“Soarin wake up!” Dash shouted as the mare jumped up out of the bed. Soarin’s eyes flickered open from the noise which rattled his eardrums. Looking around half awake, he spotted his excited marefriend quickly making her way over to the curtains and throwing them open lighting up the room instantly.

“What’s got you all excited, Dash?” Soarin asked, throwing the covers off him in an attempt to wake up.

“Soar, today’s the day! It’s the Equestria Games!” the mare said happily, trotting back over to the bed as Soarin finally got himself awake. He rubbed the sleep from his eyelids, before turning to her as the pair shared a quick nuzzle.

“It’s today?” Soarin said rattling his brain as Dash snickered a little.

“Of course it is, Soarin, the last few months have been leading up to this moment. Come on, we can’t be late!” Dash said. Before Soarin could react, her forehoof grabbed his as the two quickly made their way out of the room. As they rushed down the hallway they met up with the rest of Rainbow’s relay team who were all waiting excitedly.

“Come on, Dash, we're gonna be late! I’m too excited to be late!” Pinkie Pie said happily as she bounced on the spot.

“I thought the Games didn’t start for a few hours?” Soarin asked, raising an eyebrow.

Dash nodded, “Yeah, but we’re all going back to Ponyville to get everypony and bring them up here. You’ll be fine without me for a few hours, right?” she asked with a smirk.

Soarin nodded as everypony in the hallway began to move towards the exit of the castle. Dash leaned over and kissed Soarin on the cheek before she started off after the others, but Soarin quickly grabbed her forehoof in his and brought the pegasus back to him.

Rainbow raised an eyebrow, “What’s wrong, Soar?”

Soarin smiled as he closed the gap between them as the pair connected in another kiss, but this one was new. However, as long as they weren’t in public Soarin knew he wasn’t going to get his flank kicked for it. After a few moments of this Rainbow broke the kiss and quickly nuzzled Soarin’s cheek before leaving, the two sharing loving glances as no words needed to be said. However as quickly as it started the two parted their ways and with a final wave they headed off to different areas of the Crystal Empire.

The large stadium in the Crystal Empire was the host of the biggest games that Equestria held. The large structure was decorated in different designs and large posters which adorned the sides of the building. A lot of reporters and photographers waited outside as they interviewed different athletes from all kinds of sports. Many of whom were famous faces such as the Wonderbolts themselves. When Soarin landed it only took a few moments for a few reporters to spot him trotting towards the rest of the Cloudsdale team.

“Mr Soarin, over here! How do you think the Cloudsdale team will win this year?” A pegasus mare asked with a smile as another few reporters gathered around each holding their microphones as close to Soarin’s mouth as possible.

Soarin tried to clear his throat and think of something to say. “I-I um think that there is a lot of competition around so this year’s kinda unpredictable,” he said, sounding as optimistic as he could.

“There’s been rumours around that you’ve been training with Rainbow Dash from the Ponyville team. Is this true and is there a reason for training with a rival team?” another reporter asked with a questioning look.

Soarin was taken back slightly by this one and was about to respond when he heard a voice, “Well, I honestly didn’t think you’d show up after all that,” Spitfire said coming up to the stallion as all the reporters suddenly went crazy at the sight of the arriving Wonderbolt.

Soarin shrugged, “I couldn’t miss it, even if the last few weeks have been crazy.”

Spitfire trotted all the way up to the stallion before hugging him, “I’m glad you’re here anyways Soarin, at least now we’ve got a full team to beat everybody else with,” she said confidently as the two trotted over to the rest of the team as the other reporters quickly followed them, snapping photos and shouting various questions as the Wonderbolts went into the large stadium.

Soarin smiled as they trotted through the arch-like tunnel and into the stadium which was filled with screaming fans and ponies from all corners of Equestria. The large purple sculpted torch was ablaze with fire and a current sport was being played in the main stage arena as the Wonderbolts trotted through the various hallways towards their destination.

