//------------------------------//
// The Long Distance of Trials 
// Story: Twilight Sparkle's Anguish 
// by Trailblazer Rocker 
//------------------------------//

     It was nighttime by the time they all reached the stadium. There were a few offices near the enterance, but beyond the ticket check was the stadium, possibly with a course getting worked at the moment. There wasn't a way to get in the arena area though, as it was closed.
"How are we supposed to be a part of these races?" asked Pinkie Pie.
"I'm quite certain that these offices hold some answers," Rarity coughed.
"Found it!" Pinkie bounced towards a door with a plack on it that read, "Licenses".
"Wait, 'Licenses'?" Rarity wondered. "But what about registering?"
"That's the subtitle!" Pinkie sang.
She and the others looked up again to see a plack above it that read, "Registrations".
Rarity squinted. "Oh..."
Twilight knocked on the door to see if a pony was in there.
"You may come in," they heard a colt say from inside.
They opened the door to see a pudgy creme colored unicorn sitting behind a brown mahogany desk.
"Welcome, how may I help you seven?"
"Well, we were looking at becoming racers for your program here..." Twilight opened with.
"Well, you've come to the right office for that," he said. "But right now, we don't schedule any qualification runs at this hour."
"Oh..."
"But, we do have them mostly during the day. How about I schedule you all for a 1 o'clock qualification run?"
"We'd appreciate that."
"Good. Well, stop by tommorow, and we'll show you all how it's done here."
"Thanks. Oh! Is there a place to stay around here?"
The unicorn laughed. "There are high-ranked hotels around this Max-V Stadium. We DO get a lot of tourists that want to watch these races. I'm sure that you can find a place around here."
"All right, thanks again."
"You're welcome. Just come by tommorow at one, and we'll get you all going."
"Yep, thanks."
"You're welcome."
The seven ponies left the stadium and looked around. Sure enough, there were several hotels around the stadium. Most of them were in a certain lot near it, where a few others were off on individual blocks. Some of them had Max-V designs on them.
"I think we just need to get sone rooms, that's all we need right now."
"Hey, don't worry about cost, Twilight," said Trailblazer. "That old guy gave me a lot of cash by betting on me, so... Hang on, let me do some math here."
"You got, 450? Out of that guy?"
"Yeah. You can have it, I have enough as it is."
"So that's 450, by six... 75."
"Are you sure? That was pretty quick."
"I'm certain."
"Well all right." Trailblazer seperated the coin bag he got into six piles. He then counted 75 for them and handed them all to the others.
"Cool!" Rainbow Dash said.
They found the biggest one in the block and walked inside. A female receptionist greeted them.
"Good evening! Looking to stay here?"
"Yeah." said Trailblazer.
"Okay, it'll be 35 coins per night."
All seven of them paid the receptionist.
"All right. Now, how would you like your rooms arranged?"
"Well, she and I will be in a room together, and I guess the other five will have their own." He turned around to look at the others. "Right?"
"Uh... Yyeaaahhh..." Fluttershy said, a little suspicious.
"Okay, I'll get your room keys."
Twilight turned to face the young couple. "No... You aren't thinking of doing... THAT again, are you?"
"Uhhh..." AppleJack looked off to the side, but Trailblazer turned his head to face her, and winked. "I don't know..." She said, in a tone making the answer seem like a "yes". She smirked as well.
"Here you go!" The receptionist came back with six room keys and laid them on the counter.
"Well, now, all that's left is the qualification and we'll be good to go," said Pinkie, bouncing. "Are you as excited as I am, Trailblazer?"
"I'm more excited than you are, Pinkie!" He trembled and hopped around in place.
"What?? That's not possible!" Twilight said, hiding a smile.
"Or, is it...?" Pinkie stuck her head right next to Twilight as she asked that question, then pulled it back.
All of them headed towards their rooms, putting their backpacks down for the night. Convenientally, their rooms were right next to and across from each other's.
"So, AppleJack..." said Trailblazer, sidling up to her. "How about a dip in the hot tub with me?"
"Oh, you know the answer to that already," she said back, leaning on his side. She took her hat off and put it on the bed, and they left for the pool.
Twilight Sparkle stayed out of sight from them, and followed them to the pool area. She still tried to keep herself hidden to listen in on anything they had to say.
Trailblazer got inside the hot tub, waiting for AppleJack to step in.
"Come on, AppleJack," he said. "Relax."
