A Year in Equestria

by Blade Star

Chapter 11 - November

“Come on, Applejack!” I shouted over the roar of the crowd.

“Yeah, come on, Apple Bloom,” Big Mac joined in.

It was a sunny and fairly warm day in early November, uncharacteristically so, but that was for a very good reason. Today was the day of the Sisterhooves Social. Big Mac and I, along with Granny, Sugar Belle, and Winona were in the stands, cheering the racing teams of mares and fillies on and they tore their way Hell for leather around the course.

I know I occasionally rattle on about how much little Apple Bloom looks up to me and Big Mac, but there is no closer bond in the Apple family than there is between Applejack and Apple Bloom. Having been both a surrogate mother to the filly, complete with severe over protectiveness at times, and big sister, Applejack is the one with the closest relationship to little AB. As much as Mac and I care for her and look after her, there’s some things that only a sister can help with. Conversations about colts, clothes, and the weird cliques girls form were entirely beyond our mere male understanding.

The Sisterhooves Social was a rare chance for the two siblings to really have some fun, along with all the other sister pairs in Ponyville. Plus it gave Applejack the chance to compete with her long standing rival, Rainbow Dash. The two get competitive over everything and this race was no exception. Although if you ask me, the many obstacles suited AJ a bit more, given Rainbow’s “speed above all else” philosophy.

Of course, the decidedly feminine nature of today’s events had sidelined both Mac and I. While, as Granny said, there is some wiggle room for what counts as a sister, and nopony had any problem with Mac’s...alter ego…... taking part in things, the stallion had been suitably embarrassed by his actions the previous year, and was quite happy to let his little sister take care of things. The both of us though were more than happy to cheer the pair on. It did make for a good spectator sport. I remember Mum once described it as ‘Total Wipeout, but good’.

The race was entering its final stage now. Applejack and AB had successfully gone through the hen house and between them balanced an egg to the next stage and were now on the last stretch; a dead sprint to the finish line. Applejack, gently grabbing Apple Bloom by the nape of her neck, flung her little sister into her back and dug deep, galloping hard through the thick mud of the track. With how things were set up on the farm, I was expecting Rainbow Dash to, at some point, cry foul and complain about a home field advantage.

As they came around onto the final straight, the race was neck and neck. Tied for pole position were AJ and Apple Bloom and one side, and Rainbow Dash and her adoptive sister Scootaloo on the other. And in their usual fashion, both supposedly adult mares had quite forgotten about the charges on their backs and were busy goading each other and gloating about what they’d do when they won. Still, it made for an exciting finale. The crowd was certainly enjoying it, myself included.

“Come on you two! You’re almost there!” I shouted encouragingly. “Come on, Applejack. You can’t let RD beat you now!”

Applejack put her head down, trying to become more streamlined as Apple Bloom did the same up on her back. Rainbow Dash copied her and both mares put on a burst of speed. It really looked like it was going to be a photo finish with somepony winning by a nose. The finish line drew closer and closer, each mare fighting to hold position. At the line, Granny Smith stood ready with a tripod mounted camera to catch the finish. Everypony was so excited that they didn’t see the proverbial third man come tearing up from the rear.

As the leaders neared the finish, they both began to run out of steam. While AJ and Rainbow may keep themselves in top shape, the Sisterhooves Social still offers a punishing obstacle course that leaves everypony panting for breath by the end. Having pushed themselves all the way through to one up each other, they now both began to tire at the same moment, allowing the dark horse to seemingly effortlessly gallop past them, her own charge on her back and on to victory.

Of course, this dark horse didn’t exactly fit the description, with the alabaster coat and deep purple mane and all. Yes, believe it or not, Rarity of all ponies, with Sweetie Belle on her back, was the one to claim first place at the last moment, with the Apples and RD and Scootaloo coming joint second. The crowd was suitably stunned, but cheered nonetheless.

“Where in the name of Celestia did they come from?” I exclaimed in amazement to Mac.

The previous leaders had been well ahead of the pack the entire race, to the point where I’d not really been paying attention to them.

“I bet that’s what Applejack and Apple Bloom are thinking too,” Sugar Belle commented wryly. “They got so caught up in their race with Rainbow and Scootaloo that they forgot all about the others. And if you two knuckleheads were watching, you’d have seen how Rarity and Sweetie Belle were pacing themselves all through to the final leg. Everypony else up front was so tired from outpacing each other that, while they might have been far ahead of the others, they couldn’t keep the speed up. Rarity started closing them down after the mud bath obstacles.”

It certainly surprised me. Rarity, not to disparage the mare, isn’t exactly the most athletic of ladies. Then again, I never figured her to be able to play guitar like she can, nor did I expect her to be able to kick a changeling drone six ways from Sunday. Her ability to plan and manage many complex projects at once and deal with a lot of pressure, as well as a fair amount of pain, certainly appeared to have stood her in good stead today. She and Sweetie Belle looked pleased as punch when they received their trophy, while AJ and Rainbow continued to glare daggers at each other as they stood on either side of the podium. I swear, those two are like an old married couple at times with the way they squabble with each other over the pettiest rivalries. If nothing else though, the underdog victory made a close race that much more interesting, and in Mac’s case, less embarrassing all around. I still tease him every now and again about the incident that ended with him dressing in drag and trying to pass himself off as a mare to help Apple Bloom.

On the other hoof though, it shows how much he does care for his littlest sister, given he was willing to all but humiliate himself for her. I look out for Lizzie, and I care about her, and if Dewdrop ever breaks her heart I’ll rip his wings off one feather at a time, but I’m not sure you’d ever convince me to dress up in drag for her.

But back to the winner’s circle as it were. While Rarity, being Rarity, was basking in the warm glow of victory, with a cheering Sweetie Belle alongside her, AJ and Rainbow were still bickering with each other. I wouldn’t mind, but this isn’t even the first time something like this has happened. Go all the way back to ‘Fall Weather Friends’ and they learned pretty much this exact lesson. They even ended up doing something similar with some students from school not so long ago. Every time one of them, usually Rainbow, does something and openly boasts about it, the other mare has to one up her. And while neither of the other two members of the Cutie Mark Crusaders seemed to mind; in fact they seemed to have had a whale of a time, it was getting rather tedious, and a bit embarrassing.

