takes place after S7 E2, (All Bottled Up.)

season 7 y’all, this is where it gets going !

Dash’s body shook, waking her up from a weird dream. She couldn’t remember what it was about, but she knew it was a strange one. One filled with sudden darkness, evil plants and… walking ice cream? Maybe Pinkie was finally having an influence on her.

After lying there for a minute, she wearily opened her eyes and looked around the blue room decorated with trophies and messily made beds that were also blue. Finally, she sat up and stretched her wings, rocking her neck back and forth to get the kinks out. Today’s practice had been tiring, considering that they had an early morning training session the day after she had gotten back from a fun getaway with her friends in Manehattan, solving the puzzle to get out of an escape room. As soon as their exercises were finished, she had had to help Spitfire with a routine, and make a trip back home to spend time with Tank, before flying back to Headquarters again. She had instantly settled on her bed, and in true Rainbow Dash fashion, had fallen asleep.

“Did they really go to the bar without me?” she wondered to herself.

It was Friday, which meant the team had gone out to Feather’s bar for a drink and possibly to play a game of pool or poker, or, if they got drunk enough, have a dance party and a clumsy game of musical chairs.

Blinking, she walked slowly out of the room and started down the hall for a late dinner, hoping one of the cooks would have something left over. Mess hall was so not known for their great food, but anything would be five star to the way Dash’s stomach and head were feeling right now. The hallway smelled of air freshener, and she looked at the closed wooden doors. Bathroom, janitor’s closet, Spitfire’s office, Soarin’s office.

Dash backed up a little, sure she saw something, for the second-in-command’s door wasn’t closed, but open. She silently peered in, and saw Soarin stamping some forms with his hooves, commander shirt on and a pair of sunglasses. Why did the leaders have a fondness for sunglasses as part of their uniform? He didn’t seem to notice her presence, or if he did, chose to ignore it in hopes of finishing his work. She suspected it was the first one though — he was known for being adorably oblivious on occasions. She watched as another sigh escaped his lips, and he set down the autograph photos and moved on to some other paperwork. He very carefully took a pen in that soft looking light blue mouth, and began to write on the paper, looping his letters as neatly as he could. Dash continued staring until he was finished, lost in some sort of trance as Soarin’s taut muscles flexed and his moist, pink tongue licked his lips. What would those lips feel like?

That thought snapped her out of it, and she immediately flushed and berated herself internally for watching him work. She needed to get out of there, but with the eerie silence that was upon them, the only way to not seem like a stalker was to walk completely in front of his door and say something. No biggie, one, two, three. She stepped out and poked her head into the room. “Hey, Clipper.”

Soarin’s blue head popped up rather quickly, causing his shades to fall from his head and clatter on the desk. His eyes flickered with surprise, brows shooting up, before he noticed it was her, and his face calmed and he gave her a relaxed smile. “Hey, Crash. How are you?”

Dash asked with her eyes if it was okay to come in, and it came as a pleasant surprise that he seemed to understand her request, and gave a shake of his head. She did, looking around the pale blue room, adorned with a couple photos, trophies, and ribbons from which he had won, a desk that was currently littered with papers and pens, a comfy enough looking couch or chair, and a coffee machine on a brown side table. Noticing familiar coats in a framed photo on his desk, Dash walked closer and peered at it, smiling when she realized it was Soarin and Fleetfoot, with Spitfire in the middle. Fleetfoot’s hair was a little longer, and she was smiling brightly with silver braces on, while Spitfire and Soarin looked more or less the same, only having slightly more youthful features, and Soarin with a cast around his wing and left arm.

“How’d you get hurt?” she asked him, pointing her hoof at the picture.

He smiled sheepishly. “You know how I tried to impress Cordelia when I was fourteen?”

Dash grinned widely, trying not to laugh. “By pulling that horrific and embarrassing yet totally awesome stunt and almost falling to your death just to find out she had a boyfriend? I recall it,” she said nonchalantly.

He playfully glared at her, setting his forearms on the desk. “Yes, that one. Anyways, picture was taken a couple weeks after.”

