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// Chapter 3: Angry Race 
// Story: Angry 
// by Lovinlife 
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	A chorus of cheers roared from below. Scootaloo twisted around in a panic. Oh, curse Celestia's fat flank, she had totally forgotten about the race! She leapt to the edge of the basket, leaning out next to the megaphone to see what was going on. She couldn't tell who had won, it looked like the spectators were cheering at different racers.
She swallowed her confidence and pressed her mouth against the mouthpiece of the megaphone. "Um, yeah, sorry about this everypony, but… um… who won?" Her voice was almost a whisper, yet the device still made it project far over the loud ponies. She heard a few ponies boo back at her, and that only made her feel a lot worse. Scoots glanced back at Rainbow Dash, looking for her help in this, when she noticed that Applebloom wasn't behind the pegasus.
"Where'd Applebloom go!?" She cried out. Rainbow looked behind her to the empty space, but only shook her head. Scootaloo rushed to the opposite side of the basket to search for her. Only a dangling rope swinging in the slight breeze was there. She groaned irritably. "She's gone."
"Gone?" The blue pegasus stood beside her looking down and gave a slight whistle. "Dang, she's fast." She let her grasp of the basket edge go as she looked away. "Well, I'm glad for that."

Scootaloo quickly unfurled her wings. "Come on!" She shouted. "We need to catch her before she gets too far!" She readied her body for take off.
"Wait." Rainbow grabbed Scootaloo's arm right as she jumped. The momentum pulled Scootaloo to the side and head first into the side of the basket.
"Ow, what the hay Rainbow Dash?" She rubbed her head.
"Just leave her be, she needs to calm down. Anyway, let's go and see who won the race." She jumped out of the basket and dive bombed the ground only to pull up at the last second and slow down to a safe landing. She looked back up at Scoots. "Come on Squirt, you can do it!" 

To Scoots, the ground looked like it was a mile away. She shuddered, because she had never landed from this height now that she had a good look. He mind flooded with thoughts of her bones snapping and crunching if her wings failed to catch the wind correctly. Scootaloo proudly fought these emotions, tooth and nail. Feeling so afraid didn’t get anypony anywhere, and it was stupid still, because she would be okay. The Rainbow Dash was watching her and would keep her safe.
“Come on! Don’t make me wait too long!” Rainbow called up from below.
Scootaloo loosened the muscles in her legs and her wings. Of course she could do it, she was Scootaloo after all, trained by the greatest flyer in all of Equestria.
She leapt from the basket and leveled her wings parallel to the sky. She felt the cool breeze tickle through her feathers. The weight was off of her legs, now being held out behind her, as she held her arms out like Superstallion. It was the ultimate feeling of freedom already found, and as close to weightless as a pony could get. It was just like new and even more awesome than how she felt the last time she had flown… until she looked down. 
Scoot’s relaxed muscles tensed up all over her body, and her breath choked her. She tumbled out of control. The gentle breezes before were now roaring like a storm in her feathers and ears. No thought graced her with what to do, all the training she had for this moment went out the window in the panic, and Scootaloo screamed with utter fear, and shut her eyes tightly. Her mangled body glowered at her for what was the stupidity of bravery. She waited to hit the ground. But it never came.
The hollering wind just stopped whirling past her ears. Scoots didn’t feel like she was falling anymore. Was she flying? Finally, she opened her eyes and… yes, the sweet and safe looking ground slowly and gently came closer and closer to her waiting hands and feet, and she, at last, touched down.

