“Hey AJ!” Rainbow Dash called as she scanned the rows of apple trees. “Applejack!”
Finally Dash spotted the orange pony at the end of a row. She flew towards her fast. Then she stopped, mid-air, as though she hit an invisible forcefield, her eyes wide with pure, utter shock.
Applejack was fine. She was smiling and breathing steadily. She was also laying in the sunlight, her back to a tree, her hat low over her eyes. And her eyes were closed.
Rainbow Dash knew that AJ napped sometimes. At least, AJ had told her that she did. It happened very rarely, when the day was the perfect temperature, and the sun was shining, and the wind was coming from the direction of the meadows and blowing the scent of wildflowers over the farm. This was a rare enough occurrence that Dash had never seen it with her own eyes, and here it was in front of her.
A smile crept over Dash’s face, Applejack looked like the picture of peace. All of those strong muscles relaxed, her mane falling among the roots of the tree, and her tail like a golden ribbon in the green grass. Winona was curled up beside her, joining in on the nap, and Dash thought that seemed like a good idea.
She flew over top AJ, and started to land as gently as she could, but she stopped herself. She glanced at Winona, and grinned, silently taking off towards town.
Dash returned a few minutes later, carrying Tank so that his flying device wouldn’t make any noise, and carefully settled him like an egg in the little nest that the curled up puppy made. She gave him a nuzzle, then held a hoof to her lips. Tank got the picture, and pulled his head into his shell to go to sleep.
Finally, Dash flew up over AJ again, and slowly landed on top of her. AJ stirred a little and barely opened an eye as Dash curled up on her stomach, resting her head on AJ’s shoulder, but the earth pony seemed content with the situation and made no move other than wrapping a forehoof around Dash.
Dash felt the warmth of AJ’s body and leg, and the sun shining down on them. The wind was bringing the scent of wildflowers, and it mingled with the smell of earth and sweat that clung to AJ’s coat. As Dash drifted off to sleep, she had to admit that when AJ napped, she took the best naps ever.