//------------------------------// // Fall Weather Friends // Story: The Impact of Humans on Ponies // by the koopanater //------------------------------// It's been two months since Xavier has arrived in Equestria, and summer has just left the land with fall rapidly approaching to take it's place. Most days, Xavier would be in his house for a while before he left it, but this morning he was bright and early. Standing in the doorway, he took in a deep breath and smiled. "Ahhh. Oh how I've missed that autumn scent." Xavier said calmly as he began to walk. Keeping a methodical pace, Xavier was taking in the sights of town as he walked to a café near Sugar Cube Corner. Once he could see the shop however, something hit the back of his head hard, causing him to fall flat onto his face. Looking up, he saw that it was a ball that hit him, with Snips and Snails as the culprits, though not too excited. "Oh gee, we're sorry there Mr. Xavier! We didn't mean to do that!" Snips apologized as Xavier got up. The two braced themselves for some sort of scolding, but they didn't expect what Xavier's next action. "Hey, no problem, just be careful next time, kay?" It wasn't the words said that surprised them, but more the tone, which was oddly happy for someone who didn't show high amounts of happiness. Xavier then resumed his walk to his destination as the two looked at him confused Thirty Minutes Later Xavier was at the moment sitting on a bench in the park, drinking out of a coffee cup. Taking a sip from it, he smiled warmly as he thought to himself. "Warm drink, great weather, beautiful scene, this is the life. What could be better!" After a few moments, Xavier's happy expression suddenly fell as it adopted a solemn one. "Well, I can think of one thing." Reaching into his hoodie's pocket, he pulled out the photo, but it was more visible in the sun's light. On the photo were two humans, though one was noticeably younger then the other one. Gripping the photo in a gentle yet firm grasp, Xavier looked up to the sky and sighed. "If only you were here, you would have loved it here. But you're not, and I know you would not want me sad like this at this time of year." Adopting a sad smile, Xavier gently put the photo back into his pocket and sighed. When he looked up, he happened to see a familiar pair. "Hey Twilight, hey Spike." Turning over to him, the two were surprised to see him out and about. "Xavier? What are you doing here?" Twilight asked. "Enjoying the beauty of fall, Twi." Xavier said as he took another sip from his drink. "What's that you're drinking?" "A pumpkin spice latte. Can't experience fall to it's fullest without one." "I'm guessing you like fall then?" Twilight asked curiously. "But of course, I love fall." Xavier said as he stood up. "The cold, crisp air. The beautiful falling, leaves. The smell of a harvest. It's an amazing time of year." As Xavier was explaining, Twilight and Spike were looking at him somewhat surprised to see the guy who didn't show an incredible amount of happiness or enthusiasm outside of his gadgets so into a season. Xavier then looked at the two with a calm smile. "But enough about me, what are you two doing? Out for a stroll?" Snapping out of their trances, Twilight answered him. "No actually. We were actually on our way to Sweet Apple Acres. Applejack and Rainbow were looking for me." "Oh, well in that case you mind if I come along with you two. I have a list of things to see during fall believe it or not." Xavier pulled out a list to prove his point, getting a slight groan from Spike. "Ugh, don't tell me you're like Twilight who has to make a list for everything." Spike said exasperated, earning a glare from the mare in question and a chuckle from Xavier. "No, I don't make too many lists. Just for the most important things needed or top priority. Besides, a new world, new scenes. And one of the things on the list is an orchard, believe it or not. So could I join you two?" Twilight and Spike looked at each other and sighed as they turned back to him. "Yes, you can come with us." Smiling, Xavier drank the last of his latte and threw away the cup as he joined them to Sweet Apple Acres. Along the way they began to chat about the reason why Xavier loved fall so much. After a little walk, they saw both Applejack and Rainbow standing by the barn, the latter doing some stretches and the former watching. "Hey girls." Turning her attention to Twilight, Applejack smiled at her. "Howdy, glad you two could make it... with Xavier? What's he doin' here?" "A few reasons, really." Xavier answered. "One is to see your orchard in the beauty of fall and another is to see what you two are up to." "Well, I