The Crystal Empire, early afternoon.
The day of the last two races of the Amateur Tournament has arrived. Scootaloo and Maverick tied in points, so the one who wins the race will take the lead again.
Rushing Wind took a look at the track. Then, he returned to Scootaloo and told her: "This track is amazing. It almost looks like a smaller version of Moa Therma, with the looping as well as the quick turns. It's an easy track, but it still requires balance and technique to get through it quickly."
"A looping? How is that going to work?", Rainbow Dash asked.
"They used a transparent pipe to create borders so that everyone hits the looping safely.", Rushing Wind explained.
"I never tried out a looping before outside of my dreams...", Scootaloo said, "But yeah, back then, I couldn't fly."
"Too true.", Rushing Wind said, "Okay, we bid you good luck! Take it to Maverick!"
"Yeah! Show him what you got!", Rainbow Dash cheered.
With the newfound courage, Scootaloo went to the track, to starting position 2. She started behind Maverick, who won the last race. Said Pegasus looked to Scootaloo.
"Looking forward to this amazing race?", he asked.
"I sure do! I hope you're ready!", Scootaloo said to him.
"I am! Let's do our best!", Maverick responded, and both took a launching stance, looking at the light.
The light turned green, and Scootaloo and Maverick took off, along with the others. The first turn was tough to take, but then came the looping. Scootaloo buzzed her wings as powerful as she could to maintain a high speed through the looping, and she actually did and managed to stay behind Maverick.
Some other tough turns were nothing to write home about, and after a hilly section with another glass pipe and two more tough turns, the first lap was done.
Scootaloo tried her best to keep up with Maverick, and she got closer in Lap 2. Then, in Lap 3, she optimized her route to take especially the tough turns way faster, and got even more closer to him.
"It's now or never...", Scootaloo thought as she entered the final lap. She took the first tough turn perfectly, the looping went off without a hitch, the next tough turns were fast, but still, as they closed in to the finish line, she still was in second place.
"What's the air like back there?", Maverick called out to taunt her.
"Oh, you're gonna see what it's like once I PASSED you!", Scootaloo responded, filled with determination.
And suddenly, Scootaloo did something that no one could've predicted - she used the slant near the finish line to take off and performed a barrel roll, giving her an extra burst of speed and passing Maverick at the last possible second, winning the race.
The crowd was going wild - they certainly did not expect such a turn of events, and everyone was cheering for Scootaloo.
Maverick came up to her. "I have never seen a trick like that before. How in Equestria's name did you do that?", he asked.
"I have no idea. I performed a Barrel Roll and went super fast all of a sudden...", Scootaloo responded.
Suddenly, Rushing Wind and Rainbow Dash came to the two.
"That's exactly it, Scootaloo.", he said, "A Barrel Roll gives you an extra burst of speed if you successfully land it. But here on this track with all these flat sections, it's incredibly hard to pull one off, but you, Scootaloo, you showed that it was not impossible."
"Yeah! That was an awesome move, squirt!", Rainbow Dash praised.
"Thanks, Rainbow Dash.", Scootaloo said.
"The last race of the Amateur Tournament is in Fillydelphia. And I've been racing there already. It will be another night race, so get used to the dark before heading there.", Maverick said and went off.
"I know Pegasi from Fillydelphia. Back when Twilight got visited by her future self, the team there had to look out for any disasters. Thankfully, there weren't any.", Rainbow Dash said.
Scootaloo was excited. She has never been to Fillydelphia ever, so this would be her first.
When Scootaloo, Rainbow Dash and Rushing Wind arrived in Fillydelphia, they were surprised at how big this city was. Rainbow knew, it wasn't as big as Manehattan, but it was still bigger than several other cities in Equestria.
They found the race track quickly, and Rushing Wind took a look at it. In the meantime, Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo looked around.
Soon, Rushing Wind came back. "This track is nasty. It has its fair share of super tough turns and tight sections. Paired with the dark of the night, this is probably the hardest race you'll tackle this far."
"No worries. I'll accept any challenge, as long as I emerge successful.", Scootaloo said in enthusiasm.
