//------------------------------// // North Pole XI // Story: Rainbow Dash's Unstoppable Ego // by MagicS //------------------------------// “It’s a race. We’re having a race!” “A race? Why a race?” Sia’Lorna asked Dash as the two of them stood outside the center with a number of other competitors who had been staying there. “I got the idea last night thanks to that banquet. Consider it a competition before the tournament if any of you are up for it,” Rainbow Dash said to them all. She was again wearing the ropes around her barrel that kept her wings down. “Is this about what I said about not believing how fast you were on legs until I saw it?” Wandering Claw asked. “Yep!” Rainbow Dash grinned. “I’m gonna prove you wrong and get some awesome exercise in at the same time. And I figured it was the perfect opportunity for everyone else to get involved too, What do you say?” “I’d say I’d rather be swimming, it’s a better exercise,” Wandering Claw said before the corners of his mouth twisted up in a smile. “Buuut if it’s to beat a cocky pony like you I don’t mind doing this either.” A few mumbles from some of the Reindeer around reached Rainbow Dash’s ears. She could tell they were agreeing with Wandering Claw, having gotten a good handle on Dash’s personality and attitude at last night’s banquet. Some of them were pretty tough dudes and obviously wanted to prove they could beat a pegasus who was normally used to flying in a “foot” race. Sia’Lorna also seemed interested. “Well?” Rainbow Dash asked again. “We doing this or what?” “I wouldn’t mind,” said a big buck by the name of Rem’Melas who Dash had met yesterday. “But where’s the finish line? How long is this race going to be?” “Already thought of that,” Rainbow Dash said and pointed off to the large rock formation at the far end of the plateau from where she had come in, the same rock formation that the rivers of liquid ice all ran from. “From here to there. First one wins, obviously.” “Should we get Ark’Nogt to officiate things?” Sia’Lorna asked. Rainbow Dash winked at her. “Actually way ahead of you on that. I woke Ark’Nogt up early and already told him about everything, by now he’s waiting for us at the finish line. He thought it was a, and I quote, “swell” idea.” “That does sound like him,” Sia’Lorna giggled. “And let’s do it then. I had planned for light exercise this last day but a good run will work wonders too.” “Cool! Everyone else?” Rainbow Dash looked around the group, having already gotten confirmation from some of the others anyways. “I’m down.” “A race sounds fun, count me in.” “I’ll join as well. “Me too!” “I’m confident in my running ability.” And so on and so forth did every competitor for the tournament that was staying here voice their assent. It was a better outcome than Rainbow Dash had expected, she figured at least a couple would tell her no but Reindeer were just too darn polite. And Wandering Claw was into it too—another surprise. Rainbow Dash had the whole group walk to the… north(?) edge of the communal living area. Technically it might’ve been south but she was still thinking in a “Behind me is south” kind of mindset. Once they were right at the boundary, Rainbow Dash smiled and turned to the others. “Okay! Everyone get in a line and then once we’re all ready I’ll have the race start at the count of three! Got it?” “Got it!” A chorus of voices answered. The group of visiting fighters all got in a single line together facing the massive rock formation at the far end of the plateau. No one was going to have any advantage over anyone else, everyone started from the same distance. There were obstacles in the way like buildings, little rivers, trees, etc. but they’d just have to maneuver past all that. It was more than just run in a straight line but Rainbow Dash was confident in her ability to win any sort of race. Rainbow Dash looked left and right as she stood in the middle of the line to make sure everyone was ready. Satisfied, she took a deep breath. “One!” Everyone tensed up. “Two!” They dug their hooves and claws into the ground. “Three!” And in a blast of wind the entire group shot forwards like a salvo of cannonballs. Huge divots of dirt were torn out the moment they reached the frosted grass as every last one of them sprinted right from the get go. This was no marathon to pace yourself in, this was a full-throttle battle race. Rainbow Dash naturally found herself at the front to start with but a lot of the Reindeer were keeping up really well thanks to their long and agile limbs. Wandering Claw on the other hoof… he was doing his best. Sia’Lorna was right by Rainbow Dash and the two of them bounded over the ground together, dodging past trees and running over stone walkways whenever they came up. Rainbow flashed a grin to Sia’Lorna and got a challenging one in return. The two of them were going to have a lot of fun competing against each other in this race and then the tournament. The first little river of liquid ice was coming up in the distance and a few competitors were moving up and down looking for a way across it. But not Dash, Sia’Lorna, and some of the other brave runners. They all charged full speed at that river. “You thinking what I’m thinking?” Dash asked Sia’Lorna. “I’m thinking you should save your breath!” The Reindeer chirped back at her. “Heh, no way, no need!” Rainbow Dash yelled and barreled towards the river with Sia’Lorna. Forget being worried about getting washed away, she had a race to win here! At the last moment Rainbow Dash jumped over the river with Sia’Lorna right behind her, the two of them just barely having enough distance to clear the river and land safely on the other side where they continued to run full speed ahead. Coming out of their jumps and getting back into motion was easy. The two sprinters were at the front of the group now even compared to the others who decided to jump the river. Rainbow Dash was