Several weeks had passed since Pinkie and Wild's wedding, with the married couple having returned from their honeymoon and having Pinkie move into Wild's apartment. The Cakes were still letting her keep her room at Sugarcube Corner, since they knew she would never be able to fit all her party stuff into Wild's place, and her without party things, it would likely destroy the joy within Ponyville. The wedding and its party had certainly been an amazing one, and it had kept a smile on everypony's face for a while.
But as another passed day, a new event came to keep all those smiles on their faces. At the School of Friendship, Flash had just released his students, Gallus, Silverstream, Yona, Smolder, Ocellus and Sandbar walking out of the class after exhausting themselves attempting to pass Flash's challenge. They had succeeded...but just barely.
"Ugh..." Smolder groaned. "I can't wait to get into bed and sleep for a week."
"We can't sleep yet," Silverstream chimed in, "It's the first of the month. You know what that means." They all just stared at her as she added, "Bulletin Board update day. We get to see all the amazing new posters that are gonna go up." They rolled their eyes at this, only to turn and see putting posters on the bulletin board. "See?! New posters! We never had those underwater!"
The students, Heart, Soul, Ace and Mira all walked up to the board, Twilight seeing them arrive, "I won't keep you in suspense any longer. We're bringing one of Ponyville's oldest traditions to our school: The Fetlock Fete."
"The what-lock what?" Smolder asked while scratching her head.
"It's a pony dance party!" Sandbar cheered, "They're the best!"
"I'm ready!" Ocellus exclaimed, suddenly transforming into an earth pony and striking a pose. This only made Twilight giggle.
"You don't need to do that, Ocellus. This year, the event's at school and open to everybody. We're calling our dance the Amity Ball."
"Even better!" The changeling giggled as she warped back to her normal state, the others in the group all smiling as well.
"This is gonna be so much fun," Soul continued.
"I can't wait to show them my dance moves." Heart added as he started doing the robot, everyone laughing at this. They were all glad Heart had returned to his true state after the Cozy incident, if a little wiser because of it.
"Yona not know Amity Ball dance," the young yak chimed in, "Yona only know traditional dance of Yakyakistan. Go like this!" She suddenly started jumping around, using her incredible yak strength to slam the ground. This caused the entire hall, and about a quarter of the school, to shake as everypony who couldn't fly started staggering.
"EARTHQUAKE!" Flash suddenly screamed as he appeared, "Everybody-" He stopped when he saw what Yona was doing, making him sigh in relief.
The yak finally stopped 'dancing' and jumped onto her front hooves, balancing as she smiled at everyone. "Ball dance like that?" She then tripped as Sandbar laughed at her innocence.
"Not exactly," he chuckled, "It isn't just one dance. It's a whole night of them. Plus, an awesome party!"
"This is gonna be good," Ace cheered, "Please tell me there's a dance competition. I wanna show off some of the jakhowl dance moves I learned in Aurarora!"
Twilight shook her head. "We'll have all the old Fetlock Fete traditions." She pointed at a case with a trophy inside of it, showing two ponies on the top that appeared to be dancing. "The Pony Pal Contest, the lucky pot dinner. You'll love it!" She gestured to the poster. "So, like this says, get your pony pal and come along."
They all shined grins at this, Smolder turning to Gallus and Silverstream, "Want to go? I've got nothing better to do."
Gallus smirked, rubbing his chin. "You had me at dinner." Silverstream laughed as the pair snapped at each other, grinning as Flash moved over to Twilight as the alicorn spoke up.
"Now, who wants to help me hang more posters?"
"Me!" Silverstream cheered, Ocellus nodding.
"Sure!" Most of the students followed Flash and Twilight as they walked off.
Ace and Mira didn't, instead heading down another hallway as Mira heard something and looked back. "Hey Yona, want to be my pony pal?" She watched as Yona turned to Sandbar, Ace stopping to watch as well. "We can enter the contest together."
"But Yona yak," she pointed out. "Yona not pony."
"So?" Sandbar asked, Yona pointing at the trophy and poster at this.
"Pony, pony, more pony."
"Aw," Sandbar shook his head, "That's just a poster. Come on! It'll be tons of fun together. Promise." Yona put a hoof to her chin before nodding.
"Okay. Yona go with Sandbar." She held up a hoof that Sandbar shook.
"Great!" He began to walk away, "I'll get the tickets. See you later!" He let out a laugh as he ran off down another corridor, Yona watching him vanish.
"Yona not let Sandbar down!" She cheered as Mira pulled Ace away.
"Oooh," the yellow jakhowl giggled. "I can't believe it. I knew Sandbar had a thing for Yona."
"Huh?" Ace tilted his head, "Since when has he been interested in Yona?"
Mira sighed with a roll of her eyes, "You are such a boy. It's obvious he likes her. I wasn't sure at first, but then the Tree of Harmony incident confirmed it. When Yona saved Sandbar, I could just feel a wave of happy emotions radiating off of him."
