I have to admit, the teachers really went all out on this dance. The entire auditorium was filled with enough chairs to host the whole school with a big buffet table on one end of the room, a place set up for your photo on the other, one large dance floor that could fit a regular-sized dragon, and...was that Spike?! I narrowed my eyes and soon found myself laughing at the giant sparkling helmet he had that was a giant-sized version of his head. I knew he would be the DJ at the party, but was he really going to dress so silly?
The snorting I hear from the others indicates I’m not the only one to notice as the six of us look around for a table we can share. We quickly find one and sit down while waiting for everything to officially begin. Spike is playing some simple party music that is catchy but not too upbeat to keep the mood normal.
“Wow, this looks really cool!” Ocellus whose eyeing every detail with her bug eyes. “I really hope the Hive can do something like this in the future!”
“I take it you guys never had a big dance before?” Gallus asks.
“When Queen Chrysalis was in charge, we weren’t allowed to do any dancing. Or partying. Or any kind of fun, really,” Ocellus answers with a heavy sigh before smiling. “But King Thorax has really been throwing a lot of parties lately! I’m going to have to recommend this kind next time I go home!”
“Yaks have many dances at home in Yakyakistan, but all outside instead of inside!” Yona proclaimed.
“Considering the dancing you guys do, I’m not surprised,” I whisper under my breath with a snicker.
“Has friend Sandbar been to many dances before? Ponies do them all the time, yes?” Yona asked.
“Well, this is only my second kind of dance event. Middle-School prom was my first, but I went alone on that one,” Sandbar says before eyeing me with a light blush. “I’m just glad I’m with my friends.”
“And your special draggy waggie?” Gallus teased, which earned a kick from under the table by yours truly.
“Anyway, I think we can all agree that Silverstream has been to these kinds of events the most,” I say, to which I get a nod from the hippogriff.
“Yup! It’s kinda part of the deal when you’re part of the royal family, but those get boring after a while,” Silverstream waves her hand in the air before her eyes start to glitter. “I want to see what is like up here on the surface with other creatures! I can’t wait to dance and eat and have fun with everyone!”
It looks like it's going to be sooner than Silverstream wishes as Headmistress Twilight gets near the DJ booth and clears her voice on a microphone. Everyone quiets down as the alicorn smiles and waves. “Hello, students of Friendship Academy! Tonight is our first annual Amenity Ball! I know you’re all excited as I am, so we’ll start soon after a few rules! Any problems you have can be addressed towards me or our chaperons who have volunteered to watch your kids! Second, please just be careful where you dance! There are a lot of us, and we don’t want to cause a pile-up by accident! Third, if you have a request, you just need to ask our DJ for the evening, Spike!”
“Uh, that’s Scales-n-Tail, Twilight,” Spike corrected her on his mic.
“Um, right. Scales-n-Tail,” Twilight rolled her eyes. “Now, if you want to take your photo with your friends, or your date, we have world renown photographer, Photo Finish, who has volunteered to assist!”
The ponies all began to clap, and I just joined as the mare who assumed to be this famous pony slightly bowed her head. I had no idea who she was, but I figured I’d just clap anyway.
“Next, the Lucky Potluck will start right after an hour of dancing! Please remember to not dance so soon after you eat, or you’ll get cramps in your stomach,” Twilight warned. “Lastly, as per tradition, the first two dances shall be the Pony Cotillion and the Pony Prance! The best dancers will win a trophy and, as a special prize, one free week of no homework!”
“BUCK YEAH!” someone shouted in the crowd.
“No cursing!” Twilight shouted, which caused the pony to utter a “meep” and quiet down. “As I was saying, the winners will get no homework for one week! After that, it's just dancing how you like for the rest of the evening! Well, until 10:30 at least. So let’s get this party started!”
There were cheers and claps as Twilight flew off the stage before Spike started playing a soft tune. “Alright, you lucky couples out there! We’re going to start things off with the Pony Cotillion! So grab your special partner and woo us with some slow dancing!”
