Rainbooms On the Mind

by Kevinltk

Chapter 16: Downtime

Equestria shook.

A terrible quake rocked the land. Fissures and cracks splintered the streets of Ponyville, and houses came tumbling down. Even Twilight’s magical castle could not withstand the onslaught and toppled over into a pile of rubble. The land was torn asunder, and it seemed like the end of the world was nigh.

Or at least, that was Natalya thought when some sort of deafening noise jarred her awake.

Moaning softly, Natalya stirred as her senses registered a myriad of unpleasant ailments. She was sore all over, moreso on her right side, and her body felt like a lead weight when she tried to move. There was even an unpleasant taste in her mouth for some odd reason.

Slowly opening her eyes, Natalya saw that she was in a bed, but not one that she could recognize. In fact, she could not recognize the room she was in. The walls were blue-green with wooden paneling on the lower parts, while the ceiling was dark-green. The room was roughly the size of the one she was staying at back at the castle, except that she could only see half of it, due to a white-green curtain to her right that was hanging across the middle of the room. There was also something odd about the air, as though it had been scrubbed clean.

Natalya groaned as she tried to get up, only to stop when the blankets that had been covering her slipped off. Some sort of light-green gown covered most of her body, but she was able to see a few small bandages were placed on various parts of her. More importantly, her right foreleg was folded over her chest and put into a sling.

Seeing her injury jumpstarted her mind, and memories of recent events quickly came back to her. It did not take long for her to figure out that she must have been put into a hospital room after the nasty medicine put her to sleep.

Natalya sighed as she looked down at her sprained foreleg that was more or less confining her to the bed. She was never the type to just sit around and do nothing, and she was not looking forward to the impending inactivity. Still, that would probably only last a day or two. There was another part of her that she was more worried about.

Taking a deep breath, she moved to prop herself up. Despite her weary body making her sluggish and clumsy, she eventually was able to sit up and rest her back on the bed’s headrest, allowing her to get a clear look at her right wing.

Natalya's broken wing was fully extended and bound in so many bandages that she could only see the tips of her outermost primary feathers. Some careful testing revealed that she could still move her wing a bit as a whole, but beyond the joint connecting to her body, her wing was kept in the same rigid position by the bandages.

Another sigh escaped Natalya while she continued to inspect her wing and mourn her temporary flight disability. It was going to be a long week.

A booming noise suddenly rocked the room, making Natalya jump. Her eyes widened when she realized that the sound was the same one that had woken her up. Even more disturbing was the fact that the terrible sound came from inside her room.

Slowly, Natalya turned her head to the left, toward the source of the sound. Her breath hitched when she was met with a gruesome scene.

Rainbow was sitting in a plain, wooden chair in the corner, fast asleep. The lower half of her body was hanging over the edge of the chair while her head rested on the backrest. Since she was also slightly facing Natalya, it allowed the griffon to see that Rainbow’s tongue was lolling out as a strand of drool dangled from the side of her mouth.

A gruesome scene indeed.

Natalya found herself unable to do anything but stare at Rainbow’s undignified position. It was like watching a train wreck: a horrible sight to behold and yet something that she could not take her eyes off, no matter how hard she tried.

Rainbow suddenly unleashed a mighty snore, and Natalya finally discovered the mysterious sound that had been plaguing her.

“Well, you said that you would be there when I woke up,” Natalya murmured, smiling slightly at the comatose pegasus. “You didn’t say anything about you being awake… or making me sick to my stomach.” She figured that she should let Rainbow know that she was alright, not to mention having had her fill of the pegasus’s rather disgusting pose.

“Yo, Rainbow, wake up,” Natalya hailed.

Rainbow replied with a snort, remaining asleep, as the drool strand broke away from her and landed in a tiny puddle at the base of the chair.

Natalya snickered at the gross, but also amusing action. “Man, almost wish I had a camera for this.” She froze when a sudden flash went off behind her.

“Nailed it!” a distinctive, chilling voice shouted right afterwards.

Slowly, Natalya turned her head again, and her vision was flooded with pink.

“Hi, Natalya!” Pinkie chirped, her face inches away from Natalya’s.

