The Equestria Games: Flight of the Pegasi

Chapters

Let the Games Begin!
Through the Fire and Flames
From the Fire to the Frying Pan...
...And Back Into the Fire
Shocking Revelations
"Whatever It Takes To Win"
The Victors and the Spoiled
Art Gallery
"Bulk Betting Is Encouraged!"

Let the Games Begin!

Keep it together, Rainbow. It's just another race, just another event, just another chance to prove myself... Oh, who am I kidding? We're at the Equestria Games! And together, 'Shy, Bulk and I are gonna destroy the competition!

Such was the mentality of Rainbow “Danger Professionalism” Dash as she approached the starting line with her teammates. With the roar of thousands of ponies in her ears, she couldn’t help but beam with elation at her closest partner, Fluttershy. Her timid little friend had grown so much over the course of the past few months, training harder than ever before to not only improve her speed and endurance, but her personal resolve as well.

Catching her glance, Fluttershy returned her friend's confidence with a look of steadfast determination and, if Dash wasn't mistaken, the ghost of a grin. Next to her, the third member of their group, Bulk Biceps, had already begun limbering up his legs and his wings. Numerous, sharp-sounding snaps escaped from his joints as he loosened himself up. Pausing for barely a moment to throw a cheeky leer at his comrades, he stretched out his miniature wings to their maximum length of eight inches.

“Fillies and Gentlecolts!”

The booming voice of Prince Shining Armor echoed all around the brilliant crystal stadium via enormous crystal pillars, heavily adorned by speakers and lights. “It is our absolute pleasure to welcome you all to this event of the Equestria Games: the Aerial Relay! This year we have five elite teams, all vying for the glory of Equestria Games gold. These valiant competitors are top-tier for their level in each of their respective lands and skies.

“Representing Las Pegasus: Merry May, Cloud Kicker, and Sunburst!”

The stadium politely clopped their hooves together as the multi-coloured ponies raised their heads and waved. Merry and Cloud exchanged green and blue hoofbumps while Sunburst's golden visage hovered over their heads, both front hooves held high as he beamed brightly out to the applauding masses.

“Representing Fillydelphia: Dizzy Twister, Rainbowshine, and Rainbow Swoop!”

A slight jump in the audience's volume welcomed the second team to the field. The mares joined hooves and leaped into the air, waving their free lemon and mauve forelegs around as the sun reflected off their identical mane schemes. Rainbow Swoop merely cast his brown eyes around and ran a hoof through his short and equally-hued spiky do. Rainbow’s team joined in with the cheering from the Fillydelphian residents; practically the entire town was there in the stands, she noted. From the corner of her eye, out on the field below the obstacle course, she saw the Cutie Mark Crusaders waving their flags vigorously—Scootaloo waving the hardest.

“Representing Ponyville: Bulk Biceps, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash!”

At the mention of the two element-bearers, the stadium exploded into a crazed frenzy of cheers. Bulk bellowed out a thundering “Yeeaaahhhh!” as he flexed his exuberant muscles and snorted; Fluttershy politely waved to the audience, her new, shorter-styled mane now failing to cover half of her face as it used to. Rainbow, however, lapped up the attention like a starving changeling, punching the air as she absorbed the crowd’s great enthusiasm. She glanced over at the royal chamber next to the commentary box, where her friends were seated next to all four princesses of Equestria. She caught Twilight’s eye and gave her a wink.

Don’t worry, we’ve got this.

“Our next team hails from beyond the boundaries of Equestria, all the way across the Marelantic Ocean. They’ve traveled a very long way to be here, so please give it up for our esteemed guests from the Griffon Kingdom: Natalya, Gaston, and their leader, Giselle!”

The crowd did their best to appease the foreign tourists’ desire for recognition, the stadium once more erupting at the sight of the leader flying in with her two partners. Giselle’s shining white front juxtaposed her velvety black wings as she let out a piercing shriek. Natalya flew in on her right side, coolly nodding to the audience as she landed and lazily waved her own black wings. Gaston landed heavily on Giselle’s left: a brown behemoth of a griffon with beady eyes.

I’ll have to remind Bulk to keep an eye on that one.

“Finally, please welcome your celebrity competitors from Cloudsdale: Spitfire, Soarin, and Fleetfoot!”

If the stadium had been loud before, it seemed like a whisper in comparison to the new volume coming from the crowd; everypony in the stands was up on their hooves, loudly cheering for the event favourites. Rainbow couldn’t help but sneak a smirk over to Spitfire as she landed with Fleetfoot and Soarin in tow.

Spitfire caught Rainbow’s eye and returned her own cocky grin, the unspoken challenge issued.

You ready for this, filly?

I was born ready.

At she waited for the other competitors to take their positions, Rainbow's mind drifted...

* * * * *

Thirty minutes earlier…

Rainbow Dash finished pulling on her flight suit, gently adjusting her wings to ensure the tight, aerodynamic outfit was on properly. Satisfied, she ran one final lap of the team locker room to check out Fluttershy and Bulk. Despite having ordered a size that even Princess Celestia would fit into, Bulk struggled to squeeze into his team uniform. Fluttershy hovered above him, trying to zip up the top along his back. The wing holes had been tailor-made for him, yet they still weren’t sufficiently covered.

“Wow, Bulk,” Rainbow said as she flew overhead to help Fluttershy. “I know you’re a... muscular guy and all, but are you seriously too big for the biggest flight suit we have?”

“Sorry! Can’t help it!” Bulk tensed up further as Rainbow and Fluttershy attempted to pull the zipper together.

“Oh, I don’t think we can get it all the way on, Bulk,” Fluttershy said, worry lacing her soft voice. “We might have to see if Derpy Hooves is still available to replace you—”

“No!” Rainbow shouted, earning a curious look from Fluttershy. “I mean, no, I’m sure we can get this to fit.” She tapped her forehead lightly. “Think, think, think... I might have an idea, but I’ll have to be quick about it; we’re supposed to be finished in here soon, ready to march out! Just keep trying, and, uh, I’ll be back in a jiffy!”

Taking a last glance at Bulk’s bulging red eyes, she shot a half-hearted smile his way before dashing out of the locker room. Come on, she thought, gotta find Rarity—“Owch!” In her rush, she hadn’t seen the aquamarine pegasus in the hall, just outside the door.

“Sorry, miss, excuse me for—”

Rainbow’s apology was silenced by shock, and perhaps a little indignance.

The mare looked up at Rainbow Dash from the floor, her own eyes retracting into her sockets.

“R-Rainbow D-Dash?”

She scrambled backwards away from her cyan counterpart. “I’m so sorry, that was all my fault... I’ll just be going now…” She made to fly off back down the hall, but Rainbow grabbed her tail in her teeth, forcing the mare back to the ground.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on a moment, there,” Rainbow grunted through clenched teeth. “It wasn’t your fault." She let go of the other mare's orange-and-yellow tail. “I zoomed into you, to be fair. But I’m curious now; what are you doing here, Lightning Dust?”

Lightning lightly got back on her hooves and shuffled a little further away from her former wing-pony. “Uh, I was just on the way to the bathroom and I happened to notice your locker room. I stood here for a bit, just sort of remembering what happened with… us…” She shook her head briefly in the ensuing silence. “I just wanted to apologise for what I did back at the academy. I had no chance before I was given my marching orders. I’ve changed a lot now, I promise.”

Rainbow raised an eyebrow at the mare who’d almost turned her friends into multi-coloured pancakes. “...You just wanted to apologise? Are you sure?”

She nodded. “Yeah, Rainbow. I know we made an awesome team, but you really should have been the lead-pony. You knew that and I think I really knew it too. So yeah, we good?”

She offered her hoof but Rainbow let it hang for a moment. “You still haven’t told me what you’re here for, Lightning. Admit it, apologising to me was only an afterthought. I mean, why are you actually in here and not in the crowd with my—I mean, the—other spectators?”

Lightning opened her mouth slightly, narrowing her eyes at Rainbow. “You didn’t hear? I’m the team coach for Las Pegasus. They’re flying under my guidance now, since poor Golden Glory injured herself during a demonstration.”

She smiled suddenly, catching Rainbow off-guard. “Hey, looks like I’ve got another chance to prove myself to everypony. If Las Pegasus wins, they’ll have the glory and the medals, and I’ll have my pride back!”

“You’re the new coach? Uh… well, congratulations, I guess. I hope we can have a good, clean race this time. No tornadoes, you hear me?” Rainbow laughed, finally reaching up a hoof to Lightning. Beaming, Lightning bumped it eagerly.

“Count on it, Rainbow Dash. Let’s get out there and show what our teams can do! I can’t wait to show you and Spitfire the pride of Las Pegasus!”

As Lightning Dust departed down the hall, Rainbow’s gaze followed her out of sight. I hope she’s as good as her word, she thought. Otherwise—

“Awww, horse-apples! I gotta find Rarity, quick!”

Through the Fire and Flames

Author's Note

This chapter is absolutely, most certainly not a reference to this song.
Nope.
Definitely not.

Through the Fire and Flames

“Ready, Fluttershy? Ready, Bulk?” Rainbow gave her team a final appraisal as the twin whistle sounded above the background roar.

