Burning Heart

by Tunersymphon

Chapter 1

The shrill ring of the alarm ripped through the air at dawn. A hoof reached over and smacked the clock angrily, causing the shrilling to stop short and the small object to fall to the ground.

Rainbow Dash opened her eyes as she laid in her bed, her muscles aching for more rest. Despite of their cries for relaxation, Dash rolled over off her bed and landed on her hooves, turning her head groggily to the bathroom. She began walking towards it, her hooves making a soft thmp noise every step. As she reached the sink, she picked up her tooth brush and began cleaning diligently.

Pa-too! The toothpaste and saliva soaked into the cloud-made sink, causing the white fluffy substance it was made of to turn light blue.

“Okay, seriously? Whatever pony thought that making an entire house out of cloud was a good idea was an idiot.” Rainbow Dash grumbled grumpily. She dropped her toothbrush in the sink, which sunk through the cloud a little as well.

The sun was just starting to rise over Ponyville, but had been shining through Rainbow Dash’s house for much longer. While the ponies on the ground were just getting out of their beds and stretching their legs, Dash was already done with brushing her teeth and grooming herself. However, today was different from most, which is why Rainbow Dash was awake earlier than anypony else.

The Burning Heart race was going to be held in that day and she wasn’t going to miss something like this. It was a winter day, almost the shortest one of the year. Even with her adapted resistance to cold weather from living in clouds, Dash shivered from the chilly temperature. She forced herself to take a deep breath and exhale, creating a small visible pocket of her own breath. This was child’s play compared to the conditions she would have to endure during the race.

This is what Rainbow Dash was preparing for: the Burning Heart competition. A competition held every five years to test ponies in the most rigorous of ways. Only one earth pony, one pegasus, and one unicorn win each time the race is held, and each of them are allowed to be enlisted into their respective elite teams: The Globe Trotters, the Wonderbolts, and the All-Stars. Ponies from all across Equestria joined the competition every year and expected fame, fortune, and everything else that came with it. However, nearly all of them had their dreams crushed. For those even less fortunate, their lives were crushed as well.

The race would begin in Canterlot, one of the coldest places in Equestria due to the high altitude, but this was about as much as Rainbow was aware of. She knew it went through all of Northern Equestria, but the exact routes taken each race tended to cycle. The obstacles could range from large mountains that the competitors must traverse across to small caves that held some numerous amount of different species. This was one of the more worrisome things for racers as they didn’t know what to prepare for.

The safety of the race has been questioned many times by public presses, government officials, and Princess Celestia herself. The Burning Heart wasn’t notorious for its death toll so much as it was for its ridiculous food and concession stand prices, but the number of deaths and injuries was troublesome to a few. However, race-holders ensured that all safety measures were made to make sure as many racers made it through unhurt and they argued with the fact that the race does produce a large amount of income for merchants and businesses. Because of this, many ponies that could probably stop the race now turn their heads the other way.

As for Princess Celestia, she disapproved of the race, yet she continued to let it be held. It is still not entirely known as to why she does, but she seems to not notice the negative effects the race has. She guarantees her actions towards the race are final unless something substantial is brought to her attention. Nopony has dared to bring something into the light yet.

Rainbow put on her saddlebag, strapping it across her chest tightly. She was about to walk outside before she had an idea, running back into her room and grabbing a journal and a quill. Opening it, she pushed the quill against the paper and began to write.

Morning of Day 1
Rainbow’s journal has now started! I decided to start one of these for the upcoming competition because I know I can become better! I mean, I’m already almost perfect, but almost isn’t good enough! I’m going to be writing in here occasionally on the track before I rest so when I’ve won the race, I can read back and see where I messed up… If that’s even going to happen. That way, when I’m training with the Wonderbolts, I can see how to get better! Those other competitors won’t know what hit them!
-Rainbow Dash-

Rainbow Dash struggled to write her entry, but she managed, closing her small journal and flinging it into her saddlebag, followed by her quill and ink bottle. Rainbow Dash walked onto her front balcony, the contents inside of saddlebag rattling every which way to produce a symphony of jumbled, obnoxious noises.

