takes place after S6 E26, (To Where and Back Again Part 2.)

“Seriously, Pinkie, I’ll… write,” Dash wheezed out, attempting to pull away from her friend’s never ending hug.

Pinkie just held her tighter. “But you’ll be gone a whole week! One week! Who will be my pranking buddy? Who’ll taste test things for me? How will I see Tank?!” The earth pony shook her hard, leaving Dash dizzy, her friends doubling for a few seconds before she regained her vision.

“Pinkie, darling, it’ll be alright. Rainbow Dash will visit us as soon as she can,” Rarity assured, dragging Pinkie away with her blue telekinesis.

“How are you all so calm about this?” Pinkie sighed loudly.

Rarity glanced back at Applejack, and Dash saw the two exchange what looked like a secret smile. Something she noted that they hadn’t done in awhile.

“RD here goes to HQ all the time. Sometimes a couple days, an afternoon or a week. She always comes back, sugarcube.”

Twilight stepped forward. “She is the element of loyalty after all, Pinkie.”

“B-but after all we’ve been through!”

Dash cringed inwardly as she thought of her and her friends being trapped in the changeling realm, held up in the air by that green gooey stuff. Thank god Starlight and even Discord and Trixie were there for them, even though Dash usually preferred to do the saving herself. Alas, she couldn’t help but smile at Pinkie’s sadness. “Aw Pinks, I’ll be back soon! I’ll even send letters when I can, okay? And Fluttershy can bring Tank down so the pets can all get together.”

Pinkie looked up and nodded, wrapping Dash in a quick last hug, their friends all joining in. “I’ll still miss you,” Pinkie said.

Dash chuckled. “I’ll miss you guys too. But seriously, it won’t be that long. Won’t even know I’m gone.” She hesitantly separated from them and looked back waving one more time.

“Bye Dashie!” Pinkie yelled.

“See you soon, darling!”

“Have fun!” Applejack called.

Twilight smiled. “Bye Dash!”

Dash moved her eyes over to Fluttershy, who meekly smiled. For some reason, her heartstrings tugged a little, and something didn’t feel quite right. Acting on that instinct, she zipped back down to her oldest friend, wrapping an arm around her. “This is so silly, we say goodbye all the time,” Dash mused.

Fluttershy returned the hug. “And we’ve faced awful things like this before.”

Reluctantly, Dash pulled away and smiled at her friends. She always missed them when she left, despite the ‘Bolts being like her second family. But the more prominent disappointment was that her and her Ponyville friends had all had so much fun the past ten days, reading and talking together, picnics, taste testing, hanging out and laughing in the wilderness, watching Fluttershy and Twilight shyly model Rarity’s dresses, much to the fashionista’s delight. She hardly ever said it, but she loved these ponies whole heartedly, thus her endless loyalty to them.

“Alright, this is really sappy,” she chuckled.

“Agreed,” Applejack said, slightly joking. “See ya partner.”

The two bumped hooves. “Okay, now I’m leaving.” She flapped her wings again.

“We’ll miss you Rainbow Dash!” Pinkie called happily.

Dash smiled. “Ditto!”

Dash trailed brilliantly through the sky, leaving her signature rainbow stream in the dust, looping and speeding and turning— just feeling free and flying. This, this above all else, was her happy place. Flying. She was wondrously free, not under any rules or confinements from others who tried and wanted and failed to stop her.

Seeing a figure in the distance, Dash stopped twisting lithely through the air, coming to a bit of a dizzy halt and peered. Someone was getting closer. She could pick out a dark blue mane and body that looked almost… white? Wait, no, it wasn’t white. Ice blue. Dash grinned. She would know that coat anywhere. She lifted a hoof and waved. “Soarin! Hey!”

His body jumped slightly at her voice in their otherwise quiet surroundings, but as soon as their gazes met, his expression changed into one of a shaky smile. “Rainbow Dash!” Again, his features changed, and Dash saw his eyes light up as he flew closer to him.

