Bronze Star and Sir Haywood McCrank got up at five o'clock the next morning. This was even earlier than they normally woke up. However, the Running of the Leaves was scheduled to begin at eight o'clock, and the two stallions wanted to get to Whitetail Woods before too many ponies assembled there.
After showering and eating breakfast, the two stallions were almost ready to head out. Bronze Star was going to leave his knapsack at the embassy, but he decided to bring along the Stetson Applejack had given him. He figured it would help keep the sunlight out of his eyes.
In addition to that, Sir Haywood McCrank did not wear a suit. Instead, he wore a headband and sunglasses. With those accessories, he looked twenty years younger. In fact, he looked like an entire different pony. Bronze Star was intrigued by his choice of apparel; Sir Haywood merely claimed he was trying to appear inconspicuous.
Once they were all set, Bronze Star and Haywood McCrank soon departed from the embassy and trotted towards Whitetail Woods. They arrived at its border at approximately 6:45. At that time, there were only about a dozen ponies there; all of them had large sheets of paper with a different number attached to one of their flanks. Two of them were Noble Edict and Copper Hollow; they were distributing the numbered sheets. For some reason, there was a downed hot air balloon present, too.
The red mare and the copper stallion soon noticed the gold stallion and the indigo stallion as they approached them, and they provided each of them with a numbered sheet, as well. As Bronze Star and Haywood McCrank attached these sheets to their flanks, Noble Edict snickered slightly at the latter's current appearance. She slyly remarked "I'm relieved to see you decided not to wear a suit, Sir Haywood."
"Well, of course not, Lady Noble," Haywood McCrank muttered frankly, "While I have a fondness for formal attire, I do not lack common sense. I know it is quite difficult to maneuver in leather. Aside from that, I tend to sweat a lot when I run, and I did not wish to ruin my attire."
"I had no idea you were so prim, Sir Haywood," Copper Hollow mentioned jokingly.
"You think I'm prim, huh?" Haywood McCrank asked rhetorically, "Well, there may be some truth to that."
"I'm not saying that's a bad thing," Copper Hollow reassured him, "But I still feel compelled to ask; even without your suit, are you certain you're cut out for the the Running of the Leaves?"
"Oh, yes," Haywood insisted, "I may spend most of my time indoors, but I'm a lot stronger and quicker than I look. The real question is this: are you and the other security officers capable of working and running simultaneously?"
"We wouldn't have our jobs if we weren't," Noble Edict proclaimed, "We're required to be able to chase after and catch runaway suspects."
"Good," Haywood McCrank said in satisfaction.
There was a brief interval of silence, and then Bronze Star queried "Have either of you seen Paisley, Almond, Cassia, or Rollin this morning?"
"No, we came straight from the barracks," Copper Hollow answered him, "None of them were there. They're probably still be at home. They should get here soon, though."
"Alright," Bronze Star thought aloud, "Once they're here, we should discuss how we'll do this thing. We need to devise some strategies and such."
"Already got that handled, sir," Noble Edict informed him.
"Excellent," Bronze Star said in approval.
Over the next hour, scores of ponies arrived at the border of Whitetail Woods. Rollin Fields, Cassia Sprig, Almond Wheeler, and Paisley Branch all showed up at least a half-hour before the race was supposed to begin. Once all eight members of the task force accounted for, Bronze Star had them gather close together in a spot several meters away from everypony else so they could talk in private.
They spent several minutes conversing about tactics. Noble Edict used her front hoof to draw a crude diagram of Whitetail Woods. When she was finished, she used the diagram as a prop. She pointed to various parts of it as she told the others "Alright, guys; here's the situation. Whitetail Woods is the second largest collection of trees in Equestria after the Everfree Forest. Even its shortest radius covers over ten miles. The path we'll be running on does not go in a straight line, so the distance is considerably larger. A lot of the trees are compacted so close together that it's easy for somepony to move through them unnoticed. With that in mind, it could be difficult to spot somepony in there, especially while you're running."
"What do you suggest we do?" Paisley Branch enquired.
"We all received awareness training when we joined the force," Noble Edict pointed out, "Now is one of those times where it can be our most valuable commodity. Just remember everything you learned about perception. We need to be aware of our surroundings at all times. That includes the path and everything around it. Be on the lookout for even the slightest disturbance. A twig snaps, a shadow shifts, a leaf falls before anypony passes by its tree… anything of the sort could actually be a person looming through the Woods."
"If we do manage to spot somepony, should we pursue?" Rollin Fields inquired.
At that, Noble Edict turned to Haywood McCrank and pronounced "You're leading this investigation, Sir Haywood. So it's your call."
The indigo stallion nodded in acknowledgement. He looked around at the others and explicated "If you see anything suspicious, you are authorized to engage. If need be, you can chose to chase after it. But do not stray from the path. If you get too far into the Woods, break off your pursuit and return to the path as soon as possible. Don't stare at anything for too long, and do not abruptly turn your heads in random directions. In other words, don't do anything that might attract attention. We do not want to distract the other runners. Or anypony who might be watching."
"That's another point we should address," Almond Wheeler proposed, "What happens if we encounter somepony who… doesn't belong?"
"Given the nature of the threat we're trying to prevent, we should regard anypony we see in there as potential adversaries," Haywood McCrank apprised them, "They are the enemy. Treat them as such. If you can, try to make an arrest. But do it discreetly and quietly, and do not do it if anypony outside of the task force is around. If you find yourself faced with overwhelming opposition, break off and try to get backup. Most importantly, only use deadly force as an absolute last resort."
"Sounds like a reasonable arrangement," Cassia Sprig perceived, "Anything else we should keep in mind?"
"There is one more thing," Noble Edict mentioned, "As Sir Haywood said, it is possible that the pony or ponies who are hiding in Whitetail Woods have malevolent intentions. So in addition to our surroundings, I want you all to keep a careful watch on the other people in the race, as well. If one of them happens to fall behind or get ahead, then one of you has to stay with them. I don't think they're in any immediate danger, but as a precaution, I don't want anypony to be left by themselves."
"You got it, Noble," Copper Hollow avowed. As the others murmured in agreement, the copper stallion added in "But are you absolutely sure the townsfolk are safe from the apparitions in Whitetail Woods?"
"If I wasn't, I would have asked the Mayor to postpone the Running of the Leaves, or cancel it altogether," the red mare contended.
The others were satisfied with this response. By now, they had covered pretty much everything that they felt needed to be addressed.
Before they headed back to the crowd, Bronze Star had one final piece of advice for the others: "Despite everything that might or might not be going on around us, we should still keep in mind that we'll be in a race. We can't let anypony know that we're here for a different reason. So try to make it look as though you're here to run and to have a good time."
Haywood McCrank nodded in acknowledgement. Noble Edict and the other security officers just smirked.
"We can definitely do that, Mr. Ambassador," Cassia Sprig asserted.
"Some of us were going to be in the Running of the Leaves, anyway," Paisley Branch claimed.
"Yeah; it's hard not to get engrossed in it," Rollin Fields speculated.
"After all, who's to say we can't mix business with pleasure?" Almond Wheeler conjectured.
"You all got me there," Bronze Star remarked, smiling lightly.
The eight ponies then broke up and made their way back to the crowd. At this point, there were over a hundred ponies assembled there, and more were arriving every minute. The hot air balloon was now occupied; Pinkie Pie had climbed into the basket, and she was setting up a wireless microphone. Evidently, she was going to be the announcer for the event.
Bronze Star spent about ten minutes mingling with the other people in the crowd. At one point, he felt a hoof on his shoulder. He turned around and came face-to-face with a familiar purple mare.
"Hello, Mr. Ambassador," Dapple Rhomb greeted him cordially.
"Uh, hello, Dapple," Bronze Star returned, albeit a little confused. "Why are you here? I gave you the day off."
"You just answered your own question, sir," Dapple Rhomb candidly replied, "I always partake in the Running of the Leaves. Since I don't have to work today, there's no pointing in making an exception this year."
"Oh, alright then," Bronze Star commented in acknowledgement. After a short pause, he smiled lightly and thought aloud "This is not exactly how I'd spend my day off, though."
"Then why are you here?" Dapple Rhomb queried in interest.
Bronze Star was not about to answer that question entirely. Before he gave a response, Dapple Rhomb held up her front hoof and slyly remarked "Wait, don't tell me. Let me guess. It's classified."
"You know it," Bronze Star confirmed, scoffing, "You really catch on quickly."
"I have to, considering the partially secretive nature of my job," Dapple Rhomb pointed out.
"Exactly," the gold stallion asserted.
The two of them stood in relative silence for a while, and then Bronze Star spotted Applejack approaching in the distance. He turned to his secretary and told her "I have to go now; I'll talk to you later."
Dapple Rhomb nodded in approval. She watched her employer as he trotted away from her. After a few seconds of silence, she called out to him "By the way, keep your eyes on the sky."
Bronze Star stopped at that, looked over his shoulder, and asked "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Just a friendly suggestion," Dapple Rhomb clarified, "You never know when some of the leaves might drift down into your face. It's not pleasant."
"Oh, okay," Bronze Star commented, "Thanks for the warning."
"Anytime," the purple mare assured him.
Something about that remark still struck him as odd, though. It was just the way Dapple Rhomb had said it. He thought about bringing it up to somepony like Noble Edict or Sir Haywood later on, just to be safe.
Soon, Applejack reached the crowd. She smiled at her coltfriend, and he happily smiled back. She was pleased to see that he was wearing the Stetson she had given him.
"You ready?" she asked rhetorically.
"You bet," he firmly declared, "I'm not planning to win, but I'm willing to wager that I will at least place."
"I admire your confidence," she muttered in admiration.
"It's not just confidence," Bronze Star revealed, "I'm no stranger to marathon running. About ten percent of my military training involves moving from one destination to another using only my hooves. So I go running quite often. At least every other day; every day if I find the time. Plus, as you know, I also have a superb rate of recovery and an excellent metabolism. With all that together, the Running of the Leaves is little more than a brisk morning jog for me."
Applejack was both impressed and astounded to hear Bronze Star say that. After a moment, she chuckled and jokingly observed "Wow. And I thought Rainbow Dash was a braggart."
Bronze Star hastily shook his hooves in front of himself and insisted "I wasn't trying to boast. I'm only stating the facts."
Applejack chuckled again and wittily commented "Nice. So you're not even trying to brag, yet you sound like you are."
"Oh, right," Bronze Star muttered, rubbing the back of his head, "I must sound incredibly naïve."
"No, I actually think it's kinda cute," Applejack professed.
Bronze Star blushed at that and gazed off to the side. Sensing that she had made him feel somewhat awkward, Applejack placed her front hoof under his chin and turned him towards her. Then she looked him in the eye and said "I meant that as a compliment."
"In that case, thank you," Bronze Star stated appreciatively, his blush fading.
There came a brief interval of silence, and then Applejack declared "It won't be long before the race begins. I may as well get in stretching before then."
"Suit yourself," Bronze Star bade her, "I'll be right here if you need me."
Applejack spent the next several minutes stretching her legs and her back. She was not the only one who was warming up; dozens of other ponies were doing the same. The crowd continued to increase every minute.
Shortly before eight o'clock, Pinkie Pie activated her microphone, and she cheerfully announced "Welcome to the annual Running of the Leaves! This is Pinkie Pie, your official p-eye-in-the-sky announcer. As everypony knows, the Running is a very important tradition, for without it, the autumn leaves of Equestria would never fall. So get ready, ponies. The Running of the Leaves will begin in five minutes."
When Applejack was about done stretching, Twilight Sparkle, Spike, and Rainbow Dash showed up. The cyan mare buoyantly pronounced "Pardon me, excuse me. Make way for the Iron Pony."
"The Iron Phony, you mean," Applejack sharply corrected her.
Rainbow Dash just smirked and slyly proposed "So, Applejack, you ready to win second place?"
"I'm ready to run a good, clean race," Applejack stated simply.
"Yeah, yeah..." Rainbow Dash murmured indifferently.
Bronze Star was somewhat disappointed. Apparently, his advice from yesterday did not have a lasting impact on the cyan mare.
"You are not allowed to use your wings," Applejack sternly reminded her.
"I could win this race with both wings tied behind my back," Rainbow Dash positively alleged.
This gave Applejack and Bronze Star an idea. The orange mare left the area and returned a moment later with a rope. She used it to bind Rainbow Dash's wings down against her back. She made sure to wrap it several times around the cyan mare's torso, and she tightened it very well. When she was finished, she proudly announced "Trussed up like a turkey. Well, a turkey who can't fly, that is."
"Very funny," Rainbow Dash uttered sardonically.
"'Least now we know we're racin' fair and square," Applejack observed.
"How true," Bronze Star coincided.
Shortly after this, there was the sound of trumpets playing. Pinkie Pie announced "Racers! Please take your positions!"
The pink mare was about to launch her hot air balloon into the air. But right before she did, Spike came along and requested to do the announcement with her. Out of courtesy he tried to be subtle about it, but Pinkie Pie quickly caught on to what he was asking. She happily invited him to join her, and he happily accepted the offer.
