"Wow…this Henry the 8th really sounds like a strange king," Twilight said, looking at the floating screen in front of us. I had it open to his Wikipedia page, which we used as a base for whenever we researched human kings and rulers before we went to the source pages. The lights were out and the two of us sat next to each other on the couch in the basement. "Did he really marry six women?"

"According to this, only three were really his wives, since the Church of England annulled three of the marriages," I said.

"A religious group could actually do that?" she asked in shock.

"Religion is important to human history," I said. "For many hundreds of years, the Roman Catholic Church was a major power that actually held sway over a lot of kingdoms. And even today, religion is a major player in many political decisions in many human countries."

"Equestria doesn't have many religious aspects," Twilight said.

"Not in name, but in practice, yes you do," I said. "Look at the Lycan Empire. They revere somebody called the Guardian as helping to form their society. And the Kingdom of Equestria has living goddesses ruling it. Deny it all you want, Twi, but Celestia and Luna have the powers of deities."

"Not like this Yahweh your Bible mentions," Twilight said, holding up a copy of the Bible I'd lent to her. "Celestia and Luna wouldn't be able to create a universe."

"True enough, but we're getting into religion again when we should be focusing on studying good and bad rulers," I reminded her. "You're picking up some bad habits from me."

"Sorry," Twilight said sheepishly as she looked back at the hovering Wikipedia page.

As we continued reading, the upstairs door burst open and Rainbow Dash's voice called out, "Heeeey! Anypony home? Twilight? Spike?"

"Down here, Rainbow Dash," Twilight called out.

Rainbow Dash was down the stairs in less than ten seconds flat. "Hey, there! Oh! Jethro's here too? Perfect!"

"Is something going on?" I asked, before remembering what the day after today was. "Wait, don't tell me, let me guess. Iron Pony Competition between you and Applejack, and you need someone to help keep score?"

Rainbow Dash frowned. "Awww, you saw this already? Well, did you see who won? Huh? Huh? Did ya?"

"Relax there, speed demon," I said. "I still wanna see this go down."

"But…our studies…" Twilight moaned.

"Twi, it's almost noon. We've been studying since almost nine this morning. We need a break," I said. "Besides, I want to see how this goes differently with some ideas I have to bounce off of you ladies."

"Oh? Like what?" Twilight asked as I began shutting down my laptop.

"I'll tell you when we get there," I said. "I got the idea from a My Little Pony fanfiction."

"I still wish you'd let me read some of those," Twilight said.

"Maybe some other time, I promise," I said. "For now, off to Sweet Apple Acres!" I closed my laptop and stood. "Let's go!"

"Alright, so what were these ideas y'all had, Jethro," Applejack said a few minutes after Twilight, Spike and I arrived.

"Well, first of all," I began, "What exactly is the contest meant to determine? Who the most athletic Pony is, right?"

"That's right," Applejack said.

"See, that's kind of a broad goal," I said. "AJ, you're gonna be stronger physically thanks to that Earth Pony strength you have, and RD, you have wings. No matter what, in certain areas, you'll be better than the other. So, what we need to do is level the playing field somehow."

"How?" Twilight asked. "Even if we forbade the use of wings, I don't know a spell that would take away Applejack's Earth Pony strength."

"Ah'm not sure ah'd want that," Applejack said.

"The results could be disastrous even if there was a spell like that," Twilight said.

"Agreed," I said.

"That's not fair!" Rainbow Dash said. "I can't use my wings, but Applejack can use her strength? That's so not fair!"

"I hate to agree, but she has a point," Twilight said.

"Okay, let's think, then," I said. I sat on a nearby bench and tapped my forehead. "Think, think, think…"

"You're not Winnie the Pooh, silly!" Pinkie said. I felt her leaning against my back, front hooves wrapped around my neck.

"Pinkie? Where'd you come from?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I came with the others," the excitable Pony exclaimed, pointing back.

I didn't need to turn to know that Fluttershy and Rarity were also walking up, but I did anyway. I stood, Pinkie still clinging tightly to me, and waved. "Hello, ladies. Fine day to watch a little friendly competition, isn't it?"

Rarity, who was wearing a bright blue scarf around her neck, chuckled. "Any chance to show off my newest line of scarves, darling," she said.

