Chapter 77 – The Broken Start

Rainbow Dash breathed in deeply, it had been her first time standing there, waiting for the garage door to open, all by herself. With Breeze out cold and thoughts running through her head, she just couldn't sleep. It had been rough for her with her special somepony hurt like that. She stood there, thinking, remembering. Then she heard a yawn from behind her, "So, this is where you are." Krisskkil said as he approached her.

"Sorry." she said as an apology, "Breeze and I do this. Get up early on the day of the race, and just wait for the sun to rise."

"I get it, you guys have your thing and I'll have mine." he said and waved his hand to her, "I'll let you be."

"WAIT!" she said as he turned to leave, "You can stay, I don't really want to feel alone right now."

The two stood there, waiting in silence as they watched the very first rays of the sun peek over the horizon, "Something going on in that head of yours?" he asked.

"Questions mostly. Like, why and what was she thinking?" she admitted.

"Well, I think she was desperate." he said, "You told me that she said it was for her 'Perfect Future', but I think she was just desperate. She figured she was in the right, crazy as she was, she wanted something. And, I can sympathize with wanting something desperately." Rainbow turned her head towards him, one eyebrow lifted as she looked to him questioningly, "Not, that I agree with her method." he quickly said, "But I can sympathize."

She looked to the floor, her eyes full of thought and sorrow, "Hey?" she asked right before the light touched her hooves, "Do you think we'll really pull this off?"

He waited, not hesitating, but rather waiting, like he wanted the right moment to arrive, "We'll just have to see." he said, and grinned. Though his teeth were sharp, she felt the genuine happiness behind that smile, a gentle smile.

She smiled as well, confidence once again filling her, "I guess you're right." The light gently touching her face, and she quickly fell into worry, "Wait, we have no idea where we're supposed to meet up."

"Huh…" the Sunik said in though, "You're right."

The two were nearly swept off of their feet when the entire room began to shake, Twilight Sparkle instantly flying from the hall in her night gown and cap, "We're teleporting again!" she called out, and Rainbow quickly flapped her wings to lift from the ground. She quickly grabbed Krisskkil under his arms and lifted him from the ground. The outside flashed, a bright white light engulfing them as the spell went off, and then they were facing another garage, one at a distance from them. "What the…" the alicorn asked as she let her eyes readjust.

"Tri-Tiner?" Rainbow asked as she looked towards one of the racers she could see. The Hok-Sai stood there, rubbing his eyes with a vigor as if he had been blinded from something.

"Let that be a lesson te yah, aie?" she could hear from behind the Hok-Sai. A smaller, much angrier looking Hok-Sai with goggles on his head and a red beard that touched the floor and poked out everywhere came to scold the much larger one, "Don't look into light, and keep teh blasted door closed till it's done."

"Aie!" Tri-Tiner said as he continued to rub his eyes, "Yah don't have te be so nasty bout it." the, now obviously, hulking Hok-Sai said. Rainbow flew over to him, spying the rest of his team, a bunch of Hok-Sai not much bigger than the one scolding him at the moment.

"Who are yah?" the smaller dwarf-like alien asked.

"Someone there?" Tri-Tiner asked as he started to blink away the bright dot in his eyes.

"Some, blue winged…thing." the smaller one asked.

"Oh, is that Drain-Bow-Brash?" the larger Hok-Sai asked.

"Rainbow Dash!" she corrected as she set Krisskkil down, "The least you can do is remember my name."

"Sorry bout him." the smaller Hok-Sai said, "But I don't trust yah."

"Oh, give it a rest, Al-Ken." Tri-Tiner said harshly, "Not everyone is after yer secrets. Now git on back and finish yer…whatever."

Al-Ken huffed as he turned back to go into the garage, "Yah'll get us killed one day with yer need'n te talk with everyone yah meet." he said harshly.

"Don't mind him, he's a bit nutty in teh head." Tri-Tiner said happily.

"I'M NOT NUTTY!" Al-Ken shouted back.

"Where are we?" Krisskkil asked, only to get a smile from the Hok-Sai.