As the baby dragon climbed into the basket with the pink mare, the ponies on the ground moved towards the starting line. Bronze Star, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Noble Edict, Copper Hollow, and Sir Haywood McCrank were all in the front row.
A moment later, Twilight Sparkle joined them there. Like everypony else, she had a numbered sheet attached to her flank.
Applejack noticed this and enquired "Twilight? What in tarnation are you doin' up here?"
"I'm racing," the lavender mare straightforwardly admitted.
None of the others expected that. Bronze Star, Copper Hollow, Noble Edict, and Haywood McCrank smirked and giggle a bit. Rainbow Dash broke down laughing. When she caught her breath, she sputtered out "Good one, Twilight."
"I'm not joking," the lavender mare insisted.
"What?" Rainbow Dash stated in amazement, "You're not an athlete, you're a... well... you're an egghead."
"I am not an egghead," Twilight Sparkle crossly countered, "I am well-read."
"Egghead," Rainbow Dash softly uttered to the others.
Noble Edict and Copper Hollow giggled a little more. Although Haywood McCrank remained silent, he found the situation somewhat amusing, too. Bronze Star was not one to underestimate people, but he had never seen Twilight run more a hundred meters at once. So even he was inclined to doubt the validity of Twilight's idea to compete in the race.
Applejack snickered and asked the lavender mare "But have you ever run a race?"
"Well, no," the lavender mare disclosed, "but I do know a lot about running."
"And you know this from..." Rainbow Dash pressed on.
"Books," Twilight Sparkle pronounced, "I've read several on the subject."
Rainbow Dash was struggled to keep a straight face. She mockingly stated "What'd you read, 'The Egghead's Guide to Running?' Did you stretch out your eye muscles to warm up?"
Then she broke down laughing again. She chortled so hard that she fell onto her back. From the ground, she gasped out "Get it? Eye muscles."
"Scoff if you must, Rainbow," Twilight Sparkle murmured coolly, "But the Running of the Leaves is a Ponyville tradition, and since I'm here to learn, I've decided I should experience it myself."
"Well, I think that's just dandy, Twilight," Applejack perceived, "Good luck."
Then the orange mare snickered some more. As the cyan mare got up off the ground, she added in "Yeah. See you at the finish line... Tomorrow."
It had become a lot more difficult for the others to keep straight faces, too. Haywood McCrank was the only one who managed to maintain his composure. Noble Edict and Copper Hollow were chuckling hard, and Bronze Star was trying his hardest not to burst out laughing. He told the magic student "Um, Twilight, there's a huge difference between research and firsthoof experience."
"I'm aware of that," the lavender mare stated. She gestured over to the indigo stallion and noted "Sir Haywood's entering the race, too. He spends as much time indoors as I do, and he's more than twice my age. Yet you don't seem to be objected to his decision to be here."
"Well, I've seen Sir Haywood in action," Bronze Star apprised her, "As a federal agent, he's required to be capable of employing overwhelming force in certain situations."
"He speaks the truth," Haywood McCrank proclaimed, "I may not look it, but I've got the strength, speed, and agility to get me through the Running of the Leaves. Do you, Twilight?"
"Perhaps," Twilight Sparkle cockily remarked, "For all you know, maybe I've been deceiving you two for all these years, and I've been working out in private. Maybe I'm secretly a jock."
"I don't think so," Bronze Star cheekily, "If that was the case, Spike would have told us about your 'hobby.' Plus, you're not exactly an expert at keeping secrets."
"And you two are?" Twilight countered.
"Well… yeah," Bronze tentatively replied, "But let's not go there."
"Fine, fine," Twilight Sparkle agreed.
Everypony quieted down then; the race was supposed to start in less than a minute.
Copper Hollow was standing right next to Noble Edict. Shortly before the race began, he tapped his superior officer on the shoulder and whispered "Hey, Noble, you remember that suggestion you made about how we should keep an eye on people who rush ahead or plod behind from everypony else?"
"Yeah, Copper," the red mare answered him, "What about it?"
"If Twilight's as slow as the others are implying, there's a possibility that one of us might have to trudge near the back for the entire duration of the race," the copper stallion conjectured.
"Oh, now's not the time for joking, Copper," Noble Edict told her head deputy, scoffing
"I wasn't joking," Copper Hollow insisted, "At least, not entirely. But seriously; what if she does become an outlier?"
"Then one of us should stay close to her," Noble Edict proposed, "Only question is which."
"I'll do it," Copper Hollow volunteered, "After all, Twilight Sparkle's not just another civilian. She's also Princess Celestia's protégé. It would look bad if anything happened to her under our watch."
"I wholeheartedly agree," Noble Edict conceded.
After this exchange of words, everypony quieted down and focused on the path that led directly into Whitetail Woods. From the hot air balloon, Pinkie Pie yelled "All right, ponies, are you ready?"
"Get set," Spike spoke dramatically.
There came a few seconds of tense and suspenseful silence. Then the bell rang, and almost immediately, the racers started galloping down the path. Dozens of them entered Whitetail Woods every second. Anypony standing at the entrance of the Woods would have been amazed by the sudden flash of color.
"And they're off!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed merrily.
For the first minute of the race, everypony ran at pretty much the same speed. After that, they started running independently of each other and moved at their own pace.
The hot air balloon ascended into the space above the trees, and Pinkie Pie announced into her microphone "Welcome to the official coverage of the Running of the Leaves! You know, Spike, despite its name, the leaves don't do any of the actual running. No, that's left to My Little Ponies."
"Why, yes, Pinkie," Spike stated in agreement, "It's the running of the ponies that causes the leaves to fall."
"Ugh," Pinkie Pie muttered in mock annoyance, "Those lazy, lazy leaves. But this year, the run is about more than the weather. It's about the race to the finish and the two runners who want to win it: Applejack and Rainbow Dash."
"You know, Pinkie, these two ponies have a bit of a grudge match they're trying to settle," Spike noted, "Trying to prove who's the most athletic."
"Yes, and 'grudge' rhymes with 'fudge,'" Pinkie Pie brightly declared.
"Yes, it... does," Spike uttered in confusion. He turned to the pink mare and asked "What?"
"And I like fudge," Pinkie Pie glossily went on, "But if I eat too much fudge I get a pudge and then I can't budge."
"So... no fudge?" Spike presumed.
"Oh, no thanks," the pink mare responded appreciatively, "I had a big breakfast. Let's check in with our two competitive ponies, Applejack and Rainbow Dash."
Down on the ground, the racers were progressing deep into Whitetail Woods. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were at the very front of the crowd. They appeared to be tied for first place. Every few seconds, they were alternating the position.
From above, Pinkie Pie observed them and commented accordingly: "Having come fast out of the gate, Applejack and Rainbow Dash are evenly matched running neck in 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... Roughly speaking. Applejack sees this move and pushes forth with her strong workhorse legs slinking ahead by three hundred and fifty noses!"
Bronze Star was in third place at this time. As he galloped, he looked over his shoulder and noticed that Noble Edict was the person closest to him. He slowed down a bit so that she was running by his side, and then he gestured up at Pinkie Pie and asked "Noble, is the whole race going to be like this?'
"Yeah, pretty much," the red mare responded.
"Oh, joy," Bronze Star sarcastically muttered, "What genius decided to give Pinkie a hot air balloon and a microphone, anyway?"
Noble Edict shrugged and stated "I don't know, but whoever it was, they probably didn't know what they were doing."
"Apparently not," Bronze Star concurred, rolling his eyes lightly.
"Just don't pay any attention to her," Noble Edict advised, "We're here for something more important."
"Right," Bronze Star said in acknowledgement. After running in silence for a few seconds, he turned back to the red mare and remarked "I have an idea. I'll focus on our immediate surroundings. You keep an eye on the path ahead of us. That way, if you manage to spot something in the distance, you can let me know so I can get a better look at it when I pass it by."
"Yes, sir," Noble Edict acknowledged, smirking.
Several meters ahead of them, Applejack was in the lead. She gazed over her shoulder and muttered wryly "Not so easy without wings, is it?"
Rainbow Dash was struggling to keep up with Applejack. She panted and uttered quietly "Come on, Rainbow. Show 'em a little dash."
After concentrating some, the cyan mare managed to pick up the pace, and she gradually accelerated toward the orange mare. Spike noticed this and announced "Ho-hold your horses, Pinkie! Rainbow Dash is catching up the frontrunner Applejack!"
"What an upset," Pinkie Pie commented, "I thought Applejack had this in the bag."
By now, Rainbow Dash had almost reached Applejack. As she approached her, she slyly remarked "You didn't think I was gonna let you off that easily, did you?"
Applejack glared at Rainbow Dash out of the corner of her eye. She was so focused on the cyan mare that she paid almost no attention to anything in front of her. That was unfortunate; there was a rock further down the trail. When Applejack reached the rock, she accidentally bumped her hoof against it, which caused her to trip. As she fell, she shouted "Whoa!"
Out of concern, Bronze Star slowed down to help his fillyfriend. Rainbow Dash and the majority of the other racers passed them by, but Bronze Star paid them no mind. He was not competing in this race to win, after all.
By the time all but two of the racers had gotten ahead of him, Bronze Star managed to get Applejack back onto her feet. She was grateful for his help, but she also seemed somewhat bothered by something. She muttered furiously "I don't believe it."
Copper Hollow and Twilight Sparkle were the only racers who had not gotten past Bronze Star and Applejack. Copper Hollow was actually very fast; he was deliberately holding back so that he could stay close to Twilight Sparkle.
Just then, the copper stallion and the lavender mare reached the gold stallion and the orange mare. Twilight appeared to be fixated on the nearby trees, and she had heard what Applejack had said. She assumed the mare in the hat had been referring to the trees, and she commented "I know, it's beautiful, isn't it?"
"Not the scenery, Twilight," Applejack revealed, "Rainbow Dash just tripped me."
"She did not," Twilight claimed.
"She did too!" Applejack argued.
"She did not," Twilight insisted, "And if you slowed down and looked where you're going, like me, you'd see that you tripped over a rock."
"What?" Applejack said in confusion.
"Yeah, she's right," Bronze Star conceded, pointing to the rock on the ground.
"Gotta be more observant, AJ," Copper Hollow suggested.
"Oh, hayseed!" the farmer groaned, "Now I got a lot of ground to make up to catch Rainbow."
By now, she had regained her bearings, and she started hurrying down the path again.
"Just be careful!" Twilight Sparkle cautioned her.
It was not long before Bronze Star, Twilight Sparkle, and Copper Hollow were back in the race, too.
After running alongside the other two for a few seconds, Bronze Star told them "I'm going to see if I can catch up to the front, too. Are you two coming?"
"No, I'm fine where I am for now," Twilight Sparkle informed him.
"So am I," Copper Hollow disclosed, "I've already got a great view from my current position."
Twilight lightly scoffed and wittily uttered "I hope you're talking about the trees, Copper."
"Of course I am, Twilight," the copper stallion asserted, "What else would I…"
Then he caught on to what the lavender mare was implying. Bronze Star and Twilight Sparkle laughed when they saw the subsequent expression on Copper Hollow's face.
"Oh, no; I wouldn't dream of anything like that," Copper Hollow pronounced, flushing slightly.
"Relax, I was kidding," Twilight Sparkle assured him, "But out of curiosity, why are you this far back in the race? I've seen you run; you're faster than most ponies I know. You're certainly faster than me, at any rate."
"I'm just… conserving my strength," Copper Hollow claimed, "I don't want to waste all my energy in the first half of the race. If I do, I'd be so worn out in the second half that I'd just trot the rest of the way to the finish line."
"Oh, that makes sense," Twilight Sparkle commented.
Bronze Star soon left Copper Hollow and Twilight Sparkle by themselves. He increased his speed so that he could catch up with the other racers. He still was not competing to win, but he was determined to get near the front. He had been in Ponyville for seven months now, and he had gained a reputation as one of the most physically active ponies in town. So it would probably seem suspicious if he performed terribly in the Running of the Leaves.
Before long, he encountered the other racers. The majority of them were still running in one large crowd, but it appeared as though the crowd was about to divide into two separate groups. One was composed of those who were using more energy now; the other was composed of those who planned to save more energy for later. Naturally, the first group was ahead of the second one, but their places would probably be switched near the end.
Haywood McCrank was near the center of them all. When Bronze Star caught up to the indigo stallion, he told him "Hello, Sir Haywood."
The federal investigator nodded in acknowledgement. He was already starting to sweat quite a bit, but it did not seem to bother him.
As the gold stallion ran next to him, he muttered softly "Have you seen anything yet?"
"Nothing but leaves as far as the eye can see, sir," Haywood McCrank apprised him.
Bronze Star sighed dismally, but he nodded his head in understanding. He thought aloud "Oh, well. It's still just the beginning of the race. We've got several hours to find clues."
"That's the spirit, sir," Haywood McCrank emboldened, "You're faster than I, so how about you take another look near the front runners? If you see anything strange, you can point it out to me."
"Got it," Bronze Star avowed.
