Journey

by SigmatheAwesome

Chapter 3

"C'mon, Dash, we're here."

Rainbow cracked her eyes open and sat up, unkempt mane even more unkempt than usual. "What time is it?"

"10 AM." Soarin' replied, a bit impatient.

Rainbow rolled to get off the bed, but ended up falling on the floor with a yelp. "That's one way to wake up..."

The stallion pushed open the carriage door, a set of steps automatically hitting the ground. "This is the last stop."

Rainbow looked around. "All I can see is farmland. And a forest."

The two ponies jumped out, realising they were the only ponies there. Around the station was a crop of corn and wheat, and in the distance an unwelcoming forest. There were hardly any clouds in the sky, annoying Rainbow Dash.

"So, where are we going?"

Soarin' pointed a hoof to the distant forest. "Wildfall Forest."

Rainbow took to the sky. "Race you there?"

Soarin' sighed. "Rainbow, do you have to make everything a race?"

"N-no, I just thought that... Well..."

"Unlike you, I race professionally. I like relaxing on my time off." Soarin' started walking along, Rainbow following in the sky.

"So that's why you don't want to race?"

"Yep."

"I never thought that a Wonderbolt wouldn't want to race..."

"Well, I know that almost all of the Wonderbolts are like that. Spitfire, however, enjoys racing in her free time. That's probably why she's our Captain."

Rainbow nodded in agreement. "Hey, is that a house?"

"I think so." He paused. "I think we'll need a pit stop."

"Yeah."

Soarin' smirked. "Race you there?"

Rainbow smacked her hooves together. "You're on!"

---

Soarin' was neck-in-neck with the cyan pegasus. The farm-house was coming into view more and more.

"Finish line is house front!" Rainbow announced over the roar of their wings.

The two skidded to a halt in front of the house, kicking up a huge cloud of dust.

"I won!"

"No, I totally beat you." Soarin' mocked.

"Nah, I'm the champion!" Rainbow placed a hoof to her chest boastfully.

"Look, does it matter in the long run?" Soarin' replied, walking up to the door.

"Hm... Nah, not really."

Knock knock.

"I'm hungry..." Rainbow muttered to herself.

The door opened. A yellow earth pony with brilliant purple eyes greeted them. "Hello?"

"Hi, we're travelling to Wildfall Forest, and we'd like to have a little rest before we go."

The mare smiled. "Of course. You'll need it."

***

"My name's Gold Fields. Yours?"

"Rainbow Dash."

"Soarin' High."

Gold gasped. "Soarin', as in the Wonderbolt Soarin'?"

Soarin' groaned. "Yes..."

"I have a famous pony in my house!" She started bouncing around in joy, before being stopped by Soarin'.

"Gold, relax. I'm nothing special."

"But-"

"Nothing. Special." Soarin' resumed his seat. "If anything, Rainbow's the special one."

"Huh?" Both Gold and Rainbow uttered at the same time.

"Elements of Harmony? Sonic Rainboom? Saving my life?"

"Oh yeah." Rainbow chuckled.

Gold nearly fainted. "Wow... what a day..."

"Um..." Rainbow looked around nervously. "Can I use your shower?"

---

"Oh, that's much better..." Rainbow drawled as she emerged, steam surrounding her hooves. The paused, sniffing the air. "Food."

She zipped into the kitchen area, where Gold and Soarin' were talking and eating. They turned when Rainbow nearly crashed into a shelf.

"Hey Dash. Hungry?" Soarin' asked. Dash nodded furiously. "Then take a seat."

Rainbow examined the food. It had corn, obvious considering the cook's mark was a corn cob, but had some other, rather delectable looking ingredients. She wasted no time in starting.

"Enjoying it, aren't you?"

Rainbow responded by still eating. Gold chuckled.

"Dash, you might want to slow down..." Soarin' said with a hint of concern in his voice.

"Nah," Rainbow replied with her mouth full. "I'm used to this."

"How come?"

The cyan pegasus swallowed a mouthful of corn. "I'm usually up at, like, six AM for weather duties. I usually have little more than an apple to keep me going."

"I know that feeling." Soarin' closed his eyes. "I used to be on a weather team before I became a Wonderbolt, you know."

