Starlight smirked and turned to her posse. “Alright, ladies, let’s get set up.”
Suri dragged Coco off to the chariots, while Starlight and Lightning Dust shared a look and grinned at each other. Trixie frowned for a second before Thunderlane and Junebug shuffled over. Their eyes were wide and cloudy.
“They should work for you,” said Starlight.
Wallflower drew near to Junebug when her and Thunderlane’s eyes cleared. Trixie sidled up to Thunderlane. “Thunderlane, consider this a great honor. You’ll be part of my opening act!”
“Huh?” Thunderlane shook his head. “But… well… hmmm…”
“I… I wouldn’t mind your help, Junebug,” Wallflower muttered.
Junebug looked back at Roseluck and Golden and shrugged. “Sure, why not?”
Nearby, Blueblood scanned over Jet Set and Upper Crust. Both stood stiff as boards. Blueblood rested a hoof on his chin for a second and then pointed at Jet Set. Upper Crust’s head drooped. “Jet, you’ll be with me. Oh, don’t worry, Upper, I’m sure the rest of the class will be clamoring to partner with you.”
“Y-yes,” Upper sighed.
She could only watch as Blueblood and Jet walked over to the chariots without looking back. To her dismay, she already saw Starlight’s posse teaming up and roping in other members of the class. She also saw Roseluck and Golden on their way to the chariots. Just as the realization of who was left dawned on her, she felt a tap on her shoulder.
“By process of elimination, we’re the last pair remaining,” Mudbriar droned.
Upper Crust groaned and sunk to her knees.
Meanwhile, Dash marched over to Fluttershy. “Come on, Fluttershy. We’re going.”
“O-okay,” Fluttershy murmured.
Aloe and Lotus had already paired up but were arguing over who would be at the reins. Lyra had gotten hitched and BonBon was ready in the chariot. Sunset marched over to Bulk, but he recoiled and fled over to towards Tree Hugger. She snorted and spun around, only to find Rarity at her side.
“Sunset, dear, I can’t help but notice you’re a bit forceful. Not that that’s entirely a bad thing.” Rarity put on a well-practiced fashionista smile. “You just need to find a good way to channel it.”
Sunset turned her chin up at Rarity. “Through you, I’m guessing?”
“If you’re willing.” Rarity kept up her smile in the face of Sunset’s bluntness. “Plus, you’ve trained with me, you know you can go all out if I’m pulling the chariot. I know I may prefer the finer things in life, but I’m not afraid to get my hooves dirty to get them.”
“Hmm.” Sunset allowed Rarity to fidget for a second before sighing, “Fine, just don’t make me regret this.”
“Oh, I promise you won’t!” Rarity beamed. “Ah, just imagining your spells reflecting off of me and dazzling the crowd is making me giddy!”
“What did I just say?!” Sunset barked.
Derpy looked right and left, unsure where to go. She watched Twilight and her friends talking, took a step forward, but wavered on advancing further. With a whoosh of air, Applejack was at her side.
“Up for teaming up?” Applejack asked.
Derpy’s eyes widened. “Really? But, you’re, like, superfast, Applejack! Don’t your friends want you on one of their teams?”
“Well, thought about that for a second, but Twilight and Pinkie already have amazing partners, and I want one too. Besides, you’ve seemed a little down lately, so I think winning first place will put a smile on both our faces.”
Derpy rushed forward and gave Applejack a hug. “Thanks!”
At the same time Derpy embraced Applejack, Twilight turned to Spike. “So, I think we should go wi—”
A tap on her shoulder cut her off. Maud stood beside her. “I’d like to race with you.”
Pinkie gasped so loud that everyone in the arena and a few spectators nearby turned their heads toward her. She rushed to Maud’s side, clinging to her chest. “Maaaaaaauuuuuuud, I thought we were going to show everypony our super sister symmetry!”
Maud blinked at Pinkie’s hysterics. She pushed her away and held her back. “Pinkie, I want you to succeed on your own. I think Twilight and Spike would benefit from that as well.”
Spike furrowed his brow. “What do you mean? Twilight and I want to be partners.”
