//------------------------------// // Ch. 2 Escape Velocity // Story: Never Let Me Down Again // by Closer-To-The-Sun //------------------------------// Chapter 2: Escape Velocity The night sky was turning darker by the minute, and Rainbow Dash's speed picked up. This feeling that was building up inside of her was making it hard for her to concentrate on anything else. "Alright Dash, think, who can you go to talk about this?" Rainbow Dash went over her friends in her mind, "Applejack? Oh goodness, no. Pinkie Pie? Over my dead bod-….Fluttershy! She's always got my back!" As the night sky finally turned to a deep violet lit up with Luna's majestic moon and stars, Dash finally made it to Fluttershy's cottage. Seeing that the lights were on, she knocked on the door with her hoof. A yellow pegasus with a pink mane answered the door. "Oh, hello Rainbow Dash," she greeted her friend in her soothing voice. "Hey Fluttershy. I kinda need somepony to talk to, do you mind if I come in?" Rainbow Dash tried her hardest to not show any of the distress she was feeling moments ago. "Not at all, Rainbow Dash, please come right in," Fluttershy moved to one side to allow the light blue pegasus into her home, "Do make yourself at home." Rainbow Dash did just that, going right to the couch to rest her body, which was drained from not only the day of flying but her panicking as well. She sat up and faced Fluttershy, who took a seat in the chair across from her. "So, what do you need to talk about, Rainbow?" Fluttershy ask as she picked up a cup of tea she had placed on the table earlier. "Well, ya see….the thing is….I'm feeling some weird things," Rainbow Dash had no idea how to start such a conversation about love, or about anything she considered too mushy. "Oh, like what?" "I….don't know…." "Well, what does it feel like to you?" "L-love for somepony…." "Oh my." "Yeah, and I have no idea what to do about this stupid feelings. It won't go away." "Well, you can't expect them to just go away because you want them to, Rainbow Dash. May I ask who it is?" "S-Soarin," Rainbow Dash's face became flushed at the name. "Oh, I see." "I just really want to say something to him and just hope that these stupid feelings go away….but…." "But?" "I do want to tell him and hope he feels the same, ya know? I mean, I really have never felt this way before about anypony. "Um, may I speak freely for a second? "Of course, Fluttershy." "Well, um, remember that when you were a filly, you weren't the best at picking and staying in a relationship with anypony." Rainbow Dash was taken back by what Fluttershy had said. It was true, she wasn't the greatest, in fact far from it. As she thought of past relationships, it struck a nerve on Dash, "I know….but I think this might be different. I feel different than before," there was a touch of distaste in voice. "Maybe you should wait for a bit before acting on those feelings?" Fluttershy offered the advice. "But I really don't want to," Rainbow Dash's voice grew louder and with a hint of anger. "But I think it might be best if yo-" "Well, you know what's just best for me, don't you?" Rainbow shouted at Fluttershy, causing her friend to cower. Rainbow's booming voice continued, "Because you know that I have a horrible track record when it comes to relationships, you think you know every little thing about me, don't you?" Fluttershy was trembling with her eyes closed and forming tears. Rainbow Dash saw her friend like this and placed her hooves over her mouth. Without a word, she ran out of Fluttershy's home to anywhere in the night. Fluttershy's pet rabbit, Angel, hopped up to Fluttershy and tried his best to comfort her. 'You stupid idiot! You just made your best friend cry, and now you're back right where you started with this problem. Worse if you add what you just did to Fluttershy.' Rainbow Dash thought to herself as her running turned into a trot. She continued to walk through the vacant Ponyville square. 'Guh….stupid.' Dash continued to walk aimless around Ponyville, passing a pony every so often but she paid no mind. When Rainbow Dash finally looked up after trotting randomly for what seemed a long time, she found herself outside of the Carousel Boutique, Rarity's shop. She saw a few lights on inside. 'What the heck, I need to talk to somepony,' Dash thought as she walked up to the door, giving it a knock. The door opened to a white unicorn with a purple mane dressed in a luxurious robe, "Oh, hello there, Rainbow Dash! What can I do for you?" "Hey Rarity. Um….this is going to sound odd but I kind of need to talk to somepony. Like, girl talk." Rainbow Dash felt that was the best way to describe it, though it failed to hit the mark she was aiming for. "Oh! Come in, come in! Spare no detail, darling, I'm here to lend an ear for all of my friends!" Rarity invited Rainbow Dash in to her home warming, which took Dash by surprise. "Go ahead and have a seat, dear, I shall fetch us some tea." Rainbow Dash did as Rarity said, "Thanks, Rarity." The unicorn returned to the room with a tray with two cups and a teapot. The aroma of the black tea leaves filled the room, relaxing Rainbow Dash a great deal. "But of course, dear, I am the element of generosity after all!" The unicorn set the tray on the table, pouring tea into both cups and offering one to Dash. They both took a few sips before Rarity continued, "Now then, go ahead and tell me what's on your mind." There was no way Rainbow Dash was going to say anything about Fluttershy, "Well, I think