The Stands! (Open to all Non-Race Characters)

[SteelEagle]

There were three kinds of ponies in Equestria around the time of the Running of the Leaves. The athletes themselves put hoof to ground in an effort to bring down the delightfully colored autumn leaves for the good of Equestria, and they were lauded for it. Who did the aforementioned lauding of the leaves? The second group of ponies, the throng of thrilled spectators that lined the public sections of the course in bleachers as well as the epic amount of festivities that dominated areas around it. They made up the vast majority of ponies who came and nopony would doubt that they did more than line the pockets of local business. Everypony would claim that their cheering helped family, friends, and simple favorites in the race and that even more than those racing, they were the spirit of the Running of the Leaves. An explosion of energy and joy that signaled the end of the sweetest weather and ushered in periods where one stayed inside all the time. It was also nice that they lined the pockets of local businesses. Or politicians. Sometimes the same.

In any case, the Stands were for everypony!

                                                                          

Bon Bon was pleased at the turnout. Normally she was late getting a good permit and found herself getting stragglers in and out of the largest open area near the start of the race, where the vast majority of the ponies congregated at the start before waiting for the message that they were closing in on the end of the race, when they would all trot on over to the end. It was a good place to be for a businesspony and she finally got the full blast of it! No more stragglers- this year, Bon Bon's Bonbons was open for business in the heart of it all, the Heartland Stands, and she had come prepared for whatever may come. A world of chocolates all around and who could stop her? Nopony! Nopony at all!

She had bonbons for DAYS and DAYS in her cart, packed to the brim without a single space that wasn't used for advertisement or display going unstuffed. She had also made sure that they were a fresh batch, taking the day before and after off specifically to focus on the amazing batch of delicious bonbons that had turned out splendidly. She had special advertisements and packaging, hokey little designs that would keep fillies and colts etranched for a second and were themed around the Running of the Leaves. Galloping mares and stallions and leaves- generic but effective. Her prices had more variance- standard bonbon deals were below normal value, but Running of the Leaves themed little bonbon bags were of course of such limited quantity and of such great quality that everypony should buy one. All in all, a good type of day for the third type of pony, the businessmare.

"Get'm while they're here, Ponyville's very own famous Running of the Leaves bonbon delicacies! Taste the simple country flavor with a bold twist! Bonbons! Bonbons! Get'm while they're hot!" Bon Bon cried out, her very best carnival shystervoice plastered on as best she could. 

[Pretzelparty]

 

 

"I'll take twent-- no, Twenty five!" Already Bonbon had a customer.

 

The pony in front of her apparently had zipped over the very second someone mentioned a sugary treat. If it had even a hint of sweetness than she would move sun and moon herself if she had to to get to it!

 

Today, Bevel was sporting a slightly unusual look. Her fluffy frizz of a mane was tied up in a long ponytail that was nearly identical to the actual ponytail sprouting from her plot. The earth pony's rich brown mane also seemed to have some streaks of yellow throughout it. On the end of her hooves were a pair of pom-poms so pointing at the particular bon bons she was after was a bit silly to anyone watching. She was dressed up in a cheerleader's outfit with a picture of a very familiar looking spirit on her shirt. She clearly had the energy of a proper cheerleader judging by how eagerly she was dancing and shifting in place... although that could be explained by the presence of sugary treats nearby.

[Dubstep]

Starlight chuckled and rolled her eyes. While the mare had decided to forego the cheerleader apparel, she was never the less here to cheer on her friends — disguised or no — as they made their way through the Running of the Leaves. "Eeeeasy there Bevel! Be sure to leave some candy for everyone else." she chuckled as she approached to put a leg around the mare to give her a hug. "I'm sure our friends might want some after the race too." Starlight herself had briefly considered joining in on the race too, buuuuut she figured that'd make Discord have twice as much to prove. Trying to impress her and beat this curious qilin acquaintance of his.

Giving Bevel a little nuzzle she'd let the excitable mare free and turn to wave to Bon Bon with a smile. "Good afternoon Bon Bon! You've done an amazing job as usual, everything looks so good. This must have taken you all day." with a little poof of her horn, Starlight would summon a little coinpurse to dig a few bits out, may as well indulge her sweet tooth as well! "Oh, and how's Lyra doing? Well I hope!"

[RainbowFoxxy]

 

"Lyra's doing great!" The unicorn popped up beside Starlight. She smiled broadly at the purple unicorn before nodded her hello to Bevel as well. 

 

"It's a perfect day for the Running of the Leaves!" 

 

Lyra was toting a candy apple along in her magic. She levitated near her muzzle and took a little bite before moving towards Bon Bon. 

