Dear Princess Celestia,
Ponies all need their space, but sometimes it’s hard to define the difference between letting them have their privacy, and ignoring their thoughts. My friend-
“Hi Twilight!”
Twilight dropped her quill in shock. “P-Pinkie! You startled me! Can’t you ever knock?”
“I was, but I guess I forgot because I was so super duper excited about my new party! Everypony’s coming!” She handed Twilight a pink envelope. Inside it read:
~You’re invited to a super fun, super hyper, super exciting, DANCE PARTY!~
Tomorrow night at Sugarcube Corner! Be there and have fun!
“Dance party?” Twilight asked, a sudden feeling of dread filling her gut. “As in, ponies dancing together under one roof?”
“Yep!” Pinkie Pie beamed. “My parties have had dancing before, but this will be great! I even got a DJ! There’ll be dancing, and music, and cake, and dancing with a partner, and streamers, and dancing alone, and confetti!”
“Yeah. That’s great, Pinkie. Who all is coming?”
“Everypony!” She froze.”Oh! That reminds me! I need to give out the other invitations!” She bounced towards the door. “See you tomorrow!”
“Yeah. See you Pinkie.” Twilight got back to work completing her letter to Celestia, the dread never leaving her stomach.
“Let’s see, dancing…dancing.” Twilight searched the shelves, looking for a particular book. “Ancient War Dances, Stardancer’s Laws…History of Arachnids? Aha! A Beginner’s Guide to Dance!” She pulled a rather hefty book off the shelf, and sat down to read. (Not before reshelving History of Arachnids, of course.)
Whether you are a pony who knows nothing about dance, or one who just wants to brush up on some skills, I thank you for choosing A Beginner’s guide to Dance. I’m Silkshoe, known for my esteemed roles in plays such as The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, and A Pegasus Tale, and I take joy in sharing my skills with others.
“Chapter one: Ballet.” Twilight sat down to read. The sun began to set, and in less than an hour, Twilight Sparkle was asleep, her face holding the book open on ‘Mare vs. Stallion dancing styles.’
***
“Twilight, honey.” Her mother said, beckoning the filly closer. “A nice filly from down the lane dropped off an invite to a birthday party. Would you like to go?”
“Would I?” The filly clapped her hooves together. “But I won’t know anypony.”
Her mother nuzzled her cheek. “You’ll be fine.”
Several days later, Twilight climbed the mystery filly’s front steps, a gift in tow. The door opened and a lime green head popped out. “Twilight Sparkle! Glad you could make it!” The filly held out a hoof. “The name’s Evergreen. Come in! I’m about to open presents.”
She followed Evergreen inside, to a room with a dozen other fillies and colts, all flashing her warm smiles. Twilight enjoyed herself. After presents (Evergreen was delighted with the book ‘Alicorns through the ages’) and cake, Evergreen’s father turned on some music and the ponies started dancing. Twilight watched them dance and laugh, before joining the fun a few minutes later.
“Funny.” She thought as she grooved to the music, eyes closed to take in the beat. “It sounds like they’re laughing louder.” She stopped dancing and looked around. Nearly every pony in the room was on their backs, holding their stomachs in laughter.
“You dance funny!” One shouted.
“That’s not dancing!” Replied another.
Tears welled up in Twilight’s eyes. She bolted from the house, unable to stand their insults. She could hear Evergreen chasing her. “Twilight!” She called. “Twilight, I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have laughed!” She ignored her. “Twilight, wake up! It’s morning!”
She stopped. “What?”
“Wake up Twilight. I enjoy beauty sleep, but I don’t want you to sleep the day away!” The voice was changing. Now, it sounded a lot like…
Twilight opened her eyes. Rarity was staring at her with exasperation. “Honestly darling. I wouldn’t expect you to overwork yourself like this! What were you reading anyway?”
“Rarity?” She glanced down, to see where her face had left an imprint in the book. “Rarity, I need help.”
“With what?”
“I need help learning how to dance.” Twilight sighed. “I’m afraid to embarrass myself in front of everypony like I did years ago.”
Rarity smiled. “Anything for a friend.”
***
“All right. Show me what you’ve got.” Rarity smiled at Twilight. The purple mare froze. “Just…one little bit?” Twilight shook her head. “Self conscious?” She nodded. “Ah. I see. Well darling, you’re not alone. For many ponies, a large part of the desire to hide from dancing is about feeling terribly self-conscious and worrying about being judged and found lacking. Much of this is in your head though, so try not to let one experience ruin your whole life.”
“Try this.” She continued. "Feel the movement. Instead of focusing too much on the actual steps to begin with, think about how it feels. The more you allow your body to do the thinking, the more you'll go by instinct and stop worrying in your head.”
“All right, I guess I’ll try…” Twilight did a little leap. “You know, maybe you’re right. I shouldn’t worry about how I look. But…what if everypony laughs at me again?”
“Darling, just ignore them. Many ponies just laugh because they’re as embarrassed about their own dancing. Others criticize out of good intent, with the expectation that if you listen, you might learn how to do something more easily. In this case, take it with grace and see if you can learn from it. Don’t let them get to you.” She smiled at her friend. “Now may I see you dance?”
In Rarity’s mind, Twilight’s dancing was neither fitting nor ladylike, but she kept her comments to herself. As long as she was dancing, that was something to be proud of.
“Well, I’d better get back to the boutique. I want to get freshened up before the party.”
