Hearth's Warming Return

by NintendoGal55

Rating: everyone
Tags: Slice of Life, Main 6, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Rainbow Dash, Sad, Romance, Fluttershy
Length: 11888

Rainbow Dash returns to Ponyville after getting a mistaken invitation for Pinkie's holiday party. Due to being gone for three years, she hopes to make amends with her friends, especially Fluttershy.

After getting a mistaken invitation from Pinkie Pie for a Hearth’s Warming Eve Party, Rainbow Dash, now a Wonderbolt, accepts it. She goes back to Ponyville, intent on seeing her friends, and of course, to make amends with her ex-girlfriend, Fluttershy. Sometimes, things don’t quite go as planned.

Co-written by Poison Cure and edited by Lathier.

Published 2013-12-23 18:20:03 UTC
Last updated 2013-12-23 18:20:03 UTC

Coming Back

Come one, come all! I, Pinkie Pie, will be throwing an awesometastic party for Hearth’s Warming! You are cordially invited to spend the magical evening with all kinds of supertastic fun and delicious treats!

Be there on Hearth’s Warming Eve, at Sugarcube Corner! Party begins at seven sharp! Bring some treats if you’re so inclined! There will also be some exchanging of gifts, so bring a little something for your friends and loved ones!

RSVP as soon as you can! Hurry! Time is running out!

P.S. Looking forward to your awesome tunes! See you then!

“What... the…?” Rainbow Dash uttered, wide-eyed as she stared at the invitation. None of this made any sense. She hadn’t heard, let alone seen, anyone from Ponyville in almost three years. Why would Pinkie Pie, of all the mares in Equestria, send her a letter, much less an invite to a party after all this time?

Admittedly, her leaving was not received well by her friends, though not because of it. No, there was a much more gloomy meaning behind it. Three years ago did not simply stand for when she left her home behind, but when she broke up with a certain rosy-pink maned pegasus: her best friend, Fluttershy.

It had not been a graceful moment, and Dash had to convince herself it was for the best. Whether it was or not, she believed she would never know. Even now, she held onto those memories with a bitter-sweet taste. She could not simply force Fluttershy to wait for her while she lived out her dream as a Wonderbolt.

Not once had they spoken since then. Rainbow had written letters to Fluttershy, simply just to have some kind of way of communicating with her. Fluttershy wrote back only a couple times, then stopped altogether. But Dash continued, doing all she could to keep her best friend in her life. Was it truly futile? Did Fluttershy even read them? Or care?

Sighing, Dash looked over to a photo on her bedside table, a photo of herself and Fluttershy. Placing her hoof along the glass, she knew it was impossible to deny her feelings. To this moment, she’d never stopped loving Fluttershy.

Many a time, reporters and even her own teammates would query why she never dated. She was a famous Wonderbolt, even getting a lot of claim to fame when she was just a rookie. At this rate, she could’ve had any pony she wanted. Never did she disclose the information, she only said that she was not ready to be tied down right now. It was partially true, to be certain. But it was not something she would put Fluttershy through. She would never live down being famous Rainbow Dash’s ex-girlfriend and having rumours following her.

Turning back to the letter, Rainbow re-read it for what felt like the thousandth time since getting it. The ‘P.S.’ at the end was very odd, even for Pinkie Pie. Or at least she thought it was as she had no way of knowing if anything had changed since her time gone. Finally deciding to check the address, she found her answer.

“What the? They sent this to the wrong place,” Rainbow mused aloud, “This isn’t even the same town! Great… What am I gonna do now?”

No response. Tank didn’t even seem to have much to say, but he did look at her with a worried frown. This was of no help to her. Whoever this was meant for would most likely not get it in time if Dash tried to hunt them down herself, so what else could she do?

Looking to the calendar, it was December 7th, only a couple of weeks before Hearth’s Warming Eve. This was around the time that the Wonderbolts would be heading home to their families if they lived further off. But because Cloudsdale was so close to Ponyville, it wouldn’t be a tough trip, and she still had her home there.

“...Guess I could go, anyway…” Rainbow murmured, “It’s been a few years… I guess things are better now.”

At least, that was the lie Rainbow told herself. She had no way of knowing if that was true, but there was somethingcalling her back. Something she could not describe, like a pull from an unseen force, beckoning her to come home, her real home.

Ponyville. The very town she’d moved to from her hometown. She’d taken a job and residence there and didn’t look back. It was where she made all her friends, set herself up as a great team leader for the weather patrol, and of course, reunited with her best friend. Then later dated.

‘We were together for a few years… We had awesome times...’ Dash thought, her ears folding back sadly.

Looking at Tank, Rainbow brought him out and set him onto the floor, where she sat in front of him.

“Tank, what am I gonna do? I want to go back, but what if I shouldn’t?”

Her pet gave her a half-hearted shrug. In truth, he did not like living here, let alone the constant moving that was required by the Wonderbolts, but he had no say in it. He would have much rather gone back himself. With his normally slow pace, he looked back at the table the letter was set on.

Rainbow sighed, petting his head, “I know this is hard for ya, buddy. I know. Not exactly all that easy for me, either. Sure, seeing a lot of cool places is awesome, but I guess maybe I just kinda wanna kick back,” she looked at the letter also, “But it’s not even for me. If I show up at that party, I’m gonna be thrown out.”

Tank let out a silent sigh, considering his owner’s words. He made his way over to her so that he might lay down in her lap. It took him a few moments, but he managed. Looking up at Rainbow, he seemed to have tried once more gesturing at the table. And the letter.

“What about it?” Rainbow asked, looking from her pet to the letter, “Should I? I kinda want to, I really do. But what if I’m just gonna make it worse?”

Ever true to how she raised him, Tank simply gave a look that said it all. A hopeful, happy look that seemed to reply ‘You’ll never know until you try.’

Looking at the letter again, Dash sighed and turned to him, “Well, I guess you’re right. I’m always the one saying stuff like that, anyway. All right, I’ll go. It’s been three years, anyway, so I guess I could always make it up to the girls. Especially Flutters… Oh! That’s it! I know what I’ll do! I’ll go down to Ponyville today, and while I’m at it, I’m gonna find a nice awesome gift for her! It’s a few weeks before Hearth’s Warming, so I’ll have plenty of time to get settled back in town, see the girls, and make it up to Flutters!”

Tank smiled, slowly, and nuzzled her. He hoped that this would open the door to make things right with her friends.

The trip back to Ponyville had been brief (but working her nerve up had taken most of the day), despite the weather being a little bit nippy. Especially since Rainbow had to carry Tank in protective warmth, but everything else went just fine. She dropped her belongings off at her home, made sure Tank was nice and cozy, fed, and then headed out.

As Dash wandered around town, her mind reeled with all kinds of ideas of what to get for Fluttershy. That was her goal for the moment, to get her a nice gift before the holiday rush would get any worse.

Strangely, there were many stares cast at her, and not the kind she had grown accustomed to, either. They felt oddly cold, chilling her even more than the weather. This was not the welcome she had hoped to expect, but was understandable. Still, it was unnerving.

To push this away, Rainbow Dash tried to focus her thoughts on the matter at hoof. Finding a truly emotional gift for the pony that once, and still did, mean the most to her.

‘It’s gotta be something good. Something to show how much she means to me, something she’ll cherish… and something she’ll like. Man, I’ve known her forever, I should know what to get her! I just don’t think she’ll fly into my hooves and kiss me like crazy when I give it to her.’

Looking up, it was then that she saw the town’s jewelry shop. Inspiration popped into her head as she grinned, seeing an opportunity.

“Perfect! I’ll get her a necklace or something!” Rainbow shouted out loud. She then felt the eyes of several ponies that were out shopping as well. With a quick apology, she rushed into the store. “Okay, that was kinda stupid of me… But Shy likes girly stuff like that, right? I know it’s been years, but her taste couldn’t have changed that much… right?”

