//------------------------------// // Dance Lesson // Story: A Twilightful Dash of Caprice // by CalmNQuiet //------------------------------// A Twilightful Dash of Caprice ~ Dance Lesson Knock. Knock. Twilight looked up from her book at the library door. It was Saturday; rarely did she get eager readers on the weekend. It was probably just some pranksters trying to disrupt a perfectly good evening of studying. Knock. Knock. Persistent, Twilight thought to herself. Sighing, she pulled herself up off the delightfully soft cushions she rested upon. “Coming! Just a moment! The library is open, you know.” Her voice barely masked her exasperation. Trotting over to the door, she magically swung it open to come face-to-face with the prankster. “Hey, Twilight....” Rainbow began. How strange, Twilight thought. Rainbow’s entrances were usually a tad more dramatic and involved the crashing-into-objects variety. Using the door didn’t make sense. Furthermore, Rainbow’s actions begged suspicion: Why knock when she could just barge in? Obviously, something odd lingered in this situation. “Oh, hello Rainbow Dash,” Twilight began. “What can I do for you? Here for the latest Daring Do? It’s not out for a few more months.” She studied Rainbow’s face determinedly for any sign of explanation. Rainbow Dash blinked for a moment before shaking her head. “Oh, no, I’m not here about that, though I’m really looking forward to the next one. Thanks for the reminder.” She paused, as if deciding how she should proceed. “Actually, maybe you could help me with something.” The purple mare stared at Rainbow for a few seconds, processing Rainbow’s request before breaking into a wide smile. “I’d love to help, Rainbow,” she said. “I might even learn something about the magic of friendship so I can write to the princess!” She looked down, a slight blush tinting her cheeks as she mentally recalled the whole “Smarty-Pants” incident. “I’d love to help even if I wasn’t going to write a letter to the princess, since I don’t have to write to her every week anymore.” Returning the smile, Rainbow nodded to Twilight. “Thanks Twilight. I knew I could count on you. Y’know, being friends with an egghead really has it’s perks. No offense.” Rainbow waited a few awkward moments for Twilight to let her into the library. “So...um, can I come in?” Twilight blinked, shaking her head to gather her thoughts. “Oh, right. Sorry about that, Rainbow.” She took a step back away from the door so Rainbow could enter the library. “Please, come in. What can I help you with?” The cyan mare gingerly stepped into the library, but not before glancing quickly behind her to make sure no one was watching. Assured no one was out there, she quickly closed the door and turned to Twilight. “So, at the Gala...” She paused. Some odd discomfort about that evening made speaking difficult. “... there was all this dancing. And I felt a little out of place. While I find slow dancing totally uncool, it’s just as uncool feeling so out of place! You have to teach me how to dance like them, Twilight! You’re from Canterlot, you must know how to dance like that...right?” Rainbow’s sudden confession started slowly. By the end, her words tumbled out rapidly -- almost as if she desperately sought to get it off her chest before the weight of it crushed her entirely. Taken aback, Twilight realized although she was from Canterlot, she had about as much experience dancing as Dash did. However, she had agreed to help Dash, and while she didn’t have any idea on how to do Canterlot dances, she did have excellent resources. “Honestly, Dash, I really don’t know the ballroom dances. In Canterlot, I spent most of my time studying. However, I’m sure we can find a book on the subject.” Finding a book in Twilight’s sizable library was easier said than done. However, after 20 minutes of searching, Dash finally stumbled upon a book detailing classical dancing. “Hey Twilight, how does this look?” she asked. Twilight poked her head out from under a massive pile of books and glanced at the title: Classical and Elegant Dances for Gentle Ponies. The look of frustration melted from Twilight’s face as she read the title. “That’s perfect! I knew I should have moved reshelving day to yesterday, but I got completely overwhelmed on my latest studies on dragon migrations.” Flicking her head casually, she picked up the book from Dash, floating it over to her and opening it up, skimming the contents rapidly. “Ok, so we need some music for starters. Easy enough.” Twilight concentrated, and after a flash of light, one phonograph appeared in front of her. Setting it down on the table, she started the music. Soft piano tones filled the room. “Next step, we need to...oh...no, this won’t work at all,” Twilight sighed. She dropped the book on the table. Dash cocked her head and looked at Twilight oddly. “Why won’t it work?” she asked. “Well, this book is written for a stallion and a mare,” Twilight exclaimed dejectedly. “We don’t meet expectations!” Dash’s laughter broke the somber mood. “Wow, Twilight, you don’t have to follow the book exactly. One of us plays the stallion, and we’ll switch back and forth until we get the hang of it!” The solution was so simple. Dash felt surprised Twilight hadn’t thought of it before she did. “And since you’re helping me, I’ll play the role of the stallion first.” “Well...” Twilight began, “I guess that works. I don’t know if we should deviate from the book, but it’s the best we can do for now. It looks like the first step is to get up on our hind legs and have the stallion place his forelegs around his partner to lead them in the dance.” “No problem!” Dash said, her voice brimming with confidence. She hopped up on her hind legs, her wings flaring just slightly for slightly better balance. She reached forward and grabbed Twilight around the middle, drawing the purple mare right up against her chest. Her eyes focused on Twilight’s own. “Woah!” Twilight exclaimed, surprised by Dash’s eagerness. It was then she noticed those intent magenta eyes gazing into her own. A flush of heat soared through her body, culminating at her cheeks. This was something she was not expecting as her blush deepened. “Um....