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Section 6 - Sappy Situation


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New friends are always a good thing, and Ginger Mint was happy to have met so many friendly ponies during the race. Even though it had turned out to be much more than she had bargained for, new friends certainly helped pay off the difference.

"... and I see that you are a pony who cares about others."

Ginger Mint smiled at the flattery. Maybe it was true, but it didn't seem like a big deal.

"Why thank you! Its nothing special though, anypony would help out a friend in need, right?"

Ginger Mint could see that Bramble Rose was struggling and figured she should slow down a little bit. After all the exertion going up and down the hill, it wouldn't hurt to catch a little bit of a breather. She put on her most reassuring smile possible and hoped that Bramble wouldn't think she was being patronized.

"I think this is a good stretch to take it easy. I don't know how long this race is supposed to last, but it wont do any good to collapse from exhaustion. We've got to make it back to Ponyville in one piece if we're going to have that tea!"

Somewhere in the depths of the woods, Ginger Mint thought she heard somepony shouting again.

"Did you hear that?"

They were still running along and it was hard to hear anything but the whistling wind in her ears. She slowed back down to a fast trot, but the noise didn't repeat itself.

"I heard something, but I don't know what it was..."

Ginger Mint stretched out with her senses, but the only thing she noticed as she moved away from the mountain pass was a familiar smell that tickled a memory somewhere in the back of her mind. She struggled to place it and found herself lost in thought. Somepony was definitely harvesting maple sap nearby, though she couldn't pick out which kind it was.

Perhaps they're farming all the different types?

Maple syrup was more popular up north, she remembered, so it made sense that ponies might want a variety of different flavors. Back home, syrups from cane sugar, molasses and honey were generally more popular. Cane sugar was easier to grow in warmer climates and clear syrups could be flavored with all sorts of different fruits and spices. The unmistakable flavor of maple, on the other hoof, didn't always play nice with others. Still, with the possible exception of blueberry, she couldn't think of any other flavor that was a more fitting companion for breakfast.

Hmm...My Blueberry Dark is a very popular tea at breakfast, perhaps I should consider inventing a maple sweetened tea as well.

She saw a maple tap, then another and another. Finally, she was able to place the memory. She'd been here once before! Back when she had lived in Canterlot, she travelled with her boss to help taste test syrups. The delicate greens and cool blues of spring were so different from the vibrant warm feeling of fall, it was no wonder she didn't recognize it.

She was so caught up in comparing the striking differences in scenery from what she remembered that she didn't notice the puddle of sap on the path in front of her. Its dark amber color blended in seamlessly with the dirt path and only a slight reflective sheen on its surface betrayed its true nature.

The fond memories had been so comforting that when her front left hoof didn't lift up off the ground according to plan, she didn't panic. The feeling was more like bewilderment, as she simply couldn't comprehend why the world was starting to flip upside down.

Her sense of balance didn't need comprehension though. It was a reflex that had been ingrained from years of practice and repetition. She was accustomed to navigating kitchens and dining rooms where slippery spills are a common occurrence while balancing dishes on her backside no less. She twisted her back and rolled until she touched back down facing the opposite direction, her ankle feeling a sharp and painful jolt in the process. Her hoof was entirely wrapped up in sticky sap now.

She was stunned by the jarring halt, and it took her a few moments to realize what had actually happened to her. Blinking her eyes as though the act would banish some illusion, she began testing the sap's hold on her hoof.

Somepony must have accidentally spilled a pail of sap on the trail, thats an unfortunate loss...

She tugged and strained a bit at the sap, but it held fast. She wasn't the mightiest mare to ever set out from Fillydelphia by any stretch of the imagination, and the stretchy nature of the sap didn't leave any room in her imagination for the notion of breaking out through brute strength.

"Err... ooof... Its especially unfortunate for the tree, a lot of hard work goes into producing this sap."

Her attempt an nonchalance was hardly convincing, but her mind was already hard at work coming up with a plan.

If this is anything like what happens when chocolate chips seize up, all I need to do is add a little something to the mix!

She started kicking up dust and dirt from the nearby path onto the sap and stretching it around, mixing in the debris as best she could with her one trapped hoof. Slowly but surely the sap began to take on a darker color and a coarse texture. After what seemed like an eternity of kicking and stomping about, the sap achieved the texture of sticky, gooey oatmeal and Ginger Mint was able to lift her hoof free.

Well, mostly free.

Her hoof was still covered in a sticky, dirty mess, but at least she could move again. Not wanting other racers to share the same fate, she pulled some loose branches and fallen leaves out from the underbrush and scattered them on top of the sap, kicking up more dust and dirt until the puddle was safely buried under a blanked of debris.

"There! That ought to do the trick. Kind of like your own magic, wouldn't you say Bramble? Now to make up for lost time..."

She'd lost a bit of time fumbling around with the sap, so she picked up her pace again, pushing herself to the fastest trot she could manage in spite of her twisted ankle. Her eyes fixed on the front of the herd now, she very nearly overlooking the second puddle of sap that was laying directly in the path.

"My stars, they're everywhere! There's no way this could be an accident... Somepony must be doing this on purpose!"

It was such an awful waste of good food and there was no way she could take the time to cover up all of the puddles, she'd still be working on it by the time the last of the stragglers crossed the finish line if how long it took her to deal with the first puddle was any indication.

Ginger Mint was actually starting to get angry, or at least she felt a strong sense of alienation that left her terribly upset. Upset at whoever was responsible for all these dangers at first, but found herself feeling a little upset with too when she figured out what she was going to do.

She slowed down her pace and allowed the other racers to go ahead of her, letting the blanket of falling leaves cover the puddles of sap instead. She had no problems stepping on leaves, and though occasionally sap would splatter up and around the edges, it merely stuck to the sides of her legs and in turn was covered in dirt.

"Who would do something so mean?"

Her head sagged low and her ears drooped back. It didn't make sense! Part of her knew that she shouldn't feel upset with herself, that she wasn't really trying to take advantage of anypony by holding back and letting them risk stepping in the sap themselves, but angry usually doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

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Ashton slid down the hill back towards the race track. Running downhill on a invisible path covered with slick leaves probably wasn't the best game plan, but it was too late to stop now. Narrowly avoiding taking a tumble he skidded to a stop at the bottom and took off running. Even if he wasn't an official participant he was going to give this last section of the race his all. What better way to judge his chances for next year than to put his body to the test today.

He could smell the maples everywhere. It made him crave waffles even though he had never had them until a week ago. Since then he had eaten them for breakfast every morning he could manage it. It probably wasn't too healthy but he couldn't really help himself. The food was so rich here compared to back home. He barely needed any topping. Here though, the smell was almost overpowering. It took some self restraint not to drool.

A number of ponies seemed to have gotten themselves stuck. He wasn't quite how the ground wasn't that messy when he came through this morning. Perhaps whatever was causing the leaves to fall was causing the trees to produce extra syrup. Honestly he wasn't really sure on why this running worked. As far as he could tell the shaking shouldn't be causing all these leaves to fall, he assumed magic was involved but it was something he never really could get his head around. The schools in Rockwington were understandably lax on the subject.

He decided the best way to avoid the sap was to follow his opponents steps exactly. Kind of like when he'd follow Jill or Sienna down a dark tunnel. However keeping up with the front end ponies was tougher than it looked. It was one thing to match their path but keeping their pace was another matter. He felt himself falling behind so when he saw the Griffin go for a more direct path he follower her lead. However upon hearing her outburst he skidded to a stop just before the puddle. The leaves had concealed what appeared to be a large pool of sap and the Griffin appeared to be stuck.

He considered not helping her for a moment. Some Griffins could be quite proud and would want solve the issue on their own. He knew a fair few Griffins who would take any offer of assistance as a implication of weakness. However this time he decided to go with his gut and offer a helping 'claw' to the griffin. He carefully positioned himself as not to get stuck himself and reached out a hoof to the Griffess. "Come on, pull yourself outta there."

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Gilda was shocked when some lame looking orange unicorn stallion trotted up to her.

"Come on, pull yourself outta there." he said while offering her a hoof. Gilda was even further stunned.

Desperate to get out of there, she initially was inclined to take the offer of help. Then she stopped to think about it. Accepting help from one of these lame ponies just looked bad. It was be a massive wound upon her pride. She couldn't do that, could she? It was just really, really not cool.

