeroed in on a perfectly placed apple tree, and she licked her lips.

Quietly hoping it wasn't just a cartoon stunt, Rainbow ran headlong straight at the tree.

Rather than run out into the open like Applejack would have expected her to, she jumped at the last moment, using her lighter mass to her advantage. Pegasus ponies had lighter bones, allowing for better turning abilities than any heavy-set earth pony like Applejack could manage.

Applejack's expression as she rebounded off the tree and flew over her head was one of dumbstruck surprise. Rainbow gave one flap of her wings just to stay out of reach of the gnashing teeth reaching up to make for a grab of her tail.

She landed, running the same path they'd come in on, but back in the other direction.

Somewhere behind her, Applejack scuffed her hooves against the ground as she struggled to a halt. Sparing a look back, Rainbow saw the farmpony barely avoid becoming part of the same tree.

It would take her a few moments to get her top speed back. By that time, Rainbow's lead opened to nearly six seconds, setting Applejack to trail by a significant margin.

Applejack was no quitter, however, and had gained on her. No matter how fast Rainbow seemed to gallop, she couldn't outrun her friend.

The lead Rainbow had worked so hard to forge was being eroded by every stride between the two of them. Applejack's hind legs carried her slightly farther and faster than Rainbow's did, and Rainbow knew that her own endurance wouldn't last at such a pace.

She would have her soon.

Rainbow Dash planned to win. But she would have to force Applejack to play her game, not the other way around.

Besides, it wasn't just a game anymore – it had turned into a matter of the earth pony's pride. Rainbow had known coming into it that would be a challenge to overcome.

The thrill of it made her spirits soar and sent a new wave of adrenaline running through her, giving her a second wind.

The burning in her lungs was shoved to the back of her mind as she pushed herself harder and harder just to hold onto the sizable distance between her and Applejack. Knowing that she'd need to do something to buy a little extra time, Rainbow made straight towards the river.

As the crisp blue waters cutting through Sweet Apple Acres loomed into view, Rainbow spared another moment to look back to her friend.

The gap had narrowed to three seconds and Rainbow hooves burned trying to buy just a bit more distance.

Using the advantage blessed to her by birth, Rainbow leapt a portion of the width of the river, and extended her wings to glide her the rest of the way across.

Applejack only managed to jump half the distance, and struggled through the water for the rest. The effort etched lines on her face.

Rainbow grinned to herself. Applejack would have to tire out at some point, she knew. She noted the glinting of the orange sunlight off the beads of sweat mixing with the water running down her face.

Of course, that didn't mean much – Rainbow herself began feeling fatigue belabor her own steps as well. Her mind went berserk trying to figure out what else she could try just to keep her friend away.

Being forced to run through the stream had slowed Applejack down noticeably and given Rainbow Dash time enough to formulate some semblance of a plan, and she bolted back towards the barn.

***

Big Mac figured he had long since earned a break. He'd accomplished all of what he'd set out to do that day and a bit of what he'd wanted to knock out tomorrow.

After he hauled the wagon filled with dozens of bushels of apples into the barn, he unhooked himself, and went around the side towards the back to begin unloading. He'd noticed Granny wasn't on the porch in her rocker anymore.

He sure hoped she'd gone inside to make some fritters – Granny's fritters always made for a great treat at the end of a hard day's work.

Big Mac kicked the side of the wagon, knocking the tailgate open, and reached up to grab a bushel in his teeth, when suddenly he felt the ground trembling underhoof.

Had the cows gone stampeding again?

All of a sudden, Applejack's friend – Rainbow Smash, if he remembered right – came roaring into the barn like a cannonball on fire. Mac barely had time to blink at the speed she moved at.

“Comin' through!” she shouted, her words muffled by–

Wait, was that Sis's hat?

Rainbow Smash jumped, mounted his back with all four hooves, and launched herself to the opposite side of the barn and towards the open doors to freedom beyond. She galloped out of the barn and vanished before he could even get a word in. He could hear Winona barking from inside the house at the ruckus.

Big Mac blinked again and turned, seeing his sister barreling down on him. She'd gotten drenched somehow, flinging droplets of water every which way. Rather than try and react, Mac simply stood as still as possible, bracing himself for whatever came next.

Applejack dropped to her rump and slid on her haunches underneath her big brother.

