//------------------------------// // Hitting the Slopes // Story: Sunset Shimmer's Redemption // by 00RaiserGundam //------------------------------// Sunset Shimmer was still tired out from Rarity's birthday party last night, even when she woke up the following morning. Still, in her mind, all of it was worth it, especially when it came to Sweetie Belle getting her cutie mark, and she definitely put that part down in her next letter to Princess Celestia. After lunch she decided to practice her magic using the books in the library. She tried out a whole bunch of different ones. These included the attack spell and a shield spell for self-defense. She was now in the back yard trying a spell that she had done during an exam five years ago, before she had been rude to Moondancer and the others and before she and Princess Celestia had their falling out. She had just planted a seed that she had saved from one of the apples that Applejack gave her when they first met the day before. It was open and she had just given it plenty of water. She cast the spell and just like a certain vine five years ago, the seed had grown rapidly into a perfectly healthy and fully grown apple tree. Then she decided to test a particularly difficult spell. If done correctly, this one would allow wingless ponies to fly for three days. She decided to cast this one on herself. This one took a lot of stamina out of her, but she managed to complete it, resulting in her now sporting a pair of bumblebee wings. Then she got a crazy idea. Deciding to put another spell to good use, she found and old plank of wood and some discarded wheels. Using this spell, she fixed all of these objects up as good as new and put them together, effectively resulting in a makeshift skateboard. Using the same spell, she turned a cereal bowl from the kitchen into a skateboarding helmet that was just her size. Then she decided to try something that was based on the usual actions of a certain little pegasus filly she met the previous day. Standing only on her hind hooves, she mounted the skateboard before buzzing her bumblebee wings rapidly, and the effect was exactly as she desired. The wing power buzzed her forward and she felt like a winged Rainbow Dash from the other world on a skateboard like Sunset often saw, only without the wings. Soon she was buzzing through Ponyville like Scootaloo would on her scooter. Sunset was doing all sorts of tricks. Whether it was jumping off ramps or grinding on rails, she felt like a pony version of the other world's Tony Hawk. She had just skated through Whitetail Woods and was buzzing up a rocky hill. When she got to the top she decided to go for it and jump. She then proceeded to do a 1080 judo trick. When she landed she stuck perfectly before sliding and swerving to a stop. "That was awesome." A female voice replied. Then Sunset noticed a pegasus mare after turning around. This mare had an opal green coat and a golden blonde mane and tail. Her eyes matched her mane color and her cutie mark was a lightning bolt and three stars. "Thanks." Sunset replied. "I'm Sunset Shimmer. What's your name?" "Name's Lightning Dust." The pegasus mare answered. "Even though your wings were obviously made by magic, it's so cool that somepony can put them to use like that." "Yeah." Sunset responded. "Actually, I got this idea from this little pegasus filly I know. I've never seen her fly and her wings are really small, but she uses those wings to propel herself forward while she is on this scooter she has. I was just practicing my magic, and then this idea just popped in my head." "Hey, I know this great place where skaters and others like to hang out and test their stunts." Lightning Dust replied. "You wanna come see it?" "Sure." Sunset agreed. And in that moment they sped off, one flying and leaving behind a blue and yellow thunderbolt streak and the other keeping pace on her somewhat motorized skateboard. Along the way Lightning told Sunset all about her dream to be a Wonderbolt and how that dream was shattered when she was kicked out of the academy for being too reckless, when all she was doing was pushing herself to do the best that she possibly can. Soon enough both mares reached their destination. They were at the entrance to a park filled with all kinds of downhill slope courses built into the side of the small mountain where the park was located. "Sunset Shimmer," Lightning Dust began, "welcome to Sick Tricks Mountain. A paradise of sorts for all the skaters, bladers, and stunt ponies in general. We have a training facility for all the foals and newbies getting started. And we have many courses, each with a different difficulty level." "I actually work here too." Lightning Dust continued. "I am one of the course maintenance ponies. And I am also in charge of safety. It's my job to make sure that nopony is left unprotected or injured around here." "HEY!" She directed towards another pony. "Please, put your helmet back on, we hoof them out to you for a reason, you know." When the two mares walked in and paid for their time in the park, Sunset noticed that Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo were also there, with Scootaloo on her scooter and wearing her helmet. Sunset was still a little uneasy about earning Rainbow's trust so she decided to go to another course entrance. However, Scootaloo had already noticed her. "Sunset Shimmer!" She called and trotted over to Sunset's position. "Oh hey, there Scootaloo." Sunset answered. "Haven't seen you since Rarity's birthday party last night. What're you doing here?" "Well, after seeing Sweetie Belle get her cutie mark in singing," Scootaloo answered her, "I suddenly thought 'Maybe I've been going about this all wrong.' So I rode on my scooter to clear my head, but I still came up with nothing about what my special talent is. Then Rainbow Dash told me about this place and asked if I wanted to come try it out on my scooter. I said yes and here I am." "That's great to hear, Scootaloo." Sunset replied. Then she got all nervous when Rainbow Dash approached them. "Hey Scoots, what's taking so long? We're next on the course." Then she noticed Sunset Shimmer. "Oh, it's you." She replied in a sour tone before noticing