Best Young Flyer

by bookplayer

Her Best

Scoot felt amazing as she hovered there in the middle of the Colosseum, having just completed a perfect routine, thousands of ponies cheering for her and stomping their hooves. She’d flown her best, and her best was awesome.

She swooped down and circled the edges of the arena, scanning the groups of ponies until she found the box where her friends were all sitting. She flew over to them, and was greeted with another loud cheer. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom tackled her with a hug.

“That was great, Scoot!”

“Spectacular! Astonishing! Outstanding!” Sweetie added. “And really, really cool!”

Scoot had the biggest, dumbest grin on her face, and she didn’t even care. “Thanks! I wasn’t sure I could do it, but I had to give it a try, ya know?”

“Well that was quite a try,” Rarity said with a smile. “I’m sure you’re the best I’ve seen so far.”

“You did your best, and you did a really good job. You should be proud of yourself, Scootaloo! But there are other ponies flying now, we should be watching them...” Twilight pointed out.

“Yeah, you’re right. Come on, guys. Let’s watch.” Scoot sat down towards the edge of the cloud with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle on either side. They watched the rest of the flyers, some of them were really impressive. Scoot pointed out to her friends which tricks were hard and which ones just looked cool, and she cheered generously for the flyers who really had talent.

She still wasn’t nervous. Excited, and maybe a little hopeful, but not really nervous. When a really great flyer came out after her, she oohed and aahed along with all the other ponies. There were some really talented pegasi here, it wasn’t like they were sure to give her the crown. But she had done her best, and she had a chance, and now she couldn’t stop smiling.

When the last of the flyers finished, the judges turned to talk to each other and Scoot huddled next to her friends. The idea that she might get the crown played in her head, along with thoughts of Rainbow Dash grinning and pulling her close and kissing her as the crowd cheered. She knew it was silly, but that was how this day had always gone in her childhood fantasies. And now, all of it was so close she could taste it. Maybe not exactly as she’d dreamed, but then again, maybe it was better.

The announcer started, and the crowd grew quiet. “Fillies and gentlecolts, your attention please. This year’s winner of the Best Young Flyer competition is...”

Scootaloo leaned over the edge of the box in anticipation. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom leaned over on either side of her, to the point where she was pretty sure she’d have to save at least one of them when they fell off.

“Monsoon!”

A blue pony with a green mane flew to the landing where Princess Celestia was waiting with the gold crown. Scoot let out a disappointed sigh, and let go of another foalish idea. It was nice while it lasted...

She looked to her friends. They were just staring at her.

“Um, you guys okay? I mean, it was only a competition,” Scoot said, giving them a little smile.

Apple Bloom looked concerned. “Aww Scoot, ain’t ya disappointed?”

“A little, but that’s just how it goes, ya know? I still did my best.”

“And your best was still terrific,” Sweetie said, giving her a nuzzle.

Scoot got hugs from everypony in the Ponyville crowd, all of them telling her that she did her best, that she did a great job, and that she did even better than if she was launched out of a tuba. Well, only Pinkie told her that last one.

As she got to the end of the row, she noticed that somepony had joined them. Rainbow Dash was standing on the edge of the cloud, her ears were down and she was biting her lip. For a moment, Scoot was scared she’d disappointed Dash. Maybe Dash was upset that she tried the star without practicing more, or that she didn’t tell her that she was going to do it.

She walked over to Dash, looking down and avoiding her eyes. “Hey, I’m sorry I didn’t win.”

She didn’t expect Dash’s eyes to fill with tears, or for Dash to nearly shout, “It’s my fault! It’s totally my fault. I’m such an idiot! After you flew, I was so excited I flew down to Spitfire and begged her to give you the crown, and she got really ticked off and that’s why you didn’t win. I can’t believe I blew this for you. I totally understand if you hate me. I hate me. I –”

“Dash, calm down,” Scoot cut in, giving Dash a nuzzle on the cheek. Whether Dash had anything to do with it or not, it almost broke Scoot’s heart to see her so torn up. “I did my best, and you guys all saw me. That’s all that matters, right? I flew an awesome, tough routine, and I rocked it. I get to be proud of that.”

