//------------------------------// // Chapter 10: A Night Flight // Story: Rainbooms On the Mind // by Kevinltk //------------------------------// One thing that Natalya wished that her room at the Castle of Friendship had at the moment was a tiled ceiling. At least then she would be a little less bored while she stared at the ceiling from her bed. It was nighttime, and going to sleep was proving to be more difficult than she had hoped. Since she had returned to the Castle of Friendship after the hoof race, Natalya had confined herself to her room so that she could recompose herself after the events at Sweet Apple Acres. Twilight, Spike, and Gilda, after she had returned from helping Pinkie, took turns checking up Natalya when they noticed something was wrong with her, but Natalya had turned each of them away, not even opening the door to address them. Natalya had even heard Rainbow’s voice from somewhere outside her room at one point, but to her relief, the pegasus had left without bothering her. Some time after the moon had risen, Natalya wanted to call it an early night. She was pretty tired from her time at Sweet Apple Acres, but more importantly, she wanted today to just end already. However, just because she wanted to sleep didn’t mean that her thoughts would stop nagging her from the back of her mind. And so, Natalya had been laying in bed for who knows how long, waiting for sleep to finally take her. Something started tapping on the window, but Natalya did not budge or even take her gaze away from the ceiling. She already knew that it was Pinkie again, probably here because Rainbow or one of their other friends told her about the situation. While Natalya was finding the pink pony more and more tolerable, she was in no mood to suffer through any of Pinkie’s theatrics at the moment. Natalya shifted herself on the bed so that her back faced the window, hoping that Pinkie would get the message to leave her alone. The tapping only grew louder. Groaning, Natalya buried her head under the pillow and squeezed it over her ears to try and block out Pinkie. All that did was provoke the tapping to transform into more of a pounding. Natalya growled, trying to tune out the noise, but the incessant pounding continued. It did not take long before her irritation overwrote her desire to be alone. Throwing her pillow aside, she sat right up and shot her most withering look toward the pony at the window. “Pinkie! I’m going… to…” She trailed off, her anger abating when she saw a different pony instead. “Rainbow?” Natalya stared at the pegasus standing on the balcony right outside the window, waving at her with a soft smile across her face. Quickly getting over the initial surprise, Natalya’s first instinct was to just leave Rainbow out there. After all, Rainbow was the main reason she was in such a gloomy mood, and she did not want the pegasus to see her like this. As if sensing Natalya’s reluctance, Rainbow frowned and began knocking on the window again. Guessing that Rainbow would not be turned away as easily as the others, Natalya got out of bed with a long, annoyed groan. Opening up the window, Natalya used the same words she used on her other visitors. “I’m fine. Just leave me—” “Do you wanna go flying with me?” Rainbow interrupted. Natalya blinked several times. “What?” “Do you…. want to… go flying… with me?” Rainbow repeated slowly. It took several more moments before Natalya was able to fully process Rainbow’s sudden invitation. “Really? Now?” Her eyes flicked up to glance outside. “Kind of late to do any training, don’t you think?” Rainbow rolled her eyes. “I’m not asking you for a training session. I just want us to do some flying together.” “What’s the difference?” “We’re just doing this for fun.” “Where are we going?” “Nowhere in particular.” “So you just want us to fly around without going anywhere…” “Pretty much.” “Then what’s the point?” “Because it feels good to fly?” Rainbow’s eyes narrowed, carefully scrutinizing Natalya. “Don’t tell me that you only fly when you’re training or racing.” Natalya opened her beak to protest. “And traveling to someplace doesn’t count either.” Natalya paused, racking her mind to dispute Rainbow’s claim. After a few moments, she slowly closed her beak. “Seriously?” Rainbow uttered incredulously. Natalya let out an annoyed huff. “You should know by now that I don’t like wasting my time. If I have free time, then I usually use it to train some more.” “Yeah, yeah, I know, but still… Look, I get that you want to be the best and all that, but I think you’re forgetting to enjoy flying. All you think about is your training and