Dynamo Pad

With each participant making their way onto the stage, Dynamo smiled as one by one, he levitated a medal for the top three. Once he presented the winners with their medals, Dynamo allowed for each of them to take the microphone if there was something that they wanted to say to the crowd. As Dusk began her speech, the gaming unicorn was in awe as she spoke. Learning about those she had helped, to wishing to participate, Dynamo was happy that new participants got to join in on the fun. Hearing the mention of giving the medal away, the blue unicorn was caught by surprise. While it wasn't against the rules of choosing to give the medal away, it was a decision that caused him to smile softly. As he turned towards Samurai, he grabbed hold of the jackets that was handed to him. Holding onto it to keep it safe, as well as return it to his friend once his speech was complete. What he didn't expect was for Samurai to say the same thing, but to also wanting to give his medal away, as well. Seeing the level of sportsmanship and compassion between the racer's warmed Dynamo's heart. When helping to set up the race with Starlight, Pinkie and many others, he had hoped that everyone had fun. At the same time, to join their fellow race competitors in the spirit of teamwork. Seeing this really showed how much the race truly meant to everyone. Once Moonlight received his medal, Dynamo's ears perked at the mention of the Hanging of the Leaves. "I might consider that in the future. If leaves are to be knocked down, then the leaves need to be placed up again to be knocked down in next year's Running of the Leaves." Dynamo chuckled as he thought Hanging of the Leaves was a creative and lovely idea to consider for the future. With the photographers making their way onto the stage. From onto the stage, to the sides of the stage to get different photo angles, Dynamo was about to step away to let the winners' picture be taken. At the mention of everyone that took part, as well as he, himself, be added into the photo. The gaming unicorn pondered on the idea of being added, before giving a nod and smile. "You know what? Why not? With a successful race, one must try and join in on the fun." He says, looking towards Pinkie, Starlight and Rainbow if they wish to join in on the photo. As the group made their way together and faced the camera, Dynamo smiled as the camera snapped the group picture. Moving away for the moment to look towards the crowd, Dynamo took a deep breath, before speaking. "And with that, our Running of the Leaves has come to a close! Thank you all so much for coming and be sure to be back next time for another annual Running of the Leaves!" He announced, turning towards the group to continue conversing and offering his congratulations. While the race hadn't gone the way he had planned or expected, the gaming unicorn was still happy and thankful that everything worked out. Along with friendships being made and forged, as well as fun being had once more. On the outskirts of town on the same hill stood the Mysterious Figure. With the dark clouds slowly dissipating and celebrations taking place, the figure huffed as the turned their back from Ponyville. "It looks like my plans had gone astray in this year's competition. Though, I must commend everypony on their teamwork, quick thinking, tenacity and effort on this race. My plans weren't enough to stop them from finishing the race, but only time will tell for next time." The figure spoke, before disappearing once more without a trace. Please give yourselves a big round of applause, everyone! You all made it through the race and you all did incredibly! Thank you all so much to everyone that took part in this event! It's always so much fun getting to knock down leaves and to celebrate the season of Fall! I want to thank everyone involved with both taking part and planning for the event! It seems that the Mysterious Figure's involvement was not enough to stop everyone from finishing the race. Who may this mysterious figure be? They may return once again as we may have this event happen again in the future! Please continue to roleplay as your character, making new friends, conversing with everyone, development or to continue the story line. Thank you again so much, everyone!

