Hello, Cars writers!!! I'm back with an idea for a one-shot I just thought of! Remember how I posted a couple separate one-shots about the Cars characters as dogs? I've worked up the nerve to do another doggo story! The reason I say "worked up the nerve" is because I'm really, really afraid it counts as copywriting to write about Faithfirefly's dog characters without permission, even if I credit her every time. I really wish I could somehow ask her, but of course I can't do that. (Also, on Google Docs I wrote the whole Cars movie but with dogs XDXD)

Wait- does it count as copywrite? I hope not. To be completely honest, that's not something I'd ever want to do- as much as I wish the idea was my own, I'll always credit Faith for her AWESOME imagination and for being able to create the dog AU. Anyway, enough of my babbling. Enjoy and review!

(Oh, THIS IS ALSO FOR THE "STUPID" PROMPT! It's for Fabulous Crazy Cars Fudge!! Enjoy!)

It was a hot July day in Canis Springs, Arizona, where famous sled dog Lightning McQueen was enjoying the off-season with his friends in the small town. Being a Siberian husky, of course, he really didn't like the warm weather, but if he was gonna live in Arizona, he might as well get used to it.

Lightning was lying in the shade under the awning at Flo's, lapping periodically at the water in his bowl. Across from him was Fillmore, Sarge, Sheriff, and Doc, while on one side was Sally and on the other were Luigi and Guido. Everyone was just trying to keep cool, but Lightning was kind of jealous of Luigi, Guido, Red, and even Sarge, who all had at least somewhat short fur. Lucky, he thought, at least you don't have to suffer like me!

He hadn't ever really minded warm weather; as long as it was decent. If it got above 80 degrees or so, it'd be enough to make him pant. Lizzie was snoozing on her porch down the road, but snoring loud enough for Lightning and the others to hear. Sheriff sighed quietly and put his head on his paws, and Guido shook himself like he was shaking the heat off of his body. Lightning himself rolled sideways so his belly was exposed to dispel the heat.

Sally took a few licks at her own bowl before sighing. "I knew what I was getting into moving here, but I don't remember a day as hot as this in quite a while..." she mumbled, dropping her head over her forelegs lazily. Lightning nodded. "Yeah..." Then he noticed that Mater was missing from the group of canines and lifted his head to look around.

"Hey, guys, does anybody know where Mater is?" he asked as Flo came outside with a few more bowls of water. "Nope," Sarge said, followed by Sheriff. "I haven't seen him all afternoon."

Flo slid a bowl to Ramone with her hind paw and sat down. "Sorry, honey. Last time I saw him was breakfast. Maybe he's at his place?" Lightning gathered himself and stood up, stretching with a lazy yawn. "Ahhm... yeah, maybe he is. I'll see you later." The young racer trotted away and down the road to Mater's shed. On his way past Lizzie's, she yelled out, "Hey! Sled dog! I like your trot!"

Confused, Lightning stopped and turned his head. "Uh... thanks, Lizzie..." He quickly left so he wouldn't have to hear Lizzie's- uh, flirting with him. Lightning neared Mater's property and peeked through the fence. "Mater?" he called, walking in. Not seeing his friend in his dog house, Lightning looked around. "Mater? Where are you, buddy?"

"RAHHHH!!!!" Lightning was pushed onto the ground by a weight on his back, and with a yip of surprise, he grunted when his face was shoved into the dirt. When he twisted himself around, there was the chocolate colored bloodhound himself, panting and smiling and wagging his tail. "Hey, Lightnin'!" he greeted, hopping off of the startled husky. "Ugh- hey, Mater..." he grumbled, standing up and shaking his red and white fur clear of dust.

"Where've you been, buddy? Nobody's seen you since this morning!" Mater grinned slyly. "I've got a surprise for ya!"

Without another word, Mater spun around and ran off. Confused, Lightning picked up one of his white paws and stared after him. "...Mater?" Lightning received no answer. So, of course, he followed the excited hound.

