A Change Of Pace

Rainbow Dash woke up with a start. She felt the familliar feeling of a mattress under her, and the felling of blankets on her. The mare's vision was heavily blurred, but somehow made out the figures of seven other ponies crowded around her bed.

"She's Awake!" The familliar voice of Pinkie Pie echoed around the room, and a very irritated 'Shhh!' Came from a nearby nurse. As Rainbow Dash's vision finally focused, she was able to distinctly make out the faces of her close friends, each of them bearing a very distraught face.

"Dear Celestia, You're finally awake then, Dash." Twilight managed to smile, as a sigh of relief escaped all their mouths. Though, Dash's housemate Sky kept a serious look on her face. She was staring at a two stallions next to Dash. One was in another bed, and the other was sittting next to said bed.

"Hey Sky the colt is mine! Eyes off!" Sky took her gaze off of the stallion and looked at the injured mare. She'd been crying. "Sky what's wrong?"

"Dash. It's him. The stallion who crashed into me the day of the stadium fire, remember?" Almost instantly, Dash's brain started whirring. It was the day after Sky and her friend, Crystal Rose, had arrived in Ponyville. That day was memorable for two reasons, one being the fire at The Royal Fliers Stadium, and the other being that Crystal got knocked up. She began to remember the conversation Sky and Dash had.

"Sky! Did you hear?! There's been a big fire at The Royal Fliers Stadium!"

"What!? Then..." Sky thought about the colt she'd seen earlier, his coat was white, and his mane had all different shades of blue.

"Did anyone die? Hang on! The Wonderbolts were supposed to be there today!" Sky was worried, that pegasus had stayed in her mind.

"Don't worry Sky. The Wonderbolts left after their act, their safe. As for how it happened... The news say it was because of two pegasi colliding at high speeds! Only a few survived..." Sky couldn't believe it. She was struck by the almighty force that is reality. That poor stallion, if only he knew about his fate. Sky had zoned out. Lost in her thoughts.

"D-Dash... I saw somepony today... He was going to that show..." The orange mare broke down into tears. Dash didn't know how to react, she knew that if Sky was anything like her, it took something really heavy to make her cry.

That was the last time Dash had seen Sky cry. But here she was, her eyes red from tears, some still trailing down her face.

Rainbow's gaze was now on the two stallions, more precisely, the stallion who was awake. His coat was much like Frost's though it was more of a gray, his mane was like Frost's too, but with the red spectrum. He had scars and bruises all over his body.

"You're just as lost as we are about him Dash." Twilight had broken her concentration and Dash was now looking at the recently married unicorn. "Sky broke down into tears as soon as she saw him, and the other stallion hasn't said a word."

"Who is he, exactly?" The stallions ears perked up.

"Let me introduce myself, my name is Jet Wing, I am the last living Blazing Pegasi member. The rest of my team perished in the fire, you know what fire I'm talking about, Rainbow Dash." Jet turned to face the mare, his eyes a burning red."

"But... Everypony there died in that fire."

"Incorrect. Me and Frost were the only survivors."

"Frost was there?"

"Frost was partly the reason for the fire." Jet closed his eyes and turned away. He was hiding something, and Dash wanted to know what. There was an awkward silence. The atmosphere, however, was broken as a shuffling sound came from Frost's bed.

The now awake stallion opened his eyes.

"Ahhhhhhhhh... Shit." He closed his eyes again, wishing that the stallion standing next to him wasn't there.

"Well well well, Frost Storm. It's been awhile. How's your sanity?" Jet's tone got darker, finally, the past had caught up with Frost.

"I thought you were dead."

"Not quite, remember, it was the both of us who caused the fire, but really you should've been more careful."

"I HAD THINGS UNDER CONTROL!! I WOULD'VE KILLED MYSELF IN ORDER TO SAVE THE REST OF THEM!" Frost erupted in a frenzy or rage and regret. "YOU HAD TO INTERVENE!" The mares, who were watching the two stallions were taken back by the sudden outburst.

"Well I'm sorry for saving your life!"

