The self-proclaimed rescue party was closing fast on the source of the smoke. The stench of burning logs filled his nostrils more and more with each passing moment. What's more, he didn't recognize any part of this forest at all. If he and Spike were to make it out of the thick woods, he would have no ability to back trace his steps. Any landmark that could have been preserved to memory had been overlooked. Rescuing Rainbow Dash was the only thing currently on his mind. Spike could have been doing this for him all along, but the violently bumpy ride that his steed had created for him kept his eyes shut and his arms wrapped tight around Tristan's neck.

Moments later, however, Spike's eyes did open, and what appeared to be a small encampment came into view. Tristan slowed to a light trot and scanned his surroundings. Random tools, utensils, provisions, and other items lay scattered about the forest floor around a large oak tree and the source of the smoke was nothing but a small campfire. As Tristan looked upward, he noticed a run-down shack that, from the condition of it, looked as if it were simply dropped into the tree's limbs.

"Get a load of this dump," Spike commented, hoping to bring some fiber of light to the situation.

"I know," Tristan agreed, his expression unchanged. "It looks like my house."

"Only if you squint a little."

Tristan shrugged off the thought and inspected every nook and cranny he could from where he was standing.

"So, do you think this is the place?" Spike asked. His eyes darted back and forth with worry.

"This has to be it," Tristan assumed. "Does anyone else live out here?"

"Can Angel Bunny fly?"

"Hell if I know. This place gets weirder by the week. But there doesn't seem to be a sign of..."

PSST

Spike flinched at the sound. He and Tristan exchanged cautious looks before looking back at the camp.

"PSST! Is anypony there?" the voice said.

"Rainbow Dash?" Tristan returned, almost excitedly. "Is that you?"

"Keep it down!" Rainbow Dash hissed. "Come around the tree! Quickly!"

Tristan and Spike took light steps as they maneuvered through the camp and around the massive tree's trunk where, sure enough, Rainbow Dash lay. Her wings were bound to her body by an old rope and each hoof was shackled and chained to a familiar-looking boulder.

"What the hell..." Tristan muttered.

"Who did this to you?" Spike demanded. "Was it Swift Gleam?"

"Yeah, it was him, alright," Rainbow Dash replied, "He kidnapped me and he's holding me hostage!"

"But, how did he even kidnap you?" Tristan asked in shock.

"I don't even remember. I just remember getting a letter in the mail about the Wonderbolts meeting in this forest and me showing up. After that, it all went kinda black and I woke up here."

"Where's Swift?"

"He just left to go get some 'supplies'. I don't know what that means, and I don't exactly plan on hanging around long enough to find out."

"Alright, we'll get you out," the unicorn assured. "Just hang tight a sec."

Tristan quickly glanced around, making sure there was no sign of Rainbow Dash's captor before returning his attention to his prisoner friend. "Okay, I won't lie, I'm not sure how well this is going to work," he began, "But close your eyes."

Rainbow Dash blinked in worry. "Wait, Tristan, what do you mean you-"

Tristan focused in on one of the shackles and released a quick shot of magic. The sudden blast was more audible than he had hoped for and it sent his rescue partner to his back. Regardless, his plan had worked, and the iron cuff shattered before them.

He took a second to admire his work before repeating the spell on the rest of Rainbow Dash's shackles one by one. The pegasus then bit at the rope that bound her wings, tearing it just enough to where she could snap them off herself. Rainbow Dash stood slowly and gave her aching wings a much needed stretch.

"Okay," she said, breathing a sigh of relief, "Let's get the buck out of here."

"Leaving so soon, my love?"

Tristan whipped around to find Swift Gleam, standing before them with a smirk across his face and a bag of apples dropped by his side. "That's not very nice to skip out on a date before the food arrives."

"Why did you kidnap Rainbow Dash?" Tristan shot, glaring.

"Yeah, you creep!" Rainbow Dash added. "What's your problem?!"

"Don't you see, darling?" Swift began, "You and I make such a great pair, you know. Strong-willed, athletic, attractive..."

Spike forced a cough of refutation, which Swift met with a malicious glare.

"What are you trying to say, excatly?" Rainbow Dash questioned.

"I've always loved you, Miss Dash," Swift confessed, changing his glance. "Ever since I first saw you grace the sky with your presence, I've been infatuated with you. But who am I? A sad, lonely shadow in this forest, and you, the possibly the fastest flier in all of Equestria, the famed Element of Loyalty, and the mare that haunted my dreams in the best way anypony could."

Tristan placed a hoof to his face, hiding an expression of disgust.

"Anyway," Swift Gleam continued, "I didn't know how exactly to go about expressing my feelings for you, so I just decided to employ the element of surprise!"

"BY PONY-NAPPING ME?!"

"What can I say? I'm shy."

"Sorry, dude," Rainbow Dash spat, "But you're not necessarily my type."

"You'll be mine, Rainbow Dash. One way or another."

"That's it, Swift," Tristan said, hoofing at the ground. "Back down and let us go."