 

"Hey there sweetie," She gave a coy wink to her marefriend. "Everything looks great!"

 

She glanced about looking to see if other ponies were coming over to buy some of Bon Bon's wares. 

 

"So, I'm here to help Bon Bon with her sales! How come you two didn't join the race today?" 

 

She smiled with good nature, happy to spend this lovely day with Bon Bon and other ponies from Ponyville.

[SteelEagle]

 

It didn't take long for her business to explode with the excitement that only the delicious and nutritiou(sly deficient) treats she made could cause. All ponies in town who weren't enraptured by the EVIL of Sugarcube Corner (okay they weren't evil, but business was business!) knew that the tastiest treat was to be found in this little cart. And Bevel could be counted amongst the smartest of the smart, wanting twenty-five bonbons. Well, Bon Bon's bonbons weren't for sitting, they were for selling, and later eating, and even later...well, they were for eating first. "Twenty five bonbons, Bevel?" Bon Bon boisterously blasted. It was good seeing her cut loose a little, she seemed so off to the center so often that you could lose track of the fact that Bevel was one cool mare. "Going to need, like, totally a lot of energy to be a cheerleader, eh? I, tcha, like, see, like, yeah," she chuckled with her teenage Solistice accent, gathering the bonbons together. She tied them up in two large bags and pushed them to Bevel. "That'll be six bits, Bevel. A Running of the Leaves special, one-day only."

 

Wasn't her only customer, of course. Everypony wanted Bon Bon's bonbons! This included Starlight. Bon Bon didn't know the mare half as well as she knew most others and then half again as much as she knew bonbons and then half again on that for how well she knew Lyra, but she knew enough to know she knew how to best satisfy any sweet tooth in the world. And she knew that Starlight had to have a sweet tooth because she wasn't a psycho. Rumors to the contrary died years ago, after all. "Thanks! It wasn't that much work, really. Just pushed my cart out and slapped a new sign and prices on, then voila. Nopony stops the bonbons, Starlight. Nopony! Speaking of, whatcha wantin'?" She giggled, "Lyra is doing well. Why wouldn't she be? She's Lyra!" Bon Bon said as if to tempt fate. Fate, being tempestuous and ever changing, rewarded her immediately.

 

The mare of her life came out of the blue- which made her hard to see since she was some relation to blue, even though it was more of a green- and was immediately part of the conversation, answering Starlight's question almost as well as Bon Bon did. Lyra and Bon Bon didn't have as much time as they wanted but they had all the time they needed today at least. Bon Bon enjoyed being coy but was too excited to stop herself, and gave a Lyra wet smack of a kiss on the cheek and pulled her deep and in behind the cart. "Oh, thank Celestia!" She said with faux desperation, in a higher falsetto and with a bit of a Mustangia accent to boot. "I am just getting swamped and swarmed by endless waves of customers. Now with you by my side, we have this whipped," she said, making the whipping sound and motion to suit. An awkward second. "Whatcha doin' so far, Lyra? I had you pegged as running in the race. You know, gotta defend your title from a few years ago someday!" she teased. Mostly. She liked her mare all victorious. "But I think like this whole, 'having you here and not out there away from me' a lot better. A LOT."

[Pretzelparty]

 

 

"Absurdité!" bevel barked back at starlight with a cheery grin, "Clearly our friendly neighborhood sweets dispenser has brought enough to feed the whole town with this charming cart of hers!" The perky inventor would pull Starlight into the hug that she herself had given. Bevel was initially confused when she heard that Discord had been challenged by some weird foreign pony with a round rear. What on earth could some stranger from the lands to the east possibly challenge the great spirit of chaos in? Turned out it was something athletic: Of course!  This inventor was more than aware of Discord's endless stamina for reality warping silliness but that was still magical in nature.  If her special noodle was to best this challenger from the east his old and mostly unused muscles were going to need encouragement! 

 

As Lyra popped up , Bevel would give a friendly wave at her greeting.  Her question in regards to why she wasn't running was easy to answer, "I'm not built for endurance racing! I can bolt when somethings about to explode or collapse on top of me, but a long distance race at this pollen level? Star here can tell you my respiratory system could never handle it!" 

 

The mare would grin as she received her treats. While Bevel couldn't quite pull off the 'valley mare' accent like Bonbon apparently could, she did managed to responde with a fairly convincing... "Totally!" Before hopping up on the benches and shaking her pom-poms about with intense vigor. 

 

"Discord! Discord! He's our noodle! He'll outpace this whole racin' Caboodle!" The unicorn inventor had an impressive set of lungs on her based on that mighty cheer. She struck all the silly and bouncy poses she could while she kept up Discord's morale then plopped right back down on the bleachers with a slight blush, "Here's your bits by the way!" Her horn shined up with golden yellow magic and a small sack of bits was left on Bonbon's cart. 

