Shut Up And Dance

by TheVClaw

Chapter Eleven: The Second Round - The Cha-Cha-Cha

The Baltimare Grand Theater was completely sold out and packed by the time the competition was set to begin. Every single seat in the auditorium was filled, leaving a loud and constant rumbling that came from ponies either talking or adjusting in their seats. With the way all the seats were circled around the stage in the middle of the room, it almost looked like a world-title boxing match but without any ropes along the borders of the ring. But instead of the middle having a raised stage, there was a stunningly smooth wooden floor with countless stage lights illuminating every inch with spotlights of various colors. There was also a judge’s table just off to the side, which gave the three ponies judging today’s events the best view of all the performances.

When the supporting lights that illuminated the outer walls for convenience began to die down, so did the majority of the audience. A bright spotlight focused on a stunning silver mare in a purple dress who came out to the middle of the dancefloor with a microphone in her hoof. “Goooooooooodddd Afternoon, Fillies and Gentlecolts! And welcome to the Baltimare Regionals of the Equestrian National Dance Competition!”

The theater’s attendees applauded with enthusiastic claps and stomps from their seats, all appearing rather excited for the competition. There were quite a few signs up from parts of the crowds rooting for certain competitors, including the signs Silver Bell and Scootaroll brought from the Ponyville rounds. The Wonderbolts, as well as Elusive and Blitz’s friends (except Applejack due to Zap Apple Season), were seated at the very front row and cheering just as loudly as the rest of the audience.

The announcer looked quite pleased as she continued in a chipper tone, “Now, before we get started, let me just go over the rules. We currently have eleven couples dancing today, who will each perform a dance of their choice for our row of esteemed judges…”

She brought a hoof out to the judge’s table, which was given a spotlight to show the three ponies who were present for the Ponyville competition. The two mares and one stallion were given a generous amount of applause while they waved.

“After the dancers finish,” continued the host while looking out at the packed crowd, “these judges will give a score of one to ten, with ten being the best. At the end of the day, the five couples who get the highest total scores will move forward in the competition, and compete next week at the Quarter-Finals in Las Pegasus!”

After another round of hearty applause, the mare waited momentarily before saying with a smile, “Now, let’s get this competition started!”

Meanwhile in the backstage area, the large space was given a little more illumination due to the thick curtain that covered the entry walkway to the stage. All the couples were already marked and numbered, with Rainbow Blitz and Elusive getting signs that read the number ten. Since they were the second-last couple to compete tonight, the stallions were seated in the back of the room next to the third-last act: Apple Buck and Twinkle Toes. Near the front of the room, a couple of stage directors motioned for the first three couples competing to wait out by the stage.

Despite the fact that he was grateful their matching dress shirts fitted comfortably, Elusive still breathed heavily like there was a colt-sized ascot tightly encased around his neck. While the unicorn leaned back in his seat to control his breathing, Rainbow Blitz just booked bored and irritated at the same time. He didn’t want to say anything about the garment his partner made for him, but he really wished he didn’t have to wear something so brightly pink to clash against his cyan coat. Elusive’s shirt was just as loud, but Blitz honestly wouldn’t have minded wearing the lime green top the unicorn had on.

Of course, compared to Apple Buck and Twinkle Toes’ outfits, Blitz sholud’ve been grateful that Elusive didn’t go all-out for their own costumes. Twinkle had on a sparkling silver and yellow evening gown with sequined fringes past the skirt, while Apple Buck sat with a full tuxedo with his red bandana folded to stick out of his shirt pocket, as well as an uncomfortable look on his face. Seeing the colt’s pout, Blitz almost wanted to snicker if he wasn’t constantly reminded of his own shirt.

The curtain keeping the off-stage room out of sight from the main theater was rather thick, but they could still hear the announcer’s voice clearly (albeit faintly) as she introduced the first couple. “Hailing from Apploosa, let’s hear it for our first samba performers for the night…”

Blitz was beginning to trail off, and directed his attention towards Apple Buck with a smirk. “So guys,” asked the pegasus in cautious whisper, “what dance are you two doing?”

“Hm?” Twinkle Toes was preoccupied with a faux-pearl necklace she had around her neck before realizing Blitz asked them something. “Oh! Buck and I are doing the foxtrot today.”

“Yeah…” It was clear Apple Buck wasn’t trying to sound unenthusiastic, but that sighed tone still came out while he was lurched in his seat. “Ah gotta say though, Ah never thought Ah’d wear somethin’ like this in my life.”

“Hey, join the club,” chimed Blitz cheekily. Of course, that remark gave the pegasus a sharp nudge to his ribs from the unicorn beside him. Elusive may have been trying to focus on himself, but he wasn’t going to let that comment slide. While Blitz winced and rubbed his side with a hoof, Elusive sat back upright in his seat while a muffled-sounding Mareibbean song began to play in the main theater.

“I really wish you wouldn’t be so overdramatic, Rainbow,” began Elusive with a sigh, ignoring the stare Blitz was giving him after using that adjective for something other than himself. “You and I both know this isn’t the most ostentatious outfit I’ve ever made for you.”

Blitz groaned, but didn’t say anything to dispute his friend’s claim. “Yeah, I know,” he grumbled honestly, “but I still look weird in something this pink with sleeves.”

