Once again, you find yourself alone, despite the sea of people around the club. Twilight has disappeared completely from your view, possibly from second-hand embarrassment, even though that book of hers was the culprit. You might as well just leave at this point, just take the loss and try again some other time. You're sure Rarity would understand. You take a final look around the club, but don't see anyone you recognize aside from Rainbow Dash chatting to some guy at the bar. Probably best you don't interrupt that.
You pass through a large crowd near the exit, almost reaching the door before you notice Applejack stood to the side. You try to ignore her, but she grabs your arm as you head towards the door and pulls you back in.
"I figured I'd find you trying to leave." Applejack calmly says. You try to walk away, but her grip on your arm is too strong. You turn towards her, sighing.
"Look, Applejack, tonight has been dreadful. Nothing has gone right for me, and I just want to leave with what little dignity I have left. Please, just allow me that." you defeated say, barely able to look at Applejack. She seems taken aback initially, but still refuses to let you go.
"Now listen, Anon. I don't know what them other girls have done to you, but I know what I'm doing, and I'm sure I've found the perfect girl for you," Applejack berates, before switching to a softer tone. "If nothing else, can you trust me? What's one more attempt gonna do to hurt?" Applejack pleads to you with a heartfelt expression. It's near impossible to say no to her.
"...Fine," you respond. "You'd better not be messing me around."
Applejack leads you back towards the packed dancefloor, cutting through the crowds. She eventually stops at a cute-looking girl, a slight aqua tinge to her skin. Applejack steps to the side, allowing you to both see each other properly.
"Lyra, this is Anon I was talking about." she announces, as Lyra steps forward, offering a smile.
"Hey Anon, Applejack has been telling me all about you!" she happily recounts, as you look over to Applejack.
"Oh god, what has she told you?" you sarcastically reply, drawing a laugh from Lyra, who looks over to Applejack.
"Haha, you were right, he is funny!" she says, turning back to you. "She also said you like rock music, I was just gonna go and request something to dance to. You wanna come?" You're almost taken aback with how well this is going.
"Y-yeah, definitely! Lead the way!" you beam, as Lyra takes your hand, leading you towards the DJ booth. As you reach it, Lyra talks with the DJ, who gives her a thumbs up and immediately changes the song to her request. Amazingly, it's one of your favourites.
"I love this song!" you shout as you and Lyra walk back towards Applejack and begin dancing together to the song. Applejack smiles, seeing the two of you happy together.
"See Anon, I knew that you two'd get on just fine!" Applejack happily announces, as you and Lyra return a smile. You can't believe after all of the failures and embarrassment of tonight, one of the girls has finally pulled through for you.
"I'll leave you two to it, then," Applejack says, turning towards a crowd of people. "I can't wait to tell the girls I won!" Lyra stops dancing and turns back towards Applejack, getting her attention.
"Won? What do you mean, won?" Lyra quizzes, as Applejack goes red in realization. You just stand frozen.
"Well, uh, me and the girls had a little competition to try and get Anon a date tonight, and-" Before Applejack and explain herself, Lyra steps forward angrily.
"Competition? So I'm just a bet?" she turns towards you, with the same expression of anger. "You're just doing this because some girls told you to?" You hurriedly try to form your words.
"N-no! Applejack was just helping me, they weren't-" Unfortunately, your words don't seem to have eased the situation, as Lyra's expression remains unchanged.
"Save it! I don't want to hear your excuses. Goodbye, Anon." Lyra storms off into a crowd of people. You attempt to go after her, but within seconds, you've lost sight of her. You turn towards Applejack, your expression torn between sadness, anger and confusion. You don't need to say anything, the look of guilt on Applejack's face says it all.
"I-I...I'm sorry, sugarcube. I didn't mean for what I said to come out like that," Applejack looks towards the floor in embarrassment. You don't reply, still processing the situation in your head. "I'd understand if you headed home now, I'll walk you back if you want." You look towards Applejack, your face worryingly straight.
"I-I think I just want to be alone after that." you reply, surprisingly calmly, your voice still choking a little. You turn away from the dancefloor towards an empty booth. You notice Applejack considering following you, but thinks she better of it and leaves you to walk off into the club.