Mater was running in the direction of the cow pasture. "Hey! Buddy, wait up!!" Lightning sprinted after him, but he slowed to a trot after the heat made his breath heavy and labored. Between puffs of breath, he called, "Ma- *pant*- Mater! W-wait up, buddy!"

Mater finally stopped after he leapt over the old wooden fence. Lightning, winded, trotted after with his head held low and tongue hanging out. What a workout... He crawled through the boards and caught up to Mater, who was wagging his tail and looking proudly at his "creation."

Lightning huffed tiredly, looking at Mater confusedly. "Mater... what did you come here for...? There's nothing to d-" He stopped. All across the field were thick, sloshy mud puddles. "Woah."

Mater giggled like a pup. "Hehehe! Ya like it, buddy?" he asked, wagging his tail and turning his head to Lightning, who was surprised the hound wasn't panting like he was. Lightning blinked slowly. "I mean... yeah, it's cool, Mater, but what's it for?"

Mater smiled. "It's for mud racin'!"

Lightning lowered one ear and cocked his head. "Mud... racing?" Mater nodded. "Yup! You'll see!" Mater ran away into the field. Puzzled, Lightning watched him. He didn't understand why Mater had made all these puddles... and how?

Lightning made his way over and asked, "how did you do this?" Mater grinned. "I borrowed Ramone and Flo's garden hose!" The pup was still confused. "But... what did you hook it up to?" Mater shrugged. "It ain't important. C'mon, let's go!!"

To Lightning's surprise, Mater leapt in the air, twisted around, and landed flat on his back in a smallish mud puddle. "Ahh!" Lightning spun around and pushed on his back legs to jump clear of the splash. He'd just had a bath yesterday!

Mater was rolling around in it, and laughing really loudly at the same time. Utterly perplexed, Lightning just kind of stared at him for a while, still half in a defensive crouch. "Uh... Mater? Wh-... why... is this part of mud racing?" The bloodhound was still a little bit recognizable, but it would be hard to tell if you didn't look closely. "Yeah!" he called to Lightning, who was standing several feet away. "We gotta get ready before we go racin'!" Lightning didn't really get why- or, rather, what the heck Mater was doing, but... well, it was Mater. What did he expect?

Mater stood up and shook himself, sending little mud droplets flying. Lightning didn't leap out of the way in time for one to land on his cheek. "Oh!" The husky cringed, pawing at his own face clumsily, but it only smeared it on the white fur on his cheek. "Agh! Come on!" Mater laughed. "It's not so bad, buddy! Yer just a city slicker!" he teased. A bit offended, Lightning scoffed. "I am not!" he retorted, raising his tail rebelliously.

He was beckoned by Mater to join him. "C'mon, Lightnin'! Gotta get ready before we can run!"

Cringing, Lightning hesitated; but what made him glare determinedly and walk up was Mater making chicken noises.

"M-Mater, I just had a bath! Are you sure-?"

"Pleeeeeease?"

Lightning sighed. "Fine..." This is stupid...

He lifted one of his paws and slowly moved it toward the mud puddle. When his claw touched it, he struggled to resist the urge to wrench it away. "Ughn..." Mater giggled. Lightning glared at him and defensively shoved his whole paw into the mud. Ew!! Ew!

Lightning did not like mud. At all. Not one bit. If you hadn't noticed.

When he lifted it, his paw was dripping with brown mud. "I'm glad this isn't cow manure..." he mumbled.

"I knowed you was a city boy!" Mater teased, chuckling and rolling around in it again. Lightning grew kind of offended at this. "I am not!" he growled. Finally, he gathered his will and reluctantly flopped onto his back, shocked by the cold that seeped through his fur and into his skin. "Ooh! Cold!!"

Wanting to get the cold feeling off, Lightning tried to get up, but his front paw slipped and sent him face planting into the mud suddenly. Mater stared; then he laughed really, really loudly and obnoxiously.

Lightning lifted his dripping face from it. "Ah-hahahaha! Ha! Really funny!" Mater just kept laughing. "This is s'posed to cool you off!!"

"Rrrrgh..."

