//------------------------------//
// Part 9 - Start Your Day Off With Rainbows: 3/3 
// Story: Love at First Charm 
// by Creative Charmer 
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	"Rainbow...I...I don't even..." Creo kept stuttering, unable to get his head straight.
"Yeeees?" Rainbow said in a way that showed she expected Creo to say good things about her routine.
Creo put his right hoof on his head to try and get his thoughts together. When he finally knew what to say, he put his hoof back down on the ground. "Sorry about that, Rainbow. I just wasn't sure what to say."
"Nah, it's cool, Creo. I know I'm the kind of pony who can leave a pony speechless," Rainbow said smugly.
"I can't disagree with that!" Creo said with a bit of enthusiasm. "I mean, that was the most amazing bit of flying I've ever seen! All of those loops, that incredible speed, making those clouds follow you, and the way you finished—it was all just one big spectacular event!"
Rainbow Dash looked very happy from all the praise she was getting. "Thanks! It was definitely my best routine yet!"
"No doubt!" Creo responded as he walked next to Rainbow Dash and winked at her. "That routine was so amazing, there's no way anypony else could ever do something better!"
Rainbow chuckled. "Yeah, well, even though I'm one of the best, I'm sure the Wonderbolts could do something just as good, if not better."
"Better?" Creo said in disbelief. "That's one thing I do doubt!"
Rainbow looked surprised by Creo's response. "Creo, I know you're not from around here, but the Wonderbolts are the greatest group of pegasi in all of Equestria! Only the best fliers are in the Wonderbolts!"
"Yes, yes, I know about the Wonderbolts," Creo replied in a slightly condescending way. "And I've always thought of them as the best fliers in Equestria."
"Great to know you have good taste," Rainbow replied in a more pleasant tone.
"But now that I've met you, I don't think that they are the best anymore," Creo said as he shook his head.
Rainbow Dash looked quite surprised by this. "How can you not think they are the best??" she exclaimed with disbelief. "They're beyond all means of awesomeness! They're practically the definition of what it means to be awesome!"
Creo looked unfazed by Rainbow's words. "Well, in my opinion, you are just as good as any of the Wonderbolts."
"Well...I...they..." Rainbow stuttered as she couldn't think of another way to say the Wonderbolts are better. She then looked at Creo. "...do you really think so?"
Creo pondered for a moment. "Actually, no—you're better than any of the Wonderbolts," Rainbow looked taken aback by hearing that. "There's no doubt in my mind that you're a better flyer than any of the Wonderbolts. You fly fast, your stunts are incredible, and you can even make that cool rainbow trail when you fly! You are truly a one of a kind pegasus, and the most absolutely awesome flyer in all of Equestria!" Creo exclaimed gladly as he threw his front legs up in the air.
Rainbow Dash was blushing again, but now her blush was much more noticeable. Rainbow was feeling really glad from all the great things Creo said about her, but she was also feeling very confused. "This is so weird," she thought to herself as she stopped blushing. "I mean, plenty of other ponies have said what an awesome flyer I am before, and I always enjoyed all those compliments the same," Rainbow turned her eyes towards Creo. "But when Creo said how great I was, it felt—different. I felt like I liked it more when he said how cool I am than when anypony else did. And what I felt—it's not something that I've felt before. Guh...what's going on with me?" Rainbow placed her hoof on her face as she distressed herself with these thoughts.
Creo saw Rainbow Dash looking upset. "Is everything all right, Rainbow Dash?"
"Huh?" Rainbow didn't hear at first, but then she quickly moved her hoof off her face and looked at Creo, "Oh! Well..ahem!..sure, Creo. Everything's just cool. No problems here," Rainbow said as she smiled nervously.
Creo could still tell something was wrong. "Are you sure?"
"Sure! Everything's cool!" Rainbow said she flew right up to Creo's face, surprising him and making him move his head back away from her. "Just cool. Couldn't be more than cool than the amount of coolness that's happening right now," Rainbow said very quickly as she backed away from Creo.
Creo was feeling weirded out by Rainbow's actions. "Why are you saying cool so much?" he asked with one eyebrow raised.
"Why?" she responded in surprise. "B—Because it’s such a cool word to say! I mean, why else would I like saying it so much?" Rainbow smiled and looked at Creo, hoping she didn't look suspicious.
Creo paused for a few moments as he looked back at Rainbow Dash. "...well, if you say so," he said, still feeling a bit weirded out. Rainbow then went "phew" in relief. Creo looked around with his eyes, trying to think of a way to turn the conversation in a different direction. "...hey, thanks again for showing me that flying stunt. It was really awesome," Creo smiled.
Rainbow blushed again. "Thanks, Creo," she smiled.
"My pleasure," Creo replied. "You really know how to show off your abilities."
"Thanks!" Rainbow Dash said gladly. But then her face grew a bit more saddened. "Although, I don't want to show off too much," she said as she hung her head down and looked at the ground.
