10am, the next day, at the Wonderbolt Academy runway.
The crosswinds were calm, and the clouds were sparse across the sky while Goku and Rainbow Dash stretched alongside the runway. A perfect day for flying, and an even better day for a race to end all races. Rainbow Dash, versus the mighty Goku. Word of the race spread quickly throughout Equestria over night, and ponies from far and wide had come to witness the race. Rumor had it that Princess Celestia, and her sister, Princess Luna were making an appearance.
The loudspeakers suddenly echoed through the air, catching the attention of everyone. "Ahem...Attention race fans, the race will begin, in ten minutes!" It announced, "Please, find your seats! May we have the racers to the starting line!"
Rainbow and Goku followed each other to the start line, where the announcer stallion waited with a microphone. He wore a very sharp tuxedo, and had his main neatly combed back.
"Mares, and Stallions. Fillies, and gentlecolts. Please welcome, our two race competitors. In this corner..." He points his hoof towards Rainbow, "We have Equestria's own, super sonic rainboom specialist, the mare with nearly every Wonderbolt Academy record to her name. She's a brave hero, and the Wonderbolt's newest prodigy. Please welcome, weighing in at forty two pounds, Rainbow, 'Super Sonic' Da~sh!" The crowd cheered wildly as fireworks were shot into the air.
"And in the opposite corner, we have a not to well known guest to Equestria, though he plans to make his presence known here today. Coming from a far away planet, a warrior, a savior of the galaxy, weighing in at a hefty one hundred thirty seven pounds! Please welcome, the challenger, the exotic, Son Goku!" The cheers weren't as loud as Rainbow's, but the fans of this new challenger still roared through the packed stands along side the runway.
"Racers. Please, line up at the line." Goku and Dash took their spots at the start line. "This race will start here. You will fly north to Manehatten, followed by a sweeping left bank toward Las Pegasus. Once there, you will fly south over the Dragons Kingdom, and come back around toward here, where the first to cross the finish line, will be the winner! One lap, one winner!"
The race would be one lap going across all of Equestria, with Canterlot being in the very center. "There will be beacons along the way to make sure neither of you stray off course. There will be no shoving, dirty flying, or using clouds to your advantage." The announcer gave Rainbow Dash a quick glare.
"Without further a dew...Flyers, on your mark!" Goku and Dash got into their best position to allow them the fastest start possible. Goku, only able to use 20% of his power and speed, was on the left. Rainbow was on the right.
"Get set!" At this moment, a starting gun was raised into the air.
BANG
Time suddenly seemed to pause for both Rainbow and Goku, as their speed increased so rapidly it felt like everything around them was staying still. Though Dash took the sky immediately, Goku ran at full speed on foot to the end of the runway, accelerating rapidly. Their combined speed was so intense, it pulled the air with them, knocking ponies, chairs, umbrellas, and many other things over.
"Oh my!" Rarity exclaimed sitting in the crowd. The massive gust of wind caused by their start ruined her mane.
Now at the end of the runway, Goku launched himself in the air, and went faster still. 'Running to the end of the runway should have given Dash a fair enough head start.' He thought to himself. Quickly approaching the first beacon, Goku banked right towards Manehatten, and spotted Rainbow ahead, followed by a rainbow streak that slashed through the sky.
Up ahead, speed traps were set up in the sky to measure the speed, and distance between the two of them, relaying live timing information back to the runway.
The announcer read aloud as they crossed the speed trap. "Already forty seconds into the race, Rainbow and Goku are halfway to Manehatten. Rainbow is in the lead, followed by Goku. A healthy gap of three seconds lie between them!"
'Incredible, I never would have thought these ponies were capable of such speed with just a pair of wings!' Goku thought, 'Looks like I need to pick up the pace.' Goku continued his accelerating, nearing the highest speed he was capable of in the condition of his healing body. He could see Rainbow edging closer and closer.
Down below in Manehatten, ponies took to the streets in hopes of catching a glimpse of the race high above. Spotters sat on top of the skyscrapers with binoculars. One spotted them, and picked up their walkie talkie. "They're over Manehatten!"
Back at the runway, the announcer spoke. "Our sources bring us news that they have arrived at Manehatten. Goku is closing the gap rapidly, down to 1.2 seconds!"
Coming up on the second beacon, Goku inched closer to Rainbow. The closer he got, the dirtier the air got, as Rainbow's speed and wings were causing turbulence in the air behind her. Goku knew he had to keep a little distance until there as an opening.
As they passed the second beacon, rainbow banked left, and left a gap open on the inside. Goku pounced, and took a risky dive bomb up the inside. Ponies down below cheered as spotters on the skyscrapers watched in awe.
