Inside the school, Cheerilee's students had just gotten back from recess, the fillies and colts chatting about anything that didn't involve their schoolwork. "Ok, my little ponies! Quiet down now!" the mare said, her students going quiet as they brought their full attention on her. "Now, we have ourselves two guests here today, and they have a very special announcement. Everypony, welcome the head of the Equestria Games, Ms. Harshwhinny!"
Ms. Harshwhinny stepped forward, though with her strict attitude, the foals had no idea what they were about to hear, or even know who the second guest is. "Thank you, Cheerilee. Now, as you are all aware, the Equestria Games will be held quite soon, ponies across the kingdom and creatures beyond come to compete in various athletic events. But, you little ones also have a chance to hold a responsibility of your own for the Games, to represent your home town by carrying the flag and performing a routine that, if it impresses me, will be utilized to headline the ponies competing for Ponyville."
Everypony gasped in surprise as any one of them could carry the flag and go to the Equestria Games. Suddenly, coming in through the opened window was the other guest Cheerilee mentioned, which happened to be Sora. Teen flew in, carrying a small flag in his mouth as he dove in, flipping up to the front of the class, wowing them, already growing excited just from seeing him. Once he reached the blackboard, the mare sidestepping away with a smirk on her muzzle, Sora summoned his Keyblade, planted it on the ground and leapt up onto the guard, standing on one hind leg, the other raised up in a crane like stance as he had one foreleg thrust forward, aiming at the ground, while the other was aimed the other way behind his head. The foals cheered at his performance, bowing to the crowd of fillies and colts before leaping down from his perch.
"That's right, kids!" he said. "Throughout tomorrow and all this weekend, your group will have to come up with a routine to wow the judges in the Crystal Empire, where the Equestria Games are going to be held! Each team will perform and you will be judged on how well it goes, along with originality. And I know a couple of you are quite imaginative." He looked over at Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo, winking at them, knowing those three are very creative when it came to trying to find their cutie marks. "And, to oversee all of your performances, will be yours truly!"
Sora pulled out a whistle hidden underneath his jacket and pulled out a black and white cap from his red pouch, placing it on top of his head. Ms. Harshwhinny could already see the eyes of the young ones glimmering as they had the honor of having Sora, one of Equestria's greatest heroes, coaching them, all except for one certain pink earth pony filly with a diamond tiara on her head.
"Yes, and each of your routines will be judged professionally," Ms. Harshwhinny said. "And remember this: Your routine has to show what Ponyville means to you. So, do your home proud. Work hard, be bold, wow me if you can."
Sora rolled his eyes, making this competition sound more like work than having fun. "Nice motivational speech. Anyway, start on your routines after school, and tomorrow afternoon, meet me outside the back of the school once class is over, and I'll see what you can dish out! And try to have fun doing it!"
After the two guests left, everyone in the class couldn't contain their excitement before the bell rang, ponies already creating groups with their friends and thinking of a routine. As the bell rang at the end of the school day, the colts and fillies ran out to practice a routine that will impress Sora tomorrow, the Cutie Mark Crusaders walking along the path to their clubhouse as they were excited to show their stuff.
"Ok, let's try to think of an awesome routine that Sora's sure to love!" Scootaloo exclaimed.
"But everypony else is probably going to create a routine too," Sweetie Belle said. "We're going to have to come up with something good."
"Ah know we can do this!" Apple Bloom cheered. "So, now comes the hard part. What does Ponyville represent?"
The fillies stopped for a moment to think as they figured out what was special about Ponyville. Scootaloo looked around at her friends, mostly eyeing Sweetie's horn, her wings, and Apple Bloom's lack of either appendages. The pegasus gasped, getting an idea that's sure to give them the chance to carry Ponyville's flag.
"I got it! Ponyville's a place where different kinds of ponies live together as friends!" Hearing Scootaloo's idea, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle agreed, seeing as Ponyville was the friendliest town in Equestria.
"Earth ponies like me!" Apple Bloom said.
"Unicorns like me!" Sweetie Belle cheered.
"And pegasi like me!" Scootaloo wrapped her forelegs around her friends, all of them in agreement with what they'll use for a routine to represent Ponyville.
"We're going to need to start planning," Sweetie said.
"It'll be a lot of hard work," Apple Bloom added.
