Section 6 - Sappy Situation

[Otsdarva]

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 a clear path up ahead 'n a race t' win."

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!

[buxy]

"Whole lotta useful I seem t'be in dis place," Breaker muttered to himself, taking off after Shanna again. All these new ponies he was bumping into were getting more than a bit hard to remember. No sooner had he skidded to a halt just short of crashing right into the back of his new friends, than yet another pony appeared and shoved a sweet little morsel into his mouth. Breaker's surprise melted quickly into sheer bliss at the taste, and he rolled the treat around in his mouth.

"Mmmmphpmmmmph....mmph!" Breaker tried to speak, his jaw only snapping shut around his words, after the thorough coating of sap he'd just given the inside of his mouth. He snorted, stomping a hoof, more than a little frustrated that he couldn't even thank this pony, let alone introduce himself, and passing on one of the treats from home he had stored in his back was absolutely out of the question. He hoped that at some point he'd be able to thank the stallion, and properly introduce himself.

As Breaker looked around, hoping to find a way to put his bulk to use helping someone out of the sap, but one by one, everypony was finding a way out, mostly with the aid of those around them. The strain of such a long run was weighing on him (he had, after all, run a track longer than the entire coastline of his island home), but he still wanted to help. Being around so many ponies was inspiring to him, and everypony seemed intent on helping one another, and he was just standing there like a lump. He felt utterly useless, and with an uncharacteristic display of frustration, the usually easy going pony tossed his mane and took off like a shot, his wide, galloping stride carrying him beyond the worst of the sap puddles in a few wide strides, pushing forth toward the last leg of the race.

[Hippo]

Applejack was so determined to make up as much ground as she could as quickly as she could in order to make a run for the race win. She had felt like she had fallen behind, as she wasn't aware of all of the troubles the other ponies were having up and around the mountain. When Applejack came to the fork near the mountain, she was totally aware of which direction was the right one, having made mistakes in the past of taking the wrong way. She wouldn't make that mistake this year, though. Applejack knew this trail like the back of her hoof. It was Applejack's advantage that the race committee ponies never thought to change the course route every once and a while to keep the experienced competitors from taking advantage of the first-timer's lack in sense of direction.

As the the orange mare trampled on the bed of red and orange leaves, Applejack remained focused on the prize. She was so focused, that she was completely unaware of the things going around her. She would not hear Apple Bloom's cry for Applejack's life, or the troubles that had for the ponies that fell victim to a rock slide off the trail's back end. She would be completely oblivious to Shanna's gratitude towards the apples Applejack generously set down as a hazard back on the farm's section. And she would not realize that Mojo was trying to get her attention in between the full attention he was giving Lyra. Instead, Applejack was tunnel-visioned, wanting to be across that finish line first more than anything else in her present state of mind. She had no more time for water tough conversations.

As she ventured through the well-known section of the forest where countless maple trees bleed their sap into large round buckets for harvesting, Applejack saw the remnants of tipped buckets, puddles of sticking sap to avoid, and unfortunate ponies who had either fallen victim to the trees' sap, either by the substance's sweet smell and taste or the hindering nature the sap brings to ponies who have the unfortunate event of somehow being covered in the brown sticky sugar. Applejack chuckled as she passed ponies who hadn't properly prepared for these situations. If these were the only ponies in front of her, she was sure to win now.

However, Applejack would come to a chaotic place where several competitors were trapped in sap with not much positive outlook on their chances of winning. But none of them had hopeless looks of depression. Some of the more fortunate characters were helping them out of their problems. Applejack was stunned. She saw Carrot attempt to help Gilda, while Mojo catered to Lyra's every need. Why on earth are all of the racers helpin' each other? The whole point of this was to race and be faster than the others. she thought. The sight was mind-numbing to her.

As she hurried past the groups of racers that had apparently allied with each other, she realized something. This whole time she was worried about how well she could finish in the race. From the starting line, she had tried to be the first one around the first corner. In the apple orchard, Applejack stopped to see how much apple juice she could sell. At the brook, she was totally concerned about how she was going to get through the crowded bridge. In Whitetail Wood, Applejack was ungratefully accepting help from others to get her back to normal size so that she could get back in the race. Applejack knew that if she had traded places with Carrot, she would have never helped a miniature pony in getting back in the race.

