She took a deep breath in and relaxed her body. Here she was at the entrance of the trail that Fluttershy loved to take walks in. Walking through this trail helped Rainbow get her mind off of any anxiety that she had built up within her. She listened to each step she took. The soft crunching of twigs and leaves beneath her hooves made the experience all the more enjoyable. This was a peaceful and beautiful place. As she kept trotting through the woods, she could have sworn that she saw something move in the trees up ahead. The branches were still shaking and leaves fell to the ground. She squinted her eyes but couldn't see anything else. "Probably just a squirrel," she thought to herself. About another mile of walking through the woods, she stopped when she almost stepped on something red lying on the ground. She looked down at it. It was a rose. Just like the one she had seen on her doorstep. Rainbow sighed to herself. Rainbow Dash wondered why there was a rose lying there in the middle of the path. She figured that some pony must have dropped it there by mistake. She looked away and sighed out loud. "I wish some pony would give me a rose." She stared one more time at the rose before moving on.
As she went on, she couldn't help but feel guilty that she didn't spend time with her friends and find a some pony special to take on a date. This was a special request from the Princess after all, but she had become defensive and put on the "tough girl" act. For some reason she didn't want to show the soft side of herself that wanted a special some pony. Why she felt this way she didn't know. She shook her head quickly as if the thoughts themselves would spill out of her ears and would never be remembered again.
She focused on being the next big Wonderbolt. This after all was her biggest dream, the one thing she wanted most.
She continued forward down the meandering path. Her eyes grew wide when she saw another rose lying in the center of the path. She stopped and scratched her mane with her hoof. "OK," she thought to herself. "This is getting a bit weird." Rainbow quickly moved on through the woods. All kinds of thoughts were now plaguing her mind. She stopped in her tracks again when she came upon another rose. Now Rainbow was really starting to get freaked out. She continued moving faster and faster when she found a fourth rose, a fifth, a sixth, a seventh, all leading down the same path. Rainbow stopped dead in her tracks when she heard a noise. Something or someone else was with her in the woods. "Alright who is there!? What's going on? Show yourself!" she demanded.
A voice spoke to her, "I was waiting for you to ask that. I was starting to run out of roses."
Rainbow Dash quickly turned around trying to find where the voice was coming from.
"Pssst. Over here," the voice said.
Rainbow turned again. Her eyes grew wide with shock.
There up in a tree was Soarin' hanging upside down by his hind legs on the lowest branch of the tree. He was only slightly above Rainbow Dash. He held a rose in his teeth and was blushing greatly.
Rainbow's jaw dropped as she stared at the stallion. It took her a few moments to process her thoughts. She stuttered as she spoke. "Th-th-this is all for me?"
The stallion nodded his head yes slowly, with a look of uncertainty on his face. He was hoping that this wasn't going to be a bad idea and that she would appreciate this.
Rainbow stuttered again, "W-w-w-were you the pony that left a rose on my door step this morning?"
Soarin' did not speak. His face grew even brighter with blush as he slowly nodded his head yes.
Rainbow lifted up her front hoof slightly above the ground and turned her head away. Her face was blushing madly. She couldn't find words to say.
Soarin' came down from the branch and trotted nervously over to her. He placed the rose he was holding in his teeth in her bright and colorful mane with care. Finally he spoke again, "Yes, Rainbow this is all for you. Will you come with me? I want to show you something."
Rainbow struggled to speak again, "I-I-I-sure," she said.
Soarin' grinned a little and took her by the hoof. He quickly led her off the path down to a place she had never seen before. Soarin' cleared out the bushes for her and held them apart so that she could walk through.
Rainbow was stunned at what she saw. There was a beautiful grassy field with wild flowers all around her. Soarin' took her hoof again and led her through the tall grass. She could hear the sound of a waterfall nearby. They arrived at the edge of the ground where there were many streams of water running and a great waterfall flowing freely. Above the waterfall was a beautiful rainbow arching over the falls.
"Over here," the stallion said.
Rainbow came over and saw that near the streams was a cloud and surrounding the cloud were roses that were made into the shape of a heart.
Soarin' hopped onto the cloud and held his hoof out. "Will you come sit with me and be my some pony special, Rainbow?"
Without hesitation, she grabbed his hoof and jumped up onto the cloud. She stared into his eyes and said, "Soarin' I would love to be your some pony special."
Soarin' wrapped his front hooves around her and squeezed her tightly. "Thank you so much Rainbow." He then kissed her on her cheek. He let go of her and they watched the waterfall flow and the streams gushing with life. Soarin' broke the silence again, "Are you hungry Rainbow?"
Rainbow blinked her eyes as if startled. "Actually, I am pretty hungry now that I think about it."
Soarin' flew off the cloud and went over to some bushes where he bent down and picked up a basket. He flew back over and put the basket next to her. He took out some apples and nuzzled one over to her.
Rainbow grabbed it and took a bite. "Thank you so much Soarin'," she said with a mouthful of fruit.
Soarin' smiled and said, "Really Dash, it's my pleasure." They sat there for a while watching the sun set. The sky was all kinds of beautiful colors. Soarin' looked over at Rainbow Dash who was still watching the waterfall and said, "Hey Rainbow, can you come here?"
"Huh?" Rainbow said. "I'm right here next to you."
The stallion opened up his front legs and said, "No, Come here. Come closer to me. I want to hold you for a little while if that's okay with you."
Rainbow looked at him like he had two heads. Never in her life had she had a some pony special and she really wasn't used to this kind of treatment. She used to believe these kinds of things only happened to girls like her friend, Rarity. Rainbow scooted over to him and turned her back to him. She felt his front legs wrap around her body and he drew her nearer to him. She laid down and put her head against his chest.
He kissed her colorful mane several times and squeezed her so tightly.
