Celestia's bright sun shone over Ponyville as Twilight walked over to the town hall. It had been a relatively peaceful week, no fires between friends to extinguish, no angry swarm of creatures attacking the town. She glanced around and enjoyed the peaceful air, wondering how long such a vacation from their usual adventures would last. It was when she noticed a fearful Applejack running up to her that she realized her break was over.
"Twilight, you've got to hurry!" panted AJ. "There's a fire in the Everfree forest!"
"A FIRE?" she shouted, glancing over towards the forest. A few wisps of black smoke were reaching into the air, growing steadily thicker as time progressed. "We need to go and get help!"
"Ah'll get Rarity and Pinkie, you head on over an get Dash!"
The two ponies parted ways to try and get as much help as possible. Twilight had never been much of a runner, despite her 5th place in running of the leaves, but ran as fast as she could to the cloud-house on the outskirts of town. As soon as it was within sight, she closed her eyes and let her magic surround her. A bright flash of purple light and she was standing outside Rainbow Dash's door.
"Rainbow Dash! Rainbow Dash! Get out here!"
"What's wrong Twilight?" the cyan pegasus asked.
"There's a fire in the Everfree forest."
"WHAT?!?" The cyan pegasus bolted upright at the mention of danger. "What happened?"
"I don't know. We better head over there and check."
Rainbow Dash was the first one to arrive at the forest. She landed at Fluttershy's cottage to warn her, but was met with an open door and empty building. Looking around and seeing no sign of Fluttershy, the cyan pegasus took to the skies and decided to risk a close pass to the trees. The fire hadn't yet reached the tree tops, but it could jump from treetop to wingtip in an instant. Carefully carving the wind around her, Dash lowered herself close enough to see through the flames. There, cowering in the forest and afraid for her life, lay a frightened Fluttershy.
"Fluttershy, are you alright?"
Only a timid squeak came as an answer.
"Can you fly?"
Another squeak. Dash interpreted that as a 'no'.
The black smoke was growing steadily thicker, and billowed over the flying pegasus. The smoke was so thick it blocked out air. Dash held still for a while, clearing the smoke with her wings to try and get another sight of Fluttershy, but it was hopeless with the strong updrafts created by the roaring fires. Logic told her to pull back, but she would not abandon a friend. Diving towards the forest she tried to break through the smoke barrier. A sudden cross-breeze smashed her against the nearest tree, and sent her spiraling away from the forest.
A purple aura stopped her mid-fall from hitting the ground. She felt her body being gently placed on the ground as her friends arrived.
"Haven't you learnt anything about waiting for friends to help?" Twilight asked, walking up to the pegasus.
She got up and shook off the near crippling injury. "You were being slow, and Fluttershy's in danger. I couldn't wait."
"Fluttershy's in danger!" Twilight shouted.
Twilight quickly surveyed the situation. "First we need to prevent the fire from spreading. AJ, do you think you can knock down some of those trees."
"No problem" AJ said, rushing to the nearest tree and knocking it clean out of the ground to demonstrate her power.
"Good, head on around the back and knock down a line of trees. Prevent the fire from jumping from crown to crown and spreading further into the forest." With that AJ disappeared into the woods.
"Rainbow Dash, you head to Cloudsdale and get the weather patrol to bring some rain."
"And abandon Fluttershy? No way! By the time the rain arrives she could be DEAD!" Rainbow Dash leaped off the ground in anger and took to the skies.
"WAIT!" shouted Twilight, trying to catch Dash with her magic. But this time the pegasus was to fast.
"Fine. Pinkie, go back to the library and find Spike. Take my balloon up to Cloudsdale and get the weather patrol over here."
"Okie dokie" she replied, half running, half bouncing back towards Ponyville.
"Rarity, come with me. I'll teach you how to contain fire by using magic."
The unicorns disappeared into the forest, but the fire continued to climb higher. By this time it had reached the top of the trees, and was starting to jump from tree to tree. Such intense heats created powerful updrafts, making it hard even for Rainbow Dash to stay aloft as she flew above the trees.
Circling the trees and looking for an opening, Rainbow Dash alone with her thoughts. No matter how hard she tried, she could not contain the emotions that welled up inside her. For the first time in her life, she was afraid. Not afraid for her own safety, but of losing the one she loved. For she did love Fluttershy, and had felt this way for years now. Somehow that timid charm and frighteningly weak exterior she presented seemed to captivate Dash, and made her feel even stronger. However her insecurities stole her confidence when she thought about admitting these feelings. Would Fluttershy accept her? Did she feel the same way? Dash wrestled with those questions every time they were together, never overcoming her own fears enough to talk to the pegasus.
The ever rising heat brought the gravity of the situation to the surface. Still scanning the forest, she banked closer to the trees. Time was running out, and an opening was not presenting itself. She had to make her own way through the flames. Navigating her way through the smoke, she managed to get close enough to see the timid yellow pony hunkered down on the ground.
"Fluttershy, are you still alright?"