He then focused on his front and broke into a sprint. By carefully maneuvering through the crowd, he managed to gallop past dozens of other ponies. He spotted Applejack at the head of the pack. He could faintly make out Rainbow Dash in the distance. She appeared to be constantly looking over her shoulder, as if she was concerned that somepony else was close by.
Applejack seemed to notice the cyan mare's actions, as well. She moved in such a manner that she would avoid being detected by Rainbow Dash. When Rainbow Dash appeared to let her guard down, the orange mare bolted towards her. As she ran past her, she yelled triumphantly "See you at the finish line!"
Rainbow Dash moaned in irritation at this sudden setback.
At that time, the announcement resumed with Spike declaring "I don't believe it. After a huge setback, Applejack is back at the front of the pack."
"She's the head of the pack, all right," Pinkie Pie conceded, "The pick of the litter! The cat's pajamas! Oh wait, why would Applejack take some poor kitty's PJs? That's not very sporting of her."
Spike just stared at her in confusion. Then he mumbled "Oookay... Let's get back to the race."
Bronze Star was now close enough to the front that he could hear Rainbow Dash shout "Not so fast, Applejack! This race isn't over yet!"
"It is for you," Applejack pronounced wryly, "Heh."
Rainbow Dash was so focused on Applejack that she did not even notice that a small stump was directly in her path. A few moments later, she collided with it and lost her balance. As she landed hard on the ground, she shouted "Whoa!"
Bronze Star rolled his eyes, but he decided to stop and give his friend a hoof anyway. Still, he was hoping his friends would not be tripping over themselves for the entire race.
Once more, nearly every runner passed by him. Copper Hollow and Twilight Sparkle were still at the very back. They reached the gold stallion and the cyan mare by the time the former got the latter back on her hooves. Rainbow Dash angrily muttered "Guh, I don't believe it, Applejack tripped me."
"Don't you ponies ever look where you're going?" Twilight Sparkle snapped in astonishment, "You tripped on a stump. See?"
"Oh, I see," Rainbow Dash said edgily, "A big cheater is what I see."
"Like you of all ponies has any right to complain about that," Bronze Star scathingly remarked.
"Are you seriously still going on about that?" Rainbow Dash heatedly spat back.
"Look, let's not get into a conflict," Copper Hollow proposed, "We should all just calm down and enjoy the race."
"I'm for what he said," Bronze Star pronounced straightaway.
The cyan mare did not seem as content with this proposal. Twilight Sparkle calmly told her "Rainbow, Applejack would never cheat. It was just an accident."
"Sure it was," Rainbow Dash irately spoke. Noticing the incredulous looks from the others, she cooled down and calmly mentioned "I mean, yeah, I'm sure it was."
"Remember, Rainbow, this is just a game," Twilight reminded her friend.
"Yes, but the rules have changed, and two can play at that game," Rainbow Dash observed, a conniving expression coming across her countenance.
Bronze Star was impelled to stop Rainbow Dash, but before he could, she jolted down the path and out of sight. The gold stallion sighed in irritation and commented "Everything just got a whole lot more complicated."
"Yeah, we're in trouble," Copper Hollow observed cockily, "I don't know what's a bigger cause for alarm: the mysterious nature of our surroundings, or this petty feud between those two."
"I'd have to say the feud," Twilight thought aloud, "I don't see any reason why we should be concerned about our surroundings. Then again, you seem much more interesting in the trees than I am, Copper. It's almost as though you're… looking for something."
Copper Hollow expected that she would say something like that. Luckily, he had already prepared a proper comeback. He informed the lavender mare "All I'm doing is keeping watch, Twilight. You never know who or what could be out here."
"Well, so far, we haven't seen a thing," Twilight Sparkle pointed out, "Yet from the way you've been acting, you seem certain that we're in imminent danger."
"I'm just being cautious," Copper Hollow asserted, "Still, I apologize if my behavior made you feel uneasy. My job is to protect you, not unsettle you."
"I appreciate that, but I don't need protection," Twilight proclaimed.
"I didn't mean you specifically," Copper enlightened her, "What I meant to say was that I have no vulgar intentions in mind. I'm just trying to be a good security officer."
"Oh, so is that why you've stayed with me for so long?" Twilight assumed.
"You could say that, I suppose," Copper Hollow professed, "Yeah, that's pretty much it. I'm just looking out for my fellow pony. Besides, nopony should have to run alone."
"Well, thanks," the lavender mare said gratefully.
Bronze Star could not tell if Copper Hollow was unintentionally flirting with Twilight or just trying to be a gentlestallion. Regardless, he was confident the two of them would be alright by themselves. After bidding them farewell a second time, he galloped further down the path into the Woods.
By now, the crowd of ponies had completely split off into two groups. The first one appeared to be about a mile ahead of the second one. It did not take Bronze Star long to lap the group that was farther back. He could have easily caught up with the lead group, but he wanted to conserve his energy. So he ran at a moderately fast pace. Every now and then, he looked up for a moment.
Before long, he was about halfway between the two groups. Shortly after, he came across Paisley Branch and Rollin Fields. The cobalt blue Unicorn and the lime green Earth Pony were running by themselves; there was nopony else as far as the eye could see.
Soon, the gold stallion reached them. Paisley Branch noticed him first. She smiled and greeted him with "Hello, Mr. Ambassador."
"Hey there, Paisley," Bronze Star rejoined, "Hello, Rollin."
"Good to see you, sir," Rollin Fields stated, "But I'm surprised to see you back here."
"Actually, so am I," Paisley Branch commented, "Knowing you, I would have thought you'd be near the front."
"Oh, I experienced a few hitches," the gold stallion proclaimed, "Speaking of which, have you seen Rainbow Dash?"
"Yeah, she jolted past us about fifteen minutes ago," Paisley Branch elucidated, "I got a good look at her face, though. She almost looked like she wanted to murder somepony."
"I sure hope not," Bronze Star commented, looking up briefly, "Othewise, I'll have to be ready to defend my fillyfriend with my life. Aside from that, we've already got enough problems with ONE upcoming murder plot."
"You can say that again," Rollin Fields coincided, "We've been scrutinizing this place for quite a while, and we haven't seen a thing."
"Well, there's gotta be something or somepony out here," Paisley Branch asserted, "There just HAS to be."
"I'll take your word for it, Paisley," Bronze Star stated, looking up again. After galloping in silence for a while, he turned to the cobalt blue Unicorn and spoke "When you and Almond Wheeler were surveying Whitetail Woods, did you actually see anything suspicious? Other than the new-fallen leaves during your second walk, I mean."
"No, the additional leaves on the ground were the only discrepancy we encountered," Paisley informed him, "But if you ask me, that's more than enough to confirm that something's out of place here."
"Very well," Bronze Star coincided, "Let's just be patient. I'm sure we'll encounter something special or useful eventually."
"Right," was all Rollin Fields said in response.
The three ponies continued running in quietness for a while. Bronze Star continued gazing upwards every other minute or so. It did not take long for his companions to notice this.
Paisley Branch looked over at the gold stallion and questioned "Why do you keep looking up, sir?"
"A little tip I got from Dapple Rhomb," he expounded, "By periodically checking the space above your head, you'd be able to spot falling leaves and dodge them before they blow into your face."
"That's certainly a good idea," Rollin Fields conceded, "After all, it can get quite annoying when dead leaves drift into your eyes."
"Yeah, I've almost been blinded by some of them at least three times," Paisley Branch recalled, "Guess it wouldn't hurt to check the air every now and then."
"Alright," Bronze Star said in agreement, "Let's just make sure we don't all look up at the same time. Even it's just for a split-second, there's a chance we could miss something important on the ground."
Paisley Branch and Rollin Fields complied with this idea. The three of them continued running in quietness for a while. There did not appear anypony else on the path for quite a distance in both directions. They still did not see anything suspicious either.
Bronze Star decided to pass the time by making Smalltalk. He asked the younger security officer "So, Paisley, who do you think is going to win this race?"
"Hard to say," Paisley Branch thought aloud, "Both Applejack and Rainbow are strong contenders. I'd say they have the greatest chance of winning as of right now."
"Good point," Bronze Star remarked, "What about you, Rollin?"
"I haven't the slightest idea," Rollin Fields disclosed, "But I'll tell you one thing; I know it won't be me."
"Why?" Bronze Star queried, "Because of your… age?"
Paisley Branch almost burst out laughing at that remark, but Rollin fields did not seem offended by it.
"Yeah, I guess that's it," the lime green stallion admitted, chuckling lightly, "I'm not as quick as I was in my prime. Plus, I don't NEED to win, seeing as how I've already won the Running of the Leaves twice."
"Really?" Bronze Star enquired in interest, "When?"
"Let's see," Rollin Fields murmured, taking a moment to think, "Once when I was twenty-three, and once when I was thirty-seven."
"Shame I wasn't even around to witness either of your victories," Paisley Branch wryly commented.
"Yeah, I'm sure you would have been impressed," Rollin Fields muttered sardonically.
Those last statements had attracted Bronze Star's attention. He looked to the lime green Earth Pony and presumed "Wait, Paisley wasn't even born until after you turned thirty-eight?"
"That's correct, Mr. Ambassador," Rollin Fields affirmed, "In fact, all four of my children are older than her, too."
"So… you are HOW old now?" Bronze Star inquired.
"I'll be turning sixty-four in a few weeks," Rollin enlightened him.
Bronze Star whistled in astonishment. "You don't look a day over fifty, though."
"Well, thank you," Rollin Fields said in appreciation.
Bronze Star smirked and looked over at the cobalt blue mare. He asked her "Paisley, how old does that make you, then?"
"I'm twenty-four," she answered.
Bronze Star raised an eyebrow and noted "That means I'm older than you."
"Correct," Paisley Branch confirmed.
"Huh," Bronze Star muttered, "All this time, I thought I was the youngest member of the task force,"
"Nope, I'm younger than you by at least several months," Paisley Branch proclaimed.
"I'm surprised you didn't figure that out sooner, sir," Rollin Fields commented. After a short pause, he cockily added in "Especially since you're considerably more mature than Paisley."
Bronze Star snickered at that shot, whereas Paisley seemed a little annoyed by it. Ultimately, she just rolled her eyes and muttered "Whatever, 'Grandpa.' Give me some credit; I was 'mature' enough to raise my little brother on my own."
Despite this seemingly spiteful exchange of words, Paisley Branch and Rollin Fields were not actually trying to attack each other. They were just messing around. Bronze Star scoffed and observed "You two get along well, despite the forty-year age gap between you."
"Thanks for noticing, sir," Paisley Branch muttered, "That's one of the special things about being on the security force of Ponyville. In that line of work, it's not hard to make friends and get close to one another. Everypony comes to know and trust everypony else, regardless of age, race, or any other factor."
"I know; I've noticed that, too," Bronze Star disclosed, "After five months of working with you and the others, I've sensed that a type of bond has developed between the eight of us. Even though we've been working to prevent a crime, I feel as though we're more than just a task force now."
"I'd have to agree with you there," Rollin Fields coincided, "When we first began this investigation, I thought I would have chosen to resign from it within a week or two. But I haven't even thought of quitting in months. I'm determined to see this thing through to the end, and I'm determined to do it with all of you. It feels very right."
"Yeah, it's as though we all belong together," Paisley Branch remarked, "Sometimes, the best part of my week is when I'm working on the task force. I'm not saying that because I have a poor social life or anything. I'm saying it because working on the task force gives me a feeling of accomplishment. It's very satisfying, knowing that I'm helping to save a life."
Bronze Star was pleased to hear this testimony from the cobalt blue mare and the lime green stallion. He smiled widely and boldly announced "Well, as long as we continue cooperating with each other, we're sure to catch the assassin and bring him or her to justice."
"That's what we're hoping for, Mr. Ambassador," Paisley Branch pronounced, "Nopony's going to die in Ponyville on our watch. That's a certified–"
Before she could finish, Rollin Fields nudged her in the side. Paisley grimaced, turned to him, and asked in annoyance "Hey, what the Tartarus was that–"
"Shhh," he chastised her.
Paisley Branch was baffled by this request, but she quieted down. Bronze Star looked over at the lime green stallion and noticed that he appeared to have his gaze fixed on something. He asked softly "Rollin, is something wrong?"
"Look," Rollin Fields urged them, pointing with his eyes.
The cobalt blue mare and the gold stallion turned to their fronts and looked in the same direction as their elderly friend.
They had not realized this until now, but they were rapidly approaching the other group. However, that was not what had drawn Rollin Fields attention. He informed them quietly "Up in the treetops to the left. About fifty meters ahead of us."
Bronze Star and Paisley Branch looked in that direction, and they saw the source of the Rollin Fields' sudden odd behavior. There was a figure up in the trees.
"Oh, I see," Bronze Star muttered softly, "We better slow down."
Paisley Branch and Rollin Fields nodded in compliance, and all three of them decreased their speed from a gallop to a quick trot. They kept their eyes on the figure in the trees as they approached it.
"Doesn't look like it's noticed us," Rollin Fields perceived, "It's seems to be focused on the other racers."
"Good, we should take advantage of that," Paisley Branch proposed, "Let's attack it while it's distracted."
