Chapters "WOAH!", Twilight Sparkle had shot up from her slumber. She felt an immense amount of energy nearby. She looked around off her bed and saw a bright light coming from the downstairs door of her library. She shoved the books off her bed that she had read the night before, and slowly trotted downstairs to see where the light was coming from. She rubbed her eyes upon arriving downstairs before opening the door. Not one of her best decisions. Immediately after opening the door, the bright light flooded the house, awakening a grouchy Spike.
"Hey! What gives?? Why is it so bright in here." He said turning on the couch. A few toss and turns he finally got up and covered his eyes. "Close the door! What's going on out there?", Spike asked in an annoyed tone. Twilight stopped shielding her eyes and turned to spike.
"I'll be back! I'm going to figure out what's going on.", She said before running out the door.
"Close the door at least!", Spike yelled as Twilight ran off. She didn't hear what he said, and didn't care. She wanted to get to the bottom of what was going.
She could barely see what was in front of her and only made out that the bright light was coming in the middle of Ponyville. She galloped as fast as she could, and made it to the entrance of Ponyville. Her eyes were starting to hurt from squinting, trying to make out where she was. She stopped in front of Ponyville to catch her breath, when suddenly the light disappeared.
It was dark again. The white, blinding light had suddenly disappeared. Twilight looked up and around in the dark night. The ponies started to open their windows and doors to look outside as to where the light had come from. Twilight trotted with concern, not knowing as to what could possibly be in the center of Ponyville that could have caused this. She walked to the center of Ponyville, and saw a large crowded circle with more trying to enter and see what they were all looking at. She pushed her way through the large huddled ponies and eventually came out of the crowd and saw it.
She stared at the object with her mouth agape, with the nearly the same expression of everypony around her. There was a small black portal, the size of a marble. It was floating in the air, surrounded by all the ponies of Ponyville. They all looked at it, expressions of shock, confusion, and concern on the faces of the ponies as they watched the object gently float up and down in place.
"We need to get word to the princess!", A voice chirped from the crowd. All the ponies started turning to look at each other, asking questions as to what is going on.
"What is this thing? How did it get here?"
"Were you all asleep when the bright light came?"
"Is it dangerous?? Are we gonna die??"
"How can such a small object emit so much light..?"
"Is it edible?"
Many of the ponies had started asking themselves this question, only to be more confused without answers. Suddenly, the ponies gasped as they all started to turn and look up at the sky. The chariot carrying Princess Celestia was arriving onto the scene at hoof with the sun starting to slowly creep up from the horizon behind her. The chariot landed into the village, Celestia walked out and into the bowing crowd. Twilight shoved through the crowd. to greet the princess.
"Celestia! What's going-", Twilight started to ask before being cut off by Celestia putting her hoof in the air to silence her.
Celestia looked across the ponies to see the object they were all looking at. "Honestly, Twilight...", She started to say. "Through all of my years on Equestria, I have never experienced anything like this.. I've never seen or heard of anything like this happening before..", She said.
Twilight looked up at her with a shocked expression. "Then.. What's going to-" She said before getting cut off again. This time from the floating object. It made a loud hissing sound, the sound of static coming from the portal getting louder and louder, as it started to grow and expand. The ponies started backing up in fear, even Celestia looked at it with a shocked expression. It grew bigger and bigger until it finally stopped. It was about a few feet taller than Celestia. The ponies turned back to look at it, a few of them getting up from covering their faces on the ground. They starred at it for a few seconds until a figure walked out of the portal.
"Good morning, Ponyville!!" The voice from the portal said before walking out. The ponies looked at the creature that stood before them. It was unlike anything they had ever seen before. It stood on its hind legs, it was holding a piece of paper with it's hoofs with 5 extra limbs hanging out of each one wrapping them around each side of the paper. Its skin was red and black with white eyes and two objects behind his back.
"My name is..", He stopped, putting a hand on his chin and looking up with a thinking face.
Say, Lady Destroya 69! Do it! It'll be hilarious!
What? nah that's lame. How about something cool.. like.. dragonborn
You need to lay off the Skyrim, buddy.
The ponies just stood there and starred in confusion at the figure that had just appeared and stopped mid sentence.
"Uh.. You said you were..?" A voice from the crowd asked. The figure turned at the direction the voice asked at.
"Deadpool.", He answered. A few seconds after he answered, he face palmed. "Damn it!"
HAHA, lame. You should've came up with something better than that.
Well, I wasn't going to say Lady Destroya 69, we've said that at five other universes and not a single chuckle.
Who gives a shit, we'll get a laugh eventually.
"Why are you here?", A voice demanded. Deadpool looked up to see Princess Celestia with an aggressive look to her face. He jumped back a little.
"Ohohoho, that's right. Ahem!", He said as he looked back at the paper he was holding. "Dear Ponyville, You are all invited to the biggest race the universe has ever known! The Universal Race, or U.R. for short, is a race that will take place in the center of the universe and will host the biggest race of all time!', He continued. The ponies listened with quietly, the only sound coming Deadpools mouth.
"There will be hundreds of thousands competing in this competition! But only one will come on top, and be crowned as the fastest being in the universe..", He went on. "And... the rest... blabbidy blah.. useless shit you don't need to know... and.. Any quesions?" He finished. Voices started erupting from the crowd, dozens of questions flying at once. Deadpool glanced right to left trying to take in all the questions at once, until..
"Silence!", Princess Celestia yelled. Almost immediately, the entire crowd went silent. "I know we have a lot of questions, but let's try to ask them one at a time..", She said in a much more calming voice. "If you have a question for our guest, let's ask them one at a time. Please raise your hoof if you have a question."
The second she finished, dozens of hoofs shot up, eager for answers.
One by one each question was answered.
The event would last for 3 months. They had a week to pack and attend if they wished to. They would be given a room and free food if they decide to either participate or watch the event. If anyone of them wished to attend the event they had to partake a physical test to see if they are even worthy of competing. There will be hundreds of thousands competing. it is a race for both runners and flyers alike.
Eventually Deadpool started to get tired of answering so many questions.
"*yawn*... This is like feeling wide awake.. Except backwards.. What is that called again..?" He quietly asked himself. Celestia took notice of this.
"Alright, one more question. Who wants to ask the last question?", She asked. There were still dozens of hoofs up waving in the air, a few jumping to get her attention. She pointed to the back.
"Rainbow Dash.", Celestia called out, as moans followed from not being picked.
Rainbow Dash had been flapping her wings to see from the crowd in front of her, she gave a grin. "So, what's the grand prize for winning?", She asked. The crowd started to whisper at each other, asking the same thing as to what could possibly be the prize for such a huge event. Deadpool covered his mouth, trying to hide his laughter. He couldn't hold it.
"Bahahaha!! Oh! Oh man, that's hilarious! As if any of you will actually win!", He laughed, wiping a tear from his eye. "Ohhh, but I'll humor you anyways..." Deadpool said, finally halting his laughter. He wiped away another tear of laughter from his face and answered in a more suddenly serious tone. "But seriously... The grand prize will be one wish for anything you want. That's right.. AN-EE-THANG. We ain't dealing with some Fairly Odd Parents limitation shit here... You can wish for whatever you want. Money, love, power, money, sex, a pet giraffe...", He went on. Eventually he stopped, and looked around at the crowd. "You get the picture..", He said.
The crowd was shocked. Such a prize was unheard of, a wish for ANYTHING they wanted. Celestia had a worried look on her face after hearing this, knowing the kind of dangerous atrocities that could come if that kind of power came into the wrong hoofs. Celestia turned to see that deadpool was no longer next to her. He was about to exit through the portal.
"Remember! you got a week to decide and prepare before the portal will not accept anymore beings to enter. Imma go home now and cry for 5 minutes before I have to visit 73 other FUCKING universes!", He said with a scream at the end of his sentence. He stepped into the portal and disappeared...
A week had finally passed, and the portal was about to not enter anything else into it. Rainbow Dash had packed up her belongings in Cloudsdale. She knew she was the fastest in all of Equestria.. But the whole universe? She questioned herself as to if she'll even qualify to participate. Questions started forming in her head.
"Uhm.. Hello? Rainbow Dash?", A soft voice squeeked behind her. Rainbow Dash turned to see the yellow pony with a pink mane outside her door. "Can I come in?. If that's.. alright with you.", She asked. Rainbow Dash smiled, seeing one of her best friends.
"Yeah, of course!", Rainbow Dash said, turning back to packing her stuff. Fluttershy entered Dash's home. She walked up behind her.
"I, uhm.. Just wanted to wish you good luck.." Fluttershy said in almost a whisper. She felt a hoof around her, Dash pulled her in for a hug.
"Awww come on! I don't need luck! I got this! I'm the fastest flyer in all of Equestria! Remember?" She said with a grin. Fluttershy backed up, rubbing one of the back of her hoofs.
"I know.. but... It's a huge race, so many others will be racing. Just be careful. Okay?", Fluttershy asked. Rainbow Dash looked at her with confusion.
"Aren't you coming along?", Rainbow Dash asked.
Fluttershy looked away, "Oh no, I can't. I have to tend to the animals at home..", She said.
Rainbow Dash looked at her with confusion, "You do remember him saying that just because we're gone for 3 months into the portal, over here it will actually be far less. Only but a few minutes he said.", She said, trying to convince Fluttershy to come along. Fluttershy was quiet for a few seconds before she finally replied.
"I'll.. I'll think about it.", she said quietly.