Just as soon as Spike finished, Silverstream takes Gallus’s claw and drags him over to the dance floor where other couples were starting to get ready. I turn to Sandbar and wait for him to take us there, but he’s just sitting there with a smile, to my surprise. He notices me staring at him and asks, “What’s wrong.”
“Um, aren’t we going to dance?”
“Oh!” Sandbar looks at me with a surprised look on his face. “I...I didn’t think you like slow dancing. So I figured we could just go up during the prance.”
I give a grin as I take him by the hoof and wink. “I may not be able to do the Cotillion due to standing on two legs, but I can slow dance.”
Before he can react, I drag him to the dance square, where we pass by a few couples before finding a spot for ourselves. I take a deep breath. Okay, Smolder. This is it. Don’t screw it up.
“S-So, what do we do?” Sandbar asks.
“First, stand on your hind legs,” I tell him before quickly helping him position himself right for the slow dance. He has his one front hoof around my waist while I hold his other one in my claw. The two of us are chest to chest while we stare at each other eye to eye. I can feel my cheeks blush a little, but that’s nothing compared to the red I see on Sandbar. I get a little daring and place my claw that’s around his waist and lower it close enough that I’m barely touching his rump. A gasp escaped his lips, but I wink at him. “Just follow my lead.”
With a single step, we begin the dance. Sandbar is slow to join at first, but he soon gets the hang of it as we slowly step side to side, swinging our hips and holding each other. I keep a close eye on our surroundings, so we don’t bump into anyone. Everyone else seems to be doing that proper pony dance, but a few are staring at us with confusion. However, I don’t care, and I’m smiling as the two of us perfectly synch in harmony. He smiles at me, and I feel my cheeks blush. You know, now that I am this close up to you, he really is cute. I think of all the boys I knew back in the dragon lands, but none of them come close to the feeling I have in my heart. Maybe I just like boys outside my own kind? Or perhaps Sandbar is just unique. I don’t know, but I’m glad to be here with him.
I wonder how it looks to others: a dragon and pony dancing together. Honestly, I almost feel sort of left out if it wasn’t for the fact that Silverstream and Gallus are dancing up in the air. I smirk as the two use their wings and tails to keep them afloat while twirling and flowing around like water in the wind. Seriously, I think I already know who's going to win the trophy tonight.
I turn my eyes back to Sandbar, who is blushing up a storm as we continue our own special slow dance. “Where did you learn to do this?” Sandbar whispered.
“Spike learned it from some creatures called humans,” I reply. “You...like it?”
“Yeah, it's nice,” he whispers before gently moving his chest onto mine. I close my eyes and feel our hearts beating as one. “Hey, Smolder? I really am glad that you said yes.”
“Me too,” I whisper as I then ask him, “Um, what happens after tonight? I mean...are we a couple or...?”
Sandbar looks at me and giggles before winking. “Let’s discuss that after the dance?”
“Sounds fair,” I answer as I hear the song slowly coming to its final keys. A few more twirls and steps, and before I know it, the dance is over. Clapping from those who didn’t dance echoes in our ears as we bow to our respective partners. I blush and sigh in relief that the most challenging part is over.
Silverstream and Gallus land next to us with big smiles. “Wow, you two really looked great dancing like that!” Silverstream says with awe.
“Please, you two looked like angels up in heaven the way you were dancing,” I reply, which made me then ask, “How did you two know how to dance in the air so easily?”
“A lot of hippogriff and griffin dances are similar,” Gallus says with a shrug. “I think our races are distantly related due to looking so similar.”
“Wait, does that make us cousins? Am I allowed to date my cousin?” Silverstream asks, which makes us shake our heads in amusement.
“No, Silver, I’m not related to you, so relax,” Gallus answered as he wrapped a wing around his partner, setting her face up to be red.
“Alright, everycreature! Now that we got the slow-mo stuff out of the way, let’s shake our tails and dance crazy! This is the Pony Prance!”
