//------------------------------//
// Smile Like You Mean It 
// Story: Change Your Mind 
// by FlutterSky1979 
//------------------------------//

"Oh no, oh no, oh no..." 

Rainbow Dash paced back and forth across her living room. Tank closely watching his master as she passed by him for what must have been the hundredth time. Finally, she came to a halt, gently collapsing to a sprawled heap on her carpet. Dash rolled over onto her back, draping her forelegs over her eyes to block out her vision. 

"Out of all the crazy things to get stuck in my head, why this? Why now?" 

With a sigh, Rainbow turned her gaze towards her pet. She remained on her back, the weight of her predicament keeping her down. 

"Yoohoo, earth to Tank! You gonna say something, or what?" 

Tank blinked, letting his drawn out squeak and facial expressions create words in a way he could not. 

"I don't know what the hell you expect me to do, I'm just as surprised as you are! I never dreamed that you were... Well, gay..." 

Dash rolled over, in the blink of an eye she was back up to a sitting position. 

"I'm not gay! I mean, I am, I guess... But, I don't think I am..." 

Rainbow Dash stared at the ground, her voice reduced to a depressed whisper. 

"It's not that I'm attracted to mares... I'm attracted to Pinkie Pie..."

With a drawn out sigh, Dash raised her head, looking back at Tank. 

"Gay, straight, what does it matter? Either way, I'm up shit creek without a paddle... Celestia, please kill me now..." 

Dash was prepared to fall back to the floor and stay down, when a soft rapping broke the air. 

"Great... Just what I need right now, company." 

Rainbow held her breath, waiting for the pony at her front door to go away. Unfortunately, the visitor persisted. Dash moved silently to her door, sneaking a quick look through her peephole before thrusting her head back down behind the safety of the door. Dash frowned as she looked back towards Tank, hissing at him is a desperate whisper. 

"Dude, it's Fluttershy! What do I do?" 

Tank rolled his eyes as he answered. 

"Answer the door! Odds are she already knows you're here, why bother trying hide?" 

A few more seconds and another series of knocks later, Dash took a few apprehensive steps backwards. She looked over her shoulder at Tank. 

"You answer it! Tell her I'm not home!"

"Stop being such a scaredy pony, and answer the damn door!" 

Dash looked from the door back to Tank, then to the door again. Half of her mind told her to flee, while the other half reminded her that she had no reason to hide. 

"Rainbow..." 

Fluttershy's voice was soft as a whisper as she spoke. 

"Um... We heard about what happened at the exam today... Pinkie Pies kinda thrown something together at Sugar Cube, and we'd all really like it if you could stop by... But if not, that's okay too..." 

Dash swallowed hard, a cool sweat running down her brow. 

"P-Pinkie Pie? Sugar Cube?" 

She didn't realize that she had spoken out loud, until Fluttershy answered back. 

"Y-yes, there's a bunch of ponies there actually. We all were wanting to congratulate you on a job well done..." 

Rainbow bit her lip; the thought of seeing Pinkie Pie made her sick. If just thinking about the party loving pony completely wrecked her train of thought, how would she react to seeing her? 

"Fluttershy, h-hold on a sec, kay?" 

Dash sprinted away from the door and over to her pet. 

"What do I do?!" 

Tank stared at his master for a few moments, his face reflecting his thoughts. 

"Why are you asking me? This is a no brainer, Dash! Do you really like her? Like her like a mare likes a stallion?" 

Dash blushed but didn't answer. She didn't need to, she couldn't have hidden how she felt if she tried. 

"Then this is your opportunity! You're gonna go to that party, and you're gonna tell her how you feel!" 

Dash tugged at her mane as she whined to her pet. 

"But, it's hard!" 

A puzzled look formed on Tank's face. He began to look around at the room, before turning his gaze back to Rainbow Dash. 

"Excuse me, miss, can you help me find my master? She's a blue Pegasus, has rainbow colored hair, and last I checked, wasn't a whiny bitch!" 

