Section 5 - Mountain Pass

[halofan303]

~One-wing~

Despite being assured that he was fine, he didn't mind having the company. up until now he had been quite alone in the race, so it would be nice to get a little talk maybe.

"ill have you assured, Louise, im perfectly fine. There is no need for you to bandage me up. Id much rather get back in the race and run it off." he looked along the path and back, at the sun and then the ground. He was rather urged to get moving, as he could feel an itch coming on by simply sitting still. "ma'am i do appreciate your concerns, i do. but i feel fine, and you can give me a look at the finishing line okay? i just really cant stand sitting here while the rest of them run off. besides its only my head that got hurt, that and i got a thing i need to do..." his hind legs were fidgeting a bit as he was having difficulty sitting still, he had to use the little ponies room.

((ooc: i had to take a twinkle while i wrote this, so i could input the best vocal track....that and i didn't have too much to add besides that....so yea it was a tad short...^^''))

[BaconofChaos]

(OOC: Wow this thing moves fast. I've read the thread, but I've been pretty tired and bleary-eyed today so I apologise if I missed something directed at me)

Though Lyra was puffing and panting as she reached the highest point on the mountain path, she couldn't deny that the view was worth it. Sitting down on a rocky ledge she surveyed the splendor that was Equestria in the fall. It's so beautiful. I wish I had my Lyre. This derserves a song. She sighed hapilly as a pleasant breeze cooled her and set her mane waving in the wind. I can't believe I didn't find anyone up here. she mused. She'd found this spot thanks to a message left by somepony called Klondike, who she assumed was the same pony that had left the hoofprints back at the sign post.

“ENJOY THE VIEW BUT WATCH YOUR STEP!”

“-Courtesy of Klondike-“

But where was this pony now? As if answering her thoughts, a sound came echoing from somewhere further down the mountain path.

“AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH”

*GASP* "Somepony's in danger! I have to go see if they're okay!"

Never once stopping to wonder if she actually could help this pony, Lyra ran down the path to a steep slope where it was clear that somepony had tried to climb down. A few hoofprints, followed by a still rising cloud of dust, cut a direct line down to the next section of the track. She knew that she'd need to get down quickly, but trying to rush down would only get her hurt as well. As she considered her next move, she felt something slip underneath her feet.

"Wha- AAAAHHHH!" she cried, as a large slab of stone, concealed by mud and dirt, slid off of it's then precarious perch and began to slide down the mountain... with Lyra still on it! "Aaah! No! Steady! Steady!" She was moving fast, too fast for a unicorn like her to handle. If she didn't do something she was bound to crash! Wait! That's it! she thought. With my unicorn magic maybe I can steer this thing! Focusing down on the rock she gently used her levitation to nudge the rock, first left to avoid that bush. Good! Now right to avoid the dip. Excellent! Suddenly all fear drained away, replaced by exhilaration and excitement as the adrenaline began to flow. She was almost flying!

"WOOOOOO HOOOOOO!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. A grin spread across her face. Now was time for a song!

♫ "She'll be sliding down the mountain when she comes! She'll be sliding down the mountain when she comes!.." ♫

As she came to the bottom of the slope, she passed several strange bushes and trees, each with a cut-out of a pony marked perfectly in the foliage. Then, down at the bottom, was a pony passed out on the track. "Okay Lyra, gently does it... Slow it down... there we go." using her magic to pull back on her impromptu toboggin, Lyra was able to break in time to stop very neatly next to the dark blue pony. Disembarking from the rocky ride the mint coloured pony walked over to him. Or rather, she wobbled over to him, the journey having shaken her more than she'd realised. "Oh my goodness! Hello? Are you hurt? Do you need... wait... what?" as she got closer to the downed stallion she could hear him snoring. "Sleeping? Here? Crazy pony..." she muttered. She decided that the best way to help this pony would first be to move him off the path and out of the way of the other racers. With a combination of pulling and pushing, both using her hooves and magic, she was able to roll him over the the grass verge. Now for step 2: Wake him up.

"Hey! Hey Mister! This is no time to be sleeping!" she yelled into his ear.

---

Diamond Tiara grimaced as the wrinkly old pony rambled on about respect or some such. This was exactly what she had been expecting. Adults.

"Hay young foal! You need to learn respect fer yur elders! I got half a mind to turn ya over my knee and put some wood to yur flanks! I don't care so much for ya razzin' me, I'm old and I'm used to it, but to insult that nice driver feller steerin' this here thing! You really orta apologize to'm!"

Diamond rolled her eyes at this. the driver was hired help. He was payed to ferry her around and nothing more. He should consider himself lucky to have such a prestigious passenger! She tried to shoo the old green mare away again.

"Be happy to leave! I don't wanna be wur I ain't welcome!" she answered, and the little pink and purple foal breathed a sigh of relief. She was going! Until... her wings disappeared!?

"HAY! What in tarnation's goin' on? Oh yeah. Guess them flyin' fillies were right about them wings disappearin' at any time. Looks like I'm stuck here, kiddo. Did you say my Applebloom was in this here race? I had a hunch she was here! Wur is she? Have ya seen her yet? I smell chocolate! How about givin' some to me? I ain't et nutin' since the prunes I had fer breakfast!"

Blinking uncertainly as Granny Smith babbled on, Diamond tried to wrap her head about what was going on. "Wait a second! What happened? Don't you care that your wings just... vanished? That's like... that's like..." She struggled to come up with a suitable comparison. "That's like if my Tiara suddenly disappeared!" she finally came up with. Certainly to her, a Tiara vanishing into nothingness was just as horrible a thought as losing two limbs. Then something the crazy green mare said got through to her.

"Wait... your Applebloom? You're... her grandma, or something?" she said. If this was the case, she wouldn't be able to pick on the foal when she found her! Also the old lady was sniffing after her chocolate bar, and that just wouldn't do. A bead of sweat rolled down from under her perfectly styled mane. She needed a way out of this.

"Um... why yes! Applebloom is around here somewhere!" she said. "Why don't we find somewhere to land and you can go and look for her! Yes, that's it! I wouldn't want to keep you after all!" Smooth, Tiara. Real smooth.

[AppleNitrox]

Harmony started to be afraid, this time it was mountain pass and she can't even use her wings. She only sighed a little when Flightly get away from her mane and began to fly, he tried to show Harmony that she can use her wings and nothing bad will happen! It is only race he thought, but bird didn't understand Harmony wanted to win the race in a fair play style, not while cheating with using her wings. She shock her head and get her bird again to her mane, but Flightly was stubborn and again started to fly. Harmony started to be a little annoyed cause of her own bird but still was moving without using wings. Harmony go into a hard way where she needed to be very careful or she will fall down here, her bird smiled and gave a little evil grin when he was still moving using her wings and approached Harmony eyes with his wings, bird was very stubborn and wanted from her to use wings, it was a little cheat but why she shouldn’t use she got from her young ages? Harmony looked at him very angry and only began to whisper to him.

