Soarin to Victory

Chapters

Chapter 1: Relaying Memories
Chapter 2: A Dash to the Finish
Chapter 3: Picking Up the Fallen
Chapter 4: Recovery
Chapter 5: Remembering Yesterday, Anticipating Tomorrow
Chapter 6: Soarin to Victory

Chapter 1: Relaying Memories

The harsh northern summer sun beamed down on the competitors standing on the running track. The crowd, made up of ponies from all over Equestria, screamed at the top of their lungs for their favourite ponies participating in the events at the new Crystal Stadium. The first event of the flying races was about to begin- the relay race.

Teams from towns all across the kingdom tried to qualify for this race. Rainbow Dash and her Ponyville relay team were the last of five times to qualify for the relay event. Dash stood in the anchor position at the other side of the running track inside the eighty thousand seat stadium as she watched Bulk Biceps standing at the starting point. Fluttershy stood at the midway point.

The rainbow-maned pegasus, who was born and raised in Cloudsdale, but chose to represent Ponyville at the games, looked out to the crowd beside her. She could see Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack cheering on her team from the stands. The three young cutie mark crusaders, who had the privilege and honour of introducing Ponyville at the opening ceremony and carrying the flag, were also in the front row.

Rainbow waved her hoof with a smile. Seeing her friends cheering her on in the games that she dreamed of playing in since she was a filly was an honour, and it helped her nerves.

She peered her eyes through the crowd one section over. About fifteen rows up were the two ponies she loved more than anything else in the entire world: her parents. Her father, Spectrum, whom she inherited her colourful mane from, and her mother, Firefly, whom she loved and respected as her biggest hero in life, were sitting right there with grins from ear to ear, supporting fully their pride and joy, their only daughter, whom they supported in her endeavours since she was born.

"On your marks," Rainbow heard over the loudspeakers at the stadium. She switched her focus back to the task at hoof. She raised her right hoof in the air and over to her head. putting her goggles on her eyes.

"Get set," said the announcer, causing the ponies in the crowd to all lean forward in their seats. The normally rambunctious split crowd instantly went quiet as they anticipated the well-supported event about to begin. All of the ponies bent down with their wings in the air, ready to go.

Rainbow licked her lips and put on a cocky grin as she bent down, ready to fight in order to win the gold medal that she always dreamt of winning. At any moment the gun was to go off, and the race would be on. It felt as if she was a soldier waiting for the battle cry.

"Good luck, Dashie," she heard from a familiar voice coming from a few lanes beside her.

She cocked her head to her left. It was Soarin who said it to her. Soarin, a stallion she knew for years. A stallion who meant so much to her. One of the few ponies whom she actually allowed to call her Dashie.

Soarin, a stallion whom Rainbow Dash loved with all her heart.

There she sat in the lounge of the Wonderbolt Headquarters in Cloudsdale. There she was, hanging with the Wonderbolts that she had just saved during the Best Young Flyer competition, which she won. Tired, sore, and overwhelmed from the day she had, where she performed her first Sonic Rainboom in nearly a decade, saved one of her best friends and her heroes from falling to their deaths, and won a competition she always dreamed of being in, she sat there with her heroes as a reward.

Was it something that she always wanted? Hanging with the Wonderbolts? Of course it was! Was it everything she hoped it to be? Not exactly.

Spitfire, captain of the Wonderbolts, was busy telling stories about her heroic past experiences to the other members. Rainbow sat there on one of the couches, patiently waiting for her chance to show them what she is capable of. But every time she started to say something, she would be interrupted by Fleetfoot or Spitfire or Rapidfire, who would then trail off, eventually changing the subject altogether.

Occasionally she would glance over at Soarin, hoping he would look back. It was the first time that she was in the same room as him. He was a stallion that she had great respect for. He had just joined the Wonderbolts two years prior, and he quickly became her favourite member. He dazzled the crowds with great moves during shows. Even though he wasn't the best or the fastest, he always performed with all his heart. She had watched him perform in Ponyville when they visited a few months ago, and was in wonder as she saw him soar in the sky.

"Maybe one day I can soar with him," she thought as she watched him that day a few months ago.

And yet there he was, sitting a few metres away from him. He didn't say too much on that night. He just sat there, patiently listening to the others. He was the least experienced of the Wonderbolts, so he didn't have much to say yet. Or at least he must have felt that way.

It had been a long day for the young mare, and by now she just wanted to go back to her home to sleep. At this point she wasn't interested in hearing stories anymore. She had a two-hour flight back to Ponyville still, and Celestia's sun had already set for the day.

She let out a loud, obnoxious yawn, drawing the attention of everypony in the room.

"I'm sorry guys, I'm pooped," she said while stretching. "It was a busy day and I have a long flight home. It was cool hanging with you, but I've gotta dash."

Each member if the Wonderbolts said a quick goodbye to the Ponyville mare, also adding a 'thank you' or two for her saving their lives. But that was it. There was nothing really special about the night.

Disappointed on the night, Rainbow left the headquarters. She closed the cloud door behind her, looking out over the city she grew up in. The lights coming from the houses and buildings illuminated the otherwise dark and cloudy night sky.

She spread her wings to take flight. After swinging her wings twice to prepare them, she heard the door open and close behind her.

Dash turned around to take a look.

"Uh, hey, Rainbow Dash."

"Soarin? Hey. What's up?" she asked while folding her wings back and taking a few steps forward toward the stallion.

"Nothing much," he said while standing no more than a metre away from her. "I was just a little disappointed that I didn't hear much from you tonight. After all, you did save my life today."

Rainbow kicked a piece of cloud under her with her foreleg as she looked at the ground, finding it hard to hold eye contact with the stallion.

"Um, yeah, well, I wanted to talk, but I guess I just didn't have much to say that would interest you. After all, you're all celebrities, and I'm just me."

"Don't think like that, Rainbow," Soarin replied while taking one step forward. "I'm sure you have lots to say that we'd be interested in. And you're still young. You seem to have a good attitude and abilities. I'm sure you'll become famous soon enough. Heck, you might even join us one day."

"That has been my dream ever since I was a filly," Rainbow replied. "But, I don't know. Even though I am a pretty good flyer, it'll take a lot of work to become one of you."

"Dash, can I give you some advice?" Soarin asked.

"Um, sure!"

"You seem to have that special something. Sure, maybe not everypony who tries makes it. But if you work really hard, keep at it, never miss a day of trying to improve, and keep determined, you just might make it here one day."

Rainbow took a step back on hearing that. "Thanks, Soarin. That means a lot to me. I'll try." She let out a yawn for real this time, though. The day had caught up to her. "Soarin, I really appreciate you coming out to talk to me, but I really have to go."

"That's a shame. I wanted to spend more time with the mare that saved my life."

"Maybe another time we'll get to spend more time together."

"I'll be looking forward to that," Soarin replied while sticking his hoof out for a bump.

Rainbow returned the hoof bump right away. "I'll see you around," she said while starting to hover in the air.

"I hope so," Soarin replied while waving as the mare got further and further away.

"See ya," she said as she descended from the cloud city and into the open fresh air over Equestria.

She smirked as she flew away. Was hanging with the Wonderbolts all that she hoped it would be? Maybe not. But there was more hope for the future, and she had a very bright future ahead of her.

A loud sound of the gun was heard around the entire stadium. The first racers from Cloudsdale, Ponyville, Canterlot, Fillydelphia, and Manehattan took to flight in the air. Bulk Biceps had a tough task ahead of him to keep up with Fleetfoot as the racers ascended in the air from the starting point.

The starting competitors holding the golden horseshoe went up into the air. Fleetfoot had no trouble going through the floating hoops, while the large white stallion from Ponyville struggled to even go through them. His tiny wings flapped rapidly as the other racers quickly pulled up ahead.

"Come on," Rainbow said with concern as she saw that her team was quickly falling behind early.

But the body-building stallion was able to slowly close the gap to the others after he cleared the hoops and came back down to ground level. Rainbow knew that if her teammates at least kept up that they had a good chance at being on the podium.

He handed the horseshoe off to Fluttershy just after the other teams passed theirs on as well. The quiet yellow pegasus still had some ground to make up ahead of her. Spitfire, now holding the horseshoe for the Cloudsdale team, was now about ten seconds ahead as she ascended back up to the sky to do the two required loops around a bar about one hundred feet above the ground.

"Come on, come on," Dash pleaded as she watched on.

"Don't worry, Dashie, you'll be able to catch up," Soarin shouted to comfort the mare as he saw the worry in her eyes.

She turned around to reply. "I know. I'm going to have to give it my all to catch up."

"You'll be great," he replied in his encouraging way.

As Rainbow turned her attention back to the race, her mind began to wander. She could see Fluttershy was no closer to the leader than when she started. In fact, it looked like she was now even further behind. But as Dash watched on, a memory came back to her mind.

"Always hungry after a show, eh Soarin?" Spitfire asked the stallion as he trotted back to the VIP area of the Canterlot Castle at the Grand Galloping Gala with a pie in his mouth.

"Mmmhmm," he said, then flipping the pie in the air.

Rainbow watched on from the distance with intrigue as the pie spun majestically in the air.

But the situation quickly turned for the worst as Soarin was unable to catch it again. She could see the fear in his eyes as the tasty desert, which was made by her own friend Applejack, was now falling to its death.

"My pie!" Soarin screamed as he failed to catch it with his mouth. Fear engulfed him. It looked like it was going to be a tragic end for such a young apple pie. It was about to hit the floor.

Dash sprang into action. She flew nearly at the speed of sound as she flung her hoof forward. With a majestic dive, she heroically caught it before it hit the ground, without even getting a spot of dirt on her gala gown.

She hovered in the air, holding the saved pie in her front hooves, presenting it to Soarin.

"You saved it. Thanks," Soarin said with genuine sincerity to the beautifully dressed up mare in front of him.

He grabbed the pie with his mouth. As Dash's eyes dilated upon seeing the stallion eye to eye once again, she replied, "Hey, no prob."

A quick conversation with Spitfire ensued as the captain was reminded that this spunky young pegasus in front of her was the same one that saved her own life a few months prior.

After Spitfire drew attention to Rainbow saving Soarin's pie, Dash glanced over and quickly smiled as she saw the stallion eating the pie like a complete slob. He didn't care that he was at the classiest event of the year; he just wanted his tasty treat.

Then came a question that the Ponyvillian wanted to hear. "Wanna come hang out with us?"

With excitement, Dash wholeheartedly agreed. After letting out an uncharacteristically girlish scream, she was given a second chance to make a good impression on her heroes. She was too excited to even notice the sad fact that Spitfire didn't even remember her name.

The night was very promising. She was given another chance to strut her stuff in front of her heroes.

But it didn't end the way it started. Nor did it turn out the way she wanted.

Dash had to deal with "hanging" with the Wonderbolts, which basically meant following them around in the background, all the while being pretty much ignored and watching Spitire and Soarin talk to fans and friends around the gala.

The worst was when she had to watch Soarin being flirted with by mares who were fans of him. He didn't fall for any of it, but it was still other mares who had his attention, and not her.

In the end, the potential "best night ever" was horrible. In fact, it was even called "the worst night ever" by the end of it. The only thing that saved it for Dash was being with her friends at the end.

She couldn't even say goodbye to Soarin because of the way she left. She had just saved one statue, but because of how heavy it was she ended up destroying nearly half the room. She didn't even look over at the stallion to see his reaction. She was too embarrassed. She did get her way out of the horrible situation when Fluttershy came in screaming at a bunch of animals.

Overall, the night was a complete flop. And that was the last time she saw Soarin for an entire year.

Dash spread her wings as her opponents passed their horseshoes on to their teammates. Fluttershy was trailing behind in last place as tears were streaming down her face from shear tiredness as she flew as hard as she could.

The yellow pegasus stuck out her hoof and passed the shoe on to Dash. She quickly turned and darted into the air, pushing as hard as she could to reach the target height so she can go over the bar and back down to the final stretch.

With blazing speed she pushed on towards the ground, catching right up to the others. As Dash made it down to ground level she caught up into third place with only the final straight dash ahead to go.

She looked ahead as a stallion from Manehattan was just ahead of her, with Soarin far ahead in the lead.

Soarin, the wonderful, amazing Soarin. The same stallion who had captured the mare's heart once and for all at the royal wedding a year and a half ago.

After days of preparation, fighting an entire army of changelings, and more days of preparation with the real bride-to-be, the day finally came for the wedding between Captain Shining Armour and Princess Cadence.

The wedding went smoothly, the reception went well into the last hours of the night.

