The school bell's grating tones reverberated throughout Ponyville, the harsh ringing calling eager young ponies from across the town to cram their little heads chock-full of knowledge -- as well as young ponies who went to school only because it was the law. Scootaloo, rambunctious as always, was running late. Buzzing her little wings, she lifted off the ground sporadically, alternating from a panicked run to a haphazard and reckless glide.
Her school in sight, she picked up her pace, and her little wings propelled her forward -- straight into the ground. Her speed carried her, tumbling, to the front of the school building. Hearing a noise to her side, she turned her head, too see a small, grey pegasus colt with an ashen yellow mane touching down next to her. Opening her mouth to greet the unfamiliar newcomer, she was interrupted as she was jostled to the side.
"Out of my way, ostrich."
"The little..." Scootaloo mumbled.
As Scootaloo picked herself up once again, she heard a trotting behind her. As she groaned and turned, expecting to see Diamond Tiara and her prissy lackey, she instead saw two different ponies. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle trotted around the corner, smiling cheerfully. Upon seeing Scootaloo though, their smiles became less pronounced.
"You alright, Scootaloo? Yah look kinda dirty, did you take another tumble gettin' to class?" Applebloom took no time nor shame in voicing her concerns.
"No!" the brash young pegasus yelled. Smiling sheepishly, she admitted "Well, yes, but that's not why I'm so messy." Her expression turned to one of anger as she grumbled "Some jerk I haven't seen before just ran me over going into class."
"I'm sure it was just an accident," Sweetie Belle piped, her optimism reaching critical mass. "I'm certain he'll apologize!"
Scootaloo grinned halfheartedly as she nodded her agreement. "Yeah, you're probably right."
"Come in, my little ponies!" The ever-cheery voice of their teacher sang out as she called in the two ponies talking outdoors into the classroom. As Cheerilee poked her head out of the door, she clucked disapprovingly.
"School isn't going to wait for you two fillies! Come on in, and stay a while!"
"Coming, Miss Cheerilee!" Applebloom held her head high and proud as she briskly trotted into class, and Scootaloo followed with false enthusiasm.
_____
"Attention!" The voice of Cheerilee rang like a bell, not harsh like the school's bell, but more a gentle, floaty bell. It was the kind of voice which was not harsh, yet simply could not be talked over. "We have a new student today!"
Gesturing to the light-grey colt, she announced, "This is Lightning Load! He's visiting from Stormfront, so make him feel welcome. He's only staying for a a few days, but school is everypony's responsibility." Arbitrarily picking a seat, she pointed to the desk in front of Scootaloo. "Lightning, would you please sit there?"
"In front of the kiwi?"
Cheerilee scowled. "Lightning, this is school. You are here to learn, not to insult my students."
"Fine, fine. I'll sit in front of the orange one." The foul-mannered pegasus sat down in the desk he was told to, but not without rolling his eyes in the most obviously disrespectful way possible.
Cheerilee scowled at the newcomer for a fraction of a second, but resumed her joyful demeanor before any of her students could notice. "Now, today, we'll be learning about..."
_____
As she scribbled some notes, pencil in her mouth, Scootaloo heard a loud "pssssst!"
Turning towards her left, she saw Applebloom, taking notes studiously. Further beyond her, Sweetie Belle too sat there fervently taking notes.
"pssssst!"
As she turned towards the source of the noise, she saw Lightning Load, turned halfway back in his chair.
"Hey, dodo, catch!"
He tossed a paper glider at her, which promptly hit her square in the head. Fuming with anger, Scootaloo peered at the outside of the glider. There were some words on it. Stealthily making sure that Miss Cheerilee wasn't looking, Scootaloo silently unfolded the paper air-glider. This revealed a short note, written messily but legibly.
Dear Straight-Wing,
I'll give you three guesses to figure out what this paper just did that you can't, and the first two don't count.
Scootaloo's features contorted with rage. She crumpled the paper with an audible growl of anger.
"Scootaloo?"
Looking up at her teacher, Scootaloo saw that Cheerilee had not been ignorant of her antics in any semblance of the term. Her teacher smiled slyly, as she tended to when she caught students passing notes in class.
"Hand me that letter from Lightning, would you?"
