It has been fourteen years since Twilight Sparkle first arrived in Ponyville. Life goes on, happy as it always has, even as she and her friends grow older. And there's only one mare she could think of sharing that life with: her wife, Rainbow Dash.

As winter settles in, Rainbow and Twilight are busy making preparations for the 12th birthday of their daughter, Opal Dart, followed in the same week by their 10th anniversary. Chaos and bedlam are the words of the day as they scramble to get everything in order, and ensure a perfect day for their little foal. Unfortunately, it is within this same time that Rainbow Dash has, by necessity, at last been promoted to to the position of Captain of the Wonderbolts. With her dream job finally realized, Dash cannot believe anything could go wrong. She quickly realizes, though, that the stress of her job was not something she was prepared for. As her mood perpetually sours, Twilight finds herself increasingly frustrated at the distance her wife is putting between them. As the couple spiral towards their own destruction, Opal Dart and Spike seek help from anyone they can find.

The only question is if they'll be able to do anything before their relationship is beyond salvaging.

So yeah, cheesy introduction put aside, this is what I've been setting the framework for instead of updating either of the stories I've got running: a prequel to my first ponyfic ever, "Even Rainbows Fade", which I have to come to accept as the most successful thing I will ever write. It shall not be topped. So I figured I might as well write this, both because I love the pair so much, and because I can answer a few questions and address a few issues both some readers and myself had with the original story.

Like I said, it's a prequel, so some knowledge WILL be assumed of you coming in. Hopefully it's easy enough to work out without having to read the first, though. If you have any comments, criticisms, or praise to share, by all means do so! I'll never improve without critique, and I'll be starved for attention if nobody loves me =P

Rated Teen for some moderate violence, and I'm not 100% sure if the Sad tag applies. Far less crushfeels than the original since, y'know, nopony dies.

Image from ~chibi95 on deviantart