September 3, 3095 Imperial Calender (1522 AD)
Sweet Apple Acres
"Alright, ready?", Pound said, tensing up.
Off to his right, sitting on a bale of hay with a watch, sat his sister. Southern Rose, Soundboard, and Maraschino stood off to the side as well, the latter two playing cards over a small table. In front of the beige pegasus was a long stretch of hard-packed dirt, which curved around the paddocks of farm animals and ended up in front of the barn, which finally looped back to their spot right in front of the big farmhouse.
"Yeah, I got it", Pumpkin said. "Just give it a bit to get back to the next minute. This is just a watch."
Pound snorted, before leaning back a bit more. Pumpkin said, "Five, four, three, two, one. GO!"
Instantly, Pound took off, running across the ground at a rapid speed. Behind the others, Depressi landed, tilting his head to watch Pound run off down the road. He said, "Salve, friends. Eh, what is Pound doing?"
"Practising for the Runnin' of the leaves", Southern said.
Depressi turned his attention away from the pegasus to look at her. "The what?", he asked.
"The Running of the Leaves", Maraschino said. "It's a local sports event of sorts. A bunch of ponies gather up at a spot on one side of the Whitetail Woods, then race along the edge of it to the other end. The winner gets bragging rights and a five-hundred bit prize."
Depressi nodded. "So, he's trying out?"
"It's not a tryout thing", Soundboard said. "It's just something you show up and do. Hay, Headmistress Twilight did it one time and beat both your mom and Miss Applejack."
Depressi shot the unicorn and incredulous look. "You're pulling my queue." After a brief pause and a confused look, he deadpanned, "You would call it a ponytail."
"Ah, ok", Soundboard said.
"An' she ain't", Southern said. "Aunt AJ told me that story a couple 'a times."
Pound bolted past them, hooves making small indents into the ground. Panting like a dog on a hot day, he asked, "So... what'd... I get?"
Pumpkin looked down at the watch before saying, "Twenty-six point eight-one."
Pound frowned, asking, "Really? You're sure?"
"Yes, I am certain", she said.
He sighed. "Even slower than last time."
Depressi piped up and said, "Try tucking your wings in lower down on your side. It helps reduce drag."
Pound looked at him and asked, "How would you know?"
"School Track team", Depressi said. "Three years now."
Maraschino asked, "Are you gonna compete? Give Pound a run for his money?"
Depressi asked, "Well, it depends. How long is the course, and on what kind of terrain?"
Pound began stretching and said, "Most of it's pretty flat, though there are a few hilly areas. The road is pretty rough, but nothing too bad. Why? You're not thinking of competing, are you?"
"Why not?", Depressi asked. "'When in Equestria, do as the Equestrian's do.'"
"Isn't it 'When in Prance, do as the Prench do?'", Soundboard asked.
"I guess it varies", Pumpkin pointed out.
"Anyway", Southern said. "It'll be nice to have some new competition in the Runnin'. Ain't that right, Pound?"
Pound Cake just looked at Depressi, before nodding. "R-right. Yeah. Anyway, sis, tell me when the watch is back at the minute mark. I wanna go again."
++++~++++
The Next Day
Around forty to fifty ponies waited by the entrance of the Whitetail Woods, stretching and running in place, getting ready for the Running to begin. Off to the side, Pinkie Pie and a yellow stallion in a polo shirt Depressi didn't know were readying a hot-air balloon. A few other ponies milled about, although most of those not competing would be at the other end of the woods.
Pound Cake and Depressi stood off by the starting line, Pound bending over in order to limber up. Depressi, meanwhile, had done some stretches earlier, and was just standing around awkwardly.
Pinkie Pie suddenly appeared next to Depressi, making him back up in mild alarm. "Hi, Dep!"
"Dep?", he questioned.
"Yeah! I know it's a bit mean, and I'm sorry, but your name is kinda hard to pronounce", she explained. "But I want to be able to talk to you easily, so I shortened it to Dep! Is that ok?"
"Yeah, that's fine... I guess", Depressi replied, before straightening up. "Is there something I can help you with?"
"Oh, not really", Pinkie said. "But it seemed like you were upset about something. I remember when your mom ran this; she was all smiley and trash-talking with Applejack. But, you're just standing there like you don't know anypony at a party. So, you ok?"
"Yes, I am fine", Depressi said. "It's just... Well, I guess this is unfamiliar."
Pound spoke up, asking, "Didn't you say you're on a track team?"
"Yes, but that doesn't necessarily translate to something like this", he said. "I imagine there is a difference between running on a dirt road and on a track."
"If you're anything like your mom", Pinkie said, putting a hoof on his shoulder. "Then you'll do fine. Just, don't break out of your ropes and fly."
"That... is against the rules, isn't it?", Depressi asked. "Why would I do it in the first place?"
"Oh, because you want to win!", Pinkie said.
Depressi fixed her with a look between bewilderment and confusion. He said, "I... I admit that I share similarities, but I am not my mother when she lived here. There are rules, and said rules must be followed."
"Okie, Dokie, Lokie!", Pinkie said.
"Pinks!", the yellow stallion called. "We should get up! The race starts in a few minutes!"
