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Fire and Rainbows

by DandT

It started as a normal morning for Rainbow Dash, that being she was fast asleep in her cloud house after a hard day of keeping the skies above Ponyville clear, followed by a hard session of napping. Unfortunately for her, today she was the first stop on Ditzy's mail route. She was in the middle of a really good dream when she was awoken by a loud knock at the door but rather than answer it she just groaned, rolled over and tried to get back to sleep until there was another knock at the door. She sighed, resigned to the fact that today she was going to be awake before lunch time and stumbled out of bed to answer the door which by now had been knocked for a third time.

“Ugh! Okay, I'm coming already, keep your mane on.” she grumbled, opening her front door where she was greeted by Ponyville's mail pony.

“Good morning Rainbow Dash, I've got a letter here for you.”

“Why didn't you just post it through the letterbox?” She still wasn't happy about being woken up so early in the morning but the letter did look important in its gold envelope.

“You don't have one silly.” she replied with a giggle.

“Heh, oh yeah, I should probably fix that.” she said as she took the letter off Ditzy.

Quickly trotting back inside, Dash placed the golden envelope on a table to get a proper look at it, her name and address had been written with a delicate cursive style, it had been sent from Canterlot and had a royal seal on it. She was no longer quite so excited to open it after the chaos that was caused at the Grand Galloping Gala. What if it was a letter banning her from going to Canterlot again, maybe it was a bill for all the damage that was caused by the pillars the fell over or even worse, what if it was a restraining order saying that she couldn't go near the Wonderbolts ever again! Nervously she opened the envelope and laid the letter out on the table to read it.

Dear Ms Rainbow Dash

I am writing to congratulate you on winning the silent auction you entered at this year's Grand Galloping Gala. I am pleased to inform you that your bid of 500 bits was the highest received for the prize of having lunch with Spitfire, captain of the Wonderbolts. Please bring the amount shown and this letter to the Charity Commission HQ in Canterlot so a date can be set for your meeting.

Yours Sincerely

Constelle Starlight

Dash's eyes opened wide in a mix of shock and delight as she started to bounce around the room shouting “Ohmygosh!” She couldn't believe it, she placed that bet on a whim not actually expecting to win but she had and she just had to tell somepony about it. Grabbing the letter, Dash ran out the door and took off in the direction of Fluttershy's house at the edge of Ponyville.

*        *        *

Rainbow Dash had barely landed outside Fluttershy's house before she was knocking on the door. “Hey Fluttershy, you in there?” she called out through an open window.

The door opened but rather than the yellow pegasus she was expecting, Dash was greeted by a small foal. “Oh, hey Rainbow Dash, if you're after Fluttershy she's at the farm with ma' big sis,” Apple Bloom was standing in the doorway proudly wearing her Cutie Mark Crusader cape, “we look after the house for her while she spends time with Applejack.”

In the background Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle yelled “CUTIE MARK CRUSADER HOUSE SITTERS, YAY!”

Dash recoiled at the level of noise the two foals made with their enthusiastic shouting and was glad that Apple Bloom didn't join in with them. “Oh, thanks Apple Bloom! Tell Scootaloo I said hi.” Dash let Apple Bloom get back to her quest to protect Fluttershy's house and once more took off in search of her friend, this time heading for Sweet Apple Acres.

*        *        *

Circling around above Sweet Apple Acres, Dash spotted Fluttershy sitting with Applejack on a hilltop surrounded in all directions by a sea of green tree tops. She called out to her friends as she descended towards them, landing in front of them with a thud.

“Oh, um, hi Rainbow Dash. What brings you out this way?” Fluttershy was slightly shocked by Dash's sudden appearance.

Dash was so excited she was trotting on the spot as she showed the pair the letter and told them that she'd won the opportunity to have lunch with Spitfire. “I just know it's going to be so awesome!” she squealed.

“Five hundred bits! How the hay can you afford that Dash?” Applejack asked, amazed at the amount.

“What? I get paid for being a weather pony AJ and I don't exactly spend my money on things like dresses or going to the spa.” Fluttershy frowned at her, “N-not that there's any wrong with going to the spa.” Dash smiled sheepishly.

