Rainbow Dash is the fastest pony around, until a rival appears.
A big race has come to Ponyville and everyone is excited. Rainbow Dash seems to be the winner for sure when a new pony enters the race. With her reputation of the fastest pony on the line, tensions rise between them. However, this is no ordinary race.
There are many tales of how the Ponylympics came into existence, but this is the truest account, passed down from pony to pony and confirmed by the royal archives. Shortly after the founding of Equestria, the three breeds of pony, the pegasus, the unicorns and the earth ponies had difficulty adjusting to their once worst enemies becoming their best friends. To help strengthen the ties between the breeds, the three rulers held a series of contests to show off the skills and benefits of the ponies. These contests were centered around the three greatest traits of the breeds: athleticism, intelligence and endurance. The winners of the contests were showered with fame and were awarded a gemstone. Diamonds were given to the victor while second received a ruby and third, a sapphire.
For years the Ponylympics were the greatest spectacle in all Equestria. Ponies of all breeds came and cheered the competitors on, cementing a bond of friendship between the cities and ponies of all kind. The greatest contest among all of them was the Daybreak Dash. Considered to be the ultimate test of all three key attributes, competitors raced the sun itself to prove themselves the best in the land. The popularity of the sport continued to grow, stretching to the Griffin Kingdom and beyond. As it grew, the feelings of kinship it was supposed to instill were gradually replaced by a supercompetitive spirit. The winners of the race were mostly pegasus, causing their breed to brag excessively and sowed distrust among the unicorns and earth ponies. Resorting to underhanded methods, unicorns began to teleport during the race, leaving earth ponies with a severe disadvantage.
Frustrated, earth ponies everywhere began to call for the rules to be altered. The unicorns and pegasus were extremely opposed, claiming the earth ponies were trying to destroy the integrity of the race. Distrust crept into every corner of Equestria, turning city inhabitants against one another and threatening the unity of the kingdom as a whole. Princess Celestia had the ponies send delegates to her to discuss the Daybreak Dash and, much to Celestia's protest, an extreme version of the race was created. Dubbed the Dragon Dash, the traditional race was altered to pass straight through a canyon known for its dragon population. All three breeds of ponies agreed that whatever type of pony won this race, it would be considered the best pony breed, regardless of past victories. Princess Celestia pleaded with the ponies to rethink their decision, but the pride of their breed blinded their reasoning.
When the fateful day came, the best of each breed lined up at the starting line. The pegasus named Hypersonic, the unicorn Opelucid and the earth pony Clydesdale lined up at the starting line, waiting for the first rays of dawn to start the race. When it did, the three took off in a cloud of dust, Hypersonic and Clydesdale in the lead while Opelucid struggled to keep up. As the three thundered by cave after cave in the canyon, they woke up the residents. Dragons spewed fire and roared at them, but the ponies kept on racing. Then one large red dragon gave chase, covering distance faster than the ponies ever could. It caught up to Opelucid and chased her as Clydesdale and Hypersonic fled for their lives. Terrified and not quick enough, Opelucid was caught and devoured in several sickening bites.
Princess Celestia, horrified by the race, ended the Ponylympics permanently and declared the day as a memorial to Opelucid. Ponies everywhere mourned her death and for five years, the familiar sound of hooves rumbling at the crack of dawn was a fading memory. However, at the request of others, Princess Celestia eventually reinstated the Daybreak Dash, allowing only pegasus and earth ponies compete, leaving the unicorn spot empty in memory of Opelucid. Eventually the Daybreak Dash was used to herald the day Princess Celestia would raise the sun, and it continued like that from the Dragon Dash onwards.
The crowd was screaming with delight and some were chanting her name. The crystal clear sky seemed to shine even brighter than normal as she swooped down to the crowd below. With the wind whipping around her in her corkscrew spiral, she prepared for the grand finale. Mustering all the power her wings could give, she saw the barrier form. It was close to happening, the Sonic Rainboom. The crowd screamed even louder in anticipation, chanting "Rainbow Dash! Rainbow Dash!"
"Um, hello?" Came an unfamiliar voice. Rainbow Dash whipped her head around, but nopony was there. "Huh?" She said in confusion as the voice spoke again. "Hey, be careful up there!" Rainbow Dash was puzzled by that remark. She was flying. How could she not be fine? "Hey, watch out!" The voice cried with greater urgency and Rainbow Dash felt a strange weightless sensation. She was flying, but it felt like floating.
A sharp pain woke Rainbow Dash from her nap as she felt a rather firm lump underneath her chest. Dazed, she looked down to see another pony underneath her. "Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry!" She shrieked as she flapped her wings and lifted off of the pony quickly. The pony underneath rubbed his head as she continued a string of apologies and explanations. "Hey, it's no big deal." He replied as he rose to his hooves. At first glance, this pony seemed to be no different than any other stallion. Tall, lithe and muscular legs gave off his full grown status. His hair was an odd bluish white while his mane was jet black. He had no horn or wings, making him an earth pony in the most obvious way. He looked up to the airborne Rainbow Dash with vivid gold eyes.
