//------------------------------// // Race 3 // Story: My name is Barry Allen and I'm the fastest pegasus alive // by Kaliann25 //------------------------------// Race 3: A Speed Demon’s pride In the Castle of Friendship, five friends sat on their thrones around the Cutie Map. Loyalty was conspicuously absent. “Two days! I haven’t seen hide nor hair of her in two days! What happened out there, Rarity?” said Applejack. “I don’t know, darling. I don’t know what that horrid Arrow shot at her, but he missed. She did go chasing after that Flash fellow. I just don’t know what went wrong.” “I tried talking to her, but she just yells at me to go away,” added Fluttershy. Tapping her chin with a forehoof, the alicorn in the room mused. “You know, this sounds awfully familiar.” Her eyes shot wide open. “I got it! This is just like the time we ruined Rarity’s fashion show!” “Don’t remind me!” groaned Rarity. Pinkie Pie gasped. “Oh no! Dashie’s gotten all mopey. Next, she’s going to go around dressed in all black. She’s going to become a crazy turtle lady” “She only has one tortoise,” argued Twilight. “Give it time,” replied Pinkie. Applejack said, “We gotta do something. I gotta do something, but I can’t even stand on her doorstep.” Twilight Sparkle replied, “My cloud-walking spell can help with that. Then, we can all take my balloon!” “Sugar, I appreciate the thought, but I really should go in first. No offense, Fluttershy, but if she gets upset . . .” “None taken,” replied the yellow pegasus. “Gather ‘round so I cast the spell.” The others complied. “Not you, Fluttershy.” The pegasus laughed nervously and backed away. Rainbow Dash’s house: Wisps of cloud wall trailed behind as Applejack broke into her friend’s room. “Rainbow! Dang it, what the hay happened to ya back in Canterlot?” Morosely, Rainbow Dash replied as she curled on her bed in a fetal position, “Go away.” A few seconds later, she sat bolt upright and asked, “Applejack?! How?! I must be going nuts!” The farm pony rolled her eyes. “Cloud walking spell, remember? Twilight brought us in her balloon; the rest are waiting outside. I figured ya might wanna talk to me first.”  “Let them in; I don’t really care. I don’t care about anything anymore.” With a worried frown, Applejack yelled, “C’mon in, y’all.” Once everypony was in the room, Rainbow Dash said, “I’m sorry, girls. This isn’t a good time” “Everypony is worried about you. What happened to you in Canterlot?” asked Fluttershy as she approached her oldest friend. “You haven’t been yourself since you and Rarity came back from your mission in Canterlot” With an uncharacteristic tenderness, Pinkie Pie slowly approached her friend and gave her a gentle hug. Rainbow Dash accepted the embrace, so the others joined as well. That helped, a little.  “Oh Dashie, we were so worried!” cried Pinkie. “When Rarity told us you ran into the Arrow, we thought he scared you as he scared Yearling!” said Twilight frowning.  “Let me guess; this has something to do with that pegasus who helped the Arrow,” said the white unicorn. “Yeah,” mumbled the cyan pegasus. Rainbow Dash sighed as she tried to hold back her tears of frustration. Rarity noticed it and offered Dash a box of chocolates she brought for the occasion. “Eat; when I am depressed, chocolate always cheers me up” Twilight said, “There’s a scientific explanation for . . .” She stopped when she caught the expressions from the others. She laughed nervously. “I mean, Rarity is right. One piece won’t hurt your training regimen.” Applejack’s ear perked at the mention of the pegasus. “What d’ya mean the pegasus who helped the Arrow? Is there another crazy vigilante in Canterlot y’all didn’t tell us about?” The fashionista exchanged a look with her friend, and since Rainbow wasn’t in the mood to talk, she began to explain. “Yes, there’s more to our story. It’s just that there’s been so much on our minds after that mission.” “So, what happened?” asked Fluttershy, clearly worried. Rainbow slammed a forehoof onto her mattress in frustration. “Let’s put it this way. The Arrow has a partner now, and he's no normal pony. Sweet Celestia, you should see how this guy can move.” “It was a pegasus in a red bodysuit; hideous, but aerodynamic,” added Rarity. Rainbow nodded slowly. “He introduced himself as the Flash, the fastest pegasus alive. And no, Twilight, he doesn’t have anything to do with your friend in the Crystal Empire. The thing is, at first, I thought he was just bragging, but then we saw him move.” “He is almost as fast as Rainbow Dash; when he moves, all you can see is a red and golden blur,” continued