My Little Pony Friendship is Magic: Fall Weather Friends
A/N: (Dede42, Sunrise Blossom, and Dr. Hooves run around the back yard with the Lego Dalek still chasing them, and Derpy watches this through one of the windows from the writers studio.)
Derpy: Hi, as you can see, Dede42, Sunrise Blossom, and Doc are still being chased by that Lego Dalek, so I'm posting this chapter on their behave. Three different ones in one day. Wow.
Read, review, and enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything from My Little Pony: Magic is Friendship. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.
CHAPTER TWO: RACING CHAOS
The next morning, Spike and Twilight Sparkle left the library to attend the Running of the Leaves, and the purple unicorn paused to admire a butterfly that flew by, giving Sunrise Blossom a chance to join them. However, the baby dragon was impatient to go since he wanted to see the race between Applejack and Rainbow Dash.
"Twilight, Sunrise, hurry up, we're gonna be late for the race," he pleaded.
"Why are you so excited about the race?" Twilight Sparkle asked as they resumed walking. "It's only for ponies."
"Yeah, but I'm hoping I can be the announcer again," said the baby dragon, holding up his stick as he stood up. "Just listen: Fillies and gentlecolts, welcome to the annual Running of the-"
`"Welcome to the annual Running of the Leaves!"` called out Pinkie Pie into a megaphone, and the ponies gathered to either take part in the race or to watch, looked up to see the pink pony was hovering above them in a pink hot-air balloon. `"This is Pinkie Pie, your official p-eye-in-the-sky announcer."`
"Sorry, Spike," said Twilight Sparkle as he threw down the stick and sat back down, a grumpy expression on his face. "I guess that job's already taken."
"And I'm sure that an other opportunity will arise that you can be an announcer at," Sunrise Blossom added.
`"As everypony knows,"` Pinkie Pie continued, `"the Running is a very important tradition, for without it, the autumn leaves of Equestria would never fall. So get ready, ponies. The Running of the Leaves will begin in five minutes."`
Meanwhile, the ponies running the race were lining up at the starting line with their assigned numbers taped onto their flanks. Among them was Applejack, who had the number 8, and she was busy stretching her muscles.
"Pardon me, excuse me," said Rainbow Dash as she trotted through the crowd to the starting line, the number 11 taped to her flank. "Make way for the Iron Pony."
"The Iron Phony, you mean," Applejack growled, glowering at her approaching friend.
Rainbow Dash smirked as she stopped next to her friend. "So, Applejack, you ready to win second place?" she teased.
"I'm ready to run a good, clean race," Applejack retorted.
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and flexed her wings. "Yeah, yeah…"
"You are not allowed to use your wings," Applejack reminded her.
"I could win this race with both wings tied behind my back," the blue pegasus declared smugly.
Getting an idea, Applejack quickly retrieved a rope and, before her friend could protest, tied her wings to her sides, pulling the rope tight enough to keep them from moving, but not so tight that her friend couldn't breath. "Trussed up like a turkey," she remarked, after tying the knot. "Well, a turkey who can't fly, that is."
"Very funny," Rainbow Dash grumbled, wishing that she'd kept her big mouth shut, but if that meant she could keep her promise, then it was worth the discomfort.
This time Applejack smirked. "'Least now we know we're racin' fair and square." Just then a series of trumpets were played.
`"Racers!"` Pinkie Pie called out. `"Please take your positions!"`
As the ponies lined up at the starting line, Spike ran over and called up to the pink pony. "Um… Pinkie Pie?"
"Hey, Spike!" Pinkie Pie said cheerfully. "What's up? Oh wait, it's me! I'm up!" And she laughed at her own joke.
"Uh, yeah," said the baby dragon nervously, wondering if what he was about to ask was a good idea afterall. "I know you're doing the announcing today and stuff and… I'm sure you're gonna do a great job and all, but… I was just wondering…" he mumbled.
"What?" the pink pony asked, not quite hearing him.
Spike shook his head and turned to leave. "Aw… Forget it."
"Spike! Would you like to be my co-reporter?" Pinkie Pie asked, guessing what he'd been about to ask her. "We could comment on the action together," she offered.
Spike brightened up at the offer. "We could?"
Pinkie Pie threw down a rope. "Climb on up."