Swift Gleam's smirk grew wider. "And if I don't?"

"I'd rather not go that route."

"You mean to say you would fight me? I don't want to fight you, Star Skipper, but I'm not letting the lady leave."

"I beg to differ."

Tristan broke into a full sprint, his horn glowing with magic. He stared wild-eyed ahead to see Swift's smirk turn into an evil grin as he stood ready for Tristan's attack. As Tristan neared him, he used his wing to pull a metal object out of his satchel.

"Tristan, look out!" Spike called.

In a flash, Swift threw a hand-crafted knife quicker than the eye could follow. Tristan jumped to the right, the blade barely making contact with his silver coat and sharply planting itself into the giant oak. The sudden change of direction caused the unicorn to lose his balance, sending him tumbling into a rack of rusted pots and pans.

"Hah!" Swift scoffed, "You need to be quicker than that to take me on!"

Tristan gritted his teeth and climbed out from under the mess of cookware to face his opponent. He flung himself at Swift Gleam once again, only to find that he had leaped into the air, using his wings to gain just enough hang time. Swift kicked his rear legs at Tristan, catching him in the back of the head and sending him into the dirt.

"You must really care for her," Swift called, beginning his descent. "I'd hate to see what would happen if you loved her the same way I do, but you don't, and that fact alone will always have me coming out on top."

Tristan shakily tried to stand again, but he quickly became dizzy from the blow and fell down again.

"Seriously, this is almost pathetic," Swift mocked, slowly approaching the fallen unicorn. "You have magic on your side and you still can't defeat me!"

Swift gave a brutal kick to Trista's side, forcing a grunt of pain. He then turned back to Rainbow Dash and smiled.

"Now, my love," he said, "Unless that poor excuse of a dragon is going to put up a fight, I believe we have a dinner to attend to."

Rainbow Dash crouched down, preparing to take on her captor herself, when a shrill cry came from nearby.

"DON'T YOU DARE LAY A HOOF ON HER!"

The sudden shrieking startled Tristan. He weakly turned his head just in time to catch a streak of yellow and pink fly just above him and into Swift Gleam. There was a short-lived tumbling sound before all the commotion finally died down.

Spike's eyes widened. "Is that..."

Fluttershy stood atop Swift Gleam, keeping him pinned to the ground with such strength that Swift had never before experienced.

Swift struggled to bring the air back into his lungs. "What the..."

"How dare you pony-nap Rainbow Dash!" Fluttershy boomed. Her eyes widened in anger and the force on Swift's limbs increased.

"Ow, lady, you're-"

"You have no right to take Rainbow Dash like that, do you understand me?! She doesn't deserve a good-for-nothing coward like you!" She pressed down harder.

"OW OW OW!"

"I got the tip from Pinkie Pie and got here as fast as I could. I've been watching you this whole time, boasting about how much you love Rainbow Dash. You don't know anything about love! After everything we've been through with her, after all the adventures and battles that tested us, your love is nothing compared to the love and respect that I have for her!" She brought her face close to his and lowered her voice to a threatening tone. "Now, I'll ask one time. Let. Her. Go."

"AAARGH!" Swift cried, "Okay, okay! Take her! She's all yours! Just get off of me!"

Fluttershy held her stare for a little while longer before easing the hold she had him in and stepping away. Swift quickly jumped to his feet and took flight, speeding away from the pink-maned menace.

The yellow pegasus watched him until he was out of sight, then closed her eyes, drew a deep breath, then sighed it out. She opened her eyes to Rainbow Dash and Spike, whose jaws were inches from the forest floor. She glanced back to the still-laying Tristan that shared the expression as the others. Fluttershy lowered her head and hid behind her mane.

"Um," Fluttershy whispered, her face turning a vibrant scarlet, "W-Was that too much?"

Rainbow Dash stepped towards the Element of Kindness. She could practically feel her heart in her throat. "Is...Is that true, Fluttershy?" she asked nervously. "Do you...love me...like that?"

Fluttershy hesitated. She felt herself getting nauseous and tears began to form in her teal eyes.

"Oh, Rainbow Dash," she began, almost sobbing, "I'm so sorry you had to find out like this. The truth is, I've loved you for quite a while now. You're always on my mind and I can't stand to be away from you. You mean so much to me..." Her voice broke and tears began running down her cheeks. "But I didn't know if you felt the same way about me. I was so scared to tell you. I was scared that I was going to lose the one pony I-"

Fluttershy's words were cut short by the kiss of the cyan pegasus. Her ability to speak had emotionally, and physically, disintegrated. Her eyes were struck wide open in shock, but gently fell shut as she returned the kiss. Time seemed to stop for the two of them, and the rest of the world momentarily faded away.

Rainbow Dash finally broke away from this kiss. Fluttershy opened her eyes to see her forming tears of her own.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner, Fluttershy?" Rainbow Dash asked shakily. "I've been wanting to tell you that same exact same thing for so long. You're everything that anypony could ever want. You're kind...caring...you always seem to be the one fixing me whenever I was hurting, for both my body and my heart. I can't picture my life without you in it."

