~Two Weeks Later~

Rainbow Dash streaked through the sky a rainbow blur following in her wake. Suddenly, she dropped into a dive corkscrewing towards Ponyville below her. At the last possible second she pulled up blasting over the heads of small crowd of ponies watching her the gust of wind almost causing some of them to lose their footing. They cheered in astonishment as she bolted back up amongst the clouds. Rainbow Dash revelled in the sounds of their cheers. One particular orange pegasus filly seemed especially impressed with Rainbow’s stunts. Maybe sometime she should give her a few pointers.

Just as Rainbow Dash was preparing to start her next set of stunts, she caught a glimpse of somepony waving to her at the edge of town. It was Fluttershy; Rainbow Dash knew what that meant. She quickly descended to the ground and stopped in front of the cheering crowd of ponies.

“Sorry, guys that’s all for today,” Rainbow stated.

The crowd hushed as confusion set in. It wasn’t like Rainbow Dash to stop so early in her routine, especially when she had an audience. But Rainbow Dash wasn’t paying the crowd much attention; she was already trotting over to where Fluttershy was waiting patiently. Once Rainbow Dash reached Fluttershy, Fluttershy gave her a nod and began to lead her away with Rainbow Dash trailing like a small filly at her mother’s hooves. Some of the ponies in the crowd murmured speculations to each other as they broke apart to go back to their daily jobs. Scootaloo watched Dash in perplexity for a few moments longer before she turned back toward Ponyville. Maybe her friends were up to something more interesting.

As Rainbow Dash followed Fluttershy to her cottage, she couldn’t help but reflect on how lucky she was to have a friend like Fluttershy who let her attend to her needs. Something about that thought felt a bit off, but Rainbow Dash couldn’t quite put her hoof on it. She glanced back at Fluttershy and a warm feeling of security washed over her. What a wonderful friend Fluttershy was indeed.

~Three Years Later~

Rainbow Dash was pumped. She and the other Wonderbolts were in the locker room preparing for their show in Fillydelphia. It would be Dash's hundredth show since she finally joined the Wonderbolts two years ago. Suddenly, a knock came at the door.

“Letter for Rainbow Dash,” a muffled voice called.

“I’ve got it,” Rainbow Dash said trotting over to the door and taking the letter.

She sat down on her haunches and started to open the letter.

“Hey Dash, the show starts in a few minutes. You can read fan mail afterwards. If you get your head much bigger before the show, you’re going to have trouble flying,” Spitfire teased.

But Rainbow Dash recognized the scent on the stationery: this wasn’t fan mail. She read the letter as quickly as she could.

“Sorry guys, it looks like I’m gonna have to skip out on this one. Fluttershy needs me,” Rainbow Dash said matter-of-factly.

“What?!,” Spitfire yelled, “It’s two minutes before the show starts! What does that mare need now that can’t wait a couple hours?!”

“Well..uh..you see she has a..uh..cough,...and she needs me to..uh..make her carrot and watercress soup the way she likes it. Like I said, I’m sorry, but I’d better get going.”

With that she folded the letter back into its envelope, tucked it away, stepped out the door, and dashed away without another word.

Spitfire snorted and rolled her eyes.

“I tell you: sometimes I wonder about that mare. She’s one of the boldest, most daring fliers I’ve ever known, but she lets that Fluttershy walk all over her,” she grumbled.

“It’s a good thing we always have a backup routine,” Soarin stated.

Spitfire turned to him irritatedly.

“Yah, but that’s in case somepony gets injured during practice before the show not for when somepony’s friend catches a case of the sniffles.”

An administrator poked her head in the door, “You’re on in thirty seconds”

“All right ponies,” Spitfire addressed the rest of the Wonderbolts. “Due to a slight change of plans, we’ll be performing routine bravo today. Get to your positions and wait for my signal.”

~~~

Fluttershy smiled as Rainbow Dash stepped through her door.

“There’s the big, strong Wonderbolt now,” she cooed. “It’s so wonderful that you have time for little ol’ me, Dashie.”

“I’ll always have time for my oldest and dearest friend,” Rainbow Dash said as she stepped forward to nuzzle Fluttershy's neck.

“I know,” Fluttershy said as she stroked Dash’s mane.

~Finis~

Author's Note

This ending is an addendum to make the story more conclusive if you want to be left with more than implications of the future. If you already read the story earlier, you'll notice I just made the future parts their own chapter.