Rarity. “I only saw him for a moment, but then we heard the Arrow attacking somepony, and he flew to assist him. Rainbow went after him.” “HE’S FASTER!” screamed Rainbow Dash as she put her forehoof through the side of her night table in frustration. The cloud surface let her hoof though. Rainbow Dash removed her hoof and started to sob. “He is the faster pegasus alive, not me.” The others yelled, “WHAT?!” in unison as their jaws dropped. Rainbow sniffed as she nodded. “I tried to follow him. I . . . I messed up, and he saved me. He tied up those unicorns so fast I could barely follow his moves. And the worse part was that he didn’t need to take time to accelerate; he instantly moved at that speed, and, and, he wasn’t even tired! I thought I could catch him, but he was too fast, even after I did a Sonic Rainboom! He literally turned into a streak of light!” Twilight frowned. “That can’t be. There’s no way a pegasus can fly that fast; that requires more energy than any pony can handle.” Rainbow ground her teeth. “I know what I saw. He even told me he didn’t want anything to do with me, that he was looking for a true speedster.” Pinkie Pie pouted. “Hey, that wasn’t very nice! You are a true speedster, Dashie! Don’t let that Flash guy to get you down!” Rainbow furiously shook her head. “Pinkie you don’t understand! It was like watching speed itself. I thought I was the fastest flyer in Equestria, but I’m not; I’m not even on the top ten . . . even top hundred! If I’m not the fastest, who am I?!” Applejack took Rainbow Dash’s face in her forehooves and forced her to look at her. “Don’t be such a crybaby. Do ya really think Ah’ll sit here to see ma’ best friend getting depressed all because somepony is faster than her?” “But Applejack, he’s a monster!” “What happened to ya is simple. Ya grew overconfident and somepony surpassed ya when ya weren’t looking. What’re ya gonna do about it?” Rainbow Dash draped her blanket over her head. “You don’t understand, none of you do! It’s impossible for a normal pegasus to even get close to that speed!” Fluttershy nodded to Applejack. When the farmer tore away the blanket, Fluttershy caught Rainbow Dash with the Stare. “Oh no, missy, you won’t stay here feeling sorry for yourself. Wake up already Rainbow Dash! You did the Sonic Rainboom! That was supposed to be impossible. You are already the stuff of legends.” More softly, she said, “You are the friend who stood up for me when nopony else would. You’ll always be my hero.” The others nodded in agreement. Rainbow Dash sighed. There was no way she could match the Flash’s speed, but her friends had a point. “You are Loyalty, Rainbow Dash. Be loyal to yourself,” said Twilight Sparkle. Rainbow Dash watched as her friends walked through her wall. She continued to stare, lost in her thoughts, until Tank approached and landed beside her. She turned to her tortoise and smiled. “You know what? They’re right, Tank! If I was able to do the Sonic Rainboom, there’s no reason I can’t become as fast as Flash, or faster. I won’t stay here while he steals all the glory of being the fastest flyer in the world! I swear I’ll do everything in my power, no matter what!” Tank slowly nodded and then looked at the kitchen. “Oh, you’re right; I forgot to feed you. I’ll do it right away and then I’ll report to Spit Fire. Let’s hope she isn’t too upset!” Canterlot, one of many of Blue Blood’s nightclubs: The prince was reading on his favorite couch, relaxing after several meetings with suppliers that Barry arranged for him. After consider all the permutations in less than five seconds, Barry decided that the easiest thing to do was to schedule all the meetings for the same day. Blue Blood agreed. Having someone who could think a thousand times faster than the average pony was quite useful. It had been a very stressful day, and Blue still had to do the night patrol, so his down time was very important for him. Unfortunately, Barry had to interrupt him. “Hey, Ollie, sorry for bothering you, but a couple of ponies are here to ask you if you have time to attend them before the club opens.” Blue Blood frowned and checked his watch. “They’re five minutes late. The values of propriety and punctuality are dying, don’t you think, Allen? And stop calling me Ollie!” “What? Did you actually have another appointment for today?” “Yes. Let’s just say that in my former life, I associated with some not-so-right ponies,” explained Blood. “Let them in.” “As you wish.” Barry walked to the door. “This way, gentlecolts!” Two ponies dressed in fedoras and trench coats walked in. They nervously looked about, never