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Section 4 - Whitetail Wood


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Stormsong barely noticed as she and Holly passed into Whitetail Wood. While she would normally be giving plenty of attention to the beautiful surroundings, she was instead focusing on keeping up with her new friend. This had proven to be a more difficult task than she had originally thought, primarily because Holly took every opportunity to accelerate, pushing Storm's body steadily into more and more painful protest at the physical exertion. Stormsong knew she would need to take a break soon, but was utterly determined to keep up this pace for as long as possible. They had already passed several of the ponies that had left her behind back at Sweet Apple Acres, though they were still pretty far back from the head of the pack.

Suddenly, she heard Holly cry out "WOOOOOOOHOO!" and charge ahead in yet another rush of speed, passing right past most of the ponies and gaining on the lead. Stormsong tried to pick up her pace as she heard her friend yell back "C'MON, STORM!!!", but her legs refused to move any faster. With her endurance wearing thin, she had no choice but to slow down to a walk to catch her breath and hope to recover enough of her strength to sprint again later. She watched in amusement as Holly charged forward, all the way to the head of the pack, and ran headlong into... Stormsong stopped a moment to rub her eyes to make sure she wasn't hallucinating.

Yes, that was definitely a griffon at the front of the pack that Holly ran into, and she didn't look too happy about it either. Even from back where she was along the path, she could hear the griffon yelling at Holly, though she couldn't really distinguish any words. After the uncalled-for angry outburst, the griffon propelled herself forward using her wings, almost instantly regaining her lost momentum. Still panting heavily and sweating profusely, Stormsong was in no position to catch up with Holly and find out what had happened, but she certainly intended to do so once she had recovered.

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The road was trecherous as Swift Breeze ran to catch up. The path was so covered with leaves that each turn threatened to send him careening off into a tree. He swerved and swiveled around the turns, leaves kicked up by his efforts to not crash. Soon, he saw it... the back of the herd. Spirits raised, he lowered his head and surged forward. "Excuse me... Coming through... Pardon me... Watch your left..." he panted as he wormed his way forward into the ponies. He could hear his blood pounding in his ears. His muscles practically screamed. As the leaves underhoof began to not be quite so thick and prone to sliding about, he began to slow down, letting his muscles rest a bit, for a given measure of 'rest'.

His chest heaved as he took grateful lungfulls of air, catching his breath as best as he could after his scramble to catch up. He dropped back a bit, running at about the speed of the other front runners. He turned a concerned eye to the occasional ponies that found out the hard way that a tree's bark is worse than its bite. They were already being helped by others, though, so he continued on.

Just as he was starting to think he could relax a while in the run, dirt, leaves, and rocks got kicked up in his face. "Agh!!" He turned his head and closed his eyes, keeping even more from getting into them. He shook his head and blinked, wincing as he tried to clear his eyes. All the world was a blur as he teared up. He dropped back just a little, using the brightly colored blobs moving about near him he saw the other racers as to judge where to stay on the right track. "Of all the dishonorable... low down.. underhanded tactics..." he grumbled. Were this a fight, he might have expected such a thing, but in a race?

He squinted, trying to make out just who was ahead of him, speaking in such a sarcastic tone. "So, that's how you want to play then?" the voice asked. "I know your game. You recognized me as a threat, huh? Now you want to trip me up." Swift Breeze tensed up. Something didn't seem right about that tone. "Well, I'm not going to let that just slide!" snarled this irate voice. "I've got my eyes on you! Believe me, if you try anything, you'll regret it..." Did they notice his earlier rescue and thought him a threat to eliminate by any means? He couldn't see who was being addressed, so he had to be prepared for anything.

Partially blinded, Swift Breeze was wary. Was this some irate, bad-natured pony trying to bully their way to victory? He shook his head again, trying to clear his eyes. If it was a pony, Swift would have trouble dodging a well-placed hoof, he pondered to himself. ...and that wasn't even counting if they had other dirty tricks to pull. If it wasn't a pony... there were several other things that could be just as dangerous. "So much for a calm run through the woods..." the pegasus pondered aloud. "And these ponies go through such a race each year, just for the leaves..." His eyes narrowed, determination setting in once again. He wasn't about to let himself be knocked out of the race, be it pony, griffon, dragon, diamond dog, or any other species that could talk doing the dirty tricks.

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Survey was still observing the beautifull forest, ignorant of the snakes, spiders and the cheating griffon. He however peered up as he heard a yell, making him look around, only seeing a glimp of the mare dashing towards him. ''S-Spiders?*CRASH*'' he said suprised, as he was tackled to the ground by the mare. He grunted as he hit the ground.

''N-nggh.. w-what are y-you t-talking a-about M-miss?'' he said holding his head, still a bit dazzled by their crash. '' U-ugh.. y-you said s-something about s-spiders?'' he said a bit nervous. ''I d-don't l-like..s-spiders..a-at all..'' he said, chuckling nervously. ''P-please s-say t-there a-are n-no s-spiders h-here..'' he said, shaking his head, and trying to stand up. ''U-uhm.. c-can you g-get u-up.. p-please?'' he said, squirming a bit. ...P-please? he said, rubbing his head again and blushing a bit. ''T-this l-looks... p-pretty a-akward..''

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This part of the forest was just so beautiful. Everything about it was simply amazing. Zephyr was glad he was taking a break here with his slow walk. Just then, a herd of ponies rushed by, but Zephyr continued his walk. He was still feeling a bit winded. Following not too far behind was something that caught his eye. The griffon from earlier had just dashed by, she had kicked up dirt in the road, though luckily Zephyr kept his walk at the side. The griffon was seemingly accompanied by a rainbow-maned unicorn. Wow, those were some nifty colors for a mane. Zephyr still wanted to introduce himself to the griffon, hoping she would speak a little of their culture and way of life.

Another pony went by, bringing with him, the wind that followed. It was the weird pegasus from before... Swift Breeze. Zephyr remembered the name, but not the hard to pronounce temple he came from.