Her heart melted a little. He was so… cute. She blinked. Did she just think he was cute? Oh well, she’d been having weirder, more caring thoughts about him, so maybe calling him cute wasn’t the worst. “Whatcha doing out here?” she asked and smirked. “Looking for me?”

Despite the slightly funny feeling in her stomach when she was around him, Dash enjoyed teasing him. The playful, simple, flowing smile that he responded with confirmed their comfortable environment with one another. Soarin’s cheeks went a little pink. “Actually, yes.”

Dash raised her eyebrows. “Yeah?”

Soarin nodded. “You might be in a little trouble,” he chuckled, grinning. His smile warmed her heart. “Spitfire was expecting you earlier. Team—”

Dash hoofpalmed. “Team meeting,” she groaned. “Shoot, I forgot.”

“Yeah, you’re cleaning the barracks,” he replied. “All week.”

Dash smirked as they started heading back towards HQ. “Better than doing Lightning Streak’s laundry.”

Soarin chuckled. “Anything’s better than that.”

She stared off and recognized the way they were going. And although she had her saddlebags on, she tapped him anyways. “Race me?”

He fake pouted, sticking out his bottom lip. “So you can lower my confidence even more?”

Dash chuckled and stuck her tongue out. “Do it as a favour to me. You’re helping my already awesome confidence.”

She saw his green eyes roll, a smile on his face. “Fine. I’m counting down though,” he interjected. They flew to a cloud and both lowered themselves into a readying stance. “One,” he counted.

Dash narrowed her eyes.

“Two.”

Sucked in some air and bit her lip.

“Three!”

And they both dashed off, leaving trails of colour and smoke through the sky.

“Explain, Crash,” Spitfire announced sternly, not looking up from the pile of work on her desk.

Although her captain seemed calm, Dash knew to be more concerned when it appeared that way. “W-well ma’am, you see—”

“Clear voice, no stuttering,” she said sharply.

Dash gulped and too, a deep breath. Spitfire was her friend, and this was her job as captain. “I got held up with my friends. I know, poor excuse, but we’ve just been spending more time together since we all got captured by Chrysalis and Pinkie Pie had a hard time saying goodbye.”

“The one who always has a hard time saying goodbye?” Spitfire’s tone wasn’t aggressive, just questioning.

Dash rubbed her neck. “Well yeah, but more than normal. Just when she was getting used to it,” she added.

Spitfire sighed and rubbed her temples with her hooves. “You’re on cleaning duty for a week, Thunderlane will catch you up later about the meeting. You’re excused.”

Dash nodded, expecting the chore to be handed over to her. “Yes ma’am.” She opened the door.

“One more thing, Crash, before you go,” her captain called.

Dash craned her neck, cocking a brow. “Yeah?”

Spitfire removed her sunglasses and smiled. “I’m glad you’re alright.”

Dash turned around fully and nodded. “Me too, Cap. Me too.”

However harsh she was, Dash didn’t think she’d ever lose respect for Spitfire. She was too good a friend.

Dash moved the broom, sweeping up the blown pile of leaves and bits of cloud leftover from the Wonderbolt practice. She knew there was a new routine they had just started and she needed to learn it. Good thing she could catch up quickly when it came to flying, or she’d be leagues behind her teammates. Wonderbolts were fast and efficient, not one to waste time when it came down to training and honing their already highly impressive skills. Dash stopped and looked around. She was almost finished. Just had to finish sweeping and put some cones away and she’d be done. Thank goodness for that, because her shoulders were sore. Her eyes shifted and looked around the empty barracks, the only sound was her own breathing and the slight whistle of the evening wind. Dash loved the peace and quiet for naps or if she was working hard. She loved it when she could sit next to a friend in a comfortable silence. But all alone, only her thoughts to keep her occupied for more than twenty minutes? Not her cup of tea. She got lonely, because at heart, Dash was one who craved excitement and adventure, and she had never really experienced those things when by herself.

