Where Your Heart Is

Soarin’… There was no mistake, that same name with the heart emoji beside it. As soon as Fluttershy saw the message, she went straight to the bathroom and slipped on a nightgown hanging on the door. The nerve of him, Fluttershy felt, trying to reach out to Rainbow Dash after all this time. If Rainbow Dash knew of this, it would ruin the moment they built together.

“Why couldn’t you just leave well enough alone?” Fluttershy thought.

Still, Fluttershy felt she was obligated to at least answer the message. After all, Soarin’ did reach out to Rainbow Dash’s phone for a reason. Knowing Rainbow Dash was downstairs and not knowing how long she would take, she had to act fast. But this would be quick, she assured herself, if anything he needed a dose of reality over his actions. Fluttershy pushes Soarin’s name, selects his cell phone number, and then she waits…

One ring… Two rings… Three rings… Click.

“Hello?”

It was silent, as Soarin’s voice echoed in the room. At first, Fluttershy had no idea what to do nor planned on how to handle this. She takes a deep breath and finally answered.

“Hello Soarin’.”

“Oh! Uh… Hi, Fluttershy! How are you?”

Soarin’s tone betrayed the hint that he was suddenly nervous, but she wasn’t feeling sympathetic right now. Still, she knew it was rude not to answer the question.

“I’m doing fine, thank you for asking,” Fluttershy responds, grimly. “How are you?”

“Doing, er… Great! Pretty great!” Soarin’s assured, somewhat strained. “Anyways, is Rainbow Dash there? There’s so much I need to explain and well… I just had to call her back.”

“She’s downstairs grabbing a bite in the kitchen. She’ll be back later.”

If Fluttershy could predict how Soarin’ is feeling at this moment, he seemed to have realized she knew what happened as a regretful sigh is heard.

“She’s told you everything, didn’t she?”

Fluttershy did not answer, another sigh followed.

“Look Fluttershy, I know you hate me right now. I understand… I know Rainbow Dash is far from happy with me and she should be. I’d be mad at myself too. But as her friend, you need to know I—”

“You better have a darn good reason, Soarin’!” Fluttershy interrupts. “Did you really think you can get away with this? Do you have any idea what just put Rainbow through? Do you have any clue that she even loved you?!”

“That’s the problem… Initially, I wasn’t really ‘in love’ with her, not at first. Truth is I was just looking to take ‘any’ girl to the dance because I didn’t feel comfortable going by myself. But then I met her and when she asked to dance with her, I realized I had fallen for her. We were happy together for a while, but then it just… Ended. I felt nothing after that.”

“You just let her on?”

“Yeah… I did. But it wasn’t out of malice, I promise you. Honestly, I thought our dates would bring the magic back, perhaps bringing us closer together. I wanted to be happy, I really wanted to, but even after everything we did together… All of it… I still felt unsatisfied. It was then I concluded that she was just ‘a’ girl, not the girl for me. Rainbow Dash doesn’t know about this… But I started hating myself because I didn’t know what else to do.”

As Soarin’ spoke on, his attempts at justifying his actions, Fluttershy kept breathing back and forth. Trying to keep her anger in check, while trying to avoid alerting Rainbow Dash. But as one could imagine, she was just reaching her breaking point.

“Y-You are something, Soarin!” Fluttershy muttered. “I mean what do you want me to say? That everything’s just fine, put on a happy face, and smile? Rainbow Dash opened her heart to you! She gave everything you asked of her and this is how you repay her? And to add insult, you blow her off with a text message!”

“Fluttershy—”

“I’m not finished! I wanted to stick up for you, I truly did. You never seemed the type of guy to run away from responsibility. But after these past few days, you taught me that you never really know someone until—”

“I did it for you!!!” Soarin’ suddenly shouted.

Fluttershy’s rant stopped right in its tracks, her eyes widen at those five words.

“You… Did… What?”

