Sequel to Trapped. Rainbow Dash and Soarin' are both out of the hospital, and have one month to spare before Soarin' returns to the Wonderbolts HQ.
Sequel to Trapped Rainbow Dash and Soarin' are both out of the hospital and have one month to spare before Soarin' has to return to his duties as a Wonderbolt. Will the traumatic events which occurred not even a week ago come between both ponies and their dreams?
Merely a week ago, Rainbow Dash thought that it was going to be a normal day in Ponyville, little did she know, there would be an accident that would change her life.
Merely a week ago, Soarin’ thought it would just be another normal show, little did he know, there would be an accident that would change his life.
Rainbow Dash and Soarin’ were trapped as they fought for survival. They had lost all hope of escape, yet they still hung on and the only thing that was keeping them clinging on to the last thread of life was each other.
Both were aware of how they felt for one another, though they were either too ‘cool’ or too ‘awesome’ to admit to these sappy feelings.
They have felt this way for each other ever since the Grand Galloping Gala, and this accident has only brought them closer together, making their feelings grow stronger and flourish. Finally allowing them to accept their feelings for each other.
Here they are now finally safe as they stand outside Ponyville’s only hospital. Their lips are pressed together as they share their very first kiss. Their hearts are pounding together and their breathing is strong as they ignore their friends and the ponyrazzi; they ignore the sky that is beginning to darken with rainclouds. All they can think about is each other. Their taste, their smell, their touch. Never wanting to let go.
Rainbow Dash smiles against Soarin’s lips as she steals a glance and his face which she would describe as ‘perfection.’ She is the last pony any pony would expect to fall in love, yet here she is falling in love in the same way you’d fall asleep. Slowly, then all at once.
Rainbow Dash is the pony that is seen as tomcoltish and athletic, she only seems to care about winning, never really any pony else. That was why it was quite a shock to every pony when she was named the Element of Loyalty. Who would have thought, the cockiest pony ending up being the Element of Loyalty and falling in love?
Soarin’ takes a step closer to Rainbow Dash as he gently caresses her face with his wing. He smiles at the smoothness and softness of her fur against his feathers. Her touch makes him want to melt inside or fly up into the sky full of happiness.
Soarin’ is seen as the fool of the team. No pony ever seems to take him seriously. He is called a numerous amount of names such as: Dope, Oaf, Foal. If his own friends can’t take him seriously, how can the mare of his dreams do so? Every pony seems to think that he will never end up with a mare. Even Spitfire has lost faith in him after his fiftieth failed date, Spitfire is supposed to be his best friend, yet she has decided that he is too dopey to find a good enough mare. Who would have thought that he’d end up with the mare of his dreams?
No pony would ever put them two together since they seem to come from different lives. One is from a life of fame and fortune, wishing to spend time with the other. The other is from the boring life of a weather pony, who dreams to be up in the sky with the other.
These two Pegasi are perfect for each other, both athletic, both judged strongly by society. No pony accepts them for who they really are. Deep down, both of them are afraid but that is what makes them seem so full of themselves, they seem like the ones with no problems because they are so good at hiding it from other ponies.
That is why they’re perfect for each other. They bring out each other’s emotions; they allow each other to let it all out. Rainbow Dash, a Pegasus who hasn’t cried since she was in flight school, finally let it out with Soarin’, she finally showed some pony how she really feels.
Without him, she is just a bottle of hurt and anger, waiting to break. Without her, he isn’t taken seriously and all his feelings seem to be thrown aside.
The two Pegasi step apart, staring at each other with flushed cheeks and swollen lips. Their breathing in sync with each other as their eyes glisten in the light. The kiss they just shared felt like hours, but it must have only been minutes, for they still have a crowd of people standing around them.
Their friends begin to cheer in joy as the two Pegasi smile widely at each other.
Spitfire flies into the sky as she yells, “About time, you slow pokes!” Indicating that she knew all along that this was going to happen. Perhaps she did have faith in Soarin’, after all.
Pinkie Pie giggles and bounces around every pony singing, “I told you so, I told you so! Let’s have a party! We should totally have a party!”
However, the overexcited party pony is told to wait until next time by her fellow Elements of Harmony.
The clouds finally give out, sending a flood of rain on top of all the spectators. Ponies laugh and giggle as they get drenched to the bone. All the fear of the past few days finally fade away and the accident at Ghastly Gorge has almost been forgotten. Almost.
Rainbow Dash and Soarin’ share a glance through the rain as they try and blink the water out of their eyes. Their manes are plastered to their face and they are beginning to shiver from the iciness of the water.
“Should we go home?” Dash smiles at the Wonderbolt beside her.
Soarin’ smiles and nods enthusiastically. “Sure, let me just say goodbye to Spit.”
Rainbow Dash watches as the Pegasus walks off before walking over to bid her farewells to her own friends, telling them that she will catch up with them tomorrow. She turns around and bumps into Soarin’ but he catches her as she stumbles backwards.
She hides her blush as she looks up at Soarin’. “Let’s go, but remember you’re still sleeping in the spare room.” The cyan Pegasus smirks and flies off into the sky.
Soarin’s face is filled with a slight disappointment for a brief second before he follows the mare into the sky.
He feels like the happiest colt alive.
They’re free, they’re together. Nothing could go wrong.
Soarin’ and I race back to my home, we don’t go as fast as we normally would so we end up coming joint first, which is okay with me. The moment I see the white fluffy cloud home, I sigh in relief. I honestly cannot wait to get into my own bed for a change. I have never missed my house so much.
The house is exactly how I left it, except for Soarin’s saddle back sitting on the sofa and his Wonderbolts costume hanging behind the door. On the table there sits a freshly baked apple pie, and I turn to Soarin’ in question. The blue Pegasus smiles sheepishly in return.
“You can bake pie?” I stare at Soarin’, gobsmacked.
The Wonderbolt rolls his eyes. “Of course I can bake my all time favourite pudding! It’s my Grandma’s recipe.” He sticks out his chest in pride. “Anyway, I couldn’t sleep so I decided to bake. I finished just before I came to see you.”
“So, you didn’t sleep?” I ask as concern fills my voice.
Soarin is silent for a few moments before he shakes his head. “I couldn’t,” he mumbles under his breath and looks away, embarrassed.
Gazing up at the light blue Pegasus, I smile sadly and wrap my hooves around him. Soarin’ does not know that I am suffering in the same way his is. Nightmares from the cave haunt me as the walls close in on me, fall on me, and suffocate me.
Soarin’s death in my nightmare replays in my mind again and again, reminding me every waking hour of the day how close I was to losing him.
I shudder in fear and walk away from Soarin’, in attempt to get some air.
The sun is pushing its way through the grey clouds again, glistening through the damp air. Soarin’ walks up beside me and we look up at the sky in silence. Above us, a rainbow matching every colour of my mane forms across the sky and I gaze at the sight curiously. I didn’t know Cloudsdale had planned for a rainbow. Then again, I have been missing for the past few days.
The rainbow reaches from Fillydelphia to Canterlot for all of Equestria to see.You never appreciate little things such as the sky until you don't get to see it for a few days. Now, I think that this is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen.
I get the feeling that some pony is watching me instead of the sky so I turn to find Soarin’ standing right behind me, our noses almost touching.
My heart pounds within my chest, and I’m positive that Soarin’ can hear it, if not see it. We stand there, nose to nose, for a few moments as we gaze deeply into each other’s eyes. I’m falling for his emerald eyes more each time I look into them.
Reluctantly, I pull away and fly out of my window slowly, motioning for him to follow me. Glancing around, I search for the perfectly shaped cloud, neither too big nor too small, and then I see it. Although it is still grey with the rain that it’s consumed, it looks soft and round. It is big enough to fit two Pegasi on it, but small enough so they have to be touching.
Gently, I pull the cloud towards us and fly around it as I test to see if it’s electrical. I find that the point on the far left is fully charged, but if I avoid that I should be fine. Cautiously, I stand on top of the cloud and begin to bounce, not realising that Soarin’ was floating beneath it as I completely drench him with the water the cloud is releasing.
“Hey!” Soarin’s cry stops me from bouncing and I glance over the now white cloud to see him flying up towards me, soaked.
I fall back onto the cloud in a fit of laughter, knowing that laughing isn’t going to help my case if I want to plead innocent. Nonetheless, it is totally worth it to see Soarin’ like this. I have to admit, he looks pretty good...
Instantly, I push the thought out of my mind and pat the cloud beside me. What’s happening to me? I’m turning into Rarity!
Soarin’ smiles and lies beside me, pressing his body right up against mine to ensure that I get drenched too. His mane is letting water drip down has face and into his eyes so I gently lift my hoof up and brush the drops away.
A hoof catches mine as I begin to pull away, and Soarin’ pulls me close to him so that my head is resting on his chest. I close my eyes and listen to his heart beat, using that to keep me calm and help me remember that he really is alive.
We’re silent for a few moments before Soarin’ finally decides to speak, “Thank you, Dashie, for saving me.”
“I wouldn’t have forgave myself if I didn’t, Soar. Everyday I’d have nightmares of your death,” I whisper with pain in my voice, ironically enough I still have nightmares of his death even though he’s still alive.
Soarin’ strokes my mane gently, sending shivers down my spine with each movement. I feel my cheeks begin to get hot, and I mentally kick myself. What happened to the awesome Rainbow Dash who never got embarrassed?
A voice in my head replies: she fell in love.
It’s true, I don’t think I can tell Soarin’ how I really feel. Not yet. He probably doesn’t feel the same, I mean I know he likes me but probably feels no more than that.
I glance up at the light blue Pegasus and watch as he gazes up into the sky. The sunlight is hitting his iris perfectly, causing his emerald eyes to shine in the light. Smiling, I lean up and gently kiss his cheek before stretching out my wings and lifting off. I float above him and gaze into his eyes as I carefully pull him up with me. Soarin’ flaps his wings gently so he is floating beneath me, our bodies barely brushing against each other.
“How about that race you promised me, then some pie?” I grin widely at the Pegasus beneath me.
Soarin’ looks as if he’s thinking about his decisions very carefully, before he nods enthusiastically. “Okay, we will race from here to that mountain over there; first one back gets the most pie,” he cheers.
I smirk at my opponent. “Easy-peasy, on your marks, get set,” I say as I position myself, ready to push myself forward. “Go!”
With that, we’re off. My wings are flapping powerfully as I slice through the air like a knife. Soarin’ is closing in on my flank so I push myself further. I have to win this race; I have to prove this point. I need to prove that I’m faster than a Wonderbolt. A cone begins to form around my body causing Soarin’ to look at me in complete shock. He knows that I could perform the Sonic Rainboom and win this race with ease. But even I know my limits, the doctors told me to take it easy and doing a Sonic Rainboom definitely isn’t on the list of “things to do when taking it easy.” Still, I’ll keep that trick under my belt in case I need it as a last minute resort.
I’m reaching the mountain now and I glance behind to find that Soarin’ has surprisingly managed to keep up. Maybe he could beat me in a race, on one of my bad days of course. I then begin to wonder how he was unable to dodge all those falling boulders if he’s almost the same speed as me.
Images from the night of the accident flash through my mind again, but this time, instead of me saving Soarin’ he is crushed under the falling debris, never to be seen again.
My wings give out in complete terror, and lock in to my body in the same way Fluttershy’s do when she’s afraid. My eyes widen in fear as I try and throw them back out again, but I end up plummeting towards the ground. The last thing I see before I blackout is Soarin’ watching in horror as I fall to my death.
Forcing my eyes open, I find that I have only been blacked out for a few seconds at the most. The wind is pushing against my body as I fall through the air, reaching my terminal velocity. A blur of blue is shooting towards my falling body as I urgently try to throw my wings out and catch myself, but it’s no use, they’re stuck with fear.
Still, it’s a good place to end it all. I’m with Soarin’; I found out that he actually likes me back. We got out of that blasted cave. This is the happiest I’ve ever been so maybe I’m ready to die. Although, when I think about the future I could have with him, all the laughs and tears. I want to experience love. I never thought I would say that, and it is sad that I have only realised how important love could be for me moments before my death. Better late than never, I suppose.
Then I realise what the blur of blue actually is, it’s Soarin’. The ground is beginning to grow as we draw nearer to it, but the Wonderbolt is flying almost at Rainboom speed. His face is set with determination as he has his forelegs stretched out, ready to catch me. Learning from Rarity’s mistakes at the Best Young Fliers competition, I hold my body still, despite my ever growing fear. A cone is beginning to form around Soarin’ and I gasp in shock, he’s almost going to do a Sonic Rainboom, the only thing wrong is his hind legs aren’t in the right position.
We are only about 10 meters from the ground now, and my heart is beginning to pound. I squeeze my eyes shut tightly as I prepare for the impact; however, I somehow fall into the strong grip of a Pegasi’s forearms. Soarin’ did it, he saved me. I steal a peak at the ground below us and find that it was close, one more second and I would be splattered across the ground. Soarin’ lands and falls to the floor shakily with me still in his hooves. His grip around me tightens as he holds me close, wrapping his wings around me too.
“Oh sweet Celestia, Dashie. What the hay happened?” Soarin’ asks, on the verge of tears.
I try to speak, but I am too shaken for words to actually form. Instead, I just cling onto Soarin’ as tightly as I can. Why couldn’t I fly? Why was I so afraid?
Soarin’ doesn’t say anything; he just strokes my mane gently as he rocks me back and forth. Tears roll down my cheeks without me realising, I am just in pure shock about what happened, and my wings have never locked up like that before.
“Soar, I-I’m sorry,” I whisper and rest my head on his shoulder as he continues to rock back and forth.
Soarin’ presses his soft lips against my forehead before looking into my rose eyes with his emerald ones. “What happened, Dashie?”
“My wings locked up, I thought about what happened at the show the other night and my wings locked up. That’s all,” I hide my face in embarrassment.
The Pegasus tightens his grip around me as he flaps his wings and flies back towards home. I know that he has been having nightmares too, but like me, he is too proud to admit it. Gosh, we are perfect for each other.
The flight home is pretty silent since both of us are pretty shell shocked from the incident we just experienced. Nonetheless, having Soarin’ hold me like this is making me feel a whole lot better. I never thought I’d love to be in a stallions hooves before. All of this is so new to me.
Once we reach the threshold of my house, I slide out of Soarin’s arms and turn to face him. I gaze into his eyes longingly as I analyse every part of his face in case he disappears on me- I do hope he doesn’t though.
“Thank you for saving me, Soar,” I whisper as I gently brush my lips over his. “You’re the first pony to ever save me from falling to my death and you’re one of the few ponies to ever save me.”
Soarin’ smiles at me, his eyes warm and loving. “Well, I don’t know what I’d do if I saw you die,” he whispers, repeating the words that I had spoken only a day ago.
My face flushes the same colour of my eyes as I look towards the kitchen table. “You deserve the most pie, considering that you saved me.”
Soarin’s eyes light up as he bounces towards the table like a little foal. My heart melts as I watch him happily sit at the table and help himself to the pie. I follow slowly behind him and only take a quarter of the pie, leaving the rest to the Pie Lover sitting next to me. He happily gobbles away at the pie, not embarrassed of the fact that he’s practically smearing his face into the pudding.
I watch in amusement as Soarin’ eats the pie like there is no tomorrow. He looks up to find me watching, and a blush forms across his cheeks.
“Sorry,” he mumbles apologetically. “I just love pie so much!”
I smile at Soarin’ and eat my pie the same way he does, just so that he will feel more comfortable. I glance up to find the Pegasus staring at me with his jaw hanging wide open in surprise. Raising an eyebrow at him, I go back to eating the delicious pie. I never thought he’d be a good cook; he always seems to find a way to surprise me.
“You never cease to surprise me, Rainbow Dash,” Soarin’ whispers as if he’s reading my thoughts. “You’ve broken the sound barrier multiple times, you’ve saved my life multiple times, you’re the Element of Loyalty, you eat pie like a slob- which I find really attractive, by the way- and you’re also a sappy mare at heart. You’re different, Dash, a good different.”
