As winter descended upon Equestria, Sketch found himself with a lot more time on his hooves. The apples that had been bucked in the autumn had all been sold or turned into cider, jam, and preserves. Applejack and her family spent much of their time taking care of repairs and other types of maintenance around the farm that they couldn't get to in the busier seasons. It wasn't uncommon for Sketch to be painting in his studio and hear someone below hammering or sawing away at something.
He also used his time to visit with Twilight Sparkle, talking with her about magic and Canterlot and the myriad things that she studied. In return, he taught her all he knew about painting and art in general. Occasionally one or more of the other ponies would stop by, and Sketch was able to get to know them better as well. It felt strange to have friends; Artsy had been a friend, but it had been a different relationship between the two of them. There had always been a bit of distance, the gap between teacher and student.
One afternoon the whole gang was together at Twilight's when Spike had a sudden burp, and out popped a letter from Princess Celestia. Sketch had witnessed the phenomenon a few times, but it never failed to amuse him. "What is it, Spike?" Twilight asked, looking puzzled. "I wasn't expecting anything from the princess."
"Let's see," Spike mumbled as he unrolled the letter and looked it over. "'Dear Twilight Sparkle, I am holding a ball this year at the palace on the eve of Midwinter. I am hoping it will become an annual event, complete with an auction to raise money for charity. Enclosed are tickets for you and your friends. You are encouraged to bring something for the auction, but it is not required. I hope to see you all there. Sincerely, Princess Celestia.'" Spike held up a handful of tickets, each with a royal-looking seal on them.
"Oh my, that sounds positively delightful!" Rarity cooed. "I could create an exquisite gown to auction off! And one to wear, of course."
"Yeah, and Sketch could do a painting!" Pinkie Pie said.
Twilight recounted the tickets and gave an embarrassed cough. "Actually, there are only enough tickets for seven of us."
"That's okay," Sketch said, shaking his head. "You ponies would probably have a better time than I would anyway. I've been to things like that and they're usually pretty boring."
"That's because you haven't gone with us," Pinkie Pie said. "You should hear what happened at the Grand Galloping Gala!"
"Oh, let's not bring that up again," Fluttershy spoke up, a blush rising to her cheeks. "I still have nightmares about it."
Sketch raised an eyebrow, but Applejack interjected. "Twilight, if Sketch can't go, then ah'm not goin', neither."
"Applejack, you don't have to-" Sketch started, but was interrupted by Pinkie Pie.
"You have to go, Applejack! We're a team! A group! A posse! A pony posse prepared to party! Don't be a pony posse party pooper!"
"Sketch is one of us now," Applejack responded, "And if we don’t go together, ah don’t want to go at all."
"Well, if Applejack isn’t going, I’m not going," Rainbow Dash said, sitting back on her haunches and folding her forelegs over her chest. "I need someone to keep me sane from all the girly foo-foo stuff."
"Wait a minute," Sketch tried to interject, "You ponies are-"
"What about the pony posse?" cried Pinkie Pie.
"Everypony calm down," Twilight said in a loud voice, holding up a silencing hoof. She turned to Sketch. "I'll just ask the princess for an extra ticket."
"There’s no need to bother her," Sketch replied, but Twilight shook her head.
"It's no bother! She trusts me, and if I tell her that there's one more pony who should be with us, she'll understand." Sketch tried to argue some more, but Twilight was moving ahead. "Spike, send Princess Celestia a message asking for one more ticket for our newest best friend, Sketch."
"Already on it," Spike responded, his hand scribbling away on a piece of paper. He finished in no time, rolled it up, and breathed fire on it. They all watched it swirl and dissipate, finally disappearing with a soft "pop".
The group waited in silence, and in moments Spike let out another burp. He unrolled the letter and smiled at Sketch, holding up another ticket. "Looks like I won't be the only guy going this time."
