> Fate must be Cruel only to the Kind
>  by Fluttercheer
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> Act 1: The Joyful Dream of the Little Sister
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Fate must be Cruel only to the Kind

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Act 1: The Joyful Dream of the Little Sister


“The Applewood Derby!” The eyes of the turquoise-grey filly glistened from excitement as she looked down on the poster in front of her. It showed a slick, modern racing cart, the silhouettes of two ponies; one big, the other one small; sitting in it, on a curvy racing track, with more ponies at its side who cheered for the racers. The big headline on top of the poster said “Equestria's Famous Applewood Derby!”. In smaller letters under it, the text revealed the location of where the derby would be held: Ponyville.
Her eyes growing ever wider in fascination, the filly gave her joy free rein. “The Applewood Derby! The Applewood Derby!” she repeated cheerfully. “Finally I'm old enough to participate!” She reared up and kicked her forelegs into the air, the happiest giggle she could create leaving her mouth. The wings on her back buzzed in excitement and she was about to begin with another shout of joy as a voice coming from the pond to her right distracted her.
“Chirpy! Come into the water finally, what are you waiting for so long?!” a grey pegasus colt with a light orange mane shouted impatiently into her direction.
Chirpy Hooves looked over to the center of the pond where the voice came from and frowned. Then her face softened again and she answered the impatient question. “It's too chilly this evening to go swimming! Can't you feel the cold breeze?”
Indeed it was a rather cold evening on this summer day. While the weather was hot for most of the day, the temperature had begun to drop in the late afternoon and now, cold winds were blowing all over Rainbow Falls. But the colt just rolled his eyes over Chirpy's objection.
“Pfft! That's nothing! Only feeble ponies leave the water just because it gets a little cold! Come in, Chirps!” He waved her over.
Chirpy flinched as she heard the word “feeble” from the mouth of her big brother and for a moment, an expression of insecurity appeared on her face. “Fine,” she said then and turned towards the pond. “I'm not one of those feeble ponies, Crackle, just wait for it!”
She cantered towards the water and brought the few meters between the pond and her behind and as she had reached it, she did a jump into the pond from the edge of its shore. Her hooves stretched out widely, she hit the surface of the pond and dived under it. Chirpy's whole body convulsed in a matter of seconds as she felt the cool temperature of the water on her skin. As she had emerged again, she couldn't breath for a few seconds, her body suddenly being paralyzed by the pond's chill water.
“C-c-c-cold!” she said between her clattering teeth as her breath finally returned. She wrapped her hooves around her body and began to shiver.
Crackle Pop swam over to her, a smile on his face. His little sister followed his movement with her eyes while her teeth continously clattered. Crackle gave her a pat on the shoulder. “You'll get used to it, Chirps! Just swim a few rounds, then you will feel warm!”
Chirpy nodded tardy, then she slowly retracted the hooves from her body, brought them in front of her and started with a few, hesitant breaststrokes around her brother. He turned around to follow her swimming and his smile grew bigger as he saw that Chirpy became more confident. She answered the smile with a smile on her own and increased the pace.
Ten rounds later, she joined Crackle in the middle of the imaginary circle she had created around him with her swimming and gave him a nudge. “Thanks!” she said, all the shivers and clattering having vanished from her voice now.
Both siblings raised a hoof and with determined expressions, exchanged a hoofbump with each other. Then Crackle lifted up his hoof and gave the filly in front of him a noogie. “You've done good, sis!”
Chirpy giggled and rewarded him with a gentle expression. Then it turned into naughtyness and, using the moment of surprise, she splashed a portion of the cold water into his face. Crackle gasped and coughed, then he showed the same expression and answered the sudden attack with a splash on his own. Soon, the two foals were engaged in a fierce water fight without mercy, both of them determined to defeat their sibling. Eventually, they had to stop their fight without declaring a winner, as splashing around with the cold water resulted in exhaustion. They gasped for breaths until Chirpy's brother brought up her currently favorite topic.
“So, you're excited for tomorrow?” he asked her and ruffled through her dark blonde mane a second time, a grin on his face.
As he had retracted his hoof again, Chirpy nodded excitedly. “Mhm! I can't wait for it! Every year I wanted to participate and everypony always told me I'm too young for it, but now that I'm ten years old, I'm finally old enough to race in the derby! YAY!” A bell-like laugh sounded from her throat.
“I'm happy for you, sis!” Crackle Pop answered the overjoyed outburst. “You were always so jealous when I got to participate the last two years. Although.....” A mischievous grin appeared on his face. “Maybe I'm still changing my mind. I enjoyed it to participate in the Applewood Derby with our big sis and I only got to do it two times so far. Maybe I'm the one who should go anyway.....”
Like she was just struck by a sudden thunder, Chirpy's face turned into disappointment. Her lips pointed downwards and began to tremble slightly and in her eyes glistened something that could be the precursors of tears. “B-But I look forward to it so much! A-Are you serious?” Now small pools of tears got indeed accumulated and she looked at her big brother with watery eyes.
His expression broke a little at this sight. Regret showed up in his eyes and his mouth opened slightly. “Of course not,” he said in a soft tone and lifted up his sister's chin. “I was just joking, sis. I know how important it is to you.”
Smiling returned into Chirpy's face now. She reached up with a hoof and wiped the tears out of her eyes, then she squeezed her brother in a tight, short hug. As she had let go of him again, her expression turned playfully strict. She splashed some more water in his face. “That's your punishment for scaring me!”
Crackle Pop laughed, but then his face became slightly stern. “I just wish the derby could happen here in Rainbow Falls. Every year they combine the foals of Ponyville and the foals of Rainbow Falls to race in the same event, because they can't build a racing track here.” His dark orange eyes glided over the various mountain plateaus the buildings of the small town were scattered across. “If the derby would happen here, then mom and dad could be our partners and we both could participate in the race. But their jobs don't let them any time to leave Rainbow Falls for a whole day.....” He sighed. “At least one of us gets to meet Derpy there every year.”
As he noticed disappointment growing in his sister's eyes again, he gave her a reassuring smile. “But don't worry! I will yield to you this time, Chirps. It's your first year and I won't stand in your way.”
Chirpy gave him an admiring smile for these words.
“Maybe I can race again next year. But for this year, the spotlight is all yours, sis!” He answered her smile.
Chirpy's cheeks were now raised by how much she was smiling. She stretched out her hooves and wrapped up her brother in yet another hug. As she released him again, a strong, female voice called over to them. It came from a pegasus mare with a turquoise coat and a fiery orange mane and tail.
“Chirpy! Crackle! It's time for dinner, come home!”
They looked into the direction the voice came from. “We're coming, mom!” both of them shouted at the same time. The two siblings presented each other with a last smile, then they left the pond. They shook the water out of their coats, Chirpy hastily grabbed the poster and then they galloped home.
As they went over the doorstep, their grumbling stomachs indicated that they couldn't await to get a hearty meal into them. Or, at least one that would satisfy them until it was time for breakfast in the morning.
In a rush, Chirpy and Crackle took seat on the chairs at the kitchen table. It swayed slightly, but both of them were so hungry that they didn't notice. Their mom began laying the table and now approached them to place small bowls and spoons in front of them.
“Be careful with the table, you two,” she said, striking a slightly strict tone. “You know we can't afford a new one.”
The two foal siblings immediately showed a sheepish expression. Squees escaped their throats, followed by apologies.
As their mom had set down two more sets of a bowl and a spoon, she trotted back to the kitchen unit. A slightly rusty oven was there and on top of it, a big pot was placed. Steam arose from it and a familiar scent wafted into the noses of Chirpy and Crackle, which made their stomachs grumble even more.
Opposite of them, their dad, a hunky pegasus stallion with a grey coat and a short, blonde mane, took seat. He looked over to them and the strict expression in his yellow eyes pierced through them. Then his face lightened up and he laughed. Seeing their wet manes, he asked “Have you given your sister swimming lessons again, Crackle?”
“Mhm!” The young colt nodded with a smile. “She's getting better every day, dad! If she continues like that, she'll be fast enough to beat me in a race soon!”
His father gave Chirpy a smile, who just quietly sat on her seat and raised her head, wearing a proud expression.
Unfortunately, her mom didn't share the sentiment. As she approached the table again, now the pot with the steaming soup in her hooves, she raised an eyebrow and shot a disapproving glare at Chirpy.
Chirpy didn't notice, though, and so, instead of addressing her mom's disapproval, she reacted as on cue as she heard her brother using the word “fast”.
“Swimming? The only thing I'm caring about being fast at right now is the derby tomorrow! Maybe I'm winning it even and finally get a ribbon for fastest cart for the Hooves family!”
An angry expression appeared on Crackle's face and he shot it into Chirpy's direction, who stuck out her tongue in response, then following up on the cheeky gesture with a giggle.
“Make sure to eat your hay soup as long as it's hot, Chirpy,” she reminded her daughter on it that it was time to eat as she poured some of the soup into her bowl with a scoop.
Her attention having been brought to the meager meal in front of her, Chirpy frowned, but didn't say anything. Instead, she constructed a smile and looked into her mom's face. “Thanks, mommy!” she said, making her voice sound as happy as she could. As she noticed her brother frowning like she had just a moment ago and not saying anything after their mom had filled his bowl with hay soup as well, she gave him a slight kick with her hoof.
It seemed to wake up the colt from a trance. “Oh!” He abruptly looked up and directly into the unhappy faces of their parents. “T-Thanks for cooking for us, mom!” he quickly stuttered some gratitude. Then he took the spoon into his hooves, dipped it into the watery, yellow soup and began to eat, trying to seem as enthusiastic and happy about it as possible. A guilty expression was adorning his face.
Now Chirpy was starting to eat too. Dipping her spoon into the soup, she continued to smile at her parents, then broke out in fake praise for the meal once she had tried the first spoon full of soup. “Mmmmmmmmmmmmmh!” she said, stretching the expression really long. “I love your hay soup, mommy! It's the best one you can find anywhere!”
Her mom replied to the compliment with a smile, yet there was still a sad expression in her eyes.
Noticing it, her husband changed the subject. “Nimble, are you sure that our Derpy in Ponyville got the letter in time? We don't want her to be too surprised when Chirpy comes out of the train instead of Crackle.”
She nodded while taking his bowl and filling it with soup. “Yes, of course, Dapper,” she answered. “Why wouldn't it be? I sent it off days ago.” Her voice sounded strained.
A laugh rang out from Dapper's throat. “Haha, you're right! It's not like she had to deliver the letter to herself!”
Hearing the lighthearted stab at their big sister's clumsiness, Chirpy and Crackle interrupted their eating and broke out in giggles, that sooned turned into loud, hearty laughter. A faint smile finally appeared on the face of their mom and, quieter than the rest of her family, she joined in on the laughing.
She regained her composure quicker than the rest of her family, though, and after she had wiped some tears of laughter out of her purple eyes, she filled a bowl for herself and put it down in front of her. “Now, let's stop laughing about this,” she said while reaching for a small bag at the side of the pot. Carefully, she opened it and took out four small and very dry-looking pieces of bread. She placed one at the side of her bowl, then hoofed the other three ones over to her husband and her two foals. “You know that Derpy is working really hard for Ponyville's mail service. We shouldn't make fun of her just because she muddles up some of the letters here and there due to her eyes.”
Upon hearing that, the laughs of the other three ponies subsided slowly.
“And at least she's doing a better job in giving her daughter a good life than we ever did with our foals, Dapper.....” she answered sorrowfully as the laughing had finally stopped.
Immediately, the faces of Chirpy and her brother turned into compassionate, sad expressions. “That's just crap!” Crackle Pop burst out only a moment later, setting his spoon down on the table with force. It swayed violently at the impact. “You do a good job too! I know it isn't always easy, but Chirpy and me are happy, mom!”
Agreeing with her older sibling, Chirpy nodded towards her mother. “Crackle is right, mommy! We're okay. Even though you can't buy me as many books as I would like, I can always trade some. Please don't be sad, okay?”
Her dad took the word as she had ended. “Chirpy got it right, Nimble. Have you forgotten that tomorrow is her big day? Let's not ruin our daughter's joy by making this a sad evening.”
Abruptly, Nimble's head shot up, epiphany and traces of embarrassment visible in her face now. “I'm sorry, Chirpy!” she shouted quickly. “It's your first time in the Applewood Derby and it's so important to you and all I do is sulking.....”
Satisfaction spreading out over her little face, she smiled at her mom now. “It's okay, mommy! I know you didn't mean it.” As her mom didn't answer, she returned her attention back to the soup. Chirpy gave her a sad glance, then she proceeded with eating.
Silence hung in the air for a few minutes. The only sounds came from the ponies around the table eating their soup. The silent atmosphere only ended as Crackle Pop broke it, addressing his sister.
“Hey, Chirps, what if you win the ribbon for fastest cart? Will you hang it up in our room or will you just trade it for more books?” His voice sounded teasing and his lips formed a cheeky grin.
“Of course I'm not trading it!” Chirpy shouted at her brother while piercing him with a glare at the same time. Then she noticed the playful expression in his eyes and she giggled.
All of a sudden, it was like a dark cloud that hung over the table disappeared. One after another, Crackle, his mom and his dad joined in with Chirpy.
“You have to find a good place for it if you win it,” her mom then said as they had stopped laughing and poured more soup into Chirpy's now empty bowl.
Chirpy looked at her, eyes full of surprise. “Another one? Do we have enough soup today to eat two bowls?”
“Just for you,” her mom replied. “And just this once. We want you to be strong for tomorrow.”
A gigantic smile built itself up on Chirpy's face now and her eyes glistened. Bursting from joy over this gesture, she took flight and threw her hooves around her mom. “Thank you so much! I'll do my best tomorrow!”
“I know you will make us proud, Chirpy.” Her mom hugged her. “But now fly back before your soup becomes cold. And eat your bread too.”
Chirpy nodded, then she did as her mom had told her. Now so excited that she couldn't wait to get to sleep anymore, so that the next day would come quickly, she slurped her soup faster than she ever had before, while occasionally taking a bite from the chewy slice of bread.
Her whole family smiled while watching her.
As she was finished, Chirpy leaned back in her chair, satisfiedly rubbing her now full tummy. A little burp escaped her throat, which caused her family to laugh again. She looked around sheepishly. “Sorry,” she said then, with a bright blush on her face.
“You should go to sleep now,” her dad adviced her then. “You want to be fit for tomorrow, isn't it?”
This was something he didn't need to tell Chirpy twice. Enthusiastically, she nodded and got out of her chair, her brother following right behind her. With a tempo no other pony would be able to reach so easily, she waved at her parents, wished them a good night and dashed up the stairs, her thundering hooves sounding like they were making short work of the wooden stairs.
With a grin, Crackle looked after her. He turned around to his parents and wished them a good night as well, then he trotted up the stairs and followed his sister.
As he entered their room, he found Chirpy standing in front of the bookshelf to the right of the door, a pondering expression on her face. Before he could ask what was up, she shook her head. “Nope! No reading before bed tonight!” Then she turned around at the spot, did a jump into the bed under the window at the back wall of the room and slipped under the blanket.
Crackle Pop laughed. One thing was sure, once his sister had started reading a book, she was barely able to put it away again. Many nights happened where she just kept reading while he was deeply asleep at her side. And there were a few times where he woke up in the morning and Chirpy was still buried muzzle deep into a book. He could understand very well why she decided to not read something in this night.
As he slipped under the blanket at the side of his sister, she was already yawning and rubbing her eyes. Surprised, he looked at her. “You're so tired already?” It was way earlier than their usual bedtime and the surprise over her tired state was written all over Chirpy's own face as well.
“Maybe it was the swimming this evening,” she said sleepily, trying to come up with an explanation.
“Even more important that you get to sleep early tonight then!” he exclaimed in response.
Tiredly, Chirpy nodded, followed by another yawn. The filly lied down on her back and pulled the blanket over her, then she turned onto her right side and neatly rested her hooves in front of her on the blanket. She closed her eyes. “Good night, Crackle,” she said, in a voice that sounded like she was already half asleep.
“Night, Chirps!” Crackle replied. He rested his head on the pillow as well and crossed his forehooves under it, bringing himself into his preferred sleeping position. It was too early to sleep for him and unlike his sister, there wasn't a big and important task he had to do on the next day, so he could afford staying up late. Yet he didn't, as he feared that whatever he did in their small, shared room would prevent Chirpy from falling asleep, so he decided to join her in bed early and to count sheeps until he would be asleep as well.
Soon, steady breaths came from Chirpy. Crackle looked over to her in the dim light of their room as the sun slowly descended under the horizon and a smile flashed over his face.
He watched his little sister sleeping until his eyes closed and he was swept away into the realm of sleep as well.....
> Act 2: The Sorrow of the Siblings
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Act 2: The Sorrow of the Siblings


