First Blush and Then What?
First Blush and Then What?
The Wonderbolts returned to Canterlot eager to end their year of traveling. A well deserved month long off-season taunted them on their calendars. The three stallions and three mares stretched out on the clouds, ready to get this last show out of the way. One of the six was unfocused. His thoughts were dominated by the absence of a seventh some pony, and the day that waited for them all.
Soarin kept his eyes on the VIP box, playing the memories of his previous visit there over and over in his head. He remembered Rainbow Dash's smug smirk. He remembered her challenge to return a stolen kiss in front of every pony. He remembered how she practically melted into him when he did so. He remembered the flank kicking he took from Spitfire when he returned to the team. That kiss started a new chapter of his life. Now if only the rest of the world could forget about it...
Some pony snapped a picture of that moment. Whoever it was must have made a fortune, because that photo popped up in every tabloid, rag, and dirt sheet across Equestria. At every show, in every city, on every tour, more and more fillies dolled themselves up and took over the front rows.
They could have stopped it from the start, but Soarin and Rainbow Dash decided to keep their relationship as private as possible. Rainbow Dash's absence at the next few shows just made everyone believe there was nothing between them, and that Rainbow just got lucky. So began the Season of the Headache. Fillies screamed and begged for a piece of him every time he performed.
Eventually, the stadium promoters tried to take advantage of it. Two stallions in Las Pegasus offered Soarin cash to pick a girl at their show and recreate that one moment. He refused. Rapid Fire and Jet Stream were more than willing to take his place, but Spitfire nixed the whole thing.
Rapid Fire never let him forget it. "Soarin, can you imagine how much you could have gotten for a kiss this time?"
He laughed. "Nowhere near enough. Bits won't do you any good when your mare tries to kill you."
Spitfire glared at her team as she led them through their warm-ups. "We are not talking about that nonsense again. We're athletes, not a dating service."
Cloudburst smiled mischievously. "But wasn't this the scene of the crime? Those girls have been so persistent. What if we just grab him and drag him over to the stands? Let the fillies have at him?"
"You evil witch," Jet Stream laughed. "Soarin doesn't think like Rapid Fire and I do. You know, normal stallions. If we did that, we'd give him a heart attack."
"Sad but true. I favor girls that-"
"Are smarter, stronger, faster, and can beat you in every way?"
Fleetfoot gasped in shock. "Soarin! Rainbow Dash...she beats you?"
"Only when he asks nicely, I'm sure," Spitfire said, transitioning the team into a back bridge.
Another good, long laugh at his expense. Soarin didn't care. He knew their true feelings about him and Rainbow Dash. Whenever a gap in her schedule let her catch-up to the Wonderbolt tour they invited her along after the show. Spitfire once let Soarin cut out of practice early during a particularly long Rainbow drought. The team razzed him every step of the way as he left, but they let him go nonetheless.
Last month, for his birthday, the five of them chipped in and booked him a weekend vacation for two at a beach resort. Soarin cried. Privately, of course, but he actually cried. It meant a lot for them to do that. Especially considering what was happening now.
Cloudburst looked over to him. "Is she coming today? You were eyeing the VIP box earlier."
"Nope. Tryouts," Soarin answered quickly.
"Awww, that's so sweet." Fleetfoot grinned. "You were lost in your memory of True Love's Kiss." Fleetfoot, Spitfire, and Cloudburst all put a hoof on their chest and sighed in unison.
Alright, enough was enough. "No, I just saw that model up there, that Fleur de Lis chick."
Jet Stream perked up. "Really?"
"Really. She’s single now, isn’t she?"
The other stallion ducked his head, recognizing the trap too late. "So?"
"So, you always hang up a poster of her in your locker." Just like that, Fleetfoot and Cloudburst had a new target.
Rapid Fire started laughing. "Low, Soarin. What did he do to deserve that?"
"He stole my Shooting Star Triple Gainer last week." Soarin twisted his body again to match Spitfire's lead. Jet Stream was putting up an admirable defense. He finally messed up, trying to explain his professional admiration for Fleur's discipline to hold a pose until the perfect picture could be taken.
"Soarin," Fleetfoot asked, "is she holding her tail up or down in the poster?"