Applejack stopped running and came to a stop. "Shoot. I've been so gung-ho about winnin' this race that I forgot about the things that really matter. I mean, what if somepony got hurt and I jus' passed them without even considering their situation?" Applejack looked around as she receive critical remarks from herself. She couldn't believe how selfish she had become, trying to do anything to win a silly race even if it cost her friendship with others. Applejack shuffled slowly and began a slow paced trot. As she was less focused on the race, she was able to look around at the trees and the leaves. She smiled as she took in the beauty for the first time in along time, perhaps ever. "Wow, Twilight was right. It sure is purty."

Applejack stopped as she saw some ponies in front of her. She asked if they needed help. "Hey, is everything alright? Are you still running the race just fine?" Applejack felt a load off her shoulders. She could finally be a helpful pony again. And from the looks of all the ponies around her, she wasn't really losing all that much time from the leaders.

[knight]

(OOC: My previous post was ignored, so...continuing as though Holly had just tripped, so as not to really affect the flow.)

Holly Dash looked up from her awkward positon. She had tripped over something stuck in the sap, and was greatly relieved at the arrival of an orange-pelted pony, with a long blonde mane. She had been stuck, knees and face glued to the spot due to the thick, stick pool of sap that she had been unfortunate enough to land in.

"Hey, is everything alright? Are you still running the race just fine?"

Holly was astounded. Did it LOOK like she was okay? No. She couldn't even get her mouth out of the sap to speak, so she couldn't answer the freckled earth pony. Desperate to get out of her position, she pulled and yanked at the sticky sap, screaming in the back of her throat, so it came out as nothing but, "MMMMMMHHMMM HHMM MMHH!!!"

The twist of her head caused more of her colorful mane to get stuck in the sap, and she couldn't help uttering a pained groan, her mane hairs being plucked from her mane. She pounded the earth with her rear hooves, her rump flailing in the air as she struggled against the sap, and she pounded her hooves some more, frustrated. She was actually lucky, if any more of her muzzle were in the sap, she wouldn't even be able to breathe. Luckily, she had landed on her chin, and just had a bit of a slip up and found her mouth in the sap.

The sweet smell she was forced to inhale was getting into her head. Her head was already pounding from the overwhelming scent, any more of this and she might pass out. With wide, pleading eyes, she looked up at the orange pony, "MMMRREEEEEEFF???" Was her garbled word for 'please.'

[Boss_Hoss1]

Shanna whewed as She got Mojo free, then was instantly gifted with a hoofmade lollipop of fresh maple sap.

She tried to thank Klondike for the treat, but found herself unable to speak.

Beach Breaker had stopped but was definitely too winded to help. She looked pleadingly to him as he appeared torn over just standing there. She tried to reasure him it was fine, but her muzzle was stuck tight around the Lollipop.

Before she could do anything more, Beach Breaker broke into a gallop.

She looked at her brother who smiled and shrugged. "Your call sis, I think we've got it here."

Shanna's eyes went wide as the unicorn Hoss was helping looked around with calmer eyes and broke everyone in the pileup free.

Just then, a strange zebra set up his cart and sprayed everypony as far as she could see on the trail, including herself, with something that had a sharp smell but was melting the sap. She moved to spread her wings to shield herself but found her right wing stuck to her body. She franticaly wiggled her wing until the stuff freed her wing.

Shanna continued sucking on the lollipop, and bowed her head to Klondike in thanks, then broke into a gallop to catch up with Klondike, and hopefully pass Gilda. Hopping over the dissolving puddles and giggling seeing she was making some of the leaves fall herself. She waved a wing at the zebra as she passed him.