It would be nice if I could say the two learned, or re-learned their lesson here and realised that winning isn’t everything, particularly when it comes to a bit of friendly competition like the Sisterhooves Social. But instead, Rainbow and Applejack did what they do best and doubled down. It was as the event was winding down and Mac, Sugar Belle and I had reunited with Applejack, that Rainbow issued her challenge.

“Ha! I knew you couldn’t beat me, AJ!” she hollered, causing Applejack to freeze and spin around on the spot

“Beat you?” she exclaimed. “The deal was to see who could win the Sisterhooves Social, so you ain’t got nothin’ to boat about neither!” Rainbow was having none of that though.

“You still couldn’t get past me,” she insisted.

“And how does that prove anythin’?” Applejack asked. “Except the fact that we’re evenly matched.”

“It proves,” Rainbow went on, trotting over to save yelling. “That, yeah, you’ve got some good speed. But there’s no way you could keep up consistently with me.” Oh for the love of Celestia! When will they learn to just let it go?!

“Are you kiddin’, Dash? I could have kept runnin’ laps of that track all day long. I’m an earth pony, remember. Endurance is what we do. I guarantee that you’d be all tuckered out before I even worked up a sweat.”

“Yeah right,” the pegasus said disparagingly.

“It’s true!” Applejack insisted.

“Oh, yeah? Prove it!” Rainbow now took on a more intimidating posture, putting her head low and flaring out her wings, keeping her eyes locked on AJ’s the whole time. “Applejack. I’m callin’ you out!”

“She is out, Dash,” I pointed out. It was true too, given how both mares were squaring off against each other and everypony else had backed off to form an ad hoc arena. Rainbow straightened up at that, trying to look disinterested.

“I knew that,” she said, a little more quietly, before returning to her challenging tone. “Okay, here’s the deal. The Running of the Leaves is coming up. Whoever places higher has to admit that the other is faster and stronger than them.”

“Deal!” AJ agreed before anypony could intervene. The two mares sealed their agreement in the time honoured way.

I like to think Applejack’s pretty level headed most of the time. But where Rainbow Dash, or for that matter, the Flim Flam brothers are concerned, she seems to take complete leave of her senses. Either that or regress back to her teenage years. Sometimes I wonder if she agrees to all these stupid challenges to impress me.

Actually I wouldn’t mind that so much.

So the date for the challenge was fixed, and come the Running of the Leaves, these two would hopefully get this stupid rivalry out of their system. At least for the next six months or so, and go back to the friendly rivalry they usually had.

---

I normally take part in the Running of the Leaves myself. While life on the farm has done wonders for my physical, and to some degree, my magical strength, it doesn’t have the same effect on my stamina. Of course, as a quadruped, I can go a heck of a lot faster than I could ever as a human, even at a dead run. I can quite happily canter along at a fair rate of knots. However, I’m not exactly what you’d call in shape. I’m not unfit by any stretch of the imagination, but events like this give me something to train for; a target to stop myself slipping back into old, lazy habits.

Think of it like training for a marathon. That is, after all, pretty much what the Running of the Leaves is. True, it has a greater purpose than simply getting from point A to point B, but it is very much like a marathon, being a race to ensure ponies keep up a good speed. A gentle trot after all wouldn’t provide the necessary vibrations to cause all the leaves to fall from the trees.

We had a week or two before the race, giving Applejack and Rainbow plenty of time to get themselves into top form. Well, more so than they normally are. And since she was training, I figured it would be a good idea to tag along with her. Training with a partner is supposed to be better after all, with each one supporting the other.

Unfortunately, I underestimated just how seriously AJ was taking this. And I found this out when I was violently yanked from my peaceful slumber and thrown out of bed by her. Still bleary eyed and barely awake, I had to contend with the mare all but yelling at me to get a move on.

“Come on, Bones!” she ordered. “Rise and shine! It’s time to start our training!”

As I managed to recover my senses, I took a look around and spotted my alarm clock, which hadn’t yet gone off, that rested on my bedside table. It was four in the bleeding morning!

Now, I’m no stranger to getting up early. On a normal day you’ll find me getting up at around half five; pretty much the same time the sun rises. But four was a bit beyond a joke to my mind. Even going to bed at ten, I’d still only gotten six hours of sleep. Vainly, I tried to talk some sense into Applejack.

“AJ, it’s four o’clock in the morning!” I exclaimed.

“Exactly,” she fired back. “We should’ve been up and out there preparing for the race ages ago.”

For Celestia’s sake, even the Paras, heck, even 22 Reg don’t have to get up this early for training. I tried again to get through to her.

“Applejack,” I said, with a bit more patience. “Big Mac and Sugar Belle have already agreed to help cover our chores while we’re training. We’ve got a full day to run ourselves ragged. We don’t need to be gettin’ up before Celestia, or I should say Twilight, does. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m goin’ back to bed. I suggest you do the same.”

Hoping that this had knocked some sense into her, I got back to my hooves and crawled into bed, desperately trying to recapture some of the warmth. With the winter drawing ever nearer, nights were getting colder, and the farmhouse isn’t brilliant at staying warm without a fire.

But it was no use. She was apparently immune to both the cold and good sense. No sooner had I pulled the covers over me and gotten myself comfortable than they were yanked off, causing me to involuntarily shift into the foetal position to try and conserve some warmth. I soon followed my sheets as AJ grabbed me by the tail with her teeth (not a pleasant experience), and again reunited me with the wooden, and very cold, floor of my room.

“No ‘ifs’, no ‘buts’, Bones,” she said earnestly, grinning a little as I looked up at her in dismay. “You’re awake now. No sense goin’ back to sleep. Now come on. Outside in five minutes for the first six miles of the day!”

She wouldn’t know “sense” if it bit her! Wait a minute...

First?!

Six miles?!

Oh sweet Celestia, she’s gonna kill me!

---

Twenty minutes later, I wished she had killed me. Instead, AJ seemed inclined to stretch out my suffering, putting off my demise for as long as possible. As threatened, we started things with a nice six mile run. Now, a jog over that distance, sure, I could do that. Like I said, I’m not unfit and am in fairly decent shape. But Applejack set a much faster pace. Worse still, the six miles were not over nice, flat, level ground. Instead, she had me running up and down the hilly terrain that made up a large section of the farm’s grasslands beyond the apple orchards. Combined with the furious pace, and by the time we hit the first mile, I was feeling the burn. An early rising sheep was just starting breakfast and watching us in amazement as I tried not to die.

