Little Strongheart stepped off the train and onto the station. Even if she didn’t visit Ponyville often, there was something about it that made it feel like another home.

As she looked around, she was approached by her welcoming party: Applejack, who she was expecting to meet, and Rainbow Dash, who was right by Applejack’s side.

“There ya are!” Applejack said as she gave Strongheart a hug. “How was the train ride?”

“It was alright. I’m just glad to see you, Applejack! And uh, you too, Rainbow Dash! What are you doing here?” Not that Little Strongheart was opposed to Dash’s presence, but she was expecting just Applejack to meet her.

“I ran into Applejack earlier today and she said that you were coming to visit!” Rainbow explained. “I got nothing better to do today, so chilling with you two sounds pretty good to me!”

“Ah know it was just gonna be you and me hanging out today, but you don’t mind Dash tagging along, do ya?” Applejack asked.

“Of course not! But with the whole thing going on, it’s not gonna be like…weird, between you two, right?” Strongheart gestured between the mares, remembering that this year’s No Clop wasn’t just a challenge, but a competition.

“Nah.” Rainbow wrapped a hoof around Applejack. “We don’t have to be breathing down each other’s necks the whole month just cause we’re on opposite teams!”

“That’s right. We ain’t gonna stop bein’ friendly to each other just cause we’re currently competing. ‘Specially since Dash is currently losing…”

Rainbow made some obviously fake laughter to mask the daggers she was glaring at Applejack.

Strongheart wasn’t entirely sure she could trust their word, especially with how Dash’s eyes were more indicative of her feelings, but she wasn’t going to deny some more company. “Alright then! Let’s go!”

Rather than do some touring of the town itself, Applejack brought Strongheart and Rainbow Dash to the nearby forest.

All the bright and vibrant colors of the leaves on the trees left Little Strongheart in awe. “Woah…it’s beautiful!”

“Yeah,” Applejack nodded. “It’s quite the sight, especially on the days leading up to the Running of the Leaves.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s an Equestrian tradition!” Rainbow chimed in. “We run through the forest so that the autumn leaves fall to the ground. It’s to prepare the trees for winter and stuff.”

“Wow, I wish I could see what that looks like…” Little Strongheart said with a bit of envy in her voice.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash exchanged looks, both of them coming up with the same idea. “Well, the running doesn’t officially start until a few weeks from now…” Applejack said.

“...but there’s nothing wrong with getting a head start on some of the leaves,” Rainbow said with a wink.

Little Strongheart let out a mix of a gasp and a squeal all at once. “Really?”

“C’mon, it’s a long trail, we’ll show you the path.” Rainbow put her hooves on the ground as she and Applejack set off with a gallop.

All three of them kept pace with each other as they ran, even as they picked up the pace, neither of them tried to get ahead of the other, preferring to spend the time in each other’s company rather than trying to race to the end.

Little Strongheart quickly caught up, watching the oranges and reds of the leaves fall off the trees, in awe of the vivid display of warm colors against the cool blue sky.

“Enjoying the view?” Applejack asked, noticing how often Little Strongheart was looking around, taken in by the wonder.

“It’s…amazing! I feel so free!”

“Heh, between this and all those buffalo stampedes through Appleoosa, you sure got a thing for cardio, huh?” Dash teased.

“Well, kinda.” Strongheart blushed. “But the running also gets my mind off…other things, you know?”

Dash gave Strongheart a contemplative look. “Yeah, I can relate…”

“Well don’t go working yourself too much, otherwise you’ll be looking for some stress relief,” Applejack warned.

“Oh, I don’t wanna do it all the time, but with Braeburn and Feather Bangs at home being able to do whatever they want all month, I’d rather play it safe,” Strongheart nervously laughed.

“Heh, is Braeburn doin’ alright?” Applejack asked.

“Yeah, what kinda hot sweaty stallion sex is he having with Feather Bangs?” Dash interjected, barely holding back her laughter.

“Not what Ah wanted to know, Dash.”

Little Strongheart playfully rolled her eyes and blushed. “I mean, I wouldn’t know that much. They have the courtesy to not do it while I’m around, but I can still tell they’ve done it.”

“At this rate, they’ll be better at pleasing each other than they will be at pleasing you,” Dash remarked.

“Then let’s hope that the orgy doesn’t have a shortage of others that know how to drive me wild…” Strongheart mused.

“Is something wrong, Babs?” Princess Cadence asked.

