//------------------------------// // Chapter 8: Sharing The News // Story: Always There // by LuigiBoy781 //------------------------------// Chapter 8: Sharing The News Rainbow Dash trotted her way towards Sugar Cube Corner, excited to meet up with the others. She hummed a soft tune as she passed by Ponyville's shops. Rainbow remembered Rarity's reaction after she broke the news to her. "I'd like to commission a dress." Rarity sat still for a moment with her mouth hanging down, and eyes wide. She remained like this for a matter of seconds until she spoke up. "So you want to order... a dress?" Rainbow simply nodded in response. "Out of all the ponies here in Ponyville, why do you want to order a dress?" Rarity questioned. Rainbow took a moment to relax, preparing for what was coming ahead. "I-I'm going on date," she stated. In response, Rarity smiled gleefully. "Who's the lucky stallion?" Rarity asked in a teasingly manner as she raised her brow. Rainbow Dash gulped, bracing herself for Rarity to have one of her freak outs. "Aden." Rarity looked to her in awe, putting the pieces of the puzzle together. Then, it clicked. "A-Are you going confess to him?" Rainbow Dash knew what was coming, and she was ready for it. "Yes. Yes I am." And just a second later, it came. "Oh my stars, you're finally going to confess to him! This is absolutely marvelous!" Rarity screamed as she jumped up and down around Rainbow's chair. She grabbed Rainbow on the shoulders and pulled up onto her hooves. "We simply must tell the others." Rainbow shook her head to set her mind straight only to be interrupted by Rarity again. "Meet me tomorrow at Sugar Cube Corner. I'll tell the girls to meet us there," Rarity said, pushing Rainbow to the door. "Um, sure sounds like a plan." "Perfect! Now rest up, you have a big day ahead of you." And before she could even respond she was outside, the door quickly shutting behind her. She stared back at the door, asking herself what just happened. But all she knew is that she had some explaining to do. She continued her way towards her destination, walking by familiar parts of the town. And just down the street was Sugar Cube Corner. She made it to the front of the store and looked to the door. She trotted up the stairs and took a deep breath. And with a push the door opened. She looked around the shop, in search of her friends. Rainbow found them in their usual spot as they chatted away. This was it, it was time to tell them the big news. So Rainbow Dash sucked up all of her doubt, and walked towards the table. Rarity smiled softly as she approached, she signaled Rainbow to stand next to her, and cleared her throat. "All right girls, may I have your attention please?" Rarity said as the others looked towards Rarity. "I, or Rainbow Dash, has an announcement to make." She stepped aside and let Rainbow stand alone in the center of the room. Rainbow Dash took a moment to calm her mind, and took a deep breath. "After I got off work yesterday, I gave Aden a note, I wanted to meet him at a hill near Sugar Cube Corner." The others exchanged awkward stares in confusion, but continued to listen. "He might think that this is just another hangout or something. But, the whole reason of meeting him is that I decided that it was time to tell him." Everyone else except for Rarity wondered what she was trying to say. And after a while, they all looked to her in bewilderment. Applejack was the first amongst the group to step forward. "So from what I just heard, you're gonna-" "Yes, I'm finally gonna confess to him," Rainbow finished. It took them a moment to absorb the info they just heard, and when they finally realized, they all rushed towards Rainbow. "Oh my gosh, you're actually gonna tell him!" Pinkie shouted as she jumped around the room. "I'm so glad for you, Rainbow," Fluttershy said, pulling her into a hug. Twilight gave her a pat on the back, while Rarity just congratulated her from the sideline. Rainbow Dash backed away from her friends and looked to all of them. "Well you see, this is where you guys come in. I need help to prepare for tomorrow, cause I have no experience in dating," Rainbow stated, rubbing the back of her head. "Well, that's why you have us," Rarity said as she gave Rainbow Dash a pat on the back. Rainbow looked back to the others who were ready to get started. "All right girls, the date's tomorrow. So I don't a lot time to learn about dating," Rainbow exclaimed as Rarity pulled out a list form her saddlebag. "This was originally made for Sweetie Belle for when she begins to date other ponies, but this should do." Rarity said, unfurling the scroll to reveal many topics. "Proper manners, what to say, appearance..." Rainbow read aloud. "Do I really have to learn all of this?" Rarity gasped and rushed over to her cyan friend. "Why of course Rainbow, these type of things are vital to dating." "Well, we better get started," Rainbow sighed. So she began to work her way down the long list as she preparedfor the worst. *** Aden sat at the table of his home as he conversed with Thunderlane, who had personally volunteered to help him prepare for his date with Rainbow Dash. "All right! One thing that you need to do, is to tell her how you feel in a way that doesn't make you look like an idiot." Thunderlane said, trotting back and forth. "How am I supposed to do that?" Aden shrugged. Thunderlane stopped right in front of him and stared at him before putting his hoof to his chest. "You need to say something that doesn't sound pathetic or too cheesy." Aden raised a brow in confusion. "Okay, how about this," Aden paused as he took a deep breath. "Rainbow, I know that we've been friends for a while and I've wanted to tell you this for a while. I... love you," he whispered those last words in embarrassment. And all that Thunderlane could do was smack his hoof to his face. "That sounded weak, try again, make it a little more cheesy. But not to the level to where it sounds like it came from a movie," he demanded. Round two, Aden told himself as he took another deep breath. "Rainbow Dash, I never thought that I would fall in love with my best friend, but I did," he stopped himself as he pictured Rainbow in front of him, her mane styled and had a beautiful dress to go along with it. "I've