Shisno Chronicles: Friendship is Magic

by nightelf37

Chapter 13: Fall Weather Friends

Chapter 13: Wall Weather Friends

In the dreamscape…

Chronicle meditated, just like he did some nights before the prospect of visiting his siblings came up. Glowing ripples emerged underneath his feet as if he were stepping on a very shallow and very large puddle.

I miss meditation. It really helps soothe the mind.

Suddenly, he sensed something not from his dreamscape coming. Rather than 'open his eyes' and look, he continued meditating as he tried to pinpoint the location of the disturbance. He hasn't been able to improve on it much and still has a bit of trouble meditating in regular environments. Finding the source, he 'launched' a 'shuriken' skyward…hitting a thundercloud that wasn't there before.

"Ahh!", a female voice came, but not Timerity's or his mother's, not that his mother had visited him yet. A second later, Chronicle stepped a few paces away from his current position, and the intruder fell where he would've been, kicking up dust as she crashed.

When it cleared, he saw that the intruder had the same cutie mark as he did, indicating that she was a member of at least the Story Crew if not the Timer family. He also saw that intruder has the form of a pegasus mare, with an orange coat, a medium-length platinum blond mane with a "peek-a-bang" hiding hiding her left eye, and a matching tail that was longer than Fluttershy's, and was even styled like hers.

After getting up and coughing, she shook the dust off of her, looked up at Chronicle, then said, "Sorry, Cousin Timmy."

He groaned at this. "And you are…" The Timer family was rather extended, perhaps even comparable to the Apple family in Equestria. Unlike Applejack, he wasn't completely familiar with all its members.

"Kitty. But my pony name is Ginger Cloud."

"That's a strange name for a pony. At least mine and Blue Diary are somewhat passable."

"And yet your sister takes the name Timerity and that isn't strange enough. A mix of the words 'time' and 'temerity'."

"Point taken." Ginger then swished her long tail, which was very prehensile, and produced a small glass vial containing a white liquid. This surprised the unicorn somehow. "Did you make that out of the dreamscape? Because we're in mine and you couldn't have."

"Actually, I pulled it from hammerspace." Ginger then balanced the vial on the tip of her tail.

"Like Pinkie Pie?"

"Who?" Ginger lost focus and the vial smashed into the 'floor', creating a white cloud.

"Pink earth pony who constantly defies the laws of physics. Bears the Element of Laughter, at least in my Equestria. Oh wait." Chronicle smacked himself in the face. "I forgot to ask which one you're assigned to. Maybe she doesn't exist there."

Ginger hopped backwards and onto her cloud. "I was recently assigned to Recast Equestria, where Twilight Sparkle bears the Element of Magic and is Princess Celestia's student. From what your sister told me, her origin is the same as yours. However, instead of the other five you are familiar with bearing the other elements, she befriends five stallions."

"Charming."

The orange pegasus then started wishing her tail like a rotor and started circling Chronicle. "As for your earlier question, did you know that non-unicorns have access to a small pocket of hammerspace?"

"No, I didn't." The unicorn stayed in place as his eyes followed his cousin until she was behind him. "Although I did question where my…farmer friend gets her lasso." His eyes focused on Ginger once she came full circle. "I usually thought she got it from under her hat, but I couldn't find a logical reason nor could I locate it after borrowing it after I saw her use it." And the issue of Apple Bloom's school items. I never see her with saddlebags whenever she, or the other Cutie Mark Crusaders for that matter, goes to school.

"Well, while it doesn't work like the unicorns' magicspace, earth ponies and pegasi do have it."

"Well, that's interesting. Any reason why you're here? Apart from my sister and younger brother, Uncle Tycho was the first visitor."

"You mean Clockwork in Rainbow Equestria?"

"Yes."

"Well, I got news about him. He's already finished in his mission."

"And by that, you mean…" Although Chronicle felt like he knew as Ginger stopped circling him.

"Meaning he's no longer in Rainbow Equestria. Although it's still being 'watched'."

"Ah." By 'watched', it means that the Story Crew haven't stopped surveillance on it; they just withdrew their Field Operative. "…Say, you wanna spar?"

Ginger shook her head. "No. Unlike your immediate family and Cousin Rokuban's, I'm not trained in combat, but when I do need to fight, I use this." She tapped a hoof on the cloud she was on.

"Lightning bolts from clouds?", Chronicle guessed.

"Yeah."

"I'm not sure if Blue Diary knows this hammerspace thing yet. Why don't you go see him?", the unicorn suggested.

"That's a great idea. Thanks.", Ginger then moved to flap her wings. "See ya!" With that, Ginger took to the 'sky', taking the cloud with her as she shortly disappeared.

Once she was gone, Chronicle thought to himself, "Hmm…speaking of Rokuban, I wonder how he's doing? Darn, I don't know how to travel to unfamiliar dreamscapes. I should ask Blue or Timerity on this."

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Daytime at Sweet Apple Acres…

For some reason one day, Chronicle was somehow strong-armed by Rainbow Dash into playing horseshoe toss with her and Applejack. The three of them were at the throwing line and the pegasus was first to go. Rainbow picked her cyan horseshoe up with her teeth, then tossed it at the horseshoes court ahead, where the stake was driven in. When the shoe landed close to the stake, the pegasus somersaulted in the air.

"Woo-hoo!"

"Hoo-wee! Not a bad pitch for a pony who works with her head in the clouds.", Applejack remarked as Chronicle 'picked up' a red shoe, then 'set' it on his horn. Being a unicorn, a handicap was set on him for this game; no using of magic.

"Oh, yeah? Think you can do better, cowgirl?", Rainbow retorted as the unicorn moved his head so that the shoe began to spin in his horn, then he let loose. The shoe bounced once before landing just short of Rainbow’s throw.

"I know I can." A tap of Applejack's hoof flipped a yellow shoe up from the ground; catching it in her teeth, she let fly. It landed well short of the previous two throws. "Oh, for Pete’s sake!"

"Hah! Looks like this pegasus can pitch better than the workhorse." On the end of this, Rainbow flipped Applejack’s hat forward from the back to cover her eyes. "The object of the game is to get the closest to the stake."

Applejack settled her hat back. "All right, all right." She then flipped a shoe onto Rainbow’s nose. "You got another throw there, pony girl." The pegasus's second throw sailed over the stake and into the grass far ahead.

"Wow, Rainbow. Heh. You couldn’t hit a barn door with that kind of a throw."

"Yeah, yeah." Rainbow kicked the last yellow shoe to Applejack. "I still have the closest throw, Apple Snack. Just try and beat it."

"Not yet.", Chronicle reminded as he 'set' his last red shoe on his horn, then used his head to hurl it. His shoe landed just past the stake and hit the border of the horseshoes court. "Darn. Your turn."

The blond farmer got the shoe in her teeth, focused for a bit, then blew out her breath and let fly with a nervous face, the shoe’s shadow tracing its path toward the goal. Her throw clattered down the stake neatly.

Applejack reared up briefly. "Yee-haa! It’s a ringer! That’s how we do it down here on the farm."

Rainbow was stunned at this and softly muttered, "I lost."

As for Chronicle, he just shrugged. "Guess we can't win 'em all. I think I would've been less accurate if I used magic to throw."

"Ah, don’t feel bad, Rainbow. It’s all in good fun.", Applejack said.

"I hate losing."

"Besides, you’re a mighty good athlete. I’m just better." The farmpony trotted off chuckling, but Rainbow recovered herself and flew to catch up, Chronicle following.

"All right, Applejack. You think you’re the top athlete in all of Ponyville?" The three of them stopped.

"Well, I was gonna say “in all of Equestria,” but—" She dusted Rainbow’s face with her tail. "—that might be gildin’ the lily." She then trotted off.

"And I think I’m the top athlete. So let’s prove it."

Applejack leaned back. "Prove what?"

"I challenge you to an Iron Pony competition." Applejack began to think this over. "A series of athletic contests to decide who’s the best, once and for all."

"You know what, Rainbow? You’re on."

Both spat on a front hoof, slapped them together, and then brought their heads down to stare each other dead in the face. A second later, they both turned to look at the only unicorn around. He noticed this. "What?"

"Say, why don't you join in as well?", asked the pegasus.

"Me? I know I'm quite athletic myself for a unicorn, but I know I still pale in comparison to the two of you. In fact, Rarity throws a better right hook than I do." He reared up for a while and swung a hoof to demonstrate, then got down on fours again.

"Well, I guess we can allow you to use some magic, but no telekinesis or any of those other fancy spells."

"In short, the only spells I'm allowed to use are those that affect my body."

"Yeah.", said Applejack.

"All right. I'm in." He then spit on his hoof, then the three of them did a three-way hoof-bump. "By the way, just what are the events? We're gonna need to do some organizing, and I don't think the eight of us will be enough." By "eight", he meant the three of them, Twilight Sparkle, Spike, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Fluttershy.

"True. Who're you thinking of bringing in?"

"I don't know anything about the Iron Pony competition except that it is an athletic event, so somepony's gonna have to fill me in."

