Starlight Glimmer

"You can say that again, Pinkie!" Starlight says, turning her attention towards Pinkie with a smile. "I think I recall such a memory, as well. Sunburst and I might have seen something like that back when he and I were still living in Sire's Hollow. Although, we didn't see much of it as we were always studying and practicing magic together. I think after living in Ponyville, Spike had shown me those same masked fighters in his comic books." Starlight smiled, turning her attention back to the race as her eyes shrank slightly in surprise. Due to Pinkie's commentary of Iridescent's effects of the berries. "I never thought I'd see a unicorn horn like that. I wonder if one can still cast magic, or if it would be a bit difficult?" Starlight pondered, wincing slightly alongside Pinkie. As Roswell's eyes started firing lasers, Starlight's jaw dropped in shock and awe. "I guess a non unicorn can fire a laser-like spell, but I didn't expect them to be as eye lasers. That's honestly really impressive from what these berries are capable of." Starlight says, wondering if the effects would be permanent for the racer's. Not realizing that the effects of the berries were only temporary. "It looks as if the effects of the berries could be random given that Dusk Haven has shrunken in size to a mouse! From the looks of things, our competitor's have saved everypony that's been trapped in the vines!" Upon hearing the mention of the mouse, Moushley, Starlight glanced at Pinkie. Nodding in agreement as her gaze looked back towards the race below them. "You can say that again, Pinkie! It even looks like Moushley and Socrate are having a lovely dinner together. I think that's really sweet as it looks as if those two have gotten along really well since the race had begun." Starlight says, smiling fondly, while feeling the basket shake from Pinkie's bouncing within said balloon basket. As Pinkie leaned near the unicorn, Starlight's ear perked at the mention of the Cupcake-inator Deluxe. With a hum, Starlight's interest was piqued. "A cupcake-inator Deluxe, huh? I remember when all of us were helping Twilight open up the School of Friendship. How you had a party cannon for all of us to launch in celebration. If that's the case, I can honestly see us both having a Cupcake-inator Deluxe. Can't go wrong with double the frosting and marshmallow boosters sound very delicious!" Starlight grinned, before blinking in surprise from the sudden sputtering of the cannon. Starlight frowned in concern as a single, sad cupcake had tumbled out of the cannon, before landed on Pinkie's hoof. "I guess the cupcake-inator was too good to be true. Sounds like back to the drawing board, huh?" She asks, turning back towards the race. The expression of concern still present upon her face. "It looks like without the trail of cupcakes and frosting, our competitor's are back to trekking through the forest. However, it looks like everypony is almost out of the forest and back on track. Stay strong, everypony!" Starlight exclaimed, her expression of concern morphing into one of hope.

"Did you say turbo drive and makes cupcakes? That feels both amazing and nearly impossible!" Starlight gasped, smiling as she knew Pinkie Pie was full of surprises. As she turned back towards the race, the unicorn thought she had seen a participant asking for help from the other competitors. "It looks like our runner's are making a quick stop to help somepony out! Not only that, but there's been so many transformations happening!" Between Moonlight turning to water, Samurai ripping the vines apart, and much more, Starlight wondered what was happening in the forest. "I wonder what kind of berries those were. At any rate, it looks like our participants are transforming and changing before our very eyes! As for Samurai, I want to say maybe he'll gain a fiery suit of armor. Given that his name is Samurai, after all. Either that, or maybe he'll be able to form some type of sword out of fire to cut down the vines!" Starlight says, watching as Priscilla started to eat one of the berries. "From what these berries can do, it makes you think that anything and everything can happen. Only time will tell! As for Dusk, I will never doubt you on you and your cupcakes, Pinkie. Sounds like a cupcake party is in the works in the near future." Starlight winked as she started to scan the forest for the other racers. "It looks like Shiny has a crescent boomerang! Mowing down the vines like a lawnmower! At the same time, it looks like Silver and Bright have caught up to the others! I wonder what kind of transformation the two will go through in order to take down these vines." She commentated, while noticing Iridescent Edge had also caught up to the others. "With Iridescent taking the berries, it looks like his unicorn horn became even bigger! Using it like a sword to try and cut down the vines! Wait a minute. Pinkie, look!" She pointed over to @Samurai Equine, who had taken one of the berries. "The jacket that Samurai was wearing turned into a cloak, while he gained a pole weapon, as well! He's taking the vines down left and right, while also working on knocking down leaves! Now that's what we call excellent multitasking!"