She was finished with the broom, and after placing it back in the supply closet, she left to go take care of the cones, placing a rock in front of the door to keep it from closing.

Looking down at the orange pylons, she could estimate that there was about twenty, and decided that three trips would be good to challenge herself without being too dangerous. She flew to her left, managing to pile up seven cones easily, calmly carrying them back. She started again, this time only picking up five. She figured that since she could carry seven easily, she would try for eight on the last trip.

There she went, six cones, seven cones, and... eight cones. “Yes!” she whispered to herself.

Though a little wobbly, she managed to lean them against her, this time along her way to the supply closet a little more slowly. Then Dash saw a cloud that had floated in her way and promptly jerked left to avoid, while a cone stumbled out of her grasp. She waited to hear it clatter to the ground, but it never came.

A male’s voice spoke up. “I know you’re awesome, but you don’t have to make everything a contest.”

Dash felt his hooves brush hers as he lifted three more cones off her pile. Something about his deeper, gentler voice, the beautiful glow of the stars, and their closeness made Soarin’s simple gesture seem more caring, more intimate. Her heart beat a little quicker, she could feel the heat in her neck. And for the first time since these small things had started to happen to her, Dash didn’t find it quite so repulsive. Rather, she liked it.

She hated that she did. “I live for contests,” she answered.

He didn’t reply, and the two made their way to the closet in a steady silence.

Once they were finished and the closet was closed, Dash stared around the barracks and their runway, completely cleared and clean, save for a couple leaves. Despite all her hard work, Dash still felt a little restless. She had spent the day at Sweet Apple Acres, only flying to get to point A to point B, and while usually that wouldn’t stop her from still falling asleep, tonight it did, just like it did a couple months ago when they had taken a flight. Flight, flying. That was just what Dash needed. To clear her mind and maybe rid her body of some of the pent up energy inside.

She went to lift off when she could feel a pair of eyes on her. Without looking, she asked, “What’s up, Soarin?”

“I... haven’t flown in a really long time,” he told her wistfully.

Dash glanced down, smiling as she did so. Here he was, being shy. While she seemed to understand and get him, his emotions were still pretty unpredictable sometimes. But right now, she knew what he wanted, and she wanted it as well. “I can’t wait all night,” she said.

“For what?” he asked, genuinely confused.

“For you to join me.” She tilted her chin to the sky.

She heard his swift, quiet flaps as he rose up to join her. “I don’t have to,” he said as they began to fly. “I just couldn’t sleep.”

Dash chuckled. “You sure you weren’t waiting in the bushes to help me?”

“Very funny,” he quipped sarcastically. Dash noted he didn’t deny it. Was he waiting to help? Maybe he was, though she doubted it was in a creepy way. She didn’t point out that small fact, not wanting to embarrass him too much. She wasn’t even sure if she was in the mood for a deep deep talk, and felt like something a little more lighthearted.

“So, uh,” Soarin cleared his throat. “I heard about you and your friends being captured by Chrysalis.”

She flinched a little. Dash didn’t feel like remembering her and her friends and the princesses being stuck, rendered helpless. When ponies needed a hero, Dash always wanted to be it.

“Any other topics of conversation in mind?”

She watched him frown a little. “Don’t wanna talk, huh?”

Why did he care so much? Not wanting to give a vocal reply, she simply shrugged.

“I get it, it’s okay. Let’s just fly,” he offered.

“Yeah.” Dash flew upwards and Soarin followed, both of them going at the same pace. “I’m not gonna race you tonight,” she told him thoughtfully.

How she felt right now, she wasn’t sure. But she couldn’t say she felt her best. Not her worst, far from it, but how could she feel her best when she was tired, missed her friends, and was confused about her weird feelings whenever she was around Soarin.

