"-So that's basically everything. Long story short, I had to deal with essentially all of Sunshine's work for the day, on top of doing my own work beforehoof." Nightshade finished explaining, before taking a long swig of her fourth drink, finishing it off.

Anon put his sixth drink down on the table and whistled apologetically, "Well, uh... I-I'm real sorry to hear that, Nightshade. That's rough... I didn't know me going out with Sunshine today was gonna force you to do her work... and you said this is for a c-committee you two run outside of Canterlot?" He asked, perplexed.

Nightshade absentmindedly waved the bartender over while she fixed Anon with a hesitant look, "Y-yes. We've been running the committee for years now, and her just dumping her workload on me today after I spent all night doing my own work had me practically falling asleep in my th-chair." She explained.

Anon squinted at Nightshade for several seconds. She gulped nervously as a small bead of sweat appeared and ran down her neck.

"What's the name of the committee?" Anon inquired.

"I-it's, well... it's uh... for the homeless? Housing, I mean. For the homeless. It's a committee who's purpose is to help find housing for homeless ponies. It's called the 'Bridlewood Initiative'. Naturally we have to go all over Equestria to help those in need from time to time." Nightshade answered, with a forced smile.

Anon nodded slowly, the alcohol making his head tingly, "Uh huh... well that sounds... really nice of you... two. I didn't think Equestria had much of a homeless problem. Seems like pretty much all ponies have a home from what I've seen, but then again, this is the capitol... so, meh, that would make sense." He shrugged, uncommittedly.

Nightshade let out a discreet sigh of relief before the bartender deposited another lava flow in front of the unicorn mare. She deftly grabbed the drink with her magic before taking another deep gulp, much to Anon's concern.

"Hey, go easy on those. Tha-that's your fifth drink already. I don't want you to end up puking your guts out for the rest of the night." He chuckled.

"Worry not, Anon. I can hold much more liquor than you'd think." Nightshade dismissed.

"Alright, if you say so... j-just don't come crying to me when you're in the bathroom dry-heaving," Anon raised his hands in mock surrender, "Anyways, that sucks that you had to cover for her... if I'd have known that she'd leave you with... with all the work, I would have asked her to reschedule. That's kinda messed up that she left you to do that all by yourself... speaking of which, didn't you say you've been up since y-yesterday? Shouldn't you... you know, get some sleep?" He pressed, raising an eyebrow in concern.

Nightshade blushed ever so slightly at his words before waving her hoof in a placating manner, "I appreciate your concern, Anon, but I'm fine. Besides, I offered to cover for her. I should have expected she would take a bit longer than I originally anticipated. Having said that... I have taken a nap and drank some coffee. Besides, spending some time down here has quickly woken me up, so to speak. I'm still a tad sleepy, but nothing the music and good company can't fix." She playfully grinned, prompting Anon to smile in return.

"Well thank you. After today, I can't think of a better way to s-spend the night than with such good company. How have you been otherwise? I haven't seen you since last time at the gazebo." Anon replied, before finishing off his drink.

Before Nightshade could even say anything, the bartender was there with two news drink in hoof, and taking both of their old glasses with a smile.

"Damn, they're fast." He chuckled.

"Probably want to get that tip," Nightshade laughed as well, "As to your question, I've been doing well. Work has seen me plenty busy, and I've been speaking with my sister regularly, so that's been most enjoyable." She answered, a fond smile on her lips.

Anon chewed his cheek and nodded for a few moments, earning a curious look from the mare sitting next to him.

"Is there something wrong, Anon?" Nightshade questioned.

"No, no. Nothing wrong... it's just... nevermind." Anon shook his head before taking another drink from his glass before resting his hand on the bar.

"Anon, it's clearly not nothing. What's wrong?" Nightshade pressed, placing her hoof on his hand.

For a fleeting second, they both looked down to the point of contact between them. Anon felt his heart beat just a tad faster as the gentle caress of Nightshade's warm hoof softly contacted his hand. Nightshade felt a hot blush creep up her chest as she realized just what she was doing, but before she could pull away, Anon spoke.

