Scootaloo's mane and tail whipped furiously as she ran against the wind. Her hooves were beating the ground at a steady rhythm, carrying the entirety of her being forward at a steadfast pace. She didn't want to push herself too hard quite yet... These were just the preliminaries, after all.
The path ahead was clear of any other ponies, save for the small audience in the sidelines. Behind her, there were several other runners attempting to pull ahead of the pack. Though they were gaining on the lead racer, Scootaloo wasn't concerned. She still had plenty of energy to burst ahead if anypony were to pass her.
She wasn't near the limits of pushing herself, but she still felt the excitement of competition flow through her. Much like her mentor, the radical Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo lived for the thrill of sports. It was all the training they did together that allowed Scootaloo the chance to gain an early advantage here.
Even though this was only the first heat of the qualifiers, she would show Rainbow Dash just what she was capable of doing. There was absolutely no chance that Scootaloo would place less than first throughout every qualifying heat. There was also no doubt in her mind that she'd even go on to win the entire event.
Before she could let herself think any further about that, she noticed movement in her peripheral vision. One of the other racers had nearly caught up. With some renewed concentration, a fierce grin, and her eyes narrowed, Scootaloo added extra speed to her movements and pulled ahead once more.
Yeah, Scootaloo was going to make her mentor proud today.