Dance of the Apple

Chapters

Prologue, Part 1
Prologue, Part 2
Week 1: Tap Dance
Canterlot Interlude 1: Why is Apple Bloom Dancing on TV?!
Week 3: Swing
Week 4: Jive
Week 5: Cha-Cha-Cha
Week 2: Tango

Prologue, Part 1

Anon-A-Miss.

That was a name everyone at Canterlot High School recognized. It was the name of one of the darkest hours in the school’s history. And that’s saying a lot. This was a school that had been through things like she-demons destroying the front of the school and sirens using their singing to turn everyone against each other.

But Anon-A-Miss didn’t need any kind of dark magic to leave one of the darkest marks on the school. What had happened was one day, just before the winter holidays, an anonymous MyStable profile appeared and began posting personal secrets about some of the students. As time went on, other students began sending their fellow students’ secrets to Anon-A-Miss, asking for them to be published, which they were.

At first, circumstantial evidence pointed to Sunset Shimmer being the one behind Anon-A-Miss, which led to the entire student body ostracizing her and treating her like a pariah. But in the end, it turned out that the mastermind, or rather, masterminds, behind it were the three members of the Canterlot Movie Club. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo, to be specific. They started the profile to frame Sunset in retaliation for her inadvertently taking attention away from them, getting in the way of time the three girls wanted to spend with their sisters. They kept the profile up as others started asking them to post secrets, thinking that the popularity of the profile would further their goals.

However, it didn’t take long for the girls to realize that their actions had gone way too far. They saw Sunset being pushed further and further into despair, almost to the breaking point. They also saw the rest of the students ready to tear each other apart, accusing each other of giving their secrets to Anon-A-Miss.

Eventually, they couldn’t take it anymore. The CMC made a full confession to Sunset, their sisters, and the rest of the older girls’ friend group. They gave up their motives and made a heartfelt apology for what they did. Obviously, they were punished for their actions. The school gave all three of them six months of detention. And they were also given individual punishments from their parents or guardians.

But the girls held their heads high through it all. They accepted their punishments without resistance, getting through them without complaining once. They also publicly deleted the incriminating profile and went out of their way to make amends with everyone that had been wronged by Anon-A-Miss. Particularly Sunset. They practically offered to become the bacon haired girl’s slaves if it would make things right with her. Many students saw the efforts they were making to atone for their crimes. These students also knew they had little room to be enraged with the CMC when many of them had willingly submitted secrets about their peers to Anon-A-Miss. With all this in mind, most of the students and faculty at CHS were content to just put the whole unfortunate affair behind them and move on with their lives.

Unfortunately, not everyone was content to just forgive and forget.

Apple Bloom’s older sister, Applejack, had been infuriated when she found out her sister and her friends had been the ones behind nearly destroying the school and framing an innocent student. A friend of hers, no less. When the CMC made their confession, Applejack had gone off on them, ranting about how stupid it was to nearly ruin Sunset’s life for petty reasons like not being invited to a sleepover.

“Are ya really so bull headed to do something this stupid because ya felt a little left out?! Ah don’t suppose ya could’ve, oh, Ah dunno, talked to me about it?! But no, yer first instinct was to humiliate me and make it look like one of my closest friends did it! What in the hay was goin’ through your head, Bloom?! Or was anything at all goin’ through that skull of yours? Right now, Ah don’t think anythin’ was!”

That was one of the nicer parts of the rant Applejack had given her sister and fellow CMC members following their confession. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo tried to assure Apple Bloom that in time, when Applejack had a chance to calm down, she would accept her little sister’s apology.

The two girls had grossly underestimated the legendary stubbornness of Applejack. The same stubbornness that convinced her to try and harvest every apple tree on Sweet Apple Acres once when her older brother, Big McIntosh, was laid up with a few broken ribs, even though she had clearly passed the point of exhaustion. The same stubbornness that forced her friend Rarity to need to drag her to the spa in order to take a day off from her farm chores. The same stubbornness that wouldn’t let her let go of her anger towards her sister for the Anon-A-Miss incident, even after several months had passed. With each passing day, Apple Bloom felt herself falling deeper into sadness over her sister’s open refusal to reconcile.

No matter what Apple Bloom tried over the next few months, from apologizing extensively, to doing favors without asking, to trying to give her a heartfelt birthday gift, nothing worked. Applejack either ignored her sister’s existence entirely, or treated her like a no-good, two-bit varmint that was just waiting to commit her next crime. Many times, Apple Bloom tried to talk to her grandmother, Granny Smith, over what Applejack’s attitude towards her.

“Don’t fret none, young’un’. She’ll come ‘round once she gets her head clear.” Granny Smith said every time Apple Bloom brought her concerns over her older sister’s behavior forward. But every time Granny said it, she said it with less conviction and certainty.

By the end of May, as the school year, as well as the CMC’s six-month period of detention, was coming to an end, Applejack still held her little sister in contempt. Around this time, Apple Bloom was walking through the halls of Canterlot High, heading home after another after school detention. As she headed towards the front of the school where Granny Smith was waiting to take her home, she saw one of the school’s teachers, Mr. Cranky Doodle, putting a flyer up on one of the walls. Curiosity overtook Apple Bloom as she approached the flyer and read what it said.

Student Exchange Program Signup

This got Apple Bloom interested. Reading the rest of the flyer, she saw that it was an announcement for students to sign up to spend half of the next school year at a high school in Manehattan. One student would be selected, and that lucky student would get to travel to Manehattan and see how their school system works. That student would study at a public school in the big city from the beginning of the school year all the way to winter break. New experiences, new memories, new friendships, all of these were perks listed on the flyer to try and draw students in.

“Anyone interested should get an application form from Principal Celestia.” Apple Bloom finished reading the bottom of the flyer.

The gears in Apple Bloom’s head began turning. A chance to go to school in Manehattan? That sounded like it could be fun. She had always wanted to go to the big city and see what it had to offer. Plus, she knew she had relatives up there she could stay with.

Speaking of relatives, how would the ones she had here in Canterlot react if she were to sign up? And her friends for that matter? Granny Smith and Big Mac would probably be sad to see her go, but it would only be for a few months. The same could probably be said for Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. Then there was the big one. How would Applejack react?

The first thought that went through Apple Bloom’s head was that Applejack would probably be relieved to be rid of her little sister for a while. But Apple Bloom quickly shook this thought away. Surely that wasn’t true. It couldn’t be. Maybe she just needed a chance to realize this by being separated for a while. That would make Applejack come to her senses.

Right?

Apple Bloom shook her head again. None of this would matter if she didn’t get the application form. With that, she continued on her journey. On her way to the main door, the farm girl made a detour to the principal’s office. She saw the multi hair colored principal sitting at her desk doing paperwork.

“Excuse me? Principal Celestia?” Apple Bloom called out.

“Apple Bloom? What are you still doing here? I thought your detention was over. Isn’t your grandmother waiting for you?” Celestia asked, looking up from her paperwork.

“She is. But before Ah go home, Ah wanted to ask something. Ah saw a flyer in the hallway for a student exchange program and…”

“You wish to sign up?”

“Yes ma’am. Ah do.”

“May I ask what brought this on?”

“Nothin’ much. Ah just thought it sounded interestin’. That it may be fun to spend some time in Manehattan. See what there is to see, y’know?”

Celestia could tell there was more to it than that. That Apple Bloom wasn’t telling her everything. The principal also believed that she knew the real reason behind Apple Bloom’s decision, even if the farm girl wouldn’t admit it to herself. Still, it wasn’t truly her place to get involved in family affairs. She only hoped whatever was going on between the Apple sisters would get resolved soon.

“Very well then. Hold on a moment while I get the application form.”

Celestia opened a drawer on her desk and handed Apple Bloom a sheet of paper.

“You and your guardian, in this case Granny Smith, will need to fill this out and have it returned to me by the end of the week.”

“Ah understand.”

“Good. Now hurry on. I’m sure your grandmother is waiting for you.”

With one last nod, Apple Bloom turned tail and made her way out of the school. She saw Granny Smith waiting beside her beaten old pickup truck.

Once the two made it home, Apple Bloom took out the Exchange Student application form and explained what it was and why she wanted to sign up. Much like Principal Celestia, Granny Smith could tell there was more to it than what Apple Bloom said. The plump green skinned woman looked over at her blonde granddaughter, who was continuing to pretend Apple Bloom didn’t exist.

‘Maybe some time away from each other will help these gals get their thoughts in order.’ Granny Smith thought.

With this in mind, Granny filled out the form with Apple Bloom. The next day, the redheaded farm girl gave it back to Principal Celestia, who placed it in a drawer. A drawer that was quickly filled with all the other applications of students that signed up.

At the end of the next week, one of these applications was pulled at random. The student whose name was on this paper was the one who would spend half of the next school year in Manehattan. Celestia looked it over and saw the name written clearly at the top of the form.

Apple Bloom

Celestia was pleasantly surprised. It wasn’t often that the first one to sign up was the one who was chosen in a random drawing like this. Apple Bloom was called into the principal’s office shortly thereafter and told that she had won the drawing. The young farm girl was also given a folder containing everything she would need to know for her upcoming temporary transfer to another school. Granny Smith and Apple Bloom spent the next few days going through everything, making sure the younger girl knew what she needed to know once she got to Manehattan.

The last few weeks of school and summer vacation passed by relatively quickly. With the new school year starting in just a little less than two weeks, it was decided that it was time for the youngest Apple to head up to Manehattan. Granny Smith had made arrangements for Apple Bloom to live with her Aunt and Uncle Orange for the duration of her stay. The day after Apple Bloom had packed as many of her belongings as she could fit in the family’s largest suitcase and saying goodbye to Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, the family made their way to Canterlot International Airport. Except for Applejack, that is. She explicitly refused to go to the airport and see her sister off. She didn’t even say goodbye when Apple Bloom walked out the door.

Once at the airport, Apple Bloom had her luggage checked and made her way to the security checkpoint. Just before she got in line, she shared her final goodbyes with her family.

“Alright, now. This here’s yer plane ticket. Don’t you lose this ‘til ya make it to Manehattan.” Granny Smith said while handing Apple Bloom her boarding pass.

“Ah won’t lose it, Granny.” Apple Bloom promised.

“Good. Now there’s just one last thing. Gimme a hug, young’un’!”

Grandmother and granddaughter embraced in one last tight hug, tears prickling the corners of their eyes.

“Ah’m gonna miss ya, Granny.”

“Ah’ll miss you too, child. Now don’t forget t’have yer aunt and uncle gimmie a call when you get there. Ah wanna know ya made it safe and sound.”

“Ah promise, Granny. Goodbye.” Apple Bloom said with one last hug.

After breaking away from her grandmother, Apple Bloom turned towards her older brother.

“So, ya gonna miss me while Ah’m gone?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Nnope.”

Big Mac topped off his one-word statement by giving his youngest sister a good-natured hair ruffle before pulling her into a hug.

“Take care now, y’hear?” Big Mac said.

“You too, Big Mac. Ah’ll see y’all in the winter. Oh, and tell Applejack that even if she’s still sore at me, Ah’ll miss her too.”

“We will, Bloom. Now you best be goin’. Don’t wanna miss yer plane, do ya?” Granny asked.

“That’s right. Goodbye, y’all. Ah’ll miss you.” Apple Bloom said.

“Goodbye, Apple Bloom. We’ll miss you too, right, Big Mac?”

“Eeyup.”

With that last round of goodbyes done, the family went their separate ways. Granny Smith and Big Mac headed for the exit to the airport while Apple Bloom got into the line that led to the security checkpoint.

After she got through security, Apple Bloom made her way to the gate where her flight would be taking off from. The subsequent wait for the plane and flight to Manehattan were relatively uneventful. When she landed and grabbed her luggage, she found a driver holding a sign with her name on it. Aunt and Uncle Orange had hired a driver to take their niece to the penthouse they were living in. As she was being driven to her temporary home, she looked around at all the Manehattan had to offer. All the bright lights, tall buildings, and famous landmarks she read about in school. She couldn’t wait to see it all up close.

Before long, Apple Bloom had made it to the penthouse building. It didn’t take her long to take an elevator to the top floor and find a door with a pair of oranges painted on them. She knocked on the door, which was opened by a middle-aged woman with pale, light greyish olive skin and amber hair. Standing behind her was a man with light gold skin and pistachio green hair.

“Aunt Orange Slice! Uncle Moseley Orange! Thank y’all so much for lettin’ me stay!” Apple Bloom chirped as she walked in.

“’Y’all’.” Aunt Orange said with a slightly snooty sounding laugh. “Isn’t she just the living end?”

“How quaint.” Uncle Orange agreed.

“Don’t worry. We’ll have you acting like a true Manehattanite in no time.”

“Indeed, my dear. But until then, why don’t I show you to your room and let you unpack? You must be weary after your travels.”

“That’d be nice. Thank ya kindly, Uncle Orange. Oh, and Aunt Orange, Granny Smith wanted me to tell ya to call her when Ah got here.” Apple Bloom said.

“Indeed, she did. I shall make that call while you settle in.”

While Aunt Orange made her way to the telephone, Apple Bloom followed her uncle to the guest room of the penthouse. As soon as the door opened, Apple Bloom’s eyes widened. The entire bedroom was almost as big as the living room of the farmhouse at Sweet Apple Acres.

“Alright, dear Apple Bloom. Unpack your belongings and make yourself comfortable. We shall be having dinner in approximately one hour.” Uncle Orange said.

“Thanks, Uncle.”

Apple Bloom dragged her suitcase over the king-sized bed before sitting down on the bed. She instantly felt herself starting to sink downward towards the floor. The bed was twice as large and three times as soft as the one she slept in back home on Sweet Apple Acres. She almost thought she was lying on a marshmallow, that she would sink down like she was in quicksand.

Apple Bloom tried to push these thoughts down as she got off the bed and unzipped her suitcase. After spending the better part of an hour putting all her clothes in the closet and setting up the rest of her belongings, she was called into the kitchen for dinner. Apple Bloom was shocked to find that the plate she was given had much smaller portions of food than she was used to, not that she said anything. She didn’t want to seem ungrateful to her relatives for letting her stay.

Her mood didn’t improve much when she went to bed shortly thereafter. She had grown so used to sleeping in the relative silence and darkness of a farm, with only chirping insects and the occasional hooting owl being heard, and the only light being from the moon and stars. Now she had to deal with constantly honking cars and bright lights coming from several stories below her.

‘Maybe comin’ here wasn’t the best idea, after all.’ Was the last thought to go through Apple Bloom’s head before sleep managed to claim her.

Her thoughts on the matter weren’t changed much when she was woken up by an alarm clock rather than the crowing of a rooster. Still, she tried to make the best of her new situation over the next week. Before long, it was time for the school year to start. She hoped that now, things would truly change. Or at least she would have something else to occupy her mind. On the first day of school, Apple Bloom’s Aunt and Uncle hired the same driver to take her to and from school each day.

‘A truly proper Manehattanite doesn’t ride an average school bus.’ They had said.

Once she had been dropped off, Apple Bloom looked up at the building that would serve as her school until Winter Break. It was fairly standard looking, as far as school buildings go. The yellow skinned farm girl looked around some more before her eyes landed on a sign at the entrance to school grounds.

“Craig McCracken High School, huh?” Apple Bloom read.

“That’s right.”

Apple Bloom looked behind her. Standing right behind her was a young woman with pale yellowish-green skin and dark blue hair.

“My school was named after a great man. A master of his craft, really. And he was married to a woman that I, personally, believe everyone in the world owes something to.” The woman said.

“’Yer school?’” Apple Bloom asked.

“Yes. I am Civil Lecture, the principal of this school. And I take it you’re our new exchange student from Canterlot, Apple Bloom. Am I correct?”

“Yes ma’am, Ah am.”

“Well, on behalf of everyone here at CMHS, allow me to be the first to welcome you to the school. I hope you’ll enjoy your time here. Now come with me. I need to give you your class schedule and go over a few things with you.” Principal Lecture said.

Student and principal then made their way inside the school. As they walked towards the principal’s office, the principal began speaking.

“We here at CMHS take pride in being one of the most civil schools in Manehattan. Where students learn not only things like math and science, but also how to eventually be productive members of society upon graduation. But that isn’t to say we discourage individualism or creativity. It is my view that people who live without those things, without knowing how to enjoy themselves once in a while, become some of the most uncivil people in adulthood. People need to express themselves in order to build proper relationships and experiences. To that end, we offer a wide variety of extracurricular activities. The most in the city. So I encourage you to find some you may enjoy while you’re here. I hope you find great things and learn great lessons to take back with you to Canterlot when the time comes.”

By now, the pair had made it to the principal’s office. Civil Lecture handed Apple Bloom a copy of her class schedule.

“But that can wait until you’ve had a chance to explore the school a bit. For now, you best make your way to your homeroom class. You’ll find it in room 196. Turn right out of the office and go down the third hallway on the left. You should be able to find it from there. Your homeroom teacher is named Mr. Timely Manner. He’ll know who you are. Oh, and a word of advice: Don’t ever be late for class with him. He’s a stickler for schedules, and gets very angry if his students don’t show up in… well, a timely manner without good reason. Speaking of, I’d head out now if I were you. The bell is going to ring in five minutes. Have a good stay at McCracken High.” Principal Lecture finished.

“Thank you.” Apple Bloom said before leaving the office.

Following the directions the principal had given her, Apple Bloom made her way to her homeroom class. As soon as she entered the room, she could feel all eyes turn on her. She supposed this is what it was like to be a new student. She hoped that her new classmates would like her.

“Ah, the exchange student.” The teacher, Mr. Timely Manner, presumably, stated. “You made it only 37.4 seconds before the bell. I prefer all my students be here before then. But I will give you a pass just this once since this is your first day at this school. Now why don’t you introduce yourself to the class? Just make it quick. You now have 21.9 seconds until the bell rings.”

“Howdy, y’all. Ah’m Apple Bloom. Ah’m the new exchange student from Canterlot High. Ah’m lookin’ forward to spendin’ the next few months with all of ya.”

Apple Bloom could tell from the expression on everyone’s faces that they thought something was off about her. She had heard that common Manehattanites weren’t the friendliest of people. Apple Bloom had hoped that was only a negative stereotype, but so far, that didn’t seem to be the case. Still, the teacher tried to alleviate some of the tension for her.

“Well done greeting. Short and punctual.” Timely Manner said.

Right then, the bell rang, signifying the beginning of the school day.

“It is time to begin the first day of school. Miss Bloom, why don’t you take your seat? Go to the open desk near the corner next to Tender Taps.” Timely said.

The red-haired farm girl looked towards the corner of the room, seeing an empty desk next to a shy looking orange skinned boy with two toned purple hair. She assumed this was the ‘Tender Taps’ the teacher had mentioned. When she to her desk, she gave a small smile to the boy sitting next to her, hoping she was coming off as friendly. The boy responded by giving her a shy little wave, before looking away.

Author's Note

Welcome, one and all, to my next story.

This is an idea I've had in my head for some time. I'll openly admit, this is hardly the first 'Anon-A-Miss still has consequences several months later' story. Heck, it's not even the first one where Applejack is still angry at her sister. But I enjoyed the others that I could find, and felt like I could add my own take to that concept. As well as write a story about a ship of mine that doesn't have nearly enough stories about it, while I was at it.

Here's hoping you enjoy it.

Prologue, Part 2

Homeroom class came and went quickly. The morning announcements were made, attendance was taken, and students began looking over their schedules for the year. Many students made conversations among themselves. But no one made much effort to welcome the new exchange student. Now more than ever, Apple Bloom was thinking that the decision to sign up for the exchange student program was a bad idea. These thoughts stayed in her mind as the next bell rang, signaling the students to make their way to their next class. As Apple Bloom slowly walked through the halls, negative thoughts clouding her mind, she was approached by one of her new classmates.

“Hey.”

Apple Bloom looked up and saw the boy who sat next to her in homeroom.

“Hey. Tender Taps, right?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Yeah, that’s me. Listen, I just want to say I’m sorry for the not so warm welcome. Even from me.”

“Tryin’ to get used to a new place, do new things, it ain’t as easy as Ah thought. At least back home, Ah had friends Ah could do those new things with. Even if it didn’t work out.”

“It wasn’t that bad. I’ve seen worse starts to a school year. I think you just need time to get used to things. Maybe join one of the clubs or something.”

“Ah don’t know. If folks are gonna look at me the same way they did in homeroom, Ah don’t think Ah’ll be super welcome in any clubs.”

“I think I know how you feel. I’m not a part of any clubs, either. I mean, I want to be. Especially the dancing club. I love to dance. It’s what I’ve always wanted to do in life. But with all the recitals and public performances they do…I just couldn’t do it. I’m t-t-t-terrified to dance in front of an audience.”

“Yeah. Ok. Nice meetin’ you.” Apple Bloom said absentmindedly before entering her next class while Tender Taps made his way to his own class elsewhere.

The rest of the day didn’t get much better for Apple Bloom. By the time the day was over, she felt no different than she had after entering homeroom. That night, while eating dinner, Aunt and Uncle Orange noticed their niece was in a dour mood.

“Apple Bloom, dear, are you alright?” Aunt Orange asked.

“Ah don’t know. Ah just thought that changin’ schools like this would be easier. But so far, Ah ain’t had the best day. No one at school seems to like me all that much, and Ah can’t find much interestin’ to get into.”

The Manehattan couple had initially considered trying to use tonight to start teaching their country niece how to speak like a proper Manehattanite. But those plans were quickly abandoned when they saw how upset she was.

“Big change is never without its challenges. But surely there was at least one positive thing that happened.” Aunt Orange coaxed.

“Well, Ah did meet one boy who was nice. He was a dancer, Ah think. But Ah didn’t really talk to him that much. He seemed kinda shy.” Apple Bloom answered.

“It sounds to me like this young man is in a similar situation to you. He has a need to put himself out there more often, but is unsure of how to do it. Perhaps you can help each other. You can help him out of his shell, and he can help you become accustomed to Manehattan.” Uncle Orange suggested.

“How do Ah do that? How do Ah know it’ll work out?”

“Admittedly, you don’t. But you cannot allow that to stop you. If you let such doubt keep you from doing the things you want, unhappiness will rule your life. So don’t do that. Take a few risks. And don’t worry what others might think. All that matters is what you think.”

Apple Bloom thought this over for the rest of the day, as well as into when she entered homeroom the next day. When she saw Tender Taps again, she tapped him on the shoulder.

“Hey, Tender Taps.” Apple Bloom greeted.

“Yes?” Tender replied.

“Ah just wanted to ask you something. You said yesterday you were a dancer, right? Well, could ya show me what you can do sometime?”

This left Tender Taps confused.

“Why are you suddenly so interested in seeing me dance?”

“Well, Ah realized Ah didn’t get to talk to ya much yesterday since Ah was too busy bein’ upset with myself. Ah also realized if Ah keep thinkin’ that way, Ah’ll just keep bein’ that unhappy. So Ah need to try and be more open. That’s why Ah’m talkin’ to you now. Ah gotta say, just talkin’ now feels a whole lot better. And Ah think Ah know how Ah can help you, too.”

“Really? How?”

“Ah wanna come with you to the dance club. When do they meet?”

“On Tuesdays after school. But I told you, I can’t join! I’m too scared to do it in front of others!” Tender Taps squeaked out.

“Ya can’t be much worse than me. Ah’ve never done any real dancin’ in my life. Nothin’ beyond that. Trust me, you’ll look great next to me.”

Tender Taps was silent for a moment, lost in deep thought.

“Can I have some time to think about what you said?” Tender asked.

“Sure thing.” Apple Bloom replied just as the morning bell rang.

Several class periods later, Tender Taps and Apple Bloom both found themselves in gym class together. As the class waited for the teacher to get class started, Apple Bloom was sitting near the corner of the gym.

“Hey, Apple Bloom?”

The farm girl looked up and saw her orange skinned classmate looking at her.

“Howdy, Tender Taps. What’s up?”

“Well, I thought about what you said, and…well…I decided that at the very least, I can at least show you a little bit of my dancing. That was the first thing you asked me, right?”

“Yeah, Ah guess it was.”

“Alright, well, here it goes, while no one else is watching.”

Tucked away in the corner of the gym, Tender Taps began an impressive looking tap dance routine. As the seconds wore on, Tender Taps got more into his routine. He ended his dance by kicking off the wall in a backflip and posing on his feet.

Apple Bloom was very impressed by what she had seen. She could think of no other response but to applaud him. Tender blushed at the attention he was getting from her.

“That was some mighty good dancin’! Ah don’t know why you ain’t joined the dance club.”

“I told you, I’m too scared to do anything like that in front of an audience.”

“Well, Ah offered to come with you, yeah? You’ll look great next to me. Ah don’t think Ah could ever do what you did.”

To emphasize her point, Apple Bloom tried to copy what she had seen Tender Taps do. But she couldn't even make it two steps without falling flat on her back.

“It just takes a bit of practice.” Tender Taps said as he offered his hand and pulled Apple Bloom to her feet.

“Maybe. What’s say we try out for the dancin’ club after school today? Ya said they meet on Tuesdays, right? Well, today’s Tuesday.”

“I’m still not so sure. Thinking about what others may say to me… it terrifies me.”

“Ya can’t worry about all the people out there. If ya let a bit of self-doubt keep you from doin’ what you love, you’ll just spend the rest of yer life bein’ unhappy. Try and take some risks, even if it may not work out.” Apple Bloom said, paraphrasing her aunt and uncle.

Tender Taps let that bit of advice mull around in his head for a bit before making a decision.

“Well…I guess I did manage to dance in front of you with no problems. And if I can do that, maybe I can try in front of others.”

“That’s the spirit!” Apple Bloom chirped. “Ah’ll see ya after school.”

Once school officially let out for the day, Tender Taps and Apple Bloom made their way to the room where the dance club was meeting. Even though Tender was still nervous, he still entered the room with his new companion’s encouragement.

“Ah, hello Tender Taps. I was wondering if I would finally see you in here one day. And you brought someone with you, I see.” The dance club teacher greeted.

“Howdy. Ah’m Apple Bloom. The new exchange student.”

“Pleasure. You two are lucky you got here just in time. We were just about to start. For the benefit of all our new members, we’re just going over the basic steps for today.”

The next hour and a half turned out much like it had in gym class. Apple Bloom spent most of the time tripping over her own feet and falling on her back, while Tender Taps more or less stole the show with his impressive moves. The only difference was that Tender was shaking with nervousness for the first part of the club meeting. The only thing that kept the boy from running out of the room was Apple Bloom’s continued encouragement. This encouragement was quickly joined by the encouragement of the teacher and all the other club members. By the time the first meeting ended, Tender Taps was the most popular student there, and Apple Bloom had managed to go a full 30 seconds without falling over herself.

Once the club let out, Tender Taps walked up to Apple Bloom.

“Hey, thanks again for encouraging me to come here. That was probably the most fun I’ve ever had in my life.” Tender said.

“No problem. Ah’m glad Ah could help. And Ah got a new hobby out of it.”

Apple Bloom capped off her statement by trying to do a simple tapdancing move the club had gone over today. Much to her shock, she pulled it off perfectly.

“Well done!” Tender cheered. “I’m really happy that we got to do this.”

“Me too. It felt really good to help out a friend.”

“Friends? You…you wanna be my friend? I never really had many of those.”

“Well…yeah. If you wanna be my friend, too. Ah could use a few of those here. All the ones Ah had are still in Canterlot.”

“Well then, yes. I’d like to be your friend.”

Both students smiled at their respective new friend for a long moment before the farm girl broke the silence.

“Well, as much as Ah’d like to keep talkin’, Ah best be headin’ back. My aunt and uncle’ll be wonderin’ where Ah am.”

“Alright, see you tomorrow.”

The next few days started to look up for Apple Bloom. She found herself looking forward to seeing her new friend each day. Every day in gym class, the pair spent what little free time they had going over Apple Bloom’s dancing. By Friday, she was able to do a simple tap dance without falling over once. By next Tuesday’s dance club meeting, she and Tender Taps managed to get through an entire routine without slipping up once. It was a fairly simple routine, but still.

“Bravo, you two! Bravo indeed!” The dance teacher cheered. “I believe with much more practice, you two may go far.”

“I couldn’t have done it without my new friend’s help. Thanks for encouraging me, Apple Bloom.” Tender Taps said sincerely.

“Yer welcome. And thanks for showin’ me how much fun dancin’ can be. Even if Ah ain’t good at it, it was still fun.”

“No problem. And you weren’t that bad. I think with a bit more practice, you’ll be great. I hope you decide to keep dancing.”

“Y’know what? Ah think Ah will. Now that Ah know how fun it is. Especially now that Ah got a friend to do it with.”

Just then, they heard a car horn honking. Apple Bloom and Tender Taps turned and saw the driver the former’s family had hired waiting for her. Apple Bloom knew it was time for her to go.

“Well, Ah best be goin’. Ah’ll see ya tomorrow at school.” Apple Bloom said before heading towards the car.

