A Dash of Fire

by Johnfreemanwepon

Rating: teen
Tags: Romance, Rainbow Dash, Spitfire, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 11020

Spitfire and Rainbow Dash meet after Dash visits Derpy on her 10th anniversary.

Spitfire discovers Rainbow Dash crying on a cloud after a meeting with Derpy.
What could make this tough mare cry so hard?
---------------------------------------------------
Follow up to my other story, "I'll Never Forget" which can be found here: http://poni.0au.de/story/7206/I%27ll-never-forget

Credit for image goes to C4tspajamas.
The picture can be found at
http://fillydelphia.tumblr.com/post/5740105821/rainbow-dash-x-spitfire-forever

Fic requested by:
awesomekik

Written and edited by me.

Published 2012-01-17 13:05:10 UTC
Last updated 2012-01-22 23:53:03 UTC

A Chance Meeting

A Chance Meeting

(Author's note: This is almost a direct sequel to my last fic, "I'll never forget", and the other should be read beforehand for context.)

Rainbow Dash was flying away from her friend Derpy's house- she had just visited her on her 10th anniversary with her late husband Charity.

Rainbow was, at present, an emotional mess. She couldn't douse the tears now- she had spent all of her strength comforting Derpy. Her friend deserved that much.

Thinking back, Rainbow was only more saddened at the thought of nearly denying Derpy the love she received from her husband Charity, always assuming the worst. That was how she was always treated, and she couldn't bear to see another pony- least of all one of her friends- treated the same way.

She found a cloud which was high enough from the ground, and far enough from ponyville that nopony would hear her cry.

She landed on it and broke down. She cried so much she thought she saw the cloud visibly grow- but she knew she couldn't have cried that much. After about a half and hour, she heard a voice that turned her blood cold

“Hey kid, what's the matter?” asked Spitfire, leader of the wonderbolts.

Dash jumped up and her tears were instantly dried- as if by magic. No way was she going to let her idol see her like this.

“Uh... I.. uh.. I mean... Nothing. Nothing's the matter” Dash managed to stutter out.

The lack of response almost made Rainbow want to live up to her name, before she heard Spitfire say

“That sure didn't sound like nothing. I saw you bawling your eyes out up here. By the way, next time you need to be alone, try to be a bit farther from the Wonderbolt practice track,” Spitfire said with a kind smile.

Dash looked over her shoulder, seeing the other 4 Wonderbolts still flying laps around the large cloud track. She blushed hotly, but quickly stifled it seeing the amused smirk on Spitfire's face. She never thought her idol would be so kind.

At last, Spitfire broke the silence- “Hey kid, I have to get back to practice, but meet me outside of the track at 2:30. You're welcome to watch, and I'll fly you home so we can talk. You looked pretty shook up.”

Dash was surprised, but managed to choke out one word: “o... okay!”

Without another word, spitfire took off in a puff of smoke, headed back towards the cloud track where she and her team were supposed to be practicing.

Dash couldn't help but admire the mare, from her kind smile, to her dark orange eyes, to her fiery mane, to her wings... Dash admired it all. She stared at her, a small blush forming on her cheeks. Seeing her idol fly in person, without the pretense of a show, was all she needed to cheer up.

***

As Spitfire had promised, she met up with Dash just outside of the cloud gate.

Also as expected, Rainbow Dash had cheered up immediately as she saw the Wonderbolts performing live in front of her. Rainbow was still spouting praises at the Wonderbolt when they got back to Rainbow's house- and Spitfire still had the same grin on her face.

When Rainbow at last noticed that they had stopped, she looked embarrassed, asking

“Uh... why didn't you stop me from talking?”

Spitfire thought for a second, not quite sure why she didn't. She finally settled on “Well, I've never had a fan whose own achievements rivaled our own get so excited over us. It's like Princess Celestia going on about how awesome a regular unicorn's magic is.”

At the comparison to someone so powerful, Rainbow Dash blushed furiously and smiled.

Spitfire seemed to not pick up on this, and instead looked at Rainbow's cloud house and finally said “So... Do you wanna stay out here all day, or head into your house?”

Rainbow immediately noticed that they were still standing out in the open and smiling at each other. If they weren't in the clouds, it would look... well....

At the thought of what it would look like, Rainbow blushed again and quickly said “Oh, right! Let's head inside!”

Rainbow turned and went to unlock the door.

While she was walking, Spitfire caught herself staring, wondering to herself 'what could have happened that made this tough of a pony bawl like that?'

Rainbow unlocked her cloud house (more out of routine than of necessity- they could fly right up to the balcony if they wanted to) and Spitfire followed.

Once inside, Spitfire immediately asked her the question on her mind- “What happened, Rainbow?”

Rainbow had hoped to avoid this question, at least for a while. Instead of responding, she simply sat there, wondering what to say. Her concentration was soon broken by Spitfire putting her foreleg across her neck, in a way that could only be described as lovingly.

Rainbow's heart lifted- she never thought she would get this close to anyone, especially not her idol. Seeing her idol be this friendly to her was indescribably amazing, and soon she was openly crying from what she saw earlier today.

“It's... It's just Derpy, she's one of my best friends, and she lost someone... someone very special to her. It was their 10th anniversary. I knew that, and remembered, so I brought her a present... She was so happy that I had remembered, but she was also so sad.... She just broke down in my forelegs. I had to stay strong... for her... but I can't do it any more. I was there when she met him... I thought he was trying to hurt her and I said things I still regret. When I left her house, I couldn't stop myself.”

Spitfire began to tear up at the heartfelt confession the pony she liked to consider a friend was giving her.

She brought Rainbow into a full body hug and let her cry it all out. She sat there, waiting for almost half an hour, a silent shoulder to cry on. She had been in the same position before- one of her best friends had lost both of her parents in a freak accident with a sky chariot- a friend who could stay strong. When Rainbow was finally done crying, Spitfire tried to get up and was allowed, after a few seconds, to break the embrace. While Rainbow lay there, Spitfire went into the kitchen and began making two cups of coffee- in the way only she knew how.

After she finished, she brought the cups back to a still crying Rainbow, who saw her new friend put them down in front of her and watched as Spitfire sat down.

“Rainbow, I know it seems hard sometimes, but I'm sure both your friend and her husband only thought more of you as a friend because of your devotion. You did what you needed to do to make your friend happy, even though it was harsh. If I was in the same situation, I wouldn't have the guts to try and protect my friend. You got guts, kid.”

Rainbow sighed at the comforting words that Spitfire gave her, and was mentally squealing at the loving compliments she was given. “Th-thanks, Spitfire” she said, still not quite sure how to address her new friend.

Spitfire nodded, and handed Dash the bigger cup of coffee. She was glad to spend time with this Pony, she never had a chance to talk to her at the Grand Gala last year. Dash accepted, a slight blush on her face.

