Hard Headed [Boss_Hoss1/Sunshine]

[Boss_Hoss1]

Shanna nickered happily to herself, very happy that he wants to try different places to eat with her. The next date was already going to be epic fun!

She watched him hanging on every word as she told him about eclipses and her mother's warnings.

Shanna nodded quickly when he got the hint about the Nightmare. She saw him look at her wonderingly, then got a determined look.

She smiled warmly at him. "I can guess you would think it a boon for me if she had won. Well, it would be for a while, untill the food ran out. Nothng would grow but mushrooms."

Shanna finished her sandwich "I can live with only having short times to see the stars, besides, I met a Nightmare worshipper before. Those... they scare me." she shuddered.

[Sunshine]

The thought of spending more time with Shanna made Bull Dozer sigh happily. He was relieved to hear she actually wanted to spend more time with him, and he would be glad to accommodate her.

"Oh, that makes sense," Bull Dozer commented, "...plus, I s'pose we wouldn't know when to wake up because the sun wouldn't come up."

The brown stallion noticed that Shanna had finished eating her sandwich and decided to go ahead and finish up his own. He took one more bite, and the grass sandwich was finished. Not surprisingly, it only took him two bites to eat the whole sandwich.

When the pretty pegasus mentioned the followers of Nightmare Moon, Bull Dozer once again tilted his head. "So...ponies actually worship Nightmare?"

[Boss_Hoss1]

Shanna nods and sighs, "There have been rumors over the years, usually tales told to foals to make them go to bed, but I met one recently, an outlaw unicorn. He used shadows to move around like a doorway... " She shook her head, not yet wanting to admit she owed this unicorn a kiss as part of a attempt to bait hm away from a robbery "One is more than enough..."

Changing the suject , she took a moment to stretch again, loving the effect it seems to have on him "Where shall we go next? A movie, a dance?"

Whle she waited, she pulled out a napkin and a pencil, writing a note and laid several bits on it "This is a tip and thank you to the owner for even making that Filly Cheesehay..."

[Sunshine]

Bull Dozer listened closely as she talked about the mysterious unicorn. The way she described him, the way her tone seemed to change when she spoke about the shady figure...it was enough to make the brown earth-pony want to move next to her and comfort her.

Suddenly, the mood changed with the topic of their conversation. When Shanna stretched again, Bull Dozer blushed once more and felt his eyes looking at the same places as before. He almost didn’t hear anything else she said. The hazel-eyed stallion just sat there, jaw agape.

“Uh...w-we could...” Bull Dozer’s voice sounded a little spacey, so he shook his head to get his mind back in the right place. “Um...we could go to the carnival...if you want to...M-Ms. Skybright. It’s only in Fillydelphia for a few more days.” Bull Dozer gave a somewhat cocky smirk, “plus...I’m one of the destruction ponies who's gonna tear it down when it goes away.”

When Shanna laid her bits down on the table, Bull Dozer put his hoof on them and slid them back over to her. “You don’t have to pay him anything, Ms. Skybright, construction workers eat here for free...so this dinner is on me.” He gave her a wink. “And I don’t think our waiter deserves any kinda tip.”

[Boss_Hoss1]

Shanna amost giggled at the effect she had on the brown earth pony when she stretched. That helped put the scary unicorn out of her mind for now.

Her ears suddenly perked up and she looked right into his eyes, her smile bright on her face "A carnival?!" Ohhh! I havent been to one groundside in forever!"

She suddenly felt his hoof on hers, making her heart race at his touch as he pushed it back with the bits and note.

Shanna nodded, blushing "Oh. r-right. Thank you, Bull Dozer."

She rose from the seat eagerly, her raven-shiny tail swishing happily "How far away is the carnival? Will I need to fly you there?"

[Sunshine]

“Ha ha...well, it isn’t TOO far away,” Bull Dozer rose from his seat also, “plus, I don’t think you’d get very far carrying big ol’ me.”

