Drive Fast!

Chapters

Stage 1: Ponyville
Stage 1-1: The Not-So-Secret Send-Off
Stage 1-2: Intermission #1
Stage 1-3: Heartbeats
Stage 1-4: Intermission #2
Stage 1-5: Chase the Horizon
Stage 2-1: The Chase Beneath the Leaves
Stage 2-2: The Ill Wind
Stage 2: The Everfree Forest

Stage 1: Ponyville

Stage 1-1: The Not-So-Secret Send-Off

Author's Note

Stage 1-1: The Not-So-Secret Send-Off

Apple Bloom screwed her eyes shut and attempted to stop her heart from exploding against her chest.

It worked, just about. Breathing into her hooves gave her the time she needed to remind herself of how much she had been looking forward to this day—and how awesome the days and weeks following it were going to be. She thought about the gentle rhythms of the kart she was sitting in, and how it would feel as they started to move in time with her body, throbbing and purring with every breath she took.

Above all else, though, Apple Bloom thought about not throwing up.

Gradually, the teasing darkness—crimson-licked from the sunlight that had been soaking Ponyville for the best part of the month—soothed her body, and Apple Bloom found herself falling into a comparatively pleasant, if disconcerting, state of numbness. The thudding of her heart slowed to a gentle repetitive tap, the echo of half-forgotten mornings back at her home in Sweet Apple Acres: The sound of Winona’s tail slapping against the breakfast table and the syrupy smell of pancakes. Granny Smith’s smile.

Apple Bloom opened her eyes again before the years-old memory had a chance to take hold and erode her resolve.

The raucous cheering seemed to treble in volume; Blinking, Apple Bloom gazed at the groups of ponies behind the ropes that separated Sugarcube Corner from the road. The vibrations from the kart became sharp and angular, as though Diamond Tiara’s sleek, applewood vehicle was trying to shake her apart one limb at a time. Her thoughts drifted back to the time when she had first sat in it, after that near-disastrous Applewood Derby, and how much smaller and unfriendly it now seemed to her almost-adult frame. Feeling nausea rising again, Apple Bloom gulped down deep breaths of the pollen-infused air and focused on the uncomfortable scratchiness in her muzzle as she offered smiles to the crowd. They hollered and stamped their hooves in response, waving flags, banners and even tankards of cider in jovial salutes. Above, bunting fluttered against the colourful rows of hodgepodge houses.

Gosh darn it, Sis, she thought to herself. You jus’ couldn’t help yourself, could you? This race is supposed to be a secret.

Biting her lip, Apple Bloom stared at the steering wheel she was gripping between her forehooves. She couldn’t decide whether she was feeling angry or guilty, or maybe something else entirely. All she knew was that it felt nasty.

At least Applejack wasn’t among the crowd—from what she had been able to see, anyway—but that wasn’t a particularly huge surprise. Everypony knew it was going to be a big harvest this year. The trees had so many apples growing on them that Apple Bloom had been half convinced their branches were going to snap clean off. They were going to need a lot of hooves to—

She shook her head. Stay focused, girl. You need to do this. You do.

But the ugly feeling wouldn’t go away, and no matter what Apple Bloom focused on—the glittering red lights of the starting display ahead of her, the weird beeping doohickey beside the steering wheel, the way the sun poured off the red paintwork of the kart—she couldn’t stop her throat from tightening and white spots from appearing across her vision. Her head felt light and woollen, as though a gentle breeze would be enough to lift it up and carry it away, and looking at the vast openness of the empty sky only made her feel worse. It felt too much of what she wanted—far far too much—and the desire to climb out of the kart and scurry back to the orchard and spend the week bucking apples tore at her.

“Hey, AB? You hearing me, girl?”

Apple Bloom blinked at the sound of Peach Fuzz’s voice. It didn’t matter that her tone was sharp and chiding. It was familiar, and that was enough. She looked across at the young mare, who was gazing at her from under a jagged bob of pale orange mane, a lopsided grin stretching her lips. Beside her, Diamond Tiara was wearing a smile that seemed uncertain of its own existence. The sight of it instantly anchored Apple Bloom.

“Uh... sorry,” she replied, reaching up to adjust her helmet, which had suddenly begun to feel far too tight. “I am now. Jus’ feels like the first time I’ve really sat in this thing, you know?”

“Oh ponyfeathers, you’re going to vomit in it, aren’t you?” Diamond Tiara’s groan fought to be heard against the clamouring noise. “I knew this was a bad idea.”

“Hey, loanin’ me your old kart was your idea, remember?” Apple Bloom winked. “I’m grateful though, and for you girls being here.”

Diamond Tiara’s smile became a little more complete. Her frame, which, over the years, had become lithe and slender, trembled as she fiddled with something that was tied to her saddlebag. Apple Bloom narrowed her eyes.

“Why’ve you brought a helmet?”

Diamond Tiara tossed her head, the stylish, looping curls of her violet and white mane catching the sun as they moved. “Because you’ve usually got the mind of a twice-broken, fifth-generation hand-me-down tea-strainer—you know, like that you keep bringing out whenever we have tea at your place.”

“Gee, it’s pastel pink, too.” Apple Bloom’s voice was deadpan. “My absolute favourite colour.”

“Oh, go and run yourself over, Apple Bloom!”

“Go drown in a spa, Diamond Tiara!”

After a moment their eyes met, and both ponies started to giggle. Peach Fuzz rolled her eyes.

“It’s been seven years, and I'm still never gonna understand you two,” she said, tapping the side of the kart’s interior. The electric blue lighting within muted the pale green of her stocky fetlock. “Come on now, focus. You remember all the controls?”

“Yup, I think so.” At Peach Fuzz’s expression, Apple Bloom sighed and drifted a hoof about the interior. “Steerin’ wheel for steerin’, stuff about my speed, gear stick thingy for changing gears, um, some pretty lights and buttons.”

“That’s the magical checkpoint-time converter, dummy. The display tells you how much time you have left before the engine cuts out. And remember, you’ve only got two gears: high and low. High gives you...?”

“More speed and less handling,” Apple Bloom replied mechanically. “Low gives you the opposite.”

“Bingo!” Peach Fuzz grinned broadly. “My bro’ always talked about using low when you go round corners and bends.”

“This is the same brother who crashed his kart during his own race, right? Diamond Tiara’s voice was sharp, but the smile on her face softened its impact.

“I’ve already told you, that was the police’s fault!”

“Yes, yes, of course.” Diamond Tiara moved closer to the kart and pointed a well-manicured hoof at a green button on the steering wheel. “Now for the important stuff—the music.”

Apple Bloom and Peach Fuzz shared a glance. “Music?”

“I had it installed this week,” Diamond Tiara continued proudly. “It’s the latest in portable vinyl technology. It uses magic to copy the imprint from the record and—oh I don’t know, stores it in the kart or something. You press that button and use the steering wheel to change between tracks and records. I already put some on there for you.” She looked at the other two ponies. “What? Do you really want to be driving in silence for weeks? That would be the worst!”

“She wouldn’t be driving in silence!” Peach Fuzz retorted. “She’d have the music of the road with her. The rhythms of the magical combustion engine? The hum of the wheels as they glide over the road?”

“Oh please, like that wouldn’t get boring within seconds.”

Apple Bloom rolled her eyes. “Gee, girls, keepin’ me distracted from my nerves a little too well here.” She nodded towards the lights. “Guess I best get ready to start. Think it’s almost time.”

“Give it some revving for effect! The kart needs to know who’s boss!” Peach Fuzz said with a grin, pumping a foreleg into the air. Beside her, Diamond Tiara’s face suddenly turned pale. Apple Bloom cocked her head, memories of the past few weeks rising to the surface.

“Hey, you alright, DT?”

Diamond Tiara took a deep breath, her eyes flitting from the kart to Apple Bloom. “Of course I am, I’m fine.”

“Jus’ asking. You kinda looked worse than I was feeling for a while there. You know it’s me doing this right?”

Diamond Tiara blinked, and her features regained some substance. Her lip curled up and her eyes narrowed. “Oh I hadn’t realised. I hadn’t realised at all that another close friend is about to go away and leave the rest of us behind! No big drama what-so-ever!”

Feeling stung at the rebuke, Apple Bloom reached across and placed a hoof on her friend’s shoulder. “Hey, come on now, it’s jus’ a small race, remember? Not like I’m going away forever or anything.”

“What, you’re so sure of that now, are you?”

Apple Bloom flinched. It took just seconds for Diamond Tiara’s words to snake their way under her skin and coil themselves around her lungs. She shared a glance with Peach Fuzz, who shrugged, her expression puzzled.

“Hey now...” Apple Bloom licked her lips, unsure of what else she could say. After all, Diamond Tiara was kind of right; Apple Bloom didn’t know what this race would change—for herself or her dreams.

A minute passed by before Peach Fuzz cleared her throat and pointed a hoof towards the display on the time converter. “Seventy-five seconds never sounds very long, does it?”

Apple Bloom pulled her gaze back to the kart. “Yeah. I mean, that’s what Berlinetta said all the starting times were s’posed to be. Those magical checkpoint thingies they’ve set up along the routes are gonna add more time to it when I drive past, right?”

Peach Fuzz nodded. “Stop worrying. You chosen your destination yet?”

“Nope, not yet. The routes are mapped out and all, but I think I’m jus’ gonna see where the fancy takes me.” Her stomach lurched as she gazed at Diamond Tiara, who was looking as though she might start having a panic attack at any second. “I mean, that was supposed to be the point of this, right?”

“Er, yes?” Peach Fuzz pushed a hoof through her choppy mane. “You had to ask?”

“I didn’t think I needed to either.” Apple Bloom managed a thin smile as she reached a hoof for the accelerator. “Well, wish me luck.”

Stage 1-2: Intermission #1

Author's Note

Stage 1-2: Intermission #1

Diamond Tiara was sitting alone in the booth they always ended up occupying, part of a sleek line of red and white plastic that lined the windows of Sugarcube Corner. The almost harsh white of the light spilling from beneath the table muted the already soft pink of her coat, and washed gently against the neon blue ambience of the rest of the diner.

As she approached, Apple Bloom began to bob her head along to the synthesized beats spilling from the speakers hanging in each corner of the room, and inhaled deeply. After a day of hearing nothing but the irritated tweets of birds and the thud of apples landing in bushel baskets, the musical promise of a journey taking shape was like a breath of fresh air.

“Well ain’t you a sight for sore eyes.” She dropped down into the seat opposite and stretched her aching forelegs. “You already ordered?”

“Tell me about it, and yes.” Diamond Tiara pulled her gaze from the window and slid a menu across to Apple Bloom. Her blue eyes, matching the necklace and tiara she wore, sparkled as she looked her friend up and down. “You go to all that trouble of tying your mane up all nice, and yet still leave twigs and leaves in there.”

Apple Bloom cursed under her breath, and pressed a hoof to her plaited mane as she tried to undo the damage. She wasn’t a pony who liked to fuss, but they were supposed to be going out tonight and she wanted to make the effort. “It’s not my fault! Ol’ Longstumps is bein’ mighty difficult ’bout givin’ up his crop this year. Taken me ages to buck those apples today, and I ran outta time.”

