Stories in Stone
Lost Empire
by TDR

Missing Feathers

The wind whipped and tore at her mane, playing over her form as she stared down at what lay below her, planning everything out before she even began. She shivered briefly wondering if she should have grabbed a training suit from the lock up before coming out here, but it was to late to go back, besides, the exercise would warm her up faster than anything else.

She reaches a hoof up tugging the headphones tighter over her ears to make sure she wouldn't lose them. They were an older set, the Wonderbolts used them to communicate with each other in the air during shows to keep coordination. They had a newer set that were little more than tiny ear pieces now and the older stuff was boxed up and put into storage.

Her mom would likely be annoyed she had a pair of them, but she liked listening in to the flight teams chatter when the Wonderbolts practiced. The course was clear this time of day however, and generally that's when she enjoyed it the most, no other pony around to watch or judge her, she could just cut loose.

The orange coated pony stretched fanning her tiny wings looking over the clouds again. She had her fathers build, tall and muscular, most would consider that she would wind up in the same bracket as Soarin because of this. A distance flier, her fathers mass and size allowed him to continue on long after most other pegasi started to feel the burn of prolonged flight.

She did sort of take after him there, she rarely got tired when she flew, not since she was much younger and first learning to fly. She also took after her mother in nimbleness, despite her slightly larger than a normal pegasi form she was very agile. Still it was her mentor she took after the most.

Scootaloo taps on the side of the head set she wore, activating their secondary function as a audio recorder. She could also play things back off a record crystal if she wanted, this was what she primarily used these for. She smirks hearing the faint chime as the command is registered and the headphones start the play back of a Pontera song she liked.

She pulls down her goggles as the first notes begin to pump through the headset.

Yep, every pony knew she took after her mentor the most, because much like Rainbow Dash, when it came to flying, she was bucking nuts.

"Revvin' up your engine
Listen to it's howlin' roar
Wings under tension
Beggin' you to touch and go..."

Scootaloo grins as her wings burst into green flame spreading wide and quivering in anticipation. The heat from her wings washes over her body canceling the chill of the cold wind.

"Highway to the Danger Zone
Ride into the Danger Zone "

She launches herself off the cloud as the drum line picks up falling though the air in a slow spiral. She keeps her wings tight to her body letting the flame play out as her mane and tail whip behind her as she plummets towards the ground.

"Headin' into twilight
Spreadin' out her wings tonight
She got you jumpin' off the track
And shovin' into overdrive."

Scootaloo snaps her wings open, the light from them brightening as her decent all but stopped, a single jerk to the side sent her at an almost ninety degree angle to where she was falling at near terminal velocity. She tucks her legs tighter to her body as she zips through a series of rings. Her wings snap open again and a single hard flap sent her spiraling back into the air.

"Highway to the Danger Zone
I'll take you
Right into the Danger Zone"

This was the sort of flying that her mother worried about, this was the sort of maneuverability that her mentor wished she had. Wreck-less and wild looking to any one who might be watching the near impossible angles she was making in flight. She knew she could make turns that no other pegasi would even try with ease.

"You'll never say hello to you
Until you get it on the red line overload
You'll never know what you can do
Until you get it up as high as you can go.."

Unlike most pegasi who had to worry about the strain they were putting on their wings with tight maneuvers and hard turns, Scootaloo didn't have to worry about any of that. She could still black out if the drag of gravity was too much, but constant practice pushed that threshold so far back she was not even sure what her limit was now. The flame that comprised her wings provided more than enough lift and momentum to allow her to fly, though the lack of wind resistance and friction allowed her to fly circles around any other pony in the air. She might not be the strongest, or the fastest, but of the current set of Wonderbolt hopefuls and even those on the team already she was by far the most maneuverable.

"Out along the edges Always where I burn to be The further on the edge The hotter the intensity" She smiled as the song started drawing to a close, ripping through a slalom of clouds and sending them spiraling before the heat from her wings puffed them into mist. The song was supposedly written about the dragon migration, though for some reason she felt it fit her perfectly. When she first started flying ten years ago she had never wanted to stop. A late bloomer in her cutie mark, an even later bloomer with being able to fly properly, finally being able to soar was like the fulfillment of a her greatest wish. She smirks remembering the reactions of the pegasi who used to tease her about her wings when she started winning young flier competitions, practically destroying all of them.

