Downhill
“Can I have the poster already?”
Pipsqueak looked at him, smiling slyly. “A peck on the cheek is not a proper kiss, but it’s close. How about we extend the bet by a few days?”
Featherweight sighed. Oh well, that means I get to try again, and maybe it’ll work this time. His cheeks flushed a bright red as Pipsqueak’s smile grew.
“So, how did it happen?” asked Pipsqueak as he skipped ahead on the well-trod path. Birds sang and whizzed by, playfully flying in the hot rays of the sun.
“How did what happen?” asked the other, his beige wings flapping quickly to keep him afloat.
Pipsqueak sighed. “How did you, you know, fall for her?”
“Oh,” replied Featherweight, a blush already beginning to appear on his light skin. “She rammed me one day.”
“Pfft,” sputtered Pipsqueak, sliding to a halt and kicking up a small puff of dust. “She did what to you?”
What’s wrong with him? Featherweight looked down towards his friend quizzically. “She hit me with her scooter. When she stopped to help me up, well... She was so--” He cut himself off, his blush now fully materialized.
For a few moments the two kept walking in silence, a sly grin on Pipsqueak’s face while Featherweight remained flustered.
“C'mon, we're almost there!” Pipsqueak cried out, suddenly running forward.
Featherweight’s wings started flapping harder as he flew alongside his friend, trees and bushes blurring by as they ran. “Where are we going?” he asked.
Instead of replying, Pipsqueak slowed to a trot then to a brisk walk. Grabbing Featherweight, the small colt threw him into a bush before joining him beneath the sticky and prickly branches.
On the other side of the bush was an open field set above a tall cliff, the sharp inclination dropping towards the town before peaking upwards at the edge. “Look,” whispered Pipsqueak, a gleam of mischief in his eye.
On the top of the hill, three fillies were gathered, all of them circling an odd wooden box with wheels and an umbrella haphazardly tied to it.
Is that... Featherweight began to ask himself as he spotted one of the three fillies, this one bearing an orange coat and pink mane. It is! An unstoppable smile creased his face as he saw Scootaloo trying to squeeze into the wheeled box. Apple Bloom was hitting one of the wheels with a wrench while Sweetie Belle talked animatedly with Scootaloo.
“What are they doing?” asked Featherweight in an unnecessary whisper.
Pipsqueak shrugged. “I don’t know, girly Crusader stuff; apparently it’s supposed to be super secret or something.”
“Oh, okay.” Featherweight kept looking at the playing fillies. “Wait, if it’s supposed to be super secret, then how do you know about it?”
Pipsqueak smiled knowingly. “You just need to ask the right pony, and have the right information to trade... said so in a book I read.”
Featherweight settled down deeper into the prickly grass. A light, warm wind blew across the field, picking up Scootaloo’s mane and billowing it out. “So, who did you ask?” he said, breaking the awkward silence.
“Rarity,” said Pipsqueak. Featherweight shot him a look. “What? It was easy; once I convinced her that you had a crush on Sweetie Belle, she told me everything I needed to know.”
“You told her what?!” screamed Featherweight in a panic, jumping out of the bushes as he did so.
Three fillies looked his way as he hovered above the bush. He ignored them, staring accusingly towards Pipsqueak while his mane stood on end.
“Hey, calm down. If Scootaloo finds out, she’ll be jealous, and you need to prove your superiority to her! I think.” Pipsqueak shrugged as he averted his gaze to the three fillies. They were running down the hill, calling down to them with amicable voices. “Better be nice, here she comes.”
“Hey, Featherweight, is that you?” cried Scootaloo as she hopped and glided ahead of her friends.
Immediately, Featherweight’s face reddened. “Yeah, it’s, um, me... Pipsqueak’s here too!” he said, grabbing his friend by the scruff of his neck and pulling him out of the bush.
Pipsqueak stumbled forward before stabilizing himself. “Hiya, girls, what are you up to?”
“Nothin’ much,” said Apple Bloom as she slowed to a halt a few hoofsteps away. “Scootaloo saw this really cool thing in a book, now we’re tryin’ to do the same!”
