Scootaloo's Race

by RushingWind-01

Chapter 14: The Best of the Best

Scootaloo felt very determined when she entered the yard of the race track in Seaddle, where the first race of the Elite Tournament was held. She trained long and hard with Rainbow Dash and Rushing Wind, and now was the time to show what she was made of.

The competitors in the background were all very excited too, and they sure looked very experienced, that's what Scootaloo knew.

Rushing Wind came back to Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash. "Now, this track has its fair share of tough turns, but also some speedy sections. Point is that you remember your training, Scootaloo. You may not be as fast as some competitors around here, but your amazing handling traits should be more than sufficient to win.", he explained.

"Don't worry, Rushing Wind. Those other Pegasi may look fast, but they won't know what sleeps inside me...", Scootaloo said.

"Yes! That's the spirit! Now get out there and show them what you can do!", Rainbow Dash encouraged her.

Scootaloo nodded, with a determined look on her face, and went to the track. This time, she was starting rather in the back, Position 17 out of 24. But like Rushing Wind said - she may not be as fast as others, but she mastered every single kind of turn at such a ridiculous speed that she was now ready to take them on.

Once again, the starting light came down, and Scootaloo watched it carefully to not miss the start.

Taking off at green, Scootaloo had no idea how chaotic and tough this championship was going to be. And within the first few seconds of racing, it was all in the book. Those fellow contenders knew how to race, and how to move through turns without losing too much speed.

But Scootaloo didn't want to give up just yet. She needed to try getting some positions before calling it impossible to win.

In some of the more tougher turns, Scootaloo races through the turns with such speed that she was able to pass some contenders, and even in the speedy sections, she used slipstreaming to get past faster contenders or to close the gap to one so she can pass them in a tough section.

The first lap ended, and Scootaloo was in seventh place. She made up 10 positions from the starting line onward. And knowing that there were four more laps to go, Scootaloo knew that it was indeed possible to win. All it took was S-tier flying skill...

She repeated her flying line and maintained a solid speed through the turns. She even went into the tough turns a bit braver and tried to go through them faster. While this worked, Scootaloo nearly missed the wall, so she knew that too much risk might be too much speed to get through. But, as she raced over the track, she made up three more positions.

Lap 3. Now, Scootaloo was used to the track, and knew how and when to take the turns. Going even faster in the speedy sections, but a bit slower in the tough turns, she passed two more contenders and was now in second place. The last rival to pass was a dark grey Pegasus with halfway orange front legs, and he sure has seen his share of fast-paced races.

In Lap 4, Scootaloo used the same flying line as before, and managed to get closer and closer to him. Near the end of the lap, she was right behind him. And then came the final lap, and the last chance to take the win.

Scootaloo used all of her courage to stay in the rival's slipstream. And since her encounter with Soarin, she knew that no one would let the other pass. But then, Scootaloo found a gap, used the slipstream to just barely snag through and took the tough turn with such grace that she almost lifted off. It looked like she flew along the border of the track.

And after a fast-paced, heart-rushing race, Scootaloo finished the race in first place.

"Yes! Yes! I did it!", she screamed and lifted her front hooves up in the air. The crowd was going wild and cheered for her.

As Scootaloo was heading for the exit of the track, a dark grey Pegasus with halfway orange front legs landed next to her. "Hey, little one. I have to admit, You truly know your flying business. I guess I didn't see that gap where you managed to pass through...", he said.
"Thanks. And you are...?", Scootaloo asked.

"The name's Flame Arrow.", said the Pegasus, "I'm one of the fastest Pegasi in the entire tournament, if not the entire world."

"Of the world? Then you probably never saw Rainbow Dash fly, am I right?", Scootaloo smirked.

"I did. She really is super fast. I was at the wedding of Shining Armor and Mi Amore Cadenza, and I saw Rainbow Dash fly up into the sky and perform a Rainboom in the process. I guess she accelerates so fast that she can hit, like, 38 wing power in mere seconds. I would never catch her, so thank Celestia she doesn't participate.", Flame Arrow said.

"How fast do you go?", Scootaloo asked.

"About 12 wing power.", was the response from the grey Pegasus.

Scootaloo realized that this must be the Pegasus that Rushing Wind mentioned during training. "I think Rushing Wind mentioned someone who goes this fast. So I can only guess that it's you, right?", she said.

"Exactly. And Rushing Wind, I know that Pegasus. I also heard about his relationship between him and Rainbow Dash, but I don't know his origin. He just appeared out of nowhere...", Flame Arrow said.