A gasp escaped his mouth, a sarcastic one at that. “What?! You aren’t?” He zoomed around to stop her from going on any further. “Are you okay, Crash? You have a temperature or something?”

Her lips parted for a second, a smile breaking out on her face. He was so goofy. So sweet. She played along. “I don’t know, Dr. Skies. Can you check for me?” Dash grabbed his arm and placed his hoof on her forehead, smirking a little as he gawked for a second.

Over the past couple weeks, she had concluded that whatever Soarin thought about her, it definitely wasn’t anything negative. It was more like she impressed him, intimidated him, in the best way possible. She liked the feeling, and was happy that she had actually listened to one of Twilight and Rarity’s talks about how to read ponies’ expressions and mannerisms more closely.

She heard him chuckle, the noise bringing her back to reality. “It seems you’re all good to go Ms. Dash. Your vitals are stable and you show no other signs of concerning symptoms,” he answered in a mock doctor’s voice, smirking as he pulled his hoof away.

Dash snickered. “Thanks.”

His expression turned serious. “Seriously though, are you okay? I don’t know when you don’t want to race me.”

Dash just looked at him, a subtle sign for not wanting to answer.

This time, he obeyed. “Alright, alright,” he agreed.

“Good, wouldn’t want you being nosy like Rarity,” she joked solemnly.

Soarin cleared his throat. “Absolutely not, darling!” he exclaimed in a higher pitched voice, attempting to sound like Rainbow’s fashionable friend.

Dash rolled her eyes, a smile unable to not make it’s way onto her face again. She turned to him and smirked, feeling a little more like herself. Huh, her emotions were on a rollercoaster these days it seemed. “That,” she deadpanned, “was the worst imitation of Rarity I’ve heard in my entire life.”

Soarin’s jaw and arms dropped as he faked offence. “Hey! I’m trying to cheer you up. How ungrateful,” he remarked, shaking his head.

Dash scoffed playfully, though his words had actually meant something to her. “I’m trying to cheer you up.” He was too good, too kind.

Instead, she changed the subject. “Tell me a story, Soarin,” she said, looking below at the ground that was several feet away.

“A story?” he repeated, with a note of confusion. “What kind?”

Dash shrugged, thinking. Any story was fine by her, as long as she got to hear him talk. “Anything. Real or not real, doesn’t matter.”

“Huh, alright,” he mused. She saw his pale blue hoof stretch out and grab hers, causing Dash to do a double take. Soarin noticed. “We have to go sit on a cloud. So you can listen intently in full detail to my amazing, real life story.”

She giggled, allowing him to take her hoof and drag her along the sky quickly, shooting downwards and finding a spacious cloud, surprisingly near the compound. “Real life, huh?”

“Yeah, it’s about how I met my overwhelming, hot headed best friend.”

“Ah, I’ve always wondered how you and Spitfire met,” she mused. She hadn’t heard it before, and knowing he could be very entertaining when he wanted to be, Dash propped her chin up on her hooves. “Come on, then. Get telling!”

He grinned widely, something that she would never admit to finding absolutely adorable. It lightened up his eyes, puffed his cheeks out slightly, ears peeking up like an excited colt. She really liked his smile. His real smile. Not a smirk or a fake beam, just a simple, happy one that showed he was content. He was happy when he was around her, and though she had known that for awhile, it still made Dash feel nice to know that.

“Okay, once upon a time, a little light blue colt was born to Cloudy and Blue Skies. After a few days… they named him…”

Dash stared at him in amusement, mouth in a thin line.

Soarin noticed and smirked, his emerald eyes shining with joy. “Wanna guess what they named him?”

She rolled her eyes playfully, tapping her chin as if she really didn’t know. “Hmm… would it be Indigo?”
“Guess again,” he quipped.

“Zap.”

“Nope.”

“Does it rhyme with Florin?” She laughed.

Soarin clicked his tongue, shaking his head. “Ooh, so close, Dashie, so close.”

