After the last week I can use some more pony in my life.

Dash led us to the Starwing Café in my Equestria Dreamscape. The café was located in this large spiraling helix-like cloud that looked like a tree trunk with various branches projecting from it. On an evening like this most of the diners were sitting outside enjoying the view from the nighttime sky and the fliers in the Lightning Lantern Festival.link

An area surrounded with lanterns was designated as a landing area for customers of the café. Dash turned us into the wind and brought us in to land. I was very happy that both us pulled off a textbook landing and touched down almost simultaneously. A stallion maître-de came swooping over and landed. In a gracefully gesture he extended a wing so we could hang our lanterns on one of his primary feathers. In one smooth motion swung his wing and placed the lanterns on tray nearby. With this task accomplished he turned and addressed us.

“Good evening! Welcome to the Starwing Café! I am Star Feathers the maître-de here, I assume you have reservations for this evening?” After a couple seconds he recognized Rainbow Dash.

“Oh Ms. Dash! Ice Hoofs sent us word today that you would be dining with us tonight! All arrangements have already made, please follow me. Don’t worry about your lanterns I’ll have someone bring them. Couples usually like to have them on their tables when they dine during the festival.”

Dash giggled nervously at the maître-de comment. “Oh were not a couple! We’re just good friends.”

The Star Feather’s face remained stoic and he bowed his head. “I’m sorry Ms. Dash my mistake. I made an assumption. It is just that lanterns carried by couples usually glow the same color as yours are.”

Dash laughed again. “But ours are not the same Brick’s here is pale green and mine is…”

Dash’s voice trailed off as she stared at the tray with the two lanterns sitting on them when we had left the pavilion mine had been pale mint green and RD’s had been topaz yellow. Now they both were a bright yellow green and slowly pulsating in time with each other. True the lanterns do change color but it did seem odd that ours were the same now.

“Why don’t I show you to your table said Star Feathers.”

We took off and followed our maître-de. The Starwing Café like many things in Cloudsdale was made with flight as the expected mode of movement. Star Feather led us up in a long arcing flight above most of the other dining areas. As we climbed higher I heard Dash squeal excitedly.

“Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! We’re going to be sitting in the Grand Pavilion!”

Star Feather’s landed us on the topmost platform of the café. There were about half a dozen tables all situated around a central cooking area where a team of pegasi was preparing meals. There was also a bar with a couple bartenders stationed to prepare drinks for customers.

The maître-de showed us to our table, left us a couple of menus and then excused him self. A couple minutes later a buspony came by and delivered our lanterns, which were still glowing the same color.

I turned back from looking at the departing waitress and made eye contact with my boss. In the lantern light it was hard to be certain but it seemed like she might’ve been blushing. She quickly looked away and stuck her muzzle into the menu. Several seconds of rather awkward silence followed, I coughed and spoke up.

“So, I’m not familiar with pegasi cooking that much. Can you make any suggestions?

“If you’ve never tried lightning seared celery you should.” Said Dash. “Yeah it is only celery but marinade and cooking makes it, and the celery is locally grown.”

I stared incredulously over the top of menu. “Grown locally? How? Dash, we’re sitting on a cloud.”

Dash looked up from her menu. “Yeah, but they’ve fabricated growing beds out of stable structural clouds and water and sunshine are no problem!”

“Yeah but what about the soil.” I was pretty certain pegasi were not hydroponic farming in the clouds.

Dash was still flipping through her menu. “From what I’ve been told the initial soil was brought up from the ground. However Cloudsdale now composts almost everything it can, still a large part of the soil is now poop that has been lightning zapped.”

I was taking a swig of my drink when she said this. It was only with supreme effort that avoided spraying it all over the table.

“Cloudsdale zaps its poop?” I giggled. Dash rolled her eyes.

“Yes Brick, Cloudsdale zaps the poop. What else could it do? Just unload multiple tons of it on the countryside below? Talk about the worst case of plop bombing ever! link Celestia doesn’t send it to the moon so zap it we do. I have an aunt who works for the Cloudsdale city works so I know way too much about it.”

