Skyscraper

Chapter 1: Airborne

It was a perfect afternoon. The weather couldn’t be any better, with a bright sunny sky and only a light smattering of clouds. The young fuchsia-maned pony took a moment to steel herself.  This was the day she’d been waiting for. Well, this would be the first such day where she’d actually succeed. Scootaloo flared her wings out and looked over her back, smiling. It seemed like it would never happen, but her wings had finally grown in, and, in her view at least, looked quite dashing.

Today's the day, she thought.

Scootaloo dug her hooves into the ground, and broke into a run. Once up to speed, she jumped, and flapped her wings with the strongest heave she could. The young pegasus flapped again, and again. It was about the fifth flap that she realized her hooves hadn’t touched the ground, and that her eyes were clenched shut. Opening them, she found herself hovering a good five feet from the ground, and felt a grin plaster itself to her face.

Spotting a nearby cloud, she decided to make it a goal. Still a bit awkward, she started flying towards it, intending to stop there and rest. Scootaloo found, however, that flying was getting easier the closer she got, and by the time she reached it she brushed past it and kept going. Feeling bolder, she tried and managed to do a couple tricks: a barrel roll, a flip. It was after the short loop that what she was doing really sunk in.

I'm really flying! Really, really flying!

Hungry for more, Scootaloo shot skyward, soaring higher and higher. She noticed she was alone now, with no other pegasi flying at this height. Looking behind her, Ponyville seemed to shrink below her. She alighted on a nearby cloud, enjoying her newfound perspective. It all looked so small from this height, so distant. The jubilant filly felt like she could fly all the way to Cloudsdale.

Scootaloo caught a flitting glimpse of a rainbow streak across the edge of her vision. Looking around, she spotted the pegasus she was searching for. Rainbow Dash was some distance away, sitting on a cloud. Scootaloo called out to her, but she was too far away to hear. With renewed vigour, the filly took off again towards Rainbow Dash. After finally managed to fly, she just had to show Rainbow. Maybe she’d let her fly with her; even teach her a few moves. She called out again, but Rainbow Dash still didn’t hear her, and after a moment, took off up and away.

“Rainbow Dash! Over here!” Scootaloo tried to fly faster close the distance. This day only needed one more thing to make it perfect, and that was meeting Rainbow Dash in the sky. “Wait up!”

She pumped her wings as hard and as fast as she could, but it seemed like the faster she flew, the farther Rainbow got. Scootaloo felt her wings tiring, her muscles burning, but refused to give up when she’d come this close. She suddenly noticed she wasn’t getting any higher, but was instead losing altitude. Looking back over her shoulder, she found her wings had shrunk back to their old, smaller size. She didn’t flap so much as flit uselessly as she started to fall. Starting to panic, Scootaloo called out again to Rainbow Dash, but she was far enough away that she could hardly see her.

The ground, however, was quickly getting closer. Scootaloo tried as hard as she could to slow her descent, but her muscles ached, her wings were too small. Her flailing attempts at flying had only caused her to begin tumbling uncontrollably. She started screaming, falling headfirst with the ground seeming to rush up to meet her.

She screamed again, “Rainbo-“

-thud-

Scootaloo found herself hanging off the side of her bed, with her forehead planted against the floor and her legs tangled in the sheets. She extracted herself from her bedding, wiping at her face.

“Scootaloo? You awake?” came a call from the kitchen, “Breakfast is about ready.”

”Yeah, I’m up”, she answered. Great, now I crash in my dreams, too?

The time was already a little past nine in the morning. It was a good thing it was Sunday, Scootaloo noted, or she would have been late for school. Still groggy, she descended the stairs, letting the smell of breakfast lead her. Entering the kitchen, she saw a light purple pony setting the table.

“Well good morning, sleepy head” the pony said with a smile. “I hope you’re hungry.”

“Morning”, she replied, taking a place at the table.

“You look tired, did you sleep well?” The mare asked while doling out breakfast.

“Yeah, I was just…up late.”

“So,…” the other pony started after a few minutes of silence, “Do you have any plans for today? There’s a new shop opening in town today. I haven’t heard what they’re selling, but maybe we coul-“

“-Actually me and my friends are hanging out today. We’re meeting at…” Scootaloo took a quick look at the clock, “Oh! I gotta go; they’re probably waiting for me.”

“This early?”

Scootaloo, in a sudden rush, headed for the door. “Yeah. Thanks for the breakfast Ms. Butterscotch. Bye”

“Goodbye.” Butterscotch replied. “Have a nice-” she was interrupted by the door closing. “*sigh*...day.” Her smile fading a bit, she set to clearing the table.

After quickly putting some distance between herself and home, Scootaloo slowed to a walk. She lived close to the outskirts of Ponyville; far enough to make walking into town a chore, but close enough not to feel too separated. It was where she’d lived for the past several years. She remembered being told Ponyville would be a good fit for her. Scootaloo stopped for a moment and looked to the sky,

But that’s where I belong.

