High Fliers
"How much longer will it take to cure this?
Just to cure it 'cause I can't ignore it if it's love
Makes me wanna turn around and face me
But I don't know nothing about love."
-Accidentally in Love by Counting Crows
The cyan pegasus yawned loudly. She loved her lazy days. After that brutal storm the day before, she was glad that she had several days off. Not just today, but she was free all the way until after Hearts and Hooves Day. Being a team leader sure did have its perks.
One of her favorite spots to do absolutely nothing was on the large branch of a nice, big tree. While they were nowhere nearly as soft as a cloud, they supplied a great deal of shade and had a much more earthly atmosphere than up in the air. Plus, depending on which kind of tree she would rest in, there would be a snack waiting to be picked if she felt a little hungry. That last reason was mainly why she was taking her nap in Sweet Apple Acres.
She fell onto her back, putting her front hooves behind her head. With a satisfied sigh, she closed her eyes, enjoying the sunlight as it wrapped itself around her. Rainbow let her mind wander to the topic she'd heard of recently. To be more accurately, the topic she'd been hearing recently nonstop.
Like everyone else had already heard, the Hearts and Hooves day was going to be, "the biggest bash of the century; it would be so awesome, yadda, yadda, yadda." She repeated in her head.
Rainbow Dash was no anti-romantic, but she was getting the notion that the holiday was being seriously overhyped. It was just a holiday. How different would it be from Nightmare Night or Hearth's Warming Eve? She just couldn't figure out why a single day would be so special and exciting to so many ponies.
She would never openly admit it; the fact that she knew next to nothing about intimate relationships. All she knew was that it involved nuzzling, hugging, and somehow made babies. Thinking back on it, maybe sleeping through Sex Ed class wasn't the best idea in the world.
Rainbow's thoughts were interrupted when she felt a sudden jerk in her tree. She immediately opened her eyes and found herself falling to the ground. She tried to open her wing and take flight, but it was too late. She was falling too fast and was too close to the ground. She closed her eyes and braced for impact.
"Oof!" With a loud, crunch, she crashed to the ground. Funny, she thought the dry dirt would be a lot harder.
She opened her eyes, realizing her body was sprawled out on something slightly above ground level. She looked down, realizing she had landed on top of Applejack's brother, Big Macintosh; also spread out on the ground.
"Whoops," Rainbow Dash apologized. "My bad. Didn't know you were applebucking." She jumped off the stallion, allowing him to get up.
He shook the dirt out of his mane and turned his attention to the pegasus. "Well, this is an apple farm." He stoically replied.
Rainbow Dash cringed slightly in embarrassment. "Smooth move, Dash," she thought, scolding herself. "You just had to forget you're in an apple farm that ready to be harvested."
Any further conversation was interrupted by a familiar sounding, "Big Mac!" The sound of a galloping pony was heard heading their way. "I heard somethin' crash. Did ya'll knock a tree down again?"
The orange pony came into view, two baskets filled with apples attached to her sides. She looked around, looking for any damage done to the trees by her big brother. Thanks to his extraordinary strength, Big Macintosh would sometimes accidentally buck the entire tree down. He's been carefully calculating how hard he should kick since the day he accidentally bucked Bloomberg's "big brother" down and got a severe scolding from Applejack.
"Nnope." Big Macintosh said, calming Applejack down. He pointed a hoof to Rainbow Dash, who smiled guiltily at the blond pony.
The earth pony sighed. "Okay. Big Macintosh, you mind takin' these ta Fluttershy on the edge of the Everfree Forest? I need ta have a private word with Rainbow."
"Eeyup." The large pony responded. He took the baskets from his little sister and headed off to the yellow pegasus's cottage.
"As fer you," Applejack scolded, turning to her friend. "Why in the hay were you on my farm in the first place? Ain't clouds s'posed to be softer than trees?"
"I won't have to fly far if I wanted a snack." Rainbow Dash replied honestly, yet bluntly. "Besides, I needed a break. Do you realize how hard it is trying to coordinate ten pegasi to move the clouds into the right place at the same time, one of them being Derpy?"
