Chapter 24

***3rd Person, Mindy***

Mindy bounces up and down as she watches Irony's awesome car turn out of the entrance to the farm, she listens for the engine as Irony speeds up. She grew up around fast cars as a human, and the sound of the screaming horses from that beast always make her happy. Dustie and Irony are heading to Denver, to save someponies that need saving. She knows she'll be leaving the farm tomorrow, but today is a day for fun! She knows where to go. Soarin has been living at Dust's house most of the time, so a quick teleport brings her there, she doesn't knock, the door is unlocked, Dust has said the only time she locked her door was when she was going to be gone for over a week. Nobody messes with their neighbors in this little town. This town makes Gillette seem huge by comparison. A quick bounce through the house, she pops over and gives Helen a hug, surprising the woman, but she gets a hug back. Hugs from people you love are always wonderful. And since she already loved her bestie best friend Dustie, she has to love her wife and children, right? Though, now she has to think about the other pony she just might be falling in love with.

She bounces up the stairs, she knows what room Soarin was staying in. She sticks her head in the room, and there's nopony there. Mindy frowns, she always knows where to go. Why not this time? She sits down and thinks for a moment, then remembers, This is Soarin, the pony that is twisting her noodle even more than it usually is. She giggles and teleports downstairs, that pony always loves to eat. And as she bounces into the kitchen, she finds a blue pony with the beautiful dark mane sitting there, a picnic basket sitting in front of him, and a big smile on his face.

"I knew you would be here, Mindy." Soarin grins.

Mindy cocks her head to the side, her ears perking forward, "How did you know?"

Soarin smiles, "Because you said the day after tomorrow, and that's today. I know Irony and Dust are on their way, but you stayed behind."

She giggles, "Yeah, they'll need me tomorrow, but I'll have a lot of fun with them then." She starts to bounce again, "But I can have fun with you today!"

Soarin smiles, then picks up the picnic basket in his teeth, gesturing for her to follow, she follows curiously. She's not used to others leading her around, though she finds she likes it with Soarin doing the leading.

He sets down the basket, "Mindy, would you climb on my back?"

She giggles, "Isn't that a little forward, Soarin?"

He blushes, and traces the ground with a hoof, "I'd like to take you for a flight."

She bounces onto his back, getting an grunt from the larger stallion, but she can hear him say, "There we go, let's have a fun lunch."

Mindy thinks about the last time Soarin flew around her, he ended up in a pile of manure, she suppresses the giggle that wants to rise, she knows that would hurt his feelings, and he's already fragile enough. Having to turn from a woman into a stallion has been rough on him. He spreads his wings, and he says around the handle of the basket, "Hang on!" And with a mighty flap of his wings, they are in the air. Mindy gasps as she watches the ground fall away, and they really start to accelerate.

She holds on as he takes gentle S curves as he gains altitude. And once he gets to the altitude he wants, he streaks off, always keeping in mind the load on his back, several times she spies him turning his head to look at her, and she always gives him an encouraging grin. This is fun!

Soon he's heading to a low hanging cloud, about the size of a football field, she feels the powerful flight muscles of the pegasus as he slows down, and he gently lands on the cloud.

"Now, I think you'll have to stay on my back, but I don't mind." He starts to say when her horn lights and she bounces off of him, he starts to scream, but it's choked off as the cloud holds her weight, "Mindy, you know the cloud walking spell?"

She looks down at her hooves standing quite firmly on the cloud, "I guess I do!" She starts bouncing up and down on the cloud, the soft surface really rebounding with every bounce, "This is fun!"

Soarin sets down the basket, opening it, and bringing out a blanket, "I had Moon Shadow enchant this stuff so it wouldn't fall through, I didn't know if the blanket would hold your weight with the enchantment, but I was fine with you staying on top of me." Mindy sees him blushing furiously. She smiles at him as her telekinesis brings all the food out of the basket. Including two pies, getting a giggle from her.

"You like pie, Soarin?"

He chuckles, "Oh, yes. The show gets all of that right. I love pie. Apple pie is the best!"

He slides a pie over to Mindy, "I've been working on this since early this morning."

Mindy brings her nose close to the pie, giving it a sniff, noticing it's still warm. She smiles then the smell hits her, "This isn't an apple pie, Soarin, this is a strawberry rhubarb pie," She stops and looks at him closely, "How did you know that was my favority favoritest pie in the whole world?"

