Running of Shadows
By Sharpe Quill
There are two large-event races in Equestria. One is famous; the other, decidedly not. The famous one, of course, is the Running of the Leaves, meant both to mark the changing of the seasons and to wrestle the dead leaves from their trees. It is a public affair, one met with much fanfare and fun, a time of competition and camaraderie.
The other, however, is its polar opposite in so many ways, despite its close proximity on the calendar.
At the same time, Nightmare Night has been a time-honored tradition in Equestria for almost a thousand years. Foals believe it is a holiday, a silly time when they wear costumes and collect candy from their neighbors. Sure, a small portion of their treasure is given as tribute to Nightmare Moon, and sure, there are many scares to be had and games to be played, but it’s all in good fun. What the foals don’t know, however, is what all these festivities are truly meant to do, the dark secret which they hide.
The dark secret that is the Running of Shadows.
**************************
Rainbow Dash soared through the night sky, faster than any living being, animal or pony. She nimbly slipped around the few sparse clouds, making sharp and seemingly impossible hairpin turns for no reason other than the sheer fun of it. The rainbow-maned pegasus’ grin was so wide that her teeth glinted in the moonlight.
So fixated was she on the sheer joy of her flight that she didn’t realize she had missed her destination until she had overshot it by almost a mile. “Ah, ponyfeathers,” she grumbled as she did a complete flip in midair and managed to reverse her momentum with obscene ease.
She spotted her destination soon after, her sharp eyes perceiving the small, shadowy shapes of a small group of other ponies on the ground, even from a half-mile in the sky at night. Like an arrow from a bow she shot to the ground so fast that the eye couldn’t track her flight, approaching the ground faster than any pegasus would be willing to go. She only slowed at the last possible second, turning her dive into several short somersaults and landing on her hind hooves, lashing at the air with her forehooves as she turned the landing into a gaudy display of athleticism. Her grin faded, however, when she looked around and realized that not only was no one praising her in wonderment, but nopony seemed to have even noticed her arrival.
“Hey, what gives!” she exclaimed, annoyed. “You can’t tell me that wasn’t awesome!”
“Shh!” shushed a nearby pony. She couldn’t make out who it was, despite the bright moonlight.
“Why aren’t there any lights on?” Rainbow complained loudly, although she hastened to add, “not that I’m scared of the dark or anything.”
This was completely true of course. The idea of the Great Rainbow Dash being scared of the dark was absolutely laughable. The moon shone down and lit the area with a silvery light, but around the edge of the forest, just a few dozen paces away, the light darkened considerably. The only local light was a single firefly lantern just visible inside the tree-line.
“Shh!” shushed a different pony. Although this one Rainbow thought she recognized, and her suspicion proved correct when the familiar shape of a certain nerdy unicorn became clear in the moonlight, approaching to stand just in front of her.
“Twilight,” Rainbow hissed, finally catching the hint to be quiet, “what’s going on?”
“Didn’t you read my note?” Twilight whispered, somewhat indignantly.
“Well… yeah…” the blue pegasus said, but something in her tone caused Twilight’s eyes to narrow. “Well, ok, fine, I skimmed it. It said to meet here on Nightmare Night after the party.”
“You didn’t read the rest?” Twilight’s voice sounded hurt.
“Oh come on, Twi!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “It was, like, five pages. I was practically snoring by the end of the first one.”
Twilight huffed grumpily at her friend’s impatience but didn’t say anything. Her glare didn’t lessen either.
“Fine, fine,” Rainbow exclaimed at last, drawing a few more hissed shushes from the gathered ponies. “I’m sorry, ok? Now, are you going to tell me what we’re doing here? And who are all these ponies?”
A brief glance around didn’t reveal any familiar faces. There was a good-sized group, about fifteen or twenty, and they all were milling about in small groups. Most were silent and the few who were talking did so in low whispers.
The lavender unicorn accepted her friend’s rushed apology with a nod. “Well, these are mostly ponies from Ponyville, although I think there are a few from Canterlot. I heard there might be some coming from as far away as…” She paused when she saw the flighty filly’s eyes start to glaze over. She coughed. “Anyway, we’re all here for the Run.”
Rainbow Dash shook her head as though trying to wake herself up. Her wings fluttered slightly and she felt uneasy. She’d been standing still with nothing to do for too long.