Get back to my mane, right now Flightly. We will need to talk a bit when we will end this race cause You started to be very, but very annoying and making me angry You know this? Now be a good bird and get back to my mane, right now or our friendship will end right now! Flightly looked at her little scared, he don’t wanted to lose his best and only one friend, bird got back to harmony mane and started to be very quiet and sometimes just only looked if Harmony finally made her way through the mountain or no.

[Mojo]

(ooc): While "Mojo" is waiting for a response from "Big MacIntosh", this post will address some of my characters who AREN'T participants in the race.

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Louise has been around long enough to know THAT look on a guy, the look of a stallion who needed to relieve himself urgently. She decided to bid a hasty retreat from One Wing.

"Oh, I get it, sir," the brown Pegasus said, trying to hide the embarrassment on her face. "Since you don't need my help, then I will take my leave of you. Good luck in the race. Keep a sharp eye out for wild paths of poison joke when you .. er.. take care of that... thing .. you need to do."

Louise took off through the air, hoping to catch up to Jubilee and Hoss on their way back to see the Professor. Meanwhile, in Diamond Tiara's chariot, the now wingless Granny Smith listened to what her new seatmate had to say to her.

"Yee-up! I'm AppleBloom's granny! I'm so proud of her! Wanna see some photos of her I carry with me everywur I go?"

Then she heard Diamond Tiara's offer to land to search for AppleBloom.

"I gots a better idear, sweetie! This here flyin' thing kin cover a lot more ground than two ponies on hoof! Betcha we kin find her by flyin' over the racers agin!"

The elderly lime green mare perched herself near the front of the chariot.

"YOO HOO! Nice young feller flyin' this here chariot! Would you do an old gray mare a favor and fly another low pass over all them runners below us, PLEASE? Purty please?" she said in her gentlest, kindness voice she had.

"See thar youngin'? THAT'S how ya talks polite to other ponies. They's an old sayin', y'all can kitch more flies with huney than ya can with vinegar. But then agin, vinegar does taste better on my homemade prune surprise than flies do."

Unseen by all the racers so far was a pony who had been following the entire race from afar. This pony wore a cowboy hat with a silver star cutie mark. He gazed up at the mountainous trail with his binoculars and had just witnessed Gilda's self made avalanche and all that transpired after it.

"Dag nabbit! That thar griffin's at it agin!" Sheriff Silverstar groaned as he produced his camera with telephoto lens to snap a few quick pictures. "That Gilda's been doin' a barrel full'a cheatin' durin' this entire race! It's a good thing the racing O-fficially hired ME to be a special on field referee! That crazy bird-lion nearly sent some of the runners to the Last Roundup with that last bit of meanness! I better ski-daddle along and keep on observin' this race from a safe distance."

With that, Sheriff Silverstar quickly packed up his gear and galloped down a lower trail towards the downward slope of the mountain.

[brianblackberry]

Carrot Fields smiled gratefully. Sure, having these new horseshoes placed on his hooves took up valuable time, but she was being very generous in bothering at all. As he stood up on all four, his smile turned to blushing with her sweet compliments on his looks with them. It was the first time in a while a filly complimented him in such a way. Heck, he couldn't remember the last time a filly who wasn't related to him had said such things. "Aww ... Thankee, Miss. Gracie, ye did fine work here," Carrot said with a broad, flushed smile as he bowed his head politely. Granola was right, it was time to go - first to make sure the pretty orange filly was uncursed, and then back to the race - which almost felt like a memory with everything that had happened.

It didn't take long for the two of them to return tot he spot where they left Applejack and the carnivorous planet "pet" of Granola's whom she referred to as "Precious". The scene they came across was unexpected though; the tiny filly managed somehow to rope and tie up the creature in such a way that it couldn't move - what a feat of skill for a filly less than a quarter of the Fly Trap's size! Carrot had to admit to himself, he found it impressive, even a little exciting in a titillating sort of way.

Before he could say a thing, let alone finally asking the captivating orange filly's name, he heard Granola react in horror to the self-same scene. Perhaps the ropes had been a little *too* tight, slightly injuring the plant. Carrot was reasonably sure she hadn't mean to hurt Granola's pet, and had probably never tied up a plant before - who had a chance to practice such things? Still, Granola didn't see it that way, and the shouting match breaking out was making Carrot uneasy, though at least Granola was kind enough to still pour the cure over the orange pony.

Then it happened...

It was the last thing in all of Equestria that Carrot wanted to hear - each filly demanding he take their side in the argument. Ach... what horrible thing have Oi done tae anger fate tae deserve this? was the panicky thought that ran through his head. Oh, how he wished to be back running with that sweet mint green unicorn, Lyra, even with the hazards that seemed to happen around her ...

Carrot stood there, speechless, for several long moments, staring at the two fillies. His first instinct was to do just that - run away, avoid the choice, bolt, find Lyra, fulfill his promise to watch over her. If he was a little younger he would've done just that to get out of the situation. But he was no young colt anymore. He had to stand his ground, even if he knew himself to be doomed. What could he do except be honest?

With a heavy sigh and a sincere look on his face he just looked at them both, "Granola, Oi've a mind that th' filly here was truly afraid fer her life, an' that's all - Oi know ye were sure she'd be roit as rain, but she's nay used tae bein' that size, nor havin' giant plants round her. Umm ... Miss... Aaaaaple, I dinnae if ye might have been a mite too rough wi' yer ropes, an' did hurt th' plant, though Oi ken tae th' fact ye did nae mean it. ye moit have trusted th' lass when she said ye'd be safe."

Oh, geeze. Now he'd done it. No one in an argument ever wanted to hear honesty... just that you supported them. Carrot just looked back and both between them with trepidation. "Now, afore Oi put me hoof in me mouth anymore, Oi'm ginnae put it tae better use tae help me win this race!" With that, he took off with a speedy gallop, hoping to make up for lost time, and hopefully to also fulfill his promise to Lyra along the way.

[Mobius Blaze]

The usually aloof Pegasus would return to his more carefree demeanor as Douglas introduced himself, giving him a firm hoofshake once he'd accepted the one he'd offered. When he heard about the griffin having kicked sand up into the Earth pony's eyes at some point earlier in the race, Mobius couldn't help but scoff, looking off in the direction he assumed the griffin was - which was, irritatingly enough, ahead of them. "I bet that lumberin' ball'a fluff is jus' worried that they can't keep up with us ponies 'n has t' cheat t' keep a lead on us," he grumbled again before shaking off his visible annoyance.

The Pegasus would nod in agreement when Douglas remarked that it seemed they had all decided the right path was the real one, looking between him and the Unicorn before pausing in thought at Douglas' question suggestion that the signs should be fixed. After a moment of thought, he approached the arrow sign, rearing up onto his hind hooves before coming down with all his weight onto the left side of the sign to try and budge it, hoping to turn it without breaking it. However, it was much sturdier than expected - due to a certain dreadlocked pony having reinforced it earlier without his knowledge - and the half of it he had brought his hooves down upon simply broke off under them.

