//------------------------------// // Race Against the Leaves // Story: Super Mario Galaxy: Equestrian Stars // by warpd //------------------------------// Twilight was back in the Canterlot castle in her old room. A satisfied grin was painted on her face as she looked around the empty room. It still smelled of ancient books and ink, but it was also filled with memories. She savoured the recollections of hours upon hours spent with her muzzle in a book or listening to her teacher. Twilight could still remember Spike’s first steps, the sleepless nights under the covers with a book, and her first successful teleport spell. Those black stains were never completely scrubbed off the floor. That was her old life, and Ponyville was her new home, a new chapter in her life. “Tell my family the news and that I love them, check. Said my goodbyes to my professor, check. Took all of my belongings out of my room, check.” Twilight looked around the room one more time. “Took care of Spike’s belongings, check. Told the Princess goodnight...no check.” Princess Celestia just got her sister back from a thousand year long banishment; Twilight could safely guess that she would be busy with Luna. “It wouldn’t hurt say goodnight to both of them.” A short trip through the castle led Twilight Sparkle to the door of Princess Celestia’s private room. The two guards did not blink as she approached. “Excuse me, is the Princess willing to see visitors?” One of the guards smirked as his horn glowed, the door opened quietly. Twilight nodded her thanks as she trotted past them. Princess Celestia sat on a scarlet colored pillow in the middle of her large bedroom. “I was hoping to see you before you left, Twilight.” Twilight bowed. “Thank you, I was expecting you to be with your sister.” “She was exhausted and is currently resting in her room.” Celestia fanned out a wing. “Please come and sit by my side. This will be our last night together for a while. Please, I would love to hear more about your adventure.” Twilight contained her joy as her eyes glimmered. She eagerly nestled next to her mentor. “I’d love to.” Twilight regaled to Celestia the tale of her journey with her new friends. She giggled when she remembered a particularly enjoyable moment and spoke faster about the tenser parts. When Twilight was finished she nuzzled up her mentors neck and sighed. “Princess you told me that Mario is a Star Child. What is a Star Child?” Princess Celestia gave her a bemused smile as she looked up her bookshelf. Her horn glowed as a book was pulled out from the top shelf. It was a well worn hardback with a simple star insignia on the cover. She opened the cobalt tome to a picture of a Power Star. “You saw the Power Star, what were you observations of it?” “Well I didn’t get a chance to study it, but from first hoof account it is a powerful magic tool that can enhance or alter objects around it. It seems to be a neutral power in that anypony is capable of harnessing it.” Twilight explained. “Very good, you have described it perfectly given the short time you had to observe it.” Twilight glowed under the praise of her mentor. “They are tools for harmony, they are found all over the universe to maintain peace. Equestria is blessed with two power stars and we safeguard them until the day they are needed. A Star Child is a being whose fate is intertwined with the Power Stars and the balance of harmony, Mario is one of the Star Children. They all don’t look like him though.” “How many are there, and where do they come from?” Twilight’s eyes sparkled as her mind raced. Celestia turned the pages to a picture of a soft blue alicorn with platinum blond mane. “This is Rosalina, the star mother and caretaker of the cosmos. Under her care, Lumas are raised until the time is right for them to turn into planets, galaxies, or Power Stars. The Star Children are born from the magic from Power Stars, and they have the power to change the balance of the Universe.” “Are they all like Mario?” Twilight asked excitedly. “I do not know, but I believe the project was under the supervision of the Star Princess.” Princess Celestia watched her student absorb the information like a dry sponge. “Mario showed us his Luma companion, it was pretty cute.” Twilight sighed. “The Star Princess cares for her Lumas as I care for my little ponies.” Celestia nuzzled her student before continuing. “Mario must have earned her trust if she is allowing one of her precious stars to be his partner.” Twilight briefly glanced at the window and could have sworn that one of the stars twinkled a little brighter than the rest. Equestrian Galaxy Star 2: Race Against the Leaves The Running of the Leaves, a grand race that ponies partook in to help the leaves fall off the trees. The spirit of competition was at an all time high during the autumn season, as friends and family challenged one another in a game of endurance and stubbornness. Emotions ran wild as the ponies’ competitive side started to wear on each other. It was no different in Ponyville as the local bullheaded residents playfully mocked their rivals. Serious business is serious business and these mares meant it. So much so the native stallions steered clear of the whole thing. A strange cloud drifted over the starting line as the majority of the Ponyvillians gathered around. What made this cloud peculiar was that an earth pony and a young drake could be seen on it. It also had a simple childish smile drawn on the cloud’s face. Pinkie Pie and Spike prepped themselves for the commentary on the race. Pinkie Pie rubbed her face into the fluffy cloud and sighed. Spike couldn’t help but chuckle. “I’m glad Rainbow let us use Stratus. This guy is comfy.” “I know right! He even comes with his own fishing reel and camera. It’s like he was born for this job.” Pinkie reached down and patted Stratus’ face.  “You are such a good cloud friend.” Stratus’ blush became a little redder as he soaked in the praise. He kept his happy go lucky smile as he swayed in the autumn breeze. Pinkie Pie got out her megaphone when an uneasy feeling crawled down her spine and her tail vibrated uncontrollably. Spikes eyes widened as he pointed at her tail. “Your tail, that’s one that says something is about to fall on us!” “Oh, it might be somepony’s petunias or a displaced aquatic mammal.” Pinkie and Spike craned their heads toward the sky. They could see a red speck that disrupted the atmosphere and parted the clouds. Pinkie took out a telescope three times larger than her and used it to get a better look. “Well, what do you see?” Spike stared nervously at the object. Pinkie’s face grew a grin that stretched across her face. “A friend!!!” “You mean that alien guy?” Spike tugged on Pinkie’s mane. “Come on, give me something here.” Pinkie Pie took out her party cannon from the cloud and fired it off. “Welcome to Ponyville, Mario!” Mario found his reentry cluttered in a cloud of confetti. He waved at his friend. ‘When did they find a lakitu cloud?” Welcome to the Galaxy! It appeared that the entire town of Ponyville had come to this event. The pastel natives boasted a wide range of coat and mane colors that surpassed the natural warm hues of the trees. As Mario landed, the large crowd of ponies cheered loudly for him. The moment Mario touched the ground a faint ripple of magic pulsated throughout the land. Something had changed. Mario found himself greeted by three familiar faces. Rainbow Dash made sure to let him know she was there. “Mario, you came back!” Rainbow Dash tackled the plumber. “It’s good to see you! You got a little confetti on your hat.” Applejack trotted up to them. “Glad to have you back partner.” “Mario! Mario, up here!” Pinkie Pie waved fervently. “Everypony I would like you all to meet...” Mario quickly adjusted his hat then smiled. “It’s-a me, Mario!” “That’s right everypony, Mario the superstar is back! This star trekking plumber has returned for excitement in Equestria.” Pinkie Pie called out into her megaphone. “Hey Pinkie, could you tone down a little on the megaphone? Some pony’s drinks are cracking.” Spike held his hands over his head. Twilight gave the luma a quick hug before it disappeared back under Mario’s hat. “It’s good to see you again, Mario.” She then leaned forward and whispered sharply. “Bowser is not back is he?” Mario smiled and quickly shook his head no. “Just here to have fun.” Mario looked up at Spike and Pinkie Pie. “Where did you get a Lakitu cloud?” “His name is Stratus!” Pinkie Pie called down. Stratus nodded in agreement. It probably waved at him as well. Twilight looked up as Applejack snorted. “Is that what that cloud is? Rainbow found it one day and she uses it to travel whenever she’s feeling lazy.” “Which is the majority of her time,” Applejack added, “Or when she wants to prank hardworking ponies.” “Hey, that is one comfy cloud buddy.” Rainbow Dash wrinkled her snout. “Wait a moment, Mario are you interested in racing?” “That’s actually why I’m-a here.” His reply was answered by a squeal of delight. Rainbow hovered in the air as she pumped her hoof. “Great, this is going to be so fun.” Mario felt magic around his hand. “Come on, let’s get you registered.” Twilight pulled him through large crowd. “This race is called the Running of the Leaves. We all run to help the leaves fall off the trees.” Mario looked up at a tree full of autumn leaves. “They don’t fall off on their own?” “Well they can, but they need some help to get started. Here we go.” Twilight dropped him in front of a surprised race attendant. “We have one more.” “Um, well you are certainly different. No stranger then this green spotted egg that appeared when I wasn’t looking.” The attendant pointed to said egg. It rocked quietly and a small snore noise could be heard. Little ‘z’s floated into the air. Twilight inspected the egg closely. “Is this a dragon egg?” The ponies around her gasped. “No, actually this is my friend.” Mario quickly explained. He knocked on the egg with short quick raps. “Yoshi, are you in the mood for a race?” The egg stopped its steady rock and cracks appeared. A green alien dinosaur exploded out of the egg. Yoshi cheered out with glee. “This is my friend, Yoshi.” All the ponies stared slack jawed at the strange alien that had appeared in their midst. Rainbow circled over Yoshi. “Dude, you are friends with a dinosaur? That is so awesome.” Rainbow landed in front of the dinosaur and stuck out a hoof. “Names Rainbow Dash, fastest pegasus in Equestria, and winner of the Iron Mare competition.” Yoshi grabbed Rainbow’s hoof and shook it. “Yoshi!” The pegasus tilted her head to the side and gave Mario a side-glance. “Can he talk?” “In his own language, he knows a few words in this language, but he probably won’t use them.” Mario patted his green buddy on the back. “Also he is a dinosaur dragon.” “Yoshi.” He nodded. The other ponies began to talk with one another as the surprise passed. “Amazing, he looks nothing like our dinosaurs or dragons.” Twilight tapped on the red saddle Yoshi wore on his back. “Does he have the same diet as a normal dragon?” Mario had a thin grin on his face. “You mean everything right?” Just then Yoshi’s incredibly long tongue shot out and snagged an ice cream cone. He munched with a satisfied smile.  “Yoshi.” Applejack blinked several times before her wits returned to her. “That is one long tongue.” “Excuse me.” The attendant coughed. “Are you going to sign up?” “Oh right sorry.” Mario scratched the back of his head. “Name?” Mario adjusted his cap but Twilight’s hoof blocked his mouth before he could say anything. “No, no more. His name is Mario and his partner is Yoshi.” “Aw, I like to say my name.” “Right then, here is your number.” Mario picked up the #51 paper. “Is it because I’m-a alien?” He raised his eyebrow at the attendant as he pinned the race tag to his overalls. “It’s just a number.” The attendant shrugged. “Quite wasting time and get up here.” Rainbow tugged Mario and Yoshi toward the front of the line. “Your goal is second place so try your best.” “Does that mean he’s going to beat you, Dash?” Applejack wryly answered. “Cause I recall you are still not allowed to use your wings.” “Is that-a why you’re a little tied up?” Mario pointed towards the rode that wrapped around Rainbow’s torso which greatly restricted the pegasus’ wings. She snorted and replied with a cocky grin. “We had a little competition that I totally sweep, but AJ here is mad because I used my wings a few times.” “Try most of them; if she could get away with it she would fly this whole race.” AJ huffed as stretched out her limbs. “Whatever, I’m a well-rounded top of the line athlete. I can still win.” Rainbow cracked her joints. “This is exactly what we have to look forward to.” Twilight sighed. “They laughed at me for just attempting this.” Rainbow elbowed Mario with a snicker. “She read a book on it.” Twilight ignored her and continued to talk to Mario. “How about you two, do you guys run that much?” Mario and Yoshi remembered how they plowed through kingdoms, raced through foggy forests, and traveled from planetoids to planetoids. “A little.” “All right ponies and plumber riding the dinosaur, are you ready?” Pinkies Pie announced through megaphone and was greeted with a roar from the crowd.          Spike took out the fishing reel with a traffic light attached to it and lowered it down in front of the racers. They dug their hooves into the dirt expectantly as the first red light flashed. “On your mark.” The second red light blinked to life and somepony sneezed. “Get set.” Spike waited for the right moment. A bead of sweat formed on most of the pony racer’s forehead. Many of them tensed their muscles tightly. Rainbow stuck her tongue out at Applejack who narrowed her eyes in response. The light turned green. “Go!” With that, everypony and dinosaur riding alien plumber dashed off. Yoshi was slightly faster than the average pony even with the extra load on his back, but not fast enough to outrun both Rainbow Dash and Applejack. Dust and leaves was left in their wake as the athletic ponies were neck and neck with one another. There was a rather large stampede behind them that shook the earth. Leaves peeled off the trees in a vortex of wind, and it looked like nature chased them down with a wave of oranges and yellows. Yoshi pushed his legs hard as he pulled ahead of everyone. “Mario and Yoshi boost ahead with amazing speed outrunning all noses by a long-nose. At this rate the Running of the Leaves will be won by the way away team! Come on everypony, where is your sense of Equestrian pride? Don’t let these aliens show you all up!” Pinkie Pie waved her forearms wildly in the air with pom-poms in her hooves. “Hey Pinkie.” Spike coughed to get her attention. “Ya, Spike?” Oddly enough he succeeded. “Do you see floating boxes on the racecourse?” Spike pointed to a row of said multi colored transparent boxes that blocked the road. “I didn’t put those there did you?” Pinkie scratched her mane with her tail with a scrunched up face. “As a famous farmer once said, ‘Eenope.’” Spike grinned. Pinkie stuffed her hooves into Stratus and started to look for something. “Nope.” A poor pillow was evicted. “Not it.” A half full smoothie flew away. “Interesting, but no.” Out went the kitchen sink. Spike tilted his head as the junk passed him by “Pinkie what are you looking for?” “The manual that tells me what those things are.” Her pink rump was still high in the air as she wiggled around. “Oh it’s right here.” Spike pulled Pinkie’s tail out of the cloud and pointed her head right at it. “Of course it would on the dashboard.” Pinkie yanked it open and flipped through the pages rapidly. Spike laughed. “Oh I get it. Stratus belongs to Rainbow Dash so you call it a Dashboard.” Pinkie looked up from the book wide eyed. “Oh…huh I didn’t mean to make that. Well let’s call the Dashie board and move on.” Pinkie threw open the book to the exact page she wanted. “When making a teeheespresso you need to blend woo and hee beans and th—hey!” Spike gave Pinkie a flat look as he turned the page to the right one. “Item boxes contain random items that racers can use to aid them in their competition.” “Oh this is going to be fun!” Pinkie leaned forward as Stratus tilted down. “Mario and Yoshi hit their first box to get their super duper special item…a banana peel.” The disappointment in her voice was palatable. Down on the track, Rainbow Dash focused on the strange boxes. “I have the strangest urge to run into those.” “What are you babbling about?” Applejack rolled her eyes. Rainbow Dash didn’t respond, but simply allowed herself to hit the strange translucent box. It shattered into nothingness, poor Rainbow was confused when it did little. “Well that was a whole lot of nothing.” Applejack retorted. Just then a green shell appeared around Rainbow Dash. “Or maybe not.” “Hey this is one those shells that those Koopas have.” Rainbow Dash watched as it hovered next to her. “I wonder what it does?” As an answer to her question the shell launched in front of her like a bullet. It ricocheted off the trees which left behind dents in the bark, and rebounded back to them. With surprised squeals, Applejack and Rainbow Dash dodged out of the way. They looked behind them and witnessed Rainbow’s impromptu weapon crash into somepony. “No not turtle shells, my one weakness!” “Good job Rainbow, you just hit somepony.” Applejack glared at her. Rainbow Dash didn’t respond as she nervously gulped. “Hey, AJ.” “Now, what’s the matter...oh.” Applejack glanced back to witness that the other racers had also gathered power-ups like Rainbow did. A storm of projectiles and magic powers chased after them from the confused ponies that wielded them. “Wow wee, look at all these ponies move. Things are getting all kinds of crazy down here.” Pinkie Pie snorted with laughter. “Daisy looks a little freaked out with her items.” “Why are there three red turtle shells surrounding me!?” Daisy started