Soarin’s words touch my heart, causing tears to fill my eyes, but I blink them back before I raise my head to look at him. I cannot believe he thinks that I’m different to every other mare; I know that I’m 20% cooler than every other mare, but nonetheless, it takes a lot of skill to see past all my armour. Soarin’ is the only pony who has called me attractive. Soarin’ is the only pony that has seen my real emotions. He’s different too.
Slowly, I get up and quietly float over to him. The light blue Pegasus gazes up at me with a warm smile across his face. He cautiously wraps his hooves around me and pulls me close. I lean against him for a few moments, taking in his warmth, breathing in his scent, remembering the feel of his fur against mine. As long as I remember all of that, the nightmares will not come. Well, that’s what I’ve told myself at least.
After a few moments, I pull away from Soarin’ and look into his eyes sadly. “I should get some sleep.”
“Yes, you should. Tomorrow we can watch that movie, like we planned out!” Soarin’ beams and his eyes glisten with happiness.
“I can’t wait,” I whisper and gaze into his beautiful, emerald eyes.
I lean forward and press my lips against his gently. Electricity passes through our bodies the moments our lips meet, causing my whole body to melt in his arms. We wrap our hooves around each other’s necks as we attempt to press our bodies as close together as they can go. All we want to do is take in as much as we can from this moment in time. I just want it to freeze right now, and never move on. However, every moment in time has to move on and end.
My body shivers involuntarily as I reluctantly pull away from Soarin’. I look into his eyes sadly, before slowly walking back. As I walk away, I give him a warm smile. The smile which I only give to some pony who is really important to me. It’s a smile that I rarely ever give at all. It is one of the few genuine smiles that ever leave my lips. Soarin’ watches me, his face a mixture of joy and pain as I step away from him. I turn away slowly and begin to walk out of the kitchen.
Stopping when I get to the door, I glance back to find that Soarin’ is still watching me. “Goodnight, Soar, don’t forget your pie.”
Blinking, he glances over at his unfinished pie in shock. “Oh, right,” he mumbles before looking back at me. “Goodnight, Dashie! Sweet dreams, I’ll see you in the morning.”
Soarin’ goes back to happily munching away at his pie and I smile as I walk out slowly, listening to him for as long as I can. The sounds he makes surprisingly comfort me and help me temporarily forget about the nightmares which are now swiftly creeping up on me.
If these nightmares are effect my flying, then they are definitely going to come to me during my slumber. Plus, I have a very bad feeling that they'll come ten times worse once I'm asleep.
Once I reach my room, however, my heart begins to pound and I begin to feel faint. The moment I shut my eyes, the nightmares will be here. They are inevitable. I haven’t felt this afraid in years. Me, the awesome Rainbow Dash, afraid? As if. But now, it seems that I am not so awesome since I am more scared than Fluttershy would be if she was forced to stand in front of all of Equestria and do a bit of public speaking. Now, that’s saying something.
Sliding into my bed, I try and get comfortable for the long night which I know is ahead of me. I close my eyes and imagine myself in Soarin’s arms as I slowly drift off into the darkness of sleep.
Around me, the crowds are cheering as the Wonderbolts perform their daring tricks. I seem to be frozen in place, unable to move at all. Still I forget about my immobility instantly as I’m drawn into watching the amazing show. They do their epic finale as they create a lightning storm in the sky, sending loud cracks throughout the Gorge, causing the audience to gasp in shock and excitement.
Then I see him, Soarin’. He zooms into the Gorge, his goggles fitting perfectly around his eyes, his suit pressed slick against his body. My heart pounds against my chest as I watch him fly around in awe. He cuts through the air with ease, his mane blowing in the wind. He has the most important part of the finale; he has to fly through the lightning storm, avoiding all the bolts whilst he performs back flips and nose dives. I watch in fear as the Wonderbolts dodges the lightning with ease and escapes without a single scratch on him.
Suddenly, there is a loud bang and I look over to see that it’s happening all over again. The ground around us is shaking and rocks begin to fall, however, this time I’m stuck to the ground, unable to move. So, I watch painfully as Soarin’ tries to escape the falling debris. My friends try to pull me back, but I end up yelling at them, telling them to go.
Soarin’ sees me, I know he has. I can see it in his eyes as they widen in fear and he attempts to fly towards me. The ground beneath me collapses just as I see a rock fall on top of Soarin’s flying body, sending crashing towards the ground, to be buried in the debris.
“No!” I scream out as I plummet to the ground as well, suddenly, I’m buried in a pile of heavy rocks and the last thing I think is that it’s my fault Soarin’ died. It’s my entire fault.
****
“No, Soar!” I scream as I fall out of the bed with a loud thump.
The sheets are tangled around my body and I thrash about in attempt to escape, still screaming in terror. I’m drenched in cold, sticky sweat as the sheets stick to my body, making it even harder to escape their death hold.
Hooves gallop down the hallway and smash into my room. “What’s going on?” Soarin’ shouts, prepared to hurt whoever is causing me this pain.
Soarin’s light blue hooves come into view as he crouches down in front of me, he seems to be less tense now that he’s realised what really happened. He gently begins to work on untangling me from the mess of blankets. Once I’m free, he pulls me into his warm arms and strokes my mane.
“It’s okay, Dashie,” he whispers as he rocks back and forth. “I’m here, now. Okay?”
Collapsing into his chest, I finally break and sob violently into him. “You-You died, under the boulders.”
Soarin’ is silent for a few moments before he gently kisses my forehead, flattening my messy mane with his hooves. “No, you saved my life, Dashie.”
“I couldn’t, I was stuck, you tried to save me and it was all my fault. I’m sorry!” I cry into his soft blue fur, where my tears fall the fur darkens.
Soarin’ continues to stroke my mane, whilst he whispers into my ear, “No, I’m here, we’re here. It’s okay Dashie.”
I have never broken in front of any pony like this before; I’m used to bottling my emotions up, never letting them go. But now, with Soarin’, I am allowed to let it all out because apparently that’s a good thing. It feels as if I’m crumbling like pastry in his arms as the tears flow out of my eyes uncontrollably. What is going on with me? I used to always be able to keep my cool and now I even freak out about flying. There is definitely something wrong with me.
Soarin’ continues to comfort me as he holds me close against his warm body; I close my eyes and listen to the soft rhythm of his heartbeat, using that as the only thing to keep me sane. Finally, after what seems like hours, my crying begins to stop and all that is left are the sniffles that the tears left behind. Soarin’ gently places me down on the floor before walking over to sort out my bed.
Curling up on the floor, I watch as he takes a new blanket out of my wardrobe and throws it over my bed, straightening it out with his mouth. I glance up at the clock on my bedside table, curious about what time it is. I’m shocked to see that it’s already three AM. I actually did get some sleep, it seems.
Once my bed looks decent again, he carefully picks me up and places me down on the bed, making sure that I’m comfortable whilst he tucks me in as if I’m a filly.
Just as he kisses my forehead and begins to walk out of the room to go to bed himself, I catch his hoof in mine, causing him to look back at me in confusion.
“Stay with me, please?” I whisper, my voice shaking in fear.
Soarin’ looks at me for a few moments and touches my cheek with his hoof. “Of course,” he whispers and slides into the bed beside me.
Feeling his body pressed against mine instantly causes me to relax and momentarily forget about all the problems which lay ahead of us. As we lie here together, we are in our own world. No pony can disturb us, no nightmares can hurt is. It’s perfect. Our heartbeats are in sync as we look into each other’s eyes, our legs tangled together as we lie side by side. Soarin’ leans in and kisses me gently at first, before I pull him closer and it becomes more passionate, it has more meaning in it, more feeling and power. His hooves move up and tangle in my mane as he pulls me closer to him, I can taste the mixture of apple pie and toothpaste on his lips as his soft lips move against mine.
“Just forget about everything, Dashie, forget about it all.” Soarin’ whispers, his lips still pressed against mine.
“With pleasure,” I whisper back.
All I can think about is Soarin’ and the feeling of his fur against mine, the feeling of his soft lips moving rhythmically with mine. Somehow, he has managed to push all fears out of my mind. Soarin’ is different, like no other stallion. He makes me feel different, feel special and important. He can make me forget something that has been so bad it has made me cry for the first time in years. I don’t understand what he’s doing but I am grateful for having him here beside me, I don’t know what I’d do if I was alone.
Slowly, we both pull out of the kiss and begin to drift off to sleep in each other’s, both of us fighting away the nightmares for the other.
Drifting away peacefully, I fall asleep in the arms of the most amazing Pegasus in Equestria.
The house is silent as I slowly wake up out of the best sleep I have had in days. Beside me, the warmth from Soarin’s body is radiating into me, comforting me and pushing away all my bad thoughts. It's amazing how he's managed to scare all my nightmares away by just being here beside me.
The light blue Pegasus is still sleeping soundly beside me, his breathing deep and even. I smile at how peaceful and how much younger he actually looks when he is asleep.
Soarin’ is only two years older than me, he’s actually only twenty three, but he looks so much older than me, probably because of the height difference and whatnot. Still, now that he is sleeping he looks around eighteen years old, without a care in the world. It makes me feel happy.
Soarin’ mumbles in his sleep about a Wonderbolts meeting which he is apparently late for, and he apologises multiple times, probably to Spitfire.
Amused by the fact that he is sleep talking, I curl up closer against his body and listen as he mumbles away about not getting his daily apple pie. However, after the first few moments, it begins to get interesting.
“But, Spit, she’s done a Sonic Rainboom. Can’t she skip the Academy?” Soarin’ mumbles and my ears prick up when they hear the words ‘Sonic Rainboom.’ He’s talking about me.
“I know it’s not fair and she’s always going to be first choice but...” his words begin to merge together and are impossible to make out, so I give up listening and return to looking at him.
He has a small scratch running beneath his left eye, from the corner of his eye to his mouth. That must be from the cave. Although his injuries aren’t noticeable unless you sit down and analyse him like I am, they are still pretty bad, and he has quite a lot of them. They're like his battle scars.
Slowly, I roll out his warm embrace and trot into the kitchen in attempt to get some food for us both. I look through the cupboards and find some left over dandelions and bread. Hidden within the breadbin is a box of cupcakes so I decide to use them as well. I really need to go shopping today.
Once Soarin’ wakes up I’m going to try and fly again, I’m not going to let my fears get to the best of me. Maybe I’ll even perform a Sonic Rainboom. I think back to Soarin’s sleep talking as I wonder what they were talking about. Did this conversation really happen or was it something he conjured up on his own? If it was what really happened, that means I have a huge chance of getting into the Wonderbolts after the Academy.
I make the sandwiches and leave them on the table; I’ll eat when Soarin’ wakes up because I don’t want to be rude or anything. Maybe I could fly a bit now.
Stretching my wings out, I give a powerful flap and soar out of the window. The wind rushes through my mane and runs through my feathers, making me shudder in delight. This is what I love. Suddenly, I remember that Rarity made me some customised goggles, so I zoom back into my white home and search through my saddle bag in attempt to find them.
The light blue goggles glisten at the bottom of my bag, I carefully pull them out and examine them. Rarity must have put an awful lot of work into these; around the strap my cutie mark has been created with small gems matching the colours perfectly. She has sewn my name around the back in delicate stitching as well. The goggles themselves are firm and strong; they also seem to have a lot of protection against the rain. I’ll need to thank Rarity for this; they’ll come in handy, especially in weather duty.
Sliding the goggles over my head, I adjust them until they fit firmly around my head and find that they’re a perfect fit. I glide out of the house again, and fly as high as I can. Ponyville is small below me; I can only barely make out the small houses and Sweet Apple Acres. My own home is quite small as well as I float high above Equestria.
I flip over and throw all thoughts out of my mind as I focus myself on my flying. I push my body forward as fast as I can, flapping my wings harder and faster against the wind. The wind is so strong now that it’s pushing my lips back, forcing the air to rush into my mouth. Most ponies don’t like this feeling, but I love it. I love the adrenaline that it gives me, the exhilarating feeling that lasts with me hours after I finish flying.
The cone of the sound barrier begins to form around my body, causing me to flap my wings harder than ever. Holding my forelegs in front of me and my hind legs straight behind me, I’m zooming towards the ground with my body in a diagonal line, allowing myself to cut through the air with ease.
The cone sticks to my body perfectly, waiting for the right time to shatter around me, all I need to do is give one last push then it’ll be done. I await the perfect moment, the moment when Ponyville is finally starting to take shape again. My heart pounds and a bead of sweat trickles down the side of my face as I give one last powerful flap and break through the sound barrier.
My body shudders as a loud boom shakes the air around me. My legs feel warm as I begin to fly upwards again. I continue to fly as I glance behind me and see the rainbow forming behind me. I fly up towards my home and find that Soarin’ is sitting outside and watching me as I stop in front of him.
“Good morning!” I say cheerfully, pleased that I’ve been able to fly without any incidents.
Soarin’ smiles at me as he holds out the plate with our breakfast on it. “Hey, I see you managed to do a Rainboom.”
“Yup, I’ve still got it in me!” I say, I am honestly really chuffed with myself for that.
Soarin’ takes a sandwich and eats it quickly before looking at me with his goofy grin across his face. “How about that race then? This time I can actually kick your flank,” he winks at me and I can tell he’s getting cocky. Giving my wings a powerful flap which causes his mane to blow backwards, I smirk at him. “It’s on.”
“On your marks,” Soarin’ starts, getting into position. “Get set, go!”
We both set off, following the same route which we did last time. I am really tired from the Sonic Rainboom, but I still push myself, I have to win this race. My wings start to burn in pain slightly as Soarin’ begins to overtake me. Ignoring my wings protest, I continue to push myself as we reach the first half of the race.
We fly around the mountain before heading back towards my house, Soarin’ zooms past me and I glare at him, it’s not really fair considering I’ve just done a Sonic Rainboom. But, I can’t seem weak. I need to win this.
I sit back for a few moments, giving my wings a rest before pushing myself harder than I ever have before. Soarin’ glances back at me in confusion, I know he’s wondering why I’m so far behind. I use that moment to fly forward as fast as I can and I speed past him, leaving him in my rainbow trail.
Behind me, I can hear Soarin’ curse and flap his wings harder as he tries to catch up. The finish point draws closer and my heart begins to pound in excitement. I’m going to beat a Wonderbolt in a race. Oh my gosh!
I come to a stop on top of my cloud home and bounce up and down in joy. “Oh yeah! I beat you right after doing a Sonic Rainboom!” I cheer to Soarin’ who has just landed beside me.
Soarin’ sighs. “Fine, you win, this time.”
“I can’t believe I beat you, I honestly thought I’d do terribly considering I was in pain after doing the Rainboom,” I smile slightly; I am honestly really pleased that I was strong enough to do that.
“Yeah, yeah. Well just wait until you have to race the other ‘Bolts,” Soarin’ smirks. “Well, knowing you, you’d probably kick all of their flanks with ease.”
I nod in agreement, suddenly too tired to talk. My legs begin to sway involuntarily, and my whole body has stabbing pains shooting through it. I wince slightly as my legs give out under me, and I collapse into Soarin’, rather ungracefully, causing us both to fall into a pony pile on the ground.
Soarin’ groans and looks at me, concern evident in his emerald eyes. “Are you alright, Dashie?”
“Yeah, just tired,” I whisper as I curl up on top of his body.
I feel a pair of wings wrap around me and Soarin’ lets me lie on top of him and drift off to sleep, hoping that my body will be in less pain when I awaken.
Slowly, I fall asleep against Soarin’, without a care in the world.
Soarin’ moves from beneath me, jolting me awake, I look around in confusion to find that we are still on the roof of my house, and it’s only around midday.
“Soar?” I sit up and find him looking out at Ponyville.
He turns to face me slightly, a sad smile across his face. Slowly, I move over to him and wrap a wing around him. The air around us is still and warm, the sun shines down on our backs as we gaze out over my home town. I wait patiently for Soarin’ to tell me what is bothering him.
“The other ‘Bolts are leaving on Tuesday, do you mind if we spend today with them?” Soarin’ leans against me slightly.
I laugh softly. “Of course you can, you silly filly. Are you sure you want me to come?” I raise an eyebrow at him. “I mean, if it’s personal I can hang back a bit.”
Soarin’ shakes his head. “Please, come with me, they’d wanna see you too.”
“Oh, well if you’re sure. I don’t want to let you down,” I look up at him.