"Really?" Rainbow perked up, pausing from eating her meal. "That's awesome."

"Heh, yeah..." Soarin' sighed. "So, how's having a turtle-"

"Tortoise."

"Whatever." Soarin' chuckled. "Anyway, what's it like having a tortoise as a pet?"

"Pretty good, he doesn't do much but he's-" Rainbow gasped loudly. "I forgot to feed Tank."

"Wouldn't your friend Fluttershy-?"

Rainbow yelled, hooves in her mane. "How could I be so stupid?" She grabbed Soarin' by his shoulders. "We have to go back, NOW."

"W-what about Fluttershy?"

"Eh?"

"We could just send her a letter. It'll be a little while, but at least she'll know."

After a moment, Rainbow pressed a hoof to her forehead. "Duh. Of course."

The pegasi went back to their meals in silence. After a few minutes they had finished.

Rainbow sighed in relief. "That really hit the spot."

Gold smiled. "I'm glad you liked it."

The stallion stood up. "Well, we have to get going. Perhaps we could swing by later on our way back."

"I'd love that, thank you."

The pegasi, stomachs full, took to the skies. Rainbow did a little loop.

"Somepony seems happy."

"Yeah, I dunno why." Rainbow smiled, flying close to the Wonderbolt. "I just have these days where I feel happy for some reason."

"Same here." Soarin' glided to the ground, opting to walk instead of fly. "They're great, but they don't come often."

"That's why they're good." Rainbow grinned, landing next to him.

The two continued walking along in silence, looking at nothing in particular as they made their way across the dirt road to the forest.

"So..." Rainbow started. "Soarin'. What's it like to be a Wonderbolt?"

"Hard." Soarin' replied. "But fun."

"What do you do?"

"Train, train, train, race, train some more and come up with manoeuvres. Oh, and train." He said with a chuckle.

"Sounds awesome. What are the hours?"

"It varies, but generally we have the weekends off, or during an extended break." He looked thoughtfully at the sky. "Or when our Captain's out of action."

Rainbow nodded. "Like now."

Silence reigned for a good few seconds.

"Ok, good mood gone."

---

Wildfall Forest. The second-most dangerous untamed forest in Equestria. After the Everfree, of course.

Rainbow involuntarily shuddered. "W-we have to go in there?"

Soarin', who seemed calmer, looked at the nervous pegasus with a dash of concern. "Are you scared?"

"Of course not!" Rainbow replied louder than necessary. "I-I'm just cold."

Soarin' raised an eyebrow, and started walking in. Rainbow followed closely behind.

"So, where is the box?" Rainbow asked, speaking quietly as not to disturb anything.

"Dunno, but Spitfire said it was near this entrance."

Rainbow looked behind her. "Wow. How did she make it this far without a wing?"

"I dunno." Soarin' replied quietly. "It's possible she lost it along the way back."

"I bet she lost it here and pushed the cloud back to Ponyville."

"How much?"

Rainbow paused. "I'm sorry?"

"How much do you want to bet?"

Rainbow looked around nervously. "Um... Well, I was using a saying or whatever they're actually called..."

Soarin' smiled. "Relax, I was kidding."

The cyan mare sighed. Soarin' continued on, looking around. "What's this box look like again?"

"It's in her colours." Soarin' lifted up a large brown leaf, only to find a rock. "Basically gold with flame."

Rainbow nodded. "How big?"

Soarin' made an estimate size with his hooves. "About the size of a large toolbox."

"Metal?"

"Yep."

Rainbow looked under another leaf, finding only ground. "Shouldn't be hard to find."

Soarin' grunted a response as he peeked in the bushes, finding nothing. "It might take some time, though." He pointed a hoof to his back, where his cloth-wrapped container was. "That's why I brought bedding and other things."

Rainbow smiled at the Wonderbolt's ability to think ahead. "Well, we've got a few more hours of daylight. Let's keep the search up."

---

"Five hours." Rainbow muttered, taking a leaf out of her mane. "Five. Flippin'. Hours." She growled. "And no darn toolbox!"

Soarin' sighed. "I told you it'd take a while." He pointed a hoof. "Hey, look."