Rainbow's eyes narrowed into angry slits as she pushed her snout against Tank's. 

"Who you callin a bitch... Bitch!" 

Tank smirked, his words carefully chosen. 

"Just the BITCH that's too much of a PUSSY to go tell another mare she likes her! Seriously though, if you see my master, tell her that I haven't found that backbone she was looking for, but I'll keep searching." 

That was all the incentive Rainbow needed. She burst out her door, calling back as she took to the air. 

"I'll show you backbone!" 

With a confused squeak, Fluttershy closed her friend's door and took off after her. 


*****

"Good Lord, I've made a terrible mistake..." 

Rainbow whispered the words to herself as they flashed over and over in her mind. Even before she had arrived, her celebration party had been going strong for quite some time. However, once she had walked through the door into Sugar Cube, the place had exploded! Only now, hours later, was the atmosphere beginning to die down. 

Thank God it's not the weekend... Dash thought. 

If it had been a Friday or Saturday, the party and its 'guest of honor', would be going on all night, not coming to an end at just a little after ten. Even as it reached its end, Dash still had an obligation to mingle, it was both a blessing and a curse. The mingling gave her an excuse to put off talking directly to Pinkie Pie. However, every second she spent sipping a drink or talking with the other Pegasi of Ponyville, was another second she lost a little more of her nerve. Rainbow Dash knew she needed to get Pinkie alone to talk to her and soon, less she chicken out completely. 

Finally, Dash saw a window of opportunity open, as Pinkie Pie left the party room to check on some cupcakes. Rainbow, who was stuck in one of Cloud Kicker's never ending conversations, sat down her drink and prepared to go after her. 

"Uh huh... Mhm... Yeah... Well, it's tough being a single mother... Will you hold that thought? I uh... Gotta take a wicked piss..." 

Paying no mind to Cloud's protests, Dash darted away to Sugar Cube's kitchen, taking a deep breath as Pinkie Pie came into her vision. Hearing the sound of approaching hoofsteps, Pinkie turned around, greeting Dash in her carefree way. 

"Hiya, Dashie!" 

If she had had a plan before, it was lost that instant as her thoughts fled from her mind. Instead of greeting Pinkie back, Dash just stood in the kitchen doorway, her mouth completely incapable of making a sentence. 

"Dashie? You alright?"

Alright brain, you got me this far. Now, how bout you make yourself useful and think up something clever for me to say. C'mon, anything will do! ANYTHING! She's looking right at you! Say something! Say something dammit! Anything! Just. Say. SOMETHING! 

"H-hey, Pinkie Pie, bitchin' party..." Dash brought her eyes to a slow close, flinching at the stupidity of her own statement. 

"Thanks, Dashie, but there's no need to thank me. I mean, it all came together so effortlessly! Of course, we had been planning something for you regardless of what happened today, but as soon as Twilight found out the results, our progress just skyrocketed! You wouldn't believe how fast word got around-" 

She continued on, but Dash didn't hear her. Her mind was transfixed on making her legs move. The closer she got to Pinkie, the heavier her body seemed. After Dash fully got into the kitchen, it got a little easier. There was no way she was going to back out now!

"Yeah... Hey Pink, about the test... I really wanna thank you again, I couldn't have passed today if it hadn't been for you." 

Pinkie Pie tilted her head, a gesture Dash found so irresistibly cute she feared her heart might stop. 

"Oh really," Pinkie said. "Why's that?" 

"Well, you just really calmed my nerves. Calmed my nerves and gave me that extra little fuel I needed to win." Dash added, in a voice too quiet for anyone (except maybe Fluttershy) to really understand, "Like nopony else could have done..." 

Pinkie Pie smiled and turned away from Dash, she peered into the oven at the goodies that were ready to come out. Pinkie switched off the oven fan and got out a tray to put them on, keeping up conversation with Rainbow as she did so.  

