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Section 5 - Mountain Pass


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Rose chuckled and took another swig of apple juice, looking over at Cat. "Oh, you're doing fine!" she says. "You know what? Here's some apple juice," he says, letting Cat drink the rest of the bottle. Rose thought she could endure the rest of the race without refreshments. Well, she was pretty confident. Besides, there were a lot of leaves that she could eat falling behind the head of the pack! She kept her mouth open and let one land in her mouth, chewing it up. Man, these things were like eating popcorn!

After a few more leaves, she sputtered a bit when a weird-tasting flower petal flew into her throat. She gasped and choked, swallowing it reflexively, until she felt her throat was clear. "Whoo, that was unpleasant!" she commented, rushing up to Cat again. "Sheesh, what was I thinking, holding my mouth open like that? Won't be making that mistake again!"

Indeed she didn't, but as she kept running, more and more doubts started to plague her mind. What if Cat did indeed collapse, maybe from heat stroke? What if Rose couldn't keep up after all? She looked back and began to realize just how dangerous a lot of the things that had already happened here were. Giant spiders, snakes, an ornery griffon? How was this race not better enforced? It was ridiculous!

Soon the trees thinned out and yielded to rockier terrain, which produced a strange reaction in Rose. Instead of admiring the jagged crags and all of the shadows they cast, she thought of herself taking the wrong step and tumbling down a mountain slope to a painful death. The image of her battered and bleeding body at the bottom made her heart leap to her throat and shiver. Suddenly it felt like it was already winter.

But then another daunting obstacle lay before her. One again the ponies started to crowd around the path, and she couldn't see past them to find out why. Oh, why was this happening? Why her? She'd never break through the crowd at this rate! She finally overheard some of the discussion and felt her eyes widen. Two paths? What happened if she picked the wrong one? She'd get lost in the woods, never to be seen again?

It took Beach Breaker's decision on which path it was to get her to move. He seemed authoritative and confident enough. Rose could only wish she had that confidence! As Breaker galloped away, Rose caught up with him and panted in an effort to catch her breath and talk to him. "T-thank you," she said in a soft, timid voice. "I don't know what I'd do without you..."

Oh no, where was Cat? They'd gotten separated! Rose looked back and almost turned around to find her again. But she realized it wouldn't matter which way she went, it wouldn't increase her chances of a reunion. All she could do was head for the finish line.

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Zephyr was so relieved the griffon spoke back to him. She seemed a bit full of herself in tone, but maybe that's just the adrenaline of the race assisting that. Just in front of the two of them was a very cute rainbow-maned unicorn, and not a bad view from back here, he had to admit. He loved multicolored manes and tails. Just then, the griffon took flight up into the rocky slopes. What in Equestria was she doing. Well, it looks like that would have to wait. Maybe he could go and speak with the cute mare just ahead. She was fast for a unicorn, at least he thought so. He was lost in thought for a moment when he heard the griffon shout something out back and from above. He was glad for that break in thought. It was no time for stuff like that, besides, she's just some mare anyway. The race was nearing its end and focus was needed, mares can wait.

The unicorn ahead had stopped when he heard a loud crash behind him. He stopped to look what had happened, if it was a rock slide, hopefully nopony was hurt. He caught movement above and noticed the griffon was pushing rocks off the rocky cliff edge. She was trying to block the path, not only was that cheating, it was dangerous. Somepony could get hurt, or worse. He hesitated a moment, before gritting his teeth in anger. He remembered what the griffon had said and knew what he had to do. His wings spread fully and he kicked off the ground as he took flight. A small cloud of dust escaping with the wind he made from the act. He kept the griffon in sight and flew next to her, then hovered.

He shouted angrily at the griffon. "What in the hay are you doing?! Somepony could get hurt!" He glared straight into the griffon's eyes, a bit frightened himself. He had just shouted at a griffon, this creature was much bigger and stronger than him. And those claws... Still, anger overpowered fear. "You want to win, then at least be safe!" His expression changed somewhat to a grin. "I challenge you to the finish line! No wings, no rocks, just our legs. What do you say? Surely you can beat some slow pony like me!"

In his head, he was pretty sure the griffon would beat him, but he wanted to stop her from pushing any more rocks. He remembered she had said she wanted to win and figured he could play into her ego. Hopefully she would accept. There wasn't much left in the race.

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Shanna glared angrily at the griffon, snorting when she blew off launching an avalanch.

Then Shanna earperked when the griffon thought she was a friend of THE Rainbow Dash.

She smirked deviously "Ohhh so YOU are Gilda! I Havent' had the pleasure of being her friend yet. But I am a fan of her stunts!

I was a year later at that Junior Speedsters camp and you two were all the older students would talk about.

Funny, I thought the great Gilda was too speedy to need to cheat..."

Shanna folded her forelegs across her chest as Holly Dash yelled at Gilda too and smacked her wings with unicorn telekenesis.

Suddenly a rock came sailing up over the edge and bopped Gilda in the head.

Shanna looked over the edge and waved at Mojo "HA! Good Shot Mojo! See? We're on to you now. We'll give as good as we get. I'm sure we'll let it slide if you run a good race."

Shanna suddenly decided to try what her brother had done to Dusty recently to make him swim. She gave a mischevious wink to set the hook, now to see if she'll rise to the bait. "..Unless you are too slow to outrun earth ponies..."

*edit to include Zephyr who posted while I was writing... ^_^ *

Shanna turned her head to see a green pegasus she thought she recognized as a messenger around Cloudsdale bravely look Gilda in the eyes and issue a direct challenge.

She clopped her hooves together in applause for the stallion, hoping Gilda takes the challenge....

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Meanwhile, back in the Whitetail Wood with the nonracers...

Hoss neighed, blushing redder and redder as he..she scuffed a hoof before Ms LaMare and Jubilee. The blush made the Poison Joke bloom stuck in her mane stand out all the more * What will Jubilee think of me now? *

"I...I'm Hoss... I had to rescue Mojo from a spider as big as we are. The web was among patches of these funny blue flowers. I fell into an entire patch and mashed them all over me... Mojo says I've been Poison Joked...."