"She's holding it-"
"In formation, Wonderbolts!" The team snapped to attention. Spitfire marched up and down their rank. "We all know the story by now, so I'll make this quick. Tryouts are scheduled one week from today. Rest up, train hard, et cetera, et cetera. I don't need to remind you of the stakes, so let's make this last show a good one. I want speed and precision! There will be no shenanigans. Jet Stream. There will be no shenanigans."
"W-What did I do?"
"Nothing, and that’s exactly what you are going to do. You had your chance to steal one of Soarin's moves and you picked the one that doesn't work. TAKE POSITIONS, NOW!"
Soarin grinned and reached for a hoof bump from Jet Stream. They were both returned. No hard feelings. It was just life as a Wonderbolt. Soarin never knew anything else like it. The noise from the crowd picked up as the six pegasi prepared to launch their opening routine.
That's what it was all about. The noise, the applause, the smiles on the kids' faces. The six best flyers in Equestria would cooperate, compete, upstage each other, make the other pony look good, and whatever the next event called for. It was all for the crowd. It made them happy, and that made the Wonderbolts happy. The pressure, the excitement, it made the Wonderbolts a family. It was a life Soarin loved. And as much as Soarin wanted to, he couldn't forget one inescapable fact.
If Rainbow Dash became a Wonderbolt, one of these six no longer would be.
Rainbow Dash licked her lips. The home stretch. Her favorite part of the course. Everything she had poured into her wings. No obstacles, no tricks, nothing but pure, unadulterated speed.
Rainbow crossed the finish line and skidded on the ground to stop. She watched the judges fly over to check her half of the course. They wouldn't find anything. No obstacle was out of place. No ring was touched. No penalty would be attached to her time. A perfect run. Unfortunately, Rainbow Dash could count the number of times that happened on her hooves.
If that wasn't good enough to get her to the finals, nothing was.
Rainbow waited by the finish line for the filly that raced with her. She was young, probably in her first year of eligibility. Rainbow winced as she lurched to one side before she hit the finish. She knew a wing cramp when she saw one.
The young filly collapsed when she crossed the line. She looked up at Rainbow, panting for breath. "Con...huh...Con...huh...gratu...lations."
Rainbow smiled and helped the filly to her feet. "Thanks, kid. Quick word of advice?" The filly nodded. "You had an awesome start. Just pace yourself a bit more. Take your time with the obstacles and keep yourself fresh for that last sprint."
"Thanks." The judges finished resetting the filly's side of the course and added the penalties to her time. Rainbow Dash knew how much that stung. The two walked around the judges and spectators as two fresh pegasi began their runs.
The obstacle course was set up in a large field between cities. Five other exact copies were spread all over Equestria for the day. Pegasi who wanted to try their luck had one shot to make it through with a fast time. The times were recorded, and at the end of the day six names were picked out of the jumbled mess. Those six went to the finals in Cloudsdale.
And they raced the Wonderbolts. No pressure there.
"I guess you're going to Cloudsdale, huh? No pony is beating that."
Rainbow Dash just had the fastest time of her life. "They better not," she said with a chuckle.
The filly looked up at her, and back down. "Hey, um..." She looked back up. "Is it true?"
"Is what true?"
"You know. What they say about you."
Rainbow smirked. "They say a lot about me. You'll have to be more specific."
"You and Soarin. You're the one from the picture, right?"
"Yeah, that was me." The filly watched her with anticipation. Rainbow looked straight back at her and kept walking.
The filly finally smiled. "Quick word of advice?"
Oh, this should be good. "What is it?"
"Take him home one night this week. Fool around a bit. Wait for him to fall asleep and then clip his wings."
Rainbow stopped in her tracks. "How old are you?!"
"Do you want to be a Wonderbolt or not?"
The two stood frozen in place staring each other down. A smile broke Rainbow's face and they both doubled over in laughter. "I like you, kid! I'll keep that in mind."
"Please don't," called a voice from above. "That last bit sounded painful." Soarin swooped down and landed in front of the two. How in Equestria did he get here so fast?! If his coat wasn't matted down in a few places she would wonder if he even showered.