As the sun shone into the room the next morning, Crackle Pop squinted. The bright light drilled right into his eyes through the curtain-less windows. Annoyed, he groaned and turned to the left, showing the merciless sun rays his back.
As the colorful flecks of light had vanished from his vision, he slowly opened his eyes again. Chirpy appeared to be still asleep. She was lying on her back now and her mouth was open. Fast-paced breaths left it, her chest rising and falling in accordance with them.
Crackle Pop smiled. Not intended to wake up his sister just yet, he sat up, still avoiding the light as good as possible, and began to stretch himself. His muscles ached slightly, a result of him swimming for pretty much the whole day yesterday, which was only in his favor. He groaned satisfiedly. As he felt that the last remnants of lethargy were gone; at least from his upper body, the hindlegs would have to wait a little longer for this treatment, he turned to the left again.
“Time to make you some breakfast, Chirps,” he whispered while removing his part of the blanket from his body. Carefully, he slipped out from underneath it. He got up and, standing on all fours now, put the blanket down on the sheets. Crackle Pop stretched it out over his pillow, then smoothed its surface thoroughly. As he was finished with making his side of the bed, all as quiet as possible to give his little sister more rest before her big day started, he turned around and carefully attempted to climb over Chirpy and leave the bed. When his left hoof got sat down by him at Chirpy's side, he noticed something and stopped in his movement. He blinked surprised, then he moved his hoof over the blanket, alongside Chirpy's legs. “Hmm?” he thought. “Did she–?” Unbelievingly, he shook his head. “No, that can't be. She didn't wet our bed for years. It must be something else.”
Crackle did a few steps back and removed the blanket from his sister's legs. The coat on them glistened and the hairs were soaking-wet. A stench wafted into his nose from them.
He bent down on the wet spot on the sheets and sniffed at it. It didn't smell like what he suspected it to be. Making sure, he reached out with his hoof until the hairs on it were wet as well and sniffed on it again. He nodded affirmatively. Definitely no urine. What he was smelling there was sweat, nothing more. “Strange.....” he thought. “It wasn't so hot last night. It wasn't even warm!”
It was just now that he noticed that his left side was covered in thick sweat too. His right side was completely dry, though, and their bed was small. Their bodies touched it each other often while they were sleeping, especially if Chirpy was lying on her back as well, like she did now. There was no doubt about it. This sweat came from his little sister.
Triggered by an alarming thought, he turned around and quickly removed the blanket from his sister completely. His eyes widened. From her chest down to her hooves, Chirpy's body was drenched with sweat!
Crackle set a hoof down on her chest and stroke over it gently. Although he didn't put much pressure on it, while moving over the hairs, he could see the liquid flowing out from between them as his hoof displaced it. Just after a few seconds, he felt that his hoof was completely soaked, which a look at it confirmed. Her body was unusually warm as well. Concerned, he put his hoof on Chirpy's forehead. He gasped from shock as it felt hot.
Chirpy's mouth was still open and her breath going as fast as moments before and it was only now that Crackle Pop realized what it meant. Not caring about being quiet anymore now, he jumped over his little sister and galloped out of the room. “Mom!”