Fluttershy could hear Soarin’ sharply inhale, holding his breath before breathing out to calm himself.

“I’m sorry, Fluttershy. I shouldn’t have yelled… But I really did have a good reason and it was never to break her heart. It’s because of you… You were my only way out.”

Fluttershy didn’t quite understand where Soarin’ was going nor could grasp the meaning of this riddle.

“What do you mean by that?”

At first, all Fluttershy could hear was silence on the other end. Her anger suddenly tones into mere confusion, if not concern.

“Soarin’? Are you still there?”

Fluttershy heard another deep breath on the other line.

“Yeah, I’m still here…” Soarin’ confirmed. “Do you really want to know?”

“Yes… Please explain,” Fluttershy urged. “Just tell me the truth.”

“It’s like this…” Soarin’ exhaled. “One of my pals told me everything about… The incident. It took a lot of prodding before they spat it out.”

“E-Everything?”

“Everything… Down to the last detail. I was told how pitiful you were, when my friend found you crying in the bathroom stalls. Fluttershy, why didn't you say something? I never meant to steal her from you; I never knew why you were so inseparable with Rainbow Dash. I will admit… I always knew you two were different from all the other girls.”

All Fluttershy could do is sigh, any trace of anger for Soarin’ dwindled little by little.

“I’m sorry, Soarin’… I didn’t mean to put you on the spot. I admit I get a little carried away, especially for those I care about.”

“Perhaps, but my mistakes are still inexcusable. Keeping her around like this was the biggest mistake I’ve ever made. I should have told you both sooner and to your face… Like a man.”

“Thank you, Soarin’,” She mumbled, forgivingly. “Thank for giving me this chance to hear you out.”

“You deserve more than that, Fluttershy,” Soarin’ confessed. “Thank you for understanding.”

A short period of silence passed as both parties were waiting for one another to say something, eventually it got rather awkward.

“So… Are we cool?” Soarin’ asked, breaking the silence.

“Huh? Oh! Oh, yes! Of course!”

“… You’re not saying that to me feel better, right?”

Fluttershy absentmindedly twirled a piece of her hair with one finger. Being mean was not in her nature, lying in general did more harm than good. Especially after that outburst toward Rainbow Dash earlier, she was not doing that again.

“Soarin, if you must know,” Fluttershy began, taking a deep breath. “You broke Rainbow Dash’s heart with that message; I can never let you forget that. I will always be upset with you, disappointed even. But… I understand why you did it. I don’t agree with it, but I do understand.”

“That’s all I can ask for, thanks,” Soarin’ said. “So, what’s your game plan? Speaking from experience: Don’t let this chance slip by… Or, you might regret it for the rest of your life.”

“Well, actually,” Fluttershy giggled, nervously. “We kinda-sorta already got together just now.”

“… Seriously?!”

“Yea… Sorry.”

More silence followed, as if Soarin’ was just breathing it in. Fluttershy merely presumed the poor guy needed more time to think. She couldn’t very well fault him for that, he did used to date Rainbow Dash after all.

“Well… I’m glad to hear it,” Soarin’ finally said. “You deserve her, as she deserves you. Especially since you girls have known each other… Well, I don’t even know how long.”

“That means a lot hearing that from you,” Fluttershy remarked, truthfully.

“Yeah… Just never expected you to snatch her up so quickly. But I’m still happy for you, both of you.”

Fluttershy heard a yawn on the other end, she assumed Soarin’ was just getting tired.

“Anyways, it’s getting late and I should be going,” Soarin’ yawned. “If you two wanna hang out sometime, does next week work?”

“I can always ask her and let you know,” Fluttershy replied.

“Thanks… Oh, and Fluttershy?”

“Yeah?”

“Look… I know I’ve done a lot to lose Rainbow Dash’s trust and I know it’ll probably take a long time before we actually speak again. But, even so, I wasn’t lying when I said I still want to be her friend. She’s a good person, with a very good heart, and that’s what I’ve always liked about her. Can you… Can you find it in your heart to forgive a foolish guy like me? Please?”

