And the Dance Takes Two

by Harp's'ong

Prologue

Dapples looked up to see Prose glancing in his direction. Again. “Is everything alright?”

Prose responded with a cursory nod. “Yeah. Everything’s fine,” he said, before returning his attention to the paper in front of him. Dapples nodded in assent, but wasn’t fully convinced. Something was going on with the librarian tonight.

Since his messy breakup, Dapples had been spending more and more time in Winnywood, with the pony who had very quickly become his best friend. Dapples had also learned that Prose was a burner of the midnight oil, and often stayed up long past closing to work on his poetry. Once Prose had fully convinced the unicorn that the sounds of his typewriter wouldn’t interfere with the creative process, Prose and Dapples had begun staying up together to write, fueled by the caffeine of endless cups of tea and coffee, respectively. Being in the presence of someone else working to create proved a great drive for both of them, as it sent them into a friendly, unspoken competition with each other. During lulls, one of them might make them a light snack, and if the creative juices weren’t flowing they could talk until one of them started yawning.

In any regard, Dapples felt it was safe to say that he knew Prose well at this point. One of his quirks was a bad habit he fell into whenever he was nervous, usually because he was suffering from a case of writer’s block. He chewed on the top of his quills. Dapples could always tell when Prose was having a rough week creatively, because his quill looked like it belonged to a bird who had been mangled by a dragon.

The quill Prose was using tonight was brand new (Dapples had fetched it himself), but the very top tufts of the feather were shredded to bits. And Prose was still chewing, oblivious to the devastation he was leaving in his wake.

Dapples turned to his own paper, spooled in the typewriter. Blank. He wasn’t doing any better himself. He wasn’t sure whether he could blame Prose for the tabula rasa that was his brain, but it certainly wasn’t helping. Something was wrong, wrong enough to have the pony on edge, but not wrong enough to have him talking. The lines of communication were always open, about anything, and Dapples couldn’t imagine Prose finding any topic to taboo to discuss with him. He focused his magic in his horn.

tap tap tap tap

POOP

“Another bestseller,” Dapples said with a sigh.

“What was that?” asked Prose.

Dapples shook his head. “Nothing. Just setting the literary world on fire, as usual.” He gave a weak chuckle.

Prose responded with a louder chuckle. “Yeah! That’s us! Setting the literary world on fire together!”

“Together?” asked Dapples.

“Or apart!” returned Prose quickly. “It can be together, it can be apart, it doesn’t really matter. We got our own things we’re good at it. We don’t need each other. I mean, it’s totally cool that we’re working together… here… in this room right now.”

“Prose?”

“That is cool, right?”

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Of course!” Prose turned his attention back towards the table, before glancing at his teacup. He scooped it up and ran out of the room. “Just gotta get some more tea! Back in a bit!”

Dapples blinked. What the hay was happening here?

“Dapples, could you come here?” said the voice in the kitchen.

Upon trotting into the kitchen, Dapples found Prose staring at the floor. He snorted. “That’s it. You really need to tell me what’s up, because this is getting ridiculous.”

Without looking up, Prose asked “What do you know about the upcoming dance?”

“The prom?” Lately, fliers had been appearing all over the kingdom for a dance to be held at Canterlot Castle. Unlike the Grand Galloping Gala, this was a general event, and pretty much any pony who wanted to come was able to go, provided they brought a date. It was half-affectionately and half-disparagingly referred to as The Pony Prom. Dapples shrugged. “I imagine I know just as much as you do.”

“I’m thinking I might go.”

“Oh.” Dapples stopped and stared for a moment. “Alright.”

“Is that it?”

“What?”

“Just alright?”

Dapples looked around a moment, unsure how he was supposed to respond. For some reason, he was getting irritated, even a little angry. “Yeah, alright. What do you want me to say?”

“It’s a big thing, Dapples.”

“It’s just a dance, Prose.”

“I think it sounds like fun.”

“Ooh, getting all dressed up and staying out late!” Dapples waved his forelegs wildly. “What a new experience for you!”

Prose scrunched his face up. “So you think it’s stupid.”

Dapples turned his back on the poet and pouted. “Yes, I do.”

“You don’t even know who I’m going with.”

“I don’t care.”

“It’s another stallion,” said Prose.

“Well, DUH.”

“And he’s a unicorn.”

“No surprise there, either.”

“And he has spots.”

Dapples laughed. “Man, you sure know how to pick…” He stopped mid-sentence, and turned around to face Prose, who now wore a small smile. He opened his mouth, but no words came out.

“Dapples, will you go to The Pony Prom with me?”

The unicorn couldn‘t help but blush. “Yes,” he said, without a second thought.

Prose bounded forward and wrapped his forelegs around Dapples’ neck. “Oh, you had me so scared there for a second. You don’t really think the dance is stupid, do you?”

Dapples squeezed back. “Well, maybe a little” he admitted, “but it will be a lot better with you there.”

“We’ve got to plan what we’re going to wear!” Prose said, excitedly, holding Dapples by his withers as he pulled out of the embrace. But as he moved into a face-to-face position, their noses made contact, and they both froze. They felt the warmth rise in their cheeks, and for a moment they found themselves avoiding looking each other directly in the eye, while simultaneously unable to separate.

“This is going to be an interesting couple of months, Prose,” said Dapples, his voice hushed.

“I think we’re an interesting couple of ponies,” Prose said with a gulp, before taking a step back. He shuffled his hooves. “I think I’m gonna call it a night.”

“Yeah, me too. You alright?”

Prose nodded and smiled. “Definitely.” He turned and trotted off towards his bedroom, but before he entered, he turned around. “Dapples?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.”

“Never a problem, Prose,” Dapples said with a grin, and he watched the blue pony close the door behind him. For a moment, he stood there, just looking at the door, half wanting it to swing back open again. When it didn’t, he walked over to the window and looked out into the starless night. Things were changing, to be sure. Dapples wasn’t sure what to make of them, and he knew that nopony could tell him what was going to happen next. But no matter what happened in the future, in the present, he couldn’t stop smiling.

Comments

[Drifter]

The prom thing seemed a bit rushed, but I like it. it's cute. Only reason im not gonna follow is I don't really read fanfics unless i'm already writing and need to get the creative juices flowwing

[ristar]

I have only read the prologue thus far, but I'm already liking this story. The pacing is appropriate, the characters are likable right off the bat, and the narrative is casual and appealing without being overly simplistic and leaving things to be desired. Also, it's simply adorable to see these two colts interact! Bravo on a fine story, Harpsong.