A Paladin's Strength

by Blaze Riaz

Chapter 2: A Decision is Made, A Race to Finish

The world around was pitch black, not even sound could be heard. The last thing she remembered was somepony coming up behind those who were beating her and the pain that she felt. Her consciousness was slowly returning as she expected to feel freezing and in a very uncomfortable place. Yet, she was in a nice, warm, very comfortable bed and hardly felt any pain.

Scootaloo opened her eyes to see a baby blue cloud ceiling. After realizing she was in a cloud house her eyes snapped open. “I can’t be in Rainbow’s House! She can’t know!” She looked around the room she was in, noticing that it was far smaller than Rainbow’s room and was very empty. “Am I in Rainbow’s house?” She started to panic as she tried to get up but pain shot through her body reminding her that she was still injured by those three stallions. Laying back down, she started to get scared, wondering if one of them was a Pegasus, but another thought entered her mind. The only pony in Ponyville to live in a Cloud home was Rainbow. But this wasn’t Rainbow’s house, she had been in it several times and knew almost every nook and cranny of that house. As her mind wondered at where she was and who took her, she heard a muffled bang of pans and a scream below her. She started to panic even more as she tried to fight through the pain but ultimately failed to even sit up.

Several minutes passed without a sound, her eyes glued to the door, waiting to see who held her captive. The door slowly opened revealing the white stallion she saw doing cool tricks the other morning. He was holding a bowl on his back with outstretched wings and a tray in his mouth with another bowl. He was also wearing a hat that looked similar to AppleJack’s and a dark brown jacket. Noticing that the filly was awake and there was fear in her eyes. “Oh, horsefeathers! She might think I foalnapped her!” His eyes shrank and he quickly trotted to the side of the bed. He placed the tray on the nightstand that was next to the bed.

“Oh, good, you're awake!” he gushed with a bit of anxiety, rubbing the back of his head. “I...uh..I should introduce myself...er… so… um… My name is Vigilant….uh, Vigilant Paladin.” He said calmly, though still a bit rushed. He extended his hoof to her but all she did was stare at his hoof.

“You must still be confused. Um… well, the other night after my welcome party by Pinkie Pie, I heard shouting down an alley while I was heading home. There I found three stallions attacking you and well… er… I intervened… I found you pretty beaten up. Not enough that it warranted a hospital visit. I’ve seen enough medical stuff to know you were okay.” he said as he dipped a rag into the bowl that was filled with warm water. He tried to wipe some dried blood off the filly’s face but she flinched when he got close. “Guess you still don’t trust me… don’t blame you, I am a stranger. You know, I never got your name. Would you kindly tell me your name?” Vigilant asked with the friendliest smile he could manage.

She looked at him, studying him, wary of his intentions because she knew what some ponies would do to a helpless filly. Yet, through her fear she somehow felt like she could trust this stallion. As his smile started to disappear she answered in a raspy voice “… Sc… Scootaloo… ” this instantly perked up the stallion. “Well it’s nice to finally meet you, Miss Scootaloo. Now you were out for a full day and I bet you are starving after all that time.” he chuckled as he reached behind him and placed a bowl of soup on the bed. “You should eat to regain your strength.” Vigilant got up and trotted to the door, however, before he turned back to her before leaving with a serious look on his face. “After you're done eating we have something to discuss.”

After a mediocre bowl of soup, Scootaloo was very nervous at what Vigilant wanted to discuss. What could he have heard from those stallions when he intervened? Now that she was sitting up after eating the soup, she looked around the room. It was a very empty room, there was a desk with papers neatly stacked on it, a mostly empty bookshelf sat next to it with maybe ten books and a few Knick Knacks. There was an open cardboard box in the corner of the room filled with golden armor that she couldn’t see. The door opened and Vigilant entered the room without his hat this time and looked at Scootaloo with a different demeanor. Placing the chair to his desk next to the bed, he looked at the young filly with a concerned look on his face. “So, Scootaloo, mind telling me what happened in that alley?”

“I… uh… you see… I… uh, I was walking home and… um… yeah, I was walking home!” the little filly finally stuttered out. Vigilant just looked at her.

“You were walking home? Down an ally? At around midnight, all alone?” he asked with a sense of doubt in the filly’s answer.

Scootaloo was panicking again, her lie was falling short with this stallion “Uh… yeah, I was um…walking home from the store to get milk… er… those guys just up and attacked me!” She shouted at the end of her statement. Vigilant raised one of his eyebrows at her increase in volume.

