//------------------------------// // She's Just Racing // Story: Flying Blind Into Love // by TheTalentlessPony //------------------------------// The sound of pegasus wings flapping quickly snapped Rainbow Dash out of her thoughts, and she turned around swiftly as said-pegasus landed. However, seeing the intruder of her personal space, she softened her expression and chuckled. "Finally got your suit off, huh?" she asked. Soarin blushed slightly in response, rubbing the back of his head with a hoof. "Eheh, you got it!" Rainbow Dash let out a light-hearted laugh in response, then slowly stood up and faced him, puffing out her chest with confidence. "So... you wanted to race me? Me? You're talking to the pony who pulled off a Sonic Rainboom y'know," she said tauntingly. "And you're talking to the pony who became captain of the Wonderbolts y'know," Soarin shot back in response, sharing her wide grin. "Oh, I'm sorry," Rainbow Dash muttered, lightly brushing Soarin's nose with her hoof. "I thought you won that title from a pie-eating competition." "Ohhhh. Is that how this is gonna go?" Soarin asked, holding back a laugh and getting into a take-off stance. Rainbow Dash's grin widened as she copied his pose. "That's how it's gotta go," she replied. "...THREE-TWO-ONE-GO!" Both ponies shouted those words quickly as they took to the skies. It was on now. Oh yes. IT. WAS. ON. Rainbow Dash was the first to take the lead, but with a simple flap of his wings, Soarin gained on her, quickly passing her up like it was nothing. She stared at him for a moment, then grinned. No big deal. She was confident in her abilities. Her rainbow trail hadn't even appeared yet, and she was still able to keep up with him. Granted, she still knew that he wasn't flying at his fastest, but friendly competition or not... it was still competition. And she wouldn't have it any other way. "Going a little slow today, Dash!" he told her, shooting off a smug smirk. "Sorry! I didn't want you to cry, so I thought I'd go easy on ya for a bit!" she said in reply. "Oh yeah? PROVE I-WHOA!" Soarin was quickly interrupted as Rainbow Dash cut him off, shooting upwards into the sky and taking towards the clouds. "See ya!" she shouted. She then heard him laugh and give chase, to which she welcomed wholeheartedly. Oh, the excitement of having a great competitor. This is just what she needed. "Hey, Dash! How do you fly when you're blind like that?" Soarin asked, though with a hint of mischievous intent in his tone. Rainbow Dash turned her head and raised a brow. "What are you getting at-" POMP She had gotten a cloud to the face. It's puffiness stuck to her cheeks and covered her eyes; a classic pegasus cloud-changing move that made clouds rather sticky; not used often, but useful as a prank. This was how he wanted to play? That was fine by her. Stopping for a moment, Rainbow Dash beat the cloud with her hooves at a swift pace. It softened, and she wiped it off with ease and took a second to regain her bearings. Now, where is he... Upon seeing Soarin flying way ahead of her, she grabbed hold of a nearby cloud and took off after him. It was a big cloud that she had grabbed, but it wouldn't be big for long. As she flew after her competitor, her rainbow trail appeared behind her tail while she harshly rubbed her hooves against the cloud, making it rough, yet formable. Upon compressing it into a thick circular object, Rainbow Dash then directed her attention to Soarin. "YO!" she called out to him. Turning his head slightly, he promptly gave a loud yelp of surprise as she threw the compressed cloud towards him. "GOTCHA!" Not quick enough to move, the cloud hit Soarin's stomach, making him flail briefly and lose his momentum. Though it was only for a few seconds, it was more than enough for Rainbow Dash to fly past him and take the lead... in addition to getting a good chuckle. Despite it having stunned Soarin for a moment, it actually hadn't hurt in the slightest. A cloud was still a cloud and, compressed or not, could never be used to actually hurt anypony. Knowing that, it was clear that Rainbow Dash was merely using it to toy with him, just as he had done with her. With that in mind, the race continued on as he gave chase to her, though how much of a race it was grew questionable. They had no set finish line or any real interest in following a set path. And, by now, any thoughts of a serious race seemed to vanish as they flew around each other and laughed. "Ha! Ready to give up yet?" Rainbow Dash asked, teasingly bumping up against Soarin as they flew side-by-side. "Not on your life Dash!" he responded, bumping against her as well. "Alright then! How about this?" she questioned, directing her hoof at a gigantic cloud above. "First one outta that cloud wins!" "Better just give me the win now!" Soarin told her, being quick to shift his angle towards the 'finish line'. "Not happening!" Rainbow Dash shouted back as she changed directions, speeding towards the cloud as well. The two were neck-and-neck, but they knew that one of them had to be less resistant to cloud-diving than the other; no two pegasi were ever the same. They then hit the cloud harshly, driving through it like a drill through dirt. The puffy surface gave way easily, but was still somewhat thick and resistant to their attempt at bursting through. Rainbow Dash, being the weather-pegasus that she was, had an easier time going through. However, while she craved the win, that wasn't the only thing she planned on doing. Getting out first, she merely popped her head out of the cloud, knowing exactly where Soarin would appear, as she had seen the angle he entered at. And then... she ducked and waited... ... ... So when she saw part of the cloud give way... "...I'M OU-" "RAAAAAH!" Rainbow Dash grinned widely as she tackled Soarin, sending the two tumbling onto the large cloud. They wrestled and fought, but gently and with the only intention of good fun. The white fluff of a cloud underneath them bounced and jiggled to their play, but never dared to cave in to spoil their fun. The cool crisp wind harshly whipped at their fur, but they showed no signs of noticing, far too caught up in their little game. After a few minutes though, the two quickly tired out from such rough-housing and gave up on their playful fighting, suddenly taking a preference to resting on the cloud. And, such a task would've been easy for Rainbow Dash... ...had it not been for the fact that she was laying on top of Soarin. "...What? Have I become your bed all of a sudden?" he joked, chuckling at how limp she seemed to be; she must've been comfortable. "Mmm?" Rainbow Dash grunted. Realizing her place on top of him, she quickly chose to get off; while they weren't in uniform, she still felt that it would be wrong to lay against a captain like that. ...However, as she pushed herself up... She stopped halfway, her face mere inches away from his. To be honest, she didn't know why. Her body had just quit listening to her, seeming content with where it was. "..." Rainbow Dash tried to utter at least something, but found that she could do that either. C-come on! Listen to me, stupid body! Her wings clenched to her sides, shuddering slightly as her breath became caught in her throat. She wasn't sure... nor did she understand why, but... Maybe it from her closeness to him... or the way the light reflected off of his face... ...He looked kind of... cool. Not like she used to envision him back when he was just an idol, but... really, really cool. "..." Soarin stared back at her, but merely smiled. "...You okay, Dash?" he asked. "H-huh!?" Snapping back to reality, Rainbow Dash abruptly reeled back, falling back onto the cloud for a moment before quickly regaining her senses and standing up. "U-uh..." Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she attempted to answer him. "No! I mean, yes... er... I-I gotta go!" She then turned away swiftly and took off, leaving a concerned-looking Soarin behind. "...Dash?"