• Published 28th May 2016
  • 7,629 Views, 619 Comments

Hùndùn - LoZLttP13



A powerful young Sorceress, her faithful apprentice, and her five new friends are tasked with preventing the return of the all-powerful God of Chaos.

  • ...
30
 619
 7,629

I-XXIV. The Running of the Leaves

Rainbow Dash was hanging by her legs from a tree branch, doing sit-ups on it as Scootaloo observed her a half-meter away. Rainbow was preparing for her athletic competition with Applejack, which would begin at noon that day, by doing some warm-up exercises. She was wearing a black, hot pink-edged sports bikini, which made watching her warm up a delight and treat for Scootaloo.

The five events that Applejack had chosen for their competition were arm-wrestling, full-body wrestling, High Striking, weight lifting, and bronco riding. Rainbow highly doubted that she'd be able to win more than a couple of these brute strength-based contests, and so she had chosen another skill set to base her own contest picks around: endurance and dexterity, which Rainbow had no doubt she had in spades more than Applejack. Thus, the events Rainbow chose were: kick-boxing, obstacle course running, archery, spear-throwing, and because she was feeling cocky, horseshoe-throwing.

Once Rainbow had reached the hundred mark, she allowed herself to drop and turned in the air gracefully to land on her feet. She then exhaled sharply, stretched her arms, and executed a couple of backflips against the tree.

"No way Applejack's gonna be able to beat you, Dash!" Scootaloo then cried, grinning at her in awe.

Rainbow folded her arms and smirked at her. "You're damn right," she replied. She ruffled Scootaloo's hair, then said, "Come on, Squirt; let's get some milk at the Sugar Shack."

Beaming, Scootaloo walked with Rainbow to the town square. Once they entered the Cakes' bakery, Pinkie Pie, who had been talking to Bon-Bon, turned to them and lit up as she cried, "Oh! Hi, Dashie! Hi, Scootaloo!"

"Yo, Pinkie," Rainbow replied. She and Scootaloo both sat on bar stools before the counter as she asked, "What's up?"

"It's going well," Pinkie replied. "What can I get you two?"

Rainbow held up two fingers. "Two milks on the rocks, please," she said. "And a plate of poppy seed muffins, if you don't mind."

Pinkie winked. "Coming up!" she said before turning and walking to the back of the shop. She retrieved some milk and ice cubes from the shop's glass icebox, poured them into tall drinking-glasses, then placed a blue cocktail umbrella and a purple straw in one of the glasses before placing them in front of Rainbow and Scootaloo. As Scootaloo took the glass with the straw and umbrella and Rainbow took the other one, Pinkie went into the shop's kitchen and retrieved a plate of poppy seed muffins before placing it before them, as well.

As Pinkie moved around the shop, Scootaloo took advantage of the opportunity to gaze at her long, lightly tanned legs, which were shown off nicely by her faded blue denim short shorts. Aside from Rainbow, of course, Pinkie was the most frequent subject of Scootaloo's erotic fantasies of any of her friends or acquaintances. She wasn't the prettiest girl Scootaloo knew, of course; that title easily went to Fluttershy. However, Pinkie's energetic, childlike personality was extremely appealing to Scootaloo, and Pinkie was also quite sexy in her own right. In addition, she was openly bisexual (or pansexual, more likely) but still rather naive, which caused Scootaloo to speculate that she might be easy to seduce. Scootaloo also liked to imagine that Pinkie would be into a lot of weird things, such as being covered in chocolate and whipped cream and having them slowly licked off of her nude body.

Scootaloo sighed wistfully as she sipped her milk through her straw. How frustrating it is, she thought, to be a sexually awakened nine-year-old. Most of the other girls her age didn't know much about sexuality yet, and most women and teenaged girls would almost certainly refuse her advances due to her being a child. She didn't want to risk getting in trouble or being shunned for her sexuality, either, and so as a result Scootaloo waited anxiously like a spider, watching carefully for any sign of returned interest in another girl that she could immediately pounce on, all the while occasionally dropping hints to her friends of her more impure intentions to potentially hurry the process along.

While Scootaloo and Rainbow were drinking their milk and eating their muffins, Pinkie refilled their glasses and chatted with them. It was quite relaxing for all three of them, which satisfied Rainbow quite well; relaxation was exactly what she had wanted from coming here. That way, she'd be in top form when when she went up against Applejack that noon.

Once the muffins were gone, Rainbow looked up at the clock. It was about eleven fifteen. She stretched, grunted, finished off her milk, then stood up and said, "Come on, Scoots. Let's head to the park."

Pinkie gasped and bounced in place. "Ooh! Ooh! Are you going to your athletic competition with Applejack, Dashie?!" she cried excitedly.

Rainbow smiled and nodded. "Yeah," she said.

"Can I watch you?" Pinkie said, gazing at her hopefully.

"Sure, why not?" Rainbow said, shrugging.

Pinkie squealed. "Ooh, this is so exciting!" she cried. She pumped her fist in the air as she added, "I'll be cheering for you the whole time, Dashie!"

Rainbow's smile widened. She didn't know why, but she felt enormously honored that Pinkie would be rooting for her.

However, something occurred to Rainbow. Why is that? she thought. I mean, Pinkie cares about all of her friends. Maybe it's just that she's closer to me than to Applejack? But that still doesn't explain why she seems to like me more....