As he watched her depart, Tender Taps thought about something Apple Bloom had said to him earlier.

‘Ya can’t worry about all the people out there. If ya let a bit of self-doubt keep you from doin’ what you love, you’ll just spend the rest of yer life bein’ unhappy. Try and take some risks, even if it may not work out.’

Tender Taps decided to take this to heart. He decided to take a risk he had wanted to take for some time, but never had the courage to. Especially since he had someone who would probably take that risk with him now.

“H-hey, Apple Bloom!” Tender called out.

The redheaded farm girl turned to look at her new friend.

“Listen, there’s something I want to ask you before you go. You see, there’s this big dance competition in downtown Manehattan that I’ve always wanted to audition for. But I never could work up the nerve to do it. But now I think I’m ready. But if I’m going to enter, I need a dance partner.”

“And you want me to be yer partner?”

Tender Taps nodded.

“You sure? Ah still don’t think Ah’m all that good yet.”

“Maybe not, but I still think you can do it. Plus, this will give us a chance to practice together if we get in. Besides, you were the one who helped me work up the courage to dance in front of others, and I want to tell you ‘thank you’ by helping you with your dancing.” Tender Taps said as he pulled a pen and paper out of his backpack and began writing on it. “If you want to, be here on Saturday at 6pm.”

Tender Taps handed the paper to Apple Bloom. The yellow-skinned girl looked at it, seeing an address written on it.

“Alright. Ah’ll try to be there.” Apple Bloom said before finally departing.

Come Saturday, after telling her Aunt and Uncle where she was going, she was driven to the address she had been given. Sure enough, she found Tender Taps waiting for her.

“I’m glad you could make it.” Tender greeted.

“Don’t worry ‘bout it. Ya sure you got the right place, though? This place seems awful…big for a simple dance contest.” Apple Bloom stated, noting the size of the building they were about to enter.

“Oh, trust me. This is more than just a ‘simple dance contest’. Before last week, I could only dream of entering a simple dance contest, much less something like this. But now that I feel more confident, I’m ready. I wanna go big. And I think this is the biggest there is.” Tender Taps explained.

“Yer really that excited, huh? Well, alright. Nothing wrong with goin’ all in on somethin’ like this. Let’s go.”

Tender Taps and Apple Bloom then entered the building in front of them. Upon walking inside, the first thing they noticed was the multitude of other dancers there. It seemed like there was a lot of interest in entering this contest. Upon closer inspection, Apple Bloom noticed that all the potential dancers were on the young side. From as young as five to as old as seventeen. But apart from some parents and guardians, there were no adults here. No grown-up dancers ready for this audition. Apple Bloom was about to question this when a voice got everyone’s attention.

“Welcome, boys and girls! Children of all ages!”

The speaker was a young man with sea blue skin and darker blue, bordering on black, stylized hair and five o’clock shadow, wearing a formal black tuxedo.

“Thank you all for coming to our studio today. I’m the host of this little get together, Sea Crest. And you are all about to audition for the first ever junior edition of the country’s number one televised dance contest: Dance the Night Away!”

Author's Note

Here's the rest of the prologue. Originally, I was going to post everything as one chapter, but as I was writing, I realized it may be a tad too long for a prologue. I'm the kind of person who feels the prologue should be relatively short. But posting it all as one chapter, it may turn out longer than some of my actual chapters. It may be weird, but that's just how I am.

I'll admit, I wanted was to speedrun the arc Apple Bloom and Tender Taps went through in the 'On Your Marks' episode so I could get to the good stuff sooner. That's why I used a few quotes from that episode and had them learn the same lesson.

Next chapter, it's time for the cameras to roll and the professional dancing shoes to be put on. How will it go? Stay tuned to find out!

Week 1: Tap Dance

Apple Bloom was in shock. She had expected this to be some kind of big dance contest. What she had not expected, however, was for it to a nationally televised competition.

“Why didn’t ya tell me this thing was for a TV show?” Apple Bloom whispered harshly.

“I didn’t? I could have sworn I did.” Tender Taps whispered back.

“Ya didn’t! You just said it was a big dance competition.”

“Well, what bigger is there than one shown on TV?”

Apple Bloom was clearly still annoyed that he hadn’t mentioned anything about being on camera. But after a long, tense moment, the farm girl released a long exhale.

“Well, Ah’m already here, and Ah already agreed to go along with it. So let’s just get on with it. But Ah meant what Ah said the other day. Ah don’t think Ah'm good enough to dance in a fancy competition. Much less one that’s gonna be on TV.” Apple Bloom commented.

“Me neither, but someone told me the other day that I need to take a few risks, even if it won’t work out. That If I stay locked in my own self-doubt, I’ll always be unhappy.”

Apple Bloom couldn’t help it when the corners of her mouth started turning upwards.

“No fair usin’ my own words against me.”

Tender Taps took her smile as a victory and turned his attention back to the host of the show, Sea Crest.

“Listen up, kiddies, this is how it’s gonna work. Once all of you have signed in, you and your dance partner are going to pass through those doors and wait for your names to be called. When they are, you’re going to do whatever kind of dance you have prepared for our judges. After everyone has been judged and the scores have been tallied up, the twelve best pairs will get to strut their stuff on national television for the chance at fabulous prizes. As for the rest of you, well, try harder next time.” Sea Crest explained. “Any questions?”

A few of the hopeful dancers raised their hands.

“None? Cool. Now get signed in and head for the green room. I’ll see you there. Sea Crest, out!”

With that, the host disappeared behind doors leading deeper into the studio. Since they had no further instructions, everyone wrote their names on the sign in sheet before heading to the designated green room. Once there, all the potential dancers began making conversation amongst themselves.

“So, what kinda dance you reckon we should do for the judges?” Apple Bloom asked.

“I was thinking we could just do the tap dance routine we’ve been doing in dance club. We did pretty good last time, and with all the practice we’ve been doing in dance club and in gym class, I think we’re in a good spot.” Tender Taps answered.

“Ain’t like we got anything else prepared.”

Every so often, a pair of names would get called, and the two that those names belonged to would disappear into another room for a few minutes. When they came back, another pair of names would get called. It took well over an hour, but eventually, the farm girl and aspiring dancer heard their names.

“Tender Taps and Apple Bloom. Your turn.” A studio page called out.

The pair stood up and entered a room with a large stage on it. After making their way to the center of the stage, they saw Sea Crest sitting in the front row. Sitting on the ground floor behind an ornate table were three individuals.

“Welcome, you two. It’s your turn to show us what you got.” Sea Crest said. “But first, let me introduce you to our judges. First up is Boogie Woogie.”

The two hopeful contestants saw a woman on the older side of middle age with tan brown skin and light purple hair.

“Next, we have Foxtrot.”

A man in his late twenties with light orangish-red skin and blood red hair nodded at them.

“And last but not least, Line Dancer.”

The final judge, a young woman with dark pink skin and sun yellow hair greeted the pair.

“And now, it’s time for you two to introduce yourselves and show us what you’ve got on the dance floor.”

“H-hello there. My name is Tender Taps. It’s always been a dream of mine to be on this show. So when I found out they were doing a kids edition, I was excited to try and sign up. But I had a few problems. One was that I was always s-scared of dancing in front of others. The other was that I had no partner. But both were solved when I made a new friend at school last week. She helped me get the confidence to sign up and agreed to be my partner. I admit, I-I’m still a little nervous to dance for all of you, but I feel like I’m ready to show you what I can do.”

“Alright, cool. And what’s your story, little lady?” Sea Crest asked.

“Howdy, y’all. Ah’m Apple Bloom. Ah come from the city of Canterlot, where my family works runnin’ an apple orchard and farm. Ah came up here as part of a student exchange program my school was runnin’. After makin’ friends with Tender Taps here, he asked me to be his partner in this here contest, and…well, here Ah am.”

“So, a shy dancer and a farm girl. Quite an interesting pair you two make. But interest alone won’t get you far here. All that matters is how good your dancing is. So show us what you got.” Sea Crest said.

After putting some music on his smartphone, Tender Taps joined Apple Bloom in doing their practiced tap-dancing routine. When the music ended and the dance finished, the duo saw the judges writing something down on a stack of papers in front of them.

“Alright then, thank you. Head back to where you were, and we’ll let you know if you made the cut after everyone else has had their turn.” Sea Crest said.

After returning to the green room, Tender Taps and Apple Bloom sat down with some of the others.

“I wonder if we’ll make it in.” Tender said.

“We’ll just have ta wait and find out.” Apple Bloom replied.

“Not that it will matter much.”

Tender Taps and Apple Bloom looked up and saw a girl roughly their own age looking down on them. This girl had glimmering golden skin and shining silver hair. She also had a smug air of superiority around her.

“The name’s Star Power. But you two can call me the future winner of this competition. I just came by to tell you what I’ve been telling everyone else. That you should quit now while you’re ahead. You two don’t strike me as the type to make it far in a contest like this. Even if you do, you’ll never make it past me. So why bother?”

“Because we’re here to have fun and dance. That’s all. We just came here because it’s something we wanted to do. Not because we want to win that badly.” Tender Taps answered.

“Not to mention we ain’t actin’ like the whole world revolves around us. Ah never could stand folks like that. Drove me nuts.” Apple Bloom added.

Star Power stood there aghast. She couldn’t believe that these two would dare talk to her like that.

“I already hate the two of you. You best hope you don’t make it into the contest. If you do, I will make your experience the worst it can possibly be.” Star Power sneered before walking away.

“I take it you know people like that?” Tender asked.

“Back in Canterlot, there was this pair of girls, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. Thick as thieves, they were. But they liked to bully others somethin’ awful back in middle school. They ain’t been botherin’ us so much in recent years, thankfully. But still, Ah never could stand the smug, superior type like that.” Apple Bloom explained.

“Let’s hope we don’t have to deal with her much. Especially since…oh no.”

“What’s wrong?”

“That bag she has. It has the logo of Diamond Placement Academy on it.”

“Huh?”

“Another high school. A fancy one. And CMHS’s primary rival. The school has had a mutual grudge with them for years. And it always seems like they one up us at every turn. Sports, academics, club competitions, you name it. It’s gotten even worse when they got a new leader, Principal Neighsay. I swear, that guy hates us more than what’s reasonable. I don’t get what his problem is.”

Apple Boom knew a little of what that was like. She remembered hearing all the tales of the annual competition Canterlot High held with Crystal Prep. Truthfully, she wasn’t sure why they were called the ‘Friendship Games’, when Crystal Prep beat them into the dirt each year and then rubbed their faces in it. Maybe the next games would be different. But that wasn’t important right now.

“Let’s not worry ‘bout that right now. Let’s just try and get through this competition. Y’know, assumin’ we get in.”

Another hour later, the last of the aspiring dancers had gone and had their turn in front of the judges. A short while later, all the dancers were called to the stage.

“Ok, listen up, ankle biters. I’ve got the final results right here in my hand.” Sea Crest said, gesturing to a clipboard he was holding. “On this clipboard are twelve pairs of names. When your name gets called, come up. That means you get to be on television and show a nationwide audience you can bust a move on the dance floor. Let’s get started, shall we?”

Everyone held their breath, wondering if they would get into the contest and who would be getting in with them. They all waited for Sea Crest to start reading off the names.

“The first pair that will be making it in are…Star Power and Gleaming Gem.”

“As if there was any doubt.” Star Power scoffed as she and her dance partner stepped forward.

“Next up… Rosey Cheeks and Budding Daffodil.”

A pair of 13-year-olds gave a whoop and stepped forward.

“Peach Cobbler and Custard Tart.”

Two five-year-olds squealed loudly and came forward.

“Sweet Cream and Sour Cream.”

Identical twin sisters stepped forward.

“Willow and Oak.”

Two guys that looked to be 17 came up.

“Our sixth pair is… Split Hair and Loose End.”

Two people who looked to be in desperate need of a haircut came forward.

“Red Ruby and Radiant Emerald.”

A red skinned girl and green skinned boy, both around 10, stepped up.

“Minty Fresh and Mouthwash.”

A brother and sister pair came up.

“Piano Keys and Violin Strings, would you come forward, please?”

The aforementioned pair did just that.

“Ice Cube and Heat Wave.”

A blue boy and orange girl stepped up.

“Gentle Breeze and Mellow Wind.”

Two kind looking males came up quietly.

“Everyone, I only have one pair left. Only one more pair that will be getting into this show. Only one more pair that will get the honor of dancing for thousands, if not millions, of adoring fans, not to mention getting a chance at the grand prize. And that pair is…”

Everyone waited with bated breath to hear the final names. Several tense moments passed before Sea Crest finally spoke again.

“…Tender Taps and Apple Bloom.”

As soon as their names were called, the farm girl and her partner were in so much shock that they couldn’t even make a sound. All they could do is numbly walk forward with the rest of those who had their names called.

“As for the rest of you, begone. Sorry, but you didn’t make the cut. Better luck next time. You know, if there ever is a next time. Well, what are you waiting for? I said beat it. I need to talk to the real winners here.”

With a combination of grumbles, whines, irritated remarks, and even a few tears, all those who didn’t get called on walked off the stage and out of the building. Once they were gone, Sea Crest turned towards the twelve pairs.

“Congrats to all of you for making it in. You’re well on your way to winning the country’s greatest dancing competition show. But in the end, only one of you pairs will get to truly claim that win. Only one pair will win the grand prize: A stylized six-foot trophy with your likenesses placed on top, and a check for $100,000!”

Sea Crest gestured to his right, where a large trophy and even larger check were being displayed. Everyone imagined statues of themselves on top of that trophy and their names on that check.

“To do that, though, you have to survive around three months of dancing against those around you. How does that work? I’ll tell you how: Every Monday through Friday, you will report here at 5pm sharp and stay until 8pm. In that time, you will be teamed up with a professional dance coach, who will be in charge of helping you execute whatever routine you want to do for our judges. Come Saturday, you will come here at 3 so you can make any last minute changes and get into your dance clothes. Once you’re ready, you’ll go and perform your routine. How you do will depend on how well you do in rehearsals, how well you chose your music and routine, and how well you listen to your coach. At the end of each routine, the judges will score you. Whoever gets the lowest score that week will be eliminated from the competition. They will not get the big trophy or the big check.”

“What about Sunday?” Red Ruby asked.

“Since you’re all underage, the network seems to think that you’ll need at least one day to take a break. That making you dance seven days a week will wear you out too fast. So, I don’t care what you do that day. But that is also the day each new episode will air. Our crack team of studio editors will work round the clock to combine footage of your rehearsals with the final product shown on Saturday and make it TV ready by 8pm Sunday night. Anyway, that’s all the boring information that you need to know. Now we just have a couple more things to do. First up, we need a group shot and some preliminary footage for all the promos. Everyone get together, smile, and pretend you can at least tolerate each other.”

The next hour was spent posing for various group and individual shots, as well as getting footage of all the dancers. Once Sea Crest decided that there was enough to make a few decent commercials and press releases, he stated there was only one thing left to do.

“Sign the standard studio contract so that you can legally be allowed to compete and do all that other fun stuff, like not sue if things go wrong. Once you sign it, head home and be prepared to come back on Monday. See you little Munchkins then. Sea Crest, out!”

The host then made a flashy exit, leaving the 24 dancers alone. Their only other companions were the studio lawyers waiting with the contract and a handful of pens for the kids to sign it with. Once there were 24 signatures on that contract, everyone bid their partner farewell and went their separate ways.

“You’re going to WHAT?!” Aunt and Uncle Orange shouted.

As soon as she got back to their penthouse, Apple Bloom explained to her aunt and uncle what had happened, what she had signed up for, and what she had been accepted into.

“And why didn’t you think to tell us that you were aiming to be on a television program?” Uncle Orange chided.

“Like Ah said, Ah didn’t know until Ah got there. Tender Taps never told me. And either way, we already made it on the show and signed the contract.” Apple Bloom replied.

The Manehattan couple thought this over for a moment before addressing their niece again.

“Well, I suppose there’s nothing to be done about it now. And now that I think on it, having a niece on television does sound rather exciting.” Aunt Orange said.

“Oh, very well. But I want to be there on the nights of your competition. I need to make sure you’ll be alright in an environment like that. A television studio is much different than Manehattanite culture. Or even the quaint farm you grew up on. I just want to make sure you’re comfortable in a new environment.” Uncle Orange conceded.

“No problem. Ah was gonna ask y’all to come, anyways. Ah want ya there when Ah’m on stage.”

“Very good. Now then, about your extended use of the word ‘y’all’…”

Sunday passed uneventfully. Come Monday, Apple Bloom was mentally preparing herself for her first dance rehearsal after school. But before she and Tender got to that rehearsal, they had to get through the school day. The one subject Apple Bloom struggled with was math. She vented these frustrations to Tender Taps when she sat down next to him during lunch.

“Why the heck does all this trigonometry stuff hafta be so complicated? Why are there even so many letters in it? Ah thought math was all ‘bout numbers. Who thought it was a good idea to put the alphabet inside math?” Apple Bloom whined.

“Oh, come on. It’s not that hard when you really think on it. If we ever get enough free time between school time and our rehearsals, I’ll help you with it. Besides, it could be worse. It could be having to sit through history class.” Tender Taps retorted.

“Ya ain’t fond of history?”

“Not really. Why do I have to know so much about what happened hundreds of years ago? I’m honestly surprised you care so much.”

“Well, the Apple family goes back a long way. Family history’s a big deal for us. And it turns out we was there for lots of big events, in one way or ‘nother. From a sailor on the first ships t’ settle this here continent, to a worker on the Transcontinental Railroad, and everythin’ in between. So we care an awful lot about history. Ah could help ya out when Ah can.”

“I’d appreciate that. But let’s take care of that later. What I’m wondering right now is what our first rehearsal will be like. Who our dance coach will be, how we’ll compare to the other dancers, things like that.”

“Ah guess we’ll find out soon enough. Personally, Ah’m just hopin’ that we can make our tap routine better than it was back durin’ the audition.”

“You and me both. But that’s why they’re giving us a coach. So we can do the best we can with the help of a master.”

“Ah guess. By the way, how’d yer folks react when ya told ‘em you were gonna be on TV? When Ah told my aunt and uncle, they were mighty shocked. My uncle was awful worried, but my aunt was real excited.”

“Oh, well, my parents knew that I wanted to do this show for a while. So when I told them I made it, they were very happy for me.”

“Oh, that’s nice. Ah was just curious.”

Right then, the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. The rest of the school day passed by quickly, as did the time following it until the two students met up again at the studio to begin their first official rehearsal. They were led to an individual practice room where they could work with their coach in peace, without the other dancers distracting them. The only other presence were cameramen getting footage of their rehearsals to put in the final episode.

As soon as Tender Taps and Apple Bloom entered their designated practice room, they saw a middle-aged woman with purplish-grey skin and pale blonde hair.

“Good day to you two. My name is Hoofer Steps, and I vill be your coach for zis competition.” The woman said in a thick accent.

“Nice to meet ya.” Apple Bloom greeted.

“Hello.” Tender Taps added.

“It vill be my job to coach you to do the best possible dance you can. To help you pull off the routine you vant. So then, vhat dance do you two vant to do?” Hoofer Steps asked.

“We have this tap dance routine prepared. We just want to improve it in any way we can.”

“Vell then, show me vhat you have so far, and then ve vill see vhat can be improved upon.”

After starting the same music from their audition on his smartphone, Tender Taps joined Apple Bloom and together, they repeated the same routine they did for the judges. When they were done, Hoofer Step looked at them in contemplation.

“Not too bad. But I can see much that can be made better. Let us start vith the beginning. Knowing vhat I do of the culture that music and dance came from, I must ask you: How familiar are you two vith vhat is called a ‘jig’?”

The next three hours were spent going over each step possible in the time allotted, improving on what they could. With much more advanced steps involved, Apple Bloom fell down more times than she cared to admit, but always got right back up. When time ran out, everyone went their separate ways for the day.

The next day at school, Tender Taps and Apple Bloom met in homeroom. Tender moved to greet his friend.

“Hi, Apple Bloom.”

“Hey there, Tender Taps.”

“Listen, I have a question to ask you. Do you think we should ask Hoofer Steps if we should incorporate more movement into our routine. I remember her saying most step dancing is done in place, but I want to try something different.”

“No offense, but my mind ain’t on dancin’ right now. Ah didn’t have much time to do my homework last night. And Ah ain’t doin’ much better in science than Ah am in math. Ah still ain’t answered half the questions on Mr. Stethoscope’s worksheet. How the heck am Ah supposed to know how many bones are in the human body?” Apple Bloom grumbled.

“Oh, I have trouble in that class too. But I managed to get all the questions answered.”

“Ya mind if Ah copy you? Just this once?”

“Sure. I can’t promise you they’re right, though.” Tender Taps said as he pulled out his homework.

Just as Apple Bloom began copying down Tender Taps homework answers, a shadow loomed over them. Both students looked up and saw their homeroom teacher staring down at them menacingly.

“And what is going on here?” Timely Manner sneered.

“Uh…nothing?” Tender Taps and Apple Bloom chorused.

“Really? So you didn’t just ask Mr. Taps if you could copy off his homework exactly 15.84 seconds ago, Miss Bloom? Rather than do it yourself on your own time like you were supposed to?”

“Well…um…ya see…”

Just then, the homeroom bell rang, signaling the start of the school day. But a few seconds after the bell stopped ringing, one of the students walked through the door. Timely Manner turned to look at this student before walking up to him, anger evident on his face.

“And just what do you mean by coming in exactly 3.29 seconds late for class?”

As the student began sputtering out excuses for why he was late, Tender Taps leaned towards Apple Bloom.

“If you’re going to get my answers, you better do it now. Trust me, he’ll be at this until it’s time for next period. Better to do it now while he’s distracted, then slip out of class without letting him see you when the next bell rings.” Tender Taps whispered.

“Has this happened with him before?” Apple Bloom whispered back.

“At least 11 times last year.”

“Yikes. Anyway, thanks fer lettin’ me borrow your answers. Ah promise Ah won’t do this a lot. Just ‘til Ah can figure out this whole biology mumbo jumbo. If Ah ever do. Hopefully the next lecture will be less confusin’.”

“Don’t mention it.”

“As for the dancin’ question, let’s talk more at lunch, alright?” Apple Bloom said as she finished her homework and put it back in her bag.

Tender Taps agreed to this and put his own homework away. Once the bell rang, the two managed to slip past Timely Manner, who was still lecturing the tardy student.

At the end of the school day, Apple Bloom and Tender Taps met up once again.

"So, you ready to go practice dancing again?" Tender asked.

"Ah sure am. Ah wonder how the club members will react when we tell 'em we're gonna be on a fancy dancin' show." Apple Bloom replied.

"Club? I was talking about going to the studio to practice for the show."

"Well, ain't we gonna go to the club first? It is Tuesday, and we can't just up and drop 'em like a hot baked apple pie. Wouldn't feel right."

"Oh my gosh! You're right! We never told them we were going to be on TV! What should we do? We can't do both! I'd rather be in the TV show, but I don't want to make them think that we're not interested in them anymore and have them get angry with us!" Tender Taps shrieked.

"...You alright?" Apple Bloom said in bewilderment.

"Sorry. It's just...I've always been afraid of disappointing others, or confronting them, for that matter. I think that played into why I was always so afraid to go out and pursue dancing until you came along."

"Listen, if it means that much to ya, why don't Ah be the one that tells 'em we can't be in the club no more?"

"...Alright. If you're sure."

Apple Bloom then made her way to where the dance club was being held, Tender Taps following closely behind. When they got there, the teacher greeted them.

"Welcome back, you two. Are you ready for your next club meeting?"

"About that. We're awful sorry to have to tell y'all this, but something's come up, and we ain't got the time be in the club."

"...I see. I'm sorry to hear that. Everyone really enjoyed having you two around last week. May I ask what prompted this decision? Did you two just decide dancing just isn't for you?" The teacher asked.

"Oh no! That ain't it at all! Just the opposite, actually. Here, Ah wanna show y'all something."

Apple Bloom pulled out her phone and pulled up the videos app. After searching for a specific video, she found it and showed it to the teacher and other dance club members. It was a promo video for the Dance the Night Away show. And the others saw her and Tender Taps in that ad plain as day.

"You're going to be on TV?!" One of the club members asked.

"We are. That's why we can't be here anymore. We have to spend a lot of time being there to practice for the show." Tender Taps admitted.

As much as he feared a negative reaction from his peers, Tender Taps couldn't say that he was displeased when everyone started talking about how cool it was that he and Apple Bloom were going to be on TV. Even the teacher seemed very interested.

"Well, I have always encouraged my pupils to pursue dancing outside this room. And you two have done just that. I'm quite impressed that you managed to secure a spot on that show. We all wish you the best of luck. I also want you to know that I will be watching out for you when new episodes air. One more thing. Should anything happen, you two are always welcome back. Our Tuesday door is always open to you."

With this blessing, Tender Taps and Apple Bloom left the room, ready to head to their show practice. They were both in much higher spirits now.

“Now, let us try to move around. It is vone thing to step in place, but it is another thing entirely to do so vhile moving about.” Hoofer Steps said.

Apple Bloom got into position as the music started. A few beats in, she tried to move to the left while still keeping up her dance steps. But she barely made it a foot before she tripped and fell down.

“Dagnabbit! Ah’m never gonna get this right!” Apple Bloom growled as she got to her feet.

“Don’t say that. We just have to think of a different way to make this work.” Tender Taps encouraged.

“Your friend is right. There is alvays another vay.” Hoofer said. “The question is: Vhat?”

The dance coach thought for a moment before an idea came to her.

“Vhat about this? You are from a farm, yes? Have you ever had to deal vith a stubborn animal? Vone that you had to chase around because it vould not cooperate?” Hoofer asked.

Apple Bloom thought for a moment before images of the family dog, Winona, came to mind. Winona was usually such a well behaved pup, except when it was bath time. When that dog knew she was bound for the tub, she would panic and run like there was no tomorrow. This forced the entire family to try and chase her down. But one of Winona’s favorite tactics to avoid her owners was to run between their legs and try to trip them up.

“Yeah, you could say that.” Apple Bloom answered.

“Vell, imagine that this animal is running around your legs and you must do your dance moves to avoid falling. At the same time, you must get the animal to vhere it must go, so try to guide it there vhile simultaneously avoiding it.”

With this mindset ready, Apple Bloom got into position and prepared to dance again. When the music started, she began her tap steps and did relatively well. Right then, she imagined Winona trying to trip her. But while Winona was trying to trip her, she was trying to guide the stubborn dog to the front door of the farmhouse so the rest of the family could catch her and get her in the tub. At least, that’s what Apple Bloom saw in her head.

When that section of music ended, Apple Bloom returned to reality and saw that she was on the opposite end of the room she started on.

“Hey! Ah did it!” Apple Bloom cheered.

“Vell done. Now let us build upon this. Let us move on to the next section of the routine. Tender Taps, go to the opposite end of the room and let us try to have the both of you move in step at the same time.”

“Very good, you two. You have improved much since ve began on Monday. But now, it is Friday, and you vill be on camera tomorrow. So now, ve must put the finishing touches on your routine. And there is vone more thing that I think needs to be addressed. And that is the section vhere you two dance together.” Hoofer stated.

Tender Taps and Apple Bloom nodded and got into position. They grasped hands as they waited for the music to start. Once it did, they began stepping together and moving from the corner of the room toward the center.

But about 15 seconds into their dance, Apple Bloom’s leg struck Tender Taps’, causing both to lose their balance and fall to the ground in a heap.

“Bozhe moy.” Hoofer sighed.

“That one was on me.” Tender Taps admitted. “I got a little too into it and my steps got too wide, which is why our legs hit each other.”

“I see. Normally, this vould call for you two to step as you must to avoid this, but I have a different idea in mind. Let’s try again, but this time, do the same steps you did near the beginning, vhen you mirror each other.”

“Darn. I was really excited to do my best steps there.” Tender sulked.

“Vhy not put those steps elsewhere? Like…oh! Put them in the section of the routine vhere Miss Bloom is going around you?”

“…That could work.” Tender Taps admitted.

“Splendid. Now then, let us try vonce more. Again, try to mirror each other’s steps this time, just as you did earlier on, like ve practiced yesterday.”

Once they were ready, the music started and the two dancers did as they were instructed. They tapped together in the same series of steps, almost perfectly mirroring each other. They kept this up for several seconds until the music suddenly cut out.

“Excellently done. Now, I just vant to do vone more thing. Let me see you two go through the whole thing vithout stopping. Are you ready?”

A pair of nods answered Hoofer Steps’ question.

“Very vell. Let us see it, then.”

After they got into position, the music Tender Taps and Apple Bloom selected began from the beginning. Using all their prior knowledge, in addition to all they had done with Hoofer Steps over the past week, they got through their dance routine with minimal problems. When it was done, Hoofer offered them a slow clap.

