Dash glided slowly around the last corner, seeing the grid was now half full. She thrust herself forwards with a couple quick wing flaps before sharply slowing, checking the boards being held over the pit wall to ensure she was headed for the right grid spot.
She landed, poking at the clouds with her hind legs to make sure she had a patch with enough angle and resistance to kick off. She readjusted her goggles as well, to ensure they sat comfortably as the stragglers glided around her.
To say she had butterflies in her stomach would be a massive understatement; it was almost like she had butterflies in her entire body, replacing any guts she had. She was almost shaking with nerves, aware of all the eyes watching her and the other racers from the grandstand, the pit wall and on television. She really didn't want to mess up with so many ponies watching.
“Grid’s full, Dash.” Ratchett’s voice cut through her panicking. “Eyes on the flag.” He reminded as Dash noticed the mayor of Cloudsdale on the starter’s gantry, holding the Equestrian flag.
Trying to force the worry from her mind, she focused on the flag, placing her hind hooves against her small wedge of cloud for kick off.
Her heart was beating so fast now it was like an insane tempo threatening to deafen her as a deathly hush seemed to cover the crowds. She glanced at Concorde several rows ahead and wondered if he, Dust and every other pony on this grid felt the same way.
She returned her eyes to the flag just as it started to fall. The ponies ahead of her were starting to move as the crowd exploded with noise so she kicked off as hard as she could, hoping not to be left behind. She picked up speed quickly before realizing Riggwelter ahead of her hadn’t started as quickly and she darted to the left to avoid him. As she did, another pony came hurtling past her close enough to clip her nose with the tip of his wing.
She followed him, realizing it was Aperto as they reached the first corner, trying to think her way through the next corner as the pack concertinaed up. She backed out sooner then she would have normally, soon realizing she had to slow down more as the pack ahead fought to get to the apex.
She tilted into the corner, trying not to get squeezed into Riggwelter’s belly or from flying into Aperto’s hind as they levelled out and headed into the long Morning Glory section. Like some sort of living accordion, the pack started to spread out slightly as they exited the corner, Dash getting past Riggwelter as she tried to keep up with the faster accelerating Aperto.
“Good start Dash.” Ratchett said over the radio. “Riggwelter, Dust and Hest are behind, Aperto, Stream and Rum are ahead. Watch out for post five.”
Dash had a quick look over at the number board next to the passing marshal’s post, which was number three. Well before she reached post four, still close to Aperto, she could hear the sonic booms ahead and braced herself. She broke the sound barrier just before the fourth post and hit the turbulence almost immediately, getting shaken around so much it felt like she’d get liquidised, not helped by the fact her vision was blurred by the movement.
She focused on following the moving coloured blurs, knowing they were defiantly other racers. She still had a vague idea where the track went and noticed the blue which she was sure was Aperto trying to go around the outside of the green she knew was Lotus Stream. Stream was moving Aperto wide to try and stop him passing, but was opening a gap as they reached the half-way point of the Morning Glory.
“Aperto and Stream going left, gap right!” Ratchett said quickly, being able to see more then Dash through her helmet camera.
She was gaining on them so fast it would be a shame to leave such an opportunity, so she eased past with her superior speed, seeing she was catching the brick red blur that was Red Rum ahead as well.
“Excellent! Rum ahead.” Ratchett added, confirming who it was ahead.
She just about noticed the white pole on her right just in time to remember the Sunrise Hairpin was ahead. Red Rum was taking the racing line and not looking to defend, so Dash aimed to go for the inside, slowing down slightly earlier to make sure she would make the turn as they dropped below the sound barrier and the turbulence died enough for her to see properly.
As she turned into the corner, confident she’d complete the overtake, something knocked into her right side and bounced her straight into Red Rum. Before she knew it, she was sliding across the cloud on her belly before coming to a stop in the run off area. She could hear the mixture of gasps and cheers from the grandstands around her as she raised her head and, with her heart sinking, saw the last of the pack rounding the corner.
Angry, she leapt to her hooves, into the air and gave chase, soon realising she wasn't in any pain and likely avoided another injury.
“You ok, Dash?” Ratchett asked.
“What happened?” She asked, seeing Riggwelter ahead turning into the fast right hoof kink ahead.
“Not sure, waiting on a replay. Take the next couple laps easy, just to be sure you’re not injured.”
“Got it, but I’m fine.” She replied, going through the Factory one kink and quickly glancing up at a big screen as she went past. So far as she could tell, it was focused on the leaders well ahead.
“You’re six seconds behind Riggwelter. Rum’s behind the barrier so he’s out.” Ratchett continued.
“Something hit my right side, I don’t know what.” Dash said. It was a few moments before Ratchett replied.