“Of course, Soarin’ and she’ll forgive you too. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, not in a week or month or even years… But she’ll forgive you, just give her some time. Good night.”

“Good night.”

Soarin’ hung up first, eventually Fluttershy did the same. In all honesty, Fluttershy was shocked to hear him end the conversation so genuinely. Perhaps Soarin’ truly was trying to atone for his mistake or maybe, he didn’t want to ruin Fluttershy’s night. Either way, her resentment for Soarin’ vanished without a trace.

Today marked a very special day, not just for Fluttershy but for Rainbow Dash. In fact, just calling it a special day would be underselling yet even so Fluttershy could think of no other word even if she tried. Not that she would attempt to think for much longer.

But this time, another feeling stirred within her. One that lightened her mood like a firecracker: She finally confessed to Rainbow Dash and despite all the tension she was pleased to know Rainbow felt the same. She enjoyed every second of it, everything she ever needed.

Giggling, she jumped on her bed, rolling around the sheets in excitement. It was then she noticed Mr. Turtle, lying on the pillow, and seemingly staring right at her. It filled her with a sense of pride looking at it, only to discover something she couldn’t solve for a long time. Grabbing Mr. Turtle, she placed him on her lap along with Mr. Bunny. It may be silly since she practically gave the turtle to Rainbow Dash but seeing the two stuffed animals together was symbolism that the two could finally be together.

Before she could dwell any further, she heard footsteps climbing up to her room and quickly pulled the sheets over her. Rainbow Dash soon entered the room, two cups of chocolate pudding in each hand.

“Though I’d bring something sweet for the sweetest girl in the world,” Rainbow smiled.

Rainbow walked over to Fluttershy, embracing her, almost spilling the pudding. But neither one minded.

“I love you so much, Rainbow,” Fluttershy cooed. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

“You’re the light of my life, Fluttershy,” Rainbow Dash confess. “And I mean it every single day.”

The duo leaned in for a kiss, but before they could go any further, Fluttershy’s eyes caught the digital clock from Rainbow Dash’s reflection in her eyes. It was morning now; a new day had only just begun. It caught her by surprise, such a disappointing convenience.

“Aww… How can today already be over?” Fluttershy whined. “I was really having fun.”

Rainbow Dash, however, could care less. She gently moved her hand across Fluttershy’s face, staring deep in those beautiful, deep aqua eyes. Like staring into an ocean sparkling under the sunrise.

“It’s okay, Fluttershy; I had a wonderful time.”

“I know… I just wish every day of your life is as great as this one.”

Rainbow pondered on that thought for a moment, as her smile returned.

“What if I were to say that you could?”

Fluttershy giggled, though the question confused her.

“Rainbow, we can’t go to the park every single day…”

“No… But it’s not what made today so special.”

It finally clicked. It was never about the park; it was all about her. Fluttershy felt stupid for not getting it, spending all her time on making it Rainbow’s day and not hers. A tornado of emotions surrounded her, filling her with the desire to dance with her new girlfriend again. Even when she felt the urge to cry, her smile remained.

“So…” Rainbow continued, studying Fluttershy. “Think we can finish where we left off?”

“I love you, Rainbow Dash!” Fluttershy cried, smiling.

“I love you—MMPH!”

Rainbow never finished the sentence when she was tackled on the bed. Fluttershy held her down, kissing her so passionately, tasting the chocolate still on her love’s lips. They kept making out for what felt like an eternity, as the moans of pleasure and compassion echoed in the room.

One day may have ended, but their passion would remain for as long as they wanted it too. Calling yesterday the most special of days would be an understatement. What they felt that day was too much to describe this newfound love which they vowed to cherish for a lifetime. As they made love, already plans were forming in Rainbow’s head on where she wanted to go. Plans for another great day, for weeks to come… For years…