“Push-ups! All of you! Now!” The coach spat in disgust at his “elite” team of runners. His expression lightened as Dream Chaser approached. The donkey put his hoof around Slip Stream’s neck and ruffled his mane. “I ain’t seen one this fast since you were a young ‘un. If I had an open slot, I’d take him to the games instead of these pansies.”
“Did you hear that, Mr. Chaser? I could compete!” Slip said excitedly.
“Mr. Chaser? A bit formal dontchathink?” the donkey chuckled.
"Tried to tell you earlier,” Dream Chaser began, “He’s not my son. I’m just helping out his mother today.”
The seasoned donkey looked from the stallion to the colt and still wasn’t completely convinced. “Well if you say so.” He bent down and looked Slip Stream in the eyes. “How’d you like to try out for next year’s roster?”
Slip’s face lit up and he bounced excitedly. Dream Chaser put his hoof on the colt’s shoulder to get him to calm down. “We’ll have to talk it over with his mother,” Dream Chaser said.
“Well she’d be a fool to let her son’s talent go to waste.” The coach stood back up and looked to his team. “When we get back from winning the games, be sure to give me an answer. Spots fill up quick in the off season.”
“Well aware, Coach,” Dream Chaser replied.
“Alright fillies!” The coach shouted, and the three stallions jumped up. “I want you to actually try this time. Slip—keep ‘em on their hooves.”
The racers all lined up at the starting line once more and waited for the whistle. The roaring of a crowd was suddenly deafening and a “Chase That Dream!” chant started up. Dream Chaser turned to see thousands of ponies filling the stands, flying banners with his cutie mark on them. Dream Catcher was right up front, yelling as loudly as she could down to the race track.
Dream Chaser turned to the track to see, not Slip Stream, but himself, at the starting line. It was the Equestria Games. He wasn’t in Manehatten anymore… No, he was at the Crystal Empire Stadium…Ten years ago…
The younger Dream Chaser looked around in awe at the crowd that had gathered for the event. His smile got wider once he laid his eyes on Dream Catcher, and he nodded his head to her. Coach Hardline grabbed hold of the young stallion’s face and brought it to his.
“Now, I don’t care if these are just the prelims! I want you giving it all— and no goo-goo eyes at your filly up there!” Coach Hardline spat, releasing his prodigy’s face. “You stay focused, do ya hear me?”
“Sir yes sir!” Dream Chaser shouted. A heavy rock and roll riff began blasting through the sound system of the stadium, drowning out the Dream Chaser supporters. The lights dimmed, and a spotlight began making its way across the bleachers. Fog billowed out onto the track, and the spotlight searched through it, stopping on a large doorway. The door burst open as the rock song broke down into a shredding solo, and Nova Star took the field.
The crowd went wild for the reigning champion, and he basked in the attention. The unicorn was everything a mare could ever want in a stallion: athletic, intelligent, successful, gleaming white coat, flowing blonde mane, brilliant blue eyes, and of course, lots of money.
He took his place next to the other racers, and an official came over to him to place a magical restraint on his horn. All unicorns had to wear them in order to ensure a fair playing field between them and their earth pony brethren. After the strange black cone was on Nova Star’s horn, the official smiled and returned to the sidelines.
“Let’s give them a good show today, shall we?” Nova Star said, looking to the other racers. His eyes stopped on Dream Chaser for just a bit too long before he turned away; the look sent a chill down Dream Chaser’s spine.
The fog cleared and the lights shone brightly onto the track once more. The rock tune faded out; the cheering returned to a normal level. The preliminaries for several events were taking place on the inner circle of the track at this time. The head of the royal guard walked out with his team of crystal ponies.
Officials trotted out of the doors Nova Star had entered in through, and began dispersing toward the different events. A red stallion in a black and white uniform approached the racers.
“Alright, this race will determine your starting positions in today’s event,” the official began. “You will run five laps around the track at the sound of my whistle.”