"I wouldn't recommend that," Rollin Fields countered, "We don't know what it could be capable of. Maybe we should just observe."
Paisley Branch turned to Bronze Star and asked "What should we do, sir?"
Bronze Star thought about this for a few seconds, and then he pronounced "We engage. But we need to do it carefully and subtly."
"How?" Rollin Fields asked.
"Leave it to me," Paisley Branch requested, "I've got this."
The two stallions agreed to this. They turned their heads so that they appeared to be facing the area in front of them, but they continued staring at the figure out of the corners of their eyes. The figure then turned its attention from the other racers to the three members of the task force.
Soon, the three ponies were upon the figure. At first, they continued running at their normal pace. But the very instant they reached the tree, Paisley Branch stopped running, turned her head upward, focused on the figure, and used her horn to launch a burst of magic at it.
The figure reacted almost immediately and moved. The magic burst missed it by mere inches. Still, the figure had been caught off guard by this sudden action and it almost slipped out of the tree. It managed to stay above ground, but it dropped something that landed near the base of the tree.
The figure appeared to be an Earth Pony stallion. He was dressed in a type of jumpsuit that covered his entire body, save for the eyes.
"You there, don't move!" Rollin Fields ordered the figure.
The figure did not heed this order. Instead, he turned around and hurried away from the scene. Paisley Branch launched another burst of magic at him. She just barely missed him again.
"Paisley, careful!" Bronze Star cautioned her, "We need him alive!"
"It's alright, sir," Paisley informed him, "It's a stunning spell. It won't kill him; it'll just paralyze him."
Bronze Star was content with that. Paisley Branch trotted after the figure as it rushed away. She continued firing at him every few seconds, but he managed to evade her at every turn. The figure was very spry and quick. He never went anywhere near the ground; he just jumped from tree to tree. Even with his limited options, he managed to move faster than the cobalt blue Unicorn.
Two minutes later, the figure managed to escape from Paisley Branch's field of vision altogether. It was as though he had just disappeared right in front of her. Even after that, Paisley looked around the area to ensure she did not overlook anything. Ultimately, she broke off her pursuit and returned to the path.
"Lost him," she grimly informed Bronze Star and Rollin Fields.
"Damnit," Bronze Star muttered.
"Perhaps it wasn't a complete loss," Rollin Fields perceived. He approached the base of the tree the figure had been hiding in, and then he knelt down and picked up the item the figure had dropped. As he stood up straight, he said to the others "Take a look at this."
Bronze Star and Paisley Branch moved to either side of the elderly stallion so they could get a look at the object in his front hoof. It resembled a typical telescope, only it was much smaller.
"What is it?" Paisley queried.
"It's a spyglass," Rollin Fields disclosed, "The figure dropped it right before he made his getaway."
"Let me see that," Bronze Star requested. The lime green stallion promptly handed him the item, and the gold stallion looked it over carefully. He thought about looking through the device, but he was impelled to hold off on that for the present. After a minute, he smirked and announced "Paisley, Rollin, I believe we just acquired our first major clue."
"Well, that's good," Paisley Branch commented, smiling as well.
"Yes, it is," Rollin Fields concurred, "What should we do with it?"
"I'll hold on to it for now," Bronze Star decided. He lifted up his Stetson hat and placed the spyglass underneath it. After setting it back in place, he added in "After the race, I'll show it to Sir Haywood."
This was an acceptable proposition for both Paisley Branch and Rollin Fields. Soon after this, the three of them got back into the race. Soon, many of the other racers were upon them. It appeared as though the ponies in that group were catching up with the ponies in the other group. Paisley and Rollin continued running at their previous pace, but Bronze Star accelerated his pace. He felt it would be best if he stayed near the front for most of the race.
Within the next half-hour, Bronze Star had passed the majority of the other racers. When he was near the front, he could hear Pinkie Pie resuming the announcement with "Welcome back, Ponyvillians, it's me, Pinkie Pie."
"And Spike," the baby dragon added in, "Looks like Rainbow is doing her best to catch up."
"I'm not sure how ketchup is going to help her in this contest," Pinkie Pie commented drily, "Now, in a hot dog eating contest it can make them doggies nice and slippery, but personally I prefer mustard. How about you, Spike?"
"Uh... I... like... pickles?" Spike muttered in bafflement.
"Aaand it looks like Applejack has found herself in quite a pickle as Rainbow overtakes her," Pinkie Pie observed.
Sure enough, Applejack had been in the lead until just then, when Rainbow Dash galloped past her. She was determined not to relinquish first place to the farmer or anypony else again.
Bronze Star tried his hardest to stay close to the two mares, as he was fairly certain that something unpleasant would happen soon. Once more, his notion was well-founded.
After galloping for a while, Rainbow Dash saw that a tree branch was blocking her path. Rather than go around or under it, she gripped it with her teeth and pulled it back as far as she could. Bronze Star realized what she was doing, but before he could intervene, Applejack had reached the tree. When that happened, Rainbow released the branch. It struck Applejack directly in the face and stunned her.
Right then, Bronze Star felt an overwhelming desire to wring Rainbow Dash's neck for that. However, his feeling of anger was quickly replaced by a feeling of astonishment. This time, Applejack was the reason for his angst.
After she recovered from the blow, she pulled the branch back in the opposite direction as far as she could. When she could not stretch it any further, she lifted her hooves off the ground. As a result, she was able to use the branch to launch herself down the path. In mere moments, she managed to get far ahead of Rainbow Dash.
Bronze Star sighed angrily and muttered under his breath "You've got to be kidding."
Alas, his worries had been realized. The competition had gotten to Applejack, and she had finally descended to Rainbow Dash's level.
To make matters worse, the tricks did not stop there. Further up the path, Applejack came across a beehive. She decided to use it to hinder Rainbow Dash's progress. When the cyan mare was close enough, Applejack irritated the beehive. The bees emerged right when Rainbow Dash reached them, and they chased after her straightaway. The cyan mare galloped away in terror.
Applejack's deceptive tactic seemed to work at first, but it ended up backfiring. The bees only encouraged Rainbow Dash to run faster than before. Ultimately, she was running so fast that she managed to pass Applejack once more. The bees continued chasing her even after that.
She eventually lost the bees when she arrived at a fork in the trail. She hid behind a marker and waited until the bees were gone. She was about to continue down the path, but the marker gave her an idea. She shifted its position so that it was pointing to the road on the left. This path led up a steep hill.
A minute later, Applejack arrived on the scene, and when she saw the marker, she galloped up the hill. Once she was out of sight, Rainbow Dash shifted the marker so that it was pointing to the road on the right, which was the appropriate path for the race.
By now, the two groups of racers had merged together. Almost all of them continued galloped past the marker. However, Bronze Star managed to spot Rainbow Dash hiding behind the marker. That attracted his attention. The only reason Rainbow Dash would not be in a rush to complete the race and instead stand still in one place… was if Applejack was not ahead of her. After getting a look at the marker and the fork, Bronze Star quickly managed to put everything together.
Bronze Star was partly compelled to stop and rebuke Rainbow Dash for her trick, but he felt as though he would just be wasting his words and his time. If he continued deriding her, he would probably just sound like a broken record. Plus, part of him felt as though Applejack needed to learn the hard way that cheating was unacceptable, and being steered in the wrong direction during the race was as good a way as any. He was not worried that she would be in danger, as there were no trees on the path she had taken. So there was no place that that figure could have hidden in.
Bronze Star just continued running without decreasing his speed at all. The racers stayed in one large crowd for about ten more minutes. After that, they started breaking off into two groups like before. This time, the lead group was composed of most of the ponies who had been in the earlier rear group, and vice versa.
Bronze Star chose to run near the back of the lead group. There he encountered Cassia Sprig and Almond Wheeler. The two of them were focusing carefully on the crowd and the trees at the same time. After careful consideration, Bronze Star decided to fill the two mares in on what had happened in the Woods earlier.
He slowed his pace slightly so that he was running alongside them, and then he pronounced "Hello, Cassia, Almond."
"Hi there, sir," Cassia Sprig greeted him.
"Hey, Mr. Ambssador," Almond Wheeler returned.
"What a race, huh?" the gold stallion commented.
"Yeah, what a race indeed," Cassia Sprig conceded.
"It's a wonder nopony's gotten knocked out so far," Almond Wheeler declared.
"No kidding," Bronze Star coincided.
He thought about going straight into the topic at hand, but he felt it would be more appropriate to begin the conversation with a round of Smalltalk like before. The three of them galloped in quietness for a while, and then Bronze Star turned to the periwinkle Pegasus and asked her "How's your daughter, Cassia?"
"She's doing very well, sir," Cassia Sprig explicated, "Her fever finally went away a few days ago, and she's been as healthy as a horse since. Thank you for asking, by the way."
"Anytime," Bronze Star remarked, "And I'm glad to know she's all better. There's nothing more nerve-wracking than a sick child."
"I'm hardly in a position to disagree," Cassia Sprig disclosed, smirking.
After another short pause, Bronze Star mentioned "By the way, I didn't see your husband amongst the other racers. Is he looking after her while you're out here?"
"Yeah," Cassia affirmed, "Since they're holding the Running of the Leaves today, the construction forestallion gave him and the others the day off. So neither of us have work today. Because of that, we didn't have to drop our girl off at daycare. After this, I plan to spend the rest of the day with both of them."
For some reason, Bronze Star seemed a little bothered by one of the implications of that statement. He said apprehensively "I'm not keeping you from spending time with them by having you take part in this search, am I?"
"Oh, no, Mr. Ambassador," Cassia Sprig assured him, "I was going to enter the Running of the Leaves, regardless of its significance to the investigation. It's one of my favorite events of the year. Even though it's our day off, my husband didn't protest my choice. He actually encouraged me to enter so I could have some fun."
"Seems as though you've found yourself the perfect stallion, Cassia," Almond Wheeler wryly perceived.
"Guess I have," Cassia Sprig candidly admitted, grinning deviously, "Are you waiting for a stallion just like him to show up at your door someday, Almond?"
The gray Earth Pony lightly shrugged and remarked "No, I don't think so. Still, I would like to have a family of my own someday, and seeing you get along with your own family is a great incentive. Especially since I was totally single when I was your age."
That remark caught Bronze Star's interest. "Almond, does that mean that you're… Cassia's elder?"
Almond Wheeler scoffed and replied with "That's one way to put it, Mr. Ambassador. She hasn't hit thirty yet, whereas I have. I'm thirty-two, to be precise."
"Okay then," Bronze Star acknowledged. He turned to Cassia Sprig and queried "So, how old are you?"
"Twenty-eight, sir," the periwinkle Pegasus illuminated.
Bronze Star knew that both Cassia Sprig and Almond Wheeler were at least a couple years older than him, but he had always presumed that Cassia Sprig was the elder of the two. After all, she was a wife and mother. Then again, Almond Wheeler was generally the sterner of the two on most days. So it made some sense when Bronze Star thought about it.
"Well, while we're on the subject of partners and the like, I have something I'd like to contribute to the matter," Bronze Star thought aloud, "Ever since I started my relationship with Applejack, I've become convinced that there's somepony out there for everypony. That certainly includes you as well, Almond. I'm sure you'll find the right stallion for you."
"Thank you for that, sir," Almond Wheeler mentioned gratefully, "To be honest, I'm not really that picky with stallions. Truthfully, I'd be fine with just about anypony… as long as he wasn't an immediate family member."
Bronze Star snickered at that and presumed "I take it your cousin is just as smitten with you as ever?"
"You know it," Almond Wheeler affirmed, "He's become even more affectionate than usual lately. I mean, don't get me wrong. He's got a lot of likeable qualities, but… the fact that he's my cousin makes the whole thing very awkward for me."
"I get what you're saying," Bronze Star pronounced, "How exactly is he your cousin, though?"
"He's my mother's sister's husband's brother's son," Almond expounded.
Bronze Star needed a minute to work all that out, and then he concluded "So, he's actually your first cousin once removed?"
"Right, neither of his parents are directly related to either of mine," Almond Wheeler validated, "Still, we've known each other forever, and we've lived so close together that we were raised like siblings. In my opinion, that's enough to qualify him as my genuine cousin. It's really a shame though; he's actually a great guy. In fact, if he wasn't my cousin, I probably would have returned his affections by now."
"I think you're a little pickier than you're letting on, Almond," Cassia Sprig observed, "I mean, even if my husband somehow turned out to be my cousin, I wouldn't regret marrying him at all."
"Fine, Cassia," Almond Wheeler muttered drily, "Just don't go broadcasting that in public."
"Whatever," was all the periwinkle Pegasus said in response.
Bronze Star was feeling as though this round of Smalltalk had gone astray. Talking about the ideal stallion was not exactly something he did very often, after all. After galloping in silence for a while longer, he decided he had put off telling the two mares about what happened earlier in the Woods for long enough. He leaned closer to them and whispered "If you've got a moment, I'd like to talk to you both in private."
Cassia and Almond agreed to grant his request. The three ponies slowed down their pace and plodded until they were far enough from the other racers that they could speak without being overheard.