"I'm glad! I've noticed that we haven't been quite as close as we used to be, and I was worried that our big day out would turn awkward." 

Rainbow Dash nodded, taking note that it hadn't just been her that had felt that way. 

"Yeah... About that, Pinkie... I think I know why that happened..." 

Pinkie put the tray down and turned around, putting off the treats for a moment. 

"Oh?"

This time, Rainbow didn't turn away or even close her eyes as Pinkie faced her. She had set the stage for her revelation, and now it was time to go through with it. 

No turning back now, Dash, you've reached the point of no return. 

"Yeah... You see, Pinkie, I like you... A lot." 

Pinkie smiled, not quite catching the meaning of Dash's words. 

"I like you too, Dashie, a lot!" 

Rainbow groaned, forcing her eyes to go back up from the floor to Pinkie's face. 

"Noooooo. I mean, I like you, Pinkie Pie. A lot. A looooooooot." 

Dash licked her lips as she watched the wave of realization wash over her friend's face, her mouth suddenly seemed so dry. 

Why didn't I bring my drink? I should have drunk more before I tried this... 

"So... I think I've liked you for quite awhile actually, but I didn't really accept it until yesterday... I think that might be why we grew apart... I don't think I really wanted to believe it before. But now... I don't think I can really deny it any longer..."

For what felt like an eternity, neither Pinkie or Rainbow said a thing. As the uncomfortable silence dragged on, a million different horrible thoughts flashed through Dash's mind at once. Now that her brain wanted to work, all it had to give her was terrible scenarios. Dash wasn't sure which one seemed the most likely, but they all made her feel sick to her stomach. At this point, there were two things that she was sure of. One, was that there was no way Pinkie was going to continue being her friend after this, and the second, was that she really wished Pinkie would hurry up and say something! However, once Pinkie Pie did speak, it floored Dash in a way she could have never predicted. 

"Well duh!" 

Rainbow's mouth dropped open, she fumbled over a few failed sentences before barking back her confused rebuttal. 

"Well duh? Well duh! What the hell kind of response is that?!" 

Pinkie Pie just giggled, she didn't seem affected in the slightest. 

"I mean, that this isn't news silly. We've already been through this!" 

"What the hell do you mean we've already been through this?!" 

"I mean exactly what I said, we've already been through this. C'mon, Dash, don't you remember New Year's?" 

Dash stammered again, feeling her blood pressure rise at the feeling of having her big reveal turned against her. No matter what the circumstance, she hated being made a fool of. 

"Do I sound like I remember New Year's!? Pinkie, what the hell are you talking about? If you know something I don't, tell me!" 

Pinkie frowned and eyed her Pegasus friend for a moment. 

"You really don't remember, do you?" 

"No!" Dash shouted back. 

Dash noticed that her breathing had become heavy. She could tell by the fire in her cheeks that she was blushing badly, but it was more than that. It felt like the temperature around her had gone up twenty degrees since she had first entered the room, and it was getting hotter by the minute. 

"Last New Year's Eve; the six of us went out to party, you had a few too many Manehattans, got me alone, and then you confessed your undying love for me. You really don't remember any of that?" 

Dash stared back at Pinkie, slowly shaking her head. She had a little more control over her voice now, but it was still coming out a desperate shout. 

"Stop asking me that! If I remembered, I wouldn't be acting this way, now would I? For fuck's sake!" 

Rainbow Dash buried her face in her hooves as she began to pace around the room, letting her wings carry her rather than her legs. Suddenly, it all came back to her. The six of them going out, the wild night of drinking, the bathroom at the club where she had cornered Pinkie, it was all coming back to her now. When Dash finally stopped pacing, she couldn't look at Pinkie. Instead she kept her gaze glued to the floor. 

"So, um... What happened?" 

"What do you mean?" 

Dash groaned again, her friend's blissfully ignorant way was beginning to wear on her nerves. 

"I mean, what did you say; the first time? Do you... Feel the same?"

"Oh..." 