guess you can look around if you want Xavier. But right now Twilight is goin' to be judging our contest." Applejack replied, earning a curious look from Xavier and a confused look from Twilight. "What contest?" "An I-" "Iron Pony Competition." Rainbow said in between her stretches, cutting off Applejack. "See, we've set up a bunch of events to decide which one of us is—" "The most athletic pony ever!" "Huh, that sound quite interesting. I think I can put the look around on hold for this." Xavier said, getting a surprised look from Rainbow. "Huh, but you usually don't care for these things. You said it yourself when we hung out a few weeks ago." Rainbow said as she got up from her stretches. "Well I did, but my tour around fall's beauty can come later. I think watching you two would be more interesting. Besides, I'm feeling quite good, so I think I will want to watch." Xavier responded. "Well, if that's what you want to do, then sure. More to watch my awesomeness." Rainbow said as Applejack got into her face "Well we'll just see about that." With that the group went over to where the events were set up. "Hello, everypony! And welcome to the first annual Iron Pony Competition!" After a bit of an argument between the competitors, the rules and events were laid out for them. While Twilight was looking over the rules one last time, Xavier was helping with last minute tweaks to the events and Spike was holding a stick like an announcer and "Commentating" the events. "Uh, Spike? Who're you talking to?" Twilight asked. "I think he's talking to them." Xavier said as he came over. Turning around, they saw the rest of the girls coming over to watch as well. Excited to know he would be able to continue to commentate, he jumped onto twilights head and announced in joy "Let the games begin." The group went over to the first event, a barrel weave. As Twilight and Spike were on the side, Xavier came up with a stopwatch as Applejack was prepping herself. "Ready AJ?" Applejack went up to the starting line and got into a position to start. "Aaannndd... GO!" Applejack shot off like a rocket, going in between the barrels with a large amount of agility. Though she was a little too quick as she bopped a barrel as she was running, not going unnoticed to her as she crossed the finish line. Xavier looked at the stopwatch as he announced the time. "Seventeen seconds, not too shabby, AJ." "You're kidding!" Applejack responded, excitedly. "That breaks my record from last year's rodeo." "Well that would be if you didn't add five seconds for nudging that barrel." Xavier said. "Aw, nuts and shrews!" Applejack sighed. "Still, that's twenty two seconds. Not too shabby." She then looked over at Rainbow who was looking a bit nervous. "Hey, don't be nervous. Remember, it's all in good fun. Now get on up there." As Rainbow went up to starting line, Xavier began the countdown. "Ready, aaaannnddd... GO!" Rainbow also shot off like a rocket as she went through the barrels like Applejack. The difference being that she managed to not hit any barrels as she crossed the finish line. "Woo! That was some fancy hoof work there, Rainbow!" Applejack congratulated her. "Thanks, but I couldn't have been as fast as you." Rainbow panted as she flew back over. "I wouldn't be so sure of that Rainbow, 'cause you managed to get eighteen seconds on your time." Xavier said as he came over, surprising them. "Eighteen seconds? Rainbow, are you sure you're not secretly a rodeo pony?" Applejack asked jokingly. "Rainbow Dash wins the barre weave!" Twilight exclaimed. They looked over to the scoreboard to watch Fluttershy put up a score for Rainbow. "Oh, I can't believe I won!" Rainbow expressed. "Yeah, well, don't you go getting used to it." Applejack assured with a smirk. The completion continued forward with device similar to a strength test at a carnival, except that the target was on the post instead of the stand. There were also a couple more ponies nearby, presumably to watch the competition as well. as Rainbow went up to the test and turned so her hind legs were aiming at the target. Raising her legs, she gave the target a powerful kick, sending the ball straight into the bell at the top, getting the crowd to cheer as Rainbow flew up to emphasize her strength. Applejack however, did not seem worried about it. "Mighty respectable." Applejack replied as she went up to the target. "But let me show you how it's really done." With a swift kick of one of her hind legs, she not only managed to break the target into pieces, but she also managed to send the ball flying so fast that it caused the bell at the top to break off and fly into the distance. As the crowd cheered, Rainbow