Friendship is Magic

Rainbow turned to see her hero, Soarin himself, looking on with curiosity.  “Soarin, you've gotta help me.  These idiots won't let me compete in the adult competition.”

Soarin blinked. “I'm sorry.  Do I know you?”

For a moment, she felt her heart stop. “But...but...Soarin.  You remember me.  You taught me about parkour, and called me your “little Pegasus”, and we had ice cream, and you told me to enter the adults competition if I wanted to become a Wonderbolt like you.  I trained really hard.”

Soarin was silent as he continued to stare at her, his brow furrowed with concentration.  As the silence dragged on, Rainbow could feel those tears forming in her eyes.

His face broke into a grin and he let out a snort, which grew into giggles, then to guffaws as he doubled over.  “Man, you should have seen the look on your face.  Of course I remember you, Rainbow Dash.”

She swung her fist, landing a solid blow to his stomach and emptying his lungs with a wheeze.  She might have been small, but she was still ridiculously strong.  “Idiot, don't ever tease me like that again!”

It took him a moment to regain his breath and, when he looked up again, his face split into a huge grin.  “Ah, I see you colored your hair just as I said you should.”

“What,” Rainbow squawked. “I did this because I wanted to do something different and I thought it would look good when I creamed the competition.”

He frowned. “Shame.  I actually liked it better the old way, when it was all blue.”

Rainbow's blood ran cold. “You...you said it would look good and...”  She stopped when she noticed his snickering.

She leaped at him. “Jerkwad!  I told you not to tease me like that!”

He laughed as he caught her and swung her around again.  “Seriously, though.  I'm happy that you showed up and I really like your hair.”  He paused as he noticed Fluttershy. “Hello, little one.  What's your name?”

Fluttershy let out a few squeaks and stutters before Rainbow came to her rescue. “Her name is Fluttershy and I met her right after you left.  She's been helping me train.”

“Awesome!”  He crouched down to Fluttershy's height.  “Hey, cutie.  It's great to meet you.”

Fluttershy let out several rapid squeals as she sought to make eye contact with anything but Soarin.

He shifted and leaned next to Rainbow. “Is there something on my face?  She keeps acting like she's afraid of me.”

Rainbow nodded. “Yeah, she's kinda shy.  Don't worry about it.  She does this all the time.”

He straightened.  “Alright.  It's almost time for the competition.  Have you signed up yet?”

Rainbow blinked, having completely forgotten about the infuriating Registrar.  “This jerkwad won't let me compete.  He says I'm too young.”

“She's only ten, Soarin.  You know the rules.”

Soarin nodded sagely as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Ah, yes.  The rules are the rules.”

“What!”

“But...rules are meant to be broken, aren't they?  Just imagine what would happen if we didn't break the rules.

“No way, man.  What if she decides to take the rooftop route and falls?  I know you don't want that on your conscience,” the registrar countered.

“Hmm, I hadn't thought of that.”  Soarin turned to Rainbow, “You must promise me that you'll keep to ground level and use only the techniques we practiced.  I don't want you getting hurt out there.”

Rainbow nodded excitedly.  “Sure thing, Soarin.”

He turned back to the registrar.  “Problem solved.  You can go ahead and give her a number now.”

“Are you freaking kidding me?!  There's no way I'm going to let some underage kid risk her life.  They'll skin me alive.”

“So, just tell them that I made you do it.”

“Soarin, the competition is starting.  Why are you arguing with the personnel?”

Soarin turned to see Spitfire and Fleetfoot watching him.  “Hey, Spit,” he drawled.

Spitfire's eyes narrowed. “What are you up to?”

“Nothin'.”

“'Nothin'', eh?  You only draw my name out like that when I've caught you raiding the cookie jar.  What are you up to?”

Soarin broke.  There was no way around it.  She'd find out anyways.  “Okay, this girl, her name is Rainbow.  I met her a few months ago and she's an incredible athlete.  I think she's got what it takes to be with the best of us.  She just needs someone to give her a chance.”

Spitfire leaned down to inspect Rainbow.  “She's got the right build.”  She reached out and gave the girl's arm a squeeze.  “Pretty fit.  You might be right, but she's a bit small.  Are you sure she meets the age limit?”

Soarin let out a nervous chuckle.  “That's just it.  Er, she's actually ten, not fifteen, but she'll do really well and...”

He had heard rumors of Spitfire's temper.  She could send guys twice her size fleeing when she got her choler up.  Luckily, he had never been on the receiving end of one of her tantrums.

