Motion Paradox

I knew that if they ever ad camping it would be like this

This was it, the final leg of the race, what she had been (mostly) saving her energy for, the pink mare took a quick sip of her water before she began her sprint to the finish. She began with a slower run gradually picking up her pace, she didn't want to run too quickly for the first little bit; that was when the terrain was still a bit uneven and she didn't want to risk hurting herself on a mole hill or a bush, especially this close to the finish line. Soon enough she started to see a few buildings appear in the distance indicating that she was nearing the town. As soon as she reached Ponyville Motion Paradox broke into her full run, the buildings and Ponies lining the path were a colourful blur in her periferal vision as she pushed herself as hard as possible. She thought back to her experience at the ravine in hopes of replicating the effect as she galloped through the streets, her legs were beginning to sting from her efforts. Finally she neared the finish line, she could see the everypony waiting at the end and perked up forcing herself to run faster. As she came within a few meters of the finish line she leapt into the air and hoped that she would make it over the line; namely because she wasn't sure if she could manage to pick herself back up if she didn't. Fortunately, she did manage to clear her target and landed with a loud squeak as half of the air was forced out of her lungs. She did it, she had not opened her eyes to see where she had placed and she was infinitely glad that she could teleport back to where she was staying since she doubted she would be able to walk under her own powers, but she had finished the race, somehow she had finished it. And after this was over she would have a nice bath, dinner and possibly go to sleep much earlier than she normally ever would.

After everything that had happened in the previous leg of the race, Motion Paradox was glad to be away from the acrophobic horrors of the Ravine; now she understood why there were so few Ponies with a horn and wings, she certainly wouldn't be able to handle living somewhere as high up as Clouds Dale if she could fly.... The pink mare's thoughts where quickly interrupted by a slight cramp in her side, while she wasn't in poor shape she just wasn't built for the sort of mad dash she went through earlier, as she was now being reminded.Still, at least it wasn't an actual injury, which she could have easily ended up with and it wasn't too hard to fix she thought as she hobbled over the the nearest tree and leaned against it while lifting her back right leg and slowly exhaling. After doing this a few times the pain had disappeared and she was ready to continue the race, as she trotted away from the tree she heard a quiet laugh, however when she turned to look for the source of the voice she couldn't see anypony. As the other racers came into view Motion Paradox realised that she wasn't nearly as tired as she thought she would at this point, especially after the physical and emotional strain of the previous leg....Actually she felt surprisingly good. Then again, she had heard that the air in Whitetail Woods was filled with sugar and magic, which would definitely explain why she felt so energised, she could even feel it; true, there was also the chance that it was just the placebo and the woods weren't magic enough for a Pony to feel refreshed just by walking through it, but the fact remained that she was starting to catch up and in terms of explanations she decided that she proffered the one that said the forest was magic as she continued to make her way through it

[[OOC: Ponies named Applejack have the worst luck with suspension bridges....]] Motion Paradox carefully set her hoof on the suspension bridge, this was not going to be fun. At least the Pony who fell through the bridge seemed to be getting help so there wasn't the pressure of hurrying to help rescue her, but she was still dreading her own trip across the bridge. However, just a few steps into the bridge she felt a pair of hooves wrap around her waist and lift her up, she looked up too see that one of the Pegasi volunteers had picked her up and was carrying her to the over side. She wasn't sure why they weren't following the plans announced earlier, but if it meant that she wouldn't have cross what she now called "the dreaded bridge of evil" she had no intention of objecting. Still, there was something strange about this race.... [colour=#0000ff]"CAN'T YOU JUST DESIGN A TRACK WHICH DOESN'T CONTAIN FLOODING RIVERS OR *THOSE* BRIDGES!?"[/colour] [colour=#ffa07a]"And why does this race run through here in the first place? The point of 'The Running of the Leaves' is to clear the leaves off of the trees in preparation for winter[/colour][colour=#ffa07a], if the state of that 'bridge' is any indication, nopony ever comes out here, so why do we need to clear the trees?"[/colour] The pink Unicorn Mare added before turning to see the source of the objections her's had been added to and saw that it was another Unicorn Mare with a pink coat and star cutie mark [colour=#ffa07a]"Hmm, I think we've just had one of 'those moments', what were chances of this happening?" [/colour]she mused to herself as her volunteer neared the other side of the ravine. [colour=#ffa07a]"Thank You"[/colour][colour=#000000] She said to the Pegasus as they set her on the other side of the bridge continued on[/colour] to the next leg of the race; turning back for a moment as the final competitor landed, she noticed that he and a bright blue and purple Pegasus Mare seemed to be sharing a "special moment". [colour=#ffa07a]"Nee-Hee-Hee" [/colour][colour=#000000]she twittered as she observed them before continuing on to the next part of the course.[/colour]