No response came. But it didn’t deter Rainbow as she browsed the selection. Because it was the holiday season, there were a lot of specials going on, which she would take full advantage of. If need be, anyway. She had plenty of funds to get Fluttershy just about anything.

After browsing for a couple of minutes, the cyan pegasus was about ready to give up. There were a lot to choose from, but nothing that stood out to her, at least for Fluttershy.

“Jeez, what kind of jewelry should I get her? Something nice, not too fancy, not too overkill, but not so little, either…” She mumbled to herself.

“Can I help you find something?” Asked one of the clerks, smiling at her.

Rainbow looked up, then shrugged, “I’m trying to find something nice for my girl-...well, my ex-girlfriend.”

The clerk raised an eyebrow, “Your ex-girlfriend? Wouldn’t you normally skip getting a gift for them?”

“Wouldn’t you normally not question your customer’s private business? I thought all I had to do was buy something, not explain why I’m buying it,” Rainbow deadpanned.

Chuckling, the clerk gave a playful smirk, “A sass, huh? I like that. All right, kid, what are you looking for?”

“Something that’s...sweet and pretty, but not overblown,” Dash explained, “Maybe something with butterflies or some kind of animal or bug.”

“Really? That’s kinda vague,” the clerk replied with faint laugh, “And this is for your ex? You’ve got some weird taste, sweetie. Well, we do have a section for speciality jewelry. If you’re willing to pay a bit more, I’m sure there’s something in there that might be what you’re looking for. If not, well, we also have a catalogue you could look through.”

Rainbow’s eye twitched, but she held it back, “All right, gimme the catalogue and I’ll take a look at that speciality stuff. I’ll pay whatever it takes.”

With a giggle, the clerk retrieved a catalogue from behind the main checkout, “Here you go! Just gonna tell you now that if you get something from here, it might take a little while to get it in unless we’ve got it in stock. The speciality aisle is in the back with Jay. Can’t miss it… or him for that matter!”

“Okay, well if I do get something outta here, will it get here by Hearth’s Warming?” Dash asked, flipping through the catalogue.

“Depends on what you’re ordering,” the clerk said casually, “If it’s something simple, it might be here in three days. As for a two foot tall diamond cut into the shape of a heart, you’d be lucky if you get in time for next year’s Hearth’s Warming.”

Rainbow looked up, raising a brow, “...Yeah, I’m not gonna ask,” she looked back down at the catalogue. After a few more page turns, she stopped, “Hey, this is perfect! I wanna order this necklace… but with that one’s chain!”

She turned the catalogue around, pointing at a butterfly pendant with rainbow gemstones in the wings.

Looking it over, the clerk tried to not laugh, “Really? Well, those have been pretty popular gift this year with the whole ‘Year of the Butterfly’ nonsense going on. Actually, I think we still have some in the back. And the chains are pretty easy to interchange, so you might be able to leave with that today.”

“Yes!” Rainbow cheered happily, pumping a hoof into the air, “That’s awesome! Get that necklace and chain, then gift-wrap it, pretty please! And make it snappy!”

“Hmph! Still as brash as ever, I see,” came a haughty voice from behind her.

Turning around in surprise, Rainbow Dash came face to face Rarity, who was standing alongside Pinkie.

“H-Hey, Rares! Pinkie! Long time no see!” Dash said nervously.

“Hi, Dashie!” Pinkie greeted amiably, “You’re back in town! That’s so cool!”

Rarity, however, regarded Rainbow with absolute contempt, “You have a lot of nerve coming back here. Frankly, I don’t even know why you would bother.”

Rainbow took a step back, “Hey, that’s kinda harsh, Rares… I know it was messed up what I did and all but- I’ve been busy and just… well, I got this invite to Pinkie’s party and thought I’d make up to everypony, so… yeah.”

“Oooh, okay! You know, you’re always welcome to my parties, silly! But I didn’t send you one,” Pinkie said, giving a confused frown, “How did you get an invite?”

“Busy? Busy?! You’ve been gone for three years!” Rarity half-shouted, narrowing her eyes, “And we barely hear from you aside from an occasional letter! I also happen to know that the Wonderbolts do get vacation times and this is currently the off-season. You couldn’t spare one single visit? Especially to the one pony who wanted to see you the most? How dare you. You sicken me, you ruffian! I don’t even know who you are anymore.”

‘If this is how Rarity is reacting, I pray I don’t run into AJ...’ With sigh, Dash attempted to explain herself a bit, “Look, you gotta believe me that I’ve been- it’s complicated, okay? But I’ve tried a few times in the past and… things would happen that kept me from coming home. And Pinks, one of your invites got messed up. I think it was supposed to go to Vinyl Scratch after I checked the address.”

“Ohhhh, so you got Scratchie’s letter! Okay!” Pinkie giggled, “That makes sense!”

“Don’t you change the subject,” Rarity said crossly, “What could possibly prevent you? You have more money than you can ask for, and your headquarters are in Cloudsdale! Need I, a lifelong resident of Ponyville, remind you that Cloudsdale is less than a ten minute flight?! Why won’t you just admit that you didn’t want to? Why not just say you held yourself back? At least you would be honest for a change!”

Rainbow Dash was offended by this, something that was a bit of a rare occurrence nowadays, but still one that made her anger flare, “Hey, I was talking to you both, and Pinkie deserved an answer, too! And don’t give me that honesty crap! This… this has been hard for me, too! Yeah, I… I did hold myself back a lot. I was scared, okay? Don’t go playing BS cards like that! And this is why… right here. I knew if I came back, this is what I’d have to deal with. So, step off!”

“Scared?” Rarity huffed, shaking her head, “The brave and boisterous Rainbow Dash was afraid? Of what?”

“Of one of my so-called friends jumping down my throat and chastising me like you’re doing!” Rainbow nearly shouted, “How many of you even know why I left? If you even read any of my letters, you’d know… And half the letters I got back from some of you were just judging me! Did you really just expect me to come home when most of you were acting like we weren’t friends anymore?”

“Well, I never!” Rarity huffed and walked off, her nose in the air.

“I read your letters and sent some back to you! They were cool! I liked the stationary!” Pinkie said jovially.

Sighing, Dash looked over to Pinkie with sad smile, “At least you don’t hate me…”

“Of course not, silly! You’re my bestie!” Pinkie assured, “Besides, Rare-bear... kinda had to endure two spa-trips a week where Fluttershy was nothing but tears and being mopey-dopey. Took a whole lot out of her!”

“But wasn’t that almost three years ago?” Rainbow asked before quickly drawing her question back, “Never mind, I might not wanna know that answer… Still, that was cold, even by Rarity’s standards.”

Pinkie nodded, “I’m sorry, Dashie. But Flutter-butter is feeling better, though! She’s been doing great!”

Rainbow perked up a bit to hear this, “Really? How is she?”

“Oh, fine!” Pinkie said dismissively, “She’s Fluttershy!”

“No, Pinkie… I really wanna know,” Rainbow Dash cut her off, “How has she been? Is she really okay?”

Pinkie regarded her seriously, then sighed, “She’s been staying with Twi-Twi for a while, at the library. Her cottage is being renovated after a storm destroyed most of it. Plus it’s winter and takes more time to fix! She’s gotten over what happened, but she still misses you, Dashie. You never write her or see her. She’s beginning to think you really resent her and don’t even like her anymore. That’s not nice.”

“What? Really?” Rainbow felt her heart sink.

“Dashie, you promised to still be friends with her. That’s all she wanted! But you didn’t give her that?” Pinkie asked sadly, shaking her head, “You need to talk to her. No more running. You better Pinkie Promise me that you’ll talk to her. She thinks you don’t like her and that’s not nice at all. Please, Dashie. Talk to her.”