“Oh, don’t try to tell me what makes you look weird.” Elusive’s tone of voice was just slightly louder than Blitz’s whispers, but his chastising look was still apparent as he stared back at him and added, “Do I need to remind you of the outfit you wanted me to make for you for the first Grand Galloping Gala?”

“Ugh!” Blitz clenched his eyes shut and pointed his face away from Elusive in regret. “I should’ve known you were gonna bring that up, dude!”

“I’m just saying that wearing a little more pink than usual isn’t nearly as ‘weird’ as your decision to wear shoulder pads, AND a speed helmet on what was supposed to be a suit!”

“I was going for a look I saw in a movie, cut me some slack!”

Elusive rolled his eyes and sighed before retorting, “Rainbow, the fact that I didn’t bedazzle that shirt you’re wearing is enough proof that I’m cutting you plenty of slack!”

While Blitz huffed with his forelegs crossed, Twinkle Toes had her muzzle covered with a hoof while suppressing the urge to giggle. Apple Buck seemed amused by the stallions’ bickering as well, but it was his partner’s reaction that got Rainbow’s attention first. “What?” he asked her with a raised brow.

Twinkle looked like she didn’t want to say, but she still put down her hoof and said towards him and Elusive, “Has anyone ever told you guys you argue like a married couple? Because you kinda sound like my Dads right now.”

“PBBT!!” Apple Buck instantly cupped his hooves over his mouth to keep from cracking up. Elusive and Blitz both looked surprised by Twinkle’s comment, but the unicorn looked far less offended than his bug-eyed partner did. It took Elusive a second before shaking his head with a subdued chuckle.

“Oh, whatever,” he said in dismissal with a roll of his eyes. Considering how young Twinkle Toes was, it wasn’t too outrageous for a filly to say something like that. But while Elusive disregarded Twinkle’s joke rather quickly, Blitz just looked away from the kids with a bitter scowl growing on his face. Fortunately, Elusive was able to notice before anypony else, so ne nudged him softly and whispered, “Relax, Rainbow. It was just a joke.”

Rainbow just groaned under his breath and muttered back, “Whatever.” The pegasus then looked up to the ceiling with a brooding look, leaving Elusive to sigh and leave him alone. Meanwhile, Twinkle Toes and Apple Buck went to the refreshment table when they noticed it was being restocked.

The sound of enthusiastic applause could be heard through the thick curtain, indicating that the first act was finished. Elusive tried his hardest not to overthink it again, and focused on the fact that they already did this very thing a week before in Ponyville. Even though the crowd is much larger, the stakes are higher, and the competition is more fierce, there was no reason to become overwhelmed about dancing in front of hundreds, if not thousands of ponies who will judge every step they make on that dancefloor. Especially considering they were already sticking out as the competition’s most controversial team.

Nope. Nothing to freak out about.

Blitz could overhear the judges giving their scores, and it sounded like the samba team did fairly well with a seven and two eights. Of course, he knew there wasn’t much to worry about. After all, he and Elusive got a score better than that last week, and they were only going to get better from there. However, when he glanced over at his partner, Blitz was able to see that Elusive’s legs were becoming jittery in his seat. And after countless flight routines and competitions, the stunt-pony knew that was a big sign his partner was getting fretful.

Since they had a while to wait before their own dance, Blitz thought it over momentarily before getting an idea. He scooted himself a little closer to his friend and whispered towards him, “Hey… Wanna play one to ten?”

“What?” Elusive knew the game his friend was suggesting, but he still stared back at him with a befuddled look and replied, “Why in Equestria’s name do you wanna play that now?”

“Because I’m bored,” answered Blitz honestly, “... aaaaaaand it looks like you could use something to get your mind off things.”

Elusive pursed his lips shut, unsure whether to be happy about his friend’s insightfulness or upset at his solution. A couple seconds passed before the unicorn exhaled through his nostrils pertly and complied. “Oh, fine,” he muttered as he looked around the room. “I suppose it’s better than just waiting around doing nothing.”

“Alright then!” With a newfound grin on his muzzle, Blitz started to scan the room while he and Elusive stayed seated. Elusive looked around as well, noting all the mares who were either standing in wait or doing some last-minute stretches. Blitz was the first to start by nudging Elusive and motioning towards a green mare by the refreshment table. “How about her?”

Elusive quickly saw the pegasus Blitz was referring to, who actually looked quite nice. Her dark green coat was accompanied by a complimentary shade of blue in her short mane, and her cutie mark of a Top-Hat seemed fitting of her appearance. Her figure may have been a bit pudgier than some of the others, but she still fitted the form quite gracefully. The unicorn’s analysis lasted only a second or two before he answered honestly, “Hmmm… probably a six... six and a half, maybe?”

Blitz shrugged his shoulders and gave a small nod in agreement. Elusive then pointed his muzzle over to a thin unicorn mare who was doing leg-stretches by the curtain. Her coat was a pale shade of pink, but her blonde mane looked almost white from how much it must’ve been bleached or altered. “How about her?” asked Elusive pertly back to his friend.