She shook her head gave a frustrated growl. No other options were presenting themselves. THis was her chance to rejoin the race. She didn't understand why this pony was willing to lend a helping hoof to a griffin so readily, but she couldn't question it. Swallowing all her pride, she decided she had to just do it. With all the force she could muster she lifted her front right claw and let it connect with the orange pony's hoof.

"I can't believe I'd ever need help from some pony..." Gilda muttered as she took the pony's hoof. She glanced down at the sticky sap that was binding her. "But I suppose I really don't have any other choice here..."

WIth the pony's strength supplementing her own, she was sure she'd be able to break free.

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Despite how much he really wanted to beat that griffon in the race, his legs were getting tired again. This was no good since the race was almost done. The more he continued, the worse the pulsating pain would get. He decided for his own safety that he had better stop and veered to the side of the race path to take it easy. Instead of stopping completely, he decided to walk again. The rainbow-maned unicorn passed him up quickly and began to disappear into the distance around a bend of trees. Zephyr needed to catch his breath and rest his tired legs briefly and then he was sure that he would be fine for the rest of the race.

As he continued on, he heard a familiar sound... it was that griffon. He trotted toward the sound to a path through the trees. The brush was thicker and it was much harder to see where the sap was. The air was a bit musty there was well. Zephyr glanced into the side path and there she was, stuck in a nice thick pool of tree sap. Looks like she was trying to take a short cut and she paid the price for it. There was also an orange unicorn trying to help her out and he even called out to her. Zephyr grinned and thought about just passing her by, she got what was coming after all. He tried to pass by, but he couldn't. Even though the griffon was a prideful feedbag, he just couldn't bring himself to ignore. The unicorn seemed to be having a bit of trouble. If anything, she would just pull him into the pool of sap with her. He'd need some help to be sure.

She seemed reluctant to receive any help... figures. Despite that, she had reached out to the unicorn. Zephyr decided to make a quick dash into the thick side path. He spread his wings and took flight toward the two. As he came close, he grabbed hold of the griffon's leg she had attached to the unicorn and assisted in pulling her out of the tree sap. The two of them should be able to help her out.

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Douglas held tight within the small group of friends as they soon came into the sixth leg of the race. The puddles that littered the ground would probably deceive several other racers of the sticky substance that truly laid in their path. Sticking together as best as possible they began their movement through the next area, Douglas heard Mobius' call to keep alert at all times. He couldn't agree more, if there was ever a bad time in this entire race to take your eyes off the road than this was surely it! The puddles of sap were upon them in no time. This was going to be harder for the Earth pony than it was for the Pegasus. Douglas shifted his weight to the outside to pass a puddle in the center, followed by throwing himself to the opposite side of the road to avoid a large puddle. His body trying to keep up with his mind, Douglas could only take a half step before barely hopping the next incoming puddle. Slowly he shifted back into the middle of the road, letting himself take a deep breath to relax. "Phew! Cut that last one a little too close!" Douglas said, keeping his eyes focused on the road instead of looking back at his fellow racers.

Looking a little ways ahead, Douglas felt a returning dread as the next grouping came up. "How the hay does so much sap wind up on the road?!" Douglas exclaimed at the sight ahead of him. Sure enough, there were now only small puddles, but they practically littered the ground! Douglas chewed his bottom lip as he came up upon the next set of puddles. Each small, but their numbers nearly uncountable! Douglas stumbled, putting his forelegs out shorter than his momentum could hold as he hopped the first few puddles. His eyes scanned the road ahead as he placed his forelegs down onto the ground split slightly more apart than he was comfortable with. His hind legs barely splash in the puddles as Douglas hops awkwardly to his side to get by the next puddles he didn't have time to leap over. "This...is...Crazy!" Douglas mumbled between hap-hazard steps and hops until one of his hind legs caught a puddle. Letting out an angered groan, he jerked his hoof out with the squishing snap of the sap. Finally hitting a clearing, Douglas could feel his hoof collecting dirt with each step from the small sap that coated his back hoof. "That could've been bad!"

Snaps his attention forward upon hearing an unusually dull splash from Douglas accidentally landing a hoof in the sticky substance covering the track, noticing the red pony was quite a ways ahead and - more significantly - past an absurd amount of puddles in the road. "Oh horseapples," he mumbles to himself before taking in a deep breath, preparing himself for a series of no doubt difficult hops. The pegasus soon began repeating the same motions as Douglas had before him, carefully hopping to the dry patches that zig zagged along the road until he finally overdid a jump on one, finding himself descending rapidly towards a puddle. "OH HORSEAPPLES," he repeated again, much louder this time as he did unfolded his wings, lightly flapping them once to propel himself a bit back, the unusual correction causing him to skid onto his hindquarters on the dry patch, his hooves only an inch from the puddle. "Phew... better t' crash than get suck in this stuff, I think," he muttered before scooting back little ways.

After getting up and shaking off slightly, he took a moment to pause, looking back at his wings before raising a hoof up to tap it against his chin. "Did that count as cheatin'...?" he began, talking to himself rather than anypony else, "I mean... I wouldn't of done it if these hazards weren't here... 'n I honestly doubt they were a planned portion'a the race..." After thinking on it for a moment, he shook his head furiously, stomping a hoof on the ground, "No! Even if it wasn't entirely fair t' other ponies, I didn't use my wings t' gain an advantage on anypony like that griffin. It's no different than if a unicorn uses some magic t' make a path across 'em or get themselves unstuck." Nodding resolutely, he would spring forward, hopping over the puddle and landing on the next dry spot before repeating the same motion, eventually reaching the clearer portion of the path up ahead. 'Besides, I've happily sacrificed my time t' help other ponies. That was jus' a lil reward for bein' a good sport, s'all.' He thought to himself as he continued down the track after Douglas, briefly glancing back once again to see if Survey was keeping up.

Unfortunately, being lost in thought was just as bad as taking in the scenery, and Mobius soon heard another dull splat - this time directly beneath him. Still moving forward, he would trip, falling onto the dry patch of land just in front of the puddle he'd stepped into with both front hooves, his rear hooves still dry... although both were now in the air as he laid on his chest. He would lay there for a few moments quietly, his eyes rolling around in a derped fashion before he shook his head, regaining his composure. "...Horseapples..." he grumbled through a sigh before pushing himself back onto his rear hooves. "Hey! Douglas! Survey! Anypony! A lil help, please?" he calls out as he begins trying to tug his hooves free, sticking his tongue out in mild disgust at the gooey feel of the substance. A bright-eyed look suddenly replaced his annoyed expression as an idea popped into his head, the Pegasus rearing onto his back hooves, leaning back with all his weight so that the sap was stretched, the pale gold stallion then walking backwards as he attempted to stretch the sticky goo to its absolute limit. "Just... a.... lil... further...."

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Number 34, Klondike, seemed to be developing the most peculiar habit during this race. He kept loosing track of ponies, unicorns in particular it would seem too.

"Oh you silly pony! That was the song I was singing earlier when I came to rescue you! You must have good ears to have heard it from the bottom of the slopes!"

Klondike had been so caught up thinking and deciphering this particular statement, he hadn’t noticed Lyra meet up with Mojo and fall behind as Rose barreled into them. He simply kept on trotting ahead as his right ear twitched trying to get him to look behind.

“Well, don’t know about that Miss Lyra…” He had called out thinking she was right behind him. “I don’t think my hearing's that good and plus, I was asleep at the moment.” Obviously he gave himself less credit than he deserved.

He had only continued on ahead for a minute or two when he came upon the most peculiar sight. All around the path, random ponies from the rest of herd were stuck to the floor like flies on fly-paper.

“What the hay?...”

Klondike began to trot around the stuck ponies looking this was and that as he analyzed the sight in front of him. He was completely unaware that he was absentmindedly, and annoyingly, avoiding various puddles of the sticky substance on the floor by mere millimeters as he stopped or turned just in time to not step in them.

He suddenly noticed a hanging bucket from one of the trees and walked over it, quickly catching a strong whiff of the sweet and sticky substance collected in it.

*sniff sniff* “Ha, I knew it! See Miss Lyra? Now we’re one stack of hay pancakes short of a balanced and tasty breakfast.” He called out before quickly turning around to realize he was talking to no one but the random ponies stuck in the syrup, giving him disbelieving glares that such an absentminded pony had yet to get himself stuck.