“Spanner just told me Dust saw it was Hest who knocked you into Rum.” He said. She felt angry, anger that disappeared when she realized she’d missed the apex the second Factory corner.
“Remember, take it easy.” Ratchett reminded. “You’ve still got sixty nine more laps to go, plenty of time to catch up. That incident’s being referred to the stewards and I’ll let you know what happens.”
“Got it.” She confirmed, focusing on where each apex was as she finished the Reservoir complex and came across the line for the first time. The crowd was still cheering as she could hear the leaders breaking the sound barrier again.
“Replay!” Ratchett said. Dash glanced at one of the big screens as she went by on the Morning Glory straight didn’t have time to see anything in particular. “Hest didn’t look like he was aiming to slow down himself there and Dust was lucky she didn’t get tangled up too. He’ll get a glide through penalty for that I think and should come out behind you.”
“Got it.” Dash replied, breaking the sound barrier.
“Back off early, make sure you’re ok.”
“I know, I know!” She said sharply, seeing she was catching up with Riggwelter more clearly now there was less turbulence, though she was still getting shaken around a lot. She could have passed him into the hairpin, but she decided to back out anyway.
“Rigg’s two seconds ahead. You can get him on the Glory on the next lap.”
“Who’s next?”
“Stream, Dust and Datsun are ahead of him, four seconds up the track and lapping faster. If there’s a clean opportunity to get past take it, but remember to take it easy.”
“I know, darn it!” She said hotly. She was much faster towards and through the Factory kink then Riggwelter, who wasn't renowned for his speed, so she eased past into the second Rainbow factory turn.
“Good move. Watch for him through the Reservoir.” Ratchett said.
Dash was about to push that line out of her head before she noticed something black out of the corner of her eye as she slowed for the first Reservoir turn. Rigg was trying to get up her inside again, so she gave herself a quick thrust forwards to ensure she got into the turn first before realizing she’d go wide.
She quickly readjusted herself, feeling lucky she was on the inside for the next corner. She moved back to defend the line, leaving Rigg enough room to move and took the corner more carefully, glancing over her right shoulder to see Rigg following her in line.
“Careful!” Ratchett prompted as they headed towards the last couple corners. She tried not to think of the ponies around them watching, remembering Rigg’s little fan club was based in these grandstands as she held a defensive line. He didn’t try anything through the remaining corners and onto the next lap.
“Still feeling fine?” Ratchett asked.
“I’m good.”
“Great, now hit it! Lotus Stream is four point five seconds up the track. I’ll leave you while you catch up.”
Dash smiled to herself as she turned onto Morning Glory. She could see Lotus ahead and now she had time and room to spread her wings and push.
***
What seemed like a simple task soon proved to be much tougher then Dash had thought. Lotus Stream ahead wasn’t as quick as she was down the Morning Glory, but through the Factory and Reservoir complexes she simply couldn’t keep up, losing over two seconds per lap for every two and a half seconds she gained.
Lightning Dust, who was just ahead of Lotus Stream, seemed to be having exactly the same problem as she escaped Lotus Stream and had a look at Skyline before getting caught again.
The twenty laps felt so long with so little progress, Hest getting a glide through penalty for his move on the first corner not making Dash feel any better. She knew he was behind her and Ratchett was keeping Dash abreast of his progress.
“Hest gained a second on you on the last lap. He’ll probably try to get by in the Reservoir complex.” Ratchett informed Dash, making her heart sink slightly.
“Is there any point in fighting him?” Dash asked, somewhat resigned to him getting past.
“Not really, but stick with him and see what you can learn.”
Dash remembered Concorde’s advice and now was likely to be a better time to take it then during practice.
“Keep an eye out for Hest trying to pass.” Ratchett prompted and Dash started looking out of the corner of her eye through corners to see where he was.
Into the first corner on the next lap, Hest dived through on the inside in a move that took Dash by surprise. She didn’t try to defend and formed up behind him as they went down the Morning Glory. Once they hit the sound barrier, Dash realized she was going to out drag him into the hair pin and went to the right to get the inside line.
As the Morning Glory gently went left and right, Hest moved over to discourage Dash from overtaking, pushing her towards the barriers.
“Get out of it!” Ratchett almost screamed just as Dash did what he said. She dropped below the sound barrier well ahead of the hairpin and Hest was gone.
“What does he think he’s doing?!” Dash shouted.
“Being Hest, he’s terrible. Let him think you’re a push over for now and get after him.”
Dash wasn’t sure what Ratchett meant, but she did her best to chase after Hest and Stream ahead. It didn’t take long for Hest to catch up, but into the second Factory corner he went to the inside. It didn’t look to Dash like he’d ever get to the apex before Stream, but it seemed Stream saw him as she turned in, prompting her to dive to the right to avoid him.
