"I want to thank you again for doing this." Thunderlane told Soarin as they were walking along the lagoon.
"It's no problem, and you were right, the boys do need help in learning discipline and I'm just the pony to do it."
"It must have been great working for the Equestrian Navy, in fact it was always was my dream to join until… my parents…" he couldn't bring himself to say the rest.
Soarin laid a comforting hoof on his shoulder, "I understand. And I know what you mean, just before I went off to sea, I was going to marry the love of my life." his eyes went dreamy when thinking of Rainbow Dash.
"Yeah, you had everything, until that stupid typhoon took it away from you."
Soarin nodded. Fate just had to be cruel to him, separating him from his beloved as well as the rest of the world. But at least he got to meet ponies like Thunderlane who was a devoted big brother and a hard worker. He mentioned, "You know, when we got off this island, I will gladly recommend you to the Academy."
Thunder's eyes lit up, "Would you really?"
"Of course. You have proven yourself to be very capable, we'd be lucky to have you."
Thunderlane smiled brightly and said, "And when we get off, I hope you'll get to marry your girl."
Soarin sighed, "I hope so too…"
Thunder gestured, "You know, in all the time that we've been here, I don't think you've ever told me how you two started courting. I know you met her at the academy but wasn't it against the rules to date each other?"
"At first, yes. But once she was promoted it gave me the chance I needed to officially ask her out."
Soarin watched as recently appointed Midshipman Rainbow Dash made her way to the officers' table. He could tell how excited she was to be here, a lot of the officers could. But he found it rather endearing, knowing that her dreams were coming true at last. He felt the very same thing when he got promoted to midshipman.
As he continued to watch her in her new position, suddenly he found her to be very desirable. When she was just a seaman he was impressed by her but never to the point he would fawn over her. But now… Here she was as an equal and he wanted to so much get closer to her. So he knew there was only one thing he could do.
One day when the officers had finished their meeting, Soarin stopped Rainbow from leaving, and the two of them were all alone.
He started to give off a professional stance and formally addressed her, "Midshipman Dash…"
Rainbow had a concern look on her face, "Is something wrong, sir?"
His face soften, "No, nothing's wrong." then he bowed to her much to her surprise. "I would like it, with your permission, if you would allow me to take you out to dinner tomorrow night."
Rainbow gawked at his words and made weird noises in the process.
He looked up to see her reaction and grew worry, he asked, "Did I come on too strong?"
She shook her head, "No! It's just… I… I never had this happen to me before… I mean, you used to be one of my instructors and now that we're on the same level, you… you want to court me?"
Soarin stood up and kept a respectful distance so he didn't scare her away with what he had to say next, "I do. I never thought that way about you when you were training but now… something has changed when you became an officer, I see you in a whole new light and it's blinding."
She snorted, "No offense, but that's a pretty corny line to say."
He smirked, "Not used to flattery, huh?"
"Let's just say I'm not exactly the kind of girl that falls head over hooves so easily."
He smirked further, "Oh, I believe that."
Her smile faltered and questioned, "If I refuse, would you be upset at me?"
He shook his head, "No. I would be disappointed but the choice is entirely yours." Then it occurred to him why she asked that and quickly added, "If you're worried about this affecting your position, please don't be, I would never use you like that. All I want is for us to get to know each other better, really."
She stared at him for a while, he seem to be sincere and it's not like she was going to fall in love with him on the first night. Besides, this was a good chance to know the lieutenant first hand and it could mean a lot to her career. She told him, "Okay."
He blinked in bewilderment, not sure if he heard her right and slowly inquired, "You… will have dinner with me tomorrow?"
She nodded while saying, "Uh-huh."
"Um, alright then." He smiled and he bowed again, "I shall see you until then, milady." He took his leave.
When the next night came, Soarin-wearing a formal shirt and waistcoat-stopped in front of Rainbow's door while holding a bouquet of wildflowers since he figured she wouldn't like roses or any other elegant flower. He took a deep breath as he braced himself, he hoped this night will go alright as the mare he was about to court was unlike any other mare he ever met including his colleagues. She was different from the rest and he hoped he could impress her because of that. Slowly he lifted his hoof and knocked on the door.
