"Wake up already, you slowpoke!"

It was way too early in the morning for this. For the p- Wait a minute...

"Woah woah woah woah woah. Woah. What exactly are you doing in my room?" I ripped my blankets off as I leaped to the ground. Rainbow Dash was dressed in her new clothes, standing next to my bed with her arms crossed.

"You're pathetic. Even in another world, you still need me to wake you up in the morning." She was clearly annoyed.

"Well, I was going to take you to do something interesting today, but if you're gonna call me pathetic..." I couldn't help myself. I grinned as I saw her eyes widen.

"W-well, I as just joking, you know? You knew that, right?" She chuckled nervously as she clasped and unclasped her hands.

"Whatever, let's go grab some breakfast, shall we?" Content that she was sufficiently remorseful, I led her downstairs, tip-toeing down the stairs. The sun had just risen, and the rest of the house was still asleep.

I popped open the refrigerator, taking out a gallon jug of milk and some eggs. Opening a familiar cabinet, I grabbed a sack of pancake mix and a bowl. Stirring it all together, I poured the mixture into a frying pan. Pretty soon, the smell of sizzling batter began to spread throughout the kitchen.

"Hurry up, will ya? I'm starving here!" Rainbow Dash whined as I heard a tell-tale growling.

"Sure, sure, if you want to eat raw pancakes, go for it. Just be patient for a sec!" I retorted back as I flipped the pancake.

I made enough batter for ten pancakes, five for each of us. Unfortunately, real life doesn't really go right down the middle. By the time I finished my third pancake, Dash had already finished hers and was reaching for mine. There wasn't much I could do to stop her from usurping my breakfast. She needed the energy anyways. I felt my stomach twist into a knot. What if she doesn't want to do it? What if she hates running after all? It's no replacement for flying, I know, but it's the best I can do.

Equipped with a few bottles of water, we set out into the streets of aristocracy and beyond. There was no sidewalk to reach the grassy field, so we had to stealthily sneak past a few people's yards. We dodged and rolled to stay out of sight. My neighbors did not care for ratty teenagers leaving footprints all over their freshly mowed lawns. To my surprise, Rainbow Dash was able to keep pace with me as I scrambled across a particularly open stretch of land.

"Are we there yet?" Rainbow Dash groaned.

"Well, yes, actually." I replied, waiting for her response. I forced my mouth into a vague smile, attempting to look confident.

She looked around, staring at the open field. She slowly turned her head to face me with flat and emotionless eyes.

"Are you sure?" She sounded slightly disappointed, but it was mixed with a bit of cynicism and just pure spite.

I sighed. She was going to be one tough nut to crack. Taking a deep breath, I touched my knees to the ground, bending my back forwards and pushing my arms backwards.

"Get on my back."

"What the- " Rainbow Dash staggered backwards a few steps as she goggled at me with wide open eyes.

"I know, I know! Just do it, okay? I just want to show you something." I squeezed my eyes shut, cringing from embarrassment. I wished I could just give up this humiliating charade, I really did. To prostrate myself before the one you hate, to show to her such a state of weakness was something that I couldn't bear to do. Extending my legs, I tried to push myself up again, but the addition of an unexpected amount of weight crushed my attempts.

"Oof!" My legs folded under me as a rainbow-colored parasite jumped onto my back. I lurched to my feet after mustering my strength, turning my head to glare at her. Her face was stretched into a leering smirk, which widened into an absolutely detestable smile of satisfaction as she observed my frustrated expression. How someone like her could possibly have friends was beyond me. How could anyone put up with her for more than ten minutes? It seemed an impossible feat at best.

I crouched slightly as I tensed the muscles in my legs. After taking a few deep breaths, I started with a light jog. Each step caused a jarring impact that sent pins and needles up my knees, but I couldn't stop. I kept jogging, gradually picking up my pace. As my legs pumped faster and faster, my strides gradually became quicker and quicker. The wind pushed my hair back, tickling my face. It was strange, the air tasted almost sweet as I opened my mouth to inhale.

There was a small hill up ahead, one of the rolling mounds that gave shape to the otherwise empty plain. I glanced back at Rainbow Dash with a wolfish grin, eyes glinting with excitement. Now it was time for the fun part. Every stride became an individual effort instead of components of a process. Instead of thinking in strides, I thought of each part of each step. As my right foot collided with the soft blanket of untrimmed grass, my left was already flying through the air, sending small clouds of dirt and debris into the space behind me. Left, right. Left, right. As I began traversing the familiar incline of the hill, I allowed my momentum to carry me forwards, propelling me up the mild slope. I reached the top of the hill with a final bound.

My anticipation was broken by the sensation of something sliding off of my back. My arms fell down to my sides as a weight dropped off from my back. I felt as if I had been freed from some kind of invisible chain, but I whirled around, panic in my eyes. To my sincere relief and annoyance, Rainbow Dash was perfectly fine.

The dull, listless look in her eyes from earlier was completely gone. She was jumping from side to side, eyes bright with anticipation.

"Race ya, slowpoke!" Without waiting for a reply, she began to dash down the hill, true to her namesake.

"H-hey, wait! Are you sure th-" She didn't even bother to respond to my concerned calls. "Fine! Be that way!" I guess in the end, I was looking forward to a chance to test my mettle against her's. She had been way out of my league, but now, this was my turf. I would show her that now she was the one out of her league.

