This was it.
She had finally made it. Years of hard work and training had led her to this, and she was only one step away from achieving her goal. Today, she was going to prove to everyone that she was the best. Everyone was going to know who Natalya was and respect her.
Natalya opened her eyes, snapping herself back to reality. She might be almost there, but that meant there was still work to do. With a sigh, she sat on the floor and stretched out her legs in front of her. Flexing her wings, she slowly leaned forward, touching her outstretched paws with her claws.
A particularly loud grunt from one of her teammates in their shared locker room made Natalya pause, but she promptly tuned them out and returned to her stretches. She had waited too long for an opportunity like this, and she was not going to let anything distract her.
Eventually, Natalya finished up her stretches, and she stood back up to move in front of one of the mirrors in the room. Despite her best efforts to keep herself cool and collected, she felt her mouth twitch upwards, and the griffon in the mirror smirked right back at her.
Evidently, maintaining her calm demeanor was a tad more difficult than she thought, but she supposed showing a little bit of excitement was understandable, even for her. After all, she was moments away from competing in the legendary Equestria Games.
The Equestria Games, a revered event that came only once every few years where the best athletes from all over the land gathered to compete in an array of sports that would test the limits of their strength, speed, and skill.
While each occurrence of the games was monumental just because of their sheer magnitude, this instance of the Equestria Games was already proving to be more than a few steps above the rest. The games were being hosted in the Crystal Empire, the fabled home of the crystal ponies that had returned after being hidden away by an evil unicorn for a thousand years. Furthermore, the event was made even more special this time around because it was being overseen by not three, but four pony princesses, a first due to the newly-crowned Princess of Friendship, Twilight Sparkle. Between the remarkable location and its royal guests, this year’s Equestria Games would no doubt be forever remembered in the history books.
And yet all of that did not matter to Natalya. She could not care less about any prissy, pompous, pampered pony princesses or places of supposed magical importance. She was here for one thing only and that was to win.
Assuming my teammates don’t screw up. Natalya glanced out of the corner of her eye at the two griffons still performing their warm-up routines.
When Natalya got word that tryouts for the Equestria Games were starting, she was more than ready to show off her flying prowess. However, much to her chagrin, the only flying event was the aerial relay race, which meant that she had to fly with two other griffons to participate. Fortunately, she had little trouble finding teammates. Unfortunately, even before she saw them fly, Natalya knew that she was going to be carrying the team.
Her first teammate was Gaston, a male on the stocky side and pretty much brown on one half and browner on the other half. The other was Giselle, a lithe female with gray-blue feathers on her wings and head with a lighter shade of gray covering the rest of her. Both of her teammates were admittedly good fliers, but they were nowhere near her caliber.
Turning back to the mirror with a sigh, Natalya looked herself over, making sure she was all ready to go. Her dark-gray wings were preened, and her gray fur was smooth and sleek, not a single tuft sticking out that would interfere with her flying. She lifted a claw to brush away one of her white head-feathers, revealing dark-gray circles that bordered her blue eyes. After straightening out the four short feathers on top of her head, two on each side, she gave the mirror a confident grin.
Everything looking good for the best flier in the world.
There was a gentle knock on the locker room door, and a crystal pony mare poked her head inside.
“Um, the aerial relay race is about to begin. You have about two minutes before I have to take you to the field,” the mare informed.
“Alright,” Gaston acknowledged with a nod to the mare.
“Got it, thanks,” Giselle replied.
Natalya merely waved her claw, not even turning her attention to the crystal pony.
The griffons quickly finished their last minute preparations, including slipping on their purple team wristbands with a lightning bolt and a griffon claw crossing over each other. Right on the dot, the same crystal pony entered the room two minutes later to lead them out.
“Can you believe we’re actually going to compete in the Equestria Games?” Gaston asked as they followed the mare through the stadium tunnels, his chest slightly puffed out with pride.
“I know,” Giselle agreed with a grin. “I never imagined that I would ever be involved in something this huge. I don’t think I ever felt this nervous and excited ever before.”
“Well shake it off or whatever,” said Natalya, her gaze fixed straight ahead. “You can’t afford to have any distractions.”
“And here we go again…” Giselle muttered with a roll of her eyes.
“Yes, here we go again.” Natalya turned to glare at Giselle. “It feels like I’m the only one with their head straight. This is a competition, so stop acting like starstruck tourists. I came here to win, so the both of you better not do anything to mess that up.”
“We’ll be just fine, Natalya,” Gaston interceded with a huff. “This isn’t our first time in a competition.”
“Yeah, we want to win too,” Giselle chimed in. “We’re just not so stuck up like a certain other griffon that spends all of her time criticizing her teammates.”
