My Little Pony: Will Of Fire

The Fire Element Alicorn

Chapter 9

Braggers Never Win

Rainbow Dash is the fastest flying pony in Equestria and there isn't a day that goes by she doesn't proclaim that. She hates to lose anyone and is constantly attempting to break her own flying records. For a while, she has bragged about her amazing flying ability more than usual, and it didn't take long before she took it too far. It all began one afternoon in Ponyville. Twilight and Flareon had invited their friends out for a picnic in the park, and Rainbow Dash once again began to brag about how she had beaten another of her personal flying records. After they finished eating, Flareon had just about enough of Rainbow Dash's rambling, and headed into town. He decided to stop at his favorite food stand that has the best-tasting chocolate milk in Ponyville. After Flareon walked up to it, a pony that was behind the stand turned around and said, "There you are Flareon. How's my best customer doing? Let me guess...the usual right? You're in luck...this is the last amount of chocolate milk I got for today." After the pony filled a glass with chocolate milk, Flareon gave him some money, and then took the glass of chocolate milk with him, and sat down at a nearby table. "Nothing like a cold glass of chocolate milk to relax me after all of Rainbow Dash's nonstop bragging," Flareon said as he began to lift up the glass to drink it. Unfortunately, not even a drip of it reached his tongue because out of nowhere, Rainbow Dash suddenly appeared and flew right passed him. The sudden gush of wind caused by her forced the chocolate milk to fly out of the glass and right into Flareon's face. He could hear her saying, "Alright...I beat another record. I'm so awesome!" Flareon had just about enough of Rainbow Dash's constant bragging because it was completely out of control. As she was flying back in his direction, he quickly flew into the air and said, "Rainbow Dash I've had enough of your..." but Flareon wasn't able to finish because she flew right into him and they both fell to the ground. As they both were trying to recover, Rainbow Dash said, "Sorry Flareon...but you shouldn't have got in my way. Guess what though? I beat another of my records. I'm so fast and scare myself!" Flareon slowly got up and yelled loud enough that ponies passing nearby stopped to look at them. "Rainbow Dash...I'm sick of your bragging. You keep going on and on about I beat this...I'm so fast...no one can beat me. I'm going to do what someone should have done a long time ago. I challenge you to a race around Equestria. The winner gets named "Equestria's Fastest Flyer! So...do you accept?" As Rainbow Dash looked around at everyone staring at them, she knew that she couldn't back down from his challenge. "A race...against me? You better not cry after I smoke you Flareon!" Rainbow Dash laughed. Soon after, they shook hooves as in agreement to the race.

Shortly after, Flareon and Rainbow Dash were each on their own side where the starting line was, preparing for the race. Twilight and Fluttershy were on Flareon's side and Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack were on Rainbow Dash's side. While Flareon was stretching his wings, Twilight walked up to him and said, "Flareon...do you really have to do this? I mean...don't get me wrong, but...I don't think you can beat her in a race." After he was done stretching, Flareon replied, "Look Twilight...I don't care about being 'Equestria's Fastest Flyer'. I know Rainbow Dash is faster than me, but I'm going to try to beat her so she'll stop bragging all the time. Hasn't she been getting on your nerves lately too?" "I can't say I don't agree with you there, but...please be careful...ok?" Twilight said. Meanwhile, on Rainbow Dash's side, she was simply lying down on a chair drinking a glass of lemonade. "Hey Rainbow Dash, shouldn't you be...I don't know...actually preparing for the race?" Applejack asked. After she finished her drink, Rainbow Dash turned her head and replied, "Prepare for what? You actually think Flareon can beat me? He only learned how to fly a couple of weeks ago where as I have flown since I was a baby. I'm going to beat him easy, and once I do, that title of 'Equestria's Fastest Flyer' is as good as mine!"

Unfortunately for her, Rainbow Dash wasn't as confident as she seemed to be. What if she lost to Flareon? Would people still think she was awesome? Would everyone laugh at her? Suddenly, the worst possible scenario popped into her head. What if the Wonderbolts found out Flareon had beaten her and they decided to recruit him as a Wonderbolt instead of her? At that moment, Rainbow Dash decided she had to win, by any means necessary. It wasn't long before the race was set to begin. Flareon and Rainbow Dash then walked up and stood at the starting didn't take long before she starting to talk smack to him. "Hey Flareon...I won't blame you if you back out. I mean...you probably know you have absolutely no chance of beating me. Just give up now!" He didn't bother to respond to her. Flareon knew what he had to do and wasn't going to let her get to him. Suddenly, Twilight appeared before them and said, "Alright you two...here's the rules. From this point here you will travel in an oval-shaped track around Equestria. You will be flying through locations such as Bloom Jungle, Sparkle Sea, Mystic Mountains, and Everfree Forest. Ponies everywhere have placed checkpoint signs to point you in the right direction so you don't get lost. The pony who crosses the finish line located at Apple Acres wins!" After Flareon and Rainbow Dash nodded their heads in agreement to the rules, Twilight began to countdown the start of the race. "On your marks...get set...go!" Flareon and Rainbow Dash quickly flew past her and began to head for the finish line.