That wasn't a good start. Now it was Pinkie's turn to look at the ground. Dash wiped the sweat off her brow, it really was getting hotter in here. The heat was beginning to sting her eyes, making them water. 

"I mean, you're a great friend and all, Dash, but..." 

Pinkie trailed off. Already, Dash didn't want to hear anything more. 

"Buuuuuut," Dash said, urging her on against her better judgment. 

"But... We're both girls... It-it wouldn't work out..." 

Pinkie Pie continued to stare at the ground, Rainbow Dash couldn't believe her ears. 

"Both girls... It wouldn't work out..." 

In a flash, Dash flew over to Pinkie, clasping her hooves tight over her shoulders. 

"What kind of lame ass excuse is that!?" 

Pinkie looked up wide eyed at Dash, completely thrown off guard by her sudden advance. 

"Dashie! Knock it off, that hurts!" 

Dash scowled and kept hold of her friend. She didn't know if it was the heat, her frustration and embarrassment, or a combination of the three, but it seemed like Pinkie was becoming harder to see.

"You knock it off! Seriously, that's the best you can come up with? Here I am, pouring my heart out to you, and not only do you wanna act all nonchalant about it, but the best reason you can give for not being able to be with me, is that it won't work out?!" 

Pinkie pushed Dash's hooves off of her. She took a step backwards, her flank hitting the kitchen counter. 

"What do you want me to say?!" 

Dash bit her lip. She had to squint to see Pinkie now. 

"I don't know... Something better than that! Admit it, we'd be great together! Girls or not we're meant to b-" 

Dash's rant was cut short as she broke off into a fit of coughing. Her burning eyes shut tight, she grabbed blindly at Pinkie's shoulders just as an electronic scream began to pierce the air.

Dash heard the sound of the kitchen fan being turned on, as she at last managed to open her eyes. It hadn't been her imagination, the room was filled with smoke; smoke and ponies now. All eyes were on her and Pinkie Pie, as they fanned the smoke out of the room and turned the oven off. As questions about the shouting and smoke began to come up, Dash realized just how bad the situation must have looked. She still had her fore hooves grasped tight on Pinkie Pie's shoulders. Rainbow turned around, scanning the crowd of faces before settling on the clock above the doorway; it was ten thirty on the dot. 

"Wehehell..." Dash stammered, taking a few steps away from Pinkie and making her way through the crowd. 

"Look at the time! It's been fun guys, but I really gotta get going. Big training and stuff... Great party though, great party. You've all been really great. Great! Great... And uh, Pinkie, think it over, okay? And if I have chance, will you let me know?" 

Dash quickly found her way out of Sugar Cube and took to the skies, her ears still ringing from the screech of bakery's smoke alarm.

With her spirits weakened but still intact, Dash returned to her home to reflect on the incident. After a change of strategy and a little encouragement from Tank, she decided to try talking to Pinkie Pie again. The next day went much better than the one before. Pinkie even admitted to having similar urges on an occasion or two, but in the end she remained resistant to Rainbow Dash's reasoning. Dash left with a wounded spirit, but returned the next day; still Pinkie Pie refused her. Broken but not beaten Dash tried the next day, and the next, the day after that, and finally the one after that. 

By the time the seventh day rolled around, Rainbow was too drained to try and talk with her friend another day in a row, so she decided to stay in. In her saddened state, Dash ended up not leaving the house at all that day... Or the day after that. Pretty soon one day turned into three, three into a week, and before she knew it, it had become more than two weeks since anypony had spoken with her.


*****

Dash awoke in a slow daze, her mind dimly aware of the pounding hoof on her door. She rolled over in her bed, pushing her head underneath her pillow and holding it down with her hooves to block out the sound. The knocking was a timid one, even in its desperation, she could tell it was very restrained. 

"Fluttershy today..." 