"What were you doing up there? You looked and sounded like you were fighting sompony." He asked. Rainbow Dash laughed nervously and said "Oh, I wasn't fighting anypony. I was taking a nap." The white pony gave her a skeptical look but didn't press the issue. "So what brings you here?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Oh, I'm on my way to Ponyville." He replied in a friendly tone "I heard good things about the town, so I'm moving there from Fillydelphia."
"Oh cool." Replied Rainbow Dash "Yeah, I hang around Ponyville. Some of my friends live there."
"Neat." He said "I'll have to say hi to them when I find Ponyville." Rainbow Dash looked at him in an odd way and said "Are you lost?" He grinned at her sheepishly and said "Yeah, I guess you could say that."
"Well, I'm heading over there. I'll show you where it is." Rainbow Dash said in a friendly tone as she landed. She folded her wings and said "My names Rainbow Dash."
"Nice to meet you, Rainbow Dash. My names Comet." He said with a smile. Together they set off down the road and headed to Ponyville. "So what have you heard about Ponyville?" Rainbow Dash asked casually.
"Oh, all sorts of things." Comet responded "A lot of ponies say it's Princess Celestia's favorite city outside of Canterlot, so that must be a good thing. I've also heard there are six ponies in Ponyville who've saved Equestria three times, so I'm hoping I can meet them."
Rainbow Dash grinned to herself and said "Yeah, wouldn't that be something?"
Comet gave her a look out of the corner of his eye and asked "You wouldn't happen to know any of them, would you?"
Rainbow Dash turned and gave him a sly look and said "Maybe I know a couple of them. One could be here right now."
She expected him to start putting two and two together, but instead he turned away from her and scanned the tree line. "I don't see anypony." He said in a serious voice. Taken aback, Rainbow Dash said "Oh, nevermind then."
It didn't take long to reach Ponyville after that. Standing atop the hill, Comet whistled. "Wow, now that's a sight you don't see in Fillydelphia."
"Yep." Rainbow agreed "It sure is a nice town."
"Well, thanks for your help, Rainbow Dash." Comet said as he nodded his thanks.
"Aw, it was no big deal." She replied "Have you got a place to stay? I know a couple ponies if you--"
"No, no. I have a room I'm renting. It's near a place called the Carousel Boutique. A pony named Goldengrape sold it to me. Apparently he used it as a wine storage room, but he managed to sell it all and had no more use for the place." Comet replied before Rainbow Dash finished speaking. "I do thank you, though. You've been a great welcome."
Rainbow Dash allowed a small blush and said "Well, if you have a place to stay, I should be on my way then."
"Okay." Comet responded "Maybe we could hang out sometime?"
"Maybe." Rainbow said, and with that she spread her wings and flew off to catch some rogue clouds, leaving Comet to navigate his way to his new home. As he strolled around the town, he muttered to himself "This looks like a fine place to settle down."
"Cometh, thine enemy of mine. Let thy trickery be at an end!" Called out the brave knight as he charged the evil Lord Buckburn, sword at the ready. "Ha!" Laughed Lord Buckburn "Thou cannot defy me with such petty weapons thine wields, for I have drinketh from the golden goblet of King Brandywine. No mere length of steel fashioned by pony hooves can possibly --"
SMACK!
Twilight Sparkle fell backwards on her flank as she collided with what seemed to be a solid wall. Dazed, she realized reading and walking may not have been the best idea. "Twilight!" Came a frantic little dragons voice "Oh my gosh, are you okay?" Twilight shook her head and said "Heh, it seems I got carried away in that story."
"I'll say." Came another male voice clearly not Spikes. Twilight spun around looking for who was speaking when she noticed a stallion rubbing his head. "That's the second time in less than an hour somepony has run into me." He was a white pony with an odd bluish tint, jet black mane and a white comet with a black tail for a cutie mark. His eyes were closed, but he opened one, revealing a stunning golden iris.
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Twilight exclaimed as she aided the pony to his hooves. He shook his head once again and said "That's twice now I've heard that. Today must be Deja Vu day or something. Twilight gave an amused chuckle and backed away from him. He was clearly not from here, or so Twilight assumed. She tried to put together who this could be, but drew a blank. Without meaning to, her eyes began to travel the length of his body. He was as tall as Big Macintosh, but his hind legs were exceptionally muscular. She thought he might be a race pony when she noticed a red welt forming above his right eye.
"Ouch, that looks like it hurt." Twilight said obliviously. The pony tilted his head and said "Well, considering it wasn't there two minutes ago..." The sudden realization of her boneheaded comment caused Twilight to facehoof herself. "Oh, I'm sorry. Here, come by my house and I'll put some medicine on that." She turned and began to walk off when it hit her she didn't know his name. "By the way, what's your name?" She asked casually.