As she rounded a curve, she did a double take seeing Gilda just off the road, being helped by the green pegasus and the darker stallion with the starry carrot cutie mark, as well as a unicorn she had not seen in the race. *...Oh well, the stuff came down on them too, so she'll be free in moments. *

Shanna trotted over to motion with her hooves that her mouth was stuck, and asking if she was needed to help too. She hoped her next motions got the point across that it would be dishonorable for her to run until Gilda was free.

As Shanna waited, she watched as Applejack passed by with an astonished look on her face at seeing ponies help Gilda. Shanna was equally stunned seeing Applejack back to normal size * Hoss must have found her too... *

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

Meanwhile, Hoss nodded to Rose Madder, when she asked him not to tell anyone about her behavior. "I promise I wont' tell." He then gasped in awe as she broke everyone out of the pony pile-up.

He suddenly gasped and sputtered at the sudden downpour of oily liquid, tucking the spray bottle of Poison Joke cure under a wing tomake sure the stuff did not damage it. He did at least notice the sap on his hooves from helping Rose was coming off "Well, that's a relief..."

He ulped as Mojo was given the bad news and galloped off. He waved at Jubilee as she flew off to comfort Mojo "Yes, Go help him, I have to stay and watch for Poison Joke Victims." He blew a kiss "Take care, Jubilee! I'll catch up with you soon."

He took off in a hover to see as far up and down the course as he could, calling out "BRAMBLE ROSE! OVER HERE! IF ANYPONY's BEEN POISON JOKED! I CAN HELP!"

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

Snails blushed and giggled sheepishly at the hug from Misty "G-golly... My pleasure, Ma'am.."

Then Madam Bistro heard the Professor trying to get Misty to bring the portal back. While she was just an earth pony, even she did not think it a good idea if Misty's heart was not in it at the moment. She quickly stepped up to her cart and waved to Misty. "Oh Misty, you've brought in enough business to me with this portal today, I'll let you eat on the house. What do you say?"

[RarityDash]

"You?" Gilda started, stunned. A second pony had come to her aid. If the mere fact of this wasn't enough, the fact that it was a familiar face shocked her more. It was that pegasus. The one who had saved her from the hornets and bravely challenged her face to face. What was this dude's deal? It was complete lunacy as far as Gilda was concerned to rush to the aid of a competitor. "Just what is your deal?" Gilda murmured. She didn't protest though. She wanted out of the sticky trap, so when the green pony started to pull she was relieved.

Even with the two ponies pulling at her, the force just wasn't quite enough. This sap puddle was unbelievably thick and Gilda was in it deep. She wasn't sure they were going to be able to get her out. That was when a third force suddenly entered the equation. Gilda was shocked to find someone push her from behind. This last bit of force was just what was needed. Gilda found herself stumbling rapidly forward out of the sticky substance.

She turned around immediately to see just who was the final pony who had helped her. It was that stallion who had been at the very front of the pack just moments ago. Had this guy abandoned a lead to help her? Who does something like that? Gilda just wasn't sure what to make of that at all.

"You ponies are crazy," she commented, shaking her head. She frowned. She didn't want to say it. It just wasn't her. It was the lamest thing she could possibly say. However, at that moment, she felt somehow obligated. Swallowing her pride, she just said it, "Um... thanks..."

(OOC: sorry for not posting sooner. I've felt quite poorly today)

[MyLittlePonyTales]

As ShadowMist moved on, she began to smell the sticky, syrupy, tree sap. Some years, going through this part of the race was worse than others. As she looked on at the path ahead, she could see the ground mostly covered in the dark goo. A pony would have to be very cautious in order to avoid the large patches of stickiness. It would be awful to get a hoof even in just a tiny bitâ€â€everything would stick, dirk, leaves, sticks... It could really slow a pony down!

That's when she caught sight of a rather brightly colored Diamond Dog. She'd seen very few in Ponyville, so it was surprising to see one participating in the race. After all, relations between ponies and Diamond Dogs hadn't always been the bestâ€â€but ShadowMist supposed that not all Diamond Dogs were alike.