“Oh, it’s a nice look, don’t worry about it,” Diamond Tiara waved a casual hoof. “I guess you can take the mare out of the farm, but you can’t take the farm out of the mare.”

Apple Bloom felt a tremor in her jaw; She dropped her gaze to the menu in front of her. “That ain’t funny, DT.”

Diamond Tiara’s snicker was quickly lost to a swell of tranquil melody, and her eyes grew still. “Hey, are you—”

“Oh hey you two, back here again?”

The pair looked across as another young mare approached the table, thick curls of scarlet mane creeping out from beneath the soft pink hat of the diner uniform. Her eyes were wide and friendly behind the thick frames of her glasses and, despite her sour mood, Apple Bloom found herself smiling in earnest greeting.

“Hey, Twist. Could say the same ‘bout you. You’re workin’ more hours than me at the moment.”

“Yeah. Pinkie Pie is away in Griffonstone at the moment—I think she’s looking at opening a new branch—so I’m working double shifts to cover.”

“Another? That’s her third in as many years isn’t it?” Diamond Tiara scratched her muzzle thoughtfully. “You know, that’s going to make Daddy even more disappointed that he didn’t invest in her proposal. She’s grown that business so much since she took over from the Cakes.”

“Yup.” Apple Bloom chewed her lip as she tried to remember the last time she had seen Pinkie Pie regularly around Ponyville. It didn’t take long for her thoughts to drift from there to Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. Scootaloo’s most recent letter from Cloudsdale had arrived yesterday afternoon, and it had already been weeks since she had failed to respond to Sweetie Belle’s. The music, charged and inspiring when she had stepped into Sugarcube Corner, was instead starting to leave strange imprints against her chest. Strange, and a little sad.

“Have you decided what you want yet?”

“Huh?” Apple Bloom felt heat on her cheeks as Diamond Tiara’s question penetrated her thoughts. “What do you mean?”

Diamond Tiara rolled her eyes. “Food, of course. What did you think I was on about?”

“Uh, yeah, right. Sorry.” Apple Bloom glanced back down at the menu and sighed. “It all looks good but… We sure come here a lot, huh?”

“Well we do have the best shakes in Equestria!” Twist replied, beaming.

Diamond Tiara raised a hoof. “Seconded.”

The best shakes in Ponyville, maybe. Apple Bloom stared up at the neon lights until spots erupted across her vision. “I know, I know. It’s jus’... I jus’ don’t want all this to become… boring.”

She sensed the unspoken conversation between Diamond Tiara and Twist, and frowned out the window instead. Outside, small groups of friends were running for cover from the rain, which was quickly turning them into blurry smears as it fell against the glass.

Why didn’t anypony get what it was she was trying to say? All Apple Bloom wanted was for one of her diminishing pool of friends to turn around and say: “You’re right, AB, feeling left behind because you have no idea what you want to be doing does suck. What’s that? You’re feeling all down about being trapped in a town that doesn’t feel like your own anymore? I totally get that.” Was that really so much to ask?

“Why don’t I whip up one of our famous candy apple shakes, huh?” said Twist. “I guarantee you it’ll put a smile on your face, or your money back!”

Apple Bloom swallowed down her sigh. “Sure, Twist… Sounds good.”

Diamond Tiara watched Twist depart, her eyes narrowed in thought. Then she met Apple Bloom’s gaze, and tilted her head.

“So, what’s up? You seem irritable today… Well, more irritable anyway.”

“Gee thanks.” Despite her mood, Apple Bloom made an effort to sit herself upright and smile. “Nothin’. I’m fine, I guess.”

“Good.” Diamond Tiara grinned as her milkshake, aubergine fritters, and hay fries were placed on the table. “Because I’ve had a really lame day and I want to be bitchy about it, and it would be great if you got on board.”

“I guess you can take the bratty, spoilt mare out of—” Apple Bloom stopped, her smile becoming savage “—oh wait, you can’t.”

Diamond Tiara’s laugh momentarily drowned out every other sound in the room, and Apple Bloom felt a contented warmth ease across her skin. Ever since the day when she and her friends helped Pip win the class president election, Apple Bloom had found her friendship with Diamond Tiara becoming stronger and stronger. Sure they rubbed each other up the wrong way on occasion, but their banter never failed to put a smile on her face. It was something Apple Bloom had come to cherish as the years passed by.

“That’s more like it.” Diamond Tiara took a sip of her milkshake before rolling her eyes dramatically. “So get this: Daddy had me shadowing one of his board meetings today. It was supposed to be about agreeing the budget for the expansion of one of his chains.”

Apple Bloom’s plaits tumbled as she shook her head. “Hold on, I thought you had that meeting last week?”

“No, that was the meeting to agree a date for the meeting to agree the budget. Daddy tells me it’s complicated, but honestly it all just seems like a tragic waste of time.” Diamond Tiara idly played with the straw in her shake. “We didn’t even agree the budget today, just the decision to go ahead with the expansion. Apparently there’s a meeting next week to agree a date for the rest of it. I mean, sitting in the same room with the same ponies and for the exact same reason—how did my life become so monotonous?”

“Well, did you wanna swap or something?” Apple Bloom slid the menu back and forth between her hooves in time to the music. “I mean, you’d be pretty much doin’ the same thing—only, instead of ponies there are trees, and instead of all that fancy talk about budgets and stuff there’s buckin’. But at least you’d be outside. In the rain. All day.”

“You could probably learn a little bit about hard selling,” replied Diamond Tiara drily. “Because you’re making that sound so lame.”

Apple Bloom instinctively opened her mouth to laugh, but managed to check herself before a sound could escape. Even so, the trickling chill of guilt crept across her body, and a little warmth seemed to escape from the room. She knew she wasn’t being fair—that she probably hadn’t been for a while now. She knew that, if anything, she was growing more frustrated at her inability to talk to Applejack about her worries; she loved her sister dearly, and it hurt that she found it so much easier to moan to Diamond Tiara than try and deal with her problems in a more positive way.

But the lighting in Sugarcube Corner felt too harsh, and the sweeping melodies had become heartache in synth-form. Sitting opposite, Diamond Tiara was a warm oasis, and Apple Bloom allowed a few more cracks to form in her resolve.

“Do you think it’s bad if I don’t know if I’m cut out for this no more?”

Diamond Tiara blinked, as though she wasn’t entirely sure she understood the question being asked. Then she sipped thoughtfully at her shake.

“I think it’s bad if you don’t try and find out,” she replied eventually. “Like, you three were so insufferable with all of your ‘Oh, but Diamond Tiara, you’ve got to work hard to understand how your cutie mark works, it doesn’t just make sense overnight’! If you don’t take your own advice after forcing me to listen to it for years then Iwill take your advice and start bucking some apples.”

Though initially insulted, Apple Bloom found her glare softening within seconds. “That… That’s actually pretty helpful,” she replied. “Thanks.”

Diamond Tiara said nothing, but turned her muzzle up, a smug smile on her lips.

“So, how’s Silver Spoon doin’? Have you heard much from her?”

A shadow fell across Diamond Tiara’s face then, her eyes becoming pools of uncertainty. Apple Bloom couldn’t put her hoof on why, but seeing her friend unhappy was like being cast adrift in the world—well, more adrift, anyway. Just as she was thinking of something cheeful to say, Twist approached their booth with Apple Bloom’s milkshake in hoof.

“Here you go! One candy apple shake.”

“Um…” Apple Bloom fixed a smile to her face, her eyes still on Diamond Tiara. “Thanks a bunch, Twist. I’m sure this’ll taste jus’ peachy.”

“You mean appley,” Twist replied with a grin.

Apple Bloom groaned as she pulled the shake towards her. “You really gotta work on those puns if you’re gonna be takin’ Pinkie Pie’s place here, Twist.”

The door to Sugarcube Corner swung open then—the jovial jingle of the bell sounding both surprised and strained—and Apple Bloom looked over her shoulder as a young mare strode inside, casting quick purposeful glances around the busy interior. Her pale green coat was dew-dusted from the rain, and her short, choppy mane hung damp and heavy over her coppery eyes. She grinned upon noticing Apple Bloom and Diamond Tiara, and trotted over.

“Hey girls,” she said, slapping them both on the withers. “Sorry I’m late. Top tip, never get into a grease fight with a co-worker, no matter how cute she is. Stuff does not want to come outta your mane.”

Apple Bloom found herself returning the mare’s grin in earnest. She couldn’t recall exactly when it was that she had started hanging out with Peach Fuzz on a regular basis, but the garrulous and rowdy mare had brought a lot of happiness and laughter into her life, and the three of them were now almost inseparable. Just as well, really, she reflected, seeing how far away her old posse now were.

“She still not asked you out or nothin’?” she said, scooting across the seat to make room. The question seemed charge the air, and she looked about, wondering if anypony else had noticed.

“Only a matter of time until my feminine wiles work their magic,” Peach Fuzz replied with a wink. She gazed down at the menu, eyes wide and appreciative. “Boy, I could eat a timberwolf right now. Hey Twist, what do you recommend for a mare who’s been slogging away in a repair shop all day?”

“A bath, maybe?”

Apple Bloom laughed. “Now that one was pretty good.”

“Har har har, you’re hilarious.” Peach Fuzz pressed her muzzle to the menu as she scanned down the page. Hey, do you still do those awesome stuffed waffles?”

Twist nodded. “Yep. We do them in strawberry, chocolate and banana.”

“Yes please!” Peach Fuzz turned away from Twist’s incredulous look and tapped the table excitedly. “So, so. Guess who got three free tickets to the Trom-bone of Contention festival at Blue Note’s jazz club tonight?”

Diamond Tiara popped a hay fry in her mouth. “Oh, I don’t know, Peach. A pony with terrible taste in music?”

Peach Fuzz blinked, and then turned to Apple Bloom. “Hey, so guess who got two free tickets to the Trom-bone of Contention festival at Blue Note’s jazz club tonight?”

Apple Bloom giggled. “Sounds good to me. Think these hooves of mine would appreciate a night of dancin’.” She turned to Diamond Tiara and cocked her head. “You seriously not gonna come? I know you don’t like jazz and all, but I’m sure it’ll be fun.”

Diamond Tiara had momentarily looked spaced out, her eyes staring at some point above Apple Bloom’s head. But then she waved a casual hoof. “Of course I’m going to come—somepony has to make our little group classy enough to get in.”

Peach Fuzz began to talk excitedly about the festival, but Apple Bloom was only half-listening. She kept her gaze moving between Diamond Tiara and the table, trying to fathom what had made her friend zone out so suddenly. She had done that a few times now, but Apple Bloom hadn’t been able to pin down a consistent reason why. She wondered whether Diamond Tiara had worries of her own, beneath all that bluster and snark.

I should be a better friend and actually ask her, she thought. I mean, she listens to me and my moaning all the time.

“Hey, Apple Bloom—you deaf, girl? I said congratulations.”