At that, Rainbow went up close and wrapped a foreleg around him. "Allow me to explain…"

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The next day…

At the Sweet Apple Acres orchards, Twilight Sparkle (with Spike on her back) and Applejack watched Rainbow Dash do squats and stretches to limber up. Chronicle was doing similar exercises right next.

"So you three are doing what now?", Twilight asked.

"An Iron—", Applejack spoke up before the pegasus interrupted her.

"—Iron Pony competition.

"See, we’ve set up a bunch of events to decide which one of us is—"

"—the most athletic pony ever!"

"Although we gave Chronicle a handicap so that he could keep up with us. Those spells he casts on his body, that's all he's allowed to cast."

"And I’m here to…?", Twilight said as Rainbow stopped stretching.

"Uh…uh…" The polychromatic-haired pony shrugged and turned to Applejack. "…I don’t know. Why is she here?"

"To be our judge and keep score."

"Right. Heh. Somepony’s gotta record my awesomeness for the history books. " As she resumed stretching, she failed to catch the puzzled look her friends traded.

"Since some of the events required special equipment, I called in a few favors.", Chronicle said as he paused in his stretching.

"What favors?", his charge asked.

"You'll know soon enough."

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Later…

A field has been set up in the manner of a track and field meet, with various areas dedicated to different events and a set of bleachers for spectators. Applejack and Rainbow were making final adjustments to a long zigzagging row of flower-filled barrels. A scoreboard has been set up, with apple-shaped placards giving a score of zero for each competitor, and so were several tents.

"Hello, everypony, and welcome to the first annual Iron Pony competition!", Spike announced, still seated on Twilight’s back and holding a twig with one leaf on the end to serve as a microphone. The two of them and Chronicle were watching from the sidelines; no other spectators were on the scene.

"Uh, Spike, who are you talking to?", Twilight asked.

Spike looked around. "Um…them!" He pointed back behind Twilight on this last word, where Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity came up the path right on cue. Followed shortly were Mystic Shield and his First Four (Greatstone, Bullseye, Tricky Books, Chrono Cards), and then Graphite, Mjölna, and her twin sister Tasty Snack, who looked just like the blacksmith, but had a sandwich cutie mark.

Spike then jumped onto Twilight’s head, surprising her considerably. "Let the games begin!" Everypony cheered in unison.

C—TS—S—A—RD—R—F—PP—G—MS—G–TB–B–CC—M—TS

Event 1: Barrel Weave

Applejack was first on the course as she pawed at the ground a bit.

"Ready?", Twilight called as Applejack crouched. "Set?" Spike procured a stopwatch. "Go!"

Spike start the time as the earth pony rocketed past with enough speed to blow Twilight’s mane/tail out straight. She did a serpentine through the barrels, gasping just before she brushed against one so that it wobbled in place. "Dagnabit!" As she reached the end, Spike stopped the watch.

"Time, Spike?", Twilight inquired, the other two competitors standing near her.

"Seventeen seconds!"

Applejack skidded back. "You’re kiddin’. That breaks my record from last year’s rodeo!"

"But you got a five-second penalty for nudging the barrel."

Applejack sighed, kicking a rock. "Nuts and shoes! Still, that’s twenty-two seconds—not too shabby." Rainbow started to sweat while Chronicle kept his cool. "Hey, don’t be nervous." She nudged the pegasus in the ribs. "Remember, it’s all in good fun." She then nudged the unicorn. "Now get on up there."

Once Chronicle was on the line, his charge cried out. "Ready? Set? Go!"

Spike clicked his stopwatch and the stallion was off, not blowing his charge's mane as he ran. As he cast a spell on his legs, he strafed through the barrels, and eventually made short jumps in between them, not once slipping in his footing. And since his tail was short, any scrapes with the barrels didn't noticeably nudge them as he eventually reached the finish line.

"Time, Spike?", Twilight inquired.

"Twenty point five seconds!"

"Wow, Chronicle! I didn't think you'd be that fast."

"Thanks, Twilight.", said the bodyguard as he walked back. "Still, I only managed to beat Applejack's time because of the penalty." He turned to Rainbow. "Your turn. The multi-hued competitor shortly took her place at the line.

"Ready? Set? Go!"

Again, Spike clicked his stopwatch, and again Twilight nearly got her hair blown off in the wake. Rainbow raced through the barrels, her tail leaving a short contrail behind her, and reached the end without hitting any of them.

"Whoo! That was some fancy hoofwork there, Rainbow.", Applejack cheered as the pegasus flew back, trying to catch her breath.

"Thanks, but I couldn’t have been as fast as you."

"What was the time on that, Spike?"

The baby dragon gave a gasp of surprise. "Eighteen seconds!" Rainbow gasped as well.

"Eighteen seconds?", Applejack parroted as she leaned a foreleg on Rainbow’s back. "Rainbow, are you sure you’re not secretly a rodeo pony?"

Twilight raised one of Rainbow’s forelegs, in the manner of a boxing referee lifting the arm of the victor in a bout. Rainbow Dash wins the barrel weave, with Chronicle as runner-up!"

At the scoreboard, Fluttershy replaced the 0 placards next to the pictures of the pegasus and unicorn and replaced it with a 2 and 1 respectively.

Rainbow hovered in the air in victory. "I can’t believe I won!" Applejack nudged her down flat shortly.

"Yeah, well, don’t you go gettin’ used to it."

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Event 2: Bucking Contest

In another area, as four extra spectators came (Daisy, Bon Bon, Heartstrings, and Rainbowshine), a carnival “high striker” had been set up—the old game in which one would hit a lever with a mallet, trying to drive a weight up a vertical scale to hit a bell at the top. This particular rig was modified in one way: instead of a lever, a bulls-eye target was mounted at ground level, with the weight resting on its top edge.

Chronicle was first up as he stood in front of it. Focusing a spell of strength on his hind legs, he then reared up, turned around, and hit the target, sending the weight up and hitting the bell.

There were cheers from the spectators as flowers and horseshoes were tossed up.

"That's quite powerful for a unicorn.", Greatstone remarked.

Rainbow Dash was next, and while she was able to ring the bell, the weight hit it harder and it rang louder. Stronger cheers came from the spectators as she floated up to the top of the scale with a smile, with flowers and horseshoes tossed up after her. Chronicle gave a sigh of defeat as Applejack, meanwhile, rested on her haunches under an apple tree, hat tipped forward over her eyes and a stalk of wheat in her mouth. Rainbow flew over to her, and she flipped the hat back for a clear view of the smug pegasus.

"Mighty respectable—", Applejack said before spitting out the stalk, and walking past. "—but let me show you how it’s really done."

She took her position, glanced casually up the scale, and proceeded to deliver a one-legged buck that smashed the target to splinters. The weight not only hit the bell, but broke it loose and launched it out of sight. As the crowd cheered and waved pennants, Applejack walked back to the confounded Rainbow, who collapsed onto her haunches by the tree.

"Years of applebuckin’." A casual hit from one rear leg knocked several apples loose so that they hit Rainbow’s head in a rhythm known as “Shave and a Haircut.”

Meanwhile, Fluttershy updated the scoreboard and spread her forelegs wide with a grin to show off the standings. The score was, in order of Applejack-Chronicle-Rainbow Dash, now 2-1-3.

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Event 3: Bronco Buck

At the bleachers, Granny Smith, Apple Bloom, and Big Macintosh have joined the spectators and have taken seats to watch the proceedings as they did a three-pony wave.

"Wahoo."

"Woo-hoo!"

"Ee-yup."

Spike now wore a ten-gallon hat and was sweating buckets atop Applejack’s back. "Why me?", he asked.

"Go!", Twilight yelled.

At once, the orange-tan pony launched into her best bucking-bronco impersonation, trying to flip Spike away; he quickly lost his hat and yelled time after time while keeping a death grip on her tail. One final heave launched him into a haystack that stood in the corner of this fenced-off corral. He stuck his head up and spit out some hay.

"Ouch." The rest of the stack shook apart, revealing Rainbow inside; he has landed on her back.

"Ready for another pony ride?", the pegasus asked as she got moving.

"No!"

"Go!", Twilight called.

Rainbow's strategy was to start jackhammering in place, bouncing the little dragon up and down so quickly that he was soon flung over the field. But before he was out of sight, as the pegasus flew up to enjoy her victory, Chronicle 'caught' the baby dragon in his telekinetic grip and 'placed' him on his back.

"My turn.", the stallion called.

"Go!", his charge cried out.

Immediately, Chronicle did a bucking bronco like Applejack, then—noticing that Spike was holding on to his mane and not his rump like he did on the girls—immediately pulled back for a split-second, bumping his head into Spike's, making the dragon lose focus. Then, Chronicle started doing the bronco in circles, getting Spike off of his back in four seconds flat and sending him flying.

"Rainbow Dash wins the bronco buck, with Chronicle as runner-up!", Twilight announced.

At the scoreboard, Fluttershy updated the score to 2-2-5. A loud thud came nearby and she put her front hooves to her mouth in surprise; Spike had hit the board and was dangling over the top edge.