racing. No wonder you’re so wound up.” “I’m fine with just the way I am.” “Yeah, you’re fine as the grumpy griffon ready to bite somepony’s head off if they tick you off,” Rainbow remarked dryly. “You know, the only time I can recall you being not so serious and actually happy was when we all went pranking. You had fun that day, right?” “Yeah… I guess…” Natalya reluctantly confessed. “Then come flying with me. I was right about you having fun with the pranking thing, and I guarantee you’ll like this.” Natalya shook her head. “No thanks.” She was getting weary of Rainbow’s persistence and just wanted the pegasus to leave. She was grateful that Rainbow at least had the tact to not bring up what happened at Sweet Apple Acres. Rainbow shrugged, her mouth twitching into a faint, mischievous grin. “Alright then, if you don’t want to fly, then should we talk about what happened earlier at—” “Stop,” Natalya commanded sternly. She should have known not to tempt fate. “Just stop, Rainbow.” “Well, I’m not leaving until we either go flying or we talk about what happened.” Rainbow proclaimed, her face reverting to a serious one. She barged into the room before Natalya could stop her and sat down on her haunches. “Take your pick.” Natalya growled, glaring at Rainbow with narrowed eye. “Or I could take the third option. You know, the one where I just throw you out myself.” “There’s also the fourth option where I could come back with Pinkie,” Rainbow retorted with a devilish grin. Natalya groaned in frustration and clapped a hand into her face. She knew that Rainbow could and would definitely follow up on that threat. Backed into a corner, she settled with picking the lesser of two evils. “Fine, we’ll go flying.” Nodding in satisfaction, Rainbow turned around and flew into the air.Once she was a short distance away, she glanced back at the griffon still standing by the window. “You coming?” “Yeah, yeah, I’m coming…” Natalya was tempted to just shut the window, but the threat of Pinkie still loomed over her head. Sighing with resignation, she spread her wings and flew after Rainbow. They flew up into the sky, eventually stopping at a high enough altitude where there was little chance that they would be disturbed. Not that it was really necessary Natalya thought as she looked down at Ponyville and could see that many houses had already gone dark, its occupants having gone to sleep. “So what now?” Natalya asked, looking back to her companion. “You just fly,” Rainbow replied. “Do whatever you want.” As an example, she flew upwards and backwards, performing a quick loop de loop until she returned to the same spot she was just at. “I still think—” “No! No thinking! We’re trying to break you away from your normal routine. You just do whatever comes to mind.” Sighing yet again, Natalya flew away from Rainbow. With no idea where to go or what to do, as well as not really feeling like like doing anything, she just flew around the vicinity in a sluggish, lazy speed. Stupid Rainbow. This is such a stupid idea, Natalya thought to herself. She tried to ignore the fact that stretching her wings and getting some fresh air after being cooped up in her room all day had already cleared her head a bit. Glancing back over to Rainbow, Natalya saw that the pegasus was flying all over the place, her direction and speed changing on a whim. She seemed to like using clouds, either using them as obstacles to fly around or just charging through them with childish glee. Despite the random nature of Rainbow’s flight path, there was a sort of grace in the pegasus’s flying, and Natalya could catch glimpses of serene smiling upon Rainbow’s face. A few minutes later, Rainbow stopped her flittering and moved in front of Natalya’s path. “So that’s it? You just want to go in circles at that speed? You’re barely even flying!” Natalya huffed with annoyance. “Honestly, I don’t really care, and even if I did, I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do.” “It’s just flying!” “Remember when you keep telling me to ‘go faster’?” Natalya reminded flatly. “Ugh, fine.” Rainbow scratched in chin in thought. “Well, the first thing to do is put in a bit more effort and give this thing a chance. How about you just follow me and do what I do? You don’t have to copy me exactly, just do what you feel like doing.” Natalya shrugged. “Sure, whatever. How long are we going to do this anyway?” “Whenever you think you’re done.” “I think I’m done now,” Natalya announced immediately. She was rewarded with an unamused gaze from Rainbow. “Fiiine… Lead the way…” Rainbow led Natalya through the toward a cluster of clouds. Putting