>"Hey, Anon. What 'ya doin'?"
>You look to the side and saw Rainbow Dash trotting up beside you.
"Not much. Early morning run is all."
>"Trying to get in some last minute practice, eh? I like that."
"Yeah, pretty much."
>You jog for a few minutes in silence, Rainbow keeping with you the whole time.
>"You know you'll never win if you're this slow."
"We'll see about that," you smile back at her.
>Rainbow Dash furled her brow and jumped into the air.
>She hovered at eye level, flying backwards at your pace.
>"You think you can beat me? I'm the fastest thing in Equestria!" she boasted.
>You roll you eyes.
>Like you haven't heard that a hundred times.
"Maybe in the air," you mutter, just barely audible.
>"What was that, punk?"
>Rainbow bumped you in the chest with a hoof.
"Rumor has it, you lost the race last year."
>"And what's THAT supposed to mean?"
>She stops in front of you, forcing you to stop.
"Uh... You're slow?"
--
>You step around her and continue your jog.
>She runs up beside you.
>"That's because I was fighting with Applejack the whole time."
"You still lost."
>"But I wasn't even trying!"
"You still lost. And to Twilight no less."
>You snicker deliberately to taunt her.
>She jumps and bucks you in the shoulder.
>You stumble to the side.
"Ow! ... Heheh."
>You rub your shoulder and continue jogging.

>You make it home, Rainbow Dash still with you, albeit a little disgruntled.
>You take a minute to catch your breath; Rainbow Dash as well, but not nearly as bad.
>She was flying half the time anyways...
>"So will we be seeing you this afternoon?"
>You open your mouth to speak, but Rainbow cuts you off.
>"Don't bother. You don't stand a chance anyways."
>You shrug your shoulders and turn to go inside.
>"Hey Anon."
>You turn back towards Rainbow Dash.
"Yeah?"
>She extends a hoof.
>"I know we haven't been on the best of terms, but may the best runner win."
>You fistbump her hoof.
>She smiles, but then her face contorts to disgust.
>She covers her nose and takes a step back.
>"Whoa, dude! Take a bath before then, would ya?"
>Your shirt was drenched in sweat and you reek horribly.
"That's the plan. See ya later, Dash."
>You wave her off as she flies away.
--
>Bypassing Ponyville, you and Fluttershy make your way to the Running of the Leaves festival in Whitetail Woods.
>A shower and some new clothes from Rarity leave you feeling absolutely fantastic!
>The brilliantly warm colors of the leaves are accented by the pillars of sunlight piercing the canopy of the forest.
>The view is made even more perfect in this equally warm afternoon air.

>Your time at the festival was a great time.
>There were your usual small-town country games such as bobbing for apples, horseshoes, and even a balloon vendor.
>It seemed to be catered more towards children than the adults, but everyone still had a good time.
>The 10-minute warning for the Running of the Leaves race itself was announced by Pinkie and Spike in a hot air balloon.
>You work your way to the starting line and stretch out.
>You catch stares from ponies in the audience and the other runners.
>Apparently, seeing something's leg twist like that isn't a common sight around here.
>You ignore them and continue on.
--
>At the 2-minute warning, the runners line up.
>Applejack and Rainbow Dash were on the outside end.
>You were between the middle and the opposite end from them.
>Twilight stood next to you.
>Fluttershy and Rarity observed from the stands.
>"You ready to get your flank trampled, Anonymous?" called Rainbow Dash.
>"Don't pay RD no mind, Anonymous!" called Applejack. "Good luck to ya!"
>You give a quick wave to the the two of them and look at Twilight.
"So I hear you beat Rainbow Dash and Applejack last year?" you ask, trying to make conversation.
>"Yup," replies Twilight.
>Awkward silence.
"Fifth place?"
>"Yup."
"Could you lighten up a little? I'm just trying to be friendly."
>"Everypony, to your marks!" announced Pinkie.
>"I can do that," said Twilight.
>"Get set!"
>You all crouch down.
>"GO!"

>The runners take off.
>You take one step, trip, and faceplant right into the dirt.
>Twilight looks back at you, laughing her flank off.
>The audience and the few runners who noticed bursted into laughter as well.
>"Ooh! Faceplant! Anonymous is not off to a good start today, is he Spike?"
>"Haha. Nope."
>You sit up and look at your feet.
>She tied your shoes together...
>This means war.
>Quickly, you retie your shoes, stand, and bolt after the other runners.
>The few seconds you were down caused a massive gap between you and the rest of the pack.
>'Oh crap. Oh crap. Oh crap. Oh crap,' you keep repeating in your head.
>It was the very beginning of the race and you already have a massive handicap.
>Time to kick it into high gear.
--
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OI9qcTwRN4
>You pump your arms and legs faster to close the gap.
>"Look! Anonymous is catching up to the pack!" commented Spike.
>"He's running so hard, just look at that dust trail!" exclaimed Pinkie.
>While you were mostly in the dust from the ponies ahead, your steps kicked up small clouds of their own.
>In a minute or so, you mananged to catch up to and pass the first pony in front of you.
>Doing good.
>You slow it down so as not to exhaust yourself so quickly.
>A few more minutes, a few more ponies.
>You recognize the familiar dark purple tail in front of you.
>You move to the opposite side of the path from Twilight just in case she tries something funny again.