to panic as the red shells encroached upon her. “This is awful. Somepony help me, get these horrible things away!” The moment Daisy started to pointless flick her hooves at her shells she accidentally activated them, all of them. The three shells plowed ahead of her and focused on a single target, Lyra Heartstrings. “No, no, no, no!” Lyra’s legs blurred as she tried desperately to escape. “I just wanted to meet the alien!” It was far too late for Lyra. Daisy passed up the shell-shocked Lyra with an astonished look before an evil grin crossed her face. “Well maybe they aren’t so bad.” “Oooo, that looked painful.” Spike winced with sympathy. “Not that it matters Lyra is already up and galloping away. Looks like all these items do is knock you to the side, but no pony gets hurt.” “Hey Spike, did you know that mushrooms can be used for speed?” Pinkie Pie swooped in low above the racers. Stratus’ grin grew as they got closer to the racers. “If you didn’t Golden Harvest can sure tell you now.” Poor Golden Harvest was blessed with a Golden Mushroom. A regular Mushroom gave you a speed boost. A Golden Mushroom is the speed boost that keeps giving. Applejack and Rainbow Dash watched with jaws dropped as Golden Harvest speed past them and their pride went with her. “Too fast. TOO FAST!” Golden Harvest continued to wail long after she passed them up and bumped Mario and Yoshi off the tracks. Pinkie Pie munched on popcorn at the mad display of chaos and terror below her. “Neat.” She popped another kernel into her muzzle. “Hi Pinkie!” A deep voice greeted her. Pinkie Pie and Spike looked over and noticed a giant Derpy who stared straight around them. “I’m huge now!” “That you are.” Spike gulped. Derpy squeed and frolicked on with graceful skips. The earth shook in her wake and there were no survivors. In all this madness, Applejack slipped on a banana. Yup, a banana. Who saw that coming? The herd of racers passed her up leaving Applejack covered in a pile of leaves. Applejack groaned as she pulled herself out of her pile of misery. “Applejack, are you ok?” Twilight trotted up next to her friend. “Sugarcube, what the hay is going on?” Applejack kicked the banana perpetrator away. “I’m not really sure. It feels like a strange magic is at play here.” Twilight inspected the strange box as it floated in front of her. “Maybe Mario is responsible for this.” “That would be a fair guess.” An arm popped out of a pile of leaves as Mario and Yoshi pulled themselves up. “We got flattened by the large grey pegasus.” Applejack stomped up to Mario and looked at him square in the eye. “All right, is this your work?” Mario chuckled nervously as he scratched his head. “Well, I am familiar with these boxes, but this was not my intention bringing this stuff with me.” “We were supposed to have a straightforward race so I could prove to I am faster than Rainbow without her wings.” Applejack slid her hat over her eyes and groaned. “This has turned out fantastic.” “Hey Mario.” Twilight spoke up. “I got this strange shell. What does it do?” Mario, Yoshi, and Applejack looked up. Twilight had a blue spiky shell around her. “I saw what the other shells did, but this one seems much more dangerous.” “Wait, Twilight don’t throw it!” Mario reached out the moment Twilight accidentally launched her blue shell. The winged beast of terror flew ahead at speeds that Rainbow Dash would have been impressed with. It passed up several racers. “I’m confused, what is it go—“A massive blue explosion shut Twilight up quickly. Leaves blew off their trees thanks to the powerful force. The shockwave domed over the area that the shell attacked before it dissipated into nothingness. They gaped in horror for a few moments. Twilight was speechless as Applejack came back to her senses. “Come on somepony might be hurt.” Twilight nodded as they took off and passed up several stunned ponies. They reached the crater and peered inside. “Oh my gosh! I am so sorry, are you ok?” Twilight squeaked when she realized she had hit a pony. Bon Bon looked up with fire in her eyes. She did not look pleased as she stomped the ground. “That was you!? I was in first place until you blew me up. Curse you, Sparkle!” A competitive growl followed as Applejack nudged Twilight along. “She’s fine. Just gallop and you’ll be fine too. Don’t let her catch you!” The steady pace that Twilight had planned for herself fled her mind as green shells torpedoed after her. Mario and Yoshi ran by, guilty looks painted their faces. “Momma mia.” *** Rainbow had finally secured first place. The items the other racers had gave her a headache, but Rainbow Danger Dash was not about to let some silly pony with a turtle shell beat her. “Still I wonder where Applejack went. Sure I’m going to beat her, but I rather it be a little close.” “Keep telling yourself that. I’ll see you at the finish line!” Applejack surfed past her on a green shell. “Hey you can’t do that!” Rainbow picked up the pace and turned her head back to yell at Mario. “Is she allowed to do that?” “I’ve done it-a before.” Mario answered as he took out a mushroom. “By the way you want to move.” Rainbow yelped as she jumped up. Mario and Yoshi zoomed under her and left her in a dust cloud. Dash coughed as the dust settled. “Fine then if you want to play it that way. I’ll get my own stupid item.” She got a banana peel. “Really. I mean really.” Dash rolled her eyes as she tossed it behind. Which Lyra slipped on. “There they go! The plumber and the farmer have overtaken Rainbow and are nose to noses again! You know Spike, Mario’s hat has an amazing ability of staying on his head no matter how fast he is going. I bet Mario has some sort of crazy magical alien powers that allow him to keep his hat wherever he goes, or he is under a contract to wear it all the time to represent a giant corporation that makes money from his exploits.” Pinkie Pie prattled away nonsensically. “Wha...” Spike was at a loss for words, the pink pony talked absurdity. “Don’t