Wakefulness was slow in coming, seemingly loathe to rouse me from the fitful sleep that had claimed me several hours after Pinkie had finally departed. I found myself unable to stop thinking about what she had said, her words echoing through my mind. It had to do with me, but more than that I couldn’t really say. I sighed, taking a moment to try and figure out what their feelings were for me, but to no avail.

They’re the Element Bearers. What would they want with some cripple like me?

A gentle knock came from my door as I turned to get out of bed. By the time I finally managed to reach a standing position the door had been knocked upon several more times, the knocks growing louder as they grew more frequent. Unwilling to deal with the auditory assault any longer I walked over to the door, still rubbing the sleep from my eyes. Throwing open the door revealed Dash standing there, her fist poised to knock once more.

“Mornin’, Dash. A bit early for you, isn’t it?”

She gave me a quick smile her eyes scanning me, as if she was looking for some sort of clue. “Yeah, but we’re gonna do some running this morning, and it’s better to start early. Besides, we don’t know how long we’re going to take, so it’s best if there’s no chance of us messing up Twi’s schedule.”

I groaned softly as I took a step back, gesturing towards my bed. “But… It’s comfy there. Can’t you do enough running for both of us, and we say that I ran with you?”

She shot me a flat glare. “Come on, Icarus. Either you get up on your own, or I’ll make you come and go on a run with me. You promised me back in Ponyville that you’d spend less time on your ass, and more time exercising. I mean, you remember the first time we went running, right?”

“Yeah, and it would’ve gone better if you hadn’t been taunting me about going so slow the whole damn time!” Dash lowered her gaze at that, and I regretted what I said immediately. She’d apologized later that day, but it still wasn’t the best time I’ve ever had with the rainbow haired girl standing before me. “Sorry. Look, give me, like, five minutes, and I’ll be ready. Just wait down in the living room, and I’ll come down when I’m good to go.”

“Alright, but if you don’t come down in five minutes, or less, than I’m going to come up here and drag you down, ready or not.” With that said, she turned away from me and she started her trip back down the hall, heading for the living room. I closed the door a moment later, leaning into it after it latched into place.

I made my way over to the dresser that housed most of the clothing that I had brought with me. It only took a moment of rummaging for me to find my workout garb, and then a moment longer for me to put it on.

As I jogged down the stairs, I let my mind wander back to that first attempt at exercising that I had undertaken with Dash. Considering how it had gone that first time I didn’t really think that she meant to continue. She, on that run, had complained about my pace, often times rushing ahead and leaving me to play catch up, only to have her make some glib remark about how slow I was. Not that I’d complained about it to Dash. I knew it was fruitless to bring it up with her without first giving her some time to think about it. Unwilling to just let it be, though, and wait for her to come around, I vented my frustrations about the run to Rarity. I quickly learned that she made for a good listener when she wasn’t working.

I walked into the boutique, my freshly washed body lacking any of the offending odor it had less than an hour ago. Rarity was, like usual, busy working on her latest creation. Sweetie Belle, her latest living mannequin, was silently enduring the treatment her sister was subjecting her to. Sweetie Belle’s eyes widened when she saw me walk in, and I could tell that she was hoping for some respite.

“Morning, Rarity. Sweetie Belle.”

“Oh, Icarus! What are you doing here? I thought that you and Rainbow Dash were going to be busy for the whole morning.” She continued her work on the dress that Sweetie was wearing, her attention still focused on her sewing.

I offered Sweetie Belle a shrug. “I was actually hoping that I could talk to you for a bit, Rarity.” She didn’t answer, so I politely coughed, hoping to get a reaction. “Rarity?”

“I’m a bit busy, Icarus.” She didn’t even look at me. “Can it wait until I’m done?” Sweetie Belle’s eyes widened as she looked between her sister and I.

I gave her a confident smile, an idea coming to mind. “Sure, but until then I’ll just keep wearing this brown belt with these black shoes and a white leather watch band.” Rarity gasped sharply, and she turned to look at me, her face set in a horrified expression.