Bull Dozer led Shanna to the door of the restaurant. He politely held the door open for her, then followed soon after. The stallion found his hazel eyes glancing to her flanks as she got ahead of him, but blushed and quickly looked away, since being caught looking at a mare like that could earn him a hoof to the muzzle.

The brown earth-pony moved up next to his date and walked with her. “Besides, maybe this’ll give you a chance to see more of Fillydelphia along the way.” He looked down into her eyes and gave her a big goofy grin. He felt confident that the rest of the date would go smoothly, especially from how happy and flirtatious Shanna seemed to be.

[Boss_Hoss1]

Shanna giggled "Probably not, but I would not mind trying sometime just for fun. I'm sure you would fit in our pegasus cart too if you ever want to visit Cloudsdale."

She trotted happily alongside Bull Dozer as they left the restauraunt, smiling back at him as he gave her a silly grin. She found she liked that grin on him. Well she had better see he does it more often!

Shanna brushed his side with a wingtip "I would be happy to see more of Fillydelphia with you to point out the sights anytime." She thought a moment about something then asked him "Oh do you have to be careful taking down the carnival? or is it just parts that arent the machines?"

[Sunshine]

When Bull Dozer felt Shanna’s wingtip brush against his side, Bull Dozer walked a little closer to her. He knew that as long as he was at least standing next to her, he’d be happy. After the pegasus spoke about how she would enjoy seeing the sites with Bull Dozer anytime, he picked up that she felt the same about him.

“Well, to be honest, I only gotta take down the ticket booths and snack stands. The rest of the stuff just folds up into carts that ponies pull away,” Bull Dozer answered.

Suddenly, Bull Dozer had an idea. It was clearly seen through the expression on his face, and the excitement in his eyes. “Hey...since you probably couldn’t carry me without a cart...” At that point, the brown stallion stopped and got behind Shanna. He dipped his head low, then ran up underneath her and lifted her up so that he was carrying her on his back with her head up next to his. “...how about I carry you to the carnival?” Bull Dozer looked back at her with a smile.

[Boss_Hoss1]

Shanna smiled as he moved closer to her, she felt as if she was flying even while she was touching the ground.

She watched his face as he explained about the booths and the machines, enjoying the way his hazel eyes danced talking to her.

His face lit up as he seemed to have an idea, and grew excited.

The bay mare stopped as she realized he was behind her now and looked back at him, seeing he had mischevious grin.

Before she knew it he dove forward and flipped her up on his back.

She gave a Fluttershy squeak and giggle, then fluttered her wings for a moment to balance herself and settle in place.

Her hind legs wrapped around his thick barrel, which moved nicely under her. She leaned forward to nuzzle his mane and ears. "Oh yes please! A filly could get used to this.. I think the word is 'giddyup' right?" she winked at him.

[Sunshine]

Bull Dozer was glad to hear Shanna so happy. With a chuckle, he answered her question, “yep.” The brown stallion leaned his head back a little to nuzzle her, then started walking once again. “...I guess that makes me your charming steed...hm hm.”

As Bull Dozer carried Shanna on his strong back, he began to point out certain buildings that stood out in Fillydelphia. Sure enough, some of the ponies that were walking the streets of the busy city were giving the pair strange looks, but Bull Dozer was too happy to care. “This building over here is called The Sugarcube. It’s a popular place that some of my friends like to go to sometimes.”

He looked back at his date and kept his broad grin. His eyes seemed to light up and he felt a warmth inside that he always got when looking at the pretty mare.

[Boss_Hoss1]

Shanna giggles happily at the nuzzle and keeps her legs tight on the stallion's barrel, resting her forehooves on Bull Dozer's shoulders as he starts moving.

"This is more fun than I thought!"

She rode happly down the street, enjoying how warm and fuzzy he feels under her as he pointed out the sights.

Shanna giggled as some ponies stared and pointed at them, but she simply waved a hoof at them. "That place sounds great! Maybe we can go there sometime, my charming steed?"

