Rainbow Dash opened her eyes and looked straight forward, straight up at her living room ceiling. She was lying down on her couch in a bit of an odd fashion, her right wing at a slightly uncomfortable angle. She rolled up and sat up on her stomach. She put a hoof to her head and shook it.

“Funny… don’t remember settling down for a nap…” Rainbow Dash said. She yawned and got up from the couch, swaying a little, “I think I need a glass of water.”

Rainbow Dash walked toward the kitchen and shook her head again. That was one awesome dream, though… Rainbow Dash thought as she approached the kitchen entrance. Spitfire came right up to me and asked to hang out… too bad that would never hap-

SMACK!

Rainbow ran right into something… no… somepony! Rainbow Dash backed up a few steps and rubbed her now aching snout. She looked up and saw the mare from her dream doing the same thing! Spitfire had a wet towel draped over her back for reasons unknown to Rainbow Dash.

“Oh my gosh!” Rainbow Dash shouted as Spitfire recollected herself.

“Oh!” Spitfire said, shaking her head, “You’re awake!”

“You… it wasn’t a dream?” Rainbow Dash asked, her face lighting up.

“Nope.” Spitfire said. Hearing Rainbow say that made her spirits high. “You’re not gonna faint again, are you?”

“No no no…” Rainbow Dash said, “Just took me by surprise there!” Rainbow Dash said.

“Cool! So you wanna go somewhere?” Spitfire asked.

“G-go somewhere?” Rainbow Dash asked.

Maybe I was too forward. Spitfire thought, “I mean, you know, if you’re interested, we can hang out somewhere today… if you want.”

“I’d love to!” Rainbow Dash replied happily. “Where did ya have in mind?”

“I dunno, somewhere where we can just talk and stuff?” Spitfire asked.

Rainbow Dash smiled and thought for a second. She then held her hoof up and declared, “I have an idea.”

“You just talked to who?” Twilight Sparkle asked, astonished. She looked back and forth at her two friends, Rarity and Fluttershy, who had just walked to the library to tell her what had happened.

“A Wonderbolt!” Rarity said with a flourish, “Her name was Spitfire.”

“Wow, that’s exciting!” Twilight said. “What was she doing here?”

“We don’t know.” Fluttershy said. “She just asked where to find Rainbow Dash and left.”

“We think she might be asking Rainbow Dash to join the Wonderbolts!” Rarity said with girlish excitement and her voice reaching a pitch that Twilight originally thought impossible.

“Join the Wonderbolts?” Twilight asked, “I-I don’t know, Rarity, that seems a little far-fetched.”

“Oh, but it would make sense!” Rarity said. “Rainbow Dash saved their lives and is the only pony in history to have ever performed a sonic Rainboom. I think it would be most appropriate!”

“Well, I don’t know, Rarity…” Fluttershy said.

“What do you mean? We talked about this!” Rarity said.

“She wasn’t wearing her flight suit… and her hair was down.” Fluttershy said, “Also, we didn’t really discuss anything because you did most of the talking…”

“And what has that got to do with anything? I’m sure I wouldn’t want to be caught in that suffocating suit much myself!” Rarity said.

“I just don’t think this visit has anything to do with the Wonderbolts.” Fluttershy said.

“Fluttershy’s right.” Twilight said. “We have no idea why Spitfire wants to talk to Rainbow Dash. Maybe she just wants to say hi.”

“I still think the Wonderbolts want Rainbow Dash.” Rarity said, “How could they not?”

“Um… Rarity…” Fluttershy said.

“After all she’s done for them!” Rarity continued, as if Fluttershy didn’t say anything, “I would have taken in Rainbow Dash in a heartbeat.”

“Rarity, I…”

“And you saw Spitfire at the gala, she…”

“Rarity!” Twilight finally said. Rarity was slightly taken aback. Twilight pointed a hoof at Fluttershy, who was now standing beside a window.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Fluttershy, do continue.” Rarity said, putting a hoof to her chest.

“Spitfire and Rainbow Dash are walking to the café right now.” Fluttershy said, pointing out the window.

“Are they?” Rarity asked, a wide smile reaching her face, then ran up to the same window and looked out, causing Fluttershy to jump a little in surprise at the sudden crowding. Sure enough, there were two ponies of yellow and cyan making their way across town to a small café that was quite popular with ponies their age.

“What does Rainbow Dash look like? Can you tell?” Rarity asked.

“They just seem to be talking.” Twilight said, having taken an interest and poked her head out the top half of the library door. “But Rainbow Dash looks happy.”

