Soarin sat at the white table in the corner of a well lit room, an alfalfa sandwich sitting untouched before him. He craned his neck down and took a bite of the lunch item, but his appetite was almost non existent.

He chewed the morsel laboriously, willing himself to eat the piece of his favorite food. Up until a few days ago he would have powered though the meal as if it were nothing, but he just didn’t have the appetite...

The sky blue Pegasus jumped when he felt a feathery object lightly touch him on his left shoulder. He turned to find out what it was, heart still pounding. There standing next to him was a pony he’d known for many, many years.

“Geeze, Spitfire! You nearly gave me a heart attack!”

“Sorry about that.” the light yellow equine said with a light smile. “But I couldn’t help but notice... You’ve been acting rather down recently. What’s on your mind?”

Soarin turned back to his practically untouched sandwich and sighed.

“It's nothing really, I’m ok...”

Spitfire walked over to the other side of the circular table and sat.

“Come on now, Soarin, I know you too well. You should know by now you can’t get anything past me.”

Soarin looked at his friend, then looked down at the table. He pushed his sandwich out of the way and scooted closer. He and Spitfire were always able to talk to each other about problems they faced, but typically Soarin was the one in need of advice.

He knew it would be useless to try and hide it.

“Well, you see..” began Soarin, eyes floating around the room, trying in vain to ease the akwardness of the situation.

“Ah, Mare problems. Shoulda known. “ Spitfire interrupted.  

The blue Wonderbolt began to protest when Spitfire shot him a disarming look, reminding him once more that she only wanted to help.

But Soarin couldn’t relax yet.... he basically knew what Spitfire’s immediate response would be, and he was NOT looking forward to it.

"Well, you know that one filly, the one with the rainbow hair? Well, I.... We... I kinda...”

The stallion, and consequently the rest of the Wonderbolt's cafeteria, was silenced by a deafening bang of furious hooves on the table.

“YOU WHAT, SOARIN?” Snarled the furious Spitfire.

All other members of the aviation team fell silent, stood up from their various places in unison,and hurriedly yet quietly vacated the room. Spitfire didn’t earn her namesake for nothing.

Soarin sat at the table, head hung in shame at himself,  face burning with embarrassment, not wanting to look up at the furious mare.

The two sat alone, the dull hum of the light above their heads being the only noise for minutes. Minutes that stretched on for what seemed like miniature eternities.

Spitfire was the one to break the silence.

“Listen, Soar. You gotta colt-up and figure out a way to fix this. A mares heart can be a fragile thing.”

She paused, and Soarin raised his eyes to rendezvous with her gaze, knowing what she was eluding to. He wanted to look away, but he found it impossible.

The young mare’s eyes had a tinge of sadness, remnants of a greater sorrow that dissipated over time, but would never fully extinguish.  

“I would know.” Spitfire finished the words devoid of emotion.

For a moment, her eyes weren’t gold. They were maroon. And her coat wasn’t golden, it was a beautiful light blue. Suddenly, he found himself standing infront of Rainbow Dash, in her home. Those same hurt eyes peering at him through a mist of tears.

Soarin closed his eyes, and opened them a moment later to find he was back in the Wonderbolt’s dining area, alone.

"Her eyes..." He thought "Her eyes looked exactly like Rainbow Dash's.."

After several solitary minutes of deep contemplation, The Wonderbolt rose from his spot and solemnly walked to wards the door.

He walked through the empty hallways and exited the main building, and sat himself down at the edge of the cloud in the direction of Rainbow Dash’s home.

Soarin knew what he wanted to happen, but didn’t even know if he had the courage to accomplish it.

      ~~~

Rainbow Dash was sitting on her bed, staring up at the open twilight sky infront of her, a few stars dotting the sky so many miles up.. Her cyan cheeks were streaked with dried  tears that seldom stopped rolling down her face, but at the moment, all was calm and quiet, and she felt almost content. Rainbow Dash hadn’t cried for many months, but now she remembered how therapeutic it was for a mare to have a good, long cry once in a blue moon. Even her.

She sighed, filling her lungs with cool, evening air and opened her wings, stretching every muscle as she did. Once she was ready, she lifted herself off the miniature cloud, up and out of the hole in her roof she used to have easy access to the sky. She wanted to avoid her living quarters; she wanted to avoid the spot where she allowed herself to get too close.

