Mobius Blaze

He looked back at the finish line again as he heard Mobius calling out for him. ''H-h-hey..!'' he yelled weakly.

He slowly crossed the line, callopsing on the ground. He let out a groan and slowly levitated the cube back infront of his face, as he starts solving it. ''A-atleast i f-finished, r-right M-Mobius?''

Chuckles at the question, nodding as he came to a halt next to Survey. "That's right. Ya stuck through it 'til the end. 'N ya did pretty well, considerin' it was yer first time racin'," He nodded before giving the timid unicorn what he considered a gentle pat on the back, not considering that it might be a bit rough to the slightly smaller built stallion. "Hope ya race again next year. Heck, if ya'd like, I could train with ya for the next one." He then noticed his friend's attention being stolen away by a mare, grinning wryly before winking at him. "I'll leave ya t' yer ah..." Glances at the mare in question before chuckling, "...post-race celebrations, though." With that, he got up on all four hooves and trotted off, still chuckling softly as he set about looking for his saddlebags.

Mobius panted as he crossed the line, neck and neck with the one and only Big Mac, the Pegasus stretching his head and neck forward as far as he could at the last possible second. The desperate motion barely managed to let him match the large Earth pony as they crossed the line in a tie, his speed immediately dying down as he slowed from a gallop to a canter to a trot and then a walk, moving gradually off to the side as best he could to get out of the way of anypony else who was still going relatively fast. As he slowed, he would nod to Big Mac with a grin. "Good race, Macintosh! I barely managed t' keep next t' ya there at the end," he laughed cheerfully before sitting down, letting out a tired 'woo' as he tried to catch his breath.

"Mobius, hay! That was quite the rush at the end, huh? I didn't see the pack come up on us until we were swarmed by them!" Douglas said, his breathing still labored from the sprint to the finish. "I'm shocked we did as well as we did! So you coming back next year?"

His ears perked up as he heard the familiar voice, looking up to see the red Earth pony he'd met back at the fork during the sixth section. "Oh, hey, Douglas!" he greeted warmly, offering a wide grin, chuckling at the mention of the abrupt swarm of ponies that closed in on them. "I know what ya mean... I barely managed t' squeeze out of a group'a ponies that huddled in around me. Real hard t' pass ponies when yer boxed in," he laughed softly, giving a shrug, "But hey, it happens in races, right?" He offered a nod in response to the question, his grin only widening. "Of course I'm comin' back! I gotta beat ya at next years race, after all." As he made the friendly challenge, he offered a playful wink, hoping to let Douglas know he was only speaking in good fun. "That is, if yer runnin' next year?"

Douglas couldn't help but feel himself let out a quick stretch as he listened to Mobius' answer. "I believe I'll be running again, as long as work doesn't interfere than I'll be here!" Just then he caught something in the side of his eye, a streak of green had passed gently by. "Hay, It was great fun running with you and Survey, hopefully we'll meet again sometime." Douglas said, lifting a hoof to Mobius. "Let's continue this later, alright? I'll see ya around!"

Another light laugh escaped him as Douglas' attention was caught by what a quick glance told him was a mare, a wry grin forming on the pale gold stallion's face. "Go get 'er, Douglas. I'll catch ya later," he called to the Earth pony as he trotted off, snickering quietly to himself before looking around for anypony else he knew. He soon took notice of Applejack who wasn't too far away, chuckling as he recalled how she had passed him back on the home stretch. "I'll hafta pay her back once I find my bag," he told himself as he resumed his search, a familiar pale green unicorn coming into view not too far away. Upon seeing him, he waved a hoof, raising himself up slightly. "Hey! Survey!" He called out before getting up, slowly trotting over towards the pale green unicorn with a warm smile.

As he raced down the final stretch with everypony else, he noticed two things. First and foremost, this stretch was a lot longer than he had anticipated, and his legs were already beginning to burn from pushing himself as hard as he could. Second, it seemed everypony was rapidly closing in and grouping together into one mass, a brief glance backwards being met with an enormous cloud of dust kicked up by the dozens of hooves that now thundered towards the finish. As he started to get packed into the forming herd, he couldn't help but snicker a little. "Well, this'll make it a lil more difficult t' push ahead," he playfully remarked before looking to Miss Applejack as she spoke to him, noticing that she had come up to alongside of him - albeit a few ponies away - and that they were now competing for a spot. "Yer a good pony, Miss Applejack!" he called back to her, his ears perking up as he listened to her call for somepony named Granny Smith.

