Rainbooms On the Mind

by Kevinltk

Chapter 28: Visitors

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 what it used to sound like until Natalya had gotten more familiar with Rainbow’s deafening snores.

Roused awake by the noisy slumber of her best friend, Natalya yawned softly and slowly opened her eyes. Though the place was dim due to the lights being off, there was some sunlight filtering in through the nearby curtained window, allowing her to see that she was in the hospital room that Rainbow was recovering in. Glancing at the wall clock told her that it was pretty early in the morning, around the time that she usually woke up to get in some exercise before she started the day.

Another loud snore made Natalya turn her head to see Rainbow snoozing away in her hospital bed, reminding her that she ought to check on the injured pegasus.

After getting out of bed, Natalya stretched her limbs and slowly rocked her head side to side, having to spend a few extra moments to work out the kinks in her body. While it was convenient that the hospital provided a portable bed for her to sleep on, it was not exactly the comfiest, especially since she was getting used to the one back in her room at Twilight’s castle. Nonetheless, it was her choice to spend the night, and a little discomfort was well worth the opportunity to keep Rainbow company.

Quietly walking over to Rainbow’s bedside, Natalya looked over the pegasus’s body, her gaze lingering on the bandages covering the mare, especially the ones wrapped around the broken wing. Memories of yesterday’s race still lingered in her mind, and she still felt some guilt that she did not keep a better eye on Rainbow during the race. However, what was done was done, and she shoved the harrowing thoughts into the back of her mind. She was here to help Rainbow recover, and she could not do that if she wallowed in the past.

Hearing the room’s door, Natalya swiftly turned to see Gilda quietly peek her head through the slightly ajar door.

Gilda first observed the sleeping Rainbow for a moment before she switched her attention to Natalya and mouthed the question ‘How is she?’

Natalya nodded as she went over to the door, and the two griffons went out to the hallway.

“She’s doing alright,” Natalya explained after closing the door behind her. “Some of her injuries were acting up last night, but it didn’t seem too bad. They quickly went away when Redheart gave her some painkillers. Other than that, nothing really happened.”

“Well, at least it sounds like it’s nothing serious,” Gilda replied. “How about you? How are you holding up?”

“I’m doing fine.”

The sound of Rainbow’s snores came once again, the closed door doing little to muffle the blaring noise.

“Well, fine for the most part,” Natalya added with a sigh. “Fortunately, she doesn’t do this much, and it only started a few minutes ago.”

Gilda snickered. “Better you than me. So, what did you two do to pass the time?”

“Things are a bit boring here, but at least Rainbow and I got some Daring Do books from the hospital book cart to help pass the time.”

“I still find it hard that you of all griffons are now reading for fun,” Gilda teased, making Natalya roll her eyes.

“Yeah, yeah… Not like there’s a lot of stuff to do with Rainbow stuck in bed.”

“Fair enough. So you guys just read books all night? Nothing else?”

“Uh, I guess that we spent a bit of time talking about random stuff too.” Natalya’s eyebrow rose up. “What? Were you expecting something else?”

Gilda shrugged. “I dunno. Rarity said that you and Rainbow would be bonding.”

“Seriously? Bonding? What exactly did she mean by that?”

Gilda shrugged again. “Her words not mine. It’s also why she insisted that we all let you stay the night alone with Rainbow when you offered. She’s been acting all weird since the two of you mentioned that you were girlfriends. I mean, we’re all happy for you two and all, but she’s kind of taking it to a creepy level.”

Natalya snorted in amusement. “Rainbow did say that Rarity was really into the whole romance thing. She’s probably trying to push us to get more lovey-dovey or something like that. Don’t forget that Rainbow and I aren’t exactly girlfriends. We’re just aware that we’re interested in each other, and we’re taking our time to see where things go, especially since Rainbow’s stuck here.”

“I get it, and I’m cool with whatever makes you two happy. Gotta admit though, I think that it would be pretty sweet if you two really did get together.”

“Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind.” Natalya looked over the other griffon and felt a twinge of disappointment when she saw that Gilda came empty-handed.

“Looking for something?” Gilda asked, noticing Natalya’s searching gaze.

“Was hoping you brought some stuff to eat,” Natalya grumbled. “Food here sucks. Whatever. Just pick some stuff up from Sugarcube Corner for me and Rainbow when you can.”

“Don’t worry. I got you.” Gilda slightly raised her right wing, revealing a pink box that has become a familiar sight during their stay in Ponyville. She chuckled when she noticed Natalya’s eyes immediately locking on to the container.

“You’re not pulling my leg, right?” Natalya asked.

“It’s legit leftovers from Sugarcube Corner,” Gilda remarked, handing the container to Natalya. “I remembered how much you were complaining about the hospital food when you were forced to stay here, and I figure that Rainbow is the same.”

“Was starting to wonder what Rainbow and I were gonna do for breakfast,” Natalya said after accepting the boxed treats. “Glad that you solved that problem.”

“I’m glad to just be the food delivery griffon to you,” Gilda commented dryly. “Anyway, I probably should get going now. I just wanted to come check on you two before I head over to Sugarcube Corner.”

‘Sure, see you then, and don’t forget to bring more stuff later.”

Gilda rolled her eyes and turned. However, she stopped a few steps down the hallway and looked back. “Hey, Natalya? I want to say thanks.”

“Thanks? For what?”

“For saving Rainbow.”

“Uh, you’re welcome?” Natalya tilted her head in confusion. “Not sure why you’re thanking me though. I mean, it’s not like I was going to sit back and do nothing.”