“Well of course she’s happy, she just got into the Wonderbolts!”

“We’ll see.” Twilight said with doubt in her voice, though in the back of her mind, she really could not think of any other reason why Spitfire would have traveled all the way out to Ponyville.

“So...” Rainbow Dash said as she sat down with Spitfire at a table, “On a scale of one to ten… what do you think my chances are of getting into the Wonderbolts?!”

“Oh, Rainbow Dash…” Spitfire said, rolling her eyes.

“I’m serious! If I need to practice more, I will!”

“You know, the only reason why I was able to come visit you is because we have a free weekend. I’m getting away from the Wonderbolts for a bit.” Spitfire insinuated.

“Okay, we don’t have to talk about it.” Rainbow Dash said, a little upset about this. One of the reasons she enjoyed being around Spitfire was the fact that she was in the Wonderbolts. Even after both of her experiences being with members of the world-famous flight team, she never got tired of hearing their stories.

“I don’t mean to disappoint you.” Spitfire said. She chuckled a little, “If you must know, getting into the auditions is the most important part.”

“And how do you get into the auditions?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Oh, you’ll know eventually.” Spitfire said, winking. Rainbow Dash’s heart skipped a beat and she laughed.

“Alright, alright.” Rainbow Dash said. “Why don’t we get some food?”

“Sounds good.” Spitfire replied. Spitfire knew that soon, she would have to tell Rainbow Dash the real reason why she was visiting. After having had a few experiences with telling ponies about her feelings, the nerves weren’t exactly there, but she still felt a little anxiety thinking about how special Rainbow Dash was in comparison to the others.

“Spitfire?” Rainbow Dash said. Spitfire looked up from her little mindful trance and looked at Rainbow Dash’s face, then was disheartened to see her frowning.

“You alright?”

“Yea, yea… just had a thought.” Spitfire said. She quickly grabbed one of the small paper menus and scanned it over, “Any recommendations?” This seemed to get rid of Rainbow Dash’s concerns, for she was smiling once again.

“I usually just get the alfalfa and clover on wheat bread.” Rainbow Dash said. “It’s simple. I like it.”

“Guess I’m getting that.” Spitfire said. As if on cue, a waitress pony appeared and took their orders. In fairly short order, their food had been received and the two were eating and enjoying each others’ company.

“I kinda have a question though.” Rainbow Dash said.

“Hm?” Spitfire asked through a mouthful of food.

“Why now?” Rainbow Dash asked.

Spitfire swallowed, “Why now what?”

“Why did you choose now to come visit?” Rainbow Dash asked, “I mean, not to seem rude or anything, but you didn’t really seem to care before.”

“I’m offended, Rainbow Dash!” Spitfire said, though not angry. She simply smiled and continued, “The Wonderbolts are always on tour, so I hardly even have time for Soarin.”

“But at the gala… when you guys just ignored me the whole time… I haven’t exactly forgotten.” Rainbow Dash said. She wasn’t upset. Spitfire could tell. She was just curious, as she had every right to be. Spitfire held back for a few seconds, then sighed.

“Well, I guess I should just tell you.” Spitfire said.

“Tell me what?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“This is probably gonna be hard for you to believe, but… I like you.” Spitfire said, “I really like you.” She put an extra emphasis on it that time. Rainbow Dash dropped the small amount of sandwich that she had in her hoof and looked at Spitfire, shocked.

“Y-you… what?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Ever since you saved our lives at the best young flier competition.” Spitfire said. “I mean, it’s not like I haven’t had a crush or two before, but… you’re different.” Spitfire looked into Rainbow Dash’s wide eyes and continued, “And at the gala… I was just too nervous to talk to you… but I’m not anymore.”

“I… I don’t know what to say, Spitfire…” Rainbow Dash said. Spitfire’s stomach did few back flips. Oh no! She’s not a lesbian! Spitfire thought.

“I mean, you’re super cool, but… I just… I don’t know.” Rainbow Dash said.

“You’re not into mares are you?” Spitfire asked.

“Well… I don’t know.” Rainbow Dash said, which was enough to spark some hope in Spitfire. “I haven’t really figured it out yet.”

“It’s okay, I understand.” Spitfire said. She felt the pang of rejection. She had felt it once before, but this time it was worse. This time it was Rainbow Dash turning her down. “I don’t think I’m very hungry anymore.”

“I’m sorry, Spitfire.” Rainbow Dash said, a twinge of guilt in her.