Dash’s ears perked up, a little heat rising to her face. “Wha- what?”

Lucky for her, she wasn’t the only embarrassed one. “Uh…”

“Only my friends call me that…” she said more quietly, voice trailing off, averting her eyes. Surely if she looked at him now, her cheeks would turn bright red, like one of AJ’s royal red apples.

They stayed quiet for a minute, only the sounds of their breathing audible. Dash’s mind was racing. He has just called her a nickname that only the closest ponies in her life used. ‘Dashie’ was something Pinkie called her out of excitement, when Rarity was cooing over her, or when her parents were proud.

She heard Soarin take a deep, sharp, somewhat unsettled breath. “Rainbow Dash,” he murmured.

She turned to face him, hearing her full name on his lips grabbing her attention. Soarin was actually the one pony least likely to call her by her full name, often using “Dash” or “Crash” instead. “We’re friends, right? Good friends?”

She did a double take at the question. How could he think that they weren’t? They had had a bond right from the beginning, were passionate about the same things, their somewhat different personalities aligning perfectly. She had always trusted Soarin, he had never given her a reason not to. “You goof, of course we’re friends. I thought we established that back at Celestia’s garden opening.” She smiled brightly, hoping it would further assure him that their relationship was fine and easy and natural.

He nodded. “I know, but you just said…”

“Only my friends call me that…”

She flushed a little, finally understanding why he had asked her the question. “I didn’t mean it like that,” she said awkwardly. “It’s just that— well, I…”

Why had it taken her by surprise? Soarin was her friend. Maybe it was cause he hadn’t called her that before, or that none of the Wonderbolts did, or that he was technically her boss. Her very attractive boss who would make her heart beat quicker and have butterflies erupt in her stomach, along with blushes on her cheeks. The fact that he was the only other guy besides her father who had ever called her that.

“You don’t have to answer,” he said.

Dash shook her head. “No, no. I guess it’s just that a guy’s never really called me that before is all,” she told him smoothly.

Soarin tilted his head. “Didn’t you say you had a coltfriend?”

“Uh huh, Rocket,” she confirmed. “He called me Rainbow or Rainbow Dash most of the time though. I managed to keep the whole ‘Dashie’ thing between me and my parents.”

“Huh, okay. Sorry ‘bout that.” He grinned sheepishly, but Dash could tell he was still a little embarrassed.

She gave a dismissed wave of her hoof, signalling that it was alright. “Eh, don’t worry. Slip of the tongue, right?”

They smiled at one another, simple smiles without their teeth. She had always liked Soarin’s smile, it seemed to match his sweetness and goofiness just right, highlighting his cheekbones and eyes. Those really, really, amazing eyes.

“Right.” He nodded.

Feeling like they hadn’t quite completed the little mishap, Dash took a step further that she usually wouldn’t take with any normal pony. However, Soarin was no ordinary pony. “We’re very good friends, Soar,” she said more gently, trying to make him aware that she wasn’t trying to tease him in any shape or form. “I’ve always been able to trust you.”

She saw a faint blush on his cheeks appear, and a cheerful, relaxed smile followed. “Soar, huh?”

Dash shrugged. “You called me Dashie,” she defended.

“Yeah, guess we’re even,” he mused and craned his neck upwards. “The sky’s really pretty tonight.”

Dash looked up at the twinkling stars, the dark blue sky tinted purple, and the shimmering white moon. While she usually preferred the day, she had to admit that Luna’s night was stunning.

“Yeah,” she agreed, shaking her head. “So, weren’t you going to tell me how you met our professional yeller of a captain?” she asked with a cheeky smile.

He shook his head. “Yes, but before that, I want to ask you something that I hope you won’t get mad at me for. And I’m asking cause you’re my good friend and teammate,” he explained carefully.

Dash raised a brow. “Alright?” she agreed hesitantly.

