Go Faster

by MorbidTheBrony

Rating: everyone
Tags: Sad, Rainbow Dash (EqG), Equestria Girls
Length: 1203

Every morning, I go for a run, and I always make sure it's better than the last. I have to.

Every morning, I go for a run. It helps clear my head and prepare myself for the coming day. Every day, I make sure it's better than the last. It helps keeping the life worth living.

But the higher the bar raises, the harder it gets to keep overcoming it. Whenever I falter, it can be hard to get back up. But I've got to. I have to keep going faster, and faster.

Part of the 'Behind Closed Hearts' series.

Published 2024-12-17 11:50:00 UTC
Last updated 2024-12-17 11:50:00 UTC

But Don't Crash

It's a bit past six in the morning. I get into my gear and prep for what I do every morning: go for a run.

Can't expect a future Wonderbolt to fall behind on her regime, y'know? But I enjoy doing it. Usually, I'll wear my earphones and listen to music during it, but this time I decided to go out myself.

I start off just outside my house, and I head out. There's not many people out at this time, which makes the run so much better because I don't need to worry about anyone. It's just me and my thoughts.

Everyday is a new opportunity, a new chance to become better and stronger than the day before. I use that mindset to help push myself further. Yesterday is a reminder of what I have to accomplish today, and that goal is simply more.

It begins here. I pass by the near empty streets, with the occasional person going by. My path always leads me to the park, where I'll do a few laps before heading back. My goal today is an extra lap within the same amount of time. I've been taking it easy a little long now. It's high time I push the limit!

I've got an image to uphold. There's a lot of people that look up to me. Li'l Scoots, to name one of them. Yet, at the same time there's just as many people that think lowly of me, like I always perform so well in some aspects, and so poorly in others intentionally.

They're the ones that love to push the hardest, push me to see just where the breaking point is, only for them to use that weakness against me. Myself, to name one of them.

It's a gnawing voice that always tells me that I know I can do better, so I should do better. I know I'm perfectly capable of doing a few measly laps around an entire park, so what's one more? So, I do just that. I begin to pick up the pace and I reach my old quota with time to spare. And then, I run around once more.

I can never stay in the same place for too long. Sooner than later, I've got to always up the ante. I always hear there's no such thing as perfection, which only means things can always improve. Good enough isn't enough. If anything is ever 'good enough', then I know I've failed. I probably shouldn't, but I go for another lap.

I know the burn of a good workout. I know if I exert myself, then I'm gonna be feeling it hard tomorrow. But it's as they say, "No pain, no gain." If there's no pain, there's no gain, then it will all have been in vain.

It's then that my pace starts to quicken. Every day I instinctively put my geode on. Sometimes I even forget I have with me, and I learn it the hard way, but today wasn't one of those days. I brought it with me with a goal in mind. I feel its magic coursing through me, turning my feet into a blur as they became furious with speed! And in an instant, I'm off.

Everything around me begin to disappear as they become a fleeting moment, and I only appear as a blue streak to the outside as I speed by.

I fly through lap three... Then lap four... Lap five...

It's going good. But it can be better. It can always be better. The magical energy continues to make me stronger.

Lap eight. Ten. Thirteen. Seventeen.

I can't think straight anymore. All I can see is the path in front of me.

Twenty-seven. Fifty-four. Eighty-four.

It's still not enough. Come on already! Go faster!

One hundred and seventy-seven. Two hundred and ninety-three.

Faster!

Four hundred and three. Five hundred and sixty-eight.

Faster!!

Seven hundred and eighty-one. Nine hundred and ninety-nine.

Then suddenly, my foot gets caught behind the other, and time slows to a crawl. Neither of my feet are touching the concrete anymore, and I watch as the floor that has my trail burned into it get closer. I saw this coming, but I thought that maybe if I kept my head straight on the task at hand, I could avoid... this.

It hits me then that, as long as I kept on going, I'd meet my fall regardless. As fast as I am, I can't run from consequence. It'll always catch up. And it did.

Before long, time restored itself, and I crashed onto the ground, uncontrollably rolling until I finally came to a stop. I lay there for a moment with my cheek lying against the stone, panting hard and fast as I felt pain shoot through different parts of my body.

Eventually, I'm able to pick myself up to assess the damage. Oh man... I've grazed my arm and the cheek I landed on pretty bad. I couldn't tell if anything was broken yet. But man, that hurt.

I bring myself to my feet, to which I nearly fall again as a surge of pain shoots through one foot as soon as I put my weight on it. This wasn't good. I'm no good with only one foot. What will I do now? I manage to drag myself over to the side by the grass, where I sit down for a while. I should probably call someone to come get me. Maybe an ambulance, just to be safe, but I couldn't bring myself to just yet.

Overwhelmed, I clench my eyes shut and quietly weep. Was it from the pain, or my failure? I couldn't tell.

What is wrong with me? I can't cry because of this. It was just a flounder or whatever. I'll make so many more of them! Doesn't make it hurt any less though...

I've really got to get a grip of myself. Who cares that I fell this one time? Everyone would still love me the same if they found out, right? Yeah. Yeah, they would. I just gotta focus on right now. I pull out my phone and text out one to of my friends what happened, but I'm held back before I could send it. I give myself the reason that it's too early in the morning to be bothering them like this, but you can't lie to yourself.

Regardless, I delete the message and call 911 instead. I know I'll have to tell my friends eventually, but I can come up with a reason in that time. Now, I'm forced to wait for someone to arrive.

Well, I've really gone and done it this time. Now everyone has to worry about it, giving me sympathy because I was so stupid. I can't be bothered with this, but I reap what I sow. I let my ego push me way beyond my limit, and this is the result. I went faster, and I crashed.

Author's Note

It's a Christmas miracle! I got something else out before the end of the year!

This is the last thing for real this time. Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah! Have a day!