His attention turned forward once more, his ears perked up as he heard an approaching voice chanting "Gonna make it, gonna make it!" somewhere nearby, the pale gold Pegasus looking around before noticing the unicorn mare he'd trotted with earlier on in the race, deliberately slowing his pace as she caught up. "Heya, Willow! Ya alright?" he grinned, quirking a brow as he gave the messy looking filly a once-over. Sure, his front hooves were caked with that sticky sap from the last stretch and had dirt, twigs, and leaves stuck to them, but she looked as though she'd had more trouble with the stuff than he had. When he waited for a response, though, he noticed she continued moving forward in a rush towards the finish line, prompting a chuckle and a smirk from the Pegasus. "Guess that's a yes - that's the spirit!" Once again, he began pushing his legs as hard as he could, bringing himself back up to his fastest speed... at least, fastest on the ground.

As the finish line drew closer and closer, his ears perked up, overhearing Miss Applejack talking about preparing fresh applejuice for the racers. He couldn't help but lick his lips at the thought, his throat burning and his mouth slowly going dry from the exertion - some of that juice sounded more divine than the Princesses themselves at the moment, at least to him. The thought actually drove him to push a little faster, panting as he raced towards the finish. "Must... get... more... apple... juice," he managed between each breathe as he began obliviously passing a few of the other ponies, his eyes locked on the line up ahead.

A wide grin was spread across Mobius' face as he thundered down the home stretch, his head lowered with his ears flattened back against his head in an effort to make him as streamlined as possible. The pale gold Pegasus was galloping full force, eager to make up for all of the time he'd happily sacrificed earlier in the race, as well as to drive himself to his absolute limit. As he charged down the track, he shifted his gaze around, trying to see who all was near him. There was, of course, Douglas some ways up ahead of him who he had began sprinting down the home stretch with, but it seemed that Survey had fallen behind them in their hasty charge.

He did notice, however, a familiar pony rapidly gaining upon him; the kind orange Earth pony, Applejack. The Pegasus couldn't help but grin to himself since the last time he'd seen her in the race was back at Sweet Apple Acres, and she had ran off while he finished his juice. The stallion had expected an athletic pony like her to be way ahead of him, if not already across the finish line. Thinking back, he figured he probably only managed to squeeze ahead of her thanks to taking the right path back at the last section. "Hey again, Miss Applejack!" he called out, his friendly - even playful - grin still on his face, "Thanks again for the juice back at Sweet Apple Acres! Kept me refreshed all on its own."

Taking another quick look around, he saw some specs far ahead of the rest of the pack, his grin dying down into a smirk. It seemed that the odds of him, Douglas and Survey being among the first were pretty low. He couldn't say he minded, though; this race had ended up being more about enjoying the scenery, making friends and simply having fun facing the various shenanigans that had occurred over the course of the race. If he could go back and start it all over again, knowing everything that would happen and how he could win, he would make the same choices.

Besides, not winning the race this year meant he had a reason to return next fall to have a re-match with the wonderful ponies he'd met, and a fresh race against no doubt many new faces.

Douglas continued to pull with Survey to free Mobius, letting a scowling groan out. "Hay! Shush up! I can leaf you here!" He mumbled through Mobius' tail when the Pegasus suddenly flapped his wings to help with the sap. The combined efforts of all three finally causing the Pegasus to snap free from the sap and tumbled clear over Douglas. Letting out a grunt as he felt the Pegasus' weight roll over him, Douglas spat out the tail and felt himself pushed to the ground. "...Well, at least that's over with." He said, gently spitting a little dirt from his mouth when he was smushed. He just laid there for a for seconds until Mobius came over and gave him a slight nudge with his rear hoof. "Yeah, I'm alright..." Douglas said, pulling himself to his hooves. "You good Survey?"

After giving a little shake, Douglas looked where Mobius had nodded. "What do ya know? Is' all clear from here." Douglas said in agreement. As nice as the sap in White Tail Woods smelled it was about time for them to get a move on and finish this race! "So then, shall we get a move on?" Douglas asked, more or less already knowing the answer. Slowly he made his way around the puddle Mobius had gotten stuck in, no need for that to happen again! Once past he looked back to make sure Mobius and Survey were following before galloping for the end of White Tail Wood and the homestretch of the Running of the Leaves! "Alright, I'm sure we'll see the grandstands soon enough! I hope we're the first ones there!" Douglas roared, feeling a spike of energy come into him now that they were through the sticky obstacle!

Survey was grunting and panting heavily, as he finally got Mobius out. He let out a sigh of relief and grinned akwardly at Douglas. ''A-a-all g-good...'' he said, with a small snort. He looked at his own hooves and sighed. They were covered with leaves, sticks, and other dirt. He snerked a bit as he saw the icky substance on his hooves aswell. He shrugged a bit, and sat on his flank.. right into another puddle. ''AAAGH!'' he yelled as he shot back up, his flank now covered in the icky substance. He grumbled a bit and looked over to Mobius again. He grinned akwardly and quickly changed glance back to Douglas, as he was galloping away. He quickly followed, a bit blushing and also slowing down a bit, due to the dirt on his hooves. ''W-who, u-us? T-the f-first o-ones t-there? I d-doubt i-it.. b-but s-still..'' he said, a bit silent as he felt he was killing the mood.