think about it too hard.” Pinkie patted him on the head. Rainbow Dash pushed herself as she galloped after Applejack. That turtle coasting farmer was not about to best her. “Wait I think I hear barking. Did somepony bring their dog?” “Rainbow, there is a Chain Chomp behind you, run!” Spike screamed out. “What the hay is a Chain Chomp.” She glanced behind and saw teeth, rows of sharp pointy white teeth that bore down on her. She now had the motivation to surpass Applejack. Which she did easily. “Oh my gosh please don’t eat me! I’m part rainbow so I taste really spicy!” Mario, Yoshi, Rainbow, and Applejack tried their best to stay away from the beast. “Ah don’t think we’re goin’ to make it!” “We only have-a one option.” Mario gulped. “Jump into the ditch.” “It won’t stop! Bad boy, down, sit, play dead. Help, somepony!” The pony known as Lemon Hearts was dragged along behind her new unwanted pet. The black ball with shiny teeth playfully bounced on ahead with no real regards to his owner or any other pony ahead of him. It wasn’t long before the chain broke and the Chain Chomp bounded away, unaware of his new found freedom. Lemon Hearts panted on the dirt road with only the chain as a reminder of her short time as a dog owner. “Never again.” Our heroes peeked out of the ditch and carefully climbed out. Applejack and Rainbow Dash stared at the carefree Chain Chomp as it frolicked playfully over the hills beyond their sight. Rainbow Dash tilted her head as the gears slowly cranked in her head. Applejack smacked her lips, she had no word. “So that-a happened, yes.” Mario forced a smile. He winced when they glared at him. Rainbow’s pondering, an extremely rare for her (like an extinct species suddenly discovered to be alive), was immediately destroyed when a seizure inducing kaleidoscope unicorn, also known as Twilight Sparkle, rammed into them. “I feel powerful!” Her maniacal laughter lingered after her. Applejack and Rainbow Dash groaned from the ditch that they found themselves in again. “Nope, don’t care anymore.” 10 seconds earlier Twilight calmly trotted down the track with a bemused expression. The race became completely insane, but nopony had actually been injured; dizzied and extremely frustrated to the point they frothed at the mouth (though that was mostly Lyra), but fine nonetheless. “Mario what kind of magic do you have to do all this?” “These ‘item boxes’ are very curious indeed.” Twilight poked one with her hoof. It shattered as a roulette of items scrolled over her head. It finally stopped with a ding. “A star? Is it like a Power Star or perhaps a weaker version? I should find Mario and ask him.” Twilight picked up her pace and galloped after him. She instinctively tried to grab the star with her telekinesis. It glowed briefly before it activated its power. Twilight’s coat was now a coat of many colors, surely the envy of everypony everywhere. She made Rainbow Dash look monochrome now. Twilight glowed with pure energy as magic sparks sparkled off Ms. Sparkle. ‘Wow, this feels different.’ Twilight’s perked up as her personality started to glow. ‘I feel like I have so much energy. This is amazing. I don’t think anything can stop me.’ Twilight started to laugh to herself. She pushed herself harder as she easily passed the other racers. ‘Look at me go now. I bet I can beat Applejack and Rainbow now. In fact, I think I will! Tell me that I’m not athletic enough to run this race! I’ll show them what I can do! Call me an egghead why don’t they huh? Nothing can stop me, NOTHING!’ At that moment Twilight ran over an athlete, a farmer, a plumber, and a dinosaur. “I feel powerful!” Applejack jumped back out of the ditch with a ferocious growl. “Oh no you don’t! Get your city slicker tail back here! Rainbow don’t you dare give up just because this race has gotten dumb.” “I’m not giving up.” Rainbow chased after her. “I just decided that if today was not going to take itself seriously then neither will I.” Mario and Yoshi lagged behind them. They slightly slowed down to acknowledge Twilight, who in all their gusto Rainbow and AJ easily missed her. She gasped for breath on the side of the road as her sides heaved harshly. “You-a going to be ok?” “Ran—weeze—harder than(cough) than I should.” “Those things-a don’t usually last long. First time is always a hard crash.” Yoshi shrugged as he continued to carry Mario along. Pinkie, Spike and Stratus floated overhead. “Twilight Sparkle’s sparkly Super Star spanned several seconds as she sprinted swiftly past sixth.” “Really Pinkie, alliteration? What is this, a book?” Spike groaned as he rubbed the frustration away from his eyes. “Oh don’t be down Spike, this has been the bestest and most funnest Running of the Leaves since ever.” Pinkie Pie clopped her hooves joyfully over Spike’s inner objections to her butchered Equestrian language. Stratus bobbed up and down in agreement, though really this was his first Running of the Leaves so he really didn’t know better. He’s just cool like that. “It is certainly making an impression on our alien visitor.” Spike pointed to Mario and Yoshi as they jumped over another banana. “Mario and Yoshi tend to stick really close to each other.” “Yes they stick together like a fly to flypaper, birds to bird feeders, plumbers to mushrooms; they are inseparable.” Pinkie Pie stomped her hooves together to punctuate her point. “What do you think of our silly little alien, Spike?” “Well I approve of the mustache.” Now for something completely different. “Behold the classic example of predator and unaware prey in their unnatural environment. Our first subject, the unicorn Equis aquamareus frustrasa. We shall call this specimen, Lyra Heartstrings. Our prey is the hominid Suprus plumbersa, he shall be known as Mario. The Lyra is currently on the hunt for her prey. Months of careful preparations have now come down to this encounter. The arrival of the second alien dinosaur only made her salivary glands go overboard.” “Bonny, please stop