Rainbow Dash closed her eyes during the slight decline to the earth many miles below. The scent of salty tears shed the previous nights and the lofty scent of cloud pillow filled her nostrils as she inhaled.

But despite her efforts to keep her mind off of last night, the thoughts kept sweeping into her head like the wind rushing of wind through her ears. She shook her head, trying to rid herself of them.

"I'm acting like a total foal..."

She brought her legs up to her face,  wiping as much of the salty residue of tears away as she could from her eyes and cheeks. When she opened her eyes again, she noticed she was  pointed in the direction of the same mountains she flew past on her way home from the Grand Galloping Gala a few days prior.

She remembered the golden yellow light radiating off the mountains in the morning light, promising a beautiful new day; but now they were a depressing shade of orange, growing less vibrant each second as the sun sank lower into the sky.

Rainbow Dash watched as the last sliver of light evaporated off the face of the mountain, sinking Ponyville in a calm dark evening. One by one, each one of the familiar stars of the Summer sky began to fill the vast expanse of sky.

The cyan mare was growing weary, and wanted to rest, but having drifted away from her home, the mountains were closer than the mansion of clouds. She didn’t want to return anyway. What was there to return to? Unpleasant memories and reminders of a more recent incident? To hay with that.

Rainbow Dash glided towards the mountains at a slow decent and spotted a lone cave on the face. She changed direction, headed directly for it, and landed.

The young mare turned herself about and promptly lay down at the edge of the cave mouth on a rock, scant inches away from a sheer drop.

"This always happens." she said to herself yet again. “I always fly too close to the sun.”

At this, her eyelids began to flutter, and her mind became fuzzy. She didn’t fight sleep, in fact, sleep was the only solace she could find. The Pegasus laid her head down in between her front hooves, and within moments drifted into unconsciousness.

      ~~~

Soarin stood at Rainbow Dash’s door, hoof hovering in front about to knock, when he heard a slight ruffling of Pegusi feathers above. The colt looked up and saw Rainbow Dash flying towards Sandalwood Mountain.

Had she seen him and fled? OR was it coincidence that she was leaving just as he arrived.

Soarin took a deep breath, dissipating the worry in his chest, and took off after her, keeping his distance. He followed her, and saw Rainbow Dash land in a small cave overlooking a darkened Ponyville.

Despite what his heart demanded, he kept flying, up to the peak of the mountain. He landed and immediately began to pace, trying to figure out what to say to her once he drummed up enough courage to speak to her. If he decided to say anything.

The young colt walked down a slight slope absentmindedly and found himself in a field of incredible flowers surrounding a small pond, brightly illuminated by a still rising moon. As he walked around, he thought about picking a few for the Cyan pony below, but decided against it.

“She isn’t that kind of mare.” he chuckled to himself in the silence.

He sat down and listened to the absolute still that blanketed the area. Not a creature was stirring, not wind was blowing. Just silence.

“Then again, she’s unlike any other mare I’ve ever met... She’s cunning, strong willed and gorgeous.”

The colt looked at the cool, still water, painted silver in the light of the moon, and saw his own reflection. He wondered for a moment how he ever got Rainbow Dash to like him. To kiss him.

“... and that’s why she’s too good for me. I’m stupid, weak and ugly.”

He melancholicly threw a hoof in the water, sending ripples throughout the small pool.

The ripples extended to the edges of the mass of water, and bounced off the dirty edge returning to the point of origin. Slowly they died out, losing their force as they went.

Soarin rolled over on his back, his mind a chaotic jumble of emotions, thoughts and worries. He liked Rainbow Dash alot, but at the same time, flying was the only thing he was good at. The only thing he'd known for as long as he remembered was the joy of flight. Whenever his mother and her coltfriend would fight, he would leave the house for hours at a time and just... Fly.

He became so good at it he joined his High School Flight Team and  eventually earned a Scholarship to Cloudsdale University by his senior year. He would travel all over Equestria to compete against other teams of aviators for the honors of being top in the Nation.

At each major event, the Wonderbolts would observe and note the most promising candidates for drafting.

One day, after an especially long and grueling competition, the Leader of the Wonderbolts at the time, Captain Thunderhead, approached him and asked him if he wanted to become one of the best. To become a Wonderbolt.

