//------------------------------//
// Chapter Three 
// Story: Scootaloo's Summer 
// by Kasper COEI 
//------------------------------//

	“Watch out!” Scootaloo yelled as she turned left, narrowly avoiding the Cakes and their babies. As she bent around them and returned to her original path, she had to bend right to avoid Doctor Hooves. She looked up to the sky for less than a second, eyeing Rainbow Dash’s position. She was slowly getting farther and farther…
But Scootaloo couldn’t speed up with all of the ponies about. “I’m gonna have to make up for lost time when I get out of Ponyville…” She thought to herself. She then doubted her own thought. “No, I can’t. The fields are right after the edge of town.”
Pausing her thought, she curved around two elderly stallions outside of the retirement home.
“I need to speed up now, or never!”
With that, Scootaloo began flapping her wings faster, rather than surging them. She could feel the wind against her growing stronger as she grew faster, and she could feel her wings growing tired quickly, but she pushed on. She could impress Rainbow Dash by winning this race!
Scootaloo began dodging more and more ponies as she grew closer to Ponyville’s marker. She passed carts upon cards, and ponies upon ponies. They all seemed like a blur as Scootaloo zipped by, and she nearly fell once or twice making emergency, dodging turns.
Scootaloo breathed a sigh of relief as there seemed to be a pause in the crowd of ponies. She closed her eyes momentarily, but upon opening them, found Fluttershy directly in her path.
“Oh no!”
In a spring-like motion, Scootaloo bent her legs then bolted up, lifting her scooter off of the ground. She launched herself over Fluttershy, narrowly avoiding the top of her mane. Scootaloo wanted to yell a ‘sorry’, but she was too preoccupied keeping balance from the heavy thud of the landing. She quickly was back in control.
Looking forward, she didn’t see anypony within a good fifteen seconds. She took the time to look up for Rainbow Dash. With much surprise, she saw Rainbow Dash directly above her. She was keeping up with her idol!
This gave Scootaloo new-found energy. The fatigue in her wings disappeared, and she pressed onward faster. She was confident she could make it through the next part of town with no problem.
Scootaloo did, indeed, finished the next part of Ponyville with little trouble. It almost seemed as if she could tell what was going to happen, as she reacted to every incident the second it occurred. 
As Scootaloo left the more densely populated areas of Ponyville, she looked up to see Rainbow Dash still above her, despite Scootaloo having sped up slightly.
Knowing it wasn’t long until the northern fields, Scootaloo decided to give it all she had; She surged her wings once, twice, three times… The surges began quickly stacking up. She soon reached twenty-one, and she stopped there. Her wings had a hard time keeping the speed she’d set, but she simply gritted her teeth and continued onward. She saw no sign of Rainbow Das when she looked up, and she smiled happily, looking back forward.
The plains were in sight, and Scootaloo sped past the last buildings of Ponyville. Her scooter began to grow wobbly from both, her speed and the now-dirt road, but she continued on. She was almost there. Just a few more seconds, and she’d win!
Suddenly, as if the floor gave out from under her, Scootaloo couldn’t feel her scooter under her anymore. A large root from a nearby shrub was surfaced, and it caused Scootaloo to flip. As Scootaloo tumbled on the ground, the world a big, spinning blur, she could only think of how disappointed Rainbow Dash would be.
Scootaloo tumbled for many seconds, scraping her flank and leg, and she came to a halt at what she could see to be blue hooves. She knew they belonged to Rainbow Dash. When Scootaloo looked up to Rainbow Dash’s face, expecting to see sadness, disappointment, disgust, or some other negative emotion, she was surprised to see Rainbow Dash surprised herself. It was a mixed look of surprise and being impressed.
“Nice job, kid!” Rainbow Dash said.
Scootaloo groaned as she lifted herself into a sitting position.
“Sorry… I didn’t see that root, so that’s why I fell.”
“No! I don’t mean nice job on the fall, Scoots.”
“Then what do you mean?”
“Nice job keeping up with me! Now, you didn’t exactly win, but you sure proved yourself. I watched you the entire time you were going, and your wings never stopped flapping once. You flapped them fast, too!”
Scootaloo was very surprised to hear this praise. She was also very confused as to why she was being praised, and her face showed it.
“Normally, when Pegasi fly, we flap for a little bit but then let ourselves rest on and ride the wind. We don’t use out wings constantly, normally… You, though, have to always use them of that scooter of yours! You have some crazy endurance… I’d say you’re only twenty percent shy of me, one of Equestria’s best fliers!
“R-really?” Scootaloo’s face brightened up, and she beamed at hearing this.
“Not kidding! But enough talk. Think you can handle some training after that race?”
Despite the tiredness in Scootaloo’s wings, she knew it wasn’t that bad and that she could continue. She nodded excitedly.
“Alright, then. Let me fly up to my house, and I’ll grab something real quick. Then we can start!”