//------------------------------// // Chapter 5: Remembering Yesterday, Anticipating Tomorrow // Story: Soarin to Victory // by TorontoFCBrony //------------------------------// Soarin and Rainbow shared a goodnight kiss as they departed for the evening. They watched events at the games throughout the day after their morning race and shared a candlelit dinner at the Crystal Cafe, which was located near the castle. After flying overtop the wonderfully lit city after the sun set down, they parted ways for the evening. Rainbow was completely distracted from her fall the day before, as well as her injured leg. Even though she still slightly limped, she didn't feel the pain anymore. Her wing felt as good as new. Soarin did a good job of making her feel happy, distracting her from both her pain and her nerves of the final event. The mare turned on the light inside her room, then flopping flat on her back on her bed. Full of joy and satisfaction at how happy she was to be with Soarin, she let her mind wander to all the pleasant memories she had with the stallion over their first few months of dating. After the wonderful start that they had to their relationship at Rainbow Falls, the couple kept true on their promise to each other. They rotated visiting each other on different weekends, even meeting each others' parents. Sure, they still had a relatively young relationship, but they knew that their love was for real. And there were a number of ways to prove that. They never had any huge arguments or problems, and any time they did have a slight argument, they didn't let a day pass without resolving it. Quite a few times, actually, their arguments were about who got the last piece of pie, with Rainbow submitting the final piece to her pie-loving coltfriend. One time, though, he actually gave the final piece to her, which meant a lot to Rainbow. One memory stood out in the pegasus' mind more than the others. It was the time that he finally said three little words that meant so much to her. -------------------------------------- Sleeping in a floating mansion made of clouds was one of the things about life that Rainbow Dash loved the most. The beds were as comfy as any creature other than a pegasus would have expected them to be. There was never any noise from neighbours, so the nights were peaceful and quiet, making it even easier to sleep. For a pegasus who loved sleep as much as Rainbow did, living in this floating mansion made sleeping in so much easier to do. It was now one month since Rainbow Dash and Soarin started dating, with two months to go until the Equestria Games. The couple kept true to their word together and visited each other on the weekends. Rainbow visited Soarin for two weekends, where they met each others' parents for the first time, and the stallion visited her back in the weekend in between. That was when he got to learn more about the mare's friends, which made him even more fond of Rainbow herself. That was when they told the stories of how they saved the kingdom a number of times from unspeakable evil. Rainbow was still sleeping soundly in her cloud mansion when she felt a drop of rain fall onto her face. With a grumble, she wiped off the droplet from her face, and opened her eyes. Dash looked outside the window, watching the sunrise. It took a few seconds to remember what day it way, but when she did, a smile spread across her face. It was Saturday, which meant two things: she didn't have to work, which was always a huge bonus, and Soarin was coming to visit once again. But the smile didn't last for too long, though. She remembered that it was the third weekend of the month, which was always the weekend allotted by the Ponyville weather team every month for rain. The day before Dash spent time with the other members of her crew gathering rain clouds over the town. As the custom on this weekend every month, they left the clouds there so that the rain could fall on and off for the next two days. Rainbow covered her face with her hooves in dissatisfaction as she remembered that Soarin would be at her door at any time soon. The rain would mean that they'd have to do indoor activities for most of the weekend. Thankfully she could rely on her friends for stuff to do, right? Wrong! Well, on this weekend, at least. Twilight Sparkle and Spike were visiting Canterlot as the new alicorn princess was spending time to catch up with her mentor. Pinkie Pie was visiting Appleloosa with Applejack and her siblings, catching up with the rest of the Apple family, and Fluttershy accompanied them. Lately the shy yellow pegasus went wherever Applejack and her brother went, for some reason. Finally, Rarity and Sweetie Belle were visiting their parents. But that was the norm on this weekend every month, simply because of the rain. It was the one weekend of each month that the six main friends went their separate ways. There just had to be something for Rainbow Dash to do with Soarin. The mare pondered what they could do, but her time ran out as she heard a pony land on the clouds in front of her door. She could hear Soarin call her name over the sound of the rain. Dash quickly ran into her bathroom, making sure that she was at least presentable, and then flew downstairs and opened the door for her stallion. As soon as she opened the door, she burst into laughter, even falling on her back. "Oh yeah, laugh it up Dashie," Soarin said as he stepped inside. "Soar, your-" the mare tried to say while still chuckling on her back and wiping her teary eyes. "You look hilarious!" Soarin didn't have a mirror on him to see how he looked, but he just knew it was funny from the mare's reaction. He had flown straight into the rain clouds in his descent into Ponyville. His mane was completely wet, and when he tried to shake off the rain when he was at the front of the door to the floating mansion, his mane went completely flat and parted and down the middle, making him look completely nerdy. "Are you done laughing?" Soarin asked the mare, who was still on her back, but not as hysterical as before. "Yes," she said while reaching out a hoof. The stallion helped her get up. "So, what do you have planned