“Then stop giving me things for me to criticize,” Natalya replied.
Gaston grunted. “Whatever, let’s just hope that you’ll get that enormous head of yours off the ground.”
“Oooh, really original. Not like I ever heard that before,” Natalya dryly replied. “And you won’t have to worry about my flying, or have you forgotten who’s the best flier in Griffonstone?” She smiled inwardly at the silent glowers her teammates shot her, pretty much confirming her boast.
Gaston took a deep breath. “Look, Natalya, we’re only a few minutes from starting the race. Do you think we can keep things civil for a bit longer? We’ll race, get our medals, and then we can go our separate ways and never have to deal with each other again.”
“Yeah, sure, whatever.” Natalya shrugged and strode on ahead.
“I can’t wait to get this over with,” Giselle grumbled quietly. “Then I wouldn’t have to put up with that loud mouth any longer.”
“I feel the same way about your whiny butt,” Natalya shot back.
If the crystal pony was bothered by the argument that had just transpired, she did not show any sign of it while she continued leading the griffons without even glancing back at them. Eventually, they arrived at the end of the tunnel, and the mare instructed the griffons to wait until they were called out onto the field.
It was not long before they heard “And last of all, we have the Griffonstone Team!” ring through the air.
Natalya immediately took flight, racing out onto the field and ignoring the annoyed cries of her teammates.
Natalya had already seen both the humongous size of the stadium as well as what had to be thousands of ponies sitting in the audience during the opening ceremonies, but taking it all in once again sent a shiver down her spine. It was not a shiver of nervousness, however. It was one of anticipation. She was no stranger to performing and racing in front of others, but the Equestria Games was easily her largest audience yet, and soon, they would all see that she was not only the best flier in Griffonstone, but the best flier, period.
Landing at the starting line, Natalya took a quick stock of the competition. Including her own, there were five teams. Obviously, all of her opponents were Equestrian pegasi. Most of the ponies she glanced at took no longer than a second, but in the end, there were two teams that caught her attention.
The first team donned gray jerseys with a picture of a rainbow sprouting from a cloud. Even though this was her first time seeing them so close, Natalya had heard about them plenty of times. They were the Wonderbolts, a team of daredevil performers that consisted of the best fliers in Equestria. To Natalya they were the only ponies that posed a threat to her victory. Of course, she was not worried that one of them could possibly beat her. No, she was worried that Giselle and Gaston would not be able to hold their own against them.
Natalya sorely wished that the aerial race was a solo affair, but supposedly, the event organizers chose to make it a relay race to promote friendship, teamwork, or whatever lame thing that ponies liked. That just meant she was just going to work all that much harder to make sure she won.
Shoving aside her worries, Natalya looked at the other team that caught her eye. With a heart over a ribbon in the center of their yellow jerseys, Natalya did not know anything about those ponies except overhearing that they were from someplace called Ponyville. There was an ordinary-looking yellow mare with a long, pink mane, but Natalya was much more interested in the two other pegasi.
There was a huge, hulking stallion, bigger than any pony or griffon Natalya had ever seen. The white stallion with an amber buzzcut actually looked to be more muscle than actual pony. Combined with his comically-tiny wings, the stallion looked more hilarious than intimidating.
The other pony of interest was a sky-blue mare. Natalya could tell that this mare was the leader of the team just by the way she was confidently speaking to her teammates, but she was more interested in the pony’s unique mane. Granted, her interactions with ponies were limited, but she was pretty sure that a mane that had all the colors of the rainbow was not a common thing. While Natalya would have thought a rainbow mane would be pretty tacky, the mare pulled it off with her short, messy style.
Natalya was going to keep an eye on the second team. Not because she thought they were good, but because she had a gut feeling that they were going to provide a good laugh.
“Attention, racers!” bellowed a white stallion clad in purple and yellow ceremonial armor as he strode up to the starting line. Natalya remembered his name was Shining Armor, but she forgot why he was so important.
“Welcome to the aerial relay race! The rules are simple. Each team has three members who will take turns to fly around the course,” Shining Armor continued, waving his hoof in a broad gesture over the set-up around him. About half of the stadium’s field was riddled with tall poles of varying heights that were holding up large hoops. They formed a vague circle that led back to the starting line.
A pegasus mare flew over to the starting line and started passing out the relay horseshoes to the teams. Natalya watched as Giselle, the first flier on their team, took the horseshoe and clutched it tightly in her claw. Giselle caught Natalya’s stare, and they shared a curt, annoyed glare at each other.
“To complete your flight, you must fly through every single hoop and then pass your team’s horseshoe to the next member. The last round of fliers will have a little extra to do. Upon completing their run of the obstacle course, they must finish the race by heading for the finish line above us,” Shining concluded, pointing a forehoof straight up.
