Scootaloo watched as the gates of Yakyakistan opened. A calf walked in and beckoned Pinkie Pie inside.
“Oh my candy letters!” exclaimed the party pony.
Scootaloo hadn’t looked around herself, so turned to see what Pinkie was marvelling at. Sure enough, there was no shortage of interesting spectacles in this foreign land. The houses weren’t unrecognisable as log cabins, but there were enormous and plainly not built on the cheap. There was a craftsmanship that said the builders had the time of their lives constructing these homes.
“I could bring back a few of these Yakyakistan logs and build a party hall in Ponyville!” said Pinkie. “But all those logs might be kinda heavy. Like Rainbow Dash after a fifth round of rock candy.”
Pinkie Pie turned her head, and so did Scootaloo.
“Ice irises!” shouted Pinkie.
A veritable farm of glittering flowers in all shades of blue lay beyond a row of splendidly built wooden houses. Scootaloo had seen ice iri before, but the ones in this field were in a class by themselves.
“They’d be perfect for decorations!” Pinkie Pie beamed. “Imagine if Roseluck or Daisy or Lily saw these! Ooh, they might just faint!”
The calf tapped Pinkie’s shoulder and pointed to the inside walls of the Yakyakistan boarder. Pinkie turned and gasped. Scootaloo did the same.
“Ha! Those oughtta keep the abominable snowmares away!” grinned Pinkie Pie.
Large canons and trebuchets were set up along the top of the wall. Each one was loaded not with a big stone, but with a large tree stump.
Every third canon had a yak slumped next to it. They were all asleep. Scootaloo now knew why the arrival of Pinkie Pie was so out of nowhere. Then, another unannounced arrival appeared through the gates of Yakyakistan.
“Subjects! Yaks in trouble!”
Scootaloo was shocked to see Pinkie Pie get trampled by hundreds of yaks running out of their homes and away from their jobs to meet with Prince Rutherford. Somehow, though, Scootaloo hadn’t even been so much as jostled. But she was a little put off by the rumbling ground.
“Prince Rutherford was hasty! Prince Rutherford was mad at not real yak things in Equestria! Prince Rutherford declared war on Equestria!”
A murmur fell over the crowd of yaks. Scootaloo made her way to Pinkie Pie, who was groggily picking herself up.
“Yaks’ weapons no match for ponies! Ponies have wings! Ponies have horns! Yaks can’t smash all magic flying ponies! Yaks in deep fertilizer!”
“Are you OK, Pinkie?” asked Scootaloo.
Pinkie Pie didn’t answer. She was shaking her head to try and get her head straight. That’s when the calf who had allowed her entrance to his homeland jumped her and tied her up.
“Prince Rutherford! Yaks have pony hostage! Yaks have leverage!” bellowed the calf, standing on top of Pinkie, who was roped from neck to tail.
“Hey, get off her!” scouted Scootaloo.
She attempted to push the calf off of Pinkie, but he didn’t budge. The prince stormed over to their pink prisoner. He made the ground rumble more than the crowd did.
“Pony princess’ party planner!” he hadn’t forgotten Pinkie at all.
“Uh… hi,” Pinkie Pie put on a forced smile.
“What is purple princess’ weakness?!” demanded Prince Rutherford.
Scootaloo was glad to see that Pinkie Pie was refusing to tell them, but not for long. The prince turned to the calf, somehow making the ground rumble even though he wasn’t moving his legs.
“Fetch sheet of paper and bottle of iodine!”
“I’ll talk! I’ll talk!” Pinkie Pie shrieked hysterically. “Spiders and quesadillas!”
“Oh, no!” cried Scootaloo. “We’re gonna lose the war! What can I do?!”
A red kazoo flew out of nowhere and hit Scootaloo right between the eyes.
“Ow! What the heck, Nyx?!” she groaned.
“It wasn’t me!” Nyx flinched. “It was her!”
“You rolled over onto my tail,” frowned Diamond Tiara.
“You coulda just tapped me.” Scootaloo sat up in her seat, off of Diamond Tiara’s tail.
“She did,” said Sweetie Belle, magicing the kazoo off the carriage floor and back to Nyx. “You were dead asleep.”
Scootaloo looked out the window. “Oh. We’re moving again.”
“Yeah. They got the sheep off the line,” said Twist. “That was a heck of a demonstration they were putting on, too.”
“Does anypony know why those sheep were so worked up?” asked Nyx.
“A bunch of em were inspired by an insensitivity protest a flock put on in Ponyville,” Apple Bloom explained. “They’re demanding better treatment all over Equestria now. My brother and sister had to go off to sensitivity training in Fillydelphia, and now sheep all over the country are wanting other farm ponies to do the same, even though hardly any of them are being mistreated.”
“With all this train traffic being blocked,” Lazybug moaned, “I don’t see why me and my sister can’t count sheep as pests.”
“Hey, if it hadn’t been for that one herd blocking the tracks in Dodge City, Prince Rutherford would have won the war he declared right to Twilight’s face.”
The Cutie Mark Crusaders all looked at Scootaloo, who told them about the dream she’d just had.
At the Crystal Empire station, the Ponyville school ponies met up with the Manehattan and Barrow-In-Harness school ponies. There, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo bore witness to Babs Seed’s scissors cutie mark for the first time. Babs herself marvelled at the shields siting boldly on her Ponyville friends’ flanks. In addition, Castaway revealed her cutie mark, which she kept from the Ponyville and Manehattan CMCs as a surprise for this field trip. Both Babs and Castaway regretted to report that no foals chose to take advantage of the retroactive recruitment rule that Apple Bloom had reinstated. Soon the tour began, with Flash Sentry acting as tour guide. He started by pointing out Impulsoria’s cave, and reciting the stories of how Fluttershy discovered her and the part she played in the Equestria Games’ Dragon Riding event. Quietly, the CMC told Nyx that after Spike publicly improvised his own rendition of the Cloudsdale anthem, he spent a lot of his time moping in that cave until Impulsoria returned and demanded alone time to rest. The tour moved on after the crystal dragon herself poked her head out of her cave and gave the school ponies a somewhat half-hearted wave.
Quite soon, the field trippers were walking through the Crystal Castle hallways.
“Oh. Pardon me, your highnesses,” Flash said after opening the door to the spa. “I didn’t know you two were in here.”
“It’s alright, Flash,” said Shining Armour. “Why don’t we tell them, Cadance?”
Cadance nodded, approached the school ponies, and beckoned Miss Harshwhinny to join her. They told the foals that they were considering running a particular Equestria Games event in the Crystal Empire which went over well with the crystal ponies; Air Sprinting, in which Scootaloo well remembered Lightning Dust and her friend Updraft had represented Loch Azure splendidly. Before they left the crystal spa, Scootaloo spotted another familiar figure.
“Hi! What brings you here?” she asked.
