Twilight's Workout Journal: Week 5

I was browsing through Applejack’s selection at the Farmer’s Market, when Scootaloo suddenly bumped into me, fresh apple fritter in hand. Naturally, the conversation soon centered on Rainbow Dash, and she asked me increasingly more pointed questions about my my time working with her, prompting Applejack to say, “Y’know, instead of just jibber-jabberin’, why don’t you ask RD if she wants to work with Scoots? Shoot, with how long you've worked with her and that good head on ya, you could teach ‘er plenty.” After hashing it out with Dash, later, she agreed with the assessment, and tasked me with easing Scoots into the regiment when she showed up that morning.

It was quite an experience seeing her take on her 1st full day of Dash’s workout system, more so because, despite her struggling as greatly as I had the 1st day, she never showed any signs of relent. I heard her heavy breathing during our warm ups, I felt her pouring energy into each and every weighting lifting rep, I saw the sweat streaming down her face as she ran 2 miles up 15 inches of treadmill incline, yet through all that, she kept pushing forward. When I asked if she wanted to take a break, she shot me a glare of tired intensity and said, ”I appreciate the concern, but as long as I have my Pegasaid, I won’t stop until the day is done and I've put in the work I need to.”

The attitude proved to be very infectious during our time together, with her becoming more of an invaluable workout partner the more her capabilities came to match my own-although I’m not sure if I should be impressed or depressed that someone several years younger can match my strength and speed. Regardless, she was a highly curious sponge soaking in her new environment, asking about things like Dynamite Strength, proper eating regimens (load up in the morning, ease up in the evening, and always have an after meal snack is what Dash taught me, in that respect), and gym etiquette. A big part of what Dash drilled into about that is in wiping down your work area before moving on to the next one, that emphasis becoming even clearer one day when we got to the Bench Press station and found a puddle of someone else’s sweat waiting there; needless to say, Dash reacted less than favorably when she figured out who the puddle belonged to.

Now, I certainly appreciated that Scoots was working out with me, spotting me and all that, but I never could peg why she was doing so until she invited me and my trainers to the recently finished big air ramp in Cloudsdale. As we stood on what felt like the top of a mountain (complete with the whistling winds at the peak), I saw Scootaloo hop onto her scooter and ask, “So you wanna know why I wanna work with you guys, right? Why I wanna get stronger?” Seconds later, she blazed down the ramp as she said, “This is why,” backflipping high into the air, then pushing her scooter into a backflip during her flip, and tailwhipping it as she got back on and completed the motion right into the cloud pit (according to her, the sequence before the tailwhip is referred to as a Celestia Flip). Before my jaw could hit the floor, though, Dash, riding her skateboard down the ramp, followed that with a heelflip backflip, Pinkie well strapped into her rollerblades as she launched into a cartwheel bellyflop. It was among the most amazing things I’ve ever seen in my life, and didn't know what I could do to get anywhere to close to that on the scooter the place loaned to me.

My knees were shaking like crazy, and to this day I don’t know why it happened, but I felt my legs guide me onto the scooter and push off into a rapid descent. The air rushed through my hair and all around me right up to the second I flew off the ramp and backflipped with all my might, the world continuing to spin as I landed safely into cloud pit. Head first, yes, but at least it was into something relatively soft. As Dash and Pinkie pulled me out, I could hear Dash’s voice saying, “You know Twi, that was completely reckless, and if you messed up, you could’ve gotten seriously hurt. That’s the kinda attitude I like, and that’s gonna get you the win when we hit Las Pegasus! Hopefully, though, you don’t lead with your head there, too, ‘cause you know gloved fists are nowhere near as soft as clouds are on your face”

Progress for the Week: I actually got my 100m meter time down to 13.9! In a win against Scootaloo! Sure, I beat someone years younger than me, but a win's a win...right?

Goal for Next Week: Build a better, more sustained rhythm on the Speed Bag. Surprisingly tough to keep the pace going without wearing out my arms too quickly. Hopefully improving at this improves the pace I keep when I need to apply my training to live opponents

Song of the Moment: Intense Energy, by Agression
Scoot's had this on her headphones the first day she came in for training, and as the title states, it's intense energy all the way through. Rather short, in keeping with the skate punk tradition, but it's the perfect amount of energy for the long, nausea inducing (As Scoots soon learned) training sessions

Author's Note

Scootaloo rather enjoys her time with Twilight and her crew, so much so that next week, she brings a friend along for the ride. You know what happens you spread the word: they tell one person they know, then they tell one person, then they tell one person, then they tell one person, and so on, and so on, eventually reaching the ears of someone who wants to put her skills to the test. How well can she teach Scootaloo's friend? Who would want to test Twilight? Who will be the last one standing? Tune in next week and find out!