“So, what you’re telling me is that three adult stallions just attacked you for no real reason?” he asked.

“Uh….yeah?” the filly answered nervously.

There was silence for a long time before Vigilant spoke up again. “You know that lying to me about this won’t help you.” he sighed. “When I entered the scene they were shouting you stole from them. Well, tried to steal from them. Is this true?” he leaned closer to Scootaloo as he finished.

She started to hyperventilate and her eyes were darting from side to side. “He knows….he knows I tried to steal from them….what do I do….he is going to tell everypony…” As her mind raced with fear, Vigilant placed a hoof on her shoulder.

“Look, Scootaloo, I haven’t decided what to do with you. I don’t know your side of the story, so I need you to tell me everything so I can help you. Please let me help you.” he spoke softly to her, calming the filly’s nerves. “Now, I’ll ask again, did you try to steal from those stallions?”

The young Pegasus looked down at the sheets. She was caught and there was no way around this or any lie that could get her out of this. “ … Yes…” she answered in defeat.

“Why?” Vigilant asked with more concern, though Scootaloo didn’t answer.

Time went by in silence. Scootaloo looking at her hooves in her lap while Vigilant stared at the young filly. After ten minutes he sighed “If you don't answer me, I’ll just have to guess.”

He thought back to his first and only impression of her. She seemed very much like Rainbow Dash, which he could guess she idolized from his encounter with her the other day, and she seemed to be a happy filly then. The only reason he could of think of broke his heart..

“Scootaloo… are you living alone?” he asked, not sure how she would react, and she flinched. “Hit the nail on the head…”

“You were only trying to get money to eat, weren't you?” he questioned, as this was the only thing that made sense to him. As his mind started to wrap around her living alone at her age he noticed she started to sob.

“Scoota-” he was interrupted by her jumping from the bed and hugging him while crying into his chest.

“Yes, I tried to steal from them… *sniff*… I… I… live alone… I ran away from them… they were so… cruel to me… no one wanted me….” she choked out between sobs, holding tight onto Vigilant’s chest. Vigilant was shocked by this revelation. Were her parents this cruel to her that she would rather struggle alone than live with them?

“What did your parents do to make you decide to run away?” he asked while he tried to sooth her.

“...”

He looked down at her as she silently cried, whatever happened to her, it must of really scared her.

“Scootaloo, can you tell me who your…” she suddenly pushed away from him and hid under the covers.

“Scootaloo?” he looked at the lump in his bed. This was not the reaction he was expecting. “Scootaloo, if your parents were…” suddenly she throws the blanket off.

“I DON’T HAVE ANY PARENTS! I’M AN ORPHAN!” she shouted with tears and rage in her eyes. Realizing that she shouted at the only pony to try and help, she looked down at her hooves while the tears still seeped out of her eyes. “Why did I just shout that out to him?"

Vigilant placed his hooves on her shoulder. “Look, Scootaloo, I know what you must be feeling.” she snapped her head back up looking at him with a teary death glare.

“How would you know?!” she barked as she slapped his hooves off.

“I’m an orphan, too, Scootaloo. I lost my parents when I was still a colt not much younger than you.” he responded while looking down at her. Scootaloo looked at him in shock.

“You… you lost your parents?” she asked.

“Yeah, I don’t really know much of what happened, but what I was told was they got struck by lightning and fell… no one could catch up to them… Anyways, I know what it was like being an orphan. Could you tell me why you ran away from the orphanage?” he returned a sad smile.

“They… they weren’t very nice to the foals there, and I… nopony wanted me… I was always passed by…” she was looking down at her hooves again.

Vigilant looked at her, she reminded him of somepony he knew. “Guess they missed out, then.” he quipped as he chuckled. Scootaloo looked back up at him with a puzzled look.

“What are you laughing at?” she asked with annoyance in her voice.

“Nothing really, you just remind me of my sister.” he responded looking at her with a happy smile. “But now that I know the situation, I need to figure out what to do with you.” Vigilant said as he scratched his chin.

“Wha… what do you mean?” she asked nervously as she fiddled with the sheets.

“Well, I can’t just send you back to the ground to live on your own, nor would sending you back to an orphanage help. You would probably run away again. That leaves me with two possible choices here.” He mumbled the last statement as he got up from the chair and trotted over to his desk.

“What choices are those?” Scootaloo asked, still nervous about what he might do.