Right off the bat, Rainbow Dash began to build a pretty sizeable lead on Flareon. It didn't take long before they made it into Bloom Jungle. Considering the speed at which Flareon and Rainbow Dash were going, flying through the jungle's trees and vines were proving more than a challenge for them. Suddenly, Rainbow Dash got an idea on how to slow down Flareon. She then began to look for a long vine, and after she found one, Rainbow Dash pulled it back as far as possible and tied it around a nearby tree. Once she was done setting her trap, Rainbow Dash quickly flew away while laughing. As Flareon was trying to navigate through the trees, he failed to notice the vine trap Rainbow Dash had set because it was blending in perfectly with the surrounding trees. After he pushed through the vine, the branch it was wrapped around quickly flung forward and hit Flareon directly in the face. The force was so powerful it send him crashing through a couple tress before he finally stopped and fell to the ground. Flareon was left dazed for a couple of seconds before he finally recovered and continued chasing after Rainbow Dash through Bloom Jungle.

After Rainbow Dash escaped the jungle, she finally made it to Sparkle Sea. When she looked back, she noticed that Flareon was nowhere in sight. Eventually, Rainbow Dash came up with another idea. She then stopped, and began to fly in a circle going upwards very fast. The speed at which she was going started to create a tornado, and since she was slightly above the sea, the tornado Rainbow Dash was creating was slowly absorbing the water, and soon after, the tornado became a typhoon. Rainbow Dash kept making the typhoon bigger and bigger until she reached her limit and flew out of it. There was no way Flareon to avoid that Rainbow Dash thought to herself as she continued the race. Later on, Flareon had finally made it out of Bloom Jungle, only to see a giant typhoon in front of him. "What in the world? A typhoon...seriously? First the tree branch now this? Rainbow Dash is already so far ahead of me. I'm going to have to fly around it somehow." Flareon quickly turned right and tried to navigate past the typhoon, but the force it was so powerful and began to suck him into it. He tried to fly away, but it was no use as the typhoon quickly absorbed Flareon into it. While inside Flareon was quickly tossed and turned like he was in a washing machine. Eventually, the typhoon spit out Flareon, and soon after, it slowly disappeared. Flareon then tried to fly straight, but he was still dizzy from the ride in the typhoon, and fell into the water. As he resurfaced, Flareon spit out some water and said, "If I don't hurry, I'll never be able to catch up to her!" He then got out of the water and furiously attempted to catch up to Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow Dash and Flareon soon began to fly to the left as they began to go through the second straightaway. After a couple of hours, they finally made it to the freezing tundra of the Mystic Mountains, but even the harsh cold couldn't cool off Rainbow Dash as she still had a lead on him. Once again, Rainbow Dash got another idea. She then flew high above neat the top of a mountain and then hit the side of it as hard as she could. The resulting hit caused the snow to slowly fall down, but it didn't take long before the falling snow began to speed up and soon caused an avalanche. After she was done admiring her work, Rainbow Dash continued on through the Mystic Mountains. As Flareon was flying down below, he began to hear a loud, rumbling sound. As Flareon looked up, he could see a huge avalanche heading right for him. "Oh you have got to be kidding me!" Flareon said as he tried to dodge the avalanche, but he wasn't able to fly fast enough, and was soon buried underneath the falling snow. Soon after, Flareon's head popped out and he quickly used his fire magic to melt the snow around him. His hopes of beating Rainbow Dash were looking more and more grim by the minute. He had to make this last stretch of the race count and catch up to Rainbow Dash in the Everfree Forest.