"And we'll need a whole lot of practice. But we can pull this off," Scootaloo said. "We may be little ponies, but we've got hearts as strong as horses!"
The three fillies marched down the road as music began to play, the Cutie Mark Crusaders determined to be the flag carriers for Ponyville. Whatever they make for their routine, they know it'll be a surefire win with Sora, and the judges when it comes time to perform at the Crystal Empire.
[Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle]
We're the toughest little ponies in town
Got the moves, got the mojo, no harder working ponies around
We are a trio, work as a team
We'll be the first ponies out on the flag-waving scene
The trio of fillies ran up to the hill and looked over Ponyville, beginning their obligatory montage of training that wouldn't really amount to them working on their routine: trying to win a round of tug-of-war against Bulk Biceps, working out inside of the farm by kicking the punching bag, and other random training routines that were done.
We get going when the going gets tough
We know our very best is just never enough
We're kinda short, but so what? We don't get defeated
We could take a little break, but we don't need it
We've got hearts as strong as horses
We've got hearts as strong as horses
We've got hearts as strong as horses
We've got hea-a-a-arts, hearts strong as horses
When we put our minds together, we can achieve
We're the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and you should believe
We've got determination to represent the nation
For the win
We've got hearts as strong as horses
We've got hearts as strong as horses
We've got hearts as strong as horses
And we're playing to win as we gallop to glory
We can conquer any challenge we're in
We've got hea-a-a-arts, hearts strong as horses
Hearts strong as horses
Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo walked off down the path at the end of their song, leaping up in the air in a victory pose as the music ended, falling back to the ground after staying stuck in the air for a while. "You think we should start working on our routine now?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Oh, horseapples!" Scootaloo exclaimed. "Curse you obligatory musical montages!"
"Well, look who we have here." The trio growled in annoyance as Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon approached them. "If you three haven't even started on your routine, ours will immediately crush any of yours. Right, Silver Spoon?"
"Y-Yeah," Silver Spoon timidly said.
"We'll come up with something," Scootaloo said as the Crusaders got back up on their hooves. "And it'll blow your routine out of the water!"
"I'd like to see you try," Diamond mocked. "Because we have something you don't have: cutie marks!"
The trio of fillies stared at each other blankly, then back at the laughing pink filly. "Can you come up with something else besides making fun of our blank flanks?"
"It's gettin' pretty old," Apple Bloom said, her friends agreeing with her.
"And we'll show you," Scootaloo said, pointing a hoof at the bully. "Cutie marks or not, we'll be the ones who carry the flag, not you!"
"Fine then," Diamond Tiara scowled. "But don't think Sora's going to like anything you do because you hang out with him! I hate him, but he's going to be astonished when he sees our routine!" She waited for Silver Spoon to respond, but her friend didn't say anything. Diamond looked at her, seeing her all mopey every time she was around her ever since that dumb holiday Sora had made up. "What is wrong with you? Don't you want to rub our eventual victory in front of these blank flanks' faces?"
"...Uhh, right," she uttered. "W-We're...gonna win. Blank flanks..."
"...Ok, I need to figure out what's wrong with you, AFTER we win! Later, blank flanks!" Diamond Tiara walked off in a huff, Silver Spoon slowly trudging after her bossy friend, both rich fillies heading back home to rest.
"Huh. That is weird," Sweetie Belle said. "Diamond Tiara's still picking on us, but Silver Spoon hasn't since school came back winter break."
"Yeah. That's odd." They pondered what had happened, but with no idea why she seemed so distant, the trio shrugged it off and ignored Diamond's bullying. "We've wasted enough time. Let's get to working on our routine before the day ends!"
"YEAH!" the Crusaders cheered, slapping their hooves together as they ran off to practice their flag carrying performance.
By the next day, after school was out for the day, Sora waited by the stage set up for the teams of foals to perform their routines for the Equestria Games. He held a clipboard with the list of the groups given to him by Cheerilee to see who would be partnering up in groups of either two or three. Unfortunately, the first on the list was Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. He didn't care much about the spoiled filly or whatever she had planned to show him, but he had to sit through it and watch. During their performance, he saw Silver was pretty conflicted when around her friend, just like before with her letter to Santa Claus he still kept and when Babs Seed came to visit. He'll have to remember to speak with her about her issues with Diamond Tiara when she wasn't around her.