Hoss started to sniffle uncontrollably "I..I've always resented being mistaken for Shanna by the romantically inclined in dimly lit parties, and now its j-just WORSE! Now I'll be hounded by stallions if I cant undo this! Mojo says that local zebra, Zecora has a cure, and that the Professor might have a cure too. C-can you tell me where he is? Or where Zecora is right now?"

Hoss suddenly gasped and looked back down the leaf covered trail "OH! Back there, I saw a leafy thing in the shape of a pony! I must find out if that is a pony who was Poison Joked as well!"

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Back at the starting line...

Madam Bistro sat down and fanned herself as she saw granny Smith lose her wings at a most fortunate moment, before she could take off again. "Oh my! If this kind of stuff happens every year, I simply MUST attend each race..."

Snails grunted, putting more effort into it at Misty's encouragement, more sparks flew off his horn and the starter motor sound more steady, then his horn finally put forth a bright steady glow. "YAYYY! I did it! I did it!"

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Gilda was surprised at the pegasus mare's words. She was an alum of Junior Speedster's who looked up to Dash, eh? It was always fun for Gilda to hear she still had a reputation at that place. She had to say it actually did feel a little bad being accused of ruining that reputation, though in her mind a race like this was as much strategy as it was speed. This so called cheating, was just her using her head to secure victory.

Gilda was going to respond to the mare, when suddenly had a lot more on her plate. For starters, some painted pony on the ground was kicking rocks back up at her, one of which had actually hit her and made a few of her feathers fly. This pony was now shouting up at her in some strange accent. Him calling her a lame coward stuck out the most. Before Gilda could hope to confront this pony though, another pegasus flew up to greet her. Wait, this guy was familiar? It was the green stallion from before.

"And I thought you might be cool for a second," Gilda said after the pony finished shouting at her. "Guess you're just another lame-o pony. Figures."

"I play by my own rules, no one else's!" Gilda shouted. She then smirked just a little as she stared at the stallion. "But at the same time, it does take a little guts challenging me head on. I can respect that."

Gilda shrugged and shook her head. She had had enough of these lame ponies yelling at her and was anxious to get moving again. "Alright, you two. I'll play along with your lame rules for now." She glanced from one pegasus to the other, giving a laugh. "Just remember that I'm not here for anything but the win!"

With that, Gilda swooped down on the other side of her rockslide. She called back up to them. "Just try and catch me!"

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"Says the pony who tried to trip me up earlier!" Holly was taken aback at the griffon's wild accusation. She had done no such thing! "You really think you can talk after that low blow you tried to pull earlier?"

"What in all of Equestria are you talking about?!" ​Holly was flabbergasted at the griffon, but she seemed to completely ignore Holly's accusation, and didn't even seem to notice her attempts to push down the griffon's wings, so she gave up the pull on her magic.

Holly frowned as the griffon cawed down at her, infuriated by the impudent lies. "This race is anything goes as far as I'm concerned."

"You dirty cheat!" she turned away from the griffon, disgusted by her dirty tricks, she turned to the ponies that had escaped the rock slide. Stormsong was near the pile of rubble. Holly ran over the piles of rock and debris to her friend, continuing past the ponies heading in the wrong direction, just to assure herself that her friend was alright. She almost passed out with relief when she saw her long haired friend was alright.

"I'm so glad you're okay," Holly was lightly panting, slowing down had truly given her the breath she needed, and although she had lost her place at the front of the pack, she was determined to at least beat the cheating griffon, "I am SO glad that you're alright, I--I don't know what I'd do if my very first friend was hurt..." she placed a hoof across Stormsong's shoulder, smiling warmly at her, "I'm sorry I left you, but...." She glared up at the griffon, more determined than ever, "I can't let her win."

She reared up, whinnying a battle cry like her ancestors did back in the days before ponies had civilized language. She was ready to run like her ancestors, too. In her imagination, she was free, running wild on the plains and the grass bending under her hooves. Her mane whipped and lashed in the wind, and she excelled past the ponies she had just backtracked too, and flashed past the rockslide site, leaping rocks to her advantage and pushing herself forward, her lungs filled with the rush of a second wind. She may not win this thing, but she wouldn't let that cheater beat her!

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Shanna gasped, seeing which way Gilda left... the way she thought might be the right way.

She quickly spun about and flew back to Beach Breaker, the tall stallion who still had some leaves stuck in his dreadlocked mane.

Flaring her wings and skidding to a landing, she pointed back down the slope, where ponies were picking their way around the rocks and a rainow maned unicorn was dissapearing into the treeline. "Breakah! We're going the wrong way! I saw a trail back down over there. its rougher but quicker than heading back to the sign..."

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When the brown and white stallion turned to face her, Stormsong noted that his eyes bugged out for a moment, he seemed rather distracted. He smiled before replying "I'm fine, miss, but I don't know about me pal here yet. He got his tail caught under one of these fallen rocks. Hope he's alright to continue racing. Name's Mojo, pardon me while I do some investigation." She was relieved to hear that nopony had been hurt in that rock slide, though it concerned her greatly that he seemed to think that it wasn't an accident. Was somepony really so determined to win the race that they would risk injuring, or even killing the their competition to ensure victory?

"Pleasure to meet you Mojo. I'm... um... my name's Stormsong. What exactly do you mean by- eep!" Stormsong cut herself off when Mojo suddenly kicked a baseball sized stone up the mountain. What shocked her even more was the scream of pain that followed shortly thereafter, coming from whoever the pegasus above was yelling at. A couple white feathers floated down from the mountain as even more ponies showed up, among them another pegasus and her new friend Holly Dash. They, too, were yelling at the one who was out of Storm's view above, the one who had presumably caused the rock slide. While most of the rest of the ponies around her were concerned with yelling at the cheater, Stormsong took some time to wonder about those feathers. The only one she could remember seeing in the race with white feathers was that griffon that Holly had run into by accident back in the woods. Could that griffon really have been so upset about such a small accident that she would try to crush Holly to get revenge?