"I think he was just happy not to get crushed by a giant rock," Ace chimed in, "I doubt that's enough to confirm he likes her. Maybe he's just wanting to go as a friend."
"Just watch. Those two are totally gonna hit it off."
"If you say so," Ace replied as they began to make their way through the halls. "Can't wait to see who everyone else decides to go with. Wonder who's gonna be dancing with who?"
"Good question," Mira nodded, "Gallus said he was just gonna go with the rest of our friends, but I wonder who he's gonna end up dancing with."
"I'm curious about Heart and Soul," Ace added, "You think Heart's gonna be okay dancing with anypony? I know he's been working to get over what happened, but what if it reminds him of Cozy?"
"Yeah...that true."
Heart and Soul were now walking together, the alicorn filly putting a poster up in the library with her brother when the same question popped into her head. "Heart," her brother turned to her, "Are you gonna be okay with this dance?" He raised an eyebrow at this as she continued, "If going is gonna be too hurtful, you don't have to go. With could spend the night playing board games in your room or...something."
"Why wouldn't I wanna go?" Heart replied, only to see her glance over at him with a worried frown, making him sigh. "Is this because of Cozy?" Her eyes darted away while nodding, "Sis...you don't have to tiphoof around the subject. I'm done letting her ruin my life. If going to this dance is gonna hurt me, she'd still be controlling me."
Soul bit her lip at this, but saw the confidence on his face, making her smile again, "Good. That means you can enjoy the Amity Ball."
"Yup," Heart shined a big grin, "And I'm gonna win the dance contest." Soul laughed at this, "What?"
"You realize that to win the contest, you'll need a pony pal."
Heart glared back at this as they left the library, only to see a trio of fillies their age smiling at them. "Hey Heart," a purple unicorn with blonde hair said.
"Hmm...hey?" Heart replied, the colt not knowing their names.
A pink earth pony spoke up next, twirling her long pink hair as she did. "We've been looking all over for you." Soul frowned at this, "So, wanna go to the Amity Ball with me?" Heart's eyes went wide as the unicorn turned to her.
"Hey! I was gonna ask him!"
"Snooze you lose!" The earth pony laughed while the third member of the trio poked the tips of her hooves together.
She was a lavender pegasus with blue hair, "Hum...w-w-would you like t-to go with me?" Her face turned red at this.
"Uh..." Heart slowly replied as he saw all three now stare at him, the colt raising an eyebrow, "I don't know. Wouldn't you girls rather go with somepony you know better?"
The girls frowned at this, the earth pony responding, "Well, we can get to know each other better during the ball. The whole point of the School of Friendship is to help foster friendships, so why don't we start a new friendship and get to know one another as we dance?"
"So yeah," the unicorn chimed in while throwing her hair back, "So, wanna go?"
"HEY!" The earth pony yelped, "I asked him first!"
"But I spoke to him first!" The pair glared at one another, pushing their foreheads back and forth while the pegasus remained silent. "Heart, who do you wanna go with?"
Heart opened his mouth, but no sound came out. A second later, he turned to his sister, his eyes begging for help as she let out a long sigh, only for a bulb to go off in her head, "Be right back." She walked back into the library and returned a moment later with a six-sided die. "Pick two numbers."
"One and two!" The unicorn exclaimed.
"Three and four!" The earth pony yelled as the pegasus shyly whispered the last two numbers. Soul nodded and threw the dice onto the floor, the lot of them watching it roll a few times before stopping on a five.
"There," Soul picked it up, "Heart can go with the one who picked that number."
"Thanks sis." Heart replied before turning to the pegasus, who looked like she was about to faint.
"So..." he walked up to her, the two soon walking down the hallway, "Do you have a name?"
"M-M-Moonlily." Heart smiled, telling her that was a pretty name and asking her if she was feeling okay when her face turned red.
Soul giggled as he watched them disappear down the hall, only to feel some killing intent pointed towards her. "Oh, grow up." She turned to the other two, "You were the ones that picked the wrong numbers." She flew off as the pair started bickering again, needing to be broken up when Twilight came across them and getting a thirty-minute lecture.
All over the school, the students started to pair up, all quickly getting either rejected or accepted. The ball was all anypony was talking about, which included Yona, who had asked the teachers to help her prepare for the ball. Everyone was looking forward to see how the yak would act on the night of the dance, but were also trying to get ready for the dance themselves, including finding someone to go with.
It was evening at that moment, Ace and Mira now training in the courtyard. Despite being at the school, they were still training to master the jakhowl fighting techniques that they had learned in Aurarora.
"Raaah!" Mira threw a punch, Ace dodging and spinning around to deliver a kick to her head. But as this happed, Mira raised her arm and blocked it before it could connect, pushing him back before leaping upward and attempted to stomp on him. Despite Ace being off balance, she expected him to avoid her attack, only for her foot to collid with his chest.