"Coming, Cheese!", Pinkie replied, before turning back to Depressi. "Just do your best." She zipped back to the Balloon as Depressi cracked his neck and walked up to the starting line.
Pound shot a look to his side, giving Depressi a small smile. "Don't be nervous. It won't be that bad. Just, don't let Pinkie and Sandwich distract you too much. I made that mistake on my first run, and ended up running into a tree."
"That doesn't help, you know", Depressi replied.
"Yeah, I get that", he said. "Still, don't be worried. I'll win, and you won't have to concern yourself too much with it."
That made Depressi fully look over at him, a small fanged smile of his own forming. He chuckled and said, "Is that so? You, the little amateur who didn't even know to tuck his wings in properly?"
"This is my home court, as it were", Pound said.
"Very well", Depressi said. "May the best colt win."
The cheery voice of the yellow stallion called out, "Racers, on your marks!"
The two of them angled back, readying themselves to start.
"Get set!", Pinkie called.
The others in the group shuffled around nervously, while Depressi and Pound shot each other one last look.
Both of them yelled at the same time, "GO!"
Instantly, the ponies took off, Pound and Depressi pulling ahead of the pack almost immediately. The two of them were neck and neck as they entered the woods, although Pound slowly began to pull ahead.
Depressi allowed his peripheral vision to pick up on his surroundings as he ran. The woods were similar in type and leaf color to some of the ones on the outskirts of the city or in the parks back at his home. He had just never seen so many of them in one place. Said leaves fell from the trees in torrents like Monsoon rain, spurred on by the speed of the racers. If he wasn't in a race, he would've slowed down to fully take it in.
Turning his attention back to the race, he saw that Pound had gained a decent degree of ground on him. The pegasus stallion ran like a well-oiled machine, keeping his wings ducked into his sides as close to his upper back as possible, just like Depressi said. Depressi noticed something else, however; he was running too fast, putting too much energy into his initial push.
Depressi, not wanting to fall too far back, put on a bit of speed himself. He could've gone faster, if not for concern of his track. Or, well; the road. He was used to a flat track, while the dirt path was bumpy. Besides that, there could be rocks or other such obstacles that would impede his progress. Keeping that in mind, he followed directly behind Pound Cake.
Said stallion stole a look back at his competition, spotting Depressi close behind him. Beyond him, the nearest pony was Candy Bar, Lyra and Bon Bons daughter, who was easily a good thirty to thirty-five feet behind Depressi. Pound smirked, before turning his attention back to the stretch of woods in front of him.
Above them, Pinkie spoke into a microphone, linked to speakers at the bleachers near the end via a magic link. "Well, cheesie, looks like this is gonna be a good Running this year!"
"That's right, Pinks! We have Pound Cake in front, but he's got a tail", Cheese Sandwich said.
"We all have tails, Cheesie!", Pinkie quipped, giggling.
Cheese nodded sagely, before saying, "True, but not that kind of tail. The Pryhan, Depressi Tonituro, is right behind him and seemingly closing fast! The next three behind these two are Candy Bar, Thunderhead, and Nimbus, but those two upfront have a solid lead!"
Down below, Depressi slowly made his way closer to Pound, coming up to about his midsection as he plodded along. Breath hitched up in his throat, and he slowed down a bit. Better to be able to say something at the end then just collapse. Pound noticed the slight lull in the speed of his closest competition, putting on a bit of his own in order to gain a bigger lead.
"The two up front are still keeping their lead, but the others are starting to catch up with them", Pinkie called. "Thunderhead has overtaken Candy Bar, and is closing steadily on our two frontrunners."
Depressi noted the declarations of the two of them up in the hot-air balloon, using the corner of his eye to keep an eye out for Thunderhead. Sure enough, the same blue stallion he had seen with High Society was slowly closing in on them. In fact, the rest of the pack seemed to be closing the distance as well, either meaning they were picking up speed or, more likely, the two of them were running on empty.
The trees ahead of them began to thin, a clearing opening up at the end. A pair of poles with a piece of tape tied to it rested at the end of the trail, with a trio of large bleachers packed full of ponies around the end. Depressi put on another burst of speed, closing the gap with Pound Cake as best he could.
He heard a loud snort behind him, another pair of hooves closing in behind him. The tape grew closer, and Depressi sprang forward, attempting to inch past Pound just at the end.
At seemingly the same time, both he and Pound Cake slammed into the tape, grinding to a halt and stumbling forward. As the two of them stopped, breathing heavily, Depressi said, "Good... race... Amicus."
"Yeah", Pound said. "Nice try. It was... real close."
"What do you mean, 'nice try'? I won!", Depressi asked.
Pound said, "No, I won!"
Above them, as if on cue, Pinkie called out, "A TIE! We have a tie, everypony!"
"I don't know if this has ever happened before!", Cheese added.
"It hasn't!", Pinkie said, shaking him. "Ladies and Gentlecolts, this is the first tie in the history of the Running of the Leaves!"
The two colts looked at one another, before Depressi chuckled. "So, does that mean we share the podium?"
Pound joined him after a second, asking, "Maybe we need to wait while they go make another medal, and get anther five-hundred bits."
"Eh. I don't care about the money. You can have it", Depressi said.
"Thanks", Pound said, holding out his hoof. Depressi brought up his paw, shaking as the last of the racers came in.