for us today?" Soarin asked. "Um... well... not really anything," the mare responded. She really should have thought about this more than just a few minutes before her coltfriend came in. "All my friends are gone away this weekend, and I forgot it was scheduled to rain. So, what do you want to do?" "Honestly, Dashie, I have nothing in particular in mind as well. You just want to do something around here?" "Sure! But, only, I don't really have much to do around here either." "There's surely something that two young ponies can do together." "Hmm," Dash thought out loud. But she then got a brilliant idea; something that they had not done together as of yet, and could be done right in the home. "Let's draw pictures." Soarin let out a loud, Dash-like, obnoxious yawn. "Yeah, no. It's not that bad outside. We could just go shopping or something." "Bleck," Rainbow sounded out upon hearing the S word. "The only shopping I ever do is for food. It's a waste of time." "All right, all right. No shopping. How about we just go down to that pastry place your pink friend works at and we'll get breakfast." "Even though Pinkie Pie's not there today, it would be nice not having to make breakfast myself," the mare replied in agreement. If there was one thing to the mare that rivaled the joy created from sleep or flying, it was eating, and especially at Suger Cube Corner. And eat they did. They were the only customers so far that day for the Cake family over at Suger Cube Corner, so the married couple said that they would make whatever the young dating couple wanted., which ended up being fried potatoes, pancakes, and hay bacon strips, something that Pinkie Pie had invented herself a couple of years prior. The two couples conversed for quite a while afterwards. The Cakes told stories about what happened when they first started dating, including all the embarrassing times. The story of Mr. Cake asking out his future wife was actually quite the funny story, because he was a huge nerd back in the day. The married couple also gave some pretty good advice to Dash and Soar, who still had a lot to learn about relationships. Having fun while dating is one thing, but marriage is a whole different monster. Not that they were anywhere close to being married, though. They still had a long way to go. Rainbow looked out the window momentarily after about two hours of being at Suger Cube Corner, and she was greeted with a pleasant sight. There was a break in the clouds, and the sun had come out. "Soarin, come on!" Dash said while grabbing the stallions hoof. Mr. and Mrs. Cake had just taken a few minutes to clean up from the breakfast they served. "Wait!" the stallion said. "We still have to pay for the meal." "We don't have any time to waste," Dash said while throwing a collection of bits on the table to pay for the meal. "The sun won't last for long." "Thanks, Mr. and Mrs. Cake," Soarin shouted out as he got pulled outside by his marefriend. Just as the front door closed, Mrs. Cake came out with a cake she was going to surprise the young couple with. She had a bittersweet form of disappointment, as now she had to share the cake with only her husband. Rainbow Dash pulled Soarin by the hoof as she took to flight just above the ground. The sun was shining through the dark clouds as the mare dragged her coltfriend all the way to a bunch of trees by the Ponyville River. "Ah," the stallion said as they landed. "Now I know what you want to do today." Dash smiled as she picked up a flat stone and tossed it over to Soarin. "Come on, Soar. We won't have much sunlight today. Let's get a few good tosses in before we have to go back inside. Whoever gets the most skips with a single stone gets to decide what we do tonight." "Oh you're on," Soarin said with a grin. "If I win, we go see a romantic movie in the theatre down the road." Rainbow gagged again. "Ugh, fine. If I win we go prank Scootaloo." "That's a little mean, don't you think? Good thing I'm going to win, then." "Okay, Soarin," Dash said condescendingly. "We'll see about that." The mare looked around the ground of a bunch of stones on the ground along the stream, picking up a flat one. "Try and beat this," she said. With a swing of her hoof, she let go of the stone, bouncing it once downstream. Only once. Then it sank. "Oh come on." "Ha, nice try, Dashie. Now watch a professional at work," Soarin said as he picked up another flat stone. "Come on, Soarin. I've been doing it years longer than you have. You have nothing on me." "Are you sure about that?" he asked as he swung his hoof, launching the stone downstream, splashing it seven times. Dash stared back at him, both amazing and frustrated. "All right, I see how it is," she said as she picked up another stone, throwing it and splashing it six times. "Come on." She picked up another one, splashing it only four times. "Oh for crying out-" "Give up?" Soarin asked. "Never," Dash replied as she picked up another stone, this time splashing it six times again. "Oh come on!" "Looks like we'll be watching a movie tonight." Rainbow rolled her eyes almost as far as they could go. "Fine," she replied with a sigh. "Just face it, you can't be the best all the time," Soarin said. "I know, I know. But I want to be," the mare replied. Just after she said that, she felt a raindrop fall on her nose. "Oh, great, now the rain's coming back." Soarin looked up and saw that the dark clouds had rolled in again. "We may still have a few minutes before the rain com-" He was interrupted as a downpour came on the couple, instantly drenching them. The rain came heavily and quickly, and they had far to go to get back to Rainbow's floating mansion. Rainbow looked around for a place to get some shelter. She almost instantly found a lush tree that looked to provide enough protection from the rain. There was no lightning in the vicinity, so it seemed like the safest place to go. She grabbed the stallion's hoof, pulling him over to the tree, where they both laid down on the dry ground at the base of the trunk. "Great, now what're we going to do?" Dash asked as they sat there on the dry ground, protected from the rain. The smell of the air was fresh and