dwelling on one spot for more than one second. Blue Blood looked at them sternly and said, “Gentlemen, I’ve already explained to you that I will not distribute illegal drugs in any of my clubs. You may go back from where you came”  “Now you’re playing saint? You were a great client before getting lost on the island for four years. Or have you forgot, Blood?” complained one of the thugs. The other added, “Most of the other clubs doesn’t sell those anymore. You can make millions, and you don’t have to do it in all of your clubs, just a couple!” Blue Blood rolled his eyes. “Tell me idiots, why did the other clubs stopped selling your products? Oh right! Because you’ve been unable to stop a clown in a blue cloak. Sorry, but I won’t risk my flank as long as that damn vigilante is around. Is nothing personal, is just that is too risky for now.” The thugs groaned. “We’re working on it. That damned Arrow’s cost us too many clients.” One hoofed over a business card and placed it on the desk. “If you change your mind, you know where to find us.” Blue Blood shrugged and went back to his book as the drug dealers left, defeated. “Did you actually set an appointment just to say ‘no’? What was that really about?” asked Barry in disbelief. Blue Blood levitated the card to Barry. “We have ten minutes until the club opens. Care to check on an address in the meantime?” Barry smiled. “Is just me or criminals are dumber in this world?” “Don’t know; don’t care” Barry studied the business card and disappeared in a red and golden streak. Blue Blood waited patiently until Barry returned with a list. “I didn’t find much: a meth lab, some drug packages ready to deliver, and such. I was about to give up when I found this, a distribution list.” “Nice job, Allen. I would prefer the big fish’s head, but I guess I can start with this.” “You know I don’t like you to kill people. If it wasn’t for my last intervention that griffin…” “I wasn’t going to kill Le Grand. He was just a moron who needed a good scare. But, I know a lost cause when I see one, Barry.” Barry sighed. "I just wish you would see the light, like Ollie did." Blue Blood ignored him and concentrated on the list. “This operation seems big; it’ll take some time to set everything ready,” said the prince. “Okay, so when do we attack?” “Tomorrow night. In the meantime, have some fun in the club or whatever. Just don’t interrupt me for the night, understood?” “Sure!” Cloudsdale, at next day: Princess Celestia had just raised the sun when Spit Fire arrived at Wonderbolts Stadium to train before everyone else arrived.  To her surprise, Rainbow Dash was already at the starting line for the obstacle course.  The chromatic mare was a mess; her suit was soaked in sweat, and her mane and tail were both matted.  Spitfire sighed.  She muttered, "That girl disappears for two days, and now she's trying to kill herself with training.  What is wrong with her?" A small timer emitted two low-pitched beeps, followed by a high-pitched one.  Rainbow Dash rocketed out of the starting blocks, hurtling toward the first obstacle.  The course had been set for combat training.  Everything along the way was set to knock a flyer out of the sky.  Rainbow Dash evaded them with ease, but on the last lightning cannon, she tried to turn too sharply and stalled. Spit Fire approached as Rainbow Dash picked herself off the ground. “Stop” she ordered. “You’re too exhausted to do anyone any good” Rainbow Dash looked at Spit Fire, panting. “I spent three hours training” “I can see that. What happened with you?” Rainbow Dash smiled weakly. “Yeah, sorry about not showing up. My last friendship mission really shook me up. I know that’s no excuse; I’m making up for lost time” Spit Fire grinned. “That’s the spirit recruit! But, next time, let me know before pull a stunt like that, either stunt. You’ve got to let me know if something comes up.” “Understood!” “Very well then. You’ll be working late the rest of the week. No problems with that, right Dash?” Rainbow nodded. “That was my plan anyway” Spit Fire seemed confused but didn’t care. “Okay, for now go to the showers and rest until the others arrive. You won’t be of any use to us if you kill yourself training.” Rainbow Dash obeyed, knowing that Spitfire was right; she wanted to keep training, but there was no point in hurting herself.  She promised her friends; she promised herself that she'd work as hard as she could to retain the title of fastest pony in Equestria. “You’ll see Flash. No matter how long it takes, I’ll become a true speedster as well. There can be only one Number One, and that’s me!”