Finding your Wings

The last thing Scootaloo thought about as she flopped down onto her bed was her time with Spike. She couldn't believe she'd kissed him. That was weird, but it kind of felt right. At the time, she was sure, but even now, she didn't regret it. He'd been good to her, so why not?

She rolled over and pulled up the quilt. She knew her aunts were nice and cared for her while her parents were away, but even though they cared, she didn't want to make them feel bad for her. This was their house, and she was their guest, permanent as she may have seemed. She didn't want to treat them like they were her parents, because they weren't.

With the moon shining down on her through the clouds, she drifted off to sleep, remembering Spike telling her that he would always be around to listen to her problems.

Her dream started the way it usually did. She was standing up on a cloud with Rumble, Featherweight and Rainbow Dash. They were going to race. Rainbow blew her whistle, and they all jumped off at once. Rumble took an early lead, followed by Scootaloo, and Featherweight took up the rear. Rainbow, being the fastest, coolest and most awesome pony in the skies, was ahead of all of them, flying backwards and checking her clipboard.

Around the first corner, Scootaloo was right behind Rumble, close enough that his turn pushed his hips against her face and nearly made her hit the inside corner.

"Watch it!" shouted Rainbow. "Cause a collision, and you lose precious seconds!"

Featherweight was catching up. His small frame made him more aerodynamic, but his low weight and muscle structure made his acceleration suffer for it. He was fast when he came up to speed, but he was always trailing by the first two turns.

Meanwhile, Rumble had a strong back and hips to match. His take-offs were great, but his wing control still needed work if he was going to be a great flier. He couldn't rely on take-offs alone.

At the second corner, Featherweight overtook them both, slipping through the inside corner sideways. He was exceptional when it came to corners.

Rumble kept his eyes on Rainbow, and when she looked down at her clipboard, a swift kick knocked Featherweight into a pylon, knocking him out of the race. Of course, the pylon was made of cloud, so it wasn't a hard collision, but he would need to accelerate from zero again, and that was Featherweight's weak point.

As they prepared to round the third and final corner, Rumble was lagging behind. Scootaloo had picked up her pace somehow, pushing forward. Rumble smacked into her twice, but as he prepared to do so a third time, Scootaloo bolted upward, and Rumble collided with the corner.

"Good evasion, Scoots!" shouted Rainbow. "Well done, and good sportsponyship!"

All that was left was the straightaway, and with both boys far behind her, she could relax. But she didn't want to. She wanted to win. She wanted to be just like Rainbow Dash, and Rainbow was a winner. Scootaloo couldn't risk being a loser. She had to win, and she had to do so without cheating. A win was worthless if you didn't earn it.

She crossed the finish line just as Featherweight was rounding the last corner, and Rumble was halfway down the straightaway. She was a good fifteen seconds ahead of second place, and she'd won that fair and square.

"That's a good hustle," congratulated Rainbow, placing a hoof on her shoulder. "We'll make a Wonderbolt out of you, yet."

"Just like you?" smiled Scootaloo.

"Just like me."

Rumble landed, followed by Featherwighta few seconds later.

"The rankings are in," announced Rainbow. "The winner: Scootaloo with two minutes and eight seconds. Second place: Featherweight, with a time of two minutes and thirty-seven seconds. Good cornering, Featherweight, but you need to work on that takeoff. A full stop will cost you more than any other racer, and in the long runs, you need to stop for breaks every so often. Third place, Rumble. Your time was two minutes and twenty-nine seconds, but with four ten second penalties, your time was up over three minutes. That rough play of yours lost you the whole race."

"He knocked me into the wall!" added Featherweight. "He kicked me right here!" He turned to the side, and while there wasn't a bruise, there was a dirty hoofprint, and a quick check from Rainbow confirmed it.

"Rumble, what do you have to say for yourself?"

"She cheated, too!" Rumble shouted, pointing at Scootaloo. "She's using body modification to increase her flying abilities!"

"No, I'm not!" spat Scootaloo right back. "You're just mad because you lost to a girl!"

"No, that's a body mod," agreed Featherweight. "Those are not regulation wings."

"What are you talking about?" scoffed Scootaloo, spreading her wings. "These are my wings! I just trained really hard and became a good flier through effort!"

Rainbow approached and rubbed her chin. "I'm sorry, Scoots, but I'm going to have to take away your win. They're right; those aren't your wings. Those are stolen."

"What?!" Scootaloo looked back, and it was true. She wasn't using her own orange, feathery wings. These were scaly at the front, leathery between the phalanges, and purple with a green membrane. She had won by stealing Spike's wings.

Rainbow turned to Featherweight. "Well, I can't have a sister who cheats. Looks like you're my new little brother, Featherweight."

Scootaloo couldn't believe what was happening. She'd lost the race and the respect of her role model. "NNNOOOOOO!!!"

She bolted upright in a cold sweat, still in her bed. The sun was just peeking up over the horizon. She took a deep breath. "It was just a dream," she sighed. After a few more, she chuckled. "Of course it was. I'd never steal something from Spike. And I'd never cheat at sports, either! Winners don't cheat. What a silly dream..."

Shaking her head, she hopped out of bed and walked down to the bathroom. She was all sticky and smelly from the sweating, so cleaning up was important. She'd also need to start washing her sheets before she left, to make sure they were clean when she came back.

After her shower, she stepped out and dried herself, then went to the mirror to brush her teeth. When she looked in the mirror, however, she dropped her toothbrush, letting it clatter into the sink. She had wings. Big wings. And they weren't covered in feathers, but in scales.