//------------------------------// // Chapter 18: Natalya Time // Story: Rainbooms On the Mind // by Kevinltk //------------------------------// There was not much to the Ponyville train station. Located at the edge of town, the station contained a wooden train platform with a ticket vendor, and right next to it was a small building that served as both a waiting area and an office. Natalya was yawning as she leaned her left side against the wall of the train platform in Ponyville, careful to not let anything touch her splinted right wing. She had been sleeping in more than usual during her recovery, but she had gotten up early this morning so that she and Gilda could meet Rainbow before the Wonderbolt backup boarded the train to Canterlot. Rainbow and Scootaloo were already at the station when the griffons arrived. While Scootaloo was her usual perky self, Rainbow was less of a morning pony, a large yawn escaping her while her eyes were drooping halfway down. Nonetheless, despite the morning grogginess afflicting some of them, the ponies and griffons greeted each other with smiles. They spent a while chatting with each other, but as the train’s arrival started to draw close, Natalya began to wonder about Rainbow’s missing traveling companion. “Where’s Rarity?” Natalya asked. “Twilight and Spike went to her place earlier to help her out, but there’s no sign of any of them.” “Eh, don’t worry about it,” Rainbow dismissed. “Rarity never passes up a chance to visit Canterlot. I bet that she’s doing her ‘fashionably late’ thing again. It’s another one of those fancy-schmancy stuff she likes to do.” “I don’t think that works quite as well when it comes to trains.” “Hey, I see them!” Scootaloo suddenly shouted. “There they are!” Natalya blinked when she looked in the direction Scootaloo was pointing. “Does she always pack that much stuff?” she asked, seeing Rarity, Twilight, and Spike approach the train station with about a dozen or so suitcases split among them. It was a stark contrast to the two saddlebags that Rainbow had packed for the trip. “Pretty much,” Rainbow replied. She then called out to the approaching luggage mountain. “Hey, Rares! I know we’re going to be gone for a week, but this is a bit much, even for you!” “Did you forget that I will be working at the Canterlot Boutique as well?” Rarity argued when she got closer. “Naturally, I brought some of my work with me. The majority of my luggage actually consists of finished creations that I plan on putting on display there.” “Oh, right.” Rainbow grinned sheepishly. “Should’ve figured you would be bringing stuff to your Canterlot shop. Sorry, Rarity. I thought that you packed all sorts of makeup and clothes for yourself like you usually do.” “And who says I didn’t? One must always look her best at any occasion. I even made sure to pack several dress changes for the party,” Rarity declared with a faint, smug smile. Her smiled faded when she took a quick look around the train platform. “I take it that Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie are not going to be able to see us off.” “Chill, Rarity. We don’t need some big send off. It’s only going to be a week. You know that Applejack has got her morning chores and that Fluttershy has to catch up on her animal patients since she went to the Crusaders’ Cute-ceañera yesterday.” “And mornings are usually the busiest time of the day at Sugarcube Corner,” Gilda added. “Pinkie was nice enough to cover for me so that I could be here.” “Oh, I didn’t mean to be rude and imply that they had to be here,” Rarity defended. “I know that they have their own responsibilities to deal with, and I would be a terrible friend to try and monopolize their time. It’s just a shame that we could not say one last farewell to each other.” Pinkie did say she would try to make it to say a quick goodbye,” Gilda informed. “But it’s kind of far from here to Sugarcube Corner, so I don’t think she’ll be making an appearance.” Suddenly, a pink blur rammed into Rainbow and Rarity, grabbing them and lifting them slightly into the air. “Bye, Rainbow! Bye, Rarity! I’m going to miss you two so, so, so much! Have fun in Canterlot, and make sure to bring me back a souvenir! Okay, bye!” As fast as it came, the pink blur was gone, leaving behind Rainbow and Rarity both sprawled on the floor, their eyes wide with shock after being viciously hugged. “I guess Pinkie made it,” Spike helpfully pointed out. Gilda sighed. “The thing that disturbs me the most is that I’m more surprised that she didn’t leave behind some pastries rather than how she just did