The mood in the pens was somber at best.

The day had finally come, and yet for the four of us, it felt like we were still far from ready to face it.

The Draconic Heaven was starting in less than two hours, and right now all I could focus on was the rut I was walking into the dirt between Nilak and Winx’s pens.

Ivy watched me as I marched back and forth with my head bowed and my wings twitching, her gaze melancholy and worrisome as she rubbed Winx behind her ears. Normally Winx would be all over the attention and care, but even our most energetic member was falling victim to the atmosphere of tension.

Nilak huffed as I passed his pen door for the umpteenth time in the last hour, sit down and breathe Silver. You’ll only wear yourself out doing that.

I didn’t have the energy to even look up as I answered him, “And what good would that do me? I’d just end up biting my hooves or flying circles around the rafters until I drove you three even further insane.” I turned on one hoof and began walking back along the path I had been following, “Besides, at least this way I can keep my body from bursting from the pent-up energy that’s making my heart pound like a drum.”

“Then could you kick up the pace?” Ivy asked as she slumped against the door to Winx’s pen, “I’m getting sleepy just watching you. If I don’t get some excitement soon I’m going to pass out.”

I cast her a confused look as I spun around again, “How can you be falling asleep at a time like this? I’m so full of energy I feel like a bomb with only ten seconds on the timer.”

She shrugged, “Guess I just deal with stress differently than you do.”

I rolled my eyes as I passed by Nilak again, “Well either way, we need to do something soon or else we’re going to be so worn out that we’ll never make it off the starting line.”

It was like my words had gone straight from my mouth to the ears of Fate, because no sooner had I spun around to head back toward the wall did the doors at the end of the stables flew open. I was slightly shocked when they hit the walls with enough force to crack the wood paneling, yet it was overridden by the lumbering figure that marched in after.

As one our eyes locked onto the massive figure that stood panting in the doorway, not truly believing our eyes as Smit stumbled into the building. His mane was even messier than usual, his eyes bloodshot and his steps uneven as he made a beeline down the aisle towards us. Ivy leaped to her hooves and grabbed the stallion under one as he stumbled again, all traces of fatigue banished from her body as she helped him to sit down on an overturned bucket beside Nilak’s pen.

He nodded to her as she stepped back, “Thank ye kindly li’l miss.” He coughed thickly into his sleeve before clearing his throat, “I wasn’t sure I was goin’ to make it before yer big race.”

He slipped his work bags off of his back and fished around before pulling out a piece of metal that was about the size of a dinner plate and shaped like a rounded diamond.

He handed it over to Ivy with his usual oversized smile, “I just finished it last night. Caught the first train here so I could give it to ya.”

She turned it over in her hooves with narrowed eyes, “Is this what I think it is?” She lifted her gaze to meet his, her expression hopeful.

His smile seemed to grow only bigger as he nodded in return, “Ye bet your saddle it is! I used up every last part and motor I had at my disposal, but your extendable armor is complete as ordered!”

Ivy’s face lit up like a Hearth’s Warming tree, hugging the armor to her chest and squealing like a school filly before throwing her legs around the massive smith. He jumped slightly at her sudden movement, as did the rest of us, but only hesitated a moment before wrapping his own hooves around her.

“Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!” She exclaimed without coming up for air. “You never disappoint Smit!”

He chuckled deep in his chest, the vibrations making Ivy giggle as his beard tickled her face and neck, “Yer welcome li’l lady. I take pride in makin’ my customers happy, and makin’ sure whatever I give them is the best I can do.”

They pulled away from each other, Ivy’s cheeks flushed with joy and her eyes glistening with unshed tears.

“Oh now there be none of that!” Smit interjected as he pulled a greasy hoofkerchief from his saddlebags and handed it to her, “There be no cryin’ while I’m around. I don’t care if they be happy tears, ye should be focusin’ on getting ready for yer race instead of blubbering over what ye already paid for.”

Her lips curled into a watery smile as she wiped the cloth over her eyes, somehow without getting grease plastered all over her face.

“Thank you Smit,” she said as she handed it back to him, “I needed that.”

He waved it off as he walked past her towards the door, “Just do yer best today and I’ll be happy.” He paused as he entered the doorway, glancing over the cracks his entrance had made in the wall. “Hmph, somepony should really fix that, can’t have unstable walls in a dragon pen.”

He started grumbling to himself about ‘giving the local mason a piece of my mind’ as he disappeared around the bend, leaving us alone in the stables once more.

