Epilogue

Rainbow Dash had slipped into sleep without knowing it.

That is, until Soarin shook her on the side.

“Wake up, Dash! C’mon, the session starts in five minutes!”

She awoke slowly, her sleepy eyes probing Soarin for a valid reason to arouse her.

Soarin’s expression softened. “Between you and me, I would’ve let you sleep and told Spitfire that you injured yourself.”

A faint smile graced Dash’s face. “I always knew you as a good friend, Soar.”

“Unfortunately, the probability of Spitfire letting you sleep is somewhere in the negatives. Now get up and let’s get downstairs.”

Dash nodded, stood up, and walked in the general direction of the door.

Soarin supported her as they descended the stairs until Dash was fully awake. They were greeted by the sight of the full Wonderbolts team waiting impatiently for their two officers to arrive. Rapidfire noticed the pair and raised an eyebrow; Dash sheepishly blushed and Soarin shrugged.

Blaze nudged Spitfire, who nodded and heaved open the door with minimal effort. Thirteen pegasi flew out, leaving the captain and Lieutenant Rainbow Dash.

The sheepish blush came back but was blocked by a stern glare.

“Lieutenant.” The word seemed to be loaded with spikes that drilled into Dash's will to keep her voice from shaking.

“Er…yes, ma’am?”

Spitfire relaxed. “I kinda figured out what was happening. Rapidfire talked to me about it after breakfast, and I thought to let you recover, I’d go a little easier on you.”

“Wait! It’s seriously not what it looks like!" Dash straightened, remembering her discussion with herself in the shower.

“Humor me.” Spitfire grinned, noticing her lieutenant's discomfort.

“Well, I’m straight.”

“Of course you are. I’ve seen you and Thunderlane, and sometimes Soarin.”

“Hey! I do not have a thing for Soarin--!" Dash stopped herself and lowered her head, examining her hooves. "…that’s not what you thought, then.”

“Nope.” The smile morphed into a straight face.

Rainbow Dash blushed again. “Oh, ‘cuz I was seriously questioning both of our sexualities--!”

“Lieutenant, I am straight.” With the end of that sentence, Spitfire stomped her hoof on the polished linoleum floor for emphasis. “I’m only attracted to stallions, and you are most certainly not a stallion.” She went on with a gentler tone. “Furthermore, I know you as a friend and an underling now. Do you understand me?”

Dash was stunned into silence.

Spitfire sighed. “Sorry, I get like that sometimes.”

“Don’t think I don’t know that. I’ve seen you and Rapidfire arguing over his troubling sleep schedule – and how much of a pervert he is,” Dash replied.

Her captain smiled weakly. “Yeah…that was a sticky situation.”

“Now tell me what you were thinking, Cap – er, Spitfire.”

“Just a minor inferiority complex.”

“…which means what exactly?”

“You thought that you were inferior to me as a whole and tried to keep your distance.”

It was Dash’s turn to sigh. “Yeah, that sounds about right. Especially after the Lightning Dust incident, I was terrified of what you could actually do.”

“Hey. I would never expel you from the Academy just like that,” Spitfire reassured her. “Besides, at that moment, you were almost mature enough to join.”

“I was?”

At this, Spitfire snorted. “Well, in a way, yes. You just had to get over yourself a little.” Spitfire giggled, a sound that she hadn’t made in a while, and then flew out the door.

Flustered but relieved, Rainbow Dash followed her out into the open air.