Feeling better, Zephyr picked up his speed again to a gallop. It was time to catch back up, and attempt to speak with the griffon, though he was thought that maybe it would be a good idea to converse after the race. If the opportunity just happened to present itself, he was take advantage of the situation. It would be so great to finally talk to a griffon. Zephyr tried to imagine all the great and wondrous stories the griffon would have. He wondered what she thought of ponies altogether or she would even be willing to speak with him at all. Hopefully his failed attempt at helping her would be remembered and could help sway her decision.

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Mojo was relieved when he saw Hoss had discovered his plight and was working to get him free of the huge spider web as the Pegasus flrst slammed into him with the wrapped up jet pack.

"Good show! That shoudda squashed it.... that thing must be made of iron! Not cool!"

Seeing Hoss's attack did nothing more than anger the giant spider, Mojo started to fear the worst until the Pegasus stallion reached for his front hooves and began to pull hard. It was now a race, a race against time with Hoss pulling with all his might while the spider squirmed to get out from under the gray jet pack. To the Paint pony's relief, he felt himself working free, the force of the last strong tug sending them both flying through the air. Mojo landed with a thud back out on the trail.

"Wow! That was a jolly good rescue, thanks Hoss! I didn't think anyone was gonna spot me from the road. Hoss? HOSS? Where are ya, chum?"

Searching the woods near the road, Mojo was careful to stay away from the stray clusters of poison joke. Suddenly, a brown Pegasus emerged who called him by name, a lovely MARE who complained about her voice.

"Pardon me miss, but have ya seen me pal Hoss? He was just.., half a mo' is that YOU Shanna? What the devil are you doin' here? You have a race to... wait... you're not Shanna.... you're.... HOSS!!!!!"

Mojo was stunned to see his rescuer was now a mare rather than a stallion.

"That ruddy poison joke did that to ya! Oh my! You'll need to get the cure from that mysterious zebra who lives out in the Everfree Forest... Zecora I think's her name. I'd love to stay and wrap with ya, but I really need ta git back in the race. Maybe the Professor knows how to mix up the cure! He being a big brain and all! Thanks again, love! Er... chum... anyway, bye!"

Mojo now realized he's lost a lot of valuable time. If he wanted to have any chance of winning, he needed to gallop all out now. Foresaking his previous strategy, the determined Paint stallion took off like a shot and ran with all his might down the trail.

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After scaring off a bunch of snakes, a giddy Granny Smith flapped her wings forward to try to rejoin Big MacIntosh. As she fluttered, she came upon Gilda.

"I saw ya cheatin' ya big ugly bird critter! Here's a Granny stare for ya!"

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After doing her 'stare', the elderly Pegasus mare continued to move further down the lead pack until she met the airborne Julibee and Louise LaMare.

"GRANNY!" Jubilee shouted. "Thank Equestria we found ya!"

"You have to come back with us!" pleaded Louise, "those wings of yours were created with unstable magic! They could vanish at any time!"

"Go back? HORSEAPPLES! I'ma havin' my best day in decades! Git outta my way, I wanna find my grandkids! Have either you gals seen Applejack or Applebloom? Applebloom might not be in the race but I know fer a fact Applejack wouldn't have missed this race fer all the apples in Appleoosa!"

Meanwhile, back at the starting line bleachers, Starflower thanked Madam Bistro just as Saddlesore woke up.

"Hay... where.... where am I?" the confused blue stallion asked.

"Saddlesore! You're awake! Thank goodness!" nurse Starflower neighed happily. "How do you feel?"

"I had the strangest dream... I dreamed I was flying through the sky on a silver cloud, out of control. Bet that sounds weird to you, doesn't it?"

"Well.. not THAT strange," the tall light blue unicorn said, rolling her eyes. "Would you like something to eat?"

"No thanks, not right now. For some odd reason, I feel.... airsick..."

Misty accepted the apple smoothie from Snails and took a sip.

"Thanks, Snails. I wish I could make you understand. I'm not a great magician. All the things you saw me do were just happy accidents. I could've hurt a lot of ponies with it. I was just lucky that things worked out the way they did. Do you understand me?"

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(OOC: Okay, HOW many ponies have run into trees and/or each other so far this section? XD)

Lyra's head was swimming. She was certain that she was laying down, and yet she felt like she was still moving. Wait... She was still moving. What was going on? Rubbing her head a little, she finally managed to focus on her suroundings. She was in the forest. Yes, she remembered the forest. She was moving, sideways no less. That was unusual. Looking down she figured out why.

"O-Oh my! Carrot? You- you're carrying me?" Lyra exclaimed. Her face was bright red, and it felt like it was on fire. She was glad her new friend hadn't left her behind but this was so... undignified! "Th-thank you Carrot, but I'm okay now. Please let me down." She slid off the farmer pony's back and wobbled onto her own hooves. She was a little shaky from being bounced up and down on Carrot's back, but the feeling soon subsided.

As she stood there, the memory of what had happened came back to her. Try as she might to supress it, a tear welled up in each eye. "I can't believe I made such a fool of myself. I must look like such a silly pony." she sniffed a little and wiped the tears from her eyes. She looked to her stallion friend, hoping that he didn't think any less of her. "Sorry, I shouldn't complain like that. I really appreciate you helping me." She gave a warm smile to show that she was okay. "Let's keep going. I'm not going to let myself fall behind after all that." she added with a quiet chuckle. This race certainly was pushing her to her limits.

The mint coloured pony returned to her previous canter. Her head was throbbing a little still, and she made a note to visit the nurse's tent when she got to the end of the race. But she wasn't going to give up. Not now.


Meanwhile...

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Not far above the race, a sky blue pegasus pony wearing a chauffeur's uniforn pulled a small air carriage. He only had a single passenger today, but this was easily his most taxing job to date.

"C'mon! C'moooooon! Hurry up or I'll miss everything! What I am paying you for!?" yelled the little pink foal that the pegasus had been hired to drag around for the day.

"You're not paying me, your parents are-"

"What was that?"

"Yes, Miss Tiara."

"Good. Now take us down. I want to see who's in front." Diamond pulled a chocolate bar out of her saddlebag (designer model from a top Canterlot designer, you know?) and looked over the side of the carriage on the racers below. The treeline was making it difficult to spot the race leader, but there were clearly some interesting developments going on down there. "Oh my gosh! There's, like, totally a giant spider down there! And a griffin too! Oh wow this years race is incredible."