Twilight read the letter and looked up, smiling. "See? 'Twilight Sparkle, here is an extra ticket for your friend Sketch. All I ask is for the opportunity to meet him. Sincerely, Princess Celestia.'"
"Hurray!" Pinkie Pie cried, doing cartwheels around the room. "We're going to a paaaarty! We're going to a paaaarty!"
"Thanks, Twilight," Sketch said with a grateful smile. He couldn't believe that he was going to a celebration at Canterlot, or that he would be meeting Princess Celestia!
For the rest of the afternoon the ponies speculated about what they'd see at the Midwinter Ball. Pinkie Pie continually bugged Sketch about what he was going to paint for the auction, and he kept telling her he didn't know. In reality, he had an inkling, but wasn't ready to commit to it yet. When he and Applejack left, the sun was just touching the horizon. The two walked in silence for a bit before Sketch spoke. "Thanks for saying you wouldn't go to the ball if I wasn't able to go, and for saying I’m one of the group."
"You're welcome, sugar cube, although ah guess it doesn't matter 'cause Twilight Sparkle saved the day." There was a tone in Applejack's voice that worried Sketch.
"Applejack, I… have I done something to offend you? Or said something wrong?"
"No, Sketch," the orange pony shook her head. "Ah… ah just have some things on mah mind."
Sketch wanted to believe her, but there was something in the way she spoke that left him unconvinced. Unfortunately, if there really was something bothering her, she didn't seem to be interested in talking about it. With a quiet sigh he dropped the matter and trotted beside her back to the farm, making the rest of the journey in an uncomfortable silence.
***
"Darling, please hold still, I have to finish pinning this."
"Sorry," Sketch muttered. He was getting antsy, having been at Rarity’s mercy for the whole afternoon as she measured and fitted him for his Midwinter Ball tuxedo. "How much will I owe you for this, by the way?"
"Owe me?" Rarity looked away from her work, catching Sketch’s eyes. By her expression anypony would have thought Sketch had just asked her a complicated math question. "Why, you don’t owe me a thing, darling. This is my pleasure to do."
"But you’re taking time away from your usual work!"
"And it’s my prerogative to charge or not to charge for it." With that she went back to putting pins into the cuffs.
Sketch had still not quite been able to lose his guilty feelings when somepony did something big for him, so he said, "Would you let me paint your portrait for you like I did for Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy?"
At that Rarity’s eyes sparkled and a dreamy smile stretched her lips. "A portrait? Of me? Oh, how wonderful!"
With a laugh and release of tension, Sketch said, "I’ll take that as a ‘yes’."
Rarity finished up her work and assured Sketch that she would complete the tux in plenty of time for a final fitting before the ball. "When would you like me to stop by to do your portrait?" Sketch asked as he slipped on his overcoat.
"Hmm," the unicorn scrunched up her face and put her hoof to her chin. "It would have to be after the ball, what with all the outfits I’m doing for everyone, plus the gown I’m going to auction off. How about two days after the ball? That way we have time to relax the following day."
"I think I can do that."
"Then it’s a date!" Rarity beamed.
Sketch nodded and turned towards the door, only to see Applejack standing in the doorway. "Oh! Hey, Applejack!"
"You two plannin’ a date now?" she said in that tone that had been rather pervasive lately.
"He’s going to paint my portrait," Rarity said with stars in her eyes. "Can you imagine it? My beautiful face on canvas!"
"Another portrait, huh?" the orange pony said, avoiding Sketch’s eyes as she walked into the room.
"Um, yeah," Sketch replied, still unsure of what the problem was. "Applejack, what-"
"Let’s get this over with, Rarity," Applejack said, removing her hat and ignoring Sketch. "Ah got a lotta work waitin' for me."
Dejected, Sketch left the boutique with a sigh.
***
After the uncomfortable situation at Rarity’s, Sketch spent a lot more time holed away in his studio. Artsy had always told him to channel any extreme emotion, positive or negative, into creativity. And Sketch certainly had a plethora of negative emotions to utilize. Fortunately, that helped him finish his painting for the Midwinter Ball auction, as well as few other paintings, some good and some not so good.