Scootaloo turned a deep shade of red as the majority of the class gave a collective "Oooooooooooh!"
Diamond Tiara saw Scootaloo's embarrassment, and was quick to capitalize on it -- capitalism (or more specifically, money) was her specialty, after all. "Oh, Scootaloo got a love letter!"
As Scootaloo's cheeks burned even brighter with an ever-mixing combination of fury and humiliation, her friends stood up to her.
"Now, just you be quiet, Diamond!" Applebloom shouted.
"Yeah!" chimed in the squeaky voice of Sweetie Belle. "That's not very funny, making fun of her like that!"
"It's not funny at all," said a most unexpected voice. Silver Spoon, for once, seemed to be standing up for Scootaloo. "It's hilarious!" She amended, causing the class to break out in a cacophony of laughter.
Twist muttered from the corner, "I don't think it'th funny at all."
Cheerilee rose her voice to get attention from her students. "I said, please quiet down!"
All the students, piqued to the point of shouting and cross-room gossip, spontaneously sat in their seats. Scootaloo continued to fume silently, the object of her anger sitting silently and smugly in front of her, looking forward as if nothing had happened.
"Twist and Sweetie Belle are right. It isn't funny nor appropriate to mock Scootaloo in such a fashion." Taking a deep breath, Cheerilee finally had the leave to say. "Let's see what's in this letter."
Reading notes in class was a classical way to punish students who had passed notes in class. It was the perfect punishment -- ironic and humiliating, it often discouraged repeat offenders. Also, it gave her the advantage of learning what was going on, both inside and outside her class. Cheerilee was by no means one to deviate from tradition, so she slowly opened the note.
"Well? What are you waiting for?" Diamond Tiara demanded. "Read it!"
"Hush, Diamond Tiara," said Cheerilee, her normal, passive smile replaced with a disapproving frown. "Or it won't be just Lightning Load staying after class today." She turned to the colt in question. "We are going to have a little chat about this letter after class today."
"What?" Lightning Load exclaimed, shouting exasperatedly. "You're saying that you're standin' up for that... that Straight-Wing?"
"The next time you use that term in my class, it will be a whole lot more than detention, Lightning. Yes, I do mean to say that. Next time you do something so offensive, I recommend that you don't bet upon the support of the teacher to do it." Cheerilee's normally bright voice had gone sour, like expired milk. Yet to Scootaloo, it was the righteous and harsh voice of justice.
"Yes, Miss Cheerilee." The young pegasus slumped into his seat, accompanied by an whispered exclamation of triumph from the seat behind him.
"Busted!"
_____
"Alright, kids, it's time to go! Make sure you remember to get started on your writing assignments, and do your math drills!" As her students left the class, Cheerilee caught Lightning Load trying to escape the classroom. "Oh, no, mister. We're going to have a talk about how to treat your peers."
Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo walked side by side out of the small, one-room school. They were far more quiet than usual, and without conversation or ideas to guide them, they seemed to naturally conglomerate around the school's playground. As they stood in an awkward silence, Applebloom just couldn't stand it any longer.
"So spit it out, would'ya? Wha' in Equestria was that little colt so rude to yah? He was more sour than a barn fulla pickled lemons! I didn' know half the things he was callin' ya, but I could tell that they weren't any complements."
Sweetie Belle just stood, awkwardly, looking with some amount of pity, or some kind of sorrow, at her orange friend.
Scootaloo spontaneously erupted. "Straight-Wing? I'll show that colt Straight-Wing, the pompous featherweight!"
This was done with no small amount of squeaky yelling, ground kicking, and anger in general. After she was done throwing her tantrum, she sank to the ground, face pressed into the dirt and sparse grass. She let a short, frustrated yell into the grass.
Applebloom reached out towards Scootaloo, but Sweetie Belle held her back.
"It's been a while since she's been like this," she whispered to Applebloom. "Just let her work it off, and she'll be fine."
"Bu-"
"Trust me on this one, Applebloom. I've known her longer than you have. We can talk to her, make her feel better, but only after she starts listening. She won't listen 'till she calms down."
