Rainbow stood in front of the altar, trying to not hear Twilight's speech about 'love'. Because that's the last thing that she wanted right then. She wanted to cry, to shout, she wanted to run to Soarin's strong arms and cry on his shoulder. But she couldn't. She couldn't do anything. She just let a single tear fall down her cheek and looked at her father. He saw her. He knew this was hard for her. That she loved Soarin. That this was the last thing she wanted. But he couldn't do anything now.
Rainbow looked at him, she pleaded him with her eyes to stop this. She let another tear fell down her cheek, she wanted to run out of this place. She wanted to escape with Soarin, she wanted to...
"Rainbow Dash" a voice interruped her thoughts.
"Sorry, what did you say Twilight?" said Rainbow.
"I was asking if you are okay if we continue with the ceremony."
"Yeah, sure" Rainbow's answer was so low that only Twilight, Hoops and herself could hear it.
"Well," said Twilight "Hoops, do you take Rainbow Dash as your lawfully wedded wife, in sicknees and in health, 'till death do you part?"
"I do," Hoops said.
"And Rainbow Dash, do you take Hoops as your lawfully wedded husband, in sicknees and health, 'till death do you part?" asked Twilight.
"Do I have another option?" Said Rainbow with the least bit of interest.
Surprised gasps come from the audience.
"RAINBOW DASH!" yelled Rainbow Blaze.
"Ugh, I do, whatever," said Rainbow with disbelief and rolling her eyes.
"Uh, okay, so I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride," said Twilight, knowing Rainbow would hate the last part.
"I really want to skip that part," Rainbow said with disgust.
"RAINBOW DASH!" again yelled Rainbow Blaze.
"I'm not doing it dad," said Rainbow.
Hoops start to get impatient so, in an angry attack, took Rainbow's arm and pressed his lips onto hers. Rainbow gasped and tried to break the kiss, but found it impossible.
Soarin, on the other hoof, tried hard to not let the tears fall down his checks. Or run to the altar and kill Hoops. He just stood there, seeing Rainbow get away from him. He wanted to kiss her. To hug her. But today was her (forced) wedding day.
The room was filled with song, dance and happines for the married couple. Except for two ponies: Rainbow Dash and Soarin Skies. It's ironic that today was Rainbow's wedding and she was the most unhappy pony there. All the ponies ignored the fact of it, but Rainbow's friends know it perfectly: Soarin. The five mares there were so sad for both of them. But they couldn't do anything. The marriage was closed, and nopony could change it. Not until ten years had passed. Everypony congratulated the bride and the groom. Hopps thanked all the ponies, Rainbow just gave them fake smiles.
In an effort to try to calm down, Rainbow went to a balcony down a hallway. She didn't notice that somepony was following her closely.
She admired the city, trying to see its beauty...
She couldn't.
She couldn't contain herself any more...
She just stood there and burst into tears.
She cried, and cried, and cried more. She wanted all this stuff to stop. The wedding, Hoops, her parents, she wanted all of that out of her life.
"Dashie" A voice called her for the door of the balcony. She instantly recognized it.
Rainbow Dash spun around and found herself in front of Soarin, the stallion she loves. The stallion she couldn't be with. She looked at the floor, trying to not run into his arms. No matter how much she wanted to. Minutes of a deep silence passed. Both of them stood in the same position, Rainbow looking at her hooves and Soarin waiting patiently for her voice.
"Can you do me favor?" she spoke finally
"Anything you want," he said with true interest in every single word she spoke.
"Forget me," she said looking onto his emerald eyes "Forget you ever meet me. Go and live your life. Live it with another mare. Be happy," at this point she started to cry again "Be happy for both. Please..."
And with that she left the balcony crying and ran to the mares bathroom. Soarin stood there looking the way she dissapeared.
"Dashie," he said with a sad sigh, asking himself what was going to happen to him now that he didn't have her.
In the mares bathroom Rainbow kept crying like there wasn't going to be a tomorrow. She thought of Soarin's beautiful eyes. Those magnificent emerald gems that shined in both the sun and moon's light.
"Soarin." That's all she said, crying like she had never cried. She didn't care anymore if this was no like her, since this started, she never was going to be like before. Since that moment she would have to live without him, without Soarin...
"Rainbow? Are You here?" a voice called out.
"Yes AJ, I'm here" answered Rainbow, sobbing. Meanwhile her friends entered the bathroom.
"Oh Dashie, we are worried sick about you," said Pinkie with an unusual seriousness in her voice. Well unusual for her.
"I'm okay Pinkie. Don't worry about me," said Rainbow, sniffing.
"You were crying, you are not okay," said Twilight "and it's all my fault, I conducted the ceremony to marry you with Hoops and I-"
"No Twi, this isn't your fault at all" Rainbow interrupted her "I asked you to conduct the ceremony and you did it because you are my friend, all of you are," she stoped a moment "and I know that I can count on all of you."
"You can be sure of it," said Fluttershy in her typical low voice.
"Thanks Fluttershy," answered Rainbow.
"I know that it's the last thing you want, but we have to come back to the party," said Applejack.
"I know," said Rainbow with a sad sigh. "Let's go."
"What are you talking about?" asked Rarity.
"What do you mean, Rarity?" asked Rainbow, a little confused.
"You are a mess. I know this wedding is the last thing you want, but you still have to look presentable," said Rarity. She was right. With all the crying, her makeup was ruined. She had mascara under her eyes and her hair was disordely.
