Baby Come Closer

A week later, Apple Bloom and Tender Taps were standing off-stage, watching Foxy and Lance finish their dance. The two pegasi were doing a pegasus variation on the samba, occasionally taking to the air for a more acrobatic maneuver or enthusiastic lift. Taps winced inwardly as he noticed a tremor through one of the clouds brought in for them, a slightly misplaced wing carving a wisp of cloudstuff off. That would be a ding for them, though they handled it well enough that it might not be too bad.

The two pegasi parted in mid-air, swooping around to outline a heart with their bodies before they crashed through the cloud and landed on the ground, the burst of white punctuating their performance. The audience whooped and cheered, applause roaring through the theatre as the dancers took a bow and swooped off the stage towards their earth pony friends and competitors.

"Looked good," Taps offered, high-fiving Lance as they came back.

"Yeah, but I clipped the clouds a couple times," Foxy muttered. "Good luck, you two - just try to remember you're supposed to look like you're hot for each other?" She stuck her tongue out at Apple Bloom, who just rolled her eyes before the two dancers went back to watch from the green room.

"So, ready to show 'em how hot we can be?" She asked Tender Taps was their music started. They'd picked a Seaquestrian tune that Silverstream had gotten stuck in everycreature's head a few years ago. Taps was dressed as a sailor, with Apple Bloom in a tight dress that showed off her legs while suggesting a seapony's tail.

Tender grinned back at her, leaning over to give her a quick peck on the cheek.

"Let's give them a show!"

The song shifted into a pounding percussive beat backed up by lilting horns and vocals, and Taps and Bloom danced out onto the stage.

Whatever happened, they'd already won making it this far.