As the loud-mouthed foal continued to watch, a flash of yellow and red caught her eye. Focusing on that spot she could she a small pony running behind the pack. "No. Way. Is that-? It is! Oh my gosh, this is, like, so totally hilarious! Hey you! Take me down! I need to check this out!"

"I have a name you know." the chauffeur replied.

"Good for you." Diamond Tiara retorted. "Take me down, cart-jockey." Chuckling to herself at the thought of getting back at Applebloom, Diamond didn't notice the trio of two young pegasi and an elderly green pegasus until they flew straight over head. The resulting wind caused the tiara-clad pony's chocolate bar to be whisked out of her hooves and down to the race below. "Hey! Watch where you're going you crazy ponies!" she yelled.

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Up until they reached Whitetail Wood, Rose kept pace with Cat, keeping her company and running at about eighty percent speed, by her estimates. She thought if she really pushed herself, she could leave Cat in the dust and go straight to the head of the pack, if only because she had longer legs than Cat. Yes, she was absolutely sure about that.

"Heheh, Canterlot's great! There was a little get-together of aspiring writers two weeks ago. That was a real blast! And I mph!" Her speech was interrupted by a falling leaf flying into her mouth. All of the leaves were falling at once, and Rose couldn't help but crane her head around and look at the storm of leaves filling the air behind her. As she watched, she started chewing the leaf, and eventually swallowed it. "Mmm, not bad. Could use a little salt, though." She chuckled and stuck out her tongue for another leaf, catching it like a little foal would a snowflake.

After eating that one and chasing it down with another swig of apple juice, she remembered Cat's other question. "Oh, you know Inky," she said with a roll of her eyes. "Always looking for a way out of exercise. He said he'd rather draw the race from the sidelines. I guess he can't draw anything while racing, but he's got a good memory for visual details, and I can't imagine that he'd see that much from those bleachers at the starting line."

But Inkwell did see quite a lot, thanks to Misty's serendipitous scrying portal. He saw a wonderful view of the falling leaves, which he wasted no time in capturing on paper, as well as the snakes and giant spider laying near the path. He idly hoped that nopony would run afoul of them as he filled in rough outlines of the path and the multitude of falling leaves.

"I'm sorry to hear about all that," he told Misty. "Something like that can be really hard to overcome or live with, but it's possible. I'm sure there's somepony who could help you with that." He held his pencil to his mouth, thinking back on the ponies he saw, and began filling them in. "Used to be I was shy and scared of everything, scared of how much I would fail. But one day I just decided to try drawing anyway, and I ended up happier with myself than ever before."

Back at the race, Rose nodded at Ashton as he arrived next to Cat, who apparently knew him. "It's absolutely beautiful. Absolutely. Inky's gonna be so bummed that he missed out on all this, you kn-" The sound of a thud distracted her, making her turn and look at the seafoam unicorn who ran right into a tree. She winced in sympathy and looked back at Cat and Ashton. "Poor filly, hope she didn't hurt herself too-"

“HAHAHAHA! WOOO HOOO! YEAH! THIS IS BEAUTIFUL! I LOVE IT OUT HERE! I’M NEVER GOING BACK INTO MY SHOP AGA-”

Another pony ran headlong into a tree, and this time Rose couldn't help but crack a smile. "Sheesh, you'd think some ponies would know to watch where they're going!" she said, shaking her head. "Then again, I keep turning my head away from the road so much it's a wonder the same hasn't happened to me!" She looked ahead and kept running for a few seconds, waiting to hear the sound of another tree collision. After time passed without one, Rose almost spoke again before the interruption of distant shrieking.

"AAUUUUUUUUUGH! SNAAAAAAAKES!"

Rose broke out into a laugh at that point, to the extent that she ended up slowing her pace down to seventy percent. "Ahahahahaheheheh! I'm sorry, it's just... you ever thought you'd see things like this happen here? This is supposed to be a simple marathon, and yet it seems there's always something complicating things, doesn't it?"

As if on cue, a gangly black-and-white unicorn screamed about a giant spider and stumbled onto the racetrack. She collided with another unicorn and tumbled right into Rose's path. With barely a second's thought, Rose leapt into the air, soaring over Estrella, and hit the ground running again. "Get up!" she yelled in the short amount of time before Estrella faded from view. She kind of wanted to see the giant spider for herself, but she knew how Cat felt about spiders and she still had a race to run. Would have been a cool sight, though.

She panted and chugged the last of one bottle of juice, leaving one full and one empty. While there was technically no need to levitate the empty one, the thought of littering never crossed Rose's mind. Her mother had been very strict in that regard. "Halfway there," she said to Cat and Ashton. "Think we can make it?"

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Barking caught Seekers attention, and he opened his eyes. Assessing the situation for a moment, he stood up.

"The race!!", he proclaimed. 'I must have zoned out for a moment.' He thought, as he shook his mane to shake the tiredness.

A small group of ponies just passed him. 'Good, the race isn't over yet.' Blacky was nowhere to be seen, but Seeker wasn't too concerned. This wasn't the Everfree Forest, and the dog knew how to hold his own. As Seeker accelerated he let out a whistle, and thought he heard the sound of dog paws paving their way through the brushwood. 'Now then, let's shake some leaves.' and in a cloud of dust and leaves, he took off.

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hi hi

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Every hoofbeat was a note in some unscripted symphony, played in concert but conducted separately by each performer's own goals and ambitions. To compete, to win, to enjoy and to help; help each other or simply to help the trees shed their leaves. The Earth took each contribution in part and rolled them together into a single tune, and in response the crowd of trees seemed to come alive, their curtain of leaves thrown open as the performers moved past.

It felt more like a dance than a race.

Ginger Mint remembered her father telling her that if ponies didn't shake the leaves down from the trees, winter's snow would pile up dangerously and could break off branches or sometimes topple entire trees underneath the added weight.

Back home, it had always seemed like a chore. A bunch of neighboring farmers would get together and go from farm to farm, shaking the leaves off of what few trees everypony had. It hadn't really been so bad, now that she thought about it, but in the impatience of her youth she was only interested in the wonderful meal that always followed. A meal that was, in turn, followed by pie.