“I know, it’s just…” Gilda sighed. “Look, I didn’t know it back then, but Rainbow really left her mark on me when we went to Junior Speedsters together. It was the first time I really felt a connection with someone, which you know is pretty unheard of for us Griffonstone griffons. Even after years apart, I still thought of her, which eventually got me to come here to Ponyville to visit her. You know how things go from there, so we’ll skip that part.

“What I’m trying to say is that Rainbow got the ball rolling for all of this friendship business. As cheesy as it is, you and I both know that we’re much better off with it in our lives. I can’t imagine how screwed up I would be if it weren’t for her. She’s my first friend and also special to me, so yeah, I care for her a lot, just like you obviously do.”

Natalya nodded. “Yeah, no denying it here. Rainbow really did change our lives. I can’t thank her enough for all that she had done for me.”

“Same here,” Gilda agreed. “Anyway, yeah, enough with the sappy stuff. I really do need to go if I don’t want to be late. Pinkie and I will drop by later after we close shop. And yes, we’ll be sure to bring more things for you to stuff your fat face.”

“You better not forget. See ya, Gilda,” Natalya bade and then headed back into the room.

Eager to dig into the pastries, she quickly made her way over to one of the hospital’s moveable tables and placed the treasured box down. However, right when she was about to open the container and go on a sugar binge, she heard Rainbow moan softly and started moving, prompting her to move to the bed to see the pegasus slowly open her eyes.

“Hey,” Rainbow said in a soft and weary tone.

“Hey,” Natalya greeted right back. “Did I wake you up?”

“It’s cool. I heard you talking out there earlier. Was that Gilda?”

“Yeah, she wanted to see how we’re doing before she went to work at Sugarcube Corner. She also dropped off some leftover pastries. You hungry?”

“Starving. The food here sucks.”

“Don’t I know it,” Natalya said with a chuckle. “Alright, let me help you up really quick so that you can eat.”

Natalya went over to a nearby cupboard and grabbed some spare pillows from inside it. Coming back to Rainbow’s right side, she slipped a hand behind the pegasus’s back and gently raised her up. Despite her caution, Natalya frowned in concern when she heard Rainbow hiss in pain, and she swiftly placed the extra pillows at the head of the bed so that Rainbow could lie back into a sitting position.

“You alright?” Natalya promptly asked. “Want me to ask Redheart for some painkillers?”

“Nah, I’m fine. Just kind of stiff from getting up.”

“If you say so,” Natalya mumbled, unconvinced. Regardless of her doubts, she went ahead to pick up and open Gilda’s delivery, revealing an assortment of half a dozen pastries, all unique and looking mouthwatering delicious. She flipped the box around to present the treats to Rainbow, letting her friend have first pick.

Rainbow slowly leaned forward to look at the baked goods, but despite not making anymore pained noises, Natalya could see the winces the pegasus was trying to suppress. She debated on asking how Rainbow was doing again, but she decided to at least wait until they had eaten first. She remained silent while Rainbow picked out a chocolate-glazed donut with her forehooves and then sat back onto the pillows.

Natalya placed the box back on the table and chose an apple strudel for herself. Biting into the pastry, sweetness flooded her taste buds, and she realized how hungry she actually was. With everything that had happened yesterday, she hardly had the time or will to eat much, and now her stomach was demanding her to make up for it. Before she knew it, the rest of the strudel was wolfed down in a matter of moments, and she promptly picked out a second pastry to make up for the skipped meals. Half of a muffin was demolished by her ravenous hunger, and she would have easily finished off the other half if it were not for a glance over at Rainbow that made her pause.

Rainbow had only taken a small bite out of her donut, and the reason why quickly became obvious. Staring at her friend, Natalya watched as Rainbow sluggishly moved the donut up to her mouth with her hooves to take another pitiful bite, the movements causing winces of pain to form on the pegasus’s face.

“Seriously, dude. Are you okay?” Natalya asked, putting her half-eaten muffin down on a napkin to rush to Rainbow’s side.

“I’m alright, Natalya. Don’t worry,” Rainbow protested. “Like I said, I’m just stiff from sleeping so much.”

“I would believe you if you weren’t going through the same thing last night. You know that the painkillers the docs gave you while you were being treated were wearing off, and now it looks like the dose that Redheart gave you is wearing off. Come on, Rainbow. I just want to help, and I’m not going to stop bugging you until you let me.”

Rainbow sighed in defeat. “Okay, I’ll admit that it does hurt a bit when I move, but really, it’s not that much. It’s actually better than yesterday.”

“Still, if you're having this much trouble just to eat, you need some more painkillers. I’m going to go get Redheart.”

“Ugh, fine. At least let me finish eating first. Need to get some sugar in me before I can take those nasty pills again.”

“Fine by me.” Natalya quickly reached forward and plucked Rainbow’s donut right out of the pegasus’s hooves.

“Hey!” Rainbow cried out indignantly.

“I said that I was going to help you and that’s what I’m going to do,” Natalya explained as she brought the donut close to Rainbow’s mouth.

“Seriously? You’re going to feed me?” Rainbow protested. “I’m not a foal, Natalya.”

“You said it yourself. It’s a literal pain for you to move. You need the rest, so shut up and eat.”

“It’s not that bad, Natalya!” Rainbow protested with a pout. “I can eat fine by myself.”

“No, you can’t! You need help, so open your mouth, or I’ll do it for you!” Natalya growled. She shoved the doughnut against Rainbow’s mouth, but the pegasus stubbornly refused to open up. Another shove smeared some chocolate onto the hair around Rainbow’s lips as the pegasus refused to budge, making Natalya groan in frustration and bury her face in her free hand.