on a small burst of speed, she quickly weaved around each and every one of them, her body not touching a single one. When she arrived at the last cloud in the group, she charged straight into it, emerging out of the other side with a whoop. Natalya followed Rainbow by going over the clouds, bypassing all the obstacles. She still thought Rainbow’s idea was pointless, and Rainbow did say to do what she felt like doing. However, as Natalya continued to trail behind Rainbow, her unenthusiastic attitude began to change. Despite flying in rather sedate conditions, Natalya was starting to find the experience oddly soothing. Instead of the wind battering her body at high speeds, which was exhilarating but also harrowing, she was able to feel the cool, refreshing air gently flow around her. They also flew at a speed where she did not have to exert herself as well as not be bored by a sluggish pace. It did not take much longer before Natalya was matching Rainbow’s speed and following the pegasus everywhere without cutting corners. Eventually, Natalya felt a bit more adventurous and caught up to Rainbow so that they were now flying side by side. When her flying companion looked at her, Natalya gestured her head in the direction ahead of them. Rainbow smiled and nodded, reducing her speed slightly so that Natalya could take over the lead. Following Rainbow’s example, Natalya led Rainbow on a merry chase through the sky as they danced around clouds and relished the night air. At one point, Natalya aimed for another cluster of clouds, but instead of avoiding them, she barreled straight through them, making them burst upon impact. Nothing like some senseless destruction to burn off some energy and stress. Suddenly, Rainbow shot past Natalya. When she was a short distance in front of the griffon, she did three loops in quick succession. Upon finishing the third loop, she stopped and spun around to flash her cocky grin at Natalya. Natalya scoffed, a small smirk upon her face. Taking the unspoken challenge, she flew forward, blazing past Rainbow. When she built up enough speed, she pulled up, beginning her own loops. Completing three loops was child’s play, so instead of stopping after her third loop, she continued into a fourth, except this time, she leaned to her side, making her whole body spin during the loop. Completing her final loop with a twist, Natalya brought herself to a halt and mentally patted herself on the back, knowing that she did her trick flawlessly. Turning back to Rainbow, Natalya was met with a slow clap and a smirk. Rainbow then waved her hoof at Natalya, gesturing the griffon to start this time. Natalya nodded and immediately flew forward again. She began with a loop of her own, however, when she reached the halfway point, she straightened her flight path. Now, she was not only flying in the direction she just came from, she was also flying upside down. After flying far enough so that Rainbow passed underneath her, she angled her body toward the ground, finishing her loop and stopping right back where Rainbow was hovering. Rainbow scoffed playfully. She took a look around the area and then bolted toward another group of clouds. Using her hooves, she pushed the clouds around until they formed a line, leaving some space in between each one of them. Once all the clouds were in place, she positioned herself slightly below the beginning of the cloud formation. Rainbow quickly flew a short distance away from the clouds before doing her half loop, setting her on an upside down path toward her clouds. Still flipped around, Rainbow veered left around the first cloud and then hastily changed her direction, shooting through the gap between the clouds and circling the right side of the second cloud. She continued weaving around each cloud, not touching a single one. After clearing the final cloud, she did a quick flip, uprighting herself, before shooting back through the clouds, bursting through every one of them. Natalya playfully rolled her eyes as Rainbow stopped in front of her with a grin. Gesturing with her hand, she motioned Rainbow to start the next round. Their impromptu follow the leader session had turned into a sort of stunt competition. They would take turns doing stunts, and their opponent would mimic it, adding some sort of flair or trick to make it better. And yet, despite them trying to one up each other, Natalya did not feel the pressure to win. She was having fun. Eventually, Natalya had enough and chose to land on a cloud. With a long sigh, she flopped onto her back, letting her whole body sink into the soft surface. A few moments later, she