On Sunday evening, Apple Bloom found herself watching the show she was dancing for on television with her aunt and uncle once again. Even after four weeks, Apple Bloom still found it a surreal experience watching herself on TV. She also wished that they hadn’t included the footage of her falling on top of Tender Taps. Still, her aunt and uncle were happy with her.

“You always pull off the most spectacular dances, my dear. It truly is a treat to watch you perform.” Uncle Orange said with pride.

“Indeed. If you continue performing like this, I have no doubt you will go far in this competition. Who knows? Perhaps you might even make it to the end and win the grand prize.” Aunt Orange beamed.

“Thank you for your kind words. Though, Ah don’t know if Ah’m that good at dancin’. But Ah’m still gonna try the best Ah can.” Apple Bloom replied.

“That’s all we can ask of you, dearest. Well, I can also ask you to get ready for bed. It’s starting to get late, and you do have school in the morning.” Uncle Orange stated.

“Alright. Ah’ll get ready for bed right after Ah call Granny Smith.”

“That’s fine.”

Ever since she made it onto Dance the Night Away, Apple Bloom had made it a habit to call home on Sunday evening and see if her family had watched the show. They always had, and were more than happy to give their thoughts on what they saw the youngest Apple do that week.

Once she got to her room, Apple Bloom pulled out her smartphone and dialed the number for Sweet Apple Acres. Apple Bloom wasn’t sure why her grandmother insisted on keeping a landline phone on the farm, but it was what it was. Apple Bloom heard her phone buzz a few times before someone picked up.

“Hello? Sweet Apple Acres, this is Mrs. Smith Apple speakin’.”

“Granny!”

“Howdy, young’un’! How are you?”

“Ah’m good, Granny. How are you?”

“Mighty fine, since Ah get to hear yer voice again. We just finished watchin’ yer dancin’ program.”

“Ah hope you liked it.”

“We did. Mighty fine moves you pulled off. The words to that song were a might offputtin’, though. Talkin’ about a bad breakup. Ah hope you never have to hear anythin’ like that in real life.”

“Ah hope not, either. But Ah doubt Ah’ll hear it anytime soon. In fact, just the opposite.”

“Whaddya mean, Apple Bloom?”

“Ah probably shoulda told ya this last week, but…You know Tender Taps? The guy Ah’m dancin’ with on the show? Just after we did our dance last week, the swing one, he actually asked me out on a date…and Ah said yes.”

“Oh ho ho, is that so? You hear that, Big Mac? Apple Bloom done got herself a boyfriend! Well, Ah never thought my youngest grandchild would be the first to get a special someone.”

“G-Granny! I-it’s not like that! We’ve only been out on one date so far. Ah don’t know if Ah can call him my boyfriend yet. Or if ‘yet’ will ever come.” Apple Bloom said with a blush.

“Uh huh, whatever you say, child. Just make sure he treats you right, or else Ah’m gonna have to come up to Manehattan and give that boy a whoopin’ he’ll never forget.”

“Ah don’t think it’ll ever come to that. He’s been nothin’ but nice to me since we started talkin’. Since then, he’s been real sweet and sincere and funny…”

Apple Bloom was interrupted by the sounds of barely repressed laughter coming from the other end of the line.

“What’s so funny?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Sorry, Apple Bloom. But Ah can’t help but find you funny right now. Hearin’ you gush about this boy. It’s real cute.”

“U-uh…so, how’s the rest of the family doin’? How’re Big Mac and Applejack?” Apple Bloom asked quickly.

“Big Mac’s just fine. He’s right here next to me, actually. Ah’ll hand the phone over to him if you want. Applejack is…her usual self.”

Apple Bloom sighed sadly. Of course Applejack still wouldn’t give her the time of day. Honestly, Apple Bloom didn’t know why she kept asking. At least she still had one sibling she could rely on.

“Yeah, Ah’d like to talk to Big Mac, if you don’t mind.”

After Granny Smith handed the phone to her eldest grandchild, he and Apple Bloom had a brief conversation, which mostly consisted of the quiet man’s signature ‘Eeyup’ and ‘Nnope’ phrases. Apple Bloom was just happy he decided not to tease her about Tender Taps like Granny Smith had.

“Well, Ah’m gonna hand the phone back over to Granny now. Talk to ya later, Apple Bloom. Ah love you.”

“Love you too, Big Mac.”

With that, the phone was passed back to Granny Smith.

“Well, it was mighty nice hearin’ your voice again, Apple Bloom. But Ah gotta go. Gotta get ready for bed. Ah reckon you gotta do the same. You still got school tomorrow, right?”

“Ah do. Alright then. Ah’ll call ya later. Ah love y’all.”

“We love you too, Apple Bloom. Bye now!”

Apple Bloom hung up the phone and quickly started getting ready for bed. Once her head hit her pillow, it wasn’t long before sleep overtook her.

Upon making it to homeroom on Monday, Tender Taps and Apple Bloom wasted no time trying to decide what dance they wanted to do this week. But much like the previous week, they found themselves unable to come to a decision. Their discussion poured all the way into lunch.

When Apple Bloom entered the lunchroom and got her food tray, she looked towards the spot she and Tender usually sat at, only to find it empty. This confused the farm girl. She knew he wasn’t absent today, and his last class before lunch was much closer to the cafeteria than hers, meaning he should have gotten there first, so where was he?

“Apple Bloom! Over here!”

The redheaded girl turned to the sound of the voice calling her name. She then saw Tender Taps sitting at a different table. He was surrounded by people that Apple Bloom recognized as the members of the dance club they went to twice before dropping out to be on television.

“What made ya decide to sit here today?” Apple Bloom asked before taking the empty seat next to Tender Taps.

“Well, remember last week when you weren’t here on Thursday? Well, I didn’t want to eat lunch alone that day, but you were my only real friend, I wasn’t sure what to do. But when I saw the other dance club members, I remembered how you helped me make friends with you, and decided to try it again with them. I decided I wanted more than one friend. Not that you aren’t a great friend, but like they say, you can never have too many friends.”