She caught herself thinking about food and tried thinking about something else, but couldn't help feel a rumble in her belly. At least she wasn't worried about feeling homesick now.

Maybe I'll have to stop by Sugarcube Corner again once this is all over, before I head back to Fillydelphia. Perhaps I'll even catch up with the crowd from this morning...

The smell of sun dried leaves and dust was mixed now with the thankfully not stagnant smell of sweat. Here and there she could pick out the playful notes of Chrysanthemum and Sunflower drifting on the breeze and she looked to the sides of the path for the source.

There were more little flowers hidden amongst the underbrush than she had expected, and still more than she even recognized. There were tall plants with little bundles of mauve flowers that looked almost like a brush loaded with paint. She was sure those didn't grow around Fillydelphia. Small rust colored coneflowers timidly poked their heads out from behind taller bushes, they were a flower she'd seen before but for some reason she couldn't remember their names. Little shrubs with deep blue buds looked as though they were just about to burst open, and she tried to remember what they would smell like when they finally bloomed.

The trail wove through the woods for a while, staying on the high ground above the nearby stream instead of a straighter line that would have forced travelers up the side of every hill and down every gully. As the trail broke away from the stream though, the terrain flattened up and the course straightened out for a good long stretch.

Ah! A straightaway!

She saw the front runners up ahead for the first time since Sweet Apple Acres, and it seemed that there were a lot fewer ponies still maintaining a gallop and jockeying for the lead position.

Well, not just ponies.

Even though she felt sore all over, her heart was beating steadily and each breath came easily. She didn't think catching up to the head of the herd was a big deal at this point in the race, but with the open road stretching out in front of her and a subtle warmth urging her forward, she broke into a gallop.

Just for a little bit...

And, just for a little bit, she felt like the wind. She pranced through the falling leaves as she closed the distance to the front of the herd, no longer distracted by the forest around her and drawing just close enough to see a griffin purposefully trip another racer.

The sight made her slow back down to a trot and she nervously glanced around, her mind once again imagining shadowy assailants springing out from the bushes to sabotage the race. Would they come after her next? She had already been stung by hornets and she wondered what other nasty surprises they might have in store.

Looking behind her was supposed to reassure her that everything was ok, that everypony was merrily running along and that the cheap antics at the front of the line were just the result of one cranky griffin. What she did see was much less than reassuring. Several ponies had collided with trees, one of which was being carried on another's back with a dazed look on her face, and she was sure she could hear the sound of somepony yelling and shouting from somewhere.

She figured that all of the falling leaves were simply obscuring her vision until she saw some kind of leaf covered creature burst fourth from the tree-line. It quickly crossed the trail somewhere nearby before disappearing back into the woods on the other side. It had been yelling something completely unintelligible and she wondered what kind of language tree creatures spoke.

I've never even heard of four legged tree creatures before...

When the rest of the herd started to catch up to her, she looked around for the closest pony she could find, or at least the closest pony she could find that didn't have a bewildered look on their face as well.

"Excuse me... You wouldn't happen to know if four legged tree creatures are native to the Whitetail Woods would you? I had no idea such a thing existed!"

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More than five minutes had pass since number 34, Klondike, had barreled into a tree and found himself in a bush taking a rest. Admittedly, the impact had left him more winded than he would have cared to admit and he could already tell that the following day he would not only be severely sore from the running, but from hitting the tree as well.

“Well, now’s not the time to be laying around.” He chuckled at his own jokes from within the bush. “Besides, I think I got most of my breath back and I’m pretty sure I saw a few ponies run past me… I should hurry up and catch up.” And with his mind made up, he began to right himself up and pushed his way out of the bush.

Once freed of the bush, twigs and debris still clinging to him, Klondike stepped onto the race path and began to stretch a bit. Like at the starting line, it was a plethora of cracks and snaps as he tried to loosen himself up after taking a long break, and more importantly, after hitting the tree. Looking back at the tree he had hit, he noticed that all the leaves had been knocked off when he slammed into it.

“Hmm, I think I just invented a new method to know down the leaves from the trees…” He began to trot away from the path, slowing picking up his gait.

“Don’t think many ponies would be too eager to participate in the “Slamming of the Trees” as opposed to the “Running of the Leaves” though.” Klondike let out a chuckle as he began to pick up more speed, his body feeling somewhat pained but eager to compete.

As he overtook the first of many ponies that had run past him, his galloping gait was almost back to the speed it was to right before he hit the tree. More ponies were coming into view and approaching fast as he twisted and turned along with the racing path and began to overtake these ponies as well.

Klondike’s galloping gait was still increasing in speed as he ran through the ponies in front of him, quickly leaving them behind as he ran past them still covered with a few twigs and debris from the bush. Nostrils flaring and heart pounding in his chest, Klondike was trying his best to balance his focus between the race and the beautiful display over head as the leaves fell from the trees. He did not want to repeat the previous event.

“Focus Klondike focus Klondike focus Klondike oh hey look obstacle course…” Klondike was mumbling to himself as he noticed a black and white unicorn on the ground tangled with… was that Survey?!

“MR. SURVEY!?” He called out as he approached them at an alarming speed.

“Come along Mr. Survey! Don’t know when you got in front of me…” He announced as he ran past right next to them, a huge smile on his face.

“But now’s not the time to be laying about with your fillyfriend!” He called out once more as he pulled ahead and continued running.

“Wow, he did kind of strike me as quiet and shy but I guess looks can be deceiving. Good for him! She’s a cutie!” Klondike told himself as he let out a hearty laugh and barreled down the race path overtaking more ponies and leaving them behind looking at him oddly.

Klondike couldn’t help but laugh out-loud , part of his mind was still enjoying the scenery while the rest of him tried to focus on the race. His right ear kept twitching, trying to help him balance the thoughts, if not steer them towards the race unless he wanted a repeat of the previous event.

(OCC - Off to another full day of work. Have fun Bronies! I'll try to reply to any interactions when I return.)

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What? Somepony was talking to her? Wisp was still a little hazy as she looked over to the Stallion that came up along side her. She wiggled her nose making her glasses weren't cock-eyed before responding.

