“MY LITTLE PONIES,” Princess Celestia boomed, her voice although louder than anything in the stadium seemed gentle at the same time. As far as I could tell she wasn't using a mic or the speaker system. How did she get her voice to be that loud? “WELCOME TO THE FIRST EVER RACE ACROSS EQUESTRIA!” She shouted the last word louder than the others, at which the audience erupted in another deafening cheer. There was much hoof stomping and hoof clopping. Signs waved in the air baring the names of cities, teams, and individual racers, the most popular of which was Manehatten. They were really popular. I would guess that nearly a third of the stadium were baring the red and gold (or was it yellow?).
Even Derpy had a sign on her that had the silhouette of a pony running on a white background with the words 'Race ACross Equestria' written in red with a yellow border across the middle. How had she managed to get her hooves on that? I wanted one too!
“Twenty teams from twenty cities will compete for the first ever RACE Cup, and the prestige of being called the fastest, strongest, smartest and most athletic ponies in all of Equestria! Not to mention that there are three wishes to be won from your Princesses.” Princess Celestia flashed a bright smile.
The audience exploded once more. The mention of the wishes seemed to really appeal to everypony.
Then a thought occurred to me. Maybe I could wish myself out of The Bet and stay in Equestria. Maybe I could remain here forever. Spend the rest of my days living my life as a pony, forgetting my life from before. Maybe I could be free. That's it! Why couldn't I?
I had to try. This race was mine!
“This competition will test your body and soul in the spirit of competition. Good luck to you all, and may the best team win.” With that, the Princess sat down to the applause of her subjects. Somehow somepony started a Wave within the audience, the ponies rising up at the right moment giving the effect of a moving wave as it went around the stadium. It was a sight to behold.
“You heard her,” Fleet Hoof bellowed loud enough for us to hear, “She's telling us to win.”
Scootaloo was about to say something but I stopped her.
“Don't bother. Everypony knows that it's the losers that talk the loudest.” I shouted it just as loud as Fleet Hoof.
He stared at me. “We'll see who the losers are after the race!” he retorted.
“No need. I can see the losers clearly from here.” I replied nonchalantly.
He glared at me as I turned my back to him in a feeble attempt to hide my smug grin.
The girls laughed at my comeback and Lavender nudged me before placing her fore-hooves on my back, “You're pretty good at riling him up.”
“I must admit... I enjoy it. He's such an easy target.”
“But is it okay for you to make him mad like that? You are racing against him, after all. Wouldn't it be better if it were one of us?” Lavender asked.
Her logic was infallible. “Yeah, but where’s the fun be in that?”
She just gave me a look.
Just then the three bands started playing together. It was a catchy beat, and it made everypony in the stands sway. After a moment the voices of the Elements echoed over the riotous cheering of the crowd. They were singing! And, by the Goddesses, they sounded wonderful. On my world, I would have never listened to such music, but here... here it seemed... perfect.
“In Celestia's summer sun,
In Luna's winter moon,
We have come to watch ponies compete,
In the skies, the caves, and in the street.
The first are the Pegasi,
They will fly ever so high,
Past the clouds up above,
Feeling the thrill of flight which they all love.
Ponies of all kind will race across Equestria's land,
From the green forests to the brown desert sand,
And in the spirit of competition and fun,
Watch our ponies use magic, fly, swim and run.
Next come the Unicorns,
With their magical horns,
Using their powers to proceed,
Past the riddles and puzzles for the lead.”
The Elements were rotating the lyrics between each other. Had they rehearsed this song before? Where was I during these rehearsals?
“So, get into the game!
Shout out loud your team’s name!
Let them hear you yell and scream!
Help them achieve their dream!
Ponies of all kind will race across Equestria's land,
From the green forests to the brown desert sand,
And in the spirit of competition and fun,
Watch our ponies use magic, fly, swim and run.
Then the ponies of the earth will run,
Towards the setting of Celestia’s sun,
Before the rise of Luna’s moon,
The race will end very soon.
And the winners will get a trophy!
And a wish from each Princess, that’s three!
To satisfy their heart's desire,
That is what they will acquire.”
The band then started to play an interlude. It was so awesome! The song was happy, catchy, and easy to sing along to. Not only that, the voices of Twilight and her friends were pitch perfect. I didn’t know they were the Elements of Harmonizing as well...
“Oh wow. They sound beautiful!” I exclaimed, meaning both the band and the girls' singing. I couldn’t stop shaking my flank to the beat set by the drummers and swaying by the harmony of the accompaniments.
Lavender grinned and danced with me, “It's a celebration, after all!”
With the mood as it was, and the feeling of jubilation that welled up within me, I couldn’t resist, “Have you ever done 'The Twilight'?” I asked.
“No... what's that?” Lavender asked spinning herself around.
So I showed her.
“So, get into the game!
Shout out loud your team’s name!
Let them hear you yell and scream!
Help them achieve their dream!”
It took her a moment, but Lavender eventually copied my antics. Derpy hovered then landed next to me and started imitating my moves - or rather, Twilight’s moves. Then the rest of my team followed suit. Then suddenly a large portion of the audience followed until a huge swath of ponies in the stadium were all doing 'The Twilight'. Every single one of us having a huge grin on our faces as more and more joined in.
Turning to the stage, I could see Twilight looking over our way. Even from this distance I could see her cheeks rosy from embarrassment. She knew where I had learnt this silly dance from. Unable to resist, I pointed to her while on my hind legs as well as giving a massive wink. This was her dance, after all. Twilight's face grew a little more crimson as she suppressed the urge to laugh mid-chorus.
“In Celestia's summer sun,
In Luna's winter moon,
We have come to watch ponies compete,
In the skies, the caves, and in the street.
Ponies of all kind will race across Equestria's land,
From the green forests to the brown desert sand,
And in the spirit of competition and fun,
Watch our ponies use magic, fly, swim and run.
As they race across Equestria’s land!”
As the song ended, the audience and the teams all cheered and above us the Wonderbolts streaked across the sky, showering the entire stadium and the city with confetti. Then they all circled around gradually going higher and higher as Rainbow Dash hovered above the stage. Then, she spread her wings as far as she could and pushed down with such force, that she seemed to explode into the sky, a rainbow briefly forming behind her. Up and up she went before twisting around and almost doing a complete U-turn, as she dove straight down before taking a sharp angle with all the other Wonderbolts flying in perfect formation. Then, they did one last pass before disappearing into the distance.