“First, I could try and find someone to take care of you from now on… let’s see maybe that Rainbow Dash that you seem to idolize…”

“No!...Uh, I mean no, she can’t know I’m an orphan.” she interrupted Vigilant. He looked back at her with a raised eyebrow.

“Well, if not her then who?” he asked.

“I...I...I don’t know…” she responded looking down at her hooves.

“Well, my other option is I could take care of you.” he said looking at her. She raised her head and looked at him with a surprised expression on her face.

“You would take care of me? Why would do that? You don’t need to care about me…” she questioned, still confused as to why he would help a random filly.

“Why? You need help and somepony to take care of you. I guess I’m the only one who knows that you’re an orphan and that you have been living alone for Celestia knows how long.” He answered. Scootaloo still looked confused as she didn’t know what to think of the situation she suddenly found herself in. “Why don’t you decide what should happen to you? it is your life, after all is said and done.” She looked at him again, more surprised than before.

“You’re...you’re letting me decide what happens to me?” She asked in disbelief.

“Yeah. You’ve had your most of your life decided for you so far, so here is an opportunity to make a choice yourself.” he responded with a smile. “So what will it be?”

She sat and thought for a long time. She couldn’t let Rainbow know, she didn’t know how she would feel about her if she knew. There was no pony else to go to beside Rainbow or Vigilant. But she really didn’t know Vigilant. He is almost a complete stranger. But… he did save her from those three stallions and the freezing weather when he could have done nothing and walked away. He is also the only pony who knows that she is an orphan and that she’s been living on the streets. Could she trust him?

“How can I even trust you?” she asked looking at him suspiciously causing Vigilant to laugh.

“That is up to you to trust me or not. I would hope that you feel you can at least trust me a little, but it’s also why I’m letting you decide.” he answered as he trotted up to her again.

“You would take care of me?” she asked again, still very unsure if she was making the right choice.

Vigilant looked at her and chuckled again “Yes I would, if you wanted me to. I can guess you wouldn’t want to let everypony know just yet that you were an orphan, like Rainbow Dash, but there would have to be a few who would have to know. I would rather not be painted as a foalnapper or a pedofiler.” he responded to her question.

“I don’t know.” she looked down again, still trying to figure out what to do.

“Then let me help you. Is there anypony else you trust, besides Rainbow Dash, with this secret of yours?” he asked.

“Not really.” she mumbled her response.

“Okay, then why not Rainbow? You idolize her, don’t you? And from what I heard from Rainbow at the party, she does care about you.” he responded. If she didn’t want him to take care of her why not her Idol?

“Rainbow doesn't need a foal to take care of… especially me… She probably wouldn’t like me anymore if she knew.” she answered in defeat, crying a bit more as she thought about it.

“Do you not trust me?” he asked tilting his head while trying to get her to look at him.

“I… I… I really don’t know… You saved me when anypony else would of just kept walking…I think I trust you…” she answered as she looked up to a smiling Vigilant.

“Does that help you decide what you should do?” he asked looking at her in the eyes.

“Would you take me in?” she asked looking at the kindness in his eyes.

“Yeah, I would. But I have one condition.” he said raising one hoof into the air.

“Yeah, and what would that be?” she asked tilting her head.

“You will have to tell Rainbow Dash everything soon.” he said as he saw the shock in her face.

“But...but…”

“No buts, she is your idol and she really does care about you. I won’t make you tell her right away, but you will have to eventually.” he said with a serious look on his face.

“O...Okay…” she had admitted defeat.

“So, you want me to take care of you from now on?” he asked making sure that is what she wanted.

“Ye...yes please…” she responded shyly.

“Alright then, now, I think I should go to your orphanage and go through all the paperwork of adopting you and becoming your legal guardian so I won’t get in trouble. I should also tell Princess Twilight about this, she seems to be the authority of sorts here.” he said as he trotted to the desk once more.

“Wait what?!” she shouted as she jumped out of the bed and instantly regretted that decision as pain filled her body. “Wh...wh...why tell Twilight?” she stuttered out as she shook off the pain.

“Why not tell her? Shouldn’t she know about your situation?” he responded without looking back at her as he looked around on his desk for something.

“But… but… but she doesn’t need to know...she could tell everypony and...and I would be made fun of at school… Rainbow wouldn’t like me… and… and… ” she stuttered out as she trotted next to him.

