You think for a moment about the best way to become more comfortable dancing with Rainbow Dash. You don’t want to just stare, after all. You end up settling with a discussion.
“H-hey, Rainbow Dash?” you call timidly.
Her attention is torn from wherever else she is looking, and she makes eye contact with you. “Yeah?”
“I wanted to thank you for inviting me to this. I really like spending time with you.”
For a moment, she doesn't respond. You and her continue swaying together gently among the many couples.
Her eyes seem to shimmer as she finally looks into yours again. “When I was told we should bring somepony, I knew immediately who I was gonna ask. There’s only one pony I know that’s as awesome as I am.”
You smile at her, and try desperately not to cry.
“...Maybe even more so,” she adds on, in barely a whisper. Then, she clears her throat. “But anyway, you’ve made the night way less lame than it would have been otherwise,” she declares brashly, in an attempt to banish the sudden and unexpected shift in tone.
You chuckle heartily, and when you look at Rainbow Dash again you find her eyes focused on you. She’s grinning, too.
You and Rainbow Dash dance the night away, lost in each other’s gaze. You can’t help but notice the thick, red blush across her face.
If you had to guess, you’d say she’s noticed yours, too.
Hours later, a surprise practice scheduled for tomorrow is announced. Rainbow Dash disappears for a few minutes, and when she comes back, she stands beside you and wraps her tail around yours. “Let’s get out of here.”
You raise an eyebrow. “I thought all of the ‘Bolts were staying for practice tomorrow morning?”
Rainbow Dash looks at you and raises her eyebrows twice in quick succession. “Yeah. I told Spitfire to shove it. It doesn’t matter if I’m going to be assigned to locker room cleanup duty for the next six months- I’m going to make sure this evening ends right.”
You leave together and pick a chariot to take you both back to Ponyville. You enter first, and Rainbow Dash follows, sitting right beside you such that her side is pressed tightly up against yours. She lays her head against you as you climb together into the night sky. The warm pocket shared in the space between you and her cuts like a knife through the cold evening air.
The short trip is made in silence, and on Rainbow Dash’s orders the chariot fliers drop you both off in front of your house.
“Shouldn’t I be the one to make sure that you get home safe?” you ask her pointedly.
She purses her lips and shakes her head. “Not a chance! I asked you out, remember?”
You open the door to your home and turn around. “Well, I guess this is it. I really can’t thank you enough, Rainbow Dash.”
“I should be thanking you,” she responds candidly, coming in for what you assume is a hug.
Her hooves do indeed reach you, but no embrace commences. Instead, Rainbow Dash pulls herself up and pecks you on the lips.
Your heart skips a beat as she pulls away.
“Uhhh…” she stumbles, evidently having frozen her thought process. “...BYE!”
She shoots off like a rocket, leaving you to look up into the evening sky and savor the wetness left on your lips and the lingering scent of her perfume.
Proceed to Chapter 38.