Rainbow looked at Pinkie, who was cheerfully humming as she cleaned the countertop with a damp rag. Rainbow contemplated this question as she gazed at Pinkie, wondering what it could mean. Perhaps... perhaps Pinkie had some... feelings for her...?

At the thought, Rainbow snorted. Yeah, right, she thought to herself. There's no way in the seven Hells that Pinkie likes me that way.

Rainbow exited the shop with Scootaloo as Pinkie called after them, "My shift's over in half an hour; I'll see you then!"

She's a nice, good girl, and I'm a whore.

Rainbow's heart sank with familiar guilt, and her smile faded. She cast her morose gaze down to the cobbled road moving beneath her feet as she walked. It's a good thing Pinkie isn't in love with me, she thought. After all, if she were, it would end disastrously for everyone.

Rainbow had never known her mother. When she had asked her father about her, Rainbow Blaze had told her only that they got divorced when Rainbow Dash was only a few months old. He told Rainbow Dash that their divorce had been extremely nasty, and that the both of them fought long and hard over custody of their infant daughter, which Rainbow Blaze had ultimately won. When Rainbow Dash asked what they had gotten divorced over, her father had replied that it was over a disagreement regarding the nature of their marriage; more specifically, weather or not it could be an open one. Rainbow Dash's father continued to have sexual relationships with other women after he had married Rainbow's mother, which her mother was convinced made him an unfaithful bastard. Rainbow Blaze had thought that her anger was irrational, and argued that he wasn't any less devoted to her and didn't love her any less just because he still wanted his freedom. However, when Rainbow Dash asked him to tell her more, he didn't seem to want to elaborate upon it any further; he already seemed quite distressed over what he had told her, and he seemed to grow more and more deeply sorrowful the longer he delved into it, so Rainbow Dash had stopped asking him about it.

However, Rainbow Dash was able to learn a handful of other things about her mother; Rainbow Blaze seemed to still genuinely be in love with her, even after all of the struggle and pain she had put him through. It was clear to Rainbow Dash, however, that her father's affection for her mother was mixed with intense anger and resentment toward her for trying to permanently take their daughter away from him. Rainbow Dash personally sided with her father, and privately concluded that her mother was in the wrong; she was just a stupid, insecure, petty bitch, Rainbow Dash thought. It wasn't like Rainbow Blaze had been abusing either of them or anything. Besides, she had wanted a divorce and full custody of their daughter because of her jealously, which Rainbow Dash thought to be idiotic and cruel to the point of being unforgivable.

Her dad was right, Rainbow Dash thought. Beings were naturally predisposed to be non-monogamous, after all. Rainbow Blaze wasn't being hypocritical, either; it was clear that he wouldn't have minded if his ex-wife had wanted to sleep with other men, as well. Maybe if she'd tried it, Rainbow Dash reasoned, she'd have been a bit more sympathetic to him; after all, Rainbow Dash had juggled simultaneous sexual relationships with her own friends, and none of them made any of the others less attractive to her or damaged any of their friendships.

Well, I'm not friends with Lightning Dust or Gilda anymore, thought Rainbow Dash.

She shook her head. Yeah, but that's not because I was fucking them; it's 'cause they were all traitorous cunts.

Tears welled in Rainbow's eyes, but she held them back.

At any rate, she had learned that it was best to stay away from girls who wanted serious and exclusive relationships. Pinkie might have been bisexual, but that didn't mean she was as promiscuous as Rainbow was; Rainbow was willing to bet that Pinkie would have expected Rainbow to be faithful to her if they got together.

Rainbow scoffed. Yeah, that's not gonna happen, she thought. Life's too short to stay in one spot. You've gotta taste a little of everything, you know?

Besides, Rainbow thought, I'm just gonna break the heart of any girl that falls in love with me.

"Uh, Dash?" Scootaloo said, looking concernedly up at her.

"Huh?" Rainbow said, shaking her head as she was suddenly yanked out of her depressive musings, before looking down at Scootaloo.

"Are you alright?" Scootaloo said, gazing back up at her with slight worry.

Rainbow took a deep breath. "Yeah," she said, her trademark smirk returning. "I'm just trying to get focused, ya know?"

Scootaloo grinned. "Yeah!" she shouted enthusiastically. "You're gonna whoop Applejack's ass, Dash!"

Rainbow nodded, then took another breath. I need to clear my head, she thought. Once this competition's over, I'm gonna hit the clubs, have some drinks, and find a nice ass to bury my face in.

Upon that pleasant, distracting thought, Rainbow returned her mind to the task at hand: beat Applejack, bathe in the praise and adoration of her friends, and prove conclusively that she, Rainbow Dash, was the greatest athlete in all of Avalon.

In a few minutes, Rainbow and Scootaloo arrived at Avalon's public park, where all of their friends (except Pinkie, Rarity, and Sweetie Belle) were already waiting for them. Upon their arrival, Spike turned to them and cheerfully greeted them, "Oh! Hey, Dash! Hey, Scoots!"

"Yo, Spike," Rainbow replied, stepping up to him and giving him a fist bump. She then turned to Applejack and smirkingly said, "What's up, AJ? You ready to get spanked?"

"Ready if you are," Applejack answered, smirking back.

Twilight interjected, "At about eleven forty-five, Rarity and Pinkie are going to come, and then we should be ready to start. If you two don't mind, I am going to act as the referee for your competitions, and Fluttershy is going to act as the scorekeeper."

Applejack nodded. "Sounds good to me," she said.