“You need to calm down a bit, you know that? Also I would need to tell your teacher that I’m your guardian. This is so a few know already and so others won’t get the wrong idea. I will ask Princess Twilight and your teacher not to tell anypony okay?” he answered as he turned to look at the filly who was panicking.

“But… but… but…”

“Now, Scootaloo, trust me on this. I know what I’m doing and it won’t be that bad. Only two other adults will know, and I will make them promise not to tell anypony else, okay?” he said placing his hooves on her shoulders.

“Pinkie Promise?” she asked, as she looked at him.

“Pinkie what?” he questioned, tilting his head at the same time.

“It’s a promise you can’t break...you got to say "I cross my heart, hope to fly , stick a cupcake in my eye’” she said as she gestured what to do for the promise

“Um...okay...I cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” he said as he copied the gestures.

“Good” she said with a smile..

“Okay. now, I need to get you a bed… well, I’ll make you a bed, so I can sleep in my bed this time.” he said as he trotted out the room with Scootaloo following close behind. “I also should get you a desk and bookshelf so you have a place to do homework when school starts and so you have a place to put stuff.” he spoke out loud as he descended the stairs.

“Could we get my scooter and other stuff while we're down there?” she asked as they approached the front door.

“You have some personal stuff?” He asked looking at her a bit surprised.

“Yeah, I got my scooter on my birthday and a couple of WonderBolt posters.” she said as she drew circles with her front hoof.

“I don’t see why we can’t get them. Do you know where they are?” he asked as he grabbed his flight goggles and placed them around his neck.

“Yeah! They are in the alley where I sleep…” she said with excitement that died almost instantly at how she used to live.

“Well, now it will be just an alleyway and you won’t have to sleep out in the cold weather anymore.” He said with a smile as he placed his hat on his head, shortly after he placed saddle bag on, then he opened the door.

“Uh...um…” Scootaloo looked outside to the open sky.

“What is it Scootaloo?” Vigilant asked from the front porch.

Scootaloo shifted nervously as she stared out the door. “I...I...I can’t fly…” she mumbled as she looked down to the floor.

Vigilant stared at her for a moment, he didn't know she was a late bloomer to flying. Maybe it was because she lived in an orphanage and on the streets is why she didn't know how to fly...but Rainbow seems to have taken her under her wing from what she told him at the party. “Maybe Rainbow Dash can’t find time to help her….” “With that as the case I could carry you up and down till you learn to fly.” he said with a smile.

“What if I never learn to fly?” she asked sadly.

“I bet you’ll learn how to fly soon. I’ll teach you.” He said as he trotted up to her. Scootaloo snapped her head up to him.

“You don’t have to, Rainbow Dash is teaching me.” she said with a happiness in her voice again.

“I can still help. You can ask me anytime that she’s busy.” he said as he ruffled up her mane. He knelt down so she could climb onto his back, which she did. He stepped out, closing the door as he did so, and took off to the skies above.

“So, Scootaloo, where was the orphanage that you ran away from?” Vigilant asked as he circled Ponyville.

“It’s the one in Manehatten…” she whispered.

Vigilant turned to fly to Manehatten, it only took him twenty minutes to reach the outskirts. Following the vague directions. When he reached the orphanage, Scootaloo hid her face in Vigilant’s mane when he landed. “Is this it?” he asked looking back as best he could at the scared filly. She nodded and he walked up to the orphanage, there was a sign that read “The Happy Filly Orphanarium” He somehow doubted that. The building looked to be in bad shape, and barely livable for foals.

The door creaked loudly as they entered. Paint was peeling off the wall while the foulest scent he had ever smelled assaulted him. "This place is worst than the orphanage that I grew up in.” Vigilant thought as he walked up to an empty reception desk. He rang a very rusty bell that was out of tune. Suddenly a mare popped up from behind the desk. The middle-aged mare seemed to be half-drunk. Her white mane was messy with strands going every which way, her cream coat was matted with knots and stained with something that Vigilant didn’t want to know.

“Huh...what? What do you want?” questioned the unsteady mare as she leaned forward over the desk. Her breath reeked of alcohol which made Vigilant lean back.

“Uh...this is an orphanage right?” he asked trying to make sure he wasn’t in the wrong place.”

“Huh… oh, right…yeah, this here is THE HAPPY FILLY ORPHANARIUM… are you here to adopt or abandon?” she asked as she sat down on a chair.