Rainbow followed his (muscular, she noticed) foreleg to a cave-like feature. A brisk trot up told her that it was empty of anything except plants.

"Nice. If we build a barrier we can stop some things getting in."

"I've got something for that." Soarin' slammed his container down, pulling the cloth off and hitting the button. It opened with a hiss. "Mum always said to be prepared."

Rainbow rolled her eyes. Her mother was always like that too. "What is it?"

Soarin' pulled out two metal poles. "Shield generators."

"So they, like, make a shield spell between them?"

"Exactly." Soarin' looked up. "How did you know?"

"I guess Twilight's rubbing off on me." She replied with a giggle. "Anyway, I'm gonna go get some firewood."

"Once I set this up I'll join you." He secured a pole to one side of the cave. "Don't want to be walking here on your own."

Rainbow rocked on her hooves, waiting for Soarin' to finish. After Soarin' set up the other pole, he tapped a button on a remote and a purple glass-like area filled the gap, covering the entire cave entrance.

"Woah, it's even the same colour as Twi's."

"I think I read somewhere that it's either Shining Armor storing some magic in the energy cells required to power it, or that purple's the best colour for shields."

"How well do you know Shining?" Rainbow asked with a cock of her head.

"We're great buddies. That's why I was at the wedding."

Rainbow giggled very un-Rainbow Dash-ly. "That explains why you were there. So, ready to go?"

Soarin' tapped a button on the remote and the shield fell. "Now I am."

---

Rainbow tossed another stick onto her back, open wings holding them upright. Soarin' was doing much the same, though due to his wing size he could hold more.

"This isn't as bad as I though." She said to nopony in particular.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I mean, for an untamed forest this is actually pretty normal."

"Ah, right." Soarin' picked up another stick and tossed it on his back. "That's because this place is completely nocturnal."

Rainbow froze. "N-nocturnal...?"

"Yep." Another stick was added. "We've only got about twenty minutes left, so we've gotta be quick."

Rainbow, now full of panic, turned to pick up another stick but froze. She saw, lying on the ground, a partially-covered and partially... eaten... wing. Rainbow took a step back.

"Y'ok?"

"Dead bird. Nothing to worry about." Rainbow giggled nervously. Soarin' trotted up and looked at the wing. He poked the surrounding debris off and gasped.

"It's not a bird." He gulped. "And... I think I lost that bet we didn't make."

Rainbow looked at the wing. It was way too big to be a normal bird, and the structure and the clump of pony fur told her that it was a pegasus'. And it was gold.

Rainbow shrieked and leapt back, all the sticks she had grabbed flying into the air. Soarin' nearly jumped at her reaction.

"Spitfire's wing!" Rainbow rasped in shock, pointing a shaky hoof at it. Soarin' covered it back up with leaves.

"Perhaps we should get going now..."

"G-good idea."

---

Despite such a gruesome sight Rainbow managed to return to her normal state of confidence. The two ponies were sitting in front of a campfire, the smoke pouring out of a gap in the shield as not to choke them to death.

Soarin' grabbed a can of something and put it on the pan. "So, what's it like living in Ponyville?"

"It's... Normal most of the time. Other times it can be downright crazy."

"Such as?"

"Oh, you know, when Cerberus turns up, or when your best dragon friend turns huge and steals everything, that sorta stuff."

"Wait, Cerberus? What the hay?"

"It's true. It happened the same day Twilight time-travelled. Oh wait, she did that a week later and she appeared then."

"Wow. That's... Crazy."

"Tell me about it." Rainbow muttered. "Hey, what's it like being a Wonderbolt?"

"You've already asked me that." Soarin' chuckled, stirring the food with a spoon.

"But what about the other stuff?"

"Other stuff?"

"Y'know, parties, groupies, rela-"

"Whoa, back up there. Did you say 'groupies'?"

"Um..." Rainbow shrinked back "Yes..."

"Well, to answer your question, there are groupies, but Spitfire specifically makes sure we don't fall into that temptation."

"Why?"

Soarin' sighed. "It wouldn't look good for us. I mean, if you can imagine that your childhood idols were picking up hookers, then that'd be a crushing blow to your view on them."

Rainbow nodded. "That'd suck."