Fluttershy's crying intensified. "Oh, Dashie..."

The two pegasi laid their heads around each other, both silently sobbing tears of joy. Tristan finally found the strength and equilibrium to stand and slowly approached the two. A dumbfounded Spike also joined them, taking his place beside Tristan. Rainbow Dash placed a light kiss on Fluttershy's cheek.

"Let's go home."

Twilight Sparkle landed back on the ground after clearing a small creek and continued her full-speed gallop towards Whitetail Woods. She could feel the exhaustion building. Ever since Fluttershy hurriedly flew away from Froggy Bottom Bog, she had been doing her best to follow her. Normally, this would be an easy task, but she lost sight of the pegasus pony only seconds after takeoff.

As she fast approached the forest, however, she saw three ponies calmly walking in her direction, one of which carried a dragon-life form on their back. Twilight expelled a breath of relief and slowed her pace until she met the group.

"Oh, thank Celestia!" she breathlessly exclaimed. "I'm glad you're all okay! What happened? Where was Rainbow Dash?"

"It's okay, babe," Tristan replied calmly. "Everything's fine."

Twilight looked over Tristan's shoulder to see Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash nestled close together. She raised an eyebrow, then glanced at her coltfriend suspiciously. Tristan smiled and kissed the top of Twilight's head.

"Um, R-Rainbow Dash?" Fluttershy asked. "I-If it's okay with you, that is...would you maybe possibly, um, come over to my cottage? You know, for a proper dinner?"

Rainbow Dash smiled warmly as the ironic butterflies fluttered in her stomach. "I couldn't possibly think of anything else I'd rather do."

"Not even fly with the Wonderbolts?" Fluttershy joked.

"Who are the Wonderbolts, again?" Rainbow Dash replied before nuzzling the yellow pony.

Twilight Sparkle, who was walking ahead with Tristan and Spike, overheard the conversation and smiled.

"It's about time they found each other," she said.

Tristan was struck with bewilderment. "You mean you knew?"

"Of course," Twilight confirmed. "I could tell from the way they would sometimes act around each other. I'm honestly surprised that they couldn't see it themselves."

Tristan watched as the pegasi flew close together high above them. "Maybe they weren't sure what they were feeling at first, so they couldn't identify it when the other would act that way because they were too busy trying to shrug off the feeling themselves." He smirked at Twilight. "Sound familiar?"

Twilight sighed contently and began walking closer to Tristan. "I'm glad I was able to figure it out before it was too late."

"Me too, Twi."

"Ugh," Spike groaned. He slid down Tristan's unoccupied side and branched off from the couple. "I'm going to Applejack's. She asked me to help her with a few things."

"Okay," Twilight said, still fixed on Tristan. "Just be back before nightfall."

Spike waddled down his own separate path, occasionally glancing back to the two unicorns who refused to be separated. What was so great about this love junk, anyway? And if it was so great and common, why hasn't it happened to him yet? He pushed the thought from his mind and continued on.

Later that evening, after dinner, Tristan was helping clean the dishes when a flashy piece of paper caught his attention.

"The Fourth Annual Ponyville Ball?" he read. "What's that all about?"

"It's arguably the biggest event in Ponyville," Twilight replied. She hovered a stack of plates into a cupboard and magicked it shut. "Everypony is going to be there. Even the younger ponies go. There's dancing and food and, for some, a very romantic night."

Tristan narrowed his eyes. "You know that for a fact, huh?"

Twilight took note of the stallion's jealousy and walked over to comfort him. "Don't be silly. I normally help organize. I've never been anyone's date or anything."

"Hmm."

Twilight inspected the flyer a little closer. "Oh! It seems like it's being held in a few weeks. I'm going to need to start a list of supplies."

Just then, as if the sentenced summoned him, Spike pulled himself around the door of the library and trudged inside.

"Hey, little guy," Tristan said, glancing back. "How was Applejack's?"

"It was good," Spike simply answered.

"That's cool. Are you hungry? There's some leftover spaghetti here."

"I'm good, thanks. Applejack insisted on feeding me before I left as a 'thank you' for helping her."

"Well, that was nice of her," Twilight stated, placing herself in the conversation. "I'll be sure to thank her the next time I see her."

"Yup," Spike agreed. A yawn escaped him. "I'm exhausted. I think I'll be going to bed now."

"Yeah, you're going to need your sleep," Twilight advised. "The Ponyville Ball is in a few weeks, and we're going to start our event planning in the morning."

Spike said nothing as he trudged out of the kitchen and down the hallway into Tristan's room. Tristan magicked away the last of the dishes and let out a yawn of his own. "Sleep sounds like a great idea," he said. He gave Twilight a quick peck on the cheek and started out of the kitchen. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Actually," Twilight said, stopping him, "I was hoping you could come help me with something before you went to bed. Something's wrong with the light fixture in my room. Also, the sink in my bathroom isn't working, do you think you could take a look at it?"

Tristan half-jokingly hung his head and sighed. A stallion's work is never done.