Mobius looked down at it for a few moments, as though in disbelief, before laughing nervously. "Uuuh... oops," he offered in a sincere but worried tone before getting an idea. The portion he'd broken off had the arrow on it, and so he picked it up with his mouth before taking a few steps back, setting it down so it was propped up at the base of the sign with the arrow pointing to the right. "There... that should work. At least, work better 'en before, right?" he grinned nervously, looking at Douglas and Survey - the latter in the midst of introducing himself in his timid manner - before looking back down at the half broken arrow, "It'll hafta do at any rate. We got a lotta ground t' catch up. Shall we go?"

[Chonico]

Number 34, Klondike, had had one heck of a trip down the mountain. Having once reached the path below, he had found it fitting to take a nap. Although technically it was more of a forced “nap” since, technically, he passed out. But there was no need for technicalities because soon enough he was lost in his dreams.

"WOOOOOO HOOOOOO!"

He had been dreaming of the day he helped fix the wheel of a cart and, as show of gratitude, received his beautiful tools as a gift, and his cutie mark as reward. He had not noticed his cutie mark until he had gone up to his room and walked past a mirror. He had screamed in joy and soon after applied himself to learn everything about cart repairs and construction.

“I wasn’t so absentminded back then. If anything, I was overly curious about everything.”

His dream jumped a few years ahead to his first paid job. A local sweet parlor back in Hoofington had acquired some sort of pressurized pudding dispenser machine. It had clogged up and he had offered his services. He had become distracted while talking to one of the mare waitresses and didn’t notice the pressure in the device quickly building.

His right ear had twitched for the first time ever when the rumbling sound, almost as if a large stone slab was being dragged across the ground, reached his ears. He turned around just in time to see the pudding pressured contraption explode, covering the entire sweets parlor in pudding. Aside from the decor, no pony had been hurt, only his right ear as a lug-nut shot through the edge of it right before being covered in pudding. He applied himself to learn everything he could about metalworking, plumbing, pressure and blacksmithing as a result.

“In all fairness she was cute and I was really young. Even then I wasn’t as absentminded as I am now, well, maybe just a little.”

"Oh my goodness! Hello? Are you hurt? Do you nee...

His dream jumped ahead again. He was at the ports of Seasaddle Bay. He had traveled there on a whim to look for work. He had been lost in his thoughts while walking, his right ear twitching furiously as the sound of somepony calling for help reached it, snapping him out of his head. He rushed and found an elderly pony buried under some fallen crates. Without hesitation or question he had helped him out and sought him medical aid. In return, the elderly pony had offered him an apprenticeship, and thought him everything he knew about carpentry and woodworking.

“I was more absent minded then… But I still helped out anypony in need… Not like now though, hardly offered any help to any pony during this race. That commotion earlier and that cloud of dust down the mountain path. It could have been a rockslide and somepony could have been hurt and I just stood up there and watched…”

His dream jumped ahead once again. He was making his way to Ponyville from Hoofington. He was lost in the guessing game he constantly played with his jingling satchel and the tools that resided inside. The same tools he had kept and maintained since he got his cutie mark. He wasn’t paying attention and slipped and rolled down the hill he was on. It felt so real that he thought he was actually getting dizzy. He barreled into a pony that was picking herbs. He had stood up, apologized and continued on his way, not even bothering to ask if the pony was hurt or needed help picking up the basket he had knocked over.

“I…but… I was in a rush. I got lost and ended up in the Nimbusgait Lakes instead. I was trying to make up time. But… that elderly pony in Seasaddle Bay was the last pony to ever teach me anything… Did I become so annoying absentminded because I think nopony else has anything to teach me? Do I not help anymore because I see no reward in it? That’s… that’s not the pony I am!”

"Hey! Hey Mister! This is no time to be sleeping!"

“mmmmm?”

Klondike sleepily raised a hoof as he searched for the alarm clock. He waggled it this way and that until he felt Lyra’s muzzle and he gingerly boop-ed it. He slowly opened his eyes as the sleepy haze lifted from them, the last remnants of his dream slowly fading into his subconscious.

“Uuuuhhhh… That was one heck of a ride. Didn’t think I’d make it in one piec-“

Klondike suddenly noticed he was laying on grass and not dirt, like he vaguely recalled before passing out. Steadily standing back up to a sitting position on his haunches with his back to Lyra, he took in the scene before him.

“Hmm, Don’t recall being on grass. Guess I didn’t make it in one piece. Pony heaven looks oddly enough like a forest during the fall.” He scanned his surroundings before finally turning his head and noticing the mint colored unicorn behind him. A sudden smile mixed with confusion becoming plastered across his muzzle.

“Pony heaven seems to have pleasant company. Figured angels would be more like Pegasus ponies though, no offense, just an ob-“

He noticed a few ponies gallop past behind her, avoiding a rock slab that he could have sworn was not there when he passed out. The sight gave way to a realization as a sudden understanding expression formed across his muzzle. Basically his mouth went "O" and he gave her a sheepish grin.

“Umm, forget that last part… Hi! Name’s Kl-“ he extended a hoof out to her but immediately brought back as he looked at his worn out horseshoe. “Hmm, I’m going to have to replace these at some point…” He extended his hoof out to the unicorn one more time.

“Hi! Again… Name’s Klondike! *sniff sniff* Do you smell maple syrup? Think somepony is making haypancakes. Could sure go for breakfast. Care to join me Miss... umm?”

[Bramble Rose]

Bramble Rose galloped along beside the other two ponies, covered in mud and leaves and bits of mushroom and who knew what else... he certainly didn't, since he was still a bit dazed from the knock on his head. But he did stare in bewilderment at Ginger Mint as her words tumbled out too fast to understand more than a snippet. Something about guards hauling ponies away, and eating, and ... she wanted to make cookies?

"Um... My name's not evertree, sorry, you can call me Bramble ... and that sounds awfully tasty, I am awfully hungry!" he said in his soft voice, trying to be polite. "Wouldn't mind having a bite or two, that I wouldn't! And from a nice filly like you, that'd be especially nice!"

He was going to say more, but then Hoss came running past, the filly looking at Bramble and yelling about Poison Joke.

What?! "ARRRRRGH!" he cried, the roar of frustration coming from him. He looked down at himself desperately at the prospect! "Not a filly!" he cried, his voice squeaking.

...

"hey, what's all these leaves doin' here?" He gave himself a good shake, sending many of the multicolored leaves flying, then another. He hopped along on three legs for a moment, brushing at the caked and coating mess of forest.