"As for parties, there are lots. Formal, informal, Wonderbolts-exclusive... I don't go to half of them because I simply can't. That, and Spitfire won't let me." He sighed. "You had a third thing?"

Rainbow tapped her chin. "Oh yeah, are 'Bolt to 'Bolt relationships allowed?"

Soarin' nodded. "They are. I mean, Surprise and Firebolt are together."

"No way, really?" Rainbow beamed. "I thought they flew a little close to each other. What about yo-"

"I'm not in a relationship with Spitfire. I can't be."

"Why not? She's quite a good-looking mare, you're a good-looking stallion, I can't see what's wrong with it."

"Are you kidding me?" Soarin' looked at her with a mix of confusion and a little disgust.

"Um... I-I just thought..." She scratched the ground idly. "Are you, y'know... gay?"

"No I'm not-" Soarin' paused. "Oh. I think I see the problem here."

"You do?"

"You don't know, do you?"

"Know what?"

Soarin' sighed. "Spitfire's my sister."

Silence.

"What?!"

"Easy, Dash. It's not like I try and hide it."

"But- I heard Pinkie-"

"She's just one pony."

Rainbow rubbed her head. "Ok, this is messing up my head." She dragged them down her face before dropping them on the ground below her. "I mean, I've had fanta- fan... Um... I'll shut up now."

Soarin' leaned in, grinning stupidly. "Tell me."

"NO!" Rainbow flailed. "You'll think I'm totally weird!"

"It won't be that bad..."

"It will be that darn bad, and I'm not saying."

"Please?"

"No frickin' way!"

Soarin' put on a male version of a pleading face. "Pleeeeeaaaase?"

Rainbow looked around nervously, before cowering under her own mane. "I've had fantasies of you two..."

Soarin' chuckled, which surprised the pegasus greatly. "That's it?"

Rainbow blushed even harder. "Sh-shut up, it's not funny!"

"I find it funny, and I'm sure Spitfire'd find it hilarious too."

"Quit it! I hate being mocked!"

"I'm not mocking you." Soarin' chuckled. "Anyway, we should be getting some sleep."

Rainbow growled, and then fell backwards into a sleeping position.

Soarin' stopped laughing. "Hey, Dash, are you ok?"

Silence for a moment, before Rainbow lurched up and grabbed him by the shoulders.

"No, I'm not ok! I just admitted my biggest secret aside from something else, and you just passed it off as a joke!" She half-tossed him out of her grip. "Do you have any idea how embarrassed I am?"

Soarin' stared at her with a calm demeanour. "I'm sorry, Rainbow."

Rainbow sighed, flopping back down. "Just to let you know, I haven't had those fantasies in years."

Soarin' laid himself down, wrapping himself in a sleeping bag. "Well, that doesn't matter. We should get some sleep anyway, we'll need it."

"What about the food?"

Soarin' shot back up. "Duh, of course."

After a quick stirring, Soarin' handed out a helping of the slop to the cyan pegasus. Rainbow ate slowly, the events of a minute ago still hurting her appetite.

"Look, I'm sorry I yelled at you." Rainbow admitted. "It's just that... Well..."

"Don't worry, I've heard plenty of ponies say they've had fantasies of me and/or Spitfire. I've learned to laugh it off, stops it being weird." He ate a spoonful of the food. "You're the first to react this badly."

Rainbow idly stirred her slop. "Um... Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, it's the best I can do now."

"One, can I have a bit more of this?" She smiled at the extra hoofful of slop added to her bowl. "Two... W-what do you think of me?"

Soarin' nearly choked on a spoonful of food. "Sorry, I just... Wasn't expecting that."

"It's fine."

"Well, let's see..." He rested his bowl next to him. "I think you're definitely Wonderbolt material. I'm still surprised that you haven't been recruited yet. Going on, you're also quite energetic, and have a good head on your shoulders. You may not be as smart as Twilight Sparkle or her brother, but I like the way you think. Always putting others in front of you when necessary."

Rainbow grinned, blushing. "T-thanks. Does Spitfire think of me any differently?"

"Umm... I think so. Probably likes your qualities more, or in a different light."

"How come?"

"Well, she didn't say to me not to tell you, but... she likes you."