Applebloom slowly nodded, and the two fillies walked slowly over to Scootaloo, and sat down nearby -- close enough to observe, but not so close as to disturb. There were other ponies, however, who were not so considerate. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon walked towards the sobbing Scootaloo, giggling amongst themselves.
"Back off, Diamond Tiara. Scootaloo ain't done nothing to you, so just back off, an' leave it at that."
"Oh, but Applebloom," Diamond Tiara purred smugly. "Can't you see we just want to help? Scootaloo seems awfully upset, with what that mean Lightning said to her. What was it?" Diamond Tiara walked in between Sweetie Belle and Applebloom, pushing them both to the side. Leaning down over Scootaloo, she murmured "Ah, yes. Straight-Wing."
Scootaloo pushed herself up and looked Diamond Tiara in the eye. Eyes irritated and teary, she took in a deep breath, sniffling to breath past the mucus in her airways. "Shut. Up." she growled, trembling with anger.
"Or what? What's a Straight-Wing like you going to do about it?" Diamond Tiara bathed in her victim's fury, her pressure bringing to her the sweet joy of another pony's emotional agony.
"Don't let her get to you, Scootaloo. You know she's trying to get you angry. Don't let her get the best of you." Sweetie Belle trotted around Diamond Tiara, and rested her hoof upon Scootaloo's shoulder. Scootaloo continued to glare at Diamond Tiara.
Silver Spoon wasn't going to miss out on any of the fun, however. "Straight-Wing!" she burst out with a burst of malevolent glee. "Straight-Wing Straight-Wing Straight-Wing!"
Applebloom spoke up for her friend. "There's no reason to go insultin' mah friend like that! Don' make me tell Miss Cheerilee on you!"
"What's she gonna do, give them a stern talking to? I think they can handle that."
The five fillies looked up towards the source of the new voice, in perfect timing to see Lightning Load touching down. "You two haven't been giving little miss flightless a break, have you now?"
"Of course not," Silver Spoon said, nuzzling up to the pegasus colt. "We've been keeping her nice and ready for you."
"Right," Lightning Load grumbled, pushing the pony off of him, ignoring her and turning towards Scootaloo -- who had been glaring at her since he touched down. "So what do you have to say?"
"Take it back."
"And who's gonna make me, Straight-Wing?"
"Now hold on jus' one second, Lightning. You've been preachin' and yellin' and making a general fuss about how horrible Scootaloo is." Applebloom jabbed her hoof at Lightning's chest. "Bu' you haven't done anything to prove that you're any better! An' I'd like to see you try to be better than mah friend Scootaloo."
Lightning scoffed exasperatedly. "You say that like I need to!"
"Yes, yah do. Ah won't think any more of you than dirt 'till you can give me a reason."
Lightning pointed at the silent Scootaloo. "Like she'd even have the guts to challenge me. I bet being a Straight-Wing made her a chicken, too." He shook his head at the glaring pegasus filly. "No guts, no glory, Staight-Wing."
Scootaloo continued to fume, shaking in anger. It took her only a couple of seconds to stop however -- and then, her countenance made a sudden, inexplicable change. Her frown was replaced with a devious smirk, and her anger seemed to be transformed into smug satisfaction.
"Then you obviously wouldn't be opposed to a friendly wager." Scootaloo spoke quietly, but it was by no means difficult to hear what she said. "After all," she continued, "You couldn't possibly lose."
Lightning Load stammered, taken aback by Scootaloo's sudden change in attitude. "Wh-what kind of a wager?" He quickly straightened his posture and stared Scootaloo right back into the eyes. He didn't like what he saw there -- instead of eyes like plates, eyes that looked like eyes, he saw something else.
He saw fire. For behind the lens of each of her eyes she saw a kindling flame, and they burned with determination, and direction, not simply blind anger. Even though he stood taller than the little orange filly, he felt nonetheless that it was she who looked down upon him. And he was scared, terribly, mortally afraid. So caught up was he in her eyes, that he flinched when she spoke.
"Somewhat of a race," Scootaloo said, turning away from Lightning and strutting back and forth as she explained the rules. "It goes like this -- we meet about one hour from now, at four o' clock in Ponyville Square. Then, we start from the same place, and I get a three-second head start." Turning to gaze triumphantly at the colt from Stormfront, she smiled as if the race were already over. "If you can't catch me in eight minutes, I win and you have to tell the entire class your darkest secret tomorrow."