“Pardon!” she shouted back to him as she ran off at an unbelievably swift pace. “Rainbow, Ah'm gonna tan yer hide!”

Big Mac blinked a few more times, looking back towards the other barn door to make sure nopony else had plans to come and surprise him. He only noticed the gray wall-eyed mailmare as she clumsily stuck a few letters in the mailbox and flew off.

He shrugged and grabbed the bushel firmly in his teeth, and began unloading his wagon.

***

The two bolted out of the barnyard proper, vaulting over pig pens and chicken coops, scaring the bejeepers out of the cows and sheep, and raced off into the hilly east fields. One look, and Applejack's tiredness became obvious. Every pant she took released steam into the cooling evening air. Her face had turned a bright cherry red from her heart racing blood to every part of her it could get it to.

Running up and down hills turned into an exhausting chore at some point, even for the most athletic ponies. Applejack chose to dodge around the hills where she could. Even then, though, Rainbow never felt like she'd escaped her sight.

So much for losing her in the orchards.

Running around the hills, though, ceded valuable distance to Rainbow Dash, and while the pegasus could keep herself going with a quick flap of her wings, Applejack was handicapped to where she could go on-hoof.

Unfortunately, Applejack knew every inch of the Acres by heart. A good hiding place didn't exist anywhere on the farm for when Rainbow inevitably had to give up.

It had grown far more difficult for her just to draw a breath.

Okay – new plan!

Despite Applejack's knowledge of the farm and the lands surrounding it, Rainbow Dash knew the orchards pretty well herself. She'd spent a hay of a lot of time in her youth lounging in the branches and napping the days away.

Rainbow made towards the thicker parts of the fields, heading for a group of hills densely lined with trees. The Apples called these parts the “Snuggling Grove” for how it looked like the trees cuddled up to each other. To Rainbow it sounded rather mushy, but she could see the truth in it. The closeness of the trees meant, even at high noon, one could settle in for a nice, cozy nap, and not worry about the sun keeping them awake. Rainbow knew from personal experience.

It also meant it was a good place to disappear.

As Rainbow Dash darted into the shade of the trees she immediately bolted to the left and hung another right, agilely twisting through the treeline.

Applejack tried her best to follow, but her greater mass meant she'd have to forcefully dig her hooves in to make a quick change of direction. It cost her more of her strength, and make her legs burn like a forest fire in July. Rainbow, on the contrary, zigzagged effortlessly between the tight clusters of trees. She began liking her odds a little better with every tree they weaved past.

Rainbow grinned back towards her trailing friend. “Try to keep up, AJ!” she hollered over their pounding hoofbeats.

Applejack managed a smirk, and despite the wobbliness starting to show in her gait, kept forcing those legs of hers to keep carrying her onward.

Oh, brother! Does this pony take super-pills or something?!

Rainbow's chest became constricted. She could hear her breath in her ears as she began to wheeze deeply for the wind to keep her going. She needed more of an advantage. Despite the one that carried her in the tight trees, Applejack still kept pace with her.

Desperation started to set in. Rainbow looked around frantically for any kind of an out, and another idea occurred to her.

Hopefully Applejack wasn't thinking very clearly. Otherwise, the chase would end with her bound in rope and chucked into the pig pen, or worse.

Using her changing-direction trick, Rainbow turned all of a sudden, and bolted for the other side of a large tree. Using her brief moment of invisibility, Rainbow launched herself vertically, reaching for an upper branch.

As Applejack wheeled around in pursuit, she ground herself to a halt in the midst of a half dozen large apple trees.

She blinked, panting through her exhaustion and peering around every which way for the direction her friend had taken off in.

Rainbow felt dizzy from trying to suppress her own gasps for badly needed air.

She'd never held as still in her entire life as she had in that moment.

It seemed to work, though. Applejack hadn't found her inside those first few seconds like she'd feared. She hadn't been applebucked out of the tree and wrestled into submission.

“Rainbow, Ah'm gonna beat'cha like a rug! Get out here and take yer whuppin' like a mare!” Applejack called out through a pitiful wheeze. It didn't help that it looked like she had trouble staying upright.

Despite her angry tone and the deep shade of the grove, Rainbow Dash could make out the gigantic grin on Applejack's face.

Rainbow smiled smugly around the hat and could barely contain her own euphoria.

Everything seemed to stand still for a moment.

The world held its collective breath in suspense.

