Natalya’s apology to Fluttershy was awkward, tense, and uncomfortable. It was possibly one of the toughest things she ever had to do.
Fortunately, going through the Fluttershy ordeal had made Rainbow very happy, and Natalya intended to cash in on Rainbow’s good mood. The very next day, Natalya half-asked, half-demanded that she could do Sonic Rainboom training instead of whatever Rainbow had planned for the day, and the pegasus obliged without a single complaint.
And so, Natalya was back to flying up and down above one of the fields on the outskirts of Ponyville.
“You’re getting faster, Natalya,” Rainbow remarked, flying over to Natalya when the griffon took a breather after one of her many dives.
“Not fast enough though,” Natalya grumbled. She did indeed feel that she had improved a bit, but she still had not felt a single instance of the so-called wall that Rainbow said was the beginning of the Sonic Rainboom. It felt like she still had a lot to learn.
“I’m sure you’ll see more results eventually. I’ve seen all the hard work you’ve put in, and I would be genuinely surprised if you didn’t manage to pull it off, or at least something like it, by the time you leave Ponyville.”
Natalya glanced at her friend with a raised eyebrow. Rainbow had been doing her own flying the whole time; however she somehow was always ready to shout Natalya some form of advice or encouragement whenever there was a lull in the training.
Natalya used to find Rainbow’s often-loud encouragement irritating, but for some reason, it did not feel like that today. In fact, she kind of liked having Rainbow show her support.
“Of course,” Rainbow continued with a small smirk. “None of that is gonna happen unless you get your butt back up there and show me what you can do!”
Natalya smiled faintly and nodded. She poised herself to fly up, but she stopped when a familiar buzzing followed by someone shouting “Hey, guys!” from below. Looking down, she saw that Scootaloo was rapidly approaching them as she rode on her scooter and waved at them with one hoof.
“Hey, squirt!” Rainbow shouted back, flying straight for the filly.
So much for watching me get back up there, Natalya thought with a sigh. As she wondered if she could just continue training by herself, she watched Rainbow land on the ground and happily greet the filly with a big smile. Scootaloo then said something that made Rainbow laugh, after which Rainbow then commenced giving the filly a friendly noogie.
After watching the happy pair for a few more moments, Natalya flew down towards them, reasoning to herself that she needed a break anyway.
“Hi, Natalya,” Scootaloo greeted with a smile when the griffon landed.
“Hey,” Natalya casually replied.
“Still trying to pull off the Sonic Rainboom?”
“Trying is the key word…”
“Well, you got Rainbow helping you out, and she’s the best when it comes to the Sonic Rainboom.”
“Uh, isn’t she the only one who can do it?”
“That’s what makes her the best,” Scootaloo replied matter-of-factly.
Rainbow chuckled. “She got you there.”
Natalya responded with a roll of her eyes.
“So, what’s up, Scoots?” Rainbow asked. “Just here to watch two awesome flyers?”
“Actually, I was hoping to ask a favor,” Scootaloo remarked. “You see, we got show and tell at school, and my turn is coming up tomorrow. I was wondering—”
“Say no more, Scoots. I’ll be happy to do show and tell with you again and give your classmates another dose of the Dash.”
“Um, thanks, Rainbow. I really appreciate it, but, uh…” Scootaloo chuckled nervously. “I kind of wanted to bring Natalya instead…”
Natalya would have laughed at how Rainbow’s jaw almost slammed into the ground if she was not occupied by her own wide-eyed stare at Scootaloo.
“Her?!” Rainbow cried out incredulously, pointing a hoof at the griffon. “You pick her over me?!”
“Looks like I’m the more popular one now,” Natalya could not resist taunting with a smirk after recovering from her own surprise.
Rainbow frowned. “Seriously, Scoots, did I do something wrong? I thought I was the awesomest…”
“And you are, Rainbow!” Scootaloo hastily assured. “I wanted to pick you, but Miss Cheerilee told me that I’ve brought you in too much and had to choose something else.”
Natalya sighed. So much for small victories.
“Oh, well, I guess that makes sense,” Rainbow said, returning back to her usual self. “Actually, now that I think about it, she might have a bit of a point. You have used me so many times, I even lost count.”
“But that’s because you’re the best! There shouldn’t be such a thing as too much Rainbow Dash!”
“Well, you’re not wrong there either, squirt.”
“So, will you please come to my school tomorrow, Natalya?” Scootaloo asked, shifting her attention to the griffon.
Natalya was about to refuse, but she paused at the eager face that was looking up at her. All she could utter instead was, “Uh, I’m not sure…”
“Please? You don’t have to do much. I’ll be doing most of the talking, so all you have to do is stand there and maybe answer a few questions. I know that you’re busy with your training, but my show and tell won’t take that long, promise.”
“But why me?”
“Well, you are the fastest griffon.”