"M-maybe... maybe this is just the alcohol talking, but... you and Sunshine seem... an awfully lot like Celestia and Luna... I-I mean in that you both look a lot like them, and... and talk kinda like them... it's been kinda nagging at my head since I met you guys so soon after... w-well after meeting them." Anon explained, his brow deeply furrowed in thought.

Nightshade felt her throat dry up almost instantly, "W-well, Anon of course we look like them. Celestia is our ancient grandmother. Unicorn families of old w-were incredibly peculiar about looking like the royal sisters. To the point of only marrying ponies with the whitest, or darkest blue coats. That's why there's so many white unicorns in Canterlot... although I suppose I'm a bit... less of a common color. Most likely because ponies didn't want to associate with a monster." She explained, a small frown forming on her face.

Anon waved his hands placatingly, "I-I didn't mean to offend you, I was just... well you know, curious. It all just seemed so... coincidental, but that makes a lot of sense.

Nightshade quickly shook her head, "Oh, don't apologize, Anon. You haven't offended me. To answer your other question, we were both raised in the castle, so our mannerisms were taught to us from Celestia or other royalty. Sometimes I forget how strange your circumstance is at the moment. I can see how you would find meeting my sister and I as incredibly suspicious." She chuckled, a hint of nerves in her laugh.

Anon let out a laugh, "Yeah, I... I probably won't remember a lot of tonight anyways, but that was... kinda on my mind. Thanks for explaining it though. Now that that's cleared up, I do have something I want to ask about your sister." He explained, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck.

"What's that, Anon?" Nightshade inquired.

"Has... well, I'm sure she has mentioned it, but... has Sunshine... talked about me at all?" Anon asked, looking to Nightshade with a look of uncertainty in his eyes.

"Talked? About you?" Nightshade parroted, her brows furrowing in confusion.

"Yeah. I mean, w-well... today was a lot of fun. I had a really good time with her and I was looking forward to this all week... so I-I wanted to know if, maybe... well, if maybe she was looking forward to it as much as I was." Anon explained.

Nightshade pursed her lips and turned her gaze to the point of contact between them. She felt Anon's hand under the frog of her hoof, and the way his bony appendage seemed to pulse with each beat of his heart. She hesitantly looked back to the tall man, finding him to be waiting patiently for an answer.

"Well... Sunshine..." She trailed off.

Confound you, Tia! Why did you have to go and make things so complicated!? I came down here to tell him that you two were through but I can't even do that now! It'll break his heart! Nightshade's thoughts raged.

Another moment passed in painful silence, prompting Anon's brow to furrow, and his gaze to slowly drift down to the floor.

"Sunshine was excited to see you. Hay, she couldn't stop talking about you after she got back from your date." Nightshade admitted, after some time.

Anon's face lit up with excitement, instantly, "Oh thank God. I was starting to worry she was just putting on an act or something to spare my feelings." He breathed a sigh of relief.

Nightshade allowed a thin smile to grace her face before turning back to her drink and downing the rest of it in one go. She blinked back a few tears as the alcohol burned down her throat. Anon quickly followed her lead, downing the rest of his drink in one long gulp, before pushing both their mugs toward the bartender.

"I have to say, I envy what you and my sister have. I don't think a stallion has shown interest in me in years." Nightshade whispered, before chuckling quietly to herself.

Anon looked down to the soft azure mare next to him and frowned, "Are you serious? But... you're absolutely beautiful! How... how could a stallion not be interested in you?" He questioned.

Nightshade looked to him with surprise written in her eyes.

Tartarus, he heard that!? She thought.

Nightshade turned a shade paler as her eyes frantically darted around the room for anything she could use as a distraction. She felt her ears burning as Anon's disbelieving gaze lingered over her, forcing her to quickly answer.

"I... well I've not had much luck in the dating department... at least, when it comes to stallions. Please, just forget I said anything." She dismissed, hoping that it would be enough.

