//------------------------------//
// Part 1 
// Story: Leaves of Love 
// by Underdogg 
//------------------------------//



Leaves of Love
Collapsed on the floor of your home again after a hard day of training, you reflect on how far you actually ran. The pungent smell of sweat was not an appropriate way to greet the Wonderbolts, who were coming tomorrow to give you a pep talk. A hot shower was in order.
You have been an honorary Wonderbolt for 3 years now. You have been close friends with all of them even before you joined, and now, just like you used to dream when you were little, you are soaring through the crisp, clean equestrian air with the only ponies in the world that you care to be with.
A big event was coming up soon, the Running of the Leaves. Undoubtedly the toughest and most brutal competition of all. Pegasi don’t usually take part in these sort of events, especially the Wonderbolts. But you had a special talent that no other Wonderbolt had. You could run. You could run for long distances and had the endurance that of a professional earth pony runner.
Tomorrow was the first time you would be putting this talent of yours to the test.
                                *        *        *        *        *        *
“Alright everypony! Welcome to the annual running of the leaves! I am your eye in the sky Pinkie Pie, and my faithful assistant Spike!”
“Yes, hello everyone its great to see so many fans here today supporting the esteemed Ponyville athletes.”
“He’s right there are a load of ponies here!”, you here somepony say. You turn around and see a bright rainbow coloured pony. She looks out at the stands, as if looking for somepony. You ease away without a response, but she pipes up. “So what’s your name, stranger?”
“Silverbolt” you murmur, still taken back by her mane colours.
She jolts back a little bit after hearing this. She turn to you with wide open eyes. Her wings unfurl.
“You.... you don’t mean.... THE Silverbolt?!” she almost explodes.
“Sure.” you reply, smiling now at the prospect of having fans.
“Ohmygosh omygosh omygosh! You look totally different without the goggles and makeup!” This time other ponies began to notice what all the commotion was. Some heads turned to you and you shyly smile at them. Then somepony says, “Hey look it’s a Wonderbolt!” As the hoards of runners rush over to meet you, the rainbow pony grabs hold of you and flies upwards, overlooking the crowd.
“Hey look Spike, Rainbow Dash caught a Wonderbolt!” The crowd giggles. You are beside yourself.
“Hey! What are you doing? Put me down” You yell up at her.
“Calm down, would ya? I’m saving you from those people down there”, she mockingly replies.
“I have to get ready! The race starts in like 10 minutes!”
“Ok, but first there’s someone I want you to meet.” She slowly flies towards the starting line. Anything for a fan I suppose, you think to yourself. How hard could it be? Introduce yourself, and leave to go prepare youself. Besides, she probably isn’t that interes-.
Your thoughts were cut short. As she descended onto the ground, what lay before you, you couldn’t believe. The most beautiful mare you had ever seen was stretching at the starting gate. She had a rich, blond mane, and the most gorgeous green eyes you could ever imagine. You started to sweat as Rainbow Dash flew close to her. Your hooves hit the ground with a thud, and you were standing directly in front of her flanks. You look up at Rainbow Dash who had a broad smile.
“Hey AJ!” she booms.
“What, is it Rainbow?” She had a thick southern accent, which further added to her charm. She looks behind and stares directly at you. You avert you eyes and feel the heat going to your face.
“I’d like you to meet my new favourite pony! Silverbolt” Rainbow Dash settles on the ground next to you.
“Well, sure is a pleasure to meet ya, mister!” She holds out a hoof. You take it in your hand and savour her touch. “Rainbow Dash here is a big fan of the Wonderbolts, aren’t you, “Miss I-have-lots-of-pictures-of-Silverbolt”. You turn to her. She looks away, going bright red.
“AJ!! not in front of him!”  she mumbles through gritted teeth. You laugh it off, along with the blond mare.
You summon up your courage. “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name?” In an instant she replies “Miss Applejack, but you can call me AJ!” She tips her hat.
“Alright everypony! Time to take your marks!”
OH NO! Where did the time go! You have to scrap the stretching and just go for it. You make your way up to the starting gate. “Hey, good luck out there” Applejack says. “And, remember, NO WINGS!” She chuckles. “Alright, I’ll remember that one” you flash a smile.
The whole crowd goes quiet.
“SET!!”
… your body begins to tense up, and your eyelids close slightly.
“GO!!”
