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Storm Nexus Race: Let the Games Begin!


RainbowFoxxy

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"This is totally...awesome!" Rainbow Dash fluttered her wings in anticipation, her muzzle bunching up in a 'too much excitement just can't hold it all in' sort of way. "I can't believe it! The Wonderbolts are going to be there! My heroes will get another chance to see the amazing Rainbow Dash in action!"

Her pet turtle Tank blinked his eyes and took another munch from his lettuce leaf.

"I know you can't hold in all the excitement either buddy!" The sky blue pony patted her pet's shell as she continued extolling the soon and coming event of the century. "So what if that storm can't be controlled in normal weather pony style, I'll still show it who's the best cloud buster in Equestria. It doesn't stand a chance against my skills."

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The storm of the century had formed over the center of the Everfree Forest. Most storms could be controlled by weather pegusi but this storm was different. It has some sort of magic to it. The black swirling clouds refused to cooperated with weather pony actions and the very center had a protective bubble around it. There was only one thing to do. Send a group of ponies into the storm's nexus and figure out how to disarm the bubble. If they did not, the storm would rage on, growing in size and power until it became a serious threat to all of Equestria.

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"Time for some Wonderbolt action!" Spitfire spoke to herself as she donned her Wonderbolt uniform and pulled her goggles down over her eyes.

The Captain of the Wonderbolts had been called to help organize a group into a storm control task force. Spitfire, seeing a chance to make things interesting, had turned it into a race! She had sent out other Wonderbolts the day before to post fliers for anypony interested in joining a race sponsored by the premier flying team in Equestria.

"I wonder who will show up..." She mused to herself before taking flight from the Wonderbolts training grounds.

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"This is the best day of my life!" Rainbow strutted around in a circle. "Spitfire is gonna be amazed with my skills. I'll totally take out that storm and prove that I'm ready to be a Wonderbolt!"

She looked around, noticing quite a few other ponies had showed up for the race. They had been called to meet right outside of Ponyville, not far from Sweet Apple Acres. The edges of the massive storm could be just barely seen looming out over the Everfree.

"So epic, so epic, sooooo epiiiiic!" She exclaimed as Spitfire landed not far away. There was her idol, in the flesh! Now, if she could just act cool. She tried to calm down a little, wondering if Apple Jack might show up for the race. It wasn't like the farm pony to miss out on something like this.

(everyone feel free to write your intro into the thread post! Time for some fun!)

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Gilda had to hand it to ponies sometimes. They certainly could be crafty when they weren't just being lame and stupid. It was probably a good part of how they had thrived so much without any claws. Whatever the case, she had been quite intrigued when she saw a certain flier while loitering about in Beakbreak for a spell. It advertised a thrilling race through the Everfree Forest that would test the bravery of all who signed up. Even though it was pretty much completely obvious that this had something to do with the impossible, crazy storm hovering menacingly over pretty much the entire forest, Gilda couldn't help but fall for it like a dumb little fish on a griffon fisher's line. There was no stopping it. Gilda was just not a griffon who could skip out on a chance to prove her mettle. She was better than anyone, pony and griffon alike, and she was always ready to prove it when any show of speed, strength or skill came along. If the name of the game was a race through those blasted storming evil woods, well she certainly wasn't one to back away from the challenge.

Maybe a lot of it was that she didn't have much else better to do. She was a freelance trick flier, which sounded cool but mostly just meant that she spent most all of her time loitering about listlessly, flying from town to town flat broke with nothing to do. When it came to flying, teams were what sold; there wasn't much of a place for an individual, so it was a lot of waiting for opportunities of any sort to pop up before her. She was pretty confident that her idle life hadn't yet affected her top form, however, so when something like a race came up it was pretty much a no-brainer. She had some qualms about heading to Ponyville, where the race was set to begin. She had a little history there that made it not a place she'd generally care to go. It was probably worth it though... and if she got to outshine an old former friend along the way, hey, that was just a plus in her book.

And so Gilda made the long trip through the Roughrider ridge and around the Everfree Forest. She flew close to the forest, hoping to spy some weaknesses to the storm that might give her an advantage, but wasn't able to pick up on much. The only interesting thing was that she could just barely make out something that looked like an unnatural bubble right toward the center of it, but she wasn't one to get close enough to look too far into it. Eventually she gave up on that and just focused on making her way out toward out to Ponyville in time for the race.

She had just arrived and was in top form and ready to go. She wasn't alone either. Many of the other racers had already assembled, ready to set off. It was looking like a pretty pathetic pony crowd from Gilda's perspective, at least until she saw her. The rainbow mane was unmistakable. Gilda hadn't really doubted she'd show, but actually seeing her still just added fuel to fire. She had to win this and show that flip flopping fool what true awesome really was. Nothing could stop her now.

