The air was supercharged with excitement. Equestria really knew how to turn everything into a huge event, even something like a racing derby for foals. Still, I could feel the energy pumping inside me as well, my heart swelling like a balloon. It had taken a whole month of sweat, blood, and tears (mostly sweat), but I’d helped the Crusaders make it this far. This was going to be a great race!
The girls and I carefully rolled the Rainbow Avenger, covered in a protective tarp, to Ponyville Park, where an enormous race track had been set up. Bleachers and lawn chairs had been set up, packed to the gills with ponies waiting to see the race. Derpy and Sparkler walked beside us to make sure the trip went safely. Cheerilee was standing by, wearing a referee’s jacket, as we approached.
“Hello, everyone!” she said, brightly.
“Hi, Miss Cheerilee!” said the fillies.
“Perfect conditions for a derby, wouldn’t you say?” I asked.
“I couldn’t agree more. The weather team did a spectacular job!”
Here, she pulled out a clipboard and looked it over.
“Now, you’re set for slot #2 on the track. All I need is the name of your cart, and who will be driving.”
“The Rainbow Avenger,” I said. “Pilot: Scootaloo.”
The little pegasus grinned, and Cheerilee, with a smile, wrote down the information.
“All right, then! Just wheel it up to the starting line. The race will begin in a half hour!”
“Be careful, muffin,” said Derpy, leaning down to Scootaloo’s level. “Do the best you can, but don’t be reckless.”
“Got it, Mom,” said Scootaloo.
“I know how good you are at this sort of thing. You’re going to do great!”
Scootaloo beamed up at her mother.
“We’re going to go find some seats,” said Sparkler. “Do your best, Scoot.”
“Always,” said Scootaloo, proudly.
Derpy gave her adoptive daughter a hug and a kiss on the forehead, which made her squirm.
“Mom! Not in public,” she groaned.
“Oh, hush,” said Derpy, giggling. “There’s nothing wrong with a mother showing her child love.”
“Just take it like a champ, Scoot,” I said. “I had to go through it myself.”
“Derpy!” called a voice through the tumult, and we saw a hoof waving over the sea of heads. “Over here! I saved you and Sparkler some seats!”
“Ah, wonderful!” said Derpy, releasing Scootaloo. “Take care of her during the pit stops,” she added to the rest of us. “We don’t need her running on empty.”
“You can count on us, Derpy,” I said, saluting, followed by Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Dinky.
Derpy and Sparkler smiled, then departed. We rolled the Avenger through a gap partitioned off in the crowd and up to the starting line. The other racers had already arrived, and had filled up slots 1 and 3-6. I hadn’t even imagined what the rest of the competition would look like, and now I had a good look at it.
There was Diamond Tiara in her jumpsuit and helmet, standing by a cart that looked similar to ours, but had a more angular, jet-like look to it. It was colored white with purple and pink accentuations, and curved wheel guards above the tires. With its general shape, it reminded me of a jungle cat ready to pounce. Silver Spoon was standing by, wearing a baseball cap that matched her pearl necklace and a pair of saddlebags full of tools.
In the spot adjacent to ours was a rather scrawny-looking pegasus colt, hovering beside a more compact-looking cart, jet-black and silver with large headlights. Its boxy shape brought to mind a news camera. Beside this cart stood three other colts, one light-blue with a darker-blue mane, one brown with a cream-colored mane and a bowl of ice cream for a cutie mark, and one greenish-blue coat with a darker-blue mane..
Beside them was Snips, standing proudly at the side of a cart shaped like half of a globe, kinda like a computer mouse, or maybe a shaving razor, colored sea-green and yellow. Alongside him was Snails, wearing a cap like Silver Spoon’s, though his was red, as well as having a small toolbox sitting beside him. He was joined by a brown colt with an orange-brown mane and a propellor beanie on his head.
In slot 5 was Twist, the curly-haired, bespectacled filly I saw in class, in a cart that was shaped kind of like a carrot, striped red and white all over, like a candy cane. Standing at attention beside her was Truffle Shuffle, the gray colt I’d also seen, wearing saddlebags stuffed with tools, along with a white colt with a brown mane and brown patches in his coat.
