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.”