Soarin peered into her eyes, his own darting around her face, before a cloud of his breath appeared in front of her, tickling her nostrils with the scent of apples. “Are you okay, Rainbow Dash?” he asked, all serious.

Dash’s ears flicked once. She knew what he was talking about as he looked into her eyes. She felt as if he was looking at her soul, eager to know but somehow, on some level, already had a faint idea. Was she okay? Physically, yes. Mentally, she wasn’t quite sure. It wasn’t the nicest feeling to know that she had been completely helpless, her and her friends trapped, unable to do anything, under the hold of a dangerous villain. She valued her pride, and part of that came from the incredible things her and her friends were able to do. She didn’t know how she felt, and while she was grateful to Starlight and Discord and Trixie, she still berated herself for not being able to do anything, being completely clueless as she was caught by the changeling queen.

She didn’t want to answer for the sake of looking uncool, but Soarin had seen her upset before. Hell, even he had once been the reason for those tears, though it was because he was doing his job, and Dash had long forgiven him for that. She should tell someone, cause she sure as hell was too shy to tell her friends.

“I’m… a little confused,” she admitted. “I’m grateful I was saved.”

He listened quietly, never one to interrupt unless it was necessary.

“But I just can’t believe we actually got caught. If it weren’t for Starlight, we could have been... like, just there for eternity,” she chuckled, not really meaning it.

Soarin’s soft hoof tapped her side. “No matter how much you want to be, Dash, I’ve learned you can’t always be the hero.”

Dash nodded. As much as it stung, he was right. “Yeah. I don’t know, I guess I just like seeing ponies faces when I do. I like when kids look up to me, especially when it’s Scoots,” she explained, keeping her tone as light as she could.

Surprisingly, he just laughed.

She turned to him suspiciously. “What?”

“Scootaloo? That filly adores you, unless you murder somepony, I don’t think you’ll ever lose her.”

His words touched her heart. Scootaloo meant a hell of a lot to her, and she didn’t ever want to lose the girl she was endlessly fond of. “Thanks, you big softie,” she said.

Soarin snorted a little. “Softie? Look at you, telling me your feelings.”

Dash shoved his arm playfully. “Because you asked! And by the way,” she added with a sly, cocky smirk, “you should be honoured. I don’t do that with everypony you know.”

“Yeah, but I’m so awesome, it’s impossible not to talk to me.”

It was her turn to snort. “Sheesh, I must really be rubbing off on you or something,” she joked.

“Yeah, keep your distance from now on, lady,” he shot back.

Dash burst out laughing, her raspy voice echoing softly through the night. That was impossible, seeing as they spent at least a few hours of almost everyday in close quarters of each other, and the whole team had commented at least once at how normal it was to see them together. She lay her chin down on the cloud, trying to breathe more evenly as Soarin joined in, his deep laugh seemed to come from his chest. Dash thought it sounded joyful, wonderfully joyful, and realized that she really did like to hear the sound. He could be so funny, sometimes without even trying. He was just somepony who seemed to match her sense of humour. Again, their friendship to her was natural.

“You never answered my question,” he said after they calmed down.

She turned to him, trying not blush as his eyes illuminated by the moon bore into hers. He was so handsome right now, with that gentle look, pieces of his mane messy and on his forehead, those stunning orbs and muscled arms… Get a hold of yourself. “Ask me again.”

He didn’t move, didn’t blink. And much to her delight and dismay, Soarin’s voice came out in a whisper, a soft rasp within it. “Are you okay?”

Dash had to look away, cause the way he seemed to see her soul unsettled her, made that uncomfortable feeling in her stomach so awesome that she hated it. “I’m okay, Soarin.”

She heard him exhale through his nose, lifting up his body. “Good.”

He smiled, and she smiled back.

But then Dash remembered how they had got here, and her face shifted into a smirk. “Now Clipper, I believe you owe me a story.”

Soarin grinned. “We met when we were five, and god we were so different. In fact… I didn’t even like her at first…”