Creo looked a little confused. "Why do you say that?"
"Because if I show off too much, then everypony else will think that I think I'm better than them, and that's something I really don't want to do again," Rainbow said sorrowfully as she shook her head.
"I'm so sorry to hear that that happened to you," Creo replied sympathetically as he put his hoof on Rainbow's shoulder. "But I think it's very noble of you to not want to be a show-off around other ponies."
Rainbow looked up at him. "Really?"
"Absolutely! And by the way, I didn't think you were showing off at all when you did your flying stunt for me."
"You didn't?" Rainbow said, looking a bit surprised.
"Not at all! All I thought is that you wanted to do the best that you could do! And that doesn't make you a show-off," Creo said as he shook his head. "It just makes you a pony who wants to try her best to succeed! And wanting to succeed at what you love to do is just another one of your qualities that makes you a great pony."
Rainbow blushed once more, and she was also smiling. Inside, Rainbow Dash felt very touched by Creo's words, and she didn't seem to mind this time. She really did feel happy that Creo was making her feel this way.
"Thanks, Creo. You're an awesome guy."
"You're welcome, Rainbow Dash. You're an awesome friend. A very great and nice one," he said contently.
Upon hearing these words, Rainbow's mind suddenly snapped back to its original form. This time, Rainbow was really getting frustrated with feeling these emotions, and she really wanted to get them out her mind so she would go back to the way she was.
"You know, Creo, I think I'm gonna head out now. I want to get some more flying in before lunch."
"Well, sure thing, Rainbow. It was great meeting you and seeing your incredible flying stunt," Creo said as he shook her hoof.
"And it was great meeting you and hearing you say how great I am!" Rainbow Dash laughed along with Creo.
"That was my pleasure!"
Rainbow chuckled a bit more. "Well, see ya, Creo!" she took off into the air.
"See ya, Rainbow Dash! Stay awesome!" Creo shouted as he waved goodbye to her.
"Will do!" Rainbow then zoomed off into the sky, leaving her rainbow trail behind her.

After Rainbow Dash was out of sight of Creo, she stopped looking so joyful. "I really felt the worst of it then. I hope flying will take my mind off of these feelings."
Rainbow continued to fly normally in the skies over Ponyville. "Ahhh; now this is relaxing—I knew flying wouldn't make me think..about..."
Rainbow's attention was drawn towards a nearby cloud formation. As she looked closer, the cloud suddenly came into form, and it resembled Creo's head, looking quite glad. Rainbow Dash stared at this cloud formation, and she smiled very warmheartedly. She then shook her head around and flew away from the cloud in fret.
Rainbow wiped some sweat from her forehead, relieved she had gotten away from that cloud. "Okay, that was just a fluke. I'm sure I won't think about him anymore."
Rainbow Dash looked at the ground as she flew overhead. She saw two ponies standing on the ground facing each other. Rainbow decided to fly down lower to see what they were up to. As she got closer, she saw the ponies were both mares, and they both did a hoof-bump with each other. As Rainbow watched them, she smiled. She imagined the two ponies as herself and Creo doing a hoof-bump, laughing and having a fun time. Rainbow felt that warm, happy feeling once more, wishing to herself that she could do that with Creo again. Rainbow gasped in fright at the thought of this, and she quickly flew away, leaving the two ponies on the ground puzzled as to what had just occurred.
Rainbow was looking much more panicked now, and she wasn't feeling as confident that flying was taking her mind off of Creo. "Come on, Rainbow Dash, get it together. You'll forget about Creo eventually," Rainbow was pleased with herself, but her contentment soon turned to sorrow after thinking about what she had said. "But...I don't want to forget about Creo. There's nothing wrong with him. In fact, he's one of the most awesome ponies I've met! He's a really nice, cool, sweet guy..."
Rainbow felt her loving emotions for Creo again, looking very happy. "You know, maybe these feelings aren't as bad as I thought they were. I just felt like I was uncool for feeling that way, but I shouldn't. If I think something is cool, then I say that makes it cool to me," Rainbow was sounding more confident with each sentence.
"Creo makes me feel happy, and by my definition, that is cool. In fact, it isn't just, cool, it's awesome! And so is Creo! I'm gonna go tell him how I really feel and how awesome he is right now!"
Rainbow eagerly started to fly off to find Creo, but quickly came to a halt. "No, wait. I can't go see him right now. If I'm gonna tell Creo how awesome he is to me, I'm going to have to think of something truly awesomely amazingly cool that is sure to make him think I'm awesome the same way I think he is!”
Rainbow began thinking of what she could do. “This is going to be harder than I thought. I’d better go home so I can come up with an idea,” Rainbow quickly took off towards her home to try and conjure up a brilliant idea to impress Creo.
Although, Rainbow Dash was not the only one of her friends planning a surprise for Creo, as he would soon find out, but not in the best of ways.