“I’m here with Starlight Glimmer,” said Amber Aldis, mane and tail in curlers. “Twilight Sparkle introduced me to her and asked her if she could use her talents to try and find a cure for my illness.”
Scootaloo wasn’t sure Twilight’s logic was too good; a unicorn exceedingly gifted with magic trying to cure a pony at risk of a horrific end if magic was used on her.
“So why the Crystal Empire?” asked Scootaloo.
“After Starlight learned about Nyx and Pulp Puree, she made us all realise that the Crystal Heart’s magic doesn’t affect me. Not in a bad way, anyway. So we think there may be an answer here.”
Scootaloo was shunted out of the spa at this point, as the tour was moving on.
Eventually, the group stopped at a café for lunch. Prompted by the possible upcoming Air Sprinting event, Scootaloo excitedly brought the subject around to who might be competing in it. No one was surprised to hear her jump straight to Rainbow Dash.
“She didn’t even get Gold in the Arial Relay,” Babs Seed objected. “Spitfire did. She’s a Wonderbolt.”
“So is Rainbow Dash,” insisted Scootaloo. “She’s the reserve they call on the most. It’s just a matter of time.”
“That won’t make her faster than any of the Wonderbolts,” said Skyward. “What she needs is a manedo.”
“A manedo?”
“Her mane’s not as slick as, say, Spitfire’s. Or Lightning Dust’s,” Skyward explained. “She’s not as… as, um…”
“Aerodynamic,” Castaway cut in. “You know, like hydrodynamic, only in the air. Anyway, that’s not why Rainbow Dash didn’t get Ponyville the gold. She’s just too nice. Why do you think she had Fluttershy and Bulk Biceps on her team? If she takes part in this Sprinting event, she’ll probably choose Fluttershy as her partner. Then she’ll have no chance.”
“She could always go first,” suggested Gilt Eyes. “She’ll practically give Fluttershy a big head start if she does that.”
“Not if she spins out,” said Washout. “Scootaloo told me she didn’t do too well when she raced Lightning Dust to Salt Lick City.”
“Yeah, and you gotta do a lotta laps in Air Sprinting,” put in Flotsam. “Rainbow Dash’ll flub for sure.”
Scootaloo was quick to defend Rainbow. “Don’t forget, everypony. Rainbow Dash is the only pony who can pull off a sonic rainboom.”
The debate continued even when lunch was over and the tour resumed. Even when the classes were on the station platform at the end of the day, the foals were still arguing whether Rainbow Dash, Spitfire or Lightning Dust would come out on top.
For two days after the field trip, the debate was still alive in Ponyville; although it was not the only thing on everypony’s lips. Some were taking the debate too seriously, others were simply offering input. Scootaloo was surprisingly in the latter category. She, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle had something else to look forward to.
“How come you’re still having Twilight Time?” Diamond Tiara asked. “You’ve got your cutie marks now.”
“We still like learning new skills,” Apple Bloom told her. “And, well, old ones. I’m still a bit of a beginner with planting.”
Today’s session had nothing to do with planting, but the CMCs didn’t even hear what the activity would be. They were distracted by the banana sticker sitting on Twilight’s horn. Both she and Spike didn’t appear to know, but Scootaloo saw that Nyx was grinning at a library table nearby. Soon enough, Twilight noticed that the CMCs were trying not to laugh.
“Spike, what are you doing?”
“I’m not…” he broke off, laughing. “I think Pinkie Pie got you at breakfast.”
He jumped up and ripped the sticker off Twilight. The CMC laughed. Twilight groaned.
“Hey, relax. I didn’t notice until now,” Spike scoffed at Twilight’s glare.
“Did you notice it, Nyx?” Twilight turned to the occupied table.
Nyx flinched. “I… I’m sorry I didn’t mention it. I just… I thought Pinkie’s prank might lead to something.”
“Something like what?” asked Twilight calmly.
“Well… I mean…” Nyx calmed down a tad, “if Pinkie Pie hadn’t played that trick on Rainbow Dash with that composter, I wouldn’t be here.”
“Ah,” Twilight nodded.
The CMCs all tilted their heads.
“After you told me about what happened with you, Spike, and Starlight,” Nyx went on. “I realised that if Pinkie hadn’t done that, Lazybug and Crosspatch would never have been freed, and their parents would never have been caught with me in their attic.”
“So what would a banana sticker on Twilight’s horn do?” asked Scootaloo, looking sceptical.
Nyx looked uncomfortable again, but she was spared from trying to give an answer by the abrupt arrival of Rainbow Dash.
“Hey, Twilight! Guess who’s got a mission!”
Twilight, Spike and the foals’ eyes widened. Rainbow Dash’s cutie mark was shining.
“To the map!” Twilight called.
And off to the throne room they went. The map lay across the round table, ready to pinpoint the place where Rainbow Dash was needed to solve a friendship problem.
“Is it just me?” Rainbow asked.
Her cutie mark leaving her flank and circling above the map on its own gave the answer. But that was as far as it went. The red, yellow, and blue lightning bolt descended down to the map, but it seemed to be taking its time marking the spot where the trouble was. First it hovered over Canterlot, then Ponyville, then Manehattan, then Barrow-In-Harness, then the Crystal Empire, then Cloudsdale, then Loch Azure, then Rainbow Falls, then Fillydelphia, then Salt Lick City, then Dodge City…
“Well?!” Rainbow was losing patience. “Where do ya need me?!”
Rainbow Dash’s cutie mark was still being indecisive when Spike suddenly burped out a scroll. Sure enough, it was a message from Canterlot.
“Well, at least Princess Celestia know where she wants you,” he said upon reading it.
He showed it to the ponies, who discovered that Celestia was summoning Rainbow Dash to Canterlot, by the request of Miss Harshwhinny.
“Is this about the Air Sprinting game they want to put on in the Crystal Empire?” asked Scootaloo.
“I dunno. It doesn’t say,” Rainbow Dash shrugged.
They looked at the Cutie Map. Rainbow’s cutie mark was still hovering over a different area of Equestria every second.
“Well, I guess I know where to start,” said Rainbow Dash.
Twilight was about to go fetch a bag of supplies, but then she figured that if the friendship problem concerned the whole of Equestria, the odds were that Rainbow Dash could return home at any time. And so, off went Rainbow Dash to see what the deal was.
The meeting venue was Cinnamon Chai’s Tea & Cake Shop. Rainbow arrived to find Miss Harshwhinny waiting at a table she’d reserved.
“Delighted to see you again, Miss Dash,” she said, not looking the part. “Congratulations. You are the first to arrive.”
Rainbow Dash chuckled. “No surprise there. Uh, who else I coming?”
“Miss Dust and Captain Spitfire,” Miss Harshwhinny answered.