“Oh Dash, I'm so happy for you.” said Fluttershy, forgiving Dash’s comment about the spa.

“Me too sugarcube, at least one of us got something good out of that night.”

“Thanks girls, I'll make sure to come back and tell you all about it afterwards but I better go, I need to go to Canterlot and pay for this before they give it to somepony else.” She gave the other ponies a hug and headed off on her way.

*        *        *

Rainbow Dash was leaving the bank in Canterlot with five hundred bits weighting down her saddle bags when she spotted a familiar looking unicorn standing in the lobby looking rather frustrated.

“Rarity, what are you doing here in Canterlot?” she asked, noticing the fashionista's own saddlebags were overflowing with paperwork.

Rarity turned around to face the inquisitive pony and was quite surprised to see it was Rainbow Dash, “I could ask you the same thing dear but I'm here to have my annual meeting with my finance manager to make sure everything is in order. It's not easy running your own business you know.”

“That err...certainly sounds...fun.” Dash said flatly, finances and taxes bored her to the core.

“Oh no, not at all but it has to be done, now go on darling and tell me why you're here in the main bank in Canterlot.” Rarity asked, changing the subject quickly, eager to find out why her friend was carrying two saddlebags that were bulging with money.

Dash pulled out the letter she received that morning and showed it to Rarity while explaining that she'd stopped off to tell Fluttershy and Applejack on her way to Canterlot. “So now I'm off to pay so I can have lunch with Spitfire!”

The unicorn's eyes lit up as she gasped with delight, “Oh you lucky filly, you simply must stop by at the boutique when we both get back to Ponyville so I can make you a nice dress for you...”

“Oh no, no dresses Rarity, I'm only having lunch,” she interrupted before her friend got too carried away with her ideas.

“Darling, there is no such thing as only lunch, this could be your opportunity to impress the leader of the Wonderbolts, you must look your best for her.”

She had to admit it, her friend had a point about having the chance to make an impression on Spitfire but she still didn't want to wear a fancy dress out to lunch. “But...”

Before Dash could get another word out she was cut short by Rarity moving right next to her to say “You must! You must, you must, you must!”

Admitting defeat she sighed and agreed to see Rarity the morning she was to meet Spitfire. “Only so you can make sure my mane is okay but no dresses!”

Rarity pouted and was about to complain but her name was called out from the other side of the bank so she said her goodbyes to Dash and walked off to meet her finance manager. The pegasus breathed a sigh of relief, Rarity was a good friend but she got carried away when it came to meeting famous ponies. Now that she was alone again Dash could get back to the important matter of paying for her lunch with Spitfire, she hoped that where she needed to go wasn't too far away as flying wasn't going to be easy while carrying this much money.

*        *        *

A week had passed since Rainbow Dash made the trip to Canterlot to arrange the date to have lunch with Spitfire and today was the big day, she'd be meeting her heroine at the café in the centre of Ponyville. She was so exited that the night before she made sure to go to bed early and even managed to get up on time to go and see Rarity at her boutique.

“Can you hurry up Rarity, I've been sitting here for hours!” Dash complained, her mane was wrapped in a towel, her face was covered in mud and she had cucumber slices on her eyes. She'd only agreed to have Rarity sort out her mane but there was no stopping the unicorn once she'd started pulling out her various beauty products.

“Rainbow Dash, you cannot rush these things. You simply must look your best for Spitfire.” Replied Rarity while examining various mane care products to find the one that would make her friend's rainbow mane positively dazzle in the sunlight.

“I know, you've been saying that all week whenever you saw me. I just don't like all this sitting around doing nothing.” Dash was impatient at the best of times but today was worse than usual. It was getting close to the time she was supposed to be meeting Spitfire and there didn't seem to be an end to Rarity's make over coming any time soon.

Removing the towel from her friend's head Rarity started to pour something into her mane. “Stop squirming dear, it's just a leave in conditioner for your mane. It will make it shine and stop it from being frizzy.”

“And just what's wrong with my mane being frizzy? I like it frizzy.”

