Running

By Alaborn

Standard disclaimer: This is a not for profit fan work. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is copyright Hasbro, Inc. I make no claim to any copyrighted material mentioned herein.

The Runner

There is one special day, as fall nears its end, when the ponies of Ponyville come together. Few ponies earn their livelihood from the bounty of the Whitetail Woods, but almost everypony participates in the Running of the Leaves. The race is the primary attraction, with a select group of racers competing for the fastest run. Yet it is the much larger number of slower runners who are more important, contributing their countless hooffalls to knocking the leaves off the trees, allowing them to safely lay dormant in the winter. Other ponies set up booths, providing food and drinks for the runners, or simply come to cheer their fellow ponies. The Running of the Leaves is a celebration enjoyed by all. Well, almost all.

Over in an isolated cottage near the Everfree Forest, two ponies who didn’t care for crowds chose to spend the morning in each other’s company. Big McIntosh and Fluttershy sat in Fluttershy’s living room, enjoying tea and the relative quiet. The chittering and squeaking of the pegasus’ animal friends was certainly better than the thundering of hooves.

“I hope we’re not making Discord jealous,” Big McIntosh said.

“After the incident at the Gala, I think he learned the lesson about having other friends. I’m sure he won’t mind me sharing tea with a mutual friend. Isn’t that right, Sir McBiggun?”

Big McIntosh snorted. “He’s still a provisional friend in my book, even if he makes for a good session of Ogres and Oubliettes.”

“I’m still surprised you’re not racing,” Fluttershy said. “I’m sure Sugar Belle would love to see you run across the finish line, all lathered and breathing heavily....”

Big McIntosh chuckled. “Racing’s for other ponies. Let Applejack and her little pegasus friend have their fun. Me, I’ll just enjoy the quiet.”

Fluttershy and Big McIntosh parted an hour later, after the race and festivities would have come to an end. The farm needed Big McIntosh’s attention, and Fluttershy always checked on the animals in the Whitetail Woods after the forest was again quiet. Once Big McIntosh was on his way, Fluttershy proceeded at a leisurely trot toward the Whitetail Woods.

Before she reached the forest, she spotted one of her raccoon friends running toward her at a rapid pace. The poor critter was panicking. He chittered to Fluttershy, his meaning hard to pick out, as he was nearly out of breath. Once she understood him, it was the pegasus’ turn to worry.

“A tree fell over? Your family is trapped in your den? Your mate is hurt? Oh my oh my oh my....” She planted a hoof firmly on the ground. “I will get help. Come here.”

Fluttershy picked up the raccoon in her forelegs and took to the air. She flew, reaching speeds that rivaled Rainbow Dash, as she went in search of the strongest pony she knew.

“Big McIntosh!” Fluttershy called once she reached Sweet Apple Acres. Hearing no response, she flew through the orchard, and then went to the farmhouse. But nopony was home.

“Twilight!” she shouted. She knew the alicorn’s magical power would be strong enough to lift even the biggest tree.

Fluttershy flew straight to the Castle of Friendship. She fortunately found Twilight Sparkle outside, talking with a group of foals. The alicorn still had twigs and leaves in her mane and tail from her own fun run with the foals.

“Fluttershy! What’s wrong?” Twilight Sparkle asked.

“A tree fell down in the Whitetail Woods and trapped Mr. Sharp Ear’s family and injured his mate!” she replied. “Can you come with me and save them?”

“Of course.” She turned to the foals. “I’m sorry, but I need to help my friend.”

The foals whined and muttered, but started to depart.

“I’ll teleport us to the edge of the Whitetail Woods,” Twilight Sparkle told Fluttershy. “Can you lead us after that?”

Fluttershy spoke to the raccoon, and nodded.

“Okay. Let’s go.”

With a pop, Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, and the raccoon reappeared at the edge of the Whitetail Woods. The smell of leaves and freshly disturbed soil hung heavily in the air following the work done in the Running of the Leaves. The raccoon pointed in a direction, and Fluttershy flew off.

Soon, they reached the fallen tree. A mighty oak, decades old, it now lay fallen on the ground. The broken wood of the stump revealed the rot, previously hidden, that caused the tree to fall when the ponies ran past it, shaking the ground.

The raccoon chittered and pointed. Twilight Sparkle concentrated and slowly lifted the fallen tree with her magic. Fluttershy scooped up the injured female raccoon, one hind leg clearly broken from where the tree landed on it.

Twilight Sparkle scanned the raccoon. “It looks like a clean break. I don’t see any internal bleeding.”