“Hmmm…” Blitz narrowed his eyes as he studied the mare, noting that she looked pretty damn skinny. Her mane was also really straight and thin, reminding him of some of those tacky Nightmare Night wigs they sale on discount. Even with her face and legs looking quite fine, Blitz shrugged uncomfortably and answered, “Uhhh… five, maybe?”

Elusive mouthed the word, “Wow,” to himself, not wanting Blitz to overhear his friend judging him. Blitz nudged him and motioned to one of the stage workers, who was an Earth Pony mare with an orange coat and her red mane tied in a ponytail underneath her ballcap. Elusive quickly noticed and skewed his muzzle a bit at the sight of her form. She appeared fairly muscular underneath that black shirt, but not in an unflattering way. Plus, her face was quite feminine to give a cute contrast. He smirked back at Blitz and said, “Seven.”

“Should’ve known you like them bigger,” muttered Blitz with a smirk on his face. Elusive rolled his eyes and kicked his leg playfully. He then decided to up the ante, and made his friend look over at the Hoofingtons. The twins were back at one of the far corners of the backstage area, and were each standing on one hoof side-to-side doing what looked to be yoga. Blitz stared back at his friend for a moment, making sure Elusive was motioning to the correct pony. After recieving a conforming nod, Blitz looked back at the tan and blonde mare to make his statement.

The mare was stunning, to say the least. Heck, it wouldn’t have surprised Blitz if she was a model or something. Her blonde mane had a lot of volume to it, which kinda reminded him of how Elusive’s mane looked sometimes.Her legs also looked quite muscular, which was a trait Blitz always preferred. His head tilted briefly before he answered, “Well… definitely an eight and a half, at least.”

“Hmmm…” Even though he knew better than to make a joke after Twinkle Toes’ little comment, Elusive couldn’t resist saying in a cheeky tone to Blitz, “You mean Julianne or Derek?”

“Oh, shut up!” Blitz lightly punched Elusive’s shoulder, but he still had a light smile on his face. “Obviously I mean the girl, okay?”

Elusive’s smirk grew a little wider. “Well, what if I wasn’t pointing at her?”

“Oh, hardy friggin’ har.” Blitz rolled his eyes before asking Elusive with a raised brow, “How would you feel if I asked you that kind of thing?”

Elusive just shrugged his shoulders and answered, “Honestly? I’d give you my answer without any problem.” To prove his point, the unicorn looked back at the Hoofington’s direction and said, “For example, I would definitely give Derek an eight and a half as well.”

When he looked back at his friend, Elusive huffed with a grin when he saw Blitz’s wide-eyed look on him. “What?” asked the unicorn coyly. “I’m not blind, Rainbow. There’s nothing gay about noting another stallion as being attractive.”

Rainbow Blitz blinked a couple times and replied, “Uhhh, I’m gonna have to disagree with you on that one, dude.”

“Oh, whatever,” chastised Elusive while keeping his tone playful towards his partner. “I’m just saying, I wouldn’t judge you for giving an honest answer like I did.”

“I bet you would if I said it as fast as you did.”

That made Elusive pause with his cheeks growing a light shade of red. “W-Well, I… I already knew what he looked like before today, so it’s not like I had to study him that long.” He then added with an insistent stare back at Blitz, “I bet if I were to ask your opinion of a stallion you knew about, you’d give an answer quickly too.”

“Dude, come on,” he responded while looking away from the unicorn. “I’m not getting into this.”

“I’m just trying to make a point, Blitz! In fact…” After a moment of quick thought, Elusive decided to say in a more confident voice, “How about this? Give me a number for somepony like… Dashing Dare!”

Blitz gave a strong, flat stare back at his friend. “Dude… you can not be serious.”

“What? You know how he looks quite well, so surely you have a number for him. Besides, it’s only fair you answer for him after I gave mine for Derek.”

“Ugh, okay fine!” After huffing in exasperation, the pegasus rolled his eyes and answered with his forelegs crossed tightly against his chest. “I guess I would say he’s…” His pause was accompanied by a blush that was quite noticeable on his cyan face before answering, “maybe a… seven? Seven and a half?”

Elusive giggled and nudged his friend playfully. “See? Was that so hard?”

Blitz sighed as his blush deepened. He looked away from him and muttered a quick, “Shut up.”

Elusive didn’t say anything else, but his smirk remained as he stared at his friend’s reaction. Combined with the pink shirt he had on, Blitz’s blushed pout made him look pretty darn adorable. “Oh, you…” Elusive flicked his hoof across Blitz’s mane and added innocently, “Right now, you’re looking like an eight with that blush!”

“DUDE!”

---

Due to the shortened setlist for the competition that day, the event itself didn’t last nearly as long as expected. But still, it was clear that every dancing duo was bringing their A-Game for the Baltimare Regionals. Unlike the Ponyville Preliminaries, almost all of the performances were drastically better this time around; of course, given that all the competitors were also preliminary winners, it shouldn’t have been surprising to see that nopony got any scores lower than sevens. Whether it was the Maribbean-themed samba, the jazz routine set to an old-fashioned Bridleway hit, or the country-themed jive performance, it was anypony’s guess who would end up in the final five.