Meanwhile, Applejack was double-checking the rope when two familiar unicorns trotted up with the numbers 42 and 43 taped to their flanks. "Twilight? Sunrise? What in tarnation are you both doin' up here?"
"We're racing," Twilight Sparkle answered simply.
Rainbow Dash laughed and bumped their shoulders with hers, positive that the twins were joking. "Good one, Twilight."
"I'm not joking," said the purple unicorn, annoyed.
"Yeah, we're both going to take part in the race," said Sunrise Blossom.
Rainbow Dash stared at them both, mirroring Applejack's expression. "What? You're not athletes, you're a… well… you're an egghead, Twilight, and you're a potion-making, Sunrise."
"I am not an egghead, I am well-read," Twilight Sparkle retorted.
"And I can do more then just make potions," the orange unicorn added, annoyed.
"Egghead," Rainbow Dash whispered.
Applejack snickered. "But have you ever run a race?" she asked.
"This will be my first race," Sunrise Blossom admitted. "But after having watched the Running of the Leaves for four years, I figured that it was high time that I actually took part in the race itself."
"Well, no, but I do know a lot about running," said Twilight Sparkle.
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, guessing how the purple unicorn could know a lot about running. "And you know this from…"
"Books," said Twilight Sparkle proudly. "I've read several on the subject."
Rainbow Dash fell over laughing, waving her legs in the air while tears streamed from her eyes. "What'd you read, "The Egghead's Guide to Running"?" she asked through bursts of laughter. "Did you stretch out your eye muscles to warm up?" She kept laughing. "Get it? Eye muscles."
Sunrise Blossom rolled her eyes. "Oh, grow up, Rainbow."
"Scoff if you must, Rainbow," Twilight Sparkle scolded. "But the Running of the Leaves is a Ponyville tradition, and since I'm here to learn, I've decided I should experience it myself."
"Well, I think that's just dandy, Twilight, Sunrise," said Applejack. "Good luck." And then she snickered a little.
Rainbow Dash picked herself up, still chuckling. "Yeah. See you both at the finish line… Tomorrow."
`"All right, ponies, are you ready?"` Pinkie Pie asked from the sky, and the ponies below her got into their starting positions.
`"Get set,"` said Spike, now in the hot-air balloon basket.
A bell rang and the ponies bolted down the path, their speed and the rumbling of their hooves resulted in thousands of leaves falling out of the trees.
`"And they're off!"` Pinkie Pie cheered and steered the hot-air balloon to follow the racing ponies. `"Welcome to the official coverage of the Running of the Leaves! You know, Spike, despite its name, the leaves don't do any of the actual running," she remarked. "No, that's left to my little ponies."
"Why, yes, Pinkie,"Spike agreed, "it's the running of the ponies that causes the leaves to fall."
"Ugh. Those lazy, lazy leaves," the pink pony muttered, but then went back to cheerful. "But this year, the run is about more than the weather. It's about the race to the finish and the two runners who want to win it: Applejack and Rainbow Dash." And down below, they could see the two ponies in question were at the head of the pack.
"You know, Pinkie, these two ponies have a bit of a grudge match they're trying to settle," the baby dragon remarked. "Trying to prove who's the most athletic."
Pinkie Pie nodded. "Yes, and "grudge" rhymes with "fudge"."
"Yes, it… does. What?" Spike asked, confused by the sudden change of topic, wondered how fudge had anything to do with the race.
"And I like fudge," Pinkie Pie continued. "But if I eat too much fudge I get a pudge and then I can't budge."
"So… no fudge?" Spike guessed, realizing that the pink pony was being her usual random self.
"Oh, no thanks," Pinkie Pie declined. "I had a big breakfast. Let's check in with our two competitive ponies, Applejack and Rainbow Dash. Having come fast out of the gate, Applejack and Rainbow Dash are evenly matched running neck and neck. But what's this? Applejack is making a move, she's now ahead by a nose. But Rainbow Dash won't let Applejack have it and takes the lead. She's ahead by half a nose. Or maybe three quarters of a nose. No, about sixty-three point seven percent of a nose… roughly speaking. Applejack sees this move and pushes forth with her strong workhorse legs slinking ahead by three hundred and fifty noses!"