"Well, well... long time no see," Gilda started in a cocky tone as she wandered right on up the the colorfully-maned pegasus. "Sure you're up to a race like this, Dash? That forest looks pretty intense; maybe you should just sit this one out? You wouldn't want to let everyone see you for the lightweight little pony you are."
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Razor was excited, for once something actually exciting was happening....well exciting to him that would invole less of him being dragged into unpleasant scenarios that usually ended with him getting hurt in some way.

"I still think I must have been bad in a pervious life." He said to himself as he flew over the town of Ponyville and dived down to where the race was going to be.

He landed and noticed that others had gotten here before him. One was a rainbow maned mare, and interestingly enough another griffon.

'Hmmm, the pony is a no worry but at least the griffon can offer me some worthy challenge. Though I'll win in the end anyway.' He thought.

Even though he was taking this like a race, he wasn't dumb enough to know that team work would be necessary in this at times. If this storm got out of hand, for all he knew it could affect Aquila as well. So, it was good to make some conversation.

"I'm not sure who you two are, or whatever you beef is with each other but if there is anyone that is going to out show you two is me. But don't worry, losing to the fastest griffon in the world isn't bad." He said, walking over. His obvious....short stature very apparent.

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Applejack stretched her neck out, loosening the last of her muscle groups that needed a good pep and loosening. She had run races like these before but never at such length which only made it all the more exciting. She was a natural long distance runner of course, a great reserve of stamina and elite endurance laid like layers of armor on top of her, welded at the rivets of her desire to keep her top flight galloping speed and awareness protected from the rigors of the race. She could and would gallop longer and harder than anypony else around and would make sure to keep up her blistering pace for as long as she needed. Good rest, not a lot of rest, good diet, not an enormous one. That was all she needed. It was partially the gift of being an Earth pony. Partially the gift of being an Apple. Partially a gift of her upbringing. But it was all her own heart powering her desire to do good and make her friends and family proud.

And safe. That was the more important factor that Applejack believed everypony else was forgetting in the anticipation of the race. This weirdo magical storm did a number on the pegasi ability to control the weather. While it didn't hit Ponyville off the bat, it would soon. Bad weather didn't just mean living in town would be a hassle but it also meant that her farm would be almost impossible to run. And that was just the start. Granny Smith told her that once in the past when she was just a young mare, a lightning tornado touched down in the clearing beside the then small Ponyville. If it hadn't been stopped just moments later deep in the Everfree, then Ponyville would have been smothered in its infancy. A similar tornado today just by touching down would destroy the marketplace and all the buildings that surrounded it. She had no intentions of searching through the rubble for her friends just because other ponies didn't take it seriously enough.

So she had decided to enter the race instead of storm-proof Sweet Apple Acres, which she knew that Big Mac could handle. Somepony had to be there to make sure the job was done right. The only thing left for her was to pack and get to the start of the race. Her lasso would come in very useful for sure, whether to get around something or bring a beasty down who was in her way. It really was the queen of all utility. She brought a healthy supply of pressed apple chips which were a healthy snack if one ever existed and something she could eat on the gallop. Also packed was a small setup to cook food and some items for dinner which she would supplement with what she found in the Everfree. To make sure she didn't just eat something filled with poison or transformative in nature, Applejack also brought along two tomes regarding animals and vegetation of the deep Everfree. Like a lot of ponies she had a bit of familiarity with the edges of the Everfree but not much more once you were a few miles deep. It would prove invaluable even as she dreaded entering the deep unknown of the Everfree.

She felt no shame in admitting that the Everfree scared her to her core. It was unnatural and much of it unknown and none of it did her any good. Stories of ponies getting snatched up or worse weren't uncommon or unfounded, and long-missing ponies were often found frozen in place, many decades after a cockatrice did them in. It was a place built to scare and destroy ponies and she never understood why so many dismissed it. Of course she lived right on top of it so maybe it was just due to an armada of incidents in her own life, but in any case she was right to fear it. None of that would stop her from doing what needed to be done or going where she needed to go because her bravery walked hoof in hoof with her fear. No shame in being afraid. The only shame was in letting that fear rule you and that sure as heck wasn't going to happen to this Apple mare any time soon.

She trotted up to the spot where the race was set to begin, a little annoyed that the ponies weren't just allowed to head on in. She would have prefered to not waste precious seconds in glad-hoofing other competitors. Those few seconds could mean the difference between a thriving town and a ghost town. But she didn't get to control every aspect of her life as much as she tried to. At least there was a healthy turnout of stallions and mares ready to do their part, even some griffons. Thank Celestia the turnout was good enough as she knew for a fact they'd lose a few along the way to the dangers of the Everfree, exhaustion, or laziness that drove them back home. Only a few would make it all the way and she had a guess as to who that would be- besides her, of course.

Of course she could see Rainbow Dash almost ready to burst at the seams withe excitement and it was easy to see why. Spitfire wasn't far off and looked to be the judge of the whole ordeal and if Applejack knew Rainbow Dash half as well as she thought she did, then good ol' RD would be ready to move mountains to please the Wonderbolt. Also of note were two griffons Applejack had a passing familiarity with. She had only ever seen Gilda but very rarely when she had made her disaster of a visit to Ponyville before and came away with the same perception that everypony else had afterwards. It sure as heck wasn't all that favorable but as long as she was willing to race clean Applejack was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. Finally there was Razor, who Applejack had met recently at the bar. He was a silly sod but a fine enough griffon by his own rights, even if he had the same temperament that was indicative of his kind.