“Ah understand. And Ah’m glad you decided to make more friends. Ah hope Ah can make friends with them too.”

“We’d be glad to have you as a friend, Apple Bloom.” One of the dance club members stated.

“As long as you can answer one question for us.” The leader of the dance club, Flash Step, added. “When are you guys gonna do an interpretive dance? That’s my favorite kind.”

“Oh, please, Flash. Everyone knows the Flamenco is the best.” Another member butt in.

“Yeah, except people with eyes. The cha-cha-cha is superior to all of them.” A third member scoffed.

“C’mon, y’all. Please don’t fight.” Apple Bloom pleaded.

“Besides, there’s still several weeks left. Who knows. We might end up doing all three of them before we’re done.” Tender Taps added.

“Well, we still haven’t decided what we’re doin’ this week anyway. Maybe y’all can help us pick which one to do.” Apple Bloom suggested.

Everyone smiled widely and prepared to present their cases.

“Vell, given vhat you told me, I believe your best option vould be the cha-cha-cha.” Hoofer Steps said later that day. “Interpretive dance is not vone that has gotten high scores from this show in the past, and the Flamenco, vhile interesting, traditionally only involves vone dancer at a time. It vould be difficult to turn it into a partner dance.”

“Alright, cha-cha it is, then.” Tender Taps declared. “I assume we’re going to start by learning the basic steps?”

“You are familiar vith my style of teaching by now. Very good. The rhythm for the cha-cha is as follows: Vone, two, three, cha-cha-vone, two, three.”

As she spoke, Hoofer did the steps in place while her two charges watched.

“Now before you try, there are some things that must be kept in mind vhile you do these steps. First, the leader, Tender Taps, must take his first step checked vith his left foot, vhile retaining some veight on the right foot. Also, keep your right knee bent and close to your left knee, vhich you must keep straight for now. From there, be ready to move your foot to the left. As for the partner, Apple Bloom, you must do much the same, but move your foot to the right. Vonce you have done that, I vill tell you vhat to do step by step. Quite literally. Now come together in a closed position.”

The next three hours flew by as the duo learned the basics of the cha-cha-cha. Once dance practice came to an end, everyone waited for their rides home. As she looked out for the car that would take her to her aunt and uncle’s penthouse, Apple Bloom’s eyes glanced over the massive concrete jungle around her. As she thought more about her current surroundings, the farm girl found her shoulders sagging as she let out a sad sigh.

Seeing his friend’s obvious discomfort, Tender Taps approached her and began speaking.

“Are you alright, Apple Bloom?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. Ah’m fine. Don’t worry ‘bout it.”

“Are you sure? Look, if this is about how little we got done today, don’t worry. It was only our first day. We have the entire rest of the week to learn the cha-cha.”

“No. It ain’t that.”

“Then what? Something at school? A test or homework you need help with? I’ll admit I’m not the smartest person at school, but I can try and help with-”

“It ain’t that, either. It’s just…Ah look out over the city, and Ah realize how…grey, everything is under all the bright lights and hustle and bustle of the big city. For a girl who grew up on a quiet farm, in a much smaller city like Canterlot, it’s all a little… it’s like…”

Apple Bloom didn’t need to finish her sentence for Tender Taps to understand what she meant. The dancer furrowed his brow as he thought about what he could do to help her. Said brow then shot up as an idea entered his mind.

“Hey, it may be a little late to ask this, but do you wanna hang out again tomorrow after school? There’s something I want to show you. Something I think you’ll like.”

“What’s that?”

“I want to surprise you. Just ask your aunt and uncle if you can come with me after school instead of going to their house before we have to be back here.”

“…Alright. Ah’ll give it a shot.” Apple Bloom said after a moment’s hesitation.

“Good. You’ll love it. I promise.”

Right then, the Orange’s driver pulled up, signaling Apple Bloom to head out.

“Okay, Ah trust you. See ya then.” Apple Bloom said as she walked away.

As he watched Apple Bloom being driven away, Tender waited for his own ride to pull up, hoping that his homesick friend would feel better by this time tomorrow.

After school on Tuesday, Tender Taps and Apple Bloom took the bus together and were dropped off in front of the former’s apartment building.

“So this is where you live, huh?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Yeah. It may not look like much, but it’s home.” Tender Taps answered. “But we’re not here to see inside. I wanted to show you something else.”

Tender Taps then led his friend a few blocks away from the apartment complex. At first, Apple Bloom thought he was taking her back to Bella Notte’s Pizza, until she realized none of the surrounding buildings were like those that surrounded the pizza restaurant they went to last week. The farm girl figured they were going in the opposite direction. So what was Tender Taps going to show her?

“Alright, we’re here!”

At Tender Taps’ announcement, Apple Bloom looked out and saw a massive park in front of her. With trees, grassy fields, and lakes all within her field of view, the farm girl’s eyes lit up like a child looking at their birthday presents.

“Ah didn’t think there was this much green in all of Manehattan.” Apple Bloom whispered.

“Welcome to Central Park. I thought it would be nice to spend some time walking around here. I thought it would remind you of home. I wanted for you to explore this a bit before we get to dance practice.” Tender Taps stated.

“Well, we don’t have a lot of time before we have to be there. So let’s go!”

All but vibrating with excitement, Apple Bloom grabbed her friend’s arm and ran into the park as fast as her legs could carry her. She wasted no time looking at everything the area had to offer, with Tender Taps being forcibly dragged with her. Not that he seemed to mind. For the next half hour, they walked the field, sat in the shade of trees, took off their shoes and dipped their feet in the water, and everything in between.

“I take it you like it here?” Tender Taps asked as he and his friend were walking along the park.

“Ah love it. This is the closest Ah’ve felt to home since Ah got to Manehattan. Thanks for bringin’ me here.”

