This Looked Easier From The Stands
"Achoo!" Soarin's sneeze echoed across the open skies, for what felt like the tenth time since he'd woken up this morning. Even for the Wonderbolt Co-Captain, that was cause for concern.
It wasn't just that he'd been sneezing a lot, Soarin could've sworn his forehead felt a bit warm this morning, and he was pretty sure his body ached in a couple of places. Still, he wasn't too concerned. "It must've been something I ate," he thought to himself, even though he wasn't very convinced of that statement. "I don't have time to be sick, not now!"
All the same, Soarin wasn't sure if he could stay in the air for much longer. His constant sneezing and coughing were making it hard for him to see where he was going. The last thing he wanted was to crash into something, or someone. "I probably just need a quick power nap to get whatever it is I've got out of my system." he thought to himself, and began looking for a place. Preferably someplace where nopony could find him and bother him.
At Carousel Boutique, Rarity smiled as she checked off the date on her calendar, particularly taking note of the day circled in red that was drawing close. "The two year anniversary of my first date with Soarin is coming up." she realized, sighing happily at the many fond memories she had of the wonderful pegasus stallion that had caught her eye. She would have to do something special to celebrate the important occasion, especially since there had been talk of them possibly considering engagement.
"Maybe I'm not quite ready for that just yet. Though I must admit, Soarin seems to have a knack with children. And Sweetie Belle seems to like him." Rarity thought to herself, as she made herself breakfast, surprised at the fact that Opal was rubbing up against her. Opal was often the only company Rarity had, not that she minded, it helped to have as few distractions as possible when she was "In The Zone". All the same, whenever Sweetie Belle or Soarin weren't around, Carousel Boutique felt a bit "empty" for lack of a better term.
"Perhaps I should attend the next Wonderbolts show," Rarity told herself, in between bites of toast. "It's been a while since I've seen Soarin in action, and he did take me out for dinner at that lovely restaurant last week."
Rarity ate the rest of her breakfast in silence, and had just finished feeding Opal, when there came a knock at the door. Not one to turn away company, Rarity trotted over to the door, prepared to greet whoever it was that awaited her on the opposite side. Even if it was somepony she wasn't on good terms with, a lady was not to let past transgressions taint the possibilities of the future.
However, when Rarity opened her front door, the pony greeted her presence was most unexpected! It was Soarin, who looked very unwell. His dark grayish blue mane and tail were horribly disheveled, there were noticeable red rings around his moderate emerald colored eyes that normally accompanied a cheerful smile, and his cornflower blue coat seemed even more pale than usual. In short, Soarin looked sick!
"Hello, Rarity," Soarin said with a raspy cough. "Sorry to drop by on such short notice." And those were the last words the co-captain of The Wonderbolts uttered, before his strength left him and he collapsed onto the ground.
Horrified at the scene that had just played out before her very eyes, Rarity used her magic to pull Soarin inside and slam the door shut behind him! "Soarin! Soarin, are you okay?! Say something!" she cried, albeit a bit overly dramatic. But this was her coltfriend, she didn't care if all of Equestria saw her acting like this, all that mattered was that her special somepony needed attention.
Soarin slowly opened his eyes, groaning at how hot and lousy he felt. "I...I'm fine, just a little cough." he said in a raspy voice. He tried to get up, but his legs were like wet noodles and became useless to him.
"Soarin, I know an illness when I see one," Rarity scolded. "And you are in no condition to be going anywhere anytime soon."
"But Rarity-" Soarin whined, coughing again.
"It's not up for argument, Soarin! I'm not an expert on pegasus anatomy, but I'm pretty sure you're suffering from all the symptoms of the feather flu," Rarity replied, recalling her experiences from tending to Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy the last time they'd contracted the disease. Fortunately, the feather flu was only contagious to pegasi, a fact that Rarity was most grateful for. "You need plenty of bed rest if you're going to fight off that nasty illness." And after helping Soarin to stand, the fashionista escorted him to her trusty fainting couch. Her fears were confirmed when she pressed a hoof to Soarin's forehead, instantly she pulled it back with a scream of pain as the heat made contact with her hoof.
