“How was it?”
Natalya rolled her eyes and turned around to find that her visitor had already let herself into her room through the window. “Hello to you too, Rainbow.”
“Yeah, yeah, good morning and all that junk. So, how was it?”
“How was what?” Natalya asked, feigning ignorance as she walked around Rainbow.
“The operation where they removed the stick that was in your butt. What do you think I’m talking about?! The show and tell with Scootaloo, of course!”
“Oh, yeah. It was alright, I guess.” Natalya shrugged and then flew out the window. She glanced back and snickered at the annoyed look Rainbow shot her.
“What do you mean ‘alright’?” a miffed Rainbow asked a moment later when she swiftly flew to Natalya’s side. “You can’t just leave it like that! Give me details, man!”
“Fine, fine… Oh, first thing is that I totally wasn’t late, so you were being all annoying for nothing.”
“Hey, I already said I was sorry about all of that yesterday.”
“Just making sure you keep that in mind for the next time something like this happens. So, yeah, I got there and Cheerilee let us start after a few minutes. It pretty much went exactly like Scootaloo said it would. She talked about my flying and stuff, and I then answered a few questions.”
“So everything went smoothly?”
“Yep, even the part where I told them Griffonstone was a dump.”
“That’s good.” Rainbow looked forward, only to do a double-take. “Wait, what?”
“I went on to tell them how much crud goes on back there.”
“Uh, I’m not sure if—”
“And I don’t want to forget about the part where I said that most griffons are selfish jerks.”
“Alright, either you’re screwing with me or—”
“In fact, things went so well, Cheerilee held me back to talk to me.”
Rainbow shot in front of Natalya and whipped around to look at the griffon with wide eyes. “Dude, you said you weren’t going to mess this up!”
“And I didn’t. Yeah, I admit that things got kind of awkward when the kids started asking about Griffonstone, but it actually turned out alright. And, before you ask, yes, I did say those things, but the kids still seemed to like it.”
“What about Cheerilee?”
“She was just double checking some of my Griffonstone facts. She didn’t have a problem with me or Scootaloo.”
“So you’re absolutely, positively, a hundred percent sure that the other kids and Cheerilee liked it?”
“Yep.”
“And Scootaloo is absolutely, positi—”
“Yes, Scootaloo is fine and happy with how things turned out,” Natalya interrupted.
Rainbow let out a sigh of relief and smiled. “Awesome, dude. You really pulled through for me and Scootaloo. Thanks.”
Now, here comes the fun part. Natalya cleared her throat. “You know, that’s only half the stuff that went down,” she said before Rainbow resumed flying. “Things actually got more interesting after the show and tell.”
“So you even hung out with Scootaloo afterwards?” Rainbow grinned. “Glad to hear that you’re spending more time with her.”
“That’s one way of putting it. While I was talking with Cheerilee, Scootaloo waited outside for me. When I found her again, she was being pestered by those spoiled brats, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon.”
“Here we go again…” Rainbow grumbled. “They’ve been bothering Scootaloo and her friends for as long as I can remember. When are those two going to get a life and leave Scootaloo alone?”
“Since yesterday, if they know what’s good for them.”
Rainbow eyed Natalya curiously. “I’m not sure I like the sound of that. What did you do?”
“I might or might not have suggested that if they mess with Scootaloo again, there would be consequences…”
“What kind of consequences?”
Natalya grinned. “You know me well enough to figure that out.”
“You threatened them, didn’t you?” Rainbow flatly asked.
“Yep.”
“So you actually threatened two fillies?”
“Yep.”
Rainbow slowly blinked. “Dude, what you did was wrong… so wrong… With that being said…” A grin blossomed on her face. “You are awesome. I’m not sure if I should be a worried or proud that you actually did all of that, but the main point is that you did it for Scootaloo’s sake. I’m so glad that you've got her back, even if it’s in a morally questionable way.”
“Yeah, well…” Natalya glanced to the side. “I had to pick up the slack since you were busy that day.”
Rainbow chuckled. “Sure, whatever you say. Gotta admit, I’ve been wanting to tell those two fillies off as well. Guess you beat me to the punch.”
“And maybe that’s why they haven’t stopped bothering Scootaloo. They needed something more than just a weak scolding to make sure they learn their lesson.”