“ Twilight was lost for words. Dash gazed intently at Twilight, waiting for the next step. She felt Twilight warm up. If she had looked a little lower, she’d spot the undeniable red tinges on the librarian’s cheeks. “Twilight?” Dash queried, “...what do we do next?” “Oh... oh...“ Twilight couldn’t think. She wasn’t ready for this. Shaking her head, she tried gathering her thoughts. When she finally managed to tear her eyes from Dash’s, her composure recovered enough for the next step. “Well... now that we’re in position, the stallion steps in time with the music, using his forelegs to guide the mare in unison.” “Alright, here goes.” Dash tentatively took a step forward, pressing her chest firmly against Twilight’s own. Twilight felt her pulse quicken as she took a step back, letting Dash guide her. If Twilight could think straight, she’d notice Dash’s surprisingly graceful movements -- a stark contrast to how many face-to-ground incidents Dash had in the past. No matter; Twilight found herself swaying in time with Rainbow Dash as they danced across the library floor. Unfortunately for Twilight, Dash’s grace didn’t extend to her movements. One misstep later, she bumped right into the table the phonograph was resting upon, causing the record screeching into silence. The sudden interruption of Twilight’s reverie from her clumsiness sent gravitational theorems and other distracting thoughts whirling throughout her mind as she concentrated. Falling in Dash’s arms doesn’t feel so bad... Twilight thought as she landed heavily upon the hard wooden floor of the library, wincing at the contact. Dash was equally surprised by the sudden shift in weight. Flaring her wings in a desperate attempt to catch her fall did little as their hooves were too intertwined in the dance position. Twilight literally pulled Dash down upon her. A second later the cyan mare was staring down at the purple one, their eyes locked, their muzzles about a foot apart. Twilight could feel Dash’s panting breath upon her muzzle tip, the warmth of the pegasus’s breath adding considerably to her own warming complexion. Oh, Celestia... Twilight thought, her mind a haze of emotions. Dash is... so... She could feel that familiar heat rising again to her cheeks. Twilight unconsciously tightened her hooves around Dash’s side, afraid the rainbow-maned pony would pull away. She just wanted to gaze into those beautiful cerise pools a while longer. What’s going on? Dash wondered as she felt the increased pressure at her sides. The arm under Twilight was starting to lose blood, but all she could feel was a burning sensation across her cheeks. Is...is Twilight blushing? Dash looked at Twilight in surprise. It was unmistakable, the red stood out on the purple clearly. This was coupled by the significant rise in pulse Dash felt from the lavender pony beneath her. “So... Twilight...” Dash began slowly, trying to figure out exactly what was going on at this point now they weren’t so much dancing but laying on top of each other, their hooves awkwardly wrapped around one another. “Um...” Twilight tried to gather her mental facilities, helpless over the fact she drowned in sensations she wasn’t even aware were present half an hour ago. “...the book said in some cases, the stallion might use the closeness of the dance to be extra romantic.” Twilight paused, her ears heating up. That sounded awful. Twilight was certain Dash was going to pull away at any moment now. Surprisingly for Twilight, Dash didn’t pull away. Instead, she leaned a little closer, their mouths inches apart. “Twilight, are you suggesting we practice this step as well for ballroom dancing?” The rainbow-maned pegasus spoke slowly and deliberately. She was desperately trying to get a read on Twilight. What was the unicorn thinking? This was getting difficult for the Twilight. She knew this was taking it too far, but deep down inside, she wanted it so badly. Being questioned by Dash only made it harder, but at least Dash hadn’t pulled away yet -- in fact, she was closer than ever. Twilight mentally chalked a point up for herself and steeled her resolve. “Well, if we’re going to be prepared, we should definitely...” Softness. There were no more words from the unicorn as Rainbow Dash leaned in the last couple inches and made contact. Twilight flushed from her tail-tip to her ear-tips. The chalk disintegrated in her mind as she scratched point after point up on the board for herself. This was more than she ever could have expected when she opened the door this afternoon. Her eyes fluttered and closed, this was so beautiful, an extra dose of romance indeed. As the warmth of Dash’s lips left her own Twilight opened her eyes, entranced by those gleaming, moderate-cerise orbs. Dash grinned at Twilight. “I think it’s your turn to lead now.” ~*~*~*~*~*~ Thanks for reading everyone, as this is my first foray into My Little Pony fanfiction any comments and suggestions are appreciated. I’ll do my utmost to respond to them in turn. I’d like to thank my pre-reader/editor whom I love dearly for his work. A special thanks also goes out to Jykinturah for sketching the Twilight/Rainbow Dash ballroom dance pose which inspired this story.