Scootaloo just wanted to lay there on the soft, itchy grass forever. She now knew that falling was very exhausting. She felt like she had ran the entire Fillidelphia Marathon in under two hours.
“We really need to get you stop being so afraid of hights, you know that?” Scootaloo slowly lifted her head at Rainbow Dash, who looked down at her with her arms crossed, only to let it fall again. 
She heard Rainbow sigh. “What am I going to do with you? Come on, get up.” The older pegasus’ arms lifted Scoot’s whole body up by the shoulders onto her feet, and directed her over to the watching ponies. 
“It’s all good everypony. Squirt here has just been a bit stiff from the cold of Cloudsdale.” Scootaloo shamefully never said a word, for she knew that the Pegasi of the crowd hadn’t fallen for Rainbow’s lie, but thankfully they kept quiet about it. “You’re on, Squirt.” Rainbow patted Scootaloo on the shoulder like a mentor to their student. Scootaloo only nodded.

~~~

Applebloom ran as fast as she could go, but even that hadn’t been fast enough for her. Dodging ponies left and right, she leapt into a large bush. Was she followed? She poked her eyes out to see. The hot-air balloon still floated where it was, past a large tree. She wasn’t followed. Good.
She pulled herself out of the twistings of branches and thorns. The street towards Sweet Apple Acres was where she wanted to go now. It was getting to be mid-afternoon… maybe Big Mac was still there at the farm.

“There ya are.” Applejack’s voice came out of nowhere. Bloom squeaked in surprise at it. “I’ve been lookin’ all over fer ya. I still need ta talk ta ya about last night.” 
Bloom got over the small shock, and nervously said to her sister: “Um, yeah, um… could it wait a little bit AJ? I’m in a bit of a hurry to get home.”
“Well shoot that than, I’ll walk with ya, I’m headin’ up there now to get more apples and cider, we’re sellin’ ‘em like pies.” Applejack pulled a large cart behind her as she walked up beside Bloom.
Bloom sighed. “I guess. I know you wouldn’t’ve taken no for an answer.”
Applejack grinned. “Bingo.”
Bloom looked behind at the hot-air balloon floating there one last time before she and her sister walked down the road to the Apple farm. But while Applejack was relaxed, Bloom fidgeted nervously, checking over her shoulder every now and then.

The booths and shopkeepers sold their wares or entertained on the sides of the road. One booth in particular caught Bloom’s eye: A “brand new, revolutionary, never seen before, unbelievable, unimpeachable” mixing glass that became a hand powered blender all-in-one. Bloom just had to stop and listen, but when she tried, Applejack shook her head and pulled her shoulder to her get her to move on. And the demonstration had been just about to begin. Oh well, Bloom could probably get it from a catalogue for probably a whole lot cheaper than what the pony was asking for from the price shown on the display board.
Nothing else really caught Bloom’s eye again: A few pieces of junk and colorful nick-nacks, like an apple clock, new knives, and even some inventive farming equipment, which Applejack was obviously interested in as well. The two mares finally made their way out of the hustle and bustle of the festival grounds and into the quieter, less populated part of town.

They passed by the library and the mercantile, when Applejack finally stopped walking. “Ya were daydreamin’ a lot and haven’t said a word since last night.” She pointed out, letting go of the cart’s pull handle so she could hop up onto a crate. “Is there somethin’ I need to know about?” 
What could Bloom say? While she knew what she wanted to say to Scootaloo, she wasn’t family, and family was a whole other thing when you still live with them. But this wasn’t about Scootaloo at all, it was much more important, because it was about core essential values. It went deeper than promises and trust, it was that one thing that couldn’t be made without a bond of blood.
“Sugarcube, ya don’t have to be scared to tell me somethin’ that’s botherin’ ya. I’m your big sister, how could I do anything but love ya dearly?” Applejack gave her a ‘you know I’m right’ look, and of course, she was right. She was honest to the teeth for Celestia’s sake, how could she not be right?
Bloom just had to let her fears go and speak her mind. She hopped up on the cart next to Applejack. She just wanted to tell her sister everything, and to hay with being scared! “I guess I’m just worried about all the changes that have been happening lately.” Applejack listened intently and silently. “I can’t help you guys with the farm at all anymore, with the bar open almost every day. If I can’t help you with the family’s problems, honestly, how can I really a part of it? I mean, really, truly, a part of it?”

Applejack sighed. “Ho boy, I don’t think this here in the best place to talk about this. Let’s get a move on ta the apple farm and get Big Mac in on this, cause I’ll tell ya right now, we’re gonna be headin’ inta uncharted lands fer me.” She jumped down from the cart just as quickly as she had jumped up. “Cause I might not know diddly squat about this, but I’ll always be there to help my lil’ sis’. We’re family, and family sticks together, no matter what.”
Bloom nodded. “Thank you for listening Applejack” She hugged her sister like she was just a foal again.