>Twilight spots you as you run by.
>You close your eyes and stick your tongue out as you pass.
>You suddenly go tumbling end over end once more.
>You roll and stumble to your feet, losing a ton of momentum.
>A few ponies pass, but at least you're not in last again.
>You look back at a large branch that had been moved onto the path.
"Damn it," you mutter to yourself.
>Note to self: Don't take your eyes off Twilight.
--
>You focus on moving forward.
>Once again, you slowly gain ground on the rest of the pack.
>Your heart is beating quickly.
>Your breathing grows hard and fast.
>Twilight is casually trotting along.
>You have a feeling she's just waiting for you.
>You run up beside her and the two of you lock eyes.
>Her horn glow with that all-too-familiar purple, sparkly aura.
>Thinking fast, you flick the tip of her horn.
>"Ow!", recoils Twilight.
>With a swing of your hips, you bump her and knock her off balance.
>She is unable to recover and she stumbles off the side of the road.
>You laugh hysterically as you watch her trip over a stick and tumble end over end into a bush.
>With that distraction out of the way, time to find Rainbow Dash and Applejack.

>The path twists and turns as it goes.
>You take a look to the sky.
>You've been so distracted by Twilight and focused on moving to the front of the pack, you forgot why you're here in the first place.
>Sure you were challenged to compete, but the real reason is the scenery.
>The thundering of hooves on the dirt-trodden path shake the leaves from the trees.
>The sun sometimes breaks the canopy of the trees that grew over the road. 
>The sunshafts look like water in the air, what with the shimmering heat, but also the shadows of the falling leaves casting small shadows on the earth below.
>It's like a colorful, crunchy rain.
--
>It turns out, you're a little too immersed in the moment.
>A hard charging competitor bolts past you.
>Your little trance caused you to slow, allowing the others behind you to gain ground.
>You snap out of it and catch up to the one who passed you.
"Not today," you say aloud as you overcome him.
>You round a corner, the other racer hot on your heels.
>A long, flat stretch sits before you.
>You squint your eyes and focus down the road.
>In the very near distance, you spot two particular ponies running side by side and leaning into each other.
"Whoa, they really are fast," you say to no one in particular.
>The pony behind you looks up at you and raises an eyebrow.

>The blue and orange ponies round another bend, disappearing behind the brush.
>You pick up the pace just a tad.
>The pony who was with you now fell back a few yards.
>You run on the inside of the sharp corner to gain just a little more ground.
>Without the slightest idea of what the hell just happened, you manage to find yourself on your back staring up into the canopy.
>You would comment on how pretty it looks, but your face hurts too much to care.
>The pony behind you runs by.
>You press your hands against your face as the purple body of one particular unicorn hurdles over you.
>You stand quickly and bump your head on a branch sticking out over the path.
>You look back as you go and spot a rope dangling from between the leaves.
"Learn to play fair!" you shout forward at Twilight.
>"I didn't do it," she shouted back, a large shit-eating grin on her face.
>Your irritation is mounting.
--
>So close.
>You were so close to Rainbow Dash and Applejack.
>You can still do this though.
>Your chest hurts.
>Your legs as well.
>You push harder.
>Twilight has begun galloping faster.
>You pass the pony from before for the third time today.
>He looks just as exhausted as you.
>Twilight's opened quite the gap and even slowly gaining on Rainbow and Applejack.
>And you slowly gaining on Twilight.

>"Looks like it's gonna be a close one," announced Spike.
>"You bet ya, Spike!" said Pinkie. "Applejack and Rainbow Dash are neck and neck."
>"And look!" Spike pointed. "Twilight and Anonymous are right behind each other as well!"
>"And gaining on Applejack and Rainbow Dash!"
>Pinkie starts rapidly bouncing and tapping her hooves against the side of the balloon's basket.
>"This is getting so exciting I can barely contain myself!"
--
>Applejack, overhearing Pinkie's shouting, looks over her shoulder.
>She spots Twilight and yourself coming up on them.
>"Howdy, pardners! Where y'all been this whole time?" she calls back.
>Rainbow Dash looks back as well.
>"Bahaha! What's the matter, Anon? Can't beat an egghead in a hoof race?"
>And to think your patience had been stretched to its limit.