"Augh!" He yelped as he was thrown back, hitting the dirt as Mira landed.
"You okay?" Mira said as she ran up to him, "You would have normally been able to dodge that." She held out a paw, "What happened?"
Ace took her paw and was pulled up. "I've...got a lot on my mind."
"Really? What?"
"Well...I've been thinking about the Amity Ball and who I should go with."
"Really?" Mira went wide-eyed, only to slightly blush, "Have anyone in mind?" Ace nodded, Mira placing her hands behind her back and rubbing her foot on the ground. "Who?"
"Silverstream." Mira's ears fell at this, "I thought, who do I know that would be really fun to go with? After Pinkie, the funnest creature in school to hang with is Silverstream. So I think I might ask her."
"I see," Mira slowly said, trying her best to mask her aura at this.
"Yeah, I'm just trying to figure out how to ask her. Don't wanna come off looking desperate or cheesy. I heard girls don't like to be asked out like that."
"Well, I wouldn't know."
Ace waved his paw, "You will. I bet a bunch of guys are gonna start asking you to the dance starting tomorrow."
"I don't think a bunch of them will."
Ace laughed at this, "Oh please," he turned to walk away. "If you don't get a date to the dance, I'll wear a dress."
He then walked away, Mira sighing at the sight before glancing up at the night sky. "Idiot."
As the day of the ball drew closer, everyone at the school was getting more excited. Flash was walking through the halls, which were already decorated for the dance, smiling as he saw all the students were already grouped up. He then turned a corner, only to see Smolder, Ocellus and SIlverstream walking opposite him.
"Hello girls," he commented, "Looking forward to the dance?" Ocellus and Silverstream nodded while Smolder just crossed her arms.
"I'm looking forward to the dinner," she replied, "Dancing, not so much. In case you haven't noticed, dragons don't do dancing."
Flash chuckled, "I figured. But you know, you can't spend your entire life on the battlefield. Even if you may want to."
"Yeah, yeah..." Smolder sighed, "I had a feeling you'd say something like that."
Flash smirked at this, "If you think about it, fighting and dancing aren't so different." The girls turned to him as he continued, "Two partners, interlocked in a flurry of different movements." He laughed. "Although, one wrong move on the ballroom can only lead to a swollen hoof."
"Or a twisted ankle," Smolder looked down at her feet.
"Well, I hope you girls enjoy yourself. It's not everyday that friends are able to come together like this."
"What do you mean?" Ocellus responded, "We're together everyday."
"And hopefully, you'll be together for many days to come. But the world has a habit of throwing almost everything at you to try and split you up. Whether it be through choosing to move somewhere else, or being forced someplace else by events out of your control. Sometimes, friends have to be apart for a while. It's events like this that are meant to help reaffirm old bonds and maybe help them evolve. That way, when the universe decides to throw you a curveball, your friendships will be able to handle it."
With that, Flash continued to walk down the hallway as the girls shared a glance as Smolder spoke up, "Since when has he been the wise one?"
As Smolder asked this, Silverstream tilted her head as Flash's word swam through her mind, "Reaffirm old bonds and maybe help them evolve..." She slowly started smiling, an idea forming in her head. "I'm gonna do it."
The others turned to her, "Do what?" Smolder's question was left unanswered as Silverstream suddenly flew off down the hall, "Hey! Where are you going?!"
"I'll be back later," Silverstream yelled before vanishing. And when she was gone, the others glancing back at each other before shrugging.
"I'm sure we'll find out later," Ocellus commented, "What do you think Yona's gonna be doing for the dance?"
"I'm not sure," Smolder replied, "The teachers have been helping her get ready, but I don't think it's gonna do much. But I'm looking forward to seeing how a yak really dances." Ocellus nodded back.
Meanwhile...
Heart and Soul were over at the Castle of Friendship, the pair in the castle's kitchen, both working on their lucky pots. They had both chosen to make a dish Trixie had told them about during their time in the Lost City of Faust. "Mash, mash, mash, mash!" Heart cheered as he used a potato masher to turn their boiled vegetable into a sloped form.
As he did this, Soul was busy making stuffing that they would mix with the mash to make a rather delicious combo. As she did, she looked over at the oven. Inside were a pair of popovers, the batter having been placed in a special pan to cook so that it morphed into a bowl shape. Once they were done, they would place the pudding into their lucky pot and scoop the mash, stuffing combo into it along with some peas. It was gonna be delicious.
Heart then sighed as he finished mashing the potatoes, checking to make sure there weren't any lumps in it. As he did this, Ace walked into the kitchen. "There you are," the jakhowl ran over to Heart, only to lick his lips at the food, "Are you making stuff?" That was the name they called it, since it was just a load of stuff mixed together.