all of… well, that.” The pink blur suddenly returned, circled around Gilda once, and then zipped away before anyone could react. “And don’t forget to give them their snack, Gilda!” Gilda looked down at the box of pastries that she was not holding a few seconds ago and then back to Rainbow and Rarity. With another sigh, she thrust the box into Rainbow’s hooves. “Here, Pinkie wanted me to give these to you.” “Uh, thanks, Gilda.” Rainbow stashed the pastries into one of her saddlebags. “And thank Pinkie for us the next time you see her.” “You’re welcome!” Pinkie’s voice echoed from somewhere. “I think she knows already,” Gilda flatly stated. “Yeah, I noticed…" Rainbow dryly replied. "Twilight, Spike, do you mind lending me a hoof to make sure I have everything?" Rarity requested. "No problem, Rarity," Twilight obliged with a smile. "Anything for you, Rarity," Spike fervently replied, rushing over to the white unicorn. With Rarity, Twilight, and Spike busy, Rainbow turned her attention to her other friends, starting with Gilda. "Anyway, thanks for coming to see me off, Gilda.” She started rubbing the back of her neck with an uneasy smile. “And sorry that I’m going away for a bit, especially since we haven’t spent too much time together since you got here.” Gilda scoffed. “Please… It’s not like you’re my only friend anymore. Pinkie’s cool, and she has been keeping me busy. I’m learning a ton of stuff from her, not to mention that she’s actually pretty fun to hang with, even with the freaky things that she does.” Gilda wrapped a foreleg around Rainbow’s neck and turned both of them toward Natalya’s direction . “Besides, you got your hands full with this girl here. She needs you more than me. You even went and made her tolerable to be around.” “Seriously?” Natalya uttered, quirking an eyebrow at the other griffon. Rainbow snorted. “Gilda’s just impressed with how much you have changed, Natalya.” She squirmed out from Gilda’s grasp and went over to pat Natalya’s side. “I am too.” Despite only giving a huff in response, Natalya felt a hint of pride at Rainbow’s praise. Rainbow then moved toward Scootaloo with a big smile. “And Scootaloo, thanks for being such a good sport about this. I promise that I’ll make it up to you when I get back.” “Don’t worry about it, Rainbow,” Scootaloo assured. “This is a golden opportunity for you, and I wouldn’t dream of letting you pass it up. I want you to just concentrate on the airshow and show the Wonderbolts what you’re made of.” Rainbow chuckled. “Yeah, I’ll do my best to wow everypony with my awesome bench sitting skills.” “There isn’t anyone else I know who’s better at sitting around and doing nothing,” Natalya quipped. “Hey, who knows?” said Gilda. “Maybe you’ll get lucky and one of the Wonderbolts will have to step out because of, I dunno, a sick mother.” “Yeah, like that’ll ever happen,” Rainbow dryly remarked. “Well, whatever happens, good luck out there, Rainbow,” Scootaloo stated. “Thanks, guys,” Rainbow said, smiling at the two griffons and filly around her. A loud whistle made everypony on the platform turn their heads to see the train finally approaching the station. When the train came to a stop and opened its doors, a few ponies exited the transport, but more ponies promptly came out of the waiting area building to replace the disembarked passengers. While Twilight and Spike helped Rarity load her luggage onto the train, Rainbow began saying her goodbyes. “You be good while I’m away, alright?” Rainbow said as she patted Scootaloo’s head. “Will do, Rainbow,” Scootaloo promptly replied. Rainbow turned her head toward the griffons. “And you two, you’re gonna behave while I’m away, right?” Natalya rolled her eyes. “You think we’re seriously going to get into trouble?” “Yeah, don’t you know who we are?” Gilda asked in a mock hurt voice. “So I should be saving up my bits to bail you guys out of jail when I get back?” Rainbow asked flatly. Natalya shrugged. “Well, you did say you always got my back…” “True…” Rainbow smirked. “Then again, that super-limited, deluxe Daring Do edition is coming out soon…” “So you’re choosing a book over your friends… Egghead!” Gilda chirped in a singsong voice. Despite being at her expense, Rainbow rolled her eyes and laughed along with the others. “Rainbow, darling, hurry up,” Rarity called from right inside the train’s doors. She was only carrying one small bag in her magic, the rest of her luggage presumably loaded onto the train. “We’re going to be leaving any moment now.” “Coming, Rarity!” Rainbow shouted back before giving Scootaloo a hasty hug and