"Er, it's Comet." He replied as he tenatively began to follow her. "Um, I believe you're forgetting your book." Twilight spun around and picked it up with magic. "Oh, thanks for reminding me!" She said cheerfully. "It's a collection of stories from the great Geoffrey Prancer. I was reading The Knight of the Moon, one of my favorite stories." The book was rather large and bound in tree bark, making it a blunt weapon, but Twilight tossed it to Spike and said "My name is Twilight Sparkle and this is Spike, my number one assistant."
Comet's eyes went wide as he stared at Spike. "What?" Spike asked. "Oh, sorry, I've just never seen a dragon before." Comet said with awe in his voice. Twilight giggled as she started walking off again, but this time Comet didn't follow her. "Um, thanks for the offer, Twilight, but I've got someplace I've got to be in under ten minutes, so thanks but no thanks." He called out as he trotted off the other way. Twilight shrugged to Spike and kept walking.
"So, he was pretty good looking, eh Twilight?" Spike said in a sly voice. "Whatever, Spike." She replied in an exasperated tone. "I just met him and hit him in the face with a book."
"Yeah, but isn't that how that mare in your book met the knight?" Spike asked mischievously. Twilight rolled her eyes and ignored his comment. It wasn't like this was the first time Spike had tried to egg on Twilight when she met new stallions. He tried it with Caramel and Goldengrape, but neither one spoke to her often.
Back at the Ponyville Library, Twilight was putting her book away and starting tomorrows checklist when an unexpected belch came from Spike. "Ugh, that is disgusting, Spike!" She called to him, but the sound of his claws told her he had something for her. Turning around, Spike stood there holding a letter from Princess Celestia.
"Thank you Spike." She said as she magically opened it and began to read. "Dear Twilight," it began "As you know, the Sun raising festival is coming up in a few months and since it has been four years, this year will feature the Daybreak Dash. I am informing you of this because Ponyville has the honor of running the race this year and I intend to visit there and tell everypony personally."
Twilight's eyes widened as she reread it twice and yelled "Princess Celestia, here?!"
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Night had already fallen as Comet walked around his room again. Goldengrape didn't lie in his letters when he said the place was roomy. Being a storage room for barrels of wine, it was mostly a big box with a bathroom over to his left. It felt empty since only a handful of his things had arrived from Fillydelphia, but it was still very cozy. The welt on his head that purple unicorn had given him had nearly gone away, but it still stung. However, that was not his primary thought of the night. Despite his best efforts, he was thinking about how nice Rainbow Dash had been to him earlier that day. Comet didn't really have any friends in Fillydelphia since he had moved there not too long ago as well. He was a courier like his father, running parcels and mail around Fillydelphia, but sadly he went out of business quickly and now hoped to start again here in Ponyville.
Since ponies were unusually harsh and stony in Fillydelphia, the kindness he was given here on his first day had given Comet new hope that maybe he could live here and be happy. Already he had two friends, Goldengrape and Caramel, who both helped him set up his room and took him out as a welcome dinner. "Finally." He said in a satisfied tone "My luck might just be changing."
Comet woke the next day unusually refreshed. The sun was precariously positioned just behind Canterlot itself, making it glow faintly in the distance. He took a deep breath of the fresh air and opened his eyes, ready to start his day. Wearing his saddlebags he inherited from his uncle, Comet set off to establish himself as a courier. He spent the better part of the next three hours asking vendors at the market if they had any packages bound for anypony inside Ponyville, but only got two requests to deliver some fruit and a pot to other vendors in the market.
Not one to quit on his first day, Comet continued to pester ponies outside of the market, offering to deliver just about anything when he approached a large round building draped in ribbons and covered with windows. Mustering up his courage, Comet approached the door only to have it swing open and three young fillys burst out. They ran past him giggling aand Comet scratched his head. Daycares usually didn't garner a whole lot of business, but maybe he could deliver some letters to pen pals or something. The door had just barely closed when a stunning white unicorn burst through the door as well, yelling "Sweetie Belle, where are those rubies?!"
She completely ignored Comet for five seconds before realizing he was less than two feet away. "Oh, dear me, I'm so terribly sorry. Welcome to the Carousel Boutique! My name is Rarity, master designer." She stood there with a nice smile on her face as Comet finally found his voice. "Um, hello!" He worked out in a cheerful tone "My name is Comet. I just moved here to Ponyville to start Comet Deliveries. I thought this was a daycare, but I guess---"
He never got to finish his pitch. Rarity gasped loudly and said "Oh, marvelous! I just finished three dresses and need them delivered as soon as they can!" She disappeared behind the door and materialized seconds later with three large white boxes and threw them onto his back. They were unusually heavy, but Comet had trained his hind legs to near the weight. "Please deliver to these addresses. I'm incredibly busy, so I'll pay you in a moment." She said but Comet shook his head. "Don't worry about it." He said with a smile "I will collect payment when I have delivered the parcels." Rarity's eyes widened and said "Oh, great! Thank you so much!" and she closed the door.