Rainbow Dash nudged her. "Come oonnnnn. We've never been there before! It'll be a new experience for all of us!", She said playfully. Fluttershy looked away and closed her eyes.
"Fine.. Since.. I'll only be gone for only a few minutes..", Fluttershy finally answered. Rainbow Dash cheered.
"Aww yeah! This is gonna be awesome! Race ya to Ponyville!", Rainbow Dash said, closing her suitcase and clenching the handle in her mouth. "Rery, et, go!" She said with the suitcase still in her mouth. Dash shot past Fluttershy and sped down to Ponyville. Fluttershy slowly followed behind, not even attempting to race her.
Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy both arrived to Ponyville and saw the rest of their friends in front of the portal.
"Oh gee!! I just can't wait! I hope they have cake on the other side! Lots and lots of cake! And -GASP!- Wait what if they don't have cake!? What am I-" Pinkie said with excitement before a hoof covered her mouth.
"I think they'll be plenty of food and cake over there, sugarcube.", Applejack said with a chuckle.
"Well, I just hope it's clean over there, I'm bringing my best dresses for this occasion.", Rarity said. She was carrying a fairly large bag with clothes on her back.
"Well, It's going to host millions of spectators, so I'm assuming it's gotta be clean, rarity.", Twilight said with a cheerful smile.
"Hey! Glad to see you guys waited for us!", A voice chirped from above. The four ponies looked up to see Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy in the background who was still catching up.
"Well of course darling! Wouldn't leave without everyone here, that would be a disaster!", Rarity said. They all laughed, except for Fluttershy who now just arrived with the group.
"Hey girls.", She said in a quiet voice. "Are you.. all ready?", She asked shyly.
"Yeppidy yep yep!" Pinkie said, and without warning, immediately hopped into the portal cannonball style.
The rest of the ponies just stood there.
"Typical Pinkie..", Twilight said. "Come on girls, let's go." She said. All of them turned to each other and nodded and one by one entered the portal...
-END OF CHAPTER 1-
The six ponies walked through the portal and into it's blackness. Nothing happened for a few seconds, they stood inside it and looked at each other with confusion. After a few seconds they were all jerked forward. Flashing colors of lights flew by them, whizzing past them as their speed grew faster and faster. They tried to scream but they couldn't seem to catch enough air to do so. They saw a small light creeping up in front of them, growing bigger and bigger as they drew closer to it until...
-WHOOMP-
All six ponies landed right outside the black portal, but this time in a new destination..
Pinkie was the first to get up. Her eyes still spinning in her head. "That was..", She shook her head straightening her eyes, "SO FUN! Wanna do it again, girls!? Huh? huh? huh?!", She bounced around them with excitement until she stopped and realized where she was. "Woooahhh.."
The five other ponies got up and looked up to where Pinkie was looking at. They stood up and starred up in disbelief. Everything was massive. They looked straight and saw many different and strange figures walk around, with portals opening up and more coming out, some on all fours, some walking on their hind legs, some flying. It was a whole new world to them. They looked up and saw the many floors going up, they couldn't even see the roof.
They looked all around their surroundings. Behind them, and the portal, was a giant glass window with a view of the stars. They were definitely out in space, that's for sure. They saw the sun gleaming far off in the distance of space, and a few planets near by. It was unlike anything they have ever seen.
"This is... amazing.", Twilight said in disbelief, she said still taking in everything like the other five ponies. They heard a voice next to them.
"This is it, boys! We'll be rolling in dough in no time!", The figure next to them said. He was accompanied by two other figures.
"But Eddy, you do realize who we're going up against, right?", The other figure asked with concern as he adjusted his hat, most likely because of the experience with the portal.
"Oh, shutup sockhead! It's all in the bag.. And then we'll be filthy stinkin' ri-", Eddy said before being interrupted by the taller figure.
"A PONY!", He yelled. The six ponies turned to see a tall figure run towards them, specifically at AppleJack.
"What in the hay??", Applejack said and turned to run, but it was too late. He already jumped onto her, slamming her to the ground. His smell didn't help AppleJack's case. He picked her up started to craddle her in his arms, and stroke her mane. AppleJack was just slightly shorter in size as the figure stroking her, but of course that is because she walks on all fours. But the fact that he was able to take her down so easily, shocked her.
"Pet the pony, pet the pony, pet the pony..." He repeated to himself.
"Ed! You put that pony down this instant!" One of the three friends said, adjusting his hat as he ran.
"Aww, but Double D. It's so cute.", Ed replied, still stroking AppleJack. AppleJack shook her head and glared at Ed.
"'It', has a name ya know.", AppleJack said in annoyance. Ed freaked out and dropped Applejack, unexpecting her to talk. Double D caught up, and gasped for air. He finally managed to form a sentence
"I'm sorry for my friend there, Ed can be too loving sometimes.", Double D gasped.
"Yeah, the big lard tends to pet everything that moves. What a dope.", The shortest one of the group said as he smacked the back of Ed's head. The six ponies flinched, feeling bad for poor Ed. Ed laughed.
"Auhuhuhuh! yup! I love tah pet dah animals, Eddy", Ed said with his eyes staring off into nothing.
The six ponies stood there for a few awkward seconds. Twilight finally spoke up. She put a hoof behind one of her legs.
"Yeah.. Well, can you help us out. Where are we supposed to go while we're here?", Twilight asked shyly, not knowing what could possibly happen next.
Eddy crossed his arms, "Yeah, what are we supposed to do now, sockhead?", He asked Double D.
Double D brought out a piece of paper he hid in his pocket and unfolded it. He looked at it. "Hmm.. Well.. First we have to get the keys to each of our rooms.. Then-", He continued before being interrupted by someone calling across to them.
"Ooo! Ooo! Pick me! I have keys! Loooots of keys! Shiny keys!", He yelled out. The Ponies and Eds turned to see a small figure with green hair floating at a desk across the room in front of them. He was waving his hands and doing everything he can to get their attention. "Over here! Pick me!", He continued.
Another figure with pink hair floated next to him and looked at him with an annoyed and tired expression. "Cosmo.. You do realize that we're the only ones here that give out the room keys.. right?.", She asked.
Cosmo looked at her with a goofy smile, "Exactly Wanda, everybody is too scared to compete with us.", He said. Wanda face palmed and grunted. She had been doing this all day and wasn't exactly in a good mood. The six ponies and eds walked up to Cosmo and Wanda to retrieve their room keys. Eddy shoved them all out of the way to go first.
"Alright.. Eddy right? You are in room 13245 E, on floor 93. Your room mate's name is, Aladdin.", Wanda said with a tired smile, giving him a key. Eddy looked up at her with confusion.
"I HAVE TO CLIMB 93 FLOORS!?", Eddy yelled. Wanda rubbed her temples and grinded her teeth as Eddy yelled. Cosmo knew she was tired and wanted to help her out.
"Actually, you can use that handy dandy teleporter right over there", he said as he pointed to the right of him. A few feet away, there was a red portal. "All ya gotta do is just think of which floor you want to go to, and you'll be there!", Cosmo said with a cheerful smile. Eddy looked up at him with annoyance and walked away. Ed walked up to the desk, his eyes looking in opposite directions as usual. Cosmo nudged Wanda. "I got this for now, go take a break.", He told Wanda. She floated away still rubbing her temples.
One by one they got their keys and was told their room mates.
Ed was assigned to room 15444 V, on floor 13. His room mate was Ferb.
Double D was assigned to room 18889 A, on floor 27. His room mate was Ganondorf.
Twilight Sparkle was assigned to room 13200 A, on floor 23. Her room mate was Daphne from the scooby doo gang.
FlutterShy was assigned to room 12139 E, on floor 12. Her room mate was Starfire.
AppleJack was assigned to room 88465 S, on floor 48. Her room mate was Sandy Cheeks.
Rarity was assigned to room 10023 A, on floor 5. Her room mate was Amy Rose.
Pinkie Pie was assigned to room 10034 A, on floor 5. Her room mate was Mulan.
Rainbow Dash was up next. She put her hoofs on the desk and waited to hear what room she'll be in and who her room mate was. She was excited to find out who her room mate was. Were they cool? Were they going to participate in the race? What's their story? All these questions filled Dash's mind as she waited for an answer. Cosmo looked at his list and looked up, a key poofed into his hand.
"Alrighty... Your room, 12223 A, on floor 9... And your room mate.. ", Cosmo shuffled through his papers and found his answer. "Your room mate's name is, Buttercup.", He said laying the key on his desk for Dash to grab it with her teeth. She grabbed the key, giving a smile and a nod before she turned back to her friends and two of the eds who were all waiting for each other. Twilight had the key floating in front of her, she turned back to Double D who was watching in amazement.
"Can I borrow your list real quick? You seem to be well more prepared in this area than me.", She asked in a smile. Double D slowly nodded her head, still gazing at the floating key in front of Twilight. Twilight floated the list off of Double D's hands and put it in front of her and the girls.
"Let's see.. Okay.. Try outs are tomorrow in the morning.. Food will be served on the second floor.. Spectators will view the races on floor 50.. Alright..", She continued reading aloud to the girls. "Looks like that's about it."
She levitated the list back into Double D's hands, who had the same shocked expression on his face. "Thank you so much, Double D.", She said with a smile on her face. "My name is Twilight Sparkle, and these are my friends. Rarity, AppleJack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie."
They all gave a warming smile. Ed just stood there motionless, staring into nothing. While Double D still stood there with the continued shocked expression. Twilights smile slowly faded to an uncomfortable one.