Soarin’ smiles and jumps to his hooves. “Let’s go then!”
“Where are they staying?” I ask as I stand beside him.
“At the library, with Twilight Sparkle, right?” Soarin’ looks at me.
I nod in confirmation before stretching out my wings and dropping down towards the ground. Soarin’ follows close behind me as we glide towards Ponyville.
The sky is clear and it’s a lovely day, so the town is quite busy, Soarin’ and I look around in attempt to find a safe place to land without crushing any pony, but sure enough, some pony recognises Soarin’ without his suit on.
“Oh sweet Celestia! It’s Soarin’ from the Wonderbolts!” A young Pegasus mare shouts, causing chaos in the town square.
Soarin’ looks at me with wide eyes. “I can’t fly away, Dash. Spitfire says it’s bad for our public image. Do you want to go ahead?”
Ponies begin to gather beneath us shouting out Soarin’s name, begging him for autographs and pictures. If I ever get into the Wonderbolts, my life will be like this too, unable to go anywhere without being mobbed by fanfillies and fancolts. I’m not too sure how I feel about that.
We both fly down and land in a clear space, before a wall of ponies charge towards us. I look at Soarin’ and nod in reply to his offer before galloping off. I do feel guilty for leaving him, but I’m sure he can handle it himself. Anyway, I’d rather not be squashed by a bunch of ponies trying to get close to Soarin’. They’d probably end up pushing me away anyway, so I might as well just leave now.
Soarin’s name is being called out throughout the whole town; ponies are cheering and screaming in joy. Images from the Gorge begin to flash through my mind again.
The screams of joy warp into screams of fear. Ponies are calling Soarin’s name in terror as they hope he’ll escape.
I gallop down Ponyville’s dirt roads and end up running down the alleyway behind Sugar Cube Corner. Suddenly, all around me there are falling boulders. Running backwards in fear, I crash into a bin, falling into a pile of rubbish.
The screams ring through my ears as I cry out in terror, begging for them to stop. I cover my ears with my hooves as I sit in the corner of the alleyway, hiding from all of civilisation. My breathing is heavy and uneven as tears begin to roll down my cheeks, the screaming continues and I wait for it to stop, will it ever stop?
Suddenly there is a pony at my side, I jump in shock and glance over to find that it’s, no other than, Pinkie Pie.
“Hey Dashie, whatcha doing down here all by yourself? Were you playing hide and seek, were ya? Can I play?” Pinkie blabbers on as the screaming continues to burn into my mind. “Wait, are you okay, Dashie? You look scared, are you lost? Do you want me to walk you somewhere? Where’s Soarin’?”
I groan slightly and place my hoof over Pinkie’s mouth. “I’m fine, Pinkie. Soarin’s busy with a bunch of fanfillies and I was heading to see Twilight in the library, do you want to come with me?” I ask, relieved that I will have some pony to at least partly cover up the screams.
Pinkie Pie grins, “Sure thing, Dashie! I love to see my friends, I have so many friends in Ponyville, you know, and it’s great when I get to see them all at once!” She begins to bounce down the alleyway, and I trudge behind her.
Pinkie continues to blabber on, and I pretend to listen as the screams continue echoing through my ears. I just need to keep my cool and no pony will realise how much I’m breaking inside. We walk towards the library, Pinkie bouncing along cheerfully, and I’m walking along slowly, trying to look okay.
Once we arrive at the library, I find that most of the Wonderbolts are gathered around talking amongst themselves. Pinkie Pie’s loud talking causes them all to stop and look our way as we enter the library.
“Spitty!” Pinkie bounces over and embraces Spitfire, she then moves around the circle of Wonderbolts, giving each of them their own unique nickname.
Spitfire looks slightly annoyed with the fact that Pinkie calls her ‘Spitty’ but she seems to brush it off with ease and just accept that Pinkie Pie is just like that. I wave silently at the Wonderbolts before quietly walking over to the Daring Doo section of the library. The cries of terror still won’t stop as the ponies in the library return to talking. They grow louder and louder, causing me to shake in fear.
I feel the presence of another pony beside me, and turn to find Wave Chill, standing with a bandage around his head.
“Hey, Dash,” he smiles awkwardly, “I’m sorry about the accident and stuff.”
“It’s fine, Wave, seriously. It wasn’t your fault.” I place a shaky hoof on his shoulder in attempt to comfort him.
Wave Chill frowns slightly, a frown which reminds me of Soarin’; it’s obvious that they are siblings. “Are you okay, Dash?”
“Yeah, of course I am! I’m the awesome Rainbow Dash, I’m always okay,” I say, my voice going a little too high, my smile being a little too fake for it to be believable.
The dark blue Pegasus looks at me for a few more moments before nodding slightly. “Okay, well if you need some pony to talk to, I’m here okay?”
“Thanks, Wave, but I’m okay. The same goes for you though,” my smile turns into a more genuine smile as I realise how much I’ve missed talking to Wave.
I haven’t properly spoken to him since the Best Young Fliers competition, when we got to spend a whole day together. Him, Soarin’, Spitfire and I basically hung around, had a laugh and done a few tricks together. That was the first time I saw them all as real ponies and not just the Wonderbolts. That’s when I first began to consider them all as friends.
Wave Chill wraps a hoof around me quickly before walking back towards his fellow Wonderbolts.
I return to looking through old Daring Doo books as every pony else in the room talks. My ears ring in pain as the screaming continues to grow louder and louder. Now, there are cries of pain as ponies are caught under the falling debris.
The room spins around me, and I place a hoof on the side of the bookshelf to stop myself from falling over. My heartbeat echoes through my ears as I sit on the floor, landing with a thump. I cannot breathe, my lungs are squeezing shut, the louder the screams get the more it hurts.
Twilight is now standing in front of me, she’s speaking to me but I cannot make out what she’s saying. They are too loud, they are all around me.
I squint up at her and try to read her lips; I can just about make out the words: “Are you okay?”
Nodding, I stand up and say, “I’m fine, I just need some air.”
Stumbling out of the room, I can feel all eyes on me as the screaming continues to ring in my ears. I know they must be talking about me, but I can’t hear them.
Once I get outside I crouch down on the floor outside of the library and breathe heavily, trying to pull myself together. I can’t let any of them see me like this; they’d think I’m crazy.
Finally, the screaming begins to subside into a dull sound, a sound I can barely make out but I know it’s still there. Orange hooves appear before me, and I look up to find Applejack standing in front of me.
I straighten myself up so I’m sitting normally. “Of course I am, AJ, I’m always okay.”
Applejack’s eyebrows burrow together. “Sure ya are, RD, sure ya are. Ah know that somethin’ is troubling ya’ll, but ah’m not gonna push it on ya to tell me. Ya know where ta find me if ya’ll want to talk though, okay?” She puts a hoof around my shoulders and I return her embrace willingly.
“Okay, thank you AJ,” I sigh as the smell of sweet apples fill my nose. “But there’s no need to worry about me.”
Applejack nods and pulls away. “We all worry about ya, sugar cube, that’s what friends are for.”
I climb to my hooves and help AJ up before turning towards the library. “I take it they’re all worried about me then?” I sigh sadly.
Applejack smiles sadly at me. “Course they are, they care about ya. Now, ya’ll better get in there and tell them you’re okay.”
We walk in together to find that every pony are standing there together, talking quietly.
Rarity is the first to walk over and embrace me. “Rainbow, darling, are you alright? I was very worried about you.”
“Gosh, guys, I’m fine, really,” I laugh with slight uneasiness. “I’m Rainbow Dash, for crying out loud. I was just tired, that’s all, you know I did a Sonic Rainboom this morning and it wore me out.”
The ponies share a look around the room as I continue to force a smile upon my face. Finally, they all return to their other conversations and I sigh in relief.
Spitfire finishes her conversation with Fleetfoot and walks over to me. “Hey, Rookie, where’s the goofball?”
“He got mobbed by a gang of fanfillies, he should be here soon,” I sit down and lean against a bookcase.
Spitfire sits beside me silently for a few moments. “I see, well he’ll be okay, he handles it well. He loves his fans, replies to every single piece of fan mail he ever receives. It’s crazy.”
I laugh softly. “Never would have guessed: Soar is a big softy at heart.”
“You bet he is, just wait until you hear all the stories about him, he will kill me for telling you them all, but it’ll be worth it,” she laughs as she remembers an event which must have happened a while ago.
We fall silent again and the only sound which is left in the room is the murmurs of the other ponies and the dull screaming of terror which has been scratched into my mind for eternity.
“I wonder if he’s managed to escape.” Spitfire muses as she glances at the door.
As if on cue, Soarin’ stumbles into the library and slams the door shut, making sure to double lock it.
“Hey guys, how are you all doing?” He gives us his trade mark goofy grin.
Spitfire laughs at the mess her best friend is in. “Jheez, Soar, did they trample you or something?”
Soarin’ rolls his eyes and glares at the Wonderbolts captain. “Maybe, but it’s all good now. They’re just hanging outside.”
The screams from the fanfillies fill the room, causing my breath to catch in my throat. My eyes widen in fear as I attempt to keep a straight face.
Slowly, I stand up and walk upstairs, pretending that I’m just going to look at some other books or sit out on the balcony. Once I get upstairs I run into the bathroom and lock the door behind me before collapsing onto the floor and sobbing uncontrollably.
Soarin’s voice is at the door in an instant, as he begs me to let him in. But his voice gets buried beneath my cries and the other ponies cries of terror.
The screams are beating all around me; the screams are burning through my ears.
A constant knocking at the door is the only thing that reminds me of reality, reminds me that there is more than just the screams. But they won’t stop, please make them stop.
My cheek is pressed against the cold marble floor of the bathroom; my breath is hot against the tiles. I cannot escape this labyrinth of torture, it is as if I am trapped forever, suffering for an eternity.
Soarin’s voice fills the bathroom, bringing tears to my eyes. “Dash, come on and let me in.”
Rocking back and forth, I mutter under my breath, “Make it stop, please, leave me alone.”
“Alright, sugar cube, Ah’m gonna kick the door in, make sure ya’ll are back far enough, ya hear?” Applejack’s voice joins Soarin’s calls.
“No, we can’t, she may not move back,” Soarin’ says urgently.
“I agree with Soar on this one, AJ,” Twilight’s voice enters the bathroom.
I continue to lie on the floor, sobbing as I listen to their conversation in attempt to cover the screams.
“Dashie,” Soarin’ says softly. “Please, come out. Listen, I’m scared too. We can help each other out, right? Remember what you said in the hospital, Dashie? We need each other.”
Gasping for air, I look up at the door. “Make it stop, Soar, please!”
Soarin’ is silent for a moment before he speaks, “Make what stop, Dashie?”
“The screams, make them stop, they won’t stop, they never stop,” I sob in fear; my head is pounding from the constant screams echoing through my mind.
Hoofsteps walk away from the door then suddenly I can hear Spitfire yell: “Alright every pony, we’ve all been through very traumatic events the past few days, can you please be kind enough to leave us alone for the next few days?”
After a few moments, they finally begin to dim down slightly, returning to the dull throbbing in the back of my mind.
“Is that better, Dash?” Spitfire asks gently through the door.
Although they are not as loud as they were a few moments ago, they are still there, viciously gnawing at the back of mind. Still, I don’t want them to think any differently of me, so I follow my mother’s advice which was always to put a brave face on, even if I was shivering in my horseshoes.
Slowly, cautiously, I reach up and unlock the door, before sliding back against the wall, shielding myself for what is to come next.
My friends rush in the moment they hear the door unlock, but they keep their space. The only pony that walks towards me is Soarin’, who silently scoops me up under his wing and holds me close.
I push my pain back into its mental bottle and force a smile upon my face. “Sorry every pony, I’m fine now, just a couple of flashbacks.” I laugh uneasily, “But, it’s all okay now!”
Every pony shares worried glances between them before they all nod slightly; partly accepting that what I’m saying is true. Slowly, every pony begins to file out of the small bathroom, back into the main part of the library. I go to follow on, but Soarin’ holds me back.
“Dash, I know you aren’t okay,” Soarin’ states the moment we’re alone.
I’m silent for a few moments, contemplating whether or not to let out all the pain I feel and show him how weak I really am. “I’m fine, just a few flashbacks, you know?” I laugh nervously.
Soarin’ looks at me intently. “Remember, we’ve both been through the same things, Dashie. I know how bad the flashbacks can be, but I can see that you’re getting them a whole lot worse. Let me help, please.”
Sighing, I look up at the Wonderbolt. “Fine, but can we just make the rest of the day with the others good, I don’t want to ruin your time with your friends anymore than I have already.”
Soarin’ kisses my mane softly. “You haven’t ruined it. But we should get back to them.”
We walk out into the main part of the library together, side by side. Every pony is sat together in a circle around the room, as Pinkie Pie tells some random story.
“... And I said, ‘No way, I can’t eat that tomato, it’s full of onions.’” Pinkie finishes off, leaving the room-including the ponies who were listening from the beginning- sitting in confusion.
Soarin’ and I share a glance before shrugging it off and accepting that it’s just Pinkie being Pinkie.
“So, Rainbow, do you want to have a race with us?” Spitfire says.
Fleetfoot, Wave Chill and Rapidfire all step forward and I look at them in shock. “It’ll be embarrassing when you all lose though, I hope you know that.”
The four challenging Wonderbolts share an amused look before looking at Soarin’, who is chuckling behind me.
“What are you laughing at, dork?” Spitfire shoots a glare at Soarin’.
Soarin’ is now lying on the floor, laughing uncontrollably. “Sorry, but she’s right, she’ll probably kick your flanks.”
Fleetfoot steps forward, her green eyes full of confidence. “Oh really? Well I’m the fastest on the team, so if she won against you it doesn’t mean she’ll beat me.”
“What do I get when I win?” I raise an eyebrow at the Wonderbolt captain.
Around us, my friends have gathered as they listen to the challenge being set forth. Applejack is looking at me with concern, I know she is wondering about my wellbeing, but once I get into the race I can push the screams out of my mind. Anyway, they are only ringing softly in the back of my mind now, so I have gotten used to them pretty quickly.
Spitfire laughs, “If you win, you will get a whole week to hang out with us in Wonderbolts HQ and we will allow you to perform with us in one show in 6 months time-” Spitfire pauses, smiling at the grin which is growing across my face. “-depending on how well you do we may consider allowing you to skip your next training course at the academy and go straight to the entrance exam.”
My eyes widen in excitement. “What about if one of you guys win?”
“You have to wait another year before you return to the Wonderbolts Academy for your second training course, which means you will have to miss this year’s entrance exam to get into the team.” Rapidfire steps forward, a smirk forming across his lips.
Soarin’ suddenly stops laughing. “That’s not fair, we all know that she’s the best Pegasi for the team, the rest of the candidates this year were useless! Excluding Lightening Dust, who was too careless for the team.”
Spitfire is now frowning as she realise what the stakes of this race is. “I agree with Soar, but...” She trails off, leaving the ‘but’ hanging in the air.
Wave Chill steps forward, speaking for the first time. “But, we all know how deals work in the Wonderbolts, once it’s put forward there is no taking it back, no matter what the consequence is. It’s been tradition long before even we were around and you know it Soarin’.”
Soarin' begins to argue back, begging Spitfire to change the rules just this once.
"I can't, Soar, I may be the Captain, but it's tradition," Spitfire says sadly.
I stand frozen between the bickering Wonderbolts; my whole dream has been put on the line here. If I lose this race I will have to wait a whole year until I can continue my Wonderbolts training, which means that there is a chance there will be an even better pony for the job next time round. However, if I win this race, I can perform with them and learn some trademark ‘Bolts tricks. I can show them what I’m really made of and skip my next week of training at the Academy which means that I can possibly be in the Wonderbolts by the end of this year.
Stepping forward, I take in a deep breath and yell, “Quiet!” The whole room stops and stares at me. “I’ll do the race, but I have one rule. Just because you don’t like the stakes that have been put up. You will not cheat; you will all perform to the best of your ability. I want a fair race, and if I do win I want to know that I won fair and square. Deal?”
The four Wonderbolts nod in unison, agreeing to the rules that I have just put forward.
“Okay, deal. Let’s take this outside then,” Spitfire says as she walks forward, obviously annoyed at Rapidfire.
