Race 6
Race 6: Face to face with the Speed Force
The dark alicorn carefully scrutinized her sister as they dined on their elaborate meals in the cozy, private dining room. There had been a time, millennia ago, when the two had been inseparable as foals, but with their complementary responsibilities, they were forced to spend much of their time apart. Luna was the moon, as Celestia was the sun, and twilight was the only thing that consistently brought them together.
Luna broke the silence. "Sister, what vexes you so? Has the bureaucracy made even more inane demands?"
The elder sealed the room and encased it in a sphere of silence. He body sagged to match her mood. "If only it were something so mundane. No, Luna, two hours ago, I deployed an elite squadron of Royal Guard to quell a riot at our maximum security prison. There's been no word of their progress."
"What of your emergency signaling system?" asked Luna, puzzled. "Can they not just launch a flare?"
Celestia shook her head. "We'd have no way of knowing whether friend or foe sent the flare. This has to be done by trusted courier."
The lights in the room flashed. Celestia said, "We'll have to continue this later." She put up her calm facade and dropped the privacy spells. She said, "Please come in."
The door opened, revealing a pegasus from the elite squadron. He was dressed in full armor. Sweat pooled beneath him as he stood at attention. He said, "Polaris is dim tonight."
Luna was about to protest when her sister silenced her with a raised hoof. The elder replied, "Does not the pole star know its place?"
The guard replied, "It goes where its heart leads."
Celestia said, "Private Willow, please join us at the table and give your report."
Willow sat at the open bench and drank the glass of tonic that had been set before him. Refreshed, he spoke. "Iron Gate Prison is secure. There were no fatalities among either inmates or guards; all casualties were minor."
"What of your squadron?" asked Celestia.
"The riot had been mostly quelled when we engaged. A costumed pegasus who introduced himself as 'the Flash' had subdued all the inmates in the yard. We were about to fire on the inmates who had barricaded themselves inside the cafeteria when we found he had subdued them as well."
"Subdued?" asked Luna. "Please elaborate."
"Those in the yard were all unconscious. We found those in the cafeteria with their hooves bound together."
"And what of the Flash?"
"He moved too fast for anyone to get a clear look. He's an orange pegasus, and he wears a red bodysuit with gold hoof coverings and gold ear cups, each with a protruding lightning bolt. His suit's cutie mark is a lightning bolt impaling a white circle. He moves faster than I had thought possible. I've seen the Sonic Rainboom firsthand; he makes that pegasus look like a snail."
Luna tapped the table impatiently. "And what of the Arrow?"
Willow replied, "There was no sign of him."
Celestia asked, "When might we expect the rest of your squadron to return?"
"That is unclear. We discovered that a significant percentage of the prison guards were proven to have been compromised. My commander requests the support of Moonraker Squadron so that we can sort things out."
Luna conjured a scroll imprinted with the orders. She said, "Have them all take the loyalty oath. Dismiss anyone who refuses." She levitated the scroll to the pegasus.
Celestia telekinetically packed a bindle with Willow's favorites. "You are dismissed. Deliver the orders, but please eat before you join your squadron."
Willow tucked the orders and the bindle under a wing. He saluted and left the room.
Once the private had left, Celestia raised the privacy spells. Luna waited for her to finish before she asked, "What think you now, sister? Is the Arrow behind this foul deed?"
Celestia shook her head. "No, not the riot. But, I fear his hoofprints are somewhere in this whole affair. He's as ruthless as he is cunning, but he has yet to harm an innocent. What bothers me more is that our trust has been violated. If there are prison guards who are corrupt, who is to say how many of our soldiers have been compromised?"
Luna gave a wintery smile. "The oath in the orders is special. Trust, but verify."
The lights flashed again. Celestia rolled her eyes as she again put up her facade and dropped her privacy spells.
A page entered and bowed. Celestia said, "Please rise, Cornflower. There is no need for formalities in here."
