A Bit Sour
Ink Mage
"Alright alright, once more around!" Spitfire's loud voice boomed throughout the stadium. Groans were easily heard from all different directions.
"But Spitty, we've been through the formation fifteen times! Don't we deserve a little break?" Soarin asked, kneeling in front of her and giving her his best puppy-dog eyes. Spitfire glared at him.
"First off, don't call me 'Spitty'," she started. Soarin shrugged. "Secondly, we need to get in all the practice we can before the show next week. The princesses will be watching, I'm sure we all want to make a good impression."
"Alright fine, but this is the last time," Soarin protested. Spitfire shrugged.
"We'll see."
Soarin grumbled something under his breath before moving back into his position in the far left of the array of ponies. Rainbow Dash snickered from besides him.
"You tried," she whispered. Soarin bit his lip and shot her a playful glance.
"I also failed, so not much there," he spoke softly. Dash giggled uncharacteristically, before the two shot up from their place and into the air.
"Misty Fly, left! Surprise, tuck your hooves in so Wave Chill can see from behind you! Fleetfoot, flap harder! Rainbow Dash, move in slightly from the right! Soarin, keep your distance from Rainbow Dash!"
Spitfire kept yelling out commands, making it immensely difficult to concentrate on not hurting anyone while flying at such high speeds. Rainbow Dash bit her lip as a sharp turn approached. Soarin glanced behind him and looked at her grief-stricken face with worry. Slowly, but carefully, he moved in to talk to her.
"You doing alright?" he said, making sure to talk quiet enough for nopony else to hear, but loud enough for Dash. She looked up at him, and nodded.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Her face told him otherwise.
"You sure? You don't look so good," Soarin said with a cheeky grin, glancing back every so often to see if he was going in the right direction. Dash sighed while still trying to keep up.
"My wings might give out on me in that turn," she admitted. Soarin's eyes widened as he quickly turned back ahead, looking straight into a rock wall.
"WOAHWOAHWOAH!" he yelled, quickly ducking out of the way.
Rainbow Dash though, wasn't as fortunate.
"aaaHHHHH!" she screamed, swerving off of the platform and landing straight on Soarin.
The two blinked as they rolled on top of one another. Soarin blushed madly, before quickly making his way off of her. Dash coughed nervously as he held out a hoof for her to take.
"Uh... you alright?" he asked her slowly. Rainbow Dash only nodded.
"I'm fine, you?" she asked, dusting herself off. Soarin nodded.
"Never better." He winked at her, before Spitfire came charging at them.
"SOARIN! RAINBOW DASH! WEREN'T YOU LISTENING TO ANYTHING I SAID?" she yelled, pushing them back onto their flanks. Rainbow Dash and Soarin both gulped, shooting each other a glance.
"Erm... I think Rainbow Dash and I should be heading back to the lunch room now..." Soarin said. Dash quickly nodded from besides him.
"Yeah! Uh... Soarin's right..." she said. Soarin gulped.
"Yeah... uh... seeyoulaterSpittybye!" he exclaimed before grabbing the cyan mare's hoof and whisking her away. Spitfire wasn't even able to make a comment on the nickname he called her.
The two made their way to the cafeteria, where a few 'Bolts were already seated. Soarin led her to an empty table and the two sat down opposite each other.
"So! Uh... you liking the Wonderbolts?" Soarin asked, trying to make friendly conversation. Rainbow Dash nodded enthusiastically.
"Oh yeah! Definitely!" she exclaimed. "It's been my dream for a while, how could I not be?"
Soarin chuckled. "You're doing great so far, Crash."
"You're not so bad yourself, Clipper," Dash replied with a smirk.
"Clipper rather than Crash, eh?" Soarin said, making the mare scoff lightly.
"Well excuse you," she said, giving him a playful shove.
The two laughed and small-talked for a little while longer, before the rest of the crew started heading in too.
"RAINBOW DASH!" somepony exclaimed, stumbling into the cafeteria. Rainbow Dash's ears perked up at the mention of her name, as she quickly looked over to see who had called for her.
"Quibble Pants?!" she exclaimed happily, lunging out of her seat, leaving behind a very confused looking Soarin.