Until today.

“Have you lost your ever-loving mind,” she screamed as her arms flailed with energy.  “I know you're reckless, but this goes beyond that.  She's too young!  She'll be hurt!  She'll be killed and all because you're on some kind of power trip!”

“Spitfire, calm down,”  Fleetfoot urged.

“No!  I will not calm down!  This idiot flaunts the rules and does whatever he wants!  I'm sick of it!”

“But, Spit-”

“Don't you 'but, Spit' me!  Why do you insist on doing this?!  Do you want to disgrace everything we have worked for?!”

“She's a great athlete.  She has real potential,” Soarin replied defensively.

“Then she can sign up when she's old enough and we'll see what happens from there.  If she's as good as you say she is, she can only get better,” she sighed as her rage died down. “I don't know what you're up to, but I'll not have it.”

“Hey, lady,”  Rainbow tugged on the sleeve of Spitfire's jacket, trying to get her attention.

“What do you want, girl?”  Spitfire growled, still not having completely regained her composure.

“Are you his girlfriend?”

Spitfire and Soarin had identical looks of shock.

“Are you kidding me?” she snapped. “Do I look like I want to be associated with this good-for-nothing slacker?”

Rainbow nodded. “Alright, that answers that.  Let me participate.”

“I already gave my decision.  The answer is still no.”

“But...”

“I don't care.  You're too young and too inexperienced.  You'll get hurt and I don't want that.  Believe me, kid.  This is for your own good.”

“Please, ma'am.  She's worked really hard every day to be able to run in this race,”  Fluttershy pleaded.

“Yeah, Spit, don't be mean or are you telling me these little faces don't completely break your heart?”

“Yeah, I promised myself.”

Spitfire grimaced in a way that Soarin knew.  She could be stubborn, but it wasn't impossible to change her mind.  Her resolve was beginning to crack.

“Fleet,”  Spitfire turned to the third Wonderbolt, looking for backup.

Fleetfoot raised her hands. “Don't look at me.  I'm over here, staying out of that drama.”

“That's new,”  Soarin muttered.

She turned back to the trio and huffed a few times.  Soarin was nearly shaking with anticipation.  This was it.

“No.”

Soarin stood with a look of steely determination.  “That's it, Spit.  I didn't want to do this, but you've left me no choice.”  He put his arm around the woman to whisper in her ear.  Nosy Fleetfoot tried to eavesdrop on the conversation only to be shoved aside by Spitfire.

Spitfire's expression shifted from confidence, to curiosity, to complete shock. “You wouldn't dare.”

“I could and I would,” Soarin replied with confidence.

“But it's a lie!”

“Oh, I know that, and you know that, but nobody else does.  Oh, just imagine what it would do to your reputation.  Spitfire the hardass is actually-”

“Not another word.”

Soarin giggled.

“You would really sink so low as to blackmail me,” she asked.

He shrugged. “Like I said, you left me no other choice.  So, are you going to let her participate or what?”

“And have you spreading rumors across the globe just to spite me?  No thank you,” she turned to the registrar. “Let her participate.”

Rainbow and Fluttershy cheered as Spitfire collared Soarin. “This had better not come back to bite me or I will make you rue this day.”

“Don't worry, Spit.  What's the worst that could happen?”

“I can think of a few things.  Why are you doing this, Soarin?  Why do you care so much about this kid?”

“Yeah,”  Fleetfoot chimed up. “I'll admit I like her, but she's got a snowball's chance in Hell in this race.”

Soarin grinned confidently. “I'll say this:  Keep an eye on Rainbow. I have a feeling she's going to be a big surprise.”

As Rainbow jogged off to join the other contestants at the starting line, he turned to Fluttershy. “Hey honey, do you want to come with us?  We have front row seats and you can see the entire race.  Not to mention, it'll be easy to find Rainbow when she's done.”

Fluttershy blushed brilliantly. “O-okay.”

He offered her his hand and walked with her towards the stands and their private viewing booth.  Behind him, he could hear Spit and Fleet's conversation.

“I don't think I've ever seen him so invested in getting somebody into the academy,” Fleet said.

“If he was that invested in Rainbow's future, he would have encouraged her to compete in the children's competition, where she would actually stand a chance of winning,” Spitfire agreed. “Make no mistake, he wants something else out of this girl.”

x----x

Rainbow was practically vibrating with excitement as she gathered with the rest of the racers at the starting line.  They were all larger and older than her, but she knew her small size would prove an asset when it came to speed and agility.  She would beat them all.

