The Rise of Passion

"Welcome, everypony, to the final race of the Glittering Slopes Cross-Country Open!" called the announcer. "Those of you only watching the numbers are well-aware that this race is going to decide the winner. As for the locals who only saw yesterday's performance, you may be shocked to learn that our frontrunner, Double Diamond, is only a few points ahead. While he was tearing it up yesterday on the jumps, outpacing our runner-up by a hefty margin, he scored a big, fat zero on his last two races, out with an injury. Were it not for such a commanding lead, he would no doubt be eliminated from the competition, and given credit for the successes he had. Lucky for us, he opted to come in for one last race. Let's hear it for Double Diamond, everypony!"

Thunderous stomps rang out as Starlight crunched on her dish of nachos. Even though she was the regent, she still had to deal with the mundane problem of having to make the guard who'd brought her snacks go back because he'd forgotten to ask for extra jalapeños. At least he'd remembered her binoculars.

"Launching after him, with a half-second delay, our runner-up, Gourd Crunch! Being new to the sport, Gourdy has been making a name for himself in this competition. His rise through the ranks started off slow, coming in fifth for his first race, and fourth for the next two, but he shot up to second place and held that position throughout, second only to Double Diamond, and advancing to first when he was out. Will he be able to hold onto his win streak? Let's hear it for Gourd Crunch!"

More stomping rang out, almost shaking the stadium. Eight more contestants were announced, each with a greater time penalty and less applause than the last, until the pegasus that had fallen off the track twice yesterday was brought to the starting line. Maybe half of the crowd cheered, and that guess was on the high end.

Once all of the contestants were lined up, the announcer detailed the course. "Once they are set loose from their harnesses, their first downhill launch will give them all the same starting speed, or at least something close to it. From there, they will make their way to the first marker, the gate to the east of the field. From there, they turn and go north. That's a flatter terrain, and it will be on them to gain as much speed as they can, because beyond the north gate, they enter an uphill slalom on their way to the west gate. Power and agility are both important here, as you don't want to come to a stop and slide backward along the course. At the west gate, the slalom ends, and we go into our final straightaway, a mild uphill run where what matters is how fast you go."

The contestants all waved as they were harnessed up correctly. "Are you ready, my little ponies?!" cried the announcer, to a thunderous roar. "Go!"

Double Diamond dropped first, immediately crouching down as Gourd Crunch did the same half a second later. Despite the short span between their times, Double Diamond was already two ski lengths ahead.

Starlight only ever glanced at the rest of the competition when the announcer gave a comment to them. There was apparently some degree of rivalry between fourth and fifth place, as they were fighting with each other, slapping their wings into each other's faces.

The downhill was not so exciting, otherwise. It was essentially a straight line to the gate, with emphasis on how fast they could go. The first turn was, for lack of a better word, a turning point in the action. They had to make a ninety-degree curve without sacrificing all of their speed. Double Diamond achieved this by slamming his left ski pole into the ground, slingshotting himself around the bend with very little loss in velocity. Gourd Crunch swung right and crouched into the turn, losing a bit more velocity and kicking up a large wave of snow that went right into the face of Snowshoe, the third-place contestant, who went face first into a tree as a result of the temporary blindness and was left behind.

The straightaway after the first curve was a little difficult to see, with the evergreen trees blocking part of the path. Even the announcer couldn't tell what was going on, taking the break to talk about the sponsors for this event: Summer Star's Winter Weather Wear, Spiceberry's Fine Ciders and the San Palomino Foundation for Education Through Sports Scholarships.

After the next turn, the trees cleared up and the slalom began. Double Diamond and Gourd Crunch were neck-and-neck for a short while, until gourd Crunch pushed Double Diamond against one of the flags, which the announcer somehow missed, talking about how the pony in third place had missed a flag.

As they turned into the final straightaway, Starlight caught something through her binoculars. Double and Gourd were talking in a heated manner, which would seem normal, but after a particular comment from Gourd, said with a sneer, Double Diamond looked distressed.

He'd had a lead by half the length of his skis, but after that comment, he lowered his head and pulled the back of his skis closer together, pushing with his poles less often and letting them drag a bit. It was subtle, but he was intentionally slowing himself. As a result, Gourd leaped ahead and crossed the finish line just a second and a half before Double Diamond.

"And there we have it, folks!" shouted the announcer. "Gourd Crunch has won the race! And with that, the whole competition! Double Diamond finishes second, putting him in second place overall, then Lucky Strike third, giving him fifth, Sacred Chain is next..."

Something was up. Starlight knew manipulation when she saw it. Something had happened in that race that was not above board, and she was going to find out what it was.

She pushed the door open and pointed to the guard. "Go tell the judges to hold their decision, by order of the regent. There will be no winner until a full examination of the rules and regulations takes place, to be carried out by me."

The guard saluted and ran off. Two more followed Starlight down into the stallions' locker room. She sat down on a bench, across from the door, and waited for the athletes to come in.

Snowshoe was first, his chest covered in scratches and his neck bruised from his collision with the tree. Then Lucky Strike, and Double Diamond walked in with Gourd Crunch.

"Starlight?!"

She smiled. "Hello, boys. A word?"