"Yup," Heart chuckled, "It's going in our lucky pots."
"Really? Won't it go off by the time of the ball?"
"Not with our lucky pots," Soul giggled, "I asked Twilight to add some runes to them, which'll keep them suspended in animation. So as long as they remain sealed, they'll be as fresh on the night of the dance as they would be if they had been made that night." The timer went off and she opened the oven, taking the pudding out and smiling at how perfect they had come out.
Ace watched them filling their lucky pots, Heart speaking up at this, "So, did you only come to see what we'd be making for the night?"
"No," Ace sighed, "I wanted your advice on something." Heart raised an eyebrow, "Is it true you got three mares to ask you out?"
"Yeah...wasn't expecting that."
"How'd you do it? I get being a future Royal Knight probably makes you seem like a catch, but you're still you." Heart wasn't sure, but he felt like he had just been insulted. Soul was sure though, trying to hide a giggle. "So what did you do to get them to want to go to the dance with you?"
"I didn't really do anything," Heart instantly replied, "They came and asked me."
Ace glared back at him at this, only for Soul to turn to him, "What's this about? Are you wanting to ask somepony to the dance?"
"Yeah," Ace nodded, Soul smiling at this as she had a feeling she knew who he wanted to ask. "Silverstream." This made her smile instantly disappear, "I thought it would be fun, but I don't know how to ask her. Any ideas?"
The siblings shared a glance at this, Heart soon responding, "Maybe there's somepony else you can talk to about this? Like one of our teachers."
"Most of them are busy helping Yona get ready for the ball," Ace chimed, "And Flash...well, I heard he wasn't exactly an expert in asking ponies out." Heart and Soul nodded at that, remembering hearing the censored version of how Flash and Twilight got together, which Rarity had dubbed 'One of the top ten's craziest shipping stories ever'. And before they could respond to that thought, Ace added, "And Springer's never dated anyone, so he's out. Come on, there's gotta be some advice you two can give me."
The pair frowned at this before Soul asked, "Well, why do you wanna go with Silverstream?"
"Because she's super fun and it'd be a blast to go with her. Smolder and Ocellus would probably be too embarrassed to dance, so Silverstream's my best choice. Besides, she's awesome. I just don't know how to ask her without getting it all wrong and making a mess."
"There's your answer." said another voice, all turning to see Mira at the door.
"What?" Ace asked as she walked into the room.
"Tell her exactly what you've just said," Mira replied, "No ridiculous schemes. No pick-up lines. Just be honest."
Ace opened his mouth at this, "But what if-"
"Ace!" She interrupted, "You can't get it wrong if its the truth." The pair stared at one another for a moment, with Ace then smiling at her.
"You're right," he nodded before heading for the door. "Thanks Mira." He walked past her, leaving Mira and the siblings to watch him as he headed off to find Silverstream.
Mira stared at where he was, even after he disappeared, only for Soul to sigh, "Practice what you preach, Mira." The alicorn and her brother continued to work on their lucky pots, the yellow jakhowl walking around the kitchen, wondering how things were going to turn out at the dance.
Ace rushed over to the school, his aura scanning the place for Silverstream. He found her and cut into a sprint, his mind going over what he had told Heart and Soul to repeat to her. He felt her around the corner at this, only to hear a voice, "Gallus!" He stopped at this.
"Hey Silverstream," Gallus' voice replied, "What's up?"
"I know we all decided to go together as a group," Silverstream replied, "But do you wanna be my pony pal? I bet it'll be loads of fun and we might even get to win the prize. Everypony else is going in pairs, so how about it?"
Ace went wide-eyed at this, only to sigh, "Aw well," he turned to leave while blocking out Gallus' reply. "Snooze you lose, I guess." He walked away, his mind now going over his friends, only to think about having a good time with was Mira. "No way she doesn't have a date yet." He sighed again, "Guess I'm going stag after all."
The night of the dance...
Everypony was now walking into the great hall, bringing their lucky pots with them and distributing them onto the table. Heart and Moonlily arrived together, the pegasi placing their pots on the table while Ace arrived with Gallus, Sandbar, Smolder, Silverstream, Ocellus, Mira and Soul. Each had decided to make a traditional dish from their homelands, thought this was after making sure they were something ponies and other species could actually digest.
Ace opened his lucky pot and took a satisfying whiff of the contents before placing it back on the table next to Soul and Mira's. As they did this, Spike spoke up from his spot as party DJ. "Hello, everyone!" He was dressed in a gray hoodie and was wearing a giant version of his own head, his face sticking out of the mouth, as he held up a microphone. "I'm your DJ, Scales-n-Tail, spinning your favorite tunes all night long! So welcome to the Fetlock Fet-I mean, the Amity Ball!"