Rainbow placed her hands on the back of her head. "Just so long as you don't let your uncontrollable attraction to me get in the way of your judgement, Twi," she said with a flirtatious smirk.

Twilight rolled her eyes, then flatly replied, "I can assure you, I will be objective, Rainbow."

Rainbow snickered, then began doing stretches.

Spike and the girls all idly conversed with each other for twenty minutes, then Pinkie, Rarity, and Sweetie Belle arrived. Twilight then gave Applejack and Rainbow Dash ten minutes to prepare, during which they stretched, drank some sports drinks, and received encouragement from their friends.

At noon, Twilight said, "Alright; let the athletic competition between Rainbow Dash and Applejack formally begin. Contestants, please shake hands."

Smirking, Rainbow offered her hand to Applejack, which Applejack took. After they made a few firm shakes, Twilight said to them, "I want a clean contest from everyone. Any cheating will disqualify you from a round and automatically lose you a point, and I will know cheating when I see it. So just play fair.

"This competition will consist of ten events, chosen by the contestants. A victory in an event will result in the winner being awarded a point; the contestant with the most points will be declared the champion of this competition. We will alternate between the contestant's picks, beginning with Applejack. The first event will be arm-wrestling."

Twilight pointed at the ground, saying, "Contestants, please lie on your bellies, facing each other."

Gazing fiercely at each other, Rainbow Dash and Applejack laid facedown upon the ground, facing each other.

"Now join your right hands, and place your elbows on the ground," Twilight commanded them.

Applejack and Rainbow obeyed; they clasped hands, resting their elbows on the ground beneath them.

"On my mark, you will both begin attempting to force your opponent's hand to the ground. The first contestant to do so will be declared the winner. If you lift your elbow from the ground, you will be disqualified. On your marks."

Rainbow and Applejack tensed their arms up.

"Get set."

Rainbow licked her lips, and Applejack blew a stray hair out of her face.

"GO!!"

Rainbow and Applejack immediately grunted as they began straining against their opponents' strength. Pinkie and Scootaloo began chanting encouragement to Rainbow; Pinkie cried, "Come on, Dashie! You can do this!" while Scootaloo urged Rainbow, "Come on, Dash! Come on! Just a little more!"

At the same time, Apple Bloom cried, "Come on, sis! You can beat her!"

The girls strained at each other for over half a minute, and both of them began trembling with exertion. Rainbow slowly began inching Applejack's hand to the earth; however, with a mighty grunt, Applejack suddenly forced it back into the air. Then, with a powerful roar, she suddenly pushed against Rainbow's hand with a surge of hidden strength, forcing it almost immediately to the ground.

Apple Bloom began cheering, and Applejack pantingly grinned as Pinkie and Scootaloo both groaned in disappointment. Twilight, Rarity, Sweetie Belle, and Spike all politely applauded, then Twilight said to Fluttershy, "Point: Applejack."

Fluttershy nodded, then balled both of her hands in fists. She lifted the index finger of her left hand, signaling that Applejack was awarded one point.

"The next event is kickboxing," Twilight said as Rainbow and Applejack stood and dusted themselves off. "We don't want to get too rough, so you're not going to be fighting to knock-out. Instead, the first contestant to floor her opponent will be considered the victor. Only strikes are allowed; no one may grapple or grab. We have wrestling for that."

Rainbow and Applejack both assumed combat stances. After a few moments of silence, Twilight said, "On your marks... get set... GO!!"

Rainbow immediately struck at Applejack, which Applejack failed to block; she received a palm in her chest, which caused her to grunt as the wind was knocked out of her. Rainbow then leapt up and kicked at her face, but Applejack was prepared this time; she successfully blocked Rainbow by shielding her face with her arms, after which Rainbow delivered a quick flurry of punches at her.

It was clear that Rainbow was the more skilled fighter; no doubt about that. However, her strikes seemed to have little effect on Applejack, as she seemed to absorb the punishment like a sponge. After a few seconds of defending herself, however, she suddenly swung her fist at Rainbow, catching her in the jaw. For the moment that Rainbow was stunned by the blow, Applejack swung a roundhouse kick at her, sending her sprawling to the ground.

"Point: Applejack!" Twilight cried, and Fluttershy lifted her left hand's second finger as Apple Bloom cheered and Pinkie and Scootaloo groaned again.

Rainbow's head was lightly ringing, and it took a few moments for her to get her orientation back. When the world stopped spinning around her, however, she looked up to see Applejack, standing over her with a concerned expression. "You alright, Sugar?" she said.

Rainbow smirked and nodded. "Y-yeah," she said.

"Did I hurt ya?" Applejack said.

Rainbow shook her head. "Nah," she replied. "I'm just a little bruised, is all."

Smiling relievedly, Applejack offered Rainbow her hand, which Rainbow took. Once they were both standing again, Twilight said, "Let's have a short break, then we'll move on to wrestling."

Applejack and Rainbow took some time to sit, recover, and breathe, then Twilight said to them, "Next is wrestling. With this one, you may only use grappling techniques. However, you may not grab anything on your opponent's head or face. The first one to pin her opponent to the ground receives a win, and the first one to receive three wins will be declared the ultimate victor and be awarded one of the points. Please kneel before each other."

Rainbow and Applejack obeyed, kneeling down and facing each other from only a few centimeters away.

"With your left hand, take the lapel of your opponent's collar; with your right, take hold of your opponent's left arm," Twilight continued.

Applejack and Rainbow did so.

