Junebug watched with amused exasperation as her friend fidgeted impatiently, alternately straining to see the village clock tower from their location under the trees and peering back down the road as she strode anxiously back and forth. Despite the sunshine, a chilly wind ruffled manes and tails and sent the patchy cloud overhead racing eastwards. It also set the boughs of Whitetail Wood waving, the leaves in their funeral glories of bright yellows and oranges of every hue dancing and undulating like a sea of living autumn flame.

“They are coming, aren't they? I mean, it's nearly eleven o'clock!” her friend fretted.

“Yes, Summer, of course they're coming,” she said patiently. Crowds of ponies were milled about the clearing excitedly. A few dedicated sorts were already limbering up, intense looks on their faces, while the less serious competitors stood around chattering with their fellow entrants, laughing and joking with varying degrees of nerves. Nearly the whole remainder of the town had turned out carrying banners and posters supporting friends and family, and the food stalls on the far side were doing a roaring trade from hungry spectators, but less well on the competitors. Come the end of the day, Junebug knew, there would barely be a morsel left over.

Summer huffed impatiently, “Registration closes in ten minutes! What can they be doing?!”

Junebug eyebrows nearly disappeared into her mane, “Are you absolutely sure you want me to answer that?” she asked in an innocent voice, roaring with laughter as Summer froze in mid-stride, a look of horror on her face as her mind frantically slammed into reverse.

The little grey mare let out a strangled noise of revulsion, “Did you have to say that?!” she demanded.

“Apparently I did! Settle down, they'll be here,” she said soothingly, but couldn't resist adding, “Anypony would think you hadn't seen them in months!”

Summer rolled her eyes affectionately and kept pacing.

“You won't be able to do that, either,” he pointed out.

Cloud Kicker giggled, letting the upstroke of her wings linger, and slid neatly out of flight and onto the ground beside him, keeping pace with his gentle trot. Around them, a steady stream of ponies trotted towards the clearing where the race would start, which was already swamped with eager spectators and competitors. A large balloon was tethered above it all with the unmistakable figure of Pinkie Pie hanging over the side of the basket, waving excitedly down at the crowd.

“Keep pouting about it, big guy, it's adorable!” she teased.

He threw her a quick grin, “Hey, I just thought we were doing this together.”

She rolled her eyes, “All this time with a Pegasus pony and you still don't get it, do you? This is a race! The whole idea is to come first!” she explained patiently, weaving through the crowd.

He winked at her, “Well, OK then. Just don't expect me to wait for you.”

She gasped, her eyes flying wide, “Wait for me!” she huffed, swatting his flank playfully with her wingtip as her laughter bubbled up, “You'll be lucky if I'm not back in Ponyville by the time you come puffing over the line!”

“Now that's some big talk, right there! What say the winner buys dinner tonight?” suggested Silver, exchanging a hoof-bump and a “Good luck!” with Caramel on the way past.

“The winner buys? How does that work?”

He opened his mouth to reply and stopped dead. She looked over to see a little black-maned grey Unicorn smiling hopefully at them, flicking her ringed ears nervously, while behind her, Junebug beamed happily.

Silver swallowed, but his voice was still hoarse when he spoke, “Loser's in charge of dessert,” he said absently, “Excuse me.”

He walked over to his lifelong friend on suddenly-unsteady hooves and the two simply stared at each other for a long moment, huge smiles growing slowly on their faces, before sweeping each other up into tight hugs.

He held her for a long time while the shock wore off, leaving a strange sense of wonder. He'd never doubted she would be back, but just to have her right there again felt... like coming home. He took a deep breath, “So, admit it – you missed me, didn't you?”

Summer laughed, pulling her foreleg tighter around his neck for a second. “In your dreams, ya big jerk!”

“Feels weird, though, doesn't it?” he said quietly, and her humour faded as they stepped apart.

“Yeah. I don't know why – it shouldn't do, but somehow... I don't know.”

