Wonderbolts - or not?

by Checkspark

First published 17th of June, 2014

It's taken Scootaloo years to get up to the final wonderbolts race. It's taken Rainbow Dash years, too, after a huge setback accident. Only one can win.

After years of no flying and then years of work, Scootaloo can finally take her final test to become a Wonderbolt. But there are opponents in this test, and only one can win. One of those opponents is Rainbow Dash. Dash fractured both wings in an accident years before and so took the test later than she could have. But did she ever expect Scootaloo as an opponent?

Backstories

Scootaloo gritted her teeth. This was the moment she had been waiting for, the moment she had been born for. Sure, the start had been rocky. Her wings didn’t grow large enough to support her until she had reached an older age than most pegasi need to reach to be able to fly. No matter how hard she tried, she’d never been able to be as great as her idol Rainbow Dash.
That is, until the day everything changed. Scootaloo woke up on that day feeling different. She grabbed her bag and flew out the door to school. Literally flew. Halfway to downtown Ponyville the pegasus realized she was flying. Suddenly, she had thrown off her bag and was doing loops through the air. That was when Soarin saw her. Soarin had been flying over to Applejack’s for one of her signature pies. When Scootaloo zipped by him he couldn’t help but stare.
Now, a recommendation to Spitfire from Soarin and 3 years of hard practice and tests later, here she was. Her final test. Scootaloo lifted her head proudly to the roaring Cloudsdale Arena. She was going to make this moment shine.

Rainbow Dash was ready. She had been ready for years - years that had slipped by her hoof. Her mind roared angrily, remembering the trees crashing in on her and the bright light of the emergency room when she had woken up. Dash could still feel the annoying beep of the heart monitor. Dr. Stable had explained that her careless stunt had brought down an acre of the Everfree Forest. And her flying ability.
Severe wing damage prevented Dash from flying for another year, a week before her final Wonderbolts test. The blue pegasus could still feel the rage and desperation that had clawed at her heart that day. Slowly, the year passed, and Rainbow Dash could finally fly again. But her first flight was shaky and lopsided. When she barely landed, Rainbow Dash was devastated. Her fight to become a Wonderbolt would have to start over.
Not letting her missed year get to her, Rainbow dash trained twice as hard. Yet she still wasn’t able to regain her status as quickly as she had hoped. It had taken 3 years full of determination, failure, hurt, and getting back up again for Dash qualify for the test a second time. And even though she was flying it with ponies she which had idolized her as foals, she was going to do this. It would be easy - the test system was very simple.
There were up to two tests a month. Only the top placing pegasus was allowed the privilege of joining the Wonderbolts. The rest waited for the next test. Once a pony qualified for one test, they could test as many times as it took to pass. Many never did.
Dash looked up to survey her opponents: A pair of lime-green twins from Cloudsdale, a Las Pegasus pony here and there, and.... OH! Dash gasped and rubbed her eyes.
“Unbelievable,” she murmured. The orange pegasus turned around gracefully, also surveying the field. The wisps of her purple mane fluttered in the slight breeze. Rainbow Dash was speechless. “SCOOTALOO??” she cried.

The Race

Scootaloo turned toward the sound of her name. “RAINBOW DASH??” She cried, surprised. She thought Rainbow had given up on being a Wonderbolt and went to work at the weather factory or something. Scootaloo galloped over to Rainbow Dash smiling.
“Haven’t seen ya, Kid! Where’d you go to? You know, I looked all over ponyville for ya. It was like I lost a sister....” Tears welled up in Scootaloo’s eyes. She’d never heard
Rainbow Dash talk like that before. “I missed ya, kid. I did. What’ve you been up to? Wonderbolts business, I see?” Scootaloo nodded.
“You see, Dash, I, er, I was recommended by Soarin the day I learned how to fly. I left ponyville as soon as I could to start training. I can’t believe it’s been three years! How are Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom? Wait, how're you? I mean, you could’ve qualified for the test YEARS ago.”
“well, I had an accident. Couldn’t fly for a year.” Scootaloo gasped. “took me a while to get back on my wings after that.”
Both mares heard Spitfire blow a whistle.
“Catch up with you later, Dash. Good Luck!” Scootaloo called
“Oh, I won’t need it” muttered Rainbow Dash.

Scootaloo closed her eyes and breathed. She heard the roar of the cloudsdale arena, she heard the commands of spitfire, but she just focused. This was what she was going to do. Going to achieve. She opened her eyes and pinpointed the end of the obstacle course. That was it. The gunshot rang out, the fans screamed, and Scootaloo took off. She looped in and out of rings, soared through clouds, rounded a pole twelve times then flew easily through a straight tunnel.
Scootaloo easily passed and stayed ahead of all the other ponies. Now it was just a push for the finish between her and Rainbow Dash. The last obstacle proved to be an agility maze, with tunnels at different levels and confined areas. Scootaloo darted in just before Rainbow Dash. But the Blue Pegasus was catching up to her.
Red clouded Rainbow Dash’s vision. This was HER dream, not some petty ponyville filly’s. Even if she loved Scootaloo, she wouldn't let her steal the title. Angry,. Dash put forward a burst of speed. Wrong choice. She crashed into the wall the tunnel more than a meter above her. Scootaloo soared to the finish, amazed.
“YES! I DID IT! I DID IT!” she cried. “Hey, Dash, look, I-” She stopped mid-sentence, seeing the glare of fury in Rainbow Dash’s eyes. Suddenly, the victory didn’t seem so large. “I’ll catch up later, everypony. I - uh - im tired. I need to rest. I’ll meet you at the training complex tomorrow, Spitfire. Scootaloo sighed and turned around, flying off to her cloudsdale dorm, hot tears streaming down her face.