"Weeelll.... Alright.. We'll see you later..", She said awkwardly. The eds still stood there. "Haha.. See ya..", Twilight turned and her friends turned to trotted away, except for Pinkie Pie who gave one last wave.
"It was nice meeting you! maybe we can all hang out and have a party sometime! -GASP!- That would be so fun! And maybe we can-", She went on before being grabbed by AppleJack to leave. They each came up to the red portal.
The girls huddled around, Twilight spoke, "Alright girls, we'll unpack and get everything situated. We'll all meet up at the cafeteria at 6 P.M. Which is...", Twilight looked up at the clock over the red portal. "In.. about 3 hours and thirty minutes.", She said. Pinkie gave a wink.
"Okie dokie artie chokie!", Pinkie said as cheerful as ever. They all gave a smile and a hug before entering the portal. The portal wasn't like the black portal, when they thought of the floor they were going to, they were immediately teleported there. The scene in front of them changed in an instant and they were there. Rainbow Dash and AppleJack were the last to go into the portal. AppleJack turned to Rainbow Dash before going in.
"Well sugarcube, ah'll see ya'll later. Ah just hope mah room mate isn't as friendly as Ed.", She said with a awkward smile, still remembering her experience with Ed. Rainbow Dash and AppleJack laughed.
"Haha! I'm sure they won't be that friendly A.J.", Dash said waving a hoof. AppleJack gave another smile before entering the red portal. Rainbow Dash chuckled to herself a little bit before entering the portal. She closed her eyes and put the floor number into her mind. She opened her eyes and was met with another pair of eyes in front of her. She jumped back at the same time the figure in front of her did.
"Woah!", They both exclaimed. "Haha, sorry about that.." Both of them simultaneously said rubbing behind their heads, turned away. Rainbow Dash looked back at the person she almost bumped in to. He had a blue spikey hair, gloves, red and white stripped shoes. She starred at his green eyes. She felt.. confused. She had never felt this feeling before.. She continued starring into his eyes, he looked back at her. He gave a comforting smile.
"Haha, sorry about that! I was on my way downstairs, gotta get prepared for try outs.", He said. He put his hand out to greet her. "The name's, Sonic.", He said. "What's your name?", He asked her. Rainbow Dash felt her face getting warmer. She didn't want to show herself blushing. She put her hoof out as he shook it.
"It's.. Rainbow Dash", She said turning her face away. She started to act a lot like Fluttershy, and she hated it. "So.. Y-you're trying out for the race too?", Rainbow Dash asked shyly, she turned one eye to look at his. Sonic gave a thumb up.
"Yup! Can't let that prize go into the wrong hands. I know Robotnic is going to try his best to get his fat grubby hands on that prize. I can't let that happen. Not while I'm here!", Sonic said giving a wink. Rainbow Dash looked back at him quizzically, she brushed the mane off her face.
"Who's Robotnic?", She asked with curiosity on her face. Sonic looked at her and remembered that they aren't from the same place.
"Oh, yeah. He's just some wacko..", He said. "But enough about me, you're also doing the race?", He asked her, putting his hands on his hips. Rainbow Dash gave a grin of confidence.
"Heck yeah! I'm the fastest from where I come from. This race is going to prove how fast I am compared to the best of the best. I plan on winning this whole thing!", She said with confidence. The confidence shown made Sonic smile, he liked her attitude.
"Awesome! I can't wait to see ya out there! Make sure you try to keep up with me if you wanna even attempt to getting first.", Sonic said, giving a wink before he dashed off to the red portal behind her. The wind blown from him running past Rainbow Dash caused her mane to stretch straight behind her. She sat there wide eyed for a few seconds and shook her self back to normal. She gave a grin, she knew he was going to be fun to race against. She walked across the halls in search of her room.
She heard many voices from the people walking by her and from the many rooms she passed by. She was amazed just seeing all these new faces. She listened to a few of the conversations that passed by. She also looked at the doors and noticed that there were symbols on them, resembling the people that currently owned the room. She saw a lot of symbols, and was fascinated by them, it reminded her of her cutie mark. She saw symbols such as: A red/white covered ball, a skull wearing straw hat with cross bones behind it, an orange ball with 4 stars in it, a hat with the letter "M" in the front, a grey hunched fox, and many more.
Rainbow Dash finally came up to her room, 12223 A. She saw her Cutie Mark Symbol onto the door. Right next to her cutie mark was another symbol which was green line streaking down with two pairs of green eyes looking out. She studied it a little bit, the eyes looked menacing, as if they are prepared to jump out and attack. After a few seconds of staring at it, she finally put down the suitcase she had been carrying in her mouth, to grab the key from her pocket. She stood on her hind legs and put the key in and turned, pushing the door open.
Dash looked around in the dark room. Her room mate wasn't there yet. Dash put the suitcase in the corner of the room. Rainbow Dash opened the the curtains on the window in her room to get some light. She opened the window and looked out. It was a beautiful view of the stars. She had forgotten that she was somewhere in space. The view of the stars and planets were breath taking. She starred out for a few more seconds before yawning.
"*Yawn*... Well, might as well take a quick snooze before I go out..", She muttered to herself. She flopped herself onto the bed nearest her and stretched herself before resting herself on the pillow. It felt so comfortable, it felt just like home. She gave another yawn, before drifting off to sleep.
-END OF CHAPTER 2-
After a short while Rainbow Dash awoke from her slumber. She had a very restful sleep and almost didn't want to get up, but she remembered that she had to meet up with her friends. Rainbow Dash slowly rose up from her bed and opened her eyes with a yawn and a stretch. Rainbow Dash looked to her left and saw someone sitting on the bed next to her.
She was a very small girl, with black hair and big green eyes staring at the tv across from her. The girl sat the with her arms wrapped around her own legs with one hand flicking the remote, changing the channels on the tv. She had an intense anger look in her eyes, it intimated Rainbow Dash a little. Rainbow Dash brushed off the feeling and got off her bed to introduce herself.
"Hey, I'm Rainbow Dash.", She said getting off her bed with a smile, and putting a hoof out to greet her. The girl ignored her, still flicking the channels. Rainbow dash's smile weakened, "What's your name?", She asked, trying to make her situation less awkward. The girl's eyes turned, still with the same intense anger.
"Buttercup. I know you should already know my name, Rainbow Dash .", She said in annoyance, looking back at the tv. Rainbow Dash flinched at Buttercup's attitude towards her. Rainbow Dash just wanted to be friendly and get to know her room mate more, she already knew her room mates name, thanks to Cosmo at the entrance. She tried to recover.
"So.. Are you participating in the race?", Rainbow Dash asked with the nicest voice she can muster. Buttercup sat there for a few seconds still flicking the channels before answering.
"Yes.. Why do you care?", Buttercup said sternly. Rainbow Dash jerked back a little, surprised that this little girl had such an attitude. Rainbow Dash stuttered.
"I was just.. I.. I..", She stuttered trying to think of something to say. She was starting to get angry. She was not going to allow herself to get talked down to like that. She jumped on Buttercup's bed in the way of her view from the tv. She glared down at her.
"What is wrong with you! Why are you being such a jerk!" She said, putting her face up to Buttercup's. Buttercup didn't flinch, her eyes now filling with fury. She flicked the tv off with the remote and shoved Rainbow Dash off of her. Buttercup jumped off the bed and picked up a bag near her bed and grabbed a towel off a rack. She looked back to Rainbow Dash with a glare, before opening the door and leaving the room.
Rainbow Dash stood there, confused and pissed off. It wasn't even 5 minutes of meeting her room mate, and she already hated her. Rainbow Dash let out an annoyed sigh. She lowered her head. This was going to be a long three months... She shot her head back up.
"Oh shoot! I'm supposed to meet the girls!", She said to herself. She looked at the clock on the table that sat in between beds. "Crap! It's 5:58. I gotta go now!", She said. She darted to the door and saw her reflection for a split second as she darted by it. Rainbow Dash walked backwards and looked in the mirror and saw her head was a mess from the short nap. She shook it and tried to fix it with her hoofs. After a few seconds of frustration from trying to fix her mane, she decided to ignore it and fix it on the way. With that, she dashed out the door and hauled it to the cafeteria to meet with her friends.
Rainbow Dash made it to the cafeteria and saw her group of friends. All chatting with each other in line. She smiled and walked up to talk to them. She was quickly cut off, as a massive group of people decided to run in and get a spot in line. All the bodies of people cutting in front of her and pushing her back.
"Hey! I was here first!", She exclaimed, but to no avail as she tried to shove her way through the crowd, only to get pushed back even further. After a few failed attempts she gave up with a huff and just stuck with her spot in line.
The line went fairly fast, even though it was zig zagged across the room, the line kept moving. After surprisingly just a few minutes, she made it to the front. She grabbed a tray with her teeth and finally got a good look at the cafeteria. Just like the rest of the place, it was huge. In front of her were hundreds of long tables that stretched back. At the end of the room was a staircase that led upstairs where more tables were at, those tables overlooked the tables beneath them. Rainbow Dash looked up and saw the stairs went up 10 floors, with a glass roof overlooking the stars. It truly was beautiful, even though it is just a cafeteria..
"Dashie! Over here!". Rainbow Dash heard a voice and looked up to her right. She saw a smiling Pinkie Pie turned, waving a hoof to Rainbow Dash on the second floor. Rainbow Dash gave a smile, Pinkie Looked like such a goofball. Rainbow Dash turned to the buffet tables to gather her food and meet up with her friends.