Also, I just want to put this out there, in all my time working to keep myself in good shape, I have never, ever felt the supposed exercise high people keep on yapping about from the endorphins. Exercise, to me, has always been a fairly painful experience, and I’ve always finished a day of hard work, or a training session, glad that it was over.

But back to our lovely run. Applejack took the lead, having evidently planned a route out beforehand. After leaving the house and crossing into the open grassland, which involved swimming the river that ran through the farm for good measure, we made our way up and down a few of the modest hills, skirting around the still sleeping cattle herd. Worse still, this far out, you had rabbits to worry about, particularly the bucks who would dig scrapes into the ground on open land like this. And this early in the morning, light was at best, limited. And while I tried to use my horn to provide a little extra illumination, the rapid pace meant that taking a tumble was almost inevitable. And with such inevitability, I stuck my hoof in a scrape and went arse over tea kettle, landing with a dull thud on my rump. I was lucky not to break my leg.

Of course, AJ showed no sympathy, only doubling back to tell me to keep up. Honestly, not even old Strong Shield, when he was teaching me how to use my magic to fight, was this tough. Still, I did get up and pushed on.

As we continued, and I faintly heard the clock in town strike five, the light did improve, making finding our way a bit easier and safer. And by the time we completed the loop, doing a full six miles, the first few hints of dawn were peeking over the horizon.

I was knackered. My legs were shaking and my breathing came in short, painful gasps as my head hung down. Applejack too had worked up a sweat, but she was nowhere near as exhausted. Damn her and her earth pony endurance. I might have magic on my side, but physically, unicorns are the weakest race when it comes to physical strength. Exhausted, I sat down on my rear and tried to catch what I could of my breath.

But my tormentor wasn’t done yet. Not be a long shot. After a brief rest and a good drink of water, she had me back out there doing interval training alongside her. We made our way through the apple orchards now, occasionally cutting into the vineyard where the Apples grew a decent stock of grapes, many of which were sold directly to winemakers in Prance. In contrast to the earlier steady run, Applejack would call out when to run flat out, and when to slow back down to a jog to ‘recover’.

I think we ended up doing around ten, twelve, maybe fifteen intervals before she finally called time and had me jog alongside her back to the farmhouse. The only saving grace was that she too was now showing signs of strain, instead of smugly keeping up a pace while barely breaking a sweat. And as we finally returned to the farmhouse, now with the morning sun well above the horizon, we both all but collapsed from exhaustion.

“AJ,” I said, as I gratefully drank my fill of water. “You’re gonna kill me!”

“Oh...don’t be such a baby, Bones,” Applejack replied though her own laboured breathing. “You know what they say; ‘no pain, no gain’. And I need to really push myself if I’m gonna beat Dash. I’ll bet that she’s been pushin’ herself just as hard to try and one up me.”

“Applejack,” I said, looking over at her as I lay splayed out of the soft ground of the farmyard. “I know you want to beat Dash in the race, Although I don’t really get why. But why do I have to suffer too?”

“You said you wanted to train with me,” AJ replied.

“Applejack, my everything hurts, and I can’t move!” I exclaimed. “This isn’t training, it’s insanity!”

This, finally, managed to knock some sense into her. The sight of her coltfriend, splayed out on the ground, in agony, and looking ever so slightly pathetic seemed to help her realise that she might be overdoing things a tad. Big Mac, who’d been watching our antics from the orchards, and had now returned to the farmhouse to fetch some tools from the barn, agreed.

“He’s right, sis,” he said sagely. “You push yourself like that and before long you ain’t gonna be runnin’ nowhere.”

“Alright, I get it,” she relented. “Tell you what, Bones. How ‘bout we call today a wash and start fresh tomorrow, only I’ll tone things down a bit. I still want to try and get first in the race. But I think I’ve got a better way to get one over on Rainbow Dash.”

And so, the two of us went inside to recover. I’m pretty sure I spent the rest of the day laid up on the sofa giving my poor legs and heart a chance to repair themselves.

Over the following couple weeks, Applejack and I continued to train, albeit with a little less intensity. We kept up a steady regime of cardio exercises from running, to swimming and even a few games, as well as endurance to help build muscle strength. And crucially, we had rest days planned to give ourselves time to recover properly and prevent injury.

It was a lot of fun too. Back on Earth, I’d been put off from going to the gym partly by negative school experiences, and partly by how uncomfortable you could feel working out in front of others. And what exercise I did, I preferred to do alone, either from home, or by going in at odd hours when it would be quiet. But training with AJ was a lot more easy going. I know I’m never going to be in as good a shape as she is, but she never made me feel awkward or inadequate. Applejack was always encouraging, and I was the same to her in turn. We were both working together and supporting each other through the training. As a result, by the time race day dawned, we were more than ready.

---

On the day of the race, AJ and I got up at our usual time and had a good breakfast, consisting of the closest I could get to a full English; a concept quite foreign to ponies. We had fried eggs, baked beans, a couple hash browns each, some mushrooms and tomatoes, with a few rounds of fried bread and plenty of coffee and apple juice, in addition to a bowl of cereal. In place of the sausage and bacon, as well as the black pudding we substituted in grilled oatcakes and bubble and squeak, something I’d introduced the Apples and Equestria as a whole to. All in all, we had quite the mountain of food to chow down on, but crucially, getting up early gave our bodies ample time to properly digest it all, meaning we’d have the energy needed to complete the race, without risking the unfortunate implications of running on a full stomach.

The both of us were looking forward to the race. Personally, I loved running through the woods, including a good portion of the farm, and seeing all the red, amber, and gold leaves fall from the trees creating a multicolour snowstorm as the herd raced past. Running with a group like this seemed to unearth primal equine instincts. And if nothing else, it was a whole lot of fun. Applejack on the other hoof had just one thing on her mind, beating Rainbow Dash. I tried to gently remind her not to get too competitive this time.

“Just remember, AJ,” I said as the two of us headed out the door, bound for the start line at White Tail Wood. “We’re doing this to prepare for winter and to have a good time. I don’t want to see you end up tied for last place again after all the work we’ve put in.”

“Don’t worry, Bones,” she reassured me. “I learned my lesson last time. Just be glad I ain’t tyin’ Rainbow’s wings behind her back this time round.” I chuckled at that.

