Human Disease (Part 3 of 12)

Written by: AwesomeBrony1130

Zeke's POV

"Okay, so the map took us to the Golden Oaks Library. Where do we go next?" Trixie asked.

"Um, Trixie, Twilight's sick, but she's our friend too," I said. "At the very least, we could just check up on her, but I was thinking she might have something in her library that would give us info on how you became a human."

"But she's sick! We could get sick too!" Trixie yelled.

"I know! That's why I picked up these," I said, pulling out four surgical masks. "Here. Put them on. Whether you like it or not, we're going in."

"Wait, where did you get these?" Trixie asked, pointing to the mask.

"Pinkie Pie. She keeps them all over Equestria in case of a mask emergency," I said.

"Oh."

So in we went. As soon as we got through the door, we saw how bad it was. Twilight's muzzle, instead of being its normal lavender color, was a pale bluish-green. There were tissues all over the floor. But worst of all, she wasn't even a pony any more. She was- "A HUMAN?" Trixie gasped.

"Yeah. Hi, Zeke. Hi, Trixie. Hi, dinosaur-and-baby bear-I-don't-recognize," Twilight feebly said. "AAAACHOO!" She sneezed all over Theo.

"MOOOMMY! THAT BAD LADY SNEEZED ON THEO! WAHHHH!"

"There, there, Intelligent and Creative Theodore, she didn't mean to..." Trixie comforted him. Unfortunately, that sneeze had spread whatever it was that had turned Twilight into a human to Theo, and it had begun transforming him into a human. Trixe watched him, terrified, and yet mesmerized. Now what would we do?

"Okay," I said, "So I think I know what's wrong. Whatever disease Twilight has, it's causing everyone and everypony to turn into humans. I'll bet Lyra would enjoy this."

"Who's Lyra?" they all asked in perfect timing. "Oh, nevermind, you've all got too much on your minds now. I'll tell you later."

So after we said our goodbyes to Twilight and Theo (we decided we would leave him in good hands) "What are hands?" Trixie asked, peering over my shoulder. "And why are you writing this down?"

"No reason! Go away!" I said frantically, which clearly served to only heighten her suspicions. Anyway, we left Theo with Twilight since we didn't want Dino or anypony else to get sick, and we began following the map. "So what or who are we looking for?" I asked myself more than anypony else, only to be tackled by a blue blur with a horn.

"No! You do not ask WHO are you looking for, you say WHOM! Are we good on that now?" the blur said while standing on my chest.

"Uh, yeah, sure," I said, not sure who this pony was.

GOOD!" the blur replied, before running off.

"Now hold on just a minute!" Trixie yelled, using her magic to amplify her voice. "Just WHO exactly are you?"

"No time to explain! Just follow your map! Gotta find the Doctor! Gotta find the Doctor! Gotta find him..." The blur's voice died away gradually, until we could hear it no more.

"So," I said, "I guess we just follow the map now..."

DISCLAIMER: Zeke doesn't own MLP (though this author dearly wishes he did), nor does he own Ginger Star or Swift Lightning. He also doesn't own his own house, or a car, or business... He only owns the idea to this story, Dino, The Intelligent And Creative Theodore, and Blitz. He also doesn't own me, the author of this chapter of THE HUMAN DISEASE. So until next time every pony!

---

Blitz's POV

"Bluebonnet and dandelion sandwich?" Rarity asked me, levitating out one of the sandwiches she had packed for us to eat while we watched the race. We were still floating above the race, out of the way from any racers, but able to spot them all while keeping a steady pace. Good thing I was able to make a small buoy that ran on lightning like I did.

"Yeah, thanks." I said, accepting it and taking a bite for myself. I don't know why, but I just loved the taste of bluebonnet flowers for some reason. Maybe it was just a mind-set thing or something. You know, since it was the flower of Texas and I was from Texas...Yeah, that was a stupid idea, but it was the only one I could keep up with. Sadly, these flowers weren't exactly cheap, everyday flowers. They were Canterlot-level flowers. Which is why I guess only Rarity has them.

"So," I started, after swallowing. "Who do you think's gonna win anyway? Twilight's already out because she tried to mess with the boat, so who else should we root for?"

"Oh, I don't know...Perhaps Rainbow Dash?" She asked with a small smile towards me. I could've sworn it looked a little sly for a second, but I just shook it off. It made no sense that she would try to be saying anything. And if she was, it was probably just her trying to be 'gossipy' or whatever.

"I don't think so. She might be in first place now, but she's gonna die out soon enough. No pony can fly that heavy boat the whole track without getting winded." I said with a neutral expression. I had to watch what I said around her since she was the one that never really fell for any of my weaseling or plain out acting. She had seen it all.

"How's your sewing going?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Pretty well I suppose. Do you think the colors are clashing?" She asked, holding it up for my opinion. Yeah, like I would know anything about that!

"It looks fine." I said, taking another bite of my sandwich to avoid the question. But before she could press it any further, I just looked ahead of all the racers. And it looked like Rainbow Dash, who was in first place, was about to come up on the rapids.

Yeah. You heard right. There was a small section of rapids in Track River. RJ an the others had smoothened out the sharper rocks so nothing would be too dangerous, but I knew that they had to have set a few traps set up in the worst spots there were.

"Oh, well let's see just how well they're going to do here." Rarity said, setting down her sewing and taking full attention towards the rapids as each racer started coming up to it.

Rainbow Dash came up to it first and saw the rapids up ahead. And with her huge boat, there was no way she could've gone through as fast as she was going. But of course, that wasn't a problem for her as she surprised both of us and the entire crowd that was watching. Not only did she clear the rapids without one single problem, but she didn't even have a problem either! She was about out of stamina from flying this boat around for a good six minutes straight, but she still had some left. And she used the rest of it right here.

By flying the boat up out of the water, and over the rapids altogether. Landing back in the water on the other side, I kid you not, in ten seconds flat.

"B...B-but how..." I stuttered, shocked that she had managed to do all of that. Granted that she was just letting the stream move her boat forward now, out-of-breath, but still!

And it looks like Rainbow Dash has cleared the rapids! And just under the time limit too! This might just give her a big lead right there!

Oh how wrong Spike was.

Scootaloo/Sweetie Belle and DJ Pon-3 all came up at once. Both team's boats not slowing down as they came to the rapids. Sweetie Belle was holding some kind of string, waiting for some kind of queue from Scootaloo to do something. And right before they hit the first rock, Scootaloo nodded silently. Having no air left to say anything as she kept moving the boat forward with her scooter.

In the instant Sweetie Belle pulled the cord, a sudden inflatable raft that was tucked away on the back end of the boat inflated in less than a second. Propelling the two fillies up into the air and over the rapids. Just like Rainbow Dash. The only difference was that they were a little short and the back end of the boat hit the final rock of the rapids. Knocking the fencing and a few loose boards on the back off the boat. Leaving a piece of their ship fallen off.

It didn't seem to matter though as they kept going on. Ignoring that a piece of ship had fallen off. If anything, it was really just deadweight up until this point. And now they were passing Rainbow before stopping to rest a few seconds later.

Oops! Look's like I spoke too soon! Now in the lead is The Crusader Crafter!

Looking back towards the rapids before it was too late, I saw Pon-3 make a sudden sharp turn onto the ground besides the river rapids. But once she hit ground, she didn't slow down at all. In fact, if anything Pon-3 sped up after hitting the ground. Those record players acting like an all-terrain vehicle now.

And before it hit ten seconds, she made a turn and went right into the water again. On the other side of the rapids. Once again, another racer avoiding them all together. She was slower in the water, but had now ended up being Rainbow Dash. Who was starting to look a bit worried by how easily every pony was clearing the rapids.

Not even a second later, Applebloom and Big Mac came up next. Only, Big Mac just started running as fast as he could on his treadmill. Applebloom changing course so they were set to ride towards an angled rock that was perfect for a ramp. And with the natural curve of their boat being shaped like an apple half, they easily went up it. And the bottom of the treadmill worked on the rock just as well as the water. So they flew off that ramp and went flying over the rapids too. Landing behind the others, but on the other end of the rapids nonetheless.

WOW! It looks like Bass Cannoneer and Speed Juicer went right over and around the rapids too! Is there any pony that might actually try to go through the rapids?!

You know that saying: 'Ask and you shall receive?' Well apparently, that saying was working perfect for Spike right now. Because as soon as he said that, the next team came up. Strong Fiber.

"Uh, Snowflake? Should we try and go over the rapids? Or through them?" Derpy asked, not sure what to do. Both of them combined had no chance of lifting this giant muffin, and Snowflake was getting tired by paddling the boat. That didn't stop his enthusiasm though.

"YEAH!" He answered vaguely, only using his energy to start paddling as fast as he could to get through the rapids. And with no fear, he went through the rapids alright. Hitting every rock, triggering every trap, and making the path clearer for whoever came next.