After seeing what they did, Sora went through the other groups' routines until it was finally time for his three favorite fillies to perform. "Ok, girls! Show me that creative genius you've got!...Provided it doesn't cause an explosion or destroy the stage."
Scootaloo poked her head out behind the curtain to speak to Sora. "It's not exactly perfect just yet, but we're sure it'll be good enough!"
As she disappeared behind the curtain, unbeknownst to the Crusaders or Sora, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon hid in the bushes to spy on the fillies. "Let's see what these three blank flanks have that aren't as impressive as our routine."
"Are we supposed to even be spying on anypony when they perform?" Silver asked, her question unanswered as the pink filly rubbed her hooves in a malicious manner.
The curtains began to open as Scootaloo spoke as the announcer, hoof-made cardboard drawings of the clouds in the sky, an apple farm on the right, and mountains on the left. "Since the dawn of recorded time, in one town of amazing amazingness, three types of ponies coexist!"
Apple Bloom began to back up from the left side of the stage, green streamers tied to her forelegs as she made them wave out as she walked backwards to the drawn orchard. "We are earth ponies!"
Sweetie Belle bounced out from the right side with a purple streamer tied around her horn, bounding over to the fake mountains. "We are unicorns!"
Scootaloo appeared behind one of the fake clouds above, flapping her wings, which had blue streamers tied around the ends of some of her feathers. "We are pegasi!" The fillies were soon hidden as a background of a hoof-drawn Ponyville lowered in front of them, the pegasus filly continuing her narrating as Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle walked around without their streamers, carrying a hoop with a thin circular material inside the ring, similar to what some sports teams run through when they are introduced in a big game. "And the town where friendship reigns is our home. Now, welcome to the stadium, the flag of the place we like best...!"
Scootaloo suddenly came bursting through the ring on her scooter, performing a few tricks as she carried a flag that had two ponies facing each other with a large pink heart between them. The filly leapt off her scooter, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle running up and jumping up, held up by the pegasus filly as her scooter rolled by with their flag, small confetti cannons shooting up in the background behind them.
"Ponyville forever! YAY!" they cheered.
Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon's jaws dropped at their performance, Sora clapping his hooves as he himself was awed by their routine, and enjoyed it. "Whoo hoo! That was excellent! And you say that's not perfect?" The teen scoffed and approached the stage. "Not perfect, my rump! That's sure to catch the judges' attention Sunday!"
"You really think that was perfect?" Scootaloo asked.
"I know it is!" he said. "Now, tomorrow, I'm going to see the finalized acts from yours and the others' performances before we head off to the Crystal Empire Sunday. And I can't wait to see that again."
As he walked off to speak with the other kids and give them some pointers on what they needed to improve on or offer some suggestions for their routine, Diamond turned to look at Silver Spoon, still flabbergasted at their perfect performance. "Did you see that!? Silver Spoon, they could win! Those three blank flanks!"
"That was...really good," Silver uttered.
"We need to find some way to get under their skin if we even stand a chance..." The pink earth pony filly's ears perked up, looking back at the Crusaders. She looked at Scootaloo's wings, knowing full well that other pegasi from their class were able to fly, but she hasn't been able to lift off the ground for more than a few seconds. An evil grin appeared on her face as she formulated a sinister plan, not only to mess them up, but to insult the flightless pegasus. "Or under their wings. Heh heh heh heh."
"Uhh, what do you have planned?" Silver Spoon asked, her question yet again remained unanswered as her friend left the bushes they hid behind and approached the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
Before the filly began talking with them, Sora walked around the stage to speak with the fillies again, only to hide around the corner as he spotted the spoiled princess and her friend approaching them. "Wow! What a great show you put on!"
"...Uhh, you were watching us?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Yeah!" Diamond said sarcastically. "And Scootaloo, I think you're really brave for performing your routine."
"Why?" Scootaloo questioned, not liking the bully's tone.
"Oh. I thought it was obvious," she said. "You were showing all three types of ponies in your routine, but you are a pegasus pony who can't even fly!"
"What's that got to do with anythin'!?" Apple Bloom questioned, unaware of the visible wince the pegasus filly made.
"It means everything! I mean, a pegasus pony at your age, Scootaloo!? You should have been flying years ago, but you've barely been able to get off the ground, and if you think that Ms. Harshwhinny will allow a flightless chicken like you to carry the flag in front of all of Equestria, then you have no chance." Scootaloo looked down at her wings sadly, her teasing actually hitting a very sensitive nerve in the filly, immediately making her self conscious.
