Scootaloo's Race

by RushingWind-01

Chapter 3: The Equestrian Pegasus Racing Tournament

Scootaloo entered the yard where fellow Pegasi were stretching and training hard. She couldn't believe that she actually took part in the Equestrian Pegasus Racing Tournament. All the Pegasi looked way older than she did, so she became a little bit insecure. But due to the training with Rushing Wind yesterday, she knew that she could stand a chance. Although she couldn't help it but feel a little bit of soul pain from the stuff that happened, with her original wings being cut off...

Thankfully, Rushing Wind told her not to worry about it that much, but the shock was still there, even if not that much. And Rainbow Dash also came with them, as mental support.

"Now, Scootaloo," Rushing Wind started, "this is where it begins. You will compete in four races against 15 other contestants. They all tested their max speed, and some of them fly faster, equal your speed or go slower. But one thing is sure - everyone around here can hit at least 104 miles per hour. So it will be a fair competition."

"I'm... not so sure...", said Scootaloo, "All these Pegasi here look way older than me. Do you really think I stand a chance?"

Rushing Wind couldn't help but laugh a bit. "Trust me, if you do well like in training yesterday and match the perfect flying line during this 3 lap race, then I'm sure you can gain some positions."

"Yeah. Don't worry, Scoots. I believe in you, and so does Rushing Wind.", said Rainbow Dash, and this gave Scootaloo a bit of courage.

"Thanks, you two. I'll see you at the finish line!", Scootaloo said, and ran off. She took a good look around. This tournament was well-organized. There were places to test your speed, training areas and even snack booths that gave out delicious stuff to both the spectators and the competitors.

Scootaloo soon went to the starting line of her very first tournament race. There, she ran into a light blue Pegasus mare with white hair, who was a bit older.

"Why hello there, little one.", she said, "You're new here, aren't you?"

"Uh, yes, I am.", said Scootaloo, "And who might you be?"

"The name's Wind Cutter. Judging by my name, you'd think I'd fly perfectly, but I'm actually a bit slower in flying than other mares.", said the mare.

"I'm Scootaloo, and I recently started to fly. I'm still a bit weak, and this is my first day in the tournament.", Scootaloo explained herself, "I got some help from a fellow Pegasus named Rushing Wind. Do you know him?"

"Rushing Wind? You mean the reigning champion of the tournament who challenges the best flyer of the Elite Class?", asked Wind Cutter, surprised that Scootaloo heard about him.

"Yes, exactly him!", Scootaloo said. Wind Cutter was excited, and said: "Oh, I've seen this guy fly, and he truly knows the best lines to maintain a high flying speed! Word has it that he was clocked at 12.7 wing power, and that sure is ridiculously fast."

"Twelve point seven!?" Scootaloo was surprised to hear such a high number of wing power. She was just a filly, so how would she ever be able to hit a speed of this value?

"I know, right?", said Wind Cutter, "He sure is way faster than your typical pro flyer. Not even any of the Wonderbolts are as fast as he is."

"Oh yes, there is one.", Scootaloo said in response, knowing that what Wind Cutter said was a lie, "I assume you don't know Rainbow Dash, do you?"

"Rainbow Dash? You mean THE Rainbow Dash?", asked Wind Cutter in amazement, "Who has not heard of her? Those colors, her amazing Sonic Rainboom... I mean, I was there when she pulled it off! Left those two jerks behind by a huge distance!"

Scootaloo couldn't believe what she heard. Wind Cutter actually was there when Rainbow Dash pulled off the Sonic Rainboom. She remembered the story that Rainbow told her, but never mentioned any other Pegasi besides herself and the two jerks she raced to defend Fluttershy.

Suddenly, a siren sound went off, and Wind Cutter knew, this was the signal to take starting positions.

"Well then, have a good race!", said Wind Cutter as she went to the starting line and took her position.

Scootaloo started the race in ninth place out of 16. She was the first in the second half of the grid, similar to the race against the holograms. Only this time, she was racing real Pegasi, and who knows how fast they were? She hit 104 mph, maybe a bit more, but she didn't know if this was enough to win.