always just a teensy bit ahead of her even though Sia’Lorna was doing an admirable job keeping up. That might change though with the houses coming up right in front of them. It seems they had come across a small residential area on the outskirts of one of the larger developed spots. A lot of Reindeer, totally oblivious to the race at the moment, were out walking around. Things were about to become a little messy. “Hey! Stampede coming through!” Rainbow Dash yelled to get the Reindeers attention right as she and the horde of others emerged onto the streets. “Gah!” A family of Reindeer jumped out of the way immediately, Rainbow and Sia’Lorna both running right by them. She heard yelling and surprised shouts from all around and behind her as the rest of the racers intruded on the formerly peaceful morning. Rainbow Dash had to weave in and out of a group of Reindeer and once she passed the last house she winced and waved over her head back at them. “Sorry!” That little mishap had probably scattered the group even more and now Sia’Lorna wasn’t directly next to her anymore either. Rainbow Dash grinned excitedly as she was sure she was well in first. The next big obstacle on the race was a forest of thick trees. Now she could just imagine doing a Running of the Leaves and think about kicking Applejack’s flank the next time that came around too. Applejack really wouldn’t know what hit her when she saw how much faster Rainbow Dash had gotten on legs. Sweat was starting to drip from her brow though thanks to how hard she had been running and the rock formation was still a ways away. Sprinting so hard might’ve had its drawbacks but she doubted anyone had the pacing or speed to punish her for it. Chancing a look over her shoulder she saw that she indeed had a good lead on everyone else but they were all putting up a good fight too. She could even see Wandering Claw a little farther back giving it his all as he practically bowled over the Reindeer back in that little town. Sia’Lorna was her closest competitor still but Dash had several full pony lengths on her and she bet that was only going to grow as she nimbly started to dodge and zip around the many trees in this new forest. She took in a deep breath and pushed herself even harder, something she was great at doing, while running around the many tree trunks. Her eyes and reflexes were great enough where she could easily pivot and dart around any trees that popped up out of nowhere. This was practically her favorite kind of thing in the world and even though it wasn’t the sort of race she was normally used to she could still feel her heart pounding harder and making her way more passionate than she normally would be. A smile was perpetually stuck on her face the faster she ran and the longer this race went on. In the end as much as she wanted to win she also wanted the others to challenge her even more, to make that inevitable victory that much more satisfying. “Come on! Is that all you’ve got! Really run like you wanna win!” Rainbow Dash yelled out to the sky as she ran through the forest, loud enough for most of the other racers to hear her. Immediately she heard the pounding of hooves on the ground grow stronger. “That’s more like it!” She yelled again and then ducked her head to be as aerodynamic as possible while completing her run through the forest. She had to burst through some bushes but she soon emerged from the forest and out onto open ground with the rock formation now dead ahead. Rainbow Dash was on the home stretch of the race and the others weren’t far behind either. Squinting her eyes she saw a figure standing atop an outcropping of the rocks on the ground: Ark’nogt. That was her goal, reach him before anyone else. The huge rock formation that now towered over them all was a sight to see too, with rivers and waterfalls of the liquid ice pouring out of it and flowing along through the rest of Nogt. The sandy colored rocks were placed atop and next to each other like a great mountain of blocks. Behind her she heard most of the others emerge from the forest as well, Rainbow Dash just barely looked out of the corner of her eye and saw Sia’Lorna practically right behind her. The Reindeer hadn’t given up but Rainbow wasn’t about to let her win. With her eyes focused back entirely on Ark’Nogt and the rocks, Rainbow Dash pulled out all the last stores of energy she had in her body. Even after fully sprinting the full time she somehow managed to get even faster and pull ahead a little more. Yelling in victory she zoomed right past the rock Ark’Nogt was standing on and came to a screeching halt. Trenches of dirt were blown up from the ground and smoke practically came from her burning hooves as she stopped. “Yeah!” Rainbow Dash pumped her hoof while the others also reached the finish line. Sia’Lorna walked up to her, panting heavily. “You are… indeed… very fast.” “Quite so,” Ark’Nogt agreed as he hopped down to join them. “I don’t think any Reindeer here could beat you in a race whether it be a contest of speed or endurance.” Rainbow Dash grinned and mimed rubbing some dust off her chest. “Well, yeah. I’m just awesome, remember?” “You had best remember though!” A sharp voice suddenly cut in and Wandering Claw emerged from in-between the other finished racers (who also looked exhausted just like Sia’Lorna) “That… the tournament… is not a race. It is a fight… the speed you can run doesn’t… mean everything in the ring. Or much at all… truly.” Rainbow Dash cracked her neck and kept the cocky grin on her face. “I know that. I just wanted to prove that I’m not all wings. And I think I did. I’m still looking forward to the real action up here. So I hope all of you bring it.” “You can guarantee… that we all will,” Sia’Lorna grinned as well. “Good,” Rainbow Dash reached to the ropes around her barrel and started to undo them. “Now I don’t know about you, but I could really use a shower.”