Rainbow Dash decided to pose Scootaloo’s question to Miss Harshwhinny. “Is that about that Air Sprinting game at the Crystal Empire I’ve heard about?”
“Partially. The plan was to have each of the Wonderbolts compete in an Air Sprint, but…”
“Just the Wonderbolts?” Rainbow’s face fell.
“That’s right.”
“What about the reserves?”
“That would have caused a bit of a clutter,” Harshwhinny shook her head.
“Too bad. I’d love to go into a competition with them,” sighed Rainbow Dash. “Every time I get called on as a reserve, it’s for an acrobatic show and not a race.”
“You’re lucky,” Lightning Dust touched down at the café.
“Huh. I didn’t know you were into that kinda thing,” Rainbow said as Lightning Dust joined her and Miss Harshwhinny at their table.
“You shoulda seen me in Coco Pommel’s Parachute Pinafore at Loch Azure’s BYOM show,” grinned Lightning Dust. “Everyone was on their hooves.”
“Well, it’s nice to see you’ve moved on since you were expelled,” now Spitfire had arrived.
Lightning’s face twitched, but she kept her grin.
Over black forest cakes and orange pekoe, Miss Harshwhinny told Rainbow Dash, Spitfire, and Lightning Dust that there seemed to be an Equestria-wide debate going about who is the fastest pegasus.
“All day yesterday, Prof Lactic was asking me if I thought I could outstrip you two,” Lightning Dust said to Rainbow and Spitfire.
“Soarin and Fleetfoot were looking over those newspapers from the Arial Relay at the Equestria Games last night,” Spitfire nodded.
Rainbow Dash shrugged. “I didn’t notice anything. I usually get compliments about my athletic talents from outta nowhere.”
“Everywhere I go,” said Miss Harshwhinny, “All I hear is arguments about you three.”
Cinnamon Chai walked up and refilled Rainbow’s cup. Now Rainbow Dash was grinning. It was clear who the waitress would back.
Miss Harshwhinny pulled out a book. “Furthermore, I found this whilst at the Crystal Spa. It’s a rare one about the early days of the Wonderbolts. It’s likely two of you had to learn this fact for your Wonderbolts history exams. In Chapter 3, it talks about a recruitment stipulation that was implemented by Admiral Fairy Flight. Hmm, Miss Dust, would you know the stipulation I am referring to?”
Spitfire and Rainbow saw that Lightning Dust’s grin had not subsided. She may not have taken the Wonderbolts history exam, but she knew perfectly well what Harshwhinny was talking about.
“Any pegasus who breaks any one of her records can be made a Wonderbolt,” she said. “No academy training or tests or anything.”
This is exactly what Rainbow Dash used to do before being accepted into the academy, and what Lightning Dust was doing now that she’d been booted out; and they both did this despite their knowledge that this stipulation had long been out-dated.
“Now then, having learned about each of your dealings with the organization,” Miss Harshwhinny was now getting to her point, “I would like to offer you a chance to race one another in a contest to decide whether or not the current Wonderbolts recruitment rules shall change. If Captain Spitfire wins, the rules shall remain the same. If Miss Dash wins, passing the history test shall make one a Wonderbolt rather than a mere reserve. If Miss Dust wins, claiming certain records shall make one a Wonderbolt.”
Rainbow Dash was sure that taking part in this race would solve the problem the Cutie Map selected her to see to, so she agreed at once. Lightning Dust did as well, but Spitfire insisted that she run this by her fellow Wonderbolts before deciding. But Rainbow and Lightning were sure she was aching to agree. Before Spitfire left, a crowd had formed around their table.
“They’re all here!” exclaimed Sunshine Smiles. “The champion and the slowpokes!”
“They’re probably gonna settle our bet for us,” droned Moonlight Raven. “Cool.”
Miss Harshwhinny grunted in a dignified way. “This shall hopefully be the only time I give in to popular demand. First I was swamped with requests from the crystal ponies to hold an Air Sprinting event in their homeland, and now this. Captain, you’d better go.”
Spitfire took off to a chorus of cheers from roughly a third of the crowd at the café.
“Whoa. Looks like Spitfire dropped out,” Moonlight grinned.
“She did not!” protested Sunshine.
“She went to confer with her fellow Wonderbolts!” Harshwhinny raised her voice. “You shall all know the outcome by tomorrow morning.”
And so it was arranged. Spitfire had her teammates’ blessing to represent them in what was dubbed by Miss Harshwhinny “The Wonderbolts Millennium Rally”, as it was decided that the event would be held on the one-thousandth anniversary of the first performance of General Firefly’s squadron of EUP pegasi. Rather than a game of Air Sprinting, the event was going to be a combination of a racetrack and obstacle course held at Rainbow Falls. A mountain of tickets were sold on the same day they were printed. If Rainbow, Spitfire or Lightning hadn’t known how seriously everypony in the country was taking this debate, they certainly did now. The three contestants were instructed to stay away from Rainbow Falls while the course was being set up. Three guards were employed to ensure that no informants could infiltrate the setup either, and each guard was rooting for a different pegasus. Placed in charge of safety measures was Prof Lactic, who seemed to be the only neutral pony in Equestria despite living in the same town as one of the contestants. His biggest concern was the well-being of the contestants and the spectators. One of the precautions he insisted upon was a method of holding a racer back if needed. Miss Harshwhinny questioned Lightning Dust about her Manehattan friend’s patented dress. So it was decided that Coco Pommel’s Parachute Pinafore would be worn by all three contestants. Coco happily offered to piece them together, but Soarin recommended Spitfire have one tailored by the Wonderbolts’ outfitter, just in case Coco felt like playing saboteur. And since Rainbow Dash knew a seamstress personally, she figured she might as well take Soarin’s tip.
“She did a good job,” Twilight said as Rainbow Dash flew around Ponyville Castle’s throne room in her fresh Parachute Pinafore. “So, you think taking part in this rally will solve the friendship problem the Map called you for?”
“Sure it will,” Rainbow Dash touched down on the cold floor. “If everypony’s arguing about who’s the fastest pegasus in Equestria, me racing Spitfire and Lightning Dust can put an end to it. Problem solved.”
Twilight shook her head. “I don’t think the problem will end there.”
“Why not?”
“Say you win…”
“Which I will.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Twilight frowned. “If you win, not everypony will be happy.”
“Why not? My victory will show everyone once and for all who’s the fastest,” said Rainbow.
“I don’t think all of the Spitfire and Lightning Dust supporters will just lie back and accept your victory,” said Twilight. “Ponies can be awfully defiant in defeat. And worse, ponies can be bad winners too. This argument’s not gonna go away after the rally’s over. I’m sure of it.”
“I don’t remember any bad blood after the Equestria Games,” Rainbow Dash said. “No one in Ponyville got mad after Cloudsdale took the gold in Arial Relay, or Loch Azure took the Air Sprinting gold, right?”
