Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash followed Rushing Wind into his training facility. The target was to get Scootaloo ready for the Elite Tournament in two weeks. And it would be tougher than everything else she faced so far.
First up, they went to the Wind Tunnel. "Although you won the last race of the Pro Tournament and showed that you're the best Pro flyer, I need to run a little test. Did you notice... a slight increase of speed during the last race?", Rushing Wind asked Scootaloo.
"Yes. I felt like I was slightly faster than Spitfire.", Scootaloo said. Then, in the Wind Tunnel, they ran the test. Scootaloo topped out at 10.4 wing power.
"Ten point four... Almost crossed over to the Elites... They fly at least 10.5 wing power, six slower than you, Rainbow Dash.", Rushing Wind said.
"Well, from my guess there will be at least one Pegasus who's gonna fly faster than 10.5 wing power. How will you do that?", Rainbow Dash asked him.
"A finishing touch to her wings and some training might just do the trick.", Rushing Wind said, "And since I kept you from seeing the enhancement, how about you watch it with me?"
"I'd love to see how you do that, Rush!", Rainbow Dash said. Then, Rushing Wind enhanced Scootaloo's wings once more. Compared to her original ones, they looked a lot more aerodynamic and powerful, while still maintaining the same size.
"Now for a test of speed.", Rushing Wind said.
"Wait!", Rainbow Dash interfered.
Rushing Wind looked at his partner. "What is it?", he asked.
"Let me take the part of the test of speed. Maybe I can get to increase it a little more.", Rainbow Dash suggested, "Is there an oval track nearby?"
"Sadly, no.", Rushing Wind said, "Do you have an idea?"
"Well, we could set up a large oval in the clouds and have Scootaloo charge towards... this!" Rainbow Dash got out the speed calculator from her saddle bags. "This device calculates Scootaloo's wing power when she hits it with top speed."
"Rainbow, that's a brilliant idea! And on top of that, we enjoy the nice weather outside! Why didn't I think of that?", Rushing Wind noticed.
Said and done! The track in the clouds was built in no time, and everyone was ready. Scootaloo was ready to launch off, Rushing Wind swung the flag, and Rainbow Dash was at the speed calculator.
"Ready... Set... Go!" Rushing Wind swung down the checkered flag and Scootaloo took off towards the speed calculator. She hit it with the highest speed she could so far.
"10.9 wing power! That's a good increase in speed!", Rainbow Dash said, filling Scootaloo with courage.
"As far as I know, there's going to be one Pegasus that can hit 12 wing power, so he almost matched up with me.", Rushing Wind said.
"You hear that?", Rainbow Dash said to Scootaloo, "We need to get your speed up a bit more."
Scootaloo was willing to do anything, as long as it would get her through the Elite Tournament. After that followed a way more intense training than the one for the Pro Tournament. It was more intense this time because Rushing Wind had ideas for training as well, with the aim at increasing Scootaloo's speed.
Another shot at the speed calculator, and the speed increased to...
"11.2 wing power!", Rainbow Dash said.
"One thing will be sure, Scootaloo - compared to some Pegasi who are in the Elite Tournament, you will be pretty slow. But you mastered several turns at super high speed and can react to them if they come up, so your handling is the only advantage you have.", Rushing Wind explained.
"I won't give up! Maybe we can get even more speed out of me!", Scootaloo exclaimed.
"Are you sure about this, Scootaloo? I don't want you to overdo it...", Rainbow Dash said in worries.
"If you can hit such a high speed in my age, I can too!" Scootaloo felt on fire, and she wouldn't interrupt this fire streak.
Scootaloo trained as hard as she could, already sweating when she did the exercises with such intensity. The next results on the speed calculator were only a slight difference... 11.3... 11.4... 11.5...
She went to her limit. Her target is to get a speed that makes her match up with the Pegasus that can hit 12 wing power. It was probably the most intense training she ever went through.
She hit the speed calculator for one last time with all the power she got, and managed to hit...
"11.7 wing power!", Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
Scootaloo was exhausted, and said to the two: "Yeah, that's all I got..."
"It's okay. After all, your amazing handling traits may not require a speed this high in order to win a race. I only said you would be slow because I knew you'd be able to make up the lost time in sharp turns.", Rushing Wind said.
"Yeah, but look at her now! She's almost as fast as that 12 wing power Pegasus you mentioned!", Rainbow Dash said.
"True, true. And this might get her through the tournament after all, and maybe to her win.", Rushing Wind said.
Still out of breath, Scootaloo was filled with enthusiasm, hearing that she could stand a chance against the Elites. That would be possible, and she wouldn't let both of them down, even if it meant pushing herself to the limit.
"Okay, take a little rest, and then we get to the last phase of training for today.", Rushing Wind said.
Hanzal was already waiting with the Zone Simulator as Scootaloo, Rushing Wind and Rainbow Dash came in. "I was kinda waiting for the moment you come back, Scootaloo.", he said.