Vigilant stared at the mare for a second. “How could this orphanage still exist?” he thought. “Um...I am here to adopt a foal.” he spoke after regaining some of the sanity.

“Oh, good… don’t need anymore leaches here… Follow me an-”

“Sorry, ma’am, but I actually found a runaway and I decided to adopt her.” he said as he turned to show Scootaloo. “Her name is Scootaloo.”

“Scootaloo?...Scootaloo…..Oh yeah, that flightless bird, I remember her. So she didn’t die?” she said as she turned around to a filing cabinet.

“Ma’am, I respectfully ask you to not call her by any names that aren’t hers. Her name is Scootaloo and I would appreciate it if you call her that.” he said as his blind eye twitched involuntarily in reaction to her blatant disrespect.

“Yeah, yeah...here is her file. I need you to sign here… here, and initial here.” she muttered as she pointed out where to sign. With everything signed the mare looked it over and smiled. “Good, now the bag of dead weight is yours.” she beamed as she turned back to the file cabinet. She returned and handed him a copy and waved Vigilant off.

“...”

“Vigilant… you okay?” Scootaloo asked, she could feel Vigilant trembling.

“Ye… yeah… I just need to make a quick stop here before we head back to Ponyville.” he said as he took off. Shortly after he landed in front of a Police station. “Scoots, mind hopping off for a second? I need to go into the station.” he said. She hopped off and stood at the bottom of the steps and waited. Shortly after he exited the building looking more relieved and happier than before.

“Why’d you stop here?” she inquired as she hopped back onto his back.

“Had to tell the authority of how bad that caretaker was. Those orphans need someone to really take care of them. There shouldn’t be homeless children because of somepony like her.” he sneered. “With that done, are you ready to head home?” he asked as he looked back at her.

“Yes.” she responded with a smile.

“Good” he chimed as he took off into the air.

When they returned Scootaloo hopped off Vigilant and hugged him. “Thank you for taking me in.” she whispered.

“No problem, Scoots.” he said, returning the hug in the process. “Now that we’re back, where is the stuff that you wanted to get?” he asked. Scootaloo looked around, determining where they were. Figuring it out, she trotted down the road to the Main Street where many ponies were going about their business.

“This way, it’s near Sugarcube Corner.” she responded as she galloped down the street. Vigilant chased after her. Before they made it to the alley Scootaloo was heading for, Rainbow Dash landed in front of them.

“Hey, squirt, sup, Vigilant. What are you two up to?” Rainbow asked as she rubbed Scootaloo’s mane.

“Uh...we...er…” Scootaloo muttered out

“She was showing me around town. Never really got a tour of the place. We just finished and we were heading to Sugarcube Corner to get some sweets.” answered Vigilant for Scootaloo.

“Cool, that’s nice of ya, squirt. Hey, before you get your sweets, you up for a race now?” Rainbow insisted.

“You're not going to give up, are you?” Vigilant questioned as he rolled his eyes.

“Nope”

“Huh...guess I gotta, or else you will never leave me alone” he muttered in defeat.

“Sweet, this going to be so awesome! Wait here, I gotta finish my weather patrol, and then we’ll race, okay?” she said, taking off before Vigilant could answer.

“Uh…”

“You’ll get use to that.” said a female voice from behind him. Vigilant looked back to see none other than Princess Twilight Sparkle.

“Oh, Princess, I did not see you there.” he said with a bow.

“Please, just call me Twilight, and there is no need to bow.” she requested with a blush.

“Of course, why are you here, if I may ask?” Vigilant questioned.

“I heard from my friends that there was a new pony in town and I wanted to introduce myself to you. As you already know, I’m Twilight Sparkle.” she giggled out as she extended her hoof which Vigilant shook.

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Twilight. Actually, I have something I need to discuss with you… but it would be better in private… and after Rainbows and I have our race.” He grumbled as he remembered he had to race Rainbow.

*Giggle* “Of course. You can meet me at the library when the race is over.” Twilight said as she chuckled at what was gathering behind Vigilant. He looked back to see almost all of Ponyville crowd the street like they were waiting for a parade. They had put up a banner near them that said “Start/Finish”.

“Uh… what is this?” he asked looking around confused.

“Word gets around fast. I bet Pinkie overheard you accept Rainbow’s challenge and told all of Ponyville.” Twilight chuckled. Before he could ask anything else, Rainbow landed next to them just as she did before.

“Hey, Twilight, you here to see me beat this guy.” Rainbow bragged.