As DJ-Pon3 took to the mixer, the dancing began.

The royal couple started the dancing as Twilight Sparkle took to the mic, singing her own song called "Love is in Bloom." The fast-paced pop song got the outdoor dance floor moving.

Rainbow watched as ponies grouped together in couples and in larger groups. Everypony was having the time of their life.

But then she glanced over to her right. Because of all the preparations, being in the wedding party, performing a Sonic Rainboom, she failed to take notice that Soarin the Wonderbolt was dancing just a few feet away from her.

Soarin was having a blast, not caring about how he looked. He took a look to his left and noticed the mare, who was dolled up more than she ever had been before. She was quite the sight- her mane all styled, her stunning dress matching her style perfectly, and she was happy to see him. Her infectious smile was welcome to Soarin, and he danced his way over to right beside her.

No words were exchanged. No words were needed. She joined him in dancing to her unicorn friend's song. They bounced and bopped together to the music. Their attention was finally only on each other. It had been far too long since she last saw him at the gala. Rainbow was in her beautiful bridemaid dress, and Soarin was in his classy uniform shirt and tie, proudly representing it.

After the song was over, the mare and the stallion looked at each other face to face.

"You're truly quite the sight, Rainbow," Soarin complemented. "And you're also quite the dancer."

Rainbow chuckled. "You're not so bad yourself, Soarin."

But the music changed right then and there. It went from fast to slow in an instant. Rainbow turned around to see that many ponies had already partnered off and began to slow dance.

"Um," Rainbow tried to say as she blushed.

"Wanna dance?" Soarin was the first to ask.

"Sure," Dash replied. "But just because I'll slow dance with you, it doesn't mean anything."

"Of course not," Soarin replied while reaching out his hoof.

Rainbow used her hoof to cover the massive smile on her face. She wasn't used to being treated like a lady. She didn't normally seem to like it. But her heart was racing as she looked at his outstretched hoof. She reached hers out to grab his, and he led her to the middle of the dance floor.

Dash put her right hoof on Soarin's shoulder, and he reached his right hoof behind her back, creating the perfect balance.

They swayed softly as the music played, slowing turning around the dance floor on the outside of the Canterlot castle. The sun had already set, and the dusk sky was light red and orange, setting the perfect scene.

Soarin looked into Dash's eyes, and she looked down soon after. It was hard for her to keep eye contact with a stallion as dreamy as he was.

"What a night, eh Rainbow?" he said as she continued to look down as they danced on the floor.

"Tonight was something special, I have to admit that," she replied, occasionally glancing back up at the stallion.

"Who says it has to end any time soon?" Soarin said with a smile.

Dash looked up, meeting eyes with Soarin and holding his gaze. "What do you mean?" she asked as the song died down.

Soarin moved his head back quickly, pointing over to the Canterlot gardens. The song ended, and another slow song played afterwards. "Come on," he said, pulling her towards the path leading to the gardens behind the castle.

She didn't fight it. She didn't want to. She only said, "Okay," and ran along with him.

After they were out of the view of all the others, they trotted slowly side-by-side down the pathway, passing by all the wildlife and beautiful flora of the well-taken-care-of royal gardens.

"So, Rainbow, what've you been up to lately?'

"Well, apart from saving Equestria multiple times from unspoken evil, working as the head weatherpony in Ponyville, training hard to be the best flyer I can be, and keeping up with friends, nothing much."

"You're something else, you know that Rainbow?" Soarin said as they continued to trot forward.

They came up to the small bridge going over a little creek in the gardens and stopped, both leaning on the guardrail.

"How come I haven't seen much of you lately, Soarin?" Dash asked while looking out at the flowing stream.

"I've been busy too. I've been training hard to try and become a better Wonderbolt, we've gone on world tours this year. Being a Wonderbolt pretty much takes up my entire life. Trust me, I wish I saw you more often," Soarin replied.

"Well, am I going to see more of you now?" Rainbow asked while turning to face Soarin.

"I hope so. We don't have any scheduled tours coming up any time soon. You'll see me around."

Dash smiled at the thought of that. "Well, my friends are probably wondering where I've gone. I probably should head back."

"So soon?" Soarin replied. Dash smiled and nodded her head, her styled mane bopping with her movement. "Well, all right. But can you at least give me something to remember this night?"

"Sure! What's that?" she asked. Soarin smiled playfully and reached down, grabbing her hoof. Rainbow instantly turned bright red. "Hey, what the buck are you-"

Her question was interrupted as her lips became occupied. Her pupils became small as she looked at her snout. Soarin had locked lips with her. She was never used to this kind of treatment.

But she didn't resist. In fact, she closed her eyes and returned the kiss.

Soarin lightly let go, and they both slowly opened their eyes.

"Thanks for that memory," Soarin said.

"You're welcome," Rainbow said blissfully while using her hoof to play with her mane. She then pointed her hoof towards the stallion. "But if you speak a word of this to anypony, I'll kill you."

Soarin grinned playfully. "I won't. I promise. This will be our little secret."

"Thanks, Soarin," she said while looking down as he started to trot.

"No, thank you, Rainbow Dash," he said while turning around, now at the end of the bridge.

"Dashie... you can call me Dashie."

"Dashie... that's lovely," Soarin replied with a smile, turning around to go back to the reception.

She watched as he turned the corner, disappearing in the dense bushes as he walked along the path.

After he was out of sight, she hovered in the air, pumping her hoof up high, letting out a "Yes!"

The entire day could not have gone any better for her.

As Dash pushed forward as hard as she could, she watched Soarin, the stallion who both captured and broke her heart, cross the finish line first. She put every last bit of energy she had in her to her wings to catch up to the runner-up and lose the pony just behind her. She pushed and pushed in the short distance she had left.

But it just wasn't enough. She crossed the line in third place, winning the bronze medal.

Tired, panting, and frustrated, she stood just beyond the finish line. Bulky and Fluttershy came up and made a group hug happen, even though Dash wasn't very accepting of it.

As she saw the joy in her two teammates' faces, she responded, still panting, "Why... why are you so happy? We lost."

"We may not have finished first," Fluttershy said, "but you helped us get on the podium. I'm so proud of you!" Fluttershy leaned in for a hug again. This time, however, Rainbow's heart felt softened. She decided to reach out one of her forelegs and receive the hug.

"Yeeeeaaah!" Bulky added, knowing that he would also be getting a bronze medal.

Rainbow's attitude quickly changed from accepting to happy when she saw Soarin come up to her.

"You did great, Dashie. I'm so proud of you."

"Hah, it was nothing," the mare responded while swinging he hoof.

She had the privilege of standing on the podium to receive her bronze medal with two of her friends. She was satisfied with it, even though her coltfriend Soarin was receiving the gold with Spitfire and Fleetfoot. She was proud of him for his accomplishment. And even though it was bittersweet because she did not win the ultimate prize, she had pride in seeing the smiling faces of her friends and parents in the crowd. She also knew she made the right choice competing for Ponyville.

And besides, she still had two events to go at the games.

Chapter 2: A Dash to the Finish

There he was, soaring through the sky. Practicing for the Equestria Games qualifying tournament, Soarin looped around Rainbow Falls, dazzling the ponies down below.

Rainbow Dash had just finished talking to Bulk Biceps and Fluttershy, trying to get them psyched for their chance. She knew that their hopes of qualifying were slim. She made the two of them look up at Soarin, hoping that they would learn a thing or two.

Soarin was up there flying just above her, sounding like a jet engine shooting across the sky. It was the first time since the royal wedding, the night that he kissed her, that she had seen him. Even though she wondered for months why he never went back to see her, feeling like a fool for falling for a famous stallion who might not have even cared for her at all, she was still somewhat pleased to see him once again.

He was fast, energetic, and on a roll as he flew around in the sky. Maybe he went a little too fast, though. Or maybe he got distracted by two cheerleading mares spurring him on, because it resulted in him taking his attention from where he was going.

As he looked down, his wing snagged on an elevated hoop, injuring it, and sending him directly for a nosedive.

The stallion Rainbow loved, the stallion that stole her heart, but also crushed it when she never heard back from him after the wedding, was falling directly to his death. There was nothing else for the mare to do other than do what she did best: be a hero.

Her wings shot out behind her, and she dashed into the air, catching Soarin soon before he hit the ground.

It was all worth it for thanks she got from the stallion she admired. "You're the best, Rainbow Dash."

But trouble soon came for the Ponyville pegasus. She took the offer to train with Fleetfoot and Spitfire, practicing for the rest of the day with them, and even getting offered to replace Soarin in the Cloudsdale team for the games.

What would it be? Represent the town she was born in, or race with the town she made her home? It was her decision, and only hers to make. It was the greatest test of her loyalty, because nopony could blame her for her decision either way. After all, she would technically still be loyal no matter what choice she made.

What was she to do?

Naturally, she chose the best way: fake an injury and procrastinate the decision.

She was taken to the hospital and given amazing attention from her closest friends. Little did she know that faking the injury helped her make one of the most important decisions of her life.

If it wasn't for Fluttershy coming in and offering Dash her gold medal if would end up winning it, things may have gone so much differently. Right then and there, Rainbow knew that her heart was in Ponyville.

Getting surprised by Soarin, who was in the next bed beside her, was quite the reward for her cowardly decision. Him telling her how amazing her friends were meant so much to Dash, as she saw how fickle Spitfire and Fleetfoot were, not even visiting their stallion friend and wanting to replace him right away. It assured her to stay with her friends.

After fessing up that she wasn't injured after all, and telling everypony that she wanted to represent both teams, she decided to choose Ponyville, much to her friends' excitement. She was happy in heart about her decision, and even got Spitfire to admit that she taught her a lesson.

The only thing that was left to do was practice for the final qualifying race the next day. The Ponyville trio had their work cut out for them.

Four hours passed, and the Ponyville relay team were spent. But it seemed like they could actually have a chance to qualify in the end.

'Good nights' were said as the ponies all went their separate ways for the night to rest up and return the following morning. Dash went to where her bag was in order to pick it up and go home.

She looked over the mountainside, and watched as the sun descended. She picked up her bag and put it on her back.

"Hey," came a voice from behind her.

Dash turned around, looking directly at Soarin, who was also tired and soar from the hard day of practice.

"Hey, Soar. What's up?"

"I just wanted to say thank you once again for saving my life."

"No problem, what are friends for?' Rainbow replied with a smile.

"I really, really mean it, Dashie. You mean so much to me."

"Uh-huh," she said with a nod, not really convincingly.

"Hey, why is a mare as amazing as you not going out with a stallion like me?"

"I don't know, Soarin, I should ask you the same thing," she replied with a snippy tone.

"Well, what about now? Will you go out with me?"

"Will you ignore me for another year if I say yes?"

"Dashie, I'm sorry. I promise I won't. Life just got in the way. I didn't have time to come visit you or anything, with all the training and shows getting in the way. But I had a lot of time to become a better stallion. I set my priorities in order. And now I know what I want in life- a mare like you by my side."

"Soarin, you got my hopes up so high last time that when I never heard back from you I fell so hard. I cried for weeks. I felt like you played me."

"I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry from the bottom of my heart. Can you give me a second chance?" he asked while putting a hoof tenderly on her shoulder.

"I don't know," she responded while looking down. "I have to think about it."

There she stood, looking at the track ahead of her. It was the second aerial race that she qualified for at the Equestria Games, the ten lap dash. There she stood beside Soarin, Spitfire, Fleetfoot, and four other ponies from different cities in the kingdom, including Lightning Dust.

Dash looked out to the crowd. Her parents and friends were there yet again, cheering her on.

Rainbow stood in her lane beside her coltfriend of a few months. They shared a smile together as they bent down to stick their hooves on the starting pedals, getting ready for race to begin. She had the honour of facing, and potentially beating, her coltfriend to win the gold medal, as he did in the first race the day before.

"You know, Dashie, I can't just let you win. But I think you do have a good chance," Soarin said as they waited the word from the announcer.

"Ha, like I need you to let me win," Dash responded in her typical confident fashion.

They arched their backs as the gunshot to start the race was about to go off.

The big day came- the qualification day for the relay race at Rainbow Falls. Because of the events the day before, most of the ponies there wanted Ponyville to take the final qualification spot for the flying relay race. Four of the five spots were already filled.

Rainbow looked around to see the cheering faces of her friends. She felt joy when she saw Pinkie Pie, and even the normally reserved Twilight Sparkle, in their cheerleading outfits. She could hear Soarin, the stallion she partially turned down the night before, cheering for her team to make it, which meant a lot.