“Darling, if you're going to be a Wonderbolt then you're going to have to look your best all the time, and that means no frizz.” Rarity made her point by brushing her friend's mane, “And we'll do the same for you tail too, you can't leave your tail looking flat and lifeless while your mane looks simply radiant.”

“Fine, but you better not be thinking of putting make-up on me, I'm not wearing that stuff to lunch.” grumbled the pegasus, still thinking that Rarity was making far to big a fuss over going to lunch with somepony.

There was a nervous chuckle from Rarity as she pushed her make-up box away with a hind leg, “Of course not dear, I wouldn't dream of such a thing unless you asked for it.”

*         *        *

Rainbow Dash caught her reflection in a shop window on her way to the café which made her stop dead in her tracks, she had to give Rarity credit, her mane and tail were silky smooth and the colours were brilliantly vibrant. She'd have to get Rarity to show her what she used so she could do it herself rather that waiting around doing nothing because she looked and felt fantastic. Unlike Applejack, Rainbow Dash didn't mind having make overs, what she didn't like was standing around waiting while somepony fussed about with different products that all did the same thing.

While she was admiring her reflection Dash hadn't noticed the orange pegasus that had landed nearby and had silently been watching her flex her wings while making comments on how cool she looked. Spitfire stepped up next to Dash and tapped her on the shoulder. “Hey, it's Rainbow Dash right? Weren't you the pony that saved Soarin's pie at the Gala?” she asked.

Looking away from herself, Dash finally realised that her heroine was right here with her without the usual crowds that followed the Wonderbolts everywhere. “Ohmygosh! Spitfire, you actually came! Er, I mean, yeah that was totally me and then you invited me to hang out with you. Not that we really got to hang out much.”

Spitfire blushed with embarrassment, she'd forgotten about that. “Oh...yeah,” she hung her head, ashamed with the way Dash was ignored that night, “but today it's just you and me so hopefully I can make it up to you. Now, let's get some lunch, I'm starving.”

With Dash leading the way the two ponies walked into the centre of town to the nearby café. The café was in the middle of its lunch time rush with waiters constantly moving back and forth taking orders from tables and bringing food out from the kitchen. Spitfire stopped the nearest waiter and explained the situation, flashing her Wonderbolt ID card in the process. The waiter's momentary look of shock was soon replaced with a smile as he led the pegasi to a table already set out for two.

“Wow, do you always get served that quickly?” Dash inquired, amazed at how quickly they were seen to in the busy café.

“Heh, yeah, it's one of the perks of being in the Wonderbolts.” She didn't have the heart to tell her fan that they just had a reservation in her name, thinking that the extra bit of mystique wouldn't do any harm.

“So, Spitfire...” Dash started, unsure of what to ask. Here she was finally alone with her heroine and her mind had gone blank, “um, what's err...what's your favourite flying trick?”

What Dash though was a simple question actually caused Spitfire to go deep into thought while mumbling quietly to herself. “That's a good question, the Fire Flash is a good move but the Burning Blaze looks good too...” She carried on rambling even as Dash tried to get her attention. “I can't decide, I know too many moves to be able to pick a favourite one, what about you Dash?”

“Oh well that's easy, the Sonic Rainboom of course! I'm the only pegasus that's ever managed to pull it off AAAAND I've done it twice!” Replied Dash instantly.

“Heh, I should have guessed, I just wish I could have seen the one you did at the Best Young Flyers competition. Your friend has mighty strong kick, I lost a tooth from that you know.” She raised a hoof to her mouth to emphasise her point which she then waved at Dash to stop her as she tried to apologise for Rarity's actions, insisting that it wasn't her fault.

The pair continued discussing tricks at great length, exchanging ideas for new moves and telling stories about those that didn't quite work out properly which mostly involved Dash falling into her friend's houses. The topic eventually came to an end but Dash already had her next question ready for Spitfire.

“Hey Spitfire, have you ever dated any of the other Wonderbolts?” She asked the other pegasus who blushed and turned to look away.