While running, he didn't notice as the forest was being left behind - except for the stuff still clinging desperately to him, of course. Red leaves, yellow leaves, brown leaves, blue leaves, all floated away behind him towards the ponies behind, leaving the form of a lithe and petite little purple unicorn filly, wearing the number 13 on her flank. Bramble let out a soft groan... what was she going to do *now*?

She looked up to Hoss, keeping pass with the other filly. "Erg... thanks for the warning," she sighed.

[Ginger Mint]

hi hi

Panic. It isn't easy to shake the grip of that simple fear once it has already taken hold, and just as difficult to brace yourself against it when taken by surprise. For Ginger Mint, who had already managed to work herself into a simmering worry before the tree monster suddenly appeared, Rational and Reasonable were just two tiny little voices at the back of her mind. That little nagging sense was telling her that she'd missed something important, that she should calm down and take stock of the situation. What good was panic anyway if everypony always said the best thing to do in a crisis was to not panic? Unfortunately, there was a much louder, much simpler voice who's advice didn't take so much effort to follow.

Getawaygetawaygetaway!

Mr. Evertree, or whatever its name really was, looked shocked by Ginger Mint's pleas for mercy. Although, it was a little hard to be certain, especially after the whole world started spinning. She was considering turning around and running the opposite direction when the monster's soft squeaky voice cut through the cloud of despair.

"... and that sounds awfully tasty, I am awfully hungry! Wouldn't mind having a bite or two, that I wouldn't! And from a nice filly like you, that'd be especially nice!"

Ginger Mint felt herself calm a bit. Her breathing became easier, the gears in her head clicked and started spinning again, and she started noticing details again. Little things like the sweet and friendly sound of the tree monster's voice, the dazed look on its face, and perhaps most importantly, the unicorn horn on its forehead. It had been obscured by undergrowth before, but now that she saw it, it was unmistakable.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry Mr. Ever... err, Bramble, I mistook you for a monster from the Everfree Forest with that outfit you're wearing. Perhaps after the race I can find some place to bake up a batch of cookies? I think I remember seeing a sign at Sugar-cube Corner saying something about..."

"Hay, you! Are you a victim of Poison Joke like me?"

The rush of relief was short lived. Very short indeed.

Did that pony just say something about Poison?!

Ginger Mint's mind was spinning again. The filly that was running alongside her seemed equally distressed by the mention of poison too, maybe even more so. She was yelling and squeaking something about somepony not being a filly and Ginger Mint couldn't make heads or tales of what was going on, even without being in a panic. She looked up towards the sky, towards the sun, towards that everlasting symbol of Princess Celestia's wisdom and benevolence; as if the Princess herself might just step in and provide an answer to her question.

"What is with this race!?"

She was getting exasperated now. Surely all of this wasn't an intentional part of the event. Strange explosions in the distance, a bridge that was two sizes too narrow, angry hornets, angry griffins, angry creatures in general.

"What'll it be next? A volcano, A snow storm, or maybe a rock slide?"

The soft, dusty trail had gradually changed into a rocky incline without much fanfare, or at least, Ginger Mint had been too distracted to notice anything. She hadn't noticed the sign at the fork in the road, or the ponies that had been standing around it trying to decide which way to go. She just followed the flow of traffic up the hill as if it were any other leg of the race, she still didn't even know exactly how long the race was supposed to last.

She did, however, notice the pile of rocks that was partially blocking the trail. If she hadn't been running, she'd have slapped a hoof across her face.

You just had to say it didn't you?

At least somepony had managed to clear away some of the rocks, so it wasn't completely impassable. It did take a little bit of scrambling though. Playing hopscotch from surface to surface, balancing on wobbly boulders and lightly stepping on loose rubble, Ginger Mint traversed the landslide with a well practiced ease. She almost started to imagine ways that the pass could have been truly difficult, but she caught herself before she could jinx it.

Instead, she turned around and offered some encouragement to the ponies that had been running alongside her until they had cleared the obstruction too.

"Watch out on that next step, the gravel might give way if you step down too hard. And be careful not to nudge that boulder when you go around it. Ooh, no no, not there, maybe over there instead... Yes! Thats a good solid hoofhold."

It took a little bit of effort, but once the rock-slide was safely behind them, the race to the top of the pass was easy.

If it struck Ginger Mint as a little bit odd that the Running of the Leaves would take them to a place that was entirely devoid of trees, it was certainly no more odd than the rest of the race had been.

"Maybe they were going to set up a refreshment stand up here too? It would have been a great spot. I haven't seen that orange salespony in a while... I do hope she's not hurt."

The overlook made her heart skip a beat. It was so much like Canterlot, the view across the valley, as if every little detail was just a single brushstroke on some painter's canvas. It was very similar to the feeling she got back home when she'd stand in an open field and watch the weather pegasi build a storm. It made her feel small, but at the same time, not insignificant. The sight always made her recognize just how fortunate she was, even if she couldn't always put words to the feeling, and once again it took her breath away.

One lucky brushstroke on a beautiful canvas.

The signs of a recent scuffle were none too subtle, however, and she didn't linger at the overlook for more than a few seconds. Trotting around in a slow circle to avoid coming completely to a stop, and as soon as she found the path back down the hillside she started heading back down, tölting cautiously the whole way.

She saw a light sea green unicorn helping a darker blue pony up off the ground at the base of the hill and it made her simultaneously relieved and nervous. Relieved that there were other ponies out there lending a helping hoof, and nervous because it was just one more piece of evidence suggesting the presence of a saboteur. The pair was already on their way by the time she reached the base of the hill, moving back into a more comfortable trot now that she was on more even ground. She couldn't help wondering if somepony was going to end up seriously hurt by the time the race was over.

[SunsetSombra]

Big Mac could hear something of a ringing in his ears - the fact that he'd probably given himself a fairly sore bump on the head as he'd fallen was the likeliest explanation, and he wasn't going to use that as a crutch...he was going to get right back into this thing again! Or at least he intended to, but he found himself being given a moment from another racer.

" Ah'm...hang on! " Big mac starts, shaking his head to get a few shreds of the bush that had tangled itself up in his mane free.

" Yeah, Ah'm alright, ah jus' kinda got tripped over that there l'il loose rubble. Musta banged mah head on the way down...jus' kinda lost mah grip!"

The red stallion says with a small unconcerned shrug...this wasn't going to slow him down none, not if he could help it!

The red stallion stretches a little and gets a little more stability...the soreness seemingly gone for now which only served to prove to Mac that he'd merely taken a stupidly awkward fall but suffered nothing overly serious as a result. He looked at the other pony, and gave his normal confident lazy smile, with a raised eyebrow and a reassuring " Nope, Nothin' to worry 'bout, believe me! ".

Thanking the other pony for having come checked on him, Big Mac turned in the direction of the stampeding herd and went on his way.

He might have lost a few places, but he knew he could easily make up for that if he went all out...

[Boss_Hoss1]

(More timely replies with my non-racers, catching up with Bramble Rose)

Hoss neighed a cheer in relief as the scary leaf monster shook off the leaves and muck in fear when he..she and Jubilee asked if it was a victim of Poison Joke.

