"Flutterby!"

I ignored her in favor of another lap around the habitat. I ran at top speed, nearly knocking Mudbud off his favorite sunning rock. "Watch it, Peacock," he growled. I ruffled my tail at him as he curled back up.

"Flutterby!" Breeder called again. I contemplated ignoring her again, but the she yelled, "Zazzberries!" and I was drawn to her like a magnet. She had tricked me, of course, but what Carnival dragon in its right mind could resist a handful of zazzberries? As soon as I was within reach, she bridled me and led me toward the racetrack. Again. This had to be my seventh race this week. I was starting to get sick of it. I never really got tired, per say; Carnival dragons have boundless amounts of energy from the moment they're hatched. But even a Carnival dragon has its limits on patience.

We got to the racetrack. Again. Breeder unbridled me. Again. She led me to the starting line. Again. I looked at the track's name, written in glowing enchanted letters above the start gate: Year of the Dragon. A track complete with scalding lava rock, breezy air tunnels, and rock-solid stretches of warm desert earth. A little bit of everything. I was so done with this track. This was the only one Breeder ever let me run. She claimed it was because I was the best dragon for this track, but I figured she was just saying that to make me feel better; she had Lazuli, Kristelle, and Ova, and they won first place every time she raced them, no matter the track.

"Dragons at the ready!" the wizard announcer called. I strutted to the start line, ruffling my tail with impatience. I was antsy to get this race over with. The countdown started: 3... 2... 1...

I rocketed from the start line, passed through the first gateway. Water. I hated water. My breeding allowed me to run decently in water, but that didn't mean I enjoyed it. I waded through the shallows, splashing through mud and dirty liquid. I may have squished a fish at some point, but I didn't care. I looked to either side of me. I was up against a Paper, a Cactus, an Obsidian, and a Metal dragon.

I soon pulled ahead of the pack, breaking through the next gate long before anyone else. Fire was next. I could feel the thrum of lava pulsing beneath my feet and pulled energy from it. I blasted across the hot rocks with no trouble.

I was halfway to the third gate when a sudden roar from behind drew my attention; the Cactus dragon had fallen off the track and into a crater filled with molten rock. I saw it being magically removed from the race with minor injuries; thanks to its thick skin, it was protected from the lava. I gulped and broke through the third gate into the air arena.

If there's one thing Carnival dragons hate, it's getting their feathers ruffled. (We can't help it, we're proud of our tails!) That's exactly what those air tunnels did to me. I tried to keep the feathers of my tail close together, but the blasts of wind caught the feathers and tangled their fibers together. I growled to myself. Those things were not easy to groom. A particularly nasty gust caught me right in the face, momentarily stealing my breath. I stumbled and crashed into the Paper dragon. His wings unfolded in defense. Bad move; he was swept right off the track and into the air. I watched him nervously as he regained control and struggled to fly against the wind. He kept a good pace, so I turned my focus back to beating him, gauging his distance by listening to the beat of his wings.

Then the beats stopped. I glanced up; the Paper was spiraling up toward the top of the tunnel, one of his wings bent at a strange angle. He was caught and removed from the race. I could see the next gate ahead of me and risked a glance to either side. The Metal and Obsidian dragons were quickly gaining on me, so I barreled through the fourth and final gate.

Earth wasn't so bad. This was the habitat I lived in, after all. If I had to pick a favorite, I would pick this one. The flat, hard ground was smooth and easy to grip with my short claws. I stretched my legs out as far as they would go, gaining as much ground as possible. Then the Metal dragon took a tumble and somersaulted right by me, gouging ruts into the dirt with his spikes. He skidded to a stop directly in my path, and I took a sharp left to avoid him, colliding with the Obsidian. He snarled and snapped at me. I swerved back to the right to avoid his long jaws. He followed, swiping at me. "You're next," he hissed.

I could have bitten myself. Of course. He had disqualified all the other dragons. Jeez, where were the referees?!

I kicked at him, nearly losing my footing. "You're being such a hatchling! Cheating? Honestly?"

"I am a winner!"

"No, you're just a sore loser!" I somehow got in front of him. My foot caught a pebble, and I swiped it back into his face. He jerked away, just enough of a distraction to allow me to win. I stumbled through the finish gate and was whisked to the winner's platform. I could see Breeder in the stands, clapping furiously and smiling so hard, I was sure her face would tear in half. I grinned my dragon grin and crowed, leaping into the air. Breeder was brought in to my pedestal and presented with a chest of gold. I looked back to see the Obsidian dragon being led out by its own breeder, who was scolding him quite harshly. The dragon cast a poisonous glare in my direction. I crowed and leapt again. Breeder laughed and hugged me. I nuzzled her, licking her face affectionately.

On the way back to the habitat, Breeder hugged me again. "I'm so proud of you, Flutterby! The wizards were so busy tending to the wounded dragons, they didn't see that Obsidian cheating! Although, I'm not sure how they could have missed it..."

I purred and nudged her out of her contemplating. She laughed: "You're right, it doesn't matter! You won fair and square, and I couldn't be prouder!"

She released me back into the habitat, and I began to stroll the perimeter. Mudbud was still on his rock, but I swear I saw him smile and wink in my direction.