By the end of all those rocks, a mini flamethrower, ropes getting stuck underneath the muffin and around the gears, covered in glue, glitter, feathers, and gummy worms. They were stuck in place just outside the rapids. And before one of them could even have the chance to say the magic words, it got worse.

Their boat immediately broke into pieces under them. Making them have just enough time to look down before falling into the water. Meaning that they were out.

And it's bad luck for Strong Fiber! Sorry guys, but you've ended the race in 16th Place.

Although there were racers still coming in behind them, they hadn't crashed yet. Which is why the two of them went from fifth place, to sixteenth.

Speaking of the other racers, as soon as Snowflake had cleared out the rapids, making them safer to pass through, none of them wasted any time in just taking the rapids head on. Mayor Mare, who had re-wound her boat with the large key once again, past right through without so much as even spotting Derpy and Snowflake at the end of the rapids. Making them have to swim out of the way frantically before getting hit by their crazy mayor.

After she sped right past them, they kept flailing around in the water trying to get out. But with all the rapids behind them, and the boats passing by at incredible speeds, the waves started going crazy. Knocking the two Pegasi around too much for them to fly out of the water and onto land. It didn't help when others started to go by as well. Further shaking the waves around them and discombobulating them even more than they were to begin with.

A good minute of that torture later, and the boats finally stopped coming. All, but one boat anyway.

Because in last place, still just relaxing and going at a calm fun pace, Pinkie was just riding along with a smile on her face. Not caring in the least that she was losing the race. Luckily for Derpy and Snowflake though, because she wasn't focused on winning the race, she saw them swimming around like crazy.

"Oh hi Derpy! Hi Snowflake! Are you two not racing anymore?!" She asked, confused about whether or not they even cared about that. "Speaking of, where did that delicious Muffin Boat go?!"

"It's gone..." Derpy answered with a defeated look, stopping her flailing around as she spoke up to Pinkie. It only lasted for a second though as another biggish wave came up and splashed Derpy in the face. Making her go back to trying to get out of the water. This time, making a little progress since there wasn't anymore boats coming by.

"Oh, that looks like fun! Can I jump in?!" Pinkie asked, getting off the peddles of the boat and balancing herself on the edge of her boat. Already making the decision herself to literally jump into the fun.

"No wait-" But it late as Pinkie landed in the water with a cannonball. Making the water start pushing around Derpy an Snowflake once again. And push Pinkie's now abandoned boat further down the stream. Abandoning her as she came back up with a big smile on her face. Having fun already, despite that she had just lost her boat.

And, in a surprising twist...It, uh, looks like Pinkie Pie has quit the race in order to, um...Play in the water?

"Come on Spike, it's so much fun! Can you really blame me for wanting to play in the waves instead of be a part of the race?!" Pinkie asked Spike, giving an innocent smile as she let the waves of the river move her around freely.

I...Guess not. Either way, this now puts Pinkie Pie in 15th Place. Enjoy the water, Pinkie?...

"Thanks Spike! Have fun commentating for the readers!" Pinkie told him, waving goodbye as she dived back into the water to swim around. Content with just playing around before heading over to the finish line to throw the winner the best party ever.

---

Ember Shade's POV

Once again, I'm forced into coming to some stupid town-wide event. I couldn't even hide from this army of crazed fans. A few of them, who have recently taken it upon themselves to try and be my friends, literally bothered me to no end until I agreed to come to this stupid race and watch.

Luckily for me, I was able to slip away from them unnoticed when every pony was in a giant crowd while that dragon riding around in the balloon was announcing all the racers one-by-one. And while I'm sitting under the shade of a tree, eating some hay chips and cheese dip, those two 'friends' are probably running all around the empty Ponyville looking for me.

And by staying in this one spot, I had a wide-view of the river from under this tree because of how the river ran. It coiled side-to-side like a snake, meaning that it would take all of them at least a good minute or two to clear through this area.

My idea of finding the perfect spot was then met with good results too. The few racers that were in the lead came up first. All of them slowing down because they couldn't go through the land here. The DJ pony couldn't just ride through on her records because there were trees in the small areas. Meaning roots that could mess up the records, not to mention small animals that might get in the way. And with razor sharp records spinning like wheels, that wasn't a good idea.

The two fillies, Rainbow Dash, and even those two Pegasi who I heard sank another racer's boat earlier all saw the turns ahead and were forced to slow down too so they could make the turns.

The Mayor, who was going at full speed by this point, immediately pulled out the Key to Ponyville from her podium and made her boat slow down instantly. Once the boat stopped around the first turn, she started using the key as a paddle to get through.

This part of the race, however, the Apple sibling racers had no problem with. Since it was a harmless treadmill powered, plow of a boat more than anything, they found spaces within the tree line where their apple boat would fit through and just ran through the land.

Coming up on the second obstacle of the race-

"AH!" The two pirate themed colts yelled out in surprise as a Timberwolf Jack-in-the-Box popped out from under water in front of them, making them swerve towards the right and hit the spa ponies boat. Sadly, neither boat was destroyed in the hit and they didn't try to take each other down either.

Let me rephrase that-The second obstacle of the race, not counting the traps, we see every pony slowing down as they try to go through Snake Path! And it looks like it's slowing all racers down!

As he finished that observation, the two Apple siblings finally got through the last swerve of 'Snake Path'. Slowing down to catch their breath as they left all the other racers stuck going around the meander of the river.

Look's like I spoke too soon every pony! Now taking first place is The Speed Juicer! Clearing the Snake Path without having to slow down! It looks like the rest of the racers are going to have a lot of ground-err, water-to cover!

"What?! Oh no, we got to start catching up Rumble!" A Pegasus said to his little brother, getting angry that they were in...Ninth place as of right now. They were a small distance ahead of any of the others behind them, but they still weren't close to the Rainbow or DJ pony that was in second and third place respectively.

"Do you think it's time be break out the balloons, Thunderlane?" Rumble asked, looking from his brother to one of the buckets, and back to his brother as if waiting for a signal.

Thunderlane thought about it for a second. They were about to catch up with the spa ponies now, who had been pushed back from the pirate colts who were now ahead in sixth place. Turning smoothly as they went through Snake Path themselves, too far ahead of them to try and catch them right now. As were the Apple siblings, the rainbow one, the two fillies, the DJ, the mayor, and the spa ponies were now falling behind as they tried to regain eighth place.

But with six ponies ahead of them impossible to 'break out the balloons' on, that only left one other pony that they could go after. The pony who hadn't been slowed down by any traps yet thanks to those animals.

Fluttershy.

"It's the only way we're winning this! Get ready!" Thunderlane said as he reached into the bucket and pulled out a balloon. From close inspection, it looked like colorful little water balloons. But now getting my full attention, I saw-

"Fluttershy, be careful!" I yelled out like an idiot, earning her attention, along with the animals, Rumble's and Thunderlane's as well. "Those water balloons are filled with ice!"

Thunderlane, while hearing me in mid-throw, turned towards me after he followed through with his throw. "You can't just tell her! That's not fair man!" After saying that, the ice balloon he had thrown missed it's mark thanks to me distracting him. Making it miss Fluttershy's boat and hit the water beside her. The result being a large splash that shook her boat. Alarming her and the animals further.

She then shrieked in fear quietly as she started asking the animals if she was okay. In response, a raccoon with a hat and bag pulled out a small umbrella and a boomerang, handing the umbrella to an angry looking rabbit while he got ready to throw the boomerang. All while a weird looking alligator pulled on a vine. Stretching it out to make it act as a slingshot of some kind.

Still, that didn't stop Thunderlane and his brother as the two of them went along with their plan to throw ice balloons towards the animals while Fluttershy was scared for the rest of the animals safety. They were going down towards the first turn of the Snake Path and away from where I was resting, so I couldn't do anything, but wait for them to come back around.

But at least those two animals weren't completely defenseless. Because as the ice balloons started coming with surprising speed and accuracy, the two animals were able to knock away the ones that were going to hit the boat. Either knocking them off into the water beside them, or busting them apart altogether. The ones that had missed and landed next to them were then picked up by one or two of the other animals. Who loaded them up into the vine that alligator pulled up. Returning fire quite literally.

This continued on with neither side able to hit the other. Which from a spectators point of view, my point of view, it was just pitiful to watch. Still, it didn't stop either team as they started coming in my direction to make the next turn that was right in front of the tree I was still at. Meaning that now they were more than close enough to help out.

Thunderlane and Rumble both grabbed two ice balloons each and chucked all four towards the boat. One for the raccoon, one for the bunny, and two more that were left unaccounted for. Heading right for Fluttershy's head.

And seeing that, I just frowned as I caught the last two with my magic before they managed to hit her. "H-huh?" Fluttershy asked, as she opened her eyes to see that I caught them in time. Before she could even say anything else, I acted on my own before they could do anything else to try and take her down.

"I don't think so." I told them, sending the two ice balloons back at their own boat. Purposefully crashing the two ice balloons through the floor of the boat. Putting two holes in it and making there boat sink into the river quickly enough.