"Why, yer in teh starting block for teh first race of teh inter system races!" he announced, "This is where teh winners get together te race for teh big prize. Do good and yah might actually get there!" He then looked to Rainbow Dash, "Sorry bout what happened te yah, it was all over teh news." He then turned to Krisskkil, "Who's this, aie? He wasn't with yah when we first met."

"This is Krisskkil, since Breeze can't gun for me, we've hired his rival to take his spot." Rainbow said with confidence.

"Rival, aie?" Tri-Tiner asked, "If yer that pony's rival yah must be good, aie?" The grin in his face brightened as the two looked confused, "Don't be surprised." he said, "Teh newcomers te teh system doing so well right out teh gate? It was bound te be teh talk of teh Terronet. Yah became celebrities on some of teh other planets."

"Hear that?" Rainbow asked as Twilight approached, "We're celebrities!"

"Do NOT let it go to your head." the alicorn instantly said and turned to the Hok-Sai, "Please don't feed her ego."

Tri-Tiner belted out with a hearty laugh again, "Aie. I kinda have teh same problem."

Krisskkil turned, looking around as he spied a large half circle starting point, built entirely from what looked like stone and surrounded by all sixteen of the garages, "Where on Bacromus are we?" he asked, "I don't remember anything like this."

"We're in an ancient race track." Tri-Tinner said confidently as he turned to the mostly cobblestone path. It was wide enough to accommodate all sixteen of the racers, splitting at some distance ahead and lined on each side with what looked like buildings, some crumbled and some miraculously still standing, "One built before any of yah would remember. Thousands of Cycles ago."

"This place looks like it was supposed to be some kind of central square for a city." Twilight said as she looked to the distance with him.

"Probably." the Hok-Sai agreed, "Hard te say without exploration, but teh racers are only here for teh race, no later, and no sooner. It's nearly impossible te find otherwise."

"I'm sure I could teleport back here!" Twilight said gleefully.

"Yah can do that?" Tri-Tiner asked.

"Sure." Twilight said, "My special talent is magic, and as long as it's outside of the race…I'm sure they wouldn't mind."

"I'm sure, but yah better ask first, Aie?" the hulking dwarf-man said."

"Yeah." Rainbow agreed with a teasing tone in her voice, "Wouldn't want your name removed again, would you?"

Twilight teared up at the memory of how Lady Kiane had ordered her name and the name of Pilit removed from the record of the discovery of the spear. "Did I miss something?" Tri-Tiner asked. Just then, the all heard a low echoing rumble through the air, a hum behind the rumbling sound. "We should start getting ready." Tri-Tiner said, "Teh race is about to start." and with that, the two teams made their way back to their garages.

Closer to the back, Sselekk stood next to a female Sunik, one slightly shorter than him, sleeker and green scaled with a head full of long orange hair, "You're right Sselekk." the female said, "They really are resourceful."

"Give them the seeds," he began and turned to her, "And they build you a farm."

"Sselekk?" she said slyly as she turned to him with bedroom eyes, "Are you trying to retire?"

"With you Kkimira?" he asked, "I would travel the galaxy." The smile on his face betrayed the love he had, so he just decided to wrap his arms around her waist and pull her close. The giggles and happiness were short lived as the two of them heard a hiss from the shadows of a garage next to them. From those shadows a tan sunik girl emerged, an angry grit to her teeth and fire in her eyes, the sickly green hair tossed each way as it tried to resemble some form of short hair, "Do you mind Mirikka?" he nearly hissed, "We're trying to have a moment before the race."

She turned her eyes to him, "How are they so stubborn?" she asked in a whisper, "Do you praise them so easily?" These last words she said louder, wanting him to hear her.

"I give credit where it is earned." he said, "Go back into your cave and rot."

She hissed at him, "Good thing I'm always prepared." she said and turned back to her garage.

"Lethal weapons are forbidden in the Terranuilian Races!" the large Sunik reminded.

"Oh, don't worry." she said with a kind of superiority, "I remember." The moment she entered into her garage, she walked a few steps, making sure she was out of the larger Sunik's ear shot, "Load it." was all she said as she passed by one of her mechanics, getting the Sunik to smile and turn, his gaze landing on a large glowing spear of what looked like light hidden behind a large metal wall and what looked like an unconscious Lady Kiane tied up and gagged.