Lastly was one similar in make to ours, but colored storm-gray and with wing-like fins for a tail. The pilot for this one was a little gray pegasus colt with a slick black mane. The fillies Noi and Berry Pinch were standing by with him.
“Quite the turnout, I’ve gotta say,” I muttered.
“You like it, Mr. Dave?” Snips asked, probably thinking I was looking at his cart in particular. “Snails, Button Mash, and I worked on it ourselves. We call it the Close Shave!”
“Cuz it always misses a crash by just a hair!” said Snails.
“Er, have you had many near-crashes, boys?” I asked.
‘A-heh-heh,” chuckled Snips, nervously. “You could say that. But now this baby’s ready for the big time!”
“And we’re its pit crew!” said Snails.
“Fastest screwdrivers in Ponyville!” said the beanie-wearing colt, who must have been Button Mash.
Snails demonstrated by taking out a screwdriver and spinning it about in his hoof, whereupon it flew straight up and clonked him, handle-first, behind his horn. Button Mash cringed, and Snips shook his head in disgust. They had spirit, that was for sure...
“Well, good luck, you guys,” I said.
“Thanks!” they said, together.
I turned back to Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. They were looking at the unveiled Rainbow Avenger with interest.
“Not bad,” Diamond Tiara conceded. “You five actually managed to put together a decent cart. Still, it doesn’t match up to my Platinum Panther.”
“Platinum Panther?” asked Apple Bloom, sounding a little disgusted.
“Think it’s funny, do you?” retorted Diamond Tiara. “Well, what’s your little wagon called?”
“The Rainbow Avenger!” said Scootaloo, zealously.
Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon looked at each other and just rolled their eyes. Scootaloo glared at them, but I stepped between them. There was no need for there to be a part 2 of the argument in the square. They still peeked around my legs to glare at each other, however.
“Save it for the track, kids,” I said, warningly.
“I fully intend to,” said Diamond Tiara.
“So do I,” said Scootaloo.
“I’m gonna take a walk around. You kids behave yourselves while I’m gone, all right?”
They didn’t answer; the Crusaders and their bullies were still intent on staring each other down. Well, what harm could they do with so many ponies watching? I stepped away from the track and started walking along the sidelines.
The stands were still filling up, but there were hundreds of ponies in attendance. I hadn’t been kidding when I thought about how seriously they took events like this. The bleachers were a confused mixture of pastel-colored ponies, many of whom were wearing scarves or jackets, but I could still barely make out a familiar face in the crowd. There were Lyra and Bon Bon, the former wearing a big foam finger that said ‘#1’ on it, while the latter looked embarrassed. There was Berry Punch, who was already wildly cheering. There were Magnum, Pearl, and Rarity seated together, the latter sporting a pair of opera glasses. Past them were the Apples, who actually spotted me and waved energetically, a gesture I reciprocated. Then there were Twilight and Spike, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Pinkie. I directed my steps toward her.
“Hi, Davie!” she said. “Aren’t you on pit crew duty?”
“Don’t worry, Pinkie, I’ll be there when it’s time. I actually have something I need you to do.”
“Oh? What is it?”
Reaching into my pocket, I took out the bag of 50 bits we had set aside and handed it to her.
“I want you to use this towards a celebratory pizza party for all the racers. The girls and I talked about it beforehand and thought it was the best idea for the extra bits we made. Can you do that?”
Pinkie’s eyes lit up with that party-happy energy of hers.
“You can count on me, Davie!”
“That’s my girl,” I said. “I’ll see you later.”
“Good luck!”
I’d practically reached the end of the stands, so I decided to make my way back. As I did so, there came a flutter of wings and the soft thud of hooves on dirt, and Rainbow Dash pulled up beside me.
“Hey, Rainbow. How are you?”
“Can’t complain. Is that cart what I think it is?”
She was looking right at the Rainbow Avenger.
“Heh, yep,” I said, grinning. “That was Scootaloo and Dinky’s idea, to incorporate your colors into it.”
“That so? Well, I’m gonna see about this.”
I didn’t like the way she said that. It wasn’t pleased or embarrassed or anything. It was rather serious, as if she didn’t approve at all. This could not bode well.
We came up to Scootaloo, who was standing by the Avenger, waiting for the race to start. When she saw I had brought Rainbow Dash with me, she beamed at first, but then her face fell at the frown she was sporting.
