Carousel Boutique, Ponyville, 1845 hours (no ongoing operation)

"So then... If you're not going to use them..." Rarity finally said, breaking the welcomed silence. She had only been sitting with Dash and Fluttershy in the Boutique for a few minutes before no longer being able to control herself. However, as she always told... well, anypony, really, ignoring a problem never actually fixed it. Be it as it may that ignoring the problem certainly made it feel better, that kind of "feeling better" was a lot like spending the day at Sugarcube Corner with no spending limit- sure it would feel good, but unless your name was Pinkie Pie, your heart was going to explode due to the sugar intake. Really, you can't go to Sugarcube Corner without blowing your entire budget at Sugarcube Corner. It was like a Sonic Rainboom, or Dreamwalking. Sure, it was possible, but only one pony out there could do it without hurting themselves. Stay focused, Rarity, the white unicorn thought to herself, noticing her thoughts going off on such a tangent. This is about Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, not... cupcakes.

Dash gave a long, heavy sigh, not like the others she had given all these years. It wasn't like a sigh she would give when she lay down for a nap after a long day of training of cloudbusting, nor was it like the sigh when she had told the rest of the girls about her and Fluttershy. No, this was different- for the first time in her life (as far as she could remember, at least), she was genuinely depressed, and it wasn't something a good flying session would fix. "Yes, Rarity. You can have our reservations."

Dash didn't want to talk. Fluttershy could see that. She could also see that Rarity didn't see that. Love the mare though she may, sometimes that unicorn could be so... oblivious to the needs and true desires of others short of physically hurting them- quite unbecoming for the former Element of Generosity and current representative for Selflessness on Twilight's Council of Friendship. Dash usually enjoyed talking so much, and Fluttershy was a pretty good listener, never being able to bring herself to interrupt when her marefriend was regaling her with a tale of her own aerial exploits. So much did the cyan pony enjoy talking that Fluttershy remembered one date night the two had a while back, where she wanted to say so much that dinner had been prepared, gone cold, and needed to be reheated before she remembered the reason she was at the cottage.

So fond were those memories that the other pegasus was frightened when Dash didn't want to talk, even if was just idle chatter. Timid as she may be, she was more than willing to interrupt Rarity if it meant at least trying to make Dash a little more comfortable. "That does seem a little excessive for a first date, doesn't it, Rarity? With a stallion who just caught your eye and you knowing nothing about him?" Silently, she cursed herself for even bringing that up. While it was true at this point that she had far more romantic experience than the unicorn, she really needed to learn how to watch her tongue when she talking about Rarity's love life, lest she live in the fear of having it ripped out in a light blue magical haze.

"First impressions are everything, darling. You of all ponies should know that." Rarity glanced away from the chromatic mane that now found rest atop her table towards Fluttershy. "Though I suppose that you two really have known each other forever, haven't you?" A groan escaped from Dash's mouth, causing the two other mares to look at her with concern. She said nothing, but Rarity nevertheless was able to take *that* hint. "Well then, dears. It's still your anniversary tonight, and if I must, I will force you to make the most of it." With that, she stood up from her seat and began to walk towards the foyer of the shop, calling out a small "I'll be right back" to the couple in her dining room.

Slowly, Fluttershy wrapped a wing around the other pegasus, just like it had been done to her all those times before, leaning in and gently nuzzling the inside of the cyan neck. "So... no Garcôn's." Undoubtedly, the response would be negative. Fluttershy hated negative. Thus, the only logical thing to do was continue without waiting for a response that was going to be something she hated. "You're coming to my place then. I'll cook us something, and we can cuddle by the fire and read, or go stargazing, or..."

Dash lifted her head from the table for the first time since they had gotten to Rarity's place. She looked over at Fluttershy, instantly greeted by the deep blue eyes of the other mare, so full of caring and passion. A small giggle, not big enough to pull her out of the depths of despair but certainly enough to relieve some of the tension in her aching heart, left Dash's mouth. "You're starting to remind me of Twilight. It's... It's kinda freaking me out."

Those words almost literally made Fluttershy's heart melt. Not because of what was said, but because it almost sounded happy coming from the mouth of a newly appointed- and utterly disappointed- soldier. Knowing that she could make Dash happy was all she ever really wanted from herself, all the way back to when she was just a little filly. She leaned over and rested her muzzle on the cyan neck beside her as Rarity proudly marched into the room, Rainbow Dash's saddlebags covering her own cutie mark.

The fact that Rarity not only had, but was wearing Dash's saddlebags confused Fluttershy beyond what any reasonable mind would have thought possible. She stole a look away from Rarity back towards the cyan pegasus, but quickly let down her guard upon noticing that Dash wasn't in the slightest bit worried or confused. If anything, she seemed to become re-depressed upon seeing them. That special surprise she mentioned, maybe?