"Fine!" Lightning Load took no time in excepting the challenge. "But when I win, you have to stand in front of your class and cluck like the worthless bird you are!"
Scootaloo grinned. "Deal!" she stuck out her hoof to seal the deal, and Lightning Load caught it and shook it with a scowl.
The two groups of three split evenly, and walked directly away from each other. Scootaloo burst out "I have to get ready!" and ran off.
Sweetie Belle sighed. She walked to the nearest little tree, and flopped down quietly. Applebloom followed, with a goal in mind.
"Well?"
"Well what?" Sweetie Belle asked grumpily.
"Well what was that all about?" Applebloom yelled at her evasive friend. "Wha' does 'Straight-Wing' mean anyway, and why did it upset Scootaloo like that?"
Sweetie Belle looked at Applebloom sorrowfully, and whispered "I don't think Scootaloo would want me to tell you. If you want to know, go ask her, or Twilight or somepony else."
Applebloom squinted at her unicorn friend. "You don't think she's gonna win, do you?"
Sweetie Belle took a second or two before answering. "No. I don't."
Applebloom smiled as she put her hoof on Sweetie Belle's shoulder. "Don't worry about it!" Sweetie Belle looked up as Applebloom continued. "Ah don't think Lightning could trump Scootaloo in a million years! Scootaloo is a better friend and a better pony, and won't lose so easily. Besides," she snickered, "Ah think she can handle being called a chicken once or twice."
Sweetie Belle hopped up. "I bet you're right! Even if Scootaloo loses, she isn't any worse of a pony! And she'll always be a better friend than that nasty old Lightning!" Squeaking with excitement, she exclaimed "I'm going to cook some popcorn so we can watch Scootaloo win!"
As her friend ran off, Applebloom herself began moving. She had questions to be answered, and wasn't going to wait. Quickly, Applebloom headed off in the direction Scootaloo had left from, searching for the source of her quandary.
_____
"Scootaloo!"
The orange filly looked up in surprise as she saw Applebloom, running toward her and out of breath. She waited for her to catch up and continued walking at a fast pace. "Yeah, Applebloom?"
Hurrying along to keep up with Scootaloo's high speed, Applebloom continued to pant from her run. Panting, she asked "Can't you... huh... slow down a little?"
"Oh, yeah, sure!" Scootaloo slowed her pace to a standard walk, and Applebloom quickly recovered. Then, Applebloom resumed her serious attitude, and her original quest.
"Wha' does it mean?"
"Huh?"
"Don't be evasive, Scootaloo. Ah want to know wah they were all callin' you a Straight-Wing. Ah don't know what that is, an' Diamond Tiara an' Silver Spoon don't either, but Ah want to know!"
Scootaloo stopped as Applebloom explained herself. As Applebloom stopped too, she continued.
"Ah want to know what it means so I know how wrong that they are."
Scootaloo bowed her head, and swallowed audibly. Slowly and hoarsely, she said "It's true."
Applebloom leaned in. "Wha' was that? Ah didn't hear ya.'"
"I said that it's true." Scootaloo spat.
"Nonsense! Now don't you let what that little winged brat said abou--"
"Look," Scootaloo said grumpily. "I haven't show you this because it's never come up. But I'm not a normal pegasus. Why do you think I live on the ground, and not in a cloud city with other pegasi?"
"Uhh..." Applebloom mumbled, caught off guard by the question. "You don' have pegasus parents?"
"No," she mumbled. "They're both pegasi, actually."
"No they ain't! Ah've seen 'em, one's an earth pony, the other's a unicorn!"
"They're foster parents. I can't live with my real parents because I'm a Straight-Wing."
"No, you ain't, don' le--"
"Let me finish, Applebloom!" Scootaloo said with distress. "Here. Look at my wing." Extending her wing to a slight angle, Scootaloo grimaced. "Look at it! That's not a proper wing!"
"Ah don't see anything wrong." And Applebloom didn't. All the feathers looked just fine, there were the right number of digits -- everything looked to be in perfect order.