Thinking of the previous night’s dream, Scootaloo flared her wings, and after a couple seconds hesitation, starting flapping. Nothing happened. She flapped harder. Her weight shifted, but her hooves remained in place, on the ground. Dejected, but not surprised, she focused on meeting her friends in town, and after a little under half an hour, Scootaloo was at Sweetie Belle’s door. For the longest time, she’d thought Sweetie Belle lived with Rarity in the Carousel Boutique. After getting used to that, it had been a bit surprising to find she lived in a place so…homey. The house was similar to hers in that it was a two story affair with little to set it apart from the neighbors. Well, except Butterscotch’s home didn’t have nearly as many lawn decorations. Looking at a pair of faded pink flamingos, she chuckled: to think the oh-so-fancy Rarity grew up here.

She knocked on the door, and was greeted by Sweetie Belle’s father.

“Well, hello Scoot. How yah doin’?”

Sweetie Belle’s dad had always called her Scoot. She didn’t much care for the nickname at first, but she could never even remember his name, so it seemed a little unfair to correct him. Come to think of it, she couldn’t recall either of her parents’ names. At some point she just settled on referring to them as Mr. and Mrs. Belle.

“I’m good.”

“Come on in.” Mr. Belle invited, “I suppose you’re here for Sweetie Belle. Hold on a sec and I’ll get ‘er”

If there was a single word to describe the inside of the house, it was “cozy”. The colours were warm and inviting, and it always smelled faintly of some spice Scootaloo couldn’t quite place. The main room had a large, cushy sofa and chair next to a well stocked book shelf. The wall opposite had a fireplace, with a mantel covered in family portraits.

She was looking through these portraits when Sweetie Belle entered the room.

“You’re early.” The light grey filly stated, “Like, really early”

“I didn’t have anything else going on, so I figured I’d come by sooner” Scootaloo quickly replied, lingering on the photos a moment longer.

Sweetie Belle thought for a moment. “I guess we could just hang out until we meet Applebloom. Oh! I know; there’s this new shop in town. I don’t really know what they sell…wanna check it out?”

“Sure, sounds fun.” Scootaloo started, “I hope it’s something awesome, like-”

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“Scented candles?” she finished flatly, looking around the store.

It was a general store, more or less, but the majority of the sales floor was stocked with various scented candles. While she was sure an individual candle might smell good, an entire store full of them, with their myriad odors, just made her nose itch. It was not unlike a being stuck in a perfume store if somepony spilled half the bottles. In the end Sweetie Belle bought something that smelled like an odd combination of peaches and cinnamon, and Scootaloo was just happy to get out and smell normal air again.

They ambled around for a bit longer before returning to Sweetie Belle’s home to wait for Applebloom, who they found was already waiting for them.

“You’re late. How’re you late to yer own house?”

“Sorry, guess we lost track of time” Scootaloo replied.

Applebloom adopted a quizzical look and sniffed the air. “What smells like…some kinda…pie? Did you guys already eat without me?”

“Candle!” Sweetie Belle blurted out.

“…”

“…she bought a candle” Scootaloo explained.

“A scented candle.” Sweetie Belle added.

“Well I hope it smells better when you light it” Applebloom remarked.

“Enough about the candle, time’s wasting.” Scootaloo interjected. “Let’s go.”

After rechecking their saddles bags for everything they would need for the day, the trio of fillies set off to start their latest, and as always hoped, last attempt to get their cutie marks.

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“Well today’s sucked.” Scootaloo commented between bites of her sandwich.

It had been about five hours, and the three crusaders were taking a break to eat their lunches. In retrospect, it was amazing how much one could fail in such a short amount of time.

“Weeeell,” Applebloom started, “We tried boxcart racing, badminton, chess and veterinary medicine…I hope Rarity isn’t still upset about Opal.”

Sweetie Belle added, “We also tried ballerin-“

“We also agreed not to talk about it.” Scootaloo interrupted, prompting a giggle from the other two. Her eyes narrowed, recollecting. “Never again.”

After a moment more of the two giggling, Applebloom tried thinking of more ideas. “Let’s see…there’s astronomy.”

“But it’s the middle of the day.” Sweetie Belle pointed out.

“Beekeeping?”

“Pass.” Scootaloo replied.

“Flash mob?”

“There’s only three of us.”

“Mimes?”

“Weak.”

“…chimney sweeps?”

“C’mon. Can’t we think of something exciting?” Scootaloo was starting to get exasperated.

Sweetie Belle shot her hoof up, “I know!”

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Some time later, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle were at the base of the Ponyville clock tower. They were looking up to the top, watching for Scootaloo. Sweetie Belle was all smiles, but Applebloom was starting to think this might not be a good idea, and said so.

