Well, somehow we did it. We avoided the Blood Claw long enough to reach the Dragon Circuit trials. While we had been on the run, we trained with our dragons, both on the ground and in the air, knowing that most of the races required a combination of both. Nilak was the fastest of our group, though Mel gave him a run for his money half the time. The true surprise was how agile Winx was. She could turn on a bit and could do aerial maneuvers that made the other dragons sick to their stomachs. Ivy was more than pleased with her dragon’s abilities and rubbed it in our muzzles every time we messed up. Much as we disliked her superior tone, we turned the tables on her in just the same way all the time, so it all balanced out in the end. The trials for the Dragon Circuit were taking place at the Aurora Racetrack, several days’ flight from our hometown. We had spent most of our time that wasn’t used for training in the air in order to make it to the track on time.

While the time we took between flights was as short as we could make it, we still had to stop during the more wee hours of the morning to get some rest. Unfortunately for me, it wasn’t all that restful. Images of my mother’s body and the deathly screams for someone to save her haunted my nightmares, overshadowed by the bloody image of the Blood Claw insignia, dripping crimson liquid from its triple claw marks like a river of death. More than once I woke up in a cold sweat, although I did my best not to wake any of the others. Nilak woke up at one point, although he reluctantly agreed to keep quiet about it after I begged him to secrecy. He didn’t like keeping the information from the girls, but he trusted me enough to let it go, for now.

It took us the full week to arrive at Dodge City, home of the Aurora Racetrack, and boy was it a sight to behold. Half of the city was taken up by the course, paved raceway mixed in with aerial floats for the air portions of the race. Already teams were warming up in the air and around the practice track off to the east of the starting area. We shared a look and flew into the city, knowing that if we failed here, everything would be for nothing.

We touched down at what looked like the sign-in tent, the front space mostly taken up by a big screen that had the roster with the teams and solo riders already signed up. Sitting at the desk next to the roster was a very large unicorn stallion with a lit cigar in his mouth. He had to be almost as big around as he was tall, and given he had to be five three in height, that made for a very imposing figure. His face was covered by a huge beard that made his mouth almost invisible and covered most of his upper chest in the curly red bush. His eyebrows were equally bushy and they overshadowed a pair of mild brown eyes. Atop his head was a thick mass of red curls that matched the shrub of a beard he had below. The rest of his body was covered with rough dark brown fur, while his tail proved to be just as messy as his mane.

He acknowledged our arrival with a raised eyebrow, “So you’ve come to sign up have ye?” His voice was deep and had a slight warm tone to it, though the near lack of interest in us made his face less than welcoming. “If so then ye’ve come to the right place. Please step up and sign the roster.” As I sat down and signed my name he raised one eyebrow, “Are ye solo riders or are ye a team?”

I looked up and then at my friends, “Oh, we’re a team.”

“Then ye signs with the team name, not yer own.” He took the slip of paper and tossed it in a waste bin next to his desk, “Now, I’ll ask ye the questions and ye tell me what I need to know so ye don’t mess up another paper.” He pulled out a pen with his light blue magic and placed another paper in front of himself, “Team name?”

I paused before answering, not sure what to say. I looked at the girls and they shrugged. I rolled my eyes and turned back to the giant, “The Freedom Fighters.”

At this both eyebrows raised and he looked at me sidelong, “That be yer team name? Most go by ‘The Rosen Surfers’ or some flashy name of the like. Did I hear ye correct when ye said ‘The Freedom Fighters’?”

I nodded, “You heard right. Is that a problem?”

He shrugged, “Call yeselves whatever ye like, makes no difference to me.” He signed the paper with a flurry and asked again, “Name and breed of dragons.”

“My dragon is Nilak the Gryphonwing,” he raised another eyebrow at the made up breed name, but didn’t comment.

“My dragon is Melinda the Violet Sandscale,” Lucky flicked her mane out of her face with one hoof.

“This pretty one is Winx the Pixie Glider,” Ivy stood next to Winx as she rubbed the dragon between her eyes, “She’s the sweet one.”

“Good,” the stallion checked over the paper and then nodded to himself, “all is ready to register. All ye need to do is have yer gear checked over at the next tent and yo’ll be good to go.”

With that he typed in the information and our team appeared on the screen. Given we had arrived near the middle of the day, most of the other slots were already taken. That meant there would be few places for the Blood Claw to slip in. We knew if they could they would field a team to take us out, but given the three remaining slots would go fast, the chances were pretty slim. We thanked the big unicorn and he nodded as we walked ten feet to the left to the next tent, though if they could have been any more different I would have liked to see it.

