//------------------------------// // Chapter 10 The Race // Story: Gaia // by Puking Coyote //------------------------------// Chapter 10 The Race “Did you see?” Rarity asked Twilight as they came into the throne room. “Lyra was with those dreadful creatures, what on earth is she thinking?” “Who is this Lyra?” Luna asked. “She is a pony from Ponyville who plays the Lyre in the park, her roommate is a candy maker called Bonbon” Twilight replied. “Is there anything else?” “She is quite the conspiracy theorist” AppleJack stated. “Anyponyelse you recognized?” Celestia asked. “Besides Trixie ?” “Yes” “No” they all replied but RainbowDash although she also said no did recognize another from the group. While staring awestruck at the famous ponies around her in the ceremony she saw Lightningdust in the changeling’s lineup. She was bound and determined to find out what she was doing with them. After they left to get some sleep Rainbowdash snuck out of her room and flew stealthily towards the changelings windows where she perched upon the windows ledge to listen for Lightningdust. “Good night girls” Gaia said as they headed for their rooms but as Lightningdust was about to leave he called her. “How are you feeling about tomorrow?” “A little nervous” Lightningdust truthfully replied. “It’s only natural, but you have worked hard for this moment. You are much stronger than when I first meet you. Whatever the outcome tomorrow remember I am proud of you Lightningdust.” “Thanks” she replied. Gaia looked towards the window “It seems that RainbowDash wants to talk to you” he then left for his room. Lightningdust opened the window with some force almost hitting RainbowDash as she did “RainbowDash, what a surprise” she said with a sneer. “What do you want traitor!” “Traitor?! What are you talking about?” Dash asked taken aback. “I know it was you who had Spitfire toss me out of the academy!” “What?! I never did. If you were tossed out it was for your own reckless behavior. You almost hurt my friends!” Dash protested. “Your friends were never supposed to be there in the first place! It was a training ground, not a place for visitors to be sightseeing!” “You were reckless, a danger to the whole academy!” “No, I was trying to improve myself and you! Pushing ourselves to the limits is the only way to make it to the same level as the Wonderbolts.” Dash shook her head “Not when it puts ponies in danger it isn’t.” “So if there is a danger of a runner pulling a muscle they should not run and improve themselves? Oh, what great logic Rainbow Dash! I guess that means that you will not be racing tomorrow then.” Dash landed back on the windowsill “Oh, I will race and I will win, if for nothing else than to prove you wrong Lightningdust.” “Go ahead and try but you will fail” she replied “our conversation is done traitor” she then closed the window in Dashes face who gave a dissatisfied grunt and flew off. Lightningdash gave a low growl and now being reminded of her reason for coming here and with her rage towards RainbowDash rekindled she marched towards her room more than ready for the race tomorrow. The games started in the early hours of the morning just as the sun was coming up which Celestia raised with a particular grace into the sky. The champions soon started to participate in the games. There was jousting, Barrel bucking, Fencing, Judo, Soccer, Baseball, Pie eating contest, races of all sorts, gymnastics, and so many more games that it was hard to keep track of them all. The beginning games which were the more physical activities the Minotaur’s and griffins took and won the coveted the gold medals but as the day went on the ponies from Celestia’s kingdom started to take the lead followed closely by the Changeling Empire. For even though the other changelings champions did not do so well in the games Gaia’s four students were more than making up the slack. Lyra had all but won the music division while Wildfire was busy fighting AppleJack for gold in the footraces. Trixie had even won gold in the events she participated in. As the day wore on the two kingdoms were tied with gold medals where only one last event was left the famous Mountain Pass race on the floating island. “Are you ready?” Trixie asked Lightningdust as they approached the starting line. Lightningdust glanced towards RainbowDash who was psyching herself up with some coaching from Pinkypie. “More than ready” she replied to Trixie then went to the starting line with two other changelings who were also participating. “Lightningdust? Surprising to see you here” a voice sounded to her left. Lightningdust looked over and saw Spitfire “how have you been?” “Not bad considering you squashed my dreams and all” she replied coldly. Next to RainbowDash Spitfire was the pony that she wanted to beat most of all. “I’m sorry about what happened but I couldn’t let almost hurting Princess Twilight go unpunished you do understand?” “You know you’re an interesting Pegasus at first you praised me for pushing myself then you do a complete 360 and decide its bad” she replied. “For a Pegasus that finds it so hard to make up her mind its surprising that you are the captain of the Wonderbolts.” Wildfire slanted her eyes “For your sake, I will take that as just trash talk before the race trying to mess with an opponent’s mind.” “Think what you will” Lightningdust grinned “but I will prove my point to you when I win.” “I’ll tell you what; let’s make a wager shall we?” Spitfire replied. “Whoever wins owes the other an apology.” “Deal.” “Good, I have been the champion of this race for over twelve years Lightningdust so you have better get that apology ready when you finally make it across the finish line.” They stopped talking when the flag bearer came in front of the track hovering over the cliff they were standing on the edge of. He looked at all the Pegasus, griffins, changelings, and other creatures on the line then waved the flag starting the race. Lightningdust dove straight down while the other creatures began to fly high into the strong air currents of the canyon the only other ponies who did the same thing were the Wonderbolts. Down and down