Dream Chaser and the others nodded before lowering their heads in anticipation. He closed his eyes and waited for it. Dream Catcher’s cheering was audible over all the noise of the crowded stadium, and he focused on that. As soon as the whistle sounded, however, there was nothing except for him and the track. He quickly pulled away from the other racers and sprinted towards the first turn.
Nova Star stared in disbelief, struggling to catch up. His hooves kicked up the packed clay of the track as he tried to close the gap he’d been foolish to allow. Once he caught up to Dream Chaser, he began to match his speed.
Dream Chaser glanced over quickly before pushing himself harder. The gap between Nova Star and him began to widen as he pulled away. With the first lap complete, Dream Chaser had a pretty solid lead over his competition.
The second lap resulted in Dream Chaser falling into a false sense of security. He began to find himself wondering if Nova Star was even trying, when suddenly a streak of white and yellow passed by. As he entered the third lap, Coach Hardline was shouting at the top of his lungs.
Dream Chaser didn’t understand a word from the coach, but he knew what he was being told to do. He pumped his legs and rocketed past Nova Star, and into the lead. All it took was a momentary distraction to undo his efforts. He couldn’t help it; he looked to the stands.
High up top, in the royal seating, sat Princess Celestia, and she smiled down at him. If not for her public image, she likely would have been cheering him on. His eyes darted until he saw Dream Catcher, and his heart began pounding harder than it already was. After the games were finally over, he was going to ask her to marry him.
Before he could turn his attention back to the race, his hoof caught on an obstruction in the track, and he began falling in slow motion. Dream Catcher’s face slowly turned from joy to terror as Dream Chaser hit the ground. Nova Star ran past, soon followed by the other racers.
“And Nova Star breaks into the lead!” The announcer’s voice rang out over the tumultuous stadium.
Dream Chaser looked at the ground until his eyes could focus and his brain could function.
Last place. He was in last place. No. Not for long.
With the force of a meteor, Dream Chaser kicked off. Some of the fans, to this day, still claim the stallion was on fire as he ran. It was like nothing any pony had seen before. He streaked up the track and entered the final lap, just meters from the other racers.
“Nova Star is still followed closely by Checkered Flag. Fire Bolt and Thunder Hooves are neck and neck, but what’s this?! Out of nowhere, Dream Chaser passes them all! In all the Equestria Games I’ve spectated, I have never seen a comeback like this!”
The announcer’s voice was barely audible over the cheering of the crowd. Dream Chaser could feel Nova Star running right behind him, but he wasn’t going to look to see how close. The finish line was in sight now, and he gave one last burst of energy to ensure his victory.
“And it’s Slip Stream by a nose!” Coach Hardline shouted as the young colt crossed the finish line in front of the other racers.
Dream Chaser looked around in confusion. The crowd melted away and the cheering faded. Down on the track, it was just an over-joyous Slip Stream and an ever-disgruntled Coach Hardline. The once elite athletes had now been transformed into some scruffy-looking Manehatten locals. The bright colors of the Crystal Empire Stadium gave way to the rust and rot of the Manehatten Stadium.
“Mr. Chaser!” Slip shouted up into the stands. “I won again!”
“That’s great!” Dream Chaser shouted down. His head was spinning, so he closed his eyes to refrain from throwing up. “Do you…guh…Do you want to stay longer?”
“I think it’s best if you two get goin’. I got some words for these three that I can’t say in front of the young ’un,” the coach said, looking over at the panting stallions.
“Front door open? Cause we kinda had to swim in the first time,” Dream Chaser said, stumbling down to the track.
“Yeah, it’s open,” the coach replied. “What do you mean you ‘swam in’?”
“We came in through a secret passage!” Slip Stream shouted.
The donkey looked from Slip then to Dream Chaser disapprovingly. “You broke in through the boiler room, didn’t you?”
Dream Chaser nodded guiltily. “I just didn’t want to come all the way out here for nothing.”
“Yeah, I know ya meant no harm,” the coach said, reaching into his pockets. “I’m gonna give you a spare key. I want you to keep that boy runnin’, ya hear?”
Dream Chaser took the key from his former coach. “As I said before, it’s up to his mother.”