Natalya slowly blinked. “Pinkie,” she greeted back in a deadpan fashion. Either she had finally gotten used to Pinkie’s antics, or she was too confused to yelp about how the pony had somehow got onto the bed without noticing. Both thoughts disturbed her deeply.

Logic dictated that Pinkie had probably just been hiding or had somehow snuck in, for whatever odd reason. Too bad logic could not explain how and why Pinkie was able to overhear Natalya’s mumbling and be ready with a camera in her hooves.

“How are you feeling?” Pinkie asked, still invading Natalya’s personal space.

“Crowded. Mind backing off?”

“Okie dokie!” Pinkie hopped off the bed, stuffing the camera into her mane before she landed. “I’ll be sure to give you Rainbow’s picture later.”

“Uh, right, thanks. So what are you doing here, Pinkie?”

“To see you, of course! You got hurt, so Gilda and I decided to come visit you after our shift at Sugarcube Corner was over.”

“And how did you know I was here?”

“Achy back, shaky knees, twisty tail.”

“What is that supposed to…” Natalya paused. “Oh right, your freaky Pinkie Sense.”

“Yep! Achy back, shaky knees, twisty tail means that Rainbow ended up in the hospital.”

“But I’m the one that got hurt.”

“But she still ended up in the hospital, right?” Pinkie pointed at the still-sleeping Rainbow in the corner.

Natalya opened her mouth to refute, only to close it a second later. With a sigh, she admitted, “Got me there. So where’s Gilda? You said that both of you came to visit.”

“She’s probably still on the way. She’s bringing a bunch of tasty treats from Sugarcube Corner. The ponies here in the hospital are super nice and helpful, but when it comes to their food, it’s just blech,” Pinkie remarked, sticking her tongue out in disgust at the end.

The door to the room opened, and Redheart trotted in, putting on a smile when she saw Natalya.

“Ah, you’re awake, Natalya,” Redheart greeted. “I thought I heard noise coming from your room.” Her attention shifted to the pony standing by the bed. “Pinkie, I didn’t even know you came in. When did you get here?”

“When Natalya wished that she had a camera to take a picture of Rainbow,” Pinkie promptly answered.

Redheart stared at Pinkie for a few seconds, then at the sleeping Rainbow for another moment, and finally looked to Natalya.

“What?” was all Redheart uttered.

Natalya shrugged.

Redheart shook her head. “You know what? Nevermind.” Moving over to the bed, she grabbed a clipboard that was hanging on the footrest of the bed. “So, Natalya, if you’re feeling well enough, could I ask you a few questions to check up on you?”

“Sure, shoot.”

“Any signs of fatigue?”

“N—”

“And please remember to be honest,” Redheart reminded softly, but sternly. “We only want to make sure you get the proper care, alright?”

Natalya blinked and then nodded. “Okay, I guess I’m still feeling kind of tired, even though I just woke up. How long was I out anyway?”

“A few hours. It’s late in the afternoon now. As for you feeling tired, that’s expected, given what you’ve been through.” Redheart paused to scribble some notes with a pencil attached to the clipboard by a string. “Okay, on a scale of one to ten, any pain?”

“Three, I think. A bit sore everywhere.”

“Also expected. As long as you don’t develop any severe pain, we have nothing to worry about.” Redheart made another note on the clipboard. “So besides feeling kind of tired and sore, do you have anything else bothering you, like coughing, chills, numbness, or any other abnormalities?”

Another loud snore from Rainbow made everyone turn their heads toward the pegasus.

“And that is one of the main reasons we try to give Rainbow her own room whenever she ends up here,” Redheart flatly informed.

“Does that count as an abnormality?” Natalya asked, pointing a talon at Rainbow.

“Of course, but let’s focus on things that actually can be fixed.”

“Then I got nothing.”

Redheart nodded and made one last note on the clipboard before hanging it back on the bed’s footrest. “So, Natalya, just to let you know, fatigue and soreness are normal. It means that your body is working hard on recovering, which also means that the medicine is working.”

“That thing better have worked. I still can taste that nasty stuff in my mouth.”

“Ooh, I can help with that!” Pinkie gleefully chirped before taking a cupcake from somewhere behind her and stuffing it into Natalya’s beak.