“Huh.” She nodded thoughtfully. The three looked like they were enjoying themselves, and something rose up in Dash. She wished there was a word that was just a step down from jealousy, but if there was, Dash didn’t know it. She knew from watching them together that the three were best friends, Soarin and Spitfire having a brother and sister-like relationship, along with Fleetfoot. Dash didn’t view him as a brother, so why the sudden envy? Why couldn’t her and Soarin be that close? They were good friends, no doubt about that, but he would never care for her the same way he did Fleetfoot or Spitfire. Not in the sense of a sister, but about caring as much.

His cough broke the silence. “So whatcha doing here? Miss me?” he teased.

Dash rolled her eyes jokingly. “I was just gonna grab something to eat. I fell asleep for a few hours,” she told him unashamedly.

“That’s our Dash for ya,” he chuckled. “So what? You passed me and decided I looked bored and lonely?” He tilted his head, still smiling at her,

Swallowing thickly, Dash decided to tease back. “As a matter of fact, yes.”

Instead of a coy smirk, Soarin simply smiled at her, those eyes staring into her soul, lighting some sort of storm in her stomach, making Dash hyper aware of her body’s functions. Finally, he got out of the chair and walked over to her. “I kind of forgot to eat too.”

She raised an eyebrow. “You? Forgetting to eat? Nah.”

He huffed a laugh. “Oh shush. Come on, we’ll see what’s left over, yeah?”

She followed him out. “Sure!”

“Tell me Clip. Why does the food here always remind me of my flight school cafeteria?” Dash asked, poking her interesting dinner of a questionable coloured pork, some cold mashed potatoes, and carrots.

Soarin shrugged. “Honestly, the stuff here is better than my flight school cafeteria,” he confessed casually, taking a bite of carrots.

Dash made a gagging sound, and half heartedly swallowed some meat. “That’s gross,” she remarked. “Anyways, I was wondering, why aren’t you out with the rest of the team?” She looked up at him expectantly.

“Work. I was supposed to do it the night you got back after your break, but…”

She nodded, feeling a tingling rise in chest as she remembered the conversation they had had. “Right.”

“And you? You aren’t there ‘cause you fell asleep?” he said with an amused smile.

Dash flexed her wings and took a few more bites. “Duh, I need my naps. It can be hard work when you’re busy being as awesome as me!” she bragged.

“Guess that answers my question,” he mused and glanced down. “Huh, guess you were hungry.”

Dash looked down at her plate, surprised to find she was almost finished. She wasn’t usually a mindless eater, but she guessed the talking and having an apple for lunch and nothing else since then had something to do with it. “Guess I was. Anyways, since the rest of the team are out, what’re we gonna do?”

Soarin, done with his food, took her plate with his wing. “Dunno. You aren’t heading back to Ponyville or anything?” he called as he reached the table, running water over the dishes for a few seconds before turning the tap off.

“No way,” she groaned. “Been going back and forth all day. I’m staying here for at least a couple nights.”

She felt jovial at his delighted reaction. “Well, since we missed hanging out with the team, let’s go have our own fun!” he proposed. He looked cool, but Dash could see a tint of nervousness in his eyes.

“Sure! Whatcha have in mind?” she asked as they walked down the hall and back into the large bedroom.

He shrugged. “We usually play games while we’re there.”

“But we don’t have any…” She fell silent as Soarin flew to the back of the room and opened a cabinet that was higher up. He beckoned with his hoof for her to join him, so she did. As they hovered side by side, Dash’s lips quirked into a small smile. There was a complete shelf dedicated to board games. Board games she’d love to beat him at. This was going to be fun.

“Your choice,” he said to her.

Scanning her options, Dash smirked upon seeing her favourite one and pointed. “That one.”

Instead of seeing a terrified look, Soarin smirked right back and grabbed it. “Get ready to lose, Crash.”
Dash’s eyes narrowed. No way in hell was she losing.

“Sky seven.”

Soarin scanned his board and shook his head. “Aw, so close.” His ears flickered as he realized what he said.

“Wait, no! I mean, uh...” He shut his eyes and sighed in frustration. “Dammit,” he muttered.