"Of course," I chuckled. "And, might I say, that scarf looks absolutely radiant on you?"

She flipped her mane back majestically. "Thank you!"

I nodded, then turned to Fluttershy. "Flutters, I didn't think this kind of thing would appeal to you."

Fluttershy giggled sweetly. "Well, everypony else seemed to want to come, and I wanted to support my friends," she said as she came and sat next to me as I sat back down on the bench.

"That makes sense," I said. "Maybe you all can help make this a fair competition."

I explained the conundrum we were up against, and the Mane Six went silent, all of them thinking in their own ways. A few minutes later, another presence leaned against me. Looking down, I saw Zecora looking up at me lovingly. "My love, what has you all troubled?" she asked.

"Seriously, you all look like you've got your panties in a bunch," Scarlet said from above, landing directly on my lap.

I snorted and gave Scarlet's nose a flick before putting an arm around Zecora. "There's an Iron Pony Competition coming up soon, and we're trying to figure out how to level the playing field since one competitor is gonna be naturally better at one thing than the other due to their species."

"Aaah, I see that is quite the conundrum," Zecora said, "but what is the goal of this competition?"

I smiled. It had been a while since I'd heard Zecora rhyme, and it was just like old times. "To see who the most athletic Pony is between Applejack and Rainbow Dash," I explained.

Zecora nodded, then switched to Farasi since Scarlet was here. "You've seen this before already, haven't you?"

"Yes, but I want it to be fair," I explained.

"Hmm. Why not play it by ear, as you humans would say?" she asked. "If this is an athletic competition, perhaps for certain events the use of wings can be forbidden, but not for everything."

"Well, that's the thing, we need to define what athletic means," I said. "Is it a contest of strength? Speed? Dexterity? Because if that's the case, denying the use of wings is unfair since it's a part of what makes Rainbow Dash unique."

"Ah've heard enough," Applejack said, stepping forward. "Ah was a mite concerned about Rainbow usin' her wings, but why not let her? Besides, ain't like it'll do her any good."

"Heh, you'll be eating those words, country gal!" Rainbow Dash said.

"As long as ya don't use 'em to cheat," Applejack said.

"And how would I used them to cheat?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Ugh, and we're back to square one," I sighed. The four mares around me all giggled at that. "Ladies, why don't we do what Zecora says and play it by ear for each competition, okay? Twilight and I will be as fair as we possibly can, got it?"

"Ah reckon ah can go fer that," Applejack said. She spat onto her hoof. "How 'bout you, Rainbow?"

Rainbow Dash spat into her hoof and held it out. "Sounds fine to me!"

The two put their hooves together. I chuckled. "So unsanitary…well, let the games begin!"

For the most part, the competition went pretty much the same as the one from the show. However, a few of the competitions we had to call in favor of Applejack due to Rainbow's use of wings being deemed as unfair by me and Twilight.

One thing I did change was the fact that any kind of competition that involved Spike being a part of it was changed so that I was the one there instead. There was no way I'd be putting the drake in danger like that. I liked the guy, and didn't think he deserved the abuse he got in that episode. During the Bronco Buck, I was bucked off the two mares relatively fast (Rainbow Dash still won) and hogtied expertly by Applejack. Spike thanked me profusely for volunteering in his place. "Can't let anything hurt my favorite Dragon," I chuckled at that, brushing dirt off of my clothes and wings.

Because of this, by the end of the day, the score was actually tied up, ten to ten. Needless to say, Rainbow Dash wasn't too happy with me and Twilight. "I would have won!" she shouted at the two of us.

"Well, if you didn't use your wings at all, you'd have lost entirely," I said. "Seriously, a lot of those were tough to call, but we promised to be as fair as we could."

"Yeah, well, who won?" Rainbow asked.

"Guess you'll have to have a tiebreaker round," I said, "and I'll bet I know the perfect way to do it. Tomorrow's the annual Running of the Leaves. Whoever wins that wins the Iron Pony Cup."

"Ah can agree tah that, as long as Rainbow here don't use her wings," Applejack said with a smug expression. "It's Runnin' of the Leaves, not Flyin' of the Leaves."

"No wings? Psh, no problem!" Rainbow Dash grinned. The two spat on their hooves and hoofbumped.

