//------------------------------//
// Prompt #43: Time Is Running Out 
// Story: Ponywatching 
// by ThunderTempest 
//------------------------------//

“Rainbow Dash, can we talk? In private?”

“Look, Spitfire, if this is about me choosing Ponyville over you guys...”

“It’s not.”

*****

Rainbow Dash ran. She ran as if the wind itself was behind her. She could feel the air, rushing over her folded wings, and the urge to spread them rose up in her chest. With a grimace, she fought down the impulse, and kept running. All that mattered was the time. Getting there in time.

*****

“I can respect your descision, Rainbow. What I want to know is why you entered in the first place.”

“Uhh...what?”

“Sorry, that wasn’t clear. Why did you enter the relay, not the individual sprint?”

“Because the sprint’s too easy.”

*****

Her heart pounded in her chest, threatening to burst out from her chest. Blood pounded through her ears, and all she could hear was her breathing and the cadence her hooves were beating out on the worn path. She was wholly focused on the path in front of her, blind to even the sweat trickling down her face, and her breath billowing in front of her in small clouds of steam. Up ahead, Rainbow caught the glint of moonlight that told her that the stream had frozen over.

*****

“I’ll be honest, Rainbow. Your team? Pretty terrible. I mean, sure, I can get you wanting to include everypony, but there’s a line. It was pretty clear to everypony watching that the only reason Ponyville qualified was because of you.”

“Spitfire, I...”

“So, if the sprint is too easy, you had to make it hard for yourself by teaming up with the worst fliers you could find, didn’t you?”

“A little, sure, but...”

“Don’t sweat, Rainbow. I know why you convinced those two – Fluttershy told me. She also told me that it was your idea for you to go last. That shows you’ve got a sense of planning, that you’re aware of compensating for your team’s weakness. Frankly, it’s a great attitude for a Wonderbolt.”

“A Wonderbolt?”

*****

With a great leap, Rainbow crossed the frozen stream, landing cleanly on the other side, and once more, her hooves pounded out their cadence on the packed dirt road leading into Ponyville. She bolted through the town, weaving around the houses, through the deserted marketplace, and eventually back out to the field underneath her cloud house, where a stopwatch hung off her mailbox. Tapping the button, she glanced at the time.
‘Twenty four minutes and eight seconds. New personal best!’ she thought, as she flew back up to her house, where after a bit of maths, thought not too much, as Rainbow wasn’t a huge egghead, she worked out what her average run speed had been, and converted it into an approximate time for a mile run. She was getting closer to the almost mystical 4 minute barrier.

*****

“Don’t hold your breath, and I never told you this, but you may be getting a letter soon.”

“Ohmygosh ohmygosh ohmygosh ohmygosh.”

“You’re not a wonderbolt yet, Rainbow. But trust me when I say that you are getting there.”

“Thanks, Spitfire.”

“And Rainbow, one more thing. You might want to start adding some runs to your training. Standard fitness for a Wonderbolt says we all have to be able to do a four-minute mile.”