She occasionally flapped her wings to keep her balance. "How far is the carnival now?"

[Sunshine]

“It’s not too much further, Ms. Skybright,” Bull Dozer said. He looked forward and continued trotting. The feeling of having Shanna on his back was possibly the greatest thing he felt in his whole life. Her warm body covering his back like a heated blanket, her hind legs wrapped securely around him while her fore-hooves rested on his shoulders, the whole experience sent Bull Dozer into a consistent grin.

“...just two more stops, then we’ll be there.”

The earth pony continued giving his tour, next pointing out a relatively large building. “That there is one of those fancy ‘shopping malls’...never been in there myself, but I’ve heard it’s got all sorts of things.”

A few minutes later, Bull Dozer slowed down in front of a cemetery, “that’s where we put all the ponies that have...uh... ‘passed on’...only really been there once for my grandpa. Unless there’s a funeral, it’s your everyday deserted, creepy cemetery.”

After he moved on, the carnival could be seen in the distance. With the sun almost all the way down, the lights lit up the night sky like fireworks, providing a warm and inviting view.

“And over there is the carnival, if you couldn’t tell already.” Bull Dozer chuckled. As they approached the entrance to the fair, the brown stallion stopped and looked back at Shanna again. “Do ya wanna get down? Or do you want your charming steed to carry you through the carnival too?”

[Boss_Hoss1]

Shanna nickered happily as she felt Bull Dozer rock under her with each hoofstep, enjoying the sensation as he pointed out the shopping mall.

She clopped her forehooves together. "Oh my! It's amazing to see something that open and airy and not be made of clouds, or with magicked stonework like Canterlot. Do you know if that was made by the construction company you work for? Ooh, I wonder if they have cloud-enchanted items I could use.."

She made a mental note to stop there sometime...

As they made their way by the cemetary, she grew quiet as she listened to his explanation. She finally spoke "I see, We have our own cemetaries on the highest points groundside we can find, and they are just as spooky." She patted his shoulder "Thank you for sharing about your grandfather."

As they reached the carnival her spirits picked right up.

She giggled as he asked if he wanted to keep riding "While it would be funny, It would be hard to do anything together, unfortunately."

With that, she slipped a leg across his back and slid off to the ground, landing with all four hooves clopping to the pavement.

She smiled brightly at the large stallion "Ready!"

[Sunshine]

Bull Dozer looked down at Shanna as he stood next to her, then leaned down and gave her a short kiss on the cheek. The gesture was somewhat random, but he felt compelled to do so. At that particular moment, she just seemed extra cute.

Continuing onward, the brown stallion trotted forward and led Shanna into the carnival. The sound of carnival music combined with the chatter of hundreds of ponies made it hard to communicate with each other clearly, but Bull Dozer’s deep voiced managed to stand out and remain loud enough to hear.

The smell of smoke and fried foods wafted through the air, which made Bull Dozer hungry again even though he just ate. Right now, it appeared the pair was standing in the food court. If they continued forward, toward the center of the carnival, they would be in the game area. Even further back was where all the rides were, including rollercoasters, water logs, and one gigantic ferris wheel.

“Alright, Ms. Skybright,” Bull Dozer said and looked down at her, “what do you wanna do first?”

[Boss_Hoss1]

Shanna was looking up at her date when he stole a kiss in her cheek, making her giggle and blush a nice plum color.

She trotted after him, just a little wobbly for a moment, happily amazed his voice cut through the din of other ponies.

Practically bouncing on her hooves, she looked around the food court, her tummy making a cute growl.

She ahehed and leaned up to put her muzzle at his ear "Maybe we can grab some cotton candy and head back to the rides, then make our way back here through the games? I want to give you a taste of what it's like to fly first."

She giggled "Besides, fried foods are a bad idea before areobatics, and I cant imagine the rides are much different. Especially since the rollercoaster is named for the Wonderbolts."

