//------------------------------//
// 2. The Royal Wedding 
// Story: Chance Meetings 
// by cierragp 
//------------------------------//

"Would you like a dance?" He tapped her on the shoulder, praying that she would say yes. 

"Yes!" 

He had his answer. 

Holding out a hoof, he led her to the center of the dance floor. Immediately, she could sense more than a few pairs of envious eyes staring daggers at her. 

"Ummm..." she whispered, "are you sure?"

"Very." He smiled and guided her hoof to his shoulder. 

"Do you not see those ponies...staring?" She continued. 

"I get gawked at all the time. It's perfectly okay. Takes some getting used to though." He twirls her around and she slips. Then she felt a pair of hooves holding her up, steadying her hooves, and staying there. "But if you wish," he stepped closer, "we can always stay out of the spotlight."

"Okay." She nods. 
~~~
She was having too much fun dancing, but oddly, she felt a little alone. 

Then a word, a hoof, and she was in the arms of someone she had been dreaming of for too long. 

Words flew past like drops of water and soon they were at the center of the dance floor. 

She felt a hoof settle at her waist, then applying small amounts of pressure. She had never been good at dance, but it helped immensely. 

~~~

It wasn't just one dance, but two, but three, all too much dancing, until both of them were too tired. He took her by the arm and led her to a much more secluded pavilion. She was tired, leaning against him, slightly limp. 

"Are you okay?" He broke the silence. 

"I'm...okay...I guess?" She was wheezing slightly, and he wondered what exactly had happened. The sonic rainboom was tiring, but he knew that wasn't everything. 

"Sit down, Rainbow. I'll get some water for you." With that, he left. 

Oddly enough, she felt a little happy to his offer of water. 

Silence, she told herself mentally. 

You are not going to think one word or one thought that he might even have feelings towards you. It isn't happening. 

Besides, he's a Wonderbolt. You want to be a Wonderbolt. There is nothing happening between the two of you.

She repeated those words and rocked back and forth. 

He found her like that. She blushed and stammered and explained that she got carried away. He was a little too concerned for her to keep her attitude and to remember what she thought of when he was gone. 

He poured her a glass of water. She took it and tried sipping in a way that Rarity wouldn't object to. She failed. 

"It's fine. One day of pretending to be like Canterlot ponies gets tiring. I still have trouble after five years." He gives a lopsided smile that melts her heart. Just a little. 

With that, she relaxes. 

"Thanks." She murmurs. He looks her in the eye. Under the moonlight, his fur was a pale grey, and his eyes stood out a little more. A hint of a smile reaches them.

"What for? This?" He gestures at the cup and pitcher. "Anyone would've done that."

She shakes her head. "You're too generous."

"Listen," he says, tilting his head, "a mare as amazing as you...who wouldn't?"

She feels another stupid blush creeping up her cheeks. "Well, you're not just anypony."

"So I'm not a pony?" His smile widens comedically. "Ouch, I feel hurt."

"Hey, that was a compliment. You're a Wonderbolt. It isn't in everyone." She deadpans, tilting the glass backwards. "Much better."

"Okay okay...mares..." he sighs dramatically for her benefit, and they laugh. 

"Do you ever get lonely?" The question pops out of her mouth, much too soon for her to comprehend. She clapped a hoof over her mouth, but it was too late. 

"Of course. Who doesn't?" He doesn't smile. It wasn't a joke. "Do you?"

"Why?"

"Everypony does." He tilts his head again, and she reminds herself to keep herself calm. Soarin was a little too handsome, better looking than what any knife could sculpt a face into. "But you? You haven't answered me, Rainbow Dash."

"What you just said." She copied him, and brought her glass up. "A toast?"

"A toast it is." The clinking of glasses sounded, too loud and bright in the still night, far away from the celebration. 

"Is it too late?"

"What, to have fun?" He laughed. "It's never too late, unless you're tired."

"I have to return to Ponyville." She doesn't want to meet his eyes for the disappointment she would see. She didn't want to see the absence of it either. 

"That's..." He doesn't smile, and he doesn't know what else to say either. "I enjoyed talking to you. A mare like you...I say I am lucky to ever meeting you. May we meet again."