“Heroes, even those on teams, need to establish themselves in their own right. Heroes that fail to do that are likely to wind up with lopsided team statistics and can’t think for themselves in emergencies.” Maud turned her gaze on Twilight. “Am I wrong to assume this?”
“Well… there are reports of teams collapsing in on themselves due to infighting or worse: getting taken out because they were too reliant on each other.” Twilight shuffled her legs, and then thought of Celestia’s words to her. Taking a breath, she turned to Spike. “This is as much your chance to make an impact as it is mine. Let’s show them what we’re made of!”
“Whoopee!” Pinkie, having recovered, swept Spike off his feet and swung him around. She continued the twirl over to the chariots. “This’ll be super fun, Spikey! I’ve got a bunch of ideas to win for sure!”
Spike belched and covered his mouth. “Please tell me they involve less spinning.”
~~~
“Alright, folks!” Vinyl called out. Below, all the students were lined up in their chariots. Spike, due to his stature, had to stand on the board where ponies usually rested their forelegs. To his left, Derpy smiled at him and waved a hoof. To his right, Upper Crust slumped over her chariot while Mudbriar stared straight ahead.
At the same time Pinkie twitched her legs up and down in excitement, both Fluttershy and Twilight’s limbs tingled with anxiety. It was a harsh contrast to Dash and Maud, who took calm breaths and stood firm. Sunset glared at Coco who shriveled under her intensity while Suri flashed Rarity a cat-like grin.
“I didn’t take you as the audacious type, Rarity,” she snickered.
“I prefer to see partnering up with Sunset as bold,” Rarity replied.
“Can the small talk!” Sunset shouted. Rarity flinched and faced forward while Suri chuckled. Coco shuddered.
“On your marks…” Vinyl signaled. Everyone went silent, even Pinkie stopped prancing in place. Applejack crouched. Dash did not allow her wings to twitch but quietly unfurled them. Twilight and the other riders braced themselves. “Go!”
Everyone rushed forward, but quickly found their hooves and wheels caught in mud. Upper Crust blinked and looked back at everyone else struggling in the mud while she was coasting ahead.
“This should give us a significant lead,” Mudbriar stated. He glanced back and blinked. “Or not…”
Dash took the air and pulled the chariot with her. She yelled, “Fluttershy! Hold on and flap!”
“Son of a…” Applejack cut her curse short when a path of bubbles floated down in front of her. Derpy continued to throw bubbles until they cleared the briar. Applejack reared up and sped along the path, sending up twin waves of mud.
Spike blasted the mud wave with fire while Pinkie threw up an umbrella. At the same time, she laid down planks and pulled the chariot ahead. On the other side of Applejack, a blast of magic from Jet Set kept Blueblood from getting splattered with mud while Jet himself got covered in it. He moved to wipe of his glasses, but a shrill cry from behind made him drop them in the mud.
“Get going, you foal!” Blueblood whined.
“R-right,” Jet sputtered through the mud that had gotten into his mouth. His horn lit up and twin blasts of magic burst out of his horn and vaulted the chariot out of the briar.
A path of flames spread out before Rarity. Her crystalized body kept it from burning her and she rushed ahead. Sunset forced the flames to spread out further, washing over Suri. When they cleared, it revealed her with a shimmering coat in place of fur. She smirked at Sunset and then moved forward along something Sunset could not see and did not have time to linger on.
Suri Polomare
Talent-Cold Steel: Don’t let her admiration for fashion and beauty fool you, Suri can pack a punch! Based on the metals she eats, she can strengthen her skin until it’s nigh-impenetrable. This talent has also helped her hone her detection abilities, initially to find metal buried in the earth, but she can use it in various ways now!
Sunset’s eyes nearly burst out of her head when Twilight sped ahead of her.
Maud, like Derpy and Sunset, had created a path, but hers was made of her shadow. Twilight dared not to look in Sunset’s direction and kept her attention on a larger view of the race.
All the flyers had taken Dash’s lead by taking to the air to get free of the briar. Lightning easily plowed forward, closing in on Dash and Applejack. Meanwhile, Mudbriar, despite having launched an effective preemptive strike, was being left in the dust by faster racers.