“Dave tells me this cart was made with my colors in mind. That right?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Didn’t think to ask me before using anything associated with me, did you?”
“W-Well…”
“You wanna know what I think of this?”
Scootaloo braced herself for a tirade.
“This...is...awesome!”
Both Scootaloo and I jumped and looked at her. Her face had split into a wide grin.
“You mean it?” Scoot asked, sounding relieved.
“‘Course I do, squirt! I always knew my true-blue coat and rainbow-tastic mane looked good on me, but seeing it in car form is pretty neat too! Gotta give ya props on the design, too. Nice and aerodynamic.”
Scootaloo was smiling so wide it looked like her mouth would burst out past her cheeks. Rainbow raised a hoof, and Scootaloo high-fived it.
“Do me proud, kiddo,” she said, giving the filly’s mane a tousle. “Aim for first, but if you can’t make first, then aim for the top 3. I doubt you’ll need that kind of advice, though. You’re gonna do great in this thing!”
“Thanks, Rainbow Dash!” said Scootaloo, gratefully.
“And you,” Rainbow added, turning to me. “You’re on her pit crew?”
“Yep. Me and the rest of the Crusaders.”
“Well, keep that cart in top shape. Something based off of me has to win, ‘cuz of my inherent awesomeness. Got it?”
“Got it,” I said, barely able to suppress a smirk.
“Awesome. Good luck, Scoot!”
With a flap of her wings, Rainbow Dash headed back to her seat.
“She likes it! I knew she would!” Scootaloo squealed, trotting in place excitedly.
“Focus, Scoot,” I said, patiently. “It’s almost time, and we need you to concentrate. Just do what you did yesterday in the test drive, and we should be good as gold. Cool?”
I held out my hand, and she slapped her hoof down on it in a low-five.
“Cool,” she echoed, picking up her helmet.
Sure enough, the air was rent with the brisk notes of a starting trumpet, and as Scootaloo climbed into the Avenger, I hurried over to the designated pit stop area, where the pit crews were waiting. Every foal had their tools, spare tires, and fuel cans laid out at the ready.
“We ready to do this, kids?” I asked Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Dinky.
“Yes, sir!” they said in unison.
“Mares and gentlecolts,” came Mayor Mare’s voice over a loudspeaker, ceasing the talk from the crowd. “Welcome to this year’s Ponyville Junior Derby! It gives me such pride to see our up-and-coming generation taking part in such proactive events! We’ve got 6 contestants this year, primed and ready to start their engines! Allow me to introduce this year’s entrants!
“In slot #1, the Platinum Panther, driven by Diamond Tiara!”
Diamond Tiara waved to the cheering crowd, a self-satisfied smile on her face.
“In slot #2, the Rainbow Avenger, driven by Scootaloo Hooves!”
The sections occupied by our friends especially went wild, as Scootaloo waved in their direction.
“In slot #3, the News Breaker, driven by Featherweight!”
Featherweight? Well, I supposed that name was pretty apt, given how lanky the colt was.
“In slot #4, the Close Shave, driven by Snips!”
The cheers were mixed with titters of laughter over the pun, but Snips seemed to take them in stride, a big buck-toothed smile on his face.
“In slot #5, the Peppermint Twister, driven by Twist!”
Apple Bloom and her pals added to the harder cheers as Twist smiled good-naturedly in her striped vehicle.
“And in slot #6, the Whirlwind, driven by Rumble!”
Most of the cheers for the pegasus colt came from, well, naturally, pegasi. A black stallion with a blue mohawk actually raised himself into the air to shout ‘That’s my little bro!’, and Rumble meekly waved back.
“Racers, get on your marks, for we’re about to get underway!”
Cheerilee stepped to the edge of the track, a checkered flag held in her teeth. The foals lowered their goggles over their eyes and started up their engines. The six mini-cars roared to life, their exhausts chugging smoothly. This was it. It was finally time.
“Get ready…”
The racers leaned forward over their steering wheels.
“Get set…”
I saw Scootaloo lick her lips in concentration, her eyes narrowed. She was ready.
“GO!”
Cheerilee waved the flag, and with a combination of growling engines and screams from the crowd, the six race cars were off!