sat down slack-jawed at the display as Applejack went over to Rainbow. "Years of applebucking." Applejack simply explained as she kicked the tree Rainbow was under, causing a couple apples to fall onto her head as Fluttershy put up a score for Applejack. After Rainbow's shock was over, they went over to a fenced area for a competition like a bull ride, except that the competitors would be trying to knock off the rider, A.K.A a hesitant Spike. Applejack was up first and as Spike was questioning the choices that lead him to this moment, Applejack began to bucking around in an attempt to knock him off. After a bit, Spike lost his grip and flew off of her, landing onto none other then Rainbow who was more then ready to begin. After the call was made, Rainbow began to do some very aggressive hops that made Spike fly off in half the time that Applejack had, leaving Rainbow as the winner. After that, the competitors put a helmet on Spike's head that resembled a bull. The event was to see who could lasso the target first, to which the two were on two different spectrums of skill. Applejack was using her lasso with great skill while Rainbow was practically struggling with it. After a few tricks with her lasso, Applejack nabbed Spike, meanwhile Rainbow managed to lasso herself into a tree, giving the point to Applejack. As the competition continued forward, more and more ponies came to watch until the whole town was watching the competition. Everypony was fixated on the competition as the two athletes were focusing on winning, but one's mood was dwindling. As the competition moved on, Xavier's mood was dropping, but not because of discomfort from the crowd that was watching, but it was annoyance to a specific competitor with wings. Unlike the spectators who were to focused on the exciting events taking place, Xavier's habit of keeping tabs on most everything was coming in handy because he was seeing Rainbow blatantly cheating by using her wings to win a lot of the events. It all came to a head at the last event, a tug-of-war. "Okay you two. This is the final event. Give it all you've got!" Twilight said as a whistle was blown. The two competitors pulled on the rope with all their might, but Applejack had the advantage in terms of brute force, so she was managing to pull Rainbow forward "Looks like the workhorse might come out ahead in this one." Spike announced as Rainbow neared the mud in the center. Applejack did manage to pull Rainbow over the edge, but Rainbow began flying to keep her above the mud. Rainbow then began to gain altitude, pulling Applejack up above the mud. This pushed Xavier over the edge as he reached for something. "That's not fair!" Applejack mumbled, still holding onto the rope. "You can't use your wings to help you win" "Huh?" Rainbow asked as she brought a hoof up to her ear almost tauntingly. "You're cheating!" "I can't understand you with that rope in your mouth." Rainbow said as if she was egging her on. Applejack just about had enough and was about to yell out to Rainbow, but before that could happen, a familiar hook wrapped around Rainbow's torso and pulled her downwards, causing Rainbow to lose her grip on the rope, leading to the both of them to plummet to the mud below them. Before they landed in it however Xavier leapt forward and caught Applejack, leaving only Rainbow to be the one to land in the mud. When she came over the shock of it all, Applejack realized what happened and looked at Xavier. "Wow, thanks Xavier for that..." Applejack said as Xavier put her down. "Hey, what gives!" Everyone turned to Rainbow who was both covered in mud and fuming. "What was that for Xavier!?!" "What gives is the fact that you were cheating for half of the events by using your wings." Xavier announced, shocking the whole crowd. "What!?" Rainbow exclaimed. "He's right, she's been using her wings to win over half of those events, I saw her!" Applejack said backing Xavier up. "Hmph, sounds like sour apples to me" Rainbow said as she got out of the mud and began to wipe it off. "Don't play dumb Rainbow." Xavier said glaring at her. "you were literally flying over the mud pit just now to win. Besides, I saw you in those events before, using them as shields or extra distance in events." Xavier turned to Applejack with an apologetic look. "Sorry it took so long to speak up by the way..." "It's fine, sugarcube, I'm just happy someone is on my side." Applejack responded. "W-well even if I did, no one said I couldn't." Rainbow retorted. "Rainbow, you out of everypony here should know that using your wings is an advantage that Applejack doesn't have access to. In my world, it's either you both have it or neither