Rainbow Dash got her food and walked upstairs to meet with her friends. She overheard the many conversations that went on as she passed by...
"Kakarot! Why are we even here.. Why can't we just use the dragonballs to wish that nobody wins but us? This is absolutely stupid.", A voice said in annoyance.
"I already told you Vegeta, It is out of the dragons power. He can't do anything about it. I already tried.. we just have to win. We can't let that kind of power fall into the wrong hands.", The figure in the orange jumpsuit said next to him.
"Hmmph.. Pathetic.. I swear that dragon is just coming up with excuses nowadays..", the other figure responded.
Rainbow Dash continued walking...
"I know he's here somewhere... I know Zim is up to something...", the boy with glasses jumped onto a table. "YOU HEAR THAT ZIM!? i KNOW YOU'RE UP TO SOMETHING! AND I WILL FIGURE IT OUT!", He yelled out. A muffin flew and hit him in the face.
"Ahh, shutup already kid!", a random voice yelled out to him. Probably the same voice that threw the muffin.
Rainbow Dash finally got up stairs and went up to the table. She saw her friends, sitting next to the eds. Pinkie smiled as she scooted over and patted the empty seat next to her. Dash put the tray of food and sat down. Pinkie Pie immediately began talking rapid fire.
"So as I was saying, she says that she went off to fight the war for her father, and then she realized she couldn't because she had to be a guy, so she cut her hair and dressed up as a guy, and then she trained with the army, and then, and then, and then, a big fight happened! and she almost fell off a mountain! But she was saved! And then she was sad. But then she returned! and explosions! and kablooey! Fireworks were everywhere! And get this, she saved her whole country! Crazy right!?", Pinkie Pie said at an incredible rate, surprisingly not out of breath. The girls just stared at her and smiled, they only heard half of the things she said. Rarity turned her eyes from Pinkie to Rainbow Dash.
"So, darling. How about you? How's your room mate?", Rarity asked, her horn glowing as an orange slice floated into her mouth. Rainbow Dash glanced down to her food, remembering what happened earlier.
"Well...", Rainbow Dash started saying, before being interrupted by Eddy, who was sitting next to Rarity.
"Hey. Your room mate is Buttercup, right? Ain't she the girl that lost her-hoomf-", His voice was muffled by Double D's hand. Double D gave an awkward smile. Rainbow Dash furrowed her eye brows. She was curious.
"No, let him finish. I wanna know.", She asked in a demanding tone. Double D lowered his head and sighed. Double D removed his hand from Eddy's mouth as Eddy looked up and gave Double D a glare.
"Oh dear...", Double D said and a quiet tone. "Do you want to hear the long version or short?", Double D asked looking up with sorrow in his eyes. Rainbow Dash started to feel uncomfortable.
"Uhm..", Rainbow Dash said, unsure if she wanted to hear it after all. "Well.. Might as well hear the whole story..", Rainbow Dash said. Double D took in a breath.
"Okay.. Here goes.", Double D started. He let out deep breath of air before he started. "Buttercup... Well.. She's different. She's unlike anyone I've ever seen before. She has fire in her heart, an everlasting flame of strength that pushes her to her limit. She always exceeds to do her best and prove to her sisters that she can handle things on her own."
Rainbow Dash interrupted, "She has sisters?! How many sisters?", Rainbow Dash asked with shock. Double D looked up at her.
"Yes, I was getting there. She has two other sisters named, Blossom and Bubbles. They were created by their father, Professor Utonium, to create the perfect girls. As you can probably tell, it was a success. Much more so, infact, they actually have super powers.", Double D said.
Rainbow Dash put her hoofs on the table with shock, "They have super powers!?", She asked. Double D nodded.
"Yes, they do. They have the power to lift mountains, fly through time, and can even take explosions to the face without a scratch.", Double D said. Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped. Double D continued, "Yes, well, even with all those super powers, there is one super power they do not have...", Double D said, lowering his head. Rainbow Dash looked at him with concern on her face.
"What... What happened..?" She asked, her voice stuttering. Double D closed his eyes and responded.
"They... They lost him..", Double D said quietly. Rainbow Dash felt body numb. She stared at Double D for a few seconds, trying to come up with words.
"L-Lost.. Who?", Rainbow Dash asked. Double D looked up.
"Their father...", Double D said. Rainbow Dash sat there, speechless. How could a little girl go through such a thing? she thought to herself. Double D spoke up again. "The girls were fighting off against the villains in town, the villains decided to make one final stand to try to take over the town. They girls fought against them, unaware that it was a distraction, and just the beginning.. The girls were losing badly. They were getting thrown around like nothing. There was too much for them to handle. Buttercup wasn't giving up, she fought as hard as she could. She threw everything she had against them. Eventually she actually was starting to win, her sisters had been beaten down and were unconscious. Buttercup knew if she failed, the town was done for."
Double D took a sip of his drink before continuing. "Buttercup actually managed to pull it off, she had beaten all the villains in town. Except for one. She knew this particular one was missing, and it was the biggest threat. HIM was nowhere to be seen. She looked everywhere in town. She heard a whispering, menacing voice for her to go home. Buttercup panicked and screamed, cursing HIM on her way home, fearing that the worst was about to occur." Double D said with a sorrow expression.
Rainbow Dash pressed on. "Then what happened?, She asked. Double D turned for a few seconds, before turning back to lock eyes with Rainbow Dash.
"She.." Double D looked back down again. "She lost him... She got home. Opened the door. And saw the scene before her. Her father was laying on the floor, sprawled out, eyes.. Lifeless..", Double D said. "The walls of the house were covered in blood, with repeated, 'HA-HA's over the walls, as well as the dark laughter of HIM, echoing through the house, before quietly disappearing... She ran to her father and did everything she could to try to wake him up.. Buttercup knew it was no use.. She had lost her father, and for the first time in her life. She felt... defeated.", Double D said with a sorrowful expression on his face.
Rainbow Dash looked away from Double D. She had no idea Buttercup went through so much. She felt horrible. She sat there. Motionless. Eddy swallowed the remaining sandwich he was eating.
"How do I know none of this is bogus, Sockhead?", Eddy said in an annoyed tone. Double D turned and glared at Eddy.
"Well, Eddy, maybe if you were nice to people maybe you'd actually find out from her yourself", Double D retorted. Double D got up from his seat and lifted his tray. "I'm going to go now, please try not to be a jerk to our new friends, okay Eddy?", Double D said.
"Yeah, yeah whatever, sockhead..", He grumbled. He put his elbows on the table and rested his head on his hands. Ed, who was sitting beside him, looked at Eddy's tray.
"Are you gunna finish that cookie, Eddy?", Ed asked with crumbs flying out of his mouth from his sandwich. Eddy glanced up at Ed, and slid the tray to him. Ed smiled and slammed his face down onto the tray. The six ponies winced as his face slammed onto the tray. Twilight looked back at Rainbow Dash.
"I can't imagine what going through that must be like.. I hope she's alright.", Twilight said. Rainbow Dash looked back at her and the rest of the girls. Rainbow Dash got up from her seat.
"I'm.. gonna go girls.. I need to get some shut eye for tomorrow.", Rainbow Dash said. The rest of the ponies understood and got up as well. They all agreed they needed some shut eye as well. They bid their farewells and went on their way.
Rainbow Dash walked back to her room, thinking about all she heard tonight. She walked along, not looking at anything that passed by her. She had a lot to think about.
Rainbow Dash finally reached her room and unlocked it. It was getting pretty late, it was 11:13 P.M. She knew she needed a good rest before tomorrow. She walked in to the dark room. She walked over to her bed, passing by Buttercup's bed. Rainbow Dash saw that Buttercup was sound a sleep. Buttercup was quietly sleeping, a smile on her face from the relaxing warmth of the covers. She hugged a small green blanket in her arms. Rainbow Dash gave a small smile. Just seeing a smile on Buttercup's face made Rainbow Dash feel a lot better.
Rainbow Dash crawled into her bed quietly, just to make sure she doesn't wake up the resting girl next to her. Rainbow Dash managed to quietly get into bed and pull the covers over herself. She lay there for a few minutes, looking back at Buttercup behind her. Rainbow Dash thought of everything she heard tonight. She felt.. Sadness. After a few minutes she managed to finally drift off to sleep.
A tear slowly slid down her face.
-END OF CHAPTER 3-
Rainbow Dash slowly flicked her eyes open and slowly rose from her bed. She viewed the window from her bed. A nearby planet floated slowly by, with the sun creeping behind the top left corner of it. It was a beautiful sight to Rainbow Dash, almost hypnotizing. She sat there and watched it slowly float by for a few minutes. After a few minutes of staring at it, she got up from her bed and got ready for the morning. She turned and didn't see her room mate anywhere. She must've left early to warm up for tryouts, Rainbow Dash thought.
Rainbow Dash got up and did her morning routine before grabbing her workout equipment and putting it into her saddle. She got all of her stuff and ran downstairs to meet her friends for breakfast.
After breakfast and catching up with her friends and listening to some of Eddy's "success" tips in life, Rainbow Dash left the cafeteria and headed to the try out rooms. Rainbow Dash walked down the halls, seeing many people going into the same direction. She then heard very fast footsteps followed by a skid, next to her. She looked up to her left and felt her face getting warm again. It was that same blue spiked fella from the other day.
"So, you ready?", Sonic asked with a confident smile, looking down to Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash smiled back, she was glad to see him again.