Dash blinked. “You don’t hate me?”

Scoot cocked her head to the side and smiled. “No? I mean, I never expected to win, really.”

Dash looked into her eyes for a moment, then said, “Yeah, well, you should have. That was amazing.”

“Thanks,” Scoot said, telling herself she was glad Dash wasn’t pressing their personal issues right now. She told herself that facing another dream that wasn’t real would just hurt her more right now. She didn’t believe those things, but she told herself anyway.

She shook her head clear. “Why don’t we get out of here and find someplace for lunch?”

“That sounds like a great idea!” Sweetie said quickly. “Do you guys know someplace good?”

“There’s this place a few clouds up from the corner –” Dash started as the group turned to leave.

“Dash!” a voice called from the arena behind them. Dash turned and looked back as the voice went on. “Dash, wait, don’t let her leave yet! Spitfire called the judges back!”

The whole group stopped and rushed back to the edge of the box where Soarin’ had landed. Rainbow Dash got there first.

“What?! What for?”

“The kid that won was using silk feathers.” Soarin’ narrowed his eyes. “We should’ve known, that kid was making my spins look bad.”

“Silk feathers?” asked Apple Bloom, obviously not following.

“Yeah, they’re like feather shaped fans. You can stick them between real feathers so your wings catch the air better. They’re a tail saver on long flights, but totally illegal in competitions,” Scoot explained.

Sweetie’s eyes went wide. “So that kid’s disqualified! The judges are still deciding!”

“Oh Scoot, this is so excitin’! You might still win!”

“Now y’all remember, what Scoot said still goes,” Applejack reminded them. “Whatever happens, she flew her best and that’s what she oughta be proud of.”

Scoot grinned. “Do you always have to make sense?”

AJ chuckled. “Somepony’s gotta.”

“Hey Applejack, speaking of making something...”

Dash nudged him sharply. “Soarin’! More important things are going on!”

“There is nothing more important,” Soarin’ grinned. “Someday I’ll have a wife, and she’ll still be second to a Sweet Apple Acres apple pie.”

“I knew I broke up with you for a reason. Rainbow Dash does not come in second to pastries,” Dash said as she flew over next to Scoot.

While Soarin’ and AJ discussed the logistics of pie transportation, Scoot waited nervously. If what Dash said before was true, she didn’t really have a chance at winning the contest. But Dash had been known to exaggerate sometimes.

She felt Dash’s wing drape over her protectively, and it calmed her nerves more than she expected. She leaned against Dash and could feel the older pony trembling a little. This wasn’t the dream, losing the Best Young Flyer crown twice in one day. But Rainbow Dash standing here with her, nerves matching her own, was special in a different way.

“Attention, fillies and gentlecolts, may I have your attention. Monsoon has been disqualified from this year’s Best Young Flyer competition for using performance enhancing equipment.”

A gasp went through the crowd, at least the ponies who didn’t have members of the Wonderbolts keeping them up to date. Then the jeers started. The announcer waited a moment, but the booing continued.

Finally Princess Celestia flapped her wings just once from the cloud platform in the arena, and the crowd fell silent.

The announcer continued, “The official winner of this years Best Young Flyer competition is... Scootaloo!”

Scoot was sure she hadn’t heard right. She looked to her friends, who were grinning. Then she looked to Dash, who looked almost as shocked as she felt. But Dash’s face broke into a grin.

“What are you waiting for? Go get your crown!”

“I – I –” Scoot wanted to ask Dash to come with her, to make the day perfect, but there wasn’t time. She realized she was keeping Princess Celestia waiting, so she darted out of the box as fast as she could towards the princess and Spitfire.