"Goodness, Soarin! You're burning up!" Rarity exclaimed, as she stuck a thermometer in her coltfriend's mouth. "You're certainly not going to be going anywhere in your current condition. It's a good thing you came to see me, because Doctor Rarity is officially in." Rarity proceeded to don a white cap with a red cross on it.
"At least it's not Nurse Sweetie Belle." Soarin thought to himself, shuddering as he remembered what had happened the last time he'd gotten sick. Sweetie Belle had clearly meant well, but her antics had not made Soarin feel any better.
"How long have you felt like this, Soarin? You should've taken a day or two off before you let it get this bad!" the pristine unicorn remarked, making her coltfriend feel even more guilty.
Soarin mumbled, his voice muffled somewhat due to the thermometer in his mouth. "Probably since Rainbow Dash's first performance as a full fledged Wonderbolt, which was about three or four weeks ago, I think." Then suddenly, he let out a tremendous sneeze, causing the thermometer to shoot out of his mouth and fly through the air!
Luckily, Rarity reacted quickly, and snatched the thermometer in mid-air with her magic, just seconds before it would've shattered on the ground. "Gesundheit!" she remarked, washing before she gave it back to Soarin. "Goodness, how were you able to keep going for that long? If it were me, I'd have taken a sick day at the first sign I was feeling under the weather."
"And have to answer to Spitfire? No thanks, Spitfire's scary when she's angry!" Soarin said, seemingly shaking despite his fever. "She's normally very understand, but I've been catching a lot of flack from her for taking time off to be with you. She says I'm neglecting my Wonderbolt duties for the sake of romance."
"This is different, and I think Spitfire would've understood. You'll be lucky if you haven't spread this to all of your teammates, including my good friend Rainbow Dash." Rarity glared at her coltfriend.
"Well actually, all new recruits are required to get a feather flu vaccine. And the older members have to get one every so often," Soarin explained, before he shook his head. "Unfortunately, I wasn't due for my vaccine for another month. Just my luck I'd come down with it before then. And on the very day we're supposed to perform in Ponyville too."
Those words prompted Rarity's eyes to widen to the size of dinner plates! Now that Rainbow Dash was officially a Wonderbolt, there was a vacancy in the reserves! "Were there ever any other recruits that could readily take a pony's place without prior notice?" Rarity asked Soarin, as her own knowledge of The Wonderbolts was rather limited.
"Oh how I wish that was so," Soarin replied, before he shook his head. "Alas, even Rainbow Dash needed time to be prepped when she was filling in for Spitfire. I could probably send a letter to Wonderbolt HQ, but there's no guarantee a reserve could be called up in enough time to replace me," he then sighed, as he laid his head down further on the pillow. "Guess they'll just have to fly one member short today."
At that very moment, an idea popped into Rarity's head. A most unusual one at that, but one that would hopefully work out the way she intended it, instead of back firing horribly as her hastily thought up plans sometimes did. "There won't be a need for such a thing, darling," she lovingly reassured her special somepony. "You remember The Best Young Flyers Competition, right?"
"How could I forget? That was the very event where you knocked me, Spitfire, and Fleetfoot out while we were trying to save you," Soarin replied, before he sneezed again. "What's your point?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Rarity smirked. "I'm going to get my wings back and take your place in the show. My good friend, Twilight, should hopefully still have the proper spell required to give me wings."
"Absolutely not, are you crazy?!" Soarin protested, momentarily forgetting he was sick. He sat up on the couch and folded his hooves angrily.
"Oh come on, don't be like that, Soarin!" Rarity remarked, making a series of noises with her mouth. "It's just for one show, and considering how easy you and Rainbow Dash make flying look, how hard could it be?"
"You're not going to take no for an answer, are you?" Soarin asked suspiciously.
Rarity smiled in a way that Soarin thought was rather fiendish. "Guess that's what being in love does to you, in time you come to learn how to read your special somepony's mind," the unicorn concluded, kissing her coltfriend lovingly on the cheek. "Now, you just rest, and leave everything to me. I'm sure Rainbow Dash, Spitfire, and the other Wonderbolts will be glad to give me a few pointers. Who knows, I may even learn why they call Spitfire by that atrocious nickname." And with that, she departed the boutique, leaving a sickly Soarin to rest on her fainting coach.