“Yeah, can’t really argue with that. The thing is, Diamond is usually the one that’s calling the shots. Diamond’s dad, Filthy Rich, is a pretty decent guy, but the problem is that he really spoils Diamond and doesn’t do much to discipline her if she gets into trouble. It’s why Diamond thinks she can do whatever she wants, and it’s pretty much true with how she has her dad wrapped around her hoof. In fact, I’m kind of surprised that she hasn’t sicced her dad on you.”
“She did.”
“Wait, what?” Rainbow’s eyebrows furrowed with worry. “Filthy Rich visited you? Is everything alright?”
Natalya went on to retell how she went back to the castle to find Filthy Rich and Twilight waiting for her, leaving out the part about her unproductive training. She told how Filthy wanted her to stay away from Diamond, and she enjoyed describing how she called out the stallion on how he was doing an awful job at controlling his daughter and that he needed to do something before Diamond inevitably messes with the wrong person.
“Oh man, you really let him have it,” Rainbow remarked. She snickered for a bit before taking a breath and shifted to a more serious face. “Still, even though you’re right about a lot of stuff, I doubt that he took all of that lying down. What did he say to you at the end?”
Natalya shrugged. “I don’t know. Something about not touching Diamond for like the fifth time. Honestly, I wasn’t paying attention when I just walked away.”
“You did what?! You mean you didn’t settle things with him?!” Rainbow cried, almost flying into Natalya. “Dude, I don’t want to worry you, but Filthy Rich has quite a bit of influence around town. He could really stir up trouble for you, assuming he’s not doing so already.”
“Chill, dude.” Natalya said, moving away from the pegasus invading her personal space. “You forgot that Twilight was also there. She managed to talk him down after I was gone. Probably was for the best I left; things were getting heated between me and Filthy, and I might have started to let my claws do some talking. Actually, now that I think about it, I should’ve just let Twilight go all princess on him from the start. Would’ve saved everyone a bunch of hassle.”
Rainbow shook her head. “That’s not how Twilight flies. She tries her best not to throw around her princess title and prefers that others treat her like a normal pony. She likely just talked to Filthy Rich while being all friendly and understanding.”
Natalya sighed. “Yeah, she probably did. She gave me a lecture later on how I should try doing those same things.”
Rainbow chuckled. “As much as I liked you letting Filthy Rich have it, Twilight does have a point.”
Natalya released a disgruntled huff in response.
“Hey, it’s not like you’re starting from square one. Your apology to Fluttershy was huge, and I also know that some of the ponies you’ve done jobs for think that you’re pretty nice as well. You’re definitely going in the right direction. Just keep at it.”
“Yeah, yeah, I get it. I’ll try to watch my mouth a bit more or whatever. Now, can we stop talking and work on my Sonic Rainboom?”
Rainbow chuckled. “Already figured you were going to ask for that. Come on, we’re almost there.”
Within a few minutes, the two of them had arrived at their usual training field. As they touched down on the grass and started their warm-ups, Natalya got Rainbow’s attention to tell her of a plan that she had formed last night.
“So, Rainbow, I’ve been thinking,” said Natalya. “I’ll admit that hanging out and doing other stuff with you has been nice, but don’t forget the main reason I’m here. I need to learn how to do the Sonic Rainboom. It’s not like I’m going to be staying here in Ponyville forever.”
Rainbow froze for a second and then sat down on her haunches, her ears folded backwards slightly. “Oh yeah… I haven’t really been thinking that you’re gonna have to leave one day. I’ve gotten used to having you and Gilda around. It’s been a blast, and I’m sure gonna miss you two when you do eventually go back.”
“Yeah, well…” Natalya’s gaze drifted away and she sighed. She then promptly shook her head. “Look, the point is, our time is limited, and I still haven’t made much progress with the Sonic Rainboom. This flying up and down thing you’re having me do is just not working.”
“Sorry, Natalya, but like I’ve said before, I just don’t know any other good ways to train you. If I had thought of anything else, I would’ve already brought it up with you. Seriously, I really wish I could be of more help.”
“And you will, because I’ve thought of something new.”
“Really?” Rainbow straightened up with attention and smiled eagerly. “Alright then, shoot. What do you got in mind?”
“Nothing hard. You’re just gonna do the Sonic Rainboom while I’m flying right behind you.”
Rainbow’s smile disappeared. “Uh, what?”