The door opened but the room was dark and he couldn't see anything until slowly a cyan mare came out wearing an emerald dress with golden trim, her rainbow mane with pulled back into a ponytail with a dark green bow with her bangs and lower part of her hair curled up.
Soarin was beside himself when seeing the vision in front of him.
Rainbow asked him, "Do you like it?"
He was still at loss for words and she winced, telling him, "I knew it, I went overboard didn't I? I told Fluttershy I needed to keep it simple…"
"NO!" he cringed, realizing he say that too loud and cleared his throat, "No, it's fine, I just… never saw you in a dress before…" he blushed.
She felt a tint of pink on her cheeks and turned her head away shyly, something she thought she would never do. "I just borrowed this from a friend of mine, I don't own any dresses, so… yeah…"
He smiled, "That's okay, you look good with or without a dress."
She raise her brow at that.
It took a moment for Soarin to realize what he said sounded inappropriate and quickly added, "That is to say, you look good in any type of clothes! Well, maybe not any type, just the ones that matter! That is-um…" he slapped his forehead. He ruined the moment, he just knew it, now she was never going to want to date him again.
But suddenly he heard laughter and he saw how she was trying to hold it in but couldn't.
He asked, "You're not upset?"
"No way!"
He sighed in relief.
She complimented, "You look good yourself."
"Thanks," he handed her the bouquet, "I know it's something you probably don't like but it's tradition for a stallion to present flowers to the mare he's courting."
"Hey, as long as it's not anything too romantic, I'm fine with it." She put the flowers in her room and asked, "So, where are we going?"
"It's a surprise." He smirked as he offered his hoof.
She took it and the two set off.
Soon, they found themselves in front of a seaside restaurant. He held the door for her making her roll her eyes playfully. Once inside, a waitress escorted them to a table, they sat down and a menu was presented to them. When they had finished ordering, Rainbow questioned.
"So, how did you know about this place anyway?"
"Spitfire, Fleetfoot, and I come here on the occasion, it's a great place to eat especially since they serve the best apple pie."
She winced, "I'm not really a pie eater."
"Oh, really? How come?"
"I don't know, for as long as I remember I just don't like eating pie."
"That's too bad, you don't know what you're missing."
"Eh, I can get by. So are there foods you don't like to eat?"
He shuddered, "Caramels, they stick in your mouth. And that goes for anything sticky."
She nodded in understanding.
"So… you said that's your friend's dress you're wearing, does she live close by?"
"She does. Her name is Fluttershy and she's been my best friend since childhood. When I told her I was having this date, she was so excited for me that she insisted on dressing me up."
He chuckled, "She sounds like a really good friend."
"She is. I just wish she wasn't related to her brother. He's such a flirt especially around me."
"Really? Has he tried courting you before?"
"Several times! But I always refused."
"Have there been others trying to court you?"
"You seem awfully interested in me having possible past beaus," she smirked. "Afraid that you might have some competition?"
He blushed at the thought but part of it was true.
She giggled, "Don't be. I never had a courtship before until now."
His eyes widen at this, "Wait… I'm the first pony you've ever courted with?"
She nodded and inquired, "Have you ever courted anyone before?"
"Yes, but that was mostly because Spitfire and Fleetfoot kept setting me up."
"So… this is the first time you've ever asked on your own?"
He smiled, "It is."
She was speechless, until she uttered out, "Wow… I knew I was great but… for you to willing court me just like that is…"
Soarin kept smiling, "You are quite amazing, Rainbow Dash, I saw that from the moment you walked into the Academy's doors." He slightly frowned, "Kind of makes me wonder what sort-of chance I have with you…"
She gapped at his words, then she declared, "How can you say that?! Yes, I'm incredible but you're the reason why I went to the Academy at all! You and the other officers were my idols! I just wanted more than anything to join you, my heroes!"
It was Soarin's turn to gape.
Rainbow stated firmly, "If anyone is going to prove their worth in this relationship, it's going to be me."
A smile played on his lips and he told her, "I think it needs to be both ways. From what I know of relationships, the couple needs to both pull their weight in order for a marriage to work. Even if it was through an arranged marriage the couple still needs to work together to make sure a household is running properly. But first, we need to see how this night goes before we can determine marriage."