"And I lose.", he said woozily.

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Event 4: Lasso Contest

Back at the corral, its bleachers have begun to fill with cheering fans. The three players stood in it and were each twirling a lasso in their teeth, with Spike standing between them and wearing a horned helmet.

Rainbow was having considerable trouble getting her rope to behave and so was Chronicle, though less so, even without magic to help him. Spike, meanwhile, just stood there with a sullen “why me?” expression. Applejack handled the lasso with her usual dexterity, working it back and forth before casting it ahead.

Chronicle did the same thing and both of them caught Spike. However, while he caught the horns, Applejack snagged all four of Spike’s limbs to hogtie him and dragged him over to herself with a yell. The helmet fell off and Chronicle was left with it. Roses are thrown onto the field in honor of Applejack's coup.

"How do I get roped into these things?", Spike wondered.

Meanwhile, Rainbow had managed to snag herself to a tree, dangling upside down from one branch, having tangled the rope around both it and herself. "Does this count?"

Several birds perched atop the scoreboard tweeted and shook their heads in disagreement, and Fluttershy updated the scoreboard to 4-3-5.

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Event 5: Ball Bouncing Contest

Back at the field, Applejack was doing her best to bounce a ball off her head. Chronicle was having a hard time like she was, though he remained focused as he bounced his ball on the helmet on his head. The helmet was to keep the ball from being punctured by his horn.

After a couple of contortions, the earth pony lost her balance and went face first in the grass, the ball sailing away only to bounce atop one of Rainbow’s upraised rear hooves. It balanced there perfectly as she kept her own ball going off her own head. As the unicorn slipped in his step a second later, more cheers and roses came for Rainbow, this time from some pegasi watching from the clouds overhead.

Fluttershy caught one flower in her teeth as updated the score to 4-4-7.

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Event 6: Hay Bale Toss

The three competitors now stood at one end of a strip marked off for distance, surrounded by a still-growing crowd on the ground and in air. Each had a hay bale before her/him.

Rainbow got her teeth around the ropes binding hers and heaved. She then flew to the far end of the run just in time to see the bale land exactly on that line. When Chronicle hurled his and it fell short of hers, she blew a raspberry, which was cut off when Applejack’s bale landed neatly on top of her, smashing her flat—and outdoing her throw to boot. The cheering spectators carried Applejack past the scoreboard, where Fluttershy’s rabbit Angel popped up behind her head to mark the point. The score was now 6-4-8.

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Event 7: Hoof Wrestling

Applejack and Rainbow took the first match, which the latter quickly won, causing Applejack to lose her balance, drop to the ground, and lose her hat.

Chronicle took on the pegasus next and, as much as he bolstered his foreleg power, was overwhelmed and he spun from the force before tumbling to the ground.

He took on Applejack for the position of runner-up, but the farmpony proved stronger and dominated him.

As a result, the score became 7-4-10.

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Event 8: Football Kick

The trio stood on a hill, each with a football in front of her/him. Rainbow kicked her ball—rainbow-striped, naturally—with a hind leg, facing straight ahead. Applejack and Chronicle, on the other hoof, bucked theirs with both hind legs.

In the sky, several pegasi watched Rainbow’s ball sail past beneath them, and Chronicle's below that, but ducked to avoid being hit as Applejack’s rocketed over their heads, then gasped as they turned to the scoreboard, where Fluttershy had the 11 placard in hoof to post up.

Upon seeing the football coming, she gasped and raised it over her head for protection. The brown pigskin sailed down and hits it, knocking it neatly into place on Rainbow's score. She promptly changed Applejack's to a 9. Scoring zero, Chronicle's score remained the same.

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Event 9: Jousting

For this particular event, the contestants were clad in plain iron barding forged by Mjölna, and had wooden dummies in the form of Spike created by Mystic Shield's First Four on their backs, which wielded lances on loan from Graphite. The baby dragon was not amused as he watched beside Twilight.

As Chronicle got ready to play, the weapons dealer and blacksmith went over to him.

"Remember your payment.", Mjölna reminded.

"My weapons are bound to be damaged, so you're paying for that.", said Graphite.

"Okay, okay, I get it.", sighed Chronicle as he and Rainbow Dash went to opposite ends, standing to their right of the long, low fence between them.

"Go!", Twilight gave the signal. As one, the competitors charged towards each other, their "mounters"'s lances aimed for each others' "mounters". Their lances made contact. As the two passed each other by and slowed down, it was revealed that Chronicle's "mounter" was intact though it began to lose its grip on its lance while Rainbow's was disarmed and its right arm was dangling. Chronicle won this round and his charge announced it.

He took part in the next round as well, this time pitting himself against Applejack. The unicorn's "mounter" was given a quick fix by Greatstone (which basically consisted of compacting soil on the 'injury') before he was ready. On Twilight's signal, both he and the farmpony charged and clashed. The end result was that Chronicle's "mounter" lost its lower arm and lance while Applejack's, in spite of keeping hold of its weapon, lost its head, which flew into Spike's arms. Naturally, he was spooked and he shrieked.

The final round was between Rainbow Dash and Applejack. New "mounters" were brought for them and their lances were re-used. The end result: Rainbow Dash's "mounter" was disarmed (again) and Applejack's was on the verge of losing its head.

"Chronicle wins the jousting competition, with Rainbow Dash as runner up!", Twilight announced.

"YES!!!", the bodyguard whooped as he jumped and did a back flip, exuberant that he finally won an event. And the score was updated to 9-6-12.

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Event 10: Horseshoes

Chronicle let the feeling of nostalgia pass him by as he, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash are about to play the game that spurred this event in the first place.

Applejack tossed her shoe and it landed on the stake like before. Chronicle was next as he hurled it via his horn (not magic) and it landed on the stake as well. Rainbow followed right after, but her shoe did not make it at the stake, overshooting instead.

A tiebreaker was done since there can't be two equal winners in an event. Instead of going one at a time, the two tossed their shoes together, although it wasn't synchronous given their different methods of throwing. The earth pony's shoe left her mouth before the unicorn's left his horn. The two projectiles flew in different arcs, Applejack's going in a higher one. Chronicle's reached it first, slamming into the stake and spinning before resting on the ground. Applejack's reached the stake, but it made contact with the tip and it flipped, landing on the other side and not around it. This marked Chronicle as the winner with Applejack as runner up.

The score became 10-8-12.

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Event 11: Push-ups

Twig microphone in hand, Spike continued to announce while standing on Twilight's back, who was reading a scroll. "Fillies and gentle-colts! At the halfway point, here's our competitors standings. Applejack stands at ten points, Chronicle has eight, and Rainbow Dash leads with twelve!" He then added with a whisper, "If it were just the girls, they would be tied at five and five."

Twilight dismissed the scroll to "magicspace", a bit exasperated. "Who are you talking to?"

"Them!" Spike gestured…at dozens of ponies having now congregated to watch the showdown and were thoroughly enjoying themselves. For some reason, she hadn't acknowledged their presence until he pointed it out.

Shortly after, the eleventh event began, with the three competitors doing push-ups, and Twilight keeping count. For all of his endurance, Chronicle could not compare to the farmpony and weather manager and fell over at the count of sixty-three. For now, all he could do was rest. To his left, he could see Lemon Hearts stacked on top of Berry Punch and Golden Harvest. On his right, he could see Cherry Berry, Twinkle, and Shoeshine.

"Ninety-five…ninety-six…", his charge was counting, watching their straining, sweating faces. "…ninety-seven…ninety-eight…ninety-nine…" Applejack finally falls, unable to rise again, but Rainbow came back up—with the help of her wings. "…a hundred!"

"Yes!", the pegasus whooped as she raised her forelegs in victory, her front end staying clear of the ground. Her opponent did not notice this as she went flat in the grass.

"Be a good sport, Applejack.", the farmpony reminded herself. The score became 11-8-14.

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Event 12: Shocking Duel

The next event consisted of the three ponies sticking their front hooves on a metallic panel connected to a generator with a counter. Prior to the competition, Chronicle asked if Mystic's First Four could create the device needed for the event. Thankfully, they obtained Twilight's permission to use the laboratory in the basement.

Mystic Shield kept an eye on the counter, which measured the voltage the panel had and was passing into the three competitors. He also steadily increased the voltage, but not too quickly or he might risk eliciting injuries. Basically, the three to keep their hooves on the panel for as long as they can. The winner would be the last one still standing.

As the voltage kept steadily rising, so did the tension. It was getting harder and harder to stay on the panel, and then Chronicle noticed that Rainbow wasn't as affected as he and Applejack were. Then he realized a flaw in this challenge; the average pegasus pony had higher resistance to cold and electrocution than unicorns and earth ponies. And Rainbow was a weather manager and thus would have had a lot of exposure to lightning. She has the advantage here. Still, that didn't mean he was gonna fold. And Applejack wasn't about to either.

Half a minute later and two ponies jerked their front hooves away, a half second apart from each other. Another followed suit three seconds later. That one was Rainbow Dash.