"She didn't say anything about that!" Sweetie Belle shouted. "And Sora says our routine is good, even if there was no flying involved!"
"His opinion is biased because he likes you three, and he's also a doofus like you three." Sora growled, staying hidden as he heard Diamond Tiara scraping the bottom of the barrel just to win a contest her spoiled ego wants to compete in. And what's worse, he could see just how much pain it caused Scootaloo hearing that insult. "Good luck practicing, even if your routine doesn't 'take off'."
Both rich fillies left the Crusaders, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle growling and leering at them while Scootaloo still looked miserable. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon walked over to the stage to head back home, only to have Sora block their path, staring down at them with a disappointed scowl on his face.
"I'm sorry, but can you repeat what you just said to Scootaloo to me?" he asked. "I'm dying to hear why you called her a 'flightless chicken'."
"I didn't do anything but state the facts," Diamond Tiara smugly defended. "Have you ever seen her fly? We haven't."
Sora picked the filly up by the scruff of her neck and brought her up to his level, glaring at her spitefully. "That's the reason why I don't like you. You enjoy making fun of others, and Scootaloo took that flightless comment personally! That's not being a bully! That's called being a jerk! So if you want to make fun of someone, do that to me: someone who's bigger than you and can take your insults, knowing full well I could smack you from here all the way to the Crystal Empire, but I won't because you're a kid!"
"You can't even do anything to me, anyway. I'm going to win, and you won't be judging us on Sunday because you're the coach." Sora growled, lowering the smug brat back down to the ground while Silver Spoon was scared out of her mind with his gaze alone. "Now, if you don't mind, tell us what we need to improve on so we won't listen to you and be ensured as the flag carrier for the Equestria Games."
"This is your only warning, Diamond Tiara. You do that again to them or the other groups, showing that unsportspony-like conduct and insulting them to mess with their heads, I'll be sure to alert Ms. Harshwhinny and tell her you and Silver Spoon are disqualified for not playing fair. Understand?" The smug filly did nothing, but Silver Spoon nodded her head rapidly. "And by the way: your performance was terrible. Drop out. You stand no chance of even making it through a preliminary performance."
"That's not gonna happen. Come on, Silver Spoon. Let's keep practicing." Sora watched Diamond Tiara skip past him, pointing her snout in the air like the smug little rich filly bully that she was, Silver Spoon however followed her hanging her head low with her ears drooped against her head.
"Oh, she is going to get a big, fat lump of coal this Christmas," the teen grumbled. "If I see Filthy Rich, I'm going to tell him his little princess is still acting like a tyrant." He looked back around the front of the stage, watching the Crusaders practicing their routine, though Scootaloo seemed to be trying to fly. She was flapping her wings, but barely making it a few feet off the ground before flopping onto her stomach. "I really hope Diamond Tiara was making that up...She can fly. She just needs better practice...Right?"
The next day, Sora evaluated the groups' performances again to oversee their final run through before tomorrow. Again, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon went first, and it was the same dull routine he did not want to see, mostly because of the smug little filly thinking she's going to win as the flag carrier. He was glad to see her gone, their routine more selfish and self-centered around the bully than on the town she's supposed to represent. After going through the other younger ponies, seeing improvements to their previous performance from yesterday, he was ready to see the Crusaders' routine again.
"Alrighty. Cutie Mark Crusaders, let's have us a good show!" As soon as the curtain opened up and saw the three fillies, his grin melted to a frown as he saw the tired state they were in.
"Ponyville!" Scootaloo announced as she stood on her fake cloud perch, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom trudging along the stage sluggishly, almost like they were about to pass out. "Home of the...uhh..."
"Friendship!" the unicorn and earth pony fillies hissed.
"Friendship, yeah! Uhh, there were fo-no, three kinds of ponies!" Sora couldn't bear to watch or hear, but he couldn't. Their routine was heavily altered, and in their exhausted state, it was a mess. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle wound up bumping into each other and accidentally hitting each other. Scootaloo's narration was stumbled as if she had forgotten her lines. And to end off their routine with Scootaloo bursting through the ring on her scooter, she tried to break through by flying, only managing to knock it away from Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, hovering for a moment, then plopping down on her stomach. "Ta-da! H-How was that?"