Apple Bloom blinked and glanced across at Peach Fuzz. “Who, me?”

“Yeah!” Peach Fuzz paused to thank Twist as she brought a plate of waffles over and then shovelled a huge slice into her mouth. “I heard Sweet Apple Acres has taken a record number of helpers on this summer. Business must be booming.”

“Oh, yeah, thanks.” Apple Bloom smiled. “We’ve been really lucky with the new orchard Sis bought in. She says there’s gonna be more cider in Ponyville this year than snow in Yakyakistan. ‘Course, I ain’t never been there, so I’ll have to just take her word for that.”

“Well, now’s your chance, surely?” Peach Fuzz finished devouring the first of the waffles, and reached for a bottle of syrup from the condiments box on the table. “Like, all those extra hooves surely means you could skedaddle if you wanted to.”

Diamond Tiara sat upright, nearly knocking over her shake in the process. “Wait, what? You’re thinking of leaving? When? Why?”

Apple Bloom waved her hooves in placation. “No, no, it ain’t nothing like that. At least I don’t think… Oh, I don’t even know no more. I jus’ thought it would be… like, we’d all be moving on together, you know? But Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo—and even Silver Spoon and some of the others—they’re all away doing really amazin’ soundin’ things. Meanwhile, we’re just here and… and...”

She looked across at the window and frowned. A wind was whipping up the branches of the trees outside, and nothing could have convinced Apple Bloom in that moment that it wasn’t the coldest wind that had ever existed. Her friends were silent, which was disconcerting—usually they would be interrupting her with jokes or friendly insults or even murmurs of understanding. The absence of any sound other than the music and the distant chatter of other ponies made her feel lost, so she carried on talking.

“Don’t get me wrong now, I love the farm—I really do. It’s jus’ that I see what everypony else is doin’ and I guess it makes me feel a little trapped. The older I get the more stuff I do around the farm, and the more stuff I do the more my sister and brother expect me to take on.”

“But leaving?” Diamond Tiara was rigid, her wide eyes still fixed on Apple Bloom. “I know everything is feeling a bit lame at the moment, but can you really see yourself leaving? Moving away from Sweet Apple Acres—Ponyville, even?”

“Not really, no.” Apple Bloom scratched her head and smiled ruefully. “At least, I don’t think so. I jus’ wish I had a chance to go out and see the world—try my own thing, maybe, before deciding. Think I could settle down more easily then, y’know?”

“Settle down where, though?” asked Diamond Tiara, barely audible beneath a particularly soaring song. Apple Bloom wasn’t sure whether it was the question or how quietly it had been asked, but something about it made her stomach ache.

Peach Fuzz had continued to merrily eat her waffles, oblivious to the tension in the exchange. “Ah, my brother felt like that,” she said, reaching for a napkin and wiping away the syrup running down her chin. “Really didn’t wanna settle down in the family workshops.”

Apple Bloom felt her curiosity piqued. “What did he do then?”

Peach Fuzz slammed her forehooves onto the table, making both Apple Bloom and Diamond Tiara jump. She leant forward with narrowed eyes. “Two words: OutRun Equestria.”

“What in the hay is that when it’s at home?”

Diamond Tiara frowned. “Whatever it is, I’m pretty sure it’s three words.”

“Eh, either or.” Peach Fuzz dropped her voice to an excited whisper. “It’s a race—well, more like a racing society, I guess. Pretty secret. Mostly legal.”

“Mostly?” Despite her objection, Apple Bloom felt a slight thrill pass through her. “And what do you mean by racin’? You talkin’ ‘bout runnin’?”

“No! Kart racing, of course.” Peach Fuzz pumped the air with both forehooves, a wide grin on her face. “Super-fast, time-elimination kart racing. We’re talking about the best sport in Equestria here.”

The thrill Apple Bloom had felt earlier intensified as memories of getting behind the wheel of the kart she had made with Applejack resurfaced. When had she stopped doing that, anyway? And why?

“So it boils down to this,” Peach Fuzz continued. “It’s a contest of speed, right? Every year they hold one, and each racer starts in his or her hometown and has to get to one of five destinations across the country before time runs out.”

Diamond Tiara had been quietly finishing her food whilst her friend spoke. She pushed her plate aside, her brow furrowed. “So they only have, what, a few days to get there?”

“That’s the cool bit.” Peach Fuzz positioned the condiment bottles on the table and then moved a piece of waffle to each one in sequence. “They fit this neat magical device onto your kart which starts counting down, and when it gets to zero it cuts out the combustion engine in the kart. The society set up checkpoints of wild magic that increase the remaining time when you pass them like so, and there are special ones that freeze the timer for half a day so the drivers can rest.”

“So I wouldn’t—” Apple Bloom paused, heat rising to her face, and dropped her gaze to the table “—I mean, so the drivers don’t race against each other?”

“Not in the normal sense, no. I mean, you could compare your time against the others participating to see who arrived fastest.” Peach Fuzz’s copper eyes shone from under her mane. “Yeah, I heard that slip, Bloom. Exciting, isn’t it?”

Apple Bloom felt an uncertain smile reach her lips, one that grew in strength the more that she thought about the race. The warmth in her cheeks blossomed outward to grip her lungs, her heart, in a burning embrace that Apple Bloom was sure would blind her if it manifested physically in the room. She closed her eyes, willing her nerves to stop tap-dancing against her skin. Speeding along in a kart and seeing the world? It sounded wonderful.

“Exciting? It sounds completely ridiculous,” said Diamond Tiara, her muzzle wrinkled in distaste. “How come you know so much about it, anyway?”

“My brother raced in it… Well, kinda. He tried to outrun the police and crashed his car on the second stage.”

A moment passed in silence before Diamond Tiara snorted. “I stand corrected, it sounds an absolute delight!”

Apple Bloom slapped Peach Fuzz’s probing hoof away from her milkshake. “I dunno,” she said, trying to keep her voice steady. “I was thinkin’ it all sounds kinda excitin’.” She felt some of that pleasure wilt at Diamond Tiara’s expression, and tried an encouraging smile. “Come on, DT, you gotta remember how much fun racin’ the Applewood Derby was, right?”

“I guess.” In the harsh light of the booth, Diamond Tiara looked like a wraith. “But we’re not talking about the Applewood Derby. We’re talking about you disappearing off on some cross-country road trip. I mean, are things here that bad?”

“You should totally enter,” Peach Fuzz interrupted, tapping her hooves against the table with glee. “It’ll be so much fun for you.”

“How would she enter?” Diamond Tiara replied. “I thought you said it was a secret society?”

“Yeah, that is a problem.” Apple Bloom sat back, feeling deflated. It suddenly seemed too easy to find a whole list of reasons as to why she couldn’t enter, and she was surprised at how quickly that brought her mood down. “And even if I could, I wouldn’t really be good enough to compete, I reckon. Sounds a mite tougher than drivin’ round a dirt track in Ponyville.”

Diamond Tiara nodded. “Yes, exactly.”

Peach Fuzz waved a hoof dismissively. “Ah, don’t you worry about that. My brother would know for sure who to speak to, and I can teach you what you don’t already know. I learned a lot from him.”

“What, like how to crash your kart and get arrested?”

“No,no, that was Silver Streak. I’m talking about Copper Clutch. He runs a chop shop up in Baltimare.”

Diamond Tiara lowered her head into her forehooves. “Oh good grief.”

Peach Fuzz blushed. “It’s not like that at all. He’s an ethical kinda guy. Does a real good job with his machines. Doesn’t want any trouble with the law after what happened with Silver… and my pop, I guess.”

Silence filled the booth before Diamond Tiara adjusted her mane and cleared her throat. “Well then, now that that’s been decided, can we please get on with our night out? Some of us want to escape the daily grind with more realistic dreams.”

“Yeah, yeah, hang on a minute.” Apple Bloom quickly drained her milkshake, and licked her lips. She didn’t know whether it was the candy apple drink or all that talk about racing, but she was definitely feeling happier.

Stage 1-3: Heartbeats

Author's Note

Stage 1-3: Heartbeats

A squeal ripped through the cheering and stamping as Apple Bloom pressed her hoof down on the accelerator, giving the engine an experimental test. The revving only brought greater sounds of encouragement from the gathered ponies, and Apple Bloom felt her face heat up from the scrutiny. Her throat twitched and her chest tightened; her forelegs shook no matter how tightly she gripped the steering wheel. White spots began to cloud her vision again, and she felt sweat bubbling up under her mane.

“What am I doing?” she whispered to herself. She looked up, meeting the eyes of Diamond Tiara and Peach Fuzz. “What am I doing?”

“You don’t have to do this, you know.” Diamond Tiara’s voice was quiet, brittle. “Nopony is going to judge you if you quit.”

Apple Bloom studied her wide blue gaze and tried a shaky smile. “I do,” she said after a moment. The din of the crowd began to nestle painfully in her ears. “I would.”

Diamond Tiara opened her mouth but didn’t speak. Licking her lips, she instead nodded and dropped her gaze. Her mouth continued to move though, making soundless shapes that only she could understand the meaning of. A hoof moved to her saddlebags.

Drawing in a deep breath, Apple Bloom turned her gaze to the small display of starting lights that had been erected by the roadside near Sugarcube Corner. She stared at it until her eyes burned from the red glow. Gradually, her earlier excitement started to return, and she revved the engine again.

I’ve got this. This is what I wanted.

“Well, wish me luck.” She looked over at her friends and gave what she hoped was a casual wave. Peach Fuzz returned it with both forehooves, but Diamond Tiara simply smiled. It was a smile that looked both determined and relieved, and it caught Apple Bloom completely by surprise.

The first light changed. The crowd roared.

The second light changed, and Apple Bloom filled her lungs.

The third light changed, and suddenly Diamond Tiara was leaping into the seat beside her, shoving that pastel pink helmet onto her head and dropping her saddlebag onto the floor of the kart.

Apple Bloom blinked. “DT? What are you—?”

“Green light!” Diamond Tiara shrieked, pulling the seatbelt around herself. “Go! Drive!”

For a second, all Apple Bloom could feel was her blood turning to ice and her stomach trying to leap out of her body. Then she jammed her hoof down and released the brake, and the world blurred around her in a maelstrom of colour and sound. The kart bumped along the dirt road away from the main square, and the cheer of ponies quickly succumbed to the purr of the engine. Apple Bloom was suddenly aware of how stiff her forelegs were, and tried to relax her grip. Her eyes fell to the display panel beside the wheel, and with a thrill she saw the first second count down.

This is happening. Apple Bloom didn’t even try to stop the jubilant cry from escaping her lips. It’s really, really happening.

A flicker of movement out the corner of her eye reminded her that Diamond Tiara was now in the kart with her. Those blue eyes were wide, staring straight ahead, but the ghost of a smile was on her lips.

Apple Bloom turned a corner sharply and grinned. For the first time that day, the rhythm of the kart didn’t reject her.