As soon as dash took a sip, however, her face went completely red before she blurted “SPICYYYYY!” in a way slightly reminiscent of the way Pinkie was at the cloud factory, but about 20% cooler.

Spitfire smiled, before breaking out into laughter- the essence of rainbow she added did the trick. It broke the ice.

Rainbow Dash, finally understanding the joke, began laughing with Spitfire. “I was wondering what you put in the coffee” she said, wiping a tear of laughter from her eye.

Spitfire just took another sip from her coffee, saying “Didn't you ever wonder why they called me 'Spitfire?'”

Rainbow considered this, not sure if it was serious or a joke. Either way, it was nice to see that her favorite celebrity was as cool in reality as she was in uniform. Thinking back, she was happy she got to spend some time with Spitfire, especially after the terrible events that happened at the Gala.

She must have spaced out pretty long, because soon she found Spitfire nudging her out of her trance. Feeling her soft touch made another blush come to her eyes, and she found that spitfire was staring at her, lovingly. That's just it though, there was no way to describe it otherwise- she was staring at her much the same way charity stared at Derpy that day at the party when they were dancing. The memory brought tears to her eyes.

Taking her chance at ruining what she had just worked so hard to build, Spitfire leaned in and kissed Rainbow. Rainbow kissed back.

They lost each other in the embrace.

Spitfire eventually broke off, and told Rainbow “I'll see you tomorrow, Rainbow,”

Completely dropping the celebrity persona that she usually held around her. There was no need. Rainbow smiled, and said one word to her; “Okay.”

Spitfire left, leaving Rainbow Dash to ponder what just happened.

Rainbow didn't regret it, but was still really surprised- she was content being friends. But, deep down, she always knew she wanted this. She wasn't expecting to see this side of Spitfire before- she didn't even know that she was... interested in mares. Still, Spitfire had made the same risk when she kissed her. However, there was one thing she regretted not saying. Seemingly to thin air, she whispered “I love you, Spitfire.”
***

Nearing her home, Spitfire was nearly bouncing off the walls with happiness- she had not only found the mare she was looking to talk to, she confessed her feelings in the only way she knew how- through actions. It went off without a hitch- the rainbow coffee really did the trick in getting Rainbow Dash comfortable around her, and... OH NO! Suddenly, a thought popped into her head- she never told her, really, how she felt. Her heart sank, hoping there was a way she could fix this. Her mind went to work as soon as she stepped through her front door.

A thought popped into her mind- a completely new move just to show Rainbow how she feels.

“let's see.... y = .75x^(2/3) + sqrt(1-x^2) and y = .75x^(2/3) - sqrt(1 – x^2).... adjust for windage.... calculate speed... and..... perfect!”

She looked down at the paper she had scribbled her new routine down on and smiled. She knew it would work. Five simple words and a simple shape to do it, and she would be able to pull it off in the relative privacy of the practice track.

Earlier than she normally would, she arrived at the track. She practiced her routine without her cloud trail over and over, until she knew she got it right.

She tried it once with her cloud trail, and stood back to admire it. It was perfect. “I love you, Rainbow Dash” was written clearly across the sky, followed by a perfect heart.

Spitfire was suddenly startled by a gasp coming from behind her. She turned to see none other than Rainbow Dash standing and looking at what was in front of her.

From Rainbow's perspective, the heart perfectly framed the surprised Spitfire, who smiled a nervous smile, clearly waiting for a response.

Rainbow loved the dumbstruck look on her heroine's face- her wide eyes excessively adorable. Before Spitfire could say anything, Rainbow kicked off the ground at incomprehensible speeds. She caught the Wonderbolt off guard, pushing her backwards while Rainbow kissed her in midair.

“I love you too, Spitfire.”
***

The cloud trails had already dissipated by the time the rest of the Wonderbolts arrived. They found a note on the door, simply saying

“I won't be at practice today

-Spitfire”

Most of the group looked confused, but Soarin, second in command of the Wonderbolts and personal friend of Spitfire, simply smiled.

'You did it, Spitfire,' he thought, looking up at the faint remnants of the cloud trails.

After a short time, Soarin declared “Alright, guys, we're gonna be doing what we did yesterday. On my mark, break off into split-s maneuver. We're gonna work on being independent here- we can't all just watch Spitfire for her mark, even though that works. Ready?
3...
2...
1...
MARK!”

All four of the Wonderbolts sped off into one of their most basic, but most popular moves.

This time, however, Soarin wanted to complete this move as flawlessly as possible. This move was the first thing he and his friend Spitfire completed when they were just children- they always thought of the two complete “S” shapes it formed as the bond of friendship between them. Soarin hoped that things were going as well for Spitfire hanging out with Rainbow.

To be continued.

Author's note (Woah, I write a ton of these): thanks to awesomekik for the idea to write this fic, and thank you all for your positive feedback on my other story, “I'll Never Forget”.

Just friends... for now.

(Quick note, I took everone's comments into consideration, and I'm going to try making this a bit slower. Thank you to Aurora Dimmet, Dorkside, UnintentionalFan, Brony0ne, SatoshiKyu and Spiili for your concise and constructive criticism. I won't do this many shout-outs every chapter, but this time, seeing as these were really good comments, and are really helpful. Now, on to the story.)

Spitfire and Dash had retreated to the latter's house, thinking it would be more private than Spitfire's, which was constantly under siege from an army of fan-fillies.

After the events that happened earlier that day, they wanted to take their relationship a step back. Having gone from friends to Marefriends in a matter of hours after Rainbow broke into tears on the cloud near the practice track.

“want some coffee?” Rainbow asked, remembering the prank Spitfire pulled last time.

“Sure” Spitfire replied, with a smirk. “Black, 2 sugars and this-” she tossed a small vial of liquid rainbow to Dash, who caught it and stared in bewilderment.

“Didn't... Didn't you just come from practice?”

“Yes, but I always carry a bit. Never know when you'll need it. Also, it helps me be more precise- broken vial means bad form,” Spitfire replied.

Rainbow accepted this, and turned away to make the coffee. Soon, she asked spitfire a question that was on her mind- “Why did you put a track so near Ponyville? I would've totally known about it if it was there for long”

Spitfire's reply surprised her- “We move it every month- having a permanent one would make the fan-fillies be busting down the gates every couple of months. Besides, moving it is good for strength training.”

“Woah, you move an entire building every MONTH? That's so awesome!”

With that, the conversation ended for a minute, until the coffee was done. Rainbow poured in the contents of the small vial first, watching in awe as the drink changed color until the sugarcubes she put in dissolved, which changed the color back to the dark brown. For her own, Dash simply added a few cream packets and carried them both in to the room.

“So, Spitfire, I was wondering- how did you see me on the cloud? Even though I could see the stadium, it was almost impossible to see the details from where I was. How could you notice a single pony on a small cloud?”

