Rainbow Dash flew through the skies. It was a very cold day and it was much too cold to have a race with Soarin' or to do something together outside. She probably should have brought her scarf or her ear muffs, but Rainbow Dash's pride on acting like the tough girl always seemed to get in the way of that, even if she wasn't as tough or as strong as her friend, Applejack. As much as she loved playing this new little role playing game, called Dungeons and Dragons, that Twilight Sparkle was teaching her and her friends, she wished that they would play it on days that were rainy or freezing in temperature. She had Soarin' on her mind so much because she really loved him very much. They had been together for a while now and she was very happy with him. She was so crazy about him, that she modeled her very own Dungeons and Dragon's character after him.
While Soarin' was pacing around his house waiting for his special filly friend, both his and Rainbow Dash's minds began replaying the memory of how they first met.
Rainbow Dash was at the beach with her friends and was hoping that there would be something for her to do. Rainbow Dash sighed as she looked around for something to do. Suddenly, her eyes lit up and she said, "Oh my gosh! There's an arcade! You'll know where to find me. See ya!" Rainbow Dash sped off and that left Fluttershy and Rarity together.
Rainbow Dash raced inside the arcade and began eyeing each machine with approval. Arcades weren't terribly common in Equestria and were quite the rarity to find one with good games. Rainbow Dash already had a large bag of bits with her to spend on food, games, and other things since this was her vacation and celebration time for Fluttershy's hoarding obsession that she was now free from. Rainbow Dash walked up to an arcade cabinet. "Oh sweet! They have Killer Instinct! This game is amazing!" Rainbow Dash dropped her bag of bits on the floor and bent over to pick out a bit to insert into the machine.
Soarin' was spending the day at the beach again. He was wearing a saddle bag and he had a bag of bits and a gallon of water with him. He loved to come here because of the atmosphere and the arcade here carried some of the best games, even if it was quite a travel for him to get there. He loved to play video games at the arcade in his spare time when he wasn't busy training or touring with the Wonderbolts. Many of the games were shipped from another place far off in another part of Equestria and most of these games were created for arcades only. Surprisingly, for being a celebrity, Soarin' wasn't bothered too much by fans or ponies who recognized him. He would sign an occasional autograph for fans that took notice of him, but he really wasn't bothered all that much. Soarin' happened to walk in and saw Rainbow Dash bent over fumbling for change. Soarin' took immediate notice of her. He had seen a lot of pretty mares in his day, but this mare was entirely different. There was something about her that was very different and he couldn't quite put his hoof on it. Maybe it was the fact that her tail and mane was colored like that of a rainbow. Rainbow manes and tails really weren't too common, or maybe it was her very awesome looking cutie mark that she had on her flanks, or maybe it was how well her body was conditioned. Soarin' knew a good athlete when he saw one. He didn't even have to see a pony perform to know if they were strong and fast or not. Still, this pony was unique and it was almost as if she was not of this world. He was already studying her body in a rather lustful manner. Maybe it didn't help that she was bent over right in front of him.
Rainbow Dash picked out a coin and plunked it into the slot of the machine.
"Killer Instinct!" the arcade speakers blared out.
Rainbow Dash hit start and began looking through the roster of fighters.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a pony get down low and insert a bit into the machine.
"Killer Instinct!" The arcade speakers blared out once more.
"Huh?" Rainbow Dash said. Both her and Soarin' made contact with each other's eyes as he stood up.
They both gasped when they realized who they were looking at.
"Rainbow Dash?" Soarin' asked. "You're the pony who saved my life at the best young flyers competition years ago!"
"Soarin'? Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, I'm like your biggest fan ever and you're by far my most favorite Wonderbolt! What are you doing here?"
"I come here as often as I can. I love this arcade and they get special games that normally wouldn't be around. I hope you don't mind me butting in and playing a game with you."
Rainbow's heart went pitter patter in her chest. Of course she would be excited to have any Wonderbolt stand next to her side, but this was by far, her most favorite member of the Wonderbolts and that made things all the more exciting to her. She had to keep her cool though, she could very well be vulnerable when it came to being kind of a rabid fan girl when it came to him. She didn't want to scare him away. "Hey, no problem," she said. "I hope you're ready to break some combos."