"OhmygoshOhmygoshOhmygoshOhmygosh!" The filly sounded like she was going to hyperventilate. Oh, Rainbow Dash was not going to let herself be upstaged today. She marched up to Soarin and pulled him in, assaulting him with a kiss. He didn't even try to resist.
"So much for a low profile," he whispered when she separated from his mouth.
"You started it. You’re not supposed to show yourself when you spy on someone. How was the show?"
"You were fantastic." Not what she meant, but she smiled anyway. He looked behind her. Rainbow turned to see the filly slack jawed, eyes bugging out of her head. "Hey, you had a great start. Keep at it. You're gonna be special one day."
Rainbow Dash and Soarin took flight for Ponyville, barely hearing a, "Th...Th...Thanks..."
The Equestrian landscape glowed under the late afternoon sun. She couldn’t remember the last time they flew like this. The two of them danced, rolled, and swooped around each other in lazy, playful routines. She would never admit it to Soarin, but she loved these quiet moments with him the most. No crowds, no distractions, just the two of them sharing what they did best.
Soarin once told her that she pushed him more than anyone else he knew. Flying with him like this made her know exactly what he meant. She didn't have any other friends that could do this. Fluttershy and Twilight Sparkle could fly, of course, but they didn't love it. No one else in Ponyville felt as at home in the sky as they did on the earth.
She felt something brush against her stomach. Soarin's grinning face slid into view as he flew under her. "I missed you."
Rainbow laughed and pushed him aside. "Softie. I was surprised to see you, actually. Aren't we violating Rule Anti-something-or-other?"
Soarin gave an exhausted sigh and spoke in a weary cadence. "The Anti-Fraternization and Collusion Rule clearly prohibits any contact of any Wonderbolt of active status with any final candidate of the tryout process. Spitfire's really hammering that one in this year."
"I wonder why."
"Me too."
"So?"
"So you're not technically a final candidate until the national results come in. Which will be tomorrow." He grinned at her again. "Which leaves us tonight."
"Only if we hit Ponyville before dark." Rainbow Dash kicked her speed up a notch.
Soarin quickly followed. "Ah, it's been too long since I've seen Ponyville! And it's cider season again! I'll buy you a mug to celebrate that time of yours."
Rainbow shook her head with a small smile. "Sold out."
"Really?!"
"Really. You have no idea what I went through to get it last time."
Soarin glided closer to her. "No, I don't. That was our first date. You went out of your way like that for our first date?" Rainbow boosted her speed again. Soarin caught up with a chuckle. "OK, OK, I'm dropping it. How about Sugar Cube Corner?"
Here we go, she thought. "I'm trying to stay away from there."
"That...doesn't make much sense. You love it there. Is there something I should know?"
Where should she begin? Might as well start positive. "Thunderlane and Cloudchaser are tying the knot."
"Okay. Do I know them?"
"Maybe. They trained at the Academy with me."
"Well good for them. What does that have to do-"
"They're using Sugar Cube Corner to cater their wedding reception. Mrs. Cake announced that pretty loudly the last time I went there with the other girls. She said it was just a great pleasure and honor to cater a wedding reception. It was always so much fun whenever there was a wedding reception. And they just loved to cater what, she stressed again, was a wedding reception."
Soarin raised an eyebrow. "Feeling some not-so-subtle pressure?"
Ponyville came into view on the horizon. “This...was the only place in Equestria that left us alone. I guess I was naïve to think the weather manager could disappear for a few days without rumors starting up. I mean, the kids ask you for autographs, and that’s fine, but every pony else has kept out of our business. Until now. She practically asked to cater our wedding reception. It's just...what do you think?"
"Why not?" Rainbow's heart stopped. "I'm serious. I dream about those pies some nights." Rainbow Dash turned to throw a left hook. Soarin laughed as he dodged, but Rainbow saw that his smile didn't reach his eyes. She knew what he was thinking.
"Tryouts," they said together. The word would dominate their lives over the next week. And Rainbow Dash wasn't a fool; she knew what Soarin was going through. His team was his family, no different than Fluttershy or Applejack or any of the others were to her. She was trying to take one of their places. They both had one week to let those thoughts eat away at them. And they would have to deal with it without each other.
Stupid, stupid, anti-frater-whatever rule.