“Alright,” she said, “I’ll bite. What’s ‘The Run’?” The last two words were spoken with a heavy dose of sarcastic drama and she reared on her hind hooves again, her wings beating a few times to keep her balance, and she made quotation mark motions with her forehooves.
Twilight ignored her tone. “As I said in my note…” she said accusingly, shooting a quick and meaningful glare at her indifferent friend, “the Run is the nickname for the Running of Shadows, which is held every Nightmare Night. It’s a kind of ritual.”
“So why are we at the start of the course for the Running of the Leaves?” asked Rainbow looking around at the familiar copse.
“Well, the path for the Run is the same as the Running of the Leaves. In fact, I think it might even be possible that the Running of the Leaves was originally introduced to hide the existence of the Run’s path, so no one would ask about it.”
Dash stared at her. She had no idea what Twilight had just said, but her mind did make a significant connection. “So it’s a race then? Cool, when do we start? Is A.J. here? I’d love to prove I’m the better athlete again.”
“Well…” Twilight hedged, “not exactly.”
Rainbow sighed. “So… what the hay are you talking about then? Just say it plainly.” Rainbow was starting to get annoyed at Twilight’s stalling.
Twilight rolled her eyes. “Fine. Look, all the ponies here are going to run the course, but they’re going to be doing it alone. It’s not a competition. All that’s important is that the ponies run the course, not how fast they manage to go.”
“Well, if it’s not a race, what’s the point? Wait, what do you mean alone? That’s stupid. This whole thing is stupid. I’m out of here.” Dash spread her wings and crouched, preparing to launch herself into the air.
“Wait!” hissed Twilight as loudly as she dared, raising a hoof in protest.
When the impatient pegasus paused, she quickly continued, “Like I said, it’s not a race; it’s a ritual. Look, have you ever heard of a taraxippus?”
Rainbow relaxed, looking confused, but the name brought back old memories. “Not since I was a foal. Isn’t that just an old-mare’s tale?” she asked, sounding skeptical.
“Yeah,” said Twilight soberly, “well, so was Nightmare Moon.”
That got Rainbow’s attention. “Okay. Okay, I’m listening.”
Twilight cleared her throat and took what she considered her lecturing tone. “A taraxippus is a kind of malevolent spirit. You remember the story of the windigos and how they feed off of hatred? Well, taraxippi feed on fear. Ages ago, ponies were haunted by these spirits and it significantly held back the advancement of ponykind before they were sealed away by Celestia and Luna. You know that hesitation before you do a trick? Or how when you’re running you might suddenly feel uneasy and shy away from nothing?” When she saw her friend’s smirk, Twilight rushed on before she could try to deny it. “Well, that uncertainty, that hesitation, that fear, that’s the effect of the taraxippi. Look, don’t tell me you’ve never felt that fear. Everypony has. And that’s when they are contained. When they were loose and wild, it was a hundred times worse.”
Rainbow was trying to appear interested, she really was, but she had been standing still for too long and she was getting twitchy. Twilight’s lecturing wasn’t helping. “Fine, fine,” she interjected when Twilight paused for a breath, “so we go in and kick the snot out of these tara things. That doesn’t explain this Run thing.”
Twilight rolled her eyes. “Taraxippus,” she corrected. “And I’m giving you some background information. It’ll save you from asking too many questions later. So anyway, the Run, right. Well, you see, the Running of Shadows is a ritual to keep the taraxippi contained. Basically, about thirty ponies run through the Whitetail Woods alone. The idea is that a pony has to face the fear of being in the woods alone at night. It’s supposed to keep the taraxippi suppressed for another year. Nightmare Night is one of the darkest nights of the year, so it’s traditionally been run tonight.”
Rainbow was trying really hard to focus on what her friend was saying, but it wasn’t easy. “So, um, if this is such a big deal, why haven’t I heard about it before?”
“Traditionally, it’s kept a secret until a pony turns twenty so that nopony tries to run it without being able to handle it. It’s actually rather dangerous.”
That got Rainbow Dash’s attention. She almost unconsciously unfurled her wings and, with a short hop straight up, began to hover in the air before Twilight. “So let me get this straight, all we have to do is run through the course in the dark?’
“Well, yes. Although there are some firefly lanterns to mark the path.”