Twilight turned and caught her before she exited the library, sweeping her into a hug. “Thank you Rarity.”
“It was nothing, Twilight. I would’ve taught you to dance long ago if you’d told me.”
“It’s more than that. You’ve taught me to stand up for myself. I’ll never be able to repay you.”
As Rarity left, those words kept ringing in her head. She smiled.
***
“Hi Twilight!” Pinkie said, her mouth stuffed with cake. “Glad you could make it!”
“Glad I could come, Pinkie. Thanks for organizing this. The place looks great.” It was true. A DJ sat in the corner at her booth, making music for the numerous ponies on the dance floor. A disco ball reflected beams of light everywhere, illuminating streamers, snacks, and ponies. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to go dance.”
“Bye!” Pinkie Pie called, stuffing her face with another bite of cake. “Have fun!”
Twilight weaved through the crowd. She stopped in the only empty spot on the floor, under the disco ball, and began to dance.
She stood up on her hind legs, bobbed her head, stuck out her tongue, and moved her arms this way and that to the beat. Ponies around her stopped dancing, only staring at the spectacle that was Twilight Sparkle. She could feel many eyes watching her,and she suddenly realized how stupid she must look. She blushed, beads of sweat rolling down her forehead, when she became aware of the pony next to her.
Rarity was next to her. The ladylike mare was on her hind legs, matching Twilight’s dance. Soon, Pinkie Pie joined in, along with Applejack and Rainbow Dash. The dance caught on, and soon the entire dance floor was covered with ponies dancing what would be known as ‘The Twilight’.
Ponies everywhere were laughing, not at others, but at themselves. Twilight danced until her hooves were sore. She left the dance floor and sat in a plastic foldout chair.
“Eep!”
Twilight jumped. Under the chair was Fluttershy. “Fluttershy? What are you doing down there?”
Fluttershy looked at her sadly. “I came here because Pinkie wanted me to, but the truth is I’m always worried about what others will think of me. When I imagine dancing, I always imagine ponies laughing at me. Insulting me. Calling me names.”
Twilight was amazed. Fluttershy was having the same problem she had this morning! “Fluttershy, an amazing pony taught me that you shouldn’t care what others think of you. All that matters is that you believe in yourself.” She gestured at the mass of ponies on the dancefloor, all hopping from one foot to another, tongues stuck out.
“R-Really?” She asked. “Well, I guess I could…try.”
“That’s the spirit, Flutters.” Twilight gave the shy mare an encouraging smile as she helped her get up. As the two walked back towards the dancefloor, Twilight all but forgetting about her sore hooves, the upbeat song ended, to be replaced with a soft tinkling melody. The ponies ended their wacky dance and either walked off, or found a partner, and began to slow dance.
Twilight nudged Fluttershy forwards, almost knocking the delicate mare off her feet. Fluttershy wandered to an empty spot under the disco ball, the light giving her a pleasant glow. She took a breath and began to dance.
Her steps started jerkily, just one foot forward, one back, and then Fluttershy smiled. Her moves became more flowing and graceful; her moves more robust. She pirouetted across her small section of floor before spreading her wings and floating in the air to do a series of graceful loop-de-loops.
The world froze, or so it seemed to Twilight as everyone in the room stopped to watch her dance. Not out of confusion, as was Twilight, but out of wonder as the gentle mare amazed them. Fluttershy ended her aerial ballet by slowly floating downwards and landing on the tip of one hoof. She looked around at all the ponies staring at her, mouths open, and she cowered. “I wasn’t that bad, was I?”
“Bad? You were amazing!” Pinkie cheered. And others agreed. As the music continued, the six friends sat together off to the side.
“I didn’t know you had it in you, Sugarcube.” Applejack said, causing Fluttershy to blush.
“Maybe there’s a reason you’re not a fast flier, you’re a steady one.” Rainbow Dash agreed.
Fluttershy smiled. “I have to owe it to Twilight. If it wasn’t for her, I’d still be under that chair.”
“Well, I have to give the credit to Rarity, actually. She taught me the same thing this morning.” Twilight said.
They all looked at Rarity. “Me?” Rarity asked. “I was simply helping Twilight face her childhood fears.”
“And that made all the difference.” Applejack said.
Their conversation ended when Pinkie dragged them all onto the dancefloor for the last song.
***
“And let’s all thank Pinkie Pie for arranging this awesome party!” All the ponies cheered at the DJs words. Pinkie Pie was as hyper as usual, and replied “It was my pleasure! I’ll be sure to arrange another one soon, so be sure to come next time!”
Without all the ponies, the bakery looked as small as usual. Streamers were everywhere, confetti was even more everywhere. It had been a good party.
***
Dear Princess Celestia,
Sometimes you can be scared of what others think, but sometimes it turns out better than expected.
You shouldn’t hide away from something you love just because of one’s opinion. You may have just been seen by the wrong batch of fillies.
Don’t waste time away from what you love.
Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.
***
Celestia finished reading the latest report, curious why it had been so short. “Maybe it didn’t have to be long to get her point across.” She thought.
She turned to the nearest guard. “Noble knight, please fetch the royal tuba!”
The guard was shocked. “But Princess Luna forbade you to use it! She said that it hurt her royal ears!"
"That may be true," she smiled. " but you shouldn't lock away what you love. Now, could you please fetch it for me?"
The guard rushed out of the room, and the princess grinned. She had some practicing to do.