Bronze Star swiftly proceeded to enlighten them on what had taken place earlier in another part of Whitetail Woods. He discussed everything he could remember about the figure with them, including how it had been hiding in the trees, how it had managed to escape without getting caught, and how it had dropped a spyglass.
At the end of this recollection, Cassia Sprig and Almond Wheeler were quite astounded.
"This is unbelievable," Cassia Sprig murmured softly, "So there IS somepony out here."
"Indeed," Almond Wheeler conceded, "And from the looks of things, he's spying on us."
"Something tells me we haven't seen the last of him, though," Bronze Star conjectured.
"I suppose not," Cassia Sprig concurred.
"Where exactly did this happen?" Almond Wheeler asked.
"Shortly before we entered the heart of Whiteail Woods," Bronze Star responded.
"Paisley and I passed through that area when we passed through the Woods the other day," Almond Wheeler recalled, "I remember that was one of two places where the number of leaves that were on the ground during our second pass was vastly greater than the amount that had been on the ground during our first pass."
"Now we know why there were so many the second time around," Cassia Sprig observed, "Somepony was up in the branches."
"You said one of two places, right?" Bronze Star noted, "Where was the other one?"
"It was about halfway between the center of the Woods and the northeastern border," Almond Wheeler apprised him, "We'll be coming up on that part of it soon."
"In that case, we should pay close attention to the tops of the trees in that region," Cassia Sprig suggested.
"Good idea," Bronze Star agreed, "We should slow down a little more. I want us to be at least thirty meters behind everypony else. That way, if we DO see somepony else in the trees, we'll be able to apprehend them without alerting the other racers."
Almond Wheeler and Cassia Sprig went along with this proposal. The two mares and the gold stallion quickly changed their pace from a gallop to a moderate trot. Before long, the other racers were at least fifty feet ahead of them.
About five minutes later, they arrived at the halfway point between the center of Whitetail Woods and the northeastern border. At first, there did not appear to be anything out of the ordinary there. However, Almond Wheeler managed to spot some movement at the very top of one of the trees. After focusing closely enough, she managed to confirm that there was a figure up there.
Cassia Sprig and Bronze Star managed to see the figure as well. Bronze Star could tell it was not the same figure. The first one had been an Earth Pony; this one had wings.
As before, Bronze Star decided they would engage this figure and attempt to apprehend it.
"How should we do this?" Almond Wheeler queried.
"I'll handle this," Cassia Sprig proclaimed.
"Got it," Bronze Star said in acknowledgement.
They continued running without the slightest change in countenance or behavior. They pretended to mind their own business, but their attention was focused primarily on the new figure.
The moment they reached the base of the tree, Cassia Sprig spread her wings, turned towards the figure, and flew up towards it at incredible speed. She managed to intercept the figure before it could move to safety. This figure had the physique of a stallion as well, but like the first one, he was clad in a jumpsuit that completed covered his body, except for his wings and eyes.
Cassia Sprig grabbed ahold of the figure and pushed him out of the tree. He plummeted directly to the ground, landing flat on his chest. However, he was only on the ground for a second. After that, he immediately jumped to his hooves.
"Stop right there!" Almond Wheeler demanded.
The figure ignored her completely. He spread his own wings, turned around, and ascended into the air. A faint ripping sound was made as his front leg brushed against a sharp branch on the center of one of the trees. Almond Wheeler heard the sound and focused on the source. At the same time, Cassia Sprig rose into the air and flew after the figure. She chased him through a labyrinth of tall trees.
Just when she was within grabbing distance of him, the figure changed his direction and shot directly upwards, soaring through the tops of the trees. Cassia Sprig adjusted her course and flew straight after him. She expected to come face-to-face with him as soon as she emerged from the Woods' canopy. Quite the contrary; when she got over the top of the trees, the figure was gone. Cassia Sprig looked around in all directions, but there was nopony as far as the eye could see.
A couple minutes later, she returned to her companions and grimly informed them "He got away."
"Crap," Bronze Star muttered agitatedly, "We were so close this time."
While the two of them took the situation into account, Almond Wheeler trotted over to the place where she heard that ripping sound and found a torn piece of cloth. She picked it up and beckoned the others "Come over here and get a look at what I found."
Bronze Star and Cassia Sprig went over to the gray Earth Pony. She held the piece of cloth up for them to see. Cassia and Bronze seemed to brighten up a modicum when they saw it.
"Well, at least we managed to find another clue," Cassia Sprig perceived.
"Looks like it," Almond Wheeler affirmed, "He got out of here in such a hurry that he left behind a bit of his uniform."
"Let me take a look at that," Bronze Star bade her. The gray Earth Pony nodded and tossed him the piece of cloth. He examined it up close and pronounced "It's woven too tightly to be spandex, but it appears to be made of similar material. This stuff would make one Tartarus of a protective costume."
"Certainly sounds convenient," Cassia Sprig bluntly mentioned.
"Sir Haywood needs to see this, too," Bronze Star decided. He lifted up his Stetson again and hid the piece of cloth underneath it with the spyglass. Once he set it back in place, he pronounced "Okay, now that that's handled, we should get back in the race. As a precaution, we should probably run independently of each other until we reach the finish line."
"Sounds good to me," Almond Wheeler said in approval. Cassia Sprig nodded in agreement.
The periwinkle Pegasus, the gray Earth Pony, and the gold Alicorn then reentered the race. By this time, the rear group had nearly caught up to the front group. For the third time that day, almost all the racers were compacted together into one large crowd. Cassia Sprig and Almond Wheeler soon joined the center of the racers, but once he was properly focused, Bronze Star speedily approached the front of the crowd.
Bronze Star noticed that Rainbow Dash was at the head of the column. Applejack was nowhere to be seen. Bronze Star was certain that she had realized she had taken the wrong path by now, and she must have turned back to get on the right path. If not, she was probably hopelessly lost in Whitetail Woods. If that was the case, he supposed he would have to good back and find her later on.
A few seconds later, it turned out that would not be necessary. Applejack quite literally came sailing in at that time. It seemed as though she had hitched a ride on the hot air balloon Pinkie Pie and Spike had been using. Evidently, Bronze Star's hope that his fillyfriend would learn a lesson about how wrong cheating was had been in vain. He was notably displeased with that fact.
Rainbow Dash noticed Applejack above her head, and she yelled furiously "What the hay?! You said no flying!"
When the hot air balloon was a little ahead of the cyan mare, the orange mare let go of the basket and dropped down onto the ground. Then she leered "No, I said no wings."
While that was a valid loophole, Bronze Star still viewed it as a form of cheating. But he decided to keep his mouth shut about the subject until the end of the race.
In the sky above, Pinkie Pie announced "I must say, Spike, that this has been the most interesting Running of the Leaves in Equestria history!"
"With the most interesting announcing," the baby dragon noted uneasily.
Pinkie Pie paid no mind to that remark. She just added in "But it isn't the running that's been fascinating. It's the lack of running!"
That was the first thing Pinkie Pie had said all day that Bronze Star fully agreed with. There had indeed been a lot less running than he originally predicted there'd be. Not just on the part of Applejack and Rainbow Dash. The encounters with those two mysterious figures had slowed him down for a while, as well.
Nevertheless, the race was rapidly coming to an end. The runners at the front of the crowd were less than three miles away from the finish line. Currently, Bronze Star was holding one of the top five places. He figured that since he was this far ahead, he may as well go in for the win. He had been principally focused on his surroundings for the past several hours, but he decided he had paid enough attention the trees. Now was when he felt his competitive nature come around, and the remainder of the path in front of him captured his full, undivided attention. For the last part of this event, he was going to take the Running of the Leaves completely seriously and play it for real.
Bronze Star concentrated on the path and gradually increased his velocity. Soon he was one of five ponies who were running at the head of the crowd. The others were Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Noble Edict, and Sir Haywood McCrank.
However, that soon changed. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were constantly trying to knock each other out of the competition. They were so preoccupied with this rivalry that they somehow ended up all the way at the back of the running crowd. Twilight Sparkle was still running at the back of the group, and she tried to talk some sense into the mares. She was only partly successful; Applejack and Rainbow Dash quickly got back into the race, but they were still determined to place ahead of each other.
Up until this point, Twilight Sparkle and Copper Hollow had been in the last two places for the entire race. But here they made a surprise comeback. While Applejack and Rainbow Dash were trying to surpass each other, Twilight Sparkle and Copper Hollow began sprinting through the crowd. Most of the other racers were exhausted by this point, so it was relatively easy for the lavender mare and the copper stallion to pass them by.
Before long, Twilight Sparkle and Copper Hollow had galloped past all but three of the other racers. They had pretty much filled in Applejack and Rainbow Dash's spots in the top five places. Now the two of them were galloping near Bronze Star, Noble Edict, and Sir Haywood McCrank.
Bronze Star was more than a little surprised when the magic student reached him.
"I like that look on your face, Bronze," Twilight Sparkle whispered in amusement.
The gold stallion could not see the expression on his face, but he could imagine it would be quite an interesting one. In spite of his astonishment at Twilight's sudden speed, Bronze Star was not about to fold. He grinned wickedly and yelled audaciously "Oh no, you don't!"
As he galloped ahead of the lavender mare, Copper Hollow was in the process of approaching Noble Edict and Sir Haywood McCrank. When the red mare noticed the copper stallion, she seemed surprised by his sudden appearance. She remarked "Copper? Where the Tartarus did you come from?"
"Out of thin air, Noble!" Copper Hollow jokingly responded, "Ready to eat my dust?"
"I don't think so," Noble Edict slyly stated.
"Try not to get blinded by ours, though," Sir Haywood McCrank cockily proposed.
"I have no intention of that, Sir Haywood," Copper Hollow proclaimed.
Up in the sky, Pinkie Pie and Spike watched the racers as they fought for the lead position. Pinkie Pie observed "We are rapidly approaching the finish line, ponies! In a surprise twist, the two most athletic ponies have fallen behind. The top five places have now been claimed by two security officers, an investigator, a politician, and a magic student! Right now Gold Streak is in the lead. No, he's been overlapped by Noble Edict! Wait, Sir Haywood McCrank and Copper Hollow are quickly gaining on Noble. Oh, but wait again! Twilight Sparkle's coming up fast! No, wait; Gold Streak's making a comeback! Wait a moment; he's passed Sir Haywood! Oh, there's too much waiting!"
Since Pinkie was getting off-topic yet again, Spike took over. He broadcasted "You're almost there, ponies! Just a few hundred more feet and you'll make it to the finish line! Gold Streak is still in the lead, but Noble Edict and Copper Hollow are close behind!"
Sure enough, the finish line was now within sight of the lead racers. A large ribbon had been set up between two large trees, and a large crowd of spectators had gathered there. The cheers could be heard even from this distance.
Bronze Star focused his attention on the finish line and galloped as fast as he could towards it. He managed to stay in the first position for about half the distance. However, Copper Hollow and Noble Edict proved to be quite unwilling to give up just yet. The two of them galloped faster than they had ever galloped before, and when they were within ten meters of the finish line, they managed to get slightly ahead of the gold stallion.
Now it was essentially a contest between the copper stallion and the red mare. Almost every other second, the two of them rotated first and second position in the race. They briefly looked at each other out of the corners of their eyes, and then they focused wholly on the finish line.
When they were about five feet away from the finish line, Noble Edict held the top position. It seemed as though she would be the first winner at first. Just when it appeared as though that would be the case, Copper Hollow bolted past her, and he crossed the finish line first instead.
The audience erupted in applause as the copper stallion tore through the ribbon. Copper Hollow soon jerked to a halt. He needed a moment to catch his breath, but right after that, he fully realized that he had won. He smiled widely and punched the air triumphantly.
Noble Edict had stepped over the finish line only a mere moment after Copper Hollow. Bronze Star came in soon after, Haywood McCrank followed suit, and Twilight Sparkle achieved fifth place.
Pinkie Pie screeched in excitement and announced "And the winner is Copper Hollow! The runner-up runner is Noble Edict! Next we have Gold Streak, Sir Haywood McCrank, and Twilight Sparkle!"
Bronze Star did not know who came in sixth place or anything after, but he did not care about that. All that mattered to him at that moment was that he had accomplished the race. He did not mind that he had only come in third place, either. Again, he was glad to have just completed it.
While the other racers passed over the finish line, Mayor Mare approached the five who completed it first. She was carrying a wooden plank on her back. She smiled at the five ponies and told them "Congratulations, all of you."
They just smiled at the tan mare's praise. She removed the wooden plank from her back. There were five medals on it. Two of them were gold; one was slightly larger than the other. The other three were silver, bronze, and copper.
The Mayor had the five winners stand in a straight line. She then proceeded to place one of the medals around each of their necks. She started by placing the smaller gold medal around Twilight Sparkle's neck, signaling she had won fifth place. Next the Mayor placed the copper medal around Sir Haywood McCrank's neck, indicating he had won fourth place. After that, she placed the bronze medal around Bronze Star's neck, designating him as the third place winner. Then Mayor Mare placed the silver medal around Noble Edict's neck, signifying that she had claimed second place. Finally, she placed the larger gold medal around Copper Hollow's neck, meaning he had won the first place.