“Ready as I can be… I suppose?” Fluttershy eyed Spike coming in with the green flag. She turned to the muscle-bound stallion on her left. “How about you, Bulk?”

“Yeah! Let’s go!” His enthusiastic roar almost blew Fluttershy away, the mare clinging to the ground tightly. Rainbow grinned and fixed her concentration on the flag in Spike's grasp, her tail high in the air with anticipation.

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrt...

This is it. All or nothing.

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrt…

Games gold, here we come!

* * * * *

Brrt!

Twelve pegasi and three griffons shot forward, generating enough backdraft to blow Spike over as they whooshed past.

Bulk flapped his minuscule wings as hard as he ever had, yet he saw that he’d immediately fallen behind. No problem! he thought, concentrating on his airborne targets. Through the rings. That’s it. Ahead on their own sections of track, he witnessed Soarin taking the clear lead, with Sunburst and Rainbowshine hot on the Wonderbolt’s heels. Soarin weaved through his rings with grace and expertise, his superior training on clear display.

Heading for his first ring, Bulk saw Gaston pull further in front of him. The giant griffon was only slightly smaller than him, yet his larger wingspan allowed him to cover ground that much faster. As he peered up above him, he saw Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash rushing to their positions, higher in the sky at each of their checkpoints.

“This event is made up of three sections,” Shining Armor announced to the stadium in the background. “Each section will have rings throughout the course. Stage One consists of five rings, positioned one after the other. The first competitor must complete eight laps by flying through the rings in the correct order and back again. On the ninth lap, the competitor must pass their team's horseshoe on to the next, who will continue through the second stage.

“In this first leg, race favourites Cloudsdale have taken an early lead, with Soarin already completing his first lap!”

As the announcement ended—only to be replaced once more with cheers—Bulk sharpened his focus and worked his way through the first rings. With them being larger, he definitely found it easier to manoeuvre through them than during the qualifying round, although he still had to twist his body to fit through. He stole a glance to his left, observing Gaston pulling still further in front.

Remember the advice Rainbow gave you, he thought. Don’t think about anypony else, just complete your laps and pass on the horseshoe. Pumping his wings harder than ever, he zoomed towards the fifth ring, preparing to turn around.

Up above him, Fluttershy cheered, “Go, Bulk! You can do it!"

Bulk smiled as her cheers gave him new vigor. Completing his turn, he noticed the other pegasi already beginning their third lap; Soarin had almost completed his fourth.

“Yeeaahhh! Let’s go, Ponyville!” He darted back through his final ring, approaching the end of his first lap.

* * * * *

“Still leading the pack, Soarin is making decent headway over his closest opponents,” blared the speakers again. “Sunburst and Rainbowshine follow behind, almost neck and neck, with Gaston and Bulk Biceps bringing up the rear. Those two will be focusing exclusively on just finishing their leg, with their faster teammates picking up the slack later. But don’t count your griffons before they hatch, Game fans, because we have a special surprise for you all: at the beginning of the third lap, our competition is really going to ‘heat up’!”

Miss Harshwhinny looked to Celestia and nodded. Celestia smiled, her horn igniting a brilliant gold.

“What are you doing, Princess?” Twilight's eyes bored into Celestia's own. “What surprise?”

Celestia simply looked at Twilight and smiled as her magical power peaked in intensity. “I am going to cast a complex spell that will make the competitors' rings seem like they are on fire. A completely harmless illusion of course, but the competitors don't know that.”

She turned to her flame-hued partner. “Ready, Philomena?”

The phoenix nodded, leaving Celestia’s shoulder and coming to rest in midair before her.

Wide-eyed, Twilight stared as Philomena opened her beak and shot an intense stream of fire at Celestia, which engulfed her horn in a swirling inferno. Rising from her crystal throne, Celestia flapped her enormous wings and released her flame-imbued magic in twenty-five separate beams of light, each one striking a ring on the stadium grounds.

The rings promptly burst into flames. The crowd gasped as one while the competitors faltered, noticing their new obstacle. Even Soarin looked nonplussed at the unexpected development.

“Are you crazy, Celestia?” Twilight gaped at the flaming rings.

“Worry not, Princess Twilight.” Miss Harshwhinny moved to stand next to the smaller princess. “I assure you, everypony will be quite safe.”

“And supposing the competitors feel differently?” Rarity trotted up to Twilight's other side and placed a leg around her friend. “What if they fear to pass through the rings at all?”

“That is a decision each will have to make on their own,” Celestia said sagely. “This event is about more than just speed and teamwork; it is also about bravery and self-sacrifice. They are both necessary elements of an elite team.” She looked Twilight directly in the eyes. “Just have faith in your friends.”

“I hope you’re right, Princess…” Twilight trailed off, casting her gaze back onto Bulk and the others.

Stay safe out there, guys. All of you.

* * * * *

Bulk’s eyes widened, his pupils contracting sharply at his new, unexpected obstacle. Flitting in place, he stared at the inflamed ring before him, watching its tongues perform their wild dance. He cast a look around, realising that each and every ring shared the new status. A moment later, though, the flames dissipated.

“Go, Bulk, go!”

Fluttershy’s continuous cheering reached his ears with the absence of the crackling flames. Steeling his resolve, he plowed on through two rings, completing his second lap. As he turned to begin his third, the rings re-ignited themselves. Getting as close as he dared, Bulk felt the intensity of the conflagration before him. It was certainly hot enough to be intimidating.

Maybe… that’s all it’s supposed to be.

Taking a deep breath, he plunged towards the ring, expecting to feel searing pain and for the flames to scorch his pure white coat. Passing through it quickly, he opened his squinted eyes and turned around. Aside from a slightly uncomfortable heat, he was completely unscathed. His scarlet eyes brightened at his success. Quickly, he looked around at the others. Soarin had recovered from his initial disbelief and soldiered on rapidly, approaching the end of his sixth lap. Sunburst, surprisingly, remained hot on his tail, completely unperturbed by the flames. Rainbowshine still stared in fear, hovering on the spot.

As for the griffon…

Bulk watched as Gaston shot towards a ring. The flames perked up again, roaring loudly. Appearing to act on instinct rather than trained reflex, Gaston veered away from the ring—directly into him.

Thud!

With the breath knocked from his lungs, Bulk gasped and collapsed to the ground, Gaston’s heavy, winged form covering him. He landed heavily, slamming his back and knocking the rear of his head on the ground as the griffon’s weight added to the impact. With stars in his vision, Bulk coughed, wincing as he sat up and pushed Gaston’s frame off himself.

As he struggled to regain his breath, Fluttershy landed lightly next to him. “Oh, goodness! Are you okay, Bulk?” Through his disorientation, her compassionate voice drew his attention. Staring into those soft, concerned aqua eyes calmed his mind.

“Yeah! Just let me… catch my breath.”

“Team Ponyville!”

Fluttershy and Bulk jumped at the sound of Shining Armor's voice. “Return to your race positions within ten seconds or face disqualification!”

As his voice died away, Fluttershy gazed into Bulk’s eyes. “Are you sure you’re okay? Derpy's ready if you can’t continue.” She looked over at the reserve bench, where Derpy caught her gaze and waved vigorously.

Bulk shook his head. “No! I’m okay! I can do it!” He took a deep breath and stood, exhaling. From within his shadow, Fluttershy nodded and took off back to her official race position.

“Yeah! I can do this!”

Casting a final look at the stunned griffon, Bulk rose up and resumed the race, still panting slightly. As he began his sixth lap, he saw a team of griffon medics attending to Gaston, patting his head and checking his wings while he sat up.

No time for him now! Just get the horseshoe to Fluttershy.

With only a little more difficulty, Bulk worked on completing his remaining laps, ignoring the flames as he glided through the warm rings without fear. Soarin had already completed his nine laps, having passed the horseshoe to Fleetfoot with an additional hoofbump between them. Sunburst and Rainbowshine weren’t far behind, Rainbowshine evidently having worked up the courage to navigate through the flames. Behind him, Gaston had recovered and was gaining ground rapidly, now also unafraid of the blazing rings.

“Bulk Biceps!” Bulk looked up to the voice as he flew, seeing Rainbow Dash far above him with her hooves cupped to her mouth. “You get that horseshoe to Fluttershy right now, you hear me?”

“You got it, captain!” With a final burst of speed, Bulk navigated the final ring and swiftly pressed the gilded horseshoe into Fluttershy’s waiting hoof. “Good luck!” he bellowed as she winked at him and took off. His job completed, Bulk lowered himself to the ground and dropped onto his belly, wheezing. While he rested, a shadow covered the sun, prompting him to look up.

“Here you go!” Derpy grinned as she emptied a bucket of cold water over his body. Numbed from shock, a dripping Bulk Biceps stared at the substitute mare.

“Thanks, Derpy!”

From the Fire to the Frying Pan...

After accepting the horseshoe from Bulk Biceps, Fluttershy immediately thrust herself skyward. Her red ring awaited, mounted on a cloud high above. As she neared the ring, motion from her periphery drew her attention. Still flying straight up, she looked to her left and witnessed Fleetfoot chasing after her ring… Chasing after it? Returning her focus to her own ring, Fluttershy gasped as she realised that it had also moved.

Her ring clearly did not wish to be caught.