“Maybe not,” said Twilight, “but the Equestria Games happen more often than one-off celebratory by-popular-demand races. Every city fares differently at every Equestria Games. The overall outcome’s always different. This rally will decide if the Wonderbolts’ recruitment laws will be altered. The stakes are pretty high.”
Rainbow Dash scratched her chin.
“And virtually every pony in the country has a stake in this. I found something out today. There’s gambling going on,” Twilight finished.
“Gambling?”
“Ponies are making wagers. The betting circle I stumbled upon had its bets up in the thousands.”
“Thousands?!” burst out Rainbow Dash. “Thousands of bits?!”
“That’s how seriously some ponies are taking this,” said Twilight. “If this rally goes ahead, there’ll be more than two losers.”
Twilight could see Rainbow Dash was going to ask for a suggestion.
“It’s your mission, Rainbow. You’ll find a solution. I know you will.”
With this weighty knowledge looming over her, Rainbow Dash wondered if she ought not to have agreed to Miss Harshwhinny’s proposal. She might have looked afraid to settle the dispute, and all those who were rooting for her would be disheartened. And now that she was aware of this widespread argument, she was more aware of all the compliments and votes of confidence she was getting around Ponyville. She noticed that those in her hometown who were on the side of either Spitfire or Lightning Dust would give her a wide berth. Rainbow Dash began to suspect that Scootaloo might be rooting for one of her rivals, because the young pegasus seemed to be avoiding her. The reason for this was because Scootaloo was freaking out inside. She had come to the realization that this life-changing event had come about all because of her. She was the one who started that debate with the Ponyville, Manehattan, and Barrow-In-Harness school ponies, which spread to their respective towns and beyond. In the two days since leaving the Crystal Empire, she never knew that the lively discussions about who was fastest were way beyond the schoolhouse and the new playground. Twilight had told her and the other Crusaders about hers and Spike’s encounter with Starlight Glimmer and Starswirl the Bearded’s revised time travel spell, but Scootaloo asked her to go into more detail after Rainbow left to answer the Cutie Map’s call. Twilight emphasised the fact that the three of them discovered how even the tiniest act can have tremendous consequences. Scootaloo now understood Nyx’s desire to keep the banana sticker on Twilight’s horn to herself. Then, shortly after the Millennium Rally was announced, Scootaloo learned about the gambling that was going on from Diamond Tiara. Appearently Filthy Rich was backing Rainbow Dash and betting Barnyard Bargains. Who knows where this would lead? Scootaloo was getting anxious.
One day, about a week before the rally was to take place, as recess was going on at the Ponyville schoolhouse, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle noticed that Scootaloo had not come out. They knew she was there that day, so they walked back into the school to see if she was still there.
“What are you looking at?” asked Apple Bloom.
“My pencil sharpener broke,” Scootaloo replied, showing them a small plastic cylinder. “The blade cracked. It won’t work now.”
“That explains the mess,” said Sweetie Belle, magicing the pencil shavings off of the floor around Scootaloo’s desk and into the nearby garbage can.
Sweetie Belle took the broken pencil sharpener away from Scootaloo with her magic as well, but Scootaloo grabbed it back instantly.
“We can’t just throw it away!” she barked.
“Why not?”
“I don’t know,” said Scootaloo. “But it might be important.”
“How?” asked Apple Bloom.
“I just said I don’t know. But Pinkie Pie found Lazybug and Crosspatch in a composter, so…”
“So you think there might be a pony trapped inside your pencil sharpener?” Apple Bloom asked with a raised eyebrow.
“I hope it’s not a unicorn,” shuddered Sweetie Belle.
“Who knows?” Scootaloo shrugged.
This went on for days. As the thousandth anniversary of General Firefly’s squadron’s performance at the First Celestial Year of Peace drew nearer, Scootaloo weighed every decision, not matter how small. Some days, she didn’t always take her scooter to school in case she fell off and injured herself. On these occasions, she was always a few minutes late. One night, when a thunderstorm was scheduled, Scootaloo didn’t sit out on her backyard porch like she usually did. She found she didn’t mind being out in the thunder and lightning so long as she was inches from her house, but this time around, she gave it a miss, thinking she might get struck by lightning on this occasion. The following morning, she discovered that she missed out on something special. Her dad told her that he’d seen a snowy owl land on the backyard fence from the window. Scootaloo had never seen one and was gravely disappointed that she’d missed out. She went and asked Fluttershy if she’d seen this owl, and found that she hadn’t. Then there was the time Cheerilee asked Scootaloo and Dinky to pick teams for a hoofball game in PE class. Scootaloo took so long to choose each pony that the game ran short. Cheerilee spoke to Scootaloo about her decidophobia before recess, and suggested asking her Crusader friends for advice whenever she had to make choices like this again. This didn’t go well, as Scootaloo soon found herself practically at everypony’s mercy. When Rumble was offering animal crackers to the class, Scootaloo made him tell her which one to take. When Silver Spoon and Gilt Eyes asked her if she wanted to play with a rubber hockey puck, she said “Uh… you tell me.” When she found a bit on the ground, she asked a nearby Cranky Doodle Donkey if she ought to pick it up. Cranky thought he’d be a nice guy and told her to take it, but then he was asked if she should spend it or save it. When he suggested spending it, she asked him what she should buy. He backpedalled at this point, but then Scootaloo just asked him what she should save for. Cranky promptly suggested therapy and walked away before another inquisition could bombard him. The problem got so bad, that Scootaloo’s family and friends thought she might not even go to the bathroom without somepony’s consent.
Rainbow Dash came to Scootaloo’s aid by asking her to watch her practise for the Millennium Rally. This proved quite distracting. Scootaloo got really caught up in Rainbow Dash’s speed and acrobatics. Rainbow took it as a good sign when Scootaloo decided all on her own to call it a night when evening fell. After Scootaloo had gone to bed, Scootaloo’s parents thanked Rainbow Dash for calming her nerves. Rainbow thought of another idea to keep Scootaloo distracted, as the young pegasus discovered the next morning.
“I get to wave the flag at the rally?!”
“I went and asked Miss Harshwhinny, and she said you can,” grinned Rainbow Dash. “Frankly, I think she’s still blown away by that flag waving routine you and your friends put on.”
“Thank you so much, Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo jumped around in elation.
“Let’s practise a bit, huh?” Rainbow Dash passed a flag to Scootaloo and took her into the sky.