Rainbow paused. "'Likes' me?"

"As in romantically."

Rainbow stuttered. "Sh-she does?"

"Yep." Soarin' sighed. "I think she went along the lines of 'cute filly with an even cuter personality'. Or it could've been flank instead of filly. I think we were drunk when she said that."

"I-I'm flattered that she thinks that way, but..."

Soarin' looked at her with a hint of confusion.

"I'm... not a lesbian."

"Y-you're not?"

"No, and I don't get why does everypony think that."

"I think it's 'cause you're a tomboy."

Rainbow paused. "That explains so bucking much."

"Look, I know the difference between a tomboy and a butch lesbian. Problem is, it's hard to tell them apart in reality."

"You could've asked."

"I was worried I'd hit a nerve."

Rainbow nodded. "You know, you're not the first pony to think I like mares."

"I'm not?"

"Well, duh. In fact I've been asked out by a few."

"Who were they?"

"Well, one was Pinkie Pie. Though, it was less 'ask me out' and more 'Pinkie-style seduction'. Saw right through it when she brought out a pink-and-rainbow heart-shaped cupcake. On Hearts and Hooves day. And it had 'Dashie and Pinkie 4ever' iced on the top."

Soarin' chuckled. "For real?"

"It's Pinkie Pie. Anyway, I asked her about it anyway and she told me, straight up, that she wanted to be my special somepony. I declined, naturally, and it took me a good few minutes to get her out of her depression after that. Seriously, her mane had gone flat and her colours dulled for pony's sake."

"Who else was there?"

"Eh, a few pegasi like Blossomforth and even Derpy, but the one that really struck me as weird was when Fluttershy asked me out."

"The yellow one?"

"Yep. Man, that was a hard one." She grabbed her bowl and started eating. "Not only do I have to deal with her taking a while to get her point across, but I also had to let her down." She tapped her chin. "Actually, that was the first time I've kissed a pony."

"What happened?"

"Oh, she eventually gave up trying to say it and instead kissed me. Feebly, of course. She immediately withdrew and ran to her room, crying like she'd killed a pony by accident. I had to tell her I was ok, even though I didn't like mares."

Soarin' sighed. "Everything turn out ok?"

"Yeah, thank Celestia." She idly stirred her food again. "I've had a few stallions ask me out, but I refused them."

"That's a bit odd."

"Eh, they were all jerks who just wanted my flank. Or my mouth, I couldn't tell which." She chuckled.

"Have you asked anyone out yourself?"

"A few, but either they didn't accept or they were too jerky and didn't care about my wellbeing. They didn't last long."

Soarin' nodded, finishing off his food. "Well, we should get some sleep. Can you turn the lights off?"

"Sure thing." Rainbow finished her food quickly, and dumped a portion of water over the campfire. It hissed loudly and the cave went dark except for a slight purple glow. She fell into her sleeping bag and zipped it up.

"Good night, Soarin'."

"Night Dash."

Comments

[SigmatheAwesome]

Sorry for the delays. Busy with school. I'm making good headlong process with the 4th chapter now, too.

[MyOpinionIsSuperior]

Half the chapter is italicized.

[SigmatheAwesome]

1294152 Fixed now.

[IceFire]

YOU ARE LIKE THE FIRST BRONY OTHER THAN ME THAT FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DOESN'T THINK DASH LIKES MARES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It annoys me so much!!!! Just cuz you are tomboy, it doesn't mean that you are Lesbian!!

[SigmatheAwesome]

1295544 The canon points to her being straight (or possibly bisexual), but I don't actually mind stories where she is a lesbian. I decided to play that concept a bit in this story, though. You do have a point, though, just because one is a tomboy does not mean one is a lesbian.

Also you're not the only one who thinks your thoughts. It's not that uncommon, too. I mean, SoarDash is cute.

And you have too many exclamation points where it is not neccessary

[IceFire]

1295616
Yea SoarDash is one of my favourite pairings! And I like !!!!'s!!!!

[LeopardCay]

1295544 I think its weird... That people think RD is an Lesbian...
Theres nothing wrong with lesbians. But RD!? C`MON!!!!

[lollipops and gumdrops x]

2526124 it's the rainbows