Scoot landed on the platform, grinning from ear to ear. She was shaking, she still couldn’t believe this was happening. The princess just smiled calmly and set the crown on Scootaloo’s head as thousands of ponies cheered.

“Congratulations, Scootaloo. I know you worked hard for this,” Princess Celestia said kindly.

“I can’t believe it! This can’t be happening! I won. I’m the Best Young Flyer!”

Spitfire chuckled. “You sure are. I don’t suppose it’s that impressive to you, but you’ve got a day with the Wonderbolts tomorrow. I know one Wonderbolt who’s going to be thrilled with that.”

Scoot glanced back over to the box, where Dash was cheering her lungs out. Then her eyes landed on another box a few sections over, and she grinned.

“Spitfire? I, um, kind of have an idea for tomorrow... if we can work it out.”

• • •

The happy shouts of foals mixed with the laughter of older ponies around the Wonderbolts’ gym. Dash, Scoot, and Spitfire spent all afternoon the day before contacting Scoot’s class, and every one of them had managed to get their parents to bring them to spend a day with the Wonderbolts. It wasn’t that hard, some of the parents looked just as excited as their kids when they walked into the huge building.

The Wonderbolts seemed to be enjoying it, too. They played with the kids on the training equipment, carried them on flights through practice rings and around obstacles, and organized games on the clouds. Rainbow Dash had noticed that most of her teammates were big foals anyway, there was something about the lifestyle of a Wonderbolt that took ‘growing up’ right off the priority list.

Dash was standing with Scoot and Fleetfoot, watching Spitfire giving wing movement tips to a filly listening in rapt attention. Fleetfoot smiled and turned to Scoot.

“I’m glad you won. This is way more fun than listening to some star-struck hot-shot who thinks the day is an audition for their spot on the team.”

“Hey, I was a Best Young Flyer winner, too,” Dash pointed out.

Fleetfoot raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, and what did we do on your day?”

“Um...” Dash blushed. Her day had been a blur of showing off, asking for autographs, and not-so-subtle hinting that she was available to audition anytime, anywhere, like maybe right now even. She knew from experience that winners like that usually resulted in a lot of eye-rolling and snickering from the team.

Soarin’ flew over from a group of kids. “Dash! Fleetfoot! You gotta see this! This kid knows how to burp the Equestrian Anthem!”

Scoot laughed. “I’m not really supposed to encourage that, but it is pretty impressive. Gross, but impressive.”

“I’ll check it out!” Fleetfoot said, taking off with Soarin’ and leaving Dash alone on the cloud with Scoot.

“Wanna go?” Scoot offered to Dash. “Windy loves an audience...”

“Nah. There’s something a little more impressive here,” Dash smiled at Scoot. She knew it had only been a day, not really time enough for Scoot to get her head straight. But she still didn’t want to lose a moment with the amazing mare of her dreams.

“Dash, I, um... wanted to talk to you,” Scoot said, blushing a little and avoiding Dash’s eyes.

Dash felt her heartbeat racing. She and Scoot were talking, but it sounded like Scoot wanted to talk. About important things, like whether Dash would ever be happy again. Dash somehow managed to act normal and called over to Spitfire, “Hey! Can you keep an eye on the kids?”

“That’s my job,” Spitfire called back. “And I’ll make sure Scootaloo’s class is okay too.”

“Thanks,” Scoot called.

Dash lead the way out of the main room, around a corner to the hallway that lead to the locker rooms. Nopony was around, and they stood in the empty hallway for a moment, studying each other without speaking.

Finally Scoot started: “Rainbow Dash, you are a really awesome pony, but –”

“Not ‘but,’” Dash cut in, her heart sinking and her brain grabbing to anything it could offer to keep it afloat. “Please, not ‘but.’ I can be more awesome, Scoot! I can be whatever you want. Just give me a chance, and I’ll –”

“Dash? Shut up,” Scoot said calmly, smiling a little. Then she went on. “Now, what I was gonna say is, you’re a really awesome pony, but you’re trying way too hard. You have been the whole time I’ve known you. Relax. I love you.”