Stage 1-4: Intermission #2

Author's Note

Stage 1-4: Intermission #2

The moment Berlinetta stepped into the farmhouse, Apple Bloom found herself battling to keep her attention focused on even the simplest of tasks. The teacups she was setting out on the kitchen table rattled rebelliously against their saucers, and twice she nearly dropped one of the freshly baked apple pies that her family were so well renowned for.

It wasn’t as though she had any idea of what her expectations would be of a founding member of the OutRun Society—not to mention,from what Peach Fuzz had said, one of its most successful racers—but the lithe, glamourous pegasus standing before her would have easily defied them regardless. Her pale yellow coat was bright and glossy in the midday light, and her soft grey mane, pulled into a loose bun, was nestled under a beautifully hoof-stitched headscarf. Apple Bloom knew diddly squat about fashion, but she doubted a pony could have picked one of those up from any old city store.

It was Berlinetta’s eyes though that captivated her the most. Framed between a delicately shaped muzzle and an old fashioned pair of circle-framed sunglasses, their cold emerald stare was like the pony herself; Berlinetta looked as though she could have been anything from five to twenty-five years older than Apple Bloom, and her casual dignity masked the gap further.

Apple Bloom opened her mouth twice before realising she had no idea how to start a conversation with the pegasus. Looking across the room to where her friends were perched at the table, she pulled what she hoped was a pleading expression. Peach Fuzz was shaking with barely controlled glee, and only briefly pulled her eyes away from Berlinetta to give Apple Bloom an encouraging wave. Beside her, even Diamond Tiara looked as though she was trying very hard not to appear impressed.

Taking a deep breath, Apple Bloom remembered her manners and gestured towards the table. “Uh, would you like somethin’ to eat or drink, Miss Berlinetta?”

The icy stare dropped to the spread, and Apple Bloom once again felt self-conscious. Was Berlinetta an example of what an OutRun racer was supposed to look like? Apple Bloom had snuck away from her work and chores to meet her, and she was now painfully aware of the grimy sweat staining her own coat, and of the leaves and mushed apple clinging to her mane.

After a moment though, Berlinetta nodded.

“A cup of tea would be just divine, thank you.” Her voice, soft and exotic, filled the kitchen as she swept her gaze about the room, pausing on the jam jars on the counter and the bottles of cider stacked in the corner. “I have to admit, Miss Bloom, that it has been years since I last stepped hoof in somewhere so rustic. You’re a very lucky pony.”

“Um, yes, Miss.” Apple Bloom swallowed as she poured the tea, keeping her eyes fixed on the stream of liquid as it splashed angrily into the cups.

“If I could ask: Do you manage it on your own?”

Why in tarnation does she want to know that? Apple Bloom looked up and smiled, wondering why her heart was suddenly beating so fast. “No. My elder sister and brother do most of the managin’ round here, and our granny before that. I, uh, I expect I’ll take over in time.”

In the silence that followed, Apple Bloom gestured at the teapot to her friends. She was grateful when they both nodded, and she was able to busy herself with making more drinks.

When she did chance a glance up again, she noticed that the skin around Berlinetta’s eyes was crinkled, as though the older mare had understood something beyond Apple Bloom’s words. She took the proffered cup with a nod of thanks, and seemed to study the liquid within it.

“My family owned a hail quarry just north of Cloudsdale,” she said, taking a delicate sip from the cup. “Back in the day, I mean. When I was a filly I used to help my brothers to load up and ship out the clouds. Our kind of stamina stands us in good stead when participating in an endurance race, wouldn’t you say?”

“Oh, I—” Apple Bloom felt as though the breath was being stolen from her body as a pleasant tingle started to unfold within her chest. A quick glance at Peach Fuzz confirmed the notion that she had somehow passed some kind of test. “Yes, Miss Berlinetta,” she managed to get out eventually. “It sure does.”

“Hmm.” Berlinetta took a sip of tea before setting the cup aside. Her eyes found Apple Bloom’s again. “So, shall we begin? I’m lead to believe that you’ve already been told about our society? That all prospective competitors must be endorsed by an existing member before they can participate?”

“Yes, I understand.” Apple Bloom climbed up onto one of the seats at the table; almost instantly her nervous hooves started to tap out the beat from one of the synthwave records she had been listening to earlier that morning. It was probably an understatement, all things considered. Peach Fuzz had spent the best part of a week chewing her ears off on about a billion aspects of the race—far more than Apple Bloom reckoned she would ever need to know.

Her eyes moved to the clock on the wall, and felt her pulse quicken. At least Peach Fuzz’s briefing meant that Apple Bloom could skip some of the formalities at least. She had managed to sneak back to the farmhouse early for this meeting, but figured she only had about an hour tops before the others broke for lunch.

She realised Berlinetta was watching her, and heat rose to her cheeks. Running a hoof through her mane, Apple Bloom tried not to wince each time it brushed up against a twig or leaf.

“I mean, I know that you want to interview me to make sure that I’m genuine like, and to work out whether you wanna vouch for me as a competitor.”

Berlinetta held her gaze for a moment before nodding.

“Your credentials, then.”

“My, uh, credentials? You mean school grades?”

Berlinetta’s eyes twinkled in a way that made Apple Bloom’s stomach shrivel up.

“I mean, have you ever taken part in a race before?”

“Oh, uh, right.” Apple Bloom took a slow sip from her cup to give her nerves time to settle back down. “Yes, I have. Mostly when I was younger, though.”

Berlinetta lifted her own cup to her lips. “And your race career? Do you have any big podium finishes to your name?”

The question seemed to suck the air from the room. Apple Bloom kept her eyes on the dust motes dancing in the hazy light, mainly as a means of ignoring the sensation of her stomach falling through the floor. From her position she could see Berlinetta’s parked kart through the window, and the sight of it made Apple Bloom feel small and uncerain.

“Not really, no,” she managed finally. Her voice shook, and she quickly resumed her tapping. “Guess that’s not a good thing, huh?”

“What are you talking about?” Diamond Tiara’s exasperated voice was loud and shrill, and it took her a few seconds longer than everypony else to realise it had come from her own mouth. She hesitated, licking her lips before her wide-eyed expression became truculent again. “What about the Applewood Derby? You took fastest racer there, remember?”

“Oh—Oh!! Apple Bloom’s stomach performance a somersault as she realised her omission. She flashed Diamond Tiara an appreciative smile, which her friend eventually responded to with a roll of her eyes.

“That’s right,” she continued, turning back to Berlinetta. “Two years runnin’, in fact.” Her thoughts drifted back to those slicing turns and positional battles with the other colts and fillies, and Apple Bloom felt her heart soar.

Berlinetta inclined her head. “The Applewood Derby? I don’t think I’ve had the pleasure. What speedway club does it come under the jurisdiction of?

Apple Bloom furrowed her brow at the question. “Uh, I ain’t sure of that, Miss Berlinetta. It’s kinda local, you know? Mainly for colts and fillies.”

“Ah, well that explains it then.” Berlinetta finished her tea and leaned forward to place a slice of pie onto her plate. “Local races like that are usually too small to count in terms of official ranking systems. I was inquiring more about larger races—regionals and the like—the ones that typically would bring racers greater prestige.”

Apple Bloom’s ears drooped. She felt like a foal again, a foal who had taken on a difficult chore to impress her older siblings, and who had made a complete mess of it. Of course she meant bigger races, she chastised herself. What was I thinking?

“Oh, don’t be too disheartened now.” Berlinetta’s eyes reflected the sunlight as she spoke. “It’s not going to count against you—quite the opposite in fact. OutRun Equestria is a secret society if you recall; the last thing we want is for famous faces coming along and drawing attention to it.”

The pegasus reclined back in her chair, delicately picking up a piece of pie with her fork. Apple Bloom used the opportunity to check the clock again, her lower lip between her teeth. They hadn’t even gotten onto the subject of the race itself yet. She still didn’t know how she was going to break the news to Applejack, but she knew it had to be in her own time, and on her own terms.

“This is delicious.” Berlinetta’s delicate brows narrowed as she regarded the pie. “Did you make this?”

“Yup. Hoof-made, from the bucking of the apples to the baking of the pastry.” Apple Bloom felt her chest swell with pride as she looked at the pie. Its crust was golden and flaky, and she had some advice from Pinkie Pie a year back—unbeknownst to Applejack, of course—on how to get a little more kick into the rich filling. Apple Bloom’s pies had become the talk of the Apple family during gatherings and celebrations, and making them had become one of the few things she could honestly say she enjoyed without complaint.

“I see.” Berlinetta brushed a loose silvery strand of mane back under her headscarf. “The big question, then: Why do you want to race?”

“Because I’ve always—” Apple Bloom clamped her mouth shut, swallowing down the rest of the prepared script she had spent a week rehearsing with Peach Fuzz. They had both agreed at the time that it was a gripping and powerful narration of Apple Bloom’s foalhood desire to be the fastest pony on land, and would surely win over even the most stringent of interviewers. But now, in the silence of the farmhouse, and with Berlinetta’s intense gaze upon her, Apple Bloom thought it sounded a little stupid. After all, she was supposed to be doing this as a means of finding out who she was, and what she wanted from life. She had a nagging doubt that lying about her reasons wasn’t the most fertile ground to plant a seed in.

“Honestly? I don’t know, not really.” Apple Bloom winced at how fragile the words sounded, but kept her gaze fixed on Berlinetta. She imagined Peach Fuzz was probably tying her tail in knots right about now. “Don’t get me wrong, Miss Berlinetta, I really enjoy racin’. The first time I competed in the Applewood Derby was awesome. It wasn’t ’cause I was trying to be the fastest or anythin’; it just kinda felt right to me, being that kart and taking on all those corners and straights.”

After a prolonged moment of silence that made her stomach contract, Apple Bloom exhaled and continued.

“But if I’m bein’ honest, I think I most like the idea that participating would give me a chance to see a little of the world, and maybe even a little more of myself too.”

For the first time since she had arrived, Berlinetta smiled. It was only a slight pull of the lips, but it transformed her entire face. Her eyes looked mischievous, and her mouth rebellious. Apple Bloom took it all in and immediately felt a hundred times better about herself.

“When I was younger,” Berlinetta said, her rich voice dancing over the syllables, “I always found myself wondering why my pegasus friends all wanted to compete to be the fastest flyer. I dabbled, naturally, but the first time my hooves touched the ground, I knew that was where I wanted to compete. I entered a few cross-country gallops, but it was when I watched a karting tournament one weekend in Baltimare that my journey towards being the fastest pegasus on wheels really started.”

Her eyes twinkled as she looked down at Apple Bloom. “Knowing you want something different, but not knowing exactly what it is—it’s a powerful feeling, and not one you can ignore.”

Apple Bloom’s throat had become dry and tight while the pegasus was speaking, and all she could manage was a nod of the head. At one point she thought she heard the sound of the farmhouse door opening over the ringing in her ears, and panic added to the heady mix of sensations that clung to her like a second skin. But when she looked towards the door it was still closed.

“—Not that age is a problem; you’re pretty young, but…”

Apple Bloom shook her head and blinked. “You mean I’m goin’ to be—I mean, I could be the youngest racer?”