Soarin sighed, and decided there wasn't much he could do except try and get some rest. "Oh, Rarity. You may think it's easy, but there's a huge difference between just being able to fly, and being a Wonderbolt." he thought to himself, before he shut his eyes. Having been in love with Rarity for so long, he knew it was hard to change Rarity's mind once she had made it up.
"You want me to do what?!" Twilight exclaimed, her wings popping open in surprise at Rarity's request.
"Just for one day, darling. And then I promise I will never ask for them again." Rarity insisted.
Twilight wasn't convinced, she shook her head in protest. "Rarity, you know what happened the last time I gave you wings. I won't do it!"
"But darling, I'm not doing this for myself. I'm doing this to take Soarin's place in the show, because he's sick with the feather flu," Rarity pleaded, practically throwing herself at Twilight's hooves. "As much as I hate begging, won't you please let me have them? I promise I won't show them off this time. They are strictly for the Wonderbolts show, and that's it."
"I haven't even touched that spell since The Best Young Flyers competition, I don't even know if the spell still exists. It might have gotten blown up along with The Golden Oaks Library." Twilight admitted.
"And since when has that stopped you? You've always been good at casting spells from memory, in fact you seem to do better when casting a spell from experience, rather than from a book or a scroll." Rarity replied.
"You just won't take no for an answer, will you?" Twilight asked, casting a suspicious glare at her dress making friend.
Rarity nodded. "Guilty as charged. I'd be more than happy to help you search for the spell, to see if you still have it."
"No need for that, Starlight and I already found it!" Spike called out, tossing the book the spell was contained in towards Twilight.
"Spike, were you listening in on our conversation?" Twilight asked the dragon. "You know eavesdropping isn't polite!"
"I know, I know, but I couldn't help but overhear," Spike apologized, trying his best not to look too guilty. "It turns out that spell is one of the few ones that somehow escaped destruction when Tirek blew up The Golden Oaks Library. It's a little burnt around the edges, but it should still be in useable condition."
Twilight carefully examined the slightly scorched book, as if fearing it would fall apart at a moment's notice. "This is the spell alright," she said outloud, after flipping through the pages. "Thanks for the help, Spike. Make sure Starlight knows I appreciate her help as well."
"Can do." Spike replied, and disappeared into the castle library to look for Starlight.
Meanwhile, Twilight flipped back to the page that contained the spell which would give any non-pegasi ponies wings. "You're sure you want to go through with this?" Twilight asked Rarity.
"If I wasn't, I wouldn't still be here," Rarity said with great determination. "Come on, I'm ready! I know you can do it, Twilight."
Reluctantly, Twilight took a deep breath, and her horn sparked to life. Showers of violet-red magical sparks began to pour out of her horn, as she carefully aimed it at Rarity. Twilight shut her eyes, as a cocoon of blue magic enveloped Rarity. Suddenly, there was a blinding flash! Knowing what was coming next, Twilight threw up her wings in an attempt to shield herself from the blast. "I really should've done this outside." she thought to herself, as she was pushed back a bit.
Just as quickly as it had arrived, the flash faded. Twilight opened her eyes to see Rarity hovering off the ground with the very same translucent wings she'd worn for The Best Young Flyers Competition in Cloudsdale. "Congratulations, darling, you've done it again!" Rarity exclaimed, happily showing off her wings.
"Just be careful with them, Rarity. And make sure you keep them out of the sun as much as possible!" Twilight warned.
"Relax, Twilight, you worry too much," Rarity replied. "I haven't forgotten what happened last time, I learned my lesson. These wings are only going to be used for The Wonderbolts show."
"Speaking of which, you'd better get over there. The show will be starting in less than half an hour, and you're going to need time to get used to the feel of your wings," Twilight cautioned. "And no unnecessary risks, ground yourself at the first sign of trouble!"
"No worries, I'll be back before you know it. I'll take good care of these babies." Rarity smiled, as she fluttered her way outside, and headed off to meet up with The Wonderbolts.
Twilight sighed. "I really hope I don't end up regretting this decision." she thought to herself, but there was nothing more she could do now, except trust Rarity. Hopefully, if anything did happen to Rarity's wings, Rainbow Dash or The Wonderbolts would be around to save her.