“Wow! That was just... wow!” I was at a complete loss for words. “Was that a Sonic Rainboom?”
Scootaloo laughed her flank off. She didn't stop laughing for a long while, trying to catch her breath. “Oh, no. You'll know a Sonic Rainboom when you see it.”
With the music now over and the subsequent show complete, it was Princess Luna that stood up. The audience hushed up, even the wind seemed to stand still, everypony’s attention was now firmly on her.
“Let the race... commence!” She demanded in that loud, booming voice.
At her words, the ponies shook the stadium in their excitement. They starting cheering for the Princes of the Moon, which made Luna green sheepishly.
“Go get them, Scoots!” Lavender said, hugging Scootaloo tightly. “Do your best! We’ll be rooting for you.”
“I'll be waiting for you.” Amethyst patted her on the back.
Derpy smiled and nodded, her face serious and determined. Scootaloo nodded back. They seemed to understand one another.
“I know you'll make us proud.” I grinned, “Just watch out for that red Pegasus.”
“Will do.” Scootaloo placed her goggles over her eyes, “I won't let you guys down!”
She slowly headed towards the central stage as did the leading Pegasi from the other teams.
The Princesses at this point had all boarded their own chariots and were being taken away by their escorts from the stage. The soldiers and other military related things were slowly making their way out of the stadium, the demonstration over. The bands, however, remained.
Then the cheering for favorites began for real. The audience had started chanting and singing from the stands depicting their teams superiority and their allegiance. Taunts towards other teams and even some very vocal pony-style swearing, which included the use of the word ‘buck’ quite a lot.
Figures.
Despite the noise and tension, there was also a feeling of unity and togetherness, something that sports fanatics from my world could learn from. Although the rivalry here was fierce, it was still peaceful and gave a sense of... oneness? I liked this. On Earth, I never really attended events like this. The crowds always seemed so mob-like. I had convinced myself that I wouldn’t have enjoyed it, but now I could see how wrong I was. This was the foundation of a healthy society, when ponies (or people, in this case) could come together for a friendly... rivalry? No, that isn’t the right word to describe this.
I noticed that there were very few ponies rooting for Ponyville. Well, I guess it made sense considering how small the town was. Maybe a couple dozen, and they all looked familiar too.
Above the center stage, the Wonderbolts had returned and were now pushing a rather large cloud over the central stage; above the other five Elements of Harmony. As if on cue, large white curtains were lowered from the base of the cloud. At least I thought they were cloth, I wasn't sure what it was made of. Beams of magical light exploded from boxes set opposite each screen. At once the image of the Pegasi from below were projected, giving everypony a clear picture of what was going on. A few of the racers waved at the camera.
My eyes almost fell out of their sockets. They had projectors? These ponies never cease to amaze me.
As far as I knew the ponies didn't have electricity, or satellites, or cable! How were they doing this? How did they make video? I wanted to ask how that was possible but my attention was distracted as I watched Scootaloo and the rest of the Pegasi slowly standing at the edge of the cloud, a thick red line clearly demarcating the start.
The sound of music echoed throughout the stadium. The kind of fanfare you'd hear before a news broadcast, or something like that. The image on the screens changed and we could now see a pony in a black tux sitting behind a desk with his hooves on a table and a headset on top of his head with a mic near his mouth. Princess Cadence sat next to him with the same kind of headset.
“Fillies and gentlecolts, Loud Speaker here speaking from RACE Central, where we will bring you minute to minute, second to second updates from our dedicated staff of Earth, Unicorns and Pegasi! We will be your eyes and ears far across the field as we bring the action to you.” He pointed at the screen, “Ponies back at our cities are watching this on respective screens throughout Equestria, and we all have to thank the Princesses for bringing this moment to you all, especially to Princess Celestia who approved of this contest.” At that, the camera, or what I assumed was the camera, panned over to the Celestia, who was sitting on a large comfortable sofa, her horn was glowing furiously as it seemed to feed into this large cubic crystal that hovered in mid-air so it looked like a diamond. She smiled and gave a light wave at the camera, to which the audience cheered, laughed, and even cooed. They all certainly loved her.
The camera panned back to Loud Speaker and Princess Cadence. “Now, Princess Cadence, how is it possible for such a mammoth task to be performed? Will this be a regular occurrence in the future?”
Princess Cadence shook her head, “Oh no. This kind of magic takes the effort of several hundred Unicorns at the same time. They need to share a kind of mental link, then project it to the screens you see. As a result, only large events such as these can be broadcast. In fact, Princess Celestia is only doing the Pegasi portion of the race. Princess Luna is resting herself up for the Unicorns' trials and I will be the one projecting the last leg of the race when our Earth ponies do their biathlon...”
“Simply amazing!” Loud Speaker interrupted, “I apologize for cutting you short, Your Highness, but the race is about to begin! We will now return to the starting line as the Element of Loyalty herself, Rainbow Dash, will start off this grand event!”
The scene cut back to the top of the cloud. Rainbow Dash was hovering over the starting line, a strange contraption was attached to her hooves. It looked like two flat pieces of wood joined together at the base by something. I couldn't see it clearly.
“Stand by!” Some other Pegasus shouted. He was wearing a white and black striped t-shirt, “Testing clapper...”
Rainbow did something, and the planks of wood smashed together making a sound similar to the sharp crack of a racing pistol. Satisfied that it was working well, Rainbow gave a nod to the pony.
“Okay, ponies. On your marks.”
The Pegasi finished their last minute warm ups. In the row of ponies, I could see Scootaloo rolling her shoulders. She twisted her neck from side to side and placed her front hooves against the line. The other ponies did the same.
“Get set...”
Their wings began to beat up and down faster and faster, until they were nothing more than a blur.
The clapper went off...
Then it went off a second time almost instantly after.
The ponies that had exploded from the starting line all came to a halt.
“False start...” Loud Speaker informed us, “That was Cloud Seeker from Whinneypeg. Got a little too excited there, jumping the clapper on that one. Better not do it a second time or that would be a ten minute delay for the Whinneypeg team.”
The camera zoomed in on the culprit who was shaking his head and punching himself lightly on his temples. It was clear that he was telling himself to relax.
“The Pegasi must be under a lot of pressure. It's a wonder that they’re remaining calm,” Princess Cadence put in, “If it were me, I'd probably do the same thing.”