Stormsong's train of thought was interrupted when she felt something on her shoulder and jumped, looking off to her side as she did so. Holly had put her hoof on Storm's shoulder, and was saying "I am SO glad that you're alright, I--I don't know what I'd do if my very first friend was hurt..." Holly's smile was so bright that Stormsong couldn't help but to smile back, relieved that Holly hadn't been caught up in the rock slide herself. Before she could say anything though, Holly continued on, "I'm sorry I left you, but... I can't let her win." before letting out a cry and charging off. Stormsong heaved a sigh before setting off on her trot again, carefully avoiding bits of rock that had fallen into the path that might trip her up.

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The griffon retorted, though Zephyr wasn't sure what the griffon meant by her thinking he would be cool for a moment. He ignored that comment as she had said more, pointing out that it would take some guts to get in her face like that, and he paused, thinking that thought through. The griffon then took off and challenged the ponies around to catch her if they could. Zephyr stared down for a moment realizing he had got in the griffons face just a moment ago. His heart started to beat faster when it all came together in his mind and he suddenly scared himself with those thoughts. Just another moment when he saw his anger would drive him to do something senseless. Challenging a griffon like that was stupid.

But now he wanted to beat that griffon in the race, his legs would complain, especially later when they would be sore, but he just had to try beating that griffon now. He zipped down in flight and flew low to gain some ground, dropping to the ground just behind the rainbow-maned unicorn with a plop as his hooves made contact with the rocky surface. His extra speed gave his plenty of boost to get past the unicorn with relative ease. The griffon was just ahead, only a few paces away. He was going to catch up to her, his goal now was to beat the griffon. Maybe it would show her some humility. Zephyr had noticed that not too many other ponies were around, he must be at LEAST in the top 10 at this point. That was an exciting thought. He didn't consider himself much of a runner or to have much speed, and though he cheated a little with his wings earlier, he still considered being this close to the front was really exciting.

Zephyr glanced behind him, noticing the rainbow-maned unicorn. She WAS cute, and he passed her a smile. "I'm going to beat that griffon." He turned back and looked onward toward the griffon, and reminded himself that this was no time to speak to mares. With extra determination now, he continued to give it his all, and watching the griffon closely. He remembered that she was kicking up dirt at other ponies earlier and would need to be on guard if it happened again.

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~One-wing~

Before Mojo had gone on to help the others, he made a quick thank you gesture as he got up. still in a bit of a doozy from being hit he began to try and follow the bath again, but walked into a tree. he backed up in frustration and began following the path again. this time managing not to ram a tree, but still going on unsteadily.

Despite the large amount of drama and talking behind him regarding the indecent, he did his best to keep it from making his head hurt worse then it already did. i mean your head would hurt too if somepony dropped a rock on ye' head. He didn't seem much reason for getting mad at the griffin, considering getting hurt was his own fault. Being cocky and thinking that he could out maneuver a rock slide, so he was not displeased with anypony but himself. After getting out of the range of the drama, he sat down, trying to relax and unburden his headache. he reached into his bag once again and drank from his energy mix again. "Bloody h-..." Realizing that there might be foals or colts around, he did his best to refrain from cursing outright. "-heck my head hurts..." He let out a slight sigh and looked up at the sky again. Not having had a headache this bad since his last trip to Appleloosa, were he had been rammed by a runaway horse drawn carriage. he rubbed his eyes and gazed upon the gorgeous view in the skies once more, hoping that no pony would come by and start yelling...

((occ: I'm guessing the rock that hit his head was 1 kilo heavy. so he probably has quite the head pain.))

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Keeping his pace, Swift Breeze stayed shoulder to shoulder with the kind pony that was helping him. "Well, If you're so sure about that then alright!" they stated as they kept with him. "And Yes, I noticed it too. I believe it was the Griffin kicking up the sand, It almost caught me as well but I was trailing behind. Anyhow, we should reach a long straight after this turn! You can rest there!" The pegasus's eye narrowed. A griffon was the troublemaker. That cleared a few things up in the monk's mind. Now he knew what to pay attention for, when his sight was better.

Swift Breeze nodded his thanks to the reddish blob that had kindly assisted him when they slowed. "Thank you, and stay safe," he commented as they left him by the side of the road. Leaning against a tree, Swift began rubbing his eyes vigorously with a hoof. He blinked his eyes and squinted. Things were better. He could tell what things were, roughly, but he couldn't make out many details. "... Not perfect, but it shall have to do. Hopefully, there shall be an opportunity to give the troublesome griffon a taste of what they deserve." Putting his hooves back down, he stretched, then began running again.

Unfortunately, his running soon came to a quick stop. He skidded to a halt as a sign came into view, scuffing up the ground before it even further. Squinting hard at the sign, he was dismayed to find that he was unable to discern what direction the arrow was even pointing. Frowning and shaking his head, he backed up a bit. First, he looked down what seemed like a path to the left. He saw nothing but a wall of brown a little bit down the path with a few colored spots that were probably ponies. "... They must be intending to make a path up the mountain later, thus the path leading up to it," he reasoned to himself. He then looked down the right. "Ah... trees. This must be the proper way. Where there are trees, there are leaves to knock down." With a nod, the monk reared up on his hooves, taking the right side path without a single moment's hesitation. "Come, my hooves. Let us show them why we are called Swift Breeze."

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Number 34, Klondike, had been laying on top of the jutting out rock for quite some time now. He had been observing the events unfold down below the path that winded up the mountain side. It had taken him some time, but after a while, he finally remembered that yes, there was a griffin taking part in the race. She had flown over him across the river and he had called after her booing and calling her a cheater. Although admittedly at the time, because he had the pieces of paper in his mouth, it sounded more like he was mooing at her.

“Hmm, looks like the crowd of ponies is finally breaking up. Guess I don’t have to go done there after all. Hehe, bet Miss Skybright gave that griffon a well deserved piece of her mind.”

He had managed to identify one of the Pegasus down below as Shanna Skybright, one of his first customers when he opened his repair shop. He had observed as more and more ponies seemed to appear out of nowhere along the path and confronted the griffin as well. Straining his ears, he had tried to listen to what was going on, but so far up high and ahead of the commotion he could not hear a single thing. A few times he had stood up, determined to walk back down the path and find out what was going on, even lend a hoof if it was needed. But, he had decided against it, figuring it would be best to just watch and then decide what to do.