Rainbow Dash and Quibble both exchanged a quick hug, before Dash shook back to her senses.
"What are you doing here?" she asked. "And how did you get here in the first place? You're an earth pony!"
"I had a friend back where I'm from put a little cloud-walking spell on me, and came here as soon as I found out!" Quibble said excitedly. Rainbow Dash quirked her eyebrows at him.
"Found out?" she asked, clearly confused. "Found out what?"
"Look!"
And with that, Quibble shoved a fresh hardcover book in her face. Dash quickly scanned the text, figuring out in seconds what it really was.
"No way..." she mumbled under her breath. Quibble nodded excitedly.
"Yes way!"
"The newest Daring Do book?" Rainbow Dash said, fluttering off the ground in joy.
"And that's not the best part!"
Quibble pointed to the edge of the book, where in fine print, a sentence was written.
With special thanks to Rainbow Dash and Quibble Pants.
"Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh!" Rainbow Dash said.
"I know!"
Soarin watched from his seat as the two conversed happily with one another. Fleetfoot sauntered into the seat besides him with a smirk playing on her lips.
"Well, he sure came out of nowhere," she said. Soarin's eyebrows furrowed.
"Yeah..." he said in a breathy voice. "He sure did..."
"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" Fleetfoot asked him with an amused smile.
"Naw... I'm just... surprised, that's all. They seem to know each other well," Soarin said. Fleetfoot was beginning to enjoy this.
"Yeah, they do. Does that bother you?" she asked with a raised eyebrow. Soarin immediately jerked back.
"Whaaaat? No!" he said, putting his hooves up in defense.
"Awww, is Soarie Worie a little jealous?" Fleetfoot cooed. Soarin grumbled something under his breath and shook his head profusely, a small blush becoming evident on his cheeks.
"Of course not!" Soarin crossed his hooves. "Why would I be, anyway?"
Fleetfoot laughed, getting up from her seat.
"Whatever you say, lover boy."
"So you never mentioned you were a Wonderbolt?" Quibble asked the rainbow-maned mare besides him. Rainbow Dash shrugged.
"Didn't see the need to? I'm surprised no one recognized me," she said. Quibble nodded.
"Probably because of your cosplay."
"So... you write fanfiction?" Dash asked. Quibble nodded.
"Oh yeah!" he said.
"Cool! What do you write about?" Dash asked.
"Well, mostly Daring Do... and focusing on the main trilogy, of course."
Dash playfully glared at him. "Are we really going to get into this argument again?"
"I don't know... would it be worth it?"
"Probably not, let's go!"
Nearby, Soarin examined the scene in front of him. He remember what Dash had said, 'Are we really going to get into this argument again.'
That could only mean that they had fought in the past. Soarin smiled to himself. This was good.
"What'cha doing?" Fleetfoot asked, walking up besides him. Soarin jumped in surprise, before sighing when he realized who it was. '
"Oh. It's you," he said.
"Who were you expecting? Princess Celestia?" Fleetfoot asked with a snarky smirk. Soarin rolled his eyes, before looking back at Rainbow Dash, who was currently at her locker with Quibble.
"How long till he goes?" he whined. Fleetfoot shrugged.
"He shouldn't be here too long. Probably a few hours at most," she said. Soarin groaned.
"That's way too much time," he mumbled. Fleetfoot raised her eyebrows.
"So I was right then?"
"Right about what?" Soarin asked.
"Right about you being a jealous snob."
"Hey! I am not a snob!"
"So you admit to being jealous?"
"Absolutely not. Why would I be jealous of Quibble Pants? It's not like he owns Rainbow Dash or anything!" Soarin exclaimed. A smile tugged on Fleetfoot's face.
"I never said anything about Quibble or Rainbow Crash."
The color drained from Soarin's face.
"Oh...! Uh... didn't you?" he asked nervously. Fleetfoot shook her head proudly.
"Caught ya!" she said. Soarin scoffed.
"I am not jealous," he repeated.
"Say that again," Fleetfoot challenged. Soarin crossed his hooves.
"I am not jealous."
"Again."
"I am not jealous."
"Again."
"I am not jealous!"