When all the ponies had returned behind the starting line the pony official raised his hoof in the air. Again Rainbow gave him a nod.
“On your marks!” The official shouted.
A few of them did a little warm up again, perhaps the loosen their nerves. It was quite clear that they were all both excited and nervous. Then they lowered their front halves, like before, and waited.
“Get set...”
Again the ponies' wings blurred into action.
Rainbow shut the clapper, the sharp sound echoing in the stadium.
“And they're off!” Loud Speaker screamed on the the... loudspeakers.
The stadium erupted as the Pegasi zipped off and in seconds they were all little dots in the distance. We watched them go, the cameras panning with the fading images of the ponies as they zoomed off along the track that was clearly marked with flags along the way. Soon we saw the Pegasi again, this time from an overhead angle, as the camera tried to keep up with the racers. In the lead we could see a red blur, followed by green, orange and blue. A few ponies behind was a black form and somewhere in the very far back of the racing pack was a multi-color uniform.
Scootaloo was in last place.
“Come on Scoots!” Lavender shouted.
“Oh, come on Scootaloo!” Derpy shouted, “Don't let them get too far ahead.”
“Hey, Forest, you want something to eat or drink?” Amethyst asked.
Prying my attention away from the screens, I looked at her, “Okay. But... I've got no bits...”
“Don't be silly. We're contestants. They'll give us free food and drink.” Amethyst turned to go.
“I'll come with you. I'll help you carry something.” I offered.
Amethyst looked at me for a moment before sighing, “Okay, come along then.”
We walked to the entrance we had come through and found a stand laden with food and water. A part of me wanted to smack myself. No wonder Amethyst sighed, the distance between the table and where we were standing took approximately thirty seconds to get to.
With her Unicorn magic, Amethyst picked up the glasses, and the food. I carried whatever I could on a tray that had a rounded groove that you placed on your back. It was actually pretty ingenious, and the balance was perfectly done so that I could have loaded one entire side of the tray without fear of it falling off. Of course, I didn't do that, because I did fear it would fall off. Hey, I didn't want to get Rarity's uniform wet – yet. And especially not with juice.
Half the crowd suddenly let out a loud 'ooh', and a few ponies screamed. I looked up at the screen to find one of the Pegasi with his head stuck in a cloud, while his rear stuck out.
The screen returned to a replay, and I could see that one of the ponies, the yellow one, flew above the the zebra striped contestant, touching his wing with his rear hoof that sent the striped contestant straight down, practically doing a nosedive into a cloud.
“That was a pretty hard crash. Do you think Wind Soar is alright?” Loud Speaker asked.
“That didn't seem accidental. It seems that the spirit of competition has brought out the worst in our competitors.” Princess Cadence admonished, “Bright Lightning should be ashamed of herself for that un-sportspony like display.”
Some of crowd agreed.
Wind Soar pushed himself out of the cloud with his hind legs and shook his head. He gritted his teeth before speeding off after the others.
“Well, at least we're not in last place anymore,” I mumbled out loud.
Sure enough, Scootaloo was still trailing behind one of the ponies in second last place. Meanwhile, at the front, the red team streaked further and further away from the others.
“Looks like Sun Streak is still leading the way for Manehatten, and is actually gaining distance for herself against the rest!” Loud Speaker comment, “As expected of someone who could have joined the Wonderbolts.”
“It was a real upset to the team when she declined the offer, saying that her place and her home was in Manehatten.” Princess Cadence added, “It might've been a great loss for the Wonderbolts, but the newly formed flying team from Manehatten, the Red Comets, aren't the least bit upset.”
At the mention of the Red Comets, a vast majority of the crowd erupted in cheers and began to chant something. I couldn't make it out clearly, but it went something like:
“... The Red Comets are the best,
They beat out all the rest,
They're red, not blue,
They're great, no you!
Go, go, Red Comets! ...”
That made me roar with laughter. Who writes their material?
If there was one thing Sun Streak and I had in common, was that we both exuded some sort of fire in our wake. While my running ignited the ground I stepped on, something that I still failed to fully comprehend, every wing beat she made let out a small spark, or fire. In fact, most of the Pegasi had similar things. The only one who didn't was little Scootaloo, who was cruising behind the pony from Baltimare (I think).
The Elements of Harmony walked over to us, each one still grinning and waving at the audience. Some of the crowd waved back, but the majority had their attentions transfixed on the race.
“That was a nice song, ladies.” I complimented when they got close enough.
“Thank you kindly, Forest.” Applejack grinned as she walked over and took one of the drinks from off of my back. The others followed suit. Except Rainbow Dash. She was nowhere to be seen. “Where's Miss Dash?” I said looking up into the skies.
“I think she went back to the palace.” Twilight replied, also looking up, “She's got a lot on her plate, and I think she wants to avoid Soarin.”
“What? Why?”
Twilight sighed, “I think they just broke up.”
Everyone stared at Twilight completely stunned.
“Why?” Lavender barked when Twilight didn't elaborate.
“So... Spike was right.” I muttered. I should've known better than to doubt him.
The audience roared again. This time two Pegasi were flailing around in the sky. I didn't understand what was going on, it sort of looked like they were fighting some invisible force, but they were still flying at the same time.
“Wow! Look at the skill displayed by these fliers! Right into a crosswind! Look at how they are struggling to maintain their speeds while trying to navigate at the same time! Manehatten has lost their pole position to Manebourne! What a race between the two 'mane' cities!” Loud Speaker shouted. “But Sun Streak isn't one to take it lightly! Look at her go!”
Sure enough, the Red Comet twisted her body around, folded her wings tightly against her body and did a sharp dive towards the ground. Then she spread her wings and pushed, the momentum making her move like a torpedo through the air. She ended up right behind the Manebourne racer as the two zipped off and away from the current camera view.
It was awesome.
Scootaloo was still lagging in the back, and therefore was of not much interest to the current announcers, but she was still flying strong.
“What's Scoots doing?” Amethyst moaned, “We're going to lose at this rate!”
“It's still a long way to the finish line. I'm sure Scootaloo knows what she's doing.” Rarity replied.
“I'm going back to the palace. It'll be awhile before the Pegasi leg is over.” Twilight stated, “All this noise and cheering isn't really my thing. That, and I'm a little worried about Rainbow.”
“I hear ya,” Applejack nodded, “I'll come with.”
Unanimously, the Elements decided to all head out together.
