Rainbow Dash takes part in her first professional race, in a hell that not everyone have conquered. Against her, race the Blue Blur and F1 current champion, will she be part of those who conquered the track?
[WARNING: if you don't like MLPxSonic crossovers, please stay away from this one. Racing haters are also warned.]
The public roared in excitement as they saw Rainbow Dash come out of the garage and into the pit lane, Twilight stopped talking when she saw her stunned at her reception. "It makes you feel small, right?" Twilight murmured. "Whoa..." Rainbow looked to all of the stands, adorned with many colours, the blue being the most prominent in every team; everyone was rooting for their favourite of the three. This was the event that the whole racing world was waiting for, and she was taking part in it. "I can't believe it." she continued. "Well you better believe it. Because if you win, everyone will know about you."
Racing, such a wonderful sport, but not an innocent one.
It is unknown its true origins, but there is no place in the world that hasn't had a race in it's whole history. On foot, automotives, and so on. Racing is a very broad subject, but like anything else, it has its standouts.
Standouts like the jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, gold medalist in Athletism in the Olympic Games from 2008 to 2012. Or the french cyclists Jacques Anquetil and Bernard Hinault in their Tour de France. Or danish driver Tom Kristensen for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Or the Formula 1 champions Giuseppe Farina, Juan Manuel Fangio, Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, and of course, Michael Schumacher.
As you can see, racing, almost takes part in our daily lives. Therefore, it is not without difficulty to avoid its importance.
Since this sport's purpose is to prove the fastest in a race, they always created regulations for each category, in order to maintain the chances of winning for everyone, and to prevent any accident that may occur. But what happens if it comes a time in which the racing universe, throws away the rules and everything else, just to see who's the fastest of all? This story is what happens.
First, there was the team every racing fan should know, their sponsor was able to co-create the fastest car in the world, without refraining to any kind of rule or regulation. The hybrid between two significant faces of racing, the sports prototype and the Formula 1. Behind the wheel of the X2010, racing for the Red Bull Racing team, current F1 world champion: Sebastian Vettel.
Second, the team many nostalgic videogamers should know about, filled with talking animals of all sorts, and their sponsor being not other than their sworn enemy (because he's the only one with the money to build all the stuff that tried to kill them in the first place). Their chief a two-tailed fox, and their racer his best friend. Running for the Egg-Racer team, the Blue Blur: Sonic the Hedgehog.
And last but not least, a surprise newcomer, who rose to fame three years ago with her group of friends. They all follow a very important position in the team, and this was the best chance to make themselves a name in the world besides their show, which indeed had an unexpected group of fans. Their sponsor is one of the most experienced flying squads in their world, which the pilot is actually member of. The chief was the brain between her friends, and without her, they wouldn't have saved the day more than once. Racing for the Prancing Pony team, powered by the Wonderbolts: none other than Rainbow Dash.
It was first decided that the captain of the Wonderbolts should race, but she declined the offer and recommended Rainbow to fill in for her. The young mare could not believe she was invited to race, after her idol personally recommended her. Compared to that, her performance on the royal wedding "was just a knick-knack", she said.
She prepared and trained to her fullest, to be faster than she ever was before. But despite its name, this race was not for just pure speed; it was for experience, strategy, endurance, and timing.
Today, it would be decided who was "The Fastest of All".
The voice of life is screaming out, surrounding everything in.
Nürburg, Germany, home of the globally reknown motorsports complex. The one that demands every pilot to it's fullest, and considered by some, a Green Hell.
Nürburgring. Many have ran across it, but not all of them have come alive. Such are the demands to conquer this devious track. And today was no different, for this day, the event that the racing world always wanted to see was about to take part.
The sun was coming out of the horizon, slowly lighting the track, and showing its magnificence to the world. Every passing hour, people entered and took a place to watch the race. Many preferred the stands near to the starting/finishing line, others ventured deeper into the track and placed themselves near the forests. Only a few had the privilege to watch the race from inside pit facilities, and also the opportunity to meet the racers one by one.
The teams were getting ready making all the preparations, their pilots were in their resting area, and sooner or later they would come out to meet their teammates and chiefs to review strategies. However, despite the number of teams was three, there was only one car in the whole garage. Since the other two were racers on their own, they didn't need a car to keep up.
The first one to come out of those rooms was Rainbow Dash.
She looked around the garage, watching her team and the other two prepare everything or wait for the race to start. Since nobody noticed her, she resolved to approach her friends and talk before the race. She first approached Applejack.
"Hey there," she greeted.
"Oh howdy partner'!" Applejack replied, she was in charge of providing food to her team, and she also acted as a security guard. "How are ya' feelin'?"
"I'm kinda nervous," the pegasus confessed.
"Ah understan' ya' sugarcube, but don't worry. Ya'll do mighty fine out there, ya' always do."
Rainbow slightly laughed, and smiled. "Thanks AJ, I feel better now."
"No problem. Oh yeah, I think Twilight wants to talk to you, she's very obsessed about getting everything right." she said.
Rainbow nodded and ventured deeper into the garage, she then approached Pinkie and Fluttershy talking together.
"Hey girls, what's up?"
"Oh Rainbow! There you are!" Fluttershy said relieved, she was the team medic, and was ready to assist anyone in her team if she ever was needed. "I thought you'd never leave that room!"
"C'mon, why would I miss this chance?" Rainbow reassured herself.
"Well, maybe you'd feel afraid just like in the Best Young Flyer competition."
"That was before I showed off those jocks," she insisted. "Now that I have shown everyone what I can do, all I need is to not panic."
Fluttershy dropped her head in embarrassment, how could she doubt her friend? "I'm sorry." she apologized.
"Ugh, again? You don't have to feel sorry, you just worry about me," Rainbow cheered her up. "But I'll be fine, I promise," she reassured, to which Fluttershy raised her head again and smiled.