Berlinetta’s smile showed a neat line of teeth. “Not quite, kid. But you’ll be among them, how does that sound?”

“So you're saying that I… I can race?” Apple Bloom’s hooves began to tap an excited rhythm on the table. Her heart thudded against her chest as she silently repeated the words. It sounded like a confirmation, but she had to make sure—just had to.”

The pegasus’ expression became playful. “Well, only time will tell if you can or not, but I’m willing to endorse you if you want to try.”

“Yes!” Apple Bloom leapt from her seat and punched the air, her tail twirling as she spun on her hooves. “Yes! Yes! Yes! Oh, thank you, thank you—” She caught herself then, and attempted to copy the dignified air of the pony sitting opposite. After all, she was going to be a racer now. ”I mean, yes I would love to compete, and I very much appreciate you supporting me to do so.”

Berlinetta cast a glance at the door before nodding and sliding from her chair. “Very well, I’ll go and get the paperwork from my kart, and then we can wrap this all up. How long do we have until your family return?”

“Oh… er…” Pricks of heat spread across Apple Bloom’s cheeks. “About half an hour, maybe.”

“Long enough. I’ll arrange a time to come back once the routes and checkpoints have been mapped, and the time converter is ready to be installed in your kart.” Berlinetta regarded Apple Bloom. “You know, just because we want to try something new, it doesn’t mean we can’t tell our families. New roads can be pretty rough; it’s good to know you have ponies who will support you.”

Apple Bloom felt her blush intensify. “Yes, Miss.”

As the pegasus left, Apple Bloom breathed a ragged sigh of relief before looking over her shoulder. “How. Awesome. Is. This?”

Peach Fuzz, whose gaze had followed Berlinetta out of the door, turned back and grinned. “Awesome don’t even cover it, girl! Wait until I tell my brothers about this—You got Berlinetta to vouch for you! That is so cool.”

It was only then that Apple Bloom realised something was amiss.

“Hey,” she said, looking around the room, “what happened to DT?”

“I dunno, she said she had to go, or something.” Peach Fuzz bit her lip as her coppery eyes tracked to the door. “Back when you and Berlinetta were talking about knowing when you want something different and stuff.”

“Oh... Right.” Apple Bloom felt some of the excitement leave her body.

Just what is going on with that mare?

Stage 1-5: Chase the Horizon

Author's Note

~~Driver~~ Reader Note: Please indicate your route choice (right/left) in the comments section upon reaching the end of this stage.

Stage 1-5: Chase the Horizon

Trixie’s wagon appeared out of nowhere. Apple Bloom had only just eased the kart around the corner and onto Saltlick Lane when she saw it—a blur of garishly painted wood that seemed to fill the whole dirt track ahead. Diamond Tiara whickered and braced herself as Apple Bloom pulled hard on the steering wheel, attempting to cajole the kart into the one gap between the wagon and the houses where it would fit.

She barely registered Trixie’s wide-eyed stare as the fender of the kart came within a hairsbreadth of her and the wagon, and whatever apology had started to come from Apple Bloom’s mouth was lost within the whip of the wind as they passed. Attempting to straighten the kart back out again, Apple Bloom felt her blood run hot and her skin turn ice cold. She swallowed, forcing her eyes to stay focused on the road ahead, and fighting against the urge to slow down. The timer in the kart seemed felt like it was counting down in something other than seconds, something much faster.

Too late she realised that the evasive manoeuvre had taken the kart too close to the edge of the lane; as the left-hoof corner towards the bridge out of town sped towards them, Apple Bloom knew they were going to run it well wide. She tried to wrestle with the wheel, but her forelegs suddenly felt stiff and unresponsive. As she remembered her last practice session in her own kart, panic began to creep out from Apple Bloom’s chest, smothering her lungs and paralysing her body.

“Change the gear!” Diamond Tiara hissed at her. Apple Bloom blinked in confusion.

“What?”

“The gear! Remember what Peach Fuzz said—oh for goodness sake, here!” Diamond Tiara leaned across, yanking the stick down. “Now brake and steer into the apex! Quickly!”

The snapped instructions broke Apple Bloom free from her paralysis, and she stamped her hoof onto the hard wood of the brake pedal, easing the kart towards what she hoped was the optimal racing line through the corner. The wheels shuddered and squealed, but the kart ultimately obeyed, and Apple Bloom smacked into the driver-side door as the world seemed to rotate around her. Then they skidded across the bridge, leaving coils of dust, and what felt to Apple Bloom like her entire stomach, behind them.

“So was it your grand plan to break Peach Fuzz’s brother’s record for the lamest crash out?” Diamond Tiara’s sarcastic tone could barely be heard above the sound of the engine and her own ragged breathing. “Or are you just settling for killing us?”

“Well I didn’t ask you to—” Apple Bloom swore under her breath as the kart bounced over a patch of uneven ground. As relative silence returned, she was able to calm her nerves and ease her embarrassment by focusing on the long, straight road toward Sweet Apple Acres.

“I’m sorry, DT,” she said after a minute. “And thank you.”

“Well clearly somepony has to keep an eye on you.” Diamond Tiara looked across, a faint smile spreading on her lips which Apple Bloom quickly returned.

The going gradually became easier as Sweet Apple Acres drew near; they encountered a few more wagons and carts carrying produce and goods towards Ponyville, but the dirt road was wider now, and Apple Bloom had plenty of space to pass them safely and without compromising her speed. Every now and then her eyes dropped to the timer that was ticking down, a disconcerting cycle of anxiety and confidence travelling through her body on the approach to each magical checkpoint.

“It’s so strange,” she shouted over the wind as the timer was topped up again. “Kinda thought I’d see something else happen when we pass these checkpoint things.”

“What, like lights and sparklers or fireworks? Trust me, you don’t need any more distractions.”

Apple Bloom giggled. Having Diamond Tiara with her was something of a relief; she had no idea how strange and alien the race would feel to her until those lights had turned green, and having the company of a friend—no matter how snarky—was comfort beyond words.

And that comfort felt even more important the moment Sweet Apple Acres came into view, cresting the gentle incline they were driving along like a bird of prey. She had never seen anything about the place move quickly before, and the haphazard rows of apple trees now blurring past were disconcerting. Pressing her hoof down a little firmer on the accelerator, Apple Bloom looked across at her friend.

“So why did you come along, anyway?”

Diamond Tiara kept her eyes on the passing orchard and didn’t respond, even though Apple Bloom was pretty sure that she had heard her.

“So this is where you’ve been hiding!” Diamond Tiara’s half-relieved, half-irritated voice was carried up the hill by the afternoon breeze. “Did you honestly think I was going to let you get away with missing our evening hooficure appointment? We were supposed to be at the Day Spa an hour ago.”

Apple Bloom kicked out her hind legs as she sat on one of the swings outside the farmhouse. In front of her, the sun was continuing its lazy arc down towards the horizon, carrying with it a vibrant swirling blanket of pink and purple. Oceans of trembling corn stretched beneath it, running up to the western boundaries of Sweet Apple Acres. Apple Bloom had always loved the way it looked on a summer’s evening.

“Sorry,” she said, finding her voice. “I must have lost track of time.”

“Like that wasn’t obvious. If I had stood around looking like a loser who'd been ditched by their date any longer, I might have died.” Diamond Tiara reached the top of the hill and paused beside the swing. She was frowning, but her eyes betrayed her concern.

Apple Bloom’s lips twitched at the rebuke, though they felt as though they were moving more from an expectation than genuine mirth. She kept her eyes on the sun, which looked as though it was drowning in the vast sky.

“You know, DT, I used to think I could reach the sun if I swung high enough.”

Diamond Tiara followed Apple Bloom’s gaze, her head cocked to one side. “Really?”

“Sure. I mean, when I was little, of course.”

Her friend snorted. “Don’t worry, I didn’t have you down as being that backward.”

“Oh, go choke on a clafoutis.” Apple Bloom looked over her shoulder and smiled. “I am really sorry, though. I don’t know if you heard, but I crashed my kart earlier. I’ve not really been in the mood for company.”

“Well tough, I’m here now.” Diamond Tiara’s brow furrowed in thought. “Peach Fuzz said something about that to me when I saw her earlier. She’s going to try and repair it, right?”

“You didn’t see it, DT!” Apple Bloom snapped. She took a breath of the cool air, the tang of fresh cider clinging to it in a way that made her jaw clench. “You could probably sell it for timber or something, but it ain’t much good for racin’.”

Diamond Tiara opened her mouth to retort, her pink cheeks darkened. Then she paused, her blue eyes becoming anchored to some point in the sky above. With slow steps, she trotted behind Apple Bloom and rested her hooves on the swing she was sitting on.

“I guess Peach Fuzz did look rattled, and it’s not often you see that. But you never know.”

“It’s not like we have the time now anyway.” Apple Bloom gripped the ropes tighter as Diamond Tiara started to push the swing. The horizon began to dip and soar, and she closed her eyes to stop herself feeling sick. “Berlinetta is supposed to be coming back tomorrow to fit that magic time doohicky to my kart. If it isn’t ready then…”

Her loose mane tumbled about her shoulders as she shook her head. All around her, the land of Sweet Apple Acres stretched out as far as the eye could see, and yet Apple Bloom had never felt more boxed in. Her skin had prickled and itched all afternoon, but now it was feeling so tight that she wished she could just rip it from her body.

“Maybe it’s for the best,” she said eventually. “I mean, if I can’t even turn a corner right, then perhaps I’m not cut out for this.”

Diamond Tiara gave the swing a powerful push, and then leapt up onto it, standing with her hind legs planted on either side of Apple Bloom’s flank.

“Is that such a terrible thing, though? So you’re going through a rough time of it at the moment. Ponyville is your home, though. Your family is here. You’ve still got friends here too—good friends.”

Apple Bloom lifted her head to look at Diamond Tiara; though she couldn’t make out her expression, it was obvious she, too, was staring at the cornfields in the distance. The voluminous curls of her mane danced, trapped between the breeze and the motion of the swing.

“I guess you’re right,” she replied. The concession was a lead weight against her body, and immediately she knew she had to reject it. “Guess I’ve always wanted to see the world, though. When you think about Applejack and Big Mac, well, their world kind of starts and ends here at the farm. I understand that, and maybe it’ll be the same for me one day. But right now..?”

Diamond Tiara shifted her weight. “But do you need to do that somewhere else? Can’t you find your answers in Ponyville?”

“Maybe. I guess I ain’t never really thought about it. But I think it’s something I want to go out and look for, even if it’s for just a week or two.” She tapped Diamond Tiara on the leg. “But that’s got no bearin’ on you and my other friends here. I love you girls.”

Diamond Tiara looked down, the shadows across her face only partially obscuring her scowl. “I know that! You don’t need to tell me!”

Apple Bloom furrowed her brows and looked down at the faded and cracked pain on the swing. “Oh, I just thought… You’ve seemed pretty mad at me for a while now. I thought that might have been the reason why.”

“Well it’s not.” Diamond Tiara dismounted to give the swing another push. Once she had climbed back into position, she swished her tail against Apple Bloom’s foreleg. “I’m just being selfish, I guess.”