"Well, y'all can bat around in the sky and deal with tornado strength winds all tha way thar. Well, not all the way," a friendly if competitive smirk crossed her face, "'cause Ah'll have ended this storm before any of you reach the center!"

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Zelda glanced down at her ‘Bucket List’ and chuckled to herself as she scratched off ‘Go bungee jumping’ off the rather lengthy scroll that she had held. With both the forge down for repairs this week, and no paying commissions for her sculpting business, the black griffon had to resort to other means to keep herself amused. Before hurling herself off an Talonpolis cliff with a cord attached to her leg, she had fulfilled number twenty seven when she spent the night at a ‘Haunted House’. The griffon had made the list many years ago when she was a chick, which explained number eighty-four, which was to 'eat a crayon-sandwich'. Yuck!

After skipping over a few of the really crazy sections of her list, like 'Arm wrestle a dragon', she had spotted one that seemed do-able. 'Place in a race or competition'. This was something that she had planned on doing last year over at Ponyville during their 'Running Of The Leaves', but a sudden surge in work at the smithy made her cancel this plan, and somehow her slow-poke-pony-pal Fire Walker managed to finish in third place! While visiting Ponyville, she had heard that there was an horrible storm forming in the crazy-magic capitol of the world, the 'Everfree Forest' and they needed fast flyers to help tame the great tempest! So not only was this going to be a race, they would also be performing a civic duty and hopefully calm a beast of storm before it gout out of hand and threatened the nearby towns and villages. After switching into the proper flight suit and goggles, the blacksmith quickly made her way towards the location that was given.

As she made her way towards the group that was already starting to form, she noticed the familiar rainbow-mane of one of Equestria's famed heroes, along with a member of the Wonderbolts. She also spotted two griffons she had encountered in the past. There was grumpy-beaked Gilda and the size-challenged Razor. Just rushing ahead of her, was another member of Rainbow Dash's brave little group of mares, Applejack.

"I'm not sure who you two are, or whatever you beef is with each other but if there is anyone that is going to out show you two is me. But don't worry, losing to the fastest griffon in the world isn't bad." He said, walking over. His obvious....short stature very apparent.

"Wow Razor, I didn't even know you knew I was here and already you're just piling on the complements. Ah'shucks!", the griffon tried her best to sound serious, "Not sure how I'll hold up against Miss 'Sonic Rainboom' over there, but the rest of you slow-pokes are gonna be easy-peasy to beat.", she gave off a beaky grin before adding, "So how many more will be joining us? From what I've heard, we're gonna need a good amount of strong flyers to take down this monster."

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As the motly crew of ponies and griffons gathered in the small town of Ponyville another figure could be seen travelling the skies and making his way there. A dark blue, silver maned and bright gold eyed Pegasus sailed through the air in a bee line for the town; a large, crimson cloak flapping in the wind behind him. Razor Wind was the Pegasus stallion's name, Cloudsdale's resident daredevil adventurer and dungeon delving explorer! While normally this particular pony would more often be found travelling the world and living through all its greatest dangers, this time he fond himself volunteering to take down probably the biggest threat Equestria had seen in a few years; a massive, uncontrollable storm right smack dab in the center of the Everfree. When Raz had heard about this he jumped at the opportunity; not only would it be a chance to test his speed, strength and maneuverability, but he'd be working with some pretty famous ponies side by side! What kind of moron wouldn't take up a chance like this?

His hooves finally touched ground as he spotted the forming group; a certain multicolored mane as well as one that seemed to look like a blazing inferno stood out amongst the crowd as Rainbow Dash and Spitfire. A prideful grin crossed the winged equine's face and he trotted his way up; red cloak bouncing about with each excited step he took.

"Hey everypony! Hope I'm not late?" he took a bow, smiling widely still, "Razor Wind! Explorer and fearless adventurer, at your service!" purposefully laying on the hamminess a little bit.

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Red Cedar

On the outskirts of Ponyville, within the White Tail Woods, Red Cedar had woken that morning to the sound of thunder. After listening to it for several mintues more, he'd gotten out of his sleeping bag and tent and went to check how close the storm was before he ended up caught neck-deep in it. It certainly wasn't hard to spot, swirling black clouds in the sky centred just on the other side of town.

He'd seen pegasi dump spare, unneeded storm clouds in out of the way places before, but this looked like it had gotten out of hoof.

So he reluctantly packed up his campsite and resigned himself to spending the rest of his vacation in Ponyville rather than in the great outdoors, just in case the storm spread or drifted any further. It didn't look like something he wanted to be caught in.