“I’m going to try drafting to go faster.” Seeing that Rainbow was still quirking her eyebrow in confusion, Natalya rolled her eyes. “I’m going to ride your slipstream. You know, by using you to reduce the air resistance on me or whatever the scienc-y explanation is.”
“Yeah, I get that, but, uh, isn’t using me as a crutch kind of defeating the purpose of you doing your own Sonic Rainboom?”
“Well, duh. This is so that I could get a better look at the Sonic Rainboom. I need to see and feel how you do it up close. You keep telling me what to expect, and it’s not helping. I should at least be able to pick some stuff up so that I can do the necessary adjustments for my own Sonic Rainboom.”
“Okay…” Rainbow bit her lip. “I guess I get what you’re trying to do…”
“I hear a ‘but’ coming…”
“But I don’t think it’s a good idea. You remember that wall I told you about? You don’t know how many times I crashed trying to break through it.”
“A bit late to be worried about that, don’t you think?” Natalya pointed out with an annoyed frown. “I’ve already been trying to hit that wall for a long time.”
“Yeah, I know, but at least you’re gradually building yourself up to that point. I don’t know if you’re ready to do this plan of yours.”
“You’re saying that I can’t keep up?” Natalya asked irritably.
Rainbow hastily shook her head. “No, I mean that you might be trying to skip too many steps. You’re going to go at a faster speed than you’re used to, and it doesn’t help that you’re going to have to concentrate on following me. Feels like all sorts of stuff could go wrong.”
“You want me to go back to training twenty-four, seven then?”
“What?” Rainbow jerked a bit in surprise. “Of course not.”
“I don’t either, to be honest, but the Sonic Rainboom is my main priority. I have to do something to get things moving, whether it’s doing even more of the same old stuff or try something new.”
Rainbow groaned and buried her face in her hooves. “Natalya… I just think your plan is going to get you hurt. Like, yeah, I already thought of something.”
“What?” Natalya asked with a huff.
“Well, the Sonic Rainboom makes this huge shockwave when it goes off. With you flying so close to me, you’re just going to get blown away.”
“Hrm…” Natalya scratched the side of her head in thought with a talon. She knew that Rainbow was just fishing for an excuse to not go through with her plan, and it did not take long to figure out an easy fix.
“That’s not a problem, Rainbow,” Natalya stated, pretending to not see her friend’s disappointed pout. “The main point is for me to get a feel of how you do the Sonic Rainboom. I can learn a bunch just from experiencing the moments right before it. You don’t actually have to do the Sonic Rainboom, so just fly away when you think it’s about to happen.”
“But then you might be flying into that wall with almost no warning.”
“You can wag your ears, right?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“Then that’s how you’ll signal me when you’re about to fly away.”
“But—”
“Rainbow, you’re not going to change my mind!” Natalya bellowed. “So stop making excuses and just do it!” She soon felt a pang of regret when she saw that Rainbow was reeling back and staring at her with wide, hurt eyes.
Taking a calming breath, Natalya said in a quieter voice, “Look, Rainbow, I know that you’re worried about me, but I really want, no, need to do this. I really think it’s going to help me get that much closer to the Sonic Rainboom. I know it’s going to be dangerous, but I’m no stranger to training under extreme conditions. Did I ever tell you that I do a whole lot of flying in the Abysmal Abyss back in Griffonstone?”
“Wait, really? The Abysmal Abyss? The same Abysmal Abyss that has the super strong winds?”
Natalya nodded. “That’s the one.”
“How in the world are you able to fly in that?! I tried flying around in it, and it took me like two seconds before I got a face-full of rock.”
“I’m just that good,” Natalya fibbed, neglecting to tell Rainbow about the safer spots she frequented. “If I can withstand the Abysmal Abyss, surely I can try this plan of mine, right?”
“Well…” Rainbow closed her eyes and groaned. “Fine, you win. I’ll go along with this crazy idea of yours, but on one condition. If it doesn’t look like it’s working or if it gets too dangerous, we’re calling it off, got it?”
Natalya sighed and reluctantly nodded. “Got it.”
“Good. So, do you want to do a couple of regular flying exercises before we attempt this?”
“Nope, we’re jumping right into it.”
Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Of course we are…”
The duo flew high up into the sky, an act that Natalya had done countless times since she had started training with Rainbow. Hopefully, this bold plan of hers would finally mark a turning point for her.
Natalya nodded toward Rainbow, and after a brief sigh, the pegasus nodded back with a weak smile before starting her flight.
