Outskirts of Ponyville, 1730 hours (no ongoing operation)

A familiar wind rushed up to greet Rainbow Dash as she continued to accelerate, cutting through the clouds high above the field as though they were butter. She stole a glance back at the ground, remembering to catalog everything she saw there, as she always did. Today, however, was different. As she looked down, she made special note of the pony watching her, whose mouth was gaped open in admiration. Like it had all those times before upon seeing, Dash's mouth couldn't help itself but to creep into a smile, slowly at first before it suddenly overcame her entire muzzle. Fluttershy never really came with her when she flew, choosing instead to sit on the ground and watch, so every single time they came out here, Dash went one hundred and fifty percent to impress the mare. And every single time, she felt like she would need a week long nap to get rid of the knots in her wings from pushing them so hard. But every single time, it was worth the pain to see that smile draped across her mouth.

Of course, Rainbow Dash would do just about anything to make any of her friends smile, short of flying across Equestria. But there was something about Fluttershy's smile that just did it for her, no matter how often she got to see it these days. Though she doubted it was the entire reason, she knew it played a big part in saying "yes" two years ago, to the day, when to her surprise, Fluttershy had flown up to her door to ask her to dinner. When Dash had tripped on her words at first, she'd gotten the opportunity to see sad Fluttershy- something she hoped to never need to repeat.

Flying at such high speeds, nopony could have reacted any better than Dash did when she slammed into a cloud, not causing any lasting damage to her routine, but nevertheless snapping her back into consciousness of what she was doing. Right then, she silently cursed herself. Routine now, cute flashbacks later. Letting herself get distracted was usually such a big "don't" for Dash, but she couldn't help it, at least not this time around.

Suddenly, she turned her attention straight up, her wings following her eyes, her body following her wings. She flew higher and higher, making sure to enjoy the feeling of the brisk wind that always blew at that altitude. When she finally reached her target height, she felt a slight updraft push against her, letting her know it was time. Almost immediately, she stopped flapping her wings, allowing herself to be carried mere feet by said updraft before falling backwards into a nose dive. She used her wings to gently glide slightly off where she had started her fall from, carefully positioning herself directly over Fluttershy before pushing as hard as she could. As she raced towards the ground, a familiar cone formed around her outstretched forelegs, the tip becoming more refined as she picked up speed. The cone itself seemed to become stressed under the pressure, its inanimate mind knowing that Dash would outlast it. Its resistance proven futile, it gave out in a massive, ringing explosion of colors behind Dash, directly above Fluttershy's head. A halo, then, Dash thought to herself, noticing the Rainboom forming above her marefriend's head. For my angel...

Another cloud, another shattered thought. Why does this keep happening to me? That thought, however, was quickly dismissed. Seeing that Rainboom over her head would undoubtedly have already made Fluttershy feel just as happy as any moment of her life (and she was very happy, very often), But Dash couldn't let herself stop there. No, that would make her a one-trick pony, and she was anything but. She wouldn't accept that from herself, and she knew all to well neither would the Wonderbolts.

Instead, she took herself back up to altitude, entering a slightly over-dramatic ninety-degree turn back into the air. Finally having room to not crash no matter what crazy stunt she was thinking about trying at these speeds, Dash began the higher risk portion of her routine- granted, said portion had yet to be planned. In fact, looking back on it, Dash had quickly decided that this was a very bad idea. She never really meant to sound like Twilight, but noticing that she thought it was a bad idea simply because she hadn't planned it reminded her of the violet alicorn, a fond memory welcomed by her mind. Oh come on, she thought. When has "bad idea" ever stopped Rainbow Dash? A series of barrel rolls and loops followed the thought, the wind against her face causing Dash to grin like a madmare.

The insane maneuvers finished, Dash decided it was time to gather a second opinion on the routine. Still flying at super sonic speeds, she ceased flapping her wings and pulled up, not allowing herself to be carried up with her body, but instead continuing to go forward. Pain coursed through her body as she felt her wings almost get torn straight off as she allowed her former momentum to catch up to her. Her forward motion finally stopped, she quickly succumbed to the laws of gravity, going into yet another dive straight towards her observer, this time at a much more gentle pace. As she arrived at the top of the hill whereupon Fluttershy was perched, she flared her wings one last time, bringing her hind legs down to the ground before she stood on all fours. Having only now realized just how much the routine took out of her, she turned to Fluttershy and managed to ask her in-between gasps for air, "How was that?"