The roar of a great flame filled Twilight’s ears. Sunset blew past her. To Twilight’s surprise, Sunset was facing backward with her horn sending out a constant jet of flames.
A hearty laugh joined the roar of the flames as Blueblood came up beside Sunset. Jet’s magic was still pushing him forward, but Blueblood was also speeding the chariot along with a burst of flame that appeared identical to Sunset’s. “Quite a flame you have going, my dear Sunset. Though, I think it looks much more fashionable when I’m using it!”
He started to laugh again but stopped when Sunset turned so that her blaze washed over Blueblood. When Blueblood’s laugh rang above the flames, she cut them off. Blueblood now stood on the chariot, glistening the same as Rarity. He grinned and admired his reflection coming off his leg. “Mmmm, wouldn’t mind keeping this Talent either.”
Blueblood
Talent: Imitation- Blueblood thinks his Talent is the greatest flattery he can bestow on a pony. After all, who wouldn’t want to have their Talent used by him?
“Toodles,” Blueblood chuckled before firing off his horn again. As he raced away, he called out, “Let’s chat again once first place is mine! Ahahaha!”
“Where does he get off using my Talent?” A vein popped on Sunset’s forehead. Her horn blazed and lifted Rarity off the ground while at the same time, she unleashed a massive blast of flame. “I’ll kill him!”
“S-Sunset?” Rarity stammered while they veered right and left, past Mudbriar, Bulk, and Wallflower’s teams. “I… I don’t think I can gallop at this pace.”
“Who said anything about galloping?” Sunset growled. “We’re going to ram that foal off the course!”
“Oh…” The color momentarily drained from Rarity’s face. She steeled herself, cast a levitation spell on her body, and angled herself into a more aerodynamic position. “Well, a lady must keep her word.”
“Whoop!” Pinkie sprung upwards. Spike clasped the chariot, so he was not thrown by the jump. Another bump from something jostling the wheels made him regret having an extra sapphire for breakfast.
“Easy, Pinkie!” Spike called out.
“Sorry!” Pinkie chirped. She wore a smile but raised an eyebrow in Coco’s direction. She and Suri were a few yards ahead of them now due to Pinkie’s jump. “Wonder what was up with that? Definitely don’t want to get caught by it though.”
“Huh?” Spike asked.
“Don’t worry!” Pinkie assured Spike while she bent to the right to put more distance between her chariot and Coco’s. “So many neat Talents!”
At the head of the race, Dash and Applejack were neck and neck. Unencumbered, Dash could have taken the lead, but being harnessed was unfamiliar to her. Applejack had regularly hefted a plow, carried a cart to market, and balanced countless bushels of apples at her farm, so being hitched was nothing new to her. In fact, the familiar sensation of the harness on her torso reminded her of home, spurring her even faster.
When Applejack pulled forward, Dash snorted and flew harder. Fluttershy watched her from the chariot and observed her wings move in a blue blur, saw sweat lather her coat, and noticed the way her back muscles zinged with exertion.
“Really giving it your all?” Lightning Dust snickered, drawing right up beside Dash. Dash continued beating her wings, taking note of Lighting and Starlight for only a brief second before turning her attention elsewhere. Lightning recognized the rapid eye movement as the honed instincts of a flyer used to going at high speeds. At the rate Dash was going, the smallest misstep would send her into a catastrophic tumble. Lightning smirked in spite of the silent treatment Dash gave her. “It’s admirable, but there’s more to watch out for than just physical obstacles!”
“Indeed.” Starlight’s horn lit up for a second, but then the glow around it dispersed in a burst that knocked her back. Sheesh, Shimmer I could understand, but what is a pegasus doing with mental fortitude like that?
Steadying herself, Starlight turned her head towards Fluttershy. She grinned. “Well, let’s see how you fare?”
Starlight’s horn lit up again. This time, a glow formed around Fluttershy’s head. She slackened and leaned over the chariot.
Dash glanced back and cursed, “Damn!”
She tried to veer away from Starlight, but Lightning kept pace, and Starlight kept her horn aglow. Starlight’s grin broadened. “Oh, we’ve got a lot of options here. Let’s just dig a little deeper to—”
A pale red eye glared at Starlight through Fluttershy’s mane. She shuddered and yelped, “Lightning, pull away!”