The pony shrieked in fear and frustration "NOT A FILLY!" then settled down when his? Oh! Lusterous purple hide was revealed on a light unicorn frame. there was a fair drift of now-familiar blue leaves among the mound of leaves that came off the unicorn.

A white and mint mare trotting alongside looked ready to faint.

* So he must have been Poison Joked before, and from his...her reaction, he has my problem with it... *

Hoss sighed, still favoring the now unbandaged sore hoof as ..she hovered alongside the unicorn, keeping pace.

"You too huh? I'm supposed to be a stallion too. I'm Star Skybright, or Hoss to friends. Hmmm... #13... that would make you Bramble Rose."

Hoss sheepishly waved a hoof at herself "I'm not in the race but was watching my sister in it, and had to help a friend among patches of this stuff... Me and Jubilee are flying back to the start for a cure. If we can find it fast, we'll fly back and help you too."

Hoss looks up as a shadow come over "OH! Hi Miss LaMare!"

The bay pegasus looked at Bramble Rose. "We've got to fly now, but if we cant' catch up with you, we'll be waiting at the finish."

Hoss turned around, at the last moment "Oh yeah, go right at the fork ahead, and good luck to you and...Ginger Mint, is it? I saw the names on the tote board and you are the most minty pony I've seen today." :wink:

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

Madam Bistro smiled as she got out the baked goods for Starflower "Would you like anything to drink with that?"

She then turned in surprise "That is Hoss? Oh my! What is this.. Poison Joke stuff anyway? I'm from Manehattan, I dont know from brambleberries..."

Snails jumped up like a fawn at being asked to help "Right away Miz Starflower!" and trotted along with Misty.

He looked up at her as they saw the professor fly away. "Dang, now what do we do, eh?"

[ancara22]

((OoC: Motherofgod.jpeg, I really need to realize when things are getting close to finishin' up...))

Clutch was running his flank off, pushing himself harder and harder as he finally cleared out of the Everfree Forest. Ahead in the distance was a rocky path that connected to the regular dirt path he was running on, most likely the next part of the course. Going up this new part of the path, the trail began to climb into an upwards angle. Slowly at first, but soon he was running up a 45 degree slope, and even he couldn't keep that up for long. The strain and the fatigue was getting to him, and finally when he reached the top of this hilly incline, he decided now was the time to take a short rest.

After a moment to slow down, he sat down next to the sign that was in front of him. "That's quite a crazy race i've done so far" he said to himself as he tried to catch his breath, "Hope that this doesn't go on for too much longer. After all, even I can't keep it up for that long!" He was ready to hopefully get close to the finish line, mainly because this sort of event was beginning to strain on him, and as such he was ready to be done as soon as he could.

Once a few minutes had passed, Clutch got back on his feet and took a closer look at the sign. A simple wooden board attached to a metal pole, with an arrow painted on the board. The arrow was pointing to the right, most likely to the path to the right of where he was at right then. Figuring that this was the way they were supposed to go, Clutch bolted to the right path, hopeful that he could still catch up with those in the lead....or at least with those who were still having trouble keeping up.

The trip down the rocky right path was actually a pleasant one, not hard to navigate and a gentle slope downwards. Clutch knew that if there was a single chance to be able to really catch up and possibly even pass some of the faster runners in this race, this would be it. As such, he leaned himself downwards and began running faster and faster. He didn't care who or what was in front of him, because once he started he wasn't going to stop until he either made it there or passed out on the ground. Hopefully the latter of the two wouldn't happen to him.

As his speed got to a breaking point, he saw several Ponies walking down the path. The only thing he could let out from his muzzle was "OHFATEWATCHOUTCOMMINGTHROUGH!" as he ran right into their path. He didn't know how he managed it, but he was able to run right through them without bumping into a single Pony. Good Fate I can't believe I didn't crash into 'em.... he thought to himself as he continued. He was glad that he was able to continue his momentum without it ending on a.....rather painful note, so to speak. Still, he had to still make it down the remainder of the rocky path.

Still, it didn't bother him much at all, since all it meant to him was a more likely chance to passing more competitors. To him, the only thing that mattered to him was winning, and if it took both pushing his body to the limits as well as even accidentally bumping others out of the way to be able to get past them, that would be exactly the kind of thing Clutch would do. If only to get a better chance to victory, of course.

[Mojo]

Mojo breathed a sigh of relief when Big MacIntosh told him he was ok and then took off running.

"Oh, dash it all, I better get back to the blinkin' race too!" the Paint stallion neighed as he began to gallop to catch up. By now, Mojo had reached the top of the trail and was now trotting downhill. He took great care, knowing that if he ran too fast down the trail, he could either trip or miss a sudden sharp turn and end up rolling over the side of the mountain. Looking ahead, he could spot Lyra but she was too far away.

"I've got to catch up to her! After all, that lovely creature did leave me that love note back at the start of the trail. She's a fine lookin' bird, that's for true! Wonder where she'd like to go on our first date? Maybe I could serenade her with some of the folk music I play on me guitar! But what if she's not into folk music? Blimey! This datin' stuff takes a lot of thought!"

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

Julibee squealed with joy when the airborne Louise joined them again.

"Everything alright with that injured pony?" Jubilee asked.

"He said he was fine so I had to take his word for it. Hello Hoss, or should we call you, Hossita?"

"That's NOT funny, Louise!" Jubilee neighed defensively. "We're gonna find a way to make Hoss normal again!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Hoss. Didn't mean to be insensitive. Of course we'll cure this poison joke. The Professor will know what to do!"

As the trio of Pegasi flew off towards the starting line, back at the bleachers, Starflower thanked Madam Bistro for the food.

"If you have some of your famous coffee, that would really be wonderful, thank you!" the light blue unicorn mare neighed.

Meanwhile, Misty and Snails watched the Professor soar upward, the yellow unicorn shouted out.

"COME BACK, PROFESSOR! WE NEED YOUR HELP!!! Oh no Snails, he's too far away! He can't hear us. We need his cure to help Hoss!"

As Misty began to feel frustrated and upset, her horn began to glow and she stomped her hooves angerly on the ground.

"I wish we had a way to catch up to him now!" she yelled, unknowingly triggering her magic. As she began to weep, she instantly felt different. Turning her head to one side, she saw a feather wing attached to her body. Quickly turning her head to the other side, she saw another wing and spotted Snails, who now had a pair of wings too.

"How in Equestria did I.... oh nevermind. C'mon Snails, we gotta get to the Professor!" the winged unicorn neighed, flapping her wings as she shot up into the sky to pursue Professor Krashkop.