"On my mark, you may begin," Twilight said. "On your marks... get set... GO!!"

To Applejack's surprise, Rainbow flashed a self-assured smirk at her. Before she could react, however, Rainbow suddenly twisted her own body and pulled Applejack downward, bringing her to the ground.

"Waaah-!" Applejack yelped as she did this, but she was suddenly silenced as Rainbow put her in a complex, powerful headlock, which she was utterly unable to escape from.

"One... two... three!" Twilight cried before saying, "Win goes to Rainbow!"

Rainbow released Applejack, and Applejack massaged her neck for a moment while gazing astonishedly at Rainbow, who was folding her arms and gazing smugly back at her.

"Please kneel before each other again," Twilight said, to which Applejack nodded. Frowning and narrowing her eyes fiercely, she took Rainbow's lapel and arm in each of her hands again, and Rainbow did the same.

"On your marks... get set... GO!!" Twilight shouted.

Applejack tried to get the drop on Rainbow Dash this time by attempting to push her forward, but Rainbow simply relaxed a little, surprising Applejack by causing her to throw herself to the ground without anything to support her weight. Rainbow then knelt over her and put her in a full nelson, which again was so strong and secure that Applejack struggled to escape it in vain.

"One... two... three!" Twilight shouted. "Win goes to Rainbow!"

Rainbow released Applejack again, and Applejack gaped at her, saying, "How'd ya'll learn to wrestle so good...?"

Rainbow pointed her thumb at her own chest, saying, "Lower intermediate kung fu master, remember? If you think I'm hard, you should try going against my dad."

"Rainbow now has two wins," Twilight said, to which Pinkie and Scootaloo loudly cheered. "Please kneel before each other once again."

Applejack took a few deep, wavering breaths, then knelt before Rainbow and took her lapel and arm again as Twilight said, "This next round could be a match point. On your marks... get set... GO!!"

Applejack tried pulling Rainbow this time, but Rainbow didn't budge; somehow, no matter what Applejack tried, Rainbow was always able to react by positioning her legs so that she was as immovable as a rock. Rainbow smirked with amusement as Applejack tried in vain to unearth her for about half a minute, then snickered, "Alright, this is just getting sad now."

Rainbow then suddenly fell backwards, causing Applejack to loose her grip on her. Rainbow then wrapped her legs around Applejack's neck and backflipped, throwing a screaming Applejack over her head and causing her to hit the ground hard against her back. Rainbow then laid back and grabbed Applejack's wrists, preventing her from moving as she pinned her body beneath her own.

"One... two... three!" Twilight shouted. "Win goes to Rainbow, giving her three wins and making her the victor of this event! A competition point goes to Rainbow!"

Pinkie and Scootaloo cheered victoriously as Fluttershy softly smiled and lifted the index finger of her right hand. Rainbow got off of Applejack, smirking as she remarked, "You might've had a chance if we were both naked and oiled down; I would've let it go longer, then."

Applejack responded with a low, angry growl.

The next few events went quite predictably; Rainbow won the obstacle course, archery, and spear-throwing contests, while Applejack won the High Strike (by breaking the bell even after Rainbow successfully struck it) and weight lifting. However, when the time came for bronco riding, the results greatly surprised nearly everyone.

Once they were all at the Sweet Apple Acres Ranch, Twilight announced, "Alright, I'm going to be the judge. For all those who don't know the rules, each of the contestants must ride a bronco that will attempt to buck them off. They must remain seated on it for seven seconds, all while holding its reigns with only one hand. Failure to remain seated or grabbing the horse's reigns with more than one hand will result in disqualification. If both successfully accomplish riding the bronco one-handed for seven seconds, the judge must evaluate both of them to conclude who executed it more successfully.

"Applejack, choose the horse. It will be used for both you and Rainbow Dash."

Applejack grinned, then walked towards a large, powerful pinto stallion. She beckoned him over, stoked his head, and said, "Let's use ol' Brownie here. Even Ah have trouble stayin' on him sometimes."

Twilight nodded. "Very well," she said. "Put a bridle on him, then seat yourself on him, please."

Applejack did so; however, once she was on Brownie and had his reigns in one of her hands, Twilight's eyes widened with sudden realization. "Wait- we need a stopwatch!" she cried.

Pinkie held up a silver one. "Will this do?" she said.

The others gazed astonishedly at her. "Where'd ya'll get that...?" Apple Bloom said.

"Oh, I brought it!" Pinkie said, grinning.

"From where?" Spike said.

"From my emergency stopwatch stash!" Pinkie cheerfully replied. "Just in case of the event of any stopwatch emergencies!"

Pinkie's friends continued to stare in shock at her for a moment, then Twilight said, "Alright, then...." as she gently took it from her.

Twilight then turned back to Applejack, and said, "How can you get Brownie to start bucking?"

"Ya'll just have to whoop three times!" Applejack replied with an enormous smile.

Twilight nodded. "Alright," she said. "As soon as you do, I'll start the time."

Applejack took a few deep breaths, then shouted, "Whoop! Whoop! Whoop!"

Brownie began bucking, and Applejack's friends watched, impressed, as she gracefully moved her body in time with it to remain seated. A couple of bucks caused them to worry that she might lose her balance, but she remained seated.

"Time!" Twilight shouted.

"Whoa, boy!" Applejack cried, causing Brownie to immediately come to a halt.

"Good work, Applejack," Twilight said cheerfully as Apple Bloom cheered and the others applauded. Twilight then turned to Rainbow and said, "Now it's your turn."