Ivy snickered, tried to hold it in, failed, and in the next second all four of us were holding out sides to try and make the stitches go away.

We took about ten minutes to finally get a hold of ourselves, and even then it was only by sheer force of will that we somehow got the laughter to stop.

Nilak shook his head as he glanced out the still wide open doors, now there is a pony who will be worth having around once this is all over.

Ivy and I nodded in agreement, “Yeah, his mannerisms might be a bit odd from time to time,” she ran her hooves over her new armor as she smiled again, “but he more than makes up for it with heart and dedication.”

Ooh! Ooh! I want to try my new armor on! Winx yelled as she bounced from paw to paw, I want to see what it’s like to have magic armor!

Ivy chuckled as she walked over and opened the small dragon’s pen, “You know it’s not magic right?”

Winx gave her a look that could have curdled milk, I know that, but it’s so cool I can’t help but feel like it should be magic to have all of those moving parts end up right where they’re supposed to.

Ivy pressed the plate against Winx’s chest and caught the young dragon’s eye, “Ready?” When Winx nodded she reached down and pressed the switch in the center of the plate.

Ivy stepped back as the plate rapidly expanded outward, first covering Winx’s shoulders and locking around the base of her neck before spreading upward to protect the back and sides of her neck and head. She spread her wings as the plates moved further down her body, curling her neck to watch as the metal clicked and slid until it covered every part of her body except her tail and the moving parts of her wings.

Ivy whistled while Nilak and I simply gazed at the now metal-coated Winx in awe. While Nilak looked relatively the same with his armor on, the contrast between Winx’s red scales and the silver plating made it seem like somepony had just pulled a slab of molten metal out of the forge. Our attention was not lost on Winx, who lifted her wings and extended her frills like a prize show dog.

Pretty cool huh? She asked with a smug expression as Nilak and I snapped out of our reveries. Ivy, on the other hoof, was still openly staring at her partner.

She seemed to come to as I waved my hoof in front of her face, “Who? What?” She blinked several times before glancing at me, “Thanks Silver. I kind of got caught up in the moment.”

I pat her on the back with my trademark smirk on full display, “No harm done. Honestly, I’d be more surprised if you hadn’t been staring at her. Winx looks amazing with that new armor, so it’s fine if you stare the first time around.”

Winx seemed to deflate at that, you mean she isn’t going to stare at me anymore now that she’s seen me like this? Her eyes resembled a puppy that had just been denied her treat, wide and pleading.

My eyes rolled in response to that, “No worries Winx. Once we get to the track you’ll have so many ponies fawning over you you won’t know what to do with yourself.”

Speaking of the race, Nilak interjected, we should be getting to the staging area. They’re probably going to start the opening ceremony before too long.

The rest of our group nodded in agreement and I held up my hoof between us, “One last time for luck?”

Ivy nodded, placing her hoof on top of mine, “One cannot stand,”

Nilak rested his left front paw on top of our hooves, but two can support each other,

Winx added her paw to our stack, and three will never be broken.

“United we stand,” I whispered.

“united we fall,” Ivy echoed.

“dragons and ponies, fighting for all,” we chorused.

As usual, a surge of magic sparked from our joining, though today it seemed to be weaker than normal. As the warmth spread up my leg and nestled in my heart, I realized that reciting our oath with two of our members missing greatly reduced the level of magic that was produced.

I flexed my hoof as we pulled our respective limbs back, “Well, guess this is it. The final hurdle to get at Mythic and put a stop to all of his evil plans.”

Ivy shivered like she had been hit by a cold draft, “I don’t even want to think about that right now. I just want to finish this race in one piece and then worry about killing an all-powerful wizard.”

Nilak chuckled as he bumped Ivy gently with his paw, if facing Mythic is anything like what we’ve faced already, then the four of us shouldn’t have any trouble taking him out. After all, I was trained with this exact result in mind. I know we haven’t done any combat or magic training up until now, but trust me when I say that you will know what to do when the time comes. You just have to trust in our bond and believe in yourself.

Ivy and Winx shared a sarcastic look before walking past the larger dragon, “Whatever you say big guy.”

Yeah, Winx added, I’m sure that it’ll all work out in the end.

I snickered as they waltzed out of the pens, leaving Nilak and I alone while I grabbed his armor off of the rack.

“You know that they’re just giving you a hard time right?” I asked as his armor expanded and locked into place.