"This is the most I can extend my wing. I can't extend my wings out all the way, rotate them, or even bend at the middle joint without it hurting a lot. It's called "Locked Wing Disorder," and it means that I can't move my wings in the right ways to actually fly. Someponies call it being "Straight-Winged" or "Bug-Winged," on account of the fact that my wings are as stiff as sheets of wood." Scootaloo spoke quickly and informally, as if she had practiced and performed the didactic speech dozens of times before. "It's why I live with my foster parents here on the ground -- I can't fly, so I can't live in Las Pegasus with the rest of my family. My dad's a cloud architect, so he can't get a job on the ground. They can't afford to live full-time on the ground, but they visit me as often as possible."
Applebloom took in the flood of information from her friend; she had never known that Scootaloo had this problem. "Buh... How do you plan on beatin' Lightning if you can' fly? There's no way you can do it!"
"I know." Scootaloo's expression hardened. "But if there's one thing I can't take it's that colt mocking me. I need to do this, Applebloom. I can't take his insults, and I won't. I'm going to do this, and go down fighting."
"Did... did Sweetie know?"
Scootaloo seemed to have cheered considerably, almost as if talking of her disability had freed her in some way. "Yeah, I told her about a week before I met you. I haven't told you because it just hasn't come up!"
Applebloom immediately felt regret. "Ah'm sorry I pulled you into this contest with Lightning. It wasn't fair of me to involve you in a bet."
"I set up the bet, not you." Giving her apple-scented friend a consolatory hug, she looked to the small clock tower of Ponyville, atop the Town Hall. "Oh! I need to tell Pa that I'm going to be doing the race, he'll get worried if I'm not home on time!" Resuming her fast walk towards her house, she called back at Applebloom. "Make sure Lightning doesn't bail on me!"
As Scootaloo rounded the corner, Applebloom scrutinized the ground. "Ah think Sweetie Belle might've been right," she mumbled to herself. "Ah'm not sure that Scootaloo can win this."
_____
As the bell tolled four, Lightning cackled in triumph. "I knew it!" he bellowed. "The Straight-Wing didn't have the guts to challenge me!"
"Now hold on there!" Applebloom shouted after Lightning, who had already began to leave. "Scootaloo says she needed to tell her Pa tha' she was going to be racin' t'day. She'll be here in a moment." Applebloom gave a sly glance to the retreating colt. "You aren't turnin' chicken to run, now are ya?"
"Of course he isn't!" Silver Spoon defended the grey pegasus. "You wouldn't, would you?" She pouted in the direction.
"No! Definitely not!" he shouted, flustered. "I'm going to thrash that little bug by her own rules!"
"Not that he needs to, of course." Diamond Tiara boasted on Lightning's behalf. She, too, had come to watch the race. "There's no need for him to prove himself against a Straight-Wing. He could fly loops around her, any day! I bet Snails flies better than Scootaloo."
"Pipe down about Scootaloo!" Sweetie Belle shouted. She had brought popcorn as promised, but it was burnt. Lightning, Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, and Applebloom had all arrived at about the same time, and for the past ten minutes had been bickering.
Applebloom looked at the clock. She knew that Scootaloo lived on the far end of town, but Applebloom had the time to go all the way to Sweet Apple Acres to warn Granny Smith of where she would be. It didn't make any sense for Scootaloo to be late -- it just wasn't like her!
A hum rose to the ears of the five ponies. Scootaloo coasted into Ponyville Square on her four-wheeled scooter, panting slightly. "Sorry I'm late!" she exclaimed. "I had some things to do for my parents before I could come."
Lightning Load alighted on the ground in front of Scootaloo. "Hey!" he yelled, jamming his hoof into her chest. "You didn't say anything about any scooters!"
Scootaloo raised an eyebrow. "I didn't plan on using it." Hopping of the scooter, she continued to explain. "I thought we were having a foot race."
Taken aback, Lightning stammered for a moment before coming up with something to say. "I don't want to run on the ground like you!" He flaunted his wings. "I've got sacred pegasus honor to uphold, something you won't ever get!"
"Just one second!" Applebloom interjected. "If you get to fly, there's no way Scootaloo can get away from you! It isn't fair!"
"Yeah!" Sweetie Belle lodged her complaint. "You need to at least give her something!"