After making sure the other two were alright, Mobius began to follow the red Earth pony. When Survey sat into another puddle after he and Douglas had recovered, he would pause mid trot while passing him, hooking a hoof under the Unicorn's front leg and helping tug him out of the substance before once again starting forward into a trot, then a canter and finally a gallop. A grin formed on his face at Douglas' confident roar, letting out a loud "WOOOOO!" in agreement before looking back at Survey as he timidly asked if Douglas meant them, offering the same confident grin, shouting loud enough for him to hear, "Of course us, Survey! 'N with the time we saved takin' the right road, we have a pretty good shot at bein' among the first, I'm sure of it!"

Once he finished trying to encourage his pale green companion, he turned his golden orange gaze forward, bolting forward a little faster into a gallop. "Not too much further now! Time t' go all out!" he shouted, now thankful that he'd taken his time throughout the race and saved his energy; he had plenty left for the final stretch, and intended to push himself to the absolute limit with it. Regardless of whether he got first place or last, though, the joy of running with two good friends and having another one or two he'd made during the race no doubt somewhere nearby, as well as the rush of the competition flowing through his veins, had made this a wonderful day, just like he had hoped back at the starting line.

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."

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...."

Mobius continued down the path from Whitetail Woods and into the next section of the race, keeping himself at least within earshot and view of both Douglas and Survey as he ran. If he was right about this next stretch, there'd be plenty of hazards to hold any of the three ponies back, and so the pale gold Pegasus figured it would be best to stay near them both to receive help if he accidentally got stuck in some of the sap, or to help one of his comrades if they found themselves in the same predicament. As he had predicted, he noticed a number of dark patches along the road ahead where sap had been spilled or, as he had to admit in some obvious cases, overflowed. "Alright. Eyes peeled, you guys. No more takin' in the scenery," he shouted to both Douglas and Survey, as well as any other ponies who happened to be nearby, "Looks like we got ourselves an obstacle course for this stretch!"

As if on cue, the very second he finished speaking a large patch of sap came across his path, forcing the Pegasus to make a long leap across the dark brown liquid, his years of touching down on the ground while still moving forward when landing from a flight coming into play as he skillfully continued on at his previous pace, beginning to increase it from a relaxed canter into a full fledged gallop. "Y'see? No problem at all! Jus' gotta concentrate 'n react!" he shouted in a re-assuring, confident tone, leaning to his right to turn sharply around another puddle of sap before centering himself on the track once more, his eyes darting around to see if anymore puddles were ahead of him before he chanced a brief glance in Survey's direction, wanting to make sure his friend and first time racer hadn't gotten held up by the sticky brown substance.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

After meeting yet another pony in the race, one Willow Wisp most recently in addition to two members of the locally famous Apple Family, Mobius had decided to pick up the pace. Socializing and taking it easy had seemingly landed him further back in the pack that he had intended, and as he recalled from what he saw of the race map, the mountain pass marked the start of the last half of the race. He still only sped up to a slow pace canter, but it was enough to catch up the ground he'd lost in all of the stops he'd made. The pale gold Pegasus had no idea that even more stops awaited him up ahead.

The first soon came into view in the form of two signs - one with an arrow and the other with a scuffed up message - that stood in front of some bushes at a fork in the road. Nearby the bushes sat a familiar face, the Pegasus chuckling as he slowed himself down to a trot while approaching. "Hey again, Survey. Everything alright?" he asked with a friendly smile as he came closer, giving a greeting nod to the pale green Unicorn before turning his attention to the two signs. Normally he would have followed the arrow like anypony, but the other sign seemed to have a relevant message. "Mojo, Carro. Went lef. Real pat. Love lyr," he read aloud, sounding it out at first before taking a closer look, his eyes squinting as he noticed a large amount of scuffed writing at the end of the center two lines, "Hmn... well that's odd... there had t' be somethin' else written here." As he spoke aloud to no one in particular, he put a hoof against the scuffed writing, as though that might somehow make things clearer. "No reason t' write all this if they wanted t' tell somepony t' go left. Hey, Survey, yer good with puzzles; think ya can help me figure out this message?"

What? Somepony was talking to her? Wisp was still a little hazy as she looked over to the Stallion that came up along side her. She wiggled her nose making her glasses weren't cock-eyed before responding.

"Oh, you saw that?" She felt a little embarrassed now. She was sure that no pony has noticed. Or at least, she had hoped no pony had.

"It's alright. I mainly just jammed my horn into the trunk. And it's not damaged." She gave a nervous laugh. "But I know when to stop if I need to. Thanks for asking all the same. I'm kind of surprised. In these types of things, it seems like most would keep on running... gaining a place higher in the ranks and all."

She looked forward again, but not taking off to the leave the concerned pony behind her. She had already decided she wasn't really gunning to win, middle of the line would make her happy. If she did win, well she'd be shocked.