Comet spun around happily and began to walk to the first address. "Cupcake Corner, huh? Wonder where that is?" He said. He wasn't quite comfortable with the town yet, but he was quickly becoming familiar with it. He trotted off to the middle of town when he noticed Rarity wasn't the only one in a hurry. Many ponies were darting about, shouting to each other and sprucing up the houses. "Must be something big going on." He mused absentmindedly. He continued on towards the center of town, but he passed a house oddly shaped like a gingerbread house. He stopped and stared at it and said "This could be it." He approached the door and saw a blue pony come out covered in flour and sugar.
"Sorry, I'm really busy." She said in a hurried voice before Comet could say anything. "Um, is thiS Cupcake Corner?" He asked tentatively. The mare gave him an odd sideways look and said "Uh, yeah?"
Comet smiled brightly and said "I have a package for you from the Carousel Boutique." as he pulled off the topmost box. Her eyes widened and she said "Wow, I only ordered that last night when I heard the news." She graciously took the package indoors and disappeared. "One down, two to go." Comet commented as he turned and walked away.
He pulled out the list from the boxes and read it again. "Okay, so the next one is... Carrot Top?" He said as he looked up. While he was thinking about who that was, two ponies rushed by frantically carrying a banner saying "Welcome Princess". That caught his attention and he stopped another passing pony and said "What's the big rush?" A yellow pony carrying a basket of flowers stopped her chase after them and said "Didn't you hear? Princess Celestia is on her way!"
Comet blinked uncomprehendingly and said "Uh, huh?" The yellow pony sighed and before she took off, she saw the two white boxes on Comet's back and asked "Are those from the Carousel Boutique?" Comet found his voice and said "Er, yes! Yes, I'm delivering these. I'm currently looking for a Carrot Top. Do you know her?" The yellow pony make a slight gurgling sound and pointed to her orange hair that Comet had just noticed. "I'm Carrot Top, silly." She said in an amused voice. Comet felt himself turning red with embarassment as he said "I'm sorry. I'm new here, so I am still learning whose who." The yellow mare, Carrot Top, smiled and said "That's fine. Thank you for delivering this." With one adept move, she took the topmost box and trotted off with it.
Comet grinned to himself and thought 'Wow, this is much easier than Fillydelphia.' He looked at the list and read his last delivery. "Okay, so it's Lemon Hearts." He said with a frown. He really didn't know the town and finding individual ponies would be even more difficult. As he was contemplating his predicament, a cry rose from the town. "She's here!" Was the general cry from pony to pony, leaving Comet to wonder what they were doing. They all herded to the town square and, after shrugging his shoulders, Comet followed after the crowd.
The town square was packed to the bring with so many ponies, Comet was amazed that many lived in Ponyville. He was near the back, but his height gave him a clear view at the Town Hall. Much to his surprise, he saw Rainbow Dash hovering near the building along with the purple unicorn that bashed him in the head with a book yesterday. Along with them was, oddly enough, his employer and three other ponies. "What the buck?" Comet mouthed to himself. A large chariot pulled by several white pegasi landed behind the building and Comet's jaw dropped. A large and beautiful white alucorn sat in the back, her magnificent wings spread out and long flowing mane of line, fuscia and indigo glittering in the sunlight.
"Oh my Celestia." He mouthed to himself as he realized what he was watching. He never thought it possible, but he was looking at the ruler of Equestria herself.
Twilight Sparkle grinned brightly as her mentor stepped out of the chariot to the many "Oooh's" and cheers coming from the other ponies. Twilight stepped closer and Princess Celestia grinned at her star student. "Greetings, Twilight." She said in her regal voice "And hello to you all as well, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy." They all bowed and said hello as Princess Celestia walked to the building.
The mayor was standing at the building and babbling on,about what an honor it was for her to come when Princess Celestia simply chuckled and said "It's my pleasure to be back." She walked up to the top of the stairs leading to the building and turned to face the throng of ponies.
"Citizens of Ponyville!" She began in the traditional Canterlot voice, which was much more mellow than her sisters. "This year is a special year for Ponyville. Every five years at the Sun Raising festival, the great race known as the Daybreak Dash is run. Competitors in this race are chosen from their hometown to race the sun to Canterlot, heralding the beginning of a new year. This year is the one hundredth running of this race and, to honor tradition, one pegasus and one earth pony from Ponyville will compete this year!"
A large cheer came from the sea of ponies and Twilight smiled. She was always happy to hear her mentor getting cheered on as Princess Celestia continued. "To help ponies decide, a smaller race will be held for the pegasus and earth ponies to compete in, which I will preside over personally. These races are open to any pony of those kind and will be held in two weeks. The winners will be decided by you all, so cheer on your favorite pony!"
She concluded her small speech, listening and feeling the roar of the ponies. She smiled broadly to them and turned around.