"It's almost showtime, Captain. Soarin still hasn't shown up," Fleetfoot nervously muttered to Spitfire. She and the other Wonderbolts were currently stationed on a medium sized cloud above the audience, waiting for the signal to take off and start performing. "What shall we do?"
Spitfire looked down from the cloud and eyed a nearby clock. When it struck three, the show was scheduled to begin, no ifs, ands, or buts. Right now, the big hand was still ten minutes away from reaching the top, but the little hand was already pointing close to the three o'clock position. "Soarin's got ten more minutes to show up, before we'll have to perform without him," she replied, then she sighed. "I sure wish he would've told us if he needed somepony to take his place."
"Did somepony order a temporary replacement for a Wonderbolt?!" a voice called out, the owner of which was instantly recognizable to Rainbow Dash. Sure enough, Rarity fluttered up to the group of elite fliers with her butterfly wings, gently touching down on the cloud with relative ease.
"Rarity? What in the name of Celestia are you doing here?" Rainbow Dash asked. "This cloud is for Wonderbolts only."
"Oh, and I suppose last minute substitutions don't count?" Rarity replied with a huff.
Rainbow Dash immediately burst out laughing, as did Fleetfoot and a few other Wonderbolts. "Very funny, Rarity. You? A Wonderbolt?" Rainbow Dash said in between fits of laughter. "You have a very strange sense of humor, I'll give you that much."
Rarity quickly silenced all the laughing Wonderbolts (including Rainbow Dash) with a glare that could've rivaled Fluttershy's stare in intensity. "This isn't a joke, I shall be officially taking Soarin's place in the show today."
"And why, pray tell, is Soarin unavailable?!" Spitfire demanded. "He better have a good reason, for his sake. I'll tolerate a lot of things, but laziness isn't one of them."
Rarity cleared her throat before she announced. "My loving coltfriend has unfortunately come down with a most dreadful case of the feather flu, and is in no condition to be flying. Therefore, with his blessing, I wish to be his replacement for today."
"You can't be serious, you're not even a reserve!" Blaze snapped.
"True, but I do happen to have a pair of wings. And I seem to be the only non-uniformed pony around here with them," Rarity protested, trying her best not to sound arrogant. "So like it or not, it would seem I'm your only choice. That is, unless you'd rather fly one member short today."
"You really wanna take Soarin's place in the show, huh?" Spitfire asked, to which Rarity nodded eagerly. "I don't know, it ain't easy being a Wonderbolt. And unfortunately, we don't have time to break you in before the show starts."
"That's quite alright, Spitfire, I can learn as I go. It can't be that hard to pull off a few tricks." Rarity boasted.
"I'm sorry ma'am, but my answer is no. I'm not about to risk letting anything happen to a newbie like you. Maybe if you'd come to me sooner, we could've worked something out." Spitfire protested.
"But Spitfire I-" Rarity began.
"No buts, my decision is final!" Spitfire replied. "As Wonderbolts, we take safety very seriously. I'm not about to risk your life just because you're Soarin's marefriend, and claim to have his blessing."
Rarity frowned, it had never crossed her mind that Spitfire might not approve of her decision. But if the Wonderbolt captain said no, there was little Rarity could do in protest. "Oh well, at least I tried. I just hope Soarin's fans won't be disappointed." she thought to herself, and prepared to flap her wings and head back to Twilight's castle to have them removed.
However, at that very moment, Rainbow Dash approached Spitfire and whispered something into her ear. Since she didn't like eavesdropping on ponies, Rarity didn't listen to what was being discussed. Whatever it was, it seemed to change Spitfire's mind, if the look of "I'm going to regret this later" on her face was anything to go by. "Fine, if you really wanna take Soarin's place that badly, I guess I can let it slide. Just this once anyways," Spitfire shrugged. "But don't get ideas! You do as you are told, no questions! Understand?!"
"I most certainly do." Rarity gulped, as she stared down a rather grumpy looking Spitfire. Apparently, the young Wonderbolt captain wasn't just scary when she was angry.
"Good, now relax," Spitfire said to Rarity, switching from grumpy to friendly in the blink of an eye. "I think we have just enough time to get you suited up, then it's show time."
"Try to keep up, Rarity. These ponies payed for a show, and we've got to deliver!" Rainbow Dash added. "Are you absolutely sure you don't want to back out?"