Apple Bloom capped off her statement by giving Tender Taps a huge smile and pulling him into the biggest hug she possibly could. A hug he was more than happy to return.

“You’re welcome.”

As soon as she broke the hug, Apple Bloom turned to look around at the park.

“The only way this could possibly be better is if…wait a minute…”

All of a sudden, Apple Bloom’s eyes shot up and she took off running. Tender Taps followed behind her.

“Apple Bloom, wait! Slow down!” Tender called after her.

Apple Bloom eventually came to a stop in front of a girl roughly her own age with tannish-brown skin and two-toned pink hair styled in a tomboyish haircut.

“Babs? Babs Seed? That you?”

The girl in question turned to look at Apple Bloom. Once their eyes met, the girl’s face put on a wide smirk.

“Well, well, well. Lookit who’s here. It’s da TV star of da family. How ya doin’, cuz? Ya ain’t forgotten about us little people yet, huh?” The girl said before giving Apple Bloom a hug.

“Ah’m good, Babs. It’s nice to see you. Ah take it you know about the dancin’ show, huh?”

“You kiddin’, cuz? Da whole fam knows! Aunt Orange ain’t been able ta shuddup ‘bout it since you made it on TV. We’re all rootin’ for you, by da way.”

“Thanks, Babs. But Ah hope it ain’t just me you’re rootin’ for. Ah ain’t in this alone. He’s with me, too.” Apple Bloom said while gesturing to Tender Taps, who finally managed to catch up with her.

“Oh yeah, right. Your partner. What brings you here, huh? I thought you’s guys only danced together. Didn’t know you saw each other outside da show.” Babs replied.

“Well, we do. We actually go to the same school. That’s how we met.” Tender Taps stated.

“’Kay. So what brings you here t’getha now?”

“Well, we had a bit of time before dance practice today, and I decided I wanted to show her Central Park.” Tender answered.

“This is even nicer than when we went out for pizza the other week.” Apple Bloom chimed in.

“Dinner and a walk in da park, huh? Ooooh. I see how it is.” Babs said with a wiggle of her eyebrows and an even wider smirk than before. “You’s guys is pretty darn cute t’getha.”

The resulting blush from both Apple Bloom and Tender Taps made Babs Seed’s smirk go even wider. Almost to the point of outgrowing her face.

“Well, seems we ain’t been properly introduced. Name’s Babs Seed. Cousin to dis one here.” Babs said while gesturing to Apple Bloom.

“I’m Tender Taps. It’s nice to meet you. I remember Apple Bloom telling me about you.”

“All good t’ings, I hope.”

“Mostly just about you being her favorite cousin, but had a pretty rough first meeting a few years ago.”

“Yeah…sorry again ‘bout dat, cuz. It was stupid of me ta throw in with those two losers what were bullyin’ you and your friends.” Babs said while rubbing the back of her head sheepishly with a guilty look on her face.

“Ah told you already, Ah forgive you. You’ve already made it up to me, and said sorry pretty much any time we talked after that.”

“I know, I know, just feels like somet’ing I still gotta say. Still doesn’t sit right with me how badly dey almost hurt you. With my help, no less. Least I learned to always look out for my own after dat. Speakin’ of which…”

Babs turned to Tender Taps with a stern look on her face.

“You just make sure you treat her real good, you hear? If ya don’t, you’re gonna have da entire Apple Family on your hide. Or what’s left of it when I’m done. I don’t much like folks hurtin’ on my fave cousin, y’hear?” Babs said with a shake of her fist.

“L-loud and clear.” Tender said with a gulp.

“Babs, please don’t.” Apple Bloom groaned.

“Ah, come on. It’s just a little teasin’.”

“Ah know, but Ah got enough of that from last time Ah talked to Granny Smith.”

“Ok, ok, jeez. ‘Sides, I know if he does hurt you, you’ll be just fine in da end. We Apples are tougher than most. We can shrug off any kinda hurt thrown our way sooner or later. And we can show those what hurt us they can’t hold no power over us.”

The trio was left in silence for a few moments until Babs cleared her throat again.

“Anyways, I don’t wanna interrupt your date no more, so I best be on my way. I’ll tell my folks you said hey.” Babs said.

“Alright, then. Take care, now, Babs.” Apple Bloom replied.

“Take care, cuz.” Babs said before walking off.

“For the record, I want you to know I’d never do anything to hurt you. Not intentionally.” Tender Taps said once Babs was gone.

“Ah know you wouldn’t.” Apple Bloom responded.

“Personally, I was hoping my first meeting with someone from your family wouldn’t be so…intimidating.”

“Oh, trust me. That was Babs just teasin’. You don’t wanna know what she’s like when she’s actually tryin’ to be intimidatin’.”

“That doesn’t make me feel much better.” Tender mumbled.

“Well, maybe walkin’ around nature a little longer will help with that.”

The duo spent the next several minutes continuing their walk around the park. Seeing Apple Bloom so happy again did ease Tender Taps’ features fairly quickly. His good mood continued when the time came to start dance practice again. After hailing a cab and being driven to the studio, the pair met with Hoofer Steps and continued their training in the cha-cha.

As music played in the background, Apple Bloom did the basic cha-cha steps in place while Tender Taps approached her from the opposite end of the practice room. The farm girl’s whole body swayed with the music as she watched her partner get closer to her.

“Stop, stop, stop.” Hoofer Steps called out.

The music suddenly cut out and the two teenage dancers halted in place.

“Apple Bloom, you are svaying your body too much. You must remember vhat I told you yesterday. Vhen doing the cha-cha, only the hips and legs must svay. The torso must stay relatively still. That includes the shoulders, unless you are raising your arms. And Tender Taps, you are outpacing the music. It vill not do for you to reach Miss Bloom before the corresponding notes end. Come on people, it is Vednesday, the middle of the veek. Ve must get our act together if you are to survive this veek. Let’s go again.”