Comet stood still and tilted his head. He had heard of this race, but never thought of competing in it. Ponies who normally ran the Daybreak Dash trained for it almost everyday. At least, those in Fillydelphia and Canterlot. His attention was broken as Princess Celestia turned back over to the purple unicorn she obviously knew along with the other five. Rainbow Dash was clearly excited, flapping her wings at an astounding rate, not to mention her smile that was wide enough to be seen from where Comet was.
The package on his back shifted as a pony walked by and Comet started. "Ack!" He said in a shocked voice "What am I doing here?!" He turned and ran off hurriedly in a tiring attempt to track down Lemon Dreams. It took him nearly two hours to find her, but Comet finished the job with a bright smile. With his deliveries complete, he headed back to the Carousel Boutique to collect his payment while hoping to find out how his employer knew Princess Celestia.
Much to his surprise, Comet found the white unicorn at her shop. Apparently having a personal audience with the royalty of Equestria was no big deal to her. Instead, her eyes got as wide as dinner plates when he told her they were all delivered. "My, aren't you a fast one!" Rarity exclaimed in a overpolished voice. "Well, it is certainly a great relief knowing you are up to my demanding needs. How would you like to be my permanent deliverypony?"
Comet smiled and said "It would be my pleasure." He gave a bow of the head and Rarity, whose name he had drilled into his head, gave a rather large laugh and said "Dear me, its not everyday a gentlepony comes along! Here's your payment and tomorrow I will have more stuff for you to deliver. She pulled out a small brown bag with her magic and Comet took it with great thanks.
As he trotted back to his apartment, Comet saw a large group of ponies gathering at an odd tree evidently made to look like a house. "What a strange place." He mused to himself as he kept on walking. Usually he would go investigate, but his mind wandered to the race that Princess Celestia had mentioned earlier in the day. While Comet never considered himself to be a race pony, he father had tried to make him one. When he was younger, Comet endured long sessions of running practice under his father's supervision, always reminding him that he came from a direct line of race ponies. "Your grandfather several generations past always raced, and no son of mine will break that tradition." He always gruffed to Comet.
Comet's career as a racer never took off, mostly because Comet never liked his father's obsession with the sport. While Comet did enjoy running and his cutie mark was these to it, he started his own courier business instead. At first it was to pet himself from his father's dreams, but he grew to like it because his running skills were put to good use. It seemed to be the perfect job, but this race was nagging at him. He could theoretically run this big race and win it.
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Deep inside a dark cave, water dripped slowly from the wicked stalactites hanging like icicles. Underneath, a black pool of water slowly rippled with each drop, steadily becoming agitated. A fell wind blew from a mysterious direction, giving the air an unnatural chill. At the pool, an odd bright light began to form below the surface. It glowed a faint indigo, slowly becoming brighter and coming to the surface.
It stopped just shy of the surface, hanging in open water. Within the swirling light, an object began to form. Indistinct at first, it slowly morphed into a circle, then an oval, then an eye shape. The eye was closed, but a terrible noise carried on the wind. It sounded like a mare screaming. The eye opened up to show a neon yellow iris around a pitch black cornea. Slowly, black tendrils snaked their way out of the pool, creeping up into the dark ceiling.
The entity was reaching out for them. The rage of five hundred years was driving it to find them. It had to find them, the pegasus and earth pony.
Rainbow Dash steadily beat her wings as she glided over Ponyville. She was headed over to Twilight's library to discuss with her the race, at Twilight's request. Rainbow Dash had never been more excited for a race like this. Finally getting a chance to compete in the great Daybreak Dash would surely show the Wonderbolts she was the fastest pony around. Her excitement made her so energetic, she did several loop-de-loops in the air. Her friend Applejack had said she was going to compete as well, so Rainbow Dash got even more excited. What if she could not only impress the Wonderbolts but also have a rematch of the Running of the Leaves?
A large white cumulus cloud brought her back to earth and she shook her head. Clearly she was getting too worked up about it, allowing herself to be distracted while she flew. Deciding it was best to just walk there, Rainbow Dash landed near Cupcake Corner and trotted off in a cheerful mood. It was interrupted by a blur of white and Rainbow Dash spun around, getting dizzy. The blur slowed down, making it out to be a white stallion with a black mane. Rainbow Dash shook her head to clear it and noticed a comet mark on his flank. She tilted her head, thinking she knew him from somewhere.
"Thank you so much!" The old pony said loudly as the white stallion handed over a parcel. The stallion smiled brightly and said "My pleasure to deliver it! Comet Deliveries is always early." Suddenly, Rainbow Dash's memory clicked into place as she walked over. His name was Comet and he had recently moved here. "Hey Comet!" She called as he was walking away. He stopped and looked around until he saw Rainbow Dash and grinned. "Hey, if it isn't the mare who naps on clouds." He replied in a friendly tone. Rainbow Dash beamed at him and said "Bet'cha you can't do it."
