Creak The floorboards screeched under Soarin's feet, as he grimaced at the noise. Rainbow poked her head outside her door, growling.
"And where do you think you're going?" asked Rainbow, as Soarin smirked.
"On a date. What's wrong with that?" chuckled Soarin, tucking a piece of paper behind his ear. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, slamming the door shut. Hearing the footsteps fade away, Rainbow Dash leaned against the door, and slid down, resting her chin against her knees. Why did it hurt to hear that Soarin was going on a date? Rainbow sighed. This wasn't the time to think about boys. The championships against Cloudsdale High were tomorrow, and she had to bring home the title!
Standing up, Rainbow walked up to the window. Three birds flew by. One of them tweeted to the other, nudging close. The third one looked sad, standing alone. The second one instantly returned the gesture as another bird flew down to admire them. And the third bird looked at the two, and flapped away. Shaking the thought out of her head, Rainbow narrowed her eyes. It was time to get serious.
"Are you okay Dashie?" asked Fluttershy, as the six friends ate their lunch in the cafeteria. Rainbow looked up at her shy friend.
"Um, yeah, totally! Why would you think otherwise?" said Rainbow, darting her eyes around. Twilight and Pinkie shared a look.
"You've been looking at Soarin and Lightning Dust for a while now. And it's kinda..." started Twilight, hesitating to finish her sentence.
"Creepyandtotallydoesn'tseemlikeyouhaveacrushonSoarin" said Pinkie, racing. Rainbow Dash gulped. Had it been that obvious? Looking to her left, the popular kids, AKA Lightning Dust and her minions. And sitting right next to Lightning, was Soarin Skies. He seemed to be flirting with the ex CHS Sport Captain, but Rainbow could have sworn he looked over to her for a moment. The blue-headed boy paused for a moment, took a deep breath in, and resumed talking. Before Rainbow could ponder over the issue further, a low voice with Southern-accent caught her attention.
"Look Dash, I think you should forget Soarin; the game is tomorrow, you need to focus" suggested Applejack.
Rainbow snorted, "First of all, I am totally not thinking about Soarin, and I'm not interested at all in him. And don't worry, I'll bring my A game tomorrow"
"I hope she does" murmured Rarity to Fluttershy.
Honk honk! The horn signalling the game was starting in two minutes rang. Rainbow glared at the Cloudsdale team. Lightning Dust smirked mischievously back. Rainbow spotted Lightning and Soarin going over to the bleachers. Stealthily hiding behind a pole, she spied on their conversation.
"I won't do it!" said Soarin, arms crossed.
"Don't you want to win Soarin?" urged Lightning, "Just a bit of this powder will stop their 249 Air Drifter shoes from being able to kick the ball properly!"
Rainbow Dash instantly wanted to go race in front and stop Lightning, but a part of her wanted to see what Soarin would say.
"No. You can't just do that" argued Soarin, "I won't let you"
"Are you gonna choose that wannabee over me?" Rainbow Dash held her breath, waiting for Soarin's response. He wouldn't give in to her...right?
"You win" sighed Soarin. Rainbow gasped, quickly covering her mouth. Lightning Dust smiled wickedly.
"Perfect. Let's go honey" She grabbed Soarin's hand and lead him to the fields.
The referee blew his whistle as the match begun. Rainbow took a deep breath in. There was no use telling the referee. He was great friends with Lighning's dad, so obviously he would cover for her. Rainbow looked at her team members and their hopeful faces. It hurt her- not being able to share her feelings with her family and friends. But it's what had to be done to keep their concentration.
After half a game of missing the ball, falling, fumbling, and slipping, Rainbow knew she had to get serious. Furiously kicking the ball, Dash felt her shoes instantly repell the ball. Her foot slipped backward, as the ball flew out of the oval, and she fell to the ground. Coach Spitfire instantly ran towards her.
"What do you think you're doing Dash? We have to win this championship, you can't make these small mistakes!" she yelled.
Rainbow Dash felt her heart sink. She had to tell Spitfire- for the team and CHS. Slowly getting up, she whispered in Spitfire's ear.
"The other team put-"
Before she could say anymore, the referee announced the second half beginning. The match resumed. Another kick. Another fall. Rainbow's friends slowly lost faith in their chances to win. The whistle blew as the game concluded in Cloudsdale's win. Rainbow slowly trudged over to a furious Spitfire. She turned around briefly to see Soarin talking to Lightning. He frowned, arms crossed, and a part of her tried to think that maybe he had no choice. Rainbow growled at the boy- of course he had a choice! They were rivals, but she did think he had integrity at least.
Rainbow sighed, and turned back to Spitfire, who was still droning on. She had other stuff to think about than an unfairly lost game. Next time they'd work twice as hard, and win honestly. But was winning all she wanted or something else?
Knock knock knock Grumbling, Rainbow Dash lazily opened to door to see Rarity, who was awkwardly biting her lip.
"Can I come in darling?" she asked. Rainbow nodded, as Rarity, sat down on the bed with her. Rarity handed Dash her phone, with a photo of Soarin and Lightning holding hands.
"Turns out the two people at this school with the biggest egos are dating now. Disgusting" huffed Rarity, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Rainbow Dash handed Rarity her phone, and grabbed a Daring Do book off her shelf.
"You can see yourself out"
Rarity titled her head in confusion, "Do you need to tell me something Dashie? You've been acting off these days"
Rainbow shook her head.
"Are you sure? Does it have anything to do with Soarin?"
Rainbow angrily snapped her book shut, "I am not interested in him Rarity! I hate him, he's...horrible!"
She struggled to put her words together and Rarity chuckled.
"I didn't mention you liking Soarin darling. These are the signs of having a crush" Rarity emphasized on those last words, like a mother explaining a maths equation to a small child.
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. She got up and dragged Rarity off the bed, ushering her towards the door.
"Great seeing you Rares, bye!" she slammed the door shut, breathing a sigh of relief. She heard a cough behind her, and turned around. Soarin.
"Why did you just kick Rarity out?" he asked. Rainbow ignored him, walking back upstairs.
"Is this about me dating Lightning? We do make a sweet couple, right?" he chuckled smugly. Rainbow stopped.
"I do not care about your relationships. What I do care about is how you play your cards, and you didn't play them right today"
Without another word, she stomped back into her room, leaving Soarin with a hurricane of emotions.