He quickly picked up a small twig from the floor with his mouth and cleaned it off on his coat before sticking into the bucket and swirling it around. The stuff was so thick it stuck to the twig in layers and as he pulled it out of the bucket, it looked like a syrupy lollipop. He expertly flicked it around so that the syrupy end was in his mouth.

“Mmmm! Sweet!” His eyebrows raised in surprise as the sweetness of the stuff hit his tongue.

He immediately picked up another small twig from the floor and repeated the process while he still enjoyed his own makeshift syrup lollipop.

“Here, try it!” He stuck it in the mouth of a random pony that was stuck on the path and began to trot away before a sudden thought barreled into his mind from deep within his sub-consciousness.

“No, go back and help! You’re not that kind of pony…”

Klondike stopped in his tracks, turned around, and walked back to the pony he had given a syrup lollipop to. He looked at the pony's stuck hooves and began to kick up some dirt onto the exposed syrup before beginning to tug and push the pony to get free. With a resounding *ssshhhrriiippp* that made his own bold spots on his flank smart, the pony was free and was quickly down the path with a thank you.

His own hoofs were now matted with syrup and clumps of dirt. Experience had taught him that if you added enough sand, dirt, or saw dust to a sticky substance, it could no longer properly adhere to anything because too much debris was in the way. He could not help but smile at how he had helped the random pony.

“Right!… Now.”

Klondike walked around and picked up more small twigs and then began to dip and swirl them inside a nearby collecting bucket. He had managed to make himself quite a few syrup lollipops.

“To help the other ponies!... If they need help that is.”

Klondike made his way back down the path in search of the mint unicorn that had dragged him off the road. It only took him a minute or two to arrive at the scene where Lyra, Mojo, Rose, Shanna, and Breaker were located.

He smiled to them as he approached them holding various dripping makeshift syrupy lollipops.

“Miss Lyra…” *stick lollipop in mouth*

“Miss Skybright…” *stick lollipop in mouth*

“Hey! You look familiar! I think I met you at the Grand Galloping Gala…” *stick lollipop in Rose’s mouth*

“Hi! Name’s Klondike!” He finally addressed Breaker and Mojo before sticking his last two syrup lollipops in their muzzles and focused on Mojo specifically.

“Sorry in advance for what I’m going to do and please don’t think badly of me…”

Klondike was focused on the task ahead and, as was his habit, would likely be oblivious to any complains or comments.

He walked around Mojo kicking a bit of dirt onto the exposed syrup, and unfortunately onto the stallion himself. Content with the amount, he walked over to his head and began to dig out a little ditch next to it. Once it was deep enough and slightly under the stallion’s head, Klondike stuck his own head near the ground and began to push and force his way under Mojo’s neck and head.

He was slowly peeling him off the ground like a hay pancake, covering and matting his own mane with syrup and clumps of dirt as he did it.

“When you’re free enough *huff* try pushing your *puff* self off the ground... Keep tugging *huff puff* Miss Skybright.” Klondike grunted as he worked his was further under Mojo’s head, neck, and chest.

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By the time Julibee and Louise LaMare arrived on the scene, they saw Shanna tugging on Mojo's forehoofs as Klondie was digging up the ground beside their friend Mojo, who was enjoying a syrup lollipop at the moment as he laid stuck to the trail. Slowly, the Paint Stallion begn to 'rock' his body back and forth as the ditch got wider until he was able to roll over and then up upon his four feet.

"That was a jolly good rescue, thanks Shanna!" Mojo neighed as he extended his hoof to shake Klondie. "Many thanks to you as well, friend. Name's Mojo, don't believe we've met. Have ya seen me lady love Lyra?"

"MOJO! YOU'RE SAFE!" Julibee shouted as the airborne Pegasus briefly hugged his neck. "And what's this about YOU having a girlfriend? You've never had one in all the time I've known you."

"But it's true, Wings! Lyra left me a love note in the soil back at the mountain pass! We'd hit it off so swimmingly well during this race! That's why I've got to help her now!"

"Lyra's over here, Mojo!" Louise shouted as she pointed with her hoof (had to change her text color here to avoid confusion).

"I'm comin' my sweet!" the Paint brony shouted as he galloped up to her. "Sit tight, darlin', yur lovin' stallion's here to rescue you!"

"We need to help these other stuck ponies too," added Jubilee as she fluttered over to where Rose Madder was and began to try to pull her foot loose as Hoss treated her for poison joke.

"And I'll help Mojo with Lyra," added Louise as she flew over and began to pull on her in an attempt to free her from the sticky muck.

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Back at the starting gate bleachers, Starflower led the other ponies out from under the bleachers when Misty Magic had discipated the out of control shimmering portal. When she heard Snail's praise, Misty realized she actually had accomplished something with her magic, a result SHE controled!

"You're right, Snails! I did do it! Without fowling up!" the yellow unicorn said as she hugged the younger colt.

"You certainly did," Starflower added. "Forgive me for ever doubting you. But now, we won't be able to see the end of the race."

"True," said Professor Krashkop, "but at least vee are all safe und unharmed, tanks to Misty's magic!"

(ooc): Sorry for this brief post, but I have to go AFK for much of the rest of the day, be back tonight, I hope

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Gritting his teeth, Swift Breeze kept straining. The occasional glance to the sides showed that he was not the only pony to fall victim to the sticky substance. "Just... need... to... get... free..." he grumbled.

"Mmmm! Sweet!" some nearby pony stated. "Here, try it!" they cheerfully exclaimed before jamming a stick into Swift Breeze's mouth. In surprise, Swift let his straining slacken, and he snapped back to the puddle with a *TWANG*. Blinking in confusion, he felt his mind going blank as the other pony turned and began trotting away. Hm. It really was quite sweet.

Swift looked down at the sap-coated stick in his mouth. Had he really let himself get that frustrated? Had he gotten so wrapped up in the race that he had forgotten to enjoy the gifts of nature? Another blink. Perhaps life had decided to stop him for that very lesson. As he looked up, the stick-giving pony was back, kicking dirt onto the sap. Still quite confused, he just stared blankly until the helpful pony began pushing. Snapping out of his confusion, he strained along with the other pony until, painfully, Swift tumbled free.

He cringed a moment before getting to his hooves. He was in pain, but he was free. Turning about, he looked over himself. He was sticky and covered in sap, but he was free to move about again. He could take up the race again! Now he could-... Swift halted that line of thought, looking at the stick poking out of his mouth. That's right. That wasn't the right way to think about things. It had kept him from seeing that the solution to his problem was right in front of him the entire time. He bowed briefly to the nice pony. "Thank you, friend." Swift then turned and continued down the path as the other pony went to help others that had become stuck. Everything may have looked fuzzy to him at the moment, but Swift's mind couldn't be clearer as he turned the thought over in his mind, being careful to avoid any more of the puddles.

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Carrot Fields was still feeling somewhat disheartened and annoyed at how things had turned out for him so fat in the race. Sure he was doing well position wise, but his mind kept wondering back to those fillies he tried to help. Helping them was the right thing to do, but somehow he felt he had messed things up; he couldn't explain it, not even to himself.

It was just than he got a clear view of the griffin who had, up to now, been ahead of him in the race. She wasn't moving, in fact she was stuck in one of those morasses of molasses that littered this section of the trail, with two ponies pulling on her front leg, trying to free her.

At first Carrot just ran by, still internally wallowing in self-pity. Than his conscious hit him, he just couldn't just let the situation stand. "Nuts an' shoes!" The young stallion mumbled under his breath as he came to sudden stop; he had to help, even if this wasn't a filly, or even a pony, and by all accounts a cheat! Still, he didn't want the way the race went fro him thus far to turn him into some sour, selfish, self-pitying pony.

Carrot came over to the trio and nodded to the unicorn and pegasus who were desperately pulling. What this situation needed was some good old fashioned earth pony power! Carrot stepped around behind the griffin, he thought of using his head while keeping all four legs on the ground for more leverage, but he doubted he could take the feeling of shy embarrassment of pressings his head against a female griffins backside. Instead he reared up, placing his forehooves on the backside of the griffin. "Sorry abit thes ma'am!" He just felt he had to apologize as he began to push with all his might with his hind-legs.