Spitfire responded to her after a short period of thinking- presumably to express what she was going to say in words. “It has to do with being a Wonderbolt- we all have to be completely aware of our surroundings, and no matter how insignificant the obstruction we have to keep tabs on it. The color of your mane didn't hurt, either.”

Dash smiled at her own ignorance. She always wondered just how her favorite team stayed so graceful in the air, even when the “show” was somewhat unplanned- no matter how much Dash practiced, she couldn't get anywhere near the turning speed or smooth looking flight of the five pegasi when they were in the air- she had always just attributed it to the many many hours of practice they put in. This information was surprising and revealing to her.

Picking up on this, Spitfire mentioned “That's the main reason we haven't yet scouted you is that you haven't figured it out yet. Other than that, we were seriously considering asking you to join.” She noticed that what she said could be hurtful to her friend, and she looked up at the cyan mare.

Rainbow Dash was slightly shocked at the blatant examination of her ability, and normally she would have yelled at the pony who said that, but from her idol she accepted it almost without question. The surprised look quickly turned to one of deep thought as she planned how to incorporate it into her daily flight routine.

Spitfire was relieved- she had nearly forgotten who she was talking too, instead taking a tone she would adopt with a normal recruit- and thought she had damaged her new relationship. Instead, she could almost see the cogs of Rainbow's brain working.

Spitfire smiled.

Rainbow eventually broke out of her trance and saw Spitfire still smiling.

Spitfire, noticing Rainbow had come back to reality, changed the subject to something she still wanted to know- “What did you say 10 years ago that was so bad you still feel bad about it?”

Rainbow's smile fell off of her face, stunned that the conversations seemed to keep going back to this in particular. “I pulled him aside one day, and I told him not to hurt her... But not like that. I threatened him. I never knew if he forgave me or not. I guess he did- I like to think we were rather close, but I'm still not sure.” Even though they had said that they loved each other, Spitfire and her, she still wanted to stop talking and put her regular demeanor back on.

Spitfire was sure of this, as the Cyan mare nearly spat the last few words of her phrase out. She decided not to press further, but instead said this: “I know the feeling. My friend lost her parents, and felt just as bad as you do now. She thought the only reason they died was that she ran away after an argument. The last thing they said to her was 'We love you' before she stormed out. The last thing she said? She never remembered. Unlike her, I still remember how much she cried, newly orphaned. They died looking for her. They had only just left as the harness broke- they fell nearly 100 feet and died instantly. I had nothing to say that would help,” Spitfire said, a tear breaking free of her eye.

This surprised Rainbow, the tear she shed proving Spitfire spoke the truth. Rainbow leaned in and hugged her friend. Whatever she suffered, she knew that Spitfire had suffered much the same. Watching a friend hurt was bad no matter who you were- and Rainbow was no different. Another tear fell down her fa
ce before she dried it. Spitfire heard the sniffling, and looked at her friend. She looked sad.

“You don't have to be strong for me, Rainbow. I always need to be strong for other people. Everyone needs people to cry on once in a while. I have Soarin- he is the only Wonderbolt I really knew outside of the suit.”

She noticed what she said and blushed, adding “Not... umm... never mind.”

Rainbow laughed, but was silenced quickly as it seemed rather inappropriate. She had a question of her own. “Why did you kiss me two days ago?”

Spitfire looked at her and thought deeply, waiting several minutes before responding. “I felt like it had to be done. I met part of you at the Grand Gala, the part that thirsted for attention and was brave and magnificent. That day, I met the other side- the side that needed to come out more often. No matter what you like to show, you really do have a soft spot. It isn't a small one, either. Most ponies like us have one, but I've never seen a pony react so much to so little of a... Push.”

Rainbow looked back, and pulled her back into the embrace.

Several minutes later, after Rainbow had let go, Spitfire said “I'm glad we had this talk, but I wanted to say something- all of the things that happened in the past few days happened so quickly. I'd like to take it a little slower, get to know each other better. I don't regret what we did, but... it seemed... fast. I don't usually mind rushing things, but usually I don't have these kinds of feelings. I usually am just in and out... If you'll excuse the very bad pun.”

As much as she hated to admit it, Rainbow felt the same way. She nodded, saying “See you tomorrow, Spitfire. Thanks for... well everything.”

Spitfire looked relieved, before saying “Great. I'll see you tomorrow, Rainbow.”

As Spitfire left, Rainbow looked happy that she had a new friend, but also sad that they wouldn't be together, at least for a while.

To be continued

(Author's note- See what I did there?)

A New Friend

Dash paced around the room nervously. Spitfire was late for their afternoon meeting- even later than usual. Spitfire was always late, ever since they decided to just hire a security squad to protect the gates from fans. The two leaders of the Wonderbolts claimed it was so they could spend less time figuring out a new location and more time planning their routine, but Dash knew better. It was to stay closer to her. Even with the extra protection, Spitfire still had to sign a few autographs after practice. Normally, she would leave after about half an hour and be at Dash's less than 5 minutes later.

The fans had stopped storming Spitfire's house, due mainly to the fact that she was never there. This meant that Dash could visit her house once in a while, and every so often they would alternate where they met. True to her word, Spitfire took it much slower than they had at first. They learned a lot more about each other, Rainbow revealing her position as the Element of Loyalty, which thoroughly impressed Spitfire, to say the least.

Even though they mainly met after practice, every so often Rainbow would meet her right outside the gates of the practice track- standing amongst the throng of ponies who could either fly or cast a cloudwalking spell. Rainbow would wait, even after the crowds dispersed.

Spitfire usually saw Rainbow, but if she didn't rainbow tossed a flower near her. That clued her in to Rainbow's presence.

They met every day for the past 3 weeks. As predicted, Rainbow's feelings only grew deeper for the mare every time they met. Like the first time she met her offstage and out of uniform, she discovered more and more every day, surprising her at every turn.

Today was different. Today was the day Rainbow finally decided to make her move. She would ask her favorite celebrity on a date.

“Where is she?” she asked her new pet, Tank the Tortoise. Tank returned her question with a look that was either an “I'm tired” look or a “No clue” look. Judging by the fact that it was still mid-afternoon, and the fact that Tank already took his nap, she decided on the latter.

“Pull yourself together, Rainbow. She probably has a perfectly rational excuse,” she told herself. Knowing Spitfire for who she is, it was probably true.

Sure enough, less than a half an hour later, Spitfire arrived. However, she was not alone.

Soarin and Spitfire walked in- Spitfire had been planning this as a surprise since the first day they met up. Soarin gladly accepted the invitation, glad to meet the mare that had stolen his friend's heart. Sure, they had met before, but they were interrupted by the throngs of “Important Ponies”. It would be nice to meet her in the comfort of her own home.