Dash giggled. “Too bad for you. I have excellent hearing.”

Soarin made a mock sour expression. “Your turn.”

Dash bit her lip, feeling his eyes on her. Determined to ignore her body’s weird reactions, Dash studied the board. Okay, it’s not sky six or cloud eight, so it’s either cloud six or sky eight. And his bumblebee was on sky eight so... This was it. If she got this, she won the game. “Cloud six.”

Soarin’s brows raised as he looked down, only for his ears to flatten as well. “You zapped my weather pony,” he sighed in defeat.

Dash pumped her hoof in the air. “Yeah! Alright! I knew I’d beat ya,” she added cockily.

He sent her a sly smile. “It’s two to three and I’m gonna assume you didn’t expect to lose the second round.”

“Pfft, whatever,” she said nonchalantly, though a grin almost crossed her features. “Go pick another one, then, Soar. I got all night.”

He shook his head. “No way! Best out of five.”

Dash hardly blinked as she went to work setting up her statues. “Your funeral.”

“We’ll see about that.”

“Best out of twenty,” he begged, sticking his bottom lip out and widening his eyes.

If she wasn’t Rainbow Dash, she would have fallen right into those pools of luminous green. Instead, Dash shoved the game away with her wing. “No way, Clip. You’re gonna make me hate this game soon,” she groaned. They had just played best out of fifteen and much to Soarin’s dismay, Dash had won twelve of them.

“Come on.” He gave her that look again. That ‘staring into your soul in a non creepy way’ look. Dash hated that some of her heart melted. Damn him for being so cute sometimes.

However, as much as she loved Battlecloud, she simply wasn’t in the mood anymore. She stood her ground. “Nope, not happening.”

“Please, Crash? I bet you won’t win this time.” He bounced his eyebrows up and down, as if that offer made it more appealing. To Dash, it did.

She chuckled, giving into her competitive nature. “We’re gonna compromise. Best out of seventeen. Technically, I still win, but when we tell the others, it makes you look better.”

Soarin nodded as he began to rearrange the pieces. “Feeling generous? Thought that was Rarity’s thing.”

“I spent a whole day with her not too long ago.”

“So she’s been rubbing off on you like you have with me.”

Dash smiled. “That must be it. Warn me if I freak out over colour clashes or grab a red fainting couch, will ya?”

“Why that would be absolutely awful!” He put his forearm on his forehead and shut his eyes, swaying dramatically.

Dash shoved his chest lightly. “Did I not just say I spent the whole day with my fashionista best friend a couple days ago? Do you need your hearing checked?” she teased, though she was half serious. Even though Soarin wasn’t that much older than her, maybe losing your hearing could happen early sometimes.

“Got it. I’m on ‘making sure Rainbow Dash doesn’t turn into Rarity’ patrol.”

“That’s more like it. You ready?”

He sighed through his mouth, scanning his board before shaking his head. “Let’s do this.”

Two more rounds were played.

Dash won both of them.

Her second-in-command sighed dramatically as he placed the tidied up game back in the shelf. “The only ones who beat me at that game are Surprise and High Winds.”

“And now me,” she said and smirked.

He rolled his eyes. “And now you.”

Smoothing out her hair, Dash made her way to the door. “So I’m gonna go to the bathroom, but choose a game and we can play it when I come back.” She took a hurried glance at the clock and added, “If you want.”

He grinned and nodded enthusiastically. “Of course I want to, I’ve been sitting for what seems like hours.”

Dash instantly felt relief and excitement. She would’ve felt awkwardly disappointed if he had rejected her offer. “Great, I’ll be back in a second.”

“I’ll be here.”

When she returned, teeth brushed and face washed, she gave him an expectant look. “Uh, Soarin? Where’s the game?”

He coyly smiled. “We don’t need equipment for this one.”

She flashed an interested grin. “Alright, what’re we playing?” Whatever it was, she had a feeling it was going to be fun.

“Two truths and—”

“A lie,” Dash finished for him. “I know this one.”

Soarin raised a hoof. “Hold it. Two truths and a lie, plus a question.”