[Sunshine]

The brown stallion nodded his head in agreement with his date. His ears perked a little at the sound of her stomach growling, and he felt that goofy grin return to his face. He was really getting to know her, even if it was just getting to know the noises her body makes.

“That sounds like a great plan, Ms. Skybright,” said Bull Dozer.

The still lovestruck earth-pony walked with Shanna over to a nearby snack stand that advertised the words “CURLY’S COTTON CANDY.” Luckily, the line wasn’t too long, and it only took about a minute to get up to the register.

The large stallion ordered two cones of cotton candy, but when prompted to pay for it, Bull Dozer’s eyes went a little wide. He had forgotten his saddlebags, and didn’t have any bits on him at the moment.

The last thing Bull Dozer wanted to do is ask Shanna to pay for them, but at this point there was no other option. “Um...Ms. Skybright,” Bull Dozer smiled nervously. “If you could get this, then I’d gladly pay ya back...”

[Boss_Hoss1]

Shanna's blush over her tummy growl eased when her date had that silly grin again. She nuzzled him warmly as they waited. When they arrived at the front of the line. Shanna stared hungrily at the cotton candy, then shook herself out of it when Bull Dozer found himself on the spot.

Shanna smiled at him then fished the bits from her underwing pouch.

She dropped the bits on the counter and turned to him "Oh it's no problem. I would be happy to, Bull Dozer."

Shanna got one of the cones from the salespony and started nomming it. "Mmmm! Yummy! Ready when you are, Bull Dozer."

[Sunshine]

The blond stallion smiled and grabbed his cone with a hoof also and started to take his usual large bites out of it.

“Let’s head on over to the rides...and you were sayin’ that I’ll see how it feels to fly?” Bull Dozer looked at Shanna quizzically.

“I would hope none of these rides launch me into the air or nothin’.” The brown stallion chuckled a little at his own joke.

Bull Dozer walked with Shanna through the games section, where many of the employees of the carnival persistently tried to get the couple to participate in some of their games.

“Come on! It’s an easy prize!”

“Why not win something for your date, there!”

The determined earth-pony wasn’t having any of it though, he maintained his course and led Shanna to the back part of the carnival. The sound of rollercoasters and loud screaming only made it that much harder to communicate, but still, Bull Dozer’s booming voice was able to cut through it like a hot knife through butter.

“I think I see that Wonderbolt ride you were talking about.” The stallion led Shanna over to the rollercoaster and saw that the line was relatively long. They would probably be in line for about fifteen minutes to get on the ride, but Bull Dozer knew that with Shanna as company, the time would fly by.

[Boss_Hoss1]

The bay pegasus giggled as Bull Dozer looked at her with a puzzled expression, then made a joke at his own expense before she could reply.

She smiled reassuringly, her eyes shining as she remembered her foalhood for a moment "The rides do moves like many Pegasi can do, so they are popular with all types of ponies. It was a great taste of my future for a little pegasus filly too young to fly well yet." She winked "And I promise no launches."

She trotted along with her date toward the rides. It was too bad she could not lock wings with him as they walked so she just nuzzled against his side as the hawkers tried to get them to play their games. She shook her ribboned mane "Sorry guys, not just yet..."

The line for the rollercoaster was a bit long, of course. She smiled and nosed Bull Dozer "Thats a good sign of how fun and safe this one is. This shouldnt' take long. I figure about a 3rd of the line will go with each trip."

Shanna looked at the other rides as they waited, then put her muzzle close to his ear again to ask. "Do you have a favorite ride?"

[Sunshine]

Bull Dozer looked up in thought for a moment. He had only been to the carnival once in his life, and it was back when he was a foal. “I’m not quite sure, Ms. Skybright. I don’t think my parents took me on many of the rides...mostly because I kept trying to buck them down...even though their mostly made of metal.

“I s’pose when I got bucked off of all the rides, my parents just took me to the food court. So I know what I like there, which is darn near everything.”

