//------------------------------// // Soarin On In // Story: One Bolt, Moving Forward // by Boltsinger //------------------------------// Soarin flew happily over Ponyville, looking around at the town. Twilight and Boltsinger had taken off somewhere, like Boltsinger had explained to him, so he was going to take this opportunity to approach Rainbow Dash. She was still avoiding those two, but she hadn’t been neglecting her flight training in the slightest. However, before he went to see her, he decided it was probably for the best that he confer with other ponies that knew her. He swooped down into the street, looking around for signs of somepony who knew the mare. His search looked to be in vain for a while, until a fabulous white Unicorn caught his attention. Before he could open his mouth, the Unicorn looked in his direction. “Ah! Soarin!” she cried out, trotting over to him with a smile on her face. “How wonderful to see you! Why, we haven’t met face-to-face since Rainbow Dash got framed back in Canterlot, have we?” “Uh… yeah!” he confirmed, continuing his walk. “So, what brings a strapping Wonderbolt like you to Ponyville today?” She wondered, walking beside him. “I heard you’re staying with Twilight and Boltsinger, but the real reason you’re here is Rainbow Dash, isn’t it?” Soarin smiled, looking fondly up at the clouds. “Yeah, I’m making sure she keeps in shape for when she’s ready to come back to the ‘Bolts.” Rarity giggled, giving him a knowing glance. “Yes, that’s clearly the only reason you’re here.” “Of course.” he stated, trying to look as stoic as he could. “Why else would I be here?” “Oh, please, you can’t possibly believe Twilight hasn’t told me about your little crush.” she stated, nudging him in the side. “I only wish I’d been there for your little ‘display’ at Sugar Cube Corner!” “Okay, okay, fine. You’re right.” He admitted, simultaneously sighing with the mare beside him. “I was hoping I could get some insight on how to approach her.” Rarity tilted her head, wondering what he meant. “Didn’t Twilight show you how to do that?” “They seemed to treat it like a joke.” He told her. “I’m getting advice from them, but things have been rocky. I wanna see what everypony else has to say.” “I’ve heard about the situation.” She affirmed. “But they’re not exactly wrong. Approaching Rainbow Dash is easy. But what you are trying to do is much more difficult.” She stepped ahead of him, stopping him in his tracks. “What you want is romance. And that is an entirely different game!” She encased him with her magic, pulling him along behind. “Come with me! We’re going to get you all set to woo that Wonderbolt!” Soarin found himself inside the Carousel Boutique, the excited Unicorn getting a number of measurements before zipping over to her sewing machine, making adjustments as needed. “Normally, I wouldn’t say that a new outfit would catch her eye, but I’ve come to understand what Dash thinks as ‘cool’ to a greater degree than I used to. I think if you show up with something appropriate, she’ll get the idea you’re trying to put out there!” “Are you sure about this?” Soarin wondered, looking cautiously at the piece of fashion coming together on the mannequin. “This doesn’t seem like something she’d go crazy for.” “You asked for my help, this is the best I can offer!” she stated, sliding a changing curtain between them and floating the outfit over. A knock came at Rainbow Dash’s door. She didn’t quite notice it as of yet, though, as she was caught right in the middle of the latest Daring Do adventure. It was one of the more action-heavy stories, and she knew it well. Daring Do and the Army of Claws was based on an adventure that she had gotten to take part in, after all. She was getting to the part in which Daring Do and her longtime friend faced off against a massive army of vicious feline warriors, raised by the dreaded Ahuizotl, before they could attack a helpless village. The heroes made their charge, a wall of claws closing in on them, when… More knocking. She groaned, marking her book and getting up. She came to the door, opening it to be blinded by a brilliant sequin flash. There stood Soarin in what she could only describe as a bedazzled Wonderbolts uniform with a gold-crested circlet, pointed up to accentuate his mane. “What are you wearing?” She wondered, a look of genuine confusion in her eyes. Soarin scratched his mane with his hoof, averting his gaze. “Rarity said it would be something you’d like. I wasn’t so sure, but she wouldn’t let me go until I was wearing it.” “You look… Well, I can’t really say ‘bad’, but it’s definitely not what I expected.” she told him, looking at the outfit from various angles. “What the heck made her do this, anyway? And… why are you here? I don’t have practice today.” Soarin laughed, looking at his fellow Wonderbolt with a smile. “Well, I was just wondering if… you…” “If I what?” She interjected. “Is Rarity tryin’ to set us up, or something?” “Oh, it’s nothing!” he fibbed, brushing the question off. “I’ll catch you later, Rainbow Dash!” He turned, taking off into the distance. “What’s going on with that pony?” Rainbow Dash asked herself, returning to her abode. Soarin left the castle once more, the outfit from before removed. It was a nice outfit. Rarity’s efforts were appreciated, but they certainly weren’t what he was hoping for. He decided that it would be a good idea to ask somepony else. He saw several ponies in town that looked familiar, but none that offered the kind of perspective he needed. It wasn’t long before the perfect choice appeared, coming out of the tea shop with a smile on her ever-gentle face. “Hey! Fluttershy!” he called, trotting over to her. Her ears perked up as she looked his way, letting out a soft yelp. She lowered her head, hiding behind her mane as the white stallion approached. “You’re… Soarin, right?” Soarin nodded. “Yeah. Hey, you alright?” he asked, bending down to get a good look at her. “You look like you just saw a ghost!” Fluttershy pulled her mane aside, standing at her full height again. “I’m fine. You just startled me, is all.” She continued on her way to her destination, Soarin following at a respectable distance. “So, what brings you into town?” “Well, I was hoping to find somepony that knows Rainbow Dash pretty well.” he told