“GO, SCOOT!” I shouted, hands cupped around my mouth.
“YOU CAN DO IT, SIS!” shrieked Dinky.
“And we are off!” continued Mayor Mare. “It’s the Platinum Panther right out the gate, with the Rainbow Avenger right on its tail! The Close Shave and the Whirlwind are jockeying for position, while the Peppermint Twister is trying to find an opening! It looks like the News Breaker is keeping it steady until it can find a spot to blitz through! There they go. round the first bend!”
***
Scootaloo was used to going fast on her scooter, but this was amazing! Being able to speed along without having to use her wings was something new to her, and she liked it, a lot! Best of all, she was closing in on Diamond Tiara and her Platinum Panther! If she could just get in closer…
*Bump!*
Scootaloo felt herself jolt from a collision from behind. Snips and Rumble, both neck and neck with each other, had veered so that the Whirlwind nudged the back of the Avenger. The filly grimly thought how dangerous it must be to even allow Snips, one of the clumsiest colts in her class, behind the wheel of a cart, but she couldn’t let him distract her. Barely having time to register the apology from Rumble, she pushed hard on the gas pedal and zoomed forward. She was straining all of her energies to get to Diamond Tiara, to wipe that smug smile off her face…
She kept a steady bead on her as they roared around the track, completing the first lap. Slowly, inch by inch, she advanced until she was finally level with the Platinum Panther. Diamond Tiara sneered as she saw Scootaloo’s face beside hers.
“Think you’re hot stuff, blank flank?” she taunted.
Scoot was itching to taunt right back at her, but she had to keep her eyes on the road. This was too important to muck up now. She therefore said nothing.
*WHAM!*
For the second time, Scootaloo felt herself tossed about in her seat. Diamond Tiara had bumped into her from the side.
“Hey, watch out!” Scootaloo yelled.
“You watch out!” Diamond Tiara snapped.
Scootaloo didn’t like where this was going. The rich filly obviously had never driven a cart before, and was no dainty about handling the steering wheel. She was swerving dangerously as she traveled along the track, coming close to ramming into the Avenger again. If Scootaloo could just get past her-
*BUMP!*
The Panther swerved again, knocking into the side of the Avenger. This time, Scootaloo felt something wobble as the Panther backed off. She might need to make a pit stop early, all because Diamond Tiara hadn’t bothered to practice.
“Learn to drive, you snob!” Scootaloo yelled.
“How dare you!” Diamond Tiara growled. “I’m a perfect driver!”
The wobbling got worse and worse as they completed lap 2 and moved into 3. Diamond Tiara was steadily pulling ahead, still cutting a very unsafe path. Scootaloo hated to admit it, but she had to pull in for a pit stop.
***
Scootaloo had taken a couple of nasty knocks on only the second lap, but she wisely pulled in for a pit stop after the third. The four of us sprang into action. While I made sure the fuel in the tank was topped off, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle went from top to bottom, changing out the tires and looking for whatever it was Scoot told us felt loose. Dinky handed her a bottle of water, which she took a generous swig from. Behind us, the Whirlwind and the Peppermint Twister were also refueling.
“You’re doing good, sport,” I said. “Just be careful, all right? We don’t want you busted up along with the Avenger.”
“It’s Diamond Tiara,” Scootaloo rebutted. “She’s a road hazard! She doesn’t know how to drive!”
“Then show her what a real driver is supposed to do. Just try not to let her knock you about again, ok?”
“Roger! We good, girls?”
“All set!” said Apple Bloom, who had just put on the last tire.
“Sweet! I’m off!”
And Scootaloo roared back onto the track.
“Dave?” asked Sweetie Belle.
“Yeah, Sweetie?”
“Why did the engine have ‘Bad Wolf’ written on it when I checked it?”
“Why are you asking me? I didn’t do that.”
***
Scoot’s blood was pounding. She was going to show Diamond Tiara why she couldn’t just hog the track and bump other racers like that, but she had some catching up to do. The little snob’s dangerous driving had set her back a bit, and she needed to put the pedal to the metal. Snips and Featherweight were fighting for second, and their vehicles, so close together, didn’t leave much space to pass through.
(Come on, come on...I just need a- There!)
