//------------------------------// // Scootaloo Blues // Story: Scootaloo Blues // by Ribe_FireRain //------------------------------// Scootaloo Blues *** *** *** By FireRain Scootaloo beamed with pride as she wiped smudges of oil from her coat as she stood back to admire her work on her scooter. The plastic, smooth red wheels were replaced by proper tires that were bolted into place with some nuts and the handle bars that controlled the steering were also switched from their normal red to a black rubber coating for better grip when she made tight turns and bends. The board of the scooter that was once a simple, battered piece of grey painted wood was replaced by an even stronger and more durable type of wood than before and knocked some of the weight off of the whole scooter altogether. The only thing that remained as it always has done was her purple helmet, adorned with white racing stripes with the small new addition to the sides that read out her name in a bold, white stencil-font wording. She let a smile creep onto her lips, admiring her work along with her two best friends who stood beside her with impressed expressions of their own. ''Wow, Scootaloo, it looks fantastic!'' Sweetie commented, walking up to the scooter to examine it closer. ''Yeah, ya'll are sure ta win the race, now, Scoots!'' Apple Bloom said, getting a closer look herself. Picking up a nearby cloth and placing her screwdriver back into it's toolbox, Scootaloo began to wipe away any remains of the crude, black-brown substance from her coat before looking back at her friends. ''I hope so, too, girls, this really did take a lot of work and I sure hope it was worth the work.'' She said, placing the cloth aside and wiping her eyes. ''I've always wanted to race and this could be my chance to prove to everyone how good I am at riding this thing, but more importantly, it means I get to show Rainbow Dash some of my awesome moves!'' Apple Bloom chuckled. ''Well, whatever happens, me an' Sweetie Belle'll be there ta cheer ya on.'' She said as she hugged her friend in a single hoofed embrace that was soon made a double embrace by another hoof that belonged to Sweetie Belle being wrapped around her other shoulder. ''He,he, thanks, you guys are the best.'' She hugged them back before breaking away and allowing a yawn to escape her before she rubbed her eye tiredly. ''Well, girls, I think it's about time I turn in for the night. It's getting late and the race is tomorrow.'' Scootaloo said before going to grab her scooter, placing her toolbox on the main body and hanging her helmet from the handle bars. Both Sweetie and Apple Bloom looked at each other confusedly. ''But Scoots, it ain't even noon yet.'' Apple Bloom said, looking to the sky for a brief moment before looking back down to meet the purple eyes of her pegasus friend. ''What gives?'' Scootaloo blinked. ''Well, the race starts around mid day and I've been working all day on my scooter and it's kinda taken it out of me.'' She said simply, allowing yet another yawn to escape her mouth. ''I need to get some sleep if I'm to win tomorrow.'' Saying nothing more, Scootaloo took her leave, exiting Sweet Apple Acres and bidding her goodbye's to her friends who held unsatisfied expressions on their faces at their friend's behavior. They have both known Scoots long enough to realize when she wasn't being as truthful as she normally was. Something was definitely out of the ordinary. ''You don't think she's making excuses, do you, Apple Bloom?'' Sweetie said, turning to her friend with a raised brow. For a moment, Apple Bloom looked thoughtful. ''Ah dunno, maybe? It ain't like Scoots to act all tired out of the blue an' she was fine not so long ago.'' She sighed softly through her nostrils, looking just past the exit to Sweet Apple Acres where she could still see the slowly disappearing silhouette of Scootaloo heading off further into the distance and finally out of sight. ''Ah don't think we should jus' jump to conclusions yet. If she says she's alright, we'll take her word for it. Tomorrow's the big race an' Ah guess she has a right to be nervous about competing.'' Sweetie nodded slowly, still feeling uncertain. ''I hope so. Those races are dangerous and quite a few ponies who compete get hurt one way or another.'' At that, a frown appeared on both their faces. ''Sweetie, don't think like that! She'll be fine, Ah'm sure of it. Now, come on, you can help me out for a while with some things around the house if ya like. Applejack an' Granny Smith are out at the market today and Bic Mac'll be too busy tending to the orchard to bother us for a while.'' Smiling, the two of them turned around and headed into the farmhouse. *** *** *** Back at her house, Scootaloo set her scooter on the wall beside her bed along with her toolbox and helmet before she sat on her bed, stretching and allowing her tired muscles to relax. Her room wasn't all that big and held some memorabilia of the Wonderbolts and her idol, Rainbow Dash, along with some signed pictures and racing posters from a wide variety of different events that took place all around Equestria. To her, all of her possessions that related to racing have always inspired her to become a racer herself and though she couldn't fly yet, she found it as a substitute to fuel her adrenaline gauge whenever she felt the desire to feel it. Looking over to her newly fixed up scooter, she smiled, happy with the outcome of all her hard work. Since owning a scooter, she has always enjoyed riding it around town both on her own and with friends and doing a few stunt jumps that most colts and fillies would call insane at the speeds she jumped them at but after a while, it all got boring and so she took the opportunity to race. Falling backwards and staring at the ceiling of her bedroom, she couldn't help but feel a wave of nervousness wash over her. Scootaloo has heard about the races before and how dangerous they were, but she didn't let that put her off. How hard could it possibly be? She thought. I mean, come on, I do crazy stunt jumps all the time around Ponyville, this couldn't seriously be all that different, could it? A heavy sigh escaped her. For some unexplainable reason, she felt an odd sensation in her gut and mind, telling her that it maybe wasn't the best idea to enter the race. But then, if she did go and called it quits, would she be deemed a coward? And what about Rainbow Dash? Scoots knew she was going to be there to cheer her on along with her friends and a few others, and what would she think if she chickened out right in the middle of it all? No, no, Scoots, you're over exaggerating about this. You can do it, put your mind to it and straighten up, it'll be a cakewalk! She reassured herself, throwing her hooves over so that she laid on the entire length of the bed, her head resting on her pillow. ''You can do this. Just go to sleep and put your troubles aside, Scootaloo. You can't quit now.'' She thought out loud before she closed her eyes, letting her nerves relax and soon began to drift off into a deep, relaxing sleep.