Sighing, Rainbow turned away from her friend from a moment, “Pinks… I was gonna do that regardless if I promised or not. But yeah, I Pinkie Promise I will. It’s… It’s the whole reason I came, almost.”

Looking relieved, Pinkie smiled, “Good then! Sooooo, what are you doing here? What’cha buying?”

Blinking, Dash found herself blushing, “I-I was buying her a gift, duh! I can’t just show up empty hoofed after all this time.”

“Really?! Awwww, that’s so sweet, Dashie!” Pinkie cooed, giggling, “Going to bring her an epic pretty present and win back her sweet little heart?”

“Well, I kinda wa- wait, what?!” Rainbow reeled back as her entire face turned red.

Pinkie grinned widely, “You heard what I said, Dashie!”

Despite not moving, Rainbow felt like she was backed into a corner, “I just… wanted to apologize for after all this time, and figured it’d only be appropriate to give her a gift…”

“Oh, that too, but I can tell you still loooooove her!” Pinkie winked, snickering behind her hoof.

“I do…” Dash bit her lip, staring down at the ground. There was no point in hiding it, at least not from Pinkie Pie. Least of all, herself.

“Awwww! That’s so sweet!” The pink party pony cooed with glee, as if she were reading an epic romance tale, “Now all you have to do is coax her into getting back together!”

Sighing, Rainbow did not bother to look back up, “Now you’re just being idealistic… The real world doesn’t work like that. I’ll be lucky if she even wants to see me again, let alone be friends again…”

“Trust me, Dashie, she does want to see you. She just thinks you don’t want to see her,” Pinkie said solemnly.

Shaking her head, Rainbow huffed out a reply, “Well… I guess I’ll find out just a little later today, huh?”

Pinkie nodded, “You sure will, Dashie. You sure will.”

“Geez, when did you become you become a love sage?” Rainbow rolled her eyes.

A grin overcame Pinkie’s face, “Since I started dating Twi-Twi, of course! Ohhh right, you didn’t know! No wonder, I only got with her last year!”

“Wait, wait, wait, what now?” Rainbow Dash held up her hoof, “You and the bookworm? You and Twilight Sparkle are dating? So everypony did go crazy while I was gone…”

“Nopey-dopey-lopey!” Pinkie shook her head.

“Pinkie, dear, if you want my help finding Twilight a nice ring, you’re going to have to come along,” Rarity stated upon coming back over to them. She cast a cold look toward Rainbow Dash, but said nothing further.

“Okay, Rare-bear! Bye for now, Dashie! See you at the party!” Pinkie said jovially, following the unicorn toward the back.

Sighing to herself, Rainbow cursed under her breath, “Great… I really hope the rest of the girls aren’t as mad at me as Rarity…”

Walking along the snowy streets of Ponyville, Rainbow Dash went about on her way to the library. Or rather, she was trying to make herself do just that, but continued to go down back alleys and side streets, making herself walk in near circles.

‘I gotta do this… Pinks told me Fluttershy wants to see me… I know she wouldn’t lie about a thing like that, but what then? What am I gonna say? What’ll I do? I still love her, what if I get in over my head? What if Fluttershy doesn’t want me back? No! I can’t go in thinking like that. I’m not trying to win her back, although I want to, I’m trying to be her friend again. I have to make sure she knows I do not hate her! I just… gotta figure out how to do this!’

Once more, Rainbow saw herself going in circles around a building, and sighed. This was not working, but her wings refused to let her fly. For once, going too fast was not appealing to her.

There had to be an answer to this, something that was easy, but would get the point across. She could swear it was right in front of her, but she could not see it. What else could she do?

Down the road, Rainbow could now see the very tree house in question. Golden Oaks Library was barely a block away, and she still had no idea what to do. No, that was not completely true. She knew that she wanted to make amends for the past, to have her best friend back, and maybe, if Celestia willed it, win her heart back. The real problem was how. How was she to do this after almost three years?

Having not been watching her step, Dash walked into another pony. Not hard, but enough to jostle them.

“Sorry! Sorry, wasn’t looking. Don’t mind me! Nothing to see here,” she said hastily.

A loud sigh was heard from near her, “So, it’s true. Ya really did come back,” an accented voice responded.

‘Oh no...’

Fighting off her natural reaction to run off, Rainbow Dash held her ground to find that her memory was spot on with who the voice belonged to. It was none other than her close friend and old friendly rival, Applejack. And after all this time, she looked almost no different, even sporting her Stetson, just as she always did.

“Oh, hey, AJ…” Rainbow stepped back, bracing herself for what she expected to be a rather vicious rant or, with her luck, a kick to the face.

Applejack regarded her, pursing her lips a bit, “We’ll cut tha dang small talk an’ get ta tha point. Why are ya here? Why haven’t ya said anythin’ fer tha past three years?”

Naturally, Rainbow defended herself, but decided to try to be a bit more in control than when she dealt with Rarity, “That’s not completely true. I’ve written all our friends, including you. Maybe not as much as I should have, but I tried. As for why? Well… you said it yourself a few times by now. I bucked up bad and-” she paused for a moment, exhaling, “-I know I don’t deserve a second chance, but I wanna try to make up for what I did. All of it.”

“Do ya really think it’ll be that easy?” Applejack deadpanned.

“Is this a rhetorical question?” Rainbow Dash replied with same tone, “Of course it’s not gonna be. I never said it would. But… if you girls are willing to just give me a chance, then I’ll take it. I miss my friends, my old home and… I just miss everything. I’m not about to give you some sob story or nothing, ‘cause what would be the point? I’m trying to be honest so… yeah. I’m not looking for everypony to just forgive me on the spot, just for a chance to fix things.”

Letting out a sigh, Applejack adjusted her saddlebags, “Ya better hope ta do somethin’. Nopony’s gonna let ya off tha hook that easy.”

Dash did her best to hold back her tongue, “You think I don’t know that? Rarity already pretty much said she wants me gone, and I know we weren’t the best of friends… it still hurt to hear, especially when I’m trying. I just don’t know what I can do.”

“Well, Ah can’t tell ya what ta do,” Applejack’s hardened tone softened a bit more, “Ya just have ta do what ya feel is right.”

Sighing, Rainbow shook her head, “Yeah well, that’s what got me into this mess in the first place: doing what I thought was right. So, obviously, that’s not gonna work…”

Applejack shook her head, “Ya know what Ah mean. Not just doin’ what’s right fer you.”

“You think I wanted to do what I did for me?!” That last phrase seemed to hit Dash hard, “Buck no! I didn’t want Fluttershy to just wait for me all her life while I was running around all over Equestria, only to get to see her three months out of year! I… I couldn’t do that to her…”

“Did ya stop ta consider that maybe… she’d have been fine with that?” Applejack asked, her tone softer now.

Rainbow stopped, considering what was said. It held her there for a moment, but she exhaled in nearly painful way, “Yeah… I have. She might have been okay with that, but… AJ, I’m not gonna lie to you, I wouldn’t be okay with it. It would drive me nuts. Worse, I’d want her to come with me, and I’d want her to myself. I guess… I was being kinda selfish, ‘cause I knew I’d wanna come back to her all the time.”

“Did ya ever ask if she’d come with ya? Or better yet, she could easily have come ta visit you in different cities,” Applejack told her.

“It’s not that simple,” Rainbow began, “Ever notice how the others don’t travel with their families? It’s cause they can’t. A lot of them have to leave them behind to keep up with training regiments and flight dates. They’re always moving from one place to another, and that just wouldn’t work for Shy working full time as an animal caretaker. I just couldn’t ask her to give up her dream for mine…”

“Well, RD, Ah just hope ya have a good explanation fer breakin’ her heart,” Applejack stated, then walked past her, pulling a cart behind her.