“Bravo, you two. Bravo indeed. I vould like to see it again, but it appears our time is up for today. Nevertheless, I believe you are ready for tomorrow. I vish you the best of luck out there. Or, as you say in this country, ‘Break a Leg’.”

“Thank ya kindly, Hoofer Steps. Ah hope we can keep workin’ with ya.” Apple Bloom said.

“I agree. I’ve already learned so much. I hope I can learn more from you.” Tender Taps added.

“Your comments are appreciated. But for that to happen, that is all on you now. Ve vill see chat happens tomorrow.”

With this goodbye, everyone left to go home, get a good nights rest, and go on stage for the cameras tomorrow.

“Are you ready for tomorrow, my dear?” Uncle Orange asked when he and Apple Bloom made it home.

“Ah surely hope so. We’ve been practicin’ all week.” Apple Bloom responded.

“You do seem to have worked very hard. I have high hopes for you tomorrow. But I’m not sure what I’m concerned with. You will do spectacularly. I can feel it in my bones.” Aunt Orange stated.

“But before you can go out on that stage, you need a plate of dinner tonight and then a full night’s rest. So why don’t we sit down for a meal?”

One meal later, Apple Bloom quickly found herself in bed, getting ready for sleep to claim her. As her mind began to drift, a few final thoughts about what tomorrow would bring lingered.

‘Ah hope we do good tomorrow. Ah’d hate to be the first ones to be kicked out. Ah wonder if Tender Taps feels the same way. Ah reckon so. He was always nervous about his dancin’. Ah wonder why he only managed to get over his nerves when Ah came along. Maybe Ah’ll ask him after we finish dancin’ tomorrow. But like Granny Smith always said, tomorrow ain’t gonna come any faster unless Ah get some shuteye.

With that, Apple Bloom succumbed to sleep.

Saturday came at last. As instructed, all the dancers came in earlier than their rehearsal days just so they could do some last-minute fine tuning before the cameras started rolling. And so everyone could get into whatever outfit they were going to wear for their dance.

After separating from her aunt and uncle, who went to sit in the audience and watch all the dancing live, Apple Bloom found her partner and together, they both started getting fitted for their dancing outfits. Tender Taps found himself wearing a dark green waistcoat over a white collared shirt with black pants. Apple Bloom was wearing a dress that was a similar shade of green. This dress went to around the mid-thigh. She also had black pants on. In addition, her usual pink bow had been temporarily swapped out for one that was the same green as her dress and Tender’s waistcoat. Both dancers also wore hard shoes that left a loud clank with each step they took.

It was decided that the order in which the dancers would perform would be the order they were called up at the end of the audition. This meant that Star Power and Gleaming Gen would go first, Rosey Cheeks and Budding Daffodil would go next, all the way until Tender Taps and Apple Bloom, who would go last. In each subsequent show, the order would be determined by whatever the scores of the judges gave the week before. Highest score goes first, lowest score without being eliminated would go last.

As they waited in the green room, all the other dancers gathered around a small television set left in there. This TV was showing whatever dance pair was currently on stage do their routine. Everyone wanted to know what they were up against. The only thing they didn’t see was the judges giving their scores. The producers didn’t want their dancers getting overconfident just because they saw one pair get a bad score.

All the dancers sat and watched as one by one, another pair went out as the last one came in. It took quite some time, but at last, it was time for Tender Taps and Apple Bloom to go out. As they made their way towards the main stage and got into position to start, they heard Sea Crest talking while they waited in the wings.

“One last round for Gentle Breeze and Mellow Wind. That was an interesting samba they did. And now, it’s time for our final dancers for the evening. Doing a tap routine to riverdance music, it’s Tender Taps and Apple Bloom!”

As the stage went dark, the pair walked out and got into position. Once the lights came back up, in various shades of green, the music began and the two began their dance.

At the first beat, the two dancers began tapping in place. Once the fiddles began to play, they approached each other from opposite ends of the stage, tapping along as they did. Their shoes left a distinctive clanking sound as they moved towards each other. They crossed each other’s path and made their way to the opposite end of the stage they entered from.

From there, they slowly tapped their way towards each other. Apple Bloom’s steps were relatively slow and methodical, though still in tempo. Meanwhile, Tender’s steps were fast and ambitious, but also still in tempo. Once they were next to each other, their legs began doing the exact same moves. From there, they spun in a circle while their feet kept right on tapping.

After that, the duo tapped their way closer to the edge of the stage. Once there, Apple Bloom froze in place while Tender Taps pulled off a skilled series of steps for about 5 seconds. He then froze and posed while Apple Bloom did her own tap step set. It wasn’t as flashy as her partner’s, but still moderately impressive.

They were a little over a minute into their routine by this point. Their next move was to grab each other’s hand while the other arm went to their own hip. They then made their way towards the middle of the stage. Once there, the partners danced in a large circle around the stage as the music started getting a bit more intense.

After around 30 seconds of dancing with each other, the pair separated and made their way to opposite ends of the stage again. From there, Tender Taps started stepping his way towards his partner while Apple Bloom repeated a simple series of steps in place until Tender reached her.

Once they were next to each other again, they made their way to the center of the stage. There, Tender Taps pulled out all the stops and began doing the best steps he could muster. Meanwhile, Apple Bloom quite literally danced circles around her partner. Her steps weren’t nearly as impressive, but she managed to stay on her feet at least as she tapped her way around Tender Taps.

After circling Tender Taps twice, she stood next to him and grasped his hand. The pair pulled off the same moves for several seconds as the music came to a close. Tender Taps and Apple Bloom finished their routine by dropping to one knee in tempo with the final beat and striking a pose. They were still holding hands while their other arm was pointed upward. As the audience cheered for them, the two dancers rose to their feet and bowed. Sea Crest then approached them.

“Wicked steps out there, you two. I’d wager some of your competitors will be green with envy after seeing that. You sure brought good luck with you tonight! But will that luck be good enough to make it to the next round? Well, that’s up to the judges to decide. Let’s see what they have to say about that dance. Judges?”

Boogie Woogie went first.

“As Mr. Crest said, your tapdancing steps were indeed impressive. You’ve improved much since your audition last week. I’m particularly amazed that you managed to step in time even with your legs routinely moving to separate parts of the stage. The riverdance is not the easiest one to pull off in close quarters. But you made it work. I rather enjoyed the part when you two danced all around the stage. All I would have changed is getting more inventive in your steps. Particularly you, Miss Bloom. You seemed to play it more on the safe side. And dancing, in my opinion, should be about going all out. Still, it is the first dance, so you have time to improve. For your efforts, I will give you a score of…8!”

Next up was Foxtrot.

“The moves were indeed impressive, I will give you that. And your ability to move that quickly in tempo with the music you selected was admirable. However, I’ve always found tapdancing to be fairly low on the totem pole of dances. Only half the body is used for that, and truly immersive dancing requires the use of the whole body. I want to see more from you in the future. If you make it past the first round, that is. But until then, my score will be…6.”

Finally, there was Line Dancer.

“As is the general consensus, impressive legwork was shown. I commend you for that. But unlike my fellow judges, I shall not deduct points just for being a basic style of dance. This is only your first week, after all. Had you done this around halfway through the competition, then I would have counted it against you. But as is, it’s a type of dance like any other, and you pulled it off well. All I’ll say is I hope to see more creativity from you in the future. My score will be 8.”

The audience cheered as the final score was given.

“So, a grand total of 22 out of 30. Not too shabby for a start. But will it be enough to avoid being the first ones to get the boot? Well, we’ll find out, right after this commercial break!” Sea Crest yelled happily.

Once the cameras temporarily stopped rolling, all the other contestants joined Tender Taps and Apple Bloom on the stage. A few minutes later, the cameras began rolling again as Sea Crest began speaking.

“Welcome back to Dance the Night Away! When we last left off, our final pair of dancers got their turn on the dance floor. And now, it’s time for our first elimination of the season! But first, as always, we will reveal who got the highest score of this round. Coming in first, with a total of 26 out of 30, we have… Star Power and Gleaming Gem!”

The two named dancers scoffed as if it was obvious they were going to win. As the audience cheered, a clip from their dance routine was played on an overhead screen behind the stage.

“And coming in last, with a pathetic score of 13 out of 30, the first ones to get the axe are…Split Hiar and Loose End. So sorry, you two. But your dancing left much to be desired. Those so-called ‘moves’ of yours was full of clumsy steps, missed opportunities, and had way too many…well, loose ends, then could be tied up. Also, you two hippies need a haircut.”

“Break it softly, why don’t you?” Split Hair muttered.

“Oh, trust me. I am. In any case, you’re the first ones to be eliminated, so it’s time for you two to hit the road. Goodbye!”

Split Hair and Loose End sadly walked off the stage in shame, leaving the others behind.

“As for the rest of you, you’re safe…for now. What exciting moves will they show us next time? What dazzling routines await us? And who will be the next to take the walk of shame? Find out next time, on Dance the Night Away! Until then, Sea Crest, out!”

Once the cameras were done rolling for the day, all the dancers were packing their things, changing out of their dance clothes, and getting ready to go home. As they did, some made casual conversation with their dance partners.

“We did pretty good today, huh?” Tender Taps commented.

“Better than Ah thought we would. Let’s hope next week, we’ll will do just as well.” Apple Bloom replied.

“I think we will. I’ve got a whole new tap routine in mind. One that will be even better than the one we just did.”

“’Just did’? Did I hear that right?”

Tender Taps and Apple Bloom turned and saw Star Power looking down on them.

“Didn’t you two idiots read the contract? We have to do a different style of dance each week! You can’t just tap dance your way through this whole thing. Honestly, I don’t know why I even told you that. I could have just let you crash and burn, being the ones that got kicked off next week. I guess I’m just nice like that. But consider that the extent of my kindness. Not like it will matter. You’ll be out of this contest soon enough.” Star Power scoffed.

As the snobbish girl walked away, Tender Taps and Apple Bloom looked at each other with worried expressions on their faces. They had to do something different each week? But tap dancing was Tender Taps’ specialty. And it was the only type of dance Apple Bloom could do right now. So what were they going to do?

Author's Note

I’m only now realizing that writing in accents is hard. I mean, I can manage Apple Bloom’s accent easily enough, but with Hoofer Steps’ Russian accent, I don’t know what to do beyond replacing nearly every ‘W’ with a ‘V’.

Accents aside, I feel confident in everything else I wrote. Though there are some things I will establish now so I don’t bore you with in story exposition later. Let’s just get it out of the way now.

I more or less based the structure of the dance show on Dancing With the Stars , minus the celebrities, of course. There will be some differences, but I’ll get there when I get there.

With the host, it should be obvious where I got his name and catchphrase, but his personality, I based that on Chris McClain from the Total Drama series. Specifically the original incarnation of Island, where (for the most part) he was just a mean jokester, as opposed to the open sadist he became when Action and World Tour came along. Not to mention all subsequent seasons.

Lastly, know that dancing won’t be the only thing this story will be focusing on. Sure, it’s a huge part of it, but not the only one. Each chapter will have more general slice of life elements to them. Things like school, hanging out, and other things that happen in teenage daily life. Sort of like mainstream Equestria Girls content. When they’re not dealing with magic or saving the world or whatever.

Anyway, that’s it for the first official chapter of this story. I hope you enjoyed and will stick around for the next chapters. Have a good day.

Canterlot Interlude 1: Why is Apple Bloom Dancing on TV?!

Of all the worst possible things that could happen, this was the.

Worst.

Possible.

THING!

That was the thought going through Rarity’s mind at the moment. She couldn’t believe this was happening to her. She was just about ready to faint on the couch again. This was worse than facing monstrous she-demons or taking on manipulative sirens. It was so, so much worse than those things. The problem she was facing was tremendous.

There was nothing to watch on TV.

To many, this wouldn’t seem like a big issue. But for a teenager, especially one as overdramatic as Rarity, it really did feel like the worst possible thing.

For the thousandth time that day, Rarity bemoaned the fact that all her favorite drama shows were in between seasons around this time of year. After yet another loud sigh, Rarity began the dreaded tradition of going through every television channel until she finally came across something that could keep her interest. Remote in hand, she started channel surfing.

*Tomorrow’s weather calls for…*

*…a flyball to right centerfield, up…*

*…next is Apple Bloom and…*

*…frankly my dear, I don’t give a…*

*…dam has been repaired and the flood waters receded. Full story on the 9o’clock news.*

Rarity paused for a moment as her brain caught up with what she had heard a few channels back.

“Did I just hear…? No, that’s not possible. How could that be so?” Rarity muttered to herself. “But still…just to be sure…”

The fashionista turned back a few channels. Much to her shock, her ears did not deceive her. Nor did her eyes. Right there on screen was her little sister’s best friend Apple Bloom dancing with an orange-skinned boy. Rarity’s mind went into overdrive as her eyes observed this dance.

‘Is that really Sweetie Belle’s friend, Apple Bloom? Dancing? On TV? Why is Sweetie Belle’s friend Apple Bloom dancing on TV?!’

Rarity decided she needed to get to the bottom of this. To that end, she called the one person who would know about this.

“SWEETIE BELLE! SWEETIE BELLE, COME HERE!” Rarity yelled.

“What is it, Rarity? I haven’t done anything.” Sweetie Belle called from upstairs.

“Just come down here at once!”

“Can it wait? I haven’t finished my homework yet.”

“Well, that’s what you get for putting it off until Sunday night. But never mind that! You can finish it later! You really must come see this! Quickly! Quickly!”

Sweetie Belle sighed as she made her way down the stairs to where her sister was waiting in the family’s living room.

“Alright. I’m here. Now what did you want me to-WHAT THE?!”

Sweetie Belle’s eyes locked upon the screen and went wide when she realized that Apple Bloom was on that screen dancing.

“Is that…Apple Bloom? Dancing? On TV? Why is Apple Bloom dancing on TV?!” Sweetie Belle shrieked.

“I was hoping you knew the answer to that.” Rarity replied.

“I-I have no idea! She hasn’t said anything about this. Sure, we’ve called and texted a few times since she went to Manehattan. But she never mentioned that she was going to be on TV. I don’t think she’s told Scootaloo, either. She would’ve told me if Apple Bloom told her anything about that! What show even is this?”

“I’m not certain. I was just channel surfing when I came across this. I called you down as soon as I was sure of what I was seeing.”

“Why don’t we watch the rest of the show and see what we can find out?”

“Wonderful idea, darling.”

The two sisters settled on the couch and watched the remainder of Apple Bloom’s dance, as well as the resulting judges’ scores.

“Honestly, I thought that was a perfectly marvelous dance. It deserved at least one 8 from those judges.” Rarity commented.

“So, this is some kind of contest show? Where people dance for judges?” Sweetie Belle wondered aloud.

“It would appear so, darling. I only wonder what the rules are, what the other competitors are like, and what sort of prizes await the winner.”

“Prizes?”

“Oh yes, Sweetie Belle. Shows like this always have some sort of prize for the winner. Most often, it is a large sum of money. As well as some lingering fame, depending on how popular the show itself is. I’ll confess, I don’t typically watch these kinds of shows, so I don’t know if this one is very popular or not.”

“Well, what I want to know is who this ‘Tender Taps’ guy is. How did Apple Bloom meet him? How did they get to be dance partners? How did they get to be on TV?”

“All marvelous questions. Perhaps sometime soon you could call Apple Bloom and ask her personally. Just be sure to tell me everything she says. I’m dying to know.”

“Alright. I’ll call her after school tomorrow. Until then, let’s watch the rest of the show.”

They watched the rest of the show in relative silence. A few other pairs of dancers went, and at the end, the ones with the lowest score were eliminated.

“Well, at least Apple Bloom is safe for another week.” Sweetie Belle commented.

“Indeed. I’m quite glad to have a new show to watch on Sunday evening. And I hope you’ll watch it with me.” Rarity added.

“Of course! I can’t wait to see how she does next week!”

“Nor can I. But until then, we best prepare for school tomorrow. I’m sure you’ll want to tell Scootaloo all about what you just learned when you see her. And I’ll be doing the same with all of my friends.”

The next day, Sweetie Belle and Rarity did just that. As soon as Sweetie Belle saw Scootaloo, she relayed what she had seen on TV last night. Scootaloo was just as shocked as Sweetie was. The two then started telling everyone that would listen that their friend was on TV. Rarity was hardly any better. The instant she walked into homeroom, she told those sitting around her of what she saw the previous night. Then they started telling people, and then they started telling people. By lunch, nearly everyone at Canterlot High knew that someone from their school was on TV.

“Boy, talk about a crazy rumor.” Sunset Shimmer said as she sat at her usual lunch table with her friends. “Someone at school was on TV last night? I wonder who it was, or what show they were on.”

“I can answer both questions, darling.” Rarity said as she took her seat.

“You can? How is it that you know?” Fluttershy asked.

“Because I saw it with my own two eyes. I’m also the one that let the school know of what I saw.”

“Wait, you started this crazy rumor?” Rainbow Dash chimed in.

“I did no such thing. It is not a rumor. As I just told Fluttershy, I saw it with my own two eyes.”

“Well, who was it? Don’t leave us in suspense!” Pinkie Pie chirped.

“It was Applejack’s little sister, Apple Bloom! And she was on a dancing competition show called Dance the Night Away.”

“Really? So that’s what she’s been doing since she went to Manehattan. Well, good for her.” Sunset commented.

“How the heck did she get to be on TV?” Rainbow wondered.

“I admit, I’m not sure about that. I just so happened upon the show last night. Sweetie Belle said she would call her friend after school for those details and share them with me.”

“Or we could ask Applejack. She’s bound to know.” Pinkie said.

“Ah’m bound to know what?”

The rest of the girls looked up and saw Applejack take her seat at the table.

“Sorry Ah’m late. Lunch line was longer than usual. Anyway, what is it y’all want to know about?” Applejack asked.

“It’s about your sister.” Rarity responded.

Applejack’s demeanor suddenly went ice cold. And the air around her seemed to be following suit.

“What about her?” Applejack growled out.

“Rarity says she’s the one that everyone’s talking about. The one that was on TV last night.” Rainbow answered.

“Yeah? What show was it? Manehattan’s Most Wanted?”

“Now, now Applejack. Surely you can’t still be mad at her.” Fluttershy commented.

“Well, Ah am.”

“Come on, AJ. All that happened almost a year ago. You need to forgive and forget already. Rainbow Dash forgave Scootaloo. Rarity forgave Sweetie Belle. Besides, nothing good ever came from keeping on being grumpy for so long.” Pinkie added.

“Don’t matter to me how long ago it happened. It still happened. And Ah’m still peeved she and those durn little varmints she calls friends would do somethin’ like that to me. To us.”

“Well, one, the whole reason they did that was because they thought we were ignoring them when we shouldn’t have. So you’re probably just making her feel worse.” Rainbow said.

“Two, I’ll thank you not to refer to my sister in that manner ever again. Or her friends.” Rarity added, clearly irritated.

“And three, I was the one they were initially targeting, and I forgave them. Besides, they served all their punishments already. What is holding on to your anger going to accomplish? Nothing good, I promise you that.” Sunset finished.

“Look, Ah care about you girls, and see you as friends, but it ain’t really your business how Ah treat my kin. ‘Sides, if she pulled a nasty stunt like that once, she’s liable to do it again.”

“But…”

“Y’know what? Ah feel like eatin’ by myself today.”

With that, Applejack took her tray and moved to a different table.

“Oh dear. I really hoped that she would be over this by now.” Fluttershy commented.

“Yeah. Isn’t that how it always works? Being separated from someone makes you realize how much you miss them? What is it they always say in those movies? ‘Absence makes the heart grow fonder’?” Pinkie wondered.

“Unfortunately, this is not one of those stories, Pinkie Pie.” Rarity sighed.

“I mean, I know AJ can be stubborn, but this is pushing it. Pushing yourself past the breaking point without asking for help is one thing, but destroying a relationship with your sibling over one mistake? Even if it was a big mistake, she still came clean and faced the music.” Rainbow added.

“Now I just feel bad we didn’t do more to help Applejack and her sister before Apple Bloom left.” Fluttershy said sadly.

“Well, maybe it’s not too late. We may not have done enough to help before, but better late than never, right? Now that we know just how deep the hole Applejack’s dug herself out of stubbornness is, we can finally pull her out of that hole and make things right with her sister. I think we just weren’t reaching deep enough to pull her out before. Not to mention Applejack wouldn’t put down the shovel. Anyway, once we help her get over her problem, we can have a great big watch party next Sunday for Apple Bloom’s dancing show!” Pinkie suggested.

The others agreed to this plan and began going over ways to reconcile the Apple sisters.

“So what should we do to start?” Fluttershy wondered.

“I’ll start by researching the show Apple Bloom is on. I’ll also gather any information on her I can from Sweetie Belle. Perhaps hearing her side of the story will help.” Rarity said.

“I’ll talk with Granny Smith. Maybe she knows why Applejack still won’t talk to her sister.” Sunset offered.

“Let me try getting Big Mac’s take on all this. He owes me a favor anyway after what happened that time the Apple family visited the Rock Farm.” Pinkie stated.

“Flutters and I can try talking AJ down. She’s known me the longest and Fluttershy has a way with calming down stubborn creatures.” Rainbow Dash concluded.

“I suppose I could try and do that.” Fluttershy mumbled.

“Alright, let’s do it!” Sunset cheered.

Author's Note

Definitely not my longest chapter, or my most interesting. But I can promise you all right now that there won't be very many of these interludes. And the ones I do have planned are going to be significantly longer than this. In fact, I can, with the utmost confidence, say that this is the shortest chapter of this story I will put out.

Anyway, stay tuned next time as we return to our regularly scheduled programing, with Tender Taps and Apple Bloom doing yet another dance. Until then, hope you found at least a little enjoyment in this one. Adios!

Week 3: Swing

As soon as he got home, Tender Taps found himself very thoroughly tired. Much like last Saturday, spending the whole week dancing, not to mention going through schoolwork, had greatly tired him out. So he had every intention of sleeping in.

But before he could go to bed, he felt there was something he had to ask his parents.

“Hey, Mom? Dad? Can I ask you guys a question? It’s about…a girl.”

As soon as Apple Bloom got home, tired from all the dancing, much like last week, and not mentioning all the school work she had done. She went straight to her room, got in her bed, and quickly fell asleep.

And sleep she did. As soon as she woke up, she found herself laying in bed for the longest time before hunger finally drew out of bed. After eating breakfast, she found herself being called into the penthouse living room by her aunt and uncle.

“What’s goin’ on?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Well, once a month, we’ve made it a tradition to indulge ourselves and watch a humorous old movie. And we would like you to partake this time.” Uncle Orange stated.

“Alright, sounds like fun.”

When Uncle Orange said an old movie, he meant it. It was from around 90 years ago, when film was still relatively new. Not to mention still in black and white. In spite of that, Apple Bloom thought it was alright. But there was one element about the movie that stuck out to the farm girl above all else.

“What kind of dance is that there?” Apple Bloom asked while seeing the two leads dancing together on screen.

“It’s called ‘swing dancing.’ It was all the rage when this movie was made. Sadly, it’s not given much notoriety anymore. It was before our time, naturally. But I always thought it looked interesting.” Aunt Orange explained.

“Just out of curiosity, what else can you tell me about swing dancin’?”

“Ask me later, dear. For now, I want to finish this film.”

As she continued watching the movie, the gears in Apple Bloom’s head began turning. She had an idea.

“You want to try swing dancing for this week?” Tender Taps asked in homeroom.

“Yeah. Looked really interestin’ when Ah saw it in that movie.”

“I can’t say I’m know much of anything about swing dancing, though.”

“That didn’t stop us with the tango, did it? And if ya wanna know how it looks, Ah’ll show you.”

Apple Bloom pulled her phone out of her pocket and went to the videos app. After pulling up a clip of the dancing from the movie she saw last night, she showed it to Tender Taps.

“Huh. That does look interesting.”

“Told ya. So, how ‘bout it? Wanna try that this week?”

Tender Taps thought for a moment. Based just on the video his friend had shown him, it certainly looked unique, and Apple Bloom looked really excited for it. Besides, the dance itself looked like it could carry them at least one more week. Plus, there was that advice his mom had given him about talking to a girl. About never putting down something she seemed invested in.

“Alright. We’re going to swing dance this week.”

A wide smile graced Apple Bloom’s face at hearing her friend agree to her suggestion. But before their conversation could go any further, the morning bell rang, signaling the start of the school day. The next few hours passed as eventfully as an average day of school could. Once the school day ended, Tender Taps and Apple Bloom made their way outside the school, ready to head home until it was time to go to the studio and practice. But just before they walked outside the school building, Tender Taps approached his friend, intent on asking a question.

“Apple Bloom?”

“Yes?”

“Listen, there’s something I want to ask you.”

“What is it? Is it about what moves we should do this week? Ah think we should wait until we meet with Hoofer before decidin’ that.”

“N-no. It’s not that. I was just wondering if…well…you were…”

Tender’s sentence was cut off when a small country jingle filled the air. It was Apple Bloom’s ringtone. The farm girl pulled out her phone and saw the name ‘Sweetie Belle’ staring back at her.

“Sorry, Tender Taps. Ah gotta take this. Can you ask again when we get to the studio?”

“Sure. No problem.”

As Tender Taps walked off, he was both relieved and disappointed. Relieved that he had gotten more time to ask his question, but disappointed that he hadn’t gotten the chance to just get it out and over with. Meanwhile, Apple Bloom answered her phone.

“Hello?”

“Apple Bloom? Is that you?”

“Yeah. It’s good to hear from ya, Sweetie Belle. What’s up?”

“Oh, not much. I just called because I wanted to ask you a question. When were you going to tell me or Scootaloo that you were on a TV show?”

“…”

“…Apple Bloom? Are you still there?”

“Dagnabbit! Ah knew Ah was forgettin’ somethin’!”

“Sving dancing, hmm?” Hoofer Steps mused. “Vell, it vould be interesting to bring back such an old style. Let the younger generation see it.”

“So, where do we start?” Apple Bloom asked.

“In a similar place ve started last veek. Vith the basics. As vith the tango, this kind of dance calls for a leader. And I am vonce again counting on you to be that leader, Tender Taps.”

“Alright. I can do that.” Tender Taps replied.

“Vonderful. Now, let us start vith the most basic move in sving dancing, the triple step. Tender, join me, please.”

Once he was with his dance coach, Tender Taps waited for further instructions.

“This move is very simple. You do it to this rhythm: Vone-and-two-and-three-and-four. You start by stepping to the side vith your left foot on ‘Vone’. On the first ‘And’, you bring the right foot next to your left before stepping vith your left again on ‘Two’. On ‘Three-and-Four’, do the same, but vith the right foot being dominant this time. Vonce you manage to do that, ve vill move on to vhat is called the ‘Rock Step’.”

Tender Taps did his best to do exactly as his coach instructed. Fortunately, it didn’t take him look to get the rhythm down. Nor did it take Apple Bloom long to pick up on it either once she was called in. The only thing that gave them issue was doing it faster and faster with each subsequent try until it matched the tempo of the music they wanted to use.

The next three hours passed by relatively quickly, with the most basic swing moves being taught to the two young dancers. Just before they left, Hoofer Steps promised them that the rest of the week would be considerably more interesting. And more challenging.

On Tuesday, Tender Taps was sitting at the lunch table, deep in thought. He was wondering just how to assemble swing into a good enough dance for the judges. Ever since he got home last night, he had been looking into swing dancing, trying to get a few ideas. He hadn’t been lying to Apple Bloom when he told her that it looked interesting. But now that he was looking at it more in depth, he realized that there was a great deal more movement to it than he realized. Movement that he wasn’t sure he and Apple Bloom could pull off. What with his relative lack of upper body strength and her relative lack of dancing experience compared to him.

Last week, Tender had barely been able to hold his partner up while dancing for more than a few moments. And in swing dancing, there was an awful lot of…well, swinging. Flips, spins, jumps, you name it. Those were moves that he was sure he wouldn’t be able to pull off with Apple Bloom. But how could he tell her that?

He didn’t want to upset his dancing partner. Not after she had persuaded him to go along with the swing in the first place. It also didn’t seem like a good idea to make a girl sad in general. Especially a girl he wanted to ask a specific question to. She’d never answer that question if she was upset over the potential problems with the dance she had suggested and they had already started training for.

“Howdy.”

Well, if there was ever a time, it was now. Hopefully, he could phrase it in a way that didn’t leave her upset. That didn’t make her hate him and want to quit the dancing show and stop hanging out with him, depriving him of his only friend and leaving him the lonely boy who didn’t want others to see him dance like he was before Apple Bloom entered his life.

“You alright?” Apple Bloom asked.

“H-hi, Apple Bloom. I’m fine. J-just a little anxiety getting to me again. Hey, can I ask you something about our dance?”

“Is that what yer anxious about? Our dance? Well, don’t fret too much ‘bout it. Ah got a couple ideas.”

“You do?”