As he was trotting back into town, he had noticed the fliers. There were many of them, in lots of conspicuous places, advertising the need for ponies to discover what lay at the centre of the storm. "Okay, if the Wonderbolts are asking for help from non-aerial ponies, it must be serious." he thought.

The Everfree Forest was not your average walk in the woods, that was for certain. It was known across Equestria for its strangeness. But, it was a forest, and forests were his specialty, and the situation was serious enough to warrant a call for volunteers.

And he had all his camping gear with him.

So, pausing only to replenish some food supplies from the market, he trotted straight through town to the assembly point at the side of Ponyville's famous orchards. Seeing the other competitors milling about, and not knowing any on sight except the obviously-outfitted Captain of the Wonderbolts, he set his saddlebags down and set about cinching them up tighter around their contents in anticipation of a lot of galloping to come.

"Well, at least I'm not the only Earth Pony." he murmured to himself.

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A small dust cloud was being kicked up from the distance as an energetic pony had came dashing to the group. After realizing just how close he was, the pony quickly kicked all four hooves in front of himself, and skidded ever closer to the group. Mud flying everywhere as he continually lifted his hooves and replanted them to try and keep his balance. But in the end, his body lurched through the air and went tumbling to the ground till he rebounded back up and landed on his stomach, skidding to a hault.

But not even gravity could keep Java down as he was swift to pop back on his feet. His vest swapped left behind, but a pair of safety goggles had been strapped onto his head. His hooves were abnormally jittery as they just hopped about uncontrollably. “Sorry I am late,” the stallion uttered with insane speed, his head snapping back and forth among the ponies and griffons, “Got stuck in the winds, and a flood blocked my path. So I had to double back yonder, up a flight of stairs and a loopty loop across a crook past a pony named Geritrude...”.

His eyes were pretty alert, and his mane and coat... was surprisingly well groomed this time around. His messy mane, now perfectly combed and tied back with maybe a few thick strands hanging freely in front of his face. However, like always the scent of coffee clung to him like a powerful perfume.

“Oh! I thought an invintation to a race through weather would only attract wings! Good to see I am not the only hoof trot here! JavaSun! Engineering Pony here!”

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Once in awhile Duskfall would receive odd requests from his clients. Perhaps they wanted him to deliver something to relatives on a camping trip in the middle of nowhere; perhaps they wanted him to check up on someone who hadn't been responding to their letters. Duskfall didn't mind either way; the paycheck was bigger in the end. This request, by far, was the most bizarre, however. One of his clients had requested that he help a group of ponies that were heading into the Everfree, where a storm was forming. The storm, as he was informed, had some strange properties that resisted the efforts of the pegasi weather teams. The end objective was to figure out how to disperse the storm.

The kicker of the whole thing was that he was supposed to actually help figure out how to get rid of this storm. For Luna's sake, Duskfall is a messenger, not some weather expert! At the very least, he was going to be paid a pretty bit for this job, so to the Everfree Duskfall went.

As the train to Ponyville approached Ponyville, Duskfall leaped from the roof of one of the cars and onto the landscape below. The changeling runner was replaced with a charcoal grey earth pony as his hooves hit the grass, and with little momentum lost, he made a dash toward the Everfree and the appointed meeeting spot for the ponies. Several others were already there, including the extremely well-known Rainbow Dash, Element of Loyalty, and Spitfire, Captain of the Wonderbolts.

Time to get to work. Duskfall thought to himself.

"Glad to see I'm not late. So what's the deal with this storm? I find it hard to believe that we're going to have a race in one of the most hostile places in Equestria."

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'Spring Breeze' stood a little ways from the starting line, concealed by a copse of trees, watching as ponies gathered for the race. The false pegasus had to remind herself why she'd agreed to this.

She'd seen the storm building in the Everfree, and living right at the edge of the forest she was particularly invested dealing with it. All the same, it would be foolish to wander around the woods alone and with some kind of monster storm brewing, so it seemed to her a stroke of luck that a race was being organized through the area. 'Spring Breeze' had been confused by the prospect of the race itself, it seemed to have something to do with investigating the storm, but she couldn't find why nopony just ordered a team in. Either way though, she wasn't going to pass up the opportunity. Hay, she could use the flying practice anyways. She'd signed herself on without a second though.

That was, until the day of the race itself, when she finally got a look at her competitors, or more specifically a certain cyan pegasus and a certain orange earth pony. She remember them from the failed invasion, and needless to say she was not looking forward to encountering them again, particularly not on her own. It almost made her give up on the whole idea. If her disguise failed for even a moment-

She shook her head. No, she couldn't think like that. She was a pegasus. She recently moved to Ponyville. She wasn't hiding anything, and in all likelihood they would be around to rescue her rather than anything else.

After repeating this to herself a few times, 'Spring Breeze' finally strode out toward the starting line, getting a better look at the competitors as she did. The race had attracted a mixed crowd. Aside from the aforementioned element bearers, there were a few gryphons, another couple earth ponies and another pegasus.