"Yeah Flutters, do not worry. She can take care of herself," Pinkie assured with a hoof on her friend's shoulder.
"I hope you like the sight from above Pinks," Rainbow mentioned.
"Oh believe me, I'm already excited to watch you race! It will be super awesome!" she confirmed with a big smile. Pinkie was in charge to oversee the race from above alongside Spike, giving information to their chief so she can take the right actions.
"Cool then, I'll see you in the track!" the pegasus said and turned.
Rainbow looked around, now with those two it was three down and two more to go. She sat on a nearby chair and waited for a while, until Rarity approached.
"Here you are finally!" she said.
"What's up Rarity? Anything wrong?"
"We need you to put this on," she simply said and with her magic grabbed some clothes and waved them in front of Rainbow.
"Oh come on, can't I race without that thing?" Rainbow protested.
"Oh goodness no! We have to keep the looks!" the unicorn said. "Besides, it's protective gear, it may help if something goes out of hand."
"Ugh, fine."
Then Rainbow reluctantly grabbed the clothes and trotted back to her room to change. She returned wearing a suit resembling the Wonderbolts', but the lighting in addition to being yellow, it also had blue and red, just like her Cutie Mark.
"Well, how do you feel it?" Rarity asked.
"It's... different, I don't find it hindering anymore!" Rainbow said happily.
"But of course darling!" Rarity affirmed. "I was giving it a few last touchs so it doesn't trouble you to fly like before. But you still have to wear the helmet."
"Oh yeah, that thing too," Rainbow then looked at her friends surprised. "Wait a minute, I don't remember anyone wearing those shirts!"
As Rainbow just said, her team was now wearing t-shirts, which resembled Rainbow's suit, and had written in them "Prancing Pony" in big letters on the backs. And on the shoulders they had a symbol of a lighting with wings, accompanied with little letters in orange in which one could read "The Wonderbolts".
"We wanted to give you a surprise when you were finished on putting that suit on, dear," Rarity said
"Did you design them?"
"Of course! Who else would?" Rarity asked surprised. "Now go dear, Twilight has to speak to you."
"Darn, I almost forgot."
But just as Rainbow was heading for Twilight, the latter was already coming to her.
"Ah, there you are!" she said.
"Did I miss anything?" Rainbow joked.
"Pretty much, I want you to go over the stuff I told you for the race."
"Chill out will ya'? I remember all that."
"As the chief of the team, I recommend that you review the strategies we have prepared," Twilight insisted.
Rainbow sighed and tapped the ground with impatience. "Even if I go through that stuff again, you'd just tell me what to do on the intercom right?"
"Well, yes."
"Then what's the point?"
"The point is that if you go over the strategies again, it will take you less time to react while you're racing."
"Twilight, if you don't think I don't know anything, why don't you test me?" the pegasus invited.
"Alright then," Twilight thought for a moment, and then asked. "If you are slip-streaming, what is it that you have to be careful of?"
Rainbow thought for another moment, and calmly replied: "To not stay right behind that car, because it's fan on the rear will make me lose control."
Twilight was about to retort something, but seeing as Rainbow responded correctly, she kept silence.
"Told ya' I knew," Rainbow bragged.
"Don't get too cocky Rainbow. It would be awesome if you overviewed the strategies again, just to make sure," the unicorn said seriously.
"Don't worry, I will."
Twilight then turned around and headed again for the control station, Rainbow just stared at her as she left.
Another door opened now, and it revealed that the room it was concealing, was Sonic's. He headed for his team and started talking with each one of them before heading to Rainbow.
"Hey there," he greeted handing a clenched fist for her to bump.
"How are you?" Rainbow asked returning the greeting. "Nervous?"
"Nah, not really, I've been in many races before. But this is a little different," the hedhehog claimed. "What about you?"
"Well, I kind of am."
"You've never been on a race before?"
"Of course I have silly. But not a race of this magnitude."
"Ah yeah, I see what you mean. I once was in a fighting tournament with a lot of public too," Sonic remembered.
"But you don't fight. Do you?" Rainbow asked.
"Well, I do fight a little bit, but it still isn't my strong point," he added. "Anyway, I have to get back, see you on the track!"
"Yeah, you too!" she said as he walked away.
Rainbow was left alone now, her friends were still talking to each other, or working, everypony around her. She just sat on the chair and waited for a while, she grabbed her helmet and looked at it's visor, which returned the gaze with her reflection. She stayed like this for a while, lost in thoughts, nervous, but decided.
Twilight approached her: "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine, just nervous for the race, that's all." Rainbow replied.
"That's normal, I'm very nervous too."
"You seem fine."
"I gotta keep the looks too you know?" she said as she turned "Walk with me."
Rainbow hopped off the chair and followed. Twilight then started talking to her, explaining again the strategies and tips for her to remember. The pegasus wanted to make her friend know that she already knew everything, but she left her phrase unfinished due to the next sight she witnessed.
The public roared in excitement as they saw Rainbow Dash come out of the garage and into the pit lane, Twilight stopped talking when she saw her stunned at her reception.
"It makes you feel small, right?" Twilight murmured.
"Whoa..."
Rainbow looked to all of the stands, adorned with many colours, the blue being the most prominent in every team; everyone was rooting for their favourite of the three. This was the event that the whole racing world was waiting for, and she was taking part in it.
"I can't believe it." she continued.
"Well you better believe it. Because if you win, everyone will know about you."
This made Rainbow smile, all she wanted was to be renowned, whether it was her flying, her charm, it didn't matter much how. But she always wanted fame.
"So then, I will give the best of myself today!" she said with all resolve.
Twilight kept walking and reached the control station, re-checking statistics, weather and pilots alike. And was taking note of every new plausible strategy that came into her mind.