"I can't believe this sort of event was along the ones we had to go through.", Applejack complained. "Had I remembered what exactly Rainbow could endure, I would've had another event selected."

"I'm with you there.", concurred Chronicle.

"Rainbow Dash wins the shocking duel, with Chronicle as the runner-up by half a second!", Mystic announced.

Fluttershy updated the scoreboard accordingly, which now read 11-9-16.

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Event 13: Cornhole

The next event was the cornhole, also known as bean bag toss, corn toss, baggo or bags. It's a lawn game in which players take turns throwing corn hole bags at a raised platform with a hole in the far end.

Three platforms lay side by side, measured two-by-four feet, with a 6-inch hole centered 9 inches from the top. Each platform was angled, where the top was 12 inches higher than the bottom.

Twenty-seven inches from the platforms were pitcher boxes where the "corn bags" were placed, colored yellow, red, and blue respectively. Applejack, Chronicle, and Rainbow Dash stood just outside their respective platforms.

"A corn bag in the hole scores 3 points, while one on the platform scores 1 point.", Twilight explained as the three players stood in line just outside the pitcher's box, where four "corn bags" lay, weighing 9 ounces. "You have twenty seconds to score. The timer begins once you step into the box. Once twenty seconds are up or everypony has hurled their bags, we'll start calculating. Then we'll proceed to the next inning. We will continue having innings until a player reaches 21, then the other two will continue for position of runner-up. If two players reach 21, they will have a tiebreaker." She didn't say the following, but it was in the rules, And in the event that all three reach 21, one final inning will be done and whoever scores the most wins. If there's a tie from there, we'll break that tie to reach a conclusive score.

The three competitors entered their boxes, then picked up a corn bag and started tossing. While the mares faced front, Chronicle swung sideways. And he seemed to be doing a better job, scoring one in the hole and three on the board, making a total of six points. Rainbow only managed to land three on the board, scoring one point for each. Applejack got one lucky hit on the hole and one on the board, scoring four.

At the next inning, the earth pony and pegasus were faring better, Rainbow nailing two cornholes (a bag in the hole) and one ace (a bag on the board) but overshooting the last, and Applejack scored the same hits as Chronicle; one cornhole and three aces. As for the unicorn himself, He missed with the first bag, but scored two aces before getting a cornhole in the last. And thus the cornholes score became 10-11-10.

In the third inning, Applejack got one cornhole, one ace, and one miss before running out of time for the fourth, scoring five points. Chronicle, getting a tad hasty, only managed to score four aces, his first two corn bags getting in the way of his chances for a shot in the hole. Rainbow meanwhile overshot her first, undershot her second, nailed a cornhole with the third, then ran out of time for the fourth, the score becoming 14-15-13.

Come the fourth inning, the three started getting their act together and Chronicle reversed his facing, the platform now to his right instead of his left. Applejack scored two aces, missed the third, then scored a cornhole with the last. Chronicle scored a cornhole with the first, landed an ace with the second, just overshot with the third, and—thanks to it bumping into the second shot—landed another cornhole, scoring seven points. Rainbow's first two throws were unremarkable aces, but when she reared up and flapped her wings to balance herself, she managed to score two cornholes, earning eight points total and thus making the final tally 19-22-21.

After analyzing the score, Twilight could see that while two players indeed reached 21 (well, one exceeding), one was clearly higher, and so… "Chronicle wins the cornhole, with Rainbow Dash as runner-up." And so the Iron Pony competition scoreboard was updated to 11-11-17.

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Event 14: Long Jump

Applejack was in full gallop, leaving her competitors behind as she proceeded to go first. Reaching the chalk line ahead, she launched herself in the air and came down for a four-point landing in a sand pit. She then threw a challenging glance over her shoulder and leaped aside, leaving four hoofprints in the sand to mark her distance.

After a moment’s hesitation, Rainbow charged toward the line and jumped—but upon seeing that she would fall short, she flapped furiously and stopped with inches to spare above the sand. A little more wing action let her touch down ahead of Applejack’s mark, prompting an angry glare.

Chronicle soon followed, using a spell to increase his running speed, and soon jumped upon reaching the line. However, he had forgotten that he had a spell to increase his jumping power and so even with the distance he covered, he fell short of Applejack's. He grunted at himself for this mistake of his.

And so the score became 12-11-19.

C—A—RD—C—A—RD—C—A—RD—C—A—RD

Event 15: Hurdles

The event was pretty basic; reach the end of the finish line while jumping the hurdles. However, it soon became more and more obvious that Rainbow Dash was getting the upper hoof. Using her wings, she glided over at least two hurdles at a time while Chronicle and Applejack had to leap over each and every one of them. Even with a 'jump enhancement' spell, the unicorn was still "toe-to-toe" with the earth pony.

Once the pegasus cleared the race a few seconds ahead of them, the two left behind quickened in their pace…and it cost Applejack a time penalty as her hind legs bumped the last hurdle as she beat Chronicle by a split second. The score became 12-12-21.

C—A—RD—C—A—RD—C—A—RD—C—A—RD

Event 16: Ladder Toss

They were back at where the cornhole event was conducted, except the platform was replaced with short three-rung ladders propped straight and the four "corn bags" with three bolas, which were two balls connected by a string. The strings were colored in the same scheme as the corn bags and horseshoes.

Like before, Twilight explained the rules as the players stood in line just outside the pitcher's box. "A bola on the bottom rung is worth 1 point, the middle 2, and the top 3. Also, if you manage get a bola on each of the rungs, that's an automatic 10 points. There is no time limit. The next round begins once everypony has tossed their bolas. Otherwise, scoring goes the same way as in the cornhole."

The three competitors entered their boxes, then picked up a bola and took their time tossing. Like last time, Chronicle swung his projectile sideways. He scored a one-two-two. Rainbow managed to score a one-zero-three, missing with the second bola. Applejack almost got a bola on each rung but missed the top one, getting a one-two-zero.

In the next round, Chronicle got a three-three-zero, Applejack scored a one-two-two, and Rainbow got a three-three-two. The total score was now 8-11-12.

The third round displayed a three twos in a row for the earth pony, a one-two-one for the unicorn, and a zero-zero-three for the pegasus, making the ladder toss score 14-15-15.

The fourth round was when the three started getting their act together and Chronicle once more reversed his facing like before. Applejack landed a bola on the top and middle rungs, but her third was overshot and landed on the middle as well, making her final score 22. Rainbow once more reared up and flapped her wings to balance herself when she tossed hers, landing her three bolas on the top rung, making her final score 24. As for Chronicle, his first bola landed on the bottom, his second landed on the top, and he perspired with pressure as he finally tossed the third. He nearly thought it would sail in between the top two rungs, but to his luck it found its way into the middle, scoring him 10 points and bringing his final score to 25. He got up and raised his forelegs in triumph with a wide grin.

After analyzing the score, Twilight could see that all three players exceeded 21, but their scores gave a clear difference. "Chronicle wins the ladder toss, with Rainbow Dash as runner-up." And so the Iron Pony competition scoreboard was updated to 12-14-22.

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Event 17: Chick Wrangling

At three parallel muddy trenches, three squawking chickens settled down on one end . They settle down, having been placed one end as they waited for their chicks, four each who were nestled on the three competitor's backs on the opposite end. At the ring of the bell, the three trotted into the mess.

The mud began to splatter all over Applejack, annoying the chicks so much that they quickly left her back and—she only realized this after reaching the other end—went over to Rainbow's, who had spread her wings so that her now eight chicks can perch on them and stay clean during the ride. As for Chronicle, he had cast his water-walking spell and discovered that it worked on mud as well, although he still tread lightly.

His cautiousness resulted him in reaching the end last, but since Applejack failed to deliver her chicks (this not sitting well with her), he scored second place and the Iron Pony competition scoreboard was updated to 12-15-24.

C—A—RD—C—A—RD—C—A—RD—C—A—RD

Event 18: Wire Loop Game

Thanks to another contraption Mystic's First Four had created, the next event consisted of the three ponies holding a stick with a loop out of iron in their teeth. They were supposed to pass that loop through a wire that was rigged with a buzzer that would sound if both metals touched. The wire had been bent into the form of a tidal wave (not that anypony has been to or even seen the sea). At the point where the wire bent high, there was a stepping platform so as not to inconvenience the competitors, although it certainly wasn't a problem for one of them.

Chronicle was the first to take on the course and he started moving. He wasn't accustomed to holding something in his teeth for long periods of time, let alone rotating it. He went through the "incline" easily, but took up a number of precious seconds right after reaching the "crest" of the "wave" as he struggled to flip the loop around while standing on the platform. Once he passed it however, it became a piece of cake to reach the end.

Applejack was next and she managed to scale the "incline" quite easily. However, as she reached the "crest" and was about to turn the loop around, a little wind worked with gravity to blow her stetson down and cover her eyes. As she tried to get it back up, her loop touched the wire and the buzzer sounded.