Soarin' hit the start button and they began scrolling through the characters.
Rainbow Dash giggled and said, "Wow! They really over did it when they designed B. Orchid's chest, didn't they?"
Soarin' laughed at that thought.
The two ponies selected their fighters and prepared to battle. Rainbow Dash and Soarin' played against each other for a few matches. She couldn't even win one game against him.
Rainbow Dash didn't like losing and she felt like if she kept losing, then Soarin' would get bored of her. After her third loss she said, "Well, it looks like I won't be beating you in this game. I think I'm going to try another game. Want to play something else?"
"Sure!" Soarin' said.
"Don't you want to finish your game against the A.I.?" she asked.
"Nah," Soarin' said. "I'd rather play something else with you. Soarin' turned to see a little colt gawking at the screen. "Come on, kid. Take my game." Soarin' pushed over a little stepping stool that was near the side of the arcade cabinet and the little colt quickly hopped up onto it and grabbed a hold of the joystick.
"Thanks mister!" the little colt said. "My Mommy and Daddy never give me coins to play so I usually just end up watching other ponies.
Soarin' reached into his bag and gave the little colt a small mound full of bits.
"Wow! Thanks Mister! You're the best!"
"You're welcome kid," Soarin' said. "That should last you quite a while." Soarin' turned to Dash and said, "Hey I have two major favorite games here that I love to play. Do you mind getting sweaty?"
"Huh?" Rainbow Dash said. "A video game that makes you sweat? I guess I can try it out," she said.
Soarin' got quite excited and picked up his gallon of water and bag of bits. He grabbed her by the hoof. "Come on! It's so much fun!" he said as he pulled her over to where his two most favorite games were.
Rainbow's face was bright red with blush because she was holding Soarin's hoof. She looked up at the two cabinets that were near the back of the arcade. There was a giant industrial fan on top of each cabinet. "In the Hooves Two, and Pony it Up?" she asked.
"Yeah. Soarin' said as he placed his bag of bits and gallon of water on the side of the In The Hooves Two arcade cabinet that had a ledge because of the cabinets design. "These games actually help me stay conditioned without having to use my wings. It's nice to move your legs too and these two games are just all kinds of fun. All you have to do is step on the panels that correspond with the arrows that scroll up on the screen. Step on them when the arrows overlap the top hit zone arrows at the top of the screen. We can start with the four panel game. It should be easier for you to read."
Rainbow Dash stepped on the platform. The colors on the screen were hypnotizing to her and the flashing lights on top of the cabinet got her adrenaline going. She noticed the gallon of water he had and asked, "What's up with that gallon of water?"
"It's for the game," he replied.
"I think the game runs on bits, right?" she asked.
"Soarin' laughed and said, "No, what I meant by that was that it's for when I play the game, I need to drink a lot of water."
"Oh," Rainbow Dash said being rather unsure.
"You'll see what I mean soon," he said.
Both ponies took off their saddle bags and hung them up on the red bars. They then plunged some bits into the machine and Soarin' began to teach her how things worked in the game.
They both played for hours together. Soarin' couldn't wait to show her couples mode where they could work together as a cooperative team in Pony It Up. He felt that he would have to let her learn the game a little more before attempting that mode with her. Playing couples mode with Rainbow Dash was a really cute and fun idea in his mind and he figured that she would probably love it too.
Rainbow Dash picked up quickly on this game. This was her first rhythm game that she ever played and she really enjoyed it. Much of Soarin's sweat would fly off his mane and splash upon Rainbow Dash, especially when he had to twist and turn on the cross over steps that made his body turn sideways. Rainbow Dash didn't mind the droplets of sweat that hit her. This pony meant so much to her. She was able to give him a challenge on the easier levels, but she would need to practice both games. It was a bit confusing for her to go from four panel to five panel on the other game because the five panels were in the exact opposite place that the four panels were in. She didn't really care about losing. She saw that Soarin' was happy and Soarin' noticed that she was happy playing. This game would be something that she'd have to practice, not just because she enjoyed it, but also to win Soarin's heart. Maybe she could be his gamer girl. Video games weren't too popular in Equestria, but there was a following for competitive game play. She realized why he brought that gallon of water with him. He practically drank half of it after about two hours of playing.