Applejack slid off of Brownie, allowing Rainbow to climb on. "Whenever you're ready," Twilight signaled, holding the stopwatch up.

A cocky smirk spread over Rainbow's lips. "Whoop! Whoop! Whoop!" she shouted.

Brownie began bucking again, and Rainbow's friends all gasped astonishedly; Rainbow stayed on him with astounding ease, smiling as she moved in time with his bucks in near-perfect grace. Not once in the seven seconds that she was on him were any of the others remotely worried that she might fall off.

"Time!" Twilight shouted.

After Rainbow stopped Brownie and slid off of him, Apple Bloom said, "How in the world...?!"

"Me and my dad have some pegasi up in Asgard," Rainbow said smirkingly. "Earth horses are easy to ride."

"Win goes to Rainbow Dash!" Twilight cried. "That gives her five wins!"

Fluttershy grinned as she held up all five fingers of her right hand.

"Next is horseshoes!" Twilight said. They all moved to the horseshoe stakes, which were only a few meters away from the ranch.

Apple Bloom retrieved four horseshoes from the barn, which she gave to Rainbow and Applejack.

"For those who don't know the rules, each of the contestants may throw two horseshoes from one stake to the other," Twilight said. "One point is awarded if a shoe can be thrown within a shoe's radius away from the stake; two if a shoe can be thrown so that it leans against the stake; and three if the shoe lands over the stake. In the event of a tie, both contestants must throw the shoes again; whoever can gain the most points in a match first will be declared the winner of this event." Twilight then turned to Applejack, saying, "You go first."

Applejack nodded, exhaled sharply, then stepped to the side of the stake nearest to her. She held up a shoe, stared at the opposite stake for a few moments, then tossed the shoe. It landed so that it was leaning against the stake.

"Leaner! Two points!" Apple Bloom cried as Applejack whooped victoriously.

Applejack then picked up her second shoe, gazed at the stake for a few more seconds, then made another sure throw. This one spun at the top of the stake before coming to rest on the other, leaning shoe, so that they were stacked in a triangle shape.

"Ringer! Whoo-wee!" Applejack shouted as Apple Bloom cheered.

"Three more points for Applejack, giving her five in total!" Twilight said. She then turned to Rainbow Dash. "Your turn."

Rainbow gulped, then nodded. She walked to the side of the stake that Applejack had just thrown at, then gazed down the dirt path at the other one. She held up her shoe, and as she steeled herself to throw it, a bead of sweat rolled down her forehead; she knew that if she didn't make this shot, then she would lose the event, and become tied in the competition with Applejack. She was determined to win right here, right now.

Rainbow suddenly threw the shoe, and it spun over the opposite stake before resting at its foot. Applejack and Apple Bloom gaped at her as Scootaloo jumped and cheered, "Yeah! Go, Rainbow Dash! You can do this!"

"Three points to Rainbow Dash," Twilight said. "You have one more throw."

Smirking, Rainbow lifted up the other shoe. She took even longer before she threw this one; when she did, it came in contact with the stake, causing her and all of their friends to catch their breath.

However, it bounced off of the stake and spun off of it, coming to rest a couple of centimeters away.

"Noooo!" Rainbow cried despairingly as she fell to her knees.

"Another point for Rainbow, giving her four in total," Twilight said as Applejack and Apple Bloom embraced and cheered victoriously. "Applejack, with five points, wins this event, giving her and Rainbow each five points in the competition."

Rainbow groaned frustratedly as she bowed to the ground, covering her head with her hands.

"Don't be so despondent, Rainbow Dash Dear," Rarity said kindly. "So you're tied with Applejack. That means you both won! You can both be the best athletes in Avalon, then."

"Yeah, but who's the best?!" Rainbow cried. She stood up, then pointed at Applejack. "Let's have a tie breaking match, AJ!" she shouted.

Applejack folded her arms. "Alright. What event?" she said.

Rainbow pointed at Twilight. "You decide!" she said.

"Al-alright...." Twilight muttered. She looked down and stroked her chin as she thought for a moment, then said, "Well... how about a tug-of-war? After all, it's strength-based, but you also need to have endurance and the ability to position yourself."

Applejack nodded. "Seems fair," she said.

Rainbow agreed, then Twilight said, "Alright. Apple Bloom, please get a rope. Spike, help me make a mud pit, please."

Once they had obtained a rope and made a mud pit, Twilight gave each of the rope's ends to Applejack and Rainbow Dash, who positioned themselves at opposite ends of the pit. She then said, "The rules are simple: pull your opponent into the mud pit. Let go of the rope and you're disqualified. The winner of this event will break the tie and will be declared the winner of the competition! On your marks...."

Applejack and Rainbow tensed the rope over the pit.

Twilight cried, "Get set...."

Rainbow wrapped some of the rope around her hand, making a more secure grip on it. Applejack mirrored her.

"GO!!" Twilight shouted.

Both girls immediately began straining and pulling against the other. At first, it seemed evenly matched; both were firmly rooted, and neither budged a hair for fifteen seconds. However, using the natural strength of her upper body, Applejack slowly began to drag Rainbow towards the pit, and Rainbow began to gradually panic the closer and closer she came to it.

Just as she came to the very edge of the pit, however, Rainbow began instinctively flapping her wings. She came to a stop once again, and Applejack's grip weakened slightly as her eyes widened in astonishment at seeing them do so.