Scootaloo shook her head. "I'm not going to race against you unless we're on even terms." she said calmly, almost as if laying out a contract. "Let me ride something, if you're going to fly. Either that, or a proper hoofrace."
Lightning Load stood silent, until Diamond Tiara nudged him. "Just let her! It's all worth it when you see the look of loss on her sad, sad little blank-flank face."
The pegasus sighed. "Fine. I'm still winning, though, Straight-Wing!"
Scootaloo glared at him. "I'm not going to lose that easy, featherwit." she countered, making her best attempt at a riposte. It wasn't much, but it made Lightning's scowl even less pleasant.
_____
About two years ago...
_____
"Scootaloo? What's the matter?"
"I'm sick of it, Dad! I'm sick and tired of it!"
Scootaloo threw herself headfirst into her father, crying heavily. As she buried her face into his fur, Scootaloo felt his massive wing envelop her like a blanket, comforting her. But she didn't want comfort -- she wanted to fly, and she wanted to live with her parents.
"Why can't I live in Las Pegasus with you and Mom? It's not fair, and it's not right!"
Her father hushed her with his soothing voice, gentle like hot chocolate -- the color of his coat. "Scootaloo, you know it's too dangerous to live in a cloud city without being able to fly! Mom and I value you too much to put you in that kind of danger!" He ruffled his daughter's hair. "Now," he said, "We've been over this before, and I know that's not what's upsetting you. What's really got you down?"
Scootaloo said nothing at first, only glanced at her wings. "I'm not as good as other ponies," she said at last. "I should be, but my wings are all wrong. I'm just not as good as the others."
Her father scoffed. "You're every bit as good as other ponies! You just need to try harder."
Stepping back, he unfurled his wings for Scootaloo to see. "See these? Tell me, what do you think I'd be without them?"
Scootaloo mumbled, peering at her father's cutie mark -- a pillar keeping apart two clouds. "You wouldn't be able to do your job... You wouldn't be able to build the cloud-buildings, and you wouldn't be able to fly..."
"Wrong!" Her father smiled as he interrupted. "I would just have to try harder. Wings just make things easier -- in the long run, their one purpose is just as a catalyst. I assure you, I would be just as good a pony without these wings. I might have to work harder, but I could still do everything I have to."
Scootaloo sniffled. "But... it would be too dangerous for you, in the cloud cities!"
"Then I'd design the buildings from the ground, and have other ponies build them for me. And if they wouldn't, why, I reckon I'd make a machine, and that'd let me build the buildings!" He gazed into Scootaloo's eyes. "The important thing is not to give up! So perhaps you can't fly as well as they can. That just means that you have to do something else better, just to make up for it! Maybe you need to think better, or run better, or juggle better..." her father did an awkward spin. "Maybe even dance better!"
Scootaloo giggled. Hugging her father, she mumbled "I guess you're right..."
"I certainly know that you can glide better." He was probably right. Scootaloo didn't go to Las Pegasus with her family very often, but when she did, they gave her a glider. After all, a fall from a cloud city was a certain death sentence without something to slow you down, and traveling across certain sections of city was impossible without some form of flight. Scootaloo had actually become quite skilled at gliding, and using her wings to direct herself like a rudder nearly gave her the manueverability of the pegasi.
"I have to go soon, Ma and Pa are back."
"I don't see them!" Scootaloo looked around her house, searching for her beloved foster parents.
"They're in the yard." Her father solemnly kissed her on the head. "You be good, okay? Ma and Pa have been treating you alright, right?"
Scootaloo chuckled as she saw her foster parents through the window, walking towards the door. "Of course they've been, Dad. You know Ma and Pa, they'd protect me just like you. I'll be fine, don't worry."
Her dad started to head for the door. "Alright, alright, but you'll let me know if anything goes wrong, right?"
"We won't keep you in the dark, Dad."
"And you'll write often?"
"You know I do. Say hi to Mom for me! Tell her I love her!"
"Got it!" he smiled as he opened the door for his trusted friends.
Dance better... Scootaloo thought, giggling and doing a little spin as her Ma and Pa bid her father farewell.
_____
Snapping out of her reverie, Scootaloo found herself in the present. Front hooves on the steering apparatus, back ones on the scooter, ready to go.
