Living With Colgate ii: Ruining of the Leaves Part 1

>It's mid-Autumn, the season of dead leaves and cold air.
>A piercing wind blows through the trees and hits you dead on, freezing you in your tracksuit.
>You cross your arms and wait for it to pass, regretting your choice of attire.
>What a terrible day for a run.
>The red and gold treetops of Whitetail Wood are coming into view over the hill, a collage of colorful leaves that would all be on the ground in a few short hours.
>It would happen whether you participate or not, so why are you doing your part? Why aren't you at home in front of the fire with a hot cup of tea, personal initiative be damned?
>That's a question for Colgate.
>The little blue pony who entered your names into ‘the running of the leaves’ stands at your side with her eyes closed and her mouth wide open, softly snoring. A number 98 is pinned to her chest fluff.
“Colgate!”
>She blinks her eyes open and looks around.
>”Hm? Oh! What?”
“I want to go home.”
>”No! Annie, you promised! We've been training for this all year! Once we win this race, everyone will admire us and want to be our friend!”
“You think ponies dislike you because you don't win races?”
>She shrugs.
>”Well, it's easier than changing my personality.”
>You pick up walking again in the direction of the trees.
“Easy? We're racing, how many, ninety-eight other ponies?”

>”Anon, with your long legs and my smarts, we'll be the first ones across the finish line for sure!”
“What does being smar-”
>”Excuse me,” a voice calls out from behind you. It's Twilight Sparkle. “You guys, it's not about winning, it's about having fun!”
“I'm miserable.”
>Colgate waves her away. “Twilight, you're only saying that because you're slow.”
>Twilight rolls her eyes. “You know, I remember a friendship lesson just like this. This one time, Applejack and Rainbow Dash were so fixated on being the fastest pony, they even tried to sabotage each other! And after that-”
>”Nobody cares, Twilight!” Colgate says. “You're interrupting! Anon was trying to ask me about strategy.”
>”Don't say I didn't warn you!” Twilight says as she moves on ahead.
>You turn to face Colgate.
“That's why ponies dislike you.”
>”They're lining up already, Anon! Let's go!”

>You look around at the ponies taking their places behind the white line on the ground.
>A lot of them look like proper athletes, not just casual runners like yourself.
>And although Colgate was an avid runner and had been forcing you to run with her every morning for the better part of the year, even she looks out of her league in this crowd.
>”Racers! Take your places!” Spike shouts redundantly from the balloon overhead.
>You focus on the road ahead of you. This will require all of your concentration and willpower.
>There's no chance of winning, but you're starting to wonder what you're capable of.
>”On your marks!” Spike reiterates.
>Everyone had been on their marks for a while now.
>But you still don't feel ready..
>”Ready?” Spike shouts.
>Colgate smiles at you and winks.
“What?”
>“GO!”
>You jump and take off running with the rest of the racers.
>Your feet are light on the ground, you're in the zone.
>The colorful ponies and trees are a blur around you, your eyes are fixed on the path ahead.
>After the initial rush, things calm down and you're surprised to see how close you are to the front of the pack.
>You're not in first place, or even fifteenth, but you're up there.
>With a newfound determination, you overtake the pony in front of you.
>Colgate skips merrily at your side, keeping pace with little effort. “See, this is fun!”
>You have to admit to yourself, this is almost better than not participating.
>The cheering of onlookers grows faint as you leave the area and approach the first bend.
>Spike’s balloon is obscured by the tall branches.
>The air around you is filled with falling red leaves, making it difficult to see much else.
>Suddenly Colgate pulls you to the side and nudges you off the path.
“Hey! We're falling behind!”
>”Don't worry! This is a shortcut!”
>Her telekinetic grip on your arm doesn't give you much choice as she pulls you along.

“What the hell! I thought you wanted to prove yourself!”
>”I am proving myself!”
“Proving yourself a cheater.”
>The wind is gone from your sails. Whatever strive you had is no more.
>”Welcome to the real world.” Says the miniature talking blue unicorn.
>You stare blankly at her.
>”It's true! When somepony comes first in life, it's because they cheated.”
“Don't you remember what Twilight said?”
>”To be honest, Annie, I don't.”
>...
>Well, you've fallen far behind by now. Nothing left to do.
>You shrug and follow your roommate deep into the woods.