Cornflower nervously looked at the diarchs. She said, "Princess Twilight and friends await in the throne room."
Celestia smiled. "Please let them know we will be joining them shortly."
"They said to tell you they had confronted the Arrow."
Celestia's smile fell imperceptibly while Luna rose to her feet. Luna said, "Lead on, Cornflower. I shall accompany you."
Celestia also stood. "We shall accompany you."
The blare of trumpets filled the air as Cornflower entered the throne room. She said, "Announcing Princess Celestia and Princess Luna." She then stepped to one side and bowed.
The princesses walked in. They smiled when they saw that Twilight had joined her friends, bowing. The sisters walked to her and bowed so that their horns touched. Startled, Twilight exclaimed, "What? Why are you bowing to me?"
Celestia answered, "I have no idea, Princess Twilight."
Twilight laughed nervously and rose. Everyone else followed suit.
Celestia said, "It is a pleasure to see you, all of you. Now, why don't you tell me what happened?"
Twilight said, "We almost had the Arrow. This is really more of Rainbow Dash's story, though".
Luna replied, "Loyalty, pray tell what transpired."
Rainbow Dash said, "I met the fastest pegasus alive. It kind of all went downhill from there. It's so crazy; I don't even know where to begin."
Luna said, "Begin at the beginning."
Rainbow Dash sighed. "It all started when me and Rarity got a mission from the Cutie Map. I caught up with the Arrow when he was torturing that griffon. I was stupid; one of the thugs caught me, and the Flash saved me. When I found out how fast he could really move, I . . . I almost gave up on everything; that guy is impossibly fast." Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy leaned against their friend in support.
Rainbow Dash continued. "My friends inspired me to keep fighting. Ever since, I've been trying everything to go that fast. I don't care what anyone says! If you can't follow your dreams, you might as well be dead!"
While Rainbow Dash composed herself, Twilight picked up the story. "She's nearly killed herself training. We all wanted to take her to Canterlot to show her what the Flash really was. -- a phony, or at least that's what we thought at the beginning."
Pinkie Pie jumped in. "And then we all got this train and the Royal Guard stopped us because of the riot thingy and Dashie went 'zoom' out the window so Twilight teleported me and the girls to stop her and Dashie saw someone on the tracks and Twilight teleported us and caught the Arrow but the train almost ran over the two and the Flash rescued them and threw lightning at Twilight and took the Arrow away."
Luna said, "I believe I understood most of that."
Twilight resumed. "The Flash is just impossible. By everything we know, he's impossible. The sheer amount of energy he'd need to move the Arrow so far away in so short of time should have burned him to a crisp. Also, there should be no way he should be able to store enough charge to throw lightning! I could run in circles for years without gathering nearly enough!"
Princess Luna nodded thoughtfully. "It would appear that this 'Flash' has a moderating influence on the Arrow. Heretofore, the Arrow has killed on each of his appearances. Since we've learned about the Flash, there have been no murders attributed to the Arrow."
Celestia added, "You might also like to know that the Flash has been credited with quelling the riot without bloodshed. There may be something good to be said for him working with the Arrow."
Rarity tuned out the conversation as she tried to formulate a plan to confront Blue Blood. She had truly despised him. However, now that she knew he was a serial murderer, she feared for her life. Would confronting him lead to her death? There had to be some way to do this while maintaining her safety.
Princess Celestia visibly stifled a yawn. Luna said, "It looks like it has been a long day for all of you. Please, get some sleep, and we can reconvene at your breakfast."
Dream Realm:
mages went into and out of focus as Princess Luna traversed the dream realm. Children from around the world screamed for help from their nightmares, but the scourge of nightmares had a more urgent task. Casting her senses about, she located her goal. She would ensure the Flash would bring Rainbow Dash no nightmares this night.