"Perish the thought, I've come too far to turn back now!" Rarity vowed. "I must admit, I've always admired the Wonderbolts suits. Now I'll finally get to see if they're as comfortable as they are stylish."
"Celestia help us all," Misty Fly groaned, rolling her eyes. "I can't believe Rainbow Dash sweet talked our captain into letting a newbie fly with us! I sure hope she knows what she's doing, for her sake."
"Oh my, this suit fits like a glove!" Rarity exclaimed, admiring her appearance. The Wonderbolt flight suit neatly complimented her mane and tail, though she wasn't too big of a fan of the flight goggles that obscured her beautiful blue eyes. "Rainbow Dash, you don't know how lucky you are to wear one of these fine outfits."
"Yeah, well looking like a Wonderbolt isn't the same as flying like one," Rainbow Dash warned. "I'm serious, there's no room for mistakes. You either pull off a trick just right, or you're likely to end up crashing into the ground. And I assure you, it's very painful!"
Rarity gulped, nervously swallowing a lump in her throat, as she tried to control the sudden onset of shaking hooves that took hold of her. "Just what have I gotten myself into?" she thought to herself, even though she knew it was too late to change her mind.
"Fillies and gentlecolts, foals of all ages! Look to the skies and prepare to be awestruck by the incredible flying prowess of... The Wonderbolts!" the show announcer blared from the loudspeakers, prompting the gathered crowd to cheer and clap their hooves.
"Alright ponies, it's show time!" Spitfire commanded, diving off the cloud. One by one, each of the other Wonderbolts followed her, with a somewhat reluctant Rarity bringing up the rear.
"Well, here goes nothing." Rarity thought, as she gulped and carefully followed the other Wonderbolts as they assumed the dive formation. It didn't take for the noise of the wind whistling past her ear to reach Rarity, and the ground below her drew closer and closer.
Just seconds before they would've hit the ground, The Wonderbolts pulled out of the dive and positioned themselves so their whole body was one straight line, as they whooshed past the crowds!
Rarity found it surprisingly difficult to do the same, especially in sync with the experienced flyers. "Rainbow Dash and Soarin always make it look so easy," Rarity thought to herself, mentally grumbling. "One of these days I really must ask Soarin how he does it."
"You holdin' up so far, Rarity?" Rainbow Dash called out to her friend, as they soared back into the sky and began to gain altitude.
"Barely." Rarity replied. She wanted to say more, but she was too terrified. As it was, she was barely suppressing the urge to shriek.
Rainbow Dash chuckled slightly before she said. "Just relax, you've got to keep your cool if you don't want to make a mistake. I know you're scared, but you need to keep going as if you aren't. Otherwise, you won't make it through the performance."
"Easy for you to say, you've done this lots of times! This is my first time, and now I'm wishing it wasn't!" Rarity complained.
"Just follow Spitfire's lead and you'll be okay, I promise," Rainbow Dash insisted. "Besides, if something does happen, I can break off and come get you."
"If you say so." Rarity reluctantly responded, as she tried to take some deep breaths to calm herself down.
In spite of Rarity's nerves, she managed to pull off a decent performance for most of the show. Although some of the tricks took a little time to get down, with Rainbow Dash by her side to help her out, Rarity was able to complete each trick that was required of her.
Then, as the show began to wind down, Spitfire called out. "Alright team, it's time for a triple corkscrew barrel roll finale! Remember to control your speed so you don't spin out of control, and watch the sky around you!"
"Roger!" The Wonderbolts replied, and each one began to fan out on their own.
"A triple corkscrew barrel roll? That should be simple enough." Rarity commented to herself, trying to keep her fears under control. Slowly and carefully, she separated from Rainbow Dash (who she'd been counting on to help guide her for most of the show). Trying to the best of her ability to remember the flying tips Rainbow Dash and the other Wonderbolts had taught her, Rarity spread her wings out and began to make the first of three corkscrew maneuvers.
The intensity of the g-forces hit Rarity like a hard slap to the face, as she began to pull out of her third corkscrew and into her first barrel roll. Then there was trouble, Rarity shut her eyes as the g-forces became even more intense. But in doing so, she could no longer see where she was going, or what she was doing. All of a sudden, she began to spiral out of control, for she had turned too hard, too soon! Rarity quickly opened her eyes, only to see her entire world snipping like no tomorrow! At that moment, she could hold back no longer and let out an ear-splitting shriek!