“You know there is a chance I could win.” Vigilant grumbled in annoyance.

“Keep telling yourself that. Hey, Twi, mind giving the signal for us to go.” Rainbow asked as she pumped herself up. Vigilant shook his head and stretched himself.

“Um...sure, I can do that.” Twilight said. She lightly took off only to land a few yards in front of the Start/Finish line.

“Rainbow, mind telling me the track?” Vigilant asked as the set themselves at the starting line.

“Oh, right, first off: we start here, we race straight to Sweet Apple Acres, after you reach the barn you turn to the outskirts of the Everfree Forest following the path to Fluttershy’s cottage, then you turn right behind it and head back here to the main street to finish.Got all that?” she said looking at Vigilant with confidence.

“Yeah, short track, but yeah, I got it.” he said trotting over to where Scootaloo was standing looking on with eagerness. “Hey, Scoots mind holding onto my hat and keeping an eye on my jacket?” he asked her as he placed his hat on her head and took off his jacket, placing it next to her.

“Yeah, I can watch your stuff.” she said with excitement. He trotted over next to Rainbow as the crowd roared that the race was about to start.

“Hello, Everypony, this is your eye in the sky Pinkie Pie with my good friend Spike. And we’re here to keep you up to date with the race,” Pinkie announced in an air balloon.

“That’s right, Pinkie, and what a race this will be. Rainbow, Ponyville’s fastest flier, up against a new Pegasus stallion named Vigilant Paladin, who moved here not two days ago.” Spike announced.

“Yes, Siree, this will be a short race from here to the barn at Sweet Apple Acres to Fluttershy’s cottage and back here again. OoOoO, I can’t wait to see this, it’s going to be so cool.” Pinkie yelled over the megaphone.

Vigilant placed his flight goggles over his eyes and stood straight up as Rainbow got into a low stance. “You're going to start like that?” Rainbow inquired as she looked up at him.

“Yup.”

As Twilight announced the basic rules a pony trots up next to Scootaloo looking at the spectacle.

“Hey, what’s happening here?” said the mare.

“It’s a race between Rainbow and Vigilant. It’s so awesome! You don’t normally see Rainbow race another Pegasus.” Scootaloo yelled to the pony

“Vigilant? Could it be?” mumbled the pony.

Scootaloo looked up to the pony next to her.

“Say, miss, who are you?” she asked

“Me? Oh, I’m just a tourist.” she said

“Without further adieu… Ready!” Twilight yelled as she raised a checkered flag Pinkie gave her. Rainbow lowered her stance

“That is Vigilant!” the mare whispered as she started at the stallion.

“Get Set!”

“Don’t go easy on me!” Rainbow taunted.

“Don’t bet on it.” Smirked Vigilant

“GO!” yelled Twilight as she dropped the checkered flag

Rainbow instantly took off into the sky with a rainbow trail flowing behind her, but Vigilant instead took off low to the ground weaving through obstacles as he went.

“And they are off! Rainbow took an early lead as she flies above the houses, while Vigilant weaves through the trees and buildings.” Spike announced

“Why would he do that? He is a Pegasus, shouldn’t he be in the sky!” Pinkie ranted.

“Well, Pinkie, each Pegasus has their own style of flying. While most do fly higher in races like this, some have other techniques.” Spike informed Pinkie and everypony who didn’t know.

“OoOoOo, They both just passed by Sweet Apple Acres and are now heading to Fluttershy’s cottage. Isn’t it nice that AppleJack and Fluttershy live close to each other? They could always help each other out and have sleep overs and….” Spike interrupted Pinkie by placing his hand on her mouth.

Yes Pinkie, that is nice, but lets get back to the race. Rainbow is still keeping a large lead but it looks like Vigilant is starting to catch up to her. From what Rainbow has told me the turn from Fluttershy’s cottage is a sharp one, you need to slow down in order to make the turn without spinning out. Wait, what’s this? Vigilant is….flying circles around Rainbow? He is doing a corkscrew around her as they both reach the last turn.”

As Rainbow and Vigilant reach the turn Rainbow slows down substantially while Vigilant converts the corkscrew he was doing into a half loop coming out of the turn much faster than Rainbow.

“Oh my Celestia! Vigilant just did an amazing trick to tackle the turn coming out of it at full speed!” Spike yelled in disbelief.

“How could Vigilant tackle a turn? Wouldn’t that hurt or would it feel like nothing since a turn is just that, A turn.” Pinkie questioned as the race reached the final stretch.