Using her magic, Rarity lay the saddlebags next to the exit of her shop, then turned to face the kitchen. She caught sight of her houseguests and motioned for them to come to the door, saying to them, "Come on now, darlings. I told you before, it's your anniversary. Making the most of it is not spending the night in the Boutique, marvelous though it may be." A friendly, though somehow mischievous grin crept upon her face. "Besides, I've got a date to prepare for as well."

Fluttershy was out the door when Rarity turned to face Dash, who was still in the boutique, though she was getting ready to leave any moment. Her saddlebags secured firmly secured on her flanks, she began walking out the door, only to catch Rarity whispering in her ear. "Are you sure you're ready for this, Dash? It's a big jump..."

Dash sighed once again, knowing how disappointed her friend was going to be with the bad news. "Not tonight, Rares. I just... I can't do it." With a heavy heart, she left the boutique. All that planning, thrown out the door by five little words.

You're going to war, Dash.

Fluttershy's cottage, Ponyville outskirts, 1930 hours (no ongoing operations)

The rest of the night went about as expected- that is to say, it would've been a wonderful evening if it weren't for the foul mood in the air. True to her word, Fluttershy had cooked up a small dinner for her and her marefriend, and true to her word, Dash had barely touched it before claiming to be full. Not willing to argue, Fluttershy let it go. True, it was something of a regular occurrence for Dash to come over and almost devour the house (even for a pony as athletic as her, Fluttershy couldn't help but wonder how much of Dash was actually pony with an appetite that strong). After clearing the small table outside the cottage, the two pegasi sat it comfortable silence, watching the sunset, huddled together as close as the could be without suffocating each other.

Just as Celestia's sun fell below the horizon to make gangway for Luna's moon in the skies over Equus, a sudden sigh escaped the butter pegasus. "It's our first date all over again, isn't it?"

Rainbow Dash, for her part, simply lay there, her read resting upon the other's chest. Fluttershy was right- it was there first date. They'd had dinner, followed by watching the sunset, albeit that evening was for more romantic than awkward. She remembered Twilight remarking how cute the demiromanticism of the situation was, but Dash just didn't get it. Then again, she never really gave much thought to any romance, let alone one with her long-time fillyhood friend. She learned that night just how wrong she was- and never had she been so happy to be that wrong. Usually, being wrong meant being seriously injured, and thus being in the hospital. Fluttershy made that illusion come crashing down around her, something she would forever be grateful for. Despite whatever anypony might think of her, Dash understood that she didn't know everything. That was supposed to be reason for the special night, apart from celebration of the two year mark.

She needed answers.

Several minutes passed before she was ready to get them, though. The stars poked their shiny heads through the veil of the blackened sky, one by one, as the night began to take its hold over the nation. Luna brought them all out for the occasion, after Twilight wrote a letter to the Princess of the Moon to call in a favor. Rarity may have been the Element of Generosity, but even with Twilight being a princess, having another of them owe you a favor was a big deal- the kind of big deal that could get you really far in life. Of course, Twilight refused to tell Dash what all that favor encompassed, though, so it came as a bit of shock to everypony when the sky began to bleed all the colors of the rainbow, a beautiful aurora covering over some of the stars, replacing them with something much prettier- and rarer. As the ribbons of color danced through the sky, Dash turned to her marefriend.

"Hey, 'Shy?"

Fluttershy took a moment to respond, immediately recognizing the cyan pegasus's voice but not wanting to give up the moment, so enamored was she with the sight before her. She did, however, sense a slight hint of worry in Dash's voice, and no amount of beauty in the sky was going to keep her from the beauty at her side. She turned to her side, met with questioning, innocent magenta eyes, if such a thing would have been possible for a mare like Rainbow Dash. "Hm? Oh, what is it, Dash?"

Rainbow Dash swallowed, the gulping noise piercing through the silent night, save for the chirping of the crickets from the edge of the Everfree Forest. Dash would never know how, but Fluttershy had somehow been convinced, likely by herself, to get the animals out of the cottage for the night, adding to the romance of the evening. After all, if Dash's happiness meant more to Fluttershy than the animals, there wasn't likely anything on earth that would stop that pegasus from doing whatever it took to see her marefriend happy. "Why do you love me?"

Fluttershy hesitated. True, in the two years they had been dating, Dash had never told Fluttershy that she loved her, too. But she had always assumed that it would eventually come down to Dash breaking up with her or Dash coming to the conclusion that she did in fact love her too. Either way, Dash would be able to be happy- and that was all Fluttershy ever asked for. That being said, right now, what was going to make her happy was an answer to a question the pink-maned pegasus never expected to hear nor answer. It was unquestionably, undeniably true- she did love Rainbow Dash, and made it a point to say so quite frequently. Why she loved her though... hopefully something would come to her on the spot.

Unfortunately, Dash noticed the hesitation before she could begin to give her answer. "Never mind." Depression leaked into her voice, cracking it up as small tears found their way into the cyan pony's eyes. "It was a stupid question."