“You comin', Forest?” Applejack asked.
“Me?” I looked at my team mates, “I think I ought to stay with the team, no?”
“Oh, don't worry. The next portion of the race takes place under the palace. We're all going to have to go there soon anyway.” Twilight looked at us, “So, I think we should all head back before the crowd does.”
With that, we all started walking back towards the palace.
On the way, my bladder demanded it be emptied. “Guys, I'll see you back there in a bit... I need to stop by some place.” I grinned.
“I'll wait for you, Forest.” Twilight offered.
I blushed, “No, no. That's okay...”
“Do you know the way?”
“Um... well... yeah, I do...”
“What d'ya need to do?” Applejack asked.
I grinned nervously, then motioned with my head to the toilet symbol above me.
The girls all blushed.
“Oh. Okay. See you later then...” Twilight replied a little embarrassed.
I was glad that they left. The silence was slowly getting worse and worse, and it was beginning to get real awkward.
Now, slipping Rarity’s suit off was a pain in the butt for this kind of thing. I had to fully strip before I was able to continue.
After finishing my business, I walked out of the toilets. My attention was distracted as I was watching the projected image of the race on the large screens in the middle of the arena through the gaps that led down towards the stadium seating area. I didn't notice a little filly skipping along and I walked right into her. The little Pegasi filly gave a loud squeak.
She looked up at me, then at my chest, then at the floor.
“My costume!” I exclaimed as a large splotch of ice-cream now decorated my front.
“My ice-cream!” The filly exclaimed, staring at the blob on the floor. Her eyes began to water.
“No, no! I'm sorry, please don't cry!” I said, kneeling down on the ground.
“Hey! What're you doing to my sister!” A dark blue Pegasus zipped over and somehow placed himself between the light brown-ish filly and me.
“Doing? I'm not doing anything! I was just... I did...” I pointed at the ice-cream on the ground.
“Buy her a new one!” The colt shouted, “It's your fault! I saw you! You were walking without looking!”
He tried to stand there and look threatening, but his white mane kept falling over his eyes and he had to shake his head to get them out of the way, which looked rather comical.
“Look at what I'm wearing, kid. Do you really think I could carry money in this?” I asked.
The colt looked at me, then at my suit.
“You're a racer? What town?”
“Ponyville...”
“Guys, I don't know...” Another filly walked over to us. This one I knew instantly.
“Aqua?”
“Oh! It's you! Twilight's coltfriend!” Aqua said, grinning.
My face exploded, “N-n-no! I only said that because she was being harassed by all those ponies. Not you, Aqua, the other ponies. Anyway... Twilight was really taken by you.” I quickly added, desperate to change the subject.
“Really?” Aqua smiled, “She was?”
I nodded, overwhelmed by her cute smile. It was just like Applebloom's, in the way that it somehow managed to make me melt. “Where's Mommy-Strawberry?”
“We're lost.” Aqua admitted, “We're trying to look for them, but I can't remember the seating area. We were supposed to go out and get ice-cream, but Thunderbolt said that the one near where we were didn't have the flavors he wanted.”
“You mean 'Thunderdolt'. Mom's gonna kill us because of you!” The other filly glared at her brother.
Thunderbolt turned his head away, “I'm not lost. I'm just... making sure that we get to the right place.”
“Do you know your seat numbers?” I asked.
The children shook their heads.
“Your parents don't know you snuck off, do they?” I asked.
The children shook their heads again.
I heaved a long, tired sigh. “I don't know, I guess the best thing would be to find a Royal Guard and have them watch you till your parents come and find you.”
“But we'll miss the show!” Thunderbolt stated. “And I really, really, really want to see Rainbow Dash do her Sonic Rainboom!”
“You like Rainbow, huh?” I smiled.
“Duh, who doesn't? She's only the fastest, bravest, most awesome pony in all of Equestria. She’s the best Wonderbolt ever!” Thunderbolt replied matter-of-factually.
I couldn't help but chuckle, “I'll be sure to tell her you said so.”
“Wait! You know Rainbow Dash?” Thunderbolt eyes opened wide.
“Uh... yes?” Perhaps I shouldn't have said that.
“The Rainbow Dash? Element of Loyalty?” Thunderbolt's eyes seemed to grow wider and wider.
“Uh... yep. That's the one...”
“I don't believe you.” Thunderbolt shook his head, “How can somepony as lame as you know the Rainbow Dash.”
“Lame?” I could only pout.
“He knows Twilight,” Aqua reassured, “I'm sure he knows Rainbow Dash for real.”
Thunderbolt's expression returned to normal suddenly. He then floated next to me and put me in a light headlock, “Tell you what...”
“Forest,” I revealed when it was clear he wanted to know my name, “Forest Fire.”
“Tell you what, Forest. You let me meet Rainbow Dash, and I'll forgive you for ruining my sister's ice-cream. Deal?” Thunderbolt grinned at me.
“Rainbow is at the palace. I can't take you there without special permission...” I tried to stop myself, but it was too late.
“You know two of the Elements of Harmony! You already have special permission! And you're a racer! Come on! Think of the ice-cream!” Thunderbolt gestured to the ground.
“I know all the Elements... and that’s not what I meant. What I mean is that I need permission from your parents!” It just seemed like a real bad idea for a stranger to take three children away.
“I would like to meet Twilight again...” Aqua grinned sweetly at me.
“Can I meet all the Elements?” The little light brown filly asked.
“Stargazer! Don't be greedy!” Aqua seemed a little embarrassed.
“Are you all siblings?” I asked, interrupting them, and trying to stall for time. Maybe the parents were out looking for these two sweet fillies, and that brat of a colt.
“No, this is Stargazer and Thunderbolt...”
“Dolt. Thunderdolt.” Stargazer corrected Aqua while glaring at her brother.
“Shut up, Slug.” Thunderbolt taunted his sister.
“Slug?” That wasn't very nice.
Thunderbolt laughed, “Yeah, cause she can't fly. She's as slow as a slug and stuck to the ground.”
Stargazer just glared at him. I felt bad for the little Pegasus filly.
“They are brother and sister. I'm just a friend. We're from the same town; Baltimare.” Aqua quickly added before standing in between the two.
“Are your parents racing?” I asked. Please say yes, please say yes, please say yes.
“No. We wouldn't be up here in the stands if they were, doofus.” Thunderbolt said releasing me from the headlock.