“Well, I’m sure they’ll be okay. They’re almost up h-“ Klondike stopped mid sentence as his right ear began to twitch at the sound of something behind him.

Standing up to stretch out, he looked one last time as the commotion below before turning around and looking down the other side of the mountain.

In the distance, he could see a cloud of dust moving through the other path, the one he chose not to take. It was the rest of the herd that had taken the right path instead of the left. They were nearing the intersection where the path down the mountain side joined up with the path that went around the mountain. Beyond it was the next leg of the race.

“Guess I’ve been laying about long enough to count as 15 rest breaks. Should get back to the race if I want to win this thing.”

Klondike began to eagerly walk down the inclined rock he had used to reach the jutting rock. He was finding however, that climbing up the steeply inclined rock was entirely different to climbing down it, as his horse shoes found it difficult to grip and his hoofs slipped a few times.

“Oookay, this is slippery… Gotta be careful or I’m going to slip and fa *SLIP* AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!”

His hoofs lost their traction and he soon found himself sliding down the side of the mountain at breakneck speed, his last words echoing across the open as they bounced off the rock surfaces.

Leaning back onto his haunches and pushing his forelegs in front of him, he was desperately trying to regain his traction and stop. It was not working; the initial momentum had been enough.

“Horse-apples horse-apples horse-ap-ow ow OW OW BURNING BURNING!”

The friction of sliding down the rock face was causing his metallic horseshoes to heat up and they were soon letting out sparks as he barreled down the rocky side of the mountain. He was cutting through the winding path that would have otherwise led him down safely to rejoin the rest of the racers.

“Please don’t be ponies on the path please don’t be ponies on the patAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!”

Luckily, there was no pony on this particular section of the path down the mountain as he kept on cutting through the winding path. In his wake, his now lightly red glowing metallic horseshoes were shooting off bright red, almost white sparks, leaving streaks of dark scorched ground behind him. Luckily, the few scarce trees and even scarcer dry debris that he barreled past did not catch fire.

AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH… oh Celestia come ON!”

He could see the tree line below getting close awfully fast. In front of him, a sudden ledge was ready to shoot him off into the air and into the tree line below.

“Ow ow ow hmm… I wonder if this counts as cheaAAAAAAHHHHHHHH

Klondike shot off the ledge like a shooting star, his now bright red horseshoes leaving a trail of smoke as he comically spun about in the air like a throwing star and into the tree tops.

“AAAAAHHHHHH *CRASH RUSTLE SNAP RUSTLE CRASH*

In his wake through the trees, he left Klondike shaped cut-outs in the foliage, each one mimicking his flaying hoofs step by step.

*THUD SMACK THUD RUSTLE SMACK*

He soon lost altitude and began to bounce off tree trunks and thru bushes like a pinball gone wild.

*THUD SKIIIIIDDDD*

Klondike finally came to a stop in the middle of the path leading to the next leg of the race with a resounding skid. What would have taken him 10-15 minutes to gallop down from the top of the mountain and its snaking path, he had done in no less than 3 minutes.

Number 34, Klondike, horseshoes still letting off a bit of smoke, laid in the middle of the path leading to the next leg of the race. He was scraped, bruised, dirtied, and covered in tree sap and leaves.

"Uuuhhh... I think I-I... I'll just take... a nap."

Klondike stopped moving. His chest slowly sinking and falling as a slight snoring emanated from him

ZZZZzzzzz...ZZZZzzzzz

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Douglas continued onward for the deep wooded area surrounding the Mountain pass. Glancing back at the Pegasus he helped and hoped it wouldn't be held against him if he want on without him. Slowly as the tree line at the mountain's base started to move closer Douglas could see a few ponies gathered at a fork in the road. An apparent faulty sign being the main cause of the hold up. Upon trotting to a stop Douglas looked over the ponies. One being a pale Gold Pegasus and the Other a lime green unicorn. "Hay! Did the sign fall loose?" Douglas asked, plopping onto his haunches a little ways from the sign to rest. He started to think about which way was the proper route to take. "So...any idea which way it originally pointed?"

He wondered if the left path was correct. Thinking that Ponyville was the finish so they'd have to work their way back around sooner or later. That would lead to the left being the proper path, except there were few trees and the right path held many trees. Thinking in a racing perspective, the left could probably be correct, but the race was only a side-goal. The real reason for the Running of the Leaves was the shake down the leaves, which meant they should probably take the right path since it held the most trees. Douglas lowered his head as he thought over the predicament. He felt he should voice his views on the path, but he wasn't entirely sure on which route to take. "Hm, I'm leaning right...but I'm not completely sure."

Mobius turned to the dark red Earth pony that approached him and Survey, offering a shrug and a nervous chuckle. "Not entirely sure which way it originally pointed. This other sign next t' it was made by somepony in the race, I'm guessin," he would turn as he spoke, putting a hoof on the scuffed up sign, "It SAYS they went left, 'n says 'real path' below that, but there's a buncha messed up writin' past that. I'm wonderin' if the right path is actually the real path, myself." After finishing, he would look up the left path, gesturing towards it with one hoof. "I mean, there aren't even that many trees up that way as far as I can tell, 'n this race is s'posed t' be about knockin' the leaves down, right?" Again, his attention would shift, this time towards the right path, the same hoof he'd been pointing towards the left path with moving to point down the right path instead, "So why would they have us avoid this tree-lined road?"

Another thought struck him, causing him to turn to face the dark red pony, glancing back at Survey before back at the newcomer. "And there was a griffin earlier that was cheatin'. I bet she had somethin' t' do with all this." The pale gold Pegasus would then pause briefly, letting out a frustrated grunt while stomping a hoof on the ground, "Why couldn't this be a fair race? S'all hornets 'n snakes 'n flyin' Earth ponies 'n cheatin' griffins in it, it seems." He then paused once again amid his rant, blushing briefly at another realization while lifting a hoof up to rub at the back of his head. "Sorry. I'm so frustrated 'n busy rantin' that I forgot t' properly introduce myself," he chuckled before offering a hoof to the red stallion, "My name's Mobius Blaze. What's yers?"