Applejack sighed. "I understand ya need yer time off an' all, but you can at least help us out with the preparations."
Rainbow Dash quizzically raised an eyebrow. "What preparations?"
"You know," The farm pony said as if it was obvious. "Fer Hearts 'n Hooves Day."
The pegasus groaned, earning a questioning glance from the earth pony. "That's like the eighth time I heard about Hearts and Hooves in the past two hours!" She complained, stomping a hoof into the ground. "I'm really getting sick of it."
The farm pony scowled. She knew this would end up happening. Being the tomboy she was, Rainbow Dash would have definitely been turned away from such a festivity. She just didn't know how long it would take until she would reach her breaking point.
"Look Rainbow," Applejack said, trying to calm her friend down. "It's just one day. 'Sides, there's gonna be a party at Sugarcube Corner. You like parties, don'tcha?"
"Yeah, but not when they have pink, swirly hearts every five inches." The pegasus replied. "Besides, this is the time of year you see everypony cuddling and stuff. It's just… weird." She said that last part with much uncertainty in her voice.
Applejack smiled coyly at her. "Ahh… I see what yer problem is."
"What problem?"
"Ya'll just dateless to the party!" Applejack snickered, leading the pegasus staring at her, confused. "Big, bad, dangerous Dash all shook up 'bout showin' up with no date to the party." She mocked.
Rainbow Dash blushed slightly, though it was mostly out of annoyance. She didn't really care for a coltfriend, assuming having one would only drag her down. "Hey! I could totally get a date to that dumb party if I wanted to."
"As much as I'd love ta' pester you 'bout this," Applejack admitted. "I've still got unfinished business with these apples." Rainbow could've sworn she had said something underneath her breath.
"So what do you want me to do then?" The pegasus asked. Now that the farm pony riled her in the mood, she didn't feel like continuing her nap.
"Hmm," Applejack thought, putting a hoof to her chin. "I think Pinkie Pie might need help with the party setup, ya know, thanks to her injury."
"Again with this party thing?"
"Well, I don't see you with a booked schedule."
"Fine. Whatever."
Rainbow Dash got off the ground and let her wings lift her up high. "I'll see you later." She said to her friend, waving. The farm pony waved back before heading towards another tree to buck.
Rainbow Dash began a relaxed, slow glide to the bakery. After a few minutes of flying, Ponyville came into view. The town was pretty hard to miss, considering how the pink-decorated buildings stuck out against the green grass and blue sky.
Almost immediately upon entering the town, the pegasus saw at the very least three different couples walking about. If it were a normal day, it'd be quite hard to find so many lovers out about during the day; however, it was mainly because Ponyville was notorious for having the highest mare-to-stallion ratio in all of Equestria.
While she was pretty neutral when it came to colors, the overdose of pink that the town was on was also becoming stale to her. Hanging around Pinkie Pie was already enough pink enough to last a lifetime.
She decided that it would probably be better to just get little favor over with. She gained some more altitude and scanned for the bakery. She was able to find Sugarcube Corner fairly quickly, just a little over a minute. The unique, frosted roof was pretty hard to miss.
The pegasus was about to close the distance between her and the ground when a blue flash zipped past her. She looked towards where it flew, seeing a blue blur speeding away.
She didn't understand how something managed to move so fast. Was that another pegasus or some animal? Her curiosity got the better of her and she turned around. "I can visit Pinkie later. I gotta see what the hay that was!"
The object was still in sight, although much farther away. Rainbow Dash headed forward and flapped her wings harder, gaining much faster speed compared to her relaxed glide earlier. She felt the wind try to fight against her, but the pegasus kept pursuing her target, accelerating all the way.
As she got closer and closer, she noticed that whatever she was chasing had pale wings. She squinted, trying to get her eyes used to having the rushing air in her eyes. She also noticed that it had a tail, a large, navy blue one at that. It definitely was a pony. She couldn't make out the rest of the pony from the distance she was at. Using all of her strength, she used a burst of speed, nearly catching up to the pony.
Now nearly within touching distance of the pony's tail, she continued her flight. "Just a little closer…" she said out loud.