“Thunder!” Aqua gasped.
“What? He is a doofus.”
“I'm sorry, Forest. He's just talking like that because he's scared...” Aqua began.
“No I'm not! I'm not scared! I'm not scared of anything!” Thunderbolt barked back.
“It's okay, Aqua. I'm used to it.” Sadly, I was. “But we still need to get you back to your parents.”
“Forest? Forest! There you are. I was waiting for you.” A pink pony poked her pretty physiognomy in my field of view. I jumped back out of reflex. How does she keep doing that? “Who're your new friends?”
“This here is Aqua, Thunderbolt and Stargazer.” I pointed to each one in turn, “They're lost.”
Thunderbolt looked offended. “I'm telling you I’m not lost! I'm just... exploring.”
“We've been 'exploring' for the past half hour! Our parents are going to kill us because of you.” Aqua muttered.
“Oh no! Well, you know what's a super cool, super smart idea?” Pinkie began, “Let's go see Twilight! She'll find your mummies and daddies in a flash! Literally!” She giggled at her own joke.
“But... we can't take them away from here! That's like... kidnapping!” It was!
“Don't be such a big silly. They're not goats! You can't kidnap them.” Pinkie replied patting me on the back.
“Well, whatever it's called... you can't do that!”
“I'm the Element of Laughter, Forest. I may act a little cuckoo sometimes...” She saw the expression on my face, and giggled, “Okay, so I cuckoo most of the time, but everypony knows that we Elements would do anything for our fellow ponies!” She jumped over me, “I'll make really, really sure that they get back with their parents. Is that okay?”
The kids all nodded, “Yeah!”
I groaned, but if there was one thing I've learnt about being here in Equestria it's that you do not argue with Pinkie Pie. It was pointless, and you’d lose anyway.
Together, the five of us walked to the palace, and despite disapproving glances from the guards, they let us all in without question. Pinkie hopped along, humming the tune she had sung on the stage from earlier out loud.
When we finally arrived in the garden, half the racers were already there.
Spike spotted me and waved, “Hey, Forest. Who're the kids?”
I introduced them, while Pinkie hopped around us gleefully. Did she ever run out of energy?
“Oh, I get it! Twilight can use her magic to find them! Smart thinking, Forest...”
“Actually, it was Pinkie's idea...” I admitted.
“Pinkie does have good ideas once in a while.” Spike nodded sagely.
I couldn't help but laugh.
“Hey!” Pinkie shouted.
“Speaking of which, where is Twilight?” I asked, ignoring her outburst.
Spike shrugged, “I think they all went looking for you.”
Thunderbolt nudged me, then in a low voice just barely louder than a whisper, “Where's Rainbow Dash. You said I could meet her.”
“I-” I began.
“Rainbow? She's right over there, near the statues.” Spike replied at almost the exact same moment.
And before I could even blink, Thunderbolt was off like a bat outta hell. He flew right up to Rainbow before assaulting her in a barrage of words and questions. The more he talked, the more Pinkie-like he became; jumping up and down excitedly, talking a mile a minute, and just overwhelmed with excitement. Rainbow was a little shocked at first, but then she smiled and listened. Perhaps it was a good distraction from the other events plaguing her life.
By the time the rest of us caught up to him, he was done and just stood there staring at her.
“Friend of yours?” Rainbow smirked as she asked me the question.
I rolled my eyes, “They were... 'exploring' the stadium looking for ice-cream and forgot where they were sitting. Pinkie suggested I bring 'em here so Twilight can help find their parents. Anyway, I see you’ve met Thunderbolt. This here is his sister Stargazer, and their friend Aqua.”
“Pleased to meet you,” Aqua politely replied.
Stargazer muttered something, but a little too quite for me to catch.
Rainbow was about to reply to them when the racers did a collective gasp. A few then applauded after that.
“Wow! What a maneuver! Did you see that?” One of the other racers shouted, “Completely faked out that Cloudsdale Pegasus... what's his name?”
“Gale Force. And she's a mare.” One of her teammates corrected.
“Oops, sorry. Hard to tell with these uniforms on...”
“I know, right?” One of the Unicorns from Coltumbus joked, “And did you see how that Ponyville Pegasi dodged the others? Expertly done!” The other racers nodded in appreciation.
Instinctively I looked up at the screen and spotted Scootaloo! She was now just behind the leader of the second pack of flyers. According to the table that was now on the right-hand side of the screen, she was in ninth place! A brief replay showed the Pegasi in a long line in three separate packs. The front one was led by Sun Streak when they all suddenly twisted around and were blown into a wall of cloud, forcing the Pegasi to half-run, half-fly along it. The second pack, reaching that point, all narrowed themselves and did not spread their wings. Instead they all torpedoed through whatever the invisible obstacle was before trying to recover their lost altitude. But the front three opened their wings too early and found themselves spinning out of control and out of the course. They had to fight to regain their position and altitude, which gave the other Pegasi ample opportunity to overtake them.
In the mayhem of the ponies falling and getting blown in every which way, Scootaloo expertly wove through the Pegasi, using the smallest amount of movement to dodge them. But Scootaloo had dropped too far and by the time she flew back up to the right altitude, the original pack had resumed their lead, but that was how Scootaloo had gone from second-last place to ninth!
“Yeah, them Shadowbolts have got some real talent. I like how Windsoar’s Pegasi handled that,” Another racer commented, “but as long as the Wonderbolts have Rainbow Dash, they'll always be on top.”
At this, Rainbow looked away in a feeble attempt to hide her rosy cheeks. Usually she'd be basking in their praises, but something was clearly off. Perhaps her father's words about being humble had really sunk in. Whatever the case, it was strange and slightly cute to see a bashful Rainbow Dash.
“Wouldn't it be great if she left the Wonderbolts and joined the Shadowbolts?” Another shouted, “She'd look so awesome in a Shadowbolt uniform.”
Thunderbolt whipped around, “She'd look good in anything!”
The racers all stared at the young colt, then burst out laughing. Even I couldn't keep a straight face, it was funny to see and hear such a young colt defend the greatest flier in all Equestria. Rainbow blushed furiously at the outburst, which only made the rest of us laugh harder. Aqua's face was even brighter than Rainbow's, clearly embarrassed by her friend as well.
“Isn't he too young for you?” A racer shouted.
Rainbow just rolled her eyes. “He's still a better stallion than you, Fleet Hoof.”
