//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: The Plan // Story: Spring Love // by Nailah //------------------------------// Rainbow Dash awoke the following morning with a loud and tired yawn as she stretched out her hooves and wings as she sat up from her back and looked out towards the sky. It was morning already, she rubbed the dust out of her eyes as she stood up from her bed, still yawning, obviously still a bit tired from all of her worrying last night. Now she had a focused mind, well as focused as it could be so soon in the day. Rainbow Dash wasn't one to wake up with the sun but she had to think of a plan to hide how she felt about Soarin, she wasn't about to let anyone know what she was up too, but before anything she was going to get a shower and then she couldn't believe she was even thinking this, she was going to make a list of things not to do that might end up revealing she was crushing. It was something Twilight was more likely to do, but Rainbow Dash was trying to find solutions on her own so she had to write things down, then she'd need to dispose of them immediately afterwards. She wasted little to no time hopping in the shower and letting the hot water fall down onto her body as she rubbed water in her eyes, to help her feel a bit more awake, it was clear even afterwards she was still sleepy. She stepped out of the shower after she was finished, drying herself off with a towel as she hurried to head to her little desk with her latest Daring Do book still sitting calmly upon it. She picked up a quill and a piece of paper from her small pile of blank papers she had gotten for a project she was just too busy to get started on. “Hmm....well obviously I don't want Soarin to know I'm crushing on him so I need to act normal around him.” began Rainbow Dash as she was whispering to herself tips and tricks of what she could do to keep the ponies from finding out her little secret. Step 1: Act Normal about Soarin and the Wonderbolts. Step 2: Don't tell anyone, not even Fluttershy. Step 3: Remain Calm Step 4: Give yourself time to get over this crush Step 5: Move on as normal. “There all done!” smiled Rainbow Dash as she folded up the paper into a scroll as she wrapped a ribbon around it as she would then put it in her trash bin for the trash pony to take whenever he came to pick up her junk, and as long as she knew what was on the list, she wouldn't have to worry about this ever again. Rainbow Dash was fairly confident that she could handle this all on her own, she didn't need her friends to help her with this, she didn't know why she had worried in the first place! It's not like she had to get ready for a performance, that was way harder than just avoiding admitting she was crushing. There was no way she was ever going to tell anyone that. She'd be the laughing stock of Ponyville, she'd never be able to face the Wonderbolts ever again. And then she'd end up glued in her house with no friends and no way to be a part of the team she had worked so hard to get accepted into. No, she wasn't going to let this crush ruin her dreams, no matter how hard it might be for her to hide her feelings, she would try. Rainbow Dash didn't put any more thought into her fears or worries and would just focus on getting ready for another day of being a Wonderbolt. To this day it still amazed her at how far she had come, she had worked her tail off just to be a Wonderbolt. She got suited up in her Wonderbolt uniform and would fly off to Wonderbolts Headquarters. She landed near the run way and could see Spitfire in the distance talking to Fleetfoot but she didn't see Soarin anywhere nearby at the moment. That made her life a lot easier. She walked over towards Spitfire. “Reporting for duty Commander.” announced Rainbow Dash. Spitfire turned and looked towards her. “Ah Rainbow Crash good to see you, I wanted to make sure you were okay, you seemed a bit off the other day. Are you sure you are up to performance standards? I don't want to risk any ponies health just for a daily training session, despite what ponies may think I care about my teammates. Just know if there's anything you ever want to tell me or talk about I'm always willing to listen.” explained Spitfire as she asked Fleetfoot to give them a bit of space, and of course she obliged the Commander's wishes. Rainbow Dash just paused as she tried to think of what to say, obviously she couldn't say what she was really feeling, but she'd feel bad if she said nothing at all. She was at a lost as to what to do other than deny that there was anything wrong. “Well Crash?” questioned Spitfire still waiting for an answer to her question regarding her odd behavior the other day. “Well you see...I may have been feeling a little dizzy after the performance with all the twists and turns, but I assure you I'm fine now. All I really needed was a good night's rest.” explained Rainbow Dash just a bit nervously. “You know if you aren't feeling up to it you just have to tell me, I can't have a performer perform if they aren't one hundred percent. Just understand that Crash, if this behavior continues and I see no improvement, I'll have to suspend your Wonderbolt status for a month and you'll be cleaning the barracks again and I'm sure you don't want that.” replied Spitfire. Spitfire was trying to reach out to help Rainbow Dash, but Rainbow didn't want or need the