With Rainbow going in a wide circle and at a sedate speed, Natalya was easily able to move behind the pegasus. As they continued to fly around, Natalya was getting annoyed with how they were accelerating at a sluggish pace, and Rainbow’s frequent glances back at her were not helping. Regardless, Natalya knew that she was asking a lot out of Rainbow, not to mention the fact that the pegasus was being careful for her sake, so Natalya continued to follow in silence.
It took what felt like forever, but Natalya was glad when they finally reached speeds that she was more accustomed to. Not too long after that, Natalya noticed that Rainbow had started to wiggle her ears. Knowing that it was much too early before Rainbow was supposed to pull out, Natalya figured that the pegasus was about to start the dive while also testing the signal.
A few seconds later, Rainbow sharply angled her flight path downwards, and Natalya followed right behind her.
Natalya still felt uncomfortable whenever she thought too much about how Rainbow was faster, and this plan was just another reminder of that same notion. However, right now, as she blazed through the sky faster than ever, she felt no such irritation.
Following Rainbow as they rapidly descended, Natalya could barely hear anything but the wind around her, and everything but the pegasus in front of her was nothing more than a blur. She was reaching new limits, albeit with Rainbow’s help, and it excited her. Her blood was pumping, and every part of her was urging her to keep going.
Then she saw it: Rainbow was wiggling her ears again.
Natalya tucked in her limbs as much as possible and braced herself for the impact with the wall that stood between her and the Sonic Rainboom. She felt excitement course through her, knowing that she was moments away from possibly making her own Sonic Rainboom. Whether she would actually be able to do it or not, Natalya knew that something big was about to happen.
Suddenly, Rainbow pulled up, almost instantly disappearing due to the speed they were going, while Natalya continued hurtling towards the ground. Immediately, she felt the air pressure shift, and she finally understood what Rainbow meant by "the wall". It felt like she was trying to pierce through some sort of invisible force that was pushing back on her. With her coveted Sonic Rainboom so close to her, Natalya gritted her teeth and mustered all of her strength to pierce through the wall. All she had to do was punch through it, and she would finally be the best again.
But it was not meant to be.
To her horror, Natalya was brought to a screeching halt. Her mind barely processed what was happening before she was flung backwards half a second later.
Sent tumbling through the air, Natalya tried to right herself, but she was spinning too fast and unable to regain her bearings. Trying to remain calm, she spread her wings to at least try to slow her descent.
Everything came to a sudden stop when Natalya heard a deafening crack at the same time pain exploded from her right side. She barely registered her battered body hitting the ground as the pain swiftly flooded the rest of her body and darkness filled her vision.
“N-Natalya? C-come on, dude. Get up.”
As Natalya slowly returned to consciousness, she sorely wished that she was not. Her awakening senses were registering the aches and pains racking the entirety of her body, and she desperately wished she would pass out again.
“Y-you’re fine, Natalya. A crash like that isn’t gonna do you in… R-right?”
Unfortunately, even with her eyes shut, the sound of an all-too-familiar voice, as well as a gentle prodding, was keeping Natalya awake.
“Ugh, shut up, Rainbow…” Natalya managed to croak with a raspy breath.
Rainbow gasped loudly. “N-Natalya! You’re alright!”
“Alright is totally not how I would describe myself right now. Just be quiet and let me go back to sleep.”
“Nuh uh! We got to get you checked out!”
Natalya replied with nothing more than a moan and refused to stir. A moment later, she hissed in pain when Rainbow poked her in the belly with a bit more force.
“Seriously, dude, you really need to go to the hospital.”
“I’m fine,” Natalya replied, despite feeling to the contrary. “I’ve been in crashes before. Nothing a bit of rest and maybe some bandages won’t fix.”
“Oh yeah… You’re totally fine after smashing into that tree, and your wing is totally supposed to bend like that.”
“My wing?” Natalya finally opened her eyes. It took a while before her blurry vision focused and adjusted to the change in brightness. She was lying on her left side near the base of a tree with a large crack in its bark that undoubtedly marked her impact, and Rainbow was sitting in front of her, looking down at her with concern.
Slowly, Natalya raised her head to check on her wings. Her breath hitched as soon as she laid eyes on her right wing. Sticking out from her, the mangled wing was bending at an almost ninety-degree angle, and several of her primaries and secondaries were also stuck out of place. When she tried to move the crippled wing, it would hardly budge and instead send a fresh of wave of pain coursing through her.