As she took up a starting position at the edge of the group, a grey stallion asked about the storm. 'Spring Breeze' called back a response as she stretched out her wings in preparation. “If they knew, we wouldn't be here. It showed up a few days ago, and the weather team can't handle it like a normal storm. But then I'm no weather mare, so maybe somepony else knows more.” She stopped for a moment, before suddenly smiling and adding. "...And I almost forgot to introduce myself: the name's Spring Breeze."

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Wow! There was going to be some competition in this race! Rainbow's eyes narrowed as she studied the various ponies and griffons that had showed up. Some of them she knew, some of them she didn't. Others of them she knew only too well, namely Gilda and Applejack. Two of her fiercest competitors by far!

"Sure you're up to a race like this, Dash? That forest looks pretty intense; maybe you should just sit this one out? You wouldn't want to let everyone see you for the lightweight little pony you are."

Rainbow couldn't help her ears laying back in irritation at the cocky manner of her once friend Gilda. If there was a griffon that could rub Dash wrong it was her. However, Rainbow would play it cool. She flicked her ears forward and gave Gilda a cocky smile of her own.

"Well hey Gilda, I'm surprised you'd even show up to this race. You're not one for loosing and with me here... well, that's exactly what's gonna happen to you!" Her voice cracked a little at the end as she tried to hold up her cool exterior. Gilda was just really good at getting under Rainbow's skin.

"But don't worry, losing to the fastest griffon in the world isn't bad."

Though he seemed a little full of himself, Rainbow took an instant liking to this new griffon, if only because there was a strong chance of him irritating Gilda.

"We'll see about that Razor!" She spoke as confidently as ever.

"'cause Ah'll have ended this storm before any of you reach the center!"

Oh good! AJ had shown up. Though Rainbow was often found in heavy competition with the farm pony, Applejack was much easier to get along with than Gilda. The sky blue pony turned her attention towards Applejack, a smile returning to her features.

"That's some big talk AJ. We'll see who gets there first!" She looked back at her wings and grinned. "I'm thinking these might come in useful for that." Rainbow didn't know yet how much the storm would hold back her flying abilities.

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Spitfire had begun to size up the competitors that had come out for the race. It was certainly an interesting mix! One particularly intresting pony had just landed in a cloud of dust right near where she stood.

“Oh! I thought an invitation to a race through weather would only attract wings! Good to see I am not the only hoof trot here! JavaSun! Engineering Pony here!

Spitfire decided to humor herself with this new pony. He seemed excited to race at least.

"Hey there JavaSun. Looks like you're ready to stop a storm. I'm Spitfire."

(I'm trying to include as many people as I can into this post... just just in if you want to interact with any of my characters. I'll give some time for others to arrive before we start racing. :20: )

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"Hey there JavaSun. Looks like you're ready to stop a storm. I'm Spitfire."

Java looked up to the pony who had spoke to him. Easily recognizing the figure after watching oh so many spectacular airshows from her group. He'd quickly look around for a moment, before spinning about in a circle as if to check to see if there really was another Java in the area. His eyes continued to look around for a moment before settling back to the mare. He gestured to himself out of curiosity. And then beamed almost immediately. “Ah yes yes yes! I know who you are. Leader of the wonderbolts! Professional Aerial acrobat! And probably the only one who can turn on a radius of a bit!”

He raised up his hoof to offer an excited handshake, only to look down to find out that they were covered thickly in mud. He quickly lowered it, along with his ears, down in harassment. Figuring it's better if he didn't try to ruin another appearance. “And well!” He spoke in a thoughtful tone, his speed still as fast as ever with his words. “I needed to find a way to burn off time on a lovely afternoon with absolutely nothing...” He'd be on his rear legs, raising his front hooves to the thundering sky. It was as if he didn't even notice the magical typhoon of doom above him, “ to do! So I crossed a few things off my schedule after finding the flyer,”

He actually took a moment to mumble to himself on what exactly he wrote off. Each word came out in a rapid flurry. “Coffee, coffee, coffee, build, coffee, build, coffee, coffee, coffee, coffee, buy beans... build, build, build, design, build, play, coffee, build... buy supplies?” He'd wave his hoof in a disregarding manner, “Ah, it's not as important as a good sport!”

It may be clear by now that the pony doesn't exactly sleep much.

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Red Cedar

Red Cedar finished repacking and cinching up his saddlebags, strapping them around his midsection again before taking another look around at the assembled ponies. "Not a single unicorn so far. Hope we don't need magic support if that's the case." he thought. As he stood, waiting for instructions to begin, he overheard a cyan pegasus talking to one of her friends. Actually, it was hard not to overhear that particular pegasus.

"I'm thinking these might come in useful for that." She had said, looking at her wings.

Red decided this was as good a time as any to introduce himself, even if it was more out of concern. Trotting up to the cyan pegasus and her orange earth pony friend, he nodded to them both and said, "'Scuse me. I know it's a race but, are you sure you'll be able to fly for long in this? It won't do much good in figuring out what's behind the storm if you get thrown into a tree in the process."

