Won't Let it Bring Me Down

Won't Let it Bring Me Down

By: Crystal Heart

Chapter 7: Lies and Tellings

Rainbow Dash put her hooves down on the soft cloud beneath her. She had flown quite a long way from where she was originally with Soarin, and hoped that he would not find her.

She sat down, and faced outwardly, and into the gloomy horizon. Perhaps Celestia knew about her misfortune... maybe that was why the weather matched perfectly with her mood.

Dash let a single tear roll down her clammy cheek. She didn't want this to happen, of course. She wanted to go back to Soarin, jump into his hooves, and cradle him... she didn't want to be stuck in this horrible reality that she now called home.

Then a thought struck her; Soarin did not know about her arranged marriage. Maybe if he did, he would just leave her alone. He needed to see why she was acting the way she was. After he knew, he would surely leave her be, right?

Dash sighed in annoyance. Why was life being so confusing? Why couldn't she just live her life happily, without any complications, or rude interruptions? Why was life being so unfair as of late? Rainbow Dash didn't like it. She didn't like it one bit at all.

She then firmly shook her head to no-one in particular. Probably to herself. She vowed that the next time she saw Soarin, she would tell him everything. Well, maybe not everything, but most of it. At least the parts that she felt he had a right to know about. Those weren't very many, but she knew it had to be done sooner or later.

She wanted it to be later so badly...

Suddenly, the clouds shifted, and she was pulled down a little further. Dash instantly knew that Soarin had followed her again, and was currently looking at her in worry from behind her tail.

"Rainbow Dash?" he said softly, making her turn her head.

"What is it?" she said in an annoyed tone. Soarin gulped, and sat down besides her, looking at her, as she looked away. "Why are you here? Can't you see I want to be alone right now?"

"Yes, I can, but I also see what a horrible state you're in. You need help. And I'm here to give it to you," he said, suddenly changing his tone to a much more confident one. "What happened back there, well, could you forget about it for just a moment? I really need to talk to you."

"Alright, fine. What is it?" she asked yet again. Soarin gave her a hopeful glance.

"Rainbow Dash, could you please tell me what's going on?" he asked her. Dash bit her lip, and nodded.

"Yeah..."

"Now, I know what you're going to say, and I just... wait... what?"

"I said yeah. Soarin, I really need to tell you what's been happening. I need someone to talk to," she said softly. Soarin looked at her thoroughly, before nodding.

"Go ahead..."

Dash pushed herself off the cloud, and stood up tall, beckoning for him to do the same. He did, until both were standing side by side. Dash looked up at Soarin, and sighed, beginning to tell her worries.

"I... I can't be with you..." she started in a frail voice. Soarin took a step back in shock.

"What? Why?"

"Because... because..." Dash said, trying her hardest to spill. Soarin took a few deep breaths.

"Because what, Dash?" he asked patiently.

"Because..." she said softly, "I'm in an arranged marriage."

Soarin's eyes suddenly widened, as he released a small gasp.

"Wha... What?" he stammered. Dash closed her eyes, and turned around.

"I'm sorry..." she whispered, before walking away from him, still on the cloud. Suddenly, she felt someone tug on her left hoof. She quickly turned around, tears prickling, and falling down her cheek gently. She looked into Soarin's eyes with a depressed look. Soarin was looking at her with a determined face.

Slowly, he inched his way towards her, and rested his chin on her shoulder, and wrapped his hooves around her waist tightly. Dash inhaled quickly, as she clasped her own hooves around the stallion, crying freely into his shoulder.

Soarin backed away from Dash, as she wiped stray tears away from her eyes. He looked her over, before grasping her back, and dipping her low. Once they were in a comfortable position, Soarin instantly went in for her neck. He put his face into the crook, and kissed it lightly.

"So... Soarin!" Dash gasped, as he planted light kisses up her neck, heading for her ear. Once he reached it, he bit down softly, releasing a content moan from the mare beneath him. He ran a hoof through her mane, as she tightened her grip on him from below.

He hoisted her up, and walked back until he was behind her, and wrapped his hooves around her middle. She tilted her head to the right, where is face was, and closed her eyes.

They stayed like this for a while, until Soarin spun her right into his arms, meeting her in the middle, with a soft, passionate kiss on their lips.

Dash tried to break free from his strong hold, but found it impossible. She could only hope that everything would be okay back home... and wherever she was currently.

Rainbow Dash didn't exactly kiss back, but she did linger for a few minutes. She couldn't betray her family like this... someone needed to know. Dash had to vent to someone about everything going on in her life.

Soarin broke away from Dash suddenly, and bumped her forehead with his. The two closed their eyes, as they mentally wept.

"I... I love you, Rainbow Dash..." Soarin said quietly.

"How I wish I could love you back freely..."

Rainbow Dash entered her house quietly. It was the dead of night, and her parents were probably already sleeping. Hoops and his family had gone a little while ago, Dash could tell.

She slowly creaked through the cloud mansion, heading upstairs to her room.

The light was open. Rainbow Dash scrunched her eyebrows in confusion, and entered cautiously, gasping at the sight.

Her mother was sitting on her bed like a statue, staring into her eyes like a ghost.