“No, no, I’m sorry Rainbow Dash.” Spitfire said. “I shouldn’t have brought it up.”

“Hey, I’m honored!” Rainbow Dash said happily, “How many mares can say they’ve had Spitfire crushing on them?”

Spitfire chuckled and shook her head, “Not a whole lot, I suppose.”

“Okay, new subject.” Rainbow Dash said, “I have this new move I call the Blaze of Glory…”

Rainbow Dash then went into explicit detail about her newest flight maneuver, which Spitfire was not surprised to hear was well over the difficulty level of almost every pegasus she knew, including herself. As Spitfire gained more and more interest in the intricate flying style Rainbow Dash described, she finally started to relax and think on the positive side. It wasn’t a total loss, after all. At least she got to be with Rainbow Dash.

“Ha! Third time in a row!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, having successfully pinned Spitfire’s hoof down backwards in her third consecutive foreleg wrestling match. Spitfire stared in amazement at her golden hoof, flattened by Rainbow Dash’s on her kitchen table.

“Wow, you’re stronger than I thought.” Spitfire said. She smiled and chuckled, “Stronger than me, anyway.”

“Oh never.” Rainbow Dash said, “I just use my arms every day to move the clouds. You’re a much better flier by far.” Rainbow Dash said.

Does she actually believe that? Spitfire asked herself skeptically. Instead of questioning the pegasus, however, she simply nodded and looked away, her foreleg finally freed from Rainbow Dash’s grasp.

“Oh wow!” Rainbow Dash said, looking outside. Spitfire followed suit and looked outdoors, also suddenly in awe at the sight.

The sunset was stunning, absolutely stunning. Every hue was represented as Princess Celestia lowered the glowing sphere from the sky, casting a magnificent orange glow on the two pegasi admiring it. Spitfire turned to see Rainbow Dash’s face and time seemed to slow down as Rainbow Dash turned her head to meet her gaze. The glow outlined Rainbow Dash’s vibrant hair and cyan face, her eyes slightly closed from looking into the light. Spitfire felt a little pain knowing that it would never happen.

“We should go flying!” Rainbow Dash suggested excitedly, not even noticing that Spitfire was ogling her like Soarin did every time they saw a bakery.

“Sounds fun.” Spitfire replied, watching as Rainbow Dash walked past her.

“C’mon. I can show you some of my new moves.” Rainbow Dash said. Spitfire chuckled and followed Rainbow Dash out the door. Without missing a beat, the two pegasi took flight from Rainbow Dash’s front porch. The wind blew Spitfire’s flattened mane to look like its usual self. She watched Rainbow Dash flying beside her. Rainbow’s eyes were squinting, focused. The determination in her fierce gaze combined with the confident smile that she wore as the wind whipped her multicolored mane around her face made Spitfire feel confident about her assumptions she had made: Rainbow dash was a true flier, and will definitely someday make a welcome addition to the Wonderbolts.

“Hey, check this out!” Rainbow Dash shouted. Spitfire fanned out her wings and let herself slow down, letting Rainbow Dash zoom ahead. She then watched as Rainbow Dash made a 90-degree turn straight up. She picked up speed and flew very high effortlessly.

Once Rainbow Dash was at a suitable height, she stopped flapping her wings. Her momentum carried her up a little longer, which was just enough time for her to bend over backwards, her wings standing straight out gracefully. She completed the turnaround as she reached the apex and quickly began falling again. As she fell, she streamlined her body and increased her speed. Spitfire watched closely as Rainbow Dash soared nearer and nearer to the ground. She could almost see a rainbow coming out the back of Rainbow Dash’s tail, but passed it off as an optical illusion. Spitfire then became slightly worried as Rainbow Dash wasn’t giving any indication that she was pulling out of the nosedive.

But, as Spitfire was just about ready to swoop in for the save, Rainbow Dash fanned her wings and sharply turned out of the dive. She seemed to skim right across the very ground from Spitfire’s viewpoint, and with all the extra speed, Rainbow Dash was quickly back up to their original height. She wasn’t done, though.

Rainbow Dash then rocketed toward a nearby cloud and flew right into it! The cloud dissipated, some of it condensing and falling to the ground, and most clinging to Rainbow Dash’s soaring body. Dash then did a u-turn and started flying back toward Spitfire at an astonishing speed. As she neared Spitfire, she appeared to be soaking wet, and there were droplets following her.