Everyone cheered at this, Twilight grinning at the sight of her excited students. As this happened, Applejack walked over to the lucky pot table, making sure the trophy was shining ready to be given to the winner of the contest.
Soul watched as Heart and Moonlily went over to the snack table to get something to eat, then looked over and saw the rest of her friends had already gotten some stuff to enjoy. The only one of the group that had done anything to dress up was Sandbar, who was wearing a bowtie.
"I'm just glad I'm here with you all," Gallus stated as a pair of ponies walked past carrying lucky pots. "Least I'm not the only non-pony in the crowd."
"You're not still worried about that, are you?" Sandbar turned to him, trying to get his mane to stay neat. "Like Headmare Twilight said, this is a dance for everyone. There's no pony pressure." His friends stared at him for a moment, then started chuckling since they all obviously knew something Sandbar didn't.
"You should've told Yona that," Ocellus giggled
"Uh..." Sandbar blinked at her, "What do you mean?"
"Didn't you hear?" Silverstream asked as she snacked on a crisp. "Our teachers have been helping her get ready for the dance! She's been taking lessons."
"She's gone full pony for the dance," Smolder added.
"All for you." Gallus jokingly pulled on Sandbar's bowtie and let it go, the recoil knocking Sandbar to the ground.
"For me?" He asked, "Why?" They would have answered, but somepony spoke up before they could.
"How kind of you to ask me to this soiree, Sandbar."
The voice felt familiar, but something was off about it, making Sandbar spin around and see Yona standing in front of him, dressed in a large green dress. She was wearing makeup along with a purple wig and looked nothing like the tough yet adorable yak they all knew and loved. They all stared at her in shock, most unable to get an actual word out.
"What?" Was Smolder's response, Ace and Mira unsure if she was even Yona until they checked her aura.
"You look so weird!" Silverstream added, pulling a face and accidently dropping her plate.
"Yona?!" Sandbar yelped.
"Quite," Yona nodded, "Oh, I do hope I make a good pony pal for you." She winked at him, the others now needing to hide their laughter behind their claws, paws and hooves.
"Uh..." Sandbar muttered out, "Of course you do. But Yona, you didn't need to do any of...this."
"And why are you talking so funny?" Smolder chimed in.
"I am not talking funny," Yona replied, "I'm fitting in." Everyone glanced around at this, seeing Yona was the only one at the party that was dressed up like that.
"Could've fooled me," Gallus responded.
"Yona," Soul frowned, "You don't need to change who you are to fit in. Forcing another creature to conform is the exact opposite of why this school was founded."
But as she said that, Rarity appeared at her side, dressed up as well, "Yona! You look absolutely scrumptious, darling." She moved over to the yak, the pair kissing each other on the cheek, before Rarity picked up the yak's lucky pot. "Uh, why don't I get that for you?" She moved it over and added it to the table.
"You made a lucky pot?" Sandbar asked, Yona nodding.
"Precisely like ponies prepare!" As she said that, the microphone rang out and they turned to the main stage where Twilight was smiling at them.
"Welcome everyone, to our school's first annual Amity Ball! For those of you who've never attended a Fetlock Fete, we can't wait to show you some of our fun traditions on this special night!" They all cheered as Twilight turned to the DJ. "So, Spike..." She stopped when he held up a finger.
"Uh, Scales-n-Tail?"
"Uh, right." Twilight sighed, knowing he wasn't gonna let that one go. "Scales-n-Tail." She turned to crowd, "Let's get this party started!" She handed Spike the mic and flew off, the dragon turning to the crowd as his voice was amplified.
"Oh yeah, party ponies! It's time to raise the roof and stomp your hoof for the traditional first dance of the night, the Pony Cotillion!" He took out a record, placing it on the mixing deck, the music soon playing as several ponies stepped out onto the dance floor.
When Yona saw them moving, she smiled. "Ah! Yona know this one!"
She then flinched at her words, only for Sandbar to ask, "You do?"
Yona nodded and ran onto the dance floor, everyone flinching as they expected the yak to thrash about, only for her to start dancing perfectly. The teachers all smiled at the sight while her friends also watched in amazement. As this was going on, Heart tried to get Moonlily to head out onto the dance floor, but the shy pegasus was too embarrassed. She quickly told him she couldn't stand others looking at her like that, Heart frowning as she ran off to hide in a corner. Clearly, she could give Fluttershy a run for her money.
Soul saw this and frowned, feeling sorry for her brother as she filled her punch glass and watched the dancing. Mira and the others had gone off somewhere, leaving only herself and the teachers.
That is, till Ace walked up to her, "I see you're hiding at the punch bowl too."
"Yup," she nodded before Ace offered his glass.
"To the socially awkward."
Soul giggled and tapped her glass onto his, "Sorry things didn't work out with Silverstream."
"Eh, it's fine," Ace replied, "She's probably having a better time dancing with Gallus anyway. Those two are more fitting together."