One night Sketch was returning from a long stint in his studio when he bumped into Apple Bloom in the dining room. "Hey big bro," she whispered before taking a bite of a slice of leftover apple pie.
"Hey little sis," Sketch answered.
Apparently he had said it in such a way as to cause concern in the young filly. "What’s the matter?"
With a sigh he sat at the table with her. "That’s just the problem – I don’t know."
"Does this have to do with mah sister? Ah’ve noticed you two ain’t speakin’ to each other much."
"She’s been acting really weird and I don’t know why. I must have done something wrong."
"If you want mah opinion, big bro, ah think she wants you to do somethin’ special for her."
"Something special?" Sketch blinked a few times, mulling that over. "Of course!" he nearly shouted, prompting a "Shhhh!" from Apple Bloom. "Of course. She’s done so much for me. I need to do something for her!"
"Well, that ain’t exactly what ah meant…" Applebloom started, but Sketch didn’t let her finish.
"Thank you so much, Apple Bloom!" With that Sketch made his way quietly up to his room, where he sat on his bed and lost himself in his thoughts, muttering, "Something special…" over and over again.
***
"Dancing?" Twilight Sparkle raised an eyebrow. "I’ve read books on it, but I’ve never really done it. Why do you ask?"
"I want to do something special for Applejack," Sketch replied. "So I thought if I could learn how to dance in the next few days I could make her feel special at the Midwinter Ball."
"That’s really sweet, Sketch. But you’d be better off asking Rarity. Out of all of us she’s the one who would know about dancing."
"I thought of her, but she’s so busy with everyone’s ball outfits that I don’t think she’d be able to help. I figured you’d be the next best person to ask. You’d at least have books on the subject."
"Well… I suppose we could give it a try," Twilight said, glancing over at Spike, who was sweeping the floor. "Spike, could you round up all the books you can find on ballroom dancing?"
"I’m on it!" the little dragon saluted, tossing the broom aside and moving the ladder to a point at the far end of the room.
"Thanks so much, Twilight," Sketch said with a smile.
"Sure thing. Just don’t say you owe me for this or I won’t teach you a thing."
***
The lessons commenced with no shortage of stepping on hooves, tripping, and falling. There was also no shortage of laughter from Spike as he watched. The directions in the books that Twilight read from seemed easy on paper, but in practice were rather difficult. By the end of the first day the two ponies looked as though they had been wrestling instead of dancing, and by the way Sketch felt he realized he might as well have been.
The following day Sketch came to the conclusion that applebucking had been much easier. Dancing required not only memorization of the moves, but also a sense of rhythm, something that he had never really had. Put a paint brush in his mouth and he could do wonders, but when it came to music he was clueless.
That evening when Sketch returned to the farm Applejack was setting the table. "Need some help?" he asked.
"Sure. Why don’t ya grab the servin’ bowls off the kitchen counter." Sketch complied and as he returned, Applejack said, "You’ve been mighty scarce the past couple’a days."
"Oh, I’ve been at Twilight’s," Sketch said. "We’ve, um… been studying some stuff together."
"Of course. At Twilight’s. Ah should’ve known."
Sketch felt like a heel. He couldn’t tell Applejack why he had been gone the last few days because he wanted it to be a surprise. At the same time, he couldn't deal with the awkwardness that risen up between them. Without saying another word, Sketch finished helping Applejack set the table and then excused himself.
"Ain’t you gonna eat with us? Or are you gonna go eat with Twilight Sparkle?"
"What? No, I'm just… I’m not hungry," Sketch lied without turning around. "I’m going to go paint." He was starving, but he knew he wouldn't be able to eat knowing that Applejack was upset with him. Just one more day, he thought to himself as he plodded sadly towards the barn. Just one more day and he’d be able to something special for Applejack.