“But you have to match... Oh.” She looked between me and Sweetie Belle a few times before she let out a groan. “And I was in the groove... Ah, well. Sweetie, you can take that off, and go do something else. We can continue later. Icarus is clearly desperate for my attention, and I’d be an ungracious host to deny him.” Sweetie Belle let out a joyous cry at her sister’s words, and within moments she had fled the room, her feet pounding up the stairs that led to the bedrooms. “Now then, what seems to be the issue that so urgently needs my attention?”

“Well, it’s about Dash. Dash and I, specifically.”

Rarity’s eyes widened rapidly at this, and she got a sparkle in her twin sapphire pools. “You and Dash? Well this I must hear. We’ll head to the living room, though. No need to talk about this here.” Within minutes we were both seated in her living room, a small amount of tension poisoning the air. “Well, do tell. And spare none of the details.” Over the course of about half an hour I regaled Rarity with all of the details of our run, and why it bothered me as much as it did. By the time I finished I felt a bit better simply for having vented my feelings, but Rarity seemed to have fallen into deep thought on the matter. “Given Rainbow’s nature in these kinds of things it’d be best if you let her stew for a while. You did make it clear to her how you felt, yes?”

“Yeah, I spent several minutes telling her that what she did was uncalled for.”

“And I suppose she just threw it all back at you, claiming that you were the problem, and not her?” I nodded and Rarity leaned back in her seat, a sigh escaping her. “Yes, well, Rainbow does seem to have trouble with criticism, no matter the source. Really, all you need to do is leave her be for a while. She just needs to realize that you were right, and she was wrong. Despite how bull headed she can be, this is something that she knows is wrong, and she’ll endeavor to fix it. Even if it means swallowing her pride.”

“So, your advice is to wait?”

“Yes.” I raised an eyebrow, and Rarity just laughed. “What, not all the problems of the world require some grandiose solution. Sometimes the easiest solution is the one most often overlooked.”

When I reached the living room I found Dash doing some stretches. She gave me a smile as she continued her bodily contortions. I walked past her, through the front door, and out onto the path that led to the dirt road that led to our house. It was there that I began my stretching, making sure that I got all the leg muscles. I was only about halfway through when Dash came out. She offered some small tips to help me out with getting the stretches done right, and soon I was finished.

“So, Dash, do you have any specific route planned that you want to take?”

“Nah. Figured we could just improvise something. Find a path through the jungle and just go along that till we got bored.”

Bored. Dash’s version of tired.

“I suppose that’ll work.” I frowned slightly as I remembered the last incident. “Just don’t do what you did last time, okay?”

Dash’s eyes fell to the floor. “I won’t. This time I’ll keep your pace, that way we can enjoy the scenery together. ‘Sides, you’re the one who spent all that time looking at the map. If we get lost I’m counting on you to get us back to civilization.” I only nodded, and soon we were jogging down the dirt road, the scenery passing in a haze.

The rhythmic sound of my feet hitting the dirt road became the drumbeat by which I measured time. Dash’s slightly shorter stature forced her to take slightly more frequent strides, the sounds synchronizing at times, and growing discordant at others. As we continued along, Dash soon took us off the main road, and along a small side path. This was less even than the dirt road we had been on before, so I slowed my pace just a bit.

I’m not going to risk a sprained ankle, or worse, just to try and prove something to Dash.

I started to take us down a path that led to the highest point on the island. Dash didn’t seem to mind my leading the run, and it brought a smile to my face. After about half an hour of constant jogging my body was finally starting to demand that I either relent in my pace, or take a short break. I opted to continue, albeit at a slower pace. Shortly after reducing my pace I found out that this pace was slow enough for Dash to start a conversation.

Or, at least, it was slow enough for her to talk to me.