Taking advantage of Applejack's momentary distraction, Rainbow shouted and pulled even harder, aided by the thrust of her wingbeats. Applejack cried, "WAAAAAH!!" as she suddenly toppled over, falling face first into the mud.

"YES!!" Rainbow shouted, leaping into the air victoriously. She hovered in the air and flipped through it a few times in celebration as Pinkie and Scootaloo jumped up and down, shrilly cheering, "YOU DID IT, RAINBOW DASH!! YEAH!! WHOO-HOO!!"

Fluttershy was also jumping in place, but silently grinning as she energetically clapped her hands while Rarity and Twilight politely applauded.

"Good work, Rainbow Dash," Twilight remarked. "You are hereby declared the victor of this competition."

"NO, SHE AIN'T!!" they all heard Applejack scream over them. They fell silent and turned to see her standing back up from the pit, covered all over in the brown mud and with a furious glare on her face. She pointed at Rainbow Dash and shouted, "Ya'll cheated! Ya'll used your wings to win!!"

"So what?!" Rainbow shouted back, angrily placing her hands on her hips. "I didn't mean to; and besides, it's not cheating if I use my wings!"

"YES IT IS!!" Applejack bellowed. "Your wings give you an extra advantage-!"

"No, they don't!" Rainbow retorted. "If anything, you're the one with the extra advantage! You didn't have to work to get as strong as you are!"

The two of them began screaming at each other, and all of the others gazed at them with great distress and concern. "Uh, guys...?" Pinkie interjected nervously after a few moments. "Why don't you two just call a truce? I mean, you tied the first ten events anyway...."

"NO!!" Applejack screamed. "Ah should win, 'cause Rainbow Dash is a dirty cheater!" she continued as she jabbed her finger into Rainbow's chest.

Rainbow swatted Applejack's hand away as she retorted, "I won fair and square! If you want to see cheating, let's go again! I'll lift you into the air this time!"

They began shouting at each other again, then finally after a few moments Applejack said, "Fine!! Ah tell you what; you and Ah race in the Runnin' of the Leaves tomorrow! If ya'll can win without using' yer wings, then A'll concede defeat to ya!"

"You got it!" Rainbow snarled. "When I win, I expect you to grovel at my feet, farm girl!"

"You ain't gonna win, Rainbow! You ain't nothin' without your wings!"

"I'm twice the Being you are without my wings!"

"You're gonna eat dirt!"

With that, both girls turned around and stormed away, their faces burning with rage. Twilight and her friends all stared anxiously at them for a few moments, then Pinkie said quietly, "I... I think I'm gonna go home now...."

The others immediately agreed, and they all returned to their homes with rather low spirits.


Rainbow was doing pull-ups in her dojo to blow off some steam. She was still absolutely furious, and had hardly slept at all last night.

I did win fairly, she thought. My wings are a part of me, aren't they? They give me some of my strength, don't they?

Rainbow began swinging from her chin-up bar, then kicked up and swung into the air, where she balanced vertically over the bar by her hands, which were gripping it. She remained in this position for a few moments as her mind continued to stew with anger.

She was so sick of Applejack and her enormous self-assured pride. Applejack seemed to think that because she was a Human farmer, that somehow made her better than everyone else.

In addition, Applejack clearly disapproved of the fact that Rainbow was homosexual. This pissed Rainbow off to no end, and was in fact the single largest reason she continued to make lewd, teasing remarks to Applejack. It bothers you to get hit on by another girl, huh? Karmic retribution, bitch.

Rainbow allowed herself to fall back down, then swung up, released the bar, and executed a perfect double backflip before landing gracefully on her feet. She then walked to her bed and collapsed on it, breathing heavily as she glared at the ceiling.

It wasn't entirely Applejack's fault, Rainbow knew. She had been raised by the Apple family, which was a fundamentally traditionalist Human clan. They still held on to old ideals and perceptions somewhat; for instance, they believed that life for Humans was less easy than it was for Angels and Elves, which forced them to work harder and thus made them stronger, better people. They also believed that the higher promiscuity that Angles and Elves tended to have was a fault, and that traditionalist Humans were more chaste and thus more virtuous.

In the mind of the Apples, to remain unmarried, marry a non-farmer or non-Human, engage in sexual intimacy out of wedlock, or engage in homosexuality was contrary to their core traditions. For one of their own to do so was regarded as spitting on the very honor and dignity of their family. Every Apple must do as their fathers before them did, they said; they must marry, have children, and raise Human farms and families in a heteronormative, traditional manner, in respect of the same hallowed methods they were raised in. To deviate was selfish, they thought; only the traditional ways could humble and grow the characters of their family members so that they were as upstanding and righteous as the generations before them.

But didn't they realize that they were just as screwed up as any other Beings? Sure, they were more "chaste," but on the other hand, they were every bit as homophobic and intolerant as most Angels, if not more so. If you were an Apple and married a Being who wasn't a Human, a farmer, or of the opposite gender, you were shunned by your relatives as a disgrace and unfit to live with. Didn't they realize how wrong- even evil, this was?

Well, Applejack isn't better than me, Rainbow thought bitterly. I've worked way longer and harder to get this strong than she's had to get anything in her entire life. I might be richer than you, Applejack, but your life was a spoon-fed piece of cake on a silver platter compared to mine. I've had to fight and go without friends since the day I was born. What have you had to go through, Applejack? You've never had to be strong. You were just born with strength.