Comet laughed at that and a nice little conversation ensued. Comet told her all about how much he liked Ponyville better than Fillydelphia, about his apartment, his new courier business, everything. Rainbow replied about her job wrangling clouds and, most importantly, the Daybreak Dash. She was evidently unable to contain her excitement, since she rambled on for twenty minutes about everything she was thinking about. She mentioned the Wonderbolts at least four times. Comet merely just stood there, grinning and agreeing for the entire time.
"Yeah, so I'm gonna compete in the entry race cuz, you know, I'm the fastest pony around." Rainbow Dash bragged, but she realized how arrogant she sounded after it was said. She grinned nervously at Comet who seemed to not notice. "Well, that sounds pretty neat." He said with a smile "You know, I just finished my deliveries for the morning. You want to grab a bite to eat?"
"Sure!" She said in her enthusiastic tone before her mind mentally slapped her. "Oh, um, actually I'm supposed to meet my friend Twilight!" Comet nodded and said "Oh, that purple unicorn?" Rainbow Dash gave him a smile and said "Yeah, you met her?"
It took Rainbow Dash just six minutes to reach the library walking, but she savored every one of them. She had commonly called Twilight an Egg Head for reading so much, and Twilight had gotten her back by getting her to read and like it. Evidently she was going to show off to her teacher, Princess Celestia, and use Rainbow Dash to prove her point. Still, she was one of Twilight's best friends, so she could tolerate it. When she opened the door, Princess Celestia wasn't there, but Twilight was reading a large book that looked really old. She looked up and smiled at Rainbow Dash, and Rainbow Dash braced herself for the lecture that was sure to come.
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Five hundred years... five hundred long years. The entity in the cave swirled about, reflecting on how long it had been. The search was frustrating, since those responsible were found, but had been dead for the same amount of time. It didn't matter much though. Their descendents would pay instead. They would feel the terror, the pain and the eventual sweet release of death. Nothing could stop it, not after it had been festering for all those years. Things like it only got stronger in time. There was no denying it the prize it saught, not even Princess Celestia would.
A drop of water broke the calm of the pool the eye rested in, causing it to become distorted. It shrieked loudly, scaring the bats hanging on the ceiling. They flew around in utter chaos before leaving. The eye watched with mild interest as the bats eventually left, leaving the cave and pool in the eerie silence it so relished. Soon, it would have its revenge. If it wasn't on Hypersonic or Clydesdale, it would be on their descendants. It was getting closer to finding them. The pull of their bloodlines was getting stronger as it neared a town. It was a new town, one that wasn't there five hundred years ago. It could barely make out the name on the sign.
Ponyville.
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Comet settled into his couch now that it was here from Fillydelphia along with the rest of his furniture. With all of it here, the room had more of a studio feel to it with his bedroom over in the corner and his living room near his kitchen. He was expecting Caramel, Goldengrape and someone else named Big Macintosh to come over for some drinks and food to help break in his new home, so he busied himself pulling out some cider he had recently acquired as well as some beer he had gotten back in Fillydelphia. It was rare for this to ever be on sale since it required the use of wheat, barley and hops to make, food that was already in high demand. At least it was in the city.
About two hours later, the four stallions sat around laughing and enjoying the drinks as well as the food Comet had ordered. It was uncomfortable at first getting to know Big Mac as he preferred to be known, but a couple of drinks went by and now they were all friends. Oddly enough, the conversation had taken a typical stallion turn, focusing on the mares in Ponyville.
"Nah, no way Fluttershy is cuter than Bon Bon." Goldengrape said to Caramel "Bon Bon has a nicer rump." Caramel rolled his eyes and said "Well at least I know Berry Punch is cuter than Sea Swirl." Comet and Big Mac gave a chuckle as the two other stallions gave each other competitive looks. "Fine." Goldengrape said in an annoyed voice "Why don't you two tell us who's cuter?" Comet looked over to Big Mac and said "You first."
Big Mac gave a sigh and remained silent, taking a swig of Comet's beer. Caramel sighed as well and said "Okay, we all say it at the same time. Alright? One, two, three."
"Applejack." Caramel said.
"Amethyst Star." Goldengrape said.
"Cheerilee." Big Mac rumbled.
"Rainbow Dash." Comet said.
All four of them looked at each other and began to laugh. Finally, for the first time in months, Comet felt like he had found some good friends.
The sun broke over the mountains east of Ponyville in a spectacular way. Everything seemed to hum with the energy of the sun as ponies gathered around a rather large pathway, chatting excitedly. The path had a steep and sheer drop-off after only twenty feet, dropping straight to the bottom of a rather large gorge dotted with crevasses and towering stalagmites, making it a majestic sight to behold. Large birds shrieked occasionally as they circled the gorge, searching for breakfast.
