Scootaloo was running to pick up her scooter, when she had an unexpected encounter.
“Apple Bloom? I thought you were going out with Big Macintosh this afternoon.”
“Yeah, but the harvest’s come in a little early this year, an’ with AJ away, Big Mac’ has to work extra hard to bring in all the apples. So, he said we could reschedule our trip till next week.”
The young filly had a little, understandable disappointment in her voice as she truly treasured her days out with her older brother, but she was otherwise completely okay.
“Sorry Apple Bloom, so what are you doing out here all by yourself them?”
“Oh, I’m just out takin’ a walk, it’s good to get some fresh air sometimes ya know. But, what are y’all doin’ Scootaloo?”
“Ha, glad you asked. There’s this new Pegasus stallion in town named Scarlet Speeder, he was one of the top young flyers in Cloudsdale! But he has to be here for a little while because of his… parents. Anyway, here’s the good part, he already thinks I’m awesome! He heard about how great I am on my scooter and he challenged me to a contest.”
“Oooohhh, sounds interesting, what’s the contest.?
“Ya know those three hills standin’ next to each other outside town, we’re gonna go down ‘em on our scooters, first one to two wins is the best.”
“Em, Scootaloo. Don’t one of them hills almost go as high as the clouds?”
“Yep, awesome, right?!”
Apple Bloom was beginning to worry for her friend, she knew how much she loved adrenaline, as well as her tendency to get herself hurt.
“Look, I don’t wanna freak y’all out Scootaloo, but that there hill is mighty dangerous. How old’s this guy anyway? Like eleven or twelve I bet, he has to be near to bein’ a teenager to think going down that hill ‘s a good idea.”
“Oh, he’s fourteen, and it was my idea.”
Apple Bloom stared at Scootaloo with a face of pure shock, had her best friend really just agreed to do something incredibly dangerous with a much older pony?
“Fourteen! You mean he’s six years older than us and ya still agreed to race him down the tallest hill, no, mountain, in Ponyville! You can’t be serious.”
“Look Apple Bloom, you don’t need to be so worried, sure it’s a little tall, and yeah Scarlet’s a little older than me, but I can handle this; this is me we’re takin’ about. Remember?”
“Well I guess, I still don’t know if this is such a good idea, but hey, it’s your choice, not mine. So, if y’all feel safe, then there’s nothin’ I can do to stop ya.”
“That’s right! And hey, we’ll only be goin’ down that one if I don’t beat him on the first two, like that’s goanna happen?”
“Ha, I guess Scootaloo, but if it don’t feel right, just promise me you’ll back out. Ya know, as a friend.”
“Don’t worry AppleBloom, I promise. But I gotta get goin’ now, or else I’ll be late, see ya later.”
“Bye Scootaloo.”
The two fillies waved at each other with innocent smiles stitched to their faces. Scootaloo had never been more determined in her life! She was half tempted to purposely lose the first race now, if only to show everypony else that she could handle that last hill. She ran as fast as she could to get her equipment and then head straight for the first hill. Apple Bloom on the other hoof didn’t feel so energetic, she knew her friend was more than capable, but was it really right for her to be doing a race that could plausibly get her VERY injured? Against a much older stallion no less. She thought that it wasn’t her place, and thus tried her hardest to stop thinking about it and just enjoy her walk. Approximately five minutes passed before Rainbow came flying over the market to attempt to locate Scootaloo, she instead noticed Apple Bloom in her peripheral vision and thus landed to ask her if she knew where Scootaloo was.
“Oh, hey Rainbow Dash, what can I do ya for?”
“Hey Apple Bloom. Look, I know you’ve finished your crusaidin’ for the day, but do you know where I might find Scootaloo, I’ve checked all the spots where she usually is, and I just got no sight of her.”
“Ha, luckily for y’all Rainbow, I do know. She was just here a few minutes ago, she was goin’ to get her scooter and then she’s got this competition with this new stallion in town. They’re gonna race down them three mountains just outside a town, first one to two wins is the victor and the awesome-ist, I guess.”
Rainbow stared into space with a look of pure terror, she knew the hills that Apple Bloom was referring to. The horrific feeling, she had experienced earlier had come back. She knew just how tall the final hill was and became very light headed as a result. All she could imagine was her Scootaloo, her precious, fragile little sister falling from such a height and… No, she didn’t want to even think about it. It couldn’t be a possibility. She would’ve shot up as fast as she could to the peak of that first hill as fast as she could, picked up the little filly in her forelegs and taken her back to the safety of her cloud home to check for boo boos, as if she were Fluttershy, if not for what Rarity had told her. She remembered how she had to control her emotions and assess whether Scootaloo was in any real danger or not. She thought about everything Scootaloo had done in the past, she remembered how capable and skilled the filly was. The thoughts calmed down the rainbow mare, if only a little. The hills slowly began to shrink in her mind as she thought more and more what Scootaloo was about to do, it couldn’t be any more dangerous than what she usually did. Could it?
“Em, Rainbow, are you okay?”
Rainbow suddenly awoke from her dazed state to respond to the yellow filly.
“Oh yeh, I’m fine Apple Bloom, thanks for telling me this.”
“You’re welcome Rainbow Dash, I’m just worried Scootaloo’s gonna get hurt doin’ this.”
“Na don’t worry about her, she’s awesome, like me, she’ll go so fast that stallion won’t even pass the starting line before she’s already won! Trust me you’ve got nothing to worry about.”
“Well alrighty, see ya Rainbow Dash.”
Rainbow Dash took off as fast as she could to reach the peak of the first hill. Her last comment to Apple Bloom had been a complete bluff, Rarity’s advice had made dealing with her fear easier, yet it was still rigorous in its torment of her. She decided that just watching the races from a distance, instead of actually intervening, was a good compromise between her fears and her rational thought. She would only step in if she had to. She would only step in if she absolutely had to. The thought repeated in her head on an endless loop.