Anon/Fluttershy 35

>"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," Raiinbow 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?"