Natalya did not need a doctor to know that her wing was broken.
“Great… Just great!” Natalya shouted, slamming her left fist into the ground. She had suffered a broken wing before back in Griffonstone, and it took her a few weeks before she could fly again. She could not afford a major setback like this. Not only would she be wasting time that could be used to learn the Sonic Rainboom, but she would also have to rebuild her strength and fitness when she got better.
“I’m so, so, so sorry, Natalya,” Rainbow apologized. “I was still flying away from you, so by the time I finally saw what happened, you were too far away. I just couldn’t reach you in time before you hit the tree.” She bowed her head and whimpered. “Again, I’m so sorry, Natalya. I’ve told you a bunch of times that I got your back, but when you really needed me, I screwed up. This is all my fault and—”
“Rainbow, shut it,” Natalya uttered in a soft, but commanding tone. She was still angry, but it was directed at herself and the situation she was in. After taking a deep breath, she said, “This is on me. You warned me that my plan was dangerous. I took a risk, and now I have to pay the price.”
“Still, if I had been a bit faster or paid a little more attention, I might have—”
“Seriously, quit whining, Rainbow. What’s done is done. Just focus on getting me patched up.”
“Oh, uh, right. Good point. Can you get up?”
Taking another deep breath, Natalya rolled onto her stomach, her aching body protesting. Planting all four of her legs into the ground, she slowly raised herself, only to squawk and fall right back down when pain flared in her right foreleg.
“Natalya!” Rainbow’s forehooves reached for the griffon, but she stopped, an unsure look on her face. “Uh, what’s wrong? What can I do to help?”
“It’s my right foreleg. It’s also busted up,” Natalya answered. She let out a loud groan born from frustration and pain and let her head fall back onto the ground. “Which is just fantastic! Looks like I’m not going to be able to walk either! Can anything else go wrong?!”
“Easy, Natalya… Easy…” Rainbow said softly, placing a gentle hoof on Natalya. “I know this sucks, but—”
“This is beyond sucking, Rainbow!” Natalya bellowed right into the pegasus’s face. Her composure had eroded now that she realized she was in a much more dire situation. Losing her ability to fly was a harsh enough blow, but not being able to even stand had pushed her over the edge. She had never felt this helpless before, and all she could do was let her emotions take over.
“I can’t fly or walk!” Natalya continued to rant up into the sky. “I’m going to be stuck in bed for who knows how long and not be able to do anything! By the time I get back to flying, no one is going to know who I am, and it’s going to take forever for me to crawl back to where I was before! Everything is ruined! I might as well just kiss my flying career—”
Natalya froze when Rainbow suddenly sat down beside her and wrapped her forehooves around her neck in a hug.
“Wh-what are you doing?” Natalya asked, her anger temporarily frozen.
“It’s going to be alright, Natalya,” Rainbow said in a soft, calming voice that Natalya never heard her friend use before. “I’ve been here before. I know it’s frustrating, but you’re going to get through this. Out of all the ponies and griffons I’ve ever met, you’re the toughest, and I know that once you get your head back together, you’re not going to let something like this keep you down.
“And you won’t be alone when you’re doing all of that. I’ll be there every step of the way to help you recover, and I’m sure our friends will do the same. Not only that, but the hospital here in Ponyville has all sorts of cool medical stuff, and I guarantee that it won’t take too long before you’re up and flying again.”
Rainbow pulled back and smirked. “Of course, you can just continue to just lie here and keep on shouting at the sky, but knowing you, I think you’ll want to get started on your recovery as soon as possible. After all, didn’t you just tell me to stop whining so that we can concentrate on getting you fixed up?”
Natalya stared at her friend for several seconds, slowly blinking as her anger seeped out of her. “Rainbow, that… that was…”
“Yeah?” Rainbow leaned forward, smiling softly.
“That was pretty corny.”
Rainbow immediately shifted into a deadpan face. “Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
“Now I wish that you broke your mouth in the crash.”
Natalya chuckled softly. “But I get the gist of what you were saying. I’m not gonna get better if I stay here. I really hope that you weren’t exaggerating about how good the hospital is.”
“They’re the best. Still, that leaves us with a bit of a problem: How are we getting you to the hospital?”