Realizing that she was going about this the wrong way, Natalya took a deep breath, and said in a calm tone, “Look, Rainbow, I’m sorry if I was getting a bit rough there. I get that this is pretty weird for you, but guess what? This is weird for me too. I never thought that I would be hand-feeding a pony, but here I am. This is probably the most uncool thing that I’ve ever done, but I’m doing it anyway because I care about you. I want you to get better, and I’ll do whatever it takes to do that. So can you stop being such a loser and let me help you?”

“I…” Rainbow sighed. “Yeah, I’m sorry too, Natalya. You’re right. It’s awkward and pretty embarrassing to have you feed me. It’s just, despite ending up in here a bunch of times, it always sucks. I hate that I can’t fly or even get out of bed. It makes me all restless and feeling helpless, so you having to feed me just makes it worse.”

“Yeah, I get it,” Natalya replied. “I was frustrated too when I got stuck here after my crash, but it was bearable since you were around to help keep me from being bored out of my mind. Now, I can return the favor.”

“So all of this is just paying me back, huh?” Rainbow said with a smirk.

Natalya scoffed lightly. “You know that it’s more than that.”

“Yeah, I do. Thanks for taking care of me, Natalya. I’m glad that you’re here.”

“You can thank me by finally opening that big mouth of yours,” Natalya ordered, holding up the doughnut. This time, Rainbow complied, allowing Natalya to position a part of the pastry inside of the pegasus’s mouth so that she could take a bite.

And that was when the door suddenly swung wide open, and a frantic Scootaloo came rushing into the room.

“Rainbow! I heard what happened and… uh…” The panic in both Scootaloo’s voice and running came to a stop, her mouth hanging open in confusion as she beheld the scene before her.

Natalya still was holding the donut up to Rainbow’s mouth, the pegasus in the midst of taking a bite of the offered pastry. The two of them were frozen while they stared at the filly with wide eyes.

“Um, are you guys in the middle of something or…” Scootaloo cautiously asked a moment later.

“Just helping Rainbow with her breakfast,” Natalya explained, getting over the shock of the sudden intrusion. She focused back on the pegasus in question. “Come on, Rainbow. I went through all this trouble just to get to this point, so hurry up and eat. The faster you take a bite, the faster you can talk to Scootaloo.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes but complied by finishing her bite, taking a decent-sized chunk of the donut and prompting Natalya to put the leftover pastry aside on another napkin on the table.

“So, uh, is Rainbow alright?” Scootaloo asked as she moved to the left side of the bed, planted her forelegs on the bed’s edge to let her stand up on her hindlegs, and looked over Rainbow’s
injuries.

“Rainbow is fine… relatively speaking,” Natalya explained. Noticing the chocolate on Rainbow’s face from before, she grabbed a spare napkin and wiped the stain away. This earned her an annoyed glare from the pegasus, which she returned with a gloating smirk.

“Does Rainbow have trouble eating or something?” Scootaloo inquired.

“Yep,” Natalya replied while Rainbow was still busy chewing the donut as fast as she could. “It’s pretty much a literal pain for her to move around right now.”

“So Rainbow is in that bad of a condition that she can hardly move?” Scootaloo asked worriedly.

“I’m fine, Scootaloo,” Rainbow managed to answer, her words slightly garbled by the food in her mouth. She took a moment to quickly finish chewing and swallow her food so that she could say clearly, “It’s actually not that bad, but Natalya was worried about me and insisted on helping me out. Sure, I’m covered in bandages, but I’m not in any danger.”

“Well, I guess it’s good that you’re at least feeling okay… mostly,” Scootaloo remarked, letting out a small sigh of relief. “Still, how did all of this happen?”

“Long story short, I was challenged to a race in Ghastly Gorge by my ex-partner from the Wonderbolt Academy, and well…”

“The idiot practically tackled Rainbow out of the air, causing her to crash,” Natalya finished. “Rainbow tried to finish the race, but it didn’t work out so well, as you can see.”

“Ex-partner? You mean Lightning Dust?” Scootaloo queried.

“You know her?” Natalya asked, a bit surprised.

“Rainbow went to train with the Wonderbolts. I’m her number one fan. You think that I wouldn’t make her tell me every single detail of how awesome that is?”

“Good point.”

“I just can’t believe that Lightning would do this to you,” Scootaloo said, looking over the bandages covering Rainbow’s body. “You made it sound like you were good friends, or at least in the first part of training.”

“I knew that she was angry at me, but I didn’t know she would go so far as to make me crash,” Rainbow remarked. “Good thing that Natalya and Twilight were there to bail me out. Natalya even flew all the way from Ghastly Gorge to this hospital in record time, all while carrying my injured body.”

“Really? That’s so cool!” Scootaloo cheered. “Er, the her flying part, not you being hurt and all.”

“I get it, Scoots,” Rainbow said before looking fondly at the griffon. “Natalya’s a super cool friend, and I’m glad that she’s here. In fact, she's even going to stick by my side to help me out while I’m stuck here.”

Feeling her cheeks warm slightly, Natalya had to look away from Rainbow for a second and clear her throat. “Yeah, well, glad to help and all. Just want you to get better soon.”

“It’s good to hear that you have somepony awesome looking after you,” Scootaloo commented. “But what about the Wonderbolts? Are they going to be okay without you?”

“Injuries and other stuff happen, even with the Wonderbolts, so that’s why they have reserves like me to fill in when needed,” Rainbow explained. “Me being out is not gonna affect them, especially since there’s plenty of other ponies who can fill a spot if needed.”