Rainbow Dash let out an adorable fan-filly squeal, easily the most girly thing she did. Spitfire had to stifle a giggle- the mare had a look on her face that made all present smile. Soarin broke the session of speechlessness, saying “Hello, you must be Rainbow Dash, the pony who saved my pie. Wicked reflexes, yo.”

Rainbow Dash blushed at the memory of the Gala- until Spitfire decided to set Soarin straight.

“Drop the tough-guy attitude, Soarin. You're among friends. We can act normally."

Realizing this was true, Soarin immediately apologized- “Sorry, Dash. I'm used to hanging around a bunch of mares who have this... image in their head. No clue how it got there,” he said, poking playfully at Spitfire.

She smiled at Soarin, before remembering her goal here; “I brought Soarin here to meet you at his request- I told him a lot about you, and he wanted to come to see you.”

Soarin was thankful for what she left out, even though it was for her sake. She asked him to come so she could get his opinion on the couple. He remembered the time Rainbow Dash had saved them during the Junior Fliers competition. She was the first and only pegasis able to create a sonic rainboom, and the first time in many years she had been able to do so was to save them. She lived up to her element.

Bearing this in mind, Soarin still did his best to think only about what was happening now.

Rainbow Dash turned and started to move towards the kitchen before turning again for the vial of fluid Spitfire tapped her with. She continued into the kitchen before calling for them to sit down.

“Make yourselves at home,” she yelled, before adding “Oh, and Soarin, what do you want in your coffee?”

“2 cream, 2 sugar,” he called back, before turning to Spitfire and saying quietly “she seems nice enough, and the look that was in her eyes when she saw you walk in was... well, it was as if she couldn't live without you. She almost looked as if she hadn't seen you in weeks- probably because you were late.”

Spitfire blushed, only just noticing that they had spent an unusual amount of time signing autographs after practice. Considering who she brought with her- a good friend who was a Stallion- she immediately understood Rainbow's eagerness to see her.

Worried she had completely undone everything she was trying to fix in this visit, she cuddled up against Rainbow when she walked back in.

Rainbow's heart fluttered- here she was, sitting with two members of the best flying team in all of Equestria, with one of them, specifically the one she loved, cuddling against her on a couch and sipping coffee. She put her arm around Spitfire and decided to hold off until Soarin left.

The three of them chatted about new moves they thought of, and things that were happening in each others' lives. Soarin revealed a specific fact that put Rainbow's heart at ease and cured Spitfire's apprehension- he revealed that he had a marefriend himself.

Even though there was no need to stay next to Rainbow at this point, Spitfire couldn't break away. She was loving every minute of it. They both knew they loved each other, why couldn't they stay in each others' arms while enjoying some coffee?

Rainbow could hardly wait any longer. She was nearly bursting with joy that her love was not... otherwise engaged, and she was feeling as if she would just kiss Spitfire right then and there, in front of Soarin. She held off, but Soarin sensed the growing urgency in her voice as she continued the conversation and decided to tell the mares he would leave (at the first polite moment, of course.)

They said their goodbyes, before Spitfire got up and hugged Soarin. He left without another word, clearly trying to get back into his normal, macho persona.

“Well, that was a good chat,” Spitfire commented.

“Yeah. It was nice to get to know another one of your friends,” Dash commented, with just a little to much relief in her voice. Spitfire didn't seem to mind, though, as she was already back on the sofa cuddling against Dash. Even with the mare so close, and even though they were already locked in an embrace, Dash couldn't work up the courage to tell Spitfire. The muscles in her jaw tensed and relaxed every once in a while, and she started to sweat slightly.

“What's wrong, Dashie?” Spitfire asked after noticing this.

Rainbow's heart overflowed- she had never heard this pony call her by that before, and she thought it was fantastic. The only other pony to ever call her Dashie was Pinkie Pie, and that was due to the deep bonds they shared. They really were the best of friends. Dash started working on a response, all the while thinking about how she was going to take the plunge- she had to do it. She couldn't put it off any longer than she had. “Nothing's wrong, Spitfire. Although, I am a little mad that I can't think of a cute nickname for you, like you thought of Dashie.”

She had bought herself some time. She kept thinking how to word her request. She finally decided-

“Hey, Spitfire?”

“Hmm?”

“How... How would you like to... I dunno, go get dinner sometime? It can be just the two of us. In fact, I'd prefer that. I guess I'm trying to ask you if you want... want to go on a date.” The question would have come out better, had the look on Spitfire's face looked different than what it did. It was nearly emotionless, with just one eyebrow raised above the other. Rainbow tried to shrink away from Spitfire's embrace, but stopped when the mare cuddling her smiled and softened her eyes.

“I thought you'd never ask.”

***

They still hadn't kissed again- they were only going on a test date, really. Dash wanted to see how their interests mingled, instead of just taking what she saw and running with it.

Rarity, being the only other pony Dash told, insisted that she come and give a free makeover to her friend.

“I'm not one for a mare and a mare going on a date, but if it makes you happy, Rainbow, I want to make you as happy as possible. Everything needs to be perfect.”

Rainbow admired her friends acceptance, and her willingness to make her happy. When she stepped out of the room and into view of the mirror, she stopped. She had only looked nearly this good once before- at the Grand Gala. This trumped it 10 fold. Her mane was done up in what looked like the definition of organized chaos- a wonderfully stylized recreation of Rainbow's personality. Her eyes had been done very lightly, with hardly a hint of darkness on her eyelids. It made her look stunning.

“Go, my dear. You're ready,” Rarity said, holding back tears at the sight of her friend. She leaned in and hugged her, careful not to mess up her hair to much. “I hope you have a fantastic time with Spitfire.”

***

Dash met with spitfire at the restaurant, who looked just as fantastic as Dash.

“Hi Dashie,” Spitfire said, with a tone that would make Fluttershy faint from how adorable it was. “You look fantastic.”

“Uh... You too Spitfire” Rainbow Dash responded absently- she was still taking in the full beauty that stood before her. She noticed one big feature that had changed about Spitfire. Her mane.

“Did you comb your mane?” she asked

“Yes, I like it. Don't you?” she shook her hair around, making Rainbow nearly faint.

Rainbow hadn't noticed it before, but the stripes in Spitfire's hair really moved like fire as it moved, and with the fresh brush it sparkled slightly in the light. She barely could stammer out the next sentence “Erm... s-shall we go inside?”

“Yes, that sounds lovely.”

When they walked into the restaurant, they were immediately greeted by a Maitre-D who politely asked them “Do ze madames have a reservation?” with his thick french accent.

“Yes, a table for two. It should be under 'Spitfire'.”

“Right zis way, madames.”

He guided them to their table, and paused as he pulled Spitfire's chair out. He looked at Dash, silently asking if she wanted to do the honor. Gratefully, Dash took hold of the chair and pulled it the rest of the way out for Spitfire. She walked to the other side of the table and sat down.

