Chapter 3: The Gold at the End of the Rainbow (Dash)
Rainbow Dash woke up at around 10 o'clock the next day, she judged by the position of the sun overhead. She stood up on top of the cloud like only Pegasi could, and arched her back and extended her wings in a stretch. She rubbed the last vestiges of sleep from her deep pink eyes, and looked towards the racing stadium.
The race was scheduled for a little past noon, but registration could take a while, and who knew how long the line was going to be. Rainbow Dash gathered up her few bags, shook her mane in the way that qualified as "styling" in her mind, and leaped off the cloud. She savored the free fall for a few moments as the wind rushed all around her, and then straightened her wings with a snap and glided towards the stadium.
Blaze Chaser was a middle aged pegasus who was far out of her racing prime, and more than slightly (but less than very) overweight. Her trademark red coat and flame-orange mane had faded since her face was last on a poster, and her hair was matted and nappy from lack of hygiene. She no longer raced, but worked for SuperStar as a registration clerk and ticket vender. So far she had signed up over 50 ponies for the tourney, the majority of which were halfwit noponies who wouldn't make it past the first bracket. This tourney was notoriously tough, and only those who fancied themselves tough (or suicidal) signed up for it.
That is why she thought the cyan colored pony with the ridiculous mane in front of her was joking when she told Blaze she wanted to sign up for the race.
Once Blaze finished her laughing fit, she seriously looked the pipsqueak in front of her up and down. She was obviously athletic, that was for sure. Lean muscle rippled casually under her luscious coat. Her wings were long and her back was clearly well muscled; that meant she had some experience flying. And she had spunk. However, spunk and experience alone were not enough to survive this race, and Blaze was not sure this pony knew what she was getting into.
Blaze popped the gum she had in her mouth and said slowly, "Now, hun, are you suuuure this is what you wanna do? There ain't no shame in backing out know, and I would hate t' have'ta help haul your carcass off the race track." The blue pony visibly bristled, and a look flashed through her eyes that was answer enough for Blaze.
"Of course I'm sure! Obviously my name hasn't spread this far in Equestria yet. I am Rainbow Dash! Champion of the Best Young Fliers Competition! Fastest flier in Equestria! And the only pony who can pull off a Sonic Rainboom!"
Blaze blinked and chewed her gum. She had heard big talk before. "Well, if you really are sure, go ahead and sign right here...remember, SuperStar Fliers is not responsible for any injuries you might sustain."
"Yeah, yeah, I came here to win, not get a safety lecture!" Rainbow impatiently took the quill in her mouth and signed the waiver before her, which was quickly snapped up by Blaze and filed away somewhere.
"Alrighty then hun, it's your funeral. Go through this hallway and take a right. Can't miss the starting line." Blaze gestured over her shoulder called out "NEXT!"
Rainbow walked outside to the starting line and looked at her competition. She smiled to herself. This would be an easy win! All the ponies she saw lined up resembled the build of the farm ponies who accosted her on the road: big, thick, and brawny with sun-hardened field muscle. They looked so heavy, she wondered how they could even get off the ground.
Amongst all the huge ponies, there were also a few griffins. These Rainbow Dash respected as good racers. Despite their size, they were very fast, as every race with Gilda had proven to her. It didn't matter though. Rainbow had never lost a race to a griffin, and she didn't plan to start today.
The arena was a huge bowl shape, with spectators on the sides of the bowl with their seats tilted back so they could see the racers once they were in flight. The stadium was packed, and Rainbow Dash was anticipating a big win for the crowd. The racers started on a track, lined up in lanes. The track continued straight for about 100 meters and acted as a runway for the racers to build up enough speed to take off at race pace. They would then race around the circumference of the arena, staying within the confines of cloud markers until they completed 15 laps. Then they would land on the track and race on foot across the finish line. Rainbow couldn't wait to be the first one across and to be praised by all the fans in the stands.
A unicorn wearing a white and black referee uniform stepped up to the starting line and started talking to racers in a magically amplified voice. "Alright racers, you know the drill. Stay in your lanes until take-off, and then you are free to move. 15 laps and then finish on the track. Winner moves on to the next tier in the tourney. Good luck and remember: give them a good show!"
