//------------------------------//
// Petal Of Remembrance >PICTURE EDIT< 
// Story: Dashing Love (REWRITTEN) 
// by Kellster 
//------------------------------//


- Petal Of Remembrance -


Rainbow sighed and fell to her knees as soon as she closed the front door to her house and slipped off her shoes. Finally, she managed to get Valentine's Day over. That was a very tiring day. Rainbow lay herself down on the floor and sighed. What a day.....

"Rainbow, is that you?" Her mom asked from which Rainbow suspected was the kitchen. "At least say if you are."

"I'm home!" Rainbow shouted, loud enough for her to hear. She forced herself up and ran up to her room, catching a glance of her mother.

"Rainbo-"

Rainbow was too tired that she didn't hear her mom say anything and closed the door to her room. Panting, she turned around with a shocked expression. "Scoots, what're you doing here!?" She whispered, in case Scootaloo snuck in again.

Scootaloo jumped up from the coffee table excitedly and rushed to her mentor. "You're back!! How'd it go, how'd it go!?"

Rainbow chuckled and rubbed Scootaloo on the head. "Woah, calm down, sport!" She laughed and set her bag on her desk. "It was.....okay. You know I don't participate in 'gossip'." She asked with a smirk.

Scootaloo huffed. "C'mon, did he like it? Did he eat it in front of you? Did you kiss? Did you-"

"Woah, chill! We ain't going that far yet." Rainbow chuckled and took her coat off, setting it on her chair. "He liked it, but I dunno when he ate it. I'm not a stalker." She paused a little, thinking of Lightning. Did she stalk him? Dash didn't even want to know. "Anywayyy, I was planning on playing this online game, so if you wanna do something, come later, ok?"

Scootaloo's face drooped and then turned into a pleading face. "Pwease Rainbow?" She begged with puppy dog eyes. "I wanna do at least something with you!"

Rainbow groaned and turned to Scootaloo. "Alright, fine. We can go play baseball with the boys in the park like we did last week. You up for it?" She asked, putting her coat back on.

"Yes! Yes! Let's go!" Scootaloo excitedly leaped around the room and then climbed down the window. "I'll meet you at your front door!" She squealed right before sliding down with a rope.

After that, it got quiet. Rainbow sighed in sweet release.

"Why do people always enter through my window?"





Soarin yawned as he set himself on the park bench. He was walking home, but the chocolates he got from Rainbow would melt by then. He slowly opened the box and examined one before popping it into his mouth. Soarin grinned with delight as it melted in his mouth. As he was reaching for another one.....

"Yo, Soars!"

Soarin looked up, startled. Then he smirked. "Oh, hey Thunderlane." He continued in taking another chocolate as Thunderlane laughed.

"So whose chocolates are those?" Thunderlane jokingly asked. "I heard half of the girls in school gave you some goods." He sat beside him and then noticed the heart box. "Wait...didn't I see Rainbow holding that?"

Soarin blushed, but he looked away, attempting not to show it. He tried to choke out an answer, but nothing came.

A smug smile spread across Thunderlane's face. "Ahhhhh.....okay, the rumors are true then!" He burst out into laughter. "Bro, you shoulda told me! You had me worried you'd never find the perfect one!"

"People are still going on about that?" Soarin balked. Well, some things never become forgotten. "Whatever. I just......don't want the chocolates to go to waste."

Thunderlane rolled his eyes playfully. "Right, right." He jolted as his pocked rumbled. He took out his phone and turned it on, reading his new message. Soarin couldn't make it out, but Thunderlane chuckled, a slight hint of red on his cheeks. "Heh.......see? Getting girls is easy when you actually commit and admit!" He lightly smacked Soarin on the shoulder and got up. "If you excuse me, Cloudchaser's waiting."

And with that, he took off.

Soarin averted his eyes and then watched his friend leave. He closed the chocolate box and set it back in the plastic bag before looking back at Thunderlane. He actually was with Cloudchaser. And of course, Flitter was there too, but she left them alone. Soarin got up with a sigh and then turned to leave, until he heard his name being mentioned by a little girl.

"Did you bring me here just so I can play with Rumble?"

"Revenge!"

"What did I do!?"

"Didn't I just say while we were in my room that I wanted to play Overlook?"

".....yes? And?"

"Well, now. I. Can't! At least not today. But nonetheless, payback time!"