“I dunno, it’s the first time I’ve evah hung out with a princess before.” Babs shrugged, blowing at her mane. “It’s kinda weird.”

What was meant to be a sort of regular day of Babs visiting the Changeling Kingdom to hang with Ocellus turned very awkward once Princess Cadence made a surprise appearance.

“Well, you don’t need to be so nervous,” Cadence reassured. “I’m not here on any sort of official business today. You can just treat me like a friend.”

“I guess, but I feel like I should still be bowing or curtseying or whatevah.”

“But what exactly are you doing here, Princess Cadence?” Ocellus asked.

“I came over because I wanted to chat with Pharynx about something, but seeing as he’s currently busy, I can still ask about you two!” Cadence explained.

Babs and Ocellus exchanged looks. “Us? Whaddya want with us?”

“Well, I thought maybe we could chat about your relationship-”

Babs and Ocellus immediately understood, nodding at each other.

“Oh yeah, Princess of Love.”

“Yeah, dat makes sense…”

Cadence turned to Ocellus first. “Well, Ocellus? Everything going well with you and Smolder?”

“Yeah!” Ocellus nodded enthusiastically, only for her smile to fade a little. “...Though I kinda miss her a little.”

“Miss her?” Babs scoffed. “She didn’t transfer schools or nothin’, did she?”

“No, that’s not what I mean. Just…” Ocellus sighed. “I miss competing with her in this game.”

“What do you miss about it?” Cadence asked.

“There was just something about having someone to go up against that was just…exciting! It wasn’t…entirely about winning, but it was nice to have her so we could push each other!”

“Heh, sounds like what Applejack and Rainbow Dash are doin’ now,” Babs chuckled.

“Yeah, exactly!” Ocellus nodded. “I would’ve loved to have Smolder be on Professor Applejack’s team so we could just continue our competition. But I missed out on last year’s, and now she’s missing out on this year’s, so I guess we’ll have to put it on hold…”

Cadence nodded. “I think a few like Gilda and Tempest have been feeling something similar. I know I’d probably be having a harder time if I didn’t have my other half in No Clop with me.”

Ocellus looked up at Cadence expectantly for advice. “So…what should I do?”

“Well, as somepony who’s currently on Applejack’s team, I don’t know how much advice I’m allowed to give, but if you dropped out, then that’d probably give Smolder some leverage next time you two competed,” Cadence said with a wink.

Ocellus let out a soft giggle. “I’ll…keep that in mind. Thanks, Princess Cadence”

Cadence turned her attention to Babs. “So what about you, Babs? Since you and Cozy are still in, how are things going?”

“It’s been going pretty damn good so far!” Babs grinned, though she took a moment to think it over. “Though Cozy’s been acting…kinda weird lately.”

“Weird how?” Cadence asked.

“She just seems more…I dunno, high-strung?”

Ocellus shrugged. “Well, we did just start the month off. Is it really that surprising to be stressed and on edge?”

Babs conceded. “Guess not, but like, she’s trying to be all affectionate or somethin’? But it’s like, something else is bothering her, and she won’t tell me what!”

Ocellus threw out a theory, albeit a bit jokingly. “Maybe she just thinks you’re soooo drop-dead sexy that she can’t control herself around you?”

With a little shake of her flank, Babs turned around and bumped her waist against Ocellus’s. “Ya really think so?”

“Given what happened to Sandbar and Yona, I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s trying to keep herself in check,” Ocellus giggled, bumping Babs back.

“But I feel fine, though. Don’t think I’ve had any urges yet, and I’m usually way worse at it than Cozy.” Babs looked towards Cadence. “I tried askin’ what’s wrong, but she just won’t tell me. What am I supposed ta do?”

Cadence deliberated before giving her response. “Well, there’s not much you can do if she doesn’t want to tell you. But I think she’s starting to trust you enough that she’d tell you when she’s ready…”

It wasn’t exactly the kind of response Babs wanted to hear, but she guessed it’d have to do for now. “Awright, I hope you're right…”

“I know it’s a bit rough, but I know that you two-” Cadence’s head snapped over. “Oh! There’s Pharynx!”

She pointed over to the changeling, who upon being recognized by Cadence, recognized her in turn and started buzzing his wings trying to retreat.

“Nope. Nope nope nope nope nope.” Pharynx didn’t know what Cadence’s business was, he just knew he had to get away.

Cadence immediately gave chase. “Wait, hold on! I wanna ask you about Mina!”

Author's Note

Don't worry, Pharynx can't run that far...