"Highway to the Danger Zone
Gonna take you
Right into the Danger Zone
Highway to the Danger Zone "

"Does your mom know you're out here?" a voice crackles over the headset cutting off the end of the song and forcing her to come to a sudden stop in the air right before she was going to try a big finish.

Scootaloo sighs seeing a pair of pegasi fly towards her, one of them had a wide smirk on her face, the short rainbow colored mane billowing back over her neck, her wings spread wide as she glides closer, a Wonderbolt uniform covering the rest of her.

Scootaloo chuckles taps the ear piece again activating the com before Dash got closer.

"Does my mom know you never take that uniform off Dash?" Scootaloo smirks.

"Hey I take it off kid, Mac only put up with the cosplay for the first few months." Rainbow Dash chuckles.

"Ewww." Scootaloo winces sticking her tongue out as the other pegasus rolls her eyes.

"Yes, thank you for that Dash. While it is wonderful that you and Big Mac are getting along so well Granny Smith and I are still waiting for grand foals." Starfall retorts.

"Pfftt i'll have kids when I'm ready." Dash grumbles.

Scootaloo smirks landing lightly on a cloud listening to the two bicker. Turns out Starfall was a great, however, many times, grandmother of Rainbow. Scootaloo still was not sure how that worked out, but she was pretty cool as well as being the only other pony aside from Rainbow Dash who could do the Rainboom. Still she wasn't quite as awesome as Dash, but then again no pony was.

She was unfortunately also a stickler for the rules. Granted most of that probably came from her being appointed the Wonderbolt's liaison to the 42nd , and Field Commander for military operations. She wasn't one to let things slide for any pony, not even Dash. Still impressive for a pony who was the same age as her mother, Spitfire.

"So then Scootaloo, I some how doubt the Air Commander would allow you to use the course unsupervised, let alone with some of the old gear..." Starfall mutters.

"Geez I wasn't even using all of it. There's no training today any way, so there's no way I would have gotten in any ones way." Scootaloo sighs pulling out the recording crystal with her music on it and handing Starfall the headset. "Not like any pony even knows this stuff's down there any way. Seems a shame to let it collect dust."

"Doesn't matter, no one uses the course without some pony else as a spotter. I know you don't get cramps, but then again no one knows enough about what your wings can and cannot do yet to say what might happen." Starfall states

Scootaloo stifles a smirk as Dash drifts behind the other pegasus starting to mimic her scolding.

"You would figure after ten years if anything was gonna go wrong it would. I already know my limits of endurance and g-force tolerance. I didn't come any where close to that practicing out there."Scootaloo sighs stifling a smirk.

"Rules are rules, Scootaloo." Starfall says jerking her fore hoof back and shoving the band of the headset into Rainbow Dash's mouth to end the pantomime. "You are going to have to learn to follow them sooner or later." She glares back at Dash who simply grins trying to look innocent. "No matter how good you are."

"Right, right... But I still have a few months left before I've got to go all gun ho when I join the academy full time. Still have a few days of school and then a whole summer before I'm under your iron hoof." Scootaloo grins.

"It's not me you have to worry about. Your mothers been waiting for a chance to try and work that rebellious streak out of you." Starfall sighs. "Bit of advice though." The gray pegasus smirks."Don't lose it all. Sometimes you do need to know when to break the rules for a better result. But you didn't hear that from me."

"He he ,she's been trying for years, even before I got my wings. Dad says I take to much after her for that to happen." Scootaloo chuckles. "Anyway can I jet now.. I've got some place to be."

"Fix the clouds you broke first, then get out of here." Starfall smiles.

"Really leaving so soon? We were gonna work though a few maneuvers, wouldn't mind a cheering section." Dash chuckles.

"Sorry Dash , I've got something to do today, other wise I would love to." Scootaloo states noting the hint of disappointment on her mentors face.

"Huh? And what's so important you're missing me practicing?" Dash boasts clearly not really all that upset by it.

"Just a bit of Crusading."