Lighting hesitated for a moment but then obeyed. When they were a few yards away from Fluttershy, she observed Fluttershy wobbling up back onto her hind legs while balancing on the chariot. “What’s up? It looked like you had her.”
“Something was off,” Starlight muttered. She watched Fluttershy recover and shook her head. Then, her sights turned on Applejack and Derpy. Her grin returned. “Well, looks like it will come down to speed with Rainbow Dash, but as for the others…”
Just as her horn sparked again, something slashed at her head. It nicked her left cheek. She scowled and turned to face her attacker. Rage momentarily gave way to surprise. Dash had driven her chariot back over towards Lightning. Fluttershy now gripped the chariot with claws poking out of her hooves. Her mane had flared out in several directions, imitating a lion’s mane, her muscles had expanded, and her wings had gained a sharpened edge to them. Her tail had undergone a massive transformation with its dock having extended out while the hair on it had receded, save for its tip, which had twisted into a hardened spear of keratin. Fluttershy wove the faux-stinger through the air and aimed at Starlight again.
Spike saw Fluttershy’s change from afar and felt a shiver run up his spine. “No way… she tamed a manticore?!”
“That’s a new one,” Swirly remarked with a small smile under his mustache.
“Crazy kid you got there!” Bow bellowed.
“What sort of friends is Twilight making?” Velvet muttered.
Twilight glimpsed Fluttershy’s transformation as well, but thorn-studded vines whipping her from the right took precedence. Roseluck reared her head back and flung more of the spiky tendrils her mane had become at Twilight. She managed to deflect them with a barrier, but the force of the blows reverberated down her horn.
Shadow rose up to block a massive hoof from slamming into Maud. The attack still managed to force Maud to turn to the left. Golden Harvest continued to bound forward with one gigantic foreleg while striking at Maud with the other.
Golden Harvest
Talent- Big Haul: Golden loves to bring home a bountiful harvest. Luckily, her Talent allows her to do just that! She can enlarge certain parts of her body and use them to gain a major power advantage!
Roseluck
Talent- By Any Other Name: Watch out if you catch this pony at a metal concert! She can transfigure the hair of her mane and tail into rose-like vines. Beware of whiplash if you’re in her vicinity!
Sorry, Sunset, Twilight thought. Her horn brightened as another assault of vines crashed down on her. I’m going to have to borrow from your book!
Violet flames engulfed Twilight’s shield. The vines crashed into the fire, and Roseluck yelped. She pulled back her mane, watching the charred thorns crumble off her vines. Wasting no time, Twilight angled her horn and the shield at Golden and turned her defense into a pulse of flames. Golden pushed away with her enlarged hoof at the last second. The evasive maneuver saved her from facing the full brunt of the fire, but her leg was too large to avoid the attack. A chunk of it was caught in the blaze as she fell back.
Free from attackers, Maud surged forward while Twilight remained vigilant. Her ears perked up at the sound from a nearby chariot.
“Behold!” Trixie declared with a magically amplified voice. She stood on her hind legs and waved her forelegs with a well-practiced flourish. “Watch as the Great and Powerful Trixie leaves her competition in the dust!”
“Oh-ho,” Jack Pot chuckled. “Here it comes!”
“Still got a way to get up to my little Shim-Shim,” Firelight chimed in.
“Hush you.”
Twilight saw the tip of Trixie’s horn grow bright and shielded her eyes a second before a flash went off. Maud managed to avoid temporary blindness by covering her eyes with shadow and pressed ahead. Twilight’s ears then rang from something slamming against a wall of shadow that had sprung up next to her head.
“Careful,” Maud stated.
The thing that had tried to clobber Twilight flew back. It was a disembodied blue leg. It arced through the air and reattached to Trixie’s’ torso. “Well, well, seems we have a heckler.”
Spreading her forelegs wide again, Trixie sent both of them rocketing off her body, straight at Twilight and Maud. Shadow and aura rose up to block them. Trixie pouted and summoned back one of her legs but kept the other on the offensive against Twilight and Maud. A glance ahead split her attention on Lotus and Aloe’s chariot. With a grin, she sent off her leg to menace them.