So she felt it, too. Maybe it was just a sense that while they would always be friends, their lives were moving inexorably in different directions. He forced his mind away from such melancholy thoughts, “How's things in Canterlot? I hear you're well set-up by now?”

“Hard,” she summarised after a moment, “I'm starting to get known, and I even get a few regulars from the castle, but it's a long slog. That, and I don't have my best friend there any more to cheer me up, or call me an idiot when I need it.”

He laughed, “Yup, you've hit on all my best qualities, there!”

She let out a sigh, affection mingled with disbelief on her face, “You're looking good, Sils. Much better than when I left, anyway.”

He flexed his foreleg experimentally. The scars where they had repaired his upper foreleg were mostly hidden under his coat, but a long, jagged line ran darkly down his shoulder almost to his knee. “The ribs were the worst part. Once I could stand again, I was always sort of perched on three legs because moving this one moved my ribs. I learned not to do that pretty quickly!”

Summer bit her lip, giving him a sympathetic look. “I should have stuck around longer. You know, Applejack tried to tell me I was running out on you.”

Silver shrugged, “And what would you have done, Sums? I was going to heal at the same rate, no matter what. Hey, I'm supposed to be a big pony now, remember?”

“I remember.” She gave him a brief smile, “And you already had somepony to help you, too, didn't you?” she added softly.

Silver turned his head to watch the Pegasus mare talking excitedly to Junebug. “Yeah, I guess I did.”

Summer snorted at the look on his face, “So, prepared to admit she's cute, yet?”

He turned back to her, grinning broadly. “Nope!”

She laughed, shaking her head in wonder. “Jerk! You're hopeless!”

He laughed along with her for a minute, but his eyes were always drawn back to Cloud Kicker.

“She's beautiful.”

“You arranged this, didn't you? Why didn't you tell me?”

Junebug glanced around to find that Cloud Kicker had joined her while the other two spoke, “I wanted it to be a surprise. For Silver, and for you.”

She could see her friend's eyes sparkle as she watched her coltfriend, “I think it worked!”

“They've been staying away from each other for quite a while. I know they'll see each other in a few weeks anyway, but this seemed like a good opportunity to do something before then.”

“I think Silver wanted to give her some space to get settled in and do her own thing,” said Cloud Kicker, “And how do you know they'll see each other in a few weeks?”

Junebug shuffled her hooves in embarrassment, “I saw your dress for the Grand Galloping Gala last week. I was visiting Rarity for some running repairs on my old cardie, and she was busy working on it. But now it's my turn to ask why you didn't tell me? Good heavens, the Gala! However did you get tickets?”

The Pegasus lowered her head demurely, “We didn't want to make a big thing about it. The tickets were part of an invitation from Princess Luna. I think Silver was a bit worried about that for a while.”

“Princess Luna herself?” Junebug gasped, “Oh my! Now I really am jealous!”

Cloud Kicker shrugged awkwardly, “I dunno. I asked Rarity about it because I know she's been to one, but she wouldn't tell me anything, just said to make sure you had good friends with you.”

“Well, I think you're in luck there. Summer is going, isn't she?”

“Yeah, she got the same invitation that we did, and we were both looking forward to seeing her again. Silver and I are doing great together – better than great, really – but he's missed her so much, June. Sometimes he looks around and for a fraction of a second he wonders why she isn't there.”

““How could he not? She was a massive part of nearly his whole life. And now he has you instead, although that's quite a bit different,” Junebug pointed out.

“Yeah. I think that still surprises him sometimes, too! He'll be fine, it's just taking him a while to get used to the idea. It's great to see them back together again, though.”

Junebug's reply was drowned out by the perky, amplified voice from above.

“Fillies and gentlecolts! Welcome to this year's Running of the Leaves! I'm Pinkie Pie,”

“And I'm Spike,” added a second voice, this one the lower, more gravelly voice of Twilight's young dragon assistant,

“And together, we'll be your official Puh-eye in the Sky pony-pursuing presenter pair! It's time for all our competitors to loosen up those limbs and stretch those gaskins, because there's just under ten minutes to start time!”