"Y-Yeah! I'm going to give it all I've got!", Rainbow Dash said with confidence, even though her voice cracked a little at the beginning. Sonic grinned. They continued to walk down the halls, they chatted about the different life they lived in their world.
"So, you're job is to make sure you clear the clouds in the morning? That's pretty cool.", Sonic said giving Rainbow Dash a wink. She blushed brighter and turned for a brief second before turning back around.
"So, what do you do?", Rainbow Dash asked. Sonic opened his mouth to reply, he stopped. He realized he didn't really have a particular job. All he did really was hang out with his friends and stopped Robotnic from his plans. Other than that he couldn't really think of anything. He rubbed the back of his head.
"Well...", He said before stopping in his tracks. Rainbow Dash stopped in her tracks too. They both stopped and overlooked ahead of them. They were one floor overhead looking down into the massive room in front of them. It was built in similar style to the cafeteria, except it was only one floor up, and was looking down into the floor below them. There were many square rooms lined up below, with lines waiting out in front. Rainbow Dash and Sonic looked over and saw the thousands of figures that were walking by and were getting in line.
"You two going to get your ticket or what?", A annoyed voice said to their left. They turned and saw a figure standing there with a water helmet on his head and tentacles on his hips. He had one eye brow raised, waiting for their reply. Sonic ran up to the desk. The figure at the desk brought out a clip board.
"Name, please?", the figure asked in a sigh.
"Sonic the hedgehog, Mr.. uh...", Sonic leaned his head left and squinted to look at the name tag on the figures shirt. The figure responded.
"Tentacles... Squidward.. Tentacles.", he said with his continued bored voice. He brought out a ticket and handed it to Sonic. Sonic turned to Rainbow Dash and gave a quick wave to Dash before speeding off downstairs to his right. Rainbow Dash gave a chuckle. Squidward gave another sigh.
"Next." He asked. Rainbow Dash turned her view to the desk and walked up. She stood on her back legs and put her hoofs on the desk.
"Rainbow Dash, fastest flyer in all of Equestria!", She said with a confident smile. Squidward stood there, eye brow raised again.
"Right..", He said. Squidward flipped through his clip board and reached under his desk for her ticket. He pulled out the ticket and put it on the desk. Rainbow Dash leaned in to grab it with her teeth. She gave a smile and a nod before trotting away downstairs.
She trotted downstairs, and looked at the end of the room and saw a giant screen. On the top of the screen it labeled, "QUALIFIERS". Under it had rows of icons and names next to them, as well as which world they came from. She saw many different names of different worlds. She finally found her world, Equestria. She looked at it and saw that some have already qualified.
The names listed were: Spitfire, Derpy Hooves, Lightning Dust, Soarin, Fluttershy, and Princess Celestia. Wait.. What!? She reread it over and over. It still remained the same. She knew Spitfire was obviously going to qualify, but Fluttershy?? But that wasn't what she focused entirely on. Princess Celestia was going to compete as well. She knew the Princess well, but she has no clue as to how fast she can really be. She never really displayed her speed in public to anyone. The princess is thousands of years old and is incredibly powerful, she could be prove to be a very difficult challenge, Rainbow Dash thought.
Rainbow Dash shook it off, and walked around to find the room she had to go to. She looked at her ticket. Simulator room #23. After a short walk she found the room she was supposed to go to. Rainbow Dash walked to the back of the line. She stood behind a strange levitating figure. It stood about 6 foot 7 inches. It had a purple tail wrapped underneath its legs that wrapped about to its belly and back as a tail. It levitated in place with its eyes closed and arms crossed. Whenever the line moved, somehow it detected it with it's eyes still closed and slowly floated forward. Rainbow Dash decided not to greet herself to this being. She felt a concentrated energy around it, and decided to leave it alone.
Slowly but surely, the line moved forward. Seconds passed, then minutes, then hours. Rainbow Dash was starting to get really bored. Rainbow Dash stared at the big screen in the back of the huge gym-like room they were in. She watched as the many names start to fill the screen, and flick into another screen to show more names. Eventually after what felt like an eternity, she was next. Rainbow Dash witnessed quite a bit of the people coming out of the door were qualified. She heard a door to the left of her's open. A bird-like creature walked out with a paper in its mouth that said, "Qualified". The bird-like creature gave a "Meep-Meep!", sound before dashing off.
Rainbow Dash chuckled to herself. "This is going to be a piece of cake!", Rainbow Dash said to herself, with a smirk. She heard the door open in front of her. She saw the being that was in front of her earlier for a split second, before it teleported away. Rainbow Dash walked in, there were no lights. The door slammed behind her. Suddenly, a dim light flicks on. She turned to her right and saw someone holding a clip board.
"Miss, Rainbow Dash? Correct?", The figure said, he had yellow shoes, gloves and red pants. He seemed to be in a happy, cheerful mood. This made Rainbow Dash feel a lot more comfortable, from the previous attitude of a certain squid at a desk.
"It's Rainbow Dash, what's your name?", She asked. The figure put down the clipboard he was hold onto the desk. He flicked on a switch. The room next to them lit up in a bright white light. Rainbow Dash flinched, unexpecting the bright light to suddenly flash. She looked through the glass in the current room she was in to look into the next room. The room was just an empty white squared room.
"You can just call me, Mickey.", He said with a chuckle. He had been doing this all day, he still got a little laugh every time he flicked the switch and saw the many different reactions to the light. Rainbow Dash turned to Mickey.
"So, how does this work? The room looks empty? What am I going to do? Just go in circles?", She asked with confusion. Mickey gave a quick chuckle before he picked up his clip board off a desk.
"We'll get to that, first I am going to ask a few questions and go over a few rules before we begin. Answer the questions as truthfully as you can, okay?" Mickey said. Rainbow Dash gave a smile and a nod. Mickey smiled back. "Okay. Based off of what I'm seeing, I'm guessing you are a fly racer? Correct?", He asked. Rainbow Dash looked back at her wings
"Yup, why does that matter?", She asked quizzically. Mickey wrote down on the clipboard while answering.
"Well, during the race there are two types of racers. There are the ones on the ground racing, and there are the ones in the air. The Fly Racers we call them. Both racers have their own advantage and disadvantage. They will both be racing on indoor course, to make sure the racers that are flying obviously don't have that huge of an advantage. The racers on the ground will have obstacles. Same goes with the racers in the air, they will also have obstacles such as flying through rings, and dodging various objects." Mickey said. Rainbow Dash gave an approving nod. It reminded her a lot of the Wonderbolts.
Mickey spoke up again, "Alright. Next question, will you be using any type of machinery during the race?", He asked. Rainbow Dash gave a confused look. Mickey gave a short laugh. "I'm guessing that's a no. The reason I asked is because sometimes people will ride their vehicles for a majority of the race, and right at the end of the race when their vehicle is about to break down, they try to run to the finish. This gives them a highly unfair advantage, since they rode the entire race. If you are going to be using a vehicle or any type of machinery, make sure you stay inside of it for the entirety of the race. If you leave your vehicle, it will count as a disqualification.", Mickey said. Rainbow Dash sat there still confused, but eventually gave an approving nod. Mickey went continued
"Alright, also make sure, you do not inject yourself with any type of race enhancers. We can detect them, and you will be disqualified automatically when detected. However, you are allowed to use internal ways of boosting yourself faster. Such as: increasing your power level, shape shifting, etc... But!", Mickey said pointing a finger up. "You can not use any 'jumping', 'teleporting', 'instant transmissioning', or any other methods like that. If you are detected using any of those techniques, it will count as a disqualification. So let's not do any of that.", Mickey said with a swing of his fist and a comforting smile. Rainbow Dash gave a smile and nodded once more.
"Alrighty! So, this is how tryout is going to work.", He walked over to the desk and put down the clip board. He beckoned Rainbow Dash next to him and pointed in the window to the empty white room in front of them. Rainbow Dash stood on her hind legs as she put her front hoofs on the desk to look into the room. "You will walk into that room, and it will start to shapeshift and change forms into a simulated race course. You will have 30 seconds after I close the door behind you. Make sure you have stretched, powered up, drank your water, or whatever you will need to do to prepare. After 25 seconds have passed you will hear a voice calling the last 5 seconds before the simulation starts.", Mickey said, he looked up to Rainbow Dash. "Any questions before you begin?", He asked.
Rainbow Dash continued to stare into the room, she put a hoof up against her chin. Rainbow Dash turned to Mickey. "Soo.. How long is the course? How much time do I have?", Rainbow Dash asked
Mickey a hand under his chin, as if trying to figure out how to answer this question. "Well. I'm not allowed to tell you how long the course is.. But I can tell you that you will have 60 seconds. You have to go as fast as you can. Do not worry about the time, and just do your best!", He said with a very cheery attitude. Rainbow Dash looked back into the empty white room and gave a smirk.
"I'm ready.", She said. She was starting to feel slightly nervous. She quickly snapped out of it and back into her confidence. If Fluttershy, heck, if Derpy Freaking Hooves can do it, then why can't she? Her confidence rose back up again. She turned to her left and saw Mickey holding the door open for her to enter. She got on all fours again and walked in.
"Good luck, Dash! Remember to do your best!", She heard Mickey's voice behind her. She didn't reply, she took deep breaths, preparing. She stood in the center of the room and heard a door slam behind her, followed by a click.