“Whoa,” Tree Hugger remarked. She leaned forward and told Bulk, “Like, something is wiggling through the air. You should definitely hold your breath for a sec.”
“Yeah!” Bulk shouted before sucking in the air around him.
Wallflower stared at Bulk. With his head covered, he surged forward. Wallflower blinked. “H-how did they manage to dodge and block?”
“I’ll get them, just give me a second,” said Junebug. She then appeared to start muttering to herself.
While Junebug was at it, Bulk took a breath and Tree Hugger steered him further from Wallflower. Tree Hugger also took the opportunity to engage in some yoga contortions. The act made Wallflower frown, but she grinned when Junebug stopped her muttering.
Tree Hugger’s ears perked up. “Bulk, hold your breath again.”
Bulk complied just as a swarm of junebugs descended on them. At the speed Bulk was going, it stung when the bugs hit Tree Hugger. She also felt bummed about harming a creature, even if it was inadvertent. Bulk was spared from the bug maelstrom by his Talent, but the bugs’ spattered remains quickly filled his vision. Blinded, he veered the right, straight into Wallflower and Junebug. Wallflower yelped. Junebug tried to get out of the way but was too close to the wall.
“Super bummer,” Tree Hugger mused before the two chariots collided.
“Ooooh, that’s gotta hurt,” Vinyl declared.
“When the first event is a race, it’s not uncommon for students to get knocked out,” said Tantabus. “Hopefully this reveals some of the risks in Talent use.”
“Yeesh, no mercy from our Nightmare Knight.” Vinyl peered down at the race and smiled. Dash blitzed pass the starting line with Lighting and Applejack at her hooves. Blueblood roared after them with Sunset in hot pursuit. Suri plowed forward with Pinkie trailing behind her. Thunderlane flew on while Trixie kept Maud and Aloe’s chariots occupied with her detached legs. That left Golden with her injured leg and Mudbriar to take up the rear. “And there goes lap one! Hope the students are ready, cause we’re about to shake things up!”
True to her word, the ground ahead of Dash and Lighting split apart, lifting portions of the track and sinking other parts. While the course shifted into a twisting maze of narrow paths, a wind whipped up and blew down trails of clouds.
While the Wonderbolts responsible for summoning the weather were visible from far above the course, the geomancer remained in the shadows of a door leading out of the area. His thick beard and full mane resembled his ancestor’s, though his emerald-green coat drew a distinction. The shovel he wielded completed the image.
“Let’s give a hoof to the pros helping out with sculpting the course!” said Vinyl. “Here’s to the Wonderbolts and Rockhoof XII!”
Rockhoof blushed at the chorus of cheers, coughed, and focused his attention back on the race. He still had a job to do for the final round.
“Hmm, that’s very impressive earth manipulation,” Mudbriar droned. “I hope I can attain such mastery someday.”
“Worry about someday later!” Upper Crust whined.
Lightning swooped up while Dash curved down. Lighting called out, “Scared to go up top?”
Dash ignored her and disappeared into a chasm. Lightning shrugged and flew higher. She relished the freedom of her chariot being the only one in the air for a moment though she was certain at least Trixie’s team would join her up there. Then, the gales whipped at her and the lightning came crashing down.
“Glimmy!” Firelight cried out before Starlight and Lightning were lost behind a screen of rain.
Twinkle could not help but smirk at the outburst.
Fluttershy heard the rumble from overhead. “O-oh my.”
“Eyes forward, Fluttershy!” Dash yelled.
Nearby, but separated by a wall, Applejack sped through the slim corridor of earth. Her pupils shrunk when the walls and the ground ahead of her started moving. Stone columns sprouted below her and at her sides. Applejack weaved through the columns while on the other side, Dash did the same. At the same time Fluttershy shattered the columns into bits with her enhanced limbs, Derpy sent out bubbles to cushion the blows or break off the pillars before they struck Applejack, the chariot, or herself.
Up above, Rarity smashed through an earthen wall, sending debris and dust flying in all directions. Sunset smirked watching those behind her have to scramble around the collateral damage. Yet, she could not smile in earnest because Blueblood loomed above her to her left and slightly ahead of her. However, his path and Sunset’s were set to converge in a few yards.