[RainbowFoxxy]

 

Before the unicorn could gather a response from either of the other mares she had a wet kiss planted on her cheek and had been pulled behind the bonbon cart... not that she minded in the least! Her cheeks flushed pink as her mare friend took on the lilting tone of a damsel in distress that Lyra had just managed to save. She listened as Bon Bon regaled her breathlessly with her excitement that Lyra was indeed not racing but "helping" her with the task at hoof.

 

"Why it's the least I kin do darlin'!" She joked back like an ol Mustangian cowpony before pulling her mare in her a muzzle to muzzle kiss.

 

"Well, I can't leave you here to fend for yourself against all these ravenous fans now can I?" She asked a bit breathlessly before composing herself and starting to stand back up. "We better stop distracting ourselves though!" She giggled and winked at her mare again before standing back up.

 

She smiled to Bevel as the mare started to make her way to the stands her some cheering. "Have fun Bevel! Thanks for stopping by!"

 

Now," Lyra cleared her throat lightly. "How can we help you Starlight? Oh!" She glanced about. "Is Princess Twilight going to be here today?"

[Dubstep]

Starlight jumped a bit in surprise when Lyra popped up, though she chuckled afterwards. She was much more used to that sort of thing now, after being friends with Pinkie Pie so long! "Heheh, glad to hear it." Perhaps a bit of Twilight's worry wart habit was rubbing off on Starlight, but it still felt nice to have confirmation that ponies were doing well! Especially during holidays and festivals. After dealing with everything that could happen at the School after all...But she was off today! No need to stress about any of that. "Her allergies can turn her into a walking hurricane." Starlight confirmed Bevel's explanation. After all, the unicorn had seen it first hoof more than a time or two.

 

Watching her friend cheer, she couldn't help but chuckle when she thought about how listless and reserved the mare had once been. Friendship really did seem to bring out the best in ponies. "I'll be back that way in a little bit, Bevel!" Starlight waved with a smile as Bevel made her way back over to their seats. "I'll just take a regular dozen bonbons. As for why I'm not hopping into the race, I really did consider it! But Discord's taking part because of a liiiiittle rivalry with the qilin that joined in. And I didn't want to give him even more reason that he felt he had to prove himself. So instead, Bevel and I are cheering him and our friends on from the sidelines this time around. As for Twilight?" Starlight glanced around the area to see if she could spot the princess before shrugging. "Knowing her I'm sure she's around somewhere! Probably running through a checklist to make sure everything's running smoothly."

[tacobob]

 

 

Wind Walker let out a sigh as she watched the start of the 'Running Of The Leaves'. The little filly really wanted to run with the adults, but until she built up her strength, she would never last very long running such a distance. As always, her sister was part of the race...And was having a chat with Pinkie Pie. Oh dear, she was not going to do well against the impossibly fast pink mare. It was bad enough she had to hear her mother complain about a recent accident that kept her from running...Now she would have to hear her big sister complain that she got whooped by a mare who might as well be made out of bubble-gum.

 

The Pegasus pony had been hanging around her parents until her good friend Fast Track showed up. Unlike most ponies, he was not here for the race, but for the bonbons! Miss Bon Bon usually kept an little stand during the event and sold some of her more interesting candies.

 

 

"Holy Socks!", the colt gasped. Bon Bon really outdid herself this year! Not only did she have her very rare and event-exclusive 'Running Of The Leaves' variant, there were also a ton more!

 

Peculoos S'more! Caramelized Banana! Matcha Green Tea! Raspberry Rose! Black Sesame & Passion! Strawberry Bubble Gum! Dulce de Leche! There was even one that appeared to be made out of Wind Walker's favorite cereal, 'Double-Chocolate, Sugar-Frosted Soundy Puffs!'

 

Fast Track wanted them all! Unfortunately his parents only gave him so many bits!

 

[SteelEagle]

BOOM BAM ONE SALE IN THE BOX

Bon Bon liked sales, so much so she made sure to clink and clang the bits in her bag as she finished Bevel's. The mare started to cheer and that was all well and good. She wondered why there weren't more cheerleaders at this event. It seemed that if the Iron Pony had cheerleaders, this should too. Oh well. She wasn't from here originally, so maybe she was just entirely ignorant. Or just too enamored with how well Bevel was doing with her cheer routine. Routines. Routine sales! Sales! Starlight wanted Bon Bon's bonbons, and the segue was perfect to get onto that topic. She quickly scooped up the two dozen bonbons and placed them in two large bags, throwing one extra in for good measure. “Running of the Leaves, so no price difference between twenty-four and twenty-five bonbons. Six bits either way!” She said before rather dramatically fake-fainting onto Lyra.