A couple times every day for the past couple of weeks, one of her friends would come to check on her. So far, none of them had made it past the front door. Hell, she hadn't even said anything to any of them in weeks. Rainbow still felt bad for ignoring them, especially when an Earth Pony like Applejack came (cloud walking spells were a bitch to cast after all), but at the moment Dash's shame far outweighed everything else, and there was no way she was gonna face them now. How could she? She wondered how many ponies knew about her numerous rejections from Pinkie. The fact that they hadn't sent Pinkie up here to get her yet, probably meant that at least her friends knew about the incident...

The knocking persisted and Dash continued to ignore it. Of course they had tried to get in, but Dash had made good on her promise to keep her door locked from now on. She wondered why they hadn't just tried busting it in yet. Maybe it was because they weren't sure that she was actually inside. For all they knew, Rainbow had grabbed Tank and went somewhere far away so she could train. 

Train... Dash groaned. The race was coming up in a few short days and it had been forever since she had even used her wings. Dash pulled the pillow tighter over her, blocking out the thoughts as she blocked out Fluttershy's concern. Finally, the sound ceased, and Rainbow was left alone once again. 

Once she was sure the coast was clear, Dash rolled out of bed, making her way through the hopeless haze her life had become. Dash ran some water from her bathroom sink, and splashed her face with it, taking a moment to look at the mess of a pony in the mirror. Her mane was messier than usual, her face was pale and thin, she didn't even recognize the pair of tragic eyes that gazed back at her. 

"Look at you... You used to be something... You could have been a Wonderbolt... You think they'd want you now? You can't even hold your head up, much less impress a crowd..." 

Dash turned away from the mirror, unable to stand her reflection any longer. 

"Not used to be... Are..." 

Rainbow Dash turned slowly around towards the source of the sound. Tank stood in the bathroom doorway, even his normally expressionless face seemed to have taken on a darker aura. 

"Dash, you can't keep doing this to yourself... The race is in two days, you can't lose like this!" 

Dash nodded, walking out of her bathroom and back to her bed. 

"That's easy for you to say, you're not the one being treated like a disgusting pest by your best friend... Ex-best friend, I suppose..." 

Tank looked at Dash from the floor and she bent down to pick him up, setting him down on her lap. 

"Don't talk like that! Pinkie Pie's still your friend, she's probably just unsure how to handle this whole thing."

"That's just it, Tank. I don't want her as a friend... I want... More... Something more that I'll never have..." 

"Listen to yourself!" 

Dash blinked and recoiled slightly at Tank's outburst. She had seen him upset before, but this anger filled squeak was completely new to her. 

"Look at you, wallowing away in self-pity. It makes me sick!" 

Dash didn't know what to say. She tried to spit out a few words in her defense, but they were quickly cut short. 

"No! Don't you say a word, you listen! For nearly three weeks I've watched your pathetic ass cry about nothing, and I can't take it anymore! Now, I know you're not used to rejection, and its hard for you to handle and all that stupid shit, but enough is enough! Last time I checked, you were Rainbow Danger Dash, the most bad ass bad-ass to have ever bad assed, and the Rainbow Dash I know does not take no for an answer!" 

Dash nodded, finding herself swept up in Tank's pep talk. 

"You've got two options. You can keep on sitting here, hiding away in your locked house while the world moves on without you, waiting to whither and die... Or, you can get off your mopy butt, clean yourself up, go take what you want like the old Rainbow Dash used to do, and go win yourself a rac- Whoa!" 

Dash sprung to her hooves, sending Tank flying across the room. 

"You're right! Misery be damned! I'm Rainbow Dash, and I take what I want! I know Pinkie feels the same way, even if she doesn't yet, and I'm gonna show her!" 

She prepared to rush back into her bathroom, stopping to flip the fallen Tank up from off of his back. 

"Uh... Sorry bout that, buddy." 

With a smile and quick nuzzle, she continued on with her mission. Ready to make Pinkie fall for her once and for all!