Sora's response was holding his clipboard up to his face, whimpering in agony as he watched their perfect performance from yesterday turn into mush. "Girls, what happened? Why did you change your routine?"
"It's a lot better now, right?" Scootaloo asked, sounding desperate.
"That was the worst I've ever seen," he said, making the pegasus filly wilt. "Your first routine was better. Stick with that. Tomorrow's the big day, and you want to win, right?" Scootaloo nodded, not needing to see the two tired fillies struggling to stay awake agree to know they preferred their original version better. "Don't try to fix what's already perfect, then. Go home, get some rest, and I'll see you girls on the train."
Sora headed off to prepare himself for the trip up north tomorrow, hoping the Cutie Mark Crusaders will go back to using their old routine. Scootaloo began to panic, looking down at her wings.
"What am I gonna do?" she asked herself. "The competition's tomorrow and I still can't fly."
"Scootaloo, I can't practice anymore," Sweetie whined. "I'm so exhausted."
"Same here," Apple Bloom said, though more angry and irritated. "Ah'm tired, Ah'm hungry, and Ah hate this dumb routine! It's all about you now, not all of us!"
"But if I can keep practicing and try to fly, it'll be perfect!" The farm filly shouted in frustration, getting sick of Scootaloo's stubbornness.
"Ya ain't listenin' to yourself!" she screamed. "Y'all are too busy tryin' to fly that you're throwin' away the perfect routine we did before, the one that Sora liked and everypony else will like too! If y'all are just gonna keep doin' this, carin' about yourself than ya do for us, don't even bother showin' up at the station tomorrow! Sweetie Belle an' Ah are gonna do the old routine, without you!"
"Y-You can't be serious! How are you going to do the pegasus bit without me!?" Scootaloo questioned.
"We'll manage fine without ya!" Apple Bloom stormed off in a huff, heading back home to eat a big dinner then plop down on her bed to get some sleep.
Scootaloo looked at Sweetie Belle, unable to voice her opinion, but leaving her friend alone, siding with Apple Bloom. "...Fine. FINE! Go ahead! Just go on without me! As soon as you two get back from the Crystal Empire, you'll see I can fly, and you'll regret kicking me out of the team when our whole routine was my idea!"
Scootaloo began flapping her wings and tried to fly, but always ending with the same results: falling on her stomach after barely making it a few inches off the ground. She kept trying, the day passing by as she kept going, even when she was getting exhausted. Day soon turned to evening, her hundredth attempt to fly failing again, her wings too tired to flap as she panted heavily. They soon turned to sobs as she smacked the ground with her hoof, tears streaming down her face, unable to fly and she believed she never will.
"I-I can't fly," she whimpered, not even caring if anyone saw her cry. "I just can't..."
Early the next morning, Sora waited at the station as the early train to the Crystal Empire was about to roll up. The colts and fillies, and their parents or older siblings, made it on time, the young ones pretty tired from waking up earlier than they usually do. He checked off the groups that had arrived and got onto the train, even Diamond Tiara as she gloated to Silver Spoon about how they're going to easily trump the rest of the competition. The worst she could do is bribe the judges to vote for her, but she's too much of a greedy filly to even give a single bit of her father's money to anyone.
"Ok. Snips and Snails, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon...That's about everyone, except for the Cutie Mark Crusaders." He looked up and saw two of the three fillies, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle rested up, but there was no sign of Scootaloo. "Hey, girls. Where's Scootaloo? Fashionably late?"
"She isn't coming," Sweetie Belle said.
"What!?" Sora exclaimed, dropping his clipboard while his hat flipped up in the air, landing back safely on his head. "Why!?"
"Didn't Apple Bloom tell you?" the unicorn asked, the stallion shaking his head as he looked at his surrogate little sister.
"She kept thinkin' that our routine should have her flyin' in our routine to better represent Ponyville," Apple Bloom explained. "Ah got sick and tired of her tellin' us to change our routine, focusin' more on flyin'. So we kicked her out of the group for bein' so stubborn."
"Out of your friendship group or the routine?" Sora questioned, both fillies lowering their heads as he sounded disappointed in their reasoning. "Girls, you three are best friends. You're teammates. I know Scootaloo's gotten her thick-headed stubbornness from Rainbow Dash, but you should have kept telling her focus on keeping the old routine you girls did."