Once she was finished with that, she turned to the audience and declared "Presenting the top five contestants from this year's Running of the Leaves! Copper Hollow, Lady Noble Edict, Ambassador Gold Streak, Sir Haywood McCrank, and Twilight Sparkle!"
The audience burst into enthusiastic applause once more. The five ponies seemed very pleased with their victory; they all demonstrated their pleasure differently. Twilight Sparkle modestly grinned and waved at the other ponies. Haywood McCrank lightly smirked and nodded in approval. Bronze Star smiled widely, waving proudly and firmly. Noble Edict just gazed at the ground, grateful for the recognition. Copper Hollow stood up tall and straight, feeling a strong sense of victory.
After all that, Noble Edict patted Copper Hollow on the back on told him "Great work, Copper."
He smiled at his superior officer and told her "Thanks, Noble. You know, I really thought you were going to beat in those last few seconds."
"Yeah, but you really came around in the end," Bronze Star thought aloud.
"I should say so, Mr. Ambassador," Copper Hollow pronounced, "I bet you're a little disappointed that you didn't win ahead of me and Noble, though. Then you'd have a medal that would match your first name."
"Indeed," Bronze Star conceded, chuckling loudly. He was not laughing because he was amused by the remark itself. He was laughing because of the irony in the remark. After all, he actually HAD gotten a medal whose color was also his name, yet Copper Hollow was the only one of the five winners who did not know that.
Once he was finished chuckling, Bronze Star observed "In the meantime, I'm guessing you're quite content with the fact that you didn't get a medal of your own color."
"You got that right," Copper Hollow affirmed. He gazed over at Sir Haywood McCrank and commented "It looks much better on you, Sir Haywood."
"I'll take that as a compliment," the indigo stallion disclosed. He was drenched in sweat right then, but he was very satisfied. He gazed down at his medal and declared "I never intended to take first prize in the Running of the Leaves, anyway. I'm honored to have even placed in this race."
"I hear you there, Sir Haywood," Twilight Sparkle coincided, "Fifth prize. I was planning to do well in this race, but not THAT well."
"Oh, so you DID have a plan?" Bronze Star presumed.
"Yes, it turns out she was not running at the back of the crowd because she was slow or anything," Copper Hollow revealed, "In actuality, she was conserving her energy throughout the bulk of the race, and she used it all in the final phase. Quite a clever strategy."
"Wasn't that what you were doing, too, Copper?" Twilight Sparkle inquired.
"Well, yeah… pretty much," the copper stallion tentatively replied. He was not about to tell Twilight that the real reason he had deliberately stayed in the back of the crowd was that he was watching over her to keep her safe. Luckily, she had not gotten suspicious of him in all that time.
Dozens of other ponies had already completed the Running of the Leaves, but Applejack and Rainbow Dash still had yet to cross the finish line. Twilight Sparkle noticed this, and she sighed in annoyance. She informed the others "I'm going to stay by the finish line until Applejack and Rainbow Dash get here."
"Okay, I'll come join you in a minute," Bronze Star declared.
The lavender mare stepped out of the winner's circle and made her way back to the finish line. The other four winners watched her as she trotted away. Once she was out of earshot, Bronze Star turned to the other three and proposed "We need to talk."
Copper Hollow, Noble Edict, and Sir Haywood McCrank nodded in agreement. The three of them briefly discussed what they had seen in Whitetail Woods. Altogether, they had not seen much. Both Haywood and Noble had thought they had seen movement in two of the trees, and Copper Hollow had come across signs of a struggle in two places. Based on their descriptions, the movement and the struggles happened in the exact same spots where Bronze Star had encountered those two figures. He explained how he, Paisley Branch, and Rollin Fields had tried to apprehend the first one, and although they had failed, they had managed to acquire a spyglass from the figure. He also covered how he, Cassia Sprig, and Almond Wheeler had attempted to arrest the second figure and bungled that too, but they had managed to get a piece of the figure's clothing. He still had both clues underneath his hat. He pulled them out and gave them to Sir Haywood. The indigo stallion carefully looked them over, seeming quite interested in the objects. He would not be able to conduct a full inspection until he got back to the embassy later on, so he decided to put them away for now. However, he was not wearing a suit like usual, so he had no pockets to put the items in. Bronze Star offered to continue holding on to them for the present, and Haywood McCrank agreed to this.
As the gold stallion placed the spyglass and the piece of cloth back underneath his hat, Copper Hollow enquired "Have we come across any other new information?"
"Well, I finally learned the ages of the other members of the task force," Bronze Star bluntly disclosed, "I discovered a few interesting things."
"Like what?" Noble Edict asked in interest.
"Well, I learned that I'm not the youngest member of the task force; Paisley Branch is," Bronze Star mentioned, "I also learned that Almond Wheeler is older than Cassia Sprig, and Rollin Fields is old enough to be the father of everypony else on the task force. Including Sir Haywood."
"Really?" Haywood McCrank said in fascination, "How old is he?"
"Sixty-three," Bronze Star revealed.
"Then you're right; technically he IS old enough to be my father," Haywood McCrank agreed, "I just turned forty-five."
"With that headband and those sunglasses, you only look about thirty," Noble Edict noted.
"I appreciate that, Lady Noble," the indigo stallion stated.
There came a short interval of silence, and then Bronze Star turned to the copper stallion and remarked "You know, Copper; you're the only member of the task force whose age I still don't know. Isn't that odd?"
"Perhaps," Copper Hollow conceded, "So I'll tell you before you ask, sir. I'm twenty-seven. That makes me the third-youngest member of the task force, after you and Paisley."
"So I see," Bronze Star avowed. He decided to drop the subject there, as it did not seem to be going anywhere. He did not know why, but he felt strangely pleased to finally know the age of every member of the task force.
The four ponies stood in silence for a time. Then Mayor Mare approached them and informed Bronze Star "Excuse me, Mr. Ambassador. There's somepony here to see you."
"Who might that be?" the gold stallion queried.
"I cannot say at the moment," the tan mare replied, "But she has requested to speak to you in private."
"Very well," Bronze Star conceded, "Take me to her, please."
Mayor Mare nodded and led him to a small building that had been built on the outskirts of Ponyville. On the way, Bronze Star wondered who this person could have been. The Mayor had revealed it was a female person, so that narrowed the list of prospects. Obviously it was not Dapple Rhomb; she was competing in the race. Rarity and Fluttershy were the only Element Bearers who were not participating in the Running of the Leaves, but they would have asked to speak to him through the Mayor.
Ultimately, he decided to stop guessing and just wait and see this visitor for himself. When the Mayor led him around the building, he finally discovered who she was, and he was rather shocked.
It was his mother.
"Princess Celestia!" he exclaimed in astonishment, "This… this is quite a pleasant surprise."
The tall white mare smiled down at the gold stallion and stated "I'm pleased to see you, as well, 'Mr. Ambassador."
She then turned to Mayor Mare and told her "Thank you, Mayor. You may go now."
The tan mare nodded, bowed in reverence, and left the two Alicorns by themselves. Once they were alone, Bronze Star approached his mother and embraced her, and she embraced him back. When they pulled apart, he smiled up at her and said candidly "I didn't expect to see you here today."
"I decided to make an unannounced visit," Princess Celestia enlightened him, "That way, the townsfolk would not have to go out of their way to impress me or anything."
"I understand exactly what you're saying," Bronze Star coincided, "I could do without those formalities myself. But getting back to the topic at hoof, may I ask why you came here today?"
"I came for several reasons," Celestia disclosed, "Firstly, I wished to observe the Running of the Leaves. I arrived early this morning so I could watch the whole race."
"How were you watching it?" Bronze Star queried.
"I was hovering above the Woods so I could see the race from a bird's eye-view," Celestia apprised him, "I tried to keep my eye on you for most of it. There were two instances when you disappeared beneath some trees. I could not make out what you were doing then, but you appeared to stop altogether."
"I was just… pausing to catch my breath," Bronze Star claimed, relieved that she had not seen either of the figures, "I have SIG Sauer to thank for that. All those years of doing laps around the castle really paid off."
"I should say so, seeing as how you won a medal," Celestia pointed out, "Even though you won third place, I'm just as pleased with you as I would have been if you won first."
"I'm glad to hear that," Bronze Star pronounced. After a brief pause, he looked up at his mother and asked "Anyway, what are your other reasons for coming here today?"
"I wished to speak with a few ponies, primarily you," Celestia elucidated, "Firstly, I bring a message from Lord Bellerophon. He says 'Be prepared to do some writing at four hours before the next rotation.'"
Bronze Star knew what that meant. Lord Bellerophon must have received the letter he had sent him, and now he was responding to it. That statement was actually the palomino Pegasus's way of informing the young prince that either he or somepony on the Firebrand Regiment would be contacting him through his special blackboard at eight o'clock that night. That way, they would be able to discuss everything Bronze Star had mentioned in that letter.
"Alright, please tell him I said 'Accepted and avowed,'" Bronze Star requested.
Celestia nodded in approval. After that, she looked him in the eye and uttered "Now, I would like to talk to you about something Lord Bellerophon mentioned to me. He claims that you are considering telling more people in Ponyville about who you really are."
"He speaks the truth," Bronze Star confirmed, "There are only a few people I have in mind. Three, to be precise."
"Who are they?" Celestia queried.
"Applejack's immediate family," Bronze Star enlightened her, "You see, she and I have been together for five months, and I feel as though our relationship is really getting somewhere. I have also gotten quite close to Big McIntosh, Apple Bloom, and Granny Smith, as well. However, none of them know who I really am. That wasn't a problem at first, but now that Applejack and I are so close, I feel as though they have a right to know now. What do you think?"
Princess Celestia spent a minute pondering over this predicament. After that, she pronounced "Well, I cannot force you to choose to come forward or stay silent. It is your decision. However, truth be told, I'm fully in favor of your idea. After all, coming here under a pseudonym and in disguise was your idea to begin with, not mine."
"I realize that," Bronze Star stated, "But when I first came to Ponyville, I only planned to stay for one or two days. Now I've been here for seven months, and I've become friends with most of the locals. They all know me as a successful politician with military training. I'm concerned that if they learn that I'm a lot more than that, they might be offended or shocked."
"Perhaps," Celestia alleged, "But if it equally possible that they will be amazed or enthralled. Or even honored. Aside from that, you have no enemies here, do you?"
"No, not even one," Bronze Star responded.
"Then you should have nothing to worry about," Celestia declared, "Tell Applejack's family who you are whenever and however you wish to. I can guarantee you that they will not take it badly."
Bronze Star grinned at that and stated gratefully "Thank you, Mother. I know I can always rely on your counsel. I will do just that."
Princess Celestia nodded in approval and smiled in satisfaction, saying "You're quite welcome, my dear prince. I will always be there to help you."
That was something Bronze Star already knew, but he was relieved to hear it anyway.
After a short interval of quietness, Princess Celestia stated "As I said before, there are a few other people in Ponyville I wish to see. I was hoping you would accompany me."
Bronze Star nodded his head in compliance and cheekily suggested "Shall we see how my 'fellow common folk' are doing?"
Celestia smiled at that remark, and she agreed straightaway. Then she and her son trotted towards the area between Ponyville and Whitetail Woods. Unsurprisingly, the moment the regal mare stepped out into the open, she drew the attention of every pony in the vicinity. Every single one of them bowed to her out of respect.
Before long, they arrived at the winners' circle. Copper Hollow, Noble Edict, and Sir Haywood McCrank were still there, talking with each other. Noble Edict was the first one to notice that Princess Celestia was there, and that she was quickly approaching them. The red mare quickly pointed this out to the two stallions, and they quieted down almost right away.
Once Princess Celestia reached them, Copper Hollow, Noble Edict, and Sir Haywood McCrank bowed to her. They remained that way for about ten seconds, and then they stood up straight. They were curious as to why their nation's leader was there, but out of respect, they did not ask her why.
After a bit of silence, Princess Celestia looked around at the three other ponies. Ultimately, she turned to Copper Hollow and pronounced "That was some fine running you did out there. What is your name?"
"I am Copper Hollow, Your Highness," the copper stallion replied, lightly bowing his head, "Ponyville's deputy chief of security."
"Then congratulations on your win, Deputy Chief," Celestia bade him.
"Thank you very, very much," Copper Hollow stated gratefully.
Celestia slowly turned to the red mare and told her as well "You did very fine out there as well, Noble Edict."
"You flatter me, Your Highness," Noble Edict said in response, also lowering her head a bit.
Lastly, Celestia looked to Haywood McCrank. She took a moment to study his appearance. She seemed somewhat amused by it, but she elected not to say anything about it. She remarked "You surprise me, Sir Haywood. I was unaware that you had such an aptitude for marathon running."
"Neither was I, Your Highness," Haywood McCrank commented, "I have a tendency to surprise everypony. Including myself at times."
"Well, at least you were dressed properly for the occasion," Celestia pointed out.
