Hot sweat ran through Scootaloo's neck as she pushed a red steel ramp sideways with her body. The ramp's scorching steel seared her fur as she pushed it over the road, grunting from the effort. She dropped to the ground as soon as the ramp was over a red X marked on the ground. Scootaloo layed down and rolled around the cool earth. She sighed, letting it soothe her blistering fur.
Scootaloo wiped the sweat out of her mane with a hoof and turned to her scooter. It was propped up next to a tree, using it for support. Walking over to it, she grabbed the handle and dragged it up a green hill. Moving uphill on grass was tough, but the grass had been recently mowed, and she was used to this chore. It was daily routine.
A bell rang through the air. The town's clock tower struck six times. As soon as the sixth sound made its way to her eardums, Scootaloo pushed down on the ground with her rear leg. Fleeting wind greeted her as she sped down the hill. When she reached the bottom, she shifted her weight back and pulled on the handle. The front wheel pushed up for a few seconds and then landed down with a laughing filly. The ramp she had set up grew in size the closer she got. She jumped up and flicked the scooter with her leg, spinning the bottom around before landing just before she rolled up the ramp.
Up above, Rainbow Dash flew suspended in the air. She watched Scootaloo ride up a ramp and fling over a canyon. Scootaloo leaned back as far as she could, landing the backflip just as it had completed the full circle. But as soon as she landed the scooter wobbled back and forth and Scootaloo came crashing down to the floor, flipping sideways as she rolled down the ground and landed inside a (thankfully) thorn-less bush.
Rainbow flew across the air and landed a few steps behind the bush. She covered her mouth and failed to stifle a giggle, Scootaloo's rear had stuck out of the bush and was wiggling around. Scootaloo squirmed to get out, pushing her forelegs against the dirt floor and jumped backwards. Her haunches hit Rainbow Dash's snout and she was knocked backwards, they both tumbled to the ground.
Rainbow shook her body, flicking off the dirt and grime covering her coat, and stood up. "Hey, you good, kid?" Rainbow offered Scootaloo a hoof.
Scootaloo opened her mouth real wife, the corners of her mouth turned upwards. "Rainbow Dash! I just knew you'd come by to watch my awesome performance!"
Rainbow raised an eyebrow. "So you did, huh? How'd ya know that?"
The orange filly pointed toward the clock tower. "You're done bustin' clouds by six, right?" Rainbow Dash nodded. "Well, since your cloud house is pretty close to this rock, I figured you'd see me pulling off my new trick."
"Well, yeah I saw it. A backflip over the canyon. Don't you think that's a little... risky?"
Scootaloo glared at her. Rainbow stood up on her rear legs and raised her forelegs, backing up. "Whoa, whoa, sorry, I mean, I know you can handle yourself, but you can't even fly! Were you counting on me being there so I could catch you if you fell?"
A few leaves blew by as Scootaloo pawed the ground. "Actually Rainbow, I've done this trick many times before. The canyon's not that deep. I can handle it!" she picked up her scooter and propped it up, stepping on it with one leg.
"Oh. Well, that was a pretty good trick, for a scooter. Uh..." Dash checked her foreleg as if there was a watch there. "It's getting pretty late. I'll catch you later, kid."
She extended her wings and braced herself to take off, but Scootaloo's cry stopped her. "Hold up, wait! There was another reason I wanted you to see me today."
Rainbow turned her head and looked at Scootaloo. "There is? Then why didn't you say so?"
Scootaloo grinned sheepishly and looked at the ground. "Maybe I did get just a little bit carried away. Anyway, you think my trick was pretty cool, right?"
"I don't know, Scoots." Rainbow looked at the dented scooter in her hooves. "Maybe if you had landed it, but that bailout was fun to watch," Dash smiled with a sparkle in her eyes. "If you keep looking up to me, I promise that bailing will become... uh..." Rainbow frowned and looked at her nose with her pupils. "What's the word?"
"Impossible?" Scootaloo beamed.