A grimace formed on Rainbow’s face. “Of course, Spitfire is not going to be happy when she finds out what happened. She’s definitely going to chew me out because I got injured doing something so reckless outside of Wonderbolt stuff.”

“Eh, it’s just a lecture. That doesn’t sound too bad,” Natalya remarked.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if she also makes me scrub the mess hall from top to bottom with a toothbrush when I get better.”

“That sounds pretty bad.”

“Um, so how long will that take? The you getting better part?” Scootaloo cautiously asked while staring at Rainbow’s injured wing.

Rainbow sighed. “I’m going to be stuck in bed for about a week, and I probably won’t be able to fly for a month.”

“That long?! But that’s like forever!”

“Tell me about it,” Rainbow grumbled. “It’s going to suck so bad. How am I going to do anything when I’m going to be grounded for so long?”

Suddenly, Rainbow’s eyes shot wide open, and she stared directly at the filly. “Oh my gosh, Scoots! I won’t be able to do flying lessons with you. I’m so sorry!”

Scootaloo shook her head. “You think I care about that now? I can wait for like forever if I have to. You’re the best sorta-sister ever, whether you’re helping me fly or not. I just want you to get better, Rainbow.”

“Aww, come here, squirt,” Rainbow said, gently patting the bed with her left forehoof. As Scootaloo fully climbed onto the bed, Rainbow grunted uncomfortably and reached toward the filly with her left foreleg. She slowly and awkwardly pet Scootaloo’s head, but judging by the wide smile on the filly’s face, she did not mind the clumsy touch.

“Thanks again for being so thoughtful for me, Scoots,” Rainbow praised while she continued to sluggishly pet her. “I know how much you love those flying lessons with me, so I’ll be sure to make it up to you when I get better.”

“You know, I could probably substitute for Rainbow like I did when she had to go to Canterlot,” Natalya offered. “We had an alright time together last time, right?”

“Alright? We had an awesome time together!” Scootaloo chirped. However, she quickly calmed herself down with a deep breath. “But, uh, as cool as that sounds, you’re helping to take care of Rainbow, so you should definitely keep on doing that.”

“You sure? It should be easy to get one of our other friends to watch Rainbow for a bit.”

“I know, but I think that Rainbow needs somepony as awesome as you to help her get better quicker. And, um, the quicker she gets better, the quicker we could maybe do my flying thing with the three of us?”

“That sounds like a really neat idea. I’m totally cool with that,” Rainbow instantly agreed.

“I’m cool with that too,” Natalya agreed, offering the filly a small smile.

“Yes!” Scootaloo cheered, throwing her forelegs in the air in joy. “Also, I know that I said I was okay with not doing flying lessons in the meantime, but it’s fine if I came here and hung out with you guys every now and then, right?”

Rainbow chuckled. “Scoots, you’re welcome to see us anytime.”

“Should we maybe tell her about us?” Natalya asked after leaning in to speak in a quieter tone to Rainbow.

“Sure, if you’re alright with it,” Rainbow replied.

“Tell me about what?” Scootaloo asked.

“Well, even though crashing and being stuck here sucks a lot, there is one pretty cool thing that happened as a result of it,” Rainbow explained. “You see, I pretty much have been liking Natalya more and more recently, and because of what happened to me, I kind of blurted that out to her. Turns out that Natalya has been sort of feeling the same way so—”

“You two are marefriends now!?” Scootaloo shouted happily, her wings abuzz with excitement. “That’s so awesome!”

“Sorry to burst your bubble, kid, but that’s not quite right,” Natalya intervened. “It’s true that we’re interested in each other, but we’re not at that stage. This is unfamiliar territory for the both of us, so we want to take things slow to get used to things. There’s also some other complications that we want to take care of first, such as Rainbow’s injuries.”

“Oh, okay,” Scootaloo uttered, her previous excitement curbed down to a small smile. “I guess that’s cool too, but if you two really did become marefriends, it would be the awesomest thing ever. You two are like the best flyers, so it makes perfect sense that you guys belong together.”

“I can’t argue against the ‘best flyers’ part at least,” Natalya remarked.

“Wait, does this mean if you guys become marefriends, Natalya would be staying in Ponyville for good?”

Natalya and Rainbow glanced at each other for a moment before the griffon addressed Scootaloo, “That would likely be the case, which is actually one of the complications that we’re going to have work through.”

“Complications? You mean, you don’t really like it here?” Scootaloo asked with a forlorn frown, looking up at the griffon with big eyes.

“I-it’s not like that,” Natalya said, having to glance away at the saddened filly. “I do like it here, especially since you and Rainbow are here. It’s just, well, to put it simply, Griffonstone is still my home. I might complain about the place a lot, but there’s still stuff there for me there, if you get what I mean.”

“Oh… yeah, that makes sense,” Scootaloo mumbled, her body slightly slumping over as she sighed in disappointment.

Feeling twinges of guilt, Natalya sighed and moved to the other side of the bed where Scootaloo is so that she could pat the filly’s head. “Sorry, Scoots. I know that it’s not exactly what you wanted you to hear, but I can’t pretend we have everything figured out already. That’s why I said we need time to work things out. For now, let’s concentrate on helping Rainbow get better, okay?”

“Oh, uh, right,” Scootaloo replied, slightly perking back up. “But, um, for the record, I would really like it if you ended up staying here in Ponyville too.”

“Yeah, I had a feeling you would, kid.”

“Hey, Scoots,” Rainbow said. “It’s cool of you to visit and all, but don’t you have school today?”