Naturally, the young colt jumped at the opportunity. After all, it was what he wanted more than anything.  From there he went to a special flight camp, and competed against other candidates  for the position, some even his best friends since childhood.

Throughout it all, he noticed one thing. The other candidates were utterly consumed with the position. It was their drive. Their sole focus. But Soarin never lost sight of of his first love. The love of flying

One by one, the other candidates were dropped. And at the long, brutal end of it, only he and Spitfire remained. During the probationary period the two had started dating, but due to regulations they were forced to end their relationship.

Something Soarin regretted fully. He wished he never gave up on one dream for the other. He had even talked to Spitfire about quiting and returning to the way things were, but the mare didn't want to go back again, only to get hurt once more. She let a past pain rule her life.

But, it seemed as if history was doomed to repeat itself. He had begun to fall in love all over again, with a mare that loved the gift of flight as much as he did.

Soarin stared up at the millions of stars, formulating and thinking. He closed his eyes, but immidiately  rolled back over on his stomach, wide eyed and hopeful.

"Maybe..." He said. "Maybe it's not too late! Maybe I CAN fix this!"

The young colt thought he knew what he had to do, but now there wasn't a shadow of a doubt. Come what may, He couldn't lose light of the joy that came from flying, and no matter what, he couldn't let Rainbow Dash lose sight of it either.

Soarin looked to the crisp, cool night, and took a deep breath, filling his lungs with his favorite scent; sky.

He knew what he had to do. And now, he finally had the courage to do it.

      ~~~

Rainbow Dash opened her eyes slowly, allowing herself to adjust to the harsh morning light reflecting off the clouds passing in front of her. She raised her head,  yawned, and twisted her head side to side, cracking her vertebrae to relieve pressure, as was her daily morning ritual.

"Man, that rock was comfy...." She said aloud. still in a half awake state.

She paused. Rocks weren't comfy last time she checked, so she decided to check again.

Rainbow Dash looked at the boulder she had risen from, and to her complete surprise, a Wonderbolt's uniform had been folded up and placed under her head like a makeshift pillow.

She looked around the cave for a moment, searching for what she knew she’d find.

There, in the back, was a drooling Soarin. He was out of uniform and completely asleep..

She didn't quite understand what was going on, or exactly why he was here. All she knew was she had flown out here to get away from it all, but somehow it found her, even this far away from home.

Heat flooded her face, but the heat was from frustration. She picked the wadded up flight suit in her teeth and flung it across the cave, hitting the sleeping colt on the back of the head with a flop.

"What in the hay are you doing here, Soarin?!"

The male pony immediately rose from his spot and turned to face her. He began to explain himself, but was abruptly cut off by the fuming Mare.

"Didya just want to tick me off more? 'Cause it's sure working. Man, you reaally know how to treat a girl, dontcha?"

He took several small steps forward, stuttering around for he right words to say. For each step he took, Rainbow Dash took one step back.

"Rainbow, look, I'm sorry..."

"Oh, you're sorry! That makes it all better then."

The words she spoke were paired with a tone of biting sarcasm and a venomous look.

Soarin looked down at his front hooves, unsure of what he should say next. But he knew he had to say something...

Rainbow Dash shook her head, turned, and walked out to the front of the cave, spreading her wings in preparation for flight.

Soarin watched as she walked away. Something about her back as she walked screamed out "Don't follow me". But he knew if he didn’t act now, he’d run the risk of losing her forever.

He mustered up the new found courage he obtained the night before and ran to her. His hooves couldn't carry him to her fast enough. The colt skidded directly past her and stood directly in front of the mare, wings spread to their full span, denying her access to the sky.

Rainbow Dash waited for him to speak, waited for some sort of desperate apology to rush from him, but none came. Instead, Soarin threw his front legs and wings around her in a hug.

But it wasn’t just a hug. She could feel the remorse and sincerity emanating from every fiber of his body.

“Rainbow, listen to me for just a second.  I know I’m the last pony you want to see right now, but I’m begging you, just come fly with me. We don’t even need to speak.”

Rainbow Dash gave no response.

Soarin released the embrace and looked in her eyes. The maroon eyes that were filled with pain only two nights before were cautiously hopeful, but he doubted their owner knew it herself.