"Oh, nah, you know me better than that! The total opposite would happen. You'll be crashing every day if you ever dream of flying like me," Rainbow chuckled, rubbing the back of her head and doing her best to ignore the deadpan look Scootaloo shot her way.
"Anyway, did you want to show me something?" Rainbow Dash stretched her legs and wings outward, then tucked them to her sides.
Scootaloo looked down to the ground for a few moments before looking at Rainbow Dash in the eyes. "It's about my cutie mark."
"What, you help with your cutie mark?"
"Sort of. After all this time I still haven't gotten a cutie mark in scootering." Scootaloo shook her head and blew air through her nose. "I'm the best scooterer in all of ponyville! I just don't get it, Dash. When the hay is this stupid cutie mark going to show up?"
Rainbow Dash squinted down at the little filly. She looked left and right, then finally up at the sun as it continued its trek down into the horizon. She fixed her gaze at Scootaloo and said "Listen, I'm no Twilight, but I think I know what your problem is. I could try to help you. There's just one problem though."
"What is it?" Scootaloo eagerly leaned in, paying full attention to what Rainbow Dash was about to say.
"It's getting pretty late," Rainbow shuffled her hooves. "I really want to fly home, read a nice b- I mean, eat a few snacks, and then fall in bed! So I'll show you later, 'kay?"
"Oh," Scootaloo slumped her shoulders. "Fineeee. But wait, wouldn't you be tired from work again tomorrow?"
Rainbow Dash looked at her nose and pretended to look puzzled, but then she rolled her eyes and grinned. "Nah, I have tomorrow off. Thunderlane's taking up my shift. I'll fly here by noon, so be here. Got it?"
"Yeah, of course!" Scootaloo smiled and nodded. Rainbow Dash spread her wings and flapped once powerfully, leaving a ring of dust and shooting into the clear sky. She turned back and waved as she flew away.
Scootaloo sighed as she waved back. It would be a while before she saw Dash again. While it sucked that she had to wait a whole day before she could hang out with her, she forced her impatience down because the possibility of finding her cutie mark with Dash's help was very exciting, enough to outweigh the negative.
Before the sun started to set, Scootaloo kept practicing around her area. Ponyville didn't have many parks for this activity, the only one it did have was indoors and for grown-up ponies. To make up for it, she had to improvise, setting up ramps made out of wooden boards and using old worn-out market stands as rails.
Scootering all over town, Scootaloo worked up quite a sweat. She knew it was time to go home by the time the stand she was using as a rail snapped in half, sending her crashing down onto a pony standing just below it.
The sky was dark anyway.
Later in the night, as Scootaloo wrapped her blankets around her, lying on her side, her stomach felt hollow. There was a good chance that she would find her cutie mark tomorrow. Rainbow Dash knew what she was doing, right? The stale air weighed down on her fur. Excitement had dwindled out her limbs throughout the day. I've been training non-stop to figure this out. Why do I feel like it's all been wasted?
That day, riding her scooter wasn't as refreshing as it used to be. The cool air did not soothe her fur, it paled it. Being yelled at by angry townsponies hadn't encouraged her like it always did since she started, today she was disheartened.
The thousand-bit question was why. The hay's wrong with me? Even her own scooter was trying to dissuade her. One of the wheels had popped out, but when Scootaloo put it in its place it just wouldn't run as well as it used to. A cheap budget prevented her from applying oil to it, so she'd always asked Twilight to fix it with her magic instead.
But she didn't want to ask again. She didn't show it, but Scootaloo was convinced that Twilight was still just a tiny bit mad at her after she accidentally broke down the door. "You're just like your sister! Neither of you are ever going to change, are you?" Twilight snapped at her that day, also forcing the door closed with a crunching sound.
Scootaloo winced thinking of the bad memory. Twilight forgave ponies quickly, but she wasn't sure if Twilight would help fix the instrument that destroyed her property.
Sleep slipped through like rays of sun through crackling leaves swaying on faded wind. There, not there. Somewhere eventually she'd fall under its sweet trance. But it sure was taking its sweet time.