Rainbow Dash stopped dead right in front of Spitfire, but not until she whipped her body around, sending tiny droplets of water everywhere and magnifying the setting sun’s reflections to create a rainbow right above her. Rainbow Dash’s mane was wet and was sticking up in multiple places. She then stuck her forelegs up and bowed.

“Oh my… Rainbow Dash!” Spitfire said, clopping her hooves together. Rainbow Dash looked back at Spitfire, smiling.

“What did ya think?” Rainbow Dash asked, panting. The rainbow had by now totally dissipated and now there was only a wet and exhausted Rainbow Dash holding an ending pose, panting lightly.

“You are definitely one of the most incredible fliers I have ever seen.” Spitfire said. “If not the most incredible.”

“Second only to you, Spitfire.” Rainbow Dash said confidently, folding her legs back in and flying back toward Spitfire. She wiped her hair out of her eyes and shook a little.

Spitfire chuckled, “I know talent when I see it, Rainbow Dash.”

Rainbow Dash blushed a little and flew very close to Spitfire. “How about some double flying?”

“Sounds fun.” Spitfire replied. The two took off upward, winding around each other and creating a small vortex of pegasi. The light was getting dimmer and they were losing their window of time to fly together, so Rainbow Dash was milking it for all it was worth.

As if they had practiced, both ponies pulled backwards, out of the ascent. They flipped over and were now flying straight down in a fashion that paralleled Rainbow Dash’s previous stunt. Both ponies turned left and circled each other a few times. Spitfire was thoroughly enjoying herself. For a few seconds, she had forgotten all about her previous predicament with her feelings and just relished in the fact that she was finally flying with somepony that was more talented than she was. The two continued to circle until Spitfire decided to make the first move.

Spitfire soared up, Rainbow Dash soared down. Not entirely sure at how this would end up, Spitfire just turned and went back down, seeing Rainbow Dash inversing the move by now flying up, right toward Spitfire. The two pegasi began flying at each other very quickly. Had anypony been watching from the ground, it would have appeared that that two were about to crash head-first into each other, but they slid right by each other with the most amazing smoothness anypony had ever seen.

Spitfire did a little turnaround and flew back up to meet Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash did a few flips in the air and flew back down toward Spitfire. The two pegasi flew toward each other once again, this time both meeting in the middle and flying upward together. They got to a good height and eventually slowed down.

Rainbow Dash couldn’t tell if it was the adrenaline, the high she was getting from the surreal flying with Spitfire, or her simple surrendering of all inhibitions, but she leaned forward and kissed Spitfire right on the mouth. Spitfire was so surprised that she gasped and pulled back. Rainbow Dash then blushed heavily and floated a few feet away, biting her lower lip.

“Sorry that took so long.” Rainbow Dash said, holding her forelegs behind her back. Spitfire smiled, her heart racing.

“Better late than never.” Spitfire replied, diving forward and embracing Rainbow Dash tightly, her lips firmly pressed upon Rainbow’s. The two pegasi beat their wings in unison, creating a moment unlike any either of the two had ever experienced before. When they finally pulled away from each other, their forelegs were still wrapped around each other’s necks, and their hind legs were intertwined below. The moon had now completely taken the sun’s place, casting a still glow on the landscape.

“It’s getting pretty late.” Rainbow Dash said softly, smiling. “You wanna turn in for the night?”

“I can’t think of anything better.” Spitfire replied in a hushed tone.

Rainbow Dash yawned and rolled out of bed, flopping her legs over the bedside lazily. She hoisted herself out of bed and turned around. She smiled, her eyes halfway closed from sleep.

“That’s good.” Rainbow Dash said to herself, seeing Spitfire sleeping peacefully beside where Rainbow Dash was, “It wasn’t a dream.”

Rainbow Dash walked to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. She looked at her mane that was messed up from the night prior and sighed. She grabbed a brush and ran it through her multicolored mane a couple times. She smiled as memories from last night flooded into her brain. Then, a thought hit her, making her smile fade and her brush stop mid-stroke.

“Did I… really just do that?” Rainbow Dash asked herself. “Did I really just sleep with another mare… Spitfire??” For some reason unknown to her, Rainbow Dash just suddenly felt unease with herself and had to get out of her house as quickly as possible. Perhaps it was just the rush finally wearing off from last night, but she didn’t want to be there.

Rainbow Dash knew that she had to tell somepony what just happened, somepony close, who would never hate her for something like this…

She ran downstairs and stopped at the door. I should probably leave a note. Rainbow Dash thought. She scribbled a note and then left.

Spitfire –

Had to run to a friend’s house. Be back later!

Rainbow Dash