The two carts finally moved apart from each other, and with a surge, Scootaloo shot between them like an arrow. Snips and Featherweight’s eyes popped in surprise to see her go blazing past.
(And now for Tiara…)
4th, 5th, 6th lap. There was no denying it, that Platinum Panther had plenty to boast about, keeping such a lead, but Scootaloo was determined to deflate that sun-sized balloon called Diamond Tiara’s ego, so she pounded on, finally coming level with her again.
“Aww, what’s this, come back for more?” Diamond Tiara sneered.
The Panther cut a sharp sweep again as they rounded the bend, but the pegasus was ready this time. She curved sharply, jostling the Earth pony back and catching her by surprise.
“Hey!” she shouted.
“Not so fun when it happens to you, is it?” said Scootaloo.
“How dare you bump my precious Panther, you little loser!”
This time she deliberately tried to hit the Avenger, but Scootaloo struck back just as sharply. With a clunk and a scraping noise, the Platinum Panther went slightly off-kilter and began to drop back, hobbling. Laughing in triumph to herself, Scootaloo soared ahead as Diamond Tiara squealed with rage.
“Score one for the Scoot!” the little pegasus said to herself.
***
While we anxiously waited for Scootaloo to catch up to Diamond Tiara, I could hear a familiar voice nearby, muttering to herself.
“‘What Mayor Mare must have been thinking to sanction such a sport is beyond this reporter. Little foals barreling down a racetrack at breakneck speeds in hoof-made carts doesn’t seem-’ Gah! No, no, no! That’s not right at all. You’ve got to get your head into the game, Dolly…”
Sure enough, it was Dolly Tribune herself, wearing a thick tartan scarf around her neck, a brown jacket and matching pants. She had her notepad out and was scratching out what she had already written, looking like she’d been hit in the face with a baseball. Her camera-stallion, Papa Razzo, was standing beside her, camera hanging around his neck.
Truth be told, I had been following Dolly’s articles more closely after the whole scandal affair. I was pleased to see that, even when not corrupting the written word with her need for juicy journalism, she still had a clever wit and eloquent vocabulary. Some of her quips got a chuckle out of me, even if they were directed at some ponies I knew in town. The difference there was that these weren’t scandalous articles, but actual news stories. She really was making the effort to change her ways.
When Razzo caught sight of me, he prodded Dolly in the shoulder to get her attention and pointed me out.
“Ah!” exclaimed Dolly, in a mixture of surprise and pleasure. “Mr. Dave! Long time no see!”
Razzo doffed his cap.
“Hello, Dolly, Razzo. How is everything?”
“Oh, not bad. It’s a tough climb, but I’m doing my best to keep to the straight and narrow.”
“From what I’ve seen, you’ve been doing well at that so far.”
“Well, thank you, hun,” said Dolly. “I’m just trying to be a little tamer with this one, since it’s little foals and everything. Headliner’s a family stallion, so he’s a stickler for age-appropriate wording. Are you part of the pit crew?”
“I am, actually.”
“Ah, how interesting! I’ll have to get a closer look at the carts after the race. The craftsponyship looks splendid!”
*WHAM!*
We whipped about to see what the noise was. Scootaloo had just rammed into Diamond Tiara, sending her cart lopsided.
“Though I can’t say as much for some of the pilots,” Dolly said, grimly.
“Er, we’ll sort that out. It looks like she’s pulling in for a pit stop, so we’ll have to discuss this later, Dolly.”
“Gotcha. Don’t be a stranger, hun.”
Scootaloo pulled in, looking proud of herself, but while we set to work, I had to admonish her.
“I told you to be careful! You’re being reckless!”
“Just showing her why she shouldn’t go around doing that,” said Scootaloo. “It was a taste of her own medicine!”
“Scoot, swerving and bumping by accident is one thing, but deliberately slamming into racers is another. You can’t just-”
“Is the tank full?”
“Yeah.”
“Good! I’ve gotta juice while I’ve still got a lead!”
“But what about your tires?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“Don’t need new ones! I’m good to go!”
“But Scoot-”
Too late. Scootaloo had already zoomed onto the track once again, putting her in the lead.
“She’s getting careless,” I muttered to the girls. “Not getting her tires checked might cost her…”
“Scoot…” Dinky murmured.
