The Wind Beneath Her Wings

End Of Part One

Nine months and two days have passed since Rainbow Dash finally revealed the true depth of her feelings for Twilight Sparkle, the unicorn, student, and scholar she now calls her wife. They had been friends for many years before that, standing side by side to face challenges and adversaries with strong wills. Together with their other four friends, they comprised the six Bearers of Harmony—Equestria's protectors and heroes, even if the population didn't really pay as much attention to them as they'd like.

They were such capable protectors that when the time came that Rainbow Dash's emotions could finally no longer be kept in check, there was nothing left to protect against. Equestria's enemies were either vanquished or knew better than to attack, and the citizens lived in peace and prosperity. A new golden age was dawning, and it was destined to not be enough for any of them.

Nine months and one day ago, Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash set out to tackle the rest of their journey together. It was a rocky start, leaving Twilight physically vulnerable and unsure of her own emotions, and Dash emotionally vulnerable, though sure of hers. Pinkie Pie was the first of their friends to find out about their coupling, and since then she's proven herself as an immeasurably useful friend time and time again.

The first troubles hit soon after they began. Years of emotional isolation on both sides lead to an explosive need to be together, leading to the inevitable—changing houses every day was unworkable for either of their schedules. The worst affected was perhaps Cloud Kicker, one of the ponies Dash delegated her weather squad management work to. Tensions began to rise as the stress hit both of them.

The only solution was for Dash to move in, joining Twilight in her treehouse. Moving all of Rainbow Dash's things was a snap when they worked side by side—not that Dash had a great quantity of possessions anyway.

Living together only came with a new set of problems, however. Newly distracted, Twilight began to slip on things she'd thought unshakable—her relationships with her friends, including her oldest—Spike. Initially laying the blame at Dash's hooves, Twilight soon realised the true problem after moving Spike into his very own bedroom—located far out of earshot of her own—and seeing how well he and Rainbow Dash really got on.

Twilight was the problem. Rainbow Dash inspired herself to not forget anybody by promising herself she wouldn't do it when she was a Wonderbolt either. All that revelation inspired in Twilight Sparkle was a knowledge that while her daily schedule had set breaks for daydreaming, she didn't have a life goal any more.

Rainbow Dash got her first chance to prove she was more than just a pretty face that night, promising Twilight that whatever path she decided to take she'd be right there by her side. For the first time, Twilight began to wonder if knowing exactly where you were going was as important as knowing who you were going there with.

Rainbow Dash's promises to not forget looked like they were to be tested earlier than she'd anticipated as Twilight discovered the date of the next Wonderbolts try-out, and organised a trip for them and their friends before Dash had a chance to object. Nerves came close to getting the better of her as she stood in the line for registration, and only the quick thinking and care of the one unicorn that stayed queuing with her through endless hours of baking sun stopped her from flying somewhere—anywhere—else.

Twilight's encouragement and love did more than inspire Dash to do something she'd tried, and failed, before. They made her realise that those feelings were coming from her heart, not a book on How To Inspire. For the first time, Twilight realised that she might think about the pegasus before her as strongly as she felt back.

Immediately afterwards, Rainbow Dash took both of them to see somewhere special to her. Her favourite cloud floated on the outskirts of Cloudsdale, and atop it she'd had her first kiss. Atop it, she thanked Twilight honestly for helping her reach the heights she never could have alone, and expressed just how much the unicorn meant to her.

The following day, Rainbow Dash took part in the try-outs, leaving her five friends anxiously waiting outside. The sound and spectacle of a Sonic Rainboom put an end to their worrying, but soon after Dash left the stadium with a sullen look on her face. Though she'd proven once again she had more than enough skill to be a Wonderbolt, they had no openings and she was simply placed at the top of the reserve list. Though Twilight tried her best to cheer Dash up, it was a pain that could only be dulled, not eradicated.

No longer seeing the need for her Weather Squad position, Dash filed her resignation shortly after, letting Cloud Kicker finally take over the role in name as well as function. During the times Dash was either hard at work practising or sleeping, Twilight busied herself exploring new areas of magical research. Unfortunately, practise and sleep couldn't take up all of Dash's time, often leaving her bored and restless. A restless Rainbow Dash was a problem for everybody, and Twilight's only option was to draft Dash in as her glamorous assistant.

The move proved worthwhile shortly afterwards, as an experimental teleport spell put Twilight very high above the ground with no easy way down. As much as that drew Dash's protective anger, it wasn't until another experiment put Twilight in hospital for days, leaving Dash—and the doctors—clueless as to when, or indeed if, she would recover that Dash had finally had enough. She banned Twilight from self-experimentation and took her place, hoping to force her into performing safer science.

Whether that succeeded or failed, the end result was the same. Twilight's next experiment was an overwhelming success, albeit one with hugely over engineered safety precautions. Twilight had created a pair of crystals that could teleport a pony—any pony—between two points without any need for a unicorn's intervention. The applications were obvious even to Rainbow Dash, who suggested Twilight take her discovery to the highest magical authority—the Corral of the Wise.

The Corral promptly rejected the very idea. While Twilight was all-but ready to give in and accept it, Dash wouldn't let her. She flew them to Canterlot the very next day. After a little minor unpleasantness with the receptionist, Twilight managed to see the Corral and, after a little coercion and a lot of shouting, convinced them to take her seriously and proved she was in the right. They sent her away with new orders to better research the effects.

A short while later, both Dash and Twilight wanted to do something nice for each other, but had very different ideas on how to go about it. Dash took Twilight to the Equestrian Fair—the largest of its kind—where she won a small stuffed bear, introduced Twilight to the wonders of cloud candy, and proposed. Soon after, they were wed.

Save for a week best left private—their honeymoon, on a deserted island some way off Equestria's main coastline—that brings us to the present day. It's been a long journey for both of them, and it hasn't always been easy. Now, however, they both know where they want to be, who they want to get there with, and are well on their way to being there. Now, everything seems like it's going to be smooth sailing from here on in.

But appearances can be deceptive.