“Say what now?”

A frustrated noise escaped Diamond Tiara’s mouth, though she said nothing further. The two ponies remained swinging for a few minutes, with only the creak of the ropes and the distant grunting of satisfied pigs breaking the silence. Then Diamond Tiara tapped Apple Bloom on the shoulder.

“You can have my kart.”

The horizon seemed to lurch and spin, and Apple Bloom wasn’t sure if it was from the motion of the swing or the way she jerked her head to look up at her friend. Her mouth attempted to silently recreate the sentence, but was thwarted at each attempt by how nebulous it had become since leaving Diamond Tiara’s.

“Er, ’scuse me?”

“My old one, from the Applewood Derby.” Diamond Tiara lowered herself from the swing and sat down among the wild grass and studied her friend.

“Are you serious?” Apple Bloom ploughed her hind legs into the dirt to stop the swing and dismounted.

Diamond Tiara’s expression was unreadable, but she looked tired. “Yes, I’m serious. I’m clearly going to regret it, but you’re not going to be happy to until you do this thing, right?” She wagged a hoof at Apple Bloom. “But you promise me right now that you’ll take good care of it. It’s special to me—probably as much as this lame race is to you.”

“I don’t know what to say, DT.” Apple Bloom dropped to the ground beside her friend and stared up at the sun, which looked as though it had found its course and was once again in descent. All of the possibilities and plans she had just given up on came flooding back, bringing with them new questions: Would Diamond Tiara’s kart handle much differently to her own? Was it even okay to switch karts like this once you had registered? There was still so much that she needed to. Still so much she would now need to say.

Her eyes moved to Diamond Tiara. Sitting beside her and gazing at the ground, the young mare was wearing a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. Apple Bloom still couldn’t put her hoof on exactly what was troubling her, but she knew she had to do something about it, like her friend had done for her.

Leaning across, Apple Bloom swept Diamond Tiara up in a tight embrace.

“You’re the bestest friend a pony could ever ask for, DT,” she murmured. The air smelt of heather and apples and whatever it was Diamond Tiara was wearing; it smelt of magic. “Thank you so much.”

“I’m already regretting it,” Diamond Tiara replied with a chuckle. In the silence that followed, however, she returned the hug just as tightly.

The trees continued to pass by at speed, and the closer the kart came to passing by the farmhouse, the emptier they were. Apple Bloom watched them out the corner of her eyes—closer scrutiny of the empty and half full bushel baskets made her stomach cramp—but the swing on the hill demanded her attention as it came into view.

She wondered whether Applejack and Big Mac really would be okay managing the harvest on their own. Sure, they had done it before Apple Bloom had started to help out, and the farm had more than enough helping hooves these days to ease the burden, but those facts did little to ease her doubts. Diamond Tiara had called herself selfish back when they were sitting on that swing a week ago, but could Apple Bloom honestly say she was any different?

They drove beyond the shadow of the trees and back into the warmth of the sunlight, and Apple Bloom lifted her face towards it appreciatively.

Come on, girl. She gave you her blessing, she told herself, recalling the last conversation she had with Applejack on the matter. She gave you her blessing. The least you can do is make it count.

“You’re grinning like an idiot, you know that?”

“I am?” Apple Bloom chanced a glance across at her friend, and laughed. “Yeah, I guess I am.”

Diamond Tiara studied her face for a moment, before smiling. It was a warm smile, genuine. In fact, it was the first time Apple Bloom had seen her smile like that in weeks, and it filled her with a pleasure she just couldn’t describe.

“So you ready to get on with our adventure then?”

Diamond Tiara blinked. “Our?”

“Of course!” Apple Bloom turned back to the road as the farmhouse passed by. She knew that a little way ahead the road would be forking, with one dirt road heading right into the Everfree Forest, and the other left towards the Sunset Hills. She had no idea which route they were going to take and she didn’t care.

“I’m really glad you’re here with me.”

Diamond Tiara held her gaze for a moment before nodding. Reaching down, she pressed a button beside the steering wheel and leaned back in her seat as the first swirl of synthesised beats filled the kart.

“Let’s go then,” she said, folding her forelegs behind her head.

Apple Bloom grinned into the breeze, and pressed down on the accelerator. Hard.

Stage 2-1: The Chase Beneath the Leaves

Author's Note

Stage 2-1: The Chase Beneath the Leaves

In all of her years living in Ponyville, Diamond Tiara could count the number of times she had stepped into the Everfree Forest on a single hoof. Spring Lullaby, the old mare who had served the Rich household for many years as a nanny-cum-governess, used to read her fairly tales about the place almost every night. Thinking about it now, Diamond Tiara figured they were supposed to have served as a warning to never go there, rather than to solely entertain, but they had turned out to be a poor defence against the allure of the white rope that separated Ponyville from the Everfree, and of her need to assert herself amongst her new peers.

It was funny how easily she could recall the expressions of Silver Spoon and the others as they watched her step over the rope and march, muzzle pointed towards the evening sky, across the stretch of grass to the treeline. Despite the shadows cast by the coppery light, she could see the admiration, the awe and respect in their eyes, and for a single moment she could feel her place in the world become a little more defined, a little more certain.

But it was far too easy to also remember the terrible whispering and scratching she had heard while standing beside the warped and gnarled trees, a triumphant smile fixed to her muzzle. It was far too easy to remember that sense of something standing right behind her, just waiting for her to take one more step into the forest, one more step from sight and safety. As she forced herself to trot calmly back towards the rope, and forced herself even harder to not gasp and sob in relief as she crossed it, Diamond Tiara had sworn that she’d never step hoof in the Everfree again.

She leaned back into her seat, eyes fixed on the sunlight as it attempted to penetrate the canopy above, and felt her lips twist into a thin smile. How many more promises to herself was she going to break for Apple Bloom? Coming back to the Everfree wasn’t the first, and Diamond Tiara strongly doubted it would be the last.

At least, she hoped it wouldn’t.

“You doin’ alright there, DT?” Apple Bloom’s voice fought against the staccato throb of the speakers, her head bobbing along to the track. “You’ve been real quiet over there.”

“I’m fine.” She studied her friend out the corner of her eye. Apple Bloom was keeping her gaze fixed on the dirt track ahead, which Diamond Tiara thought was a sensible decision, given her performance back in Ponyville, but she looked pensive. The weak sunlight—Diamond Tiara was convinced that the Everfree could warp the health of absolutely anything that entered it, even a summer’s day—had cast pale shadows across her face, accentuating the tightness of her jaw.

Then the forest began to demand her attention again; towering trees reached towards them, gnarled and warped branches scraping against kart and pony alike as they passed by. At the base of their trunks, dense clusters of vegetation were strangling the life from ruined buildings and walls, forming a near-impenetrable wall on either side of the track. Diamond Tiara couldn’t tear her eyes from the writhing leaves and twitching blades of grass, and she fought against the shudder that was attempting to contort her body.

“Out of interest, why did you decide to take us this way?”

Apple Bloom’s laugh was loud, but sounded somewhat forced to Diamond Tiara’s corporate-tuned ears. “You ain’t scared, are you?”

“Of course I am!” Diamond Tiara felt her coat grow tight at the admission. Something caught her eye again, and for a few moments she was half-convinced she had seen something gleaming within the depths of the undergrowth—the sunlight shining off some dew-dappled leaves perhaps, or maybe the gleaming eyes of a murderous timberwolf. She turned back to Apple Bloom. “And stop grinning at me like you’re not scared! I saw your face when we drove in here.”

Apple Bloom gave the steering wheel a sharp twist; as the kart slid into the curve of the track, Diamond Tiara fell against the door. She shot Apple Bloom a filthy look before turning her attention back to the map between her hooves. The neon blue glow of the interior purged the pink out of her coat; its artificial nature, coupled with that of the soaring synths and thudding bass, made her feel a little closer to the civilisation they had left behind.

She traced the marker-pen line that scythed through the sketched version of the Everfree, before looking up to match the route against the road ahead.

“Up there, where that tree is—yes, okay, the oak tree then—there should be a smaller track heading right. I think that’s the one you need.”

“You think?”

“Yes, I think!” Diamond Tiara glanced back down at the map, feeling very unprepared and foolish. “The Sunset Hills have straighter roads too, for your information, and they’ve been properly mapped!”

Apple Bloom shrugged. “Yeah, they also have rocs too. Big ones.”

Diamond Tiara’s breath caught in her throat. “They do?”

“Well, that’s what Big Mac told me, but I reckon he was jus’ yankin’ my tail.” Apple Bloom chanced a quick smile. “Come on, DT, cheer up! Sure this is a bit scary, but it’s also excitin’, right?”

“Oh, yes. My heart can barely take it.” Diamond Tiara glanced up as something moved within her peripheral vision. Her eyes darted to and from the passing trees, but whatever it was—if it had been anythingat all—was now lost within the twisting purples, greens and yellows of the dense vegetation. Though she was somewhat reassured by the absence of things capable of eating them, Diamond Tiara couldn’t shake away the icy tendrils uncoiling beneath her skin.

It’s just the forest playing tricks on me, she told herself. We’ve been in here for hours and it’s getting to me a little, that’s all it is.

Apple Bloom drove the kart hard and fast into the right turn. “So what’s the scariest story you ever heard ‘bout the Everfree?”

Diamond Tiara fixed her with a steely glare as she braced herself against the dashboard. “Are you doing this on purpose?”

Apple Bloom’s earthy laugh smothered the music. “No! I was jus’ curious, ’cos we used to tell each other all kinds of stories ’bout way back when—Oh, horseapples!”

The kart skidded and slipped, and Diamond Tiara clung onto her seat as the rear wheels failed to find purchase in the soft, damp mud. The rear of the kart swung outward, as though it had been caught in the magical embrace of something that wanting to drag them deeper into the forest, far from the relative safety of the dirt track. Diamond Tiara’s body felt weightless, numb, and the start of a scream began to crawl up her throat as the wall of trees flew towards them.

But then she was suddenly sliding across her seat in the opposite direction; Apple Bloom, her hooves moving in a loose blur, had released the accelerator and was turning the steering wheel in the same direction that the kart was skidding in. Diamond Tiara felt the vibrations as the wheels of the kart found traction in the mud, and a moment later Apple Bloom was pressing her hoof down again, turning the Everfree back into a rolling panorama.

Diamond Tiara closed her eyes as her heartbeat started to return to normal. Then she looked across at Apple Bloom.

“That was… That was pretty impressive.”

“Heh, turns out you weren’t the only one who was listenin’ to Peach Fuzz back in trainin’!” Though her forelegs were trembling, the smile on Apple Bloom’s face was wild and broad. The sight of her friend looking so reckless and carefree after nearly crashing the kart made Diamond Tiara’s coat smoulder.

“Well it you had listened more often, then you would have remembered her saying to take the bends slow!” She heard the bitter snap of her voice as her anger bubbled over, and waved a hoof at the dashboard. “That cost you time, you know. How about you just stop talking for a while, and concentrate more on not driving like a total lunatic!”