a hoof bump to each of the griffons. “Catch you guys later!” she bade as she dashed into the train. A few moments later, another whistle blared as the doors were closed and the train started moving. “Bye, guys!” Rainbow shouted as she and Rarity stuck their heads out of one of the train’s windows and waved with a forehoof. “We’ll see you all in a week!” The griffons and the ponies left on the platform responded with their own goodbyes and waves as the train chugged away from the station. It was not long before even the puffs of smoke from the train disappeared over the horizon. “Well, I should hurry on over to Sugarcube Corner and help Pinkie,” Gilda informed as she took to the sky. “See ya!” “Spike and I will be returning to the castle to finish up some princess paperwork,” Twilight informed while Spike climbed onto her back. “Are you two still going to do your flying lesson today?” she asked, looking at Natalya and Scootaloo. “We sure are!” Scootaloo enthusiastically replied. She turned to Natalya with wide, eager eyes, her wings buzzing with excitement. “When can we do it?” Natalya shrugged. “I don’t got anything else to do today. We could start now if you wanted to.” “Sure! I made sure I got the entire day free to spend with you! Today is Natalya Time!” Twilight giggled. “Remember to go easy on Natalya, Scootaloo. She still has to be careful with her wing.” “Don’t worry, Twilight, I will.” “Then have fun, you two.” Parting ways with Twilight and Spike, Natalya and Scootaloo headed straight to the park where Scootaloo usually did her flying lessons with Rainbow. On the way, Scootaloo talked about her plans for the Cutie Mark Crusaders; her joyful enthusiasm to help other ponies was infectious. Natalya found herself cracking a smile a few times, even when she realized she would have scoffed at the same topic if she had heard about it a few weeks ago. The others were right. She really had changed a lot. “Alright, like with Rainbow, you have to start with some warmups and stretches before you do anything,” Natalya directed when they arrived at the park and found an empty spot. “Got it!” Scootaloo swiftly began sliding her forehooves forward on the grass, stretching her body while she fully extended her wings. Not wanting to just stand around, Natalya joined Scootaloo in her exercises. While Natalya knew that she probably should still be taking it easy, there was no harm in doing some light stretches, minus the wing stuff, of course. She had to keep herself fit for when she could resume her own training. As they did their warm ups, Nataya kept a close eye on Scootaloo, gently nudging the filly into better positions when needed and even teaching a few of her own techniques to the filly. “So, just to remind you,” Natalya said when they finished warming up. “I’m not much of a teacher, so don’t get bummed out if your training today doesn’t go as well as if Rainbow was here.” Scootaloo shook her head and smiled. “That’s alright, Natalya. I already know that the chances of me suddenly flying today are pretty low. I’m happy to be able to spend some time with you.” “Oh, uh…” Natalya felt some heat flood her cheeks. “Right, um, thanks…” Clearing her throat, she suggested, “How about you do the stuff you usually do with Rainbow, and I’ll try to point out anything that you may be able to improve?” Scootaloo nodded and immediately began vigorously flapping her wings. Her face scrunched up in concentration while she slowly lifted herself into the air. She hardly made it past Natalya’s head before she fell back to the ground. “So, uh, that was… alright,” Natalya commented slowly. “But you’re moving your wings too fast. Remember what Rainbow said? Start off with bigger, slower motions.” “Right, got it.” Scootaloo got back up and started flapping her wings again. While they were still going at a rapid pace, they were noticeably slower than the previous attempt. However, it did not make much difference when Scootaloo dropped back to the ground a few seconds later. Natalya and Scootaloo’s time together soon fell into a pattern. Scootaloo would try to fly several times and failing before Natalya offered a suggestion to try and improve the next round of attempts. But just like Natalya observed in Scootaloo’s previous lessons with Rainbow, no matter how hard the filly was trying, she could not fly. Eventually, after countless attempts, Scootaloo found herself sprawled on the ground yet again. However, instead of getting right back up, she merely flopped over onto her back and stayed on the grass, her chest slowly rising up and down as she