A few moments later, with another loud roar, Diamond Tiara’s Platinum Panther went zooming out onto the track, Silver Spoon yelling something after her. It seemed she too was becoming reckless in her drive to win.
***
7th, 8th, 9th lap, and Diamond Tiara was still behind! It was too good to be true!
“I’m gonna win this!” Scootaloo said to herself, as she found herself entering lap 10, the final lap, the crowds going wild. “We’re gonna win this!”
And then, it happened.
*POW!*
There was a gasp from the crowd, and Scootaloo felt her heart jolt.
Her front left tire had burst.
It was too late to go back for a pit stop. She had to press on as it was.
“Oh no,” she muttered. “No, no, no, no, no. This isn’t good. Come on, Avenger, you can do it. Just gotta keep going!”
She stepped on the gas, and she pulled farther ahead, though the Avenger’s speed had dropped quite a bit in such a lopsided position. She had just rounded the bend when Diamond Tiara finally caught up. Her face was alight with a smug smile.
“Forgot to get your tires checked, Hooves?” she taunted. “What a shame.”
“Still doesn’t mean you’re gonna win, Tiara!” Scootaloo retorted.
“Oh really?”
Diamond Tiara swerved sharply. She was gonna knock into Scootaloo even when she was little better than defenseless.
*KLUNK! POW!*
Diamond Tiara’s smug sneer was replaced with a look of horror. Her front right tire had gone out from that collision.
“Ha!” laughed Scootaloo. “Not so high and mighty now, are we? Now we’re even!”
“Me? Even with a blank flank?! Never!”
She swerved again, but Scootaloo countered her. The two damaged wheels slammed together, and the two raced along, neck and neck, each trying hard to shake the other one off.
“Get off!” growled Diamond Tiara.
“You get off!” snapped Scootaloo.
“I will not!”
“Yes you will!”
“Won’t!”
“Will!”
*ZOOM!*
Both looked up. A cart had just shot past them, without their even knowing!
“Was that…”
“No way…”
“SNIPS?!”
***
“Oh, this doesn’t look good, folks!” said the mayor. “The Rainbow Avenger and the Platinum Panther seem to be locked in a stalemate as each jockeys for position!”
“Oh no,” I groaned. “Why, Scoot? Why?”
Then, all of a sudden, a flash of green and yellow swooped past the pair of them.
“Is this-? I don’t believe it! It’s the Close Shave! Snips seems to be taking advantage of the clash between the Avenger and the Panther, and is making leaps and bounds!”
Our jaws dropped collectively. We hadn’t even given consideration to the other racers. All of our focus had been on Scootaloo and Diamond Tiara. They were still far ahead of the rest of the pack, but with their furious vehicular wrestling, it was tough to say who was ahead of who.
The cars were closing in.
It was going to be a close one…
Cheerilee, looking tense about the scuffle, raised her flag.
“It’s...it’s...yes! The Close Shave has crossed first! Snips has taken first place!”
The crowd exploded into cheers as Snips pulled his cart to a stop on the side, but our eyes were on the Avenger and the Panther.
“Come on, Scootaloo. Come on…”
There was an awful, grinding crunch, and the Rainbow Avenger slid forward past the Panther.
“Aaaand...Ohhh, look at that! The Rainbow Avenger pulls into second by a nose, bringing the Platinum Panther in third!”
Second was still good!
Scootaloo was in the top 3!
“Way to go, Scoot!” I yelled, as the fillies bounced up and down excitedly.
“That’s my sister!” Dinky squealed.
Only...something was wrong.
Our cheers died away as it hit us.
“They’re not stopping,” I said, blankly, before shifting into fear. “Why aren’t they stopping?!”
The carts were still going, jostling against each other, their bad wheels grinding horribly.
“Scootaloo!” yelled the fillies (and, from somewhere in the stands, one very concerned pegasus mother).
“Diamond Tiara!” yelled Silver Spoon.
The cars swerved into the grass on the side of the track, and the Panther’s good front wheel struck a gopher hole or something. All I knew was, in the next instant, Diamond Tiara went flying out of her seat, tumbling through the air. Silver Spoon screamed and dashed for her.
But something else happened that rendered all else unnecessary.