Natalya shot Pinkie a glare, but she ate the cupcake in silence as the sweet dessert made quick work of the lingering, unpleasant taste of the medicine.

“Pinkie, please refrain from shoving cupcakes or any other sort of food into patients’ mouths,” Redheart chastised.

“Aww, why not?” Pinkie asked with a disappointed frown.

“Because it’s an obvious choking hazard?”

“Really? I never had that problem before, and I eat cupcakes all the time.” Pinkie pulled out another cupcake and inhaled it without chewing even once.

“Well, you’re… unique. Just please be careful about what you shove into other pony’s mouths, preferably not doing it at all.”

“Okie dokie!”

The door to the room opened again, and Gilda walked in with a small box tucked under a wing. “Hey, Rainbow. Heard you ended up in here and…” She trailed off when she noticed who was in the hospital bed. “Natalya? Wait, you got hurt too?”

“Gee, thanks for the concern,” Natalya dryly replied.

“Er, sorry. I was just surprised. Pinkie just got one of her weird sense things and said Rainbow was in the hospital.”

“Well, she’s right there.” Natalya pointed at Rainbow in the corner.

“Uh, so what’s wrong with her?” Gilda asked, staring at the slumbering pony.

“Nothing,” Natalya informed.

Rainbow snored again.

“Well, nothing that’s supposed to be treated at the hospital.”

Gilda frowned slightly. “Pinkie, you made it sound like Rainbow got hurt.”

“All I said was that Rainbow ended up in the hospital.” Pinkie waved a hoof over Natalya. “See? Rainbow ended up here because she was with Natalya! Geeze, I had to explain the same thing to Natalya. You two really should pay attention more.”

Natalya and Gilda both groaned in response and facepalmed.

“Wait…” Gilda let her paw slip off her face and looked at Pinkie again. “Pinkie, why are you here already? I thought you were going leave Sugarcube Corner later to clean up the kitchen.”

“I did!” Pinkie answered, along with some happy bouncing. “Everything is spotless.”

“Uh huh…” Gilda stared at the pronking pink pony with a flat gaze. “So you managed to clean the entire kitchen and beat me here?”

“I took a shortcut.”

“That doesn’t…” Gilda sighed. “Never mind…” Shifting her gaze to Natalya, she asked, “So what happened to you? You doing alright?”

“Rainbow and I tried something new for my Sonic Rainboom training.” Natalya answered. “Ended up busting my wing and right foreleg.”

“That sucks. How long are you going to be out?”

“The doc said my leg should only take a day or two to get better. As for my wing… About a week…”

“Ouch. A week without flying? That must be killing you.”

“What?!” Pinkie cried out, her face suddenly in Gilda’s as her forehooves shook the wide-eyed griffon’s shoulders. “You mean Natalya is going to die because she can’t fly?!”

“Pinkie! Get off me!” Gilda yelled, trying to pry the panicking pink pony off of her but failing. “I didn’t mean it literally! She’s just unhappy that she can’t fly!”

Pinkie blinked. “Oh.” She backed away from Gilda and grinned sheepishly. “My mistake.”

Gilda glowered at Pinkie before taking the box from her wing, which had miraculously remained intact the tussle with Pinkie, and placing it on a nearby table. “Well, here’s a couple of snacks from Sugarcube Corner, Natalya. Just, uh, ignore the fact that most of the stuff here are Rainbow’s favorites because I thought, well, you know…”

“It’s cool. Food is food,” Natalya remarked.

Redheart cleared her throat, grabbing everyone’s attention. “If you don’t mind, I need to review with Natalya about what we did while she was asleep, as well as explain how the rest of her treatment will go.”

“Wait!” Pinkie hollered. “I bet Rainbow would want to hear this. We should wake her up.”

“Very well. May I be the one to wake her up then?”

“You’re going to do another revenge thing, aren’t you?” Natalya half-asked, half-stated.

“Perhaps,” Redheart replied with an innocent smile.

“Then sure. Go for it.”

“Wait, revenge thing?” Gilda queried as Redheart trotted over to a cupboard at the side of the room.

“Long story short: Rainbow pranked Redheart,” Natalya informed.