of you get it. Using that advantage would disqualify you instantly." After a bit of thinking, Rainbow finally realized what she did was wrong and looked down. "Alright, I guess you have a point..." "Alright, I guess I'll forgive you for now." Applejack said as they shook their hooves. "Well now that we got that taken care of, how do we settle this competition?" Xavier asked, getting a surprised look from the two. "Wait, you still want a winner?" Rainbow asked, getting a chuckle from him. "Well, I know that the two of you will continue to try to one-up each other, so having a clear winner will get you two to stop." "Well I think I have the perfect thing." Applejack said, getting their attention. "Tomorrow is the annual Runnin' of the Leaves. I challenge you to race me in it." "Heh! Easy shmeasy." Rainbow said as she began to fly up until Xavier pulled her down. "Rainbow, I think that this means that there will be no wings involved. It is the running of the leaves." Xavier deadpanned. "No wings? No problem." Rainbow agreed as she shook with Applejack, confirming that the race would be on even grounds as the day was ending. The Next Day "Erm, maybe... no, that wouldn't work..." It was very early morning with the sun only just beginning to peak and Xavier was near the start of the running of the leaves looking over a map. Most specifically a map of the course that the running of the leaves was going through trying to figure out the best way to follow the racers with no success. Sighing, he sat down on the stage and looked up. "Why is it that these sort of events have such a big and winding path?" "Well how else are they going to shake all the leaves off the trees?" "GAH!?" Startled by the sudden response behind him, he accidentally fell off the stage and onto his face. Getting up, he saw that it was none other then Pinkie Pie. "P-Pinkie? When did you get here? And why are you here?" "I just got here to do the announcing for the running of the leaves. Balloons need time to inflate you know." Pinkie said with a tone not normal for someone at this time, but then again it's Pinkie. "What are YOU doing here?" "Haah, trying to map out the best route to watch the race and- hey wait. What do you mean 'shake the leaves'?" "Don't you know that the running of the ponies is what causes the leaves on the trees to fall?" "N-no, I didn't. Different world, remember?" "Oh yeah!" Pinkie giggled, earning yet another confused look from Xavier as he looked back at his map. After her giggling fit, Pinkie then let out a very loud gasp that startled Xavier yet again. "Oh. My. Goodness. I just had the perfect idea." "Really, what is that." Xavier said with a hint of sarcasm. "You should join me as a co-reporter!" Xavier looked up from his map and looked at Pinkie in confusion. "Huh, why?" "Because it will be more fun!" Pinkie said as she began to hop around. "I always do it alone so having a co-reporter would add to the fun! Plus, you can watch the whole race from start to finish, it's a win-win." Pinkie said as she stopped right in front of Xavier. Xavier then put a hand to his chin and began to think. "Hmm, that does sound tempting when you put it that way, and it is usually good to have multiple pairs of eyes watching..." After a few moments, Xavier smiled and looked at Pinkie. "You know what, sure, I can join in as your co-reporter. Where do I sign up!" Pinkie then began to squeal and brought Xavier to the balloon to which Pinkie began to explain the basics and what to look out for. It wasn't before long that other ponies came in and started getting set up to either race or to watch. Once the balloon was ready, Xavier and Pinkie jumped in and flew up to begin the announcing. "Welcome to the annual Running of the Leaves!” Pinkie started into a mounted megaphone as Xavier grabbed a nearby head-mounted mic. “This is Pinkie Pie, your official eye-in-the-sky announcer, alongside her co-announcer, Xavier!" Once the headpiece was set up, Xavier joined into the announcing. "Now as apparently everypony except me knows, this run is what allows the leaves to fall, making this race a very important tradition across Equestria. So you should get ready racers, because the race starts in five minutes!" Once he said his part, he pulled out his telescope and peered down near the starting line. After a bit of searching, he spotted Applejack and Rainbow near the front, with the former tying up the latter's wings with a rope. "Hmm, I guess AJ doesn't want to take any chances with Rainbow and her wings." Xavier thought as he looked around a bit more, stopping his gaze at a certain purple unicorn heading into the crowd of racers. "Huh, she's joining? Well I guess she can, but she isn't an athlete. I wonder if she has-" "Racers! Please take your positions!" His thoughts were interrupted by Pinkie yelling into her megaphone. He decided to stop snooping and lower his telescope as another voice got their attention. "Um... Pinkie Pie, Xavier?" the two looked down to see Spike running over to them. "Hey, Spike! What's up? Oh wait, it's us! we're up!" Pinkie laughed as Xavier groaned at her joke. "Uh, yeah. 