I grinned. "This is where the fun begins…" I looked at the gathered crowd of Ponies. "Alright, everybody! The contest has been postponed until tomorrow at the Running of the Leaves. I know there's a betting pool going around, but that will have to wait until the results of tomorrow's race. For now, why don't we all relax and enjoy the rest of the day! Tomorrow's gonna be a big event! Thank you all for coming, and have a safe trip home!"

As the Ponies all began to disperse, I walked over to the two mares of the hour, followed by Zecora, Scarlet and the other Mane Six, one of which was still clinging to my back. "You two look exhausted," I chuckled. "Come on, lemme take everyone here out somewhere to get a drink and a bite to eat. My treat."

Applejack gave me a grateful look. "Ah appreciate that, pardner," she said. "Ah reckon ah could go fer some vittles right about now."

Rainbow Dash, on the other hand, still looked a bit sore. I knelt beside her. "RD? Are you still angry at me and Twilight?" I asked.

She stomped her hoof on the ground. "Yeah…" she huffed.

"You know we didn't mean to make you this upset, right?" Twilight added, coming to my side. "We were just trying to make the fairest calls we could."

"It felt like you were singling me out…" she admitted.

"We weren't," I said. "I'm sorry we made you feel that way. Let me make it up to you, somehow."

Rainbow Dash shook her head. "It's alright…I know you didn't mean anything by it. I'm just being stupid."

"Now hang on there just a cotton-pickin' minute, sugarcube," Applejack said, walking up and smacking Rainbow Dash upside the head, "Ya ain't stupid."

"She's right," I added. "You aren't stupid. Your brand of smarts is different than, say, Twilight's, or even Applejack's. Think about it: when you're flying up there, in the sky, your attention is everywhere at once. In that sense, you have an eidetic memory. You can recall everything you see and keep it locked in that noggin of yours." I tapped her forehead. "Come on, let's get you something to eat. It's my treat today, so feel free to take advantage of that all you want as revenge."

That got her attention. She turned and gave me an evil grin. "Oh, you are so on."

"I still can't believe Rainbow Dash ate all of that," I said to Twilight and Spike the next morning as we made our way to the race location. I was dressed in my best running outfit, a pair of running shorts, a breathable but black t-shirt, a pair of shoes that were perfect for running, and a water bottle with ice in a water bottle carrier hanging by my side. "I'll be surprised if she shows up at all, considering how stuffed she was when she flew back to her house."

"Don't worry about that," Twilight chuckled, "Pegasi have very fast metabolisms. They need to since they spend a lot of time flying."

"I guess that makes sense," I said. I'd eaten about the same amount since Rainbow had made it an impromptu competition between the two of us, and I felt just fine. My own metabolism had begun to get better with each passing day. "So, Twilight, you really think you can get me into the race? I rewatched this episode last night and I was under the impression it was just for Ponies."

"Technically speaking, you're a Pony in another form," Twilight said. "Well, half Pony, half human. I've looked over the rules, and it seems to me that there's nothing in them that denies letting a half-Pony race."

"Probably because nobody's ever seen one, right?" I asked.

"I've never heard of a half-Pony," she admitted.

"Well, while you two are racing, I'll be announcing!" Spike said, holding the stick with one green leaf in his claw.

"Co-announcing, actually," I replied. "Pinkie beat you to it, but she'll totally let you along for the ride if you ask. She's gonna be using a balloon."

Spike frowned at the former, but then his eyes widened when he heard the latter. "Sweet! A bird's eye view! I'm gonna go find her!" Jumping off of Twilight's back, he rushed ahead, a broad grin on his face.

"That's still a bit unnerving," Twilight admitted. "You knowing what's going to happen."

"Yeah, I can only imagine," I nodded in agreement as we reached a small table near the beginning of the race.

A bright yellow Earth Pony stallion sat there along with the mayor. The mayor looked up first and her smile broadened. "Mr. Bethridge, Miss Sparkle, welcome! Are you two here to observe the race?"

"Actually, we're both here to enter it," Twilight said, taking the reins of the conversation.

The yellow stallion looked up, then saw me. He frowned. "Well, we can let you race, Miss Sparkle, but your friend here can't. He's not a Pony, and this race is for Ponies only."