they went until at the last second they spread out their wings snapping them back into flight just feet from the ground. Just as Gaia told her this cannons current was easier to fly through the closer to the ground which meant she would save valuable energy while the others tired themselves out above them. The only thing with being so close to the ground however was the obstacles of rock formations that they had to fly through. She had nearly missed a rock when Spitfire and the other Wonderbolts cut her off keeping her behind them. There was no opening for her to pass so content she had to be with trailing them through the tunnels of rocks until the next bend when it would become wider. “How is it back there?” Spitfire asked looking back at Lightningdust with a grin. She did not answer while she looked for a chance to pass them then. Finally she saw the opening she was looking for, kicking up speed she made a steep climb under the protection of a portion of the cliff then dove into the current once again just ahead of Spitfire who looked on with shock. Realizing now that Lightningdust knew more than she did at the academy and had significant practice since then, she decided to treat her as a professional racer which meant the gloves were coming off. Rainbow Dash looked around at the group of struggling flyers in the sky who like her were fighting some strong wind currents. The two changelings and a third of the other creatures had already dropped far behind and were now clearly no threat. “What’s the matter pipsqueak? (Gasp) you had enough yet?” Gilda asked flying behind her. Dash looked back rolled her eyes then took off faster separating their distance. One thing was bothering her ever since the races start she did not see Lightningdust or the Wonderbolts for that matter. As they turned around another cliff she was knocked around by a particular strong gust of wind she flipped around the now long and straight part of the cannon and by chance she looked at the ground in her spin and saw five fast moving dots far ahead of the rest of them. “No way!” Dash gasped looking at the dots. They had to be the Wonderbolts “the current must be better down there, they must know that” she thought to herself. Dash folded her wings and dove down from the rest of the group and opened them as she came close to the ground. “That’s it! The currents are better down here” she looked up at the struggling flock above her “see you” she said to herself then sped off towards the Wonderbolts. If I catch up to them I might even be able to talk to them she thought to herself which helped quicken her pace as she went faster just pressing the limit before a Rainboom. “There they are!” she squealed to herself as they came into view. She knew that she shouldn’t waste so much energy catching up to them but should save it, but come on it’s the frigging Wonderbolts! The closer she flew though the more she could make out what was happening up front. The wonderbolts were in a tight battle for the lead with another Pegasus who was matching them in every way ducking under stone bridges and outmaneuvering them as they came to cut her off. It was the most extraordinary thing she had seen, usually the wonderbolts would just take the lead together and at the last mile of the race make a mad dash for the finish line but this time they were being challenged by an expert flyer. It didn’t take Dash long to see who it was for of course it was Lightningdash. Lightningdash flew into position and made a quick right turn up blocking the wonderbolt who was trying to cut her off. “They’re much better than the dragons” she mumbled to herself as two other wonderbolts flew at her sides. They were trying to keep her occupied so Spitfire could take the lead. Spitfire was impressed by Lightningdust and her abilities, surely if she had showed such grace in the academy she would have graduated the first day she entered. Her reflexes and the ability to judge what the currents were about to do were on par with any of theirs. However there was one thing that she lacked and Spitfire knew it, a team. She had chosen to race alone and while she was impressive, the other wonderbolts were wearing Lightningdust down while Spitfire was holding back saving her energy for the final push. “Hey Spitfire!” Dash called to her. Spitfire looked around to see who it was and to make sure that other flyers were not behind her. Spitfire knew the danger that Dash was especially with her rainboom but didn’t want to upset Princess Twilight’s good friend. “Hi RainbowDash don’t think this rude but I really can’t talk right now, we have our hoofs full at the moment.” Dash looked at Lightningdust who was very busy fighting off the other wonderbolts for the lead “Oh, I get it. Can I help?” she asked hoping for the chance of working with the Wonderbolts. “Nope, I think…” just then Lightningdust made a brilliant move that caused two of the wonderbolts to collide with each other. “Ok, I think this has gone on long enough Lightningdust!” she shouted and flew straight towards the front at high speed. Lightningdust had just enough time to see the blur of Spitfire before she could clip her “Hey! What’s the idea?” she screamed at her but the only response she received was the wonderbolts making a circle around her and shoving her back into the slow moving circle when she tried to escape. As they did this Spitfire took the lead “Not fair!” Spitfire looked back not proud of what she had her squad do but she had a reputation to protect. “That’s not fair Spitfire!” Dash shouted to her. “Actually it is” Spitfire replied. “I’m just sorry that I had to resort to it, actually Lightningdust should feel honored that she pushed us that far.” “I don’t agree with it” Dash replied looking back at Lightningdust and the other Wonderbolts who had fallen behind. “If you will excuse me?” Spitfire replied not wanting to talk about it anymore and speed up. Dash looked at her speeding away and after fighting back the idea to speed up as well and try to beat her in the race she flew back towards Lightningdust. Lightningdust was busy trying to force the wonderbolts out of her way but