Tender Taps was giving his undivided attention now. He wanted to know what she had in mind that could salvage their swing dance. Plus, there was that advice his dad had given him about always paying attention when a girl was talking. Often, they could tell when a guy wasn’t really listening, he had said to his son.

“Yeah. Ah was talkin’ with my aunt about swing dancin’, and she told me a common part of it involves dancin’ side by side as opposed to face to face like we did with the tango. Ah thought it might be nice to put a few of those moves in. It’ll give us more leg room, and help me out since Ah still ain’t on your level when it comes to dancin’.”

Tender Taps thought this over for a moment. He had seen something like that in the video Apple Bloom had shown him yesterday to convince him to do the swing dance. Doing a few moves like that would mean there was less he had to worry about in the overall routine. And Hoofer Steps could easily help them fill in any gaps that still remained. This might just work after all.

Until then, there was one more question he needed to ask his dance partner.

“S-say, Apple Bloom. Can I ask you one more thing?”

“Sure, what is it?”

“W-well, I was wondering…i-if you would…”

Just then, the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch period. It was time to go back to class.

“Ah’m sorry, Tender Taps. But Ah gotta get to class. Ah need all the help Ah can get in math, so Ah can’t afford to be late. Can you ask me later?”

“That’s alright, I guess.”

“Good. See ya later.” Apple Bloom said as she walked off.

Tender Taps sighed. That was the second time he had tried and failed to ask his question.

“I believe it is time ve started doing some more intense parts of your routine.” Hoofer Steps said.

It was now Wednesday, and after spending most of yesterday going over a few side by side moves as Apple Bloom had suggested, Hoofer had decided it was time to move on.

“What do you mean by ‘intense’?” Tender Taps asked.

“I mean the actual ‘svinging’ parts of the sving dance. Usually, this vould call for more things like flips, spins, and jumps. But since you are new to this kind of dancing, I vill not ask this of you.”

This lifted a load off Tender Taps’ chest.

“Vhat I vill ask of you is to learn a move known as the ‘Svingout’.”

“What’s the Swingout?” Apple Bloom wondered.

“Let me show you. Get into vhat I called a closed position. It begins vith the triple step I showed you on Monday. From there…”

The next half hour was used to perfect the swingout. Once that was done, the duo was coached in how to incorporate the newly learned move into their routine. Hoofer Steps was pleased with how their routine was shaping up so far. But they still had a bit of work to do before it she would call it complete.

“Your vork vith the svingout is complete, I vould say. But that does not mean that ve cannot try other inventive moves. Vone that is alvays a crowd pleaser is vone that I like to call the ‘slide’.”

“The slide?” Tender Taps and Apple Bloom chorused.

“Yes. It is vhere the partner, in this case, you, Apple Bloom, slides between the legs of the leader. The leader then pulls the partner up and on her feet, almost as if sliding in reverse.”

“How can we do that? Physical strength isn’t really my forte.” Tender Taps admitted.

“I am aware. Your troubles vith the tango last veek proved that to me. But there are vays ve can still accomplish this vithout purely relying on strength. Get into a closed position again.”

A couple hours of dance practice later, everyone called it a night and made their way outside to go home. However, one red haired dancer was stopped in the studio lobby by her dance partner.

“Apple Bloom!”

“Yes, Tender Taps?”

“L-listen, before we go home for the day, I need to ask you something. U-um…I just wanted to ask if…w-well you would c-come with…”

Tender Taps was cut off when a car horn was heard just outside the studio entrance. The two turned and looked outside. Apple Bloom was the only one who recognized the car, though.

“Ah’m so sorry, Tender Taps, but that’s the driver my aunt and uncle hired. He doesn’t like bein’ kept waitin’. So can the question wait until tomorrow? Thanks, bye!” Apple Bloom said before running off, leaving her partner behind, visibly upset.

Those two weren’t the only ones having a conversation in the lobby, however.

“Hey, Heat Wave.”

The dancer in question turned and saw Star Power approaching her.

“What is it?” Heat Wave asked.

“I know I should have said this earlier, but congrats on getting the highest score last week. Since I got the highest the week before, I thought I’d give you a bit of dancing advice. You know, winner to winner. Something that will help the both of us stay near the top. And be sure to pass it along to Ice Cube.” Star Power replied.

On Thursday, things were starting to shape up. The routine was finally starting to take shape, much to the dancers’ delight. But that didn’t mean that things were letting up with the dance training.

“Your kicks vill have to be much wider than that if you vant to impress the judges vhile you’re dancing. Don’t hold back.” Hoofer Steps instructed.

Standing next to each other, Tender Taps and Apple Bloom began doing a series of stylized kicks.

“Come now. Go vider, higher. More bombastic.”

The kicks did get wider and higher. Both dancers raised their legs as high as they could go.

“That’s better. Now, ve must vork on doing those kicks faster. In tempo vith the music. Vonce ve do that, ve can move on to placing it into vhat ve have of your routine so far. I vant to have a basic outline of the entire routine be the time ve leave here tonight.”

On Hoofer’s signal, the music that Tender Taps and Apple Bloom had selected began playing. When it got to where they would perform the kicks, they did them as fast as they could without outracing the music. But this did not satisfy their dance coach.

“Not so excellent. Ve must find a vay to strike a balance between speed and power vithout sacrificing vone or the other.”

“How do we do that?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Vell, there are a few tricks ve can try. Let us start by easing you into the speed vith vhich you are to do the desired kicks.”

As the night wore on, the dancers spent nearly an hour getting their kick routine up to their coach’s standards. After that, they began putting together how the full routine would look.

“So you shall do the push and pull bit a little over halfvay into your dance. Sound good?” Hoofer asked.

“Yeah, sounds great.” Apple Bloom replied, to which Tender nodded in agreement.

“Vonderful. Then ve have a near complete outline of how the routine vill vork. Let us spend vhat little time ve have left today ironing out some details. Tomorrow, ve shall vork on the finishing touches.”

They only had about half an hour left, and all of it was spent trying to assemble the ending of the routine they planned to do on Saturday. No sooner did they get to a comfortable stopping point that time ran out. As everyone was making their way outside the studio, Tender Taps stopped Apple Bloom again.

“H-hey, Apple Bloom. Would you mind if I would ask you to…”

“Ah’m sorry, Tender Taps. But Ah can’t talk right now. Ah realized earlier that Ah never finished my English homework that’s due tomorrow. Ah gotta get home now and finish it or else Ah’m gonna get a zero. Ah can’t afford one of those. See ya tomorrow.”

With that, Apple Bloom rushed out the doors to the studio and got in the driver’s car to be taken home, leaving Tender Taps behind. Again.

By Friday, Tender Taps was very visibly despondent. All week, he had tried to ask Apple Bloom a very simple question. And all week, something had happened to interrupt him, keep him from getting his question out. His frustration had slowly started to get the best of him. And those that knew him best were starting to notice. Though he told his parents he was fine before going out the door for school, his classmates weren’t so easy to shake off. Particularly the one that he had wanted to ask a question to.

“You alright?” Apple Bloom asked when she met up with him in gym class.

“Fine.” Tender Taps muttered.

“You don’t sound fine. You sure you’re alright?”

“It’s nothing. Forget it.” Tender said in defeat.

“Ah don’t know if Ah can do that. Wouldn’t feel right not askin’ what’s wrong. Wait a sec…askin’… You’ve been sayin’ all week ya wanted to ask me somethin’. Is that what’s wrong? That ya never got to ask me…whatever it was you were fixin’ to ask me?”

“…How hard is it to get out one question without something getting in the way?” Tender replied at last.

“Ah’m awful sorry you had to put up with that all week, but Ah’m here now.” Apple Bloom said as she sat on one of the gym bleachers. “Ah’m right here. No phone, no class bell about to ring, no car to take me home, and no homework Ah gotta finish right away. So go ahead and ask.”

“…Alright, here goes. Apple Bloom, I was wondering…if you’re not busy, that is…if you’d…”

Any further words were silenced when a loud alarm blared all across the school. All the students suddenly became alert at the loud sound. It was the monthly fire drill test. The teacher led all the students out of the gym and away from the school in a quick and orderly fashion.

Once the school was emptied, the alarm stopped. Once the students were given the all clear to go back into the school and resume class, the gym teacher ushered his students back inside to finish their physical education for the day. The time they had lost in the fire drill meant they had to work double time to keep up. By the time the bell rang, all the students were visibly exhausted. As everyone was heading into the halls towards their next class, Tender Taps lost Apple Bloom in the crowd. Once again, he had been robbed of the opportunity to ask his question. He was starting to think that the universe just didn’t want him to ask that question.

“Is everything alright, Mr. Taps?”

Tender Taps turned around and saw the principal of the school, Civil Lecture, looking at him.

“Principal Lecture! I-I’m alright. Just a little slow today. Gym class can really wear a guy out.”

“Are you certain? You know, as a principal, the wellbeing of my students is one of my top priorities. I like to know that those under my roof are in the best place they can be. If they aren’t, they are liable to stay in that bad place and not become the productive adults I know they all can be. So I ask again, is everything alright?”

“…It’s…It’s not something I think you can help with. It’s just that, I’ve been…well…It’s about Apple Bloom.”

“I see. Where is Miss Bloom? From what I understand, you two seem near inseparable. Be it at school or on the dance floor.”

Tender Taps looked up at his principal in surprise. Did she know about the show?

“Oh yes, I know all about your show. I’ve actually been a fan of that show for years. You wouldn’t believe how surprised I was when I learned that two of my students were going to compete on it. The only reason I haven’t said anything yet is because I didn’t want to add undue pressure. How far you get is entirely on your performance. I don’t want you to think I’m pressuring you. I’m rooting for you two, of course, but if you don’t win, that’s alright, as long as you do the best you can. That’s all anyone can ask. To ask for more is unrealistic, in my opinion. And it will lead to one feeling like they have to live up to unrealistic expectations. Anyway, what is it about Miss Bloom that you feel is not alright?”

Tender Taps went through his dilemma with the principal. The question he had wanted to ask her, his repeated failures to do so, and how he felt maybe he shouldn’t ask her.

“I see. Well, remember what I said about unrealistic expectations? You seem to think that your inability to ask such a question is some sort of reflection on you. But I disagree. As I said, all anyone can ask is for your best. And you’ve done that. It’s not your fault outside forces keep you from seeing your goal through. But you shouldn’t give up. If you do, you will continue to be in this rut you find yourself in, and you will stay in it into your adult life. And I will not allow one of my students to fall into such a place and keep themselves from being a productive adult.”

“So then, when should I ask my question?”

“When you feel the time is right. Not before, not after. And certainly not if it ever seems like the opportunity is being presented to you on a silver platter. Never trust a silver platter. That silver will go bad before you can comprehend it, trust me. You’ll know when it is time to ask when you feel like it’s a ‘now or never’ moment. I just hope you choose ‘now’ instead of ‘never’ when the time comes.”

“Thanks for the advice, Principal Lecture.”

“Not at all. I’m always happy to give my charges a quick lecture when they need it. Now you best run along to class. You don’t need another lecture on tardiness.”

With that, Tender Taps ran off towards his next class.

“And no running in the halls!” Civil Lecture called out.

“There are only a few things I feel ve must go over before your big dance tomorrow. Most of it centers around vhat order your routine should be performed in. I feel it vould be best if you saved the slide move for near the end. Let us try that. Place that move for near the end.” Hoofer Steps instructed.

“What do we put in its place?” Tender Taps asked.

“Perhaps that vone bit vhere you dance side by side and do those high kicks after moving close to each other. Let us try that. Start the music.”

When the music began, Tender Taps and Apple Bloom began their routine. When they got to a certain point, they instead performed a simple routine they had intended to save for later. After getting past that bit, the music cut out.

“Not bad, but you must increase your speed a bit. I noticed you vere starting to fall behind in tempo about 20 seconds in. Try again.”

With their coach’s instructions in mind, the duo of dancers got into starting position and waited for the music to start. When it did, they began their routine again. Unfortunately, they didn’t get far before the music cut out again.

“This time, you vent entirely too fast. You vere getting ahead of the music. Try vone more time, if you get it right, I vill keep the music going. If not, I vill have to step in and show you the correct tempo until you get it right.”

After getting into starting position again, the music began and the pair began dancing. They got fairly far into the routine before they noticed the music hadn’t stopped. As they kept going, they remembered that soon they would have to do the slide move. When they did and the music still didn’t stop, they were feeling pretty good about themselves. Ultimately, they made it to the end of the music without any real issues.

“Very good, you two. You have done vell. I only have a few notes to give, and you vill be ready for tomorrow.”

The rest of their time together was spent fine tuning their routine in preparation for the next day, when they would have to perform it on camera. As they were getting ready to head home for the day, Apple Bloom stopped her partner.

“Tender Taps?”

The dancer turned to look at his farm girl friend.

“Yes, Apple Bloom?”

“Listen, Ah didn’t get much chance to say this earlier, but Ah’m sorry about earlier. You were fixin’ to ask me a question, but then that fire drill got in the way, and Ah never got the chance to ask you again until now. So, Ah’m ready. What is it you wanted to ask?”

Tender Taps was surprised. The opportunity to ask what he had wanted to all week was being offered to him. But before he could get it out, he remembered what his principal had said about silver platters and held his tongue. He didn’t feel like this was a ‘now or never’ moment, like he had been told to wait for.

“Yes?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Well, I was just wondering if…if…if you wouldn’t mind exchanging phone numbers with me. If I ever want to ask you a question about our dancing, or about school, I don’t want to wait until we see each other in person to do it.”

“That’s it? That’s what you wanted to ask me all week? Sure. Ah don’t know why Ah never thought about it earlier. Callin’ or textin’ would help things go faster. Here, gimme your phone and Ah’ll put my number in.”

As he handed the farm girl his smartphone, he internally sighed. This wasn’t how he wanted things to go.

“There ya go. Now you have my number. Gimmie a call or text sometime soon so Ah’ll have yours.” Apple Bloom said as she handed back the phone.

“Sure. I’ll do that on my way home.”

“Alright. See you tomorrow.”

As Apple Bloom walked away, Tender’s internal sigh became external. He didn’t like having to lie to her about the question he wanted to ask. But at the same time, he was starting to understand what Principal Lecture had meant about silver platters. If he had asked her right then, then thinking about it would have occupied both their minds for a while, which may have distracted them from their dancing. He didn’t want to be eliminated just yet. No, best to wait until after tomorrow’s taping to do it.

Hopefully not too much longer after.

It was Saturday once again. Which meant it was time to dance for an audience for the third time running. All the remaining dancers began the usual tradition of getting dressed in their outfits. Tender Taps and Apple Bloom decided that it would be best to dress in clothes of the era they were dancing to. To that end, Tender Taps was wearing a white dress shirt that tucked into black pants. He also had stylish black suspenders and a matching fedora and shoes. Apple Bloom, on the other hand, wore a white button-down blouse with a small point collar. The blouse tucked into an A-line skirt that went a few inches past the farm girl’s knees. The skirt was the same shade of pink as the bow she wore in her hair. Said hair had been curled into what was known back then as a ‘Long Bob’ style. She also had black heels on.

Once both of them stepped out of their respective dressing rooms, the two dancers looked each other over.

“Wow. You look really good, Apple Bloom.” Tender said with a small blush.

“Aw, thanks. You look mighty fine, too. Ah especially like the hat.” Apple Bloom replied.

“Yeah? At first, I wasn’t sure it would go with the rest of my clothes, but once I got a good look at myself, I could tell it really complimented the whole thing.”

“It really does. Anyway, we best be gettin’ ready to dance. Our looks alone ain’t gonna impress the judges that much.”

The pair entered the green room alongside all the other dancers and patiently waited their turn. Fortunately, there were only three pairs ahead of them this week. Once the studio page called for them, Tender Taps and Apple Bloom made their way towards the stage, just waiting for their cue.

“Welcome back to Dance the Night Away!” Sea Crest announced. “Before the commercial, we saw Red Ruby and Radiant Emerald give us their take on the rumba. That landed them some decent scores from the judges. But will they be higher or lower than the next pair? Well, it’s time to find out! Let’s see if our resident shy dancer and his farm girl partner can deliver another satisfying dance this week. Up next, dancing the swing, it’s Tender Taps and Apple Bloom!”

With a deep breath, the pair prepared to dance as the music began.

At the first two beats, the duo literally jumped onto the stage one at a time. With each successive two notes, they took stylized steps closer to each other while swinging their arms in tempo with the music. Around the eight second mark was when they finally reached each other. The pair clasped hands and spent the next few beats doing a very quick triple step.

Once the two-note rhythm started again, the duo spent the first of those two beats hopping ahead again, further down the stage, one at a time. The next two beats saw them taking a step away from each other. The final two-note rhythm of this set had them getting into poses. They posed with their legs spread apart and their arms pointed downwards.

From there, they mirrored each other’s moves for the next few seconds. These moves consisted of them twisting their hips back and forth, extending the leg connected to the hip that was currently forward. They also spread their arms out at each step.

After a few seconds of this, the two-note rhythm began for the third time. The duo slid towards each other while spreading out like stars at each beat. Once the tempo picked up again, they were right next to each other. Their hands grabbed each other again as they spent the next several seconds doing stylized kick steps between each other’s legs before separating again.

When the horns started playing, they again mirrored each other’s movements. Standing on the balls of their feet, the two dancers slid to their right, swinging their arms in a small arc in front of them like a pendulum. They also did a kick every few beats. After a few seconds, they did the same thing in the opposite direction. Once they were done with this, the pair clasped hands again and Tender Taps pulled Apple Bloom close to him.

After another triple step, Tender pulled Apple Bloom into an open position, almost as if swinging her out. This was a move appropriately called the Swingout. They repeated this move a few times, doing a series of kicks after each swing. By now, they were a little over a minute into their dance.

As soon as the ukelele began playing, Tender Taps repeatedly pushed and pulled Apple Bloom close and away from him like a yo-yo every few beats. After every push and pull, the two would do a simple series of swinging tap steps. Every few pulls, he would also do another Swingout with his partner.

Once the horns started being mixed in with the ukelele, Apple Bloom stood next to her partner, holding his hand. In tempo with the music, they mirrored each other’s moves again by crossing one leg in front of the other in a series of steps, every other one ending in a kick. This went on for several seconds.

Once the two-note rhythm began again, Tender Taps grasped his partner’s hands again and pulled her close. Apple Bloom then jumped up before letting herself fall down and slide between Tender Taps’ legs. With Apple Bloom assisting by kicking off the floor, Tender then pulled his partner up and on her feet again. After raising his arm and twirling Apple Bloom under the created arch, in a move called the Underarm Turn, he led her into another Swingout. They then repeated the moves in the opposite direction.

When the music started coming to an end, the pair did one last Swingout, doing several steps in place to the beat until on the last note, Tender Taps pulled Apple Bloom close, all but swinging her into his arms and dipping her.

Once the audience started cheering for the pair, Tender pulled his partner up and the duo bowed to their fans. It was then that Sea Crest took the stage again.

“Well well, aren’t you two just full of surprises? In three weeks, we’ve seen you two pull out three different styles of dance that have little to do with each other. First tap, then tango, now swing. Gotta be honest, I wasn’t expecting this much diversity from you two when you secured your spot on this show. But is that diversity enough to save you from the chopping block? Well, that’s for the judges to decide. So let’s get their opinions.”

As usual, Boogie Woogie went first.

“As Mr. Crest said, I am impressed by how quickly you seem to pick up on new styles of dance. I also commend you for going all in on whatever style of dance you do. You don’t do things halfway. My only complaint is, like last week, you pulled from different styles of swing, namely the Charlestrot and Lindy Hop, rather than sticking to one. But to your credit, it was only two different styles as opposed to the many different styles of tango from last week. So from me, you will see an eight.”

“I too find the dance you just did very different from last week. And I greatly appreciate the originality. Both in your routine and how you choose your dance style. But speaking of originality, last week, I criticized your use of repeated moves in your tango. And while it was certainly lessened this time, I still noticed a decent number of repeats. Especially in that one move where Mr. Taps swung out Miss Bloom.” Foxtrot started.

“Actually, I think that was intentional.” Boogie Woogie interrupted.

“Really?”

“Yes. That move is called a Swingout, and is a big part of Swing dancing. It’s part of how it got its name, after all.”

“Huh. I didn’t know that. Well even so, I would still prefer to see more open originality next time. And there is the matter of your outfits. The song and dance you chose were clearly from one decade, while the clothes you’re currently wearing are from another one entirely. I’m not sure if that’s on you or our wardrobe department, but still. All in all, it was an interesting dance, but I can only go as high as seven.”

“Like Foxtrot, I will start by comparing what I saw to what I saw last week.” Line Dancer began. “Last week, I said I wanted more creativity throughout the whole routine. And you finally delivered. You finally seemed to put in equal effort throughout your entire dance. And an interesting dance it was. My only complaint is that I would have liked to see more swinging. And I don’t mean that repeated use of the Swingout like Foxtrot was complaining about. I mean more moving around and having the whole body being swung around. Similar to what you did at the end, with Miss Bloom going between Mr. Taps’ legs and being swung into his arms at the end. I would have liked to see more of that throughout. Surely you could have incorporated a few more moves like that throughout. But as is, it was still good. You get an eight from me.”

“So you two end this week with a 23. Not the worst score. But now, it’s time to bid you two adieu for now and make way for our next pair, Rosey Cheeks and Budding Daffodil, who will be doing a freestyle routine. Have to admit, I won’t be holding my breath on this one. Freestyles don’t have the best history on this show. But we’ll see.” Sea Crest said.

With that, Tender Taps and Apple Bloom left the stage and returned to the green room. It took some time, but eventually, everyone finished their dances and all contestants were called back to the stage for the weekly elimination ceremony.

“Welcome back! When we last left off, Peach Cobbler and Custard Tart finished their adorable little routine.” Sea Crest stated. “Surprising that a couple of Kindergartners could do an interpretive dance like that. However, as they were the last ones, it’s time for us to once again say goodbye to one of our dancing pairs. But first, we need to announce the winning pair of this week! And with a score of 25 out of 30, that pair is…Star Power and Gleaming Gem!”

“Thank you! Thank you! I greatly appreciate your applause!” Star Power gloated.

“And in last, with a score of 16, we have…Ice Cube and Heat Wave. It seems your foxtrot wasn’t enough to melt the heart of our judges. Even the one named Foxtrot.”

“Wait, that’s not fair!” Heat Wave shouted. “We were told by-”

“I’m sure everyone wants to hear whatever it is that you’re about to say, but unfortunately, we’re out of time. So goodbye!”

“But-”

“Goodbye!”

“I-”

“Later!”

“We-”

“See ya!”

“FINE! We don’t need this stupid show, anyway!”

With that, Ice Cube and Heat Wave stormed off the stage.

“As for everyone else, enjoy yet another week of dancing as you take yet another step closer to the grand prize! See you all next week, with fresh new dances prepared. Sea Crest, out!”

Once everyone was back in normal clothes and ready to head home, the two swing dancers made small talk on their way out the door.

“Another good week. Ah hope whatever we come up with for next week will be just as good.” Apple Bloom commented.

“I’m sure it will be. With how much we’ve both improved since we started, who knows? Maybe we’ll make it all the way to the end.” Tender Taps replied.

“Boy, wouldn’t that be somethin’. Though, Ah don’t know what Ah’d do with $100,000 if Ah got it. That’s more than an awful lot of people see at once. What would you do?”

“I’m not sure either. Maybe we shouldn’t worry about that until we’re a little closer to winning it.”

“Maybe you’re right. Anyway, my aunt and uncle are waitin’ for me. Ah best be goin’.”

As he watched Apple Bloom walk off, Tender Taps knew he had to do it. He’d tried and failed to do it all week. He had considered just giving up on it after so many failed attempts. But he wouldn’t be able to forgive himself if he went down that path. Much like signing up for this show, if he didn’t do it, he’d spend the rest of his life regretting it. So it was now or never.

“A-Apple Bloom?”

The farm girl turned around and looked at her dancing partner, who seemed to be extremely nervous.

“Yeah?”

“U-um…Are you…are you…busy…t-tomorrow?” Tender Taps asked.

“Ah don’t think so. Ah got no plans right now. Why?”

“W-well, I was…I was wondering if…if you w-would want to m-meet me at this one pizza restaurant I know. Y’know, j-just to hang out. Of course, if you don’t want to, I understand. I-I just thought… w-well…It could be fun.”

“It does sound like fun. Sure. Ah’ll be there.”

“R-r-really? Great! I mean…I’m glad you’ll be able to make it. I’ll text you the address when I get home. Does six o’clock work?”

“Sounds good. See you tomorrow.”

As Apple Bloom walked away, Tender Taps couldn’t help the goofy grin that was forming on his face. He had done it. He had finally done it!

He had a date.

Author's Note

Sorry this took longer than usual to get out, but various real life issues got in my way while I was writing this chapter.

My laptop charger broke, so I had to order a new one and wait for it to arrive
Writing the dancing scene proved more challenging than I thought
My job
Christmas

But once I got past all that, I managed to get back on track. I promised myself I would get at least one more chapter out before the new year. I hope it won't take so long to get new chapters out, but I can't make that promise. All I can do is hope that the wait is worth it.

Another thing I promised myself is that I would put more focus on Tender Taps this time. Looking back over my previous chapters, I saw that I tended to put more attention on Apple Bloom. Her thoughts, her feelings, and so on. I decided I didn't want to keep doing this. I wanted for Tender Taps to be his own character in this. Not just a tacked on accessory for Apple Bloom. I hope I did a good job.

Stay tuned next time to see if the seeds that I have planted between my two leads will bear any fruit. Not to mention all the dancing and other fun stuff you've come to expect from this story. See you then and have a Happy New Year!

Week 4: Jive

On Sunday, Apple Bloom spent much of her day relaxing until around 5:00. At that point, she made to leave the penthouse and meet with Tender Taps. But before she could make it out the door, a voice stopped her.

“Where are you going, young lady?” Uncle Orange asked.

“Oh, Ah’m just meetin’ Tender Taps. He asked me to hang out with him at a restaurant in town.” Apple Bloom answered.

Aunt Orange let out an excited gasp.

“Did I hear that right? My niece has a date?”

“It’s not a date. We’re just hangin’ out. He said that’s what he wanted.” Apple Bloom said with a blush.

“Oh, nonsense. That’s what all boys say when asking out a girl they like. But they don’t mean it. They just use that as an excuse to make themselves feel more confident. Now then, I hope you decide to wear something more sensible to a nice restaurant. Oh, and do use your Manehattanite speak. Young gentlemen like that.” Aunt Orange said.

“Ah don’t know if Ah have time to change. We’re meetin’ at 6. Besides, it’s just a little pizza restaurant. That’s what he said.”

“Hmm. Hardly the most romantic place for a first date.” Aunt Orange scoffed.

“Just make sure he follows proper date etiquette. Make sure he doesn’t sit down until you do. Make sure he pulls out the seat for you, unless you’re sitting at one of those…booths. Make sure he’s the one to pay for your meal, even if it is as meager as pizza. And if he dares to do anything to make you uncomfortable or disrespect you in any way, walk out and don’t look back. And be sure to tell us afterwards so we may make sure he gets what he deserves for making a young woman like you feel that way.” Uncle Orange instructed.

“…Alright, Ah will. Ah’ll be back later.” Apple Bloom said before walking out the door.

Truth be told, the farm girl didn’t know there were so many rules for a date. She didn’t even really think of this as a date until her aunt pointed it out. Was it true that Tender Taps just said hang out in order to feel more confident about asking her out? Did he really think she was a girl worth asking out on a date?

Apple Bloom shook her head. She wouldn’t get answers to any of these questions if she didn’t head out to meet her friend.

It was a bit of a drive, not helped by Manehattan traffic, but eventually, the farm girl made it to her destination. She read the sign outside.

Bella Notte’s Pizza

That was what the bright neon sign read. And standing under that neon was Tender Taps, waiting for the girl he had asked to come here. When Apple Bloom stepped out of her driver’s car and approached the restaurant, he gave off a wide grin and approached the girl.

“H-hey, Apple Bloom. I’m glad you could make it.” Tender Taps said.

The farm girl decided to test what her aunt had told her earlier.

“But of course. I’m grateful to you for inviting me.” Apple Bloom said in an imitation of her aunt’s accent.

Tender Taps felt like something was wrong, but brushed it aside for now. He then handed his date a flower he had been holding. A thornless rose.

“This is for you.”

“Why, thank you. It’s positively lovely.” Apple Bloom said before putting the flower behind her ear.

“Anyway, why don’t we head in? We won’t get food standing out here.” Tender commented.

“Indeed. I am quite famished.” Apple Bloom replied.

Again, Tender Taps felt like something wasn’t right, but put the feeling down. After opening the door for Apple Bloom and letting her step in, he walked in himself. The scent of warm pizza filled the air. It was a pleasant smell.

After being led to a small booth by a hostess, Tender Taps waited for Apple Bloom to sit down before taking a seat himself.