It was then that Sir Haywood remembered that he was quite underdressed, especially for a meeting with royalty. He hastily removed his headband and sunglasses, and he brushed sweat and some wet locks of his mane out of his forehead. After that, he gazed back up at the white Alicorn and spoke sincerely "I apologize for my casual appearance. Had I known you were coming, I would have dressed appropriately."
"Oh, it's quite alright," Celestia assured him, "I am somewhat curious about one thing, though. I have not seen you in Canterlot for about five months. Have you been staying here in Ponyville for all that time?"
"Yes, Your Highness," the indigo stallion affirmed, "Prince Bronze Star asked me to assist him in a personal investigation. I can assure you that it's nothing you need to be concerned about. The situation is very much in control."
"Very well," Princess Celestia avowed, "If you're here on my son's orders, then I will not press you on the subject. I trust both your judgment and Bronze Star's. However, can I expect to see you at a certain upcoming event?"
"If you're referring to the Grand Galloping Gala, then yes," Haywood McCrank validated, "I acquired my ticket before I came to Ponyville. I brought it with me so that I could ensure that nothing happened to it. I can assure you that I will be in the capital city on the night of the Gala. I also be more appropriately dressed on that occasion."
"Excellent," Celestia commented, grinning in approval.
Princess Celestia was one of the few people who was never bothered or bewildered by Haywood McCrank's unusual behavior or mannerisms. As a matter of fact, she appreciated them. Along with his brilliant mind and numerous accomplishments, those qualities were some of the reasons why she had knighted the indigo stallion.
After another short period of silence, Celestia turned back to Noble Edict and remarked "On that subject, I hope you will be there as well, Noble Edict."
The red mare was a little surprised to hear that. She looked up at the regal mare and politely informed her "As much as I would like to attend the Gala, Your Highness, I'm afraid that might not be possible. I do not have a ticket."
Celestia just smirked and stated "That can easily be remedied. Since you are a Lady of my court now, you are automatically entitled to attend the Gala on my personal invitation."
"You didn't know that, Noble?" Bronze Star remarked in astonishment.
"Well, I assumed that being a Lady came with a few privileges," Noble Edict disclosed, "But nopony really told me what they were."
"Well, the right to attend special events in Canterlot is one of them," Celestia apprised her, "And the Grand Galloping Gala is the most well-renowned of all those events. That's a night when a familiar face is always welcomed. So I hope to see yours on that night."
"It would be my honor, Your Highness," the red mare proclaimed.
The white Alicorn smiled in approval. Then she used her magic to produce two golden slips of paper out of thin air. They were both tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala. Celestia used her magic to levitated them over to the red mare, who accepted them happily.
Noting the number, she raised an eyebrow and queried "Why are you giving me two?"
"You have the option to bring along somepony close to you," Celestia expounded, "It could be a date, an escort, or just somepony you know."
"Umm, I remember what happened the last time you gave just two tickets to somepony in this town," Bronze Star nervously thought aloud, "That situation put Twilight Sparkle under a whole lot of stress. And she only had five friends to choose from. Noble is even more popular here than Twilight."
"Well, thankfully, I'm much more decisive than Twilight," Noble Edict proclaimed, "I don't need to go through the same ordeal she went through. I've already decided who to give this other ticket to."
After that, she turned to Copper Hollow and held out one of the tickets. The copper stallion's eyes widened in surprise, and he uttered quietly "Me?"
"There's nopony I'd rather have by my side, Copper," Noble Edict announced happily, "If you'd like, you could think of it as your award for winning the Running of the Leaves."
Copper Hollow eased down and snickered at that. Then he took the ticket from his superior officer and told her straightforwardly "Thanks, Noble. I'd be delighted to accompany you."
The chief of security smiled at her second-in-command. Bronze Star watched them interact and wondered about the nature of their relationship. He could never tell if the two of them admired each other more as colleagues or as members of the opposite gender. One thing he could definitely tell was that they were very close.
A minute later, the five ponies gazed over at Whitetail Woods. Most of the runners had completed the race by then. The few who had not were nearing the finish line. One would think that all the runners would have gotten in by now.
"They're still coming through?" Copper Hollow remarked in fascination.
"More ponies must have entered the race than we thought," Haywood McCrank theorized.
"I still don't see Applejack or Rainbow Dash anywhere," Noble Edict notified the others.
"They must have gotten too caught up in the competition," Bronze Star conjectured.
"I believe you are correct," Princess Celestia conceded, "Look to the very back."
Bronze Star, Haywood McCrank, Copper Hollow, and Noble Edict gazed in that direction, and sure enough, Applejack and Rainbow Dash were at the back of the crowd. They were struggling to stay ahead of each other. They were not even paying any regard to the other racers anymore.
From the hot air balloon, Pinkie Pie commented on their progress with "Once again, Rainbow Dash and Applejack are neck in neck, jockeying for position. Applejack inches ahead, now it's Rainbow, it's Applejack, it's Rainbow Dash, it's Applejack—"
Just then, Applejack and Rainbow Dash were galloping side-by-side. The cyan mare then tried shoving the orange mare off the path.
"Oh no, she di'int!" Spike yelled.
In retaliation, Applejack shoved Rainbow Dash with as much force.
"Oh yes, she di'id!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed.
Applejack and Rainbow Dash continued attempting to knock each other out of the race. Bronze Star was very annoyed with both of them, but he was a lot more discontent with Applejack. He would have expected better from her.
At one point, Applejack struck Rainbow Dash so hard that she loosened the knot on the rope that had been tied around her waist. From there, Rainbow Dash managed to wiggle her wings free. After that, she rose into the air and shouted "That's it! All bets are off!"
Before she could take off, Applejack grabbed her and bellowed "Oh no, you don't."
They both landed on the ground, but they did not bother getting up. The two mares completed the race not by running, but instead by rolling on the ground. They were still moving so quickly that it was difficult to discern one of them from the other.
Pinkie Pie went on with "It's Applejack, it's Rainbow Dash, it's Applejack, it's Rainbow Dash—"
Eventually, the two of them crossed the finish line. Interestingly, every other racer had already reached it ahead of them. All the same, neither the orange mare nor the cyan mare seemed to notice that. Somehow, they managed to pull themselves apart from each other and get back on their feet. They were both dirty and disheveled, but they both seemed pleased with themselves.
"I won!" Rainbow Dash claimed.
"No, I won!" Applejack countered.
"I won!" Rainbow Dash disputed.
Bronze Star slapped his forehead in exasperation. Haywood McCrank scoffed and patted the young prince on the back to show he agreed with the sentiment.
"You tied!" Spike corrected them.
"Tied?!" both mares repeated in shock.
They looked at each other, and then they looked back up at the baby dragon and the pink mare. Applejack presumed "For first?"
"For last!" Pinkie Pie illuminated cheerily.
"LAST?" Applejack shouted in disbelief.
"Then who won?" Rainbow Dash demanded.
At that moment, Twilight Sparkle approached the two disorganized mares. She closed her eyes and smiled proudly as she flaunted her small gold medal.
"YOU?" Applejack and Rainbow Dash shouted in shock.
"Oh no," the lavender mare informed them, "Copper Hollow won. But I did get fifth place, which is rather good considering I've never run a race before."
"What?" Applejack muttered in amazement, "How's that even possible?"
"You ran so slow, and looked at the scenery," Rainbow Dash recollected.
"Exactly," Twilight Sparkle explicated, "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."
Sure enough, the majority of the other racers were lying on the ground, breathing deeply and panting heavily. Yet Twilight Sparkle and the other winners seemed full of energy and quite alright.
"I don't believe it," Rainbow Dash mumbled in shock, "Twilight beat us."
"Well, with all your horsing around, it was quite easy," Twilight Sparkle smugly pointed out.
Right then, the orange mare and the cyan mare seemed to have an epiphany. Just by gazing at the expressions on their faces, Bronze Star could tell that they had finally realized that nopony really benefited from cheating, and that their actions were wrong. Just for that, he was no longer angry with either of them. He was actually proud of them for learning that lesson so quickly.
Applejack frowned and uttered sadly "You're right, Twilight. Our behavior was just terrible."
Rainbow Dash nodded and declared gloomily "We weren't very good sports."
Princess Celestia was pleased to hear this, as well. She began trotting towards the border of Whitetail Woods. Bronze Star went with her. As she walked towards the three young mares, the white Alicorn pronounced "Sounds to me that an important lesson was learned."
Everypony who had not yet noticed Celestia noticed her then. Everypony who was still on his or her feet bowed to her in reverence. She looked at all of them out of the corners of her eyes and smiled.
"Princess Celestia?!" Applejack and Rainbow Dash exclaimed in astonishment.
The white Alicorn did not say anything in response. She remained smiling as she approached the orange mare, the cyan mare, and the lavender mare.
Applejack noticed that Bronze Star was right at her side, and she flushed slightly. She muttered apprehensively "W... What are you doin' here?"
"Fall is one of my favorite seasons," Celestia enlightened her, "So I came to celebrate the Running of the Leaves."
"Even though this isn't really fall," Bronze Star discreetly pointed out, "What we're doing here is essentially just a simulation of fall's weather."
"Yes, I am very aware of that," Princess Celestia asserted, "It is still a wondrous occasion."
"I quite agree," Bronze Star commented.
Both Applejack and Rainbow Dash felt greatly ashamed and embarrassed, knowing that their nation's leader had witnessed their atrocious behavior. However, Applejack had an additional reason to be upset with herself. She was mortified by the fact that her coltfriend's mother had seen her that way. She gazed up at the regal mare and told her "I'm sorry you had to see us being such poor sport, Princess."
"That's all right, Applejack," Celestia reassured the farmer, "Anypony can get swept up in the excitement of competition."
"It's important to remember that the friendship is always more important than the competition," Twilight Sparkle perceived wisely.
"Exactly, Twilight," Celestia concurred with her student. She then turned to Applejack and Rainbow Dash and drew their attention to Whitetail Woods. It was then that Bronze Star noticed that not all the trees were bare. His mother declared "Now, unfortunately, because the two of you were busy tricking each other instead of shaking down leaves, many of the lovely trees of Equestria are still covered."
Applejack and Rainbow Dash caught on to what the white Alicorn was implying, as did Bronze Star. The orange mare and cyan mare turned to each other, and for the first time since their friendly game of horseshoes, they looked at each other with amity and warmth.
"Why, Princess, I bet we can knock those leaves down for you lickety-split," Applejack gleefully proclaimed. She turned back to Rainbow Dash and offered "Whaddya say, friend? Wanna go for another run?"
Rainbow Dash smiled and replied with "I'd love to stretch my legs."
They took a moment to brush themselves off so that their complexions were a lot neater, and then they approached the finish line again. Just before they reentered Whitetail Woods, Bronze Star took a step closer and called out "Hold on, girls. I'd like to join you."
"That would be great," Rainbow Dash muttered right away.
"The more, the merrier," Applejack coincided.
Before he joined them at the finish line, Bronze Star turned to the white Alicorn, bowed to her momentarily, and stated formally "It was a pleasure to speak with you, Your Highness. Hope to see you again, soon."
"That can certainly be arranged," Princess Celestia pronounced, smiling warmly, "I might make more of these 'unannounced visits' to Ponyville in the future."
"Then we'll all be sure to keep an eye on the sky," Sir Haywood McCrank cheekily proposed.
That statement garnered some laughs from several of the ponies in the vicinity, including Celestia herself. In a way, Bronze Star found that remark intriguing. It reminded him of the advice Dapple Rhomb had given him earlier; that was the advice about looking up periodically to check for falling leaves. Oddly enough, by following that suggestion, he had managed to spot more than just leaves during the Running of the Leaves. However, he was hoping he would only encounter more leaves this time around.
After bidding his mother farewell, Bronze Star joined Applejack and Rainbow Dash at the finish line. Then the three of them galloped back into Whitetail Woods side-by-side. As they ran, Bronze Star noticed Applejack and Rainbow Dash were leaning close to each other affectionately. He smiled at that action, and he told the two mares "I'm proud of you two."
"Thanks," they responded together.
The majority of the trees in Whitetail Woods had already been cleared of all their leaves, but there were still several dozen that needed to be account for. The three ponies spent a few hours going over every part of Whitetail Woods. They were determined to clear every single one of them.
Unlike before, neither Applejack nor Rainbow Dash made any effort to overtake each other. They managed to put their competitive nature aside and focus instead on clearing the trees and having fun.
For a while, they moved in silence. Then they decided to have a friendly conversation. Applejack and Rainbow Dash opened it up by congratulating Bronze Star on winning third place in the Running of the Leaves. As he thanked them for their praise, they asked to know who else had placed. They already knew that Copper Hollow had won first and Twilight Sparkle had won fifth. He informed them that Noble Edict and Sir Haywood McCrank had won second and fourth respectively. They were not surprised to hear that Noble had been the runner-up, but they were a little astonished to hear that Sir Haywood had been in the top five. Then again, they figured that if Twilight Sparkle could win a medal in a marathon, pretty much anypony could.
