//------------------------------// // Competition // Story: The Winds of Change: Fog of War // by AgentSnail //------------------------------// Competition Dash awoke with a start just before her dream self hit the ground, breathing heavily as her heart beat. God, that'd been vivid, for one of the dreams Jason had appeared not to take part in. She didn't have to look over to know that he'd gotten up for some reason or another, probably not because he was feeling super jolly or anything. This was usually the part where Dash got up to figure out what was wrong, probably exchange a hug and some kisses to comfort the guy. But assuming he was still feeling homesick, not that she could blame him, her presence might not be the best thing for him to see. "Pfft, yeah right." She whispered into the dark, getting up a moment later. A look out the window confirmed the time, somewhere near the dawn hours. Something shifted in the room with all of the human junk, not that she wasn't going to check there first anyway. Dash peered around the side of the door, gasping at how changed the room looked. What had previously been a pile was now a building of blocks and several organized stacks and rows. A glob of pieces probably stuck in the vague shape of the object they would become floated past, followed by several books and a circuit board. "How long have you been up?" She asked, stepping inside and noticing the pile of stuff that JAson must've called junk behind the door. "A few hours." He replied shortly, sounding a mixture between annoyed and depressed. "I went down to get some books from the library. Did you know they have nothing on long distance teleportation?" "How did you get the books this late?" "Ugh, Twilight left the door unlocked. Or Spike I guess. Anyway, I left her a note, and grabbed a bunch of books." Dash sighed and sat down next to Jason, leaning her shoulder against his. "This isn't good for you, Jason. You're just going to burn yourself out." "No I won't. What's the big deal anyway? I would've just been sleepless in bed, I may as well get something done." "Just make sure you know when to stop, alright? I don't need a husk of a fiancé laying around." "As if, I have more brain power than that, I'm not just going to lose my mind." "You can never be too careful, right?" Dash asked, pushing her forehead into his and watching her reflection in his eyes. "I'm guessing you missed having me in bed?" "No! Well, yeah, but that wasn't the reason I came over here. I'm worried about you, I just don't want things to get worse when they have a chance at getting better." "Heh, yeah." He paused. "At least this time you didn't freak out when I left." "I figure you're not going to find somepony else who wouldn't be scared around you anyway. And that you couldn't hold a good enough alter ego, or have the patience for another relationship, or-" "Alright, I get it. You're my one and only love, blah. Happy?" "A little." She replied with a smirk, sitting down next to him to put a hoof around his neck. "Plus, you gotta be rested for that race tomorrow, I don't want to beat you when you're all tired. That's no fun." She leaned over to kiss him, before getting back up and sneezing. "Fine, just a minute." He said, watching her return to the door. "Oh yeah, Jason?" "Mhm?" He wiped his nose. "Just because a spell isn't in the book doesn't mean it can't be invented." She left on that note, chuckling at the blank expression on his face. If he could get something working, he'd have to take her along. For all Jason had talked about Earth, it must be a pretty crazy place. Nothing like the boring sameness of Equestria, anyway. And she was always ready for a challenge. ___________________________________________________________ "So who's going to win?" Scoots asked as Jason and Dash landed in the town square, both breaking into trots as they shared a competitive glance. "It'll be me, I'm sure." Dash replied triumphantly, bumping against Jason with a giggle. "Oh yeah, I guess we will, huh?" Jason countered, pushing his forehead against hers roughly as they stared at each other, plotting and scheming as they walked towards the start line. A balloon floated overhead, settling over a forest that Jason assumed wasn't connected to the Everfree. He could see Pinkie manning a loudspeaker, looking down excitedly at a crowd that he could see in the distance. "Heh, in a way, I just want to beat you, I don't care what place I get." Dash giggled, covering up her muzzle with a hoof as it turned into a cough. "I'm handicapped." "Shush, I was coughing for a while last night also, and I have less sleep to work with." "You've got longer legs." "You're lighter." "You have more muscles." "You're more aerodynamic." Jason finished, looking at her smugly as she struggled to come up with another handicap. He picked Twilight out of the crowd as she walked towards the trio, thinking briefly about trying to go around her before she was already too close to avoid. "Are you three competing? Or two, I guess. Scoots may not want to compete." The mare said, turning her gaze towards Jason. "Are you feeling better? I heard you had some sort of flu?" He nodded. "It wasn't that bad, really. I think I'm catching what Dash has though." "Did you ever think that maybe you should skip the race?" "It crossed my mind, but what if I'm not around next year, as morbid as that sounds?" "Uh, um." She replied, seeming unable to come up with a response. "Did Dash at least tell you