"What are you talking about?" Ace turned to her, "Silverstream isn't dancing with Gallus." Ace blinked at her, only to glance over at the rest of their friends, minus Mira, playing cards in the corner. As they played, Silverstream looked over at Gallus and a sad look appeared on her face.
"Wait..." he whispered, "Did he-" Before he could finish the question, he felt a tingle in his spine as he turned to see Yona tripping over her dress and slamming into the punch table, crashing as the bowl fell onto her head...but didn't spill.
"Wow," Soul looked her over and was about to ask if she was alright-
"Yona!" Sandbar gasped, "Are you alright?"
The young yak muttered out, "Yona never practice dance with dress on." She then bit her lip, "Uh...I mean..." She stood up and chuckled. "May I offer you a cup of punch?" She held up a glass before tipping her head, the punch pouring out of the bowl and into the glass.
Sandbar smiled at this as Spike suddenly spoke up. "Time to shake things up a little!" Everyone turned to him. "That's right, everybody! It's the Pony Prance!" He fiddled with the stereo controls and a more upbeat song began to play, the ponies now beginning to dance more rapidly.
Ace and Soul turned to Yona, worried she might end up tripping over her dress again given how fast this dance was. Sandbar clearly had the same worry. "Um...maybe we should sit this one out." He turned to walk away, but Yona grabbed his leg.
"No!" She barely managed to stay elegant, "I do so love the Pony Prance!" She pulled him toward the dancefloor as Sandbar cried out, the pair stepping into the center of the room and dancing just like everypony else.
Soul smiled at seeing Yona having fun, only for her brother to appear next to her. "Sorry it didn't work out with Moonlily."
"Eh, don't worry about it," Heart sighed, "Not your fault."
"Well...I might have used my magic to manipulate the dice a bit." Heart turned to her with wide eyes, "I thought she would be the best one for you to go with. Those other two were more fangirly than anything else and would have tried to parade you around like a trophy or something. But I guess I mucked up."
Heart blinked at her, only to shrug, "I'd complain but...I don't know. I don't think I would have enjoyed myself with them anyway."
The pair sighed, only to have their attention caught by the sound of Yona's cries. They turned to see her wig had shifted down to cover her eyes, causing her to panic and stagger around, knocking Sandbar into another couple. She also stopped holding back her yak strength, making the entire room shake out of control. Everyone else started screaming as they tried to escape the stampeding bull, who knocked down tables, decorations and everything else. Rarity let out a scream, almost being knocked over by Yona.
Heart, Ace and Soul ran in to help, Gallus, Silverstream, Ocellus and Smolder abandoning their game to do the same. "It's okay, Yona!" Sandbar cried as he rushed to her side, Soul attempting to use her magic to remove the wig, but Yona's breads came loose and slammed them both in the face, knocking Soul for a loop.
"Just stop bouncing!" Smolder yelled, Yona not hearing as she kept jumping up and down.
"We got you!" Gallus added, only to be knocked down as Yona swung her head around. The wig flew off at this, only to see the lucky pot table she was charging towards, the yak attempting to skid to a stop, but unable to stop herself from crashing into it. Lucky pots went flying everywhere, Twilight barely having enough time to put up a shield that blocked the contents of the pots from spilling over the majority of the student body. Those closest to Yona, her friends, weren't so lucky as they were all struck by a tidal wave of food as the dance trophy fell to the ground and was covered in food as well.
When the splat attack ended, Twilight lowered her shield and saw that everything was a mess. "What a calamitous yak-ccident!" Rarity cried, Flash taking a quick look around.
"Doesn't look like anybody was hurt."
"Yona!" He turned to see Sandbar running up to the yak, who was still laid out on the floor.
"What happened?!" Ocellus cried.
"Are you alright?" Silverstream asked as Yona got up.
"No!" She screamed, her makeup smearing as she bawled her eyes out. " Yona not all right! Yona want to be alone!" And before anyone could say anything, she ran off, the group staring at the sight.
"Poor Yona," Pinkie commented as she and the other Mane Six walked up.
"And after all that hard work she put in," Fluttershy sighed.
"I don't get it," Flash picked up one of the dropped lucky pots, "Why did she go to all that trouble for a party? She's the last one I thought would do something like that."
"Yeah," Spike added, "It's like she tried to change everything about herself to fit in with the dance." It was then that the five ponies who had helped Yona all went wide eyed at this, gulping as Twilight turning to them and asking what they knew about all of this as Sandbar ran out of the school.
As this happened, Ace noticed Mira enter the room and saw her look surprised by the state of the place. She stepped back out of the room, clearly hoping to escape before she was dragged into cleaning up. Ace also wanted to escape that fate, so he quickly went after her, zipping out of the room and locking onto her aura as he headed to the courtyard, soon finding her by the fountain, looking up at the night sky.