"Oh, you saw that?" She felt a little embarrassed now. She was sure that no pony has noticed. Or at least, she had hoped no pony had.

"It's alright. I mainly just jammed my horn into the trunk. And it's not damaged." She gave a nervous laugh. "But I know when to stop if I need to. Thanks for asking all the same. I'm kind of surprised. In these types of things, it seems like most would keep on running... gaining a place higher in the ranks and all."

She looked forward again, but not taking off to the leave the concerned pony behind her. She had already decided she wasn't really gunning to win, middle of the line would make her happy. If she did win, well she'd be shocked.

"Haven't see you around before. Name's Willow Wisp.... I live in Ponyville's so called haunted house on the edge of town. What's your name?"

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"So, that's how you want to play then?" Holly's smile drooped, and she tilted her head in confusion. The griffon seemed to have mistook her for someone, as she was speaking as though to someone she was very angry with. That seemed odd, not many ponies had as colorful of manes as she did. "I know your game. You recognized me as a threat, huh? Now you want to trip me up."

Holly was only even more confused, her ears dropped and her eyes widened in total confusion at the furious, taloned she-griffon. "Well, I'm not going to let that just slide!" Holly was nearly blown away as the griffon screeched into her face, she could almost feel her fur fly out with the force of it all. "I've got my eyes on you! Believe me, if you try anything, you'll regret it..."

Holly was left on her flanks, wide eyed and totally confused, as the griffon jetted off, her wings excelling her forward. She didn't know this griffon, but she'd be darned to pony heck if she was going to let her win too easily. She lifted her rump in the air, her front hooves pawing the ground, "Sorry, Storm--I'll see you at the finish line!"

With a flex of her back, her chest was on the ground, she wagged her tail excitedly before pushing off from the angled ground, and speeding after the griffon, her horn poised forward, slicing through the air at a speed easily rivaling the griffon. She did not care of the other ponies, her eyes were only on the brown shape of the griffon steadily moving towards the front of the pack. The burning in her lungs only pushed her on, and as she panted, it was like applause in her ears.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of weaving through ponies and skirting around trees and corners, she was at the griffon's side. She said nothing, just brought her neck up out of her nose dive and looked at the griffon, grinning smugly before sticking her tongue out and pushing past the stunned she hawk, diving her head down once more, her horn slicing through the wind as she galloped.

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"Excuse me... You wouldn't happen to know if four legged tree creatures are native to the Whitetail Woods would you? I had no idea such a thing existed!"

"Why... pretty sure I have no idea what you are talking about, but I am going to answer anyway. I have seem my fair share of oddly shaped tree that happens to look like four legged tree creatures, but they are not exact native.... Are you sure you are alright? I saw you ran all the way around the race track to get back in place." She responded. Seeing she was looking for this particular pony the whole time, it ought to be natural for her to be the closest around.

Beside... having fallen behind after their detour, the sense of urgent in this race no longer bothering her. "Why do you ask, anyway? Did you saw any four lagged tree creature around in this wood?"

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What? Somepony was talking to her? Wisp was still a little hazy as she looked over to the Stallion that came up along side her. She wiggled her nose making her glasses weren't cock-eyed before responding.

"Oh, you saw that?" She felt a little embarrassed now. She was sure that no pony has noticed. Or at least, she had hoped no pony had.

"It's alright. I mainly just jammed my horn into the trunk. And it's not damaged." She gave a nervous laugh. "But I know when to stop if I need to. Thanks for asking all the same. I'm kind of surprised. In these types of things, it seems like most would keep on running... gaining a place higher in the ranks and all."

She looked forward again, but not taking off to the leave the concerned pony behind her. She had already decided she wasn't really gunning to win, middle of the line would make her happy. If she did win, well she'd be shocked.

"Haven't see you around before. Name's Willow Wisp.... I live in Ponyville's so called haunted house on the edge of town. What's your name?"

He raised a solitary eyebrow at her response. Mobius wouldn't pretend what it was like to be a Unicorn, but 'jammed my horn against' sounded painful in its own right. All the same, he offered a semi-relieved smile to hear her say that she would know whether or not she needed to stop. Hopefully that was the truth and this wasn't a case of somepony being too stubborn to know when they need a break. She was maintaining her balance in spite of it, though, which meant she wasn't too disoriented.

As she introduced herself, he offered a wry grin before nodding his head. "Pleasure t' meet ya, Willow Wisp. My names Mobius Blaze, 'n ya haven't seen me around before 'cause I'm jus' a visitor from Cloudsdale." He then paused for a moment, considering where she said she lived in Ponyville, his head tilting curiously. "Haunted house, y'say?" he began before offering a slightly goofy grin, "I thought ghosts were jus' an old ponytale. Is it really haunted?"

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Carrot Fields was slowed down some, galloping with the turquoise filly on his back, but it wasn't by too much. Being an earth pony who worked on the farm all his life, he was used to carrying various loads or pulling wagons and plows. It wasn't tiring him out to carry her - he just had to pace himself a little better than he otherwise would. What did worry him was her injuries - a nagging doubt in his mind, was he doing the right thing by carrying her? That doubt though was dispelled suddenly when her heard her surprised exclamation.

Carrot slowed down and then came to a stop, his face hot at her embarrassed thanks as she slipped from his back. He hoped he didn't annoy her by doing this. Ach, quiet yer haverin', Carrot! Oi dinnae think she'd be on th' outs with ye fer helpin' when she was hurt! Looking over to Lyra, who by then was standing steadily on all four of her hooves, he noticed she was starting to tear up, being at least as worried about what he thought as he had about her reaction.

Carrot, of course, felt terribly shy, but he had to reassure her! "Ach, dinnae be worryin'. Twas nothin', Oi'm sure. ye were quite light, an' Oi wanted tae make sure ye got tae th' finish line an' got some help! Is nae like Oi've not tripped and slammed into moi own share of objects while running though forests, issit?" He just laughed nervously but sincerely as he rubbed the back of his head with his forehoof. "Oi was quite glad tae be able tae help such a lovely filly." Oh Luna, Carrot, why did your mouth always run away with you to make the moment more awkward? How corny!