"Angel Bunny's gone!" came a hysterical cry through the trees.
A burning tree fell mere inches from Dash's face, landing close enough to Fluttershy that it scattered burning branches around her.
"We can't worry about that now. I'm coming to get you out!"
Trees were falling all around her. The fire was rising higher into the air. The heat had reached a near unbarable point. But Rainbow Dash fought on through all this to help Fluttershy. She dove down to a nearby tree and grabbed one of the branches in her teeth. She then flew with all her might in the opposite direction, bringing the tree down with her. Returning to a nearby tree, she collapsed it too, making a path through the flames to the area where Fluttershy was sheltered.
"I'm coming Fluttershy!" she shouted, dashing through the opening and landing beside the yellow pegasus. A look of utmost fear was in that pegasus's eyes, and she was so paralyzed she couldn't move. Grabbing her by the tail, Dash dragged the shocked pegasus around the flaming trees and out of danger.
Fluttershy opened her eyes to look at her savior, smiling when she saw the cyan pegasus with the rainbow mane standing protectively over her. That pegasus was always there for her, guarding her from the dangers of the world, and fighting back the fears of it.
The crack of a falling tree shifted her focus to the current situation. The fire around them. The danger they were in. The missing bunny.
"Go find Angel Bunny. She's in danger!" Fluttershy shouted.
Rainbow Dash immediately took to the skies once more, circling the raging inferno for any sign of the white bunny, but a shout from below distracted her.
"It's not working!"
"The fire's spreading!"
"HOLD TOGETHER GIRLS, We can do this!"
The search for Angel bunny would have to wait. Dash banked sharply, heading to the back of the fire where the voices had come from.
"What's happening here?" she shouted, landing at Twilight's side.
"AJ's knocked over a bunch of trees, but the fire's still jumping from the crowns. Our magic isn't as powerful that far away so we can only stop the flames near the ground."
"If y'all can buy me some more time, I could drop the last few o' these trees" Applejack shouted, knocking another tree down.
"I'll give you that time" Rainbow Dash said resolutely, plunging into the chaos of flames above her.
The heat was intense. Every muscle in her body screamed to leave and go somewhere cooler. The updrafts the flames generated alone took most of her power to fight. But AJ needed her, and she would be there. A powerful beat of her wings sent a breeze through the trees nearest, as the flames jumped back upon themselves and into the already raging inferno. But no matter how hard she pushed, she could not fight back all the flames.
"It's not enough" Twilight said from below. "Rarity, hold on!"
"To whaaAAAAAA!" she screamed, as Twilight levitated her 50 feet into the air. "Next time your going to do something like that at least give me some warning!"
"I can't hold you for long. Throw some magical barriers up there!"
Rarities horn glowed and almost immediately the air began to feel cooler. With the combined efforts of the unicorns and the cyan pegasus, they were able to hold the flames back long enough for Applejack to knock over a 10 foot radius from the fire. Rarity and Rainbow Dash returned to the ground.
"How's Fluttershy?" Twilight asked, concerned for her friend.
"She's safe, but Angel Bunnies missing." Dash replied. She was about to take off again when Twilight shouted "WAIT!"
"Do we have time, Twilight?"
"Let me put a fire protection charm upon you, it'll keep you safe."
A purple glow appeared around Rainbow Dash, accompanied by a strange itchy feeling. A bright spark shot out from Twilight's horn, hitting the magical field and making both disappear.
"There. Now go save her" Twilight prompted, and Dash flew up once again.
It was hard to make anything out through the smoke and flames. She made a few low passes over the treetops, flames dancing in the wake of her wings, until she finally spotted the bunny. It was lying down in the middle of a clearing in the forest. She was a little tentative about entering a raging inferno. She trusted Twilight's spells, but that still didn't give her much hope. "This is for Fluttershy" she said to herself, and dove straight into the center of the flames.
She emerged in the clearing, the white bunny lying prone in the middle of the ground. Dash swooped down and picked the bunny up, and headed for the sky. Flames threatened to close in on her, and even though she was protected Angel Bunny was not. Weaving in between burning trees, she looked for an exit. A large tree fell right in front of her, providing the clearing, though small, that she needed. Without a seconds hesitation she shot towards it.
And emerged through the flames right next to Fluttershy. The frightened pony took the white bunny in her mouth and started trying to take care of it on the ground. Turning around she saw thunderheads being guided by the Weather Patrol over to the fire, followed by a bouncing pink pony in Twilight's hot air balloon. As the rain started to pour down, Dash turned back to Fluttershy, crouched over the bunny.
"Is she alright?" Rainbow Dash asked Fluttershy. The timid yellow pegasus only stared at the ground in response.
"Is she alright?" She asked more forcefully, scooping up the bunny. It wasn't breathing and it's pulse weak. "NO!" Dash shouted in disbelief, crouching over the bunny.