"Ha, that's what I want to hear! Good luck out there, Scoots!", Rainbow Dash said.
Scootaloo went to the track and ran into Maverick once again.
"Hey, Scootaloo. Good luck for this race.", he said.
"Thanks. Good luck to you too.", Scootaloo responded.
After everyone took their starting position, Scootaloo and Maverick watched the light. Scootaloo started in front of Maverick, but he had more experience with night races than Scootaloo. Also, Scootaloo didn't know the track, so this seemed like fuel to the fire.
But when the light turned green, the contenders took off - but surprise, the hardest turn, a 180 turn, came right at the beginning, and Scootaloo bumped against the boundary and lost a lot of speed, ending up in fifth place after just one turn.
In total, this track is a true hoofful to handle, because the track was so tight and the turns were tough to take.
After Lap 1, Scootaloo fell down to seventh place. But then, she remembered the Air Braking technique Rushing Wind showed her, so she tried it out in the 180 turn, and lookie here, she got through the turn way faster. And utilizing this technique, she was also able to rush through the other tough turns.
Overall, the race has turned into a round of Catch Up for Scootaloo.
At the start of Lap 3, Scootaloo was now in fourth place, with a visual on the next two contenders. Using the technique and repeating her flying line from the previous lap, she caught up to the two Pegasi and passed them before this lap ended.
The last lap - Scootaloo was in second place and had Maverick in sight. She used all techniques she knew, slipstreamed the leader, and got very close...
However, Maverick won the race by a split second, .01 seconds, to be precise.
In the end, Scootaloo and Maverick tied in points, so it's up to the officials to decide who gets first place.
At the award ceremony, Maverick came up to Scootaloo. "Hey. You did good! I never thought that someone like you would be this fast. You almost got me after falling down to seventh place."
"What can I say? It's all good training.", Scootaloo responded.
Suddenly, there was an announcement.
"Fillies and Gentlecolts, we have a score tie between two contenders, but we've come to a decision. The winner is..."
Everyone held their breath, waiting for the decision.
"Scootaloo!"
Scootaloo was so happy that she jumped into the air and pulled a backflip without the need to use her wings. But Maverick was shocked. "What? How is that possible!?", he asked in disbelief.
Scootaloo, on the other hand, saw why. She had a better total time in all four races than Maverick. "I think I know how. Look up there.", Scootaloo said to Maverick, and pointed at the table, where the total tournament time was shown. Scootaloo was more than a second faster than Maverick was.
"Well, I guess you deserve the win then.", Maverick said in defeat.
And then, they took their places on the podium, with Scootaloo on top. After the best three took their trophies, Maverick said to Scootaloo: "You should take on the Pro Tournament that starts in two weeks. I heard that some of the Wonderbolts will participate as well, and also, that's eight races instead of four."
Scootaloo's eyes widened. The Wonderbolts? Rainbow Dash's flight team? She could hardly believe she would face her mentor, but she made sure to ask her after the ceremony.
Rainbow Dash and Rushing Wind came to Scootaloo. "Nicely done, Scoots! That's your second tournament win!", Rainbow Dash said in excitement.
"Yeah, you're getting better and better at this. Tie up in the score but win by total time, that's a rare sight. I wonder if you're interested in the Pro Tournament which starts in two weeks...", Rushing Wind said.
"I am.", Scootaloo said, "But... Can I ask you something, Rainbow Dash?"
"Sure, what is it?", Rainbow Dash asked.
"I just heard from Maverick that some of the Wonderbolts will take part in the Pro Tournament. Did you sign up for that as well?", Scootaloo asked.
"No, I didn't. I'm way too fast for the Pro Tournament. Those flyers can only hit more than 9 wing power, from what Rush told me.", Rainbow Dash explained.
"Exactly. If you can't maintain a stable line at a speed like that, then that's an auto-loss. You could use some training before you get started.", Rushing Wind said.
The best Rookie, the best Amateur... And now, Scootaloo has the chance to be the best Pro. She sure couldn't wait to get started...
End of the Amateur Class...