And it looks like team Rumble Speeder has been taken down in the Snake Path! Putting them in 14th Place thanks to, not some other team, but some pony who was spectating! Wow, I guess even the crowd wants to take out some of the racers!...

"Oh! Thank you Ember Shade." Fluttershy told me with a polite wave while all the animals cheered for me as if I was really their savior or something. If they had better aim, I wouldn't even have to save them all in the first place.

"Yeah, no problem." I said, not really thinking anything of it. Besides, one less team to race now. So that meant that this race can now end quicker than it would've before. And I could go home before those previously mentioned 'forced friends' could find-

"There you are!" The two of them called out in unison.

Me...I just had to jinx it, didn't I? "Fluttershy, hold that boat!" I told her, running over to jump on her boat and get away from those two mumbling morons. Not realizing that I had just gotten into an even worse problem than this one.

And now that same spectator pony is joining Fluttershy's team! I guess he really wanted to help her win!

I turned towards Fluttershy with a confused look. "Wait, what is he-"

"Hey! Good luck Ember!" "Yeah! See you at the finish line!" The two stallions told me, waving goodbye to me. To which I gave a grunt in response as I just counted my losses and went along with the whole thing. Not able to back out at this point anyway.

---

Sweetie Belle's POV

After getting through the Snake Path, Scootaloo asked if I could make sure none of the racers behind us were planning anything. Even though we were ahead of most of them by a good lead, we ran into some trouble. I don't know why, but somehow a bunch of beavers had thought it was a good idea to build a dam around the widest part of the whole river.

Because of those beavers, those who were way ahead of the rest, me and Scootaloo included, were starting to get held up as those behind us caught up. They wouldn't let any of us pass for any reason at all. Not even Fluttershy, although they looked a little sorry about having to do that.

Well, it looks like we have a problem every pony. Apparently some beavers are blocking the way!

"A problem? Why, whatever do you mean?" My sister Rarity asked as her and Blitz's cloud boat came into view. The beavers looked up towards them, but decided to ignore them and focus all their attention on the rest of us. Seeing that we were closer and in the way as far as they could tell.

"Well they ain't gonna be a probl'm fa long! First Mate Button! Ready the cannon!" Cap'n Pip...Wait a second-

"WHAT?!" All of the racers, plus Spike, Rarity, Blitz, and the spectators who were watching from the sidelines all asked in shock in fear.

"Yes, Cap'n Pipsqueak!" Button said with a quick salute as he jumped up to the front of their pirate looking ship. Moving aside a square piece of wood from the inside and rolling forward the cannon in question. The cannon me and the other Crusaders were going to use for Dare Deviling. Pinkie Pie's Party Cannon!...Wow, try saying that five times fast...

"Aim, and...FIRE!" Pipsqueak commanded as Button activated the cannon. Firing out a pile of water balloons that were all tied together to make a party cannon-sized ball of water balloons.

That water cannonball flew forward and whizzed right past are boat, along with the other racer's as well. Striking the Beaver's Dam with perfect aim and destroying it. Forcing the water that was building up to start pouring through towards the other side. Pulling all the boats along with the current.

DJ Pon-3 and Rainbow Dash, who were ahead of the group in second in third place, got stuck on the sides of the beaver's wooden barricade. The random pieces of wood getting caught in their boats. Applebloom and Big Mac, who were front and center since they got there first, were just forced through first along with the rest of us.

Any of us that were left had gone through the hole in the wall and were sent sprawling out in random directions Bumping off of each other like a pinball table gone haywire! And if that wasn't bad enough, there was still one problem most of us forgot about until it took it's toll on two other racers. One thing that I was glad we didn't go near.

A trap.

The moment two boats had collided with one another, they had both floated right into a net trap that was laid out earlier by Angel Bunny, RJ, Opal, and Gummy. It had caught a hold of the two boats and yanked them off to the side without warning. Making the four racers involved trip and fall off their boats and land in the water. Their abandoned boats didn't slow down as they were pulled out of the river with more than enough force.

The boats went through the air, colliding with a tree where the net was tied to. Not only taking their boats away and grounding them, but making them both burst into a bunch of useless wood, clocks, and soap. Knocking the two racers out of the race for good.

Woah! This is too much to take in folks! It looks like after the beaver's dam was destroyed-with a cannonball no less!- It dragged most of the racers through. Destroying two with a trap! And as far as I can tell, that leaves The Luxurious Drifter in 13th place, and The Wave Jumper in 12th Place!

"Wait, what number am I?" Doctor Whooves asked, being the last one to come up from underwater. Not able to hear what Spike had said clearly.

You're the 12th Doctor.

"Ah, I see..." He said with a defeated look on his face as he and the other three racers started making their way to the shore. That way, they wouldn't be in the way of the rest of the racers that were still trying to get their bearings and go on ahead.

"Sweetie Belle! Help!"

"Huh?" I perked up at the sound of my own voice. Looking around our boat to try and figure out just who called me. Not sure whether or not I heard that voice for real though, I turned towards my friend to see if they heard it too. "Scootaloo, did you he..."

Turning towards her though, I was confused to say the least. For two reasons, mainly. One, she didn't hear some pony else calling my name. So that meant I was the only pony on the boat that had heard it. And two, I was the only pony on the boat!

"Scootaloo?" I asked, looking around the boat to see where she went. She wasn't on her scooter, or anywhere near it. She wasn't behind me, and she wasn't off to the sides either. In fact, even a piece of the fencing on the sides of our boat had broken off. Making a hole in the side of it where one of us could have fallen off.

Fallen. Off.

Fallen...

"Scootaloo!" I yelled out in realization, realizing how it had to be her that was calling out towards me. And looking around the entire boat, I spotted Scootaloo balancing herself on the piece of fence that broke off from our boat. She must've fallen off the boat when we had gone through the beaver dam and started floating fast so suddenly.

And with ten seconds passing by, I'm afraid that Scootaloo is out of the race!

"WHAT?!" Me and Scootaloo both yelled out angrily at the flying balloon. "Spike, what do you mean Scootaloo's out?! I'm still on the boat, so that means that our team is still racing!" I told him with a mad glare. Oh, Spike is so lucky he's on a balloon right now, because he did not want me to come up there!

Sorry Sweetie Belle, but that's the rule. You're not allowed to leave your boat for ten seconds. Scootaloo's not on the boat, so that means she's out...Sorry...

"Sweetie Belle, don't sweat it." Scootaloo said with an upset look on her face. Just keep going on. You're still in this! If you win, we both win!" She said, getting more excited as she came to realize that.

"Really? I'm still in the race?" I asked more towards myself. Was that even allowed? I thought we both had to cross the finish line together...

"Go on darling, you can do it!" Rarity called down from the cloud she had been riding on. Smiling hopeful to try and help me be confident about it all. And while she did, Blitz lowered his grapple hoof towards Scootaloo so he could bring her up to the cloud where she could then watch the rest of the race with him and Rarity.

"Yeah...Yeah, I can do it!" I said, smiling up on my sister thankfully. "Thanks Rarity! I'll win this for sure!" I then focused my attention on the scooter in the middle of our boat that was supposed to steer us forward. Which is-powered by wing power..."Oh yeah, I forgot about that..."

"Come on Sweetie Belle, don't you remember?!" Scootaloo called out, looking over the cloud's railing. "There is one way you can move the boat!" She reminded me. Making me look around to see that every pony that had been watching was now catching up. Most of them were riding in some kind of hayride cart that was pulled by a few ponies, and some Pegasi were just flying along higher up above on top of their own clouds.

A whole crowd was watching me and the other racers. It was like I was on a stage with every pony waiting for me to preform or something. As much as I hated to admit it, I had a really hard time with stage fright whenever it's just me. When it was me and the Crusaders on the stage, I barely had to worry about that. I was constantly running around setting up all the props. But now, it was me against ten other teams. Several ponies waiting for my own performance. By myself.

And on top of that...I had to use magic.

I looked towards the scooter, knowing I couldn't use it like Scootaloo did. And the paddlewheels were underneath the whole boat. And the only way to move them, was if I suddenly grew gills like a mythical sea pony and dived underneath.

But if I could use my magic on those wheels, I could move them. There were only four wheels twice the size of Scootaloo's usual wheels, so they were pretty easy. Only, since Rarity's always so busy, as was Dad, I didn't have any pony to help me with magic. And of course, Mom was just as busy too, so she wasn't any help except for giving me books about it.

The sad thing about magic is, you can't get a friend or tutor to help you. Every family of unicorn's magic is different. At least, that's what those dumb books say. You have to learn how to use your magic yourself or through other family members to make it work. It's all wired differently depending on your family genes, so it can't be taught. Just 'earned'. So Twilight's help wasn't useful at all either.

"Alright..." I said very dubitably as I turned towards the scooter. "...Here goes..." I said, walking up to the scooter. Secretly thanking my luck that the boat was still pointed forward. Because I don't think I could turn this boat with magic. But make all four small wheels spin at once? Well...It was worth a shot.