Arriving at the start, which was an open field just outside the woods, we found plenty of ponies already there, all decked out and ready to race. Finding our way to the registration desk, we both got issued our number cards. In a rather worrying omen, I ended up with lucky thirteen. And as I was fastening it around my chest, Rainbow Dash joined us. And unlike Applejack, it seemed nopony had managed to talk any sense into her, and her desire to win at all costs was still going strong.

She arrived with all the quiet subtlety of a trainwreck, blasting a sonic rainboom over our heads as she sailed down into a smooth landing. The resultant ringing in our ears left everypony just a little cheesed off with her. Seriously, all that overpressure could very easily have blown our eardrums out. Not that Dash noticed of course. Strutting up to the two of us, a huge grin on her face, and ignoring all the irritated ponies around her, Rainbow Dash showed how the better part of a year in the Wonderbolts, Equestria’s most premiere stunt display team, had helped to temper her brash nature.

“Sup, AJ,” she said, hoofbumping her friend and rival. “Ready to lose?”

Applejack just glared at the pegasus.

“Rainbow, you nearly deafened everypony down here!” I exclaimed. “What in Celestia’s name were you thinking pulling a rainboom so close to the ground?” Dash waved my concerns away with a hoof.

“Chillax, Bones,” she said. “I wasn’t going fast enough to do any real damage. And hey, I probably helped loosen all the leaves for ya.”

“Loosen my teeth in my skull is more like it,” I grumbled. Applejack meanwhile took a different tack to dressing down Rainbow Dash.

“Nice flyin’, RD,” she commended nonchalantly. “Tryin’ to get yourself all psyched up to go against me?” Dash is easily goaded at the best of times.

“Are you kidding?” she exclaimed. “I don’t need to psyche myself up for this. I know I’m gonna beat you.”

“No you won’t,” AJ said smugly. Dash fumed.

“Yes I will!” And AJ loved it.

“No you won’t!”

“Yes I will!” Actually this was quite fun to watch.

“No you won’t!”

“Will!” Okay, now it was getting tedious.

“Won’t!”

“Will infinity!” Finish her!

“Won’t infinity plus one!” Yes!

“Dammit!” Dash turned away to sulk while I struggled to contain my laughter.

Luckily, before the two grown mares could become any more juvenile, Cheerilee walked up to the three of us, falling back on her role as schoolteacher to break apart bickering foals.

“Neither of you are going to win if you don’t get registered with a number soon,” she warned. “The race is starting in about five minutes.”

“Oh horseapples!” the two mares said, before they dashed off to complete preparations.

Luckily, Applejack and Rainbow managed to get themselves properly entered just in time, although it would have made for a funny story, and possibly even a good episode and friendship lesson for the two of them to get so caught up in their rivalry that they actually missed the race. It also would have made AJ utterly poisonous to live with. Applejack though was a little ahead of Dash in that sense. While she did still want to thrash the pegasus and gain all the associated bragging rights, she wasn’t treating that as her only goal.

Between the two of us, we’d come up with quite a clever plan that would not only annoy Rainbow beyond belief, but also let AJ get one over on her best friend. Admittedly, I’d partly pinched the idea from an early episode of TNG Star Trek but it was still a sound idea. While Rainbow was getting herself ready, I had a chance to quickly chat with Applejack before the race.

“You ready for this, AJ?” I asked. Applejack nodded.

“Sure am, Bones,” she said, before chuckling to herself. “I just can’t wait to see Rainbow’s face at the end. She ain’t gonna know what hit her.”

At that moment, we heard the sound of the ‘Call to the Post’ going up, the old trumpet blaring the signal for us all to line up at the start. It always struck me as odd how a traditional signal used in horse races on Earth should also be used here. Curiously, by the same token, Equestria’s military doesn’t make much use of bugle signals typical of cavalry regiments and the military in general. Perhaps it is too hard for ponies to run and blow a bugle at the same time. In any case, the short call meant that the race was about to start and that all participants needed to be at the starting line shortly.

Taking my place on the proverbial starting grid (the start was just a simple line painted on the ground with a marshal on either side. I think it would have been a bit over the top for us all to have to get into a starting gate), I found myself between AJ and Rainbow. The two mares eyed each other as we fell under starter’s orders. Honestly, I think it was only the fact that I was standing between the two that they didn’t start something then and there. Still, Rainbow had one last parting shot before the kick off.

“Get ready to eat my dust, Applejack,” she said confidently. AJ shot right back though.

“Funny,” she drawled. “I was just about to say the same thing to you.”

And with that last parting shot, the flag dropped and the race began. I quickly threw myself forward as I speedily built up to a gallop. Behind me, I could both hear and feel the rest of the pack, as dozens of hooves thundered along, with Dash and AJ either side of me. But this was a marathon, not a sprint, and for our little plan to work, I needed to save my energy for later in the race. So, feeling a little awkward as I did so, I allowed myself to drop back into the main body of racers, leaving Applejack and Rainbow Dash to take position as the front runners. Meanwhile, above us, the leaves of the first few trees were already starting to fall, and we found ourselves cantering through a multicolour snowstorm of leaves.

---

I’ve never got the ‘fun’ of running. It’s good for you, and it may very well save your life one day, but I would never consider it something I found enjoyment in. Having run three quarters of the course, my body was not best pleased with me, even going relatively easy and keeping myself back in the pack, I was still breathing hard, my legs ached, and I generally wanted to stop and rest up.

That’s not to say it was completely terrible though. If nothing else, you had beautiful scenery all around. While Sweet Apple Acres will always have a charm for me, particularly on long summer evenings or crisp, clear winter nights, there were plenty of other beauty spots around Ponyville, and White Tail Wood was one of them. With all the leaves around us and winding trails, it kind of reminded me of New England a bit. Well, I say reminded, I’ve never been there, let’s say it fitted with TV depictions of New England in the autumn. When it isn’t raining cats and dogs, autumn is probably my favourite season here in Equestria, simply for the beautiful foliage, even if it is a bugger to sweep it all up for mulch.

But while it was nice to appreciate the beauty of nature around me, I was still in a race, and more importantly, as we began the final mile, we entered the point where I was to spring into action.