heard a quiet thump as something settled in the space next to her. A quick glance showed that Rainbow had also lay down next to her, except she had flipped herself around so that her body went in the opposite direction and only their heads were beside each other. “So, how do you feel?” Rainbow asked. Natalya took a quick self-assessment of herself. Even though she was feeling tired after their long, but enjoyable flying, she felt calmer. The sinking feeling that had been in her gut since Sweet Apple Acres was still present, but some of the weight had been taken away. “Not bad, actually,” Natalya replied. “Admittedly, better than I was before you kicked me out of the castle.” “Heh, figured that would help. Nothing like a bit of nighttime flying to help work out some stress, especially if you’re having trouble sleeping.” “I figured that this was all a setup, but since it was helpful, I’ll let it slide. How did you know I was having trouble sleeping anyway?” Rainbow cleared her throat nervously. “Well, I was kind of watching you through the window for a bit before I knocked…” Natalya turned her head to deliver a flat gaze at Rainbow. “Really? I expect that sort of thing from Pinkie.” “Hey, you’re not the easiest griffon to approach. I wanted to make sure you weren’t in a ‘I want to punch stuff” mood.” Natalya mulled over the statement for a second and then nodded. “Fair enough. Still creepy, though.” “Noted, but to be fair, you kind of pushed me to do that.” “And how is it my fault?” “Hey, I wanted to check up on you earlier, but after Twilight told me that you refused to talk to anypony, I figured that you would give me the same treatment.” “You… would have been correct.” “Hence the whole creepy watching thing and getting you out of the castle plan.” There was a brief pause before Rainbow cleared her throat. “Soooo… Do you, uh… Do you maybe feel like talking about what happened at Sweet Apple Acres?” The bravado Rainbow possessed since she knocked on the window had suddenly vanished. Natalya immediately shot down the question. “No. You said that I either fly with you or talk. We flew. End of discussion.” “But I…” Rainbow’s face scrunched up in annoyance before she let out a disappointed sigh. “Fine, I was just checking…” A few seconds later, Rainbow asked, “Can I, uh, ask you about something else then?” Natalya shrugged. “Depends on what it is.” “I was just wondering, is there some other reason you want to be the best so much? I mean, I get you want to win, and winning is great and all, but…” Rainbow mumbled under her breath, choosing her next words carefully. “It may be possible that you have a slight obsession with winning…” Natalya rolled her eyes. “I see it more as a healthy appreciation. And you already answered your own question. Winning is great.” “So you just like the thrill of winning. That’s it?” “The thrill, yes, but more importantly, I want the benefits winning brings.” “Benefits?” “Bits and fame, of course.” “Oh… Right…” “You sound disappointed.” “Well… Those things are nice to have and all, and I certainly wouldn’t mind having more of either one, but you make it seem like those are the most important things.” Natalya scoffed. “You’ve been to Griffonstone. What’s the main thing griffons care so much about?” Rainbow sighed. “Bits…” Natalya nodded. “And do you know what’s the second thing griffons pay attention to?” “Um…” Rainbow’s face scrunched up in thought. After a few seconds, she shook her head. “I dunno.” “Power. While it’s not as important as bits, it’s still enough to get some influence.” “Power? You mean how strong a griffon is?” “It can mean different things. Yes, strength is one example. Having the right connections is another. For me, it’s flying, and since I’m the best flyer in Griffonstone, I can get some respect without having to show off the bits I win.” “Oh, um, I guess that makes sense. Still though…” “What?” “It’s kind of… Actually, never mind…” Another lull descended upon their discussion. This time, the silence stretched for several minutes, and Natalya was beginning to think Rainbow was done talking. That was fine with her, since it was probably a good time to get going. “Do you, uh, do you want to know who won?” Rainbow suddenly asked. “Won what?” Natalya asked in a weary tone. “The hoof race, what else?” Natalya sighed. “Sure, why not?” “I won,” Rainbow informed, her voice regaining its confidence along with some cockiness. “Of course you did…” Natalya muttered under her breath. “Although, it’s more of an unofficial win…” Natalya glanced at Rainbow with a raised eyebrow. “Unofficial win?” “Well, if you ask Applejack, she’s