Talon's next lesson with Twilight was the next day, so Fluttershy took him back to her cottage for lunch. She had decided that if Talon was going to try to cook, the least she could do was teach him how to avoid chopping apart his paws.
“You met Rainbow Dash already, so that's good. We can go by her place this afternoon and see when she has time to help you learn to fly.” Fluttershy explained to Talon after she showed him how to avoid hitting his paws with the knife. “I know she's already helping Scootaloo, and she's improved a lot since they started.”
“Scootaloo fly?”
“Well, not much yet, but she's much farther along than she used to be. I'm sure Rainbow will be able to help you fly. Did... did your mom fly you around at all?”
Talon's brow furrowed as he thought, trying to remember something from before he had been with Show Stealer. “Talon think... Talon remember dad fly mom and Talon.”
“Oh. Your dad must have been a pretty good flier, then.” Fluttershy smiled as he gave her the cucumber he had been working on and she added it to the stock on the stove. “You should do just fine in that case.”
Fluttershy ladled some of the soup into bowls and brought them to the table. Angel opted for some raw cucumber slices; he was never a fan of barley-vegetable soup.
Talon sat by the edge of the path, watching Fluttershy rise up to a particularly large cloud formation that was apparently Rainbow Dash's house. He wondered how she had made a house out of clouds. Maybe he could ask Fluttershy about it. She was a pegasus, so she might know.
Talon was distracted by a swiftly approaching orange and blue streak which kicked up dust all over the road. Coughing, he flapped his wings to clear a space around him, revealing Scootaloo taking her helmet off.
“Hey, Talon! What are you doing here?”
“Fluttershy get Rainbow Dash.” Looking up, he saw that both pegasi were now descending toward them. “What Scootaloo do?”
“Rainbow Dash is helping me practice my flying.” Scootaloo wore a huge grin as she fluttered her wings rapidly where she stood.
“Yeah, it looks like we've got a practice partner for ya, Scoots.” Rainbow gestured to Talon as she hovered just above the path. “Fluttershy says that Talon needs exercise so he can fly once his primaries grow back. He, uh, apparently never got to fly before.”
“So, he's kinda like me?” Scootaloo looked over toward Talon who was talking quietly with Fluttershy.
“Nah, Squirt, it's more like... the pony he was with before...” Rainbow looked from side to side nervously before lowering her voice and putting her muzzle right next to Scootaloo's ear. “He cut off Talon's feathers so he couldn't fly.”
“What?” Scootaloo's shout brought the attention of Fluttershy and Talon over to where she stood with Rainbow. “Why would somepony do that?”
“We're not sure Scootaloo.” Fluttershy trotted over with Talon right behind her. “But we were hoping you could help Rainbow teach him how to fly.”
“Really? Of course!” Scootaloo hovered in place with a look of glee.
Rainbow showed Fluttershy some exercises to have Talon do each day to strengthen his wings and told her to bring him by that Saturday so she could figure out what he needed to work on.
Scootaloo zipped off, shouting something about meeting up with a pegasus named rumble.
“So,” Fluttershy turned to face Talon as they walked down the road. “I was thinking of visiting Rarity for tea. Would you like to come with me?”
“Yes,” Talon answered, nodding. “What tea?”
“Well, it's kind of like soup. The only ingredient is a mixture of leaves, though. If I remember correctly, she has some apple rose tea you should be able to try. I hope Twilight can come up with something soon so we can be sure about stuff like this, though.”
The door to Rarity's boutique was open, Rarity emerging from the stairwell as the overhead bell chimed.
“Welcome to the Carousel Boutique, where – Oh! Fluttershy, how nice to see you, darling.” Rarity finished coming down the stairs and trotted over to Fluttershy. “I was just helping Sweetie get ready for something or other with some of her friends. Here for that tea date?”
“Yes. I brought Talon with me; I hope that's okay.”
Rarity glanced at Talon before looking back to Fluttershy. “Well, of course. Do you think he'd be able to have any tea, though? With what happened at the spa, I'd hate to make the poor dear ill.”
“Do you still have that apple rose tea? I think he might-”
“He can come with me. We're just going over to the park, anyway.” The three turned to see Sweetie Belle trotting downstairs with a set of saddlebags slung across her barrel.