"Hey," he spoke up, "You missed quite the show. Yona...uh...you know what? Probably best not to mention what happened."
"Alright," Mira sighed as Ace walked up to her.
"What happened to you?" He asked, "You disappeared after the dancing started. Did your date wanna go somewhere more private to dance or something?"
"There is no date," Mira deadpanned.
"What?!"
She turned to her fellow jakhowl, "Nobody asked me."
Ace stared at her wide-eyed, the thought of Mira, one of the most respected students in the school, not being asked sounded insane. "But...why? Who wouldn't wanna go with you?"
Mira shook her head, "Because of you."
"What? Me?!" Ace pointed at himself, "Why am I the reason?"
Mira shook her head, "Why didn't you ask me? You're one of my closest friends and I think everypony was expecting you to ask me. But you didn't, and now I'm without a partner."
Ace flinched at those words, "Oh. I uh..."
"But I guess it's not just your fault. I could have asked someone." Mira interrupted, glancing away as she let out a huff. And as she did this, the blue jakhowl felt a tinge of anger...and disappointment in her aura.
"I'm sorry Mira."
"It's fine," she stood up and began to walk away, Ace watching her go. He sighed and turned to look up at the sky, wondering who it was Mira wanted to ask.
But as he thought about it, he sensed someone else arrive on the balcony and he recognized the aura. "Hey Ace," Gallus smirked. "Well, this night turned out more insane than we expected, right?"
"I guess," Ace shrugged.
"Hope Yona comes back. Sandbar went to go talk to her and maybe she'll feel better when she sees everything fixed up."
"Yeah...hopefully."
Gallus tilted his head at the bland reply from the jakhowl, "Are you okay?" Ace turned to him, seeing a frown on his face, "Did I do something to you?"
"Not me. Silverstream." Gallus raised an eyebrow at that, "I was there when she asked you to be her pony pal. She was really excited about it and really wanted to dance with you, but you said no. How could you do that to her?"
Gallus glared back at him, "That's not really any of your business."
"Yeah, it is. Because she's my friend and I can sense how hurt she is." Gallus flinched at this, only for Ace to add, "I know she's acting happy, but it's an act. She's really upset. So why would you do that to her? What, is dancing with her to lame for you or-"
"Can't dance!" Gallus suddenly interrupted.
Ace blinked at him at this, "I beg your pardon?"
"I can't...dance," Gallus glanced away, "It's not that I didn't wanna go with her, but dancing isn't really something that's a regular thing in Griffonstone. And even if it was, I don't have anyone there to teach me."
"Oh." Ace replied, "So why didn't you ask one of the teachers? They were willing to help Yona, so I'm sure they'd help you to." Gallus didn't answer, Ace sighing at this, "You would rather break a girl's heart and go to a dance alone then admit to everyone you can't move in rhythm to music?"
"That about sums it up, yeah."
"Well," Ace spun around, "I certainly feel a lot better about myself."
Gallus rubbed the back of his neck. "Look, if you wanna dance with Silverstream then-"
"Do you care about her?" Ace looked back, Gallus flincing at the question as he repeated, "Do you care about Silverstream?"
"Of course I do."
"Then prove it and tell her why you said no. She won't care that you can't dance. Who knows, she might not know how to dance either. Just be honest. No pick-up lines, no sweet moves. Just be yourself. I've heard that's the way to go."
Gallus blinked at him, only to do a small nod. "Alright, will do." He held up a fist, "Thanks." Ace smiled and bumped it.
"No problem. Trust me, being unable to dance isn't the most embarrassing thing in the world." Gallus nodded and flew back inside, Ace sighing as he knew what to do. "But I'm gonna have to do the most embarrassing thing in the world."
Back at the hall, the teachers were trying to clean the place up before it got too late. With any luck, they could salvage the night and make it still an enjoyable evening. And as they did this, Gallus had taken Silverstream over to a corner and explained why he hadn't agreed to go with her to the ball. "You can't dance?!"
"Yeah," Gallus blushed, "I'm sorry I blew you off. I just...didn't wanna look like a goof in front of everyone else. Sorry if I hurt your feelings."
Silverstream just giggled at this, "You're so silly, worrying about something like that. Next time, just tell me the truth and don't worry about looking silly. And if you're really worried about not being able to do something, I'll help. We're friends after all." Gallus smiled at this as the doors opened and they all saw Sandbar leading Yona inside.
She was now back to how she normally was, but was clearly worried everyone would be upset with her. "Don't worry," Sandbar told her. "I'm with you."
"We all are," Gallus added the group ran up and hugged her.
The only member of their friend group not there was Ace, but that was unnoticed as Pinkie yelled, "Yona!" Her and the other teachers ran up at this, "Are you alright?"
Fluttershy nodded, "We were so worried when you disappeared like that."
"Yona fine," she replied, "But...Yona sorry. Not mean to make such a mess and ruin the pony dance."
