//------------------------------// // TAG! // Story: Scooter Tracks in My Life // by Pyrus Nightwrite //------------------------------// Scootaloo dashed out of the classroom the moment she heard the bell. School was fun and all, but not nearly as fun as after school. That, and she wanted to get out before Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon found her, and ruin her good mood. Waving goodbye to Applebloom and Sweetie Bell, she hopped onto her scooter. Feeling the electrical charge of energy she always felt while on her scooter, she buzzed her wings and sped off. She turned around in her scooter to wave goodbye to her friends again, but they had already faded into the distance. Zipping along in her usual array of tricks and spins, she sped along. One particular trick involving a spin of her scooter in mid-air while jumping over a startled and impressed crowd brought a smile to her face. That smile widened as she buzzed Cranky Doodle. Ignoring his shouts, Scootaloo continued her performance for no-pony in particular. Spinning, flipping, and jumping, she pushed on. She felt good today, and she had some extra time, so she took a different route than she normally did. She turned down a side road, looking at the path ahead of her. A long winding road through the meadows and hills greeted her. Cool wind blew through her mane, and the bright sun warmed her, making her feel very calm and at peace. A feeling of calm isn’t what normal ponies feel when speeding through fields in a scooter at this kind of speed she mused to herself. Up ahead, she spotted a pony lying in the grass. Orange she thought. Who do I know who is bright orange? She picked up speed to get closer. The pony was a unicorn, not much bigger than Scootaloo. He was male, with a bright orange coat, and a mane of slightly darker orange. The mane was strait, slightly longer than the normal length, and had some black streaks. His tail was similar, with the same amount of black. The cutie mark tattooed onto his flank was an unrolled scroll with a candle and quill crossed over top of the scroll. He had a piece of parchment hovering in front of him, and a quill off to his side. He seemed completely absorbed in it, not noticing his surrounding at all. His face looked troubled. Scootaloo’s focus shattered and her heart stopped for a beat or two. She knew exactly who this was! Pyrus was the pony from Canterlot that had moved here about a month ago, and was in the grade higher than Scootaloo. She had a little thing going for him, just a slight nag that managed to flare up though her defenses for a few seconds. Looking around, she saw that there wasn’t anypony else around. This is my chance! I might be able to impress his with one of my tricks! Franticly, she searched for a jump or curb. Anything that she could use to get a little air. Something near him that she could use to… there! That hill! It was close to him, and enough that she could catch some wicked air. She turned a beeline strait for it. She pushed her doubts and thoughts in her action aside and picked up speed. Faster, faster! I need to put up a good image! Launching off the side of the hill, she spun a complicated trick, turning the scooter beneath her and doing a backflip at the same time. Time slowed to a crawl as she looked at Pyrus. He didn’t even notice she was there, RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM! He was too absorbed in whatever paper he had. Scootaloo visibly deflated and sighed. Not the best idea while performing a backflip and scooter spin. Balance thrown off and spin disrupted, she lost control. She disconnected from her scooter, and was now sailing through the air upside down. She slammed through the branches of a tree, and with a loud crack broke through. “WAAH-“crash “OW!” crunch “UMPH!” That got Pyrus’s attention. “Oh my gosh!” he dropped the paper and quill and rushed over to Scootaloo. “Are you okay!?” “Ow! Thanks, I’m f-” opening her eyes, she caught site of Pyrus, standing beside her crumpled form. “I’m fi… I’m… uuuuhhh…” real smooth Scoots, REAL smooth! He held out a hoof to help her up. The colt had concern in his deep green eyes. Smiling awkwardly, she took it and got up. “Thanks… I-I’m