Soarin was right, though. They still had tonight. It was cute, really, how much he liked Ponyville, but they both knew he didn't fly all the way out here after a show to just hang around town. And frankly, Rainbow Dash didn't feel like sharing him.
He didn't make any objections as she led him straight to her home. Rainbow Dash opened the door to let him in, and endured his usual tsk, tsk, tsk. "How, Dash, how do you have such an extravagant house with nothing for two ponies to do inside? Get a ping pong table or something."
"If you've got a problem with it, go to the library. Plenty of stuff in there."
Soarin turned to her with an excited look. "When does Twilight fall asleep?"
"Not soon enough," she answered with laugh. Rainbow walked by and pecked him on the lips.
Soarin pulled her back in for a more passionate exchange. Ah, it was going to be a long week. They smiled at each other after breaking for air. "I just want to make this a night to remember."
"Is that right?" Rainbow Dash slowly leaned in to whisper in his ear. "Why don't you...” She felt Soarin start to tremble against her and made sure to flick her mane, tickling his nose. He always loved this. “Make me remember...” She kissed his cheek, waiting, biding her time, letting his anticipation build. “What a Wonderbolt can really do."
"Ohhhh, you're good. How about above Town Hall? I'll get the cloud."
"Oh, come on, Soarin. I-" Town Hall?! She had to admit, that sounded fun. "OK, Town Hall. You've got five minutes. Don't keep me waiting."
Judgment Day.
Soarin zipped up his uniform, cursing the entire universe under his breath. No matter how many times he lived through it, this day always got to him. His uniform was too tight; his goggles were too loose; his breakfast was too cold; why did they hold this stupid race so early in the day; his nerves magnified every little thing to gigantic proportions.
Twelve flyers would compete in six races. If you had a bad day, tough. If the pressure got to you, too bad. If the presence of competition forced you to make a mistake, you ate the penalty. The six fastest times made up the new roster of Wonderbolts. It was cold, clean, and quick. You had what it took to be a Wonderbolt, or you didn’t.
Until now, Soarin always had what it took.
It was time. He opened the door and left the locker room. Spitfire was leaning against a wall outside. “Finally. That took forever, even for you.”
Soarin couldn’t help but admire how calm, cool, and collected she looked. Her neck was on the line as much as any pony else. He hoped the uniform and goggles did the same thing for him as they did for her. “It’s been a stressful week.”
“It shows. Take a breath, Soarin. You’re better than this.”
The Cloudosseum opened up before them. Ten pegasi were scattered around the obstacle course that dominated the open space. Technicians fine-tuned the mechanics and set-up the wind cannons. Soarin spotted Rainbow Dash flying laps above the sparsely populated stands. He wasn't really superstitious, but this was the same arena she pulled her sonic rainboom. He didn't even get to see it. Actually, he had never seen one. Maybe if he asked nicely-
Spitfire's hoof smashed the back of his head. "OW! What was that for?!"
"I was talking to you. Get your head in the game! We cracked the Wonderbolts together, remember? I'm not letting you lose because you're distracted. If you go down, you're gonna get beat."
"Sorry," he muttered. "I just-"
"Knock it off. You care about her, right? Just keep doing that. Everything will work out."
Relationship advice from Spitfire? That was worth a laugh, but he didn't feel like getting smacked again. "And, what, that's your official advice as a mare? Or are you trying to make me feel better like a friend?"
"I'm both, Soarin. Now let's get this over with." Spitfire took off for the judges' box. Soarin followed her, joined by the other Wonderbolts soon after. Their captain took her place next to the stadium announcer, and her team lined up behind them. This was the only enjoyable part of the whole affair. Spitfire was safely out of earshot, and when the cat was away...
”Mares and gentlecolts,” began the announcer, “welcome to this year’s Wonderbolt Qualifications! First, the rules of the contest.”
“Yadda, yadda, yadda.”
“Pretty sure every pony knows.”
“We never do this anywhere but Cloudsdale.”
“I know, right? Does Spitfire just hate money?”
“I will destroy that microphone one year. I swear it.”
"Now, I present to you the challengers! From the city of Manehattan, Jetfire!”
“Nope.”
“Can’t do it.”
“Send him home now.”
“We’ve got a Jet; we’ve got two Fires.”
