There were five pairs of siblings lining up at the starting position. Actually—six—seeing as Rarity and Sweetie Belle had just joined. They were extraneous competitors, and they hadn't any chance of winning a medal due to entering so late. Everypony prepared for the match by stretching and flexing their limbs.
I was jittery at the last second. With a nervous gulp, I glanced over at my sister-for-a-day. “Uhm, Rainbow Dash?”
“Yeah? What is it, kiddo?”
“I just wanna say that this has been the best day ever,” I managed to squeak with a nervous smile. “And no matter what happens, it was so very cool of you to show up like you did.”
Rainbow Dash squinted at me. “Why so glum, squirt?”
“I dunno. I just wanted to say that before it was too late...” I kicked lethargically at the ground. “In case I totally and utterly blow it up ahead...”
“Hey, nopony's gonna blow it, ya hear?!” Rainbow Dash frowned, then smirked. “We're going to rock everypony's horseshoes off! Just you wait and see!”
“Heh...” I smiled with fluttering feathertips. “Alright. Alright, s-sure...!”
Rainbow Dash nodded with a smirk. Then, out of nowhere, she winced. When I wasn't looking, she gripped one forelimb with another and stretched it in and out. She mumbled something to herself, staring out at the crowd in a pale sweat. She saw Fluttershy sitting among the wooden stands, smiling. Rainbow tried to smile back, but all that came out was a nervous flinch. Gulping, Rainbow cracked the remaining joints in her body and focused on the obstacle course ahead. She took several deep breaths, allowing the oxygen to fly through her.
“Honestly, do they have to start the race with mud?!” Rarity exclaimed.
“That's why we jump over it, sis!” Sweetie Belle chirped.
“Jump? As if... with our leg muscles?” Rarity shuddered. “Isn't there a part of this competition that involves stagecoach taking you to a jecuzzi?”
“Ohhhhhh Rarity...”
“Eunngh... I do hope they allow the use of magic in this...”
“Eenope!” Applejack called over from where she stood, stretching her legs. “This here's an earth pony race! Designed by earth ponies and for earth ponies! That means no use of magic...” She turned and winked at Rainbow Dash and myself. “...and no flyin'.”
“Well...” I smiled awkwardly. “Guess it's the p-perfect race for me!”
“Oh hush.” Rainbow turned to glare Applejack's way. “Somepony's just afraid of being reduced to dust.”
“Heh, as if.”
Rainbow smirked. At the sound of Granny Smith's voice, she gulped nervously and leaned forward.
“Alrighty, young'n's! The Big Race is about to begin!”
Applejack and Apple Bloom tightened their limbs. Rarity flinched while Sweetie Belle hopped in place. The rest of the ponies tensed, holding their breaths.
“May the best sisters win...”
“Pssst. Rainbow!” I hissed aside. “Uhm... h-how exactly should we do this?”
Rainbow smiled. “Awesomely.”
“On your mark. Get set. Go!”
With a virtual thunderclap, Rainbow Dash throttled forward. I gasped and scampered to keep up. The ground beneath us rumbled from all of the combined pony sisters galloping all at once. Before us, a pit of mud stretched wide. If I had my scooter, I knew I'd clear it. But on just my hooves—
“Httt!” Rainbow Dash skidded to a stop along the mud's edge, ahead of everypony else. She spun to look at me. “Keep running, squirt!” She stretched her right wing out like a ramp. “Don't stop for nothing!”
I ran and ran, glancing nervously at the bodies on either side of me. “But Rainbow Dash—”
“I said don't slow down!” Rainbow shouted through a smile, her lips curved. “And prepare to stretch your wings out!”
I gulped and obeyed, stretching my feathers to either side. Eventually, I ran up her right wing like it was an incline. Less than half a second later, she had flapped her wing up, launching me into the air. “Gaaaaaaah!” I panicked slightly, but somehow remembered Rainbow's words. My wings hung out to my side, catching air. I squinted, then found myself gliding neatly over the muddy pit. “Whoah...” I landed safely on the other side. A second later, Rainbow landed from her jump. We smiled at each other.