just going to tell you that we touched the tree at the same time, but I totally I touched it first by like half, no, a quarter of a second!” Natalya’s eyebrow rose higher, a small laugh threatening to escape her beak. “Yes, I’m sure you did,” she dryly agreed. “You’re darn right I did!” Rainbow proclaimed with a smirk. After a brief pause, her smirk fell, and she continued in a quieter voice. “You know, after I finished the race, I got worried when I saw you were gone.” Already knowing where Rainbow was going, Natalya quickly responded, “Yeah… Still not interested in talking about that.” “Oh, come on, Natalya!” Rainbow cried out exasperatedly. “I’ve been patient and nice with you all night long, but I can’t take it anymore! We need to talk about what happened!” “Like I said, not interested.” Rainbow groaned. “Look, I’m not asking us to talk about sappy stuff like our feelings, but I still want to know exactly why you left. I’m not asking for much. I just want to make sure you’re alright.” Natalya’s reply was to turn her back to Rainbow. “Would it help if I made a Pinkie Promise to not tell anypony else?” Natalya blinked and looked back at Rainbow. “What’s a Pinkie Promise?” “Pretty much a promise but enforced by Pinkie.” Natalya blinked again. “So what happens if you break a Pinkie Promise?” “You know how Pinkie can do all sorts of weird stuff? Well, imagine that when she’s angry with you.” Natalya did as she was suggested. She shivered a few seconds later. “Okay, that’s scary.” Rainbow nodded slowly. “Nothing is worse than breaking a Pinkie Promise. So, feel like talking now?” “Let me think about it.” Natalya promptly turned away from Rainbow again. “Nope.” “Come on,” Rainbow coaxed. “I’m just looking out for you. I know today has been a bust for you, and you’re having a bit of trouble coping with it. You can talk to me about it, and I promise to not think any less of you, no matter what.” Other than a huff, Natalya remained silent. “Natalya, take it from me, bottling up your frustrations is not the way to go,” Rainbow informed, her voice gaining a stern tone. “Talking with my friends about my problems usually helps me, and I want to do the same for you. Besides, between the pranking and this outing, I’m two for two now, so chances are I’m right about this as well.” Natalya groaned. Rainbow made a decent point that she had been right about trying new stuff, but talking about her problems was such a foreign concept. She had always dealt with her problems by herself with sheer will, time, and stubbornness. Even if she somehow got the inconceivable urge to talk to someone else, a griffon in Griffonstone willing to lend her a listening ear was almost as rare as a griffon giving their money away. Then again, Natalya was not living in Griffonstone at the moment. Here in Ponyville, there were others that actually cared for her. So far, there had been ups and downs during her visit, but the ups have so far been pretty enjoyable. She still had her doubts, but given the circumstances, talking to Rainbow might be worth a shot, especially if the pegasus was promising not to say anything about their conversation to anyone else. At the very least, Rainbow would probably be able to convince the others to stop nagging her. With a sigh, Natalya sat up on her haunches and faced Rainbow. “Just do the stinking Pinkie Promise first, then I’ll think about it.” Rainbow hastily shifted to her haunches as well, an eager grin upon her face. Drawing a small ‘x’ across her chest with a forehoof, she recited, “Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” She ended the promise by gently jabbing her forehoof into a closed eye. Natalya’s eyebrow went up. “That’s the Pinkie Promise?” “Yep.” “You made it almost seem like some sort of big ritual or something.” Rainbow shrugged. “That’s just how it is. Soooo… are you going to…” Natalya rolled her eyes. “Fine, but only because I know you’ll just keep pestering me about it.” “Works for me.” Natalya fidgeted into a more comfortable position, keeping her gaze away from Rainbow. She was still unsure about this, so she just blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “I lost the hoof race, plain and simple.” “Uh, no offense, but we all kind of already knew that.” Rainbow flinched when Natalya shot a death glare at her. “Er, sorry.” “Anyway,” Natalya continued, softening her ‘I’m going to kill you’ glare on Rainbow to a ‘I’m going to hurt you’ glare. “I lost, yes, but I was expecting it. After all, it was the first time I'd ever been in a hoof race.” “Wait, wait, wait, hold on,” Rainbow interrupted, waving a forehoof at