Scootaloo stood on a cloud holding the flag. And when she waved it, Rainbow took off and rocketed through the sky, looping, spinning, and curving with amazing grace. Other pegasi gathered to watch. Scootaloo’s time was cut short as she had to get to class, so Silverspeed agreed to take her back down to land. At the end of the day, Scootaloo was surrounded by happy talk. The rally would be happening the following day, and the argumentative banter had been replaced by excited pre-event chatter. Scootaloo asked Flitter, who had rang the school bell that day, to take her up to where Rainbow Dash was still practising. When they arrived and Scootaloo had jumped onto a cloud, Rainbow Dash was deploying her chute like she did every few minutes during practise. Rarity had done a great job; the chute never failed to slow her to a halt once. Rainbow retracted the chute and started doing circuits around the perimeter of the town.
“Hi, Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo called as Rainbow passed her cloud. “You’re looking great!”
“Thanks, kid!” Rainbow turned her head to wave at Scootaloo.
BAM!
Rainbow’s broken concentration caused her to crash into Thunderlane and High Note. And Scootaloo’s fear of making decisions stampeded back.
“They’re very bruised, but they’re all fine,” Nurse Redheart informed the crowd outside the hospital. “High Note needs a bandage and Thunderlane will have to stay the night to rest his head.”
“What about Rainbow Dash?!” chorused the crowd.
“The swelling in her eye should be down by sunrise,” said Nurse Redheart. “She’ll be perfectly fit for the rally tomorrow.”
The cheering that followed threatened to break the hospital windows, and yet somehow, Nurse Redheart’s immediate “Shh!” drowned it out.
When dawn broke, ponies who hadn’t spent the night in any Rainbow Falls inns were now making their way towards the town for the Wonderbolts Millennium Rally. Scootaloo took a lot of convincing from her parents to accompany them. She knew perfectly well what Redheart’s verdict had been, and upon hearing that Rainbow Dash most certainly was in good condition for the rally, her spirits were lifted and she agreed to come along. But as she rode her dad’s back as the family flew to Rainbow Falls, she was still scared that the event would be jeopardised by her mere presence. She was constantly fighting the urge to jump onto a cloud and stay behind; she knew her parents wouldn’t allow it. They drew level with other pegasi who weren’t travelling by train to Rainbow Falls, and Scootaloo was soon surrounded by speculative talk. The topic of which of the three contenders would take the victory and change the Wonderbolts’ rules had not died, but Scootaloo noticed that no one was talking about the last evening’s accident. It sounded like no one outside of Ponyville had been informed. Not yet, at least. The odds were good that the word would spread as the town became full of spectators. And Scootaloo couldn’t help but dread what would happen when this took place. This would be the second time within a month that her actions affected the whole of Equestria.
It was one of those times when you had to yell at the top of your voice in order to be heard by someone standing right next to you. The crowd was making a large noise, and there was little to no free space in the town of Rainbow Falls. Bleachers and balconies lay everywhere along the race track. It was pointless to try and pick the best spot, because no matter where you sat, you would not be able to see the entirety of the race. Even if you parked yourself on a cloud right above the course, the three competitors would be obscured several times during the event.
“In one hour, the Wonderbolts Millennium Rally will begin!” Twilight had been recruited to cast the volume spell to magnify Miss Harshwhinny’s voice. “This event will comprise of several courses and obstacles! First, Captain Spitfire, Miss Dash, and Miss Dust shall complete an oval circuit! Then they shall each go through an obstacle course, each of which is set up in exactly the same way as its fellows! Each competitor must make a split second decision so as not to join one of her opponents in one set of obstacles! If two pegasi find their way into one course, the second one in shall be disqualified!”
Harshwhinny paused to let the crowd absorb this possibility.
“All three obstacle courses terminate at a straightaway that leads to one pipe that runs through Prism Hill!” Miss Harshwhinny continued. “The three racers shall then pick an arch to pass through under the Rainbowduct! There are no restrictions on which arch the racers choose! More than one pony may pass through any one arch! A slide lies beyond the Rainbowduct, followed by a free-fall down to Spectrum Gorge! The competitors must run the length of the gorge, passing markers as they go!”
There were no bleachers in the gorge. A draft ran through it; not as strong as the one in the Abysmal Abyss, but still a tough one. Rainbow, Spitfire and Lightning would have to run a quarter mile against a current.
“At the end of the gorge sits a springboard, which will propel them up to where they started! The racers are forbidden from pumping their wings after they’ve bounced on the springboard until they pass over the top of the gorge! They may then fly back to the starting line and begin all over again! This rally shall run for six laps!”
Somehow, Nyx’s tiny voice reached Scootaloo through all the shouting and cheering. Scootaloo made her way to where Nyx was standing, the official rally flag clenched in one of her wings.
“I brought your scooter!” Nyx called over the crowd. “You left it at school yesterday!”
Scootaloo said nothing. She just reached out and took her scooter. Nyx saw the scooter shake in Scootaloo’s grip.
“Are you alright?” she asked.
Scootaloo sat down.
Nyx remembered she had to raise her voice. “Are you alright, Scootaloo?!”
“Nyx, you wave the flag!” Scootaloo forced the flag into Nyx’s hooves. “I’ll just distract Rainbow Dash again if I’m there to watch her!”
Scootaloo immediately mounted her scooter and zoomed away, weaving around spectators along her way.
“Wait!”
But Nyx quickly lost her in the crowd. She took the flag to Twilight, who told her that she might as well wave the flag in Scootaloo’s place. She then sought out Scootaloo’s parents, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle.
“She did a runner, huh?!” groaned Scootaloo’s dad.
“We’ll find her!” promised Sweetie Belle.
The four ponies looked all around for the whole hour leading to start time. During their search for the paranoid filly, they caught glimpses of conversation despite the din of the crowds.
“Is it too late to change my bet?!”
“Come on! A black eye won’t change this race!”
“Sabotage! That’s what this is!”
Scootaloo heard bits of conversation like this too. She was out of sight beneath the bleachers that overlooked the straightaway. A deflated raft sat by a pillar, and she rested there, scooter parked nearby, not bothering to question why this raft was here.
“Surely I won’t cause any damage down here,” she said as a few pieces of popcorn rained down on her head.
Scootaloo stayed hidden and unfound when the time arrived. Rainbow Dash, Spitfire, and Lightning Dust, resplendent in their Parachute Pinafores, stood on a wooden beam stretched between the oval track’s walls. Rainbow’s black eye was hardly noticeable, and both her eyes were as full of determination as her rivals’. On a gantry a few yards ahead of them stood Nyx, flag in mouth.
“Scootaloo not coming?!” asked Lightning Dust.
“I saw her an hour ago!” replied Rainbow Dash. “I hope she’s not freaking out about having to make decisions again!”
Spitfire pointed to Nyx, and both Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust returned their attention to the impending race.