“Well, I did have a fling with Soarin' not that long ago but it didn't really work out.” she admitted frankly not really sure whether she should be embarrassed by it or not.

Dash was shocked by the answer, she had only asked as a joke. “No way, what happened?”

“Well, he's a nice stallion and all but it just wasn't working out between us.” There was a hint of sadness in Spitfire's reply, “He was always more concerned with meeting his fans and satisfying his stomach. Last time I asked, he was trying to find the pony that sold him that pie at the Gala but I don't know if he's after her or the pies.”

“That was my friend Applejack that sold him the pie!” Dash answered enthusiastically, “She wouldn't mind meeting him actually, he was her only sale that entire night but he won't get very far with her if he wants more than just pies, she's been together with my other friend Fluttershy for a while now.”

“What a coincidence, maybe I'll send him over but enough about Soarin', that's in the past. There must be a pony you've got eye on Dash?” Spitfire asked, trying to change the subject.

“Nah, I've dated a couple of pegasus stallions but they were all jerks who just wanted to prove that they were faster than me all the time and then got all moody when they couldn't beat me.” She chuckled “But that's what they get for dating the fastest flyer in Equestria.”

“I've had that one before, the guys really don't like it when a filly is faster than them.” She grinned before leaning in closer to Dash, “I know this was only supposed to be for lunch but I've got the rest of the day off, you want to go for a flight and show me some of your ideas?” she asked, knowing it was a lie, she was supposed to be back in Canterlot that evening but she was the captain and she could pull rank when she got back.

“Ohmygosh! You want to go flying with me?” She was stunned, sure she'd spent the day with the Wonderbolts before but that was because they had to spend the day with her for winning the Best Young Flyers Competition, this however was different, this was Spitfire asking personally. She got so excited that she started to hyperventilate.

Spitfire reached out and put a hoof over Dash's shoulder, “Hey, calm down and say yes so we can get out of here.” she said to the rather shocked mare.

Dash took a few moments to compose herself before trying to reply, “Y-yeah, let's go!” she finally managed to say.

The pair spent the rest of the day flying all over Ponyville leaving a tangled web of rainbows and storm clouds where ever they went. This was flying like Rainbow Dash had never experienced before, finally she was flying with someone that could keep up with her and even show her a thing or two when it came to tricks. She showed Spitfire some of her tricks she had lined up for when she finally got to audition for the Wonderbolts and asked if they would be good enough to get her noticed by the others.

For Spitfire it reminded her of a time where flying didn't just involve performing the same routines day in, day out with the same ponies. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy flying with the Wonderbolts but at the height of the show season the performances almost became sterile without the passion they could all put in if given the chance like today. She would have to change this somehow when she got back, maybe she could incorporate free style routines to the main shows and let the others do what they want too.

The sun was setting low in the sky, filling it with shades of orange and red and bringing a steady calmness to the end of the day. Watching the spectacle from a cloud somewhere high up in the sky were two pegasai, both of them worn out from half a day of relentless flying. They had been watching the sun sink below the horizon for some time before the sky blue mare finally broke the silence.

“Wow Spitfire, today has been so awesome, like totally amazingly awesome. I don't think I'm ever going to have another day as good as this one.” Dash rambled.

“Yeah, it's been fantastic and it's even given me some ideas for future shows too. I just wish I had more days like this where I could do my own thing.” she replied, her tone getting slightly downcast as she trailed off at the end.

“Well why don't you come back here when you can, you know I'll always have time to fly with you.” Dash could hardly believe she had just told the captain of the Wonderbolts to come and hang out with her again.

“Yeah, I think I'd like that. It's the down season for performances and I'm going to suggest some changes for the coming new season that should give us all some more free time, you could be my training partner Dash.”

This was it, Dash had a hoof in the door to becoming a Wonderbolt. She'd impress Spitfire when they flew together and she'd invite her to meet with the rest of the Wonderbolts and they'd all be so impressed that they'd ask her to join right away.

By now the sun was gone and the moon was rising into the deep purple of the night sky, softly illuminating the two ponies on their cloud perch up above Ponyville.

“It's getting late Dash, I really should get back to Canterlot as I'll have some explaining to do about where I've been.”

