Won't Let it Bring Me Down

Won't Let it Bring Me Down

By: Crystal Heart

Chapter 9: Tears and Joy

Welcome to the finale chapter of, Won't Let it Bring Me Down. I hope you enjoy the very last chapter in this series. There might be a sequel, but I still haven't decided that yet, as I'm working on a few new stories.

Rainbow Blaze walked up to his daughter, who was standing behind a large wooden door. Behind it, was the main hall, where the wedding was to be held.

Blaze smiled, and swung his hoof around the cyan mare's arm, and nodded, signaling for the music to start, and the doors to open.

Right before she was to begin walking, Rainbow Dash gave a single, sad glance over to her left side. Where Soarin was standing. He looked back at her with pleading eyes, silently begging her to stop. She sniffled slightly, before letting a single tear drop down her cheek. He closed his eyes, and hung his head low, not wanting to look any more at the scene in front of him.

Rainbow Dash was devastated. The time had finally arrived. She was to be wed with Hoops in just a few minutes. Blaze, who saw her and Soarin's gesture towards one another, just turned his daughter's head with his hoof.

"I'm sorry, Rainbow Dash. I did this for you," he said simply, as the large doors swung open, and the bridal march was played by Fluttershy's bird choir.

Rainbow Dash took a deep breath, not bothering to wipe away the tears that had now begun to stream from her eyes. She just started walking slowly, her head down, her eyes up, and her body slumped back in distress.

"Rainbow Dash! Walk properly! The guests are looking at you!" Blaze whisper-shouted to her. Dash shot her father a glare, before straightening up, still not wiping her tears away. They were halfway to the altar.

"Dad, do I really have to do this?" she whispered to the periwinkle stallion on her right. Blaze nodded, tightening his grip on her hoof. Dash sighed, more tears beginning to slump up around the edges of her eyes. She didn't want to do this. Nopony would want this.

Dash scanned the guests. Everypony she knew had attended. Even some ponies from Ponyville that she barely knew, and almost never talked to!

Why did they have to come to see her fail? To see her become permanently saddened.

She couldn't even divorce him right after the ceremony, for it was part of their stupid contract. It stated that the marriage couldn't be broken until ten years had been completed of them living together.

That could mean even if Dash had to leave to a different part of Equestria for a few years, and couldn't live with Hoops, those years wouldn't count in the final contract count thing that Blaze had foolishly set up for his daughter.

She wished she could just run out of the building, and into Soarin's hooves.

Rainbow Dash suddenly stopped walking. Her hooves firmly planted above the carpeted ground, and her tears started strolling down her cheek freely.

Blaze scrunched his eyebrows in confusion, as he looked back at his daughter. He looked at her eyes, which were graciously filling up with tears as seconds passed. He took a deep breath, and tried prying her from her spot.

"Come on, Rainbow Dash! You need to get to the altar! You need to marry Hoops! Right now!" he said, trying his hardest not to raise his voice any further than it already was being. Dash didn't even look at him. She just tilted her head, and looked at Soarin, who was standing at the beginning of the walkway. She folded her lips, and just kept staring at him, not wanting to believe what was happening.

Dash sniffed a little, as Soarin gave her a worried look, starting to wonder why she had stopped in the middle of the aisle. Blaze though, couldn't do anything. He just stood there, trying to get Dash to keep moving.

On the altar, Twilight observed the ceremony. She had been chosen to preside by Dash herself, and being a princess helped with the matter. She of course, knew why Dash had been acting this way. The cyan mare had sent her plenty of letters, along with her other friends. Twilight didn't want any of this to happen. She wanted her best friend to be happy. Not face such a shock, and sadness that nopony could cure.

She took a deep breath, deciding that she had no other option but to urge her friend to come to her. She turned to the pony standing on her left with a frown.

"You need to bring her up here. We don't have much time to waste. If you want to get married to her, you need to bring her here," she said simply. Hoops' eyes widened.

"What? What do you mean? How am I supposed to bring her here?" he asked stubbornly. Twilight bit her lip, and looked away. She knew what she was doing might bring upon a permanent damage in her and Dash's friendship. But she also knew her parent's side of the story. With a simple spell, she was able to pry information out of Blaze on why he was acting like he was with the whole situation.

"You need to go to her, take her hoof, and pull her here. You know she is going to resist. Her love for that stallion is-" Twilight said, before quickly stopping herself. She wasn't supposed to tell Hoops that!

"What?" Hoops asked her with a confused look. Twilight debated in her mind whether to reveal the truth about her friend to him or not, and decided to. After all, she was about to get married to him. There really wasn't much anyone could do at this moment.