"Wow, you got a lot new strategies in there."
"These are last-minute," Twilight explained. "Just be sure to remember those I made you study, I will dictate these while you're running."
She kept touching buttons and taking notes, moving here and there without rest. Meanwhile, Rainbow only looked at her, in case she took notice of something that could come in use later in the race.
Twilight pressed a button on a keyboard and talked into her headset's microphone: "Spike, can you hear me?"
"Loud and clear Twilight, what is it?" the baby dragon's voice spoke through her headphones.
"Is the baloon ready for take-off?"
"Yes, ready and awaiting."
"Pay attention, any minute now the racers will abandon the pit area, remember that I need you and Pinkie to provide me a view of the track from above, you got that?"
"10-4."
"Out."
Twilight turned around in her chair, with nothing else to do. She triple-checked all statistics, came up with many new strategies, and Spike was warned. These were many preparations for a 3-lap race, Rainbow thought.
The third door opened, Sebastian Vettel came out of his room, now everybody was ready. He approached his vehicle and discussed strategies with his teammates, some of which were still checking the car's configuration and adjusting parts.
"Those guys seem to have everything under control," Rainbow murmured.
"They've been in the racing industry for a bunch of years now, it would surprise me if they didn't," Twilight pointed. "Plus, mechanichal devices are a bit more delicate sometimes."
"Okay, now I know you're joking," the pegasus said. "How can that thing be delicate? It's huge!"
"Maybe, but it's still small and frail for racing vehicles standards; and that car has the finest engineering in the whole world. You can't find pieces like those in Sugarcube Corner."
"Well duh, that's where you buy candies and stuff, not spare parts."
"That's not-... ugh, I won't even bother," Twilight concluded.
A member of the track's staff approached them, they were about to launch the event, and the racers had to take their positions after the pace lap. Rainbow prepared herself, she put on her helmet and waited in her pit lane, which was ahead of Sonic and Vettel's respectively. They followed soon enough, with the hedgehog wearing a suit and a helmet, and the F1 champion inside his car.
Again the guy who approached before was signaling them to get out from the pit lane, and onto the track. They had to switch places, as Vettel was the one with the most renown, and Rainbow was relegated to exit last from the pits. Even so, the starting grid would be with the three in the same line.
"Rainbow, can you hear me?" Twilight's voice came inside the helmet.
"Yeah I can." Rainbow said.
"Good, I checked if the communicator was functional before, but I had to make sure you could hear me outside the pits.
"Don't worry, I hear you really good."
The racers were now in the pace lap. Rainbow turned right in the first curve, following the other two from not very far.
"Be sure to warm up now Rainbow, once you arrive to the starting grid, the race starts." Twilight reminded her. And Rainbow complied, only for a few moments. This didn't please her chief, but she warned her.
Rarity joined Twilight in the control station, the white unicorn not only was responsible for the team's uniforms, she also had to check on Rainbow and her suit's stats. Whether she had warmed up properly, or if the suit was damaged, among other things.
"Spike, give me visual on Dash," Twilight ordered through a microphone in front of her.
In the control panel, an image appeared, a camera in the sky was following Rainbow's movements.
"There you go, I'm turning on the other cameras now," the baby dragon answered.
"Make sure at least one of each takes images of the other two, I need to know what the others are planning to do."
"You got it! Over and out. Not you Pinkie! Get back in the basket!"
Everyone made their pace lap through the Grand Prix side of the track, getting acquainted with their surroundings and it took them a few minutes to reach the starting line. Once there, Rainbow felt a rush.
She was in the middle of the starting line; she looked at her right and saw Sonic scratching the ground with his feet, preparing his start. She looked to her left, and she saw Vettel as he was revving up his engine, he had his face covered in his helmet adorned with bulls, but the pegasus knew that he was completely focused.
For her part, Dashie was still nervous, maybe even more than before, this was her first race to have such renown, and the chance to be either praised or mocked was in her hoofs.
The traffic lights switched on their reds, the race was about to start. Rainbow only felt that every second to the start was longer than the last one. She felt bounded, chained to the ground, it was irresistible, she couldn't take it anymore.
And then the lights turned green, and she was finally set free.
The voice within is screaming out, filling my heart, surrounding.
Rainbow flapped her wings and threw herself forward. She felt that she never left a starting line as fast as she did today. She thought she left all of her feathers behind.
"Sonic will try to overpass you, but remember he's not good in curves," Twilight told her friend.
As she expected, when the hedgehog entered Yokohama-S, he almost drifted out of the track and onto the sand, he corrected himself at the last moment, but it cost him the first place. And as Rainbow was overpassing Sonic on the curve, Vettel took his chance and swifted right in front of the pegasus, scaring her for a second. Later, rage ocurred, and she gave him chase.
"So much for Yokohama," Twilight said as Rainbow was chasing Vettel through the Mercedes Arena. "Stay focused, do not overtake unless I tell you to, just keep your position."
Everyone was coming out of the seventh curve, and into the Michael Schumacher-S, Dash was following Vettel very closely, and Sonic was keeping up after his mishap. This was a very fast section, and he had the upper hand in those.
Vettel took away the first place from Rainbow because he is better at curves, Yokohama-S and the Mercedes Arena had many, where he took his chance.
Rainbow was in between the two, if not on free-fall, her speed is not the best around. And ever since she was a filly, she had difficulties on her control, as she frequently spinned out of corners and curves. But because her speed is reduced, she can steer without problems.
The Michael Schumacher-S was left behind, and they were now heading for the Warsteiner-Kurve, Vettel took it so swiftly that he got a few feet away from Rainbow. The pegasus hurried her pace but her steering turned harder for her, she barely touched the soil after leaving the curve.
