The cool of the early morning ran a brush through her mane and coat, sending a hint of the sea into her nose and onto her tongue. The first rays of the sun painted the sky shades of pink and blue, while rogue stars twinkled in defiance of the coming day. Below, city lights glimmered, a few showing signs of losing the battle against the morning. Her eyes scanned the horizon, caught sight of the harbor, and wound their way toward the streets below.
She ignored all else at that point, the layout of the track flashing through her mind.
So many buildings. So many chances for a crash, one that would be the last for the unfortunate pegasus caught in the mess.
This course ate ponies—took their souls and their hearts and anything else it could. This was no stadium full of cheering fans, no circular track where all that mattered was staying in another racer's jet stream. Hairpins and chicanes threatened to tear wings off. Elevation changes demanded utmost focus. The tunnel, nearly a mile long, signaled a drastic change in lighting.
Mareaco dwarfed the Wonderbolt Derby.
Rainbow Dash had never been to Prance. She'd never been to Bitaly, or Manehattan, or Fillydelphia. Ponyville was all she knew, and Canterlot was all she dreamed of. The City of the Diarchy was home to Wonderbolt Stadium, the training ground and base of operations for the stunt team. She'd been inside once for the graduation ceremony of the Academy, where she was named one of the Top Five.
Not too many of her class made it inside. Several washed out, or were kicked out.
Rainbow persevered, and that put her and everypony else with her that day one step closer to having their name on the flight roster, or even just the reserves. She should have been satisfied.
She wasn't.
Rainbow shut the memory out, closed her eyes, and took in a breath of the morning air. Nothing mattered but the track, the wind, the sky. She felt herself disconnect, tuning everything else out. Soon, buildings and asphalt flew past in her mind's eye, the rush of the first straight immediately checked by the opening turns. She cut through wide, sloping bends, forced herself to slice the hairpin, and dove into the tunnel.
Rainbow’s wings twitched. Her heart raced, and her breathing picked up.
She tore out from the other side, the flash of blinding sunlight obscuring the track for a precious two seconds. Chicane incoming, slow down. Barely miss the building. Keep going.
The line in front of her did not matter, not until the end. Speed didn't matter. Style didn't matter. The crowd didn't matter. What mattered was precision, technique, cunning, and grit—pure skill. There was danger at every corner, every turn, because one wrong move could send her spinning into a building, into the harbor, or into the street.
She ran the track through her head again, planned out her line. Normally, Rainbow planned for nothing—she just felt and moved. She thought with her body, not with her brain, and learned best by doing. But here, that wouldn't work. This was no straight-line race, no set of checkpoints. It wasn't a stunt routine or one of her experiments in making a new trick. Her sponsor stressed that she'd have to run this race perfectly, without errors in judgment or timing. Rainbow couldn't run anyone else's race but hers.
"Out at the track again?"
Her eyes opened as the radio clipped to her right ear buzzed. Rainbow tried for the hundredth time to flick it off, a reflex and nothing more. The damn thing never budged, and she'd never get used to it. "Yeah. Can't sleep. Figured I'd take in the view." She glanced up at the sky again. The sun had broken the horizon by now. From the rooftop where she stood, Rainbow had a view of the harbor and most of the city. Her eyes narrowed as the sun's glare washed over her, and she donned a pair of mirror-coated shades to block it out.
Now she could appreciate the view, and a smile came to her muzzle. "I gotta admit, I was never one for sightseeing, but I'd like to come back here after this is over."
"I must agree with you, darling. I've never been to Prance before now—it's absolutely gorgeous! And the shops here are marvelous; just think of the inspiration I could bring back home!"
Rainbow chuckled. "Yeah, sure. You go do that. I'll be out here doing my job."
The sound of somepony clearing her throat came from the other end. "Terribly sorry. I should be up there with you, not in the hotel gushing over Prance. Are you quite sure you're all right?"
Her smile shifted into a frown. "Honestly?" She took in another breath. "I don't know."
"Whatever do you mean?"
She looked back down at the streets. "I've run through this track a million times on the way here. I've been through all the angles and the ups and downs, and I know practically every turn. Heck, last night I dreamed about running the race!" She chuckled. "You remember how much of a wreck I was at Best Young Flyers?"
"Yes. That was partly my fault, of course."
Rainbow shook her head. "I've already forgiven you for that." She sighed. "Take those nerves and ramp 'em up by eleven. I'm... scared of this course. Hearing about it is one thing—I can imagine how awesome I can be. But seeing it for myself, being out here, walking around the whole length of it at least once..." She shook her head. "The stories about crashes are real. I can see exactly where they'd happen, too. The hairpin, the chicane, just out of the tunnel, out near the harbor..."
"Rainbow, I understand what you're going through. You're afraid something bad will happen to you." A pause. "To be honest, so are we. But we have faith that you'll make it through. All you have to do is..."
"...Run my race." She grinned as they said the mantra at the same time. "I've had that beaten into my head more times than I'd like to count."
"Well, it bears repeating." Another pause. "I suppose I'm due for some fresh air. Wait just a moment—I'll be up there soon."
Rainbow's eyes widened. "How soon?"