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Mojo, having hit his intended target both physically and emotionally, turned his attention towards One Wing.

"You don't look so good, chum. I know enough first aid to know that you've got bonked on your head. Ya need to keep movin' to prevent passin' out."

Mojo then turned towards Stormsong.

"Lovely name, miss Stormsong. Sorry ya had to see all that, but dash it all that evil griffin Gilda had it comin' to her for putting all the racers in danger like this and ..."

Mojo stopped talking when he saw Stormsong rush off.

"Guess she wanted to get back in the race," the Paint stallion said as he turned back towards One Wing. "Are you gonna be alright to race? I wish I had a first aid kit with me. Gotta get ya some help fast!"

Mojo began to shout 'HELP!' repeatedly, thankful that there seemed to be an echo on the mountains that could help carry his voice farther.

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Julibee and Louise LaMare listened with much interest to what the female Hoss told them.

"Oh NO!" Julibee neighed. "Mojo's right! Bet that Professor pony's got a cure for that!"

"We'll follow you back to the starting gate once we find Granny Smith again and..." Louise stopped talking when the three of them spotted Diamond Tiara's chariot swooping by and the gray maned mare inside it.

"She's safe for now, let's get back to.." Jubilee stopped in midsentence when she heard a familiar voice echoing in the distance. "That's Modge! And he's in trouble! C'mon guys, we need to see what's going on!"

Jubilee and Louise led Hoss with them as they flew over to the Paint stallion who quickly explained the situation with the injured One Wing to them.

"I always carry a First Aid kit in my saddlebag, Mojo," the brown Pegasus said as she landed. "I'll stay here and treat this poor fellow's injuries."

"And I'll fly with Hoss back to the Professor! Got to get him back to his handsome self and..." suddenly the blonde Pegasus mare began to blush. She had called Hoss handsome outloud! She had always thought of the brown weather Pegasus as attractive, but she'd been afraid to tell him. Now that Hoss had fell victim to the Poison Joke, Jubilee's feelings for him became stronger.

"C'mon Hoss! I'll see you get changed back to normal, I promise!"

Mojo waved to his friends before resuming the race. Louise now began a quick examination of One Wing's injuries as Jubilee escorted Hoss back towards the starting gate. Meanwhile, back at the starting gate bleachers, Starflower smiled at Madam Bistro.

"Watching this race has made me hungry, I believe I'll buy something from your cart."

Misty hoofstomped in applause for Snail's efforts to get his horn to glow.

"Well done, Snails! I had trouble doing that myself when I was your age! Perhaps in time, you'll be able to weild great magic!"

Professor Krashkop remained seated on the bleachers, his mind pondering all that went wrong with the jet pack he had created earlier.

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Carrot Fields followed Granola with some trepidation. Not that he minded being with the filly, she was cute after all, and friendly; but because they all were losing valuable time in the race. Of course, that was only one of the stallion's worries, and a relatively minor one. He was still concerned about the mint unicorn after her accident, and then there was the neighbor filly ... Shrunken and left with a Venus fly trap of all things!

Nuts and shoes Carrot, ye still dinnae get her name! One a th' most stunning fillies ye've met, and ye cannae open yer mouth an' ask? DUMBTAIL!

Granola's home surprised him greatly - it was quite backwoods, even by earth pony standards. Still it was calmingly quaint in its own way, birds flying in and out of the crevasses in the walls and exotic plants growing all over the wooden home. It looked like a garden left to go wild. As a farmer, he knew you had to keep things neat and orderly ... you planted in straight rows, so that you could keep a better eye on what was going on. Still, he couldn't explain it, but he felt a little more at ease as he entered her home. The chaotic mess of bottles, plants, and weird contraptions didn't faze him; maybe because in its own way, the home was so connected with the very earth itself.

Carrot's ears perked up as she described the potion she needed. a clear liquid in a clear bottle, how was he supposed to find that in a place like this! He looked over at her, and blinked. She looked distorted, as if in some funhouse mirror, or looking through ... "Miss gracie! Ah hink thes is it ower haur!" Carrot quickly reached out with his forehooves and excitedly picked up the bottle he was looking at her through. In his eagerness, the bottle fumbled and slipped ... "OH HORSE APPLES!" The clumsy earth pony dived forward, catching the bottle with his forehooves but slamming his body flat on the hard floor, knocking the wind out of him. "H..he..here ye are, M ... Miss Gra ...*GASP* nola! T ... th' *GASP* bottle!"

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~One-wing~

"Don't worry, its not that bad. I just took a heavy hit to the head, and not the first of so." he took a deep breath and continued, "and although i do appreciate your concerns. your yelling isent helping. and i can think straight for now.I'm fine to race, besides someone has to stay behind and loose right?" he gave a subtle smile. "now go, help other ponies, my old flank is the least of your concerns kind sir. as i am sure there are others in much more of need." He stood up and began walking again. "I think all i truly need right now,...is some piece and quiet to aid the headache, and then ill get it checked at ponyville." Aware of what COULD happen if he didn't stay conscious, he didn't seem too concerned, and continued onwards. "but if nopony needs anymore help, i could use the company....assuming you wont yell that is..." self assured that he wasen't in too bad of shape he continued along the mountain path, admiring the view. As he reached the high point of the path, the staggering view widened his eyes. As he gazed across the vast and intruding landscape, he smiled to himself, thinking, remembering.