[Dusky Wing]

Well…she had lost the pony from before, the unicorn pretty much bolting as soon as he got up. The little spider stunt put her pretty far back behind the racers, the mare charging forward to make up the loads of lost time. It was kind of peaceful though, running along with a few stragglers, the earth shaking pounding of hooves toned down to a calmer pace. Soon she had escaped the giant spider infested forest, a small shudder traveling down her spine as she remembered the insect, and onto clearer ground. The loud running of the other racers up ahead notified her that she was already closer….or so she thought.

There was a large land slide that covered some of the path in rubble! Going around it put her back in the woods, and by the looks of it down a steep slope, so she had to go through it! She had to slow down a bit to maneuver herself between large rocks, dislodging a few smaller ones as she wriggled past. Slowly but surely she made it onto the other side of the landslide, gagging slightly at the amount of dirt of leaves coating her body.

Ponies were once again passing her up so she shook as much of the dust as she could off of her body and resumed running, panting a bit as she galloped onwards. She didn’t really pay attention to some of the ponies she passed, their scuffles weren’t including her so she could just run onward. It wasn’t until the sun stopped shining on her that she broke out of her deep in thought state. She looked to her left and nearly tumbled over, that pony was HUGE. Red filled her vision for a bit and she gave a small eep, stumbling slightly in her gallop before regaining her footing. “You’re an awfully big pony…” She said, mouth popping closed right after the words left, she hadn’t meant to say that out loud.

[Bramble Rose]

Bramble Rose smiled to Hoss. "I'd realy appreciate it, thanks... this is always embarassing for me." And then Hoss was off and away, and Bramble was running on with Ginger again.

He smiled, to see so many ponies helping each other in the light of this rock slide. What a terrible accident! He was proud of Ginger's efforts to help her fellow racers... and suddenly, it hit him.

This wasn't a race!

This was a celebration of the pony spirit! In one way, it didn't matter who won, because the important thing was that they were all bringing the leaves down together. That, he'd already figured out - it was why he had wanted to race ... because he wanted to belong to something.

But in another way, it was important to TRY to win ... because part of the Pony Spirit was about being the very best you could be! And part of that was physical prowess, and the champion's spirit! But all of that desire to be great was worthless if you stepped on your fellow ponies in the process. To be a champion, you *had* to stop and help... and she smiled proudly at Ginger Mint as she got up ahead of a pony... then turned and offered a hoof, letting that pony get ahead of her so that she could help another.

Bramble lowered her head, and her horn glowed with a soft verdant color. Seeds, everywhere... no one knew how many seeds were all over the place, but she could feel them. Greenery sprouted up around the base fo the boulders, coiled around piles of rocks, fastened them together with hoof-holds and supports, to keep the whole pile from shifting again, and possibly hurting somepony. Bramble was determined that she would help, too! She would show she had a true Stallion's champion spirit!

[SunsetSombra]

Mac was racing hard after that little encounter earlier - he was a little sore, true, but he knew that he had to race off whatever was left of that sore feeling no matter what it took...and boy, was the Stallion trying to ever catch up for lost time as he made headway past ponies whom he has seen pass him mere moments before...things were starting to look up again and the Red apple farmer stallion was beginning to feel like there was potentially a chance he may just catch up with the lead once more!

When all of a sudden...“You’re an awfully big pony!”

Big Mac heard the voice off to the side, as he watched a smaller pony come up alongside him...giving the race her all - he smiles warmly, casting quick glances ahead of him to make sure that he was still in the clear, before looking back at her and speaking in his calm tone.

" Thankya kindly, miss...ah'm jus' kinda well built for what we do at sweet apple acres! "

He pauses, looking back to the road a moment - jumping over a small rock and landing expertly back once again on all fours...it wasn't easy to gallop and talk at the same time, but he was managing it for the moment, " Nice t'meet ya, ma'am - names Big Macintosh...who might you be? "

[Dusky Wing]

A grin broke out on her features as the stallion introduced himself. Big Macintosh…well that certainly was a fitting name. The male began to pull ahead a bit and she ran forward to catch up with him, hopping over a sudden rock in her path. “Sweet Apple acres? That large farm way back down there?” She asked, trying to hide her pants for breath as she spoke, she was kinda tired but she wasn’t going to give up just yet. “Oh….I’m Estrella by the way.” She gave the stallion a small smile. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” She added, focusing back on the race least she fall over some hazardous item. “So what do you do? I’m new here and haven’t really seen the sights.”

[Ginger Mint]

hi hi

((Some of these comments are going to be out of order compared to my last post, but if its not obvious to whom and when I'm responding, just let me know and I can clarify.))

----

Ginger Mint stared at the rust colored pegasus, trying to decipher what she was saying.

"...I'm supposed to be a stallion too. I'm Star Skybright, or Hoss to friends..."

It didn't make any sense! Ginger Mint didn't know much about magic, curses, hexes or anything like that, and thats the only way she could imagine transmogrifications being equinely possible. No longer some nagging doubt, she was certain now that there was some sort of foul trickery afoot. Ponies were being waylaid by something or someone, but there was still very little indication of who or what.

Ginger Mint was lost in such dark, brooding thoughts when Star Skybright jovially called her out by name.

"Ginger Mint, is it? I saw the names on the tote board and you are the most minty pony I've seen today."

The thought pushed the dark clouds aside and for a moment, Ginger Mint caught herself giggling. She'd never thought of herself as a particularly minty pony, even with her obvious name and the color of her mane, the colts and fillies from school always said she looked like a green grape or a cantaloup.

"Hehe! Thanks Miss, err, Mr. Skybright!" She barely had a chance to sputter out a lame thank you before the pegasus zoomed off. "I think..."

---- Later ----

Ginger Mint smiled broadly as she watched Bramble work a heartfelt spell over the rock slide. She didn't know many racers were still on their way, though she vaguely remembered seeing a sizable group along the side of the road when she'd been panicked. This spell would surely help everypony along the way! When Bramble finally made it across the obstruction, Ginger Mint couldn't help but complement her on the feat.

"Wow! That was an amazing trick. I would have never thought..."

It reminded her of something she'd heard a long time ago, but she couldn't place it. Had somepony told her or had she read it in a book? Almost unbidden, the quote found itself on her lips.

"Through competition, there is an opportunity to learn about ourselves and each other." It seemed appropriate, adding a footnote of her own to the thought, "I am always amazed at the variety in different kinds of magic. It seems there's always something new to learn."

[Otsdarva]

Douglas let his mouth drop as Mobius dealt a coup de grâce to the incorrect sign. His nervous laughter following as Douglas watched him reposition the broken sign. "Well....I S'pose that works...technically it is correct now..." Douglas commented as he began his way around the mountain pass, more than willing to see where the right path most ponies had passed up on lead to. He was mostly certain that it would eventually lead back to Ponyville and as long as there were trees to shake, well then Douglas was more than ready to get running! "Okay then! Let's a move on!" Douglas called, taking off down the right path while looking back to make sure Mobius and Survey were with him. The path of the trees seemed to curve slowly to the left as they started to move. Douglas made sure to give his hooves a few nice, hard stomps as they moved along, figuring not as many ponies had ran this course as it needed. As Douglas looked over the sights at the bright oranges of the trees, he could see the mountain side hanging tightly to his left. Seems like the trail was going to wrap around the mountain, so he assumed that they'd soon wind up heading back towards Ponyville sure enough.