The light pink pony sat on the ground panting to catch her breath, her hooves shook as she set her bag in front of her. Fortunately her unplanned sprint had not effected her magic and she managed to levitate a cookie and bottle out of her bag, as she ate her cookie she pressed the bottle of water against her cheeks, horn and the back of her neck and allowed the water to cool her down before she took a sip. After refreshing herself she put her supplies away and took a moment to look around, she was much closer to the bridge than she thought she was and she had made it to where the Ponies were, one of which she reconised as the green Stallion she had encountered earlier, another had a mane and tail with a similar colour to her own and reminded her of the sort of characters she had read about in fantasy stories who lived in a magic cabin or time traveled or something. [colour=#FFA07A]"Hello" [/colour]she bagan as she felt herself starting to recover, perhaps al of them could cross the bridge together, or at least in pairs so everypony would have somepony to help them in case they fell. However, just as she was about to continue her introduction she noticed something....odd. There seemed to some sort of altercation taking place, [colour=#FFA07A]"Why would anypony have a fight in such a dangerous place?" [/colour]She wondered out loud, The Unicorn then gasped sharply as she saw one of the compeditors drop part way, why wasn't the other compeditor helping?[colour=#FFA07A] "Did anypony else see that? Somepony is stuck in the bridge, we have to do something!"[/colour]

"The Rearing Ravine" Motion Paradox sighed, the previous leg of the race had been great; she had managed to keep her goal to go strait through, enjoyed the wild life and scenery, she even managed to help another racer (not to mention avoid encountering the infamous Griffin she had heard of). But the ravine was the part of the race she had been dreading the most, she always had a fear of heights, she came from a long line of Ponies who were afraid of heights and even knowing that there were many volunteer Ponies who could save her, the prospect of running through a route that was this long, this high, and could fall apart under her hooves at any moment made made every cell in her body tense up in unison. Still if she had any hope of winning she had to force herself past this somehow, the pink mare took a deep breath and held it for a moment as she took her first step into the 5th leg of the race. And sighed with relief as the ground held under her. Feeling a little more confident she took another step. And another. And another. Perhaps this section of the race was safer than she thought, actually now that she thought about it, all she had to do was avoid going too close to the edges and she should be fine. Motion Paradox began to pick up her pace and managed to near her previous pace-Until she felt her hoof sink. She wasn't sure how it happened, perhaps she misjudged a turn, either way she now had one hoof sticking through a hole in the ground and felt as if she were about to be sick. Taking a deep breath she carefully wriggled her hoof to free it and kept her weight on the three legs that were on solid ground only allowing herself to sigh with relief once all four hooves were planted firmly on the ground. "I'll have to be more careful" the Unicorn thought to herself. This sentiment was short lived, however, as she looked down and saw the hole left by her hoof, she stared at it for a moment until something....snapped in her brain. Suddenly, some ancient instinct from long-ago-when-her-Unicorn-ancestors-still-lived-in-enchanted-meadows-and-could-only-do-healing-magic-and-were-often-captured-by-marginally-more-evolved-creatures-who-showed-them-off-as-a-novelty-all-because-they-just-couldn't-look-away-from-the-shiny-golden-bridle-being-waved-in-front-of-their-faces took over and all rational thought, including the distinct possibility of her running strait off a cliff and dragging a rescue Pegasus down with her, went out the proverbial window as her entire brain devoted itself to the task of getting her away from that hole. In retrospect it really was too bad that nopony was there to see the impressive display she put on as she ran, speed had never been her area of expertise and she had often joked to her friends and family about it; if only they could see her now as she galloped madly through the course at speeds that she never would have thought herself capable of, then again with the winneying shriek at accompanied her perhaps it was just as well that she was alone. Realistically, there were a thousand things that could have gone wrong, she could have easily fallen off a cliff, tripped and injured herself, run through a toxic plant or who knows what else but amazingly she managed to consistently place her hoof on a safe spot before bounding off to another; perhaps she really was part white tail deer after all. However eventually the rush of adrenilein wore off and she found her self slowing down, around the same time she spotted several other Ponies crowded together, obviously standing somewhere safe. deciding that it would be better to rely on strength and safety in numbers for this part she directed herself towards the other competitors and somehow managed to make it to the group before she fell on her haunches panting.