panted. “You alright, kid?” Natalya asked, walking closer to peer directly down at the filly. “Not giving up, are you?” Scootaloo lazily shook her head. “Nah, just need a breather. Could we take a break?” “Sure, that’s cool.” Natalya moved to sit on her haunches beside the resting filly. She remained silent, letting the filly rest, while she tried to think of something she could do to help. Natalya felt a bit guilty that practically all of her advice were only reiterations of Rainbow’s words that she overheard from Scootaloo’s previous lessons with the chromatic pegasus. “Hey, Natalya,” Scootaloo suddenly spoke, sitting up on her own haunches. “Are there any special griffon flying stuff that might be able to help me?” “Not sure. From what I’ve seen, griffon and pegasi pretty much go through the same type of training,” Natalya pointed out. “In fact, didn’t Gilda go to the same flying camp as Rainbow and Fluttershy?” “Yeah, they did.” Scootaloo sighed. “So guess I have to keep doing the same thing and hope something finally happens, huh?” Natalya let out a single, hollow laugh. “Pretty much how I feel with my Sonic Rainboom training. I’ve been doing the same routine for almost as long as I have been here in Ponyville. Rainbow tries her best to help, but it feels likes I’m going nowhere with it.” “Same with me learning how to fly.” Scootaloo sighed again. “It’s just taking so long, and although I’m not going to give up, it does get pretty rough sometimes. I wish there was some sort of special trick or training that I could do to speed things up.” “Well, being impatient can make things worse if you’re not careful.” Natalya pointed at her injured wing. “Take it from me, if you try to rush things without doing the necessary preparations, you’re only setting yourself up for a nasty fall… literally.” Natalya paused. “Wait, fall…” She tapped her chin in thought. “Actually, now that I think about it, there is one griffon method that may help you out. It’s specifically used for griffons that have trouble learning how to fly.” “Really?! That’s perfect for me!” Scootaloo swiftly got up on her hooves, rushing up to the griffon with eagerness clearly written in her eyes. “What is it?!” Natalya slowly turned her head left and right. “Know of any cliffs around here?” Scootaloo tilted her head. “Uh, cliffs? Why do we need a cliff?” “For the griffon training thing.” “Oh…” Scootaloo gulped. “Um, Natalya, what exactly are we going to do?” Natalya turned back to Scootaloo with a straight face. “Nothing complicated. I’m just going to push you off a cliff.” The color drained from Scootaloo’s face. “W-what?” “But I’m guessing there’s no good cliffs around here. Not to worry, we can use a cloud instead,” Natalya declared. “Then again, I’m grounded, and if you could get to a cloud yourself, it kind of defeats the purpose. Maybe we could ask some random pegasus to take you up there instead.” “Uh…” Scootaloo’s mouth hung wide open, and her eyes were bugging out, darting left and right as though desperately searching for an escape route. Natalya chuckled. “Relax, kid. I’m not going to be kicking you off any cliffs or clouds. Pretty sure that if I did, Rainbow would do the same to me, and that’s after she made sure my wings were broken.” Scootaloo let out a huge, slow breath. “Oh, thank Celestia… You really got me, Natalya. You were saying some crazy stuff. I should have figured you were making it all up.” “Who said I made it up?” Scootaloo blinked. “Wait, you’re serious? Griffons actually do that?!” “Like I said, it’s for helping griffons who are having trouble learning how to fly. Granted, it’s usually reserved as a last resort.” “But that’s so dangerous! How does that help?!” “Fear can be a powerful teacher. You’d be surprised what you can do once your body goes into fight-or-flight mode, or in this case, flight-or-splat.” “But what if a griffon doesn’t learn how to fly before, um, you know, the ground?” “Don’t worry. There would be someone watching to make a last moment save if needed… usually. Of course, you don’t tell the ones being dropped that.” “Oh, that’s good…” Scootaloo sighed with relief. “You were thinking that we let them hit the ground, didn’t you?” Natalya dryly accused. Scootaloo froze. “Uh…” She squirmed under Natalya’s scrutinizing gaze. With a gulp, she quietly confessed, “Um, the thought might have crossed my mind?” She then bowed her head and hastily muttered an apology. Natalya merely chuckled. “It’s alright. I haven’t exactly been putting griffons in a positive light, and I would be lying if I said every griffon who was