She squinted her eyes and tilted her head. “Plus a question?”

He nodded. “Basically, we play the game, and if say, you guess the lie I told, then you get to ask me a question and I have to answer honestly,” he explained.

Dash’s heart stopped for a moment. What if he asked her embarrassing questions or really personal ones? Like the fact that she enjoyed spa treatments or that she wasn’t always a good flyer or that she liked showing affection to Tank or—

“Dash? You okay?”

She blinked, coming back into focus. “Huh? Yeah. Why?”

Soarin shrugged. “You kind of zoned out there for a minute. Anyways, the questions don’t have to be super personal. It’s supposed to be fun.”

She relaxed, and thanked him mentally for his kindness, his effortless ability to ease her mind and worries, never challenging her too much to freak her out. Only the right amount. “Okay, let’s play. Who goes first?”

He grinned. “Well, as the winner of our Battlecloud rounds, you go.”

Dash sat down and ran through her mind of things she could say. Things that were obvious and not so much. Finally, she picked three and went for it. “I like vodka.” Truth, but she figured he wouldn’t guess that. She did appear to have a thing for alcohol. “I moved to Ponyville when I was eighteen, and... I’ve lost my wings.” The second was a lie. She moved to Ponyville when she was nineteen.

Soarin tapped the ground with his hoof before lighting up. Dash held her breath as he answered, because Soarin was smart and seemed to get her, so maybe he would be able to read through her lies. “You like vodka,” he guessed confidently. “That was easy.”

Dash laughed, thanking Celestia and the higher power. “Wrong.”

His lips parted, brow furrowed. “What? Seriously?”

She confirmed with a nod.

“Well then tell me!”

His curiousness mixed with desperation made her chuckle. “No can do, Clip, not an official rule. Now, you go.”

He held up a large, preened wing. “I swear I won’t tell.”

“No,” she deadpanned. She was Rainbow Dash, and part of staying cool was remaining mysterious. At least somewhat mysterious, so she fought the urge to tell him because she wanted to keep him wondering. Her mind did a double take. Wasn’t that a flirting mechanism? She couldn’t be caught doing that, maybe she should tell him.

Luckily for her and her mind ranting, Soarin cleared his throat, a signal that he was about to speak. “Okay, my parents are divorced.” Dash was pretty sure that was true, she had overheard Lightning and Rapid talking about it once. “I like... blueberry pie. And I love knock-knock jokes.”

Dash stayed silent while she thought. She wasn’t one hundred percent sure Soarin’s parents were divorced, but she was going to say they were. That left the two other options. “I don’t know if you like blueberry pie, the only flavour I’ve even seen you eat is apple,” she said, sticking her bottom lip out.

He simply smiled.

She sighed. It did seem like he had to think about what kind of pie to say, so maybe the second one? On the other hoof, she heard Surprise tell Soarin a knock-knock joke, and all he did was give an awkward chuckle. Another minute and she was still unsure, so she decided to pick one and go for it. “You like blueberry pie.”

He sighed and looked down, and Dash grinned, sure that she has got him, but that grin disappeared as quickly as it came when Soarin looked up and peeled at her with a cocky smile. “Wrong.”

Dash raised her eyebrows. “So you don’t like knock knock jokes?”

“Correct.”

Her mischievousness took over for a minute and she let herself grin again. “Hey, Soarin?”

“Yeah?” he asked.

“Knock knock.”

His ears flattened and his mouth immediately formed a thin line, but Dash could tell he wasn’t actually annoyed. He was one of the calmest ponies she knew. “I can’t bother with those. Ever since Surprise told that awful one it’s been haunting me,” he groaned. “And I’ve despised them ever since.”

She chuckled at that. “What a nightmare.”

“Yes,” he joked back. “They’re quite terrifying.” His eyes examined her as a wicked smile formed on her face. “What’s going on in that head of yours, Crash?” he questioned suspiciously. He knew her body language well at this point, and when it came to do acrobatic and muscle challenging stunts for a living, it was rather a good thing to have.