The sun was still just rising over the Canterlot Mountains, and Dash’s eyes adjusted to the flood of light as she walked out of the doorway onto her small balcony. Looking up, Rainbow saw the clear sky. Every speck of cloud was gone thanks to her previous day’s work. Looking down, she saw, a mile away, her sweet town of Ponyville where she usually darted to every day.

She looked towards the mountains that held Canterlot. Normally, she wouldn’t dream of flying here with the exception of a chance to see the Wonderbolts. The residents got on her nerves and the entire place stunk of “uncool”. This was more than just a chance of seeing the Wonderbolts, though; it was a chance to get into the team as well.

She had flown with much heavier loads in her saddlebags, but she would still have trouble flying the track with the additional weight. She’s been training for the race for the past month, but she always forgot to put on the packs to help her cope with the weight. Flapping her wings a bit and stepping to the edge of her property, Rainbow planted a hoof firmly into the cloud below her.

“This is the start of a new life, Rainbow.” she said to herself. “In seven days, you’re going to be a Wonderbolt!” With those words, she jumped off the edge of her patio and fell for a few feet before spreading her wings and flying towards Canterlot to her goal.

Rainbow Dash landed on the cobblestone streets of Canterlot, barely heard over the hundreds of other ponies moving about, trying to get from store to store. Rainbow Dash looked at the never-ending crowd of “snobs”, as she called them, bustling about. She saw the occasional hat in Ponyville, but hats were much more common here in Canterlot. The ponies here seemed to be trying to compete with each other on whose hat was the tallest or the most colorful. Their outfits were equally extravagant.

“Wow, these ponies have their noses almost as high as the mountain they live on,” Rainbow thought to herself. She began to trot through the crowd, dodging the ponies walking around that seemed to be ignoring her. A few knocked into her, but she managed to keep her balance and avoid being trampled. Everypony seemed to only be aware of themselves, not bothering to even cast a single look at any of the nearby ponies.

After crossing the colossal sea of ponies, Rainbow Dash managed to find a small spot near a restaurant that didn’t have too many ponies strutting across it. “Alright, now where’s the starting line in this dang city?” She pulled out a small map of the area from her saddlebag. She first attempted to look at it upright, but she couldn’t see the map with it in her mouth, and she couldn’t hold it up with her hooves. Deciding to put it on the ground, she laid it flat, but had some troubles holding it down with the map continuously trying to roll itself back up.

“Gah! It’s impossible to hold this thing still!” she yelled.

A superior sounding “Ahem!” was heard from behind her, causing Rainbow Dash to turn around quickly, the map curling back up into its original cylindrical form. She ignored it and addressed the two formally-dressed ponies in front of her.

“Yeah?” Rainbow said, giving the couple a glare. She was beginning to dislike the ponies here already.

One of the ponies was a stallion, dressed in a black businesslike suit along with a red bow-tie and an exaggerated top-hat with not an ounce of his mane showing. “Ahem, yes... Madame, I would like to know where you got those saddle bags. They match your cutie mark quite well and seem exquisitely comfortable, if I do say so myself.” He retained a royal tone throughout his sentence, his chest out and his nose high to seem that much more elegant. The mare next to him simply had a mirror floating in front of her face with magic, helping her in her attempts to beautify herself.

Rainbow looked at the saddlebags on her side, getting a better look at them. “Well, yeah, they are pretty cool, huh? My friend Rarity in Ponyville made them! She’s really good at that kind of stuff.”

The mare dropped her mirror in shock, looking at Rainbow Dash in dismay. “Rarity?!” she asked, rolling the R.

“Yeah, Rarity. You know her?”

“Know her?!” The mare feigned a sort of partial loss of consciousness, putting her hoof to her forehead. She was wearing a simple yellow dress that, for some reason, seemed familiar to Rainbow. She wasn’t wearing a hat, but her mane was styled to resemble one, definitely topping the other ponies in the oddity category. “Yes, she and her friends ruined the Garden Party here last year! The entrées were destroyed! The mud was everywhere! The croquet mallet flung across the-“ She stopped mid-sentence, looking at Rainbow Dash with unparalleled hatred as a light bulb went off above her head. “…That was you, wasn’t it?Wasn’t it?!”