Natalya’s eyebrow went up. “Oh? So you know about that?”
“That’s what Rainbow told me, but I definitely can see why. After all, you beat Soarin during the Equestria Games, and Rainbow also said you almost beat her in the race you had when you first arrived in Ponyville.”
Natalya felt a twinge of irritation at that second part, but she kept her calm demeanor.
Scootaloo scuffed the ground with a hoof and smiled sheepishly. “I just, um, I just think you’re really cool, Natalya. Not Rainbow Dash-cool, but a different kind of cool… Like Natalya-cool, which is a different kind of cool but not less cool.” Her face scrunched up in confusion. “Uh, you get what I’m saying?”
“That you think I’m cool?”
“Uh, right!” Scootaloo nodded eagerly. “So will you do it?”
Natalya sighed. “Look, kid, I don’t think—”
“Pleeeeeeease?” Scootaloo begged, looking up at Natalya with wide, hopeful eyes.
Natalya had to turn away from the pleading face Scootaloo was giving her, only to flinch at the sight of Rainbow’s smirk. Even though it was clear that Rainbow was amused by the whole scenario, Natalya knew that she was also expecting her to make the correct decision.
Stifling a groan, Natalya turned her back to both ponies, making sure that she could not see either of their gazes. After a long sigh, she mumbled, “I… I guess if it’s not going to be too long…”
A sudden weight latching onto one of her legs made Natalya whip her head back around to find Scootaloo hugging her.
“Yes! Thank you, Natalya!” Scootaloo cried out. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”
“Uh, sure, whatever.” Natalya glanced over at Rainbow to see the pegasus giving her a wide smile and nodding in approval. She rolled her eyes and then looked back down at the filly still clutching her leg.
Natalya shook her leg a little to dislodge Scootaloo, but the filly did not budge, oblivious to Natalya’s actions over her continued thank you's. For a kid, Scootaloo was surprisingly strong, and Natalya could feel her leg starting to get numb from the lack of circulation.
“You can let go of me now,” Natalya ordered, making sure she was loud enough to be heard over Scootaloo’s chanting.
Scootaloo went silent and looked up at the flat gaze Natalya was giving her. Smiling sheepishly, she finally withdrew from Natalya. “Heh, sorry. I got a bit excited.”
“I noticed…”
“Well, looks like I have to take the day off tomorrow anyway,” Rainbow remarked. “Gotta come and see this show and tell.”
“Let me guess. You want to make sure I behave?” Natalya asked.
“Maybe a bit.” Rainbow grinned. “But more because I think this is going to be hilarious.”
“Somehow, I don’t share the same sentiments.”
“Let me rephrase that then. I think it’s going to be hilarious for me.”
Natalya was about to make a retort, but an unfamiliar voice calling out made the three of them look up.
“Rainbow, I’m so glad I found you!” a pegasus mare shouted as she flew toward them. The mare had a coat with a faint tinge of grey. Curiously enough, her green and magenta mane was styled in a way that reminded Natalya of Twilight’s.
“Hey, Blossomforth. What’s up?” Rainbow greeted the new mare when she landed. “Oh, but before you say anything…” She placed a hoof on Blossomforth’s shoulder and turned the both of them to Natalya and Scootaloo. “Guys, this is Blossomforth. She’s one of the assistant weather managers. Blossomforth, this is Scootaloo and Natalya.”
“Hi there,” Blossomforth said with a pleasant smile. “Nice to meet you two, especially you, Scootaloo. Rainbow often talks about you at work.”
“She does?!” Scootaloo cried out, gleefully jumping into the air and slowly falling back down as her wings buzzed in excitement.
Blossomforth nodded. “She says you’re very energetic and that you’re a pro with your scooter.”
“That’s totally me!”
Blossomforth giggled and then turned to Rainbow. “So, I’m not interrupting anything, am I?”
“No, not really. We were just chatting,” Rainbow replied.
“Then if you don’t mind, Rainbow, I need to talk to you about some work-related stuff.”
“Something wrong?”
“Um, a bit. That’s why I need to talk to you.”
“Alright, alright.” Rainbow looked to Scootaloo and Natalya with an apologetic look. “Sorry, but I really need to take care of this. You guys don’t mind, right?”
“Of course not, Rainbow,” Scootaloo promptly replied.
“Just make it quick,” Natalya urged. She walked over to a nearby tree without waiting for a response.
Circling around the tree, Natalya found her saddlebag that she had brought along. Letting out a weary sigh, she sat down and grabbed a water bottle from her bag.
Natalya greedily chugged her bottle, reveling in the refreshing water that went down her parched throat. Her training might be on the monotonous side, but that did not make it any less tiring. When she stopped for air, she had already drained more than half of the bottle.
After a momentary break, she raised her bottle for some more water, but she paused when Scootaloo approached her from the other side of the tree.