“Uh… Okay…” Apple Bloom’s eyes had widened at the outburst, her smile instantly collapsing. “You’re right, I guess. Sorry”

She reached forward to turn off the music, and returned to staring quietly at the road. The pale lemon of her cheeks had darkened, and her lower lip was fixed firmly between her teeth. Diamond Tiara turned away from the crestfallen expression and sighed. She knew her friendship with Apple Bloom could be combustible, particularly when they were stuck in a confined place together for a prolonged period of time, but she thought it might have taken a little longer than a few hours for one of them to have gotten mad at the other.

Still, she found herself nurturing her anger all the same. She had told Apple Bloom to take care of the kart. She had told her multiple times, but the young mare clearly hadn't listened.

Without the steady beats of the music to keep them at bay, the sounds of the Everfree had come swiftly into focus. Diamond Tiara felt her skin crawl as she heard the wind coil mournfully between the trees, and the snap of the undergrowth and cries of unseen animals drawing close. She reached a hoof towards the volume dial, hesitated, and then retracted it.

The scariest story she had ever heard about the Everfree was that it was always shifting, in a state of constant change. Well-trodden tracks would become smothered by the undergrowth, familiar hollows and barrows turning into timberwolf dens and cockatrice nests with the passing of the sun and moon. Diamond Tiara found she had to only imagine that for a second—becoming lost among the shifting tracks, thinking she had found shelter only for the forest to turn brutally against her—and her stomach began to tighten. She clutched the map between her hooves a little harder.

Apple Bloom remained silent as the sun-dappled gloom of the Everfree whipped by, with only an occasional grunt or hiss escaping her mouth as she steered the kart along the uneven ground. Diamond Tiara watched her out of the corner of her eye. Apple Bloom’s forelegs were tense, her jaw a hard line. Her saffron eyes, usually so easy and joyful, were constantly in motion as she stared ahead. Then she shivered.

A smirk twisted Diamond Tiara’s lips. For all of her bluster, Apple Bloom was scared. All of that silly conversation about the Everfree had just been her trying to talk her way through her fear.

And I’ve been trying to drown out mine.

Diamond Tiara snorted her displeasure as she realised the truth of the matter. A few seconds passed, and then she tapped Apple Bloom on the foreleg.

“Well come on then, tell me this scary story of yours.”

“Eh?” Apple Bloom glanced across. It took a few seconds, but the smile that emerged chased away the shadows from her face, and warmed Diamond Tiara from the bottom of her hooves to the tip of her muzzle.

“Okay, well, AJ told us it the last time we went campin’ with Sweetie Belle and Rarity—” she paused, her throat bobbing once “—it was this story ’bout some kind of beast called a banshee.”

“Uh-huh.” Diamond Tiara’s eyes darted to the canopy as the startled cry of a bird pierced the air. She shuddered, trying not to dwell on how abruptly the sound had been silenced, and turned the music back up again. If she was indulging Apple Bloom, she decided, then she could indulge herself at the same time.

Apple Bloom hadn’t noticed. She was back to her usual chattering self, a foreleg gesturing as she recounted the story with a smile in her voice.

“So this banshee usually lives out in a cave deep in the Everfree, right? But it’s s’posed to appear when a loved one dies.”

“How lovely.” Diamond Tiara kept her eyes on the map. “Where is it supposed to appear, then?”

“I dunno, like, in the family home or somethin’?” Apple Bloom waved a dismissive hoof. “It’s not important. Anyway, it has this real ferocious scream when it arrives. It’s s’posed to sound like—”

A bestial screech ripped through the forest air, drowning out the sound of Apple Bloom, the music, everything. The pitch of it rose and fell in waves, as though made by a pack of wolves competing in some strange, savage choir, and the sudden intensity of it chilled Diamond Tiara to the core. Her wide eyes met Apple Bloom’s, her friend gripping the steering wheel so tightly in her hooves that it looked at risk of being pulled free.

“W—Was that..?”

Apple Bloom had turned pale. “H—How would I know? It was AJ’s story!”

A loud crack rang out from the canopy above. Looking up, Diamond Tiara felt her stomach contract at the sight of the top of one of the trees breaking—no, exploding—apart. Pieces of wood bloomed across the air, small splinters descending like rainfall around larger, heavier, chunks, which spun as they fell towards the kart.

“Look out!” she whinnied, pointing a hoof as thick slabs of wood began to smash around them. Apple Bloom’s eyes were wide with terror, but she moved the wheel smoothly between her hooves, and the kart began to dip and curl around the fallen debris.

The sound of another tree exploding filled the air, and mud splashed against Diamond Tiara’s face as the fragmented wood knifed into the ground. She wiped a hoof across her eyes, her ears swivelling at a third, then a fourth crack. She tried tracking the descent of the larger pieces, but everything was moving too fast, and Apple Bloom’s evasive maneuvers kept throwing her about the kart like a ragdoll.

As she pulled herself up for what felt like the hundredth time, Diamond Tiara noticed them: Just ahead of the kart, a line of wooden shards had become embedded in the ground like broken teeth, effectively blocking the track. Her heart pounding, she glanced at where the tangled and dense forest floor was attempting to reclaim the pony-made track, and pointed a hoof.

“There! To your right! I think you can get round them if you pull off the track!”

She was thrown back across her seat as Apple Bloom complied, crunching the gear up and down as she attempted to curl the kart around the outside of the shards. The wooden teeth blurred past, but Diamond Tiara heard a sickening crunch as Apple Bloom tried to manoeuvre the kart back onto the track. Both ponies were thrown forward against the dashboard as the speed of the kart suddenly halved.

“What in the hay is goin’ on?” Apple Bloom cried, jamming her hoof down on the accelerator. The kart only groaned in response.

I don’t know, I—” The rest of the sentence became stuck in Diamond Tiara’s throat as movement above caught her eye. She glanced up, and the terrible sensation that had been nestling in the pit of her stomach began to spread outward.

It was darting in and out of the canopy with ease, a six-legged horse flying—no, cantering—through the air. It was long and slender, with a body that looked as though it had been sculpted from moss and lichen, and across which ran lengths of strange, silvery symbols. They didn’t look entirely dissimilar from the one on the flank of Apple Bloom’s friend Zecora, from what Diamond Tiara could remember, and they seemed to catch and reflect the weak sunlight as the creature moved. Around its head, some kind of large, uneven ring was rotating like the hands of a clock, and streams of roiling cloud were falling away from its tail.

As the creature darted ahead, its tail slapped against a tree, which instantly shattered as the trailing clouds enveloped it. Turning its head, narrow eyes glowed like ill suns as they tracked the movement of the kart.

Diamond Tiara moved her mouth soundlessly, sweat breaking out across her coat. Then she forced her eyes shut and, with the fearful spell that had overcome her broken, gripped Apple Bloom’s foreleg with both hooves.

“D—Drive!” She gasped. “Drive Faster, AB! Faster!”

As she looked up, Apple Bloom lost what little colour she had left on her face. She slammed her hoof down, and again, but the speed of the kart failed to increase. On the dashboard, the seconds continued to tick down.

The six-legged horse changed its course then, legs pressed tight against its body as it knifed down like a fish through water. It’s nostrils were flaring, its mouth falling open as another terrible roar rumbled free. Flying towards them, barely a meter above the ground, the creature veered to one side at the last second, disappearing with a howl into the thick woodland to the side of the track.

Diamond Tiara’s eyes followed it until it had vanished from sight. She waited a few moments, expecting it to reappear, before sinking back into her seat and drawing in ragged gasps of humid Everfree air. Beside her, Apple Bloom was shaking as she pumped her hoof against the accelerator again and again.

“T—That sure was… somethin’, huh?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Diamond Tiara caught a remnant of the creature’s scent in the breeze—she couldn’t place what it was exactly, but it made her feel as though the world was ending. She shuddered, her lungs aching. “I don’t know if I even want to think about it.”

“Gotcha, sure.” Apple Bloom replied, sounding relieved. Her eyes dropped to the dashboard, and colour returned to her cheeks. “Well maybe you could think about what we can do to get this kart workin’ properly again. Somethin’s stoppin’ it from goin’ any faster, and we’re losin’ time.”

“Right. G—Good idea.” Diamond Tiara bobbed her head, pleased to have something to do to take her thoughts away from the monster with the terrible eyes. She forced her numb body into action, her ears tilting one way and another as as she tried to hone in on where the unhealthy sounds were coming from.

She was soon guided to the rear of the kart. Holding onto her seat, Diamond Tiara leaned over it and peered at the rear wheel. A flutter of excitement suppressed her earlier dread as she noticed a large, thick branch wedged inside the wheel-arch. The wheel itself was pressing against it and splintering as it rotated; it didn’t take a genius to work out that the friction was the probable cause behind their loss of speed.

“Hang on a moment,” she shouted over her shoulder. Holding onto her seat with one hoof, she stretched out towards the trapped branch with the other. “I think I found the problem.”

That was the moment when a nearby tree exploded, and Diamond Tiara’s vision was consumed by snapping moss-covered jaws and baleful, yellow eyes.

Stage 2-2: The Ill Wind

Author's Note

Stage 2-2: The Ill Wind

Diamond Tiara tumbled backwards into the kart, her hooves flying up to shield her face as splinters of wood rained down. She was dimly aware of Apple Bloom’s cry of surprise, of the engine exploding into a cacophony of sound as her friend jammed her hoof down on the accelerator.

As she willed her body into action, Diamond Tiara was definitely aware of the blood pounding in her ears.

She clambered up onto the seat, looking out over the rear of the kart. Behind them, and gaining fast, was the six-legged horse. Its mouth was hanging open in a luminescent snarl, and the strange symbols on its body had begun to glow with a pulsating light. This close to it, Diamond Tiara could now see that the strange ring seemed to be formed from debris. Bricks, wood and bones spun in their own orbits as they rotated around the creature’s head, surrounded by plenty of other objects that Diamond Tiara didn’t want to dwell on.

“It’s catching up to us!” she shouted. The rasp to her voice might have made her laugh, had she not been so terrified.

What am I even doing here? Were those board meetings really that boring that it was worth doing this?

“I can’t get this darn thing to speed up!” Apple Bloom glanced at her over her shoulder. “Feels like somethin’ is stoppin’ it.”

A cold trickle of sweat ran down the back of Diamond Tiara’s neck. The memory of that night when she had first stepped hoof in the Everfree came flooding back, only this time there really was something behind her. Something with teeth and hooves and half a dozen other things that could and would maim and wound her.

She swallowed those thoughts down. No, she told herself. That would happen only if they couldn’t fix the problem with the kart, and right now she was the only pony who was able to do that.

With her lungs pressing tight against her chest, Diamond Tiara leaned over the side of the kart, her eyes darting between the horse and the vehicle, trying to find anything that looked out of the ordinary. A desperate whicker build in her throat. She wasn’t an expert in karts, not in the slightest—she wasn’t Peach Fuzz! She didn’t have the faintest idea of what she was supposed to be looking for.