A round of applause rolled through the audience after the eighth performance of the night, which was a well-performed waltz set to the theme of an older romance movie. After their total score of twenty-six was presented, it wasn’t long before the final three couples came out to wait at the main stage. Elusive and Blitz walked side-by-side between the other two couples in a line down the aisle, with Apple Buck and Twinkle Toes in the front and the Hoofingtons in the back. Rainbow Blitz gazed over at the scoreboard by the judge’s table, noting the consistent scores that were given already. It seemed that the two highest scores so far were tied for twenty-seven, which meant that the only guaranteed way to move forward would be to get at least a consistent score of nine to match them.

An uneasy exhale escaped the pegasus’ muzzle from that thought, but he knew that it wasn’t impossible. Luckily, he was barely able to think it over much as he, Elusive, and the Hoofingtons were directed to a row of folding chairs that were out of the spotlight. Meanwhile, Apple Buck gulped as he followed his partner out to the highly illuminated stage.

“Hailing from Ponyville,” began the announcer in a cheerful voice while motioning a hoof to the kids, “here’s our two youngest ponies competing today, who will be performing the foxtrot: Twinkle Toes and Apple Buck!”

There was a hearty amount of applause that followed their introduction, especially from the front rows where Elusive’s friends were. Apple Buck blushed with a bit lip from being put on the spot in such an alien-feeling place, and his tuxedo didn’t seem to help either. However, Twinkle nudged him from the side with a smile before pointing to one of the front-row seats. Sitting between Elusive’s and Twinkle Toes’ parents, Silver Bell and Scootaroll were standing on top of their seats with enthusiastic cheers and holding up their signs for the couple to see. Even though his blush remained, Apple Buck smiled wide at the sight of some familiar faces in the crowd.

When the crowd began to die down, Twinkle bent in to whisper into Buck’s ear, “C’mon! Let’s give them something to brag about back in Ponyville!”

Apple Buck smiled back at the orange filly and nodded confidently. After the announcer left the stage, the two kids got into position by standing at opposing corners with spotlights on them. Twinkle made sure that Apple Buck looked alright, and then gave a nod to let the music begin:

Spotlights of hot pink and yellow spun around the stage as the funky beat began, and the kids immediately moved to the tempo with slow, flowing steps towards each other. Unlike their previous performance, their steps were low and almost gliding against the floor instead of highly-pronounced trots. When the two finally made contact and held hooves, it was just as the brass of the song picked up energetically. Apple Buck took that opportunity to pull his partner to the side and let her drop to the floor in a precisely choreographed motion. Still holding her hoof, he colt then spun Twinkle Toes around the dancefloor like a living top, and gave her two fluid spins before pulling her back up with surprising ease. The crowd applauded wildly at that display, and it wasn’t even twenty seconds into their song

The two then went into their designated foxtrot positions while standing face-to-face on their hindlegs. Holding each other close in their forelegs, Buck and Twinkle kept their long walking steps in tandem to the beat of the song. Even though it did look fairly similar to a waltz (at least to untrained eyes like Rainbow Blitz’s), the couple kept their steps in fours instead of threes throughout the beginning of the song. The spotlights focused on the two as they alternated their slow and fast steps with precise timing, and the colored tints of the spotlights illuminated the two with vibrant warm hues to make them glow on the dancefloor.

By the time the first chorus came up, the majority of the audience was clapping along to the beat. However, that turned to another round of applause when Apple Buck and Twinkle Toes did a quick choreographed dance bit in the middle of the chorus. It was fairly small and simple with the two syncing their moves side-by-side, but the break from their basic steps definitely added enough variety to win the crowd over.

While the two continued their foxtrot for the remainder of the song, Blitz leaned in to whisper to his partner with a smirk, “Maaaannnn… Apple Buck could easily get himself a date with those moves.”

Despite the inappropriateness, Elusive chuckled and replied with a sly, “Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if he isn’t already with a certain filly.”

“What, you mean Twinkle Toes?” Rainbow actually looked a little surprised when he realized that was who his friend was referring to. “Oh, come on. They’re dancing partners. You don’t dip the pen in the dance… ink? Or, wait… I know there’s a good analogy in there…”

Due to their close proximity to the other couple, Elusive and Blitz both overheard the Hoofingtons giggle at their banter. Julianne leaned in towards them and added cheekily, “I don’t know, Blitz. We’ve seen a lot of dance partners end up as couples. It kinda happens when you’re around someone that close for so long.”

Despite her point, Rainbow rolled his eyes and shook his head. Meanwhile, Apple Buck and Twinkle Toes’ foxtrot became more lively as the song reached its climax. Their steps became wider apart while staying close in unison, and their smiles couldn’t have been wider from all the cheering they could hear from the crowds. But despite how tempting it was to look and see the ponies cheering them on, the two stayed diligent with their steps so they could finish on a high note. Just as the song began to end with a slow fade, Apple Buck spun his partner around on the tip of her hooves like a ballerina, and then held her close for their ending dip to the judges.