The brown stallion shook his head to stop himself from reminiscing. “Anyway...I suppose the ferris wheel was my favorite ride before they told me I couldn’t go on there anymore.” He laughed, “that little cart we were in was rocking like crazy...almost gave my parents a heart attack since we were so high up.”

Though it didn’t seem like it now, Bull Dozer’s story proved just how much of a restless and troublesome foal he was.

[Boss_Hoss1]

Shanna blinks then giggles "Oh dear. You sounded like quite a hoof-full. Too bad you werent born with wings, they would have had you bucking clouds early."

She sidles up close "I could see you being a top weather pony by now..."

Just then, the ride stopped and let off a bunch of ponies, some bouncing with excitement, others quite dizzy. The line then moved forward quite a bit.

As the line stopped again, she bounced on her hooves "I think this is going to be a good one!"

She pointed with her wings as the roller coaster went into motion, slowly at first then zipped down the first hill. "Wow! Look at that!"

[Sunshine]

“Hehe...” Bull Dozer chuckled and blushed. “Well...I do love to buck things...” The brown stallion leaned his head down and nuzzled Shanna. “...plus, I think I’d be more happy being able to fly around with you, than bein’ the top weather pony.”

Bull Dozer looked at the ride as Shanna pointed it out. He looked just in time to see the roller coaster shooting downwards. The brown stallion lit up a little at the sight. “That looks like a lotta fun.”

He had never been on a roller coaster before, but he always wanted to see how fun it would be. After upsetting his parents with his behavior on the ferris wheel, they decided not to take him to any more amusement parks.

However, Bull Dozer didn’t share that part of his history. He wanted to seem like he had more experience with things...even if he hadn’t ever done them before. It was a pride thing.

[Boss_Hoss1]

Shanna giggles and nuzzles back "Aww that's sweet of you..." and kisses Bull Dozer's nose.

After pointing out how fast the roller coaster was going, she nodded "Oh yes, lots of fun! When I was a foal, I would pretend I was a Wonderbolt while on rides like this."

She looked at how much of the line was left and leaned against him s she watched the rollercoaster zoom around. "So, do you have any brothers or sisters? I only have Hoss, but Mother is hinting around to Daddy that she wants another foal since we are grown up now."

[Sunshine]

Bull Dozer smiled at the kiss on the nose, and looked to Shanna with a loving glare. He definitely wouldn’t mind getting more of those from her.

His ears perked a little at her question and he shook his head, “I’m afraid not, Ms. Skybright. I was an only child.” He laughed, “my parents had their hooves full with just one foal...I couldn’t imagine what they’d have to put up with if they had two.”

After Shanna spoke about her parents possibly wanting another foal, Bull Dozer nodded his head respectfully, “well congratulations, Ms. Skybright. That’d be lovely to have more ponies like you in this world.”

The brown stallion noticed the line getting even shorter. After the next ponies got on, it would be their turn.

Bull Dozer looked to Shanna again, “I don’t think my mom and dad are gonna have any more children, mostly because I was so troublesome.” The large stallion paused, “Well...there's that, and my mom kinda ran off with some other stallion. So it’s just been me and my dad. We’ve done good on our own, though.”

As Bull Dozer explained, he didn’t seem troubled by it at all. It was as if this situation were normal for every colt to have gone through...at least that’s how he saw it.

[Boss_Hoss1]

Shanna moved forward happily as the line moved forward, and more ponies passed who were excited or dizzy after the ride.

The bay mare giggled and blushed happily as he commented thet it would be great to have more ponies like her.

She then stifled a gasp with an elegant hoof when he told about his mom. "Oh my! I'm so sorry..." and draped a wing over his back for a hug.

It was so odd he was so matter of fact about it, like it was common for this city. It wasnt unheard of even in Cloudsdale, but still very frowned upon.

She nuzzled him "You are a remarkable Pony, Bull Dozer"