He sent me a sidelong glance that told me exactly what he did and did not know, those two needed a bit of a moral boost before this all comes crashing down on our heads. I don’t know about you, but I have a feeling that Thunder and Black Beauty have come up with a counter for our super speed. This won’t be easy.

I nodded as I strapped on his saddle, “I know. I just hope that when push comes to shove, we’re strong enough to pull through. I know that those two won’t be holding anything back. This is the biggest race of the season after all, and I’m willing to be that even our mission falls to second over winning the title.”

He harrumphed as we walked out of the pens and followed the girls towards the starting line, stubborn pony pride. I’d call it reckless and foolhardy if dragons weren’t just as bad.

I slapped his shoulder and grinned up at him, “At least we have that in common. Come on Nilak, let’s get this party started.”

He grinned as I jumped up and into the saddle, ready when you are Silver. Let’s go win ourselves another race.

We caught up with the girls at the side entrance of the race stadium. Since we were in Canterlot, the capital of Equestria, the building had to be massive enough to hold the majority of the city’s population, resulting in one of the five largest structures in the country. The enormous masterpiece of engineering stood about half as tall as the surrounding skyscrapers, meaning it came to a stop at about the thirty-sixth floor on all sides. Even outside the roar of the crowd was already deafening, and I was beginning to wonder how any of the racers were going to be able to think with all of the noise.

We were ushered in by an official in a bright red uniform, and by some miracle the noise level actually dropped once we got inside.

From what I could see and what I knew about racing, the large atrium we were now huddled in was designed to hold all of the racers
prior to the start. I could see about thirty dragon/rider pairs milling about in the cavernous space, though it took me a moment to spot Whiteout and Shield Fang. They were off to one side with their heads lowered close together like they were coming up with a strategy.

However, when I spotted Black Beauty and Thunder, they were on the completely opposite side of the room. My eyes narrowed in confusion as I walked up to the couple, noticing that for the first time since I had met her, Black Beauty’s face wasn’t covered with her mask.

I was so shocked I almost stumbled over my own hooves, but managed to regain my balance before I made a fool out of myself. Ivy was going through a similar reaction, though if Winx hadn’t extended a wing to support her Ivy would have certainly fallen flat on her face. Black Beauty’s face was devoid of anything that might resemble a blemish, her cream colored fur practically glittering in the overhead lights. Her cheeks were flushed a slight pink and her normally muted eyes seemed to glow now that the rest of her face was visible. Her mane was also hanging loose around her shoulders, and I was once again surprised that it wasn’t black like I had originally thought. Instead it was a deep chocolate brown and had a wave aspect to it that made it seem to ripple as she moved. Her overall image wasn’t what most would call stunning, more along the lines of pleasantly cute. I almost fell over myself again at the thought. Black Beauty and cute were never a set of words I had ever dreamed of being in the same sentence until now.

The pair noticed our flabbergasted state and I saw Black Beauty’s lips curl into the barest hint of a smile, “What’s wrong you two, Whiptail got your tongue?”

I slapped myself in order to get my thoughts straight, “You’re not wearing your mask!”

She seemed to ponder this for a moment, “And your point is?”

By this point Ivy had pulled herself back to reality, “You never take off your mask! Why now of all times would you remove it? I thought you wanted to keep your identity secret or something like that.”

She shrugged, “I’m no longer the hot topic in the news anymore. If you two hadn’t noticed, the media has been going after a new story lately, you. So, I’ve decided to not cover my face and actually be able to breathe for once.”

Ivy rolled her eyes at the mention of the media, “Don’t remind us. I feel like they’re crawling out of the woodwork with how we have to sneak around to avoid getting mobbed.”

“So why are you and Thunder over here while Shield Fang and Whiteout are all the way over there?” I asked, indicating the conversing dragons with one wing.

Thunder let out an almost comedic sigh, “Alas my dear companion Shield Fang has forsaken me for the fairer sex.” He clutched his vest over his heart, “Why must the world be so cruel as to rip a duo such as us apart?”

Black Beauty rolled her eyes, elbowing him in the gut while turning to us, “What my moronic companion means to say is that Whiteout is sharing our secret with Shield Fang so that way we can stand a chance against you when you kick it into high gear.”

I glanced over my shoulder at the dragons, noticing that Whiteout was moving her paws like she was illustrating something to Shield Fang, “So I was right when I figured you two would find some way to counter our speed advantage.” I turned back to them with a cheeky grin, “I don’t suppose you’d be willing to share?”

