//------------------------------//
// Pony regatta 
// Story: Three Words On Your Birthday - Anthology 
// by Duplex Fields 
//------------------------------//

Scootaloo peered over the edge of the cloud. It was a long way down.

Rainbow Dash stood between two well-dressed pegasi. "Yeah, Scootaloo!" she yelled, jumping up and down, "You're gonna win this!" The stallion to her left gaped in astonishment; his monocle popped free and dangled, swinging.

With a smile, the tiny orange filly flexed her wings. The pegasi ahead and behind were doing the same. She dug her arms and legs a little further into the needle-shaped cloud, sinking a bit. This was what she'd practiced. Her team was ready.

"Ready," called the zebra-striped pegasus below them, and a moment later, "Steady..."

With a KRA-KOOM, he kicked a darkened cloud.

Scootaloo's heart pounded as her wings dug furiously at the air. She could feel the ghostly extensions of her feathers, the invisible wingspan without which flight would be impossible. The needle-shaped cloud flitted forward with the power of eight small pegasi.

And as she and her peers soared high above the earth, on a cloud shaped for racing, Scootaloo grinned. This was freedom, and the only thing better than this feeling right now would be the sweet taste of victory.