How has this not had any replies yet? Either way I tend to think of all of the mane 6 and most of the background ponies as being Caucasian (of European decent, for those who don't know) but not really what their country of origin would be; and if you think about it, would make sense when you see the Hearth's Warming play the three tribes were all based on European cultures. Then there are a few Ponies that we've seen that have features that are more Asian (such as a few of Photo Finish's assistants) who would in fact be Asian. Zebras are African since even in our world Zebras are Africa's equivalent to Horses. Then Buffalo are Aboriginal (I also imagine Deer to be Aboriginal because not all Native people are bulky, perhaps Moose and Reindeer as well) But I know that the ancient Pegasi were supposed to be Greek, which makes sense because, they really did originate in Greece, then the ancient Unicorns I believe were supposed to be English, and I think the ancient Earth Ponies were Spaniards but I'm not really sure.

"Don't worry, I'll be careful! I hope your ankle gets better soon!" Motion Paradox called to Greenshot Apple as she left, and carried on her way. After a few minutes she paused a moment to look back and saw a few Ponies had stopped to assist the injured Unicorn which made her smile, she was glad that he seemed to be getting the help he needed now and would be able to finish the race. As she reached what seemed to be the half way point she took a quick sip of her water and a mouthful of grass, she usually didn't enjoy grass very much and some types she couldn't stand at all, but the type that grew here was an exception; it had a nice texture and a wonderful sweetness that she enjoyed, it was definitely better than the over powering taste that she usually associated with raw grass. Besides, it would be best if she could save the supplies she brought whenever possible, she still had half of the course to run through and didn't want to risk running out of cookies or water too far from the finish line. The Unicorn Mare sighed happily as she continued to trot through the glade, by now she was completely dry and warm sun felt fantastic against her coat. She was still determined not to take a break during this leg of the race, but she could still enjoy the scenery without slowing down. She saw several birds and rabbits playing happily near the trees as if they were having their own race, anypony who loved nature or animals would definitely be in their element here! However there was one creature that she hoped she could catch a glimpse of while running here; most of her Mother's family came from this part of Equestria and according to the family lore there was a bit of Deer in her ancestry, if she was very lucky maybe she would be able to see one for herself. Perhaps a distant cousin was watching her right now! The thought put a little bit of bounce in her step causing her to pick up her pace slightly, this part of the race had been the best one so far and she had a good feeling about the rest of it.