Rainbow Dash admired the scenery as she stood near the cliff. She was completely enamored by the majesty of this place even though she had flown it several times before. She imagined this must've been what it was like when Commander Hurricane first laid eyes on this place, wild and regal, unable to be tamed or controlled. This was a place for pegasus. Unknowingly, she was ignoring one if her friends calling her. "Rainbow Dash!" Came an exasperated cry. She turned in an absentminded way to see Twilight Sparkle shaking her hoof at her face.
"Oh hey, what's up?" Rainbow asked casually. Twilight gave a large sigh and rubbed her temple with her hoof. "The starting line is over there." She responded and waved her hoof towards a big banner engraved with the word 'Start' and about seven pegasus waiting anxiously. Rainbow Dash shook her head and gave Twilight a sincere smile that came out incorrectly. "Right. Sorry, just admiring the scenery."
"You're not nervous like you were at the Best Young Flier competition, are you? If you are, remember what I taught you." Twilight said in a calm and friendly manner. Yesterday, Rainbow Dash had come to the library expecting a lecture on good sportsmanship or proper racing techniques, but instead Twilight spent most of the time helping her deal with the stress of performing in front of a lot of ponies. Twilight tried to emphasize some specific things like clearing her mind and deep rhythmic breathing, but also gave pointers for physical stuff such as rolling on her hooves and eye placement.
Rainbow thought it was going to be a waste of the night, but was actually amazed at how well the techniques worked. Racing against other pegasus she knew and fans from Ponyville made it easier to race. However, the presence of Princess Celestia herself not only added to the want to win but also made sure the losers pride would be ruined. Rainbow was confident in her skills, but she had felt similarly at the Best Young Flier competition as well. She steeled herself, focusing on NOT having a repeat of that here. She gave Twilight a hug and said "Thanks for your help. Wish me luck!" Twilight gave her a reassuring smile and nodded.
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Comet wandered around in the crowd of ponies as he searched for the stands. He had come to cheer Rainbow Dash on despite his headache. Last night was the most fun he'd had since coming to Ponyville, but he had promised Rainbow Dash he would be here to watch her win, or so he thought. His mind was still fuzzy from all those drinks last night. Unsure of where to go, he just wandered aimlessly until something all too familiar happened to him.
He had no time to react as a rainbow colored tail flew up and smacked him on his right cheek. It stung more than usual, but Comet hardly reacted to it, opting for just closing his right eye and rubbing his cheek. Almost uncannily, he knew it was Rainbow Dash and felt a slight twinge in his stomach. It was almost as if he felt... excited to see her. He was always happy to see a friend, but this was different.
He had little time to analyze that before the familiar magenta eyes and mess of rainbow colored hair spun around to face him. "Oh, I'm so sorry!" She said in a scared manner. "I'm so sorr-" she never finished that statement when she saw who it was. Immediately, her face brightened up into a wide grin and she said "Oh man, this isn't the second time that's happened today, is it Comet?"
"Ha ha ha." Comet replied in his usual sarcastic tone. "I'll have you know that if I am going to lose my eye, you're paying my doctor bill." Rainbow's face went instantly from amusement to concern and Comet smiled. "Nah, I'm just kidding you." He said in his friendliest tone. He smiled to her and she shook her head. "Oh, I knew that." She replied "I just feel weird today." Comet tilted his head as a number of thoughts ran through his head. She looked up at him and said "No, its just my nerves acting up again."
Comet, almost unwittingly, saw the number attached over her cutie mark and nodded his head. "You know," he said slowly "I used to be a race pony." Rainbow looked at him with disbelief but slowly nodded as she looked him over. He was built like a race pony with his strong hind legs and tall body frame. "Whenever I got nervous, I would just imagine myself staring at a mirror, like I was in my room." Comet continued "It actually made me feel comfortable, like when I was a colt pretending I was in some big race. My nerves would steady, I would be confident, everything was okay." He finished with a grin and Rainbow Dash raised her eyebrow.
"You know, I honestly never would have thought of that." She said. Comet nodded and said "It's a stratagem my family always used whenever we raced. It goes back a really long time from when my ancestors were the best race ponies in Equestria." Rainbow nodded as well, but a loud announcement broke their conversation. "Attention all ponies! Please clear the starting area. The race will begin shortly. All pegasus in the race must come to the starting line."
The two looked at each other and Comet gave her a final smile and said "Well, good luck. I'll be cheering for you to win." He trotted off and Rainbow blushed slightly. It was good to know her friends were cheering for her, but Comet was the first stallion to say it to her. Mostly, her memories of stallions were not so good. Many of them were bullies, competition or just oblivious, some of which drove her to give up on finding a stallion, but Comet was different. He was always friendly, never got mad when she accidentally tried to injure him multiple times and even matched her sense of humor.
She shook her head, clearing her thoughts. This was no time to think about personalities. She had a race to win. She sped over to the starting line and took her place. Rainbow focused on a single point in the distance, a mountaintop that was the finish. She vaguely heard counting and she took a deep breath. This was it. She had to win.