Well, I’ll show you who’s boss, you mean old cloud!

Fluttershy narrowed her eyes and put on an extra burst of speed. She felt the exhilaration as the wind rushed through her newly cropped mane. Rainbow’s right; I can fly faster with my mane cut! she thought. I never thought I’d see the day when I could fly with 9.0 wing power. Yet even with her new strength and aerodynamic figure, the ring eluded her, swerving this way and that through the air.

A flash of brown, gone as soon as it appeared. Fluttershy put it from her mind; she had more important issues to deal with.

“Stage Two of the Aerial Relay entails the pursuit and sequential fly-through of a red ring in the sky,” Shining Armor announced. “Competitors must chase their ring until it slows down before flying through it. Each ring is connected to a miniature bracelet on each athlete’s front leg. When it detects that their heartbeat is over one-hundred-fifty beats per minute, their ring will begin to slow down.”

“Going all right there, Flutters?”

Fluttershy turned to the speaker, surprised at being addressed in the heat of competition. Dizzy Twister was chasing her own ring, which seemed to desire flying in circles more than Fluttershy’s own.

“Great flying there, you might give Ponyville a real chance!”

“Oh, you’re doing quite well yourself, Dizzy. I know you’re the better flier of the two of us.”

Dizzy chuckled. “Heh, that may be so, but your team has Rainbow Dash, the fastest pegasus in Equestria! I know who I’d bet on between her and Raunbow Swoop. Anyway, hate to cut this short, but I’ve got a ring to catch!” Dizzy saluted and sped off in the other direction as her ring decided that circling wasn’t working.

Fluttershy watched Dizzy’s ring evade her fellow competitor for a moment before she remembered about her own. Oops. Changing direction, she pursued her own fluffy nimbus as it made again to flee from its butter-yellow predator.

* * * * *

“...their heartbeat is over one-hundred-fifty beats per minute, the ring will begin to slow down.”

“Hold on a second!” Pinkie Pie shouted, eliciting stares from everypony in the crystal box. “Are you telling me that only when Fluttershy feels like dropping out of the sky, will the ring allow itself to be caught?”

“I agree; that sounds totally barbaric!” Rarity nodded in accordance. “How could you sanction such an event, Your Highnesses?”

“Please, my little ponies, have patience,” Celestia commanded. “I am not so ruthless as to force a pony into exhaustion like that.”

Luna trotted next to her sister. “Indeed. Please, let Prince Armor conclude our explanation of the event.”

“In the event that a competitor is too lax in their effort to elevate their heart rate to the required level, their ring will slow down after five minutes of said competitor obtaining their horseshoe from their first teammate,” Shining Armor continued. “At this time, the ring will glow golden and be teleported to the other side of the stadium. The horseshoe bearer must then fly the length of the stadium once more to pass through it, before passing on the horseshoe to their final teammate. But that’s not all, ponies! We have another surprise waiting for our valiant athletes!

“Do not fear, ponies; in the event that any competitor shows too great a sign of fatigue, we have a medical crew for each team standing by.”

“Oh, I get it!” Twilight perked up at her realisation. “It’s not about tiring out the competitors at all, but about proving who has the most determination to win! Those willing to push themselves to the limit for their team will be the most well-rewarded, shaving precious seconds off their team’s time!”

Celestia nodded. “Very astute, Twilight. But then again, when would I ever expect anything less from my former prized pupil?”

Before Celestia could add anything further, Applejack arrived, bringing their friend Golden Harvest with them. “I know this box is for invited guests only, but we’ve got an emergency here! Tell ’em, Carrot Top!”

The mare sniffed loudly as she raised her blood-shot eyes to the princesses. “My cart… I took it back down to the storage stalls after I sold all of my produce. I just left it there for a moment to go to the little filly’s room, and… and now it’s gone!”

Golden burst into a fresh wave of tears as Rarity and Pinkie Pie rounded on her; the former lightly patted her back while the latter gave her a comforting hug. “There were over a thousand bits in that new cart! Why would somepony steal it?”

“Perhaps because there were over a thousand bits in that new cart?” Spike suggested, having finally arrived in the box after waving the start flag. He backed up as everypony glared at him. “What? Isn’t that a good reason to steal something?”

“Spikey-Wikey, there is never a good reason to steal anything, at any place, at any time.” Rarity shook her head at him.

“Oh, uh…” Spike spluttered, backing away from everypony with his arms in front of him. “Well, of course not. Just, er, trying to establish a motive I guess.” Sheepish, Spike wrung his claws together with an apologetic glance at Rarity. “Sorry.”

“Oh, you meant no harm, Spike. I know that.” Rarity ruffled Spike’s spines.

“Now, you know I hate to break any tender moment between you two,” Applejack said—Rarity and Spike instantly separated “—but do y’all think you could help with our current situation? Carrot Top’s livelihood kinda depends on it. Ponyville’s too, if you think about it. I don’t pretend to be the only primary producer in town, y’know. Everypony needs their carrots as well as their apples!”

Golden Harvest sniffed and gave Applejack a hug. “Thank you, AJ. Please, everypony, help me find my missing cart!” She cast her sad gaze around at everypony one more. “Without those bits and my cart, I’ll be ruined!”

Pinkie Pie let out an enormous gasp, drawing all eyes onto her. “Oh no! With no carrots, Ponyville’s youth will never see anything ever, ever again!”

She quickly delved into her mane, once more extracting her hat and pipe. “Never fear, Golden Harvest, your friendly neighbourhood Pinkie Holmes is on the case! I Pinkie Promise to find your cart, your bits, and the culprits, or my name isn’t Pinkie Holmes!”

“Pinkie, your name isn’t—” Twilight’s eyes crossed as Rarity’s quick hoof to her mouth muted her remaining words. The white mare shook her head slowly as she dropped her hoof a second later.

“Just let her work her own Pinkie magic, Twilight." Applejack beat Rarity to the chase before her friend could speak. "We stopped trying to understand her a long time ago, remember?”

She sighed. “Carrot Top, you stay here with the princesses. Er, if that’s okay with you, Princess Celestia?”

“Of course it is, Applejack. Considering the circumstances, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Golden Harvest, is it?” The mare nodded, adding a bow in return. “You may remain here with us. Try to calm down with us as your friends help solve this mystery. Cadance—” Celestia addressed the crystal princess “—would you kindly make Miss Harvest comfortable?”

“Of course, Celestia. Come and sit next to me, dear.” Cadance beckoned to Golden, placing a calming massage spell on the upset mare as she took a seat. “Our friends will get to the bottom of this. I promise.”

* * * * *

Now aware of the rules of engagement, Fluttershy sat on the theoretical fence about what to do. Should I just fly around and wait for the five minutes to be over? Or should I chase it with all my might?

As she pondered this question, she witnessed Merry May already beginning to have trouble. Sweat poured off the mare as she gasped for breath, clutching her chest. Oh no, if Merry keeps that up, she’ll have her ring in no time!

Fluttershy redoubled her efforts, zooming at top speed towards her ever-evasive ring. “If I’ve gotta wear myself out for Rainbow Dash—for Ponyville—then that’s what I’ll do!” she told herself.

Beating her wings as hard as she could, she chased the ring in circles, zig-zags, sweeping bends and ground-bound dives. Before long her muscles were aching in protest, yet still she persisted. Her breathing became ragged, her shallow breaths hardly fulfilling her oxygen requirements from her screaming, demanding lungs.

Twenty seconds later, a beep sounded from Fluttershy’s leg as she gasped for air. Her quarry immensely reduced its evasion speed. She sighed in relief, even as her wings threatened to give out. Lightly flying through the ring, she turned back to face it as a golden aura enveloped it. Instantly, the now-golden ring floated hundreds of metres away at the other end of the stadium. Before taking off, she cast a final appraising glance around at her competition; only Merry May’s ring had turned gold like hers.

I guess… being super fit… can work against some ponies… after all, Fluttershy thought as she clutched her chest, feeling the powerful drum inside working serious overtime. Fleetfoot and Natalya still streaked back and forth across the skies, while Dizzy looked to be nearing her threshold. She noticed the laboured body language, the sluggish turns of her friendly competitor.

We might actually have a shot at this…

* * * * *

Miss Harshwhinny looked from the competitors, to the golden rings, to Princess Luna. Observing the princess’ brief nod, Shining Armor announced, “Spectators and athletes! Here is your second surprise of the event!”

He ceased his declaration as Miss Harshwhinny faced Luna directly. “Do it.”

Luna’s horn glowed a light azure.

* * * * *

Fluttershy heard the Earth-shaking roar before she knew it had appeared. Freezing up in terror, she turned—against her better judgment—to face what she already knew to be tailing her. Barely stopping her wings from slamming shut, her eyes contracted from pure terror.

Dear Celestia, no…

...And Back Into the Fire

“I’m tellin’ ya, Pinkie, we’re gonna need some solid proof if we’re gonna catch that sneaky weasel.”

The two Earth ponies trudged back to the scene of the crime—Pinkie bounced—as they searched for any clues regarding Golden’s missing cart. “Has anypony come forward and reported it at all, d’ya reckon?”

“I dunno.” Pinkie shrugged, more bubbles escaping from her pipe. “Hey, there’s an idea!”