Tender Taps and Apple Bloom returned to where they were moments ago before the music started up again. Apple Bloom did the cha-cha steps in place while trying to keep everything above her stomach stiff as a board. Meanwhile, Tender Taps did his moves to the music, this time slowing his pace enough to keep in time with the music. Right as the two dancers reunited, the music cut out.

“Vell done, you two. Ve can now begin vith the next segment. Ve are finally beginning to shape this thing.” Hoofer stated.

As the music resumed, the pair did their next moves as they danced across the room. They twirled in place before-

“What’s going on here?”

“WHOA!”

Apple Bloom’s leg suddenly gave out from under her and struck Tender Taps, causing both to collapse in a heap. The duo then looked up at what, or rather, who, had caused Apple Bloom’s accident. Their angry faces spoke volumes.

“You did that on purpose!” Apple Bloom glared.

“What can I say? I pride myself on my timing.” Sea Crest smirked.

“Vhat are you doing here?” Hoofer Steps interjected.

“Like I said last time. I enjoy popping in on my dancers every now and then. Seeing what they’re doing. So…what are you doing?”

“We were just practicing the cha-cha.” Tender Taps answered.

“Oh, the cha-cha, huh? That one takes a lot of effort. Let’s see where you’re at, then.” Sea Crest said.

Trying to pretend the annoying host wasn’t present, Hoofer Steps turned back to her two charges.

“Let us fast forvard a bit. Close to the end, vhen the chorus lyrics play for the last two times. That is vhere the most vork is needed right now. Now then, play the chorus lyrics back. Ve must remind our dancers of vhat they are to dance to.”

On some overhead speakers, a set of lyrics played. Once they finished, Hoofer instructed her dancers to go through them again while doing the moves she instructed them to do.

“Alright, remember. You must do a large slide before doing the cha-cha steps. Ready? Go.”

The first lyric played.

“To the right now.”

The duo slid to the right as the music continued.

“To the left.”

Tender Taps and Apple Bloom slid to the left and continued dancing while Hoofer gave them instructions.

“Not bad. With moves like that, you may just have a shot of buying $100,000 worth of tractors, pitchforks, hay, and other farm equipment when you get home.” Sea Crest interjected.

The duo stopped dancing at Sea Crest’s continued interruption. Hoofer Steps squirmed in place, struggling not to blow up at the host for getting in the way of her instruction.

“Must you continue to distract my dancers the vay you are?” Hoofer growled.

“Whoa! Take it back now, y’all. No need to raise your tempers. I’m just here to watch. The audience loves seeing you guys practice before the big night. And, of course, seeing this handsome face react to your practice before the big night.” Sea Crest said with a smile.

“Vell, can that handsome face at least keep quiet until ve get to a good stopping point?” Hoofer shot back.

“Yeesh. Take a pill.”

“Vhat vas that?”

“Nothing, nothing! Just keep going. Pretend I’m not here.”

“Easier said than done.” Hoofer grumbled.

Thankfully, the rest of their time together that day passed uneventfully. When the time came for all the dancers to go home for the day, they all left relatively quietly.

That is, with one exception.

“Hey, Daffodil.”

Budding Daffodil turned and saw who was addressing him. He immediately sighed.

“What do you want, Star Power?” Daffodil groaned.

“Just to talk.”

“Well, make it quick. I need to catch up to Rosey.”

“Fine. I just want to ask what kind of dance you’re doing this week.”

“You know we’re not allowed to talk about that. I actually want to stay in this contest and win, thank you.”

“Oh, please. No matter how good you think you are, you’ll never make it past the likes of me. Everyone knows I’m the favorite to win. So why not just cut to the chase and tell me what I want to know?” Star Power scoffed.

“As if. I’m not saying a word to you. And there’s nothing you can do about it.”

Star Power glowered at Daffodil’s challenge. But that expression quickly changed to a smirk as she eyed something at Daffodil’s side.

Without saying a word or changing her expression, Star Power strutted over to an open sandbag left to the side alongside other objects meant for backstage. She reached into the sandbag and threw some of the sand onto her face and clothes. After throwing one last smirk at Budding Daffodil, her expression immediately dropped as tears came to her eyes. Star Power then began bawling as loud as she could. It wasn’t long before studio security arrived.

“What’s going on here?” One of the security guards asked.

“I…I was just talking to Budding Daffodil, and…a-and he got mad at me for no reason and threw that sandbag in my fa-a-a-ce!” Star Power sobbed.

“What?! No!” Daffodil yelled. “She’s lying! I didn’t touch her! I never-”

“K-keep him away from me!”

One guard restrained Budding Daffodil while the others led Star Power away. Star Power struggled not to laugh underneath her crocodile tears.

On Thursday, Apple Bloom waited patiently for her friend to show up in homeroom. She had something she wanted to ask him about their upcoming dance. Once her purple haired friend entered the room, the farm girl’s smile grew.

“Howdy, Tender Taps. Listen, there’s somethin’ Ah wanna ask ya. About halfway through our dance, Ah was wonderin’ if you think we should…hey, you alright?”

“Y-yeah. I’m f-fine. Just a little c-cold.” Tender Taps replied as he rubbed his hands together quickly.

“Ah see.”

“M-man. Who knew it would be t-this cold out today?”

“Ah did. My aunt and uncle watched the weather and saw we were due for a cold front. That’s why they made me wear these gloves and jacket and such. Besides, we’re less than a week away from November. It’s only gonna get colder from here.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t think it would get this cold this fast.”

The entire time he was speaking, Tender Taps was trying desperately to warm up his hands. Apple Bloom watched her friend’s plight before looking down at her own glove covered hands. Her brow furrowed as she considered her next course of action. Eventually, she came to a decision.

She removed her gloves and presented them to Tender Taps.

“Here. Borrow these.” Apple Bloom offered.

“R-really? You sure?”

“Yeah. They ain’t much use to me right now. Especially since we’re inside right now. Just make sure you give ‘em back before the end of the day. And bring yer own next time.”