"Goku is making his move on the inside as they make the left turn towards Las Pegasus!"
Rainbow looked in awe as Goku passed her, and started pulling away as they came out of the left turn. "Oh no you don't!" She yelled, getting into Goku's slip stream for a little extra speed. 'There's plenty of distance left, I'll stay in his slipstream and wait for him to get tired!' She thought.
"Rainbow is sitting comfortably behind Goku in his slipstream. What could she be up to? The gap between them is a steady .8 second!"
Goku noticed Rainbow in his slipstream, and weaved to the right in an attempt to shake her out of it. Rainbow's quick reactions kept her glued behind him as they tore through the sky, leaving a trail of cloudless sky behind them.
"Goku is trying to shake Rainbow off his tail, but Rainbow fights back with some exceptional flying! The gap remains less than one second as they approach Las Pegasus with three miles left!"
In Las Pegasus, ponies too had their eyes glued to the sky, eager to see Rainbow and Goku's flyby. A pegasus looked with her hoof over her forehead blocking out the sun. Through a squint, she could see them in the distance.
"I see them! I see them!!" She shouted. Suddenly, she realized she was in a bad spot, as Goku and Rainbow came closer much faster than she anticipated. She screamed in fear as the two of them split up, and flew on either side of her. The wind that followed them knocking her out of control and on to a soft cloud below.
"Amazing! Intel from Las Pegasus reports they are neck and neck as they reach the third beacon! Now it's on to the Dragon Lands. Who knows what dangers they'll have to avoid there!"
Rainbow took the opportunity of Goku avoiding the stray pegasus in the sky to cut through. They were now side by side as they turned toward the Kingdom of the Dragons, with Rainbow on the inside line inching ahead.
Miles ahead, Dragons flew through the sky, fighting, breathing fire, and attacking anything that flew nearby.
The crowd back at the runway cheered as Rainbow took the lead. "Rainbow has taken back the lead!"
With Las Pegasus far behind them now, the air was turning warm and humid as they neared the Dragons. The cloud layer between them and the ground grew thick, and soon, it looked like a blanket of snow was below them.
Suddenly, a dragon burst through the clouds, flying straight up and towards Goku and Rainbow. The two flew opposite directions, weaving in and out of each other creating a helix shape, causing the Dragon to miss its mark. Goku broke the weaving and dove down to just above the cloud layer, creating a wake in the clouds behind him. Rainbow remained a little higher.
Another dragon suddenly appeared, this time, coming from above with the sun behind them. It headed straight for rainbow. With the sun behind them, Rainbow failed to spot the dragon until it was too late. It knocked her out of the sky and barreling towards the clouds. She quickly regained balance as she fell through, and soon popped back out behind Goku.
"Oooo, a nasty hit from a dragon sends Rainbow back into second place; However, she seems uninjured, and is right behind Goku! From here on out, they are too far in the Dragon's land for any of our spotters to see them in those dangerous lands!"
As they flew above the cloud layer, a massive dragon, bigger than any of the ones before, flew up from below the cloud layer. It spread its wings in front of Goku and roared a concussively loud screech. Rainbow dove below the cloud layer, and went under. Goku covered his ears and kept going, unable to see a way out. With a shout, he drove a fist forward, and punched through the dragons left wing, leaving a decent sized hole in it.
"Jeez, what a loud mouth!" He said as he regained his lost speed. The dragon held its wing in pain as he did his best to fly down with his one good wing. Rainbow popped back up in front of Goku from beneath the clouds, as they reached the last beacon, signaling the final stretch back to the runway. They turned left once again, and headed back north out of the Dragon Kingdom.
Their speed began to decrease, as the hot humid weather of the Dragon Kingdom took its toll, but never the less, their speed was still incredible.
"This just in, they are now coming out of the Dragon Kingdom, and are on the final stretch home. Everypony, look to the sky toward the south! Who will come out on top!"
Goku began to lose ground on Rainbow as the runway grew nearer. The finish line was now in sight as ponies cheered loudly. "No!" He yelled, "Come on, come on!" Goku pushed harder, and barely gained any ground. "I'm...not...gonna make it!" He pushed.
"I'm gonna win!" Rainbow yelled, now diving toward the runway with Goku in hot pursuit. Goku was now along side her. Neck and neck. The air in front of Rainbow began to compress into a cone as their speed increased faster than ever before in the dive.
Goku knew this was his last chance to do it. "Only one thing left to do...Body, don't fail me now!" He said.
Suddenly, Rainbow shot ahead as a sonic rainboom cracked the sky. "Here goes nothing!" Goku said.
"Kaio-KEN!" Goku's aura flared up like fire, and covered him. Suddenly, his speed doubled, and he began to catch Rainbow with incredible velocity.