The air just to her right sucked in, formed a pocket, and popped with a flash of pale blue. A white-coated mare with a coiffed purple mane and clear blue eyes appeared just next to Rainbow. The red and white silk dress on her figure, enchanted to ward off the cold, glistened in the first rays of the sun, and the wide-brimmed hat on her head did well to shade her eyes from the morning light. "This soon!"
Rainbow nearly shrieked, her hooves a foot off the ground from her shock. After a few wing beats to steady herself, she groaned as heat rushed to her cheeks. "I hate her for teaching you how to do that."
"Well, it isn't easy, darling—takes more focus than I'm usually up for, and it makes me terribly dizzy afterward. It'll take some time to get used to." She glanced up at Rainbow. "I'm just glad I can get the jump on you like she does now. Nothing else surprises you these days!"
Rainbow landed with a huff. "Well, don't expect me to fall for it again." She turned back to the sunrise. "Hey, you think after this, you could... y'know..." She cleared her throat. "I feel like I should be wearing something a bit nicer when I'm out here. I mean, this place is just so different."
The other pony turned to face Dash. "You mean... a dress?" Her eyes sparkled. "You actually want a dress from me?"
Rainbow nodded, her features resolute. "Yeah. Y'know that one thing you made for Twilight’s big day? Something like that, but different. I'm not sure what I want, so I'll leave it up to you again."
Rarity squealed. "I'll get on it right away! You'll be the talk of Prance when I'm finished with you!"
Dash chuckled again. "That's what I'm afraid of, but go ahead anyway." She glanced toward the pony on her right. "Thanks for being here, Rarity. For some reason, I feel better now."
"And you’ll feel even better when we win." Rarity sighed. "I just wish I could do more than be the one holding the pit lane marker, but there's not much I can do there besides fix tears in your flight suit. I'm sure there will be many after this, with all those ruffians out there trying to muscle you out."
Rainbow smirked. "It's held up so far. I'm surprised there hasn't been a scratch on it before now, to be honest!"
Rarity hissed. "Don't you jinx it now, Rainbow Dash! I worked hard on that." She took in a breath of the sea air, and it seemed to calm her. "Just be careful out there. None of us wants to see you get hurt."
"I'll be fine! Go work on that dress." The pegasus gazed out at the harbor. "I'm gonna stay here a little while longer."
She barely heard Rarity teleport again before she was alone on the rooftop. The sun was on its way through its ecliptic now, and the morning brought with it the sounds of gulls and the city's awakening. Her ears took these sounds in, a breath brought a fresh sample of sea air to her senses, and she smiled. Whether she won didn't matter so much, nor whether she crashed.
She just had to finish—run her race. Maybe her first time in Prance wouldn't be such a disaster. Who knew for sure?
"Today is gonna be awesome."
Rainbow spread her wings and felt the wind tug at them. It'd be doing more than that during the race—and in far more brutal fashion—but right now it played with her. Maybe it was time to get some laps in—no need to spend any time away from the track. Dash turned away from the harbor, set herself, and launched from the rooftop in a single wing burst.
She did her best thinking on the move, after all.
Rainbow dove toward the valley between the buildings, toward the freshly set track, and made her way toward the starting position. Her starting position. Close enough to the front that she could get a good start, yet far enough away that she could draft if she had to. She'd have loved to be at the first marker, but her sponsor had told her that this was the best position. Since the top three in points could put themselves anywhere they wanted, there was no reason to argue.
She glanced at the signal lights, licking her lips as they lit up in her mind's eye. On the instant they turned green, she shot forward with a burst of air and adrenaline, the wind kicking up in her wake.
This was no one’s race but hers.
Rainbow took the first corner, ninety degrees right, gritting her teeth as the g-forces tore at her. She burned her way uphill toward a wide left turn, curved around, and pushed ahead toward a sharp right. Rainbow grimaced as the hotel approached. She'd have to slow down for this one. The pegasus twisted sideways as she took the hairpin before continuing with a right turn. Dash sliced yet another right—and dove into the tunnel.
Rainbow struggled against the wind as it tried to turn her into a smear on the street. Something about this tunnel made flying difficult—maybe it was the aerodynamics as she came through. Or maybe it was her nerves, the anticipation of the tunnel's exit and the bright light that would overtake her senses.
Rainbow ignored the warnings and pushed on. This was the place where she could pick up speed, and she took all she could get.
She launched out of the tunnel, and the flash in her eyes would’ve hit her like a buck to the forehead if not for the sunglasses. But she wouldn't have her shades in the race. Pretend you're disoriented. Adjust. The chicane was already on top of her, along with the potential for disaster. She shot to her left and then her right, accelerating out of the death trap as soon as she recovered.
Rainbow twisted and turned in a mock fight for position. Ghosts appeared in her head now—other racers—trying to navigate the course just like her. She ignored them and focused on what lay ahead. Soon, she saw the line and poured on the speed again, crossing it in what could have been a record for the track. No one was around to keep time, but she was sure if they did, she just set a new standard.
Rainbow didn't care. She pushed on, into another lap.
"Never enough," she said through her teeth. "It's never enough."
It would never be enough. Not for her.