In the blink of an eye, Scootaloo had bounded from her seat and dove for Diamond Tiara, her wings working furiously. She cleared the distance, caught the pink filly under the forelegs, and swooped up with her, avoiding a collision with the dirt.
…
She swooped up.
Scootaloo swooped up.
She was holding Diamond Tiara aloft in the air, her wings beating, not with the usual hummingbird buzz, but with a slower, more methodical flapping, like the beating of a metronome. Her face was strained from trying to support the Earth pony’s weight, but she was still airborne.
She was flying!
Scootaloo was flying!
All at once, I, the Crusaders, the other racers, and their pit crews rushed to the scene, followed by Derpy, Sparkler, and Rainbow Dash. There was also a stallion whom I assumed might be Diamond Tiara’s father, a brown-coated, slick black-maned stallion with three money bags for a cutie mark. Scootaloo was still trying to hold up Diamond Tiara when we arrived. At last, she sunk low enough so that the latter could settle onto the grass, where Silver Spoon ran up to her.
“Are you ok, Diamond Tiara?” she asked.
“I think so,” her friend answered, though she sounded stunned. “but...I lost. She made my Platinum Panther lose.”
Her father pulled her into a hug.
“I hope you’re not hurt, pumpkin,” he said, speaking with a Southern drawl that would have been home on Sweet Apple Acres.
“Just my pride, Daddy,” Diamond Tiara murmured, nuzzling against his chest.
Scootaloo, regaining her former altitude after dropping off Diamond Tiara, finally opened her eyes, and found herself looking me straight on.
“What the-? How did I get way up here?”
“I’ll give you three guesses, Scootaloo,” I said, with a smile.
The reality began to sink in, and she let out a gasp, her eyes going wide.
“I...I’m…”
“You’re flying, Scoot,” I said, proudly.
Disbelief gave way to joy, and she let out a jubilant whoop.
“YYYYES!” she crowed. “I can fly!”
She zoomed around the air like a bird, this way and that, shouting her jubilation into the sky. She began pulling corkscrews, loop-de-loops, somersaults, practically any trick a flier was able to do. She finally touched down in front of her mother and sisters, all three of whom were beaming.
“Mom! Sparkler! Dinky!” she said. “I made it! I finally made it!”
Derpy enveloped her in a tight hug as she came down, kissing her forehead.
“Oh, my little darling!” she said. “I knew you could do it, I just knew it!”
She briefly pulled away to give her a very stern look.
“Don’t you ever scare me like that again, young lady!”
Scootaloo’s ears lowered, but Derpy resumed her embrace quick as a blink.
“But I’m just so proud of you…”
This time, Scootaloo had no fear of being hugged in public. She nuzzled up right beneath her mother’s chin, as Sparkler and Dinky joined the Hooves hug.
“Way to go, little sister!” said Sparkler.
“I wanna ride next!” chirped Dinky. “Me next, Scoot! Me next!”
“You’ve got it, Dinks!” Scootaloo said.
She was released from the hug, and she put her forelegs under Dinky’s. With a delighted squeal, the unicorn filly was lifted into the air, and Scootaloo soared about with her, a huge smile on her face.
“This is great!” said Apple Bloom. “Now we can try for all kinds of cutie marks, like parachutin’, or sky-divin’!”
“That’s so awesome!” said Sweetie Belle. “I knew she could do it!”
When Scootaloo and Dinky touched down from their joyride, they rejoined their pals, and together pulled off a very energetic four-way high-five. I was probably smiling like a dope, but what did it matter? I was really proud of her. She had really come a long way from the little filly I had to rescue from the Everfree Forest.
There was a sniffle at my elbow. I looked and saw Rainbow Dash wiping a tear from her eye.
“Rainbow!” I exclaimed, quite surprised at such a display. “Are you crying?”
“What? No! Of course not!” said Rainbow, defensively. “It’s, uh, liquid pride!”
I raised an eyebrow, but she was spared an explanation as Scootaloo threw herself against her chest with as big a hug as she could muster.
“Thank you so much, Rainbow Dash!” she said. “Your and Mom’s teaching really paid off! I can finally fly like you two!”
Rainbow’s face split into a warm smile as she put a foreleg around her.