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"I hope I'm not too late!" Thought the mare to herself as she galloped towards the races starting point. Seeing several other ponies already there and not galloping off into the distance she shouted to the assembled group including the familiar faces of Applejack and Razor,"Awesome, I Made it in time! Hey, Everypo- er body!"

The cream colored unicorn took her place at the start line, finding a spot near Applejack and Razor where she oddly got out her paintbrush with her magic , the head of the artistic implement glowing just as bright as her horn did as she lifted up each individual hoof and began to paint a horseshoe on each hoof. "Here to help out with the storm, eh, Applejack? We can't leave all the work to the pegasi can we?" Tilting her head to the side she caught a glimpse of the rainbow maned pegasus next to her rival. "Oi, Yer Rainbow Dash right? Nice ta meetcha I'm Presteza. I think Applejack 'as mentioned ya once r' twice at the waterin' hole."

Once she finished apply the stranger pattern to the bottom of her hooves she flung her hat off of her head and after pointing her paintbrush at the accesory and swirling it about vigorously, the hat was turned into a series of neatly woven squares of straw and levitated to her saddlebag, "If anypony here needs something extra to fuel them I've got some bits o' straw I can share now. Any takers?" since each of the straw squares she had in her bag were very small portions she was sure these wouldn't weigh any of the racers down. As if to demonstrate the safety of the newly created snack she popped a square into her mouth and swallowed.

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...to do! So I crossed a few things off my schedule after finding the flyer

Spitfire raised her eyebrows as the stallion offered his sullied hoof to her. She made no move to shake hooves with him, though a slight smile began to play on her features. He was an odd one to be sure. She liked that about him right away.

"I'm glad you're excited about the race. It should be interesting." She smiled at him again, this time more openly. "Looks like you might have some creative ways to deal with this storm." As she spoke the yellow mare checked on the accumulation of race contestants. They would be able to start soon. Plenty of griffons and ponies had shown up!

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Scuse me. I know it's a race but, are you sure you'll be able to fly for long in this? It won't do much good in figuring out what's behind the storm if you get thrown into a tree in the process

Rainbow looked from her conversation with Apple Jack to a stallion she hadn't met yet. Thrown into a tree? Who did this guy think he was? And more importantly, who did he think she was? This was Rainbow Dash, the greatest flyer in Equestria, he was talking about. No storm was going to throw her anywhere.

"Well, no storm has stopped me yet. I don't see why this one would be any different." She flapped her wings a couple times. "Sure it might take some expert flying skills to navigate this storm. And those are skills I've got!" She eyed Red Cedar and gave him a competitive half smile. "What makes you think earth ponies will have it any easier?" Her voice cracked as it often did when she offered challenges.

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Razor turned toward Zelda, "You!? I'm talking about me!" He said, puffing his chest out. But he smirked, at least he had something resembling competition now.

Razor took notice of some other ponies that he knew. Amazingly some of them none fliers.

"There's some competition that doesn't need to be worried about." He said with a chuckle.

Then he turned toward Rainbow Dash, "From what Zelda says, you did a sonic rainbow. Admirable, but I'll be a plucked turkey before I let your crayon mane be in my front view. I'll have this storm tied up around my little talon before dinner."

He twisted his head to the side till his neck gave a loud crack and then rubbed it. He then got to limbering up, stretching.

"So when do we start. I've got a thirst for some high speed flying and life threatening work."

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Red Cedar

"Well, no storm has stopped me yet. I don't see why this one would be any different." She flapped her wings a couple times. "Sure it might take some expert flying skills to navigate this storm. And those are skills I've got!" She eyed Red Cedar and gave him a competitive half smile. "What makes you think earth ponies will have it any easier?" Her voice cracked as it often did when she offered challenges.

Red Cedar raised an eyebrow, which probably would have at least looked more polite to the boastful multicoloured pegasus than if he'd rolled his eyes in exasperation like he wanted to.

"Well, first of all, this storm is different, or the weather pegasi would have taken care of it by now without asking for help." he said calmly. "And second, I don't think I'll have it any easier but I will be a lot closer to the ground if something goes wrong. All I wanted to say was I hope you come out of this unhurt."

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Since a client in Ponyville ordered cloud writing in exchange for payment plus a free trip to the little town, Amethyst and Flourish couldn't pass up the offer. Being the first time Ammy traveled outside of Manehatten, the trip was pretty exciting for her, if not a bit nerve wracking. Ponyville seemed to be a really nice place. She could see herself visiting again once she overcomes her new found fear of trains.

Once there, they noticed flyers for the race and decided it would be fun to join since their cloud writing session was scheduled for tomorrow. Besides. If this storm wasn't taken care of, Ammy was pretty sure their client's plans would be canceled.

Amethyst wasn't the fasted flyer due to her build being heavier than the average pegasus, but thanks to growing up on a farm, she had a lot of stamina and strength to make up for it. She planned on trying her best in regard to the race but was more interested in assisting with the elimination of the storm. As long as that happened, she'd be happy.