Motion Paradox shook her hooves dry as she reached the open spaces of Galloping Glade, the sun was already beginning to dry the rest of her but the slimy feeling of river clay on her hooves was one she desperately wanted to be rid of. Though she still had a fair amount of ground to cover she had fared better in the previous leg than many of the other competitors and was determined to seize her chance to make a bit more progress while the others took a moment to catch their breath. As she continued to make her way through the glade she saw several other competitors lying in the grass taking a moment to rest their sore muscles or walking at a much slower pace than before, as tempting as the grass and prospect of sight seeing were she decided to press on, just like in that story; if she was the tortoise to their hare then this would be her time to shine. As she carried on she noticed a green Stallion sitting off to the side as she neared him she saw that he seemed to be testing his hoof, wincing every time he put weight on it. The pink Unicorn paused for a moment, passing by Ponies who were taking a moment to relax didn't bother her but this Pony didn't seem to want to rest, just leaving him would be poor sports-mareship but she knew next to nothing about physical medicine and trying to help by herself could just make the injury worse. Still, getting somepony that can fix a problem would count as helping just as much as if she solved it herself.... When she reached the injured Stallion Motion Paradox pulled a length of bandage out of the small water-proof saddle bag she had for her water and a few other supplies, levitated the biggest stick she could find, finally she tied the bandage to the stick and planted it in the ground. "Here" she said as she sent sparks from her horn "I just signaled for one of the volunteers to come help you, but you need something to make you easier to find, since your coat blends in with the grass" and with that she continued to press on through the glade, and hopefully closer to victory

I made it! I was worried I wouldn't be able to make the 3d stage and didn't want to miss it too (especially since I missed the second stage because I was sick)

Motion Paradox began the third leg of the race, despite the warning announcement she decided to take the bridge, she hadn't done very well with the previous leg of the race and this was her chance to make up some of the ground she had missed, she was getting close to it and could see it in the distance unfortunately.... "Closed? Why would the bridge have to be closed now!?" Motion Paradox complained. Stupid rain storm! Why couldn't the bridge have stayed open just a bit longer? Still the volunteers wouldn't left her set hoof on the bridge, as much as she hated to do so she would have to follow the river until she found the rope swing and take the long way around and hope that some of the other runners would fall behind her unless by some miracle she could find a way over the river. That was she noticed it, the solution to her problem; true the bridge was closed and the rope swing was who-knows-where, but that didn't matter, not when she could make another way. She quickly picked up the spare rope that she found, how lucky that there was a spare rope lying around, granted it was probably there for the same reason that was keeping her from just crossing the bridge but still, at least she had her alternate way across. She threw the other end of the rope over the sturdiest branch she could find , levitated both ends to herself, grabbed them and took a few steps back. This was it, hopefully it would work, at least there hadn't been any warning or rules against finding another way across, if all else failed at least the volunteers would be there to help her. And with that she pushed off the ground and clenched the rope as tightly as she could and stretched her back legs in hopes of improve her chances of making it, finally the rope went as far as it was going to and she let herself drop and hoped her calculations had been right. And to her delight she felt the ground beneath her hooves, she squealed and pranced happily for a moment before dashing off to the forth leg of the race.

Motion Paradox walked up to the starting line, she had seen last year's running of the leaves and this year she had decided to give it a try; while not the most athletic Pony she was cautiously optimistic about her chances, after all last year's winner managed to beat Ponies in much better shape than herself. This was part of the reason why she decided to try entering this year if Lyra managed that maybe she put the muscle tone she had gained from her daily dance practices and win too. Still she had taken a bit longer than she hand planned to get started and she'd have to hurry if she wanted to be ready in time, she wiggled her way into her spot behind the starting line and soon the starting whistle went off. Motion Paradox began her run through Ponyville with a brisk walking pace; not too slow to keep up with most of the other compeditors but still slow enough that she wouldn't use up all of her stamina in the first leg of the race, this was going to an interesting and hopefully fun experience.