Lightning Dust. "Lightning Dust?! Now this is a surprise." "Same here." Lightning Dust responded in an equally bitter tone. "It's been a while, Rainbow Dash. I would say it's good to see you again, but, considering our history, those are the very last words that would cross my mind right now." "Wait," Sunset cut in, "you two know each other?" "Oh, we go back about two and a half years." Rainbow Dash answered. "We were flying partners in the Wonderbolts Academy." "Until miss goody two hooves here called me out to Spitfire for being reckless," Lightning Dust responded, "when all I was trying to do was push myself beyond my limits in order to do the best I possibly could." "Pushing yourself?!" Rainbow Dash argued. "You made me clip my wing. You sent half of our class into serious tail spins on the obstacle course. You unleashed a tornado that nearly demolished my friends!" "Hey, that tornado was half your fault you know." Lightning Dust countered. "EXCUSE ME?!?!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "YOU WANNA TAKE THAT OUTSIDE THE PARK?!?!" "I thought you'd never ask!" Lightning Dust yelled back. At this point, both mares were looking like they were ready to rip each other to shreds. "All right, cool it, both of you!" Sunset intervened while simultaneously placing both pegasi in separate levitation bubbles and setting them down a good distance from each other. "Now, I might not have been here when this whole thing between the two of you at the Wonderbolts Academy went down, but both of you need to let it go." "How can I possibly let it go?" Lightning Dust asked in response. "Being a Wonderbolt was the only dream I ever had. And now that dream isn't even possible anymore, because my only chance at achieving it was wrongfully taken from me and given to HER." She pointed a menacing hoof at Rainbow Dash. "You only brought that on yourself." Rainbow countered her. "Just shut your yap, you egotistical, self-centered, wingnut!!" Lightning Dust nearly shouted. "I have nothing left to say to you." Then she turned around so sharply that her tail actually smacked Rainbow Dash in the face pretty hard. "I was only…pushing…my limits!" She growled before storming away to blow off some steam on one of the courses. "Awkward…" Sunset spoke and decided to hit one of the slopes. When she got to the entrance to one of the courses, she found Scootaloo already there. "Hey, Scootaloo." Sunset greeted her. "Couldn't take all that tension either, huh?" "Yeah," Scootaloo responded. "I wasn't expecting any of that." "Me neither." Sunset responded before getting an eager smirk on her face. "I know what'll take our minds off of it. Wanna shred some dust?" "Oh yeah." Scootaloo answered with a sly grin of her own. Soon they were both at the starting ramp. "Race ya to the bottom?" Scootaloo asked. "You are so on." Sunset replied. On the count of three they both sped off. Both were doing sick tricks. Scootaloo was doing flips and barrel rolls while Sunset was tearing up the rails with her grinding skills. As they were about to come to a tunnel in the course, Sunset had just finished a front hoof-stand grind while Scootaloo nailed a perfect landing after a quadruple forward flip. Once they both entered the tunnel Scootaloo started spiraling forward through the tunnel, her wings propelling her along the floor, walls, ceiling, and walls again in a cycle. Sunset decided to just stay on the ground while boarding through the tunnel. "THIS…IS…AWESOME!!!" Scootaloo shouted at Sunset every time she passed her while spiraling through the tunnel. Scootaloo had stopped spiraling once they made it to the end of the tunnel. There was one last jump ramp before the end of the course. Both ponies jumped off at the same time for one last trick each. While Sunset had put herself upside down and spun with her board like a helicopter blade, Scootaloo did backflips at an equally fast pace. Amazingly enough, both ponies stuck perfect landings after their tricks and crossed the finish line at the same time and then skidded to a halt both kicking up a cloud of dust. After it cleared up they both noticed Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust covered in the dust they just kicked up. Both mares had their eyes closed and were kicking up dust. "THAT…WAS…AWESOME!!!" They both exclaimed at the same time before noticing each other and immediately looked away from each other. "Those were some awesome tricks, Sunset." Rainbow Dash admitted. "Though I've seen better." "I don't doubt it, Dash." Sunset chuckled in response. "But did you see me shredding on that course with my scooter?!" Scootaloo asked in an excited tone. "All those flips and rolls! And you should've seen me while I was spiraling through that tunnel!" "I know, you were sweet on that scooter, kid." Lightning Dust agreed. "Twenty percent cooler in fact." Rainbow added. "I think maybe I'll make a career out of this." Scootaloo considered. "I mean, let's face it. When it comes to scootering, I'm the best." Then her flank started glowing with a bright white light. Everypony gasped at the sight. "What's wrong?" Scootaloo asked in a confused manner. "Scoot, look at your flank." Sunset told her. Scootaloo did so and gasped in surprise. When the glow died down, there on her flank was a scooter exactly like hers. Floating behind it were a pair of pegasus wings. Floating above it was a helmet exactly like hers. And underneath and behind the back wheels was a trail of fire. "My cutie mark…" Scootaloo murmured before pumping her front hooves in victory. "YYYYEEEESSSS!" "Way to go, Scoots!" Sunset congratulated. "That's my adopted little sis!" Dash exclaimed while giving Scootaloo a playful noogie. "Now you're another twenty percent cooler." Sunset then decided that she'd probably better head back to Ponyville. However, she noticed that her bumblebee wings were now gone. Luckily for her, Lightning Dust volunteered to take her home in a way that was fun for both of them. With Lighting Dust flying low with a rope tied to her midsection, and Sunset Shimmer boarding behind while holding the other end, the two ponies headed back to Ponyville, where Sunset could not wait to write to Princess Celestia about this adventure.