“Gaaaaaaiiie!” There was a horrible splashing sound from behind us. “Eeeeeuughhhh!”
“Rarityyy! You're supposed to jump over the mud! Not in it!”
“Ugh! Who can expect anypony to clear that mess!”
“Heeheehee! Oh Rarityyyyy... come on! We gotta start running again!”
Rainbow Dash tugged me forward, snapping me out of the moment. “Don't stop for nothing, kid!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she virtually flew into the baskets laid out ahead of us. “This race was built for us to crush it!”
I felt my heart beating like a furnace. With a devilish smile, I throttled forward, leaping from one basket to the other. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Rainbow Dash slowing down—if only to throw flips, corkscrews, and awesome somersaults into her basket-hopping. Ponies in the stands clapped their hooves and cheered. I felt like laughing and yelling all at once.
Before I knew it, we had cleared the baskets. A stack of heavy wooden crates stood before us. Before I reached a single one, Rainbow Dash was leaping up to the very top. I nervously glanced behind us and gasped to see Applejack and Apple Bloom barely closing the distance.
“We're... we're in first r-right now?”
“Scoots!”
I looked up, then saw the end of a colorful tail thrusted into my face.
“Grab on!” Rainbow shouted from where she clung to the edge of the topmost crate.
“With wh-what?!”
“With anything!”
I gulped, leaned forward, and clamped my teeth over the tip of her tail-hairs. I had to stifle a frightful squeal as Rainbow Dash suddenly forward-flipped, launching me over her like a catapult. When I came down, I landed on her backside. Together, we cleared the crates, and she plopped me neatly down onto the grass on the other side.
In an instant, we were bolting forward. The thudding sounds of Applejack's and Apple Bloom's hooves urged us onward. We skidded to a stop beside a picnic table with two freshly baked apple pies. Rainbow Dash took a seat and liberally thrusted her face neck-deep into the mess. I sat down and began nibbling around the edges without thinking about it. In my peripheral vision, I saw Applejack and Apple Bloom sliding to a stop and devouring their pies. Another pair of ponies caught up and began digging in.
“Scootaloooooooo—”
I gulped and winced. “I-I'm sorry, Rainbow Dash!” I pointed at the barely eaten pie. “But my mom has always taught me not to pig out—”
“Here! I got ya!” Rainbow grabbed the pie pan and hoisted it up. “Tilt your neck back and prepare to open your muzzle!”
“Uhhhhh...”
“Upsy Daisy!” Rainbow threw the pie straight up.
I gasped as my eyes reflected its downward plunge.
Rainbow suddenly swiveled about and beat her wings in the air between me and the pie. With razor-blue slicing motions, she somehow spectacularly sliced the descending pie into tiny, bite-sized morsels.
Taking a deep breath, I eagerly gulped and chewed up every pie chunk. Before I knew it, every crumb was in my belly.
“Got it?! Good!” Rainbow pounced off the picnic table. “Let's bolt!”
I didn't even have time to register the sweet taste of the apple pie. I dashed right after her. While running, I realized that two pairs of ponies had ran ahead of us. “Oh jeez! Rainbow, I'm sorry—”
“No apologizing!” Rainbow grunted, slamming her shoulder into a bale of hay and shoving it towards a white line ahead. “Only awesoming!”
On her own, Rainbow barely moved the bale of hay half-a-foot. I found this somewhat surprising, but was too adrenalized to question it. I ran to her side and pressed my shoulder to the haystack as well. Together we grunted and struggled to shove the heavy thing.
“I... d-don't think it's budging, Rainbow!” I sputtered.
“We gotta work together, kid!” Rainbow murmured. “Look at my legs. Good. Now move yours at the same time!”
“Like th-this?”