Scootaloo's mind evaporated into the air. Her upturned snout displayed an innocent smile and unfaded eyelids. Her mane's pure colors hugged her spine, and she involuntarily poked the dust.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Scootaloo stood a few meters behind Rainbow Dash, casting her glance at the sun-dried dirt below.
Rainbow Dash turned her head back and chuckled. "Never thought I'd hear ya say that, you know."
"This is different!" Scootaloo hit the ground with a hoof. "It's not like we're putting superglue on Miss Cheerilee's chalk! I'd be totally up for something like that. But I don't think this is allowed, Dash. I've never done this before."
"Hey, listen," Rainbow hovered a bit off the floor. "I know this is your first time. And because of that, I'm going to put you first, always! If you don't feel good doing something, just tell me, and we can stop. But I don't want you giving up on me easy, 'kay? Just think of it this way. You've never done this before, but now you can! How exciting is that?"
"If you say so..." Scootaloo glimpsed at Rainbow's grown up form in front of her. "I just didn't think this is what you meant when you said you knew what my problem was. I thought you'd show me a few tricks or techniques or, I don't know, but not this."
The pair of pegasi continued walking down the path Rainbow was leading them on when Scootaloo finished speaking. "You'll do fine. Just trust me."
"Okay, Rainbow. I guess. But I do have one more question."
"Huh? Yeah, what is it?" Rainbow looked back after realizing Scootaloo had stopped walking.
"Why aren't we flying?"
Rainbow Dash tripped, eyes widened and falling face-first onto a sharp stone jutting out of the earth. She winced, rubbing her head with a hoof. "Yeah, uh, good point. Hop on." Rainbow extended her wings and fluttered them briskly against the wind, shifting her weight constantly. A loose feather blew across the wind and tucked itself into Scootaloo's mane.
Scootaloo shook it off and climbed on. Rainbow galloped a few steps before taking off into the air. Her careful maneuvers prevented Scootaloo from falling off. The location they were looking for hid itself under the sun's piercing glare. Even for a pegasus as experienced as Rainbow, getting blinded from the sun was a hindrance.
But her experience didn't go to waste, she found the building faster than most pegasi would be able to and dove right in. Well, not in, but towards it. You know what I mean. Shut up.
They landed and Scootaloo swiftly got off, brushing off her forelegs with her... forelegs. "Why did you tell me to leave my scooter behind?"
A large, rectangular building made of metal stood before them. It was decorated with flashy lights, but they were turned off during the day. "You'll see," Rainbow Dash prodded Scootaloo forward. She wrapped a wing around the younger mare, walking briskly inside the building. A small antechamber greeted them, shouts of happy colts invertebrating through the gray walls. A beige stallion resting his head on his hoof with a tussled red mane and brown hat greeted them from inside an even smaller antechamber along the left wall. Glass separated him from the two pegasi, with a slot on the bottom to talk through.
"Good to see you back, Dash," he nodded. "Haven't seen you in a while. Who's the youngling? She with you?"
"Yeah," Dash guided Scootaloo to the door on the right. "That's fine, right?"
The look in her eyes ensured the question was rhetorical.
"Well, if you're with her, sure." the stallion smiled. "You're good to go. If you want your old gear, Jerry still has it. Actually, Jerry will probably have something for the little one, too."
"Thanks, Slider. See you later!" the two pushed the door open and stepped inside. There were rails and ramps strewn about the place, the ground raising at different elevations at different locations. Pegasi flitted about on skateboards, jumping around and laughing with friends. A bar full of glass bottles with strange liquid was tucked away in a corner, and multiple doors lined the back wall.
Because skating under the influence is a great idea, right?
"Rainbow Dash, this place is for grown ups!" Scootaloo whined, shrinking from all the bigger pegasi in the room. "I mean, well, that's totally cool! I mean. I can handle it, no problem. Just, you know. Safety reasons."