“Now you’re a real racer, squirt,” she said. “And besides, It had to be my teaching, mostly. Who else could start their first flight like that?”
Derpy just smiled and rolled her eyes.
When they let go of each other, Scootaloo’s next action was to float up to my level, beaming from ear to ear.
“Congrats, Scoot,” I said, grinning. “You earned this.”
I held up both hands, and she high-fived them with vigor. This was such a big day for her: getting second place in the derby and finally being able to fly all at once. I could think of nopony more deserving of such luck.
“Hey, Scootaloo, Diamond Tiara!” came Snips’ voice.
We all looked up. Snips was gesturing toward the winners’ platforms, where Mayor Mare and Cheerilee were waiting with the trophies.
“Come on, girls! We can’t start without ya!”
Scootaloo floated down, and she and Diamond Tiara looked at each other for a brief moment. Then, they nodded together and trotted off to join Snips. Derpy honked noisily at a handkerchief Sparkler handed her, as we watched Snips, Scootaloo, and Diamond Tiara get handed the gold, silver, and bronze trophies, respectively. The latter of the three did not look happy at all.
***
“PARTY TIME!!”
Pinkie was as good as her word, but quite unexpected in it as well. While we were distracted with the crash, Scootaloo, and the award ceremony, she had somehow managed to set up the pizza party outdoors, and the congratulatory banners looked as if they had been there the whole time. With that in mind, however, it was quite a surprise to see that they not only read ‘Congratulations, Racers!’. but also ‘You Can Fly, Scootaloo!’ How had she had time to prep that? Had she somehow known?
Well, at any rate, she had managed to stretch the 50 bits I gave her into an insane number of pizzas, along with other refreshments, courtesy of Sugarcube Corner. Everypony was pleasantly surprised by such an event, and praised Pinkie for it, but she said ‘it’s also thanks to the Crusaders for working so hard the past month’, so then we got a share of adulation.
All I could say was, ‘it was nothing, really.’
The field was packed with quite a number of ponies. Besides me, Pinkie, the Crusaders, and the other racers, there was also Big Macintosh, Granny Smith, Cheerilee, Magnum, Pearl, Derpy, and Sparkler, all munching pizza, chatting, laughing, and talking about the race. Snips had quite a crowd around him as he told about his final dash to the finish line, and he looked like he was loving every minute of it.
Scootaloo had her share of excited listeners as well, hanging on her every word as she described the scuffle with Diamond Tiara. She even received an affectionate mane-tousle from a stallion I thought I recognized, but he was already gone before I could get a closer look.
Speaking of Diamond Tiara, it took me a while to find her and Silver Spoon, but eventually, I spotted them sitting alone, looking glum. They were probably still mopey about getting 3rd place, but the least they could do was have some pizza. I decided to remedy that, and grabbed a couple slices of cheese pizza, bringing them over to them.
“Hi, girls,” I said, kindly.
“Hi, Mr. Dave,” said Silver Spoon.
Diamond Tiara said nothing.
“Come on, why the long faces?” I asked.
“I didn’t win, first of all,” huffed Diamond Tiara. “That little Scootaloo had to ruin that for me. My cart was the best! It was supposed to win!”
“Well, I guess this just goes to prove,” I said, “that it’s not just the cart, but the driver itself, that makes the difference.”
“Hmph.”
“Look, I can’t stop you kids from feuding, but you should be proud of how you did. You did a great job, and you at least made it to the top 3. 3rd place isn’t anything to sneeze at.”
“Just like I said,” said Silver Spoon.
Diamond Tiara said nothing.
“Come on, Diamond Tiara, it’s a party,” I said. “A party for all of you. Not just Snips, not just Scootaloo, but you too. You, Featherweight, Twist, Rumble, everypony. You all did your best, and you should be proud. Now, go on. Have some pizza.”
I laid the slices down in front of them.
“Think of it as my way of saying ‘no hard feelings’.”
Diamond Tiara looked from her slice of pizza to me. A few moments’ silence, and then, at last, she managed a small smile, joined shortly thereafter by Silver Spoon.
“That’s better,” I said, and I left them to return to the main bustle of the party.
It had been a very wild, crazy month, but at least I could rest easy knowing this whole derby madness was behind us now, with a fantastic payoff: a young filly had earned her wings.