Dash saw her opportunity before realizing she wasn’t quite close enough to capitalize on it immediately as Stream came back onto the racing line less than a length ahead. She thought about diving past through the third Factory corner before slowing down and realizing Stream was slowing at least a length later then she was.
“Calm Dash!” Ratchett said. “Follow her and get her on the Morning Glory!”
Dash did as he said, following Stream through the Reservoir complex and slowing down slightly later then she had previously, though still taking care to not run into Stream’s hind. She was worried whenever she did, scared she would hurtle into Stream’s hind but as soon as she reached the apex she realized she was going to make the corner. Stream was also turning in slightly later, which Dash made a mental note for the next lap as they crossed the start line.
Dash easily flew past Stream down the Morning Glory, opening up a second gap by the time they reached the Sunrise hairpin. Having gone so fast, she decided not to push her slowing point too far forward but still managed to just miss the apex.
A quick glance over her shoulder told her she hadn’t lost much, if any time so she focused forwards.
“Good move. Dust, Datson and Hest are now two point seven seconds ahead.” Ratchett said.
“What?!” Dash exclaimed. “How’d they get away so quickly, we were right with them a moment ago.”
“Hest is pulling them along. Just settle down and see if you can catch up.”
Dash rolled her eyes before focusing on where to slow down. She pushed the point slightly further, surprised to find she could make the second and third factory turns.
She continued through onto the Morning Glory and saw that the pack ahead was further ahead.
“Pack is three seconds ahead. Ignore them and just keep going.” Ratchett said.
***
Dash fell into what felt like a trance as the laps ticked on. She’d lost Lotus Stream who was matching her through the two complexes but not able to keep up through the Morning Glory section. Nothing was happening around her with the next group well ahead of her and getting away.
“Dust just had a run in with Skyline and lost a huge chunk of time.” Ratchett informed Dash, shaking her out of her trance.
“Is she still going?”
“They both are, yeah.”
“What about Corde?”
“Concorde’s on his own in eighth at the moment, catching the three ahead of him who are fighting for position.”
“Right.” Dash said under her breath, now seeing Lightning Dust ahead after going for so long with no one in view.
“Aurora’s down.” Ratchett suddenly said “Took a big tumble so he’s likely out.”
Dash looked for a big screen and caught the end of a replay, showing Aurora tumbling into a barrier under Velocidade, who must have been involved. As she came through the second Reservoir corner, she saw him getting helped behind the barrier by the marshals.
“Now Dust isn’t with Skyline you’re a fraction faster than her through the Factory and Reservoir.”
“So where am I?” Dash asked.
“You’re in eighteenth with twenty nine laps to go. Keep it up, lass!”
***
Dash kept her pace fairly static for the next nineteen laps, keeping Dust in her sights but not quite closing the gap. Ratchett kept telling Dash she was closing but not to push too hard, which was starting to get on her nerves. It didn’t help that she was starting to get tired, her wing joints starting to ache slightly from the continued effort
“Blitzen's out!” Ratchett suddenly said “You’re running seventeenth with ten laps to go.”
“How are the others doing?” Dash asked, noticing a yellow flag getting put away. A quick glance at a passing big screen replay suggested Blitzen had crashed on his own and tumbled into a barrier.
“Dust is three seconds ahead of you running at the same pace. Concorde’s fighting Power Drive for seventh. This is good, keep it up.”
She wasn’t entirely sure how running seventeenth was good, especially last of her team. She had to beat Dust at the very least, so she started pushing harder through the factory complexes, narrowly avoiding the walls a couple times and ignoring her aching wings.
“Gap?” She prompted.
“Two point two to Dust. Don’t do anything stupid.”
She ignored him as she pushed, seeing Dust was responding to try and stop her advance.
“You’re cutting the corner at Factory two and three.” Ratchett said, sounding concerned. “If you’re not careful, you’ll get a glide through.”
Again, she ignored him as she kept pushing. So far as she could tell, the gap was down to just under two seconds with five laps to go.
“Dash, you’re getting a warning from the stewards for exceeding track limits. For the love of Celestia, back off!” Ratchett almost shouted. As she rounded the last corner she saw the black and white diagonal flag held from the gantry with her number next to it and her heart sunk.
Ratchett was right, she’d be better off finishing on her wings then in a heap. Her pride almost screamed at her in pain as she started to back off, feeling she really didn’t want to watch Dust’s hind for the last four laps.
“What’s the gap behind?” She asked
“You’re clear for Lotus Stream, but the leaders Ekstrom and Zip Line may catch you before the end.” Ratchett said. “Keep up your pace and you should be fine.”
