There was nopony out this late in the night. It was too cold for them, way too cold. However one brave mare -or, in another pony's eyes, very stupid- curled herself up in a cloud just above the town, unable to go back to sleep. She couldn't.
Rainbow Dash, everyony's favorite flyer, was in love. She tried to hide it for the longest time. But seeing Rarity confess her undying love for Spike, and Discord stepping up his game just for her crazy pink friend, it only made things much worse for her feelings. If her friends hadn't been so focused on trying to solve her problem when it wasn't even a big issue at the time, maybe she wouldn't be in this mess.
She let out a sigh, and shivered as she positioned herself so she could sit upright. She tried to keep her attention on her breath within the air, ignoring the tears that began to spill down her cheeks, but her heart begged to differ. She found herself getting lost again...
Soarin stretched his wings and smiled at Spitfire, who gave him a wink. He didn't notice Rainbow idly standing by him, so he walked over to his marefriend of three years.
"You were great out there today," He chuckled, nuzzling her. "Ready to head home?"
The captain suddenly became frazzled, something that Rainbow Dash barely witness. How she longed to be in her position...
"Heh, I wasn't any better than YOU, or Rainbow over there. I was having trouble keeping up." She scoffed, pushing him aside with her shoulder. Cue eye-roll. "But yeah, I am. Just give me a few minutes; I have to check something in my office."
Soarin smirked at her and nodded. "Sure thing. I'll be here."
Once Spitfire finally left, which seemed like forever to Rainbow, the stallion of her affections noticed her. "Oh hey, Dash. Didn't see you there. Heading home?"
You never see me..."Y-yeah... I was uh... just leaving." She muttered, ignoring the aching feeling in her chest.
Soarin frowned, gliding over to her. "You okay? You've been acting up since last week. I missed watching the fire in your eyes every time we practice."
Swallowing the growing lump in her throat, she shrugged her shoulders, rocking back and forth on her hooves. "...There's uh... just something going on. Nothing you should worry about, heh." She looked behind her, as if somepony called her name. "Welp, uhm, I gotta go. See ya!"
"WAIT! Dash!" Soarin called out to her, but she was already in the sky.
"I'm gonna be a total bitch if I do that.... Rainbow, don't think about him..." She muttered to herself, as she did a twirl in the wind. She held back tears it guided her towards home, but her mind was still focused on the academy. She didn't know how, or when she started having these feelings, but next thing she knows, during one practice Soarin looked pretty hot wearing his suit. She was too late then, and she'd be too late now... "B-but if I chicken out," She paused for a moment, her ears drooping in thought. "They don't call me 'Danger' for nothing."
With a determined nod, she flew back down to where Soarin was. Taking a deep breath, she landed, a little wobbly on her hooves. The Wonderbolt stared at her in surprise as he helped her up. "Rainbow Dash..."
She sighed, and for a second, she saw something flicker in his eyes. Was it love? "Soarin... you're going to hate me for this. I gotta let you know how I feel before it gets worse... I know you already love Spitfire, and that's okay, but... ever since I got to know you better when I started on the team, I can't shake it off," She bit her lip, "You could fire me after this. I couldn't care less." Finally, she quickly pressed her lips up against his, feeling her heart dance as Soarin moaned in pleasant shock. He didn't pull away from her, nor did he try. Rainbow Dash didn't know if it was just because he felt pity, or that he really did posses some form of feelings for her, but it didn't matter. All that mattered to her was that she had the courage to do it.
"W-whoa..." He muttered in his raspy voice, blinking a few times when they pulled apart. "Dash, I... had no idea..." He was about to kiss her again, but she already flew off.
She let out a cry as the memory faded away, and flew down to kick a tree. "Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" She exclaimed, shutting her eyes tight. "What the buck was I thinking?!"
Little did she know, that the object of her affections was having similar thoughts.
Soarin missed the ring again. He wasn't focusing right; he couldn't. It was impossible. He always knew that something was up between him and Dash. Did he only accept Spitfire's offer to force himself to forget about it? The idea seemed so legit now. From below, Fleetfoot narrowed her eyes.
"C'mon man! What's the matter with you?"
He glared at her as he rubbed the back of his wing. "Ugh... I don't know. Everything."
His team member sighed and motioned him to land on the ground. "Alright, take a break for now then. You've been out of it since last week."
Soarin smiled gratefully brought himself into a comfortable position. "Thanks... hey, can I ask you something?"
"You just did," Fleetfoot giggled, causing him to roll his eyes. She stretched her wings. "Okay, okay. What's up?"
He looked back and forth from him, making sure that Spitfire or anypony else was near. "I bucked up. Bad. What would you do if somepony else had feelings for you, and you did as well, but dated somepony else just to ignore them?"
Fleetfoot stared at him for the longest time, her mouth practically dropping to the floor. At first, she said nothing. Soarin waved his hoof in front of her. "Fleet? Fleetfoot? Hay, I think I broke her..." Then she started laughing, pushing his hoof away from her face. She laughed so hard that she fell to the ground, wiping tears of mirth out of her eyes. Soarin gave her a flat look.
"Fleetfoot, this isn't funny!"
"Oh Luna, yes it is. I always knew you had the hots for Dash! I was just waiting for when your dense brain figured it out."
Soarin slapped his head in frustration. "D-did you know... that she..."
"Duh. Everypony did. Why do you think Spits is so possessive over you?" Fleetfoot folded her hooves and gave him a stern look. "Listen, I can tell you right now that things aren't going to go very well. Settle your feelings for both mares, and end your relationship with her. It'll make life easier."
Soarin nodded, spreading out his wings. "Aye. Thank you, Fleet. I'm glad I can talk to you with this stuff."
She blushed at the praise, and waved him off. "Don't mention it. Good luck, Soarin!"
I'm going to need it... He thought bitterly, and took off into the night sky.
******
She didn't know how long she was outside for, but Rainbow Dash was beginning to feel just how cold it was. It was difficult for her to breathe, and her hooves were starting to become purple instead of blue. The tree she was hitting collapsed onto the ground then, and she would've smirked if she had the energy. However she was just so exhausted, both mentally and physically, that she couldn't live up to it.
She let out a cough and began to shake; everything felt so cold... was this... was this what it feels like... to have your heart broken...? She sniffed and shook her head, closing her eyes once more. I don't like it...
Soarin was only a few meters away when he saw her, and didn't stop to think about what was going on. He flew toward her within seconds, grasping her tired body in his hooves.
"S-soar...Soarin?" She muttered, her eyes opening and closing.
He sniffed and tried his best to wipe away the tears, cursing himself that he couldn't realize his feelings any time sooner. He was hopelessly love sick to this mare. He knew right from the start. He'll be her wind from now on, protecting her, guiding her. It's the least he could do, after what had become of them.
Taking a deep breath, he wrapped his green scarf around her. "I'm here... just go to sleep now, Dash."
"Awesome..." She sighed, and closed her eyes, a soft smile appearing on her lips. Soarin stared at her beautiful face for a few moments before taking off, keeping true to his word.