Nyx waved the flag, and off they went. There was no commentary. No adequate means of doing so was brought forth. Three crates of inflated balloons were stationed close by the finish line, each with a pony standing next to it. One crate was loaded with blue balloons to represent Rainbow Dash, one with green to represent Lightning Dust, and one with yellow to represent Spitfire. The appropriate crate would be opened to announce to those in the crowd who could not see the finish line who the victor was. As the three racers rocketed along the oval track, their slipstream upset one of the crates. It fell from its perch, plummeted down to the ground below, and fell apart. All but four of the yellow balloons inside it popped. If Spitfire claimed the win, some in the crowd would be left in the dark for a while.
“Is that booger so sure Spitfire won’t win that he thinks he can get rid of her victory balloons?!” Scootaloo heard someone in the stands above her yell.
There were no slip-ups at the entrances to the obstacle courses. Each was being traversed by only one racer. Rainbow Dash had reached one first, and the other two had entered their respective ones at the same second. The spectators present watched with agitation until the first pony emerged from the course of pillars, tires, and slanted obstructions. Spitfire erupted from the course, closely followed by Rainbow Dash, then Lightning Dust. The straightaway saw Spitfire reach the tunnel through the hill first, Lightning second, and Rainbow third. At the Rainbowduct beyond, Rainbow Dash was the first to pass under. Lightning Dust was the second, but Spitfire was right catching up to her and beat her to the top of the slide. Lightning had a strategy here. Rainbow Dash and Spitfire both slid on their stomachs, but Lightning Dust slid on her back. Her wings were wrapped around her ribs, her tail was between her legs, and her hind hooves were pointed downwards. She gathered tremendous speed, overtook Spitfire, and then overtook Rainbow Dash seconds before the slide ended. At the end of a slide was a large steel box hanging from a crane arm. An arrow pointing down was painted on it to indicate the direction the contestants were meant to go. Lightning Dust judged her moment, left the slide, bounced off the bottom of the crate, and shot downwards. Rainbow followed and watched Lightning Dust get slowly smaller. No matter how far Rainbow Dash went, Lightning Dust wouldn’t come back into focus. She was definitely going extremely fast.
Rainbow gasped. “She’s gonna make a sonic rainboom!”
Lightning Dust came close. The air around her felt like water and as she approached the bottom, she began to slow down. The air pocket she’d created seemed liable to burst. For a second, Lightning Dust, not moving in midair, feared that she would be propelled backwards. But Rainbow Dash and Spitfire came down and passed her so quickly that the pocket ripped and Lightning Dust neither reversed nor pushed forward. She immediately pumped her wings and tore after Rainbow and Spitfire. The wind in the ravine made the running portion of the race a long one. When at last the three racers reached the springboard and shot upwards to the top of the cliffs, Spitfire first, Lightning Dust second, and Rainbow Dash third, the words “sonic” and “rainboom” were heard amongst the cheering crowd.
She almost did it! thought Rainbow Dash and Spitfire.
The leader board never stayed the same. There was no clear forerunner. The positions of the three racers changed with every stage of the rally. The second round saw Rainbow Dash and Spitfire attempt to adapt Lightning Dust’s sliding strategy. They both had everything tucked in nicely, but they were still outstripped by Lightning Dust, who could have passed for a cheater given how well she was traversing this course. And she never even caused her Parachute Pinafore to rip or sustain any damage when sliding on her back. When they got to the crate with the arrow on it, Lightning used it again to give her a boost. Rainbow missed, and was forced to let gravity slowly but surely carry her down into the gorge. Spitfire didn’t bother with the crate. Lightning Dust came close to causing a rainboom again, and the second air pocket was also torn by the other two racers. After a complete circuit leading to the third round, Lightning Dust’s method of sliding was again attempted by all three racers. Lightning still took the lead, but this time, Rainbow and Spitfire were neck and neck.
“We’ll push off of each other when we get to the bottom!” Spitfire suggested with a grin.
Rainbow caught on at once. Neither of them tried bouncing off the bottom of the crate this time. Lightning zoomed down, and once again, nearly broke the sound barrier. Nothing broke the air pocket she made this time. By pushing away from each other at the top of the gorge above, Rainbow Dash and Spitfire had created enough distance between them to avoid breaking the air pocket. Lightning Dust shot backwards up towards the sky. But she hadn’t forgotten the small amount of academy training she received. Her spinout lasted only two seconds before she stretched, straightened, and arched down to the ground inside the gorge. When Rainbow Dash and Spitfire were propelled up by the springboard, Lightning Dust wasn’t far behind them.
“If Rainbow Dash doesn’t win this rally, I will never be able to hold my head up high again!”
“What are you wailing about?! You don’t have to sign your kite factory over to your Go Fish buddy anymore! Princess Celestia…!”
“I know, I know! I heard Miss Harshwhinny say that any bets made good on after this rally would be vetoed by the royals!”
“So then what are you throwing up about?!”
“I’ve been a Rainbow Dash supporter for years! I was in Junior Speedster Flight Camp with her!”
“Oh, so your whole world will come tumbling down if she loses?!”
“Yeah, just like yours would if Spitfire loses!”
“Well, happily, that won’t happen!”
“And when it does?!”
“I have total confidence in her! Unlike you in Rainbow Dash!”
“It’ll be a lot of fun watching that confidence crumble!”
“Oh, you wanna watch me suffer, do ya?! The snake has shown its fangs!”
Scootaloo caught whiffs of conversation of this nature during her time sitting on the deflated raft under the bleachers by the straightaway, but she wasn’t really paying attention. She was trying to decide whether or not she should show herself to the competitors. She had begun to worry that Rainbow Dash might be worried about her because she couldn’t see her in the crowd, and that this would affect her performance.
“I’m coming up!” she decided.
She grabbed her scooter and made her way up the gradient. She looked around for a good spot. It was difficult. All the bleachers and balconies were loaded. Other landmarks were occupied too. Scootaloo wanted to be in a spot by herself so that Rainbow Das could easily spot her. But she didn’t want her to have to look over her shoulder in order to see her like she did last night before bruising her eye.
“The Rainbowduct!”
The arched stone bridge wasn’t very wide, and it was because of this that nopony was standing on it to watch the race. In her haste, Scootaloo didn’t think it might be off limits to spectators because it was part of the race course. She quickly scooted up the slope to the walkway, and once she reached it, the racers appeared from within their obstacle courses. From a distance, Scootaloo could make out the worried expression on Rainbow Dash’s face as she approached one of the arches.
“Go, Rainbow Dash! You can do it!”
Upon spotting Scootaloo, Rainbow Dash’s face brightened instantly. She waved energetically before passing under the Rainbowduct, not losing velocity at all. Spitfire and Lightning Dust were right on her tail. Scootaloo was still worried.
“What was that noise?”
She could swear she heard a crack as the racers passed under the bridge. She took a step onto the walkway, knelt down, and pressed her ear to it. She could hear the technicolour liquid surging through the pipe the bridge carried. Nothing out of the ordinary. Scootaloo was still concerned as she straightened up.
“I hope it’s not gonna collapse. Should… should I tell somepony?”