“So why is it dangerous?” Rainbow asked, trying to sound calm and collected, although she was starting to get excited. Danger was practically her middle name.
“For one thing,” Twilight answered calmly, as though reading from a checklist (which she probably was mentally), “you are running through the woods at night, in the dark. The path has been checked for problems, but it’s always a little dangerous when you can’t see clearly. And even though it’s not nearly as bad as, say, the Everfree Forest, there are still wild animals out there. Plus, of course, there are the taraxippi themselves.”
“Wait,” Rainbow interjected, “I thought you said that they’re locked away.”
“They are,” Twilight rushed to assure her, “but, well, the legends say that on this night, they’re strong enough to actually manifest and interact with ponies.” When she saw Rainbow’s puzzled expression she hastened to explain. “They’re actually here and they can affect you if you’re not careful.”
Rainbow absorbed all this information as she bobbed in the air in time with her steady wing beats. She didn’t really understand most of what Twilight had said but she figured she understood enough. “So what are we waiting for? All this talk about spirits and dangers and stuff… whatever. It doesn’t really matter why, but if you need some running done, well, I’m your pony!” She landed long enough to strike a grandiose pose.
Twilight smiled at her friend’s antics. “Thanks, Rainbow Dash, I knew we could count on you. It’s actually already started, in fact our turns should be coming up soon.” She gestured around them. Taking her attention off of Twilight for the first time since they had started talking, Rainbow looked around and realized that the crowd of ponies around them had been slowly diminishing. Now only a hooffull of ponies, maybe five, remained loitering outside the forest.
Rainbow started to fly a little closer when Twilight stopped her. “Um, Rainbow, I hate to bring this up, but it’s kind of important. You see, you can’t fly during the Run, otherwise it defeats the purpose, you need to face your fears, not fly away from them. So…” She trailed off sheepishly as she levitated a length of rope beside her.
Rainbow sighed but landed. A few minutes later, her wings had been securely lashed to her sides. She struggled instinctively but couldn’t budge her wings. She pawed at the ground anxiously. She didn’t like being grounded like this, but she trusted Twilight. However, there was one more surprise accessory that the unicorn had for the pegasus.
“Oh no,” Rainbow exclaimed indignantly, “I draw the line at blinders.”
The headgear in question was being levitated in front of her by her purple unicorn friend. “I’m sorry, Rainbow. You know I wouldn’t ask this normally, but it’s traditional.”
The feisty blue mare snorted. “I don’t care if it’s traditional, I don’t like my vision being limited like that!”
“That’s more or less the point,” Twilight said reasonably. “Remember, you’re here to face your fears. And it’s also supposed to be a precautionary device, to keep you from seeing the taraxippi themselves. It’s said that to look upon them is to know true terror.”
Rainbow raised an eyebrow skeptically. “Uh huh…”
“Look, Rainbow, I understand if you don’t want to do this. We should have enough if you don’t run, but, well, I thought you’d want to take part now that you’re old enough to.”
“Whoa, whoa,” Rainbow said quickly, “I didn’t say I wouldn’t do it. I’m not afraid of anything! If these other ponies can do it, you know I can. And with your stupid blinders.” She gesticulated towards the last remaining ponies around them.
She stood as still as she could while Twilight levitated the vision-restricting device onto her head and secured it in place. It narrowed her vision disconcertingly, halving her field of view and only allowing her to see what was directly in front of her. If she wanted to look to the side, she had to physically turn her head. It took some time to get used to the loss of her peripheral vision and made Rainbow feel incredibly uneasy, although she was careful to maintain her exterior coolness.
By the time everything was in place, Twilight and Rainbow were the only two ponies left at the entrance to the forest. All the other ponies had quietly slipped into the darkness, on the way to face their own fears.
“Alright, any other silly rules or ‘traditions’ I should know about?” Rainbow asked, unable to keep the annoyance out of her voice.
“Sorry, Rainbow,” Twilight answered, and she sounded sincere. She was wearing her own set of blinders on her head, although she somehow looked much calmer about it than Rainbow. “Just a few things: Keep to the trail; the lanterns mark the path so just stick with them. I’ve heard that some ponies will sometimes see or hear things. I know I said that taraxippi are supposed to be able to manifest on this night, but I’ve never heard of anypony actually seeing one, so try not to let it get to you. Oh, and remember, this isn’t a race. You can run at your own pace, but focus on being safe and don’t rush things. I’ll be leaving in about a minute. Wait several minutes, at least five considering how fast you are, before you start.”