Worried, Crackle Pop's eyes rested on his little sister. As he was bursting into his parent's bed room, telling them that Chirpy was sick, they got up immediately and hurried at Chirpy's side. Both parents had dismayed expressions on their faces as they looked down on their daughter.
“She has fever,” his mom said. “Chirpy shouldn't have gone swimming anymore yesterday evening. It was too cold for it.”
Crackle twitched and looked at his mom with a shocked expression. “But we can do something about it, can we? We can get her fit enough again to participate in the race today, right?!” His voice was panicking.
Sadly, his mom shook her head. “No. Her fever is very high, Crackle. It will at least be a few days until your sister can leave the bed again.”
Crackle turned back to Chirpy. For some moments he just looked at her, a sad and distraught expression in his eyes. “It's because of me,” he said as he finally broke the silence. His parents looked at him.
“Chirpy did not want to go into the water, but I encouraged her to come. She did and it was too cold for her, but I told her she should just swim some rounds to get used to it and she did. So she stayed in the water with me until you called us, mom. That's why Chirpy is sick now.” He sighed.
Instead of getting angry at him now, his parents gave him compassionate looks. His dad put a hoof on his shoulder. “Don't agonize yourself with it, Crackle. You know it was not your fault.”
Crackle nodded, but his eyes kept resting on his sister and the sad expression didn't leave them.
His dad turned his attention to his wife. “Nimble, I go to the drugstore and see if we can get a discount on some medicine to lower the fever.”
Nimble nodded sternly. “Okay. I will go downstairs and make some tea for her.” She looked at her son. “Crackle?”
“I stay here, mom. I'm going to tell her the bad news once she wakes up.”
Deep concern was washing over his mom's face, but she nodded.
Crackle watched his parents leave the room and as they were gone, redirected his eyes on his sister. “I'm sorry, sis,” he said. “I didn't mean to make you sick but now you are and you can't fulfill your dream. All because of this stupid cutie mark.....” Upset, he turned around and gave the mark on his flank a hateful glare. “If only I could get rid of it!” He lashed out at his flank with one hoof, but before he could finish the movement, Chirpy began to stir.
Her hooves were grasping the top of the blanket and she moaned uncomfortably. Then she turned her head around to him and slowly opened her eyes. They were red and looked swollen. Despite the aching in her head, she gave her brother a smile.
“Crackle,” she said weakly. “How late is it? Have I slept too long?”
Quietly, he shook his head.
“My head hurts,” she continued. “And today of all days!” Her face frowned. “But I'm sure it will be gone until the race starts.” Shakingly, she removed the blanket from her and sat up.
Crackle gasped and did a step towards her. “No, Chirpy, you must lie down!”
But his sister was already climbing out of the bed. Clumsily, she tried to get on all four hooves, but when everything circled around her, she collapsed. In a posture that was a mixture between crouching and crawling, she inched forward and managed to put her forehooves down on the ground. As she moved forward to get the rest of her body out of the bed, she broke down again. With her head now resting on her collapsed forehooves, she gasped for breath. “Crackle? What is.....” But she trailed off and couldn't finish the sentence as her voice broke.
With as much care as he could, Crackle grabbed his sister, lifted her up and placed her in the bed. Gently, he pulled the blanket over her as her head was resting on the pillow again.
“Crackle?” Chirpy asked again. Worry and confusion alike were adorning her face now.
“You can't get up now, Chirpy,” he answered. “You.....” He looked aside and clenched his teeth. “You are sick, Chirpy. You..... You can't be in the race today.”
Crackle didn't dare to look at her, but if he would, he would have seen how Chirpy's face broke and how confusion was replaced with desperation.
“What?!” she said as upset as she could with her weak voice. “But, Crackle, I need–“ Suddenly, coughing let her body erupt and she sat up. Hooves pressed in the blanket at her sides, she coughed loudly, her face grimaced in pain.
Crackle Pop reached out and held his little sister to support her in her coughing fit. It was so loud that he figured his mom could hear it downstairs. As it was over, he lied her down again gently and put the blanket back over her once more.
“My chest hurts,” Chirpy whimpered and looked with an agonized expression at her brother, tears glistening in the corners of her purple eyes now.
Comfortingly, he stroke over her mane. “I'm sorry that you have to stay at home,” he said.
“It's all because I went swimming,” she explained, in a weaker voice than before. “I shouldn't have. I'm so stupid.” Now her voice sounded like she was on the verge of crying.
“You aren't stupid!” Crackle Pop burst out. “You just did because I told you to. If I wouldn't have tried to convince you, you could participate now.” He bit his lip.
Seeing her brother so distraught now, compassion started to appear on Chirpy's face. “It's okay,” she said. “I–“ she coughed again a few times, quieter now. “I'm not angry. You can't do anything against it when it happens.” Slowly, she lifted up a hoof, trying to reach his mane to return the comforting gesture he gave her earlier. As she failed with it, she gently rubbed over his cheek instead.
Crackle smiled at his sister. “I know. But.....” His face became distorted in anger now. “But now you can't be a part of the Applewood Derby, even though you dreamt so long of participating, and that's all because I have the stupidest special talent a pony ever had!” This time, he gave his flank a pat for real. Then he let his head hang. “Being good at bursting the bubbles of other ponies' dreams..... This should only happen if somepony plans to do something evil. But I even end up destroying good dreams that ponies have..... Every time it happens, I do or say something that leads to this..... Why do I never notice it or see it coming?! It's like this stupid mark is mind-controlling me and making me oblivious to everything! And now I destroyed your big dream!”
A scream left this throat and he turned around and gave his cutie mark a punch again. And then another. Soon, he was inflicting a series of furious punches on the mark on his flank.
Chirpy flinched as she saw this display of self-harm. “Please don't do this,” she reached out to him.
Crackle didn't hear her. Faster and faster and with more and more intensity, he began to punch down on his flank, not noticing the increasing pain that it caused him. And with every punch, his face distorted a bit more, becoming adorned with more hatred every time.
“IT'S SO STUPID!” he screamed again. “Why do I have such a talent? How do I deserve it? How do YOU deserve it? I don't want to have it anymore! Maybe I should just cut off this damn mark from my flank, maybe this will let this wicked talent disappear, I should go down in the kitchen right now and–”
“CRACKLE, PLEASE STOP!” Chirpy reached out to him again, pleading and yelling now.
A cold wave washed through Crackle's body and he stopped in his movement. He turned around again and looked in his sister's face. It was marked with fear now; her mouth gaped open, her eyes were wide and a few tears had run over her cheeks. Immediately, Crackle Pop felt the piercing pain of guilt in his heart. “I'm sorry,” he said regretfully. “I didn't meant to scare you, sis.”
“I-It's okay,” she stammered. “B-But I don't want that you hurt yourself, Crackle. It isn't your fault and it makes me afraid if you do this.” She sniffed.
Now fully realizing how much he had scared his little sister, Crackle reached out to her and wrapped her into a hug. He felt that her body was shivering. His head resting on her shoulder, he apologized again. “I'm sorry. I promise I won't do it again.” In response to the promise, Chirpy tilted her head and nuzzled his mane.
After he had released the hug and smoothed the blanket, that had become mussed up while he was hugging her, again, Chirpy gave him another smile. It was just for a moment, though. Right in the next moment, Chirpy's eyes welled up and her emotions began to overwhelm her as the realization of what she would miss today hit her completely.
Her lower lip began to quiver. “B-But I really wanted to participate this year,” she said sobbing. “So much. It would be my first year and now I'm going to miss it. Why? It meant so much to me.....” She grabbed the blanket and pulled it over her face until it was covering her eyes and, now giving in to her emotions completely, she whimpered and cried into it, all the while she was pressing the blanket against her wet eyes.
Crackle Pop's head shot up. Seeing Chirpy like this broke his heart and he already felt the warm feeling of an upcoming crying fit in his eyes as well, ready to join his sister in her own, as a sudden thought hit him.
“I can't get you to participate in the race,” he said. “This stupid fate isn't allowing it. But–“ He carefully took his sister's hooves and made them let go of the blanket, then he pulled it down. With eyes even more puffy and red than before, Chirpy looked at him, still sobbing heavily, with the tears constantly streaming over her cheeks.
Crackle Pop continued. “But I can get you that ribbon! I can get you the ribbon for fastest cart!”
Chirpy's face lit up a tiny bit and a small glimmer flashed up in her eyes for a moment. “Y-You can?” she asked between two of her sobs.
“Mhm!” Crackle Pop responded confidently. “I need to leave right now, but if I hurry I can still catch the train to Ponyville and meet up with Derpy there!”
Chirpy's eyes widened in surprise. Crackle Pop held a hoof at her eyes and softly, he rubbed the tears out of them. “Don't worry, Chirps, I will get you that ribbon! I swear I will win it for you!”
He gave Chirpy a last hug and before she could reply anything, he darted out of the room, galloped down the stairs and into the kitchen.
“Crackle Pop?” his mom asked him upset as he galloped past her and almost knocked her down together with the cup of tea she was carrying.
Crackle Pop didn't answer. He snatched up Chirpy's saddlebag, that her parents had prepared for her last night, aimed for the door of the house, threw it open and immediately took flight once he was outside. “I'm going to win the ribbon for her, mom!” he said before he took off. In his hurry, he even forgot to say goodbye.
Flapping his wings as fast as he could, he flew towards the train station, only paying as much attention to his surroundings as it was necessary to not crash into something.
As the train station was right in front of him, he could already spot the train. Taking a dive, he landed right in front of one of the doors. His hooves barely on the ground, he already jumped into the door and literally the second after, it closed behind him.
Relieved, he took seat at one of the empty places at the windows and took off Chirpy's saddlebags. Holding them in a tight grip, he stared at the small bird emblem that was adorning it. His eyes showed a serious, grim expression and his thoughts circled around the task in front of him. Soon, he didn't notice his surroundings anymore, all his eyes saw were the saddlebags in his hooves.
“Your ticket!” a voice suddenly rang out to him and Crackle Pop looked up and into the, visibly annoyed and impatient, face of the conductor.
Back in reality, he opened the saddlebags of his little sister and took out the bits his parents had saved up for this day, just enough to buy a return ticket for the trainride to Ponyville and back.
As the conductor was gone again, he carefully placed the saddlebags beside him on the seat. “Don't worry, Chirpy,” he silently spoke to it. “I'm going to win the ribbon for you. This is something fate can't stop me from.”
> Act 3: The Resolve of the Big Brother
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Act 3: The Resolve of the Big Brother