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..." Spike began to stammer and hesitate, getting the two's curiosity to peak. "What?" "Aw... forget it." As Spike began to turn to walk away, Xavier realized what he wanted and called out. "Hey Spike, you want to join us as our third announcer?" "Really?!" Spike exclaimed turning around. "Oh, you totally can join in!" Pinkie exclaimed, agreeing with Xavier. "We still got plenty of space and it's sure to be even more fun with you up here!" "You really mean it?" Spike said as Xavier tossed down a rope. "Climb on up!" Taking the invitation, Spike grabbed onto the rope as the balloon flew up, taking him up with them. After a bit of climbing and pulling, Spike managed to get settled into the balloon and it's occupants just as the race was about to start. "Alright ponies," Pinkie began. "On your marks." "Get set..." Spike said into a mic. "GO!!" Xavier yelled out as a bell rang out to signal the start, letting the racers out to run. "And there they go folks. With that, welcome to the official coverage of the running of the leaves!" "Yup, and did you know that despite the name, no leaves do any running?" Pinkie asked, getting a questioning look from her co-announcers. "Nope, that is left to my little ponies." "Why, yes, Pinkie, it's the running of the ponies that causes the leaves to fall." Spike responded to her. "Well other then that, this year we have a bit more fire then the others. This is because of two particular runners that are here to win the whole thing, Applejack and Rainbow Dash." Xavier said as he pulled out his telescope to observe the race better. "yup, these two ponies have a bit of a grudge match they're trying to settle. Trying to prove who's the most athletic." Spike added on. "Yes, and 'grudge' rhymes with 'fudge'." Pinkie added getting a confused look from the two guys. "Wait, what?" "And I like fudge. But if I eat too much fudge I get a pudge and then I can't budge." Pinkie began, confusing the two even more. "So, no fudge?" Spike asked. "Oh, no thanks. I had a big breakfast. Let's check in with our two competitive ponies." Pinkie said as she turned back to the race. "Having come fast out of the gate, Applejack and Rainbow Dash are evenly matched running neck and neck. 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 half a nose. Or maybe three quarters of a nose. No, about sixty-three point seven percent of a nose..." As Pinkie was commentating, the other two began to stop looking at the race and at her with increasing annoyance. When Pinkie noticed, she began to smile sheepishly. "Roughly speaking." At that moment, Applejack began a very big speed increase and passed Rainbow. "It looks like Applejack's took hold of the lead by a large margin!" Xavier announced as the three turned their direction back over to the race. As Xavier was looking through his telescope, he noticed that Rainbow glared at the rope tied around her wings. When she did that, she managed to gain in speed, enough to catch up to Applejack. "Ho-hold your horses, Xavier! Rainbow Dash is catching up the frontrunner Applejack!" Spike said jumping onto the balloon's ropes. "What an upset. I thought Applejack had this in the bag." Pinkie exclaimed as Xavier noticed something. As he was looking forward, he noticed that there was decent sized rock up ahead, thinking that someone could trip if they weren't carful. He looked over at the two rivals and watched them. As he thought, Applejack in her focus on the race, failed to notice the rock in the track, falling down and losing the lead. "Oooh, wipeout!" Xavier yelled out. "Looks like Applejack was so focused on the race she failed to notice the rock that was in the track. Now she has a lot of work to do if she wants to catch up. Hope she's okay, but we can't stop this balloon if we wanted to, 'cause we still have the rest of the race to announce." With this, the race continued. A few minutes later, they saw that Rainbow started to trot, seeing that Applejack wasn't directly behind her, only for her to pass her up in an instant. "I don't believe it. After a huge setback, Applejack is back at the front of the pack." Spike announced. "She's the head of the pack, all right. The pick of