“Marketing nightmare waiting to happen.”
”Representing Las Pegasus, Light Speed!”
”Seriously?!”
“Some pony named there kid-“
“Unrealistic expectations, much?”
“What if he’s too slow?”
“High Speed, Ridiculous Speed, Ludicrous Speed, anything but-“
”Hailing from Trottingham, Sunshine!”
“On the other hoof...”
“Poor girl.”
“No imagination in that family, huh?”
“Was it too hard for her parents to remember something else?”
“I swear, Celestia needs to give some pony the authority to just tell parents ‘NO.’”
”From San Fransiscolt, Foghorn!”
“What did I just tell you?”
”Cloudsdale’s own, Young Star!”
“About time.”
“He actually made it?”
“Who’ll carry my bags if he wins?”
“Hey, that punk still owes me 20 bits.”
“Does this mean he’ll get us into the clubs now?”
”Finally, from Ponyville, Rainbow Dash!” In spite of the small crowd, Rainbow Dash back flipped into the air and struck a pose.
”Owwww!”
“Work it, girl!”
“Oh, Soarin, she is hot today!” Every pony turned to look down the line at Cloudburst. “What? Only Jet Stream and Rapid Fire were supposed to talk? You guys gotta tell me these things!”
”Last, but not least, THE WONDERBOLTS!!!” The amount of applause truly didn’t warrant the introduction. They didn’t even have an opening routine. Spitfire just told them to stand there and try to look dignified, so that’s what they did.
"Mares and gentlecolts, the match-ups will now be determined by random draw.” Two stagehands brought in a pair of boxes and put them in front of Spitfire. She reached for the one marked with the Wonderbolt emblem first. The announcer stood by to call the order of the names she pulled out. Spitfire in the first race. Then Jet Stream. Cloudburst. Fleetfoot.
Soarin held his breath. Not last. Please, please not last. Spitfire pulled out the next name. Rapid Fire. Soarin cursed and looked up to the timekeeper station. The clock was pure white now, but how much red would he see on it? Ten times scored ahead of him wouldn’t leave much room for error. Spitfire performed her formality and pulled out Soarin’s name.
Next box. Spitfire reached in and pulled out her opponent. Light Speed. Kid looks more nervous than me. She’ll eat him alive. Next up was Jetfire. Appropriate. Spitfire reached in again and pulled out Young Star.
No.
If Soarin didn’t know her, he wouldn’t have noticed how stiffly Spitfire began to move. She pulled out the next name and handed it to the announcer. Foghorn.
NO.
Soarin heard a collective sharp breath from the Wonderbolts beside him. Two names left. Spitfire pulled out the next name and looked at it herself. She froze. Soarin's stomach knotted up. Spitfire held out the name for the announcer.
Sunshine.
Rapid Fire put a hoof on his shoulder. Soarin barely noticed. Spitfire turned and walked away, leaving the last name in the box for the announcer to pull out himself. Soarin made a beeline for her. "Tell me that was rigged. Tell me that was rigged! Please. Just tell me this is payback for-"
Fleetfoot stepped in between them. "It doesn’t matter. This isn't happening. We can’t ask him to do this. I'll take Rainbow Dash."
Spitfire shook her head. "We’ve never done that before. The top six times make the cut. They'll just have to do it together."
Rapid Fire snorted. "And when was the last time that happened?" Never, Soarin knew. Some pony always cracked under the pressure. One mistake would lead to another, and another, and their time would go up.
He tuned out the argument and looked for Rainbow Dash. She was watching him, too. Her face was unreadable. Just like mine, he realized. Soarin reached up to flip off his goggles. Rainbow Dash was gone by the time he looked back, flying towards the locker rooms. Soarin spread his wings and tried to follow.
Spitfire stretched a hoof across his chest to stop him. "Soarin, the guidelines say-"
Soarin snapped his head to side and glared into Spitfire's eyes. He didn't have the words to tell her just how little that statement meant to him. Spitfire stared back. The other Wonderbolts fidgeted nervously. The announcer cleared his throat, not sure how to proceed. Finally, for the first time Soarin could remember, Spitfire backed down.