narrating. I’m trying to concentrate.” Lyra tried to hush her sister as Bon Bon teased her. “Somewhere you are making a Taxonomist cry. Though now because of this alien dinosaur I have a whole slew of new questions to ask. Is it in a symbiotic relationship with Mario? Do they live in the same environment? If one crosses the road will the other follow?” “You’re not going to catch him. This race has pretty much insured nothing will go the way you want it.” Bon Bon rolled her eyes. “Shells, bananas, and crazy barking balls are not going to stop me!” Lyra eyed the item box she closed in on. “I just need to get lucky and he’s mine.” “What are even going to do when you catch him?” Bon Bon asked as she acquired a particularly large banana item with an angry face. “Darn, I wanted to be big, not get a giant banana.” “Come on lucky role. Momma needs some speed.” Lyra looked up at the new item that appeared over her head. “Oh no...” “Well that looks familiar.” Bon Bon watched as the happy faced thunder cloud appeared over Lyra’s head. It sparked with energy as it threatened to strike with lightning. “Just like when you wouldn’t stop pestering Rainbow Dash about that alien.” “I wasn’t pestering her!” Lyra yelled as she galloped faster than ever before. “Yes you were.” Bon Bon watched with mild amusement as Lyra escaped. “Well I guess that cloud does make you go faster. All it takes is a little motivation; maybe I should bring one home to help encourage her to do the chores.” Lyra went faster than she had ever gone before; she passed up the majority of the racers with ease. The speed was unreal, the cloud wasn’t there to attack her, but it gave her a speed boost. Lyra wasn’t sure how that worked, but it should be enough to catch Mario. She spotted on his mighty dinosaur-dragon-lizard (whatever it was) steed. She closed in on him, victory was in reach. ‘Just a little more.’ Than the rational side of her mind decided it was a good time to remind her of something important that hovered over her head. It is all about timing. A lightning bolt struck from the thundercloud and gave Lyra a good jolt. She yelped out as the energy run through her. Then everything, for some reason, started to get bigger. A miniature Lyra screeched a squeaky roar in frustration when she realized she was no bigger than a half pint. Rainbow Dash and Applejack carefully maneuvered around Lyra. “So Rainbow I have a question. Do lightning bolts usually make a pony really tiny?” “Eenope. Pretty sure it’s just for today. Oh by the way, you should dodge now.” “I don’t see—“ Applejack was cut off by six red turtle shells from behind. She tumbled backwards as the herd of racers overtook her. To add insult to injury a star powered invincible Derpy Hooves ran Applejack over. Applejack crashed into last place. She flicked her hat up and cracked some joints. “Is that how it is then?” Her item dinged and a bolt of lightning flickered in her hooves. “Try this out these apples.” “Yeehaw!” A lightening storm blew through the racers’ ranks inflicting the small status aliment. They all scattered when the normal sized Applejack ran through them. “Aw, how adorable. They’re all itty bitty little ponies now. This has been the most interesting Running of the Leaves in Equestria history. Explosions everywhere, flying fruit, and amazing aliens; this race has it all. Who knows who is going to win this race.” Pinkie Pie sipped ferociously from a smoothie cup before she tossed it back on the on-cloud cup holder. “The finish line is really close now so this will all be over soon.” Spike nodded as he guzzled his ruby smoothie. “Thanks to all that lightning Applejack is in the lead and Mario lost Yoshi.” “He’s a tight spot for sure, but with the way things are anything can go!” Pinkie Pie proclaimed as she threw her forelegs up. “No, not the smoothie!” Mario struggled to maintain third place. Rainbow Dash and Applejack were faster than him and the items thrown around did not help. “Ghaa!” Twilight screamed out. She materialized next to Mario in a hazy white fog. Twilight was pale like she had seen a ghost. “I can still feel that chill inside me. Boos are so wrong!” “You got the Boo item then?” Mario sighed as he noticed the librarian kept up with him easily. “Those beady black eyes, that outrageous oversized tongue, the soul piercing stare. I don’t like ghosts.” The color slowly returned to Twilight as her breathing leveled out. “At least it-a protected you from the lightning right?” Mario offered a false positive. “I never wanted to see Applejack like that ever again. She went through me and I saw…everything.” Twilight whimpered. Mario patted her back. “Its fine the race is almost over and we won’t do this again. Hey, Twilight do these leaves contain magic?” Mario held up an orange leaf in his left hand.” “Everything in Equestria has a little bit of magic in it. Why?” Twilight raised an eyebrow as Mario twirled the leaf in his hand. “Just an idea I have, by the way what item did the Boo steal for you?” “This bullet thing. I remember Pinkie telling me about them the last time you were here.” The item glowed. “Let’s try it out!” “Wait Twilight, not-a yet!” Mario yelped as his friend turned into a giant ballista right behind him. He jumped up in the air and landed on the Twilight turned Bullet Bill backwards. He waved bye to the racers behind him. His ride carried him far as he held on for his dear life. “Dash, AJ, move out way-a!” The two ponies dodged as Twilight reformed back into her lavender unicorn body. She tumbled forward at the momentum from her previous rocket form continued to carry her. “Whoa! Slow down, slow down!” She face planted into the ground, a lovely pile of leaves settled down on her. She felt a pair of hooves grab her and pulled her up. “You ok there Twili?” “Just a little dizzy, thanks AJ.” The stars continued to spin in her vision. “Where did Mario go?” “That is so not fair.” A disgruntled Rainbow Dash stared up into the sky with her jaw opened. “He’s flying!” Twilight and Applejack looked up and sure enough Mario was high in the sky next to Pinkie, Spike, and Stratus. “How is he doing that? I don’t see any wings on him.” “It doesn’t matter all he’s doing is going up.” Applejack shrugged. Out of all the crazy things that happened in this race, one more was not about to faze her. “Oh I know exactly what he’s doing.” Rainbow Dash stomped her front hooves. “He’s gaining altitude so he can dive. He’ll be really fast when he does.” “Shoot! Gotta get goin’ then, later you two!” Applejack zoomed off. Dash followed a tail length behind her. “I don’t think so.” Twilight blew a leaf out of her mane before she galloped after them. “Fourth place doesn’t sound bad.” The crowd of ponies at the finish line cheered them on as they reached the final stretch.  