The trainride to the small town near the center of Equestria was an uneventful one. Most of the time, Crackle Pop spent with looking out of the window; busy with pondering about what happened, strategies to win the race and how he would leave the train upon arrival and explain everything to Derpy, while barely noticing the landscape that passed by as the train rode on the tracks towards its destination.
At one point, he pulled an apple and two slices of bread out of the saddlebags as his grumbling stomach reminded him on it that he didn't have a breakfast this morning, and greedily ate everything with a few bites. The rest of the trainride, though, he just stared out of the window, lying on the seat and an absent, concentrated expression in his eyes, his brows furrowed.
As the train came to a standstill with a lurch, he was thrown out of his deep thoughts and noticed that he had arrived. “Ponyville, end of the line!” the deep voice of the conductor sounded into his ears.
Quickly, the young pegasus colt stirred, snatched up Chirpy's saddlebags and galloped out of the train through the nearest exit. Having arrived at the platform, he hectically looked around for the pony he needed to meet. As he noticed Derpy at the other end of the platform, he dashed towards her.
Derpy waved at him, as soon as he came into her view. Then, she took down her hoof and a surprised expression appeared on her face.
Crackle stopped in front of her. Looking down on the ground, he gasped for breath, the saddlebags he had carried in his mouth falling down in the process.
“Crackle Pop?” Derpy asked him in bewilderment. “Why are you here? Where is Chirpy?”
Still out of breath, Crackle denied his big sister an answer for now, but by the sad expression his face took on as she mentioned Chirpy, Derpy figured that something was up.
“What happened, Crackle?” she asked another question, now sounding worried.
As he had finally gotten his breath back again, he answered Derpy's nagging question. “Chirpy is sick,” he said, the sorrow sounding in his voice.
Derpy's ears dropped as she heard the bad news. “Oh. How sad for her. I know how much she looked forward to participate in the derby for the first time.” She closed her eyes and lowered her head.
Crackle Pop nodded. “That's why I'm here. Chirpy got sick because of something I did, so I came to participate in the race and win for her.”
Derpy's head jolted up, her crossed eyes now looking at him with dismay in them. “Was it your special talent again?” she asked him.
“Mhm. It happened again. But I can't allow this. If Chirpy can't participate, I must at least get this victory in her stead. I must get her the ribbon for fastest cart, Derpy.” He looked at her intensely, a fire burning in his eyes that Derpy had never seen in them before.
Her expression turned into a determined one. “If that's how it is.....” she said. “Then we will win!” She turned her flank at him and pointed at it. “If anypony can help you win for our sister and to prevent her dream from bursting like a bubble completely, then it is the pony with a bubble cutie mark!”
The frantic expression in Crackle's face turned into a smile. Derpy grabbed her little brother and placed him on her back. “Come on! There's a race we have to win!” A spring in her movement, she snatched up the saddlebags, then turned around at the spot into the direction they needed to head. She enfolded her wings, flapped them hard and took flight towards Sweet Apple Acres in such a tempo that Crackle Pop had to grasp her neck strongly to avoid falling off her back.
As they arrived on the meadow of the local apple farm that served as the construction site for the carts of the Applewood Derby, Derpy didn't waste any time and immediately dashed for their reserved space at the far end of the site. Not intended to lose any time either, Crackle Pop jumped off her back, placed his little sister's saddlebags carefully on the ground and took the big saw, that was leaning against a massive wooden block, into his hooves. Derpy and he exchanged a determined look and a hoofbump, then both of them got down to work and began to cut a cart out of the block of wood.
To Crackle's surprise, constructing the cart went very easy and they made progress much faster than he had expected. It was something he wasn't used to. In the last two years of his participation in the Applewood Derby, his big sister Derpy's innate clumsiness caused them to need a long time for the construction of the cart, in a process that was marked by mishaps and failures. In the end, they always managed it to get a somewhat passable cart that could endure the three laps on the intersected, town-wide racing track. Though, the cart never brought him victory, and he always rolled over the finish line as one of the last racers, with only the participant who aimed for the most traditional cart behind him.
Every year, Crackle Pop had suspected that the obvious construction issues with the cart where responsible for him not winning the race, but he had never told Derpy about it or complained to her because of it. He knew very well that his big sister sometimes didn't have it easy to cope with the visual impairment she had since her birth, so he never addressed it to her. But this year was not the same. This year was clearly different. Noticing how fast they progressed with doing the first carvings that should give the wooden block the shape of a slick racing cart, Crackle Pop looked surprised over to his big sister, only to get his astonishment increased tenfold.
Unlike usually, Derpy's eyes were completely straight! During the whole construction, he kept paying attention to them. A few times they returned to the crossed state he was used to, but every time it happened, Derpy stopped for a moment with her work, squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. When she opened them again, they were as straight as before and she immediately continued with working on the cart. As time passed by, Crackle Pop noticed an increasing amount of sweat appearing on his big sister's forehead, yet she never stopped working, except for fixing her eyes, and was continuing in a tempo that was almost fanatically fast. It only took them two hours and the cart was completely carved out of the wood and equipped with working wheels and a fully functionable engine. Just a few minutes later they had drawn a big “1” surroundedy by a circle on both sides of their cart, something that should show that they will be the Number #1, as Derpy explained.
After they were finished with everything, Crackle Pop jumped into the vehicle and stepped on the gas pedal. The engine roared and the cart rolled forward a few meters at a respectable speed. A satisfied and happy smile on his face, he jumped out of the cart again.
Derpy was sitting on the ground, her face clad in sweat and her eyes having returned to their trademark crossed state permanently, something she allowed to happen again, now that the cart was finished and they couldn't cause her to put something at the wrong place or to make a wrong cut anymore. The pegasus mare panted heavily.
Unexpectedly, she felt embraced by her younger brother. “Thank you, big sis!” he exclaimed in joy, burying his face in the hairs on her neck. “I think with this cart, we can really win this time!”
Smiling, Derpy enfolded her wings and wrapped them around her little brother. “We will!” she assured him. “No way I will allow that our sister suffers more than she has to.”
The two pegasi siblings enjoyed their closeness for a few minutes, then they parted.
“So, should we make our way to the racing track?” Derpy asked Crackle Pop. The determined expression had returned into her face now.
Eagerly, the young colt nodded. Derpy got up and together, they rolled their cart to the location where the derby would take place.....