Is there still time for me to slip my post for the first section in? EDIT: Hmm, it let me post so I guess it was still open after all, thank goodness

Hmm, I think it was just the passage of time that caused events to be obscured, true Princess Celestia could have done more in terms of mentioning these things but then I can see why she would choose not mention some of these things until they became relevant can you imagine the reaction if this happened? Princess Celestia: Thank you everypony for attending the 999th annual Summer Sun Celebration, please join us again next year when it's going to be held in scenic Ponyville, attractions include fun family favourites like: horse shoes, the pastry eating contest and free face painting as well as new attractions like the return of Nightmare moon. Press Pony: What? I thought Nightmare moon was just a story parents told their children on nightmare night and an excuse to get a share of their children's candy Princess Celestia: You do realise that tradition was originally supposed to honor my sister and her love of candy, right? But yes that Nightmare moon, and no she isn't coming for the pastry eating contest, she plans to bring about eternal night as she tried to a millenium before, but she really isn't that bad a pony, she was just frustrated that Ponies would sleep through the night after she put all that work into it and she doesn't have the best coping skills ever. Press Pony: Well that's nice to know but we can't really live without the sunlight, it'll kill all the plant-life and then we won't have anything to eat but maricchino cherries which don't have anything natural in them anyway Princess Celestia: I know, that's why I have a plan, one that's going to do a much better job dealing with the problem than the last one! My student Twilight Sparkle is going to go to a middle of nowhere town and make some friends! [awkward smile] Press Pony: But she barely interacts with anypony who isn't a teacher. Princess Celestia: Yes, but she'll connect with these Ponies, it's her destiny! And they come from all kinds of different backgrounds; we have another Unicorn and she makes dresses, then there are the two Earth Ponies one owns an orchard and the other used to farm rocks and acts like she's from another planet, and then there are the two Pegasi one is in charge of the towns weather and has a huge procrastination problem while the other has crippling social anxiety. Together they're going to retrieve magical artifacts, hopefully they're where I think they are, it's been a while since the last time I used them so I don't really remember, if they are they're in a crumbling castle in the middle of a forest full of monsters. Press Pony: Gee, it sounds like there's a good chance of them getting killed Princess Celestia: Not really, the one with social anxiety is good with animals Press Pony: That's....reassuring. Is there anything else we should know? Princess Celestia: Well, that weird looking statue in the Canterlot sculpture garden is really the god of chaos turned to stone, oh by the way, after the elements of harmony are used there's a good chance that the spell will weaken so no arguing in the sculpture garden. There's also a Queendom of Changelings that's dangerously close to our boarder, and they can disguise themselves as anypony and feed off another Pony's love for them until they're a mindless puppet, so be careful of those. Oh and my personal favourite; the Crystal Empire is going to return soon, I'm not sure when exactly since I can't remember the exact year we had to seal it away, but you're all going to love it! Of course there's a distinct chance that Sombra, self proclaimed King of the Crystal Ponies will also return and if he comes to power again he could cast his darkness across the land and possibly enslave all of Equinity, really I'm not sure what he does. But I'm sure my niece can keep him at bay long enough for my student and her friends to get rid of him, after all she is a decendant of the Crystal Empire's royal family and Twilight and her future friends will have saved the world a couple of times by then so what's one more? Is that enough or do you want me to keep going? Press Pony: Right....do you have any closing statements? Princess Celestia: Some serious emergencies are coming down the pike my little ponies, be ready for them ♪

Actually BonBon is playing the trumpet in that picture But I always thought of Pinkie Pie as being more the accordian type Then Rainbow Dash I could see playing either the drums or the saxophone, something loud that's used in more contemporary music I also think that the oboe is a bit deep pitched for Rarity, I see her as either playing the violin or the harpsichord (possibly because the latter often plays when she appears) Applejack we already know plays the fiddle (no really, look at the photos from the wedding episode) and it does suit her For Fluttershy definitely the pan-flute; it has a high and soft sound that suits her and a natural feel that most instruments don't Then Twilight I think would play the piano, I'm not really sure why but it just seems right Oh, Also a fiddle, it turns out is a violin, the difference in in how you play it; fiddle music is more folk music and violin music is more classical music