Any excuse to get closer wink wink nudge nudge say no more.
“My heroine!” she said with as much saccharine energy as could be mustered and a lot could be mustered when you were on a sugary high from outrageous amounts of bonbons. She patted Lyra on the cheek. “I guess I can forgive you for not racing. Looks like it'll be a fierce one this year! Heck, even Countess Coloratura showed up. Somepony needs to race and get her autograph,” Bon Bon laughed, gently pawing her Lyra's cheek.

Then a little colt appeared in wonder around the stand and she had to stop being two steps from lewd in a public space. She quickly recovered, placing her hooves on the cart with an innocent smile. “Aww, look at this cutie Lyra! I bet he wants all sorts of bonbons! Well, I mean, I'd hope so since he sought us out and not that falafel stand...anyway, whatcha want today, you little stallion you? Wanna get some treats for you and your little filly friend there?”

[tacobob]

 

 

The little colt could not believe his ears! Falafels! More like 'Fail-Awfuls'! Fast Track did not say this out-loud as it might offend the poor pony who failed cooking school and was forced to make sad bread.

 

"No Miss Bon Bon, I was thinking of having some of your tasty sweets...But I just can't figure out which I should get as they all look so dang good!" If he had recalled some of his Prench, the word 'Bon' actually means 'good' so these candies weren't just good, they were good-good.

 

"You might not remember me, but I've been coming here every year since I was an extra little pony to taste your special candies during the run....I guess I could probably just go to your store, but for some reason they just seem more special this way.", he added with a smile. "I'll get my friend Wind a few of your milk-chocolates....Anything else would be a waste as she'll just gobble them up like a duck...I prefer, on the other hoof.", he tried his very best to sound 'fancy', "To savor every bit of your candies...Slowly...Making sure to taste every single candy-molucule.", he wasn’t' there to just sit on his rump and stuff candy into his head-hole, he was going to board the train to 'Ville De Saveur!'. Toot Toot!

 

There was one that looked really good.  It contained Perigord white truffles, white truffle oil, Maredagascar vanilla and gold flakes . Could he afford such a treat?

 

 

 

Wind Walker's ears perked up as it was properly confirmed. The mare who was with Applejack, wasn't just a pony who -looked- like the beloved 'Pony Princess Of Pop', but it was actually her! Weird! She could only assume the mare was probably doing this for the many charities she was associated with. She tried he best not to hear her friend's ramblings. He was a regular, snooty candy connoisseur! The filly -liked- bonbons, but would be just as happy with one of her SBLOUNSKCHED! bars or even an cupcake from Sugar Cube Corner.

 

"Just get me whatever.", the filly groaned.

 

[SteelEagle]

“Ville de saveurs ... et de bonbons! Saveur bonbons, pour être précis, unpeu comme le quartier principal de la ville," she replied in Prench to the little stallion, giving him a nice pat on the head. She also noticed where he was looking. His eyes had good taste, which meant he probably had good taste unless his eyes operated independently of his brain. That seemed like it would be a problem or maybe not, maybe a superpower! Either way, it was the single most expensive bonbon here. A full bit for a single bonbon during her Running of the Leaves sale? The thought, she must be perished- yet here it was!

He had asked for some milk chocolates for his filly friend, who for her part seemed relatively nonplused by the entire exchange. No doubt she would rather have one of those disgusting SBLOUNSKCHED bars or something equally vile. Eww! So much processed, magically made bars which didn't taste at all like a fresh, delicious bonbon. Oh well. Sometimes when you were young you simply had bad thoughts and ideas and Bon Bon was confident that the little filly, while obviously gripped by evil now, could be saved in the future through the proper and correct application of tasty treats. Bon Bon got a small bag of the tasty treat and then started wrapping her Maredagascar Special up for the little colt.

As she did, she spoke.
“Oh, I remember you just fine, little fella. All I needed to do was hear your voice! You've been growing up. Do you remember your first time with a bonbon?” she winked, placing it all down in front of him. “You can go ahead and savour this, a bonbon dripping with nothing but yummy flavor and awesome texture! This and the small bag can be yours for two bits, one day only!”

[RainbowFoxxy]

 

Lyra watched as the exchange took place between the little colt and BonBon. When her mare spoke in Prench it made her heart skip a beat! She certainly was the catch and Lyra considered herself oh so lucky to have caught her!

 

"Wow! You sure know your treats!" She nudged Fast Track. "Looks like you got yourself a new biggest fan here BonBon!"

 

Two bits certainly was a good deal for a Madagascar Special! She just wondered if the little guy carried that much in bits on him!

