ocalhoun | Iron Author submission | 2013
The Canterlot Vaults
Rainbow beamed her gratitude to the five friends gathered in front of her. “Seriously, girls, I can't tell you how awesome it is that you all took the time to come to Canterlot just to watch me. It's really no big deal.”
“No big deal?” Rarity squeaked, “Rainbow Darling, this is the Equestrian Games we're talking about. Of course it's a big deal!”
“And it's really no trouble at all. I'd come watch the games even if I didn't have a super-duper-special friend competing!” Pinkie bounced up to Rainbow. “Watcha gonna win? Huh? Huh? Huh?”
Rainbow shook her head, looking out onto the crowded athletic field. “I'm only competing in one event, guys, and it's not even one of the major ones. It's just the vaulting event.”
Pinkie only edged closer. The field of energy coming off of her made Rainbow's skin crawl. “Just the vaulting event? The Canterlot Vaults are the best in the world! All the world records have been broken right here!” Rather than edging closer, now she jumped right on top of Rainbow – not helping her chances in the competition. “But you didn't say it!”
“Huh?” With a groan, Rainbow extricated herself from under the pink bundle of energy weighing her down. “Didn't say what?”
Pinkie smiled up from where she landed on the ground. “What you're gonna get when you win!”
“When I win?”
Pinkie rolled her eyes. “Of course you're gonna win! Dashie always wins!”
Now Rainbow's turn to roll her eyes came. “There's some pretty stiff competition out there, Pinks. I'll do my best, but I can't be sure of–”
“You're still not saying it!”
“Pinkie!” Rainbow growled in frustration. “I've already told you. I told you a thousand times on the train ride up here. I get the Equestrian Vaulting Medal. It's a huge honor – an artifact that's been passed down from winner to winner of this competition since the very beginning of the Equestrian Games.”
“That's all?”
“Ugh.” Rainbow couldn't wait for this to be over. “Yeah... that's all.” She began slowly trotting away. “Oh, and this year there's some kind of endorsement deal with Exo-Pep, so you get a bunch of that stuff for free.”
Pinkie froze.
“Um, are you okay, Pinkie?”
Ever so quietly, hardly breaking her stillness, Pinkie gasped in a deep breath. After an unbearable moment of tension, she finally snapped. “Exo-Pep!?”
Rainbow covered her ears, dreading what was about to come.
“It's the most best fantastic energy shock I've ever ever had! It's the most stimulating stimulant ever made by pony kind! Better than caffeine! Better than Sugar! I've been trying to find more for months! I mean, wow! Forget some silly medal! That's what you should be after! Do you remember what happened the last time I ate some? I didn't even...”
Rainbow most certainly did remember what happened the last time Pinkie had some of that evil, evil powder. Ponyville still hadn't fully recovered, but at least, thankfully, the town's salespony had been convinced to never sell Pinkie any more of it.
“...the whole thing! I never even slowed down when I went through the–”
“Pinkie Pie!” Enough was enough, and Rainbow knew this Pinkie tirade had to be stopped.
“Yes, Rainbow Dash?” Pinkie fluttered her eyelashes innocently.
“Could you just maybe skip to the point already?”
“The point?” She tapped a hoof to her chin speculatively for a moment. “Oh, right! The point!”
“Well?”
“I'm gonna enter into the contest and win that prize!”
* * *
“Thank you, thank you everypony.” Celestia's smooth voice echoed over the field's loudspeakers. “Please give a big round of applause for Thunder Strike and his magnificent vaulting performance!”
A somewhat lackluster spate of hoof-beats circulated around the stadium. After more than a dozen competitors already, the spectators apparently found it difficult to drum up too much enthusiasm.
Rainbow stepped up to the front of the line. She was next, she was rested, she was stretched, and she was ready.
“Our next competitor,” Princess Celestia announced, “Is Rainbow Da–” With a sudden squeal, the loudspeakers cut off.
Rainbow's jaw dropped and her rage suddenly boiled. A certain pink pony had galloped onto the field and was already making her run-up to the vault.
“...Um, or, apparently Pinkie Pie,” Celestia's voice over the speakers corrected.
