Dash paced around the room nervously. Spitfire was late for their afternoon meeting- even later than usual. Spitfire was always late, ever since they decided to just hire a security squad to protect the gates from fans. The two leaders of the Wonderbolts claimed it was so they could spend less time figuring out a new location and more time planning their routine, but Dash knew better. It was to stay closer to her. Even with the extra protection, Spitfire still had to sign a few autographs after practice. Normally, she would leave after about half an hour and be at Dash's less than 5 minutes later.
The fans had stopped storming Spitfire's house, due mainly to the fact that she was never there. This meant that Dash could visit her house once in a while, and every so often they would alternate where they met. True to her word, Spitfire took it much slower than they had at first. They learned a lot more about each other, Rainbow revealing her position as the Element of Loyalty, which thoroughly impressed Spitfire, to say the least.
Even though they mainly met after practice, every so often Rainbow would meet her right outside the gates of the practice track- standing amongst the throng of ponies who could either fly or cast a cloudwalking spell. Rainbow would wait, even after the crowds dispersed.
Spitfire usually saw Rainbow, but if she didn't rainbow tossed a flower near her. That clued her in to Rainbow's presence.
They met every day for the past 3 weeks. As predicted, Rainbow's feelings only grew deeper for the mare every time they met. Like the first time she met her offstage and out of uniform, she discovered more and more every day, surprising her at every turn.
Today was different. Today was the day Rainbow finally decided to make her move. She would ask her favorite celebrity on a date.
“Where is she?” she asked her new pet, Tank the Tortoise. Tank returned her question with a look that was either an “I'm tired” look or a “No clue” look. Judging by the fact that it was still mid-afternoon, and the fact that Tank already took his nap, she decided on the latter.
“Pull yourself together, Rainbow. She probably has a perfectly rational excuse,” she told herself. Knowing Spitfire for who she is, it was probably true.
Sure enough, less than a half an hour later, Spitfire arrived. However, she was not alone.
Soarin and Spitfire walked in- Spitfire had been planning this as a surprise since the first day they met up. Soarin gladly accepted the invitation, glad to meet the mare that had stolen his friend's heart. Sure, they had met before, but they were interrupted by the throngs of “Important Ponies”. It would be nice to meet her in the comfort of her own home.
Rainbow Dash let out an adorable fan-filly squeal, easily the most girly thing she did. Spitfire had to stifle a giggle- the mare had a look on her face that made all present smile. Soarin broke the session of speechlessness, saying “Hello, you must be Rainbow Dash, the pony who saved my pie. Wicked reflexes, yo.”
Rainbow Dash blushed at the memory of the Gala- until Spitfire decided to set Soarin straight.
“Drop the tough-guy attitude, Soarin. You're among friends. We can act normally."
Realizing this was true, Soarin immediately apologized- “Sorry, Dash. I'm used to hanging around a bunch of mares who have this... image in their head. No clue how it got there,” he said, poking playfully at Spitfire.
She smiled at Soarin, before remembering her goal here; “I brought Soarin here to meet you at his request- I told him a lot about you, and he wanted to come to see you.”
Soarin was thankful for what she left out, even though it was for her sake. She asked him to come so she could get his opinion on the couple. He remembered the time Rainbow Dash had saved them during the Junior Fliers competition. She was the first and only pegasis able to create a sonic rainboom, and the first time in many years she had been able to do so was to save them. She lived up to her element.
Bearing this in mind, Soarin still did his best to think only about what was happening now.
Rainbow Dash turned and started to move towards the kitchen before turning again for the vial of fluid Spitfire tapped her with. She continued into the kitchen before calling for them to sit down.
“Make yourselves at home,” she yelled, before adding “Oh, and Soarin, what do you want in your coffee?”
“2 cream, 2 sugar,” he called back, before turning to Spitfire and saying quietly “she seems nice enough, and the look that was in her eyes when she saw you walk in was... well, it was as if she couldn't live without you. She almost looked as if she hadn't seen you in weeks- probably because you were late.”
Spitfire blushed, only just noticing that they had spent an unusual amount of time signing autographs after practice. Considering who she brought with her- a good friend who was a Stallion- she immediately understood Rainbow's eagerness to see her.
Worried she had completely undone everything she was trying to fix in this visit, she cuddled up against Rainbow when she walked back in.
Rainbow's heart fluttered- here she was, sitting with two members of the best flying team in all of Equestria, with one of them, specifically the one she loved, cuddling against her on a couch and sipping coffee. She put her arm around Spitfire and decided to hold off until Soarin left.
The three of them chatted about new moves they thought of, and things that were happening in each others' lives. Soarin revealed a specific fact that put Rainbow's heart at ease and cured Spitfire's apprehension- he revealed that he had a marefriend himself.
Even though there was no need to stay next to Rainbow at this point, Spitfire couldn't break away. She was loving every minute of it. They both knew they loved each other, why couldn't they stay in each others' arms while enjoying some coffee?
Rainbow could hardly wait any longer. She was nearly bursting with joy that her love was not... otherwise engaged, and she was feeling as if she would just kiss Spitfire right then and there, in front of Soarin. She held off, but Soarin sensed the growing urgency in her voice as she continued the conversation and decided to tell the mares he would leave (at the first polite moment, of course.)