"Let's not worry about that, let's worry about where the next race will be held.", Scootaloo said.

"Right.", Flame Arrow said, "We're going to the race track near Hilltop, in the Saddle Horn Peaks. The track goes through the rocks, but we won't race without bounds. Rushing Wind always likes to say, Safety First. Anyway, see you there."

Flame Arrow went off. Scootaloo became excited to see what she could do against him. He was fast, but being a smaller size, Scootaloo could be faster than him.

---

Saddle Horn Peaks, later that day...

The sunset looked beautiful as Scootaloo, Rushing Wind and Rainbow Dash arrived at Saddle Horn Peaks for the second race of the Elite Tournament.

Before taking a look at the track though, Rushing Wind said to Rainbow Dash: "Hey, do you know about the battle between Celestia and Discord that was held almost a century ago?"

"At least not until Twilight told me and my friends about it...", Rainbow Dash said.

"Far over there in the South are the remains of this battle, and even nowadays, it's a quarantine zone.", Rushing Wind said.

Scootaloo was listening closely. She did know about Discord, but the history of the first battle, that's what she didn't know.

"Now for the track...", Rushing Wind said, "I hope you're ready for it, because creating this one was a thrill. A lot of swerving corners, two long straight lines, and the thrilling environment of the Saddle Horn Peaks. So it's a high speed circuit with some difficulty to it."

Swerving corners. Scootaloo remembered, she was a smaller size than all her competitors, and this could give her an edge in handling. Regarding speed, she knew that Flame Arrow was faster, but if the swerving corners went well, she could easily beat him.

Scootaloo looked determined. "I got this. Let's do it!", she said.

"Whoa, that's some enthusiasm right there! You're excited for the race, aren't you?", Rainbow Dash asked.

"I sure am, Rainbow Dash!", Scootaloo said and zoomed over to the start line, taking Pole Position. Her rival, Flame Arrow, was right behind her. Taking a launching stance, she watched the light carefully, like she has done so many times to nail the start.

She perfectly reacted to the green light and zoomed ahead of the field.

Already moving into the first few corners, Scootaloo knew that Rushing Wind wasn't joking. Here came corner after corner after corner after corner, and the only downtime she got was on the straights. While she did lose some time on the straights, she was able to compensate with her superior cornering ability. Shooting through these corners, it's so satisfying at a speed like that.

The first lap went well, and she maintained her lead.

Lap 2 - again, she repeated her motions of racing through these corners with ease, and without losing too much pace. She knew that Flame Arrow was gaining on her on the straights, but her strong point were corners, and there's a lot of them here.

The following laps were uneventful. Flame Arrow slightly gained on Scootaloo, but on the fifth and final lap, she was still ahead by a few yards. And even though Flame Arrow pushed her to the absolute limit, Scootaloo was not at all affected by the pressure that went through her mind, and she crossed the line first, winning another race!

"Yes, yes, yes!", Scootaloo screamed into a cheering crowd.

Flame Arrow came up to her. "I must admit, for a Pegasus of your age, you certainly have insane talent and strength. Whoever trained you, they must be incredible.", he said.

"I know, right?", Scootaloo said excited, "But I had some help during my training, from three mentors that I can not thank enough for what they did for me."

"Three even? Well, they certainly did a great job with you, kid.", Flame Arrow said, "But the next races, you better watch out for me. Those are my favorites."

Then, Flame Arrow went off. His favorite tracks. She wondered what these could be. But for now, she enjoyed the fact that she got two wins in a row. Scootaloo was certainly on a high, and she was looking to carry this momentum into the following races.

However, she also knew that it won't be simple...

Author's Note:

It's been a long time since I posted something, so I thought I'm going to finally continue with my very first story and try to finish it.

A very neat start to the Elite Tournament. But what else does fate have in store for Scootaloo?

Comments

[Bronycommander]

Nice to see this Updated and nice Cover too.

Now i kinda miss hanzal

[Phetiamwantip]

This new chapter is great, I like it! And the book cover looks great, too. Can't wait to see Scootaloo do a great job in the next round with Flame Arrow. She's going to have to train hard to beat him.

Never give up. There are always tough times, regardless of what you do in anything in life. Be able to push through those times and maintain your ultimate goal.

Here's a song that will make you natural. Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/V5M2WZiAy6k?si=JtD7D0fCu4mUiS71