“You're not going to get into trouble over this are you?”

“No, but the others are going to be curious to where I've been all day.” she chuckled, “I'll see you again soon all right.” she called out as she leapt off the cloud into the darkness of the night leaving Dash to watch her fly into the distance.

Wow, what a day she though, I'm going to be Spitfire's personal training partner! This is so awesome! She waited until Spitfire had disappeared into the sea of darkness before taking to the air herself and heading for her cloud home over Ponyville.

Fire and Rainbows

Chapter 2

By DandT

A month had come and gone since Rainbow Dash met Spitfire for lunch, which culminated in the pair spending the rest of the day flying together and forming the idea of adding individual displays to demonstrate each member’s unique flying skills to the Wonderbolt’s display routine. The other members of the team embraced the idea, agreeing that a bit of friendly rivalry within the group to see who could create the best individual routine could help make the displays even more spectacular.

True to her word, Spitfire made Dash her training partner. She would regularly spend several days at a time staying with Rainbow Dash, allowing the two pegasi to spend whole days flying together to discuss and experiment with new moves. Spitfire would work to perfect her display routine while giving Dash ideas what would look best in a Wonderbolts tryout.

It was late in the afternoon when the two ponies came to rest on the lone cloud hanging in the bright blue sky; the rest had been cleared by the pair as they turned the azure into their own playground.

“Wow Dash, it’s been a long morning, why don’t we go relax out of the sun for a while.”

“Ok, let’s go back to my place. Last one there’s a foal!” She called out as a challenge before diving off the cloud.

Spitfire was left looking at a rapidly fading rainbow trailing off into the distance as the blue pegasus rocketed ahead, she knew Dash was possibly the fastest flyer in Equestria but she wasn’t about to give up on a challenge that easily.

She leapt off the cloud with such force that it broke up behind her, leaving the signature Wonderbolt storm clouds in her wake as she chased along the rainbow path ahead of her. She caught up with Dash slowly, getting in her slipstream behind her ready to make a move at the last moment to get passed. The plan would have worked, however, her thoughts drifted away from winning the spontaneous race as she became mesmerised by Dash’s rainbow tail, captivated by the constantly shifting colours as it flicked about in the wind. The high speed race over Ponyville was over as quickly as it began with Dash landing first shortly ahead of a rather flustered Spitfire.

“Yes! Winner and still undefeated champion of the sky, Rainbow Dash!” She cheered to herself.

“I almost had you that time Dash.”

Dash stopped cheering to respond, “Almost isn’t good enough to beat this pegasus. Hey, you don’t look to good, you ok?” She noticed that Spitfire was looking quite agitated.

“I…err…yeah, I swallowed a bug,” It was a bad lie but she wasn’t about to admit she’d almost just been hypnotised by staring as her friend’s tail.

“Ugh! I hate it when that happens.”

Spitfire breathed a sigh of relief, “Well, I’m going to hit the shower, you coming?”

“What, no! I thought I told you to stop asking me that.”

“Sorry, I’m just so used to showering with the other girls after displays,” she said, turning bright red in the process.

“Alright, if you want me I’ll be busy, napping.”

*              *              *

It was early in the evening when the pair woke up, Spitfire had decided to crash out on Dash’s sofa after her shower rather than disturb Dash.

“Come on Spitfire, we can’t just stay here all evening doing nothing,” Dash was pacing about her lounge restlessly.

“Well, what do you have in mind? I still don’t really know what’s around Ponyville.”

“There’s a new nightclub that’s just opened up, I hear the DJ they’ve got there is amazing.”

“A nightclub? Ok then Dash; let’s see if your dancing is as good as your flying, you better lead the way.”

The pair dived off the clouds and glided serenely down into Ponyville, landing near the club which already had a queue of ponies stretching back from the entrance. Either side of the door stood a tall stallion wearing black jackets and sunglasses even though the light of the day was fading; between them a red velour rope was blocking the door.

“Oh horseapples, I didn’t expect the queue to be this long, we’ll be waiting ages to get in,” Dash said dejectedly.