Ponies in the crowd gasped as the fiery aura of Goku pierced the sky after Rainbow's rainboom. Goku yelled in pain as he neared closer and closer, passing Rainbow easily as they flew over the runway toward the finish. Rainbow, tired, and surprised, was spun out of control by the sudden pass. Goku crossed the finish line so quickly, the whole thing was blown over. Goku quickly and beautifully came to a stop at the end of the runway, where a long crater was behind him that lead all the way to where he stood.
Rainbow, tumbled out of the sky, and regained control as she crossed the finish line that was now in pieces. She looked ahead at Goku, who was now on one knee breathing heavily.
Everyone stood in shock, mouths open, and eyes as wide as the moon. The announcer picked himself off the ground as dust cleared. He fixed his mane, and tuxedo, before picking up the mic once more.
"Mares and Stallions, I present to you. The winner, Son Goku!" He pointed towards Goku at the end of the runway. The crowd cheered loudly as Rainbow stood with her mouth agape.
"I...lost?" She said. Spitfire was on the sideline with the same look.
"She...Lost?!" Spitfire said. Applejack walked over to her with a smug look, and extended a hoof. Spitfire looked at her angrily, handing over the five hundred bits she had bet.
"Better luck next time sugarcube!" AJ said.
"Yea yea, consider that beginners luck!"
The girls all rushed over to Goku, who turned around to greet them. "Hey girls...ach." He collapsed to one knee once again, holding his left shoulder.
"Are you okay, Goku?" Fluttershy asked.
"Yea, I'm fine...I just used the Kaio-ken a little too early. It's damaged my body a little bit."
"Kaio-what?" Pinkie asked.
"I'll explain later...Does anybody have any water?"
"Right here, champ." Rainbow's voice said from behind all of them. She tossed Goku a water bottle and walked up to him, holding out her hoof. Goku fist bumped it with a smile. "I don't know where you were hiding all that speed, but that was awesome! Still...I can't believe you beat me."
"You would have won if I didn't use my last resort technique. It was a risk I was willing to take to win." Goku explained. "But...aaghh," Goku groaned in pain, "Now my body is beaten up again. I'll be alright though, just give me a minute heh."
"You two!" Spitfire suddenly yelled from behind with a stern look on her face. "I have to say...you put on quite the show. If I would've known Equestria was going to respond like this I would have taken more time to organize it. This really brought a lot of attention to the Wonderbolts Academy. This race is going to help expand our legacy throughout all of Equestria! Thank you Rainbow, Goku."
"Yes, Ma'am!" Dash saluted.
"So...what now?" Goku asked, sitting on the ground.
"Hang on!" Spitfire interrupted, "I'm not finished. Since you two ruined half the runway, you're going to spend the rest of the day FIXING IT!" Goku and Dash grew wide eyed, and looked behind Spitfire at the runway that had nearly been blown away.
"Echh, whoops." Goku said. "I'm sorry for ruining your runway!" Goku's voice became shaky as he giggled like it does when Bulma yells at him. "We'll fix it as soon as we can, right Dash?" Goku put his hands together looking at Spitfire.
"Right!" Dash replied.
"Good! Now get to work!"
Goku put collapsed on to the ground exhausted as he and Rainbow finished fixing the runway. The spectators and all those who came for the races had all but gone home for the day. The only ones who remained, were Twilight and the girls.
"Hey Goku!" Twilight said, "You alright?"
"Yea, I'm fine...boy, today was a great day. Felt so good to finally stretch my legs for real." Goku replied.
"That's great to hear. I was really hoping Celestia would be here to watch...but it's weird, I haven't heard from her in a couple days. I hope everything is alright."
"Celestia? Oh you mean you're princess, right?" Goku asked.
"Yes, her and Luna rule over Equestria. Haven't we been over this?"
"Yea...Sorry I forgot." Goku rubbed the back of his neck with a smile. "Anyways, did she say she was going to come?"
"Well, a couple days ago she said she was going to come down here to meet you. It's not every day an alien visits, so it was a big deal to her. Oddly, I haven't heard from her since then...I was going to pay her a visit soon to make sure everything was okay."
"Yea, that does sound strange." Goku said. Rainbow and the rest of the girls now joined in on their conversation, walking over and sitting down.
"You know what the best part about losing is?" Rainbow asked.
"Finding out that you can still get better!" Goku answered. "Trust me, I know that one all too well. I thought I had gotten as strong as I could before I fought Vegeta...but he kicked my butt easily. It's moments like those that make me realize that I've got so much to learn, you know?"
"Exactly!" Rainbow exclaimed.
The girls laughed as the sun began to set on the horizon.