The rest of the racers laughed even louder at this, but Fleet Hoof only stuck out his tongue. I guess he wasn't so bad. Still, he was my chief rival, and I wasn’t about to let him have my three wishes.
Unlike the stadium, we didn't have a running commentary here by Princess Cadence or Loud Speaker, so it was hard for us non-Pegasi to understand the complexities of what they were facing. But whatever the case, everyone's eyes were glued to the screens now.
“Spike, how're they doing that?” I pointed to the screens. “Projecting that, I mean.”
“The live feed? Well, see that Unicorn over there?” Spike pointed to a Unicorn near a large cube-like device, “He gets the signal from the Princesses and then uses his own magic to send it to the screens. Like a movie projector. That is the way we can do it live. It's amazing. Guess who invented it?”
“Twilight?”
“Yep! Apparently live shows were common on Brian's world. So, I guess this is a tribute to him. He should be watching this right now in the hospital.” Spike then hit himself on the head, “I just remembered that I have to go get Aiden and Atom. They went down to his bakery to check up on things. I'll be back.”
“I'll walk you to the gate.” I would have walked with him to the bakery, but I couldn't leave the kids alone with Rainbow, and Pinkie had disappeared again.
As Spike left, I heard a rough cough from behind me and I turned around to see one of the Royal Guards. Behind him were four ponies that I had never seen before... scratch that, three ponies that I had never seen before.
“Mommy-Strawberry!” I shouted aloud.
The pink Earth pony was a little taken aback by that.
“Honey, let me handle this,” The greenish Earth pony began and she put herself in front of Strawberry, “Where are our children?”
Understandably, she was upset. “T-t-they're right over there. Come, I'll take you to them.”
“Oh, thank Celestia they're alright!” A purple Pegasus heaved a sigh or relief and placing her hoof against her forehead under her frizzy dark gray mane.
An orange Unicorn put his hoof on her shoulder, “I told you they'd be fine, darling.”
“Good. Because I'm going to kill them!” she stated with a raised voice. “How dare they make me worry like this?”
“Stormy...” The orange Unicorn began.
The guard was a little shocked by this outburst, but after a moment he just nodded. “I'll leave it to you then.” He said to me before marching off. Those guys really scared me.
“Hi... um... I'm Forest. Forest Fire. So, yeah, um... let's go?” I gestured with my hoof.
“I'm Spyglass Vision, and this is my wife Stormy Nights, and you seem to know Strawberry Blossom and that's her wife Petal Shower. We've been searching for our children...”
“Those brats...” Stormy politely interjected.
“... our children,” Spyglass gave his wife a keen look, to which she just batted her eyelids and flashed him a wide smile, “for the past hour. Thank Celestia you found them.”
“Actually, I bumped into your daughter and knocked her ice-cream out of her hoof. After that, we brought them here in hopes that Twilight Sparkle could identify you guys. As to bringing them here... yeah, that was Pinkie Pie's idea.” I wanted to let them know that I was against it.
“Well, we can't thank you enough for trying,” Spyglass continued, “have they been too much of a nuisance?”
“Not really,” I lied, “they're children, after all.”
Spyglass seemed to sense I was being polite and sighed while shaking his head, “I really apologize for this, Forest.”
“No, really, it’s okay.” This time I was being sincere.
When we arrived back at the racer’s lounging area, we saw Aqua trying to calm a furious looking Stargazer as Thunderbolt hovered above her, obviously teasing her in some way. Most probably about her lack of flying ability. Rainbow was standing off to one side looking confused, amused and a little nervous. Some of the other racers were watching amused at their antics, while the others still stared at the screens.
“Mommy Strawberry! Mommy Petal!” Aqua exclaimed rushing over to them and diving into their welcoming embrace.
Thunderbolt froze in mid-air. How he did was beyond me. Slowly he turned his head in our direction, his eyes spotting his parents. He flashed a nervous grin towards Stormy and especially his father, Spyglass. Suddenly an aura of light-brown magic formed around the Pegasus colt, and his wings ceased to move and he fell down on his legs. A very, very displeased look appeared on the Unicorn's face.
“Hi dad.” Thunderbolt's nervous grin faded as he took the steps towards his parents.
“What were you thinking? Do you know how worried we were?” Spyglass said, although his voice was calm and seemingly gentle, I still got chills down my spine. I've never had a father reprimand me in my entire life, and seeing it happen was both strange and foreign to me.
“I'm sorry.” Thunderbolt's cocky demeanor had vanished.
“Your mother's been ripping her mane out worrying about the two of you, you should apologize to her.” Spyglass said, his voice still grim.
Thunderbolt turned towards his mother, “Sorry, mom.”
Stormy seized her son in her hooves and squeezed him, and then gestured for Stargazer to come to her, which she did without a moment's hesitation. Stormy hugged her two children in the way only mothers can do, and despite her words from before, I could tell she was grateful that her children were okay.
I smiled at that. I wished that I had a mother that cared for me like that.
“You’re grounded for a month, by the way.” Spyglass stated while Stormy cuddled him.
“Noooooooooo!” Thunderbolt sobbed.
“Ha! Serves you right, Thunderdolt.” Stargazer stuck her tongue out at her brother.
Thunderbolt started for his sister, but Stormy's motherly grip held him in place. She was surprisingly strong. It was clear to me; one does not tempt the wrath of mother.
“Do you have any children of your own?” Petal asked.
It took me a moment to realize she was talking to me. I shook my head, “N-n-no. I don't think I'm father material.”
“Oh? Why's that?” She continued, “Wait, you're not married? I saw the bracelet around your hoof... I just thought...”
“Ah... well...” I didn't know how to respond to that. “I don’t see you wearing one.”
“It’s not common anymore. It’s kinda an old and annoying tradition. Imagine wearing it all the time! Most ponies nowadays wear ear-rings, or nothing... depends... but a bracelet like that...” Petal replied.
That was interesting to me.
“It's impolite to pry into somepony's personal life like that, Dewdrop.” Strawberry said nuzzling the mare, “You wouldn't like it if he did the same to you, would you?”
“Dewdrop? I thought your name was Petal...”
“It's my nickname for the love of my life,” Strawberry kissed her wife’s cheek. “My Petal. My Dewdrop.”
“Oh. That's actually quite nice.” It was. I wished I had cutesy nicknames for my better half, but I didn't have one. Not anymore. Actually... I never really did.