“You are one very lucky raccoon,” Fluttershy said to the hurt animal. “Let me splint your leg, and then I’ll take you to the veterinarian.”

The male raccoon now had two kits around his legs, and they all watched with worry as Fluttershy tended to the female. Meanwhile, Twilight Sparkle was studying the fallen tree, mentally noting who she would need to talk to in town to make sure no other trees presented a danger.

Twilight Sparkle’s ears perked as she heard somepony approaching. From the cadence of the hooffalls, it was somepony running. As far as she remembered, even the slowest ponies finished the race more than an hour ago. She got up to warn the runner about the fallen tree.

She watched the runner approach. The first thing she noticed was the runner’s form. She had read all about running before participating in her first Running of the Leaves, and so she remembered what she read about the mechanics of running. This pony’s form was perfect, with the graceful long strides that any professional racer would strive to execute. The second thing she noticed was who this pony was.

“Big McIntosh?”

Fluttershy looked up. “Big McIntosh! Please stop! It’s dangerous.”

Big McIntosh came to a halt, skidding in the leaves and loam. “Fluttershy? Twilight? What are you doing here?”

“The real question is, what are you doing here? I thought you said you didn’t like to run. Did you lie to me?”

“And why are you wearing that number?” Twilight Sparkle asked. He wore a paper with a number over his cutie marks, but this paper was old and yellowed.

Big McIntosh pawed the ground, looking for all the world like a colt with his hoof caught in the cookie jar. “I don’t want to run.”

“But you are a great runner!” Twilight Sparkle said.

“You’re running. You want to run,” Fluttershy said.

“It’s not something I can talk about,” he said quietly.

“But you want to talk about it,” Fluttershy said. “It’s bothering you not to talk about it.”

“Eeyup,” he said. He looked nervously at Twilight Sparkle.

“I want you to come by my cottage this evening, and we can talk,” Fluttershy said. “I won’t tell anypony. Pinkie Promise.”

“Even...?”

“Even Applejack.”

That evening, Big McIntosh sat at Fluttershy’s kitchen table as they shared dinner. Off to the side, the old racing numbers rested. Big McIntosh glanced at them as he ate.

“Whenever you’re ready to talk, I’m ready to listen,” Fluttershy said.

“Those were from the first time I signed up for the Running of the Leaves,” Big McIntosh finally said. “Ma and Pa said I could run once I turned ten. I always liked running. I even thought it might be my special talent, and I was sure that doing the Running of the Leaves would get me my cutie mark. So the first day they had sign-ups, I was there at town hall the moment it opened. Signed up right away. Got number 1. I was so excited.”

“But you didn’t run,” Fluttershy stated.

“That was the year that... that Ma and Pa passed. And Applejack wanted to go off and live in the big city with Aunt and Uncle Orange. It was at that time, looking at Granny Smith and baby Apple Bloom, that I knew I had to be the heart of Sweet Apple Acres. And that’s when I got this,” Big McIntosh said, motioning to his cutie mark.

“But you’re wondering what might have been. To race in all those big city marathons. To run for Ponyville in the Equestria Games.”

“Eeyup. But there’s no way I can know what might have been.”

“Au contraire,” said a voice from a figure who hadn’t been present a moment ago.

“Discord!” Fluttershy shouted.

“What? I can’t be moved by this big softy’s sad tale?” Discord said, wiping away an overly large fake tear.

“It’s not your business,” Fluttershy stated bluntly.

“As it happens, au contraire,” Discord said. “As a cosmic being, I have my claws in many different worlds. And I just happen to know of somepony, or rather someone, who is looking for the greatest equine racer. You see, there’s a title, given to a certain kind of champion runner, that hasn’t been given out for decades. And this gentlebeing desires more than anything to train this kind of champion. The only problem, you see, is finding the right equine. Somepony with heart, with will, and with what Sparklebutt says is the perfect runner’s form. So what say you?”

“No can do. I still can’t leave Sweet Apple Acres,” Big McIntosh said.

“Ah, but there’s the thing! You won’t need to leave at all! I will simply give you the opportunity to experience what might have been, while you sleep! On one side of the coin, you will be Big McIntosh, loyal and hardworking farmpony. And on the other, you will be Big McIntosh, champion runner. Surely you can see this arrangement will be to both of our satisfactions?”

“You tried to rule Equestria. Then you sold us out to that monster Tirek.”