“Uh… Anyways, everypony, we’re coming up to the final stretch of the race and Rainbow is still trying to catch up to Vigilant who just entered the main street! Wait Rainbow has almost caught up…!” Spike yelled as he leaned over the edge of the balloon.

Just as Vigilant crossed the finish line he folded his wings and landed his hooves onto the ground sliding across the finish line just a few milli seconds before Rainbow. As he slid he flared his wings to add air resistance to slow his momentum. Rainbow circled back and landed next to a panting Vigilant, the crowd cheers at the top of their lungs.

“*Huff*… You… you beat me…*Huff*... how… how did I… I lose…” Rainbow gasped as she looked to where Vigilant was standing tall.

“I…*pant*… I really don’t… know… I… I thought… you would beat me… at the… end… You’ve…*pant*… got some… serious… speed…” Vigilant gasped in response as he patted Rainbows back.

“You… you used the corkscrew turn… how… how did you do that?” Rainbow asked.

“Just figured it out at Flight Academy.” Vigilant responded “Great race Rainbow, haven’t raced since I was at Nationals.”

“Wait, you went to nationals?!” Rainbow asked looking at him in surprise. Before he could respond, however, Scootaloo, along with everypony else, came galloping up to the two.

“Wow! That was totally awesome! How did you beat Rainbow?” Scootaloo yelled through the crowd. Vigilant and Rainbow looked at Scootaloo, Rainbow showed a bit of disappointment that she lost in front of her #1 fan.

“I knew a maneuver Rainbow hasn’t yet mastered. If she didn’t slow down as early as she did I bet she would of beat me.” he said nudging Rainbow. “I still believe she is the fastest flier, the last time I used that trick I won by a wide margin.”

“Awesome! You two are like the best fliers in all of Equestria!” Scootaloo yelled in excitement.

“Now that’s something I could argue about.” said a voice behind the crowd. the crowd looked around and then moved aside for a yellow mare wearing a light brown jacket with flight goggles on her head at the crest of a striped mane and tail with two shades of orange. Rainbow’s mouth dropped to the ground while Vigilant’s eyes shrank to pin needles.

“Hey Vigil, nice to see you again.” she said

“Spit?”

Author's Note:

Alright, there you go second chapter is here and longer than the first. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter as well. You also learned more about Vigilant, more to come. Also understand that yes Vigilant beat Rainbow in their race but he is not a faster racer and Rainbow is still a damn good flier. Also...boom....Spitfire is there...you guys will see why she is there in the next chapter and how Vigilant knows her. And quick note, Spitfire does not look like she normally does, that is why Scootaloo did not recognize her when she looked at her.

If you have some questions feel free to ask, I can't guarantee I'll answer you. It may spoil what I have planed for later. Till the next chapter Enjoy! ~Blaze

Comments

[Kenshinryuu]

I sense DRAMA in the future. Nice little race between Vigilant and Rainbow, Vigilant knowing a trick to barely pull off a win is a good way of showing his capabilities yet keeps Rainbow established as the faster racer. As for the drunk orphanage employee... is it wrong for me to wish she suffers greatly in the near future???

[TehSporkBandit]

4093989
ah told you, Blaze! Ahm not the only one who wants bad things to happen to her! XD

[Blaze Riaz]

4093989 that orphanage employee is to be hated and I was thinking it helped explained why Scootaloo left that orphanage. And I am glade you sense the drama, there will be more to come. And next chapter you will learn more about Vigilant and his military history, well, one thing he did. ~Blaze

[Kenshinryuu]

4099718 Good, I can't wait!!!!

[Orni]

I am actually really enjoying this story. I like Vigilant's good guy character traits. However, I think you should try to keep the show's characters in character (if that makes sense.) For example when Scootaloo calls out to RainbowDash you write "Rainbow." In the show when Scootaloo calls out to RainbowDash she says her full-first name- RainbowDash. That may sound very picky but it's just one of those things that gets to me. :P lol ignore my presence.

Other than my OCD (CDO) problems- keep up the good work and don't stop! ^_^

[Blaze Riaz]

4111040 Thanks for enjoying my story, and I am sorry about Scootaloo not being like the cannon version I am trying, Can be hard at times. Either way , its nice to see people likeing what i write. Was nervous putting my imagination out to the world. ~Blaze

[vinviasshine]

This is going great so far