You see, so far, I’d kept back in the race, looking to place somewhere in the top ten probably, but a far cry from my marefriend and Rainbow, who had been battling for the lead the whole time. I couldn’t see them, but thanks to Pinkie, who had returned, sadly sans Spike, to commentate the race via balloon, I was kept up to date on what was going on up front. The two mares had been neck and neck from minute one, each only gaining the lead for a few scarce moments before it was snatched away by the other. It was a real case of no quarter asked or given, and it made a great show for the spectators who lined the route to cheer us all on. But now that we were reaching the end, I began to tap into specially kept back reserves and put on a burst of speed. Slowly, I began to make my way up through the pack. The race itself might have been a marathon, but now, for me, it was a sprint.

While I might not be an earth pony, with their level of endurance and stamina, I had been training with Applejack and was pretty close to her. I was certainly able to keep up with her through our training, once she toned down the suicidal routine. So, if I’d been giving it my all, as AJ and Rainbow had, I ought to be right up front with them, battling for the lead all the way. Instead though, I’d held myself back, going at a more leisurely pace, while still keeping fairly close to the leaders. As we neared the finish line, the two mares would be tapping into the last of their strength to outpace the other, and would consequently slow up a little. This would give me, with a fair bit of stamina left, a chance to put on some speed, catch up, and quite possibly overtake.

What would annoy Rainbow Dash more do you think; losing to Applejack, or losing to me, somepony she considers almost as much an egghead as Twilight? AJ and I got inspired by the two rivals’ last race, when Rarity snatched victory from the both of them due to their distraction and by what had happened in their first race when Twilight beat them both. Applejack, by her own admission, while she could avoid losing to the pegasus, wasn’t sure she could outright beat her, but she could exhaust her to a stalemate. And that left the number one spot in the Winner’s Circle ripe for the taking.

Passing Derpy on one side and Bon Bon on the other, I moved up into third place. The main body of racers had really closed the gap and as I got a look at them, it was clear that both mares were flagging, although neither seemed willing to give up. They were even still trading barbs with each other.

“What’s the matter, Dash?” AJ asked between pants. “Am I goin’ too fast for ya!”

“As if, AJ!” Rainbow shot back. “I’ve just been going easy on you. Wouldn’t want to totally humiliate you, so I figured a close finish would soften the blow!”

Rounding the corner, the finish line, and the assembled crowd of cheering onlookers came into view. That was my cue to make my move. Digging into my reserves, I went into a full on gallop, sprinting to the finish. I can still remember the look on Rainbow’s face as I briefly drew level with her.

“Hi Rainbow!” I called out smiling. Giving a quick mock salute, I sped up again.

“Bye Rainbow!”

The pegasus was briefly stunned, but soon tried to catch up with me. But having used up all her energy keeping pace and trading pole position with AJ the entire race, she just didn’t have anything left in her. Applejack was loving it.

“Yeehaw!” she cheered. “Go on, sugarcube! You can make it!”

Dash gave it one more try to beat me at the last moment, but Applejack too tapped into the last of her reserves to harry her. As the finish line drew up, since it seemed like the most appropriate time short of an actual cavalry charge, I gave the rebel yell and tore across the finish line, cutting the ribbon with my barrel. AJ and Rainbow followed mere milliseconds behind. It was too close to call on the matter of who came second, but the winner was undisputed.

I considered being gracious in victory, but I just couldn’t resist using the victory as a chance to wear my ‘winning’ face. The smug look cheesed Rainbow off even more.

---

A week or so later, and Dash was still licking her wounds from the race. After some careful examination, it came to light that, not only had she been bested by somepony she never even considered to be a contender, but she had also failed to defeat her rival. The photo of the two ponies crossing the line just after me showed it clear as day; it was a draw. While Applejack hadn’t managed to beat her in the end, for somepony as competitive as Rainbow, a tie was that much worse.

However, getting beaten by not only me, but Rarity of all ponies, had helped bring the pegasus back down to terra firma again. Just as Fluttershy will always have to contend with her shyness, Rainbow constantly needs to have her ego checked. And coming joint second in the Running of the Leaves did just that. It also helped pull her out of that hyper competitive mindset she was, which allowed her and AJ to patch things up.

Honestly, I tell you, at times, those two, with their little rivalries and arguments, come across as more of a couple that AJ and I do sometimes. They certainly squabble like an old married couple at any rate. And between you and me, a part of me does wonder if there is something more to their friendship.

But anyway, with the race done and dusted, not only had Rainbow Dash been reminded that she is not a god, but all the trees around Ponyville had been stripped clean. The same could be said for Sweet Apple Acres. The apple trees, once green and vibrant, later filled with fire like leaves, were now as bare as the zap apple trees. It was a little sad in a way, seeing them all so bare and lifeless. But it is the natural order of things I suppose. I only wish that, after the race, we didn’t have to spend so much time raking in all the leaves. The rotting vegetation would make for some good compost and mulch for the trees. And come next spring, it would all start again.

I found my mind drifting back to when the trees first began to develop their first leaves and fruit. I chuckled to myself as I remembered a funny little incident involving Apple Bloom and her quest to catch a glimpse of the Great Seedling during the last harvest. It’s an Earth Pony legend, a mystical stag like creature. Supposedly, it visits all farms come harvest time, and if successfully caught, will grant an eternal harvest as a reward. Like Pinkie Sense, it is difficult for a rational pony like myself to examine. Nopony has ever successfully caught him. Then again, not so long ago, I figured Windigoes were most likely a literary device.

It certainly didn’t stop Apple Bloom from trying, laying traps and trying to track him down. I can hardly claim the high ground on that front; as a child I set various traps on Christmas Eve to catch Father Christmas, and for a while I was actually convinced the Great Seedling might be a real thing, as was AJ, when Apple Bloom discovered signs of him being on the farm, even catching a glimpse of him. Sadly, it wasn’t the genuine article; just a sleep deprived Big Mac, overworked from the harvest. Still, I refuse to discount the possibility, and next year I may just lend Apple Bloom a hoof in trying to catch him.

But that was all off in the future. Right now, the trees of Sweet Apple Acres would take a well earned rest. We’d look to cut down a few of the less productive ones, or older ones in another week or so. As we had after that storm earlier in the year, Mac and I would fell the trees, then chop them up to sell to Burnt Oak as firewood. With apple supplies running low as we came out of the season, we might be able to up the price, but there was still the issue of finite supply, so firewood, along with wool from the sheep in springtime, and milk from the cattle made for good alternative sources of income.