The entire front of the tent was open, in fact all four walls were flipped up, and the entire space was filled from floor to ceiling with saddles and other bits of riding gear. While the huge stallion at the previous tent was a rather imposing figure, the scrawny old fellow that met us at the front of this tent seemed more like a colt than a stallion in terms of size. His mane was a wild white frizz that stuck straight up from his head, reaching about ten inches in places. He had a slightly crooked muzzle and big round glasses taking up most of the space on his face. His eyes were a stark ice blue and his back had a distinct hunch that made him look even shorter. His legs couldn’t have been bigger around than my bit pouch all the way to his shoulder, and his hooves were covered in wrinkles and calluses.

“So you need your gear checked before you can race?” His voice was nasal and fairly high pitch, matching his petit size perfectly. “Well you need to take the gear off of your dragons first if you’re going to have me check them.”

We unstrapped out saddles and passed them over the small table that blocked the front of the tent. The little pony was surprisingly strong as he carried all three saddles with ease to the back of the tent. “Satchel is my name, and if you ever have a problem with your gear, just let me know and I’ll fix it right up for ya.” He walked back to the font of the tent, cleaning his hooves with a spare rag that had been lying on a saddle against the left wall, “Come back in about an hour and I’ll have your gear ready for you. So long as nothing is in them that shouldn’t be, you can attend the trials tomorrow without a problem.”

We thanked the old colt and walked with our dragons over to the stands at the edge of the tracks. Riders from famous teams and new-coming solo riders all passed by at rapid speeds as they warmed up for the trials the next day.

“Oh!” I yelled as a yellow and blue streak passed, “There goes Aqua Thunder! He’s one of the top solo racers in the Circuit!”

“Here comes Scarlet Slash!” Ivy yelled as a dazzling rider on a bright red Comet Wing came past. “She’s the second ranked female rider in the entire world!”

I don’t get what the big deal is, Nilak muttered as more racers passed by, they look pretty average to me.

Mel bumped her shoulder against Nilak, you’re just jealous because they all look better than you. She hummed to herself as a burly Water Wind passed by, his muscular tail and legs adorned with fins for aquatic life, and some look downright handsome.

Nilak jerked his head around to stare at her, after all you went through to kiss me you’re talking about other males as being better?! He scoffed, typical females. Always attracted to the biggest muscles and smallest brains.

She bumped him again, harder this time, oh quit with the hurt act, you’re starting to turn green with envy. I wouldn’t ever leave you for somedragon else, I’m just teasing you so you love me all the more.

Clever dragoness, he said, just be careful, I might start doing the same to you. Oh, here comes a fine young she-dragon now.

I looked in the direction he was and spotted a pure white Blizzard Tail with a rider decked out in black speeding down the track on all fours. “Nilak, that ‘fine young she-dragon’ is none other than Whiteout and her rider Black Beauty. She’s the Circuit Champion and the winner of the Draconic Heaven for the last eight years in a row! No one has ever seen the rider’s face in public, and the many attempts to snap a shot of her at home have ended in disaster. You might want to lower your expectations, because she is the very best there is, and the one we have to beat in order to stand a chance at the title.”

Nilak watched as the dragoness sped past in a white blur, can’t blame me for having good taste.

Mel rolled her eyes, you’ll have no taste if you keep that up because I’ll rip out your tongue. She grabbed Nilak by the base of the neck with one paw and dragged him away from the stands, follow me. We’re going to have a little chat.

Nilak locked eyes with me and sent a quick, help me before being dragged out of sight. I just waved with one hoof before he passed behind a tent, chuckling to myself at his predicament.

“Ah the trials of love.” I folded my forelegs on the barrier surrounding the track, “What will they throw at us next?”

Lucky smirked as she watched the other racers speed by, “I don’t know about you, but I can’t decide whether to be scared for them or happy. Either way it’s sure to get very interesting around here.”

I nodded, “You got that right.”

Just at that moment Ivy decided to come running around the corner, her face as white as a ghost and her breath coming in ragged gasps. “Blood….Claw…..here, at the…..trials.” She slumped against the side of the stands and we ran to her to see if she was alright.

“Did I hear you right?” I asked, “The Blood Claw are here?”

She nodded, her chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath, “I saw them at the sign-in tent. They weren’t wearing their usual uniforms but I spotted their symbol etched into their saddles. We’ve got trouble and it’s not going without a fight.”

Lucky and I shared a look and she stood up quickly, “I’ll find the lovebirds. You stay here and look after Ivy.”