“Couldn’t you just go there and get them to send some ponies to pick me up?” Natalya paused. “Wait, shouldn’t you have already done that while I was unconscious?”
“Yeah, about that… When I got to you, I kind of panicked… A lot… I’m going to be honest with you, Natalya. I was really scared that you were hurt, er, I mean, hurt a lot worse than…” Rainbow waved a hoof over the injured griffon. “So, yeah, I wasn’t really thinking and pretty much just ended up watching you and trying to wake you up. Luckily, it didn’t take too long for that to happen.”
“Well, thanks for the concern, I guess, but that means you still need to go and get the hospital to pick me up.”
“Yeah, I guess I should. I’m just worried about leaving you alone…” Rainbow sighed and looked around. She perked up and got on her hooves a moment later. “Oh, I got a great idea. Wait right here. I’ll be back in ten seconds flat!”
“Sure, not like I’m actually able to go anywhere,” Natalya mumbled as Rainbow flew up into the sky. Unable to track Rainbow without aggravating her injuries, she lay back with sigh.
Ten seconds later, Natalya heard Rainbow land and raised her head to find her friend standing with a cloud about the size of a bed floating right next to her.
“Neat idea, huh? You get on the cloud and I can push it to the hospital. Why wait for me to send a bunch of slowpokes when I can take you there myself?” Rainbow boasted. “Saves time, and I won't have to worry about leaving you alone.”
Natalya nodded in agreement and began the grueling task of standing up. Carefully, she raised herself up, making sure to not use her injured foreleg. With one limb missing and her body still racked with pain, she almost lost her balance again, but Rainbow rushed forward and helped prop the griffon back up.
“I got you, Natalya,” Rainbow assured, pressing into Natalya’s right side with her own body while avoiding the injured areas. “Just take it slow and lean on me.”
Natalya nodded and leaned her weight into Rainbow as she hobbled over the few steps to the cloud. With the grace of a pregnant sloth, she flopped onto the cloud and lay on her left side. She was grateful that clouds were soft, allowing her to shift more toward the center of her impromptu transport without much trouble.
“Ready?” Rainbow asked as Natalya settled in.
“Yep, go for it,” Natalya replied.
Natalya saw Rainbow promptly fly around to the back of the cloud. After a second, they began to rise into the air while also moving toward Ponyville.
The trip was uneventful, and even though Natalya could tell Rainbow was still concerned about her injuries and was making sure they were not going too fast, they made good time, and it was not long before the hospital came into view.
Pushing the cloud right up against the main entrance of the large, three story building, Rainbow helped Natalya get down before giving a strong buck to the cloud to make it disappear with a ‘poof’.
Limping into the hospital with Rainbow, the first thing Natalya saw was a wide desk in front of them with one earth pony mare seated behind it and filling out paperwork with a pencil in her mouth. The mare had a white coat and had her pink mane done up in a bun, and it was obvious that she worked here with the nurse’s cap that rested on her head.
“Hello, welcome to the Ponyville Hospital,” the nurse greeted without looking up as she hastened her scribblings. “How may I help…” The nurse trailed off when she dropped her pencil and finally looked up with a smile, only to swiftly shift into a deadpan face. “Oh, Rainbow.”
The nurse let out an exasperated sigh and reached under the desk, pulling out a thick binder about half the size of a pony with two hooves. She unceremoniously dropped the binder on the desk with a loud thud, opened up the binder, and began writing into the binder with her pencil.
“Alright, you know the drill, Rainbow,” the nurse said in a bored tone. “On a scale of one to ten, how much pain are you in?”
“Zero. I’m completely fine, Redheart,” Rainbow stated with a hint of pride and a smirk. “I’m not the one who needs to be seen today.”
Redheart looked up in surprise. “Really?”
Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Yes, really. It’s my buddy here, Natalya, that needs help. She was training and crashed into a tree. Busted up her right leg and wing.”
Redheart nodded and swiftly trotted into a nearby room, reemerging a few moments later and pushing a gurney. “Here, let’s get you on this, Natalya,” she instructed, parking the gurney next to the griffon. “Rainbow, get her other side and help me lift her up.”
With Rainbow and Redheart’s help, Natalya carefully climbed onto the gurney, hissing in pain as she rolled onto her left side. The gurney was not as forgiving on her injuries as the cloud.
“So, on a scale from one to ten, how much pain are you in?” Redheart asked as she grabbed a clipboard that was hanging on the gurney’s side and hurriedly started writing on it.