Natalya let out a quiet growl when she turned her gaze upwards to the finish line perched on a circular platform high above the center of the course. I should be the one flying last, not Gaston! I still can’t believe we had to resort to drawing stupid straws to pick!
Flying last for Natalya was not just about the glory, even though she really would like to soak up the awesome feeling of crossing the finish line first. The extra stretch at the end would give her more time to compensate for any of her teammates’ failures if they happened to lag behind.
After one final check to make sure everyone was ready, the teams were instructed to get into positions. Natalya and Gaston stepped to the side, leaving Giselle and the other beginning fliers at the starting line.
Shining Armor raised his hoof into the air. “Racers, on my mark!”
Giselle and the other racers bent their legs, bracing to launch themselves into the air.
“Get set!”
The audience fell silent.
“Go!”
As soon as Shining Armor swung down his hoof, every racer sprang into the air. Clouds of dust and grass kicked up behind them, and the stadium exploded with the roars and cheers of the audience.
Natalya flew up with the pegasi when Shining Armor waved his hoof at her and the other second flyers. When she was situated over the starting line, her eyes swiftly zeroed in on the racers, and a curse escaped her beak at what she saw.
Just like Natalya had feared, one of the Wonderbolts, a mare with a blue-green coat and a white mane that was named Fleetfoot, was in the lead with Giselle in second place by a small gap.
“Come on, Giselle… Pick up the pace…” Natalya groused with a frown. Much to her frustration, Giselle could not follow her quiet commands and was unable to close the distance with Fleetfoot.
With a loud groan, Natalya’s gaze flicked over to take stock of the rest of the first flyers. She had to bite back a laugh when she saw that the muscular stallion from Ponyville was in last place.
Natalya had jokingly thought that the stallion would be a lousy flyer due to his disproportionate body, but now she was seeing it actually happen. The stallion’s wings looked like they could barely keep the pony in the air with all his muscular weight literally dragging him down. Furthermore, the stallion’s increased girth was doing him no favors, making it difficult for him to clear the hoops that could fit two normal-sized flyers.
Of course, Natalya could not watch the comedy routine for long. She turned her attention back to Giselle to find that the situation had worsened. Giselle was approaching the starting line, but judging by the noticeably heavy panting and uneven wing flaps, she was exhausted. The gap between Giselle and Fleetfoot had widened, and one of the other pegasi behind her was even creeping up.
Natalya took a deep breath as the Wonderbolts and even another team switched off before her. Despite the irritation building up inside her, she knew losing her temper would just make things worse.
Okay, I just need to make up Giselle’s lost time, outfly a Wonderbolt, and give Gaston enough of a head start to win. Easy, right? Natalya asked herself, stretching her claw toward Giselle.
As soon as Natalya felt the relay horseshoe in her claw, she gave a powerful beat of her well-trained wings and rocketed away from the starting line.
Already, Natalya could feel her body spur into action as the wind rushed past her. She could feel the adrenaline coursing through her. She reveled in relying on her instinct to navigate every obstacle and immersing in the sheer excitement of pushing herself to the limit. The only thing better than the thrill of racing was winning, which was exactly what she planned to do.
It took less than three seconds for Natalya to deftly outpace the mare in front of her and take back second place. She did not look back at the pony she passed, her full attention focused on flying through each hoop and Soarin, the pale-blue Wonderbolt stallion in front of her.
Natalya rapidly closed the distance, but Soarin was doing his best to keep himself flying through the center of each hoop, making it difficult for her to squeeze past him. At the speed they were going, there was almost no chance of her overtaking Soarin without missing a hoop. She expected nothing less from the pony that was second in command of the Wonderbolts, but she had no doubt that an opportunity would come up soon.
When they reached the halfway point of the course, Natalya finally saw her opening when Soarin listed down and to the left. Putting on a burst of speed, Natalya raced forward and just as she arrived at another hoop with Soarin, she tilted herself slightly to the right and aimed for the edge of the hoop. She could almost feel the tip of her wings graze the metal hoops, but she cleared it without losing any speed, giving her the room to surge forward.
As soon as Natalya saw that she was ahead of Soarin, she veered right into the Wonderbolt’s path. A smirk crossed her face when her sharp hearing caught a gasp behind her. She did not have to look back to know that Soarin had to slow down to avoid crashing into her. It was a risky move, but it had paid off and bought her a few precious seconds to secure first place.
With no ponies in her path, Natalya was able to fully focus on speeding through the rest of the course to try and put as much distance between her and the competition. By the time she arrived back at the starting line to thrust the horseshoe into Gaston’s waiting claw, she was already relishing in her inevitable victory.