Crackle Pop looked over his opponents as he rolled his cart to the starting line. It was a classical déjà vu moment, as he already did this for the second time on this day.
So far, fate had been cruel with him again. The first race started out alright, but soon, the event spiraled out of control. First, there was this other opponent, a mare with a white coat going by the name of Rarity in a swan cart. Every time he and Derpy had gathered speed, she blocked their way by unfolding gigantic wings that were attached to her cart. She was only competing for most creative cart, yet she did her best to prevent them from surpassing her. From Derpy, he knew that the mare was an old fillyhood rival of hers, who was intended to beat her for the most creative cart since she had won this ribbon back in the days when she was a young filly. This year was the first time, though, that her rival had resorted to cheating to get revenge on Derpy for beating her. It was something that had made him mad. He had such an important reason and did his best to be faster than the other racers, and then there was this perky mare, always securing her top position by cheating with the features her car offered! More than once he was close to yell at her to get out of the way and it was only due to the realization that she wouldn't hear him anyway over the loud sound of all the engines that he didn't.
And just a few minutes later, the disaster happened. At one of the intersections, the cheating mare and two other ones, who strangely didn't allow their three younger partners to drive the carts, crashed into each other. The other carts, including their own, were close behind them and joined the collision. Fortunately, none of them or any of the other racers got injured, aside from slight bruises and a few scratches, but their cart was demolished. The race was announced to get a repeat after the accident brought it to such an abrupt end and everypony went back to the construction site to fix their demolished carts. Luckily, the damage on their own cart wasn't as bad as the damage the other carts had received and so, fixing it up and making it apt for the race again was a relatively easy task.
Now the racers were back on the racing track again, but there was a difference now. Since the accident was apparently caused by adult racers that weren't careful enough, it was decided that the foals should participate in the second race alone. It was something Crackle Pop only agreed to very reluctantly; Derpy worked so hard to build their cart and then to fix it, it was unfair to single her out now, but Derpy said it was okay. She told him that she had already contributed her part to help their sister and was fine with not participating anymore this time. Then she joined the spectators along the course to cheer him on.
And now it was almost time. The carts rolled closer and closer to the starting line and Crackle Pop observed his competitors attentively.
To his right were the three fillies who got denied to drive their carts during the first race. All of them had new carts now, as their old ones got completely destroyed. To his luck, Crackle Pop was able to collect some informations about these three competitors of him. During a conversation between them and the three mares, apparently their big sisters, that he could overhear, they had talked about the ribbons they wanted to win.
The filly to his immediate right, a unicorn listening to the name of Sweetie Belle, was going for the most traditional cart, something that would have been, by the look of her cart, easy to tell anyway, even if he wouldn't have heard her talking with her big sister. She wasn't a danger for him. Her cart was so slow that it would most likely go over the finish line as the last one, a long time after the other racers would have already finished the race.
A position further to the right was a cart designed like a phoenix, driven by a pegasus filly called Scootaloo, who wanted to get the ribbon for most creative cart. Crackle Pop guessed that this cart could still win despite its unusual design, if Scootaloo would try really hard, but knowing her goal with this race, she was probably not aiming for being the first one to drive over the finish line. Crackle ticked her off on the imaginatory list in his mind.
The filly on the far right, going by the name of Apple Bloom, though, was a problem. Her cart was slick and thin. Clearly designed for speed, there was no doubt about that. In fact, from what he could see, it was definitely the slickest one of all of them. On top of that, she seemed to have the most sturdy wheels. Crackle Pop cursed himself a little for it that he and Derpy didn't make their cart more aerodynamic, but now it was too late. And he had to concentrate now. “No time to cry over spilled milk now, Crackle Pop!” he reminded himself.
Crackle Pop squinted at Apple Bloom, who gave him a confident and determined look, that seemed to say “Come and try to beat me!”, then he turned around to the left and focused his attention there.
Four other racers were on this side. He didn't know their names, except for one, and he lacked informations about them. But judging by the look of their carts, they were most likely going for fastest cart as well. There was a cart that looked like a barber pole, driven by a slightly chubby colt; a very classical, blue racing cart, controlled by a grey colt with a dark, red mane and a cart with very round shapes, that had purple colors and a white streak in the middle, on board a filly with a long and flowy, turquoise mane.
The cart that got the biggest attention by him, though, was a modern, red vehicle, that looked very noble and expensive. Its racer, Diamond Tiara, had quite obviously a wealthy family. This meant that she could probably afford equipment and features for her cart that other ponies couldn't afford. It was a cart that definitely had a lot of power under the hood, this was something that was easy to tell. And if it wouldn't have been for the looks of their carts, the expression in the faces of two of these four racers made their intentions clear.
Diamond Tiara was wearing an expression of determination so strong that it was even rivaling his own and the turquoise-maned filly even had a look in her eyes like she was willing to push other racers of the track to win, which was further solidified by an almost malicious-looking grin. As she noticed that he looked at her, she turned around to him and, still wearing the same grin, pointed with a hoof at him, followed by clashing both of her hooves together.
Seeing this clear signal, Crackle Pop gulped. The competition was anything but easy.
Having checked out the other racers, he looked in front of him again. He now knew which racers would be the hardest to beat. “Apple Bloom, Diamond Tiara and the aggressive filly with the turquoise mane.....” he muttered quietly to himself. “I must be careful with those three.”
Now the starting line was almost reached by them. “Derby racers, to the starting line! Derby racers, to the starting line!”
The voice of the organizer of the derby ringing in his ear made him realize like nothing else that it was getting serious now. He tightened his grip around the steering wheel. “I'm not going to lose, Chirpy. This ribbon will be yours. I will win this race for you.”
Now all the carts were at the starting position and the little peptalk he just gave himself made him confident now. He felt relaxed. There was no way he would lose this race. He would be the winner at the end, no matter the cost. Smiling, he looked at the racing track in front of him, his hooves at the steering wheel ready to take every sharp turn and every curve in the best way possible.
The organizer started to give the signal. “Racers, on your marks! Get set! Go!”
With full force, Crackle Pop hit the gas pedal and made his way to pass the other racers. Even though he managed a quick start, he only found himself on fourth place right now. As he had expected, Apple Bloom was at the first position right away. She was closely followed by Scootaloo and behind the two, Diamond Tiara gave her best to catch up.
Carefully, Crackle Pop steered his cart through the curvy beginning of the course down the hill. This was a maneuver that was costing him a little speed, and he almost fell behind a spot several times, but at the same time, the fact that he was driving downwards on a hill still allowed him to keep a nice pace and to hold his position.
As he had successfully steered through the last curve and was close to the foot of the hill, he became more daring and began to increase the tempo.
Diamond Tiara had managed it to get far ahead of him while he was maneuvering down the hill – her cart had indeed a lot of power – but now he was slowly catching up. Occasionally, he had to hit the brake as the track led him through two very long loops with radical curves, but still, he got closer and closer to Diamond Tiara. It was soon that he realized that her cart, while being very fast, was not very maneuverable through curves, probably through its rather bulky build. This allowed him to catch up with her anyway.
Crackle Pop licked his lips as he noticed that he was almost side on side with Diamond Tiara now. After accelerating even more, he had almost passed Diamond Tiara.
“See it, Chirpy? I'm almost third,” he began his imaginary conversation with his little sister again to encourage him. “Almost done. Just a little more and–“ Abruptly, he stopped mid-sentence as he felt a strong impact.
Startled, he turned to the left to see what had caused the impact and looked directly into the eyes of the turquoise-maned filly. Realizing what happened, he shouted at her.
“You?! Are you crazy? Don't you know that it's dangerous to ram another cart like this?”
She ignored his argument and just gave him a mischievous grin. “What's the matter? Not tough enough, buster?” She rammed his cart again, letting him almost lose control of it.
Crackle Pop noticed that he was far behind Diamond Tiara again now. He gritted his teeth.
“Finally stop ramming my cart, you..... you.....” Quickly, he bit on his tongue before he would say something that he would be regretting later.
Once more, the filly was ignoring what he said. “Oh and I'm not 'you'!” she answered. “My name is Sugar Stix. But I probably should call myself 'Sugar Devil' for this race.” She laughed out loud a few times, then she rammed his cart a third time.
And this was one time too much. Crackle Pop hit the brake and yanked the steering wheel around wildly in a desperate attempt to stay on track, but it was useless. Not reacting to his input anymore, the cart slid over the track and directly into one of the haybales at its side. He could hear Sugar Stix' laughter as she took his former position. Then, the other three carts that were behind him passed by.
Angry, Crackle Pop let his hooves come down on the steering wheel. Then he took a deep breath, composed himself and put the cart into reverse. A few moments later, he was back on the track and tried to catch up again. He knew it wouldn't be easy, though, as he was suddenly on last place and all the other racers were very far ahead now.
Crackle Pop reached for the stick to his right and determinedly, he switched it two gears higher. “Nopony is stopping me,” he said between gritted teeth.
As he noticed how much faster the cart was now, he calmed down a little. He was making progress again and as he had mastered the curve of the third loop of the race and was past the town hall, he was once again close to its center, where he noticed a familiar racer in some distance in front of him: Diamond Tiara.
As he passed her, her furious expression let him immediately figure what had happened. Like him, Diamond Tiara had become a victim of the “Sugar Devil”.
Much bigger than his surprise over seeing Diamond Tiara so far behind suddenly was his surprise as he, after he had outdistanced Diamond Tiara and could already see the finish line, saw this very Sugar Devil he just thought about in front of him. A grin flashed over his face. He had no idea what happened that the aggressive filly racer was suddenly at one of the last positions as well, but with the unfair action from earlier still fresh in his mind, he could feel nothing but satisfaction.
Once more, he hit the gas harder. As he was at Sugar Stix' side, he lowered the tempo for a moment. Turning around to the other racer, he stuck out his tongue and gave her a cheeky grin, then he increased his tempo again and left her behind.
Sugar Stix' face was distorted in anger now. She increased her tempo as well until she was at his side again. But before she could ram him, Crackle Pop had already taken precautions. He had switched to gear four now, which let him easily get ahead of her again. Crackle Pop turned around for a moment and laughed as he saw that Sugar Stix' cart was already so far away that he couldn't see more than a small pink dot with another turquoise dot on top anymore.
He returned his attention to the track in front of him again and a moment later, he raced over the finish line. The first lap was over now and finally he could see the other five racers before him again. His determination rekindled, he now floored the gas pedal and smiled satisfiedly as he got ever nearer to his competitors.
Then his heart did a jump. He yelped slightly as a red flash suddenly came from behind him and stopped right at his side. He looked to the left and his mouth gaped open as he recognized the opponent. He wanted to say something, and it was already on his tongue to ask how she did it, but he could not produce one single word from sheer shock and surprise and instead, kept gasping like a fish in an aquarium.
Diamond Tiara smiled at him smugly. The joy of being closer to the top position now was impossible to miss in her face. She winked at him. “See you later, partner!” Then the speed of her cart increased again and she shot past him. Her happy giggle was still in the air as he watched with an open mouth how she passed by Scootaloo, the barberpole cart and the colt in his blue cart as well.
Finally, he managed to press out some words, but all he could say was “What?! How?”
For a few moments, he just kept staring at Diamond Tiara's cart, his mouth widely opened. As he saw the center of the racing track coming into view again, his mind became clear. He shook his head, squinted his eyes and concentrated on the course again. “Focus now!” he called himself out. “You can't disappoint her.” He was still driving with gear four and from what he could see in front of him, this was necessary now. Even though he had switched to this much higher gear now, he still was not past the other racers, so they must have switched to the same gear by now, he figured.