Starlight smiled as she was really impressed with the cupcake-inator that Pinkie had on hoof. "Sounds to me like you have another way to throw a party. Here I thought the Big Bertha party cannon you had during Princess Celestia's play was incredible. I do wonder if there's a way to make teacakes with that cupcake-inator." Starlight says, extending a microphone over to Pinkie via levitation. "Now, I think our audience members are all curious about this new cupcake cannon in your party planning arsenal. What kind of cupcakes are you able to make? Can it make anything that's not a cupcake? Does it have the port and starboard adjustments, as well as the turbo drive?" She asks as she heard the mention of the sprinkle launcher attachment, which lead to these questions. With each cupcake being launched, a frosted trail began to form. "I guess the term follow the delicious frosting road would be very fitting right about now." Starlight says with a chuckle. "It looks like our competitors are following the trail! Some are having some treats as they run, while others are still trying to find everyone up ahead!" Starlight commentated, taking noticed of the silhouettes still covered from the dense fog.

While Starlight tried to keep track of the racer's, she didn't see Pinkie, who was busily tapping her chin as she was deep in thought. The moment that the super duper party pony's voice rang into Starlight's ears, the unicorn blinked as she looked back into the hot air balloon basket. Only to see Pinkie, who was holding what looked like a cannon from out of nowhere. Normally, she'd question where that even came from. Only for Starlight to remember that this was Pinkie Pie and the number one rule was to never question Pinkie Pie. "Pinkie? What kind of invention is that? Is that some sort of new party cannon? It looks like it's some sort of cupcake-inator." Starlight stared in both surprise and awe of the new cannon in the party mare's hooves. Moving over to allow Pinkie to stand next to her, before she watched Pinkie take the stage to launch the cupcakes into the dense fog. "How about that folks!? It looks like Pinkie couldn't sit idly by and decided to take matters into her own hooves! Now we have a trail back to the course! Along with a way for our racer's to, as well as for everypony to find each other and have potential snacks on the way!" Starlight commentated, smiling proudly as the scene played before her.

Starlight flinched slightly upon hearing Pinkie's exclamation. Starlight was about to respond, before she suddenly saw Pinkie clamp her hooves over her mouth. Breathing a soft sigh in relief, she looked around the balloon to see if any of the competitors had heard them. "It looks like nobody heard anything, but let's hope that it's not Discord." She looked towards the super duper party pony with an expression of concern. "That's the thing, though. I was thinking that it was Discord, at first. However, didn't you notice something off? Usually we'd be seeing chocolate milk rain with cotton candy clouds, or something that would change the tide of the race by a landslide. Yet, despite all of that, it feels as if this is more controlled. Almost as if the exact opposite or something else got in the way. This feels way too planned for my liking. I know that we all had this planned out with Dynamo, but this doesn't feel like our master of chaos draconequus to me. The only question is...who could it be?" She pondered with a hoof underneath her chin. Her eyebrows furrowing as she tried to think of potential answers, but nothing seemed to come to mind. "I really hope so too. Even if it was Discord, you'd think that he would have asked, or caused some chaos, then ask, then try to join in on the fun." Starlight says, trying to get into the draconequus' head on what would have been done. Holding the binoculars in her magical grasp, Starlight squinted her eyes as she tried to see through the dense, thick fog. She could make out a few individuals, but they looked like shadowy silhouettes. "I'm still surprised to see Shiny again! I don't think she signed up for the race, but it's always great to have a familiar face." Starlight smiled as she commentated. "Even though it looks like everyone is separated and forming groups to keep warm, it's nice to see the warm camaraderie. Between the hugs and the hot chocolate, it's keeping everypony's spirits warm and bright." Starlight says, taking notice a number of shadow figures moving in a group. "It looks like one group is leading the charge to catch up to the others. Hopefully, they'll be able to light their way to catch up, so nopony gets left behind." Even as the group was moving on ahead, Starlight watched as it looked like the group stopped. Almost as if contemplating on separating to try and find the others. "Hey, Pinkie? I think we might need to help out in getting everypony back together. This dark forest and the cold is becoming a bit too much for the participants. If anypony ends up getting lost, then their safety might be in jeopardy. Is there anything we can do to help?" She turned to Pinkie with a whisper in hopes that the pink party mare had something up her sleeves.