Rainbow smiled and settled down into a sprinter's starting position. Showboating was what she was good at.
The referee stepped off the track, yelled the starting commands, and then shot a flare out of his horn to start the race. Rainbow Dash took off as fast as she could, legs a blur as she picked up speed. At the end of the track she reached her maximum ground velocity, bunched her legs, and leaped into the air and took off flying, her wings pumping laboriously as she gained altitude and speed at the same time. She risked a glance over her shoulder and saw one of the griffins a pony-length-and-a-half behind her. She poured on some more speed, her muscles starting to burn, and climbed higher.
She leveled out a hundred feet or so above the crowds, and began racing laps, dodging the cloud markers that outlined the course. She picked out motion with her peripheral vision and saw the griffin, working hard, pulling up alongside her. She laughed inside at the griffin's effort. The poor bird was gonna burn out before she even completed a lap! Rainbow faced forward, put her head down, and kicked up her effort. All she felt was the beat of her wings, the wind on her mane. She was a rainbow streak through the air, and she was the race.
Her concentration was broken as she felt the griffin ram her side. Rainbow stared at the griffin, astonished. The griffin shot the pony a glance, and then pulled ahead. Dash gritted her teeth and worked even harder, pulling past the griffin again.
This time, the griffin sank her talons into Rainbow's left rear flank and hauled her backwards, slingshotting herself ahead.
Rainbow gasped in pain, and looked expectantly at the ref to disqualify the griffin. He was nowhere to be seen, and the crowd was going crazy. Rainbow had lost a lot of speed, and one of the heavy pegasi had caught up. He spared no time in putting a hoof into her side, and without any dense muscle mass to protect her, Rainbow lost her breath and fell back even farther.
What the buck is going on? Have these ponies gone crazy? She wondered frantically. And then she remembered the words of the referee...Give them a good show. Her heart sank as she realized what she had gotten herself into.
Well if that's the way they wanna play, she thought, then that's the way we're gonna play. You don't tango with the Rainbow!
Another griffin was trying to pass her. Rainbow mentally shifted gears from neutral into overdrive, and pulled up broadside to the griffin. The griffin tried to swipe Rainbow with his talons, but Rainbow was expecting it and dropped a foot in altitude. His claws soared right over her head, and she came up underneath his belly with a headbutt. She felt a satisfactory thump, and the griffin wheezed and fell back. Rainbow rounded a corner and began to regain her lost ground.
She caught up to the pegasus that had kicked her and tried to pass him. He was a lot slower than her and she figured she could dart by. However, he stuck out a fore-hoof and tried to clothesline Rainbow. She saw it coming, ducked under, and then threw her shoulder into a ram.
It was like ramming a tree. Rainbow Dash's shoulder began throbbing, and the pegasus next to her showed no sign of having even felt it. And when he reciprocated and rammed her back, it felt like Rainbow was a tree and it was apple-bucking season.
She fell back again, gasping for breath as her side throbbed. Two more thickset pegasi flew by her, each contributing a kick or a ram. She saw stars, and her racing tunnel vision began to change to a blackout threat. She tried to pick up speed, but other racers kept flying by, and she felt blow after blow. Eventually she was just struggling to stay aloft, and the hurts kept coming.
Ribs. Back. Face. Flanks. All she could register now was where each blow landed. Finally she took a kick in the face from a muscular pegasus, and she stopped flapping and started falling.
As she fell, she thought to herself, Maybe I should have spent more time with Applejack on the farm...built some muscle.
Then she thought, Oh damn, how will I win Applejack's money now?
And then she thought, Hey, that's the ground. That's the ground. Oh shit that's the ground that's the ground that's ground groundgroundgroundgro---
She tried to open her wings and stop, but they didn't respond to her will, and all she succeeded in doing was slowing her fall a little before she collided with the ground of the arena. Overhead, racers still battled for position.
Rainbow Dash's last sensation as she lay broken on the ground was the sound of the crowd roaring as they cheered, and cheered, and cheered.