Kentucky Derpy

"I can do it," the grey pegasus said to herself as she trotted up to the starting line. "This year, it's going to be different."

Her name was Ditzellia Esmerelda Doo, Ditzy Doo for short. However, most everypony she knew had come to call her a different name over the years. "Hey Derpy!"

Ditzy, or as everypony called her, Derpy Hooves, turned and smiled to Bon Bon as she came up to her. "Hey, how's it going?" She said casually as she continued to stretch her legs.

"Fine, just fine," Bon Bon said with a smile as she came closer to Derpy. "Lyra's getting something to drink, and I thought I would check out what you were doing."

"Oh," Derpy said with a smile as one of her eyes wandered about. "Just trying to get myself psyched up for the big race!" She smiled wide, but there was a slight glimmer of doubt that crossed her misaligned eyes.

Bon Bon gave a small smile of understanding as she nodded. "Don't worry, I'm sure you won't wind up in last, again." She winced as she saw Derpy frown at the comment, and quickly tried to recover. "I-I mean, you know, winning isn't the point of it all you know. It's all to-"

"Help shake the leaves down from the trees," Derpy finished. "I know, but I can't help but feel a bit less confident, what with Rainbow Dash being apart of this race."

As if on queue, Rainbow dash strutted by the conversing pair, chest puffed out with a small collection of gold and silver medals from the last couple of years. "Hey-yay, make way for the champion!" She called out as she passed through the crowd of ponies rolling their eyes.

Bon Bon was about to say something, when a suddenly a voice boomed out across the warm up area, "Racers, head to the starting line and prepare to race!"

Everypony quickly lined up at the starting line, and got into the starting position. Derpy quietly took her position, three rows from the front, just on the outside left of the dirt track. "This year, I won't be last," she said to herself with a smile. She lowered her silver goggles over her eyes that she had been given a few years ago by the Princesses, magically allowing her eyes to line up and see the race around her normally.

She barely had a moment to register that Pinkie Pie was announcing to the spectators that the race was ready, nor the call out to go. What she did hear was the ringing of the bell that started the race, and she began to run as fast as she could.

She soon found out that the dust still tasted the same as every previous year. She also found out that she didn't care much for watching the rears of ponies running off just ahead of her, and having to watch as they got farther and farther away from her line of sight.  But still, she kept her own pace, and made her time. Take it easy, they'll soon be exhausted, and then you can pass them!

A half an hour into the race, and she was exhausted. She had yet to go off into a full gallop, and despite using her wings to give herself a little boost here and there, had yet to even find a single one of the ponies that had gone off ahead of her. This is ridiculous, she thought to herself. I mean, shouldn't I have passed somepony by now?

The trees around her had already been mostly shaken free of their leaves, and with her trotting by as quickly as she could and maintaining the same speed the speed, it was just enough to get the rest down from the branches. But despite the fact that she was doing her part to help, she still felt slightly upset to not have moved up past at least one other pony.

She'd just gone around a corner in the path, just between a cluster of trees in the woods when she'd noticed that something was off. The large amount of ponies standing and lying around and panting didn't set off any warning bells at first, and seeing them, she'd finally decided to go into a full gallop.

What she should have paid more attention to, was that Princess Twilight had called out for her to stop, and that there was a strange humming sound echoing through the air. What only registered in her mind far too late was the crackle of heavy magic, or possibly electricity hanging in the air. The only thought on her mind was that for the first time in her life, she could pass them all up, and be first.

She galloped full speed passed the group of ponies, and by the time that she'd finally registered that there might be something wrong, it was too late. The loud hum that had filled the air filled her ears, threatening to drown her in the cacophony of sound that flooded her very core. She slowed down, but was too late as the White Tail Wood, everypony around her, and the earth under her hooves disappeared in a blinding flash of light.

Where am I? She thought to herself in the great void around her. Is this what it's like to be dead? "Hello?" She called out, only for her own voice to answer back in an echo. Nothing surrounded her, yet she could see her hooves, lit by a light from which she couldn't find a source. It was as if the universe around her glowed with it's own light that came from everywhere and nowhere at once.

"I just wanted to not get last place," Derpy muttered to herself. "I wanna go home!"

As if in response, the universe around her growled, and she watched in absolute horror as she felt, and saw her body being stretched out in length. As if she were a pony made of rubber, being stretched out by some unknown force. She screamed, not because it hurt, but because it should have, and it didn't.

And with a sudden drop in the air, or perhaps lack of it, she was released, and shot forward into the void. Not knowing what to do, she began to flap her wings, as if to gain control over the uncontrollable. Her hooves galloping in the nothingness, hoping to find some sort of grip to run along with. Suddenly, she felt ground beneath her hooves, and the wind rushing into her face. The last she saw of this weird world, was a sudden flash of light that blinded her as she continued to run, not knowing what was ahead. But knowing that it was better than what she was leaving behind. After all, Anything is better than nothing at all...