Dash looked over to the larger-than-life white stallion holding the baton to start the race. The nerves on his face could be clearly seen. He knew that there were a lot of ponies depending on him to get off to a good start.

The timer began, and Bulk Biceps was off. He ascended to the sky, approaching the hoop, which was barely even bigger than him. In practice he had the quite the trouble trying to make it through while still holding on to the golden horseshoe.

He approached the ring that he feared. Yet, somehow, someway, perhaps even by a miracle, he made his way through, handing off the baton to Fluttershy, who was able to hold onto it after stumbling.

The shy mare flapped her weak wings as hard as they could go as she went further and further, going through the hoops. She could hear the cheers from the ponies down below. She knew how badly Rainbow wanted to qualify, and she needed to give her multi-coloured friend a fighting chance.

Fluttershy made her way through the hoops gracefully and at her best time yet. She handed the baton over to Rainbow, who made a mad dash into the hoops at the fastest speed she could go, while still keeping the accuracy she needed. She knew the time was running short, and she had to make it up.

Rainbow darted perfectly through all the hoops as she ascended, and it was just directly upward to go. She switched into the maximum speed she could go without breaking the sound barrier yet again. The tears streamed from her eyes from the wind as she made her way closer to the top, the finish cloud getting bigger and bigger as she made her way up.

The seconds ticked on. She blasted through the cloud, not knowing what their final time was. She slowed down, feeling deep fear in the pit of her stomach as she awaited the verdict. It was going to be close, agonizingly close.

"Ponyville qualifies!" shouted the games' aerial races timer stallion. Those two words- so simple, and yet they meant the entire world to Rainbow as her friends swarmed her in celebration.

But that was only one of the three races she was trying out for. Two more race qualifications followed in the next two days. This one meant the most to her, though, by far. It meant that she could compete with two of her friends. Nothing else could compare.

Rainbow said goodbye to her friends later that evening, who had to return to their normal lives while she stayed for the next few days to qualify for the ten lap dash and the cross-country race. It was bittersweet saying goodbye. Her friends were all so proud of her, and she wouldn't have experienced this moment if it weren't for them. Them leaving also meant that she would not have anypony cheering her on for the final two race qualifications.

Or at least it felt that way, for a time.

Being situated on the side of a mountain, Rainbow Falls had a stunning view of Equestria. After the sun set, Dash went to the edge of the cliff and sat down with her legs dangling off, staring out at the beautiful night sky. The sound of the falls was calming, and the sky was full of the little luminaries that lit up the night.

It was a busy day for the young mare. She proudly helped Ponyville's relay team qualify for the games, but she still had a long road ahead of her.

The sound of the falls was calming on this spring evening. She let out a sigh while staring at the beautiful sight ahead of her.

"Mind if I come and sit beside you?"

Rainbow turned to look at Soarin upon recognizing his voice. "Yeah, I guess so."

Soarin carefully sat down beside the mare and let his legs dangle off the side of the cliff.

After letting out a sigh as well at the stunning sight of the stars, Soarin said to the mare beside him, "I'm really happy you qualified, Dashie. Being with you at the games will be an honour and a privilege."

Dashie. He still calls me Dashie. Maybe he still cares.

"I'm happy I'm going too. And I'm happy I made the right choice to represent the town I love at the games. But don't talk too much, Soarin- even though I am pretty awesome and the games would be very different without me, you don't have to pretend like you're this excited to see me there."

"No, Dashie, I mean it," Soarin replied while looking outward still. "Even though I've been busy and a little insensitive to your feelings-"

"A little?!"

"Okay, very insensitive to your feelings, I still care about you. As Spitfire said to you yesterday, you really are something else. You're a special mare; one that doesn't come around very often anymore."

Great, how can I stay mad at him now?

"I may talk a lot about myself being amazing and all, Soarin, but I'm not really that great. I just try really hard to be the best I can be."

"Hey, you should be proud of who you are. And if you brag about yourself, so be it. You deserve to do so.'

Dash could feel her heart being softened by his kind words. "Soarin, why? Why are you saying these nice things?"

"Because you deserve to hear them," he replied. He let out a sigh once again. "Listen, I know I may not deserve you, but I really wish you would give me a chance." He looked to the mare beside him, who was looking down at her hooves, lost in thought. The stallion picked himself up, now standing beside the mare. "I just want a chance to make things up to you."

As Dash kept quiet, Soarin began to trot away, back to the place he was staying for the night. But he didn't get too far.

"Okay," Rainbow said quietly.

Soarin stopped in his tracks. "What was that?"

The mare turned her body to face him. "I said 'okay'. I'll give you a chance."

"What? Really?" Soarin asked with an eager grin from ear to ear.

"Yep. I think you've earned it," Dash replied, smiling back.

"Sweet!" Soarin replied while coming up to her. "Thank you, Dashie. I won't let you down," he said while reaching down to hug her.

Closing her eye that was closest to Soarin, she returned the hug as well. "Don't worry about it. So, I'll see you tomorrow at the next qualifying race?"

"You bet! Good night, Dashie."

"Good night, Soarin."

And a good night it was.

The next morning came, and Rainbow waited for her chance to qualify for the ten lap race, the second one of the aerial races. She watched as Soarin was the first stallion to qualify, taking up one of the eight available spots out of the fourty ponies competing. He flew as fast as he could around the set up sky track around the mountain, which was set up to be four thousand metres, equivalent to the ten laps on the track.

Dash cheered on the stallion, though quietly, not wanting to make a scene and have everypony know that they just started dating the night before. As he heard the good news that he qualified, he went up to the mare and gave her a hug, which she returned.

They watched as ponies filled the final qualification spots. Spitfire and Fleetfoot, as expected, also qualified.

Eventually, the time came for her qualification run.

As she stood at the starting line, Soarin shouted out, "You can do it, Dashie. I believe in you!"

So much for keeping it quiet.

The referee representative from the games committee held up his hoof, signaling Rainbow Dash to get ready. She bent down, spreading her wings upward, awaiting the call to go.

She watched the referee's hoof closely, wanting to get the best head start that she could. She licked her lips as she prepared herself.

"Go!" the stallion shouted, lowering his hoof quickly.

Like a lightning bolt, she shot out. The referee had to hold onto his cap so that it didn't blow away from the wind made by her wings.

"Go Dashie! I believe in you," she heard Soarin shouting as his voice faded away when she flew out, following the aerial pathway set up for the qualifiers.

Dash made her way in the air, far above the river from the falls down below that went through the forest. The smell of the fresh air, the wind in her mane, the adrenaline of competition; there was nothing quite like it.

The mare had to push hard to keep her focus, though. She couldn't get distracted by the view and the incredible feeling of flying and end up slowing down. She frowned as she went forward, determined to keep going.

As she made her way around the mountain, she was bolting as hard as she could. If her chances of winning the relay race were thin, she had to make it to at least one individual race to hope and get a medal. She sped up to nearly Sonic Rainboom-like speed. She could see the air bending around her as she started to nearly break the sound barrier.

But she also needed to keep control. The mountain was just to her left as she flew along the space allotted. If she went too fast, she raised the risk of creating a near-fatal situation for herself. The best thing for the dashing pegasus to do was spread out her wings horizontally and glide for a few seconds, lowering her speed and increasing her stability.

She glided along the mountainside, making the large turn. She held her pose as she turned one more time, now facing the finish line dead ahead of her in the flat plateau.

With one final heavy push, she darted directly for the finish line. She could hear Soarin's supportive voice getting louder and louder as she got closer and closer.

Dash pointed her nose and hoof downward as she descended a few degrees down toward the finish.

The mare crossed the finish line at a high speed, blowing the manes of everypony standing nearby. She spread out her wings and went upward a few degrees, slowing down so that she could come back to get her result,

"So, how'd I do?" she asked the others as she came back. All of their mouths were wide open. "What're you guys staring at?"

"Rainbow, that was amazing," Spitfire said, admiring the Ponyvillians' time.

Rainbow felt joy inside as her hopes raised. "So, did I qualify?" she asked the referee, whose mouth was still ajar.

The stallion shook his head to rattle some sense back into himself. "Um, yes, yes you did."

"Yes!" Rainbow screamed as she flew into the air. She was instantly hugged by Soarin in the air.

But what the games' referee didn't tell her was that her qualification time was the fastest in the history of that event's qualification.

The gunshot was heard around the stadium. The ponies were off like a bullet. The crowd noise shot up as the excitement of the competition grew.

Rainbow kept up with the other Wonderbolts as they made their way around the four hundred metre track.

One lap passed. The crowd noise died down as they watch the race unfold.

Two laps passed. Rainbow Dash still kept up with the three Wonderbolts competing.

Three laps. Spitfire took the lead, with Soarin and Rainbow just behind.

Fourth lap. The ponies kept their positions. The same for laps five, six, and seven.

Eighth lap. Fatigue started to creep its way in. The ponies competing had to swipe the sweat from their faces. The summer sun started to take its toll.

Ninth lap. Spitfire started to slow down while Soarin and Rainbow caught up.

Tenth lap. The final one. The crowd noise got louder as they anticipated the finish. Spitfire, Rainbow Dash, and Soarin were now neck and neck coming up to the final curve. Soarin pulled slightly ahead of the other two as the bend started.

"Come... on," Rainbow pleaded with her body, flapping her wings as fast as she could, trying to fight off her tiredness that was rapidly increasing.

With Soarin just up ahead, Rainbow and Spitfire were tied. It looked as if a photo finish would be needed to determine second place.

Soarin passed the end of the curve and had just the finish line ahead. All of his fans started to rejoice as they saw him approaching the end, especially because he wasn't even expected to make it onto the podium.

Spitfire and Dash made it to the end of the curve with the fiery-coloured pegasus on the inside of the track. Dash could smell the finish. With a little bit of a push, she could reach the silver medal.

She flapped her wings as hard as she could in on final attempt to get a boost ahead.

"Uh-oh," she said as she felt a sharp pain in her left wing. Her pupils quickly became small as worry consumed her.

She looked over to her right into the section cheering her on, picking out Scootaloo. The filly, wearing a Rainbow Dash shirt and wig, was cheering her heart out for her hero. But the filly's smile quickly became a face of shock as she watched Dash's left wing jolt, bending sideways.

Dash let out a loud yell as the pain of the cramp consumed her thoughts. She quickly lost balance, flying into the side, cushioned wall.

But the pain that was even worse than the wing cramp was watching all the others pass the finish line ahead of her, including Fleetfoot in third. Cloudsdale was well represented in the race as Wonderbolts took all three medals.

"I'm a failure," Dash said, resting her head on her front hooves as she lay down there on the track.

Chapter 3: Picking Up the Fallen

About a third of the crowd, the supporters of the Cloudsdale athletes, celebrated with jubilation as their heroes dominated the podium. Some fans applauded the winners, but the rest of the crowd turned their attention to the mare laying on the ground.

Soarin was on top of the world. Not even expected to win a medal in that race, he took home the gold. The sound of celebration from his fans was in the air. He turned to face his marefriend, who surely took home the silver medal behind him.

But that isn't how it turned out.

The stallion, exhilarated from his accomplishment, beaming with joy, then had confusion as he saw Fleetfoot and Spitfire congratulating each other for their own medal wins. Rainbow was nowhere around him.

The joy of being a champion was so short-lived that he instantly forgot about it as he focused on something far more important to him. Rainbow Dash was nowhere in his vicinity.

"Well, congratulations," Spitfire said as she approached the stallion.

"Yeah, okay, whatever," Soarin responded while still looking around. "Where's Rainbow?"

"I... I don't know," Spitfire responded. "She was right near me until the final turn."

Soarin looked to the part of the track where it curved. He pinpointed his mare on the ground. Lightly shoving Spitfire to the side, Soarin rushed over to be at his mare's side. He used whatever energy he had left in his wings to get over to Dash as fast as he could, even passing the medical staff, who were pushing a stretcher over to where she was.

The crowd in the stands above the Ponyvillian pegasus were standing up, looking with concern, and some taking pictures.

"Dashie?" Soarin called out as he got closer. "Dashie, are you okay?" There was no response from the mare, whose face was hidden in her forelegs. "Dashie," he said as he stopped right in front of her.

"Ugh," he could hear her grunt.

"Dashie, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she responded with a melancholy tone without raising her head.

Soarin looked at the mare up and down, making sure she was okay. Her wing was bent, her feather's disheveled, but nothing was broken.

"Here, let me help you up," he said while reaching out his hoof.