Once again, she watched the light, buzzed her wings to build up a flight and waited until the green light turned on in order to take off. The track was almost as easy as the one Rushing Wind had her race on. One difference was that this track had magic rings that the competitors could fly through to gain a short burst of speed. As Scootaloo completed the first lap, she only was in seventh place. But those contestants she was racing against were no holograms which were easy to beat, but real opponents. However, Scootaloo got used to the flying line and ran way better over the track.

After Lap 2, Scootaloo was behind Wind Cutter, who was in third place. She knew that she wouldn't be able to catch up to the leading flyer, but at least this one! This had to work!

Utilizing the perfect flying line and slipstreaming behind Wind Cutter, Scootaloo was able to gain decent speed and was actually able to pass Wind Cutter on the final turn, finishing up in third place.

For her first race against real Pegasi, Scootaloo felt like this finishing position was actually a triple win. Wind Cutter approached her.

"Wow, Scootaloo! For someone as young as you, you sure are pretty fast. And I see you got used to the track very quick.", Wind Cutter said to her.

"Ha, thank you, Wind Cutter!", said Scootaloo happily, "But you were pretty fast as well. I just got lucky."

"Seems that way. You were a bit luckier than me.", Wind Cutter admitted. It was clear, Wind Cutter found a worthy opponent in Scootaloo and vice versa.

"So... where will the second race be held?", Scootaloo asked. She couldn't wait to continue on with the tournament.

"In Canterlot. There's a new race track specially built for the Equestrian Pegasus Racing Tournament. It will be held at night time, so take some rest before heading there.", said Wind Cutter, "See you there."

Rushing Wind and Rainbow Dash came up to Scootaloo, sure excited for the next race and happy due to the compliment from Wind Cutter.

Rushing Wind was beaming from amazement: "Hey! Good to see you made it! For your first race against real Pegasi, I'd say you did fantastic! I mean, which Pegasus filly could say that they placed in a podium position on their very first race?"

"I can!", said Rainbow Dash, "You know that story, right? That very first race I did, I beat those two bullying jerks Score and Hoops and won that race! And not only that, that was also the day when I earned my cutie mark!"

"I get it. We heard of that.", Rushing Wind responded and turned back to Scootaloo. "Now, what do you say we take some rest before we head to Canterlot for Round 2?"

---

The same day, Evening...

Scootaloo, Rushing Wind and Rainbow Dash were in the train leading to Canterlot, along with some other competitors. Scootaloo recognized one of them.

"Hey! That's Wind Cutter over there!", she exclaimed. Rushing Wind and Rainbow Dash looked over to the blue mare talking to some other competitors.

"Looks like you made yourself a worthy rival in that previous race. No wonder you were dying to pass her in the final lap.", said Rushing Wind.

"Erm, what exactly is a 'rival' per se?", asked Scootaloo. She wasn't as much into racing as Rushing Wind and Rainbow Dash were, so she could need all the information she could get.

"You know, Scootaloo," Rainbow Dash started, "having a rival is the best way to test yourself against someone else. And trust me, nobody grants their rival a win. If you win, they'll try harder to beat you, and if they beat you, it is you who has to try harder to beat them. One thing I learned from rivalry, though, is that it might not be the best way to show that you're better than someone else..."

Rainbow Dash looked concerned. She remembered the time when she was in the Wonderbolts Academy and met that Pegasus named Lightning Dust. For the time the two were paired, one tried to be better than the other, and that almost got her friends killed thanks to a tornado that Lightning Dust created. She was kicked out of the academy shortly after the incident, and since then, the two were arch rivals.

Rushing Wind also saw that look on Rainbow's face and said: "Yeah... Lightning Dust..." He has also heard about the heavy rivalry between the two and how Lightning Dust flew off on a rocket. Shortly after that, the Washouts, Lightning Dust's stunt team, was disbanded, seeing as their leader disappeared into Celestia knows where.

---

One hour later, the train arrived in Canterlot, and everypony got out of the train. Scootaloo hasn't been to Canterlot that much, only one time, when she helped Sweetie Belle to right a huge wrong that she almost couldn't avoid. This big city looked amazing, with all those noble buildings around and the castle of Celestia and Luna.