“Ah.” Gilda nodded in understanding.

Redheart pulled out a pillow from the cupboard with her mouth and then merrily trotted moved over to Rainbow. Standing up on her hind legs in front of Rainbow, Redheart grabbed the pillow with her forelegs and raised it.

“Wait,” Gilda uttered. “Are you seriously—”

With a mighty roar, Redheart quickly twisted her body and swung back around, smacking Rainbow right in the face with the pillow, knocking the pegasus to the floor with a surprised grunt.

“Boom! Right in the kisser!” Pinkie declared before falling to the floor in giggles.

“Oh Celestia, I have been waiting for so long for a chance to do that,” Redheart stated as she released a sigh of contentment.

“But don’t you have plenty of opportunities to do stuff like this when Rainbow has to be treated?” Natalya asked.

“Well, I do try to be professional when that happens,” Redheart replied, dropping the pillow on the groaning Rainbow that was sluggishly writhing on the floor. “While Rainbow might not be my favorite patient, I am not going to endanger her health just for some petty revenge. With that said, I have no qualms with giving her special attention since she is here and not as a patient, for once.”

“Guess I don’t have to worry about getting the same treatment as Rainbow then, huh?”

“Not at all, so long as you don’t pull any pranks on me.” Redheart smiled coyly. “Although, if you want to be sure, you could maybe save me a Sugarcube Corner pastry or two for later.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Natalya promised with a hint of amusement in her voice. Redheart had spunk, and she liked it.

“Ugh, what the hay, Redheart?!” Rainbow spat in a raised voice as she stood up to glare at the nurse.

“You’ve slept through all the noise that has been going on here, so I figured that a more physical approach was needed,” Redheart informed.

“Couldn’t you have at least poke me or even shake me first?”

“Must’ve slipped my mind,” Redheart confessed with faux innocence. “Anyway, I’m about to talk about Natalya’s treatment. Did you want to be awake for that or not?”

Rainbow shot Redheart one more glare before stomping over to Natalya’s bedside.

“Alright then, if there’s no further interruptions…” Redheart paused and looked over everyone else in the room. Receiving only silence in response, she continued, “So, Natalya, while you were asleep, we placed your foreleg in a brace to reduce any chance of straining it further. Like Doctor Horse told you, it should only take a day or two for it to recover. As for your wing, we put it in a splint to make sure your bones mend properly and that should take around a week before it’s better. There were also a number of scratches, bruises, and cuts, but they’re all minor things that are inconsequential and were easily treated.”

“I’m guessing you’re going to keep me here the entire week,” Natalya uttered softly. It was still difficult to hear that she was going to be bed-ridden, so hearing it again from Redheart put a lump in her throat.

“That depends. Your foreleg won’t take as long to heal. While you’re here, we’ll be keeping an eye on you, as well as performing a daily scan. If everything is going alright by the time your foreleg gets better, we can discuss the possibility of allowing you to go home, or rather back to the Castle of Friendship. Keep in mind that if we do let you leave, you’ll still have to come back for daily checkups until your wing is fixed.”

“Fine with me. Better than being stuck here all week.”

“Figured that you would say something like that. So, does anypony have any questions before I leave?” Seeing no one taking up on her offer, Redheart nodded and trotted toward the door. “Then I’ll leave you girls alone. Just make sure you keep the noise levels down, alright?”

After Redheart left, Rainbow turned to her friend. “So, how you doing, Natalya?”

“Alright, I guess.” Natalya looked down at her braced right foreleg. “Still bummed out I have to go through all of this though. I’m not looking forward to how bored I’m going to be stuck in this bed, even if it is only for a day or two.”

“Oh, I know the perfect thing for that! I’ll be right back!” Rainbow declared before she dashed out of the room.

“I could throw you a party if you’re bored,” Pinkie offered.

“Uh, Pinkie, I don’t think Redheart would want that,” Gilda warned. “She doesn’t want us to be too noisy.”

“Aww, but this would’ve been the perfect place for a party. We could’ve played gurney racing!”

“Yeah, I definitely think that Redheart would not like that.”