Lyra though, appeared to be pretty content with racing, so it could be that she just let that line pass without much thought. After waiting for her to canter back onto the trail, he trotted up along and behind her once again. Well, that was it for him for this race - win or lose, she'd decide that, not him. He wasn't going to leave her all alone to try for a win, not after that worrisome blow.

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Harmony was running not fast and not slow still, she started to be a bit tired but don't wanted to stopnow. She wanted to run as long as her stamina will allow her, she looked at other ponies and wasn't sure about all but she knew race is slowly getting to end, it was still long till it but it wasn't start like some hours before. She little sighed but Flightly started to pat her head, she looked a bit at her mane and this was mistake for her, her hoof slipped on rock and she fell to ground. Flightly aswell get away from her mane to ground. She looked at her bird little angry.

You needed to do this right? Thank You, now I will need to… Ah just get back to my mane and keep moving or I will be last Harmony get up and started to run when Flightly get finally to her mane, he felt guilty for it and decided to don’t do anything for some period of time.

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Just as he was starting to think he could relax a while in the run, dirt, leaves, and rocks got kicked up in his face. "Agh!!" He turned his head and closed his eyes, keeping even more from getting into them. He shook his head and blinked, wincing as he tried to clear his eyes. All the world was a blur as he teared up. He dropped back just a little, using the brightly colored blobs moving about near him he saw the other racers as to judge where to stay on the right track. "Of all the dishonorable... low down.. underhanded tactics..." he grumbled. Were this a fight, he might have expected such a thing, but in a race?

He squinted, trying to make out just who was ahead of him, speaking in such a sarcastic tone. "So, that's how you want to play then?" the voice asked. "I know your game. You recognized me as a threat, huh? Now you want to trip me up." Swift Breeze tensed up. Something didn't seem right about that tone. "Well, I'm not going to let that just slide!" snarled this irate voice. "I've got my eyes on you! Believe me, if you try anything, you'll regret it..." Did they notice his earlier rescue and thought him a threat to eliminate by any means? He couldn't see who was being addressed, so he had to be prepared for anything.

Partially blinded, Swift Breeze was wary. Was this some irate, bad-natured pony trying to bully their way to victory? He shook his head again, trying to clear his eyes. If it was a pony, Swift would have trouble dodging a well-placed hoof, he pondered to himself. ...and that wasn't even counting if they had other dirty tricks to pull. If it wasn't a pony... there were several other things that could be just as dangerous. "So much for a calm run through the woods..." the pegasus pondered aloud. "And these ponies go through such a race each year, just for the leaves..." His eyes narrowed, determination setting in once again. He wasn't about to let himself be knocked out of the race, be it pony, griffon, dragon, diamond dog, or any other species that could talk doing the dirty tricks.

Douglas was hanging back around the middle of the pack, debating whether or not he if he should push on to the front. He was sure his lady friend from earlier was probably still behind, but he could only hope one of them caught up with the other eventually. Tucking his head downward, Douglas picked up his pace. The colorful hues of the leaves dropping before his eyes giving him a renewed energy, as the trees at his side blurred into an orange wall along the track. He could feel himself becoming focused on the track. The pounding of his hooves begging the trees to shed their leaves. The 'Orange wall' soon started to blur ahead of him too, it's many shifts and turns outlining the path. It felt like he was chasing a bright serpent. It's never ending flight from Douglas coalescing into several break neck turns that he himself waited nearly to the last moment before diving from the outside of the road to the inside of the turn. Sound soon faded from his consciousness. The leaves crunching under his feet and lungs gasping for breath the only sounds he could hear. His eyes remained locked open, never blinking regardless of how long he ran. To Douglas, the other racers weren't even there anymore. It was simply an instinctual urge he felt to shift lanes to pass. He didn't even see who he was running by.

His mind focused solely on the track, whatever form of pacing or body regulation was long gone as Douglas sprinted full out. The wall along his sides seeming to swirl and mesh together over top of him as the tree cover of the forest became much heavier. It was an ethereal tunnel, the view watching these blurred color whiz by him, the orange hues bleeding one tree to the next. Even with the inability to recognize the shapes, he noticed the bright, beautiful swirls and blobs of the overhead tunnel of leaves. Douglas soon felt his lungs burn, becoming heavy with each forceful stomp of his hooves. His eyes shut in a calculated manner, waiting till he reached a small piece of straight road each time.

As the Orange wall wrapped around the trail Douglas followed until he saw a rush of grey and beige colors wash up in front. Blinking his eyes and coming out of the racing mindset he caught sight of leaves, dirt, and sand being kicked up and jammed his hooves into the ground, turning his face away and shutting his eyes. Opening them again once it had died down he saw a griffin running off and to his side were a few other ponies. One being a celadon Pegasus, violently shaking his head as he ran. "Is he still running with sand in his eyes?" Douglas thought, imagining the pony could become a hazard himself if he wasn't aware of who was beside him. Giving his head a quick shake to get the debris from his still damp mane, Douglas shifted his running line to that of right next to the troubled Pegasus. "Hay! Can you still see? There's a turn coming up!" Douglas hollered, looking ahead quickly. "Lean against me! I'll guide you through!" Douglas offered, gently nudging against the Pegasus to show where he was.

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Mojo was now galloping all out. He knew he had lost much valuable time being trapped in that huge spider web. Though he felt bad for Hoss becoming an unwitting victim of poison joke, he realized there wasn't much he could do to help him... or her.... as the case may be.

The Paint stallion now began passing other racers, he ran past Big MacIntosh, looking very closely as the huge stallion's pelt to make sure tiny Appletini had not fallen off. Then he passed Gilda and fought to urge to kick dirt in her face the same way she had done him.

"That's not me style, revenge isn't my bag," Mojo thought to himself as he ran up the trail. Suddenly he saw a sky chariot lowering towards the other racers. The alert galloping brown and white pony managed to duck his head and speed up to avoid getting smacked by it. That when he noticed the lone passanger, a light purple filly with white streaked mane.

"Beggin' your pardon, kid, but it ain't for ya to be flyin' that thing on the race trail. Do yourself a favor and go back home!"

As the hippie brony excellerated to get ahead of the flying craft, he spotted his friend Lyra up ahead, who was talking to a Carrot Fields. Mojo was happy to see she was alright, and trotted harder so he could catch up to her.