“Yeah, yeah, as if you don’t have a say in things,” the coach said, nodding and pushing Dream Chaser towards the exit. Slip Stream trotted up next to them with a big smile on his face. The coach walked them all the way to the main entrance before turning to go back to his athletes.
“What are we going to do now?” Slip asked as they walked out into the street. The sun was still shining brightly and the day had only just begun. “Oh! Can we go visit my mom?”
The hospital wasn’t far from the stadium, but it was further than Dream Chaser really wanted to walk. More than anything, he just wanted to get home. He couldn’t deny that it was a nice change to be outside… but he also knew every time he was happy, sorrow would soon follow.
“If we do go see her, don’t mention anything about competing in the games,” Dream Chaser said. Slip made the motion of zipping his lips shut and smiled up at the stallion. Together, they walked to the hospital, and by the time they arrived, Dream Chaser felt he should be admitted. In fact, so did the receptionist.
“Oh dear, Mr. Chaser— what’s wrong now?” the receptionist asked with concern. Like most of the staff, she was aware of his history.
“Nothing. I’m, uh, just fine,” Dream Chaser lied. His legs were shaking, and he had to put his front hooves on the counter for support. “I was wondering if you could page Nurse Sun Stream out for me.”
The receptionist gave him a sly smile. “We typically don’t allow personal calls, but I suppose I can make an exception.”
He blushed as the receptionist paged out the entire hospital to inform the nurse she had a visitor. Moments later, the double doors to the ER burst open and Sun Stream ran out looking panicked.
“Mom!” Slip Stream shouted, running up to his mother. Her fear melted away as she hugged her son, and then she looked up to Dream Chaser. The stallion was in a cold sweat and a lot of pain, but he smiled at her.
She released her son and walked over to Dream Chaser. Before he could say anything, she held her hoof up to his forehead.
“You haven’t taken your antibiotics, have you?” she accused.
“Right, uh,” Dream Chaser rummaged through Slip Stream’s saddlebag for his medicine container. “Which ones are those again?”
“The green ones,” she replied, taking the container from his shaking hooves. Slip Stream paced anxiously around his mother and Dream Chaser, waiting for their attention. After the nurse was sure Dream Chaser hadn’t faked swallowing his pills, she turned back to her son.
“Today was so awesome!” Slip said, finally stopping in one place. “Mr. Chaser is so cool! Can he be my foal-sitter all the time?”
Dream Chaser’s eyes went wide with surprise, as did Sun Stream’s. They looked to each other for an answer that neither seemed to have. Dream Chaser wasn’t sure he could handle the responsibility. After all, he’d barely been taking care of himself the past ten years.
“Um, we’ll talk about it over dinner,” Sun Stream said, still looking around as if a definitive answer would be written on the walls. “You will be joining us for dinner again, won’t you, Mr. Chaser? It’s the least I can do.”
“I really need to get back home at some point,” Dream Chaser replied.
“But it’s mac and cheese night, Mr. Chaser! You don’t want to miss mac and cheese night!” Slip Stream looked at the stallion with pleading eyes.
“My shift doesn’t get over for a few more hours. If there is something you need at your house, there’s still plenty of time,” Sun Stream reasoned.
Dream Chaser looked from Slip to his mother and then back at Slip. They were eagerly awaiting a response from the stallion. Just as he could delay no longer, the doors to the ER opened and a nurse looked around the waiting room.
“Sunny, we need you in here now,” the nurse said with mild annoyance.
“Well, if I don’t see you tonight, thank you for watching Slip today,” Sun Stream said, looking Dream Chaser right in the eyes. Her expression was begging him to accept her offer. When he failed to reply, she turned to her son. “And I’ll see you at home, sweetie.”
She turned to go into the ER and Dream Chaser took a step after her. “I’ll see you tonight, then,” he said. She stopped and looked back at him with a smile before proceeding through the doors.
“So you are coming over again?” Slip asked excitedly.
Dream Chaser sighed and turned to the colt. “I guess so. Come on, I have one more place to show you before dinner.”