“Re-really? What kind of book?” Featherweight said the first thing that came to mind.
Scootaloo giggled. “I was looking through it, you know, for our project.” Suddenly her eyes widened. “Oh, don’t think I forgot about you. it’s just that, um, we really wanted to go crusading. You understand, right?”
Darn, I wanted to spend some time with her. “Nah, it’s fine! You girls take all the time you need! What you’re doing looks like a lot of fun.”
Three pairs of eyes looked at him expectantly, waiting. They want me to say something! “Um, can we, er, watch?”
“Sure, you can even help!” Sweetie Belle piped up, smiling sweetly towards him.
The three fillies turned as one, giggling at some unheard joke before they began making their way back up the hill.
The two colts shared a look before they both shrugged in unison. Pipsqueak brushed some leaves off his coat and began walking up as well. “You coming, Featherweight?”
Nodding, the pegasus fluttered his wings, catching up to his friend as they followed the three fillies. His eyes strayed from looking at the back of Scootaloo’s head to curiously inspecting the odd device they had built.
It was a buggy. Or at least, it had parts from a buggy. Two rusty steel wheels made up the back part of the tiny vehicle, while the front end had one wheel, centered to balance the racer. Its side panels were made of hastily-built and cobbled together pieces of wood, while its insides were composed of a garden chair nailed to the floor and a broomstick that served as steering column. Along one side, in childish script, the name ‘Crusader’ was painted in barn-red paint.
The moment they arrived at the top of the hill, the Crusaders began working on their buggy. Pipsqueak and Featherweight watched them as they sat down on the light fluffy grass, enjoying the warmth of the sun and the cool spring breeze. The fillies worked feverishly at preparing the Crusader, grabbing tools and building materials from a small pile they had made nearby, only to hammer in crooked nails and dented pieces of wood.
After a few moments of silence, broken only by the rasp of an old, rusty saw, Featherweight got up and began hovering around them. “So, um, this is supposed to be a drag racer?” he finally asked.
Apple Bloom gasped, dropping the wrench she held in her muzzle. “Ah forgot the parachute!” The earth pony filly turned around and ran to the nearby pile of tools and toys. Buried beneath buckets of nails and pieces of old barn wood was a beautiful purple and white umbrella.
Apple Bloom ran over to the Crusader, slapping the umbrella’s shaft on its side before nailing it in place with Sweetie Belle’s help. “All done!” she said, backing up to look at her handiwork.
“Alright! Let's do this,” shouted Scootaloo as she hopped into the buggy, shifting herself into the cheap garden chair. The entire thing creaked as it took her weight.
Is she-- is she really going to do this? Featherweight asked himself as he looked between the buggy and the long descent. Gulping, he decided to voice his opinion. “Um, girls, are you sure this is a good idea?”
The three fillies looked down at him.
He shifted his weight from one hoof to another before going on. “I mean, I know you guys want your cutie marks, but that’s a long way down, an--and you might hurt yourselves.”
Scootaloo sighed. “C’mon Featherweight, nothing bad’s going to happen, don't be such a spoilsport!”
“I--I’m not! I just don't want to see you hurt! What if you lose control, or--or what if your buggy breaks?”
Sweetie Belle marched around the vehicle, trotting right up to him and standing uncomfortably close to his face. “You're jealous, aren't you?”
“Huh?” What’s she talking about? I only want Scootaloo to be safe!
“Yeah,” she said, taking another step. Featherweight began to lean back under her glare. “You’re afraid that we'll get better cutie marks than you!”
“Huh?!” Huh!?
“Aw, c’mon Sweetie, Featherweight’s not the jealous type.” Scootaloo came to his defence, a smirk on her face. “Are you?” she asked him.
She’s defending me? “Of--of course not, I’m just scared you might get hurt...”
Sweetie Belle harrumphed. “Fine, but I’ll be watching you.” Featherweight let out a long sigh as both Scootaloo and Apple Bloom stared at Sweetie Belle, their faces betraying their confusion.
“Um, maybe you guys could help. I mean, we could always use a timer, right?” Apple Bloom said with a small, nervous smile, before trotting over to their pile. Soon, she pulled an old, dented stopwatch out of it.