 

 

"Well sister, I certainly think I would remember if it was my job to bring the seat cushions," Celestia eyed Luna ruefully.

 

Why did it seem like this happened time and time again? Oh, the obvious answer...because it did! The two could hardly ever get the story straight between them. They had many things going for them as some of the top rulers in Equestria it just seemed communication would never be one of them.

 

"Well, sister..." Luna half smiled as she made her way into the crowds that had come to watch this spectacular running display. "I seem to remember you forgetting a variety of other items on other occasions..." She bumped into Celestia on purpose and chuckled. There was no reason to get really upset. This was supposed to be a fun outing after all!

 

Celestia let out a little breath and bumped her sister back. "Well, I suppose I should have thought to bring them along..."

 

"I'm sure we can find some comfortable seating!" Twilight trotted happily next to the other princesses. "Spike did you bring the basket of treats?"

 

"Of course I did Twi!" The dragon called out as he swooped by over head. Getting used to these new wings sure was fun!

 

The whole group came upon BonBon's stand and stopped.

 

"Those look good," Luna took a step closer.

 

"Hi there BonBon!" Twilight ginned to greet the ponies.

 

 

 

 

[Dashman562]

Rocky had waved his big brother off as he had started the race, but didn't forget what his brother had pointed out.  The Apple family was there to support Applejack and the how wearing pony just two years his junior was there in the stands.  Every time he got a glimpse of Applebloom he felt a red blush creeping in his face, but always was to scared to speak to her.  As such he had recalled how his brother said Fillies liked to be courted with sweets.

 

As such hoping to be able to speak with her and not freeze up, he went searching for sweets to purchase and share with her.  As such Rocky was happy hearing a mare calling out about Bonbons he walked over standing in line with the other ponies.  However he noticed that their cutie marks were very familiar and as he looked closer he instantly recognized the three Princesses standing in front of him.

 

"P-P-Princess Celestia?  Princess Luna?  And Princess Twilight Sparkle?" he called out in shock.  He instantly realized what he had said and bowed to the Princesses hoping he hadn't embarrassed them by announcing who they where.

[tacobob]

 

The colt could not help but smile rather broadly as the mare spoke about her candies. She obviously loved doing what she did and the candies showed that love!

 

"My first time?", Fast Track pondered this, "Probably when I was in Prance with my grandfather, Crème Brûlée. He makes all kinds of truffles, bonbons and other sweets and for some reason, the residents of his town refer to him as Papabubble. Don't know why.", he shrugged. Maybe he should have asked. "Any-who.", he was starting to go off track, which the Pegasus pony would never want to do! "My first was one that was pretty popular, even if it was not really Prench..He would make bonbons using bananas, brown sugar and butter caramel in milk chocolate......Bananas Foster..It's simple, but it's always been a favorite." His big blue eyes appeared to light up as Bonbon presented the tasty treats.

 

After hoofing over the right amount of bits, the colt made sure to give his friend one of the candies before turning his attention. Unlike Wind Walker who quickly absorbed the treat without a thought, Fast Track was a true chocolate connoisseur! Like art, it needed to be studied before it could be properly consumed!

 

First he needed to examine the bonbon. This one was an mahogany color, which meant it was probably made with cacao beans from the Gallopocus Islands! The next step was to smell the chocolate. The colt got a good whiff of the sweet-treat and it was like heaven. Oh, the aromas! Reminded him of the islands themselves. The step after that was to listen to the chocolate. Fast Track broke a little piece of the bonbon and listened to it as he did so. Oh the snap! Finally, it was time for the most important of all the steps. To actually taste the candy. He let the chocolate melt on his tongue as he did...

 

 

During this, Wind Walker could not help but be flabbergasted! It was just candy! As she pondered what sort of bonbons she would actually eat and not make love to, a few princesses strolled into view. It was Princess Celestia! Wow! She could not help but gasp! Celestia was the bestest non-mom or dad pony that ever lived! She super-pretty and smart, and awesome and the best! There were also two others there. They were nice.  "Hey Fast Track.", she whisper-growled, "Stop smooching your candy-wife and look up. Ethay incessespray areyay erehay .", she felt the need to speak in 'pig-old-pone'.

 

She gave a bow to the Princess, but it was mostly for Celestia. She rules! #1 Sun-Horse For Life!

 

Spoiler

 

 

The brown colt glanced upwards. Princess Cadance was not with them. Nuts. He still gave a bow of respect and noticed that Twilight's dragon-son-whatever had wings. Did he always have those?