The mare raised her head, staring at his outstretched hoof. With a sigh, she reached up and grabbed him, and he helped her up. She instantly put her face into the stallions neck. He could tell something was wrong.

He waved the medical staff off as he moved a few steps away, helping Dash, who had somewhat of a limp, take her first steps after she slammed into the wall. She still hid her face in his fur, not wanting to look up.

Standing a few metres away from the crash sight, he asked her, "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah yeah, I'm fine," she responded, still not raising her head. "Did... did you win?"

"Yes, but that's not important to me right now."

He could feel her emotional state as she rested he head on him, not wanting to look at anypony. He could hear a few sniffles coming from the mare and could feel a slight dampness on his fur from where her eyes were hidden.

"Soar, I'm... I'm a failure," she struggled to say.

"No, you're not. Stuff like this happens all the time." He ran his hoof through her mane to comfort her. "You'll be okay." She didn't respond, though. She just continued to hide her face from public view. "Do you want me to carry you away from here?" he asked. She didn't respond verbally, though. She only nodded her head. "Okay. Hold on."

The stallion used his forelegs for strength, and his wing for balance, to pick up Rainbow and put him on her back. The crowd applauded in respect as Soarin carried the mare off the track.

Amongst all the noise in the stadium, Soarin heard Spitfire ask, "What about your medal?"

"I don't care about that right now," he responded as he spread his wings around the mare on his back, who held on to him. "I've got something more important to attend to."

Soarin watched the crowd applaud as he carried the mare off the field and out of the stadium.

The outside of the stadium, and the games' village in general, was dead quiet all around, as the stadium was still full for following events, including the ground races, javelin throwing, high jump, and a few other smaller events.

Rainbow could feel the gentle breeze as Soarin carried her above the athletes' village houses. To go from performing in front of tens of thousands to flying alone with the stallion she loved in a matter of minutes was quite the change, but it was a pleasant change.

The light gusts blew her mane as she lifted up her head to look out at the kingdom-city. Soarin could feel her lift her head up, so he turned his back momentarily to smile at his mare.

"I... I can't believe I lost again. And this time it was so embarrassing," Rainbow said while looking out over the sunny town.

"Don't sweat it, Dashie. Nopony thinks anything less of you. You had an accident. It happens all the time in the games."

"That's easy for you to say. You won this race."

"No, I mean it, Dashie. It's true. Are you hurt at all?"

Rainbow tried to bend her wing. She winced as she felt a sharp pain, but she was able to move it a little more than before. Her left back leg was also a little sore from slamming into the hall, but it was just pain. Nothing was damaged beyond repair.

"Just a little bit. I'll be okay."

"That's good. It's not about how we fall, it's about if we get up. The cross-country race is the day after tomorrow. You think you'll be good for that?"

Dash tried to move her wing again, stretching it out. "Ow... Yeah, I think I'll be good."

"Hey, you're Rainbow Freaking Dash- of course you'll be better!"

Rainbow was able to let out a snicker and a smile through all of her disappointment. Soarin began to make his descent, heading slowly and right towards the small cottage in the village that was assigned to the mare.

He landed on the ground, letting Dash lightly off on the ground. She took a few steps, but felt a pain once again in her back left hoof. She started to stumble backwards, but Soarin was there to stabilize her.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Soarin asked.

"Um...no, not really. I think my hoof's injured," she said while sticking out her back hoof.

Soarin used his front right hoof to hold up her back leg so that he could get a look. "Hmm... it's definitely swollen," he said while inspecting her hock, or ankle bone.

"Well, that's why it hurts, I guess."

"Do you need help getting inside?" Soarin asked.

Rainbow looked away, a little embarrassed, but she also knew that she really did need help. "Um... yes. I'd appreciate it if you could help me in."

"Certainly," he responded. Dash unlocked and opened the door, then raised her left front hoof so that Soarin can help her in.

"Hey!" she yelled as Soarin picked her up completely, holding her in his front hooves as he fluttered his way inside. The stallion carried her inside, laying her down softly on her bed. "You could've just helped me walk in."

"I could have, but this was more fun!"

"For you, maybe," Dash responded with a smile as she got comfortable in her bed.

"You need anything else?"

"No, not yet, Soarin."

"All righty then. I'm going to go find your friends. I'll come back as soon as I can." The stallion caressed the mare's mane and kissed her lightly on the forehead. He then turned around to leave.

"Soarin?" Dash called out, halting the stallion in his tracks.

"Yep?" he asked genuinely as he turned around.

"I just wanted to say thanks," Rainbow said while twiddling her front hooves.

"Not a problem! It's my pleasure to help out somepony I love. I'll see you soon."

There Rainbow fell asleep in her room. A river of drool went down her pillow as she fell asleep soundly, her body recovering from her earlier hit.

"Hellooooo, Rainbow Dash!" Pinkie Pie shouted as she burst through the door, causing Rainbow to jolt awake.

"Pinkie Pie," Applejack scolded, "don't just walk in on somepony screaming,"

"Oh, sorry," Pinkie said as she and the others came up to Dash.

"That was a really heavy hit you had, Rainbow," Fluttershy said as she approached the mare in the bed, who quickly wiped off the drool. Fluttershy, Rarity, and Soarin also surrounded the mare's bed.

"Are you okay, darling?" Rarity asked.

"Yeah, I'm okay. It'll take more than a hit to keep me down," Rainbow responded confidently while moving her pillow up and leaning her back on the head of the head so that she could better see her friends.

"That's the Rainbow Dash we know," Twilight responded.

"Do you want us to stay with you, sugarcube?" Applejack asked.

Fluttershy added, "We can help you with anything you want."

"We can play games," Pinkie suggested excitedly.

"Thanks guys," Dash responded. "I appreciate it, I really do. But I think right now I just need some time to rest. I have one more race left and I need to be rested for it."

"You haven't really been checked out yet, though," Twilight mentioned. "Should I go get a doctor?"

"Nah, what's a doctor going to do?" Rainbow responded while waving a hoof in the air.

"I'm going to get one anyway," the alicorn responded. "I just want to make sure that you will definitely be all right for the final race. I don't want there to be any permanent damage."

"Pfft," was the sound the pegasus made with her lips in protest, but she knew that all of her friends just wanted the best for her.

Twilight momentarily left as the other stayed by Dash's side.

"So, I'm sure you're feeling pretty crummy right about now, aren't ya?" Applejack asked the hurt mare.

"Yep. Honesty, I could care less about the pain. I'm just worried that I'll be labeled as a failure or a choker. I may not get another chance four years from now to compete."

"That's why you'll win gold in the next race!" Pinkie shouted in her typical loud, excited voice. "You're Rainbow Dash, the best flyer in Equestria. Nothing and nopony will be able to stop you from winning."

"I appreciate the support, Pinkie," Dash responded, "but I won't be able to win if I can't fly."

As she said that, Twilight came back into the cottage with a crystal pony stallion dressed in a doctor's uniform.

"Sorry to interrupt," the stallion doctor said.

"Not a problem, doc. Just give me some good news, please."

"We'll see about that, miss Dash," he said as he approached the mare, who took off her blanket to reveal her injured wing and hoof.

"There seems to be nothing wrong," the stallion said as he examined the mare's right wing.

"That's because it's this one," the mare said as she shoved out her left wing.

"Ah," the doctor said as he approached the other side of the bed. "Hmm... there doesn't really seem to be anything wrong with it either, actually. Just a little overworked. It should be fine in a few days."

"What about the race?" Dash asked. "It's in two days. Can I compete?"

The doctor pondered for a second. "I wouldn't really recommend it, as you could have a flare up of pain again. But if you really want to, it's completely up to you. But you realise that there is still a risk of causing a much more painful and long lasting injury if you press yourself too hard."

Rainbow looked up to Soarin, who was standing beside her. He didn't really have much to say at that time, other than offering a consoling smile.

The doctor then looked at the mare's left hoof. "I saw you struggling to walk after the hit. In fact, everypony saw it." He leaned down for a closer look. "You definitely have a lightly sprained hock with some swelling. You will be able to walk on it, but again, you have to be very careful not to put too much pressure on it." He wrapped her left hoof in a bandage. "So, is that all?"

"Yeah," the mare responded while feeling her hurt wing, which was feeling better and better as the time went on. "Thanks, doc."

"Not a problem," the crystal stallion responded. "I can come check on you tomorrow, if you'd like."

"That would be nice."

"All right. Get some rest, miss Dash. I'll see you tomorrow." The stallion packed up his things and left.

"We should probably let you have some rest, too," Applejack suggested.

"Good idea," Fluttershy concurred.

"Awww," Pinkie said in disappointment,

"Get some rest, darling. All the best on your recovery," Rarity said.

"Thanks," Dash responded.

"Take care, Rainbow," Twilight said.

"I will," the mare responded.

"I really mean it, though," Twilight added. "I don't want to see you get any worse."

Dash sighed. "I'll take care of myself, Twi. Don't worry about it."

"Okay," the princess responded. "I'll be taking care of some things with Princess Cadence for the games, but I'll come by to see if you're all right later."

"Not a problem," Rainbow responded while saluting her friends goodbye.

After her friends left, only Soarin remained. Dash looking up and smiled at him.

"You'll be okay, Dashie. Don't worry about it."

"It's kind of hard not to worry about it, Soar. You don't even know how badly I want to win."

"Trust me, my dear, I do know how badly you want to win."

Knock knock knock.

"Come in," Dash called out to whoever was knocking.

In came Spitfire, who was proudly wearing her silver medal. "Hey, Rainbow Dash. Just wanted to check in and see how you're doing."

"Meh. Okay, I guess. Could be better."

"That was some hit you had," the golden pegasus responded. "I was sure you were going to beat me, and then bam, you were gone."

"Yeah, my wing cramped up and I hit the wall. It's hard not to feel like garbage after I failed that badly."

"Don't sweat it, kid," the captain of the Wonderbolts responded. "Stuff like this always happens. You just have to keep trying." Soarin gave a look at Rainbow Dash. It was a cocky smile, almost as if it say, 'I told you so.' As Spitfire trotted over to where Soarin was, she continued, "It was a shame you weren't there to pick up your medal, Soarin. That's the fist time an athlete has never been on the podium to receive their prize in the Equestria Games."

"Well," he said while looking down at Dash, "I did have something more important to deal with."

"That's admirable, Soarin. Here's your medal," she said while pulling out a shiny gold medal from the pocket of her suit and handing it over to him. "Here you go. You earned it."

"Thanks!" he said excitedly as he put the medal around his neck.

"Well, I'll be off now. Good luck in the next race."

Spitfire left the room, leaving the two alone again. Soarin looked happily at his prize, but his smile quickly turned back to a straight face.

"How does it feel to be a winner, Soarin?" Rainbow asked.

"Not as great as I thought it would, Dashie. To be honest, I wish you'd won it instead of me. You deserve it more than I do."

"I'll get my chance again, Soarin. I'll compete in the next race."

"Well then, I'll let you sleep. I probably have to go to have interviews with reporters now, anyway," the stallion responded.

"Thanks for caring for me."

"No problem at all, Dashie. I'm happy to do it."

He leaned down and gave her a gentle kiss in the forehead, leaving the mare to rest and get better, for the next race was a little over fourty-eight hours away.

Chapter 4: Recovery

"Ugh... no... please... not yet," Rainbow pleaded as the morning sun came through her window, beaming right into her face. She could feel its warmth and could see light from inside her eyelids. Her eyes shot open. She turned over to her side table to look at the clock. 6:30. "You've got to be joking."

The mare closed her eyes once again. She turned around to face the other way. The room began to light up as the sun got higher in the horizon. She covered her head with her pillow.

All of it was of no use. She was up, and there was no fighting that.

Even though the mare would get up before dawn on some days to practice, she wasn't normally a morning pony. Or an evening pony. Or an afternoon pony. In fact, sleeping could probably be put on her list of hobbies.

She used her tongue to lick her teeth and her lips. They were dry, and her breath could probably rival the smell of rotting garbage. It was time to get up and brush her teeth and mane before anypony else would see- or smell- her.

Dash shoved the blankets off of her and put her left hoof on the ground so that she could sit up on her bed. She then picked herself up and got off the bed, instantly feeling weak and starting to stumble.

"Oh yeah, that," she muttered, remembering the sprain and bandage on her left back leg.

She quickly adjusted and found her strength, though, as she had been through far worse in her life. Being one of the saviours of Equestria would often leave her sore after battles.

She limped and winced her way over to her bathroom. She brushed her teeth and fixed her train wreck of a mane.

Knock knock knock.