The thudding of the horse’s hooves drew closer and closer. Diamond Tiara’s heart began to keep pace with it, throwing itself against her ribs until she was convinced she was about to throw up.

Then she saw the branch.

It had obviously come from one of the destroyed trees, and had become trapped between the wheel arch and the wheel itself. Diamond Tiara watched the rotating disc of applewood as it struggled against the obstruction, splinters shearing free from the friction. Planting her legs on either side of the chair, she leaned her body further out of the kart, stretching for the branch.

Her hooves brushed against it, then a second time. Eventually they found purchase, and she gripped the smooth wood tight, attempting to pull it free. The wheel groaned in protest, and Diamond Tiara released her hooves, panic rippling through her body.

I can’t let anything happen to you. She pressed a hoof against the wooden frame of the kart as a flood of memories resurfaced. I won’t.

She nearly jumped right out of the kart as the horse roared its fury. It was even closer now, no more than a hair’s breadth away from the kart, and Diamond Tiara could see the flickering glow of its empty sockets as it tracked her movement. Its mouth moved as though it could already taste her.

With fear spurring her on, Diamond Tiara reached for the branch again, tugging a little harder. The wheel screeched in protest, but, gritting her teeth, she kept the pressure on it. She could hear the horse’s breath clearly now, as though it was running right beside her, exhaling right into her ear. Her skin prickled as she braced her hind legs. Then, with one last groan, the branch started to slip loose.

As if realising what was happening, the horse lunged forward, its jaws snapping. With a shriek, Diamond Tiara fell backwards into the kart, pulling back her forelegs just in time. The creature growled as its teeth closed tight around empty air, the ring of debris rotating faster around its head. It was almost hypnotic, and for a few moments Diamond Tiara found herself unable to pull her gaze away from the mass of weathered objects. She was barely aware of the horse bracing itself to leap again.

Then the world surged back into focus. Diamond Tiara was suddenly aware of Apple Bloom’s voice, shouting over the sound of the engine, and of the close, dense Everfree air on her face. More than anything, however, she was aware of her desire to stay alive.

Pushing her helmet back, she scrambled out of her seat and onto the boot of the kart, feeling the rush of air as the horse’s head lunged forward. Gripping the back of the seat with one hoof, she leant forward to wrap her other foreleg around the branch. Her heart pounding, she pulled it loose just as the horse swung its gnashing head back towards her. Screaming, she swung with both hooves, and felt a satisfying crunch as the branch connected. Pain briefly flared across her cheek as the horse thrashed its head, falling to the ground with a whicker as its legs gave way.

Almost instantly, the kart’s speed began to increase. Diamond Tiara felt the breeze pull at the strands of mane that had tumbled free of her helmet, and clung onto her seat as she watched the creature disappear into the distance. Her lungs were screaming at her, her whole body aching as she pulled herself back into the kart, but a sense of satisfaction successfully kept the pain at bay.

Apple Bloom looked across as she slid into the seat. Her eyes were wide, a look of wonder on her face that made Diamond Tiara feel proud and yet strangely self-conscious.

“That was awesome,” she said, a grin on her face. “We’re speedin’ up now and everythin’—Oh my gosh, you’re bleedin’, DT!”

“I am?” Diamond Tiara slapped a hoof to her aching cheek, and her stomach tightened as she saw blood glistening on it when she pulled it away. The world started to blur at the edges of her vision, and for a moment she was convinced she was going to pass out.

Then a quiet satisfaction began to bloom within her, wrapping itself like a blanket around her numb body. She was bleeding, but she had also just saved them both. She—the pony who was still called spoilt and sheltered in some quarters of Ponyville—had fought off a monster from the Everfree with her very own hooves.

She wasn’t going to lie to herself: it felt pretty good.

“It’s okay,” she said, noticing Apple Bloom’s expression, and offering her a shaky smile. “Just a scratch, right? That lame mossflank totally came off worse.”

The echo of the horse's roar chased them down the track, and Diamond Tiara’s sense of satisfaction quickly dissipated. Apple Bloom threw a glance over her shoulder. “I, uh, think you jus’ made him mad. We better get off this track, quick.”

Diamond Tiara’s eyes moved instinctively to the timer as she reached down to pick up the map.

“Do we have time for that? We won’t pass through any checkpoints until we get back onto this route again.”

Apple Bloom glanced at the timer. “We don’t have a choice. Hey, can you see if you can find another route we can use to get off this track, even if it’s jus’ for ten seconds or so? We gotta throw that thing off our scent.”

“Are you kidding me?” Diamond Tiara studied the sketch of the Everfree on the map, which was mostly empty except for the fat red line they were, hopefully, following, before throwing her hooves up in despair. “You’re lucky you’ve even got this much detail! Everypony knows that the Everfree eats cartographers for breakfast!”

She glanced ahead, her eyes squinting. It looked as though the track they were on curved away to the right a little further down, and just before them was a—

“Get off the track here!” she cried, pointing a hoof at a gap in the dense vegetation beside them. “If we keep driving straight once we pass through there, then we should be able to rejoin this track a bit further on!”

“Where? You mean there?” Apple Bloom swore as the gap passed them by. “Hang on!”

The forest became a blur as Apple Bloom wrenched the steering wheel to one side. As the front end of the kart turned, she pulled down on the hoofbrake, and the rear of the kart swung round in pursuit. Mud sprayed into the air, splattering against kart and pony alike, and Diamond Tiara felt her stomach lurch as the vehicle began to lift up onto two wheels.

Then Apple Bloom released the hoofbrake, and the kart surged back down the way they had come, cancelling out its earlier trajectory as all four wheels again found traction in the dirt.

“Yes!” Apple Bloom punched the air jubilantly, her eyes flashing as she turned to look at Diamond Tiara. “Did you see that!? That was awesome, right?”

She turned her gaze back to the track, and her smile instantly faded. “Horseapples!” she cried, jamming a hoof down on the brake. “Hang on!”

The kart skidded to a halt, spraying a wave of mud against the trees. As she shook her head to clear the blur of tangled images, Diamond Tiara looked ahead, and her blood turned to ice.

Standing in the middle of the track, between the kart and the exit they needed to take, was the six-legged horse. Its eyes were narrowed and its nostrils were flaring, and the ring of debris was now rotating aggressively around its head. After a second, its lips pulled back to reveal jagged rows of thin teeth.

Little whispers, you have grown so quiet now, and yet I hear you still.

Diamond Tiara blinked, unable to tell whether the voice was coming from the creature’s mouth or inside her own skull. The sound of it reminded her of the time she had gone swimming at the beach, and ended up with slimy seaweed all tangled between her legs. As sweat began to bead across her brow at the memory, she was aware of Apple Bloom applying the hoofbrake, and then revving the engine.

Her throat was dry as her gaze returned to the creature.

“W—Who are you?”

Its eye sockets flared amongst the gloom of the Everfree as it took a step toward them. I used to hear you often, little whispers. Your song would always grow so loud, drowning everything else out with its noise. I am that which dulls your melody; I am that which consigns yours artifacts to dust and your echos to time. I am the ill wind of Equestria, and your whispers will soon be silenced.

“This is bad.”Diamond Tiara felt her stomach start to flutter. “This is so bad.”

Apple Bloom’s face was ashen, but set in hard lines and angles. She revved the engine a few more times, before fixing her eyes on the horse. “Hey, DT,” she murmured, “when you hit that thing with the branch, it looked like it hurt it, right?”

Diamond Tiara was still trying to drive out the paralysing chill that had settled across her body. She looked at Apple Bloom, confusion twisting her face. “I think so? But—”

“Okay, then hang tight; I got a plan.”

Diamond Tiara tasted bile in the back of her throat as she watched Apple Bloom reach down for the hoofbrake, suddenly realising what her friend was about to do. Memories started to bubble to the surface—happy memories, sobering memories, memories that made her want to cry—and a sudden desire to protect them overwhelmed her.

“Apple Bloom, wait—”

Her friend shook her head. “We don’t have the time, DT!”

“No, you don’t understand!” Diamond Tiara grabbed Apple Bloom’s foreleg. “Please, just wait!”

But Apple Bloom jammed her hoof down, and released the brake. With a thunderous growl, the kart sped forward, straight at the horse. The creature’s eyes widened momentarily, but it quickly dipped its head and broke into a gallop towards them.

Diamond Tiara watched it draw closer, her blood running cold, her coat boiling over. It felt like the thing had doubled in size, filling the width of the track and looming over them as they moved faster and faster on their collision course with it. Was Apple Bloom trying to kill them? Diamond Tiara’s mind raced, imagining the slam of the impact, the crunch of wood as the kart splintered apart, and of the pair of them being tossed into the unwelcoming depths of the Everfree. The hairs of her coat stood on end, her lungs trying, but unable to draw in the damp forest air.

Then she was aware of the branch resting against her hind leg. Fear, but more importantly a desire to protect her kart above all else, drove her limbs into action, and she took the branch between her forelegs and hurled it outwards toward the creature.

It struck its outstretched forelegs, slapping once against the mossy coat of the horse, before getting tangled between its fetlocks. With a howl of rage, it tumbled forward, its face planting into the dirt and its rear end tipping sideways across the track.

Apple Bloom pulled the wheel hard, trying to swerve around the horse’s rolling body. Diamond Tiara’s teeth rattled against each other as the kart went off the track and onto the rock-strewn ground beyond the treeline. She was just about to congratulate herself on besting the creature a second time, when its tail whipped up and against the side of the kart. Wispy, partially-formed clouds billowed against the door on Apple Bloom’s side, and the air suddenly filled with cracking as the applewood splintered and warped, the red paint coating it blistering.

Apple Bloom’s head spun round at the sound, her hooves sliding across the wheel as she tried to move the kart away from the cloud. But the speed and movement of the vehicle swept the thick vapour up in its current, and as it was dispersed, wispy grey tendrils caressed the side of her face. Diamond Tiara could only watch in horror as Apple Bloom cried out and fell against the steering wheel, her eyelids drooping.

“AB!” she cried, leaning across and shaking her friend. Apple Bloom mumbled incoherently, her eyeballs rolling around in her head. Diamond Tiara felt her stomach contort horribly, but the bump of the kart swiftly reminded her that it was currently out of control, and liable to crash if she didn’t do something about it. Pushing Apple Bloom gently against the cracked door, Diamond Tiara scooted closer, her hind legs reaching for the pedals.

As she fought to bring the kart back onto the makeshift route they had planned, Diamond Tiara tried not to think about how pale Apple Bloom looked in the dim Everfree light.

Or why her thick red mane, creeping out from under her cracked helmet, was now streaked with grey.

Stage 2: The Everfree Forest

Author's Note

A big thank you to everyone who voted recently; Your participation at the end of each stage will very much help to tailor small elements of this story. The overarching plot has been already written out, but the locations Apple Bloom and Diamond Tiara will visit will shape their interactions and experiences, and this method also keeps the story true to the essence of the OutRun game, from which this story is inspired.

The Everfree Forest won by a considerable margin, so you can expect a somewhat more thrilling stage next.