"You're entering now a fast zone Dash, hold Sonic off until you reach the chicane, after that he won't be bothering you for some time," Twilight's voice warned her about the ADVAN-Bogen.
Vettel stopped getting away and now Rainbow was getting near him, but she stood her ground and didn't overpass him. Trying to slip-stream from just the sides of the car was mighty difficult, specially because you couldn't change sides just like nothing to confuse him. The fan was another obstacle.
Everyone reduced significantly their speed as they reached the chicane, and quickly dashed again as they entered the Nordschleife. Rainbow quickly noticed the difference between each tracks:
"Twilight!" she screamed through the intercom. "The track here is narrower than before!"
"But of course! What did you expect?" the unicorn replied. "The part of the track you're running on now was built almost a century ago!"
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"Do you think I know?! This is my first time in the racing industry, you just focus on the race!"
"But you said..."
"RAINBOW WATCH OUT!"
"Wha- WHOOOA!"
Rainbow got caught up in the talk, that she forgot the slow curve before Hocheichen, with her actual speed, she missed turning to the right and ended up on the grass.
"Remember the handicap! You can't use your wings outside the pavement, trot back to the track!"
She did so with little conformity, and returned to the race. By the time she did, Vettel has gone out of her reach, and Sonic overpassed her, he only got away for less than a second though.
"Go a bit faster now Dash, but do not overpass. Don't overpass," Twilight repeated, who was answered with a grunt.
Entering Hocheichen fast was hard for the pegasus, especially since the other two were leaving her behind because this and Flugplatz were very fast zones. Sonic overtook Vettel and the latter was slipstreaming the hedgehog, and all of this was putting Rainbow in a very difficult position because she was out of the draft range.
Reaching Schwedenkreuz, both of the others slowed down, but not Rainbow who stretch-braked and caught up in the Aremberg corner. The next section was a fast one, but she managed to hang onto the others, putting a fight whenever she could despite not overpassing due to the tightness of the track.
"Keep like that Rainbow, you're doing great! Remember to be careful behind the German."
"I feel like I can't overtake him if I slow down and approach from the other side just because of that fan, he's not giving me space!"
"That he does. But that's only to worry in this part of the track, you won't have trouble on a straight part: you're faster than him."
The track now made a zig-zag, Rainbow wanted to make a surprise and dashed in front of Vettel, closing on him and taking over the second place.
"Serves you right," Rainbow smirked.
"RAINBOW! I thought I told not to overtake! I don't want you to tire yourself before the last lap!" Twilight yelled. "These oncoming turns are mighty dangerous! Specially the Metzgesfeld you are about to enter!"
"Chill out Twi, I don't plan on crashing today."
"Nopony does Dash, but you scared everyone in the pit box, please be careful."
That said, Rainbow slowed her pace. Mostly because the oncoming parts were slow, but she also didn't want to worry her friends.
Kallenhard's first turn was very slow for her liking, Vettel almost overpassed her but she was barely able to stand her ground. The German took another chance at Wehrseifen but he failed again. He went for a last try at Einfahrt-Breidscheid and as they entered Exmühle he overtook her and Sonic in a swift, elegant motion. The Blue Blur was taken aback after leading the race for these last sectors, fizzling his running when the car's fan was just in front of him, a moment Rainbow took advantage of and recovered the second place.
Meanwhile on the pits, everyone was cheering after such a maneuvre their friend made-out.
"Woohoo! That was amazing! Rainbow really handled it!" Spike rooted over the intercom.
"Let's just hope Rainbow can still put up such a fight," Twilight said.
"Why, don't you think she'll win with a rhythm like that?" Rarity asked.
"Not with how she warmed up she won't."
The way to Kesselchen was fast again, and Sonic overtook Rainbow once more, she could only press on her pace and use the draft during Klostertal.
"Rainbow, don't go too fast now. You haven't warmed up properly before, the next section is quite slow, so..."
"Screw it Twilight."
"Wha-?"
"I'm tired of switching positions, I want to lead the race for once!" the pegasus affirmed.
"But Rainbow! This is just the first lap, and..." the unicorn tried to discuss.
"Sorry, but I had enough. I'm going all-out!"
"NO! YOU CAN'T..."
Rainbow pushed a button on the side of her head, and threw herself forward, to take her rightful place.
"Rainbow?! Rainbow!" Twilight yelled to her tiara intercom, but it was no use, her pilot turned the transmission off. She grabbed her device and smashed it to the ground. "Ugh the nerve!"
"Relax sugarcube, I'm sure she'll win the race," Applejack cheered.
"Of course you're sure, because you haven't bust your flank thinking about strategies to do so," the unicorn snapped.
"Hey calm down will ya'? It's her that you're mad at!"
"Well you're not helping me calm down either!"
"Girls quit it!" Rarity intervened. "The last thing we need now is to be mad at each other!"
"I can't believe I wasted my time thinking about strategies, only to be cut-off by the cockiness of that mare!"
"Twi, why don't you see the standings on the screen?" the farmer asked.
The unicorn turned around and looked, and so far, Rainbow was true to her word, she was now leading the race. And by the cameras' point of view, by a good margin.
"Spike, zoom out the cameras, I need to see Rainbow," Twilight ordered through the microfone.
The dragon did so, and locked the camera on her. Twilight compared the images of Rainbow and the others before entering Hohe Acht, and she calculated that her friend had an advantage of two seconds, and rising.
"See? She's not doing bad," Applejack reaffirmed.
"Not now, but if she keeps that rhythm the rest of the race, they will overpass her before the third lap starts," she said hopelessly.
"How are you so sure?" Fluttershy asked.
"By know she must be at the optimal temperature and her adrenaline must be at her max. If she warmed up in the pace lap like I told her to, she'd maybe have a bit more chances of winning under this same circumstances."
"Why is warming up so important?" Applejack asked.