“This is quite a quaint establishment. However did you come across it?” Apple Bloom asked.

“This place has been a favorite of my family for as long as we’ve lived here. We’ve tried a lot of local pizza places, but this is the only one we keep coming back to.”

“Indeed? Well, it must be quite special if you keep returning to it. I’m quite looking forward to dining here.”

As Apple Bloom glanced at the menu, Tender Taps felt like he had to ask.

“Apple Bloom, are you feeling alright?”

“Why, yes. I feel perfectly natural. Whatever made you think I wasn’t?”

“W-well…it’s just that…”

“It’s how Ah’m talkin’, ain’t it?” Apple Bloom said in her natural voice.

“W-well…kinda. Yeah.”

“Ah figured. My aunt and uncle are what ya might call ‘upper class’. Since the day Ah arrived, they’ve been tryin’ to get me to talk like them, so Ah could fit in with all them fancy people they’re friends with. Just before Ah left, my aunt mentioned that guys liked it when girls talked all fancy. Figured Ah’d give it a shot. Guess it didn’t work out, huh?”

“I like you for you. I don’t want you to pretend to act like something you’re not. I want to get to know the real you.”

“Ah’m glad to hear it. Talkin’ like that was harder than it seems.”

Just then, a waitress came by and got their drink orders. A soda for Tender Taps and water for Apple Bloom. Once the waitress left, Tender Taps struck up another question.

“So, what kind of pizza do you want? I was thinking maybe we could split a large one. Get half of what you want and half of what I want. Unless you want the same thing, of course. Or want to do something different.”

“Ah’m fine with splittin’ a large one. Probably would save money over gettin’ two different pizzas. But truth be told, Ah’m not sure what to get on my side. Ah haven’t really eaten much pizza in my life.”

“Really? You haven’t?”

“Nah. My family down in Canterlot prefers cookin’ our own food. We only ever go out for special occasions. Even then, pizza ain’t high on our list of places to eat out. The only time Ah’ve ever really had pizza was when my friends and Ah would get together for a sleepover. We’d order pizza and eat while we talked or played games or whatnot, but that’s about it.”

“Huh. Well, trust me. A real Manehattan pizza restaurant is a million times better than any of those chain places people like to order out from. And like I said, this one is my absolute favorite. I hope you like it. But as for what to get on it, try going simple at first. You can’t go wrong with pepperoni.”

“Alright, Ah’ll try that. Ah remember likin’ that when Ah tried it at those sleepovers.”

Right then, the waitress returned with the drinks and asked for their order.

“We’d like to split one large pizza, please. Put pepperoni on one half, and sausage and mushrooms on the other half.” Tender Taps requested.

After writing it down, the waitress left to place the order. Once she was gone, the couple’s conversation began again.

“So, what do you think our dance for next week should be?” Apple Bloom asked.

“If it’s all the same to you, I’d like to wait until tomorrow at school to decide that. There’s a lot more I want to talk about in the meantime.”

Apple Bloom let out a dramatic gasp that would have made Rarity proud.

“What’s this? You not wantin’ to talk about dancin’? Who are you and what have you done with Tender Taps?”

“Heh heh. Well, I want to show you there’s more to me than just dancing. We’ve known each other for over a month now, and in all that time, I realized I don’t know a lot about you, really. Things like…what’s your family like? What are some of your hobbies? What’s your favorite color? I’d like to know those things. If you don’t mind telling me.”

“Sure, Ah don’t mind tellin’ you. As long as you tell me all of the same.”

“Of course! There’s not a whole lot about my family to tell, though.”

“Well, what is there you can tell?”

“I’m an only child. I live with my mom and dad at a small apartment a few blocks from here. My dad works as a sports marketing researcher for this big company. He really loves sports. He always goes to the big games or watches them on TV. That’s actually how he met my mom. Back when he was in college, he was a season ticket holder for Manehattan’s biggest football team. And season ticket holders got to do a lot of things, like meet the team cheerleaders. My mom was one of those cheerleaders, actually. The way my dad tells it, they always managed to strike up a conversation at each game until he finally asked her out. The rest is history. It was watching old footage of my mom’s cheerleading days that inspired me to want to be a dancer, actually. The way she and her friends moved, the routines they performed. I knew I couldn’t do anything like they did, of course, but I could still dance in other ways. Mom always says I do it better than she ever did. She likes to say I do it because I’m passionate about it, while she did it just to rile up the crowd. Anyway, she stopped being a cheerleader just before she got pregnant with me. Since then, she’s worked as a part time trainer at a yoga studio.”

“Wow. Sounds like you got a pretty interestin’ family.” Apple Bloom commented.

“Yeah, I guess I do. Anyway, what about your family? What are your parents like?”

Apple Bloom’s demeanor suddenly turned sad.

“Truth be told, Ah don’t really remember my parents. They died when Ah was just a baby.”

“Oh my goodness!” Tender Taps said with a gasp. “I-I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to drag up unpleasant thoughts or memories or-”

“It’s fine.” Apple Bloom interrupted. “You didn’t know. Anyway, Ah was raised mostly by my grandmother, Smith Apple. Granny Smith, Ah like to call her. We live in a quaint little farmhouse on the outskirts of Canterlot. We have the largest apple orchard in town. We like to sell locally, though Granny Smith always did want for the rest of the country to try our apples, if not the world. Anyway, also living there on the farm are my older brother, Big McIntosh, or Big Mac, for short, and my si-”

“Your hot fresh pizza is ready. I hope you two enjoy.”

The duo looked over at the waitress who interrupted their conversation as she placed a steaming plate of pizza on their table. After leaving some smaller plates, a pizza server to grab slices with, and a few napkins, she left them alone again.

“Gotta admit, this does smell mighty good.” Apple Bloom said as the aroma of the pizza hit her nose.

“Wait until you get a taste of it.”

After both of them got a slice of pizza on their plates, they began eating. Tender Taps was right. This was the best pizza Apple Bloom had ever had. It blew those chain restaurants out of the water. As they ate, the pair went over various other things they wanted to learn about the other. Hobbies, interests, other activities outside of dancing. They were so engaged in conversation that they almost didn’t notice that they had eaten every last slice of pizza until they reached out and found their plates empty. Once they finally noticed all the pizza was gone, they realized that over an hour had passed since they arrived. Their conversation had gone on longer than they thought.

“Well, Ah reckon Ah oughta head back.” Apple Bloom said.

“Same here. My parents said they wanted me home before the sun went down.”

After Tender Taps left some money on the table to pay for the meal, they made their way outside the restaurant.

“Thanks for invitin’ me. Ah had a great time.”

“Same here. I hope we can do something like this again sometime.”

“All ya gotta do is ask.”

Just then, the driver the Oranges hired for their niece pulled up.

“Well, Ah gotta go. Thanks again. Ah’ll see ya tomorrow.”

With that, Apple Bloom gave her friend a hug. Tender Taps stiffened a bit and a bright blush appeared on his face. But once he recovered from the shock of getting his first hug from a girl (that wasn’t his mom), he managed to return the hug. The blush didn’t leave his face for some time. Not when he saw his friend get in the car to leave, not when he walked home, and not when he opened the door to his apartment and saw his parents, who immediately wanted to know how his date went.

The next day, the duo met again in homeroom. As soon as they saw each other, they smiled.

“Howdy, Tender Taps.” Apple Bloom greeted.

“Hi. I just wanted to say again that I had a great time yesterday.” Tender Taps replied.

“So did Ah. And Ah meant what Ah said Ah’d go again if you ask.”

“Heh. Well, I just might take you up on that. But that can wait until later. Right now, I want to answer that question you had yesterday. About what kind of dance to do this week. Part of me was thinking of a freestyle kind of thing.”

“Ah don’t know about that. Ah don’t think Ah’m creative enough to come up with original moves. Ah’d rather do somethin’ with moves Ah can learn.”

“So then, what?”

Before Apple Bloom could answer, the morning bell rang, signaling the start of the school day.

“We’ll have to keep talkin’ at gym.” Apple Bloom said before the morning announcements began.

The first part of the school day went by uneventfully. Once gym class rolled around, Tender Taps and Apple Bloom continued their conversation while running laps around the gym.

“Maybe ballet?” Tender suggested.

“Nah, Ah don’t think Ah could stand on my toes like all those fancy ballerinas do. What about jazz?”

“No. One of the pairs did that last week. If we ever do that, let’s save it for when no one does it the week before.”

Before Apple Bloom could offer another suggestion, the gym teacher blew his whistle, signaling the start of another type of exercise. Tender Taps didn’t get the chance to talk to his dance partner again until lunch.

“How about Paso doble?” Tender brought up.

“Ah have no idea what that is. At least with tango and swing, Ah had a basic idea. Maybe foxtrot?” Apple Bloom replied.

“That’s what got the last group eliminated.”

“Ah’m runnin’ out of ideas here.”

“You and me, both.”

The two dancers wracked their brains trying to think of what dance to do. But neither one of them could come up with an idea on what to do this week.

However, Apple Bloom’s last suggestion did get the wheels in Tender Taps’ head turning. Maybe the foxtrot got the last group eliminated, but what about the other groups that had been eliminated? Could they use one of them? Maybe show the judges that those dances could be done well? The foxtrot was out, since that was the most recent elimination dance, but what of the other two? One of them was the two-step, which Tender didn’t want to do since it seemed like a step backwards from swing dancing. The other one was the…the…

“Hey, Apple Bloom?”

“Yeah?”

“Random question. By any chance, do you remember what kind of dance that the first group to get kicked off did? Three weeks ago?”

“Off the top of my head, no. Ah think it started with a ‘J’, though. Ah remember Sea Crest sayin’ somethin’ with a ‘J’ in it before they started. Jazz? No, that wasn’t it. Jozz? Jokk? Jike?”

“Jive?” Hoofer Steps suggested.

“Yeah! That was it.” Apple Bloom replied.

“Very vell. Ve shall try to do a jive this veek.”

“How do we do a jive dance?” Tender Taps asked.

“In a similar vay the last two dances vere done. Vith a leader and a follower.”

“One of these days, we gotta do another dance where we do things equally again.” Apple Bloom muttered.

“Perhaps, but that day is not today. Today, ve shall start vith basic jive steps. And basic jive steps are done in six beats, to the following rhythm: 1-2-3-a-4-5-a-6. From there…”

As was typical of Tuesdays, gym class consisted of what the coach called ‘exercise games’. Today’s game was a time-honored favorite.

“Dodgeball!” The coach shouted.

The class was quickly divided in two, with both sides getting a fair number of balls, which they immediately began throwing at each other. Luckily, Tender Taps and Apple Bloom wound up on the same side.

While those around them were getting pelted with dodgeballs, Tender Taps was using his skills as a dancer to avoid getting hit. Every time Tender tapped, spun, or leapt over a ball, Apple Bloom would pick up that ball and throw it back at the other side. This strategy served them well throughout the game. Before long, they were about the only ones left standing.

“Excellent job to team 1 for winning. Take five, everyone. Then, we’re going to go again.” The gym teacher announced.

With the signal to break, many of the students took a seat on the bleachers.

“Nice job out there. You did real good.” Apple Bloom complimented.

“Me? Come on, you were the MVP. You’re the one that threw everyone out.” Tender Taps countered.

“Maybe, but you still managed to dodge all the balls and give me plenty of ammo to use. Don’t think Ah didn’t see how well you got around all of them. It was like you were dancin’ around all the balls.”

“Truthfully, that’s what I was thinking the whole time. I was thinking of a lot of my dancing moves. And like dancing, I found myself getting more confident and into my moves the longer I did it.”

“Ah always liked that you seemed to get more confident in what yer doin’ the more you do it. It’s a mighty good quality, confidence.”

“Thanks. I just wish I had more of it, and that it would come up in me more often.”

“Ah think it comes up just enough. Especially when we’re dancin’ together. Ah still remember that one time ya talked back to Sea Crest after makin’ a mistake and got right back to dancin’. Now that Ah think on it, you stopped him just before he could say somethin’ real hurtful about me. Somethin’ you never say to a girl, just like Hoofer said.”

“Well, I’d do it again if I had to. And not just about the mistake I made. Of course I’d step in for someone insulting you. I-I don’t want you to think I wouldn’t do that to. I would step in if someone said something mean, of course. Wait, I said that already.”

Tender Taps was cut off from further speaking by Apple Bloom giggling.

“For as confident as you can be sometimes, you’re pretty awkward just as much. But Ah kinda like it when you act awkward. Ah think it’s kinda cute. It’s part of why Ah like you.”

Apple Bloom’s only response was a blush from her friend. Before he could respond with words, a loud whistle blew.

“Alright, kids! Break time’s over. Get into position for another round of dodgeball.” The gym teacher called out.

Tender Taps and Apple Bloom stood up and walked together to where they were during the last game. But before they could get there, the coach put a hand on both their shoulders.

“Hold on a moment, you two. Don’t think I didn’t see how you two carried your team through the last game. The rest of the class won’t get proper exercise if you two do all the work again. So for this game, you’ll be on opposite teams. We’ll see which does better, Mr. Taps’ defense, or Miss Bloom’s offense.”

Both students looked at each other in shock, surprised that they’d be forced to compete against each other. They didn’t want to, but they had no choice. They walked to opposite ends of the gym and waited for the teacher to start the game.

“So, vould you tell me how you got such an impressive bruise on your arm?” Hoofer Steps asked later that day.

“There was a little accident during gym class today while we were playing dodgeball. Someone had a harder throwing arm than expected.” Tender Taps answered.

“Ah said Ah was sorry.” Apple Bloom grumbled.

“I know. At least the nurse said it would clear up before the end of the week.”

“I see. Anyvay, ve must get on to dancing. Today, ve vill get finished vith the basics. Tomorrow, ve shall get started on something more advanced.”

“It’s time to get started on more advanced jive moves.” Hoofer said on Wednesday.

“Where do we begin?” Tender asked.

“By learning some moves that are likely to impress the judges on Saturday.”

The next hour was spent learning some moves unique to jive. As they did, they began shaping it up into the routine they would do a few days from now. It was around this time that Hoofer had an idea.

“You two have heard the music you vant to perform for your routine, obviously. Vell, if you listen to the lyrics, you can tell that it is telling a story. Vhat if ve base our routine around that? Vhat if ve tell that story through dance?”

“Hmm. Ah kinda like that idea, actually.” Apple Bloom commented.

“Me too.” Tender Taps added.

“Very good. Let’s take this lyric by lyric, then. Ve vill start from the beginning. For the start of the music, I believe Apple Bloom should step out on stage first, followed by Tender Taps shortly thereafter. Vhen the lyrics start, here’s vhat I vant you to do…”

For the next hour, the duo of dancers went lyric by lyric under their dance coach’s instruction, shaping up their routine. It was around the time they were about a quarter of the way into the song that the first mistake occurred. Apple Bloom and Tender Taps were at a part where they were pushing each other by the shoulder. However, Apple Bloom pushed a little too hard, forcing Tender Taps to fall over. In a vain effort to keep his balance before falling, he grabbed Apple Bloom’s hand, but this only served to have her fall on top of him.

“Uh…hi. Sorry ‘bout that.” Apple Bloom said with a blush as she looker down at her partner.

“N-no problem. Accidents happen.” Tender Taps said with an equal blush.

Silence reigned for a moment before Tender spoke up again.

“So, uh… do you mind…getting off me, please?”

“O-oh, yes! Of c-course! Sorry!”

Apple Bloom quickly got to her feet before offering a hand to help her dance partner up.

“Vell, the story you told me yesterday of the dodgeball incident is a bit more believable now. But at least you made it this far before making a mistake this time. Now then, let us try again. But please, Miss Bloom, try to control your strength this time.” Hoofer Steps directed.

They continued piecing together their routine until it was time to call it a night and go home. By then, they were a little over halfway through the song.

While Apple Bloom and Tender Taps were waiting for their respective rides home, Star Power found herself approaching one of her other competitors.

“Hey. Minty Fresh, right?” Star Power asked.

“Yeah, that’s me. What do you want?” Minty Fresh replied.

“Listen, this isn’t something I’d normally do, but I felt like you have a right to know.”

“Know what?”

“I just stepped out of the restroom, and while I was in there, I overheard your sister talking to Sour Cream. They were talking about you.”

Tender Taps felt something strange about that Thursday morning. But he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Not until the morning bell rang and he noticed that the desk next to him was empty.

Apple Bloom was not at school today.

Going without his one and only friend for the day had suddenly reminded Tender Taps of what school life was like before Apple Bloom had transferred there. Back in those days, he was the shyest kid in school. He was always too nervous to pursue his talent and passion for dancing. And in turn, this fed into his nervousness to pursue other things. Things like making friends, joining a club, or having much of a social life in general. He didn’t want to go back to those days.

But perhaps he didn’t have to. Just because Apple Bloom wasn’t here didn’t mean the experiences she had shown him had to vanish with her. He had managed to get close to her, after all. Who’s to say that he couldn’t get close to someone else?

Tender Taps decided to put this to the test when lunch came around. He was about to sit at his usual spot, but then he remembered that the spot next to it would remain unoccupied today. So, he decided to find somewhere else to sit.

After looking around for a minute, he saw a few members of the dance club he had attended once sitting together. Taking a deep breath, he decided to try his luck.

“E-excuse me. Is this seat taken?” Tender Taps asked.

Several pairs of eyes turned to the orange skinned dancer.

“Hey, I know you. You were at the dance club once at the start of the school year, then got onto that dancing show on TV. Tender Taps, right?” One of the other students asked.

“Y-yeah. That’s me.”

“Well then, no. That seat’s not taken. You never deny a seat to a TV star.”

Suddenly feeling more at ease, Tender sat down and began to eat.

“So, what brings you to this table today? And what about your red-haired dance partner? Doesn’t she go to this school, too?” Another student asked.

“She didn’t come to school today. That’s why I’m here. She’s the first real friend I ever got, but that doesn’t mean she has to be my only one. Without her here, I wanted to try making more.”

“Well, you’ve come to the right place. We like talking dance, obviously. And something tells me you have a lot to talk about in that regard.”

“I sure do, um…”

“Oh, my name is Flash Step.”

Tender Taps spent the rest of lunch period talking with Flash Step and the rest of the present dance club members. By the time the bell rang, Tender found that he enjoyed talking to them so much that he promised to sit with them again sometime, with Apple Bloom in tow if he could.

The rest of the school day passed by uneventfully, as did the rest of the day until Tender Taps made his way to CDE studios to begin dance practice. Though, he wasn’t sure how far he’d get if his partner was missing in action like she was at school.

“Good day to you, Tender Taps.” Hoofer Steps greeted. “Vhere is Apple Bloom?”

“About that…I don’t know if she’ll show up today.” Tender replied.

“Don’t be so sure about that.”

Tender Taps turned around and saw Apple Bloom standing in front of him.

“You’re here! I didn’t think you’d show up since you weren’t at school today.”

“Yeah, sorry ‘bout that. What happened was after Ah got home from dance practice yesterday, Ah had dinner with my aunt and uncle, but there was somethin’ wrong with the food, and we all got sick. That’s why Ah wasn’t at school today. But Ah took a bit of medicine earlier. Once Ah did, Ah felt well enough to come here, at least.” Apple Bloom explained.

“Vell, at least you’re here now. And ve need to keep practicing vith your dance routine. So let’s get to it.”

It was now Friday, and all the dancers were starting to put the last touches on their dance routines. They all knew they had a lot to do if they wanted to impress the judges tomorrow.

“I still feel like ve are missing something.” Hoofer commented.

“What could we be missing?” Tender Taps asked.

“Yeah, we got plans for all the words of the song. We got pretty much all the moves down, too.” Apple Bloom added.

“True, but I still think ve need to add something…more interesting.”

“What more could we add?” The two dancers chorused.

Hoofer Steps thought for a moment before inspiration struck her.

“I have an idea. You both remember the basic jive steps, yes? And how often you vill be doing them during the repeating lyrics?”

“Yes.”

“Vell, there are more notes in the music than the six original steps can accommodate. Vhat if to fill in the extra notes, ve have you two do some more interesting moves than just filler?”

“What do you mean by ‘interesting moves’?” Tender asked.

“Don’t vorry, I von’t ask you to do anything complicated. Not vhen you are this close to performing. But vhat I vill do is ask that you two go through the routine as planned, and I vill stop you at the appropriate moments and tell you vhat to do.”

And that’s just what they did. Lyric for lyric, they went through the dance they would be doing tomorrow. But during each of the chorus sections, the music stopped, and Hoofer Steps had her two charges perform a different kind of move after doing the basic jive steps. When Tender Taps and Apple Bloom found one they liked, that move was incorporated into that particular section of the routine. Once every chorus section had been filled in, Hoofer called for the dancers to go through the whole dance without stopping.

“Very good. I feel you are ready for tomorrow. And ve still have some time before our time together ends this veek. Let us try the routine one more time. I vant to double check for any remaining flaws.”

The rest of the time at the studio was spent fine tuning the routine so that it would be as great as possible for the on-camera performance tomorrow.

Shortly thereafter, as everyone was making to go home, Star Power saw Mouthwash sitting alone, waiting for her brother. The experienced dancer smiled as she approached her target.

“Hey, Mouthwash.”

“What’s up?”

“Listen, this isn’t something I’d normally do, but I felt like you have a right to know.”

“Know what?”

“As I was walking down the halls on the way here, I overheard your brother talking to Willow. They were talking about you.”

Saturday had arrived once again. Which meant it was time to dance in front of hundreds watching from the stands, and thousands, if not millions of others, who would soon be watching from their TVs. But first, everyone had to once again get into their dancing outfits.

Both Tender Taps and Apple Bloom were wearing Latin Haymerican inspired outfits. Tender was wearing a black Latin V-neck top that parted just in the middle of his chest. He also had matching black pants and shoes. His hair had also been styled back. Apple Bloom was wearing a dark red Latin dress with a sash going from her right shoulder to her left hip. The skirt was slightly longer on the left side. Her red hair had been tied into a bun that hung perfectly center on the back of her head. Black heels completed the look.

“You look great, as always, Apple Bloom.” Tender Taps complimented.

“Aw, thank you. You look great, too.” Apple Bloom responded. “Though, Ah’ll admit, Ah’m still not sure about the heels.”

“I think they look good on you.”

“Maybe, but Ah still don’t know how other gals consider these fashionable. Remember when we were learnin’ to tango? Ah was barely able to walk in them at first, much less dance.”

“True, but you learned quickly enough. And you did great with the tango. The swing, too. And I know you’ll do great tonight.”

Tender’s kind words and confidence in her gave Apple Bloom a renewed sense of vigor. She was ready to go out and dance with her good friend again.

But before she could, she had to wait her turn alongside most everyone else. She and Tender Taps waited patiently in the green room until their names were called by a studio page. As they waited for their cue, they saw Sea Crest finishing up with the last pair.

“One more hand for Willow and Oak! And their own version of the tango. Got some decent scores from our judges. Their score may have been slightly higher, but I still think the one our shy dancer and farm girl did a couple weeks ago was better. Speaking of which, they’re up next! Give a warm welcome to Tender Taps and Apple Bloom, who are doing a jive for us today!”

Unlike all their previous dances, the pair entered from the same side of the stage this time around when the music started.

With the first four notes, Apple Bloom stepped onto the stage, swaying her hips and crossing one leg in front of the other as she did. With the next four notes, Tender Taps stepped on stage, mirroring Apple Bloom’s actions. Just as Tender took his last step, Apple Bloom twirled around on her foot and placed her finger on her partner’s chest.

Right after the words ‘Hit the Road, Jack’ were heard, Apple Bloom began stepping forward, while Tender Taps stepped back. This went on until the last ‘No More’.

When the ‘Hit the Road, Jack’ came on again, Tender Taps clasped Apple Bloom’s hand. After a quick step and a twirl, Apple Bloom pulled her hand away and lightly shoved Tender Taps away from her before turning her back to him.

At the three spoken words, Tender Taps performed a sliding step, placing himself right into Apple Bloom’s field of view. The duo then clasped hands again, but kept each other at arm’s width.

The duo danced down the stage during the next few lyrics, mirroring each other’s steps as they did. By the last ‘no more’, they were both at the center of the stage.

During these lyrics, the duo did the basic jive steps before capping it off with a move called the Haymerican Spin at the words ‘Don’t you come back no more’. Tender Taps spun Apple Bloom in place while still holding her hand.

Once the lyrics starting with ’Old Woman’ began, Tender Taps twirled his partner around from one side of him to the other before stopping her when her back was to him before pushing him away from her

After doing two steps, the pair pushed each other in opposite directions by the shoulder.
Tender Taps approached Apple Bloom and looked down on her with a glare. Apple Bloom returned the glare at ‘That’s Right’.

When the chorus started again, Tender Taps and Apple Bloom did some basic jive steps again, before sweeping their legs in an arch shape at each ‘no more’.While dancing, both Tender Taps and Apple Bloom pretended that they were trying to pull away from each other.
Just before the chorus started again, Tender finally pulled away from Apple Bloom before she pulled him back, as if wanting to say something right to his face.

The duo once again did a few more basic jive steps. They then did what was called the ‘chicken sweep’. This was when both partners took four steps, one at each ‘no more’, while swaying their hips. They kept up their passive aggressive looking hip swaying all the way through this part until the next lyrics started.

Tender Taps started circling around Apple Bloom like a vulture, doing stylized jive steps as he did. Apple Bloom kept her eyes trained on him, doing some small steps in place.

At the words ‘I don’t care’, they suddenly shifted gears. After stopping her partner in place, Apple Bloom took over as leader while Tender Taps was the follower.

They repeated the jive steps at a slower rate than normal, with Apple Bloom getting in Tender’s face the whole time.

Before long, Tender Taps took over as leader again. He did the same thing Apple Bloom had done just a moment ago, complete with getting in her face.

Apple Bloom then pushed Tender away into an open dance position.

Yet another series of jive steps, capped off this time with the two dancers circling each other the way a shark does its prey at each ‘no more’.

From here, a brief instrumental section started. The dancing duo used this time to do a few basic jive steps again while stepping in a large circle around the stage before coming to a stop in the middle of the stage. At the last trumpet note, they both took a massive step away from each other.

At this point, the lyrics began being spoken, rather than sung. Tender Taps and Apple Bloom stopped dancing and began acting out what the lyrics were saying.

Apple Bloom turned and faced Tender Taps with a fake angry expression on her face. Tender Taps did the same thing a moment later. After that, Apple Bloom faced away from Tender Taps and rolled her eyes. Tender Taps then walked in front of Apple Bloom.

When the lyrics about a suitcase began, Apple Bloom pointed to a prop suitcase lying on the side of the stage before making a ‘shoo’ hand gesture at the words ‘go on back’.

Tender Taps crossed his arms and looked away with a haughty expression on his face. Apple Bloom rolled her eyes again at ‘Find yourself’ before shoving Tender Taps in the chest at ‘GET LOST!’.

Tender Taps gestured to himself. Apple Bloom again shoved her dance partner at ‘That’s right’.

At this point, the lyrics began being sung again, and the two dancers started to actually dance again.

After a few good looking but still basic jive steps accompanying the next chorus repeat, both partners tried to pull away from each other at each ‘no more’, almost like a tug of war. Apple Bloom proceeded to again shove her partner in the chest before turning from him and stepping away in time with the music.

Tender grabbed his partner’s hands and got into an open position with her for the final part of their dance. The dancers stepped their usual steps at this part, and twirled themselves around at each ‘no more’.

From here to the end of the song, the lyric ‘Don’t you come back no more’ just repeated until it faded out. The duo just repeated some basic jive steps in place while pretending to try and pull away from each other. Once the music finally faded away entirely, the pair did pull away from each other. They stood next to each other and bowed to the cheering audience as Sea Crest came back on stage.

“I have to admit, I wasn’t expecting something like that. I’ve been hosting this show for a long time, and I can count on one hand the number of times I saw anything resembling a story attached to a dance. Didn’t expect any of you kids to come up with that. But you’ll find that I like it when creativity like that crops up. Really drives up ratings. You know what else drives up ratings? Comparing all the scores the judges give to each other. So let’s see what scores those judges give you now. Boogie Woogie?”

“Well, I will say that I enjoyed the dance very much. And for once, you stuck to only one style rather than everything under an umbrella. Granted, it’s not like there are multiple styles of jive, but still. And that part where you acted out the spoken lyrics was amusing. The only thing I have to complain about is that the song choice hit a little too close to home for me. Reminded me of a bad divorce from 10 years ago. Still, it’s not like you could have known that. My score for you will be a nine.” Boogie Woogie said before holding up a scorecard with a nine on it.

“As for me, I too found the dance itself enjoyable, as I’ve come to expect from you two. And for once, you finally kept repetition to a minimum. Sure, there were a fair number of similarities during all the ‘Hit the Road, Jack’ parts, but there’s only so much you can do with jive in a week. However, unlike Boogie Woogie, I confess that I did not like the part where you stopped dancing just because the lyrics began being spoken rather than sung. I truly think that if you thought hard enough, you could have found a way to dance around that part and still got across what you did just by acting. So all in all, my score to you will be an eight.” Foxtrot stated.