Natalya to stop. “You seriously never been in a hoof race before today?” “That’s what I just said.” “So was that why you were acting weird when Applejack and I wanted you to race with us?” “Pretty much.” Rainbow frowned. “You do know that you didn’t have to race with us, right?” Natalya gave the same answer she used when Rainbow and Applejack first asked her to the hoof race. “I don’t back down from a challenge.” “Even if your chances of winning were like next to nothing?” “I didn’t want to just give up, and I thought that I could at least give you a bit of a challenge so that I look somewhat good.” Natalya scoffed angrily as she thought back to what actually happened. “I was proven horribly wrong. You and Applejack were almost to the finish line by the time I reached the halfway point.” Rainbow winced. “Oof, ouch. So you flew away because you were embarrassed at losing so horribly?” “No!” Natalya cried, her wings flaring out in indignation and making a startled Rainbow fall backwards. She took a deep breath and slowly folded her wings back to her sides. “Okay, maybe a bit. The main reason I left was because the loss got me thinking about how much I sucked at applebucking and hoof races.” “Well, it was your first time with those stuff,” Rainbow explained, getting back on her haunches. “It took me a bit before I got the hang of them, and look at me now.” “That’s just it though! You’re already good at those things! On top of that, you manage the weather! And those are just the stuff I know about you. Who knows what else you’re good at?” Natalya got up and started stomping back and forth on her half of the cloud. “Do you know what I’m good at? Flying, that’s it, and guess what? You’re better at that than me! You’re able to do so many different things while I’ve been working on my flying for so long just to be second best compared to you!” She stopped moving and glared at Rainbow. “You’re just plain better than me, and it’s infuriating! It makes me almost want to punch you!” “Uh, but you’re not going to, right?” Rainbow asked warily, scooting away from Natalya. Natalya took several deep breaths and sat back down. “No, not unless you give me a reason to.” “I’ll, uh, keep that in mind…” Rainbow breathed a sigh of relief. “Anyway, I’m sorry that you feel like I’m better than you, but I’m sure you’re good at some stuff that I’m not. What else do you do besides flying?” “Other than being able to hold myself in a brawl and intimidate others, I can’t think of anything else.” “Oh…” Rainbow rubbed the back of her head. “Really? Nothing?” “Nope. I keep telling you, I devote as much time as I can to my flying.” “Right, but I just…” Rainbow groaned. She folded one forehoof across her chest, and her other forehoof tapped her head in thought. “Wait, so what do you do if you can’t fly, like when it’s bad weather or you get injured?” she asked a few seconds later. “Not much. I try to stick to my workout schedule to keep myself fit. With the extra time, I either sleep some more or just wander around Griffonstone to see if anything interesting goes on.” “So no hobbies or any other thing that might interest you?” Natalya sighed. “No…” “Wow, I knew you gave it your all for flying, but not to this extent… What happens if you somehow can’t compete anymore?” “I…” Natalya’s breath hitched. The weight she had been feeling in her gut all day suddenly grew heavier. After a moment of racking her mind, her gaze drifted down to the cloudy surface. She quietly answered, “I… I never really thought about that… I do have a decent stash of bits, but that’s not going to last forever.” Rainbow’s brow furrowed with worry as she stared at the suddenly sullen Natalya. “That’s… Well, do you have anypony at Griffonstone that could help you out until you get back on your hooves?” Natalya shook her head. “But I thought that you at least get some respect because of your racing.” “Exactly. If I can’t race anymore, then there’s no reason for other griffons to pay attention to me anymore.” “But that’s just…” Rainbow let out a frustrated growl. “Stupid, self-centered griffons!” She blinked and looked to Natalya again. “Er, no offense.” Natalya shrugged. “It’s just how griffons are.” “Well, at least Gilda’s different, and she would definitely help you out. And if she can’t do it for some reason, then you could always come back to Ponyville. I would be glad to help you out.” Natalya scoffed, not even looking at Rainbow. “If you say so…” “I’m serious, Natalya. You ever run into trouble, you come find me. You’re my friend, and I always help my friends.” Hearing the conviction in Rainbow’s voice, Natalya’s eyes