Slowly, I follow every pony outside. I can’t let my fears stop me. If the screams get too much for me to handle then I’ve blown my dream. One traumatic event can’t stop me from achieving my greatest dreams, can it?
Slowly, I follow the four Wonderbolts who I will be racing against. I block out all sounds around me in attempt to get myself pumped up, ready for the race ahead. Never before have the stakes been so high. If I lose this race then my whole dream of being a Wonderbolt will be made even more difficult to achieve. However, if I win, then I can show them what I’m made of and perform in a show with them. I can become a Wonderbolt faster than I ever anticipated.
Around us, crowds of ponies have gathered to watch the big race between boring old weather pony Rainbow Dash and the Wonderbolts. The air is thick and silent. I feel all eyes on me. Surely enough, there are ponies behind the scenes making bets on who they think will win this race and I know that I’m the least likely to win, even if I have performed many Sonic Rainbooms before. I’m racing against Fleetfoot, she’s the fastest Pegasus in all of Equestria.
Beside me, Soarin’ puts a soft wing around me and pulls me close to him. “It’s going to be okay, Dashie.”
I nod slightly, not really listening to his words. I watch as spitfire turns around and glances at Soarin’ then at me. “Okay, so we’re going to race to the mountain at the far end of Sweet Apple Acres then back to here. There will be no cheating.”
Fleetfoot, Wave Chill and Rapidfire all get into their starting positions as they pull their goggles over their eyes. Soarin’ passes me the goggles which Rarity made for me and I place them over my head too, smiling at him in thanks. My heart pounds in my chest and adrenaline begins to pump through my veins as I listen out for the three words which tell me to fly as fast as I can.
Spitfire takes her place beside me, and very quietly whispers, “Good luck, Rookie, I really do hope you win this.”
I look over at her in shock. “You want me on the team that bad?” I whisper back, surprise evident in my voice.
“Of course I do, we’ve all wanted to accept you since the Best Young Fliers competition, but we have to go through general procedure, meaning going through your application thoroughly, putting you through the academy then making you do the final test,” she sighs sadly, “hopefully we won’t have to worry about waiting another year to have you on the team.”
“But that means you have to have completely different judges on the panel, since you’d all be biased towards me.” I frown slightly, forgetting about the race.
Spitfire laughs slightly. “I know, we’ll have to get a couple of Ex-Wonderbolts to be the judges.”
I’m not sure if that makes the whole thing more or less scary, but the more I think about it, the more frightening it seems. Ex-Wonderbolts who are far more experience and know a lot more about flying than any pony of my generation will be judging me. Still, I need to stop thinking about that; I need to focus on this race first.
Soarin’ steps out in front of us, and looks at me, his emerald eyes full of sadness. “Okay guys, we know the rules, no cheating. Are you all ready?”
The five of us nod; I squeeze my eyes shut for a moment in attempt to calm myself down. Come on Rainbow Dash, they call you Dash for a reason. You’re going to win this. A voice in my head tells me as I open my eyes and prepare myself for flight.
“On your marks...” I glance over at Fleetfoot who is standing beside me with a determined look on her face. “Get set...” I look straight ahead again, past Soarin’ as I analyse the path ahead of me. “GO!”
Then we’re off. I give my wings a powerful flap as I shoot up into the sky. The crowds cheer below me, causing my wings to waver in fear. Still, I quickly gain control over them as I attempt to push the flashbacks out of my head.
Fleetfoot has shot ahead of me, but she is not too far away to make it impossible to catch up. Spitfire is gaining speed as she closes in on my right side, I quickly flap my wings harder than I have ever before as I push myself forward, towards Fleetfoot. My heart is pounding as I close in on her; I’m only a nose behind her now. I can actually do this; I can actually win the race.
No. I push that thought out of my mind instantly. It is too soon to be thinking that, I don’t want to jinx myself. I can’t afford to get too cocky with the stakes this high.
A cone begins to form around my body and Fleetfoot actually stops in shock as she realises that I am about to break through the sound barrier. I don’t allow it to happen though, we aren’t even a quarter of the way through this race and if I do a Rainboom I will tire myself out, especially when I’ve already done a Rainboom this morning. I continue to push my body as we begin to fly over Sweet Apple Acres. Fleetfoot has begun to catch up with me again and Spitfire is closing in on me too. Wave Chill and Rapidfire aren’t the fastest of the ‘Bolts so they are slightly behind us, but I know they are saving their full speed until the last leg of the race.
Behind me, Spitfire yells over the wind which is rushing through my ears. “Do a Sonic Rainboom, Dash, you need to win this!”
I shake my head. “I can’t, I’ll lose if I do one this early on because I’ll be too tired to carry on. Plus, I’ve done one today already, I’m still too weak from the accident. I know my boundaries.”
From the corner of my eye, I see Spitfire and Fleetfoot share a glance before nodding. “Okay, fine. But please, at least keep it up your sleeve as a last minute thing.”
I nod before turning my attention back to the path ahead of me as I continue to push my wings as hard as they can go. The mountain at the edge of Sweet Apple Acres is still far away, probably another ten minute flight if we continue at this speed, so I need to be careful and not waste my energy too soon.
Still, if I slow myself down too much I will not be able to catch up with the others once it gets near to the end. We will all be tired after this race, but the Wonderbolts must go through hours of endurance exercises in their training, they’re well prepared for something like this.
Continuing to push myself, I go slightly further ahead of Spitfire and Fleetfoot, trying to gain as much distance as possible. I can tell that they’re not going as fast as they can go either, we’re all saving it. My plan is once we get around the mountain, I will push myself as hard as I can, to a speed just under the speed needed to perform a Sonic Rainboom. I know that every pony is going to push themselves after we reach the mountain, so I need to prepare myself for the intensity ahead of me.
Gradually, the mountain grows bigger as we get closer to the halfway point of the race. A bead of sweat rolls down the back of my neck as I glance back quickly to find Spitfire has now been over taken by Rapidfire. My heart skips a beat as I realise that he is now deciding to make his move, which means I am in a lot of trouble.
Before I know it, the mountain is right beside me as I curve around it. This is it, the halfway point. It’s time to push it more than I ever have before. I straighten my legs out and push myself as hard as I can, my wings burn and my head begins to pound as I slice through the wind which is attempting to push me back.
Fleetfoot has begun to use her full speed, and she starts to catch up with me, fast. My eyes widen in shock as I begin to focus back ahead of me, trying to forget that I have 4 Pegasi closing in on me fast. I just need to get to the end of this race, and then it’ll all be over.
A warm liquid begins to trickle out of my nose and onto my lips. I frown in confusion as I cautiously lick my lips to find that my nose is now bleeding. I’ve never pushed myself this hard before, especially after an accident. Nonetheless, I continue to fly forward, I can do this. I cannot afford to lose.
Behind me I can hear Rapidfire curse as Wave Chill and Spitfire overtake him, all of us are pushing ourselves now. Even the ones who don’t want to win the race are pushing themselves.
My wings feel as if they’re on fire as the cheers of the crowd begin to fill the air around us. I attempt to block out the sounds of their cheers as I fly over the far field of Sweet Apple Acres. We still have a long way to go yet, I can’t give in, not yet.
Fleetfoot begins to draw up beside me, and she sends me an apologetic look followed by a look of horror. “Dash, your nose!” she gasps in shock.
“It doesn’t matter, I need to win this! I can’t risk my dream being crushed like this,” I say proudly, making it evident that I’m not going to back out. “Now, give me a good race.”
Fleetfoot hesitates for only a second before flying ahead of me. I flap my wings painfully as I follow close behind her. The cone of the sound barrier has begun to wrap around me, and I know that I will most likely need to use it to win this race. Still, I need to hold back a little bit longer, just a little bit.
“Are you serious, she’s gonna do a Rainboom?” Rapidfire asks in shock, he knows that if I use perform a Rainboom I have the race in the bag.
We are now leaving Sweet Apple Acres and entering the main part of the town, I know that this is the right time. I give myself one last, shaky push as I break through the sound barrier and begin to speed ahead of Fleetfoot. Fleetfoot grins and salutes me as I fly past her. Almost there, I’ve almost done it.
Screams of the crowd begin to fill my ears and I am unable to push them out anymore. My head is now pounding as the screams ring through my ears. I freeze dead in my tracks, suddenly unable to move. Boulders are suddenly falling around me, stopping me from going in any direction.
Fleetfoot zooms past me, going too fast to actually realise that I’m there; she probably thinks that I’ve already reached the finish line. Spitfire, Rapidfire and Wave Chill follow close behind as they drag my dreams of becoming a Wonderbolt along with them.
The screams echo in my brain, constantly, never stopping. I try and fly forward but I am stuck, the screams are holding me down. Behind me, the remainder of my Sonic Rainboom slowly and sadly fades away, leaving an empty space in its place. Tears begin to fall but are caught by my goggles. That’s it, I’ve blown it. I have to wait another year. I can’t believe I let my fears get the better of me.
Suddenly, the screams begin to subside and are replaced by the calling of my name. I try and fly forward again, but I’m still being held back. More tears begin to fall as I wonder how long that single night is going to haunt me. Will it haunt me for the rest of my life? Will it stop me from ever being in the Wonderbolts? I hope not.
A light blue Pegasus is coming towards me along with an orange mare. I blink back the tears in attempt to hide the fact that I’ve taken this fail really badly.
“Hey, Rookie, are you okay?” Spitfire asks once she gets close enough.
I nod, and swallow back more sobs threatening to escape my lips. “Sure am, Ma’am. Just a race, right?”
Spitfire smiles sadly, “C’mon, let’s get you back to the ground.”
“I can’t, my wings aren’t working,” I whisper and look away, embarrassed.
Soarin’ is now by my side and he very gently takes off my goggles before placing them around his neck to keep them safe. He uses a single feather on his soft blue wing to carefully brush away any tears which unwillingly escaped my eyes.
“I’m sorry, the screams, they were too much,” I collapse onto his chest and throw my hooves around his neck.
He gently strokes my mane as I sob into him, letting all of my pain out. “I’ve blown it, Soar. I’ve lost the chance.”
Soarin’ turns to Spitfire and whispers, “Get rid of the crowds, will you?” Then he returns to comforting me.
He takes me over to a stray cloud and holds me as I continue to cry. My eyes burn as the tears fall down my face, onto his warm chest causing his light blue fur to turn dark. Soarin’ gently takes my face in his hooves and he tilts my head up.
“You really pushed yourself, Dashie. You made your nose bleed pretty badly,” Soarin’ gingerly begins to brush away any more tears. “Let’s get you back down and cleaned up, okay?” He says, just as Spitfire returns and gives the sign that all the crowds have left.
Soarin’ scoops me up in his forearms and flies us back towards the library. Fleetfoot is the first pony to run over to me.
“I’m so sorry, Dash! I didn’t know you had stopped, I’m so sorry. You should have won,” she suddenly throws her arms around me in an embrace.
The other Wonderbolts all seem to be fairly upset; I frown as I wonder why they seem like this. It’s not like they needed me, they have an amazing team already.
Twilight Sparkle walks over to me with a clothe floating beside her, surrounded in her purple aura. “Come on, Dash. Let’s clean up this blood.” She begins to dab away at the blood around my nose.
I sigh sadly as I allow Twilight to nurse me. Wave Chill walks over to me and sits beside me.
“Hey, Dash, are you alright?” He asks in concern.
Smiling, I turn my head slightly to look at Soarin’s brother. “Course I am, it was only a silly race, after all.”
Wave Chill shakes his head. “We all know it wasn’t, Dash. Don’t worry, there’ll still be a place for you on the team next year, I can promise you that.”
I roll my eyes. “Thanks, I’ll just have to work harder, anyway, it’s not like I’ll never see you guys around. I can catch you in between tours I suppose.”
Unfortunately, that’s the thing that hurts the most. I now have to wait a whole year before I get another chance of getting in the team, which means a whole year until I get to be with Soarin’ permanently. I’ll only see him between tours which are probably only a couple of weeks at a time.
“Listen, I know you’re upset about this. At least talk to Soar about it,” Wave Chill smiles and walks away.
Twilight finishes cleaning my nose up, “All done, try and rest, Dash. I know you don’t want to end up in the hospital again.” She walks away, leaving me alone with Soarin’.
I glance up at the Pegasus beside me. “I’m sorry, Soar. I really blew it this time, didn’t I?”
Soarin’ smiles and shakes his head. “No, it wasn’t fair, Dashie. It wasn’t your fault.”
“But, it’s going to be another year before we get to be together properly,” I say sadly as I rest my head on his chest.
“Hey, we can handle that. I’ll see you as much as I possibly can, and maybe I can convince Spitfire to let you travel with us occasionally, just so we can spend some time together. Anyway, it’s only a year; we don’t have to wait long. Okay?” He wraps his forelegs around me and holds me close to him.
Sighing in defeat I move so I can look up at him. “Okay, we’ll be fine. Let’s make the most of the three weeks you have left here.”
Soarin’ smiles and kisses me gently as he wraps his soft wings around me.
Although I’ve pretty much pushed the race to the back of my mind, it is still there. Constantly reminding me of what I’ve lost, what I could’ve had. The only thing keeping me sane is the Pegasus holding me in his arms. All I can hope is that he’s right when he says that we’ll only have to wait a year.
I’ll be back, and I’ll be better than ever. Just wait and see.
Soarin' and I fly home in silence, although I refuse to admit it, I am still pretty upset about the race. Still, maybe it's for the better. It gives me a year to overcome my nightmares and flashbacks. If I had won this race, I would have ended up freezing up with the Wonderbolts.
What if the screaming never stops, though? That means I'll never become a Wonderbolt. No, that's not going to happen. I'm going to come back fighting, and with Soarin' to help I can perfect a few tricks which will make me look better. I can do this, I will do this.
Soarin' has constantly been watching me with a look of concern plastered across his face from the moment we departed the library. I don't think he knows that I've noticed, but the big dope really needs to stop worrying about me, I'm okay. Like I've said before, it was just a silly race.
Okay, that's a complete lie: it wasn't just a silly race. My whole dream of becoming a Wonderbolt was resting on the results of that race. If the crowds weren't there, I would have won. I need to stop; I learnt my lesson of being a sore loser back when Applejack and I competed in the running of the leaves. This time, I didn't cheat, but I can't stop thinking about the race, thinking about the 'what if's' and 'if only's'. I just need to forget about this race and move on, if I don't forget about it now I will never get back up on my hooves again and I'll never be able to get into the Wonderbolts.
I can feel Soarin’s eyes constantly on me as we slowly fly towards my grand cloud home, which is sitting alone in the sky, isolated from everything. Although I can feel him watching me, I pretend to be oblivious to it. The air is tense between us as I can feel a question forming on the tip of Soar’s tongue, and he’s anxious to ask it.
Finally, we touch down on the soft cloud and I sigh in relief, glad to be away from that awkward flight. I enjoy hanging out with Soarin’, but I just know that he wants to ask if I’m okay. I don’t want to tell him that I’m not, but I know that I’ll have to because I can’t lie to him. That’s why I’m dreading walking upstairs and having this conversation with him. That’s why I try and drag it out as long as possible by slowly taking out my key, taking my time as I unlock the door and drag my hooves as I walk into the warmth of my house.
Slowly, I trudge up the stairs into my room. Soarin' follows behind me, stopping me just before I sit down on my bed.
"Dashie, I know you aren't okay," he frowns, of course he knows I'm upset, he'd be upset if he was put in the same situation too.
"Okay, Soar, I'm not okay." I kick the soft cloud with my hoof.
Soarin' sits down on my bed, pulling me to sit next to him. "Okay, well talk to me about it, what's hurting you the most?"
I groan inwardly, hating to admit that I'm hurting, but Soarin' is the only pony I can actually talk to about this stuff, I can't bottle it up. "The fact that I let the screams control me. They won't stop, Soar, I hate it."
"Next time, try and imagine a sound that comforts you drowning out the screams. Maybe that will help?" Soarin' suggests gently. "But I'm always here to help Dashie, even when I'm back at HQ I'll just be a letter away."
Lying back on the bed, I nod in acceptance. He's right, I'll always have him here to help me, and I'll be okay. "Thank you," I whisper as I pull him down beside me. "Tomorrow we're giving Scootaloo some flight lessons after school, is that okay with you?"
