Today was a hot day. It was important to note exactly how hot it was. We're talking about the kind of heat where people sweated just thinking about it. The kind of heat where labour of any kind was deemed foolish at best, and impossible at worst. That's how hot it was. As such, this weather prompted most in the town of Canterlot to simply stay inside, because there was little chance that they'd be able to do anything if all they were concerned with was how utterly sweltering it was. Nowhere was this more evident than in the green stretches of Sweet Apple Acres. Now, on most days, its residents, the Apple family, would usually be hard at work plucking apples, making cider or simply prepping up boxes of their titular fruits to sell off to local grocers. However, so bad was the heat on this particular day that even they simply decided that it was too much, and that was definitely saying something.

However, even in spite of that, even in the face of how hugely unwise it would have been to be doing anything stress-inducing or active today, there was someone out there, right under the blistering sun, that who actually putting their backs into something strenuous. These people were none other than Applejack herself, along with one-time rival, Indigo Zap. The two girls were, at this very moment sitting on opposite sides of a small tree stump in the middle of the orchards, engaged in what anyone with eyes could recognise as an arm-wrestling contest. Hand clasped in hand, the two girls stared intently at one another, never letting their eyes stray from one another as they put their all into it. However, so great was their respective strength that, to the casual observer, it looked as if their fists were staying completely still, moving neither one way nor the other. In the middle of all this, Indigo cracked a smirk.

"So...getting tired?"

To that, Applejack simply smirked right back.

"Ha! It'll take more than some city girl to push this Apple!"

The mutual competitiveness had reached a standstill at this point, with neither girl giving ground, even though it was clear that what they'd want more than anything was to simply get out of this heat. Beads of sweat were rolling down their brows as they grunted and strained under the effort they were putting into this. And so focused were they on this task that they didn't even notice Apple Bloom, currently clutching an ice cream in one hand, as she walked up beside them. After looking from her sister, to Indigo, and then back again, she raised an eyebrow before speaking up.

"Um...what are y'all doin?"

"Arm wrestling!" they replied in unison, never turning to look at her.

Apple Bloom stood there in silence for a few moments before simply shrugging her shoulders.

"Oh...okay then."

Turning, the youth was ready to bite into her ice cream, only to find, to her dismay, that it had completely melted during the few seconds when she was talking to the other girls. As she stomped off with disappointment, the latter girls kept on panting heavily as the heat around them actually seemed to increase. And with that, Indigo, after looking like she was deep in thought for a while, finally just came out and said what had clearly been on both of their minds.

"You know...a draw isn't technically losing."

Applejack looked to her opponent, then to their still-clasped fists, and then back up, before finally cracking a smile and nodding. With the silent agreement made, both of them immediately let go, allowing themselves to fall back and land on the grass below. Breathing heavily, they only laid there for a few moments, as this reprieve from their discomfort was, sadly, only a temporary one. For there was still the issue of the sun, and after getting up, Applejack looked around for a while before gesturing with her thumb to the shade of a nearby apple tree. Seeing that, Indigo nodded, and the two girls soon rushed over, letting out a sigh of relief as soon as that shade washed over them. In this moment of contentment, they each found a spot on the grass to sit on, leaning back against the trunk of the tree. As they say there, Indigo looked up at the branches above and broke into a smile.

"I swear...I will love trees forever after this."

Applejack chuckled after hearing that.

"Eyup...welcome to the club, Zap."

A laugh was shared between the two girls for a few pleasant moments, after which, Indigo turned and looked over to Applejack, looking more than a little impressed.

"Gotta hand it to you, Apples, you're pretty tough when you need to be."

At that, Applejack turned to her companion with a smile of her own.

"Shoot, Zap, ya ain't too shabby yerself! Dash told me ya were good at athletics, so ah guess ah wanted ta see if she were right."

Looking to her, Indigo raised an eyebrow.

"And you chose today to do it?"

Applejack nodded, adjusting her famous Stetson hat to better keep stray beams of light from getting in her eye.

"Eyup. Ya can't judge an athlete until ya really put em in a tight spot."

Indigo looked away from her, letting those words, sink in.

"Geez, you don't take prisoners, do you?"

Applejack shook her head.

"Nope! But, ah gotta admit, ya passed the test. Yer a tough one, that's fer sure."

Looking back to her, Indigo regained her smirk from earlier.

"Dash told me the same thing about you. Although...I think she said she was better at racing and stuff, but..."

Before the Crystal Prep girl had a chance to finish that, Applejack's head snapped in her direction.

"She said what?! Why ah oughta..."

But, an instant later, she took a few calming breaths, taking her hat off and flapping it in front of her.

"Darn it! It's the heat! Ah can't think straight like this!"

After letting out a brief chortle, Indigo nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I hear you. Still...I wouldn't mind seeing you two race one another one day. Might be pretty interesting."

To that, Applejack turned to her with slight amusement.

"Trust me on this, sugarcube, we've been there and done that. Back when me and Dash were younger, we used ta race all the time. But she kept goin on about how she was always the better racer. Kinda got on mah nerves."

Indigo nodded before adding her own voice to the mix.

"Tell me about it. I had a similar friend once. Her name was Lightning, Never shut up about wanting to be a professional race car driver and stuff. Always challenged me and others to run against her whenever she had the chance. She was even more competitive than I was, and that was saying something!"

Another laugh was shared between the two girls after that, during which, Applejack took on a more thoughtful look.

"Well...here's ta friends who drive us nuts sometimes."

Turning, Indigo now saw that Applejack had clenched her hand into a fist, holding it before her. Looking from it, to her face and then back again, Indigo cracked a smile before making a fist of her own hand and gently bumping it against Applejack's .With that moment over, they both leaned back into their tree, and after a few more moments of silence, Applejack looked up at the sky, still obscured behind the branches of the tree, and let out a brief laugh.

"Ya know...it's times like that that ah envy those Equestrians. Back when Princess Twilight came over, she told us about how their sun actually gets moved about by magic or somethin."

Indigo turned to her with a degree of curiosity upon her face.

"Seriously? Then damn, get them over here so they can work their stuff on ours, because this is torture!"

Applejack nodded in agreement over that, looking around for a moment before looking as if she'd just had an idea.

"Ya know...we do have a pond on the farm."

A silence fell between the two girls as Indigo slowly turned towards her.

"...Pardon?"

Looking to her companion, Applejack nodded.

"Eyup. A small one, but it ain’t far and..."

But, before she had the chance to finish, Indigo had leapt to her feet, looking to Applejack as if she'd just brought her the happiest news in her whole life.

"Well why didn't you say so?! Let's get going! Race ya!"

Before Applejack could stop her, Indigo was off like a shot, and as she ran further and further away, Applejack watched as she not only kicked off her shoes, but also began to throw off her shirt and a number of her other clothes as she made her way to the cooling waters of the pond. Seeing this, the farm girl chuckled before responding in kind, starting by taking off her hat and placing it on one of the nearby tree branches.

"Well...the girl's pretty enthusiastic, ah'll give her that much."