like somepony else, but I'm really not sure about the whole thing…." "Oh wonderful! Who is the lucky stallion? Or mare, I don't judge!" Rarity laughed a bit at her joke, which got Dash to laugh a bit, easing the tension she had inside. "It's Soarin," Rainbow's face turned a pinkish tint again at his name. "Oh, how simply marvelous, darling! You two just seem absolutely perfect for each other!" Rarity mused. "Well, it's just I haven't said anything yet, and I have no idea what to do or say to him about how I feel." "But you want your emotions to be known, do you not?" "Yeah, I do…." "Then, my dear, you must use your method of telling him." "My….method?" Dash was puzzled. "It's something I have noticed with all ponies. How one interacts with others goes hoof-in-hoof with there personality. Take myself, for example, when meeting somepony new, I have a lady-like demeanor and conduct about me. For Applejack, she's very bold, faithful, and has a hint of pride about her. And for Pinkie Pie….well, she's Pinkie Pie. But do you see what I'm hitting at, darling?" "I kind of see what you mean." "So, you should just be yourself. You don't want to be something your not. No pony likes that." "You're right, Rarity. Thanks a lot," Rainbow Dash smiled to her friend. "Of course, dear. I do give you both my best wishes," Rarity took a sip of the tea, "If you would like, you can stay here for the night if you don't wish to fly back to Cloudsdale." Finishing the tea in her cup, Rainbow Dash stood up, "Thanks, but I think the flight back will be good for me." "Alright then, Rainbow. Now I have to make sure that Sweetie Belle isn't wandering around upstairs again," Rarity sighed with a smile, "She can be a real handful sometimes." Rainbow was at the door before turning to Rarity who was starting up the stairs, "Thanks again, Rarity." "Anytime, darling. It's really nothing!" "And if you see Fluttershy," Rainbow looked down before finishing, "tell her I'm really sorry. She knows what it's for." "You can count on me to deliver the message!" Rarity gave Rainbow Dash a salute, causing Dash to smile as she left. -------------- The next morning, Rainbow Dash found herself at her home in Cloudsdale. She looked at the clock to see it was about eleven. Taking a deep breath, she got up and got herself ready for the day. She had one goal in mind, and that was to tell Soarin how she felt. Dash waited outside for Soarin patiently. She took a few deep breathes to both relax herself and hopefully get suppress the feeling that had not left since she first felt it early last night. The feeling remained and she swore under her breath. Soarin arrived and landed next to Dash. Before he said anything, she noticed something wasn't right about him. Something seemed off, yet she could not place her hoof on it. "Hey Dash, you ready for today?" the blue colt asked. If something was wrong, Rainbow Dash couldn't hear it in his voice, "Oh, you know I am!" she replied with vigor. "Awesome! We'll start with working on the sharp turns at high speeds and we'll see where we go from there." "Sounds like a plan!" Dash replied as she started to take off, Soarin following behind. Inside her head, however, she was doing some planning, 'Alright, you got this. Just wait for the right time and just be yourself about it. No need to act like a foal in front of him, you just have to you be you. I think I can do that.' The two pegasus ponies spent most of the afternoon working on over coming sharp turns at high speeds as they planned, then the two decided to have races against each other as well as stunts. Both were highly impressed with each other's skill. As the daylight began to fade, the blurs of rainbows and black clouds stopped appearing around the Ponyville sky. The two sat on a lone cloud and watched Celestia's sunset in the west. In the back of Rainbow Dash's mind, a small voice spoke to her, 'This is it, Dash, make your move!' "Hey Soarin, you up for one last race?" "You know I never turn down a challenge," Soarin said with pride in his voice. "Alright, how about we have a straight line race, from here to the cloud over there on the other side of Ponyville?" Rainbow pointed to a lone cloud in the distance. "You're so on!" the colt readied his body for take off Dash did the same, "Alright, ready? GO!" Both pegasuses took off at breakneck speed. Rainbow Dash had the lead but knew well that Soarin was not one to just give up. Before she knew it, he passed her. Dash gave a devilish grin, for this was in her plan. She picked up speed quickly and was right behind Soarin, the wings of the two almost able to touch if either one made a wrong move. They were coming up to the cloud quickly, to which Rainbow Dash tackled Soarin into the cloud. The two ponies landed on the cloud softly, Rainbow Dash pinning Soarin to the cloud. The two laughed together as they realized what had happened. "Haha, so who won that?" Soarin laughed as he was trying to catch his breath. "I think I did personally," Rainbow boasted. "Oh, really?" "Yes, yes I do." Before she could realize what she was doing, Rainbow Dash leaned in toward Soarin and kissed him right on his mouth. Her eyes closed and she felt her heart flutter with excitement. It felt as if her entire body had reached escape velocity and that she was gliding among the stars in space. It was a feeling that felt heavenly and sublime to her body, heart, and mind. However, she felt something interrupt her experience; two hooves against her chest, trying to push her away.