“I don’t know. A seven or eight, I guess?” Natalya replied.
“Mhmm… Okay, second question: On a scale from one to ten, how much is this Rainbow’s fault?”
“Ten, definitely ten.” Natalya let out an amused snort as Redheart made a big show of writing down her response.
“Wow, I am so glad that I hauled your ungrateful butt here,” Rainbow uttered with an annoyed huff.
Natalya chuckled. “Yeah, yeah, thanks for that. But seriously, what’s up between you and Redheart? Seems like she doesn’t like you.”
“Gee, you think?”
“Oh, it’s not that I dislike Rainbow,” Redheart informed. “It’s just revenge.”
“You’re still hung up about a few harmless pranks?” Rainbow asked.
“Remember the maple syrup incident?”
“Hey, it grew back, didn’t it?”
Redheart rolled her eyes, hung the clipboard back on the gurney’s side, and shifted her attention to Natalya. “Anyway, Doctor Horse should be free now, so if you’re ready, I can take you in to see him. He will check you over and figure out the proper course of treatment for you.”
“Sure. Might as well get it over with,” Natalya agreed.
Redheart trotted around to Natalya’s head and began pushing the gurney down one of the hallways beside the front desk as Rainbow followed them. They only passed by a few rooms before Redheart stopped the gurney in front of a closed door.
“Doctor Horse, I have a patient that just came in and she needs to be examined,” Redheart announced when she knocked on the door.
A moment later, an amber-colored unicorn stallion wearing glasses and a white doctor’s coat opened the door, and his eyes quickly took in the sight of the two ponies and one griffon on a gurney.
“Ah, hello again, Rainbow,” Doctor Horse greeted with a smile. “Seems like you’re not the one that has to be examined today, for a change. Nurse Redheart, what’s the situation?”
“This is Natalya,” Redheart informed, reading from the gurney clipboard. “She had been training with Rainbow until she crashed into a tree. She’s still in pain, and she’s worried that her right foreleg and right wing are both broken.”
“Well then, we should check that out right away. Bring her in.”
As Redheart pushed Natalya into the center of the room, Doctor Horse’s horn glowed, moving a glass screen taller than Natalya with a metal frame and mounted on wheels from the side.
“Are you able to stand for a minute, Natalya?” Doctor Horse asked as he moved the device in front of Natalya. “This x-ray machine will let us get a quick look to see if you do indeed have any broken bones.”
Natalya nodded and gingerly got up. Rainbow and Redheart both moved to help her, but she waved them off, wanting to keep some semblance of pride and independence. Her body protested as she slid off the gurney, but other than a few bouts of pain, she was able to stand up without any real trouble.
Doctor Horse quickly moved the x-ray right up against Natalya’s side, covering the griffon’s entire body. “Alright, try to move your right legs slightly forward… Okay, now spread your wings as much as you can… Good, good, that’s it. Just stand like that for a few moments and… There we go.”
The x-ray was slid away from Natalya, and the screen was flipped around, showing a perfect picture of the griffon, or at least, her skeleton.
“Alright then let's see here…" Doctor Horse inspected the x-ray for a few moments before pointing at the picture's right foreleg. "Well, the good news is that your right foreleg is intact. You merely suffered a sprain. We’ll have to put it in a brace, but after a day or two of some meds and rest, you’ll be able to walk perfectly. Now for the bad news…”
Doctor Horse’s hoof moved up to the image's wings, and Natalya already knew the diagnosis from the image’s fractured bones.
“To put it simply, you have several broken bones in your right wing. I suspect that it took the brunt of your collision. I’m sorry, Natalya, but until they’re fixed, you won’t be doing any flying.”
Natalya groaned and hung her head. Even though she had already knew the answer before she even got to the hospital, hearing the final verdict still made her heart sink. A hoof resting on her back made her turn her head, and she was met by Rainbow softly smiling at her.
Nodding at her friend, Natalya looked back to Doctor Horse and asked, “So give it to me straight, doc. How long am I going to be out?”
“Let’s see…” Doctor Horse rubbed his forehoof across his chin in thought. “Assuming that griffon physiology is similar to a pegasus and that you have no negative reaction to the medications, I would say about a week before you can start flying.”
Natalya’s eyes bulged. “Wait, really? Only a week? You’re serious?”
Doctor Horse nodded. “Yes, I’m serious.”