Needless to say, the applause they received was far greater than what they got back in Ponyville. Large amounts of clapping and stomping thundered throughout the auditorium, and the kids couldn’t do anything but stand and bask in the moment with smiles back at the crowds. At seeing her Dads cheering her on, Twinkle Toes had to wipe her eyes to keep any tears from stemming out. Apple Buck looked equally as happy at the sight of his friends whooping in their seats, but was able to keep himself from crying any tears of joy. In fact, the colt was daring enough to wrap a hoof around Twinkle’s side when they looked to see the judge’s scores.

At the sight of Buck’s hoof around her, Elusive leaned in to whisper to Blitz, “Told you.”

“Nine!” shouted the first female judge with her scorecard in her hooves.

“Nine!” The other mare looked equally as happy as she gave her score, as were the two kids who were hopping up and down giddily. The final judge paused briefly with his card unseen to anyone but himself, but his stoic face quickly turned to an enthusiastic smile as he held up his card proudly.

“TEN!!”

The crowd went wild, but not nearly as much as Apple Buck and Twinkle Toes. The filly grabbed her partner with surprising strength, and lifted him off his hooves to spin him around excitedly. Twinkle’s Dads and Buck’s friends were on their hooves and jumping as well, but waited for the couple to run towards them for some quick hugs.

“That’s a score of twenty-EIGHT!” shouted the announcer as she rushed back to the dancefloor with her microphone. “That means that Apple Buck and Twinkle Toes are automatically in the Las Pegasus Quarter Finals!”

As the crowd cheered immensely in celebration, the announcer went up to the two after they finished. “Guys, how does it feel to get the first score of TEN today?!”

Twinkle blushed deeply while next to her parents, suddenly looking shy while in front of the mare. Fortunately, Apple Buck stepped in to say humbly, “Well, as long as we’re havin’ fun, Ah don’t think numbers should matter too much.”

Happy to not say anything in front of so many ponies, Twinkle Toes smiled at him thankfully. “Well, you can’t go wrong with an answer like that!” said the announcer while the couple went to their seats. “Now, for our second last performers of the day, let’s give a round of applause for our very first same-sex team…”

Elusive and Blitz both groaned at being given that description a second time, but still got up from their seats to step onto the dancefloor.

“Performing the cha-cha-cha, here’s Rainbow Blitz, and his partner Elusive!”

The two got a fairly good amount of applause from the crowd, but it was clear that Buck and Twinkle got quite a bit more when they first came out. Even with the enthusiastic cheering from their friends and the Wonderbolts, Elusive could tell that Blitz was feeling just as cautious as he was. But instead of letting any doubt overtake his senses, the unicorn took a quick breath and raised his hoof in front of his partner. “Let’s do this.”

Blitz nodded with an exhale before bumping his hoof confidently. “Buck yeah.”

After the announcer hopped off the dance floor, the two stallions took position in the middle of it. Elusive and Blitz stood back-to-back on all four hooves, and waited a brief second before the unicorn motioned for the song to begin:

“OOH! I LOVE THIS SONG!” shouted Bubble Berry before being shushed by at least a dozen different ponies. Fortunately, that outburst didn’t seem to affect the two stallions on stage.

As soon as the vocals of the intro began, the two side-stepped in opposing directions to the underlying beat. The stallions then made unified spins to face one another, and took walking steps towards each other. Blitz and Elusive’s hooves then met as they got on their hindlegs, and they maneuvered themselves flawlessly to make a circling step in the middle of the stage. Each of them circled slowly with a foreleg behind the other one’s head, like a well-choreographed windmill look between the two. Just before the intro of the song could finish, Blitz decided to take a note from Apple Buck’s book; with the last lyric of the intro verse playing, the pegasus dipped his hoof down to Elusive’s side, and picked him up to spin his partner’s body over his foreleg.

Elusive’s hooves hit the ground just as the main beat began, although it was hard to hear over the excited cheers from that move. With the crowd on their side, the two stallions were in high spirits during their rehearsed crossover breaks. Their bodies moved in a constant flowing motion under the blue and yellow spotlights, showing nothing but precision and fluidity in front of the judges. Each time the two stepped outward for a crossover break, their poses were synchronized perfectly with the beat of the song, as well as with each other when they came back face-to-face. When the vocals came back up at the end of the beat, Blitz gave his partner an underarm turn to spin the unicorn around for added flair.

Even though ponies weren’t clapping to the beat of the song like with Buck and Twinkle’s routine, the crowd was still watching the stallions’ act with great interest during their cha-cha basics. Some ponies were even taking photographs or recording with their magic, giving the auditorium various bouts of sporadic lights and flashes which added to the dazzlement of the show. Elusive and Blitz stayed close throughout each of their steps, not moving a single hoof wrong when they transitioned between walking or side steps. Rainbow Blitz was even able to keep up with the rocking steps alongside Elusive, which was something he was having the most difficulty with during their training.

Before the second chorus, the two each gave underarm turns for each other, making sure to give smiles to the audience and judges when they weren’t in sight of one another. Despite not wanting to be distracted by anything, Blitz was really happy to see his Wonderbolt teammates cheering him on in the split-second he caught sight of them. Elusive was equally as pleased during his turn, when he caught a brief glimpse of his parents cheering excitedly next to Silver Bell.