It seemed like they were running a bit late to Amethyst as she approached the starting point. So many ponies (and a few griffons) had already shown up!

The purple pegasus walked alongside her friend towards the assortment of competitors. "I think we're kinda late, Flourish."

After finding a spot to stand at the starting point, her eyes fell upon a lively blue pegasus with a spectrum of colors in her mane.

"Oh neat, look at her mane. Is that's natural?" She mumbled.

As she watched everypony interacting with each other, a voice near by caught her attention.

"If anypony here needs something extra to fuel them I've got some bits o' straw I can share now. Any takers?"

She glanced in the direction of the voice and saw a pretty white maned unicorn holding out straw cubes. Ammy's stomach growled upon seeing the snacks, having forgot to eat anything today. She approached the unicorn mare with a smile.

"Hello there ma'am, I'd like some of those straw thingies if ya don't mind." She chuckled. "I forgot all about eatin' today, bein' caught up in the excitement and all." Her smile turned into a wide grin. "I'm Amethyst by the way."

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“You do know.”, the griffoness rolled her eyes up as she spoke, “She’s also helped save the world like a dozen or so times over the last year or so, and speaking of saving.”, she lowered her voice, “Don’t pretend you don’t know me.”, she playfully elbowed the male, “We’ve worked together before, along with ‘Miss Fussy-Feathers’ over there.”, she waved a claw at Gilda, “I’ve also met your adorable kid sister before and I do believe the yellow mare with the freckles is Presteza. Friend of my gal-pal Fire Walker. Hmmm.", she pondered something for a moment, "Not sure what the walkers are gonna be doing. And lookie here.", she glanced towards a mare decked out in a Wonderbolts uniform, "If she's racing, I'm gonna just have to settle for third place. No dishonor in losing against the best, not that I'm gonna settle for it, but we all need to think realistically. I mean.", she turned her full attention to Razor, "You're cute and scrappy and all, but that wingspan of yours. Eh. Now this.", she fully unfurled her wings, "This is what wins contests. Used to race back in Rockwington. We didn't play as polite and nice as our lil' pony pals." Her smile faded away as something was starting to bother her.

"Come on already!", the griffon bellowed, "Are we gonna just sit here and have a cute lil' pretty pony picnic, or are we gonna race?", she called out to the others. Zelda was feeling a little more punchy than normal after having a rather hardy little breakfast at the local diner and she was desperate to burn off all those extra calories!

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Java blinked and slowly drew his hoof up to his chin. Carelessly getting mud just under his jaw as he tapped himself with it a few times. "YEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaammmmmmmmmmhm...." He hummed with a curious note. His gaze looking away from Spitfire for only a moment as he planted his hoof back to the ground. When Java's gaze went back to the other, he gave her a light shrug after standing up on his hind legs.

Once again, he spoke in a really fast pace. "Well... no. Because I don't fully know what I am looking at... other than a super cell that I forecast as an overcast of doom, heavy thunder snow soon, with a chance of rainpocalyspe," the jittery pony sighed with his ears lowering down for half a second in disappointment. His expression remained like so till another strong twitch came. His ears once more fully erect as he adds in, "BUT! Once I take a look at this thing... I could come up with somethin. Maybe not fully sane as I am just an earth pony... but an idea."

Now once a voice filled the air, the pony looked to it's source and then smiled as he see's the ebony griffon calling out to get the show on the road. Now seeing this to be the best time to go ahead and engage in some friendly trash talk with the other contestants. "Aw..." the pony called out in a musical note. Having to spin around to face her before he continues on in a challenging note, "So eager to loose?" He made sure there was no malice in his tone, as he only meant it all in good fun.

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"Well, first of all, this storm is different, or the weather pegasi would have taken care of it by now without asking for help. And second, I don't think I'll have it any easier but I will be a lot closer to the ground if something goes wrong. All I wanted to say was I hope you come out of this unhurt."

Rainbow came down nearer to Red Cedar and gave him a slightly aggressive smile. Then she let up and offered her hoof for a hoof bump.

"Hey, I was just jokin' around with you Cedar! I hope we all come out of this in one piece!" She looked over to the forest and then back at Red Cedar. "Not that I really need your well wishes... but thanks." She spoke the last part a little more quietly and then got louder. "This race is going to be SO epic!"

Oi, Yer Rainbow Dash right? Nice ta meetcha I'm Presteza. I think Applejack 'as mentioned ya once r' twice at the waterin' hole.

Dash now found herself speaking with a yellow unicorn. She smiled as she mentioned Applejack's reference.

"I bet you she told you that I'm her greatest rival right? That happens when you beat somepony over and over again at like everything that's awesome right AJ?" She elbowed her friend and rival.

"Hey you got any extra hay bits by chance?" She asked Pres. "Good to meet you by the way, yep I'm Rainbow Dash!"

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Flourish walked onto the scene with her friend Ammy. This was sure to be a fun race, plus they could work on some of their agility training for Cloud Crossers work. She and Ammy had been working together for a little while but she was excited to get the chance to practice some team work with her new friend.