Rainbow picked up her map quickly and began backing up, putting the map in her pack and looking for a quick way out. “Whoa now, lady! I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

The stallion put his hoof on the mare’s shoulder, trying to comfort her. “Yes, dear. Please do calm down. It was a year ago and there’s no reason to-“

The mare pounced at Rainbow, forcing her to jump up into the air quickly to dodge. “SHE RUINED IT!”

Starting to flap her wings and flying backward off a few feet, Dash looked down at the mare flailing on the ground. “Alright, crazy pony, I’m going to let you get your dress dirty while I go find my competition! Have fun, bye!” She darted off, hearing the cries of the mare behind her.

Phew… That was close, she thought to herself. Just when I thought this place couldn’t get any weirder.

“Welcome fillies and gentlecolts to the the thirty-fifth annual Burning Heart competition! The race will begin in two hours! Please find your respective registration booth and prepare for the race!” The announcer was loud both in the press-box and out of the speakers, enunciating every syllable perfectly so that everypony could understand what he was saying, even with the horrible audio output.

“I bet Princess Luna would make a great sports announcer,” Rainbow said to herself, chuckling.

After an hour of scavenging and map-reading, Rainbow Dash had finally found the starting point to the race. Every single inch of the area was covered by ponies. The sidelines of the area were packed with stands that had crowds of ponies as well. It wasn’t only ponies from Canterlot that were attending, either; recognizable even in this huge crowd were numerous Manehattanites, Appleloosans, Fillydelphians, and various residents of many other cities, each with a distinct culture. Similar to the Canterlot citizens, however, this crowd would still trample you to a pulp if you got in their way, and somehow, they found a way to treat you even worse in the process.

Luckily for Rainbow, all she had to do was hover above the crowd and she would be free to go anywhere she wanted. The air traffic was busy as well, but not nearly as much.

Even though it was the middle of winter and Canterlot was much higher than Rainbow’s house, it seemed much warmer in this city, probably because of the sheer number of ponies breathing and walking around. In Rainbow’s mind, she prepared herself for the possible sudden temperature drop that could occur once she started the race and left the city.

Rainbow began looking around the area, trying to spot the registration booth among the sea of vendors of all sorts of merchandise and food. Just like how the crowd was diverse, so were the vendors, and each had their own scheme to try and scam the guests out of their bits. All of the apple vendor, each thinking that they would do better than the apple vendor next to it, were from Appleloosa. Some other vendors that were serving any sort of ‘’exotic merchandise’’ were from Canterlot itself, trying to get the richer ponies to fall for their trap of generic items renamed and sold at higher prices. Finally, the “super-sized” meals were from Manehattan, whom were trying to sell the same amount of food for an extraordinarily more considerable sum.

However, in the corner of the chaotic scene was the registration booth, as simple as could be. It was a small yellow booth, similar to a filly’s lemonade stand, with a purple banner that read “Registration”. Rainbow Dash darted over the crowd to the stall, having trouble getting to the ground to talk to the manager of the structure. She attempted for nearly a minute before giving up trying to touch solid ground. She flew over the structure, landing behind the employee and tapping him on the shoulder.

The manager jumped in surprise, turning quickly to see Rainbow standing behind him. Quickly noticing that a mare with such a vibrant array of color probably didn’t pose much of a threat, he wiped his brow of his anxious sweat.

“Hey, dude!” Rainbow said welcomingly, extending her hoof. The stallion looked at the hoof for a few moments before shaking it, trying to put on a smile.

“Heh, thank goodness you’re friendly. I thought you were going to be like the pony from the last competition that snuck up on me the same way. I’m guessing you’re here to sign up for the competition?”

Rainbow Dash nodded. “You got that right! And to win it, too!”

The unicorn grinned, levitating a piece of paper and a pen in front of him now. “Uh-huh. I bet. I’ll mark that on your resume. Name?”