Sighing, Dash mumbled to herself, “Yeah, I do too.”

Turning around, she looked toward the library, realizing all the more that there was no turning back. That was all she’d done for the past three years. Running away and letting fear get the better of her.

‘I just hope I won’t screw up even more. But now I gotta stop being a mouse and be Rainbow Dash! Rainbow Dash does not back down from a challenge!’

With her newfound courage, Rainbow all but dashed over to the library, now standing at the front door. Taking a breath, she wasted no time to lose her nerve and knocked on the door.

Moments later, the door opened, revealing a happily smiling Twilight Sparkle.

“Hello there! Glad you could-” She stopped short upon realizing who it was. “Rainbow Dash?! What do you think you’re doing here?!”

Ears flattening, Rainbow took a few steps back, “T-Twilight! Hey, I uh... thought I’d come back and see you girls…”

“After almost three years?!” Twilight almost shouted, but managed to keep her voice down to a low roar, “You don’t even send a letter in advance before arriving? I’m not the type to say rude things, but this is a bit more than just unprecedented.”

“H-Hey! Come on!” Rainbow managed to protest, “I came here because I accidentally got an invite to Pinkie’s party! I wanted to surprise you guys for the holidays!”

Sighing, Twilight gave her a very inquisitive look, “Even as that may be, you should have sent word of some kind. Your letters stopped nearly a year ago… Do you realize how much we’ve all be worried about you? Especially Fluttershy? This year’s been almost as rough as the first year you left for her.”

Letting out a tired groan, the cyan pegasus nodded, “I know, I know! I get it! I’ve been told about all that since I got here! Now you, too?! Look, I get it! I’ve been really busy, I couldn’t catch much of a break, and I didn’t exactly feel right about coming back yet!”

“Don’t lie to me,” Twilight nearly deadpanned, “You’re clever, but I already know the real reason. It wasn’t hard to figure out after I sat down and thought about how you two were, and what was going on. So, I’ll skip the lectures and cut to the chase: Even if you did get an invite by accident, why are you coming back now? Why not sooner?”

“I couldn’t face Fluttershy, okay?! I just couldn’t! I was a coward, okay?! A coward! Now I’ll skip everything else and get to the chase. I know Fluttershy’s here and I want to talk to her!” Dash stated.

Sighing, Twilight shook her head, “Actually… she’s not. You missed her by about twenty minutes or so. She said something about wanting to get some air, despite how cold it is. All she said was she was going to the park.” With a rather nervous smile, she gestured inside, “Look, I don’t want to jump to conclusions, but if you’re here for what I think you’re here for, then I won’t stop you. You’re still a friend of mine and… even though I greatly disagree with what you’ve done, I guess it’s more Fluttershy’s place to forgive you than anypony else’s. You’re welcome to wait inside if that’s what you want to do.”

Giving a sad smile, Rainbow thanked her in a small voice as she entered the library. She caught Spike giving her a curious and surprised look, but waved it off in a way that meant she’d tell him later.

“So…” Twilight hesitantly began to try to make light conversation, “I doubt you really want to talk to me, let alone anypony else at the moment, but how have you been? We really have been worried about you.”

Rainbow shook her head before sitting on her haunches, “It’s not that, Twilight. It’s that I’m sure you guys are all ready to bite my head off. Rares did, so did AJ at first. You and Pinks so far kinda didn’t. But I guess I’ve been okay. The off-season’s been going on for a while. I’ve just been traveling around on press conferences and all that stuff. My teammates went home to their families for the holidays.”

Nodding her head, Twilight mumbled something to herself before replying, “I suppose that makes sense. Have you considered doing that though? Going home to you family I mean.”

“Yeah… I figure I’ll see them at some point,” Rainbow shrugged a little. “So… what about you? What are you gonna do?”

“About what?” Twilight asked her completely straightforward.

“For Hearth’s Warming,” Dash clarified.

“Oh,” Twilight blushed a bit, “Nothing too extreme… I hope. Pinkie is wanting to handle all the cooking this year, so I’m not sure what to expect. Of course, I trust she won’t get too carried away like she did last year.”

“...What happened last year?” Dash asked, coming to realize how much she was actually missing, let alone being out of the loop.

With a slight giggle, Twilight explained, “You see, last year, my brother decided that we should all have Hearth’s Warming celebration with Cadence and himself in the Crystal Empire, so he sent all our friends invites. Pinkie was excited about this, but it got even worse after we arrived. It turned out due to some fluke, Applejack’s invite got lost in the mail. Rarity was dating some stallion out of town at the time, but he canceled on her. Deciding it would be more formal and thinking AJ wasn’t invited, Rarity asked her to be her plus one on the invite. Well, none of us knew who she had been dating at the time and… well, we all assumed AJ being her plus one meant they were dating behind our backs. And of course, Pinkie read way too deep into the situation and thought the two were engaged, so she baked them a seven foot tall chocolate wedding cake in a single day. They explained things to us afterwards, but it must have been very embarrassing…”

Rainbow blinked, then started to laugh hysterically, “Oh my gosh! No way! Aw man, I wish I could’ve seen that! Oh, the looks on their faces must’ve been so hilarious! Wow! Aw snap, that’s Pinks for ya! Haha! Nice! Oh my gosh that’s awesome!”

“And you should have seen the look my brother had on his face when Pinkie was shouting this all out,” Twilight joined in the laughter, “But the surprising thing was about a week or so after we got back to Ponyville, Applejack and Rarity were at each other’s throats over something. Then, I don’t know how, but they thought it would be a good idea to date. And, well, they are.”

“Say what?! Oh, man! I can’t believe I missed that! Finally!” Rainbow snickered, shaking her head, “I always knew they’d get together! Pinks told me tons of times how much they seemed like an awesome pair back in the day!”

Twilight simply nodded her head, “Yes, it does seem like the two get along fairly well, and Pinkie asks them every day if she needs to make them another wedding cake!”

Rainbow laughed again, slapping her hoof against her knee, “Aw man! I gotta be there when that happens! She’ll probably make a wedding cake twice the size as the one from before!”

“Honestly, I don’t know about that,” Twilight shook her head

“Uh, Twilight? It’s Pinkie,” Dash deadpanned.

Sighing, Twilight rolled her eyes, “I know, Rainbow Dash… I’m partially married to her now, myself. But seriously, she can be a bit overbearing at times, but is more than capable of dialing it back if asked to.”

“Oh yeah…” Rainbow Dash grinned, “This is gonna be good! So how’s it feel being practically Mrs. Pinkie Pie?”

“Actually, she wants to take my last name,” Twilight corrected her in a very coy voice.

Rainbow frowned thoughtfully, piecing that together, “Sooo… Pinkie Sparkle? Pinkie Sparkle-Pie? Pinkie Pie-Sparkle?”

“Don’t give it so much thought,” Twilight huffed out, trying to keep her smile.

“Bite me!” Rainbow blew a raspberry.

Sighing once more, Twilight looked right at her, “You haven’t change a bit, have you?”

“Nope!” Dash said proudly, “I may be a Wonderbolt and super awesome all around Equestria, but I’m still me! I can see not much changed here… but that’s great! I sure missed you guys, I missed Ponyville and I missed just being a simple weather pony.”

“... Are you really sure about that?” Twilight questioned her, “You always said being a Wonderbolt was your dream. Can you really say you would have been happy just staying here?”

“Actually, part of why I came back was for that. I was thinking of cutting down my time going on tours,” Rainbow explained.

Actually a bit surprised to hear this, Twilight cleared her throat, “I would have never thought you of all ponies would get sick of the limelight.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes a bit, “It’s been three years, and I can change my mind, can’t I? Besides, I saw what it was doing to me and keeping me from you guys.”