they would not budge. She glared at Spitfire who had taken a significant lead and growled “Dirty player!” She was about to shock all the wonderbolts into the next centenary with her element when Dash suddenly cut into the Woderbolts formation making an escape route “Rainbowdash?” she asked surprised. “Hurry up and move Lightningdust!” she called as the Wonderbolts had already begun to adjust their formation. Lightningdust did and together they speed away from the frustrated Wonderbolts who followed closely after them. “Thanks Rainbowdash” Lightningdust replied having an improved opinion of her. “You think that I would let them get away with that dirty trick?” she replied. They turned the next corner and came upon the last stretch of the race where Spitfire had already gone to full speed and was way ahead of them. “See you!” RainbowDash called and kicked into her Rainboom heading towards the finish line quickly catching up to Spitfire. “Nice try!” Lightningdust called pacing Dash. Dash looked back and saw that Lightningdust had a lightning spark trail following behind her. Dashes eyes grew huge at the realization of what Lightningdust was performing. “What?!” she called out “Don’t tell me.” “Yes, this is my Lightningboom” Lightningdust replied with some pride. Gaia had taught her some time ago how to perform such a feat which was the height of a Pegasus’s ability without the help of magic. She grinned as she remembered how she yelled at Lyra for falling from a high cliff making her go into her first Lightningboom to save her, then how she yelled at Gaia when she found that he and Lyra planed the whole ordeal to teach her this ability. Spitfire hearing what could only be RainbowDashes rainboom looked back. Quickly RainbowDash was closing in on her but something was wrong it wasn’t just RainbowDash but LightningDust was there as well keeping pace with RainbowDash. Spitfire turned back around and flew with all her strength towards the cheering fans in front of the finish line “Just a few more inches…” ZOOM ZOOM two loud blurs flew past her just a few inches from the white tape. A few inches that’s all she needed just a millisecond more but there it was she had not come in first nor second but in third! She slowly glided towards the ground defeated, her winning streak crushed. Remembering her promise she went up to Lightningdust and swallowed her pride “I’m sorry” she said then walked away to join her teammates which were just crossing the line. Spitfire promised herself that next time she will have mastered the art of the Rainboom and Lightningboom that the two girls used. “Who won?” the crowd began to murmur as the excitement of the final moments of the race died down. “How can we tell? They were going too fast.” Soon the crowd began uproar as the judges were baffled “Not to worry” one of the judges called. “Just in case something like this happened we rigged the tape with magic so the first creature that touched it would be marked by the tape. The Judge picked up the broken tape from the ground and held it up to RainbowDash then as he held it up to Lightningdust it began to glow. “We have our winner!” the crowd began to cheer for even though she was with the Changeling team it was too good of a race not to cheer. They waited a good while so those still in the race could finish before the award ceremony. In which Lightningdust was awarded the coveted gold medal for the Mountain Pass Race. After they were awarded the medals and the newspapers had their time to interview them LightningDust called Dash over “Here I want you to have this.” She replied giving the gold medal to RainbowDash. “What? No it’s yours, keep it.” “No, you should have won that race but you came back to help me” she insisted. “I wouldn’t have had to if they didn’t play such a nasty trick. You would have been in the lead if it wasn’t for that and your Lighningboom was just as fast as my Rainboom. You won the race fair and square, keep the medal I will be winning the next one.” Dash held out her hoof “Deal?” “Deal” Lightningdust laughed bumping hooves with her. In the shadows of the crowded arena Gaia gave a small approving smile hearing the conversation between the two girls then he walked away disappearing fully into the shadows. “You did it LightningDust!” Trixie and the other girls said and hugged her from behind almost knocking the wind out of her. “Thanks girls” she managed to get out. “But I couldn’t have done it without RainbowDash.” “I know” we saw it on the giant crystal” Trixie replied. She then looked seriously at RainbowDash “thank you.” Dash didn’t know what to say, that was not the same Trixie she had known before “Don’t mention it…” she replied suddenly wondering if Trixie was a changeling. She gave a wave and flew off to ask the Princess what she thought leaving the girls to celebrate LighningDust’s win. Of course as we know Trixie was not a changeling but over the course of time with Gaia she had changed. But Celestia not knowing this thought that it could be a real possibility and one worth taking into consideration. Chrysalis ecstatically came into the room where they were celebrating “Were up by one medal on the first day! Never has such a thing happened before.” “Congratulations, I knew that you had it in you” Gaia stated to the girls “and to you Chrysalis, a few of those medals were won by your minions.” “Ahh, but you’re forgetting yourself Gaia dear.” She then raised a glass from the table “may our lead continue, to tomorrow!” “To tomorrow” they all replied. That night the girls celebrated until Gaia afraid that they wouldn’t get enough sleep sent them to bed. Even then they had a hard time getting to sleep so much so that Trixie had to put them under a sleep spell until tomorrow morning. “Tomorrow is the big day isn’t it?” Chrysalis asked Gaia who nodded. “I don’t know what you have planned but it seems to be more than your crusade for democracy isn’t it?” Gaia looked at her and gave a slight weary smile “Goodnight, antenna head” he said and went to bed. Chrysalis watched him go then sighed to herself with a smile “you too cheddar head” then she also went to get some sleep.