Finally Soarin and the rest of his relay team found themselves at the large walkway into the middle of the stadium where a lot of other teams were gathered, waiting to go out and perform for their part of Equestria. The echos of the fans from above them sounded as Shining Armour trotted around announcing the various teams and competitors.

Spitfire looked over to Soarin and smiled. “So, do you think Rainbow Dash was a good move?”

Soarin pulled a dumbfounded look. “What do you mean, Spitfire?”

The captain chuckled. “Soarin, the whole reason this started was because a few months ago some crazed stallion asked me if he could go and train the mare he secretly loved. I said ‘yes’ and here he is standing ready to compete against her. Do you think the whole thing has been worth it?”

Soarin smirked. “Would saying ‘every second was worth it’ be too cliche?” he asked.

Fleetfoot gagged. “Perhaps a little bit mushy,” she commented.

Spitfire shook her head. “I’m so gonna have to get you court-martialed after all that time you spent slacking off with her,” she said playfully.

“Well, it wasn’t like staying with me wasn’t doing nothin’,” Rainbow Dash said, surprising the three Wonderbolts as she and the rest of the Ponyville team entered behind her. Soarin smiled as the mare trotted up to his side lovingly. Spitfire rolled her eyes at the display as everyone waited to be announced onto the stadium.

“You ready for this?” Dash asked.

Soarin nodded. “Yep.”

“You sure you're not gonna try and break your hoof on the way out?” Rainbow asked. Soarin shook his head. Dash nuzzled his neck in return.

“You sure if you're alright coming second?” Soarin asked.

Dash giggled. “Yeah, you never know, Soar, I might just beat that cute flank of yours,” she said confidently as Soarin blushed.

Spitfire giggled at the sight as suddenly Shining Armour announced the words that the relay teams had been waiting to hear for the past few months.

“Ladies and Gentlecolts, I present the Equestria Games relay race!”

Soarin closed his eyes as he waited for the sound of the race to start, it had all come down to this. Training, winning, losing, everything he’d worked for had come to this one moment. Now was the time to prove it was all worth it.

Suddenly the sound of the blank fire gun sounded. Soarin opened his eyes as he turned around to see Fleetfoot burst out of the gates with the other teams following close behind. Soarin held out his hoof. This was one of two passes he had to make perfect, he had to do it just like he’d trained.

Suddenly Fleetfoot was now getting closer and closer to the stallion with each hoop she passed through. Suddenly it had come to the stage as Soarin held out his hoof as far as his tendons would allow him, Fleetfoot doing the same. Suddenly their hooves collided as Soarin’s hoof locked on to the horseshoe. He quickly went into race mode as he charged his wings in a powerful flap as she shot off towards the nearest hoop. He didn’t take a moment to look anywhere else or back at the competitors he knew were on his tail. He continued plowing through the next few hoops making sure he stuck exactly to what he’d done in training, continuing to make every turn and twist as perfect as he could do.

Suddenly he realised he was coming very close to Spitfire, the mare was holding her hoof out, her eyes fixed on the stallion as she waited for him. Soarin increased his pace, using the last of his energy within his wings to push him ever closer to his captain. He quickly held his hoof up as they finally connected for the final trade of the shoe. Suddenly Soarin felt the emptiness as the shoe was taken from him. His job finally done, everything he’d trained for was now over. His part to play was finished.

A sigh of relief escaped Soarin as he watched the contrail of Spitfire vanish from his sight as the mare shot off to finish the rest of the race. His eyes travelled over to Rainbow, a genuine smile was on her muzzle as she looked at the stallion. “I’m so proud of you, Soarin, you did your best.”

Soarin smiled sheepishly. “I’d do anything for you, Rainbow. Thank you for getting me back into this,” he replied.

Rainbow kept on smiling. “I’d do anything for you too, Soar… I love you.”