They eventually made it into the Everfree Forest, the last location they had to make it through before they reached Apple Acres. Even though Rainbow Dash clearly had the lead on Flareon, she decided to set up one more distraction for Flareon. When Rainbow Dash saw a checkpoint sign, she got an idea. "Sorry Flareon, but I have to win." She then turned the checkpoint sign around, pointing it towards some caverns, and continued on forward. When Flareon got to the checkpoint sign , he quickly went in the direction it pointed to. Meanwhile, back at the finish line, everyone was waiting to see who was going to win. Eventually, they began to see a figure coming into view. "Is it Flareon or Rainbow Dash? I can't tell!" Fluttershy said. The answer to her question was quickly answered when Rainbow Dash soon appeared to a cheering crowd and soon after, she crossed the finish line. "Thank you...thank you everyone. The best clearly won of course. I...am...awesome!" Rainbow Dash said as she bowed to the ponies chanting her name. Twilight and the others walked up to congratulate Rainbow Dash on her victory. "Congratulations Rainbow Dash...you won!" Applejack said as she patted her on the back. "Hey Rainbow Dash...what happened to Flareon?" Twilight asked. It took a while for Rainbow Dash to respond to Twilight because she was still basking in the glory of her victory. "What...Flareon. I don't know...me might have got lost in the Everfree Forest or something. I'm sure he's perfectly fine," Rainbow Dash replied. Unfortunately, that didn't give Twilight any reassurance. "Oh dear," Fluttershy said, "I hope Flareon didn't accidentally go into the Caustic Caverns because that's where the dreaded Devil Serpent lives." Suddenly, Rainbow Dash started to get worried. "Devil Serpent...what is that?" "It's a giant, three-eyed, serpent with a fearsome reputation. It will attack anyone that enters their den. Once it captures you, it will inject you with the poison from its' fangs and then it eats you. It's one of the most dangerous creatures in Equestria."

Right away Rainbow Dash began to panic, it was very possible that the direction of the checkpoint sign she switched might have pointed towards the Caustic Caverns. "Rainbow Dash...are you ok?" Twilight asked. It was no use, Rainbow Dash couldn't hide it anymore , she had to tell the truth. "You see...I might have...tricked Flareon into going into the Caustic Caverns after I turned the last checkpoint sign around in the Everfree Forest." As everyone began to yell at her, Rainbow Dash convinced them they had more pressing matters at hand, and they soon hurried to the Caustic Caverns to find Flareon before it was too late. Meanwhile, Flareon was walking through a dark cavern. Luckily for him, he was using his fire magic to light his horn like a torch so he could see. "I don't get it...I went in the direction of the checkpoint sign. I should have made it through Everfree Forest by now. It doesn't matter though...Rainbow Dash probably crossed the finish line already. I bet she is already bragging on how easily she won." Suddenly, he began to hear a loud, hissing noise. When Flareon turned around, he saw the Devil Serpent staring directly at him. Flareon then let out a loud yell that echoed throughout the cavern. He tried to fly away, but the Devil Serpent blocked his path. "I guess I have no choice. I'm going to have to fight this thing." Flareon then flew at the Devil Serpent and began to fight it.

Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash and the others finally made it into the Caustic Caverns. Twilight and Rarity were using their magic to light their horns so that everyone could see. "Wait...do you here that?" Twilight said as she signaled everyone to stop. "I think I hear Flareon's voice...come on everyone!" They quickly began to hurry and eventually made it into a huge cavern and saw the Devil Serpent holding Flareon in its' claw. "Oh no...Flareon!" Fluttershy yelled. Just as the Devil Serpent was about to inject its' poison into Flareon, Rainbow Dash began to fly fast towards them and yelled, "Let go of him you ugly snake!" She then preformed her Sonic Rainboom which lit up the cavern similar to a very bright flare. The resulting flash from the Sonic Rainboom quickly blinded the Devil Serpent and it soon let go of Flareon. After he feel to the ground, everyone quickly came to his aid, and helped him back up. "Come on guys...we need to get out of here before the Sonic Rainboom wears off!' Rainbow Dash yelled as she led everyone out of the cavern. After they safely escaped the Caustic Caverns, they returned back to Apple Acres.

After they arrived at where the finish line was, Flareon began to thank everyone for saving him. "Thanks for saving me. Wow...talk about the bad luck I've had today. First I got hit by a branch in Bloom Jungle, then I ran into a huge typhoon in Sparkle Sea, after that I got buried under an avalanche at Mystic Mountains, then I somehow got lost in those caverns." Flareon was suddenly surprised when everyone began to look at Rainbow Dash angrily. "Rainbow Dash," Twilight said with a serious tone, "Isn't there something you would like to tell Flareon?" Rainbow Dash's ears dropped as she turned to face him. "Flareon...the thing is...throughout the whole race, I've been cheating the entire time. All those bad stuff that happened to you was caused by me. I just wanted to win so badly...I'm sorry. I herby disqualify myself from the race and give the title of 'Equestria's Fastest Flyer' to you." She expected Flareon to be mad at her, but she is shocked when he begins to laugh. "Rainbow Dash...forgot about it. I'm not angry at you nor do I want that title. The reason I challenged to this race is because I just wanted you to stop your bragging...that's it." Rainbow Dash crossed her hooves and said, "What are you talking about? I don't brag." When she looked at everyone staring at her, she could tell that Flareon was telling the truth. "Ok..fine, I admit it...I have been bragging about my flying ability a little too much lately. I'm sorry everyone. I promise not to brag anymore." As they began to pat her on the back, Rainbow Dash realized that you shouldn't brag all the time because it can become annoying to your friends and everyone else.