The only times I ever used magic was whenever I was really excited, or when I was just a baby. Mom always said that I always sent random stuff flying across the room that ranged from my pacifier to even the entire couch! And somehow I made my crying so loud with magic, it sounded like it was coming from a megaphone!

So from what the books said, a unicorn family's magic usually revolved around one certain emotion, and their talent. Well, talent wasn't helping since I had no idea what mine really was, but emotion... Well, whenever Rarity gets one of her, *ahem* 'IDEEEEEAAAAAASSS!' her magic always makes everything in her room start moving around so fast. And sometimes when were crusading, Applebloom and Scootaloo always tells me how my magic sparks a little whenever I get-

Get Excited! That's it!

"Blitz! Can you toss me one of your storm cloud cupcakes?!" I asked, suddenly getting an idea. And needless to say, that made the three of them, the crowd watching, the other racers, and even Spike all stop and gawk at me.

"Wh-WHAT?! Sweetie Belle are you insane?! If you get your hooves on one, you'll" "You'll get shocked! What do you plan on doing with it anyway?!" Rarity asked, stepping in to ask just what I was thinking.

"I plan on eating it!" I told them, making the entire crowd of ponies, and dragon, all stop what they were doing. Turning towards the crazy, grinning me that was only looking up towards Blitz in hopes that he would let me.

"Okay, you are insane! Sweetie Belle, if you eat even a bite-sized one, I don't know what's going to happen to you, or the other racers! If you even touch that water after eating one of those, you'll electrocute most all of them!" Blitz tried warning me.

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!" All the other racers asked in complete and utter fear at what I was asking now. It was fine though, I didn't plan on touching the water so they had no reason to worry right?

"Here you go Sweets!" Scootaloo called out, tossing one over the cloud and down towards me. Blitz and Rarity not fast enough to stop her or catch the cupcake as it fell down and landed right in front of me on the boat. "Come on, you got this!"

"Okay!" I told her, not wasting any time as I picked it up in my mouth the whole thing melting in my mouth lick cotton candy. Even if it didn't taste like cotton candy. It tasted anything but sweet actually. The only way I could describe the flavor would be...Super caffeinated soda, that was spicy enough to open up a salsa factory! But...The taste only lasted for a second.

Because right after the taste disappeared, I couldn't even try to think about it. Everything looked like it was slower compared to me. I think I even saw the pony beside me, the mayor, taking a whole two seconds just to blink.

But that was to boring to focus on! Right now, all I could think about was what I could do right now! Just like I had hoped, the cupcake made me so hyper and energetic, so much so that I think I could've been on par with Pinkie Pie! I was excited and ready to do EVERYTHING!

So focusing on being excited, I tried to visualize on the wheels beneath me. Twilight told me that whenever the day came, in order to use my magic I had to focus on the object or spot where I would use it. So the wheels I focused on. Imagining them spinning forwards, ahead in the direction where I was facing. I closed my eyes, felt the magic course through my body, into my head, and up to the tip of my horn. The aura of it all: A pale, light, sap green color, was around my horn. And I could feel the aura surround the wheels too.

A good five seconds past when I finally opened my eyes after focusing so much. The other boats, the trees, and the ponies were all moving away from my boat as it went forward. "I'm-I'm doing it! I'm really doing it! I'm using magic!" I yelled out, almost losing my focus, but with all the lightning still buzzing around me and my horn, it made it way easier to get refocused before it was too late.

"You-you really are!" Scootaloo told me, making it a proven fact that I was moving.

"Woah...She's actually managing to handle all that lightning..." Blitz said, completely impressed by how I was managing it.

"GO SWEETIE BELLE!" Rarity called out, cheering with so much joy it could only make me more excited. Which in turn, made the boat go even faster! Still, my magic wasn't that great. I could go on like this for the rest of the race thanks to that cupcake, but still not so fast. At a normal pace, I was going probably half as fast as Scootaloo was going before. So I just had to hope I could get far enough before any pony caught-

"Bye!" DJ Pon-3 said friendly through her sound system as she passed by me. Getting her bearings quickly and booting up her stereo to go forward again. Going at least twice as fast as me without any problem at all.

"Hold it!" A sophisticated voice called out from behind, followed by a small pebble flying right over my head that was so close I could feel the wind that came with it. It avoided me entirely, letting me keep on using my magic-Oh, it's so exciting just to say that!-but not letting DJ Pon-3 continue.

The pebble soared right for the bottom part of Pon-3's boat. Shattering both records on the right side of her boat and making it tip to its right. Knocking Pon-3 in the water and making her boat unusable.

And in a sudden case of events, it looks like another racer has been taken out! And by are own mayor no less! Either way, that makes The Bass Cannoneer take 11th Place for good!

---

Applebloom's POV

"You ready ta tag in?!" I asked as I ran on the treadmill myself, turning towards the left to check on Big Mac. It had already been a few minutes since we had all gotten through the beavers, and we were around seventh place now. Big Mac was exhausted when we got to the dam, so I offered to take over. The treadmill wasn't that hard to run on, but I still wasn't even close to how fast Big Mac could run.

"Eeyup..." He said, getting up after drinking a whole bottle of water in one go. But even though he said he was ready, I wasn't about to buy that hooey yet. He was still breathing a little too loudly, and I was still able to run.

"Big Mac, yer still pantin'. Don't worry, I'll keep goin' for ya while you rest up! 'Sides, it's a great chance for me to get my Cutie Mark in racin'! Or maybe runnin'!" I said, realizing how I had been running for a few minutes now. Maybe I was better at this than I thought!

I heard him sigh from behind me as he kept on taking it easy. Knowing that I was probably right and that Applejack might say the same thing if we caught up to her. Still, she was long gone before Sweetie Belle even managed to use magic! I guess that 'kite yak' Blitz made her was pretty useful after all. There's so much human stuff, that I'm starting to wonder if the three of us have special talents with one of those human things instead.

Yeah...That might explain why we haven't gotten our Cutie Marks yet! We need to find a human thing we're good at! But what is there...

"Uh...Applebloom..." Big Mac said with a confused voice. Which those two things alone were something to look out for. So keeping that in mind, I slowed down the running and looked behind me. Only to see a giant cluster of water balloons coming at us from different angles.

"AHHHH-" In mid scream-Which wasn't from me being scared, obviously!-a good ten or so water balloons pelted me without any warning. The strength of them all knocking me off the treadmill and over to the side of my boat.

"Eenope!" Big Mac said, catching me before I could've fallen off. Once he pulled me back up on the boat, we both turned our attention behind us. Spotting just who shot all those water balloons at us.

"Button Mash? Pipsqueak? Why're y'all firin' water balloons at us?" I asked, walking over towards the back of our boat so they could hear me just a bit clearer.

"Cause landlubba' we're pirates!" Pipsqueak told me. "And that's Cap'n Pipsqueak! First Mate Button! Fire!" Pipsqueak, oh no sorry, Cap'n Pipsqueak commanded.

"Aye, aye, Cap'n!...Sorry Applebloom..." Button Mash told me as he readjusted the cannon and fired on us again. Big Mac was to react though and ran to the treadmill. Moving the boat forwards and away from most of the balloons that were trying to pelt us. They were planning on putting so much water in our boat, that it would sink or topple over on its own!

"Big Mac! toss me that rag ya always keep on ya!" I told him, getting an idea. We had to return fire, and there were a few water balloons that didn't pop. And thanks to another crusading idea me and the girls had today, I knew just what to do!

So Big Mac not seeing any problem as they reloaded their next group of balloons, went ahead and passed it to me. "Alright! Now all I need is a stick..." I said, glancing around the boat. All the branches of trees were too high up or far away to get, so that left using the only stick on our boat. "The flag!" I told myself, jumping for the flag that was tied to a stick.

I ripped off the flag and gave it to Big Mac before tying the rag to it. Fastening the whole thing into another human thing Blitz had talked about. Well, ponies had them too, but he was able to make one and tell us what it was for.

"Done!" I said, picking it up and holding it in my hooves. The rag was tightly tied to each end of the stick, making it bend a little, but not snap at all. Before Big Mac could even say anything though, I tossed it to him and went to get a water balloon before it fell off.

"Here Big Mac! Use that bow ta launch this water balloon at 'em!" I told him, making him look at the small bow I made it was a small foal sized bow, but I was sure Big Mac could use it anyway.

"FIRE!" Pipsqueak commanded again, followed by another batch of water balloons to come hurdling towards us. That got Big Mac's attention as he got in front of me to keep me from getting hit, and got bow ready. Pulling back the rag with his mouth and holding out the wooden part with a hoof as he loaded the balloon with his free hoof.

Once all the balloons had stopped coming, Big Mac launched the one I gave him. Getting a lucky shot by hitting the cannon and splashing Button too. Which was met with a, slightly over-dramatic, reaction.

"I'm hit Cap'n! I'm hit! It's in me eyes Cap'n! AH! IT BURNS!" Button Mash yelled out as he fell to the floor. Rolling around like a baby.