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~One-wing~

After having finished licking syrup off the tree, he happily galloped on. the sweet syrup taste had gotten stuck in his mouth. Not that he didn't enjoy that of course...

"MAN its been quite some time since i had some fine syrup. i should really visit Manehatten again sometime soon..." looking up at the sky, smiling, he was enjoying most of the race. with the exceptions of getting hit in the head. as he came around the corner he spotted the griffon, and the several ponies that were trying to get her free. passing by at a rather slow pace, the thought of the irony of the situation and chuckled quite a bit. continuing on he avoided most of the puddles, knowing things wouldn't end so well if he fell into one.

He looked up into the tree tops, as the sun glistened through what was left of the leaves. the sun shine reflecting off the thick syrup was also quite a view, but being distracted by the view he walked into a pony who was in front of him. "!!!- oh umm sorry." (third time today...just my luck...) " i umm was distracted..heh sorry." he gave a slightly nervous smile...

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As Clutch reached the bottom of the path he took, his speed was at an alarmingly fast rate. He was blurring down the path in front of him, and didn't even see exactly what was on the ground a bit away from himself. As such, he ran directly into it as he dashed into the forested area which seemed to him like the next part of the race. Unfortunately for him, he ended up finding out a little too late exactly what was on the ground: Sticky tree sap which had seemingly ended up on the path for the course for some reason. The second his hind paws touched that sap, he ended up being stopped almost dead in his tracks.

Now the poor Diamond Dog was seemingly stuck on this sap, having trouble moving his legs. This seemed almost disastrous to him, as if he couldn't get himself free from this.....'stick' situation, so to speak, he'd never be able to catch up with those ahead. Thus, Clutch spent the next couple of minutes thinking of a solution to his problem. Eventually he came to his solution, but to him it seemed almost too crazy to work. Still, anything is worth trying if it'll get you possibly free from this stuff.

So Clutch then, in a maneuver that seemed almost cartoon-ish in nature, began moving back a bit. This stretched the sap on his feet a bit, straining his legs as he tried to resist the pull the sap was causing with its stickiness. Clutch looked for something, anything he could use for his plan. Thankfully he saw a tree limb hanging low near his location. Thus, straining hard against the pull of the sap, he slowly walked towards it until he was finally able to reach it. Feeling his legs about to go out on him from all the strain, he made a desperate lunge for the limb. Thankfully he was able to grab it.

With limb in hand, he proceeded to begin to pull himself farther and farther away from the spot in which he ended up getting stuck to the sap. Eventually he could pull no farther, and he was ready. His plan wasn't to simple pull til the sap broke off from his feet, oh no. This plan was much crazier: He was going to use momentum to do the dirty work for him. This would either lead to escape, or to being covered all over by the sticky stuff. Still, a chance is a chance, and he was willing to take it.

Facing towards the correct direction of the path he was supposed to take, he pulled a tiny bit more on the limb he was holding on.....and then let go. The second he let go of that wooden branch, he went flying. The sap stretched as far as it could, but eventually even it would have to give and it definitely did. The sap broke off of his feet, and away did Clutch go.....right across the path. He ended up flying past the entirety of the sap-covered path, and eventually landed on the soft, dirt path at the end of it. The poor Dog was a bit dazed, but he was able to dust himself off from that......'interesting' experience that he had just went through. "I hope nopony noticed that" he said to himself as he started running again on the path, "I don't think even I could believe that just happened...." Still, strange or not, it allowed him to cross the sap-covered area relatively unscathed, and even allowed him to pass a couple of competitors still stuck in the sap.

As he ran away from that section, all he could say to himself was "I do hope those guys know how to escape this stuff, cause I sure ain't gettin' 'em out!"

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Stuck was an understatement. Willow Wisp had trotted right through a run of sap and now her mane had mats in it, her hooves were picking up dirt and even leaves when she stepped on them, there were sticks stuck in her tail and she was pretty sure her race number was permanently glued to her side. When she had galloped through the small shrub thinking it would be a simple cut through, she didn't expect to come out like a living piece of fly-paper. At least it had a nice sweet smell...

"Great. I look like I've spent weeks out in the..." she trailed off a moment from her grumble. "wait... I have spent weeks in the woods before. And I never came out a sticky mess."

Boy that stream she had to cross before was sure sounding good now. A nice dunk in that would at least get some of the sap off her. But tree sap was like glue, and sometimes it took a good scrubbing before the darn stuff would give way.

Trot, trot, trot.... "UGH!" Willow looked down at her hooves with their nice coating of dirt and fallen leaves. "GET OFF!" She started shaking one leg, then another, alternating as she tried to free herself from the collection attached to her.

As she had her fit, she continued to try and run along. It was a bad idea, as she eventually tripped, tumbled to the ground and ended up rolling right into another shrub.

"...I hope this section is almost over..." she sighed and just laid there in a heap of sap.

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Inkwell had once again concentrated entirely on drawing, filling page after page with such interesting things to see and watch. He was on his twelfth page and he still hadn't run out of ideas yet! Of course, it wasn't just the sights he'd spotted in Misty's portal that inspired him. The back-and-forth dialogue between all of the spectators on the bleachers had given him ideas, too. So it went until Misty's magic started acting up again, making the portal go dangerously out of focus. Self-preservation kicked in at that point, making him back up a few rows on the bleachers before resuming his art. Thankfully all of the other ponies in his way were polite enough to move.

And then the portal vanished entirely. Misty suddenly congratulated herself on controlling her magic, and Inky would have joined in if it hadn't robbed him of a privilege that, admittedly, he should have known wouldn't stay with him long. "Yeah," he told her as he got to his hooves, "I'm real proud of you, but now I have to get a closer look at the race. Nice meeting you all and see... you... later!" He grunted these last words as he jumped off the bleachers and ran along the side of the racecourse, hoping to run into the racers coming the other way.

Rose barely listened to Mojo, instead concentrating on the syrup gluing him to the ground. It was all her fault, and she didn't know what to do about it. But apparently some other ponies did. All around her other competitors had gotten stuck in the sap, and they weren't paralyzed with gear or guilt or self-pity. Heck, one of them even offered her some of the stuff on a stick! Her first impulse had been to spit it out and ask this crazy colt what he was thinking by gluing her mouth shut, too, but then she noticed just how sweet it tasted. Mmm! This was even better than the leaves she'd had! "Mmmf, fanks!" she muttered, swallowing the sap and spitting the twig out.

Then some more of ponies came down and flew in from out of nowhere, apparently to back up Mojo and help him out! Cheaters, they were all cheaters! She initially recoiled when two of them approached her, one with a spray bottle full of who knew what, but then she shook her head and tried to clear it. The miasma in her head was wrong, she told herself. These ponies were friends, and they were here to help her. Her eyes clamped shut and she stood still until the spray hit her full in the face. In a matter of seconds, the blue spots faded away, and her mind became refreshingly clear.

She looked down at her hoof and frowned. Her horn glowed, and with a dull crack she pulled it free, along with a few inches of the ground. When she set it back down again the dirt on it quickly crumbled away, mixing with the sap and making it useless. "Thanks for that," she said to the kind soul who cured her. "But please, don't any of you tell anypony else how stupid I was acting, alright?"

She looked at Mojo and concentrated, making her horn glow even brighter. A small series of cracks echoed through the air until Mojo came completely free, albeit with a lot of dirt still stuck to him. Her eyes caught a pegasus struggling as well, the sap on his hoof stretched as far as he could manage it. One last flash severed it clean through, freeing at least one appendage.

At that point Rose began to feel a bit muddled in the head, practically on the verge of sleep. But she shook her head again and stomped her hooves on the ground, willing herself to stay awake and alert for the last part of the race. She ignored the sudden stitches and pains that wracked her body in the process.

"Ngh! Come on, everypony! Let's end this!" she cried, starting off at the hardest gallop she could manage. In her mind, she played bombastic, dramatic music befitting the end of an epic struggle. This was the climax, the big finish, and she vowed to make it all worth it.