Rainbow Dash was staring at the screen as Soarin' was pressing buttons on the cabinet to change the speed modification of the arrow scroll rate for their next song. She felt a tug at her tail and looked behind her to see Fluttershy looking up at her with innocent eyes.
"Rainbow Dash, it's getting very late and we haven't eaten yet. Aren't you hungry by now?" the yellow mare asked.
"Oh, my gosh! I had no idea what time it was," Rainbow said as she looked at a clock on the wall. "Yeah, I'm coming along and I..." Soarin' butted in and cut her sentence short.
"Can I come too?" he asked.
Rainbow Dash's mind was racing with all kinds of fears because she was afraid that her friends would judge her for hanging around a stallion like this. She could only imagine Rarity's reaction to this because she had already told her that she had no desire to ever find a somepony special. This was true in a way because she never dreamed of the possibilities of hanging out with Soarin' like this before. It was bad enough that Fluttershy was here right now and she said a silent prayer that Fluttershy wouldn't pick up on the fact that she was interested in Soarin'. "I can't. I promised my friends that I'd have dinner with them and I'm sure there wouldn't be enough room for us all to sit at a table. How about you just play some games until I come back. I won't be too long, really."
"But I'm hungry too," he said. "I'll treat you to dinner and I'll..."
"I've got to go! I'll be back later!" she said as she took her saddle bag off of the red bar. She grabbed Fluttershy by her hoof and quickly walked out of the arcade with her.
Soarin' stood there on the platform with a dumb founded look on his face. He didn't understand.
"Rainbow Dash, that pony seemed to be awfully interested in you. Do you think he likes you or something?" Fluttershy asked.
"Of course not!" Rainbow replied. "I'm just naturally awesome and how could anypony not want to hang out with me? Why, I should also represent the element of awesomeness too, if there is such a thing as that. He was just a casual random arcade player that wanted to play a game that I was already in the process of playing." Rainbow Dash felt very bad for lying, but she let her pride and her fear of her friends possibly judging her get in the way once more.
"Oh, I see," her meek friend replied.
Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy gathered up the rest of their friends and quickly ate. After eating, Rainbow Dash sped back to the arcade. She said a silent prayer that Soarin' would still be there waiting for her. Thankfully, he was still there and was playing Pony It Up. Rainbow Dash stood behind him and watched his hooves strike against the panels in time with the beat of the music. She could feel the powerful vibrations in the floor through his stomping on the metal arcade pad. The feelings from the vibrations in her hooves felt good to her and made her want to play some more.
There was a step pattern with hold arrows that forced him to spin in a circle. The moment he turned his back to the screen, he saw Rainbow Dash. He got so distracted by her that he froze for a moment and stared at her.
Missing hold arrows in Pony It Up was very strict on draining the life bar and he failed the song.
The song stopped playing and a loud sound came out of the speakers. "Hey! Why don't you just get up and dance man?" The arcade speakers blared out.
"Hey, Soarin'," Rainbow Dash said. "I hope I didn't distract you from your game."
Soarin' shook his head quickly a few times as if he were dazed by looking at her. "Hey, no problem. Want to dance some more?"
"If you can call having your legs spaz out all over the place dancing, then yes," she said.
"It's probably no worse than when we danced together at the Grand Galloping Gala," he replied. "Hey Rainbow Dash?"
"Yeah?" she asked.
"You have food all over your face," he said.
Rainbow Dash perked up in alarm and wiped the food off of her face with her front leg. Sure enough, she did have food on her face. She must have been in such a rush to get back to the arcade that she ate more like how Applejack eats her meals. She wondered why Rarity didn't make a scene out of that, but maybe Rarity was so used to seeing Applejack scarf down her meals like a starving wolf that she became desensitized to it. Maybe she realized that she couldn't change her eating habits so it might not have bothered Rarity when Rainbow Dash did it too. "I'm really sorry about that," she said. "I just ate so fast because I-I-I..." Rainbow Dash stuttered. "I just wanted to come back and see you again."
Both ponies lost eye contact with each other when Rainbow Dash admitted those words. They both had blush all over their faces.
"Come on. Let's play some more," he said as he plunked some more bits into the machine for the both of them.