about the human that showed up?" He started to walk towards the group again. "A little. I heard he escaped within like, a half hour." "Yeah." Twilight responded, drooping her head. "What humans don't have in magic, they definitely make up for in quick thinking and durability." "And the hands." "Yeah, and that." She sighed. "I wish I could've questioned him, but after Dash came back and said the trail went dead, well, I dunno. It was a lost opportunity." "So is this the usual turnout, or is something else going on?" Jason asked, changing the subject as he looked around. "Celestia's coming here today for something about awards for soldiers that have come home. She's gone through most of the cities already, and Ponyville is the last one before Canterlot." "So what's the news there? Anything of particular notice?" He asked. "I'm not sure, I think there have been a few high medals, but most of them are probably going to be given to the ones still inside the Griffin Empire." "It's Equestria now." Dash pointed out. "Well, not until we actually have peace talks on the matter." Jason said. "But I don't know when those are anyway." "Hey guys!" Another pony yelled, bringing Dash and Jason out of their conversation and over to the speaker. Morning was hobbling over with Tank, who had an arm over her back. "He's okay?!" Dash yelled, galloping over to hug at the pony's neck. Jason felt a weight lift from his chest as he hugged Tank as well, feeling a tear squeeze itself out of his eye. "You scared me Tank, I didn't want to be responsible for your death." "Ah, you didn't call me tank for nothing I guess." He replied, his free arm wrapping around Jason's back. "I can only carry you to a point." Morning wheezed out, before Tank returned his hoof to the ground. "Anyway, in the long run all that will have happened is the loss of some feeling in my leg and my back. That's what the doctors say, anyway. Morning filled me in on what happened while I was out, it hardly seems like I should be complaining. But I'm happy for you two, even if I did see it coming a mile away." "Always that hint of an insult in there, eh Tank?" "Vanilla conversation is boring." He chuckled. "So are you running? I can guess you are, Dash." "Like I would turn down an opportunity to win at something." "Ah bet." Applejack said as she walked up. "Ya think you got it easy this year, huh Dash?" "Yeah." She replied. "Unless Jason beats me, which I doubt." "Hey, jus' ta clear this up, ya can't use yer changeling powers fer nuthin'." She turned to Dash. "And that means no flying for you either." "Pfft, I don't need flying. So long as you don't stop time we'll be fine, Jason." "Huh." Twilight said, her ears perking. "What, exactly, do you mean?" "Well, when I was trying to bring Dash back to life, or keep her from dying as it may be." He replied, "I learned some other spells first, like that one." "Ain't that jus' like teleportation?" Applejack asked. "Hah, no." He said, concentrating as power channeled through his horn. His surroundings went silent as he looked up, grinning that everyone had stopped moving. Jason carefully picked up Applejack and laid her on her side, taking her saddlebag to stick over Twilight's horn. He stood back and thought for a moment, before he grabbed one of Dash's front hooves and stuck it into a position that made her look like she was thinking, before he propped up her arm with a stick. Jason ended the spell with a feeling that didn't feel unlike the rapid outflow of air, and stared at his victims. Dash just started to laugh, lifting her hoof so that the stick could drop. Twilight shook the saddlebag from her horn, the hint of a smile showing up through her bewilderment as Applejack chuckled and grabbed back her saddlebag. "How'd you do that?" The lavender mare asked. "I- I've never seen anypony attempt something like that before." "Yeah, well I had to I guess." Jason looked at his hooves. "That's pretty cool though, being able to do stuff like that." "So did ya ever find out why Dash used magic?" "Uh, I'm still looking into it, I guess." Jason replied, needing to yell over the volume increase of the crowd. In all probability, Celestia had shown up. He felt a little jealous of her popularity, but in a way he kinda liked the fact that he could go out in public without being swarmed. If only it was a little less extreme. The noise quickly diminished as most everyone bowed, leaving Dash and Jason out of the loop as they turned around. Dash went to drop before the princess extended an arm from a wooden stage not too far away. "Jason, you're supposed to bow!" Applejack hissed. "Fuck that shit." He whispered back "There's no need." She said with a smile. "If anyone should be bowing it'd probably be me anyway." A slight gasp circled around as the princess let out a slight giggle. She made a gesture and the ponies rose back to their hooves. "Meet me after the race, I've got some news you may find interesting." Jason saluted briefly, turning back to the others as Celestia called out a name. He chatted idly with Tank and Morning for several minutes, watching as ponies quickly received medals and departed, amidst a fair amount of applause. Jason's name never came up, and for some reason he hadn't expected it to. But as the last pony got off the stage and attention shifted to Pinkie in her balloon, he knew that he wasn't going to be disappointed. A few tense moments passed as Jason looked over at Dash, sharing her competitive grin as