Soarin recognized that voice. He quickly his behind a tree in case they saw him. He peeked from behind it and watched.

Sure enough, he was right. Rainbow lead Scootaloo to the boys playing baseball with a smirk. "'Sup, mind if we tag along?" She asked as if it were a challenge. It wasn't her first time playing with them, so they agreed.

"Of course, sis! You're a good player, after all!"

It was Scootaloo's first time, though, so Snails came up and examined her head to toe. "Say, I know you!" He exclaimed. "You're one of those Cutie Mart Ciders, right?"

Scootaloo snorted. "It's Cutie Mark Crusaders." She corrected. But, even with that sass, she was felt uncomfortable and avoided looking at Rumble, who was standing at the side of the group. "Anyways, Rainbow suggested that I come here, so....."

"Scoots here doesn't know how to play baseball, so can one of you teach her or somethin'?" Rainbow cut Scootaloo off and rested her hand on Scootaloo's shoulder. She looked up and scanned the school of boys. There weren't that many, but Rainbow knew exactly who pick. She swiftly pointed at Rumble without hesitation. "You! Your name is Rumble, right? Teach Scoots the basics!"

Rumble froze for a second there and then pointed at himself. "Wait, you mean me?"

Scootaloo blushed and looked up at Rainbow. "H-how come you're not the one teaching me!?" She asked frantically.

"Just cuz."

Scootaloo grumbled and puffed up. "Alright, fine! How do I play?" She asked.

Rumble blushed a little and then handed her the bat. "Here, hold this and....."

As he taught her the basics, Rainbow watched them proudly with the biggest Chesire Cat smirk on her face. The rest of the boys did so as well, since it wouldn't take very long to teach. Soarin, however, covered his mouth, suppressing a laugh. He knew exactly what was going on. Taking out his phone, Soarin chuckled silently. "You grow up so fast.......but I hope you don't mind I take a picture of this ridiculous scenario." He jokingly uttered and pointed the camera at the two of them. He waited for the right moment to take a shot.

"And then you swing it like this...." Rumble swung the bat, demonstrating how it should be done as Scootaloo watched intently.

Scootaloo grabbed the bat. "Alright, alright, I get it." She assured him. She held it incorrectly and prepared to bat.

"Hey, wait-" He attempted to show fix her position by grabbing her hand, and.....

"Perfect!" Soarin thought as he pressed 'capture'. But just as he did, a random but strong gust of wind came, almost catching Soarin off guard.

Rainbow internally shrieked and tightly put her hands on her skirt. She sighed in relief and looked around. "Hopefully no boys are arou-" She froze as she noticed Soarin, holding his phone, aiming the camera at them.

Soarin was grinning mischievously before he noticed a very angry Rainbow Dash, glaring at him. "What the hell did I do-" He paused at he looked at the photo he captured carefully and blushed.

.......

"YOU FRIGGIN PERVERT! ARE YOU AN IDIOT OR WHAT!?!"

"Hey, that was an accident!"

"I DON'T CARE IF IT IS, WHY WERE YOU TAKING PICTURES IN THE FIRST PLACE!?!"

Rainbow literally one-punched Soarin with an extra hadouken attack, making sure he learned his lesson. The boys watched in awe, never knowing that such powerful attacks exist. Scootaloo and Rumble, however, were not just watching in awe, but in shock of what the hell was happening to the people they look up to.

After that, Soarin ended up playing along with them. Nobody remembered how that even happened. What Rainbow and Soarin knew was that things will no longer be normal between them. In fact.....it was never normal between them. Trying to forget what happened, they exchanged smirks whenever Scootaloo and Rumble came into contact, were up against each other, or talked to each other.

As the sky grew a pale orange, the boys said goodbye to each other, as their parents were probably worried. Rumble rushed up to Soarin with confusion. "Mind explaining what just happened?" He asked.

Soarin hesitated. "When you get to the right age, you'll find out."

Rainbow raised an eyebrow at Soarin. "Soarin, you do know that he's a 12 year old boy who's turning 13 this year, right?" She reminded him. Although she was embarrassed to let others know, but she was just trying to play around with Soarin as a punishment.

Soarin just stared at her blankly.

Rumble tilted his head. "Oh, so you two are dating? I can take that, bro."

"NO!" The two yelled. Scootaloo chuckled and tried to hide it.