A glowing lightbulb appeared over her head. “Why don’t you ask around and see if anypony saw somepony else around here, looking sort of shady?” She grabbed the lightbulb and stuffed it into her mane. “You’ll be useful later.”

Applejack rolled her eyes. “All right. I’ll start askin’ around while you look for clues. Just promise me you won’t go wanderin’ off, okay?”

Pinkie nodded eagerly as she pulled out a magnifying glass from her tail.

“Sure thing, then. Guess I’ll start with these here crystal citizens,” Applejack said.

“Okey dokey Loki, Applejack!” Pinkie zipped up and gave her a friendly squeeze before bouncing off to the cart’s former tethering post.

AJ brought a hoof to her face. “I hope that pony knows how important this situation is. Ponyville could be in mighty great strife if we don’t find the varmint who did this.”

* * * * *

A dragon. Of all things, a dragon!

Fluttershy’s heart skipped a beat or three as she started into the face of certain doom. A massive creature with mottled red and orange scales, the winged wyrm dwarfed the pony by multiple times in size. Oh… my, those fangs…

“Fluttershy!”

Merry May approached the fear-stricken mare as she saw her life flash before her eyes. “Fluttershy, come on! Forget the dragon, follow me!” The green pegasus flew up to Fluttershy and slapped her face, jerking her out of her petrification. “Equestria to Fluttershy! Move it, honey!”

Fluttershy shook her head quickly, still staring up at the dragon’s beady black eyes. “Oh, um… yes.” Finally remembering how to use her wings properly, Fluttershy accelerated away from the dragon towards her golden ring, Merry May and the red giant in hot pursuit. Her furiously pounding heart, having not had time to recover from her workout, begged her for a respite even as the effects of adrenaline set in.

“A dragon? Where the hay did that come from?” Dizzy Twister rocketed up to them, panting rapidly. “We’ve gotta get outta here!”

“It’s no good, the dragon’s gaining—look out!” Merry cried as the behemoth belched a plume of spiraling flames in their direction. Fluttershy ducked low, dropping in altitude further than she meant to out of exhaustion. Luckily, too; the flames passed right over her vacated position.

Dizzy gasped. “Fluttershy, are you all right?”

Fluttershy responded with a weak nod as she fought to regain her altitude. “Let’s get to those rings, already!”

“I’ll help her out!” Merry flew underneath Fluttershy, bearing a little of her weight.

The dragon roared again, flapping its own wings with enough force to create a vicious wind. The buffeting breeze blew the duo off-course as the dragon stretched out its neck to take a bite—

“Hey!”

The dragon looked up at the new distraction; Fleetfoot had entered the fray. “You leave those ponies alone, or you’re dealing with me, buster!” As the dragon leered in defiance and switched its focus toward her, she yelled, “Get to your rings! Move it, ponies!”

“Are you insane?” Dizzy hovered in place, stunned at the reckless Wonderbolt's attitude. “That thing’ll tear you to shreds!”

“I’ll be fine, I’ve taken on larger than this sort before. Get moving—get to your rings!”

Dizzy nodded, flying over to aid Fluttershy and Merry. “I don’t care if I’m helping the competition,” she declared. “It’ll be a cold day in Tartarus before I leave anypony to the mercy of a dragon like that!”

Breathing heavily, the three exhausted pegasi flew haphazardly towards the end of the stadium, each of their golden rings separated from one another by only a few metres. Chancing a glance backwards, Dizzy caught a glimpse of Natalya racing to her own goal, the other competitors barely acknowledged.

“Nice to see the true spirit of our esteemed guests.” Her eyes narrowed briefly, before returning to her goal. Having reached the drop-off point, the trio of pegasi approached their own rings, where their final teammates awaited them.

“Whoa!”

Rainbow Dash's cry prompted a glance back from Fluttershy; Fleetfoot had swept towards the dragon’s eyeballs, apparently aiming to gouge them out… and passed right through the beast’s elongated head.

“Fleetfoot! It’s an illusion! Ignore it and come back, you’ve done more than enough!” Rainbow called.

Fleetfoot turned and fled, numb from the sensation of passing through a seemingly corporeal living being.

Rainbow turned to Fluttershy as the Wonderbolt made her way to Spitfire for the trade. “Flutters, the horseshoe! Pass me the horseshoe!”

With a final, meek effort, Fluttershy offered up her leg, close to fainting as she felt the metal shard swiped from her hoof.

Dear Celestia, may I just… go to sleep now? Fluttershy’s body ached like never before; her wings were seizing up, her back and shoulders throbbing from overuse. She spied Fleetfoot passing their baton to Spitfire and shot her cornflower saviour a weak grin of thanks. The Wonderbolt responded by offering a lazy wing-up before descending to the ground herself.

As Fluttershy began to fall from fatigue, two medical pegasi bearing a stretcher flew up to greet her. Only when she had relaxed onto the ground-bound stretcher did she acknowledge the dull roar of the crowd. She wondered when exactly she had been stricken with temporary deafness. She supposed that they must have been screaming in fear, or cheering in ecstasy… she couldn't tell one from the other.

Yes, I’m definitely taking that rest now. Good luck… Rainbow Dash.

* * * * *

“So, we’ve been over the plan enough times?” the brown one asked. She flexed her enormous wings and held her talons in front of her face, bored at the proceedings. “I’ve got the Fillydelphian stallion and the frisky mare, you’ve got the Wonderbolt.”

“I know the plan already!” the blue one hissed from within the dense cloud cover. “You don’t have to keep reminding me, you know!”

“All right already, jeez. Somepony’s in need of a chill pill.” The brown one lazily drifted back into position. “Just relax and stick to the plan. Are you sure you have enough thunderclouds stocked up in there?”

The blue one snorted. “Please. I have enough electrical power here to level a town. Spitfire won’t know what hit her.” Her eyes narrowed, the vivid orange almost shining a beacon through the thick stratus cover.

“And neither will Rainbow Dash.”

* * * * *

“You’ve gone mad! How could you put Fluttershy through that?”

Twilight's horn glowed as she stared at Miss Harshwhinny. “Did you even put a shred of consideration into what could have happened? Fluttershy could have… she might have…” Twilight stared at the ground, her eyes betraying her emotions.

“I can understand your concern, Princess Sparkle, but I assure you, Fluttershy was in no danger. None of the competitors faced any true peril at all. Observe—”

Philomena reappeared in a flash of flame, once more perched upon Celestia’s shoulders. “You see?” Harshwhinny continued. “It was all an illusion spell cast by Princess Luna to shape-shift Princess Celestia’s pet. All she did was enlarge the image of the phoenix’s fake form.”

Twilight's rebuttal was swift. “It’s not that I was worried for her physically. Just imagine the mental scars that you’ve now burdened my friend with! Fluttershy is deathly afraid of fully-grown dragons; one time, it took the four of our friends plus myself to drag her up to a dragon’s den! Even then it was a struggle.”

Twilight took a deep breath, closed her eyes and exhaled, swinging a leg in front of her. Her magical glow dissipated. “Just… let me get my emotions together, please? I’m going to check on my friend and make sure her heart hasn’t given out.”

As Twilight exited the crystal box and headed for the medical bay, Rarity rounded on Princess Luna. “With all due respect, Princess, why did you agree to that ridiculous challenge in the first place?” Despite seething on the inside, Rarity kept her lady-like composure.

Perhaps she has a good reason.

“Your question is justified, fair Rarity,” Luna replied. “Alas, our aim was not to scare any athlete to death, but rather to inspire courage and determination in each of them. While it is unfortunate that poor Fluttershy has suffered for her team greatly, you cannot deny what we all saw. Everypony—almost everypony—teamed up against the dragon to save each other from what was, at the time, a very valid and direct threat. Even the Cloudsdale team took on our projection, though it would have greatly benefited Fleetfoot event-wise to ignore her rivals.”

Luna smiled at Rarity, serene grace filtering through her every syllable. “Despite the stress those team members underwent, there is no denying that in the end, they acted with generosity, bravery and compassion in the face of extreme adversity. It is that very spirit that the Equestria Games has always strove to promote.”

Rarity thought about the princess’ words, mulling it over in her mind.

“I concur with your point, Princess. Forgive me for the question.”

“There is nothing to forgive, Rarity.”

Celestia approached her and placed a hoof on her shoulder. “You asked a perfectly valid question out of concern for your friend. Once more, your generous nature shines through.”

Rarity blushed at Celestia’s words.

“Now you should probably go and check on your friends. I’m sure that either group would greatly appreciate your presence.”

Shocking Revelations

It was not out of disloyalty that concern for Fluttershy’s well-being remained absent from Rainbow’s mind. Nor was it selfishness that gripped the mare as she zoomed towards the enormous mass of clouds hundreds of metres above her. No, the only thing present in Rainbow’s consciousness was her pursuit of victory.

We’ve worked so hard for this, trained day and night for months. I will not let my team down. I will surpass any obstacle. I will weather any and all challenges thrown my way.

She cast a quick glance to her right; Spitfire—her hero, her idol, her trainer—accelerated towards the same cloudy congregation, eyes on her own prize.

Spitfire: her opponent, her rival, her competition.