"Despite it can be a waste of time, it has its reasons to exist," Rarity explained. "If somepony doesn't warm up properly before doing strenuous activity, they will tire faster."
"Rainbow is a pegasus, and I understand she can endure a lot," Twilight continued. "But even her stamina has her limitations, she won't be able to endure the pressure to keep the first place along the pace she's making. Not for over 10 minutes straight."
The earth pony was beginning to understand the problem, she identified herself too because whenever she had to buck apples, she had to stretch and warm up.
"If only I supervised her training sessions," the unicorn said in a sigh. "She only trained to be fast, but never tried to see for how much time she could bear with it."
"Do you think she still has chances of winning?" Rarity asked.
"Maybe if she came to her senses and turned on the transmission again, but I don't think she'll be doing that until she tires out and loses her position at the end of the second lap."
"What can we do until then?" asked the shy pegasus.
Twilight just looked at the monitors, seeing as Rainbow broadened the distance for one more second: "Wait. That's all we can do," she said.
Rainbow was free, finally. She was free to do as she wished, and if she managed to keep like that until the end of the race, the feeling of accomplishment would feel as double as good. No problem, no problem at all.
When she finished the first lap, she looked back. No sign of the human or the hedgehog, good, but she wouldn't take a rest until she finished this and the next lap. Everything was becoming a bit of a blur now, she was going faster that she should.
No, it wasn't time to think what she should do and what not. The race was the only important thing now, she couldn't let anything else get in her mind and distract her.
But there was no use, she started to think about her friends. They were all awesome ponies that helped her many times, and they proved that point today. Nopony else in Equestria would have supported her, except for the Wonderbolts who gave her the opportunity. And she shunned them, just for a little taste of glory. But what was glory if you didn't have somepony to share it with?
Such an Element of Loyalty she was.
She arrived at Döttinger-Höhe for a second time, as she watched at the landscape, she pictured them again in her mind, and let a tear fall from her eye. What happened back there? This wasn't the same old Rainbow Dash.
Mid-way through the long straight line though, something she didn't expect happened. Sebastian Vettel and Sonic overpassed her from each of her sides with ease and drove off her reach. She pressed her pace even more, but it was not making any difference, they were already far ahead.
So she did something she'd be mostly ashamed of, but it was her last choice. She pushed again the button on her helmet.
"Twilight! Twilight!" she yelled.
"Well, well, well. Fancy hearing from you RD." her friend greeted.
"Save that for later will you? I need to get back in the race!"
"Oh I don't know Rainbow. You hurt me back there, you know?"
"Stop teasing me! I know I was selfish, I know you've put much effort into this race with your strategies, which may not be usable now that I'm losing, and I'm very sorry. But please, I need your help!" the pegasus pleaded.
"Actually, I made out another strategy you can put to use. You're not gonna like it, and I make no promises, but it's the last thing we can try."
Rainbow finished the second lap, and she looked at the pit stop, where her friends were watching. She looked at them, for a while, before saying: "Let's do it then."
Twilight was right, Rainbow didn't like the idea, but the pegasus said it would compensate the mistreat of before, so she didn't budge, and carried on with it.
The last strategy consisted of a conservatory pace. Rainbow had to go a bit slower than the average, so that she could regain her stamina, and release it all after the Caracciola-Karussell. According to Twilight, the other two can't put much of a fight now, and they have to give it all this last lap, as everything is solved there. Which will, in turn, tire them even faster.
"After the Caracciola, you have something around 3 minutes to get them in sight, and overpass them, assuming you won't crash or anything."
"Don't worry, it will be enough for me. I can do this," Rainbow answered as she entered the Nordschleife for the last time.
"After the straight Döttinger-Höhe, everything else will be up to you. You just hold your position tight," Twilight reminded her.
"Okay then. Let's do this thing."
Rainbow noticed that going at this conservatory pace, it was easier whenever she had to turn on a curve, her speed barely changed on the fast zones. She felt confident, but she didn't calm down at all. She would only take a deep breath when she crossed the finish line.
"Are you sure she can win the race like this?" Rarity asked.
"Well if you put the other racers in perspective, she has good chances," Twilight answered.
"But Twilight, didn't you just say that she wouldn't be able to do it a few minutes ago?" Spike interrupted through their transmission. "Besides, the other two have an advantage of over 10 seconds now. At this rate she can't do it!"
"Not at this rate, but at a different one she will."
"Explain yourself Twi, we don' understand a hay 'bout this," the farmer said.
"Remember when I said that Rainbow's pace would tire her faster? It turned out I wasn't seeing the big picture, and forgot how what affects her can also affect the other drivers."
"But they've gone all this race with the same pace!" Rarity said "Shouldn't they be going faster now?"
"That's the beautiful thing, they won't. They can't."
A collective "huh?" filled the pits.
"Sonic is hard to tire out, true. But if he didn't have his shoes, he wouldn't be running all the time," Twilight explained. "He always had the same shoes, but that's because he always ran on grass or sand. The pavement of the track and it's curves is sure to worn out the shoes really fast, thus making them lose grip."
Everyone started to understand now.
"And Vettel? He's the champion of the highest class of racing, true again. But the vehicles his team builds never go much above 310 kilometers per hour. That thing he's racing on now, has an average speed of 400. It is above his normal speed, the sheer velocity of that car -and the force it exerts during corners- is sure to worn out his mental state. Making him go slower to catch his breath and focus."
"But didn't he reduce the record on Suzuka on that thing before?" Rarity asked.
"Only in a simulator, he never was inside the real car until today. Besides, Suzuka is not even half of this track," Twilight finished.
"So in short, ya' knew she could win all along?" Applejack asked returning to the topic.
Twilight smiled and giggled embarrassed: "Yeah, but I just remembered, and played along."
