"Okay... Okay!" Rainbow Dash teetered upon the brink of hyperventilation. "Best out of Thirty-Seven! You game?! Come on! Let's go! Let's go!"
"Mrmmmfff..." Stu Leaves teetered from where he squatted in the back of the rickety wagon across from her. "Jee, I dunno, Rainbow..." He yawned... then yawned harder. "Grfff..." He slumped down, propping his drowsy chin on a hoof. "Not that I'm proud at having this winning streak, but—"
"Streak? Streak?! Pfft! More like a beginner's roll! Come on! I was just starting to get my tactical grove on last game!"
"Y'sure about that?" He yawned into the checkerboard blanket, his eyes fluttering shut as the wagon rattled around them. "I thought we both agreed that we hit that one bump in the road and it moved the pieces for you."
"Pfft! Maybe you agreed! Come on, Stu! Where's your competitor's edge? Don't you feel the raging blood of Commander Hurricange pulsing through your pegasus veins?!"
"Hmmmm..." He nuzzled his chin into the crook of his own forelimbs, smiling sleepily. "Always... a f-fan of Private Pansy..."
"Heh... why doesn't that surprise me?"
Stu was dead silent, his nostrils slowly flaring as he drifted into slumber.
"Come onnnn!" Rainbow's voice cracked. "Don't faint on me now! How in the heck could you fall asleep at a time like this?!"
"Let 'em be, Rainbow!" Applejack hollered back in mid-trot. "Land's sakes! Yer almost puttin' me to sleep with yer goin'-ons!"
Rainbow frowned at her as they rolled down the southern highway. "I don't believe it! He just collapsed!"
"Ain't that a pegasus thang?"
"Huh?"
Applejack smirked, sweatily. "If y'all pegasi dun find something that entertains you for more than an hour, yer metabolism just shuts down?"
"Yeesh. Stu Leaves is right. You are racist."
"Heheheheh..." Applejack tilted the brim of her hat forward. "And you've flipped yer technicolor lid."
"Huh?"
"Let the stallion rest! No sense in beating a dead horse, even if it's him!"
"But... but I was so close—"
"To what?! Face it, Rainbow. Stu Leaves is a natural at them checker games. I'm sure he could beat me in his sleep too if he wanted."
"But... but he acts so nonchalant about it!" Rainbow growled. "Almost like it doesn't mean a darn thing to him!"
"Ya ever thought that perhaps it's because it doesn't mean a thang to him?" Applejack glanced over her orange shoulder. "Not everypony's so Tartarus-bent on testing their mettle against another pony's, sugarcube."
"Heh. As if." Rainbow glared at the sleeping figure. "He's swelling up with pride, I just know it! I bet he's riding the wave in his dreams as we speak!"
"Heh... ain't much worth in swellin' up his head when there ain't much of anythang there to begin with."
"Is that his secret?" Rainbow blinked. "That he's a total friggin' idiot that checkers comes naturally to him?"
"Then I reckon you dun feel so bad about losin' now, huh?"
Rainbow frowned. "Ha. Ha. Very funny."
Applejack chuckled. "Rainbow... will ya relax? I dunno 'bout you, but I'd like to spend the bulk of this trip in good spirits. And hearin' you relive yer Iron Pony mania with the poor sap back there ain't conducive to none of it!"
Rainbow winced so hard, her molars nearly popped out. "Yeesh, AJ. I wasn't... th-that bad, just now..." She gulped. "Was I?"
"Awwww... I'm only teasin', darlin'," Applejack said. "I'm totally used to ya gettin' all hot-headed over a good ol' fashion competition, but Stu Leaves ain't me."
"Heh. Not by a long shot."
"Just let him sleep it off, ya hear? Heh... he'll probably forget all about it when he wakes back up."
Rainbow squinted. "Just why do you keep a featherbrain like him around the farm anyways, AJ?"
"Hmmmm?"
"It's just that... like..." Rainbow bit her lip hard, gazing off towards the nearby treeline as she rubbed her far shoulder awkwardly. "Seems like every time I so much as drop by Sweet Apple Acres... he's th-there, y'know? He's always... always there."
"Well, the feller's really helpful," Applejack said. "Not that none of my other friends are, of course, but he's a bit less busy."
"I see." Rainbow giggled wheezily. "So... uh... he's like livestock?"
"Pffft. You seein' any horns on his noggin', sugarcube?"
"Uhhhh..."
"Stu is like a big colt. It makes him really happy to help out. I feel plum terrible turnin' him down. Y'all've seen the grin on his face when he does somethin' useful. And he is useful. Bucks trees and doesn't ask too many questions. Ponyville could use more helpin' hooves like him."
"So... he's super-helpful, huh?"
"Eeyup. I believe I done said that."
"Soooooo... like..." Rainbow shivered slightly, wings twitching as she fiddled with her numbing hooves. "That's... uhh... all there is?" She gulped. "With him, I mean?"
Applejack looked back, bright emerald eyes blinking. "Hmmm?"
Rainbow's pupils instantly shrank. "Uhhhhhh... what I mean is... uhhhh—"
"Whoah nelly!" Applejack gasped.
"What?!" Rainbow Dash ducked, hugging herself in the seat. "Wh-what's wrong?"
"Will ya take a look at that...?" Applejack grinned stupidly.
Rainbow Dash turned around, following Applejack's line of sight. To the northwest, a mound of forested earth broke the reddening sunset, casting crimson bands and dark shadows across the landscape.
"Hard to believe that we came all the way from up top there," Applejack murmured. She chuckled to herself. "It's like what Granny Smith always aid... y'know... about the Carolineighs..."
"Yeah...?"
"'You never know how high you've been until you've come down from the mountain.'" Applejack smirked. "Guess I was too busy mindin' the road to notice just how spectacular it was."
"Awwwwwwww jeez..." Rainbow winced. "All this time I was trying to whoop Stu's flank at checkers, you were doing all the hard work!"
"No big whoop." Applejack looked ahead, sweating gently in the glow of the sunset. "This mornin's breakfast really did a number on my insides. Trotting it off is the best medicine, if ya ask me."
"Still, you must be tired. How about I take over, AJ?"
"Nah. This late in the day? No real reason to."
"But... uhm..."
"Thanks for the offer."
"How about... I-I draw the wagon with you!" Rainbow smiled nervously. "It might make the load less heavy."
"Rainbow—"
"You wouldn't have to feel guilty about glancing around and digging the scenery." Rainbow gulped. "With... another mare by your side..."
Applejack trotted in silence. She glanced back, smiling calmly. "Well, if you insist..."
"Heh... totally insist." Fwoosh! Rainbow darted down by her side. "Move over, freckle-face."
"Yeesh. Give me a chance to breathe, will ya?" Applejack paused the cart long enough to adjust the riggings. She made room for Rainbow Dash, and soon both ponies were drawing the wagon as one. "Alrighty. I thank that does it."
"There... see...?" Rainbow stammered, trying to catch her breath as she moved alongside Applejack. Only once she was pulling the wagon did she realize how numb her hooves had already become. How long had it been? Just three days? Two? She ignored it, maintaining a confident smirk. "I bet it's easier already!"
"Come to think of it, I reckon it is..." Applejack smiled. "Many thanks, Rainbow."
"Heh... don't mention it."
"You really do enjoy stretchin' yer non-feathered limbs, don't ya?"
"You bet!"
"When yer not lazin' about on a cloud at any given time of the day, that is."
"Hey... watch it."
"Heheheheheh..."