Rainbow finished washing her face as she heard a few knocks come from her door.

"Oh for crying out loud!"

She quickly dried off her face and hobbled over to the door.

As she started to open the wooden door with her right hoof, she used her left to shield her eyes from the sun's rays that assaulted her tired eyes.

"Yes what hello whatdoyouwant?" she muttered as she swung the door fully open.

"I... I don't really know what to say to that, Dashie."

"Soarin?! Oh no no no," Dash responded as she tried to shield her face and wet mane from the stallion.

"Oh come on, relax a little bit," the stallion said with a chuckle. "You don't look half as bad as you think you do."

With a shrug towards his response, she let Soarin in, and he sat down on the couch. She sat down beside him.

"So, how're you feeling today?" he asked.

"Not too bad, actually. My leg still hurts, but my wing-" My wing. She forgot to even check on how her wing was doing. With a cringe, she spread out her left wing as far as it could go.

Nothing. No pain. No pressure. No stress. It unfolded properly and easily, almost as if it had never been hurt to begin with. Rainbow's fear was instantly eased, and she smiled.

"I take that as you're feeling much better?" Soarin asked the smiling mare, who nodded happily in response. "Good."

"So, what're you up to today?" she asked while slightly closing her eyes and leaning towards the stallion.

"Well, I was going to prepare for tomorrow's cross-country race. You know, just stretching, slow flying. Nothing intense."

"Oh, okay," Dash responded.

"But there is one problem."

"What's that?" the mare asked with intrigue.

"I don't have a partner to practice with." Dash sat there with an open mouth, listening. Soarin looked away, and then back to Rainbow. "And I was wondering if my favourite pony in the entire world would like to accompany me today." Dash still sat there, not responding. "Um, that would be you."

"Oh!" the mare said excitedly.

"You knew I was asking you to join me."

"Yeah, but I wanted a complement first."

"That's the Rainbow I know."

"Wait, let me just get ready first, okay?"

"You don't really need to get ready for this. It's warm outside and you'll probably get all hot and sweaty anyway."

"Fine," the mare said while swaying her head, flicking her mane back. She wasn't any worse looking than usual, even though she just got out of bed. "Let's go."

The morning conditions could not have been more favourable. The dawn air was clean and pure, the sky did not have a single cloud, and it was warm, but not too hot to compete. The Crystal Empire's weather team had done an excellent job so far to make sure that the weather at the games was as favourable as possible to the athletes and fans alike.

Soarin flew with the mare to the hills just past the empire's farmland. The steep, rolling green hills gave the two of them a pleasant view of the city. The could see the athlete village, the general excitement going on in the town square near the castle, and the new stadiums build for the games. Preparations were underway for the events on the day, which included the final of the hoofball tournament, featuring Manehattan against Fillydelphia, which was taking place inside the main stadium, as well as a few swimming races and diving competitions at the aquatic centre.

"So, how do you want to practice this morning?" Rainbow asked after they finished looking out at the view for a few minutes as they hovered in the hair just above the hills.

"Well, I was thinking of having a small race with you. You know, just like a few months ago when we first started officially going out. Once around this set of hills. Winner gets bragging rights?"

Rainbow pondered for a few seconds. "You're on."

"But are you sure you want to do it? You have to be careful with your wing."

"It was just a cramp, Soar. It feels great today," Dash responded while using her hoof to boop her stallion lightly on his nose. Let's go."

"If you say so. Start counting."

"Three... Go!" Dash yelled as she took off.

"Hey," Soarin yelled as he quickly fell behind.

It was the final qualification tournament that Rainbow Dash was trying out for- the cross-country race. After two days of qualifying for her first two events, Rainbow Dash was on top of the world. She fought her urge to stay in bed in order to get up early to practice, hoping to take one of the twenty spots for the race. She knew with fifty ponies competing that there would be a lot of competition, but with her blowing away the competition the day before, she had confidence that she would make it with time to spare.

She stretched her wings, did a few loops in the air, dashed from side to side; anything to prepare herself for the qualification race.

The rules on this day were simple: everypony leaves at the same time, following the path of flags set up around the plains in the distance, which made a loop about one-quarter the size of the actual games' cross-country race, and finish in the top twenty to qualify.

Simple? Yes. But would a high finish indicate a future medal at the games was in the bag? Not at all. The ponies had to mentally prepare themselves that if they were to qualify for the final aerial race, this race would be the one that would break them. It was a mentally and physically draining experience that usually lasted four hours during the games, with three hours and sixteen minutes being the record for the games. The qualification race on this day was expected to only take the competitors an hour to finish.

Dash took a deep breath through her nose to smell the morning air. The clean smelling scent of the falls tickled her nostrils. Everpony else was asleep as the sun just began rising. The only thing she could hear was the sound of the birds in the trees and the rumbling roar of the colourful falls.

"Heya Dashie!"

"Ah!" she screamed as she fluttered about a metre higher in the air while turning around. "Soarin? What're you doing up so early?"

"The same thing you're doing up. I'm preparing myself to get to the games so I can show my stuff and beat you all and win a gold medal."

"Ha, well, good luck with that," Dash responded. "Races aren't really your thing, Soarin. You're more of a showpony."

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

"No offence, but your whole role in the Wonderbolts is to wow the onlookers. I've seen you perform so many times. Races aren't your strong point. You're better at doing moves in the air."

"I'll race you anytime, anywhere Dash," Soarin said with a confident grin. "Just try and keep up with me."

"Ha, let's do it right now."

"Now?" Soarin asked as his face straightened. "Um, no. I need to keep my energy up for the qualification."

"Suit yourself, chicken," Rainbow said as she smiled and slowly floated away from Soarin, mimicking chicken sounds.

"All right, Dashie. Right here, right now. Let's do it."

"Now you're talking," Rainbow said as she went beside Soarin. "Once around the mountain. That's it. Winner gets bragging rights and that's it."

"What's the fun in that?"

"You get to make fun of me for the rest of the day if you win," Rainbow teased her new coltfriend while flying around him. "Just think about it. You get to say that you beat the best flyer in all of Equestria. Doesn't that sound good to you?"

"Let's go!" Soarin said. Dash lined up beside him. "Ready?"

"I was born ready."

"Three."

"Two."

"One."

Honk!

"Ah come on," Dash said in frustration as she heard the horn over the loudspeakers that sounded to signify all the racers to get ready for the race, which was to begin in fifteen minutes.

"We can still race, Dashie," Soarin suggested. "What're you waiting for?"

Rainbow looked out as more and more ponies competing made their way to the area around the starting line, getting themselves ready to compete.

"I don't know. There's a lot of ponies around, and I would hate to embarrass you in front of all of them."

"First of all, you would never embarrass me in a race. Second of all, I do sort of agree with you. We'll race at sunset when everypony is gone. That way they won't see 'the best flyer in Equestria' lose to a 'showpony'."

"Sounds like a deal to me," Dash said, ignoring Soarin's mockery. "After I finish first in the race today, I'll whoop your flank one-on-one."

"We'll just see about that."

Soarin raced with all his might as Rainbow dashed ahead of him, making her way around the hills just outside of the Crystal Empire. He watched from behind as her mane and tail blew in the wind. He pushed ahead as hard as he could go, trying to catch up with the mare. Maybe she was right that time a few months ago. Maybe he was just a showpony, and not a true racer.

But then again, he did win a gold medal the day before. A medal that he left at his own cottage that morning, not even mentioning it to the mare who coveted it so badly. He needed to live up to being a champion. He squinted his eyes, pushing ahead as hard as he could, eventually catching up with the mare on the other side of the hills.

"Not too shabby, Soar," Rainbow said as the stallion caught up beside her.

"I'm not going to let you win, Dashie. Hurt wing or not, you don't get any charity from me."

"I won't need it!" she yelled out with a salute as she shot like a bullet away from him.

Dash had that one thing that Soarin was never able to get no matter how hard he practiced. She just had that natural gift of flying. He watched as she made the turn around the hills, about ten seconds ahead of him.

The cross-country qualification race was well along. Dash, Lightning Dust, Soarin, Spitfire, and Fleetfoot led the way about fifty-five minutes into the race. The finish line was just ahead.

They all smiled to each other as they knew their spots in the final race were all but set. Rainbow slowed down as she didn't want to tire out right at the death, allowing Soarin to approach beside her.

"So," the stallion shouted above the sound of the wind. "You ready for the big race?"

"Um, it's not for a few months, Soarin. But yeah, I'll be ready."

"Oh no, I mean our big race."

"Oh, that. Yeah, of course I'm ready. After I beat you right now, I'll beat you later as well."

"We'll see about that," the stallion responded as he went up ahead.

Dash's face became more determined as she pushed ahead to finish first in qualification. Even though she actually probably was the fastest flyer in Equestria, her endurance and stamina was her weakest part. As she went faster, she grew more and more physically and mentally tired. With a grunt, she watched as Soarin went ahead, finishing first. She crossed the finish line in second, assuring her qualification in the final aerial race of the games.

Rainbow panted and gasped for air when she finally reached the ground. Soarin trotted up beside her, full of pride for qualifying first.

"So, how do you feel that you were just beaten by a 'showpony'?"

"Hold... on... one... second... please."

"Oh? Too tired to talk?" Soarin teased playfully.

Dash looked up with a grin. "Just wait until everypony leaves. You'll be eating my dust."

Soarin and Dash waited around, conversing with the other competitors, especially the other Wonderbolts. They talked about how they just started dating two days ago. They were going to keep it quiet to start, but it was pretty plain to see, what with Soarin already using a pet name for his marefriend, and all. One that she never let anypony but her closest friends use on her.

"So, Dashie," Soarin said as the sun was setting and the last pony in the area left for the night. "Ready to lose to me again?"

"Not a chance. Let's go," she said as she stood at the finish line from the previous race.

"You know, I won't take you calling me a showpony lying down. I need you to see that I can compete as well."

"Oh Soarin, I wasn't saying that to be mean. But I'll never call you a showpony again if you beat me. Deal?"

"All right. Three," Soarin counted as he stood beside her on the finish line.

"Two."

"One."

"Go!" they shouted in unison as they took took to the sunset sky.

Once around the mountainous region they went, passing by the caves at the back, looking over the river, forest, and empty fields. Hearing the crash of the falls. If they weren't engaging in a race to end all races, they could have probably had a romantic flight together.

They were neck and neck as they made their way around the mountains, eventually coming around the final turn. Soarin desperately wanted to win as Rainbow struggled, still tired from the long race earlier.

"It's a beautiful sight, isn't it Dashie?" Soarin said while looking over the land.

"Stop distracting me, Soar. I'm not going to fall for it."

"All right, I guess I'll just have to beat you fairly," he said as he used all his might to pull ahead.

Dash tried desperately to find her second wind to give that extra push. She grunted and growled as she pushed forward. But her wings were just too tired. She watched as Soarin made the turn ahead of her, landing on the finish line a few seconds before.

The mare stood on all fours, looking at the ground as she tried to catch her breath. "All right, you beat me again. Go ahead, make fun of me."

"Hmmm," Soarin sounded out loud as he thought. "No."

"Why not?"

"Because, Dashie, I know how much you like to win. Losing is enough punishment for you. And besides, what kind of coltfriend would I be to insult you for something like this?"

Dash smiled as she lifted her head back up. "Fair enough, Soarin. Thank you. I'll keep my end of the bargain and won't call you a showpony anymore."

Soarin trotted slowly up to the mare, who now caught her breath fully.

"I may be done racing with you, but I don't think I'm done flying with you just yet," he said.

"What do you mean, Soarin?" Dash asked in response.

"Come on," Soarin said as he grabbed his mare's hoof for the first time, causing her to blush profusely.

Rainbow Dash proudly looked back with a grin as she came to the spot where they started racing, finishing a good twenty seconds ahead of him. This time it was Soarin was panting and out of breath.

After he finally was able to breath normally, he said, "All right, you made you're point. Even with an injured wing, you're still a better racer than I am. I fear for the competition tomorrow."

"Hey, I don't think we'll ever know who's the best flyer in Equestria," Dash admitted. "I like to pretend that it's me, but there is just no way of ever knowing."

"That's noble for you to admit that, Dashie. But now that you won, you may go ahead and tease me about it. Come on, call me a showpony."

Dash thought out loud, just as Soarin did the first time the raced like this. "No. What kind of marefriend would I be to insult you for something like this?"

Soarin smiled as he flew closer to his marefirend, hugging her high in the sky.