"Ready!" Applebloom called, who had been chosen to start the chase.
"Set!" Scootaloo licked her lips, lowering one hoof to the ground to start her off.
"Go!" Applebloom called, starting off Scootaloo.
Her leg kicked her off to a start, and then her little wings began to buzz on her back.
"Go two!"
Scootaloo could hear Lightning Load's powerful wings beating in fast, regular strokes. She quickened her pace, little wings buzzing back and forth at high speeds.
"Hey! You ain't touchin' the ground!"
No. I'm not. Scootaloo thought, taking pleasure in her first secret trump card. Her wings were malformed, and didn't move in the correct way to allow her to fly. However, they did allow for something else -- her tangled musculature, which prevented her from beating her wings, allowed her to buzz them. Instead of a slower, more powerful beat that took her off the ground, her wings gave miniscule, fast beats that kicked up clouds of dust as they rocketed her forward. As Lightning had so keenly noticed, she didn't even have to touch the ground with her hooves to make her scooter rocket forward.
Looking behind her, she checked on the progress of her adversary. A quick peek yielded news she didn't expect -- she was gaining ground! A second view was not as promising however: he was gaining altitude to make a dive.
"I've got you now, Straight-Wing!" Lightning Load yelled from behind.
Not looking to confirm that he was beginning his dive, Scootaloo thought fast. Changing her position, her wings pulsed in a different direction. The fast blasts of air added her current momentum proved more than enough to jump her in the air and to the right, landing her on the ground without changing direction. It didn't take her long to find that she had made the right decision. Lightning Load pulled out of his dive right next to her, looking back and forth. Seeing her, he lunged. Putting on an extra burst of speed, Scootaloo edged out of the way just in time for him to miss. Falling behind from his change in direction, Lightning again began to increase his altitude.
"Watch where you're going!" the plea from a pedestrian made Scootaloo snap her attention back to in front of her, and she continued heading out from the center of the town.
_____
"Scoots is gonna wi-in, Scoots is gonna wi-in!" Applebloom sang from atop the library balcony, where the four fillies had gone to watch the chase. They had long since given up trying to keep up with the two speedsters.
Diamond Tiara sniffed grumpily. "There are still over two minutes for her to lose. Come on, Spoon, if we can hurry we can make it to the Grass Dunes in time to see Lightning win."
"Huh, that's strange." Sweetie Belle mused. "She is headed for the Grass Dunes."
The Grass Dunes were a series of rolling hill, a very bumpy set of hills on the south-east edge of Ponyville. It bordered the Everfree Forest, right before the border of the woods turned eastward, away from Ponyville.
"It doesn't make any sense for her to go there -- the hills will be harder for her on the scooter, Lightning will have the advantage!"
_____
"Where you goin,' Straight-Wing?"
Doubtless, Lightning had seen the Grass Dunes from here. Scootaloo knew that the path she was on led there, and in fact counted on it. The Grass Dunes were very steep, which gave Scootaloo exactly what she needed. She was still hoping that this was going to work, badly. And if it didn't... well, she still might have a chance at that hang-gliding cutie mark!
Zooming out of Ponyville's borders, she saw the first hill of the Grass Dunes. The path dug into it was quite steep, with a tree topping the hill.
And a unicorn.
Scootaloo's foster father stood atop the hill, waving to her. "Pa!" Scootaloo gasped, "Now!"
His horn glowing, Scootaloo's silver-furred Pa pulled something from behind the tree with his magic. Levitating it in the air, he yelled "Catch, Scoots!"
Scootaloo raised her front hooves up, and leaped, being caught in the object instead of catching it. Her wings hummed loudly as she grasped the bar of the glider tighter with her forelegs.
"Hey! You can't do that!"
"Just watch me!" she shouted back. The glider provided by her Pa caught air, acting as a second pair of wings. It was an idea she had experimented with before, when she and the other Cutie Mark Crusaders had tried to get their hang-gliding cutie marks. That hadn't turned out so well, but Scootaloo saw potential in it. The hang-glider acted as a second pair of wings, letting her catch air and slowing her fall. Then, her wings acted as a source of propulsion. The result was explosive -- Scootaloo launched herself off the top of her hill, rising in altitude. It wasn't proper flight, but her speed was tremendous. Unlike a normal pegasus, who flew with scooping motions of the wings, Scootaloo's buzzing motion gave her naught but forward momentum -- and lots of it.
