The Heart is Where it is.

Chapter 4: A Lovely Evening

Rainbow Dash grabbed the last juicy tomatoes from the market, tossing her bits to the vendor. She still hadn't talked to her friends about the night before and it still brought a sick feeling to her stomach. Fluttershy was gone by the time Rainbow woke up which was a disappointment to her. But the pegasus had shopping to do.
Joy.

She pulled out her list and placed it on the dirt path, reading it out loud.
"Tomatoes, check! Celery, check! Apples, check! Hmm..." Rainbow Dash paused, inspecting the list closely.
"I need lettuce,"
The rainbow mained pony trotted through Ponyville, trying to hide her face as much as possible. She feared she'd run into one of her friends and would have to confront them about the slumber party she ran away from. Rainbow Dash hated seeing her friends sad or angry, mainly because it impacted Rainbow, too.

As Rainbow Dash searched for the right vendor, something caught her hoof, sending her into the dirt. The ground rushed up to meet her face, Rainbow Dash's ears ringing from the impact.
"Oh, this day couldn't possibly get any worse!" she grumbled as she began to rise to her hooves. A hoof reached out to help her, which she gratefully accepted, rising to the pony's eyes. Her breath hitched has she saw those familiar deep sea green eyes and the familiar strong jaw line.
Soarin'. Her ears flattened as she muttered half to herself, "I was terribly wrong."

The Wonderbolt offered a grin which Rainbow Dash didn't return. Instead, she avoided his gaze and brushed herself off.
"Thank-you," she said with a cooled tone, narrowing her eyes slightly. Soarin' tried to lift Rainbow Dash's head with a hoof but Rainbow Dash shoved it away, glaring at the light blue pegasus with a frosty gaze.
"I don't know if you remember Soarin', but we broke up," she nearly hissed, her voice clipped. He looked stung by her coldness, looking away.
"I know Rainbow, but I was so confused!"
"What is there to be confused about?" Rainbow Dash snapped, looking away from Soarin'. He paused for a dreadfully long time then proceeded on.
"I thought maybe what I said in the restaurant made you scared so you panicked and blurted that you were a lesbian to get away," Soarin' explained, his voice dripping with emotion. Rainbow Dash bit her tongue to hold back a retort, looking at Soarin'.
"You never scared me," she began, making Soarin' relax. "and what I said wasn't something I decided to 'blurt out'. It was true."

Soarin' lowered his head to the ground with his ears flattened, making Rainbow Dash feel heartbroken. She felt bad he couldn't find somepony to stick with, but, Rainbow wasn't the one. Using a free hoof, the cyan pegasus lifted his head with a soft smile.
"You'll find somepony else," Rainbow Dash promised. "but it's not me." Soarin' moved for a hug, making Rainbow Dash tense up. She finally decided to let him and returned the hug, trying not to lead the pegasus on.
"Can we still be friends, Dashie-- I, uh, mean Rainbow Dash?" he asked softly. Rainbow Dash nodded and trotted down the dirt road, hearing Soarin' rush to catch her.
"Need some help shopping?"
"Sure. I need some lettuce."

***

It's just dinner with a friend, Dash, it's ok. Rainbow Dash thought nervously as she flew to a fancy restaurant in Cloudsdale, feeling a bit worried. After Soarin' and Rainbow were done shopping, he'd asked her out to dinner late that night. Rainbow Dash agreed, of course, trying to avoid giving Soarin' the cold shoulder. She was worried Soarin' would come onto her and try something like in her dream.

Rainbow Dash arrived at the place, entering hesitantly as she saw Soarin' glance at her through the glass. He smiled and waved a hoof at her, which she returned slowly. She walked through the double doors, and felt horrible already. The whole restaurant screamed 'rich', with beautiful lavender and butterscotch flowers dangling on the ceiling. The building had a soft yellow glow to it which hummed a nice tune.

As she approached Soarin' she inspected the tables which had swirls carved on it all around. The wood was smooth and pale, giving off a nice glow. The chairs had a plush velvet seat on them which was as soft as her own mane as she sat down, feeling uncomfortable.
"Uh, Soarin'..."
The light blue pegasus rolled his eyes exaggeratedly.
"I know it may seem expensive, but honestly it's not," Rainbow Dash had a rising suspicion that tugged at her brain.
"Remember, just dinner."
"I know RD, don't worry about it!"

The waiter came by dressed in a velvet red suit with a note pad and quill, seeming rich considering he rolled his 'Rs' as he asked, "May I take your order?" Rainbow Dash nodded for Soarin' to go first, knowing he had a lot of food to get.
"I'll just have a chicken and berry salad," he said evenly, checking out the cyan pegasus. Her wings pomfed in anger but she quickly settled back down. Being in a fancy restaurant wasn't exactly the best place to get mad. Rainbow Dash batted her eyes at the waiter, suppressing a giggle as Soarin' bristled with anger.
"I'd the same, please,"
The waiter seemed mesmerized by Rainbow Dash batting her eyes, pausing.
"Y-yes, of course," As the waiter went to get drinks, Soarin' glared at her.
"You did that on purpose!"
"Of course I did!" Rainbow Dash snapped, glaring at the light blue pegasus. "You were checking me out." Soarin's angry eyes turned back to normal as he laughed, his face like a light switch all of a sudden. Rainbow Dash giggled along with him, not seeing why it was too funny.

"Oh, Rainbow Dash. You always did make me laugh,"
"I still do, don't I?" Soarin' grew silent as he looked down at the table, his ears flattened.
"It's not the same as it was before..." Rainbow Dash closed her eyes halfway in thought, feeling terrible for the colt. She didn't know what to say but she hated seeing him so unhappy.
"Rainbow Dash, what are you doing?"
Before she realized it, she was at the other side of the table hugging Soarin' with a few tears.
"Shut up about us breaking up," she whispered, her voice hoarse. "it hurts me more than it hurts you." Soarin' pulled away and gazed into her eyes.
"Then why don't you date me?"
"What I mean is, I hate seeing you so... unhappy. It makes me question myself." Soarin' seemed to have understood as he pulled her in for another hug, Rainbow Dash wanting him to be happy and let go.
"Ok, I'll do this for you--"
"No," Rainbow said, cutting him off. "Do it for yourself."

The rest of the night was like a candy bliss as they ate and shared stories. As the dinner grew to an end, Rainbow Dash presented that she needed to head home.
"Aww," Soarin' began sadly. "I'll see you later, ok?" Rainbow Dash gave him a quick hug the exited the restaurant, feeling the ice cold breeze. She ruffled her wings then flew off, thinking about Soarin's actions.
Well, it was a good night. she decided.
***
Fluttershy trotted through the lush forest with soft smile, picking honeysuckle from a tree. Her sack was full of colorful flowers that were extremely vibrant. She soared into the sky, a cyan flower catching her eye.
"This will be perfect!" She hummed. As she reached the ground, Fluttershy grew nervous.
"Let's hope it goes well..."

Rainbow Dash made it home, hesitating at the door. Something seemed off about her house. As she opened the door she turned her head to the side as Fluttershy sat on her bed. Beside her rested a bouquet of flowers all the color of the rainbow. A cyan colored flower was in her soft mane.
"Rainbow," she began softly. "I have to tell you something."