"We tried, but after Diamond Tiara made fun of her for not being able to fly, she just kept trying to fly and...let that distract her from...what we perfectly did before..." The two fillies looked at each other, realizing the reason why Scootaloo was so dead set on trying to fly.
The train blew its whistle and began to chug off, leaving Sora, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle behind as it began to head off to the Crystal Empire. "Hey! Wait!" Sora called out, but the engineers were on a schedule and they had no time to stop. On the caboose, they spotted Diamond Tiara taunting them, now having a chance to win after deliberately hurting Scootaloo's feelings. "Ok, that filly deserves a spanking, but Santa's going to give her a mountain made out of coal in the next few months."
"That means we aren't gonna compete anymore, are we?" Apple Bloom asked.
"No. You will. Let's head to Scootaloo's home and see if we can get her back in the game." Sora ran on ahead, the two Crusaders running after him as they headed toward the pegasus filly's home. As he arrived at the house, he knocked on the door, but didn't hear anyone inside. Her parents might both be working, which could mean Scootaloo was either home and didn't want to answer the door, or she was somewhere else. "Come on, Scoots. Please be here."
He flew up to the second floor, peeking through the windows to find any sign of the little filly. He looked through what seemed like her room, spotting Scootaloo inside, burying her face in her pillow as she sobbed. Diamond really struck a bad chord and upset her, breaking his heart to see a tough little filly like her be brought down because she couldn't fly. He noticed a trash bin in the corner, shocked to see posters of the Wonderbolts thrown away, along with her scooter.
Sora tapped on her window, Scootaloo pulling her head away from her pillow to see who was there. She was surprised to see him here, waving at him with a sad smile on his face. She hopped out of her bed and opened the window for him.
"What are you doing here?" she asked. "You're supposed to be at the Crystal Empire."
"I was, but that's when I saw the Crusaders were missing someone." Scootaloo scowled and turned her head.
"Good. They don't need me anyway..." Tears welled up in her bloodshot eyes, choking back a sob as she tried not to cry in front of him.
"Of course they need you," Sora said softly. "You're their friend." He gently rubbed her head, feeling her body quake as she struggled not to break down. "I heard what Diamond Tiara said to you the other day, after you showed me your first routine. She wound up getting under your skin and took her insult seriously, changing the routine you three showed me because you wanted to prove you can fly and not feel useless to Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. Was that why you did all that?"
Scootaloo couldn't hold back her tears, her lips quivering as she whimpered. The emotional dam burst and the filly began to cry again. Sora pulled her close and held her gently, her face buried in his chest as she cried her eyes out. He quietly shushed her, rubbing her back as she let it all out. It was sad for him to see someone like Scootaloo break down from a harsh insult that struck her hard, her constant trying and failing to prove to Diamond Tiara she was wrong weighing on her until she gave up and fell into a depression.
"D-Diamond Tiara w-was right," she sobbed, clutching the stallion's jacket tightly. "I can't fly...I never will. N-Never."
"Don't listen to anything she says. You know that's not true," Sora consoled.
"But it's true," Scootaloo argued. "I can't even fly off the ground for more than a few seconds. Other pegasi my age could fly, even Pound Cake could fly, and he's not even a year old! I'll never be able to fly like Rainbow Dash, or you, or any other pegasus!"
"That's not true." Sora pulled out one of his extra Elven Bandannas from his pouch, gently drying the filly's tears. He lifted her chin up to look at him, tears still falling down her face as she sniffled. "You'll be able to fly one day. I know it. But you already can in your own way: flying fast on your scooter." She looked at the trash bin where she threw her scooter in. "Those wings of yours can do something, and they can help you pick up so much speed when you're riding on it."
"...But...that's not flying," she said. "I'm still stuck on the ground."
"Not when you hit a ramp and pull off sick tricks like back in your performance. Diamond Tiara can't do what you can, and that's what makes you stand out among other pegasi to make up for your lack of flying." Scootaloo looked down at her wings, the insult still ringing in her ears. Sora gently pet her head, distracting her from her thoughts as she looked up at him. "You saw what I really looked like in your dreams when we were camping, right? Did I have wings?"
"No," she said.
"No, but that didn't mean the sky wasn't the limit for me. I fought hard to get to where I am now, and I've faced my fair share of ups and downs. But I stayed positive, even in the darkest of times, and someday-" Sora gently poked her snout. "-you might achieve your dreams if you don't give up on them."