With Pinkie's and Starlight's arrival, Dynamo smiled as the duo, along with Socrate and Moushley had joined them. "Starlight! Pinkie! I'm really glad to see that you both are okay, as well! I do want to thank you both for the help in the commentary." He says, before frowning in concern at the news that they too hadn't seen anyone suspicious. "To be honest, it feels disheartening. They could possibly make their appearance known again, but as for when? I don't know, but I guess I just don't understand why somepony wants to ruin Fall and The Running of the Leaves. Hopefully they can understand how much fun such and event can become when racing alongside friends and other competitors." He shook his head as he knew now wasn't the time to be concerned about such worries. Looking over to Moushley, Dynamo chuckled softly as he saw the little mouse explain everything to him. "It sounds like you and Socrate got to take part in a fun event, as well. Thank you both for the commentary alongside Starlight and Pinkie and I'm glad that you guys got to have fun, too!" Dynamo knew that now was the time to celebrate Fall and the spirit of fun and competition. Knowing that now was the time, he started making his way over towards the stage. Climbing up the steps, he slowly made his way over towards the microphone. A few medals were right behind him in preparation to be handed out. Making sure that the microphone was working properly, he looked towards the racers, then to the crowd, before taking a deep breath and spoke. "Fillies and Gentlecolts! I want to thank you all so much for joining us in this year's Running of the Leaves! With this, our competition has come to a close, but awards are still to be handed out. So much has happened and while it didn't go as the race was originally planned, everything had managed to work out somehow! I want to give a big thank you, as well, to @Starlight Glimmer, @Pinkie Pie, Moushley and Socrate for their lovely commentary throughout the competition!" Dynamo started, hearing a round of applause from the audience as he waited patiently for the applause to cease, before continuing. "As I had mentioned before that we have some medals to hand out to our top racer's! While The Running of the Leaves is still a race, the theme of this race wasn't to finish in first place! That's right, everypony! The goal was to knock down as many leaves as you possibly could! Which means that even if you arrived in second, third, fourth or finished last, you could still win based on the number of leaves you managed to knock down! After going through the number and double checking, we finally have our top three participants!" Dynamo announced, trying to build up the suspense as he started to make the announcement. "In third place with 292 leaves, we have @Nitobit Moonlight! In second place by just a few leaves ahead of third. We have @Samurai Equine Samurai with 298 leaves! Which means that your winner of The Running of The leaves with 326 leaves knocked down, it's @Dusk Haven!" Dynamo exclaimed, stomping his hooves as he and everyone in the crowd gave not only the top three, but everypony that participated a round of applause. As he stopped in his applause, the gaming unicorn extended a hoof over towards the steps that lead to the stage. "If you all will please step onto the stage, then you shall receive your prize!" Dynamo grinned, lowering his hoof as he brought the microphone with him in a levitation spell. All the while, pointing towards the medals on the table as he made his way to meet up with the top three participants.

With @Shiny Silvermoon rushing over towards him, the gaming unicorn didn't have a chance to process everything as Shiny reached him and grasped his shoulders. With each shake, Dynamo vision became blurry, while his equilibrium started to give out on him. "S-S-S-Seventy a-and th-th-thirty? I-I didn't know t-that the r-race had turned into s-s-something like that!" He tried to speak through each time he had been shaken. With the shaking slowed down to a stop, Dynamo thought he had been seeing stars. "Oh, look at the time. Gotta go, Tata~!" Taking one step, the blue unicorn promptly fell to the ground. Closing his eyes to take time and gather his bearings. After a few minutes had passed, he slowly opened his eyes to take in his surroundings. Picking himself up to stand on his hooves, he looked over to Shiny, who had been chuckling after the reveal that she was joking. "It's good to know that wasn't the case, but don't leaf me in suspense." Dynamo responded with a wink a chuckle. He was a unicorn that loved puns and couldn't resist the back and forth of puns between friends. The gaming unicorn was caught off guard as he was pulled into a hug by @Samurai Equine. However, he smiled and returned the hug as was someone that couldn't pass up a hug. "I did hear about the darker part of the course. Starlight's and Pinkie's commentary had reached us and I was trying to make heads or tails of the situation. I'll admit that I nearly wanted to stop the race when things were getting a little out of hoof, but when Starlight and Pinkie were giving their reassurance and helping out, I felt better knowing that they were giving their support." He smiled softly, before giving a nod in agreement. Turning towards @Dusk Haven, the gaming unicorn offered her a smile. "I'm really glad that you and everypony else made it back safely. I must admit that I did discuss with Rainbow, the weather team, Starlight and Pinkie. The weather was going to be really nice outside, but the rain said otherwise and was unexpected. I will try and plan for this event to happen again, but I still don't get something. I do hope that Starlight and Pinkie were able to figure out what was happening as I honestly don't have a clue. Whatever happened, it seems like some kind of force wanted to stop the race from happening. For what reason, I wish I could say." With everyone's recollection of the past events, it seemed like someone was trying to put a stop to the race. Even though he wished to have the answers, he knew that he would have to try and prepare better for next year. "To be honest, I'm really grateful that everypony worked together during the race. I know that the Running of the Leaves is meant to be a competition, but it's like I said before at the beginning. It's all about teamwork and having fun and it sounded like everypony did their best to work through whatever was happening. Along with trying to having fun in the process." He says, smiling softly with a kind and thankful expression upon his face after receiving Dusk's thanks. "You're welcome and I should be the one to thank you. Despite everything that had transpired, I'm honestly really happy that everypony had fun."