“Wow… I just… Wow… Rainbow said you guys were good, but I didn’t know you were that good.”
“Well, a big part of that is because we’ve had to patch her up many, many times,” Redheart quipped. “Rainbow is a frequent flyer here, if you get what I mean.”
“Gee, thanks, Redheart,” Rainbow said dryly.
“Anytime, Rainbow.”
Doctor Horse chuckled. “Well, it’s always nice to hear praise about our work. We do take pride in giving our patients the utmost care, but a good deal of credit should be given to a nice zebra who lives in the Everfree Forest. She makes all sorts of potent potions that help ponies recover.”
“A zebra that lives in the middle of a scary forest and makes potions?” Natalya raised an incredulous eyebrow. “What? Is she some sort of witch?”
“That’s Zecora,” Rainbow explained. “And yeah, a lot of ponies, including me, thought that she was some sort of witch or enchantress at first. But after some of us got to know her, we became friends and found out that she’s actually really cool.”
“Yes, she is. With her help, we’ve been able to concoct many helpful treatments, such as this…” Doctor Horse used his magic to open a cabinet filled with a variety of small bottles, all labeled with names and ingredients that had way too many syllables.
“Redheart, Rainbow, could you please help Natalya back onto the gurney?” Doctor Horse asked, floating a vial with a cork seal out of the cabinet. An audible pop was heard as the vial was removed from its cork as it moved toward Natalya. “She's gonna want to be sitting down when she takes this.”
After Natalya was back on the gurney, she grabbed the bottle with her uninjured hand and took a whiff of the medicine. She immediately gagged and thrusted it away from her face. “Ugh, it smells nasty! What is this?! Processed sewer sludge and rotten garbage?!”
Rainbow chuckled. “Yeah, I had the same reaction. Wait until you taste it.”
Natalya inspected the brown ichor sloshing around in the bottle and almost gagged again. “Doc, do I really have to drink this?”
“Unfortunately, yes,” Doctor Horse answered. “It’s a vital part of your treatment. Not only will it greatly help in mending your bones, it should also ease your pain. You know the saying: The worse the medicine tastes, the more effective it is.”
Natalya groaned, but slowly nodded in agreement, accepting her vile-tasting fate. A dose of bitter medicine was much more preferable than spending who knows how long without the use of her wings. Of course, that did not mean she had to like it.
“Any chance of getting some water to wash this down with?” Natalya asked.
“Sorry, but it works best without taking any food or liquids,” Doctor Horse explained, much to Natalya’s dismay. “Oh, and before I forget, this medicine will make you drowsy, so you’ll likely fall asleep soon after taking it.”
“You sure that it’s not because of the taste that will knock me out?” Natalya sighed. “Well, I’m going to be stuck here anyway, so I might as well catch some z’s.” Natalya looked down at the vial again and took a deep breath. “Bottoms up, I guess…”
Natalya tilted her head back and drained the vial in one quick swig. Even though she tried to aim the medicine so that it would go straight down her throat, she could not completely avoid tasting it. She knew that it was going to be bad, but to her surprise, it was not.
It was utterly terrible.
Natalya immediately dropped the vial and had to clap her hand over her mouth when she gagged. She almost burst into tears when some of the foul liquid came back up and assaulted her tongue, somehow tasting even worse the second time around. With a muffled scream, she swallowed the last of the medicine and immediately gasped for air.
“GAH!” Natalya shouted. “That was awful! You sure you didn’t serve me poison or something, doc?!”
“If I had a bit for every time somepony asked me that…” Doctor Horse mumbled with an amused sigh. “Are you feeling drowsy yet, Natalya?”
“I…” Natalya paused as her eyelids started to droop, and her body started to grow heavy. “I think so…”
“Good. That means the medicine is already starting to work. While you’re asleep, we’ll go ahead and treat your injuries. By the time you wake up, you should be resting in one of our beds.”
Too tired to process a proper response, Natalya merely nodded as she continued to drift off. Her eyes kept on opening and closing as she tried to stay awake, but each blink made her eyelids heavier and heavier. It was not long before she could not even open her eyes anymore.
The last thing she heard was Rainbow telling her, “Get some rest, Natalya. I’ll be sure to be there when you wake up.”
For some reason, Natalya really liked the sound of Rainbow’s words. Not knowing if she willed herself or not to show a smile, Natalya drifted off to sleep.