Rainbow Dash

"The Sky Was Not the Limit" *

Cloudsdale Stadium roared with the clamor of thousands of ponies, their hooves pounding the clouds in a frenetic rhythm. In the center of the oval of compressed cirrus clouds, Rainbow Dash adjusted the straps of her wing protectors, her muscles taut beneath her sky-blue coat. Perspiration made the rainbow hues of her mane, clipped at aggressive angles, shimmer.

—Three seconds behind Spitfire's record, Dash! —Soarin shouted from the barrier, pointing at the floating magic timer—. Or are you already afraid of breaking your own records?

She shot him a look that could pierce steel.

—You'll be scared* when this is over —she growled, stretching her legs with a flexibility that contrasted sharply with her powerful physique. Her tail, as vibrant as her personality, flapped like a war banner. The starting gun crackled. Rainbow Dash didn't take off : she exploded upward, each flap sending shockwaves that scattered nearby clouds. The air groaned as it was cleaved by her speed, but she felt nothing but the burning in her thigh muscles and the ecstasy of pushing her own limits. Halfway around the track, she was already two seconds ahead. But then she saw it: a crack in the cloudy fabric of the track, the result of her own passage. A smaller pony teetered near the edge, about to fall into the void. "Damn it!" Dash spat, and without thinking, she changed her trajectory in a spin that defied the laws of sticky-magic physics. His arms, strong as oak trunks, caught the unsuspecting spectator an instant before the abyss swallowed her whole. The stadium fell silent. The timer flashed: "NEW RECORD… VOIDED DUE TO DEVIATION ." Soarin approached, a mocking smile on his face. "So the great Rainbow Dash prefers being a hero?"