((occ: im assuming when your in your 30's that you start thinking back as to when you were younger...*shrug*))

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(NOT RACING)

'Nola was pleased. Astonished, she was proud of her friend Carrot for finding the bottle. She giggled at Carrot's clumsiness, but didn't think to much for his safety--she was pretty sure he'd be alright. After all, he must have been very athletic and fit to be able to run in a race this competitive. "You found it! Great job, Carrot!" Granola grabbed the bottle from Carrot's hooves with her teeth. She then held the bottle with her two front hooves and removed the quark with her teeth. She then turned the bottle upside and proceeded to drink the entire bottle until it was empty. It took her about four seconds. "Ahhhh! I surely needed that. No sense getting all dehydrated on a beautiful day like today. Now where is that poison joke elixir?" She shuffled through her stuff for about ten more seconds before finding it. "Ah ha! Here it is!" She held it up to the small amount of day light that peeked through the window and all of the plants and vines that had engulfed the place. "Alright let's go, time's a wastin'." She grabbed a saddlebag and put it over her midsection and put the bottle inside the bag.

On the way out the door, Granola noticed a set of horseshoes she had stored hanging on a large nail next to her door. These horseshoes were ones she barely wore because they were mostly heavy duty and Granola never did much strenuous activity. "Hay! Do you need new shoes!? You should try these on! They have spikes on the rear ends of them and have extra teeth that allows for better traction when running on soft ground, and they're made out of lightweight aluminum too! I bet they may even help you run faster! I'll give them to you if you want them? I never wear the darn things." Granola laughed at herself and expressed with her front hoof how silly it was in the first place for her to even have these. She most likely bought them by mistake, seeing as it had a colt hoof-size and was the smallest size they had. "Besides, they're a little too big for me anyway." Granola wouldn't expect him to say no, so without an immediate response from him, she proceed to bend down and put the horseshoes on Carrot. She placed his hoof in a shoeing tool and began stapling the shoes onto his hooves.

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"I'm finally getting the hang of this", Seeker thought, as he entered the mountain pass, "It can't be that far anymore."

Through the blur of leaves and dirt in front of him, he saw what he believed to be a group of ponies. The path took several sharp turns, so he lost sight.

To his surprise, the mountains were quite tricky. Not like the ones back home, but still.

The sound of hooves echoed around the stone walls, and Seeker could hardly make out if it was his own, or of the others up ahead. He was glad to have Blacky at his side.

Up ahead, the path forked up into several paths, and no sign of a post to indicate which one to take. The ground was so hard that he couldn't see a single hoof imprint on the ground. This was one of those situations where it payed to have a well trained dog with you. As Seeker slowed down, Blacky was already searching the ground. After a short while, he indicated one of the paths to the left.

Seeker trusted his dogs judgement, they had been through a lot.

"Good dog." He thought, "I'll get you something nice when this is over."

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This leg of the race was proving to be difficult. She had managed to have a nice talk with another pony during the last section, but they had since parted ways. Now she was on her own again and struggling to make her way over the rocky trail.

It wasn't that she just wasn't cut out for such, but more so it seemed that things had been tampered with. There was clear sign of a rock slide at one point. And she had noted a few signs that looked like they'd been messed with as well. Wisp shook her head, to think that some ponies were so hyped about winning they'd cheat. She just didn't get it. This was suppose to be a fun festival but others appeared to take it too far.

As she neared the trail's peak, she slowed for a moment, the path looked a little narrow and a little weak in a few spots. One wrong step and she could find herself sliding down the side of a cliff; which was NOT on her to do list for the day.

"Okay... just keep moving along the edge," Willow mumbled to herself.

One hoof after the other she basically scooted along the rough patch, holding her breath in the process. She did knock loose a couple pebbles and watched as they tumbled off the path edge into nothingness.

"Don't look down..." she reminded herself as she finally reached the stable path way again. "Phew, I did it."

It was all downhill, or down mountain side, at that point. Willow Wisp laid her ears back and lowered her head. She had to make up a little time for slowing down. So with her hooves on good ground again, she took off in a nice gallop, ready to at least catch up with the pack.

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Mobius turned to the dark red Earth pony that approached him and Survey, offering a shrug and a nervous chuckle. "Not entirely sure which way it originally pointed. This other sign next t' it was made by somepony in the race, I'm guessin," he would turn as he spoke, putting a hoof on the scuffed up sign, "It SAYS they went left, 'n says 'real path' below that, but there's a buncha messed up writin' past that. I'm wonderin' if the right path is actually the real path, myself." After finishing, he would look up the left path, gesturing towards it with one hoof. "I mean, there aren't even that many trees up that way as far as I can tell, 'n this race is s'posed t' be about knockin' the leaves down, right?" Again, his attention would shift, this time towards the right path, the same hoof he'd been pointing towards the left path with moving to point down the right path instead, "So why would they have us avoid this tree-lined road?"

Another thought struck him, causing him to turn to face the dark red pony, glancing back at Survey before back at the newcomer. "And there was a griffin earlier that was cheatin'. I bet she had somethin' t' do with all this." The pale gold Pegasus would then pause briefly, letting out a frustrated grunt while stomping a hoof on the ground, "Why couldn't this be a fair race? S'all hornets 'n snakes 'n flyin' Earth ponies 'n cheatin' griffins in it, it seems." He then paused once again amid his rant, blushing briefly at another realization while lifting a hoof up to rub at the back of his head. "Sorry. I'm so frustrated 'n busy rantin' that I forgot t' properly introduce myself," he chuckled before offering a hoof to the red stallion, "My name's Mobius Blaze. What's yers?"

Douglas sat there listening to the Gold Pegasus' explaination, slowly he began nodding his head to the Pegasus. "I feel the same way, the right would make the most sense." Douglas agreed, watching the Pegasus change his perspective to the right path. Slowly the Pegasus looked over Douglas and the Unicorn before voicing his thoughts on the Griffin that supposedly was cheating throughout the race. Then the Pegasus broke into a rant of all the incidents that had befallen the race, the sudden outburst giving Douglas a chuckle at the display. The term 'flying Earth ponies' was probably one of the funniest things he had heard in a long while. The winded rant had left Douglas visibly shaking as he tried to contain his laughter, a hoof covering his snickering mouth. After taking a few breathes Douglas finally got himself under control as the Pegasus put out a hoof and introduced himself. "Hay, don't worry about it. We all get a l'il heated from time to time. Douglas Trotter, nice to meet you." he replied, accepting the hoof shake with the Pegasus. "Well Mobius, whoever caused it sure brought the race to a grinding halt, yet again." Douglas said, shaking his head slowly. "S'pose we couldn't put it past the Griffin, nearly kicked sand in my eyes some while back."