“Why Sweetie, dear, that's an excellent idea. Especially after what you told me happened the other day, Ap - ahem, your friends should certainly enjoy his company.” Rarity winked as she said this, and she and Sweetie burst into giggles. “Is that alright, Fluttershy?”
“I don't see why not-”
“Okaythanksbyeguys!” Sweetie rushed out the door, dragging Talon behind her by one paw.
“Um, okay...” Fluttershy turned to Rarity, confusion and worry evident in her eyes.
“Oh, don't worry about them, Fluttershy. They'll be fine, they'll have Big Mac with them.”
“But... what was that all about?”
“I'll tell you while we have tea, darling. Now did you want the Chamomile like usual?”
Talon ended up half hobbling, half fluttering down the path in Sweetie's grip on the road to the park where the Crusaders occasionally hung out. They soon approached a group of foals running around and chasing after a kickball. Next to the group stood two stallions. The first was a rich red color with a dirty blond mane, while the other was yellow with a green mane and tail. The yellow stallion was talking animatedly, gesturing with his hooves while the other simply listened as he watched the foals.
Talon suddenly stopped his attempts to keep up, resulting an a sudden drag on Sweetie's hooves which she pointedly ignored. “Hey Big Mac!” she shouted out as she dragged Talon closer.
Big Mac and the yellow stallion turned at the sound, facing Sweetie as she approached.
“You see, just like these two here!”The yellow stallion exclaimed. “We're having our opening act Friday night, so spread the word around!”
“Opening act of what?” Sweetie asked from in front of the furrow she's plowed in the process of transporting Talon.
“Why, Show Stopper's Circus Extravaganza! Patent pending.” The stallion held out a hoof and smiled as Sweetie shook it. “I myself am Show Stopper, bringing with me some of the greatest talent in the business. Friday night at six o' clock, we'll be having our first show here in Ponyville, so spread the word around.”
Show Stopper turned to Talon, holding out a hoof. “Bring your little coltfriend, too!” Talon remained completely frozen, except to glance at the proffered hoof. “He's a, uh, real lively one, it seems...” He pulled back his hoof, coughing quietly behind it.
“Oh, he's not my coltfriend.” Sweetie pointed off to where her friends were currently playing something that vaguely resembled buckball. “He's Apple Bloom's!”
Suddenly, both Apple Bloom and Big Mac turned to face Sweetie Belle. “He's what?” questioned Big Mac as Apple Bloom got smacked in the face with the ball.
“I'll... uh... just go.” Show Stopper trotted off with one last glance toward the group.
“He's, uh, Apple Bloom's coltfriend?” offered Sweetie.
“He is not!” Apple Bloom shouted, drawing attention from the other foals. It was hard to tell whether her face was redder due to the ball's impact or the furious blush she was sporting.
Apple Bloom had cantered over to Sweetie and Big Mac, hoping that the other foals would go back to their game. While most did, the situation had attracted the attention of a few fillies. Scootaloo, Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, and Dinky all made their way over to find out what was going on.
“Apple Bloom has a coltfriend?” Diamond Tiara asked.
Silver Spoon was next to voice her concerns. “Why didn't you guys tell us? I mean we've never been the best friends, but...”
“He's not my coltfriend!”
“Well, of course not.” The others turned to look at Dinky as she interjected. “I mean, he's not a pony, so he wouldn't be a colt. Or does that matter?” Dinky sat back, stumped by the linguistic quandary.
“He's not my coltfriend, girls!”
“Sure he is, he just doesn't know it yet.” Scootaloo waved towards where Talon was still recovering from his stupor. “Right?”
“NO!”
“Gee, Apple Bloom, don't you think that's a little harsh?” Sweetie motioned to where Talon was introducing himself to a very confused Big Mac. “What if he wanted to be your coltfriend?”
“Well, but, I...” Apple Bloom looked over towards Talon, who looked as lost as her brother did embarrassed. “You think he might?” she muttered to Sweetie.
“Well, I think it's a good thing he's not your coltfriend. That would make flight practice kinda awkward,” Scootaloo interjected before Sweetie could answer.
“Hey, keep your mitts off of him!”
“Wait, now I'm confused.” Dinky frowned as Apple Bloom turned back to her. “Is he your coltfriend or not?”