“Hey, Natalya. Is it alright if I wait with you?” Scootaloo asked. “I don’t want to distract Rainbow while she’s talking about work.”
“Sure,” Natalya replied before drinking from her bottle again, taking small, measured sips this time since she had quenched her thirst earlier.
“I want to thank you again for doing the show and tell with me tomorrow,” Scootaloo said as she sat down next to Natalya.
“You’re not going to give me another hug, are you?”
“Uh, heh, no.” Scootaloo gazed at the grass beneath her with a sheepish smile. “Sorry about that as well.”
Their conversation quickly died, and an awkward silence fell between them. Not sure what to do with Scootaloo sitting next to her, Natalya pretended to be busy by drinking the rest of her water, making sure that she took her time as she hoped Rainbow would finish her talk soon.
“I, uh, I also wanted to thank you for the encouragement you gave me the other day,” Scootaloo eventually said when Natalya was reaching the end of her bottle.
“Oh right, that. Yeah, it’s not a big deal. I just felt like helping out since I’ve seen similar stuff in Griffonstone.”
“Really? There are griffons who have trouble flying as well?”
Natalya nodded. “Of course. It’s not like everyone is born a pro flyer. Everyone needs to put in the time and training to learn how to fly. It’s just that some need more time than others.”
Scootaloo sighed. “Yeah, I know. Rainbow tells me pretty much the same thing. It’s just hard being the only pegasus in my class that hasn’t been able to fly yet, and it doesn’t help that I get made fun of about it.”
“The other pegasi giving you a hard time?”
“Actually, no. They’re all nice. The problem is Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. They’re two snobbish earth ponies who think that they’re better than everypony else just because their parents make a bunch of bits.
“They like to target me and my friends just because we don’t have our cutie marks yet. Me being unable to fly is one of their favorite things to tease me about.”
“Then you just have to keep working at your flying until you finally get it. That way, you can shove it in their bratty muzzles,” Natalya suggested.
Scootaloo grinned. “Yeah, I can already imagine the look on their faces.”
“And if they continue to give you trouble, a solid punch to their faces should do the trick.”
Scootaloo laughed, but it quickly faded when she saw Natalya’s deadpan face. “Er, wait, you’re serious about that?”
“Yes.”
“Oh…” Scootaloo glanced away and rubbed the back of her neck. “Um, no offense, Natalya, but Rainbow kind of mentioned that I should be careful about taking any of your advice if it involves hitting others…”
“Of course she did,” Natalya dryly uttered with a roll of her eyes.
Losing interest in the current conversation after her solution was turned down, Natalya stashed her now-empty bottle back into her bag and pulled out the toffee that she got yesterday. Bon Bon had given her a generous amount of toffee to start with, and since she ate the sweets sparingly, Natalya still had over half the bag left. Quickly popping a toffee into her mouth, she savored the sugary treat and was glad to find out that it did not lose any flavor despite being a day old.
“Is that toffee from Bon Bon’s?” Scootaloo asked, quickly noticing the presence of candy.
“Yep,” Natalya replied as she continued chewing. “Took up a job to spruce up her store sign yesterday, and she tossed in this stuff along with my payment.”
“That’s cool… So how is it? I never actually tried it before, but I heard it’s really good.”
“It is.” Natalya tossed another toffee into her mouth right as her first one was almost gone.
Several toffees later, Natalya noticed out of the corner of her eye that Scootaloo was still staring at the bag in her hand. When she turned her head to the filly, Scootaloo swiftly looked straight ahead, trying to make it look like she was not sneaking glances.
Natalya watched Scootaloo for a few moments and then looked down at the half-filled bag of toffee. With a sigh, she held out the bag to Scootaloo. “Take one.”
Scootaloo looked to Natalya, her eyes slightly widened in surprise. “Wait, what?”
“You want one or not?”
“Y-yeah, of course!” Scootaloo hastily grabbed one toffee cube in her hooves and smiled at Natalya. “Thank you.”
Natalya watched as Scootaloo shoved the candy in her mouth, following it up with some delighted hums while she chewed on the toffee. As expected of any kid, Scootaloo stopped chewing all too soon, her sweet eagerly devoured in haste.
“That was great,” Scootaloo chirped. “Can’t decide if I like Bon Bon’s candies or the stuff at Sugarcube Corner more. What do you think, Natalya?”
Natalya shrugged. “They’re both good, but in different ways.”
“But if you had to pick only one, who would you choose?”
“Sugarcube Corner,” Natalya replied without hesitation.
“Why’s that?”
“Pinkie Pie.”
Scootaloo blinked and then slowly nodded her head in understanding.
Natalya went back to eating her toffee, but a few cubes later, she paused again when she noticed that Scootaloo’s gaze was still flicking over to her sweets. “You know, you’re doing a terrible job of trying to make it look like you don’t want more toffee.”