“Maud!” Twilight called out with horn blazing. Due the shift in terrain, Trixie had stuck to a ground-level path and had taken her limbs with her, leaving Twilight free of their nuisance. She glanced ahead at the split trails. Her eyes locked on one of the cloud paths. From afar, she had watched Starlight climb it and had not noticed any glow around her chariot’s wheels. “We’re going up!”
Maud felt something encase her hooves, looked down to see a glow around them, and nodded. They went into the sky, producing a few sharp intakes from the audience.
“She’s going up there?” Velvet gasped.
“I’m sure she has a plan,” Night Light assured her.
“It’s a good one,” said Windy. “It’s the same reason our little Dashy chose to stay on the ground.”
I hope my guess is right, Twilight thought. She and Maud crested the clouds and found themselves in the middle of a maelstrom. Lightning crashed down from clouds further up and wind whipped in all directions. Taking a breath, Twilight summoned a shield around herself and Maud. Lightning jolted off it and the gales could not pierce it. With her hooves steady thanks to the spell, Maud pulled forward. Twilight dared to smile. So, they did design it mainly to throw off pegasi.
Down below, Pinkie, Thunderlane, and Suri were right beside each other on parallel paths. Suri’s path was littered with rocky spikes and slippery bumps, but she smashed them with her metallic hooves. Thunderlane and Pinkie’s paths were less harrowing, but Trixie made up for it by sending her legs after Pinkie.
However, when Spike inhaled to strike an incoming leg with his flame, Trixie pulled her leg back and reattached it to her torso.
“Huh,” Pinkie mused and flashed Trixie a smile. “That’s a pretty neat trick. I wish I could do it!”
Trixie let out a hearty laugh. “It would take years of practice before you cou—”
“Paint-bomb!” Pinkie sang. A liquid-laden balloon crashed down on Trixie. Wiping away the pink paint, she scowled and sent a blast straight at Pinkie’s hooves. The ground collapsed underneath her, but she managed to bounce off of a giant spring that righted her course. The effort left her huffing, “Geez, guess it was kinda rude for me to call out a stagemare’s trick. Spiiiiikkkkeeee?”
“What is it?” Spike asked, eyes flicking back and forth between the narrow trail and the other racers.
“T-that took a lot out of me,” Pinkie coughed. “I’m not sure if I can run this fast for much longer, so I’m gonna need your help for this last part.”
Ahead, Sunset slammed her chariot into Blueblood’s. Embers spilled off from both of them as they traded magic blasts and blocked with barriers. Jet Set could not keep up his magic while also blocking, so the two chariots were now locked in battle.
“How uncouth,” Blueblood mused while taking the brunt of Sunset’s spells thanks to mimicking Rarity’s Talent.
Sunset snarled at Blueblood, but then ceased her attack and threw back her right foreleg. She smirked. “Okay, bigshot, I’ve got something special for you!”
Aura flowed down from her hoof and into her leg. Its color shifted from orange to crimson and heat. Tantabus remarked in an undertone, “She’s progressed that much…”
“Huh?” Vinyl turned toward him. “What was that?”
“Sunset Shimmer is using a move that previously required specifically made armor to properly channel.” Tantabus materialized eyes and glared down. “And there’s a reason for that…”
“My, my,” said Blueblood in the face of Sunset charging up her attack. Mirroring her movements, he thrust out his left foreleg. Aura began flowing from his horn down to his hoof, just as it had with Sunset. “This looks quite showy, I’ll enj—”
A conflagration of magic and fire consumed Blueblood and set Jet Set rocketing off the path. Sunset grinned as the charred remains of Blueblood’s chariot plummeted into the chasm. The magic around her leg faded and she turned her attention back to boosting her chariot forward with a blast from her horn.
“Whoa, um, Tantabus, care to explain what just happened?” asked Vinyl.
“Simple,” Tantabus answered. “Blueblood’s Talent may allow him to imitate others’ Talents, but he probably doesn’t retain them long enough to master them. Skill and experience are something Sunset Shimmer has built up over a long time. It just goes to show that merely having a Talent isn’t everything.”