“You just leave this to me,” responded Spitfire as she strode up to the door, skipping the entire queue.

The nearest bouncer held up a hoof to stop her as she approached, “I’m sorry ma’am, you’re going to have to join the back of the queue like everyone else.”

Without saying anything Spitfire pulled out her Wonderbolts ID card and showed it to the bouncer before she turned and beckoned Dash to join her, “She’s with me.”

“O-of course Ms Spitfire! Please, right this way, ladies,” the bouncer moved the rope out of the way to let the two ponies in, causing several ponies to complain about the amount of time they’d been standing in line.

“Wow Spitfire, is there anything you can’t do with that?”

“Well there are a few places in the Royal Palace that the guards won’t let us into.”

The pair walked through into the darkness of the large central room. The main lights were off, the only light being provided by the multitude of flashing coloured lights set around the DJ’s booth, in which a white unicorn was happily bouncing to the beat of the music; from the various glow sticks constantly twisting and moving in the maelstrom of ponies on the dance floor and from the bar which was clearly lit up in the corner of the room.

“So Dash, you want to show me how well you dance?”

“Well, all the ponies there are going to…cramp my style a bit.”

“Aww, you’re just nervous because you’re with the best dancer in Equestria.”

“I am not!”

Spitfire chuckled at how easy it was to wind up her friend, “Come on Dash, you just need to loosen up,” she led Dash over to the bar and ordered them both a whiskey and coke.

Dash gave the concoction an experimental sniff and stuck her tongue out at it, “Er, I don’t usually drink whiskey.”

“Try it; you’ll like it I’m sure.”

Giving it another sniff first Dash gingerly sipped at the dark brown drink in front of her before coughing at it’s strength, “Oh yeah, that’s good,” she croaked.

Spitfire laughed at Dash’s reaction, “Well, as it looks like you’re going to be drinking that for a while, why don’t you tell me how you got your cutie mark.”

“Ok, it all started in Summer Flight Camp. My friend Fluttershy was there and she wasn’t a very good flyer so bullies started picking on her. Now I don’t care how good a flyer you are, you don’t pick on new flyers, we all had to start somewhere right and you defiantly don’t pick on my friends.”

Spitfire nodded silently while watching Dash intently, absorbed by Dash’s zeal to stand up to the bullies to protect her friend.

“They didn’t like me defending Fluttershy so they challenged me to a race. So we lined up at the start where we had Fluttershy drop a flag to for us and WHOOSH! All three of us shot off like rockets and we err, might have knocked Fluttershy off the clouds as we zoomed passed her. Now obviously I took the lead straight away and while trying to keep up with me one of the guys lost control at crash into a cloud pillar, he was stuck there for hours!”

They both laughed at the image of the young colt getting stuck in a cloud.

“Now it was a one on one but I lost sight of the other guy, I thought maybe he’d gone back to help his friend but what he actually did was fly up above me so he could come down at me with some speed and ram me out the way.”

Spitfire interrupted with a melodramatic gasp, “Whatever did you do?”

“I flew harder and faster than I’d even flown before. You see, I found out that I really, really like winning so I flew as hard as I could and I shot passed him and kept going faster and faster until suddenly BOOM! Equestria’s first ever Sonic Rainboom. It was awesome, I won the race, defended Fluttershy’s honour and done the impossible and that’s when this showed up,” she turned to show off her lightning bolt cutie mark, “It was also thanks to me that my friends got their cutie marks too. They all saw or heard that Sonic Rainboom and it led to them all getting their cutie marks.”

“No way, all of them got their cutie mark because of you?”

“Oh yeah, I’ll take you around to meet them so you can ask them about it and they’ll all say it was thanks to me and my amazing Sonic Rainboom.”

“Yeah, we’ll do that sometime but right now it’s time to dance.”

Dash was about to object but Spitfire was already walking onto the dance floor, “Fine, but I still think there’s too many ponies there,” she grumbled, following the orange pegasus into the sea of dancing ponies until they found a suitable spot for the two of them.