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Snaps his attention forward upon hearing an unusually dull splash from Douglas accidentally landing a hoof in the sticky substance covering the track, noticing the red pony was quite a ways ahead and - more significantly - past an absurd amount of puddles in the road. "Oh horseapples," he mumbles to himself before taking in a deep breath, preparing himself for a series of no doubt difficult hops. The pegasus soon began repeating the same motions as Douglas had before him, carefully hopping to the dry patches that zig zagged along the road until he finally overdid a jump on one, finding himself descending rapidly towards a puddle. "OH HORSEAPPLES," he repeated again, much louder this time as he did unfolded his wings, lightly flapping them once to propel himself a bit back, the unusual correction causing him to skid onto his hindquarters on the dry patch, his hooves only an inch from the puddle. "Phew... better t' crash than get suck in this stuff, I think," he muttered before scooting back little ways.

After getting up and shaking off slightly, he took a moment to pause, looking back at his wings before raising a hoof up to tap it against his chin. "Did that count as cheatin'...?" he began, talking to himself rather than anypony else, "I mean... I wouldn't of done it if these hazards weren't here... 'n I honestly doubt they were a planned portion'a the race..." After thinking on it for a moment, he shook his head furiously, stomping a hoof on the ground, "No! Even if it wasn't entirely fair t' other ponies, I didn't use my wings t' gain an advantage on anypony like that griffin. It's no different than if a unicorn uses some magic t' make a path across 'em or get themselves unstuck." Nodding resolutely, he would spring forward, hopping over the puddle and landing on the next dry spot before repeating the same motion, eventually reaching the clearer portion of the path up ahead. 'Besides, I've happily sacrificed my time t' help other ponies. That was jus' a lil reward for bein' a good sport, s'all.' He thought to himself as he continued down the track after Douglas, briefly glancing back once again to see if Survey was keeping up.

Unfortunately, being lost in thought was just as bad as taking in the scenery, and Mobius soon heard another dull splat - this time directly beneath him. Still moving forward, he would trip, falling onto the dry patch of land just in front of the puddle he'd stepped into with both front hooves, his rear hooves still dry... although both were now in the air as he laid on his chest. He would lay there for a few moments quietly, his eyes rolling around in a derped fashion before he shook his head, regaining his composure. "...Horseapples..." he grumbled through a sigh before pushing himself back onto his rear hooves. "Hey! Douglas! Survey! Anypony! A lil help, please?" he calls out as he begins trying to tug his hooves free, sticking his tongue out in mild disgust at the gooey feel of the substance. A bright-eyed look suddenly replaced his annoyed expression as an idea popped into his head, the Pegasus rearing onto his back hooves, leaning back with all his weight so that the sap was stretched, the pale gold stallion then walking backwards as he attempted to stretch the sticky goo to its absolute limit. "Just... a.... lil... further...."

Douglas was feeling good to be free of the majority of the mess, all that remained were a few smalls puddles and one or two big ones before they finally broke out of the White Tail Woods. Taking a brief glance back, Douglas saw Mobius open his wings and pull an immediate stop. Seeing this, Douglas slowed to a halt and watched as Mobius thought over his actions before tucking his wings back in and continuing through the rest of the sap filled puddles. "Gotta say, I'm envious. Would'a saved me a sticky hoof" Douglas chuckled as he soon began to run again. Douglas couldn't help but think of the benefit of being a Pegasus or a Unicorn, of course that doesn't mean he'd forsake the strength he has as an Earth pony.

Just then Douglas put on the brakes as he heard Mobius suddenly call out for help. Turning back he saw the golden Pegasus was stuck in the sap. It was a decent sized puddle too, so it definitely had a strong grip. Douglas carefully trotted back over a few puddles to reach Mobius. Looking over the puddle he was stuck in as Mobius began to struggle against it. "Well, w're gonna 'ave to pull you out. This might sting a bit." Douglas commented, looking back to Survey. "Grab hold and heave, my friend." Douglas stated as took hold of Mobius' tail and began pulling with him. "Stresh it out! Ish gonna shnap!" Douglas said, pulling Mobius' by his tail. Slowly he took a step back, feeling the sap fighting against them all the way as they tried to pull Mobius free.

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hi hi

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Ginger Mint's plan worked, at least for a short while. Falling behind the rest of the herd, she let the falling leaves cover the puddles of sap, up until the point when the rest of the herd started getting stuck in the sap themselves. The whole herd slowed down together, with racers either stuck themselves or stopping to help out their fellow competitors. The leaves stopped falling and Ginger Mint found herself right back in the same predicament that she was in before.

No, not just my predicament.

Everyone was being tripped up by this single problem, this one obstacle that should never have been there in the first place. (At least, she didn't think it was supposed to be there since no one else seemed to expect it either.) Sure, it would take all day to clear the mess if she was working by herself, but she wasn't by herself.

"Bramble, I think I've got an idea. This sap might be too sticky for a single pony to break free, but what if we all work together? Imagine how much faster this will go if two, three or even more of us all push at the same time?"

With only a cursory glance, she could see several runners nearby who needed assistance. A charcoal colored mare had just crashed into the bushes nearby, a golden pegasus stuck in place while a familiar red stallion pulled on his tail along with a pony she didn't recognize, even that cranky griffon from earlier was stuck in spite of the best efforts of a pair of helpful ponies.

I was almost positive that griffon was behind all this, but I guess maybe she really is just a regular old grouch.

Ginger Mint had never expected to win the race, but she knew that without everypony running and knocking the leaves off the trees, they were all certainly losing.

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~Apple Mallow~

Mallow carelessly floated down the path, her hooves dangling just above the puddles as she used her wings to catch the crisp autumn breeze. She was still licking her sap-covered hoof, her head so full of various candy-making ideas that she hardly noticed all the commotions going around her.

It seemed like the had caught up with most of the other contestants finally, as many of them had been slowed down by the sap puddles that were literally all over the race trail. But all her thoughts of the race were completely abolished by the recipes she was making up in her head. She passed a group of ponies eagerly trying to assist a fellow pegasus who had been completely stuck in a particularly large sap puddle, a few sets of ponies passed her as well - a couple who seemed to be in a very embarrassing debate, a prissy-looking filly and a grandma being hauled around in a cart, a very frightened looking unicorn who dashed off as fast as she could... so many of these ponies seemed to have forgotten that this was a actual race!

It wasn't until she literally flew right into another pony who was stumbling along, seemingly trying to shake dirt and leaves off of her sap-coated hoof that Mallow really took notice to her surroundings. The black unicorn finally tumbled down into a bush on the side of the path, leaving Mallow to cartwheel through the air before she managed to stop tumbling.... upside down. Bewildered, she looked around. She looked up - there was the ground. She looked down - there was the sky. She snorted and giggled as she floated around upside down for a bit, enjoying the change in scenery.

The black unicorn that she flew into was grumbling and cursing as she tried to pull herself out of the bush, her sap-coated hooves and tangled tail wasn't helping any. Mallow decided the best way to apologize for running into her was to help her.

She turned herself right side up and fluttered over to the trapped unicorn.

"May I be of help?"

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Survey had tried to be as quiet as possible, trying not to look even more akward than he already looked. He dodged some of the puddles, however stepping in several others. ''T-this feels s-so.. i-icky..'' he said a bit silently. He was looking over at Douglas, who was yelling things a bit loud. He bit his lips and grabbed the Puzzle Cube again. He was slowly getting tired again, taking deep breathes as he was walking halfy trough that icky sap. He grunted a bit in between every step. ''Is t-this going t-to t-take long?..'' he asked, and again, too quiet to hear. He only kept feeling more nervous and nervous. Why was he even racing? he asked himself a couple of times. He sort of ignored the conversation about the cheating, sighing as he heard small bits of it. He knew he had used magic, but only for solving his cube.

He shrieked as he heard the call for help coming from Mobius. ''O-oh, my!'' he said suprised, rushing over to where he was, galloping trough the puddles in his way, his hooves getting dirty. He gulped, as he looked at Mobius, and then quickly switching his view over to Douglas. ''A-alright!'' he said, holding onto 'Mobius's hoof as he starts pulling, grunting and panting. It was quite a hard thing to do.

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(OOC: Celestia help me, I have so much to catch up on T_T)

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"Didn't quite hear that, love. Would ya mind repeatin' that, sweetheart?"

Lyra began to sweat as Mojo started to get closer to her. Her heart was pounding from not only her running pace but from nerves. Why did he have to be so... amorous?

"Now, what was that you were sayin' to me, dollface?"

Lyra actually winced at the word "dollface". There was nothing for it. She had to tell him that he misunderstood, right now, before this went further.

