There were cotton balls stained with blood on the kitchen table, clumps of fur on the floor, feathers on the chair. Apple Bloom looked at it all with a disgusted shake of her head and went about the process of cleaning it all up. The sound of hooves in the hall had her pressing her lips together and turning to the sink to find a rag.
"She won't stay."
The yellow earth pony shook her head and glanced over her shoulder at Sweetie Belle. "Fine. Let her go." Raising her voice, she hollered into the living room. "But don't come back here, Scootaloo! You hear me?"
"Yeah, I hear ya!" Scootaloo was already outside and stuck her head in through an open window. When she was younger she used to be able to climb right in through that very same window and sneak upstairs to see Apple Bloom. The years of fun, freedom, and crusading seemed like a lifetime ago, especially looking at the orange pegasus now. She had a black eye and cuts to her face. One of her front teeth was missing and she looked ridiculous when she smiled. Like now.
"It's not funny," Apple Bloom spat. "You think you're invincible an' you're not. You're an idiot!"
Sweetie Belle looked at Scootaloo with a furrowed brow. "Please don't go, Scootaloo. You're already hurt as it is."
"And stay here with the depressing duo? No thanks." Apple Bloom pulled the shutter down, effectively smacking Scootaloo on the snout with the hard plastic as she did so. "Hey!"
"If you're goin' then git! An' find somepony else to patch you up this time 'cause it ain't gonna be neither one of us!"
"Fine!" Scootaloo backed away from the window and glared at it as though her two friends could see her. In all honesty there was a part of her that wanted to stay. But the promise of an adrenaline rush was too much for her to take. There was very little in life that could trump being with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle and that rush was definitely one of them. Whatever. They could be mad at her all they wanted. Tomorrow would be a new day and they'd all go on like nothing had happened. They always did. Dipping her head, she pulled the straps of her roller blades tighter, then turned and took to the sky.
Ever since she learned how to fly it was hard to keep her grounded for too long. Rainbow Dash may not have been related to her by blood but Scootaloo learned a lot from the older mare and adopted a lot of her personality traits as well. This also meant she believed herself the fastest flier around and that she was all but unbeatable. In her quest for more speed and cooler tricks she'd discovered a small roller derby circuit in Ponyville. It was like their Fight Club in the way that nopony talked about it once the night was over, and nopony acknowledged anypony else in passing. It was their secret and they liked to keep it that way.
She pushed herself hard, pumping her wings and lowering her neck to make herself more aerodynamic. Out over the forest, then into town where she headed for the joke shop. Her hooves lowered like the landing gear of a plane and her touchdown was flawless. She leaned to the side and turned her body, skidding to a stop. Once she skated over to the back door of the joke shop she knocked twice loud and one soft. The door opened and she went in. Into the dark back room, down the stairs and into an impossibly large underground arena. It was well supported and had to stretch well past the surrounding shops. But it was clear this had been here for many years. Maybe not always as a derby rink but the place was old.
"Hey, Scootaloo!" Pipsqueak approached and they bumped hooves. The earth pony was in his skates with a helmet securely fastened to his head. "I didn't think you'd be back tonight."
"Me either. But the nagging wives couldn't hold me down for too long. You racing?"
Pip laughed and shook his head. "Nah, you know me. Not much of a competitor. I just like the casual laps in between races. Besides, I bruise easy."
His grin went to the stands where spectators still sat, waiting for the next race to begin. Scootaloo followed his gaze to see Dinky wave at them. The orange pegasus rolled her eyes and pretended to gag. "Yeah, and you're doing that whole wedding thing next week."
"Gotta keep my face pretty."
"Well if it isn't Scootabruise."
The two ponies turned to see Snails and Snips coming their way. Snails was taller than all of them by at least two hands, and Snips had finally grown into his husky frame and ridiculous eyebrows. "Come back to get another schooling?"
Scootaloo looked smugly at Snips. "Schooling? Who was it that won the last race?"