It was not, as Anon pressed on, "No, no! Come on, you have to tell me about this now. W-What's problems have you had? It can't be your looks. Like I said, you're stunning. It can't be your personality. You're an absolute joy to talk to. I don't see what could possibly be wrong with you. Whatever it is, it must be with them. Maybe they're blind. Or just gay?" Anon shrugged.

Nightshade felt her entire face slowly turning tomato red as Anon continued to compliment her. Against her will, her heart beat faster at his kind words, and she felt a slight fluttering in her chest as she was lavished with praise.

"Y-you're too kind, Anon. Thank you. I... suppose part of it is on them... although I must admit that for the longest time... I did not find many stallions to my liking. I... preferred the mares to the stallions, given a choice." Nightshade admitted, her eyes glued to the bar as she desperately tried to keep her gaze from reaching Anon.

Anon slowly nodded his head in realization, "Ooooooooooooooh. I see. Sorry, didn't mean to assume." He apologized.

Nightshade quickly shook her head, "Oh, no, don't apologize, Anon. You were being very kind. I haven't heard... almost anypony say such kind things about me in a very long time." She smiled.

Anon nodded and returned the smile, "Well it's the honest truth. Although... I couldn't help but notice you said you 'preferred' mares to stallions, which kinda implies that you've changed your mind on the subject." He replied, giving her his full attention.

Nightshade blushed even harder, "W-well... some stallions may have caught my eye recently." She mumbled, pointedly looking away from Anon.

Anon leaned forward, "I don't suppose that stallion might happen to be in this very room?" He asked, conspiratorially.

Nightshade gulped, "He very well may be."

Anon blinked in surprise. He slowly looked to his left, and then to his right, before his eyes slowly trailed back to the cerulean unicorn sitting in front of him with a noticeable blush on her face. His eyes squinted slightly as he leaned just a tad closer. Nightshade felt her breath hitch as Anon's dark brown eyes gazed into hers as if she was the only mare on the planet.

The two of them drifted closer, until there was barely a foot of space between them. Time slowed down, and the dazzling lights of the nightclub blurred to waves of color that barely registered as the pony and man closed even more distance. Nightshade felt a bead of sweat run down her neck as her heart pounded away in her chest so fast that her vision seemed to distort with its rhythm. Her eyelids drifted down half way, narrowing her vision to only the human closing in on her like a thirsty gazelle to a river.

"Nightshade?" Anon asked.

"Y-yes, Anon?" Nightshade replied, awestruck.

"You've got something on your muzzle." Anon pointed out, bringing his finger to the aforementioned muzzle.

Nightshade crossed her eyes as she tried to look at exactly what Anon was pointing at, but she could not see it. Anon deftly grabbed the cherry stem stuck to her muzzle and deposited it on the table, earning a frown from the unicorn mare as he sat back in his seat, completely unaware of the raging emotions going through her mind.

That colt just toyed with me! How dare he! Why didn't he say anything sooner!? WHY ARE THERE EVEN CHERRY STEMS IN THE DRINKS HERE OH MY FAUST I LOOK LIKE SUCH A FOAL RIGHT NOW! WHY AM I EVEN SO HOT AND BOTHERED ANYWAY?! IT REEKS OF ESTRUS IN HERE, WHAT MARE WAS JUST SITTING HERE BATHING ANON IN HER PHEROMONES?!?!?! SHE'S TURNING ME ON!!!!! Nightshade screamed in her head.

After a few moments of painful silence, Anon downed the rest of his drink and turned back to Nightshade, "So, who's the stallion? If he's in here, then I might be able to help hook you up... unless it's Javelin, I'm pretty sure he's got his eyes set on that secretary. No point in trying to change his mind. I've tried. Not that hard, but I did try." Anon shrugged as he waved the bartender back over.

Nightshade pursed her lips as she contemplated her response for almost an entire minute. Eventually, her silence earned her a look of curiosity and concern from Anon as he sipped his newest drink, before she managed to come up with a response and turned to him.

"W-well, he's tall... handsome... has a nice green coat. I-I mean-" Nightshade stuttered out.

