It was unusual for so many ponies to be outdoors during such a heavy downpour. The somber atmosphere and the smothering layer of clouds added to the dismal grey landscape before Scootaloo. In front of her was a crowd of ponies, Rarity and the other fashionable ponies dressed in all black. Several of the simpler ponies wore a black bow on a hoof in honor of the fallen.
Scootaloo inched her way up through the crowd, tears streaming down her face. It was all too much to comprehend.
She breached the crowd and stepped forward towards the black mahogany box. It was the first and last time she would view this casket. It lay closed, the body within crushed beyond recognition. Despite this, Scootaloo could not help but approach and place a hoof on it.
The coffin reacted to her touch, slowly swinging open. The foul stench of death seeped from the casket, and she found her legs rooted to the ground. Scootaloo's eyes grew wide with horror. She could not look away, not now.
Before her in the coffin lies the broken body of an orange filly with purple hair. The flattened face turned towards her, bones snapping with sickening crunches. The eyelids opened to reveal two bloodshot, violet eyes. Her gut turned as a hollow laughter emanated from within.
Scootaloo shot forward, wide awake in panic. She found herself sitting in the coffin. Clawing at the sides, she tried desperately to crawl out. The desiccated doppelganger stood with the crowd of mourners, laughing.
The coffin lid closed.
She screamed and pounded against the wood. The heavy lid slid open an inch, over and over again. Scootaloo could just make out the tombstone overhead. "Scootaloo 1995-2010. Died, Best Young Fliers."
The next time the lid flipped open, the doppelganger stood mere inches from it. With sickening thuds, nails were driven into the coffin. Scootaloo was plunged, screaming into the darkness.
Ethereal hands gripped her, pinning her in the coffin. She redoubled her efforts as the fingers burrowed into her flesh. She bit at the foul ghoul, thrashing wildly and continuing to scream.
She awoke gasping for air, drenched in cold water.
"Scootaloo!" Dash screamed "Dammit, Scootaloo wake up!"
The darkness faded and the icy grip of death vanished, but the horror of the dream remained.
"Scootaloo, thank Celestia. Are you ok?"
Scootaloo was breathing heavily, gasping in breathes between sobs. She had watched her own funeral after dying at the Best Young Fliers contest. "I. . . the competition—I was dead."
"Scootaloo, it was just a nightmare," Dash whispered.
Turning to Dash, the filly clutched onto her side and began crying.
"It's okay Scootaloo, I'm here for you."
The two sat there embracing each other until the sun rose. Dash attributed Scootaloo's nightmare to nerves, remembering her own near breakdown trying to impress everypony at the contest. Scootaloo did not fully understand her own fears.
"Why Dash? Why would I dream such horrible things?" Scootaloo released her grip to look into her guardian's eyes.
"I don't know, but I'd never let anything happen you squirt."
Scootaloo laid her head on Dash's lap. "I—I can't die. I'm not a bad flier, I'm going to win. . ."
"I know you are Scoots, me, the girls, and the crusaders will all be there to cheer you on."
"Then why am I so afraid?"
"You don't have to be," Dash cooed. "I was so scared when I did the sonic rainboom at the competition. I was convinced I would lose to Rarity, and my friends would disown me. That will never happen to you. You're going to do great, and you're going to teach Gale a thing or two about how a real pegasus flies."
"Thank you, Dash. You're—You're even kinder then my own mother was. It's so hard to remember her anymore. . .it's been so long. . ."
"Scootaloo," Dash whispered. "I love you. Get some sleep, ok? I have to take the weather team to stop the storm coming out of the Everfree."
Scootaloo rolled over onto the bed and lay perfectly still. Dash tucked a blanket around her, and drew a cloud in front of the window to darken the room. While Dash left to do her job, Scootaloo waited for her body to calm down and drift back into sleep.
It was late in the afternoon when the exhausted filly awoke and finally went out for practice. The cloud obstacle course high above Ponyville had fallen into some disrepair. Now that Dash, Scootaloo, and Gale were all frequenting it to practice for the competition, it wore down quickly.
Scootaloo had been able to see some of Gale's routines, and didn't doubt Gale had done her share of spying. The two didn't talk much, unless Diamond Tiara and the crusaders were present. In that event, things quickly turned ugly as the two groups of fillies began name calling.
She had tried to reach out to Gale, to be civil if not friendly. When they were alone, Gale didn't seem so opposed to the idea. As athletes, they had some professional courtesy, and as the only two pegasus fillies with aspirations of being on the Wonderbolts, they felt a slight bond.
They had also been, according to Dash, nearly as fast as her when she was a filly. By now, everypony in town had chosen sides. Where most of the elements of harmony believed steadfastly that Scootaloo would win the competition, the rest of the town seemed to favor Gale. Whether it was for her family's wealth, her cutie mark, or just the fact that they thought Scootaloo was damaged.
This only gave more motivation to the orange filly to practice harder for the event. She had been asking Dash to teach her everything, including begging for tips on breaking the sound barrier. Though Dash thought it was far too dangerous, Scootaloo continued to practice for it.
She had not wanted to admit it to Dash, but Scootaloo thought that was the source of her nightmares. The only way for her to regain the speed she had in the race with Gale was to fly straight down. Using gravity and her wings in tandem, she had come close to breaking the barrier several times. Each time ended up with her losing control, and barely pulling up in time.
Whether or not she could break the sound barrier, she had to try. Scootaloo had to know what it felt like, what it would look like. Each day it became less and less about Gale. She had to prove she was as good as Dash.
"Hey Scootaloo, you going to practice or sit there staring at me all day?" Gale asked.
"Huh?"
"You okay? You're not gonna wimp out and claim you have the bird flu two days before the competition are you?"
"What? No way," Scootaloo quipped. "I'm just thinking."
"You sure you don't mean moping? I've seen thinking, and that looks a lot more like a pity party. It won't be fun to beat you if your head isn't in the game." Gale sat down next to Scootaloo on the cloud.
Scootaloo raised an eyebrow. "I was fairly certain you didn't like me, in fact all you ever seem to do is brown nose to Diamond Tiara."
Gale laughed loudly. "Please, you should see her when she's not saving face at school. 'Oh gale you simply must let me come to your house later for tea!' "
Now Scootaloo chuckled. "I suppose you're not too bad for a rich snob."
"And I've known plenty worse blank flanks. Maybe if you try hard enough you'll get a cutie mark, even after I blow you out of the sky at the contest." Gale smirked.
"Yeah, I wouldn't get your hopes up. I have a secret weapon."
"The sonic crash? I've seen you try and break the sound barrier a couple times. Our race was a fluke, you're going to get yourself killed."
Scootaloo sat silently for a few minutes, neither party comfortable breaking the now awkward silence. Gale had learned quickly, and the slalom course was the only stunt event Scootaloo could still outperform her at.
Gale had age, skill, and experience. Scootaloo had a fierce heart and a desire to prove herself. Whatever happened at the Best Young Fliers contest in two days, for better or worse, would change Scootaloo's life forever.