Dash sighed as she followed Dust around for the next few laps. She slated her hurt pride slightly by reminding herself there was still eleven races to go this season, she could still beat Dust yet.
She hung back on the Morning Glory on her penultimate lap so she didn’t have to fight as much turbulence from Dust, her wings aching from the sixty eight laps she had completed.
“Dash, the leaders will catch you before the end of the lap.” Ratchett said over the radio. “Watch out for blue flags, I’ll let you know when they get close.”
“Got it.” Dash confirmed, upping her pace slightly to hopefully not get caught. Finishing behind Dust was bad enough, but she really didn’t want to get lapped.
Dust was out of reach now, so she started pushing hard again to stay away, but as she exited the first Reservoir turn, she saw a blue flag.
“They’ll be on you at the last corner, go wide there.” Ratchett prompted. Dash still looked over her shoulder as she entered the last few corners, seeing them drawing closer extremely quickly.
As Ratchett said, she stayed wide around the last corner, looking over her shoulder to ensure they had room and getting the shock of her life when she realized Zip Line was right in her face. She dived further out of the way, nearly straight into the grand stand as Zip threw a nasty gesture at her.
She glided back onto the track and saw the chequered flag was waving as she went over the line, putting an end to her first race, the crowd cheering for the two leaders ahead of her.
“Good flying, Dash.” Ratchett said. “Did pretty much everything right in your- oh, hello.” He tailed off as both he and Dash realized Zip was coming for a word.
“What do you think you were doing?!” He shouted at Dash. She was slightly stunned and scared by one of the big guns of the sport having a go at her, but the adrenaline encouraged her to answer back.
“I got out of your way.” She fired back.
“You got in the way, mare! I could’ve won that race!” He shot back.
“It’s not worth it.” Ratchett said calmly and she couldn’t help be agree, though she had to have a jab at him still.
“Could.” She said simply before flying off down the track. Zip Line obviously didn’t feel it was worth pursuing.
She glided around the track, the ponies in the grand stands politely applauding and cheering as she went by though Pinkie still seemed to be playing all her instruments at full volume. A quick glance over her shoulder showed the most cheering was for Ekstrom as he waved and looped up the Morning Glory. She was kind of glad they weren’t booing and throwing things at her.
“So as I was saying,” Ratchett started. “you did pretty much everything right in your first race and only being one lap down right at the end isn't bad. Take your time to cool down and I’ll see you at the weigh scales.”
“What was the order?” Dash asked.
“Ekstrom won from Zip Line. Zip was trying to go around Ekstrom’s outside in the last corner, you gave them enough space but that move was never going to work so don’t beat yourself up over it. Wolke was third from Mercedes, Power Drive and Jorge while Concorde took seventh from Dawn Wisp, Quicksilver and Aperto who recovered quite well. Lightning Dust finished ahead of you though still has to finish, she’s only just as the first Factory turn.”
Dash nodded, realizing how much she was sweating and how hard she was breathing. That was the hardest thing she had every done and the thought of doing it eleven more times didn’t fill her with much enthusiasm.
***
Dash glided into the now fenced off area in front of the weigh scales. Her legs wobbled furiously as she landed, nearly refusing to take her weight as cameras of the ever increasing crowd of journalists and TV crews flashed around her.
“Get yourself weighed!” One of the marshals instructed, directed her towards the scales and a short queue to use them. She walked past Ekstrom who was celebrating with his crew and lined up behind Zip Line, who had his helmet off and looked annoyed while he watched a TV on the wall next to him.
Dash had a look, seeing it was showing a replay of the last corner incident. Ekstrom had been only a few lengths behind her when she went to get out of the way, with Zip initially following her as she gave them over half the track to get by. His line took him wide and almost straight into Dash before she almost comically dived out of the way and nearly pulled up before hitting the grand stand.
Zip line sighed.
“Sorry.” He said simply, not looking at her.
“What was that?” Dash asked, pulling down her mouth guard.
“I said I’m sorry.” He repeated, turning to her. “You did what you were meant to and that move wouldn’t have worked anyway. Sorry I shouted at you.”
Dash just nodded, accepting his apology as he turned and went to get weighed. Ratchett came trotting in through the door, looking pleased.
“How you feeling, Dash?” He asked.
“I’m feeling… weird” She replied, realizing how wobbly she was feeling now she was using her legs again. Once Zip moved, she stepped onto the weigh scales as well, wondering if her wobbling legs would affect the result.
“Well, at least we know you were pushing and the fact you’re walking is a step up on that test race in Canterlot.”
“So what now?”
“Now we get you to the interview pen while they go to the podium. TV and some of the magazines may want to ask you a few things.”
“Do I have time to get some deodorant?”
“Nah, these guys prefer you fresh off the track.”