With the wind whistling through her ears and her mane billowing out behind her, Rainbow barely heard the next announcement from Shining Armor:

“The final leg of the Aerial Relay is now underway! Each team member must fly into the centre of that giant, completely unmissable cloud above us and hunt down a particular, smaller cloud within its interior. The first to touch this cloud and return to the groundwith their own tuft of it will be rewarded with the golden prize!”

“Rainbow Dash!”

Rainbow shook her head and gave Spitfire her attention, even as the clouds drew ever closer. “This is it! Just the two of us, flying together, the way you’ve always wanted!”

“I’m going to enjoy this, Spitfire! But don’t you think for one second that I’m gonna take it easy on you!”

Spitfire smirked. “That’s the spirit I expect from the fastest mare I know! You really should be with me instead of against me. Perhaps you will be after this race!”

The ghost of a smile briefly slid across Rainbow’s face before she held out a hoof. Spitfire mirrored the gesture as the two mares slowly drew close to each other. For the briefest of moments, their hooves connected… then they were off, both willing themselves skyward as they rocketed towards the dense, billowing cumulus above.

* * * * *

“...will be rewarded with the golden prize!”

“Applejack! Pinkie Pie! Oh, please excuse me, dear. Applejack!”

Rarity weaved through the dense crowd, searching for her friends while apologising to anypony she inevitably jostled. “Oh, I just know my mane is going to need an extreme work-over after this. At least my dress is still gorgeous.”

“Oh, Rarity, don’t be silly. Your mane is always gorgeous.” Spike, seated comfortably astride Rarity’s back, ran his claws through the mare's gentle, elegant locks.

“Oh, gosh, Spike—excuse me, madame—stop it, you’re making me blush!” Rarity batted her eyelids, a faint pink tingeing her cheeks. “Why, whenever I look at any of these delightful crystal ponies around us, I feel quite inadequate.” She sighed, eyeing a sparkling, crystal Earth pony mare as she walked past her. “What I wouldn’t give to have my own shining, crystalline coat once more…”

Spike rolled his eyes then suddenly stood up on her back.

“Applejack! Over here!” he yelled, waving his claw wildly above his head. Three rows below in the crowd, near the other vendors’ carts, Applejack looked up and waved them down. “There she is, Rarity.”

Spike pointed his mount down the rows. Rarity nodded and continued to part the crowd with many a “pardon me, sir.”

“Hey, you two. What’re you doin’ here? Why ain’t y’all up with the others?”

“We came down to see how your investigations were coming along, darling. That, and we’re on our way to check up on Fluttershy.”

“Yeah.” Spike nodded. “She’s been through a lot. Were you watching at all?”

“I reckon I missed most o' the action—I've been searchin' for leads about Carrot Top's cart.” Applejack shook her head. “I heard some roarin’ but then everypony was all up on their hooves, yellin’ themselves crazy. Couldn’t see nothin’ after that. Why?”

“Maybe if she ever wakes up again, she’ll tell you.” Rarity sighed. “So, located any ‘bad apples’ yet?”

“Nah, everypony here so far seems to be telling the truth. No shifty behaviour at all, anywhere. Maybe Pinkie’s havin’ better luck—why don't you try her?”

“I think I’ll leave the detective work to our pink pseudo-investigator, if you don’t mind. In the meantime, we’ve got a friend to console. Come along, Spike!”

Spike lightly grasped Rarity’s neck as they set off towards the medical area.

“Say hi to her from me, you two!” Applejack waved as they departed, before turning back to the crowd. “Now, surely one of these ponies musta seen somethin’—”

Before she could finish, she felt something rush past her, sending her into an uncontrollable spin. Two seconds later, a pink hoof reached out and grabbed Applejack, steadying her. With her eyes still rolling madly, Applejack quickly shook her head and glared at her hyperactive friend.

“What’s your darn hurry, sugarcube?”

“Applejack! Come quickly! I have a lead!” yipped Pinkie over the spectator’s racket. “You gotta come quick, or she’ll escape!”

“Er, escape?”

“Uh, leave, I mean. Yeah, that’s right. She’ll leave. Anyway, let’s go!” She grabbed Applejack’s hoof and pulled her along, rushing back down the lines of ponies to her ‘lead’.

* * * * *

Rainbow narrowed her eyes, bracing for the expected dampness that followed from passing through a cloud. What she didn’t expect was the saturated sensation that she likened to taking a dive into Lake Ponyville.

“Whoa! What the?” she yelled as she passed through the outer layer. This is some cloud. I’ve never bucked one anywhere near this dense before!

While she shook off the offending substance, Spitfire, Cloud Kicker and Rainbow Swoop blazed past her, the Wonderbolt leading by a comfortable margin.

It doesn’t matter that she’s in front. This cloud could be anywhere in here; all I have to do is find it first and team Ponyville is home free!

Rainbow zipped around inside the murky sea of white, searching in every direction for her target. As she shot through cloud after cloud inside the super-sized cumulonimbus, flicking glances around, two strange sounds reached her ears. Momentarily abandoning her search, Rainbow flew towards the site of the sounds. When she parted a pair of light and fluffy nimbus clouds, she froze in midair, her wings barely keeping her aloft. A strangled gasp wormed its way out of her throat.

Cloud Kicker, captain of the Las Pegasus team, lay unconscious on a bed of stratus clouds, slightly darkened with what resembled residual scorch marks left by—

“Lightning?”

Her eyes widened, her flaring nostrils taking in a familiar singed smell. “But why? This arena is supposed to be lightning-free!”

As Rainbow breathed deeply and pondered the nonsensical situation, trying to regain control of her hammering heartbeat, an identical sound thundered from the opposite direction. Now shaking lightly, Rainbow set off towards the noise... and found a bolt-struck Rainbow Swoop in much the same condition as Cloud Kicker.

Her worst fears confirmed, Rainbow abandoned all plans of winning the race. Somepony was disabling the competition—worse, hurting her fellow pegasi—and she intended to find the culprit.

But first, I gotta find Spitfire. I hope she’s okay. Changing her course, she raced at top speed to the centre of the cumulonimbus. As she neared her destination, a flash of rainbow light stole her attention.

There it was: the rainbow stratus cloud she sought after. Turmoil entered her mind as she considered her options. “This is it! Just the two of us, flying together, the way you’ve always wanted!” Spitfire had said. To which she’d replied, “I’m going to enjoy this, Spitfire! But don’t you think for one second that I’m gonna take it easy on you!”

Did locating her competitor and friend, ensuring that she was safe count as “going easy on her?”

Would she really enjoy her victory knowing that two pegasi had already been knocked out of contention?

Most importantly, could she ever forgive herself if she did so?

Her mind made up, Rainbow flew up to the rainbow cloud and swiped a tuft of multi-hued fluff. Immediately upon her touch, it vibrated rapidly, becoming a solid blue like her coat. Tucking it between her rear legs, she flew away from the crowd, resuming her search for Spitfire and the Griffon captain.

“Spitfire! Giselle! You girls okay?” she yelled into the plush white abyss.

“Rainbow! Have you located the target?”

Rainbow released the breath she was unaware of holding in relief at Spitfire’s muffled reply. “There’s something weird going on up here. I’ve already had two close calls with some rogue thunderclouds. Where are the others?” Spitfire flew out of her position into Rainbow’s sight, emerging from behind a nearby cumulus.

“Not too far from here, back behind me. I haven’t seen Giselle yet, but I found Cloud Kicker and Rainbow Swoop knocked out on some frazzled nimbuses. That isn’t just rogue lightning, Spitfire, and these are definitely not random strikes. Somepony must be out to get us."

“But we’re the only ones up here—” Spitfire’s mouth and eyes opened in shock as a bolt of lightning zapped her left wingtip from behind. With a fleeting glance at Rainbow, Spitfire mouthed the words behind you before her eyes rolled up into her head and she fainted.

Rainbow attempted to turn—far too late. She found her wings gripped in a spear-sharp hold.

“Did you miss me, Lamebow Crash? I missed you.”

That voice…

"Whatever It Takes To Win"

“Slow down, Pinkie Pie! Where’re ya takin’ me?” Applejack could barely hear herself over the stadium’s energetic roar.

“To our lead, of course! Where else, silly?” Pinkie answered. “I hope she’s still there, I haven’t actually tested my new sticky streamers on another pony before!”

Applejack cocked an eyebrow. “Sticky streamers? Why would you need—never mind, forget I asked.” She blinked a few times, doing her best to avoid being slammed into other ponies around them. ‘Y’know, ya can let go o’ me, Pinks. I can run just fine by myself.”

“Oh yeah. Oops?” Pinkie laughed as she let go of AJ’s hoof.

Passing underneath a lower archway, Applejack noticed multiple doorways on either side of the corridor. The din subsided as Applejack galloped after Pinkie down the passage, beyond doors labelled Bathroom, Storage, Changeroom… before finally coming to a sliding halt in front of a door marked Cleaning Supplies.

Pinkie brought a hoof to her mouth. “Shhh. She's in here.”

Applejack quietly followed Pinkie through the door, emerging in a dark yet spacious room.

“You got any light in here, Pinks?” Applejack fumbled around in the dim area. “I can’t see nothin’. It’s darker than my own apple cellar in here!”

“Sure thing, Jackly-App!” Pinkie extracted the lightbulb from within her mane. “I knew this would help sometime.”