"Look, I think you-" she began, but she couldn't finish. First, Carrot Fields rushed past her, the speed at which he was moving causing her mane and tail to flutter, as though in a breeze. She couldn't help but wonder if he'd gotten the same impression from her note as Mojo did. Maybe I should talk to them both at the same time, she thought. "Oh! Carrot! Wait!" she shouted out loud, but either he didn't hear her or he was too preoccupied with the race to stop. She'd have to catch up later and explain things. She turned back to Mojo, who was still waiting for an answer.

She tried to explain herself again. She got as far as "I don't think that-OOF!" before another pony barreled out of nowhere, slamming into the pair of ponies. Mojo ended up in a puddle of sap. Lyra got lucky, and while she had been splashed with a few dots of sap, she avoided getting herself stuck in a pool of sticky sweet syrup, and was instead knocked into a nearby bush.

"Oh nonononono. Are you hurt? Are you alright? Oh please be alright! Please!"

The pony that had rushed into them was now trying to help them, but Lyra brushed her off with a wave of her hoof. "I'm fine, really. Just... just dizzy that's all." she said, getting slowly back onto her hooves. She briefly gazed at the face of the newcomer and noticed strange markings on her muzzle, a series of blue dots. What strange makeup, she thought to herself. The red pony also seemed to have gotten herself stuck in the treesap. She rubbed her head, trying to clear the throbbing sensation. She'd go over to help... in just a minute. Just then she overheard Mojo...

"I'm alright, miss, just in a bit of a sticky wicket at the moment, quite literally. Any chance you've seen me girlfriend Lyra?"

Lyra's face went pale. Such word's shouldn't induce such fright, but he was telling everypony! She had to stop him! Now!

"No, Mojo! I'm not-MMPH!"

“Miss Lyra…” another interruption! This time from Klondike shoving a sticky sweet lollipop in her mouth! This was not a good time! Of all the- hey... this is pretty nice. She sucked on the sweet treat for a bit, enjoying the taste. She made a mental note to buy some syrup for Bon Bon. She could probably make some exquisite candies with the stuff. Wait! No! She had to tell Mojo! Before he got any worse!

"Mmphhm! Mmph!! MMMMMMH!" OH NO! she realised. The sap is sticking to my teeth! I can't talk like this! Trying as hard as she could to unstick her jaw, she couldn't quite do it. The sticky sap was gluing itself to her teeth. She'd have no choice but to wait until she'd sucked on it enough to melt it. Her face fell into an expression of annoyance. After such a good start to the day she now had to deal with this awkwardness. Deciding that she couldn't wait any longer and just wanted to get out of here, she went to stand in front of Mojo as the others helped him out of his puddle. It was time to improvise.

"Mmhmm!" she said, pointing to Mojo.

"Hmmmph hmn nnng!" she continued. Sitting back on her haunches, she mimed a running motion with her forehooves.

"Mphh mmm hmm nnnn mmmphnnng mmmhnnn!" more miming, this time tapping her horn, before pointing to the ground and making circular motions.

"Nnnngh mmmph hmmm!" she shook her head, then pointed to the left with her hooves, before swinging them back over to the right with a sweeping gesture.

"Mmmhmmph!" holding out her hooves, she made flapping motions with them, then shook her right hoof in the air.

"Mmph!" she finished, with her hooves straight out in front, pointing down the race track.

Confident that she'd made her position clear, she got up and sped away from the others, leaving them to their treesap. She felt bad for leaving like that but she didn't think she could be around Mojo now that she had clearly described the situation to him.


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Diamond Tiara continued to survey the race below. She may have lost control of her chariot but at least she could look to see who was in front. Remarkably, most of the race leaders were spending their time pulling each other out of spilled treesap instead of running. How totally boring! she thought.

"Like I was-a tellin' ya, youngin', fiyin' this low will help us find my little AppleBloom. Wure are my manners? I'm Granny Smith! Y'all can tell by my cutie mark that I love to bake pies! What's yur name, kido?"

"I'm Diamond Tiara. Prettiest and most popular filly in Ponyville, thank you very much." said Diamond smugly. "And my cutie mark simply screams style, don't you think?" she said, giving her flank a wiggle to show off her fabulous tiara cutie mark.

Just then she saw what she was waiting for. A flash of yellow and red amongst the racers. Sure enough there was Applebloom. And she was... riding on another pony's back? Who was that? That huge stallion looked familiar. He must be from Ponyville. Why was he helping her? "Hey! There she is! And look, she's totally cheating!" she called out to Granny. Maybe the old mare would get angry and scold the blank flank for cheating. That might be fun to watch!

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The fact another pony had stopped to help was almost as surprising to Ashton as he was to the Griffin. Honestly the whole ponies helping each other out thing was a little strange to him. He had expected more to capitalize on the chance to get ahead. It wasn't as if the syrup was dangerous. They could all pull themselves free eventually on their own. The only reason he had stopped was he wasn’t a racer. He figured nobody else would give her a hand. He always figured these eastern Ponies to be too soft to handle dealing with a Griffin.

A sharp pain helped him to regain his focus. Perhaps offering his bare hoof wasn't the best option. Her grip was like steel but it was too late to switch to a branch or something. “Right, Now! He started tugging trying to match his rhythm with the Griffin’s own. He couldn’t see the other pony very well but his position struck him as odd and not just the fact that ‘helping’ in such way could have earned him a claw to the face if the Griffins appendages weren’t occupied. There were some things you just didn’t do.

It was the fact of how momentum worked and how the syrup seemed to have a magnetic attraction to pony hair. If she were to suddenly break free… “Are you sure” *tug* “that you’re not” *tug* “going to” *tug* “fall” *tug* “in yourself?” He gave a strong heave. It looked like she was coming loose.

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After the Mountain pass Harmony finally smiled, there was no any of any of the stones anymore. She didn’t need to care if she will fall and will need to use her wings. She began to little smile when the road was clear for her and she looked at her bird.

Finally, I think We are slowly coming to the end… What You think Flightly? Bird started to stroke her mane and she again smiled to him, the race for her was awesome so far and she wasn’t really the last one in it so she didn’t have to be sad. But Harmony made here one fault for her, she stopped to carry about being carry and she got right into the syrup. When she couldn’t move Harmony only sighed and looked at ground.

Oh no, this is kind of joke right? Why I didn’t … Oh no… She wanted to facehoof herself but she again discovered she can’t move due to sticky situation. Harmony started to hardly move to get away from it, Flightly got away from her mane and started to poke her hooves with beak but he fast get stuck into her hooves cause of his little help. Harmony looked at her bird and sighed again, she was now very unhappy. She couldn’t move and her bird was stuck into her hooves. Harmony looked as slowly other racers started to pass her and began hardly to try to move away from this syrup. She looked at her bird and started little to think what she can do to get away from it.

Okay Flightly, we are stuck in this kind of stuff and others slowly get to us… You got any idea how to get away from it? Harmony looked at her bird and he only shook his head. Harmony sighed again and looked at her wings and bit her lips. She knew it will be cheating but she was stuck and couldn’t do anything to get away from the trap she got into without watching carefully at the ground. She looked at her bird and only sighed.

This time I’m gonna use them… Only to save us, don’t think anything about it. Harmony said to Flightly, he would probably smile if his beak wasn’t stuck into her hooves. She started to use her wings to start flying, and after several minutes of trying she finally got away from them and helped Flightly to get away from her hooves. Harmony looked at him.

Get back to mane, We have rested now it is time to get back to race! She laughed at her own joke and Flightly aswell smiled to her, when he got into her mane.

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He shrieked as he heard the call for help coming from Mobius. ''O-oh, my!'' he said suprised, rushing over to where he was, galloping trough the puddles in his way, his hooves getting dirty. He gulped, as he looked at Mobius, and then quickly switching his view over to Douglas. ''A-alright!'' he said, holding onto 'Mobius's hoof as he starts pulling, grunting and panting. It was quite a hard thing to do.

Just then Douglas put on the brakes as he heard Mobius suddenly call out for help. Turning back he saw the golden Pegasus was stuck in the sap. It was a decent sized puddle too, so it definitely had a strong grip. Douglas carefully trotted back over a few puddles to reach Mobius. Looking over the puddle he was stuck in as Mobius began to struggle against it. "Well, w're gonna 'ave to pull you out. This might sting a bit." Douglas commented, looking back to Survey. "Grab hold and heave, my friend." Douglas stated as took hold of Mobius' tail and began pulling with him. "Stresh it out! Ish gonna shnap!" Douglas said, pulling Mobius' by his tail. Slowly he took a step back, feeling the sap fighting against them all the way as they tried to pull Mobius free.