Mater jumped up and grabbed Lightning's collar in his teeth, pulling the racer to his feet. "Now let's go racin'!" Lightning groaned inwardly. Oh noooo...

Mater ran up a steep hill after a short jog, and Lightning made the climb after him.

Heh. Now's the fun part, I guess...

Mater looked out over the area as Lightning panted next to him. "All right! You ready, Lightnin'?" Mater asked playfully, crouching like he was going to jump. Lightning looked at him. "Wha-? Wh- for what?"

Mater didn't answer, instead jumping down on his belly and sliding down the muddy hill. He whooped and howled and screamed, and Lightning just... watched him for a bit until he reached the end. Mater went flying into the grass when the mud stopped flowing. Lightning just continued to stare.

Mater got up, shook himself, and yelled up to him, "COME ON, BUDDY!!!!! IT'S YER TURN!!!!!"

Lightning's mud stained fur made him hesitate again. Guess he'd have to have another bath... but-

He inhaled through his teeth and forced himself to jump into the mud. He slid down the hill way faster than he thought he would. "Woah, woah, woah, woah!!" he cried, clawing desperately at the mud in a futile effort to slow down. It didn't work, of course.

Lightning felt himself sliding to one side. Uh oh. He didn't want to barrel roll the rest of the way down. The husky's expression turned fearful, and he tried to slow down by digging his claws into the mud, but it was no use, and he found himself- well, barrel rolling, all the way down the hill. "Ahhhhhhhh!!!!!!"

He finally reached the end of the steep slide, and when he hit the patch of grass where the mud stopped, he was sent flying a couple feet, screaming and flailing in terror, and landed hard on his side.

Mater trotted over as Lightning gathered his wits, dizzy. "Wasn't that fun, buddy?" he asked, play bowing like he was going to pounce on Lightning, who moaned. "Ow... y-yeah, Mater... that sure was- uh... fun!" He slowly rose to his feet and whimpered a little, shaking himself off. Well... actually... it kinda was fun. He realized that he'd- sort of enjoyed the whole mud racing thing. Huh.

He coughed a couple times, sniffing. "Wow... so, uh... can we do it again, Mater?" The hound looked surprised. "Huh? You really wanna?" Lightning nodded, but then felt a bit awkward because he'd been such a... city slicker up until then. He twitched his ear as a droplet of mud fell off. "Yeah, I do. It was fun! And, besides, it does cool me off quite a bit."

"Ok! Let's go!!" Mater took off up the hill again, and Lightning ran after him. Upon reaching the top, Mater stopped short, and Lightning almost bumped into him. "Huh? What's wrong?"

"I've got an idea, buddy!" Mater exclaimed, grinning widely back at Lightning. He tilted his head. "What?"

Mater lay flat on his back and wagged his tail. "Uh... Mater, what does this have to do w-"

Before Lightning could finish, Mater shoved his hind paws into the mud and slid down the hill on his back.

"WHEEEE-HEEEEE!!!!!!!" he screamed, and Lightning watched, concerned and surprised, as Mater did a backwards somersault and rolled the rest of the way down like that. "M-Mater!! Be careful!!!"

Lightning watched as Mater finally halted at the end, immediately jumping up and barking at Lightning to follow him. "Do what I did!!!" he yelled.

Lightning's eyes went wide. "No way!" he called back, shaking his head rapidly. "No! I don't wanna break my neck!!"

Mater rolled his eyes, grinning. "Fiiiiine. C'mon, Lightnin'! Come back down some other way then!" Lightning paused, thinking of another way to get down. "Hmmm... oh! Hey, Mater, come back up here! Let's go racin'!"

Mater looked confused, but he trotted up and stood next to Lightning. "What is it, buddy?" he asked. Lightning grinned. "Why don't we actually race down, huh?" Mater wagged his tail. "Let's do it!!"

Lightning crouched down, but he moved his legs out of the way so he was just laying on his belly. He shivered at the cold seeping into his belly fur. "Brrr. You ready, Mater?"

"Yeah!! Let's go!"

"Ok... 3... 2... 1! Go!" Lightning shouted, shoving his hind paws into the mud and taking off. Mater did the same, and they both went flying down the hill.