As she sped away Winx came fluttering over the top of the stands, her eyes filled with worry as she landed next to us, will she be alright?

I nodded, “She just pushed herself a bit too hard to get to us. A bit of rest and she’ll be back on her hooves.” I pulled Ivy up by one leg, “Up you go. Now, let’s see if we can help Lucky find the others.”

Ivy hopped on Winx’s back, even without a saddle, “I’ll be able to spot them better from the air. I won’t go too high but it might give us a better chance of finding them.”

I nodded, “Head off towards the far side of the track, I’ll head in the direction of the sleeping area. Between the three of us we should be able to find them.”

Winx nodded to me and flapped her wings, lifting off into the air and zipping off to the west. I waited to make sure they went the right direction and then ran off in the opposite direction. With Lucky running the way they had left, and with Ivy and me spreading out in either direction, we were bound to run into them sooner or later.

It wasn’t long before I got a mental message from Lucky, I found them. They were having a deep conversation about who looked better in the sunlight. We’ll meet you back at the saddle tent to grab our gear.

Got it, I sent back.

On our way, was Winx’s reply.

We met up a few tents away from the equipment tent, hoping to avoid running into the Blood Claw before we could get our stuff. Winx and Ivy arrived just after Lucky and the other dragons ran around the last row of tents. I waved them over and we peaked around the edge of the tent to spy on the equipment checker. His tent was open on all sides like before, but because of the stacks of gear it was hard to see what was going on in the front. I motioned for the girls to stay put with the dragons, and then crouched low to avoid being spotted. I worked my way up to the side of the tent, my approach hidden by the stacks of gear, though the lack of view worked the other way as well. I had no idea if the Blood Claw were right on the other side of the saddles or not. I prayed they weren’t and slowly stood up to glance over the top of a pile. The tent seemed to be empty, though I didn’t let my guard down as I climbed over the mounds of stuff. I landed softly and looked around, trying to spot our saddles in the piles of spare parts and tools.

Luck must have been on my side, because I spotted them off to the right on a small stack of racing packs. I had just grabbed them and hoisted them over the stacks when somepony called out from the front of the tent. A quick look told me exactly what I had hoped to avoid, Blood Claw members climbing over the table to come at me with small daggers and wing blades. I threw caution to the wind and crashed through the stacks of gear, sending everything flying as I rolled into a run and grabbed our saddles. Ivy and Lucky didn’t need to be told twice as I reached them, the girls throwing the saddles onto their dragons’ backs with little regard for front and back. All that mattered was that we got away. Nilak provided some literal cover fire as I attached his saddle, breathing fire in front of the Blood Claw to discourage any forward movement.

Once we were set I signaled the girls and we jumped onto our dragons, taking to the air with great haste as the Blood Claw made their way to their own dragons. We didn’t wait for them to get airborne, turning tail and flying like there was no tomorrow. We got in the way of several racers that were on the track as we flew just above ground level. All we could do was yell quick apologies as we sped by, the Blood Claw now in full pursuit on their Whiptails. We flew down the track the wrong way, racers dodging us left and right. My heart felt like it was going to beat out of my throat and I could feel Nilak breathing hard under me. We couldn’t keep up this pace for long, and a quick look behind us showed the Blood Claw were gaining.

I looked back forward just in time to see a big white dragon in our path, and I knew that we were too close to get out of the way. I braced for the impact but it never came. Whiteout jumped over our backs and landed without missing a step, her ice-spiked tail leaving a thin trail of snow as she passed. Mel and Winx were able to move out of the way, but that still left the Blood Claw for Whiteout and the Black Beauty to deal with.

We slid sideways as we came to a stuttering halt, the girls stopping next to us as we watched the horrid scene unfold. Every one of the Blood Claw was armed and screaming for blood, and all the two racers had were each other. I expected them to get torn to shreds by the gang members, but no such trouble. If anything, the Blood Claw were outmatched by the two females speeding towards them.

Whiteout slid to a stop as the Blood Claw barreled down on them, swinging her tail slightly as she waited for them to get closer. At the last moment she jumped onto her front legs and spun her tail around in a complete circle, the ice spikes impacting the gang members and their dragons in multiple places as she sent them flying. She came to a stop and fanned her wings, roaring like a wild thing as the terrified Blood Claw scampered away on hoof or dragonback. As the fleeing figures faded into the distance, we ran up to the two racers and tried to get our mouths to shut.

“That was amazing!” Lucky gushed with awe dripping from her voice, “I’ve never seen anything like it!”