Applejack removed her hat, "It's not your fault, sugarcube."
"It's the opposite," Rainbow continued, "If anything, we should be apologizing."
Pinkie nodded, "I thought we were just teaching you how to have fun at the dance." Fluttershy patted Pinkie on the shoulder as Rarity stepped up next.
"We never meant to try to turn you into something you're not." She looked down in shame as Yona smiled.
"Is okay." She turned to Sandbar, "Friend help Yona feel better."
"Good," Flash nodded. "You shouldn't have to change who you are to fit into something. What matters is being true to who you are. I'm glad Sandbar helped you see that."
And as Sandbar smiled at that, Twilight turned to them, "And that's why we're giving you this." They looked up and saw the alicorn was holding the trophy, the pair going wide-eyed at this.
"No way!" Sandbar yelped, "The Pony Pal prize!"
Twilight nodded, "From now on, it's the annual Amity Ball Award for Friendship!"
"No pony-ness required," Applejack assured them as Rainbow tapped her hooves together.
"We all decided you and Yona totally earned this."
Rarity nodded, "Your actions tonight exemplify the true meaning of friendship." The pair looked at the trophy, which had been redecorated so one of the ponies on it looked like a yak.
"Congratulations, you two!" Twilight stated as the others all cheered for them. This was followed by the rest of the students, who were also cheering as Spike flew over the crowd.
"Yona!" He exclaimed, "I'm glad you're back! Everypony wants to learn that crazy dance you did!" The others nodded, surprising Yona.
"Yak dance?" She asked, the others smiling before she did as well. "Is easy! Yona teach...if everyone want to learn?" They all nodded, as Rarity smiled.
"It would be an honor."
Spike flew back to his mixing desk, grabbing the mic and calling out, "You asked for it, and DJ Scales-n-Tail is gonna deliver! Everyone join Yona for...the Yakyakistan Stomp!" He slammed a record onto the player and the music started, Yona bobbing her head before she started jumping around. The others laughed as they did the same, stomping around in unison as they had the time of their lives. They danced for a good while, all enjoying themselves until many were exhausted.
Even Yona was getting tired, she and Sandbar stepping over to rest of a bit as the others began dancing their own favorite dances to the music. Silverstream was showing Gallus a few moves, the griffon feeling a little embarrassed but not caring as he saw how happy Silverstream was.
Off to the side, Flash and Twilight watched and smiled at one another. "This was fun," Flash told his girlfriend. "You sure know how to throw one heck of an Amity Ball."
"Thanks," Twilight giggled, "And tomorrow it's back to work."
Flash nodded. "Well, I'm sure we can handle whatever gets thrown at us." But he said that, he heard laughter and looked over at the entrance. "Except for that."
Mira was talking to Ocellus and Smolder when she suddenly heard the laughter and turned towards the source. Then, she saw the reason everyone was laughing and couldn't believe it. "Ace?"
Ace was currently wearing a black dress with a frilly skirt and a white bowed belt. He was clearly embarrassed by being there like this, but he wasn't gonna let it stop him. "A promise is a promise." Mira kept looking at him, her mouth slowly tilting upward until she burst out laughing.
"Ace, you didn't have to..."
"Hey," Ace stood tall, "I'm a jakhowl of my word." He took a deep breath and held up a paw. "Now do you wanna stand there and laugh at me, or do you wanna dance?" Mira stared at him for a moment as Spike started playing a new song.
She then smiled and took his paw, "I would love to dance." She was suddenly yanked away at this, the pair starting to dance as everyone else watched in amazement.
But no one was more amazed than Soul and Heart, Soul looking like hearts warming had come early. "Heart," she exclaimed, "This...is...HAPPENING!"
"Wait...what's happening?" Soul then grabbed him in her magic and pulled him onto the dance floor, Heart quickly getting into the swing of things as the siblings stood beside the jakhowls. They all started moving together, the four dancing to the song in such perfect sync that it looked like someone had drawn them to do it. In unison, they kicked, twirled, stomped and spun with incredible skill. The music they were dancing too was the perfect song for the dance, everyone who was watching all cheering as they saw them perform.
The shock Ace's dress choice quickly vanished and soon enough, everyone was back on the dance floor. This included Silverstream and Gallus, the hippogriff turning to the griffon, "So, what made you change your mind?"
"Huh?" Gallus asked.
"You said you were embarrassed at first. What made you tell me?"
Gallus pointed to the jakhowls in the room, "You're looking at him." Silverstream glanced over and saw Ace, smiling when she realized what must have happened. "They're good friends."
"The best!" Silverstream laughed as they kept dancing together. The night was still young and they were all going to enjoy it to the best of their ability. The first Amity Ball was certainly going to be one they remembered. And hopefully, it would continue to be a yearly thing the students could enjoy for years to come.