I grin as the hyper sounding beat starts playing. The four of us looked at each other before nodding as we let the music guide us to the beat. Sandbar starts stomping in place and shaking his flank around while swinging my tail back and forth while bobbing my head. We get closer to each other as he places his hooves on my hips, and I place claws on his shoulder. We shake left and right together and then bump flanks before slapping tails.
Twirling around, I flare up my wings and get an idea. With a wink, I grab Sandbar and lift him up into the air bridal style. He’s shocked initially, but then I throw him up into the air and catch him before floating us down. “That was cool!” Sandbar said before he wraps his arms around me and winks. “Wish I could do that.”
“Eh, grow some wings, and we’ll see,” I say before helping him down. We continue to jump and dance while sweat begins to form on my head. While a part of me is worried about the dress getting ruined, I just can’t help but find myself lost in fun.
Eventually, the sound dies down as everyone cheers and keeps dancing. “Alright, everycreature! That was one heck of a dance from you all! I bet you’re all hungry so head on over to the buffet! The winners of tonight’s dance will be announced soon!”
I feel a grumble in my stomach as I motion to Sandbar towards where the food was, and he nods in agreement. Getting on line, the two of us take a moment to catch our breath while noticing that Silverstream and Gallus were still dancing. “Heh, look at those two. I think they’re so lost into it they barely hear anything else.”
“That or they're lost in each other?” Sandbar points out as I see the two love birds pressing their foreheads against each other while dancing so close you could swear they were about to kiss.
“Hey, guys!” We turned around and saw Ocellus and Yona in line behind us. “That was great dancing you two did. What was that first one? I’ve never seen it before.”
“Something Spike showed me since I don’t use all fours to walk around for the traditional Pony Cotillion,” I answered.
“Well, I liked it,” Ocellus said with a smile. “Maybe I should try it too?”
“Yona wants to do a traditional yak dance after eating! Maybe she will get other ponies to do the same!” Yona proclaims.
“Uh, sure, Yona,” I say with a smile before we arrive at the buffet. Naturally, there isn’t any meat or gems, but I decided to take the pasta, fried onions, and a slice of cake. Thankfully, I got a bag of gems back in my dorm, so I’ll be able to eat well afterward.
Ocellus then points over to a strange green bulb of jello looking stuff. “That’s my dish! The Lovebulb! Try it!”
Shrugging, I take a slice of it and put it on my plate before the four of us head back to our table. Gallus and Silverstream were waiting for us while drinking as much water as possible. The two looked like they hadn’t stopped dancing until now, with all that sweat coming down their bodies.
“Ugh, I’m so hungry, but I’m so tired...” Gallus moans as he rubs his head with a napkin.
“Here you go,” Ocellus says, pushing some plates over to our other friends. “I figured I’d grab you both something just in case.”
“Thanks!” The two say with joy before diving in.
I take a moment to look at Ocellus’ dish before deciding to dive into it. I take a big bite and-HOLY MOLEY THIS THING IS DELICIOUS! Forget everything else; I’m devouring this baby like it was my last meal! I’m not the only one doing so as everyone else is eating Ocellus's strange Lovebulb like it came from the gods themselves.
“Wow, Ocellus! This dish is amazing! What’s it made out of?!” Sandbar asks.
“Oh, it’s got sugar, green pepper, some herbs, and solid love I borrowed from home,” Ocellus proclaimed, which made me pause.
“Wait...we’re eating actual physical, emotional love here?” I ask.
“Yup, I asked for a solid love from a wedding a few years ago. I think it was some noble pony or something,” Ocellus pondered.
The five of us just look at each other and shrug. If it tastes good, who cares, am I right?
“Alright, boys and girls! We got the winners of this year’s first dance contest!” Spike proclaims as we all turn our attention onto him. He has a note in his hand, and he plays a drum roll on the set before reading the paper. “And the winner is...Silverstream and Gallus!”
“Yeah! Woohoo!” The two scream as they fly up to the stage where Twilight is holding the trophy for them. The two take it as a duo and raise it up high as cheers are given. While I am a bit disappointed that we didn’t win, I am glad my friends could do so at least.
“No homework for one week, baby!” Gallus proclaims as he gives a “V” sign with his talons.