"Haven't see you around before. Name's Willow Wisp.... I live in Ponyville's so called haunted house on the edge of town. What's your name?"

He raised a solitary eyebrow at her response. Mobius wouldn't pretend what it was like to be a Unicorn, but 'jammed my horn against' sounded painful in its own right. All the same, he offered a semi-relieved smile to hear her say that she would know whether or not she needed to stop. Hopefully that was the truth and this wasn't a case of somepony being too stubborn to know when they need a break. She was maintaining her balance in spite of it, though, which meant she wasn't too disoriented.

As she introduced herself, he offered a wry grin before nodding his head. "Pleasure t' meet ya, Willow Wisp. My names Mobius Blaze, 'n ya haven't seen me around before 'cause I'm jus' a visitor from Cloudsdale." He then paused for a moment, considering where she said she lived in Ponyville, his head tilting curiously. "Haunted house, y'say?" he began before offering a slightly goofy grin, "I thought ghosts were jus' an old ponytale. Is it really haunted?"

As he entered the White Tail woods at a steady trot, Mobius took in his surroundings. The beautiful mixture of red, orange and yellow around him was absolutely stunning, and made the Pegasus a bit regretful about helping knock the gorgeous leaves to the ground. Ahead of him, the ground was already thickly blanketed with them, and as he passed along with other nearby ponies, yet more fell to the ground. Glancing behind him, he noticed that many of the trees further back were already completely bare, and sighed lightly before turning his attention forward. "Kind of a shame t' bring 'em down," he murmured before looking up at the trees once more, "Ah well. They grow back." A soft smile formed at the thought of how the woods would look once the first snows came, and then further ahead to spring, when renewed life returned to the countless trees in lush green form.

Continuing down the track, he soon heard the faint echo of somepony's voice, the pale gold Pegasus squinting as he tried to make out what he heard. "Sakes...? Stakes?" he murmured before realization dawned on him. What else could it be in this crazy race? "Snakes," he muttered with a defeated sigh, shaking his head, "S'like this race was designed t' have dangers at every dang section." The Pegasus stallion shook his head of the thought, trying to regain his focus and, more importantly, his alertness. His eyes would dart from side to side, keeping an eye out for any of the scaly creatures for a good distance.

Only a few dozen yards later, he finally saw one of the legless reptiles... and quickly noticed that it was slithering away at speed, seemingly running from something. Quirking a brow, he turned his attention ahead to try and see if whatever it was that scared the snakes off was still there. All he saw, though, was a group of Pegasi, including one extremely elderly looking one. "Huh... whatever it is, it musta left," he thought aloud. Before he could shrug off the thought, he heard a loud 'THWACK' as a nearby pony ran into an oak tree, causing him to wince as he slowed to a halt, his attention shifting in that direction. There, he spotted a black Unicorn mare with a bright blue mane and tail, who quickly looked around as though hoping nopony saw her crash before getting back onto her hooves and continuing on. Feeling a bit concerned, he began to gallop after her until he was next to her, at which point he would adjust his speed to match. "Hey, you okay? That was a pretty nasty crash back there," he began, hoping he had gotten the mare's attention, "Maybe ya should slow down for a lil' while? Still plenty'a race left, after all."

Mobius trotted down the track with a pouch of Sweet Apple Acres apple juice in his mouth, glancing this way and that in search of the pale green unicorn who'd run off before he'd even gotten his drink. He'd noticed that the timid stallion ran off without it while he was drinking his own, but by the time the realization set in, Survey was already out of earshot. If this was his first race, then he'd definitely need the refreshment, so Mobius took it upon himself to try and deliver the juice to him. Of course, the Pegasus took a moment to drink his own juice before beginning his new side-task in the race, so he no doubt had a lot of ground to cover.

As he came down the leaf covered path, he noticed a growing crowd of ponies at a narrow bridge, crossing two-by-two. "Perfect!" he announced to no one in particular through his teeth, which were still firmly shut to keep hold of the apple juice. 'Survey'll probably be mixed in with the crowd waitin' t' cross,' he thought to himself as he began to lope towards the crowd. On his way, he noticed a large, non-pony figure fly over the gap and continue some distance past the bridge, prompting a scowl from him. 'I hope the ponies in that balloon they had at the startin' line saw that...' Cheating in a competition like this, a competition that was mostly for fun, was just downright low and petty, in his opinion. Sadly, he couldn't make out anything about the figure other than that it was a griffin at this distance.

As he got closer to the crowd of ponies at the mouth of the bridge, he realized he'd underestimated the difficulty of finding a single pony in the colourful group before him. 'Hmn... if I could jus' get t' the other side, I could probably wait 'n find him in one'a the pairings...' He knew he couldn't very well fly over the bridge like that griffin had; that'd be cheating, and worse, hypocritical. As he pondered his options, he heard splashes of water and turned his attention towards the source of the sounds, only to spot a number of ponies forging the river with varying degrees of success. It was apparent that the river had a very uneven bottom, with some parts unusually shallow and others surprisingly deep.

