A Day Out

~A Day Out~
[Chapter I]
|Funnel Cakes and Party Games|
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"Radiance! Hurry up or Dawn and I are gonna leave without you!"
>You holler up the stairs in the grand foyer
>You daughter Dawn bounces excitedly up and down beside you, gripping your hand in anticipation for what today will bring
>Your son Radiance however, is taking his sweet time readying himself
>Today, Celestia was away on business, so it was up to you to entertain the kids for awhile
>A day outside should suffice
"Radiance! Let's go!"
>You have half a mind to march up the stairs and drag him down, and you nearly do
"Just a second old man!"
>Old man?
"Old man!? I'll show you how old I am when I-"
>Radiance finally comes into view as he downs the stairs
>"No need to shout.." He says as his hooves touch the marble floor beneath you "Where're we going anyway?" he asks
>"Papa said he'll show us around town!" Dawn has stopped clasping your hand and has already started to make for the doors
"You got nothing important to do so I figured you could tag along." You pat him on the back and catch up to Dawn, who has trouble opening the large door
>It magically opens in the magical grasp of a guard, who she thanks promptly
>The poor stallion couldn't help but smile. At your approach he salutes and you give one back. It was never your thing but you respected the staff as much as they did you
>Radiance lagged behind the two of you, clearly uninterested in what you had planned for today
"Radiance c'mon. Why can't you be more excited like your sister?"
>By the look on his face, the question probably just pissed him off
>Teenagers were weird like that
>But hell, you had plenty of time to figure him out. Thank God Dawn is still your adorable little girl. You don't think you could handle her being grumpy 24/7

>"I just don't see why I have to come along."
>You slow your pace a little to let him catch up with the two of you
"Because I'm sick of you sitting in your damn room hitting the books. You got to get out more Radiance. Make new friends, have rich experiences, go on adventures! You know how hard your mom stresses these things."
>He looks away from you. But you're right, Celestia is always getting into his business, wondering if he's made a friend, or if he finds any of the maids attractive
>The last part always strikes you as odd
>Is your wife trying to pair your kids up with future suitors already?
>"Mom says it's always important to have friends. She says we wouldn't have been born if it weren't for her and Dad's friendship"
>You rub your fingers through your little girls multi-colored mane which resembles her mother so
"That's right Dawn. And I'm sure Radiance could learn a thing or two from the both of us."
>Radiance quickens the pace and quickly passes you
>"Whatever. What exactly are we doing to day?" He looks back at you
>You point over the bridge leading into the city. A large Ferris Wheel peeking over the buildings lining the city
"We're gonna have some fun."
>Dawn's giant eyes only increase in size as she notices all the ponies milling about at the fair
>She starts to pull you along, her excitement getting the best of her
>You immediately grab your moody son's hand as soon as you pass him. His younger sister being the locomotive to this train of oddlings

>The music grows louder and louder as the three of you approach
>Dawn now rests atop your shoulders, scanning the crowd of fun goers and entertainers
>Radiance seems to have come out of his funk just a bit, but not completely
>You took it as your personal mission to get him to cheer up before the day was over
>As you pass through the fair grounds the citizens greet you with small bows. Dawn waving ecstatically, wobbling your shoulders. You give a polite wave to the crowd and Radiance just walks through the crowd like he owns the place
>Damn, this kid would turn out like his cousin Blueblood if this kept up
"Okay, what do you guys wanna do first?" you ask, setting Dawn back on her hooves
>Being the only one excited about the whole affair, Dawn thinks deeply
>No doubt everything she saw is flooding into her mind. You can see this in the giant goofy grin spreading across her face
>"Why don't we start with a game first?" she finally says
>It wasn't a bad idea and you scan the area looking for something that had a good prize box
>You spot a dart-trhowing that has a giant Princess Twilight plush hanging from the rack behind the operator
>You figure Dawn would love it. She looked up to Twilight after all.
"How 'bout it Radiance? Care to see your Old Man in action?"
>His interest is piqued! You've got him now!
>"Sure, I want to know if you live up to the stories." he smirks
>Although most of those stories were exaggerated, you had no second thoughts before approaching the stand
>The bored looking operator snaps to attention when he notice you
>"Uh, good morning your majesty! Care for a game of darts? On the house of course."
"No, no. It's fine, 2 bits?" you reach into your wallet and clutch two shiny coins with your face on them and drop them into the recycled pickle jar
>Radiance looks confused by the gesture but brakes his confusion when you hand him five darts.
>"What's this?" he asks
"Whoever pops the most wins." You throw a dart and instantly pop one