This couldn't be happening. That bunny meant everything to Fluttershy. If something happened to the bunny ... it would devastate her. It would be like losing a best friend. Rainbow Dash pressed her paws over the bunnies tiny chest and started to pump. There was no way that she was going to let a friend slip from this world that easily. And she pumped the little chest as hard as she could.
"She needs oxygen" Twilight said.
And so Dash breathed in a lungful of air and forced it down the bunny's throat. This couldn't be happening. She would not give up. She repeated this for what seemed like hours. Surely the bunny had passed on by now, but she would not give up. Not on a friend. And then suddenly, the bunny gasped in it's own breath of air.
"ANGEL BUNNY!" Fluttershy shouted, embracing the shocked creature. "Thank-you so much for saving her!" she said, crying at this point.
Rainbow Dash wasn't able to say anything, just stand there and watch as the little creature that she had believed dead was taking in it's second chance at life.
"I'm just glad nopony got hurt" said Twilight.
"Yes, thank you all" came the timid voice of Fluttershy. "Especially you, Dash. I don't know if I would have made it without you."
"You're my friend. I would never abandon you" she replied, finally able to find words once more.
The others started to head home, but Rainbow Dash tentatively stayed around.
"I'm so sorry for all the danger I put you in today" Fluttershy said. "You must be awfully tired by now. Why don't you come inside and rest?"
"Gladly" Dash responded, and followed her into her cottage.
Epilogue: Burning Passion
Fluttershy's cottage was a small and cozy place, with barely enough room for two ponies. The setting sun shone through the windows, bathing the floor in a fiery red that reminded Fluttershy all to much of the events from earlier that day. She first laid Angel Bunny to rest in her little bed, before returning to the main room. She walked up to the fire with the teapot, but stopped a few feet short. She just stood there for a while in silence, staring at the flames, lost in thought, lost in fear.
A comforting wing was draped around the timid pony. She looked beside her to see the cyan pegasus standing there offering her support. Together they took another step closer to the fire, and than another, until they stood right in front of it. Together they reached out to place the tea-pot on the fire. A spark jumped from the flames, and Fluttershy jumped backwards across the room, dropping the tea-pot on the floor.
"It's OK Shy." Dash said, trying to console the frightened pony. "You're safe now."
"I know, but the fear from earlier today won't leave me. The fire was closing in around me... The heat building up... I was afraid I wouldn't survive, afraid the fire... afraid it would consume me as well." She was doing all she could to not let the fear paralyze her again. "I let it overpower me, and couldn't do anything. You had to risk your life for me."
"But I was there. You know me. I would never abandon you in that forest." Dash just lay there beside the frightened pony. Comforting words and gentle strokes of the wing calmed Fluttershy down enough for her to continue
"Angel Bunny almost died today. What would have happened if you hadn't come, if you weren't around?"
"But I was there. I was there for you, for her."
"I was weak, I didn't do anything. I need to be stronger, because you won't always be there."
"I will always be there for you" Rainbow Dash looked deep into Fluttershy's eyes, a resolution deep within her own.
"Really?" the timid pegasus asked, returning the gaze.
"Really."
Fluttershy just stared into the cyan pegasus's eyes. When she looked, all she felt was trust. Her life had been in the hands of that pony many times, and she never let her fall. She needed Dash around. She wanted Dash around. When they were together, life seemed fuller. When they were together, she could face those fears of the world. But only with that cyan pegasus at her side.
Rainbow Dash stared back into Fluttershy's eyes. For years she had admired that timid yellow pony, but never had the confidence to admit her feelings. But today she realized just how much she loved that pony. When around her, she felt wanted. She felt like she could fight back the entire world just to see that pony smile. When she was with that timid pegasus, her heart burned more fiercely than the fires that had surrounded her short hours ago. She couldn't contain herself. She didn't want to contain herself.
She leaned closer to that shy pony, who followed suit. In each others eyes they saw a passion. A passion they both shared for each other. They let their emotions take over. They embraced in a single passionate kiss. During that moment the world seemed right. The fires that burned in each of there hearts were shared between the two of them, and the burning passion they shared only grew. Their souls felt more alive than ever before, and the two of them felt they were where they belonged: at each others side.
The sun had set, and a cool nights breeze blew through the building. Fluttershy reluctantly got up to close the window, and than returned to Dash's side so that the two ponies could cuddle closer together, wings wrapped around each other.
"Will you stay tonight?" asked Fluttershy. "I'm still much to afraid to be alone."
"For you, I'll stay forever."
The new couple moved over to the one bed that lay at the side of the room, and snuggled under the covers. They looked into each others eyes, and a feeling of security swept over them. Wrapped in the secure embrace of her new lover, Fluttershy dropped off into a deep, peaceful sleep.
Dash lay back in the bed and thought about the fire. Acres of forest were burnt, and Angel Bunny almost died, but luckily no lives were lost. It would take weeks of work to re-build homes and care for animals, weeks that she would gladly donate. But she got Fluttershy.
She smiled a cunning, audacious smile to herself.
It was worth it.