With a grin, the pale gold stallion charged down the hill past the crowd before rushing into the water, his head tilting back to let it wash across his chest and neck, keeping the apple juice pouch clear of the comfortingly cool liquid. "Ahhh... now YOU ponies have th' right idea!" he called out to the nearby ponies who were crossing the brook, not really considering whether or not they could hear him. The portion of the brook he entered was shallow at first, letting him keep his footing, but he would probe ahead with each step he took in order to search for any deeper portions of the river. When he encountered one, he extended his wings out to either side, using them to help tread the surface as he swam across the gap to the next shallow patch. It didn't take long to cross the brook, however, and he soon found himself back on shore.

Despite being dripping wet from the neck down, the pale gold Pegasus made no effort to shake himself dry. He did, however, have a momentary realization and turned to look back at his left flank. "Aw shoot, I forgot 'bout my number..." he mumbled to himself. Fortunately for him, the number was still there.... technically, at least. The paper was soaked through completely and partially torn, while the number 18 had bled and was barely distinguishable anymore. He turned his attention to his other side, only to find the number on his other flank in worse shape, half of it missing. Apparently, the current of the brook had been washing against his right side. No matter; at least one of them was still eligible, even if it did look more like modern art than a number now.

Turning his attention back to his task, he would trot to the exit of the bridge, looking at the pairs of ponies that were crossing in search of Survey. "Hey, any of ya seen a kinda skinny, skittish pale green Unicorn by chance?" he asked those within ear shot. Just as he was about to ask the next group, he heard a pony cry out "HORNETS!" which, unsurprisingly, stole his attention away from the bridge crossing ponies. He didn't even pay attention to the ponies that ran back into the river, instead looking for a cloud of buzzing pain that was apparently approaching... only to see a distant griffin swatting and roaring at the air. A wide grin formed on his face as he watched the scene unfold. 'Heh... maybe there is somethin' t' that whole 'karma' thing...'

Applejack knew she could win, even if she took a rest, and especially since Rainbow appears to have decided hoofracing isn't her thing. The orange pony thought that if she was going to take a break, she might as well try to make money while doing it. She shouted, "Get yer refreshin' apple juice right here! Mighty fresh and mighty sweet!" She pitched her lines to the ponies racing by her. She wasn't too concerned with them racing ahead. She knew she had plenty of time to caught up, and most of them were running the slow and steady pace, anyways. And the slower the pace, the more customers she was bound to attract.

Just as he was about to give up on finding anypony to talk to in order to keep his mind off of numerous apples around him - and just as he was about to give in to his temptation to take one after witnessing several ponies do the same ahead of him - he heard a voice offering apple juice. "Oh, thank you, sweet Celestia," he happily groaned as he looked up at the sunny sky, hoping that maybe the all powerful Princess had heard him. He picked up his pace from a trot to a canter, turning off of the track towards the stand that the orange Earth pony had ready. The pale gold Pegasus would skid to a halt in front of it, sitting onto his rear as he put his hooves on the counter. "Oh, yer a lifesaver, Miss... uhhh.." he began to praise her, pausing once he realized he didn't know her name. Her hat, however, triggered a sudden realization; he recalled reading about last years Running of the Leaves in Cloudsdale, and about how two of the top contestants ended up spending most of the race finding creative ways to hold one another back. One of them was the cyan Pegasus who also won the Best Young Flyer competition, Rainbow Dash. The other was an Earth Pony with a distinctive stetson hat named... "Applejack, isn't it?" He asked, offering a nervous grin, "Sorry, I'm still kinda new around here... I've only gotten to hear about ya, never had the pleasure t' actually meet ya."

He heard a loud shout coming from an orange pony, standing at some sort of table, with drinks on it. He smiled and rushed over there, panting and sweating. He looked at her and blushed a bit. Why did it always have to be a filly! He looked at her a bit nervous. ''H-h-hello, a-are t-those.. d-drinks?...'' he asked the hat-wearing mare, still blushing brightly red.

Just as he was about to properly introduce himself to Applejack, he noticed that a familiar pale green Unicorn approach the stand, a wry grin forming on his face as he turned to look at Survey. He stayed perfectly quiet as the timid stallion nervously asked Applejack a question, chuckling softly before finally speaking up. "Well hey, there, Survey. Fancy seein' you here," he began before noticing the number 47 on the Unicorn's flank. He raised a brow as he looked closely at it for a few moments before shifting his golden eyes back to the other stallion's face. "Yer runnin' in the race, too, eh? Can't say I was expectin' that," he chuckled again as he stood upright, "This yer first time runnin' somethin' like this?"

"Only 2 bits, each."