Silver looked up from his conversation with Summer, “I'd better go and pick up our numbers,” he said reluctantly.

“I could-” Junebug began, but he was already trotting off. “Go and do that for you,” she finished to nopony in particular. “Does he always do that?” she asked the other mares as Summer rejoined them.

“Yes!” Summer and Cloud Kicker groaned in simultaneous exasperation, and all three burst out laughing at the two identical eye-rolls.

“He'd better be looking after you right,” said Summer, craning her neck to watch him go.

Cloud Kicker gave her a slightly shocked look, “You think he wouldn't?”

“He will if he's got any sense, he's done very well for himself!” Summer grinned.

“What about me?” asked Cloud Kicker, seemingly torn between being offended and amused.

Summer gave her a very earnest look, “You have my heartiest condolences!”

They all laughed, but Junebug noticed a familiar, rather dreamy look settle over her Pegasus friend.

“He's an absolute sweetie! Moving in together's a big change for both of us, I guess, but I wouldn't swap him for the world. Although I keep finding him going through books on weather management, which is a bit weird for an Earth pony.”

Junebug felt a rush of warmth for the tall, grey pony, “He's trying to learn about what you do. Does he ask you questions if you talk about work, now?”

“Yeah, actually. And he's kind enough not to laugh when he talks me into making wooden things. I have to say, I quite like doing bowls, although I'm not very good at it yet. Most of all, he makes things fun.”

“Yes, I heard about Hearts and Hooves day,” said Summer, “I don't think Ponyville will ever be the same again! Where in Equestria did he get all the ammunition?”

Cloud Kicker laughed, “Pinkie Pie, of course! She thought she'd died and gone to heaven! But how did you hear about it?”

“I had a letter from one of my spies,” said Summer, with a wink at Junebug.

Cloud Kicker had awoken on Hearts and Hooves day to find breakfast next to her bed, along with a large basket of cupcakes with a note on top. After eating, she and Silver had stalked each other across Ponyville having an epic food fight. Junebug had seen them all over town, laughing their heads off as the confectionery flew. The first to score a hit got a kiss, and then twenty seconds to escape. She'd last seen them at lunchtime when the game came to an end, walking closely together towards a little spot overlooking the dam.

Cloud Kicker lowered her eyes with a beatific little smile, “And there's nothing like coming home after an awful night on weather patrol to somepony warm and welcoming. He doesn't even complain when I put horrible, cold, wet wings all over him!”

“A veritable prince amongst stallions,” said Summer drily, “Although I don't know whether I ought to fetch a bucket – bit too much information there, Cloudy!”

Cloud Kicker hung her head, but Junebug couldn't restrain her laughter. Feeling she ought to support the young mare, she said, “We're making note of this for when it's your turn, Summer!”

“Yeah! I'm sure one of those handsome Canterlot stallions must have caught your eye by now?” said Cloud Kicker hurriedly, but Summer just grinned.

“That would be telling!”

“You've spent too much time hanging out with Silver,” the Pegasus huffed in mock-indignation.

“Did I hear your dulcet tones sighing over my awesomeness, sunshine?” said Silver, slapping a sticky-backed race number over Cloud Kicker's cutie mark with relish. Cloud Kicker blushed.

Summer just rolled her eyes, “You know, one day I always hoped you'd grow up,” she said in a bored voice.

“Where's the fun in that?”

“All right, ponies, those leaves aren't going to fall by themselves! Five minutes, five minutes to race-time!” Pinkie chirped from above.

“You could always join us, you know. I could ask if they'd take a late entry for you, Summer?” Silver said idly.

Summer just turned her nose up, “I'm not even going to dignify that with an answer.”

Junebug found herself chuckling at their interplay, but it was time for them to be going. “Well, good luck, you two. We can continue this when you get back.”

“Cloud Kicker, make sure you kick his flank!” added Summer.

