Shooting Star

by Comet Burst

Ready, Set...

The sun broke over the mountains east of Ponyville in a spectacular way. Everything seemed to hum with the energy of the sun as ponies gathered around a rather large pathway, chatting excitedly. The path had a steep and sheer drop-off after only twenty feet, dropping straight to the bottom of a rather large gorge dotted with crevasses and towering stalagmites, making it a majestic sight to behold. Large birds shrieked occasionally as they circled the gorge, searching for breakfast.

Rainbow Dash admired the scenery as she stood near the cliff. She was completely enamored by the majesty of this place even though she had flown it several times before. She imagined this must've been what it was like when Commander Hurricane first laid eyes on this place, wild and regal, unable to be tamed or controlled. This was a place for pegasus. Unknowingly, she was ignoring one if her friends calling her. "Rainbow Dash!" Came an exasperated cry. She turned in an absentminded way to see Twilight Sparkle shaking her hoof at her face.

"Oh hey, what's up?" Rainbow asked casually. Twilight gave a large sigh and rubbed her temple with her hoof. "The starting line is over there." She responded and waved her hoof towards a big banner engraved with the word 'Start' and about seven pegasus waiting anxiously. Rainbow Dash shook her head and gave Twilight a sincere smile that came out incorrectly. "Right. Sorry, just admiring the scenery."

"You're not nervous like you were at the Best Young Flier competition, are you? If you are, remember what I taught you." Twilight said in a calm and friendly manner. Yesterday, Rainbow Dash had come to the library expecting a lecture on good sportsmanship or proper racing techniques, but instead Twilight spent most of the time helping her deal with the stress of performing in front of a lot of ponies. Twilight tried to emphasize some specific things like clearing her mind and deep rhythmic breathing, but also gave pointers for physical stuff such as rolling on her hooves and eye placement.

Rainbow thought it was going to be a waste of the night, but was actually amazed at how well the techniques worked. Racing against other pegasus she knew and fans from Ponyville made it easier to race. However, the presence of Princess Celestia herself not only added to the want to win but also made sure the losers pride would be ruined. Rainbow was confident in her skills, but she had felt similarly at the Best Young Flier competition as well. She steeled herself, focusing on NOT having a repeat of that here. She gave Twilight a hug and said "Thanks for your help. Wish me luck!" Twilight gave her a reassuring smile and nodded.

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Comet wandered around in the crowd of ponies as he searched for the stands. He had come to cheer Rainbow Dash on despite his headache. Last night was the most fun he'd had since coming to Ponyville, but he had promised Rainbow Dash he would be here to watch her win, or so he thought. His mind was still fuzzy from all those drinks last night. Unsure of where to go, he just wandered aimlessly until something all too familiar happened to him.

He had no time to react as a rainbow colored tail flew up and smacked him on his right cheek. It stung more than usual, but Comet hardly reacted to it, opting for just closing his right eye and rubbing his cheek. Almost uncannily, he knew it was Rainbow Dash and felt a slight twinge in his stomach. It was almost as if he felt... excited to see her. He was always happy to see a friend, but this was different.

He had little time to analyze that before the familiar magenta eyes and mess of rainbow colored hair spun around to face him. "Oh, I'm so sorry!" She said in a scared manner. "I'm so sorr-" she never finished that statement when she saw who it was. Immediately, her face brightened up into a wide grin and she said "Oh man, this isn't the second time that's happened today, is it Comet?"

"Ha ha ha." Comet replied in his usual sarcastic tone. "I'll have you know that if I am going to lose my eye, you're paying my doctor bill." Rainbow's face went instantly from amusement to concern and Comet smiled. "Nah, I'm just kidding you." He said in his friendliest tone. He smiled to her and she shook her head. "Oh, I knew that." She replied "I just feel weird today." Comet tilted his head as a number of thoughts ran through his head. She looked up at him and said "No, its just my nerves acting up again."

Comet, almost unwittingly, saw the number attached over her cutie mark and nodded his head. "You know," he said slowly "I used to be a race pony." Rainbow looked at him with disbelief but slowly nodded as she looked him over. He was built like a race pony with his strong hind legs and tall body frame. "Whenever I got nervous, I would just imagine myself staring at a mirror, like I was in my room." Comet continued "It actually made me feel comfortable, like when I was a colt pretending I was in some big race. My nerves would steady, I would be confident, everything was okay." He finished with a grin and Rainbow Dash raised her eyebrow.

"You know, I honestly never would have thought of that." She said. Comet nodded and said "It's a stratagem my family always used whenever we raced. It goes back a really long time from when my ancestors were the best race ponies in Equestria." Rainbow nodded as well, but a loud announcement broke their conversation. "Attention all ponies! Please clear the starting area. The race will begin shortly. All pegasus in the race must come to the starting line."

The two looked at each other and Comet gave her a final smile and said "Well, good luck. I'll be cheering for you to win." He trotted off and Rainbow blushed slightly. It was good to know her friends were cheering for her, but Comet was the first stallion to say it to her. Mostly, her memories of stallions were not so good. Many of them were bullies, competition or just oblivious, some of which drove her to give up on finding a stallion, but Comet was different. He was always friendly, never got mad when she accidentally tried to injure him multiple times and even matched her sense of humor.

She shook her head, clearing her thoughts. This was no time to think about personalities. She had a race to win. She sped over to the starting line and took her place. Rainbow focused on a single point in the distance, a mountaintop that was the finish. She vaguely heard counting and she took a deep breath. This was it. She had to win.

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