The sound of crickets woke Rainbow up. She opened up her eyes. It was still light out, but it was starting to get late. She must have been asleep for a good hour or two.
Soarin' had sat there the whole time perfectly content to simply sit there with Rainbow curled up against his body.
She stretched her limbs and looked up at Soarin' with filly-like innocence in her eyes.
"I was wondering when you were going to wake up," he said as he gently nuzzled her. "I still haven't given you my special gift."
Before Rainbow could speak, she felt a slight tug at her throat. She looked down and saw the most gorgeous necklace she had ever seen. Not even Rarity owned anything as pretty as this. There on the necklace, a golden shaped rose with a rare gem stone in it. It sparkled brightly as she stared into the gem stone.
"It's the same color as your eyes, Rainbow," Soarin' said. "Do you like it?"
Rainbow continued to stare into the gem stone. "It's wonderful," she said. "Thank you so much."
The stallion smiled a huge smile and gripped his love even tighter than before. He leaned over and whispered in her ear, "You're so welcome Rainbow. I love you."
Rainbow was never really the emotional kind, but she couldn't help but feel tears trickle down her cheeks. Her father was right all along. Having a some pony special really was the most special and magical thing she has ever felt. She wiped the tears away and smiled to herself. Right now she was feeling a little adventurous with these new feelings that she had never felt before and wanted to explore things a little further. Rainbow broke free from his hug and stared into his eyes. "And I have a special gift for you too," the blue mare said.
"You do?" Soarin' asked with another great big smile.
Rainbow Dash nodded her head yes a few times and then lunged at Soarin'. She wrapped her front legs around his neck and knocked him to the ground. She kissed him with passion. With her eyes closed, she pressed as tightly against his body as she could.
Soarin' was shocked at first, but he quickly relaxed and closed his eyes. He wrapped one of his front legs around her body and squeezed her as hard as he could. He took his other front leg and ran it through her mane. Rainbow's breathing became deeper and deeper as she continued to kiss her mate. Eventually they broke free. Rainbow straightened herself up. She kept one hoof on him and began slowly dragging it down his chest. Soarin' lay there on the ground with a smile. "Did you enjoy it?" Rainbow asked.
Soarin' nodded his head yes and said, "Rainbow that was the most special and magical moment I have ever experienced. I love you."
Rainbow kissed him quickly once more and said, "I love you too."
Soarin' picked himself up. He looked at the night sky and asked, "How has your practice been going for the Wonderbolts race?"
Rainbow felt like she had just been smacked in the face. She had completely forgotten about the race. She didn't even practice her stamina training today. Her mind raced with all sorts of terrible ideas about the race. She stood there speechless.
"Rainbow, if you're nervous about the race, I can help train you," Soarin' suggested.
Rainbow shook her head several times and snapped out of it. "What?" she said. "Don't you have any shows to perform?"
Soarin' shook his head no and said, "Nope. I took a long time off just to spend time with you."
Rainbow's heart went pitter-patter. If she were to end up with a stallion, this pony had to be it.
Soarin' waved his hoof in front of her face. "Dash, are you ok?"
Rainbow backed off a bit and said, "Yeah, I'm fine. It's just that I think it's going to be hard to focus on the race and having a some pony special at the same time.
Soarin' took her hoof and held it. "Don't worry Rainbow, I'll help you train. We'll get through this together."
Rainbow Dash nodded ok. She suddenly perked up and asked, "So if I win this race, does that mean I'll get to be touring with you?"
Soarin' sighed and said, "I'm afraid not Rainbow. Believe it or not, I'm starting to get too old to do these shows and there's a new generation of Wonderbolts being trained. Being a Wonderbolt doesn’t last too long and it's exhausting being the very best. I don't tour very much anymore and I have opted to become a coach, just like Spit Fire. I only have a few more shows to do before I exclusively become a coach. As a coach, I'll have a lot more time on my hooves and will be able to do more things that I enjoy. I have also been wanting to settle down in life and find some pony special to be with."
Rainbow was surprised. She was only a few years younger than Soarin' and he was probably in better shape than she was.
Soarin' continued, "Rainbow, I know you're not going to like hearing this, but most ponies starting out to become Wonderbolts are usually much younger than yourself. I'm not saying that it's not possible for you to become one. You're an incredibly strong mare and I have faith that you can do this, but it's just going to be very exhausting touring with them. I assume that if you do become one, most of your team members are going to be a lot younger than you. Do know that if you win this race and become a Wonderbolt, we won't have much time to see each other. In fact, we might not have any time at all together. We'll probably be forced to keep in touch by mail."
Rainbow looked down at the ground and was deep in thought. She never really considered all of this.
Soarin' reached out and ran his hoof down her face. "Don't worry Rainbow, whatever you want to do is fine. I'm with you no matter what."
Rainbow's mind was racing. She had already given her heart away to this pony, but not being able to see him again for a long time would be difficult on their relationship. However, Rainbow had trained so hard to make it this far. Ever since she was a filly, it was her dream to become a Wonderbolt. Rainbow looked up into his eyes and said, "I need to do it. I need to at least try. Being a Wonderbolt was everything I ever dreamed of becoming. I have to do this."
Soarin' nodded his head in understanding and continued, "Why don't you go home and get to bed early so we can train early tomorrow. Meet me at the Wonderbolts academy in the morning. I'll be waiting for you."
Rainbow hugged and kissed her companion once more before flying off home. He watched her fly off in the distance.
Rainbow Dash returned home and had a small snack before heading to bed. It was a bit early for bed time, but she needed every bit of energy for tomorrow if she were to be trained by a Wonderbolt. She got into bed and snuggled into the blankets. She thought about her friends and the dates that they had. "Oh, if they ever found out about me and Soarin', I don't know what they would think of me." She still wasn't sure that if everything that had happened today was real. She thought these kinds of stallions were a myth, like in the romance novels that Rarity always borrowed from the library and that only girls like Rarity got them. Rainbow Dash put her worries aside and closed her eyes. She imagined the blankets were Soarin's front legs holding her tightly.