She smiled and stepped in. Twilight kept her back on the wall around the corner, keeping herself out of their line sight. What she didn't see was the two hugging and nuzzling some more. It only felt like it was another one of their cuddle sessions, and she started to back away.
"Hey, AppleJack? Have you noticed that Twilight's been acting a bit strange lately?"
Twilight went straight back into the corner to hear the conversation.
"Oh, as ever," AppleJack said. "One time on that cruise ship we all took, she wanted me to tell her how you and Ah met."
"Is she really that desperate?"
"Yeah..."
"Ugh, I told her one night that it's not too big of a deal if she's still single."
"And how did she take that?"
"It's hard to tell. But I THINK she's not taking it too seriously now."
"Hmmm, Ah guess Ah'm one to talk."
"How so?"
"Ah felt the same way before Ah met ya..."
"Miserable and desperate?"
"Yeah..."
"Well, I guess you took it better than she is... Or, was... I think she just has to suck it up for now."
Twilight walked away and went back to her room. The jealousy of seeing Trailblazer and AppleJack together feeling so content with each other was making her sadness come back to the surface. But Trailblazer's words repeated themselves.
"Just don't think about it, and it won't bother you," they rang.
She tried not thinking about it, but she still heard the two in the hot tub together, and it only made the tension worse for her at that moment. Then, she began to take control of her emotions again and calmed down, letting out a deep breath. She knew that someday, that perfect somepony and her would cross paths, but it seemed to be going on for too long to be true.

The next day, the seven walked back into the stadium for the qualification. The registration unicorn they saw yesterday night was standing in front of an enterance to the arena.
"Come on in. You're on schedule," he said.
They followed him through the door. There, they saw a giant arena with multiple small tracks, which had some inversions and other obstacles on them.
"Let's get started here," he said. He took them into a room with a bunch of metallic boots.
"Our tracks are designed to have magnetic qualities with these boots. You'll be able to stick to the courses with these worn on."
"Question," said Rainbow Dash. "If we have wings, then does that make us exceptions to wearing any boots?"
"No, and you cannot fly over these tracks either. We don't want them to be flying over gaps or anything, trying to take shortcuts."
"Well, THAT sucks!" She hovered over the floor, with her forelegs folded.
"And we have belts they have to wear as well."
Rainbow Dash grumbled.
The unicorn waited for all of them to get their metallic boots on.
"Okay, now..."
He flipped a switch on the wall, and then, glowing green  lights shone from them.
"The magnetism should work. Let's test it before we head on."
A panel from the floor ejected a square metal piece. It was in place by a single metal rod, which split and curved out so that it met at the panel's sides.
"Step on here, please."
"WILL DO." Trailblazer stepped onto the metal platform. It started to rotate and flip on it's own, but he stuck to the same side that he stepped on. He could be literally standing on a ceiling or a wall if allowed.
"Okay, you're good to go." the unicorn said.
He motioned for the other six to cone on ome-by-one for their test. All of them were checked and ready. The pudgy unicorn put a belt over Fluttershy's and Rainbow Dash's waists, keeping their wings stuck to their sides.
"Now that the magnetism check is complete, we'll take you to the test tracks."
The seven followed the pony to a tall wall. With a press of a button, it slid towards the tracks, separating into steps for them to climb and get on. They got on the first part, which was a simple track that curved up above them, and back down. The part of the track above them was inverted, meaning that no cornering was needed. It was labeled "Basic Inversion".
"Okay, your first objective is to run this course in one lap," he told them. All of the others were on the track, ready to go.
"Ready... Go!"
At that signal, all seven of them ran the course, going up the vertical curve, ran upside-down, and then took the opposite inverted curve to get back down.
"Good, but that was just too easy." The unicorn took them to a levitating platform, which was just on the edge of where they stepped on the track, and it floated to the second track, named "Vertigo Corners".
"You should see that this track is more complex. Here, you'll be turning on walls and ceilings."
All seven of them got on the track, with Trailblazer showing a big grin.
"And... Go!"
They all started to run on the upright straightaway, but it then sloped up to a wall. They ran into a right curved corner and took it. Up ahead was a mix of a corner and a slope, making it a twist in the road. They took that and ended up upside down. More turns came their way, and they took them all as if they were still right-side up. There was a straightaway that became an in-line twist, which they took. A half corkscrew turn came their way, making them right-side up again, and took them back to the starting gate. Five of them had to wait for Rarity and Fluttershy to catch up at the starting line for a few moments.
"Looks like you're all handing this well."
"Handling?" said Trailblazer. This is FUN!"