“I will.” Tender Taps said as he put the gloves on. “Oh, wow. These work great. They’re really warm. Thank you, Apple Bloom. Truly.”

“Yer welcome, Tender. Say, if ya don’t mind, is it alright if Ah just call ya ‘Tender’ every now and then?”

“Sure! You’re my friend. I don’t want you to think you need to be formal with me all the time. In fact, while we’re on the subject, is it alright if I just call you ‘Apple’?”

“Ah guess not. But personally, Ah’d rather you call me ‘Bloom’. There’s plenty of others in the family with ‘Apple’ in their name. Heck, we’re called the Apple family. Bloom feels more personal to me.”

“Bloom.” Tender tried the shortened name on his tongue. “Bloom. I like it. I think it suits you.”

“Ya think so?” Bloom asked, her cheeks starting to darken.

“Yeah. I remember when the school year started, we were both kind of nervous and out of place. One of us was the new kid who didn’t know anyone here and the other was just a naturally shy kid who didn’t really talk to others. But thanks to you, I managed to get out of my shyness and all but become a new person. And you. You didn’t need any help to get over your nervousness. You did that all on your own. I guess what I’m trying to say is…we both managed to ‘Bloom’ into better people.”

Apple Bloom turned her head away slightly in a vain attempt to hide her blushing cheeks and goofy smile threatening to break through her face.

“W-was that too cheesy? I-I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable.”

“No, no! Ah mean, it was a little cheesy. But…it was also one of the kindest things anyone’s ever said to me since Ah got to Manehattan. So…thank you. Yer one of-”

“Alright, break it up, you two!”

Tender and Bloom looked up to see their teacher, Timely Manner, looking down on them.

“There’s no time for that now. The school day will begin in 47.3 seconds. You should be preparing for the lessons to come. Besides, I lost my tolerance for teenage flirting right after I took this job. Exactly 27.93 years ago. Now, this is your first and only warning. Save it for outside of school, or I will see you two sent to different seats.”

The two teenagers in question didn’t respond. Timely Manner nodded and walked off, confident that his message had gotten across. Once the morning bell rang, everyone prepared for the day ahead.

“Alright, then. From the top.” Hoofer instructed. “Here ve go.”

The music began as Tender Taps and Apple Bloom started their routine from the beginning. Since it was Friday, the pair hoped to finish the day with their teacher’s approval so that they could enter tomorrow confidentially.

“Vait, vait, vait.” Hoofer called out as the music stopped.

Tender and Bloom were a minute into their routine when the coach called for them to stop. The two dancers looked at her in confusion.

“What’d we do wrong this time?” Apple Bloom groaned.

“Earlier in the veek, the two of you vere alvays outpacing the music. This time, the opposite is true. You are going too slow. The music is outpacing you.”

“We’re trying, but this music is a lot different from last week’s.” Tender complained.

“Well, we gotta do somethin’. We’re dancin’ tomorrow.” Bloom countered.

Hoofer stood silently for a moment as she contemplated what to do. Eventually, she came to a decision.

“Ve shall tackle this vone at a time. Apple Bloom, return to vhere you vhere vhen the instrumental started. Tender Taps, you may take a short break.”

As Tender moved away from his partner and sat down on a chair against the wall, Bloom stood in place as she waited for the music to resume.

“Okay, ve shall start from the beginning of the instrumental. Are you ready?”

Apple Bloom nodded.

“Good. Now…five six seven eight!”

As the music started, Apple Bloom lifted one leg as high as she could before planting it on the ground in front of her and slowly brought the other leg next to the first one.

“Hold it.”

The music cut out again.

“I think I see the problem now.” Hoofer declared. “I often forget that you are not as flexible as the average female dancer. That is vhy the music is outpacing you here. And Tender Taps is being forced to slow down to accommodate you.”

Apple Bloom was about to ask how to rectify this, but Hoofer held a hand up, pondering deeply and not wanting the farm girl to derail her train of thought. After a full minute’s worth of contemplation, the dance coach looked up.

“Alright, here is what ve are going to do.”

Hoofer relayed her instructions to Apple Bloom, who took in every word.

“Are ya sure that’s gonna work? What about the part where we-”

“Ve vill do vithout that part. It vas rather veak, anyvays. Now, get into position, and ve shall start again. And…five six seven eight!”

The music started where it had before, and Bloom danced to it with her new instructions.

“Very good!” Hoofer Steps complimented. “This is much better. Now then, Tender Taps, come here. Go vhere Apple Bloom vas vhen she started. You vill do vhat ve vere doing already, just by your lonesome. I vant for you two to reunite just as the new lyrics begin.”

With the music rewound to where it was, Tender Taps did as he was instructed until he was right at Apple Bloom’s side.

“Splendid. Now, ve shall do both of your parts vithout stopping. Vonce you get through that, ve shall return to the very beginning and see how everything looks.” Hoofer stated.

Another whole hour passed before the time came for dance practice to end for the day. Once it did, despite Hoofer’s assurances that they were ready, both Tender and Bloom could feel an uneasy pit in their stomachs.

This week’s dance had been harder to learn and taken longer to get right than any of the others. Would it hold up against all the others this week? Even if it did, what would the future weeks hold? They would be expected to do better, more awe-inspiring dances as the competition wore on. Would they be able to do it? Could they actually see this through to the end?

These and other troubling thoughts invaded their minds until they were lulled to sleep.

Saturday. It was a day everyone at CDE studios either loved or dreaded. Those that dreaded it most were the ones who would be dancing on camera today. They dreaded it because they knew that by the end of the night, two more of them would be out of the running for the $100,000 grand prize.

But before they could do the dances that would determine which one of them would be out of the running, they all had to get into the outfits they would dance in this time around. Like last week, the duo found themselves in Latin Haymerican inspired dance clothes. Apple Bloom was again in a red dress. It was less extravagant than the last one, though. The only real thing of note were the three layers of frills that made up the bottom of the dress, which went just past Apple Bloom’s knees. Simple heels were also present. Tender Taps was also in a fairly simple getup. He was wearing a Latin inspired black button up shirt that was tucked into black pants with black shoes.

