“Crash! You’re out of sync with me! Keep up!” Spitfire yelled, her voice muffled by the howling wind that whipped through my mane.
I grinned. This was the first time Rainbow was taking the role of "Second Wing", desperately attempting to keep up as I trailed behind them. I could still remember Dash’s face when I told her I’d let her have my position for one show. She wouldn’t stop thanking me for the entire day.
That being said, Spitfire was not amused by my gesture.
“Ugh! I’m trying, Spitfire!” Dash shouted back as we spiraled through the air, “But you’re not making this easy for me!”
Her reply made me wince, Spitfire didn’t really believe in the word ‘easy,’ Dash didn’t either.
“Heave right!” Spitfire shouted as we veered to the right suddenly. Rainbow Dash wasn’t quick enough though, tackling Spitfire's side as the two of them tumbled back down toward the academy.
The rest of the team and I just hovered in place, watching as they fell. There was a small pause before Fleetfoot spoke up.
“Uh, maybe one of us should go down there... Soarin?”
My eyes widened at the suggestion, I was not about to be a bystander in the verbal abuse that Spitfire was going to churn out.
“Me?! Why are you volunteering me to go down there?!”
She rolled her eyes, “Well, you’re normally Second Wing, and you know Spitfire the best, so you’re the least likely to suffer collateral damage.”
The other Wonderbolts nodded their heads in agreement, making it clear to me that I wasn’t getting out of this.
“I don’t like the way you described it as ‘collateral damage.’”
“Oh get over it, you big baby!” Fleetfoot replied, giving me a light shove in the bickering duo’s direction, “I’ll buy you some food.”
I frowned. Fleetfoot wasn’t one to break a promise, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t leverage the deal.
“I want apple pie, that good Sweet Apple Acre’s stuff.”
“Deal, now get down there and try to apply some damage control.”
I shouldn’t have agreed to this… but the temptation of apple pie is just too strong!
I cursed myself internally as I flew down toward the academy, glancing back to the worried expressions of my teammates. They were no doubt praying for my survival.
Rainbow Dash was busy plucking loose feathers out of her wings while Spitfire glared at her, the two of them were still sitting in the crater that had formed when they impacted the ground.
“Heh, sorry about that, Spits, guess my reaction time wasn’t as fast as I thought.” Dash said, rubbing the back of her head with her hoof.
I never thought Dash would use the word “wasn’t” and “fast” in the same sentence.
Spitfire growled, “That’s an understatement. You’ve been messing up all practice! What’s the deal?”
Dash was at a loss for words, her jaw hanging open slightly as she fired a glance my way, her eyes pleading for support.
I shrugged. I wasn’t interested in invoking Spitfire’s ire. Plus, I couldn’t dig her out of this situation if I tried.
“I don’t know why Soarin thought you could handle Second Wing, you need more practice, and the show is only in a couple days!”
Rainbow Dash closed her mouth and kept her head low to the ground as Spitfire stormed off, grumbling obscenities under her breath as she trudged back to the academy.
Dash and I exchanged cursory glances at one another, not wanting to iterate on the conversation prior, the tension in the air was thick enough to cut with a knife.
I don’t know why I tried to cut it.
“So… y’alright, Dash?”
Smooth as sandpaper, Soarin.
“I… uh, I’ll be okay. I just… I think I’ll just turn in for the day,” Dash replied, her glazed eyes scanning the ground.
I should probably fix this.
“Hey, Dash! Wait up!” I called out to her, and she glanced over at me.
“Soarin, I’m fine,” Dash said, her hoofsteps hitting the ground with enough force to kick up pieces of cloud.
We were still over five minutes away from the academy, this was going to be a long and awkward conversation if the two of us walked the whole way there. Though I wasn’t about to just let her deal with this on her own.
I trotted to her side and matched her pace, doing my best to avoid her icy glare.
“I’m not really interested in being chewed out by you too, Soarin,” Dash nearly spat, her eyes still affixed to the ground.
“Hey, I have no intention on making it worse.” I waved a hoof in defense, “Besides, it’s my fault I made us swap roles.”
Rainbow Dash paused before approaching the edge of the cloud bed and sitting down, finally glancing up at me as she replied.
“No… I don’t think it’s your fault. You offered, and I accepted it. Now I have to face the consequences.”
I sat down next to her and glanced over at her wings, some of her feathers were still dislocated. I gently ran a hoof through her right wing and began straightening out any feathers that could be salvaged.
“H-Hey, y-you don’t need to do that! I can do it myself,” Dash sputtered out as she withdrew her wings, a tinge of red painted across her face.
It was true that wings were a rather… intimate area, though Dash and I were teammates, and I knew she trusted me enough to do it.
I nipped away at a loose feather and ignored her protests, “Your wings are a mess, Dash. Let me fix them for you.”
She grumbled, the blush still hadn’t faded from her face, “Fine, though I still don’t know what I’m going to do about this practice session. I completely blew it!”
I chuckled, “Well, I wouldn’t say you completely blew it.”
“Soarin, I side-tackled our captain in mid-air.”
“... Ah, yeah, right.”
…
The two of us sat there in silence for another minute as I worked. As awkward as it was, I was glad she was willing to at least let me talk to her. Though I needed to break the silence again, and put this incident behind us.
“Soarin, can I ask you something?” Rainbow Dash spoke up before I had the chance.
“Hmm?”
She shuffled in place, ruffling her feathers as she tried to figure out what she was trying to say.
“Why… why did you choose me of all ponies to take your place? Hay, why did you do it at all? You’re a great flier, you didn’t need to do that.”
I grinned as I re-aligned another feather, “You’re right, I didn’t need to do it,” I said, “I wanted to do it. I chose you in particular, because I knew you of all ponies would appreciate it, and ‘cause I think you’re one of the best fliers on our team. You might even be better than Spits, I reckon.”
“Y-You really think so?”
“Heh, I know s—”
Rainbow Dash pulled me close, locking her lips against mine. I stared at her with wide eyes before eventually sinking into her as I felt my wings unfurl.
The two of us sat there for what felt like years, savoring the warmth that we radiated as the wind tousled our manes.
Finally, we broke away from each other, panting quietly as I wiped her lips for her, causing her to blush. She stared at me, awaiting my response, though I just sat there in a stupefied silence.
“I… erm… w-what was that for?” I managed to ask.
Her eyes darted back and forth, attempting to avert her gaze.
“Well… where do I start? You’re kind, you’re strong... handsome. But most importantly, you believe in me, more than I believe in myself.”
She leaned her head against my shoulder, the two of us staring at the clouds off in the distance.
“...Should we swap spots, Soarin? I don’t mind being Rear Wing for the show, Spitfire would probably be happier that way.”
I tilted my head and rested it against hers, “I have a better idea. Why don’t you and I run through the drills. Just you and me, we’ll get you ready for the show, I promise.”
For a moment, she glanced up at me, before smiling and closing her eyes.
“You’re the best, Soarin.”
“Heh, yeah, I know.”