The cyan mare didn't know what to expect, and thus was caught extremely off guard when her question was met not with words, but with a deep, passionate kiss from the other. Not wanting to be outdone, Dash gathered her remaining strength into her hind legs, thanking any powers-that-be that she hadn't actually been working them. Taking Fluttershy into her embrace, forelegs draped around the yellow pegasus's neck, Dash pushed off the ground, taking her lover onto her back as she showered the other mare with kisses. To the dismay of both parties involved, Dash was simply too out of breath to continue the kisses for any extended periods of time. When she did pull away, Fluttershy looked deep into her magenta eyes and whispered to her, "it was at least twenty percent cooler than last time." She wrapped her own forelegs around Dash's neck and pulled her closer, gently nuzzling the inside of her neck.

"Oh," Rainbow replied, only the slightest hint of irritation in her voice. Really, who could stay mad at Fluttershy? "So you're resorting to stealing my lines now?" She shot a look of "Really, 'Shy?" down at the other mare, an eyebrow raised questioningly.

"Oh, yes." The response came as little more than a whisper from behind Fluttershy's mane, which had been converted into something of a shield, the timid mare constantly hiding behind it. Her jade eyes barely poking out, she added a catchphrase of her own. "If... um... if that's OK with you..."

The cyan pony let out a small elation in response, as though to subconsciously say that it was. Her breath now fully restored, she leaned down from her position and pulled her marefriend into another kiss, this one lasting much, much longer. Their tongues danced for a while until Dash slowly pulled away, causing Fluttershy's head to follow her own upwards, not wanting the moment to end. "Happy anniversary, 'Shy. Do me a favor and never change."

She finally relieved herself from her position, stepping off to the side to allow Fluttershy to stand with her. She looked out on the horizon once more and saw the sun coming dangerously close to setting- there was still so much more to do that day, they would be running out of time if they didn't hurry. Extending a hoof to the pink-haired pony, who graciously accepted, Dash said to her, "It's almost sunset. We should get going if we're going to make it to dinner."

Fluttershy, now standing, gently brushed her mane out of her face. "Right then. Let's get going. If, you know..." she began to say, but was quickly cut off.

"Don't even think about it." Of course she'd be expecting that, Fluttershy thought to herself as she felt the other pegasus drape a wing over her body, using it to pull her closer. I just used it.

After a couple of minute of walking- the two walked almost everywhere to better accommodate Fluttershy's half-fear of flight- the rolling hills finally gave way to a view of the small town of Ponyville.

Alas, the timid one couldn't take it anymore. "So..." she began, surprised by Dash's sudden reaction, turning to Fluttershy almost immediately. Not letting herself be phased, however, she pressed on. "Where are we going, exactly?"

"So impatient, 'Shy." The yellow pony almost began apologizing instantly until she noticed the expression on her marefriend's face wasn't one of annoyance, but content. "First off, I need to stop by Rare's to pick something up. Then it's off to dinner at Garcôn's place." Dash looked deep into the other mare's eyes, and said softly, "Plus a special surprise later."

"Why would you need to go to Rarity's?" Fluttershy asked, her brain only being able to process one thing at a time before suddenly noticing the second part. At that moment, she performed a small dance that may have seemed normal to any passerby, but was known to her friends as "Fluttershy freaking out". It felt to her as though her heart had exploded, put itself back together, then exploded again. "We're going to Garcôn's?" Her voice, while audibly timid, contained an unbridled excitement, detectable only to a trained ear.

That glee, however, was cut off when the two of them bumped into a strange unicorn stallion for having not paid nearly enough attention to the road in front of them. Glancing up at him, Dash suddenly realized that he was staring back. "Miss Rainbow Dash, Miss Fluttershy?" He spoke in a low, monotone voice. Fluttershy took a few steps back, obviously intimidated by the stallion, so it was up to Dash to answer the question.