“Ah feel like Ah looked better last week.” Apple Bloom said as she walked out of the dressing room.

“Same. This feels a little…simple, compared to what we wore the last couple of weeks.” Tender Taps agreed.

“Well, as long as we can still dance while wearin’ it, Ah guess.”

“Yeah. But speaking of which, we best get ready. We’re one of the first ones this week.”

With that, the pair entered the green room alongside all the other dancers. The only ones not there were Star Power and her partner. And that was just because they were dancing first. After the pair did their dance, they returned to the green room, strutting in as if they owned the place.

“I hope you were all watching that.” Star Power boasted. “That’s what a true dancer looks like. What did you all think of such perfection?”

No one responded to Star Power’s arrogant sarcasm. This made the girl irritated.

“Excuse me! Someone more important than you is trying to talk!”

“Really? Where? I don’t see or hear anyone that important here.” Tender Taps muttered with irritation in his voice.

Tender’s comment wasn’t quite as quiet as he thought it was, however. His comment was not only heard by everyone in the room, it also made them start to chuckle. Except the people that comment was directed toward, though, who began to grit their teeth in anger.

“What did you say?” Star Power growled.

“He said you ain’t as important as you think. So quit tryin’ to put the rest of us down like you are. Ah can honestly say Ah see why Daffodil wanted to hit ya on the head with that sandbag.” Apple Bloom declared, wanting to come to her friend’s defense.

“I didn’t hit…!”

Before Budding Daffodil could say anything else in his defense, Star Power shoved him to the side and stomped towards the farm girl and her dance partner, ready to tell them off. She got right in Apple Bloom’s face and began shouting.

“Where do you get off talking to me of all people like that?!”

“Ah get off at the same place you get off yer high horse. Though, personally, Ah don’t think that place exists. Kinda like yer humility. Ugh! Or your toothbrush, given how yer breath smells.” Bloom responded, pinching her nose shut.

This caused all the other dancers to break out in laughter. Star Power, however, had gone red in the face in anger. So red, in fact, that the others thought she was about to erupt like a volcano. But before that eruption could occur, a studio page entered the green room.

“Tender Taps and Apple Bloom? It’s time for you to go on stage.” The page said.

Bloom quickly walked out of the room, dragging Tender along with her. The only thing stopping Star Power from following after to further antagonize them was the fact that just as she turned to Gleaming Gem, about to order him to join her in making those two pay, he reacted much the same as Apple Bloom at her breath. Star Power then breathed into her own hand and sniffed it. She quickly gagged at the disgusting odor.

After making their way close to the stage, Tender Taps and Apple Bloom heard Sea Crest talking.

“Welcome back, one and all! Before the commercial, we saw our usual flashy opening number for this episode, as well as an equally flashy paso doble from Star Power and Gleaming Gem. They were spectacular, as usual. But they were hardly the only dancers we have. So let’s get some of them out here. Who’s next, you ask? Well, let me give you a clue. Old McDonald had a farm. E-I-E-I-O. And on this farm, he had a daughter who decided to come to the big city and make friends with a shy recluse with dreams of being a great dancer. Together, they auditioned for this show and got in, and now they’re going to do the cha-cha-cha for us. Let’s hear it for Apple Bloom and Tender Taps!” Sea Crest cheered.

In contrast to all the previous weeks, Tender Taps and Apple Bloom were already on stage, ready to dance, when the music began, as opposed to coming on stage with the music. Just before the first beat began, the two dancers posed. Bloom was standing in front of Tender Taps with her arms spread out in a T position. Tender, meanwhile, stood behind his partner with his arms pointed upwards.

Once the music began, the pair began shaking their hips in opposite directions in tempo with the music, while also switching the positions their arms were in. This continued for about seven seconds before the two stepped to the side in opposite directions before embracing each other in a traditional partner dance pose.

As the music continued, the pair danced down the stage using the basic cha-cha steps. Once in the middle of the stage, Tender twirled his partner twice in quick succession. The next few seconds were spent doing the basic cha-cha steps before Tender quickly dipped his partner and pulled her up just as quickly. Right then, they separated and took a step away from each other.

Right then, the vocals started. The same foreign lyrics repeated four times in a row in the song’s chorus. During the first and third set of lyrics, Tender Taps would do a dance in place. During the second and fourth set, Apple Bloom would copy what Tender had done just before her. The first time the lyrics played, Tender spun around before tapping his feet in the same positions as the basic cha-cha steps. After Bloom copied him and the third repeat started, Tender raised his arms and swung his hips around before shuffling his way closer to Apple Bloom. After Bloom repeated his movements, the two dancers found themselves right in front of each other.

As new vocals started, Tender Taps and Apple Bloom cha-cha’d their way across the stage, close to the judge’s table. Tender then dipped his partner and swung her in an arc before pulling her back up. After doing more cha-cha steps closer to the center of the stage, Tender twirled Apple Bloom around three times. The farm girl then found her back pressed to her partner’s chest.

As the next lyrics began, Apple Bloom spread her legs in a vertical position, slowly letting her body sink closer to the floor as far down as her dress (and limited flexibility) would allow. All the while, she shook her hips as she descended. Tender Taps, meanwhile, stood still as Bloom lowered herself down. But as soon as her head was parallel to his chest, he swung his shoulders and hips in a wave like fashion, his arms raised and swaying in a similar fashion.

To the beat of the following lyric, Tender Taps grabbed Apple Bloom under her arms and pulled her up, the pair’s respective shoulders and hips now swaying in the opposite directions of their previous dance moves. Once she was on her feet again, Apple Bloom did the cha-cha steps while shifting to her right as Tender Taps did them in place. The farm girl then put her hand in her partner’s hand.