He appeared to be stuck. As ShadowMist moved closer, she debated with herself. She could stop and try to help... or she could simply ignore him. If she stopped, she'd lose precious time... Then again, it wouldn't be right just to leave someone there like that. On the other hoof, he should have been paying more attention where he was going.

But she was just in time to watch as Clutch Vibrafang took off like a shot, the sticky sap working almost like a slingshot. She even paused a moment, a shocked expression on her face that he actually pulled off something like that. But, she quickly recovered, glad that she hadn't been forced to help out or feel guilty for not.

ShadowMist was rather light on her feet, so it helped her to maneuver around the puddles of icky goo. It seemed that there was an over abundance this yearâ€â€perhaps they should have changed the race path just a bit to avoid this particularly nasty spot. However, ShadowMist realized that if other ponies had gotten stuck like that Diamond Dog had, she was probably gaining more ground, and coming one step closer to the top of the pack.

[Mojo]

Mojo was really very, very sad at the moment as he galloped on. The heartbroken Paint stallion decided to unleash his frustrations on the race course, trotting along faster than he ever ran before. What a foal he had been! Mistaking Lyra's scribbled out note as a love letter! Lyra was too wonderful a mare to want to be with a 'down-to-earth' Earth pony like him anyway. Tears started to stream from his eyes as he ran. Mojo didn't want anyone to see him like this! The 'pony of peace' was no longer at peace with himself.

"Just wanna finish this race now and then get off the bloody field!" the hippie brony grunted as he ran in full stride. "I won't make THAT mistake again, that's for true!"

"MOJO!" a familiar voice shouted out. Looking up, he was stunned to see his friend Jubilee directly above him, flapping her wings hard to keep up with him.

"Wings? What the devil are you doin' here?"

"I heard and saw everything. I want you to know, I'm sorry things didn't work out."

"I thought she wanted to be with me, Wings! I really, really thought I found a lovely mare who truly loved me. I'm just a bloody idiot!"

"No you're not, Modge! I've known you for years and you are no idiot. You'll find true love someday, you''ll see."

"Oh, who am I foolin', Wings? No mare wants an Earth stallion like me. Pegasi and unicorns have special abilities. There's nothing special about a peaceful stallion."

"That's not true, Mojo! You are a special pony! You're my best friend! You're like a brother to me! You, me and Starflower's had a lot of adventures together. You're the one who brought us all together in the first place, remember?"

"I remember that. Had to send up a rocket flair to call for help that day. Needed help with a fallen Pegasus foal. You found Starflower and told her where we was."

"See Modge? You DO matter to us! Why do you think we all came to watch you run this race?"

"All well and good, Wings, but for right now, I have a race to run, so please excuse me!"

"HAY! WAIT A MINUTE!" Jubilee pleaded as Mojo galloped away even faster than before. "Wait up! I'm NOT finished talking to you yet!"

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Louise hovered with Hoss, now unsure what to do. She wanted to fly back to the Sheriff, but by now, the referee pony had probably moved from his hiding place already. All of the ponies were now free from the sap thanks to the zebra in the wagon, so she decided to stick with Hoss and see if he needed anymore assistance.

Back at the starting line, Misty was delighted by Madam Bistro's offer.

"Thank you, I certainly appreciate it. I'm so hungry right now!"

"Come to tink of it, I could use a snack too!" added Professor Krashkop as Starflower finished eating the food she had previously ordered.

(ooc): Very sleepy now, going to bed. See ya in Section 7!

[Pennwick]

Completely bewildering was what it was. Didn't these ponies care about winning at all? This was a competition not some sort of fun run. Didn't the race mean anything to these ponies. Nobody was getting hurt by the sap so nothing was wrong with taking advantage of it.

"Don't mention it." he offered. He knew that tone and had been half expecting it. Had the situations been reversed his response probably would have been similarly unenthusiastic. "But shouldn't you all get going? Or are you just going to stand here?"

[RarityDash]

"Ah... you're right," said Gilda to the orange unicorn, so stunned she still wasn't even thinking right. She needed to be runnng and she needed to be running minutes ago.