“Well, I knew this competition had been declining over the years, but they must really be desperate for new blood if their letting a dwarf like you race,” a contemptuous voice said.

Rainbow turned to the speaker, taking in his stout frame and heavily muscled body. “And just who are you?”

“They call me Thunderlane.  Tell me, girl, who let you join, or are you just lost and looking for your mommy?”

“I'll have you know that Soarin himself entered me into this tournament.”

Thunderlane scoffed.  “That explains it.  Only Soarin would be stupid and careless enough to let a toddler compete.”

“Why does everybody believe I'm a baby?  Also, Idiot, nobody calls my friends 'stupid'.  Got it?”

He shrugged. “Whatever, but you're fresh outta luck, half-pint.  I'm gonna win this tournament.”

“Why are you so pressed to be an Elite?  You've got no respect for them.”

“An Elite?  No, girl, no.  I want to best Soarin at his own game.  The dude's been unbeatable since the beginning.  He's known as the Achilles of the modern age, but I'm going to show him to the world as the fraud he really is.  Then, I'll be the best, a legend in my own time.”

He glanced over at Rainbow, who was making a big show of falling asleep, much to the amusement of some nearby competitors.  She snorted and shook her head.  “I'm sorry, are you finished?  Oh, I must have nodded off there.  That's not important, what is important is the fact that I'm going to wipe the floor with every single one of you.”

x----x

“See?  Isn't this a great spot, Fluttershy?  Told ya.”

“M-Mister Soarin?”

“Hey, don't call me 'Mister'.  It makes me sound old.  My name is Soarin.”

“Yes, M...Soarin.  But, you aren't bothered by me being here?”

“Why would I be bothered?  Any friend of Rainbow's is a friend of mine.”

Fleetfoot stepped into the box. “Soarin, it was very sweet of you to give little Fluttershy your seat.  You'd be quite the gentleman if you hadn't taken my seat.”

Spitfire pressed against her brow, feeling another headache coming on.

“Now, now.  Didn't your mother teach you to be polite and give your seat to your elders?”

“No, my mother died in childbirth, or have you forgotten?  You ass!”

Spitfire swatted Fleetfoot's thigh. “Language!”

“Yeah, Fleet, there are small ears nearby.  Watch your temper.”

“Get out of my seat!”

“No.  I'm actually rather comfortable.”

Spitfire turned towards Fluttershy, and ignored the other two.  “You know, if you were her friend, you should have convinced Rainbow to run in the Children's competition.  She could get hurt, or worse.”

Fluttershy nodded. “I know, but the past few months have been the happiest times of my life because she was my friend and supported me in everything I did.  What kind of friend would I be if I didn't support her in turn.”

“Sweetheart, being a good friend doesn't just mean supporting your friends.  It also means being loyal enough to tell them that what they're doing isn't a good idea.”

“You're right,”  Fluttershy replied, “But she's not doing this just for herself.  This is her way of thanking somebody who's really important in her life.”

Spitfire nodded. “I know what you mean.  Sometimes, I forget that I started for somebody too.”

x----x

The crowd roared as Ponyville's Mayor, Christine Mare, took to the podium to begin the race.  “Allow me to extend my appreciation to all of the competitors who are risking everything to give us a show of effort, skill, and fair play.  Competitors, to your marks.”  She raised the starting pistol and began the countdown.

“Ten...Nine...” Fleet and Soarin stopped their fighting, turning their attention to the track.

“Eight...Seven...”  Spitfire's lips tightened.  She didn't like the idea that this little girl was competing.  Something bad was going to happen.  She just knew it.

“Six...Five...”  Soarin grinned in anticipation of what Rainbow's competitive spirit would bring.

“Four...Three...”  Fluttershy silently wished her friend the best of luck.  If anyone deserved this, it was Rainbow.

“Two...”  In the stands, a tiny girl with purple hair, a true lover of parkour, bounced in her seat.  She wanted to run in the Children's competition, but a birth defect prevented that.  She wasn't able to walk without the assistance of her crutches, and running was well beyond her abilities.  As such, she had to be content as a spectator.  This was the closest she could get to the sport she loved.

“One...”  Rainbow felt her muscles tighten as she prepared to spring off.  She was going to win this.  She was going to smoke them all.

The starting pistol cracked and the racers surged forward.