The loquacious unicorn finished and waited to see if Rainbow had any more questions. When the rainbow-maned pegasus didn’t say anything, she took a few steps towards the visible lantern before pausing and taking one last look at her friend. “Be careful, Rainbow. I’ll see you at the end of the line.”
With that, Twilight Sparkle trotted into the darkness and was soon lost to view.
**************************
Rainbow paced the clear area outside the tree-line impatiently. She felt anxious, which always annoyed her. She wanted to run, to fly, to do anything but wait. Her wings kept unconsciously struggling against their bonds, but they were always thwarted by the heavy rope. She grumbled to herself as she paced. “Stupid rope, as if I’d run away from anything. I’ll show them I’m not scared. Stupid rules…”
She had tried to keep track of how much time had passed but had lost count after about a minute. She wondered if she should just go. In fact she had started to trot forward several times, only to stop short each time, Twilight’s admonishment to wait five minutes holding her back.
Finally she snorted. “That’s got to be long enough!” She galloped into the woods, determined to set a good pace. This might not be a race officially, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t race if she wanted to. Maybe she could even pass Twilight on the way. She passed the first lantern almost instantly and turned towards the second lantern, just visible off in the distance. She knew the path by heart now, having run it many times, both for the Running of the Leaves and just for fun. The blinders hampered her somewhat, but she refused to let them keep her from going her full pace.
The darkness was somewhat oppressive at first but her eyes quickly adjusted to the extra shadows cast by the many branches above her. The occasional silver column of moonlight filtered through the leaves above her and formed small puddles of light along the forest floor.
She soon had set a regular but rapid stride, falling into a familiar rhythm that was significantly faster than any other pony would be comfortable with considering the darkness. But then, those other ponies weren’t nearly as awesome as Rainbow Dash. The lanterns flashed by periodically as she raced along.
Twilight’s warnings and cryptic descriptions of ‘malevolent spirits’ seemed silly now; there was nothing here to be scared of. What fears was she supposed to face? Even the anxiety of wearing the blinders and having her wings grounded had faded into mild annoyance. Was the darkness supposed to be frightening? The loneliness? Rainbow laughed aloud at the absurdity of the whole thing.
Her laughter echoed oddly among the shadowy trees, bouncing back to her more than she thought they should. For a second just as the echoes ended, the laughter sounded higher pitched than her own. She looked around to see if anypony else was nearby, although the blinders forced her to turn her head more than she felt comfortable with considering her speed. She forced herself to look ahead again, rolling her eyes at her own paranoia. She turned her attention back to the path ahead and quickened her pace, her hooves thundering against the hard ground.
She didn’t think she had been running for very long and was just entering a particularly winding portion of the path when she began to hear what sounded like another set of hooves beside her. Had she caught up with Twilight already?
A quick glance to the side revealed… nothing.
She couldn’t keep her head turned, however, and almost sideswiped a tree before she corrected her course. She reluctantly slowed her pace but kept going.
She began to feel an itch between her shoulders, the kind she always got when she was about to attempt an amazing trick. When she thought she had a chance she turned her head to either side, searching the shadows around her for anypony else. Again she saw nothing unusual.
As she swung her head around, a slight motion caught her attention, just in the corner of her vision. She tried to turn to focus on it but saw nothing but the different shadows of the trees sliding past her.
An unseen exposed root suddenly caught her hoof and she stumbled. At her speed it took all her agility, but she was able to maintain her balance and correct herself without stopping or falling. Her heart was thundering in her chest, knowing how close she had come to a major accident; it was pounding so hard that she could practically hear it. The sound faded as she slowly calmed and she tried to regulate her breathing back to normal.
As the pounding in her ears faded, she thought she heard the faint sound of hollow laughter. A chill went down her spine, but rather than letting it bother her she reacted the way she did to any threat. She faced it head on. Sliding to a stop she turned around to look at the path she had just run down, fury in her eyes. Her wings ached as they strained against her bonds, attempting to flare open in a display of anger.
“Alright!” she shouted. “Who’s out there? Show yourselves you cowards!”