her, scratching his mane with his hoof. “You grew up together, right?” “Ever since we lived in Cloudsdale.” Fluttershy confirmed. “She gets along really well with my family. Especially my brother! He won’t admit it, but I think he has a crush on her!” “A crush, huh?” he repeated, kicking up some dust with his foreleg. “Gee, I wonder what that’s like…” “So, why do you need to know about Dashie?” the mare asked, oblivious to his bit of sarcasm. “Don’t you see her all the time at Wonderbolts practice?” “I only ever see her up at headquarters or events.” he elaborated. “I’ve never really had a casual conversation with her. I don’t really know how to approach her. I don’t know what she likes, or what to say, or anything like that.” “It’s not really any different from talking to her any other time.” She assured, starting her walk towards the cottage. “And anything past that, you can simply ask her. She’s a pretty open book.” “You sure? ‘Cause there was this one time, when she first became a Wonderbolt, where her attitude was all over the place.” He started, calling upon the memory with a small laugh. “She did all sorts of different things with her mane, and each time she had a completely different personality. Heck, one of them sounded a lot like Rarity!” Fluttershy giggled at the thought of her brash friend trying to come off as a fashionista. “Oh, my! That sounds like it was an interesting experience!” She looked confidently at him. “I’m sure that was just a one-time thing, though. She’s really quite direct. And besides, you already have some common ground.” She paused, putting her hoof on her chin. “Or, I guess it’s more like ‘common sky’, isn’t it?” “You mean flying?” he queried, receiving a curt nod from the animal expert. “Okay… I think that’ll work!” He flapped his wings, rising into the air. “Thanks, Fluttershy!” He twisted in the air, shooting into the distance. Fluttershy looked up, waving at the speeding stallion, her mane blowing in the wind. “You’re welcome!” Once more, a knock came at Rainbow Dash’s door. She sat up, putting her book aside again. “Ugh! What is it this time?” She came to the door, opening it in a huff. “What is it?!” Soarin stood in the doorway again, looking normal. He smiled with his wings spread. “You need something?” “I just thought you might enjoy going for a fly.” He said, beckoning her along. “Haven’t we practiced enough already?” She asked, readying to turn around. “Who said anything about practice?” the white stallion corrected. “I just wanted to go for a casual fly with you. Help you unwind.” Rainbow turned her head to look back. “Really? You just wanna ‘casual fly’ with me?” She turned to face him again. “What’s the catch?” “No catch! Honest!” He affirmed, waving his forelegs in front of him. “I just thought it would be good for both of us.” He extended an offering hoof. “So, what do you say?” Rainbow Dash looked up into his eyes. No ulterior motives, no prying, no deception in the green orbs before her. She took a calming breath, letting a smile onto her muzzle as she walked past him out the door. “Okay. Try to keep up!” She jumped off of the edge of the cloud her home sat upon, diving to the ground and swiftly swooping upward, ascending at a breakneck speed. Soarin followed her movements with his eyes, excitement bubbling up inside him as he unintentionally trotted in place, making a strong flap of his wings to rise up and pursue her. Much to the blue mare’s surprise, he quickly caught up to her. They performed a number of stunts, ranging from aileron rolls to barrel rolls, loops to banks to immelmann turns, plowing through cloud after cloud. Every so often, Rainbow Dash would sneak a glance at Soarin. A wide grin was plastered onto his muzzle, the wind blowing through his mane as his every graceful movement mirrored her own. They went on for several minutes, eventually coming to a rather large cloud and going in for a landing, sitting in silence while looking at the evening sky Rainbow Dash looked down at Ponyville, taking a relieved breath. “Thanks…” Soarin looked over at her. “For what?” Rainbow directed her gaze at her fellow Wonderbolt. “You were right. I really needed that fly. I’ve done a lot of flying already, but having somepony with me, just enjoying the flight… It helped me clear my head some.” “You still thinking about the thing with Twilight and Bolt?” he inquired. “You really wanna know?” she asked. Her black-maned companion nodded, his gaze unflinching. Rainbow Dash looked to either side, trying to see if anypony else was looking. “I haven’t really stopped thinking about it. Bolt raised a pretty good point last time I talked to him… But I still don’t like it. But, you know what’s even worse?” She gathered up some cloud with her forelegs, resting her head on it with a sourpuss expression. “Not being able to see my friends. I want to be mad, but I can’t stand being alone so much!” “You haven’t met up with anypony else?” Soarin wondered, scooting closer to her. “I know you’ve got other friends to do stuff with.” “Not without the risk of randomly meeting up with Twilight.” She stated, extending a foreleg in front of her. “The prank certainly didn’t go how I hoped, and since then it’s just been… weird. So, I’ve only ever seen you.” She scooted a smidge closer to him, nudging him in the side with her elbow. “But, that’s not really a bad thing, huh?” Soarin smiled, his cheeks gaining a distinct red tint. “I hope not. I had a lot of fun flying with you!” He replied, nudging her in return. “I’m kinda hoping we can make it a regular thing…” Rainbow smirked in his direction. “I can get behind that idea. But I still miss everypony else.” “So, how ‘bout you talk to them?” Soarin suggested. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned staying with those two, it’s that they’re pretty forgiving. Even if you haven’t sorted things out, you shouldn’t isolate yourself. You saw what it did to your performance at practice.” “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” She said, looking at the castle in the distance.  “Besides, it’s not just about me.” She gave Soarin a playful punch to his shoulder. “Thanks, Clipper.” Soarin winced slightly at the hit, giving a mildly pained smile. “No problem, Crash.” He looked out at the sunset again. “No problem at all."