“Really? I thought Redheart and the other nurses didn’t mind the last time. They even joined in on the fun by playing tag with me and then carrying me outside.”

Gilda faceplamed.

“Yeah, as interesting as that sounds, I’m gonna pass,” Natalya stated. “I don’t think a party in my condition is a good idea.”

“Then how about I promise to throw you one after you get out?” Pinkie asked with a wide grin.

“Look, Pinkie, I’m just not into par—”

“Don’t try to fight it, Natalya,” Gilda interrupted. “A party is going to happen, whether you want it or not, which is not exactly a bad thing. Pinkie’s parties can be pretty cool once you get used to them.”

Natalya paused and then looked back at Pinkie, who was nodding fervently. With another sigh, she conceded, “Fine, but I’m not ready for any big shindig. Just keep it small, like the three of us and Rainbow. Maybe a few other close friends, if we really have to.”

Pinkie brought her forehoof to her head in a salute. “Aye aye!”

“They still have it!” Rainbow almost-shouted as she flew back into the room and brought a book to Natalya’s face. “You’re definitely not going to be bored when you get a look at this, Natalya!”

“Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone?” Natalya read the title of the book out loud. On the cover was a light-gold pegasus mare with a mane of various shades of gray. She was wearing a pith hat and a green field shirt while she swung on a vine over a pool of alligators.

“Wait, you read, Rainbow?” Gilda asked with wide eyes as she pointed at Rainbow’s book with a talon. “For fun?”

Rainbow flinched and slowly turned to Gilda. “Er, yes?”

Gilda stared at Rainbow. At first, her face showed no emotion, but it was soon broken when her mouth twitched upwards as a snicker escaped her.

Rainbow groaned. “Yeah, yeah, I read books now. Go ahead and let it out, Gilda…”

“Nah. it’s—snrk—cool,” Gilda replied, her grin growing wider. “I’m, uh, I’m just going to step outside for a sec.” She calmly exited the room, slowly closing the door behind her.

Rainbow sighed. “Wait for it…”

“BAHAHAHA! I can’t believe it! Rainbow is an egghead now!” Gilda’s voice boomed as soon as the door clicked shut.

“Just to let you know, I would be joining her if I wasn’t stuck in this bed,” Natalya said to an unamused Rainbow.

“You do know that this book is also good for smacking griffons, right?” Rainbow retorted, hefting the book up in her hooves.

Natalya, Rainbow, and Pinkie all waited as Gilda’s laughs continued, the hospital walls doing nothing in drowning out her cacophonic laughter. A few minutes passed before Gilda finally settled down, and shortly afterwards, she reentered the room with a broad grin.

“Sounded like you had a lot of fun,” Pinkie remarked.

“You have no idea, Pinkie,” Gilda replied.

“You done?” Rainbow asked flatly.

“Sure am…” Gilda snickered one last time. “Egghead.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes and grumbled.

“But really, Rainbow, if you like reading now, that’s cool. Just keep in mind that I’m going to josh you about this for a long time.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Rainbow, letting out a snort before raising the book up triumphantly. “But seriously, you guys, this book is about Daring Do! She’s an awesome pegasus explorer who goes to all sorts of cool places, find magical artifacts in old temples, gets out of all sorts of dangerous traps, and fights bad guys!”

“So?” Natalya asked.

“So?! Dude, Daring Do is the best! She’s athletic, cool, brave, adventurous, and strong.” Rainbow grinned. “Kind of reminds you of somepony, right?”

Natalya and Gilda briefly exchanged glances before shaking their heads.

“Nope.”

“No.”

“Nobody I can recall.”

“Definitely not anyone I know.”

“Oh, oh, wait! I know!” Pinkie hopped up and down excitedly. “It’s, uh, it’s…” She stopped hopping, and her face scrunched up in thought. “Uh, I got this. It’s, um, uh, Applejack?”

“Applejack?! Really?! I’m ten times more everything than her!” Rainbow cried out and pouted. “Ugh, you guys suck.”

“So, Rainbow, you expect me to read? Hate to break it to you, but that’s not my sort of thing,” Natalya informed. “Plus, it’s kind of hard to hold a book when I’m down a foreleg.”