Rainbow dash stepped up on the platform and hung her saddle bag on the bar. She began to play with Soarin' once more. They went back and fourth between playing the two different dance games.
They were now back to playing In The Hooves Two and were looking through the song select menu.
"They have a song about a rubber ducky named Xuxa?" Rainbow asked.
"The music artist is named Smiley and does happy hardcore songs. He has a lot of other aliases in this game and actually had a major role in the development in this game."
"Happy Hardcore music," Rainbow said. "I can only imagine that Pinkie Pie knows everything about it."
The two played for a few more hours.
Rainbow Dash was surprised at Soarin's stamina, but then again, this was a Wonderbolt she was playing with. He could probably last all day on this machine without getting tired.
Rainbow Dash looked at the clock and realized that it was getting very late and the sun was going to set soon. When there last round ended, she looked at him and said, "Hey Soarin', do you think we could spend some time together on the beach or something?" It was painfully awkward to ask a stallion to do something like that. A romantic suggestion would normally be reserved for a pony like Rarity. Her face was bright red with both blush and embarrassment.
Soarin' looked at the clock and said, "I'm so sorry! I didn't realize how late it was. Of course we can spend some time out of the arcade for a little while."
Normally, Soarin' brought a towel with him to dry off, but the giant industrial fans on top of the dance game arcade cabinets did a pretty good job at keeping him dry when he stood on his tippy hooves and put his face by it to dry his mane off.
The smell of stallion sweat was kind of pleasing to Dash's nostrils.
Soarin' stood in front of the industrial fan for a few more seconds and then pulled his head back. The fans did a really good job of keeping a pony dry. "Come on, and let's relax a bit."
Both ponies grabbed their saddle bags and put them back on their bodies.
Soarin' got off of the dance pads and began to head out.
Rainbow Dash followed closely behind him.
Upon turning the corner, Soarin' bumped into a pony.
He was an Earth pony with a turquoise coat and had a streak of dark purple in his black mane and tail. His eye color was sky-blue and he had a red dance game arrow for a cutie mark.
"Hey Arrow Smash!" Soarin' said. "Don't take my high score on the song, Come Fly With Me. I worked hard enough to Tri-Star that without the bar."
"I can't make any promises on that, Soarin'," Arrow Smash said. "You know I tend to play doubles anyway, so you might hold the local machine record for a while, but don't be surprised to see my initials on the screen when I quad-star it. Who is the new filly friend you have following you there?"
"Oh, this is Rainbow Dash. We've met a few times in the past. She's really cool and she's good at the dance games."
Rainbow Dash nervously waved hi. It was awkward for her to be around a stallion that she really liked.
Arrow Smash looked at Rainbow and the back to Soarin'. "Well, as long as she doesn't snatch any quad-stars before I can, we're cool."
"You really should leave some of the easier levels for newer players to quad-star. You even have all the novice step charts quad-starred. I mean, what's up with that?"
Arrow Smash looked at his cutie mark and said, "It's my destiny to quad-star everything."
"Well, you could at least let others quad-star things at the arcade. You told me that you own your very own arcade dance game cabinets at home."
"Yeah, but it just feels so good to spread my achievements to every single arcade in Equestria."
Soarin' rolled his eyes and said, "Ok, we have got to get going. Good luck on quad-starring vertex squared on doubles. No pony in Equestria has ever gotten close to quad-starring that."
"One of these days, I'll get it. I will get it no matter how impossible it may seem. Ok, I'll catch you later. Enjoy your new filly friend." Arrow Smash turned and walked over to the cabinets. there was a bottle of window cleaner that he had the arcade manager keep nearby to clean the pads so they could be nice and have that special grip feel to them. It would also help too since Soarin' usually left small puddles of sweat on the pads and that made them as slippery as ice.
Rainbow Dash and Soarin' walked out of the arcade.
"What's a quad-star?" Rainbow asked.
"It's the highest score a pony can get in that one dance game. If you get a full fantastic combo, you will get a one hundred percent score in the game and get the glorious quad-star that just about every In The Hooves Two player craves. Like any video game, some ponies take scoring way too seriously. Getting high scores is nice and everything, but I tend to play more for the fun of it. I'm more than happy getting a star or a double star. Tri-stars are really hard for me to get."