The bedroom door opened, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle appearing on the other side as they caught up. The gave Scootaloo an apologetic look, never knowing she was badly hurt from Diamond's words as she hid her problems from them.
"We're sorry, Scootaloo," Apple Bloom apologized.
"You two didn't go?" Scootaloo asked.
"We couldn't leave without you," Sweetie said. "It just wouldn't feel right."
"And that's what your routine was all about from the very beginning: friendship. You three show a perfect example of what Ponyville represents. Three kinds of ponies living together: earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi." Sora gave Scootaloo a noogie, the filly cheering up a little from his speech and her friends by her side.
[Sora]
Who's the toughest little pony in town?
[Sweetie Belle]
Got the moves, got the mojo
[Apple Bloom]
No harder working pony around
[Scootaloo]
We are a trio, work as a team
[Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle]
We'll be the first ponies out on the flag-waving scene
"So let's do the routine as it was and win!" Scootaloo exclaimed, the others glad to have the old pegasus filly back.
"But how are we going to get to the Crystal Empire?" Apple Bloom asked. "The competition's gonna start, and if we wait for a train, it'll be too late."
Sora began to think, his eyes noticing something hidden in Scootaloo's closet. He approached it and opened the door, finding a skateboard that was similarly painted like her scooter, and it looked like it could fit an adult pony.
"You used to ride a skateboard, Scootaloo?" Sora asked.
"I tried once when I was little, but it didn't feel right for me," she said. "So, my dad got me a scooter, and I liked riding on it."
"How's a skateboard going to help us?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"You got a couple pairs of skis, Scoots?" The filly nodded and looked in her closet, pulling out a set of purple and orange skis, along with helmets and protective goggles. Sora found some tow rope used for water skiing as well, figuring her parents might have been sports nuts and wanted to let their daughter try every sport from her tomboyish attitude, then pulled out the pegasus filly's scooter out of the small bin. "We're gonna get to the Crystal Empire in style. Think you can handle the challenge and beat me in a race, skateboard versus scooter?"
"Really?" Scootaloo grinned, accepting the challenge. "You're on."
"Excellent." With their gear in tow, they headed downstairs to get themselves ready. While Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom put on the helmets and goggles, attached their skis to their hooves, and gripped the handle of the rope in their mouths, Sora tied the other ends to the back of Scootaloo's scooter, making sure they were tight enough to stay on with the speed they'll be going at. Scootaloo put on her own helmet and pair of protective goggles, fluttering her wings in preparation for the most epic race she will ever have. Sora opened the door, standing on the skateboard on his hind legs. "Ready?"
"So ready!" she cheered.
"Then let's go!" Sora kicked off and leapt out the door, Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle following after him as they sped out of the pegasus filly's home and out into the town.
Where Scootaloo had her powerful, but tiny, wings to help propel her forward, Sora had his powerful strength to push off the ground, increasing his speed as he slalomed to keep his velocity going. Even with the extra weight from Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, she was still pretty fast. Luckily, ponies veered out of their path when they heard the pegasus filly's wings buzzing, surprised to see Sora racing against her on a skateboard. They both saw an overturned cart, racing toward it to get some air and show off.
Sora reached it first and pulled off a series of grabs and kickflips, the Crusaders following suit as they posed in midair. They landed quite a distance from the makeshift ramp, speeding out of Ponyville and out on the road, heading north to reach the Crystal Empire before the fillies' chance to carry the flag was too late. And with how fast they were going, they were going to make it with plenty of time to spare. Both pegasi were neck and neck as they traversed the road, climbing up over hills and riding down them for more speed, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle hanging onto their ropes as they let their friend carry them across the kingdom.
They eventually managed to catch up with the train that had left them behind, the road leading close to the train tracks as they rode up alongside the cars. And sitting right on the side they were rolling next to were Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, the former too busy gloating to notice them. Silver noticed, her jaw dropped as she pointed out the window, alerting the others in the car as the other ponies inside looked out to see the four ponies racing with the train. Diamond opened the window, completely flabbergasted while fuming all at once.
"How the hay did you even catch up!?" she shouted.
"You're dealing with the fastest filly on wheels, Diamond Tiara!" Sora said. "She might not be able to fly, but she can use her wings for something! See ya at the empire, and in second place at the competition, you little brat!"