"No, it wasn't." Fluttershy took advantage of the fact that Dash was looking right at her, seizing the opportunity to plant a quick kiss on her lover's lips. "I love you because... well, because you're you." Ignoring the look of confusion on Dash's face, she pressed on. "Rainbow Dash is kind. She's caring, she's generous, she's honest, she's happy almost all the time. She's loyal, too, of course. Do you remember way back when we were just little fillies, during that race when I fell from Cloudsdale?"

Dash nodded in reply as Fluttershy lay down on her haunches, maneuvering herself into facing the visibly brighter face in front of her. "When I fell off that cloud, I was scared beyond belief. Sure, I was so happy when I got to see the butterflies and meet all the animals, but still." Dash couldn't help herself but smile as Fluttershy slipped into her "storyteller" mode, any semblance of the shyness that had formerly dominated her persona melting away as she finally settled down. "An hour passed on the ground, and I had just started wondering how I was going to get home. That wonder slipped to worry, which turned to fear. Then, the most incredible thing happened. I saw you." Rainbow's cheeks flushed as she remembered flying down from Cloudsdale to see if the filly she'd never even bothered to learn the name of was OK. After all, it was technically her fault that Fluttershy had fallen in the first place.

"You came and found me that evening, and you stayed with me that night. Seeing how helpless I was, I'm not sure I would have blamed you if you just left me there and forgot about me. I probably would have just left me there and forgotten about me. But not you. You stayed the entire night with me. I actually woke up before you- you never left my side. When I told you I couldn't fly back up to Cloudsdale, you tried to carry me. You tried the whole day, and conceded on 'resting' rather than giving up. You just wanted to get us home.

"When morning came again, I told you to stop, and you argued. So you carried me over the forest to look for somepony to help me. You carried me all the way to Ponyville. You never left me, and I could never thank you enough for it. That's how loyal you were- loyal enough to stick by a pony you barely even knew whereas everypony else had simply given up on her. I've always loved that about you. But that's not the reason I love you.

"I love you because you are unquestionably, undeniably Rainbow Dash. My marefriend, Rainbow Dash."

It didn't even take a second before Fluttershy's back became pinned to the ground, her wings flaring out as Dash sprang forward and pushed her down, a deep, passionate kiss planted firmly on her lips. "Thank you. For that. It's just what I needed," she whispered into Fluttershy's ear as she broke the kiss.

"It's no problem. You should know that by now."

It was well past eleven o'clock by the time the two had found their way from their positions in front of the cottage's fireplace into bed. It was their anniversary, after all, and it would have been such a shame to let the day's more intimate moments go to waste. After the more passionate parts of being a couple, though, Rainbow Dash was at a loss. She couldn't help but worry, maybe for the first time in forever, for her own safety. She'd made her life goal to join the Wonderbolts, Equestria's premier show team, after all. Personal risk was to be expected from them, and honestly, she'd never really paid it any mind. Until war, that is.

Maybe she wasn't as egghead- well-read, Dash reminded herself- as Twilight, but after being introduced to Daring Do, she'd broadened her horizons considerably. She'd read war novels before, and she had to admit, she loved them. They were good reads, until she was confronted with the idea of practically participating in one. She understood death. And Rainbow Dash was afraid.

She was snapped out of her thoughts by a pair of yellow hooves wrapping around her chest. She mumbled something incomprehensible, only to be met with a soft whisper from their owner. "You know, Dash, the way I see it, you've got two choices. Either you fall asleep, here and now, in my hooves, or you fall asleep on the train tomorrow without them and probably get laughed at by that commander Twilight was talking about. You know which one I'd prefer."

Hearing the words, Dash couldn't stop herself from smiling. "I know, 'Shy." She sighed in contentment, adding, "I love you."

Half expecting Fluttershy to explode from hearing those three words for the first time from her mouth, she was only about two percent disappointed when the only words that met her back "I love you, too."

The yellow pegasus's grip around her tightened, and Dash thought back to the conversation she'd had with Rarity earlier that day. I just... I can't do it. She wanted to, she really did, but she didn't think that she could. Until she heard those four words back. I love you, too. They served to strengthen her resolve, turning the thread of her mind into solid steel. She was ready. She really was.

"Fluttershy, will you..." she began, but was stopped as a soft snore, almost imperceptible, caught her ears, signaling that Fluttershy was fast asleep. "You're right, 'Shy."

She let out a sigh and lay her head on the pillow bellow her. Just before sweet sleep overtook her, she whispered into the nothingness of the night, "It's a bad time for that, anyways."

Author's Note

Continuity. It's a thing that happens now.
Well, I'm two days late on this chapter, at least. Honestly, I thought one of my editors/proofreaders was going to kill me in my sleep before today, but it turns out that none of them have really been doing their jobs lately. So, this may actually be full of mistakes that cause me to end up with 100 dislikes. Thanks a lot, guys.

demiromanticism- how many of you actually know what that word means? if you do, congrats. Seriously.

I really do apologize. I try my best all the time, but I'm just not that good at writing "fluff". Hey, I guess we call it a learning experience, right? Enjoy, everypony!