“A fine friend you turned out to be,” sniffed Silver, comically offended.

“Hey, us mares have to stick together!”

Cloud Kicker wove through the crowd at Silver's shoulder while Pinkie and Spike warmed up overhead.

“It looks like another big, big race this year, doesn't it, Spike?”

“Absolutely, Pinkie, there's any number of ponies with a point to prove. Can Daisy retain her title? Will Wind Whistler improve on last year's surprise third?”

“And can Applejack and Rainbow Dash restrain their over-competitive instincts? Both claim to be Ponyville's premier athlete but were comprehensively outpaced by our resident librarian, Twilight Sparkle, last time 'round!”

“Uh...” Spike trailed off, but everypony could hear him off-mic telling his co-presenter, “I'm pretty sure they don't want to be reminded about that, Pinkie! Rainbow sulked for a week last time.”

Pinkie just laughed, “Of course they need reminding! If we don't remind them, they might do it again!”

Cloud Kicker could see Applejack roaring with laughter but beside her, Rainbow Dash was glaring sullenly up at the balloon. As for Twilight, the Unicorn herself simply looked mortified.

“Time Turner, Ponyville's official time-keeper, is waving up at me; he's set to go, and we're nearing start time!” boomed Spike's amplified voice.

“Cloud Kicker, there you are!” exclaimed a purple Pegasus with a darker mane and tail as they trotted by. Another Pegasus mare, this one tan with a pink mane, stopped in mid-stretch and smiled at her, too.

“Berryfeather! Dizzy! I knew you two must be here somewhere!” said Cloud Kicker excitedly. Silver nodded at them both, looking amused.

“We were starting to think you'd gotten lost,” said Dizzy.

“Or found something more interesting to do,” added Berryfeather, nudging her friend knowingly.

She grinned at them, “How could I miss running with all my friends? Especially with last year's time to beat – and now a big lunk to put in his place!”

A bugle call went up and all around them ponies jostled for position, a few final stretches going in while the more serious types took up station as close behind the tape as possible.

“That's a big task – on both fronts! Good luck, Cloud Kicker!” said Dizzy.

“Likewise!” added Berryfeather hurriedly.

“Good luck, you two – I'll see you at the finish!

Cloud Kicker wriggled her hooves in the spongy loam of the forest floor, ensuring she had a good grip for the start, and glanced over at Silver. He was grinning at her with that look, the one that he knew made her legs go wobbly, darn him!

“See you at the finish line. You can choose dessert!”

His voice was soft and sultry in her ear, making her shiver. It was a half-second before she realised that the bell had gone, and with the tail end of the runners galloping past her, she dug her hooves in and charged after them and one tall grey pony in particular. Darn him!

“And they're off in this year's Running of the Leaves! Ooh, that's an awful start from Cloud Kicker, Pinkie!”

Yes, thank you for that, Spike, she thought irritatedly.

“Yes, Spike, she completely missed the bell. I think she must have had something on her mind,” Pinkie agreed cheerfully.

Cloud Kicker gritted her teeth and tried not to think of throttling her coltfriend when she caught him up. Patience, she told herself. She knew where he slept, after all! Amidst the cascade of golds and reds from above, she also tried to dodge the worst of the dirt thrown up by the galloping herd, but given the recent rain there was little avoiding a plastering – other than being at the front of the pack. Darn him!

She dug deep and put on a burst of speed, slowly advancing through the field as they settled into their steady gaits, trying to conserve energy for the rest of the course. Silver was about a third of the way back and going strongly, but she gradually reeled him in and then, snorting like the Friendship Express at full steam, sprinted past him.

“Catch me if you can, big guy!” she called mockingly over her shoulder, racing ahead through the trees. She knew she would pay for this extra effort later in the race, but a point had to be made. She risked a glance back over her shoulder and was shocked to see him on her tail, a competitive glint in his eye. Let him try!

Galloping onwards, she grinned to herself.

Come to think of it, she really didn't mind being caught.