"Green, huh? Well that shouldn't be too hard to find. Not too many ponies have a green coat, and if he's tall and handsome, then that narrows it down even more," Anon replied before looking down into his drink, "I think I've had enough of these to not be worried if I end up making a damn fool outta myself out there, so I'll go look for him." He announced, before chugging the rest of his drink and slamming the glass on the bar.

"Hey! Careful with the glass! You break it, you buy it." The bartender irately called as Anon stood up.

"Sorry!" Anon called back.

Nightshade pushed herself off her stool and grabbed Anon's pantlegs, "W-wait, Anon! What are you doing!?" She exclaimed.

"Gonna find the nice looking stallion that you're interested in, and give him a little nudge. Don't worry, Nightshade, I'll have you hooked up with that guy by the end of the night." Anon grinned, stepping toward the dancefloor.

Nightshade tried with all her might to stop Anon from walking to the dance floor, but his gait was just too powerful for her hooves to stop, and he stepped past her with a hearty chuckle.

"You can't stop me now, Nighty. I'm gonna find this colt and make sure you're banging him by last call, you can count on that!" Anon chuckled with a playful wink.

Nightshade felt the color drain from her face once more as Anon walked past her and onto the dancefloor. She frantically looked for any way to stop the man before he could make a fool out of her, or worse, himself. Sadly, she could find no way to steer him away from the crowd, and quickly found herself biting her hooves in concern as Anon strode up to the nearest group of stallions with a single green unicorn among them. The ponies continued to dance as Anon arrived and greeted them with a wave of his hand.

"Well good evening there my feathered and horned friends!" Anon called over the deafening music.

"What!?" The olive drab unicorn responded.

"You're horny!? The pink pegasus mare shouted back, "Me too! Where's that sexy colt I saw earlier!? I need him inside me, yesterday!" She loudly announced before trotting off the dancefloor in search of her prey.

"Not what I meant, but okay!" Anon shrugged, "I was wondering if you knew a mare named Nightshade!" He yelled.

"Who!?" The unicorn replied.

"Nightshade! She's the gorgeous mare over there! Unicorn! Light blue with a really pretty greenish blue mane and tail!" Anon announced, pointing back at a now comically red Nightshade.

The olive drab unicorn looked past Anon at her and raised an eyebrow, "Nah! Can't say I know her! Why!?" He responded.

"Well she's a hell of a looker! I mean, honestly, look at how cute she is! Single too! Maybe you should go talk to her!"
Anon explained, over the music.

The stallion looked over to Nightshade for a few moments before returning his attention to Anon, "She is pretty cute, but I'm afraid I'm not really looking to date right now!" He replied.

"You sure!? I mean... if you don't ask her out, I just might!" Anon responded.

"Go ahead! She looks like she's eyeing you more than me anyways!" The stallion responded with a laugh.

Anon looked behind him to find that Nightshade was indeed staring at him, and not the stallion he was speaking to. After a moment of thought, he turned back to the olive drab stallion.

"Nevermind then!" Anon dismissed, waving the unicorn off and heading back toward the center of the dancefloor.

As ponies, minotaurs, and griffons all danced around him, Anon stroked his fingers against his chin whilst supporting his elbow with his other hand, appearing as if he was in deep thought. His gaze slowly shifted from one side of the room, to the other, and then back again, while his expression remained completely neutral. After almost a minute of deep thought, he broke from his pose and walked directly over to Nightshade.

"Yeah, I got nothing. I don't see any other green stallions around here." He shrugged upon approaching Nightshade.

"Thank Faust. Come on, Anon, get off the dancefloor before you cause a scene." Nightshade admonished, a relieved look on her face.

"Yo, Anon!" Javelin called from across the dancefloor.

Anon turned around and waved to the unicorn stallion, "Hey dude! What's up!?" He shouted back over the music.

"Get out here and dance, dude! You owe me, remember!" Javelin yelled back, waving Anon over with both hooves.

"No wait, Anon, don't-" Nightshade started.

"Ah, there's my cue. Sorry, Nightshade, I'm gonna need a second to go show my friend how humans dance." Anon cut her off, without even turning around.