“A waiter will be with you shortly,” he told them, passing out menus.

The pair nodded, and the Maitre-D walked away silently. Spitfire started the conversation at the table, mainly about Rainbow and her ability to perform the Sonic Rainboom. Spitfire asked why the name suited her so well considering how long ago it was first named.

“They actually named it after me,” Rainbow responded. “I was the first pony to ever perform it, and it caused a rainbow to shoot from my mane. They just named it as they saw it.”

As they were talking, a waiter silently approached the two of them, and asked what they wanted. Spitfire ordered first, Rainbow allowing her to speak. They both ordered the same thing, and when it arrived they spent the next two hours talking and eating, calling over the waiter every once in a while to refill their drinks. When they were finished, they retreated to Rainbow's house for an after dinner chat and a dessert that Dash prepared with the help of Pinkie Pie.

They chatted long into the night, so late, in fact, that Dash couldn't rightly let her date fly herself home. She had a spare bed in the cloud house, but it was rarely used due to her low number of pegasis friends and the proximity of Fluttershy's house. Spitfire decided to sleep there tonight.

Over all, Dashie thought it was a pretty successful date.

To be continued.

(Authors note: You didn't think I'd forget to leave one of these, did you?)

Not your average Pinkie-Party.

Rainbow Dash woke up to a pleasant smell coming from downstairs. She walked downstairs to see Spitfire cooking some muffins with her friend Derpy.

“Hi, Rainbow,” Spitfire said, turning from the pan of muffins she was just finishing up on. “I met your friend. She's pretty cool.”

Derpy turned and smiled, saying “I never knew you were friends with Spitfire! It made my day meeting her!”

Rainbow smiled as well, glad to see that both of her friends were getting along well. She was even happier that Derpy had regained her normal demeanor since she had talked last.

Thinking back, she realized she hadn't spent time with much of anyone over the past week, and she suddenly had an idea.

“Hey, Spitfire- after we get through breakfast, how 'bout we go meet some more of my friends? I haven't seen much of them lately,” Rainbow looked at Spitfire, waiting for a response.

“Sure, sounds like a plan.”

Derpy was glad to see that Rainbow and Spitfire seemed to be getting along well, and that Spitfire seemed genuinely happy to go meet Rainbow's friends and get out of the rut she had been digging.

The muffins had finished, and all of them sat down for breakfast. There was fairly little conversation, so just before it started feeling awkward they decided to wrap up and bid farewell to Derpy.

“She's a really nice mare, Rainbow. You might have some competition.”

“As if! She already has a daughter!” Rainbow scoffed, smiling at the playful mare.

Suddenly, there was a voice coming from their left saying “Hi Dashie! Who is.... wow, is that SPITFIRE? Oh my gosh, I've never met you before! I should TOTALLY throw you a party- and all our friends will be there and... OH I'd better get started RIGHT AWAY!” before they even had a chance to turn around, she had already sped off to prepare the party.

Dash was glad that they had found Pinkie. “I guess we won't need to go around meeting everypony right now, so... Do you want to just go back to my house?”

Rainbow had already known that Pinkie would throw a party for them, and she also wanted to make an announcement there. However, making an announcement like this usually required consent by BOTH parties involved, and Dashie hadn't asked Spitfire yet.

Spitfire, noting the urgency in Rainbow's voice, decided to accept.

Back at the cloud house, Rainbow sat down next to Spitfire nervously and pulled her into an awkward, one hoofed embrace.

“Umm... Spitfire, I've been meaning to ask you a question, and since we kinda got to know each other better, I was wondering if... maybeyou'dwanttobemymarefriend!” She rushed the last part out, sending Spitfire's head spinning.

“Uh... Well, I'm kinda surprised you waited THIS long. I mean, we DID already say we loved each other, and we DID go on a date together. I figured it was already a thing. If you're looking for confirmation, maybe this will help.”

With that, she leaned up and kissed Rainbow on the lips, pulling her into a deep embrace. Rainbow immediately relaxed, laying down all doubts she had beforehand. Rainbow was in heaven, the mare's warm lips against her own and spitfire's embrace covering her like a blanket. A living, breathing blanket.

Spitfire decided to press further, slightly opening her mouth and pressing her tongue against her love's lips, silently begging for admission.

Rainbow allowed Spitfire's tongue in. It was warm, but also spicy from the liquid rainbow she was always drinking. Thinking about this more, she smirked mentally- now she was getting a different type of “Liquid Rainbow.” She allowed Spitfire's tongue to explore her mouth, while she slid her own into Spitfire's mouth, feeling the same warmness and tasting the same spiciness she had on her tongue.

the next few minutes, they were completely engrossed in their kiss, nearly missing the knock on the door. It wasn't all that loud, so it could only be one pony.

Rainbow opened the door, and saw no one.

“Fluttershy, come out- I know you're out there.” She heard a small squeak, cluing her in to the truth. A light yellow mare flew up through the clouds, saying

“Oh.. you heard me. I wanted to come give you this...” -she handed Rainbow a piece of paper- “and tell you that Pinkie is going to have the party at 7:30 tonight.” With that, Fluttershy sped off, leaving the paper with Dashie, who turned to Spitfire and said

“looks like I was just in time.”

Spitfire walked up behind her with a seductive look in her eyes. “We've still got a bit of time before the party. Now, where were we?” She asked, before closing the gap and kissing Dashie deeply.

Dash didn't quite know how far they would go, but still led her to her room, still locked in the kiss. When they walked in, Spitfire laid down on the bed. Dash walked over and followed suit, and continued cuddling the mare.

Suddenly, a thought came to her mind- “Spitfire, you told me that you had relationships before, but that you had no real feelings for any of them... Are you sure this will be any different?”

Spitfire regarded this with concern, and eventually answered Rainbow by saying “I've never been happy with anyone as much as I've been with you over the past few days, Rainbow. This is real. I'm sure of it.”

This silenced Rainbow, who let out a soft moan as Spitfire continued kissing her. Spitfire's hand moved down to her belly. It was only 5:30, so they still had time. Probably. Rainbow allowed this. It was going to be a good two hours.

***

They were almost late to the party. Dash's mane was messed up again, a product of her earlier activities with Spitfire.

She was going to make the announcement at the party- Spitfire had already agreed to go public with their relationship, seeing as they've really been “seeing each other” for a few weeks now. Spitfire's mane was also back to it's regular messiness, and they both walked to the party, thinking it would be more appropriate at this point. They walked through the town square, which seemed vacant compared to the usual traffic at this time- people rushing to get home, jostling their way through a faceless crowd.

When they arrived at Sugarcube Corner, the building was decorated with streamers and banners as any other party. As they walked through the doors, the muffled bass from the music became louder. They were met by Pinkie Pie, who bounced near the couple saying “Welcome to the party! We've been waiting for you!”