The reality of the dream warped around her as she entered. The scene stabilized, and Luna found herself standing in midair. A red and gold streak zipped past her. Far behind, a cyan blur followed. Luna could see the Mach cone as the pursuing pegasus fell further behind.
As she outraced her voice, Rainbow Dash shouted, "Flash! I'll learn your secret! Just wait and see, Flash!"
The scarlet streak came to an abrupt stop, resolving into a costumed, orange pegasus with a blurred face. It gave a distorted smile and waved Rainbow Dash over. The cyan mare screamed in rage and pushed herself to fly even faster. She went silent when another figure materialized beside the Flash. It was the splitting image of her dead grandmother. In her grandmother's voice, it said, "Come on, darling! You can do it! You're almost there! Go get him!"
Rainbow Dash came to a sudden stop. "Granny!? Granny, what are you doing here?"
The elderly cyan mare shook her head, showing off her now-silver mane as she rematerialized right in front of Rainbow Dash. "Sorry, Dash. I'm not really your Granny."
Rainbow Dash scoffed, "Well, duh! No offense, but who are you?"
Princess Luna tensed, ready to defend her friend.
“I’m waiting. Who are you? Why do you look like my Granny?” asked Dash.
"I'm not of this world, Rainbow Dash. I wanted to talk to you, and this is the best form for you to perceive me."
"Alien?"
The older mare shook her head. "I bring you word of what you are going to do, who you are going to become. Are you truly ready to meet your destiny? Are you truly ready to know true speed, like the Flash?"
Rainbow Dash's eye's narrowed. "What is this going to cost me? If you want to hurt my friends . . ."
The elderly figure held up her forehooves. "Peace, young one. Your goal is within your reach. All you have to do is grab it."
“What do I have to do?”
The image of Granny Dash pointed at the scarlet speedster. “Get him.” The Flash zipped away in a blur.
Rainbow Dash watched as the blur receded into the distance. It was as if she had truly seen for the first time. Everything now was so clear. “Easy enough.” A cyan streak caught the one of red and gold.
Once she started pacing the Flash, he turned to her. His sharp features softened from masculine to feminine. His fur color shifted from orange to cyan while his suit shifted from red to a cobalt blue. Parts of the suit opened to expose a rainbow-hued mane and similarly-colored tail, and sky-blue goggles covered his eyes. The lightning bolt in the cutie mark changed shifted to the tri-color version that graced Dash's flanks.
“Are you ready to become the best version of yourself?” asked Granny Dash. “To become a true speedster?
“Before I answer, tell me. Who are you really?”
“We’ve been called so many things during the years. Many things by countless beings who have come to know us over the eons. We were there before the universe was born, and we will be there after it dies. However, you can call us . . . Speed Force”
Rainbow Dash remembered Flash’s words, and smiled. Of course, it was the Speed Force, just like he told her.
Luna raised an eyebrow. She had seen stranger dreams. However, Rainbow Dash seemed fine. She felt the tug of the terror of children who truly needed her help.
As she faded out of Dash's dream, another figure faded in. It was a teenager in a red and black outfit. Goggles with horizontal blue chevrons on its rectangular lenses covered his eyes. He was clearly Hispanic, and his long black hair fluttered in the non-existent wind. He shouted, "BARRY! BARRY! WHERE ARE YOU? I CAN FEEL YOU BARRY!
Central City, S.T.A.R. labs:
Doctor Caitlin Snow looked at her friend, who was suddenly trembling like a Parkinson's victim. “Cisco! Cisco! Are you okay?”
Cisco "Vibe" Ramón, was breathing heavily as he leaned against a wall for support.
“What happened, Cisco?”
“I don’t know. I located a disturbance in the Speed Force, but I couldn’t find Barry anywhere.”
Caitlin nodded. It had been a month since Barry disappeared, but both Iris and Caitlin seemed oddly unconcerned.
“You don’t seem too troubled about it,” observed Cisco.