really alright…” “Are you sure? You really took a crash there.” “Y-yeah. I’m fine” Scootaloo could feel herself blushing. She looked away from him so he couldn’t see. “Well, if you say so…. What’s your name? I’ve seen you around but…” I’m talking to Pyrus! Wait, he asked me my name! Well, TELL HIM YOUR NAME! “I’m Scootaloo.” “I’m Pyrus Nightwrite. I’m new here. Just moved in. Nice to meet you.” “Yeah, I’ve heard of you.” “Oh. Okay. Well, it’s still nice to meet you.” “…..” “…..” Celestia, Scoots, SAY SOMETHING! “Uhh…. What was that parchment there?” “Oh!” Pyrus picked up the paper with magic, quickly rolled it up, and tucked it into his saddlebag leaning on a tree. “I-it’s nothing, really. Nothing at all” it was Pyrus’s turn to turn deep red. He’s hiding something, obviously. I wonder why? ”that was more than nothing. You totally didn’t see me pass right in front of you!” “I didn’t? Hmm… well, it’s nothing really. Really, it’s not!” Pyrus turned another shade deeper of red. Scootaloo smiled, she was warming up to him a bit. ”If it’s really nothing, why are you hiding it?” with that, she bolted in the direction of the tree. Upon reaching it, she picked up the bag. “Why are you…? Hey! Put that down!” Orange magic surrounded the bag, and Pyrus pulled. Scootaloo quickly darted her hoof in and grabbed the scroll just before she lost her grip on the saddlebag. She unrolled the paper and looked at it. “Is this… a poem?” Scootaloo looked at Pyrus with one eyebrow raised. Pyrus blushed even more. “n-NO! C’mon, give it back!” Scootaloo giggled a little bit. “Come here and get it!” with that, she bolted again, giggling fiercely. Pyrus smiled, chuckling a bit himself, and took off after her. If it was a chase she wanted… Wow. He’s fast! Scootaloo ran hard in a full canter. She pumped her legs with all her strength. She even buzzed her wings to gain a boost in speed. But Pyrus was still on her tail, and gaining fast. That pony could run! Scootaloo was fully laughing now, as was Pyrus. He pulled up next to her, and with magic, snatched the scroll out of Scootaloo’s mouth, surprising her. Then he tapped her side, yelled “TAG” and took off in the other direction, cackling with laughter. Scootaloo launched off in Pyrus’s direction to chase after him, laughing as well. No longer caring about the poem he had, this was just for pure fun. The joy and happiness of having another pony to play with had Scootaloo literally buzzing with energy. It soon became evident that Scootaloo would not be able to overtake Pyrus, he was simply too fast. Seeing this as a challenge, Scootaloo found the solution. Pyrus was speeding and leading Scootaloo directly to the hill she had jumped off earlier. As he passed the hill, Scootaloo ran up it. She saw her target, locked on, and launched off the side of the hill, buzzing her wings to gain momentum in the air. “YYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA” Pyrus turned his head at the battle cry. “huh-WAAAG!” Scootaloo collided with Pyrus and they both tumbled to the ground in a tackle that would do the Equestrian Hoofball Team proud. Sprawling out on the ground, Scootaloo could not contain her laughter. It was evident Pyrus was having that same difficulty. Unable to stop laughing for quite some time, they lay there. Eventually Pyrus came to his senses. Sitting up, he looked at the sun, which was falling behind the mountains in the distance. It was orange, dimming, and the shadows of the trees and hills were lengthening. The light reflected off his coat, making the bright orange fur vibrant. “Sun’s setting. You should probably get home…” “Oh, yeah… Hey? Where’s my scooter?” “I’ll help you look.” “Ok” In short order, Scootaloo found the aforementioned scooter. It looked like it had gone through a worse crash than she did. It was missing two wheels, the handlebars were bent, and it was covered in grass stains. “Well, looks like I’m walking,” Scootaloo sighed sadly. “I gotta head back too. How bout I walk you home?” Happily, she accepted. It meant she could spend a little more time with him anyway. Side by side, Scootaloo and Pyrus set off down the path to Ponyville. Could this day get any better!? Scootaloo thought to herself as they walked.