You bolt out of the starting gate and nearly tumble over. You gather your balance and power your legs as fast as they can move, leaving a silver streak behind you. Your teeth are clenched and your head is down. Dodging ever root in the ground, and jumping over every fallen log. You turn around. You are miles in front of the main group of people.
However, you can just about see somepony coming over the hill behind you. No, two ponies.
You pick up speed a little bit more, sweat now starting to pour down your muzzle. You turn aound and again, see two ponies, also picking up speed. Out of curiosity of who could be pacing with you, you slow down a little bit.
Before you start pacing it again, you can just about make out, it’s the Rainbow one again. But the other pony with her is the beautiful blond one you met moments ago. You breathe a sigh of relief and slow down a bit to meet them.
“You two are doing great!” you smile.
“We thought.. (huff) .. (huff) ... we could run.... (huff).. with you..” Applejack says. You become mesmerised at her heavy panting, and your mind drifts a bit. She wants to run with me?
“After all... (huff)... you’re like... (huff)... the hottest stallion in equestria!... (huff)” This time Rainbow Dash says that. You couldn’t tell if AJ agreed with that or not. But either way, it was a compliment that made you go bright red.
“Well, I hope you two can keep up!” you say tauntingly.
“Don’t worry about that sugarcube,” AJ says. We just need a pacer, as all.
“And a good view” Dash says again. You hear AJ tell her to hush, and she looks back at you, with those big green eyes you could stare into for hours. She bows her head again and picks up speed again, leaving Rainbow Dash gaping at you with flushed cheeks. Applejack comes in on the inside, about to overtake you. You crack out all strength you have and rocket away, leaving her and a silver streak behind you. You catch a glimpse of her mouth agape and this new found speed from a pegasus, just using his legs. You keep running, but Applejack and Rainbow Dash, aren’t that easy to leave behind. These two mares are stubborn. For the next few miles, AJ is right on your tail, followed closely by Rainbow Dash, who was trying to get overtake her.
After a while you start to hear both of them seriously wheezing. You look behind. Applejack is in a lot of pain, and so is Dash. You start to worry.
“You guys...(huff)... alright?” No reply came for a while.
“Yea, don’t worry ‘bout us..” Applejack replies. You run again for a while, and you are too beginning to feel incredibly tired. The stretching you didn’t do earlier is now taking its full toll on your body, and everywhere hurts. You look behind you again and this time, you don’t see anyone. You immediately come to a complete stop. What happened? I saw those two close behind me. You think for a minute. You must be so far ahead of everypony else. You turn around and start to run back.  Just around the corner, you see Applejack, laying on the ground, covered in dirt and panting. Dash is sitting at her side.
“OH! It’s you, thank Celestia! AJ here just passed out!” You look at her. She is wheezing heavily, and it looks like she definitely won’t be finishing the race. Without a moment’s hesitation you lift her up. She is quite muscly and quite heavy, but it’s nothing you can’t handle. You put her up so that she lays across your back and shoulders. You then start to trot a little bit.
“What... what are you doing?” She looks in disbelief.
“I’m gonna make sure she finishes this.” You reply.
Rainbow Dash trots along side you, still in absolute disbelief.
“Hello everypony, it’s Pinkie Pie, your one and only eye in the sky! I’m here with my faithful  co-commentator Spike.”
“That’s right folks, and the leading ponies are just about to break away from the forest into the final stretch of the race! Wait.. is that... somepony has been hurt?”
You, Dash, and Applejack on your back all make your way into the clearing at the same time. At this point, your legs are about to give in, and Dash is looking very pale.

“Unbelievable! It seems that Silverbolt, a highly regarded Wonderbolt has been carrying a passed out Applejack through the forest!”
“I have never seen anything like this! And the fact that Dash doesn’t make a break for it now is mindblowing!”
You come over the hill, and everypony suddenly roars with cheers. You still struggle forward, with AJ on your back, and Dash trying to give you encouragement over the immense noise of the pony’s cheering.
You come up to the finish line, and the two judges are standing at the finish, giving you quizzical looks. You and Dash walk up to them, and you can just about make out the line. You go over to it, and stop. Looking straight down at the ground, Dash looking at you like you’re insane. What you did next assured her feelings.
You set Applejack on the ground and push her over the line with your muzzle.
“You win, AJ”, you whisper.
Dash then looks straight into your eyes, with a look of pure astonishment.
End of Part 1