She didn’t want to cause alarm; especially with nearly every pony in Equestria present. She looked around. All eyes were either on or in the general direction of Rainbow, Lightning, and Spitfire. No one seemed to be paying any attention to Scootaloo, which she took to mean there would be no objections to her standing there. But now she wasn’t sure she wanted to watch the race from up there.
The expression Scootaloo had seen on Rainbow’s face had nothing to do with not seeing her in the crowd. She had only been battling with a decision. Down the slide. Lightning Dust out in front, Spitfire and Rainbow Dash side-by-side. Spitfire caught Rainbow’s eye.
“Uh… not this time!” said Rainbow Dash.
Spitfire made no reply. They watched Lightning Dust leave the slide and bounce off the bottom of the crate. Rainbow Dash tried that again, and this time, she did a decent parkour. She was now able to keep quite close behind Lightning Dust. But Rainbow didn’t come close to making a sonic rainboom because Lightning Dust was taking up all the resistance. The air pocket she made had barely formed when Rainbow ripped it and sped into the currents of the gorge. This time, Spitfire was the last to reach the springboard. She had decided to try bouncing off the crate this time. And so, the penultimate round began. Lightning took the lead in the oval track, no two ponies entered one obstacle course yet again, and Spitfire was the first to reach the tunnel after the straightaway. Before reaching the Rainbowduct, Rainbow overtook Spitfire, waved to Scootaloo, who didn’t wave or cheer this time, and the three pegasi passed under the bridge at top speed.
Scootaloo heard it again, and this time it was louder and longer.
“It is gonna collapse!”
Scootaloo picked up her scooter, but stopped.
“If I’m wrong, there’ll be a panic over nothing! I don’t wanna be responsible for any more damage!”
Scootaloo battled with herself until the final lap started. Her decision was made for her when another crack erupted from the bridge. As this one wasn’t caused by anypony flying through the arches, that could only mean it wouldn’t hold for long.
“Danger!”
Scootaloo zoomed away on her scooter and yelled at the top of her voice. She rolled down the embankment and zoomed onto the bottom bench of the bleachers by the slide.
“The bridge is collapsing! We gotta get outta here!”
Those around her nudged their neighbours, and as more and more ponies got the message, the bleachers began to empty. When the spectators on the other side of the slide saw this, they began to evacuate too.
For the second day in a row, Rainbow Dash had taken damage to her eyes. A huge crack in the arch she passed under lengthened, and liquid hot rainbow had splashed into her face. Spitfire and Lightning Dust got splashed as well; Spitfire in her mane and Lightning all over her forelegs.
“I can’t see!”
Rainbow Dash flailed in the air, her momentum carrying her towards the top of the slide. But she was losing height as she approached and, not knowing what hit her, she bumped into the starting platform, somersaulted through the air, and landed on the slide, her impetus causing her to slither downwards. Spitfire and Lightning Dust weren’t concentrating on the course now, and flew over the platform. Spitfire saw what was happening and pulled her parachute cord to stop herself from hitting Rainbow Dash… without any warning to Lightning Dust, who was right behind her. The green pegasus ran straight into the back of Spitfire’s parachute, and circled above her. Instead of being held back, Spitfire was yanked forward. Lightning Dust and the parachute landed on Rainbow Dash. The weight of all three pegasi kept them skating down the slide. Lightning and Rainbow were both tangled in the silk and wires, and Spitfire was being dragged down with them, unable to grip the slide with her hooves.
Some pegasi were helping some earth ponies and unicorns leave the bleachers, and saw that the racers were in trouble. But before anypony could come to their aid, there was a crash from the top of the slide. Hundreds watched in terror as the Rainbowduct fell apart, spilling the liquid it was carrying. Spitfire, still trying to grip the slide, watched aghast as gallons and gallons of rainbow poured down towards her and her competitors. Now they were sliding down much faster as the technicolour fluid grabbed them. Not one of them could break free of the mess of silk and wires now. Those Parachute Pinafores were too well-made.
“Oh, no!”
Scootaloo was still driving her scooter along the bottom step. All the other occupants of the bottom rows had either left or climbed higher up the bleachers. As the rainbow torrent passed under the stands, they lurched violently. The raft Scootaloo had been sitting on before had been a leftover. One of Prof Lactic’s safety measures was to create a flotation system for the bleachers in case of this very emergency. In principal, it worked. The bleachers were not completely consumed by the wave of rainbow. But as the stands were hoisted upwards, most of the ponies on it stumbled. They mostly just fell onto lower benches, and stayed out of the flood. But Scootaloo, who was on the bottom bench, toppled straight into the torrent. Almost at once, the tangled mess of disoriented, panicking contestants struggling to stay afloat washed by her. Some disconnected cords from their Parachute Pinafores go caught in one of the scooter’s wheels. Scootaloo clinged to her handlebars with all her strength as she was dragged after Rainbow, Spitfire, and Lightning.
Everyone in Rainbow Falls knew there was a crisis by now. Ponies were either evacuating the stands or making their way to the slide to try and help anyone caught in the flood. The torrent had reached the end of the slide and was pouring into the thankfully empty gorge. The force of the wave that entered the gorge was so strong, it ripped the metal crate from its hook.
“I can’t move my legs!” cried Lightning Dust.
“Try flapping your wings!” called Rainbow Dash.
“Hurry!” Spitfire could see several pegasi in the distance flying towards the scene.
It looked like the rescuers weren’t going to get there before they reached the end of the slide.
“We’re gonna go over!” Scootaloo shrieked. She was being dragged on her scooter so fast, she was practically waterskiing.
“My wings won’t move!” Lightning Dust was as frantic as the rest of them.
“Please, hurry!” Spitfire called desperately to the approaching rescuers.
All four of them succeeded in keeping their heads above the flood, but the parachute and its wires clung too tightly for them to escape. They reached the end of the slide.
“We’re…!”
Rainbow Dash, Spitfire, and Lightning Dust screamed as they tumbled over the rainbow fall. Their weight dragged Scootaloo forward on her scooter, propelling her from the end of the slide, screaming and grasping her scooter’s head tube.
One of the scooter’s handlebars got caught in the crane hook that had been suspended the metal crate. Scootaloo just barely managed to hang on, aided by the wires that were still tangled in the wheels. She looked down in disbelief. The parachute that had prevented Rainbow, Spitfire, and Lightning from escaping the flood was now a net, cradling the three of them safely above the gorge.
“We’re OK!” exclaimed Lightning Dust. “We’re OK!”
Rainbow managed to open her stung eyes, and looked towards the sky at what was holding them up.
“You saved us, Scoot!”