“Speaking of which…” Vinyl watched Dash emerge from the chasm she had plunged into a few minutes ago to rush up and meet with Rarity. At the same time, Applejack raced up to sandwich Rarity between herself and Dash. Sunset snorted at Fluttershy and Derpy just as the three teams crossed the starting line. “Looks like we’ve got some other incredibly skilled students catching up with Sunset as we enter the final lap!”
“What the hay was with that chariot?” Applejack huffed. “Thanks for the save back there Derpy. That thing would’ve crushed us!”
“Gotta keep us going strong!” Derpy cheered.
Lightning soared down from the clouds and deliberately rammed into Dash’s chariot. The blow rocked Fluttershy, but she managed to rebound and lash out her tail at Starlight. When she did, she noticed that Starlight and Lightning were covered in small burn marks and Starlight’s horn was smoking.
“Damn weather,” Lighting cursed. She launched herself at Dash again, but Dash vaulted upwards, taking Fluttershy with her. Lighting crashed into Rarity. Sunset cast a spell and managed to keep them from tipping over and Rarity withstood the blow well. On the other hoof, Lightning began to crumple, but then straightened up and charged forward despite sporting vacant eyes and a steady flow of blood down the side of her head.
“Have to do everything by myself,” Starlight muttered.
Dash swung down to the get the chariot back on the ground, but a blast of flame derailed her long enough for Sunset to take the lead over her. She sneered at Dash, “You had your eyes on the wrong pony! Not that you could beat me in a million years!”
The next burst of flame from Sunset scattered Applejack, Dash, and Lightning, though Lightning stayed closest and kept flapping her wings even when embers seared her legs and torso. Starlight summoned a barrier to protect herself. Her horn glowed brighter and Lighting flew faster, but a warning from the announcer’s box slowed her chariot’s pace.
“Better watch out!” Vinyl teased. “It’s the last lap, so we want it to go out with a bang!”
Dash peered ahead. The track had largely returned to its original arrangement, but there were now mounds scattered across the earth. Above the ground, bits of the air appeared warped.
“So that’s it, huh?” Sunset canceled out her flame and summoned aura around her eyes. The space ahead was now littered with red blotches, some under the mounds, but some just under regular dirt. The air teamed with the blotches as well. With the chariot slowing down to a galloping pace, Sunset barked to Rarity, “We’ve got mines! Listen close or we’ll be blown sky high!”
“Darn!” Applejack cursed. Seeing what Sunset was doing, she conceded to staying behind her. From the looks of things, the mine field covered about half of the track. They had already cleared a quarter of it, and Applejack prayed that the last quarter was just a mad sprint to the finish.
Starlight scowled. Lightning had been reckless in the clouds, causing Starlight to waste precious magic on defense. Now, she found her reserves dwindling to keep Lightning flying. With a snort, she diverted some of the magic that was pumping Lighting’s wings into her eyes to detect the mines.
Just as she finished enchanting her eyes, she heard the roar of something. The sound was a bit like a steam engine, but rougher on her ears. She dared to look back and paled when she saw Suri and Thunderlane get surpassed not by Pinkie, but by Spike in the harness now. It hitched him above the ground, but instead of his legs propelling him forward, he sent a continuous spire of flames into a contraption that encircled his mouth.
Pipes directed the flame back into something the resembled a steam engine, but it had several pistons poking out of it that fired off an explosive salvo. That salvo, in turn, spun numerous pieces that churned the wheels at a blinding speed.
“Hee-hee,” Pinkie coughed while resting her head on the chariot’s rim. “Now just gotta keep an eye out ahead… and above!”
She turned her head up and saw Maud descending from above. Pinkie passed by where the clouds trailed back to the ground and gasped when she saw Maud’s chariot. It was enveloped in shadow, which spun the wheels in a similar manner to Pinkie’s contraption, though at a slightly slower speed.
“Ha-ha!” Pinkie grinned even though she felt like dozing off. “Great sister minds think alike!”
Maud scanned her surroundings and forced her shadow to move the wheels faster. Seeing the wide gap between herself and those in the lead, she plainly remarked, “Twilight, I don’t think we’re going to win this.”