“Just give it a shot. I’ll even read it out loud for you.” Rainbow rushed over to her sleeping chair and pushed it by Natalya’s bed. “I’ll guarantee that you’ll love it before the first chapter is over!”

“And that’s my signal to leave,” Gilda stated. “I’m pretty beat, and I don’t feel like staying around and becoming a nerd like Rainbow.”

“Hey! Daring Do is not nerdy stuff! It’s awesome stuff!”

Gilda snickered. “Sure, whatever helps you sleep at night.”

“I should probably go back to Sugarcube Corner as well. The Cakes usually want me to watch the foals for a bit so that they can take a break,” Pinkie added.

“Well, thanks for coming, you two,” said Rainbow, while Natalya just nodded at Pinkie and Gilda.

“Bye, guys! I’ll be sure to throw you that party when you get better, Natalya!” Pinkie promised as she pronked out the door.

“I’ll let Twilight and Spike know what’s going on when I get back to the castle,” Gilda remarked, along with a lazy wave as she headed toward the door. “See ya.”

When Pinkie and Gilda were gone, Rainbow plopped on the chair with a huge grin, her hooves holding up the book. “So ready for some Daring Do?”

“No, but I’m guessing that you’re going to read it to me regardless,” Natalya replied.

“You got that right.”

Natalya quietly groaned and lay back in her bed. “Fine… It’s not like I can get away.”

“That’s the spirit!” Rainbow opened up the book and cleared her throat before she began reading.

“As Daring Do trekked through the tropical jungle…”

To Natalya’s surprise, the story almost leapt right into the action when Daring Do went up against a pack of predators in the jungle after only a few sentences. Despite her earlier misgivings, Natalya ended up sitting quietly through Rainbow’s reading. After a dozen or so pages, she had to admit that the book was holding her interest, even when Rainbow paused to give the occasional squeal of delight whenever Daring Do did something awesome.

A knock on the door some time later stopped Rainbow’s reading as she exchanged glances with Natalya. “Maybe Twilight and Spike came to visit after Gilda told them,” Rainbow guessed as she set the book on the bed and trotted over to the door.

“Hey, Rainbow!” Scootaloo greeted as soon as the door was opened.

“Scootaloo? What are you doing here?”

“I was at the castle with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. We were asking Twilight for some books for a homework assignment when Gilda came back and told us what happened to Natalya. Is it alright for me to see her and wish her well and all that stuff?”

“Of course you can! Right, Natalya?” Rainbow asked, even though she was already ushering the filly in.

“Yeah, it’s cool.” Natalya smiled faintly as Scootaloo hurried into the room and climbed up onto the bed, sitting down at the foot of it.

“Hey,” Scootaloo said.

“Hey,” Natalya greeted back. “You got here pretty quick. Gilda left not too long ago.”

“I came rushing over as soon as I got the news.” Scootaloo glanced away and rubbed her foreleg. “I, uh, I just got kind of worried and really wanted to check up on you.”

“Well, as you can see, I’m doing alright… relatively speaking. Having a sprained foreleg and a broken wing is a real downer, but it’s not like I’m in any danger. At least, Rainbow has been sticking around to keep me company, even if she is trying to turn me into an egghead with her book.”

“Daring Do?”

Natalya nodded.

“Yeah, I was kind of surprised too when I found out that Rainbow liked to read, but after I gave it a try, all I can say is that Daring Do is so cool! She’s almost as awesome as you and Rainbow!”

“Thank you!” Rainbow cried out. “See? Scootaloo gets it!”

Natalya rolled her eyes. “So, anyway, how was school today, Scootaloo? In particular, did Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon give you trouble again?”

Scootaloo shook her head. “Nope. They didn’t even say a single word to me or my friends.”

“That’s good.” Natalya looked down at her braced foreleg and then her injured wing. “As you can see, it might be a bit tough for me to confront those two if they step out of line again.”

“Don’t worry about it. It’s almost time for student elections anyway, so Diamond is busy getting ready for that. Besides…” Scootaloo sat up and flexed her forelegs. “I’m a tough pony like you and Rainbow. I can handle those two.”