With more and more racer's making their way across the finish line, Dynamo smiled both happily and in relief to see that everyone was back and safe. He had noticed that @Dusk Haven, @Samurai Equine, @Nitobit Moonlight, @Shiny Silvermoon, @PrincessPriscillaPT, and @TheRockARockster Roswell had crossed the finish line. "Hey, guys! Congratulations on finishing the race! I'm really glad that everypony is back and safe." He says, walking over toward the group. He had seen up above that the hot air balloon containing Starlight and Pinkie was making its descent back towards the ground. Turning back towards the group, he had seen that some were covered in what looked to be mud from a bog. Other were wet from the rain and he wondered what kind of a race had they been through. As he walked closer, he had seen Samurai, who had used his flames for a magical blast of flare. "Now that's how you make a stunning entrance, Onii-San. The same goes to the rest of you. I'm really sorry about the lack of a finish line tape, but can't go wrong with a little improvisation." The gaming unicorn couldn't help in chuckling softly as Shiny had tackled Samurai into a hug. "I always knew my tackle hugs would catch on. One can never say no to hugs, or I guess in this case, tackle hugs." He says, before a look of concern became present upon his facial expression. "Is everypony okay? I had heard some of the commentary from Starlight and Pinkie as they oversaw the race. What even happened?" He asks, trying to make heads or tails of how the race had transformed. As he asked, he noticed Moushley, who had exited the basket and waved at him. Smiling softly, he waved back at the mouse as she made her way over towards him. "Hey, Moushley! How was flying up in the balloon with Starlight, Pinkie and Socrate? It's good to see you all again."

Not long after his call for help, did Rainbow arrive with a raincloud in hoof. Both poles of fire were put out by the concentrated water from the cloud as the potential crisis was averted. "Thank you for the help, Rainbow. To be honest, I'm not even sure how that happened. I was setting up and was going to keep an eye on the racer's, but it looks like weather had other plans." He wondered if another stray lightning bolt had appeared like the earlier bolt of lightning. However, he honestly couldn't tell for sure. Looking over to the side, he had seen photographers were making their way onto the scene and. Getting their camera's ready as they got into position to take multitude of photos. "I guess you can argue bad timing, but we don't have another finish line tape. So, I guess crossing the finish line really will be a photo finish of sorts. Hopefully, everything will be okay." Dynamo says, hoping that the other racer's were okay, safe and enjoying the race.

While the race was still going on, Dynamo took his time making his way off of the stage. Given that the rain had lessened, he didn't want to trip and fall and thought to be safe rather than sorry. Making his way over towards his desk, the gaming unicorn found a giant roll of finish line tape. "Here we go! Everypony should be back soon, so I should make sure to get this set up." He says, making his way over towards the starting line to prepare setting up. Unrolling the tape, he wrapped it around one pole, before making his way over towards the pole on the other side. As he made sure that everything was secure and set, Dynamo stepped back to marvel at his work. "Thankfully, the rain had cleared up a little earlier, so it should be smooth sailing from here on out." He started, before his ear perked from the sound of thunder. Just before he had a chance to continue, a bolt of lightning had struck the poles. Causing the two poles to go on fire as the finish line tape started to crinkle from the flames. "Uh, oh! I guess I spoke too soon! Quick, we need some water!" The final event As you continue making your way down the path, you can see what used to be a ribbon between two poles up ahead. It’s the finish line! Only, it looks like the poles have been struck by the last lightning from the waning storm. You arrive just as Dynamo and Rainbow Dash finish putting out the fire. Thankfully, nobody is in any danger, but the iconic way to finish the race is gone, and the photographers are already here, hoping to capture the moment. The time has come to close the Running of the Leaves 2025 in style! Finish the race in the most spectacular way you possibly can! You can fully use your wings, horn, and anything you can find around the area! Stay tuned for the reveal of the winner, around the 30th of October.

Hey, @PrincessPriscillaPT! Thank you for the feedback and I'm glad that you and everyone are having fun! There are going to be 8 obstacles, plus one bonus obstacle for the Running of the Leaves Race!

As the Mysterious Figure continues to watch from afar, they notice some of the participants making their way out of the forest. "Most impressive. So, not even the darkness could keep them from finding their way. That still doesn't change the fact that this race is still on. There are still a few obstacles waiting in the wings. I think it's time to see who has the courage to cross the bog. Not only that, I think it's time to step in after taking note of that interference." The mysterious figure spoke, recalling the two ponies in the balloon, who looked to have been helping the racer's. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Obstacle Number 6 You leave the darkest part of the woods behind, but the path doesn't get much easier. On the horizon, you see the richest part of the forest, still covered in many leaves ready to be knocked down, however it is on the other side of a huge, muddy bog. Several ponies are choosing the long way around, others are already testing muddy depths. It looks shallow enough to cross on hoof, but not without issues. Some contestants are struggling, getting stuck or losing boots in the mire, but looks like nopony is in any serious danger, and participants are having fun trying to guess which spots are shallow, and laughing at their friends who guessed wrong. Find your way through the muddy bog to get to the richest part of the forest. Next obstacle on October 20th.