The gala was in full swing. Which wasn't saying much. The nobles, for all their claim to superiority, couldn't organize a party to save their lives. There was no energy, no movement aside from the odd slow dance, and some of the worst attitudes that i had ever seen. The only place that had anything approaching energy was the room where the Wonderbolts were. But I didn't handle crowds well, nor was I that big of a fan of the Wonderbolts so I was just standing next to the punch bowl trying to make it through the night. I had had a feeling that the gala would be something like this. Partially because of what Twilight and her friends had said about it and partially because I had been to a few when I was younger. But when the princess herself invites you, you say yes.
I guess I should introduce myself. I'm Richard Powell. I'm a human. I'm about 5'10" with short black hair, brown eyes, and lightly tanned skin. I was a collage sophomore studying engineering at Wooster Polytech. That was before I got teleported here to Equestria. How, I'm not quite sure. But it had been rather interesting. I quickly became a sort of celebrity because humans in this world were just old legends. Some were afraid of me because the human legends spoke of ferocious warriors who would plunder and destroy at a whim. But in the same legends were tails of great achievement and compassion. Thankfully the princesses were willing to give me a chance based on the later.
So for the past few months I had been helping Equestria with some different technologies such as a refrigerator, a combustion engine, and even production lines. This quickly made me more popular in the eyes of many in Equestria, especially the nobles. Mainly because they saw me as an excuse to make tons of money rather easily. Luckily for the rest of Equestria, I knew enough to give the patents to multiple ponies in order keep monopolies from happening. I also was constantly with some sort of scientist who were constantly asking questions about something. Twilight and Celestia were easily the most fun to talk to. Their questions were less about the tech that I had introduced and more what human culture was like and what went on in my world.
"How is the gala?" A regal voice asked to my right. Turning, I saw Celestia approaching. She was one of the princesses that ruled Equestria. The other being her sister. (Why are they princesses if there are no king and queen, I don't know.) She was a few inches taller than me, with a pure white coat and a ethereal flowing rainbow mane. She had a long white horn and large wight wings. Her eyes were a beautiful amethyst that seemed to look right into you. Most astonishingly, despite being the ruler of the land, she had the best attitude of any of the nobles that I had come across. Admittedly I may have found her rather attractive.
"Boring." I replied with a smirk, offering up a fresh glass of punch.
"Yes it often is that way." She said taking the drink I offered. "That is why I wanted to invite Twilight and her friends again. But the nobles threw a fit about last time and that was that."
"How much did it cost to fix this place after that catastrophe anyway?" I asked looking at the pillars which I could tell were new in the room.
"Oh not much. A few hundred bits"
I looked at her in shock. One, because that was a ridiculously small amount for the damage that was reportedly done. Second, because of the fact that she referred to the cost of "a few hundred bits" as a small amount when most ponies worked for months to make that much.
"Magic makes it much easier to repair things such as this room." She said taking note of my shocked expression. "And I'm a princess. I know it is a lot of money to a lot of ponies but it is pocket change for me."
Shaking my head, (I swear that she can read minds), I looked back at the dance floor. A few of the nobles were prancing around one another in something that approached dancing. I really didn't get formal pony dances. Most were just walking back and forth with one another. It just didn't look natural to me. It just looked too stiff. As the song wrapped up the nobles bowed to their respective partners and either paired back up for the next song or left the dance floor.
"Would you like to dance?"
Looking over at Celestia, she had put here drink down and and was looking at me both playfully and with something that resembled hopefully.
"No, I can't dance." I said trying to turn her down gently. I wasn't lying per say. I knew several formal dances, my parents made sure of that, but I wasn't the best dancer, I wasn't sure how to dance with a pony, and mostly I was too shy to dance with anyone. Especially the princess.
"Please?" She looked at me with those large eyes almost pleadingly and I melted a little looking into them.
"...Okay."
I swear to God that she then squeed before using her magic to drag me out to the dance floor.
Now I was a little worried. Mainly because i was still trying to figure out how to dance with a horse. Turning towards Celestia when we reached the center of the dance floor, I was interrupted from my thoughts by Celestia throwing her front hooves over my shoulders.
"Umm... Celestia?"
"This is how humans dance isn't it?" She said a wide eyed smile on her face. Surprisingly for someone aproaching the size of a full size horse, she didn't weigh all that much. Whether from magic or whether ponies are naturally light for their size, was unclear. What was clear though was: how I was supposed to dance with the princess? I wasn't a vet but generally horses aren't supposed to move on two legs. The music started but neither of us were ready so I decided to take the time to teach Celestia.
"I guess now's as good a time as any to teach you about how humans dance." I said taking her fight hoof in my left hand and placing my right on her side. Her eyes filled with excitement as I positioned myself appropriately. The music was a decent speed and was perfect for the foxtrot.
"This one's called a foxtrot." I explained. She looked curious but remained silent. "It's two slower steps back starting with your right hoof. Just follow my lead." As I lead Celestia through the dance it was easy to tell that she wasn't as comfortable on two hooves as she might of thought she would be. But she was a fast learner and before the song ended was rather proficient at the dance.
When the dance ended I took a step back from Celestia and gave her a light bow. She giggled before replying with a small curtsy of her own.
"Care for another dance?" she said. Admittedly I had enjoyed that. And seeing as how well the night seemed to be going I figured that another wouldn't hurt.
Celestia and I danced the rest of the night out on the dance floor. I taught her some more fast stuff and slow stuff as the songs changed appropriately. I had never been one for dancing but I could have danced until the night ended. Celestia was certainly enjoying this. She was a very good dancer. Especially if you consider that she usually uses four legs. She seemed to especially enjoy the slower dances. I admit I did too.
Unfortunately the musicians had to go home and that put an end to our dances. As well as to my previous confidence as I noticed the eyes of numerous nobles trained on us. I stayed by Celestia for the rest of the night. Which, unfortunately wasn't long because many of the nobles had already left the gala. After the last of the nobles left we headed for our bed rooms.
"That was very enjoyable." Celestia said looking over at me. "I haven't had so much fun at the gala for a long time."
"Glad you had as good a time as I did." I said as we reached her door. I said good night before turning to leave.
"Richard, wait!" she called. Turnign towards her, I was met with a pair of lips on my cheek.
"Sweet dreams." She said with a light blush before closing the door. Not that I noticed. I was still in a slight state of shock from the kiss. Eventually I shook myself out of it and smiled as I made my way down toward my room. Deciding that we needed to dance more often.