“Yeah! You got this! We got this! Hnnnngh!”
With sudden swiftness, we shoved the bale of hay all the way right as a third pair of ponies did. As soon as we were in the clear, we soared ahead, easily passing the next pair until we trailed right behind Applejack and Apple Bloom. I could see AJ tossing her sister into a large vat.
“Uhhhh—”
“You want my advice?” Rainbow said with a sweaty smirk. “Go in a circle. Pretend you're running laps!”
“In a circle?—Whoah!” I flailed in the air after Rainbow tossed me. Using my wings to glide evenly, I landed in the middle of the grape-filled vat. Wincing, I glanced to the next container. Apple Bloom was already halfway through her grape pressing. Taking a deep breath, I bent my legs at the knees and beat my wings. I spun in a circle, smashing my way through the grapes like a living blender. As my wings buzzed and more and more grape juice spilled everywhere, I could hear Rainbow Dash cheering from below:
“You're doing great! The bottle's halfway filled!”
I sensed Apple Bloom hopping out of the vat next to us. “But Rainbow Dash—”
“Just keep going! You got this!”
I took deep breaths, spinning and spinning until I was nearly neck-deep in the grape muck.
“Aaaaaaaand—Got it!” Rainbow's face appeared briefly as she hopped alongside the vat. “Jump out! I'll catch ya!”
I did as she said. I landed in her hooves, a giggling, grape-stained mess. Half a second later, we were both galloping after Applejack and Apple Bloom. The apple-tossing part was next.
“What do I do?!” I stammered.
“Grab the basket!” Rainbow tossed the thing my way. I easily caught it and ran ahead while she grasped as many apples as she could. “Now do that Scootaloo voodoo that you do!”
“H-huh?!”
“Be friggin' nimble, half-pint!” Rainbow held her breath, fell on her back, and flapped her wings. The apples levitated above her, and she proceeded to kick several out of the cloud one-at-a-time like fruity missiles.
“Whoah!” I gasped. Planting the basket on my head, I veered left and right so that I'd be underneath the falling apples. To my surprise, I caught every single one of them effortlessly. It was pretty much the opposite of dodging boulders and fenceposts while on my scooter. I didn't realize something lke this would come so naturally to me... but somehow Rainbow did. Something fluttered deep inside and I was a smiling mess.
“Alright! We're good!”
I didn't even realize that all of the apples had been tossed. “Okay!” I slapped the basket down and ran forward. “We gotta catch up with—” Just as I said that, I became aware of us passing an orange and a yellow shape. “No way...”
“Chicken time!” Rainbow Dash hollered.
I felt a blood bursting in my temple. “Excuse me?!” Rainbow pointed ahead in mid-sprint. I looked at the chicken coop ahead of us and my ears folded. “Oh.”
“I got an idea!” Rainbow said as the two of us slithered our way inside the cramped, smelly compartment. “I did this at the Iron Pony Competition and it trolled Applejack like a motherbucker.”
“You did what?”
“Watch and learn.” With a sly grin, Rainbow Dash spread her wings wide and used them to scoop up the eggs. “Ha! See?!”
“Uhhhhh...” I blinked. “Are we really allowed to do that?”
“We're not flying or cloud kicking...” Rainbow winked aside. “Now are we?”
I could only answer with a giggle.
“Heheheh—Now you, kiddo.” Rainbow's voice echoed against the walls of the coop as she helped scooped a bunch of eggs into the curves of my outstretched wings. “Right! Just like you're stealing raddishes out of Cheerilee's garden!”
“But I never steal raddishes out of Cheerilee's garden! I didn't even know she had a garden!”
“Shhhh! Don't ruin the metaphor!” Rainbow Dash walked backwards out of the coop so that she could constantly face me. “See? It's not hard! Just trot steadily, kid.”
“I-I'm afraid I'll drop the eggs!”
“No you won't! Concentrate! Watch me!” She smirked. “See how easily I'm doing it? So can you!”