Before Twilight could respond, the door opened.

“I’m back, Twilight…” Came a soft voice. “I got some more shopping done, but I wanted to ask you where that store Rarity mentioned is supposed to be.”

Twilight tensed a bit, but shook her head as she went to the door, “Fluttershy, I know this is going to come as a surprise to you, but… Somepony’s here to see you.”

Not able to see into the sitting room, Fluttershy cautiously set down her shopping bags near the entrance and proceeded in, “What do you mean? Who is it?”

Although the suspense was interesting, Dash decided it was better to just cut to the chase. She came into view of the other pony, her heart pounding vigorously, “Hey, Fluttershy. It’s me. Long uh… time no see, huh?”

Eyes wide, Fluttershy looked stricken as she took a step back. Not a word came from her mouth, though her expression looked about as unreadable, yet surprised, as it ever could be. No, this was not completely true, there was one predominant emotion that flooded over her in waves: sadness. In mere moments, her eyes had become red, tears pooling in the most painful way. It was overwhelming to her again, almost to where it was too much to take.

All at once, Rainbow’s ears flattened as she could now see the true weight of how much this hurt Fluttershy. The years of sadness, loneliness, and fear all reflected in her despondent eyes. Twilight hadn’t been lying, this year seemed to be tough on Fluttershy, more so than she expected. The guilt, the utmost remorse, she felt ready to just collapse in tears herself.

Yet, as she gazed upon the timid pegasus, Rainbow’s heart swelled. Fluttershy was still as beautiful as ever, even in her sadness. Her mane was still long, partially hidden in the hood of the warming cloak she was wearing. Her sweet face was glowing with bright pink cheeks, clearly from the coldness outside. The avid cuteness of the animal caretaker was not the least bit lost. Had this been a better moment, Rainbow would’ve wanted to tackle her to the floor and coo over how adorable she looked in her cloak.

“Listen, uh…” Rainbow spoke up, trying to ease the mood a bit, “I-I was… well, coming back to town was kind of an accident, but uh… I really did want to come back. I wanted to see you girls, and I… I really wanted to see you, too… Uh, if uh… that’s okay.”

‘What am I saying?! Am I really asking her that?! Nice going, Dash. You’re wussing out!’

Not a word. Even in her attempt to reply, not a single phrase would come to her. It was obvious she wanted something, anything at all, but all of it was lost to emotions. Even her body seemed to be fighting with itself, a fleeting sense of trembling and being frozen solid at the same time. Still, her words just would not come.

Beginning to feel even worse, Rainbow sighed and turned away, “Look, if you don’t want to see me, fine. I’ll leave. Just uh… sorry to bother you. I just really missed you. But that’s not enough, is it? Sorry… I’m uh, gonna go.”

“Wait!” For just a fraction of second, Fluttershy’s voice finally broke. Even in its weak sounding cry, it was enough to get Rainbow’s attention. Against what her mind was telling her to do, Rainbow looked back.

“...Yeah?” Rainbow dared to asked, her body tensing with anticipation.

Fluttershy gaze shifted around the room nervously, her hooves occasionally trembling as if she wanted to move. Again, she tried to say something, anything, even managing a few syllables. But even then, it just barely sounded like her friend’s name. Finally, any restraints on her emotions broke. She started to cry whimpering to herself. And without a word, she did the very last thing Rainbow would have thought of.

She hugged her. With no reason or explanation, Fluttershy jolted from her spot and nearly tackled the speedster down in a tight embrace, crying into her shoulder.

Twilight and Spike gaped with wonder, but nodded to each other as they left the two pegasi alone. Rainbow, meanwhile, was completely taken aback by the sudden gesture. But within moments, she hugged Fluttershy back tightly. Although on the forefront of her mind for years, she now truly knew how much she’d missed the embrace of her best friend.

It was taking all of Rainbow’s strength not to cry as well, but a few telltale tears fell from her eyes before she could stop them. Nuzzling into the pink soft mane, the speedster managed to relish the closeness they shared now.

“I’m sorry, Fluttershy,” was all Rainbow could say at this moment, “I’m real sorry.”

Fluttershy never expected to hear those words, and honestly, she didn’t truly want or need to. It did not matter in the least to her. She had known this, and so much more all along. All this did was reassure her that she had been right. Rather than trying to speak, she whimpered slightly to herself, clinging onto her friend almost as if she was afraid that she’d disappear if she let go. Something she could pray to not be the case.

‘She smells so good… like winter… that’s awesome…’ Rainbow thought, trying all she could to latch onto something nice in this moment. She opened her wings, closing them around Fluttershy’s form as she held her closer.

“I’m sorry… I missed you like crazy, Flutters. I really got no good excuse for why I didn’t write or come see you. Believe me, I kick myself for all of that. I sometimes can’t sleep at night and end up just lying there… Thinking about you and how much of an idiot I’ve been. I just… I knew I’d lose you if I saw you again… I knew I wouldn’t be able to control myself,” Rainbow whispered, her voice breaking. She didn’t even care that her most vulnerable thoughts were slipping out.

The words, while sweet, did nothing to help Fluttershy regain any sense of composure. In fact, they seemed to make her cling more onto Rainbow Dash while her forelegs trembled in the waves of emotions. Even as her former lover’s voice broke, it was the sweetest sound to her, just like it always had been.

“Please… don’t say any more,” Fluttershy finally spoke in a faint, weak voice through her tears, “Just… Just let me stay like this… for just a little longer….”

A smile, though sad, broke out on Rainbow’s face. She nuzzled Fluttershy’s soft mane gently, giving a nod. Nothing was going to stop her from trying to make Fluttershy feel better and feel happy.

“...Thank you,” was all Fluttershy could manage at the time, but it was more than enough. She all but collapsed onto her, only really being held up by the embrace. While it could barely be seen, there was the faintest traces of a smile on her lips, “Thank you… for coming back…”

“...You’re welcome…” Dash mumbled, closing her eyes as more tears fell from them.

It truly was all she needed. Just to hold Fluttershy, her long time best friend, and first and only love. After all this time, after all she’d done, Dash didn’t deserve it. But to refuse Fluttershy now, she knew that would be even worse.

Reaching a hoof up, Rainbow stroked her mane gently, nuzzling the other mare’s head. There was nowhere else she’d rather be than right here, with Fluttershy, finally making amends.

“Fluttershy…” Rainbow pulled back ever slightly, just enough to look into the other mare’s eyes, “I’m gonna be here awhile, for the holidays, and I… I want to spend Hearth’s Warming with you.”

For a brief moment, Fluttershy’s eyes flickered with momentary excitement before cuddling back into her embrace, “I’d… I’d love for you to stay…” A few more tears fell and she still whimpered softly, but there was a noticeable difference now. They sounded, and felt, happy.

“Really?!” Rainbow grinned, hugging her again, “Aw, yay! Awesome! Thank you, thank you, thank you! That’ll be awesome! Okay, maybe I know that one Hearth’s Warming won’t make up for all the ones I missed with you… but I guess we can still try, right?”

“Rainbow,” Fluttershy started to reply, letting herself sink into hug, “You don’t have to try… This is enough for me.”

“...Okay, but I want to,” Rainbow murmured, stroking her mane again.

Sniffling to herself, Fluttershy pulled back enough to look at Rainbow, “I won’t stop you... if you really do… But whether you do or not, you just coming back here… it’s all I could have asked.”

“Okay, okay,” Rainbow managed a little laugh, letting her go, “So, uh… you busy today?”

Shaking her head, Fluttershy gently took one of Rainbow’s hooves and holding it, “No… not really. Oh, you must be tired from your trip. Would you… If you wanted to, did you want to sit down so we could talk?”

Shivers running up her spine, Rainbow looked away as a soft blush coated her cheeks, “Yeah, sure! We can do that.”

