//------------------------------// // Chapter 8: Connections // Story: Happiness and Tears // by flaminkomage //------------------------------// Happiness and Tears RDcrystalheart Chapter 8: Connections "Mom?" Rainbow Dash called out slowly, knocking on the door to her parent's room. She anxiously waited until hearing a small voice from the other side of the plain wood. "Come on in, Sweetie," Firefly said softly, as the cyan mare opened the door and slauntered into the small area. Her mother was sitting besides a bed with a cold towel in her hoof, looking over at Rainbow Blaze; Dash's father. "How is he?" Dash asked, seating herself besides the bed. Firefly's ears drooped. "I... I don't know. Without enough money to have a proper checkup at the hospital, we can't be sure what's wrong. And... without that information, I'm afraid I can't give him anything from the shop," she said. Dash closed her eyes, letting the horrid news sink in. "Do you think... do you think he'll-" she started, before being cut off. "Honey... the best we can do it as least try being positive..." Firefly said, placing a hoof on her shaken daughter's shoulder. Dash bit her lip, and nodded, looking back at her father. Blaze's mane was wet, and moist- hanging down below his eyes. His cheeks were tinted pink, and his eyelids shut tightly. His coat was pale, and a soft plum blanket wrapped his body whole. His teeth were clenched, making it seem as if he was fighting something back internally. "Dad..." Dash sighed out, tracing a hoof down his face. The periwinkle stallion grunted at the touch. "How long has it been since he became ill?" "Today... today marks four months, sweetheart..." Firefly said, beginning to choke on her words. Dash's throat clamped up and tightened painfully as she fought back tears. There was another soft pat on the door, before Scootaloo inched her way inside. She gasped upon seeing the sight in front of her. "Mom...? Dash...?" she asked, walking up to her elder sister. Firefly looked at her youngest daughter, and pulled her in for a quick hug. Scootaloo was still a bit young to understand fully what was going on, but Firefly intended on her feeling the up-most support she could give her. "Scoots..." Dash began, gesturing her over besides her. Scootaloo obliged, and kneeled down next to the bed. Dash sighed, before continuing, "I want you to know that whatever happens next... I'll always be behind you, okay?" she asked. "Yeah... of course, Dash," Scootaloo said. "I know that." Dash nodded, before embracing her little sister. "I know you do..." She didn't want Scootaloo to see any weakness in her, making her try her best to ignore the pounding ache in her chest. Blaze coughed, before opening his eyes slightly. Dash instantly brightened up upon seeing her father awake, and crouched down, resting her head on her hooves as she stared at the stallion. "Dad?" she asked softly, as Blaze looked at her with a painful expression. "Oh... Dashie... Fire... Scoots..." he choked out. Firefly sniffed, knowing what was about to come next. "My... I'm... I'm running... I'm running out of..." And then he stopped, closed his eyes, and went back to sleep. His soft snores the only sound in the room. The dam broke. Tears immediately began streaming hard out of Rainbow Dash and Firefly's eyes. Scootaloo looked at all of them, shocked upon seeing such a reaction from her family. She didn't understand what Blaze had said, since he hadn't finished his sentence. But she could tell it was something awful. Cautiously, she put a concerned hoof on her sister's shoulder. "Dash...?" she gasped out. Rainbow ignored her, continuing to cry freely into the bedsheets. "Sc-Sc-Scoot-Scootaloo..." she stammered. "Don't y-y-you s-see? H-H-He's... he's d-d-dying!" And then they were all crying. "Alright, so I'm thinking bright blue tapestries, long flowing cake, a big chapel..." Spectrum droned on to his wife. Cloudy rolled her eyes at her husband's excitement. "I hope you realize that we're going to need to talk to Soarin about this at some point," she said. Spectrum simply shrugged. "Better later than sooner," he said, before flipping through a nearby magazine. Cloudy grunted. "Spec... you need to get Soarin's okay with this all before going ahead with it," she persisted. Spectrum shrugged again. "Relax, Clouds," he said. "Everything's going to turn out perfect." "And what if Soarin doesn't want to marry Spitfire?" Cloudy asked, beginning the same conversation the two had had on the day of her birthday party. "And what if he does?" "Excuse me?" Spectrum sighed, and closed the light book, turning to his wife with a faltered smile. "Honey, I've seen the way they look at each other. I've seen the way he's interacted with her... I know for a fact he's fallen for her," he said. "Well... as long as he's okay with it in the end... I suppose it's alright," Cloudy gave in. Spectrum clapped his hooves happily, and grinned from ear-to-ear. "Wonderful!" he exclaimed. "Have you talked to Spitfire's father about this whole thing?" Cloudy asked. Spectrum nodded. "Yeah, but he hasn't told Spitfire about it just yet. I plan on talking to him in front of her as a nice surprise," he said with a wink. Cloudy chuckled. "You really do like her, don't you?" she said with a smile. "Oh yeah, I know she'll be the perfect mare for this household. No one else could replace her," Spectrum replied before somepony entered the room suddenly. "Mom! Dad!" Soarin burst in, looking at his parents. Spectrum and Cloudy instantly looked up with surprised faces. "Something wrong, Soarin?" Cloudy asked with a concerned look. Soarin quickly shook his head. "No, everything's fine. In fact, it's better than fine," he said. "I'll be going to the carnival with... a friend this weekend." Spectrum raised his eyebrows, beginning to have a hunch on who this mystery pony was. "Oh? Are they a mare or stallion?" he asked, just to confirm his suspicions. Soarin gave him a confused look. "Uh... she's a mare, but what does that have to do with anything?" he asked him. Spectrum smiled internally, and shook his head. "Nothing, nothing. You go on and have fun, Son," he said, chuckling, and passing a secretive wink towards the cream mare sitting besides him. Soarin nodded. "Okay, thanks." And with that, he was out the door. Once he left, Spectrum turned excitedly to Cloudy. "Don't you see? He's going with Spitfire!" he exclaimed. Cloudy raised an eyebrow. "How can you be so sure?" she asked. "What if it's just a mare who he met?" "Oh trust me, it's not. I can just feel it. Everything is turning out just perfectly."