The Wings of the Redemption
How About a Little Test, Twilight?
The sky over Ponyville was a bright and cheerful blue. It was the kind of day that most people would look forward to. The warmth of the goddess’s sun was energizing. Rainbow Dash had been up early to clear sky so that she would have extra time to train during the daylight. Every morning, after completing her duties as a weather pony, she would fly laps around Ponyville and the outlying areas. She was on her second "Just one more." when Twilight came into view.
"Rainbow Dash!” Twilight called out to her from the ground. Rainbow Dash came to a soft landing next to her Alicorn friend.
"Heya Twilight!" Rainbow Dash greeted her friend, noticeably out of breath.
"Good morning Rainbow Dash, I see you've been training quite hard." Twilight smiled to her.
"Well if I want to be ready for the Against the Wind Grand Prix, I'll have to be on my A game." Dash replied.
"That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about." Twilight explained, "I have an answer for you."
"Oh yea?" Rainbow Dash curiously questioned.
"Yes," Twilight answered, "I'd love to be your partner for the race."
"That's great Twilight!" Dash exclaimed.
"Now I've been doing some research and.." Twilight began.
Rainbow Dash was quick to cut her off, "Yea, yea yea. All that can wait until the sun goes down. Right now, we need to get some training done!” And with that, she hastily took off. Twilight sighed, closed her eyes and slowly shook her head for a moment. After a deep breath she opened her wings and followed her friend out into the sky.
For the next few hours Rainbow Dash would subject her friend to training that might be considered cruel and unusual in some parts of the world. Unfortunately for Twilight, her starting late to prepare for the race, physically at least, would mean a grueling regiment until they left for Canterlot. It was a sacrifice that Twilight was willing to make for one of her best friends. She had looked forward to being in better shape anyway. For now, she accepted that more often than not, she should be pushing herself to the breaking point.
Later that night, Rainbow Dash went to the Twilight’s to learn what information Twilight had discovered about the race. Dash always found the library to be one of the most welcoming places in town. She had allowed her recently love of reading to flourish, and caught herself stopping by to borrow new books more and more. After exchanging greetings, Twilight directed Dash over to her study area. The table was covered with books, maps, and information pertaining to the Grand Prix.
"Wow Twi, you dove head first into this, didn't you?" Dash said with a tone of amazement.
"Well you know me," Twilight giggled, "I always do my homework."
Twilight brought out a book on the history of the Against the Wind Grand Prix. Contained within its pages were detailed maps, navigation tips, and an abundance of information on the race.
"As you may know, “Twilight stated, "The Against the Wind Grand Prix is an endurance race that ponies and griffins developed together in order promote peace between the two nations. The race is held every four years with the two nations alternating as host."
"Well duh, Twilight, any pony that knows anything about racing knows that." Rainbow Dash retorted.
"Hold on," Twilight continued, "I'm getting to the important stuff. This year, obviously, Equestria is holding the Grand Prix. Teams of two will take off from a start-finish line near Canterlot. There they will be given the location of a checkpoint to which they must navigate. Every day, each team must complete two check points in order to remain in the race."
"That's why I wanted you Twilight." Rainbow Dash said, "I may be good at the flying part, but I need the help of someone as smart as you to read these maps. I figure if we have to make adjustments on the fly, you’d be the one who could do it.”
"Thank you Rainbow Dash, I'm honored you have that amount of trust in me." Twilight replied softly.
"Don't thank me just yet," Dash exclaimed, "I am going to be dragging you all over Equestria! And if that wasn't enough, we have to beat the other teams on top of that!" Twilight rolled her eyes at the blue mare and then motioned to another book that she had open on her table.
“This is the recent history of the race.” Twilight explained, “The last 2 two races have been dominated by these two.” Twilight moved her hoof over a picture of two stallions.
“The Cloudburst brothers.” Rainbow Dash murmured.
“You know them?” asked Twilight.
“No,” Dash responded, “I’ve only heard rumors really. Word is, as good as they are, they race dirty. I’d try and avoid them if we can.”
“That’s a little concerning.” Twilight nervously giggled.
“I’m sure we can handle whatever they’re dishing out, Twi.” the Pegasus boasted. Twilight and Rainbow Dash spent the rest of the night studying the possible routes leading out of Canterlot. The race could go in literally any direction for the starting point, so knowing the surrounding areas could prove to be helpful.
A few days later, after their morning practice, Rainbow Dash and Twilight were catching their breath under a shade tree.
"How about lunch? On me." Dash spoke.
"That sounds fantastic!” Twilight replied.
The two mares headed over to a local eatery in Ponyville. It was another perfect day, so they decided to eat outside and enjoy the weather. It wasn't soon after finishing their respective meals, that they heard a familiar voice calling out to them.
"Why hello mes amis!" The white and purple Unicorn greeted her friends. "What are you mares doing on this absolutely gorgeous day?"
"We've been training for the Against the Wind Grand Prix!” Dash answered Rarity.
"Wait!" Rarities eyes went large for a moment, "The race that is watched, not only by a huge part of the Equestrian nation, but also the Griffins?!" By the time she has finished speaking Rarity was holding Rainbow Dash's face in her hooves.
"That'd be the one." Rainbow Dash tried to say as Rarity to continue to hold her face. Once Rarity realized how intense she has become she regained her composure and let out a sheepish laugh.