Lightning found himself laughing, despite being so reluctant to the idea beforehand. He didn't wanna admit it, but this really was fun. He started to paw at the mud to propel himself forward, and he found himself ahead of Mater; it didn't last long, though, as the hound came sliding up right next to him after he thought he was about to win. "See ya later, buddy!!" Mater yelled, flattening himself even further, and therefore sliding down quicker.

Shocked, Lightning stared as Mater slid downward. "Wh-... h-hey!" Not wanting to be defeated just yet, Lightning decided to flop as quickly as he could onto his back instead in an attempt to go faster. Mud sprayed up into his face when he tried, though, and he sputtered. "Agh! Gross!!"

Then he found himself reaching the bottom, and Mater wasn't that far ahead. As fast as he could, Lightning flipped onto his back, and whizzed past Mater at the last possible second. "Haha!!!" he laughed, but then he realized he was about to land on his back. Oh crap.

He did just that, and before he was flung backward into the grass, he tried to twist around in the air, but he didn't have enough time, and landed hard on his back. As Lightning tried to get up, Mater trotted over, looking quite surprised. "You did it! You won, buddy!" he said, smiling at the dazed husky, who staggered to his paws. "Oof... yeah. I guess I did, huh?" he wheezed, shaking himself off.

After a while, both dogs made their way back to town, tired out and completely mud-stained. When they got back onto the tar road, Lightning smiled at Mater. "Hey, Mater? When can we go do that again?"

Mater looked back at him. "Ya mean you liked it?!" he asked hopefully, wagging his tail happily. Lightning laughed. "Haha, yeah! It was great! I mean, I'm gonna need another bath, but... it was worth it." He grinned evilly. "Oh, and by the way, Mater, did you really think you could beat me?" Mater snorted. "Duh! I'm the champion of mud racin'!"

Lightning glared playfully at him. "Not for long you're not!" Mater laughed; then he lunged at Lightning and gripped his scruff with his teeth, shaking him around with a goofy grin. "Ah- hey!!" Lightning cried, laughing with him. He pulled away and chuckled. The sun was setting by now, and he was pretty tired from the day's events. "Well, Mater, I'm probably gonna get some sleep in not too long, here. It's been a long day."

Mater nodded. "I guess so." He grinned. "But I'm gonna beat ya next time!" Lightning snickered. "Pfft. This is Lightning McQueen you're talkin' to, pal. Good luck with that." Mater stuck his tongue out and turned around to go home. "See ya tomorrow, buddy!"

Lightning grinned. "Yup. See ya, Mater." Then, wanting to see Sally's reaction to his appearance, Lightning ran up to her motel and poked his head in.

She was sitting down in front of the TV and watching the evening news, and when she heard Lightning enter, she looked at him; then she jumped. "Woah!" He had a large splatter of mud across his face, chest, and forelegs; even under his belly and tail!

Sally stood up and faced him, shocked. "Patches...? What... what did you do?" Lightning smiled innocently. "Whatever do you mean, Sal?" Sally cocked her head. "Um... your appearance. I'm guessing you found Mater this afternoon?" Lightning nodded, stepping backward so he didn't get mud on her. "Yup. I did... but I still don't know how he got all those mud puddles all over the pasture. All he told me was that he borrowed Flo and Ramone's hose."

Sally wrinkled her snout. "I don't know either. He has his ways, I guess... but you stink. Go take a bath!" she teased, almost nuzzling him affectionately, but stopping herself before she did. Lightning pretended to looked offended. "What? No cuddles for me, then?" He lowered his ears playfully and looked at her with a hurt/pleading smile. "That hurts my feelings, Sal!"

The retriever snorted, rolling her eyes. "Not until you wash up, Lightning. And I'm sorry I hurt your feelings." The husky grinned at her. "Yeah, yeah. Alright. I'm goin'."

I suck at endings. So much. XD Please review if you enjoyed! I'd love to hear what you thought!

Oh, and also, if you didn't read the top bold speech of mine, the dog versions aren't mine. Thanks!!