"Well, this has certainly been an exciting day! I can only imagine with a few legs left it's going to get really bad!" Douglas hollered to the others between breathes. "Let's keep an eye out for dirty racers!" Douglas continued along the winding path as the mountain side slowly started to arch behind him. It wasn't going to be much longer now! And as soon as he thought that, he saw a slab of rock on the path. "Look out, debris!" Douglas panted, moving to the clear side of the road to pass the rubble, not noticing the two ponies off the trail that took an express route down. Ahead, he could see where the paths from the mountains rejoined the path they were on and continued onto the next leg of the race, the many trees that surrounded them now held an additional feature, buckets for sap collecting, it seems they were nearing the end of the White tail wood. It would just be another short stretch of trees before the sprint to the end!

[flutterscotch]

Groggily, Apple Bloom came to after her inopportune meeting with the oak tree in a haze of splotchy orange-red. "Oh my goodness, Ah've been struck blind! Funny, Ah thought that goin' blind would be a lot darker." She mused to herself, still a little out of it. Then she stopped, in a panic, and cried out to the empty forest "OH NO, now ah'll NEVER SEE MY CUTIE MARK! It just ain't fair! All I did was cheat a little tiny bit and ah'm cut down in the prime of my life. IT. JUST. AIN'T. FAIR." In her despair she jumped up on all fours and the fallen leaves just slid off her small form. She looked up at the treetops, blinking at the bright sunshine through the now bare branches. "Oh." she said, shamefacedly, glad nopony was around to see her foalish overreaction.

"OH! The race! Ah don't hear any more hoofbeats, they must be far ahead'a me!" She looked off into the distance, and sure enough the leaves all through the forest were bare right up to the mountain pass; she had a clear view of the racing pack which was now QUITE a way away, even if she took the direct route straight through the forest and avoided the proper route. Luckily, the zipline that Scootaloo had installed one day while the Cutie Mark Crusaders installed when they were trying yet again to get their cutie marks was still up and unfrayed. It would work better with the weight of only one little filly, if she could only get past the mountain pass to the giant tree where it was installed.

Knowing if she didn't get water quickly she wouldn't stand a chance, she nosed around and found a rather brackish, leaf-covered puddle leftover from the rains a few days before. Despite the rather foul taste, and possibility of becoming ill later, she drank deeply and quickly before turning to gallop her little heart out up the mountain. In some spots where the terrain was steeper she slipped on the newly fallen leaves and almost lost her footing, which would have sent her tumbling back to where she had woken up. But she became surprisingly sure-footed in her determination, nimbly regaining her gait, jumping over logs, and avoiding protruding tree branches. As she was reaching the pass she heard a rumbling, a crash, and after a few minutes began to have to dodge pebbles and small boulders about the same size as the little yellow filly came bounding past.

After a nerve-wracking ascent up the hill, Apple Bloom had reached the top of the pass and made a beeline for the tree that had, the harnesses they used still piled at the base of the tree anchored into the mountain side where they had left them. She quickly put a hoof in each strap and buckled herself in with her teeth. With a deep breath she jumped into the valley below, soaring above the heads of quite a few of the other ponies, but not quite the full pack like she had been hoping.

As she saw herself approaching the end of the line, she spotted Big MacIntosh, who she has successfully hidden from all this time. "OH NO! OH NO! OH NO!!!" She cried, reaching the end of the zipline. She stopped abruptly, the line to her weathered harness snapped and she fell right across her older brother's withers, finding herself staring face to face with a white unicorn with black hair. There was no avoiding her family now.

She grinned hugely at the unicorn mare, and then turned her attention to her brother. "Hiya Mac! Fancy meetin' you here! Now you kin carry both'a your sisters". Realizing what she had just said, and exactly where she had landed on the red stallion, she jumped up in another panic. She had not seen Applejack leave her brother's back. With her hooves digging into Big MacIntosh's hide, and tears streaming from her amber eyes, she stood on his back, her face peering into his mane and whispered "Applejack? Applejack, are ya still in there? Oh please AJ say somethin'! Ah don't wanna get a "squashin' big sisters" cutie mark! Oh what have Ah DONE?"

She looked pleadingly at her brother, who had not even broken his gait once.

[MyLittlePonyTales]

ShadowMist had definitely slowed since the start of the race. She was still making good time with her simple jog, however. She tended to follow other ponies for a time, slowly inching up until she passed them. She was good with endurance, but not necessarily speedâ€â€but sometimes that was enough in a race, especially one as long as this one.

Although, she hadn't passed anypony in a little while. She desperately hoped that she was still going the right way, and hadn't taken a turn somewhere. But soon, she heard voices up ahead, and hoped that it was some of the racers. If there were a few of them together, they would be easier to pass up all at onceâ€â€however, the voices didn't sounds as if they moving further away, or even getting steadily closerâ€â€they sounded almost solid, as if coming from one specific place. And that was far too much chatter for ponies who were racingâ€â€well, at least in her experience. A race wasn't a social event until after it was over. But, the Running of the Leaves was a bit of a different kind of race.

Soon, though, ShadowMist came upon a few ponies standing around at a fork in the path. Uh oh. she thought. They didn't look all too confident about which was the correct direction to go... And ShadowMist could end up losing her spot in the race if she went the wrong way.

There was a red Earth pony, a green Unicorn, and a gold Pegasusâ€â€quite the assortment. They were all male... ShadowMist was happy that she had been able to catch up to more of the guys. Boys were generally faster than girls, due to them just generally being stronger. So ShadowMist felt that she was fairing surprisingly well.

She was coming up on them, and was about to ask if there was a problem when the three took off. ShadowMist paused for a moment, looking at the sign, and then shifting her eyes downward toward the broken arrow piece. She glanced back and fourth at both paths, just to be sure... The one that the Stallions had taken seemed to be in the same condition as the one she was on. The path DID continue that way... The other trail seemed to lead up the mountainside, and was rocky and seemingly unsafe for racing. It was probably safe to assume the safer path was the correct one, so that's where ShadowMist headed.

[halofan303]

~One-wing~

After having relieved himself he got back onto the path, and continued to follow it for sometime. He wondered whether the nurse was following him anymore, but he continued either way. even if he wasn't going to win this race, he'd want to at least make it at last place without being carried. one-wing heavily considered that upon reaching the final step he would give it his all, and then stop right before the finishing line, letting everyone pass him so he would come in last place. he thought if he couldn't make the top three, he might as well let everyone else get a better position in the race...

He smiled thinking about it as he looked upon the sky, admiring the sky's wonderful appearance as he continued the race...