"You simply must let me design your uniforms for the race!" Rarity begged, knowing that it meant that she would be getting an unparalleled amount of publicity. "Everypony who's anypony will be watching the Grand Prix”. It was true, the race brought out many different types of ponies and griffins. The upper class socialites, that Rarity’s business targeted, seemed to flock to it. Skyboxes and suites would line sections of the race, with wealthy nobles enjoying delicacies and expensive wines. All the while, they would be making ridiculous bets on the race with their friends. It was more of a social outing than a sporting event to these elite spectators.
"I guess it's OK," Dash hesitated. Her mind suddenly flashed back to many sessions when Rarity had used her as a live manikin. She felt a slight shiver go up her spine. “Just don’t make it anything too frou-frou. You good with that, Twilight?" Twilight remained silent as she stared off into the distance for a moment.
“Oh. Uh. Yes. Of course.” She stuttered once she realized her friends had been speaking to her.
Rarity lit up like a clear night sky at with her friend’s approval. She said her goodbye and practically skipped back to the boutique. She could hardly contain her herself as she thought of possible designs for what Twilight and Rainbow Dash would wear during the race. In the meantime, Rainbow Dash had taken notice of Twilight's absentmindedness during the conversation.
"You alright Twi?" she asked, "You seem to not be all here."
"Do you see that stallion over there?" Twilight nodded. Rainbow Dash quickly scanned the area for the pony Twilight was speaking about. Her eyes came to rest on a stallion pulling a trailer through town. It wasn’t unusual to see a freight carrier traveling down the main streets of Ponyville. Rainbow Dash was confused as to any interest that the Twilight Sparkle may have with a common trucker.
"Yea, what about him?" Rainbow Dash asked as she followed him with her eyes.
"I don't know why," Twilight spoke softly, "but he looks familiar."
"Really Twilight? Cause he doesn't seem like the kind of pony you'd hang around. Unless you have something you need to tell me." Dash nudged her friend and shot her a mischievous look. Twilight answered the blue pony with an eye roll and shaking her head side to side. Although as she further examined him he did give off a rough-around-the-edges look. The stallion, who was a Pegasus, had a coat that was colored a petty blue. His mane, which had been carelessly raked back, was a weathered grey. He looked tired, and not from the job at hand, but from the last few years of his life. His unshaven face and faded red polo style shirt did not do him any favors either.
“Enough stalling, Twi.” Rainbow Dash blurted, “This is just a way for you to delay the inevitable.”
“I see you’ve been reading lately,” the purple pony answered. It was her turn to prod her team mate with some friendly banter.
“I find time.” Rainbow Dash said as she cracked a smile, “In between training sessions”. Even though it was not her intention Twilight was grateful for the pause in the action. Rainbow Dash had been merciless with their time management. There was a little less than two months until the race. The week before the race would be used for travel and press conferences, so that time was already lost. Rainbow Dash intended to use as much time becoming as efficient as possible.
Twilight had a small flashback to her recent days. She lamented waking up each morning, because she knew the pain that would follow. It seemed that every muscle in her body would be as stiff board. Movement and gravity were her worst enemies, until she had gotten warmed up. Although, the negative aspects were completely overshadowed by the positive effects of her training. She could already feel changes in her stamina and strength. Being a studious pony, Twilight hadn’t ever really done any conditioning for her body. She would dare say that she was getting into in the best shape of her life.
The pair travelled back to the field, near Rainbow Dash’s floating home, that they had been using as their training grounds.
“How about a little test, Twilight?” Rainbow Dash questioned her friend.
Twilight looked a little confused, “What kind of test are you talking about?”
“Just a benchmark.” Dash replied, “So we can where you are now, compared to where you were when we started.”
“Well, I don’t see why not. It could be good to chart my progress.” She thought out loud as she rubbed her hoof against her chin.
“It’s simple, Twilight,” Dash explained, “Just follow me.”
“That’s all?” Twilight asked not really taking the challenge seriously. Rainbow Dash let a sly grin slip as she eyed Twilight Sparkle.
“Try and keep up.” She teased as she jetted into the blue sky. Twilight was quick to make herself airborne as well. She didn’t want the blue Pegasus to get the jump on her. For a pony that had spent the vast majority of her life with her hoofs planted firmly on the group, she was happy with the state of her aerobatic skills.
Rainbow Dash led Twilight through an improvised obstacle course throughout Ponyville. Under bridges, over houses, through narrow alley ways, Dash seemed to twist and turn in an ungodly fashion. Twilight could tell that very little of this was premeditated. Dash’s actions were too sudden and dramatic for this to be a premeditated route. The purple Alicorn was doing her best to keep pace with the racing Pegasus, but she was struggling at best. The longer they flew, the wider the gap between the two friends grew. Rainbow Dash eventually came to a screeching halt in the field from which they had started. She used the excess time that her lead had given her to position herself in casual pose.
“I didn’t wear you out?” Rainbow Dash said in a coy tone as Twilight came to rest beside her.
“No….I’m….Feeling…..Fantastic” Twilight managed in between gulps of air.
“I’m actually impressed you managed to keep up for the most part.” Dash stated, “You’ve definitely improved since we first started training for the race”.
“Thanks Rainbow Dash.” Twilight had finally caught her breath, “That means a lot coming from you”.
“How about we call it an early night?” Rainbow Dash suggested, “I think you’ve earned it”.