"Hello again Lyra! Didn't get a chance to tell ya how great you were back at the bridge! You wouldn't believe me if I told ya all that I've been through to get here!"

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In the air above the race, as Pegasi Jubilee and Louise tried to convince Granny Smith to return with them, Diamond Tiara's chariot wooshed on by them, causing the two Pegasus mares to spin wildly in the air before crash landing in the middle of the race trail. Granny Smith wasn't paying attention either as so when the air chariot flew near her, it rammed her in the rear, flipped the elderly Pegasus in the air and then caused her to land in the back of the chariot.

"SUNDAY DRIVER!" the angry gray maned mare shouted. "Who's flyin' this here contraption? And who's this foal sittin' back here with me?"

Meanwhile, back at the starting gate bleachers, as the race continued to 'play' live through the shimmering magical portal, Starflower helped her newest patient, Saddlesore, sit up in his cot.

"You're at the starting gate of the Running of the Leaves, sir. Everything that you experienced was no dream, it was all real."

"It WAS?" the blue stallion said with a stunned look on his face. "Pardon me a moment before I..."

He was going to say, 'pass out', but he already did.

"Oh dear. I have to wake him back up. Madam Bistro, do you happen to have any strong garlic in your cart?"

As Misty Magic continued sipping her apple smoothy, Professor Krashkop fluttered down and sat beside her.

"Fraulein? Vhy are you so sad?" the older green Pegasus asked.

"Do you have to ask? Look at all the terrible things my magic has done today!"

"Terrible? NEIN! You saved Saddlesore's life vith your magic und look at dat wonderba portal you created! It is I who am dee failure today. Mein solar powered jet pack vas a huge flop! All of mein inventions are dumkoff tings no vone needs! I even created a spray on cure for poison joke, but no pony vill vant to try it vhen day hear about mein jet pack failure!"

"An easy cure for poison joke? Every pony will want to buy that!"

"Nein! It is untested. It should vork in theory but how can I ask anyvone to be a test subject for dis stuff? Vith mein luck, it vill make dee patient vorse instead of better."

The two ponies lowered their heads and sighed in unison.

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Somepony was talking to her? She looked around for the voice, who could that have been? Just then another pony came by, addressing somepony by the name of Survey. By that time she realized the ground she was lying on seemed to be breathing and mumbling something about getting up. She looked down at the other unicorn just as the comment about a fillyfriend was made and leaped off of the male with a surprised squeak, back pedaling quickly and giving the male more than enough room to stand. “Ah ha…T-terribly sorry about that!” She stuttered, shaking out her mane and shifting about. She checked her flank to see if her number was still intact. The paper labeled 77 was still upon her mostly covering her cutie mark. She stared back at the unicorn, hooves lightly kneading the ground, she DID crash into the male…buts she apologized right?

“Um…Are you ok?” She asked, the thought of running back off in the race without checking if she hurt the male not really sitting well with her. She trotted back over to him giving a sheepish bow. “Heh…I’m really sorry for crashing into you like that…spiders really give me a scare.” She smiled at the unicorn. “My name is Estrella by the way.”

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Granola Gracie was feeling energetic. She hopped up out of bed and began watering all of the plants inside and outside her shack with the watering can that collected rain water just outside her window sill. "Hello, Mr. Tulip. Good day, Hydrangea. Looking pretty bright today, Miss Mum." As she sprinkled the flora and greeted them with the day around her den, her eyes grew watery as she noticed a sudden groaning sound. "And, Precious, your stem is turning a lovely green this time of year." A red venus flytrap yawned exceedingly and then snapped on an unlucky housefly buzzing around him. Precious made a quick gulp and projected a smile towards her owner. "Whose a good boy? Whose a good boy?" Granola encouraged. Precious jumped up and down as far as he could taking the pot he resides in with him with every bounce.

Granola had lived her for awhile. It was the middle of the Whitetail Wood that she decided to take off for her own independence after discovering her cutie mark and special talent with plants. The Whitetail provided her plenty of time and environment she could ever dream of. And on today, the running of the leaves was in affect, and Granola was willing to partake in the tradition. But instead of actually running, she would try and rake and gather as much leaves as she could to make room for the new plants that regenerate for the following spring. Granola wasn't very athletic, so she would rather do her part in cleanup anyways.

"Hurry, Precious! We need to get ready for the race! They should be running through here any moment!" Granola trotted quickly around her place grabbing certain items and finishing up her morning routine caring for the plants in the area. Precious, meanwhile, sat helplessly on the table his pot rested on. However, one would be foolish to underestimate the plant's mischievous capabilities. He was always getting into trouble and causing mayhem for the characters around her. All without Granola knowing, of course. Granola grabbed Precious' pot and slide him unto her back. "Let go to the trail and see if they have gotten to these parts of the woods." On the way out the door, Precious tried to snap another fly in the area, but failed to capture it. Precious shook himself. Looking up, the fly danced away from him and mocked him with buzzing.

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Applejack dozed off a couple times in Big Mac's mane. As the race ran into Whitetail Wood, the thick smell of bark and leaves overwhelmed the area but it was pleasant. Applejack breathed heavily and took in the woodsy air. "Well, I reckon it's time to find a way out of my small size. But how am ah ever gonna find a cure in this predicament?" As she thought, she was jostled by a jump Big Mac had made over a tree branch that had fallen. Applejack grabbed tightly onto Big Mac's mane to keep from falling off. "Whoa there, Big Macintosh!" Applejack squeaked, perhaps too loudly. But Big Mac did not respond.

Shortly after, Big Mac came to a stop. Applejack continued to talk to her brother as if he wasn't able to hear her. "What'er you stopping for, I have uh... I mean, we have a race to win!" As Big Mac shook his head, Applejack held on for dear life, until she was finally grounded by the centrifigal force of Big Mac's head. "Ahh ponyfeathers." Applejack looked up at the Giant Macintosh above her and chirped, "Heh, hay, big brother!" Applejack waved innocently to immediately avoid being accused of cheating. But instead, Big Macintosh continued his race and even race faster than he did before. "Yer not jus gonna leave me here, are ya?" Applejack yelled as loud as her little voice could, but no pony could hear her clear enough. As she soon realized, several giant ponies were whizzing past her very fast and she had to make great attempts to avoid their hoofsteps.