Sure enough, down below them, Applejack had kicked it up a notch and she was now far ahead of the rest of the ponies, especially far ahead of Rainbow Dash. "Not so easy without wings, is it?"
"Come on, Rainbow," the blue pegasus muttered. "Show 'em a little dash." And she kicked her running into a higher gear, racing forward until she managed to catch up with the orange pony.
High above, Spike was amazed. "Ho-hold your horses, Pinkie!" he exclaimed. "Rainbow Dash is catching up the frontrunner Applejack!"
"What an upset," Pinkie Pie remarked, surprised. "I thought Applejack had this in the bag."
Back on the ground, Rainbow Dash smirked at Applejack as she ran past her. "You didn't think I was gonna let you off that easily, did you?" she mocked.
Applejack was about to replied when she suddenly tripped on a rock and went tumbling across the ground, almost getting run over by the other ponies. After the dust and leaves settled, she go onto her hooves, enraged. "Whoa! I don't believe it," she grumbled.
Twilight Sparkle and Sunrise Blossom both trotted up at that moment, having been admiring the falling of the leaves. "We know, it's beautiful, isn't it?"
"Not the scenery, Twilight, Sunrise," Applejack protested. "Rainbow Dash just tripped me."
The twins shook their heads, having seen what happen earlier. "She did not."
"She did too!" Applejack insisted.
"She did not, and if you slowed down and looked where you're going, like us, you'd see that you tripped over a rock," Twilight Sparkle retorted, pointing to the very rock that her friend had tripped over.
"Yeah, you need to watch where you're going, Applejack," Sunrise Blossom agreed.
"What? Oh, hayseed!" Applejack groaned, realizing that they were right. "Now I got a lot of ground to make up to catch Rainbow." And she raced off, hoping that she would be able to catch up with the blue pegasus.
"Just be careful!" Twilight Sparkle and Sunrise Blossom called out after her, and then they resumed trotting and admiring the leaves falling off the trees around them.
Far ahead, Rainbow Dash was still running and when she checked behind her to see that none of the other ponies were in sight, she slowed down to a trot, positive that she had the race in the bag when Applejack suddenly ran past her.
"See you at the finish line!" the orange pony called out as she disappeared down the road. Enraged, the blue pegasus raced after her.
High in the sky, Spike was surprised by this twist in the race. "I don't believe it," he commented into his microphone. "After a huge setback, Applejack is back at the front of the pack."
"She's the head of the pack, all right," Pinkie Pie agreed. "The pick of the litter! The cat's pajamas!" She paused for a moment. "Oh wait, why would Applejack take some poor kitty's PJs?" she wondered, going off-topic once again. "That's not very sporting of her."
"Oookay…" said the baby dragon uncertainly. "Let's get back to the race."
Back on the ground, Rainbow Dash was working on catching up with her friend, determined to win. "Not so fast, Applejack!" she shouted. "This race isn't over yet!"
"It is for you. Heh," Applejack replied, grinning.
Growling, Rainbow Dash tried to run even faster when she suddenly went sprawling across the ground and as the other ponies raced past, she got buried by leaves. "Whoa!" She poked her head out of the leaves and shook the rest off. "Guh, I don't believe it, Applejack tripped me," she complained.
"Don't you ponies ever look where you're going?" Twilight Sparkle asked, exasperated when she and Sunrise Blossom reached the fuming blue pegasus. "You tripped on a stump. See?" And they both pointed to the nearby stump.
Rainbow Dash stared at the stump for a moment, but she was sure that this had been a setup by Applejack. "Oh, I see. A big cheater is what I see," she growled.
"Rainbow, Applejack would never cheat," the purple unicorn scolded her. "It was just an accident."
"Yes, and that you need to watch where you're going instead of assuming the worst," the orange unicorn added.
Rainbow Dash flushed a little. "Sure it was. I mean, yeah, I'm sure it was."
"Remember, Rainbow, this is just a game," Twilight Sparkle reminded her as she and Sunrise Blossom resumed trotting after the rest of the pack.
Rainbow Dash nodded, and then looked back at the stump, getting a nasty idea. 'Yes, but the rules have changed,' she thought, still positive that Applejack had cheated, 'and two can play at that game.'
A/N: Who will win the race? R&R everyone!