Love Tap of Marendelle

by Godslittleprincess

Just One Dance

“Where is it? Where is it?” muttered Love Tap as she frantically searched the castle’s storage area.

“Remind me what we’re looking for again,” inquired Cinnamon Swirl with confusion.

“My father’s dolls’ castle,” Love Tap answered, stomping a hoof in frustration. “It’s the perfect gift for Snow Pea, and we’ve got to find it before the ball.”

“Well, it’s got to be here somewhere. Are you sure this was where you left it? I mean, we haven’t seen the thing since –” Cinnamon stopped himself from voicing the rather painful thought.

“Since we gave up on the possibility of ever having a daughter to pass it down to,” he thought to himself before continuing his statement. “Since Button was 13.”

“Of course, I’m sure. Ugh,” Love Tap groaned. “That miniature castle’s been waiting for decades to be owned and played with, and now that we’ve found it the perfect owner, it’s practically disappeared.”

“Hey, I think I found it.” Cinnamon Swirl pulled a large box towards himself and his wife before prying open the lid. Inside, sat a beautifully crafted replica of the Marendelle castle.

“Finally!” Love Tap sighed in relief. Then, her gaze travelled towards a bookshelf that the box had been concealing.

In the middle of the bookshelf sat a small, intricately carved wooden box. Love Tap gingerly picked up the box and opened it. In the middle of the box stood a wooden figurine of a stallion dancing with a filly. The stallion wore a crown on his head while the filly, oddly enough, was wearing a pair of roller skates on her back hooves. From the inside of the box, Love Tap pulled out a thin chain necklace attached to a star-shaped key.

Love Tap gasped in recognition and inserted the key into a notch on the back of the box. She turned the key a few times, and a sweet tune began to play.

“Lavender's blue/Dilly dilly/Lavenders green//When I am king/Dilly dilly/You shall be queen,” Love Tap sang along to the tune.

“I’m guessing this used to be yours,” Cinnamon Swirl speculated with a smirk.

“It was the gift my parents gave me for my ball,” replied Love Tap.

“They were planning on giving me, well, that,” she continued, gesturing at the dolls’ castle, “but it still wasn’t finished at the time.”

---

Years earlier, in the Marendelle castle’s ballroom, a 5-year-old Princess Love Tap was in the middle of a dance lesson with the world-renowned dance teacher Maestro Box Step. As heir to the Marendelle throne, she was going to have a ball in her honor in two weeks, so learning to dance was important. Considering that Maestro Box Step was the 15th instructor that her mother had hired, Love Tap should have been paying more attention to what he was saying, but she couldn’t help but find her parents’ whispered conversation more interesting.

“Please tell me you’ve finally finished it,” Queen Bright Star implored her husband.

“I’d love to, but that would be lying,” King Lincoln Log replied.

“You’ve been working on that thing since before we were married. What’s taking you so long? It’s bad enough we missed out on giving it to her for her birthday.”

“For what it’s worth, I’ve been trying to get it done, but between running the kingdom and raising a daughter, I just haven’t been able to make as much progress as I would like.”

“I’m going to have to get her a back-up gift again, am I?”

“I’m sure Love Tap will be happy with whatever gift we give her, so there’s nothing to worry about.”

“Princess,” Maestro Box Step called, snapping Love Tap’s attention back to him.

“Yes?” Love Tap cried, blushing slightly from embarrassment.

“Do you remember how to execute the steps I have been telling you about?” the maestro asked, sternly.

“Umm, I think so.”

“Then, perhaps a demonstration is in order.” The maestro signaled for the page pony to begin playing the gramophone. Waltz music filled the room, and the maestro led Love Tap into the starting position.

Love Tap gulped nervously as she tried to remember and execute the steps as Maestro Box Step had shown her, but no matter how hard she tried, she somehow ended up stepping on the poor stallion’s hooves. The maestro finally gave up when she slammed into him in the middle of a turn.

“Enough is enough!” shouted Box Step, throwing his hooves in the air.

“I have taught countless ponies how to dance,” he ranted, facing the king and queen, “but I’m sorry, your majesties. Your daughter is practically unteachable.”

With a huff, the frustrated dance teacher marched out the ballroom through the large double doors, slamming them hard on the way out. A stunned silence followed. It was broken by the sound of the king’s hearty laughter.