The chorus lyrics began again. At the first lyric, Apple Bloom did the basic cha-cha steps in place before Tender Taps twirled her around to his other side. At the second lyric, Tender did the same before Apple Bloom twirled him to her other side. At the third lyric, Apple Bloom slid off to the side while shaking her hips before she cha-cha’d from one side of Tender Taps to the other. And on the final lyric of the chorus, Tender Taps repeated his partner’s movements. By now, they were close to the far edge of the stage.

At this point, another instrumental portion began. While Tender Taps stayed behind, just swaying his hips to the beat of the music, Apple Bloom danced down the stage. She jumped and twirled as she got further away from her partner, then she tapped her way towards the center of the stage. Once there, she cha-cha’d in place, ending it by putting her hands on her hips and swinging her left hip twice in tempo with the music, bouncing her leg as she did.

Tender Taps then moved to catch up with his partner. He kicked one leg up in the air as high as he could before bringing it down in a massive step forward. He then slid his other foot forward, zigzagging it in tempo with the music until it caught up to the first. He then spun around numerous times as he got closer to his redheaded friend. He then dropped down to his knees in front of her before he jumped up and landed on his feet with the last two notes of the instrumental section. All the while, Apple Bloom just stepped in place.

As new lyrics stated up, Tender Taps and Apple Bloom both placed one hand on their partner’s shoulder and the other one in their partner’s other hand. The pair then did basic cha-cha steps as they approached the edge of the stage. After that, both dancers took a step away from each other before they twirled in place numerous times, their legs sticking out and getting close to the front row of the audience.

Tender Taps then grabbed his partner’s hand and spun Apple Bloom around, again pressing her back to his chest. They then stepped back to the middle of the stage, their hips swinging to and fro with each step. Once there, Bloom raised her arms and tapped the cha-cha steps in place. Meanwhile, Tender Taps placed one hand on her waist and extended the other arm outward. While Bloom cha-cha’d in place, Tender took stylized steps while walking around his partner in a circle. His hand moved across the farm girl’s waist, her stomach, and her back as he walked.

Right then, the instrumental music began again, intercut with lyrics from the chorus. The duo danced down the stage closer to the judges’ table until the lyrics started, at which point, they both made 180° spin in separate directions. They then made a complete 360 in the opposing direction. They then repeated the process three times, getting a little closer to the judges each time.

The chorus began once again. As the lyrics began, the duo stood beside each other and copied each other’s movements. To the first lyric, they both took a large sliding step to the right before tapping the cha-cha steps in a vertical line, moving their legs back and forth while keeping their torsos as still as possible. To the second lyric, they took a sliding step to the left and did the same cha-cha steps, only this time they moved their legs in a horizontal line. The third and fourth lyrics had them repeat what they did for the first two.

Immediately afterwards, the chorus repeated itself for the final time. For this set of lyrics, Tender Taps and Apple Bloom got back into a closed position to dance. As the first lyric played, Tender Taps spun his partner around twice before she cha-cha’d away from him. The farm girl went out as far as she could while still holding her partner’s hand. To the second lyric, Apple Bloom pulled her friend close to her as their conjoined hands raised in the air before they both stepped in a circle, their joined hands at the center of that circle. The third lyric saw them separate as far as they could again, before they cha-cha’d close to each other, hips swinging the whole way. To the fourth and final lyric of the chorus, Apple Bloom got dipped and spun in a complete circle by Tender Taps.

Another instrumental section intercut with lyrics began. As their dance sequence entered its final leg, Tender Taps pulled Apple Bloom up and spun her around until they were both facing the same direction. He then started tracing her stomach and hips with his hands. His own hips were shaking the entire time. After that, Bloom took a few stylized steps until she was standing behind Tender. She placed her hands around his stomach while the boy cha-cha’d in place. Tender Taps then spun in place twice before he faced his partner. Once they both got into a closed position, they cha-cha’d while spinning themselves across the stage, closer to the judges. They ended their dance by grasping each other’s hands and separating as far as they could while still holding hands. To the final beats of the music, they stepped closer to each other in the cha-cha style. The final note had their faces mere inches from each other.

Once the music finally ended, the cheers of the audience filled the air. The dancing duo split from each other and turned to face the judges and audience. They then bowed respectfully to them. At this point, Sea Crest joined them on stage.

“Another week, another dance from you two. I have to admit, I always look forward to seeing what you two do more than almost anyone else here. When the judges first selected you two to compete, I thought: ‘Really? A farmer and a novice dancer? That’s only marginally better than the five-year-olds. What are these lunatics thinking?’ But man, have you subverted my expectations. I don’t know how, but somehow you always manage to surprise me. But let’s see if you managed to surprise our judges this week. Judges?”

“I must admit, what captured me most was the fluidity of your movements. The cha-cha-cha is a dance that requires a lot of energy, and you certainly brought that energy. I could see it flow throughout your bodies as you danced. However, I must admit that there is one major issue. There were a number of times where one of you would be doing all the dancing while the other would either just step in place or do pretty much nothing. I don’t like nothing. Still, those moments were far outweighed by the moments of you two dancing your little hearts out.” Boogie Woogie said before holding up a score card. “This week, you will get an eight from me.”

“As for me, I agree that the necessary energy for the cha-cha was there. And I like that, during all the chorus sections of the song, you did something different, as opposed to last week, when all the repeated lyrics had similar dance moves done to them. That shows a level of creativity that I admire. You’ve heard me go on and on about how I dislike repetition. Though, speaking of repetition, I couldn’t help but notice some small similarities between this dance and last week’s jive. Both are Latin inspired dances after all. I can’t help but find myself wishing that you had done something different this week and saved the cha-cha for another time. Doing Latin twice in a row has me casting the creativity I just praised into a bit of doubt. I hope to see a dance from a different part of the world next time. But this time, you will net an eight from me.” Foxtrot stated while holding up a score card with an eight on it.

