“That could work, Azazel” Archmagus Crowley replied. Battle Mage Hothor also gave a thumbs up in approval. The three members of the Council of Mages were meeting in Azazel’s quarters, discussing new ways to attract visitors and merchants to the city. The BlackSand Tournament had been a great success so far, and participants were about to move to the second round of duels. The Council had even managed to recruit a renown trainer to provide sparring sessions to the remaining contestants: the famous Samual Dueler of the Flowers.
But now Azazel had come up with another idea: pony racing. The logistics seemed challenging, but he believed it could be worth a try. “This will work! BlackSand Pony Racing will become a pillar of Runiverse entertainment” Azazel followed with conviction.
The three wizards spent the following weeks sending messages across the Runiverse to gather interest and arrange the ponies’ arrival to BlackSand. To everyone’s surprise, thirty-six ponies signed up to compete.
As ponies and their owners started arriving, the city quickly adapted. New pubs and inns opened up to satisfy the demand. The doors of the Black Stable opened for the first time to host the magnificent steeds. More visitors and merchants came to visit and to witness the very first pony race in the Runiverse.
Finally, after weeks of preparation, everything was ready. The race had been carefully planned: it would take a total of 7 days. The ponies would first run laps across the city, to then venture out towards the near mountains through the woods. In the last stretch, they would turn towards the shore and run on the black sand of the city beach to reach the finishing line. Azazel was overly excited.
Images of the first body shop in BlackSand, featuring Conker the Stupendous (#67)
He knew a seven-day race would be quite demanding, so the instructed the city Attendants to prepare refreshment stations along the race path. Pony owners could decide to feed their pony some treats and re-invigorate their energy. Carrots, eggplants, pumpkins and much more were made available. “Why is there a bottle of rum there?” Azezel thought as he spotted some liquor bottles at the first refreshment station, located right at race start. The crowd was filled with excitement as Azazel approached the starting grid. The ponies looked marvelous and eager to race. Some even had special fits tailored by the new Body Shop in town.
Everything was perfect: “May the inaugural BlackSand Pony Racing commence. Welcome to the First Ride!”
The first day of racing saw a pony sprint all the way to the front from Lane C: Hell Pony the Stupendous. In his beautiful racing fit, he had conquered the crowd, who cheered him all the way to first place. Two other ponies were closely following: Periwinkle the Precious and Ponyzilla the Quick.
Racing Day #2 - The Promise of Riches
The second day of racing started with an incredible announcement that got the crowd extremely excited. The Council of Mages revealed that they would award treasure boxes to winning (and losing…) ponies. Legends said that those boxes had been purchased by BlackSand from the Nightmare Imp, and that they could potentially carry invaluable items and riches.
Ponies kept racing hard and something new pushed a new contender to the top of the race. The first official Campaign Manager in BlackSand emerged:
Eon had never been to BlackSand before. She was SO excited to be there! A new city, so many places, and most of all, new ANIMALS to see in this unique corner of the Runiverse! She brought her binoculars for wildlife viewing, and her trusty hyena Veggie. He had an incredible sense of smell and could sniff out new species that she hadn’t seen before.
As a raver-chick, famous for throwing her legendary Quantum Raves, she was excited about the massive after-party being planned for after Day 1 of the pony race (ponies are known throughout the Runiverse for being real party animals).
As she was contemplating what her and Veggie were going to wear for the party, she suddenly caught sight of a HARPY EAGLE! This elusive and incredible bird was on her bucket list of birds to see. She started running with her binocs to her eyes when she crashed right into something large and furry and fell over.
“Oh my god, I am so sorry…” she started apologizing, when she heard a voice say “are you okay?” and looked up to the most beautiful and kindly pony looking down at her. He helped her to her feet and introduced himself as Dover the Bold. He was so gracious, she instantly had a good feeling about him. She asked “Do you know where the pony afterparty is tonight?” He said “yes, but you’re too late to get on the guest list”. When he saw how bummed she was, he immediately offered her and Veggie a ride and said he’d use his connections to get her in.
One of the campaign flyers found across BlackSand during the race
She was struck by his generosity and friendliness. “Wow! What a pony!” she thought. He must’ve been owned by a great wizard (he was, as it turns out: @taniadelrio). As they rode there, he explained that he was enrolled in the big race, but that he wasn’t ahead in the polls. She wanted to help him! She said “Look, I come from a far off solar system called Ornithia, but back home, I’ve actually represented some birds as their campaign manager. Do you want my help?”
She was hired on the spot! Her job was to find wizards willing to cheer and support Dover, to make sure they voted for him, and maximize their chance of winning the race.
The race had already started and a lot of wizards in the crowd had already chosen their favorite pony to support. Decisive, Eon quickly nodded and started running towards the city center with Veggie trotting by her side. Waving back she yelled “Don’t you worry, I got this!” “How I am I supposed to find more supporters now? This city looks empty…” She thought, but she was not easily intimidated by any task, no matter how difficult it seemed to be.