The pair danced together until the early hours of the morning, stopping several times to return to the bar. On more than one occasion while dancing, Dash noticed that Spitfire seemed to be rubbing up against her but put it down to Spitfire having a few too many drinks.

What she hadn’t noticed was Spitfire had been watching the blue mare closely since they got on the dance floor. She’d been examining Dash’s physique, her slender body, her strong, well preened wings, her deep magenta eyes and her rainbow mane and tail.

She’s perfect for flying, there’s no doubt why she’s the one that could pull off a Sonic Rainboom. She mused. And she’s got beauty to match her skills.

“Hey Dash, let’s got find somewhere a bit quieter than this, I’ve got a…surprise for you.”

“Oh, I love surprises!” She said excitedly.

The pair walked out of the throng of ponies still dancing to the beat of the music to a quiet corner of the club, “Ok Dash, close your eyes while I sort out your surprise,” she hoped that the darkness of the room was hiding the fact that she was shaking with a mixture of nervousness and excitement.

There was one thought going through her mind as Dash closed her eyes, This is it, she’s been so impressed with me recently that she’s going to present me with an invite to join the Wonderbolts or maybe my own Wonderbolts ID card.

A couple of minutes passed while Spitfire worked up the courage to enact her plan that would show Dash the growing feelings she’d been harbouring from the time they had been spending together recently.

Dash however still had her eyes closed and was growing slightly impatient with the lack the Wonderbolts ID card she was sure to be getting, “Come on Spitfire, give it to me already.”

So she did.

Dash’s eye shot open to find the orange pegasus directly in front of her with her own eyes closed and her wings flared out either side of her, their lips locked together. The shock at the situation stunned Dash, unable to think straight or move until she was overcome with anger and confusion and shoved Spitfire away.

“What the HAY do you think you’re doing Spitfire?” She was almost shouting.

“I…I just…thought that…that” she stammered, not quite sure what to say at Dash’s explosive and unexpected reaction.

“I’m not a filly-fooler if that’s what you were thinking!” she yelled before storming off towards the exit, leaving an utterly dejected Spitfire alone, crying in the darkness of the nightclub.

Spitfire staggered out of the club, her wings dragged listlessly by her sides while tears streamed down her face. She sat in the cool air of the dawn while she considered her options, in the distance the sun was starting to rise, giving an orange tint to an otherwise purple sky.

She couldn’t stay in Ponyville, not with the way Rainbow Dash might react if she ran into her again later in the day and there was only one pony she could think to turn to. So with tears still clouding her vision and with more effort than usual she took off and headed to Cloudsdale.

*              *              *

It was still early in the morning when she arrived at Cloudsdale, the golden light of the early morning sun softly illuminating the city as it reflected off the clouds. She headed straight to a large house on the upper side of the city, straight to Soarin’s house.

She knew that Soarin’ would still be in bed this early in the morning so rather than knock on the door in a futile attempt to wake him up she decided to commit a pegasus faux pas and flew up to knock on his bedroom window.

“W-what, who’s there, what time is it?” He turned on the light to find Spitfire hovering in the window, “Spitfire, what are you doing here? Oh Celestia you look terrible, come in. What happened to you?”

That simple question caused her to burst into tears again as she flew in through the window, “Oh Soarin’, I’ve ruined everything, now she’s gone and she hates me,” she sobbed before collapsing to the floor, exhausted physically and mentally.

“Come on, lets get you to bed, you can tell me all about it once you’ve had some rest,” he picked up his weary friend and led her to his guest room.

*              *              *

The sun was blazing through the window when Spitfire finally awoke with a pounding headache, in a bed she didn’t recognise. Looking around she gathered no clues to the owner of the lightly decorated room. There was, however, an unmistakable aroma of warm apple pie drifting into the room. Dragging herself out of bed, she stumbled towards the source of the inviting scent which led her into a large kitchen being tended to by a pale blue pegasus.

“Soarin’?”

“Yes? Oh, you’re awake!” He trotted over and offered his guest a chair at the kitchen table.

What am I doing here?” She groaned, holding her head in her forelegs.

“You showed up in my bedroom window at 4 o’clock this morning crying a river and rambling about how you’d messed everything up.”