[SteelEagle]

The little colt weaved a small tale about the history behind his first bonbon, and Bon Bon appreciated his memory of bonbons even if it wasn't about Bon Bon's bonbons. She wanted to meet this man of many desert-related talents, he sounded like a cool dude to know. She hooved over her bonbons and indeed he savored the, as was only right and proper. “Lyra, he's a cutie. I want one or four. Can you do that for me?” She asked her mare, sweeping the bits up while giving her a wink. That came to an end properly fast, which was sad because another little cutie who likely liked lots of Bon Bon's bonbons entered the frame.

Bon Bon stiffened up when Celestia showed up. You can take the Bon Bon out of Special Agent First Class Sweetie Drops, but you can't take the Sweetie Drops out of Bon Bon. It struck her that maybe when she decided to go undercover in Ponyville she should have picked a name other than Bon Bon. If you wanted to track down members of a monster hunting agency, maybe not naming yourself in the same general vein as your old name would be smart. But she couldn't help herself! She had been a silly sod since the start and Celestia knew that when she hired her for the agency. Despite it being more than a few years she still had the same old sort of respect for Celestia now as she did then. She was about to snap off a salute but remembered that such days were long gone, the passage of time merciless!

After all, she had the evidence of time passing right in front of her. New Princesses sprang up out of the ground these days. When she had been in the agency there were just two, and one was a lovely but mischievous older filly. Now Luna had returned and had not, as the nightmares had informed Bon Bon, eaten the world or cast it into eternal darkness. That was good! Even better was Twilight being a Princess. She was an intelligent but naive sort, just the type of pony who would excel as the Princess of a nebulous concept such as Friendship. She wondered If either one was privy to her old life as Sweetie Drops. Knowing Celestia's habit of not informing others of important matters until the last moment, likely not...until the Cherufe came back to Equestria. Whoopsie daisy on that one, Princesses!

Maybe she was just really bad at that job. Luckily, she made Bonbons now and was awesome at it.
“Hello there, one, two, three Princesses!” She laughed, easing her stiffened back until she was once more in a friendly stance. “I mean, I was guessing I'd see either you,” pointing at Celestia, “or you,” pointing at Twilight, “to help officiate the end of the race, but all three of you? Wowsers!” She rubbed the back of her neck nervously. “You aren't here to load up on bonbons to go fight a certain totally mythological pony-eating monster wreathed in fire and immune to all harm right? Haha, that'd be silly!”

[Dubstep]

Starlight smiled cheerfully and dug out the six bits owned. Well, she had only asked for a dozen, but oh well. Today was a festival day, she could afford to indulge now and then. "Thank you Bon Bon, I'll be sure to enjoy them!" with her purchase paid for, the mare stepped to the side to allow those behind her some room to go. In particular a young colt who seemed...extremely eager for the candy. She couldn't really blame him! Popping one of the treats into her mouth, Starlight would wave as — speak of the princess — Twilight and Spike arrived, along with Celestia and Luna as well!

 

With a quick little gulp of her treat, Starlight stepped forward to greet her friends "I figured you all would make it sooner or later! I'm glad you all had the time to come." just from living with Twilight she knew how busy one Princess' schedule could be to organize, let alone three of them for one event! "If you're still looking for some place to sit, there's plenty of room over with me and Bevel!" she motioned over towards the other mare who was still cheering her heart out for Discord. "If you can handle her, hehe, enthusiasm." Well that was everyone she was expecting so far...except Valen was a little late, she hoped her assistant didn't get turned around on the way here...

Edited October 5, 2018 by Dubstep

[SteelEagle]

Valen had many tasks to accomplish as Starlight's assistant, many of which he kept up with only in the privacy offered in the school or castle. Nothing could really be done to help the rest though- a debt unpaid was a debt in red, and he cleared ledgers. Life had been more than a little chaotic lately but he would never shirk his duties and responsibilities to those he had owed, and Starlight was the one who called upon him today. The Running of the Leaves was not a magical spell or some sort of directed experiment. Today he was bringing pillows, a blanket- a nice breeze was on the schedule- and some drinks, as well as various notebooks that he wasn't aware the contents of. Recent history told him to be nervous, but he was too polite and oath-abiding to look at them...despite desperately wanting to.

“Sorry for how late I was. There was an accident right outside the counsellor's office in the school as I was leaving, so I wanted to clean it up,” he said, deftly avoiding any potentially humiliating details for the student in question. Just because his life had turned into a constantly roiling series of less than pleasing misadventures. “Here is everything you requested, Miss Glimmer,” Valen said, focused so much on his task he had yet to see just about anything else. He was haggard and hurried!

[Pretzelparty]

 

 

"DIS! CORD! DIS! CORD! VICTORY IS HIS REWARD!" 