Hopefully tomorrow will be a good day. Scootaloo is the type of filly that can always make you happy, always make you forget your problems. Still, I sometimes worry about her. She and her fellow Cutie Mark Crusaders tend to go off gallivanting straight into danger, some days I stay close by, just to make sure they don't do anything overly stupid. Fortunately, I have never had to interfere with their crusading since there have been no life threatening accidents, thank Celestia.
Then I wonder about her parents, and why they've never bothered to teach her to fly. All Pegasi fly within their first few months constantly, but forget once they reach the age of one. Most Pegasi relearn the skill of flying once they reach the age of three. Scootaloo is now almost ten and she can only hover off the ground for a few seconds at the most. I know of her parents as well, it's not as if they're Earth Ponies or Unicorns, even then I'd expect them to send her up to flight camp. Whenever I ask Scootaloo about it, she just says they're too busy and she'd rather if I taught her. Not that I'm complaining, I love hanging out with the squirt.
Soarin' smiles at me. "That's great, I met her the other day whilst you were waiting to be discharged, and she's awesome on her scooter."
I laugh, "Yeah, we're all convinced that's what her cutie mark should be, but it's not like we can tell her. She and her friends are trying all sorts of crazy things to try and get it, although time and time again we tell them to look at what they already know."
"Well, her wings seem to be pretty powerful already; I mean they're powerful enough to lift her and the scooter. Why can't she fly already?" He frowns, asking the question which has been on my mind for months now.
"How about you try and ask her, maybe she'll tell you." I look at him sadly, I sometimes just want to go and yell at her parents for abusing her like this, why would you not teach your Pegasus foal how to fly?
Soarin' shakes his head. "She looks up to you, Dashie. If she didn't tell you she certainly won't tell me."
Sighing in defeat, I rest my head on his soft chest. "I suppose we should get some sleep, it's getting pretty late." I mumble sadly.
"Don't worry about it, Dashie, she'll learn how to fly, she has the best Pegasus teaching her." He wraps his forelegs around me and pulls me close.
I chuckle and glance up at him, a grin spread across my face. "You're a bit cocky, aren't you?"
Soarin' rolls his eyes. "No, I'm talking about you."
"I know, I just wanted to hear you say it." I smirk and close my eyes. "Goodnight, Soar."
Slowly, I drift off into the world of sleep, the last thing I hear before total silence is Soarin' whispering, "Goodnight, Dashie, we'll be okay. I promise."
****
The sun shines brightly through the window of my bedroom. Soarin' stirs beside me before falling back asleep. I smile as I slowly slide out from his embrace and walk over to check the weather Rota. I have been put back on patrol since there has been a lack of Pegasi after the accident last week.
Sighing in annoyance, I place my goggles on over my head and walk over to Soarin', gently shaking him awake. He mumbles in confusion before opening his sleep filled eyes.
"Wha-huh? Why are you up so early, Dashie?" He mumbles, clearly still half asleep.
"I have weather patrol; I'll come get you once I'm done okay?" I kiss him gently before he rolls over and instantly falls back asleep.
I fly out of the window, not bothering to get breakfast, and head towards the edge of the town where the clouds are usually clear. Today, they seem to be quite sparse, so I don't think it will take me too long. Plus, I have about three hours before Scootaloo gets out of school, so I have all the time I need.
The town is silent, not a single pony around, the only sound to be heard is one of some birds chirping away as they fly overhead.
I begin to kick the clouds, gently at first, making sure to examine each one for electrical currents beforehand. However, as I progress, I decide to play a game by throwing the cloud up in the air and bucking it as hard as I can. Soon enough, I've finished the job and begin to return home, but I make a quick stop at the library first.
Twilight Sparkle is sitting at her desk reading, as per usual and the Wonderbolts are beginning to pack up their stuff for their journey home tomorrow.
"Hey, Rainbow!" Spitfire greets when she spots me walking through the door.
I smile and wave at her, I wonder if Soarin' will get a chance to hang out with them before they leave tomorrow.
"Hey Captain, what time are you heading back tomorrow morning?" I ask as I sit down on the floor beside her bag.
Spitfire places her suit onto of the rest of her possessions before pulling the bag shut. "Bright and early, six AM on the dot. Why do you ask?"
"Why don't you stay at my place tonight? It's closer to Cloudsdale and I'm sure Soarin' would want to spend the night with you guys," I smile at Spitfire, hoping that she'll accept my offer.
The Wonderbolts captain grins at me. "Are you sure you can handle six more Wonderbolts in your house, Rookie?"
I roll my eyes. "Of course I can; anyway, I want to show you guys some tricks of my own."
Spitfire laughs and nods. "Okay, we'll be around later this evening. See you later, Dash."
I spread out my wings and give her a quick salute before flying out the door as fast as I can. The clock in the town square chimes two PM, indicating that school is about to finish. Knowing that I'm late, I speed across the town, my mane being pushed back by the sudden force of the wind. Within ten seconds flat, I'm at the other side the town, arriving at the school just as Scootaloo's class files out.
Scootaloo sees me in an instant and waves to her fellow crusaders as she runs into my forelegs and hugs me. "Hey Dash! Where's Soarin'?"
"He was asleep when I had to get up and do weather duties, we're going to go and grab him now." I smile and ruffle the filly's mane before placing her on my back.
I feel her hooves wrap around my neck as I prepare to fly. Behind me, Scootaloo giggles in excitement as I shoot off into the sky, back towards my home where Soarin' is probably still sleeping.
The moment we touch down on the soft cloud of my home, Scootaloo hops off of my back and begins to bounce up and down, excited that her hooves are touching the unfamiliar surface. From what I know, she has only been up in the clouds once before, when I took her on a day trip to Cloudsdale, a few months ago.
The filly had been so excited that she began rolling around giggling in joy as the soft white cloud got caught in her purple mane.
"Thank you, Dash! This has been the best day ever!" Scootaloo bounced up and down as she looked at Cloudsdales architecture in awe.
"Wow, squirt, you make it seem as if you've never seen Cloudsdale before." I commented, completely oblivious to her situation.
The orange filly blushed as she gently kicked the cloud with her hoof. "Well, I've never even been on a cloud before." She mumbled sheepishly.
I stood there with a gobsmacked expression plastered across my face, as I attempted to find the right words. "W-wait," I stuttered, completely shocked. "You've never been on a cloud before? Why didn't your parents ever take you?"
Scootaloo looked away, her purple eyes full of evident unease. "They were busy, you know, with work and stuff." She lied through her teeth, her eyes were full of pain as she lied to her idol.
I carefully picked up the young Pegasus and placed her on my back. Although it was blatantly obvious that she lied to me, I decided not to push it because I was only just gaining her trust. I didn't want to scare her off.
I'm thrown back into reality as I watch Scootaloo bounce happily into my home, bumping straight into Soarin's tall light blue body.
"Whoa, hey there kiddo, how was school?" He asks as he stops her from stumbling over.
Scootaloo looks up at Soarin' with an expression which shows that she sees him as just another pony and not as a Wonderbolt, but I can tell that she respects him greatly. I never expected her to like him this quickly; it can be hard to get on the good side of Scootaloo even if you are a Wonderbolt.
"It was so boring! But, we're planning our next crusading attempt," Scootaloo beams at Soarin' as I wonder what their stupid idea is going to be this time.
Soarin' raises an eyebrow at her. "Oh, well what are you going to do this time?"
"Abseiling, of course. It's going to be so fun!" Her wings buzz excitedly as she flutters a foot off the ground before landing again.
My eyes widen in shock as I imagine the three Cutie Mark Crusaders abseiling down a mountain. That definitely won't end well; it looks like I'm going to have to hang close by when that happens.
Soarin' chuckles at my expression, before turning to Scoots. "Right, well, be careful okay?"
Scootaloo grins and nods before turning to me. "Are we going to go flying now, Dash?"
"Yup, Soar can give you the ride down if you want?" I ask, knowing how much she'd love to fly with a Wonderbolt.
I know that deep down she is jumping up and down in joy because she's in the presence of a Wonderbolt, something that not every pony gets to experience, but she's trying to keep her cool and treat him as if he's one of us, which he is. I'm proud of her for the way she's handling it because I didn't even handle it this well. Okay, I'm pretty sure I passed out the first time I got to talk to a Wonderbolt, so I definitely didn't handle it as well as she is. I know that Soarin' probably appreciates it too because it can get pretty annoying being surrounded by fanfillies non-stop.
Soarin' bends down and allows Scootaloo to climb happily onto his back, before she wraps her forelegs around his neck. She has a smile spread across her face as she prepares herself for the flight ahead of her.
"We'll go to the park by Sugar Cube Corner because that has the emptiest space," I smile as I watch Soarin' stretch out his wings and prepare to fly.
Scootaloo lets out a small giggle which melts my heart instantly. I may not act sappy around other ponies but when it comes to Scootaloo, well I just can't help it. She's like the little sister I never had, I promised I'd take care of her and take her under my wing and that's exactly what I've done.
Somehow, she has managed to make me forget about all the problems which have been haunting me for the past few days. She always seems to make me feel like a better person. It's strange, in the few months I've gotten close to her, I've changed a lot. I never thought I could love something as much as I love her, and now Soarin' has come along and the two of them together has made me a sappy mess. I kind of like it though, I feel happy for once in my life. Not that I'd admit it to any pony.
Soarin' flies ahead of me with Scootaloo holding onto him as he slices through the air with ease. I can hear Scootaloo yelling at him to fly faster, and he obliges without protest. I take my time for a change; giving Scootaloo and Soarin' a chance to bond because I have a feeling they'll be seeing a lot more of each other.
Now that I've been left alone to my own thoughts, the screams are beginning to dully ring in the back of my mind. Still, it is bearable, but only just. My wings quiver slightly in fear, but I continue to fly. I need to get used to flying again, I cannot let the screams take over my life. The park begins to appear before me, and I descend towards the ground to find Soarin' already giving Scootaloo some key tips.
My hooves touch the cool grass, sending shivers through my body. Slowly, I walk over to the two Pegasi, to see Scootaloo flapping her wings vigorously. I put on a brave face as I attempt to block out the screams, gradually they grow quieter, they're still there but they are now only a whisper.
"Whoa, whoa, squirt. You'll sprain a wing if you do that," I say gently. "Try flapping then slower, bringing them as high as they can go, then as low as they can go."
She takes my advice and begins to give her wings more powerful flaps. Her hooves very slightly come off the ground. Her small orange wings tremble slightly as her body floats higher and higher.
Soarin' looks at me in concern before reaching up and gently bringing her to the ground again. "Okay, that was good but your wings aren't very strong at the moment."
Scootaloo looks up at us, disappointment evident across her face which sends pangs of guilt all through my body.
"Hey, don't worry we can do some exercises which will fix that in no time," Soarin' reassures. "Plus, you've already gotten the hang of hovering, which is the tricky part."
Hovering was the one thing I managed to teach her during our only lesson last month. I would have had more with her, but summer was over and then the whole accident happened. Nonetheless, I'm impressed that she's practiced and she must have practiced a lot.
Scootaloo's face changes from one of disappointment to one of joy within a nanosecond. "So, what exercises do you want me to do?"
"Well, you just need to do wing-ups every morning, start on ten the first morning then gradually add on ten more each day. Keep using your scooter too, without that your wings would even be half as good as they are now." Soarin' crouches down by her right wing and carefully begins to examine it. "There isn't anything wrong with them, so there is no reason why you won't be able to fly by the end of this year. Why didn't your parents teach you how to fly?"
I hold my breath, hoping she'll finally tell us the truth. Although, I very highly doubt it, every time I ask she makes up an excuse.
I was relaxing on my regular cloud beneath the afternoon sun, when I heard my name being called from below. I popped my head over the edge to find Scootaloo looking up at me with her round purple eyes, a grin plastered across her face.
"Rainbow! Can you teach me to fly?" she asked.
Slowly, I jumped off of the cloud and landed beside her. "Sure, but why haven't your parents taught you?" I frowned.
The little filly shrugged as if it meant nothing. "Busy, busy, busy, you know. They don't really have a lot of time. Anyway, I'll see you here tomorrow?"
I nodded, but I still felt uneasy about the whole situation. "Okay, sure, Scoots. Remember, if you need to talk I'm here okay."
I blink as I'm thrown back into reality, to find Scootaloo looking up at us both with a very uneasy smile across her face.
"Oh, they're very busy you know," she says nonchalantly. "Anyway, I need to go. Bye Soar, bye Dash, thanks for the lesson!" She gallops off out of the park, leaving Soarin' and I staring after her, dumbstruck.
Soarin' looks around the park in confusion as if he's only just realised that Scootaloo has run off. The both of us stand in silence, still shocked from the sudden departure of the young filly.
Without the distraction of teaching Scootaloo how to fly, the screaming begins to grow in my mind. It is always there; always present but sometimes it's easier to cover it up. Now is not one of those times. My legs shake as if they've turned to jelly and the screams grow louder and louder, suddenly blocking out all sound around me.
Soarin' is now looking at me, his emerald eyes full of concern. I put a smile on my face, pretending that I'm okay. Squeezing my eyes shut for a few moments, I take a deep breath and wait, hoping that they'll slowly begin to die down.
Hooves are now on my shoulders, shaking me, attempting to get me to open my eyes. When I do, we're in the cave, surrounded by fallen debris. Soarin' is standing in front of me as his lips move quickly. All I can hear are the screams. The never ending screams.
Gasping for air, I look around in fear, we need to get out. Suddenly, the roof caves in on us, causing me to scream out in fear. Soarin' continues to call out to me; his voice is muffled by the noises all around me. The crumbling of rocks, the constant screaming and then there is silence. I fall onto my flank and begin to sob uncontrollably.
Soarin' is beside me as he silently comforts me, not needing to say a word. When will these screams go away? How long will they haunt me for? I do not know, but all I can do is hope that it doesn't affect my chances of becoming a Wonderbolt, because if it does, I will never forgive myself.
After about an hour of struggling to push the screams right into the back of my mind, Soarin' suggests we go see Twilight, in hope of finding a cure or a spell to help me. Reluctantly, I accept and allow him to drag me to the library with hardly any fuss. However, I remember that the other Wonderbolts are supposed to come around to my house tonight, so I hope that they haven't left the library already.
Soarin' opens the door silently and glances around before spotting his fellow teammates. He nods towards them and walks over to Twilight to explain the whole situation to her. I sit down where he left me and wait patiently as I try to keep a clear head, I don't want the screams to start haunting me again, especially not here.
Spitfire sees me sitting alone, so she decides to sit beside me for a chat. "Hey, Rookie, I thought we were meeting you at your place?"
"We were, but Soar wanted to see Twilight first, once we're done you guys can come back with us if you want." I keep my eyes straight as I focus on the bookshelf across the room from us.
Spitfire nods, leaving us both sitting in silence until Soarin' returns with Twilight following close behind. I breathe in shakily, knowing that I'm going to be interrogated by the purple Unicorn. I'm not looking forward to this at all.
"Hey, Dashie. Twilight wants to talk to you," Soarin' smiles at me but it is evident that he's worried. Sighing, I stand up walk over to Twilight with Soarin'. She smiles at me with her eyes full of concern, before leading me out into the kitchen so we're alone.
"Well, Dash, Soarin' told me your problem and there is a spell to help. However, you will have to get it done once a week for the next couple of months, and the screams will gradually begin to nullify. Are you alright with that?" Twilight asks.
I nod enthusiastically, I just want the screaming to go away because, well, I hate to say it but it's holding me back from my dreams. "When do we start?"
"Well, we can do the first lot right now, and you can come back this time next week for the second round? But, just to warn you, it will probably hurt... A lot." Twilight frowns and I just roll my eyes, does she honestly think I can't handle pain?
"I can handle it; can you just do it, please?" I say, completely confident, I'm not the slightest bit scared about the spell which is about to be cast upon me.
Soarin' stands nervously beside me as Twilight Sparkle's purple horn lights up with a violet aura. I watch as she walks forward and lightly presses her horn against my forehead, sending her magic through my skull. It is as if the magic is burning the screams away, because it feels like my brain is on fire. I squeeze my eyes shut and pretend that I cannot feel the searing pain which is tearing through my mind.