Speaking of the cattle, that was the next job on the list. As November wound on and the weather became increasingly colder, we would need to move the herd off the high open plain and down toward their winter pastures and cowsheds. That meant another cattle drive. Hopefully this time I could get through it without getting soaked through.

---

The next morning, we all headed out to start rounding up the herd. Driving the herd out to pasture was one thing, but getting them back in was an entirely different kettle of fish. For one thing, back in the spring, the cattle were all in their sheds the night prior, so we simply had to let them out and start driving. But with them out on the proverbial open range, we’d first need to round them all up. Now true, given that these cows were sentient, it was a bit easier, but given that cattle do like to roam quite a bit and the size of the herd and the fact that they were twice our size, it would still be a job to get them all together and in a state to be driven back to the farm. Crucially, this wouldn’t be a one day job. The plan was to spend today mustering the herd, and then drive them home the following morning, camping out overnight.

As before, it was a case of all hooves on deck, with Sugar Belle, who had pitched in previously, again joining to help out as an extra set of hooves. Granny Smith also joined us, duly appointed as our mess officer with Apple Bloom helping her, while Big Mac hauled the chuck wagon with some basic supplies and camp equipment. That left Applejack, Sugar Belle, and myself travelling fairly light. The three of us would scout ahead once we got out into the fields and spread out to try and find the herd.

The fairly long trek out gave Applejack and I a chance to talk. While the Sisterhooves Social and the Running of the Leaves had been a fun time for everypony concerned, I couldn’t help but notice that of late there was something of a melancholy about her. It was the same with the rest of her friends, and the reason was obvious; Twilight. It had been over a month, getting on for two now since she’d moved back to Canterlot and taken up the mantle of Princess of Equestria, and we were all now finding ourselves missing her company. And Spike too; Big Mac had been particularly despondent over his O&O games with Discord, and the lack of their dragon DM of late. I was very much the same. True, it wasn’t like she and the girls were together all the time, but they always managed to see each other whenever they could, adventures aside, and they had an extremely close friendship. With her gone though, we were all starting to really notice the absence.

So, like any good boyfriend, I tried to cheer her up, or at least give her a listening ear. After all, as Pinkie Pie once said, AJ cries on the inside, and like me, has a bad habit of bottling up her emotions at times, using work as a distraction.

“How you holdin’ up, AJ?” I asked as we both trotted together a little ahead of the other. It was getting on for mid afternoon now, and I was hoping to catch sight of the herd before long.

“Fine, Bones,” she said, not meeting my eyes as we walked side by side.

“Just fine?” I prodded, that got her to look at me.

“Sure, why wouldn’t I be?” she said a little hurriedly, before slightly scrunching her mouth up and letting her eyes dart around. Needless to say, I could tell the Element of Honesty was fibbing.

“Well, I’ve not been so great this past week,” I admitted, hoping my own admission would help her open up. “I guess...I guess I just find myself missin’ Twilight is all. She and Spike have been gone almost two months now. It feels kinda strange not seeing one of your best friends and havin’ to read about them in newspapers.”

AJ looked away and cast her gaze toward her hooves.

“I know what ya mean,” she admitted, before perking up a moment later. “I’m sure she’ll stop by to visit once she gets the chance though.”

Twilight had promised that. The day she left, the day of coronation, she had promised us that, as soon as she could, she would come back to visit, and continue to do so as often as she could. But I couldn’t help but recall the number of times Princess Celestia or Princess Luna had visited Ponyville. In both cases, it had been only a small number, and many of those were on official business rather than a social call. It was a consuming job being princess, and two months in, Twilight hadn’t been able to spare so much as half a day to stop by and say hello.

“I still miss just being able to stop by the castle and say hi though,” I said a little forlornly.

My slightly sad grumblings however seemed to trigger something in Applejack, for her head suddenly shot up with a start and she smiled.

“Who says you can’t do that now?” she pointed out. I was thrown off for a moment.

“Say what?” I said perplexed.

“Well, if Twilight can’t come and visit us, there’s no reason why we can’t all go and visit Twilight in Canterlot.”

“What, you mean go to her court?” I asked. AJ nodded.

“Sure,” she replied. “We could all go towards the end of the day. Or we could send her and Spike a letter to set somethin’ up. It might only be for a little bit, but at least we could all go say hi and catch up. Shoot, we could even bring her some of this season’s cider as an office warming present.”

I chuckled at that. Strange how I’d gone in with the intent of cheering AJ up, and she’d managed to do the same for me. It was a good idea too. Twilight would be kept busy by court, true, but us coming up to see her would be a heck of a lot easier than her coming down to Ponyville.

Before we could discuss her idea any further though, the two of us were interrupted by a cry from Granny Smith.

“Hey, are you two whippersnappers blind or somethin’? There’s cows out there!”

Startled back to the task at hand, looking ahead, we did indeed spot a fairly large body of cattle. They were all grazing on a large section of downland . It wasn’t all of them, but it looked to be more than two thirds of the herd.

Well, that was one job out the way.

AJ and I put on a bit of speed and trotted out towards them. With any luck, we wouldn’t have to go hunting around for the rest of them, we could just ask this lot where their friends were. Cows aren’t as easy to distinguish from one another as ponies are. But over time I’ve learnt to identify the more important ones and I soon picked out Mooriel in the herd. AJ did too and we made a beeline for her, along with her now much older looking calf.

“Howdy, Mooriel, Daisy Jo.” AJ called out to the heifer and her calf.

“Well hey there, Applejack. Don’t tell me it’s time to come back down to the farm already.”

“’Fraid so,” AJ said. “But I figure we can use today to get y’all gathered together and ready for a nice leisurely drive back. So you’ve got at least one more day to enjoy yourselves up here. How have things been anyhow?”

“Well, to tell you the truth, it has been getting somewhat chilly up here the past couple nights,” the cow admitted before letting out a sigh. “Still, I never look forward to saying goodbye to these wide open spaces.”

“Don’t worry, Mooriel. It’ll all still be here come spring,” I assured, making her smile.

“Where’s the rest of your people anyhow?” AJ asked. Mooriel quickly rattled off some places to look and after asking her and her friends to stay here, we doubled back to Granny and the others and started on the round-up.

