//------------------------------//
// Chapter 7a 
// Story: Date-Your-Own-Dashie 
// by CategoricalGrant 
//------------------------------//

Lining up with Rainbow Dash on the edge of a field of tall grass, you hop from hoof to hoof as a warm-up.

“Alright,” Rainbow Dash bellows as she turns her head to the side and cracks her neck loudly. “First one to that big tree at the end of the field is the winner.”

“Sounds good,” you reply. “You can’t use your wings, though!”

“What!?” she spits, a flash of apprehension washing over her features. “I mean- that’s fine, I don’t need them!”

“I’m sure you don’t,” you say, squatting down in a powerful starting position. “Okay, on the count of three. One...Two…”

“Three!” Rainbow Dash cries as she launches into a sprint. 

Luckily, you were prepared for this display of questionable sportsmanship and were able to match her explosive start.

Straining, you slowly begin pulling ahead of your smaller pegasus rival. Your hoof bends oddly as you encounter a rough patch of ground, but you are able to recover quickly. As you begin approaching the tree, you sneak a look behind you and find that you’re almost ten feet in front of Rainbow Dash, whose face is painted bright red from exertion.

Focusing as you quickly approach the tree, your ears pick up the sounds of flapping. In your peripheral vision, you see Rainbow Dash pull even with you...and then ahead as she uses her wings to help propel her forward.

“Hey!” you scream. With the tree only a few yards away, you act without thinking and leap onto Rainbow Dash, tackling her and sending you both sprawling across the ground.

Tied in knots, you and Rainbow Dash grunt as you struggle to inch your was the last few feet toward the tree. At almost the same time, her hoof and yours contact the bark of the tree trunk. 

“I WIN!” you both call aloud. 

You stare daggers at each other, your faces only inches apart. Rainbow Dash is the first to move, scrambling to her hooves. “No,” she hisses, “I won!”

“No, you didn’t!” you spit back, following her lead and rising to your full height. “My hoof hit the tree first! And, even if you did win, which you didn’t, you cheated anyway, so I win by default!”

“Y-yeah!? Well…” Rainbow Dash’s cheeks puff up and she blows out a puff of air. “...I will admit you were pretty fast. A lot faster than I expected.” She yawns.

You cock an eyebrow. “What, are you tired?”

“I could go for a nap,” she mumbles, yawning again. “One of my favorite past times. You in?”

You can feel your face heat up a little bit. “Wh-what? You want me to nap with you?”

She shrugs. “Why not? I’ll pull up a cloud and we’ll just chill!”



Proceed to Chapter 12.