Just then, Marja announces, "Okay, ladies and gents! It's been a blast, but we gotta wrap things up now."

Grim cries out in disappointment, "Mrah?! But I'm still having fun!"

"You heard the clock. It's 11 p.m. Time to wind down," Epel says.

And Marja says, "I'm sure you're all tired after the day you had, so you should turn in."

"I ain't tired at all! Let's keep this shindig goin'!" Grim says, refusing.

Soon, Marja shouts, "GET TO BED, YA VARMINTS! You can't be messin' up tomorrow from lack of sleep!"

"Mrah?!" Grim cries out in front.

Marja continues, "I don't care if you aren't tired or if you're still havin' fun! It's bedtime, and that's that! Even apples know to store their nutrients in the winter! That's how they get to be so good! Ya get it now?"

"Not really, but fiiine," Grim says.

"She really is like a whole other person when the sledathon's involved," Jade says.

Epel giggles, "Ahaha... Thanks for throwing us this party, Grandma! It was tons of fun!"

And soon, everyone begins taking their leave. Soon enough, everyone is gone.

footsteps of everyone leaving*

"Okay, everyone's left. We'd better get ready to turn in," Epel says.

"Good idea," Sebek says.

"Pardon me. I agree with Marja's point, but we still have one thing to do before bed," Jade says.

Everyone replies, confused, "Huh?"

"You mean, something friends do at a sleepover... like a pillow fight?" Epel asks.

"He clearly means a pre-bedtime workout!" Sebek says.

And Idia says, "The girls in Sled Over Heels had pajama parties..."

But Jade says, "All incorrect. We need to hold a strategy meeting. I say we take a few minutes to devise a plan for tomorrow. After all, we wouldn't want to lose to Royal Sword Academy..."

"Ah, of course," Sebek says.

"You have a point, Jade," Briar says.

"Good idea," Sereia replies as Trinket nods her head.

"All right, yeah, sure," Epel says.

Jade then holds out a book, "I borrowed a race rulebook from one of the villagers during the party. Let's have a quick review of the rules, shall we?"

"Well, I'll be... Now that's what I call thinkin' ahead!" Epel says, amazed.

Briar then asks, "So, what are the rules of the race?"

Jade reads the book of the rules, "Rule 1: If any team member is absent, the entire team is disqualified. Rule 2: The winning team is determined by the combined time of all four team members. Rule 3: Time is called when the tip of a plushie's nose reaches the finish line."

"I'm surprised it's determined by then the plushie reaches the end, and not the sled or the musher," Sebek says.

"Uh, Sebek... This is a PLUSHIE sled race," Idia points out, " The stuffed animals are the real stars. The mushers are just the power system driving them."

"Yeah, the sledathon was created to honor the animals," Epel says.

"Then we'll need to destroy our opponents' plushies, rather than their sleds," Jade says.

"That doesn't sound good," Briar says.

"I'm not sure I like the direction you're goin' Jade..." Epel agrees.

"What else does the rules say," Tanzanite asks.

Jade continues reading the rules, "Rule 4: If an individual is involved in a collision or a crash, they are solely responsible for themselves."

"Yikes," Jasper says.

"Hm, then we'll have to be careful," Sebek says.

"So basically, if we make someone else crash, we won't get DQ'd for it?" Idia asks.

"Precisely. The trick will be making them crash without damaging our own sleds," Jade says.

Idia snickers, "Whee hee! Copy that!"

"Huh?!" Epel replies, confused.

Sereia and Briar are not liking the look they have.

Jade continues, "Rule 5: Mushers must not sled in a way that hinders other sleds."

"Well, that's to be expected!" Sebek says.

And Jade says, "This means we would be allowed to set up pitfalls on the course before the race."

"Yeah, setting something up beforehand has nothing to do with the way we're sledding. EZPZ," Idia says.

"Exactly! Next..." Jade says.

"Um guys, I don't think this is a good idea..." Briar says, worried.

Soon, Epel speaks out, "Now, hold on a minute! How about we try to win without any sabotage?"

"Wut. All this stuff falls within the regulations. We're very specifically NOT cheating or glitching the game. Finding loopholes to exploit is gaming 101. Bam, I rest my case," Idia says through the tablet.

"Agreed. After all, winning is our number one priority," Jade says.

Soon, Epel says, "Look, Royal Sword Academy picked a fight with us..."

"They did?" Jade questions.

"I don't remember them doing that," Tanzanite says.

And Epel says, "So I say we beat 'em fair and square and rub it in their faces! Otherwise it won't feel right!"

"I fully agree, Epel!" Sebek says, "The true joy of battle is challenging someone head-on and winning on your own merits. Otherwise the victory would ring hollow. What's the point of winning with cheap tricks?"

"You freshmen are so dull— ah, I mean, diligent," Jade says.

Idia groans, "Ugh, such arbitrary 'morals.'" and brings out his tablet, "Okay then... Take a look at my screen here."

Then Epel asks, "Is that the racecourse?!"

"Yeeeah, so it's aerial footage from a mini-drone. I took it during practice today," Idia responds, though the tablet.

"You brought a drone with you?!" Epel asks.

Idia continues "I wanted to get footage of some Sled Over Heels locations. And this baby gets me a panoramic view! I never thought it'd be useful for the race, though."

"No wonder you had so much luggage..." Sebek says.

"Wow..." Epel says, amazed.

And Idia says, "It's not like they keep the course under wraps. This isn't cheating."

"True. Filming the course isn't banned," Epel says.

And Jade says, "Neither are pitfalls, may I point out."

"Don't treat my village's sledathon like some Night Raven College event!" Epel says.

And Sebek says, "This footage is very handy. It's clear which parts will be trickiest to navigate."

"Yes, now we can consider the course from multiple angles," Jade says.

"Hm..." Sebek responds, and says, "We sledded through this area during practice, but I spilled out on those three consecutive quick turns."

"So what you do here is go full speed on the first corner, then brake sharply right before the curve," Epel says, "That way you use centrifugal force to direct your sled through the bend. It lets you make quick turns without losing much speed, and it's a great way to navigate several of 'em in a row!"

"Oh, nice! That's called drifting in racing games!" Idia replies.

And Epel says, "Drifting is an actual driving technique, not just a video game thing..."

And Jade says, "As far as Idia's concerned, it's a game term. Epel, wouldn't you slip on the ice if you took a corner that fast?"

"Yeah, sure, understeering can happen when it's icy. So the trick is to countersteer, which realigns the vehicle," Epel adds.

"... I ain't got no idea what he's talkin' about," Grim replies.

And Jade says, "I believe he's using motorsport terminology. It would appear Epel's rather knowledgeable in that area."

"Hmm, that seems interesting," Briar says.

"Oh yes, he did talk at length about cars and blast cycles when we were walking on Harvest Road," Sebek says.

And Epel says, "Yeah, I'm real big into blast cycles, so I watch a lot of races. I'm pretty familiar with driving techniques, too. I've tried out racing manoeuvres while sledding before, actually. I'll fill you all in on those later. They might come in handy tomorrow."