He was off like a shot. That moment was etched into his memory. The uniform, the goggles, the combination that looked so cool and invincible in the posters, made Spitfire look...cold. Heartless. He didn’t like it. Was that what Rainbow Dash saw when she looked at him?
He found Rainbow Dash sitting with her back to the arena. She turned at the sound of his landing and tried to give him a smile. "Well this sucks." Soarin sat down and took her hoof with his own. That brought a real smile to her face. "Softie."
There was an easy solution to this problem. "I'm dropping out."
Her smile vanished. "You can't."
"I can. I want you to have this, Dash. I've had my fun, and now it's your turn."
"A year ago I might have taken you up on that. I know you better now. You can't drop out of your family. This means as much to you as it does to me. I'm not letting you do this to yourself."
"Now who's being the softie?"
"Still you."
A horn went off. The first race began. Soarin tried again. "You belong with the team. They already know how good you are. You even walked away from them twice, at the Academy and the Equestria Games relay race, and Spitfire just respected you more for it. You've earned this."
Rainbow's face contorted, and her body started shaking. She was holding back a laugh. "Soarin, why did you ask me out?"
"I...what?"
"Why did you ask me out? I want to hear it again. I want you to hear it again."
"I...I never met another girl like you. You saved my life. You did something no pony has seen before to do it. You challenge yourself. I...respected you."
The horn blasted a second time. "Then please tell me you realize I haven't earned my place yet. Soarin, if you drop out, I'm dropping out."
"I-"
"I'm not finished. We're going to race. And Soarin, I know how good you are, OK? If you...” Rainbow clenched her teeth. She could barely bring herself to spit out the next words. “If you let me win, I'm leaving you. Or killing you. Probably both."
A long moment passed. Another horn sounded to signal the start of the third race. Rainbow Dash raised her and Soarin's hooves between them. "Now come on. You're holding my hoof? Really? Are we in school?"
Soarin finally smiled. He dropped her hoof and wrapped his leg around her waist, pulling her in. The weight of the world lifted from his shoulders with the taste of her on his lips. Rainbow broke the kiss and leaned into his chest. She laughed softly as Soarin began to nuzzle her neck. "That's my boy. Feel better?"
"Yeah." Just the feel of her against him soothed his nerves. He could take on the world as long as he had this feeling.
"Good, because nothing has changed. You hear me? Nothing has changed. We came here to fly and that's what we're doing." The fourth horn sounded. "Almost time. Let's go."
They walked to the edge of the arena together. Fleetfoot was crushing the stallion from San Franciscolt. One more race, and the stage was theirs. Soarin grabbed Rainbow's hoof again before she took off. "You know I was serious about dropping out, right?"
"Of course. You know I was serious about leaving you if you flop, right?"
"Yep." The two of them took off. He had to say it. Every beat of his heart shouted at him to say it. He was running out of time, and that moment back there was too good to squander. Soarin flew closer to her and waited for her to look at him.
"I love you, Dash."
There was no hesitation. The brightest smile he had ever seen ignited her face. "Just fly, Hot Shot."
The fifth horn went off as Rainbow Dash rocketed ahead. Soarin followed and took his place on the Wonderbolt half of the track. The moment he landed, he started following his first rule of racing: don't look at the competition. He focused on the track now.
And Spitfire. It was hard to ignore her steady gaze when she was right next to him. "Care to explain what just happened?"
"No." Soarin crouched for a quick warm-up stretch. He flicked his eyes to the timekeeper when Rapid Fire finished his run. It was a clean sweep for the Wonderbolts so far. There was a daunting stretch of red on the second half of the clock now. If the needle crossed into that, he was finished.
Well, the needle just wasn't going to go into the red. Simple as that. His body was on fire. The only way to cure it was to cross the finish line. He was ready. Soarin stepped forward and took his mark. Spitfire reached out a hoof, holding his goggles. He shook his head. "Give 'em to the winner."
Don't look.
The horn sounded and he was gone. He veered left, glided right, left, and right again to pass through the first four rings. Soarin pulled himself into a ball and somersaulted through the turbulence on the wind cannon before it could push him up against the foam ceiling overhead. He recovered from his roll and flew on.
Don't look.