While the two performed their second round of crossover breaks during the chorus, even the other competitors sat and watched with impressed looks on their faces. Twinkle Toes may have felt a little intimidated sitting next to the Hoofingtons, but she could barely notice them while staring at the two stallions tearing up the dancefloor. “Man,” she whispered with her eyes narrowed on them. “It’s hard to believe those two were just amateurs a couple weeks ago.”

“Ah know,” replied Apple Buck in agreement. “Ah would’ve bet money Blitz’d never do somethin’ like this.”

Twinkle just huffed and briefly glanced back at him with a grin. “Some ponies would’ve said that same thing about you.”

Despite how impressive Elusive and Blitz’s cha-cha-cha was, Buck still looked back at his partner with a silent smile of his own. For everypony else in attendance, the focus was straight on the stallions and their vibrant motions on stage. Dancing in synchronicity and passion, the genders of the dancers didn’t matter by the time the two made their final steps. All that mattered were the movements of the two ponies making them: the pegasus in pink who showed strength among his fluid steps, and the unicorn in green who moved alongside him with grace and precise agility.

When the pop song came to its end, Rainbow Blitz ended their performance with a flawless dip of his partner, catching him just mere inches from the floor as the song’s last note played. Not even the briefest moment of silence could pass before the thunderous sound of applause flooded the auditorium. Both of the stallions were panting heavily while keeping their position, with Blitz holding Elusive is his forelegs and savoring the moment. Looking up at his partner, Elusive smiled wide with a heavy blush on his face. Blitz smiled back at him gratefully, waiting a couple seconds before pulling him back up.

“Alright!” shouted the announcer who came back into view. “Let’s give a round of applause for Rainbow Blitz and Elusive!”

The crowd continued to cheer loudly, but the sound of Barb’s whistles could still somehow be heard over everything else. After the two stallions waved with smiles to the audience and their loved ones, they turned their attention to the judges’ table to see their scores:

“Nine!” the first judge shouted with a smile on her face.

“... Nine!” echoed the second judge, causing an excited round of applause in anticipation for the final verdict.

Come on, said Rainbow Blitz internally. Nine or a ten, nine or a ten, nine or a ten, nine or a ten…

Elusive was leaning back and forth with an antsy look as well, his bottom lip bit as he hoped desperately for a fair score. The male judge’s verdict felt like it lasted forever, but he finally lifted up his card and shouted with a smile:

“NINE!”

It may have not been the highest score of the night, but it was still good enough to make Blitz and Elusive exhale loudly in sweet relief. The two instantly hugged each other in shared joy, smiling wide while their eyes were shut to all the ponies cheering them on. As soon as they let go, Elusive pulled his partner with him as they ran towards their friends. Dusk Shine and Barb were the first to hug the two, but the rest of their friends and family were quick to follow in a massive group hug. The announcer didn’t even wait for them to finish as she shouted out, “That means that with a score of twenty-seven, Elusive and Rainbow Blitz will also be moving forward to the Las Pegasus Quarter Finals!”

Elusive was nearly in tears by the time he got hugged by his parents and Silver Bell, even with his eyes clenched shut. “Oh, you guys,” he whimpered with a shaky smile on his muzzle, “I… I’m so glad you were all here…”

Meanwhile, Blitz was standing with Scootaroll by his side as he watched his partner with a touched smile of his own. He didn’t say anything to spoil the moment, and just lowered his head to nuzzle the orange colt beside him. By the time the crowd began to die down, Elusive and Blitz finally began to head back to their seats. Derek and Julianne Hoofington walked past them on their way to the stage with large grins on their faces. “Awesome job, guys!” said Derek genuinely, with Julianne nodding in agreement at the two.

When the stallions sat down next to Buck and Twinkle, they were all in smiles as they turned their attention to the announcer introducing the final act of the day. “And finally… Performing the quickstep, here are the five-time champions of the ENDC, Derek and Julianne Hoofington!”

The two unicorns, who were wearing identical white jumpsuits, stood at opposite ends of the dancefloor facing each other with large smiles on their faces. After a shared nod, the two shouted out at the same time, “Hit it!” for their song to begin:

Needless to say, the Hoofingtons came out in full-force as soon as the peppy tune began. With their energetic trotting steps, combined with the bright white spotlights that bounced off their costumes, the twins moved around the stage with flawless precision like it was as natural as breathing. The two didn’t take long to hold each other’s hooves before hopping around the stage in cheerful spins, using every inch of the stage to their advantage. Their hoofwork looked as light as a feather with each hop and jump they made between steps, and it didn’t even look like either unicorn was breaking a sweat.

While the audience cheered and clapped along to the song, the other two couples could only stare in worried awe in their seats. Despite the fact that both teams already won spots for the next round, seeing how amazing their competition was made all four of them worried. Even Rainbow Blitz had to blink a couple times as he stared at their precision and poise, and muttered a low, “Holy crap,” under his breath.

Apple Buck’s head was tilted while looking down at their steps, not seeing a single movement out of place. “Dang,” he said with a wide-eyed huff on the Hoofingtons. “Ah’m glad we did our quickstep last week.”