Having reached about as far as his rear hooves along were going to carry him, he couldn't help but sigh in relief as the others came to his aid. When he felt his tail being bit and firmly yanked, however, he let out a shocked whinny. "Hey-whoa-huh?! Ain't ya gonna buy a pony dinner first?!" he called back as he found himself getting pulled, his wings unfurling and flapping lightly to help further stretch the sticky goo extending from his hooves to the puddle, which by now stretched for a couple of yards. The plan worked, though, and in a few short moments, a loud 'snap' resounded from the string, sending him toppling over the red Earth pony and onto his back, skidding a short distance before coming to a halt.

After lying on his back for a few moments, his eyes derping once again, he would shake his head and quickly hop up onto his hooves... only to wretch slightly at the unusual feeling before glancing down, noticing dirt and dust already caking over his affected limbs. "That's jus' nasty," he mumbled before sighing and shaking his head, "I really hope this stuffs washes off easy." As he spoke, he began to trot towards his saviors, leaning down to nudge them with one of his rear hooves - an unusual gesture, but the only way to avoid getting any more of the annoying substance on anypony else. "Thanks fer the save. Ya alright?" he asked with a wry grin, giving a friendly wink before nodding down the track, "'Cause we got a clear path up ahead 'n a race t' win."

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*Creak creak creak creak* The old wagon's un-greased wheel hubs complained about the movement.

"Oh hush up will you?! I oiled you a week ago? Maybe three? Oh I did oil you I remember it so quit your hollering!" Monty said to his cart with a disapproving click of his tongue.

He slowly cantered down the well worn lane from Hoofington to the Whitetail Woods. Monty didn't even have to steer the cart, the wheel ruts did all the work for him. All Monty had to do was canter forward and make sure that his "products" did not fall off. After all the cart was salvaged from an old military base that no longer was operational. It was not like the cart had any rails or tie-downs.

His cart was full of strange looking glass jars all sealed very tightly with latches. The liquid inside of these jars was very thin and clear, looking to be almost water. There was also an old wine barrel with some pipes coming out of it. Along with some other metal pipes and strange looking devices clattering together on the old cart. Monty had a determined look on his face, this zebra had a plan, for something.

"While on the road to sweet White-Tail,~

Huroo! Huroo! ~

While on the road to sweet White-Tail, ~

Huroo! Huroo! ~

While on the road to sweet White-Tail, ~

A stick in me' hoof a bur in me' tail, ~

A doleful damsel I heard wail: ~

'Monty I hardly knew ye!' "

Monty carried the odd tune at a moderate volume all through his travel, his hooves matching the beat to a 'T'. He even carried a horrendously butchered, fake Connemara accent for the entirety of the song. The sun shone bright and the mid day heat was not unbearable but rather warming. The liquid in the jars sloshed as the cart wobbled in the ruts.

"With your plums and rums and rums and plums, ~

Hurroo! Hurroo! ~

With your plums and rums and rums and plums, ~

Hurroo! Hurroo! ~

With your plums and rums and rums and plums, ~

The bar-ponies nearly threw ye. ~

Oh my darling dear, Ye look so weird,~

'Monty I hardly knew ye!' "

The flat grassy hills of the outskirts of Hoofington were giving way, finally, into the white birch and deciduous forests of White-Tail Woods. The Autumn leaves were still clinging to their branches on the outskirts of the forest. However as Monty pushed deeper into the forest he noticed that more and more of the oranges, yellows, browns, and reds were littering the forest floor instead of the canopy.

"Where are the eyes that looked so mild, ~

Hurroo! Hurroo! ~

Where are the eyes that looked so mild, ~

Hurroo! Hurroo! ~

Where are the eyes that looked so mild, ~

When my poor heart you first beguiled? ~

Why did ye scadaddle from me and the child? ~

'Oh Monty, I hardly knew ye.' "

The air in the forest was damp and musty. There was a slight chill in the air, the sun being slightly blocked by the remaining canopy and trees. The dew from the morning was starting to rot the pre-fallen leaves. The natural cycle of life was continuing. Life to death, death to detritus, detritus to life. The cycle was never ending and all inclusive. The Running of the Leaves was specifically designed to further this cycle.

Speaking of cycle, the new book from Miss Hyacinth Hills was due out any day now! Monty was a HUGE Hyacinth Hills fan. He owned every one of her presently printed books, in first edition none the less. Why was this important? Because Miss Hyacinth Hills was rumored to live somewhere in the White-Tail Woods. Maybe she would be running in the race! Maybe Monty could get an autograph from her!! He even had the very first edition of the first book that she had ever written, on the cart with him just in case. Just the thought of it made Monty's hooves tingle with excitement. He picked up the pace to a gallop and headed towards the leg of the race that was currently underway. Monty was using the spectator pathways, allowing him to bypass the long legs and make it to the current leg faster than the actual runners would.

"Where are your legs that used to run, ~

Hurroo! Hurroo! ~

Where are your legs that used to run, ~

Hurroo! Hurroo! ~

Where are your legs that used to run, ~

When you went to guzzle the rum? ~

Indeed your dancing days are done, ~

'Oh Monty, I hardly knew ye.' "

Finally arriving at the current leg of the race Monty was pleasantly surprised to find many a pony either covered in, or stuck completely fast in sap from the pine and maple trees. He slammed on the brakes and the cart's contents clattered. A sly smile came across Monty's countenance. He fished out a brown top hat with a thin dark brown band just above the brim. The twirled it up his fore leg and it landed on his mohawked mane, slightly askew, with Monty's right ear protruding from the edge of the hat. With the flair of a circus performer he drew a cane out from his cart and twirled that around as well. He struck each glass jar with the tip of the cane. Each made a distinct ring that echoed clearly across the entirety of the current leg of the race.

"Now if you would! Everypony lend me your sweaty, tired, your sticky ponies yearning to gallop free! I have a special present for all of you! Now if you would bear with me for a moment!" Monty exclaimed to the pack of runners, loud enough for everypony to hear.

Monty hopped about his cart and made quick work of connecting all the pipes and nozzles to the wine barrel. He then began to pour the clear liquids into the wine barrel with a funnel. Some had a very powdery smell and others had a very sharp, almost painful smell. Once all of these things were poured into the barrel he plugged the whole in the barrel with a bung. There was a strange geared protuberance on the side of the barrel with what looked like hoof holds. Monty stuck his fore hooves in these and began to run in place.

No mind you that Monty had not created this device, he had merely asked the strange unicorn who lives in the light house to cobble it together for him with spare parts. She was a strange mare, but she knew her stuff when it came to mechanical engineering. Plus offering her reduced prices on her next shipment seemed to brighten her day right up.

The barrel made a strange grinding noise and the pipes hissed and belched. Then the pipes sputtered and the clear liquid came spraying out of the nozzles in all directions. This was a very dense spray pattern, mimicking a sudden downpour from the celestial heights. No pony would have been spared from this deluge as long as they were within about one-thousand feet of the sprayer. Monty had made sure to position himself in the prime location to drench everypony that was stuck in the sap.

"I give you your FREEDOM!!!" Monty exclaimed at the top of his lungs, with a gleeful edge to his voice. Monty then let out a whoop and a cackle at that remark.

After Monty had completely drenched the surrounding area and ponies with his homemade anti-sticky brew, which consisted mainly of denatured alcohol and mineral spirits, he began to pack up his cart again. This time the glass jars were much lighter but jittered more as the cart wobbled while Monty worked. After disassembling the strange spraying device he wiggled his way back into the harness of the cart, tipped his top hat to the ponies that were now free from the sticky sap, and then trotted off into the forest again towards the finish line.

Again the spectator paths would afford him the ability to reach the finish line before the other ponies would. Monty thought to himself, 'OH I can't wait until they all get to the finish line and queue up to pay me for my service! And if they dont't I know that the race staff will, even if I have to make them want to pay me! I offered such a wonderful service to these stuck ponies. AAAAANNNNNDDDD MAYBE Miss Hyacinth Hills will be there, sign my book, and even give me an advance copy!!!!' Monty internally squeed like a little fan filly at that thought.