Twilight smiled a winded smile, but she was very content. Granted she will be mollified at what happened later when she caught her breath, but that was future Twilight’s agenda. This race was weird. A sudden blue streak blew Twilight’s mane in her face. Twilight quickly shook the offending hair strands and saw a blue shell. Her eyes widen when she noticed that both Applejack and Rainbow Dash jostled one another for first place right next to each other. “Dash, AJ, look ou…ouch.” The crowds of ponies were silent as the blue explosion shook the earth. Twilight trotted next to the crater and peered down. A blue and orange hoof shot up. “We’re ok.” Everypony breathed a sigh of relief as they crawled out of the pit. “Thanks for waiting for us Twilight. Though this does mean you lost your chance to win.” “Well given that I am standing on the other side of the finish line.” Twilight pointed the finish line that the she stood behind and they were centimeters from. “I say I’m doing fine.” “By the way you two tied third.” Rainbow and AJ glanced down; their hooves both touched the finish line at the exact same time. Rainbow tilted her head and slowly looked back up at Twilight. Her eyes hazed over with disappointment. “Let me guess you got first.” “Nope, you were right he dived right through the finish line the moment you two were hit.” Mario slowly slinked his way next to Twilight. “By the way Mario how in Equestria were you flying? All I see on you is a new pair of raccoon ears and tail.” “I can-a fly with my tail.” Mario spoke plainly. Rainbow and Applejack shared a pensive glare before they just collapsed back into the hole. “This whole thing has been one crazy rat race.” “Tell me about it.” Rainbow twitched awkwardly. “Do you feel like we should have learned a valuable life lesson through all of this?” “Neigh.” Applejack covered her face with her hat. “You.” Twilight poked Mario’s round belly. “How is it possible to fly with a tail?” “Magic leaves.” Mario stared at her blankly before he grinned. Twilight’s eyes narrowed. “I’m going to take you back to my lab an—Princess so good to see you!” “Twilight what has happened here?” Twilight looked out at the racecourse. Trees turned over, smoke rose from behind hills, and a giant toothy ball barked in the forest. Everypony pointed at Mario. The simultaneous synchronized flick of all their rainbow limbs made him flinched. Mario turned a little red as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, it seemed I carried a little bit of-a home with me today.” Celestia’s lip curled ever so slightly, but to everyone else around her she remained stoic. “I must ask you to not do this again. It seemed my ponies were a little overeager with your home’s magic.” “I didn’t wish to do it this-a time, but I will try to be more careful.” Mario nodded. “That is all I ask. Now then here is your prize for winning the Running of the Leaves.” Princess Celestia’s horn glowed brightly as a Power Star. The Star swirled around Mario rapidly as it carried him up. “Objection!” Pinkie Pie called out from Stratus. She leaped out and grabbed Mario by his shoes. “Everypony that comes through Ponyville must be required to attend their welcome party! You’ve been here twice buster.” “I’ve not been to Ponyville.” Mario answered. Pinkie Pie raised a hoof to counter, but stopped mid action. “Hey Applejack, are we in Ponyville?” “A mile out of the border, Pinkie.” Pinkie Pie snapped her hoof in disappointment. “Well then I’ll just have to drag you there.” Pinkie tugged down as they continued to drift higher. “Why aren’t you cooperating?” “Sorry?” Mario raised his hands and shrugged his shoulders. “Gotta go with the Star.” “B-b-but we have cake.” Pinkie’s lower lip trembled as a tear formed in her eye. She should have known better. “Cake.” Mario’s mustache twitched as his eyes went blank. “You just said cake. Give me the cake!” Mario struggled valiantly against his oppressive sparkly jailer. “No, please let us stay awhile. They got cake!” Pinkie Pie was caught off guard by Mario’s reaction and slipped. “First place was not worth it!” Pinkie Pie landed on Stratus with a soft plop. All the ponies in the area watched the mad alien ascend to the heavens as he screamed sorely about missed dessert. The star burned brighter as they disappeared from sight. They could still hear him call out for the sweet treat. “Wow, he really wanted some cake.” *** Energy sparked violently everywhere. A lone Koopa, Koopla, dressed in a lab coat waddled around the science equipment with about as much grace as a ballerina hippo. Ominous purple magic suffocated any light the electric volts gave off. All this energy was channeled into a small golem in the center of the room. Runes and manufactured ley-lines covered the dead machine; wires could be seen coiled around all four legs. A clear crystal orb protruded out of the chest ready to absorb any power given to it. Above this mechanical creation awaited its owner, Nightmare Moon. She waited in the safety of her glass prison for her new body to be ready. The Koopa looked up at her with a quick glance. Ghostly white eyes glared at him and an ominous hiss encouraged him to work faster. He