The stallion turned to the edge of the cliff and walked right off, spreading his large blue wings and leveling out above the thick layer of rain clouds, golden in the light of the sun. Much to his dismay, the light sound of Pegasus wings following close behind were not heard. Soarin had one final card to play.

“Hey Dash!” He called out. “Try to keep up!”

Not two seconds later, a lightning fast light blue blur raced past him, rainbow trail in tow.

Soarin let a wide goofy grin stretch across his face, and a hearty chuckle escape his mouth.

“Rainbow Dash hasn’t lost that spark after all...”

With that, the Wonderbolt bolted off in pursuit.

The two pegusi tore through the sky like they never have before, letting their emotions of frustration and remorse give way to joy and excitement, blasting through clouds at blistering speed.

Soarin eventually took the lead and shot directly up with Rainbow Dash close behind. The pair flew higher and higher, until the Wonderbolt preformed a loop-de-loop and leveled out, parallel with the earth, and slowed. Rainbow Dash pulled next to him and poked his side with her hoof.

“Getting tired there?” she playfully jabbed.

Soarin laughed. “Not just yet. Hey, you remember what happened that first night we flew together?”

Recent memories of the spectacular Lightning Rainboom they preformed came back to her instantaneously.

“Hey yeah! What about it?”

“Let’s do it again.”

Rainbow Dash stopped flapping for a moment, until she noticed herself declining in altitude, then corrected herself and returned to her position.

“Are you crazy?! I don’t even know if we’d be able to pull that off again!”

He looked over at Rainbow Dash, multi colored mane wildly whipping about in the strong wind. Her beautiful blue coat almost melding in with the endless late morning sky. Her eyes, ready, wanting to alight with joy and passion again. But she still needed that extra push.

“So, you’re scared to take a chance, then?” Soarin said, knowing exactly what she needed to get her going.

No hesitation came from her.

At that moment, her eyes reignited, screaming at him, saying that she wasn’t going to let anything keep her down. She was ready to take another chance.

"Oh, you're on, flyboy!"

The two pulled up vertically, facing opposite directions, back to back, wing to wing. Each stopped flapping their wings and allowed themselves to float in midair for a brief period of time. To both pegusi though, the moment was of pure euphoria.

The two ponies surrendered themselves to gravity, and let themselves beginning their rapid decent.

No communication was needed between them. They were as one entity. They turned as one, they rolled as one and they flew as one.

Rainbow Dash and Soarin hit a string of billowing thunderheads, gathering energy and spare electricity on their coats as they plummeted towards the Equestrian ground ahead.

As they exited the final cloud, a large vapor cone formed around the two, signaling the near penetration of the Sonic Barrier. Any mistake or miscalculation at this point could prove disasterous.

The two passed the point of no return and pressed into the cone vigorously as the ground neared them. They were running out of time, and space!

But neither thought of that; it was only them against the odds now.

Rainbow Dash could tell she was at the threshold, but waited for Soarin to give the word. If she breached the barrier even a fraction of a second before him, he probably wouldn't survive. This maneuver required absolute synchronization.

“Three....” Soarin yelled over the incredible noise, signaling the beginning of the countdown. “Two.... ONE!”

The world fell silent. There was no noise of the wind, or a loud boom from the sound barrier being shattered. It was only Him and Her, ripping thought the sky, and ploughing thought the immense layer of golden clouds covering this part of the world, emerging in a much darker environment.

Both ponies looked back at the astounding sight behind. Several colassal rainbow colored lighting bolts fanned out from the duo as they continued rocketing towards the ground. The first time they did a Lightning Rainboom, the skies had been clear. But this time, their spectacular feat had drawn electricity from the clouds around them, creating a much larger spectacle.

Soarin tore his gaze away from the sky and redirected it toward the ground, and much to his horror, the ground was closer than he thought it would be.

“DASH! BRAKE, NOW!”

She got the hint, and the two pegusi broke off from one another, and braked harder than either of have in their lives.

Soarin saw that Dash wasn’t stopping as fast as she needed to. If he didn’t do something, she would be in a world of hurt. The colt immediately tilted his wings and glided under the mare, positioning himself so that he would break her fall, wrapping his legs around her torso.

The pair impacted a grassy hill overlooking a meadow with a wet thud. As they slid toward the base, the deafening roars of the Lighting Rainboom still resounded through the sky, and the massive bolts of lightning continually lashed randomly outwards.