“So, Icarus, what were you and Pinkie doing last night?” Her question, while slightly expected, nearly caused me to lose my footing as I jogged. She only smiled at my misstep, keeping her pace effortlessly. “Think about an answer, but I want an answer when we take our first break.” And with that said she brought her gaze to the path, continuing the run as if she hadn’t said a word.

While she could continue as if nothing had been said, I couldn’t. A good deal of last night had been spent wondering just what Pinkie and I had been doing. I could figure out most of what she had said, since it wasn’t a conversation laden with deep meaning. But that kiss that she gave me... It was like everything that she had said had been leading up to that one moment.

She says that I shouldn’t worry about it, but I know that it’s about me.

As the run started to angle upwards I knew that our first checkpoint was rapidly approaching, and that I’d have to supply an answer to Dash. My mind raced with all sorts of different answers, but I knew that Dash, while not quite as astute as Applejack, could almost always tell a lie from the truth. The jungle quickly began thinning out as the path we were on turned to weathered stone rather than the dirt that we’d been on for the past few miles.

With the finish for the first leg of our run so close Dash poured on the speed, pulling ahead of me. I knew that this wasn’t a malicious move by Dash -- she just wanted to ‘win’. When I finally made it to the top of the small plateau I spotted Dash standing over by one of the benches that dotted the area. As I closed in on the bench I finally allowed my pace to slow from a jog to a fast walk, and then finally to a steady walk.

Dash gave me quick look as I came up beside her, and then she went back to looking out over the grand expanse of the isle. While not the largest isle in the chain, it was the most beautiful of them all. The bench that Dash had stopped next to was one that looked out over most of the island before cutting off and turning to ocean. An impressive vista, to be sure.

“You got an answer, Icarus? Or is this going to be just like your past, a secret that you only share with people who help you get your rocks off?”

“I... Wait, what? Get my rocks off?” I paused, and then my eyes widened as I realized just what she was saying. “Do you really think that Pinkie and I... did it? Because if that’s what you’re thinking-”

Dash finally stopped looking out over the island, and she focused her gaze on me. “What else would the two of you be doing in your room, at one in the morning, with your shirt off and her fawning all over you?” Her voice developed a bit of an edge to it, and she started advancing on me. “I tried to do what she did for months, and all she has to do is talk to you on the beach for a few hours, and bam! The fuck is that?”

Not this time, Dash.

“Right, let’s take this in order. First off, we weren’t doing anything. Pinkie managed to get me to tell her about what happened that led me to Ponyville. I only told her because she was so damn insistent about it. Second of all, we didn’t have sex, Dash. I didn’t have a shirt on because I sleep without one, and I find it more comfortable. She wasn’t fawning over me, I was simply being a lazy ass and lying there while talking to her.” I jabbed my finger at her, forcing her to take a step back. “And if you really wanted to talk to me then maybe you should’ve be a bit more persistent.”

“I tried! But you were being just as stubborn as AJ during Applebucking season! You’re just fine to talk about damn near anything, but when it comes to your past you act like a fucking pussy!” Unwilling to continue this ever loudening ‘discussion,’ I turned away from Dash. The urge to shout back at her was nearly intolerable. I knew that I shouldn’t, but that didn’t make it easier to deal with. After a few steps I stopped and looked up at the sky, heaving a massive sigh and clenching my fists for a moment. A gentle touch on my shoulder was all the warning I had before a pair of arms wrapped around my body. “I’m sorry, Icarus.”

She quickly released me from her embrace, and I turned to look at her, finding that in the moment between when she released me and when I could see her, she had moved back to the bench. I walked to the bench after a moment, taking a seat beside her. “Always one to break records, eh, Dash? I think that’s the fastest you’ve ever apologized.” She didn’t respond to the bait, so I continued. “We weren’t doing anything, Dash. I promise. All we did was talk.”

“But why her? Why not... Why not me?”

“Because I hate what happened, and what I did, that’s why. Now, I’ve answered your question, and we won’t get anything done by just standing here. So, let’s go. I know where we’re going next, so I’ll lead.”