Still a bit confused by Diamond Tiara's shockingly sudden return, he tried hitting the gas pedal harder, only to realize that he was still flooring it. And yet he couldn't get closer to the other racers! All he managed right now was holding his position and avoiding to fall farther behind. He corrected his former assertion. The other carts must at least drive with gear five already by now. For just a split-second, doubts overcame him if his cart could really keep up with the other carts, but he shook the thought away.
Confidently, he pulled at the stick for a third time since the race started. As he had finished switching to gear five, he felt getting pressed back into his seat. With a sudden burst of speed, he raced past Scootaloo, the barberpole cart and the blue cart, finding himself on third place from one moment to another.
A smile played upon his lips. Apparently, while the other racers were already driving with gear five before he did, they had never floored the gas pedal after switching to it so far. Now there were only Diamond Tiara and Apple Bloom in front of him. If he would switch to gear six, he could make it to the first position with ease.....
Crackle Pop pondered if he should already play out this last trump card he had or wait longer for it, until his mind was getting distracted by something in front of him.
As they turned into the first loop of the racing track and swiftly approached the first, major curve, Diamond Tiara's cart accelerated faster and faster. She was now side by side with Apple Bloom and just a few seconds later, she had passed her, which made the speedster filly look after her irritated.
Seeing this achievement astounded Crackle Pop and, at the same time, gave him more confidence for his own goal. “If she can make this, I can surpass Apple Bloom too!” He reached for the stick, while simultaneously steering his cart through the curve, as he noticed that Diamond Tiara's cart started to skid.
A scared expression on her face, she bit her lip and tried to still make it through the curve properly. They were in the middle of the curve now, the hardest part, yet Diamond Tiara did not lower her tempo. Then her cart shot off of the racing track. It circled around itself a few times as Diamond Tiara frantically yanked at the wheel, then it slid straight towards a tree and crashed into it. The loud sound of the fast impact pierced through Crackle Pop's ear drums. He thought to see a bright flash at her cart as he drove past the crash site, but everything happened so fast, he couldn't be sure.
Gulping, he moved his hoof away from the stick. “Not a good idea in a curve like this,” he muttered in shock. He looked behind him, but he was already too far away to see if Diamond Tiara was alright. He wanted to turn around and drive back for a moment, but then he changed his mind as he saw the picture of his crying sister appear in front of him.
Gritting his teeth, he left the loop with the other racers and drove over the center of the track. Up until now, he had to use the brake slightly in order to not crash into Diamond Tiara, but now he put his hoof away from it and took her former position. His spirits suddenly lifted, he smiled. “It's just one step away from victory now, Chirpy!” he said.
Unfortunately, he wasn't the only one with this idea. The two colts behind him accelerated too now and took position at his sides. Only Scootaloo stayed behind, but she took the place right behind Crackle Pop. The other two racers looked at him with grim faces. Crackle Pop shuddered. This had long since stopped being a race, it was a fight. This dawned on him now.
With drifting through the second loop and its massive curve now, Crackle once more didn't dare to switch to the last gear his cart could offer, but he managed to hold the position. Neither he nor the other two colts could get ahead of each other and all three of them continued to drive on the same position.
In this situation, an odd thought occurred to Crackle Pop. He hadn't seen Sugar Stix anywhere since shortly before the end of the first lap. Was she still so far behind? Or was she disqualified and pulled out of the race? He reckoned with the latter. There had to be some judges here in this race and what she did was likely against the rules.
While pondering about her, they drove into the third loop. With a bad feeling in the gut, Crackle noticed the displaced haybale at the side of the track, feeling remembered on his own, thankfully small, accident because of the reckless behavior of Sugar Stix. He averted his gaze from it and concentrated on what was in front of his eyes again.
Even though he raced over the track in such a high tempo now that his surroundings were a blur most of the time, it was surprisingly easy to steer the cart through the curve. “It's too easy,” he thought. He looked at the two colts at his sides again. He was aware of it that he had to do something and luckily, the chance presented itself as they left the loop and approached the center of the race once more. He could already see the finish line again, signifying the end of the second lap. He knew there weren't any major curves now for a while. If he would switch to gear six now.....
Ready, he put his hoof on the stick, while still holding position in the middle between the two other colts. The finish line was almost in reach. “Now or never!” He put pressure on the stick to switch to the last gear available, as suddenly, a sharp pain flashed through his right hoof. The pain causing a certain impulse in him, he hit the brake of his cart, causing it to skid slightly. Panicking, he moved his hurting hoof, that was now throbbing from pain, and placed it on the steering wheel again. The whole debacle had cost him his second place and as he raced over the finish line, he found himself at Scootaloo's side, the two other colts battling it out between the two of them now.
As he was sure that he had the situation under control enough to not shoot off the racing track like Diamond Tiara earlier and that he would not fall farther behind, he allowed himself to take a look at his hoof. It looked slightly swollen. Crackle Pop grimaced in pain as another flash went through his hoof.
“Hey, you're okay?”
Crackle turned to his right where the voice had come from. Scootaloo was looking at him, a concerned expression adorning her face.
He set up a fake smile. “Everything's fine,” he answered. “Don't worry about it.”
Scootaloo's face was still wearing a frown. She looked in front of her again, but shot him a sceptical glance before fully concentrating on her own cart again.
Crackle Pop returned his attention to his cart as well.
Unfortunately, nothing was fine. He knew that he had hurt his right hoof earlier this day. After the accident, he had trouble putting it down on the ground for a few minutes, even so much that he chose to hover for a while in order to avoid having to stand. The pain vanished eventually, so he thought it was just a bruise and didn't make a fuzz about it. What he had to do today was too important to make a fuzz about it. But now, he realized in horror, the injury was probably something much worse than that.
He clenched his teeth, trying to concentrate on the hill at the start of the racing track he now drove downwards on for a third time, as, once more, pain jerked through his hoof. It twitched.
He was now at the foot of the hill again and after a few more curves, he saw the center of the race circuit in front of him.
“Not now,” he thought. “This is the final lap. I won't give up now.”
The pain was coming in waves now, but he visualized Chirpy in front of him and ignored the pain once more. “She's counting on you, Crackle!” he said. “And this is your last chance.”
In now desperate determination, he placed his right hoof on the stick. As he touched it, a feeling like somepony was cutting into his hoof went through it. Crackle flinched. But he did not remove his hoof.
He lowered the pressure of his left hindleg on the gas pedal and immediately, he was falling behind Scootaloo. But not for long. Groaning in pain, he used the stick and finally switched to gear six. He hit the gas pedal stronger again, but was not flooring it this time, not yet, and then he was pressed into his seat again by another burst of speed that was stronger than any he had ever felt.
Without effort, his cart accelerated forward and past Apple Bloom's cart now, bringing him finally on the position he needed to reach.
“Hey!” Apple Bloom shouted after him, upset and disappointed over the sudden development, but he could already not hear this anymore.
Using the opportunity, he hit the gas pedal slightly stronger, increasing his speed just a tiny bit more. His injured hoof was placed by him on the steering wheel again. It now hurt every time he moved it.
With his newfound tempo, he drove into the first loop and tried to take on the curve again without reducing the pressure on the gas pedal, but soon, he had to realize that he didn't have a choice. He would have to drive slower if he wanted to make it through the loop.
Crackle lowered the pressure of his left hindleg and his cart became slower, now drifting through the curve more securely. As he was at the spot where Diamond Tiara's accident happened, his eyes widened from surprise. Her cart was gone!
Unfortunately, he didn't have time to think about if that meant that she was still in the race or brought away for medical care, because as he had successfully maneuvered his cart through the rest of the curve, Apple Bloom was suddenly at his side again. She smirked. “Guess it's just ya and me now!”
Confused, he turned around and indeed, there was no other cart behind them!
“Yeah,” he said as they entered the second loop. “Guess we outpaced them all. But I can't let you win.”
Now the filly frowned a little, but only for a moment, and her face became determined again after just a second. “Ah didn't ask for that!” she made clear.
Crackle Pop answered the determined look in her face with the same expression. “I can still go faster,” he told her. To demonstrate it, he hit the gas pedal once again a tiny bit more and was suddenly ahead of her.
“Me too!” Apple Bloom replied confidently, then she did the same and caught up with him again.
“You are persistent,” he pressed out between clenched teeth as the next painful wave tormented him.
“Ahm an Apple!” the filly countered. “And if an Apple has set her mind on somethin', she doesn't let go of it anymore!” The determined expression in her face deepened.
He wanted to reply something, but just as he and Apple Bloom reached the hard part of the curve in the second loop, his vision became blurry. The air in front of him seemed to flicker suddenly and everything started to sway for him.
Out of nowhere, he felt a strong punch in his side. “Huh?” Crackle Pop opened his eyes again, literally in the last moment. His eyes shrinking in shock, he realized that he must have passed out. He yanked the wheel around and prevented his cart from leaving the track. His vision being better now, he saw the filly that was just at his side a moment earlier driving far ahead. He stiffled a curse.
Then he remembered the punch and he looked to his left. Another cart was very close to his and the pink filly sitting inside had put the hoof she punched him with back on the steering wheel of her cart just now. She grinned at him.
“Diamond Tiara?” Crackle Pop asked in complete bewilderment. His eyes wandered over the partially demolished front side of her cart, then back to her. A scratch was on her right cheek, bleeding slightly. “How can you still participate after this crash?”
Diamond Tiara presented him with a mysterious look.  “A diamond can't break.” She smirked, then she increased the tempo of her cart to catch up with Apple Bloom and left him again.
Seeing this brought Crackle Pop fully back into reality. He was hitting the gas pedal harder again and followed Diamond Tiara's example. In shock he noticed that he had almost come to a standstill as he had passed out for a second. He was already leaving the second loop in the moment of this realization. Just one more loop and the short part of the track before the finish line, then everything would be over. The thought hit him like a brickstone.
Pushing the gas pedal even harder, he increased his tempo more. Soon he drew nearer to Diamond Tiara again and with another increase of pressure on the pedal, he drove past her and left her behind.
He was facing the last, strong curve now, but this time there was a catch. With Diamond Tiara being a threat again and Apple Bloom still a good distance before him, he could not decrease the tempo of his cart now to make it easier through the curve. He was certain that, if he would to this, he would lose the race. And this would mean no ribbon for Chirpy. Seeing the sad, crying face of his little sister in front of him, this spurred him again.
“Come on, how hard can it be?” he asked himself half aloud. “If I take the curve just narrow enough it will work!”
“It has to.....” an unpleasant voice in his head added.
Crackle Pop was fully concentrated and focused now. So much that he didn't even feel the pain in his hoof anymore. The curve drew nearer.
“Just a few seconds more.....” He licked over his lips, not taking his eyes away from the point where he had to start the maneuver.
As he had reached it, he pulled his wheel further and further to the left to steer the cart through the inner side of the curve. Sweat broke out on his forehead. As he couldn't pull the wheel any further and was still not completely through the curve, he closed his eyes, hoping for a miracle.
“Chirpy,” he whispered. Crackle Pop braced himself for the inevitable impact with a tree or another haybale.
As none came for several seconds, he hesitantly opened his eyes again.
The curve was behind him! Quickly, he pulled the steering wheel into the other direction until he was securely driving in the middle of the course again. He swiped some sweat off his forehead.
Now the last challenge was lying ahead of him. He would soon leave the third and last loop, in barely a few seconds with the tempo his cart had now. In front of him he could see Apple Bloom. The distance to her was now much smaller after his risky maneuver.
He breathed in deeply. “Okay, Crackle Pop, this is your final chance.” Without wasting anymore thoughts and worries on it if he would make it, he concentrated himself on the only task left:

To hit the gas as hard as possible to pass Apple Bloom in her fast cart and make it over the finish line before her.

A last lick over his now dry lips, then he went all out. With as much force as he could put into it, he hit with his left hoof down on the pedal and once more, he felt pressed into his seat.
Two seconds later, Apple Bloom was behind him.
The distance to her grew bigger. Crackle knew there was a last bit of pressure he could bring down on the pedal under his hoof, but he needed to save this, just in case the speed-obsessed filly was passing him in the last moment when they were near the finish line.
Almost in the speed of light, at least that's how it seemed to him, he flashed over the center of the race track and his cart entered the last part of it. The finish line was in clear sight, coming closer and closer with every second.
And unsurprisingly, it wouldn't be so easy to win. Apple Bloom's cart appeared on his side. No smirk was adorning her face now. Her eyes were fixated on the track and her concentration was on its maximum.
Crackle slightly increased the pressure on the gas pedal, causing his cart to leap forward.
Apple Bloom did the same.
A constant back and forth ensued between them. Every time he put a little bit of the last speed reserves he had left into his cart, Apple Bloom did so with hers.
Crackle Pop began to wonder how fast her cart could even get and if she still had enough reserves left to outpace him indefinitely.
As the finish line was so close that he almost felt he could touch it, Crackle Pop decided to get everything out of the cart he had left now. Pushing his hoof forward, he attempted to increase his speed one last time, as his right forehoof unexpectedly tortured him with an even stronger pain in the worst moment possible.
A small scream escaped his throat and in the result of the wave of pain, it was his wrong hoof that shot forward. With force, it was hitting the brake.
Apple Bloom immediately used the situation to her advantage and hit her gas pedal all the way through. It were only a few meters to the finish line now.
“NO!” Crackle Pop's eyes widened in agitation. “It can't end like this!”
He removed his hoof from the brake again almost in the same second he had put it on it. Crackle put both of his hooves on the gas pedal with so much pressure that he thought it would break off, while simultaneously holding the stick all the way to the stop with his right forehoof and keeping the cart in a straight line using his left hoof on the steering wheel.
The engine of his cart made a horrible sound now, but Crackle Pop didn't hear it. Suddenly, everything seemed to happen in slow-motion for him, like time had decided to act in his favor.
His cart did a last jerk forward. Only a few inches before the two racers reached the finish line, it was at Apple Bloom's side again. Then both of their carts crossed the finish line simultaneously.
The spectating ponies at the sides of the racing track broke out in deafening cheers.
As simultaneously as both of them went over the finish line, Apple Bloom and Crackle Pop brought their carts to a stop now.
It was over. Crackle removed his hooves from all of the cart's instruments, resulting in an odd feeling for him, because they now felt like they were glued to them. He sank back in his seat and broke out in heavy breaths.
But there was no time to rest now. Not yet. He forced himself to get up again and looked over to Cheerilee. “Who is the winner? Who went over the finish line first?!” He was so nervous, it was like he was literally shooting those questions at Cheerilee. His breath was rattling in his chest now.
“It seems like you did it both at the same time,” she answered calmly. “But we need to wait for the picture.”
Moments passed. Moments that were a pain for Crackle Pop to endure. He sat in the seat of his cart, not taking his eyes from Cheerilee, until finally, a stallion approached her and hoofed her a piece of paper.
Cheerilee looked at it with a stern face, then her expression softened. “Everypony!” she began. “We have a winner!”
Crackle Pop's heart began to beat in a fast accord. It felt to him as it would jump out of his chest any moment.
Cheerilee cleared her throat. “And the winner of this year's Applewood Derby in Ponyville in the category of the fastest cart is.....”
Crackle Pop and Apple Bloom held their breaths.