Sweetie Belle excited smile didn’t falter, “C’mon, this’ll be fun! Cutie Mark Crusader Bungee Jumpers! What could possibly go wrong?” She asked without irony.

At the top of the tower, Scootaloo was rechecking her harness. They’d gotten it from the Apple farm, and the bungee rope was some stretchy fabric from the Carousel Boutique. The fabric was really stretchy, and bungee cords were stretchy, so it seemed to make sense. She was worried they might get in trouble for using the clock tower, as it was a very visible building, and a lot of ponies had learned to be somewhat wary of their antics. It seemed, however, that nopony gave much thought to a pegasus in a high place. Peering over the side of the tower, Scootaloo gulped, seeing just how high she was. Sweetie Belle was looking up expectantly, while Applebloom appeared more concerned.

Maybe this is too high up. The pegasus was immediately embarrassed to have even thought such a thing. No. There’s no way I’m going to let a little heights scare me!

Scootaloo trotted over to the edge, and without any further hesitation, jumped. She fell for about two exhilarating seconds before she stopped as her rope cracked taut. Then, with a loud report, the rope snapped. Scootaloo’s excitement quickly turned to dread as she plummeted to the ground, still two stories below her. Choking on a scream, her limbs flailed, and she beat her wings as hard as she could. Time seemed to slow, as the ground lazily crept closer, then, oddly, reversed. It took Scootaloo a moment to realize she’d not only stopped falling, but was actually ascending.

Comprehension hit the airborne pony when he was more than halfway back up the tower. This is really happening! I’m flying!

With her panic disappearing, Scootaloo looked around, searching for somewhere to land. She was starting to head back to the spot she’d jumped from when the rope, still attached to her harness, finished its own descent. The sudden weight jerked her downwards, and her newfound excitement once again whiplashed to panic. The muscles in her wings started to burn with the exertion of keeping her steady. Tiring, she let herself hover downwards, hoping to at least land safely on the ground. She was about 6 meters from the ground when her wings gave out entirely, sending her into a tumble. The world seemed to spin around her before she felt a jarring impact, and everything went black.

Scootaloo woke to the revelation that everything ached. She had a vague sense that she was moving. Her back hooves felt like they were being dragged. It sounded like someone was speaking in her ear, but she couldn’t make out the words. Scootaloo slowly opened her eyes to find she was propped up between her friends, who were carrying her while Applebloom was telling her to wake up.  She looked around; they were some distance from where she’d landed. Her head pounded; maybe impacted would be a better choice of words.

Feels like I've crashed twice today.

Sweetie Belle noticed her looking around first, “She’s awake!”

“Ah! Not so loud” She squirmed out of their grasp and found she could stand, although it didn’t feel very good to. “Where’re we going?”

“The hospital.” Applebloom went to prop Scootaloo up when she started to stagger. “Are you okay? You hit pretty hard and we couldn’t wake you up.”

“No! Mm fine!” Her outburst caught her friends off guard. “I mean, I’m fine…How long was I out?”

Applebloom looked less than convinced. “Not long, a few minutes. I still say we should go to the hospital.”

Huh, that’s funny. In the stories they’re always out for hours. Another thought occurred to her, I can’t let Redheart see me like this!

“Listen, seriously, I’m alright.” Scootaloo felt like she was forgetting something. “Wait! Did you guys see me fly?”

Sweetie Belle cocked her head quizzically. “Um, no. You fell… that’s kinda why we were dragging you to the hospital.”

“Well, I flew. How could you not see it? Applebloom, you saw me fly, right?

Applebloom looked down uncomfortably, “No, when yer rope broke, I couldn’t watch. I guess I closed my eyes.”

She looked to Sweetie Belle. “Sorry, I did, too. You hit your head pretty hard. Maybe you dreamed it? I mean, I thought you couldn’t fl-”

“I didn’t dream anything.” Scootaloo huffed in frustration, wincing at the pain is caused. “Guys, I think we should call it quits for today. I’m gonna head home and clean up.”

“You want us to walk you there?” Applebloom asked.

“No, that’s alright.”

“You sure?”

“Guys, I’m fine, really”

After placating her friends for a couple minutes, Scootaloo headed off, while the other two said they were going to hang out at Sweetie Belle’s for a bit. Scootaloo walked for a few minutes, and made a couple turns before checking for her friends. When she was sure they weren’t following her, she changed direction, and started heading home in earnest.

She was not looking forward to getting home. Scootaloo could just imagine how Butterscotch would react. It hurt to walk, or breathe, or think about how much it hurt. Despite all this, Scootaloo found a smile creeping onto her face. The pegasus stopped a moment and looked to the sky.

I can fly.

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Author’s Notes: Thank you for reading this far; I realize Scootaloo learning to fly isn’t the most terribly unique idea for a fic. As my first shot at this, I figured I’d save some of the other ideas until after I’ve got some practice. Constructive criticism would be very much appreciated.