“Forest, c'mere a sec.” Rainbow waved her hoof at me.
“Yes?”
“Why? Why did you leave me alone with those kids?” She questioned in a harsh whisper.
I could only smile at that.
She then returned a gentle smile, “Thank you. I really needed the distraction.”
“There you are, Forest!” A familiar voice called from behind me.
“Hi, Twilight. Where'd you guys go?”
“Looking for you. Who're your new friends?”
I explained the whole situation, including the reason why I had brought the children there.
“And whose bright idea was it to bring them here?” Twilight looked at me keenly.
Pinkie, who had vanished, had now returned pushing a small tray with goodies. “Oh! Hello! I'm Pinkie Pie!” She bounced over to us, “Are you the parents? I was gonna take good care of them while Twilee used her super awesome magic to find you!”
“Should've guessed...” Twilight muttered under her breath.
I nudged Twilight, “It was the best option, okay? You’re the best magic user I know.” Well, she was. That was true.
Spyglass bowed his head, “It is an honor to be in the presence of the Elements of Magic, but now that we've found our brood, I think it would be best if we left...”
“Don't be silly!” Pinkie exclaimed, shoving a cupcake into Spyglass' hoof, “Stay!”
“Are you sure? We don’t want to impose...” Stormy began.
“Please...” Her two children begged.
“Well, I don’t know... Spyglass, honey? What do you think?”
Her husband rubbed the back of his head, “Well...”
“Please...” The two children begged again. This time Pinkie had joined them.
Stormy was taken a little aback with the sudden inclusion of the Element of Laughter, but she assented, “But if you misbehave, we're leaving. That clear?”
The two children nodded vigorously.
Twilight walked over to Aqua and smiled at her, “We meet again!”
Aqua’s eyes opened wide, “You remember me?” She squeaked.
“Of course! How could I forget my number one fan?”
Aqua beamed.
“Oh yeah? Well, I'm Rainbow Dash's number one fan! And that's even cooler!” Thunderbolt turned to her, “Right?”
“Twenty percent cooler.”
Thunderbolt's eyes lit up.
“Oh, please don't encourage him, Miss Dash...”
“Just Rainbow, please.”
“Rainbow... he's already a hoofful as it is.” Stormy stated putting a hoof around her son's shoulders.
Thunderbolt was 'too cool' for that and shrugged it off with a, “Mom, not in front of Rainbow...”
Introductions were once again made as everyone was introduced to one another.
When Twilight was introduced to Stormy, something rang a bell in her head. “I've heard your name before, I think.”
“I don't think so, Your Highness...”
“No. Please. Don't. I'm not a princess, please don't call me that.” Twilight pleaded.
“But... I thought... since your sister-in-law is...” It was clear that the Pegasus was now confused.
Twilight just sighed, “I know what you mean, but I'm not royalty. Just call me Twilight, please.”
“Are you sure, princess?” I joked, which Twilight rewarded me with a rough nudge as she shouldered me.
Couldn't help but laugh.
“Anyway, I'm pretty sure I've heard your name before.” Twilight thought for a moment, “Oh! I know. You had an audience with Princess Celestia, didn't you?”
At those words Stormy's face turned as pink as Pinkie's.
Her two children eyes opened wide.
Stargazer, who had stuck near her mother since their reunion was astonished, “Really, mommy? You met Princess Celestia?”
“That was a very long time ago. I'm impressed you can remember that, Twilight.” Stormy knelt down allowing her daughter to nuzzle her.
“That's how big of an egg-head she is.” Rainbow burst out laughing at her own joke. Thunderbolt joined in, although I'm not too sure he understood what Rainbow meant.
“So, who're you cheering for?” I asked Stargazer while Twilight and her mother continued to talk. They were going on about magic or magical theory, and since I was allergic to magic their conversation had little interest to me.
“I dunno. Baltimare, I guess.”
“Ponyville?” I asked cheekily.
Stargazer smiled and laughed at me. She shook her head, “No. Not Ponyville.”
“Why not?” I asked, pretending to be shocked.
She wasn't fooled by my lame acting skills. “Because I live in Baltimare, silly.” She giggled.
“Darling,” Stormy interrupted, “please don't lie to Forest. You're really cheering for Coltumbus, right?”
“Lightning-bug...” Spyglass began, his voice mockingly threatening, “None of that. She's a Baltimare native, and she's going to cheer for Baltimare. Right, sweetheart?”
“Yeah!” Petal agreed with the stallion, “Go Baltimare!”
At those words, the Baltimare race team erupted in a cheer.
Strawberry giggled, “Go Coltumbus!”
At those words, the Coltumbus team and Stormy roared.
“Go Ponyville!” I shouted.
“Yay!” Fluttershy cheered... well, at least I think it was a cheer. There was practically no volume in it, which made everyone burst out into laughter. She lowered herself to the ground, “Too loud?” She asked, her face a bright scarlet, but she had a smile on her face too. It was actually really cute.
Stargazer just grinned at her father, “Go Coltumbus!”
Spyglass pretended that he was shocked and betrayed, which earned him a cute little cuddle from his daughter. After that he looked up at his wife.
Stormy smiled and bit her lip as Spyglass leaned in and gave her a peck on her cheek, “Naughty wife, brainwashing our child.”
There was nothing Stormy could say to that. She just giggled before rolling her eyes and nuzzling her husband, before wrapping her hoof around his neck and giving him a noogie.
They were such a wonderful, happy family. A part of me couldn't help but feel jealous. The more I was here, the more it became apparent just how empty my life had been.
“Wow! Did you see that? Ponyville's racer just breezed through that!” Someone shouted.
“Go, go, Scootaloo!” Derpy hooted before shoving another cupcake into her mouth.
“Mom!” A new voice yelled.
“Muffin!” Derpy shouted, dropping her muffin and zipping over to her daughter, tackling her to the ground.
Dinky burst out into a giggling fit, “Oh, mom. Why aren't you racing?” Derpy explained why in her own way, which Dinky just laughed and hugged her mother, “You're so silly sometimes.”
“Heya, Dinks.” Lavender said helping the mare from the ground, “You just arrived?”
“No, no. I've been in town for a while, but I decided to do a little shopping...”
“Ooh, what'd you get?” Lavender asked, peering at the saddlebags.
Dinky giggled, “Some books, some makeup... and a dress for tonight.”
Lavender squealed in excitement, “Show me!”