“You know Clip, the best way to get over a fear is to face it, so I was thinking I should make Surprise and Pinkie Pie tell you lots of them until you’re used to it. How does that sound?” She was only mostly teasing, as Soarin wasn’t actually scared of the jokes, just annoyed by them, but she still thought it’d be wonderfully fun to torture him.

He huffed a laugh. “I’ll have you kicked off the team for abuse.”

She narrowed her eyes. “You wouldn’t dare,” she challenged.

Dash didn’t get the witty comeback she thought she would, and was instead met with something very undesired that had been happening more and more at his looks or words. “I wouldn’t dare,” he mindlessly agreed. “You’re too good to be let go.”

For once, he didn’t blush in embarrassment at his compliments that were directed towards her. He didn’t. She did. Embarrassed and flustered, she attempted to rid the unsettling emotion by talking. “So, my turn. You ready?”

He nodded eagerly. “Lay it on me.”

About half an hour later, Soarin and Dash hadn’t guessed anything correctly. Well, she supposed it was a little hard when they were talking so slowly they could barely get through it. Even after her power nap, she was still feeling sleepy again, and she knew he was as well. They were comfortably leaning against her bed on their backs, staring up at the ceiling.

“Maybe the things we’re putting on the table aren’t interesting enough,” he suggested. “Or we’re tired. Or it’s just tiring to think of ideas.”

Dash agreed with the latter. “Let’s just play something else, this one’s making my head spin in circles. I don’t remember any of the stuff I said. But I do know you hate knock knock jokes and that you like blueberry pie and that your birthday’s April twenty fourth.”

He lazily turned to her. “What about you? When’s your birthday?”

“October twenty eighth,” she replied.

She could feel him smile. “Scorpio, huh?”

“And what? You’re a Taurus. So is Applejack,” she mused. “Guess that explains why you’re both obsessed with apples.”

“You wouldn’t have your cider without those apples,” he quipped playfully. “Oh, I got a game!”

She rubbed her magenta eyes and offered a half smile. “What’d you have in mind?”

“Well, it’s not really a game,” he admitted. “But it’s still fun. It’s called Q & A.”

Huh, she’d never heard of this one. “How do you play?”

“So, I’ll ask a question and you answer, and then you ask a question and I’ll answer.”

Dash ran over the instructions in her head, only to turn to him a second later, trying to stifle a short, loud laugh. “Soarin,” she said slowly, all smiles. “Do you mean... a conversation?”

Her commander’s ears perked up, a pink tint colouring his nose. “No! I mean Q and A,” he said defensively, avoiding eye contact.

“Uh huh,” she droned. “Sure.”

He didn’t back down. “I do though.”

“Whatever,” she laughed. “Come on, let’s play conversation.”

He crossed his arms. “Q and A.”

“Conversation.”

“Q and A.”

“Conversation,” she insisted.

His relentlessness was sweetly hilarious. “Nope, I don’t accept that term. Now, let’s begin. If you could be any other element, what would you be?”

She shrugged. In all honesty, she had never really thought about it. She loved representing loyalty, and all the other elements suited her friends perfectly well. “I don’t know. I like the one I have. Made me even more awesome than I was before, if that’s possible,” she told him smugly.

“Alright, but if you had to choose…?”

She thought hard, she really did. But she could never be honest like AJ, too playful, she would never have the patience of somepony as kind as Fluttershy, and she, while not greedy, had never been as giving and generous as Rarity. As for Laughter? Sure, she was funny, and she enjoyed making ponies laugh and smile, but not on the same level as Pinkie did. Pinkie Pie lived for it, she was the bubbly, happy-go-lucky sweetheart of a party girl who wanted to make other ponies happy. And absolutely nopony could take the element of Magic from Twilight. It suited the princess perfectly.

“I can’t.”

He eyed her up and down at her answer, before nodding his head in understanding. “I suppose it would feel wrong, right? When you all represent your own so well?” Those emeralds flickered in the light.

A content smile spread over Dash’s face. Even though he had asked the question, he still got her hesitancy for answering. “Exactly right, Clip,” she said, a soft note coating her voice.