Twilight shook her head. "Not quite right, sir. He's part Pony. Look at those wings. And you can take it from me, he's capable of using Unicorn magic pretty well. Now, forgive me if I'm wrong, but are there any other races you know of who can use Unicorn magic?" Twilight turned to me. "Show them."

I held out a finger, which glowed with my signature magical color. A pen on the table lifted itself into the air after being enveloped by my magic. I flew it around for a few seconds before landing it back on the table in front of the two Ponies. Twilight turned back to the two Ponies. "Not only that, but he has Earth Pony strength and magic," Twilight added. "There's nothing in the rules that says a half-Pony can't race. I would have thought we'd learn our lesson after the Zecora incident."

The mayor and the yellow stallion both looked away, abashed. I was surprised when the mayor pushed forward a clipboard. "I…suppose you're right," she said. "I'm sorry. Please enjoy the race."

Twilight and I both filled out our forms and received our numbers. Twilight got 42, and I got 34. I was almost tempted to put an R in front of my number, but decided against it since nobody would get it except for Scarlet and it was inappropriate anyway.

As the two of us got to the front of the line, I spotted Applejack and Rainbow Dash, the latter of whom already had her wings tied down. From above, I heard Spike announce, "Racers, take your positions! The race will begin in exactly one minute!"

As Twilight and I approached the starting line, Rainbow Dash turned and saw us. "Twilight? Jethro? What are you two doing here?"

I pointed to the number I'd stuck to my chest. "What does it look like we're doing? We're racing."

"Wait, what? But I thought only Ponies could race," Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

"And I'm part Pony," I said, spreading my wings and pointing to them. "I don't have these wings because I'm an angel, sister. Alicorn-Human mix all the way, baby."

"Hmm…ah guess that's fine," Applejack said, "but what in tarnation are ya doin' up here, Twilight?"

"I'm racing, of course!" Twilight exclaimed.

"Pah! Hahahaha!" Rainbow Dash began laughing, almost busting a gut. Twilight and I exchanged a glance and we both rolled our eyes. "Yeah…good one, Twilight!"

"She's not having a laugh," I said. "She's being serious."

"What?!" Rainbow Dash said. She and Applejack looked at her incredulously. "You're not an athlete! Jethro maybe, since yours truly has been training him-"

"Don't ferget me," Applejack interrupted.

"Yeah, sure," Rainbow Dash conceded, "but you, Twilight? You're an…egghead."

"If she's an egghead, does that make me one, too?" I asked. "I'm not as intelligent as she is, but I'd like to think I'm decently smart."

"And the term is well-read, thank you," Twilight huffed.

"Egghead," Rainbow Dash whispered, and both her and Applejack snickered.

I tuned them out and looked around at the other racers. Nearby, I caught a glimpse of Zecora and Scarlet, who both were waving at me. I waved back, smiling. Scarlet called out, "You got this!" Clearing her throat, she deepened her voice. "Team Race!" she shouted, doing her best imitation of the Halo announcer.

"At least it isn't Team Slayer!" I called back, doing my own imitation of the announcer.

"Just get a warthog, and you'll own these noobs!" Scarlet laughed.

"I should never have shown you Halo!" I shouted.

"You say that a lot, and yet you keep showing me stuff from Earth!" Scarlet called back.

"May the winds guide you well, dearest!" Zecora called out.

"I shall endeavor to run with them!" I replied.

"Ten more seconds, racers!" Pinkie announced. I dug my running shoes into the dirt. "Are you Ponies ready?"

"Get set!" Spike said.

"GO!" both Pinkie and Spike shouted. A bell ran and I began to jog, staying next to Twilight as the others rushed ahead of us while at the same time making sure to put some extra stomp into my steps to allow the leaves to fall. I was rewarded by a slight trembling of the ground around me and a bunch of leaves falling around us.

"And they're off!" Pinkie announced above us. "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. No, that's left to My Little Ponies!"

"I used to wonder what friendship could be, until you all shared its magic with me!" I sang automatically. Twilight, who was still beside me, snickered at the reference.

"Why…yes, Pinkie. It's the running of the Ponies that causes the leaves to fall," Spike said.

"Ugh…those lazy, lazy leaves," Pinkie sighed.

"I'm gonna start calling you MOTO, Master Of The Obvious!" I shouted up at Pinkie.