shifted to her companion. “You know, I answered a bunch of your questions, now it’s time for me to ask you one.” Rainbow blinked. “Oh, uh, sure. Shoot.” “Why are you so insistent in making me your friend? I know that I haven’t been making it easy for you.” “Why do I want to be your friend? Well…” Rainbow scratched her head in thought for a few moments. “I know that one reason is because I like being able to hang around an awesome flyer like you.” “But aren’t you training with the Wonderbolts or something like that? They’re supposed to be pretty good at flying as well,” Natalya pointed out. “Yeah, and they’re cool and all, but there’s the whole being professional thing that kind of puts a dampener on things. Doesn’t help that I’m still just a reserve member. But with you, I don’t have to worry about all that stuff. “I also think that you’re somepony I would like to get to know better. Sure, you might be annoying and arrogant and a jerk and—” “Get to the point,” Natalya said flatly. “But I know that a bunch of that stuff is just because you live in Griffonstone. Gilda was kind of like you at first, but look at her now. “When you’re not getting angry, you’re pretty good at keeping calm and collected, and even though you kind of overdo it, I have to respect your drive to always improve yourself. There’s also the fact that despite your ‘tough griffon’ attitude, you have your moments, like when you cheered up Scootaloo.” Natalya groaned and had to look away. “I knew that was going to come back and bite me in the flanks. I just did that to stop her from whining.” Rainbow chuckled. “If you say so. Regardless, she still thinks you’re awesome, and I’m glad that you’ve taken a bit of interest in her.” Rainbow glanced away, her hooves tapping the cloud beneath her. “There’s actually one more reason I want to be friends with you, and it’s kind of big. You actually remind me of a friend I once knew when I started training at the Wonderbolt Academy. She was a lot like you, except without the whole being a jerk thing.” Natalya rolled her eyes. “Gee, thanks…” Rainbow flashed a quick smirk. “Anyway, she was an amazing flyer. She could do awesome tricks and when it came to speed, let’s just say that she could easily give the both of us a run for our bits.” “So she was really talented.” Natalya nodded. “Yeah, I can see why you think I’m like her.” “I thought you would.” Rainbow’s smirk slowly shifted into a frown. “The thing is, she wanted to be the best… at any cost. At first, I thought she was cool and all, but I started to have second thoughts when I saw how reckless she could get. She pushed herself to the limit by adding as much danger and challenges to her training as she could. Not only did she risk hurting herself, but others as well. The worst part was that she didn’t care if her dangerous stunts ended up affecting others.” Rainbow took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “One day, one of her stunts didn’t go so well… Some ponies could’ve gotten really hurt or…” She gulped. “A-anyway, she got into a bunch of trouble for that. Part of her punishment was kind of like a probation thing where the officers kept a close eye on her. I had hoped she would stop her reckless behavior, but when it became clear that she wasn’t going to change, she was finally kicked out of the academy.” “So what is she doing now?” Natalya asked. “Don’t know. She left without a word, and I’ve never heard from her again.” Rainbow sighed and shook her head. “Sometimes I wonder if I could’ve done more to get her to stop flying so recklessly. All I did was gave some weak protests. At the very least, I wish that I was a better friend so that she would’ve at least kept in contact with me after she left. I just feel sorry for her. Her dream of becoming a Wonderbolt was shattered, just because she was trying too hard.” Natalya sighed, turning her head from the gloomy Rainbow. “I guess I can kind of see why I remind you of your old friend. Does that mean I’m some sort of replacement for her?” “What?” Rainbow’s head jerked up to Natalya. “No! Of course not! There are similarities, yes, but I like you for being you. The point of that story was to tell you that you can’t be too obsessed with winning and being the best. Otherwise, you lose sight of things that might end up ruining your life. I don’t want that happening to you.” “My life is just fine the way it is.” “Really?” Rainbow cocked an eyebrow. “The way I see it, all of your training and stuff sounds really stressful, and you leave no room to have fun or relax. It’s no wonder you’re so uptight and on edge. You can’t keep going like this. Look