“Okay,” Fluttershy smiled sweetly, even if a bit nervously. After releasing her hoof, Fluttershy started to lead the way, but not towards the couch. Instead, she seemed to leading over the stairway. “I hope you don’t mind, but… I’d like to put my cloak and scarf up. So, it would just be easier for us to carry on in my room here…”

Rainbow gulped silently as her wings flared, thankful that Fluttershy wasn’t looking. “Uh, okay!”

Leading on, Fluttershy made her way up to the second floor. After a few moments, she stopped in front of what used to be the guest bedroom. She fiddled with the doorknob for a moment before opening it.

“C-Come in, please… I just need a minute…”

Nodding, Rainbow Dash followed her into the bedroom, unsure of what to expect. It was silly, Fluttershy’s intentions were more than likely completely innocent. What in the world could she have been expecting? There was no possible way. It was likely just for privacy, so they could talk without having to take over one of the main traffic rooms of the library.

“Sure! So, uh…” Rainbow sat on her haunches, trying not to look at the bed, “What uh… should we yak about?”

After undoing the scarf from her neck and setting down on the night table, Fluttershy called over to her from the corner of the room, “What do mean? We haven’t had a chance to talk like this in… years. I have so many questions… if you’re will to answer, of course…” She carefully removed the cloak and-

There was a moment of fear that overcame Rainbow once the cloak was tossed over the chair. In plain sight was a scar, and not a small one. It was jagged and a dark color, running nearly the full course of her spin.

“Fluttershy! Oh my gosh, what happened?! Are you okay?!” Rainbow felt her heart sink at seeing such a horrible scar marring the beautiful pony.

Turning to face her slowly, Fluttershy held her head low, “Oh… Um, yes, I’m fine. It’s… It’s nothing, really.”

“What happened?” Dash repeated, worry etching her tone, “Did you get hurt? Did… Did somepony or something do that to you?! If they did, tell me who did it and I will make them pay!”

“N-No, that’s not needed,” Fluttershy quickly responded to her, shying away as she did, “I’ve had this for a little while now and… It was my own fault, really.”

“...You wanna talk about it?” Dash asked, biting her lip with uncertainty.

For a moment, Fluttershy hesitated, “Not really… but I guess you’d stayed worried... wouldn’t you?” She sighed a bit before crawling up onto her bed. “It was… about three years ago.”

Dash nodded, looking at her former lover with concern, silently urging her to continue.

“Maybe… a few months after you left,” Fluttershy added with quiet voice, “There was a minor incident with the weather team. Since you left, they were having a few problems finding a new member, and Thunderlane… well, he was not as capable of a leader as you were. T-There was a storm, and it got out of hoof… I tried to help them get it back under hoof a-and I did, a little bit… enough to where they could stop it, but… Well, one of the lightning strikes got my back, and I took a bad fall…”

“Oh…” Rainbow shuddered from the visual of the accident. She climbed onto the bed and embraced her, gently, “At least you tried to do something, Flutters. Can’t exactly fault ya for it.”

“I know… but what bothered me was…” Fluttershy exhaled weakly, “Was that most of Ponyville suffered from it and… almost everypony was mad at you for leaving…”

Ears drooping yet again, Rainbow pulled back and turned away from her. “I made the biggest mistake leaving, didn’t I?”

Fluttershy shook her head, “No, they were just… upset by what happened. There’s nothing wrong with following your dreams…”

“No! You don’t get it! I always made a promise that I’d never leave my friends hanging! And I did! No wonder everypony was mad when I left! Then our friends got mad at me for leaving you! Then you suffered for it physically and mentally! All for what? Just so I could live my dream?! It wasn’t worth anything! Nothing! I come back and everypony hates me! I come back and you’re suffering!”

Wings drooping as well, Dash squeezed her eyes shut, holding back the urge to cry.

“That’s not true…” Fluttershy countered in her gentle voice, running her hoof down Rainbow’s neck and chest, “I know they might act like that, but… they don’t hate you. They just don’t understand what you did or why. The storm… there’s no way of knowing that would have happened and, well, when ponies get scared or angry, they look for someone or something to blame. And besides, i-it doesn’t hurt anymore, it’s just there. But Rainbow, don’t say that about your dream… please? You always worked so hard to get where you are now, don’t say that was wasted…”

“I wish I couldn’t, but I don’t know!” Rainbow half-yelled. “I’m starting to see I shouldn’t have left!”

“You don’t know that,” Fluttershy replied gently, shaking her head, “Some things just happen. You can’t just say all your hard work… all your training and things you gave up weren’t worth it. I… I won’t let you feel like that. You just… can’t.”

“And why not?” Rainbow wiped her eyes, still not looking at her.

For moment, Fluttershy was silent. She almost looked like she was holding her breath before she left out a weak sigh, “Because… that’s not the Rainbow Dash I know.”

“...Flutters…” Rainbow turned back around, “I get it, I know. I just… wish I could’ve had my dream and still had all of you. But I screwed it up.”

Fluttershy managed to force a smile. “It’s okay, Rainbow Dash. Sometimes… things just don’t work out how we want them to. And you’re here now... aren’t you?”

“Too little, too late…” Rainbow sighed.

“It’s never too late,” Fluttershy comforted her, “Weren’t you the one that used to tell me… that dreams can change? And that… Courage is magic that can turn dreams into reality?”

Wide-eyed, Rainbow managed to look at her, recalling the very words she’d told her a long time ago. “...Yeah… I did say that, didn’t I…”

“So… don’t go giving up before you try, okay?” Fluttershy tilted her head, showing a familiar, warm smile, “Because the Rainbow Dash I know never gives up.”

Sniffling a bit and wiping her eyes, Rainbow managed to smile too. “Flutters…. you’re the best. Thanks. I needed that kick in the flank.”

Fluttershy shook her head, “No, I’m not… but it’s sweet of you to say. I just like to see you happy, that’s all.”

“...Fluttershy…” Rainbow hugged her again, nuzzling into her mane.

“Yes... Rainbow?” Fluttershy asked quietly, a faint blush on her cheeks.

“...Nothing. I’m just… I’m just glad to see you,” Rainbow murmured, pulling back to look at her a bit.

Sighing to herself happily, Fluttershy nodded in shared agreement, “I’m happy to see you again too…” For a moment, they stayed like that, enjoying nothing but the silence and odd, yet strangely welcoming warmth the two shared due to their closeness. Or so they did, until Fluttershy pulled away slowly, almost as if against her will, “You know… I still have a lot questions for you, too.”

“Yeah?” Rainbow managed a grin, “Well, I can understand that! So, you can ask, if you want.”

Shaking her head, Fluttershy let herself giggle a bit, “You haven’t changed a bit…”

“Come on, I know why you ask!” Rainbow snickered.

“Okay…” Fluttershy sighed with a smile, “So, how have you been, Rainbow? You know, we’ve been worried about you for a while now...”

Smile fading again, Dash sighed heavily, “I know, I know. I get it. It’s nothing, okay? I was just… I was busy and I was being a dumb idiot.”

Fluttershy shook her head, “No, that’s not what I meant. What I mean is… how are you in general? Where all have you been to recently with the Wonderbolts? Have you been taking care of yourself? And… Oh! Is Tank doing okay?”

“Oh! Yeah, Tank’s good. Always the same loyal little buddy!” Rainbow managed to smile, looking relieved. “I’ve uh… been doing pretty awesome, although I’m kinda looking to slow down a bit.”

“Slow down?” Fluttershy repeated, a bit surprised to hear this, “What do you mean by that?”

“Just kinda cut down on tours, I guess,” Dash shrugged.

Nodding slowly, Fluttershy tried to understand this, “I didn’t think you could do that…”

Confused, Rainbow met her gaze again, “Say what?”