*****

It wasn't until dusk had settled over Ponyville, that Rainbow Dash made her move. After cleaning herself up, she made her way to Sugar Cube, and hid within the clouds above the shop. Dash waited for the perfect chance to get Pinkie Pie to herself. Just when she thought her chance would never come, she spotted Pinkie walking out the backdoor of the shop, taking out the garbage for the day. Rainbow landed softly, a few feet behind Pinkie. She cleared her throat to let her know she was there. Pinkie Pie whipped around at the sound of her friend's voice, taking a moment to rub her eyes in disbelief. 

"Dashie! Where have you been? No one's seen you for weeks! We were so worried..."

Dash blushed, it seemed that she wasn't as prepared as she had thought. 

"Yeahhhhh, sorry bout that, I was... Busy..." 

Pinkie swept Dash up in a hug, catching her off guard. 

"Well, thank goodness you're back! We didn't know if you were going to make the race or not! Oh my gosh! Do you know what day it is?! The race is in like two days! Are you even rea-" 

Dash put a hoof to Pinkie's mouth, stopping her before she began to ramble. 

"Yeah, yeah, race smace, look Pinkie, you know why I'm here... We've got unfinished business..." 

Pinkie took a couple steps backward, her cheery attitude replaced with a somber frown. 

"Oh, Dashie... Not this again..."

"Yes, this again! I don't know what you think this means to me, but I'm serious about this! This is killing me, Pink! I need you, I need us! Can't you just, I don't know, throw me a bone here!" 

Pinkie Pie shook her head, obviously made uncomfortable by her friend's persistence. 

"Dashie, I'm flattered, really I am. If I was going to be with somepony of the same sex, you'd be high on the list..." 

Dash scoffed, rolling her eyes. 

"Oh you're too kind," she added sarcastically. 

"But... I just don't feel that way about mares... If you're gay, that's cool with me, it doesn't affect my opinion of you in the slightest. But I'm not! Why can't you accept that?" 

"Because! I'm not gay, Pinkie! Don't you get it?" 

Dash stopped, taking a moment to choose her words before starting again. 

"I'm not attracted to mares, Pinkie Pie... I'm attracted to you... Your gender doesn't matter to me, it's all the great times we've spent together, all the laughs we've shared, the times we've had, your personality, the way you speak, the way you think, everything!" 

Dash bit her lip. Romantic junk like this wasn't exactly her strong suit, but she knew she had to do her best to convey her feelings if she wanted a chance with Pinkie Pie. 

"I know you've had some great romances in the past, but I've watched them all come and go while I've managed to stick around! Love's such a fickle thing, and true happiness is such a hard thing to find... Just when you think you've found a sun, a bright spot in your life, it's gone before it can even shine..." 

Dash paused again, taking a moment to study Pinkie's face. She hoped beyond hope that maybe, just maybe, some of what she was saying was getting through to her. 

"I love you, Pinkie... You've been one of my best friends forever now, and I would never do anything to hurt you... I just want to be there for you... I want the chance to make you feel as happy as you make me... Look, I never thought I'd feel this way about another mare either, but you're not just another mare! We've got something special, you and I. I've always known it but was always too deep in denial to believe it. And I know that somewhere, you feel the same way about me. So please, just a chance, that's all I ask..." 

The seconds dragged on like hours, as Dash starred into Pinkie's eyes. Neither of them were about to look away, but neither knew where to begin. Finally, with downcast eyes, Pinkie Pie broke the silence. 

"Rainbow Dash... I'm sorry... But, I can't..."

Her words were devastating. It took Dash a second to catch her breath, but once she did, she had no problem letting loose on Pinkie. 

"Are you serious?! Still? After all that, this is really fuckin' happening?!" 

Pinkie flinched at Dash's words, not used to being talked to in such a way by a friend. 

"Dash, c'mon! Don't be that way!" 

Rainbow shook her head, storming away as Pinkie gave pursuit. 

"Don't tell me to come on! I can't believe you, Pinkie Pie! You're like, the friendliest, most open minded pony I know, and you won't even give your best friend a chance, even after you've seen how important this is to me!" 