Rainbow followed and it became quite easy for her. She followed the loop through the wire at a steady pace, ignoring the platform and using her wings to keep level with it, and almost reached the end with less time than Chronicle when she got a bit too hasty and buzzed the wire right after going past the part of the "wave" that would crash upon reaching the "shore".

As a result, Chronicle won the wire loop game, with Rainbow Dash as runner-up, bringing the score to 12-17-25.

C—A—RD—C—A—RD—C—A—RD—C—A—RD

Event 19: Sack Race

Chronicle had no idea how a sack race was done without hands to hold it up, but figured out the means soon enough. Each pony was tied up in a large sack up to their necks. At the neck of the sack was a rope looped to tie it up and its end was put in the competitors' mouths so as to keep the sack from falling off their bodies.

Once the three were positioned on the same starting line as where they did the hurdles event (the hurdles removed, of course), Twilight called, "Go!" as Spike waved a checkered flag. Immediately, the three got hopping.

It was a difficult course the the unicorn was struggling just to keep himself balanced, eventually falling behind the earth pony and pegasus, the latter making greater bounds. And even a non-astute observer could see wings flapping inside the sack, somehow helping her reach first place, Applejack following in second.

The score became 13-17-27.

C—TS—S—A—RD—C—TS—S—A—RD—C—TS—S—A—RD

Event 20: Tug-o-War

The final event had to have some sort of compromise as well as some clever thinking. There were three competitors and doing three matches not only didn't seem fair, they day was already coming to an end.

So what was done was that—with some clever knots and a powerful adhesive concocted by Tricky Books,—the fight somehow became three-way, with the rope stretched above a circular mud pit. Its ends were held by the three competitors with their teeth, and at the center keeping the whole thing tied together along with knots and adhesive was a red flag.

"All right, you three.", said Twilight as she stood in the area in between Applejack and Rainbow Dash and opposite Chronicle. "This is the final event." Spike, who was on her back, climbed up on top of her head. "Give it all you’ve got."

Spike waved a checkered flag to start them off. All three ponies dug in their heels, but Rainbow found herself being dragged toward the mud. Chronicle had managed to dig his hooves deeper, but now he can't pull his way to victory. "Looks like the workhorse might come out ahead in this one!", the dragon said.

Applejack then hauled on the rope, unable to pull Chronicle in yet, but pulling Rainbow so far that her hooves grazed the edge of the pit and she toppled forward. Only the latter’s wings kept her from taking a mud bath, and she quickly flew upward to lift her two competitors off the ground. Taking gravity into account, the earth pony and unicorn collided with one another, but neither jerked their mouths open which would have given them a drop to the pit.

Now this is clearly blatant., Chronicle thought as he did everything he could to keep his grip steady.

"That’s not fair!", Applejack complained. "You can’t use your wings to help you win!"

Rainbow put a hoof to her ear, obviously feigning deafness from what the unicorn could see. "Huh?"

"You’re cheatin’!"

"I can’t understand you with that rope in your mouth!"

Stupidly, Applejack let go and hung in the air. "I said—" She then noticed a second later. "—uh-oh."

Just as gravity returned from its "coffee break" at this point, she quickly grabbed Chronicle's tail by the teeth. This was extremely painful for him and he did what he did next out of reflex apart from opening his mouth and crying out in pain, which he fought the urge to; he bucked her in the face and she dropped squarely into the mud.

This is crazy., the unicorn thought as he got an idea. Keeping his grip strong, he began to swing. This constant change in force caused strain for Rainbow as she tried to keep herself aloft. Chronicle took her movements into account and each swing got stronger. Applejack stayed in the pit meanwhile, refusing offers to get her out.

"Come on. Just give up already." the pegasus taunted. "I already win."

"That don't mean I'm makin' this easy for you.", retorted the unicorn as he continued swinging. Eventually, he swung so strong that his altitude was above Rainbow's and gravity, centripetal force, and his momentum soon brought him straight to her.

Seemingly disappointingly, he missed, landing on the ground—and he quickly pulled. The sudden lack of pulling and its just-as-quick return jerked Rainbow down to the mud. "Oww.", the pegasus grumbled as the crowd cheered wildly at this turnabout.

"You know, I would've lost had you not started flying.", Chronicle commented. "A test of pure strength, thanks to you, now needed some more strategy. But victory's still yours."

Immediately putting her close loss behind her, Rainbow took off into the air and the crowd cheered louder. At the scoreboard, Fluttershy stared in concern as the victor went and updated the score herself. "Woo-hoo!" The final score was 13-19-28. "I win by a landslide!" She flew to Applejack. "Or mudslide, in your case." The besmirched competitor seethed in the pit as Rainbow flew up with a laugh and Parasol and Derpy Hooves stretched out a rainbow-striped banner behind her. "I am the Iron Pony!"

Finally accepting help, Applejack got herself clean and out of the pit. "Only ’cause you cheated!", she then said.

"What?!", Rainbow gasped as she flew down to face off.

"You used your wing power to help you win over half those contests!"

"Sounds like sour apples to me."

"Are you sayin’ you didn’t use your wings?"

"Well…no…but you never said I couldn’t use my wings."

"I didn’t think I needed to tell you to play fair!"

"I still would’ve won even without my wings."

"I'm tempted to agree.", Chronicle said as he went in. "But given a number of the events can be won easier with flight, I'm doubtful you could."

"Ha!" Applejack then turned to the pegasus. "Prove it!"

"Gladly! How?"

"Tomorrow’s the annual Runnin’ of the Leaves. I challenge you to race me in it."

"Heh. Easy, schmeasy."

"Hold on!" The pegasus was yanked down by her tail and the earth pony planted her hooves on it to keep Rainbow from flying off again. "There is one condition. The point is to run, so no wings allowed!"

"No wings?" She then bucked, flipping Applejack away. "No problem!"

The earth pony then turned to Chronicle. "And no teleportin' either."

"That would defeat the purpose of the running. But just to make sure, I shall Pinkie Swear.", the unicorn said as he did the necessary motions, but without the oath. Once he was done with the last part, he and his friends each spat on a front hoof and touched them together, leaning in close to stare each other down. The mood broke when Rainbow blew a raspberry. She and Applejack both chuckled for a moment, then resumed their glowering.

I can feel the tension between them. So thick you can cut it with a knife.

C—TS—S—A—RD—C—TS—S—A—RD—C—TS—S—A—RD

Eyecatch (video-type) - From left to right are the final scores from the Iron Pony competition etched in square wooden panels on a wooden wall. The 13 is smashed through by a hind leg buck from Applejack. The 19 is blasted through by Chronicle as the earth pony jumps through the hole she made. Then as he jumps through as well, the 28 is busted as Rainbow Dash flies through, then lands with the others. She and Applejack then turn to each other and begin to glare at each other across Chronicle, who begins to grin nervously as the show's logo appears in the hole he made.

C—TS—S—A—RD—C—TS—S—A—RD—C—TS—S—A—RD

The next day…

Twilight Sparkle, with Spike on her back, walked away from the Golden Oaks Library, but stopped to look at a passing butterfly. Chronicle had already gone ahead, waking up early for once. He was amazed that it was already autumn; guess time flies when you're having fun or seasons aren't as regular as he was used to.

"Twilight, hurry up! We’re gonna be late for the race!", Spike complained.

"Why are you so excited about the race?" She then started off again. "It’s only for ponies."

"But I’m hoping I can be the announcer again." He pulled out his twig. "Just listen. Fillies and gentle-colts…"

"…welcome to the annual Running of the Leaves!", another voice came as if through a megaphone in sync with him. Both were taken aback at the sound as they finally arrived at the race's starting line, where quite a few ponies have already gathered in the park land outside the town proper.

Spike had lost steam as he looked up and saw Pinkie Pie riding in a hot air balloon and speaking into a megaphone mounted at the basket’s edge.

"This is Pinkie Pie, your official puh-eye-in-the-sky announcer.", the party pony continued, marking a play on her own name. As she floated higher, Spike angrily threw his twig away.

"Sorry, Spike.", said Twilight as the balloon floats over a stretch of forest.. "I guess that job’s already taken."

"As everypony knows, the Running’s a very important tradition, for without it, the autumn leaves of Equestria would never fall. So get ready, ponies." She then returned to the starting line. "The Running of the Leaves will begin in five minutes!"

Several ponies moved into position, stretching and limbering, each of them having a number pasted over their cutie mark. As Chronicle did some deep breathing exercises, he observed the competitors. Aside from nearly every earth pony he was familiar with—though Big Macintosh had stayed behind to tend to the farm—he saw a couple of pegasi as well and even a few unicorns, like Lemon Hearts, Amethyst Star, Greatstone, and…Mystic Shield?

Prior to the race, so as to conserve his energy, he had summoned two magical clones, one to join Pinkie Pie shortly and the other coming from the audience to talk to him.

Mystic, wearing number 21, noticed him come over. "Chronicle.", he greeted. "You racing?"

"Yeah." He the pointed to the real him, who was wearing a 31. "You too?"