“Water under the bridge,” Discord said, to the sound of a rushing river. “Why don’t I give you a sample?” He conjured up a cup of tea, and placed it in front of Big McIntosh. “Here’s a cup of Fluttershy’s famous chamomile tea, with a little something extra. Have a sip, and you’ll get a taste of your dreams. What say you?”

“I don’t know,” he replied.

“I never knew Sir McBiggun could be so cowardly,” Discord taunted.

“Give me that,” Big McIntosh said, grabbing the cup of tea. He lifted it to his lips and took a sip....

The first thing Big McIntosh noticed was the smell. The odor of dirt, dung, and unwashed ponies assaulted his nostrils. Then he experienced vertigo as his brain registered that he was seeing far more than he should. He looked ahead, and at the same time looked behind. Such things did not happen! There was a strange feeling in his sinuses, like there was something wrong with his muzzle. Focusing the vision from his wrong eyes, he saw his muzzle protruding much further than it should.

Once he focused on what he was seeing, rather than on how wrong it all felt, he could see several other ponies. Except they weren’t ponies. Their colors were all wrong, mostly being various shades of brown. They had muzzles that were far too long, and eyes on the side of their head, rather than their proper place in front. He felt a twinge in the pit of his stomach as he recognized that he was likely one of these mutant ponies as well.

He found a trough of water. It smelled stale, and had probably been used by these mutant ponies as a source of drinking water. None were using it right now, so Big McIntosh could see his reflection in the surface of the still water. As he feared, he looked like the other ponies. He had the same dull mane, same brown color, with only a faint star mark on his face distinguishing himself

Then, he noticed the others beings around, bipedal creatures. While he had never met them himself, he knew from his schooling about all the races that lived in his world, including various strange creatures who could somehow walk with only two legs. But these creatures looked nothing like the ones in his schoolbooks. They lacked the horns of the minotaur, the coats of the Abyssinian cats or yetis... in fact, they appeared to have no coats at all. Just bare skin, with a similarly narrow range of colors like those seen on his fellow equines.

One of these creatures, a smaller one by his estimation, approached him. Big McIntosh became aware of the saddle and harness he was wearing as the creature put one of his legs into a loop attached to his saddle. He used it to lift himself onto his back, sitting in the saddle. He opened his mouth to protest, but all that came out was an annoyed whinny.

Then he felt the creature pull on the reins, the harness directing his sight to a dirt track ahead. He felt the legs of the creature on his back press on his sides, and he sensed the urge to move forward. More pressure from the creature, and he started running faster.

The track, Big McIntosh discovered, was just like the racing tracks used in the Equestria Games. Groomed dirt, perfect for hungry hooves to grip. And nopony was hungrier than him.

He raced. Big McIntosh raced, hooves pounding, claiming ground as he moved his strange body as fast as possible. He reacted to the movement of the creature on his back: a prod to the flanks indicating an increase in speed, a tug on the reins signaling a shift in lanes, a pull back telling him to slow.

He ran. Faster than he had ever ran before. He felt unwieldy, like he did as a colt when he first put on his father’s yoke, but he could still put four legs in motion. And when he ran with these other equines, each with one of these strange bipeds on his back, he recalled past dreams of racing. They were competitors, and he was going to finish the Running of the Leavers faster than them. And so he raced.

He raced all day, until the sun fell below the horizon. Then, Big McIntosh was herded into a stable, filled with more of these equines. He tried to speak, but he could not form words. It would have been a futile gesture, as these creatures reacted with a blank gaze, the look of the unintelligent swine living at Sweet Apple Acres.

He heard a sound, one he knew. The sound of feed being poured into a trough. Where pigs would rush to feed, now he joined the herd in rushing to feed.

He felt a sharp pain in his rear. One of the other equines, his competition, had bitten his tail. He turned to face his challenger, snorting in indignation.

“Eenope,” Big McIntosh said.

“What’s wrong? Isn’t it what you always wanted?” Discord said.

“I ain’t nopony’s mount,” he replied.

“Our dear Princess Sparklebutt is happy to serve as the loyal steed for her number one assistant. Surely you could do the same?” Discord said.

“I won’t be some unthinking beast for your amusement,” he replied.

“Oh, don’t be like that. I did specify equine, not pony,” Discord said. “And now, you get to see that there are many kinds of equines.”

“Not helping.”

“Fine by me,” Discord said. “I guess that equine that nipped your tail will just become the greatest runner that world will know.”

Big McIntosh leveled his eyes at Discord. “Send me back,” he said.

Author's Notes:

As you read, can you figure out what specifically is happening?