She nearly got a nip of the tail, but then it just disappeared.
"Huh?" Rainbow looked around her to see where the pegasus had gone, but all she saw were a few small clouds. No other living being around her. "Where'd you go?"
Just who the hay was that pony? And how did he or she manage to somehow get away? The pegasus would've loved to get a good look at whoever managed to match her speed. Finding a pony who could outfly her was rare.
She groaned and sighed in defeat. Whoever that pony was, he or she managed to get away. She turned back, starting a much slower glide to Sugarcube Corner.
"Phew." She heard. Immediately her ears perked up. That pony was still here. This time, she looked up to see a large cloud about ten feet above her.
"Aha!" She whispered to herself, careful not to get noticed by the other pony. "So that's where you're hiding."
She slowly hovered up to the edge of the cloud. If she flew any faster, the noise of her wings flapping would've scared the other pegasus off. Once she got within a few inches from the edge, she suspended herself in the air.
With a great burst of speed, she flew up past the cloud, then came swooping down at the now-resting pony. She didn't bother paying attention to the pony's features, only focused on pinning down the pony.
The other pegasus, on its stomach, realized too late. Rainbow Dash was coming to him too fast for him to pick himself up and speed off.
Rainbow was getting closer and closer to her target. The tired pegasus flipped onto its back and faced the incoming cyan pony. Her arms were extended forward, ready to pin down the pegasus's front hooves once she reached the cloud. Unfortunately, the other pony managed to roll away just before Rainbow touched him, leaving her unable to stop her momentum and pass right through the cloud.
"That was close." The pony said with masculinity in his voice. He sighed and wiped a small bit of sweat on his head.
His relief was cut short when the mare rose up from under the cloud and quickly tackled him to the ground. He struggled underneath the mare, who had now pinned his shoulders down with her own hooves.
With all his strength, he managed to roll over and the tables were turned. He was on top of Rainbow Dash with him pinning her down. She was a fighter, he could tell. She growled dangerously as she struggled and squirmed under his weight.
The stallion was soon overpowered by Rainbow, who used the same tactic as he did to get on top of her. This process repeated itself, kicking up puffs of the cloud.
Eventually, the stallion became tired from the fighting, but Rainbow Dash still had plenty of energy. She managed to get on top of the exhausted pegasus. He showed little resistance against the cyan pony.
Now that she had dominion over the stallion, she took a better look at him. Now that she managed to stop and look, she immediately recognized the Wonderbolts outfit he was wearing. He even had trademark goggles resting on his forehead. She mentally slapped herself in the face, realizing she had just tackled and wrestled a Wonderbolt. Judging by his opened wings and exposed snout, he had a pale, azure coat that complimented his messy, navy blue mane and bright green eyes.
"Oh horseapples," She thought guiltily. "Did I just wrestle Soarin'?"
As if knocking a Wonderbolt over after a chase scene wasn't enough, the peculiar position of her on top of him, her hooves pinning his shoulders down made the awkward moment even more awkward.
Rainbow Dash blushed madly and scrambled to get off of the stallion. Once she got off of Soarin' she looked away, shamefully expecting a scolding or him flying away. She couldn't think of any worse way to get on a Wonderbolt's bad side than doing the idiotic thing she just did.
"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" She scolded herself. She hung her head. "I should've just listened to Applejack and just go to the dang bakery. No, I just had to follow and attack Soarin'. Way to go."
As she silently cursed herself, Soarin' gave the sulking mare a questioning gaze. He didn't like the fact Rainbow Dash just came out of nowhere, followed him, and then assaulted him, but he was also curious how she even managed to do all that. He knew he was a very fast flier. The only one in the Wonderbolts that could manage to keep up to him was Spitfire, and there were quite a few of Wonderbolts. It wasn't often that somepony could keep up to him, let alone outfly him. And then, of course, she managed to beat him in a wrestling match just now.
He did, however, like seeing that familiar face again. Rainbow Dash was the one who saved his life during that Young Flier's competition, then later save his pie at the Grand Galloping Gala. He also remembered how ecstatic she looked when he signed an autograph for her at one of their shows.