After carefully trotting into the centre of the room, Pinkie stared at the ceiling with her face screwed up in concentration. “A little to the left… no, some to the right… perfect! Except, no… A bit further north-east? Maybe if I stand here—”

“Pinkie!”

“Oh, sure, here’s the right launch pad!” Pinkie bounced on the spot, steadily gaining height with each bounce. Finally after ten bounces, she took a deep breath and seemed to flatten herself to the floor.

“Let there be—” she sprung up to the ceiling with a loud sproing! “—light!” Pinkie’s hoof managed to somehow slot the lightbulb into the assuredly-empty space, in total darkness, with perfect precision.

“How’d you do that?”

“Lucky guess?” Pinkie shrugged, turning her attention to the far wall next to a row of empty shelves. Applejack followed her friend’s gesture and gasped.

“You tied up your lead?”

* * * * *

“Gilda! What are you doing here? Let go of me!”

Rainbow Dash struggled in the grip of her former friend, but the mighty griffon’s talons did not yield a millimetre. “I’m serious, you let me go right now, or I’ll—”

“Or you’ll what? Squirm at us some more? Like how you made me squirm at the academy after I was unceremoniously kicked out?”

Rainbow’s eyes grew larger than dinner plates as the second speaker flew into view. Her aquamarine coat, orange-streaked mane and fiery eyes seemed far too out of place. Gone were the tones of regret, penitence and excitement that Rainbow had heard from the mare just one hour earlier. Instead, star spider venom laced every syllable that the pegasus spat Rainbow’s way.

“How could you, Lightning Dust?” Rainbow asked, still struggling in Gilda’s iron grip. “After everything you said to me before… and the academy… attacking your own team?”

“Oh, spare me the semantics, Rainbow Dash. Of course I had to come up with something to tell you when you crashed into me. I wasn’t going to the bathroom at all—I was listening to you and your teammates’ banter.”

Lightning giggled sharply. “Heh, I can’t believe that a pony like you would even entertain the idea of leading such a pathetic team. I mean, that yellow one? Even I can tell that she’s more timid than a fly. And that puffed-up bodybuilder? Really? How were you ever going to win with them?” Lightning’s body shook with laughter as Rainbow felt Gilda’s hold on her slacken by the barest amount.

“Yeah, Rainbow Dash.” Gilda chuckled. “How far have you fallen exactly since you made friends with those ground-dwellers? I bet you don’t even know how to be cool anymore. You lame-o.”

“How far I’ve fallen?” Rainbow struggled with renewed fervour. “What about all this, huh? What do you gain from hurting Spitfire and my friends? How is this helping anypony at all?”

Lightning lowered her hoof from her mouth and examined the bound pegasus. “Oh, we’re not trying to help anypony at all.”

Lightly fluttering up to Rainbow, she gave her a swift kick to the stomach. “I’ll take that, if you don’t mind.” Rainbow released her hold on the blue piece of cloud with a loud coughing fit. “Giselle! Come on out!”

The dark-winged team captain emerged from behind Gilda, meeting her friend’s hawk-eye with an excited grin. “I see you’re in a bit of a bind, Rainbow Dash. Can’t have your cloud fall short of its goal now, can we?”

With a nod to Lightning Dust, Giselle snatched up the tuft, waved her claws in farewell and swiftly zoomed towards the ground, out of sight.

“Let me go! You can’t do that! Cheating at the Equestria Games… what are you two gaining from this, Lightning? Gilda?” She squirmed once more, almost breaking free before Gilda came to her senses and reinforced her grip.

“Why, satisfaction of course, Rainbow! The satisfaction of seeing you lose at something for a change.” Gilda and Lightning Dust laughed once more together. “You’ve always had the glory, the victories, even as you shoved us aside for your own benefit.”

“It wasn’t my fault that your friends decided to visit you at the academy!” With a crazy grin, Lightning Dust began preparing a thunderhead, lining up her cyan target. “I wasn’t out to get them! They were just stupid enough to fly into a military-style training ground with no precautions taken. They would have gotten what they deserved. Now, hold sti—argh!”

Lightning cried out in pain and shock as a violet and jasmine mare plowed an accelerated hoof into her hip. After losing a few metres of altitude, Lightning regained her composure and fluttered in place, massaging her side with both forelegs. “You?”

Cloud Kicker glared at her attacker, still lightly blackened around the tips of her pinions. “They don’t call me Cloud Kicker for nothing! That was for zapping me before, you insane filly!”

Seizing her chance, Rainbow squirmed out of Gilda’s grip, the griffon distracted by Cloud’s surprise attack. Flying over to her saviour, she offered a tap on the shoulder. “Thanks, Cloud Kicker. You really saved my flank there.”

“Hold that thought, Rainbow!” At Cloud Kicker's warning, Rainbow turned as Gilda snarled and lunged forward. Rainbow cried out in surprise, barely dodging the vicious talons.

“Hold still, already!” Gilda let out a high screech as she dove for Rainbow again. With the element of surprise now lost to her, though, Rainbow easily danced around Gilda’s desperate attempts to restrain her once more. She could see Gilda growing steadily angrier as she weaved, whirled and ducked her way out of reach.

“Cloud Kicker! Get to Rainbow Swoop and Spitfire, wake them up and get outta here!”

Rainbow faced Cloud Kicker, even as Lightning Dust turned to her with a menacing gleam in her orange eyes.

“What about you? You’ll be okay, right?”

“Darn it, Cloudy, I can look after myself! Just get the others to safety!” Rainbow concentrated on putting some space between herself and Gilda. As Cloud Kicker nodded and zoomed towards the unconscious Spitfire, Rainbow directed her attention toward her two former friends.

Two former teammates…

“How noble of you, Rainbow Dash.” Lightning Dust sneered as Cloud Kicker and the newly awakened Spitfire flew off to aid Rainbow Swoop. “You do understand that you’re totally forfeiting the race? Your team is destined to finish in last place now. Can’t you see that you’ve fallen right into our ruse?”

“I don’t care about the gold or the glory!” Rainbow's rebuttal drew confused glances from the malicious pair. She waved her two forelegs around in front of her. “Giselle would have reached the finish line by now, anyway. What good would it do me to try and race her back?”

She sighed for a brief moment. “At the end of the day, nopony should get hurt trying to win a competition. I’d hoped you’d have learned that lesson already, Lightning, but I guess a zebra doesn’t change its stripes huh?”

“Grrrr…” Lightning gnashed her teeth. “Gilda, get the filly! I’m gonna zap her into next week!”

“Oh no you’re not!”

“Huh?”

Lightning, Gilda and Rainbow all looked up in confusion as a powerful voice split the skies and parted the clouds. Twin beams of purple and glassy blue shot from behind the solid wall of white, impacting Gilda and Lightning Dust respectively. The conspirators screamed for a few moments as cylindrical tubes of magical light engulfed them.

“Rainbow Dash!” Are you okay?” Princess Twilight Sparkle flew towards her friend as she came into view, flanked by Princess Cadance.

“Wow, Twilight! Way to show those guys.” Rainbow flew up to Twilight, embracing her gratefully. She sent a nod of appreciation to Cadance, who returned her smile. “Yeah, I’m fine. It’s the others that I’m worried about, though. They all got zapped by Lightning up here earlier—” she glared at the mare in the blue prison, who was banging her hoof against the interior in vain “—but luckily they were only knocked out. Thank Celestia she didn’t use larger thunder clouds, or it could have been much worse.”

“Wait, she struck you all with lightning?” Twilight shot Lightning Dust an icy stare.

“Whoa, Twilight, you’ve done enough. Settle down.” Rainbow placed two hooves on her friend's shoulders. “Look, let’s just leave it for now, everypony. We have a race to finish, after all!”

She flew a short way from Twilight, returning to the rainbow-hued cloud. Another piece turned solid blue as it found purchase in her hooves. With a glance over her shoulder, she smiled as Cloud Kicker, Spitfire and Rainbow Swoop all grasped a tuft of their own. Each piece changed a different colour, representing the coat of the pony who held it.

“Everypony feeling all right?”

A chorus of cheers greeted her, followed by hoofbumps all around. “Awesome. Now, let’s get back down there and give the audience the most brilliant show they’ve ever seen!”

With a glance at Spitfire, she raised her eyebrow at her hero. Spitfire returned the gesture, holding out her hoof again for Rainbow to bump.

“You ready this time? Are you truly gonna earn your wings, filly?”

“Why don’t you try to catch me and find out?”

The Victors and the Spoiled

“...And Giselle leaves the competition in the clouds, crossing the finish line and securing victory for Team Griffon Kingdom!”

The announcement flowed over the stadium as Giselle crossed the finish line. At this, quite a large amount of spectators began to mutter among themselves even as a respectably-sized crowd still cheered for the underdogs.

Giselle swept across her destination, the blue cloud in claw as she whooped and embraced her waiting teammates. As she grinned broadly, holding her blue prize, the royal sisters descended onto the centre of the track. Celestia bore a podium in her magic while Luna brought forth three Equestria Games gold medals.

As the griffons bowed to the audience in all different directions, the stadium’s noise level increased tenfold. Perplexed, Giselle looked to the skies where everypony pointed, seemingly in awe at the sight they beheld. What she saw and heard made her pupils contract:

The fabled Sonic Rainboom, never before witnessed by a griffon.