I bit my lip, trotting after her. I teetered left and right at one moment, feeling the eggs wobbling along the edges of my feathertips. We emerged from the coop—one after another. A blissfully cool burst of air greeted us, followed by the loud cheers of ponies all across the stands. I couldn't see Apple Bloom or Applejack anywhere.
“Rainbow Dash! I think... I-I think we're—”
“Eggs first, Scoots!” she exclaimed, rolling the whole shells safely into a waiting basket. “Excellence second! Right here!”
I leaned in and rolled the eggs off one wing, then off the other. Once we were both empty-hoof'd, it was time for the hurdles. We bolted towards them like living lightning.
“Omigosh omigosh omigosh!” I exclaimed, cheeks on fire. “It's open grass for days!”
“Hold your breath! We're not done yet!” Rainbow Dash panted as she said this. “Aaaaaand—Alley Ooop!” She and I jumped over the first hurdle. “Almost... got it...” She wheezed and jumped again. “Hnnngh!”
I jumped with her. One last hurdle lay before our path, and then the final stretch before the finish line. Ponies cheered loudly all around. Everything was noise and sunlight.
“Okay... okay...” Rainbow Dash took a deep breath and leapt. Her body only went up part of the way this time. Her eyes darted down towards her limp legs. “What—” Thump! Her chest slammed into the wooden hurdle. Her body toppled over the thing, then somersaulted into a meaty heap. “Oooomf!”
The pegasus winced all over. As her blood reached her head, all she felt was a tingling in her lower legs—spreading slowly... agonizingly slowly. Her head swam, and each time she tried to push herself up, her legs failed.
“Nnnnngh... come on... come on!” Rainbow started hyperventilating. Her eyes darted around beneath a cold curtain of sweat. Through her lopsided vision, she saw pony hooves thundering past her, kicking up grass and dirt. “No... no, please. Not now...” She whimpered quietly to herself as she shoved and shoved at the earth. “Not right n-now! Darn it!” In her twitching vision, she spotted a yellow figure standing up worriedly amidst the crowd. Her nostrils flared and she tried pressing against the ground with her wing-tips.
That's when she found herself inching ahead.
“H-huh?” Rainbow looked forward.
I was tugging on the mare's head and mane.
“Rainbow! G-get up! Applejack and Apple Bloom have passed us!” As I said this, more bodies surged by. Followed by another pair. “We gotta move!”
“I... I...”
“Rainbow, what's wrong—?”
A lightbulb went on in Rainbow's head. “Scoots! Get on my back!”
“Huh?!”
“For realsies! Do it!”
I hopped onto the middle of Rainbow's flank. “Okay okay. What now—?!”
“Now beat your wings!”
I did just that. Rainbow felt a cushion of air behind them from my feathers.
“Gnnnngh...” Rainbow dug her wing-tips into the earth. “Now hold on... and k-keep flapping!”
“But Rainbow—”
With a growl, Rainbow thrusted her wings, launching the two of us forward. I bit onto her mane, remaining atop the mare while continuously flapping my feathers. Somehow, my tiny blurring wings were enough to give Rainbow's leap an added second and a half of airtime. This allowed Rainbow Dash to meet the ground with four locked legs. Despite the numbness in her limbs, Rainbow relied on timing and weight to spring herself forward... again and again. All the while, I flapped my wings, giving Rainbow a tiny smidgeon of lift as she proceeded to propel the two of us forward in a springy fashion.
By the time we reached the finishing line, we had already passed two pairs of competitors who had overrun us. We skidded to a stop beside where Applejack and Apple Bloom were collapsed—panting.
Sweet Apple Acres erupted in applause and cheer.
Rainbow Dash looked around in a cold sweat, wide-eyed and panting. The applause thundered in her ears, matching the dull roar of her heart beat. She felt her legs starting to buckle again, and a sore lump formed in her throat.
