At The Mid Hour Of Night, I Fly

Rainbow Dash was winning. She smiled to herself, “no surprise there,” she thought as she crossed the finish line again. The athletic cyan pegasus started her last lap of the one hundred kilometer race. Nineteen laps down and just one more to go. As she banked into turn one she risked a peek and saw Thunder Lane was over half a kilometer behind her. Fatigue was built rapidly in her muscles and her breathing was labored. The race was hers, but it wasn’t about winning. It wasn’t about the fact that the first three across the finish were automatically accepted to the Wonderbolts Elite Flying Team tryouts. It was about showing the world who she was. As Celestia was her witness she would show them that she was the best pegasus that ever lived.

Dash exited turn two at four hundred kilometers per hour. She knew the track and that the pegasus could take the next two turns half again as fast. Rainbow cast a glance across the track above the finish line and caught sight of the VIP box.  The Princesses were both there, all her friends were there, but most importantly Fluttershy was there.  This race, this show she was putting on, was for her. It was always for her, her love. The yellow skinned girl wasn’t just watching.  She was jumping up and down like a wild animal as she cheered for her.  The fatigue drained away as the pegasus pushed for every added meter of speed.  Rainbow entered turn three at over six hundred kilometers per hour.  It was fast but it wasn’t enough.  She needed more.  She raced to her lover.  The pegasus entered the last turn close to seven hundred kilometers per hour.  The G forces pulled at her.  Dash’s wings felt like lead.  Still it wasn’t enough.  It was never enough.  This was her moment to shine, and she wasn't about to pass it up.  This was history, her history for her to make. The pegasus struggled against the very forces of nature itself for just a little more speed.  She couldn’t get enough of it. Speed was her life, Rainbow would never get enough of it as long as she had breath in her lungs. It was her drug that set her free.

As the rainbow haired pegasus exited turn four it happened. She pushed harder, stretching her arms in front of her, straightening her fingers and flattening her ears to her head. Angling her wings just so, she pointed her primary feathers backwards searching for that extra speed. It was working. She hit seven hundred and fifty miles per hour, Rainbow could instinctively feel the air lose pressure around her, beginning to cone around her outstretched fingers and over her arms and back. Static electricity sparked along her length and Rainbow knew she was close. Her muscles screamed in defiance, threatening to seize up but still she pushed, flapping her powerful cyan wings ever harder. With a final superhuman effort she felt her airspeed increase by that little bit extra.

She broke the sound barrier. The sonic rainboom exploded behind her in a cascade of colour. She couldn’t hear it but the pegasus knew the stadium did. The finish line was just a couple of seconds away. Then time simply slowed down. Rainbow could see the finish line and it was approaching at a crawl.  Then she noticed the wall was waiting to welcome her home.

“Oh Shit.” Rainbow Dash barely had the time to process the thought.

The pegasus misjudged her exit on the last turn. The line was getting closer, but the wall would get there first.  It was like flying in molasses. She tried to correct the angle but her wings didn’t respond. Dash lowered her hands to ward of the on-coming wall. Her right wing connected with the wall and she felt the first bone snap.  The pain from that was pretty minor as she knew it was going to get a lot worse.  Solid objects were very unforgiving at these speeds.  Another bone snapped in her wing as one hand reached out to the wall. Yet another bone snapped when the wall met her hand.  It was like touching a wall of flame.  The contact was brief though as her right arm bent at ninety degrees somewhere between her elbow and wrist. The pain was intense. The pain let her know she was still alive. At least for now. A bone snapped in her left wing and Dash realized that the ground wanted her more than the wall did. The line passed beneath her. At least she had won the race.

The ground welcomed her in its loving embrace as Rainbow ploughed a fifty meter furrow in the dirt. The pain spiked and then faded away and the light became darkness. At least the sounds returned. She still had the sounds. Was it cheering? Dash couldn’t tell as it all seemed to be nothing more than noise.

“Her wing…sweet Celestia look at her wing,” Blossom Forth stuttered.

“Which one?  Fuck, she only has one,” Thunder Lane gasped.

“Thunder Lane shut your trap.  Someone call 911!” screamed Cloud Kicker.

“Holy shit, how is she still alive?” Flitter muttered

“Fuck!” exclaimed Lightning Dust, “Just, fuck!”

“Look at all the blood!  Oh Celestia she’s still bleeding” cried Scootaloo.

“Shit, shit, shit, there are bones sticking out,” wailed Flitter.

Thunder Lane turned away from the grizzly site unable to keep the contents of his stomach.

“Every one back off now!  Leave her alone to be treated, um…please,” came a sweet soft voice of reason. That voice was familiar, Rainbow thought she should know that voice

It was nice to hear that voice. To be defended regardless of her own stupidity. The noise was starting to fade though, and even the siren seemed muted. Then something soft touched her check that wasn’t pain. It was wet. “I love you Dashie.” It was that voice of reason again, the voice of hope, the voice of love.  Silence could have her now, that voice reassured her she would be alright.