She gave a mild smirk and adjusted herself. Her feet were still sticky with sap. That would slow her down. Still, if she kicked into high gear here, perhaps there was still hope.

"See ya dweebs later them," Gilda started, nodding to her three ponies. There was only so much niceness she was willing to show. With that, Gilda started to run like wild. She still had a race to win.

[Bramble Rose]

Bramble Rose looked up into the air as Hoss flew back down the trail towards her. She dropped the vine rope from her mouth and waved her hoof. "Down here! Down here, Hoss!"

She bounced eagerly as he approached with the bottle. Yay! He had the bubble bath! Though it didn't look like the normal bubble bath cure... "Oh, thank you!" she said sweetly, a big smile on her face as she looked up to Hoss hopefully.

As the application hit her, she turned a bit bigger, a little less slim... but only a little. The delicate little purple unicorn colt brushed his long, silver mane back - he was still smaller than most fillies. "Oh, thank you," he said in his soft voice. "I'm so glad to be back to being my normal Stallion self again!" He puffed out his chest and tried to stand up taller, almost on hoof-tips, trying to show how different he looked when he was normal...

"Oh! But I've gotta run this race!" He looked around... he'd already passed the vine to everyone who would take it... so he picked it up and *pulled* hard, trying to get the whole herd of ponies moving as one, like Ginger Mint had suggested!

[RoyalDice]

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.

[Hippo]

Applejack chuckled. "Heh, heh. Alright, Sugarcube, I hear. Lemme help ya." Applejack grabbed her trusty rope and tied it around Holly Dash's abdomen. She then pulled with her teeth as hard as she could. For a pony workhorse, Applejack was very strong. Within a few long tugs of the rope, Applejack was able to pull the sappy unicorn, while involuntarily compressing her lungs at the same time.

Applejack spit out the rope in her mouth, and stuck the unicorn's hair back so that she could recognizer her better. "Hay! I know you! I never forget a pony!" Applejack wasn't foolin'. She had learned from her family business that a solid relationship with customers was the best way to make a sale. But because it became second nature to her, she could never not remember somepony she had seen before. "I saw you running chaotic-like away from Ponyville during the parasprite infestation." Applejack lowered her voice at the realization of how terrible that moment really was for everypony during at that time. She turned her head at a passive angle, "Yeah. That was a bad day for everypony in Ponyville; we even had to rebuild our farm that had been there since before I was born." She looked up at the sap-stricken pony. "But you ain't from Ponyville are you?"

Applejack rebooted to her regular greet. "Well, howdy do. My name's Applejack, and I run that big farm we had to race through." She hung out a forehoof for a shake, but saw that the condition the troubled pony wouldn't spare a hoofshake. She stuck her hoof back on the ground. "Heh, heh. That's ok. These things happen. Well, the best thing to do now is just run it out. Now that you can at least run, you should just work on finishing the race, and we're almost done! I'll run with you if you don't mind." Applejack gave a heavy wink at the pony, feeling kindly rejuvenated out of her over-competitive attitude.

[Boss_Hoss1]

Shanna made a loud MMMMPH! as Gilda broke free and tapped her hooves in applause.

While her mouth was still getting unstuck, at least working her mouth to do so was a taste treat. She nodded at the griffon and broke into a gallop trying to beat Gilda as she broke onto the road at the same time. She gave Gilda a smirk to say "Lets race" even if she was still muffled.

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

Hoss stretched his wing as he flew "Maybe you can help me Miss LaMare, there's other ponies stuck besides this thousand foot circle, and I need to find and spray other victims of Poison Joke... Including that blasted spider."

As he flew down the path in a slow hover so as not to miss anypony, He found Bramble Rose growing a vine and pulling ponies free with it.

"There you are! I have the cure!"

Hoss landed quickly and gave the filly a spray, watching as it worked quickly, returning Bramble to Colt status. "Go ahead and race, we can take it from here since we arent' racing. See you at the afterparty!"

With that, Hoss hauled on the vine to hep break the stuck ponies free.

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

Menwhile, back at the bleachers,

Snails Neighed and bounced on his hooves as he joined in on eating the baked goods. "Mmmph! Chonklet!"