"Uh-huh. Believe it or not, I am quite good at running."

"Really?"

"I've had to run from some angry guard dogs chasing a burglar back home. They chased me because I also ran, but for different reasons. I don't wanna talk about what happened after that. Since then, I've built up on my running to increase my stamina. That, and because being able to run away fast is good for a last resort or when you're obviously out of your league."

"Ah. Say, why don't you add running to the lesson plan?"

Mystic seemed to light up like he hadn't thought of it yet. "That's a great idea. Thanks!"

"Pardon me!", a voice came. The two unicorn stallions turned to see Rainbow Dash advanced through the crowd as number 11, and Derpy Hooves (number 13) and Dizzy Twister (number 1). "Excuse me! Make way for the Iron Pony!" She went over to Applejack, whose number was 8.

"The Iron Phony, you mean.", retorted the farmpony.

"So, Applejack, you ready to win second place?"

"I’m ready to run a good clean race."

"Yeah, yeah."

"You are not allowed to use your wings!"

Rainbow flapped a bit. "I could win this race with both wings tied behind my back."

The Chronicle clone beside Mystic groaned at this upon seeing a devious idea occur to the earth pony, confusing the cynophobic stallion. A few minutes later, both of them and the real Chronicle groaned again upon seeing what she thought of; ropes were wrapped around Rainbow’s midsection, pinning her wings to her flanks, and she groaned as they were tightened.

The pegasus glared over her shoulder at Applejack, who put the finishing touches on the job and smiled. "Trussed up like a turkey…well, a turkey who can’t fly, that is."

Rainbow snarked. "Very funny."

"Hold on.", said Chronicle as he walked over to them. "Trussed up like a turkey? Whatever do you do to them?" Certainly not for Thanksgiving, given you're vegetarians.

"Tell you later.", Applejack said before continuing her conversation with the pegasus. "’Least now we know we’re racin’ fair and square."

As the “Call to the Post” bugle call sounded off, the real Chronicle observed some of the other racers and identified them. Golden Harvest had a 00, Bon Bon a 10, Berry Punch an 88, and Shoeshine with an 81. He also saw Heartstrings, who had an 18, as well as what seemed to be specialized runner's horseshoes clamped on her hind legs. From a human standpoint, they looked like sneakers.

As he walked over to the mint green unicorn, Pinkie Pie's voice sounded over the megaphone. "Racers, please take your positions!"

Meanwhile, his other clone, accompanied by Spike, hurried past and spotted her.

"Um…Pinkie Pie…", the baby dragon called.

She noticed and spoke off the megaphone. "Hey, guys! What’s up?...Oh, wait. It’s me. I’m up!" She gave off a laugh.

"Uh, yeah, uh…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…"

"What?

"Uh…forget it."

Pinkie however seemed to get what he was thinking. "Spike! Would you like to be my co-reporter? We could comment on the action together."

Spike brightened at this offer. "We could?" A rope was dropped for him.

"Climb on up!"

As he did. As for the clone, he teleported to the balloon, also conjuring a barrier around himself so any roughhousing on him won't dissipate him.

Back at the line, the Chronicle who'll be racing—after noting that his charge had joined the race as well with a 42 on her flank—managed to catch Heartstrings's attention. "Lyra."

The unicorn mare turned to face him. "Hi, Chronicle."

"May I ask what are those on your hind hooves?"

"Oh these?" Lyra raised one for him to see. "I've had this…strange interest since I was a filly. I plan to be the first pony in the history of Equestria to run this race bipedally."

The blue stallion stared for a second before replying. "Oh. I see."

This seemed to surprise Lyra. "That's it? No incredulous stare? No laughing at me?"

"Why should I?"

"Because it's not normal for a pony to go on twos."

"Personally, I see no problem with that. Just don't overdo it, okay?"

"I know."

"Okay. …So, how's your stay with Bon Bon? She treating you well?"

"Oh, she is. Definitely." She gave a sleazy smile at the end of this, giving some inappropriate implications.

"Do you mean it both ways?"

"That's up to you to figure out. Hee-hee."

"Fine."

"There's something else. Bon Bon is getting an apprentice."

"For her candy-making business of course, right?"

"Uh-huh. An earth pony like herself. She's such a sweet filly. And that lisp of hers sounds so cute!" Lyra ended this by getting up on her hind legs and pushing her forelegs to her face so that it was squished up like Rainbow Dash's during that "Applejack Appreciation party".

Chronicle had an idea on who this apprentice was. "Does she wear glasses and have frizzy hair?"

"Why, yes!"

"And is her name Twist?"

"I'm not sure. I haven't asked either of them." Just then, Bon Bon came over and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, completely surprising her.

"Good luck, sweetheart," the earth pony said, winking at her and making Lyra smile, also ignoring the fact that Chronicle had witnessed this sweet event.

Their conversation was prematurely ended by Pinkie Pie, who announced through the megaphone, "All right, ponies! Are you ready?"

Spike popped up alongside and spoke into the sound amplifying device. "Get set!"

A few of the racers dropped into a crouch, among them the three competitors of yesterday's Iron Pony competition, and Lyra. A hand signal from the dragon set off a bell to start the event.

"And they’re off!" Quickly, they all started running at varying paces. Having enhanced his legs prior to the race, Chronicle quickly reached the front of the group, although he managed to glance Lyra slowly rearing up to her hind legs, earning stares from many other racers and a cheer from Bon Bon. He also dismissed his clone from the audience.

Autumn leaves fluttered down from the trees as they all thundered past them. The balloon floated along to keep pace. "Welcome to the official coverage of the Running of the Leaves." Spike was given an old-style microphone to boost his own voice, which weren't connected (wirelessly or no) to any speakers the clone with them could see. "You know, Spike, despite its name, the leaves don’t do any of the actual running." Spike was a bit puzzled at this. "No. That’s left to my little ponies."

"Why...yes, Pinkie. It’s the running of the ponies that causes the leaves to fall.", he replied as the group sprinted past a stand of trees, the leaves falling in a dense shower to leave the branches entirely bare.

"Ugh! Those lazy, lazy leaves."

"Not everything should be taken at face value.", said the clone. "Just because something is named something doesn't mean it literally is."

C—TS—LH—S—GH—BB—A—RD—DH—DT—S—MS—G–BP

A short while later…

As Chronicle caught up with the front, he saw (and expected) Applejack and Rainbow leading the pack, with him following right behind.

As the balloon floated along the route, Pinkie continued commentating. "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."

"You know, Pinkie, these two ponies have a bit of a grudge match they’re trying to settle, trying to prove who’s the most athletic.", commented Spike.

"Yes, and “grudge” rhymes with “fudge.”"

"Yes, it…does." Spike then realized what he just said. "What?"

"And I like fudge. But if I eat too much fudge, I get a pudge and then I can’t budge."

"So…no fudge?"

"Aw, no thanks. I had a big breakfast."

"Let's not get off topic here.", advised the Chronicle clone. "You're gonna distract the racers."

"All right. 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, and with fellow Iron Pony competitor Chronicle right behind them. 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 a half a nose! Or maybe three-quarters of a nose!" Spike had let his mic hang over the side in frustration. "No! About sixty-three-point-seven percent of a nose!" Pinkie gave a sheepish grin to her fellow passengers. "Roughly speaking."

"Aha-aha-aha. Guesswork, or that's actually true?" Pinkie was about to answer when he cut her off. "No. Don't tell me. For all I know, you may actually be right."

The ditzy announcer got back to announcing. "Applejack sees this move and punches forth with her strong workhorse legs, leaping ahead by three hundred fifty noses!"

Below, Applejack commented as she looked over her shoulder. "Not so easy without wings, is it?"

This question was obviously pinned at Rainbow, who eyes her own roped-down pinions. "Come on, Rainbow. Show ’em a little dash!", she said to herself before galloping on.

Back on the balloon, Spike laughed a bit. "Hold your horses, Pinkie! Rainbow Dash is catching up to front-runner Applejack!"

"What an upset! I thought Applejack had this in the bag!"

"It's too early in the race to tell.", said the Chronicle clone.

Below, the real him was still behind, but catching up to the two fierce competitors.

"You didn’t think I was gonna let you off that easy, did you?", he heard Rainbow say.

The taunt distracted Applejack’s attention long enough for her to not see a rock in the path. She tripped… "Whoa!" …and went face first in the dirt.

She lifted her head in time to see Chronicle land in front of her after a jump and for all the other ponies to speed past her.

Whoa., gasped the "31" marked racer. Better watch my step. He then looked ahead at Rainbow, who was in the lead. Nah. I'm not here to beat her. I'm just here for a good run. And I better pace myself too. Can't have myself getting tired quickly.

C—S—A—RD—PP—C—S—A—RD—PP—C—S—A—RD—PP

Later…

Chronicle slowed enough to that he wouldn't get fatigued easily, though not enough for Rainbow to exit his vision. As he did, somepony caught up to him. At first he thought it was Mjölna, but after looking at her cutie mark he saw that it was her twin sister Tasty Snack.