"Again."
"I. Am. Not. Jealous."
"Again."
"Aren't you satisfied yet?"
"Nope. Say it again."
"No! Now get out of my way," Soarin said, pushing the mint mare aside and going to the workout room. He presumed Dash would be there, since she was usually there at this time of day.
Fleetfoot snickered as he made his exit.
"Oh he is so jealous..."
"Hey, Crash?" Soarin called out upon noticing said mare with a certain stallion in the weights area. Dash quickly turned around, eying Soarin happily.
"Oh, hey Soar," she said, not thinking about the nickname. Something warm erupted in Soarin's body, but he didn't know what. "What's up?"
"Oh nothing I was just-"
"Rainbow Dash! You've got to see this!" Quibble called for her. Dash whipped around and shrugged an apology to Soarin, before making her way back.
"Wait! Dash! We were talking..." Soarin said in a glum tone. Dash raised an eyebrow, but nodded, moving back to him.
"Uh, Rainbow Dash?!" Quibble asked. Dash bit her lip and turned her hooves, beginning to walk in the opposite direction.
Soarin's eyes narrowed at the brown stallion. He took a deep breath, before stomping over to him.
"Crash and I were talking," he stated simply upon arriving. Quibble raised his eyebrow.
"So? I was talking to her first," he said. Soarin gaped at him, as Dash looked between them nervously.
"Alright now... can we just-"
"Actually, Rainbow Dash and I have somewhere to be, right, Dash?" Soarin cut in.
"Well, I mean..."
"Rainbow Dash and I need to talk about all the stuff we did at the convention!" Quibble protested. Soarin's ears perked up.
"Convention?"
"Yeah! The Daring Do convention! Did you know that A.K. Yearling is actually-"
"UHHH... anyway," Dash interrupted, jabbing the brown stallion in his gut. This though, only made Soarin's eyes narrow more. Dash shot him a look. "I need to actually talk to Soarin, I'll be right back."
Soarin jolted as the mare grabbed his tail, leading him out of the room and into the hallway.
"What's the matter with you?" she suddenly asked once they were alone. Soarin's eyes widened.
"Uh... I just..."
"Soarin, you've been acting strange since Quibble came, is something wrong?"
"No! No I just-"
"Did I do anything to upset you? Because if I did, I'll just-"
"NO! Rainbow Dash! You didn't do anything, I swear!" Soarin exclaimed. Dash glanced away.
"What's going on?"
"Uh..."
"I mean... not that I actually care or anything, because I most certainly don't!" Dash suddenly continued. "I just... it's... it's for the team! Yeah!"
"Oh really now?" Soarin smirked. "Aw... is wittle Dashie Washie getting all up front and emotional?" he teased, thinking back to when Fleetfoot did something like this to him. Dash blushed madly. Both of them had forgotten about what had just happened earlier.
"Shut up, Clipper," she groaned. "But a certain mint mare did tell me about some... feelings of yours..."
Soarin instantly stopped in his tracks. "...What?"
Dash snorted.
"Were you... jealous?" she asked with a playful hint to her voice. Soarin gaped at her.
"What! Nonono!" he exclaimed. Dash nodded, while laughing to herself.
"Sure sure. I believe you," she said.
"Are you going back to him now?" Soarin asked her, desperate to change the subject. Dash shrugged.
"If you want... I mean, I could always stay with you for the rest of the day... you know, to calm our nerves. Not because I want to or anything, because that's just crazy," she stammered. Soarin grinned.
"Oh no that's fi-"
"Hey Rainbow Dash?" a new voice cut in. Dash and Soarin both whirled around to see Quibble in the doorway with a sheepish grin. "Sorry to interrupt, whatever this is, but I really need to get going."
Dash blinked. "Go?"
"Yeah, home. I can't stay here forever," he said as a matter-of-factly. Dash was quiet for a few seconds, before bursting into a small fit of laughter. "What's so funny?"
"Oh... nothing," Dash said, before trotting up to him and patting his back. "See you later?"
"Yeah... see you later," Quibble said, before waving and making his exit.
Dash quickly turned to Soarin.
"So... about that plan to calm our nerves..."