[ZephyrBurst]

Despite there being two of them pulling the griffon out, she was barely budging. The muck she stepped in was deep and thick. It seemed like it would take a lot longer than they all wanted, but an earth pony had pushed her from behind.

"Just what is your deal?" The griffon murmured to Zephyr.

He kept pulling and gave a half-flanked response. "I'll tell you after the race." He grunted as he spoke and pulled back harder just as the earth pony gave a push. With that, the griffon was free. Zephyr took that short moment to rest up with the others there. It didn't last long however, and the griffon sprinted away after calling them all some foreign word. Zephyr wasted no time and took off after the griffon. He still had to beat her after all. The final stretch was coming up and he was ready to give it his all. He just had to avoid those tasty sappy piles.

[brianblackberry]

Carrot Fields hoped that with his extra strength from behind, the griffin would manage to get free between the four of them. He wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible, not so much to get into the race but because he felt rather embarrassed about having his hooves on her backside like this. At least she wasn't complaining... too much, and she was rather cute, for a griffin at least.

It was just then the Griffin stumbled free from her syrupy trap. With nothing but air suddenly in front of his forehooves, Carrot had to balance himself solely on his hind hooves as he stumbled forward and then backwards in a comically clumsily attempt to avoid that same puddle before finally tripping backwards into a patch of dirt and leaves. Shaking his mane free of a few stray twigs he heard the griffon thank the trio of ponies for freeing her, something he didn't expect. Of course right after that she made the off-remark about them being dweebs, there we go, that sounded like more what he expected from this hard luck race. "Yer wel-", Carrot didn't even get to finish his flat faced, monotone, sarcastic response as she was already racing away down the trail.

Simply nodding to the other two ponies, the gray earth pony resumed his gallop towards the edge of the maple forest. All things considered, helping the griffin went quiet well. Her response was surprisingly mild, she could have easily attacked him for touching her instead of giving what may have been sincere thanks in her own way, and it was the right thing to do. Carrot blushed and even smiled a little at having to push at her haunches to free her. Mebbe thes race wasnae sae bad efter aw, at leest Ah keep meetin' bonnie contestants.

Just then he spotted that same orange neighbor filly and his heart sunk a little. Although as he approached he noticed she was smiling as she gave a helping hoof to a light pink filly with a tri-colored mane. Weel she looks canty. Mebbe she an' miss gracie worked it their differences efter aw. help ma boab is she ever bonnie! Still, Carrot felt it was the smart thing to do in not saying anything or drawing attention to himself, she could still be angry at him for taking off when he did. Why didn't he at least find out her name?! She'll probably ne'er teel ye now Dumbtail!

Carrot just shook his head as he bolted by, trying to keep himself focused and not to assume the worst, all he had to do is pass up a couple more ponies and a griffin and he was home free.

[flutterscotch]

After Apple Bloom had convinced herself through much rooting through her brother's flaxen mane that she had not, in fact, squashed her sister when she landed, she was feeling glad of the opportunity to rest her poor tired little hooves while her brother did all the work. The forest looked quite a bit different from her vantage point atop the red stallion; her usual view was at least 3 times her height higher, and whipping by much faster than it would be if she had been galloping on her own short legs. The ferns bent under the weight of the small drifts of falling leaves dropped by the passing pack and only poked up emerald green through the oranges and browns here and there.

"Oh Horseapples, Ah see Applejack up there in the crowd. Cain't you go any faster, Mac. She just cain't beat us, just cain't", The little yellow filly cried, wrapping her hooves around the stallion's thick neck, trying to keep the two of them as aerodynamic as possible. She'd seen him in this head down position before...during last years' Winter Wrap-Up when he was pushing himself to the limit to get that main field plowed in time to plant the spring crops (before Twilight stepped in to organize everyone). They were well past the white unicorn who had been chatting up Big MacIntosh now. While ordinarily rather outspoken, but polite "down-home" pony-folk, all social niceties where thrown out the window when it came to competition. When an apple sibling competed, they competed to WIN!