“You know, you don’t have to fill that out for me. I can do it myself.” The gray pony lowered the paper, giving Rainbow Dash a stern look. “What?!”

“I’ve seen pegasi say the same thing millions of times, and I always get a paper back that’s barely legible. I’ll fill it out. It’ll save us both some trouble.”

“Uuugh. Fine. Just tell me what you need to know…”

“Well, that’s all for the paperwork!”

“‘That’s all’?!” Rainbow Dash yelled in anguish. “That took probably over an hour! How many sheets of paper do you have?!”

The unicorn now picked up all of the papers, the stack noticeably thick, and tapped it against his desk, aligning them. “Forty-three is average for this competition, but you had about thirty-five. You’re lucky you don’t have many medical problems. I’ve seen up to seventy-two. But, yes, you’re now registered for the race, Rainbow Flash! You can-“

“Rainbow Dash,” interrupted Rainbow.

“-just go over there and-… What?”

“My name is Rainbow Dash, not Rainbow Flash. You better know it and learn it before you see it all over Wonderbolt posters,” she said, sticking her chest out in confidence.

There was a small pause, the only audible noise being the rambunctious crowd a few feet away. The booth pony simply nodded his head in reluctant agreement. “Yeah, whatever, just go over there to the racer tent. Get acquainted with some of the other ponies before you head on your big adventure, and try and have some fun. It might be the last you have.”

“Whatever, dude! I’ll be having fun during the race! I’ll catch you on the flip side!” Rainbow turned around and started flying off, waving towards the nameless pony.

The gray stallion grumbled something but wasn’t audible over the loud noises.

Rainbow chuckled, flying over the crowd to the enormous racer tent. “He can think what he wants, but I’ll show him.”

The area was getting busier by the minute in the booth area, but as Dash got nearer to the competitor tent, the crowd thinned, separating the audience from the contestants. The tent towered above all the other structures in vicinity; given that the other structures rarely ever stood a few feet taller than the tallest earth pony. It was completely made of purple canvas-like material, built for endurance and heat instead of luxury. There was a thin blanket of snow on the top of the tent whenever the snow could rest there, but it mostly fell on the sides due to the steep angles. The tent also contributed to making large mounds of snow on top of the already snow-covered ground.

The amount of ponies moving in and out of the tent was scarce, meaning either most of the contestants were already in or many of them were going to be late. Rainbow Dash thought that she would get plenty of time to prepare if she got there an hour early; enough time to get warmed up but not too much to get tired out. Among the crowd near the entrance of the tent were five ponies standing near each other, and although this normally wouldn’t stick out, Rainbow Dash swore she recognized them from somewhere...

“DAAASH!” a familiar voice cried out from the same direction as the tent entrance, causing Rainbow to dart towards the location at a faster pace.

“YEEEAAAH! GO RAINBOOOOW! WOOHOO!” three other voices chimed in, all too recognizable. Rainbow began leveling out towards the ground, getting a better view of the group of ponies awaiting her. About 20 yards away, she touched down on the ground, stopping nearby to talk to the small congregation of familiar ponies.

Pinkie Pie bounced up in front of Rainbow Dash, jumping up and down with excitement. “DASH! We knew you would be here and I’m sooooo glad you are so we can say goodbye to you before you go on your little adventure because, c’mon, leaving us behind and not saying bye was not cool, Dashie!” The pony put her hoof in Rainbow’s face accusingly. “We had to find out from Ditzy!”

Twilight nodded. “She’s right. Ditzy told me that during her morning deliveries she saw you leaving your house, headed towards Canterlot. After she informed me, I gathered the others immediately. Why didn’t you tell us, Rainbow?”

Applejack spoke up, putting a hoof to her chest. “Yeah RD, what were ya thinkin’, leavin’ us behind?”

Rainbow Dash simply smiled, looking at the group. “Sorry AJ. Twilight. Pinkie. Rarity. Fluttershy... I didn’t want any of you to worry about me going into this competition. I know how you all feel about this race and I thought you wouldn’t want me going into it.“

“Goodness, darling,” Rarity said, flipping her mane slightly for effect. “You do worry about us too much. We didn’t want you to go in this ruffian competition, of course, but if you were going to go in, you were going to have our support!”