Would the daring Dash make it out alive?

Applejack suddenly turned her backside to the tree she hid in, and she reconsidered her luck.

A violent tremor shook the branch she was in as the earth pony pounded against it with her back hooves. Rainbow couldn't keep hold with her tired legs and fell to the ground with a startled yelp.

“Well if that ain't a strange zap apple!"

Rainbow looked up and saw the earth pony flinging herself straight at her.

Horseapples!

She scrambled to her hooves and leapt to the side. And none too soon.

Applejack narrowly missed grabbing her, her teeth snapping where her tail had been a moment before. Rainbow let out a panicked squeal and took off as quickly as her lead-like legs would carry her.

Thanks for nothing, Daring!

She spared a look back and saw Applejack push herself lethargically back up to her hooves, and the dogged pursuit began again.

Rainbow wasn't even hitting half her top speed after the good forever-and-a-half of solid running. Even at her peak form, she could never hope to outlast an earth pony's endurance on the ground.

Applejack annoyingly stuck with her, despite her loud wheezing breaths. Rainbow Dash could barely feel her extremities at that point – the only thing that had kept her in the race so far had been her light frame, and how much she practiced her flying at low-oxygen altitudes.

As both ponies charged up one of the more sparsely-populated hills, Rainbow knew that it would all come down to that moment for the both of them. She didn't have the energy to keep going, and she knew that at any moment, Applejack could just glomp onto her, making the whole race an infuriating disappointment.

The orange mare, however, looked every bit as exhausted as Rainbow felt.

All chips were on the table. Rainbow Dash couldn't stand the thought of losing at that point.

She hadn't felt so alive since her and Applejack's last race through Whitetail Woods – it'd been awhile since the two had gotten to really stretch their legs in such a way.

All thoughts zeroed in on winning, and keeping a hold of the hat she had gone through so much trouble to earn. Her brain didn't have the oxygen to think of anything else.

Rainbow Dash paused at the base of the hill and unfurled her wings, and with a single flap, flung herself to the hilltop. Her sluggishness betrayed her, though.

As she turned back to see what kind of lead she held, Rainbow took a second to breathe. Applejack charged the hill with what had to be every last drop of energy that she had left. Her climb seemed slow, but the fact that she managed it at all defied belief.

Rainbow's legs roused from their numbness during her pause and begged her to quit, agonizingly screaming at her brain for mercy.

She ignored them.

Turning towards the one-tree hill, though, her hindquarters gave out halfway through the maneuver. Rainbow frantically backpedaled with her forehooves and turned to the other side of the hill for one last desperate escape.

She regained her balance just as Applejack peaked the hill.

“No... you... don't!” Applejack rattled breathlessly.

Rainbow looked back just in time to watch Applejack throw herself at her with one last burst of effort.

Everything happened in slow motion.

Applejack used herself as a living projectile in attempt to stop Rainbow from taking flight yet again.

Crudcrudcrudcrudcrudcrudcrud! Rainbow thought as her mind reeled for ideas.

Rainbow tried to run but her hind legs didn't respond to her commands. Her tail still flickered within grabbing distance of Applejack's teeth.

Out of sheer desperation, she could only manage to toss her head violently to the side and throw herself out of the way. She rolled shakily into to an unstable standing position and worked up to another halfway gallop.

Applejack landed roughly on her stomach with a forceful “oof!”

As the dust settled, Rainbow Dash's world slowed to a stop.

She slowly came around, trotting shakily back towards Applejack. She stopped about twenty feet away, her chest heaving.

In all likelihood her friend was fine, but the way Applejack just lay there, wheezing and tremoring, she had to know for sure.

A victorious grin bigger than any Rainbow had ever felt spread across her face and around the brim of Applejack's hat. With a quick flick of her head, she crowned herself queen of Sweet Apple Acres with the Stetson, and trotted with a renewed spirit to where her friend lay.

Applejack let out an uncomfortable moan and looked up to Rainbow. Tired emerald eyes met magenta, and the two breathless ponies stared at each other for several long moments.

Then they laughed – or chuckled. Outright laughing at the moment had become rather impossible, given their respective states. Both ponies could hear their own breathing and hearts racing in their ears, and words weren't fast coming. Both mares' faces had turned a deep scarlet from such exertion, and neither pony had four stable legs to stand on.