>Radiance follows up and pops one of the balloons tapped to the wall and you can see his confidence start to build
>Dawn cheers both of you on as you wind up for the second throw
>You miss, he lands another
>His confidence manifests into a smug smirk
>On the third wind up, you both land a hit, the poor balloons deflating instantly
"3 to 2. You're doin' pretty good. Might have to play serious!" you say as you wind up for the fourth throw
>This time you hit and his dart impales the wooden backboard
>The score was tied now, the tension rose very quickly and Dawn was now biting her finger nails
>You didn't help the situation as you pretended to wipe the sweat from your brow and breath heavily for dramatic effect
"It all comes down to this Radiance. This is the play that will decide the winn-" your speech is interrupted as he throws the dart, hitting a balloon dead center
>You lazily throw the dart, denied your dramatic build up
>You wouldn't be satisfied with a tie, as soon as the dart left your hand you were reaching back into your wallet for another round
>But the operator's sudden out burst stops you as he declares Radiance the winner
>Your son gives you the biggest shit-eating grin you've ever seen
>Dawn cheers up and down for her big brother who asks for the Twilight plush
>You're surprised as she clutches it with all her might. You wouldn't think in a thousand years you'd ever see him do anything like that. It felt so, out of character for him
>You put your wallet away offer the handshake of defeat
"You beat me fair n' square son." You pretend to be devastated at your crushing defeat at the hands of your own son as he plays the bigger man and takes it your hand
>"So you don't live up to the stories." he says as he high-fives Dawn
>You worry they are establishing an alliance against you

>One after another, you're destroyed at every game you play with either Radiance or Dawn. It's as if defeating their dad has become their life's mission
>The prizes are stacking up and you're forced to carry them
>That was the deal in the previous game you lost
>"Now that games are out of the way. How about we try the rides, I saw that giant Ferris Wheel before we got here. You can probably see the entire city from up there!"
>Dawn points to the rotating disc
>Powered by magic, Pharris Fayre Ferris invented the large contraption for the world fair nearly a hundred years ago
>You never liked heights though
"Uh, how about you go with your brother. Carrying all this crap is takin' it's tole on my back."
>You set the items down on a small table and take a seat.
>Dawn turns to her bigger brother who shies from her bright-eyed gaze
>"Sorry Dawn, I uh, don't do well with heights." He throws his hands up in defense as he takes a seat next to you
>Dawn pouts at the two of you. You instinctively look away, not wanting to fall prey to her irresistible stare
"Why don't you go ahead. We'll watch from here."
>Her pouting act comes crashing down as she remembers what exactly it is she was pouting about
>Without a word she dashes for the line, cutting in front of ponies who don't seem to mind though. Before you know it, your eye is tailing her all the way up into the sky
>She waves at the two of you from atop her throne in the sky and the both of you wave back
>Glancing over at Radiance, you can see he has a genuine smile on his face. You can't count the times you've seen a frown droop on his face
"Having fun?"
>The smile fades quickly at the question. So much for that
>"It's not a huge waste of time.." he says
>Maybe that was the only answer you were going to get so you decide to accept it for now
>You turn your focus back at the large Ferris Wheel. Dawn's car eclipsing her mother's sun
>The day had just begun, there was more fun to be had!