"Ohmygosh, ohmygosh," He remembered her stutter after he signed his photo. "This is so awesome!" He would've been lying if he said Rainbow Dash didn't look flat out adorable when she practically jumped after receiving the photograph.
He remembered the few times Spitfire would pester him, jokingly asking if "you and your number one fan" became an item. Even though Soarin' had only met Rainbow a few brief times on separate occasions, he had developed a crush on the rainbow maned filly.
He put on a straight face and approached the sulking pegasus, still faced away from him. "Here goes nothing," he said to himself, as he tapped Rainbow's shoulder gently.
Rainbow looked up to the stallion, a miserable expression on her face. "What do you want?" She asked dryly, not understanding why Soarin' bothered to stay.
"Well, you look like you're in a bad mood." Soarin' replied honestly. "Me leaving won't fix anything, now will it?"
Ironically, Dash thought it would've been better if Soarin' indeed just left. She just wanted to have a good sulk at that moment, but by the look of it, that wasn't going to happen anytime soon.
She faked a small smile and chuckled lightly. "Heh… I guess it won't."
"So what's up?" The stallion asked.
"Well, I did just assault you two minutes ago." The mare replied, looking away again. She was still ashamed for attacking her idol, as well as embarrassed about the pose they were in when she pinned him down.
Soarin' laughed heartedly, confusing Rainbow. "Do you know how many times I've been attacked by a group of vicious fans? What you did to me is like one slice out of a huge pie."
Rainbow Dash felt her shoulders relax. "So you're not mad?"
"Of course not." Soarin' replied, a smile still on his face.
The mare sighed in relief. The superstar wasn't going to hold a grudge against her for that little fight. But Soarin' wasn't exactly off the hook himself either.
With her mind no longer fixated on worrying about her reputation with the Wonderbolts, a question was brought into her head. "Wait, just what are you doing in Ponyville anyway?" She asked.
"The Wonderbolts are trying to book a place to do a show on Hearts and Hooves Day. Canterlot and Manehattan were both busts, so they sent me to Ponyville to find a gig. No luck so far." He put a hoof to his chin in thought. "Say, you wouldn't happen to know anypony needing an air-show, would you?"
Rainbow Dash's memory instantly went back to Applejack mentioning the Hearts and Hooves party. Pinkie Pie was going to need all the help she could get for the party planning. So why not book the entertainment early?
The cyan pegasus spoke, "My friend Pinkie Pie is holding a big party on Hearts and Hooves Day at Sugarcube Corner. I don't know if she's planned any entertainment, so let's go see if she's okay with you guys doing an air-show."
"That'd be great!" Soarin' exclaimed. "That's the place that looks a big gingerbread house, right?" The mare nodded. He spread out his wings and walked to the edge of the cloud. He looked back to Rainbow Dash, who stretched out her own wings. "I betcha can't catch up this time!" He flipped his goggles on and quickly took off.
Rainbow Dash smirked. "Oh, you're on!" She made a sprint followed by a jump and started her flight, not that much further behind Soarin'. In hot pursuit, she sped up, wings flapping harder and faster.
Soarin' noticed her increase in speed. She was quickly gaining speed and catching up to him. He took note of her flying being superior to his. Then again, this was the mare that pulled off a Sonic Rainboom and saved the world, both twice.
Not being the kind of pegasus to give up easily, he also sped up, keeping an eye out for the bakery below. He realized he must've flown far to escape Rainbow Dash before realizing it was her, because he saw he was over an empty field.
"Whoa," He muttered, keeping his flight steady. "That'll teach me from trying to get away from a pony who can break the sound barrier."
"What was that?" A familiar mare's voice asked. Soarin' looked from the ground to his left, seeing that Rainbow Dash managed to fly right next to him.
Soarin's eyes went wide under his goggles and his jaw dropped. "Jeez, she's fast!" he thought.
Rainbow Dash laughed. She admitted to herself that he looked funny and cute with that wild, shocked expression on his face.
Wait, did she just think he was cute? She never thought that way about anypony before. She looked back at Soarin', who snapped out of his stupor.