Rainbow Dash swaggered unsteadily up next to Applejack and flopped down on her side, taking in huge gulps of air.

“So...” she rasped, “like my new hat?” She grinned before going back to her panting friend.

Applejack still didn't have the air in her to reply, and lay there in the cool grass in the shade of Lonely Larry at the top of the hill.

It took a minute, but Rainbow Dash at last found the lingering remains of her strength and took flight towards the farmstead. She returned a few minutes later with a couple mugs of ice-cold cider in her hooves – partially motivated by her love for cider, but all for the reason that she and Applejack needed something to cool down with.

Applejack wasted no time, and took her mug without a word spared. She rolled onto her back, and held up the mug to her lips, guzzling the drink from full to gone in seconds.

So much of it drizzled down the sides of her cheeks and onto the ground that it brought a twinge of pain to Rainbow's heart at the sight of such waste.

“Hey, easy there, cowgirl!” Rainbow said with an elated smile. Even so, she mimicked Applejack, and tossed the entire drink back in one continuous gulp.

She took a breath, and let out a satisfying belch that would have turned Rarity green in the face. With a sigh of delight at the perfectly balanced taste, she hoisted the wooden mug and pitched it as far as she could down the hillside.

“Nice one,” Applejack breathed weakly with a smile, rolling onto her side to let the drink do its thing.

“Thanks!”

Rainbow grinned playfully, and let out a relieved sigh. From the hilltop she could look up at the darkening horizon as the reddened sun landed on the western fields a trillion-gazillion miles away, bathing Equestria in its crimson light.

When Rainbow looked over, she saw even Applejack, in her still-exhausted stupor, appreciated the view. Once her own legs had recovered enough to let her, she stood up to move closer to her friend. She felt the vices tightening around her muscles with every step she took. It was the good kind of soreness though.

“Mighty pretty day, ain't it?” Applejack asked with a warm smile. She betrayed no anger, anxiety, or bitterness at having been beaten – only satisfaction and gratitude subtly written onto her expression.

Neither pony needed to say anything to know what the other was feeling.

“Sure is,” Rainbow agreed as she laid back down.

“Now gimme back mah hat,” she groaned. "Ya proved yer point already."

“Uhh... gee – NO,” Rainbow snapped. "If you realized what I had to go through to earn this thing – oh, wait..." A rapturous smile crinkled her cheeks.

It had been the first time ever that she'd conclusively (sort of) beaten Applejack in a hoofrace, and she wasn't willing to part with her hard-earned trophy upon request.

Applejack didn't reply, other than with a grunt of disapproval. Too tired to argue, Rainbow guessed.

The sun had gone about halfway through its descent when Rainbow looked over to Applejack and smiled. “So, you gonna admit that I won, or do you wanna argue about it?”

Rainbow Dash's answer came in the form of Applejack's quiet snoring in the cradle of the roots of the tree she'd settled under. Her chest rose and fell rhythmically, and her green eyes had folded shut for the evening. Her golden tail twitched softly in her sleep, bapping Rainbow on the flank.

Rainbow Dash smiled, and staggered up once again, watching a chill go through the farmpony as a brisk wind blew over the hilltop.

Her own feathers and coat poofed out, and she walked a soft circle around Applejack, before she alighted on the narrow space right behind her. Rainbow draped one hoof over her friend's chest, and fluffed her cozy mane with the other.

At least it'd feel more comfortable than the stupid tree root Applejack had chosen.

Rainbow Dash yawned and snuggled into her friend's mane; it smelled like apples, though maybe that could be blamed on the cider Applejack had wasted running down the sides of her face.

She reflected on the events of the evening, going over every exciting detail of the race, every awesome move and stunt she had made, every miraculous recovery. She felt rather pleased with herself – even though technically she hadn't played one hundred percent fair.

Applejack didn't seem to mind it all that much, though, so she guessed there wasn't a lot in the way of hard feelings. If she was a bit sore at her, a quick game of horseshoes would fix that.

Those concerns would keep for morning. Farmpony-Rainbow Dash smiled to her snoozing friend and snuggled up to her for the cool night to come, draping a wing over her for warmth.

The red sun dipped below the horizon and vanished, leaving behind a violet dusk. Stars began to peek out of their bed of daylight and awaken for the coming evening.

Rainbow released a contented sigh and closed her eyes.

An awesome day.

No.

A perfect day.