Scootaloo’s face flooded with red, and she abruptly dropped her gaze to the ground. “S-sorry.”
With another sigh, Natalya set the bag down on the grass between them. “Go ahead, just don’t take too much.”
Scootaloo looked to the bag and then up at Natalya, her mouth slightly open with awe. “R-really? You’re sure?”
“Thanks to Pinkie, I’ve eaten more sugar since I came to Ponyville than my entire life. I’m already trying to cut down on the sweets, so you might as well take some more toffee now before they go bad. Besides, I could always buy some more if I wanted to.”
“Okay, um, thanks, Natalya.” Scootaloo grabbed her second toffee in her hooves and quickly ate it with a delighted smile.
Natalya still was not sure what compelled her to give some of her toffee to Scootaloo. She had not given away anything before, unless she knew she could get a favor or something else out of the deal. She very much doubted that Scootaloo could do anything for her, and yet, she did feel a twinge of amusement as she watched the filly chomp down on another piece of candy.
Natalya reached down to grab a toffee of her own, but she stood up and spun around when she heard a “D’aww” from behind to see Rainbow and Blossomforth watching her with big smiles on their faces.
“That was so nice of you, Natalya,” Blossomforth complimented.
“It really was,” Rainbow agreed, smirking in a way that almost screamed ‘I knew it’.
Natalya huffed and turned her back to the ponies, trying her best to ignore the creeping heat in her cheeks.
“So you two done talking about work?” Scootaloo asked.
“Yes, we are,” Blossomforth replied. “I actually have to head back to the office now. I just wanted to say goodbye before I left.”
“Oh, well, goodbye then, Blossomforth. Nice to meet you.”
“See ya,” Natalya mumbled, turning back around to give Blossomforth a lazy wave.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, Blossomforth,” Rainbow bade.
After Blossomforth flew away, Scootaloo cocked her head curiously at Rainbow. “Tomorrow? Are you going to be able to still watch my show and tell?”
Rainbow sighed and shook her head. “It’s the new weather manager that’s replacing me. She’s a nice pony and all, but she’s still getting used to all the new responsibilities. She messed up some stuff today. Blossomforth can handle some of the things, but I have to go in tomorrow to sort the rest of it out. Sorry, guys. I really wish that I could watch you two, but that looks like it’s not gonna happen.”
“It’s alright, Rainbow,” Scootaloo assured. “I know that you’ve been busy going back between your Wonderbolt stuff and helping the weather team. I’m just glad you still make time for me at least once a week.”
“Of course! What are sort-of sisters for?” Rainbow replied happily. She trotted past Scootaloo, making sure to ruffle the filly’s mane playfully with a hoof. As she sat down in front of Natalya and Scootaloo, she grabbed a toffee cube and popped it in her mouth.
“Who said you could have one?” Natalya asked, staring at Rainbow with a raised eyebrow.
“What? She gets to have a bunch, but I can’t even have one?” Rainbow asked, pointing at Scootaloo.
“Yep.”
Rainbow’s eyebrow went up as well while she stared at Natalya. Keeping her eyes on the griffon, Rainbow’s hoof began inching for the toffee bag again.
“You’re going to lose your hoof if you do it, Rainbow,” Natalya warned.
Rainbow only grinned and continued toward the candy.
“I’m warning you. Don’t do it.”
Rainbow stopped inches away from the toffee and slowly began retracting her hoof. But just as Natalya thought the pegasus had given up, Rainbow’s hoof shot forward and grabbed another toffee.
The toffee did not even make it into Rainbow’s mouth before Natalya tackled the pony into the grass. Rainbow tried to squirm away, but Natalya's experience and slightly bigger body easily pinned the pegasus to the ground.
“First I get picked for show and tell and now this.” Natalya smirked at the pony trapped beneath her. “Guess I still can beat you at some stuff.”
Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, good job,” she congratulated dryly. “Now, get off.”
“Let me think about it…” Natalya’s gaze went up, as though she was giving the idea some thought. After a moment, she looked back down at Rainbow and smirked again. “Nope.”
Rainbow stared flatly back at Natalya and then turned her head to Scootaloo. “Hey, squirt, a little help?”
Scootaloo, who had been stifling her giggles the entire time, shifted herself into a more comfortable position. “Nah, I’m good,” she answered right before she tossed a toffee cube into her mouth.
“Guess all it took was a little candy to make me her favorite,” Natalya taunted.
Rainbow groaned. “You both suck,” she complained, although a faint smile graced her mouth.
Natalya chuckled and let Rainbow go. She even allowed Rainbow to finally have some toffee, but not before she and Scootaloo made a good show of enjoying the candy without her.
As they sat together and finished off the toffee, Natalya found herself not minding the fact that her break from training was taking longer than she had expected.