She stood there panting for several moments, breathing heavily, both from her running and from the ~~fear~~ annoyance of being watched by whoever was out there.
Nopony answered her challenge. In fact it was surprisingly quiet in the woods. No animals could be heard moving through the forest, no insects singing in the night, not even wind whistled among the closely packed trees. Despite the lack of a response, however, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being watched.
With a snort, she turned and, head held high in defiance, she began to resume her sprint. The heavy thudding of her hooves beating the packed dirt almost managed to cover the hollow laughter that chased her from the area.
Rainbow tried counting the lanterns she passed, trying to focus on something tangible to get her mind off what had just happened. It was just the shadows playing tricks on her, and the sound of her hooves bouncing oddly in the empty forest. Twilight’s talk of evil spirits had simply fueled her imagination was all. There was nothing out here to be afraid of.
She snorted quietly. If A.J. could see her now, how she would laugh. That thought got her blood boiling and she took advantage, redoubling her efforts. She picked up her speed again and, once she passed by the winding portion and entered a more direct path, sped to a full gallop, heedless of the dangers in the darkness.
The lanterns flashed by in small, regularly paced blurs. The regular drumming of her hooves striking the packed dirt became a steady drone, an almost comforting mantra which helped soothe her nerves.
But that feeling of being watched didn’t diminish with her increased efforts; if anything, it grew worse. And she was beginning to recognize it now. It was the same fear she felt whenever she was about to perform or compete before a large crowd of ponies. It was the fear of disappointment, the fear of not living up to her vaunted reputation.
It was the fear of failure.
She felt her pace begin to slacken as the realization struck home. She felt a cold sweat break out on her flanks, but it wasn’t from the exertion of her running.
She heard low, indistinct voices coming from all around her, and soon realized that they were whispering words she had always dreaded:
“Nice going, Rainbow Crash…”
“She’s fallen behind…”
“And Rainbow Dash takes second place…”
“She’s just given up…”
“Your application for the Wonderbolts has been rejected…”
“Rainbow Dash, you’ve failed…”
The slowly panicking pegasus clenched her eyes shut and ground her teeth in defiance. “It’s not real,” she whispered to herself, “it’s not real, it’s not real…”
Shamefully, she could feel the first few tears treacherously begin to slip from behind her clenched eyelids. A thin, low hanging branch slapped her in the face and opened a small cut along her cheek. A small trickle of blood leaked out and mingled with the tears.
The blow also dislodged the blinders from her head and they slipped to hang uselessly around her neck. With her peripheral vision restored, when she blinked her eyes open in reaction to the blow Rainbow could now see to either side of her face. For the first time, she wished the blinders were still hiding what was beside her.
She was flanked by two ponies. They were strangely colored, a combination of shadows and smoke. Their hooves beat in almost perfect time with her own, but they were just out of synch enough to echo oddly and disrupt her own natural rhythm. Their manes and tails streamed out behind them like smoke from a fire.
It was their eyes, however, that frightened Rainbow the most. Their eyes were a vibrant, solid red color that somehow seemed to shift and move in place, like slowly churning, never ending whirlpools of boiling blood.
And those terrible eyes were looking right at her.
She screamed in panic then, a sound terrible to hear at any time. The fact that it was emerging from her own throat made it all the worse.
She immediately increased her speed, tearing along the dark path recklessly, her wings straining desperately against their bonds, trying to get free and carry the pegasus away from those awful shadowy beings.
But no matter how fast she ran, the taraxippi kept pace, never leaving her sides, but also never closing the short distance. Rainbow tried desperately to ignore them, to focus on the murky road vanishing rapidly beneath her hooves. But without the blinders they were always there, just visible on the edge of her vision.
Now that the fear was actively coursing through her, the ethereal monsters smiled, revealing bright white teeth. Just regular pony teeth, no monstrous fangs or rows of vicious sharp teeth. ‘But then,’ the often ignored analytical part of Rainbow’s brain asked, ‘how sharp do your teeth really need to be when your diet is fear?’
The laughter rose around Rainbow Dash again, no longer a fading echo, but loud, thin, and terrible. The voices returned, too, mocking and attacking her.
“Give in…”
“You can’t make it…”
“You’ve failed at last…”
The grounded pegasus shook her head frantically, trying to clear her head of the taunts and focus on her path, and ran on. How much further was it? She should have reached the end by now, shouldn’t she have? Had she somehow taken a wrong turn in the darkness?