dropped came out unscathed. Fortunately, nothing really serious ever happened.” “So what happens if a griffon doesn’t learn from being dropped?” “Then we do it again. Even though it’s usually not as effective as the first time, it’s still enough to get your adrenaline pumping. I know the whole idea sounds pretty crude, but it works. Most griffons who have trouble flying end up getting it within a couple of tries.” “Most griffons?” Natalya hesitated. “Well, every now and then, there’s a griffon that needs more work than the others.” She paused again, glancing away from the filly while her talons idly scraped the ground. “In fact… when I was a kid, there was one griffon I knew of in Griffonstone who was in a situation like yours.” “Really?” Scootaloo asked, staring at Natalya with rapt attention. Natalya nodded. “She was pretty much the last kid in her group that still could not fly, even after being dropped countless times. And yet, despite all of her failures, she didn’t give up. She stuck to her training, putting in more time and effort than anyone else. When other griffons needed to be literally kicked off clouds for the falling thing, she was charging off the edge herself. Eventually, it paid off. One day, things just clicked for her, and she finally was able to fly.” “Whoa, she sounds so cool!” Scootaloo gushed with starstruck eyes. “So did she do anything special to make her fly?” Natalya shook her head. “Like I said, just a lot of hard work and training. Even after she started flying, she kept on training and became one of the better fliers in town.” “So I’m guessing that you want me to be like that griffon and keep training? Because even if it doesn’t look good right now, things will somehow work out later on?” Natalya chuckled lightly. “Pretty much. You might be off to a bad start, but doesn’t mean you can’t pull ahead later on. Like that griffon, you have potential within you, just waiting to come out.” “You sure seem to know a lot about this griffon. Are you like friends with her or something?” “I wouldn’t say that. Let’s just say we know each other enough.” “Then maybe you can introduce me to her one day!” Scootaloo chirped. “Maybe she has some tips that could help me!” Natalya stiffened up for a moment. “Uh, I don’t know about that. She’s really busy, and even then, she doesn’t really like to talk with others. Sorry…” “Aww…” Scootaloo’s elated mood quickly deflated, her wings slowly folding back up as her ears drooped slightly. Natalya could only stare at the downtrodden filly for a few seconds before she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Well, I guess I could see if I could arrange something…” “Really?!” Scootaloo perked right back up with an eager grin. “Yeah, but remember, it’s not a guarantee that it will happen. Got it?” Scootaloo nodded and smiled. “Got it. Thanks, Natalya!” “Yeah, yeah…” Natalya got back on her feet. “So, ready to do some more training?” “Uh, one more thing, Natalya.” Scootaloo’s forehooves tapped nervously on the grass. “Maybe, um… Maybe we could try doing that dropping me thing sometime?” she requested quietly. One of Natalya’s eyebrows went up. “You do remember that I was kidding around with you, right? You don’t have to do that.” “Yeah, but if I really want to fly, I need to be willing to try anything, no matter how scary it is. It might be crazy, but if it works for griffons, then it could work for me. I have to at least try.” Natalya chuckled. “Alright, I guess we could give it a shot, even though I sort of ruined the surprise for you already. But like I said, it’s a last resort, and we still got a ways to go before we should even consider it. I’m sure that we’ll have to get Rainbow’s approval as well. Still, if you somehow still aren’t able to fly by the time that comes, I would be honored to kick you off a cloud.” Scootaloo made an amused snort. “That’s probably one of the weirder things a friend has said to me.” “Not much of a surprise, considering the weird friends we got.” Scootaloo giggled. “That’s true.” “Alright now, up and at em, kid,” Natalya ordered. “I let you have a long enough break, and there’s still plenty of daylight left. Who knows? Today might be your lucky day, but we’re not going to get anything done if we keep talking.” “Yes, ma’am!” Scootaloo saluted and then promptly resumed her training under Natalya’s watch. While Scootaloo might not fly today, or tomorrow, or even a few seasons down the line, Natalya was sure that one day, the filly will get her wish. Natalya even found herself hoping that she would be there when that day finally came.