My legs shake slightly, as my whole body is now beginning to feel weak from the pain, but I somehow manage to stay standing. Slowly, the screams begin to grow quieter and disappear before the burning morphs into a soothing warmth which caresses my mind as if it's apologising for the recent pain which it caused.
Twilight steps away and I slowly open my eyes before glancing around me. Both ponies are watching me in concern as I take a deep, shaky breath and force a smile upon my face.
"That didn't hurt at all!" I lie, trying to sound brave like my mum always told me to do.
Twilight frowns slightly as if she knows that I've lied, but she brushes the thought away. "Does it feel slightly better?"
I nod and grin. "Yup, right now they're just a quiet whisper but I'm sure they'll get louder again later, but hopefully not as loud as they used to be. Thank you, Twilight."
Soarin' is still sending me glances of concern as I say my goodbyes to Twilight and walk back into the main library. Spitfire smiles and waves a hoof at us both before trotting over to us.
"So, are we heading off now?" Spitfire inquires and I glance up at Soarin' who now looks completely lost.
"Yup, sure," I smile and turn to the light blue Wonderbolt. "I invited them to stay over tonight, so you got some extra time with them."
Soarin's face changes from one of confusion to one of joy within a nanosecond, which makes my heart melt instantly. I sometimes hate myself for how sappy I've become recently, but when I look at Soarin' I don't regret it whatsoever.
Smiling, I stretch out my wings with more effort than usual. It seems that the spell Twilight cast took more out of me than I first thought. Nonetheless, I put on my usual brave face and prepare myself for flight.
"Are you ready?" I ask the other Wonderbolts and when I receive enthusiastic nods in return, I shoot off into the sky.
We race towards my cloud home in silence, somehow, I've managed to get ahead of all of the Wonderbolts, and it seems as if they're struggling to keep up. Still, it's probably because it's late at night and we're all tired. My heart pounds in my chest as I feel the breeze in my mane without the fear of freezing up because of those dreaded screams that have been haunting me for the past few weeks.
I land on my porch and collapse on the soft cloud, panting heavily due to the workout I just endured. I'm followed close behind by Fleetfoot and Spitfire, who collapse beside me, equally as tired.
"Good race, Rookie." Spitfire breathes heavily and tries to gain her composure again.
I slowly sit up and stretch my wings out, suddenly feeling more relaxed after that race. Twilight's spell is actually working; maybe the terrors of the screams will be a mere fragment of my past. Of course, I'm still going to have to endure at least five more helpings of that spell to ensure that I will never be haunted by those screams again. Nonetheless, the feeling of being free again is exhilarating and makes me want to fly around in joy. I miss flying, I haven't been able to have a proper flight without freezing up and stopping dead in my tracks. Hopefully, I will now be able to get back on track and catch up for the few weeks of training that I've missed.
Once all of the Wonderbolts have arrived, I climb to my hooves and open my front door. I'm suddenly attacked by a flying tortoise, getting hit square in the jaw. I groan and catch Tank as he dizzily spins around from the impact he just gave me.
Soarin' blinks slightly. "He wasn't here before, was he?"
I laugh and shake my head. "No, Fluttershy must have just brought him back today; she knew I needed to recover. Still, I've missed you Tank." I lovingly pat his firm shell and rub my cheek against his. Realising that I'm being watched by all of the Wonderbolts, I carefully place Tank down inside and walk over to the kitchen to get some snacks.
"Make yourselves at home," I say to my guests as I turn around and find that they've already made my living room into their own bedroom.
Laughing softly, I place the snacks down and decide that we're celebrating so we might as well have some alcohol to go along with it all. We all sit together in my sitting room and laugh cheerfully as we spend the Wonderbolts last night in Ponyville together.
I wake up with a pounding headache to find that I'm sprawled out on my sitting room floor, surrounded by the Wonderbolts who are in the same state that I'm in. Groaning, I push myself up to my hooves and look around the room to analyse what damage that's been done. Fortunately, not a lot.
As I try to remember what happened last night, I look around and find dozens of empty cider mugs littering the floor. It didn't take Fetlock Holmes to piece my fuzzy, and quickly fading, memory to the cider mugs. All I remember doing last night is bringing the alcohol and... Well that's about it.
I squint at the clock pinned above my television and find that it's almost six AM. The Wonderbolts will be leaving soon; I wonder who will have the task of waking up a hung-over Spitfire. Horsefeathers, it's going to be me considering the state of the others. Oh, sweet Celestia, who will save me now?
Soarin' is lying on his front, fast asleep, snoring softly. Maybe I could wake him up and get him to do the dangerous task of disturbing the captain from her peaceful slumber. Slowly, I walk over and poke Soarin's side. All I get in return is a groan and a snort before he rolls over, turning his back from me.
"Soar, wake up," I whisper as I nudge him with the tip of my hoof.
Still, Soarin' refused to stir. I turn my head and pluck one of my feathers from my wing and tickling him with it. Soarin's body twitches slightly and suddenly his eyes shoot open as he laughs uncontrollably. Once I see that he's awake, I drop the feather and grin at him.
"Good morning, sweetie!" I beam at him as he rubs his head in confusion.
"Why do I have such a bad headache?" he groans.
I laugh softly and help him to his hooves. "You're hung-over. March on through it, soldier, that's what I'm doing." Even though my head is pounding, I pretend I can't feel anything, like I do with everything else. At least the screaming hasn't come back, yet. I know Twilight's spell is effective, but I also know that it's not going to make it all disappear so easily.
"Don't the others need to get going soon?" Soarin' asks as he glances around at his sleeping teammates.
Even though this isn't a laughing situation, it's still hilarious. Spitfire is hanging off the back of the sofa, her mane a complete mess. Fleetfoot has somehow managed to make her way to the top of one of the cupboards in the kitchen, and she seems to be sleeping comfortably there. Wave Chill, Rapidfire and Misty Fly have ended up piled up together on the floor in a drunken heap.
I glance at Soarin', trying to find a way to break the news to him. "Exactly, so it's your job to wake up Spitfire, right? Considering you're second in command and everything."
Soarin's face literally pales, and he looks as if he's going to be sick, the fact that he's hung-over probably isn't helping. "I-I can't, Dashie, can't you do it? She would kill me. She's like the She-Devil when you disturb her even if she's sober; imagine if you disturbed her when she was hung-over!"
I roll my eyes and nod. "Fine, but you owe me."
Soarin' sighs in relief and wraps his hooves around my neck. "Thank you, Dashie! You're the best, you're brilliant and you're awesome!"
"Okay, okay, chill with the compliments. It's not going to be that bad. Why don't you wake the others?" I pull away slightly and look at him to find a smirk forming across his face.
"You don't have to worry about them. Spitfire will take care of them." he snickers.
I laugh softly and kiss his cheek before pulling away. "You really are evil, aren't ya?"
Soarin' grins before running up the stairs to my room, for safety. I think back to my time at the Wonderbolts Academy, and understand why Soarin' is running away. It was bad enough spending a few weeks with Spitfire like that, let alone your entire career. Still, it was fun and I loved every second of it. It kind of hurts to think that I have to wait a year to return, all because of that stupid race that I lost.
Slowly, and cautiously, I walk over to Spitfire. I take a deep breath before reaching out and shaking her. She groans slightly, and mumbles under her breath before thrashing her hooves about angrily, making me jump back in shock.
"U-Um, Captain, you need to be heading off soon." I whisper and shake her again.
Spitfire's eyes shoot open and she sends me a glare. "What time is it?"
"It's, uh, ten past six, ma'am." I straighten reflexively, like a meek soldier presenting herself in front of her commanding officer.
The yellow mare stays silent for a few moments as she climbs to her hooves and analyses the state her comrades are in.
Suddenly, she steps back before shouting: "Alright, fillies, time to get your flanks up and back to Cloudsdale. Now!"
Groans from the rest of the Wonderbolts fill the room and a groggy Wave Chill mumbles, "Who was cruel enough to wake up the captain before us?"
Spitfire growls and takes a step towards Wave Chill who has now escaped pushed a confused Misty and Rapid off of him as he cowers back against a wall.
"Wave Chill, do you want to be the one to carry back all of our luggage?" she hisses.
Wave Chill shakes his head, his dark blue mane flopping from side to side as he does so. "N-No, ma'am. Sorry, ma'am."
Spitfire smirks and flies over to Fleetfoot and pulls her down from the top of the cupboard. Fleetfoot shrieks and catches herself by fluttering her wings.
"All of you get your flanks over here with your belongings." Spitfire glances around the room. "And Soarin', you better come out of your hiding place or we'll drag your sorry flank back with us."
Everypony slowly moves as they gather their stuff, trying to hide the fact that their heads are killing them. A sheepish Soarin' appears at the top of the stairs and he flies down slowly before standing beside me.
"I told you she was like a She-Devil," he whispers to me.
Spitfire, who has obviously heard him, glares at Soarin' which makes him yelp in shock and hide behind me.
"I'm gonna start the countdown." Spitfire warns causing everypony to go from dead slow to as fast as possible.
"Oh Celestia, please don't do the countdown!" Fleetfoot begs in fear.
It's obvious that the Wonderbolts have to deal with Spitfire like this quite often; she definitely fits the role of captain. No wonder Captain Hurricane picked her. Even though they are all like a family, they still know when to stop joking around because Spitfire has the control.
"Five, four, thr-" Spitfire stops to find that all of her comrades are standing in their military stance with their right hooves on their foreheads.
"Good, right, we need to be heading off..." She glances around the room to find what mess they'll be leaving behind. "Sorry about the mess, Rainbow, I'm sure Soarin' will be willing to help, won't you, Soar?"
"Y-yes, ma'am!" He nods in fear and I smirk slightly.
I step forward and hug Spitfire, causing the others to gasp in fear.
"D-Dashie, I wouldn't do that if I were you!" Soarin' warns and I simply roll my eyes.
Spitfire laughs softly and returns the hug. "I'm not that evil, guys, c'mon. Thanks, Dash, you can come visit any time and keep an eye out for the letter calling you back to the Academy next year. It was nice spending time with you, Rookie."
I smile and nod. "I'm sorry that I can't be on your team sooner, Captain. Don't worry, though, I'll be back and I won't be giving up so easy."
"That's what I like to hear. Say your goodbyes everypony; we have two minutes before we take off," she tells them before going to say goodbye to Soarin'.
Wave Chill walks over and hugs me tightly. "Take good care of my brother, okay?" he whispers in my ear. I smile and nod. "Of course I will."
"And if you need anything, we're always a letter away. We'll probably see you around a lot more now that you're with Soar, anyway." he smirks as a blush forms on my cheek.
"Yeah, yeah. I'll see ya, Wave." I shake my head as I try to get rid of the blush.
"Good race, the other day, Dash. You almost kicked all of our flanks. Next time, you will for sure." Fleetfoot smiles and hugs me.
I smile as I watch everypony say their goodbyes to Soarin'. Rapidfire walks over to me once he's done, and he looks at his hooves guiltily.
"Hey, Dash. I'm sorry about before, you know, the race. I thought you were gonna win for sure. If I had known..." he mumbles, pawing the floor.
I place a hoof on his dark fur. "It's fine, Rapid. I thought I was gonna win for sure, too," I pause and laugh softly. "I just need to get over my fears first; I wouldn't have stopped except..." I trail off and shake my head. "Anyway, the point is I should have known I wasn't in a fit state to fly. It's not your fault. Anyway, I'll be back, don't you worry about that."
Rapidfire nods slightly and walks back next to Spitfire. "See you in a few weeks' time, Soar, don't cause too much havoc here." he smirks and Soarin' laughs.
"Can't make any promises. See you guys later." He waves as they take off and head towards Cloudsdale.
"See ya!" They all call and wave. "Thanks, Dash!"
Finally, the house is silent and I glance up at Soarin'. "How about we go back to bed?"
"That sounds like a great idea!" he grins.
We fly back up to my bedroom silently, too tired to talk as we collapse on the bed, falling asleep before our heads even hit the pillow.
****
The Wonderbolts fly away from Rainbow's cloudhome, as Ponyville grows smaller beneath them. Spitfire flies on ahead, her fellow comrades seem to be flying well behind as they avoid the wrath of their captain. Spitfire keeps her eyes straight as she thinks about her second in command, who she left behind.
"Spit?" Fleetfoot calls gently, speeding up so she's flying beside her best friend and captain.
"Hey, Fleet, just worried about Rainbow Dash," Spitfire frowns slightly.
Fleetfoot pauses midflight as she ponders on what Spitfire just said, before returning to her friend's side. "Why are you worried? I mean, I know she lost the race and all but she'll be back."
"Yeah but Fleet... Why did she lose the race? She was winning right up until the end." Spitfire continues to look out into the distance.
"Soarin' told us it was just because she was still a bit traumatised from the... Uh... Accident. Spit, don't worry about it, she'll be okay." Although Fleetfoot is trying to remain optimistic, she is also worried about Rainbow.
Both her and Soarin' were in a traumatic experience and although Soarin' seems to be doing okay, they all know they're struggling. It seems that Rainbow Dash, surprisingly, has had more trouble coping with it. It's not as if Rainbow is suddenly going to get better. What if her struggle doesn't improve by next year? What if she's still afraid? The littlest thing can remind her of the incident that happened at the cave.
"If she doesn't get better, Soar will probably want to stay with her," Spitfire sighs sadly. "It's not like I can stop him or anything, the bloke is free to do what he wants. But still, if he stays we'll lose two important parts of the team."
"We can't, like, forget about the deal we made and let Rainbow come back to the Academy... Can we?" Fleetfoot asks with trepidation, already aware of the answer.
Wave Chill, who has been silently listening in to the conversation, cautiously flies over to join the other two.
"Of course not, Fleet, you already know that it can't happen." Spitfire shakes her head and allows Wave Chill to join without any protest.
"Captain, we both know Soarin' well enough to know that even if Rainbow gets better he will want to stay with her until next year. I spoke to him after the race, he seemed pretty upset. He knows it's his duty to return to the HQ after his break but he doesn't want to leave Rainbow behind..." Wave Chill pauses for a moment. "We don't know how well he's really coping with this whole thing either, Spit, he could be struggling as much as Rainbow for all we know. He's always been good at hiding things even when we were kids."
Wave Chill looks away as he thinks about the last time Soarin' had gone through a traumatic experience. It had been when their father had passed away when Soarin' was sixteen and Wave Chill was thirteen.
Soarin' had been more attached to their father than Wave Chill had but when Soarin' was told the news of his father's passing he didn't react. He pretended he was okay, that nothing had happened but one day it all came flooding back to him and he snapped. He broke down into tears and let out everything he was holding back.
Their mother thought that now he had let go of all the bad feelings he'd be okay again but she was so, so wrong. Soarin' began to distance himself from everyone, everything. Wave Chill tried to help him, but he couldn't do anything. He should have talked to him about it beforehand. He could have helped...
Misty's voice pulls Wave Chill out of his thoughts. "Rainbow wouldn't let him stay, no matter what, she's too proud to keep him there unless it's really important. Anyway, we can always let Soar go back to Ponyville on holidays or weekends if we aren't busy and Rainbow can come visit us too."
Spitfire sighs and nods slightly. "Alright, I'm sure it'll all be okay. Let's just face the problems when they come guys, we're the Wonderbolts for Celestia's sake. We're always okay."
The team returns to flying silently, each of them trying to stop worrying about their friend and fellow comrade. Still, they can't help but worry, even just a little.
The bed shifts beneath me, disturbing me from my slumber. As I open my eyes and sleepily glance around the room I find that Soarin' has just sat down beside me. I wonder how long he's been awake. I push myself into an upright position and wrap my forelegs around his waist.
"Hey, what're you doing up? It's only eleven," I mumble into his mane and hold him close.
Soarin's shoulders shake as his laugh fills the room. "Oh, I was just doing a bit of cleaning, you know."
My eyes widen in shock and I pull away so I can have a good look at him. "You seriously tidied up that mess everypony made?"
"Most of it, I did make you wake up a hung-over Spitfire. I had to make it up to you," he grins his regular goofy grin, the one that I fell for in the first place.