“No. I’ll lead. I looked at some maps earlier, and I know a place. Or, I think I know a place.” She didn’t leave any room for debate, since she simply started making her way towards the path after she spoke. With little other choice, I followed. The trip back down to the jungle seemed to go by in a blur, and soon enough we were heading along the dirt paths.

Dash’s reaction atop the plateau was all the I needed to solidify my notion that there was something going on between the girls. Something that involved me in a very direct way.

The path that we ran along was soon winding through the jungle with dozens of twists and turns. As we wound along even I, with my self-proclaimed amazing sense of direction, lost track of which way would lead us back to the house. The sound of running water soon became clear, and I nearly ran into Dash when she stopped at a small river crossing. We looked for some rocks to use to cross the stream, the search taking a couple of minutes. Rather than stick to the official path forged through the jungle, Dash started following the river.

It looked like there was a path that ran this way at some point, but it was too faded to really stand out. Unless someone knew to look for it it would be easy to miss the path. As we went along our pace gradually decreased more and more until we were walking through the brush, pushing large plants out of our way.

I thought about trying to talk to Dash a few times as we walked, but each time I wanted to say something I’d find some reason not to. Just as I was about to confidently proclaim that we were lost Dash let out a cry of success, the sounds of fleeing wildlife clear for several moments following her outburst. “Whoops.” I only shook my head at her when she looked at me, and then she pushed her way through the foliage. I followed just a step behind her.

To say that I was amazed with what I saw would be an understatement. A large basin of water was laid out before us, an impressive waterfall feeding the pool, and even the stream that we had been walking next to found its origin here. A clearing in the trees above the pool of water allowed for a perpetual dusk to settle in the area. The columns of light that did penetrate the canopy only added to the beauty of the expanse. As I finished taking in the allure of the glade my gaze finally settled on Dash.

To say that she was beautiful would be an understatement. There had been many times that I caught myself staring at her, not thinking of her as a friend, but as a woman. Intentionally or not she had stopped her advance in a column of light. Her look of awe at the splendor of the scenery around her only worked to make me realize just how beautiful she was. She didn’t have the curves that Rarity and Fluttershy boasted, but there was no denying the fact that she’s one of the most beautiful people I know, even if she would never admit it. A blush quickly surged to her cheeks when she caught me staring.

“Did you know this was here, or were you just hoping?”

“A bit of both, honestly.” She finally looked away from me after she spoke. I started making my way towards the pool as Dash continued her visual exploration of the area. As I walked around the rim of the basin of water I noticed that there were actually a few streams leading off of this waterfall. Most of them were incredibly small trickles that probably wound up merging together later, so I didn’t really pay much attention to those.

A loud splash sounded behind me, and I whirled around to see what was happening when I spotted a pile of clothing on the ground where Dash had been standing.

She wouldn’t.

A second, and more subdued, splashing sound came from the water, and as I turned to look I saw Dash whip her hair back over her head as she burst from beneath the water. Her prismatic hair fanned out in an arc, the light shining through it making the colors more pronounced. More notable than that magnificent display was the attire Dash had on. While she had gone for a sports bra and short shorts yesterday, she had on a fairly skimpy bikini today.

And by fairly skimpy, I mean it was pretty much a few triangles of cloth held together with some string.

After her brief display she turned her gaze towards me, her cheeks flushing a deep crimson. “What, never seen a girl in a bikini before?”

“I have, but never you.” A splash of water sent my way prompted a hop backwards. “Keep that up, Dash, and I might have to come in and show you a thing or two about water based combat.”

She sent another spray of water my direction as she began laughing. “Maybe that’s what I’m aiming for, Icarus. Not like it matters, anyway. We both know who’d win in a fight.”

