How could she have been so foolish? Scootaloo had never thought to come up with a contingency plan if she was stuck in a city without bits. Normally she would have kept some in her helmet but that wasn't an option, she could only imagine how much worse the impact would have been if she had. As it was, she had to work with what she had, which was pretty much her body and mind. So, what was she going to do?
Asking somepony if she could borrow some? Even if she found a local who said yes, she probably wouldn't be able to find where they lived to give it back later. Ask nicely if she could slip on the train? Why did she even think of that one? It was no example for a notable name to be setting. Walking home was sounding more appealing, though it would probably take her days, even if she walked in a straight line...Straight line, straight as the crow flies. She glanced back at herself in thought, all that time in the hospital, her wings had been getting constant exercise to the point that they were probably in better shape than before the accident.
"What if..." Scootaloo mused to herself, heading for the city limits, the crowds proving enough cover that she wasn't receiving much notice. She was asking a lot of herself right now but circumstance was a funny thing, now it was offering everything she'd wanted in exchange for an endurance test. Scootaloo always liked a physical test. After a few minutes of walking she passed through the city gates, the grounds outside the walls were a lot quieter, perfect for what she had in mind.
Her wings spread as she looked right, over the cliff. Ponyville was just visible off in the distance, not a problem for an experienced flier to get there. A rookie though, might have more trouble. This was the real trial by fire but she was ready, time to rise up. One hoof stepped forward, then another, then another. Her pace slowly building up as she went for a running take-off. Just before reaching the edge she pushed off and flapped, feeling the ground leave beneath her, a small dust cloud kicking up. Her left eye slammed shut as a precaution, protected from the wind blowing into her face, her mane rippling in the airflow.
As Scootaloo gained a stable altitude and stretched her legs into position, she felt that desire to fly returning. A raging fire in her heart to push herself to do what her kind was born to do. A glance down let her see she was already clear of Canterlot, flying at least a hundred feet off the ground. A small twinge of fear crept through her at the sight, though it quickly shrivelled in the heat of the passion that was spreading through her whole body. Scootaloo glanced back at her wings and grinned proudly, when the chance came up she'd have to thank everypony who had helped her get to where she was.
For now, there was just the rush that came with touching her dreams. Her front legs dropped back to her sides and her eye slowly opened again. The cold rush of wind was somewhat uncomfortable but it lessened in moments and didn't hurt, that was all she needed right now. Scootaloo let out a whoop of joy and did a roll in the air, that proved a mistake as the view change disoriented her badly. She brought herself to a stop, taking deep breaths as her body readjusted and the adrenaline wore down to more manageable levels. She still thought it was worth it, especially as her brain caught up with her wings.
That stop had been done without thinking about it, Scootaloo realized. Her pegasi instincts were surfacing, wanting to take soar again, to make this sky her own. Much as she wanted to, her body was asking for a minute to take a breather, her body had a lot more common sense. A quick look round showed a few clouds nearby, that should suffice if she was careful, with any luck. She hovered over the nearest cloud and slowly lowered down to it, bracing slightly as her hooves made contact. To her surprise, the cloud held her as well as any solid ground, one of those little wonders of the inherent magic of the world.
The view from up here was, well, Scootaloo had no words. She could see for miles and it was beautiful, sitting only a few miles from Ponyville. Slowly she looked over the edge of the cloud, trying to get a feel of it, it looked like she should have fallen through it but instead it was like sitting on a fluffy cushion. Scootaloo made a mental note to try settling down on one when she had the chance, for now, time to plan her descent into Ponyville. She could probably glide it from here if she was careful, diving down would be cool but control might be more of a problem, just keep flying? Yeah that sounded fun.
Once her breath was back, Scootaloo pushed off again, making sure not to disturb the cloud too much. Rainbow Dash had told her about enough reprimands from when she still worked at the weather factory to know they didn't appreciate ponies messing with clouds. She hovered for a moment before setting off again, bringing her hooves up as she headed for home. The familiar rush of wind felt as good as the first time, her body warmed up and enjoying every moment. As she began to drop altitude, Scootaloo took a moment to just appreciate the moment. Many pegasi took their flight for granted, never understanding just how special such an ability really was, just what they were capable of doing.
She knew who she was going to show first though.
"Do you think we should have visited today?" Spring Spirit asked, half to herself, half to Fever Pitch. The couple had been trying to get themselves back into the run of normal life and with winter over, they were focusing on making their garden look good again on the warm spring days.
"Come on, Scoots is a strong girl and the doctors said she was getting out soon. I'm sure she's focused on getting back to peak condition before leaving."
"Yeah, I hope so." Spring sighed slightly, looking back to the flowers she was planting. Making the most of this time of year was her special talent but even that was a bit of a stretch when all she could think about was that Febuary week. Spending every day sitting by a hospital bed, watching her daughter lying there, lacking the strength to so much as breathe for herself. Anypony would struggle to keep themselves together for long in such a situation, even if they were as lucky as she had been.
"Hi mom. Hi dad."
Spring shook her head slightly as she looked up, wondering if she was going crazy. She half expected to see the little Scootaloo she remembered standing in front of her, a ground bound but happy filly. She may not have had her dreams, but they'd had each other and that was what she wanted to remember.
"...Mom? I'm up here."
Her eyes shot up and her jaw dropped slightly. Scootaloo was indeed, up there. Hovering with calm and confidence, she looked like she'd run a marathon but she was smiling like Spring had never seen before.
"S-scootaloo? How'd you...?"
"The doctors discharged me, I found myself short of bits so ultimately, I flew home. Cool, huh?"
Spring couldn't find words, she couldn't even move as her brain tried to catch up with her ears. Fever Pitch was just letting the first thing he could think of take over, which took the form of him shooting up into the air and hugging Scootaloo. He just held it for a moment before starting to laugh, the laugh of a stallion that finally found himself with a chance to just, savour the moment. Scootaloo looked over at him and couldn't help but join in, a more light hearted laugh of relief.
"Th-thanks dad, I guess you've been waiting for this."
"Have I ever! I always thought you'd have it in you, Scoots, now it's paid off! Your first proper flight and you make it all the way from Canterlot to Ponyville? You keep it up and anypony would be thrilled to have you as a flying partner!"
Scootaloo chuckled softly, waiting for Fever Pitch to wear some of his endless enthusiasm off before landing in front of Spring Spirit. She'd been keeping herself more in check, standing there silently. The look on her face said it all though, a mother accepting that her child had been lifted up to their greatest challenge, faced it head on...And succeeded. The two slowly stepped forward and hugged each other, the tears starting to fall. Joy at getting to share the moment for Scootaloo, liquid pride for Spring.
"I'm so proud of you, my little Scoots." Spring whispered, nuzzling Scootaloo softly and running a hoof through her mane. Scootaloo let her, just enjoying the bonding. Once Fever finally got himself under control enough to land, the three of them turned and headed for the house, they had a lot of catching up to do in what had been going on in the healing and around town.
Also, Scootaloo hoped, she could get some lunch while she was here.