She crossed her forelegs and raised her chin knowingly at me, “Oh wouldn’t that be nice? Why don’t I just tell you all of my racing secrets and drop out of the race while we’re at it?”

I lowered my head, “Point taken.”

Thunder slapped her over the back, making her stumble slightly before righting herself, “Oh cut the ‘I’m holier than thou’ attitude. It’s not like they can do anything to stop us now.”

She sent him a death glare before straightening her clothes, “Very well, wise guy, I’ll share.” She turned back to me and Ivy, “Basically Whiteout was experimenting with some of the magic stuff Nilak told us about back when we first met. She stumbled onto it completely by accident, but apparently she discovered a spell that will increase our speed until we can match yours.” She lifted her hooves in a defeated way when my mouth opened to question her, “Don’t ask me how she does it. I’m still trying to wrap my head around the whole magic routine.”

“So now we’ll all have the super speed boost coming in to the final stretch?” Ivy asked, her eyes wide in wonder, “I can’t imagine how the finish is going to look.”

Black Beauty surprised us again by smirking, “Oh I imagine the view of Whiteout’s tail would suit just nicely.”

At that Thunder rounded on her with a hurt look, “What am I, dragon fodder? Have I given you so little to like about me that I don’t even factor into your little fantasy?”

Thankfully Black Beauty was saved from having to answer him. The thundering trumpets that echoed into our little hideaway signaled that the starting ceremony had begun. All conversations came to an abrupt halt as riders and dragons were formed up single file around the edge of the room. Black Beauty and Thunder were given the first two spots, as was their right as the leading members of the Circuit. However, what I didn’t expect was to be given the spot directly behind them. I glanced over my shoulder and saw Ivy had slipped in behind Nilak, already strapped into Winx’s saddle. I pondered how we had managed to claim the third and fourth positions in the leaderboard while the rest of the racers lined up behind us and came to the only logical conclusion.

Apparently having dragons with free will was a good way to get into the top ranks of the Circuit. Who knew? It still shocked me that the only thing that made my team better than the rest of the racers in the circuit was the fact that Nilak, Winx and Mel could think and act of their own volition. Truth be told, I was almost positive that we’d be better than Black Beauty and Thunder if we hadn’t freed Whiteout and Shield Fang, though the jury was still out on the final result of that contest.

I could hear the announcer getting the crowd into an even higher state of frenzy, and as the crowd roared enough the shake the room, the official standing next to the exit motioned for Black Beauty and Whiteout to enter the stadium. After a long pause he motioned for Thunder and Shield Fang to exit as well, followed by Ivy, Nilak, Winx and I. As we broke into the open I realized why they had us entering by group. The announcer was just calling out the name of our team with some side comments directed at our absent members. I bristled a bit at how he was blowing Mel and Lucky aside like they didn’t matter, but after a second I realized that injuries were common enough that this probably wasn’t the first absent team member he had to announce during a race.

We filed into the starting gates next to Whiteout and Shield Fang as the other racers stepped in under the announcer’s roll call. The first six lined up in the gates with the rest of us, while the remaining racers grouped into rows of ten behind us according to their placement. In total, there were thirty-four of us within the starting area, the final four filling in the center spots on the track for symmetry.

Just as the noise was threatening to break my skull open, a thunderous trumpet blast caused a hush to fall over the entire stadium. You could hear a pin drop as all eyes turned toward the balcony that jutted out from the stands directly to our right about three stories up. A pause was felt before a stallion dressed in brown and gold robes stepped into the light, followed closely by Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. While Mythic Song moved to the edge of the balcony, the royal sisters took their seats upon the two thrones resting at the center of the balcony. Mythic let the crowd cheer for a moment before lifting his hooves for silence. Once the noise had lowered back to a modest level, he reached up and flipped his hood back, revealing a surprisingly youthful face. He looked no older than his early thirties, yet it was common knowledge that Mythic Song had appeared with his collars over a hundred years ago. Nopony questioned the fact that he was borderline immortal, but the difference between hearing and seeing was so massive it made me want to slap myself to check if I was dreaming.

Mythic’s ice blue eyes and auburn mane stood out in stark contrast to his coal black fur, his thin lips curled into a calm and seemingly warm smile as he lowered his legs. Had I not known any better, I would have been positive that this clear-cut pony could never possibly do harm to anypony. He seemed to lack the dark and foreboding feeling one would expect from somepony evil. Such was the mastery of his deception.