Six pads formed three pairs of crushing walls ahead of him. They finished their pattern of closing and opening as he approached. The first walls were about to crash together again, and Soarin decided to go for it. He made a mad sprint just as they began to close. WHUMP! WHUMP! WHUMP! He didn't feel a thing.
Don't look.
More wind cannons blasted from the side. Soarin powered through, keeping his eyes on the five pendulum rings ahead. The wind screwed with his approach. The rings hit the crest of their left swing and started their path to the right. Soarin had to veer from his straight path and angle his flight a few degrees to get through.
Don't look.
Last obstacle. One convoluted jungle gym of posts. Soarin dove in twisting, spinning, rolling, weaving, dodging, and working his way through to the daylight ahead. The home stretch. Rainbow Dash's specialty. He held his body as straight as possible. His wings screamed in revolt against their master as he pushed, pushed, pushed!
And he didn't have to look. A pair of sky blue hooves crossed into his peripheral vision. Soarin poured on everything he had left. He drained his last reserve, but it wasn’t enough. All it did was slow the blue hooves' advance. The two flyers crossed the finish line within a second of each other. Soarin hit the cloud wall behind the line and immediately turned to the clock. It stopped a few ticks short of the red zone.
She did it.
Soarin collapsed in laughter. That was the best race of his life. He crawled on the clouds over to Rainbow Dash and threw a foreleg over her shoulders. She did it! Soarin leaned in the whisper his congratulations, but stopped cold. A tear slid down her cheek. Rainbow turned her head to look at him.
"I...I felt it..."
Half an inch.
Half an inch rotation on one post meant a full five second penalty.
Half an inch meant she wasn't a Wonderbolt.
Rainbow Dash waited outside the Cloudosseum. Again. She once told Soarin she would never go backstage after one of his shows. Bad mojo, she said. She'd go backstage when she earned her spot on the team. So she waited. After every show she went to, she waited. Rainbow bowed her head and fought to control another bout of sobbing.
Could she do this for another year? She didn’t know. Rainbow failed the tryout before, but it never hurt like this. She never made the finals before. She never beat a Wonderbolt to the finish line. She never had a dream snatched away by one nod from a judge. She never thought the day would end like this.
To think she was once looking forward to tomorrow! The Wonderbolts were on a break now. The team took a month off after every tryout to let any new members get used to their new reality. No matter what happened today, Rainbow thought, she and Soarin would have an entire month to themselves. But the worst part was-
"You beat me." Soarin sat next to her.
There was only one thing she could say. "Congratulations."
"Don't say that. You beat me."
"I'm not mad."
"Yes you are."
"Of course I am, but I'm not mad at you."
"Yes you are."
"Shut up." Soarin shut up and walked with her away from the stadium. She really wasn't mad at him. It was her own fault she lost. She looked. She looked during the race and was stunned by what she saw. Soarin flew faster, harder, and better than she could remember. She pushed him more than anyone else he knew. She brought out the best in him.
She should have clipped his wings.
Rainbow Dash stopped. Oh, that was horrible. Slowly, she felt a grin spread across her face. Her snickers soon became howls of laughter. Soarin watched her with concern. “Are...you OK?”
“Nope,” she answered, walking to the edge of the clouds. “But I will be. C’mon, I need to fly.” Rainbow stepped over the edge and let herself drop, not waiting for a reply. She didn’t bother with her wings. Gravity just did its thing.
Soarin caught up to her a few seconds later. Their eyes met. A moment later they wrapped each other in an embrace, plummeting to the earth below. It would be tough to top the excitement of their race together, but this was a good start.
The long freefall gave her time to think. Nothing has changed. That was what she told him in her little pep talk. As true as it turned out to be, was that really such a bad thing? She still had him here with her. And as mind-numbingly infuriating it was, she still beat him to the finish line. Her time would come.
Soarin held her tight. She remembered his final words before the race started. She knew those words, his feelings, didn’t change. Soarin gasped in muffled surprise when her lips found his. Rainbow Dash smiled and shouted to be heard over the roaring wind.
“I love you, too!”
They pulled away from each other at the last second. Mirror arcs, cut inches above the grass, sent them hurtling back into the air, and towards each other. Rainbow Dash dodged Soarin’s attempted tackle and led him on a chase through the sky.
The two of them soared into their future, together.