The two mares also asked Bronze Star if Princess Celestia had come to Ponyville for a reason other than she wished to see the Running of the Leaves. Bronze Star informed them that his mother had also been in town to speak with him, Sir Haywood McCrank, and Noble Edict about various topics. Mainly, she had been there to learn Sir Haywood's reason for being in Ponyville, to invite Noble Edict to the Grand Galloping Gala, and to talk to her son about his plan to reveal his identity to more people in Ponyville.
When Bronze Star mentioned that Princess Celestia fully advocated his idea to tell Applejack's family who she was really dating, the farmer seemed elated. She admitted to Bronze Star that she had been wanting to tell her family the truth for a while now. Of course, she never would have done that without his approval first, but she still despised having to conceal her coltfriend's true identity from her siblings and grandmother.
Now that both Applejack and Bronze Star were confident that letting the former's family know the latter's name was the right thing to do, all that remained was for them to decide when and how to deliver this information to them. Regardless of the circumstances, they decided that they would do this sometime in the near future, primarily before Esopus Spitzenburg and her other relatives arrived.
This was actually the first Rainbow Dash had heard of Bronze Star's plan to tell more people his name. After thinking about it for a minute, she made a suggestion of her own. Since they were going to tell Apple Bloom who the gold stallion really was, perhaps they could tell Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle as well. After it, it would not be right to force the yellow filly to keep such a huge secret from her own friends.
Both Bronze Star and Applejack thought about this, and they conceded that it was a good idea, as well as a fair one. Like Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle did not gossip, and they could be trusted to keep secrets. Bronze Star had no reservations about telling them.
Now he just needed to decide how and when to tell the fillies the news. Applejack proposed telling the Apple family first, whereas Rainbow Dash suggested telling the Cutie Mark Crusaders first. Ultimately, Bronze Star decided it would be best if they told the Apple family and the Crusaders at the same time. Ideally, they could bring the other Crusaders over to Sweet Apple Acres for one night, and then he would apprise them all at once. This was acceptable for both Applejack and Rainbow Dash.
Soon after, Bronze Star then realized that the Apples and the Crusaders were not the only ones who needed to know his true identity. At some point, he would also have to tell Copper Hollow who he really was. After all, Noble Edict had been permitted to bring along a friend to the Grand Galloping Gala, and apparently she had already chosen her head deputy. As such, the copper stallion would be attending the Gala now, and he would inevitably see Bronze Star there, as the gold stallion would be in his Alicorn form then. Bronze Star was certain it would not be wise to wait until then to tell Copper Hollow. So he needed to decide when and how to give away his identity to Ponyville's deputy chief of security.
Altogether, there were six people who needed to be made of aware of Bronze Star's identity soon. He figured that would be a good start. He knew that there would come a time when everypony in Ponyville would have to know his actual name, but he was hoping that that would not be for a long time. He had gotten used to civilian life, and he knew it would not be possible to hold on to that lifestyle if everypony in town discovered that their ambassador was actually a member of the Canterlot Royalty.
After this, Bronze Star, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash chatted about various other subjects, such as their plans for the rest of the day and certain interesting things they had encountered during the Running of the Leaves. Naturally, Bronze Star did not tell the mares about the two incidents that he had taken place earlier. But as a precaution, he wanted to be ready in case another such incident occurred. So he remained on his guard and continued looking up every now and then.
Luckily, the three ponies did not encounter anypony as they travelled along the path. They pretty much had all of Whitetail Woods to themselves for the duration of their run. There were nothing but trees and leaves as far as they could see. Bronze Star continued to be very mindful of their surroundings. However, as more and more trees were cleared, he realized that there were fewer and fewer possible hiding spots for anypony who did not wish to go unnoticed in the Woods.
By two o'clock in the afternoon, Bronze Star, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash had been through the entirety of Whitetail Woods, and they had managed to clear out every single tree. At least, that was what they assumed.
They finally decided to head back home. On their way back to Ponyville, they looked around at the trees, and all of them seemed to be vacant of leaves. However, when the three ponies were just a few hundred feet away from the exit at the northwestern corner of the Woods, they came across one tree that was still partly covered. Interestingly, this tree just had one huge bunch of leaves clustered together on one very large branch.
All three of them were confused by this sight.
"HI could have sworn we cleared this section out," Rainbow Dash muttered in perplexity.
"We must have overlooked one," Applejack hypothesized.
"Let's not worry," Bronze Star advised, "This can be fixed easily."
"I'll take care of it," Applejack declared.
The orange mare briskly trotted over to the covered tree and turned her back to it. After aligning herself with it, she looked over her shoulder to ensure that she was positioned in front of it properly. Then she raised her hind legs and gave the tree a nice firm buck. Almost immediately, the leaves came tumbling off the branch. But that was not all that dropped to the ground.
A huge, unidentifiable mass had been hidden underneath the leaves. The moment they fell off, the mass descended with them. Bronze Star, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash did not even notice the mass until it landed on the ground and burst out of the leaf pile. Its sudden appearance took all three of them completely by surprise.
The mass turned out to be another figure. Like the two figures from before, this one appeared to be male, based on the physique, and he was dressed in a jumpsuit that covered his whole body. However, this figure had two things the others did not: a horn on his forehead and a sheathed dagger on his belt.
Once the figure came face-to-face with the other three ponies, he brandished his weapon and charged towards them. Bronze Star reacted immediately. First he pushed Applejack and Rainbow Dash off the path so they were out of harm's way, then he removed his hat and placed it on the ground, and then he focused on the figure.
When the mysterious assailant reached Bronze Star, the young prince lowered his head and thrust his weight against the figure. In effect, the masked stallion was knocked back a few feet. Bronze Star then lunged towards him, seized him by the shoulders, and forced him onto the ground.
As he held the figure down with one front hoof, Bronze Star turned his attention to the attacker's weapon. He was not armed himself; he only brought his weapons outside the embassy when he was training. Fortunately, he had been trained to disarm opponents in combat. He grabbed ahold of the stallion's front hoof and squeezed the sides of the hoof as hard as he could. The stallion soon starting loosening his grip on the hilt of his dagger.
Just when it looked as though the figure was going to drop his dagger, he kicked Bronze Star in the side with one of his back hooves. The gold stallion was momentarily distracted by that action, and the figure took advantage of that by shoving Bronze Star off him. The gold stallion stumbled backwards and trembled, but he managed to remain on all four hooves. Soon the figure was, too. He raised his knife and viciously waved it at the young prince. Bronze Star managed to just barely dodge the blows.
Up until now, Applejack and Rainbow Dash had just been watching this conflict in shock. But when Applejack saw her coltfriend being attacked with a dagger, she felt a rush of anger growing inside of them. While the figure was trying to attack Bronze Star, Applejack rushed towards him, spun herself around, and gave him a swift kick with her back legs.
She struck the figure so hard that he broke off his attack. She managed to produce a groan out of him and he staggered unsteadily off to the side. Applejack grunted in satisfaction and furiously shouted "Get away from him, you bastard!"
A moment later, the figure regained his coordination and divided his attention between Bronze Star and Applejack. He speedily and proficiently waved his dagger at both of them at the same time. They just barely managed to avoid his attacks. Even with two of them and one of him, the figure was almost too quick for them to counter.
At one point, the figure managed to spot an opening in the two ponies' movements. He dove between them and used his free front hoof to deliver an uppercut onto Bronze Star's chin. The blow was powerful enough to cause the gold stallion to fall backwards and put him out of commission for a few seconds.
The figure then turned to Applejack and moved in on her next. She was able to avoid his knife attacks by focusing solely on his front legs. The figure noticed she was paying no attention to his lower body, and he took advantage of that by slipping one of his hind legs behind hers, causing her to trip and land flat on her back.
The attacker stood above the orange mare and raised his dagger high into the air. Bronze Star had regained his bearings by then, and he stared in horror at the sight. He got onto his hooves and hurried to save Applejack, but Rainbow Dash beat him to it.
It was right then that the cyan mare finally entered the skirmish. She picked up a large branch off the ground, gripped it tightly in her mouth, snuck up on the assailant, and struck him with it before he could attack Applejack again. She hit him so hard that the branch broke against his back.
The figure groaned in pain and toppled over. Rainbow Dash spat out the branch and shouted "Leave her alone, scumbag! Hurt my friends, and you're a dead stallion!"
Bronze Star went over to Applejack and helped her off the ground. Luckily, neither of them were injured. Rainbow Dash remained focused on the figure. At this moment, he was lying totally still on the ground. He was not moving in any way. It appeared as though either Rainbow had incapacitated him, or she had meant what she just said.
She decided to approach the figure to get a closer look. Bronze Star urged her to be careful, but the cyan mare had to sure that she had not killed the assailant. She was concerned that she actually did.
When she got close enough, she realized she had not done so. Without warning, the figure jumped to his hooves and slashed at Rainbow Dash with his knife. This time, he actually drew blood; the tip of his knife cut into Rainbow Dash's cheek as he hacked at her. He ended up leaving a shallow three-inch-long gash on her face. In response, Rainbow Dash shrieked in pain and held her hoof against the side of her face. Immediately after that, the figure waved his dagger at her in a lower position. This time, he managed to cut her midsection, leaving an even longer and slightly deeper gash.
The figure prepared to attack her again, but Bronze Star came to the cyan mare's aid. By moving quickly, he managed to swipe the knife out of assailant's hoof in mid-swing, effectively disarming his opponent and arming himself at the same time.
Despite having lost his advantage, the assailant did not seem least bit worried. If anything, he seemed more determined than ever to win this deadly scuffle. He gazed at Bronze Star and wordlessly dared for the gold stallion to come at him. For a moment, it looked as though Bronze Star was actually going to use the dagger against the mysterious Unicorn. But he did not. Instead, he did something completely unexpected. He turned to a nearby tree and flung the dagger towards it. The blade pierced through the bark and became wedged in the wood.
Applejack and Rainbow Dash were greatly confused by that action. So was the assailant. Bronze Star actually had a good reason for doing what he just did; he wanted to keep the dagger out of the picture. That way, nopony there was armed with anything but their own hooves.
Bronze Star glared at the masked Unicorn and told him "I don't need a knife to overpower you. If you knew who I really was, you'd know that I could have killed you by now. The only reason you're not dead is because I need information."
The figure raised an eyebrow and uttered "Oh?"
Bronze Star nodded his head and sternly demanded "Who are you and why are you out here? And why did you attack us? What do you expect to gain out of that? I want answers, and I want them now!"
A very long, very tense interval of silence followed that. Bronze Star, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash watched the figure closely; he gazed between them, as if he was contemplating a strategy for taking them out. But ultimately, he just looked to Bronze Star and started chuckling. The gold stallion was taken aback by that. The figure continued laughing for almost half a minute, and then he uttered ominously "You'll get your answers."
Then he abruptly produced a bright burst of light with his horn. It was so bright that Bronze Star, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash were blinded for a few seconds. When the light subsided, the Unicorn was gone. However, they soon realized where he went when they heard the same chuckling coming from behind them.
They swiftly turned around and saw the Unicorn standing at the tree that held the dagger. He calmly took ahold of the hilt of his dagger, yanked the weapon out of the tree, and returned it to its sheath. Then he looked up at the three young ponies and mockingly told them "Farewell."
After that, he created another bright burst of light with his horn. When it dissipated, the figure had vanished again. This time, he had disappeared from the scene altogether; he was nowhere in sight. Applejack thought about looking around the area for him, but Bronze Star already knew he was gone. He bade the mares "Don't waste your time. We're not going to find him. We've got more important things to worry about."
He was referring to Rainbow Dash. The cyan mare was bleeding pretty badly from when the figure slashed at her. Her wounds were not fatal, but they still needed medical attention.
Applejack trotted over to Rainbow Dash and gave her a helping hoof. As she aided the weather maker, the farmer said gratefully "Hey, Rainbow… thanks. You really saved me back there."
Rainbow Dash just gazed at her friend out of the corner of her eye and smirked softly. She muttered weakly yet cheekily "Well, it's the least I could do after what happened yesterday."
Applejack smiled back, nodding lightly.
By now, Bronze Star had picked his hat up off the ground and examined its inside. To his relief, the spyglass and the piece of cloth were still underneath it. He carefully placed his hat back on his head. After that, he trotted over to the tree that he had thrown the knife at, and he examined it closely.
Applejack looked over at her coltfriend and requested "Bronze, could you give me a hoof with her?"
"Just a moment," the gold stallion assured her.
By methodically studying the tree, Bronze Star managed to find the exact spot where the dagger had sunk into the bark. There he spotted a very small sliver of metal. It must have been a remnant of the dagger. Despite how tiny it was, it was large enough to constitute another clue. With some difficulty, Bronze Star managed to extract the sliver of metal out of the tree bark with his front hoof. Then he slipped it under his hat with the spyglass and the piece of cloth. After that, Bronze Star trotted back over to the two mares. He stood on the other side of Rainbow Dash and brought her other front leg around his shoulders. Working together, he and Applejack escorted their wounded friend down the path.
Soon, the three ponies were out of Whitetail Woods. But they were not out of danger. Not by a longshot. Of that, Bronze Star was certain.