The four said their goodbyes and Rainbow walked Scootaloo home, just as Soarin walked home with Rumble. As Rainbow and Scootaloo where walking, though, Scootaloo mentioned something.

"Hey, come to think of it, if you marry Soarin and I marry Rumble, we'll become sisters-in-law!"

......and that was the longest walk Rainbow ever walked.

As they were walking home, Rumble was still very confused. "I thought you said you weren't into that kind of stuff?" He asked curiously, but Soarin seemed like he didn't hear. "Um....big bro?"

"Huh? What?" Soarin said, jumping a little before turning his head to Rumble. "Sorry, did you say something?"

"......so you do like her....." Rumble blurted out almost without thinking. "I mean, seriously! Tell me what happened!" He demanded. "I'm sure I can take it! And if you won't tell me, at least answer my other question."

Soarin mumbled and then looked down at his brother. "What was your other question again?"

"It wasn't exactly a question, but I thought you said you weren't into those lovey-dovey stuff?"

Soarin looked up at the sky. "Well....." He muttered, thinking of a response. Frankly, he didn't know what response to give. "When you.....grow up. A thing.....messes with your brain. And..........makes you think more....maturely???"

Rumble raised a brow. "Huh?"

"Just........whatever. Puberty, I guess." Soarin said, eyes glued to the sidewalk. "It kind of.....makes you think more like an adult. Or.....what do you call it.....you have a phase. It's hard to explain."

Rumble chuckled. "Long story short, you fell in love?"

Soarin averted his eyes. "However you see it, I'm becoming an adult now!" He claimed, avoiding the answer.

But the thing is, that wasn't it. That was only a quarter of the truth.




	

"Now, remember, Soarin! Stay at the park with Spitfire. Mama and Papa will be back by afternoon!"

"Yes, Mama!"

The woman stood and turned to her husband. "Are you sure about this? Why don't we just call Grandma to babysit?"

The little boy huffed. "Mama, I'm old enough!"

The couple laughed. "Okay, sweetheart, but be careful! Don't leave the park, okay?"

"Okay!" The two children said.

The couple left the children alone, still a little worried. But the children insisted and waved goodbye as the two left. Soarin grinned at Spitfire. "Now what?"

"Why don't we play baseball?" Spitfire suggested. "Oh....we don't have anything for baseball-playing."

Soarin brightened up. "I have a glove!" He said, taking out a baseball glove.

Spitfire frowned. "But......we still need a ball and a bat."

Soarin sat down. "Hmm......I know! Let's go find a really strong stick!" He happily jumped and ran off to the trees without another thought crossing his mind.

"Soarin, wait!"

Excited, Soarin didn't hear her calling out to him. Instead he ventured on, looking for what seemed to be impossible. Just then, he nearly tripped, but just in time, he jumped back. There was a small twig right in front of him. "It didn't break!" He gasped, picking it up with a grin. "Spifire, I found one!" He turned around, only to find he was alone. "Spifire?"

Soarin grew even more scared when he looked around him. He couldn't find a way out. He sat there, not wanted to go even further into this lost state. Tears slowly streamed down his face. He wiped them off, but they just kept on coming. Eventually he gave up and buried his face in his hands.

"Are you okay?"

Soarin sniffled, trying to stop crying. It sounded like a little girl the same age as him, but it wasn't Spitfire, and he wasn't about to let a girl see him cry.

"Is someone there?"

There was the voice again. Soarin wiped the remains of his tears off, but tears just kept flowing down like a continuous waterfall. "H-help me......" He muttered in defeat.

A rustling came from a nearby bush as a little girl fought her way out. Soarin could feel that she stepped closer to him, and he tried to look away. He was expecting her to laugh, but instead, he felt something soft pat his head. He slowly looked up, his eyes red from crying.

"There, there!" The girl cheered. "Are you okay?" She asked, removing her hand.

Soarin weakly nodded.

The girl giggled. "Are you lost?"

Soarin hung his head, afraid to admit it. Eventually, he nodded again. Another small, warm tear poured down. He wiped it off again and avoided the girl's eyes.

"It's alright!"

Soarin jumped a little and looked at his hand, another hand grabbing it. He looked up at the girl in confusion.

"You're going to be okay!" She insisted. "Come with me!"