"Hey, Chronicle.", she greeted.

"Hey. Say, is Mjölna in the race?"

"No. While she may be physically strong given her skills in blacksmithing, she's slow on her feet."

"Ah."

Before they could say any more, Applejack zoomed past them. Almost immediately, not wanting to stick around Tasty for some reason, Chronicle picked up the pace as well.

"Wait up.", Mjölna's twin called out as she caught up with Chronicle. As they did, they saw the farmpony bypass a trotting Rainbow Dash.

"See you at the finish line!", Applejack said and Rainbow stopped short and gapes after her, giving Tasty and Chronicle time to bypass her as well.

"I don’t believe it!", gasped Spike from the balloon. "After a huge setback, Applejack is back at the front of the pack!"

"She’s the head of the pack, all right! The pick of the litter! The cat’s pajamas!...Oh, wait. Why would Applejack take some poor kitty’s PJ’s?" The boys on board with her were perplexed at this. "That’s not very sporting of her."

"Okay…let’s get back to the race."

Meanwhile, Rainbow had managed to bypass Chronicle and Tasty and was slowly pulling up next to Applejack. "Not so fast, Applejack! This race isn’t over yet!"

"It is for you!" A quick bit of acceleration put her out in front again.

"Watch out.", Tasty tried to caution Rainbow.

It wasn't heeded as she tumbled forward from a tree stump instead. "Whoa!"

"Told you." She shrugged as she and Chronicle went around and continued ahead after Applejack.

"Later, alligator.", the unicorn taunted before leaving the pegasus in the dust and giggling after. Tasty gave him a look. "I always wanted to say that." He then gave a sigh. "I got a feeling this entire conflict will escalate."

"Why do you say that?"

"Well, Rainbow just tripped. Given how much she hates Applejack, she'll assume she cheated."

"How did you get to that conclusion?"

"I know them personally."

"I see."

C—S—A—RD—PP—TS—C—S—A—RD—PP—TS

Eyecatch (video-type) - Above an autumn forest, the hot air balloon flies in from the left, Pinkie Pie and Spike visible on board as the former then pulls out the show's logo and displays it.

Below, the following ponies run from left to right: Applejack, Chronicle, Tasty Snack, the crowd of ponies, a bipedal-running Heartstrings, Mystic Shield, and Rainbow Dash. Twilight Sparkle trots in shortly after.

C—S—A—RD—PP—TS—C—S—A—RD—PP—TS

Farther ahead in the course was a bridge over a river at the mouth of a waterfall. The balloon had floated ahead there as the crowd were soon approaching it.

"Welcome back, Ponyvillians!", said the announcer. "It’s me, Pinkie Pie!"

"And Spike!", said her co-host as the first four placers crossed the bridge; Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Chronicle, and Tasty Snack. "Looks like Rainbow’s doing her best to catch up, with Chronicle and an earth pony named Tasty Snack right behind them!"

"I’m not sure how ketchup is gonna help her in this contest. Now in a hot dog eating contest, it can make them doggies nice and slippery, but personally I prefer mustard." Spike and the Chronicle clone on board again tried with no luck to make head or tail of her commentary. "How about you, Spike?"

"Uh…I like pickles?"

"Hotdogs? What's in them?", asked the Chronicle clone. Since we're vegetarians, hopefully they're really veggie dogs.

Pinkie just ignored him and went back to announcing. "Aaaaand…it looks like Applejack has found herself in quite a pickle as Rainbow overtakes her!"

Back on the ground, indeed that was the case. "Look, Ma, no wings! ", Rainbow taunted as they entered a new stretch of trees, while the balloon floated up to clear their tops.

"As the racers enter Equestria’s Whitetail Wood, Rainbow Dash is back in the lead!", Spike commentated.

Rainbow’s face went slack with shock as she noticed a low branch at head level. She chuckled and caught it in her teeth, pulling it briefly out of the way without breaking stride, then let it snap back. This branch struck Applejack and Tasty and knocked them down, but Chronicle slid under it as its leaves brushed his mane and horn. This caused him to lose some speed however and as he worked to speed up again.

"Oww!", groaned Tasty as she was left behind.

"Hey! Rainbow!", he heard Applejack say, then looked ahead to see the pegasus blow a raspberry.

"Why, I oughta shoot you down right now, but we're in a race.", the unicorn scolded.

"Stay out of this!", Rainbow replied.

"No can do. I'm running to win as well." While he wasn't running to beat her, he's still gonna give his all.

"Heheh. You can't catch up with me!"

"We'll see."

The pegasus just turned away and said to herself. "Nice one, Rainbow."

Just then, something collided behind Chronicle and he and it began to roll ahead for a few seconds. "Later!", he heard a familiar voice as they got off each other and continued running without losing speed.

"Applejack. Watch where you sail.", he scolded the second time in the race as she began to go ahead.

"Sorry.", she replied but it wasn't sincere. She then looked back and Chronicle did so too and saw Rainbow gaining on them fast.

Applejack then spotted a beehive on a branch up ahead and stopped just long enough to buck the tree in which it is hanging. The hive came loose right after Chronicle passed the tree. A second later, he heard a scream, looked back, and saw Rainbow fleeing a swarm of bees. As they were headed his way, he picked up the pace as well, using the bees as an incentive.

Up ahead was a trail junction, with branches leading left and right, and a sign with an arrow pointing right to indicate the racecourse. While Rainbow reached this and dove into a nearby bush, Chronicle continued to run and thankfully the bees did not chase him.

Damn that Applejack! She could've killed Rainbow if it turns out she's allergic to bees! I'm so smacking her later! Chronicle slowed down a bit after that, remembering to breathe through the nostrils. He would dehydrate faster if he breathed through the mouth. Heheh. Looks like I'm on first now. Boy would they be surprised to see a unicorn win the race.

This thought was cut off upon hearing faint barking. He didn't turn around, deciding to watch where he was going. A few seconds later, a frantic Mystic Shield bypassed him, followed by a quick-running dog he failed to catch the breed of (though he was certain it wasn't Winona). Indeed a unicorn was about to win the race, but it wasn't going to be Chronicle.

Oh for—as much as I like Mystic Shield, I'm not gonna allow myself to lose to a cynophobic pony with a proper incentive! Quickly, the unicorn began to intensify his leg enhancement spell and started running faster.

C—S—A—RD—PP—MS—TS—C—S—A—RD—PP—MS—TS

Later in the race…

Chronicle was faltering, but he couldn't give up now. Even when Rainbow Dash had managed to overtake him. Even as the leaves continued to fall. Even with the rest of the racers right behind. And when he checked them, he noted that neither Bon Bon nor Lyra were in the crowd. Still, Mystic had gone too far ahead for even Rainbow to consider him. He probably didn't even cross her mind. And Chronicle wasn't about to tell her.

Just then, the balloon where the announcers were drifted down with Applejack hanging onto a dangling rope. She swung down ahead of Rainbow and flipped her a sardonic little salute, prompting a shocked gasp.

Needless to say, the pegasus was shocked. "What the hay? You said no flying!"

Applejack let go to start galloping. "No, I said no wings."

Chronicle didn't ask how she fell behind as his clone would probably know. They all charged on through an area in which each tree’s trunk had been fitted with a half-pipe chute, through which sap ran to drip into a bucket hung on the end. What the— I don't recall trees having to be sapped around this season.

"I must say, Spike, that this has been the most interesting Running of the Leaves in Equestria history!", Pinkie commented.

"With the most interesting announcing.", the dragon added under his breath.

"You got that right.", snarked the clone on board. Back on the ground, Applejack raced on, kicking a bucket loose so that its contents spilled all over the path.

"But it isn’t the running that’s been fascinating.", Pinkie said. When the sky-blue sprinter hit the sap, she soon found every hoof glued down in it. "It’s the lack of running!"

As Rainbow tried to pull free, Chronicle bypassed her and all the others rumbled past as well, bringing down plenty of leaves. Just a little more., he thought to himself.

As he ran for another minute with Applejack still on his sights, he saw a large bump ahead. He jumped over it…and a sailing Rainbow zipped right under him in the split second he was in the air. This caused him to lose focus as he tumbled along the forest floor, but he quickly found his footing again and continued on as he saw the farmpony was set spinning as a four-legged tornado. This little twister veered along and apparently sucked up Rainbow as well, if the color was any indication.

With both of them screaming, they veered off the path and up a rocky incline for a short distance before wiping out. As Chronicle continued to run, panting on the inside, he could see the finish line up ahead just outside Ponyville proper, attended by a cheering crowd.

A little more and I can rest., he thought as he allowed himself a smile.

As he neared the finish, he could see Mystic up a tree shivering on a branch as the dog chasing him barked up it. He was then caught off guard as Doctor Whooves caught up to him, looking quite fresh.

"Hey Chronicle.", he greeted. "I'd love to chat, but I got a second place medal to win." He added under his breath, "Sad to say…", as he zoomed ahead.