"Anon pleae-" Nightshade tried to speak, only for Anon to hold up a finger in front of her face.

"Shuuuush shush shush shush. There's nothing to fear, except fear itself. Worry not. I must go, my people need me." Anon prophetically announced, before striding toward Javelin.

"I... you... what the buck?" Nightshade managed as she tried to wrap her head around what just happened.

Meanwhile, Anon walked toward Javelin with an exaggerated swagger in his step, ensuring that each time his foot hit the floor synced with the beat of the slow but energetic bass. Javelin danced alongside a couple mares as Anon approached, a confused, yet excited smile on his face as he watched the tall man approach through the dancing crowd.

Quick enough, Anon was standing just a few feet away from Javelin, his hands hovering awkwardly at his sides as he looked at the mares surrounding Javelin as he danced.

"Alright dude! Let's see whatcha got!" Javelin called, grinning broadly at Anon.

"Uh... to be honest, I didn't think I'd even make it this far! I'm amazed I haven't thrown up yet. I'm kinda blanking out on what to do now." Anon admitted, shrugging.

Javelin rolled his eyes, "Oh come on! You know how to dance! You just put one ho-er, foot, in front of the other and then step back! There isn't a science to it!" He exclaimed.

Anon looked down to his shoes for a moment before shrugging and taking a step forward, followed by a step back.

"There you go! Now add some lateral movement in there! Like this!" Javelin called out as he demonstrated.

Anon watched Javelin's legs closely for a moment before nodding, "Moveset downloaded." He muttered before matching the movements.

"Yeah! There it is! Look at you, big guy! Already dancing like a pony and all it took was two tips from yours truly." Javelin cheered, a cheeky grin on his face.

Anon continued to step back and forth, side to side with his legs, while his arms hung limp at his sides. He pursed his lips in thought as the music continued to boom and pulse through him, spurring his body to action. He brought his arms into the mix, adding a little flair to his movements and drawing some attention from the mares and stallions alike nearby.

"Ooh! I've never seen this kind of dancing before!" One mare called out.

"How's he doing that with his legs!?

"I've never seen anything like it!"

There we go, now it's all coming back to me. Hmmm... I wonder what would happen if I hit these ponies with the floss? Anon thought to himself, before shrugging and going for it.

Javelin immediately stopped dancing and stared at Anon in awe, "What the... dude! How are you even doing that!?" He exclaimed.

"Just kinda learned a few moves from watching other people... and apparently video games." Anon replied with a dismissive shrug.

Anon continued to floss, attracting more and more attention from the other patrons of the nightclub. He kept the dance up until the dj changed the music to an electronic beat that pulsed with synths and digital mastery. Without missing a beat, Anon switched from the floss to the robot, wowing the ponies once more as his stiff movements synced up perfectly with the beat of the music.

"Holy Celestia... It's like he just turned into a machine!" A minotaur exclaimed.

"I don't even know how to react to this! By all accounts his dancing is terrible, but I can't help but be impressed!" Another mare shouted out.

"Hold on, the music is changing again! Let's see what he does next!" The olive drab unicorn from before announced.

Right on cue, the music shifted tones once more, this time to an energetic pop beat that had everypony in the club bobbing their heads to the beat. Anon paused his movements for a moment to ponder his next actions, before a thought appeared in his head and he quickly prepared. He clapped his hands once, twice, then three times, encouraging the ponies around him to stomp their hooves in excitement for his next move.

Anon quickly spun on his feet before stopping and moonwalking backwards toward the DJ booth. All jaws dropped around him, prompting him to smirk as he reached his mark and perfectly executed an about face, before resuming his moonwalk in the opposite direction. Cheers and praise rained down around him as he moonwalked all the way to the edge of the dance floor where Nightshade stared in abject shock over Anon's moves.

Anon smirked before extending his hand to her while Nightshade immediately blushed.

"Come on! You look like you need to have some fun tonight!" Anon warmly called to her over the music.

Nightshade stared at his open hand in disbelief while the ponies behind Anon continued to cheer and call for her to join him. She sheepishly glanced back and forth between Anon and his hand before sighing heavily and placing her hoof in his hand.