"Get a grip First Mate Button! It be only sink water!" Pipsqueak reassured him with concern. Not about whether he was okay or not, but just how he was acting.

"Huh?! Oh yeah...Hehehe..." He then jumped up and glared at us. "You'll be walkin' the plank fer that!" He threatened, jumping over to the cannon. Only to see that-"AH! Cap'n! They destroyed the cannon! It be too wet ta fire!"

"Curses! Button! Return single fire!" Pipsqueak commanded, taking out a wooden sword. "I 'ot yer 'ack!" He said through his sword which was in his mouth.

"Big Mac, ya did it! Keep firin'!" I told him, handing him another water balloon before getting to the treadmill to try and keep us going!

"Eeyup!" He agreed, loading the bow and firing it himself. Followed by Button Mash firing a water balloon at us with a slingshot. Having way better aim thanks to those video games as he almost hit the bow Big Mac was using.

It continued on like this. Trading balloon after balloon as no pony got far. Button may have had good aim, but Big Mac was strong enough to take them. And while Big Mac's aim wasn't all that good, Button Mash wasn't so strong against the fast balloons coming his way. So it was pretty much tied as both are boats got soaked in water. And luckily, no pony behind us were catching up either.

But as that went on, Pipsqueak was able to watch the two fight since he didn't have to focus on the boat moving forward. What with it being a sailboat. But I had to keep running on this treadmill to keep it moving. At a decent pace, we could stay ahead of the two colts.

"Button! You know what ta do!" Pipsqueak told him, giving him a signal to which Button just nodded silently. Frowning at the idea, but knowing it was the only option. So instead of firing at Big Mac, he aimed his sights down and shot another water balloon. Straight for me.

Big Mac, seeing it, launched his last water balloon that he had already loaded and jumped ahead to get in front of me. Everything slowing to a crawl for him as he jumped in front of me.

"NNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOPEEEEEEEEEE!"

As he yelled out loudly, the water balloon landed right in front of his face. Him taking the hit so I wouldn't be nailed in back of the head. And while that alone wasn't too much for him to handle, what happened next was.

He tried landing back on his hooves to keep from hitting his face onto the boat, but ended up sliding forwards with how wet the floor of the boat was. And with him sliding, he easy tripped over the railing and into the water. The boat going forward too much for him to catch up and re-board. And since the boat couldn't go backwards, he was too far away to catch up to the boat.

Meanwhile, however, on their boat. Something very similar happened. The stray balloon Big Mac had fired managed to hit Pipsqueak in the face. And since he was standing towards the back of the boat, which was the highest point of the boat, he didn't see it coming in time as he kept waving around his wooden sword.

So with a strong and swift water balloon to the face, he tripped backwards and fell off their boat. Falling into the water and having no way to get back to his boat either.

And in a evenly matched fight, both The Scurvy Gamer and The Speed Juicer have both lost a pony member. Cap'n Pipsqueak, and Big Macintosh are now out of the race! Leaving Button Mash and Applebloom in charge of their respective boats!

"Avenge me Cap'n Button! Avenge yer Cap'n!" Pipsqueak told him, I guess making him the new captain.

"Aye, aye, Cap'n Pipsqueak!" Button said, picking up the wooden sword Pipsqueak had dropped and sheathing it himself. "You'll pay fer that, Applebloom!"

"Don't worry Big Mac! I'll make sure we win this for sure!" I called out confidentially, picking up the bow to fire another round at Button Mash now. All I had to do was wait for another water balloon to be launched at me, and I could use it against hi-"What the?! W-w-wait! I thought you said it was too wet to fire!"

"It might be!" Button Mash said, pulling out the cannon and loading it with every last water balloon they had left, then pointing it upwards. "But it doesn't matter! I'm taking you down no matter what now! Prepare for the final boss Applebloom! Mortar Fire!" He called out to me, making me terrified for what he was planning.

He then fired all the water balloons through Pinkie's Party Cannon up into the air like a mortar. The recoil of the cannon being so strong, it put a hole through his boat as it was pushed underwater. Making Button's boat sink under him.

But too bad for me, I couldn't celebrate about that. Because as he was sinking, all those balloons started falling on me as if they were raindrops. Coming down so strong, I had no choice but to jump off from our boat as it was pelted with water balloons. Beating up the boat and even breaking it apart. Making it way too broken to use anymore as most of the boat became nothing boat wood and a lone treadmill.

Amazing! It looks like those two were so evenly matched, they took each other out completely! Putting The Scurvy Gamer in 10th Place, and The Speed Juicer in 9th Place! With only eight racer left, it's now any pony's game! But who's next to go now?!

---

Blitz's POV

"You like bluebonnet sandwiches?! Blegh! I hate those things!" Scootaloo told me with a shake of her head.

"Hey, it's not my fault they taste so good! Besides, what's wrong with them anyway?" I asked with a shrug.

"Bluebonnets are Equestria's 'spinach' or however you explained that vegetable from your world. Foals just don't like eating them as much as mares and stallions." Rarity told me with a smile.

"Well, I guess that makes sense in a way." I said, giving up as I finished another one. Chasing it down with some soda. "Man, the wind up here is stronger than I thought it would be. At this rate, we'll be going faster than the buoy."

"Oh, I know what you mean. My mane is getting absolutely ruined in this wind." Rarity agreed, taking out some kind of custom-made bonnet and put it on. Earning bored looks from me and Scootaloo. "What? I just got my mane done today!"

"Right...So, uh, hey Scootaloo. Who do you think's gonna win?" I asked, looking towards Scootaloo to see what they thought. Also to avoid talking to Rarity, who was getting a little annoying to talk to this whole race.

"Either Rainbow Dash or Sweetie Belle, easy!" She said with a nod, not even thinking about it for a second.

"I have to agree, I'm hoping Sweetie Belle will win as well." Rarity added, no doubt in her choice either.

"I bet you're voting for Rainbow Dash too, right Blitz?!" Scootaloo asked, looking up towards me with one of those guilt-tripping eyes. Seriously, why does literally every pony think I'm rooting for Rainbow Dash?! What's the connection here?! I swear, if Spike had said anything to any pony, I am going to get him back for it!

Still, as much as I hated having to admit to it, at this point there wasn't much competition for her. The only ponies left that were a threat to her was the mayor and the only other ponies that were using wing-power, Swift and Cloudchaser. And those two were, as cliché as it is to was to call a mayor and officers, loose cannons. So, I didn't see any other way unless some pony else still in the race were to do something.

"Oh good heavens foal, what is that eyesore you're driving?"

Oh no...Oh. No. Please tell me that voice doesn't belong to who I think it belongs to!

As the three of us looked over the side of the boat, we could see exactly who two of us did not want to see! The prince of all things snooty himself, Blueblood...He was not the only one underneath us though. Because just like he just now said, there was a foal racing besides him as well. The only foal left in the entire race.

"It's my boat! It's called The Crusader Crafter! Pretty great huh?!" Sweetie Belle asked excitedly, again making the boat go faster with her newly found magic. "I'm moving it with my own magic!"

"That thing is a boat? Ugh, I feel insulted to know that I'm even racing against that." Prince Blueblood said with a scoff and pointed his nose to the air like a dumb, confused Doberman.

"Why that little..." Rarity started before I gestured for her to shut up. If he saw that both of us were up here, he'd be even more rude to every pony around. And by how Sweetie Belle was starting to slow down, that wasn't a good thing.

"Insulted? But...But we built it ourselves...And I can still win with this boat." Sweetie Belle tried to stay positive. But it was obviously not as positive as she was acting before.

"And I'm surprised that you're still racing. That thing deserves to sink to the bottom of the river." Blueblood said as he started catching up on the ever slower Sweetie Belle.

"Come on Sweetie Belle. Don't let that creep get to you..." Scootaloo said quietly, getting just as angry as Rarity and me by this point. But she stayed quiet too.

"You're...You're wrong!" Sweetie Belle said as she got angry. The boat speeding up a little, but it was getting shaky now since she was more angry than anything. "I'm still ahead of you! So that has to mean something, right?!"

"You tell that ill-mannered pain, Sweetie Belle!" Rarity said in a hushed tone.

"Besides, I'm going to win this race! And prove to every pony that the Crusaders can win! And I'll do it by speeding ahead and-" "Crack..." "Huh?" She stopped and looked down, seeing how the area around the scooter was starting to crack as her magic kept peddling forward.

"Uh-oh..." She said, noticing just what was happened. But since she was still new to her magic, she had no idea how to stop it. So the magic kept going, powered by her anger, excitement, and fear. With all of those emotions, plus with how new she was at all of this, the worst happened.

The scooter suddenly blasted off like a rocket! Flying upwards with all the magic that was being channeled into it from underneath. This cracking all the wood that surrounded it and making a large hole in the boat. Where water then started pouring up and onto the boat. Making it start to sink.

"Hold on Sweetie Belle!" I called out, firing my grapple hoof at her to get her and lift her up with us onto the cloud. She would be fine if she stood on me or Rarity's back until we dropped her off on land.