She smiled back, "That's okay with me, I'm not in any rush to get married."
"But is it something you want?" He would love to know that before they moved forward.
She admitted, "Well… it's something that never crossed my mind a lot but I can see myself settling down after serving in the navy."
He was tempted to ask how she would feel if she was married while serving but it was too early to ask that since he wasn't sure if they were going to get that far. At that point their food was served to them and they ceased with the small talk while eating. If either was bothered by their eating habits it didn't show. When they were done with their meals, Soarin stood up and placed bits on the table. Rainbow followed suit by placing her own bits on the table too.
"You don't have to do that." he told her.
"Does it bother you if I do?"
"Well no. I'm used to Spitfire doing the same thing, but it's suppose to be the stallion that pays for dinner when courting."
"I like paying for my own meal so you don't have to waste your bits on me."
He found it hard to argue back as they left the restaurant and started walking along the beach. The stars and the moon were shining bright above them and Soarin took this to notice and asked.
"I don't suppose you'll want to look at the stars and name the constellations?"
She looked at him quizzingly, "Are you trying to test my knowledge of celestial navigation?"
Soarin hadn't thought of it that way, he just wanted them to gaze at the stars but now that she brought it up he was curious of how knowledgeable was when it came to navigating with the stars. He slowly started, "Well… do you think you're up to it?"
A determined look went across her face, "Of course! Bring it on!"
He smirked and pointed to a star, "Okay then, name that star right there."
She looked in the direction he was pointing and made a playful scoff, "That's easy, that's Andromedae!"
He smirked further, "Impressive, alright then," he pointed to another star, "How about that one?"
She pffted, "Draconis."
"Bet you can't get this next one." he pointed again.
She smugly replied, "Pegasi."
"Ah, but which Pegasi? There's two of them."
"Oh, um…" she wavered, "It's… the Alpha Pegasi?"
He beamed at her, "You got it."
"Really?!" Then she caught herself, "Uh, I mean, of course I got it, I practically aced Lieutenant Silver Zoom's navigation class."
"Then you wouldn't mind if I looked at the navigational charts you had to write out in class, would you?" he playfully said.
She cringed and confessed, "Okay, maybe I didn't completely ace the class, but I know celestial navigation like the back of my hoof!"
"Then you should be able to get this last one…" he pointed to the brightest star in the night sky.
She saw and proclaimed, "Puh-lease, everyone knows that's Polaris, the North Star and that it's part of the Ursa Minor constellation."
"Very good." He smirked again.
"Eh, I know." She smirked herself, basking in her glory.
He questioned, "Have you always been this self-confident?"
The question took her by surprise and nervously chuckled, "Not… always… If it wasn't for my parents supporting me, I probably would have ended up like Fluttershy and not have the confidence to do anything!"
"Wow. That's very fortunate."
"Were your parents not like that?" she was genuinely curious to know.
Soarin shook his head, "They mainly wanted to make sure I was making an honest living and I always did have a love for adventure, so at the first chance I got I went to the academy and ended up where I am now."
"That's amazing."
"While I was training in the academy I had to work harder than any other seaman, sure I had some raw talent but I still had to make sure I was capable to be at sea."
"And you did. You're a navy war hero now and the first lieutenant! Your hard work really paid off."
He smiled at her words, "Thank you. And you deserve to be a midshipman more than anything, I can't wait until you become a lieutenant."
She felt herself blushing and stroking her hair, something she thought she would never do either, telling him, "Thanks." For some strange reason she felt giddier around Soarin, but she quickly dismissed those feelings.
He slowly said, "Well… it's getting late, we should head back now."
She nodded.
Soarin stated, "So maybe it wasn't the best way to start a courtship but it got better with each passing date. We did have our ups and downs but that only strengthened us as a couple and I've never once regretted it."
Thunderlane was spellbound by the whole thing and could only utter out, "Wow…"
"And it's all the more reason I'm trying to get off this island."
Thunder nodded, "I hear ya."
Then the stallions spotted the colts playing around and Soarin said under his breath, "Time to go to work…" and went toward the boys with a firm look on his face.