“Oh, yeah, but I still have plenty of…” Scootaloo looked up at the wall clock and blanched.

“Igottagoseeyaguyslater!” Scootaloo shouted as she leapt off the bed and rocketed out of the room.

“Well, that happened,” Natalya remarked with a chuckle, going over to close the door and then returning to Rainbow’s side.

“Heh, yeah,” Rainbow agreed. “She’s a good kid, and I’m proud of her. Of course, you handled her really well too.”

“What can I say? Being nice to her helps me stay on your good side.”

Rainbow smirked. “Uh-huh, sure.”

“But yeah… Scootaloo…” Natalya mused. “There’s just something about her that I like. Guess that’s another point for me staying in Ponyville, huh?”

“It does. She really likes you, and it would make her sad if you did end up leaving.”

“You’re trying to guilt me into staying, aren’t you?”

“Sorry if I am, but I’m just stating the facts. Of course, if you did leave, she’ll understand, although it would be nice if you visited every now and then too.”

“Just another thing for me to figure out.” Natalya sighed and walked back over to the table. She picked up the half-eaten doughnut and brought it back to Rainbow, holding it in front of the pegasus’s mouth. “But whatever. That’s for later. Time for you to finish eating, and don’t be a baby this time.”

Fortunately for Natalya, Rainbow allowed herself to be fed without a fuss. At the same time, Natalya went on to finish the rest of her own muffin. It only took her a minute to eat her fill, finally satisfying her belly, but it took Rainbow a bit more time to slowly, but surely, get through the donut.

“Alright, you had your food, so I’m going to ask Redheart for some painkillers,” Natalya stated before walking over to the door.

“Ugh, do I have to?” Rainbow moaned.

“Yes, you do, so shut up and behave. I’ll be back soon.”

“Not like I’m going anywhere,” Rainbow answered sardonically.

As Natalya opened the door and was about to head toward the nurse’s station, she heard the sound of squeaky wheels coming from the other direction, and she turned to see none other than Redheart pushing a moveable tray full of various medical supplies and medicine.

“Oh, good morning, Natalya,” Redheart greeted when she noticed the griffon. “Is there anything you need? I was about to come check on you and Rainbow.”

“Hey, Redheart,” Natalya replied. “I was about to go look for you too. Rainbow could use some more pain killers.”

“That’s not a surprise. She had a big procedure yesterday, so she’s likely going to feel sore. Fortunately, the pain should get less and less over the next few days.” Redheart then pointed to a tiny medicine cup filled with a brown liquid. “There’s Rainbow’s painkiller. Do you want to give it to her yourself, or shall I?”

“I can do it,” Natalya said, picking up the medicine in her hand. “She’s being a bit fussy.”

“I would be surprised if she wasn’t. Do you need me to hold her down so that you can force-feed her medicine?”

Natalya chuckled. “No worries. I can do that myself if needed.”

Redheart let out a long, dramatic. “What a shame. I would’ve loved the distraction. Oh well. Seems like you have this handled, so I’ll let you two be for a while longer. I’ll check on Rainbow after I make my rounds.”

“Sure thing, Redheart, and thanks,” Natalya said before she went right back into the room.

“Rainbow, guess what I got,” Natalya called in a sing-song voice and a slightly mocking tone.

“Yeah, yeah, I heard you two,” Rainbow grumbled. With a sigh, she conceded, “Just dump it all in. I want to get this over with as soon as possible.”

Natalya chuckled as Rainbow slowly tilted her head up and opened her mouth wide. Walking over to the pegasus, Natalya raised the cup above Rainbow’s mouth and swiftly turned it upside-down, the medicine sloshing right into the pegasus’s mouth.

Rainbow grimaced when the painkillers entered her mouth, quickly swallowing her medicine.

“Blegh! It tastes worse than last night!” Rainbow complained after making a few gagging noises. “Hurry up and give me another bite of something!”

Stifling her mirth over Rainbow’s misery, Natalya quickly grabbed a cinnamon bun from the pink box and held it up to Rainbow, who promptly took a big bite out of the pastry.

“Did you want to finish the rest of this or save it for later?” Natalya asked while Rainbow chewed away at the sweet. Receiving a shake of the head, she placed the cinnamon bun aside and patiently waited for Rainbow.

After a moment, Rainbow swallowed and let out a sigh of relief. “Man, glad that we had those Sugarcube Corner stuff ready to get rid of the nasty in my mouth. I bet that Redheart is doing something to it just to spite me!”

“I mean, you did prank her,” Natalya pointed out.

“It wasn’t that bad… I think… If you ask me though, she just really knows how to keep a grudge.”

“Uh huh, sure,” Natalya replied flatly. “How does your body feel now?”

Rainbow looked down at her left foreleg, beginning to slowly move it up and down. “Doesn’t seem to be bothering me now. As disgusting as it is, guess I can’t deny how fast those painkillers work.”

“Also gives me a good show when you have to take it,” Natalya teased. “Since you’re feeling better now, do you want me to—”

A knock on the door interrupted Natalya. Guessing that it was one of their friends, she went over to greet whoever was visiting, but when she opened the door, she scowled when she saw that it was none other than Lightning Dust.

“You…” Natalya growled.

“Yeah, it’s me,” Lightning answered, glaring at the griffon. “Look, I know that things are tense between us, but I just want to—”

“Nope,” Natalya uttered, slamming the door in Lightning’s face.

“Was… was that who I think it is?” Rainbow warily asked.

“It’s no one. They got the wrong room,” Natalya firmly stated, only to sigh when the knocking on the door resumed. This time, the noise was closer to pounding. Opening the door again, she quickly spat out, “Go away,” and then tried to shut Lightning out again.