"I'm happy for to see ye home, ~

Hurroo! Hurroo! ~

I'm happy for to see ye home, ~

Hurroo! Hurroo! ~

I'm happy for to see ye home, ~

All from the Canyon of Raptorclaw ~

So low in the flesh, so high in the bone ~

'Oh Monty I hardly knew ye.' "

Monty quickly picked up the Connemara accent again and trotted off into the woods. His voice eerily echoed through the fall foliage of the crisp Autumn afternoon. Monty was an odd Zebra but what he did, absolutely, helped those ponies who were stuck in the sap and goo from the bleeding trees.

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Number 34, Klondike, having received various help from the ponies gathered at the scene to free Mojo, now stood gladly shaking hooves with Mojo himself. His hair and coat covering his head had become a sticky syrupy mess adorned with matted hair and clumps of dirt, twigs, leaves and dried grass. This in addition to the scrapes and dirty coat from his trip down the mountain made him look more like he had entered a wrestling match and not a race. Still, he could not help but smile as he stood there; feeling like a previously unnoticed weight was being lifted from him.

“Glad to have been of service Mr. Mojo!” He replied to the paint coated pony before he trotted off to look for his “Lady Love” Lyra. As if on cue his right ear began to twitch, only to tug on his scalp since it was now matted to the side of his head.

“Ow! Huh?”

"Ngh! Come on, everypony! Let's end this!"

Klondike observed as Rose came up to them and then dashed off at a hard gallop. Klondike was still trying to remember her name, he knew it was a flower.

“Miss Tulip’s right ponies! Time to end th-“ He was cut short as Lyra came up to them mumbling.

"Mmhmm!" she said while she pointed at Mojo.

"Hmmmph hmn nnng!" she continued, sat back on her haunches, then mimed a running motion with her fore-hooves.

"Mphh mmm hmm nnnn mmmphnnng mmmhnnn!" She continued miming, then tapped her horn before pointing to the ground and making circular motions.

"Nnnngh mmmph hmmm!" She shook her head, then pointed to the left with her hooves, before swinging them back over to the right with a sweeping gesture.

"Mmmhmmph!" She held out her hooves, made flapping motions then shook her right hoof in the air.

"Mmph!" She finished with a resounding “Mmph” and then sped away down the path.

Klondike simply stood and blinked twice before his eyebrows shot up in understanding as he turned to Mojo.

“Oh! She’s saying that there was a misunderstanding between you and her. The letter? Umm, the letter she left you was only meant to point you in the right direction. You read too much into it because she’s not interested and feels bad about it and doesn’t want to lead you on?”

Klondike finished translating the blow to the stallion before bringing up a hoof to his muzzle as a second thought occurred to him.

“Either that or she’s in a rush to go home and feed her flying… ferret?” He shrugged before smiling again at Mojo.

“Was never good at guessing games though, I may have lost us this round…” Klondike smiled weakly before turning to look down the path.

“But she has the right idea everypony! It’s time to finish this!”

Klondike reared onto his hind legs and suddenly set off in a thundering gallop down the path. He had found new determination and purpose in the race. He wanted to finish, not for the sake of winning, but for the sake of learning something from it.

Number 32, Klondike, with matted hair and coat, covered in scrapes, bruises, dirt, and delicious syrup, could not help but grin as he raced off to the last leg of the race… Klondike was crossing that finish line one way or another.

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As his Pegasus friends continued helping other racers to get free from the sticky sap spilled along the road, Mojo shook hooves with Klondie.

"You're a real happenin' dude! Thanks again!" Mojo happily replied before turning towards Rose Madder.

"Thanks for usin' that unicorn magic to get me loose," the Paint stallion said before he turned back towards Lyra again. Unknown to him, the elegant unicorn was struggling to talk after receiving one of Klondie's sticky lollipops. Mojo had already consumed his lollipop with no complications.

"Lyra my sweet, are you ok now?" Mojo asked as Lyra was still unable to talk.

It was at that moment that Klondie gave the Paint pony some bitter news:

“Oh! She’s saying that there was a misunderstanding between you and her. The letter? Umm, the letter she left you was only meant to point you in the right direction. You read too much into it because she’s not interested and feels bad about it and doesn’t want to lead you on?”

At that precise moment, Monty's waterspray struck the entire group. The instant 'shower' now set the mood in Mojo's heart.

"But she.. I mean... the note said love and all and..." the hippie brony's big heart was now broken, but he wanted to ask cool about it so as not to make things worse.

"I see. My apologies, Miss Lyra, for leapin' to conclusions. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted. We better get goin' again, don't wanna miss out on the grand finish!"

The hippie brony galloping off down the road, fighting hard to keep from crying.

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

Jubilee couldn't help but overhear Mojo's rejection as she was helping Hoss and Louise LaMare with the other stuck contestants.

"Gosh! Poor Mojo. He really thought he'd found true love."

"I feel awful for him, Jubilee," Louise sighed. "Almost as bad as I did when I got into that big fight with Sheriff Silverstar back in Appleoosa. The nice thing about that little flare-up was that when we made up with each other, the Sheriff openly declared his love for me!"

"That's fine for you, but what about Modge?" the blonde airborne Pegasus asked moments before a zebra in a wagon sprayed a blast of water unto the track, freeing all the remaining stuck race contestants. "WOW! Well, since everypony's unstuck, I'm going to try to cheer up Mojo!"

After Jubilee flew off to find her old friend, in the sky above, Granny Smith was still riding in Diamond Tiara's chariot.

"OH! That is a dandy cutie mark, Miss Tiara!" the elderly mane neighed.

It was the rich spoiled foal who had managed to spot AppleBloom riding on Big MacIntosh's huge back.

"Awwwww! Ain't that sweet? Good ol' Big Mac's helpin' his little sister! I think that's wonderful! Do YOU have any brothers er sisters, Miss Tiara?"

Back at the starting gate bleachers, Misty released her hug, allowing Snails to be free again.

"Should I try to bring the portal back?"

"Er... I don't know, Misty." Starflower said softly.

"Ja! Vhy not let her try?" asked Professor Krashkop. "Fraulein, if you did it vone, you can do it again!"

"But, I don't remember how I got it to work the first time!"

"Exactly. Why not have a snack? Madam Bistro's got some food left she's trying to sell."

"Nein! I vant to see dee race action! PLEASE Misty, von't you try to bring dat portal back?"

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Bramble Rose was galloping along beside Ginger Mint, trying to enjoy herself, but it was getting hard... and all sorts of ponies were getting stuck around them, getting caught up in the sap and sticky puddles... her own legs were splattered with tree sap, making them sticky and matted.

"You know... this reminds me ... of when I ... got my cutie mark. I was covered... in tree sap ... then too!" she panted softly to the sweet filly.

As Ginger Mint outlined her plan, Bramble Rose nodded... Ginger was right, of course, but how could you get everyone to push or pull? So many ponies were running on, others were all clustered in little groups, here and there. How could they get everyone moving together, when everyone was all broken apart?

"You're right, of course," Bramble said firmly. "There's nothing ponies can't do if they work together! If only we had a rope, or ..."

Of course! The same vines she'd just grown! "You're a genius, Ginger!" cried Bramble, and gave a kiss to her cheek. Then she lowered her head, and touched her horn to the ground... another vine started growing, longer and longer. "It's one giant game of tug of war, except we're all on the same team! Great idea!"

She trotted up to one pegasus who seemed stuck in the sap. "Here!" Bramble cried, "Hold onto this!" She handed him the end of the vine rope, then trotted on down the trail, the vine getting longer and longer as she moved. She zig-zagged back and forth, explaining to each pony in turn. "Just keep hanging onto the vine!" She moved onwards. "It's Ginger Mint's idea! If you get stuck, we'll pull you out! If someone else gets stuck, you pull them out!" From cluster of pony to cluster of pony, so that all the ponies were pulling together, or pulled by the vine. Teamwork, that was the ticket! Teamwork by everypony!

The cure was somewhere up there, but Bramble was too excited to pass out the vine and help in Ginger Mint's plan to worry about that just yet! Maybe she'd find them soon! Passing out the vine was slow going - but not as slow as everyone caught in the sap!

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