“Crackle Pop from Rainbow Falls!”





The ponies that were present broke into another round of cheers and this time, it were the pegasi who cheered the loudest.
Now Cheerilee was turning the picture and showed it around. And indeed. The photo that showed both him and Apple Bloom with their determined and concentrated faces revealed a slight advantage for Crackle Pop in the final moment of the race. It were literally just two or three inches that separated the positions of their carts from each other, but the picture showed it quite clearly:

The front of Crackle Pop's cart was touching the finish line first!

A wave of joy and happiness was washing over Crackle Pop and all the pressure fell off of him in an instant. The broadest smile possible appeared on his face.
To his left, ponies carrying the ribbon he won and a wreath of flowers approached his cart. Right behind them was Derpy, who smiled at him proudly.
With shaking hooves, Crackle Pop proceeded to leave his cart. He did a few steps towards the ponies to finally receive the ribbon Chirpy needed so much. As the ponies had almost reached him, his legs gave in suddenly and he collapsed to the ground.
The many worried voices that suddenly rang out to him were the last thing he heard before his vision went black.....
> Epilogue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Epilogue


On his trainride home, Crackle Pop was quiet. In fact, he had been quiet since he left the hospital this morning. Opposite of him sat his big sister Derpy and his two nieces Dinky and Sparkler. All three of them were occasionally making attempts to start a conversation with the young colt, but nopony of them was successful with this endeavor. The reason for his silence was in his hooves:

A beautiful, blue ribbon with a white “1” in the middle of it.

Or rather, it was in one of his hooves. His left forehoof was carefully holding the ribbon in place on his lap, to prevent it from falling down on the floor of the train wagon they sat in. His other forehoof was bandaged and tied up with a sling that was hanging down from his neck.
As it had turned out, the accident during the first race had inflicted a slight bone fracture on his right forehoof. It was not a dramatic injury, but his hoof had to stay tied up for a few weeks to heal. It would make certain activities a bit difficult for a while and swimming was off-limits until his hoof was properly healed, by medical prescription of the doctor in the Ponyville hospital. The doctor also scolded him for ignoring the injury for so long. Apparently, the main reason for his collapse after the race was because his body couldn't cope with the strong pain in his hoof anymore, something the doctor called a “neurogenic shock”, if he remembered correctly.
After his treatment was over and his hoof all patched up, he wanted to leave the hospital immediately and return to Rainbow Falls to bring Chirpy the ribbon as fast as possible. But the doctor insisted on it that he stayed in the hospital over night, to rest up and for medical observation.
All of this, though, was not important for Crackle Pop right now. What counted now was just the blue ribbon in his hoof and that he could finally give it to his little sister, in hope it would help to soften her heartache over the missed chance and her ruined dream.
Overall, his trip to Ponyville was a very huge success. He got a ribbon for fastest cart for Chirpy and, on top of that, could make a very nice acquaintance during his day in the small town.
After his collapse, his rival until the end, Apple Bloom, became interested in it why he wanted to win the race so badly that he was even willing to endanger his health for it. Derpy explained his reasons to her and also told her about his special talent and cutie mark. The filly was even more interested in it what his sister told her about his often unfortunate talent and so, she visited him in the hospital later. Apparently, she and her two friends, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, had understanding cutie marks as their own special talents. They were calling themselves the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Apple Bloom had offered him to find a solution for his problem with the help of her fellow crusaders. Crackle Pop had agreed, of course, and so Apple Bloom had promised that they would visit him in Rainbow Falls soon to help with his cutie mark problem.
Now he was on the way back from this successful and exciting trip to Ponyville and Crackle Pop couldn't be happier about the outcome of everything. And all he had eyes for right now was the ribbon he had won for his little sister. He looked at it and smiled, while he was already imagining how Chirpy would react once he gave it to her and told her all about the exciting day that lied behind him.
The only voice Crackle listened to during this trainride, was the voice of the conductor when he announced their arrival in Rainbow Falls. Immediately, the young colt began to move as he heard about the arrival. With care, he put Chirpy's ribbon into her saddlebags, hung them over his back and cantered out of the train, not being able to wait any longer to show his little sister what he had done for her yesterday.
As he arrived at home, his mom wrapped him up in a hug in the very moment he opened the door and entered the small house.
“Crackle! Where have you been so long?” she scolded him. “Your dad and I were worried sick when you didn't come home yesterday!”
“It's a long story, mom,” he answered. Then he grimaced. “Can you please let me go now? You're hurting my hoof, mom.”
Irritated, his mother retracted from her embrace. Only now she saw the sling and the bandage around his hoof. It only deepened the worry in her face. “Oh, Crackle, what happened yesterday?”
“I explain everything later,” he replied, avoiding a direct answer. “I need to see Chirpy, right now. Is she awake, mom?”
Before she could answer, her eyes fell on the three ponies that entered the house behind him. “Derpy, Dinky, Sparkler.....” she said surprised. “What brings you here today?”
Derpy explained. “After we heard from Crackle that Chirpy is sick, we thought we could accompany him home to pay her a visit.”
Dinky at her side nodded, wearing a smile.
“Oh, Derpy, you are such a kind mare!” her mom said with glee. “There is not one moment that passes without me being proud of you!”
Blushing, Derpy looked away and pawed with her hoof at the floor.
With Derpy being unable to answer, Sparkler took care of it for her. “Don't mention it,” she said, smiling. “It's a matter of course to come and visit if somepony in our family is sick.”
Nimble gave her granddaughter a smile in return, then she turned her attention back to Crackle. “Did you get the ribbon for your sister?” she asked him expectantly, a glimmer in her eyes.
Proud, Crackle nodded. “I did and I need to show her right now, mom! Is she awake?” He repeated his question from earlier.
“The last time I was upstairs she was still sleeping, but go and try it. Just don't be too loud. Her fever is still very high and your sister needs all the rest she can get.”
Understandingly, Crackle nodded, then he quietly trotted up the stairs and into the shared bedroom of him and his sister. As he entered the room, he could see that Chirpy was indeed still asleep. As quiet as possible, he approached his little sister in their bed. Her breath was going more steady now, apparently the result of some medicine their parents had given her, he guessed. Chirpy's face was pale, though, a sign for it that the sickness was wearing at her. On her head was a bag with ice.
“Hi, sis.” Gently, he placed his left hoof on the blanket that was spread over her body. It was a different one than the one they woke up with yesterday. He smiled at her.
After a few more silent moments where he just watched his sister sleeping, he slowly took her saddlebags off his back and opened them. He took out the ribbon and placed it on his sister's chest. “This is for you, Chirps,” he whispered. His lips turned into another smile. “I hope this makes you less sad over it that you couldn't participate.”
Suddenly, his little sister was stirring a little. A moan left her mouth. A second later, she opened her eyes. For a moment, she just looked at him confused, her from fever plagued brain clearly trying to process his sudden presence.
“Crackle? You are back?” she finally asked. A slight cough left her throat.
“I am.” He nodded happily. “How do you feel, Chirps?”
“Better,” she answered weakly. “A little..... But yesterday wasn't a nice day. I was always dreaming about the race and every time I woke up, I had to cry.” Her face broke a little in sadness again.
“I think I have the right thing now to dry your tears, sis!” He grinned at her, then he lifted up the ribbon and held it in front of her face so that she could see it.
Chirpy's eyes widened as they beheld the ribbon. “Is this..... Is this the ribbon for fastest cart in the Applewood Derby?” she asked unbelievingly.
His grin was growing even wider and he nodded.
“Y-You really won it for me?” Now his little sister was tearing up.
Another proud nod.
Without saying another word, she sat up, ignoring the ice bag falling from her forehead and landing in her lap, and reached out for her brother. He inched a little closer and then she put her hooves around him. Quietly, she cried into his coat.
“I did everything to get it for you.” Crackle wrapped his hooves around his little sister as well. “Do you feel happy again now?” In between a few sobs, she nodded. A relieved smile formed on Crackle's lips.
For two or three minutes – although neither of them could really tell, time didn't matter in this moment – the two siblings remained in this position, then Crackle pulled away gently and lied his sister down again.
Chirpy gasped as she just now noticed his bandaged hoof. “Did you hurt yourself?” she asked worried.
Carefully, he put the blanket over Chirpy again and returned the ice bag on her forehead. Then he addressed her question. “I did, but don't worry about it. It's harmless and in the end, it was all worth it!”
On the expression that was in his sister's face now, Crackle could see that a thousand questions went through her mind. Questions that he would gladly answer.
“You have no idea what an exciting day it was and how hard it was to get the ribbon! Ponyville has a lot of talented cart racers.”
He placed the ribbon on Chirpy's chest again, then he sat down on the floor at her side and began to tell his little sister everything that had happened on the day before.....