Dash’s heart froze, mid-sink. Her whole body froze. She was pretty sure the best thing ever just happened, but just in case she asked, “You love me? For real?”

Scoot grinned. “Yup. For really real. I love the times you stick your hoof in your mouth, and the times you mess up and try to look cool anyway. And I love that you’re scared of having a relationship, but you wanna give it a shot because you love me. I love the pony that you are, Rainbow Dash. For real.”

Dash didn’t waste a second, she darted forward and kissed Scootaloo passionately. It had been too long since she felt their lips pressed together, not to mention other things that Dash was suddenly letting herself look forward to again. But mostly, she was looking forward to loving her, even if the word still gave her a shiver of fear when she thought it.

Dash broke the kiss and whispered, “Oh Scoot. I, um, I know I mess this stuff up a lot. And I probably will again, but it’s different with you. You’re so... cool, and fun, and awesome, and I’m not scared of messing up in front of you. It’s worth it, if it means I get to spend my life with you. I love you, and I’m gonna give you my best. All of it. You deserve it.”

Scoot laughed a little.

“What?” Dash said, smiling.

“You might not be the pony I thought I was in love with all those years, but you’re the one dream in my life that’s even cooler than I imagined.”

“Of course I am!” Dash said with a cocky grin, which was wiped from her face when the younger pegasus shoved her, tumbling them both to the cloud floor. “Oof! Hey!”

Scoot attacked her face with kisses as Dash started laughing and wrapped her forelegs around her energetic young marefriend. Dash returned the favor, until their lips met again and the kiss turned long and deep.

“Okay you two!” Spitfire called from the end of the hallway. “Break it up! I’m pretty sure that’s not included in the ‘day with the Wonderbolts’ deal.”

“It’s voluntary overtime. I’m making the Wonderbolts look awesome and stuff,” Dash called, then she went right back to kissing the mare in her forelegs.

Dash heard Soarin’ chuckle. “Hey, Spitfire, what if we offered something like that as a prize for the Miss Equestria pageant?”

“Talk to the next captain.”

“Who’s the next captain?”

“Me.” Fleetfoot’s voice joined the others. “First rule, all Wonderbolts will leave the toilet seats down in their houses.”

“Guess I’m quitting then.”

“Spitfire! He can’t quit, can he?”

“Retiring! I am retiring!” Spitfire cried as the voices faded back towards the foals and other Wonderbolts, leaving Dash and Scoot alone again.

Scoot pulled away a little and looked down at Dash. “So you’re really not going to be captain?”

“Nope.” Dash smirked. “Turned it down before the competition.”

“You didn’t know if I’d take you back.” Scoot smiled but raised an eyebrow.

“I didn’t,” Dash admitted, looking into those big violet eyes. “But I always aim for the top.”

Comments

[For The Plot]

<--- sums up this chapter

[Shumiry]

So, bucking, awesome! I actually teared up at Rainbow's reaction to Scoot saying "but-", because it hit her personality so spot-on, and I could see the scene playing out in my head. This is a really fantastic story, and I'm glad you mentioned it in that blog post!

Please keep writing, I'll keep reading!

[Reaper1oo]

Awesome.
I think I love Spitfire's way of avoiding answering (“Retiring! I am retiring!”)

[SeaPonysTears]

this chapter..is just.. so.. beautiful!!

[OneFluzzyPuppy]

Go Spitfire and her method of avoiding answering questions!

[King of Kings]

“Hey, I was a Best Young Flyer winner, too,” Dash pointed out.
Fleetfoot raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, and what did we do on your day?”

Reminded them of how they'd be dead without her? No? Well then what she did was totally called for, and even slightly less than what she should have done!