"Oh why the hay not? At this point it might be just what I need." Nightshade said, before stepping onto the dancefloor, much to the delight of the crowd.

"There we go. I knew you had it in ya!" Anon happily exclaimed before leading her to the center of the dance floor.

The energetic pop beats of the previous song quickly faded and disappeared, only for another fast paced, intense beat to take their place. The ponies around them on the dance floor quickly broke into a stupor of movement and energy, their bodies buzzing around each other in a blur as the music intensified further and further. Anon and Nightshade danced right along with them; side stepping, swinging, laughing, and jumping with every other creature while the beats carried them forward.

Anon repeatedly found himself grabbing Nightshade and pulling her up to her hindlegs and hugging her close to his chest and he spun with her in his arms, much to the little unicorn's delight. She giggled and laughed as she felt the centrifugal force of being spun so quickly, before Anon put her back down on the floor, only to dance circles around her as she struggled to right her spinning vision.

They shared a laugh while the music sped up yet again, reaching its fever pitch. They danced back and forth, parting ways only for a few moments before being reunited and dancing together once again. Eventually, Javelin danced his way over to Anon and Nightshade, a friendly grin on his face.

"So I see you two are having fun!" He shouted.

"Best time I've had in a long time!" Anon grinned.

"I'll have to agree with you there!" Nightshade chimed in, a wide smile on her muzzle.

"Well that's good! Told you all you needed was to come out and try! You know what, I'm stallion enough to admit when I was wrong! Human's can definitely dance!" Javelin responded, holding up his hoof to Anon.

Anon happily bumped Javelin's hoof with his fist before returning his arms to his dance moves, "Thanks man! To be honest, I only know like, three dance moves, so I'm glad the crowd kinda went back to focusing on their own things, 'cause if they wanted to see any more, they'd be pretty damn disappointed!" Anon chuckled.

"Well I'm glad to know you at least have one weakness, haha!" Javelin laughed.

"You bet! Don't worry, I've got more! Just chalked full of 'em!" Anon replied, with a hearty chuckle.

Javelin snickered before looking over to Nightshade, then back to Anon, "Alright dude! Ima go dance over there! Don't wanna get in your way!" He yelled, before winking and trotting off.

Anon shook his head in amusement before Nightshade danced over to his side once more. The music finally shifted to the closing song for the night, and the beat came slowly, like a drink of water after a week in the desert. The ponies, griffons, and minotaurs of the club quickly found partners to dance with as the gentle melodic beat calmed them after a long night of dancing and drinking.

The ponies around him all dancing with their partners, Anon found himself looking for a partner for the last song of the night. His search ended almost immediately as he felt two hooves press against his chest as Nightshade stood on just her hindlegs, her head just coming up to his neck. Anon looked down at the azure unicorn as she stared up at him with those beautiful teal eyes that seemed to radiate calmness and comfort. For just a moment, he swore he saw the stars in her eyes, before it was gone, and she smiled up at him.

"Could I have this dance, Anon?" Nightshade impishly inquired, batting her eyelashes at him.

Anon felt his heart beat faster, "Of course, Nightshade."

Anon held her head against his chest as they swayed back and forth.

Nightshade eventually looked up to Anon, her gaze pulling his eyes down to meet hers as she spoke in a soft voice, "I think I like you, Anon. A lot."

Anon blushed as a large smile formed on his face, "I think... I think I really I like you too, Nightshade." He replied, brushing his fingers through her silken mane as she softly sighed from the gentle treatment.

They danced together through the rest of the night.

Author's Note

Before any of you ask, no I will not apologize for the dances Anon does in this story.

Having said that, I really, REALLY hope that this chapter made it clear that this story is just supposed to be fun and silly, with the occasional drama/lovey dovey romantic moment here and there. There's still over half the story to go, but I hope you guys at least got a laugh out of this chapter. I think it's one of my funniest, but hell, what do I know? Let me know what you think in the comments. I'll probably start reading them again.