As he attempted to strike up conversation with the nervous Unicorn, he overheard Applejack speaking with one of the other ponies who'd come for her no doubt delicious drinks, catching that they were two bits a piece. The sudden realization that he wasn't carrying any bits on him struck him. A defeated sigh began to escape him before he heard her offer to let one of the other customer's write their name down on the paper, essentially to keep a tab for them to pay later. He casually moved closer to where she had set the paper down, waiting for his turn as he shifted his attention back to Survey. "Oh 'n uh, if ya forgot t' bring some bits, too, I'll let ya go ahead of me, Survey. You look like ya need a drink more than me," he offered with a smile.

As the pack thinned out following the break from the starting line, Mobius took up a position towards the side of the path they were racing along as he rapidly slowed himself from a gallop to a slower canter, keeping a quick but smooth gait to preserve his energy. The switch in pace lead to many ponies passing him, although a quick glance behind revealed that a number had dropped down to a similar gait to his if not to a trot. A few distant ponies even seemed to be walking, no doubt taking in the gorgeous view provided by the golden autumn leaves that now covered the ground all around.

His moment spent examining the other racers, as well as the scenery immediately around him, lead to the pale gold Pegasus' tripping over a tree root that was partially out of the ground, sending him stumbling. He attempted to question no one in particular about what he'd just tripped over, but instead, only managed an incoherent "Wha-wuh-ah-whoa!" before finally landing on his shoulder and side, skidding an extra foot before halting. His eyes rolled around their sockets as he lost awareness of his surroundings, missing the streak that flew down the track at inponyly speeds. A few seconds after the fact, he shook his head, blinking rapidly for a few seconds until he could see clearly once more, just in time to notice a few of the slower ponies passing him up. "Well, that was awfully dumb'a me," he chuckled to himself as he got up, shaking off some dust and a few leaves from his coat, "Gotta remember t' watch where I'm goin' first and foremost." Having finished scolding himself, the stallion then turned along with the other racers, taking a few careful steps to make sure he hadn't hurt anything before he began to take up a trot. The fall had knocked some of the wind out of him, so he wasn't particularly eager to rush back up into a canter for awhile, at least not until he had caught his breath and the stinging in his side went away.

Only a few short yards later, the trotting Pegasus rounded a tight bend, entering an open field that featured the gorgeous, and for him, hunger-inducing sight of countless apple trees. Sweet Apple Acres; what a sight. He'd only ever flown over the farm and its immense orchards during his random travels, and it was still an impressive sight from the sky. However, there was something awe-inspiring about seeing it from ground level, the trees stretching into the horizon as though the orchard was endless. Oddly enough, when flying overhead, he'd only ever seen a literal handful of ponies harvesting them, despite that any reasonable pony would assume they had a staff of dozens dedicated to the task. The famed 'Apple Family' must have been made of tougher stuff to handle harvesting such vast orchards by themselves. "Huh... wonder if any of 'em are runnin' in the race?" he murmured to himself as he chanced a quick glance around, looking for any ponies with what he assumed would be some kind of apple-related cutie mark, "A race like this'd probably jus' be a fun warm up t' ponies like them."

Having failed to spot any nearby ponies with apple-esque cutie marks, he returned his attention to the path ahead, taking the occasional quick glance up at the branches of the nearby apple trees. All them held delicious looking apples, many of which looked perfectly ripe and ready to be picked. 'I wonder if they'd notice one of 'em missin'...' he began to think to himself as he licked his lips. He quickly shook his head furiously in an attempt to get rid of such thoughts, 'Thinkin' of stealin' from hard-workin' folks? You were raised better'n that, Mobius!' he scolded himself internally, his eyes shifting away from the trees in hopes of finding somepony he might have known or recognized, or even one that just looked friendly; talking to somepony would at least keep his mind off the countless appetizing apples surrounding him.

As he waited at the starting line, Mobius would hop from from hoof-to-hoof, initially hopping from side to side before switching to a diagonal manner, with his front left and rear right switching with his front right and rear left. A bit of limbering up before anything never hurt anypony, and it certainly wouldn't hurt before a race. A wry grin was planted upon the pale gold Pegasus' face as he glanced around at all the other ponies who had shown up. While it could have been easily mistaken for an arrogant expression, it was actually brought on by a mixture of joy and anticipation; it had been quite some time since he'd gotten to compete with other ponies. As he glanced around, he noticed a shadow passing over the crowd of ponies, as well as the crowd, prompting him to look up at the balloon above the racers. "Huh, must be plannin' t' keep an eye on everypony," he murmured to himself before chuckling, "Good. A fair race is a fun race." With a satisfied nod, he turned his gaze away from the balloon, instead looking to his flank. A sheet of paper securely fastened to either side, each reading '18.'

"On your marks!" a distant voice chimed.

Upon hearing the voice, he quickly faced forward. The Pegasus stallion then began one last quick set, his front legs sliding forward as he leaned back to stretch them before doing the same in reverse. A nervous chuckle escaped him as he heard a few light pops in a couple of his legs. Running wasn't his forte, after all; he was much more at home in the sky.

