53 Running of the Leaves.

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A longer chapter. I hope it turned out well.

Like always guys... ENJOY!!!

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"START!" The command resounded and all the ponies at the starting line broke into gallop.

Rainbow Dash and Applejack were the first to take the lead, both clearly much stronger and faster than your average pony, but there was a few ponies that actually showed some ability not falling too far behind the two Mares.

Starfall could of course easily surpass all of them if he wanted to, but he decided to take Twilight's approach and and accompany her in appreciating the sights of the road chosen for this year's Running of the Leaves.

"Those two are really competitive, aren't they?" Commented Twilight while they trotted a little behind the rushing ponies, the colorful leaves falling all around them bringing out a surprisingly romantic atmosphere.

"They sure are. Both of them are really strong, but while Applejack uses her strength mostly in practical ways, Rainbow enjoys being flashy and competing with other ponies at every occasion, and because Applejack is pretty stubborn, she wouldn't refuse a challenge. It's good that they are such close friends though, because their quarrels could have easily turned malicious if it was otherwise..." He said, only after a few seconds realising that they would end up fighting dirty anyway through the race...

He pondered for a while whether to interfere but finally decided to let them figure it out themselves but watch close for any irregularities.

If anything started to turn different than in the show, he would instantly try to save the situation. Otherwise if it happens like it ought to, the girls are going to end up tying at the last place because of their quarrel, and it was going to be a good lesson for both of them...

He turned back to Twilight who went back to admiring the nature around them, and he couldn't help but smile when he saw her carefree expression. His marefriend always had the tendency to worry over every little thing and It was rare for her to just forget about everything and just relax and enjoy the moment. He wasn't about to wake her up from it, opting instead to admire how pretty she looked with the wind ruffling her mane and her eyes sparkling in the sun like her name implied...

Yes...It was a very enjoyable run...

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Phoebe was currently staying in the library. It was her favourite spot in the house, and seeing as the entire house was practically a one big library in a tree, it wasn't that surprising that she loved the new place and she wasn't that bothered with her family moving to Ponyville.

Today was already ending up awesome! No ponies bothering her. No Dragon brothers wanting to play games when she was reading her book. Don't get her wrong, She loves Spike, she really do, but he is a boy and honestly, he Is a bit too childish for her liking. Sometimes she wished that phoenixes grew up a bit slower, as she was only a few hours older than the little dragon and yet it seems as if an age gap grew between them before they realised it.

But He was still her little brother and she cared for him...But gosh! She wanted some peace and quiet every now and then! Was that so hard to understand?...

But maybe that's her fault too...She enjoyed pranking her brother, so she should expect no less from him, and when was he supposed to prank her if not during her free time?

Phoebe trilled a sigh and returned to her book with her enthusiasm slowly returning. Everypony were out of the Library giving her the so longed for silence. Spike went out with his 'secret' marefriend for a 'not a date' while everypony else were attending the Running of the leaves and Phoebe could finally rest and laze for the entire day like she hoped.

A second book floated from a drawer and she once again trilled in excitement seeing the cover.

It was the same book that her 'Daddy' Wrote and that contained all the knowledge about the magical language!

She already knew a lot about this thanks to being her daddy's assistant, but she wanted to know more! She wanted to have it memorised just like her daddy!

After all, she was a very strong magical creatures, and she could already control her magic to an extent and cast a few spells like the levitation spell, thanks to her Daddy's profound teachings!

He was really amazing, and she hoped that he would praise her for her hard work when he returned. He always gave the best headpats despite his hard hooves, and she couldn't wait to show him her recent progress!

With that, her body and the two books burst into whites flames and both the phoenix and the books disappeared before reappearing at the balcony in a similar burst of flames, a technique she picked up from Philomena a while back in Canterlot.

She sat down on her favourite perch and opened the first book, diving into the lecture with a content trill...

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The Competition had been going great for the most part and everypony did their best to reach the finish line as soon as possible, but there ware a few oddballs like Starfall and Twilight who admired the sights, or Applejack and Rainbow Dash who did all they could to outrun and hinder the other one.

Derpy was at first confused with Pinkie when she started to talk about random stuff and chimichangas or something like that, but she managed to steer the conversation closer to the topic of the race and whether the runners would each burn around a muffin of fat or if it was going to be more...

But soon everything was going to end as only a short distance parted the runners from the finish line.

Everyone were already breathing heavily and it was very surprising for them when a duo of unicorns suddenly passed them all In a full out gallop.