"I think we're kinda late, Flourish. Oh neat, look at her mane. Is that's natural?"

Flourish smiled at her friend's enthusiasm and looked on at the rainbow hued pony's mane.

"Yep, that's natural Ammy. Don't you know who that is?" Flourish knew of Rainbow as she had an interest in ponies with flying skills and kept track of who they were as a hobby. "That's Rainbow Dash!"

Flourish trotted in a happy circle, excited to race with her friend and with Rainbow Dash! Not to mention all the other ponies and griffons that had shown up!

"Save some of those hay bits for me!" She went to catch up with Ammy.

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Are we gonna just sit here and have a cute lil' pretty pony picnic, or are we gonna race?

Spitfire has been moving towards the starting line when the griffon called out. She gave a reckless smile and then called out over the crowd.

"Alright everypony and griffon! To the starting line! It's time for the Storm Nexus race to begin!"

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Red Cedar

Rainbow came down nearer to Red Cedar and gave him a slightly aggressive smile. Then she let up and offered her hoof for a hoof bump. "Hey, I was just jokin' around with you Cedar! I hope we all come out of this in one piece!" She looked over to the forest and then back at Red Cedar. "Not that I really need your well wishes... but thanks." She spoke the last part a little more quietly and then got louder. "This race is going to be SO epic!"

Red smirked back to Rainbow Dash a little, then raised up his hoof, bumping it to hers lightly. "That it will be, I'm sure!" he replied.

"Alright everypony and griffon! To the starting line! It's time for the Storm Nexus race to begin!"

At the direction of the leader of the Wonderbolts, Red cinched his saddlebag around him once more and trotted to the starting line, stretching out his legs as he gazed from the centre of the storm, down into the depths of the Everfree Forest, all but obscuring the view past the first few metres.

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"Alright everypony and griffon! To the starting line! It's time for the Storm Nexus race to begin!"

'Spring Breeze' made her way toward the starting line, eyeing the other competitors out of curiosity but otherwise lost in thought. Finally getting a look at the competition, the false pegasus though she might be outmatched. She'd never been that strong of a flyer, and here she was going up against prominently of gryphons and pegasi. She was glad that she wasn't here to win, as she knew her chances of victory were slim.

Still, that was no reason to take things lying down, so to speak. It just meant more of a challenge, she might still have a shot if she could leverage her advantages: modest familiarity with a area, superior endurance (or at least she hoped...) and some experience in running through less than ideal conditions.

She needed to conserve her strength. As she reached the starting line, an idea came to mind, which seemed obvious in retrospect. Particularly looking to the earth ponies, 'Spring Breeze' realized she could run most of the race on hoof, saving the use of her wings for manoeuvring or if she needed a sudden burst of speed. Reaching the starting line she crouched down, readying herself to spring forward, and snapping her wings shut.

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Raz's smile widened as the race was about to start! His wings gave a cheerful flap as he trotted his way up to the starting line; cloak flowing about as he took his steps. "This is gonna be awesome! May the best pony or griffon win everyone!" he nodded eagerly back to the crowd as he took his place at the line, crouching down to stretch himself out, giving his wings another flap. His saffron eyes turned to the hyper active pony and the fellow pegaus Spring Breeze already at the line with him.

"Best of luck to you both!" the stallion adventurer nodded, beaming a pleasant smile as he waited for the race to set off.

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"I bet you she told you that I'm her greatest rival right? That happens when you beat somepony over and over again at like everything that's awesome right AJ?" She elbowed her friend and rival.

"Hey you got any extra hay bits by chance?" She asked Pres. "Good to meet you by the way, yep I'm Rainbow Dash!"

"Hello there ma'am, I'd like some of those straw thingies if ya don't mind." She chuckled. "I forgot all about eatin' today, bein' caught up in the excitement and all." Her smile turned into a wide grin. "I'm Amethyst by the way."

"Save some of those hay bits for me!"

"Wow these things sure turned out ta be a hit!" said with mare, her voice cracking in her cheerful tone. Once again opening up her saddlebag she levitated the the little Hay squares and sent about three pieces to each of the ponies who asked. Since Rainbow was the first to ask she was the first to receive her share. "Applejack has told me that yes... but maybe taday she'll turn out ta have a ground based rival to play with!" she said cheekily. "By the way when this is over I wanted ta talk ta ya. I got a request fer ya but it can wait fer now."

The next pony who got her snack was a purple pony who introduced herself as Amethyst and a bright blue, "Oh! It's awesome ta meet ya, Amethyst!" neighed the excited mare as she levitate six squares to the newcomer; three for Ammy and three for her friend. "I'm Presteza. Future greatest artist in the world... and potential Duchess."

"Alright everypony and griffon! To the starting line! It's time for the Storm Nexus race to begin!"

The cream colored unicorn smirked and looked to Amethyst once more,"... And definite Future winner o' this race!" she said aloud before galloping to the starting line with a surprising burst of speed and assuming one of those About-to-run poses.

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