"Ugh, I have to?"
"Eyup."
"Well," said Rainbow with disgust.
"That's the attitude!" exclamed Rarity with sarcasm.
The six mares giggled together and Rarity started to touch up Rainbow's make up. She was happy to have her friends, but she was still sad about one pony: Soarin. He came back to her mind, and her eyes started to get watery.
"Oh no, you're thinking about him," said Rarity noticing her watery eyes
"I can't stop," said Rainbow bursting into tears again.
"Oh, Dashie," said Fluttershy with sadness on her voice, going to hug her.
All the mares started to hug her while Rainbow cried softly on all their shoulders.
"Shh, don't cry no more Rainbow," said Applejack.
"We understand you," said Twilight.
"I love him so much, I can't live without him," said Rainbow.
All of them stood there comforting Rainbow.
"But he said that you always can count on him," said Fluttershy at the end of two silent minutes.
"No more," said Rainbow with tears running out of her eyes.
"WHAT?!" Yelled all of them in unison.
"I told him to forget me and to be happy with another mare."
"B-But, you love him," said Pinkie.
"That's why I had to say that to him," answer Rainbow to her Pink maned friend.
"You will see you can get ahead," said Twilight with all Equestrian compassion.
"I hope that..."
Years passed...
Great and perfect years...
Who I'm kidding? Those have been the worst years ever!
Where do we start? Ahem, let's start with Rainbow side of the story. After the wedding her life was a nigthmare. Sure, a wedding, lots of fun and happiness. But no when you're the one who get married with somepony you don't love. And better we skip the honey moon part.
That's the thing, after that day, Hopps and her moved to Rainbow's cloud mansion. Obviously, that wasn't a problem at all. The problem comes after that: Hoops was a controller . He put a lot of rules for her:
-She can't hang out alone with her friends or other pony that wasn't him.
-She can't be out of the house without his consent.
-When he goes to home at lunch time, It has to be ready.
-She just can go to Ponyville's market to buy the food.
And a lot more of them. If she wanted to go to other place, she has to ask with days of anticipation. Even the doctor for a routine check. But she tried her best to be a good wife, no matter if her husband was the worst one that a mare could have.
The first weeks goes pacefully. She and Hoops don't talk at all. Maybe a few words here and there, but nothing more. Each day was a routine: She wake's up early and make breakfast. Both eat and Hoops goes to work. Rainbow clean the dishes and then the house. She make's lunch and give it to him when he arrive. Then he goes again and she continue with the housework. When she ends that, she take a Daring Do book and read it till four o'clock. Then she makes the dinner and at the end goes to sleep.
A mechanic and boring routine. It didn't gives any problem, but a few months then, things change. Hoops didn't get back at the accorded hour. Rainbow waited for him, he was her husband, she like it or not. He came back around 2 o'clock. And it wasn't just that: He came back drunk.
The first nigth Rainbow gasped. The last time she saw a drunk pony was his father in a Hearth's Warming Eve a few years ago (funny story, there's no time to it) and she didn't knew what to do. He started to shout and she thought 'So good Fluttershy isn't here'. Then she noticed something under his wing: A bottle. A glass bottle of Whisky, and damm, it was a big one. His steps were unestable and staggering. His wings were open and some feathers were really bend. She tried to help him a first time and he groaned, a second one and he groaned, at the third time he puched her in the check. The punch was so strong that she fell down at the cloud soil. She gasped there, without get up of the soil. He grumbled and started to walk to the stairs. When he disappeared upstairs, she sighed and stayed there, sitting on the cloud soil. She wasn't going to sleep with that monster, so she goed upstairs to the guest room. The next morning she called Hopps work and told his boss that he was sick and he wasn't going to go to the work.
That's how things goes. That didn't happened just a time, it happened a lot of times and sometimes, he never came back. No till the next morning. She didn't ask were he have been, because she can imagine it. So she just served the breakfast and continued with her duties.
No matter what, there's no time in the day she didn't think about one thing, well, one pony: Soarin. She just couldn't get him out of her head. She asked to herself if he was thinking about her. She wanted cry on his shoulder, but she couldn't. She couldn't see her friends, worst Soarin.
Meanwhile, Soarin life was, um, well, how we can put It... Mopping?
The depression took him over and every single day you could see him with the head low. He did not get to the point were he get drunk and someone had to get him to his aparment, but he didn't talked with a single pony, no more than a few words and just when it was really necessary. In the Wonderbolts were worried, not only about his state, but too about his health. He wasn't sleeping well, neither eating. He barely touched his lunch in the headquarters.
There was not a day that passed that Dash was not in his head. He haven't heard of her since the wedding, And that was a whole year ago!
Well, he didn't have the courage to go to Ponyville on a search for her. He didn't knew what happened to her, much less if she still remembered him. He still had the promise he did to her: To forget her and to be happy with another mare. But, How he will be happy with a mare he didn't love!? That's just impossible!
He still tried, but each time he talked with a mare, he felt guilty. He just couldn't just forget Dash like if she didn't exist and simulate that he never loved her. 'Cause he did. He loved her. He still love her. Nopony will change that.
His performance at shows was the same, but, to be honest, it wasn't the same.
Maybe he could just go to Ponyville and look for her. But he knew that if he did that, he will never be abble to let her go again. The first time was a torture. A second sure will be worst.
But he will try.
Just for her.
Just for the mare he loves.
Just for Rainbow Dash.