"Hey, look at that!" Pinkie said, pointing down at me, "looks like we have a new competitor in the race! Hi Jethy! Still think I'm sex-"

"Don't say that!" I shouted up at her, face flushed.

She giggled. "Fine, fine! Back to the race at hoof, the run is about more than the weather. It's also about the race to the finish and the two runners who want to win it! Applejack and Rainbow Dash!"

"Those two are having way too much fun up there," I told Twilight.

"Oh, definitely," Twilight said, before she looked closer at me. "What was Pinkie about to say?"

I groaned. "I'm sure you can guess. You were there when Scarlet said something to Pinkie, remember? Back during Nightmare Night?"

Twilight's eyes widened as she remembered. "Right…the sexy remark." The two of us ran in uncomfortable silence for a bit before Twilight looked up at me. "Did…you mean what you told Pinkie that night? About finding other mares attractive?"

I nodded. "Yes. I meant it. I've seen a lot of gorgeous mares in this town, you included. And sure, I'm attracted to them physically, but you know me, I want more out of a relationship than just meaningless sex. I want a connection. Emotional, mental, spiritual (depending on what that looks like here) and, yes, physical. I want all of that from a lover, and I have that with Zecora."

Twilight smiled, and I thought I saw a blush on her cheeks. "I'm glad to hear it. You deserve it after all you've been through."

"Deserve is a strong word," I admitted. "But I'm counting myself beyond lucky that a Zebra like her cares about a guy like me."

"Hey, don't sell yourself short, Jethro," she said. "You've got a lot to offer, and any mare would be lucky to have you as their coltfriend."

"So I've been told," I chuckled. "Thanks, Twi."

"You're welcome," she beamed up at me before looking at the scenery all around us. "Wow…gorgeous day today, isn't it?"

"Oh, definitely," I said. "Autumn is definitely a beautiful season. I love all the leaves changing colors, the cooler weather, the wind and rain, and pumpkin spice everything."

"What's pumpkin spice?" Twilight asked.

I grinned. "When this race is over, I'll break out some of my pumpkin spice coffee blend and brew some for you. I bet there's a recipe on the staticnet for pumpkin spice, too. I'm positive the Cakes would go nuts over that."

Twilight snorted. "You certainly impressed them with that ice cream cake idea of yours," she said.

"Hey, there's no harm in bringing some good things from Earth to Equestria," I reasoned.

"Heh, true, true…What else are you hoping to bring from your world to here?"

I grinned. "You'll flip your lid when I tell you about ebook readers."

And flip her lid she did. Her eyes practically bugged out of their sockets when I mentioned the fact that something the size of a small book could hold entire libraries worth of knowledge within it. I told her I had three at home, but that one of them had a poor battery life. "It's one of the downsides of an ebook," I explained, "the need for a battery. If your battery runs out, then you'll have no access to the books and then you just have an expensive paperweight. Don't get me wrong, I love having an ebook with me, but there's something to be said for old fashioned paper books. They never need a battery, and you can take them anywhere."

"Would you be willing to let me look at the one with poor battery life?" Twilight asked hopefully. "Maybe I can figure out what the problem is and fix it?"

"Twilight, if you manage to fix it, I'd be really grateful," I said. "I'll show it to you after the race."

"Thank you! By the way, why do you have three?" she asked curiously.

"Well, the one with the poor battery life was the first one I bought," I explained. "However, the battery life on that one deteriorated fast, so I bought a second one. Then for my birthday one year, my coworkers bought me a third one. That third one is my backup just in case my second one breaks down. Even more so since I don't have access to Earth tech anymore." Unless I can get to Sunset Shimmer's world, I thought.

"I'll be really careful with it, I promise," she said.

"I trust you on that," I said. "I'll even loan you one of my portable solar powered battery packs to keep the thing charged."

"Eeee! I can't wait!"

The two of us talked more about what possible things I could bring to Equestria. A few minutes later, however, Twilight pointed ahead. "Hey, is that Applejack?"

"She tripped already, huh?" I looked out to see Applejack standing and brushing herself off. "You Ponies should check the track for obstacles like that before the race. This isn't an obstacle course."

"Ah…Ah don't believe it!" I heard Applejack say.

"Rainbow Dash didn't trip you!" I called out before she could say anything.

"You just tripped over a rock, see?" Twilight added, pointing to said rock.