"Get set!"

"This is it," he muttered to himself as he positioned himself as close to the starting line as he could without getting disqualified, his rear hooves bent partway under him. He wiggled his body from side to side lightly, digging them in along with their twins in the front. Sure, he intended to pace himself, but he knew dozens of ponies taking off at once would mean one huge cloud of dust, and he had no intention of eating it.

"Go!!!!!!"

All four legs moved in unison, his front two pulling while his rear two pushed, propelling the Pegasus a respectable distance forward in something of a leap, his ears flattened to his head from the brief but powerful resistance from the air. Years of landing from flights left him with a natural talent for getting his footing when coming down while still moving forward, allowing him to smoothly transition into a sprint as soon as his hooves met the ground. A full grin formed on his face as he did his best to keep towards the front of the pack, with varying degrees of success. Only a few short yards into the race, and the excitable Pegasus was unable to contain himself, letting out a loud, happy "Wooo!" Getting to participate in a competition as large and significant as the Running of the Leaves was indescribably exhilarating on its own - even to a pony of the skies. For Mobius, though, a long dormant competitive spark within took that already euphoric feeling and amplified it to even greater heights. Win or lose, today was going to be a great day for the Pegasus.

I edited my profile slightly. Mostly just updated the pic since I found the Full Version of the pony creator and actually got to get the style I wanted. Nothing serious; everything else is the same, just a mild difference in appearance. If it's not okay, I still have the other pic and can switch it back.

Mobius blinked at Crystal's explanation, making sure to thoroughly embed the term 'hippocamp' into his mind. He then chuckled when she explained she'd never seen Unicorns and Pegasi up close, prompting him to take on a more haughty pose with his large wings extended out to his sides. "Well, I never mind showin' off a bit for a crowd," he remarked in a half-serious tone, slowly refolding his wings after a few moments.

He then turned his attention to the Unicorn as Crystal began to talk to him, nodding in agreement with her as she spoke despite that his eyes were set upon Survey. A wry grin tugged at his lips at the beginning of the green colt's explanation, "Busy city? Ya don't say," he remarked in an obviously playful tone, not meaning any harm by it. He then shrugged as the timid male apologized for not having been to Canterlot in some time. "No need t' apologize. Not like there's some kinda mandate that ya hafta frequently visit Canterlot on the off chance sompony asks ya about it," he quickly stated in a re-assuring tone, a soft chuckle accompanying it. When Survey offered to take them to Canterlot, he would nod, lightly, a happy expression on his face. "Sounds like a plan! 'N quit worryin'; part of the plan is that you're there to enjoy it with us," he responded, once again offering a re-assuring tone as he gave the timid colt a gentle nudge on the shoulder with his hoof.

The sound of water rippling and splashing as Crystal made her wait up onto shore, apparently to return the dropped puzzle, prompted Mobius to look over. When he saw that she was, essentially, part pony and party fish, his brows raised in surprise. It was quickly apparent the Pegasus had never encountered a Hippocamp before... which made sense, considering he spent the majority of his life in the clouds with his fellow Pegasi. "Wow. Interestin'. Yer a mermare?" he asked after briefly searching his brain for any name he could in regard to what Crystal was, and coming up only with some old storybook tales involving mermares, "That certainly explains a lot. Quite a pretty one, too, aren't ya?"

After asking his - admittedly - oblivious question, the Pegasus chuckled and offered a kind smile, obviously not meaning any offense with the term he had come up with to describe Crystal. When she asked where the two had come from, he simply chuckled again before looking up at the mass of clouds that made up his home city. "Well, I think it's pretty obvious where I hail from, eh?" he remarked in an amused tone, "Like most Pegasi, I was born 'n raised in Cloudsdale."

He turned his attention to the nervous Unicorn as he answered where he was from, raising a brow before gently nudging him on the shoulder with a hoof. "Aw, Survey. Ya shouldn't think so pessimistically," he began, offering a re-assuring smile, "If nopony cared where ya were from, then Crystal wouldn't of asked, 'n I wouldn't of listened!" He then paused a moment, trying to remember if he had visited Canterlot yet, but coming up short of any such memories. "Come t' think of it, I don't think I've visited Canterlot," he pondered aloud, partly out of genuine thought and partly as an attempt to prove what he had just said to Survey, "What's Canterlot like, exactly? I've been considering visitin' there, but part'a me is always reluctant t' go into big cities."

Mobius blinked in mild surprise as Crystal introduced him to the newcomer. He'd intended to do it once the guy calmed down, but no matter. Turning his focus back to the pale green stallion, he would listen to him introduce himself with a warm smile, hoping that maybe a show of friendliness would help him calm down a bit. "Pleased to meet ya, Survey," he responded before offering a hoofshake to the nervous stallion, halting it as Survey's attention seemed to be on the cube he just dropped. He then turned his attention to the other puzzle that the Unicorn had already solved, chuckling lightly as he leaned down to look at it closer. "I don't think I've seen anypony solve one'a these things that quick before," he remarked, complimenting the green Unicorn before standing up right, turning to him with a smile. "Anyway, what was it ya originally intended t' do here at the lakes, Survey?" he asked, hoping that it was something he and Crystal could help the greenish Unicorn with. Maybe a little sincere interaction - whether it was concerning something important like a job, or just having fun and loosening up - would do this Unicorn some good.