He giggles, "Oh, Mindy. You never go the direction people assume. It stands to reason that a pony like you would like a little tart in their pie."

She barely stops herself from devouring the pie, there is more food to be eaten. But she keeps an eye on the pie as the sandwiches are brought out, Soarin again knows her favorite foods, and he brings out container after container, each with a small helping of everything she's liked as a pony, and even a few things she liked as a human before the change. How big is the basket?

He smiles as some more containers are brought out, "This is a Moon Shadow specialty, the basket is really bigger on the inside. But I'm almost done."

She looks at all the food, "What time did you get up?"

He looks down, tracing circles in the cloud with a hoof, "About two this morning."

She looks at the different containers, everything looks yummy with all the food, but she's now focused on the light blue stallion in front of her, "Soarin, you know you didn't have to do all of this for me."

He blushes, "I wanted to, Mindy. I've always liked cooking, as a human, and as a pony. I'm not the best, but I'm pretty good at it. And I wanted to make you happy."

Mindy dashes forward, scattering the containers, planting her lips firmly on his. Everything else stops mattering to her as she loses herself in kissing the stallion. She feels a hoof on her cheek, and she turns her head, opening her mouth, letting his tongue invade hers. The kiss goes on for what seems like forever, but it finally does end, she pulls back, "You are amazing Soarin."

She only thought he was blushing before, now his face positively glows.

She lays down on the cloud, her magic gathering the containers, though she noticed a few tumbled off the blanket, and are likely splattered on the ground a thousand feet down. But she doesn't care, their pies are still there, and so is most of the yummy food. Her magic pops the top of one of the plastic containers, finding a large chunk of lasagna, a quick sniff says it's a five cheese version, and it smells almost exactly how her dad made it.

Soarin takes a sip of water from a bottle and finally talks, "So, Mindy. I've heard you knew Dust, before Discord?"

She nods, "Dustie and I were Double Trouble. We did fun things all the time, Dust is the best prankster that I've ever known. She's even gotten me when I never expected it."

Soarin smiles, "Mike was always good at pranking when we were kids. I've found itching powder in my bed, and Mike looking so innocent that butter wouldn't melt on his tongue. I blamed my dad, but I still think Mike did it."

Mindy giggles, "I guarantee it was Dustie, she loved itching powder."

Over the next hour or so, they both regale each other with stories from their human lives, and some half remembered memories from Equestria, before too long, they are laying next to each other, both eating from the food that Soarin brought.

Mindy laughs, "So, what do you want to do, Soarin?"

He frowns, "I don't know what you mean?"

"What if we can get to Equestria, what if that portal shown in the Equestria Girls movie is real. What would you do then?

"I want to go home." He moans.

"Home? As in Equestria?"

He nods, tears starting to form, "I don't have many memories of home, but what I do remember," a few tears fall, "is amazing."

She nuzzles the stallion, "I know, it's the same for me, Soarin."

He looks at her plaintively, "Really?"

She nods, "Yes."

He smiles through his tears, "I was hoping for this to be a romantic date, Mindy. Our first was such a disaster."

She giggles, "No, it wasn't, I thought you were cute. You wanted to show off, and you certainly impressed me."

He groans a bit, "Yeah, I didn't stick the landing though."

Again, a giggle from the magenta mare, "Oh Soarin, you were funny. In case you didn't notice," She nudges his shoulder, "I love to laugh."

He giggles a bit himself, "Yeah, I know, Mindy."

She kisses him deeply, "I don't care about anything else, Soarin. I just care about us."

He pulls away and looks at her for a long time, then, "Really?"

She nods, "I knew you liked me from the moment you saw me, and I liked you the same way."

He cocks his head to the side, getting a giggle from her.

She gets up and bounces around on the cloud, "Yes, silly, I thought you were awesome from minute one!"

She keeps walking around the cloud, "We need to go back."

He looks at her for a long time, "So, it's decided? We are going back to Equestria?"

She giggles once again, "Of course, the Mane Six have to be out there, and we will find them, and find a way back home." She hops up and kisses him, "And I want you with me, Soarin."

He blushes, "I'll go anywhere with you, Mindy."