Rainbow and Spitfire were surprised- the clock read 7:25, but there were already about thirty guests standing around, waiting for the two of them to show up.

“Um.. Pinkie Pie, I wanted to make an announcement tonight... Whenever you're ready, we'll go ahead and introduce ourselves, and then one of us will tell everypony. I'm not sure who it will be yet.”

“Okie Dokie Lokie! I'll introduce you right now! HEY EVERYPONY, LOOK WHO'S HERE? It's Rainbow Dash and Spitfire, and this party is all just for them! Also, they have a super duper announcement to make!”

The crowd shifted their attention to the couple, and silence fell immediately. Rainbow decided to speak up, saying “Hi everypony! I'd like to do this quickly, so I'm just going to get right to it. Me and Spitfire have been friends for a few weeks now, but now we're going to be more than friends. Basically, we're an item now.”

Some people looked shocked, others looked amused. Still others looked happy- especially one pony hanging out in the back. He had blue hair, and was silently smiling. It was Soarin. He knew this was coming, Spitfire had been talking about Rainbow Dash almost nonstop. What he hadn't expected, however, was that they would make the announcement in such a public venue- surely, it would have been a better idea to have done it more gradually. But that wasn't the kind of pony that either of them were.

Pinkie Pie was smiling widely, clearly happy that her best friend had found someone for her. “THAT'S AMAZING! Are you excited? Cause I'm excited I've never been so excited well except for the time I found out you were friends but really, what could top THAT? Anyway, LET'S BOOGIE!”

DJ-P0n-3 had made an appearance for this, considering how high profile one of the guests were. Hearing this, she decided to go all out and do a live techno remix of one of Octavia's songs. Rainbow and Spitfire raved into the night, before getting tired and calling it quits around midnight. Their dancing was interrupted by various well-wishers and drink breaks, which usually resulted in them making out. When that happened, everypony usually left them to it- they knew not to get in the way of the two of them.

Twilight Sparkle was there, but she seemed rather awkward whenever she was approached. She stayed next to Soarin most of the night. She blushed whenever she was asked why, and then walked away to get something to drink.

After the party died down, Spitfire and Rainbow Dash retreated to Spitfire's Cloudsdale house this time, deciding that they might change things a little. Spitfire had skipped practice today, and Soarin decided to give the team the day off. They didn't have any performances for the next few weeks anyway. However, Spitfire had been late to, or missed, far to many practices lately. She had to show up tomorrow, and Rainbow knew this. They would stay in the same bed that night, feeling more comfortable now that they were openly in a romantic relationship with each other and were weeks behind what they wanted to be.

Once at Spitfire's home, they were surprised by a knock at the door. Spitfire, being used to this sort of thing, looked out the peephole in the door and sighed, opening the door.

Almost immediately, she put on her confident, brash smile for the fans standing outside. “Hello everypony! How can I help you tonight?”

The crowd responded overwhelmingly, with everyone shouting questions and only one pony having the decency to raise a hoof. Spitfire put a hoof up, silencing the crowd instantly before calling on them.

“Is it true that you are into mares, and that you found a marefriend today?”

People waited for the response- seemingly everyone was going to ask this. Spitfire, on the other hand, was amazed that people had heard about it so quickly, and was about to answer before Rainbow Dash interrupted.

“Yes, it's all true!” she said, surprising everyone in the crowd before closing the door and leaving several with mouths agape.

Once inside, Spitfire looked at Dashie, rather annoyed. They both broke into laughter. “Did you see the looks on their faces?” Dash asked, still laughing hard.

“I feel bad for them, most of them obsessing over me with no other life, and nearly no abilities. I wouldn't say this in front of them, of course, because I still need to be a role model for them, but it is kinda pathetic.”

Dash looked hurt, but quickly recovered because Spitfire herself had told her that she was already being considered as the next member of the team. Even if she did say that, it wouldn't matter. Rainbow wouldn't let a slip of the tongue ruin this. She WAS the element of loyalty, after all.

They moved to the couch, laying there and kissing, to quell any further doubt in the fans - who were still outside- that Spitfire truly had a marefriend now. After the last of them left the window, they started towards the kitchen to get some coffee the way they both liked it. Rainbow decided to try a little of the liquid rainbow - asking Spitfire first, of course- to try and build up an immunity to it.

They chatted over coffee, and when they were finished both went to bed. Dash was surprised by the amount of books Spitfire had. When she asked about them, Spitfire simply said “I'm a bit of an egghead when it comes to math- I use a lot of trig and geometry to plan out the flight plan perfectly. Everyone on the team knows the conversion tables on the vectors depending on the wind speed.”

Dash was stunned, a lot of what Spitfire just said going right over her head. She giggled, saying “Ya know, on Twilight that nerdy stuff can get a bit annoying, but with you it's really cute. You make it sound cooler too- it actually is USEFUL the way you use it.”

Spitfire smiled, and laid down on the bed, shutting of one of the lamps. Rainbow followed, cuddling against her lover and marefriend. Overall, today went really well for the both of them. They slept, dreaming happy dreams, and thinking about the future.

(Author's note: I'll be taking a short break from writing- don't expect the next chapter until either Friday or Saturday.)
(Author's note P.S.; I have a habit of doing this stuff over the rest of my life, and knowing me, I'll probably still pump out a chapter tomorrow.)

The Strongest Magic of all, Part one.

Spitfire flew through the skies above the Ponyville town square. She was headed to Dashie's house, the square as full as always. Applejack's stand was vacant, however, and sugarcube corner was closed for “A little while.” Whatever that meant. In fact, almost every business run by Rainbow Dash's friends was closed right now. However, this didn't really surprise Spitfire- Twilight had come by and picked Dash up from the practice track with a teleportation spell.

Spitfire knew it was urgent- Twilight's face was flushed with dread and the look on Rainbow's face when Twilight finished talking told her as much.

Still, it had been three hours and anything that had come up should have been dealt with by now.

She could still shrug off the absence of the ponies at that time, however. The tipping point was when she started to approach Dash's house.

As she touched down, she saw that the curtains were drawn and the door locked. She knew they still weren't back and might need help. Spitfire immediately took off again in search of Spike the dragon- he was usually in the loop concerning these things as he was Twilight's personal assistant (or so Dash told her).

Spitfire flew as fast as she could across the square, nearly leaving a trail of fire in the sky. The library felt agonizingly far away from the cloud house Rainbow Dash lived in. As she sped past the colorful blur that was a crowd of ponies going about their business, she overheard several shouts from them- from gasps of amazement to screams of terror. She sped towards the tree library at blinding speed, nearly crashing into the middle of the trunk.

Landing on the ground, hard, she banged on the door as hard as she could nearly causing it to buckle under the strain.