With Pinkie's ponder, Starlight turned towards her co-commentator to gauge her thoughts. "I don't think that's ever happened before. Twilight did tell me one that you were having a doozy, but was it ever like this?" She pondered, growing concerned for Pinkie, while also equally concerned about the race at hoof. "I really hope not either. It's just not adding up, but there's got to be something that will lead to an explanation." She started, before nearly hesitating. Not that she didn't want to say, but more so on almost finding it difficult to believe. Her eyes darted from side to side to make sure that nobody was listening to them, before leaning in as her voice dropped to a whisper. "I almost want to say that it's Discord that's doing this. He did add some shenanigans in the race from last year, but some of this doesn't feel like this is Discord's doing. Normally, he'd be popping out to announce his surprise. Yet, there's been no sign of Discord anywhere." It didn't add up, but she wondered if he would appear or if this really wasn't Discord's doing. As she leaned back to keep up with the commentary, she raised an eyebrow at the mention of hot chocolate. "That sounds like a fun kind of event. Especially a great way to warm up with the raining and river crossing. I just wonder where you'd get hot chocolate at a time like this." "With our racer's entering the forest, it looks like it'll be difficult for them to navigate the area. It's not next to the Everfree forest, but it still looks like a tricky location to overcome." Starlight squints her eyes to try and get a better visual of the racer's. "It looks like Moonlight is trying to start a fire to help warm up, as well as make what looks like torches." She says, before she felt that she had to do something in order to help. Taking a deep breath, she leaned slightly over the balloon to help project her voice. "Just a reminder to our racer's about the rules. You're allowed to use magic to help light up your way, as well as helping to defend yourself." She announced as she recalled the earlier explanation of the rules that Dynamo had announced. What she thought was a glimmering light in the darkness, Starlight smiled as she thought she had seen Samurai. "It looks like contestant Samurai is using his magic to light the way! In addition, it seems like his friendly rivalry with Priscilla continues to stay strong!"

Starlight took notice of Pinkie's jump, while also wincing slightly from the flash of lightning that took place. "I guess the old saying of lighting striking twice holds up to be very true. Does your Pinkie Sense happen to take cover during a lightning storm?" Starlight asks, looking down to see the racer's making their way towards the third obstacle. "I'm right there with you as the anticipation is building! I'm rather surprised to see @Shiny Silvermoon once again. I recall that she raced in last year's competition, but she it looks like this year is not the case. It's still wonderful to see a familiar participant, as well a helping those that are in trouble. Speaking of Roswell, that Pegasus is both strong and fast as he charges through the river without hesitation!" She exclaims, taking notice of @PrincessPriscillaPT and @Samurai Equine trying to pass one another by. "Samurai and Velvet are neck and neck! Will one overtake the other in the race? Will one be left in the dust? I might not truly know, but this race I far from over! Despite the rain and lightning, it's not putting a damper on our racer's as things are heating up!" With the next obstacle coming into view, Starlight's face scrunched into confusion. She had recalled that both she and Pinkie had gone over the details of the race. Along with the different obstacles that the participants would take part in, but things were starting to not make sense. "Hey, Pinkie?" Starlight whispered, trying to keep the commentating to the two of them so they wouldn't alarm the racer's and audience. "Do you happen to know what's going on? This isn't the race path that you, Dynamo, myself and the others went over." Even as high up in the sky as they were in the balloon, Starlight had looked back over towards where the starling line was. She thought she saw Dynamo maneuvering around the bat that Shiny had, while wondering if the gaming unicorn had changed things up last second. She immediately shook her head to deny these thoughts as she had recalled the blue unicorn had talked to Rainbow about the sudden change in the weather. 'Even the weather wasn't like this or was planned to be raining. In that case, what in Equestria is going on around here?' Starlight wondered, while trying to go along with things in hopes of figuring things out. "With our racer's out of the mud and rapid river, they are on their way towards the forest. Plenty of leaves to be knocked down in their run! How do you think this forest will affect our runner's, Pinkie?"