Keeping her angle was the toughest part; Scootaloo flew up only slightly, barely missing the next Grass Dune. She twisted with a grunt, turning so that she would make her fly through the valley of the Dunes instead of upon the ripple-like hills. Feeling her glider tug at her back, she followed her pegasus instincts. Gliding into a thermal, Scootaloo tilted upward, and suddenly realized the speed at which she was traveling.
Why, she must have been going as fast as Rainbow Dash! She had to be! She might have been going faster, even! Shifting her weight, she slowly gained in elevation. Turning with the thermal, she looked back and saw Lightning, hovering above the hill where she had took off, staring. Scootaloo couldn't see the expression on his face from this distance, but she was certain that it was priceless. Turning once more in the thermal, she thought Why not? The chance for this kind of fun doesn't come every day. As the thermal's natural spiral brought her once again to face him, she saw that he was flying towards her, as fast as possible. Unfortunately for him, though, the thermal had brought her far higher than the little grey pegasus. Pulsing her wings once again, she turned into a dive -- straight for him.
Tucking her wings wouldn't do her any good here -- so she flapped them in their humming-bird like fashion. She'd need the extra speed to pull out of the dive, anyway. She gazed Lightning right in the eyes. She was moving fast, unspeakably so. She traveled from the thermal by the Everfree's edge to right near him in less than nine seconds, over seven hundred meters traveled. Her teeth grit, and gums flapping from the speed, she found herself feeling a... feeling, one unlike anything she had ever felt. It was like the feeling she had when she did a good trick on her scooter, but not quite as satisfying. She could see where Rainbow Dash, her hero, got this kind of excitement for her talent, but... she didn't quite share it. Scootaloo knew that her place wasn't quite so high in the air.
Snapping back to reality just in time to see Lightning duck away from her sudden dive, she stopped the buzzing of her wings. She needed the speed, but too much of it would send her into the ground. Scootaloo shuddered at the thought as she touched down, landing perfectly on her hind legs, and setting down the glider.
"Well done, sweetie!" Her Pa walked calmly down the slope, light grey mane mixing well with his silver-gray fur. "I knew you were a good glider, but I've never seen you actually try." He caught her in a hug with one leg.
"Pa, stop! I've got to go, before Lightning catches me!"
"No, you don't." her Pa said this very certainly.
"Yes, I do!" She pointed at a very flustered pegasus speeding at her like an arrow.
"Stop! Stop! The race is over!"
"What?" Lightning tumbled to a stop as she saw Sweetie Belle, Applebloom, Silver Spoon, and Diamond Tiara coming at a canter from the town.
"I said," Sweetie Belle panted, "The race is over!"
"What?" Lightning repeated, breathing heavily. Tired from the long chase, he slid to the ground. "But- I... guuuh."
"The little blank-flank beat you two minutes ago." Silver Spoon explained. "I thought you were at least a mediocre flier, but you proved me wrong."
"You won!" celebrated Applebloom. "You won you won you won! Oh, hi Mr. Timepiece." she broke off, recognizing Scootaloo's foster father.
"Hey girls! Having a good day? Haven't been getting into any trouble, have we?"
"No, Mr. Timepiece." The four fillies all called out in chorus.
"Excellent!" Scootaloo's foster father trotted off towards the town. "Have a good day!"
"You bet!" Scootaloo shouted out.
As Timepiece moved out of earshot, the defeated, tired pegasus on the ground muttered, "I won't."
"What was that, blank-flank?" Diamond Tiara turned at Lightning Load, angry at her pawn who had failed to shame Scootaloo.
"I said, I won't. I'm not telling the class my secret."
"Oh, you don't have to!" Scootaloo boasted. "Because everypony here knows something that you'd never admit to -- your deepest secret, the one thing that would make you feel unspeakable shame and embarrassment if any of them knew:" her voice dropped to near a whisper as she let the secret escape her lips.
"You got out-flown by a Straight-Wing."