Bantam Tales

by Chris

Faster, Stronger, Fizzier

Scootaloo was nervous. No, scratch that; she was terrified. Rainbow Dash was famous for being one of the fastest fillies in Equestria, and she wasn’t even going to give Scoot a head start this time. She glanced at the small crowd of onlookers, and her nervousness only intensified.

Dash, for her part, was showing no signs of stress or fear. She stretched her sides, laughing and joking with the other ponies. Noticing how nervous Scoot looked, she leaned over and whispered, “Hey, just do your best, right? It’s all in good fun!” Scootaloo felt a little better hearing that, but she was still determined to at least make it close. She desperately wanted not to embarrass herself in front of her idol.

At that moment, Pinkie appeared, winding her way though the party carrying a pair of two-liter jugs of store-brand root beer. Dash smiled as she approached, accepting one of the two-liters. Scoot took the other and twisted off the cap, preparing for the race of her life.

Throwing on a black- and white-striped referee’s hat, Pinkie told the competitors, “Alright, I want a good, clean race. No bumping your opponent or her bottle, first pony to finish wins, spill any on the ground and you’re disqualified. Any questions?” The racers both shook their heads. Scoot tried to still the trembling in her legs. “ALRIGHT! On your mark... get set... GO!”

With that, Scoot raised the bottle to her mouth and began chugging root beer like there was no tomorrow. She could hear the crowd chanting and cheering as if from a great distance, but she was in her element. She pounded down more and more of the syrupy brown soda, ignoring the bloating she was already feeling in her stomach.

After what felt like hours, Scoot finally pulled the empty bottle away from her mouth and collapsed on the ground, her stomach protesting against every move. Looking up, she saw Pinkie hovering over her, a big smile on her face. “Did... did I win?”

Pinkie beamed and said, “Of course not, you silly filly! Dash beat you by a mile. They don’t call her the fastest pony in Equestria for nothing! But you’re the youngest pony I’ve ever seen break the two-minute mark. That was great!”

Dash appeared in Scoot’s peripheral vision. “Yeah, that was awesome! I’ve never seen somepony your size chug a bottle like that. You’ve got real talent, kid; you should be proud!”

Scootaloo tried to tell Dash how much it meant to hear her say that, but something else came out instead. Dash smiled apologetically.

“Oh yeah, I guess I should have noticed you were turning green. Don’t worry about that. I’ll get a mop.”

Scoot tried to get up and help, but that just started another round of retching. Instead, she decided to lay still and bask in the praise of her idol. And a puddle of her own root beer vomit, but mostly the praise.

Author's Note:

Written Spring 2011 for the Fifteen Minute Fic prompt "Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash have a race," and to sate my inner contrarian.

Comments

[Super Trampoline]

I wish I could write this fast in 15 minutes. Also, wow, Spring 2011? Was FimFiction even around then?

[Solitair]

Ooh, didn't see that coming.

[PresentPerfect]

Wow this was gross. :V