“Now it’s my turn.” Line Dancer commented. “I find the thing I liked most was the story that your song told. I almost really believed that you two were an arguing couple in the middle of a bad break up. I found all the little touches you put in, like trying to pull away from each other, and the occasional shove, very creative. However, I’m with Foxtrot when I say the non-dancing part shouldn’t have been in there. This is, after all, a dance competition, not an acting or general talent competition. Also, it’s generally frowned upon for the leader and follower roles to switch in the middle of a dance, even to add to what the song was doing. I’ll give you an eight this week.”

“So you walk away with a 25.”

The crowd cheered for this score before Sea Crest continued.

“Not bad. You two seem to be in a good place this week. How good a place, though, depends on how well your fellow dancers do. So why don’t we welcome the next ones? Let’s welcome to the stage Minty Fresh and Mouthwash, who will be doing a quickstep.”

Tender Taps and Apple Bloom were pleased with their scores. They returned to the green room in high spirits as the next pair began dancing. While they waited for everyone else to finish, they struck up conversation.

“Now that I think about it, I find it sort of ironic.” Tender Taps stated.

“Ya find what ironic?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Just earlier this week, you and I start…dating.” Tender Taps said with some shock still in his voice. Even after almost a week, he still couldn’t believe he had gone on a date with such a talented, kind, pretty girl like Apple Bloom. “And we just danced to a song about a couple breaking up and one of them being kicked out of the house.”

“Huh. That is a little weird, now that ya point it out.”

“B-but don’t worry about it too much! I would never say anything like those lyrics said to you. You’re too kind for me to want to say something like that to.”

“Ah agree. Ah would never say anythin’ like that to you, either. Even if nothin’ ever comes of us datin’, Ah’ll always think of you as a friend. And Ah hope you can say the same.”

“Of course! I’ll always be your friend. No matter what. You’ll always mean a lot to me for helping me come out of my shell and do things like join the dance club, sign up for this show, and ask out an incredible girl like you. You were there for me from the moment we met, and I want to be there for you.”

As he spoke, Tender Taps absentmindedly put an arm around his dancing partner. Apple Bloom smiled and leaned into the side hug. Once Tender Taps realized where his arm was, he was shocked and was about to pull it away. But before he could, he remembered that he just said he would be there for her. And she certainly didn’t seem to mind where his arm was. So he decided to keep it there. And it stayed there until all the dancing pairs were called back to the stage so that one of them could be eliminated.

“And that was Red Ruby and Radiant Emerald doing a contemporary dance!” Sea Crest announced. “I have to admit, I always thought contemporary looked a little weird. Mostly because of the outfits. I mean, what were the costume designers on when they thought putting that on you was a good idea? But anyway, that was our last pair of the night. And you all know what that means! It’s time for another pair to hit the road! But before that road can be hit, we need to give a small amount of glory to the top scoring dancers this week.”

All the dancers held their breaths as they waited to hear who would be taking top spot this week, and who would be eliminated from the competition.

“And for the second week running, that small amount of glory belongs to Star Power and Gleaming Gem, who got a score of 26.”

The two aforementioned dancers looked inordinately proud of themselves for once again taking the top spot. The other dancers were struggling to not look as annoyed by their attitude as they were.

“And on the bottom of our list, Getting the boot this week, with only an 18, it’s…Minty Fresh and Mouthwash. So sorry, you two, but it seems you two weren’t able to sink your teeth into this competition. Your dancing just left a bad taste in the judges’ mouths. And so, it’s time for you to get out of here.” Sea Crest stated.

“This is your fault!” Minty Fresh accused his sister.

“My fault?! How is this my fault?!” Mouthwash shot back as she and her brother began walking out of the studio.

“You were the one who suggested that we stay apart as much as possible while we dance! Everyone knows the mambo only works close quarters!”

“Well, if you hadn’t told Star…”

The rest of the sibling’s conversation went unheard as they made it off stage towards the exit.

“Well, they certainly took it well. Anyway, the rest of you still have more dancing to show off. But at this time next week, two more of you will meet the same fate as our dearly departed siblings back there. Who’s it gonna be? Tune in next time to find out, right here, on Dance the Night Away! Until then, Sea Crest, out!”

After changing back into their normal clothes, all the remaining dancers went their separate ways, ready to head home and relax for a day, then get right back to dance practice for the next week. Two of those dancers made idle chitchat as they waited for their rides home to arrive.

“Another good week, huh?” Tender Taps mused.

“Yeah. And Ah’m sure we’ll have another one next week. Ah don’t know what we’re gonna do, but whatever it is, Ah’m lookin’ forward to it.” Apple Bloom responded.

“Same here. I’m always looking forward to dancing with a friend.”

Apple Bloom smiled at Tender Taps. Just then, a car horn could be heard, and the young orange skinned dancer saw his parents’ car pull around to the front of the studio.

“Well, there are my parents. I guess it’s time for me to ‘Hit the Road, Jack’.” Tender joked.

Apple Bloom laughed at the joke and gave her friend a hug before watching him leave. Her aunt and uncle pulled up seconds later, prompting Apple Bloom to head out and go home.

As she sat in the back of her relative’s car, Apple Bloom thought about the song she had recently finished dancing to.

‘Hit the road, Jack. And don’t you come back no more.’ Apple Bloom thought. ‘Is that what Applejack thought when Ah left? Was it Jack that told me to hit the road and don’t come back no more? Her name was pretty much in the song. Part of it anyway.’

Apple Bloom shook her head. She didn’t want those kinds of thoughts floating around up there. Surely her older sister still loved her. She would say so when she returned to Canterlot in the winter. By then, everything between them would be like it was.

But what if it wasn’t?

Well, if not, Apple Bloom still had others that still loved her. Granny Smith, Big Mac, the other members of the Canterlot Movie Club. She could always count on them for support.

And now she had someone else to add to that list. Tender Taps. From the moment they started talking, he had shown her things, pushed her to do things, that she probably wouldn’t have otherwise. He encouraged her, helped her when she was feeling down, and overall made her feel special.

She also thought he was pretty special. Sure, he could be shy and nervous at times, but when he put his heart into something, nothing could stand in his way. He also had a good sense of humor, which was always a plus. And after their date earlier in the week, she found that the way she felt about him was different than she had ever felt about any of her friends before. Could this be the same way he felt about her? The way that encouraged him to ask her out? She hoped so.

She hoped to feel like this about him for a long time.

Author's Note

I wasn't sure how to handle music with lyrics in this story at first. I had many different ideas, each one having pros and cons in my head. I just hope the one I ended up doing is satisfactory. If so, great. If not, take solace in the fact that only one other piece of music I have planned for this story has lyrics, and it'll be a while before we get to that chapter. I may not have chosen the best way to handle the lyrics, but I made that choice anyway, and I'm going to stick with it when we get to that next chapter.

Anyway, I don't have much else to say here this time. Honestly, the most exciting thing I wrote this time was the date scene. But I'm pretty sure you all knew it was coming anyway, given how the last chapter ended. Everything else, IMHO, was fairly standard and par the course for this story. The next chapter will be much the same. I do have a few small surprises planned, but the chapter after next is the one I'm really looking forward to.

Still, I hope you enjoy the next chapter. And I hope you enjoyed this one too. If so, leave a like, comment, favorite, all that good stuff. If not, the back arrow is in the corner of your screen, so use it rather than leave hate.

See you all next time. Arrivederci!

Edit 2/6/25: I’ve cut the lyrics from the chapter and slightly edited the dance scene accordingly. I made the mistake of using copyrighted lyrics in a story when doing so is against the rules. My bad. When the aforementioned other song with lyrics comes along, I’ll do something similar to what I just did. I hope you were still able to follow the music otherwise.

Week 5: Cha-Cha-Cha

On Sunday evening, Apple Bloom found herself watching the show she was dancing for on television with her aunt and uncle once again. Even after four weeks, Apple Bloom still found it a surreal experience watching herself on TV. She also wished that they hadn’t included the footage of her falling on top of Tender Taps. Still, her aunt and uncle were happy with her.

“You always pull off the most spectacular dances, my dear. It truly is a treat to watch you perform.” Uncle Orange said with pride.

“Indeed. If you continue performing like this, I have no doubt you will go far in this competition. Who knows? Perhaps you might even make it to the end and win the grand prize.” Aunt Orange beamed.

“Thank you for your kind words. Though, Ah don’t know if Ah’m that good at dancin’. But Ah’m still gonna try the best Ah can.” Apple Bloom replied.

“That’s all we can ask of you, dearest. Well, I can also ask you to get ready for bed. It’s starting to get late, and you do have school in the morning.” Uncle Orange stated.

“Alright. Ah’ll get ready for bed right after Ah call Granny Smith.”

“That’s fine.”

Ever since she made it onto Dance the Night Away, Apple Bloom had made it a habit to call home on Sunday evening and see if her family had watched the show. They always had, and were more than happy to give their thoughts on what they saw the youngest Apple do that week.

Once she got to her room, Apple Bloom pulled out her smartphone and dialed the number for Sweet Apple Acres. Apple Bloom wasn’t sure why her grandmother insisted on keeping a landline phone on the farm, but it was what it was. Apple Bloom heard her phone buzz a few times before someone picked up.

“Hello? Sweet Apple Acres, this is Mrs. Smith Apple speakin’.”

“Granny!”

“Howdy, young’un’! How are you?”

“Ah’m good, Granny. How are you?”

“Mighty fine, since Ah get to hear yer voice again. We just finished watchin’ yer dancin’ program.”

“Ah hope you liked it.”

“We did. Mighty fine moves you pulled off. The words to that song were a might offputtin’, though. Talkin’ about a bad breakup. Ah hope you never have to hear anythin’ like that in real life.”

“Ah hope not, either. But Ah doubt Ah’ll hear it anytime soon. In fact, just the opposite.”

“Whaddya mean, Apple Bloom?”

“Ah probably shoulda told ya this last week, but…You know Tender Taps? The guy Ah’m dancin’ with on the show? Just after we did our dance last week, the swing one, he actually asked me out on a date…and Ah said yes.”

“Oh ho ho, is that so? You hear that, Big Mac? Apple Bloom done got herself a boyfriend! Well, Ah never thought my youngest grandchild would be the first to get a special someone.”

“G-Granny! I-it’s not like that! We’ve only been out on one date so far. Ah don’t know if Ah can call him my boyfriend yet. Or if ‘yet’ will ever come.” Apple Bloom said with a blush.

“Uh huh, whatever you say, child. Just make sure he treats you right, or else Ah’m gonna have to come up to Manehattan and give that boy a whoopin’ he’ll never forget.”

“Ah don’t think it’ll ever come to that. He’s been nothin’ but nice to me since we started talkin’. Since then, he’s been real sweet and sincere and funny…”

Apple Bloom was interrupted by the sounds of barely repressed laughter coming from the other end of the line.

“What’s so funny?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Sorry, Apple Bloom. But Ah can’t help but find you funny right now. Hearin’ you gush about this boy. It’s real cute.”

“U-uh…so, how’s the rest of the family doin’? How’re Big Mac and Applejack?” Apple Bloom asked quickly.

“Big Mac’s just fine. He’s right here next to me, actually. Ah’ll hand the phone over to him if you want. Applejack is…her usual self.”

Apple Bloom sighed sadly. Of course Applejack still wouldn’t give her the time of day. Honestly, Apple Bloom didn’t know why she kept asking. At least she still had one sibling she could rely on.

“Yeah, Ah’d like to talk to Big Mac, if you don’t mind.”

After Granny Smith handed the phone to her eldest grandchild, he and Apple Bloom had a brief conversation, which mostly consisted of the quiet man’s signature ‘Eeyup’ and ‘Nnope’ phrases. Apple Bloom was just happy he decided not to tease her about Tender Taps like Granny Smith had.

“Well, Ah’m gonna hand the phone back over to Granny now. Talk to ya later, Apple Bloom. Ah love you.”

“Love you too, Big Mac.”

With that, the phone was passed back to Granny Smith.

“Well, it was mighty nice hearin’ your voice again, Apple Bloom. But Ah gotta go. Gotta get ready for bed. Ah reckon you gotta do the same. You still got school tomorrow, right?”

“Ah do. Alright then. Ah’ll call ya later. Ah love y’all.”

“We love you too, Apple Bloom. Bye now!”

Apple Bloom hung up the phone and quickly started getting ready for bed. Once her head hit her pillow, it wasn’t long before sleep overtook her.

Upon making it to homeroom on Monday, Tender Taps and Apple Bloom wasted no time trying to decide what dance they wanted to do this week. But much like the previous week, they found themselves unable to come to a decision. Their discussion poured all the way into lunch.

When Apple Bloom entered the lunchroom and got her food tray, she looked towards the spot she and Tender usually sat at, only to find it empty. This confused the farm girl. She knew he wasn’t absent today, and his last class before lunch was much closer to the cafeteria than hers, meaning he should have gotten there first, so where was he?

“Apple Bloom! Over here!”

The redheaded girl turned to the sound of the voice calling her name. She then saw Tender Taps sitting at a different table. He was surrounded by people that Apple Bloom recognized as the members of the dance club they went to twice before dropping out to be on television.

“What made ya decide to sit here today?” Apple Bloom asked before taking the empty seat next to Tender Taps.

“Well, remember last week when you weren’t here on Thursday? Well, I didn’t want to eat lunch alone that day, but you were my only real friend, I wasn’t sure what to do. But when I saw the other dance club members, I remembered how you helped me make friends with you, and decided to try it again with them. I decided I wanted more than one friend. Not that you aren’t a great friend, but like they say, you can never have too many friends.”

“Ah understand. And Ah’m glad you decided to make more friends. Ah hope Ah can make friends with them too.”

“We’d be glad to have you as a friend, Apple Bloom.” One of the dance club members stated.

“As long as you can answer one question for us.” The leader of the dance club, Flash Step, added. “When are you guys gonna do an interpretive dance? That’s my favorite kind.”

“Oh, please, Flash. Everyone knows the Flamenco is the best.” Another member butt in.

“Yeah, except people with eyes. The cha-cha-cha is superior to all of them.” A third member scoffed.

“C’mon, y’all. Please don’t fight.” Apple Bloom pleaded.

“Besides, there’s still several weeks left. Who knows. We might end up doing all three of them before we’re done.” Tender Taps added.

“Well, we still haven’t decided what we’re doin’ this week anyway. Maybe y’all can help us pick which one to do.” Apple Bloom suggested.

Everyone smiled widely and prepared to present their cases.

“Vell, given vhat you told me, I believe your best option vould be the cha-cha-cha.” Hoofer Steps said later that day. “Interpretive dance is not vone that has gotten high scores from this show in the past, and the Flamenco, vhile interesting, traditionally only involves vone dancer at a time. It vould be difficult to turn it into a partner dance.”

“Alright, cha-cha it is, then.” Tender Taps declared. “I assume we’re going to start by learning the basic steps?”

“You are familiar vith my style of teaching by now. Very good. The rhythm for the cha-cha is as follows: Vone, two, three, cha-cha-vone, two, three.”

As she spoke, Hoofer did the steps in place while her two charges watched.

“Now before you try, there are some things that must be kept in mind vhile you do these steps. First, the leader, Tender Taps, must take his first step checked vith his left foot, vhile retaining some veight on the right foot. Also, keep your right knee bent and close to your left knee, vhich you must keep straight for now. From there, be ready to move your foot to the left. As for the partner, Apple Bloom, you must do much the same, but move your foot to the right. Vonce you have done that, I vill tell you vhat to do step by step. Quite literally. Now come together in a closed position.”

The next three hours flew by as the duo learned the basics of the cha-cha-cha. Once dance practice came to an end, everyone waited for their rides home. As she looked out for the car that would take her to her aunt and uncle’s penthouse, Apple Bloom’s eyes glanced over the massive concrete jungle around her. As she thought more about her current surroundings, the farm girl found her shoulders sagging as she let out a sad sigh.

Seeing his friend’s obvious discomfort, Tender Taps approached her and began speaking.

“Are you alright, Apple Bloom?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. Ah’m fine. Don’t worry ‘bout it.”

“Are you sure? Look, if this is about how little we got done today, don’t worry. It was only our first day. We have the entire rest of the week to learn the cha-cha.”

“No. It ain’t that.”

“Then what? Something at school? A test or homework you need help with? I’ll admit I’m not the smartest person at school, but I can try and help with-”

“It ain’t that, either. It’s just…Ah look out over the city, and Ah realize how…grey, everything is under all the bright lights and hustle and bustle of the big city. For a girl who grew up on a quiet farm, in a much smaller city like Canterlot, it’s all a little… it’s like…”

Apple Bloom didn’t need to finish her sentence for Tender Taps to understand what she meant. The dancer furrowed his brow as he thought about what he could do to help her. Said brow then shot up as an idea entered his mind.

“Hey, it may be a little late to ask this, but do you wanna hang out again tomorrow after school? There’s something I want to show you. Something I think you’ll like.”

“What’s that?”

“I want to surprise you. Just ask your aunt and uncle if you can come with me after school instead of going to their house before we have to be back here.”

“…Alright. Ah’ll give it a shot.” Apple Bloom said after a moment’s hesitation.

“Good. You’ll love it. I promise.”

Right then, the Orange’s driver pulled up, signaling Apple Bloom to head out.

“Okay, Ah trust you. See ya then.” Apple Bloom said as she walked away.

As he watched Apple Bloom being driven away, Tender waited for his own ride to pull up, hoping that his homesick friend would feel better by this time tomorrow.

After school on Tuesday, Tender Taps and Apple Bloom took the bus together and were dropped off in front of the former’s apartment building.

“So this is where you live, huh?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Yeah. It may not look like much, but it’s home.” Tender Taps answered. “But we’re not here to see inside. I wanted to show you something else.”

Tender Taps then led his friend a few blocks away from the apartment complex. At first, Apple Bloom thought he was taking her back to Bella Notte’s Pizza, until she realized none of the surrounding buildings were like those that surrounded the pizza restaurant they went to last week. The farm girl figured they were going in the opposite direction. So what was Tender Taps going to show her?

“Alright, we’re here!”

At Tender Taps’ announcement, Apple Bloom looked out and saw a massive park in front of her. With trees, grassy fields, and lakes all within her field of view, the farm girl’s eyes lit up like a child looking at their birthday presents.

“Ah didn’t think there was this much green in all of Manehattan.” Apple Bloom whispered.

“Welcome to Central Park. I thought it would be nice to spend some time walking around here. I thought it would remind you of home. I wanted for you to explore this a bit before we get to dance practice.” Tender Taps stated.

“Well, we don’t have a lot of time before we have to be there. So let’s go!”

All but vibrating with excitement, Apple Bloom grabbed her friend’s arm and ran into the park as fast as her legs could carry her. She wasted no time looking at everything the area had to offer, with Tender Taps being forcibly dragged with her. Not that he seemed to mind. For the next half hour, they walked the field, sat in the shade of trees, took off their shoes and dipped their feet in the water, and everything in between.

“I take it you like it here?” Tender Taps asked as he and his friend were walking along the park.

“Ah love it. This is the closest Ah’ve felt to home since Ah got to Manehattan. Thanks for bringin’ me here.”

Apple Bloom capped off her statement by giving Tender Taps a huge smile and pulling him into the biggest hug she possibly could. A hug he was more than happy to return.

“You’re welcome.”

As soon as she broke the hug, Apple Bloom turned to look around at the park.

“The only way this could possibly be better is if…wait a minute…”

All of a sudden, Apple Bloom’s eyes shot up and she took off running. Tender Taps followed behind her.

“Apple Bloom, wait! Slow down!” Tender called after her.

Apple Bloom eventually came to a stop in front of a girl roughly her own age with tannish-brown skin and two-toned pink hair styled in a tomboyish haircut.

“Babs? Babs Seed? That you?”

The girl in question turned to look at Apple Bloom. Once their eyes met, the girl’s face put on a wide smirk.

“Well, well, well. Lookit who’s here. It’s da TV star of da family. How ya doin’, cuz? Ya ain’t forgotten about us little people yet, huh?” The girl said before giving Apple Bloom a hug.

“Ah’m good, Babs. It’s nice to see you. Ah take it you know about the dancin’ show, huh?”

“You kiddin’, cuz? Da whole fam knows! Aunt Orange ain’t been able ta shuddup ‘bout it since you made it on TV. We’re all rootin’ for you, by da way.”

“Thanks, Babs. But Ah hope it ain’t just me you’re rootin’ for. Ah ain’t in this alone. He’s with me, too.” Apple Bloom said while gesturing to Tender Taps, who finally managed to catch up with her.

“Oh yeah, right. Your partner. What brings you here, huh? I thought you’s guys only danced together. Didn’t know you saw each other outside da show.” Babs replied.

“Well, we do. We actually go to the same school. That’s how we met.” Tender Taps stated.

“’Kay. So what brings you here t’getha now?”

“Well, we had a bit of time before dance practice today, and I decided I wanted to show her Central Park.” Tender answered.

“This is even nicer than when we went out for pizza the other week.” Apple Bloom chimed in.

“Dinner and a walk in da park, huh? Ooooh. I see how it is.” Babs said with a wiggle of her eyebrows and an even wider smirk than before. “You’s guys is pretty darn cute t’getha.”

The resulting blush from both Apple Bloom and Tender Taps made Babs Seed’s smirk go even wider. Almost to the point of outgrowing her face.

“Well, seems we ain’t been properly introduced. Name’s Babs Seed. Cousin to dis one here.” Babs said while gesturing to Apple Bloom.

“I’m Tender Taps. It’s nice to meet you. I remember Apple Bloom telling me about you.”

“All good t’ings, I hope.”

“Mostly just about you being her favorite cousin, but had a pretty rough first meeting a few years ago.”

“Yeah…sorry again ‘bout dat, cuz. It was stupid of me ta throw in with those two losers what were bullyin’ you and your friends.” Babs said while rubbing the back of her head sheepishly with a guilty look on her face.

“Ah told you already, Ah forgive you. You’ve already made it up to me, and said sorry pretty much any time we talked after that.”

“I know, I know, just feels like somet’ing I still gotta say. Still doesn’t sit right with me how badly dey almost hurt you. With my help, no less. Least I learned to always look out for my own after dat. Speakin’ of which…”

Babs turned to Tender Taps with a stern look on her face.

“You just make sure you treat her real good, you hear? If ya don’t, you’re gonna have da entire Apple Family on your hide. Or what’s left of it when I’m done. I don’t much like folks hurtin’ on my fave cousin, y’hear?” Babs said with a shake of her fist.

“L-loud and clear.” Tender said with a gulp.

“Babs, please don’t.” Apple Bloom groaned.

“Ah, come on. It’s just a little teasin’.”

“Ah know, but Ah got enough of that from last time Ah talked to Granny Smith.”

“Ok, ok, jeez. ‘Sides, I know if he does hurt you, you’ll be just fine in da end. We Apples are tougher than most. We can shrug off any kinda hurt thrown our way sooner or later. And we can show those what hurt us they can’t hold no power over us.”

The trio was left in silence for a few moments until Babs cleared her throat again.

“Anyways, I don’t wanna interrupt your date no more, so I best be on my way. I’ll tell my folks you said hey.” Babs said.

“Alright, then. Take care, now, Babs.” Apple Bloom replied.

“Take care, cuz.” Babs said before walking off.

“For the record, I want you to know I’d never do anything to hurt you. Not intentionally.” Tender Taps said once Babs was gone.

“Ah know you wouldn’t.” Apple Bloom responded.

“Personally, I was hoping my first meeting with someone from your family wouldn’t be so…intimidating.”

“Oh, trust me. That was Babs just teasin’. You don’t wanna know what she’s like when she’s actually tryin’ to be intimidatin’.”

“That doesn’t make me feel much better.” Tender mumbled.

“Well, maybe walkin’ around nature a little longer will help with that.”

The duo spent the next several minutes continuing their walk around the park. Seeing Apple Bloom so happy again did ease Tender Taps’ features fairly quickly. His good mood continued when the time came to start dance practice again. After hailing a cab and being driven to the studio, the pair met with Hoofer Steps and continued their training in the cha-cha.

As music played in the background, Apple Bloom did the basic cha-cha steps in place while Tender Taps approached her from the opposite end of the practice room. The farm girl’s whole body swayed with the music as she watched her partner get closer to her.

“Stop, stop, stop.” Hoofer Steps called out.

The music suddenly cut out and the two teenage dancers halted in place.

“Apple Bloom, you are svaying your body too much. You must remember vhat I told you yesterday. Vhen doing the cha-cha, only the hips and legs must svay. The torso must stay relatively still. That includes the shoulders, unless you are raising your arms. And Tender Taps, you are outpacing the music. It vill not do for you to reach Miss Bloom before the corresponding notes end. Come on people, it is Vednesday, the middle of the veek. Ve must get our act together if you are to survive this veek. Let’s go again.”

Tender Taps and Apple Bloom returned to where they were moments ago before the music started up again. Apple Bloom did the cha-cha steps in place while trying to keep everything above her stomach stiff as a board. Meanwhile, Tender Taps did his moves to the music, this time slowing his pace enough to keep in time with the music. Right as the two dancers reunited, the music cut out.

“Vell done, you two. Ve can now begin vith the next segment. Ve are finally beginning to shape this thing.” Hoofer stated.

As the music resumed, the pair did their next moves as they danced across the room. They twirled in place before-

“What’s going on here?”

“WHOA!”

Apple Bloom’s leg suddenly gave out from under her and struck Tender Taps, causing both to collapse in a heap. The duo then looked up at what, or rather, who, had caused Apple Bloom’s accident. Their angry faces spoke volumes.

“You did that on purpose!” Apple Bloom glared.

“What can I say? I pride myself on my timing.” Sea Crest smirked.

“Vhat are you doing here?” Hoofer Steps interjected.

“Like I said last time. I enjoy popping in on my dancers every now and then. Seeing what they’re doing. So…what are you doing?”

“We were just practicing the cha-cha.” Tender Taps answered.

“Oh, the cha-cha, huh? That one takes a lot of effort. Let’s see where you’re at, then.” Sea Crest said.

Trying to pretend the annoying host wasn’t present, Hoofer Steps turned back to her two charges.

“Let us fast forvard a bit. Close to the end, vhen the chorus lyrics play for the last two times. That is vhere the most vork is needed right now. Now then, play the chorus lyrics back. Ve must remind our dancers of vhat they are to dance to.”

On some overhead speakers, a set of lyrics played. Once they finished, Hoofer instructed her dancers to go through them again while doing the moves she instructed them to do.

“Alright, remember. You must do a large slide before doing the cha-cha steps. Ready? Go.”

The first lyric played.

“To the right now.”

The duo slid to the right as the music continued.

“To the left.”

Tender Taps and Apple Bloom slid to the left and continued dancing while Hoofer gave them instructions.

“Not bad. With moves like that, you may just have a shot of buying $100,000 worth of tractors, pitchforks, hay, and other farm equipment when you get home.” Sea Crest interjected.

The duo stopped dancing at Sea Crest’s continued interruption. Hoofer Steps squirmed in place, struggling not to blow up at the host for getting in the way of her instruction.

“Must you continue to distract my dancers the vay you are?” Hoofer growled.

“Whoa! Take it back now, y’all. No need to raise your tempers. I’m just here to watch. The audience loves seeing you guys practice before the big night. And, of course, seeing this handsome face react to your practice before the big night.” Sea Crest said with a smile.

“Vell, can that handsome face at least keep quiet until ve get to a good stopping point?” Hoofer shot back.

“Yeesh. Take a pill.”

“Vhat vas that?”

“Nothing, nothing! Just keep going. Pretend I’m not here.”

“Easier said than done.” Hoofer grumbled.

Thankfully, the rest of their time together that day passed uneventfully. When the time came for all the dancers to go home for the day, they all left relatively quietly.

That is, with one exception.

“Hey, Daffodil.”

Budding Daffodil turned and saw who was addressing him. He immediately sighed.

“What do you want, Star Power?” Daffodil groaned.

“Just to talk.”

“Well, make it quick. I need to catch up to Rosey.”

“Fine. I just want to ask what kind of dance you’re doing this week.”

“You know we’re not allowed to talk about that. I actually want to stay in this contest and win, thank you.”

“Oh, please. No matter how good you think you are, you’ll never make it past the likes of me. Everyone knows I’m the favorite to win. So why not just cut to the chase and tell me what I want to know?” Star Power scoffed.

“As if. I’m not saying a word to you. And there’s nothing you can do about it.”

Star Power glowered at Daffodil’s challenge. But that expression quickly changed to a smirk as she eyed something at Daffodil’s side.