"Uhh… Nothin' important." He replied.
Rainbow Dash smirked at the stallion at her side. "Good to hear. Later!" She sped off once more, leaving Soarin' in the dust.
"That sneaky filly…" The Wonderbolt thought, flying faster to keep up. "That's it! You're gonna get it!"
The stallion managed to catch up to Rainbow Dash fairly quickly, trailing behind her tail. He looked down. They were finally in Ponyville after their long flight. He looked back up and flew a bit faster to get next to Rainbow Dash.
"We're right over Ponyville. Do you see the bakery anywhere?" He asked.
Rainbow Dash looked down. She scanned the town for the bakery. "Yeah, it's down there at ten o'clock." She quickly sped downwards.
She was still flying at fast speeds, as was Soarin'. Their little race wasn't over until one pony touched the ground first. Rainbow was still hanging onto her lead, but Soarin' was steadily gaining speed. The mare wasn't about to let anypony beat her, even it was her idol. She unleashed yet another burst of speed, managing to strike the ground before the Wonderbolt did.
"Yes! I win!" Dash announced. She panted, finally getting the chance to breath. She felt proud of herself for managing to beat one of the fastest ponies in Equestria in a race, even if it was just a small, unofficial one.
Her victory was cut short when Soarin' came crashing into her. He managed to strike her by her side, making them fall and roll over. They tumbled on the dirt, rolling on top of each other and letting the dust kick up, gathering many of the nearby ponies' attention. When they finally stopped tumbling, they were caught in an embarrassingly familiar pose.
Soarin' was on top again. However, this time his curled up back legs were on top of hers and his front hooves were pinning hers down. His face was also fairly close to hers; almost to the point his snout touched hers. In the little squabble, his goggles flew off to who-knows-where, revealing his bright green eyes.
Rainbow's mane was dirty and messy, as well as her coat. Her legs were sprawled out, pinned down by the stallion's buff ones. A variety of scratches decorated her skin, but she didn't care. For some reason, she didn't mind being covered in dirt and scratched up. She just stared into Soarin's wide eyes, a hot blush visible on her face.
She didn't fully understand what was happening to her. Just why was she feeling so hot all of a sudden? She'd been tackled to the ground by Pinkie Pie plenty of times, but this time with Soarin' felt… very different. Plus the way he stared right back at her made her heart beat faster. The pegasi were unaware of the several ponies watching them. It was as though the two were in their own little world.
After what seemed to be like an eternity, Soarin' felt himself unconsciously inching forward. He let his eyes droop slightly, not taking his gaze off of the mare.
Oddly enough, Rainbow Dash mimicked his actions. She also leaned in slowly and let her eyes close as he did the same. Her mind was blank and her heart was pounding, face still red.
Their lips connected. Even the bold Rainbow Dash was shy at first, but put more force into the kiss after getting used to the closeness. The Wonderbolt didn't seem like he was used to kissing either, but enjoyed it nevertheless. The sound of awing ponies fell on deaf ears and they let themselves get lost in each other.
They finally pulled away for air, their faces both red, even if Soarin's was hidden under his costume. Rainbow Dash just couldn't stop smiling at the colt on top of her. She just kissed her idol, and it felt pretty darn good.
He smiled back at the mare. His little crush was indeed the real deal. Even with the dirt in her mane and coat, she was still beautiful in his eyes.
Soarin' gently got off of the other pegasus and offered a hoof to help her up. Rainbow gladly accepted it and was up on her own hooves as well.
"So," Rainbow Dash said, redirecting her gaze to Soarin'. "Am I your fillyfriend or what?"
The stallion responded by giving Rainbow Dash a small peck on her cheek. "Take a wild guess." He whispered.
In a rare, possibly once-in-a-lifetime event, Rainbow Dash squealed like a schoolfilly that got asked out for the first time.
She never intended to get a coltfriend, let alone so soon. Earlier that day, she didn't understand why everyone was so hyped up over a dumb holiday about the color pink, hearts, and pink hearts. Now that she had her own somepony to love, she realized why the day meant so much to so many ponies.
And the holiday itself hadn't even begun.