“My friends,” he called out, his voice magnified and projected as his horn glowed a deep red, “once again it is time for the most anticipated even of the year. Today we watch as our chosen champions compete against one another for the final time in the hope that one of them will earn the title of Dragon Champion! Many have tried and failed to attain such glory, but I have a feeling that this year will be special. Our current champion for the eighth year running, Black Beauty, has been holding herself far above the others of the Circuit. However, now we seem to have a list of challengers that can meet her skills mark for mark.”

He extended his leg to indicate our group, “First off, I would like to congratulate the Freedom Fighters for proving themselves over and over.” His face softened for a moment and I could have sworn there was genuine hurt in his gaze, “I regret the fact that the last members of your team could not be with us, it was truly a tragedy that befell you during the Seaside Sprint. And yet here you are, poised to claim the title for yourselves and to prove that trials and tragedy cannot and will not hold you back. I applaud your dedication and your determination in seeing this through to the very end.”

He paused for a moment before moving his gaze onto Thunder, “Thunder Ace, for years you have tried and failed to match Black Beauty on the track, and yet here you are, ready to take her place as Champion of Equestria by putting everything you have into today’s race. I commend you on your hard work and seemingly endless patience. May they serve you well in today’s contest.”

Mythic’s gaze lifted as he addressed the people, raising his hooves together before shooting them apart. Streams of multi-colored fire shot into the air over his spread legs, forming a dazzling display that lasted for almost a minute.

As he stood on all fours again the fire faded away, and his face was lit into a big smile as he yelled out, “Now that the formal ceremony is over, I have one final surprise before the race begins.” He settled the murmurs of the crowd with a wave of his hoof, “I will tell everypony here exactly what the final race will be, but it is how you choose to tackle these challenges that will decide your fate. Today the race is a very simple one. Once the signal horn sounds the racers will break onto the track and race straight ahead for exactly ten miles. You will face traps and other hazards like you did during the first Handicap Trial. However, once you reach the end, there is a ramp that will direct you back here for the second half of the race. It shall be held in the air and there will be no obstacles to bar your path. However, the challenge is that this race is a little combination I like to call an endurance sprint. There will be no laps, no alternate routes, and no other means of finishing the race except for flying back across the starting line. The challenge you must face is when to push your mounts and when to hold back. Push for the sprint too soon and you’ll burn out. If you push too late then the others may very well pass you. Both halves of the race take this into account, because they are both perfectly straight shots from here to the end and back again. Choose your moment wisely, because there won’t be any second chances.”

He nodded to the announcer before taking his seat in the center of the balcony. For a moment even the announcer seemed at a loss for words before he shook himself back into focus.

“Now that Lord Song has given his blessing and even shed some insight into the challenge before our riders, let’s get on with the race.” He placed his hoof on the starting mechanism lever and turned to face the Princesses, "With your permission Your Highnesses?"

Celestia smiled softly, "You may proceed whenever you are ready."

"Indeed," Luna added, sipping on a cup of coffee in her magic grip, "let us be entertained by this grand spectacle."

The announcer nodded, turning to face the racers, “Racers to your marks!”

He pulled the lever and the flag began its slow climb of the starting pole. We all fell into our starting crouches, our eyes locked on the flag as it drew ever closer to the peak.

“Well,” I whispered more to myself than anypony else, “here we go. It’s now or never.”

I heard Nilak chuckle through our link, relax Silver. This is going to be fun.

I rolled my eyes just as the flag reached the peak of the pole. The trumpets blared and the gates opened, releasing all of us in one sudden burst. I had a feeling that the spectators in the stands felt like they needed to get their eyes checked, because Nilak, Winx, Shield Fang and Whiteout came shooting out of the gate so fast I felt like we had been blasted out of a cannon. I didn’t bother looking back at the other racers. This was a battle for first, and there wasn’t going to be a prize for second place.

Author's Notes:

Well here we go. Next chapter hits the climax at a dead sprint. Should have it up tomorrow if I don't get sidetracked by homework. Again, thanks to all of you guys who read my junk and tell me how amazing it is. It really hits me right in the feels to know you all enjoy my work so much.

Anyway, enough with the fluff. I'll be in touch, and I'll see you all next chapter,
Shadow Quill, Messenger of the Moon.