“I did what! Oh Celestia, I’m so sorry Soarin’.”

Soarin’ served up the apple pie and joined his colleague at the table, “So what have you done?”

“You know I’ve been spending time with Rainbow Dash, the pegasus from Ponyville that won the Best Young Flyers competition right, well…” She knew what she wanted to say but she didn’t want to admit it, not to herself or her friend.

“Well what?”

She sighed; it was now or never, “Well, I might have…sort of fallen for her.”

“What?”

“I’ve fallen for Rainbow Dash.”

Soarin’ dropped his pie in surprise, “Are you…are you telling me you like mares?”

“Yes Soarin’, I like mares, I like Rainbow Dash.”

Soarin’ sat silently while he thought about what he friend was telling him.

“I guess this means there’s no chance for use to get back together?” He said with a grin on his face.

“Soarin’!” She snapped.

“Heh, sorry.”

“So now you know the real reason I broke up with you, I didn’t want to be a…a filly-fooler and I thought that maybe it was just a phase I was going through and that if I dated stallions it’d pass but…”

“Hey, it’s okay you don’t have to apologise to me because of who you are,” Soarin’ rested a hoof on Spitfire’s shoulder, “Because I know how you feel.”

“You do? You mean…”

“Yes, I didn’t want to say anything but I like mares too,” His grin returned.

“Soarin’! You’re not helping.”

“Sorry, I couldn’t resist that one. So what happened last night?”

Spitfire sighed, she just wanted the memories of last night to disappear as if they never happened, “I kissed her, I got drunk and I kissed her. Oh Soarin’, I was sure she felt she same way about me but she got so angry,” Tears started to roll down her cheeks once more, “I could see it in her eyes, I betrayed her trust and her friendship, now she hates me and I’ve messed everything up.”

“Whoa now, are you listening to yourself? This isn’t the Spitfire I know. The Spitfire I know doesn’t stop and sulk when something doesn’t go right, she pursues her goals with a fiery passion, she gets results because she works hard for it, she doesn’t become apathetic when things don’t go her way.”

“But Dash now hates me and never wants to see me again,” she sobbed.

“Did she say she doesn’t want to see you again?”

“Well no but…”

“Just think about this, if she’s ‘the one’ then you need to go there and tell her because moping at my kitchen table isn’t going to help anything.”

She thought about Soarin’s little speech, sure it wasn’t going to help but wallowing in self pity seemed like a good plan right now. She sighed again, “You’re right Soarin’, I should go over there and talk to her, I should apologise to her for what I did at least.”

“Alright, you know I’m here if you need some support, just try and come at a more sociable time in future.”

“Heh yeah, sorry again about that.”

“Oh! Can I just ask for one tiny little favour?”

“Er, sure.”

“If you work this out with her and you get together, can I…” he paused while he struggled to stop himself grinning again.

“Can you what?”

“Can I watch?”

“Soarin’!”

*              *              *

The flight which seemed to take hours earlier that day now passed in the blink of an eye as Spitfire returned to Ponyville with a renewed vigour, heading straight for the elaborate cloud house that hung in the sky above the town, eager to see the owner. Eager to speak to Rainbow Dash to apologise for what she did earlier, to explain how she felt for her. She landed heavily on the clouds with a muffled thump before knocking heavily on the ornate door.

“Who’s there?” Asked a fatigued voice.

“Rainbow Dash, it’s me, Spitfire.”

“Go away; I don’t want to talk to you!”

“Please Dash; I just want to talk…”

“I said leave!” The now noticeably distraught voice interrupted.

She admitted defeat for now, “I’m not going to give up until I’ve spoken to you face to face Dash,” she called out as she took to the air once more.

As she left, Spitfire could just make out the sound of Dash quietly weeping drifting out from a nearby window. She realised how selfish she had been earlier that day when she had drunkenly acted on her own desires without considering Dash’s feelings and in doing so possibly destroyed what had been a good friendship. She promised herself that she would sort this mess out for Dash’s sake even if Dash didn’t have feelings back for her.

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