"Come on, kiddo!" Rainbow laughed. "You're talking silly. This place is only off limits at night, and even then barely. You're way above the age limit. C'mon, let's find Jerry."
"Still don't get why I couldn't just bring my scooter," Scootaloo mumbled. Rainbow Dash pretended not to hear it. The two of them walked along the edge of the walls, making sure not to disrupt the ponies at play. A cream-colored mare with curly orange hair sat on a bench eating a sandwich.
"Hey, Jerry." Rainbow Dash sat down on the bench next to her, motioning Scootaloo to come forward.
"That's Jerry?" Scootaloo's mouth hung agape. The mare in front of her gave her a flat look. "I mean, uh, nice to meet you!" Scootaloo rubbed the back of her neck and laughed awkwardly, sitting down next to the mare.
"What are you up to this time, Dashie?" her voice sounded very feminine, similar to Rarity's, but younger.
"Oh, you know. I'm gonna teach this scooter kid a thing or two today. Been a while since I've been here, too! Like, way while."
"I'm not sure you can say it that way." Jerry's voice was monotone, but her eyes sparkled when she looked at the cyan pegasus. Something was hidden inside them.
Scootaloo groaned beside them. "Rainbow, can we just get to it already?"
"Fiery, that one." Jerry commented.
"Meh, she takes after me. You know how it is. And I'm not cutting her enough slack, she can really work hard when she puts her mind to it. So, where's our stuff?"
"Right here," Jerry pointed at a door behind her.
"If it's over there why'd you say right here?" Rainbow Dash yawned, stretching her wings out and booping Jerry on the nose.
Jerry opened her mouth and laughed, a hoof on her chest. "Oh, maybe I'm not so sure! Yep! Just go already!" Jerry pushed the two off, Scootaloo falling onto the ground for the thousandth time that week.
"Jeeze, want us gone that bad?" Rainbow teased.
"Nah, I just wanna see you walk away."
"That's the same thing!"
"Oh come on Dash, you know what I mean-"
Hey!" Scootaloo snapped. "Can we just get on with it already? Stop ignoring me!"
"'Kay, 'kay, come on then, jeeze," Rainbow lead her once more toward the room. "See you soon, Jerry!" Rainbow called out behind her.
Jerry watched Rainbow as she left. "Hopefully!" she called back.
"So, think you can do it?"
Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo stood on the floor, the ground tilting down in front of them. There was a red curved steel rail a few meters away from them.
Scootaloo glared at her. "Just because pegasus ponies are the only ones that can use these doesn't mean all pegasus ponies can use these!"
"Hey, listen, squirt. Have you ever seen pegasi in scooter competitions in cloudsdale?"
After looking at the clouds in the sky for a few moments pensively, Scootaloo looked at her skateboard and shook her head. Rainbow Dash tried to sigh and laugh nervously at the same time, the end result being a few stifled coughs.
"Scooters aren't cool, Scootaloo. I know it's in your name and all but they don't even come from Equestria, the only serious scooter competitions are held in other places. The only reason they're imported to Equestria at all is to introduce kids like you to boards. Snowboarding? Sure, we got those. Skiing? If you're tough enough you can try. But scooters?" Rainbow Dash shook her head in disgust.
"But they're just scooters! What's so wrong about them? The stupid rules need to be changed. I've pulled off dozens of cool tricks on scooters. I love to use 'em!"
"There is no such thing as a cool scooter trick, Scootaloo."
"Ugh!" Scootaloo threw the board that had been thrusted at her hooves against the walls. One side of her loved scooters. The other thought Rainbow Dash was super cool. The hay is wrong with this world? How come Rainbow's telling me this? Why are we here? What's our purpose?
"Fine. Since you love competition so much let's make this one! See you at the scooterin' competition," Scootaloo pulled out a scooter from her tail and rode down the ramp, crashing through the west wall and riding into the horizon.
"Wait!" Rainbow Dash flapped her wings and zoomed after her. "The competition is all the way in slime island!"