The first hints of hopelessness began to creep into her mind, despair into her heart. The taraxippi, sensing this, moved in for the kill.
“Oh, just go away, you brute,” said a familiar voice. Rainbow looked around with wide, incredulous eyes and saw Rarity galloping on her left, her pristine white coat gleaming in the gloom and her perfect mane and tail undisturbed by the wind of their speed.
“You always were a meany, mcmean headed jerk,” said Pinkie Pie on Rainbow’s right, her pink mane and tail long and straight.
“You let me fall, just for your stupid race,” whispered the quiet but clearly audible voice of Fluttershy, now running in the position where Rarity had just been.
“You never think things through. You’re impulsive and foolish,” accused Twilight, now on her right instead of Pinkie Pie.
“Y’never were the best, not even close,” declared Applejack, now on her left.
“Some Element of Loyalty…” chorused the combined voices of her five friends. “We think we were better off without you. Why don’t you just go away and leave us alone!”
Rainbow Dash cried out again. She clenched her eyes tightly shut again, trying to block out the painful sights and sounds. The hot tears began to fall in earnest now, although she hardly had the presence of mind to notice.
She continued racing forward, however, and so she didn’t see the massive tree looming out of the darkness before her. She didn’t see the widening smiles of the taraxippi, now again in their shadowy forms. She didn’t know that every pounding hoofstep brought her closer to her doom.
Time seemed to slow for Rainbow Dash, every heavy contact of her hooves striking the ground reverberating through her body. The poisonous words echoed endlessly through her mind, slowly breaking down her will like water against a cliff-face.
But then, a new voice joined the vile lies. A familiar, young voice that she had so often ignored and taken for granted. It was accompanied in her mind's eye by the ecstatic face of a star-struck orange filly with a purple mane. “Rainbow Dash, you’re the best flyer in Equestria! When I grow up, I want to be just like you!”
Scootaloo’s face was replaced by Applejack’s. “Ah reckon you really are as good as y’all are always boastin’.” With a playful smirk, she added, “sometimes.”
Pinkie Pie was next. “Oh Dashie, you’re so silly! Of course you’re our friend, why would you even question that? And why am I in your head? Ooo, look, cupcakes!”
Pinkie’s bright face was quickly pushed aside by Rarity’s. “Come now, darling, we know you’re a good pony and good friend. Despite your, hmm, occasional boorish behavior.”
“You’ve always believed in me,” whispered Fluttershy next, “I’m a better pony because of you.”
“You’re the bravest pony I’ve ever met,” declared Twilight kindly, “and we believe in you.”
All their friendly, loving faces were replaced with a familiar image: all of her friends surrounding her and hugging her together, as when they had discovered their early connection through her very first Sonic Rainboom.
Rainbow Dash’s eyes snapped open as new hope and courage filled her. A smile tugged at her lips for the first time in what felt like forever. It was just in time to see the massive trunk quickly filling her vision.
Any other pony would have crashed, horribly injuring or even killing themselves, but not for nothing was Rainbow Dash the greatest athlete in Equestria. She pivoted sharply on her front hooves, planting them as firmly as she could and used her incredible momentum to slam her rear hooves against the tree as though bucking it. But she didn’t brace her forelegs completely, however, and let the energy from the kick redirect her momentum so that she launched herself back onto the correct path, quickly resuming her hard galloping pace.
She moved so fast and with such unexpected agility that for a moment she actually left the taraxippi behind. She took full advantage and got a look at her surroundings. She suddenly realized where she was and knew that the end of the course was near.
She herself laughed then, not the forced laugh of false-bravado but a real laugh, the enemy of fear, and she felt her spirits rise.
She realized then that the malevolent spirits were once again flanking her, no longer smiling but snarling. Gone too, was their horrible laughter, replaced instead by a menacing silence which was somehow much worse.
But now Rainbow Dash was ready, and the renewed hope of the imminent finish line gave her strength. She laughed again in defiance. The creatures flinched and faltered slightly, something that did not go unnoticed by the sharp-eyed pegasus.
“Ha!” she exclaimed as best she could between her labored breaths. “Pinkie was right all along!”