“We have to!” Twilight yelled, but then she bit her lip. Even with Maud’s shadow, they were still trailing behind Pinkie, not to mention the others. A glance back revealed that Trixie would soon be in range to attack with her hooves again. Turning forward, her anxiety deepened at the sight of the mines. Then, an idea came to her and she dared to grin at the insanity of it. Catching her breath, she focused and enchanted her eyes. “Maud, I have a plan, but it’s going to be a little rough…”
Applejack was once again neck and neck with Dash. Derpy, like Dash and Fluttershy, could tell where the airborne mines were and could direct Applejack out of the way. In addition, when Applejack got too close to a mine or failed to dodge one of the hidden ones, the combination of Applejack’s speed and a cushion from bubbles Derpy had stockpiled in the chariot warded off the worst the mines could do. Dash could only stabilize after a blast rocked her chariot, nearly throwing Fluttershy off, but her speed helped pull her ahead of the explosion.
Suddenly, the ground tremored and the air was rent by an explosion. Dash and Applejack both assumed somepony had rushed straight onto a mine and then had the misfortune of getting launched into an airborne one. Then, another explosion went off, then another, and another. There were too many to just be coincidence. They both glanced back and saw what looked like two rounded bowls, one pure black and the other a shimmering violet pinballing through the minefield at a blinding speed. One bowl would slam into a mine and turn the explosion into propulsive force and loop the structure around so that the other bowl would catch the next mine.
“Holy Horesapples!” Applejack exclaimed as the structure vaulted over her, Dash, Lightning, and Rarity.
“My word!” Rarity cried out.
“Are they crazy?!” Starlight shouted.
Velvet was on the verge of passing out, but Night Light kept her steady.
Bow roared with laughter. “No wonder Dashy has her eyes on her!”
“That sure is something, eh?” Cookie remarked to Hondo.
“Rarity!” Hondo called out. “Pull ahead!
“You too, Dashie!” Windy yelled.
Dash snorted and flapped harder. Ahead of her, the structure disintegrated to reveal Twilight and Maud. Both were a little banged up, but Maud did not miss a beat and reformed her shadow into its engine mode and poured on the speed.
“Twilight!” Sunset roared, catching up with Dash. “Get back here!”
“Well, no time left! Derpy! Hold on tight!” Applejack slammed her hooves down with all her might. Thanks to heeding Applejack’s warning, Derpy managed to stay in the chariot, but it took all her strength to hold on. Her bubbles spilled out from the chariot and into the way of the remaining racers. Applejack went faster and faster, the friction turning her hooves red. “Barnstorm Burst!”
No, no! Dash could feel her muscles cramping. Sunset was on her tail, Applejack was pushing past her, and Twilight, through tricks once again, was ahead of her. In that moment of desperation and in the heat of the race, she gave her wings one flap, not out of years of training her muscles, but out of pegasus instinct. Gales exploded off her and blasted Sunset and her flames back. In the stands, a pony smirked.
She had already passed Applejack before the realization struck her, it almost made her stop in her tracks. Fluttershy shouted, “Dash, keep going!”
Heeding to Fluttershy’s words, Dash raced forward, once again relying purely on muscle. Her mind swam as she tried to focus on the race at hoof, but the thoughts were unavoidable. Thoughts of the pony she knew was somewhere in the stands. Thoughts of her scar. Thoughts of a lonely filly that had tried her best. With a battle cry, she vanquished them and closed in on Twilight.
Applejack did the same. Then, they both saw the violet bundle in Twilight’s chariot. They veered away just as Twilight unleashed her magic and shadow covered up her chariot. The mines she had snatched up went off and rocketed her ahead.
The dust and debris momentarily obscured the scene at the finish line. The audience held their breath until a flap of Dash’s frenzied wings and the force of Applejack meeting the air cleared it away. Both screeched to a halt yards past the finish line.
“Wow!” Vinyl exclaimed. “What an explosive finish!”
Behind Dash and Applejack, Twilight laid on the ground, having been launched out of the chariot. Maud, somehow, had managed to stay on her hooves. She detached herself from the flipped over chariot and helped Twilight up.
“The winners of the first round are Class 1-A’s Maud Pie and Twilight Sparkle!”