Twinkle nodded her head, but didn’t say anything as she stared at the final couple. Along the second half of the song, Derek and Julianne made their spinning steps around the outer edges of the dancefloor, just to give the ponies in the front rows a closer look while cheering them on. The sequins on their suits bounced the spotlights off of them, making the two look like a double disco-ball of energy with a level of happiness only Bubble Berry could match. Their moves may have been precise and rehearsed immensely, but it was clear that neither of them had any difficulty with them. With the smiles they carried, there was no doubt that they loved what they were doing.

Derek gave his sister a sharp dip to finish just as the song ended, leaving the audience to roar in applause. The other two couples clapped softly as well, but their light smiles carried a huge amount of fear underneath their wide-eyes. If this round showed anything to the four ponies, it was that they needed to really step up by the time of the Las Pegasus Quarter-Finals. But for now, all that the stallions and kids could do was applaud the Hoofingtons’ work and pray they didn’t appear too jealous or intimidated.

“Oh my goodness!” The announcer hopped back to the dancefloor with an enthralled smile, making sure to stand between the twins while calling out to the audience, “I don’t know about you guys, but I think that qualifies as a Grand Finale!”

The immense cheers and stomping heard in response made it clear that the announcer was right. Keeping her pearly whites shown, the mare looked towards the judges’ table while wrapping a foreleg around each Hoofington. “Alright, judges! What’s the verdict?”

Even though it was clear Derek and Julianne were going to win, there was still an aura of anticipation in the air as each judge put out their card. The first judge had a shrug alongside her smile as she announced loudly, “Ten!”

Most of the ponies in the auditorium cheered, excepted for the competitors who sighed expectedly. The second mare pulled up her card and announced, “Nine!”

Aside from a few surprised gasps here and there, there was still a fair amount of applause for that verdict. Twinkle Toes and Apple Buck leaned forward in their chairs a bit, almost like they were expecting to tie with them. The Hoofingtons stood with antsy smiles pointed at the third judge, who waited with a sigh before pulling up his card and saying with a smile:

“TEN!”

Along with the happy applause, Derek and Julianne squealed in delight and hugged the announcer who was between them. Twinkle and Buck groaned in disappointment, but still smiled and clapped respectfully for the winning duo of the day. Elusive and Blitz applauded as well, still looking happy to have won a place in the next round anyway. Blitz turned to his partner with a smirk and asked, “So, I’m guessing we’ll need to practice extra this week?”

“Probably,” stated the unicorn with a shrug. However, Elusive then looked back at Blitz with a smile and added, “Although, I think getting perfect Nines warrants us a night off.”

Seeing his friend’s point, Blitz smiled and said, “I couldn’t agree more.”

“Now!” With the announcer’s interrupting addition, most of the crowd settled down to hear what she had to say. While the Hoofingtons stepped aside, the mare motioned a hoof towards the judges and said excitedly, “Before we end tonight’s competition, I think it’s time that we brought out a special little surprise for our competitors…”

The other two couples who made it to the final five came out from backstage, motioning for the kid and stallion duos to join them. The air was tingling with electric anticipation as the ten ponies stood on the dancefloor. The five couples were in a line with spotlights right on them, but they weren’t nearly as bright as the announcer’s smile as she continued, “For this year’s Equestrian National Dance Competition, we decided to bring back an old theme we haven’t done in a while. So prepare yourselves, ponies! Because you five now have to face…”

Offstage, a unicorn’s horn illuminated a bright shade of orange before floating out something to the announcer, As soon as the item was revealed, which was a large top-hat, half of the competitors gasped in surprise. Meanwhile, the mare holding the hat just grinned and finished her announcement with a mischievous tone, “... THE HAT!”

The crowd went wild at this addition, which just made Rainbow Blitz and Apple Buck look confused. “Uhhh…” While both their partners stared at the hat in shock, Buck looked up at Blitz and asked, “D’ya know what she’s talkin’ about?”

“I figured you’d know more than me,” replied Rainbow.

Fortunately, the announcer looked around the room while holding up the hat and explaining through the microphone. “For those of you who are unaware, the hat was something the ENDC used to do years ago to spice up competition. And this year, we decided to bring it back! In this hat are dozens of different dance styles. One at a time, the pony who leads for each couple will draw a random style from the hat, and THAT will be the dance they have to perform for Las Pegasus!”

NOW Rainbow Blitz and Apple Buck looked surprised. “Whoa!” shouted both of them at the same time. Blitz huffed and added, “Well, let’s hope it nothing too weird.”

That was when Elusive looked back at his partner and said with a worried breath, “Well… the hat usually contains a lot of the more… unused dances.”

“Unused?” asked Blitz with a befuddled look back at him. “Like what?”

“Derek Hoofington?” asked the announcer with a grin while holding the hat out to him. “You choose first!”

The stallion took an antsy breath and stepped forward, making sure to close his eyes before putting a hoof in the hat. With everypony watching in wait, Derek pulled out a note and reopened his eyes to read the style written down. “OOH!” His eyes widened excitedly like he scored a winning lottery ticket. “We got Hip-Hop!”

The crowd cheered while the other competitors clapped their hooves. “Ohhhh…” Blitz was starting to get it as he nodded with his brows raised. “That’s what you mean…”

Elusive was starting to get worried, hoping they wouldn’t end up with a dance style they couldn’t pull off with any of Blitz’s music. Meanwhile, Apple Buck nervously stepped forward to draw the next note. His eyes were clenched shut while drawing out of the hat, looking like he was expecting a mouse-trap to be inside. He pulled out a note and saw what he had, making his eyes narrow with a tilted head. “Uhhh… What’s a Charleston?”