So she campaigned. She jumped from tavern to tavern and from inn to inn. She did what she did best, made campaign flyers and memes, and promoted the biggest party of the season.
That’s right, she threw a Quantum Rave in Dover’s honor. At the party, she chanted Dover’s story for everyone to hear. More and more wizards joined. They danced to her beats. At one point, while she was doing a glow-stick show (they don’t call her Render of Light for nothing!) the whole audience started chanting “DOVER! DOVER!” She began to hope. “He really could win this thing”, she thought…
by Cosmic Nightjar
Hell Pony the Stupendous managed to maintain a narrow lead. But now Periwinkle the Precious was joined by Dover the Bold and Vitalik the Strong in second place.
Racing Day #3 - The Feeding
Ponyzilla the Quick and Crew, by Pablo Ast
After two full days of racing, ponies started to get hungry and demanded their treats.
Before the race, pony owners had been allowed to register crews and buy treats to support the ponies throughout the race. So, as soon as the ponies finished their second lap around the city, the crews rushed to the refreshment stations to prepare the treats.
It turned into chaos...
When the racing ponies reached the stations, each crew tried to get to and feed theirs as fast as possible:
Some crews started throwing pumpkins, cherries, and peaches to their ponies, often missing
A crew tried to quickly feed a massive carrot to Hippo the Lazy to then push him right back to the race. More than half of the carrot fell back to the floor. Hippo still hungry…
Klondike the Dependable after she enjoyed 1 too many treatsOther crews tried their luck with hot peppers. What could go wrong? They sprinkled the ponies’ nostrils with the spice. Some ponies, reinvigorated, started galloping even fasters. Some others had to stop as they began sneezing on their crew
The bravest crews tried to re-fuel their ponies with cognac and rum. Results were spectacular. Some ponies sprinted ahead thanks to their new liquid courage. Others awkwardly spit most of the liquors to the floor. Notably, Hell Pony the Stupendous straight up just spilled the bottle. Things caught on fire and crews started screaming and running for their life.
One of the ponies seemed more interested in eating than racing: Klondike the Dependable. She ate what looked like a dead fish and after a couple of steps she fell down on the road, not looking too good. Indigestion....
After the mayhem created by what will be remembered as the “Feeding”, a new star emerged: Milo the Odd took the lead of the race; Hell Pony the Stupendous kept in second with Dover the Bold solidifying his third place.
Racing Day #4 - The Traveler’s Blessing
In the fourth day of racing, all ponies had to turn away from the city and run into the woods towards the nearby mountains. Few amongst the crowd managed to keep up, but those who did, claimed to have witnessed something magical. A traveler with a deer-looking head approached the most exhausted ponies. He would whisper in their ears and re-invigorate their strength in a magical phenomenon that became known as the "Traveler’s Blessing."
The Kobold's Gambit by Emma
Racing Day #5 - The Kobold’s Gambit
As they reached the mountain path that was supposed to lead them back to the city, the ponies were approached by a Kobold. After days of racing the ponies were tired, hungry, thirsty, and quite vulnerable to temptation. A sneaky, suspicious figure, the Kobold tried to lure them to his cave, promising delicious treats and a possible shortcut back to BlackSand.
It turned out that the Kobold was not to be trusted. He took advantage of most of the ponies who entertained his offers. Some of the ponies got lost in the woods, others just felt too tired and decided to start racing backwards. Only a few got lucky and managed to find an escape and run forward.
The unbelievable deception of the Kobold and his Gambit would be later on recounted in an award winning TV series by Emma.
Racing Day #6 - Pony Art, Stories, and Movies
With the ponies out of sight in the middle of the woods, art, stories, and movies about them started to proliferate. Painters shared beautiful art pieces, historians shared fantastic stories, and film makers premiered amazing documentaries on the life of their beloved ponies.
Art flourished during BlackSand Pony Racing, as artists from lands far and wide brought to live the incredible actions of our beloved ponies
Dover the Bold (#465) by taniadelrio
Milo the Odd (#110) by Daniela_ilustra
Amalthea the Last (#17)
Racing Day #7 - The Final Lap
On the seventh day, the brave ponies finally re-appeared from the woods on their way back from the mountain. They rushed towards the last stretch of the race on the sandy beach. They all look exhausted, yet beautiful in their joy for racing.
After their adventure in the woods, their order and positions were totally different. And the race for the top was neck to neck! The crowd started cheering for their favorite ponies. It was loud. Chants emerged to encourage them towards the finish line. The ponies finally rushed in: Galloping on the black sand. Neighing to the sunset. Racing to their best!
And in a concert of claps and cheers, the winner of the first ever pony race in the Runiverse crossed the finishing line. Fireworks blasted off, music started playing, the crowd went insane!
[redacted] was the first ever BlackSand Pony Racing winner! In close second came [redacted], in third [redacted]. Last but still very happy was [redacted].
Azazel took it all in. It was incredible. They had made it. It was done. The First Ride was complete. BlackSand had made history. Again.