AppleJack walked up to Rainbow Dash. "So is this what it feels like to be a pegasus!"
"Yeah!" she answered. "I bet you're jealous, aren't ya?"
AppleJack let out a soft chuckle. "Yeah, a little bit."
"Well, I for one am NOT liking this one bit!" Rarity said in a fit. "I am NOT fit for racing, and my mane's getting a bit messy!"
Trailblazer groaned and rolled his eyes.
"All right, now on to the third track." All of them took the same floating platform and went onto a track called "Pipe and Tunnel".
"Here, we have what are called pipes and tunnels." said the unicorn. "Pipes are cylinders that you all race against on the outside, where tunnels are cylinderss that you all run on from the inside. Once you complete your lap, I'll take you to the next track."
"Now THIS is going to be fun!" exclaimed Trailblazer.
At the trainer's signal, they all started to run on the beginning straightaway. Then, they all got on a pipe, running on it from almost all sides. There was a pigtail on the pipe, which they all took. The bottom part of the pipe split into a fork, separated by guardrails, forcing them to get back right-side up. The course banked to the right, and led to a tunnel. There, they all got inside and ran through it. A couple were running on the sides, where Trailblazer and Rainbow Dash raced on the ceiling part of the tunnel. Much like the pipe they all got off of, the area on the ceiling separated into a fork, and led the inverted ponies back onto level ground. Another banked turn to the right took them back to the start.
"Getting the hang of it?" the unicorn asked.
"I wish I could do this all the time!" Pinkie Pie hopped.
The next track that they all got onto was titled "Track Helpers and Hazards".
"You'll see some boost platforms scattered on the tracks, and they'll give you a small speed boost. As for the hazards... You won't see them too often, but rock clumps will slow you down, and ice patches will make you lose traction."
The seven trainees ran on the track. They all easily ran across the boost panel, which sped them up for a second, and then took a left corner. On the outside half of it was a patch of built-in rock clumps, which they avoided. But ahead of them laid a waving road with the entire portions covered in ice. The waves went from left to right multiple times, making turning around them a bit difficult for all of them. Though they still pulled through, Rarity and Fluttershy slipped and fell a couple times. Again, the other five waited for them to catch up back at the start.
"Awwww, that was a bit rough..." Fluttershy thought.
"Hang in there, this next course is the last one. Pass this, and you're qualified!" The trainer took them to a bigger track, titled "Jumps and Falls".
"Another helper we might have on the tracks are jump pads. These will force you to jump over certain areas and either back on the track, or to a higher section. As for falls, you just run off the ledge and land back on the track."
"That sounds a bit dangerous..." said Twilight.
"Oh, it's no big deal. You could run off a ledge and fall 100 or even 1,000 yards, and the boots you're wearing will guarantee you a safe and gentle landing."
They all began to run on the starting path, where a jump pad took up the whole track. Right upon stepping on it, they were forced up in the air 20 yards above the track, with a one second hangtime. Upon landing back on, their descent slowed down to a slight hover above the track, while still moving with the inertia from their running prior to taking the jump pad. They landed back on gently and continued running. Up ahead was another jump pad, this time, leading them to an elevated area. They all ran across it and crossed the gap. After a left turn, an identical gap was ahead of them, which they all took. They did this three more times, and then got parallel with the starting gate. A ledge was before them. Trailblazer and Rainbow Dash ran over it and fell down to the track below. Just as the trainer said, they hovered just before landing, and then landed softly on the track. The other five followed suit, experiencing it for themselves. They followed the u-turn back to the starting gate, where the trainer waited for them.
"Well, you passed all of the trials. You're qualified."
"YyyyYYESSS!" Trailblazer pumped his hoof, excited as ever. "When's the next Grand Prix?!"
"We have one starting tommorow. If you want to participate in this, you'll have to sign up now."
"Oh."
"First, let's get your licenses made."
They got out of the arena and into another office in the lobby. A camera on a tripod was set up along with a white background. The unicorn took their pictures individually, and a small device next to the camera ejected a plastic card for each of them.
"There you go! Now that you're registered, you can sign up."
"Count me in!" yelled Rainbow Dash.
"Sign me up!" Trailblazer said a split second later.
The other five looked at them in surprise.
"Just once, I wanted to beat Trailblazer at saying that they're ready to race."
He scoffed at that.
The unicorn went back into his office, pulling out a clipboard.
"What a coincidence. We have seven spots available for this next grand prix."
"Well, hold up, now," AppleJack said. "How many of us are racin' at a time?"