“Hate to burst your bubble, Dash, but you’ve never actually gone toe to toe with me, and I’m not the worst fighter around.” I quickly pulled off my shirt, tossing it down beside Dash’s own pile of clothes. My shoes and socks followed just behind my shirt, and soon I was taking a few steps back from the edge of the water. Several powerful strides gave me a good amount of speed, and with a powerful jump I leapt as far as I could into the pool of water.

The water was far warmer than I thought it would be, and even deeper than I expected. My shallow dive carried me quite a ways across the pool of water and when I surfaced I quickly took in a deep breath before I went underwater once more. Several powerful kicks sent me deeper, and I was only able to touch the bottom after spending almost ten seconds fighting my way down. Pushing off the deepest recesses of the pool, I fought my way back to the surface.

“I was just as surprised by how deep it is too. But enough of that. We’ve got a score to settle.” With that, she began showering me in a flurry of splashes, each one attempting only to douse me, rather than keep me from counterattacking. Using this to my advantage, I aimed several splashes at her head, forcing her to stop in order to clear her face. It was during this respite that I started circling her while keeping up a constant barrage of splashes, each one aimed for maximum effect.

After just a moment she dove beneath the surface of the water, her quick strokes beneath the water bringing her up to me faster than I could backpedal. She breached the surface of the water right in front of me, a smirk on her face. “It’s a good thing I figured out your weakness, Icarus, or I think you might’ve actually won.” With her right in front of me there were two things keeping me from continuing my splash attack. The first was her proximity, preventing me from getting her wet without getting myself wet in the process. The second was her proximity.

“I know that we’ve known each other for a while, Dash, but we’re not even dating, or anything.” Her cheeks flushed a deep crimson as she realized what I was saying, but she didn’t move away. In fact, she almost seemed to move a bit closer.

“Does it bother you to have me so close?” Her voice had dropped into a much more feminine tone, and I had to fight to keep a straight face. “Am I making you feel... constrained?” A gentle touch on my leg accompanied her words, and I quickly pushed away from her, the heat rushing to my cheeks bringing about a massive bout of laughter from Dash. “Man, Rarity was right, it’s amazing what I can do with that voice! And I thought she was full of it!”

“Creator damn you, Dash! That’s not fair!” This only prompted another bout of laughter, and I just turned away from her, my blush growing even deeper. While Dash continued her laughing I swam over to the waterfall, trying to take advantage of the falling water to drown out Dash’s uproarious laughter. I began scrabbling at the stones after some small handholds caught my eye.

A moment later I had climbed up the waterfall most of the way, and I came across a small ledge. It was just big enough to stand on, so I pulled myself onto it, looking out over the pool of water. Dash’s laughter had died down quite a bit, and she was looking up at me. “Belly flop!” I only glared at her before I pressed myself flat against the rock face of the waterfall. With a single step I propelled myself into the void, a gentle rotation propelling me through a single backflip before I made contact with the water.

Surfacing rewarded me not with more of Rainbow Dash’s raucous laughter, but a slow clap. “Not too bad, Icarus. Not quite as good as I could do, but still good.” Without even looking over at Dash, I climbed back up the rock face, looking down onto the pool once again. This time I performed a double backflip, my body elegantly twisting through the air. A third jump yielded a triple backflip, and finally I was rewarded with a suitably impressed reaction from Dash.

After that jump I simply rolled over where I landed, looking up into the sky. Dash’s cheers quickly faded when she saw that I wasn’t reacting to her. “Pinkie told us all last night what the two of you talked about.” She remained silent for several long minutes, and I just kept floating, going where the current willed me to go. “Not talking to me now?”

“No, you just didn’t ask a question, and I had nothing to add to what you said.”

“Alright, if you want a question, try this one: Why didn’t you tell any of us?”

I let out a groan in response. “Because I was ashamed of what I’d done. Because I can’t stand to have the blame put on me.” I quit my floating in order to look at Dash. “Because I hate the fact that I can’t possibly blame what happened on anyone else.”