All this romantic mushy stuff felt strange to her, being the rough and tough tom-boy that she was, but she was beginning to realize that small soft part of herself, that she worked so hard to suppress and hide, was coming out. It was that desire to be loved and to give love in return.
As she stared into the waterfall, her mind began to wander and she went into a trance-like state.
Rainbow's mind flashed back to when she was just a little filly. Her father had just taken her back from her first Wonderbolts show. He sat there in his chair reading a book. "Dad." Rainbow's father placed the book in his lap. He saw his daughter looking at him with sad eyes.
Her father smiled at her lovingly and asked, "What's the matter Dashie? I thought you'd still be full of energy after that Wonderbolts show."
She looked into his eyes, almost as if she had felt guilty about doing something wrong. "Dad," she said again. "Can we talk?"
Rainbow's father put the book down on the table next to him. "Come here Dashie." He patted his lap with his hoof. Rainbow's wings buzzed loudly as she hovered over to him and sat on his lap. Her father wrapped his hooves around her tightly. "What do you want to talk about sweetie? You can tell me anything."
Rainbow looked up into his eyes with curiosity and asked, "Dad, what's it like to have a some pony special?"
Her father smiled warmly at her and replied. "It's a wonderful feeling Rainbow. There's no other feeling like it in the world. It's very special and magical. Have you found a some pony special, Rainbow?"
Rainbow shook her head no and said, "No Dad, I think boys are weird."
Her father laughed and said, "You still have some growing up to do, but you'll start to feel differently about boys when you get older. You're a very special girl, Rainbow."
Rainbow continued to stare into her father’s eyes. "But Mom said I wasn't a girl today. She said that I was a boy and she called me Tom."
Rainbow's father laughed again. "Your mother called you a tom-boy. That's a girl who exhibits the characteristics of a typical boy."
Rainbow looked away from her father and lowered her ears. "Oh," she said with a rather disappointed tone. "What kind of boy would be interested in dating a girl that's like a boy?"
Her father lowered his head closer to hers and said in a slight whisper, "Don't you worry Rainbow, there are plenty of boys who are very attracted to the kind of girl that you are. You really are just like your mother."
Rainbow's jaw dropped and she looked back at her Dad and said in a startled tone, "You married a tom-boy Dad?"
Her father was enjoying this talk quite a bit. He couldn't help but grin broadly. "I sure did, Rainbow! That was one of the reasons why I liked your mother so much. She's a very special friend to me and so much more. I love her so much."
Rainbow's mind went back to wondering about dating and asked, "So what do ponies do together when they are in love? How will I know if I have a some pony special?"
Her father sat upright and said, "Well, he'll do special things with you that he wouldn't normally do with any pony else."
"But what kind of things, Dad?" Rainbow demanded to know.
Her father continued, "Oh, all sorts of special things. He'll hold your hoof, he'll tell you that he loves you, he'll hold you tightly in his hooves, he'll kiss you, he'll...."
Rainbow interrupted her father, "Do you do those things with mom?"
Her father lowered his head again and said, "I do everyday Rainbow, every single day." He could see the red on her cheeks.
She raised her hoof to his face and looked away from her father. "Daaaad," Rainbow said.
Rainbow's father could tell she was embarrassed for asking that question. He chuckled and rubbed his hoof in her mane.
She backed away from him and asked, "Do you believe I'll ever have a some pony special in my life?"
Her father smiled at her, though this time he was a bit teary-eyed. "Of course I believe you will. You're a very special girl Rainbow, I know that somewhere there's a wonderful young stallion that will take you under his wing and love you for just the kind of girl you are."
"But how will I know if he's really the right one for me?" Rainbow asked.
Her father got closer to her again and whispered, "your heart will tell you sweetie and you'll know. You'll just know."
Rainbow squirmed out of her father’s front legs and hovered above the ground as her wings buzzed. "Well, don't you worry Dad because I'm going to become a Wonderbolt when I get older! I won't have time to be interested in boys."
Her father laughed out loud again and replied, "Someday you will sweetie, someday you will. I love you Rainbow." Her father saying her name echoed in her head numerous times.
She eventually snapped out of it when she felt her body being lightly shaken. "Rainbow? Rainbow? Rainbow? Are you alright?" Soarin' asked.
Rainbow snapped out of it and shook her head. "Oh, I must have been day dreaming. Sorry about that. Were you saying something?"
Soarin' squeezed her gently and said, "I was just telling you that I have a special gift for you and I...."
Rainbow suddenly cut him off. "Why are you doing this Soarin’? I haven't done anything special for you."
Soarin' tilted his head in confusion. "But you have Rainbow," he said. "You have spent so much time with me during your lunch breaks at the Wonderbolts academy. I enjoyed and loved our conversations that we had. I also loved the practice races that we used to have with each other. I have known you for years now and you're a very special friend of mine. You're the only pony that I have ever had feelings for and you are the prettiest pony I have ever seen." Soarin' affectionately rubbed his cheek against her mane.
Rainbow was surprised that he called her pretty. Pretty was a word reserved for a pony like Rarity. Rainbow was a pony who got sweaty and dirty in her sports. She never used makeup and hated dressing up fancy. She suddenly sat up straight and turned around. She looked into his eyes and asked, "You really think I'm pretty? Do you really mean that?"
Soarin' smiled as he stared into her eyes lovingly and said, "Of course I mean that, Rainbow. You're the most beautiful mare I have ever met. I truly mean it."
Rainbow's face lit up and she smiled at the stallion.
Soarin' began to slowly run his hoof through Rainbow's mane. This relaxed Rainbow Dash and she turned back around and slid her head down into his chest. She could hear his heart beating and the rhythm of it put her at a peaceful rest. She eventually drifted off to sleep, still locked in his front legs.