“Why would you want a dress?” Amethyst asked, then her eyes opened wide, “Oh. My. Gosh! Who is the lucky pony?”
Dinky blushed, “Sh! Not so loud.”
While the three of them continued to converse amongst themselves, I spotted Spike, Aiden and Atom walking down the veranda from the main gate. Applejack walked up to them and started chatting with Atom. They were too close for comfort – for my comfort – but I turned away and my eyes locked with Twilight's.
“What?” I asked when she didn't break her scrutinizing gaze.
“You're not over her.” It wasn't a question.
“I'd be lying if I said I was, but it's not like it matters.”
Twilight opened her mouth to respond, but it was cut off by excited chattering.
“They're coming up to the halfway point!” Someone shouted.
Everyone's attention instantly went to the screens. The screen panned over to a large platform, on which were long poles with hoops at the top. The first one to reach was Sun Streak, who grabbed the hoop and in one movement, placed it over her head. Then she made a loop around and started heading back the way she came. It had taken the Pegasi just under and hour to get that far.
Scootaloo was now in fourth place! She spread her arms out and her head went through the hoop, and her shoulder and arms caught it, as she whipped around the U bend. She had caught up with the four front fliers and placed herself behind the third-place pony.
The other Pegasi had copied Scootaloo's 'grab' and were close behind, but it was evident that the front pack was quickly distancing themselves from the others behind them. Before long the front four ponies had such a huge lead that there was little doubt who would take the front four places. The only question remained, who would cross first and by how much time.
“They're flying with a tailwind now. It won't be long. Amethyst, you should start warming up.” Rainbow advised.
Amethyst was a little disappointed that she could not chat more with Dinky and Lavender, but she nodded and walked away. She sat near a tree and closed her eyes. She looked like she was sleeping instead of warming up, although I didn't know how a Unicorn warmed up for a sporting even such as this.
“Look at her go!” Came a yell, “She's actually gaining on Sun Streak!”
Curious, I stared at the screen. Scootaloo was now in second place and was now flying level with the Manehatten favorite.
“Alright, Scootaloo!” I shouted.
“Scootaloo? That's her name?” Others began to comment on it, and soon everypony not from Manehatten was rooting for her.
It was a ding-dong, see-saw battle. Scootaloo inched forwards, only to be beaten back by Manehatten. Then Sun Streak would push in front of Scootaloo. They traded first place again and again. It was nail-biting! Well, hoof-biting, I guess. Whatever the case, I couldn't help but get swayed by the energy everyone had.
“All Unicorns competing in the second stage, please make your way to the starting line.” The announcer from before said over the speaker system.
The racers all cheered for their respective teams, I walked over the Amethyst who looked calm as ever. She looked over to Twilight who smiled and nodded to her.
“Go get 'em!” I shouted.
Amethyst gave me a single, firm nod before walking with the others. They soon disappeared out of sight as they headed up the road that we had marched along from before.
“Let's go and see. Come on, everypony!” Applejack gestured with her head and we all followed. And when I mean everypony, I literally mean every pony. Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Stormy Nights, Spyglass Vision, Thunderbolt, Stargazer, Strawberry, Petal Shower, Aqua Inferna, Atomic Vortex, Spike, Fluttershy, Aiden Fomaio...
“Rainbow, you coming?” I shouted when she didn't move.
She looked over to me, “Right behind you, slowpoke.”
I pretended to be shocked, “Slowpoke?”
She zipped past me with a mischievous grin, “Yeah. Slowpoke...”
Oh no, she didn't!
Everypony else jogged along the veranda, only to find themselves completely overtaken by a rainbow streak and a brown one seconds later as I chased after the Wonderbolt.
We cut across through the palace itself, much to the annoyance of the guards, before making our way to the dreaded balcony area where Princess Celestia had nearly killed me. Usually I'd feel the need to avoid areas like this. Ones that reminded me of pain and agony, but right now I didn't care. Right now all I wanted was to see what was going to happen next. Right now I was a part of a group. I belonged someplace. And I loved it.
Eventually the others caught up to us. Rainbow was chuckling away. “Okay, Forest. I take it back, you're not slow. Just slower.”
“That's because you're flying. Try running against me, and then we'll see who's faster.” I taunted.
Rainbow didn't bite. She just shrugged, “Yeah, you might beat me, but I'd still be tough competition.”
In the distance we could see four dots closing in. Camera-carrying Pegasi were trying to keep up but it was obvious that they couldn't. Not at those speeds.
“Here they come!” Somepony shouted from below us.
I looked over the balcony to see hundred of ponies waving flags and cheering as the racers closed in on the finish line, right next to the tree in that lawn area where Twilight and I saw the sunrise. There I could make out the Unicorns waiting impatiently. It was then that it hit me; this race was a relay! The hoop was the baton!
You're a moron, Forest.
The stadium in the distance erupted. Looking at the nearest video screen, I saw Scootaloo now completely dominating the race. She was at least four lengths away from Sun Streak and the distance between them kept on increasing. Soon, the cameras had to zoom out to put them both on the same frame, and there was no sign of Scootaloo slowing down! On and on she went.
Then, she folded her wings in and she started coming in real fast towards Amethyst who had her hoof extended.
“No catching the hoop with your magic! Your team-mate has to place it in your hoof themselves!” The announcer stated.
Sun Streak now dropped from second to third as the pony from Manebourne over took her. She was clearly exhausted, while Scootaloo seemed to be going strong. But the Manebourne Pegasus was gaining on her. The stallion quickly closing the distance between them.
Again the stadium in the distance erupted in cheers. Scootaloo had started a steep drop down, and she removed the hoop from her head and in mid-air the hoop went around Amethyst's hoof. The baton had been passed! And we were in the lead!
Scootaloo spread her wings coming to a slow, but steady stop as Amethyst turned and ran towards what looked like the entrance to a cave. She placed the hoop over her head and disappeared into the darkness within.
“Yeah!” I shouted unable to contain my excitement.
Seconds later, Manebourne did the same maneuver passing on his hoop to his team-mate. The Unicorn then sped after Amethyst and a close third was Sun Streak and another Pegasi – I think she was from Trottingham, I wasn't sure. The two Unicorns dashed into the cave as well.
It didn't take long for the others to catch up, but at least two whole minutes had passed by the time the last Pegasi passed the baton on.
The first leg of the RACE was over. And we were winning.