"Why?"
"I thought she needed another lesson," the unicorn sighed. "You know, like when we all acted as that Mare-Do-Well. But I guess I overdid it."
"I think you shouldn't have dun' it at all, RD couldn't crash with the same stone twice."
"Um, no offense Applejack," Fluttershy said. "But I think that's exactly what Rainbow did."
Everyone looked at the pegasus in surprise.
"Coming out of your mouth sweetie, makes it sound more serious," Rarity pointed.
"Twilight! How much until I get to the others?"
"Let me see..." Twilight started. "Since the start of the lap you reduced your distance for a half a second."
"If it turns out they also speed up after that carousel-thing, I won't be able to catch them."
"Don't worry about that, how's your breath doing?"
"I think I'm better now, I should be able to go all-out non-stop after the carousel, just like you said."
"Good job, remember to not press your pace too much until then. You still have a few minutes, so don't freak out."
"Twilight?"
"Yes Rainbow?"
"Thanks. For putting up with my attitude. I don't understand how come you're not the Element of Loyalty among us."
"Well somebody has to use magic, so I don't think you'd be able to do that," Twilight joked. "Besides, you're the most loyal of us. If you do something that's not resembling your element, you push your pride aside and confess it. It's better to make mistakes and acknowledge them, than never messing up at all."
"That's something strange to say."
"That's because I should be telling you what to do on the race, and instead of that, I'm giving you life lessons. Heads up young lady!"
"Yes ma'am!" Rainbow replied with a big grin on her face.
Just as they finished to talk, the pegasus reached Klostertal. And right there, an idea popped into her mind.
"Twilight, check this out, you're not gonna believe the idea I just had." she said.
"Dash? What are you thinking?" her friend asked, but Rainbow didn't answer, she accelerated instead.
She took the Steilstrecke curve a bit faster than estipulated, and accelerated even more as she approached the Caracciola, not even daring to brake a single bit. Twilight yelled at her to stop, to brake, or she'd crash. But Rainbow didn't listen, but for a good reason now.
Rainbow's idea was to use the guard rails for her advantage, so as she entered the curve, she tilted her body 90° degrees to her left, and ran along the guard as she flapped her wings to keep her speed. Before the curve ended, she pushed herself from the guard rail, getting a better exit.
Everyone in the pits was agape, Rainbow's maneuvre had let them speechless.
"Please tell me she took the curve faster than the others," Rarity demanded.
"According to Spike and Pinkie's cameras," Twilight checked. "She did."
Silence again in the surroundings, until someone in the distance yelled to the top of its lungs: "GO RAINBOW DASH!!!!"
"Was that the public?!"
"Nah," Applejack replied. "T'was Pinkie Pie."
The pegasus felt the cheer flooding the whole track, and that was the spark she needed to finish her job. And pushed forward, a smirk on her face.
Hohe Acht, then Hedwigshöhe, and then Wipperman, no sector was an obstacle for Rainbow Dash now. She was giving her last breath, and she was just a few minutes away from the finish line. Yes, she could handle it, like almost everything else.
Then suddenly, a blue dot was spotted in the distance, it was just entering the first curve of Pflanzgarten. It ran away from Rainbow's sight quickly, but it was enough for her. She was shortening the distance, and at this rate, she would win by a very good margin.
Pflanzgarten was almost over, and she was already feeling a change in the air.
"The draft," she whispered, and then talked to her intercom. "Twilight! I'm in range! I can overpass them!"
"Awesome, but do it when you're clear. Until then, just approach them."
"Roger that."
Galgenkopf, half a minute before reaching the finish line, this was it, the last chance before Döttinger-Höhe.
"Okay Rainbow, listen to me," said Twilight. "Three corners before you finish, you got this, twenty seconds from now."
"Here goes nothing..."
The straight line was being ran over for the third and last time, Sonic and Vettel were disputing for the first place, assuming the pegasus was no longer a problem. The hedgehog looked back and noticed her, perhaps he just wanted to see how long until Rainbow took the victory from their hands.
She was slip-streaming one last time, and was about to overpass Vettel, but he had other plans. Just as the Döttinger made a slight turn to the left, he took the curve in a wider arc than normal, covering the right side of the track, and blocking her.
At last, the biggest worry of Twilight has fallen over Rainbow. The fan hindered her run, and she screamed in horror as she slammed against the guard-rail.
"No!" she screamed, recovered her pose, and propelled forward, but the race was about to finish, and the odds of her overpassing them at the very last curve were very small.
Everyone reached Hohenrain, Sonic and Vettel took the curve calmly, but Rainbow instead aimed for the walls and bounced off of them, in a desperate attempt to win. Now they got into the final stretch, and it was up to fate to decide who would be the winner.
Everything led to this moment, Rainbow thought. She didn't come so far to lose now. All of her sacrifice and her friends' wouldn't be in vain, not on her watch.
The world turned slower and slower as she reached the finish line. She looked at her sides, everyone was in the same place as they started, Sonic on the left, and Vettel on the right, and they returned the glance. Even covered in their helmets, she could see the looks of desperation in their faces, and they could see hers. They were lined up, and if they kept that way, they would all share the first position.
Rainbow didn't want that, so she flapped her wings even faster. A pain ran through them which made her cringe, but she didn't slow down. She cried and wailed, but did not slow down, in the end, all the pain would be worth it.
Twenty feet, fifteen, ten, the nearer she got, the slower the world advanced. The pain was unbearable, did it have to do with not warming up properly? Or was it because she hit against a wall a few seconds before? Either way, Rainbow was not slowing down for anything in the world, except victory. Then, and only then, she would relax and slow down.
Five, four, three, two, one, a complete bullet-time filled her surroundings. But not only hers, but the whole track's also, the pit lane, the public in the stands, and the audience on TV. There hasn't been a close ending as this one in the whole racing world.