Douglas slowly stood back up, looking up at the mountain path, seemed a few ponies had already chosen that path. He hoped they would be alright, but something else went through his mind. It made Douglas curious, thinking if he went the other way if he'd come out of this leg ahead or behind those who took the left path. "Well, by now I think we're all in agreement that it's the right path. I take it, we should probably try to correct the sign...but we don't really have any tools for that, do we?" Douglas asked, giving himself a quick stretch while waiting on a reply. He soon turned his attention to the green Unicorn after listening to the Pegasus' reply. "Oh, um I didn't catch your name yet, have I? I'm Douglas, it's nice to meet you!" said Douglas, lifting his hoof for the Unicorn. After waiting for the Unicorn to respond back, Douglas gave a quick nod and looked over the two ponies. "Alright then, we just about ready to move?"

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Survey mumbled a bit to Mobius, as he kept focussed on the cube, wich was nearly done. However as he heard a unfimiliar voice, he looked up. ''O-o-oh.. s-s-sorry.. M-my name is S-Survey..'' he said scratching his head and getting back on his hooves. ''S-sorry, i w-was b-busy w-with.. u-uhm.. t-this t-thing..'' he said, showing Douglas the little colorfull cube. ''T-t-these a-are a-awesome!'' he said grinning nervously at him, hoping that he wouldn't look /that/ dorky. He however had the feeling that he was only making him more and more dorky. He sighed in frustration and shook his head a bit embarassed.

He faced Mobius and smiled warmly. ''S-s-sorry, i-i w-was.. u-uhm.. d-distracted.. w-what w-was that a-again?'' he asked, cocking his head in confusement, adjusting his glasses with his magic. He kept feeling more dorky and dorky, making him blush. ''U-uhm.. s-sorry.. n-nevermind.. he said shaking his head slowly and looking back at Douglas. ''I-i g-guess.. i-i a-am... r-r-ready..'' he said looking away, ashamed a bit.

(( OCC: Sorry about the late posts.. school and such, however i'll try my best ^^ ))

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(OOC: Shanna is still pending with Buxy's reply, but need to reply sooner elsewhere with non-racer Hoss...)

"...Bramble Rose stumbled down the path (snip)...He was completely unaware, as he ran, that he still was covered in mud and leaves, and that giant mushroom growths were stuck to either side of his head, and one perched atop his horn..."

Meanwhile, back with Hoss the non-racer...

When Hoss followed the mares to the Pass, Hoss spotted his sister higher above the pass on the wrong trail arguing with a griffon who seems to have started an avalanch.

Hoss crouched down behind a bolder the whole time Jubile and Louise assisted Mojo, not yet wanting to face Shanna like this.

It was with great relief that Hoss followed when Jubilee was asked to lead Hoss back to the Professor, even if he..she.. still had to carry the battered jetpack.

Hoss suddenly smiled and blushed as Jubilee called his male form handsome. Smiling brightly when she promed to get Hoss back to normal. "Thank you so very much Jubilee!

Before they could really get going, the leafy thing (Bramble Rose) was trotting right toward the pass, and them, with two pony eyes flanked by mushrooms and one on top of the head.

Hoss hovered with effort carrying the jetpack "Just a moment, Jubilee... Hay, you! Are you a victim of Poison Joke like me?"

----------------------------

Meanwhile at the starting line,

Madam Bistro eagerly went back to her cart "I am afraid I do not have a large selection with me, Miss Starflower. Most of the space is taken by the hot chocolate urn and foam cups and plates. I do have assorted muffins, donuts, 3 eclairs, and as many bagles. I also have flavored spreads too."

Snails bounced happily, his horn shining and his spiky teal mane flopping. "Ya mean it? Thanks Misty Magic!"

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Carrot Fields just snickered at his own clumsiness as he blushed in embarrassment, holding the clear bottle upwards with his forehooves while laying flat on the floor catching his breath, the laughing wasn't helping. Granola seemed amused, as well, at the near disaster as she took the bottle and then ... drank it!?

Carrot was stunned. Dinnae we need that fer th' lil' filly?! Woi'd she drink it, then? Carrot got to his hooves, looking at her with a perplexed look, trying to find the words to ask the question politely, but never got the chance as she located the real solution. The bottle he'd found was nothing more than water. Carrot just shrugged. Good enough for him, as long as they could help the orange filly get back to normal as quickly as possible, and they could all get back to the race!

Oh and if he could actually get her name too, that would be smart.

"Aight, let's hie on back wi' fire under our hooves, then, afore she is stomped on or et by some plant!" Carrot trotted to the door in hurry, about to gallop back to where they had left the miniaturized "Appletini," when Granola asked him if he wanted the horseshoes she had. Carrot was more than surprised - incredulous was a good word, given the urgency of the situation. He didn't want to say no to her offer. They were very nice horse shoes, after all, and he didn't want to insult the filly by refusing her gift.

The earth pony sat down, resigned to allowing her to put the new horseshoes on. Carrot, Carrot, Carrot ... Why cannae ye say nay tae a filly?! What would yer sire say to ye now? Carrot cringed as he pictured such a confrontation, then gave Granola a wary smile as she proceeded to place the new horseshoes on him.

And what would Purple Haze say about all of this if she knew ...

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Big Mac was doing his best to avoid all of the weird shenanigans and crazy moments that all of the ponies behind him were currently beating themselves up and enduring like maniacs...it was one thing to want to win a race, but quite another to do so by so many bizarre means...

Still, the Red pony was putting on the gas, keeping his head down low as he continues to speed over the mountain path, avoiding the occasional rock fall or whatever that was going on as the ponies continue to gallop amongst themselves - nopony could deny that this years race was likely to both be one of the most historic and the most memorable for all currently involved, regardless of what methods were being used...even the griffon seemed to be giving it all the best, even if she was both being quite the cheating mean thing. Big mac couldn't exactly bring himself to like her methods, however...she was a loudmouth and a troublemaker, and he wasn't much fond of any pony like that, let alone a griffon with an attitude problem.