 

Bevel was getting very into her cheering. The earthy colored unicorn bouncing and hopping all across the bleachers with energy enhanced through the power of Bon-bons! In time though she would realize she was running low on rhymes so instead she would keep dancing and hopping to let 'Dark Strife' know that he had her support! Her energetic movement only stalled for a second at the surprising appearance of three princesses! 

 

"Oh hey, You highnesses! Don't suppose you'd like to join me in cheering?"

 

 

[Dubstep]

Starlight blinked in surprise as she saw Valen carrying everything. The mare was quick the hurry over and grab most of it in a telekinetic grasp, placing a gentle hoof on the worn out colt's shoulder. "Valen are you alright? I didn't say you had to bring everything! Just a few suggestions of things to grab if you wanted to." she said with a chuckle and a little shake of her head. "Today's supposed to be a relaxing day for you as it is for everyone else. But thank you for thinking of me never the less." Starlight gave her assistant a hug and a pat on the shoulder as a thank you. Valen had really been proving to be a top notch helper around the school and in life in general. It was little wonder why Twilight valued Spike's help so highly.

 

"Are you hungry, thirsty? I'll grab something for you if you'd like. My treat. You look like you could use the chance to catch your breath!"

[303SeeOther]

 The excitement in the air was absolutely infectious and, while Yona had very little grasp on what it was all about, the young yak could at least appreciate the food, the crowds and the opportunity to put a bit of distance between herself and the growing pile of homework that was waiting for her when this was all over. Once she'd successfully bypassed the temptation of the food stands, Yona very carefully stepped up on to the bleachers, as if concerned that the construction might suddenly give way underneath her. Then again, Bevel was positively bouncing around on them, supporting one of the racers, and if it could support the hopping, dancing motions of the unicorn, well-

 

 Realisation on what this was all about began to dawn on Yona.

 

 It was a cheering contest.

 

Yona took a deep breath.

 

 "CHEERING! CHEERING! CHEERING!" she bellowed out, closing her eyes to really concentrate on giving it her all. What it lacked in catchiness, it made up for with sheer volume.

[SteelEagle]

OOC- I had been waiting on Foxxy, since she has Lyra and all the pretty pretty Princesses! 😮

Valen gave a proud nod and smile to Starlight as she removed the burden from him. “Oh, it was no trouble. It takes more than some pillows and notebooks to make me wearied,” he said, avoiding mentioning the rest of the collection of materials he had brought along. Far be it from him to take umbrage with such light duty, considerate as he was of the totality of his debt. “I am fine. I had a light salad for breakfast and then vitamin enriched wheat just a little while ago while I was preparing all of this. Miss Rarity has a fashion show, Fall Fashions, and I need to be in the best shape. But I'd be lying if I said,” he replied, looking at the bag of bonbons, “if I said certain treats didn't call my name...”

Speaking of treats and names...

                                                                                                          

Bon Bon looked at the scene with alarm. Look at this brand new tech starting up right in front of her! Sharing was absolutely the latest and greatest in friendship and she was totally, absolutely blown away that she wasn't going to get a sale because of it. She had to write on the side of her bags in the future, “WARNING: Do not share within fifty hooves of the salespony, it will make her sad and you don't want her to be sad!”

But as she watched that sad scene of friendship take place and the three Princesses and Lyra nowhere to sweep her attention away, a new challenger for her attentions came to the foreground. She was loud, very proud. Very yak like. Because she was a yak. She was one of the students from the school right? Her mind was on track. It is only right and proper to respond in kind.

“Hey! Hey yoooou!” She pointed dramatically at Yona.
“You want loud?
I said...YOU WANT LOUD?
YOU GET LOUD WITH THE BEST TREAT OF ALL TIME!”

She picked up some bonbons.
“THESE BONBONS ARE BEST BONBONS, OR MY NAME ISN'T BON BON...WHICH IT IS!”

She imagined fire and electronic guitar riffs in the background as she tries to push her delicious treats on the innocent student.

[RainbowFoxxy]

OOC- Sorry for the delay! Also sorry if I didn't respond to someone, I can update if I missed someone.

 

 

 

Lyra was in awe of how well the little brown colt was able to size up the bon bons. The sight, smell, and even the sound of the chocolate! Lyra wasn't that patient! When she did try one of the sweets it was usually only the taste she was able to savor! Her mind wandered a bit until her BonBon mentioned wanting to have one or...four little colts of her own.

 

"C-can I do that for you?!" She leaned in an smooched her mare on the cheek. Her demeanor became instantly cool and in control. "I'll do whatever you'd like me to beautiful!"

 

Then her eyes turned upwards and her muzzle dropped open as the Princesses made their way onto the scene!