In that case, I would like to sign up as Motion Paradox

It may just be that they were imitating Sombra's spell, or at least Celestia's did and Twilight reversed engineered it from Celestia's demonstration. But I think the Queen Luminosity was just the first Queen of the Crystal Ponies and not connected to Sombra at all, however she is an ancestor of Princess Cadance, as is either the Prince or Princess from the Hearts and Hooves day story. In fact if I had to point to any historic Pony that's been mentioned thus far as one who was in power before Sombra took over it would be the Hearts and Hooves day couple, think about it what better time to stage an uprising than when the two Ponies who could stop you are too busy looking into each other's eyes to notice you? Then part of this caused them to be separated for the hour needed to undo the effect of the love poison but by that point Sombra was too powerful for them to stop him alone so they went to Celestia and Luna who banished Sombra, but this also caused the Crystal Empire to disappear with him. Hearts and Hooves day was first celebrated in place of the Crystal Fair to keep the spirits of love and unity going in hte Crystal Empire's absence Also Celestia's memory of event order becomes a bit fuzzy after an event happened a certain number of centuries ago, this happened over 1000 years ago, since Luna is clearly in the flashback it happened no less than 1002 years ago, anything after that is during the time she was on the moon....or we've already seen

Sleepless in Ponyville "Scootaloo begins to have nightmares after hearing the frightful campfire stories" Hmm, Scootaloo finally gets her own episode and perhaps we'll even see where she lives

Appearently it was in the basement....

Is there still time to sign up?

Does anyone have a link where I could watch it? For some reason this upload of it is now marked as private

I remember seeing something like this on a website once; basically people post things that they want that they've been having trouble finding in their local stores and things that they have a lot of in their area for people who want to trade instead of using paypal So to show everyone what I mean: Seeking: Trading Cards Collectors Tin (really, I haven't been able to find it here and all the people on ebay either won't ship to Canada or treat it as if it's still an item that's only been seen at New York Comic Con and want $40 or more for it) The Favourites Collection (It's one of the few brushables that I'm missing and again, I haven't been able to find it in stores here) Can Easily Buy: Glow in the dark Zecora Pinkie Pie Christmas Ornament

Ooh! Hopefully the tin will come out here or at least force the ebay price down, Canada hasn't gotten any Pony cards yet and I've had to buy all of my cards through ebay ....I don't suppose anyone would be willing to help me get one? (There are a lot of stores in my area with the Zecora toy and the Pinkie Pie ornament at about the same price as the tin)

Actually, one thing everyone is forgetting is that we've seen a few Ponies with Archery cutie marks.... On that note I have another possible explanation for how they could hold items: magnets, if they wear horse shoes they could be made of a magnetic material, or they could have some sort of glove that attaches to the hoof and has a magnet that lets you hold items which would also have magnets on them As for martial arts like Rarity's flying kick in Return of Harmony or the fighting stance from Dragon Quest, it seems to mostly be done on the hind legs so in all likelihood an important part of it is to keep moving so you don't fall over

Well since they had both used the elements to seal Discord my guess is it was partially due to the fact that 3 were connected to Luna so Celestia could not use them properly by herself and partially that to the elements need more than one Pony to work (think about it, it would make sense that one of the things needed to use the elements properly is Harmony between multiple Ponies) and perhaps the more Ponies that use the elements the better they work; in that case six Ponies using the elements together with the same intent would produce much better reasults than one Pony trying to use all six elements at once (or perhaps not even all six, the episode does imply that you need Harmony for the Element of Magic to appear) when only half are connected to her, against a Pony who is not only connected to the other half of the elements, but that the Pony using the elements knows very well and thus she would probably be holding back a bit. Not to mention there is the possibility that the elements have some sort of understanding of the intent of the Pony/Ponies using them, after all each reconised the Pony that represents the same trait they do and even took on the same shape as the Pony's cutiemark, and in Return of Harmony they did not work when the Ponies were altered and weren't in Harmony. If that's the case then it would make sense that the elements would send Luna to the moon even if Celestia's intent was to change her back because Celestia was too close to the situation so the best solution would be to allow the moon to be moved, since that needed to happen for life to continue, and allow the conflict to be resolved when somepony who was more removed could solve it and use the elements to their full potential