Pipsqueak ran up to her, grabbing the stopwatch from her before stringing it around his neck. “Yeah, we could do that!” The little colt began walking down the hill. “Come on, Featherweight!”
Featherweight tore his eyes away from Scootaloo. “Huh? Oh yeah, coming.”
The two colts were halfway down the hill before Pipsqueak spoke once more. “Did you see Sweetie Belle over there? Boy, was she mad.”
“Yeah, what’s up with that?” he said, peeking over his shoulder to the white and purple unicorn as she talked to her friends. “She’s never been mean to me before.” He hung his head, watching the thick green blades of grass as they bent around his hooves.
“I think she likes you...” pipped Pipsqueak.
Featherweight’s head snapped up, a hundred expressions crossing his face. “Why? Why would she like me?” he finally asked.
Pipsqueak shrugged. “I don't know, girls a weird that way.”
"And how would you know?"
"Call it my... um, intuition?" The colt smiled awkwardly towards his pegasus friend.
The pegasus shook his head. “Intuition, right.” A small smile cracked his lips. “Let’s just enjoy this, alright?”
“Hah, sure, I thought you liked anything that involved Scootal--” Featherweight punched Pipsqueak’s shoulder gently as they both broke out into giggles. Their laughter seemed to bubble in the air, accompanied by the singing of happy birds and the gentle sound of wind over grass.
Both colts sat at the bottom of the hill. Behind them the same hill rose to a point before dropping off as a sheer cliff, giving them an astonishing view of Ponyville below. Fluffy little clouds darted around the sky, mixing with the thin plumes of smoke from the town.
“I think they’re ready.” said Pipsqueak with an excited sigh.
Above them, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom were leaning against the buggy, backs straining as they pushed. Slowly, the rusty vehicle rocked forward, trampling the grass as it began to gain speed.
Scootaloo stuck out her wings, beating them wildly as she began to go faster and faster. A loud rumbling sound reached Pipsqueak and Featherweight as the Crusader’s wheels turned on their rusty bearings.
Scootaloo’s mane caught the wind, flowing and billowing out behind her as she bounced down the hill at an insane speed, becoming almost a blur in Featherweight’s eye. She’s so cool! he told himself as his jaw dropped.
“This, is, awesome!” yelled the pegasus filly through her large smile. Moving a hoof forward, Scootaloo grabbed the brake lever and pulled, causing sparks to fly out from under the buggy as it grinded and screeched loudly. Birds took off in a fright as everypony covered their ears. Scootaloo reached around with a forehoof, pressing the release on the parachute.
The buggy stalled in mid-air. The umbrella tearing apart as the wind caught it, spokes twisting out of shape before the entire thing catapulted forward, released from the restraint. Scootaloo crashed back onto the ground with a hard thump. Featherweight cringed in sympathy as he saw Scootaloo bounce from side to side within the Crusader. From beneath his squinting eyelids he saw a wheel, a wheel that bounced alongside Scootaloo’s craft, a wheel that wasn’t supposed to be free.
“Scootaloo,” he yelled.
The filly in question didn’t respond as she desperately tried to regain control of the vehicle. The hill’s top was quickly approaching, meter by meter, as sweat began to pour out of everypony present.
“Help!” she yelled in a piercing scream.
Grass flew into the air as the Crusader began to dig a furrow into the ground, causing the buggy to shake violently before it finally began spinning side over side.
Featherweight’s eyes teared up, and he grimaced as his wings flapped wildly behind him, trying desperately to gain speed.
It reached the end. The entire vehicle jumped above the hill, spinning lightly as it seemed to hang in mid-air above the deep, rock filled cliff.
Scootaloo fell out, her orange wings flapping desperately as her hooves spun in the air, vainly trying to catch the Crusader.
A beige blur streaked by her, smacking into her with an audible slap, before crashing back towards the ground. The two forms tumbled, manes and hooves spinning wildly as they rolled to a stop beside each other.
Behind them, the Crusader fell, tumbling through the air for a few silent seconds before hitting the rough, rocky soil in an explosion of wood and nails.