the sound of the many drops were peaceful. Occasionally a single drop would fall on one of the two ponies, but they were far better protected where they were than if they decided to run home right away. "I don't know. Tell stories?" Rainbow pondered for a second. "Meh, I've got nothing." "Me neither," Soarin said as he rested his back on the tree. Dash laid her head forward onto her forelegs. "Hey, I got something!" Rainbow said while perking her head up. "What happened to you while I was at the Wonderbolt Academy? I was so excited to see if I could see you and you weren't even there." "Ah. You know, I forgot to tell you about that until now. It's pretty simple, actually. I was sent to Manehattan for a few weeks to meet and train some young pegasi who were raised in poor households." "Really?" Dash asked, surprised at his response. Soarin nodded his head with a grin. "Yep. You see, as Wonderbolts, we're not only performers, we're also role models. Not every young filly or colt can afford to see us. The team and I agreed to let me go so that I could spend some time with young ponies in the city, teaching them to fly and giving them a chance to finally see a Wonderbolt up close. It was actually amazing for me to go, because it just felt great knowing that I was affecting so many young ponies." "I guess I can't really be mad at you if that's the reason you weren't there when I was. But it would have been nice if you watched how amazing I performed." "Please, I've always known how awesome you are. You don't have to prove it to me," the stallion responded. He looked out to the flowing river, lost in thought for a second. "Hey, can I tell you something that I've never told anypony before?" "Uh, yeah, of course!" "Okay... before I became a Wonderbolt, I was actually really shy. It still bothers me sometimes, especially before big shows." "Come on, Soarin the Wonderbolt- shy? No way!" "Yes way. I was petrified when my parents first sent me to the Wonderbolt Academy. The only reason why I did so well was because I knew ow much they had to work to afford to send me there. I couldn't let them down. And trust me, even somepony as brave as you would be nervous performing in front of a huge crowd. " "Not likely, Soar. I'm excited to be going to the games." "Maybe now, but you'll be nervous when the games come. Trust me. Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, nowadays I'm not nervous before every show. Only before big ones. I had to fight my nerves in order to be the best flyer I could be. I wouldn't want to have an accident right over a huge crowd." "Eww," Dash replied just thinking about it. "Yeah, exactly. But one thing that helps me battle nerves more than anything is knowing that I am making my parents proud and that I am looked up to by young ponies anywhere. Maybe one day you'll get the chance to be a Wonderbolt, and you can feel the same way." "As of now, I'm just wondering how I'm not a Wonderbolt. I should've became one years ago." "Your time will come. I'm sure of it. Just focus on the games for now." "I will. After all, I need to train hard in order to beat you." "Don't flatter me, Dash. You're better than me and you know it." "Come on, at least let me try to be modest! It's not something that comes natural to me." Dash pondered for a second, remembering something about what Soarin had said earlier. "Hey, if you're as shy as you claim to be, how come you have no problem talking to me?" "Because you're worth me putting my fears aside." Soarin watched as Dash's cheeks got red. "Ah-ha, you're blushing. I see it!" "I am not!" "You so are!" "Okay, fine, maybe I am a little bit," Dash said while rubbing her face with one hoof. "Hey, you want to know something else I've never told anypony before, except for my parents?" Soarin then asked. "What's that?" "I love you." "Uh, what?" Rainbow replied bluntly. "You heard me." "Ugh, why do you do this to me, Soarin?" Rainbow said while turning away, trying to hide her blush once again. "Fine," she said while turning to face him. "I love you too. I can't believe you just made me say that." "Nah, I didn't make you say it. You said it because you wanted to." -------------------------------------- Maybe things were going a little quickly for the couple, maybe things weren't. It was hard to tell. But the one thing Rainbow knew as she laid down in her bed in her cottage at the athlete village was that she really did mean it when she said she loved him back. And days like the one she just had proved it all the more. He treated her like the treasure she was, and he even brought out a softer side of her; a side she always had, but never wanted to show to others. She believed that it made her look weaker, which was the exact opposite of the truth. As Rainbow laid there, remembering things that she did with her coltfriend, she also thought out the future- getting engaged, marrying Soarin, having a family. Sure, maybe she was getting a little ahead of herself. But in a kingdom where stallions were far and few between, having one as amazing as Soarin love Dash for who she was was a privilege. And Rainbow wasn't willing to ever lose this stallion, just as she was unwilling to lose everything in life. All the signs pointed to them being together forever. But as the mare turned over in her bed, she remembered something that Soarin said. Something about the fact that she would be nervous before big events. The next day was her final chance at winning a medal. If she were to lose, she'd probably never forgive herself. "Come on, Dash, you'll do fine," she would mutter to herself. "No you won't," her mind would say back to her. The cycle repeated a number of times. With a groan, she tried to put her fears aside, remembering that she would not only have her coltfriend cheering her on, even though he'd be competing against her, she'd also have her parents, her friends, and all of Ponyville supporting her. Her mind went back and forth between nervousness and excitement for the final race for about twenty minutes. Eventually her brain slowed down and her body was just too tired from trying to heal and from being out all day, and she fell asleep soundly.