---

The round up took up pretty much the rest of the day. While actually herding the cattle wasn’t too difficult, the distances involved made for a bit of a trek. When we were harvesting the apple trees, we’d start at one end, and slowly work our way through each orchard and around the farm, moving in one direction. But given how scattered the cattle were, we couldn’t do that here. We’d head out, try three or four potential spots, find a few head of cattle and bring them back to the main herd, only to have to then go back out either in a new direction, or the same way we’d come and go further out. While I would have liked to simply have kept on rounding them all up in one big group, Granny Smith, who was after all, still very much in charge of the farm, didn’t like having the cows under our direction for so long. Driving them all together is one thing, but moving a small gaggle of heifers back and forth would both tire them out and stress them a bit. Cattle, like all animals, don’t really like being herded on an instinctual level. Driving them back would be more guiding them where they wanted to go anyway as opposed to leading or forcing them along.

In short, that meant a lot of hours on our hooves, cantering back and forth between the slowly growing herd, and various spots where the remaining strays might be found. We split up into three teams; AJ and I, Mac and his wife, and Granny and Apple Bloom. With any luck, the old trick of divide and conquer would pay off. On the flip side though, it meant we went pretty much the whole rest of the day without seeing much of each other. I was just grateful we didn’t need somepony to keep the herd together. To her credit, Mooriel and the other older and wiser girls did a perfectly fine job of keeping order amongst their kin, although some of the calves were inclined to wander.

There’s not really too much to tell here. Applejack and I chatted about this and that on our journeys, and even swapped a few stories with the cattle we came across. Most of them were fairly young, either last year’s calves, or youngsters born last spring who fancied ranging a bit further than their parents would like. And unlike the cowboys of old, we didn’t have too much to contend with in the way of adversity. Out here there were no coyotes, no range cattle to get tangled with our own brand (not that Equestrian cattle were branded, I asked Applejack about it once and she considered it an utterly barbaric practice), and certainly no bandits or Indians trying to pinch a few head, or worse. No, the only thing we had to contend with was still a ways off on the horizon.

“Looks like a pretty bad storm, Applejack,” I commented as we made our way back to the herd with our newest set of reprobates.

Applejack looked up and turned to look behind us to where I was pointing. Off in the distance, in sharp contrast to the mostly clear blue sky above, there was a nasty looking mess of clouds. The dark grey, foreboding look told me they weren’t just for show; those were storm clouds, filled with rain, and maybe even ready to turn into thunderstorms. It was November after all, and with that came a fair few rain storms, which would, come December, be replaced by cold frost and snow. We’d picked a time that was supposed to be rain free but this close to the Everfree Forest, wild storms blew in all too frequently.

Needless to say, storms and cattle don’t mix. While these cows were more than willing to put up with a little rain, a thunderstorm, complete with lightning, was a different matter. While they may be sentient and perfectly fluent in Ponish, cattle aren’t ponies. They still rely and act based on animal instinct for the most part, and a bad storm could scatter the herd, to say nothing of what could happen if we had lightning when they were still out in the open. I saw the effects first hand once back on Earth. It wasn’t pretty and I shan’t forget the smell as long as I live.

“We better hustle along then,” Applejack agreed, eyeing the weather. “Rainbow said we were due for some rain tomorrow, but I was hopin’ we’d have the herd back in before it hit.”

“What do you want to do? Drive them through the night?”

Night driving on an open plain could be done after all. But after being rounded up, I doubt many of the cattle would like the idea of a long walk home in the dark. And Celestia knows that the first rule of cattle driving is that you never let a cow take a step knowing that it is being herded. You guide them, not force them along. If they wanted to bed down and we kept pushing them, we’d just be making more work for ourselves. Plus we’d be pretty tired too, and tired hooves cause accidents.

“Let’s see what Granny thinks,” AJ said, wisely deferring to her experienced grandmother. She then turned to the five strays that were with us. “Alright, y’all. Let’s keep it movin’. Folks are gonna be waitin’ on us.”

---

Arriving back at the herd, we reunited the strays with the rest, and found that everypony else was also back. Our little group constituted the last of the strays. Finding Granny Smith pottering around the wagon, we asked her for advice on whether to drive the herd or not.

“Well, there’s ain’t no way we can get these whippersnappers back to the farm before night,” she said. “But that storm looks like it’s gonna break before too long. Ya know what’s worse than driving a herd at night? Driving a herd in the dark with a storm over your heads. The way I see it, the best thing to do is drive them to somewhere in a valley. That’ll give us all some shelter and protect us all somewhat from the lightning if it happens. We make camp and then go from there. If it’s a real bad storm, we may have to spend another day roundin’ up strays if the storm scatters them, drive them home the day after tomorrow.”

It was a sound idea. Realistically, we would have to accept that we’d be out here tonight. We knew that either way. The question was how we dealt with the storm. Granny seemed inclined to go for a tactic to mitigate the damage, rather than try to overcome the issue. It certainly sounded like a good plan in any case, and we all agreed. Now for the next point of contention.

“So where do you reckon we can hole up for the night?” I asked.

Big Mac wordlessly pulled out a map of the farm and the surrounding region. At the moment, we were on a relatively high plain, out in the open and exposed. We needed to head west to get toward the farm, crossing the river and passing by the apple orchards. But as the crow flies, the ground was all pretty open. To the north lay the Everfree Forest, complete with timberwolves amongst other predators that would be attracted to the cattle. The only option then, was south. Applejack spotted a good looking spot; a small valley, surrounded by tall hills. At the bottom was a reasonably open valley floor with enough space for us to move the cattle without trouble. The hills, along with a number of tall trees, would reduce the risk of lightning, and provide some protection from the wind. All in all, it looked like a good place to make camp.

“I reckon we can drive them all there in about three hours,” Granny declared. “That’ll give us time to settle the cattle and set up camp. Celestia knows I don’t wanna be out when it starts rainin’.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Applejack agreed. “Big Mac, can y’all help Bones drive the herd? Me and AB will guide ‘em.”

“Eeyup,” Mac agreed.

And so, we roused the herd and got ourselves into position to start driving them. Our positions were changed around this time. Mac and I had the relatively easier job, at least, once we got them going, of driving the cattle from the rear. AJ and Apple Bloom meanwhile would be positioned either side of the column to steer them. This would be a little tougher, since cattle are creatures of routine, and taking them in the wrong direction would unsettle them a bit.

It took a bit of effort to get them moving, and we had a couple false starts where part of the herd would move off and the others would just mill. Eventually though, we had them all underway, promising them shelter from the upcoming storm.