“For my tastes, it was an interesting routine you did. Perhaps your most creative to date. Cha-cha certainly requires a lot of that, as everyone else said. And I enjoyed it greatly. Though, like Boogie Woogie, I found myself unhappy with the parts where one of you more or less stole the spotlight while the other did little to nothing. In addition, that part where you two separated by about half the stage before catching up with each other left a bad taste in my mouth. Latin music is usually meant to be danced in close quarters. To separate that far isn’t something to be encouraged. For those reasons, my score for you this week will be seven.” Line Dancer concluded while holding the accompanying score card.

“So, this week netted you two a 23. Not bad, but a bit lower than what you did last week. That may come back to bite you. And it’ll be a hard bite, too. Like a snake or tiger bite. The kind of bite that keeps you from winning a ton of money and a really big trophy. Will you get that kind of bite? Well, we’ll have to wait until all the other dancers have gone. Until then, please welcome our next pair! A pair of sisters that decided to bring us a taste of Haywaii by doing a traditional hula. So let’s give a warm ‘aloha’ to Sweet Cream and Sour Cream!”

As the next duo started dancing, Tender Taps and Apple Bloom returned to the green room. Everyone looked at them with a mild sense of amusement, still happy how they had talked back to the most arrogant among them. Said arrogant dancer was still glaring daggers at them for the comments they made earlier in the evening. This glare never let up. Not even when all the dancers were called back to the stage.

“Welcome back! Before the commercial, we saw our last pair, Piano Keys and Violin Strings, give us a stirring take on the jive. Just trying to copy our resident farm girl and shy dancer, if you ask me, but hey, no one said that copying wasn’t allowed. But will this act of plagiarism go unpunished? Or did they just seal their fate with that act? Well, it’s time to find out! It’s time to say adieu to another pair! But who will it be? Well, we’re about to find out! But first, as always, we have to announce this week’s highest rankers. And those rankers are…”

Everyone in the audience held their breath as they waited for Sea Crest to finish his sentence.

“…Peach Cobbler and Custard Tart! With a score of 26! I guess cute kids really can go far here. With a quickstep like that, these two munchkins had real hot feet tonight.”

The two five-year-olds in question squealed loudly in excitement over winning this week. Everyone in the audience, as well as all their fellow dancers. All but two dancers, who were silently plotting the downfall of those around them.

“And now, it’s time for the losing team.” Sea Crest announced.

It was the dancers’ turn to hold their breaths. Most of them had nervous expressions on their face. Some of them even began to sweat. They knew what was about to happen. They just hoped to not hear their names.

“With a score of just 20, the ones going home are…Rosey Cheeks and Budding Daffodil. Can’t say I’m shocked. Your Rumba left a lot to be desired. Plus, trying to sabotage Star Power like that? Not cool. I’m all for a little drama. But not at the expense of someone getting hurt or anything else that could bring lawyers down on us.”

“I didn’t sabotage her!” Daffodil shouted. “She did that to herself! She-”

“I’m sorry, I’d love to hear more, but we are out of time! It’s time for you two to scram. Best do it now before you get the urge to sabotage someone else and security has to throw you out.” Sea Crest stated.

“I’ll get even with you, Power, if it’s the last thing I do!” Daffodil yelled as he and Rosey Cheeks walked off the stage.

“And with that, another pair’s dreams have withered away. They’ll just have to wilt in their failure and guilt. The rest of you, though, move another step closer to claiming the grand prize! But in the end, only one of you pairs will get to claim that prize. Who’s it gonna be? Well, tune in next week to find out who it’s not gonna be after another round of exciting dances from these kids! See you all next time on Dance the Night Away! Sea Crest, out!”

With all the dancing for the week finally done, each of the remaining dancers began to relax, knowing they were still in the running for another week. While some made idle chitchat amongst each other, others just waited for their ride home. There was one pair that was doing both.

“I have to admit, that was a close one.” Tender Taps mused.

“Yeah. For a moment, Ah wasn’t sure if we’d measure up against the others this week. Luckily, Ah was wrong.” Apple Bloom responded.

“I just hope what we do next week impresses the judges more.”

“Ah’m sure it will. Whatever happens, Ah know we’ll face it just fine.”

“I always like how confident you are. Next week, we’ll be the ones with, like Sea Crest said, ‘hot feet’.”

“Hotter than a fresh baked apple pie in the middle of winter.”

Tender Taps laughed at his partner’s wordplay.

“Right. And no matter what, we’ll face it as a team.” Tender concluded.

“As a team.”

Author's Note

You know, for a while, I considered adding a section to the dance scene that would replicate the 'Cha-Cha Slide' song. But I couldn't figure out where to place it. So I settled for putting a reference to the song elsewhere in the chapter.

Sorry this took a month to get out, but like I said last chapter, it's what comes next that will be more interesting. The stuff I find more interesting is what I tend to write faster. I drag my feet on most everything else. Does that mean the next chapter will come out quicker? Only time will tell. Until then, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

For the record, this song isn't the other song with lyrics that I mentioned in the previous chapter. Mostly because I don't speak Spanish and couldn't find what the original song name was so I could use the lyrics as a reference like I did last time. The next lyrics music I mentioned is still a few chapters out, and it is a song very much in English.

At one point, I considered using Babs Seed elsewhere in the story, but that was before I realized how hard writing a Brooklyn accent was. I have enough trouble writing for Apple Bloom and Hoofer Step's accents. I don't need another weighing me down.

Speaking of Apple Bloom, the whole reason I had that scene where she asks Tender Taps to call her 'Bloom' was for my own benefit. It saves time and character space for me over having to write out 'Apple Bloom' every time I refer to her. Especially since every other reference to Tender Taps I made, I simply call him 'Tender'. Plus, it made for a cute moment between them, I think.

Anyway, that's it for this chapter. not my strongest, but still adequate, I hope. Either way, I hope you're looking forward to the next chapter. I have a few interesting plans for that one. Some things I doubt you will expect. See you then!

Au revoir!