“I can’t wait to put this on the trophy shelf back home!” Silverstream says with stars in his eyes. “And we did it together!”
Then, to everyone's surprise, Silverstream grabs Gallus by the shoulders and kisses him right on the beak in front of everyone. My jaw drops before laughing at the sight of Gallus, red as a tomato, babbling nonsense as Silverstream then nuzzles him while in a hug. Some ponies are whistling and cheering louder as Gallus falls semi-unconscious before Silverstream drags him back to the table with their trophy.
Spike goes back to playing music as others go up to dance some more, but the four of us are just grinning at the winners. “I think you might have knocked him out, Silver,” I say, pointing to Gallus, who's still blabbering and rolling his eyes in confusion. Seriously, if he’s going to be like that for his first kiss, I wonder what he’ll be like for his first time.
“Oh, no! Was it my breath? Did I not brush well enough?” Silverstream said, breathing into her palm and sniffing it.
“Relax, Silverstream, he just needs a few moments to reboot himself,” Sandbar says as he turns to be and holds his hoof out. “Want to get our pictures taken?”
“Sure,” I say. After all, it's going to be a long night.
***
I danced. I ate. I laughed. I never had so much fun in all my life. Sadly, all things come to an end, and the dance finally close after a long and exciting time of merriment. After showing a few yak dances, Yona was the first to fall asleep, and Ocellus offered to take her home. Since she didn’t win the Lucky Potluck, she figured she’d turn in early. At some point an hour before the official closing, Gallus and Silverstream had left as well. Their little kiss had inspired other couples to mash their lips together as well, so they had become celebrities in a way.
I just hoped they didn’t leave early to do some...adult stuff that I heard rumors a few other partners were planning to do. That left Sandbar and me to dance and talk until Headmistress Twilight officially ended the dance while thanking everyone for coming. Since our dorms are so close to each other, Sandbar and I started walking each other home under the full moon evening. None of us said anything, but one thing I felt was his tail wrapped around my own, and I did nothing to stop it.
Now, here I am at my room door with my belly full, body sore, and yet smiling like I won a lottery. Turning to Sandbar, who smiles back at me, I gently hold his hoof and say, “This was a really great evening. I...I really loved it.”
“Thanks, I had a lot of fun too...” Sandbar said, looking down at the floor.
I turn away, as well. I guess the big question is, what happens to us going forward? Treat tomorrow as if it was another day, or are we going to be something more? I’m not going to lie; I like Sandbar. I really do like him. I open my mouth to say something, but Sandbar is the first to speak. “Smolder, will you be my girlfriend?”
My eyes widen before I smile. “R-Really?”
“Yeah,” Sandbar says as he sits up and wraps a hoof around me. “Smolder, I like you. And I want something out of this. I want us to go out on more dates like today. If you want to, that is.”
I giggle a bit before placing my claw on his cheek. “I like you too, Sandbar. And I want to be your girlfriend.”
He then leans forward as I close my eyes. His lips connect to mine, and we kiss. My heart is bursting like a trumpet as my entire body lits on fire. I’ve been in hot lava before, but nothing feels more soothing than this kiss. I slowly place my arms around him, and he does to me. I kiss him harder, and he pressed equally as hard before the two of us break apart. I stare into those beautiful and handsome eyes and wonder if I am falling in love. Maybe but I got all the time in the world to see.
“So, tomorrow night? Just the two of us?” He asks, and I nod.
“Just the two of us,” I whisper as we kiss once more, but just lightly. I slowly open the door to my room with my tail, and I lure Sandbar inside before closing it.
“W-wait, are we-”
“No, we’re not going to do that,” I tell him as I slowly take off my dress. “But I do want to kiss your face over and over again until my lips are dried.” Maybe one day we’ll mate, but for now, this dragon just wants her treasured boyfriend’s lips.
Sandbar seems to relax and grins before taking off his suit. The two of us climb into bed with him on top and me on the bottom. Our lips do the talking for the rest of the evening.
The best evening I’ve ever had.