They galloped on towards the maple tree grove, where the spring's tapping had still left holes and some equipment in the trunks of the maples, which oozed thin sap, which left to its own devices for several months had pooled into amber-brown pools that had trapped bugs, dirt and stray debris in it. The blobs of sweet disgustingness had now ensnared a good half of the racers like they were prehistoric ponies at an ancient tar pit. Big MacIntosh was so focused on that finish line that the sticky substance didn't even phase him; his powerful hooves just pulled him right out of the muck. You might be able to find some traces of the syrup in his fetlocks later, but not any more than you'd find after a good brunch o' pancakes at the farm! "Gee, it's a good thing you're so strong, " The filly remarked, "I dunno if I could handle any more tree sap this year", referencing the all-too-many times that she and her fellow Cutie Mark Crusaders had gotten themselves stuck.

As they passed, Apple Bloom waved back at the stuck ponies, "Bye ya'll, see you at the finish line", turned around and resumed her position as jockey. She didn't know at that exact moment, but while she had been turned around taunting the mired racers, a big blob of syrup, this time from high in the branches (from an oozing woodpecker hole), had taken the opportunity to plummet to the ground and land right in the middle of Big MacIntosh's broad back. Even though Mac was taking care not to jar his little sister loose, he needn't have been so careful. She was stuck to him like glue.

Suddenly, she heard some off-key singing in a strange accent coming from the woods, towards the pack. After a bit of shouting, a sharp acrid smell drifting through the wind, and many faint schlurping sounds. Apple Bloom looked back, not loosening her grip to see what was happening. "Uh ho, looks like the other racers are gettin' free!" In unison, more than a dozen ponies got to their feet, still dripping with the now paler and less sticky syrup. The off-key singing faded into the distance. Afterwards, Apple Bloom could never tell who or what had been the cause of that awful din, but she assumed they must be very powerful to have freed all of the other racers.

Hooves thundered in their direction. Debris and sticky bits of sap formed a plume behind the pack.

"FASTER BIG MACINTOSH! WE'LL BE TRAMPLED!" she cried, urging her brother forward, not daring to look back anymore. Her eyes staring forward at one thing, and one thing only: The bobbing orange and yellow form of her sister AppleJack who was now less than a furlong ahead of them!

[Mobius Blaze]

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.

[Manestream]

Hey um Mane I hate to ask you this again but I had the same problem as last time. My laptops card disconnected temporarily again. I tried again at 11:58 PST and the forum was locked. Could this be included again? If not thats ok and all

The ground was beginning to even out as Rain Leaf started running back into the thick of the woods. He could see some of the runners way ahead. He turned his head and looked back down the track and saw a few runners behind him as well. 'Shoot. I am still pretty far behind. I need to pick up the pace.' Rain Leaf looked around to get his bearings. He was familiar with this part of the woods. 'This must be were they harvest the sap. Perfect that is exactly what I need.' The herb's effect was starting to wear off and pain was starting to flare up in his legs and in his back. He was more worried about the open cuts caused by the sharp rocks. He knew that he needed to close them up quickly in order to prevent an infection.

He had already passed many smaller mounds of sap. They were too small for his needs. He took a long look ahead to see how far back he was. He was catching up but he knew that he needed to finish the race soon before the pain started to inhibit his movement. He came to an abrupt halt as something caught his eye. Rain Leaf let out a hoarse chuckle. Off to the side of the track was a huge mound of sap. 'That is exactly what is was looking for!' He slowly walked on over. He extended his wings and stretched then under his stomach and rolled over the mound of sap. He grit his teeth as the sap entered the cuts and slowly hardened on his back. "Hopefully that quick patch up will last. I just hope I can get it off soon." He said to himself as the pain started to dull. "I did not come this far just to come in close to last place. It is time to step it. Run through the burn!" He declared. With his worries about his injuries put aside he started running again increasing in speed as he went. 'Almost there.'

Yup. I got your PM just after midnight, and obviously you couldnt have written all that in 2 minutes, accepted