To Scoot, Perchance to Dream

by TenderTalons

Chapter 5

The five ponies made their way into the empty barn. Everypony helped clean up what little mess there was. Big Mac and Applejack pulled the building supplies from the barn's attic and down onto the floor. Scootaloo took the blueprints and magazine from her saddlebags and passed them to Apple Bloom. She and Sweetie Belle went over the ideas they had brainstormed for the park during recess. Once all of the materials had been gathered, Mac and Jack joined the fillies in their debate over plans. Each offered advice about what was possible to do within the three day time limit set by their camera.

After about an hour, the final plans had been decided and agreed upon by all. “If you want this done quickly, we can start now and hopefully be done by mid-day tomorrow,” Applejack explained.

“I'm glad it's Friday,” said Scootaloo. “We have the whole weekend to work on this non-stop.”

“There's no time like tha present, everypony.” Apple Bloom took to the leadership role naturally. “Let's get ta work!”

So that it would be easier to organize, the build remained in four quadrants in the blueprints. Apple Bloom smartly decided to start with the hardest section, the part that included the quarter pipe. Everypony helped attach ropes around the largest, flattest piece of wood in their supply both vertically and horizontally. The vertical rope was thrown around the barn's pulley by Applejack. She pulled on the rope until the wood was standing upright on its edge. Big Mac weighted the knot in the middle of the two ropes to keep the plank steady for the next step. He then grabbed the end of the horizontal rope and pulled with all of his might, causing the wood to bend in accordance to the design. He tied his end to a nearby anvil and Applejack tied her end to a hook on the barn wall. There was just enough tension to keep the wood bent. It was left to set overnight.

The crew continued to work on smaller parts of the design. They sanded the wood to a fine finish and lacquered it until it shined. Before the day was done they had built a funbox, a kicker, and a stair set. They attached the newly made pieces to the floor in their appropriate quadrants and retired for the night once everything that had been built was put into place.

The five ponies returned at dawn the next morning refreshed and ready to work hard. They pulled the bent wooden plank down from its makeshift rope vice and finished it the way the had for the other pieces. A small piece, about a quarter of the total size of the quarter pipe, was cut off and turned upside down to make a roll in ramp. By the time Granny Smith had prepared lunch for everyone the project was complete. The inside of the barn was now a scooter park made just for Scootaloo to ride on.

They all took a well deserved break and ate lunch next to their finished creation. Granny Smith couldn't quite grasp what it was for but congratulated them all on a job well done. Scootaloo couldn't contain her enthusiasm to start riding and scarfed her lunch down so quickly she got a bit of a stomach ache. It was the furthest thing from her mind as she took her scooter and ran to the roll in.

Applejack, Big Macintosh, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Granny Smith all looked at her in anticipation. Scootaloo stood proudly at the top and surveyed her new playground. She strapped her helmet safely to her head, stood on her scooter, and pumped her back hoof. She glided into the park for the first time and took to it like a fish to water. Every jump, every spin, every trick she wanted to try she did. Of course, she didn't land every single one but the others stood by to cheer her on to get up and keep trying. With her little crowd to encourage her, Scootaloo practiced for the better part of an hour without stopping, only coming to rest when she flew off of the quarter pipe too horizontally and landed in a large pile of hay. She giggled with delight as the others came rushing to her side to see if she was alright.

“I don't think I've ever had so much fun!,” the purple maned pony exclaimed breathlessly. “I'm ready to start taking pictures whenever you are, Sweetie Belle.”

“Great. I'll go grab the camera from my saddlebags.” Sweetie Belle did just that, and ran back to her friend just as Scootaloo had gotten herself out of the hay pile. “Let's take a couple of glamor shots before you start doing tricks. It will let the judges get an idea of your personality. Go stand on the roll in ramp and I'll pose you.”

Scootaloo stood atop the now familiar spot. “What now?”

“Take off your helmet and cup it under your left foreleg. Just like that, good! Now put your scooter next to your right side with your right foreleg hanging over the hoofbar. Perfect. Look towards me and give me your most confident smile.” FLASH! This kind of direction went on for a while and Scootaloo started getting bored.

“Maybe I should, I don't know, start riding around now? In fact, give me that camera.”

“Hey! I thought that was my job.”

“It still is. But this thing is fall-proof now, right? I'm going to try and take pictures while I'm riding. That should be a unique enough perspective!” Scootaloo did what she could to ride and photograph at the same time but it never quite worked. Most of the time the camera would slip out of her grasp and go bouncing wildly about the barn. Not to mention all of the bouncing she did in her futile attempts. After a particularly nasty bail, the winded pony said, “You know what? Maybe you should take the pictures after all.”

Though Sweetie Belle was upset it took her friend so long to realize that, she still took the reigns with the camera. After another hour or so, Scootaloo was, “...plum tuckered,” as Applejack put it. The Cutie Mark Crusaders decided to call it a day and pick up where they left off tomorrow. Scootaloo was determined to figure out the best line to ride and wanted to sleep on it. Sweetie left with her, but not before saying their goodbyes and expressing their gratitude to the Apple family. The rain outside had slowed to a trickle, so the girls took a more leisurely pace on their ways home.

“What an amazing day. I can't wait to see all of those pictures you took Sweetie Belle. How do you think they came out?”

“I'm not sure, but I do know I had a lot of fun taking them. Twilight's book really helped me find my eye.”

“Your what?”

“You wouldn't understand. It's a professional photographer thing.”

Scootaloo chuckled. “If you say so. How many pictures do you have left?”

“I used up the film that was in the camera today, but I could always borrow another roll from Rarity. Why do you ask?”

“No real reason. I'm just making sure you have enough film for tomorrow. I'm planning to pull out all the stops.”

“I'll make sure to have a fresh roll loaded and ready. Are we meeting at the barn around the same time tomorrow?”

“You bet. Well, this is my turn. See you in the morning Sweetie Belle. Thanks again for all of your help.”

The girls parted ways. Scootaloo began to imagine all of the great moves she could pull off if only her wings were stronger. Her mind wandered all the way home. She immediately climbed into bed and let her dreams carry her away until morning.

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[Pegasus Lightning]

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Oh, and me gusta mucho