Apple Bloom threw her hooves in the air. “I don't even know, okay?!”
Talon's breathing returned to normal as the red stallion tried to get his attention. “That couldn't have been Show Stealer,” he thought. “He'd have tried to take me with him, right?”
He noticed suddenly that the red stallion was staring at him. “Um, hello? Is Talon.”
“So ya can talk. Name's Macintosh. Most call me Big Mac.” Big Mac extended his hoof toward Talon, who took it gingerly, thinking back to the last time he had accepted a hoofshake. To his surprise, Big Mac's hoofshake was firm but gentle.
“Is nice meet Big Mac.”
“So,” Big Mac began with a baffled expression, “Are ya really Apple Blooms coltfriend?”
“Talon not know. What coltfriend?”
“How do ya...” Big Mac shook his head, then leaned over and whispered the fastest explanation he could of what a coltfriend was.
Talon blushed as Big Mac continued. He didn't know half the words the stallion was using, but it sounded like... “Big Mac, coltfriend is like married?” Talon whispered back.
“Something that can lead up to it, anyhow. So are ya or not?”
“Uhh... not think so...”
Sweetie and the others eventually convinced Talon to play with them. Truthfully, Talon had no real idea of how to play, but nopony else was really sure what they were playing either, so he fit into their game just fine. Mostly they just chased after the ball.
The fillies even managed to keep from “accidentally” bumping Apple Bloom into Talon more than three times, giggling as their friend blushed. The third time, they managed to launch Apple Bloom higher into the air than they had intended, drawing a collective gasp from the nearby foals as she flew through the air.
As she started to fall back toward the ground, she screwed her eyes shut. “This is gonna hurt,” she thought to herself before she felt a sudden pressure under her shoulders and a strong wind.
She felt herself touch gently onto the ground before she opened her eyes. “What the hay?”
Noticing that everypony was staring at her, she turned to see Talon sitting right behind her, panting and holding his shoulder. “Is... okay?”
“Uhhh...” Apple Bloom started to turn red when she heard a cheer rise up from the crowd of foals.
“That was AWESOME! How did you do that?” Scootaloo shouted, rushing out of the crowd. “I thought you couldn't fly!”
Talon scooted away a bit as Scootaloo approached. “Not fly. Jump.”
“Dude, that was like, 6 feet straight up! How?”
“Talon not know. Is bad?”
“What?” Scootaloo grabbed him be the shoulders. “No, it's not bad, it's awesome! Wait until you can actually fly!”
It was to this scene that Fluttershy arrived.
“Oh my, did I miss something?”
Fluttershy looked worriedly at Talon as they walked to her cottage. He had a slight limp from overusing his hurt wing. Maybe she shouldn't have let him go. Then again, her talk with Rarity had been particularly informative.
“What happened? Did somepony hurt him? We were trying to keep our distance while he was playing with the other foals, but...” Fluttershy was suddenly reminded of the fact that there were guards assigned to Talon.
“Oh, um, hi, Emerald. Talon just overexerted himself playing in the park. He should be fine in a day or two.”
“Oh,” Emerald turned to look at Talon. “Well that's a relief. What was he doing, anyway?”
“Uh, Talon help Apple Bloom.” Talon explained, staring at the ground.
“Apple Bloom? Is she... you know what, never mind. Just tell us next time you change your plans, in case we need to know where you are.”
“What's the matter, Greenie, you don't like gossip?” Day Break smirked over at Talon. “She must be quite the lucky little filly if her coltfriend is getting hurt just to help her out.”
Fluttershy paused, a shocked expression on her face. “Oh, are you really her coltfriend, Talon? I thought Rarity might be looking too much into things, but...”
“Talon not know.”
“Wait, whaddaya mean you don't know? Do you not know what a coltfriend is, or...”
“Uh... maybe? Big Mac say is like married.”
“Oh goodness,” Fluttershy exclaimed, a bit of pink coloring her cheeks. “That's... not quite right.”
“Hey, why are you both looking... at...” Emerald cut let out a sigh in defeat. “Okay, come on, kid. This is gonna be awkward.”
As Emerald retreated to what he gauged was a safe distance with Talon, he heard Day Break call after him. “Make sure you explain it reeeaaal good, Greenie!”
Emerald could swear he heard the princesses laughing at him.