"I'm happy you're feeling better," he said as he broke off the hug. "It hurt me to see you so upset yesterday. Come on, let's go watch some other events," he said while grabbing her hoof and leading her away.

"Sounds good to me," she responded without a flinch. At this point she was used to Soarin holding her hoof.

Even though Soarin had just beaten Rainbow in the qualifier race and their own race, he wanted to give her a memorable evening in Rainbow Falls. After all, it was their last night there. Each competitor was to go back to their normal lives the next morning.

"You know, Soarin, I don't like all this romantic stuff," Rainbow said as Soarin led her by the hoof. They flew over the river down below.

"Okay, but I do," the stallion responded as he made them start to descend. He led them to a part of the river outside of the forest, where they could get a full view of the sunset. The sun was about a quarter gone beyond the horizon, so they had only a few minutes left to watch it pass.

They gently landed on the soft grass beside the bubbling stream coming from the falls in the distance.

"What're we doing, Soarin?" Dash asked as they trotted along the water.

"I know that the last few times we've spent time together before this week, things didn't end up the way we may have wanted. Life just got in the way. Tonight I want to show you that I'll be here by your side, and that's a promise. I not only want to share a nice evening with you now, but I want to assure you that this- us- will work out."

That wasn't really what the mare was expecting to come out of the stallion's mouth. She couldn't help but blush again. "Um, okay. Yeah. I mean, I want us to work out too. So, how will we do this?"

"Well, I know you live in Ponyville, you know where the Wonderbolt Headquarters is. How about every second weekend I fly out to see you in Ponyville, and every other second weekend you fly out to Cloudsdale to see me? We'll make a routine of it. I promise you we'll have some fun dates."

Dash thought for a few seconds. "You know, Soarin, that could work."

"I'm glad you're on board, the stallion responded while letting go of his mare's hoof to pick up a rock on the ground." He threw it, hoping it would skip, but instead it fell down to the bottom of the river in one big splash. The stallion's ears went down in embarassment.

"What was that, Soarin? That was pitiful. I thought you said you were romantic."

"Just because I can't skip stones doesn't mean I'm not romantic, Dashie."

"Here," Rainbow said as she picked up a smooth stone, throwing it down the river and watching it skip five... six... seven times. Soarin watched on in disbelief. "The trick is that you have to pick up a smooth stone, dummy," she said jokingly.

With a chuckle, Soarin picked up a smooth stone and threw it, skipping it only twice. "Oh come on."

"That's okay, Soarin. My parents used to take me to different places when I was a filly. We always ended up throwing stones in the end. It was our thing when I was younger."

"Well, with enough practice, I could get better at it, and this could be our new thing."

"I would love that," Rainbow replied while approaching the stallion closer. The sun was just about to set completely in the distance. The couple looked on, watching it get lower and lower. The sky was red and orange in the distance, and darker blue on top of them, with just a few small clouds in the sky.

Rainbow squinted her eyes and leaned up to the taller stallion for a kiss. He closed her eyes and returned it in kind.

"I thought you said that you didn't like being romantic?" Soarin asked as the kiss ended and he slowly opened his eyes.

"Okay, fine, maybe I do enjoy being romantic a little bit. I never really had the chance to try it before," she said in response. "But if you tell anypony that I enjoyed this, I'll smack you one."

"Ah, there's the Dashie I know."

Chapter 5: Remembering Yesterday, Anticipating Tomorrow

Soarin and Rainbow shared a goodnight kiss as they departed for the evening. They watched events at the games throughout the day after their morning race and shared a candlelit dinner at the Crystal Cafe, which was located near the castle. After flying overtop the wonderfully lit city after the sun set down, they parted ways for the evening. Rainbow was completely distracted from her fall the day before, as well as her injured leg. Even though she still slightly limped, she didn't feel the pain anymore. Her wing felt as good as new. Soarin did a good job of making her feel happy, distracting her from both her pain and her nerves of the final event.

The mare turned on the light inside her room, then flopping flat on her back on her bed. Full of joy and satisfaction at how happy she was to be with Soarin, she let her mind wander to all the pleasant memories she had with the stallion over their first few months of dating.

After the wonderful start that they had to their relationship at Rainbow Falls, the couple kept true on their promise to each other. They rotated visiting each other on different weekends, even meeting each others' parents. Sure, they still had a relatively young relationship, but they knew that their love was for real.

And there were a number of ways to prove that. They never had any huge arguments or problems, and any time they did have a slight argument, they didn't let a day pass without resolving it. Quite a few times, actually, their arguments were about who got the last piece of pie, with Rainbow submitting the final piece to her pie-loving coltfriend. One time, though, he actually gave the final piece to her, which meant a lot to Rainbow.

One memory stood out in the pegasus' mind more than the others. It was the time that he finally said three little words that meant so much to her.

Sleeping in a floating mansion made of clouds was one of the things about life that Rainbow Dash loved the most. The beds were as comfy as any creature other than a pegasus would have expected them to be. There was never any noise from neighbours, so the nights were peaceful and quiet, making it even easier to sleep. For a pegasus who loved sleep as much as Rainbow did, living in this floating mansion made sleeping in so much easier to do.

It was now one month since Rainbow Dash and Soarin started dating, with two months to go until the Equestria Games. The couple kept true to their word together and visited each other on the weekends. Rainbow visited Soarin for two weekends, where they met each others' parents for the first time, and the stallion visited her back in the weekend in between. That was when he got to learn more about the mare's friends, which made him even more fond of Rainbow herself. That was when they told the stories of how they saved the kingdom a number of times from unspeakable evil.

Rainbow was still sleeping soundly in her cloud mansion when she felt a drop of rain fall onto her face.

With a grumble, she wiped off the droplet from her face, and opened her eyes. Dash looked outside the window, watching the sunrise. It took a few seconds to remember what day it way, but when she did, a smile spread across her face. It was Saturday, which meant two things: she didn't have to work, which was always a huge bonus, and Soarin was coming to visit once again.

But the smile didn't last for too long, though. She remembered that it was the third weekend of the month, which was always the weekend allotted by the Ponyville weather team every month for rain. The day before Dash spent time with the other members of her crew gathering rain clouds over the town. As the custom on this weekend every month, they left the clouds there so that the rain could fall on and off for the next two days.

Rainbow covered her face with her hooves in dissatisfaction as she remembered that Soarin would be at her door at any time soon. The rain would mean that they'd have to do indoor activities for most of the weekend.

Thankfully she could rely on her friends for stuff to do, right?

Wrong! Well, on this weekend, at least. Twilight Sparkle and Spike were visiting Canterlot as the new alicorn princess was spending time to catch up with her mentor. Pinkie Pie was visiting Appleloosa with Applejack and her siblings, catching up with the rest of the Apple family, and Fluttershy accompanied them. Lately the shy yellow pegasus went wherever Applejack and her brother went, for some reason. Finally, Rarity and Sweetie Belle were visiting their parents. But that was the norm on this weekend every month, simply because of the rain. It was the one weekend of each month that the six main friends went their separate ways.

There just had to be something for Rainbow Dash to do with Soarin. The mare pondered what they could do, but her time ran out as she heard a pony land on the clouds in front of her door. She could hear Soarin call her name over the sound of the rain.

Dash quickly ran into her bathroom, making sure that she was at least presentable, and then flew downstairs and opened the door for her stallion.

As soon as she opened the door, she burst into laughter, even falling on her back.

"Oh yeah, laugh it up Dashie," Soarin said as he stepped inside.

"Soar, your-" the mare tried to say while still chuckling on her back and wiping her teary eyes. "You look hilarious!"

Soarin didn't have a mirror on him to see how he looked, but he just knew it was funny from the mare's reaction. He had flown straight into the rain clouds in his descent into Ponyville. His mane was completely wet, and when he tried to shake off the rain when he was at the front of the door to the floating mansion, his mane went completely flat and parted and down the middle, making him look completely nerdy.

"Are you done laughing?" Soarin asked the mare, who was still on her back, but not as hysterical as before.

"Yes," she said while reaching out a hoof. The stallion helped her get up.

"So, what do you have planned for us today?" Soarin asked.

"Um... well... not really anything," the mare responded. She really should have thought about this more than just a few minutes before her coltfriend came in. "All my friends are gone away this weekend, and I forgot it was scheduled to rain. So, what do you want to do?"

"Honestly, Dashie, I have nothing in particular in mind as well. You just want to do something around here?"

"Sure! But, only, I don't really have much to do around here either."

"There's surely something that two young ponies can do together."

"Hmm," Dash thought out loud. But she then got a brilliant idea; something that they had not done together as of yet, and could be done right in the home. "Let's draw pictures."

Soarin let out a loud, Dash-like, obnoxious yawn. "Yeah, no. It's not that bad outside. We could just go shopping or something."

"Bleck," Rainbow sounded out upon hearing the S word. "The only shopping I ever do is for food. It's a waste of time."

"All right, all right. No shopping. How about we just go down to that pastry place your pink friend works at and we'll get breakfast."

"Even though Pinkie Pie's not there today, it would be nice not having to make breakfast myself," the mare replied in agreement. If there was one thing to the mare that rivaled the joy created from sleep or flying, it was eating, and especially at Suger Cube Corner.

And eat they did. They were the only customers so far that day for the Cake family over at Suger Cube Corner, so the married couple said that they would make whatever the young dating couple wanted., which ended up being fried potatoes, pancakes, and hay bacon strips, something that Pinkie Pie had invented herself a couple of years prior.

The two couples conversed for quite a while afterwards. The Cakes told stories about what happened when they first started dating, including all the embarrassing times. The story of Mr. Cake asking out his future wife was actually quite the funny story, because he was a huge nerd back in the day. The married couple also gave some pretty good advice to Dash and Soar, who still had a lot to learn about relationships. Having fun while dating is one thing, but marriage is a whole different monster. Not that they were anywhere close to being married, though. They still had a long way to go.

Rainbow looked out the window momentarily after about two hours of being at Suger Cube Corner, and she was greeted with a pleasant sight. There was a break in the clouds, and the sun had come out.

"Soarin, come on!" Dash said while grabbing the stallions hoof. Mr. and Mrs. Cake had just taken a few minutes to clean up from the breakfast they served.

"Wait!" the stallion said. "We still have to pay for the meal."

"We don't have any time to waste," Dash said while throwing a collection of bits on the table to pay for the meal. "The sun won't last for long."

"Thanks, Mr. and Mrs. Cake," Soarin shouted out as he got pulled outside by his marefriend.

Just as the front door closed, Mrs. Cake came out with a cake she was going to surprise the young couple with. She had a bittersweet form of disappointment, as now she had to share the cake with only her husband.

Rainbow Dash pulled Soarin by the hoof as she took to flight just above the ground. The sun was shining through the dark clouds as the mare dragged her coltfriend all the way to a bunch of trees by the Ponyville River.

"Ah," the stallion said as they landed. "Now I know what you want to do today."

Dash smiled as she picked up a flat stone and tossed it over to Soarin. "Come on, Soar. We won't have much sunlight today. Let's get a few good tosses in before we have to go back inside. Whoever gets the most skips with a single stone gets to decide what we do tonight."

"Oh you're on," Soarin said with a grin. "If I win, we go see a romantic movie in the theatre down the road."

Rainbow gagged again. "Ugh, fine. If I win we go prank Scootaloo."

"That's a little mean, don't you think? Good thing I'm going to win, then."

"Okay, Soarin," Dash said condescendingly. "We'll see about that." The mare looked around the ground of a bunch of stones on the ground along the stream, picking up a flat one. "Try and beat this," she said. With a swing of her hoof, she let go of the stone, bouncing it once downstream. Only once. Then it sank. "Oh come on."

"Ha, nice try, Dashie. Now watch a professional at work," Soarin said as he picked up another flat stone.

"Come on, Soarin. I've been doing it years longer than you have. You have nothing on me."

"Are you sure about that?" he asked as he swung his hoof, launching the stone downstream, splashing it seven times.

Dash stared back at him, both amazing and frustrated. "All right, I see how it is," she said as she picked up another stone, throwing it and splashing it six times. "Come on." She picked up another one, splashing it only four times. "Oh for crying out-"

"Give up?" Soarin asked.

"Never," Dash replied as she picked up another stone, this time splashing it six times again. "Oh come on!"

"Looks like we'll be watching a movie tonight."

Rainbow rolled her eyes almost as far as they could go. "Fine," she replied with a sigh.

"Just face it, you can't be the best all the time," Soarin said.

"I know, I know. But I want to be," the mare replied. Just after she said that, she felt a raindrop fall on her nose. "Oh, great, now the rain's coming back."