She laughed once more, but almost regretted it. The taraxippi snarled and suddenly the light, already meager and dim, lessened into almost complete blackness. The pressure of the surrounding forest also seemed to double and Rainbow felt it weigh heavily on her like a physical blanket.
To make matters worse, even Rainbow Dash’s athletic legs were beginning to tire. The pace she had set coupled with the horrible fear would most likely have killed most ponies, especially in the dark. And a slight twinge was beginning to make itself known around her left hip. That vicious buck might not have been as painless as she originally believed.
She was flagging, losing a step. Rainbow, who had been pushing the limits of her body her whole life knew the signs and she again felt despair start to claw at her heart. She wasn’t going to make it; the malevolent spirits were going to chase her down.
But then, she made a final turn and saw it. The last stretch of the course was a long straightaway. There, just visible in the distance, was an orange light, a campfire of some kind to greet the running ponies. Hope surged through her at the sight and she forced her body onwards.
The taraxippi must have realized that their window of opportunity was closing quickly. With a vicious howl unlike any sound Rainbow had ever heard, all light vanished around her, as though they had somehow blocked out the moon. Their whispers filled her head again, condemning, judging, mocking.
But they couldn’t block out the firelight ahead of her and she ignored the dark thoughts by constantly picturing her smiling friends hugging her; imagining their friendly, soothing voices.
She raced through the darkness like the wind itself. She was halfway there…
Three quarters of the way…
She was so close. She could see the silhouettes of other ponies milling around the large fire.
Only five hundred more paces…
Three hundred…
One hundred…
The taraxippi snarled in frustration and made a show of snapping and biting at her but they evidently couldn’t physically touch her and just passed right through.
Suddenly, out of the darkness before her loomed a new, terribly familiar shape, trotting placidly along the path without a care in the world.
“Twilight!” Rainbow Dash yelled. “Run!”
Twilight Sparkle turned to look at Rainbow as she passed by. “Rainbow Dash!” she exclaimed, with a hint of annoyance noticeable in her tone, “I told you it’s not a race. Slow down!”
Rainbow, in an effort to save her friend from the horrors that nipped at her heels, tried to catch Twilight and push her the last dozen or so paces to the theoretical safety of the clearing. But not even Rainbow Dash’s reaction time was that fast; she had barely had time to even shout her warning. Unfortunately, she tried anyway. The resulting motion caused her to finally lose her balance and fall.
She tumbled head over tail, flailing about and rolling forward. Her momentum carried her that last gasp and she finally settled onto the ground outside the forest, not far from the large bonfire and a host of shocked ponies.
She lay there awkwardly, gasping and panting for several long moments, the pain and fear slowly fading. Suddenly she remembered what had caused her crash and she cried out in a panic, “Twilight!”
“What?” asked the lavender unicorn calmly as she trotted the last few paces up to her crumpled friend. “Oh my, Rainbow Dash, are you ok? What happened?”
As she lay there gasping, Rainbow tried to warn her unicorn friend. “The tara thingies, right behind me!”
Twilight looked confused for a minute but then realized what her friend was trying to say. She looked over her shoulder back at the path from which they had just exited. She then stooped and helped her wounded friend sit up, at the same time magically untying the rope that wound around her torso. The wings flared open momentarily upon release but immediately slumped limply to the exhausted pegasus’ sides.
“Uh, Rainbow,” Twilight said carefully, “what are you talking about?”
Rainbow dared to look for herself, raising her rose colored eyes back the way she had come. The path was clearly visible, brightly lit by the moonlight streaming through the treetops. A slight breeze caused the branches to gently sway back and forth. All in all, it was the very picture of serenity.
“But… but there were shadows,” she exclaimed, “and the voices… and…”
She trailed off miserably. Seeing that her friend was obviously in some distress, Twilight sat down next to Rainbow and pressed up against her side, acting as a solid and reassuring rock for the trembling pegasus. She even gently used her magic to brush the multi-colored mane from extremely wild to just regular wild.
“It’s ok now, Rainbow,” she said soothingly, “it’s over now. You made it through fine. You won… even if it wasn’t actually a race.”
Rainbow Dash couldn’t help herself. Despite her aching body and shaken psyche, despite her fears and exhaustion, she was still Rainbow Dash. She smiled and said in her usual brash and confident tone, “Heh. Was there ever any doubt?”