"Yeah? For what!? To spend the rest of my life alone, never forgetting the screams and cries of those fillies and their famlies!? TO WHAT EXTENT IS THAT A LIFE!?" Frost's voice became quiet and controlled. "Though, Thank You. If you didn't save my life, I wouldn't of met Dash. I also want to know how you found me."

"Ah can answer that!" Applejack called in, stepping up to the front of the ponies. "Ah found you two just lyin' in deep in the Everfree Forest!"

"As for me Frost, they searched your file and found me as the only 'In Case of Emergency' contact. As if I was going to pass this oppurtunity up. Alot of ponies want you dead Frost. You're lucky I'm not one of them." The injured stallion simply grunted, he knew ponies wanted him dead, that's why he'd been running his whole life.

"Ugh. Can we get off this topic? It's not been easy forgetting that day, I do not need you reminding me Jet." There was another awkward silence, but this time was broken by Twilight.

"So... Are you two dating or something?" Rainbow Dash blushed a furious red, she had no idea what to say. Frost however, seeing how affectionate she'd acted in the woods, and how she was acting now, everything pointed to the same thing; Rainbow Dash wanted to date Frost. Dash tried to speak out, but her words just became a stuttering mess.

"Yeah, Yeah we are." Everypony in the room turned to stare at the stallion, who had his hooves behing his head, and was quite relaxed. Rainbow Dash let out a very quiet squeal.

"Well that's wonderful, also, the doctor said you two can leave when you want, as long as you take it easy, of course."

"WELL WHAT ARE WE WAITING FOR!?" Frost lept out of bed and let out an almighty roar of a yawn.

"Well, we'll leave you two to it then, we'll see you later?" Twilight smiled, happy to see the stallion on his hooves.

"Yeah, Probably." Frost walked over to Dash's bed and lent out a hoof to help her up. "Well. Are you just going to lie there or are you going to get up?" He was smiling, and that felt good. Dash grinned, put her hoof in his, and pulled herself up.

"So, Uh, Now what?" Dash was blushing again.

"Well, we could go for dinner later? A first date." Frost blushed ever so slightly.

"Alright! Shall we go home then?"

"Yeah. I could really do with a bath, but not one in a murky pond."

Six o'clock came around Frost was outside the restraunt the two had agreed on "Galloways." It was indeed the fanciest in town, and he just hoped he doesn't get kicked out of this one, like the many times he had before. Eventually, Frost spotted Rainbow Dash coming over the horizon. Much like himself, she had not dressed in anything fancy. Such things to them both were stupid, really.

"Look out below!" Rainbow Dash was coming at quite the speed, but somehow Frost was able to catch her, though it send him back a bit.

"I know how you love speed and all, but do you really have to do that everytime?"

"Oh yes, you're the one to talk." The two both chuckled and entered the restraunt. They sat down at a nearby table and a waitress pony came to take their order. They answered and the pony walked off, calling into the kitchen as she did.

"So, What's that bottle? I'm dying to know." Frost had noticed the bottle Dash had been carrying since they arrived.

"Oh this? This? Only the most awesome wine ever. I'm usually the cider kind of pony, but this wine has cherries in it, and I thought it'd be cool if I brought it here!" Dash passed the bottle to the intrigued stallion. He scanned the labels on the bottle and looked back up to her.

"You realise, if we drink just one glass of this, we won't be able to fly home. We'll have to rent a hotel room."

"Yeah, So? You scared...?" Frost grinned.

"Ah, what the hay. I'll pour us a glass each."

An hour later and Rainbow Dash was absoloutely hammered. In fact, they haddn't even got their food, and they still got kicked out for making to much noise!

"W-We-Well We're gonna have to pass on the food." Dash's words were slurred, often hiccups interrupted her words. Frost let out a long sigh.

"Well, I can't fly up to the house with you on my back, so we're going to have to do the hotel thing." Frost had also had a couple of drinks, but he was still capable of thought.

"C'mon Dash. Let's go." The stallion lifted the drunken mare on to his back,De Ja Vu, and went towards the hotel, which was convieniently next to Galloways. After ordering renting the room, he carries Dash up to the room and lays her on the bed...