When the pile contained maybe a dozen snowballs, she heard Applejack. Unfortunately, she was much closer than Sunset had expected, and hadn’t approached from the parking lot at all. “Gotcha!” Applejack said from right behind her.

Sunset spun around in time to get hit by a close range snowball. She tried to stand, but slipped on the snow underfoot. The snow cushioned her landing, but Applejack seized the opportunity, running over to Sunset and laughing as she shoved a pile of snow on top of her.

And Sunset laughed too. She had lost a contest that she had never meant to participate in, and yet she was laughing. She didn’t even know when her attempt to catch Applejack had turned into a game, but she wound up having more fun than she’d had in ages. Maybe more fun than she’d had in her entire life.