he dug in one of his hooves. Morning lined up next to him as Applejack took her place next to Dash. "This could be any amount of awesome this year!" Pinkie yelled, "Applejack and Rainbow Dash, the usual favorites, have new competition that could shake our perception of the world altogether!!" "Pinkie, you're exaggerating again." Spike sighed. "In all actuality, ponies are saying that Jason and Morning Rain, both members of the to be decorated Team Green Bean, will make a surprise dark horse running this year, no pun intended." "Exactly!" Pinkie replied. "And so, without further ado, the something something annual race thingy is open!" Jason could swear he heard Spike facepalm from all the way down on the ground. "In spite of Pinkie's... shenanigans, is everypony ready?!" There was a huge cheer, as Jason let out a yawn that turned into a cough. "Oh crap, Scoots." He pulled the filly off of his back. "Meet me at the finish like, okay?" He asked, before tossing her into the air and watching her start to hover. "Good luck then." She sighed. "Too bad you can't both win." Heh, kids. "Set?!" Pinkie yelled before Spike could continue. "Well then.... GO GO GO!!!!" A pounding of hooves filled the air as Jason took off, bumping into Dash's shoulder as they ran neck and neck. Jason took a look backwards to see that Applejack and Morning weren't too far behind, the former gritting her teeth as she tried to catch up. Jason only pushed himself harder, drawing out a slight lead. He hardly felt winded, whether that was from his body or the exercise though, he couldn't be sure. He took a breath, feeling some gunk in his throat. So the goddamned cold had caught up with him, he assumed. He wasn't sure if he could be happy, all things considered. He'd wanted to win this, one-up Dash in some way. Just because he was her husband to-be didn't mean he was just going to be a push over. And some part of him knew that she wouldn't want him to give any less than his all. "Jason, Dash, Morning and Applejack seem to have created their own pack already, although it's too early to tell who can keep the breakneck pace they've started with. We may be on our way to a new Running of the Leaves record, if this keeps up." "You mean they might beat Swifthoof?!" Pinkie yelled, narrowing her eyes. "I'll believe it when I see it." "Well it doesn't look like you'll have to wait long." Spike replied, watching the competitors through the falling leaves. "They're already through the first leg, and this looks like it'll be a much cleaner race than last year." "Yeah, but who wants that? It was way more interesting when Dash and Applejack fought it out." "Let's just hope we don't end up with a fatality, alright?" "Well that sounds fine, Jason can just fix anypony up, that doesn't matter." Jason shook a hoof at the balloon. "You better not... try anything, Pinkie!" He coughed, watching her giggle back before he refocused his eyes on Dash, as she drifted ahead. His hooves thundered down the path, struggling to find purchase as the soil went gravely for a few moments. Jason coughed again, slipping slightly as a stone rolled under his hoof. His next hoof came down on worse footing and he tripped, smashing his face into the ground as he slid along. A few feathers tore out of one of his wings as he came to a halt, still coughing like mad. "Jason!" Dash yelled, pulling something from under a wing. "Catch!" She jumped, flaring her wings for a moment to throw an object backwards, which ran into his hoof. A cough drop. Heh. Jason got up slowly, rubbing his wing as he popped the thing into his mouth. A blob of ponies ran by, followed by a few stragglers. So what, he could catch up. Twilight trotted by. "Pacing isn't going to help you this time, silly horse." He said, remembering what Dash had said earlier that morning. Jason didn't giver her time to respond before he took off, breathing more heavily than he would have liked as the cough drop soothed his throat. It only helped to an extent, though. He coughed again, quickly passing by the pack as he ran. His face felt a little wet, and he knew without touching his face that some of the gravel had cut grooves in his cheek, probably deeper than he'd thought. Jason shut his eyes and ran faster, opening them after a few seconds to take advice for a sign that pointed him up a hill. God, something seemed off. Or familiar, he couldn't quite tell which. Running up stone was much harder than along dirt, and was one of the things he really missed about having feet. At least it appeared to be some sort of pointy sandstone, which would give him traction. But then again, he'd be cut up if he fell. He caught sight of the end of the slope and tried to change direction, sliding to a stop as a few rocks rolled down over the edge. "No use staring, I guess." He said quietly, sure that the sign had been turned at this point. He hardly remembered this episode anyway, Ben was the real brony anyway. He'd just seen some of the episodes. Maybe most, he didn't know how many there were, actually. Jason sighed, looking over the edge. He jumped over, spreading his wings as he hit the ground. He could feel his hooves heat up as more and more of the hill went by, accelerating him despite his wings' attempts to slow him down. "Wow, who said this wouldn't be interesting?!" Pinkie yelled, swiveling to stare Spike down. "Look at him, sliding down a hill!" "Yes, he appears to be doing something different over there." He paused. "Is that