“No, because Iris is sure he’ll be back, and I believe her. I mean, I’m pretty sure that Barry just needs some time. He’s the embodiment of loyalty, after all”
Ponyville, two days later:
A small red balloon lay atop a pony-sized cloud as the both ascended at a steady pace. The balloon was the last of a set in the colors of the rainbow, and it expanded as altitude increased. It was the last of a set of pegasus poppers, each color was set to explode as a specific altitude. The last was set for the maximum safe altitude for a pegasus. It gave a sharp pop as it succumbed to the pressure difference.
A cyan-colored pegasus appeared from underneath the cloud and stood on top. She said, "I was so stupid! How could I even think I could just go out and do this? Applejack was right. Twilight was right. Rarity was right. All of them were right!" She stretched her wings and fluffed the feathers before retracting them. "No more trusting blind luck. This time, I have plenty of altitude. This time, I filed a flight plan so nopony will be in the way. This time, I even marked the course."
She looked out and saw the pairs of large orange balloons leading from her cloud down toward Ponyville." She planted her forehooves and raised her hindquarters like a sprinter. "Ready! Set! Nap time!" Rainbow Dash settled down to recover her strength.
In the Castle of Friendship, experiments were normally performed in a subbasement, where shielding would protect the town from any stray magic. Layer upon layer of special filtering scrubbed any potential toxins from its exhaust. Today, however, activity was in a special laboratory. Atop the tallest spire was what appeared to be a solarium to the casual observer. The frame was built of strong, but light, material, and the walls were a single layer of enchanted canvas with polymer sheets for windows. The ceiling was made of the same transparent material. What truly made this room special, though, was the master safety enchantment. At the first hint of excessive overpressure, the walls, ceiling, and frame would all disintegrate, and the emergency cushioning system would activate. This was the explosives laboratory, and it offered the maximum safety for experimenter and townspony alike.
A pink unicorn with a purple mane streaked with aqua-green grumbled. She was dressed in a lab coat, and she wore a pair of safety goggles. "Come on, Twilight! This is a routine experiment. Everything here is supposed to be perfectly safe!"
The Princess of Friendship was similarly attired. "Now, Starlight, there's never a good excuse to ignore safety protocols when you have time to prepare."
A labored voice came over the sound of mechanical breathing. "Yeah, Starlight. Just look at what I'm stuck with."
Starlight Glimmer looked over and tried to stifle a laugh. Spike, Twilight's baby dragon assistant, was in a full EOD suit. His body was fully covered with purple ballistic fabric. A stiff green collar made of several layers of the same material funneled down to his neck. A purple helmet with a green stripe where his ruff should be covered his head, hiding his face behind a bronzed panel. A green impact plate covered the front, over where he had similarly-colored scales. Boots and gloves completed the ensemble.
Spike grumbled, "At least you can use the magic in your lab coat for protection."
The three shared a laugh before returning to the experiment. Looking at the thermometer suspended inside a beaker, Starlight asked, "How hot are we supposed to get this elixir, Twilight?"
The alicorn referenced a notebook on her desk. "Thirty-seven degrees, Starlight. I'm so glad you could help me out with this."
Starlight tried to wipe the sweat from her brow, but a glowing from her lab coat blocked her hoof. She groused, "This place is like a greenhouse. How can you stand being cooped up inside that thing, Spike?"
"Dragon, remember? I swim in lava."
Starlight shook the sweat off her brow. "Could you please open the windows?"
As the dragon moved to comply, he replied, "Sure! Let me get you a cooling pack, too."
Rainbow Dash stood atop her cloud. She took a small button from under her wing and bit down on it. She spat it out as she watched a bright orange flag with a diagonal green stripe unfurl from each of her marker balloons with a loud bang. She studied each flag, gauging wind speed and direction at each checkpoint along the route. She looked down, smiling as she saw ponies crowding along the route. She once again assumed the sprinter's position. "You heard the Speed Force. Let's do this!" With that, she launched herself. Gravity boosted her descent as the traded potential energy to kinetic. The crown oohed and aahed as a rainbow-hued vapor cone marked where she broke the sound barrier.