"Yes, that's us. Can we help you?" And would you be so kind as to get out of our way? She tried to keep the irritation out of her voice, she really did, but it couldn't be helped at this point.

Fortunately, the stallion didn't seem to notice. Or, he just didn't care. "Princess Twilight Sparkle requests your presence in the Council Chambers as soon as possible."

Twilight knew we had plans, though... "Yeah right. We're busy, Twilight can wait." Dash took a look back at her marefriend, who looked like she was getting ready to cry. It would probably take some time to console her. So much for a perfect night...

"She had feared that would be your reaction, and instructed me to pass on a message. Twilight can wait; Princess Twilight Sparkle can not." With that, he began to walk away, leaving two very confused ponies in his wake. Both of them knew exactly what he had meant by that- if Twilight was pulling rank, this was important.

The cyan pegasus turned around ever so slowly, an obvious look of dismay now adorning her almost always smiling face. "Come on, 'Shy. Let's go see what she wants."

Ponyville Castle, 1830 hours (no ongoing operation)

It was a short walk to Twilight's castle at the edge of the town, which left little time to think about just what it is that Princess Twilight Sparkle could want with the two lovers on the most important night of the year. The more she thought about it, though, the more Dash realized it was probably for the best that the stallion had gotten to them before they reached the Boutique- better to see Rarity here than having to search the town for her.

Dash's wing hadn't left it's position on Fluttershy's back since they had received the message, and to both parties delight, it seemed to do an pretty good job of calming her nerves. Opening the door into the castle itself, the two were met by Applejack, who wore an expression of impatience- a lot of impatience- on her face. "Well there ya two are! We've been waitin' for ya, come on!"

Walking into the council chambers that day was no different that any other, even the first- that is to say, nopony could help themselves but to feel pretty insignificant while they stood in that room. Applejack retook her seat, with Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy doing the same. After a moment of extremely uncomfortable silence, Rarity finally spoke up. "Twilight, darling, are you going to tell us WHY you called us all here?"

Twilight, for her part, simply sighed a rather loud sigh. "I called you here today because I bring very bad news from Canterlot," Twilight began saying, slowly trying to get back into the "Princess" setting. "To put it in the words of Princess Luna, and I quote, 'Diplomacy has failed, like it always does for some reason. Now will be the time for action, the time for loyalty- the time for heroes.'"

A rather awkward silence filled the room, growing only stranger as the seconds passed, questioning looks on everypony's faces as they waited for Twilight to continue. "Girls, for the first time in a thousand years, Equestria is going to war." Twilight hung her head, as though ashamed to say the words aloud.

"That's bad an' all, but Ah really don't see what it has to do wit' any of us, Twi." Applejack broke the geas that had come over the friends.

"As Princess of Equestria, I'm to serve as a sort of military commander. That's the reason I was in Canterlot for a week rather than overnight- I practically locked myself in the library reading all the books I could find about stuff like that. Combined with Luna's teaching me, I feel as though I'm pretty ready.

"No matter how ready Equestria is, however, we lack the numbers to do this. The griffons themselves we can handle, but recent reports suggest they've allied with the zebras, and we don't have the kind of force to take them both on. I've read the reports myself, and despite my limited understanding of the situation, they seem to be legitimate. So, Luna and Celestia decided on a draft.

"After the whole Tirek thing, my influence in this nation expanded greatly. I worked my hardest to keep you girls out of it, but it only goes so far. The census bureau has far more power than me in the case of a draft for war."

Twilight breathed out yet another heavy sigh, reluctant to say the words she had spent so much time practicing, freaking out and losing sleep over. "All but one name was kept out of it. I'm sorry, I truly am, but Rainbow Dash is coming with me to the border to serve on a base out that way."

Everypony's jaws hit the floor, literally in the case of Pinkie Pie. No words were spoken for quite some time, Twilight's head hung low as the other five simply stared at her.

"I'm really sorry, Dash," Twilight finally spoke up. "You've always been loyal to your friends. Now I have to ask you, hopefully only once, to be loyal to your country."

Author's Note

Universe, thank you for letting me finish this. That makes me really freaking happy. As for all of you, I hope it makes you all happy too! Please, let me know what you think!