Featherweight pushed himself up, not bothering to brush off the dirt from his coat as he ran towards Scootaloo. “Are--are you okay?” he asked, his voice shaky and nervous.
Scootaloo groaned, twisting onto her belly, she pushed herself up, testing her wings as she did so. “Nothing broken,” she announced, rubbing a hoof against her sore flank. “No cutie mark for almost dying either...”
Featherweight started laughing, relief draining any self-restraint from his body as he rolled on the grass. Seconds later Scootaloo joined him, giggling joyfully alongside him.
“What’s so funny?” Apple Bloom cried out as she, Sweetie Belle, and Pipsqueak joined them. All three of them were panting, out of breath.
Scootaloo let out a few more barks of laughter before answering. “Nothing, it’s not really funny, just stupid.” Scootaloo looked at Featherweight, seeming to judge him with her eyes. “Thanks Feathers, that was really cool.” She slapped his shoulder with a hoof. “Come on girls, we should get going. I don’t think drag racing’s our thing.”
Apple Bloom tapped her hoof against her chin pensively. “Mah brother’s putting up shingles on the roof, if we help ‘im we could get our marks!”
Sweetie Belle smiled excitedly. “That’s a great idea! Let’s go!”
“Cutie Mark Crusader Roof Repair ponies yay!” the three yelled in unison, their gusto slightly dampened by the warm air and humid weather.
“Maybe we could be Cutie Mark Crusaders swimmers first?” suggested Sweetie Belle. “I’m all sticky and warm...”
The three turned to leave, giggling and laughing as they did so.
“Wait!” cried Featherweight. The three stopped, turning to face him. “Um, could we work on the project tomorrow?” he asked adding a tiny, squeaky “Please?”
“Sure Feathers! C’ya tomorrow!”
“That was cool,” said Pipsqueak under his breath. “Saving the her like that... real smooth.”
“Yeah... smooth, still no kiss...”
The little colt smiled to his friend as he trotted away. “You still haven’t won that bet! You have until Monday!”
Edited by:
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Smooth.
Woohoo!!!
Glad to see your continuing this. I avidly await the next chapter my good sir.
Needs more Chowder, but besides that, I love it.
Loving this chapter.
One thing though, you should probably replace the word "mare" with "filly".
I see a love shape
645808
A love shape!
......This is awesome.
An update huh... It seems my attempts to stall you have been in vain drat. YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE LAST OF ME!!!
Ch 1
Oh my gosh so cute!
ch 2
Saving the damsel. Nice.
can't wait for more. I ship Scoots with Rumble, but this is my second favorite Scootaloo ship.
Well done
645808 You forgot Spike.
So...his crush ran him over with a scooter and as a result he fell in love with her *coughcoughlegandofkorramakoandasamicough*
AWWW YEAHHHHHH this story is full of d'awww and fun to read!!!!!!! MUST HAVE MOAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!! dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/sillyfilly_Scootaloo.png dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/Scootaloo_lolface.png
smooth like jazz
645946
Smooth like Electroswing.
Okay... sorry to be the voice of negativity here, but you might want to take this one back to the drawing board. It was definitely a step down in quality from the last chapter. First, (unless I've missed something) you're getting inconsistent. The original challenge as issued by Pipsqueak in Chapter 1 was “I’ll bet my signed Spitfire poster that you can’t snog her by the end of the day. --Pip” Well, Feather did get a kiss on that day. Not quite what was specified, but it was close. Yet that isn't even mentioned here, and now the challenge's deadline is on Monday. Did Pip extend the time frame, or was that accidental? That should be cleared up, either way.
Also, the whole chapter felt... pointless. Nothing really happened. We got a little background info on Feather's crush, but otherwise this all felt like pointless filler. And hastily written filler, at that. Some sloppy wording, lackluster dialogue, etc. I'd advise taking more time to perfect future chapters before posting them.
Wow
645952
A transportation device named Crusader that belongs to the CMC and gets totalled at the end?
Do I get a cookie for noticing the SGW reference?
Now that's how you end a chapter!
Not Bad! I'll keep an eye out for more.