However, in Big Macs haste to catch up, he finds himself catching his footing on some loose rubble...all four hooves now struggling to maintain his upright position on the ground.

" WH-WHOA... " the Stallion utters, trying not to fall over...and in his haste on trying to do so, he finds himself steering in the path of other ponies, perhaps impacting into them as he does so before finally tripping over and rolling into a nearby bush...which in itself was extremely awkward for a Stallion such as Big Mac, given his size. After a moment, he lifted his head up and shakes himself off, standing up on all fours and looks around to make sure all was well.

This was NOT exactly pony-friendly terrain, and he didn't particularly care for it all that much!

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Mojo continued to gallop along the winding, long mountain trail. He was starting to get tired as he ascended the road. The hippie brony had participated in many nature hikes in the mountains near home when he was a foal, so this kind of racing he understood all too well. The Paint stallion also realized that by challenging the angry she griffin, he had made a big time enemy that was willing to do ANYTHING to get even. He had to remain dilligent and alert. Mojo was happy to know that the stallion he had freed from the boulder would receive proper care from Louise LaMare. He also was glad that Granny Smith was safe, howbeit flying around in an air chariot, but safe none the less. He just happened to look down when he spotted something shiny on the ground.

"A chocolate bar? Far out!" he neighed as he stopped long enough to unwrap and consume it. This then presented the Paint pony with another problem.

"What do I do with this blinkin' wrapper? Don't wanna litter the earth."

Suddenly, the solution came to him! With one swift motion, Mojo ate the wrapper, chewing it first before swallowing.

"Actually, not a bad flavor, for paper," he giggled as he resumed trotting on, hoping he could catch up to some familiar ponies, including his 'love', Lyra.

As he galloped on, the Paint stallion saw a sight that made his eyes bug out and his mouth drop. A huge reddish stallion with orange mane rolling up ahead.

"Hay! I know that bloke!" he shouted, galloping up to the fast moving Big MacIntosh as he collided with a huge bush.

"Hay chum, you alright?" Mojo asked, stopping in front of the bush to offer a helping hoof.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When she first watched Hoss approached that moving and talking pile of leaves, she let out a loud scream of fear.

"MONSTER!" she yelled before zooming behind a tree to hide. When she heard that Hoss was actually speaking with another victim of Poison Joke, the embarrassed Pegasus mare emerged from behind the tree.

"Oh my gosh! I am SO sorry sir, didn't know you were a pony, you ARE a pony, right?"

Meanwhile, Louise stayed with One Wing, insisting on helping the injuried Pegasus.

"Beggin' yur pardon, sir, but you're visibly bleeding. I do have some asprins on me to help with your headache. Please allow me to at least bandage your open wounds. How's yur tail? If THAT boulder landed on it, chances are it's broken. I can fix up a quick splint for it so you can continue in the race."

Back at the starting line bleachers, Starflower smiled at Madam Bistro's menu selections.

"May I have two bagels and an eclair, please?" she asked as she watched the shimmering portal. As Misty complimented Snails again for his glowing horn, she glanced up at the portal in time to see the now female Hoss talking with Jubilee and Louise LaMare and heard the mention of Poison Joke.

"Poison Joke? Wait, the Professor said he had a cure!"

"That's right, Misty! You and Snails find him fast!"

Misty looked back at the bleachers, but the gray maned Pegasus wasn't there. He was airborne, flapping his wings to get further away from the starting gate.

"Zhat's dee use? I vill go home und zit on dee front porch. I have done too much damage already today..."

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Granola stamped Carrot's last hoof into his new horseshoes and dusted off her hoofs up and down to show off her good work. "Wow, You look great in those! They really bring out that, gray, um, pelt of yours." Granola blushed as she saw herself fast forward her thoughts. "Um... We need to get going!" Granola headed out the door ahead of Carrot and galloped briskly to the trail where they had left Appletini and Precious.

"Oh, it was nothing. Nothing big for a strong pony like me." Applejack spit. She was talking to herself and fantasizing about the conversation she would have with her friends about her story taming the giant venus flytrap deep from within the Whitetail Wood. She stood inside Precious' pot with the plant all tied up, unable to move, and whimpering. She rest a leg on him and chuckled. "Don't feel bad, Precious, I do this to all the varmint I wrestle down."

"What in the- What's going on here!" Granola ran up and noticed her poor pet plant tied up like a helpless abused hog from a rodeo. "Oh, Precious!" Granola quickly squirted Appletini away from the plant and untied Precious from his worthy bondage. "Did that mean ol' pony tie you up?" Precious nodded. "She didn't hurt you did she? Tell me she didn't hurt you." Precious nodded and then with a plant-like puppy dog face (whatever that looks like), lifted his left stemleaf to reveal a small scratch that made a small incision into the plant's durable structure. "Oh no! Oh, don't worry Precious, momma's gonna take care of you."

Applejack, meanwhile, was surprised at what she was seeing. "What? Are you kidding me? That there plant tried to kill me!"

Granola turned to Applejack with a stern face. "How dare you! Precious would NEVER hurt anypony! I can't believe you would say that! Precious is a sweet angel." Granola turned back to Precious and rubbed her nose on him. "Yes he is, aren't you boy?" Precious followed suit with a pout and then stuck his tongue out at the orange pony.

Applejack growled.

Granola turned to Applejack. "I shouldn't even be helping you. You should be nice to ponies and their friends when they help you," Granola grabbed the bottle out her bag as she spoke, "not tie their pets up with miniaturized rope and say their harmless pets were trying to kill them. You've got some nerve, pony!" Granola looked to Carrot for support. "Can you believe this Carrot? Isn't that just terrible what she did?"

As Granola halfheartedly pour the potion onto the orange filly, Applejack rebutted. "Ugh. You've must'a spit your bit er somethin'. That red devil was bouncin' around snappin' at me. It's so dangerous when you're my size." Applejack looked at Carrot as she slowly grew in size. "Tell her, Carrot! Jus' look at that plant. It breathes evil!"

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