Just as the three racers passed the finish line, time slowly regained it's normal pace. They all took a deep breath, it was finally over.
Rainbow slowed down, and landed, but there was a problem. When her hooves touched down, she felt like being yanked backwards, destabilizing herself. Then she noticed that she wasn't really slowing down, and left the other two behind, but it wasn't on purpose.
Her wings were having a problem, they were flapping uncontrollably, and at inimaginable speeds. Rainbow screamed in horror, as she was aiming for the first curve's wall, nopony to help her prevent the oncoming accident. She tried flapping her wings herself, at least to go over the wall, but it was like they had a mind of their own.
And at last, it happened, she crashed against the Yokohama-S, the impact sent her flying up a few meters, only to land with a thud in the sand.
Her vision turned into a blur, and the fact that she had a helmet on made it worse. Her wings were still twitching, digging into the sand, and only making Rainbow much more uncomfortable. Lucky she was passing out, so she wouldn't deal with this for long, she thought.
People in white clothing approached the now fallen pegasus, along with an emergency transport from where more of them came out. The last thing she saw before submerging into the darkness, was a purple spark.
"Everypony look! She's waking up!" a squeaky voice cheered.
Rainbow opened her eyes, at first she could hardly make up her friend's faces from each other. But thanks to their coats colours, she could recognize them. As she changed from a laying down position to a sitting one, her first reaction was pain. She moved her wings, only to realise they were wrapped up to prevent moving.
"What happened to my wings?" she asked with difficulty.
"The doctors said that the strength that you exerted on them worn them out," Twilight said. "Don't worry, they will be fine, so you won't be able to use them for a while."
"Aww," Rainbow pouted. "I'm still glad I can still use them, but I didn't want them to go over such a huge trouble."
"You crashed against a wall, almost killing yourself, and you worry about your wings?" Applejack asked.
"Hey my wings are my life!" she retorted, and added. "Wait, just how bad was the crash?"
"Bad enough that you were knocked out for half a week," Twilight said. "You crashed head first against that wall. And even though that it was made of wheels to absorb most of the impact, your neck got injured too."
"No wonder it hurt me to rise from the bed."
"You really worried us sweetie!" Rarity said. "You weren't responsive at all until yesterday when you managed to move a little."
"Is there another place where it hurts you?" Twilight asked.
"No, I'm fine everywhere else," the pegasus affirmed, she looked around again. "Where's Fluttershy?"
"She must be outside, the poor girl can't bear the sight of an injured friend," Rarity said. Someone at the door knocked. "Oh speaking of which, that must be her," she opened the door.
"So... who won finally?" Rainbow finally asked.
There was a brief silence as Fluttershy entered the room, and this pretty much gave the cyan pegasus the answer. Twilight decided that she'd be the one to tell her.
"I'm sorry Rainbow, but the German won."
Dash stayed still for some time, surprised, but at the same time she felt like she knew it already. She was sad, she trained hard, and Twilight busted her flank thinking of ways to win. If she had paid attention before, this wouldn't have happened. She closed her eyes as the deception fell upon her.
"I'm sorry girls, if I had paid attention, or if I kept going by the plans..."
"Dash, it's okay," Twilight reassured her laying a hoof in her shoulder. "Either way we still get the recognition I told you about. Nopony has a perfect season you know?"
"I guess not..."
"So don't worry about it, you did an awesome job. The crash doesn't count, it happened after the race finished, so don't get obsessed by it," the unicorn smiled as Rainbow slowly pulled in for a hug.
"Thanks Twi, you girls are rad."
"Um, I'm sorry, but I have some company with me, I hope nopony minds," Fluttershy mentioned after a while.
"Who's with you?" Rarity asked as she took a peek outside, and let out a silent exclamation as two other figures poke their heads out to see Rainbow.
Every other pony also felt a surprise, they never had imagined that those two people would actually come visit Rainbow. But then they thought, it wasn't really that strange either.
"Sorry, are we bargin'?" a short blue figure asked.
"Sonic? What are you doing here?" Rainbow asked "And... wait, who is he? I can't see very well yet," she looked at the human.
"We wanted to check on you. Well, actually he wanted."
"Why him specially?" Rainbow repeated, and then it hit her. "Oh my gosh, don't tell me. Are you Vettel?"
"A pleasure to meet you, miss Dash," the german said. "I brought you a gift along with my best wishes." he added as he gestured a silver wrapping in front of her eyes.
"How cliché of men, flowers. What is it that you seek?" the pegasus asked impatient.
"Rainbow! Could you show some manners?" Rarity jumped. "He's giving you a bouquet with the best intentions!"
"It is okay miss," Sebastian said "I know it can be rather strange, but I have come to ask something from her."
"I'm not going to date you." she said unamused.
"RAINBOW!" everypony yelled.
"Seriously, dude! The heck is wrong with you?" Sonic yelled "He just wants to race against you again!"
"What? Race me again?"
"Exactly," Vettel confirmed. "Let me explain, the race that we had on Nurburgring, was one of the most difficult I have ever been in. And you, miss Dash, know better than anyone the wish to find an opponent worthy of you."
Rainbow was surprised. As strange as she thought this was, it was also flattering that the man who won against her, would want a rematch. It didn't make much sense since she already lost to him, what would he gain over this?
"Ever since I became champion of the Formula 1 Series, everything turned out to be boring. There was not anyone that would prove a challenge for me," he added. "But you changed that."
She started to think he was full of himself after he mentioned the F1 fact. But she didn't say anything as she once was like him.
"So please miss Rainbow Dash. I want to race you once again, and if you wish, make this a regular rivalry," Vettel pleaded. "What do you say?"