Spitfire and Lightning Dust cheered. Scootaloo couldn’t believe what she was experiencing. The gorge filled up with rainbow, the torrent died down and became a trickle down the slide, floating bleachers gently touched back down to the ground, and the flood emptied into a ravine beyond the gorge. Dozens of pegasi arrived at the crane hook. Scootaloo was carried away by Amber Aldis, and four ponies removed the scooter from the hook and hauled Rainbow Dash, Spitfire, and Lightning Dust to high ground in their parachute hammock.
A crowd gathered around the four pegasi. Scootaloo was being carried shoulder high around the city. Ponies were singing her praises for rescuing not only the three racers, but several spectators who would have been swept away from the bottom benches of the bleachers along with her if not for her warning. Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust had been pulled free of Spitfire’s tattered Parachute Pinafore. All three of their silk garments now looked like they had been tie-dyed. The flood had not damaged any buildings. The liquid from the Rainbowduct was now just a trickle that led to a river.
“Scoot-a-loo! Scoot-a-loo! Scoot-a-loo!”
“Miss Harshwhinny!” Rainbow Dash called to the pony leading the chanting. “Don’t you have an announcement to make?!”
Miss Harshwhinny, slightly red in the face now, walked away from the crowd and beckoned Twilight to her.
“May I have your attention please?!” her magnified voice called to everypony present in Rainbow Falls.
The chanting and chattering died down.
“The Wonderbolts Millennium Rally has now drawn to a close, with unforeseen circumstances! Actually, one pony predicted this possibility! Professor Lactic, please step forward!”
Prof Lactic made his way through the crowd alongside Miss Harshwhinny. Ponies cheered for him.
“Thank you, Professor, for your apt and effective safety precautions!” said Miss Harshwhinny with a smile.
The professor just smiled and waved in a manner that would make Twilight feel upstaged.
“In addition, I wish for us all to commend the pony who invented the uniform that, in the end, proved to be very beneficial to the competitors!” Miss Harshwhinny scanned the crowd for Coco Pommel, who happily received a smattering of applause.
“As we know, congratulations are in order!” Miss Harshwhinny continued. “Not one of the competitors, not Captain Spitfire, not Miss Rainbow Dash, and not Miss Lightning Dust, won the race, or even finished. But they are all able to move on to other things, thanks to the timely actions of our young hero, Miss Scootaloo!”
More cheers and applause for the young pegasus.
“Speech!” voices hollered in the crowd.
Scootaloo was picked up off the crowd’s shoulders by Twilight, who cast the volume spell on her throat.
“I’m… I’m sorry I didn’t get there sooner!” said Scootaloo meekly.
Some confused and concerned looks greeted this statement.
“I heard the Rainbowduct crack during the fourth lap, but I ignored it! I didn’t want to cause a panic! I waited too long! I was too scared to act too quickly!”
No one in the crowd gave any sign of annoyance… well, not with Scootaloo anyway. But she didn’t know this. As Twilight redirected her voice magnifying spell back to Miss Harshwhinny, the young pegasus looked around at the downcast faces of the crowd. They knew what Harshwhinny was going to say next.
“I’m afraid that this one-off rally shall remain so!” she announced. “Given the circumstances, there’s no guarantee that something of this nature won’t happen anywhere else!”
“So that means Spitfire won!” called a few voiced from the crowd.
Miss Harshwhinny held her hoof up for silence as roughly a third of the crowd cheered.
“Just because the Wonderbolts’ recruitment rules have not been and will not be altered, this does not mean Captain Spitfire is the winner of this race!”
Spitfire nodded.
“No winner shall be named!” Harshwhinny went on. “And instead, the platinum medal that was to be awarded to the victor shall now represent the hero status of the pony of the hour!”
She produced a shiny unengraved medal and placed it around Scootaloo’s neck. The applause and cheers for her weren’t quite so jubilant this time. They matched Scootaloo’s mood.
Rainbow Dash walked up to Scootaloo. “Everything turned out fine. No need to worry about having to make snap decisions. A sharp kid like you oughtta have no trouble.”
At last, Scootaloo smiled. “I guess you’re right. I think I can enjoy this moment while it lasts. I bet I’d regret it if I looked back at how worked up I was while everyone was cheering for me.”
Rainbow looked at the crowd. “They don’t seem too happy themselves. What with the rally being called off and all.”
“I guess none of them get bragging rights,” Scootaloo said.
She told Rainbow Dash about some of the conversations she overheard while she was hiding under the bleachers by the straightaway. And that was when Rainbow Dash knew what she needed to do to fulfil her Cutie Map mission.
As if she knew this, Miss Harshwhinny called for speeches from each of the three contestants, and Twilight cast her voice magnifying spell on Rainbow Dash, who took to the air to be seen by everyone in Rainbow Falls.
“This might sound a bit weird,” she announced, “but I’m glad that this rally ended this way! I don’t mean the flood or anything! I mean with no winners! You know me, I love winning! But I know that if I’d won this thing, not all of you would have been happy! I can’t be everypony’s favourite, I understand! But I want all those out there who were routing for me that you shouldn’t have to validate yourself through my achievements!”
A murmur fell over the crowd.
“My winnings and talents are my own! You’ve all got your own! Otherwise, none of you would have cutie marks, or be destined to get them!”
Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle grinned.
“So just validate yourselves on your own talents!” insisted Rainbow Dash. “If whoever you’re routing for fails at something, that doesn’t make you any less important or special! And anypony who’s routing against your favourite isn’t any worse or better either! I’m glad Princess Celestia outlawed any bets being honoured here, because I would hate it if hundreds of ponies had to lose a ton of money or a prized possession if one of us three lost. If you’re that sure of something, just say so! There’s no need to put up a wager! Otherwise, we’re all in for a bleak future!”
Scootaloo beamed.
All over town, ponies were reconciling with each other. They all understood that Rainbow Dash was right in saying that each and every pony should stick to their own merits rather than ride the coattails of their idols and favourites.
“You’ve done it!” called Twilight, pointing to Rainbow Dash’s flank.
As she touched down on the ground, Rainbow watched her cutie mark blink and buzz, announcing a job done.
“Good job, Rainbow Dash. You figured it out.”
“Thanks to Scootaloo,” smiled Rainbow Dash, turning to the pegasus filly. “You’ve been a huge help today, kid.”
“So have you,” said Scootaloo. “Thanks to you, I don’t have to freak out so much about what I decide to do. Now I know that since everything we do has hundreds of consequences, I’ll just have to use my best judgement. Then things will surely turn out alright in the end.”
“Pretty much,” Rainbow Dash said. “For yourself, and your friends and family.”
“I’d say the future looks pretty bright,” Spitfire interjected.
“Me too,” put in Lightning Dust. “I think from now on, I’ll go on trying to break Admiral Fairy Flight’s old records just because I can.”
Spitfire smirked “I can’t help but wish one of you had beaten me today. Really, I think you both have the makings of a great Wonderbolt. Oh, and you too.”
