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!