“Oh, what I mean is… I’ve never heard of any of the other Wonderbolts doing that before,” Fluttershy blushed, slightly embarrassed by her earlier statement.

“Sure they do, sometimes,” Dash grinned, “So I’m gonna do it too, ya know?”

Nodding once more, Fluttershy tried to smile, “I see… Um, is there any reason why?”

Cheeks heating up, Dash looked away, “I just… wanted to be less busy so I could come back to town and see my friends, that’s all.”

“Oh, okay…” Fluttershy smiled weakly, hoping that she had not upset her friend, “I was just curious.”

“Nah, it’s okay,” Dash waved it off dismissively, “I mean, at least it’s good to know that my friends are still my friends… So it’ll be worth it to spend more time around here.”

With a bit more pep, Fluttershy smiled sweetly, “Does that mean that… I’ll get to see you more often now? That you’ll be here...?”

“Sure thing,” Rainbow blushed a bit, managing to smile too, “Kinda like the old days, before I joined.”

“The old days, as when you lived here or… the old day as when we lived in Cloudsdale?” Fluttershy cutely remarked, obviously teasing in her own way.

“You know what I mean, here!” Rainbow blushed again, trying not to laugh.

Nodding, Fluttershy giggled a bit, “Yes, I do… but it’s just a nice thought really.”

“Well, okay then!” Dash squirmed a little, looking a bit nervous, “I just gotta get all that paperwork…”

‘Wait… Was Flutters… flirting with me? Yes, she's gotta be! I remember she did it like that sometimes... YES!'

Trying to not laugh, Fluttershy again, replied, “You… actually do your own paperwork? I had always thought… you’d have somepony do that for you.”

“I kinda do. But sometimes I gotta do some of it myself,” Rainbow wrinkled her nose attractively.

“That’s understandable…” Fluttershy smiled, “But if you like, I could always help with that myself.”

Blinking in surprise, Rainbow tilted her head, “Seriously? You’d do that?”

Fluttershy nodded with glee, “Of course I would… Remember back when we were fillies, I always said that I be there to help you with stuff like that. I even remember you said that you’d hire me to be your personal sanctuary one day.”

Pausing for a few moments to remember that, Rainbow giggled, “Oh yeah! I remember now, I think. Well okay, so you can be my… personal… paperwork pony... thing!”

“I could live with that,” Fluttershy giggled as well.

“If you say so, pal!” Rainbow laughed and gave her another hug, “It’ll be a load off my back, anyway!”

Fluttershy nodded, pulling with her smile fading, “It would at least give me something to do… if nothing else. After the… accident, almost everypony treats me like I’m made out of glass. I can’t even walk around the park without somepony asking me if I need help… and since my cottage burned down during the last storm, I haven’t even been able to take care of many animals at all… aside from a small few…”

“That sucks,” Rainbow said sympathetically, frowning a bit, “But at least you’re trying to get things back together!”

“Actually, I’m fine,” Fluttershy replied, “I have been for quite some time… Any pain I use to feel from injury faded a while back. I’m more than capable of taking care of myself, but nopony seems to think so. Rarity and Twilight seem to be the most concerned though… and I don’t understand why.”

“...I think part of it’s ‘cause of me,” Rainbow replied, shaking her head.

Fluttershy hated to admit it, but she had a feeling this was true, “Maybe… But that’s not fair of them to do that… to me or you.”

“Well, ya know, they were worried and felt what I did was… kinda scummy,” Dash groaned a bit.

“But it wasn’t,” Fluttershy countered, albeit weakly, “I mean… yes, it was very upsetting for me at the time, but I understand why you did what you did… and Twilight knows why too, I think.”

Rainbow gave her a sad smile, “At least you understand, Flutters.”

Fluttershy cuddled against her friend, “I always did… in some sense.”

The blush returned as Rainbow snuggled her closer. “You’re the best, Fluttershy, ya know that? I don’t know what I did to deserve your awesomeness, but I definitely appreciate it.”

With a giggle, Fluttershy again corrected her, “Rainbow… I’m not the best. I’m just always here for you, no matter what happens…”

“Oh no you don’t! None of that modesty, Flutters!” Rainbow smirked playfully, booping her nose, “You’re the best and you know it!”

“No, no, no… You’re the best,” Fluttershy replied with a blush, “You always were.”

‘She’s way too cute for words…’

“Fine, we’re both the best! Ha!” Rainbow laughed, playfully tackling her to the bed and snuggling her.

Shaking her head, Fluttershy sighed, “I’m not sure it works like that… but okay.”

“Good,” Rainbow grinned, looking down at her.

She felt stricken, completely taken aback at just how adorable and sweet Fluttershy looked in this position. So soft, so kind, so warm. It was impossible to look away from her. It was impossible not to feel as if she were falling in love with her all over again. All at once, her wings flared to full attention.

‘Fluttershy… Gosh, she’s so beautiful… so cute and sweet. She really didn’t change a bit. She looks the same as always, or probably prettier. Yeah, I totally love her, I want her back…!’ Dash thought, uncertain all over again.

“Fluttershy?” She managed to say, her voice catching in her throat.

With a bright smile, Fluttershy looked right into her friend’s eyes, “Yes… Dashie?”

Before another word could be said, a light tapping came from the door, “Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash? Would like any hot chocolate before Pinkie gets back?” Twilight’s voice rung out from behind the door, “Afterwards, we’ll be setting up decorations, and you’re free to help if you want.”

‘Darn it, Twilight!'

“Right, yeah! Be right there!” Rainbow got off of Fluttershy, blushing heavily.

Nodding, to her, Fluttershy got off the bed and opened the door. There was a quiet exchange between the two mares that Rainbow could not hear very well, but could only assume was gossip of some kind. After a minute or so of this, holding a single glass of hot chocolate in her hooves and shy smile.

“I hope you don’t mind, but… I just asked for a glass we could share. Oh, and Pinkie Pie will be here in about half any hour too, so if you want to help with decorating… you can.”

Eyes wide, Rainbow blushed. ‘We… did that a lot back when we were dating!’ “Uh, yeah! Sure! I’ll help! That’d be fun!”

With a weak laugh, Fluttershy sat back down on the bed, taking a sip of the drink and passing it to Rainbow, “I know Pinkie will be thrilled to hear that… We’re all finally here together again.”

Taking the mug for a sip, Rainbow nodded, “Yeah… That’ll be great… It’ll be nice to spend Hearth’s Warming with you girls again.”

“Oh, speaking of which… is your old home still in good condition?” Fluttershy asked curiously, “I know it’s been a long time, I’m just wondering…”

“Yeah, it’s fine! Sometimes I send somepony over to go clean it up,” Rainbow nodded, “I also dropped by there on my way here.”

Smiling ever more, Fluttershy moved a bit closer, “Does that by chance mean… you might be wanting to move back? I-I know even with the Wonderbolt tour dates and all, you wouldn’t be here all the time, but still… it would be nice if you did.”

“Uh…” Rainbow considered, then smiled, “Yeah. I’d still have to go to headquarters in Cloudsdale, but I can otherwise live at my house most of the time.”

Oddly enough, Fluttershy seemed very happy to hear this, “If that’s the case… even if you did go back to full time, I’d be able see you more often… right?”

Drinking down some more hot chocolate, Dash handed it back to Fluttershy. “I sure think so. Maybe I really did make a big deal out of nothing before. I guess I didn’t really have to worry so much.”

“Maybe…” Fluttershy quietly remarked. She took the glass, but did not drink any this time. Instead, they sat there for few minutes until a certain question rung out, “Rainbow… are you, by chance… dating anypony?”

Puzzled, Rainbow looked at her with a raised brow, “No, I’m not dating anypony. Why?”