Pinkie grabbed Dash's shoulder and Dash stopped, turning around but refusing to look at her. 

"Dashie! Now you're just sounding selfish and- Are... Are you crying?"

"No!" 

Dash yanked herself away from Pinkie again, she couldn't possibly face her friend now. 

"Not crying," she sniffled. "Mad!" 

As hard as she fought against it now, her efforts proved fruitless. Soon, hot, angry tears were streaming against Rainbow Dash's cheeks. She no longer had the strength to pull away from Pinkie. 

"Oh, Dashie... This really means a lot to you... Doesn't it?" 

Dash wiped her eyes, her mood furthered soured by Pinkie's question. 

"No, this has all been for show!" she snapped back. "Of course it means a lot to me..." 

Dash took a moment to fight back the bitter tears, seeing one last opportunity appear. 

"Look, Pinkie, we've had so many great laughs together, so many wonderful times... Thinking back, I know that I've always felt this way about you, and I know that somewhere, deep down inside, you feel the same way about me! I know you've got your doubts because we're both mares, but think of it this way... If I were a stallion, would you hesitate? If the situation was different, would there be a problem?"

"Now, that's not fair! The situation's not different, Dashie..." 

Pinkie didn't say another word, watching as the last of Dash's tears began to dry. 

"Pinkie, I know you think you've made up your mind about this, but one, lousy chance, that's all I'm asking for! Think it over, please, for me!  Think about it... And if you can honestly think of any reason, any reason at all that would make us a bad couple, other than that we're the same sex, then I promise I'll leave you alone about this... Forever! But if you can't, even though you've made it clear that the answer is no... Please, please! Can I change your mind?"

Once again there was silence. Neither pony was making a sound, and even the town itself seemed to have paused. At last, Pinkie spoke, a simple phrase that changed everything.

"Win the race." 

Dash tilted her head, not sure if she understood the meaning behind her friend's words. 

"Huh?" 

Pinkie repeated herself. 

"Win the race. If you win the race tomorrow, make the Wonderbolts, I'll go out on a date with you. One date! And we'll see how it goes from there... But only if you win the race!

Dash couldn't believe her ears. Her harsh frown transformed into a wide grin, as she hugged Pinkie Pie as tight as she could. 

"Oh thank you, Pink! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" 

Her cheeks blushed a happy red as she released her friend. Dash felt that finally, after all the trials and tribulations of the past few months, her journey was at last about to reach its climax, and a greater prize than she could have ever conceived was just on the horizon. 

Pinkie smiled, shaking her head as she gave Rainbow Dash a playful nudge. 

"Don't thank me so soon, Dashie. After all, you haven't won anything yet."

"Pfft," Dash scoffed, her once ever present, cocky attitude returning.

"Pinkie, please! Like I'm gonna have any problem smoking those bitches! If I were you, I'd be spending less time worrying about me, and more preparing for our totally kick ass date!" 

Pinkie Pie rolled her eyes, the smile on Dash's face bringing one to her own. 

"If you say so. Anyways, I've gotta go back inside. I'm surprised they haven't come looking for me yet!" 

Rainbow nodded, working her wings into a soft flutter. 

"Yeah, yeah, I gotta get going to. I've gotta go plan for the biggest date of my life!" 

She winked at Pinkie and began to hover away, waving at the pink, party pony as her wings stretched out into the skies.


*****

The next day, Rainbow spent her entire afternoon in town, not shy about telling ponies that she was looking for things to do for her and her extra special friend's date. When asked about the upcoming race, she simply told everyone that she had more important things to worry about at the moment.

The day after that, the day of the race, was one for the books indeed. August 14th of that year, would go on to be remembered by most of Equestria, as the day that one of the most one-sided races in Wonderbolt history had taken place. Rainbow Dash, however, would always remember it as the day that she took Pinkie out for their very first date. A date that would go on to be the first of many...


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