Equinox

Swift Leaf raced through the sky, dodging clouds. The adventurous brown colt had just finished school, and was headed home to hang out with his older brother, Silver Hoof. He landed just outside of his Cloudsdale home, his dreads rushing forward, having not yet stopped with the rest of him. He opened the door and ran into his brother.

"Slow down, Swift Leaf! What's got you in a hurry?" he asked. He jumped up and down, excited.

"I just wanted to get home as fast as I could so I could talk to you before you headed out to work!" he explained. Silver Hoof patted his little brother on the head.

"Well, I'm afraid you weren't fast enough, little bro. I've gotta go." Swift Leaf frowned. "I'll be home tonight. You can talk to me then, can't you?" He stomped his hoof.

"But I have to go to school tomorrow! Can't you take off early? Please!" he pleaded. Silver Hoof shook his head.

"You know I can't do that... Tell you what, I'll let you stay up an extra twenty minutes if you finish all your homework, okay?" he bargained. Swift Leaf grinned and hugged him. "Only if you finish all your homework, though!" he repeated.

"I will! Honest!" Silver Hoof nodded once, giving his little brother a warm smile, and spread his wings to fly off. Before he could, another pegasus landed next to him.

"Hello, Silver Hoof!" the mare said. He closed his wings.

"Oh, hello, Storm Cloud! You're just on time! Swift Leaf, this is Storm Cloud. Storm Cloud, this is my little brother, Swift Leaf." Swift Leaf looked at his brother, angry.

"I don't need a babysitter! I'm fine here on my own!" he shouted. Silver Hoof shook his head, smiling.

"No, you aren't. You nearly broke all of the dishes last time I left you alone, and all I asked was that you put the dirty ones in the sink! Now, I know Storm Cloud sounds like a pretty scary name, but she's real sweet once you get to know her!" Swift Leaf's expression remained unchanged. "Also, she really likes to watch the Running of the Leaves! You love when I take you there, don't you?"

"Yeah, I do..." Silver Hoof spread his wings again.

"That's great. You two have something in common! Well, I have to get going. I'll be back later tonight. He's supposed to be in bed by nine, but if he finished all his homework, I'm letting him stay up a little later. Just let him stay up in that case." Storm Cloud gave a salute.

"You got it! I'll take good care of him!" she assured. He smiled.

"Bye, Swift Leaf!" Diving off the cloud that their home sat upon, he flapped his wings and took off. Storm Cloud closed the door and looked at Swift Leaf.

"So, your brother tells me that you like the Running of the Leaves?" He hesitated, then nodded slowly, glaring at her. "So do I! Can you see the trail that the ponies run on from your window?" she asked.

"Only a little bit." Storm Cloud flew up to him.

"Well, you're lucky. I have to go all the way to Ponyville if I want to watch." She suddenly tensed up. "Oh! Silly me! I left my saddlebags outside! Hold on just a second..." She ran to the door and opened it. When she did, a single leaf flew in, coming to a stop on top of Swift Leaf's head. He looked up at it.

"How did this leaf get up here?" he asked. Storm Cloud turned around.

"What leaf are you talking about?" she asked. Swift Leaf started to point at it, but noticed that it wasn't there anymore.

"There was a leaf on my head!" he exclaimed. She giggled, walking back to him.

"Oh, Swift Leaf, you're probably just excited for the event. Now, Silver Hoof says that you get to stay up later if you finish your homework before he gets home; why don't you start now? That way, you don't have to worry about it later."

Silver Hoof returned home later that night. He opened the door and called into the house, "Storm Cloud! Swift Leaf! I'm home!" Storm Cloud appeared at the top of the stairs.

"Oh, I was just reading a story to Swift Leaf. Did everything go well at work today?" she asked. He smiled, stepping inside.

"Everything went perfectly. There were no accidents today, meaning we've been accident-free for about a week now! The boss says that my team gets to take a few days off as a reward!" he said excitedly. "Did Swift Leaf get all his homework done?"

"Yep! He's right upstairs!" Storm Cloud directed before flying past him. "I'll see you later!" she shouted, flying away. Silver Hoof walked up the stairs and to Swift Leaf's room.

"Hi, Silver Hoof!" he nearly yelled. "I got all my homework done!" Silver Hoof nodded.

"Storm Cloud told me. Now, you wanted to talk with me, right?" After minutes of talking, Swift Leaf climbed into bed. "Get to sleep, alright? You don't want to be tired at school tomorrow."

"I will!" Silver Hoof closed his door, and he laid his head down on his pillow, closing his eyes. He opened his eyes three hours later, awoken by the wind blowing through his mane. He sat up, confused. A few leaves had made their way into his room. "The Running of the Leaves doesn't start until next month..." he told himself, looking out the window. There were leaves all throughout the sky. He gasped, the wind now pulling him outside. Leaves spiraled around him.

"Now, how did you get here?" a voice asked. Swift Leaf looked around at all the leaves.

"I don't know! How did I get here?" he retorted. The voice chuckled as he flew over to a small platform that the leaves had formed.

"It's a mystery!" The remaining leaves shot up, as if surprised by something. "Oh, wait, wait a minute! I know now!" Swift Leaf took a step. "Yeah, yeah... The universe picked you to help with the Running of the Leaves... I think. Something to do with leaves. What's your name?" He rose to the air.

"Swift Leaf... Isn't the Running of the Leaves next month, though?" he questioned.

"Well, I guess the universe thinks you need a month to prepare. To be honest, you probably do. You're being sent to some distant lands to help out with their Autumn problems. You see, a lot of towns don't have an organized event like the Running of the Leaves, so the leaves just sit up there all Fall. When Winter comes, the leaves aren't gone yet, and that causes some kind of conflict." Swift Leaf nodded.

"You sure do know a lot about Autumn...' he observed. The voice laughed.

"Know a lot about Autumn? Young one, I am Autumn!" Swift Leaf's mouth dropped.

"You... You're Autumn? Like the season?" he asked, stunned.

"No, like the kind of dog... Yes, like the season!" The leaves circled him once more.

"Hold on, can Silver Hoof come with me?" Swift Leaf questioned.

"I'm afraid not, bro. However, you'll have time to come back to him! Don't worry!" The leaves spun faster, covering his vision. When they disappeared, he was standing in his room again. The sun was just starting to rise.

"Swift Leaf! Get-" The door opened to reveal Silver Hoof. "Oh! You're already awake! Come downstairs and eat breakfast." Silver Hoof left, closing the door behind him. Swift Leaf reached down to pick up his schoolbag, then looked back up and out the window. Three leaves were circling each other.