Soarin looked up and saw that the dark clouds had rolled in again. "We may still have a few minutes before the rain com-" He was interrupted as a downpour came on the couple, instantly drenching them. The rain came heavily and quickly, and they had far to go to get back to Rainbow's floating mansion.

Rainbow looked around for a place to get some shelter. She almost instantly found a lush tree that looked to provide enough protection from the rain. There was no lightning in the vicinity, so it seemed like the safest place to go. She grabbed the stallion's hoof, pulling him over to the tree, where they both laid down on the dry ground at the base of the trunk.

"Great, now what're we going to do?" Dash asked as they sat there on the dry ground, protected from the rain. The smell of the air was fresh and the sound of the many drops were peaceful. Occasionally a single drop would fall on one of the two ponies, but they were far better protected where they were than if they decided to run home right away.

"I don't know. Tell stories?"

Rainbow pondered for a second. "Meh, I've got nothing."

"Me neither," Soarin said as he rested his back on the tree. Dash laid her head forward onto her forelegs.

"Hey, I got something!" Rainbow said while perking her head up. "What happened to you while I was at the Wonderbolt Academy? I was so excited to see if I could see you and you weren't even there."

"Ah. You know, I forgot to tell you about that until now. It's pretty simple, actually. I was sent to Manehattan for a few weeks to meet and train some young pegasi who were raised in poor households."

"Really?" Dash asked, surprised at his response.

Soarin nodded his head with a grin. "Yep. You see, as Wonderbolts, we're not only performers, we're also role models. Not every young filly or colt can afford to see us. The team and I agreed to let me go so that I could spend some time with young ponies in the city, teaching them to fly and giving them a chance to finally see a Wonderbolt up close. It was actually amazing for me to go, because it just felt great knowing that I was affecting so many young ponies."

"I guess I can't really be mad at you if that's the reason you weren't there when I was. But it would have been nice if you watched how amazing I performed."

"Please, I've always known how awesome you are. You don't have to prove it to me," the stallion responded. He looked out to the flowing river, lost in thought for a second. "Hey, can I tell you something that I've never told anypony before?"

"Uh, yeah, of course!"

"Okay... before I became a Wonderbolt, I was actually really shy. It still bothers me sometimes, especially before big shows."

"Come on, Soarin the Wonderbolt- shy? No way!"

"Yes way. I was petrified when my parents first sent me to the Wonderbolt Academy. The only reason why I did so well was because I knew ow much they had to work to afford to send me there. I couldn't let them down. And trust me, even somepony as brave as you would be nervous performing in front of a huge crowd. "

"Not likely, Soar. I'm excited to be going to the games."

"Maybe now, but you'll be nervous when the games come. Trust me. Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, nowadays I'm not nervous before every show. Only before big ones. I had to fight my nerves in order to be the best flyer I could be. I wouldn't want to have an accident right over a huge crowd."

"Eww," Dash replied just thinking about it.

"Yeah, exactly. But one thing that helps me battle nerves more than anything is knowing that I am making my parents proud and that I am looked up to by young ponies anywhere. Maybe one day you'll get the chance to be a Wonderbolt, and you can feel the same way."

"As of now, I'm just wondering how I'm not a Wonderbolt. I should've became one years ago."

"Your time will come. I'm sure of it. Just focus on the games for now."

"I will. After all, I need to train hard in order to beat you."

"Don't flatter me, Dash. You're better than me and you know it."

"Come on, at least let me try to be modest! It's not something that comes natural to me." Dash pondered for a second, remembering something about what Soarin had said earlier. "Hey, if you're as shy as you claim to be, how come you have no problem talking to me?"

"Because you're worth me putting my fears aside." Soarin watched as Dash's cheeks got red. "Ah-ha, you're blushing. I see it!"

"I am not!"

"You so are!"

"Okay, fine, maybe I am a little bit," Dash said while rubbing her face with one hoof.

"Hey, you want to know something else I've never told anypony before, except for my parents?" Soarin then asked.

"What's that?"

"I love you."

"Uh, what?" Rainbow replied bluntly.

"You heard me."

"Ugh, why do you do this to me, Soarin?" Rainbow said while turning away, trying to hide her blush once again. "Fine," she said while turning to face him. "I love you too. I can't believe you just made me say that."

"Nah, I didn't make you say it. You said it because you wanted to."

Maybe things were going a little quickly for the couple, maybe things weren't. It was hard to tell. But the one thing Rainbow knew as she laid down in her bed in her cottage at the athlete village was that she really did mean it when she said she loved him back. And days like the one she just had proved it all the more. He treated her like the treasure she was, and he even brought out a softer side of her; a side she always had, but never wanted to show to others. She believed that it made her look weaker, which was the exact opposite of the truth.

As Rainbow laid there, remembering things that she did with her coltfriend, she also thought out the future- getting engaged, marrying Soarin, having a family. Sure, maybe she was getting a little ahead of herself. But in a kingdom where stallions were far and few between, having one as amazing as Soarin love Dash for who she was was a privilege. And Rainbow wasn't willing to ever lose this stallion, just as she was unwilling to lose everything in life. All the signs pointed to them being together forever.

But as the mare turned over in her bed, she remembered something that Soarin said. Something about the fact that she would be nervous before big events. The next day was her final chance at winning a medal. If she were to lose, she'd probably never forgive herself.

"Come on, Dash, you'll do fine," she would mutter to herself.

"No you won't," her mind would say back to her. The cycle repeated a number of times.

With a groan, she tried to put her fears aside, remembering that she would not only have her coltfriend cheering her on, even though he'd be competing against her, she'd also have her parents, her friends, and all of Ponyville supporting her.

Her mind went back and forth between nervousness and excitement for the final race for about twenty minutes. Eventually her brain slowed down and her body was just too tired from trying to heal and from being out all day, and she fell asleep soundly.

Author's Note

Ugh. This chapter was so unbelievably crap. It didn't turn out at all like I wanted it to, and now Soarin seems like he's Mary Sue, which is always my biggest problem. Oh well. The last chapter will be good, I promise.

I wanted to write about meeting their parents and stuff, but that would have just been a distraction from the main story, and not necessary for the plot. Ha, plot. If you want to see parent humour, place see Chapter 18 of A Guard and A Princess.

Anyways, I wanted to finish the story by the end of the month, but I came just short. Life got in the way. After all, I started writing this story in Florida, and now I'm back home in Toronto. Driving across the United States was really hard in this winter weather. It's almost apocalyptic in some cities right now.

I'll try to finish the final chapter sometime next week. There shouldn't be any flashbacks or anything. It will just be the race, and I'll try to capture the entire moment perfectly. That's why it will take a little bit of time.

Chapter 6: Soarin to Victory

Rainbow Dash tossed and turned as she battled her tired body while trying to wake up and shut off the annoying screams of her alarm clock. After a few seconds of struggling, Dash was able to open her eyes fully and she swung her hoof out, shutting off her nagging alarm.

"Well, today's the day," she said aloud as she continued to lay on her back. It was now morning and the cross-country race, her final event, was a few hours away.

So far the mare had an up-and-down experience at the Equestria Games. Rainbow had hurt her wing and leg in a slip up, not even getting on the podium in her second event. However, her friends and coltfriend picked her up when she fell, raising her spirits. She also had won a bronze medal in the first event, but that was just a consolation prize for the mare. The medal was just laying there on her dresser in her cabin.

Soarin had taken Rainbow out the day before so that she could get some practice while at the same time checking her two injuries to see if she'd be able to compete in the last event. Everything felt good. The good night's rest she just woke up from left her feeling healthy enough to go.

Ignoring her usual inclination to sleep in, Dash picked herself out of bed, took a shower, and got into her uniform that Rarity had designed with the Ponyville name proudly on it. Her wing and her leg felt good as she slipped on the perfect-fitting outfit. She still had a very slight limp, but it was nowhere near as painful as it was before. In fact, it was barely noticeable anymore. There was no reason for the mare to worry.

But even though she had no reason to worry, she still did. Rainbow Dash's big day was here and she needed to make the most of it. Not only was it her own last chance to get a medal, it was also the last good chance that Ponyville had as a whole to be represented at the podium. The other competitors of the Games representing the town she called home had not done so well. Bulk Biceps got bronze in weightlifting. Thunderlane finished in second, third, fifth, and eighth in the four ground races he qualified to compete in. The Ponyville synchronized flying, water polo, and hoofball teams didn't even make the final four in their own tournaments. Needless to say, the small town needed something to lift their spirits.

Who else would do a better job than Rainbow Dash? The pegasus was a local hero in Ponyville. She was the best flyer in the land.

The pegasus didn't win a gold medal yet simply because of reasons out of her control. She couldn't control her teammates in the relay race, and it's not like she wanted to get injured and fall in the second race. But she still had her worries as she went through her morning routine. Nagging thoughts plagued her mind. The thought of failing once again in front of her fans, her friends, her parents, and her new love. It's not something that she wanted to happen again.

Dash had a few minutes to spare before the time when Soarin was going to come pick her up. She trotted over to her mirror.

"All right, Dash, this is the day you've waited for," she said to her reflection. "No more failure. No more being a loser. Today you're going to own it and show the world what you've got." But she paused for a second, almost pouting at her reflection. She felt a deep pit in her stomach as her mind quickly brought back the memory of her slamming into the wall in the previous event.

Dash quickly gave her head a shake and turned around, heading to the area in front of her bed. She laid her front half down low and started to do some push-ups, hoping it could rev up her engine a little and get her mind focused on winning.

"One. Two. Three."

Knock knock knock.

"Come in," Dash said as she continued to exercise. The door was pushed open, revealing Soarin. Rainbow quickly picked up the pace of her push-ups and continued counting out loud at the sight of her coltfriend. "Two ninety-nine. Three hundred," she said as she pushed herself up for only the eighth or ninth time.

"Wow, three hundred push-ups in the morning?" Soarin asked with a smile.

"Um, yeah, I do three hundred every morning," Rainbow said while not making eye contact, keeping her pace up.

"That's weird," Soarin said while trotting around the mare, "because I'm pretty sure you just started counting right before I knocked. These houses aren't necessarily built very thick. And besides, you haven't even broken a sweat."

Rainbow instantly went red as she stopped pushing and stood up tall. "Oh, you know, um, well-"

"You don't have to try to impress me, Rainbow," Soarin reassured with a smile. "I already know what you're capable of," he said as the mare bit her lip and looked aside, hoping he'd forget about it. To change the subject, Soarin asked, "So, you ready for the big race?"

Rainbow opened her mouth with wide eyes as if she was ready to shout in excitement, but she paused for a moment instead. "Soarin, I'd like to say something really confident right now, but I can't. I'm not gonna lie- I'm really scared. I feel good and all, but what if a fail? I may never get a second chance."

"Are you kidding? Of course you'll get a second chance," Soarin said confidently. "You're still young. You can compete a few more Games before you retire. But that doesn't matter, after all, because you'll win today."

"Soar, I'd love to say I believe you, but I just can't," Rainbow said while looking down. "I'm not sore anymore, I'm well rested. Still, I just know that something's going to go wrong. With so many ponies watching me, and knowing a failed before, I just-"

"Hey," Soarin interrupted as he pushed Rainbow's chin up with his hoof, "don't talk like that. I know we all feel down at times and we lose confidence in ourselves, but talking like you're talking now will end up making you lose. Have some confidence and believe in yourself. I mean, I believe in you."

"But Soarin, every time I have too much confidence in myself I end up falling even harder. I want to be happy and confident in myself, but I'm scared. I'm nervous. Something bad will happen."

"That's the case with overconfidence. If you know what you're capable of, you can be proud of it. I believe in you. Your parents believe in you. Heck, your entire town believes in you. I won my medal even though nopony expected it." Soarin raised his hoof and touched Dash's chest with the tip of it. "Now it's your turn. You have what it takes to win, and if you're determined to do it, there's no reason why you can't."

Rainbow Dash just couldn't hold in her smile. Nopony had ever given her a pep talk quite like that before.

"I, um, I don't really know what to say, Soar," Rainbow replied as she continued to smile.

"How about, 'Thank you, Soarin. You helped me out a lot and you're the best coltfriend ever and you're so sexy and smart and-'"

"Um, no," Rainbow interrupted. "I'll just say 'thank you' for now. You've helped me feel a little better."

