Rainbow Dash has a not-quite secret; she's had a stallionfriend (coltfriend? What's the proper term?) for years. Before she moved to Ponyville, even. Told through the eyes of Rainbow, her father, and her stallionfriend, this is the story of how she and Firestar met, got together, and fell in love.

This story is not in the same universe as Secret Heroes, nor is it anthro. Most of the story is made up of various flashbacks that take place before S. 1. There are brief glimpses (and a couple chapters, as the end) that take place one year after S. 5, though no episodes are referenced (except for Tirek's, referenced when his destroying the library is noted).

Disclaimer: Blah blah blah the normal "I don't own any of this, except for the story itself" stuff.
In real life, I'm not very experienced (read: pretty much not at all) with romance. I've only had one girlfriend, and we weren't very romantic (by Celestia, we only spent 1-2 days a week with each other, and we never even went on a date). That relationship didn't end in the best way (we're still great friends, but it wasn't a very pretty ending). I'm also terrible at writing emotions (at least, I think I am), so a lot of the scenes are almost definitely going to fall way flat.
But, hey, I tried! I, personally, am very proud of this story.
If this ain't your cup of tea, what are you doing here? If it is to your liking, then sit back, relax, and read some probably-badly-written, romantic feels.