"With a missing tooth and cuts all over your face."
"So worth it!" She took a step closer to the blue unicorn and narrowed her eyes. "Care to make a side bet?"
Snips narrowed his eyes as well. "What do you have in mind?"
"Winner gets the loser's share of Sweet Apple Acres cider this year."
He snorted. "Is that all? I thought you were talking about a real bet."
"You didn't let me finish." The corner of Scootaloo's lips twitched upward. "Loser has to do the winner's Winter Wrap Up duties."
Snips blinked and recoiled slightly. "But you're on the Weather team. How the hay would I do that?"
With a casual shrug, Scootaloo sat on her haunches. "Guess you better try a little harder at the whole winning thing tonight."
"Racers, to the arena!"
Snips and Snails scowled at Scootaloo and skated off to get ready. Pipsqueak sighed and helped Scootaloo with her double starred helmet. "Try not to break anything this time."
"Of mine?" Scootaloo asked. "Or anypony else because I don't think I can make that promise." Before he could answer Scootaloo was off and heading down into the rink. She joined several other ponies and positioned herself right beside Snips. "Hope you know a good flying spell," she taunted with a grin. Her teammates, three blockers and one pivot, all wore the same blue colored helmet she wore though without the star covering, One of them looked back to grin at her. Snips lowered his head, eyes barely visible under his green helmet. Everyone slowly bent and readied themselves, and when there was a crack in the air the ponies took off.
Scootaloo was careful to stay behind her blockers until they created an opening for her to pass through, keeping an eye on Snails as much as she could. One of his teammates body checked her and sent her drifting but one of her own teammates was there to keep her on course. Scootaloo retaliated by leaning to the side and skating full speed into her opponent and send her crashing to the ground. A shout from ahead from another on her team and there was a sudden clear pathway. Scootaloo dug in and zoomed ahead, taking the lead. The blockers closed in behind her to try and keep the opponent jammer, who happened to be Snips, from getting through and scoring points.
Several laps around kept Scootaloo at the head of the pack. The crowd was cheering so loudly that she didn't hear a call in time and as she leaned into a turn she leaned into Snips who'd wormed his way up to the front somehow. As they touched they both instantly recoiled. Scootaloo growled and leaned in again, driving her shoulder into his side. He stuck a leg out in retaliation but Scootaloo avoided being tripped up and checked him again. The blockers and the pivots all behind them must have gotten entangled and tripped each other up because all of the sudden it was just Scootaloo and Snips. The finish line was in sight and she was still a nose ahead.
Then Snips decided to play dirty. Magic and wings were not allowed in the derby and so far Scootaloo had done well in keeping herself from getting disqualified. But from the corner of her eye she saw the dim glow surrounding Snips' horn. It distracted her enough to get her to turn her head and he whipped his head over, smashing into her jaw. Scootaloo lost her balance and fell, her speed still driving her forward but in a mass of uncontrollable limbs and wings. The crowd was on their hooves screaming injustice. Pipsqueak and Dinky held their breaths as Scootaloo tumbled right off the track and into the wall. The rest of the racers passed the finish line, and Scootaloo didn't move.
She was bleeding from several different places where the turf had cut through her flesh. One wing hung at such an impossibly wrong angle that there was no mistaking it was broken. The medics rushed into the arena, Pipsqueak and Dinky not too far behind. Scootaloo's own teammates hurried over to see the orange pegasus crack open an eye.
"Scootaloo? Are you all right?"
She moaned and tilted her head back to look upside down at everyone gathered. "Did...we...win?"
Pipsqueak scowled. "What?!"
"Did we win?"
"Yes, you bloody well won! Are you okay? Can you get up?"
She closed her eyes again but a slow smile stretched across her lips and she lifted her legs, stretching them out so she was practically propped upside down by the wall. Blood ran in trickles down her coat and when her smile turned into a grin, the gap in her teeth showed she was also bleeding from a bitten tongue.
"Victory never felt so good."