We got this in the bag, all thanks to me, Natalya congratulated herself.
With Gaston’s departure, Natalya looked behind her to check on the competition. She was elated to see that Soarin was still at least a few seconds away. Even with Spitfire, the fire-orange-maned Captain of the Wonderbolts, raring to go, Natalya doubted any pony could catch up to Gaston at this point.
Confident that she had already won, Natalya took stock of the rest of the pack. They were way behind with about a quarter of the course to go, but there was one pegasus that Natalya could not help but chuckle at.
Bringing up the rear was the yellow pegasus of the Ponyville team, flying at a speed Natalya was sure she could beat in her sleep. The huge wall of meat that flew first had already put the Ponyville team at last place, and now the yellow pegasus had pretty much secured their loss.
Natalya chuckled. She was right. The Ponyville team was a good laugh.
“What’s so funny?”
“Oh, nothing much. Just those slowpokes on the Ponyville team,” Natalya replied.
“What?!”
Natalya blinked and turned her head to see that the yeller was none other than the rainbow-maned mare. “Oh, you’re on the Ponyville team.”
“You’re darn right I am!” the mare cried out with a scowl. “And you take back what you said about my friends!”
Natalya shrugged. “Sorry, dude, but I’m just calling it how I see it. Your teammates have been stuck in last place the entire time.”
“That may be true, but they’re doing the best they can!”
Natalya rolled her eyes. “Why am I not surprised? Almost makes me wish I took the time to watch you at the tryouts to see what sort of miracle your team managed to pull out of your flanks.”
“Why I oughta—”
“Look…” Natalya leaned her head closer to the mare’s. “I can tell that you’re different than your friends. You actually know a thing or two about flying. Here’s a little advice. Friends or not, your teammates are dragging you down, and you need to dump them if you want to even think about winning.”
“I am never going to abandon my friends…” the sky-blue mare growled through gritted teeth.
Natalya backed off, shaking her head with disappointment. “Whatever. It doesn’t matter to me. Soon, I’ll be out of your mane and on my way back home with a gold medal.”
To Natalya’s surprise, the rainbow mare smirked at her. “Gold medal, huh? I think you should take another look at the race.”
A tinge of dread ran through Natalya as soon as she heard those words, and she slowly turned around to check on Gaston.
“What?! No!” Natalya shrieked. While she had been distracted by the Ponyville team, Spitfire had not only switched off with Soarin, but she had actually passed Gaston.
That… That idiot! Natalya was seething. She could see Gaston was trying to catch up, but he was no match for Spitfire. The captain of the Wonderbolts was not only keeping the lead, she was inching away from the Gaston. Natalya had no doubt she would have already won the race if she flew last. Instead, she had no choice but to watch her victory slowly slip away.
“Well, too bad about scoring first place,” taunted the rainbow mare. “Hope you enjoy third place.”
Natalya’s claws balled up and trembled with anger, but just as she was about to fire back a retort, she caught onto the rainbow mare’s last words. “Third place?”
The mare only flashed a coy grin at Natalya before turning around, reaching out a hoof toward the yellow pegasus that had finally made it to them. As soon as the horseshoe was passed, the rainbow mare was gone.
Natalya’s eyes shot wide open, hardly believing what she was witnessing. It took her brain several moments before finally accepting the truth about what she was watching.
The rainbow mare was fast. Really fast.
Natalya could tell that the speedy mare was going all out right away instead of saving it for the final stretch, but it did not make the sight any less incredible. With her blistering speed, the mare effortlessly weaved through the course, leaving the other ponies and Gaston behind her in ten seconds flat. Natalya would have had a tough time keeping track of the speeding blur that was her opponent if it were not for a distinct rainbow trail that was left behind.
By the time the talented mare’s speed finally tapered out, she was going head to head against Spitfire as they made the steep climb toward the finish line.
Natalya already knew that she had lost the race, but that did not matter as much to her anymore. It was her teammates’ fault after all. No, she was more concerned about something else.
That rainbow mare is good… Maybe even as good as me… Natalya begrudgingly admitted to herself.
Natalya barely heard the explosive cheers when Spitfire pulled slightly ahead at the last second, winning the race for the Wonderbolts, and she almost did not notice Shining Armor summoning them over to the center for the medal ceremony. All of her attention was focused on the pegasus with the rainbow mane.
As they all walked over to Shining Armor, Natalya made a beeline for the mare. “What’s your name?” she asked with a glare.
The mare gave her a cocky grin that Natalya was sure she was not going to forget for a long time. “It’s Rainbow Dash, and don’t you forget it.”