“Okay, okay, I'm coming. Sheesh. Oh, hi Spit-”

“WHERE ARE RAINBOW DASH AND HER FRIENDS? I NEED TO KNOW NOW!!!” Spitfire interrupted the dragon mid sentence.

“Th-They went into Everfree with the elements of harmony. Something about fighting off the remaining spirit of Nightmare Moon. Twilight told me not to worry, they should be back really soon.”

Spitfire had already sped off into the distance, already nearing the borders of the unnatural forest that is Everfree. She knew where to go- Dash had told her enough stories about the adventures of her and her friends that she knew where it all started.

The castle of the two sisters. Already it was visible in the distance, the dark, foreboding forest below seemingly calling for the demise of any and all who step into it's borders.

Spitfire heard the tortured cry of a beast in extreme pain. Immediately, she doubled her speed to where she could almost see a Sonic Rainboom cone forming around her hooves.

As she neared the source of the cries, the sound stopped abruptly. Over the trees, Spitfire could see the 4 heads of a Hydra jutting out into the sky. Something about it didn't seem right- as if it emanated darkness.

Slowly flying towards the clearing that was the castle of the two sisters, she saw six ponies laying in a semicircle with one slightly closer to the feet of the Hydra. The pony, of course, had a rainbow mane and a cyan coat.

Swooping down, Spitfire was seething. She flew at the Hydra with all her strength and hit it right in the neck, hopefully causing it some pain.

It worked, but before Spitfire knew it she was swatted out of the sky by the head of the beast, with it loudly exclaiming “INSOLENT FOOL! DOTH THOU KNOWEST WHOM THY ARE ADDRESSING?!?”

Spitfire landed hard near the unconscious cyan pony, seeing her love battered and bruised. Again enraged, she flew up and attacked once again, the Hydra's massive form unable to react quickly enough to dodge.

Once more, the mare was knocked down, only to get up again and face down the possessed beast.

“I AM NIGHTMARE MOON, THE BRINGER OF DARKNESS AND YOUR PRINCESS OF THE NIGHT! THE INSOLENCE THAT YOU HAVE SHOWN HERE WILL NOT GO UNPUNISHED!”

The Hydra took a swoop at Spitfire, but the mare's agile form easily dodged, and again Spitfire took the opportunity to inflict more pain. She had bruises all over her body, but she managed the strength for one more pass. Reacting quickly this time, the Hydra struck down the orange pegasis, knocking her to the ground with a sickening crunch. She was down for the count.

The Hydra laughed at the pathetic ponies she saw in front of her. Through her pain, spitfire attempted to drag herself closer to Rainbow. Several ribs were broken, and even more were cracked or bruised. It was pure agony.

“THE FOAL DOES NOT WISH TO QUIT! VERY WELL THEN- WE SHALL MAKE HER SUFFER MORE!”

With that, Nightmare Moon cast a spell surrounding Spitfire with mud and quicksand, making the journey that much more unbearable. Her resolve did not fade; however, but grew stronger with every time she collapsed. She would make it to Rainbow, or she would die trying.

Seeing this, the possessed beast regarded her with a look that resembled respect, before returning to the normal scowl. Clearly, this mare would stop at nothing to reach her friend. She thought to herself, 'Does this mare really think this will do any good? They've lost, I've won. Nopony can stop my plan now.' Nightmare returned her attention to the problem at hand- the completion of the scheme she had been developing for the past year now. Biding her time.

Spitfire crawled ever closer to Dashie- the pain increasing steadily, and her desire to hold the mare one last time growing exponentially. Progress was agonizingly slow, the quicksand holding down her injured forlegs and the mud causing her to slip and slide and gain no traction. She inched ever closer, being within a few feet of the cyan pony. She would make it. She had to.

After what seemed like an eternity, she grabbed hold of the pony and did something that surprised even Nightmare. She kissed her. The limp form of Rainbow Dash slowly feeling alive again, and a light enveloping all six ponies in front of her, Spitfire jumped back in surprise- immediately regretting that reaction.

“WHAT IS THIS? NOOO!” Nightmare yelled at the recent development

Everypony looked as if they were in shock, but the necklaces they were wearing were emitting enough power for Spitfire to feel the heat from where she was laying.

A beam of rainbows fired out of all six of them, becoming intertwined and angling down on the Hydra as if they were being fired from artillery.

“NOOOOOoooooo....” shouted Nightmare moon, slowly diminishing to a small whimper. They did it- they had won.

Suddenly, both Spitfire and Dash collapsed to the ground- their injuries finally getting the better of them, and their aching bodies protesting to any further movement by knocking them both unconscious.

***

Spitfire awoke in a soft bed in an all white room. Judging by the smell and decorum (or lack thereof), she guessed she was in a hospital. Looking down on herself, she had several bandages, a cast and an IV hooked up to her. Across the room, she could see that Rainbow was in similar condition- excepting the position of the cast and bandage. They had obviously suffered similar injuries at the hands of Nightmare.

As she tried to move, a sudden dizzy spell came over Spitfire causing her to collapse back onto the bed and become, once again, comatose on the sterilized mattress.

About 9 hours later, she awoke with a start- seeing five ponies surrounding Rainbow Dash. She mustered the strength to say something, but it came out as a barely intelligible sentence.

“Whahappun?”

The group of ponies turned in surprise, eager to see the mare that had just woken up.

Twilight was the first to respond- “We got in a fight with Nightmare Moon. It turns out that the Elements couldn't kill the personality off- they could only cause it to weaken slightly. It would take several shots to kill, normally.”

“a...and...this... time?” spitfire asked, gasping nearly every word. She was still in pain, and nearing blackout again.

“This time it was different. The last time we fought Nightmare, we used the magic of Friendship- a powerful, binding magic- but it wasn't quite strong enough. I was the spark last time, Spitfire. This time, it was you. You were the spark. You bolstered the Elements with an even stronger type of magic- love. Love is the strongest form of magic there is- using it correctly allows you to accomplish anything. When you were crawling towards Rainbow Dash, even if it was simply to die in her arms, you showed more courage, love and generosity than most ponies show in their entire lives. The magic created by this defeated Nightmare.”

Mulling this over in her misty brain, Spitfire latched on to something she deemed important.

“So.. It's over?”

“Yes, it's over. Forever.”

With those reassuring words, Spitfire allowed the darkness to come. She was at peace for the time being.

To be concluded.

The Strongest Magic of all, Part Two.

Spitfire woke up again. Her entire body was covered in sweat- the only thing keeping her awake was the adrenaline. She looked over at the bed across from her where Rainbow Dash was laying. She sighed in relief, seeing that the vitals were normal.