However, Lightning swiftly thrust her forehoof against the door, preventing Natalya from closing it. “Hey, I’m not trying to start a fight, but I’ll force myself in there if I have to.”

“Go ahead and try it,” Natalya dared, balling up her free hand into a fist. “I would love an excuse to—”

“Natalya!” Rainbow called from behind, making the griffon freeze.

“What, Rainbow?” Natalya flatly asked, keeping her glare on Lightning.

“Just let her speak, alright?” Rainbow requested, sitting up so that she could better see Lightning.

“Seriously?!” Natalya shouted in outrage. “You’re going to bother with her after what she did to you?!”

“Hey, I’m not exactly thrilled to see her either, but if she came back to see me after you scared her away yesterday, it might be something important. Besides, you’re here if she tries to pull anything.”

“For the record, I wasn’t scared away,” Lightning pointed out. “I just didn’t want to deal with all of your friends.”

“Yeah, sure, you tell yourself that,” Natalya sneered. She looked back at Rainbow then at Lightning again, glaring at the hated mare who glared right back at her. Finally, after a few tense moments, Natalya let out a loud frustrated groan.

“Ugh, fine, but she’s not getting in,” Natalya conceded, backing off slightly just enough so that Rainbow could see the intruding pegasus but still being able to easily block Lightning from entering.

“And you,” Natalya warned, thrusting a talon up to Lightning’s face, “you try anything funny, and I’ll make sure that you never fly again.”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it,” Lightning grumbled while she stepped to the side so that she could get a better look at Rainbow.

“So, Lightning, why are you here?” Rainbow asked.

“I… I just want to talk to you, okay?” Lightning answered.

“Oh, now you want to talk?” Rainbow bitterly replied. “Gee, I sure wish that you felt like doing that yesterday.”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it…” Lightning grumbled, her gaze drifting off to the side.

For a while, Natalya and Rainbow waited for Lightning to continue, but the reckless pegasus remained silent and hardly moved except for stealing the occasional glance at Rainbow.

“Well, are you gonna say something, or are you going to make me stand here all day?” Natalya demanded, finally having enough of the uneasy silence.

“Don’t rush me!” Lightning barked. “This is really weird for me, alright?”

“And you being here is making it weird for me and Rainbow, so hurry up already, or I’m throwing you out!”

Lightning scowled at Natalya, however the goading spurred her on to finally focus back on Rainbow. “Look, that princess friend of yours told me what happened during the race, and I get that I pretty much made you crash when I bumped into you.”

“Bumped into her?” Natalya incredulously repeated. “You practically slammed Rainbow right out of the air! You definitely did make her crash!”

“It’s not like I was trying to do that! I just, you know, wanted her to get out of the way.”

“You sure got me out of the way,” Rainbow stated, resentment clear in her tone. “Right into the bramble and messing up my wing.”

“Again, it wasn’t my intention. It just happened. Also, why did you keep going after that? Your wing was busted up, and yet you tried to catch up to me. You wouldn’t be in such bad shape if you gave up right there.”

Rainbow sighed. “Be honest, Lightning. If you were in my position, if you crashed instead, would you have given up?”

Lightning was silent for a few moments before slowly shaking her head. “Probably not.”

“And that’s why I kept going. I knew that you wouldn’t be satisfied with our race unless I gave it my all.”

“You really thought that you could actually beat me with a busted wing?”

“I knew that winning was a long shot, but figured that if I kept pushing on, it would at least get your attention. Whether I won or went against the odds to finish the race, I had hoped it would prove that I wasn’t a phony to you, and you would finally calm down enough to talk to me. Guess it sort of worked since you’re here and all, although I’m not sure if it’s worth it now.”

“Definitely not,” Natalya chimed in.

“Are you kidding me?!” Lightning blurted out. “You’re so hung up about talking to me that you risked your life?! Are you crazy?!”

“Yes, she is,” Natalya stated. “Not just because of the race, but because she went through so much trouble for your worthless behind.”

“Would you shut up?!” Lightning shouted at Natalya. “I’m trying to get some answers here, and you’re not helping!”

“Well, excuse me for interrupting,” Natalya sarcastically replied. “In case you forgot, you’re not exactly welcome here.”

“Natalya, I get that you’re mad at Lightning, but could you please cool it with the insults?” Rainbow addressed the griffon before turning her attention back to Lightning. “What do you mean you needed to get answers, Lightning?”

“I’m not sure, to be honest,” Lightning admitted. “Look, I’m not blind. I know that I sometimes mess other ponies up with my awesome flying, but you know that I don’t let small stuff like that bother me.”

“Yeah, I’ve seen that plenty of times back at the Academy,” Rainbow noted.

“For some reason though, when you got hurt, instead of pushing on like I usually do, I got this weird feeling in this chest. I could not help but to stop and look back to see what happened to you.”

“You did?” Rainbow uttered in surprise. She looked to Natalya for confirmation.

Natalya begrudgingly nodded. “She did. Though only for a little bit before she started flying again.”

“Does that mean you were worried for me?” Rainbow asked, turning back to Lightning.

“Me? Worried?” Lightning scoffed. “Why would I be worried for you?”

“I mean, you’re here to see me despite having a very angry griffon breathing down your neck, and you just admitted that seeing me get hurt made you stop. We were partners at the Academy long enough for me to know that you stopping in the middle of a race is a weird thing for you to do. Maybe you really were worried or guilty over what happened to me. After all, we were pretty good friends at the beginning of Wonderbolt training.”

