//------------------------------// // Rainbow Dash's Unexpected Competition // Story: Shattered Dreams and New Beginnings // by Brian Jacko //------------------------------// Weeks had passed and Rainbow was sick and tired of hearing every pony in town talk about this new special pegasus. Rainbow wouldn't talk to her friends and often stayed home alone in her house just to get away from all the hype. Today, that would all end though. Today would be the day that she would show her opponent up and humiliate that pony who has been taking away all the attention from her. Rainbow Dash paced anxiously at the start line as all the ponies started to line up. She stretched her wings as she studied each face that she saw. So far, she recognized every pony that was attending the race. The race was about to start soon and the last pony that showed up was Derpy Hooves. "This is going to be cake!" Rainbow Dash thought to herself. "I know all these ponies and none of them have a chance against me." Just then Rainbow heard a scream. She turned to see a flock of ponies swarmed around some pony. They were taking pictures and stomping their hooves in approval. Out came the new and mysterious pony that every pony in Ponyville had been talking about. Rainbow squinted her eyes as she tried to recognize who this pony was. She couldn't seem to figure it out. There was something about that pony that looked familiar, but she couldn't quite put her hoof on it. The pony sat down next to Rainbow Dash at the start line and said, "Hey Rainbow! It's been a long time. Do you remember me?" The voice sounded painfully familiar to her, but she still didn't have an answer. "It's me, your buddy, Rain." Rainbows eyes widened a bit. She stuttered to find words. "R-r-rain Storm?" she asked? "Yep! That's me," The stallion replied. Rainbow Dash's mind went back to flight school, when she was friends with Rain Storm. She was his closest friend back then. She actually liked him a lot until one day he started beating her in all the races in school. She remembers how bitter she became and started to ignore him whenever he wanted to hang out. She couldn't believe she was standing in front of him. All the bitterness and jealously hit her hard and she became defensive. "So, are you ready to finish second place, behind me of course?" Rainbow said with an attitude. Rain Storm laughed and said, "You haven't changed much since I last met with you, Rainbow. I hope you're ready for a good clean race." All the other ponies got into ready position. Rain Storm flexed his wings and got down low. Rainbow gave him a look over from head to hoof. His coat was of a rich dark shade of royal blue and his tail and mane had many different lighter and darker shades of blue. His cutie mark was of a picture of a rain cloud with rain falling from under the cloud and his eye color was hazel. The official waved the checkered flag and they were off. Rainbow was shortly ahead of the pack. She smiled and thought to herself, "I knew I'd still be the best. He can't even keep up with me already." Just then a dark blue blur raced past her at an alarming speed. Rain Storm had over-taken her with surprise. "What a fool," she thought to herself. "Expending all that energy this early just so he can lead the pack for a little bit. I know he won't last." Rainbow finished the first lap, but she was still behind Rain Storm. "Time to kick things into overdrive," She said to herself. She thrust her wings with all her might and broke the sound barrier. She eventually caught up with Rain Storm and passed him. She turned her head and stuck her tongue out at him. Rainbow Dash finished the second lap. She was still in the lead until she heard a loud bang. Rain Storm passed her with ease. He had broken the sound barrier too! The crowd was in awe, as they watched a streaking trail of many different shades of blue in the air followed by a trail of rainbow behind that. No pony ever saw such a thing before. Rainbow Dash was only known to be able to break the sound barrier in Ponyville. Now things have changed. Her cockiness turned into uncertainty as he blew past her at astounding speeds. This was it. Her final lap. She did everything she possibly could to keep up with the speeding pony, but he was so far ahead of her already. She was sweating heavily and was exhausted. Her uncertainty turned into doubt as she watched him fly off into the distance. She couldn't flap her wings any faster. She finished the race in second place. She was devastated. "I lost," she said to herself. "I just can't believe I lost." She looked over at the crowd who was swarmed around Rain Storm and screaming his name. Rainbow Dash shut her eyes tightly and bowed her head to the ground. Two tears streamed down her face in unison. Rain Storm eventually broke free from the crowd and came over to Rainbow Dash. Rain Storm stuck out his hoof for her to shake and said, "That was a great race, Rainbow! Maybe we can hang out later today and do some flight practice together." She picked her head up and frowned at him. She refused to shake his hoof. "Hey Rainbow, are you ok?" he asked. Rainbow Dash lashed out at him. "You think you're so great because you won a race. I bet you think you're just so much better than every pony else now. Well guess what? You're not! I didn't even bother to practice for this race, so I'm out of shape. I can beat you anytime I want, and the next race, you're not going to be so lucky!" Rainbow Dash turned her back to him and flew off to home. Rain Storm just stood there in shock. He didn't know what to say or do. He turned around and was blinded from the flashes of cameras.