Eventually one of the assistant cooks came over and took our order. One of the charms about pegasi cooking and in particular the Starwing Café was watching the food being prepared in front of you. It was like being at a Benihana’s restaurant link except they were using Tesla coils to cook the food. It was definitely something to watch.

We ordered a thin crust pizza that was brushed with olive oil that had been infused with garlic and herbs. Then it was covered with a layer of gouda-style cheese, chopped black olives and sliced hothouse tomatoes and then baked, when it came out the chef sprinkled fresh chopped herbs on it. I also ordered a side of the lightning seared celery for us which was surprisingly good; the celery had been marinated in a sweet, salty almost soy sauce-like mixture. We also got a side order of effectively fried falafel patties with a creamy yogurt sauce poured over them. For dessert we had crepes filled with vanilla gelato and fresh made caramel drizzled over them.

Dash stared her coffee and swirled the contents in the cup. She had mellowed out some during the dinner, but now that the eating was over some of her nervousness had returned. Finally she looked up at me.

“So, ah, Brick how long have you and Petina known each other?”

“Um, let me see it would be.” I did some quick mental calculations. “Twenty two years roughly.”

Dash stopped swirling her coffee. “Twenty two years.” She said it slowly with a slightly stunned voice. She then looked away.

“I imagine Carousel must wonder sometimes about Petina’s interests and uh hobbies…especially in the bedroom. I would suppose it could get um, ah, noisy at times.”

I took a sip of my coffee. “True but since she often sleeps with Petina and I she’s pretty aware of what is going on and Petina has discussed her hobbies with Carousel on many an occasion.” Dash’s head snapped back and she stared wide-eyed at me.

“So you are regularly sleeping with two mares. Oh I see.” She seemed to deflate a little at this comment. “Well I guess you don’t have to go far to graze then do you?”

Remembering Ice Hoofs comments I decided to take blunt approach. “Dash is there something you’d like to ask me?”

Dash looked down at her coffee cup and fidgeted in her chair for a second or two. “What’s it like?”

“What is what like?” I replied. Dash continued to stare at her empty coffee cup.

“What’s it like to have a relationship, to love somepony? What’s like to have somepony you can be so open to and trust so much?”

Dash put her head on the table. “Horse apples, I sound like an idiot!” Growled my boss. “I’m supposedly strong, courageous, and here I am sounding like a timid little school filly!”

I smiled at my boss. “Dash it is nothing to be ashamed or embarrassed about.” I paused and collected my thoughts. “Being in a relationship is one of the most amazing and enjoyable things one can experience, it is also can be one of the most frustrating, terrifying and infuriating things, often at the same time.”

RD grinned at me. “Yeah I imagine a relationship with Petina could be terrifying at time!”

I shook my head. “You have no idea how terrifying it can be, but at the same time she genuinely cares about me and would never do anything to deliberately cause me harm. She’s just has certain, um, needs, and I have to let her wander afar so can graze where she likes. But then again she’s willing to let me run free to, the important thing is that we always return to each other.”

I decided to take a gamble and roll the dice. “Boss is there somepony you wish you were in a relationship with? Is there some stallion who has caught your fancy?”

Dash once again got this bashful look in her eyes. “That’s one of the things I am not certain about Brick. Am I looking for a stallion, or.” She paused. “Or another mare? At this point I have no clear feelings one way or the other. It’s rather confusing for me at times.”

I nodded my head. “You may not know until you meet that special pony, and you may not know it right away. All I can say is when that time comes be honest with them and yourself.”

Dash looked at me and smiled. “Thanks for listening to me babble Brick.”

The rest of meal passed in a much more relaxed fashion, and eventually we flew back to the hostel. Our lanterns had extinguished at the café so we just left them there. We landed on my balcony and I turned to her.

“Well it has been a great evening Dash. Thank you for your company.” Dash yawned.

“Yeah it has been fun. Thanks for talking to me.”

Suddenly Dash leaned forward and gave me a peck on the cheek and smiled at me.

“Sweet dreams Brick.” Then she rocketed off into the nighttime sky leaving me standing on the balcony.

To be continued.