“Me neither,” Ivy agreed, “I thought you were dragon food for sure.”

“How can we ever repay you for helping us?” I asked.

Black Beauty looked from Lucky to Ivy and finally to me, her magenta eyes being the only part of her face that we could see, “You don’t have to do anything except race your hardest in the trials tomorrow.” Her voice was silken but with an edge that spoke of a warrior’s spirit, “I’ll be joining the race to give you newbies a challenge. I like to sample the possible competition before the new season starts.” She tapped Whiteout on the shoulder with her hoof, “Come on girl, let’s get you some food and water and then we’ll take a good long rest.” They turned away and walked off of the track, Black Beauty calling over her shoulder as they walked past the side barriers, “Make sure you give it your all tomorrow if we end up together on the track. I won’t go easy on you just because you’re new.”

With that she was gone and we were left in shell-shock on the pavement. Lucky, Ivy and I shared a look of total disbelief, “Did we just have a full conversation with the top Dragon Circuit racer in the world?!” Lucky’s voice was so full of awe and joy it was almost intoxicating.

“If we didn’t that was one very realistic dream,” Ivy said, her eyes still glued to the spot where the two racers had disappeared.

“Well,” I said, “I think we owe her the honor of following her example. I don’t know about you but I could use a good night sleep after being on the run for almost a week.”

I second the motion, Nilak added.

Of course you would you lazy oaf, Mel retorted, you could sleep on a boulder and we still couldn’t wake you up.

Cut it out you two, Winx said with surprising force, I’m tired of you two bickering and sending barbs at one another every time you are together. Now, I am going to get some sleep with Ivy, and if either of you two wake me up, there is going to be one hell of a pissed off dragon. Do I make myself understood? Her frills were fully erect and her eyes looked like they could cut through solid rock. Mel and Nilak nodded with wide eyes, apparently equally shocked at the smaller dragon’s irritated mood.

Winx snorted in contempt, good. Now if you’ll excuse us, we have some sleep to catch up on. She walked around the tents and started down the open row next to the track towards the sleeping area.

Mel, Nilak, Lucky and I all leaned around the end of the tent to stare after the retreating forms of Winx and Ivy as they stormed away.

Wow, Mel said with shock in her tone, remind me to never to get on her bad side.

I hear you, Nilak agreed, it was bad enough when she was a clueless newcomer, now she’s becoming the dominant brat that I hoped to never see again. He looked at Mel, do you remember Viloria Glitterwing?

Mel scoffed, how could I forget? She was the biggest prick this side of the Draco River. She always thought she was better than anyone else and if you stood up to her she nearly bit your head off.

Well, that little dragon is starting to turn into another Viloria. If we don’t do something we’re going to have some real trouble on our claws.

I heard that you two, Winx said over the mental link, remember that I can hear your words now better than ever. And for the record, I don’t act like a prick, you two just drive me batty because I can’t ever get some peace and quiet. Now butt out and give us some time to rest.

We watched as Winx and Ivy disappeared from sight, waiting just long enough to let Winx cool down a bit before we followed them, meeting the two in an open space between two team tents. Lucky and Ivy propped up the tent while I made us some dinner. I had managed to procure a cooking kit during one of our supply runs while on our way to the track, and it had come quite in handy over the last few days. Once the tent was up the dragons moved inside, curling up around the walls of the large enclosure as I worked the small gas burner outside the front door flap. Lucky and Ivy joined me as I finished cooking some eggs and fried veggies, the smell of frying oil permeating the air with its delectable aroma.

“Celestia, I could eat a house I’m so hungry.” Lucky said as she sat down next to me, “Can you cook that any faster?”

“Hold on just a minute,” I said, “If you want to burn yourself go ahead and eat it, but I prefer to taste my food rather than feel it as pain.”

She scowled and crossed her legs over her chest with a huff, “Well that doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

Ivy sat down across the frying pan from us, her eyes roaming over the sizzling food with hunger plain in her gaze. “I’m almost tempted to take you up on that offer.”

I chuckled, “Enjoy it while you can, because tomorrow the real work begins.” I looked up from the food at the setting sun, and I truly hoped we had seen the last of those heartless Blood Claw. I wasn’t sure there would be a way to escape them next time they came after us.

Author's Notes:

Well they made it to the trails. Now they just have to be good enough to get into the Circuit proper. Hope you guys are ready 'cause things are going to get dicey next chapter. Hold onto your flanks, it's about to get exciting!!
See you all next chapter,
Shadow Quill, Messenger of the Moon.