Pinkie galloped down the Canterlot Vault's runway, impossibly pulling a vaulting pole out from her mane. As she neared the end, she tilted it out and vaulted up with a skill to match any of the athletes who had come previously.
Rainbow gaped. Where had Pinkie learned to vault like that? For that matter, how had she gotten past security?
Pinkie sailed up and over the vault's bar, winking at the height-measuring pegasus ponies on either side of her as she arced across. Amazingly – impossibly – her jump carried her higher than any of the previous competitors. As she crashed down on the cushion behind the jump, the two pegasi dutifully raised the bar to match her jump.
“We apologize for that mix up, everypony.” Celestia's calming voice had no effect on Rainbow's sudden attack of nerves. “Now Rainbow Dash will be our next competitor.”
Rainbow didn't move. She couldn't. How had Pinkie made that high of a jump? It should have been impossible, even for a pegasus. For an earth pony, it was doubly impossible. Pegasi had always dominated this competition – for a reason. Would she be able to make anything close to that? Despite her earlier show of humility, it the serious possibility of losing hadn't entered into Rainbow's mind before now. What if she didn’t–
A bump from behind sent her flailing forwards. Apparently, the competitors behind her in line weren't big on patience.
Struggling to keep her cool and keep her breathing regular, Rainbow crept up to the starting line. What looked like an easy win just moments ago now seemed extremely intimidating. Her chest felt tight, her legs felt like they were made of lead... Out of the blue, though, one tiny cheer from the audience changed everything.
Even Fluttershy's loudest voice would never have been able to reach Rainbow had the stadium been anything other than totally silent, but that tiny squeak of encouragement was all it took to break Rainbow out of her cycle of trepidation.
Rainbow burst away from the starting line, her hooves pounding into the rubberized track beneath her. The familiar rush of wind through her mane, and eventually, the familiar roar of the crowd broke through any last vestiges of her doubt.
She planted her pole and sailed up towards the impossibly high bar. Everything slowed down for just a tiny moment as she squeaked over it, carefully tucking her tail to keep from knocking it down.
Before she knew it, the sun-baked fabric of the cushion enveloped her, taking away the crash of her fall. She stared up at the still-intact bar on the vault triumphantly as the loudspeakers boomed out once again.
“That is a new record height, everypony, please give Rainbow Dash a round of applause for her exceptional performance!”
* * *
Rainbow stood proudly on the podium next to her Princess, basking in the admiration of the crowd. Even Pinkie's malignant glare from the second-place stand couldn't temper her.
“For the vaulting competition, the Canterlot Vaults have once again produced a new record breaker.” Celestia shared a private smile and wink with Rainbow Dash. “I am pleased to present her with the coveted Equestrian Vaulting Medal, and also a little gift from the sponsors of this year's competition, a lifetime supply of Exo-Pep.” The Princess's horn glowed, and a beautiful gold medallion floated toward Rainbow, coming to rest on her neck.
Rainbow beamed back at Celestia, back at the crowd, and back at her friends. She should still see Fluttershy cheering, even though she couldn't hear her over the crowd.
As Celestia moved to deliver the little slip of paper that must have been the voucher for the exercise stimulants, though, a pink blur shot in between the two ponies.
Pinkie paused for just a moment at the edge of the stage, blatantly taunting Rainbow before running away at a ludicrous speed.
Rainbow's eyes opened wide and she growled. This would not stand! She shot out in pursuit, following the pink blur with a rainbow-hued one of her own.
Princess Celestia remained frozen in exactly the place on the stage she had been when the voucher was snatched out of her mouth. Slowly, she backed up and regained her composure before giving the crowd an awkward smile. “Please... ah... give all our winners and competitors a round of applause?” She turned to whisper to one of the royal guards next to her. “And make sure Pinkie Pie never fills that order for stimulants, please. I read the letter. I know what happened last time.”
The End
Author's Note
This was my sumbission for the Everfree Northwest Iron Author Competition. It had to include 'Canterlot vaults' 'an artifact' and 'a princess'.
This story had to be completely written and edited within two hours. I have left it in its original form, with no additional editing.