He too smiled softly and brushed his mane back with a hoof. Was his natural or styled? It seemed to be natural, but she also seemed to always get up later than him, so she was never exactly sure. “My turn. Is your mane… real?”

Soarin snorted and scoffed at the same time. “I know I’m older than you but I’m not thatold,” he protested teasingly.

She shrugged and smirked. “Whatever you say.” She poked him in the chest. “Answer.”

“Yes, I’m all natural,” he said with a small hair flip.

Dash chuckled at his playfulness. “Good to know.”

“And you? I’m just going to assume all colourfulness is natural as well?”

She knew he was teasing her, Dash’s hair colour looked completely natural, blending together so the hair fibres were just right. Even best of the best hairdressers couldn’t make it look like that on any pony. “You know it is.”

“Yeah yeah, just adds to your awesomeness,” he said sarcastically with a sweet roll of his eyes, then blushed.

That was weird, she thought. When they were just teasing he didn’t normally get flustered. It only really did that when a compliment slipped out of his mouth, but what he had just said didn’t sound like a compliment. Unless… She replayed his words in her head, and through the main dry note, there was a small hint of something. Sincerity, almost. Dash blinked. When did she become so observant of ponies’ tones? She was never too detail-oriented, only becoming so if it was very important to her, such as a gift for her friends or family or Tank.

She liked his compliments, always giving her a good, almost tingling feeling that started in the pit of her stomach and caused her neck to heat up. No matter how they came out, shy, confident or stuttering, they had a special way of warming her insides, especially her heart. Dash knew there was something wrong with her, and she had an idea of what it was, but absolutely refused to acknowledge it. The mere thought of falling for somepony made her so uncomfortable that she wanted to scream into a pillow right then and there, but she couldn’t do that, because Soarin was there, and if she did scream he might talk to Spitfire about kicking her off the team due to craziness. So instead, she calmed her racing thoughts and placed a satisfied grin on. “Damn straight it does,” she replied with a wink.

He sent her a smirk. “You’re your biggest fan, aren’t you?”

She waved that away. “That title goes to Scootaloo. I just like to recognize my greatness and supreme talent.”

“Thank Celestia you have it.”

After a laugh, they settled down, both of them yawning. “What’d you like to do when you were younger?”

It was a simple question, because even though they seemed to have a disturbingly good understanding of each other, she found she didn’t know a bunch of small facts. A little, but not a lot. She wanted to know, because that’s what made Soarin, well, Soarin.

He rested his head back again. “Huh, well, there was a time where I devoted all my energy to painting.”

Dash turned, listening with both ears. “Really? Were they good?”

“I thought they were, and my mom and dad told me I was.” He tapped his chin and grinned. “That’s probably because I was under five though.”

An unexpected bark of laughter came out of her. “Oh gosh! Okay, I thought you meant as a teenager or something. Maybe considering becoming a professional.”

He waved a hoof away. “Nah, I told ya on Mount Everhoot I’d wanted to be a Wonderbolt since forever.”

She tilted her head curiously. “Right.”

He nodded and continued. “After my painting phase, there was a lot of board games and races. I would ask my classmates, my parents, Spitfire… I ate a lot just to be energetic when it came to the flying bit,” he said.

Dash grinned. “I can see that,” she answered, eyes quickly scanning him.

Soarin crossed his arms. “Make fun all you want, but I am in great shape,” he finished with a nudge.

Dash laughed a little as his elbow brushed her side. Despite her and the team’s teasing about Soarin’s eating habits, he was exactly right. His smooth, excellently groomed ice blue coat came with hard, smooth muscle underneath and excellent definition. His face held a sharp jawline, and emerald eyes that were playfully youthful, but not so much so, and the dark blue mane…

“I suppose being obsessed with the gym will do that to ya, no matter how many pies you stuff in your face.”

“I do eat stuff other than apple pie,” he defended.

Dash snorted. “What? Like apples?”

He grinned at her. “Exactly.”

They both chuckled. They were kidding, obviously. Being a world class athlete meant that you couldn’t exactly pig out every day of your life, and four to six days of the week had the ‘Bolts eating on the healthier side, trying to fuel their bodies correctly to stay strong and handle the stress.