 



 

Celestia chuckled lightly as the little ponies made their greetings to her and her sisters. The entourage of princesses really had come out just to cheer and watch the Running of the Leaves, but she of course knew they would be interacting with lots of adorning little ponies. Not that she minded, Celestia loved to say hello to everypony, especially her adorning filly and colts.

 

"Why Wind Walker! So nice to see you! Are you enjoying your treats?" She patted the little blue filly lightly on the head. "And, hello to you too Fast Track!" She smiled to the little brown colt. "My my, those treats you have certainly look tasty."

 

Twilight bent down towards Rocky and lifted the little colt's chin. "No need to bow today little one! We're not in the castle, we're just here to have a great time cheering with you and your friends!" 

 

Luna stepped towards BonBon and smiled as the mare exclaimed about the princesses and their possible roles of the day. "We're just here to enjoy the day with all the little ponies. Is that not correct sister?"

 

Celestia nodded. "Yes sister, that is exactly why we are here," She winked at BonBon aka Sweetie Drops. "Of course, if a totally mythological pony-eating monster wreathed in fire and immune to all harm were to come onto the scene, I'm sure we would fare just fine!" Sunbutt looked at the treats on display. "These do look good!"

 

"You bet they do Celestia!" Spike landed with his front claws hanging on the edge of the cart. His eyes lit up at all the choices. "Wow wow wow! We gotta get at least three of each!"

 

The volume had begun to increase and the Princess of the night decided to try hoof at purchasing some treats.

 

"Calm thyself Spike," Luna stepped in. "Excuse me?" She smiled to BonBon. "Would you be willing to make up a bag of treats for each of us?" She nodded to Lyra. "Perhaps your lovely mare friend can assist you?"

 

Twilight's ears flicked back and forth as the noise from the stands increased. When she got closer she saw the brown mare Bevel and trotted over.

 

"Of course we'll join you Bevel! We all came out today just to cheer on the runners!"

 

Twilight noticed a particularly loud fan and then trotted over to the yak.

 

"Oh wow! Yona! Your cheering is....loud! Great job! Ummmmm," She paused. "Which runner are you cheering for?"

[Pretzelparty]

 

Those riffs Bon-bon imagined weren't at all in her head, a strange kirin popped up behind her and played the electric riff on... a neighponese fiddle? That had to take some talent!  The pastel colored stallion continuing to provide an subdued rocking soundtrack for Bonbon's salesmareship. 

 

This Neighponese visitor had come around in the hopes of cheering on none other than his dear old dad! He knew he felt someone familiar in town and the sound of a monumental sneeze somewhere on the track made him realize exactly who it was.  Once Bonbon hopeful acquired her next customer he would cheerily strum away, the sound of electric guitar buzzing away until the shamisen in his hooves gave off it's natural sound.  With a floaty bounce he hopped and landed safely on the bleachers beside Twilight and Yona, "Afternoon! I'm Yama, it's fantastic ta meet the all of you today! Who are you lovely mares and cows cheerin' for today?"

 

The stallion winced as a brown mare down the way pulled out a megaphone and shouted out...

 

 

 

"DISCORD, DISCORD!"

 

The kirin chuckled, "Guess we know who she's rootin' for, huh?"

 

Bevel hopped and danced across the bench until she huffed and puffed. The energetic inventor soon flopping down beside starlight, "Do you think he can hear me?" She said, out of habit into her megaphone... and then slowly lowering it with an embarrassed smile on her face, "Um... Sorry." 

 

 

 

[Dubstep]

Starlight chuckled and smiled and levitated the collection of stuff over by where Bevel was and sat it down gently. "Well if you're sure! You go ahead and take a seat and catch your breath, and I'll pick you up some bon bons. I think even Rarity would agree a little treat now and then won't hurt." she gave Valen a friendly wink before stepping back over to Bon Bon's booth to place a second order. The familiar, and exceedingly loud, voice of Yona's 'cheering' startled the unicorn into nearly dropping her bits. As expected the yak had a very impressive set of lungs on her. Before the mare's ringing ears could recover though, Bon Bon showed off her own set of pipes. Starlight had heard that going to concerts could risk damaging your hearing, but she didn't expect the stands of the Running of the Leaves to do the same.

 

Maybe now though she could get her order in an-Nope, now there a new pony...er. Kirin on the scene...Where did he even come from? Nevermind, now was the chance to aaaand there was the loud ringing of Bevel's megaphone. Starlight was screaming internally but managed a smile as Bevel landed near by. "I think they can probably hear the cheering over in Canterlot, Bev." she teased, giving the inventor a kiss on the cheek before finally stepping forward to Bon-bon's booth again. "Hey Bon-bon, I'm getting another order of bon bons for my assistant, if you please?"