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.