Dammit! I'm on third now! He then risked a look back and saw Carrot Top about to catch up as well. And right behind her, Twilight Sparkle was moving fast. Geez! He tried to run a bit faster, but he was running on empty. Still, the finish line was just up that last incline and he was really close now. He can't give up just yet. Come on, come on, come on!

Upon passing the finish line a few seconds later, he quickly slowed down as his charge and the carrot farmer passed him by and before he knew it, he was down on the ground, breathing heavily, and was later out like a light.

C—TS—S—GH—A—RD—PP—DH—C—TS—S—GH—A—RD—PP—DH

Less than a minute ago…

Back at the balloon, the Chronicle clone watched with Spike and Pinkie as it kept pace with two certain fierce competitors after they had gotten down the rocky incline. Spike had again let his microphone hang over the side, wondering if should have his head examined for signing on as announcer.

"Once again, Rainbow Dash and Applejack are neck and neck, jockeying for position!", announced Pinkie. "Applejack inches ahead…now it’s Rainbow…it’s Applejack…it’s Rainbow Dash…it’s Applejack!"

Below, both faces brightened upon seeing the finish line, although they failed to notice those who already crossed it. Rainbow then suddenly eased over and bumped into Applejack. "Oh, no, she di-in’t!", Spike said.

Applejack did likewise. "Oh, yes, she di-id!"

After another bump from Rainbow, Applejack said, "Cut it out!"

"No, you cut it out!"

"You started it!"

"And now I’m gonna finish it!" Rainbow pulled ahead.

"Oh, no, you won’t!" A mouthful of technicolor tail was all she needed to yank Rainbow backward and move ahead—but the latter moved up fast.

"Oh, yes, I will!"

She pulled Applejack back in the same fashion and charged up. When Applejack tried again, she missed Rainbow’s tail but got a mouthful of the ropes tying her wings down—which snapped and unwound, leaving the pegasus to start flapping and lift off. "That’s it! All bets are off!"

Applejack jumped up after her. "Oh, no, you don’t!"

Paying no heed whatsoever to the flabbergasted spectators, she tackled Rainbow out of the air. Dust floated up from below as the two crashed down and got into a rolling brawl on the home stretch. And Chronicle finally saw Lyra and Bon Bon just behind. The former was still on twos, but her forelegs were now on the latter's back as support.

"Is that-?", Lyra gasped.

"They are!", Bon Bon cried.

They shared a look. "We're not the last ones! Go, Bon Bon, go!" Lyra shouted, rearing back up on her hind legs. "Run! We can make it!"

The two of them ran ahead together and the unicorn waved her front legs triumphantly in the air as she crossed the finish line on her own two legs, only a yard behind Bon Bon and almost ten yards ahead of the bickering athletes.

And as those two neared the finish line, Spike was beginning to enjoy himself again as Pinkie continued to announce, "It’s Applejack…it’s Rainbow Dash…it’s Applejack…it’s Rainbow Dash!" And the two finally crossed the finish line. However, the the beat-down continued until they have rolled with a loud crash.

Rainbow was the first to get up, her mane, wings, and coat in total disarray, and smiled once she caught her breath. "I won!", she whooped.

Applejack was up as well and in just as bad a shape. "No, I won!"

"I won!"

"You tied!", Spike called from the balloon.

"Tied?!?", both said.

"For first?", Applejack asked as they turned to the balloon.

"For last!", Pinkie corrected.

"Last?!?"

"Then…who won?", Rainbow dared ask.

Twilight—and another magical clone of Chronicle summoned since the real him was currently passed out—walked over, a medal hanging around the former's neck.

"You?", the two dirty fighters gasped.

"Oh, no, but I did get fifth place—which is rather good, considering I’ve never run a race before."

"What?", Applejack gasped. "How’s that even possible?"

"You ran so slow, and looked at the scenery!", Rainbow said.

"Exactly! I paced myself, just like my book said. Then at the end, when all the other ponies were worn out…" She glanced back to a group of winded and collapsed pegasi, among them Cloud Kicker (number 5) and Dizzy Twister. "…I sprinted to the finish."

"I don’t believe it. Twilight beat us!"

"Not just you.", said Chronicle. "For the actual first placer, that privilege goes to Mystic Shield." He pointed at the unicorn, who was finally coaxed down the tree and was wearing his medal proudly over his ascot. "As it was, a dog had chased him and gave him the boost he needed. Following was Doctor Whooves, who actually has a lot of experience in running." He indicated the drab brown earth pony, who looked proud for himself. "I came in third…" He gestured to the real him, resting peacefully with a medal around his neck. "Barely beating Carrot Top by half a nose…" Said carrot farmer turned to Applejack and stuck out her tongue, clearly relishing her victory over her. "…and Twilight by two noses."

"Well, with all your horsing around, it was quite easy.", said his charge.

"Huh. You’re right, Twilight.", said Applejack. "Our behavior was just terrible."

Rainbow gave a sighing. "We weren’t very good sports."

Just then, several of the spectators gasped at the sound of the next voice and knelt. "Sounds to me like an important lesson was learned.", it said as its speaker stepped into view.

"Princess Celestia?!", the pegasus and two unicorns gasped.

"What are you doin’ here?", Applejack asked as they all knelt.

"Fall is one of my favorite seasons, so I came to celebrate the Running of the Leaves.", Celestia explained as they stood.

"I’m sorry you had to see us being such a poor sport, Princess."

"That’s all right, Applejack. Anypony can get swept up in the excitement of competition."

"It’s important to remember that the friendship is always more important than the competition.", said Twilight.

"Exactly, Twilight. Now unfortunately, because the two of you were busy tricking each other instead of shaking down leaves—" She turned to a stretch of forest whose trees were still fully loaded. "—many of the lovely trees in Equestria are still covered."

"Why, Princess, I bet we can knock those leaves down for you lickety-split." Applejack offered, then turned to Rainbow. "What do you say, friend? Wanna go for another run?"

Rainbow limbered up a foreleg. "I’d love to stretch my legs."

She took off like a shot, Applejack rearing up and doing likewise a moment later, and teacher, student, and bodyguard watched them go. Once they were gone, Chronicle turned to Celestia and said, "I'll have to say that this year's running was interesting in more ways than one."

"What makes you say that?", Celestia asked as Twilight went off somewhere.

"Well, I'm not sure how many unicorns reached first place or even ranked high in the standings, but I think I can say this one had the most. Twilight reached fifth by tactics, I barely reached third by my own athletics and a boost on my legs, and my friend Mystic Shield reached first thanks to a dog chasing him; he's afraid of dogs."

Celestia gave a hearty chuckle. "I'll have to agree with you. Until now, no unicorn has ever placed high in the Running of the Leaves. And I'll have to say the one who ran on twos really showed a lot of daring to do that. And it was kind of the earth pony who helped her through the end."

The two glanced at Lyra, who was lying on the ground aching all over, with Bon Bon bringing in Nurse Redheart to help her. "Yeah. Although running bipedally with a quadruped body does have severe consequences."

"I see. And did you know that during the last Running of the Leaves, Pinkie Pie was the winner?"

"Really?"

"From what I heard, she went so fast the leaves followed her through the force of the wind she created, nearly eliminating the purpose of the event."

Chronicle gave a chuckle as he imagined the scenario in his head. "For some reason, I think that would've been hilarious."

Celestia chuckled along with him. "…Say, could you tell me about Mystic Shield?"

This confused the bodyguard a bit. "Why would you want to know about him?"

"…Never mind. I realize that isn't the right way to know a new friend."

"So you've been learning through your student's letters?", Chronicle wagered a guess.

"That's right. And Luna too, given everything she's been through, not to mention how outdated she is with the times."

"A thousand years of imprisonment will give you that."

The two of them spoke no more as they looked over the forest, which was slowly losing all its leaves. The clone then dismissed himself afterward, along with the one that was on the balloon, which continued to fly as Pinkie decided to watch her friends run.

Author's Note:

Thankfully, you will have footnotes here because the only thing that would be at the top is the disclaimer, which is already applied in almost every chapter anyway.

1. Ginger Cloud, like Clockwork, is just a one-shot character meant to "advertise" different alternate universes of Equestria where they have capital differences to the canon show.

2. I based what Chronicle pulled off from a scene in Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron during the song "Get Off My Back".

3. For extra text, I decided to fill in the rest of the events with whatever I could. And given the Chick Wrangling, I decided that not all events have to test strength, endurance, or speed. I added precision to the list.

4. To be honest, I had the jousting planned even before Season 3 aired.

5. Regular cornhole corn bags weigh 14 to 16 ounces, but I decided to take into account that ponies are smaller than humans.

6. I considered Coconut Shy in place of the Ladder Toss, but I saw the complications from lack of hands. Also, this and the Cornhole I'm actually not that familiar with; I just used them as filler for the 20 events.

I sincerely apologize for Derpy having number 13. I hope you understand why. Also, I implemented The Running of Lyra as a "background event" just because I wanted to. See ya on Third!

Comments

[Spirit Shift]

niiice work tieing this in with Anthropology (even if unintentional) not to mention now im curious about Recasted