help, she could handle this just fine on her own. “I swear I'm fine!” replied Rainbow Dash. Spitfire knew Rainbow Dash wasn't telling her something but yet respected her privacy. “Very well Crash, just know I'm keeping my eyes on you for now.” and with that Spitfire went over to talk to Fleetfoot. Rainbow Dash let out a long withheld sigh. Few! That was close too close. What if Soarin thought she had acted off yesterday too? She'd be in big trouble then. As long as she kept her cool he'd never know a thing. She turned around to head back to the locker room and standing there behind her was none other than Soarin himself. He had this cute look on his face as he approached her, and all she could do was stare like a love struck puppy. Don't drool Rainbow whatever you do don't drool. She told herself mentally. “Hey Rainbow Dash, it's a lovely day out isn't it?” asked Soarin casually. Unlike Spitfire and Fleetfoot he was the most approachable one of the Wonderbolts, and he didn't really notice that Rainbow Dash was acting a bit odd, he just thought she was probably nervous about the routine today. “The weather? Oh right the weather it's lovely I do agree, though didn't the pegasi call for a storm later today?” she asked casually trying to turn the subject in her direction and away from any possible suspicions. “Rainbow Dash are you feeling quite okay?, asked Soarin obviously concerned as he came just a bit closer. You know if there's ever anything you want to tell me you don't have to worry I won't tell the others.” explained Soarin. Soarin couldn't help but be concerned this was not the Rainbow Dash he had grown to know over a short span of time ever since she joined them officially as a Wonderbolt. Rainbow Dash shuttered and tried not to blush but her face was only getting more and more red, she went to dash off not wanting to say anything else to Soarin but Soarin, went to grab her as she ran by, which halted her in her tracks and the next thing she knew her lips were against his and her heart fluttered a mile a second. Soarin wasn't expecting the two of them to meet lips, but he wasn't sure if Rainbow Dash wanted this or not but he didn't break away from the kiss. Rainbow Dash felt her lips against Soarin's and couldn't help but notice how he wasn't pulling away from the kiss, did that mean? No she pulled away wanting it to seem like just an accident, but all the meanwhile her face remained a bright shade of crimson red, she looked about as red as a cherry from the cherry farms. Rainbow Dash couldn't help but sigh at herself, now what was she supposed to do? She couldn't just run away now, he was going to want answers and she just didn't want to say anything. Soarin walked over towards Rainbow Dash, slowly at first not wanting to upset her further as he gently stroked down her mane. “You know you are the most beautiful mare I have ever known and I've always admired you. The whole time while I was a Wonderbolt you were already leagues ahead of me, so please if you want to tell me something or if there's something that's bothering you, I do hope you'd have the courage to tell me.” softly explained Soarin as he would wait to see her response. For now he stood calmly in front of her, not daring to make a move yet. Rainbow Dash just didn't know what to say. What was she supposed to say? She had no clue what to do in a situation like this. Yeah if this was a race or saving Equestria and battling the likes of evil, she'd know exactly what to do kick ass. When it came to love and romance she was hopeless, she didn't even know if it was love or just simply that a crush. She didn't want to hurt his feelings, if he really did find her beautiful she didn't want to actually say she was crushing on him. With a sigh she looked towards Soarin with a serious look in her eyes, it seemed her plan didn't go exactly according to plan but running away would only make matters worse so she decided the best thing to do was tell him. “Listen, Soarin I love that you think I'm an amazing flier, after all I am the best flier in all of Equestria and I'm honored you think I'm beautiful but in all honestly the reason I didn't want to say anything was.” she began and then all of a sudden it started to pour down rain just when she was about to confess. She was getting soaked and rather irritated now. Really? I decide to tell him and that's when the Pegasi decide to have it rain? But before she could even finish processing her own statement in her mind, Soarin was right beside her his wings over her to help keep her dry as he leaned against her to help keep her dry as they both would dash towards the inside of Wonderbolts headquarters. Once they were inside, Soarin shut the door behind them and looked towards Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash was busy shaking the rain off of her body as she looked towards Soarin who walked over towards her as she let out a slight sneeze. “Are you okay?” he asked concerned. “Yeah I'm okay are you okay?” she asked concerned. “I'm fine don't worry about me.” replied Soarin as he wrapped his wing around her. “Now what was it you were going to tell me?” he asked as he didn't want to leave her side, because in truth he really liked Rainbow and hoped she might return his feelings someday. “Well you see....” began Rainbow Dash as she stumbled and stuttered to find the right words to say.