Starlight lowered the air balloon to steered clear the dangerous of thunderstorms above, despise of her spell shielding them, she wasn’t about to take chances. “Grit and sweat you’re absolutely right, but Let’s hope the lightning doesn’t strike again, Pinkie.” She glance down, worry flickering across her eyes at the thought of the forest fire. However, a small grin appears across her face. @Samurai Equine “Samurai may not be in the lead of race ahead of Number 20, Dusk Haven- but what a fantastic performance from him! Using fire to not only gain his strength back but also saving both the forest and the runners from a catastrophic damage!” @Dusk Haven “Dusk is still up ahead as she continues her way down the hill, no rain nor thunderstorms is stopping this alicorn!” @Iridescent Edge @Shiny Silvermoon Starlight focus her attention to Pinkie. “Looks like the two are still looking for Shiny’s pet bat! I’ve gonna admit, I’m curious how this all will play out” she says with amused smile. @PrincessPriscillaPT ”The lighting was sure a surprise wasn’t Pinkie?” As she glancing down at Priscilla as she caught her own breath from the shock. “Still, Priscilla’s holding onto her conviction, pushing herself to catch up to Samurai!”

"You can say that again, Pinkie! The feeling of Fall is reminds me of feeling of Spring. It's not too cold, but not too hot, either. A perfect time to sit back, enjoy the view and to even fly my kites!" Starlight smiled, giggling at Pinkie's antics as she smiled with a shake of her head. "It sounds like a certain somepony is in the mood for some delicious treats. I can't blame you as those sound pretty good for a celebration of a job well done in the race." Starlight says, taking notice of the other racer's taking part in the competition. "It looks like Dusk Haven just narrowly avoided a rock that would have tripped her up and send her tripping and sliding through the mud! "I wouldn't say teams, but it does look like everypony is working together to navigate through the mud. Hopefully the leaves don't get in their way, or it could end up in a series of trips and slides." Starlight responded, looking at Silverspark and Brightspark. The both of whom looked to be using a sort of sled to make their way across the mud. Seeing the two working together and having fun caused the unicorn to smile fondly with a slight chuckle. "It looks like despite the rain, everypony is having a lot of fun. As much as I would think giving food would be a great idea, I don't think that giving muffins to the racers would be a good idea. I feel that would cause some interference." As Starlight explained about the muffin situation to Pinkie, her ears perked as she thought she heard somepony calling out to them. Looking down, she saw that it was Velvet. "Hello there, Number 54! Velvet, right? We're doing pretty good despite the change in weather! I think you're somewhere in the middle of the pack. You've all been doing a great job, so far! Just don't give up too soon as there's a lot more fun obstacles to be had!" Starlight winked, while noticing that everyone was still having a lot of fun in the race. While @Nitobit Moonlight and @Wizard Titanium are still navigating the puddles an knocking down leaves, it looks as if Samurai is slamming into some of the trees to shake them down. An effective strategy, but it looks quite painful." Starlight winced from the times that the unicorn slammed into each tree. "As this is going on, it looks like Dusk Haven nearly tripped over a rock and tripped and slid through the mud. Thankfully, she narrowly avoids said rock and managed to get some more leaves knocked down in the process. Talk about an amazing recovery!"

"Sounds like you know what it means when it comes to a rainy day. Especially for being the super, duper party pony, I can imagine that no rain, no snow, not strong winds, or more will stop a good party." Starlight giggled, knowing Pinkie Pie and her parties pretty well. With the sudden ringing of the cow bell, the unicorn's ears perked as her eyes shrank to the size of peas from the sudden ring. Shaking her head to gather her bearings, as well as stop the ringing in her ears, she couldn't help in giving a playful eye roll at her fellow commentator. "It sounds like someone is just as enthusiastic as me and I can't blame you! The race just started and we already have some good competition between the racers. Sunlight and Velvet are chatting as they run. Where Moonlight and last year's champion, Titanium, are having a playful banter back and forth as they run." Starlight smiled as she always enjoyed the racing competition, but always enjoyed the friendships, as well. "Our competitors are staying strong, but it looks like the muddy road is affecting how they run. Hope they can continue to stay on the road, or they're going to be slip sliding off track. As she used her own binoculars, she gasped as she saw @Wizard Titanium had been sliding in the mud. "Uh, oh! It looks like number 14 lost her footing and is sliding through the mud! Will she recover, or is she on a one way trip out of the race!?" She exclaimed, before noticing that Titanium had landed upon @Nitobit Moonlight as the two ran together. "Number 28, Moonlight, has gained an ally in Titanium, who landed on his back to break her fall! It looks like those two are working together to clear the obstacle! I say, Pinkie, that's a pretty clever idea. It beats slipping in the mud, but hopefully Moonlight can keep his balance. Otherwise, it'll be a big wipeout."