"What?" She looked back and saw the rock Twilight and I were both looking at. "Oh, hayseed!" We looked at the running Ponies who were moving farther and farther ahead of us with each passing second. "Now ah got a lotta ground tah make up tah catch Rainbow!"

"Just be careful!" Twilight smiled as Applejack rushed ahead. When she was out of sight, Twilight looked up at me. "They do make it out okay, right?"

"Yeah, but if things keep going the way they are, they'll start cheating to win," I replied.

"What? Why?" Twilight asked, aghast.

"Dear Princess Celestia," I began, imitating Twilight's voice, "sometimes, even the best of friends can become so competitive that suspicions can grow between them and they do some foolish things. Even friends have times when they might not act like friends, but that doesn't mean the friendship is over. It just means, as Jethro so wisely says, 'You're only human'. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle"

Twilight smirked and rolled her eyes. "I don't sound like that!"

"Nah, you're right. Your real voice is a lot more soothing," I said. I chuckled at Twilight's blushing face as I moved slightly ahead.

"You think so?" Twilight asked shyly as she joined me again.

"Honestly, I think you could narrate a whole audiobook," I admitted. "You have a very nice voice, perfect for reading."

She blushed even more. "Thank you…" she said softly as we continued running.

Another few minutes passed, this time in silence. As we ran up another hill, I saw Rainbow Dash standing and brushing herself off in a manner nearby identical to the way Applejack had earlier. "I don't believe it! Applejack-"

"Say one word about her tripping you, and I'll flip you!" I called out as Twilight and I approached.

"Don't you Ponies ever look where you're going?" Twilight asked, pointing to a nearby stump. "You tripped on a stump, see?"

"Oh, I see," a fuming Rainbow Dash said, "A big cheater is what I see."

"Riiight, because it makes total sense for that to happen," I snarked. "I know! She came out here years ago, planted the tree, waited for it to grow, then cut it down juuust for you to trip over it." I frowned at her and crossed my arms. "See how stupid it sounds? You've known her longer than I have, and I've seen the show! She's the most honest Pony I've known. She ain't the Element of Honesty for nothing. Take a chill pill and run the race. And if I see you cheating, so help me I will flip you into the middle of next week."

"Remember, Rainbow, this is just a game," Twilight said, running past Rainbow Dash. I joined her, but looked back. To my relief, it looked like Rainbow Dash was actually thinking about it before shaking her head and dashing past us. When she was out of sight, Twilight gave me a disapproving look. "You didn't have to threaten her, you know?"

"You forget I've seen these events before," I replied, "and I didn't want Rainbow Dash to stoop to cheating to try and win. Or Applejack for that matter."

"Still, threatening her like that was a bit uncalled for," she said sternly.

"Yeah…probably so," I admitted, "but here's hoping it produced results."

We changed topics and began talking more about our favorite parts about the autumn season. When I mentioned the American Thanksgiving holiday, Twilight asked me more about it. She was a bit disconcerted to hear about the food that was eaten, but she was still excited to hear about this new kind of tradition from Earth. When I asked if Ponies had any kind of harvest festival, I was shocked to hear that they didn't. "Wow…you'd think you would have some kind of harvest festival or something like that."

"Well, Hearths Warming is sort of like that," Twilight said.

I chuckled. "True enough, I suppose." I was still going to celebrate Thanksgiving regardless, and I'd already ordered the turkey from Griffonstone. "It's one of my favorite holidays, even if the traditional foods for it are some you Ponies can't eat. Unless you count tofurkey."

"What's that?"

"Fake turkey made out of tofu," I said. "Vegans and vegetarians have it back on Earth. Not me. I don't care what everyone else says. Give me a good old fashioned turkey dinner with all the trimmings: mashed potatoes with sour cream and chives and gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce, bread rolls, pumpkin pie and ice cream. Then the traditional after meal nap from the tryptophan. Then a football game outside. Shame we can't do a Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade," I chuckled. "Aaand I'm hungry now," I laughed, pulling my water bottle up to take a drink, then took it off and handed it over to her. "Want some?"

Using her magic, she quickly took a drink before handing it back to me. "Ahh, that hit the spot, thanks!"

At least she didn't go all indirect kiss freak out on me, I inwardly chuckled as I put the strap back over me.

"Wow, that water was cold!" Twilight said.