The Keyblade wielder brought a hoof to his eye and pulled the bottom lid down, closing his other eye and sticking out his tongue at her, mocking her for her failed attempt to ruin the Crusaders' their chance to perform. The duo sped off down the road faster than the train, all four of them giggling as they heard Diamond Tiara's frustrated scream a mile behind them. They soon reached the perimeter of the norther region, snow and ice covering the land and would either slip them up or slow them down. Sora summoned his Keyblade and shot Fire spells at the road in front of them, melting away the ice and snow covering the path as they got closer and closer to the Crystal Empire.
It was the final stretch, seeing the magical barrier of the Crystal Heart a mile away. They both poured on the speed, Sora kicking off harder while Scootaloo flapped her wings faster, both pegasi neck and neck as they reached the border. Once they passed the barrier, surprising a few crystal ponies as they saw a couple objects speeding into their kingdom, Sora had just lost by an inch, quickly casting Ballonga in front of them, all four ponies smacking into a large magical balloon that popped as they all touched it, sending them soaring into the air. Sora grabbed the fillies and his skateboard and Scootaloo's scooter, hovering them back down to the ground.
Scootaloo panted heavily, still feeling the adrenaline from racing Sora as she caught her breath. "Whoo hoo! That was awesome!" Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle nodded, though their legs shook a little as they weren't used to going that fast. The pegasus filly looked up at Sora, leaping up and hugging him tightly. "You were right, Sora. I really did feel like I was flying on my scooter going that fast...Thanks for helping me."
"You're welcome, Scoots." He hugged her back, suddenly caught in a group hug as Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle joined in. "And you girls remember that I'm always ready to listen if you've got any problems with Diamond Tiara." The Crusaders nodded their heads as he lowered them back down to the ground. "Now, let's head on down to the coliseum and show the crowd what they should expect from Ponyville!"
"Yeah!" the fillies cheered as all four ponies slapped hooves, making their way to the coliseum to wait for the rest of their class to perform their routine.
Once the competition began after the train had arrived moments later, all the groups did their routines to best represent Ponyville, and the Crusaders did their old routine. The crowd went wild after they finished, far more than any of the other groups, including Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, both fillies wearing matching dresses and the spoiled bully was not happy with what happened earlier. After the routines were done, the judges made their votes and Ms. Harshwhinny stepped up to the podium to announce the winners.
"In the Equestria Games, the Ponyville flag will be carried by..." The mare pulled out the envelope and read the winner of the contest. "The Cutie Mark Crusaders!"
The audience cheered as the fillies excitedly ran up to the stage, the judges placing pink and white floral wreaths around their necks. Sora hovered up to the winning fillies, knowing they would have won with their performance.
"Great job, girls," he congratulated. "You did wonderful."
"Wonderful!?" Ms. Harshwhinny questioned. "That has to have been the most spectacular routine I had ever seen in all my life!"
Sora let out a mock gasp, a little surprised to see the mare ever show any emotion aside from a scowl or sneer. "Ms. Harshwhinny! That is not professionalism, getting all excited over a little performance!" She realized she had acted unprofessionally, blushing in embarrassment as she cleared her throat. "I'm just kidding. But it is an amazing show the Crusaders put on. The whole crowd and the other judges went wild."
"Yes...that is true," she admitted.
Sora approached Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo, hugging the three fillies at their teamwork. "So, you girls ready for when the Equestria Games come around? I'm going to be competing in the Struggle tournament being held this year. You three are going to cheer me on, right?"
"Of course!...Wait, what's 'Struggle'?" Apple Bloom asked.
"You'll have to find out until the Games." Sora grinned, deciding to use a little phrase from a certain satyr who helped him train a little in Olympus. "I'll give you a hint. Two words: Fighting. Tournament. Orbs."
The fillies counted the words he said, confusing them. "That's three words, not two."
"Exactly," he said, only confusing them more.
Deciding to ignore Sora's odd phrasing, Scootaloo looked down at her flanks, half expecting getting a cutie mark for her insane speed as they raced through Equestria to reach the Crystal Empire. Sadly, it was still blank, but she wasn't deterred.
"Hey, you guys know what this means?"
"What would that be?" Sora asked.
"We are totally getting our cutie marks in flag-carrying!" The teen sighed in exasperation, slumping his head and shoulders, shaking his head sadly as these three fillies still want to find and do everything to get their cutie marks.