Soarin' realized that he was very hungry right now and walked over to a dessert shop right by the arcade and said, "Hey Dash, I didn't eat dinner yet and I have to have some kind of snack. I'm starving."
The employee at the dessert shop said, "Soarin'.......always hungry after playing some video games, huh? Do you want the usual?'
"Yeah! I'll take that big apple pie!" he said as he pointed his front hoof at the treat. Soarin' turned to Rainbow. "Do you want something, Rainbow?"
Rainbow Dash looked at her bag of bits and the bag was empty. She had spent most of her money at the arcade. She looked up at Soarin' and said, "I don't have any more bits left, but I'm fine, don't worry."
"Come on," he said. "You clearly wanted a treat because you looked into your bag. I'll get you anything you want."
Accepting a gift from one of her friends was hard enough. Accepting a gift from a stallion was even that much harder. She didn't even like it when he paid for quite a few of their games together at the arcade. Rainbow Dash swallowed her pride and said, I'll just have a small vanilla ice cream cone, please."
"That's it?" Soarin' asked. "You don't want something more..." Soarin' paused for a moment when he looked at her mane and tail. "Colorful!? How about some rainbow colored sprinkles at least?"
"Sure," Rainbow replied. "Sprinkles are fine."
"Excuse me Miss," Soarin' said to the worker. "May I please have one small vanilla ice cream cone with some rainbow sprinkles for my filly friend, Dash? I'd like a dash of them for Dash."
"That pun, Soarin'," Rainbow said.
"I'm sorry, but I had to say it," he replied.
The employee came back with the treats and said, "That will be twelve bits please."
Soarin' looked into his bag of bits and realized that he just had enough to pay for this. He normally wouldn't have spent so much money at the arcade, but now he was often paying for his new filly friend. He spent way more time playing the game today because of being with her and he gave a good chunk of change to that little colt earlier. Soarin' pushed over the bag of bits and said, "Exactly twelve bits. I'll see you around!"
The employee thanked him and wished him well.
The two ponies were already near the end of the boardwalk. There they saw a flat rock in the sand right where the boardwalk ended.
"Let's take a seat on that rock," Soarin' said.
The couple walked over and sat on the rock together. Soarin' drove his entire face into the pie and devoured it within minutes. He was quite hungry because he had not eaten for a while.
Rainbow Dash took notice of his voracious appetite. He reminded her of how her friend, Applejack eats. She took a few licks of her ice cream cone as he went to town on that apple pie. When he was finished eating, Rainbow Dash leaned in a bit closer to him. She was about to take what was in her mind, a huge risk in the name of sweetness and affection. She leaned her head against his shoulder.
Soarin' was quite surprised and wrapped his front leg around her neck.
Together, they watched the sunset in silence for a while.
Even though Soarin' had asked a few filly friends out in the past, this was still awkward for him because he had never been with a pony like Rainbow before. There was something totally different about this pony that he could not figure out. "Hey Dash?" Soarin' asked
Rainbow Dash picked up her head and stared into his bright green eyes. "Yes, Soarin'?"
"Would you like to be my somepony special?"
Rainbow Dash picked her head up off of his shoulder and said, "What?! Really? I would absolutely love to be your somepony special!"
Soarin' kissed her on top of her head and said, "I haven't seen a pretty mare like you before. There's something very different about you."
Rainbow turned her head to the side and was blushing madly because a stallion had called her pretty. She felt that being called pretty was reserved for ponies like Rarity who would spend half the day putting on make up and making sure their tails and manes were combed perfectly. "I-I-I have never been called pretty before. I haven't even had a somepony special before. I never wanted one because I only dreamed about having you as a somepony special and I didn't expect that to ever become a possibility."
Soarin' didn't believe that she hadn't had a somepony special before. She was athletic, fun, incredibly pretty, and she had a sweet and affectionate side to her as well that only he had brought out in her. She seemed like a definite keeper to him. "You haven't had a somepony special before, Rainbow? I find that very hard to believe," he said.
"Nope! I was never really interested. So many stallions out there are just creeps and are in relationships just for the sex. I need to protect my heart and stay pure in the faith."
"What faith?" Soarin' asked.
"Oh, I'm a Christian," she said.