Mobius quirked his brow at his green companion's polite, if teasing, refusal to answer his question. However, her response had made it clear she intended to at least *show* him soon, so that was enough for him. As they got into the shallows, he would let out a sigh of relief as his hooves finally set foot on the ground once more, both from no longer having to continuously paddle to stay afloat, and from the security the ground provided; after all, the water beneath his wings prevented him from taking off while he was swimming.

Once the water was beneath his chest, he burst forward in a little trot, putting some distance between himself and Crystal before abruptly shaking himself - and his wings - off. He then absentmindedly continued forward for a few more steps before hearing the audible plop of a body against water as his companion abruptly came to a halt with her lower half still in the water. A chuckle escaped him from her playful joke at his expense while he turned around, his eyes briefly meeting hers before shifting up to the sky upon hearing her question. "It's... not somethin' one can really describe with words. I mean, it could be called the ultimate freedom, but that's just sayin' what it *is,* not what it *feels* like, y'know?" he began, pondering about what she'd said she'd heard about flying, "It's kinda like swimmin' underwater in a way, only without all the resistance. And without the inability to breath." He chuckled at the last bit as he started to sit, only to find his motion interrupted by Crystal's abrupt question to somepony he'd apparently not seen.

Switching his motion to a quick turn while briefly tracing where, exactly, Crystal was looking, Mobius soon found himself looking at a puzzle cube, followed by a skinny greenish Unicorn. He cocked his head curiously as the newcomer stuttered out apologies and requests. "You alright? Y'sound like yer expectin' us to buck ya t' Canterlot," he asked after the Unicorn had requested if he could sit, "Of course ya can sit. Probably be best if ya did 'n maybe took a couple'a deep breaths."

After the Unicorn explained he was nervous and then began nervously fiddling with one of the cubes again, the Pegasus chuckled and began cautiously approaching him. "So, d'ya come t' lakes t' solve puzzles often?" he asked in a half-joking manner, part of him figuring the Unicorn had perhaps intended to enjoy the refreshing waters.

When she began swimming circles around him, Mobius began to realize that she wasn't a regular pony. She had no horn, so she wasn't a unicorn with some kind of swimming spell, that much he knew. He craned his neck trying to keep an eye on her, though an amused smile remained plastered on his face. "Live under water, huh? You a merpony or somethin'?" he asked after she finished speaking in full, continuing to watch as she swam circles around him, "And no reason in particular. Just the first lake I saw 'n the closest to Cloudsdale, so I shot straight for it."

When she bumped into his wing and went under, he found himself knocked off balance, rocking to the opposite side of the wing she'd ran into before abruptly flopping back down into the water, his nudged wing pushed beneath the surface in an effort to right himself. Once he had, he looked around for her, snickering lightly as she popped her head up and stuttered out that she was alright. "Heh, that's good," he chuckled, a few moments passing by before he realized that Crystal had just been abruptly dunked underwater and then came up without coughing or the like, as to where regular ponies would, without a doubt, be sputtering up water. "Well, I'm a Pegasus, obviously. Would ya mind if I asked what kind'a pony you are?" he asked in a friendly but curious tone, his head cocked slightly to the side as he looked at her.

As he waited for an answer, Mobius began to tread the water in a manner that turned him so he was facing the nearest bit of shore, which happened to have a number of trees just a few yards away from it. "And uh, if ya don't mind, my legs're gettin' a lil tired, so could we head back towards the shore while we talk?" he quickly requested with a slightly nervous chuckle as he began paddling towards the shore.

Mobius figured that there might be somepony else at the lake, considering the summer heat. What he hadn't expected was that one was *in* the lake. Hearing the splash of water as somepony else's head broke the surface caused him to jump slightly. Or, well, jump as much as one could when they were neck deep in water. After turning his attention to the nearby pair of violet eyes that were just above the surface, he would tilt his head curiously before shrugging lightly and offering a wry grin. ["Do what frequently? Dive in t' the lake?" he asked before answering just as quickly, ["Only in the summer! Well, if I'm near 'em, at least."

The Pegasus then began to attempt to turn in the water, managing to do so with the aid of his wings in spite of the entire process still being somewhat awkward; ponies were capable swimmers, sure, but far from maneuverable ones. ["You musta been underwater when I was comin' in, 'cause I didn't see anypony from the air. Pretty impressive how long ya can hold your breath!" he added warmly, ["By the way, m'names Mobius Blaze, but eh, ya can jus' call me either or."