When they came to a halt, Rainbow Dash opened her eyes, which were shut tight in the moments during impact, and noticed where she lay.

She was on Soarin’s chest, his eyes were closed and his breathing was shallow. Immediately, she thought the worst.

“...Dash?” the Wonderbolt said with labored breathing.

Rainbow Dash couldn’t tell if the water running down her face was rain or tears.

“Y-Yes?”

Soarin coughed viciously, retching violently.

“I need you t-to... Do me a favor..”

Rainbow Dash drew closer to his face, as his voice was growing dimmer by the moment, drowned out by the sound of falling rain.

“Anything.” she said, her voice trembling from the sorrow that was now welling up inside her.

“I need you to... to... get off my chest...”

“What was that? You need to get something off your chest?” she asked.

Soarin nodded with great effort and squeaked out his words.

“You.”

Rainbow Dash hurriedly tried to decipher what he was trying to say, thinking this might mean life or death, and then it hit her.

He literally meant off his chest.

The mare slid off the colt and lay beside him, holding his hoof in hers, hoping desperately he would be alright. There was a slight pause, followed by several sharp inhalations and a chuckle from Soarin.

“So, I take it you don’t hate me again?”

Rainbow Dash looked at his face, his signature grin smeared across it from ear to ear.

Immediately, she let go of his hoof and sat up, slightly annoyed and blushing.

“S-So... You’re not dying?” she asked.

“Not that I know of.” Soarin replied.

“Do your ribs hurt?”

“No, why?”

Rainbow Dash delivered a soft jab into his ribs without warning, causing Soarin to arch and roll over in surprise.

“That’s for making me worry, numbskull!” Rainbow Dash said, scoffing at the colt.

The colt rolled back over, laughing, and winced.

“Thanks.” he said, chuckling. “But couldn’t you have found a less painful way to show affection?”

The two looked at the ridiculous state they were in; covered in mud, in the middle of nowhere, and sopping wet.

Rainbow Dash began to laugh along with him. Both ponies began laughing harder and harder, until they both fell over in the meadow, side by side, in a fit of hilarity.

Once the cachinnation came to an end,  the two caught their breath while staring up at the sky, still flickering alive with rainbow colored bolts of lightning.

The two lay there for several long minutes, just enjoying the company of one another, watching a rare phenomena in the sky. They listened to the dying growl of the thunder and pitter-patter of the rain falling.

The result of when two individuals come together and accomplish something extraordinary.

“Hey Dash?” Soarin said, breaking the relative silence.

Rainbow Dash said nothing but flopped over on her side, facing him, squishing the wet grass beneath her.

"I got something for ya’..."

"Oh? What is it?" asked the curious mare.

The sky blue colt paused for a moment, as if contemplating a serious quandary. At last, he took a breath and let it go.

"I want you to have my spot on the Wonderbolts."

Rainbow Dash was stunned at what she just heard, so much so, she didn't even know if she heard him correctly.

"Waitwaitwaitwait.... what?"

“I'm quitting the Wonderbolts." He said once more, matter-of-factly.

Rainbow Dash sat up and leaned over the supine colt, giving him a confused look.

"But why?! You're part of the most awesomest team ever! Why would you want to quit?!"

Soarin smiled sweetly at the girl. He had finally found something worth doing anything for. Or rather, someone.

"I've had my fun. Now it's your turn. You've always wanted to become a Wonderbolt, now's your chance. Besides..."

Soarin slowly sat up as Rainbow Dash moved out of his path. He then turned to face the mare, caked with mud and blades of grass,  and gave her a long hug, tossing his head over her shoulder and holding her close to his equally filthy body.

“I don't need the Wonderbolts to be happy." He said softly

"I’ve already found the most awesomest team ever."

Rainbow Dash paused, reflecting on what he was saying. He was willing to give up his career to simply be with her.

She then closed her eyes and returned the embrace whole-heartedly, leaning her head against Soarin’s, hugging him closer with her hooves.

She let herself become consumed in the moment. The glorious moment when the rain relents, and the sun shines golden light through the silver clouds, promising a bright new day once more.

The beautiful moment when she was in the arms of someone that loved her no matter what.

She raised her lips up to his ears and softly whispered

“I think I did too.”