Soarin slowly got up, his back aching a little. He followed the girl deep into the forest, not knowing what else to do. He didn't ask where they were headed, either. Soon, the girl stopped. "Huh?" Soarin cocked his head and tried to get a clear view of where they were. He never saw this part of the park before, but it was beautiful.

There were many golden flowers growing around the area, including some baby blue ones. There was also a most notably large waterfall right in front of them. The trees around them also looked much healthier than the trees everywhere else.

"Do you like it?" The girl asked. "It's my special place! You get to join me!" She smiled, running towards a blue flower. Soarin followed her.

"Here, for you!" She said, a blue flower in her hands.

Soarin stood there, perplexed. How was he supposed to react? Was he supposed to take it? He was a boy, and a boy having a flower would be weird.

"My mommy says that the simplest things can make anyone happy!" Her smile was bright, and her aura was upbeat. But somehow, it was also relaxing.

Soarin slowly accepted it without uttering a single word, but as he looked at the girl, she didn't look like she minded at all. He examined the flower. It glowed as it reflected the light from the waterfall, which reflected the sun's shine. Soarin smiled a little and chuckled.

The girl grinned and then turned to the waterfall. She ran towards it and came back with water balanced in her palms. She gently poured the water on the flower. Slowly, it turned red. No.......blue. Actually, it was rainbow-colored now. Soarin watched in amazement.

The girl laughed, seemingly pleased with his reaction. She ran back to the waterfall and started splashing water all around the little area. "Do you wanna come play?" She asked, beckoning him towards her.

But Soarin stayed in the shadows. Nonetheless, the girl turned and kept splashing the water. After a few seconds, Soarin turned to leave, but he also wanted to play with her.

"Oh, Soarin! There you are!"

Soarin looked up, noticing her mother right in front of him. She looked very, very worried.

"Don't ever run off like that again! You had me worried!" She said, almost at the brink of tears. She picked him up and smiled. "C'mon, let's get you back! It turns out Spitfire's mom can look after you."

Soarin nodded, but looked back at the little girl, who was still splashing water onto the flowers. Maybe they'd see each other again one day.






"Hmm......maybe he needs a punch in the face?"

"As much as I agree, he's injured, you know."

"I was just kidding!"

"I'm awake, dammit......" Soarin mumbled, slowly blinking. He saw three blurry blobs in front of him. "What......what's going on?" He asked, confused. Soon, he could make out white walls and a big window.

"Bro, you're awake!" A voice said. Soarin recognized it as his brother. His voice cracked a bit, though.

Another voice snickered. "See? He's not dead! Don't be such a crybaby."

"I am not!" Rumble protested.

Soarin grumbled as his vision grew clearer. "Wh......where am I? Wait, what am I doing in a hospital room?"

Rainbow sighed. "Rumble called us yesterday and said you bumped into a street lamp yesterday." She snorted. "How the hell did that happen? Were you distracted by a......certain something?"

Soarin flushed. "I told you, I deleted that picture!" He said. He stared at Rainbow, suddenly remembering his dream. Noticing the weird atmosphere, Scootaloo and Rumble shuffled out of the room, snickering.

Rainbow rolled her eyes and sat down on the visitor's chair. "So tell me, what did cause you to bump your head?"

Soarin looked up at the ceiling, pain suddenly struck his head and looked back down. "Rumble just asked me about what happened at the park and I spaced out I guess."

"Really?" Rainbow raised her eyebrow. "Seems to me like it's more than that, y'know." She leaned back on the chair and looked out the window, watching the drops of rain streaming down the window. There seems to be a convenient shoujo anime rain coming down.

Soarin shrugged, then realized Rainbow wasn't even looking. "I remembered something while I was knocked out......like some kind of flashback, you know?"

".....no, I don't." Rainbow said bluntly.

Soarin looked at Rainbow, who was looking at him this time. "Oh yeah....what happened to my bag? Your chocolates were in there, and I didn't finish 'em yet."

Rainbow's eyes shifted across the room. Soarin weakly lifted the upper part of his body and noticed his bag, placed gently on the table. It looked pretty wet. "Did the chocolates....?

"Melt? Yup." Rainbow sighed sadly. "But I made you new ones." She blushed as she threw a pouch of chocolates on his lap. "Y-you better appreciate it!"