Not that far from the castle was the race track. An easy track with several stretched turns, but also some challenging K-turns. Speed rings were at some exits of turns as well as on some straight lines. And with 16 contestants, this race sure promised to be interesting.

"One tip, Scoots." Rushing Wind gained Scootaloo's attention before she headed off for the starting line. "What is it?", she asked. Rushing Wind said: "If you approach a turn from the outside and move into the inside when turning, you will be way faster. I know from experience."

"Impressive, Rush." Rainbow Dash certainly hasn't heard of such a race strategy. "You sure have learned a lot on the other side of the mirror." "Thanks, Rainbow. All years of experience as a GT3 race driver.", Rushing Wind responded.

Full of enthusiasm, Scootaloo went off to the starting line. "Good luck, Scoots!", Rainbow Dash called out to her.

At the starting line, Scootaloo took her position, which was third place this time. Rules stated that in the next race, the competitors start in the position they last finished in, meaning that Wind Cutter was right behind her.

Scootaloo repeated the routine of taking a launching stance, watching the light and taking off when the light goes green. The start went off without a hitch, but as she watched the two in front of her, she saw the Pegasus in the lead get away. "This one might me way too fast for me...", she knew. However, she was shortly off the competitor in front of her, and she knew that she could catch them.

In Lap 2, she attempted the technique that Rushing Wind told her - approaching a turn from the outside and flicking into the inside when taking the turn. This allowed her to pass the competitor in front of her in the second K turn. She was now in second place, with one more lap to go, and no visual on the leader.

As Scootaloo raced over the track in Lap 3, she felt herself go a little bit faster than before. She now went at the same speed as the competitor behind her. And thankfully, she kept her position until the finish line because of that.

After the race, Scootaloo flew to Rainbow Dash and Rushing Wind.

"Cool flying, squirt! You almost won!", Rainbow Dash praised her sister-like friend. Rushing Wind joined in: "She's right. Second place for your second race really is something to be proud of. And I noticed that you were going a bit faster back there."

"Really?" Scootaloo became excited. "How fast?"

"116 miles per hour, to be exact. The one who was behind you was going about the same speed, 115, if I'm correct.", Rushing Wind responded.

"Erm, can you tell us what that speed in wing power is?", asked Rainbow Dash. Rushing Wind knew that the two weren't familiar with the speed units from the other side of the mirror.

"About 6 wing power. Scientists in my world did the math - one wing power equals 19.5 miles per hour.", Rushing Wind explained.

"Seriously, Rush, I have no idea what your world is like, but it sure must be very advanced and organized.", Rainbow Dash said.

Rushing Wind smiled. "Thanks, Rainbow. That's also the reason why I made all this modern machinery as well as the race track you saw. I LOVE tinkering! Nothing is as refreshing to me as tinkering on a nice machine."

Then, he turned to Scootaloo. "As for you... What was that like, going way faster than before?"

"Amazing! Although... If I'm going way faster as time passes, how can I react fast enough to take the turns without bumping into the walls?" Scootaloo was actually worried about flying so fast that she would lose control very soon.

Rushing Wind pat her on her back. "Don't worry, little one. I know just the thing for someone who's terrified of high speed."

"Another one of your 'tinkerings', I assume?", asked Rainbow Dash.

Rushing Wind smiled and raised an eyebrow as he looked to the two. "Just you guys wait..."

Author's Note:

Scootaloo is doing really good so far...

What plan does Rushing Wind have for Pegasi who are afraid of high speeds? Find out in the next chapter...

EDIT: Just had to add something to places where Rushing Wind speaks.

Comments

[Bronycommander]

Looks very good and interesting so far. Thought, it makes me wonder, how can Scoot's heart keep up with the preassure of such speed, if you get me

[RushingWind-01]

Well, Rainbow Dash once broke the sound barrier as a filly, and she's still alive. And probably several other young Pegasi went super fast as well, and they're still alive too. So it's only fair to have this work for Scoots as well. And let's be real, 116 mph is not fast (except if you're Fluttershy, no offense intended)...

No, I have bigger plans for Scootaloo. Just look out for Chapter 4.

[Bronycommander]

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Okay, though you see that little square with the 2 >> in the right top corner. You must click on that to reply to a comment, Otherwise, you just comment on your own story