They said their goodbyes, before Spitfire got up and hugged Soarin. He left without another word, clearly trying to get back into his normal, macho persona.
“Well, that was a good chat,” Spitfire commented.
“Yeah. It was nice to get to know another one of your friends,” Dash commented, with just a little to much relief in her voice. Spitfire didn't seem to mind, though, as she was already back on the sofa cuddling against Dash. Even with the mare so close, and even though they were already locked in an embrace, Dash couldn't work up the courage to tell Spitfire. The muscles in her jaw tensed and relaxed every once in a while, and she started to sweat slightly.
“What's wrong, Dashie?” Spitfire asked after noticing this.
Rainbow's heart overflowed- she had never heard this pony call her by that before, and she thought it was fantastic. The only other pony to ever call her Dashie was Pinkie Pie, and that was due to the deep bonds they shared. They really were the best of friends. Dash started working on a response, all the while thinking about how she was going to take the plunge- she had to do it. She couldn't put it off any longer than she had. “Nothing's wrong, Spitfire. Although, I am a little mad that I can't think of a cute nickname for you, like you thought of Dashie.”
She had bought herself some time. She kept thinking how to word her request. She finally decided-
“Hey, Spitfire?”
“Hmm?”
“How... How would you like to... I dunno, go get dinner sometime? It can be just the two of us. In fact, I'd prefer that. I guess I'm trying to ask you if you want... want to go on a date.” The question would have come out better, had the look on Spitfire's face looked different than what it did. It was nearly emotionless, with just one eyebrow raised above the other. Rainbow tried to shrink away from Spitfire's embrace, but stopped when the mare cuddling her smiled and softened her eyes.
“I thought you'd never ask.”
***
They still hadn't kissed again- they were only going on a test date, really. Dash wanted to see how their interests mingled, instead of just taking what she saw and running with it.
Rarity, being the only other pony Dash told, insisted that she come and give a free makeover to her friend.
“I'm not one for a mare and a mare going on a date, but if it makes you happy, Rainbow, I want to make you as happy as possible. Everything needs to be perfect.”
Rainbow admired her friends acceptance, and her willingness to make her happy. When she stepped out of the room and into view of the mirror, she stopped. She had only looked nearly this good once before- at the Grand Gala. This trumped it 10 fold. Her mane was done up in what looked like the definition of organized chaos- a wonderfully stylized recreation of Rainbow's personality. Her eyes had been done very lightly, with hardly a hint of darkness on her eyelids. It made her look stunning.
“Go, my dear. You're ready,” Rarity said, holding back tears at the sight of her friend. She leaned in and hugged her, careful not to mess up her hair to much. “I hope you have a fantastic time with Spitfire.”
***
Dash met with spitfire at the restaurant, who looked just as fantastic as Dash.
“Hi Dashie,” Spitfire said, with a tone that would make Fluttershy faint from how adorable it was. “You look fantastic.”
“Uh... You too Spitfire” Rainbow Dash responded absently- she was still taking in the full beauty that stood before her. She noticed one big feature that had changed about Spitfire. Her mane.
“Did you comb your mane?” she asked
“Yes, I like it. Don't you?” she shook her hair around, making Rainbow nearly faint.
Rainbow hadn't noticed it before, but the stripes in Spitfire's hair really moved like fire as it moved, and with the fresh brush it sparkled slightly in the light. She barely could stammer out the next sentence “Erm... s-shall we go inside?”
“Yes, that sounds lovely.”
When they walked into the restaurant, they were immediately greeted by a Maitre-D who politely asked them “Do ze madames have a reservation?” with his thick french accent.
“Yes, a table for two. It should be under 'Spitfire'.”
“Right zis way, madames.”
He guided them to their table, and paused as he pulled Spitfire's chair out. He looked at Dash, silently asking if she wanted to do the honor. Gratefully, Dash took hold of the chair and pulled it the rest of the way out for Spitfire. She walked to the other side of the table and sat down.
“A waiter will be with you shortly,” he told them, passing out menus.
The pair nodded, and the Maitre-D walked away silently. Spitfire started the conversation at the table, mainly about Rainbow and her ability to perform the Sonic Rainboom. Spitfire asked why the name suited her so well considering how long ago it was first named.
“They actually named it after me,” Rainbow responded. “I was the first pony to ever perform it, and it caused a rainbow to shoot from my mane. They just named it as they saw it.”
As they were talking, a waiter silently approached the two of them, and asked what they wanted. Spitfire ordered first, Rainbow allowing her to speak. They both ordered the same thing, and when it arrived they spent the next two hours talking and eating, calling over the waiter every once in a while to refill their drinks. When they were finished, they retreated to Rainbow's house for an after dinner chat and a dessert that Dash prepared with the help of Pinkie Pie.
They chatted long into the night, so late, in fact, that Dash couldn't rightly let her date fly herself home. She had a spare bed in the cloud house, but it was rarely used due to her low number of pegasis friends and the proximity of Fluttershy's house. Spitfire decided to sleep there tonight.
Over all, Dashie thought it was a pretty successful date.
To be continued.
(Authors note: You didn't think I'd forget to leave one of these, did you?)