//------------------------------// // 3. Rainbow Falls // Story: Chance Meetings // by cierragp //------------------------------// "By chance we meet again." Soarin smiles when Spitfire is not there to admonish him for being distracted. He says he has a good reason. "Of course." Rainbow is all too happy. Friends? Friends are enough for her. She had endured enough teasing and interrogation from Pinkie Pie, and the realization that having romantic interest was an excuse for her friends to make fun of her. It is too soon when Spitfire has him continue practicing. It is too bad for him that he doesn't get more time. But practices he does. To make up for his laziness, he is the only one in the air. A bit of envy rises when he sees Spitfire and Fleetfoot enjoying massages, but as they would put it, he brought it upon himself. Anything was distracting. Cheering? Of course. He doesn't see the hoop until too late, until he feels a part of him being ripped away and watching feathers fall. Fifty, twenty, ten...he sees ground nearing and he knows that he may not ever stand up again. Then he felt the impact. It wasn't painful, as he thought it would, but strangely soft...and fluffy. Opening his eyes, it was Rainbow Dash, saving him a second time. Was it too much? He could walk. There was hardly any pain. But the wing...he felt his heart sinking upon inspection. Not a lot of blood, but it was crooked and mangled to a point he felt scared. ~~~ The doctors did say it wasn't as bad as it looked. It would heal, they had said. but Spitfire shook her head. "It's not going to be in top form. Soarin, you shouldn't be flying in that case. Besides, we want to win, don't we?" She had said. He nodded. But somehow, he felt slightly betrayed. How? "C'mon Soarin, it's fine. This is a one time deal. No biggie. Next time we're not letting you drop out." Fleetfoot nudged him. Despite it all, he said nothing. All he was thinking was, who would replace him? The other Wonderbolts were not anywhere near, and counting the days, even if they arrived today there was not much time to practice or to get the team working well. That injury was inconvenient as hell, he decided, and fell asleep. After all, with his trademark dark circles, he could use a little extra rest. ~~~ It was too soon, too fast, for her to be with the Wonderbolts. Yet it still happened. Things came one by one. Suit. Glasses. Training. Rhythm. Pace. Exercise. It all happened too quickly, but Rainbow relished it. Relished the sense of accomplishment, relished the lack of need for waiting. Flying was her life. Flying was all she lived for. "Rainbow Dash, you got a minute? " It was Spitfire who snapped her out of a little daydream. "Uh, sure. " Fleetfoot smiled strangely. "You could really be an asset to our team, so... we want you to join the Cloudsdale team. Permanently. " One thing went through her mind. What was Soarin going to do? She snuck back, gulping down water before she heard a voice. "It's not easy practicing with two teams, is it?" "They want me to fly with them! It's like a dream come true! " Rainbow protested, although she could feel Twilight's look chipping her protest away little by little. "If you fly for Cloudsdale, Pinkie Pie won't have anypony to cheer for. Rarity's uniforms will never be seen. And Applejack will have slaved over those apple brown bettys for nothing." Twilight sighed. "Oh, but I really wanna fly with the best team! What would you do? " She shook her friend, who turned her head to the side. "I think this is a decision you have to make on your own. The race is tomorrow, so you'd better make it soon. " With that, she left. What had she done? More accurately, what was she giving up? What was more, winning, or her loyalty? It was too much. Simply too much. Watching Soarin, she had an idea... ~~~ The very next day, she showed up in a wheelchair, bandages, casts, splints...all that she could lay her hands on. "Woe is me!" she groaned. "What's happened? " Fluttershy stepped forward tentatively “Ow,” she winced. "I hurt my hoof...and my..." "All of them? " Spitfire raised an eyebrow. "All?" "I, uh, tripped on a-a foam hoof and landed on a... [mumbles, near unintelligible] pokey stick coming out of the ground... " Rainbow looked to the side and hoped the flush would fade soon enough. "IF I get my hooves on that [matching unintelligible gibberish], it'll be in big trouble!" Pinkie screamed. "There is no way I can fly now. " She let a small tear. "Do you think you'll be better by tryouts? " Fluttershy wheeled her off. "I'll be lucky if I ever fly again!" She groaned. "I just need a little rest." "Oh, don't worry, Rainbow Dash. We'll take care of you... or, at least, somepony will. Like, a medic or-or a doctor, or a nurse. " Fluttershy was all too relieving. It would be a lot easier to keep up this pretense with her doting on her patient. ~~~ By the time her friends left, she was slightly tired from all the acting. The curtain slid open. She groaned and cursed under her breath. Nothing like a little interruption to get her tired. "You sure have nice friends. Nopony's been by to visit me. Eh, too busy practicing, I guess. " He says casually, but she sees one too many signs of grief. "Well, hopefully your wing will be better soon. " She avoided the topic of friends. "Oh, it's fine. I-I'm just keeping it warm in case my team wants me back. " No one was convinced, not even Soarin himself. "What do you mean, 'wants you back'? Spitfire and Fleetfoot told me that you were still too injured to fly!" She blurted out before she had a chance to think, and the way his face fell told her more than she wanted to know. "And they told me that they were worried I wouldn't be one hundred percent by the tryouts, so they were going with somepony else! " It was hard to watch him struggle before returning to his normal, carefree smile. "That somepony else was me! Until, uh, well, until I got hurt, that is. " Rainbow reassured him. "I guess we're all out of luck. Cloudsdale won't qualify without three fliers, and Ponyville won't qualify without you. Too bad... " He muttered, and turned over. Rainbow stared at walls. What choices should she make? Was it illusion, or was it a rainbow? The glass sitting atop her counter reflected tiny thin slivers of light that formed a faint rainbow. She saw the flag, the symbol, the magenta. She knew. ~~~ "Thank you. " They were the first words he said to her, as they walked away. Everyone else was gone, and he offered to accompany her. Why would she refuse. "No problem, but why?" She asked, turning to look at him. "For letting me see myself flying in the Equestria games. For letting me back on the team. " He paused, and stepped closer. They stopped. "More or less so thanks for simply being here. It's better with you." "Of course!" Rainbow flipped her mane. "I'm awesome. We all know that." They laughed. "Well you are right. I won't deny it. If anyone does, send for me and I'll deal with them." The smile left her face. "Why are you doing all these things for me?" "Why not? Is this not how I should be treating you?" His smile vanished. "Are you unhappy about anything? Speak and I shall listen." "I don't know. It's just, I'm not used to it." She turned away, embarrassed. "Oh Rainbow, if only you knew." He smiled and shook his head. "Do not worry. Just get used to it here." "That being said, do you mind helping me sometime? I need someone to help me with my tricks, but Fluttershy just cowers most of the time. She doesn't enjoy it, and I don't want to force her." Rainbow smiled shyly. "Why not? Of course I will help as long as I have the time." He smiled and held out his wing. She held out hers.