After a few more minutes of brooding, Rainbow sighed, stood up, and exited her house. She flew around the skies until about five fifty; ten minutes before the Running of the Leaves was scheduled to begin.

The Running of the Leaves was an annual race that every settlement in the Central Pillar held every year at Summer's end. The tradition had started centuries ago, when Beings believed that the leaves of deciduous trees would only fall once they'd been shaken off, and so they'd begun performing the fifty kilometer-long races in order to cause a tremor of sufficient strength to do so.

Avalon's Running of the Leaves weaved through the paths of the Everfree Forest (but only the outer edge) and began and ended only a small distance away from Sweet Apple Acres. When Rainbow arrived at the starting line, she found that there was a desk stationed beside it at which Mayor Meyer was signing a line of Beings up and giving them large, paper stickers that displayed the numbers they'd been assigned. Rainbow queued up, and was eventually assigned the number forty-eight, which she pasted over her chest.

A few minutes later, Mayor Meyer announced that the race was ready to begin. The participant Beings all lined up behind the starting line, with Rainbow near the center. As she bent down and placed her hands on the ground, however, she heard an Arcadian drawl from beside her: "Ah hope you're ready to get flattened, Dash."

Rainbow turned and sneered at Applejack. "You can kiss my ass," she spat.

"My gosh," they heard a third voice say from the other side of Rainbow. "I can't believe you two are still fighting."

Applejack and Rainbow both turned to see who had spoken to them, and their eyes widened with shock; it was Twilight, who was crouching behind the starting line, as well.

"Twilight?!" Rainbow said astonishedly. "What are you doing here?!"

Twilight shrugged. "I'm racing, too," she replied simply. She smiled as she added, "I thought it would be fun."

Applejack smirked. "So ya'll finally ran outta books?" she said.

"No," Twilight replied.

"Of course she didn't," Rainbow said, smirking as well. "Miss egghead here's never gonna run out of books to read. I bet she's just here to pass an assignment Celestia gave her."

Twilight frowned at her. "I'm not an egghead," she said. "I'm just here to exercise and enjoy the beauty of the leaves, alright?"

Rainbow quietly muttered to Applejack, "Sure... egghead."

Applejack chuckled, and Twilight rolled her eyes. Oh well, at least they're not fighting anymore, she thought.

"Racers ready!" Mayor Meyer cried, drawing their attention. "On your marks... get set... GO!!"

She fired a pistol in the air, then all of the Beings immediately began sprinting off. The exception was Twilight, who began leisurely jogging.

Rainbow sprinted several hundred meters over the path of the race course, far outpacing all of the Beings behind her. She then looked behind herself, and saw that all of her opponents had fallen out of her sight.

Snickering, Rainbow slowed to a slow walk, stepped up to a tree, then leaned against it. She took a deep breath, then sighed with an enormous, self-satisfied smile.

In only about two minutes, however, Rainbow heard a steady sound of footfalls approaching. She opened one of her eyes, then suddenly opened both of them and gasped at what she saw:

Applejack was rapidly catching up to her.

"How'd...?!" Rainbow said astonishedly.

Applejack only cast a nasty smirk at her, however, before she rapidly passed her and disappeared into the trees ahead of them.

Rainbow gaped in Applejack's direction for a few moments before she heard Twilight's voice cry from behind her, "Oh, hi, Rainbow!"

Rainbow turned, and her eyes widened even more; Twilight was there, jogging at the same relaxed pace that she'd begun with.

"Come on!" Twilight shouted as she passed Rainbow. "The others are gaining on us!"

Rainbow blinked, then nodded and began jogging beside Twilight.

"How are you already here?!" Rainbow said astonishedly.

Twilight grinned as she replied, "I'm pacing myself. All of the others sprinted at the start, and wore themselves out. I'm saving my energy."

"Alright...." Rainbow muttered. She then shook her head and said, "Well, good luck. Now if you'll excuse me, I've gotta go beat Applejack...."

Rainbow began sprinting again. Soon, she saw Applejack running ahead of her, then she quickly closed the distance between them. Applejack heard her coming and tried to remain ahead of her, but Rainbow was simply too fast for her; in nearly no time Rainbow was well out of her sight again.

This time, Rainbow was going to make sure that Applejack wouldn't catch up with her again. She knew that there were signs ahead at path forks to direct the racers on the correct course; when she found one, she grinned wickedly as she flipped it over so that it pointed at the left path instead of the right. She then hid in some bushes; shortly, Applejack came up the path she'd come from, then she turned and went down the left path, just as Rainbow had planned.

Once Applejack was out of Rainbow's earshot again, she returned the sign to its original position before continuing her long lead over the others.

The path that Applejack had been directed to was rocky and steep, and soon Applejack was aware that she was climbing up the low slopes of a mountain. She slowed down, vaguely wondering why she hadn't seen another sign in a while....

Then, realization struck her. Her eyes narrowed with fury as she growled, "Why, that filthy, no-good-!"

She spun around and ran back down the path until she returned to the last sign she'd seen, which she saw was now pointing right. "Ah knew it!" she shouted. "If Ah get my hands on that good-for-nothin' Rainbow Dash again, Ah swear by Celestia Ah'm gonna wring her neck!"

"Hi, Applejack!" Twilight said from behind her. Applejack turned surprisedly to see Twilight approaching her from close behind her. "Let's go!" she said as she passed Applejack. "We're only a third through!"