As my left foot struck the first part of the downward slope, a thrill ran through my mind. I couldn't slow down. I couldn't even maintain a steady pace. With each step, I became faster. The faster I became, the faster I had to be. The burning in my lungs was replaced by a sense of euphoric bliss. My aching muscles stopped complaining as I broke boundaries I had never broken before.

By now, the wind had ceased to whisper, and was now roaring into my ears as it whipped past me. I was forced to squint my eyes as the world began to blur around me. Grass was a light green blur. Trees were a brown blur. Flowers were red, pink, and yellow blurs. Everything was but a blur of color, and yet I could tell what each blur represented.

Pumping my arms in unison with my legs in perfect synchronization, I quickly closed in on Rainbow Dash. As I approached her from the side, she must have seen me from her peripheral vision. Letting out a defiant growl, she suddenly increased her pace. My eyes widened. She could run that fast? She had only learned to walk a day or so ago, and yet now you couldn't distinguish her from any professional athlete. But I'll beat her. Renewing my determination, I doubled my efforts as well, ignoring the increasingly loud messages that my muscles were sending to my brain.

My eyes were narrowed to thin slits, and my breathing came in ragged gasps. I didn't care about my running form anymore. I didn't have the energy to. All of my willpower was focused on simply catching up to the blue blur in front of me. And yet, the distance never seemed to close. Rather, it felt like I was slowly slipping away, being left behind in the dust. A feeling of bitter frustration erupted in me, causing me to involuntarily let out a feral growl. How could she be beating me? How? It was impossible. It was completely, utterly impossible. But it was happening before my eyes.

But I didn't stop. I couldn't admit defeat by slowing my pace. The pulsing of blood in my veins escalated to a brutal pounding. How long could I maintain this pace? According to my body, I was already beyond my limits. My bones creaked as impact after impact jarred my body. My muscles were screaming, screaming for rest, screaming for relief, screaming for oxygen in unison with my lungs. But I didn't stop. I couldn't stop. That was the only thought left in my mind. Don't stop.

And I didn't stop until my foot landed in a indentation in the ground, propelling me into the ground. I threw my hands in front of my face on instinct, but the ground still hit me hard.

I was alone in a cavernous building. My body felt as if it had been slapped all over. Groaning, I rolled onto my hooves. Pushing myself upright, I looked around and saw that I was in some kind of ceremonial chamber. I was lying in the middle of six small pillars, each housing some shadowy form. There was a small hole in the ground in the middle, near where I was laying. It was the perfect size for a hoof. I suddenly realized that I was not in control of my own body. I was like a separate entity, only able to view my actions. I watched as I pushed my hoof in, curious as to the function of the hole. A feeling of cold dread twisted my stomach into a knot.

Don't do it.

Don't do it, you idiot.

DON'T DO IT!

But I did do it. I pushed my hoof into the hole, only to find it stuck there. I could not retract it from the hole, as some thing had slid into place, holding my arm in position. My eyes widened as a wordless scream ripped itself from my mouth. Knives. It felt as if millions of knives were slowly working their way into my arm, cutting into the muscles and tendons. Needles. It felt as if my arm were being punctured simultaneously by millions of needles, perforating my arm in every possible direction. Boulders. It felt as if my arm were being crushed by an unstoppable force, grinding my bones into a fine dust. Again, I tried to scream. Again, nothing but silence escaped my mouth.

A sanguine light illuminated the hole, momentarily distracting me from my agony. The light was dark red, the color of my blood. At that moment, something entered my mind. Something dark, looming, ancient, and terrible forced itself into the midst of my thoughts. A new consciousness whispered to me, slowly dominating my thoughts and feelings. My eyes widened as my body began to obey its new master.

I tried one last time, but again, it was but a silent scream.

"Hey hey, knucklehead, do you have any idea what time it is?"

The sound of a familiar voice ripped my back to reality. This time, I was able to scream.

"Wow, am I really that scary? How do you ever survive Nightmare Night?"

I felt a single finger jab into my cheek, repeatedly poking me.

"If you don't hurry, I'm just gonna leave you here."

I slowed my breathing as some semblance of sanity returned. It was nice, hearing a familiar voice. I could just lay here forever, lulling myself to sleep to the sound of that voice.

Wait.

What was that?

That voice?

That's disgusting.

I bolted upright, springing to my feet in one swift motion. I cringed, grabbing my hamstrings as my muscles complained of their recent mistreatment.

"Sure took your sweet time, didn't you?" Rainbow Dash got to her feet with a practiced ease that spawned another wave of jealousy. How in the world was she so fit? She wasn't even supposed to be a human!

"Ha! I was just giving us some recovery time after, so we could relax a little while!" was what I wanted to say, but all I could manage was a weak smile.

"Anyways, let's go run again tomorrow!" Rainbow Dash beamed, punching my shoulder. "But you're gonna have to step it up, 'cause that was really pathetic. I mean, come on! You're supposed to be the big shot around here, right?"

"Huh...yeah...I guess..." My eyes drooped as I took the first step back towards my home. "Hey...let's go...ba-" I felt someone catch me with a frustrated sigh as I crumpled from exhaustion.

This sucks. But at least Rainbow Dash is happy. I could pride myself on that much, at least.