Natalya chuckled softly. “Alright then, but if they do happen to start bothering you again, let me know. I’ll find a way to teach them a lesson, even if I have to run them down in a wheelchair.”

“Oh man, I would so love to see that.” Scootaloo giggled for a bit before returning to a soft smile. “But really, Natalya, don’t worry about it. I really appreciate you looking out for me, but right now, what’s more important is you concentrating on getting better.”

Natalya’s grin grew a little wider. “Alright, if you say you got a handle on things, then I suppose I can just take it easy. Good thing too, since a sprained foreleg and a broken wing is not exactly something I can walk off, and it’s going to take some time for me to get back in the air.”

“It’ll be alright. You’re a cool, tough griffon. You’ll be up and about in no time. And besides, this sort of thing happens to Rainbow a bunch and look how awesome she still is.”

“Really? You too, squirt?” Rainbow asked in mock indignation before she ruffled Scootaloo’s mane with a smirk. “It’s like everypony wants to talk about my crashes today.”

“I’m certainly not complaining,” Natalya quipped.

“Oh, of course you wouldn’t.”

Natalya smirked and then turned her attention back to Scootaloo. “Thanks for coming, kid. I’m feeling better because of your visit.”

“Well, you gave me all sorts of encouragement, not to mention getting Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon off my back. It’s my turn to do a little something for you.”

Rainbow placed a hoof on Scootaloo’s shoulder. “That’s really cool of you, Scoots. Unfortunately, I think you should probably head home now.”

“What? Why?”

“Sorry, Scootaloo. I know you want to stay and keep Natalya company, but it’s getting late.”

“Aww, do I really have to go?”

“I’m glad that you want to stick by your friend, but you also can’t stay out too late because it’s a school night. You can visit Natalya again tomorrow.”

“Yeah, I’m not going anywhere,” Natalya pointed out. She managed to shake her injured foreleg a bit. “Seriously, I’m going to be stuck here for another day or so.”

“Then I’ll be here right after school tomorrow,” Scootaloo proclaimed.

“Sounds good, squirt,” Rainbow agreed. “So, need me to fly you home?”

Scootaloo shook her head. “I’m fine. You stay here and keep Natalya company.”

“You sure?”

Scootaloo nodded. “Yeah. I think Natalya could use you around more than me right now.”

Rainbow chuckled and ruffled the filly’s mane again. “You’re a good kid, Scootaloo. See you tomorrow then.”

“See ya, kid.” Natalya waved goodbye with her free arm and smiled.

Once Scootaloo left, Rainbow sat back down on the chair and opened up the book again. “So, ready to get back to the awesomeness that is Daring Do?”

Natalya rolled her eyes and lazily waved her free arm, signaling Rainbow to go ahead.

Rainbow promptly resumed reading, but Natalya only listened through a few sentences before she let her mind wander, her gaze staring at the wall opposite of her.

“Yo, Natalya,” Rainbow called a few moments later as her hoof suddenly waved up and down right in front of Natalya’s face. “You’re not even paying attention and missing prime Daring Do material here.” She sat back down on the chair and looked at the griffon with concern. “You alright?”

“Yeah, I was just thinking.”

“About what?”

“Just about stuff that happened today.”

“Still bummed out that you’re grounded?”

“No, well, yes, but not exactly what I was concentrating on. Just thinking about why Gilda, Pinkie, and Scootaloo all visited.”

Rainbow cocked her head. “What’s weird about that? They heard you got hurt and wanted to visit you to show that they cared about you.”

“Technically, Gilda and Pinkie came because they thought you were the one who got hurt.”

Rainbow shrugged. “Okay, maybe they did, but that was only because Pinkie’s Pinkie Sense was a bit off. You saw how they were all concerned about you. I’m sure they would’ve come if they knew it was you that got hurt as well. And what about Scootaloo? She heard what happened, and she came rushing right over. Is it really that weird to have friends visit you in the hospital?”

“Kind of, yes.”

“What? Why?”

“I’m just a bit surprised that they want to spend time with me when I’m like…” Natalya waved her arm over her injured limbs. “This…”

“Well, for your information, friends stick by your side through the good times and the bad. In fact, when the bad times come rolling around, that’s when you need friends the most so that they can help you out.”