Fluttershy was hiding behind Rarity and behind her mane as well, keeping her voice hushed. “The least we could do is cheer for you on the sidelines.”

Twilight nodded. “Right! We’ll be here the entire seven days, and you can expect us at the finish line.”

Rarity wearily interrupted, “Uh, Twilight dear, did you say… Seven days? You know I have the boutique to look after-“ Twilight turned around and shot Rarity an angry glance. “Uh, yes! As she said, all seven days!” Rarity fixed her mane, pushing it up slightly with typical Canterlot elegance.

“I can’t believe you guys came all the way up here just for me!” Rainbow exclaimed with happiness. “But I have to ask; how did you get up here so fast?”

Twilight chuckled, looking over at Pinkie. “Oh, you would not believe what Pinkie can do when she’s motivated.”

Pinkie hopped once before pulling out from her saddlebag a large suitcase. “Yup! Not to mention I did it all the while with my party cannon!”

Twilight tilted her head. “Pinkie, that’s not your-“

Pinkie tapped a button that was on the side of the suitcase, causing it to pop open and shoot a wagon’s load of streamers and balloons while making a very loud whistling noise. A few dozen ponies turned their attention towards the six, the group giving an awkward smile; all except for Pinkie, who wore a huge grin.

Rarity shook her head, subtly telling the ponies looking in their direction to turn away. “Anyway, Rainbow… We came here not only to see you off, but to give you some things to help you on your journey.” Rarity reached into her saddlebag, Pinkie and Fluttershy following suit.

“Oh, yeah! Ah almost forgot!” AJ said, taking off her hat to reveal a small object on her head. “You’re gonna need this way more than me. It’s a nice little spigot. Yah just slam it intah something like a tree or some ice, and it will pour the sap, syrup, or whatever it has in it out the hole! It’s pretty nifty, if yah ask me. We used tah get apple juice from apples with it. Best apple juice ah ever did have.” AJ grabbed it from atop her head and tossed it towards Rainbow, who caught it quickly and threw it into her saddlebag.

Rarity pulled out a small hoof-mirror from her bag with her magic, nicely made with formal designs all along the handle and frame. “Now, I know that you’re not much into looks or beauty, but I do insist on you taking this. You never know when you might need it, and at night…” Rarity’s magic pressed a small button near the center of the object, and blue lights lit up around the mirror itself. “You can still see with this light. I guarantee it will help you, darling.” She slipped the mirror into Rainbow’s bag herself, not bothering to risk dropping it by throwing it to her.

Fluttershy snuck out a few feet and already had her gift in her mouth. She trotted forward, dropping it into the bag gently as she got close enough. “I know it’s not much, but it’s a whistle. If you use it, most of the little creatures you meet along the way will stop what they’re doing. It works all the time on Angel… I hope it helps.” Fluttershy shrunk slightly and walked to the back of the group again, with a slightly noticeable smile on her face.

“Thanks, Fluttershy,” Rainbow said gratefully. “I can’t thank you enough for all these gi-”

“OH! OH! ME NEXT!” Pinkie interrupted. She began hopping up and down, moving her legs back and forth in mid-air. The next time she landed, she practically hopped to the front of Rainbow Dash, a rocket in her mouth. Pinkie exclaimed, despite the rocket in her mouth, “It’s a rocket! Strap this bad-boy to your back and VROOOOM!” She spun in a circle, moving the rocket a little bit to act like it was flying. “You already fly fast, but y’know, just in case! Plus, it’s loud! Everything is better when it’s looooooooud!” The pink pony threw the unstable rocket into the saddlebag carelessly, hopping back into her spot.

Finally, Twilight used her magic to pull out a small quill from her bag. “Rainbow, you’re planning on documenting your journeys, right?” Rainbow nodded, smiling. “Good! I would love to read about your adventures. That brings me to my gift: a quill. However, not an ordinary one. I’ve read how every pony has traces of magic in them, no matter who they are, and you remember Quills and Sofas? That little store in Ponyville? Well, they figured out how to use that magic. They developed a quill that, even with that trace amounts of magic everypony has, can still be levitated. Try it. Just think hard about bringing it towards you.”