"30."
"30??"
"Yes."
"Well, that's takin' us back to that Iron Pony competition. Remember that, Rainbow?"
"Yeah, yeah."
"Ah still can't believe that Twilight won that..."
Twilight Sparkle hid a smile and let out a quiet laugh.
"The grand prix starts tommorow at 5 p.m," the trainer said. "But before that, I should explain to you how these work."
"We're listening," AppleJack said.
"There are three grand prixs total. We'll start you off on the beginner cup since you've just started. If you get an overall spot between 1st and 15th in a grand prix, you can enter the intermediate grand prixs. Clear that, and you can go into the expert one, and get a shot at claiming championship."
"Do we get paid?"
"Depending on how well you do in a grand prix, you'll earn a lot. Not so well, not so much."
"I'm in there," said Trailblazer.
"I'll do it," Rainbow Dash piped up, then grimaced, seeing how she got beat again. "Crap."
"That's all I have to say. Any questions?"
None of them answered.
"All right. We'll see you tommorow."
All of them took off their boots and headed back to the hotel.

The next evening, all of them got inside the stadium, but they were escorted to a participant exclusive area, where they waited to get on. Then, they heard an announcer over a loudspeaker.
"Fillies and gentlecolts! Welcome to the Max-V Beginner Grand Prix!"
At that que, an official motioned for all 30 ponies to enter the stadium, where the crowd began to cheer for them. As they walked towards the folding stairs, they saw the track. It looked short and simple, with a trivial ledge and a half vertical loop that ended out as an in-line twist that were the most distinguishing features. They all walked on the track, but were positioned in the back of the pack. Giant sheets of glass rose from the floor and closed over the course area once they were all on. Literally, they were now in a glass box. The road was made up of gray metal, with the guardrails having red bars and a blue and gray vertical pipe holding it together every few feet. All of the racers got onto the track, with the seven in the last places.
"Let the race begin!" they heard over the same loudspeaker.
All of them looked at the electric banner with the same white bold text across a sky-blue background, waiting for the countdown.
"Three... Two... One... Go!"
All 30 contestants took off. Trailblazer began running past the other racers, along with Rainbow Dash and AppleJack. Ahead of them was a simple standard right turn. They took it along with the others and got on a small straightaway. Ahead of the was a boost panel, which they saw most of the others running across. They took the panel and sped up for a little bit, taking the next right turn. Ahead of them was another boost panel just before a ledge. All of them took it and landed on the track below them. Ahead of them was a wide turn only slightly going off to the right. At this point, Trailblazer and Rainbow Dash got towards the pack in the single-digit placements. Ahead of them, the slight right turn turned into a slightly tighter left turn, making the road straightened out. It then became a half vertical loop, making all of them upside down. It then became an in-line twist, turning themselves back upright. On this straightaway, two boost panels were ahead of them, straight from each other. All of the racers were easily able to cross it, and were headed back to the lap line. Trailblazer got ahead of the whole pack, with Rainbow Dash in 3rd, AppleJack in 4th, and Pinkie Pie in 6th. On the second lap, Trailblazer began to take advantage of the extra room he had and hugged the inside corners, getting even farther ahead. Rainbow Dash and AppleJack began to do the same, putting them as the top three placeholders. Trailblazer broke away by running across the next few boost panels and hugging the inside corners more. By the time he reached the vertical loop, Rainbow Dash was trailing by four seconds, AppleJack by four and a half seconds from him. The race continued onto the final lap, where he got a strong lead. Rainbow Dash was still in 2nd, AppleJack in 3rd, Pinkie in 4th, and Twilight in 7th. They all continued to run, trying their best to keep up, and trying to get ahead of their opponents. The results came in, with Trailblazer taking 1st place. He stopped a little bit ahead of the finish line to catch his breath, but stood smiling as well. A little bit later, the other ponies crossed the line, taking their spots as well. In the stadium, a scoreboard was attatched to the wall above the crowd. Scores were shown tallied up there. Trailblazer earned himself 30 points, Rainbow Dash got 29, AppleJack with 28, and Pinkie Pie with 27. Twilight ended up in 8th place, earning 22 points, Fluttershy in 13th, getting 17 points, and Rarity in 15th, getting 15.
"Hell, if we keep this up, we'll get that Sacred Star in no time!" Trailblazer said.
He and Rainbow Dash pounded their hooves against each others, and they did the same with AppleJack too. They were the best canidates for the top places already, and they knew that thus novice cup was too easy for them.