"Where have you been?"

Rainbow Dash took a few deep breaths, trying to calm herself from the initial shock.

"I... was out," she said simply. Firefly raised her eyebrows.

"With who?" she asked.

Of course, Blaze had already told Firefly about what had happened. Or at least, what he saw. Firefly, already suspecting that he daughter was having an intimate relationship with an outsider, didn't take it to be much of a surprise.

"I... I was with... my friends?" Dash said nervously, turning her statement into a question. Firefly sighed, and patted the spot next to her on the bed. Dash looked at it, before realizing what she was supposed to do. Slowly, she lowered herself besides her mother, not daring to look at her.

"Don't lie to me, honey. I know everything," Firefly said in a tender voice. Dash's eyes widened, as she looked up into her mother's kind eyes. Firefly was staring back at her with a small smile, shaking her head. "Your father was there... he saw everything."

"What? Dad was there? He saw me and..." Dash said in shock, trailing off at the end. Firefly only hummed as her answer. Signaling Dash's suspicions to be correct.

"Soarin?" Firefly asked, lifting her chin up. Dash looked away, and nodded.

"Yeah..."

"Oh, honey..." Firefly said, before pulling her daughter in for a hug. Dash embraced her mom, and let a few tears escape, before breaking down into a fit of tears.

"It's just not fair... it's just not fair!" Dash cried loudly. Firefly tutted.

"I know, honey. Life is never fair..." she said softly.

"I love him, Mom..." Dash suddenly said. "Mom... I LOVE HIM!"

Rainbow Dash was shouting. She was screaming at the top of her lungs.

"MOM PLEASE! YOU CAN'T LET ME DO THIS! I LOVE HIM! I LOVE HIM SO MUCH! PLEASE... PLEASE... PLEASE!" she kept yelling. "I'LL DO ANYTHING, MOM! PLEASE! I HAVE TO BE WITH HIM! I CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT HIM!"

The door slammed open, and Blaze rushed in, stopping dead in his tracks at the sight before him. His daughter was on her knees, with her hooves up in a begging position. His wife was looking down at her, tears falling steadily down her eyes.

His heart broke at the sight.

"MOM... MOM... MOM PLEASE! I CAN'T MARRY HOOPS... I JUST CAN'T! I LOVE SOARIN TOO MUCH! MOM I LOVE HIM! I LOVE HIM SO MUCH! PLEASE! PLEASE! PLEASE! MOM, I LOVE HIM!"

"RAINBOW DASH!" Blaze suddenly yelled. Dash looked up with her tear-soaked face. Blaze pointed to the door with his left hoof. "Go to a different room. NOW."

Dash slowly got up, her head down, and trudged out of the room, still softly crying to herself. Blaze watched her go with a stern expression, until she was gone. He then instantly walked up to his wife, who was in tears herself.

"I... how can we do this to her?" Firefly whispered, as louder howling was heard from above them. Dash was still at it... crying her eyes out. Blaze sniffed a little, before looking away and shaking his head.

"You know there's only one way to break this marriage..." he said. Firefly bit her lip. "And you also know that a boy like Hoops would never do something like that..."

"Yes, I know, Blaze... I just can't stand to see my daughter like this. It... it's just heartbreaking. You're her father... can't you do something about it?" Firefly asked.

"I only wish I could... it was me who made this whole mess in the first place, wasn't it? I just want everything to go back to normal..." Blaze replied. Firefly took her husband's hooves into her own, and locked eyes with him.

"Blazey, it wasn't your fault. You couldn't do anything about it... you just wanted what you thought would be best for your daughter..." she said softly. Blaze sighed.

"But look at her, Fire... she's suffering... and we can't do anything about it... I can't do anything about it..." he said softly, kissing Firefly on her cheek.

"Why don't you go to bed, for now. There's still a week before the final meet-up before the wedding. And you never know, maybe Hoops will give her away..." Firefly said. Blaze shrugged.

"One can only hope..."

Up in the cloud attic, Rainbow Dash was a mess. Her hair was tangled, her hooves were scratched, her face was soaked, and her mind was a big blob of nothing.

She was crying hard into the tiny pillow she had. She couldn't really do anything else .

Suddenly, a light tap was heard from the window. Dash lifted her head up, to see Soarin standing behind the light glass. He was wearing a very worried expression, and Dash had no doubt that he would break the window to try and get to her if he had to. That wouldn't end well with her parents.

She slowly got up, and made her way to the window, opening it wide, and letting the baby-blue stallion before her jump into her arms freely. He felt her over and over, picked her up slightly because of his strength, kissed her all over her face, and then embraced her once again.

"Oh, Rainbow Dash... I was worried sick... I heard your crying from across the street, when I just happened to be flying by... Dash, look at you! You're a mess! Sit down. Right now." he said over and over in one breath, until the two were laying side by side on the cold bed in the cool attic room.

Dash snuggled into his chest, and wrapped her hooves around his body. He did the same, and rested his chin on her head.

"I love you, Soarin..." she said softly, before finally falling asleep in the stallion's arms.

"I love you too... and don't worry, Rainbow. Everything will be fine. I'll find a way to fix everything," he said quietly, even though he knew she couldn't hear him.