“Heh, yeah. Gotta admit, without you sticking around, I probably would’ve been in a bunch of trouble.” Natalya sighed. “I guess I’m still getting used to this whole friendship deal. Things are just so different here than in Griffonstone. If something like this happened to me over there, griffons either don’t care or find a way to use my weakness to their advantage.”

“That’s never gonna happen here, and if somepony is lame enough to actually try that…” Rainbow put the book down and flew up into the air to perform a bit of shadowboxing with her forehooves. “Just lemme at em, and I’ll teach them a thing or two.”

Natalya snorted in amusement. “Yeah, I’m sure everypony is quaking in fear,” she dryly quipped.

“I’m serious, Natalya. If somepony messes with you, I’ll kick their flanks.”

“I know you would.” Natalya smiled. “Thanks, Rainbow.”

“No problem, Natalya.”

“And… Well…” Natalya paused for a few moments. “I guess I should also thank you for the other stuff today. Trying to warn me that I was biting off more than I can chew, helping me to the hospital, keeping me company, you know, all that looking out for me stuff.” She paused for a breath. “So, yeah, thanks, Rainbow. I’m glad to have you around.”

“Whoa, a genuine thanks from the great Natalya.” Rainbow gasped, bringing her forehooves to her face in mock shock. “I cannot believe it. I’m so honored! I should check with the doctor and make sure it’s not just a side effect from the meds.”

Natalya rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, gloat all you want. Just don’t expect me to do something like that again for a long, long time.”

Rainbow chuckled. “Sure thing. And for the record, I’m glad to have you around too. Hey, if you want, I can even ask to stay the night with you.”

Natalya snorted in amusement. “Okay, I know I just fessed up a bunch of feelsy stuff, but I’m not getting that soft. It’s not like I need you around all the time. There’s only so much Rainbow I can take.”

“Because I’m too awesome?” Rainbow asked as she wagged her eyebrows.

“More like too annoying.”

“Well, regardless, there’s plenty of time left before your bedtime, soooo…” Rainbow opened up the book again and grinned eagerly at Natalya. “Ready for more Daring Do?”

Natalya let out a huge, exaggerated sigh. “I suppose…”

Rainbow immediately continued reading the story out loud.

Natalya sat back, a faint smile on her face as she enjoyed both the story and Rainbow’s presence.

Maybe this week isn’t going to be as bad as I thought.

Comments

[Crimson Dawn]

Of course Pinkie has a Pinkie sense of Dash being in an hospital heck she already has a sense for "a beautiful rainbow" (which I always choose to be the explanation for how Pinkie can always find Dash ).

Don't worry Dash knowing Pinkie she probably thinks you are more awesome than Daring Do.

[Booster Spice]

Paging Dr. Murphy. Paging Dr. Murphy. Happy patient in room 101.

[zalla661]

Maybe this week isn’t going to be as bad as I thought .

Shouldn’t have said anything Natalya. . .

[Kevinltk]

8463426
8462992
The girl broke her wing and sprained a leg. Give her a break. :P

[Launch Angle 72]

I can never get enough of this story. Thanks for the hard work.

[Backlash91]

And they wake up in the same hospital bed the next morning. XD

[Lancerlot]

“Well, regardless, there’s plenty of time left before your bedtime, soooo…” Rainbow opened up the book again and grinned eagerly at Natalya. “Ready for more Daring Do?”
Natalya let out a huge, exaggerated sigh. “I suppose…”
Rainbow immediately continued reading the story out loud.

Yep. This is friendship.
And friendship is magic.

[Emperor]

At least if Natalya is exposed to Daring Do now, maybe she'll know who that mysterious mare trying to get the Idol of Boreas out of the Abysmal Abyss is later on

It's also a good thing Natalya didn't piss Filthy Rich off too much (and that she had Twi there to mediate). Otherwise, now would be a perfect time for the pony police to apprehend her, given that she's literally grounded and in a sick bed

Perhaps she'll have the time to figure out something to learn in Ponyville to help revitalise Griffonstone, the way Gilda is with her cooking.

[HeartfireFirebrand]

9159237
You mean the Royal Guard, they can't fight their way out of a wet paper bag.