pushed buttons and turned dials with clumsy precision. The atmosphere was chilled to the core and the Koopa could see his own breath. Odd as he is essentially a giant reptile. Science marched on. Koopla grunted as he attached the last power clamp on the golem. “Everything’s ready.” “Proceed.” Nightmare Moon whispered sternly. Koopla hopped over the congested wires, he made his way to the large lever in the back on the room behind several powerful magic/energy barriers. He was not about to take any chances, but even so Koopla made a will and testament just in case. Everything goes to his pet turtle. Nightmare Moon watched as the Koopa gripped the unnecessarily large ‘ON’ switch. She mentally prepared herself for what would most likely be a very painful experience. She was about to transfer her essence into a new body. Nightmare Moon clinched her eyes shut and waited...and waited. ‘What is taking so long?’ She opened her eyes again to see what took the Koopa so long. She groaned as he fruitlessly reached for the handle of the switch. Why was the switch too large for their workers to use? Koopla stopped his pointless endeavor and rubbed his head in frustration. Nightmare Moon couldn’t help but be amused by Koopla’s struggle. Then he did something that would have made her metaphorical jaw drop. The giant turtle took off his shell and used it to boost his height. “Did you just take off your shell!?” Nightmare Moon gapped. Turtle shells were supposed to be attached to the creature’s spine. “Err, ya.” Koopla gave her a confused look. “H-ho...Never mind, just continue.” Nightmare Moon felt a headache about to form, despite the fact that she didn’t have a head at the moment. Koopla grabbed the mighty switch and with a stressed heave, threw the lever down. Energy immediately coursed through the room and then promptly died. The entire room went dark. “I can fix it! Hold on.” Koopla yelled in the darkness as he fumbled around. Nightmare Moon sighed as she watched him trip over cable after cable to the fuse box. “I just forgot to unplug the coffee maker. That thing always draws more power than it needs.” “I haven’t seen you drink any coffee.” Nightmare Moon growled. “It’s mostly for aesthetic purposes really. Makes the lab look more labyish. I’m more of a tea turtle myself. It’s also for any guests that we might have. Which reminds me.” Koopla turned back around with a full cup of Joe. “Would you like some?” He mostly got an angry glare. “Well?” He pressed. “Yes, just go ahead and waddle over here and give me a drink, wait I can’t because I’m stuck in this glass orb and I don’t have a body!” The room shook as she yelled. Koopla shrugged and threw the cup behind him. “Suit yourself. It’s good coffee.” “You said you don’t drink coffee.” “Meh.” Nightmare Moon closed her eyes as he reached the fuse switch. ‘This is it.’ She felt the tinge of energy reignite the air and something began to pull at her. The nearby Power Star activated and its warm glow soothed Nightmare’s worries. It was a false hope, for as soon as she was comfortable a searing pain coursed through her. Nightmare opened her eyes with a strained gasp. Her vision was blinded by an array of indescribable hallucinations. The brightness hurt her eyes and she closed them again. Something wrapped around Nightmare Moon’s form and constricted. The pressure felt like it was choking the life out of her. Nightmare’s mind reeled in pain as it melted into mush. Then it stopped. Nightmare Moon could feel something. The floor was tangible. The room felt warm. The air...well the air kind of burnt her nostrils. Not an unwelcomed feeling, it only proved that the procedure was successful and her body worked so far. Water from sprinklers rained down on her. Nightmare’s eyes fluttered opened, she could now see through physical eyes. The room was covered in a fog of smoke. Purple flames flickered on the walls and ceilings while burnt wires sparked dangerously. Koopla lay on the opposite side of the room with dizzy eyes. A perfect imprint of him was on the ashy wall behind him. Koopla suddenly shot up with a wild grin on his face. “I’m ok!” Nightmare Moon rolled her eyes. “Of course you are.” Koopla slowly made his way back to her and started to remove the restraints. “All this precious expensive science equipment is now fried. I say this was fairly successful.” Nightmare Moon stretched her limbs with a restrained moan. It felt good to be back in a body, even if it was a bit stiff. Something felt off though. “Why aren’t my wings working?” Koopla looked up from his work with a confused expression. He looked at the stubborn appendages as they wiggled in place. He poked a wing with his little finger. “Hmm, the nervous system hasn’t booted up yet. Time for a good ol’ wakeup call!” “A wake wha—“An electric jolt went through her systems. Her wings sprang open to attention and, at the same time, smacked Koopla across the room. Nightmare Moon steadied herself from the sudden surprise and looked over wings. “A little bigger than my older ones.” “And fluffier!” “Wings don’t have fur you imbecile.” “Woops, guess we messed up.” Nightmare Moon’s eyes got wide and did a double take. Slowly she turned her head back to Koopla with a frosty glare. “Not funny.” Koopla snickered before he went towards the door. “Come on, you need to get a physical done.” Nightmare Moon sneered as she took her first step, and tripped. An angry growl escaped her lips as Koopla helped her back up. “This body better not be defective.” “That’s what the physical is for. Think of it like trying on new shoes. You like shopping for shoes right? Well horseshoes in your case, but it like that is beside the point. We can get you some shoes after this...” Koopla continued to clamor on as he assisted Nightmare Moon out of the room. She had long learned to tune him out when he started to ramble. Still the body started to become more comfortable as she trotted down the hallway. She will be back for Equestria soon enough.