The room around her did exactly what Mickey said it would. Slowly the walls pixelated away, changing into a new wider area. Rainbow Dash stood in position, ready to rocket off. She put the saddle off her back and noticed the ground turned into a chainy metal. Rainbow Dash looked down at her hoofs and saw through the holes of the metal. She noticed that this course was in the sky, the clouds floated beneath her. She looked up and around, it was an indoor race course, just like Mickey said. Even though it was an indoor race, she was still able to see outside since the walls covering the course, were actually glass. She could see through them, and look out at the clouds that gently floated by. She looked around as if distracted. She then snapped back into position when she heard the booming voice.
5
Rainbow Dash closed her eyes, preparing.
4
Dash started to focus on taking deep breaths, making sure that her heart rate is calm.
3
She deepened her position
2
She lifted her wings open
1
She shot her eyes open
GO!!!
Within less than 1/50th of a second, she was off. Rainbow Dash flapped her wings as hard as she could, barely seeing what's in front of her at first. Dash wiped away the tears that were forming in her eyes due to the wind. She saw the first turn coming quick. It was a very sharp 90 degree turn to the left. Rainbow Dash was going far too fast to turn in time, she had to slow down or slam into the wall of the first turn. She opened her wings up to slow down, and managed to slow down and prepare for the impact. She turned her body left and planted her hoofs onto the wall, pushing herself forward to regain her speed again, back into the course. Her tryouts could've ended fast, she knew she had to be more careful.
For the most part the course was incredibly easy. There were no obstacles or hills to climb. The only difficult part of the course, was that it had disgustingly sharp turns, which Rainbow Dash had a few close calls. She continued on, turning the sharp turns at the right time. She heard the voice from the beginning of the race.
10
WHAT!? There was 10 seconds left already!?
9
Rainbow Dash started to panic. She couldn't find the end of the course anywhere.
8
No! This can't be happening!
7
She started to flap her wings even harder
6
She was starting to lose control
5
Am I seriously going to lose to FlutterShy!? , Rainbow Dash thought to herself.
4
That's it! I have no choice! , Rainbow Dash thought to herself once more. She pushed her hoofs forward and prepared for a sonic rainboom.
3
Rainbow Dash felt the pressure of the sonic rainboom and launched forward at intense speed. She closed her eyes unaware of what might be in front of her.
2
Come on! Damn it! Move, Dash! Move!! , She thought to herself.
1
NO!!!
0
"TIME UP!" The voice echoed.
Rainbow Dash immediately fell onto the ground. The course started to shape shift back into the white room. Still.. The finish line was no where in sight.. Rainbow Dash wrapped her hoofs over her face. She started to sniffle, holding back her tears. How did she not make it?? What happened?? She heard the door behind her open with a click. She still lay there, with her hoofs over her face. She didn't want to hear it..
"Rainbow Dash...", She heard Mickey's voice behind her. She took in a deep breath, and wiped away a few tears before she got up and turned around. When she turned though she saw a pair of cheerful eyes. He was carrying a paper in his right hand, with the stamp that said, "Qualified" on it. "Congrats!", Mickey said.
Rainbow Dash looked down at the paper he was holding, and back to him. Back to the paper and back to him. She couldn't believe her eyes. Rainbow Dash jumped at Mickey and wrapped her hoofs around him. After a few seconds she let go and looked back at Mickey.
"But... How? I didn't complete the course.", She asked confused.
Mickey chuckled, "Oh, the whole point of the simulation was to see how far you could go within the time limit. No one's actually made it to the finish before.. Well... except one..." He put a hand on his chin, as if trying to remember something. "Oh, but that doesn't matter. The point is, you qualified! And you will be participating in the first race in 3 days!", Mickey said.
Rainbow Dash finally couldn't hold it.
"Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!", Rainbow Dash said to herself before jumping in the air to cheer. "Awww yeah!!". She yelled in a triumphant victory. She did a few 360 spins, and a few tricks before finally calming down. Mickey laughed, he was happy to see her so excited. Rainbow Dash finally landed next to him and grabbed the paper off his hand and put it in her saddle that she left on the floor before the race.
"I'm so excited!!", Rainbow Dash said to herself. She stopped. She turned back to Mickey again. "Soo... What now..?", Rainbow Dash asked. Mickey put his hands in his pockets and motioned her to follow out of the white room. Rainbow Dash closed the door behind her to meet Mickey back at the room before she entered the race simulator. Mickey opened a filing cabinet at a corner of the room and pulled out something. Mickey put the small object on to the desk. Rainbow Dash looked at it confused.
"What is it?", She asked, studying the object on the desk before her. Mickey got another on out of the filing cabinet and placed it on the right side his face. It looked like glasses, except it only covered one eye, and it was colored green. Mickey pointed to the object on his face.
"This, is a race scouter.", He said. He pushed a button of the right side of the race scouter, small symbols and icons started flickering all over the glasses. "It allows you to see which position you are in, as well as your heart rate, who is nearby you, and who is currently in the top ten of the race at the moment. You can also personalize it to focus on one target during the race, and you can compare yourself as to how far ahead or behind them you are.", Mickey said. Rainbow Dash looked at him with shock.
"Really?? That's so cool! Let me try!", She said, grabbing the scouter off the desk next to her. After a few frustrating adjustments, she managed to get it in a comfortable position. She pressed the button. It showed a screen, it was the same screen as the screen outside of the room, where it listed all the names of the qualifiers. "Hey.. What gives.. I think this one is broken..", Rainbow Dash said, pulling the scouter off her face.
"Nope! It's because you're currently not in a race.", Mickey said. Rainbow Dash realized her mistake and face-hoofed. "Don't worry, it's not at all broken. Whenever you are outside of a race it will display the names of those who are currently qualified to do the next race. Go ahead, put it back on and tell me how many are currently qualified for the next race.", Mickey said, pushing the button on his scouter. Rainbow Dash looked down at her scouter and adjusted it onto her face again. She pushed the button again and looked at the top left.
"It says.. 136,278.. Holy crap, that's a lot..", Rainbow Dash said pulling the scouter off her face and placing it into her saddle. Mickey nodded.
"Yup, your scouter is working fine alright! It's doing what it needs to do.", He said, continuing with his nod. He looked at Dash with a serious face this time. "I recommend you keep a hold of that, it's very, very, very, very helpful during races. Make sure you take good care of it, okay?", Mickey asked. Rainbow Dash gave an approving nod. She walked to leave out the door.
"So, is there anything else I need to know?", Rainbow Dash asked, eager to leave and brag to her friends. Mickey gave one last smile and shook his head.
"Nope! You're all set, Miss Dash!', He said.
Rainbow Dash smiled back, and turned to the door in front of her.
And after a huge sigh of relief, she opened it.
-END OF CHAPTER 4-
"Oh, Darlings! You simply must see what I've gotten at the stores! These outfits are just lovely!", Rarity said to her friends. It was one day after tryouts and the six ponies had been in the shopping district for the past few hours to celebrate Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy for qualifying. Each of them went into their own kind of store. Twilight went into the book store to read books she's never read before. AppleJack was dragged with Rarity to the clothing shop to try out new outfits. Pinkie went to the party store to see all the new silly party decorations she's never seen before, and what to see what she could use for her next party. Fluttershy went to the pet shop to look for food that her pets would enjoy. Rainbow Dash followed each of her friends, she didn't care too much for shopping. She had a lot to think about.
After hours of shopping, they decided to take a break. They went back to the cafeteria and decided to get something to eat for lunch. They found a table and sat down. Each of them got their usual vegetarian meal, while Pinkie got the desert tray filled with cupcakes, candy, and brownies. Twilight still had the book floating in front of her that she had been reading for hours. AppleJack turned to Twilight.
"Sugarcube, ah think the book can wait for now.", She said in a polite voice, trying not to sound rude. Twilight kept scanning the book for a little longer and finally placed it down.
"Sorry, I just got hooked into this book. James Patterson sure does know how to keep the reader into the book. Every chapter he ends it where you're wanting more.", She said putting the book down. The girls laughed together as they told each other some stories of what they've been up to, as well as discussing more about their room mates. Rainbow Dash was listening on, as AppleJack told them about her room mate and how they became good friends. Rainbow Dash felt something tap her shoulder. She turned to see Sonic.
"Hey, I just wanted to congratulate you on qualifying.", He said giving her a smile. Rainbow Dash started blushing again, she turned slighty.
"Oh, t-thanks.", She said shyly. Sonic looked at her confused.
"Are you okay?", He asked concerned. A voice behind him called out.
"Sonic? What're you doing?", A fox figure with two tails a few tables behind him asked. He was sitting with a few other friends of his with an empty seat next to him. Sonic turned to his friend waiting at the table.
"Sorry about that Tails, just wanted to say hello to someone.", Sonic said, rubbing the back of his head. Sonic turned back to Rainbow Dash
"I'll catch up on ya later Dash, see ya!". Sonic said giving a wave, he turned back around and ran back to the table with his friends. Rainbow Dash waved and turned back to the girls at the table. Each of them had a smirk on their face. Rainbow Dash jerked her head back a bit.
"What?", Rainbow Dash asked. The girls raised an eye brow, with the same smile. Rainbow Dash started to blush again and get frustrated. "WHAT? ", Rainbow Dash asked more demanding. Rarity spoke up.
"Oh darling, don't try to hide it.", She said giving her a sly smile. Rainbow Dash looked down at her food, trying to hide her face.
"I'm not hiding anything..", Rainbow Dash said, feeling more and more embarrassed by the second.
"Sugarcube, ah know fer a fact that you're into that Sonic feller.", AppleJack said patting a hoof behind Rainbow Dash's back. Rainbow Dash pulled away.