((ooc: herpa derpa muffin time ))

[Hippo]

Granola gasped. Should couldn't believe her ears, but it sounded to her like Carrot was siding with Applejack. How can he say that after I just gifted him a new set of horseshoes? She thought. And for the orange pony, how can she be so ungrateful after I supplied a very effective potion to return her to normal.

Granola wasn't kidding. That potion grew Applejack to normal size lickety-split. So much so, that she almost lost her footing in the process. "The name's Apple-," Applejack attempted to correct Carrot on what her name was. But before she could yell it, Carrot was already too far off to hear her. "-jack." She turned to Granola. "Look, he's right. I didn't mean to hurt your uh, plant, uh, friend. I was just tryin' to fend for myself, being all miniaturized and all. Tell ya what, you come by my farm any time of the week and I'll treat you to some of the finest hospitatility the Apple family can give, and a bushel of apples to take home, like I promised." Applejack smiled at Granola apologetically.

Granola rolled her eyes, paused, thought, and then nodded. "Fine." Granola wasn't truly upset at anypony, but she was stunned that Carrot left her out to dry. "You go ahead and run your race. It looks like you got a lot of ground to make up."

Applejack saluted and ran off towards the mountains. She saw Carrot's grey pelt and shouted, "Hay, Carrot! Wait for me!" She was surprised at how fast the pony was able to make tracks. Applejack spoke to herself. "Wow, he sure is fast." Then she chuckled. "Not as fast as me, that is."

Granola shook her head and gave a positive sigh. She then grabbed Precious' pot and place him on her back. Now the only pony in the woods, Granola headed back to her hut to continue her seasonal preparations. She shuffled threw the leaves that were scattered everywhere but in the trees themselves. She looked around and remarked on the beauty "Sure is lovely isn't it, Precious? And isn't that goofy Carrot such a neat pony?" Behind her back, without Granola able to see his reaction, Precious gave a disgusted look at the thought of Carrot, Applejack, or anypony who wasn't Granola for that matter.

[Mobius Blaze]

Douglas let his mouth drop as Mobius dealt a coup de grâce to the incorrect sign. His nervous laughter following as Douglas watched him reposition the broken sign. "Well....I S'pose that works...technically it is correct now..." Douglas commented as he began his way around the mountain pass, more than willing to see where the right path most ponies had passed up on lead to. He was mostly certain that it would eventually lead back to Ponyville and as long as there were trees to shake, well then Douglas was more than ready to get running! "Okay then! Let's a move on!" Douglas called, taking off down the right path while looking back to make sure Mobius and Survey were with him. The path of the trees seemed to curve slowly to the left as they started to move. Douglas made sure to give his hooves a few nice, hard stomps as they moved along, figuring not as many ponies had ran this course as it needed. As Douglas looked over the sights at the bright oranges of the trees, he could see the mountain side hanging tightly to his left. Seems like the trail was going to wrap around the mountain, so he assumed that they'd soon wind up heading back towards Ponyville sure enough.

"Well, this has certainly been an exciting day! I can only imagine with a few legs left it's going to get really bad!" Douglas hollered to the others between breathes. "Let's keep an eye out for dirty racers!" Douglas continued along the winding path as the mountain side slowly started to arch behind him. It wasn't going to be much longer now! And as soon as he thought that, he saw a slab of rock on the path. "Look out, debris!" Douglas panted, moving to the clear side of the road to pass the rubble, not noticing the two ponies off the trail that took an express route down. Ahead, he could see where the paths from the mountains rejoined the path they were on and continued onto the next leg of the race, the many trees that surrounded them now held an additional feature, buckets for sap collecting, it seems they were nearing the end of the White tail wood. It would just be another short stretch of trees before the sprint to the end!

After... 'fixing,' the sign, Mobius nodded to Douglas and followed after him as he began down the right path, looking back at Survey with a grin. "C'mon, Survey!" he shouted back before turning his attention back to the path. His ears twitched as he heard Douglas stomping his hooves down harder than what could be considered normal, a few moments passing by before it clicked in his head that he was doing it deliberately. "Heh. Easy there, Douglas; stomp too much 'n yer gonna wear yerself out before the last stretch," he called ahead to the red Earth pony before glancing from side to side at the trees, "Besides, I'm sure they got some kinda contingency plan in case the race fails t' knock all the leaves down."

As they rounded the bend, Mobius took a moment to glance up at the mountain next to them to see if he could see anypony running along the trail. Had it not been for Douglas' shout, he would have tripped over the slab of rock on the track, the Pegasus quickly looking forward before hopping onto the slightly higher bit of ground, crossing over it as his golden eyes looked ahead. "Speakin' a dirty racers... looks like somepony caused a dang rockslide," he shouted loud enough as he looked around at the rubble that remained, shaking his head, "Or probably more accurately, some griffin." He would have let that stunt the griffin pulled at the bridge slide, but this was too much. There had to be other ponies who'd be reporting her foul play, and after seeing the remains of a rock slide that could have no doubt killed somepony when it happened, he decided he'd be among them.

When the next stretch of the race came into view, the stallion began to grin before letting out a groan, rolling his eyes as he looked to Douglas. "I have a feelin' all that sap is gonna 'inexplicably' be spilled allll over the road by the time the rest'a us reach that stretch," he called out, obviously expecting the foul play to continue well into the next stretch of the race, "Better keep our eyes peeled 'n be ready t' jump a lot."

[Doc Hoof MD]

The herb was already taking effect. It was a basic painkiller but it had to do. Rain Leaf was still at a slow trot. The trees were thinning out and the terrain was starting to become more rough and jagged. This part of the track was very unfamiliar to Rain Leaf. He knew that he was near the mountain range be he wasn't quite sure where. Rain Leaf could feel the painful sensation in his back subsiding. The scrapes and cuts were still a problem but it was something he was going to have to deal with. He could hear some runners conversing ahead. 'I better keep up with them until we are all through the pass. Otherwise I might get lost.' He flapped his wing and felt a sharp painful sensation bolt through his left wing. "Well that rules out flying away if I get lost." he said in annoyance. He picked up his pace as best as he could.

Rain Leaf's gallop came to a halt as he came upon a fork in the road. A sign swiveling in the wind was pointing in the direction of the more rough and jagged of the two paths. 'There are hoof prints going in both directions. Looks like somepony didn't feel like playing fair.' He inspected the hoof prints on both trails. More headed in the low lying direction. There was also a couple sets of prints near the sign. 'Is the sign still pointing in the wrong direction or did somepony fix it. I can't just sit here and think about it all day.' Rain Leaf sat down and weighed his options. Not a single runner passed him during this time. 'Am I in last place?' He thought to himself as he looked back down in the direct he came from hoping to see another face. He didn't have time to think. The painkiller wasn't going to last forever and he need to get back into a familiar area. He took a deep breath and set off to the right.