“Sure, we were buds, until you stabbed me in the back.”

Rainbow groaned. “Not this again. For the last time, I didn’t try to get you in trouble! I followed you because you were lead pony, even when I didn’t like how reckless you were. However, when you endangered my friends’ lives though, that’s when I had it. I couldn’t stand the Wonderbolts letting you do whatever you want, so I went to Spitfire to tell her I quit.”

Lightning scoffed. “Yeah, sure you did. And I bet that they begged you to stay, and that’s why you’re now on the reserve team. Face it, Rainbow. You were jealous that I was lead pony, so you went crying to Spitfire and placed all the blame on me!”

“That’s not what happened, Lightning! I could not stand being around your recklessness anymore! That’s why I wanted to quit! I didn’t know what Spitfire was going to do. I just wanted out!”

“You were just using me to get some pity points with Spitfire!”

“I did not! If anything, I tried to help you by asking Spitfire to give you a second chance!”

“Like I’m supposed to believe that!” Lightning yelled, taking a step forward as she bristled with rage. “You screwed me over with the Wonderbolts! You’re nothing but a liar and a phony!”

“You screwed yourself over!” Natalya suddenly shouted at Lightning, pushing the pegasus back. Having had enough of the accusations flung at Rainbow, she joined in the fray.

“You want to know the truth?” Natalya snarled. “I actually talked to Spitfire, and for some reason, she had high hopes for you. She knew that you were reckless and all, but she thought that you would learn to control yourself over time.”

“Really? She thought that I was that good?” Lightning asked, switching from glaring in annoyance at the griffon to putting on a smirk of pride.

“Wipe that dumb smile off your face. Sure, Spitfire liked you at first, but when she heard how you lost control of the tornado, she knew that she couldn’t ignore the damage that you caused.”

“So in other words, Spitfire changed her mind after Rainbow tattled on me. It’s just what I’ve been saying all along.”

Natalya growled. “Get it through your thick skull: you’re more trouble than you’re worth! You might be a decent flyer, but that doesn’t matter at all when everyone wanted you out of the Academy. Spitfire had ponies complaining about you left and right, and she regrets not cracking down on you sooner. Even if Rainbow did not show Spitfire how much of an idiot you are, someone else would’ve done it.”

“Hold on, Natalya,” Rainbow called. “When did Spitfire tell you all of this?”

“It was when you took me to the Wonderbolt Academy to try out some training over there,” Natalya explained. “While you were doing laps around the place, I had some alone time with Spitfire, and we ended up talking about the two of you.”

“Oh, so that’s why you two were acting kind of weird back then.”

“Yep. She pretty much didn’t want you to know that I got this info from her.” Natalya blinked. “Oh…”

“Really smooth, Natalya,” Rainbow teased with a chuckle.

“Uh, hello, I’m still here, remember?” Lightning reminded in an annoyed tone.

“Trust me. I would rather forget you if I could,” Natalya grumbled.

“Well, too bad. I’m not leaving until I get what I need.”

“What you need is to get your head to stop kissing your behind for a few minutes. You’re so full of yourself that you can’t see what’s going on around you.”

“And what’s that supposed to mean?”

“Think about it: if Rainbow was trying to screw you over, why would she go through so much trouble to just talk to you?”

This got Lightning to pause for a bit. Eventually, she shrugged and asked, “I dunno. Why?

“It’s because Rainbow wasn’t trying to screw you over. She was actually trying to help you.”

Lightning scoffed. “This again? Okay, now I know that you’re lying.”

“Like I said earlier, Spitfire knew that she had to do a better job at keeping you in line, but Rainbow convinced her to take it easy on you. Of course, with you being the massive idiot that you are, you wasted all of those opportunities until Spitfire had no choice but to give you the boot.”

“It’s true, Lightning,” Rainbow chipped in. “I did think you were cool when we first met, and I do respect your drive to be the best. It’s the recklessness and winning at all costs attitude that bothered me. I really did quit when I went to talk to Spitfire. I told her that I was sick of her not doing anything to you, but I honestly wasn’t trying to get you into trouble. It just happened.”

“And before you say anything,” Natalya swiftly reminded, “Spitfire had other ponies, including her staff team, complaining about you too. You would’ve gotten in trouble anyway, so don’t go piling all the blame on Rainbow.”

“Lightning, I know that you’re mad at me, but after you got demoted and I cooled off from you know, putting my friends in danger, I really did try to help you out,” Rainbow continued. “Everything that Natalya said was true. I still wanted to be your friend and tried to help you be less reckless so that you could stay in the Wonderbolts. However, you kept doing what you want. It sucked to hear when you got kicked out, and it sucked even more when you left without even saying goodbye.”

“Yeah, I’m not much for goodbyes, and even if I was, you were the last pony I wanted to say it to,” Lightning grumbled. “How am I supposed to believe all of this? For all I know, the both of you are just spinning this crazy tale.”

“For the love of… Agh!” Natalya let out a frustrated roar and glowered at Lightning. “Get it through your thick skull! Rainbow was trying to help you! You’re just too busy thinking that you’re the best flyer and are never at fault when in reality, everything is your fault! No wonder everyone at the Academy wanted you gone!”

Pointing at the injured Rainbow, Natalya continued ranting, “Does this look like someone who is out trying to get you?! Rainbow risked her life just to get you to listen to her! For some insane reason, she cares about you despite the headache that you are, and yet all you do is blame her for no good reason except to hide the fact that you’re a massive failure! You want to know what I think about you looking back at Rainbow during the race? It’s because you know that you screwed up and hurt the one pony that actually doesn’t hate your guts!”