((OOC: If I missed something, please PM me))

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hi hi

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While Ginger Mint listened to the bright red mare's response a frown crept over her face and her brow furrowed.

"... Are you sure you are alright? I saw you ran all the way around the race track to get back in place."

She didn't have an answer either, it seemed, and for a moment Ginger Mint was lost in thought. As far as she could tell, she was in perfect health, except for some hornet stings anyway. Hopefully those weren't causing some sort of a reaction. Hopefully she wasn't hallucinating!

And come to think of it, I've never really enjoyed racing, but today i'm in a particularly good mood.

Somewhere in the back of her mind she felt a little alarm go off. She'd spent entirely too much time thinking about her response and this kindly mare was probably starting to worry about her. She had to say something, even if she didn't have a solid answer.

"I don't think there's anything wrong with me, but I guess I'm not entirely sure. My eyes aren't dilated or something are they? Ohh, I hope I'm not catching some kind of illness... oh my gosh! I wonder if thats why they didn't make it to the race, there's some kind of disease going around and I caught it..."

Ginger Mint's rambling was interrupted by her new running partner before it got entirely out of hand.

"Why do you ask, anyway? Did you saw any four lagged tree creature around in this wood?"

Her tone of voice was reassuring and Ginger Mint was able to calm herself down. At least this pony was accepting the possibility that Ginger Mint wasn't going crazy.

"I saw some kind of wailing creature run across the track just a moment ago. It was like a big pile of leaves with four muddy legs. At least, I think I saw it. Pretty sure... Are you sure you didn't see anything? Didn't anypony else see something?"

She looked around herself but none of the other racers nearby seemed to be very concerned. Either they didn't see anything, or they did and it was just such a normal occurrence around Ponyville that they didn't pay any attention. She couldn't be sure either way.

"I... I'm sure I saw something, and you say you've heard of walking tree creatures? They're not dangerous are they?"

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Mayday notices a torrents of question coming from the pony. Though she patiently listen to all of it without the slightest interruption or comment... except that one of interruption that snapped Ginger Mint out of her rambling anyway. Only once she got to the end, she would respond with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, no, not dangerous at all... Long as you.... run for it!"

With that, The Red pegasus have resumed her running with a bolting start. Almost seemed like she fully plan on leaving Ginger Mint behind. However, she does pauses to look behind her just to make sure if Ginger Mint is following... and if she is not, she would stops and gestures her to follow!

Either she have to encourages Ginger Mint to run a second time or not... She would greets her anyhow

"Sorry for that, but I think you have far too much on your mind at the moment... I think it will do you some good if you focus more on running. My name is Mayday Sunnyside, what is yours?"

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Carrot Fields was moving along at a nice pace, not his normal rapid gallop, but certainly not slow, he just wanted to keep an eye on the mint colored unicorn for a little longer, but totally not in that way! He just to make sure she didn't falter due to some lingering effect from her recent arboreal close encounter. Looking downwards towards the path immediately in front of him so to not be too distracted by... Lyra's running form, he suddenly spotted something small and orange in his path! It wasn't a problem to gallop in such a way to avoid hitting the odd little animal as he passed over, just then he got a clearer look...

"Was 'at...?" Carrot had to stop; he quickly forced all four hooves once again into the dirt before he could look back. He had to do a double take just to make sure what he just witnessed wasn’t just a trick of his all too filly focused mind. He turned around and trotted over to where he swore he first spotted what looked like a miniature orange filly, and looked about in vain for a few seconds. Then he spotted her, the neighbor filly who he met not an hour ago selling drinks… His eyes widened in disbelief… "Faith and begorrah!" Carrot’s quickly lowered his head to take a closer look, it was definitely her..just.. smaller! A lot smaller! "H.. How? how did ye gie loch 'at!? Whit ur ye daein' in th' path; yoo’re gonnae gie rin ower!!" Before he could even get an answer, Carrot held his forehoof out for her to climb, mindful of the approach of a large pack of ponies descending upon them.. "Climb up oan me before somethin' happens tae ye!"

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Mojo was now running at full stride as he approached where Lyra and Carrot Fields were galloping. Suddenly, he saw the stallion halt and extend a hoof to the trail.

"Half a mo', that's ... OH MY!" the Paint stallion shouted when he spotted Appletini. Thinking quickly, Mojo came to a stop and stood sideways in the road to serve as a shield from the other racers so the shrunken mare could climb up upon Carrot Fields safely.

"Did something go amiss with your surprise, Miss Applejack?" Mojo asked in a serious and concerned manner.

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Up ahead, having been knocked to the ground by Diamond Tia's wild flying air chariot, Jubilee and Louise LaMare suddenly found themselves lying in the middle of the road as a group of hard charging ponies were galloping their way.

"Oh my! Better make a run for it!" Jubilee screamed.

"I'm with you, kid," added Louise as the two winged mares sprang to their hooves and began to gallop. Soon, they found themselves surrounded on both sides by other competitors.

"What do we do? Can't stop or we'll get trampled, can't trot off the track, can't get enough wingspan to fly!"

"We have no choice! For now, we have to run with the rest of the herd!"

"How do we get in situations like this?"

"Don't know, but we better just keep running!"

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"Yeah," Ashton replied to Cat Napper, "I'm not actually racing though, just watching. I can hardly keep up with everything that is going on when I'm standing still much less..." He slipped on a patch wet leaves and stumbled but managed to keep his footing. "I mean. I can't watch, talk and run at the same time. A lot of ponies are having that problem it seems."

"Was that?" he turned his head looking to the side of the track. A little orange leaf appeared to be jumping about. "Anyway yeah a lot of things seem to be going on. Some ponies seem like they're having really bad days." Cat included, though he didn't mention that out loud. He stumbled again. Perhaps he should stop running on the edge of the trail. "I'll catch up with you two further ahead. I'm going to take a shortcut. Good luck!" he started veering off the track to the left slowed to a casual trot watching the remaining ponies gallop along the course.

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