And it looks like The Crusader Crafter has sprung a leak! Meaning that Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo take 9th place. Sorry girls, but you're out of the race...

"That's okay Spike..." Sweetie Belle said as she hung a few feet under the cloud I was trying to pull up. Scootaloo helping me too.

"Well, I can't say I'm surprised. That boat looked like it was falling apart anyway." The prince below said to us with a snooty attitude. Oh, if he wasn't a prince I swear I would throw something at that pampered face of his!

"Oh, you want something to fall?" Rarity asked calmly as a sudden sand bag dropped towards the prince's boat from our cloud. Courtesy of Rarity herself, as a way of getting revenge on what he said to her sister. Moral of the story: Don't mess with Rarity's family, or you'll get a concussion!

Either way, the prince didn't have time to react as the sand bag hit his boat. Falling far enough to rock his boat until water started coming in from all over. Making his boat too heavy to float as it started sinking. Leaving the prince soaking wet and clueless like he deserved! All he was missing now was a bucket over his head.

And thanks to a sudden sand bag that fell out of nowhere, the Prince is now out of the race! Taking a very generous 8th Place...

"Jeez Rarity, I know he deserved that thirteen boats ago, but still...I thought we agreed I was going to do that..." I told her, bringing Sweetie Belle up as she balanced herself on my back to keep from falling into the water.

"So sorry Blitz, but I hope you'll understand my reasoning for it. As a consolation, however, how about...Ah!" Rarity said, levitating up a sailor's hat. Undoing the symbol of royalty Prince Blueblood had on there and gave it to me. "What about a captain's hat? It fits you, does it not?" She asked, not able to keep herself from grinning at the whole problem.

"Well...I guess I can't blame you. If Sweetie was my sister, I'd probably do the same thing." I said with a shrug as I put on the hat. All four of us laughing as Blueblood could only complain to himself. So I guess it wasn't a total loss for all of us.

---

Ginger Star's POV

"Look at those two...So smug since they've been in the top three..."

As I sat on my boat, just riding the wind and waves at a steady but quick speed, I saw the two of them, well mostly the stallion, gloating and emptily bragging as much as Rainbow Dash. Who he was in a bragging with right now. I was in fifth place right now, but choose to hold back. I had a strong enough mast where I could use my wing-power on the sail to get myself past them and to the finish line in an instant.

Rainbow Dash was first, Swift and Cloudchaser was second, and the mayor was in third. The mayor was trying a different tactic where she only wound up that key a few times repeatedly. That way, she'd go in one continuous speed instead of propelling forward and letting every pony catch up and pass her.

It looked like all of us had tricks to our boats. Swift's and my boats were the only one in the top five racers that a way to attack. Which meant that no pony would ever try to get us.

They had those defective storm clouds lined up in front of them to use. Three left apparently. And I had one thing that well enough scared every pony enough to keep them from messing with me. A catapult.

A catapult that only had one rock to use, but it wasn't anything to ignore either. This rock was almost as big as me. I didn't plan on using it on any pony though, unless they needed to be taken out. And those two ahead of me were starting to get a little too big a threat right now.

"What was that RJ?" Fluttershy, who was in fourth place and in front of me, turned towards the raccoon with the hat and golf bag. "The left? Okay." She said, the unicorn that was with her using his magic to turn the boat to the left to avoid more traps. Me doing the same thing from behind them.

I figured out that her animals had been directing her this whole time. And every turn she make was to get away from the traps. Which was proven more than enough times from ponies ahead of her falling for those same traps. I decided to follow exactly two boat-lengths behind her so I wouldn't hit the traps either.

The ponies ahead of us, didn't have a good enough warning though. Rainbow Dash was on the left already, so she was lucky enough to miss the traps laid out. But the mayor, Swift, and Cloudchaser however, weren't lucky enough.

The trap was actually pretty funny. I heard a rope snap from some pony running over it, and suddenly, a sign had come down from above. Getting in their way with a painted picture of a bunny laughing at them with the words 'Wrong Way!' painted besides him.

That made Swift's team have to stop, where as the mayor was already on the left side of it. Letting her have enough room to go around it while Swift didn't have such an easy time as their boat bumped into the sign. Which still had some wet paint on it too.

"What? Oh come on, we're so close right now." Cloudchaser said, a little angry. Swift tried to buck the sign forwards, but it wouldn't budge.

"Well, good thing we still have three left." Swift said, picking up a defective cloud as they both backed up to the back of their ship. That way, they wouldn't be close to the sign when it exploded.

While they were doing that though, my boat and Fluttershy's started catching up. Getting where the sign was before it exploded. Letting their boat get through and move forwards. Speeding up just in time to cut me off, but get stuck behind Fluttershy while the mayor and Rainbow Dash got away. Followed by the other racers coming up since Fluttershy was holding back Swift, and to an extension, me I guess.

"Ugh! It's just like last time!" Swift yelled out, only getting angrier from how many things were going wrong now. Especially since the finish line had to be coming up by this point. He then turned towards Cloudchaser with a thoughtful look on his face. "Think we should use one of the last two on the boat ahead of us?"

And that was all the reason I needed right there. These two had taken out Twilight and Zecora-at least that's what I figured out from the dragon that was commentating on all of this-and had been gloating none stop. And now they were about to launch a defective storm cloud onto Fluttershy, some random cranky looking unicorn, and a bunch of animals?!

"Oh hay no!" I yelled out, getting behind my catapult as I got ready to launch the rock towards them. They were Pegasi like me, and they weren't pushovers when it came to flying. So they would've jumped out of the way with more than enough time to dodge.

So with them still wondering what I was up to, or just ignoring me completely in Cloudchaser's case, I went ahead and fired the rock towards them. Not wanting them to hurt any pony else with those defective clouds of theirs. But as the rock fired at them, all they did was look up towards it with serious expressions before...Flying towards it?

"Nice try, but no." Swift told me as they both flew up to the rock, using their combined wind-power to catch it and stop it from coming anywhere near their boat. They didn't slow down though as they started pushing it back upwards in the same arc it was going in as before. "We don't want it!" He told me as they re-launched it. Towards my boat!

"WAH!" I jumped to my hooves and flew backwards from the incoming rock. The two of them might've been able to get it combined, but no single Pegasus could catch that rock by themselves. I should know, it took forever to load that thing into the catapult!

So not having any way to stop the rock from hitting me or the boat, I stayed behind my boat in mid-air. With no choice but to just fly there and watch as the rock came right back and hit my boat dead-center. Turning it to mulch and a sail without any trouble at all.

And it looks like Ginger Star and The Snarf Surfer has been rocked right out of the race! Leaving her in 7th!

"Really?!" I asked the dragon with a frown, hearing the two Pegasi in front of me laughing their heads off back on their boat. "Did you have to make that rock pun?!"

Hey, I don't know what a 'Snarf' is, so I didn't have much to work with here ya know?!

"That's what you get for trying to sink us! Maybe that'll be enough proof that we will not lose!" Swift boasted, laughing in victory. "All we have to do now is get to the finish line!"

"Uh, Swift?" Cloudchaser asked, trying to get his attention. As she looked ahead of them, towards what they were heading towards.

"What, what is it?" Swift asked, turning around to see what was ahead of them. "Oh no..."

---

Mayor Mare's POV

Only five of us are left! Meaning that I only need to beat four teams if I want to win that trophy! A trophy as solid gold as that, I might be able to trade it in for a smaller golden trophy and enough money to fund Ponyville! Not to mention, I might be able to have my office redone as well!

Two of them weren't a problem anymore. Swift Lightning and Cloudchaser were well behind me. As was Fluttershy and the unicorn that joined her team, Ember Shade. And just ahead of me was Applejack, who was starting to gain on Rainbow Dash since she was getting winded herself.

Good thing I knew every pony's names just as well as Pinkie Pie did. I may have not known all about every citizen of Ponyville, but I knew a few things about each pony in Ponyville. Enough to know that Rainbow Dash was the only real opponent here.

Sometimes, I wish that Rainbow Dash was from Ponyville instead of Cloudsdale though. Because every time she wins something, it's either counted as a win for Cloudsdale, or Ponyville doesn't get any recognition even though she's officially playing for Ponyville itself.

Before I could turn my attention towards one of the others, however, I heard something loud coming from behind me. It sounded as if something had split in two, followed by angry yelling. It was behind me, and I was still going at a pretty quick pace thanks to the new idea on my boat, but I was just barely able to make out what it was behind me. And I had the feeling that it was bitter-sweet news in my case.

It looks like Swift and Cloudchaser's boat just stormed right over a rock! So I guess The Storm Privateer is now stuck at 6th Place!

"Well, I guess that means that it's only three of us that are getting to the finish...Wait, now what's that noise?" I asked, turning back behind me again. Only to see something very unpleasant coming towards me. A huge wave that was coming forward towards me and the others. Only getting bigger as it came nearer!