Dash had moved to the shallows, her feet dangling in the water as she sat atop a massive rock, slowly drying herself off. “So what did Pinkie do that changed that?”

“She didn’t do anything. She just... She was Pinkie. She asked just the right questions and did just the right things. I don’t know, Dash, her method works, and I say that if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” I began a slow stroke to bring myself over to Dash.

“Well what about your future? Is that some big mistake too, or do you just like hearing us girls talk about our aspirations without sharing any of your own?”

I didn’t answer until I was atop the rock next to Dash, looking out towards the waterfall. “No, I just never really thought about it. I’ll probably follow in the footsteps of my dad. I’ve got tons of potential, but I don’t have the motivation to use it. I’m artistically talented, and technically gifted, but I don’t have the drive to really make use of it.”

“Why don’t you find the motivation, then? You already know what I want to do, but do you know why I want to do it?”

I scoffed before looking at her. “Everyone knows that one, Dash. You want to show the world that you’re the fastest, swiftest, most agile pegasus around. Equestria’s number one flyer, right?”

“You’re half right. See, my mom and dad were both great fliers in their time, but neither of them ever got much recognition for their work in the royal guard.” I raised an eyebrow before she continued. “Yeah, not something many people know. I used to be able to count the people who knew, outside the family, on one hand. Now I need two hands. Anyway, when I was young they amazed me with what they could do. I want to prove to to the world that I’m the best, but more than that, I want to be the role model that my parents were. I want to inspire the kids of the world to reach for their goals.”

“I don’t think I’ll be an inspiration by drawing some technical pictures.”

“And they say that I’m not the sharpest knife in the drawer... Combine your passion with your interest. Devise some great device that combines the best of both worlds. Some great machine that looks great and works great things.” The girl beside me turned to look at me, and I looked at her as well. “But, before you can do anything, first you need to change your attitude.”

“And how do you suggest I do that? This is the first interesting thing I’ve done in weeks. Months, even. While all of you go off gallivanting through the country, and beyond, I’m stuck back in Ponyville, working on drawings that will never see the light of day.”

“Try adding a bit of spice and variety to your life.”

I rolled my eyes as I looked away from Dash. “Yeah, because I haven’t tried that before.”

“Well maybe you weren’t doing it right...” A hand came up to my face, gently turning my head back towards the girl beside me. “Maybe you need some... help.” Her cheeks were a deep red when I was finally looking at her again. With a surprising amount of force Dash pushed me back, forcing me off the rock and into the water. My landing was much softer than I thought it would be, but I didn’t have much time to think about that before I found myself looking up at Dash as she looked down at me from atop the rock.

She hopped off the rock, her legs landing on either side of me, and in a single fluid motion she was lying on my chest. Her eyes twinkled as she looked down at me. With agonizing slowness she moved her face closer to mine until we were separated by mere inches, and then that distance shrank to nothing, our noses touching. “D... Dash?”

She responded not with words, but with actions. She pressed her lips against mine, her hands moving behind my head and pulling me into the kiss. Unsure of how to respond, I brought my hands up to Dash’s back, one hand moving between her stiffening wings, the other going to the back of her head. As I felt her wings grow more upright I felt the telltale signs of arousal in my own body, along with the feelings of tightness in my own back. Even without wings, I still had some of the muscles needed to fly, and in situations that prompted this kind of reaction I was often reminded of just what I had lost.

Dash broke the kiss abruptly, her face flushed. She didn’t move far from me before she let out a sigh. Her voice had the same sound as earlier, that slightly seductive tone, but this time there was a nervous edge to it. “D... Do you want to? With me?”

“I...” I swallowed nervously, the novelty of the situation getting to me. A tiny flash of fear in her eyes made the decision for me. “I’d love to, Dashie.”

Author's Notes:

Oh look, plot progression! And now there's going to be some sexitimes. Aren't I just the best?

Oh, and Editors: Chapter 4. It's written. Get your edit-y hands on it and do your thing.