Spitfire tried to get out of the bed- her ribs were still broken, so she didn't get very far. She powered through the pain until she reached the bedside of Rainbow Dash, who still remained unconscious. There was a chair, and Spitfire fell into it gasping from pain. She wouldn't be moving from here again. For now, she just stared at the peaceful look on Rainbow's face, before succumbing to the pain and passing out.
***

Rainbow woke up, her eyes fluttering open and eliciting a yawn from the mare. The sharp pain she felt in her side ended it with a heavy gasp. She saw Spitfire, blacked out on the chair next to her bed. Ignoring the pain, she yelled “NURSE! COME QUICK!!!”

A nurse bust through the doors and saw the injured mare on the chair before picking her up and carrying her back to the bed. The magic healing spells, while powerful, were not instant and needed the patient to stay still until the injuries were healed. The nurse sighed, seeing that was not going to happen with these two.

“Thanks, nurse. She looked like she was in a lot of pain.”

“Just stay in bed, Rainbow. Make sure she does, too,” the nurse responded, giving Spitfire a shot of pain medication. Her face eased up, switching from a contorted look of pain to a soft look of slumber.

Rainbow nodded, and the nurse accepted this.

Rainbow was fully awake now, the restraints of sleep lifted from her mind. She asked Twilight to bring books to her, surprisingly- it was better than doing nothing. Now that she was stable and awake, they took the IV feeding her nutrients off and began easing her back into solid foods. Mostly, she stuck to daisy sandwiches and apple juice, but sometimes she would get something strange- coffee with liquid rainbow in it and sometimes nothing at all.

Spitfire slipped in and out of consciousness less and less frequently and the nurses came in more and more as this happened. This piqued Rainbow's curiosity.

“Nurse, what is going on? Is Spitfire alright?”

“No- she's in a coma. She might not come out of it for a while. Don't worry, though- she's safe. Her vital signs are all stable and nominal, and her ribs are healing normally and at an accelerated rate.”

Rainbow was relieved, before asking “How long am I going to need to stay in bed?”

“Only a few more days. They'll go by in a flash.”

They did, really- Rainbow enjoyed watching Spitfire peacefully dream, and talking to her on occasion. Even in a coma, Spitfire talked in her sleep. Every once in a while, Soarin would come in and talk to the both of them. He would inform Spitfire of how the Wonderbolts were doing, and he would talk to dash about what happened the day of the incident that put Spitfire where she was today. Rainbow Dash still felt guilty about what Spitfire did- she didn't want her to get hurt, and she ended up causing her more pain than any other pony in the world.

As soon as Rainbow was able to move, she got up from her bed and sat in the chair next to Spitfire. She talked to her, remembering something about ponies still hearing you in a coma. She even read to her, making sure that she wasn't bored and had something to think about.

Every night, before falling asleep, Rainbow would lean down and kiss Spitfire on the cheek, and every time she thought she saw Spitfire smile a little bit. Dash felt a little guilty that she was getting sleep at a time like this, but she knew Spitfire wouldn't want her to get hurt because Spitfire had hurt herself.

Rainbow's friends visited frequently, asking her to come home and rest. She refused- she wouldn't let Spitfire, the mare who risked her own life for her, be alone when she woke up. They gave up and just brought food or more books every time they stopped by.

“Hey, Twilight?” Dash asked when her friend stepped in the room

“Yeah Dash?”

“Do you think you could tutor me in math? Spitfire's a bit of a geek, and when she's talking I want to be able to understand more of what she's talking about.”

Twilight smiled at her friend's affectionate gesture. “Sure. I'll find some math textbooks and see what we can do.”

Rainbow's thoughts were cut short when Spitfire moved, groaning.

“How l-long was I out?” Spitfire asked groggily, with a yawn on her lips.

Rainbow jumped up and hugged her, crying.

“Nearly two weeks now. You were in a coma.”

Spitfire's stomach rumbled, and Dash laughed. “Let's go get you some real food.”

Spitfire got up, her ribs healed as well as Dash's. They walked down to the cafeteria where they sat down to eat. Their lunch was simple, much like they always had when they were together. Spitfire ate ferociously, her empty stomach getting the better of her.

“Hey Spitfire- I never found out; what happened to Nightmare when you came into Everfree? What did you do to stop it?”

“Hasn't Twilight told you?” Spitfire responded.

Looking slightly embarrassed, Dash told her “I never asked- it only really came to my mind when I saw you awake.”

“I kissed you. I was crawling over to you after I was injured- Nightmare made THAT a living hell- and then I reached out to you, pulled you over and kissed you. Twilight said something about a spark, and then all of your necklaces started to glow. Nightmare was destroyed.”

Dash looked at the mare in front of her, bewildered. She put her hoof on Spitfire's back, and was unsure what to do.

“Dash, I love you with every fiber of my being. I needed to be near you if I died. I loved you from the day you amazed everyone with the sonic rainboom to the day I saw you in your gown at the gala. When I saw you on that cloud, I needed to act. I still loved you, Rainbow, when I went after you into that forest. If you'd like, we can talk about it somewhere more private. Your place. 7:30. I'll be there. Go get yourself ready.”

Dash nearly jumped out of her seat. She was amazed at this spontaneous, heartfelt confession of Spitfire's feelings. Saying a quick goodbye, she rushed out of the hospital to go get ready. Life was good.

At the date that night, Spitfire had gone all out in her appearances. She looked beautiful- her mane let down and combed in such a way that it almost looked wet. She was wearing some eyeliner, something that sport ponies like her and Rainbow never did aside from at formal events. Dash had Applejack prepare the dinner for them- Rainbow's meager cooking skills were not helped by the fact that she had been in the hospital for weeks.

Dash had even cleaned her house out for the date, the normal squalor replaced by a romantic table setting and candlelight. Pouring some apple cider (also provided by AJ) for the both of them, she told Spitfire “You look fantastic.”

Spitfire smiled, taking pleasure in the other mare's affectionate looks and wonderfully combed mane.

“You don't look to bad yourself,” she retorted.

Rainbow blushed; “Rarity helped me with it, she always was good with that frilly stuff. All our friends have been so supportive of us I have a hard time coming up with something romantic on our own. They really are happy for us.”

Spitfire thought back, somehow remembering things Soarin had said to her during her sleep. Her friends were happy, too.

Spitfire wasn't eating as much as earlier, hoping to maintain some dignity in front of her date. A lot of what happened over the past weeks was unknown to her, but some of it she could remember. She remembered Dash reading, in her stumbling fashion, and she remembered all the times Dash kissed her.

She hoped she could return the favor tonight. “How about I stay here tonight, Dashie?” Spitfire asked, in between small sips of wine.

Catching a seductive glance from Spitfire, Dash answered “Sure.”

They walked up to Dash's bedroom around 9:30, Spitfire hiding a small black box in her pocket.

It was going to be a big night.

The end.

(Authors Note: Damn, I like this ending.)