Soarin’s eyes widened as the mare standing next to the two looked on with shock. The stallion felt a tear of joy drop down the side of his cheek as he replied. “I love you too, Rainbow, I always have.”

Dash saw Fluttershy approaching and gave one last wink to the stallion as she took the shoe and shot into the air in a sea of rainbow colours. Fluttershy looked on at Dash before turning to Soarin. “Uh... you’ve got something on your cheek,” she said with a smile wiping the tear off the stallion’s fur.

Soarin chuckled. “Thanks, Fluttershy,” he said happily, the two quickly going to cheer Rainbow Dash on as she competed with Spitfire in the last hoop towards the finish line. It was close, but Spitfire just edged past the mare as they ripped through the final hoop. Soarin felt a pang of sorrow that Rainbow didn’t win, but in the end he didn’t care and he knew Rainbow didn’t either. All Soarin cared about was that he’d done what she’d asked of him and that now, everything was the way it should be.

“The winners of the relay are Cloudsdale!” Shining Armour announced loudly as the ponies all gathered over at the podiums to take their respective medals. Soarin flew over to join Fleetfoot as the two hoof bumped before Spitfire came over to give them all a group hug in celebration of winning the race.

Shining Armour levitated the medals over to the teams. Soarin watched as Rainbow got her silver medal placed around her neck, she smiled over at Soarin as he smiled back. Suddenly he felt something cold rest on his chest as he looked down at his gold medal.

“Congratulations to the winners!” Shining said happily as the crowd gave a large roar of approval. Spitfire and Fleetfoot giving waves to the fans who were jumping in their seats before trotting back into the tunnel like all the other teams were doing.

Soarin looked over to Dash who trotted up to him with a wide grin. “Well done, Soar,” she said giving the stallion a nuzzle. Soarin was surprised the mare was doing this in public, but then he remembered what the mare had said to him only moments ago.

“Dash... did you mean it?” he asked looking at the mare.

Rainbow smirked. “Follow me,” she said, flying into the air. Soarin quickly followed her as the mare went into the sky and past a few clouds. Suddenly the stallion lost sight of her and stopped as he hovered in mid air looking around for any signs of her. Just then Soarin was tackled onto a nearby cloud as Rainbow stood above him with a wide grin.

“I meant every word of it, Soar,” she said leaning down as she kissed him lightly on this lips.

Soarin smiled. “So did I.”

Rainbow laid down on top of him and nuzzled his fur. “I think perhaps we should show how much we love each other.”

Soarin was rather shocked by this. “Out here on a cloud?” he asked.

Rainbow shrugged. “I don’t care, let them be jealous,” she said as the pair connected lips once again. Everything Soarin knew he wanted was here, this was what he’d been searching for...

Author's Notes:

Guys, I really just don't know how to show you how much I appreciate all your support and helpfulness throughout this entire fiction. This, like I've mentioned before is a showcase of my best work. I'm only 15 years of age and I think this is really something to be proud of, but I wouldn't have gotten anywhere if it wasn't for you lovely and wonderful people that take the time out of your day to read, like, comment, favorite or even hit that follow button. I just cannot express how much this has all meant to me and it's been an utter joy giving you this story as much as you've enjoyed reading it.

I want to first of all say thank you to my editor TheShadow who is sadly leaving now, but he's been the best editor I could have ever asked for, flawless in his work and I wouldn't have gotten very far without his help. I also want to say thanks to SolidFire and KrishnaKarnak for proof-reading this fiction again I couldn't have been able to post such good chapters without them either.

Lastly I want to thank all of you guys once again, because without you this fiction wouldn't be where it is today. You people reading this and acknowledging my work helps me to push myself into gear and write out these things and gives me the nice happy motivation I need to think up more ideas and write more words for you people. Without you guys there isn't any of me, so I want to say thank you for giving me this drive to want to write things and hopefully now your gonna see a lot more from me in the future.

Thank you for giving me your time to read my work, it means a lot to me. ~Rumble