The stifling stadium filled with the stench of sweat and the spark of excitement. Twelve Pegasus approached the white line taped down into the dirt. Each Pegasus secured a headband around their mane and placed their hooves into a starting position to give them the best possible push for when they launched from the ground.
Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes and tilted her neck downward. She scraped her hooves at the dirt, giving her a feel of the terrain as well as molding it slightly for a better boost. Rainbow had learned that the start of the race was always one of the most crucial moments as it provided the initial speed that would typically make or break the race.
A pony held a black and white checkered flag with her teeth. She waved it once and the row of Pegasus all pushed their hooves down hard into the ground. She waved it for a second time and their bodies redirected most of their energy to their hind hooves. An exploding sound echoed through the stadium, the crowds that filled it letting out a roar of excitement.
The twelve Pegasus emerged from the settling cloud of dust they had made from their lift-off. Just slightly at the head of the pack was a green Pegasus, his wingspan slightly larger than that of the ponies behind him. Trailing behind the group was a slender dark-blue pony with tiny wings that made the spectators wonder how he was even capable of flying.
Amongst the center of the mass of Pegasus flying around the track was a barely visible multi-colored mane that slowly pushing its way forward away from the group. They circled the track for the third time, the group started disintegrating as each ponies stamina began to drain away. The green Pegasus continued to hold the lead with a pink Pegasus and Rainbow Dash following closely behind.
Rainbow Dash could feel her bad wing starting to twinge from the pressure as she tried to work it harder. She decided to save her strength as Twilight had taught her during the Running of the Leaves and kept at her current pace. She passed the end line for the seventh time, her wing barely holding out.
"Just a few more laps." She told herself.
The pink Pegasus started to push onward, leaving Rainbow dash behind and she soon was overtaking the green Pegasus taking his place in first. They passed the line for the eigth time, a thick layer of sweat was coating Rainbow Dash's body. Her muscles burning intensified with each flap of her wings. Her breathing became labored as the air rushed past her face making it difficult for her to take in any oxygen.
"FINAL LAP!" A pony screamed through a microphone.
Rainbow Dash let loose her reserved energy into her wings and forced them to move faster. She tucked in her legs against her stomach the best she could to remove as much wind resistance as possible. She pushed away from the green Pegasus and pulled back up next to the pink who lead the pack.
Rainbow Dash and the pink pony were now neck and neck, the finish line only a hundred yards or so away. Rainbow was slowly nudging past her competitor when the searing in her wing overwhelmed her and it started to lag severely. The beat of her wings soon became desynchronized and she lost balance, crashing down hard into the dirt. The crowd let out another deafening cheer as the first pony passed the finish line, then a second. She pulled herself from the dirt and thrust herself forward, just as she was about to cross the finish, one last Pegasus zipped in front of her claiming the spot for number three.
Rainbow Dash stared down at the ground, "Fourth place?" she thought to herself. She looked towards the crowd spotting her group of cheering friends. She looked away quickly as her entire body filled with shame at her performance. She took off the ground and flew away from the stadium, ignoring her friends as they beckoned for her.
Rainbow flew for several minutes towards a forest she had not returned to since she was a filly. The slowly decaying wooden debris of the cabin her mother had once cared for her in. She landed next to the shining stoneslab and placed her head onto it, "Mom…" she whispered to the grave, "I know I promised you I'd be the best, just like you were."
Tears swelled up into Rainbow Dash's eyes, "But… I don't think I can anymore." She said softly. "You must think I'm such a disappointment." She continued to lay there and cradle the carved stone as she let her emotions flood out, "I'm sorry…"
Realizing the other ponies would have seen her fly off, they would be back at the farm soon. She didn't want any pony to worry about her so Rainbow Dash launched away from the ground and headed back towards the farm. She hurdled herself through the open upstairs bedroom's window and onto the bed hiding her face beneath the pillow and blanket when she heard the sound of hoofsteps clambering up the staircase.
"Rainbow, are yah alright?" Applejack called out from behind the door, giving the doorknob a little jingle and nudged it open. She peered inside locating the lumped up blanket, "Oh sugar cube, it's only a race." She said as she pulled off the blanket from Rainbow Dash.
"I know it's just a race!" Rainbow said as she dried her puffy eyes with a hoof.
Applejack lay down next to Rainbow Dash and looked her in the eyes, "Then why are yah beating yerself up about it?"
"Because Applejack" Rainbow Dash drew in a sharp breath, "This is my future and I can't even beat a bunch of no ponies in some race. I'm a failure…"
"Yah are not a failure!" Applejack said firmly she noticed Rainbow flinching as she said it and decided to change her approach, "Yah know what ah saw there in that stadium?"
Rainbow tilted her looking curiously at Applejack.
"Ah saw a Pegasus who shouldn't even be able to fly at all, yet somehow managed tah come just a few seconds short of first place." Applejack squeezed Rainbow Dash, "What ah saw wasn't you being a failure, it was you being simply spectacular."
Rainbow Dash smiled and wrapped a wing around Applejack and placed her damp face against Applejack's and gave her small frequent kisses that continued to grow in length.
"Ah-hem." Raven Flame cleared her throat from the doorway and the two ponies pull themselves off each other.
"Sorry, did yah want something?" Applejack asked, her cheeks still bright red.
Raven Flame nodded, "I was wondering if I could talk to Dashie, privately."
"Uh, okay." Applejack said giving Rainbow one last kiss before parting.
Once gone, Raven Flame sat down next to Rainbow Dash on the bed, "I thought you did amazing at the race."
"Thanks..." Rainbow Dash sniffled, and the room filled with silence. The two sat there awkwardly for a few minutes.
"I don't… I don't know how to fly…" Raven Flame blurted out suddenly.
Rainbow Dash shook her head, "Wait what?"
"I don't know how to fly! Raven Flame cried out again, "I was wondering… could you teach me?"
"You don't know how to fly?" Rainbow Dash scolded herself silently as she acknowledged how the filly already must have felt, "Sorry. Sure, I guess I can teach you." She answered.
Raven Flame hopped off the bed and trotted towards the door, "Can we start tomorrow?" she asked.
"Sure, I guess." Rainbow repeated.
Raven Flame ran back and tossed her hooves around Rainbow Dash, "Thank you!"