The Photo Finish - Placements

[Ginger Mint]

hi hi

Ponies were milling about the stands while the racers unwound from what had apparently been a particularly eventful running of the leaves. Ginger Mint mulled over the final moments of the race in her head as her mind and body began to calm down. She had never raced like that before. There was definitely something special about it, and she thought that maybe it had been a glimpse of what athletes must feel when they compete. She wasn't quite sure how she felt about it herself, and paced a little bit while she tried sorting out all the conflicting feelings she had about the day.

She had been so focused that there were some things she'd overlooked and they nagged at the back of her mind, but the carefree voice of somepony talking nearby jogged a fragment out of her memory.

"It's been quite a race, hasn't it? ...Don't think there'll be a single leaf hangin' on the trees by the time we're all done!"

She hadn't been paying attention at the time, but now that she thought about it, she was certain he'd been talking to her. And she ignored him!

ohmygosh! I must have made a terrible first impression... I hope I can still make up for it.

She looked around, but she didn't see anypony she knew, let alone the owner of the familiar voice, and she couldn't help but feel just a little bit out of place. So many ponies around these parts seemed to know each other by name, picking up old conversations and carrying on as if today was just another walk in the park. She thought about rearing up to get a better look, but the throbbing sensation in her legs made her think twice. There were a particularly large group of ponies crowded around something or someone over by the finish line and Ginger Mint figured it would be a good place to start looking.

Patiently, she worked her way through the crowd, not wanting to push or prod anypony out of the way. They all turned out to be standing around the scoreboard and some of the ponies in the center were wearing medals around their necks.

Huh, I guess I must not have won...

She didn't know what to think about that either, just another errant emotion to add to the pile. With a sigh, she turned around and started making her way back out of the crowd.

Maybe its better that I don't know what I scored. I'd probably just end up feeling jealous.

She felt like she should congratulate the winners, but jostling through the crowd for the opportunity didn't seem like a good idea either, and she decided that it could wait until she had a chance to track down some of the ponies she'd met during the race. She didn't get very far in her search, however, as some of the ponies she'd met ended up finding her first. All those other little arguing feelings were pushed aside and she smiled to think about it. How a lasting impression was made by what had been only the briefest of moments in the grand scheme of things. She didn't even have to think to recall the name of the dark red stallion that was calling out her name.

"That was some finish, wasn't it? Didn't think everypony would bunch up again for the final dash! Did you see who won?"

"Douglas! I was wondering if I'd get the chance to run into you again." Ginger Mint looked at the ground and scratched at it sheepishly, thinking about the answer to his questions. "Well, I... that is... I wasn't really paying much attention to what was going on around me. I think I might have seen the winner standing over by the scoreboard a minute ago.

She felt a little twinge of guilt that she hadn't spent the effort to find out for sure, but thankfully Douglas didn't give her a chance to think too hard about it.

"I'm sorry our conservation earlier got disrupted. Now that the race is over maybe we could have a little more time to talk."

Ginger Mint had to chuckle at the thought, since she'd been meaning to say something very similar. She didn't know whether or not she placed ahead of Douglas in the race, but he had managed to get one hoof ahead of her in the conversation.

"Oh, please don't worry about it, it could have happened to anypony! And, judging by how many ponies were involved in that pileup by the bridge, it did. And I'm sure there will be plenty of time to talk now that the race is over. I don't think I could reach Fillydelphia before nightfall and I'm certainly not about to race all the way back there too." Ginger Mint smiled, the idea of staying another day in Ponyville was looking better and better. "I was thinking of baking some cookies for a few of the other racers actually, perhaps you could... oh! Would you look at that."

Ginger Mint spotted Bramble Rose walking up out of the corner of her eye, just as she started talking about the cookies she'd promised him. She didn't think he'd mind if she shared some of them with others, after all, one batch of cookies would make quite a few. She had always thought that recipes were made with so many servings in mind for a good reason.

"Ah ... hello! ...Great job on the race! Wish I could have kept up with you!"

"Bramble! I'm glad you found me."

Ginger Mint motioned with her hoof for him to join the conversation when she noticed him pause. She couldn't tell if he'd seen her talking to Douglas or not, it was difficult with the crowd of ponies standing around everywhere, but she didn't want him to feel left out.

"So, um ... I don't know if you're looking for tea now, or later... we're both kinda tired just now, I'm sure... when and where did you want to do that?"

"I might need to soak for a while until I can get all this sap off of me first, I'm not sure if any of the local proprietors would appreciate me sticking to their furniture."

Ginger Mint giggled a little, imagining herself walking through a tea shop covered in a ball of chairs and tables.

"As a matter of fact, I was just talking to Douglas Trotter here about those cookies. I've only ever passed through Ponyville before, and I don't know if there are any good shops around though. I've been to Sugar-cube corner, but I don't know if they sell tea."

[knight]

Holly was so caught up in the aftershock of the contest, that she forgot about that silly ol' griffon. She looked around, and spotted the 2nd place winner through the crowd of ponies. Seeing that Stormsong had yet to arrive, she trotted through the ponies over to the griffon and the pegasus pony that had come in second.

She puffed herself up as she approached, and as she got nearer and nearer, she caught just the end of their conversation.

. "I'll show you someday that today you and all these other loser ponies were just lucky. Gilda the griffin is really the fastest one here! You can count on that!"

"Then ya won't be afraid to prove that next year, fair and square, eh, beakster?" Holly sniped to the griffon. She laughed though, she couldn't keep up this fake mean attitude, and she smiled a wide, friendly smile at the griffon, "I'd love to race with you some time--maybe before a whole 'nother season goes by. Yur darn fast--you probably would've won if you hadn't stopped to cheat!"

She chuckled again, and extended her hoof in friendship to the bird hybrid, "Mah name's Holly Dash--sorry about crashin' into ya in the race, it really was an accident. Truce?"

[RoyalDice]

Survey coughed a bit, as he blushed slightly. Mobius wasn't really helping him with the whole 'try not to look to akward thing'. He chuckled nervously and nodded. ''I w-would l-like s-some training.. i-if t-that s-still is o-okay..'' he said, still feeling a bit weak. He gave a small wave and looked back at the mare, still blushing. ''U-uhm.. w-well, i-i'm okay w-with being f-friends..'' he said, scratching his head. ''U-uhm.. i'm S-Survey.. b-but y-you can c-call me w-whatever y-you like.. he said with a gulp. ''A a-after r-race p-party? U-uhm.. s-sure..'' he said, with a more gentle smile. ''W-will.. u-uhm.. you b-be coming t-too?'' he said, now smiling a bit more nervous at the mare.

[Boss_Hoss1]

Shanna nodded to Survey and continued smiling comfortingly.

"Then we are friends, Survey. I'm glad to have met so many nice mares and stallions today. And of course I'll be at the party."

She suddenly noticed the Apple family handing out free drinks and baked goods.

"I dont know about you, but I'm thirsty! Lets get something to drink."

With that, she turned that direction and walked toward the line, whuch semed to be making room for a blue pig running around in terror.

"What the hay?"