Without saying a word or changing her expression, Star Power strutted over to an open sandbag left to the side alongside other objects meant for backstage. She reached into the sandbag and threw some of the sand onto her face and clothes. After throwing one last smirk at Budding Daffodil, her expression immediately dropped as tears came to her eyes. Star Power then began bawling as loud as she could. It wasn’t long before studio security arrived.

“What’s going on here?” One of the security guards asked.

“I…I was just talking to Budding Daffodil, and…a-and he got mad at me for no reason and threw that sandbag in my fa-a-a-ce!” Star Power sobbed.

“What?! No!” Daffodil yelled. “She’s lying! I didn’t touch her! I never-”

“K-keep him away from me!”

One guard restrained Budding Daffodil while the others led Star Power away. Star Power struggled not to laugh underneath her crocodile tears.

On Thursday, Apple Bloom waited patiently for her friend to show up in homeroom. She had something she wanted to ask him about their upcoming dance. Once her purple haired friend entered the room, the farm girl’s smile grew.

“Howdy, Tender Taps. Listen, there’s somethin’ Ah wanna ask ya. About halfway through our dance, Ah was wonderin’ if you think we should…hey, you alright?”

“Y-yeah. I’m f-fine. Just a little c-cold.” Tender Taps replied as he rubbed his hands together quickly.

“Ah see.”

“M-man. Who knew it would be t-this cold out today?”

“Ah did. My aunt and uncle watched the weather and saw we were due for a cold front. That’s why they made me wear these gloves and jacket and such. Besides, we’re less than a week away from November. It’s only gonna get colder from here.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t think it would get this cold this fast.”

The entire time he was speaking, Tender Taps was trying desperately to warm up his hands. Apple Bloom watched her friend’s plight before looking down at her own glove covered hands. Her brow furrowed as she considered her next course of action. Eventually, she came to a decision.

She removed her gloves and presented them to Tender Taps.

“Here. Borrow these.” Apple Bloom offered.

“R-really? You sure?”

“Yeah. They ain’t much use to me right now. Especially since we’re inside right now. Just make sure you give ‘em back before the end of the day. And bring yer own next time.”

“I will.” Tender Taps said as he put the gloves on. “Oh, wow. These work great. They’re really warm. Thank you, Apple Bloom. Truly.”

“Yer welcome, Tender. Say, if ya don’t mind, is it alright if Ah just call ya ‘Tender’ every now and then?”

“Sure! You’re my friend. I don’t want you to think you need to be formal with me all the time. In fact, while we’re on the subject, is it alright if I just call you ‘Apple’?”

“Ah guess not. But personally, Ah’d rather you call me ‘Bloom’. There’s plenty of others in the family with ‘Apple’ in their name. Heck, we’re called the Apple family. Bloom feels more personal to me.”

“Bloom.” Tender tried the shortened name on his tongue. “Bloom. I like it. I think it suits you.”

“Ya think so?” Bloom asked, her cheeks starting to darken.

“Yeah. I remember when the school year started, we were both kind of nervous and out of place. One of us was the new kid who didn’t know anyone here and the other was just a naturally shy kid who didn’t really talk to others. But thanks to you, I managed to get out of my shyness and all but become a new person. And you. You didn’t need any help to get over your nervousness. You did that all on your own. I guess what I’m trying to say is…we both managed to ‘Bloom’ into better people.”

Apple Bloom turned her head away slightly in a vain attempt to hide her blushing cheeks and goofy smile threatening to break through her face.

“W-was that too cheesy? I-I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable.”

“No, no! Ah mean, it was a little cheesy. But…it was also one of the kindest things anyone’s ever said to me since Ah got to Manehattan. So…thank you. Yer one of-”

“Alright, break it up, you two!”

Tender and Bloom looked up to see their teacher, Timely Manner, looking down on them.

“There’s no time for that now. The school day will begin in 47.3 seconds. You should be preparing for the lessons to come. Besides, I lost my tolerance for teenage flirting right after I took this job. Exactly 27.93 years ago. Now, this is your first and only warning. Save it for outside of school, or I will see you two sent to different seats.”

The two teenagers in question didn’t respond. Timely Manner nodded and walked off, confident that his message had gotten across. Once the morning bell rang, everyone prepared for the day ahead.

“Alright, then. From the top.” Hoofer instructed. “Here ve go.”

The music began as Tender Taps and Apple Bloom started their routine from the beginning. Since it was Friday, the pair hoped to finish the day with their teacher’s approval so that they could enter tomorrow confidentially.

“Vait, vait, vait.” Hoofer called out as the music stopped.

Tender and Bloom were a minute into their routine when the coach called for them to stop. The two dancers looked at her in confusion.

“What’d we do wrong this time?” Apple Bloom groaned.

“Earlier in the veek, the two of you vere alvays outpacing the music. This time, the opposite is true. You are going too slow. The music is outpacing you.”

“We’re trying, but this music is a lot different from last week’s.” Tender complained.

“Well, we gotta do somethin’. We’re dancin’ tomorrow.” Bloom countered.

Hoofer stood silently for a moment as she contemplated what to do. Eventually, she came to a decision.

“Ve shall tackle this vone at a time. Apple Bloom, return to vhere you vhere vhen the instrumental started. Tender Taps, you may take a short break.”

As Tender moved away from his partner and sat down on a chair against the wall, Bloom stood in place as she waited for the music to resume.

“Okay, ve shall start from the beginning of the instrumental. Are you ready?”

Apple Bloom nodded.

“Good. Now…five six seven eight!”

As the music started, Apple Bloom lifted one leg as high as she could before planting it on the ground in front of her and slowly brought the other leg next to the first one.

“Hold it.”

The music cut out again.

“I think I see the problem now.” Hoofer declared. “I often forget that you are not as flexible as the average female dancer. That is vhy the music is outpacing you here. And Tender Taps is being forced to slow down to accommodate you.”

Apple Bloom was about to ask how to rectify this, but Hoofer held a hand up, pondering deeply and not wanting the farm girl to derail her train of thought. After a full minute’s worth of contemplation, the dance coach looked up.

“Alright, here is what ve are going to do.”

Hoofer relayed her instructions to Apple Bloom, who took in every word.

“Are ya sure that’s gonna work? What about the part where we-”

“Ve vill do vithout that part. It vas rather veak, anyvays. Now, get into position, and ve shall start again. And…five six seven eight!”

The music started where it had before, and Bloom danced to it with her new instructions.

“Very good!” Hoofer Steps complimented. “This is much better. Now then, Tender Taps, come here. Go vhere Apple Bloom vas vhen she started. You vill do vhat ve vere doing already, just by your lonesome. I vant for you two to reunite just as the new lyrics begin.”

With the music rewound to where it was, Tender Taps did as he was instructed until he was right at Apple Bloom’s side.

“Splendid. Now, ve shall do both of your parts vithout stopping. Vonce you get through that, ve shall return to the very beginning and see how everything looks.” Hoofer stated.

Another whole hour passed before the time came for dance practice to end for the day. Once it did, despite Hoofer’s assurances that they were ready, both Tender and Bloom could feel an uneasy pit in their stomachs.

This week’s dance had been harder to learn and taken longer to get right than any of the others. Would it hold up against all the others this week? Even if it did, what would the future weeks hold? They would be expected to do better, more awe-inspiring dances as the competition wore on. Would they be able to do it? Could they actually see this through to the end?

These and other troubling thoughts invaded their minds until they were lulled to sleep.

Saturday. It was a day everyone at CDE studios either loved or dreaded. Those that dreaded it most were the ones who would be dancing on camera today. They dreaded it because they knew that by the end of the night, two more of them would be out of the running for the $100,000 grand prize.

But before they could do the dances that would determine which one of them would be out of the running, they all had to get into the outfits they would dance in this time around. Like last week, the duo found themselves in Latin Haymerican inspired dance clothes. Apple Bloom was again in a red dress. It was less extravagant than the last one, though. The only real thing of note were the three layers of frills that made up the bottom of the dress, which went just past Apple Bloom’s knees. Simple heels were also present. Tender Taps was also in a fairly simple getup. He was wearing a Latin inspired black button up shirt that was tucked into black pants with black shoes.

“Ah feel like Ah looked better last week.” Apple Bloom said as she walked out of the dressing room.

“Same. This feels a little…simple, compared to what we wore the last couple of weeks.” Tender Taps agreed.

“Well, as long as we can still dance while wearin’ it, Ah guess.”

“Yeah. But speaking of which, we best get ready. We’re one of the first ones this week.”

With that, the pair entered the green room alongside all the other dancers. The only ones not there were Star Power and her partner. And that was just because they were dancing first. After the pair did their dance, they returned to the green room, strutting in as if they owned the place.

“I hope you were all watching that.” Star Power boasted. “That’s what a true dancer looks like. What did you all think of such perfection?”

No one responded to Star Power’s arrogant sarcasm. This made the girl irritated.

“Excuse me! Someone more important than you is trying to talk!”

“Really? Where? I don’t see or hear anyone that important here.” Tender Taps muttered with irritation in his voice.

Tender’s comment wasn’t quite as quiet as he thought it was, however. His comment was not only heard by everyone in the room, it also made them start to chuckle. Except the people that comment was directed toward, though, who began to grit their teeth in anger.

“What did you say?” Star Power growled.

“He said you ain’t as important as you think. So quit tryin’ to put the rest of us down like you are. Ah can honestly say Ah see why Daffodil wanted to hit ya on the head with that sandbag.” Apple Bloom declared, wanting to come to her friend’s defense.

“I didn’t hit…!”

Before Budding Daffodil could say anything else in his defense, Star Power shoved him to the side and stomped towards the farm girl and her dance partner, ready to tell them off. She got right in Apple Bloom’s face and began shouting.

“Where do you get off talking to me of all people like that?!”

“Ah get off at the same place you get off yer high horse. Though, personally, Ah don’t think that place exists. Kinda like yer humility. Ugh! Or your toothbrush, given how yer breath smells.” Bloom responded, pinching her nose shut.

This caused all the other dancers to break out in laughter. Star Power, however, had gone red in the face in anger. So red, in fact, that the others thought she was about to erupt like a volcano. But before that eruption could occur, a studio page entered the green room.

“Tender Taps and Apple Bloom? It’s time for you to go on stage.” The page said.

Bloom quickly walked out of the room, dragging Tender along with her. The only thing stopping Star Power from following after to further antagonize them was the fact that just as she turned to Gleaming Gem, about to order him to join her in making those two pay, he reacted much the same as Apple Bloom at her breath. Star Power then breathed into her own hand and sniffed it. She quickly gagged at the disgusting odor.

After making their way close to the stage, Tender Taps and Apple Bloom heard Sea Crest talking.

“Welcome back, one and all! Before the commercial, we saw our usual flashy opening number for this episode, as well as an equally flashy paso doble from Star Power and Gleaming Gem. They were spectacular, as usual. But they were hardly the only dancers we have. So let’s get some of them out here. Who’s next, you ask? Well, let me give you a clue. Old McDonald had a farm. E-I-E-I-O. And on this farm, he had a daughter who decided to come to the big city and make friends with a shy recluse with dreams of being a great dancer. Together, they auditioned for this show and got in, and now they’re going to do the cha-cha-cha for us. Let’s hear it for Apple Bloom and Tender Taps!” Sea Crest cheered.

In contrast to all the previous weeks, Tender Taps and Apple Bloom were already on stage, ready to dance, when the music began, as opposed to coming on stage with the music. Just before the first beat began, the two dancers posed. Bloom was standing in front of Tender Taps with her arms spread out in a T position. Tender, meanwhile, stood behind his partner with his arms pointed upwards.

Once the music began, the pair began shaking their hips in opposite directions in tempo with the music, while also switching the positions their arms were in. This continued for about seven seconds before the two stepped to the side in opposite directions before embracing each other in a traditional partner dance pose.

As the music continued, the pair danced down the stage using the basic cha-cha steps. Once in the middle of the stage, Tender twirled his partner twice in quick succession. The next few seconds were spent doing the basic cha-cha steps before Tender quickly dipped his partner and pulled her up just as quickly. Right then, they separated and took a step away from each other.

Right then, the vocals started. The same foreign lyrics repeated four times in a row in the song’s chorus. During the first and third set of lyrics, Tender Taps would do a dance in place. During the second and fourth set, Apple Bloom would copy what Tender had done just before her. The first time the lyrics played, Tender spun around before tapping his feet in the same positions as the basic cha-cha steps. After Bloom copied him and the third repeat started, Tender raised his arms and swung his hips around before shuffling his way closer to Apple Bloom. After Bloom repeated his movements, the two dancers found themselves right in front of each other.

As new vocals started, Tender Taps and Apple Bloom cha-cha’d their way across the stage, close to the judge’s table. Tender then dipped his partner and swung her in an arc before pulling her back up. After doing more cha-cha steps closer to the center of the stage, Tender twirled Apple Bloom around three times. The farm girl then found her back pressed to her partner’s chest.

As the next lyrics began, Apple Bloom spread her legs in a vertical position, slowly letting her body sink closer to the floor as far down as her dress (and limited flexibility) would allow. All the while, she shook her hips as she descended. Tender Taps, meanwhile, stood still as Bloom lowered herself down. But as soon as her head was parallel to his chest, he swung his shoulders and hips in a wave like fashion, his arms raised and swaying in a similar fashion.

To the beat of the following lyric, Tender Taps grabbed Apple Bloom under her arms and pulled her up, the pair’s respective shoulders and hips now swaying in the opposite directions of their previous dance moves. Once she was on her feet again, Apple Bloom did the cha-cha steps while shifting to her right as Tender Taps did them in place. The farm girl then put her hand in her partner’s hand.

The chorus lyrics began again. At the first lyric, Apple Bloom did the basic cha-cha steps in place before Tender Taps twirled her around to his other side. At the second lyric, Tender did the same before Apple Bloom twirled him to her other side. At the third lyric, Apple Bloom slid off to the side while shaking her hips before she cha-cha’d from one side of Tender Taps to the other. And on the final lyric of the chorus, Tender Taps repeated his partner’s movements. By now, they were close to the far edge of the stage.

At this point, another instrumental portion began. While Tender Taps stayed behind, just swaying his hips to the beat of the music, Apple Bloom danced down the stage. She jumped and twirled as she got further away from her partner, then she tapped her way towards the center of the stage. Once there, she cha-cha’d in place, ending it by putting her hands on her hips and swinging her left hip twice in tempo with the music, bouncing her leg as she did.

Tender Taps then moved to catch up with his partner. He kicked one leg up in the air as high as he could before bringing it down in a massive step forward. He then slid his other foot forward, zigzagging it in tempo with the music until it caught up to the first. He then spun around numerous times as he got closer to his redheaded friend. He then dropped down to his knees in front of her before he jumped up and landed on his feet with the last two notes of the instrumental section. All the while, Apple Bloom just stepped in place.

As new lyrics stated up, Tender Taps and Apple Bloom both placed one hand on their partner’s shoulder and the other one in their partner’s other hand. The pair then did basic cha-cha steps as they approached the edge of the stage. After that, both dancers took a step away from each other before they twirled in place numerous times, their legs sticking out and getting close to the front row of the audience.

Tender Taps then grabbed his partner’s hand and spun Apple Bloom around, again pressing her back to his chest. They then stepped back to the middle of the stage, their hips swinging to and fro with each step. Once there, Bloom raised her arms and tapped the cha-cha steps in place. Meanwhile, Tender Taps placed one hand on her waist and extended the other arm outward. While Bloom cha-cha’d in place, Tender took stylized steps while walking around his partner in a circle. His hand moved across the farm girl’s waist, her stomach, and her back as he walked.

Right then, the instrumental music began again, intercut with lyrics from the chorus. The duo danced down the stage closer to the judges’ table until the lyrics started, at which point, they both made 180° spin in separate directions. They then made a complete 360 in the opposing direction. They then repeated the process three times, getting a little closer to the judges each time.

The chorus began once again. As the lyrics began, the duo stood beside each other and copied each other’s movements. To the first lyric, they both took a large sliding step to the right before tapping the cha-cha steps in a vertical line, moving their legs back and forth while keeping their torsos as still as possible. To the second lyric, they took a sliding step to the left and did the same cha-cha steps, only this time they moved their legs in a horizontal line. The third and fourth lyrics had them repeat what they did for the first two.

Immediately afterwards, the chorus repeated itself for the final time. For this set of lyrics, Tender Taps and Apple Bloom got back into a closed position to dance. As the first lyric played, Tender Taps spun his partner around twice before she cha-cha’d away from him. The farm girl went out as far as she could while still holding her partner’s hand. To the second lyric, Apple Bloom pulled her friend close to her as their conjoined hands raised in the air before they both stepped in a circle, their joined hands at the center of that circle. The third lyric saw them separate as far as they could again, before they cha-cha’d close to each other, hips swinging the whole way. To the fourth and final lyric of the chorus, Apple Bloom got dipped and spun in a complete circle by Tender Taps.

Another instrumental section intercut with lyrics began. As their dance sequence entered its final leg, Tender Taps pulled Apple Bloom up and spun her around until they were both facing the same direction. He then started tracing her stomach and hips with his hands. His own hips were shaking the entire time. After that, Bloom took a few stylized steps until she was standing behind Tender. She placed her hands around his stomach while the boy cha-cha’d in place. Tender Taps then spun in place twice before he faced his partner. Once they both got into a closed position, they cha-cha’d while spinning themselves across the stage, closer to the judges. They ended their dance by grasping each other’s hands and separating as far as they could while still holding hands. To the final beats of the music, they stepped closer to each other in the cha-cha style. The final note had their faces mere inches from each other.

Once the music finally ended, the cheers of the audience filled the air. The dancing duo split from each other and turned to face the judges and audience. They then bowed respectfully to them. At this point, Sea Crest joined them on stage.

“Another week, another dance from you two. I have to admit, I always look forward to seeing what you two do more than almost anyone else here. When the judges first selected you two to compete, I thought: ‘Really? A farmer and a novice dancer? That’s only marginally better than the five-year-olds. What are these lunatics thinking?’ But man, have you subverted my expectations. I don’t know how, but somehow you always manage to surprise me. But let’s see if you managed to surprise our judges this week. Judges?”

“I must admit, what captured me most was the fluidity of your movements. The cha-cha-cha is a dance that requires a lot of energy, and you certainly brought that energy. I could see it flow throughout your bodies as you danced. However, I must admit that there is one major issue. There were a number of times where one of you would be doing all the dancing while the other would either just step in place or do pretty much nothing. I don’t like nothing. Still, those moments were far outweighed by the moments of you two dancing your little hearts out.” Boogie Woogie said before holding up a score card. “This week, you will get an eight from me.”

“As for me, I agree that the necessary energy for the cha-cha was there. And I like that, during all the chorus sections of the song, you did something different, as opposed to last week, when all the repeated lyrics had similar dance moves done to them. That shows a level of creativity that I admire. You’ve heard me go on and on about how I dislike repetition. Though, speaking of repetition, I couldn’t help but notice some small similarities between this dance and last week’s jive. Both are Latin inspired dances after all. I can’t help but find myself wishing that you had done something different this week and saved the cha-cha for another time. Doing Latin twice in a row has me casting the creativity I just praised into a bit of doubt. I hope to see a dance from a different part of the world next time. But this time, you will net an eight from me.” Foxtrot stated while holding up a score card with an eight on it.

“For my tastes, it was an interesting routine you did. Perhaps your most creative to date. Cha-cha certainly requires a lot of that, as everyone else said. And I enjoyed it greatly. Though, like Boogie Woogie, I found myself unhappy with the parts where one of you more or less stole the spotlight while the other did little to nothing. In addition, that part where you two separated by about half the stage before catching up with each other left a bad taste in my mouth. Latin music is usually meant to be danced in close quarters. To separate that far isn’t something to be encouraged. For those reasons, my score for you this week will be seven.” Line Dancer concluded while holding the accompanying score card.

“So, this week netted you two a 23. Not bad, but a bit lower than what you did last week. That may come back to bite you. And it’ll be a hard bite, too. Like a snake or tiger bite. The kind of bite that keeps you from winning a ton of money and a really big trophy. Will you get that kind of bite? Well, we’ll have to wait until all the other dancers have gone. Until then, please welcome our next pair! A pair of sisters that decided to bring us a taste of Haywaii by doing a traditional hula. So let’s give a warm ‘aloha’ to Sweet Cream and Sour Cream!”

As the next duo started dancing, Tender Taps and Apple Bloom returned to the green room. Everyone looked at them with a mild sense of amusement, still happy how they had talked back to the most arrogant among them. Said arrogant dancer was still glaring daggers at them for the comments they made earlier in the evening. This glare never let up. Not even when all the dancers were called back to the stage.

“Welcome back! Before the commercial, we saw our last pair, Piano Keys and Violin Strings, give us a stirring take on the jive. Just trying to copy our resident farm girl and shy dancer, if you ask me, but hey, no one said that copying wasn’t allowed. But will this act of plagiarism go unpunished? Or did they just seal their fate with that act? Well, it’s time to find out! It’s time to say adieu to another pair! But who will it be? Well, we’re about to find out! But first, as always, we have to announce this week’s highest rankers. And those rankers are…”

Everyone in the audience held their breath as they waited for Sea Crest to finish his sentence.

“…Peach Cobbler and Custard Tart! With a score of 26! I guess cute kids really can go far here. With a quickstep like that, these two munchkins had real hot feet tonight.”

The two five-year-olds in question squealed loudly in excitement over winning this week. Everyone in the audience, as well as all their fellow dancers. All but two dancers, who were silently plotting the downfall of those around them.

“And now, it’s time for the losing team.” Sea Crest announced.

It was the dancers’ turn to hold their breaths. Most of them had nervous expressions on their face. Some of them even began to sweat. They knew what was about to happen. They just hoped to not hear their names.

“With a score of just 20, the ones going home are…Rosey Cheeks and Budding Daffodil. Can’t say I’m shocked. Your Rumba left a lot to be desired. Plus, trying to sabotage Star Power like that? Not cool. I’m all for a little drama. But not at the expense of someone getting hurt or anything else that could bring lawyers down on us.”

“I didn’t sabotage her!” Daffodil shouted. “She did that to herself! She-”

“I’m sorry, I’d love to hear more, but we are out of time! It’s time for you two to scram. Best do it now before you get the urge to sabotage someone else and security has to throw you out.” Sea Crest stated.

“I’ll get even with you, Power, if it’s the last thing I do!” Daffodil yelled as he and Rosey Cheeks walked off the stage.

“And with that, another pair’s dreams have withered away. They’ll just have to wilt in their failure and guilt. The rest of you, though, move another step closer to claiming the grand prize! But in the end, only one of you pairs will get to claim that prize. Who’s it gonna be? Well, tune in next week to find out who it’s not gonna be after another round of exciting dances from these kids! See you all next time on Dance the Night Away! Sea Crest, out!”

With all the dancing for the week finally done, each of the remaining dancers began to relax, knowing they were still in the running for another week. While some made idle chitchat amongst each other, others just waited for their ride home. There was one pair that was doing both.

“I have to admit, that was a close one.” Tender Taps mused.

“Yeah. For a moment, Ah wasn’t sure if we’d measure up against the others this week. Luckily, Ah was wrong.” Apple Bloom responded.

“I just hope what we do next week impresses the judges more.”

“Ah’m sure it will. Whatever happens, Ah know we’ll face it just fine.”

“I always like how confident you are. Next week, we’ll be the ones with, like Sea Crest said, ‘hot feet’.”

“Hotter than a fresh baked apple pie in the middle of winter.”

Tender Taps laughed at his partner’s wordplay.

“Right. And no matter what, we’ll face it as a team.” Tender concluded.

“As a team.”

Author's Note

You know, for a while, I considered adding a section to the dance scene that would replicate the 'Cha-Cha Slide' song. But I couldn't figure out where to place it. So I settled for putting a reference to the song elsewhere in the chapter.

Sorry this took a month to get out, but like I said last chapter, it's what comes next that will be more interesting. The stuff I find more interesting is what I tend to write faster. I drag my feet on most everything else. Does that mean the next chapter will come out quicker? Only time will tell. Until then, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

For the record, this song isn't the other song with lyrics that I mentioned in the previous chapter. Mostly because I don't speak Spanish and couldn't find what the original song name was so I could use the lyrics as a reference like I did last time. The next lyrics music I mentioned is still a few chapters out, and it is a song very much in English.

At one point, I considered using Babs Seed elsewhere in the story, but that was before I realized how hard writing a Brooklyn accent was. I have enough trouble writing for Apple Bloom and Hoofer Step's accents. I don't need another weighing me down.

Speaking of Apple Bloom, the whole reason I had that scene where she asks Tender Taps to call her 'Bloom' was for my own benefit. It saves time and character space for me over having to write out 'Apple Bloom' every time I refer to her. Especially since every other reference to Tender Taps I made, I simply call him 'Tender'. Plus, it made for a cute moment between them, I think.

Anyway, that's it for this chapter. not my strongest, but still adequate, I hope. Either way, I hope you're looking forward to the next chapter. I have a few interesting plans for that one. Some things I doubt you will expect. See you then!

Au revoir!

Week 2: Tango

After getting home from dancing in front of a crowd and on camera, Apple Bloom was driven home and finished the rest of her homework before going to bed. When she woke up, she realized it was Sunday. Sunday was her one day off from both school and dance practice, and she wanted to make the most of it. The only real productive thing she did that day was look over the contract she had signed to be on the show. Star Power’s comment last night had left her somewhat nervous. She didn’t want to accidentally miss anything else or do something else that could get her and Tender Taps prematurely eliminated from the competition.

This is how her day went until around 8pm. At the urging of her aunt and uncle, she decided to watch the broadcast premiere of her show. She quickly found herself sitting between her relatives as they set their TV on the Central Dominion of Entertainment channel. Or CDE, for short. As the show started, Apple Bloom found herself interested in all the new things she was seeing and learning about all the other dancers. Although she had already seen the other competitors do their routine, she had not seen the judges’ comments on them or the effort they put in during their respective rehearsals, both of which were shown in the televised version of the show.

As the show neared its end, she finally got to watch herself and Tender Taps dance on screen. Apple Bloom had to admit, it was a surreal feeling seeing herself on TV. Watching a recording of her dancing, she realized how much more impressive her partner was at dancing than she was. Still, that wouldn’t matter if they couldn’t figure out what dance they were going to do next.

When the show ended and the credits started rolling, Aunt and Uncle Orange turned to their niece.

“I know we said this last night, but we’re both very impressed by you, my dear.” Uncle Orange said.

“Indeed. That was an extraordinary performance. I can hardly wait to see what you will do in the next show. Might you give us a taste of what we can expect then?” Aunt Orange requested.

“Ah’m afraid Ah can’t do that, Aunt Orange.” Apple Bloom responded.

“Whyever not?” Aunt Orange asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Well, for one thing, me and Tender Taps don’t know what we’re gonna do next. Even if we did, Ah couldn’t tell ya. Ah’ve been readin’ over that contract Ah had to sign t’be on the show. And it said Ah can’t tell anyone what kinda dance Ah’m fixin’ to do next. Not even family. They’re scared that if Ah tell you, you’ll tell someone, then they’ll tell someone, and then they’ll tell someone else. Before long, everyone’s gonna know what’ll happen before it happens.”

“Ah, I see. So they wish to avoid spoiling the potential outcome. That makes sense. Especially given how much of a gossip your aunt can be.” Uncle Orange commented.

“Moseley!” Aunt Orange shrieked while smacking her husband’s arm.

“Oh, come now, my love. You know you would do it.”

“That doesn’t mean you must call me out over it!”

Not wanting to take part in the ensuing argument between her aunt and uncle, Apple Bloom slipped away from them and retreated to her room. She spent the next hour just relaxing until sleep claimed her.

The next morning, Apple Bloom arrived at school and took her seat in homeroom class. The first thing she noticed was Tender Taps looking nervous.

“You alright?” Apple Bloom asked her friend.

“Not really. I spent all day yesterday trying to think of what we can do this week since we can’t do a tap dance again. But I couldn’t think of anything. Not a single thing!” Tender Taps said in an increasing panic.

“Ah couldn’t think of anything either. But try not to worry so much. Ah’m sure we can figure it out together.”

In an effort to calm him down, Apple Bloom placed her hand on top of Tender’s. He looked over at his friend, seeing a calm smile and warm eyes looking at him. Her expression and touch seemed to have the desired effect, as he noticeably relaxed.

“You’re right. We can do this. If we can get through the tap dance together, we can get through this. We just have to put our heads together. Like they say in the dancing world, it takes two to tango.” Tender Taps exclaimed before his face became thoughtful. “Say, that gives me an idea. Why don’t we do a tango this week?”

“A tango?”

“Yeah! Think about it. It’s not one anyone did the other day, so we may as well do it. Plus, it’s different enough from a tap dance that we may get some points for creativity. And besides, I’ve seen the tango before. It looks like fun.”

Apple Bloom thought for a moment. She didn’t know much about the tango. But from what little she did know, it did look like fun. Plus, more points from the judges was always a powerful incentive.