Since the storm was coming from the north, we had our backs to it, which helped encourage the cattle along, and before too long, we were settled into a relaxed drive. However, I could already feel the storm. You know just before a bad thunderstorm hits, you feel it in the air; pressure, or the electricity in the air. It’s like the atmosphere itself is tense. In a way, it’s a lot like how I, as a unicorn, perceive magic when examining it. Dark or very powerful magic has similar properties, only you need to be a unicorn to sense them. It certainly didn’t help ease my anxiety about the storm. Granny tried to help with that, as she pulled the chuck wagon along.

“Don’t worry yourself too much, Bones,” she said reassuringly. “I’ve taken herds through worse than this. We’ll ride out the storm and collect any strays tomorrow morning. As long as we get the herd bedded down and resting before the storm breaks, we should be fine.”

I nodded in understanding, but I couldn’t help but feel an ominous sense of dread as I cast a glance back at the storm, which now looked closer and more menacing than ever.

---

In the end though, we did manage to outrun the storm to our campsite. Coming down off of the plains, we led the herd into one of the many small valleys created by the hilly terrain. Ponyville, and Sweet Apple Acres, as well as a large chunk of the surrounding area after all, fall within one big valley; the Canterhorn. But it wasn’t all one big plateau. The whole area is quite hilly in places, just look at Sweet Apple Acres. As such, while we were in something of the open end of the Canterhorn, there were plenty of little gulleys, passes, and narrow valleys around. This one, which wasn’t even titled on the map we had, was actually quite narrow and resembled something of a box canyon, with steep hillsides on either side and a lush valley floor with wild apple trees below. It was here that we brought the cattle to a halt, and after milling around for a little while, sensing the oncoming rain shower, they began to bed down. Fun fact if you ever find yourself out in the country; if you ever see all the farm animals lie down, it means bad weather is on the way.

We too prepared for the storm, setting up our tents under the shelter of a small grove of apple trees. Until I came to Equestria, I never really did any camping. I never really got the appeal of doing it in Britain. Somehow the idea of huddling for warmth in a sleeping bag surrounded by a plastic tent covered in toggles and zips that’s constantly battered by the wind and thus almost impossible to put up is fun.Then again, I never got that whole “outdoor pursuits” bollocks either.

With Equestria’s more amicable climate though, it was a more pleasant affair. Aside from when it was necessary like now, going out camping in the woods was one of many family activities we all got involved in, like when we’d all go on a hike to Winsome Falls and get a close up view of the beautiful rainbow waterfalls. And Apple Bloom would sometimes camp out with the Crusaders or as part of the Filly Scouts, prompting me, AJ or Big Mac to go along to supervise. Nothing like being alone in the woods with a bunch of fillies armed with axes and fire to make you appreciate the comforts of home.

We each had a tent stowed in the wagon, along with blankets and other necessities. We now set to putting everything up. Mac meanwhile, briefly went off to find some firewood to get a fire going. While it probably wouldn’t survive the downpour too well, it would give us a chance to cook dinner and spin a few campfire tales.

And a short while later, that was precisely what we were doing. We were all gathered around a blazing campfire, with the cows settled down around us on the bed ground. The storm, so far, had held off from us, and it was now fairly dark. But with the light of the fire, there was enough light for me to read from one of my favourite old stories. I’d been reading it in a somewhat serialised fashion to Apple Bloom at bedtime, and since we were all here and getting ready to sleep ourselves, and since I’d packed it at her request, it seemed like the perfect time to finish it. Sitting around the crackling campfire out of the range certainly seemed like an appropriate place. I smiled as I came to the last couple of lines.

“But I reckon I got to light out for the Territory ahead of the rest, because Aunt Sally she’s going to adopt me and sivilize me, and I can’t stand it. I been there before.”

Closing the book, I looked up again. Apple Bloom was just barely awake, determined to hear the end of Huck’s adventures, leaning against Big Mac. We were all seated, in a rather Lyra like way, on a couple tree trunks Mac had found during his hunt for firewood. They made for good benches and were better than sitting on the ground.

“That was a great story, Bones,” Applejack said, pausing to yawn for a moment. I smiled as I closed the book and set it down next to me.

“Always was one of my favourites,” I replied. “Although some folks back home didn’t much care for it on account of some of the language.”

“What’s your favourite book, Bones?” a sleepy Apple Bloom asked. “And can you read it to me next?”

I was about to reply, and was considering whether or not ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ was appropriate for a young filly, when I was cut off by a flash of lightning, followed by a loud clap of thunder. We all started and looked up. It looked like the storm was closing in. I’d heard the odd rumble as I’d been reading, but this was much closer. The cattle sensed it too, and we heard a couple bellowing out in the herd. We barely had time to seek shelter in our tents before the wind whipped up and the rain started. In a few short minutes, we were in the heart of the storm. And there was worse to come.

We only got a short little warning before it all kicked off. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, my body somehow intuitively knowing what was about to happen. All of a sudden there was a huge flash of light, followed by an almighty crashing sound, as lightning struck one of the nearby trees, sending flaming branches hurtling to the ground.

As a rational being, this was terrifying enough, with little Apple Bloom letting out a frightened shriek and burying her head in Big Mac’s shoulder. But for the cattle, the reaction was instinctive. Seemingly as one being, they rose to their hooves and did what virtually all prey species do when presented with a threat; they ran.

“Land sakes! They’re stampeding!” Applejack exclaimed. She quickly grabbed some rope and her hat. “C’mon y’all! We’ve got to stop them before they hurt themselves. Granny, you stay with AB. Mac, Bones, with me!”

The three of us bolted out into the driving wind and rain, barely able to see or stand, and as best we could, set off after the fleeing cattle.

To be continued...

Author's Note:

Proofread by Sweetolebob18.

Ooh, a two parter. I haven't done one of these in a while. Originally, this was all going to be one chapter, but my proofreader suggested that it be broken up into two parts due to the length.

Join us next week for the exciting conclusion.

Comments

[Alden MacManx]

Just when you thought things could not get any worse...

What is it they say? Ponies plan, Weather laughs? Or something like that.

[Blade Star]

10614087 More like pegasi laugh, considering they control the weather.

[Alden MacManx]

10615255
Aye, I will concede that point to ye.

Wish I thought about it.