"Me too," Soarin' said.
"I can't believe this," Rainbow Dash thought to herself. "I get the stallion of my dreams. He's sweet, charming, handsome, and Christian on top of it all. This is almost too good to be true." Even if Soarin' was not of the same faith, she would still date him, which could be dangerous, but she wouldn't marry him unless he converted to her faith.
"Hey Dash, aren't you going to eat your ice cream cone?" Soarin' asked.
"Huh?" Rainbow said. She looked at the ice cream cone and expected it to have melted all over her hoof, but it was still perfectly in tact. "How come it didn't melt after all this time?"
"That's a special desert shop and they cast a special spell on the ice cream so it doesn't melt. Pretty cool, huh?"
Rainbow Dash took a lick of it and said, "That's awesome. I bet my friend, Twilight Sparkle would know how to cast a spell like that. Hey, when do you want to hang out again?"
Soarin' thought about it and realized that he had to get going because tomorrow was going to be a special training day for the Wonderbolts. It was very late in the day and this place wasn't exactly close to home. He wasn't getting a ride home and would be flying by himself. He would be going over some rather dangerous new stunts with his team so he needed to get home and get his proper rest as soon as he could. "Hey Dash! I almost forgot what day it is. I have to get home super fast because I need to rest up for a very important Wonderbolts training session. I didn't even realize how late it was. Can we write letters to each other? I'm sure you know my fan mail address, right?"
"Oh, I'm sorry if I made you forget. Yeah, I know your fan mail address, of course. I'll keep in touch with you," she said.
"I spent way too much time on the dance games. I'm going to be so sore in the morning," he said.
"Soarin' will be sore in the morning?" Rainbow Dash asked as she snickered.
Soarin' laughed at his little pun for a moment until he remembered something. "Oh, and one more thing," Soarin' said as he reached into his saddle bag and pulled out a ticket. "This is for you. It's a special back stage pass to the next upcoming Wonderbolt's show."
Normally, Rainbow Dash would nearly have a heart attack from being so excited in this kind of situation, but she was getting used to being in the presence of a Wonderbolt. She took the ticket and was given a hug from Soarin' before he turned to leave. Rainbow Dash shoved the ticket into her saddle bag and turned around. She was horrified that all five of her best friends were standing behind her. She was so startled that she dropped her ice cream cone on the boardwalk and let out a high pitched squeal. She stood there in shock and began to stutter. "I-I-I It's not what it looks like. I was just..." Rainbow's words trailed off as she stood there with red cheeks that spoke of embarrassment for her.
Twilight smiled and said, "It's ok, Rainbow Dash. None of us are going to judge you. We figured that there would be at least one stallion out there in the world that would be able to reach into your heart. He looked really familiar. Is he somepony we have seen before?"
Rainbow Dash nervously dragged her hoof across the wooden boardwalk. "Yeah, that was Soarin' from the Wonderbolts. I couldn't believe that I saw him here. I saw him at the arcade playing games. He recognized me and asked if I wanted to play his two favorite dance games with him, In The Hooves two, and Pony It Up. He also bought me an ice cream cone and gave me a backstage pass to the next Wonderbolts show. I-I-I hope you all think I'm still tough and not a softy. Do you all still think I'm cool?"
"Being a bit on the romantic side doesn't make us think any differently of you, Rainbow. You might not be as tough and as strong as Applejack, but you'll always be the coolest pony out of our group," Twilight said.
"And, you'll always be the fastest pony out of our group," Fluttershy added.
The lavender mare paused for a moment and then giggled. "Just don't be so speedy with him and remember to take things slow, Rainbow. I get the intuition that Soarin' really is a good guy though. We just don't want you to marry him overnight. Dating is one of the few things that shouldn't be like a race."
"Gee, thanks for not thinking any differently of me, girls. I never realized how much I like him until I had some fun with him today. I'll take things slow with him. Don't worry," Rainbow said. "I was just worried that this might ruin my reputation somehow."
"Not a chance, Rainbow Dash. Come on. We have to catch a taxi and get home before it gets too late," Twilight said.
Soarin' was on his way home. He could only imagine the jokes and teasing he would receive from Spit Fire when she found out that he had a new special filly friend.
The memories had faded from both ponies.