The quill continued to float there with the purple aura, the pegasus looking at it long and hard. She squinted, trying to focus all of her attention on this small object. Her fast-paced mind attempted to slow down and keep eyes on this task, and it took much of Rainbow’s mind to do it. Eventually, after about half a minute, a cyan aura began to radiate inside of the purple one, all before the purple one disappeared… And the quill continued to float. “A-ha! I got it!” the pegasus exclaimed. The object levitated towards her, making residence in Rainbow’s pack seemingly by itself.

Twilight smiled, amused by Rainbow’s excitement. “I’m glad it works. I’ve read how hard it is to hold quills with hooves. However, there’s one more thing this quill can do.” Twilight began looking unyielding, the tone of her voice turning serious as well. “This race isn’t supposed to have weapons, but I’ve also read about how dangerous it is. In case you’re ever in serious danger, think real hard about defending yourself while holding the quill. I’m not entirely sure what it will do, but the store manager said it would help, and he seemed to know what he was talking about.”

Rainbow chuckled, still wearing a smile. “Heh, danger? Danger’s my middle name, Twilight. Anything that’s out there, I can deal with it, don’t you worry!”

The purple unicorn couldn’t help but give in a little to Rainbow’s enthusiasm, grinning. “Alright Rainbow, but be careful.”

AJ nodded, putting her hat back on. “Yeah, RD. Yah better come back in one piece or I’ll beat yah into more!”

Scoffing with playful arrogance, Rainbow began walking towards the entrance of the tent. “Heh, I’d like to see you try!”

Rarity spoke up, waving as the pegasus started entering the tent. “We’ll see you at the starting line, dear!”

“Attention racers! The race will begin in 20 minutes! Please make your way to the contestant tent now and prepare for your departure!” The speaker trembled with the amount of volume it put out, residing a few meters away from Rainbow’s cot.

Ugh, they think they could turn it up louder? she thought to herself while rubbing her ears. She laid back on her cot, sighing contently at how the events unfolded so far. No real setbacks yet, five gifts from her best friends, and the race of her life would start in just short of half of an hour.

Rolling onto her side, she reached over her small bunk to her saddlebag, opening it to look at its contents. Other than the five gifts she just received, she also had her journal and old quill. Some other items included a few pieces of food, a small container of water, a picture of the Wonderbolts, and a small toy she kept through all of Flight School as a lucky charm. It never failed her once if she had it on her.

A hoof suddenly slapped her own and closed the pack. “RAINBOW DASH!” The pegasus didn’t expect either incident, causing her to fall off the bed and onto the floor. She rolled on the ground for a moment before looking up at her visitor, slightly dazed from the abrupt fall. “What are you doing here?!”

Upon being able to see the figure, a gray mare’s face looked down at Rainbow in anger. Her mane covered her left eye, striped with red and orange. Rainbow struggled to sit up but managed, pushing the mare to the side slightly. She was now able to get a better look at the mare, studying her up and down. The mare’s mane was long in the back and flattened in the front and back. Her tail was tipped in four different points, the points exemplifying where the stripes of colors were placed. Her coat was slightly scruffy along with her wings’ feathers, but her mane and tail were well-kept.

“Wha-… Who are you, might I ask?” Rainbow questioned, getting to her hooves.

The mare put a hoof to her chest, acting hurt. “Oh, Rainbow, you don’t remember me?” she said strikingly. “Why, Dashie, from Flight School?” Rainbow still looked puzzled, giving the mare an odd look. “C’mon, you don’t recognize me?”

Rainbow shook her head, stating, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you before.”

The mare laughed almost eerily, looking up to the ceiling. “Oh, you don’t? Does Morning Star ring the bell?” The name struck Dash like an arrow, causing her mind to plummet into a time she wished to forget.