Those two were Twilight and Starfall.

Twilight was much stronger physically than she was in the show so it wasn't that surprising when they took the lead and were about to reach the quarrelling duo of Applejack and Rainbow, but the two Mares finally got tangled in the same rope that bounded The Pegasus earlier causing the two to instantly get overcome by everypony else...

"Congratulations! it seems like we have two winners of this year's Running of the Leaves!" Said Mayor Mare who stood at the finish line as she came over to Twilight and Starfall with Two badges.

"I can't believe we won!" Said amazed Twilight and Starfall just laughed.

"It's all thanks to your reading" He teased and she blushed before shaking her head.

"No, the technique would have only take me so far. It's thanks to the training you put me through, That I had the stamina to overcome the others." She said remembering when he taught her how to strengthen her body using magic.

"I'm sure. With how exhausted you are after a good work out it's no wonder your stamina increased." He wiggled his eyebrows and Twilight realized that he wasn't talking about normal workout.

"you're so bad!" She playfully hit his shoulder with her hoof as her face turned crimson.

Starfall laughed and took Twilight to the two overly competitive mares after thanking Mayor mare.

The two girls were talking with an excited Pinkie Pie and it seemed like they just learned that they tied...at the last place...

"So...who won then?" Asked Rainbow, feeling regretful about her previous unsportsmanlike behaviour.

"That would be us." Said Starfall with a grin and the girls turned their heads towards him only to open their eyes wide when they saw the badges with numbers one on their chests.

"You!? But...how?" Asked Rainbow incredulously.

"Well, obviously by tying for the first place. And if your asking how we got the first place in the... well... first place. That's thanks to Twily's idea of conserving our strength and my regular training regimen." Starfall explained in amusement as he watched The Pegasus going through a number of emotions and finally stopping on shame...Yep she did learn something today, and so did Applejack as she chuckled in embarrassment.

"Seems like we got what we deserved huh.." Said the orange farm pony as she gazed at Rainbow Dash who returned the gaze with a wry smile.

"Yeah. Sorry about all that. I was so focused on winning our competition that I forgot to enjoy it..." Said Rainbow, trying to convey her feelings on the matter and apologise to her friend.

"It's alright Dash. Even I got a bit too into it at the end. No need to apologize any more..." She said with a smile helping the other mare out of the ropes that still were partially wrapped around them. Then a sly smirk appeared on her face.

"But it still doesn't change the fact we don't know whose the better athlete..." She said, causing Rainbow Dash's eyes to reignite with new fire.

"What do you propose then?" She said but suddenly felt a chill when she saw Applejack's expression as she leaned towards her and whispered her idea into her ear.

"Rainbow instantly looked at her shocked and her face turned crimson.

"Wha- Applejack! This!...I-I'm not ready!..." She said as her gaze momentarily turned to Starfal.

"What? So you're chickening out? And here I thought that you of all ponies wouldn't shy out from a competition." Said an amused Applejack, happy to finally turn the tables on Rainbow Dash.

"This...This is different!" She tried to defend herself but the smug look of Applejack was finally too much for her so she relented.

"Fine!" She shouted annoyed, but then her expression turned embarrassed again.

"Just...Give me some time, alright? I wouldn't want the first time to come from a bet..." She said once again embarrassed sending Starfall a shy look.

"It's fine. Just don't take too long or we're all gonna die from old age..." Joked the farm pony teasingly.

Rainbow Dash just snorted awkwardly and then steeled her expression before turning towards Starfall putting on her usual confident face but Starfall could somehow tell that she was extremely nervous.

"Uhh... Starfall...I was thinking that maybe you wanted to hang out some times together? You could show me some of this magic stuff you do or even this training regimen you are doing..." Said The Pegasus and Starfall was starting to understand the current situation.

He smiled and replied to Rainbow.

"Sure. I'd love to hang out with you. I'm sure you have some cool stunts you could show me and I might even join you in some of them if I improve my levitation spell." He winked and Rainbow instantly got interested in what he just said. That he agreed to hang out with her was even better and Rainbow realized that she just couldn't wait until then. She should have asked him out a long time ago...

The group of friends quickly fell into a regular conversation afterwards and they were soon joined by Fluttershy and Rarity who only participated as the spectators in the Race, opting to join the medical team in case of emergencies during the Running.

They decided to spend the rest of the day in the Sugarcube Corner which forced a certain young duo to sneak out of the establishment through a window, despite the fact that there really wasn't a reason for them to hide from the seven ponies in the first place...