Applejack nodded, then began running again. Once she was out of Twilight's sight, however, she suddenly turned off of the path and into the trees. She was not going to let Rainbow get away with this....


Rainbow had been jogging for a little more than an hour, satisfied that she'd seen the last of Applejack. Maybe she'll even get last place now, she thought with a snicker.

Rainbow allowed herself another snicker, but stopped when something caught her eye; in the distance, she could see two bright orange flags waving from tall poles, marking the finish line.

Rainbow smiled, but her smile disappeared as she heard a rustle in the trees beside her. She looked in and began panicking that one of the woods' beasts was approaching to attack her, but soon she saw Applejack emerge, glaring at her as she ran beside her.

Rainbow's eyes widened. "What?!" she shouted. "But you should've gotten lost hours ago-!"

"Ah did," Applejack said. "Ah just took a shortcut to make up my lost time."

Rainbow glared at her. "Hey! You're a cheater!" she shouted.

"No more'n you are!" Applejack shouted back.

Before they could argue any more, however, Applejack and Rainbow heard another set of fast footfalls behind them. They looked back over their shoulders, and saw Twilight, who was swiftly sprinting towards them with a pained but determined smile on her face.

"How the fuck is she-?!" Rainbow began.

Applejack shook her head. "You know what? Ah'm done with ya'll, Rainbow Dash!" she said. "Maybe it's about time ya'll learned that you ain't as great as ya think you are!"

Applejack began sprinting as well, but she was so exhausted that her speed couldn't nearly match Twilight's. Rainbow stopped noticing that Twilight was approaching them, however; she shouted at Applejack, "Maybe you should learn that I was born great!" Rainbow then spread her wings and took to the air and shouted as she began gliding centimeters over Applejack's head, "See?! Can you fly, bitch?!"

"That's it!!" Applejack screamed, leaping up and tackling Rainbow out of the air. They skidded across the ground, but soon got back to their feet. Rainbow tried to take flight again, but Applejack shouted, "OH, NO, YOU DON'T!!" and grabbed her by the hair, causing Rainbow to scream out in pain.

The two girls tugged, punched, kicked, and bit each other until they crossed the finish line. They then collapsed to the ground, raising their fists to strike each other again; however, they became still when they heard the voice of Pinkie shout a few meters away from them, "YOU DID IT!! YOU BOTH DID IT!!"

"Did what?" Applejack and Rainbow said together.

"You two tied for second place!" Pinkie cried. "This is soooo great! I can't believe it! You two really are the best athletes in Avalon! Well, aside from Twilight, of course...."

Both girls' eyes widened with shock. "Twilight?!" they shouted together.

"Yep," they heard Twilight say from beside them. They turned to see her smiling down at them, a golden medal around her neck.

"B-but- how did you do it, Twi?!" Rainbow said, standing up and nursing a bloody nose Applejack had given her. "You've never trained a day in your life!"

"That's true," Twilight replied. She folded her arms and smirked as she continued, "However, do you remember? Half of Olympus's streets are staircases. You can't live there without building a little endurance."

Applejack stood, as well, then she and Rainbow stared astonishedly at Twilight for a few moments.

"Now, which of you two would like the silver medal?" Mayor Meyer said, holding up a silver medal and a bronze medal. "I don't have two, I'm afraid...."

Rainbow gazed at her for a moment, then bowed her head ashamedly as she said, "Y'know... you should give it to Applejack. I mean, I sabotaged her race so that she couldn't beat me...."

Applejack blinked astonishedly at Rainbow. "You- you mean it?" she said.

Rainbow nodded. "Yeah," she said.

Applejack was silent for a few moments, then smiled. "Well, if that's the case, Ah don't deserve the medal either," she said. She turned to Mayor Meyer as she said, "Ah actually cut through the forest to catch back up with her."

Mayor Meyer nodded as Rainbow turned surprisedly to Applejack. "Very well," Meyer said. "In that case, the both of you are disqualified."

Rainbow gazed at Applejack for a few moments, then broke into a smile. "That... that was really cool of you, AJ," she said.

Applejack smiled back. "It ain't any more cooler'n what ya'll did," she replied.

"Can we all just be friends again?" Pinkie Pie said with a sad frown. "All this rivalry and competing is stupid. Why can't we just say that the both of you are great athletes?"

"Pinkie's right," Twilight said. She smiled as she added, "You two didn't prove anything here, anyway. I know that both of are are far better athletes than I'll ever be, and yet I was able to beat you at this particular event. But that doesn't make either of you any less amazing."

After a few moments, Rainbow nodded in agreement. "Y-yeah...." she said. "You're right, Twi. AJ and I are equally awesome."

"I concur, partner," Applejack said, turning to her. Her eyes (one of them black) softened with a gentle smile as she offered Rainbow her hand. "Friends?" she said.

Grinning, Rainbow took Applejack's hand. "Friends," she agreed.

The two of them embraced, then Rainbow pulled back and held her nose again as she said, "Sorry I got blood on your shirt."

"Don't worry about it," Applejack said with a dismissive wave. "It's my fault it's bleedin', anyway."

Twilight gave Rainbow a handkerchief, which Rainbow held to her nose until it stopped bleeding. She then stuffed some balled-up tissue paper in her nostrils, then stood, turned to Applejack, and said, "Wanna get some cider at the Sugar Shack? I'll pay."

Applejack nodded. "Race ya there," she said.

Rainbow nodded. "You've got it," she replied.

And so the two girls began running again, though neither cared which of them won anymore.