Every colour of the rainbow diffused throughout the sky, leaving a lasting, circular, prismatic display. Yet it was the other sight that made her feathers stand on end; the single trail of rainbow colours left behind by a supersonic Rainbow Dash. She reached the surface in next to no time, rocketing across the finish line and banking into the air once more.

A few seconds later, the Cloudsdale captain followed, her flaming mane billowing in the rainbow’s wake as she, too, blazed across the finish line. Cloud Kicker finished next, followed closely by Rainbow Swoop.

“Coming in second is Rainbow Dash, complete with her signature Sonic Rainboom!” Shining announced as the stallion completed his run. “Hot on her hooves, we have Spitfire of Team Cloudsdale claiming third position. Cloud Kicker of Las Pegasus and Rainbow Swoop of Fillydelphia bring home the final clouds. Well done everypony… and griffon, pardon me.”

While the elated griffons continued to celebrate their victory, a hush fell over the stadium. Gisellepeered skyward again, suddenly feeling bile rise in her throat as she did so. Two cylinders of light descended from the sky in the Rainboom’s fading trail, supported by Princess Twilight and Princess Cadance. Trapped within the light crystals were—

“Uh, I think we might be in trouble, guys.”

Gaston and Natalya both gulped as the snarling form of Gilda became visible, along with their hired mercenary. Twilight and Cadance landed lightly in front of the ruling princesses, depositing their bundles at their hooves.

“Princess Celestia, the griffon team has some explaining to do,” Twilight declared.

“We’re just lucky we were able to get up to the competitors in time,” Cadance added. “Thank goodness that Pinkie Pie and Applejack returned to us with that mare when they did.”

“What’s going on over here?”

Miss Harshwhinny and Shining Armor had galloped out onto the field, joining the befuddling scene. “Who are these two? Explain their presence, somepony!”

“With pleasure.” Twilight trotted up to the purple cylinder. “This here is a griffon named Gilda, who used to be one of Rainbow Dash’s friends. The other is a pegasus that Rainbow trained with at the Wonderbolt’s Academy, named Lightning Dust.” Twilight inclined her head towards each in turn, invoking scowls from both.

“Pinkie and Applejack went looking for a lead in regards to our friend’s stolen cart full of bits. The mare they found and brought back to us so happens to be Golden Glory, the real coach of the Las Pegasus Team. She overheard the griffons talking about sabotaging the competition and got caught as she tried to sneak away. Lightning Dust capitalised on this when she saw what had happened and offered the griffons a deal: her aid with the griffon’s victory, in return for bits. A lot of bits.”

“So that’s why your friend’s cart was stolen?” Shining Amor gasped.

“Such outlandish behaviour!” Miss Harshwhinny brought a hoof to her mouth.

“Well, we do come from outland,” Gilda piped up, silencing herself as everypony glared daggers at her. “What? I’m just sayin’.”

“Big deal.” The princesses all turned to Giselle. “In the end, my team still won. Look, this cloud proves it right here!” She held up the trophy as if presenting it to her own pryde.

“Oh, Giselle, did you not understand the rules of the third leg at all?” Twilight sighed. “I know for a fact that that’s not your puff of cloud there. The rules specifically stated that—well, how about you tell her, big brother best friend forever?”

She grinned at Shining Armor, who returned the expression and brought his megaphone to his mouth.

“As per the event rules, each team member must return with a tuft of rainbow cloud that they themselves have picked. The torn-off tuft will immediate vibrate and match the coat colour of the participant who removed it from the main body.”

“You see, Giselle? That isn’t your cloud at all. Going by the colour, it could only possibly belong to Rainbow Dash!”

“I… er… ah…” Giselle stammered, glancing left and right.

"I thought it was just an accident when Gaston crashed into Bulk Biceps in phase one," Twilight continued. "That could have easily been regarded as such. But when Natalya was the only one in phase two to leave the others to the dragon's mercy, I started to have my doubts. Golden Glory's testament was the final piece of circumstantial evidence that I needed to investigate." She glared at the griffon team, who slumped to the floor in shame.

“Team Griffon Kingdom is disqualified for attempted subversion of event rules.” Shining Armor's judgment reverberated around the stadium as the ponies booed their cheating “winners.” “By competition default, the team that placed second will now ascend to victory. Everypony, please stamp your hooves for our true winners: Bulk Biceps, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash of Team Ponyville!”

As the dejected griffons flew off with their heads hung low, Rainbow Dash rocketed up to the podium, bearing a newly rested Fluttershy in her forehooves. Bulk Biceps and Derpy flew out onto the field and took their place on top of the podium next to their teammates. The ground shook from everypony’s collective stamping and ecstatic celebrations.

As Rainbow gazed around at the crowd, she felt a tap on her shoulder. With a warm, affectionate smile, her idol Spitfire held out her hoof once more. When Rainbow moved to bump it, though, Spitfire unexpectedly pulled her in close and wrapped her in a grateful hug.

“Thank you for saving us all, Dash. You could have totally bailed and won the race without sending Cloud Kicker to help us. Instead, you stayed behind and made sure we all got out okay. You’re the best mare I’ve ever met, one I’d be proud to call a Wonderbolt.” She broke off, flashing a smirk at her own hero. “You want in?”

“Really? An official invite?” Rainbow gasped. At Spitfire’s nod, she shot high into the sky with a colossal “Awww yeah!” When she returned, she found that Rarity, Spike, Applejack, Pinkie and the Cutie Mark Crusaders had joined in the celebratory friend-pile around the podium. Everypony hugged Rainbow Dash tightly, taking special care to be gentle with Fluttershy.

“Yeeeaahhhh!” Bulk bellowed his trademark cry, generating a laugh from everypony. As Rainbow cheered on her teammate, she was knocked to the ground by a squealing orange filly.

“Rainbow Dash! You really are the most super-ultra-extreme-awesome-mazing pony ever!” a tear-struck Scootaloo yelled in her ear. With the flag-bearer’s voice resonating in her ear, Rainbow smiled and hugged her adoptive little sister as Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom caught up.

“And you three are the most incredible flag-bearers that Ponyville could ever have!”

While Miss Harshwhinny prepared to give out the medals, Twilight waltzed up to Princess Celestia with a curious question on her lips.

“What about Gilda and Lightning Dust? What will become of them?”

Celestia thought for a moment, then smiled. “I think a bit of community service is in order, don’t you agree?”

* * * * *

Dear Diary,

Winning the Equestria Games Aerial Relay was always a dream for me. But there’s no way it could have ever come true without my friends. The determination, perseverance and loyalty they showed me was undeniably the best thing I could have ever hoped to see. Unfortunately, the relay also showed me how some of us can act the complete opposite, betraying even their own species for the promise of gold.

This only makes me more determined than ever to always remain faithful to my friends and even my rivals if they really need help. There’s no greater gift than the magic of friendship. Someday, I hope that Gilda and Lightning Dust will embrace those values. For now, they’re learning the hard way how messy a stadium can get in the wake of a few thousand ponies stuffing themselves with my friends AJ and Carrot Top’s awesome cooking.

To crown it all, Spitfire has officially welcomed me into the Wonderbolts. I’ll treasure this day for the rest of my life.

Yours loyally,

Rainbow “Danger Professionalism” Dash.

Art Gallery

Author's Note

Good day, everybody. I know that some of my existing readers are already aware of this but I've decided to implement an art gallery in this story. A while ago, I commissioned an artist for a flat, standard rate to create images for each chapter. However, despite the time, money and effort put into creating these images, I received complaints that the pictures in the chapters themselves were "distracting" and that I "shouldn't be relying on pictures to tell my story."
To absolve these issues and clear up any misconception that I was, in fact, relying on them (which I wasn't), here is a chapter 100% dedicated to them. The images were removed from their respective chapters and placed here instead, for your perusal (and hopefully, pleasure). Of course, I feel obligated to warn you about spoilers below!

Here is where I would like to show a little bit of reader interactivity.

Anybody who wishes to caption any of these pictures, leave a comment with the number image and your caption. I may very well use it—at the very least, your comments will be here for others' entertainment.

Also, I wish to take the time to thank my wonderful artist, Wadusher0. This work is cute, gorgeous and fitting for the tone of my story. Please go and give him a watch on his deviantArt account (^^^^) or his fimfiction account here. The guy does the cutest art, but can also knuckle down and punch out the work in a decent timeframe.

Well, the Equestria Games episode is just about to air. Let us see just how different it is from this effort of mine.
I hope you all enjoy! I'm looking forward to it.
(post-episode edit: well, that turned out completely different. Up with the AU tag then!)

:heart:
Adren

Art Gallery

Let the Games Begin!

"Bulk Betting Is Encouraged!"

Through the Fires and Flames

From the Fire to the Frying Pan

...And Back Into the Fire

...And Back Into the Fire (Redrawn!)

Shocking Revelations

"Whatever it Takes to Win"

The Victors and the Spoiled

"Bulk Betting Is Encouraged!"

“Carrot dogs! Get your carrot dogs here, fresh from Ponyville!”