Rainbow Dash laughed in sheer joy as she pushed herself faster than she had gone before. For the first time since she had seen the Flash, she felt truly alive. As she leveled off well above normal traffic, she yelled, "Look out, Speed Force! Here I come!"
Suddenly, a panicked squawk from an errant seagull forced her to pitch up. The cries from another forced her down again. Something clipped her along the way, sending her tumbling out of control.
Inside the special laboratory in the Castle of Friendship, things seemed to move in slow motion. Spike was opening the refrigerator. Starlight was using her telekinesis to tweak the flame on the Bunsen burner as she monitored the temperature. Twilight was consulting her notebook, reading ahead to the next step. A cyan blur tumbled through an open window; its shock wave triggered the emergency protocols, disintegrating the walls and roof. Starlight fell back as she lost her footing and tilted the table toward Twilight, who stumbled forward as the blur bounced off her emergency shield, sending the blur crashing onto the table, laden with both Starlight's experiment and an assortment of other potions and chemicals. As the floor swallowed the table and the blur, static electricity built up on the enchanted cloud that made up the emergency cushion, and it discharged as lightning onto what was now recognizable as a pegasus. As time went back to normal, Rainbow Dash's scream finally caught up.
The intrepid experimenters turned to the center of the lab as they struggled to keep their balance on the now-exposed emergency cushion. Remnants of floor and roof fluttered down around them like snowflakes. "What just happened?" asked Starlight, shakily.
The table slowly floated back to the surface of the cloud cum cushion, revealing the unconscious body of Rainbow Dash lying on a bed of crystal shards in a pool of potions and chemicals. As she lay twitching, her friends could see burns all over her body.
“RAINBOW DASH!” they all shouted.
There was no response.
Coldly, Twilight said, "Spike. Emergency protocol gamma, just like we practiced."
Spike groaned as he moved one hand to the other. "Stupid gloves!" Holding his right hand out, he said, "Starlight! Pull my finger!" Too shocked to do anything else, the unicorn bit down and complied.
Pinkie Pie's patented pneumatics activated. The face plate popped off Spike's helmet. He exhaled, burning the ready-made scroll that was held in front of his face. Forthwith, five flares flatulently fired from fabricated fissures. Bright red flowers burned as they slowly descended on their parachutes.
“No, NO!” cried Twilight as the reality of the situation sank in. “Why did you do it? We told you that kind of training would kill you. I hit you with my shield. I . . . I . . . I ki --”
Spike held back a sob. “It’s not your fault Twilight, I was the one who opened the window. I allowed this to happen!”
Even Starlight was crying. "N . . . no, Spike. If you hadn't, she . . . she would have crashed into a closed window."
Twilight scanned her injured friend with her magic. "She's alive? She's alive! Starlight! Hold her in a stasis field! Hang on everyone! Ponyville General is expecting customers." With a crack of displaced air, Twilight teleported everyone to the emergency room.
In the meantime, at Blue Blood’s mansion, Barry Allen stood frozen in the middle of the living room, much to Blue Blood’s surprise.
“What happened?” asked the prince.
Barry smiled. “A feeling. No, a message. The Speed Force just told me that the speedster I was looking for has finally arrived.”
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Ohh damn.
This just got real.
Oh, good. Rainbow Dash is NOT gonna become the Reverse-Flash after all. Not sure why, but I can imagine several analogues here from the Flash-verse, with the exception of Barry as the mentor.
should have know twilight experiment would have created a speedster.
8417613
Hi there, sorry for the inconvenience. The chapter is available again
8418267
Mea culpa
Well, I look forward to reading this, nice title by the way, 4/5 stars for originality
Now we just need to know if anyone else was affected.