“Weeeeeeeeeeee!” I hugged her neck and nuzzled her from behind. “That... was so... awesome!”
Rainbow blinked. She gulped and squinted at the filly behind her. “It was?”
“I had no idea my wings could do that!” I stammered. “We really did it! We finished the race together!”
“Yeah...” Rainbow nodded and wheezed. “In second.”
“Pffft! Applejack and Apple Bloom win every year!” I stared daggers across the finishing line. “The same ponies who built that last hurdle a bit too high!”
“Uhhhhh...” Rainbow Dash smiled nervously.
“I haven't a clue what yer talkin' about,” Applejack said between panting breaths. She limped over and raised a hoof towards mine. “But that was some fancy teamwork y'all pulled through in the end. Way to go, girls.”
“Heehee...” I slapped Applejack's hoof and beamed. “Best day everrrrr!”
Rainbow glanced back at me with a stupefied smile. She suddenly squeaked, her eyes bulging as Applejack's forelimb wrapped softly around her.
“That was a darn fine race, sugarcube.” Applejack leaned back, smiling softly through her sweat and freckles. “I gotsta admit, y'all had me a might bit frightened at the end.” She raised an eyebrow. “Ya sure you didn't hurt yerself or nothin'?”
“Uhhhh...” Rainbow gulped, and her voice cracked an octave higher than usual. “Oh, you kn-know me! I bounce b-back and keep right on ticking!” She exhaled through a flighty giggle. “Hehehehehehehe!”
“Rainbow Dash, the race is over!” I said. “You can fold your wings now.”
“Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...” Rainbow blushed furiously.
At that moment, we heard thundering hoofsteps behind us.
“Hey!” Apple Bloom crawled over, smiling breathlessly. “Looks like the last four competitors are crossing the finishing line!”
“Who's in fifth place?” I asked.
“It's... it's...” Apple Bloom blinked crookedly. “Sweetie Belle and Rarity...?”
The two unicorns in question skidded to a stop. Sweetie Belle collapsed with an exhausted smile. Rarity, on the other hand, stood on four locked legs, panting and seething. She was covered from head to fetlock in crusty mud, dollops of grape juice, clumps of egg yolk, and crumbs of apple pie.
“Uhhhh... Rarity?” Applejack nervously gulped. “Congrats on... n-not bein' last place!” She squinted. “Are ya feelin' alright?”
Rarity's nostrils flared and she snarled through clenched teeth: “I. Am. Alive!” Her pulsating eyes dashed left and right. “Rnnngh! What's next?! What do we do now?! Hoof wrestle?! Dodgeball?! Mud snorkeling?!”
“Heehee!” Sweetie Belle stood up, nuzzling her sister's dirtied leg. “It's over, sis! That was the last competition!”
“Oh...” Rarity blinked. “Surely, you jest.”
“Nope!” Applejack smirked. “But you did mighty fine for havin' never practiced the obstacle course or anythang!”
“Hmmmf...” Rarity looked disdainfully at herself, nevertheless standing up straight with an air of sophistication. “Well, I suppose a tiny bit of physical exertion is good for the soul as well as the body. I sure hope you are pleased, Sweetie Belle. Even if this is something I shudder to indulge in.” As she said this, two breathless siblings crawled over the finishing line, coming in last. The pristine unicorn spun towards them, then suddenly snarled: “OHHHHHH YES! IN YOUR FILTHY MUZZLES, PEASANTS!” She cleared her throat and trotted daintily past the dazed pair. “Now, if somepony would kindly direct me to the nearest spa...”
“Heeheehee!” Sweetie Belle bounced in muddy little circles. “This was so great great great great great!” her little voice cracked.
“Yeah! Totally!” I said, still hugging Rainbow Dash's neck from behind.
“Oh... you bet...” Rainbow Dash nodded. She gazed towards the crowd. Fluttershy's distant face smiled back. With a warm breath, Rainbow raised a numb hoof and patted one of mine. “You bet your life...”