//------------------------------// // Chapter 26 - Destiny Unbound // Story: Rising Above // by Quick Fix //------------------------------// The house was a bit of a mess, he really had to get round to putting all those notes in the bin. Quick Fix sighed to himself as he looked over a job offer in his hooves, it was just a patch job for a house on the south edge of town, just what he expected at the moment. Work was always a little slow in the spring as ponies put more focus on the weather, but the last few weeks it just hadn't been coming in. Quick didn't believe in karma, but part of him couldn't help but feel like he'd brought it on himself, for what he'd done. Was it wrong to pin the blame for Scootaloo's accident completely on him? Yes. Was it wrong to completely absolve him of blame? Not in his mind, he had pushed her for flight without thinking of the consequences and the result had put her in a coma, brief as it was. Every time his mind lost focus, it went back to that evening, seeing her come crashing down hard on the ramp, spinning slightly on the bounce before sliding down to the ground. He couldn't bring himself to visit her in hospital because, aside from the guilt, the sight of a friend laid out like that was more than he could bear. Quick placed the papers to one side and put his chin on his hooves, trying to get his focus back together. He hated it when things started to pile up, leaving him like this. Right now he just wanted a way to make it up to Scootaloo, maybe...Any thoughts he had were interrupted as a loud thud came from above, making him jump. This was all he needed, some teen pegasus using his roof as a rest stop, there wasn't really a law against it but most ponies tended to look down on it happening without permission. Quick got up and headed outside, looking back up at the roof with a look of frustration. It quickly vanished as he realised just who was standing up there, wearing the cheekiest grin. "Afternoon, Quick." Scootaloo waved down at him, making Quick's draw drop. He'd expected her to be out for months, how durable was she to be back in town after six weeks? His jaw started working again and he shook his head in disbelief. "Scootaloo? How did you...? Are you alright?" "It's me. They let me out of the hospital earlier today, considering how lucky I got. I found myself short of options when I came out so I took the direct route back home," She took off and flew a lap round his house to demonstrate her point before landing in front of him. "And to answer your last question. Now that I've had something to eat, I feel fantastic." Quick blinked as he tried to catch up. Scootaloo had flown all the way home, by herself, on her first proper solo flight. She'd taken everything he'd taught and made it work. Part of him didn't have words for just how surprised she was that it had come together, the other part was confused at how it had come together in spite of everything that had happened. "I...Wow, just, wow. Congratulations, Scootaloo." "Thanks, though that's part of why I came here. See..." She thought about how she was going to word this before placing a hoof on his shoulder. "As amazing as it is to fly, I couldn't have done it on my own. I have a lot of ponies to thank for this and, Quick Fix, you're defiantly up there." "I..." Quick looked away nervously, unsure of what to say. All the same, Scootaloo caught that a small shine had returned to his eyes when she'd said it. She'd seen from his hospital visit that his self-confidence had taken a major hit and figured that she could slowly build it back up now, if she was careful. "I have to thank you for more than that as well. I know you'd rather not remember but, what happened back in the stadium. I remember seeing somepony running out to me before I passed out. I'd bet that if I checked with Trixie, she'd tell me that you were the first one out there." "It wasn't just me, she was right behind me," Quick started, hesitating slightly as he realised he'd admitted it. Scootaloo waited patiently as he thought for a minute before continuing. "I, just reacted. I didn't know what to do at first, you were out before anypony got there. I-I just, remembered my notes and started checking you over." "I didn't really get a chance to see for myself for about ten days. How...Bad did I look?" Scootaloo waited, hoping Quick would keep his composure. It took a minute but he nodded and looked back at her." "Like everypony was saying, better than it should have been. You were still in one piece, not even bleeding that badly. I was more focused on the details, taking in anything I could that might indicate what your mind was going through at the time. I-I don't know how I knew what to look for, but when the medics came up I was able to give them a rundown. And they understood it." Scootaloo stared slightly as Quick finished talking. She didn't know how he knew either but she understood one thing well enough. All those notes he'd been keeping before, he'd been pouring his all into learning, wanting to see if his talent let him fix ponies as well as well as he fixed buildings. She wasn't sure just how effective he'd been this time, but he clearly had shown skill and he didn't have to know about the negatives right now. "I owe you big for this, Quick. I mean it, the docs told me that treating that sort of thing rides a lot on how quick they can figure it out and you had it all laid out for them. That's just from remembering your learning, some proper study and you could be a real medic." "Well, yeah," Quick couldn't help but smile softly at the encouragement. He hadn't realised how much he needed just that little boost, that boost that served as a gentle reminder not to give up, just like she hadn't. One thing was still bugging him though, one last point. "But, should there have been such risks to get there? I mean, we both sort of lost sight of the bigger picture trying to chase our dreams. I got too focused..." "And I negated to adapt to it. I won't lie, I got very lucky out there. But there's a positive outlook to this as well. We've both taken dreams that we gave up on, at least twenty years ago, and showed that there's no such thing as being too old to make them happen." The two of them stood there in thought for a moment, letting reality sink in. They really had done it together, Quick had a hoofhold in learning a new skill that matched his talent and Scootaloo had her flight. They'd been indispensable to each other and even if he worried otherwise, the bond between them was forged. Scootaloo was the first to break the silence. "Well, I really do owe you big. Is there anything I can do as a thank you?" "Oh, I've got an idea..." Scootaloo hummed happily to herself as she stepped into the sunset, waving goodbye to Quick as she took off for home. He waved back and smiled softly, feeling much happier now. He'd been waiting for this ever since he first noticed Scootaloo all those months ago and despite it taking all afternoon, he'd finally done it. His eyes went back down to his hoof for what felt like the millionth time, unable to resist looking at the autograph he'd got. It was a simple picture, taken in his living room, of the two posing for the camera with her in mid hover. A unique signature was written at the bottom, a reminder to him of all the good they had done for each other. Thanks for everything, Quick. Your fan, and friend, Scootaloo.