always thought that I would fall in love with somepony and start a new life with them. But the one thing that I realized, was that you wouldn't be by my side. The best thing about coming here to Equestria, was finding you. I love you, Rainbow Dash," he finished with a smile, still lost in his own fantasy. But the sound of a soft sob brought him back into reality. "Are you crying, Thunderlane?" Aden asked in disbelief. "Don't worry about that. It seems that you don't need help with confessing to her, let's move on." Thunderlane said, wiping the tears off of his cheeks. Aden chuckled slightly at his friends display. "Is there anything else that we should cover?" Thunderlane took a moment to think, putting a hoof up to his chin. "I don't think so, we pretty much covered everything, but let's look at the list one more time," he said as he began to read the list aloud, silently mumbling to himself. As Thunderlane continued to read the list, Aden gazed over to the picture that sat on the table. It was the same one of him and Rainbow Dash that he had placed near his bedside. But after reorganizing, the picture found it's way onto the kitchen table. He smiled softly at the photo as he reminisced of the past. Aden thought of all the moments he shared with Rainbow, and all the things that happened between them. Aden let out a small sigh as stared at the photo. Rainbow Dash and I have come so close in such a short time. But, does she only think of me as a friend, or something more? He then looked at the lower right corner of the photo, setting his eyes on the small letters written down. "Love, your friend, RD," it said. Aden chuckled slightly, remembering how embarrassed she was when she found out she had written 'Love' instead of 'From'. He continued to stare at the picture, letting his mind roam free. Thunderlane took his eyes off the list and looked over to Aden, who was still staring at the same photo. His face was greeted with a small smirk as he trotted beside him. "It looks like Aden has finally grown up," he paused. "You're going on your first date with Dashie," Thunderlane continued to tease, putting extra emphasis on the word 'Dashie'. Aden could do nothing but to feel embarrassed, and his face said it all. "What's this? You're blushing, Aden." "I'm not embarrassed about the date, Thunderlane," Aden quickly retorted. "It's just whenever you say that damn nickname." Thunderlane's smirk had got even wider upon hearing those words. "You like that name, don't you?" Aden slowly nodded back in response with a small blush. "I can see it now, the way you'll hold her in your hooves. Then you'll say, 'Oh Dashie I love you' and then you'll take her home with you and live happily ever after." Thunderlane said, trying to sound as cheesy as possible. Aden blushed even more then before. "Thunderlane!" "Don't worry, I'm just joking with you." Thunderlane explained. Thunderlane then perked up as he remembered. "Oh, we should be moving on to the next list cause they're still some things that we need to discuss." As he finished he rolled out a smaller list, but it still ended up touching the floor below. "Come on, I only have a hours left before I have to go someplace else." Aden sighed, looking at the list from top to bottom. And to think that this is only the beginning. *** "Okay, thanks guys for helping," Rainbow said exiting the front door of Sugar Cube Corner. "I'm sure that I'll do fine on my date." She gave a small wave before trotting down the small steps in front of her. With the sun hanging low in the sky, she traveled down the roads of Ponyville, passing by all the familiar shops and houses that she saw almost everyday. And as she passed a small restaurant, something interesting caught her eye. Two ponies sat across from each other at a small table. Of course it wasn't that suprising at first, but when she took a closer look, one of them was a stallion, and the other was a mare. They had a certain look in their eyes that seemed to to grab the attention of the rainbow haired mare. As Rainbow Dash looked even closer, she then remembered. It was the same look that Aden had before she almost... She shook the thought off, turning her attention back to the two ponies. "T-There's something that I've been wanting to say to you for a while," the colt said, nervously looking to the mare in front of him. The mare gave a reassuring smile and nodded softly. "Ever since we were young I've always felt this weird connection between us, and I never knew what it was until now," he stated. "But because of you, now I know, I love you." And just then, the mare leaned in and pulled him into a deep kiss. The stallion recoiled a bit at the sudden movement, but then closed his eyes and pulled the mare even closer to him. Rainbow Dash stood there motionlessly, watching intently at this beautiful scene that took place right before her very eyes. Soon the two broke the kiss and stared back at each other. "I love you too, I always have," the mare said as she nuzzled him. Rainbow Dash watched the two walk out of the restaurant, still in a state of wonder. It took her some time to absorb all that had happened. And as she walked back to her humble abode, it was that she could think of. Is that how love is?, she wondered. Before she even realized it, she had made her below her own home. She sighed and flew up to the cloud homes entrance. Rainbow pushed open the door and closed it behind her, making an almost silent click as it finally closed. Rainbow walked into her room and sat on her bed, staring at her bedside table. On it, she found her collection of Daring Do books, her exclusive Wonderbolts clock, and her favorite photo of her and Aden. Every time she looked at it she felt flustered on the inside, like her heart was leaping with joy and other emotions that she couldn't make out. Rainbow then looked at her clock, noting the time, she climbed into bed. When she finally made her way into the sheets, she looked back to the photo. If love really is like a fairy tale, then the date should go jut fine, Rainbow thought, snuggling even deeper into her bed covers. And taking one last glance at the photo, she whispered, "Good night, Aden. I'll see you tomorrow." Upon saying that, she fell asleep in the moonlight's embrace.