“I’m not a failure!” Lightning bellowed back. “I made it to the Academy perfectly fine all by myself, but the moment I got forced to team up with Rainbow, everything fell apart! She’s just a loser that dragged me down and—”

“Alright, I had enough of you!” Natalya barked, her wings flaring out in anger. She shoved Lightning, almost causing the pegasus to fall backwards as she stumbled back a few steps. “All you’re doing is make up stupid excuses! You’re too much of an idiot to accept the truth, so I’m done wasting my time with you. Get out.”

Baring her teeth in a growl, Lightning took a step toward the griffon. “Hey! I’m not—”

“Get out now or I will rip your wings off and shove them down that big mouth of yours!”

Lightning’s eyes widened for a second before narrowing down into a murderous glare.

Natalya slightly raised her right arm, flexing a fist as she readied to retaliate if Lightning decided to charge at her.

However, after a few tense seconds, Lightning turned around without a word and walked down the hallway.

Natalya glanced around, noticing a bunch of ponies, including Redheart, were all looking at her with open-mouthed shock, but she did not care as she went back into the room, slamming the door behind her.

“Natalya, are you…” Rainbow quietly spoke, but Natalya, huffing heavily with rage, ignored the pegasus for now and stomped over to the opposite corner of the room, turning her back to her friend.

With a frustrated growl, she punched the floor, cracking the tile where her first landed.

Again and again, Natalya continued to pound at the floor, though not as fierce as the initial blow, working out the fury induced by the infuriating Lightning. Slowly, but surely, the strength in her punches diminished until eventually, she sat down with a weary sigh, her body slouching over with exhaustion.

Natalya closed her eyes and kept on taking deep breaths, one right after another, until she felt the last bits of her anger fade away. Even though Rainbow had been silent the whole time, she could feel the gaze of her friend on her back.

“I’m fine, Rainbow,” Natalya uttered, answering the unasked question that lingered in the air.

“You sure? I don’t think I’ve seen you that angry before.”

“Yeah, well…” Natalya sighed, finally turning her back around to Rainbow but keeping her gaze on the floor. “I got fed up with hearing that stupid mare’s excuses. All that she was doing was blaming you and insulting you. I couldn’t stand listening to her anymore.”

“Yeah, I could see that. You really let her have it, huh?”

“It’s what she needed to hear. Still, I guess I kind of killed any chances of you patching things up with her, huh?”

“Seems like it.”

“Obviously, I don’t think you should have anything to do with her, but I know that you’ve been kind of chasing her for a long time, so…” Natalya paused to slowly raise her head until she was directly looking at Rainbow. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be, Natalya. It didn’t look like we were getting through to her, and I think you did do the right thing slapping her in the face with the harsh truth.”

“So you’re okay with what happened?”

Rainbow sighed. “I mean, I wish that Lightning and I could’ve resolved things, but it’s obvious that she’s not gonna listen to us.”

“You don’t need her anyway. If she can’t see the truth of how much you tried to do for her, then she’s not worth your time. You have plenty of friends who actually care for you.”

“As well as one maybe-sort-of griffon girlfriend,” Rainbow added with a smile. “I’m really glad that you were here to help out with Lightning. Things would’ve gone a lot worse without you. I probably would’ve ended up arguing with her for hours, only for her to leave me feeling like crud.”

“Yep, nothing like a little death threat to quickly end a conversation,” Natalya casually remarked.

Rainbow snorted in amusement. “You know, I probably would be a bit worried about that statement if I didn’t know you better.”

“I would think that you would know me better. After all, you are my maybe-sort-of pony girlfriend.”

Rainbow nodded, her smile widening. “That I am.”

Natalya smiled back and then glanced over at the box of pastries. “Well, you feel like eating a bit more? I dunno about you, but yelling at an airheaded pegasus left me a bit hungry.”

“Sure, I guess I can have a few more bites. I’ll even let you feed me without a fuss.”

“Is it because you‘re actually hungry or are you just starting to enjoy me babying you?”

“Yes.”

Natalya chuckled. “Alright then.”

Author's Note:

Like I mentioned long ago, this fic was started and planned out long before Lightning Dust's reappearance in the show, but delays and real life has made this story proceed at a slow pace. I hope that this divergence from the canon Lightning Dust doesn't diminish the enjoyment that you might derive from this fic.

Comments

[Anon E Moose]

I love their sort-of-but-not-yet-in-a-relationship banter XD

[LunaJack]

Great chapter! I kind of wished Lightning would come around but...yeah, I don't see that happening.

[Pause]

I hope that this divergence from the canon Lightning Dust doesn't diminish the enjoyment that you might derive from this fic.

While it doesn't make me not enjoy enjoy the story, the problem isn't that it is a divergence form Washout Lightning Dust but rather it kind of just takes all the problems of Wonderbolt's Academy and runs with them.

Placing all of the responsibility on LD while Dash doesn't acknowledge her part and responsibility in making the tornado and how little of an effort she took to stop Dust. And there was no legitimate reason for her to know or think Dash's friends were in the area (no one did until the tornado happened) so blaming her for endangering her friends is unfair.

[Backlash91]

Eeeeeeeeee I love it! Cant wait for more.

Gives natalya all the hugs and gives you all the faves!!

[Yoshifan30]

Is the story gonna continue

[Kevinltk]

10413237
Yes, but it’s going to be a while before I can continue to work on it due to health reasons. Please refer to my last few blog posts.

[Yoshifan30]

10419571
Oh ok I'm sorry to hear that i hope you feel better