To Dash, and to Soar

by Sunrise Dusk

Chapter One: Amends

Rainbow Dash was slowly walking through the halls of the Wonderbolt HQ. She let out a faint yawn as she trotted. Stupid! Cleaning all night! She thought, still walking. All because of that stupid name! Oh, I swear... I'll get Dumbbell and Hoops for this- Rainbow suddenly stopped. She ears folded down against her head. "I-I can't blame them... N-Not now..." She said to herself, the volume of her voice was just above a whisper. "Th-They apologized all those years ago. I never went back..."
"Hey! Hey, Crash!" A voice called to the candy-maned pegasus.
Rainbow gritted her teeth. "I-I know I should deal with the name... B-But..." She quietly whispered to herself. She felt a hoof her placed on her shoulder. She saw pale yellow-coated Misty Fly smiling at her. "Oh! H-Hey, Daisy!" Rainbow Dash said, her voice sounding more happier.
"How did cleaning go for ya last night, huh?" Misty asked in teasing manner.
Rainbow rolled her eyes, and her cyan cheeks were tinted pink. "You had to remind of that?" She said, smiling at her fellow team member.
"Well, to be honest with you... That was the best show I've ever seen during my career as a Wonderbolt!" Misty said, hugging the cyan pegasus. Rainbow Dash looked at her, unamused. "No, I'm serious! As Spitty said, 'that crash was epic!'" Rainbow's smile faltered, and Misty caught it immediately. "Heh, don't worry, Crash! By your next show, you'll do just fine!" Misty reassured.
Rainbow merely sighed. "Thanks, but... I'm on probation for the rest of the month. I won't be able to fly in the show at Fillydelphia in two weeks."
"Oh... Right..." Misty said, biting her bottom lip. "Maybe Spitty will suspend your probation if you do really good..?" Misty said, trying to make it sound like a statement, but was unsure of her own words, so it sounded more like a question.
"Look, I'm glad that you're trying to help, but a certain purple pony told me to wait for things to happen. Not to rush them, or assume stuff."
Misty nodded, understanding what Rainbow Dash meant. She waved goodbye, and flew out of Rainbow's sight.
Rainbow Dash sighed and made her way to the cafeteria.

Rainbow was sat on the table in the cafeteria. She finished the apple she picked up a few minutes ago. The cafeteria was empty. It was because the other 'Bolts had their breakfast already. Rainbow Dash had just recently returned from cleaning her mess at the Ponyville stadium. She glanced at the clock. 7:45. 15-minutes till practice. Rainbow Dash sighed. "I don't wan an go to dumb practice... I've only seen Misty since I got back!" She quietly yelled to herself. Just then, her ears perked up. Is somepony in here? She thought, turning around. I could've sworn I heard hoofsteps behind me... She heard the flap of wings above her. Her head slowly shifted upwards, and a pale blue blur fired at her.
"ATTACK!!!" The blur shouted.
"WHAT IN THE NAME OF CELESTIA?!" Rainbow yelled as she got thrown to the floor. She opened her eyes and saw Soarin on top of her laughing. "WHAT THE HAY, SOARIN?!" She said, pushing him off her.
Soarin was on the floor laughing. "Y-You're face was priceless!"
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and smiled. "Do that next time, and you're soooo getting it!"
"C'mon, Crash! You of all ponies should be able to take a joke!" Soarin teased.
"Well, it doesn't help when you pin me to the ground all of a sudden." Rainbow Dash flatly said.
"Heh... Sorry! It was just too funny to hold back! I mean, you were by yourself." Soarin said, still laughing. But he eventually stopped. "How did the cleaning go?"
Rainbow Dash face-hoofed herself. "How. Many. Times?!" She yelled.
Soarin's eyes widened. "Sorry. I guess you don't wanna talk about it..?"
"Uh... Ya think?"
Soarin began to toy with his hooves. "L-Look. I-I'm sorry..." He said a while later.
"Huh?" Rainbow Dash immediately responded.
"I'm sorry! I guess it was hard for you to adjust to being teased with a name! I tried to remember how it felt when I was dubbed 'Clipper', but it happened three years ago! So, I can't really remember it... I guess that I sorta just accepted it. B-But I've never actually seen or heard anypony go out of their way to change it!"
Rainbow Dash's gaze shifted down to her hooves. N-Nopony has said anything about why I did what I did... Soarin is the first to actually wonder why...
"Look, I know that you were thinking that we didn't like you because of that name, but going out of your way to change it?! That's something different!" Soarin looked down at his hooves. "Is there a different reason why you tried to change the nickname..?"
Rainbow's eyes widened. She was still looking down at her hooves. She eventually built up the courage to lift up her head, and look the stallion in the eye. Her voice cracked when she tried to speak. "Ye-Yeah... Th-There is another reason..." Her somber expression turned into a smile. "You're the first pony to think that there was a different reason."
Soarin managed to smile too. "Mind telling me?"
Rainbow hesitated wether or not to tell. I might sound like a little baby! But she shook of the thought, and told Soarin everything. "When I was in the Junior Speedsters Summer Flight Camp, I accidentally fell into a garbage can. This jerk who probably isn't a jerk today called me 'Rainbow Crash' all the time! Heck, he even made fun of Fluttershy! And he would always come up to me and say 'Crash!' no matter what. But the worst thing was that even the flight instructor laughed when that jerk called me 'Rainbow Crash' for the first time..."
Soarin looked at Rainbow Dash for a while, but then began to chuckle.
Rainbow raised her brow at him. "What's so funny?"
"Hahahaha! You fell into a garbage can here and began being called 'Rainbow Crash'! That has got to be the most weird coincidence ever!"
Rainbow Dash tried to look mad, but even began to chuckle a bit at the coincidence.
"But I'm sorry on what you had to go through..." Soarin said.
Rainbow Dash merely smiled. "It's alright."
Soarin held out his hoof. "Friends?"
Rainbow bumped her hoof with his. "Friends!"