Upon hearing her and Pinkie's names being called, Starlight turned towards the racers and audience as she smiled and waved. Once she and Pinkie made their way into the balloon, they were about to release the ropes that kept the hot air balloon on the ground. However, a sudden downpour had occurred, while Dynamo was contemplating on canceling the events. With the arrival of Rainbow Dash, it seemed that there were a change in the plans. It looked as if the race was still a go, but Starlight was still unconvinced of the rain that had been taking place. She pondered on an idea, before smiling in realization with a plan in mind taking place. With her magic, she casted a spell that overtook the entire balloon. With the magic aura enveloping her horn dissipating, she smiled as she hoped that her plan went into work. Once the duo took off in the balloon, it was keeping a steady pace above the participants. All the while, the balloon itself was not being blown around by any potential harsh winds. "Perfect! I knew that spell I looked into the other day would come in handy. It's a nifty spell that keeps an object in motion without other active or outside forces from interference. I was hoping to figure out a spell like this on a rainy day when I would like to try and fly my kites." Starlight smiled, feeling accomplished upon her work. "With that being said, welcome everypony! This is your hosts Starlight Glimmer and Pinkie Pie, here to welcome you to the Running of the Leaves! It feels great to be back commentating and catching the action of our beloved racer's! With returning and brand new contestants, it looks like this year's race will be just as exciting!" Starlight says, looking up from her spot in the basket to take notice of the rain still falling. "It's still rather strange that it's raining as I don't think that was announced in the weather pattern forecast. Thankfully the race is still on and it seems that this sudden downpour has proven to be a good challenge for our contestants!" She announced, looking over the edge of the basket to see how everyone was doing. "It looks like Number 20, @Dusk Haven is using smart strategy! Using ice magic to help her traverse the mud covered road with ease!" Starlight blinked as she thought she saw a faint glow upon the muddy path. It wasn't until she noticed that bits were sent flying that she gasped in surprise. "What's this? It looks like Dusk Haven threw some bits to throw the contestants off her tail. Number 44, @Samurai Equine is looking to heat up the competition with his fire magic! With each step, he's making sure that the mud doesn't slow him down! Even number 93, @Iridescent Edge is toughing out the storm by using his wits and running through the mud without any sense of worry. Now that's what we call having some courage and determination, folks!"

Hello, everypony! This is your School of Friendship's Headmare, Starlight Glimmer, here to wish you a Happy September! With the temperature's getting a little cooler in the Northern Hemisphere and a little warmer in the Southern Hemisphere. That can only mean one thing! That's right, everypony! Summer is slowly ending and the time has come to welcome the season of Fall! Despite how hot it this summer, It was nice at times to find a spot outside in the shade and flying my kite. Even so, that means that one can fly their kites in the Fall weather! All the while enjoying the beautiful leaves and scenery before them! From oranges and reds, one can't help in waiting to jump in the leaves after raking them, as well as take part in some fun events! With the arrival of this season, I'm always looking forward to The Running of the Leaves! However, September isn't just about raking leaves, or fun and games. September is the time of the month when students are starting to head back to school! Since Twilight had chosen me to become the School of Friendship's headman, I pride myself in helping new and returning students to feel welcomed. Along with helping any students that might feel lost or worried. When Twilight mentioned to me about New Year's resolutions, it reminded me that the start of the school year can also be about having a new grade's resolution. A sort of way of setting a goal for yourself that you can also bring with you into the new year! Which is why I'd like to celebrate September as a time for fun, but also to prepare and set some goals that we can accomplish! There will be some fun events to be had, as well as many fun memories to make! Here's to a wonderful September, along with a lovely Fall season, everypony!