“Hey, Morning Star, you know why you’re named that? Because you never see a star in the morning!” A claw kicked the gray mare in the side as she lay on the ground, bleeding from her nose slightly. “Just like no one should see you!” The claw hit her side again, harder this time, causing her to curl up in a ball in pain, tears starting to run down her face.

“Gilda, what are you doing?!” Rainbow yelled, just now landing in the area. “How could you-“

“Morning Star here thought it would be hilarious to play a little prank on me.”

“What did she-“

“Does it matter, Dash? All you need to know is she shouldn’t have done what she did and she’s paying for it.” She went in for another kick when she was interrupted.

“It wasn’t me,” the mare said, desperation in her voice. Her body quivered with pain, attempting to stand up now.

“I know it was you, runt!” Gilda delivered another kick, causing Morning Star to collapse again.

“Gilda, stop it!”

“What, you’re siding with her? Are you going to do anything to stop me?”

Silence filled the air, the two standing locked in a death stare. Rainbow looked at the ground, kicking her hoof in the dirt.

“ANYTHING?!”

“Gilda, you need to stop. She doesn’t deserve this.”

“Who says? You? You think you’re the judge of what happens to this mongrel in her life? Well, you’re not, Dashie. Now, if you’re not going to do anything, just scram. Morning Star is getting what she deserves.” Quietness became deafening again, the two friends locked in a stare.

The silence continued to hang in the air like a deathly fly, Morning Star quietly sobbing amidst the chaos. The fly stayed there for a few more moments before another kick was heard, possibly breaking a rib. Gilda continued the beating, Rainbow flying off to not witness the horrific scene.

“And you just flew away,” Morning Star said strikingly, shaking her head at Rainbow. “Flew away like a coward.”

Rainbow backed up a little bit, landing on the cot. “Star, that was years ago. I’m a completely different pony n-“

“Should I care?” she asked crossly. “That night changed me. Why should I care if you changed?” Rainbow backed up more on her cot, expecting Star to assault her. “Oh, Dashie, I’m not going to do anything to you. Here, at the least. You’re not supposed to hurt other racers out on the course, they say…” The gray pegasus began walking out of Rainbow’s resting area calmly, acting as if nothing was wrong. “But you also weren’t supposed to hurt other ponies in Flight Academy. Rules are meant to be broken.” She turned the corner, whipping her tail in spite before disappearing from view.

Rainbow’s heartbeat was slightly faster than normal, honestly expecting a beating that she probably deserved. She put her hoof to her own chest, checking the rapid beat, feeling slightly dazed.

“Don’t worry about her, Rainbow,” a voice said a few feet away. Dash jumped again, turning towards the source in a jiffy. “And don’t worry about me, either; I know your name from eavesdropping on your conversation.” A sage green earth pony made his way past the curtains that separated Rainbow’s area and the adjacent’s.

He walked towards her in a very taunting manner, putting each hoof directly in front of the next. He swayed his body a bit with each step, holding his head high and proud, but not quite in a superior manner. His mane was styled with a professional feel, flat against his neck and forehead but not covering a bit of his gleaming green eyes. The tail he flicked every few steps was cut short and flat, reminding Rainbow of the guards that stand at the palace.

Rainbow scoffed, turning away from the stallion. “Heh, you know it’s rude to listen in on others’ conversation?”

The stallion chuckled slightly, beginning to lean on the nearby wall. “Not hard to hear when you’re separated by curtains, you know?” He spoke with a certain confident superiority, similar to the Canterlot ponies but much more relaxed and soothing. His words seemed empathetic instead of insulting. “By the way, my name is Barrel Drive. Just letting you know because I have a feeling we’ll be meeting again in the race.”

A buzz sounded throughout the tent, signaling the race would begin in 15 minutes. “And that’s my call to bother some other pony. Relax for your last few minutes; you’ll need it.” The pony as quickly left as he came, leaving a confused Rainbow Dash on a cot to think about what just happened.