Soarin rolled his eyes with a smile. Even at a time like this she's like that. Soarin hesitated before opening it, though, and took some time examining the design of the pouch. It had two petals stuck to it, one blue and one golden. He opened the plastic and threw a chocolate into his mouth. "This is even better than the last one! Thanks!"

Rainbow blushed even more. "D-don't mention it. Seriously." She looked out the window again, watching the two droplets of rain race down.............droplet number 2 won. She picked up her water bottle, which she set on the ground a while ago, and opened the cap. She poured the water on the two petals. It slowly, ever so slowly, turned into a rainbow color. Soarin fell silent once again.

"Well hey........."

"Mmhmm?" Soarin mumbled, so amazed at the sight that he couldn't say a word.

"Sometimes the simplest things can make anyone happy."

Soarin paused as he stared at Rainbow.

..........

"SOARIN!! O. M. G!" A loud voice interrupted the silence. "I was so worried! Are you okay? Does your head hurt? Did you get amnesia?" She gasped. "Do you remember me!?!" Lightning Dust examined Soarins face and hands.

Soarin struggled to make Lightning let go. "G-get off, please.....I'm tired...."

"Oh, right! Of course!" Lightning jumped off with a giggle. Behind her, Pinkie Pie and Quibble Pants entered the room.

"Have you ever heard of 'staying quiet in hospitals', Lightning?" Quibble grumbled, occupying the seat next to Rainbow. He blushed at the fact that he was so near her. "Rainbow told us you were hospitalized, so we came to check up on you."

Pinkie giggled in that memorable Pinkie way. She took out a big heart card and placed it on Soarin's hands, next to the chocolates. "Our whole class wishes you well!" She cheerfully announced.

Soarin grabbed the card in disbelief. "How did you all get in contact so quickly?"

Quibble raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? Rainbow didn't tell you?"

Soarin turned his head to Rainbow with a questioning face.

"Err.....right, I forgot to mention a teensy weensy thing." Rainbow laughed awkwardly. "You kinda skipped school for today. You bumped into the street lamp yesterday." She pointed at Pinkie, who grabbed a calendar out of nowhere.

Soarin eyed the calendar and opened the card. Sprinkles were glued on it as a design. Wait..........that's not glue.....that's......

"Yep! Icing!" Pinkie giggled. "You are correct, readers!"

Lightning cocked her head. "......readers?"

Pinkie pointed at you. "Them! Oh wait, nevermind. I gotta keep remembering that none of you would understand. Continue on with the story please!"

..........

Rainbow rolled her eyes and turned to Soarin. "Aaaaaaanyways, the doctor told me you'll be just fine. Your memory got jogged a little, but he said that you didn't exactly forget anything. Weird."

"Makes sense why I got that dream." Soarin said to himself under his breath.

Just then, Nurse Redheart came in with her clipboard in hand. "Excuse me, if you're done with the visit, Soarin needs a small checkup before leaving." She said ever so kindly.

Lightning beamed. "Does that mean he'll come to school tomorrow?" She asked excitedly.

Redheart nodded. "He can't participate in too much physical eduaction, though. You'll have to be careful from now on, okay, Soarin?" She said, stepping closer towards the group. Soarin nodded.

"Good!" Nurse Redheart smiled and then looked at the students. They all nodded knowingly and left the room, bowing politely before they did. The nurse turned to Soarin. "Are you feeling any better?" She asked.

Soarin nodded slowly. "It still hurts a little, but........one of my friends said my memory was jogged."

Redheart smiled. "Yes, but do not fret. Like what your friend probably mentioned, you didn't forget anything. We gave you a medicine that prevented that. It seems, however, that your memory became clearer instead." Her smile faded a little. "I also know......that you had amnesia."

"I.....had amnesia?" Soarin asked. "Since when? I don't remember having amnesia!" He said, trying best to stay calm.

"It's nothing serious." Redheart explained carefully. "When you were little, you got hit in the head playing basketball. All your memories were retrieved. The ones with Spitfire, your family vacations, your sports days in kindergarten, everything. There was one memory, however, that didn't return."

Soarin looked at his hands. He know now what she was talking about.

Redheart continued. "I asked your parents, but they were very thorough on their explanation that they don't recall anything else that you should remember. They thought maybe it was something you experienced by yourself."

Then her smile returned. "It seems that the memory returned." She looked at something Soarin couldn't make out, but when he followed her gaze, he realized she was talking abut the pouch of chocolates in his hand.

To be continued...