//------------------------------// // Chapter 7: Outing // Story: Happiness and Tears // by flaminkomage //------------------------------// Happiness and Tears RDcrystalheart Chapter 7: Outing "What you did back there..." Rainbow Dash started once the two were a safe distance away from the house. Soarin looked back at her and shook his head with a small smile. "Hey, don't worry about it. My father tends to get a little... jumpy over that sort of thing," he said. Dash nodded. "Well, thanks. It really wasn't nessecary though," she said. "I would have been pretty awesome back there by myself." Soarin rolled his eyes. "Really now? Because how I remember it, you were so nervous you were practically shivering!" Dash snorted. "Yeah yeah," she said with a grin. Soarin sighed, and fluttered a little lower, heading for ground level. Dash followed shortly after she noticed what he was doing, and the two landed softly on the clouds below. "So... now what?" Soarin asked her, glancing besides him. Dash shrugged. "I dunno, what do you wanna do?" she said, letting loose her casual self. Soarin chuckled, before pointing into the bustle of the main city. "You're from Ponyville, correct?" he asked her. Dash nodded. "And you haven't explored Cloudsdale, correct?" Dash nodded again. "Great! Wanna fly around the city?" Dash jumped up and squeed uncharacteristically. "Ooh yes!" she exclaimed. Soarin chuckled, before spreading his wings and taking off once again. "Follow me!" "Woah..." Dash said, eyeing the glorious city of Cloudsdale. Soarin smiled, and began his tour, mocking a cheeky guide. "And here we have the Central Park, little colts and fillies enjoy coming here to play," he said in a low voice. Dash giggled, and grinned upon the sight of the foals chasing each other in the clouds. "Aw... they're so cute!" she said, pushing her cheeks up and cooing. Soarin held in light laughs, and continued through the town. "Here's the Main Plaza, pegasi come here to shop, eat and hang out," he said, eyeing a few fanfillies who were running up to them with papers. "Oh no..." he mumbled, before grabbing Dash's hoof and immediately taking off into the sky. Dash gasped. "W-What are you doing, Soarin?" she asked, looking around as the two acsended higher and higher in the air. Soarin shook his head, and gestured below them where a mob of ponies flew upwards, chasing them. "No time to lose, Dashie," he said, not thinking before he spoke. "Fanfillies are any Wonderbolt's worst nightmare." Dash's eyes widened in realization, before she began pushing her own wings, beating them harder to make them gain speed. Sooner or later, the ponies left them be, and the two stopped flying higher, gasping for air. "Oh sweet Celestia..." Soarin said, panting. Dash breathed slowly, before snapping her wings shut and closing her eyes. "Dash?" Soarim said, as she began falling. She opened her eyes, and winked at him. Finally getting her gist, Soarin closed his wings shut too and let himself free fall into the air. Once he was besides Dash, he looked at her with a goofy smile. "This is fun," he said relaxing into the breeze. "How often do you do this?" "At least once a day," Dash said quickly. Soarin's eyes widened. "Wow... I should really get out more," he said. Dash laughed, and nodded. "Maybe that's true," she said, before the two landed with a bounce on the puffy cloud floor of the city. "Come on, Señorita," Soarin goofed, dragging the cyan mare through the city. They stayed high in the air in fear of being close-to mobbed again. "Well then," Dash said with a surprised tone as she let Soarin glide her through. She smiled upon seeing his happy face, and how excited he was. Suddenly, she pushed her feathers out, stopping herself from going any further. Soarin instantly looked back, just in time to see her smirking and pulling him around. She twisted him in a circular motion until they were muzzle-to-muzzle, causing him to blush profusely. She laughed nervously, realizing what she had done. "Hehe... oops," she said with a shrug, releasing him and chuckling to herself. Soarin tilted his head in confusion. He knew she was being playful and teasing. He quickly joined in on her laughter, as the two guffawed endlessly above the hustle-and-bustle of the city. "... And to conclude our tour, here we see the Cloudiseum! Where big sport-related events take place! Most of the Wonderbolt's Cloudsdale shows happen here," Soarin said, pointing to a large building below them. Dash gasped in awe as she saw a game of Air Hoofball taking place. Soarin grinned. "Wanna get seats?" he asked. Dash looked up with wide eyes. "You mean it?" she asked hopefully. Soarin nodded. "Sure! It'll be fun, come on!" he said, leading her inside the building. Of course, they were able to get box seats, high up above the rest of the crowd. Being a Wonderbolt was the main reason, of course. Dash looked down upon the game, hooting and hollering everytime the home-team made a shot. Soarin eyed his companion closely. The way her mane swooshed in the air everytime she screamed, the way her voice jingled in his ear like bells... he could definitely conclude one thing by the end of the day. "I love her." Too bad he couldn't have her. "You wanna grab something to eat?" Soarin asked Dash on their way out of the stadium. Dash shrugged. "Meh... I could go for some food," she said with a giggle. Soarin grinned, and grabbed her hoof, leading her to a local diner nearby. Once they entered, the two immediately grabbed two hayburgers and dropped a few bits on the countertop. Before the salespony could recognize Soarin, they were out the door. "The way she looked at you..." Dash said, laughing as she remembered the face the mare behind the counter had given them when they threw the money at her. Soarin grinned, leaking out a few laughs of his own. "Priceless!" he exclaimed. Dash checked the clocktower in the middle of the town; towering high into the air. "Oh Celestia... I need to be home soon," she said, looking up into Soarin's eyes. His smile faltered. "Aw man... but we were having so much fun," he pleaded. Dash sighed, and shook her head. "Sorry, Soarin. I'd stay longer, but the flight home's going to be a bit of a challenge, considering it's nearly dark," she said, fluttering up into the air. Soarin bit his lip. "I'll see you tomorrow?" he asked hopefully. Dash shook her head again. "No... my mother wants to have a day with the family... with Dad..." she said in a low voice. Soarin could instantly tell something was wrong with Dash's family... something horrible, and tragic. He decided not to mess with it further. "Oh... sorry..." he said. "There's a carnival coming up next week in Ponyville, you wanna go?" Dash instantly brightened up. "Oh? Heck yeah! I've never actually been to one..." she said. Soarin's eyes widened. "You've never been to a carnival before?" he asked, the mare shaking her head. "Say no more, Señorita! We are going whether you like it or not." Dash chuckled. "Suits me perfectly fine," she said, clicking their hooves together. She laughed. "See ya' whenever, Soarin," she said, waving him a merry goodbye. Soarin smiled, and returned the gesture, watching her figure become smaller, and smaller, and smaller...