To amend my earlier post, there was admittedly one significant development I forgot about, which was the discovery that Sweetie Belle apparantly has a crush on Featherweight. Heh. That should create some interesting conflict in the future. It might spell trouble for the CMCs, but at least puts Feather in an enviable situation. All of a sudden, the dude has options. And for this, he earns a
MOAR
NOW
OR DIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
645822
The Love Shape is a little old place where we can get together
646432
Did you just... no! Yes you did! Love Shack baby!
646432 B-52's for the win!
P.S. that cover art is the cutest thing I've ever seen in my entire life.
646558
It's "The Love Shape" not a shack. Where did you ever get that idea....
oh god... Sweetie Belle is Tsundere? Pip what have you unleashed on ponyville in your search for knowledge! This can only end in glorious awkwardness...
Feathers remains adorkable and sweet with helpings of daww'
I want to vote up so bad...but I don't want to ruin that awesome whole, round number. OCD!
646760
I freaked out when SGW stayed at 222 for three days... I almost didn't post the next chapter, then somepony came along and one-uped it!
646768Ah...only you could rack up so many up-votes. You should probably thank that pony. Or strangle him for ruining your perfect number.
I am going to have that song stuck in my head now.
good fic.
Now I will totally 'not' favorite it.
A beige blur streaked by her, smacking into her with an audible slap, before crashing back towards the ground.
Try to pay more attention to what you're saying. "The ground" could suggest the ground below the cliff, or it could mean the cliff edge. To be honest the scene setup didn't feel all that clear. (There's hills and a cliff...going up the hill...to the cliff edge...doesn't make sense to have a dragster run up a hill...)
It was a good effort though, perhaps you can rework some of the details.
646799
I agree.
I'll be going over it soon with an editor, fine combing it to become EqD ready.
This is awesome.
646911
Haha, I asked Knightly about it, no reply yet. Honestly though, it's not a big deal! I'm sure the next site update will add a little something.
What FW needs to do is find somepony or somedragon who's an expert on romance in order to win the heart of the orange filly.
Okay, this is great, but i think you may have a problem on your hands, this whole set up seems a little bit cliche, you know with the friend that gives all the romantical advice, the sort of love triangle that could potentially happen, and feather already hiding something from scoots. (the pictures) I'm guessing that pip will give him some bad advice that would potentially ruin his chances with scoots? Also I noticed that they said something about Feather not having his cutie mark yet? I'm pretty sure he does already, unless this was written before the bridle gossip episode.
Other than that I really like this story, Its pretty well written.
647057
Er-- I think you miss understood the no-cutie-mark part. And sorry if I touched a few cliches. I'll try to avoid them from now on!
Can't wait for the next chapter!
647089 Oh, I see my mistake now, sorry about that, I can see how I would have read that incorrectly seeing as how I'm half asleep right now. Terribly sorry.
647449
ll good!
Honestly, I didn't even finish the editing before posting, didn't expect this many views. (Sent it out early to test the waters, see if this sort of thing would fare well with you fellows before I would try in earnest to reach EqD...)
Amazing want more. When he said ur wings are beautiful I had a combination of
and 
Pretty good, I hope for a bad ending. You know, to balance out how cliché some of this is.
oh featherduster, you sexy stud you
no homo.
More.
An OC agrees. Smooth. One question though. I'm assuming that they are the age they are in the show. But will they stay that way? Will this possibly depict them in their teens and up? I honestly think that would be relatively cute. Well, hopefully Aringsor doesn't spontaneously wake up and kick me off again. He doesn't let me on much.
-Riku
Oi! You should do more of this romance stuff. You're good at it...unlike Aringsor. I honestly wouldn't mind having my author put me in a romance, but he is just no good with that...it's unfortunate, really. I feel that would be enjoyable.
-Riku
Why do I feel this song should play throughout the story?
It must just be me.
-Riku
Still can't comprehend how bucking cute this is. It just keeps nagging at me, and the picture doesn't help! It's just so...squee!!!
-Riku
Before I read, can somepony tell me whether this is clop or just a normal romance story?
he likes chickens