She thought about it, it was indeed a good race. Vettel has overpassed her expectations. And as she recalled from earlier, she identified with him. Rainbow wanted a rival, but not because she'd be mad at, one that she could compete against just to prove herself. And the German was like her equal, so she made a decision:
"I'm in," she said as she extended her hoof for him to shake. "You'll realize the mistake you made after I end up defeating you," she mocked.
"I say the same to you, miss," he smirked as he released her hoof.
"Good! Everything is settled now!" Sonic cheered.
"Not quite hedgehog," Rainbow said. "I need to know who came second."
"Oh that was me, but you made a bigger impression than the two of us did," he said while raising a thumb on her.
"Great, I know I said I wanted fame, but not by finishing last," she said dissapointed.
"Do not worry. When I started on Formula 1 I did not have good results either. It is just a matter to be constant, and at the end you shall rise," Sebastian affirmed.
Everyone in the room nodded at the moment of wisdom. Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie, who was strangely absent for the liking of Rainbow, revealed a camera as she asked for the three to pose for a photo to keep. When she was asked why, she said that every new relationship must be pictured.
There was a lonely road, silent. Nothing but the whisper of the wind and the movement of water was heard. A stranded bird stepped on the road, looking for something to eat, but to no avail.
A buzzing sound was coming from far, the little bird looked at the source, where he could only see a tiny blue dot. But a few seconds later, the dot turned into a imponent machine which passed next to him in a blink of an eye, with the force of the wind sending him stumbling backwards. He quickly learned the lesson, and flew away from the place, in search of better luck.
The RedBull X2010 was speeding down the Special Stage Route X. On the wheel, Sebastian Vettel was focusing on the road. His team booked the place to practise for a long while. And he was going to make the most of it.
Or at least try.
His team knew that he was a F1 racer, not a jet pilot. The speed the car reaches is beyond normal human capabilities. So they added a rev limiter that makes the throttle go offline for seconds, so that Vettel can't reach dangerous speeds.
"I still disagree with this decision Adrian," he said over his communicator. "If I want to overcome my weakness with the top speed, why do you put a limiter to prevent it?"
"You want to run when you can barely walk," said Adrian Newey, chief technical officer of Red Bull Racing. "This car is not to be taken lightly. You have to gradually learn to withstand it's high speeds."
"This is stupid."
Sebastian turned at the first curve, the angle was good enough for the car to keep a constant speed. The limiter never acted on the curves.
"I need a quicker strategy. I need to get better now!" the german was starting to feel impatient.
"Take it easy son, you are doing well. I don't see why do you need to get better, you already won against that pony, why try harder?"
"This is beyond just winning or losing. I just want to be better than her. That time at Nordscheleife, she showed me she is a rival to fear. And if I want her to keep being the loser, I have to augment my endurance now!"
"Sebastian, you're delusional, stop thinking about that and calm yourself. Besides, you will not go any faster with that limiter installed, that thing should put you in place."
"You're right..." Sebastian said, as he looked under the wheel, and fidgeted around with some circuits. "With this limiter I won't."
He pressed the pedal with full force just as he was entering the second straight, and the power he lost while he concentrated on the wires, was recovered in an instant.
"What the? The limiter is showing no signs of disrupting the throttle, what the bloody hell did you do?!"
"Just played around with the wires I think?"
"Vettel, this is preposterous, get back in the pits and don't overdo the speed. You can get killed!"
"Well," he made a quick pause as he braced himself to the wheel. "We'll see about that."
"SEBASTIAN!"
The gauges in the X1 have reached the point where the limiter should have activated, but instead they kept rising dangerously.
The world around him started to blur and darken, he pressed the throttle even more, but it moved no further, it was at it's max. He was falling asleep, but he had to keep going or he wouldn't defeat the pegasus again.
Even more darkness, the world was so full of it that it was already embracing him. He tried his best but he finally succumbed to the void, and as he fell, his right hand dragged something with him.
Sebastian woke up in a rush. The memories of him crashing left him without breath, covered in cold sweat.
Adrian was in a chair nearby.
"I am not sure if I should feel happy or sad that you woke up," he said.
"What happened?" the driver asked.
"You crashed the X1, that's what happened. The security devices we installed have saved you from death, but this was a complete dissapointment."
Sebastian lowered his gaze in shame. If he hasn't been stuck up in his hopes of getting better, this wouldn't have happened.
"All those years of work, all for naught," Adrian continued, and sat on the bed where Vettel was. "I just want you to know I am not mad at you, I'm glad that you are alive. But I am terribly dissapointed."
"I'm sorry. I just wanted to become better."
"Well, if you want to do that, you will have to follow my orders from now on. I know you want to toughen up your endurance, and in time, you will. But you can't force things."
"I understand. It won't happen again."
"Good. Now, I have two things to tell you. The first one is this," Adrian gave Vettel a paper, an invitation for a very prestigious race which wasn't the Formula One, it was something else. "I'm pretty sure your pony friend and the hedgehog will appear there. It's an open event and everyone can join, but there are several who are getting specific invitations. I think you can settle your things with her there."
"This is team-based, who will run with me?" the german asked.
"I have someone in mind already."
"But what about the car? I can't run on Heidi! She's not good enough against Rainbow!"
"We still have another X1 but that is just a scale model for the museum. And we will repair the one you crashed, however, you won't be running in the X1 anymore."
"Then which will be my car?"
"That's the second thing I wanted to tell you."
Adrian casted a deep glance at him, trying to point out the obvious answer. Once Vettel caught up with that, he grinned.
"Promise you will take care of it," he begged. "This is the biggest thing we have in Red Bull."
"I will. I promise."
"Good, don't make me regret this. Get some rest now." Adrian said as he left the room.
Once he was left alone, Sebastian Vettel's grin turned into a malicious smile. He started to laugh silently, while he played with his fingers.