“Did you win any of the races?” she questioned.

He nodded. “Yeah. Maybe not at first, but then I started playing more sports and going for flies with my parents, and I was the best in my class. Except for Spitfire,” he added quickly. “She was always better than me.”

Dash studied him for a moment. He didn’t seem upset, but he must have felt confused, being happy for and jealous of her at the same time. “Well, you’re stronger than her.”

He snorted lightly. “That’s due to the testosterone she lacks.”

Dash shrugged. “So what? She’s a little faster. Spitfire’s fantastic, really, one of the best ‘Bolts ever. I couldn’t think of a better captain,” she started more quietly. “But you, Soarin, you’re the best too.” Dash smiled encouragingly as he watched her, a sign that he was clearly listening. “You… you try hard. Aren’t defeated so easily, and it’s cool seeing that when you two are so different. Maybe you were never the top at everything, maybe you always had to tie for first or be second, but you were the best.”

When she glanced up again, a warm smile and blush was upon his face, because so rarely did Dash give a detailed compliment like that. Her lips twitched, and she couldn’t control her face evolving into a wide smile as well. His eyes pierced her again, those deep, bright green orbs that were so exquisite she found it hard to breathe.

Instead, she looked at his smile. Big mistake. For that smile too was beautiful, a soothing, soft, and kind one that held a gentleness that seemed to calm her head and set a fire in her stomach.

She hated this feeling.

She loved this feeling.

And then, Soarin tore his eyes away. “Thank you,” he told her and looked back up. “Thank you, Rainbow Crash.” A cocky smile spread over his lips.

Dash’s lips parted, a part of her disappointed, another relieved, and another full of joy. He was just as playful as she was, maybe in a slightly different way, but who cared, because those two different kinds meshed perfectly well. “You, I actually compliment you and you thank me like it’s a joke,” she huffed, pretending to be upset.

“I’m good enough to be praised by Rainbow Crash,” he cheered, pumping a fist in the air.

“Alright Clipper, you asked for it.” She was about to place a punch on his shoulder when the sound of the locker doors opened, and hushed voices and stumbles were heard. Dash pulled her hoof away and scrambled up just as Fleetfoot, Thunderlane and Blaze all came in. Fleet’s fuchsia eyes lit up and she clumsily walked over to them. “Hey! My two favourite lovebirds! How are y’all?” she drawled as she placed her forehooves around their necks.

Rainbow blinked before sending an amused glance at Thunderlane who was cheerfully bouncing on his bed, being joined by Surprise who came to jump with the him. Dash peeled Fleetfoot’s hooves off of her and Soarin and pulled her her way. “Come on, Fleet, let’s get you into bed.”

“Me or Spitfire could do that,” Soarin offered.

Dash shook her head, ignoring the burp and giggle that made it’s way out of the turquoise mare. “Nah, I got it. Get some sleep.”

He instantly cringed as a sharp bang elicited from the corner, where Thunder had fallen off and Surprise and Blaze were laughing at him. “I’ll… take care of that instead,” he muttered and walked away.

Dash lead Fleetfoot over to her bed on the other side of the room. “Crash…” Fleetfoot mumbled.

“Yeah, Flatfoot?”

She giggled and hiccuped. “Blaze is pretty.”

Dash’s eyes widened, and she glanced over at Blaze. She bore a look similar to Spitfire, but instead had bright orange hair and wide, purple eyes. Dash probably would have been attracted to Blaze when she was experimenting with both mare and stallions, but since that had blown over, she didn’t find herself to be. “Yes, Blaze is pretty,” Dash echoed. Seeing that Fleetfoot was nestled in comfortably, Dash started to walk away, but was tapped on the back. She turned around. “What’s up, Fleet?”

Fleetfoot yawned and turned on her side. “You and Soarin would be good together,” she mumbled.

At that statement, a spark of annoyance and something else rose up in Dash. She didn’t want to be associated with anypony other than herself, but a part of her felt greatly satisfied in hearing the words too. I hate emotions.

Tucking those words away, Dash went to help Misty Fly.