A huge cheer went up as Rainbow Dash entered into Cupcake Corner. She was immediately blind sided by a mess of pink hair and the sound of party favors. "Yay, we all knew you could do it, Rainbow Dash!" Pinkie Pie squealed as she squeezed Rainbow Dash. Looking around the place, she saw all of her friends were there, Twilight Sparkle beaming behind them. Suddenly lightheaded, Rainbow pried herself away from Pinkie's death grip hug and smiled at everypny. Fluttershy, Rarity and Sweetie Belle, Applejack and Apple Bloom, Mr. and Mrs. Cake and especially Scootaloo were all cheering and congratulating her.
Rainbow grinned widely back as she replayed the events of the race in her head. It had started off well with Rainbow getting the lead early since about half of the pegasus stumbled over tree roots at the start. Rainbow Dash didn't remember any trees near the cliff, but it seemed to not matter since the wind they generated in the valley caused rocks to shift and block several pathways. She had never been more focused on winning the race, but it felt almost too easy, as if the ground itself wanted her to win. It wasn't until Princess Celestia put a medal on her did the reality of winning set in. She was now going to run the Daybreak Dash when Celestia raised the sun.
The party at Cupcake Corner brought her back from her memories as all the ponies asked her questions, offered her sweets and drinks and socialized. The most famous question of the night was if she was nervous about racing the Daybreak Dash. Rainbow Dash always laughed and said it was going to be a breeze. The music played, her friends were there, the food and drinks never seemed to run out, the party was a blast. The only thing missing was a bluish white stallion with a jet black mane. Comet was nowhere to be found, much to Rainbow Dash's disappointment, but it didn't dampen her evening.
While Rainbow Dash partied, Comet lay in his bed, trying to sleep through a vivid dream. He hadn't been invited to Rainbow Dash's party and therefore knew nothing about it, so after the race he had gone home to get some shut eye before training to race tomorrow. He had always had a knack for racing, but he never thought it would be what his calling in life was. Granted he received his cutie mark while racing, but he often thought it meant much more than speed. The comet to him symbolized his desire to use his abilities for the benefit of other ponies, as his courier job said. A comet was quick, to be sure, but it also inspired hope in those who wished upon them and brought wonder and awe to everypony else.
In his dream, Comet was running alongside who else but Rainbow Dash as they both raced with the sun at their backs. The world was a greenish blur as the ran neck and neck, matching each others speed. They kept racing until Comet heard a shrill cry from behind him. Turning his head, a big black mouth lined with razor sharp teeth was closing on both him and Rainbow Dash. Comet looked over to her, but instead of a cyan colored pegasus was a sterling white unicorn running with her eyes closed. A sickly indigo surrounded her horn as she opened her eyes, revealing a harsh yellow iris that gave Comet chills just by looking at them.
The unicorn screamed harshly, causing Comet's neck hair to stand up just before the maws slammed shut, waking Comet from his sleep. He panted as his heart raced out of control. He was covered in a cold sweat as he tried to recall the nightmare, but was unable to do so. The pale light of Luna's moon shined through his window, casting tricky shadows and giving his apartment a haunted feel. Comet couldn't remember the dream, but he had been terrified and the dream seemed far too real. He had felt something, the presence of somepony right next to him. Finally calming himself down, Comet lay back down and forced himself to sleep.
The eye had widened in the pool of water. The burning yellow iris quivered with excitement. There they were! At long last, after five hundred years it had finally found both Hypersonic's and Clydesdale's bloodlines. The blue one with the multicolored mane was fast, just like her predecessor. She had escaped the tendrils when they reached for her, instead they only slowed her competition. Oddly, the sabotage wreaked by the tendrils had assured her to win. While enraged the prey had escaped, the eye felt a cruel sense of correctness on the situation.
How could it fulfill its purpose if it killed them before the Dragon Dash? Wasn't that the whole reason it had waited for so long? The eye continued to sit motionless as it pondered its situation. It wanted to avenge itself, but this wasn't the opportune moment. This was not the time or place to do it. It could already torture them by simply touching them. The stallion had felt its presence as it invaded his mind. It could still sense the mare as she walked over to a unicorn of great power. Had she felt it too? Was she protecting herself?
No, no, it did not matter. Five hundred years of festering anger, pain and darkness had made its powers grow substantially. This unicorn was mere childs play compared to it. The eye contracted the pupil, shrinking it to the size of a small rock. It would be content for now, knowing its revenge had begun, knowing they couldn't hide from it now. The appropriate time was approaching, the Dragon Dash would be run by both of them. Their deaths were assured.
A shriek loud enough to wake the dead startled the caves inhabitants. Bats, rodents and insects either running from the sound. How easily predictable. Still, the eye enjoyed its new pets. All the creatures froze in a second, causing an eerie silence to echo through the cave. All their eyes glowed a sickly yellow before they all took off in one general direction. The eye remained in the pool, sensing the animals navigating their way out of the cave.