the litter! The cat's pajamas!" Pinkie then paused. "Oh wait, why would Applejack take some poor kitty's PJs? That's not very sporting of her." Spike looked at her in confusion as Xavier rolled his eyes. "Anyways, let's get back to the race..." Xavier said as he once again looked ahead, this time seeing a stump in the path. Once again, a competitor tripped on the obstacle, this time being Rainbow as she fell down. "Looks we got ourselves another wipeout! This time it's Rainbow with a stump tripping her up. Seems that the road ahead is going to be challenging with these mishaps. Hopefully nopony gets hurt." With that, the balloon moved forward in pursuit of the racers. A Little While Later "And we are back Ponyville, this is Xavier, Pinkie Pie, and Spike coming back to bring you some action." When Rainbow tripped, the trio of announcers decided to take a short break to watch how things played out (mostly Xavier). Once they decided to resume their announcing, Rainbow not only managed to catch up to the front, but is managing to get a lead on Applejack. "That's right Xavier, and it looks like Rainbow is doing her best to catch up to Applejack." Spike announced. “I’m not sure how ketchup is going to help her in this contest." Pinkie said, turning the topic off course again. "Now, in a hot dog eating contest it can make them doggies nice and slippery, but personally I prefer mustard. How about you guys?” "Uh... I... like... pickles?" Spike answered a bit hesitantly. Xavier decided to opt out of the question as he decided to be the main one to focus on the race. "Aaand it looks like Applejack has found herself in quite a pickle as Rainbow overtakes her." Pinkie said as she turned to the race. What Pinkie said was true as Rainbow managed to pass Applejack who was trying her hardest to catch up. While running though, Rainbow noticed a branch that was pretty low, and got a devious idea. She grabbed it with her mouth and ran with it for a moment before releasing, causing the branch to swing into Applejack. To many, this action could have looked like bad timing on Applejack's side, but Xavier knew better. "What the- grrr. Seriously Rainbow, you didn't learn from yesterday. Xavier thought as he looked at Applejack, worried at her reaction. What he saw though was not what he was expecting. Instead of trying to play fair like before, she grabbed the branch and launched herself with it to gain the lead. "S-Seriously AJ?! You're going to stoop to her level?! Xavier thought with growing concern as he watch more. Of course, his eye saw another attempt at sabotage as Applejack kicked a tree, dropping a beehive onto Rainbow. It ended up backfiring though as Rainbow began to run even faster to avoid the bees that were chasing her, managing to pass Applejack before diving into a bush and losing them. When Rainbow saw it was safe, she saw an arrow sign and got another idea and turned it to face left instead of right. Applejack saw the sign and followed it, getting a scowl from Xavier as he took hold of the balloon's direction. "Um, Xavier? What are you doing?" Spike asked. "Following Applejack." Xavier said as he saw her on a cliff, confused. "Hey AJ! Grab on!" Xavier yelled out as he tossed a rope to her. "Huh, why?" "Because Rainbow tricked you in going this way, so I'm doing you a favor!" A Little While Later Once Applejack grabbed the rope, Xavier brought her down to the race before letting her go right before a forest of oak trees with a bunch of taps for collecting syrup. Once she was back in the race, Xavier let the balloon rise back up. Once the balloon was back in a high up position, Xavier took his telescope back out as the announcers resumed. "I must say, Spike, that this has been the most interesting Running of the Leaves in Equestria history!" Pinkie announced. "With the most interesting announcing..." Spike said exasperated. "But it isn't the running that's been fascinating. It's the lack of running!" As Pinkie was saying that, Applejack knocked one of the pails of syrup, spilling it's contents right in front of Rainbow who proceeded to get stuck. Rainbow didn't let that stop her though as she tried to move forward, which she succeeded to do for a few feet before snapping back even farther. Fortunately for her, the syrup acted like a slingshot, flinging her at an incredible speed, grazing Applejack. The graze caused Applejack to spin out of control, eventually catching Rainbow in the spin. As they spun, they managed to go up a nearby cliff as they stopped. They looked at each other and jumped up. This caused the rock they were standing on to break off, causing them to slide down the cliff, to which they saw the rest of the