at today. You kind of had a mini breakdown.” Natalya frowned. “I wouldn’t call it a breakdown of any sorts…” “Dude, you locked yourself in your room for most of the afternoon and well into the night.” Natalya could not come up with a good argument against that and settled with a withering glare at Rainbow. “Yeah, yeah, glare at me all you want. You know I’m right. Now, I’m going to take a wild guess and say that you never took a break or a vacation.” “That may be a possibility…” “Then why don’t you do something else during your stay in Ponyville? Instead of training all day, you should chill out and take it easy. I’ll make sure you get the proper chillaxing.” Natalya’s eyebrow went up again for another of Rainbow’s new terms. “Chillaxing?” “Yep, the best way to get some rest and relaxation.” “I don’t like the sound of that. I’m not going to lounge around all day because you tell me to.” “Okay, maybe we don’t have to chillax all day. We can find something else to do.” Rainbow perked up. “I know! We can find you something else to do besides flying like a hobby or something. Look at Gilda, she’s having the time of her life learning how to be a baker with Pinkie.” “I don’t want to be a baker!” “Not that! I mean the time of her life part! I’m sure that with my help, we can find something else for you to be interested in while you’re in Ponyville.” Natalya stared at the eager grin on Rainbow’s face. “You’re really dead set on this, aren’t you?” “Yep. Just give it a try, Natalya. I still think what I have in mind will do you a world of good. We can start off with a trial run, give it a few days or maybe a week. If for some bizarre reason things don’t work out…” Rainbow sighed. “Then we can go back to all day training and all that stuff…” Natalya stared off into the distance. She had thought she had her life all figured out, but after meeting Rainbow at the Equestria Games, new thoughts and changes seem to be coming at her left and right. In particular, she did not like the discovery that she might be focusing too much on just flying. It was a harsh truth, but probably a necessary one she had to learn. Being with Rainbow had been overwhelming at times, but Natalya had to admit that it has not been all bad. It was both frustrating and enlightening to hang out with the pegasus. And now, Rainbow was proposing some pretty drastic changes to her life. At least she knew that Rainbow would be there to help guide her. It actually was kind of nice that someone was watching her back. Natalya made up her mind, letting out a long, deep sigh. “I… I guess I can take a bit of time off. I did get a nice amount of bits from the Equestria Games, after all.” “Sweet!” Rainbow cheered, popping into the air with a hoof pump. “But I’m still going to fit in some training when I can! I haven’t given up on the Sonic Rainboom, and I refuse to go soft because I slacked off too much.” Rainbow chuckled. “Wouldn’t have it any other way.” A hoof suddenly went to her mouth right as she yawned. “Oh man, I’m beat. We’ve been out for a long time. You ready to hit the hay?” Natalya nodded. “Yeah, sure. All this talking was tiring.” Rainbow smirked. “If you say so. Come on, I’ll fly with you back to the castle since my place is in the same direction.” Flying back to the castle was a simple feat of gliding down to the tallest, shiniest structure in Ponyville. Looking through the rest of town, it seemed like the rest of Ponyville had gone to sleep. They were the only ones still awake, but only for a short while longer. Arriving back at her window, Natalya flew into her room. Her talons clacking softly on the crystal floor, she turned her head back to the pegasus still hovering right outside. Rainbow smiled and waved. “Good night, Natalya.” Natalya nodded and started walking back to bed. As she heard Rainbow flew away, she stopped. “Wait, Rainbow…” Natalya called out. There was some quick flapping before Rainbow’s voice returned. “Yeah?” With her back still toward the window, Natalya drummed her talons on the floor. After a few seconds and a deep breath, she turned her head to Rainbow, a faint smile across her face. “Thanks… For looking out for me…” Rainbow smiled widely. “No problem, Natalya. I’ll see you around.” With her farewell said, she flew away into the night. Natalya went straight to her bed, flopping right into it. Her time with Rainbow had physically and mentally exhausted her, and she knew that the following days were going to bring big changes to her. And yet, despite all of that, she felt a strange sense of ease and calmness. It did not take long before Natalya fell into a restful sleep.