Golden Harvest meandered her way through the audience, pausing every few moments to accept a couple of bits from anypony interested in her wares. “Best carrots you’ll ever taste, home-grown from my own garden! Get some proud Ponyville produce today! Cake, juice, curry, fries, soup or just plain scrumptious carrots; if it’s made of carrots, I’ve got it!” She beamed as she cast her gaze over her potential customers, seeing a decent amount of them look up with interest:

“I’ll have one!”

“Me too!”

“Save some for me!”

Golden's smile widened as every one of her customers threw her a few bits for whatever they desired in return. Soon, the carrot cart was empty of products, instead replaced by the jingling sound of golden bits. Elated, she turned her cart around and made her return towards her allotted space at the lower areas. On the way, she passed Applejack, and shot her a gleeful grin.

“I just cleaned up out there, AJ! I hope your apple brown betties go down a treat as well as my carrots did!”

The other orange mare blushed a slight magenta at her friend’s words. “Aw, shucks, Carrot Top,” Applejack replied, using her friend’s nickname. “If I could sell half as much of my crop as you have yours, I’d be rollin’ in enough bits to buy Sugarcube Corner off the Cakes!”

She looked up to witness the crowd eyeing her own cart hungrily. “Er, scratch that—I’ll be able to start up my own chain if this here crowd’s anythin’ to go by!”

As Golden Harvest lumbered off with her new golden cart, Applejack found herself swamped by perky ponies practically pouncing on her perfect apple pies. Wait ’til Granny Smith gets wind o’ this!

* * * * *

“I hope you’re enjoying yourselves, girls?” Princess Celestia broke off her conversation with Shining Armor. “I know you've all certainly deserved a special treat after everything you've all learned.”

Inside the V.I.P. crystal box, on either side of her were Luna and Cadance, each appearing thoroughly enjoyed with their plush, expertly-crafted seats. On Cadance’s right, Miss Harshwhinny sat on a long sofa with two crystal guards, a clipboard in hoof and a stern eye on the race track. Twilight—rocking back and forth with a huge grin on her face—sat on Luna's left. Pinkie Pie and Rarity both had track-side seats. Though she wore a lazy smile from her comfort, only Rarity bothered to acknowledge that her seat even existed; Pinkie's uncontrollable restlessness resulted in her seat's frequent vacancy while she bounced around unrestrained. The royal pet, Philomena the phoenix, perched upright on her Mistress’ shoulder, watching the hyperactive pink pony with mild interest.

“Oh, yes, Princess Celestia. Very much so.” Rarity gave a light curtsey. “I am supremely honoured that you consider us all worthy of such an invitation. Why, it’s like a dream come true for me! Watching the graceful, the sophisticated, the marvelous—”

“I think she gets the idea, Rarity,” Twilight said. She gave a light chuckle to herself; her friend simply harrumphed with indignation, but dropped the issue all the same. “Anyway, yes, it’s lovely to be here in the crystal box with you, Celestia.”

“You betcha, Your Highnesseseses!” Pinkie bounded up into Celestia's face, her infectious hyperactivity on vibrant display. “Best seat in the house. There’s AJ aaaaaall the way over there, selling her beautifully baked apple brown betties. And look! there’s Sassaflash selling her super-sweet sarsaparilla! Oh and of course, we have Rainbow Dash and Spitfire over at the starting line having a smashingly solid staring standoff! But wait! you can’t forget the Wonderbolts and their amazing, aerodynamical, accurately acrobatical air show!”

“Wonderbolts?" Princess Cadance looked around Celestia's frame to stare at Pinkie. "You mean the Cloudsdale team? I didn’t think they were racing as Wonderbolts today. They’re only civilians, I heard.”

“Not those Wonderbolts, silly.” Pinkie chortled. “Those Wonderbolts!”

She pointed her hoof into the air, high above the stadium. The box’s occupants all followed her hoof to see three other specks zooming straight towards the ground from the upper clouds.

“How are your eyes so… telescopic, Pinkie Pie?” Twilight strained to make out the rapidly growing blue blurs.

Pinkie whipped her head around. “I ate a lot of carrots when I was a filly.”

She turned back to the sky and “ooooh”ed as the Wonderbolts pulled up from their dive, barely inches from the ground. Back up into the air they shot, amidst the crowd’s hyperactive cheering. Separating high above, each Wonderbolt peeled away from one another and zoomed through the air in a particular pattern. When they had finished, the letters ‘E’ ‘q’ and ‘G’ were visible in the form of smoky cloud trails.

“Well, not the most elegant performance I’ve seen from them, but impressive all the same.” Rarity turned to Twilight. “Then again, it’s probably because their top three are competing. Oh, I do hope Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy aren’t freaking out down there.”

“Fear not, fair Rarity. Your friends are quite calm and collected.”

Princess Luna's smooth, regal tone drew Rarity's attention. “In fact, we ourselves are quite amazed at Fluttershy’s resolve out there. Why, she looks ready to take on the world! We adore her new manestyle, too.”

Twilight nodded. “I’m so proud of her. She’s trained super-hard for this day. Come to think of it, maybe even harder than Rainbow Dash! I’m just wondering how Bulk Biceps is gonna go with those rings.” Her smile drooped, replaced with a contemplative frown. “I know we managed to convince the officials to give him larger ones but he’ll still need to fly with absolute precision to make it through them cleanly.”

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrt! A shrill whistle pierced the veil of crowd noise, signalling the competitors to take up their official starting positions.

“Ooooh, they’re starting!”

Pinkie's shrill pitch filled the crystal box as she zipped to the edge. “Get ready, everypony—Flight Bulkbowshy is gearing up for take-off!”

She shot a cheery smile back to Twilight. “I just know they’re gonna win the trophy. Our team can’t be beaten, not with Rainbow ‘Superultraextremawesomazing’ and Fluttershy ‘Starethecompetitionintosubmission’ on the team! I’ve put all of my saved-up bits on them for victory!”

“You what?” Rarity and Twilight both jumped, each falling out of their seats.

“Why would you do a silly thing like that, dear?”

Rarity stood and, collecting herself, magically wiped her flank with one of her conveniently positioned kerchiefs. “I mean, yes they’re our friends—of course we certainly want them to do well—but everypony knows that the event favourites are the Cloudsdale team. I put just a few bits on them to win…”

Rarity hesitated for a moment as Pinkie appeared right up in her face, glaring with an unsightly pout. “Er, heh heh, but of course I’ll be cheering for our friends, darling. You have to admit, though, it’s the smarter bet.”

Twilight eyed the odds on the large billboard, supported by clouds over the stadium.

Cloudsdale: 2.2
Fillydelphia: 14.1
Ponyville: 6.4
Las Pegasus: 8.5
Griffon Kingdom: 20.4

“She’s right, Pinkie.”

Twilight walked over to the hyperactive party pony and draped a wing over her back. “Although we want our friends to win, especially after all the work they’ve put in, there’s no denying that Cloudsdale has the most elite, well-conditioned team of them all. I hate to say it, but I think Cloudsdale really have this one in the bag.”

Twilight’s spiel came to a halt when Pinkie shifted her disapproving gaze from Rarity to herself. “But, uh, well… why don’t I alter my bet, then? Just for you, Pinkie. I’ll put half on the Wonderbolts and half on Rainbow’s team. With the way the odds are, I can only come out a winner anyway. Better?”

Twilight continued to smile with uncertainty as Pinkie's eyes became slits. Just as a few telltale beads of sweat began to run down Twilight’s face, Pinkie brightened and bounced back into her seat with a single leap.

“Sure, girls. You can bet on whoever you like, with your smarty-smart pantsness and your fancy thinking. But I had an itchy nose, flappy ears and wiggly knees just before—which means that something nopony expects is going to happen!”

Pulling a bowler hat and bubble pipe out of her mane, Pinkie placed the hat snugly on her head and the pipe in her mouth. “Therefore,” she continued in a rather posh voice, “it is logical to determine that the outcome of this event shall be in favour of the favourites’ closest opponents.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow as the rest of the princesses giggled.

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrt! Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrt!

“Ladies, perhaps we should once more redirect our attention to the race?” Stifling their amusement at Shining Armor's suggestion, everypony turned back to face the track, where the competitors were fully poised for performance.

* * * * *

Out in the centre of the track, Spike heard the double whistle blast, signalling his time to stand at the starting line. Beneath the aerial rings he ran, coming to rest a few metres before the contestants. In his right claw he grasped an emerald-green flag.

“Come on, Spike, you can do it!” he said to himself as the eyes of every pegasi and griffon fixed upon him. “All you gotta do is raise your arm and swing it down fast when you hear the third blast. Nothin’ to it. It’s not like there’s thousands of ponies watching your every move, ready to critically judge you if you mess up! No, not at all.” He gulped and looked around the stadium at the spectators, all screaming themselves hoarse.

“Oh, boy.”

With a final examination of his surroundings, his eyes caught the crystal box, his glance coming to rest on the beautiful marshmallow pony with the royal velvet mane. As she waved and blew him a kiss, nothing else mattered. He had a job to do; nothing was more important than providing a perfect performance for his own sweet pony princess.

“All right, Spike, you’ve got this.” He held up his arm, ready to deliver the final, crushing blow to the air in front of him.

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrt! Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrt! Brrt!