I shook it. "My fridge has a built-in ice maker."

The way her eyes bulged again told me that we'd be having another long discussion about it. I steeled myself for the questions…

As we reached the last legs of the race, I saw, to my relief, that neither Applejack nor Rainbow Dash had resorted to cheating, or at least, I hadn't seen any indication of it. However, that didn't mean anything, since the few times I'd seen the two mares, they looked like they were growing more and more angry at each other. Twilight had seen that too, and was growing more and more worried. I was as well, but I held out hope that they wouldn't resort to cheating.

When I spotted the finish line, I turned to Twilight, grinning. "What say we show these village Ponies how we city slickers do it, eh?"

Her grin matched my own and she began pumping her legs. "Last one there is a rotten egg!" she called out.

"Yeah, and the first one's gotta eat it!" I shouted, beginning my own sprint towards the finish line.

I focused on the finish line, making sure to use the Pegasus senses I had to observe my entire surroundings. Twilight and I made our way through the surprised group of Ponies, and made our way towards the two lead runners. I could hear a surprised Spike announcing our leap to the finish, and Applejack and Rainbow Dash both turned, eyes wide as the two of us approached.

And that was their downfall.

I was too late to call out for them to look out for a freshly fallen branch in the middle of the road. The two mares tripped over it and went sprawling. I half expected Twilight to stop and help them, but as we passed, I saw a bit of competitive spirit come out in the Unicorn. "Forgive me girls, I know I'm not an athlete, but shouldn't the Running of the Leaves actually involve Running?"

"Someone get them directions to the nearest hospital because they need some medicine for that sick burn!" I heard a familiar Pegasus shouting from nearby with a laugh.

I pumped my legs with everything I had, as did Twilight. "Look at this!" I heard Pinkie announce from above. "The two underdogs are neck and neck, inching their way towards the finish line. But wait! Rainbow Dash and Applejack are starting to catch up."

"Right now, it's anypony's race!" Spike added. "Looks like it's Jethro in the lead…now it's Twilight…now it's Jethro again!"

The ending was nearly in sight. I focused all my energy on it, and with a final push, Twilight and I broke through the red ribbon at the same time. A cheer came from the gathered Ponies as I took the time to slow down. When I finally stopped, I collapsed, and I felt Twilight collapsing right on top of me. My chest was on fire, and my breathing ragged. I took another long swig of my water before handing the bottle to Twilight, who greedily drank. I looked up at her, and she at me. I held out my fist, and she held out a hoof. With tired grins, we fist/hoofbumped. "First place tie, huh?" I gasped. "You did better than I thought you would. Congrats, Twilight Sparkle." I reached up and, after putting an arm around her, began stroking her mane.

She sighed contentedly and lay her head on my chest. "You did great too, Jethro Bethridge."

"I…don't…believe…it…" Rainbow Dash said, approaching us and panting heavily. "How? You two ran so slow! And looked at the scenery!"

"Yeah, how's that even possible?" Applejack asked.

"It's called pacing," I explained. "You keep all your energy conserved until the very last moments, then you let it out in a burst of energy, passing everyone else to win." Twilight nodded in agreement. "I'm just glad your assumptions didn't get out of hand. You two were really not getting the point of this race."

Rainbow Dash and Applejack looked at each other, then slowly looked down. "Yer right, Jethro. Our behavior wasn't good."

"We weren't good sports at all, were we?" Rainbow asked.

"Sounds to me like an important lesson was learned," a familiar voice said from behind us.

"PRINCESS CELESTIA?!" Applejack and Rainbow Dash exclaimed simultaneously.

"Forgive me for not standing to attention," I called out, taking another gulp of water before handing it back to Twilight.

Celestia's face suddenly hovered over mine, and a broad smile formed. "That's quite alright. You and my faithful student did quite well. I was watching you two from above."

"I am sooo not surprised," I said, just as Zecora came and knelt beside me, putting a cool wet towel on my forehead. "Thanks, sweetie."

"I see you enjoy snuggling with Unicorns," Zecora smirked. "Is it comfortable?"

Celestia giggled as I replied, "Join in and find out."

As Celestia talked to Applejack and Rainbow Dash, Zecora plopped herself on my stomach. I closed my eyes and sighed contentedly. A perfect end to a perfect Autumn day…