“I fail to see what’s so funny about this,” snapped Queen Bright Star, glaring at her husband. “Love Tap’s ball is in two weeks, and we can’t have her stepping on other ponies’ hooves when that happens.”

King Lincoln Log composed himself, especially after seeing the sad, disappointed look that his daughter was making.

“Oh, I’m sorry, my dears,” apologized Lincoln Log before going over to his daughter and stooping down so that he was at eye-level with her. “I wasn’t laughing at you, Love. I just couldn’t believe that you managed to somehow chase away 15 dance instructors, and Maestro Box Step came so well-recommended, too.” The king snickered at his last statement.

“What am I going to do now?” Love Tap whimpered despondently. “If I don’t learn to dance in time for my ball, everypony will make fun of me.”

“No pony will make fun of you, dear,” assured Bright Star, also getting down to Love Tap’s level.

“Yes, they will. Besides, what kind of a princess doesn’t know how to dance?”

“Now, who says princesses have to know how to dance?” scoffed Lincoln Log.

“Isn’t everypony going to expect me to know how?”

“It certainly would ease first impressions,” responded Bright Star before she caught herself, “but it’s not the most important part of being a princess.”

“I just wish I can have one dance, just one dance, where I don’t step on somepony’s hooves.”

Upon hearing his daughter’s wish, King Lincoln Log’s ears perked up; he had an idea.

“Darling, do you still have those skates you received for your birthday?” Lincoln Log asked.

“Yes,” answered Love Tap. “Why?”

“Put them on but just on your back hooves.”

Bright Star and Love Tap stared at him quizzically before sharing a look with each other. Love Tap simply just shrugged and ran to do as she was told.

Love Tap returned carrying two roller skates in her mouth, which she promptly put on her back hooves. Her father took her by her front hooves and pulled her out onto the dance floor.

“I’ll lead,” he stated with a smirk and a twinkle in his eye. “Music, please, my queen.”

Queen Bright Star smiled at the happy scene in front of her and began to sing, “Lavender's blue/Dilly dilly/Lavenders green//When I am king/Dilly dilly/You shall be queen //Who told you so/Dilly dilly/Who told you so?//T'was my own heart/Dilly dilly/That told me so”

As the queen sang, King Lincoln Log and his daughter glided and twirled around the ballroom. The king even spun his little dance partner around a few times.

“Lavender's green/Dilly dilly/Lavender's blue//If you love me/Dilly dilly/I will love you//Let the birds sing/Dilly dilly/Let the lambs play//We shall be safe/Dilly dilly/Out of harm’s way,” Bright Star finished as Lincoln Log picked Love Tap up into a hug.

“We love you very much, darling,” King Lincoln Log whispered into Love Tap’s ear as Bright Star joined them in the hug.

“I love you more,” replied Love Tap, booping her father on the nose.

“We love you most,” said Bright Star, giving her daughter a kiss on the forehead.

---

“And that was the last major happy memory I had with my parents,” Love Tap said to her husband. “About a month after my ball, a hurricane destroyed a good chunk of our ships and harbors, which messed up our trade and plunged the kingdom into a famine. Thanks to my parents’ efforts, no pony starved to death, but ponies were so malnourished that we lost ponies to an outbreak of the pony flu, including—”

Love Tap’s voice broke as she recalled the unhappy memory, tears welling up in her eyes.

“Your mother?” Cinnamon Swirl tentatively finished.

His wife nodded sadly as she wiped away her tears. Cinnamon wrapped an arm around her and placed her head on his shoulder.

Love Tap went back to examining her music box and said, “You know, LB might get jealous of all the gifts that her sister will be getting. We should get her something, too.”

“Like the something currently in your hooves?” Cinnamon said with a knowing smile.

“I think that will be just perfect.”

Author's Note:

The song is "Lavender's Blue." It was featured in Cinderella (2015), but it's actually been around for WAY longer than that. Also, that ending makes me want to cry and smile at the same time. That's normal, right?

Comments

[CartoonNerd12]

That was so bittersweet! Guess it's my own fault for naming the queen and for giving away what her character was like so that you made her the warm and caring mother and queen she is, dang, now I'm starting to wish that I didn't make her a decease character, Button would have loved her! All and all a very sweet chapter, keep it up.