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.