-

>The bright red Autumn leaves in every direction are beautiful, and quite hypnotic.
>It almost feels like you're walking in circles.
>”Okay,” Colgate turns to face you. “I'm not going to pretend I know where we are. I think I was sleepwalking for a while there.”
“I'm cold again.”
>”Everything’s red! It all looks the same in every direction.”
“Can't we run around to make the leaves fall, or how does that work?”
>She shrugs.
>”How long were we walking? I'm pretty sure we should be out of the woods by now. The road must be very nearby.”
>You shiver while she puts her front legs up against a tree and tries to shake the leaves off.
>Another cold wind blows, but takes no leaves with it.
>You think longingly of the cushy armchair at home.

“The woods aren't that big. Maybe we should just pick a direction and start walking.”
>”And risk ending up back where we started? No, Anon! We've come too far!”
>She gives up on shaking the tree and takes a couple steps back.
>Her eyes shut tight, Colgate’s horn starts to glow.
>A translucent magical aura surrounds the trunk of the tree.
>Colgate bares her teeth.
>There's a low underground crack, and then the entire tree comes up by the roots and gets tossed aside.
“Wow.”
>She tears up another tree, then another.
>Woodland animals take flight. A squirrel flips you off.
>But it's not long until you find what you're looking for.
>“Whew! There's the road, Annie! I was right!”
>It was right there, just out of sight behind the Fall-colored foliage.
>You run out with her onto the track.
>Only a hundred meters away is the finish line, and judging by the leaves on the trees, you're still ahead of the other racers.
“And to think, I almost tried to run the whole thing. You're a smart pony.”
>Colgate smiles, but it’s short lived.
>The ground beneath your feet gives way, and you both fall with the collapsing dirt, ten feet into a hole.
>You pull yourself out of the dust and frown.
“You idiot.”
>”Sorry, I wasn't thinking clearly. But I'm exhausted, Annie, I was up all night digging this hole!”

>It's not too long before Rainbow Dash appears at the top of the hole.
>”What are you guys doing down there?”
>”Help us out!” Colgate demands.
>Rainbow makes a face. “I'd consider it, but I really want to win this race.”
>”You're just afraid we'll run faster than you once we're out!”
>”Screw you guys.” Rainbow runs off in the direction of the finish line.
“Colgate, that's not the way to get favors. You have to be friendly. Watch.”
>Applejack shows up next and runs around the circumference of the pit without slowing down.
“Applejack, could you please-”
>”Screw both o’ y’all.”
>And she's gone.
>The other racers are passing by now, and giving the pit trap a wide berth. The sound of trampling hooves would drown out any further attempts at calling for help, if you were attempting.
>Then something purple and heavy lands on your head, pushing you back down onto the ground.
“Fuck! Twilight, how much do you weigh?”
>She ignores the question, picks herself up and dusts herself off.
>”What's this? What's going on? You two were trying to cheat, weren't you?”
>Colgate’s head tilts back. She gazes upwards and rubs her eyes.
>”Annie, give me a boost. I think I can reach the top if I stand on your shoulders.”
>You cup your hands together to give her a platform to stand on, and hoist her up.
>”Cheaters never prosper!” Twilight says.
>”Oh, duh! We can just teleport out of here!” Colgate shakes her head. “I really need a nap.”
>She hugs your head.
“Are you coming, Twilight?”
>”I don't need to break the rules to have fun. And neither do you! Together we can overcome-”
>POP
>You teleport out of the hole.

>Colgate hops down from atop your head then points a hoof toward the finish.
>”Come on, Anon! Almost there!”
>There are no ponies left on the track.
>You follow in the gestured direction with little enthusiasm.
>Colgate trots over the line with you and gives a celebratory leap of triumph. “Woo! How'd we do?”
>Mayor Mare, standing nearby, smiles coldly. “Ninety-eighth and ninety-ninth place.”
>”Hey, top one hundred.” Colgate nudges you. “Not bad!”
>”Congratulations, Colgate and… Sorry, what's your name?”
“Anonymous.”
>”Right..” The mayor gives an uncaring nod. “I'll have to write that down somewhere.”
>She walks off without another word.
>You shiver again.
“So, I heard the town is having a celebration after the run? They're all gathering downtown to celebrate the equinox or whatever. Do you wanna check it out? Colgate?”
>No response.
>She's curled up at your feet and snoring.