"What?? Not at all. He's just a friend. That's all.", Rainbow Dash said looking at AppleJack, then looking at the girls as if trying to get them to believe her. They weren't buying it. Pinkie Pie spoke up.
"Really? Let me ask what he thinks of you then!", Pinkie Pie said with a cheerful smile. Rainbow Dash's pupils shrunk. She heard her heart beat suddenly beat faster than ever.
"Oh, Pinkie, I d-don't think that'll be necessary.", Rainbow Dash stuttered. Pinkie Pie didn't hear her, she pushed the tray in front of her and got off her seat. Pinkie started to bounce her way to Sonic's table. "Pinkie! Wait!", Rainbow Dash said trying to get Pinkie's attention. Pinkie heard none of it, she was humming a tune to herself as she made her way to Sonic's table. Rainbow Dash started panicking. Rainbow Dash's next move was a blur, she didn't quite think of what to do. All she knew was that she had to stop Pinkie from reaching Sonic's table.
Rainbow Dash launched herself from the table towards Pinkie to tackle her. Rainbow Dash slammed into Pinkie. Both of them tumbled and rolled over a few times before the both of them stopped. Suddenly, the cafeteria went silent... Rainbow Dash flicked her eyes open. Rainbow Dash stared at a pair of Pinkie's terrified blue eyes, directly in front of hers..
She looked down to her lips and jumped up from her position. Rainbow Dash looked around her, all of the eyes in the cafeteria staring at her. She turned and saw Sonic at his table with his eyes open, holding a chili dog in his right hand. Her face felt hot, she started to hear whispering all around her. Rainbow Dash turned in circles, looking at everyone who was now whispering in each others ears, still staring at the scene that just occurred in front of them. Rainbow Dash lowered her head and put her hoofs over her head. She couldn't take it anymore. Tears started to fill her eyes.
Rainbow Dash launched from her position and flew out of the cafeteria, straight into her room.
Rainbow Dash spent the rest of the day on her bed holding a pillow to her chest, she heard the knocks of her friends, asking to open the door. Rainbow Dash didn't reply to any of their requests. They claimed it was no big deal, and that Pinkie Pie was fine. Rainbow Dash didn't care about Pinkie at this time. After minutes of no response, they gave up and left. Rainbow Dash screamed into her pillow. She just made a complete foal of herself in front of Sonic. She wanted to stop Pinkie from reaching Sonic, but instead ended up landing lips with each other. Rainbow Dash heard the door open.
"I told you! I wanted to be alo-.", Rainbow Dash stopped and saw Buttercup walk in. Rainbow Dash gave an annoyed look, she was in no mood to deal with her. Rainbow Dash turned around in a huff. Buttercup put her equipment down, she looked like she came back from working out. Her hair was a little messy, she was wearing a tank top and wrist bands, with shorts. She seemed pretty worn out.
"What's with you?", Buttercup asked in her usual harsh tone. She wiped her head with a towel. Rainbow Dash turned around with a surprised look. How is it that Buttercup hadn't heard of what happened? Was she not there at lunch? Did she not hear anyone else talk about it when she came back? Rainbow Dash shook those thoughts off her head and turned back around.
"Nothing, nothing at all.", Rainbow Dash said. Her voice made it obvious that she was lying. Buttercup crossed her arms and glared.
"Look, I'm not going to deal with any of this drama shit. Just tell me." Buttercup said in a strict tone. Rainbow Dash was shocked, did a little girl just say that?? Rainbow Dash turned to Buttercup.
Rainbow Dash took in a deep breath. "Fine... Might as well tell you. You'll probably just find out anyways..", Rainbow Dash said, muttering the last sentence, turning her gaze to the end of her bed. Buttercup lifted up and slowly floated to Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash shot her gaze at Buttercup, this is the first time she saw Buttercup actually flying. Dash's eyes widened as she got closer, still with her arms crossed.
"Stop.", Buttercup said, as she gently landed on her bed with the same position. Rainbow Dash realized what she was doing and snapped back into reality, she shook her head.
"Okay, okay... I.. Well..", Rainbow Dash started to stutter. Buttercup snapped.
"Just tell me! I don't want it sugar coated, just tell me what the hell is wrong with you.", Rainbow Dash said, her eyes glaring harder. Rainbow Dash leaned back as if Buttercup was about to attack. Rainbow Dash held her breath for a second, and finally released.
"Okay, I accidentally kissed one of my friends when trying to stop her from reaching Sonic.", Rainbow Dash blurted out all at once. Rainbow Dash turned away, she didn't want to see her room mates reaction. Rainbow Dash kept her eyes away, she was expecting a chuckle, or a sigh, or anything. After a few seconds she turned to see Buttercup still had her arms crossed, except she had a confused look on her face. Buttercup raised an eyebrow and asked.
"This Sonic guy. I've heard of him... I heard he was super fast. He has blue spikey hair right?", Buttercup asked. Rainbow Dash was taken back a little, this was the first time Buttercup wasn't actually saying anything mean to her. Rainbow Dash gulped and replied.
"Y-yeah.", Rainbow Dash blurted a little loud. Buttercup tilted her head.
"Soo... Obviously you like this guy... Then why don't you confront him and tell him it was all a misunderstanding and tell him your feelings?", Buttercup asked. Rainbow Dash shook her head.
"I wish it was that easy.", Rainbow Dash said lowering her head.
"It is.", Buttercup said softly. Rainbow Dash shot her head up at the response. "Time flies by too quick. Do not wait seconds, minutes, to hours each day wishing to say something you wish you could have said.". Buttercup said. She turned around and hopped off the bed, she started to walk to the bathroom. "Time does not show mercy, you must take advantage of it every day and make sure you don't regret any second of it.", Buttercup said before turning into the bathroom door and closing the door behind her. She turned on the water for the shower to get the smell off her from working out earlier.
Rainbow Dash sat there with those last words in her head. Rainbow Dash remembered the story from Double D as to how Buttercup lost her father. Rainbow Dash didn't want to go through thinking that she might not ever get to see Sonic again. She felt a connection to him. A connection unlike she felt with anyone else in the whole universe. He made her laugh, made her feel comfortable, made her smile...
A few minutes later, the door from the bathroom opened. Buttercup came out with her night clothes and a towel wrapped around her head. "Now that we're done with this drama crap, can we watch something a bit more uplifting?", Buttercup asked grabbing the remote on her bed. Rainbow Dash smiled and gave a nod. "Good, wasn't going to give you a choice anyways.", Buttercup said, she turned her head to look at the tv as she flicked it on, flickering through the channels. She turned it to what looked like a cheap rip off of The Muppets. It was called, "Puppet Pals". The entirety of the show consisted of one puppet "bonking" another puppet on the head with a bat. It went on for 30 minutes straight, with the commercials in between.
Rainbow Dash didn't pay much attention to it, she turned on her bed to the window. She looked out at the stars, taking in what Buttercup said earlier. Rainbow Dash wanted to tell Sonic her true feelings, but after what just happened? How can she? She thought to herself. Rainbow Dash started to get tired from all these thoughts. Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and got some shut eye.
She had one last thought before drifting off to sleep
Time waits for nobody, never regret a single second of it
-END OF CHAPTER 5-
On your marks.. Get set..
The next two days flew by uneventfully. Rainbow Dash hung out with her friends as they walked around, viewing everything they have not viewed yet. They even encountered Princess Celestia a few times. It was weird seeing Celestia walking about, taking in her new surroundings. Celestia felt like she was in a whole other world. The girls talked to Celestia a few times, referring her as Princess as usual. Celestia told them that she didn't need to be called, "Princess" at the moment, since her title didn't quite matter now, since she didn't technically rule anything here. She just wanted to be called Celestia, and be treated more of a friend, rather than a ruler. The girls laughed as they walked around and talked with Celestia.
Two days had passed, and it was time for the first race. Rainbow Dash got up from her bed and prepared for the day. She looked around and saw Buttercup nowhere. She shrugged it off, she must have gotten up to get to the race early. Rainbow Dash got her belongings and went out the door. She scarfed down her breakfast, barely looking up to her friends to talk. The second she finished her breakfast she immediately flew off to where the race was going to start. She knew where to go, since she had the papers of qualification that said where it was going to take place. Plus she had to turn the papers in, in order to actually partake in the race.
Rainbow Dash flew through the halls quickly. She came to a halt at a desk that had a portal right next to it. Rainbow Dash turned to her saddle and grabbed the qualification papers with her teeth, she placed it onto the desk with a smile on her face. The same annoyed squid from earlier gave her a look of boredom and finally sighed out.
"You're in portal room #45. You know what to do.. right?.. Just step into the portal and think of the number 45 and you'll be in that room. No other room number will work, you will just stand there if you don't think of the right number.. Got it?..", Squidward said, looking of into the distance with a bored gaze, not even looking down at Rainbow Dash.
"Got it!", Rainbow Dash said with a smile. She stepped into the portal and thought of her number. The scene in front of her immediately changed. Rainbow Dash was in a small square room with about 40 other people. Rainbow Dash looked around confused, she thought there would be more people there. Many people in the room were chatting with each other. Rainbow Dash didn't recognize anyone in the room. She started to feel awkward with nobody or nopony to talk to.
"Such a glorious day to race! Is it not Raven?", Someone said right next to Rainbow Dash. She had a purple outfit and red hair. Her eyes glowed green with excitement. She was floating in place with her hands held together, she had a look of excitement. The other figure next to her also floated in place. She was wearing a black outfit with blue robes. The hood covered her eyes. She seemed less interested than the girl next to her.