“Apple Buck and Twinkle Toes have the Charleston!” announced the mare happily, resulting in another applause. Fortunately, Twinkle Toes seemed excited about the choice when Buck went back in line beside her.

One of the stallions from the other two couples stepped forward next, sporting a bright orange coat and a poofy blue mane. Even though he was a unicorn, he used his hoof to draw from the hat blindly like the others. But unlike the other two who drew, the stallion seemed a little disappointed when he saw his chosen note and sighed. “Ummm… We got Bhangra.”

“OOH! Bhangra-La!” said the announcer in a more peppy tone than the pony. While the audience cheered, the stallion went back to stand beside his partner, who was the same green mare Elusive mentioned was a six and a half earlier. Of course, Elusive was more focused on the fourth stallion who went up to the hat.

The stallion from the other winning team had a sleek silver coat and pitch-black mane, but he looked more than a little nervous with his bit lip. He took a breath and stuck his hoof in the hat, clearly not wanting to get anything too weird. Unfortunately, his eyes widened in dread when he pulled out a card and read the style written inside. “What the?! BALLET?!”

His outburst made quite a few ponies in the audience laugh during their applause. Although, Rainbow Blitz looked just as mortified as that stallion as he glanced back at Elusive. “Ballet?!” he hissed in a panic. “They have ballet in there?!”

“Rainbow, relax,” said the unicorn back at him to try and keep things stable. “He already drew it, so we won’t get that style.”

“But still! What if we get something close to that?! Or worse?!” By now, Blitz had to rub his head while looking around worriedly. “Dude, this is not fair at al--”

“Alright, fellas!” chirped the mare with a knowing glance to the two stallions. She held out the top-hat towards them and asked, “Which one of you wants to draw from the hat?”

Blitz gritted his teeth in dread, not wanting to move an inch towards that thing. However, his partner nudged him and whispered, “Rainbow, the pony who leads has to do it. I won’t judge you for what we end up with, I promise.”

Blitz turned to see the look in Elusive’s eyes, which showed nothing but the sincerest truth. Both of them knew they could be in trouble, so it was comforting for the pegasus to know that a random choice wouldn’t be held against him. After a second of silence, Blitz nodded with an exhale before stepping forward reluctantly.

“Alright, Wonderbolt!” said the announcer while dangling the hat in front of him. “Choose your next dance for Las Pegasus!”

Blitz gulped, feeling like he was already in Las Pegasus with the gamble he was putting on himself and his partner. He closed his eyes and stuck his hoof in the hat, feeling at least a dozen different cards inside. His muzzle clenched shut as he moved his hoof around to find something that felt right. Come on, dude, thought Blitz as he took a breath and grabbed one. Whatever it is, you can do this. You can do this…

Blitz pulled out a card, and hesitantly reopened his eyes to see the entry written inside. After catching the briefest glimpse of the style, the stunt-pony cringed and tried to shove it back in the hat. “O-OOPS!” he shouted with a petrified smile. “Uhhh, I get a do-over!”

Elusive sighed and face-hoofed while the audience laughed. Luckily, the announcer took a hold of Blitz’s hoof before he could let go of his card. “Ohhhhh, no you don’t!” she said cheekily. “Let’s see what you picked!”

“I-I didn’t pick it! It was a fluke!”

“Now don’t be like that, Blitz! Everypony’s was random!”

“PLEASE! I don’t wa--”

Unfortunately, the pegasus’ pleading fell on deaf ears as the mare lifted his hoof and snatched the card. Blitz’s teeth were clenched shut with a terrified wince on his face, making him look like he was caught with a fetish magazine instead of a card. After seeing his choice, the mare beamed with excitement and held up the card before saying, “Rainbow Blitz and Elusive’s choice is…”

“Please, come on!” whined Rainbow Blitz, looking like he was about to beg for her not to say it. “I don’t want to dance to--”

“DISCO!!!” As soon as she announced the dance, the audience cheered wildly with applause. Meanwhile, Elusive stood in embarrassment while his partner fell to his knees and shouted to the domed ceiling of the theater:

“NNNNOOOOOOOO!!!!

Comments

[Selena Quintanilla]

HAAA!!! That's simply hilarious Disco is so not either Elusive or Blitz's type of genre. Speaking of disco my hair looks like an 80's look, I need a hair cut. Anyways loved it and can't wait for more.

[Mares-a-Mares]

Ohhh, man, I can't wait for the next one! Blitz's reaction was so priceless!

What are they gonna do?

[Storm butt]

This is all I could think of.

I really enjoyed this chapter. It was about the same as the last competition, but what I enjoyed most was the little game the two played early on. Showed Blitz wanting to calm Elusive down while also having a bit of gay flirting. Soon we'll have Blitz rating Elusive and then blushing. I'm only wondering if they'll kiss before or after the competition ends.

[StarPaladinMilk]

Sweet, merciful Celestia, not DISCO. X3