Without hesitation, Rainbow Dash broke off from The Wonderbolts ranks! Speeding towards Rarity as fast as she could! Meanwhile, Rarity continued to scream.
In a matter of minutes, Rainbow Dash had caught up to Rarity. But Rarity had once again shut her eyes, and was still screaming like crazy! "Uh, Rarity?" Rainbow Dash called, but her friend didn't reply. "Rarity!" Rainbow Dash called again, only for Rarity to again not respond. Rainbow Dash lost patience, and a growl she shouted "RARITY!"
"Yes?" Rarity reluctantly responded.
"You're fine. The show's over, and you're back on safe ground. You can open your eyes now." Rainbow Dash told her fashionista friend.
Rarity opened her eyes, and pushed her flight goggles up so that they no longer obscured her face. She was indeed standing safe and secure on the very cloud from which she and The Wonderbolts had dived off of to start the show. "Oh, I knew that." Rarity said sheepishly, laughing a bit as her cheeks instantly turned bright red. "I made a fool of myself, no about that." she thought.
"That was quite the scare you gave us, Rarity. It's a good thing Rainbow Dash caught you when she did," Spitfire said seriously. "Now I hope you realize why I was so reluctant to let you fly with us. There's a difference between knowing how to use wings for normal flying, and knowing how to use wings for stunt flying."
"Yeah, from now on you're probably better off leaving this kind of stuff to the professionals," Fleetfoot said to Rarity, then quickly added. "No offense."
"None taken, darlings," Rarity said with a chuckle, then she frowned and hung her head. "I hope I didn't cause you all too much embarrassment during the show."
"Hey, you did better than me for my first show. And we all know how that turned out," Rainbow Dash said, putting a wing around Rarity. "If you ever decide to try stunt flying again though, come and see me for a few pointers first."
"Thanks but no thanks, I think I prefer having my hooves on solid ground," Rarity protested. "Were it for not Soarin's unexpected illness, I never would've even considered doing this."
"Speaking of Soarin, you make sure to let him know we hope gets better soon," Spitfire said to Rarity. "And thanks for being so supportive of him. Not many ponies would've had the guts to do what you did today."
"I guess it's true what they say. Ponies always do crazy things when they're in love," Rarity replied, before she carefully slipped out of her flight suit. "Now if you'll excuse, I have to see a certain princess about getting these wings removed."
"So, how was the show?" Soarin asked his marefriend, when she returned to Carousel Boutique. The pegasus stallion hadn't moved one inch from the fainting couch, or so it seemed.
"Honestly, I don't know how you do it, Soarin," Rarity complained. "Somehow you make those incredible, death-defying stunts look as easy as pie."
"It's all a matter of experience, Rarity," Soarin chuckled, then he asked. "Speaking of pie, I could really go for a delicious apple pie from Sweet Apple Acres right about now. Whadya say?" Right before he let out another sneeze, and groaned. "Aw man, I thought I was over it! Stupid feather flu!"
Rarity couldn't help but laugh. "Sorry, Soarin, but the last thing you need in your current state is junk food. You just stay there and relax, while I fix you up a nice, hot bowl of chicken soup. That always does the trick for me whenever I'm sick."
"Are you my marefriend, or my mother?" Soarin remarked, causing both himself and Rarity to laugh. Then Soarin let out another sneeze, and coughed a bit. Laughter might be the greatest medicine, but even it couldn't instantly heal something like the feather flu. Only time could do that.
Author's Note
This is just a little idea that popped into my mind at some point, so I decided to make a fanfic about it. As far as I can tell, I'm still the only one who's written any ship fics for Rarity and Soarin, and I can understand very much why.
Even if it'd be a little easier to pair them up now that they've had time to see each other and interact (such as in "Rarity Investigates), they don't really have a lot of chemistry or any shared interests. Naturally, in order for this ship to even gain any traction, it would require people to make up chemistry for them.
If I do write another fanfic involving these two, it'll probably either cover their wedding, or Soarin foalsitting Sweetie Belle.