"Yeah.. Woo..", Raven said with much less enthusiasm than the girl next to her. She waved a flag hat had the letter, "T" on it, with little to no enthusiasm. Raven turned to the girl next to her. "Starfire, didn't you say your room mate was participating too?.."
Starfire turned to her with a look of confusion and then finally remembered. "Ah, yes! Fluttershy said she will be participating in the competition that we are competing in. I heard from other beings that she's actually pretty fast.", Starfire said to Raven. Rainbow Dash started to chuckle, she was holding in her laughter after what she just heard. She couldn't hold it.
"Bahahaha! Fluttershy? Fast? Yeah right!", Rainbow Dash said as she walked up to the girls. "That's a good one.", Rainbow Dash said wiping away a tear with her hoof. Raven looked at Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash looked back and jumped back a little. She had an extremely intimidating aura about her.
"And.. You're supposed to be?..", Raven asked. Rainbow Dash fixed her composure and stood with confidence.
"Rainbow Dash! Fastest flier in all of Equestria!", Rainbow Dash said with her usual confidence. Raven just moaned, not at all amused. Starfire got on her knees and up to Rainbow Dash's face, uncomfortably close to her face.
"Equestria, I've heard of it. Is it perhaps nearby my home planet, Tamaran?", Starfire asked with a huge smile. Rainbow Dash took a step back.
"Uhhm... I-", She stopped when she heard the only door in the room open. The room became silent as the figure walked in. A red figure walked in. He was wearing a drill instructor outfit and hat, the pants seemed to ride up his backside. He walked in with a smile.
"Oh, why hello YOU FILTHY MAGGOTS.", His voice suddenly changed in the middle of his sentence. "I am Major Wedgie, and I will be-", He started, he then heard a few snickers within the crowd. He shot his head to where the snickering took place. He saw a boy in a an orange and black outfit, with yellow hair and a headband. The boy was holding his mouth to contain his laughter. The red figure walked up to him.
"And who might you be..?", He asked in a soft tone. The boy looked up, still trying to hold in his laughter.
"Narut-", He started saying.
"YOU THINK I GIVE A SHIT?? Now why don't you get down and do some push ups for me.", He said, he turned around as the boy started doing pushups. The boy got back up after doing 5 fast pushups. The red figure turned back around after starting to walk away. "What the unholy fuck?!", The red figure said.
"You said to do 'some' push ups." The boy replied with a goofy smile.
The red figure started gritting his teeth. "You.. smug little shit..", He started saying, He got up into the boys face, "YOU ARE GOING TO STAY DOWN THERE AND PUSH UNTIL YOUR FEEBLE LITTLE ARMS SHOVES THIS SHIP OFF ITS AXIS AND SEND US SPIRALING TO THE FUCKING SUN, KILLING US ALL. NOW GET YOUR ASS BACK DOWN OR I'LL HAVE YOU REMOVED FROM THE COMPETITION", The red figure said in a loud yell. The boy moaned and got down to doing push ups. The red figure groaned to himself putting a hand to his face. "I swear this group is going to be worse than a bathtub full of abortions..", He grumbled. He walked up to the front of the room.
"Now listen up!", The red figure started. He went over the rules of the race, most of which Rainbow Dash had already heard. No leaving vehicles if using any, no injecting speed enhancers, powering up is allowed, you can not attack other racers, etc. Rainbow Dash tuned him out, she was too excited about the race. She was thinking about how many will be there, and how long it will be. Rainbow Dash snapped back to reality when she heard the Red figure speak up again.
"NOW THEN. Any questions?", The red figure said. A small hand waved out from the crowd, she was jumping up and down to get his attention. She had a blue shirt and blond ponytails. The red figure finally saw it after scanning the crowd. He walked up to find where the small hand came from. He looked down.
"Ohohoo aww.. Yes dear?", He asked as he got on his knees. The little girl spoke up.
"So, how many spots are there for qualifications to the next race?", She asked in a small cute voice. The red figure got up and placed his hands on his cheeks.
"Oh, you are just adorable!", He said. He finally stood up and answered. "10,000 will qualify for the next race." He brought out a clipboard, seemingly out of nowhere. "Let's see now...", He put some glasses on as he looked on his clipboard. "There are 195,675 competing.. So the chances of you qualifying are.... about.. Zero to none!", He said leaning into the small girls face, before he turned away to laugh. The little girl didn't seem to mind, she still put on a smile to her face. He turned back around wiped away a tear from his face from laughing. "Anyways.. Step through this door and into the portal to the gates of the race. Simply walk, or fly through the gate. It will let you through if you're qualified. If not, THEN GET THE HECK OUT, WHY ARE YOU EVEN HERE?!", He suddenly yelled. He fixed his composure as the crowd all looked at him with confusion. "Once inside, you will have ten minutes to prepare, make sure you find a good spot in front. Otherwise you could be stuck in the back for the whole race.", The red figure said. "Bye bye now.", He finished as he stepped through the portal behind the door.
One by one, everyone in the room stepped into the portal.
Pinkie Pie was hopping around her friends as they walked up to the spectator arena. They were going to watch Rainbow Dash at the race, each of them needed a ticket to watch their friend compete. Fortunately for them, they got tickets earlier, they just had to present their tickets to the gate keeper to go in. They all got to the gate entrance after waiting in line for over half an hour. Twilight put her hoofs on the gate keepers window.
"Hello?", She asked. She put her head inside, to look around and see if anyone was there. A voice yelled behind them.
"What do you think you're doing!?", The voice yelled. The four ponies turned around and saw red figure wearing an officers outfit. He had a cup in his hand and was drinking out of it. He stopped drinking and and walked inside the small room outside the gate. He slammed his cup on the table and stuck his head outside the window. "Yes?", He asked. Twilight stood back a little and regained her composure.
"Yes.. Well, we're just here to watch the race. Mr.. uh..", Twilight asked trying to find the name tag.
"Officer Pantsoffski", he said. "Now.. Tickets?", He asked. Twilight put the tickets on the windowsill where the red figure was it. He snatched them and opened the gate for the ponies. They walked in and saw the spectacle before them.
"Ah, ain't seen anythin' like it...", Applejack said. They walked in and looked at the Colosseum before them. The stands stretched out for miles, as they saw the many figures sitting eagerly for the race to start. In the middle of the Colosseum was the race track starting area. It was an indoor course, so none of the racers could leave the track and somehow interact with anyone in the audience, and vice versa with the audience. They could still see inside the race course, since the barrier seemed to be see through. The four ponies looked at the end of the Colosseum and saw a screen that was recording a door, probably where the racers will come out. On left hand side of the screen were some numbers. It went from top to bottom, listing the numbers 1 through 10 with an empty circle and a line next to it.
"Ah'm assumin' that'll display who's in the top ten, as well as what they look like.", Applejack pondered as she looked at the screen. The four ponies found a seat in the huge crowded audience, and sat down. Pinkie Pie pulled some snacks out of her hair, the girls looked at her, with confusion. They had no clue Pinkie was hiding any food in her mane.
"What?", Pinkie asked mouthful of candy as she looked back at the girls. The girls shook their head and laughed with each other. Typical, random Pinkie Pie. Suddenly the crowd cheered. The girls looked at the screen and saw thousand of different figures walk out of the door and to the entrance of the race.
"Oooo! Oooo! Look! There's Fluttershy!", Pinkie said pointing at the screen.
"Yeah.. and Spitfire, Soarin, and.. Wait..", Twilight said, she squinted at the screen to clarify if what she was seeing was correct. "Is that.. Princess Celestia??", Twilight said with amazement. Her jaw dropped, as well as the other ponies. Pinkie snapped out of it first when she saw Rainbow Dash enter on screen.
"There's Rainbow Dash!", She pointed a hoof, as remains of chewed candy flew out her mouth. The four ponies cheered as Rainbow Dash entered
The door slowly opened as a bright light entered. Rainbow Dash put a hoof up to block some of the light. She walked with the massive crowd out to the starting line. The starting line was huge, it stretched out wide. It was as wide as a few football fields. She looked around and saw everyone stretching, drinking water, etc. She then caught her to Celestia. Celestia was talking to another figure, the figure was a pink whippet dog. She was wearing a purple necklace with a red heart on it, and was wearing pinkish-red ribbon on her pink hair. Rainbow Dash trotted up to Celestia.
"That's a fascinating story!", The pink dog said with a smile. "This Nightmare Moon, she reminds me a lot of my cousin.. She-", She ccontinued, before Rainbow Dash interrupted.
"Hey Celestia! You ready for the race??", Rainbow Dash asked with excitement. Celestia had a serious face when she was telling her new pink friend about her sister's troubling past, she looked down at Rainbow Dash as a smile formed on her face.
"Rainbow Dash.", Celestia said in a soft voice. "I was just telling my room mate here, Annabelle, about how you and the other elements of harmony defeated Nightmare Moon.", Celestia said. Rainbow Dash grinned
"Yeah, she was a piece of cake.", Rainbow Dash said confidently. Suddenly a voice boomed out from the ceiling.
"1 MINUTE REMAINING, PLEASE GET IN YOUR PLACES", the voice boomed out.
Rainbow Dash got in position, ready to launch out like a rocket. She looked around her, as many other figures stood in position, others got into their vehicles, while some others started to flap their wings. Rainbow Dash wanted to start from the ground and launch up, with a push. The voice boomed out again.
"ON YOUR MARKS"
"GET SET"
"GO!!"
-END OF CHAPTER 6-