"Yeah. She's getting ready for the Elite Tournament. Let's have her do one more run in the Zone Simulator, shall we?", Rushing Wind asked.
"Sure thing. Everything is ready.", Hanzal said.
Scootaloo flew into the contraption, and Rainbow Dash strapped her to it. "Good luck, squirt! Let me see your skills now!", she said.
"I won't let you down, sister!", Scootaloo said in response. The VR goggles were put on her eyes, and once again, Syncopia loaded up. But now Scootaloo knew, she could do it. She could reach a Zone much higher than before. Her reactions would allow her just that. She once reached Zone 29, 2 zones into Super Elite, but she felt like she would do better now.
Within five short minutes, she got to just that zone, Zone 29. And this time around, she managed to keep stable on the track and maneuver away from the walls quickly. All the training obviously helped.
As she reached Zone 35, the color of the environment changed again.
ZEN...
Scootaloo had no idea how fast Zen Speed was in wing power, but she felt herself go faster and faster every ten seconds.
Zone 42 had her enter the Super Zen Speed Class, which was even faster than before. Scootaloo got into slight trouble keeping herself under control, but she managed to maintained her speed.
Upon reaching a speed of 287 mph, which was almost 15 wing power, she entered a new speed class in Zone 50...
VENOM...
Scootaloo felt way too fast for this kind of speed, but she wanted to keep going. The only thing she had to do was focus and keep herself away from the walls as she gradually got faster and faster.
The struggle to control herself got higher the faster she went. And then, she reached Zone 65...
FLASH...
What speed was Flash? It sure felt extremely fast, but Scootaloo was unsure if she was ever able to control such a ridiculous speed. It felt like 30 wing power to her, but it actually was something around 17, which is even faster than Rainbow Dash is when she's flying straight watch.
A bit more than two minutes later, Scootaloo closed in to Zone 75. "Jeez, how much faster still? I can't control it anymore...", she thought.
A change in the color of the environment into gold stated that this was the last speed class to access with this technology...
RAPIER...
So fast, so uncontrollable... Scootaloo kept slamming into walls like crazy. She managed to keep stable at times, but this sheer speed was way too much for her to handle. After some more slams into the wall, the simulation ended, and Scootaloo truly felt at her limit, heavily exhausted from the shaking due to the simulation.
Rushing Wind and Rainbow Dash stood there with dropped jaws as Scootaloo looked at them.
"Sweet Celestia, you actually made it...", Rushing Wind said in amazement.
"Whoa... I made what?", Scootaloo asked, still dizzy.
"You actually reached the speed class I never reached. You beat Zone 75 and even reached the 78th before the simulation ended.", Rushing Wind said.
"H-how fast did I go?", Scootaloo asked.
"More than 21 wing power.", Hanzal responded.
"21!?", Scootaloo was so surprised that her dizziness instantly faded. "21!!", she exclaimed in surprise again.
"Yep, 21.", Rainbow Dash said, "How fast is that, Rushing Wind? You said it's a speed class you never reached in the simulator."
"It's true. When Hanzal and I developed the Zone Simulator, I decided to integrate three speed classes from Wipeout HD into it. And those classes were the final three in the simulation, Venom, Flash and Rapier. They may not look fast in the actual game, but as a Pegasus, if you hit a speed like that, control will be difficult unless you fly straight watch.", Rushing Wind explained.
"Well, I never tried that simulation before, but what do you wanna bet I can reach Zone 75 too?", Rainbow Dash challenged Rushing Wind.
"I won't bet. You're probably the best flyer in all over Equestria, so there's no doubt you can reach Zone 75 no problem.", Rushing Wind responded, knowing what would happen.
Rainbow Dash smirked. She knew that he would say that.
"As for you, Scootaloo...", Rushing Wind said, "You're ready now. But still, be advised that the adversaries you will face are probably some of the fastest in the entire tournament. I cannot foretell what will happen, but we will be with you from within, no matter what."
"I know. And thanks for believing in me.", Scootaloo said in response.
"Hey, if you want another advice from a fellow Pegasus... One thing you need to keep in mind all the time. Never, ever, ever, EVER give up.", Hanzal said in a serious tone, "If you recall, my crippled left wing kept me unable to fly for a long time, until I started to learn how to still fly with it. I only learned it because I never gave up and believed in me, and I want you to do the same when you hit the track against the tough competition, you hear me?"
"I will, Hanzal. And thanks for your help too.", Scootaloo responded.
"You're welcome, Scoots. I hope you'll take it to 'em!", Hanzal said enthusiastically.
Scootaloo felt awesome. She trained hard, maxed out her speed, her reaction, and received help from three fellow Pegasi, and all three of them believed in her. And so did she in herself. She only knew, this would be one heck of an exciting tournament.
But only time will tell if she wins...