Not wasting a second, I started spinning the key as quickly as I could. Turning it nonstop until the wave had ended up directly behind me so close that I was starting to actually be picked up by the wave. So at that moment, I let go of the key and rocketed forward. Not able to control my boat, but at least going fast enough where I could put some distance in between me and the large wave.

Fluttershy's boat, luckily enough for her, the other pony Ember, and all the animals, they were at just the perfect distance of the wave where they were on top of it. Riding it forwards as it came up towards me. Who in turn, was coming up towards Applejack and Rainbow Dash.

Still, even the extremely lucky has a hard time here and there.

As the wave started to reach the peak of its strength, Fluttershy gasped out on fear and worry. "Opal! RJ! Hang on! I'll be right there!" She called out towards two of the animals that fell off the boat behind the wave. Flying off of her boat to get them. "Ember! Keep the others safe!" Fluttershy told him on instinct. Being much more commanding when it came to animal caretaking.

It had turned out that when the wave picked them up, the cat Opal got scared and tried to come closer to RJ for some type of comfort. Who only tried to back away. This resulted in Opal chasing RJ around in hopes that he would comfort her. In the end, the cat pounced on him and caused both of them to fall off. Opal freaking out and dunking RJ underwater in the chaos of it all.

For some reason when I finally spotted them, I had some kind of thought about a starfish and a sponge. It seemed fitting since this was a boat race, but it was just confusing to me.

It looks like Fluttershy's out of the race on account of saving two animals from the water. But they might have a chance seeing as how the other pony's still on the boat.

"And a chance is all I need." Ember said, wanting to go ahead and win the race only so he wouldn't be in it anymore. "Alright squirrels and birds. Take off and help Fluttershy. Or just sleep or something, I don't really care." He told them, resulting in all the animals doing as he said and taking off. Leaving only him, Fluttershy's pet bunny Angel, and a lone squirrel. "Didn't you hear me? I said go away."

The squirrel only shook his head and sat in place. Refusing to move. Angel just frowned at Ember. Wanting to stay and help win for Fluttershy. Ember just sighed as he shook his own head in response. Knowing it was useless. "Alright fine, be that way. But at least make yourself useful and help, would you?" He asked, using his magic to pull out a decent sized stick and two smaller twigs for the squirrel and Angel from a nearby tree. Giving them both a way to paddle along with the wind. Going faster than before since they were putting some effort into it.

And thanks to the wave, they were already catching up to me. And even before I could catch up to Applejack and Rainbow Dash. Something I was so close to winning for Ponyville, and now I had another threat that I had to take care of. "Wait, am I slowing down?" I asked, looking around slowly realizing that myself. I should've caught up to those two with how much I wound up the key! And it was still spinning right n-

"What?!" I asked no pony in particular. Looking over the key as it had stopped so suddenly, surrounded by a dark blue, wisp-like aura. "You!" I called out, seeing how Ember was only smirking in victory as he started catching up to me.

"Sorry, but I plan on winning this race as quickly as possible." He told me, going ahead to catch up to the others. Well not if I had anything to say about it! The Key to Ponyville was only to be handled by those who had won the privilege! Not just any pony can use it you know!

"Oh, I'll make the race end quickly for you..." I said, pulling out the slingshot again as I brought out a few water balloons I tucked away under the podium I had been standing at this whole time. I wasted no time in firing them either. And with Ember not having any way to catch them since he was using his magic on that stick and the Key to Ponyville, he was defenseless.

One after another hit him again and again. Hitting him in the chest and side twice and his head another time. To which he just glared at me through the water as he released the Key just as I had launched another balloon at him. This time, hitting that squirrel by accident and knocking him off the boat and into the water.

Ember didn't even give the squirrel a second glance at first, but when he heard the squirrel splashing around crazily, he stopped rowing and looked behind him. Seeing that the squirrel couldn't swim. This made him hesitate to get moving forward, but it didn't make him act quickly. He needed another reminder. Which the bunny was more than happy to provide by smacking Ember in the face with the twig he had.

"OW! Why you stupid little rabbit..." Ember said, looking ready to hit Angel back. But Angel just frowned at him while he pointed towards the squirrel. And after a few seconds, Ember sighed in defeat. "I'm going to have to save him? Aren't I?" Ember asked, getting a strict nod from Angel. "Of course..." He said, putting the stick down and turning towards the squirrel.

He took a quick breath and dived in. Quickly swimming over to the squirrel so he was within range to get the squirrel up and out of the water. This taking him ten seconds at the least.

And now it looks like the other pony jumped in to save a squirrel! Well, at least they had good reasons for giving up their chances at winning the race. This puts Fluttershy's team in 5th Place!

---

Applejack's POV

"Come on...Give it up, Rainbow...Ya ain't gonna win..." I said in between breaths as I kept paddling the kayak. I was neck and neck with Rainbow Dash now, and I wasn't about to let her win this time. That trophy was big enough to store half a barrel's worth of apples! That was more than enough to help put some money into helping the farm.

"No way!...I've been in first this whole time...No way am I losing this!" She told me, still moving her boat forward. Her boat was pretty heavy, so I had to admit it was impressive that she was still going after all this time. Still, there were only three of us left now, and she had to give up sooner or later.

"Wow, I'm surprised. I didn't think any pony would have such a lead." Rarity complimented as she and Blitz came floating near our boats. Blitz was winding up some sort of winch thing that was connected to the buoy that was in the water. By winding it up, their cloud started to be pulled lower towards the water where it was easier to see them.

"Yeah. I thought that you two would've have at least slowed down a bit." Blitz said after he finished pulling the cloud lower towards the water. Careful not to get too close though since the cloud would just evaporate or something. Never did get all that cloud-making logic of theirs... "Guess I'll just have to balance the boats so it's just as easy for every pony else."

"Are you kidding me?" Rainbow Dash asked him. "There were no rules in the race except for stay on the boat and in the water! You couldn't even give me some kind of way to fight back the others?"

I just rolled my eyes at her question. Of course she'd ask for a way to cheat in a race. That wasn't anything I was too concerned about. But something I did want to ask was what they were wearing. "Hey, what's with that get-up yer both wearing?" I asked.

"Oh this?" Rarity asked, gesturing towards the thing on her head. It looked like one of her fancy bonnets, only it was inside out and tied around the top of her head like a pirate rag or something. Kind of like Pipsqueak's, except with a different color to match Rarity's kind of style I guess.

Blitz had something similar. He had on some kind of sailor hat with a gear symbol sewn onto the front. It looked like that prissy Prince's hat, but all the fancy looking decorations were taken off and it was black now. Looking kind of like a pirate hat. And even if I was jumping to conclusions on that, he even had an eye patch over his glass eye.

"Why, we thought that since this was a race and all, we might as well look the part. Best to keep appearances." Rarity said with a small giggle as Blitz just smirked as he ate a storm cloud cupcake.

"What are you talkin' about. Y'all ain't in the race." I reminded them with a confused look. Rainbow doing the same as she rose an eyebrow at them.

"Oh, you haven't heard?" Blitz asked us as he put his hoof up on top of the winch. Making electricity course through it and down the thick wire that lead to the buoy below. The way Blitz made it, it ran on electricity and made some gears turn underwater. The electricity itself not touching the water, so it couldn't shock any pony that was in the water.

After fueling the buoy, it started going faster. Taking the two of them forwards and past me and Rainbow Dash. Getting in front of us without any problems at all.

And it looks like Blitz and Rarity take first place! Riding their boat, The Shimmering Gear!

"WHAT?!" Me and Dash asked in surprise, only for Blitz and Rarity to wave at us casually. Smirking in victory at what they've been hiding the whole time. "But-but how is that allowed?! Y'all were never mentioned at tha start a the race!"

"Well, yeah we weren't...But we were still there when Spike said go." Blitz said, using his own weaseling ta come up with a way for them to be in the race. "Not only that, but we've been following the rules this whole time. We've been touching the water and never left our boat. That means we're still in the race, after all." Blitz concluded with a shrug.

"And we are on the list." Rarity explained, raising up a cloud flagpole that had their flag tied to the top. Which was Blitz's gear as the emblem while the background was a white color that matched Rarity's coat color. "Aren't we Spike?"

Of course you are, Rarity! You and Blitz have been racing the whole time!

You know, I don't know whether it was Blitz or Rarity that suckered the poor guy into going along with their whole plan. But I guess that even I have to admit that it was a clever one. "Why do you two even want to win anyway?" Rainbow asked. Me thinking the exact same question.

"Oh, why that's simple Rainbow Dash." Rarity said with a innocent smile. "It'd be nice to win that trophy. It'd be sure to attract attention in the window of my Boutique, along with all the publicity and gossip from every pony hearing that I have won the race."

"If yer gettin' the trophy, than what's Blitz gettin' in all this?" I asked, not getting his reasoning behind this. There's no way he'd just race with this kind of plan thought up.