“Even after all this time?” Fluttershy silently asked, despite the fact it sounded more like it was observation.

“Uh, yeah. I was kinda busy and not really in the mood to date,” Rainbow shrugged, shaking her head, “I never dated anypony after you.”

With a deep blush, Fluttershy started to mumble to herself, “Does that mean we could…” She however shook her head, “Nevermind, I’m sorry… I-I didn’t mean to pry... I was just curious.”

A wide grin overcame Rainbow’s face as she hovered over the bed, her wings flapping excitedly.

“Did you just say what I thought you said?!”

Blinking with surprise, Fluttershy looked up at her, “I’m… actually not sure. What did you think I said?”

“You asked me if I was dating or ever dated since we broke up, then I said no… and you said maybe we could-could what? Date again?!” Rainbow asked hopefully, grinning excitedly.

Fluttershy fell silent for a moment, unsure of how to react, or even respond to this after all this time apart. Was it a dream? Was this really happening? Nervously, she pulled back, blushing a bright crimson. She was so conflicted in what she should say, do, or even think. Finally, with her head lowered a bit, in her usual, quiet voice, she replied.

“... Y-Yes…”

“Yeah?!”

The door burst open, revealing a very excited Pinkie Pie, “Hello, girls! There you are!”

All too soon, Fluttershy recoiled back in shock on multiple levels, nearly falling off the bed. Pinkie had, just as she always did, managed to show up at just the right time to frighten her friends.

Undeterred, Pinkie took them both by the hooves and dragged them downstairs. “Glad you girls finally managed to chat! That’s goodie! So now we can get to decorating! It’s gonna be fun!”

“Pinks, you can let us go. We know where the room is,” Rainbow muttered, rolling her eyes slightly.

“Um… Yes, please?” Fluttershy added in as well, “I know you’re excited since Rainbow’s back and all… but we’ll be down in just a second.”

“Too late! Here we are!” Pinkie released them as they came downstairs.

Twilight and Spike were sorting through some boxes, pulling out all kinds of decorations. To further add to the spirit, Spike was even wearing a Santa Hooves hat on his head.

Sighing, Fluttershy looked to their friend, “Well… thank you, Pinkie.”

“You’re welcome!” Pinkie skipped over to Twilight, nudging her side.

Rainbow shrugged, taking a hat and placing it onto Fluttershy’s head, “Guess we may as well get started.”

“R-Right…” Fluttershy blushed, nervously looking over at Rainbow Dash, “I’ll just… Um… ask what’s needs to be done.”

“Yeah, sure! You go that way, I’ll go this way,” Rainbow grinned nervously, turning to go toward the left of the room.

“Twi-Twi!” Pinkie sidled up to the alicorn again, “Hang this up, right over there!”

Twilight gave her an odd look, “This? Why over there? Would this look better over the doorway?”

Pinkie shook her head, “Nope! We’re going to be strategic!”

“Strategic? For what reason?” Twilight inquired. “I haven’t heard of anypony doing that with mistletoe.”

“Duh! We have to make sure they get under it, silly!”

“Who are you talking about?” Twilight asked her very point blankly.

Pinkie poked her nose, “Flutters and Dashie, of course!”

Blinking with mild surprise, Twilight rolled her eyes, “Should we not be interfering with them? It is the first time they’ve seen one another in years after all…”

“Noooo! It’s okay! We’re going to set it in a nice spot where they’ll see it! So when they’re ready, they’ll go right under it and it’ll be kissy time!” Pinkie winked.

“Pinkie, nopony is gonna be able to see that there until they look up,” Twilight countered, pointing out the clearly obvious.

“Exactly,” Pinkie snickered.

“But you just said- oh, never mind,” Twilight sighed. The then took the mistletoe and hung it in the archway concealed by hung tensile and Christmas lights. “I just hope you know what you’re doing…”

“I do, my lovely, I do,” Pinkie kissed her cheek. She took the mistletoe in her tail, skipping about the room. “Oohhh Fluttershy! Come here, please!”

Fluttershy looked over to Pinkie and trotted over slowly, “Yes, Pinkie? Is there something wrong?”

“Wrong? No, silly! I just need your help!” Pinkie snickered, shaking her head, “I have some mistletoe here, you see, and I need a good spot to put it!”

“Mistletoe? But… I thought that you and Twilight were hanging that this year?” Fluttershy asked, slightly confused.

“We’re hanging a few of them,” Pinkie said nonchalantly, “And I wanted a second opinion!”

Now that was surprising to Fluttershy, “You want a... second opinion? From me?”

“Yeppers!” Pinkie nodded, grinning widely.

“W-Well… okay,” Fluttershy stammered out.

“So, where should I put it? Here? Or there?”

Looking around, Fluttershy shook her head. Not only was this somewhat out of character for the party planner, but it felt odd that she would come to her rather than Twilight. With a sigh, Fluttershy replied, “Um… why not over there, by the fireplace?”

Grinning widely, Pinkie obliged as she placed the sprig over the fireplace. “Excellent! Good choice, Flutter-butter!”

“But, I don’t understand-” Fluttershy began, still confused by this.

“Yo, Pinks,” Rainbow called over, approaching the two, “Where do you want this… glittery stuff?”

“Around the mantle!” Pinkie said, winking. She then skipped over to spruce up the refreshment table.

“Need some help, Dashie?” Fluttershy asked, smiling.

There it was again, her old, playful nickname being said by the only pony Rainbow Dash did not mind hearing it from. With a nervous smile, she handed the other end of the tensile to Fluttershy, “Yeah, I could use a bit, actually. Make it easier if we get both sides at the same time.”

“That’s very true, Rainbow,” Fluttershy agreed, taking the other end of the tinsel in her mouth. She flew up to one side of the fireplace, while Rainbow flew up onto the other side, placing the tinsel along the mantle.

After carefully hanging it up over the mantle, Rainbow sighed once the task was done and touched down under the archway of the room, “Thanks, ‘Shy. I think it looks pretty good from here.”

“You’re right, it does,” Fluttershy came to stand next to her. Her eyes drifted to the mistletoe, then she giggled as she nuzzled her former lover, “Rainbow? There’s something else.”

“Huh, what?” Rainbow asked, unsure what she meant by this. “Did I miss a spot or something?”

A soft blush coated the canary yellow mare’s cheeks as she approached Rainbow. She then pointed upward with her head, her eyes never leaving her friend the entire time. “Look.”

And there it was: a mistletoe. For a moment, Rainbow Dash was silent as her face lit up like red lights on the decorated tree. She was breathless, trying to consider what she should say, let alone do.

“Flutters… You know, we don’t gotta if you don’t wanna,” Dash replied with a shaky voice, blushing a deep shade of crimson.

Smiling all the more, Fluttershy brought her forelegs around her neck and leaned close. “I love you…” She cooed, then touched their lips together in a tender kiss.

Wings flaring, body numbing, spine tingling, Rainbow Dash surrendered completely. She kissed Fluttershy back, embracing her as she melted into it with pure bliss. The very feeling of home, finally returning home, was all upon her. There truly was nowhere else she’d rather be than right here in Ponyville. With her friends, with the love of her life, and everything else in between.

The Wonderbolts were indeed her job and dream, something she would continue pursuing. But her place, her home, her heart, was right here.

Even when she could hear the excited, forgiving voices of Applejack and Rarity somewhere behind them, even when Pinkie was cheering and snapping photos… Rainbow Dash was too happy, as was Fluttershy. With the Hearth’s Warming holidays fast approaching, the two reunited mares made the most of their rekindled love.

Author's Note

Merry Christmas, everyone! :) Poison Cure and I had managed to finish this puppy, then Lathier managed to get it edited! Here's to the holidays! ^w^ With some FlutterDash! 8D Yay!

See you guys next year!