racers pass them. After a second, they made a mad dash to try to catch up. "Once again, Rainbow Dash and Applejack are neck and neck, jockeying for position." Pinkie said as both Spike and Xavier watched the two with great interest. "Applejack inches ahead, now it's Rainbow, it's Applejack, it's Rainbow Dash, it's Applejack..." The finish line came into view, and the final stretch was approaching. It wasn't until Rainbow decided to bump Applejack did it start to fall apart. "Oh no, she di'int!" Spike said as Applejack went to do the same thing. "Oh yes, she di'id!" Pinkie responded as the two began to argue between each other. The two became so aggressive that they began to pull each other back. Applejack however misjudged her aim and grabbed the ropes that Rainbow's wings were tied in. "That's it! All bets are off!" Rainbow yelled out as she began to fly. "Oh no, you don't." Applejack yelled out as she leapt up and tackled Rainbow out of the sky. The two began to fight between each other as they tumbled over the finish line. The two then got up and looked around. “I won!” Rainbow exclaimed. “No, I won!” Applejack counteracted. "No, you two tied!" Xavier yelled out as he grabbed the rope to get down. “TIED?!” They exclaimed. “For first?” Applejack asked. "No, for last." Xavier said as he began to slide down the rope. “T-then who won?!” Rainbow questioned, as they heard some hoof steps approaching. When they turned around they say that Twilight had a medal around her neck, looking quite proud of herself. “You?!” Rainbow and Applejack asked in shock. “Oh no, but I did win 5th place.” Twilight said. “Which is rather good as I’ve never run a race before.” "Nice one Twi." Xavier said as he came over. "I was worried about you entering, but I guess I had nothing to worry about." "What? How's that even possible?" Applejack asked flabbergasted. "You ran so slow, and looked at the scenery." Rainbow added. "Exactly. I paced myself, just like my book said. Then at the end, when all the other ponies were worn out, I sprinted to the finish." Twilight explained. "Heh, leave it to the brains of the group to plan out a race." Xavier said felling proud of her. "I don't believe it. Twilight beat us." Rainbow exclaimed in disbelief. "Well with the way that you two were acting throughout the race, I can understand that." Xavier said as he got into his signature 'I'm very disappointed in you' pose. "You two need to understand that rivalry is fine, but acting like that will end up hurting in the long run." “You’re right, you guys. Our behavior was just terrible.” Applejack admitted. “We weren’t very good sports.” Rainbow added. “Sounds to me like an important lesson was learned.” When a new voice chimed in, everyone was incredibly surprised to see none other then Princess Celestia approaching. "P-Princess!" Twilight exclaimed as the group bowed down. “W-what are you doing here?!” Applejack asked. “Fall is one of my favorite seasons so I came here to celebrate the Running of the Leaves.” Celestia explained. "Heh, I guess that means we have something in common, your majesty." Xavier said as he got back up. “I’m sorry you had to see us being such poor sports, Princess.” Applejack apologized, with Rainbow nodding in apologetic agreement. “That’s alright, Applejack, anypony can get swept up in the excitement of competition.” Celestia replied. “It’s important to remember that the friendship is more important than the competition.” Twilight added. "And like I said, rivalry is fine, but acting like that can be hazardous. you two could have gotten hurt more then a few scrapes." Xavier said. "Exactly you two." Princess Celestia agreed before turning to the forest. “Now, unfortunately as the two of you were so busy tricking each other instead of shaking down leaves, many of the lovely trees of Equestria are still covered.” “Why Princess, I bet we could knocked down those leaves for you, lickety-split!” Applejack replied. She then gave Rainbow a smile and said “What do you say, friend, wanna go for another run?” “I’d love to stretch my legs.” Rainbow agreed before zipping off, Applejack rearing and following after her. Twilight, Celestia and Xavier looked at them fondly as they saw the two running side by side not as rivals, but as friends. "Heh, I doubt that they will stay like that for long." Xavier said smiling. "But as long as they don't end up doing something like this again, I'll allow it." As he watched them, he wondered what nonsense and crazy antics the girls would get him into. He wasn't too worried though, because he knew that as long as he had his friends by his side, he was sure he could get through any challenge life throws at him.