"Eh, I wouldn't really care about an award. Besides, I get paid enough from the Construction Crew. But by winning this..." He smirked towards Rainbow Dash. "I'll have officially beaten you in a race, 'Dash'. And every pony will see it for themselves. See you both at the finish line!" Blitz said, getting ready to put more electricity into the winch so they could win.

"Hold it!"

"Wha?" I asked, all four of us looking behind us in confusion. Spotting the mayor, who had her water balloon slingshot ready as she kept coming towards us with that key-wound raft. The key spinning faster than Applebloom when she thinks she got her Cutie Mark.

"I'm winning that trophy for Ponyville!" She said, firing those water balloons so fast, I couldn't even keep up. Which is why Mayor Mare got such a clean shot as a water balloon hit me in the face. Temporarily blinding me from going forwards.

Soon after that, she fired at Rainbow Dash. Hitting her underneath her wing, locking it to her side temporarily out of instinct. Then she turned and fired towards the cloud in hopes of knocking it into the water, knowing not to hit Blitz, but it just went through it like anything else would. So she fired another towards Rarity and moved on back to me. Repeating again and again to all three of us.

Holy Guacamola! It looks like the two-

I just blocked out Spike from what he was saying. As were the others, who had a pretty good idea of what he was about to say. With how much the two of us have been getting hit by water, we didn't need a reminder. Besides, I don't think we could hear him with all the water in our ears anyway.

But soon enough, Rarity had collected enough water balloons of her own to start pelting all three of us back. Covering them both while Blitz powered up the buoy underneath. Making them start to get away while Rarity fired all water balloons at the three of us all at once. The barrage drenching all three of us.

Rainbow, who was getting just as irritated as I was from being defenselessly pelted, shook off all the water best she could and glared ahead. "No way am I letting him beat me..." She said as she took off again. Starting to catch back up to Blitz and Rarity since she had a while to take a breather.

"Come on, come on..." The mayor muttered towards herself as she dropped the slingshot and started turning the Key again. Winding it up as fast as she could so she could catch up and win the race before Blitz and Rarity, or Rainbow Dash, could win the race.

Finally getting my own bearings though, I wiped the water from my eyes and looked ahead. The finish line wasn't far away from where we were. I could see every pony cheering. Even all the ponies that were knocked out of the race were there. From those two fillies who were taken out early, to even Fluttershy who was taken out behind us.

Most of them were cheering as Rainbow Dash and Rarity/Blitz were neck and neck. I knew that beating them would be a miracle, but coming in third? Now that was possible!

So keeping that in mind, I went into full gear and started rowing as fast as I could. Going fast enough with the light waves still coming from behind us to help give me a small boost. Letting me go fast enough to get some speed that Dash, and that buoy Blitz made, couldn't get. Dash's boat was too heavy, and the buoy was just bobbing over the waves.

The two of them then passed the finish line at the same time. Something I knew I would be getting an earful from both Blitz and Rainbow. Guess that means that no pony 'officially won' this race either. But at least now if I beat the mayor, I might be able to get second place.

Looking behind me when I was a good one hundred hooves away from the finish line, the mayor had finished turning the key and was coming in fast. She was still far behind, but I still was far from in the clear.

"Come on Applejack!" "You got this Big Sis!" "Eeyup!" "Hurry up, she's gaining!" "Oh, it's gonna be close..."

After all of them kept on rooting for me, there cheers started to get more and more worrisome. As did their looks when the mayor started catching up to me.

It's going to be a close one folks! Who's it gonna be?!

---

Spike's POV

It was going to be Applejack!-No, Mayor Mare!-No, Applejack! It was way too close to decide! Mayor Mare was coming up fast, but Applejack was right in front of the line. It could've been either of their win for third place!

If RJ, Angel, Opal, and Gummy hadn't set up any traps before-hoof.

Right when they were finally tying and were only twenty hooves away from the finish line, a small but steep ramp rose up from underneath the river. Floating on the water thanks to some inflated lifejackets. As Applejack tried to back peddle with her paddle, it got stuck to Mayor Mare's raft. Applejack still holding onto it as she and her kayak were pulled along with Mayor Mare as the two rocketed up the steep ramp. Sending them flying up into the air. High enough for me to have to count the seconds. Which added up to...

And in a last minute trap, it looks like Applejack and the mayor both tie for 3rd place...

Both of them, having fallen out of their boats now, fell down and into the water. Having passed the finish line in mid-air before landing too, sadly.

"I told you, I won that race!"

Too bad their last minute wipeout didn't even faze Blitz and Rainbow Dash. Who were arguing at each other over the race. Sometimes, I wonder how both of them can be so hot-headed about racing, when one of them was lazy and the other was humble.

"No you didn't! I won that race, and you got second place! Just like that flying race we did!" Rainbow Dash retorted.

"Actually if I remember right, you crashed in the flying race. So I won by default! And if it wasn't for the fact that I built your boat, then you would've crashed in this race too!" Blitz snapped back. Earning a few laughs from a few random ponies and an even angrier Rainbow Dash.

"You know what, fine. If you won't admit that I won, than Spike can clear this up." Rainbow Dash said, coming over towards me. "Please tell the Robot who won, Spike. He had to have short-circuited or something and forgot who the winner was." She said, insulting Blitz in the worst way possible.

"Sorry Spike," Blitz started, walking over with a glare towards Rainbow Dash. "But it looks like the Turtle's a little slower than usual. Please help her out here and tell her who the real winners are." He said, both of them looking about ready to rip each other to shreds.

"Um, well, you see..." I said, pulling out an army helmet and some pillows just to prepare for the worst. "You both lost!"

And just those three words alone, put them both in a daze. Rainbow dropping to the ground, her face twitching in shock. While Blitz just stiffened up, his eyes shrinking in utter shock. "Then..."

"Who won?..." They both asked in mid-shock. Looking about ready to snap at any moment. But not wanting to lose my life telling them, I simply pointed behind them and slowly backed away. Knowing what was coming.

"Wow! I can't wait to show this trophy to the whole class tomorrow!" Snips said as he and Snails started pulling the trophy home. Wanting to show their parents their new shiny trophy.

"Yeah! And Dad's gonna be so proud!" Snips said, just as excited to show it off.

Rainbow Dash and Blitz sat there. Watching the two colts walk home along with the crowd of ponies as they stared in disbelief. The Snail Ship, the second part of their boat which had a wheel on the outer 'shell' of the ship that could paddle that side to victory by itself. They had been behind every pony else, out of the way and ignored the whole time.

"Those two slowpoke colts..." Rainbow Dash started.

"Beat us in that mess of a ship..." Blitz concluded, both of them looking completely defeated. Rainbow Dash just gave up let her head fall to the ground in defeat. While Blitz just went into complete shock while standing up. His ear literally shooting off his head like a rocket. Going straight up and beyond thanks to the electricity still inside of him.

"Hey, don't worry you guys!" Pinkie told them with a great big smile on her face. "There's always next year! Same time, at the end of January! Same place, at the Track River! You can try and beat each other for second place next time!"

Sadly, Pinkie didn't get a response from them as Blitz's ear fell back down to Equestria. Nailing Blitz on the top of the head, bouncing off of him and hitting Rainbow Dash next. Knocking them both out-cold. The ear playing the most fitting music possible. A trombone.

"Wah-wah-wah-waaaaaaahhh~"

Pinkie then stole my megaphone and spoke into it. Facing a random direction. And before any of us could question her, she started speaking into it.

Well readers, that's it for this episode! Read on next time for the finale episode for the finale!

---

Dang it Pinkie! First Spike, then you! Remind me to find a new announcer for next year's Boat Race...

Anyway, Here's the final chapter of this episode! I hope you all liked it, and I will see you all next time for the final episode before the season finale! So get ready for some LYRA every pony!

Finally, one last thing before I go. Apparently a lot of you have sent in more than enough OCs already...Wow, I didn't expect so many so fast. Still, I'm afraid I have more than enough for the finale, and won't be taking anymore. Sorry every pony, but there has to be a limit. And mine is twenty-five. XD

Just to help all of you to see which pony you were rooting for did, here's the final rankings for the race! Goodbye every pony, and see you next chapter!

20th Place: Diamond Tiara/Silver Spoon

19th Place: Snips/Snails (Snip Waver)

18th Place: Zecora

17th Place: Twilight

16th Place: Derpy/Snowflake

15th Place: Pinkie Pie

14th Place: Thunderlane/Rumble

13th Place: Aloe/Lotus

12th Place: Doctor Whooves/Jumpy J

11th Place: Vinyl Scratch

10th Place: Pipsqueak/Button Mash

9th Place: Big Mac/Applebloom

8th Place: Sweetie Belle

7th Place: Prince Blueblood

6th Place: Ginger Star

5th Place: Swift Lightning/Cloudchaser

4th Place: Fluttershy

3rd Place: Applejack and Mayor Mare

2nd Place: Rarity/Blitz and Rainbow Dash

1st Place: Snips/Snails (Snail Ship)

*The ponies underlined are the ones that made it to the finish line*

QotC: How do you think Lyra's gonna act towards Blitz?