Rolling my eyes, I jump off of the bed and walk down the stairs to find that my sitting room is pretty much back to normal. All that is left is a few rubbish bags full of plastic plates and leftover food. I never knew Soarin' had the patience to clean; I don't even have that type of willpower!
Soarin' comes down the stairs close behind me and I turn to face him with a smile across my face.
"Thanks, Soar, you're brill!" I beam and wrap my forelegs around him.
Soarin' laughs softly and holds me close. "No problem, Dashie. I knew that I needed to help since I contributed to the mess... Also, Spitfire would've killed me if I didn't help."
I smile slightly, imagining Spitfire angrily chasing Soarin' around because he didn't help tidy the HQ, now that, I have to see that one day.
"Well, thank you. How about we go out for a flight today?" I throw a foreleg around his shoulders and pull him close to me.
As I pull his body against mine our noses accidently bump together. We both freeze and look at each other in sweet silence. He looks deeply into my eyes with his beautiful green ones and I gaze back into his, getting lost in the emerald labyrinth.
Sweet, blissful silence is shared between us as we communicate through our intense gaze, which sends warm flutters throughout my body. I never thought I would feel this way about anypony whatsoever but here I am, foolishly in love.
Love. I play the word in my head over and over again as I realise we have yet to utter those three simple- yet meaningful- words to each other. However, I can wait until he's ready to say them; I could never imagine saying them first, I'm too proud to do that. But I can hardly wait to let my feelings known to him. I have, in fact, loved Soarin' ever since the cave incident. I wonder if he has felt the same way...
Soarin's voice pulls me out of my train of thoughts and back to reality as I look up at the goofy Wonderbolt.
"Should we go fly then, Dashie?" he grins goofily as he pulls me out the door and into the sky.
His grin, his trademark Soarin' grin that is so childish and silly, never fails to make my heart flutter. He is oblivious to the fact that his simple goofy grin gives me such emotions. He will never know about the warmth that shoots through my body when he performs simple gestures such as that one. Don't get me started on the nickname he uses, the one that only he- and occasionally Pinkie- uses. Dashie. The way he says it is far more intense and different to the way Pinkie Pie says it, however. He puts so much love into those two syllables, so much passion... Sweet Celestia, when did I become such a sappy, love struck, sod?
We soar through the sky together and I watch as the wind pushes Soarin's mane back and his tail trails along behind him. I somersault through the air and land gently on a fairly large cloud then sit back and watch Soarin' fly through his solo routine with ease. He flies high into the sky, his nose pointing towards the blue blanket above us, and then he smoothly flips his body so it's facing in a vertical line. His wings which were held open up until this point are now sitting comfortably on either side of his body and then he begins to fall.
He rockets towards the ground as his whole body begins to spin, seemingly out of control. I scramble to my hooves and ready myself to zoom into the rescue, however, as I glance over the edge of the cloud at his falling body, I find that he has regained control and is gracefully spinning and somersaulting through the air.
I collapse back onto the cloud and gasp for air because I had been holding my breath without realising. I should have known that move was part of the routine; anyway, Wonderbolts are trained in being able to get out of sticky situations, such as spiraling out of control.
Still, I couldn't help but worry about him, we both almost died not even three weeks ago. I could not bear to almost lose him again; it pains me to even think about it.
Mentally, I slap myself. Come on, Dash, get a hold of yourself. You're not going to let yourself go soft, are ya? I scold myself. It's not true, I haven't gone soft. There is one emotion, very deep down, that everypony has. Even the hardest, most cruel of ponies have it. This emotion is one which some decide to hide and only share with a few of their closest friends and families whereas others want to share it with the whole of Equestria. That emotion is love.
I am one of those hard ponies who pretend they don't hurt and pretend they don't care. I'm one of those ponies who only share my love with a few special ponies. Just because I don't show my love often doesn't mean I don't have it deep within. When I do finally show others the compassion I have inside me, it does not mean I'm going soft it means that I'm strong enough to finally share it.
So, no I am not going soft, in fact, I've grown stronger. I only really show how much I care to a few ponies. Twilight, AJ, Pinkie, Rarity and Fluttershy are all my best friends and I care about them greatly, however, I probably don't show it enough. Although Tank is not a pony, I love him a great deal too but I only show my affection towards him in private. There are only two ponies that I publicly show my affection towards without feeling embarrassed. Scootaloo and Soarin'. When I'm with them, I don't care if I seem soft or weak because I care greatly about them. I care about the others too but this is different. They're like the family that I lost long ago. They make me feel at home.
I stare at the sky above me and watch as the clouds drift peacefully. Slowly, I close my eyes and drift as if I'm one of those clouds...
A sudden weight on my body startles me and I open my eyes, only to see a dark blue mane pressed against my face. I laugh softly and turn my head slightly to find Soarin' lying across me, fast asleep. The sun has past its midday point and I begin to wonder if I had fallen asleep, and if so, for how long? Soarin' must have been practicing for hours, no wonder he's knackered.
I keep my body still in hope of allowing him to get some rest since he did wake up extra early to clean up the mess his comrades left behind. I still have to thank him for that. Soarin' never fails to surprise me in our relationship. I think I know him and then he does something like this which makes me feel all warm and fluttery inside. Celestia, what is happening to me? I can't help the way I feel though, but that doesn't mean I'm going to make it known to the world that I've turned all sappy. I'm going to make sure they still think I'm the confident, cool, Rainbow Dash.
Soarin' begins mumbling softly in his sleep so I lean in closer to listen in. It is then that I realise he's having a nightmare. Although I cannot make out what he's saying, I can tell that he is distressed. His body is tense and suddenly he begins shouting out incoherently.
Gently I push him off me and begin to shake him, trying to wake him up. "Soar, sweetie, wake up! I'm here, it's okay." Soarin' thrashes about as he cries out and suddenly he goes over the edge of the cloud which we were laying on. My heart stops and I feel as if I'm going to be sick. Oh sweet Celestia, why do you do this to us? Without even thinking about it, I am in the air flying after him at once. His eyes are now open and his mouth is wide with a scream which seems to be trapped in his throat.
The last time this happened it was reversed. I was falling after my wings had locked up and Soarin' had to save me. It seems as if we're taking turns in plummeting to our deaths and saving each other. Hopefully this will be the last time but I very much doubt it.
The cone of the sound barrier forms around me but I don't even care about the Sonic Rainboom. All I care about is saving Soarin'. I break through the barrier without even thinking about it and I push myself as fast as I can as I wrap my hooves around Soarin'. Suddenly flying upward, I only barely avoid a hard crash, but I must've been more tired than I thought because carrying Soarin to safety was too difficult a task and we both tumble to the ground, not as soft a landing as I'd hope but we survived.
Soarin's body is shaking on top of me and I can hear his weak sobbing. Slowly, he rolls off me and pulls me on top of him, holding me tightly. I gasp for air as I wrap my hooves around him, images of him hitting the ground at full force flashes through my mind. I almost lost him again.
"Ponyfeathers, Soar, I... I can't lose you," I whisper and look up at him to find his eyes are full of fear.
Soarin' is silent as I sit up and pull him with me, still in his embrace. I can feel his body shaking around me as I take his face in my hooves and feel the dampness of his tears against my fur.
"What happened in your nightmare, Soar?" I whisper gently.
Soarin' shakes his head and just clings onto me. "I don't wanna talk about it..." he whispers in a weak voice.
Tears fill my eyes as I hold him close to me. The only other time I saw Soarin' this frightened was in the cave. His warm body is still shaking violently against me as I desperately try to comfort him.
"Soar, it's alright... It was just a dream," I whisper as I stroke his soft mane and he rests his head on my shoulder.
A pained sob escapes Soarin's lips, which causes my heart to clench and more tears to escape. I just want to help him, why can't I help?
"Come on, let's go home, okay?" I stand up and help him to his hooves.
My body aches slightly from the crash we had moments ago but I ignore it as I stretch out my wings and gently place Soarin' on my back since he's in no condition to fly. I make sure his hooves are wrapped firmly around me before I set off towards my house.
As my house is growing bigger before us, Soarin' seems to calm down slightly and his shaking subsides.
His broken voice reaches my ears just as I prepare to land. "Dashie?"
"Yes, Soar?" I ask gently as I help him off my back.
He looks at me with tired eyes. "C-Can I talk about my nightmare? Last time something happened to me, I didn't talk to anyone about it and it got really bad... I don't want it to happen again, Dashie."
I watch him for a few moments as I wonder what had happened to him before. In the cave when things ended up getting really bad, he stayed frozen, unable to talk at all but he must be talking about something else, I'm just not sure what. I decide it's best to push my curiosity to the back of my mind before nodding and wrapping a wing around him, as I lead him inside.
"Sure, I'm always here to talk if you need it, Soar. I'll help you when things get bad, I promise," I whisper gently as I take a seat on my settee.
Soarin' takes a seat beside me and he looks down at his hooves as he takes a deep breath. I reach over and put a hoof over his in hope of reassuring him.
"We were back at Ghastly Gorge again, but it was after the whole thing had happened. You wanted to go in the cave again to overcome your fear of the place. I tried to stop you because I was beginning to feel uneasy, but you were being as stubborn as you always are and you said 'I'll go in myself then.' So, you did. I waited for you and when you never came back out I got worried so I ran in... It was as if we were thrown back in time or something, because the entrance was blocked off again but this time we were never found. We were so hungry, I kept telling you to hang in there, I begged you but you gave up. It was like all the strings inside of you had broken so you could no longer go on." Soarin' looks at our hooves in silence once he finishes.
I sigh softly as I wrap my hooves around him. "Sweetie, that won't happen. We'll be alright, I promise."
Soarin' nods slightly before leaning against my shoulder and closing his eyes. I absentmindedly stroke his mane, thankful that I was able to make him feel a little better. It hurts seeing him so afraid. It's like the goofy, bubbly Soarin' that I know and love has disappeared. But I will always be there to help him just like he will always be there to help me.
"Hey, Dashie?" He whispers against my fur, his warm breath causes me to shiver.
I glance over at him to find that he's looking back at me. "Yeah?"
A smile forms across his lips as he watches me. "I love you."
I blink in shock and stumble over a few words before I can finally say, "I love you, too, Soar," in return.
A goofy grin spreads across his face as he closes his eyes again. "Thanks for everything, Dashie."
I smile as I lie back on the sofa, pulling him back with me. I never thought that he'd actually say it to me; I never thought he felt the same way but now I know. Right now, I don't care if I'm a sappy, love struck, sod because I love him and there is nothing in the world that could change that.
I hope I've helped Soarin's nightmares disappear, but I have a feeling that it's going to be a rough couple of weeks for the both of us. We only have two weeks left together before Soarin' has to return to the Wonderbolts HQ and I hope he won't suffer with his nightmares there as well.
The dull screaming is beginning to return as the spell Twilight cast is beginning to fade, I know I have to wait a few more days before I can get a top up though. I just hope that the screaming and the nightmares don't stop Soar and I from having a good time together before he has to go.
I can't wait for the day when we aren't troubled by the Gorge.
Soarin' sleeps somewhat peacefully as we lay on the sofa together. I just wish I could help in some way; maybe this is how he feels whenever the screaming haunts me. I feel guilty that I've made him feel this bad or maybe even worse.
I close my eyes in attempt to have a rest but whenever I try I just see Soarin' falling to the ground and me being unable to catch him. My eyes shoot open and wave of nausea runs over me as the first image switches to one of Soarin' getting crushed by a boulder, even when I open my eyes it keeps running through my mind as if it's on repeat. It won't go away, it's getting worse again.
It's obvious that the spell which Twilight cast on me is beginning to wear off since the screams are gradually returning. I suppose three days without this torture is a gift, in a way, but now I have to wait before the spell can be recast. I'm not too sure if I can even handle this wait.
Soarin' stirs from his slumber and I glance at him for a moment. The sun is beginning to set behind Canterlot and I want to go and see Scoots today, so I decide that it's time for me to proceed with the dangerous task of waking him up. Although, it probably won't be as bad as waking up Spitfire, that was probably one of the scariest missions I've ever had to do and this is the fearless Rainbow Dash speaking.
Gently, I nudge the sleeping Wonderbolt in hope to wake him up but when there's no answer I sigh and walk into the kitchen. I could use my feather on him again but that would mean having to pull out another feather which I don't really want to do. I don't really care about how I look but I do care about how my wings look and if they're missing feathers they don't look good and they also don't work as well.
I find a glass and fill it up with ice cold water before returning to the side of the sofa. Thankfully he didn't have a nightmare this time around but that was probably because he was so worn out. He looks so comfortable lying there, I almost feel bad for having to wake him up. Almost.
Standing on my hind legs I take the water in my hooves and tip it over him. Soarin' yelps in shock and his wings shoot up at their sides as he instinctively flies up and away from whatever disturbed him.
Soarin' stares at me in shock for a few moments as I try and fail to hold back my laughter. He runs into the kitchen and I watch him go in confusion. What is that goofball planning on doing now? When he returns with a basin full of water and an evil smirk across his face, my eyes widen in shock and I realise that we're now at war so I fly out of the window as fast as I can.
"It's on, Dash!" Soarin' calls after me and I glance back to find him following me with the basin balancing on his back.
I freeze as I analyse his form and how well poised he is. He truly is a remarkable flyer; the fact that he isn't spilling a drop of water proves that. Suddenly, I realise that he's getting closer to me so I shoot off without any more hesitation. It was a bad idea declaring war upon a Wonderbolt.
Behind me I can hear Soarin's wings flapping as strong as ever as he draws closer and closer to me. I take a sharp left then a sharp right in attempt to confuse him but he still keeps up with me without a problem.
I see a cluster of clouds off to the left of me and I get the perfect idea. Quickly, I fly over to them and search for the ones which are heavy with rain. I fly around them all to make them into a large grey ball.
As I fly back to analyse my work, a pair of hooves wrap around me and I feel Soarin's breath against my ear. My heart pounds in my chest from the adrenaline and I know that there's no way to escape this.
"Gotcha," he whispers softly.
"Horseapples," I mutter under my breath as I feel him pull away. "Fine, I surrender."
I turn to face him and he sends his goofy grin to me before he grabs the basin off of his back and pours all of the water out towards the ground below us. I watch as it falls down over the grassy area underneath us before I gaze up at him in confusion but find that he's disappeared from his spot in front of me and is now flying towards the cloud which I created.
"Aw, no fair, Soar!" I yell and fly after him.
Soarin' turns his head and winks at me and I use this opportunity to catch up with him. I push myself as hard as I can to get closer to him. My hooves are stretched out in front of me as I prepare to push him down onto a cloud before he has a chance to escape. I'm behind him in no time at all and I tackle him down onto a nearby cloud. Soarin' is trapped on the cloud below me. He could push me off of him but he doesn't, we just gaze at each other as we breathe heavily in sync with each other.
"You were gonna use my weapon..." I say in between breaths. "That's a real dirty move, Mr Wonderbolt, real dirty."
Soarin' laughs softly and wraps his wings around me. I sigh and shake my head at him as I gently brush my lips over his.
"You know, you make it very hard for me to be angry at you." I smile.
"Well, that's the whole point, isn't it?" he murmurs as he pulls me closer to him.
I chuckle as I gaze into his emerald eyes which are glistening in the setting sun. I wish I could stay like this forever, in this moment where we aren't bothered by the screams or the nightmares. Where we aren't haunted by the Gorge. It's just us lying together contentedly. But I know that we have to get on with life. One day, we won't be haunted by the accident anymore but we have to go through the pain before we achieve our happiness.
"Thanks, Dashie," Soar whispers as he gently brushes his lips over mine.
"What for?" I say, raising my eyebrow in question.
Soarin' gently touches my cheek with his hoof as he gazes into my eyes. "Even when I'm feeling down you can always make me laugh. That was the most fun I've had in a while," he admits.
I shake my head in amusement. "I just did it to get your lazy flank up!"
"Well, where do you want to go?" he asks gently, knowing instantly that there was a reason to all of this.
"I want to go check on Scoots," I whisper and I rest my forehead on his.
Soarin' nods slightly. "Me too, do you know where she lives?"
"Yeah, I do. I think it's time I go and have a word with them to find out what's been going on," I mumble and climb to my hooves miserably.