"She is head over hooves in love with Soarin Skies. And to make sure she is safe, she needs to marry you. Now go to her, and bring her here. This marriage has to happen," she said firmly, thinking about what Blaze had told her. Hoops gulped, not wanting to argue with the princess about such matters. Especially if she was the one uniting him and Dash.

Hoops turned to look at the cyan mare, and raised his eyebrow once he saw where she was looking. She was staring right into the eyes of Soarin, and like Twilight said, she loved him.

Hoops sighed, as he saw her silently cry. Then, something clicked in his mind. This was why she was always moping so much. She didn't want to marry him! She wanted to marry Soarin!

The love Hoops had always seen in her eyes... it wasn't for him, it was for Soarin.

At that moment, Hoops knew exactly what he needed to do.

Dash slowly turned her head back to face the altar, when the sound of hooves banging the ground were heard. She instantly saw Hoops with a determined face, trotting up to her with his suit and tie falling apart.

Dash internally gasped, tears suddenly stopped where they were. She knew he was coming to get her, so she braced herself. She wouldn't walk to him, he would come to her.

Hoops reached Dash, and clamped his hoof in her's with a small glare, as he stared into her eyes.

From behind, Soarin closed his eyes. He was going to take her to the altar. He knew it.

But Hoops, instead of turning around, and walking to the altar, pulling the mare behind him, walked straight ahead. Nearing the start of the walkway again.

Blaze scrunched his eyebrows in confusion, wondering what the orange stallion was doing. Nopony moved. Hoops just dragged a sniffling Rainbow Dash to the end of the aisle.

He suddenly stopped right before where Dash and Blaze had started. He spun her around, and pushed her slightly away from him. Dash's eyes widened, as her back faced Soarin, and Hoops stood tall in front of her.

"Hoops?" she managed to squeak out. Hoops just closed his eyes, and opened them with a small smile.

"You're crazy, you know that?" he suddenly said. Dash tilted her head.

"What?"

"You were going to give up everything for me and your father? Really?" Hoops continued.

"What are you talking about?" Dash asked him. Hoops shook his head, before turning back to her.

"All these months, I've been seeing love in your eyes. I always thought it was for me... I thought all this teasing and joking around was just an act you put up..." he said, trailing off at the end. "I'm... head over hooves in love with you, Rainbow Dash."

Dash's eyes widened in shock.

"What?" she asked again in disbelief. Hoops sadly nodded.

"It's true... I've always had a small crush on you ever since we met. All the teasing... the bullying... it was all an act... I just wanted to get close to you, and I thought bullying was the only way I could.," he said. "It was then when my parents told me about the whole arranged marriage business. At first, I was pretty shocked. But then... everything changed. I saw you again and again after that, we were twelve at that time. I knew about the marriage, and you didn't, since your parents wanted to wait a few more years before spilling the news. I was... actually pretty happy that of all the ponies, it was you whom my father decided to set me up with," he explained.

"But when I found out about it... I was devastated, because I thought you hated me!" Dash exclaimed. Hoops nodded.

"I know... I could tell. And for these past few weeks, I've been noticing such intense love in your eyes, I could only hope that it was for me... but now I realize that it was never mine," he said softly. Dash's throat hitched up, as she knew what he was going to say. He was going to tell everyone who she was really in love with.

"Yeah..." she said in a voice just above a whisper.

"That love... was for you first love. Do you know what first love even is? They say if it's true... it'll last forever. If it isn't... it will never. My love for you was false... we were never meant to be. But your love for... Soarin..." Hoops said, earning a few shocked gasps from the audience. "Your love for him is unbreakable. And he even loves you back...! I can see it."

"Hoops... please, I have to marry you! It's an arranged marriage!" Dash said. Hoops chuckled lightly, and shook his head with a teasing smile.

"Not if I do this..."

He grabbed her hoof again, and turned, walking straight for a certain baby-blue stallion.

Soarin's eyes widened, as Dash was thrown into his arms. He instantly held her steady as they both turned to Hoops in shock. He was just looking at Rainbow Dash.

"Go... live your dream. With him... and if you ever need anything, I'll be waiting," he said, before turning, and walking away.

"Rainbow Dash..." Soarin said softly, as he heard a few sniffles from the mare in his hooves. He instantly clamped his arms around her in a tight embrace, as they both started crying.

Soon though, their cries turned to soft giggles.

Because overall, they were happy. They were going to be together, finally!

The soon-to-be wed couple grinned to one another, and turned around, waiting to give a whole lot of explanation to everypony else.

They were happy; they were together at last.