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// Life a New 
// Story: Of Certain Circumstances 
// by Timmy Turner 
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	It had been a week since Tom found himself stranded in this strange land. Surprisingly enough, the other ponies around the village didnt seem  to bothered by the appearance of this completely new animal. This was probably because they were so used to seeing strange animals, like griffons, dragons, and even an Ursa Minor, that this small human was the least of there problems. After the first day, no body really wondered what he was, and simply went about his life.

Tom found that his favorite place to spend his time was Sugar Cube Corner. He would spend hours at a time simply watch as time passed. Since Sugar Cube Corner was the main eatery of Ponyville, it was almost always busy and filled with others. To try to get a better feeling for the Equestria Life, he would 'pony' watch. One second the Cutie Mark Crusaders would run off on yet another quest to find there cutie marks, and at other times Rainbow Dash would fly over head, leaving the rainbow trail behind her. Even Vinyl Scratch randomly took out her equipment and simply started to play just outside the bakery.

However, today was different. There wasn't a busy bustle among the street. Instead, there was nothing but an occasional tumbleweed rolling through the desolate road. Not sure what was going on, Tom decided to venture out to try to find where everyone was. The first place he thought of was the Library. If anyone knew what was happening, it was Twilight. However when he reached the Library, it too was empty. Puzzled, he simply sat down to wait. After about Ten Minutes, he heard Pinkies voice over what sounded like a loud speaker saying, " Welcome to this years Running of the Leaves! If you wish to join, please be at the starting line in 10 Minutes." Tom smiled to himself as he ran over to where the voice had come from.

He arrived with nearly five minutes to spare before the race had started. He noticed as all the Ponies began to line up for the race to come. Twilight noticed him as he walked towards the line. "Hi! Would you like to participate in the Running of the Leaves?" she asked. Seeing that he was unsure whether to accept or decline, she said, " Come on! it will be fun!" Excited, Tom answered, "Ok if you insist." Although Tom had always loved running, he had never been a part of a competition of any sort. 

"Runners Take your marks!" he heard Pinkie call out. "Ready...Set....GO!" In a colorful blur, all the ponies took off at once, leaving Tom in the dust. He knew ponies were fast, but he never expected this! The only one left was Twilight, strutting far behind the pack and simply enjoying the walk. "So how are you enjoying Ponyville so far?" she asked. "Its a really nice place! I love how everyone here seems to be happy," he answered. "IN THE FIRST STRETCH, APPLEJACK AND RAINBOW DASH ARE NECK AND NECK, FAR AHEAD OF THE REST OF THE PACK" said Pinkie over the loudspeaker, excited as always. "It seems that those two haven't completely learned there lesson from the first time they raced," Twilight laughed. "Those two are always so competitive!" Tom laughed in agreement, "Well i guess its in there nature."

As the Road stretched on, Tom continued to jog alongside Twilight. They both asked each other questions about each others land, such as what 'Television' is, or the orgin of Equestria. Time flew for the the both of them as they quickly approached the end of the Race. "Wow!" Twilight said. "I cant imagine a world where the clouds move by themselves, and weather isn't up to you! The only place we have that is the Everfree forest. Oh look it seems we are almost to the finish!" As they crossed the finish, they heard AppleJack and Rainbow Dash arguing over who was the true victor. "I Won!" "No I won!" Pinkie came down from her announcer position saying, "Rainbow Dash, you won by exactly 16/21 of a nose." With a smug look on her face, she turned to AppleJack saying, "Ha! told you." "No fair! You Cheated!" Applejack argued. "Nuhuh!" Twilight walked over to Tom saying, "Lets let these two work out there problems," Twilight insisted.

It was getting dark, so we started to head back to the library. "You know, me and my friends are having a picnic tomorrow if you want to come,"  Twilight said. "I'm sure they all would love to get to know you more." Tom smiled to himself. This was the first time he has been invited to something in a long time. "I'd love to go. Thank you." "Your'e welcome," Twilight said as she pulled out a dusty old book to read. "Besides i'm sure they have so many questions to ask you." Tom laughed saying, "I'm sure they do! Its not everyday a new creature just pops out of nowhere!" They both laughed together. As Tom hopped into his bed, he felt something he hadnt felt in years, complete happiness.