I stretch out my wings and Soarin' stands beside me, doing the same. "Do you mind if I come along?"
"Sure, I think it'd be better if you were there with me," I look out into the distance and take a deep breath before flying towards Ponyville's town centre.
Even though the screaming is haunting me, I continue to fly. I'm Rainbow Dash, for crying out loud, I can get through anything. I need to be brave and confident for Scoots. I look over at Soarin' who is flying beside me. I wonder how much he really is affected by the cave. He only seems to be bothered in his dreams but maybe he's as good at hiding his suffering as I am. Well, I admit, I've been seen as pretty weak lately and I need to fix that.
The town is beginning to fall asleep, most of the shops have closed down and the daily market has been packed up and the owners have returned home.
Scootaloo's home is in an enclosed area just behind the town hall, the house is silent and the only sign of life is the warm light coming from the landing. I land on the front lawn and walk down the pathway. Once I reach the front door I glance at Soarin' before taking a breath and knocking on the door loudly.
When nopony answers, Soarin' turns to me and says, "It looks like nopony is here, maybe we should head back?"
"No, there's somepony in there, they left the landing light on," I mumble and hammer on the door even louder.
Finally, the door swings open to reveal Scootaloo's father, Thunder Blaze.
"What do you want, Miss Dash? I've already given you the weather plans for the next month." Thunder Blaze says sharply.
Thunder Blaze is Ponyville's Weather Planner, he works with the ponies in Cloudsdale and helps them plan what weather we should have and then he passes the information on to me. I then create the rota. As the Weather Patrol Manager I can give him suggestions on what would be best for Ponyville at the current time. For example, Sweet Apple Acre's needs more rainstorms since their crops are getting dry so that's been put into this month's rota. Still, since Thunder Blaze works with the Cloudsdale team more so than I do- the only time I ever see the Cloudsdale team is when we have to transport the clouds over to Ponyville-he thinks he has more power over me.
"I'm not here about the work business, Mr Blaze," I tell him bitterly. "I'm here to talk to your daughter."
Thunder Blaze looks at me then at Soarin' and his eyes betray a bit of fear. "H-Hello, Officer," he stutters and salutes Soarin'.
It takes me a few moments to remember that the Wonderbolts are also a Military Force and Soarin' is second in command, I wonder what his reaction would be if Spitfire turned up at his door.
"What has the brat done now?" Thunder Blaze mutters.
Soarin' growls softly under his breath, "Scootaloo hasn't done anything, Sir," he says, the last word dripping with sarcasm.
"Well, Scootaloo isn't here right now, so can you leave my property," Thunder goes to close the door but I put a hoof out and stop him.
"With all due respect, Sir, I know for a fact that Scootaloo is in because she's standing at the top of the stairs so can you please step aside and let us talk to her," I say, my voice growing darker with anger.
Scootaloo stares down at Soarin' and I in shock. Her eyes are slightly red as if she had been crying for a while now which makes me more determined to get in and talk to her.
Thunder Blaze shoots a look back at Scootaloo before shouting, "Get back into your room, you stupid filly."
"Excuse me, don't you dare talk to her like that," I shout and step forward so I can look at him in the eye. "Now, Mr Blaze, you better step aside or, Celestia help me, you'll be sorry," I growl as the rage bubbles up inside of me.
The screams are growing louder inside my mind, but this time they are angry screams. They're making me angrier at Thunder Blaze by the second. It's as if I could snap any moment and I don't care, if this is the way he's always treated Scootaloo then I can see why she never learnt how to fly. He's a spiteful stallion with no heart and hates his sweet and loving daughter. He deserves to be hurt, he deserves to suffer.
Soarin' reaches out and gently puts a hoof on my shoulder and I can barely hear him telling me to calm down. Thunder Blaze laughs which makes the anger bubble up more inside.
"Now, Miss Dash, if you so much as touch me I can get you fired from your job so you better back off," he sneers.
I laugh, "You don't get it, do you? I don't care about my job. I care about that little filly which I took under my wing."
Soarin' steps forward and speaks, "Sir, please step aside or this will have to be an issue which I will need to pass on to
Captain Spitfire, our first in command. We can take you to the courts because you have abused Scootaloo by not teaching her how to fly. If you know what's best for you, you better move."
Thunder Blaze frowns but nods and moves over, letting us both in. He knows what will happen if he's brought to the courts and he knows it wouldn't go in his favour, especially if he had the Wonderbolts against him.
I walk upstairs and go towards the room that has a Wonderbolts poster on the door and I decipher that it's obviously Scootaloo's. I knock gently before opening it to find Scootaloo sitting on her bed with tears in her eyes.
"Hey, Scoots," I say gently and sit in front of her.
Scootaloo throws her arms around me and she clings on tight. "I'm sorry, Dash. I'm sorry," she sobs quietly.
"It's okay, I understand," I whisper and stroke her mane gently. "Now, do you want to tell me what's been going on?"
Scoots nods slightly before pulling away and looking down at her hooves. "Well, mum has been sick since I've been very little, she has to stay in bed most of the time, that's one of the reasons he never taught me when I was younger. We were both too busy looking after her, we were both very worried and we both still are. I suppose he blames me for mum getting sick, he says that I stressed her out too much... Mum says that when she gets better she'll teach me to fly but I know that she's never gonna get better; I don't think she's going to be here that much longer..." She whispers, "That's why I never learnt how to fly, technically I was telling the truth, dad is very busy looking after mum and mum always gets too tired when she tries to teach me..."
I look up at Scootaloo with a few tears in my eyes; I wish I heard of this sooner. "Okay, Scoots, well I will teach you to fly, for your mum... Then you can show her how much you've learnt; tell her everything you've done, alright?"
Scootaloo nods slightly. "Thank you, Dash."
"You know," Soarin' says gently as he walks over to sit on the bed beside her. "It's not your fault your mum is sick..." Scoots looks up at Soarin' with tears in her eyes. "I know, but I don't want her to go, I want her to watch me find my cutie mark..."
Soarin' gently puts a wing around her back. "You want her to be there to watch you grow up, I know, she'll always be watching over you though and you'll make her proud."
"How do you know?" Scootaloo sniffles.
I listen intently as Soarin' begins to tell his story to the filly. "My father suddenly passed away when I was sixteen, I had just been accepted into the Wonderbolts Academy and he had promised to watch me perform in my first show and my last show and every show in between... But he couldn't and I was upset. I pretended everything was okay and hid away all my feelings and all my pain. At some point I broke and push everypony who loved me far away... I thought I couldn't go on; I wanted to quit the Academy... Then I remembered that I had to make him proud, he wouldn't want me to give up just because he was gone..." He looks down at Scootaloo and gently brushes her mane out of her face. "So remember that, Scoots, and make her proud... Also, talk to somepony when you're hurting, you've got your friends and you've got Dashie and me, too. You're going to be an amazing filly, Scoots. Don't listen to your dad."
I stare at Soarin' for a few moments in shock; I never knew that had happened to him. Scootaloo smiles and hugs him.
"Thank you, Soarin', that really helped. I'm gonna spend some time with mum, now, so I'll see you both later?" she jumps off the bed and wraps her forelegs around me too.
I smile and hug her back. "I'll see you later, squirt. I'll come find you after school one day for a flight lesson, alright?" Scoots grins and bounces out of the room. "Sure thing, Dash! See you later!"
I laugh softly as I climb to my hooves. "Come on, Soar, let's go home and get something to eat."
Soarin' nods and walks over to me. We leave the house together, only muttering a 'Goodbye' to Thunder Blaze but I don't feel as angry at him anymore. I can understand their situation a whole lot better now, but still, he didn't need to treat Scoots like that.
The screaming is still there but I push them to the back of my mind as I stretch out my wings and begin to fly alongside Soarin'.
"I never knew, Soar... I'm sorry." I say gently after a few moments of flying in silence.
Soarin' looks over at me and smiles. "I'm sure there are a few things like that which I don't know about you either, Dashie, so it's alright."
"I guess, but we can save those stories for another night..." I say softly, "So, were you one of the last sixteen year olds to get into the 'Bolts?"
"Yeah, I was in the last round, that's why I didn't expect to get in... Spitfire was in the 'Bolts a year before me, so she was in the second last round," he smiles nostalgically. "Wave Chill was so upset that he had to wait another five years to apply." I nod slightly. "I was only fourteen when they announced it, I was so distraught. I was hoping that I could get into the 'Bolts and prove that I wasn't Rainbow Crash..." I sigh sadly.
"But you didn't even apply when you turned eighteen, did you?" Soarin' asks in confusion.
I shake my head. "I ended up not applying when I turned eighteen because I had just moved to Ponyville and I had no money, plus I wouldn't have been able to get a job if I was put into the Academy, I would've been broke. Then when I had finally settled in, the whole Nightmare Moon thing happened so I had to wait another year to apply. I was lucky enough to get accepted into last year's round, which only happened because I entered the Best Young Fliers competition and saved your flank."
Soarin' laughs slightly. "Celestia, that competition was two years ago now... We've been watching you ever since that day, you know?"
"I know. I've occasionally spotted a few of your team watching me from afar. You're not very stealthy. Plus, I know what you all look like without your suits on because I met you all after the competition." I chuckle. "I pretended not to notice though."
"Spitfire was going to send you an invitation to join the Academy if you never applied yourself. You're definitely going to be on the team next year, Dashie, and I can promise you that." Soarin' says gently, I know this must be information which I'm not supposed to know.
"Thanks Soar. I'll be back, don't you worry about that. I just hope it happens before I turn twenty-two; we have about eleven months until my birthday though... I just don't want to hit my peak," I smile sadly as I prepare to land on the soft cloud by my front door.
Soarin' lands beside me before wrapping his forelegs around my neck. "I'm gonna miss you when I go back, Dashie."
I nod in agreement, I'm going to miss him a lot too, and I just hope that the screaming improves a significant amount by the time he has to go. I can vaguely tell that there has been an improvement, the screams are less sharp and are quieter. Still, I want them to be gone for good.
"You should see somepony about your nightmares, Soar. Maybe Twilight can give you a potion for it or something?" I say gently.
Soarin' sighs sadly and pulls me closer to him. "I know, I'll ask next week when you go back for the spell, okay? How's it been going, by the way?"
"They're starting to come back again, but I can see an improvement... Anyway, let's go and get some food before it's too late to eat. Plus, I fancy a cup of tea." I nudge him towards the door.
Soarin' glances back at me. "Celestia, Dash, are you from Trottingham or something?" he sniggers before going on to talk in a Trottingham accent, "Would you care for a cup of tea?"
I roll my eyes and punch him in the shoulder to which he mutters a sarcastic "ow," in return.
Soarin' walks in through the threshold, still chuckling under his breath from his stupid joke. I would tell him that tea is brilliant and there is nothing wrong with drinking it but he wouldn't listen. After a while, I begin to laugh at his joke and I follow him into my home, closing the door behind me.
I hope we both get better soon and I hope that the two weeks we have left together aren't ruined by the Gorge.
I can't help but fear the day that Soarin' has to return home, though.
I would've thought that finding out the truth about Scootaloo would make me feel better, or happier, but now I feel as if I'm worrying more than ever.
Guilt bubbles up inside of me as I realise that I could have, should have, helped her sooner. I just thought she wanted to keep her family problems private. I also hate to admit it, but I was partially afraid of her dad too, which was stupid considering I don't really care that much about my job since I have a lot of backup plans and the Wonderbolts to support me. I wish I noticed sooner, noticed that her desperate want of acceptance from me was a cry for help. Why didn't I realise sooner?
Soarin', who I had been leaning against, shifts beside me, pulling me out of my thoughts.
"Are you alright, Dash?" Soar asks gently, carefully, as if I'm about to break.
I nod, ever so slightly, almost afraid of breaking myself. I can tell the screams are coming back, along with the guilt I begin to feel a lot worse than I ever have before. My stomach clenches and twists against itself. Sweat pours down my body. I feel cold. I feel weak. I feel empty.
"Dashie?" Soarin' says in concern, as he wraps a wing around me to stop my shaking form.
I gasp for air as the room spins around me, everything blurs into one. "I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine." I whisper under my breath over and over again.
Soarin's voice is muffled as he urgently tries to sooth me. I am unable to breath, unable to think straight. Everything is falling apart.
Tears roll down my cheeks as I sob uncontrollably. I'm a failure. I should've helped Scootaloo before; I should've helped when I first became her big sister. I don't deserve to be a big sister to a filly as amazing as her. Still, I need to get over myself. I'm being selfish: making all of this about me. I need to help Scootaloo, somehow. I need to get over my stupid fears.
Finally, my tears begin to subside, my breathing becomes more even and Soarin's voice becomes clear to my ears. I carefully wipe away my tears and shake my head in embarrassment. How could I be such a fool? There's a little filly who needs me and all I seem to care about is my stupid fears.
I take in a shaky breath and turn to face Soarin'. "I'm sorry, I just feel so guilty. I never realised that she was suffering so badly. How many other ponies have been suffering and have turned to me for help?"
"You can't save everypony, Dashie. Anyway, just be thankful that you've helped Scoots now." Soarin' glances at me, checking to see if I'm okay.
I stand up and walk into the kitchen, boiling the kettle. "Do you want a cup of tea, Soar?" I ask.
My mum used to always make me a cup of tea if I had a bad day at school or if I had a big exam that day. I've made it tradition now to have a cup of tea whenever I feel stressed out because tea always makes you feel better.
"Can I have a coffee instead, please?" he calls from the sitting room.
I roll my eyes and make the coffee first before bringing both his and my drink into the sitting room.
"Soar... I want to go back to the Gorge," I mumble weakly.
Soarin' glances at me nervously and breathes in a shaky breath, "If you want to then I'll go with you... but make sure you don't push yourself."
"Can we go now?" I ask, wanting to get it over with but at the same time not wanting to go at all.
Soarin' nods and guilt instantly rushes over me, I know that he probably really doesn't want to go but I know that I have to do this; otherwise I will never get rid of my nightmares. I'm just being selfish really, dragging him along with me, but I also know that I can't do it alone. I want to be brave but recently I haven't really wanted to fit the title of 'Rainbow Danger Dash'.
"You don't have to if-" I start.
"No, no. Dashie, I need to come with you." Soarin' cuts me off. "What if something happens to you? I have to be there to protect you."
I open my mouth ready to argue, but I can tell from the look of determination on his face that he won’t change his decision and that, no matter what I say, he will refuse to stay behind.
"Come on then," I mumble in defeat, dragging my hooves as I walk towards the door.
We stop at the edge of the cloud that supports my home and I look across Ponyville. In the distance I can just about make out the Gorge, for the past month I have been avoiding looking that way and even now I feel sick. Nonetheless, I have no other choice. I can’t back out of this, I have to be brave. I have to act like the Rainbow Dash that everypony knows.
Soarin' puts a hoof around me in encouragement before he stretches out his light blue wings and shoots off into the sky. The force of his wings against the air blows my mane back and I stand frozen in shock for a few moments before setting off after him. I may be scared, but I can't let him win this race. I haven't changed that much.
I close my eyes and race after him, paying attention to every little detail as I fly to keep my mind off of the fact that we're heading towards the place where we both almost died less than a month ago. I feel the wind brush through every strand of my mane. I feel it caress my feathers as I flap against its strong force. It is then that I remember how much flying comforts me.
When I open my eyes I find that I have caught up with Soarin' and we're drawing closer and closer to the Gorge. My heart begins to pound and I almost stop and fly back home so fast that I perform a Sonic Rainboom; however I don't because I can't leave Soarin' behind.
Soarin' looks at me and smiles, but I can see right through it, I can tell that he's absolutely terrified which is why I can't let anything go wrong.
We slowly descend and land on the edge of the Gorge. It seems as if nopony has been there since the day of the accident. Boulders lie haphazardly across the opening; broken parts of the stands from the show stick out from the piles of rocks.
At the far end of the Gorge there is a small opening where some rocks have been cleared away, and I realise that was where we were trapped.
Soarin' stands beside me and I can feel him shaking. I gently wrap my wing around him and lean against him. I try and stay strong but I can feel the flashbacks trying to push their way into my mind. Still, I refuse to give up. I need to go further.