There she stood in the tunnel of the stadium, ready to go in front of the large crowd on hand. She could hear the fracas of tens of thousands of ponies anticipating the final aerial race. Rainbow looked around the hallway, eyeing the other competitors. The competition was fierce for this event, but there was one face that stood out amongst Dash's competitors. It was Soarin, her caring coltfriend. As everypony put on their war faces, Soarin turned around and smiled to his mare. Rainbow smiled back as she awaited the announcement to come out.

Soon came the words that she knew she would never get tired of.

"Fillies and gentlecolts, welcome to the final aerial race," said the stallion announcer in the stadium. The start of the announcement was met by the roar of the anticipating crowd.

Rainbow Dash held her breath as she tried to control the butterflies in her stomach. As the second place finisher in the qualification race, she was second to come out of the tunnel, only behind Soarin himself. Soarin turned around and smiled at his mare. "This is it, Dashie. This is your time to shine. I'll see you on the track," he said as his name was announced around the stadium. Dash could hear the roar of the crowd as he was welcomed.

Rainbow prepared herself. She bounced up and down a few times, moving her wings and hooves, trying to lighten up a little bit, awaiting her own announcement.

"Representing Ponyville, wearing number two, Rainbow Dash!"

Rainbow Dash took her first few steps into the sun-lit stadium. The crowd roared, setting the tone for the exciting race to follow shortly. Rainbow trotted her way around the track towards the starting line. She looked out to the crowd, spotting her parents. She gave them a quick salute and a smile as she trotted by. Just in front of them were her five closest friends, as well as the Cutie Mark Crusaders. She was able to spot and focus on Scootaloo as she made her way by. The filly was decked out in her Rainbow Dash fan gear. The smile on Scootaloo's face brought happiness to the mare in the spotlight. With a wink to her biggest fan, Rainbow kept going to her starting position, right beside Soarin.

The pegasus watched as, one by one, the other eighteen competitors came into the arena. The last competitor finally made her way out of the tunnel and into the last row of racers on the track.

Rainbow bent down with the others to ready herself for the gunshot to go off.

"You'll be fine, Dashie," she heard Soarin say from beside her. "I believe in you."

Rainbow looked over to him. "I just hope I have enough belief in myself," she muttered.

"Well, in case you lose, just remember- winning isn't everything," Soarin told her.

"But it's the only thing I want right now," Rainbow replied boldly as she put her goggles over her eyes.

"Competitors, on your marks."

Rainbow arched her back.

"Get set."

She extended her wings behind her.

Bang!

With the sound of the gunshot, Rainbow took off like a bullet. She ascended with the other racers up and out of the stadium, over all of their cheering fans.

Small clouds were set up around the Crystal Empire with flags on them to mark the course, which was four times larger than the course for the qualification race. Rainbow Dash and Soarin knew how tough of a race this would be. It was more a test of endurance than speed. Rainbow had practiced for months on her endurance in hopes that she would be able to last for the entire race.

Minutes passed as the competitors moved well out of the stadium and into the farmland around the Crystal Empire. Everything felt good. Rainbow Dash loved the feeling of the wind in her mane. She never got tired of it. The pain of her injury from the race before was now a distant memory in her mind. The only thing she was focused on was winning.

Rainbow led the pack for the first quarter of the race, over the farmland and plains. They made their way to the mountain range around the empire with the burning summer sun beaming down on them.

The light blue mare could feel the sweat drop from her hair and down her furry cheek. Her breaths became more shallow and faster. She turned her head quickly behind her, noticing that Soarin was only a few metres away.

"S-Soar?" she called out.

Soarin flapped harder to quicken his pace, eventually catching up to Dash and flying right beside her. The two of them were now tied for the lead in the race as they continued to fly in between the floating flags.

"How you holding up, Dashie?" Soarin asked as he hadn't even broken a sweat. Even though he wasn't as fast, his hard Wonderbolt training made his endurance much better.

"Not too well," Rainbow replied.

"Uh oh," Soarin muttered as he turned his face away from a quick gust of wind. "Is it your wing?"

"No, the wing's fine," Dash responded. "I... I'm slowing down. I can't handle this heat."

"Get behind me," Soarin said as he flapped hard to pull ahead.

"All right," Rainbow responded.

Soarin pulled up ahead into first place. But that allowed him to block the wind from his marefriend so that she wouldn't get as tired.

Spitfire soon pulled up right beside Rainbow. "Already tired, eh Rainbow Dash? I thought you were better than that."

"Hey, I'm a way better flier than you will ever be!" Rainbow yelled back. Soarin grinned and nodded his head with pride at his mare showing some confidence as he flew ahead towards the approaching mountains.

"Well, prove it, Rainbow!" Spitfire yelled back. "I'll tell ya what. If you win the gold medal, you'll automatically be accepted into the Wonderbolts."

"Wait, are you serious?" Rainbow asked in shock.

"Sure, rookie! You've proven to us that you have what it takes," Spitfire replied. "Now all you need to do is win and you'll have the fans on your side as well."

Instantly, Rainbow felt a serge through her body. Her dream of becoming a Wonderbolt could be reached in only a few more hours of endurance. Even though that organization was well below her skill level and attitude, it was still her dream to put on that Wonderbolt suit for good.

"Go faster, Soarin," Rainbow called out.

"What?" Soarin yelled back as he couldn't hear his mare over the sound of the wind.

"Faster!"

"You got it!" Soarin yelled back as he sped up with Rainbow closely following. They pulled well ahead of Spitfire with ease.

Now flying over the mountain range, Rainbow Dash's focus was solely on holding up in order to win, rather than how tired she truly was. She flew up beside Soarin.

"Hey, thanks for blocking the wind for me," Rainbow said as she looked at him.

"Come on, Dashie, get behind me again. Don't tire out."

"Thanks, but I'm not tired anymore," she said proudly. "I now have an even bigger reason to win."

"Don't strain yourself, Dashie. You don't want to get permanently injured," Soarin warned.

"The wing feels fine, Soar. I got this," Dash said confidently.

"If you say so," Soarin replied.

"I'll see you at the finish line," Rainbow said with a salute as she shot ahead, ignoring her tired body. There was still a long way to go.

"Wait!" Soarin said while reaching a hoof out, but it was far too late. The stallion watched with a cringe as Rainbow shot ahead with all her might, ignoring her fatigue.

Rainbow pushed on, flying over the Crystal Mountains. Up there was a gentle breeze, and the temperature was quite a bit lower. It was pleasant compared to the burning hot summer temperature down on the ground. Rainbow wove her way through the flags as she continued in the course, pulling far ahead of the competition.

The rainbow-maned pegasus descended into the mountains as the clouds with the flags were placed lower. The course now took her through two large mountains, and eventually away from the range and back into the open plains of the area. Rainbow looked off into the distance, trying to locate the flags. She remembered from the pre-race instructions that the course went around the entire Crystal Empire.

With about halfway to go, Rainbow could see the city in the middle of the plains to her left. It was truly a spectacular sight. The Crystal Empire city, the plains around it, and then the mountain range, which she just passed. If she wasn't in the biggest race of her life, then she probably would have stopped to take in the sights.

But Rainbow Dash knew her task at hoof. She had built quite a big lead, and now all she had to do was finish the second half of the course with ease in order to pick up her gold medal and finally get accepted to the Wonderbolts.

It was almost too good to be true. Almost as if it was a dream.

But it wasn't. This was the real life, and it wasn't fantasy.

Rainbow continually pondered her future as she kept up a moderate pace. She had a big enough lead to not stress too hard, and because of her focus on her goal, she didn't care about her tired body. In fact, she didn't even feel it. The adrenaline kept her going.

I waited my whole life for this, Rainbow pondered as she continued to fly the course. The fame, the bits, the suit. All my work has finally paid off. Just finish the race. Just finish the race...

"See you later, Rainbow Dash!" Spitfire quickly said as she interrupted the younger mare's thoughts.

"What?" Rainbow Dash yelled out as she fell into second place in an instant. She looked back and Soarin was now just behind her.

"Hey, what happened?" the stallion asked as he quickly caught up. "You pushed too hard, didn't you?"

"No! Not at all," Rainbow defended. "I guess I just got too comfortable with my lead."

"It's okay, we'll get her back," Soarin assured his mare as he flew beside her. The fiery pegasus did not pull too far ahead, and there was still about a quarter of the course to go. "Hey Dashie," Soarin continued.

"Yeah?"

"Spitfire didn't want me to tell you this, but I'll do it anyway," he began. Rainbow quickly turned her focus to her coltfriend while glancing every few seconds at the course ahead. "She said that you have incredible potential, and sometimes she even worries that you could become the best Wonderbolt ever."

"She really said that?" Rainbow asked excitedly.

"She sure did!" Soarin replied cheerfully.

"Well, what're you waiting for?" Dash asked. "Let's go beat her!`

"No!" Soarin quickly said as he grabbed her hoof. "You have to be careful. You don't want your wing to cramp up." Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and groaned. "But you know I'm right!" Soarin defended.

"Fine," Rainbow replied. "We'll do it your way. What's the plan?"

"Keep a steady pace until the final lap inside the stadium. Then give it a final push. You can beat her."

Rainbow looked up ahead, noticing that Spitfire was not that far away. She wasn't unbeatable. "Okay, we'll do that," Rainbow agreed.

"That's my mare," Soarin said while patting her on the head with his hoof as their manes continued to be blown by the breeze.

Soarin and Rainbow Dash trailed just behind the captain of the Wonderbolts as Spitfire made the course's final aerial curve. The flags then directed them downwards towards the city.

"You feeling up to a final burst?" Soarin asked Rainbow.

Rainbow looked to her injured wing, hoping not to feel any pain. However, with fatigue starting to creep in, she could start to feel the pain coming back. She swallowed with a little bit of nerves, and still replied, "Yeah, I think I can do it."

"Are you sure? I don't want you to get hurt again."

"I can do it, Soarin!" Rainbow barked back as they continually made their descent.

"All right. I'll be right behind you the whole way. I know you can win."

The couple quickened up their pace as the decline came near an end. The stadium was just ahead. They could hear the crowd's noise, and Spitfire was not too far away.

Just as they were above the stadium, about to enter back in, Soarin yelled out, "Go, Dashie, go!"

Like a bullet, Rainbow shot ahead. She was too tired to reach enough speed to create a sonic rainboom, but the mare grinned proudly as she shot passed the shocked Spitfire. Rainbow ended her descent as she reached the running track in the stadium. The crowd roared as the three finalists made it into the arena.

All Rainbow Dash had to do was finish the one lap around the track and her life would be complete.

The finish line was so close she could almost taste it. The sweet taste of victory was just a few moments away.

The young mare made her way around the final curve, and the finish line was just one hundred metres away. Rainbow knew that Spitfire would be right behind her, and her coltfriend would bring home the bronze medal. Dash looked out to the cheering crowd as she approached the finish line.

But at about fifty metres away, the mare felt another sharp pain, just like she felt in the last race.

"No..." she said quietly as the finish line came close.

In almost an instant, her entire wing cramped up, making it impossible to flap. With a shriek, the mare toppled over onto the ground. She tucked her head in to protect herself from the impact, and somersaulted three times, eventually stopping on her chest about twenty-five metres away from the finish line.

She felt the sharp pain in her wing, but even worse, she felt the sharp pain of defeat. The crowd instantly went quiet after a collective gasp.

"I can't believe I failed agai-" the mare started to say as she closed her eyes. But she was cut off. "Soarin?" Rainbow squinted as she looked up to see that the stallion she loved was now holding her entire body in his hooves. "What're you doing?!"

"You deserve this, Dashie," Soarin said as he carried her towards the finish.

With a grin from ear to ear, she watched the crowd's reaction as Soarin carried her in front of him, allowing her to finish in first place. Spitfire trailed a little bit behind, finishing in third. The captain's attempt to finish strong tired her out, and Soarin was allowed to swoop in and pick up the mare he loved dearly.

Soarin landed lightly and placed the mare back on all fours.

"I-I can't believe you just did that... for me," Rainbow Dash said while nearly dropping a tear from her eyes.

"Hey, you've had a great Games. You deserved this. I'm not going to let a stupid injury halt you from living your dream," Soarin replied with a smile. "Besides, you've saved me before!"

"Yeah, well, I think I have a new dream now," Rainbow Dash replied.

"Oh yeah? What's that?" Soarin asked with anticipation.

"To live the rest of my life with you!" Rainbow replied as she planted a passionate kiss on her coltfriend.

Rainbow Dash was given the gold medal, something she always coveted, by her coltfriend, Soarin. She was given a chance to live her dream by the stallion who made her dreams come true.

But she not only won the prize she had always dreamed of winning, she also won an even better reward: a stallion worth keeping.