legal?" "It's the same distance, and he's scraping off his hooves to keep going, just let him be, Spike." "But-" "Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..." The mare replied, putting a hoof over his mouth. "Shhhhhh..." Jason's hooves hit the dirt of the path with a thud, making him almost faceplant again at the sudden change in speed. He could feel that there was a fair amount of hoof missing, feeling almost as if it had started to become rubbed raw. But assuming he didn't slide down any more cliffs today, they should stay together. "It seems as if Dash may be the winner this year." Spike said, "Assuming, of course, that she can keep that pace up and stay ahead of her competition. Speaking of which, Applejack seems to be closing in." "Oh, but I wouldn't forget about Jason or Twilight Sparkle, if anypony's going to make this more interesting, it's gotta be them." Jason sighed at their banter and sped up, almost feeling the energy drain out of him as a cramp developed in his shoulder. Just go faster... he kept thinking to himself, ignoring the pain as it flourished towards his hindquarters as well. He could see the others, slowly gaining on them as he got more and more out of breath. Fuck it, at this point he was going to give it all he had in a rush; there was no way he was catching up otherwise. Applejack and Morning were neck and neck as he caught up, slowly passing the pair by as a drop of blood made its way into his eye, stinging it and turning his vision a slight hue of red as it spread out. He could hear them huffing and puffing as he put in the last ounces of energy he had, drawing up closer to dash as the finish line neared. Dash turned to look him in the eye, smiling for a moment as she dipped her head, starting to pull ahead. Jason kept up, feeling his hoof catch along the ground. A sinking feeling hit him as he floated through the air for a moment, watching Dash's expression turn from competitiveness to slight disappointment. He hit the ground for like the millionth time, sliding across the line just ahead of the other two. He didn't move for at least a minute, trying to regain control of his body. Dash pulled him upright, sweeping her hoof down along his cheek in an attempt to rid any of the pebbles of the grooves they'd caused. "You okay there, big guy?" "I shouldn't have done that." He mumbled, taking a few steps forward. "I'm tired." He stumbled over to Applejack, bumping his hoof against hers. "Good race." "Got me there at the end, huh?" "Yeah. Some idiot changed the sign around, I had to go down that hill thing." "Is that still like that? I thought it was pointing the right way." "Who went by last?" "Ah did, that's why Ah was sayin'..." "Whatever, ugh, I'm fine with this." "It's still weird." Morning said. Dash left for a moment, returning a minute or so later adorned with medals. "I believe this is yours." She said, handing one to Applejack, then Morning, and finally Jason. He put it around his neck, looking down and freaking out for a moment. "You left the wing at home, Jason." "Oh yeah." "Wow, I can't believe you won!" Scoots yelled, hugging onto Dash's leg. "Yeah, well it wasn't something I'm totally proud of." She replied. "I'd have rather won without Jason tripping." "It's no big deal, I should've watched where I was going." "So why didn't ya want to bow to the princess, Jason?" Applejack asked. "Well bowing has a bad connotation, usually. It refers to an absolute monarch, as far as I'm concerned. And I kinda don't want to be part of a system where I'm forced to bow. I can show respect in other ways, just not that." "Ah." "I don't see too much of that anymore, it's too bad, in a way." Celestia said, walking up to the group. "Quite a showing, you four. I'm impressed." She sighed. "In any case, I'm coming to you two, possibly any others of your team, that we'll be beginning peace talks in Canterlot tomorrow. You don't have to take part, but I feel you bring something to the table." "Thanks." Jason said, smiling over at Dash. "Can we by any chance bring Scoots? Maybe Evening as well?" "I'm sure I can get a room ready, if that's what you're asking." She glanced at Dash. "Maybe two rooms." "Where is Evening anyway?" Dash asked. I haven't seen her anywhere. "She's here." Lyra said as she walked up, dragging along an unconscious Evening. "Came over last night and discovered alcohol. And then I discovered a couple things. Don't let her out of your sight with alcohol, and don't let her drink alcohol. "Is she hungover?" Celestia asked with some concern. "I think so. She's probably fine, but she drank so much at once and Jason says that changeling metabolism is way faster than with ponies, so... She kinda got all that alcohol in her system all at once" "Alrighty then." Dash said, poking the mare. "Yes, at the very worst, we'd rather honor you for your service when you're actually present, so try to arrive by tomorrow at the latest. Three, if I'm correct." "Sure thing." He sighed. "There's at least one thing I have to do first though." "Oh, by all means, do whatever you like. I'll tell somepony to look for you at the gates of the castle." Jason waved as she left, watching her disappear into the crowd. "So what's this thing you need to do?" Dash asked. "Remember to keep you alive." Jason replied simply, taking a few deep breaths as white light started to spread into his vision, sucking him into that peculiar sameness. Just like last time. Oh, how he wished things were simpler.