“Alright, let’s do it!” Apple Bloom cheered.

“So, you vish to tango this veek, yes?” Hoofer Steps asked.

Apple Bloom and Tender Taps nodded.

“Very vell. Let us start by having you two tell me vhat exactly you know about actually performing a tango.”

The pair remained silent. This told Hoofer everything she needed to know.

“I see. Ve have our vork cut out for us, then. Let us begin vith the basic steps. Tender Taps, pay attention. For these steps vill be more important to the vone who vill be leading the tango. In this case, you.”

“Really? I have to lead the dance? I thought we were equals in this.” Tender Taps commented.

“In some styles of dance, such as the tap, yes. But in tango, there must be a leader. And it is traditional that the male is the leader. Plus, and I mean no offense, Apple Bloom, but you are the better overall dancer between the two of you, Tender Taps.”

Apple Bloom knew this was true, so she wasn’t offended by the statement. She was content to sit by the side for now while Hoofer Steps worked with Tender.

“Let us start vith the Cross. The most basic step in the tango. It is an eight-part series of steps. Vatch me. Specifically, my steps.”

Hoofer Steps then did the dance in place with no partner. Tender Taps looked exclusively at her legs, seeing where and how she was stepping. She started with a back step before stepping to the side and going from there.

“There, you see? Now you try.” Hoofer Steps instructed.

Tender Taps stood in place for a moment before attempting to do the same steps Hoofer did. He did moderately well, but there were some issues.

“Not too terrible for a first attempt, but you need to not spread your legs so much on step number six. If you do that, you are liable to trip your partner. Try again.”

Tender Taps did the same steps again. This time, he succeeded.

“Very good. Now, try it again vith a partner. You vill start vith me. Apple Bloom, look at my feet. The steps I do vill be vhat you do vhile Tender does his steps.”

Tender Taps approached Hoofer and began dancing with her. Apple Bloom kept her attention on her dance coach’s feet as instructed. Once the eight steps were done, Hoofer beckoned Apple Bloom over and asked her to do the same steps she just did. But between Apple Bloom’s relative lack of skill and Tender Taps’ unfamiliarity with how to properly tango, it took an hour for them both to do all eight steps without screwing up.

“Very good. The cross is vone of the most basic steps in tango. But hardly the only vone. Let us try one that is slightly more complicated.”

The next two hours were spent learning other basic tango moves. By the time Apple Bloom and Tender Taps went home, they had learned all the most basic steps in tango. Hoofer told them that the rest of the week would be spent learning more advanced moves and assembling it into a well-choreographed dance routine.

The next day at school, Tender Taps was on his way to class when he found his path blocked by the school bully, Brick Wall.

“Hey, dancing twerp.”

Tender Taps tried to ignore the bully, but Brick Wall wouldn’t let him pass.

“Hey! I’m talking to you!”

“What do you want?” Tender Taps muttered.

“I just have a question. Why the heck did you take up dancing? And on TV no less. What, do you want the whole world to know you do that stupid, girly hobby?”

All the while, Brick Wall was pushing Tender back towards the wall until a voice stopped him.

“Hey! Leave him alone!”

The two looked and saw Apple Bloom approaching them with an angry look on her face. Brick Wall just smirked.

“So not only do you do a namby pamby thing like dancing, but you need a little girl to protect you?”

“Tell me, can a ‘little girl’ do somethin’ like this?!”

Apple Bloom raised her leg and stomped on Brick Wall’s foot with all her strength. The bully struggled to keep from screaming at the pain. Tender Taps swore he heard something cracking.

“OUCH! I…I mean…t-that didn’t hurt at all. I’m…I’m gonna go and do something more manly than dance on TV. Like…football or something. I don’t know.”

With that, Brick Wall limped away, in the direction of the nurse’s office.

“You didn’t have to do that for me. I could have just gotten through his words. You could get in trouble for hurting him.” Tender Taps said.

“Ah don’t care. Ah don’t take kindly to people hurtin’ me or the people Ah care for. Ya should’ve seen some of the things Ah did to some people back home. Ah remember when my cousin Babs came to town and fell in with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, my friends and Ah planned to sabotage a parade float she was buildin’ for school. Luckily, we managed to patch things up later. Now, Ah would gladly call her my favorite cousin.”

“Well, thanks for helping me.”

“Don’t mention it. Knowin’ that kinda person, Ah reckon he was just mad you got on TV and not him, and decided to take it out on ya.”

“Maybe. But if you don’t mind me asking, how did you get so strong? I think you may have broken his foot. Or at least badly bruised it.”

“Ah grew up workin’ on a farm. Haulin’ heavy baskets of apples, pushin’ wheelbarrows, dealin’ with big heavy animals, things like that. Ah’m a lot stronger than Ah look, trust me. And when Ah get older and start takin’ on more responsibilities, Ah’ll only get stronger.”

“I just wish I weren’t so sensitive so I didn’t need others to do things like that for me.” Tender Taps said while looking down sadly.

“Hey, ain’t nothin’ wrong with bein’ sensitive. Ah kinda like sensitive guys, actually. My older brother, Big Mac, is pretty sensitive, matter of fact. He’s pretty shy and doesn’t talk much because of it. Sure, he’s strong enough to shake all the apples off a tree just by kickin’ it, but other than that, he ain’t any more sensitive than you.”

“He can kick an apple tree clean?”

“Probably.” The farm girl commented. “Heh. Imagine that. Us harvestin’ our apples by kickin’ all our trees clean.”

Tender Taps laughed at the mental image of his friend kicking the apples off a tree like she were some kind of horse. As he laughed, he couldn’t help but think of how happy he was to have someone willing to stand up to bullies for him. It made him glad to know he had a true friend with him now.

“Since yesterday, ve vent over the basic steps, today ve vill learn more complicated moves.” Hoofer Steps stated.

For the next hour, the pair of dancers learned a couple other tango moves and began shaping them into the beginning of their routine. Once they had mastered these moves, Hoofer decided to go into something slightly more complicated.

“Vone of the most important things to remember in tango is balance. Not just keeping yourself on your feet, but your partner as vell. Let me show you vhat I mean. Tender Taps, come here. You vill practice vith me for this. Apple Bloom, pay attention.”

Once Tender Taps approached his coach and got into position, Hoofer Steps gave out her next instructions.

“Step backvards using the steps ve learned yesterday. Apple Bloom, look at my legs, and be prepared to do the same thing I am.”

Tender slowly stepped backwards as instructed, while one of Hoofer’s legs stayed in place, bending at the knee, while the other leg slid forward, staying completely straight. Hoofer then used her stretched out leg to pull herself upward until she was standing face to face with Tender Taps again.

“You see? Now it is your turn. Try to do vhat I just did. Vhen you manage to get it right, ve vill move on to similar techniques that you can use. The judges vill be sure to enjoy such things. They are quite common in tango, after all.”

Hoofer stepped back while Apple Bloom approached her partner. It took a couple of tries, but eventually, they managed to do what their coach had demonstrated. The rest of the day was spent learning how to use balance like that to it’s fullest advantage.

“Very good. That is all for today, but be ready for tomorrow.”

Hoofer decided that tomorrow, they would move on to something more interesting.

“I think it is time ve move on to something more interesting.”

“What did you have in mind?” Tender Taps asked.

“It is common in the tango for a level of acrobatics to be used. As you two are just beginners, I von’t ask you to do anything too complicated. Let us start vith a dip.”

“A dip? You mean when I bow my partner forward? How is that acrobatic?” Tender wondered.

“Because in tango, you often dip lower than other ballroom dances. Plus, it is optimal to move your partner around vhile she is being dipped. Speaking of vhich, it is also considered important that the voman shift her center of gravity vhile she is being moved. Doing so is easier said than done, however. But I vill show you vhat must be done. Get into starting position.”

At that command, Tender Taps and Apple Bloom got into position. They were standing in front of each other with one hand intertwined with their partner’s, while the other hand went to either Apple Bloom’s waist or Tender Taps’ shoulder.

“Raise your right arm a bit, Tender Taps. A person’s center of gravity is around 10 centimeters from vhere the leg meets the hip. Or a little less than four inches, to use this country’s measuring system. Move it up about half an inch. But be prepared to shift the hand’s placement.”

After Tender Taps got his hand in the proper place, Hoofer Steps continued.

“Good, now dip her as low as you can vithout toppling the both of you over.”

As Apple Bloom arched her back and let herself get lowered slowly, Tender Taps dipped her as low as he could without straining himself.

“A true tango vill require you to go lower than that. Keep going. Apple Bloom, try to shift veight onto vone leg and make the other leg lighter. Lift that leg off the ground if you must. Tender, move your arm’s placement if you must, but bring it no lower than an inch from vhere it is.”

“How do Ah put more weight on one leg?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Remember the other day when you stomped on that bully’s foot?” Tender Taps reminded. “Well, put that kind of pressure on the leg you’re not going to raise.”

Apple Bloom did just that as Tender Taps brought her lower. But even with this assist, Apple Bloom could tell his grip was starting to falter. Hoofer Steps saw this too. In an effort to help, she approached the two and moved Tender’s hand to another part of Apple Bloom’s waist to help him.

“Better?” The dance coach asked.

“A little.” Tender Taps answered.

“Good. Now, Apple Bloom, stick out your leg as far as you can.”

Apple Bloom did as instructed.

“Very good. This is a good tango dip. Vhile holding this pose, try to spin Apple Bloom in a circle. Vonce you can do that, ve vill vork on other potential poses you can use.”

Tender Taps tried to spin his partner in place, but barely got a quarter of the way before holding the position was too much for him and he fell on top of Apple Bloom, both falling to the floor.

“That one was on me.” Tender admitted once he recovered. “I don’t exactly have a lot of upper body strength. Arm Day just isn’t a holiday my family recognizes.”

Apple Bloom couldn’t help but laugh at that joke. She never thought Tender Taps had a sense of humor like that. She always liked people that had a good sense of humor.

“Charming. Anyvay, ve need to get this right. Let us try again. But this time, try to shift more veight onto the leg still touching the ground, Miss Bloom.”

It was a slow process, but after several failed attempts, Tender Taps managed to do a complete rotation while holding Apple Bloom in her pose.

“Excellent. Now, ve shall spend the rest of today going over other vays to use poses like that to impress the judges.”

On Thursday, Tender Taps found himself slumped over his history homework during lunch. He still couldn’t figure out why Archduke Franz Ferdineigh’s assassination set off such a terrible war. He was just lucky that he had until Monday to finish this essay, or else he was facing an F. He couldn’t afford one of those on a major assignment like this.

“Apple for yer thoughts?”

Tender looked up and saw his good friend Apple Bloom looking down at him with a lunch tray in her hands. Once she sat down next to him, Tender sighed and addressed her.

“I don’t know what I’m thinking, honestly. I told you I wasn’t very good with history. I’m still stuck on that essay about why the war started. I know it all stemmed from that Archduke being killed, but how am I supposed to know how it went from that to a worldwide conflict? Much less stretch it out over five pages? Why do I need to know all this, anyway? All this happened like a hundred years ago.” Tender Taps stressed.

“Well, here’s how Ah think of it.” Apple Bloom started. “That Duke, he was the leader of a country, right? Well, if a leader gets killed by someone from another country, that’s gonna make people mighty angry. Angry enough to declare war on the ones that did the killin’. And all these countries, they had friends. Friends bigger and stronger than they were. So when things were lookin’ tough, they called their friends for help. You wouldn’t leave a friend hangin’ when they were in trouble, would you? Not to mention these other countries didn’t much like each other, anyway. They were probably lookin’ for a reason to attack each other. From there, the fightin’ just grew and grew. And people don’t really think all that straight when they’re fightin’. Fightin’ makes people angry, and angry people can do really stupid things that made others want to fight, like sinkin’ that cruise ship with a sub. That’s what Ah think started the war. A combination of helpin’ friends and bein’ stupid. Maybe even helpin’ friends do stupid things. Trust me, Ah know a thing or two about doin’ stupid things with friends.”

“…Wow. I never thought about it like that. But I don’t think you’re stupid.”

“Ah never said Ah was. Ah just meant that Ah’ve made my fair share of stupid mistakes. But that’s why my old history teacher back in Canterlot liked to say ‘Those that don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it.’ If Ah didn’t learn from my mistakes, Ah would probably do them again and make things worse than Ah did the first time. Same could’ve been said about the things that started that war, and all other wars, too. If people don’t wise up and learn why it was wrong to do those things, there may be another war like that one day.”

“I’ve heard that phrase too. But I never really understood it until now. Still, I don’t like hearing you use the word ‘stupid’ in regards to yourself. I think you’re probably one of the smartest people I know. Even if you made mistakes, you still learned.”

“Ah may not know a lot about things like math and science, but Ah’ve still got a good brain up in here.” Apple Bloom said while tapping the side of her head.

“And I never doubted that. Not from the moment we first started talking to each other. In fact, I appreciate that brain even more now. I probably wouldn’t have gotten through this essay without your help. So, thank you.”

“You’re mighty welcome.”

Tender Taps now thought he at least had enough to go on to start his essay. All he had to do now what hash out the finer details of what went on to lead the war to get as bad as it did.

“Say, if you don’t mind me asking, how did you learn so much about the war? All that stuff about helping friends and being stupid doesn’t sound like something a normal school curriculum would go over. I feel they’d take a more logical approach.” Tender asked.

“Remember when Ah said Ah had a lot of relatives that were there for a lot of big events? Well, that war was one of ‘em. Ah got a distant uncle that fought there. He had an awful lot of opinions on why the war started, why he was sent over there. He wrote a lot of letters on it while in them trenches. My granny’s still got those letters in the attic somewhere. Pulls ‘em out when talkin’ about the family history.”

“I see. You’ll have to tell me about that sometime. But until then, could you tell me about some of these other countries that were either helping friends or just attacking their enemies?” Tender Taps requested.

“Come now, give her a good spin. Apple Bloom, keep that leg up vhile being spun. It vill look vonderful vhile doing the tango.” Hoofer Steps said.

Apple Bloom kept her left leg up while Tender Taps stepped in a circumference around her. The farm girl’s right foot acted as the center of the circle her partner was stepping in.

“Very good, you two. On Monday, you knew nothing of how to tango. Now, it is Friday, and you are almost ready to perform. Let us now vork on vone of the most difficult parts of the routine. The part vhere Miss Bloom is lifted off the ground vithout support.”

“Am I interrupting anything?”

The two dancers and their coach looked over and saw the host of the show, Sea Crest, approaching them.

“Mr. Crest? What brings you here?” Tender Taps asked.

“Every so often, I’ll pop in on my show’s dancers and see where they’re at. So, where are you at? I heard something about our little farm girl being lifted up.”

“Indeed, you did.” Hoofer steps commented. “Ve vere just going to see how it looked. Now, get into position, you two. And remember vhat I said on Vednesday about a person’s center of gravity.”

Tender Taps placed his hands on Apple Bloom’s waist and held on as tight as he could. Once the music started, he lifted her off the ground as high as he could. Once his partner was airborne, Tender began spinning in place, taking Apple Bloom with him.

Unfortunately, Tender Taps wasn’t strong enough to hold her up for long. It didn’t even take ten seconds for him to lost his grip and accidentally drop the farm girl. She fell on top of him, dropping them both to the ground. Sea Crest could only laugh at their failure.

“So, how’s the weather down there, Tumble Taps?” Sea Crest chuckled.

Tender Taps looked downcast for a moment. But just as quickly, he regained his confidence and got back on his feet.

“Just a little mistake.” Tender stated as he helped Apple Bloom up. “Anyone could have made it. But I’m ready to try again. I want to keep going until we get this right.”

“You sure you don’t want to hit the gym first before you try to lift something that hea-”

“No! I want to do this!” Tender interrupted the host.

Apple Bloom looked at her partner with mild surprise. When she first met him, he seemed terrified of performing in front of others for fear of messing up. Well, now he had messed up, in front of the host of the show, no less, but he was ready to go at it again. Whenever he was fully committed to something, he gave it his all with the utmost confidence. She found herself admiring that confidence. The drive he got when he was fully committed to whatever he was doing.

“Vell said, Tender Taps. Also, I know vhat you were about to say about Apple Bloom, Mr. Crest, and you should be ashamed. You never refer to a voman by that vord.”

“What? I was just going to say ‘healthy’. Working a farm would put some meat on the bones.” Sea Crest defended.

“Sure you vere. Anyvay, there may be an easier vay to do this than just using brute strength.” Hoofer Steps commented.

After a moment of thought, the dance coach began speaking again.

“This is a long shot, but are either of you familiar vith professional vrestling?”

“I know a little. My dad really likes watching that stuff. Sometimes I watch it with him.” Tender Taps answered.

“Vell then, have you ever seen a move vhere vone opponent is approaching the other, but then is hit and his own momentum is used against him?”

“Oh yeah. That’s one of dad’s favorite moves to watch.”

“Vell, the same can be applied here. Let us go back a few steps, and vhen Miss Bloom approaches you, grab her by the vaist and do the lift. Miss Bloom, approach him as quickly as you can vhile still staying in tempo vith the music.”

With their instructions given, the two dancers got into position. When the music began to play, Apple Bloom approached her partner as quickly as she could without outrunning the music. Once they were close together, he used the momentum she had built up and lifted her off the ground and spun her. As the seconds passed, he could feel his grip on her loosening, but this was to be expected. He slowly and surely lowered her to the ground before they performed the next couple of steps once Apple Bloom’s feet were on the ground until the music stopped.

“Huh. Not bad. There may be hope for you two after all. But ultimately, that depends on how you do tomorrow. See you two then. Let’s hope there aren’t any more tumbles. The phrase ‘break a leg’ isn’t meant literally, you know.” Sea Crest said before leaving the room.

“There, now that the unvanted commentator is gone, I believe you are ready to do the whole routine. Reset the music and ve shall take it from the top.” Hoofer Steps said.

Apple Bloom and Tender Taps readied themselves to do the whole routine. As soon as the music started, they approached each other.

On Saturday, all the dancers arrived at CDE studios nice and early to begin preparations for their on camera dances this week. After separating from their families, everyone was led into their respective dressing rooms to put on their outfits for this week’s round of the contest.

Apple Bloom found herself in a black and dark red backless dress that went down to just past her knees. The dress had a single clasp in the back of the neck and long sleeves. It also had a slit up the left leg for ease of movement. She also wore black heels and black dance shorts under her dress. In the other dressing room, Tender Taps was wearing a black button up vest that tucked into black pants with a red stripe going down his right pants leg, as well as a matching red belt. He also had stylized black shoes on. His purple hair was stylized back with gel to make him look more suave.

Once everyone was dressed, they all made their way to the green room to await their turn on the dance floor. As the ones with the highest scores last week, Star Power and her partner went first. Several minutes later, they returned, looking smug as ever.

“Oh no, please. Don’t applaud for the future winners of this contest.” Star Power scoffed.

No one applauded. Some of the dancers didn’t even acknowledge her existence.

“Um, excuse me! I’m addressing you lower dancers!” Star Power growled.

The silence continued.

“Fine! Mock now. But we’ll see who gets the last laugh when that trophy and money are mine and no one remembers any of you worthless left footed mouth breathers!”

With one last scoff, Star Power and Gleaming Gem stormed off to sit in the corner of the room, away from the other competitors.

A few other pairs of dancers came and went before it was time for Tender Taps and Apple Bloom were called up. As they waited for their cue, they heard Sea Crest wrapping up his commentary on the last dancers.

“What an interesting samba those two did. Still not sure what compelled Violin Strings to think crawling along the floor was a valid dance move, but hey, whatever works. But now, it’s time for the samba’s cousin from a couple countries over to show what it’s got. Up next is Apple Bloom and Tender Taps doing the tango!”

Like last week, the pair started on opposite ends of the stage. As soon as the audience’s applause died down, the music began.

The very first note saw the pair approach each other. Every other step, the pair crossed one of their legs across the other one in a stylized fashion. It took them ten seconds to reach their partner. Right as the primary violins started, the pair clasped hands. Tender Taps’ other hand went for his partner’s waist while Apple Bloom’s other hand went for her partner’s shoulder.

They performed a few baldosta steps, which is when the two dancers do steps in rhythm around their partner’s feet. They did these for a few seconds before Tender Taps stepped back when one violin note was held out. In response, one of Apple Bloom’s legs bent at the knee while the other one stretched out forward as far as it could, only the tips of her toes still touching the ground.

They held this pose for only a second before Tender stepped forward again, pulling Apple Bloom up in the process. Once on her feet, she and Tender stepped down to the middle of the stage before another held out note played. At this note, Tender Taps dipped his partner, Apple Bloom arching her back and leaning backward to help. Her left leg stuck straight out until she was pulled up again.

The next note saw the pair doing a giro, which is a turning step. Apple Bloom turned in place, sticking a leg out in the process, while Tender Taps stepped around his partner until he was facing the judges.

Once the turn stopped, Tender Taps twirled Apple Bloom twice before pressing her back against his chest. The pair looked at each other for a moment before they performed an eight-step series of cross steps as they stepped back away from the judges’ table.

When the violin started up again, Apple Bloom was twirled again as she and Tender separated as far as they could while still clasping hands. Tender then pulled his partner back to him, facing each other once again. After another series of cross steps, Apple Bloom placed her right leg between Tender Taps’ legs, letting the back of her knee clasp that of her partner. Once their knees were locked, Tender Taps lifted Apple Bloom a few inches off the ground and spun them both in place before setting her back down.

After that, they performed the same series of steps they did near the beginning of their routine. From there, Apple Bloom performed what is called a windmill move. She danced on a circumference around Tender Taps in a similar eight-part series of steps that she had performed before. By this point, the duo was near the middle of the stage again.

Tender Taps then led his partner in another eight-part step series towards the edge of the stage. Another spin in place later, and the same eight steps were done in reverse, back to the middle of the stage. Apple Bloom then lifted her right leg as high as it would go and put it around Tender’s waist. Her other leg got close to her partner’s leg, to the point their feet were touching. Once there, Tender slowly spun in place again, taking his partner with him.

Once the spin stopped, Apple Bloom placed both feet on the ground. Next, Tender Taps and Apple Bloom both bent one leg at the knee while sticking the other leg out as far as they could. After slowly pulling themselves back up, they performed another series of cross steps across the stage, their legs sandwiching between each other the whole way.

Once they stopped, a quick series of piano keys could be heard. This was the signal for Apple Bloom to once again bend one knee while the other leg stuck out. Tender Taps stepped in a circumference around Apple Bloom, who spun in place as her partner led her along.

Once she had been pulled back up, Apple Bloom and her partner stepped around the stage while slowly spinning around. By now, they were about halfway into their routine.

They kept up this step and spin around the stage for about ten seconds before Tender Taps twirled Apple Bloom around and away from himself releasing her hand as he did. Once she stopped spinning, Apple Bloom stepped directly into Tender’s embrace as quickly as she could with her back facing him. Building off his partner’s momentum, Tender used all his strength and managed to lift her off the ground again and spun himself and her in a circle while she posed with her legs. As the music slowly went down in octave, Tender slowly lowered his partner closer to the floor. Once her feet were once again on the ground, he turned her to face him again.

Tender Taps stepped forward while Apple Bloom stepped back. After a few steps, he leaned forward, forcing Apple Bloom to lean back as far as she could without falling over. After holding this pose for about two seconds, the same thing was done in reverse. This time, Apple Bloom stepped forward before leaning ahead, making Tender Taps step and lean back. Once both of them stood up straight again, the duo of dancers stepped in a horizontal fashion across the stage before coming to a stop near the edge.

As the music got a little more intense, so too did the pair’s dancing. They stepped their way around the stage before making their way towards the middle, their legs wrapping around each other with each step. Once there, the pair did a series of half circle twirls around each other for several seconds. Every fourth spin, they would go all the way around, changing out who would be spinning who.

As the last few notes played, Tender Taps twirled Apple Bloom around quickly a couple of times before dipping her nice and low at the final beat. She was so low that the world seemed upside down to her. Her long hair was almost scraping along the ground.

As the crowd cheered for the two of them, Tender Taps pulled his partner up. The pair then bowed to the audience as Sea Crest came back on stage.

“Awesome job, you two. I haven’t seen a tango that good since my cousin Ocean Badge got married. That was the only good part of the whole ceremony. Everything else was terrible. The vows, the reception, even the cake. But the first dance was pretty good. And so was yours, like I said. But at the end of the day, my opinion, great as it is, doesn’t matter. Theirs does. So, let’s see what they have to say.” Sea Crest said, gesturing to the judges.

“Well…” Boogie Woogie started. “That was indeed an impressive tango. I am amazed how quickly you picked up on the dance, especially since your coach admitted that neither of you knew how to do it at the start of the week. Though, I do have mixed feelings about how you mashed together moves from different styles of the tango rather than sticking to one. Some things just aren’t meant to go together. But still, it was quite a spectacle. For that, I will give you a seven.”

“Next up is Foxtrot.” Sea Crest said.

“You clearly put a great deal of effort into your dance, and I commend that. And like Boogie said, in so short a timeframe. The way you two moved out there was admirable. I do find myself wishing there were more acrobatics than we got, but given you only learned how to do the tango over the week, I will excuse it. It would certainly take longer to learn to do those moves. Plus, you are only children. However, I do feel like some of your moves were a little repetitive at some points, especially near the end with all the spin dancing. All in all, I feel the most appropriate score for you is a seven.”

“Last but not least, Line Dancer.”

“I admit, the tango is not the easiest dance to learn, especially over a week. So you did great with what you could do. I asked for more creativity last week, and I got it. Though, I feel like you put most of your effort in the first half of the routine, and after that, there weren’t as many impressive moves. Some, but not a lot. I want to see more creativity throughout the whole thing next time. For now, I will give you a seven.”

“Alright! Sevens across the board for an even 21! Not bad for a tango. But only time will tell if those sevens will bring luck or misfortune for Tender Taps and Apple Bloom. Until then, let’s welcome our next pair, Willow and Oak! Doing the tango’s other cousin, the mambo!”

Once Tender Taps and Apple Bloom left the stage, they made their way back to the green room. There, they waited for everyone else to take their turn so they could find out who would be kicked off next. After the last pair had gone out, danced, and gotten their score from the judges, all the dancers came out on stage so that one of the pairs could be eliminated.

“Welcome back, everyone!” Sea Crest said to the cameras. “When we left off, our last pair, Sweet Cream and Sour Cream, gave us their take on the Calypso. Quite an interesting set, but will that be enough for the Cream sisters to avoid being the next ones to be eliminated? Let’s find out right now! This week’s winner, with an overall score of 25, is…”

One dramatic pause later…

“…Ice Cube and Heat Wave!”

Over the cheers of the audience, no one was able to hear Star Power growl at someone else taking the top spot.

“And coming in last, with a score of 14, we have…Gentle Breeze and Mellow Wind. Unfortunately for you two, your two-step wasn’t daring enough to wow the judges. You guys just don’t have the boldness to be real dancers. You’re too timid, too soft, too…mellow, for lack of a better word. So, sorry, but you’re gone.”

With nothing more than a resigned sigh, the two boys left the stage.

“And another pair blows on out of here! So ends week two of our competition! Who will be the next to be kicked off? Tune in next week to find out! Until then, Sea Crest, out!”

Several minutes later, Apple Bloom stepped out of the women’s dressing room wearing her normal clothes. Tender Taps was waiting nearby for her.

“Howdy, Tender Taps.”

“Hey, Apple Bloom. Good job tonight.”

“You too. You were a mighty good leader.”

“Thanks. And I just want to say you’re getting better at dancing in general.”

“It’s because of you. Ah couldn’t have gotten this far without you. So, thanks for bein’ there for me.”

A warm smile graced Apple Bloom’s face at this statement. Tender Taps looked at her and couldn’t help but smile himself at her. He couldn’t help but marvel at how happy she looked. Especially when they were dancing together. How much fun she looked like she was having. How cute she looked while doing it.

‘Wait. ‘Cute’? Where did that come from?’

Tender Taps had never thought of his dance partner as ‘cute’ before. But now that he thought about it, she kind of was. He knew that much. What he didn’t know was what to do with that information.

Author's Note

Another chapter down! I'm very pleased with how this turned out. Especially the dancing scene. I put a great deal more effort into this one than I did with the riverdance one. I hope it shows.

I think the hardest part was thinking of what outfits would look best on Tender Taps and Apple Bloom. I based them off of pictures I found when doing a Google Images search on tango outfits. The ones I found I just so happened to like best from the search results. If anyone cares enough to ask, I'll link the images. Even then, I wasn't sure if they would go will with yellow or orange skin. I have a terrible sense of fashion. ~~Don't tell Rarity I said that.~~

That reminds me. The next chapter is going to be very different from what I've done so far. It's going to be shorter, for one. And it's going to focus on a few different characters. But I think you'll enjoy it. Even if not, the chapter after that will be returning to our regularly scheduled programing.

Until then, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and will stick around for the next one. Adieu.