>You've forgotten all about the pain in your legs and chest.
>Now you just need something to rub in Rainbow Dash's face.
>If only Twilight would let you freakin' pass her!
>You weave side to side, but she keeps cutting you off.
>Okay forget this.
>With a quick burst of energy, you vault forward.
>Twilight, in fear of being landed on, skids in a desperate attempt to slow down.
>She barely avoids getting stepped on, and you getting a horn in the crotch.
"Aha!" you proclaim in your small victory.
>Twilight quickly shakes her disbelief and charges forward, her head down and her eyes closed.
--
>"Wow! What an amazing move by Anonymous!" commented Spike.
"I got you now!"
>Rainbow Dash looks back and spots you furiously pumping your arms and legs in an attempt to catch up.
>"Ha! Fat chance!"
>She quickly spreads her wings and gives one strong flap.
>The push is enough to put her in front of Applejack.
>"Hey! You said you wouldn't do that again!" protested Applejack.
>"I'm not!" argued Rainbow.
"You're gonna need it to keep up!"
>You side-step as Rainbow looked over her shoulder and sprint forward.
>"You ain't getting away that easy!" she yelled back.

>As you moved around Applejack, Twilight bolted forward.
>Her horn still forward and her eyes still closed.
>"What in the hay?!"
>Applejack jumped as Twilight's horn jabbed her flank.
>She bumped into Rainbow Dash, pushing her to the side.
>Rainbow growled and slammed back into Applejack.
>Like a pinball, she bounced back and hit the side of Twilight's head.
>As her head jerked to the side, a random purple beam fired out from her horn.
>The stray bolt skinned Applejack's hat, twirling it around on her head.
>It then flew right at you.
>And shot you in the ass.
--
"What the hell!"
>You yelped and jumped into the air.
>With one hand you hold your bruised behind and try to keep pumping the other.
>You accidentally backhand Rainbow Dash.
>She bares her teeth and flaps her wings thrice more.
>Applejack sees this stunt once more and aims to show Rainbow how useless her trying to cheat is
>She easily catches up to you and Rainbow.
>Twilight recovers from her hit by Applejack.
>Upon seeing Applejack pull away, Twilight begins to panic at the thought of losing.
>To you.

>One final turn revealed a large banner, the word 'FINISH' in glorious bold red letters across it.
>A set of bleachers on each side of the road held the spectators.
>Your wife-to-be sat with her best friend.
>Rarity cheered and clopped her hooves for her four friends.
>Fluttershy gently waved a small pointed flag with ANON printed on it.
>Twilight stole the chance and cut the corner on the inside, evening out with the rest of you without any extra effort on her part.
>"It's a four-way tie for the lead!" shouted Pinkie. "Never before have we seen anything like this!".
--
>The four of you break the treeline and into the clearing where the finish line was.
>The crowd was caught by complete surprise.
>For one, they were only expecting one or two to be galloping up the path.
>Now there was four within inches of each other.
>Also, the extra two were not who they were expecting to be in the front.

>Like a wave, each of you got a step ahead, but fell back again.
>At this rate, it could very well be a four-way tie.
>You and Rainbow Dash lock eyes for several seconds.
>Each of you pour out your hearts into the final yards of the race.
>Applejack spots the two of you step ahead.
>She slams her hooves into the ground hard enough to leave shallow divots in the earth.
>Twilight ducks her head and physically strains to hold her sprint as long as she can.
>Without paying attention, she trips up on a small dip in the road.
>She loses her balance and stumbles into Applejack.
>Twilight slams into Applejack from behind, her shoulder in Applejack's flank.
>It was enough to push Applejack into the lead.
>Applejack crosses the finish line for the win.
>You were side-by-side with Rainbow Dash.
>Whoever got second was too close for you to tell.
>Twilight finished a few steps behind you.
--
>Upon crossing the line, all four of you stumbled to a halt, gasping and choking for breath.
>You walked a small circle to try to catch your breath.
>Fluttershy flew from her seat and into your arms.
>You barely saw her coming and spun around after you had embraced her.
>She was squeezing you so tight it was more difficult to breathe.

>A minute later and your breathing has come under control.
>The other runners were crossing the line.
>They too collapsed on the grass upon finishing.
>You found Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity speaking off to the side.
"Grats, Applejack," you greet as you walk up.
>"Why thank ya kindly, Anon," she replied.
>"Anon, we beat you so badly," Rainbow Dash gloated with smirk.
"We were less than a step apart! How is that badly?"
>"Doesn't matter. You lost."
"So did you!"
>"Nope. I beat you."
"We tied!"
>"No we didn't. I won"
"Why don't we ask-"
>You take a quick look around.
"Hey, where'd Twilight go?"