Noon of Day One
The race is about to begin within a few minutes. This is a big deal… I’m actually feeling kind of nervous… Nervous that I won’t beat my expected time in the race! I bet I can do this race in five days, easy! Anyway, I actually thought about taking some notes, as well, since Twilight wants to read this when I’m done. Why not, right?
I met two interesting ponies today. Well, re-met one. Morning Star, one I have to look out for. She seemed like she wants some payback for what happened in Flight School. Also, that Barrel Drive colt? I don’t know what to think of him. He kind of just came in and left quickly, and he seemed really odd.
Not much to add to this right now. Rainbow, out!
-Rainbow Dash-

“Welcome, everypony, to the 35th annual Burning Heart Competition! The race will begin within a few minutes! Please take your seats as the departure speech is made by Princess Celestia! We ask you to keep yourself and any of your foals quiet during this ceremony! Thank you!”

All of the racers were lined up at the starting line, filling up an enormous space. Pegasi, unicorns, and earth ponies, from Canterlot to Manehattan to Appleloosa, all in one place to compete. There were hundreds of ponies, all restless in their anticipation. They moved around in the crowd, trying to get ahead of the others in the jumble of contestants, while the smarter ponies stuck to the back, knowing a seven day race wouldn’t usually be judged by inches and getting trampled within the first few minutes wasn’t good.

The princess herself walked in front of the large crowd of equines, as calm as ever. Bleachers lined the beginning track and the seats were filled to the brim with ponies as well, viewing the sport from a safe distance. The packs settled, the noise reducing to a few quiet voices among the silent mass. Celestia raised her head, preparing to speak.

“I welcome you all, ponies big and small, to the Burning Heart competition.” Her voice rang out over the crowds with ease yet still maintained a calm, maternal feel to the sound. “The 35th one, at that. 175 years of this tradition, and still running strong. And, like the tradition, I hope every single one of our contestants run strong in this race. Three ponies. One pegasus. One unicorn. One earth pony. They shall be rewarded for finishing this race among the top without any prejudice.” Some of the bystanders began to clap, growing to a considerable number of ponies before settling back down.

“Of course you all know that we hold this race every five years, but some of you may not know that we do something special every five races. I can see you are all anxious to get started, so I’m going to get right to the heart of things. This race, we are doing something to give hope to all that are lost. To celebrate the return of Princess Luna…”

The small alicorn walked up next to her sister, her mane sparkling and flowing much like Celestia’s, towering above her in both volume of voice and height.

“... We are throwing Equestria into a seven day darkness to show everypony that even in the darkest of times, you can still find your way to your goal.” Both the bleachers and contenders began conversing among each other, wary of the challenge that the adjustment set. Rainbow stayed calm, though, confident that it wouldn’t affect her as much as the others.

“Luna, are you ready?” Celestia asked. Luna nodded, both of them looking towards the sun in the sky now. Their horns began glowing with their trademark aura, larger than any other pony’s aura anypony has seen before. Controlled by the two relatively small beings, the sun began to move much faster than imaginable. The day went fast-forward, some of the snow on the ground quickly melting from the increase in heat. As quick as the ice melt, water froze from the sudden drop as well as the orb in the sky lowered.. The sun was across the horizon in less than a minute, causing some of the crowd to start panicking. The moon was quickly raised to follow, the gentle moonlight bright enough to light the immediate surroundings but not much farther. Rainbow thought this was her chance to get ahead when everypony was distracted, but before she could start getting ahead, the two alicorns moved to the side as a pegasus, floating a few yards above the ground, pulled out a small contraption.

“Prepare to start the race!” The pegasus yelled with enough force to cause some of the ponies in the stand to hold their hooves over their ears.

“Ready!” Rainbow readied her body quickly, placing her hooves firmly on the ground to prepare for her quick head start. The pegasus in the middle of the track pointed the contraption he held towards the black day sky, stars twinkling where some clouds were moments ago.

“Set!” Her torso lowered to the ground, allowing her to be more aerodynamic as she was about to blast off ahead. Her heart was racing at a million beats per second, her vision slightly dizzy from the adrenaline of the moment. This was the beginning of her next chapter of her life.

“GO!”

BANG!

((Credit of the picture goes to: http://yokoulythryian.deviantart.com/ ))

(Major Editing Done)