Shut Up And Dance

by TheVClaw

Chapter Twelve: Apprehensions

Boing! Boing! Boing! Boing! Boing!

Even though the hallways at Elusive and Rainbow Blitz’s hotel were uncomfortably narrow, Bubble Berry was still able to hop through them with disturbing ease while smiling extremely wide. On his back were several pastry boxes that he brought from the bakery across the street, including one that he got specifically for his friends for winning the Baltimare Regional rounds. Of course, the other four boxes were handed to the other finalists as he hopped past them; in fact, most of them didn’t even realize they were given a baked good until Berry was at the other end of the hall and shouted, “Congratulations!”

Berry whistled a merry little tune to himself while handing out the celebratory baked goods, and was down to Elusive and Blitz’s box of cookie cake by the time he reached their hotel room. Beaming wide in anticipation for his rehearsed ‘Super-Duper Happy You Guys Tied For Third Place’ song, the pink stallion used both hooves to bang at their door with the ‘Shave and a Haircut’ riff.

BANG, BANG-BANG-BANG, BANG! Knock, Knock!

Despite hearing a couple muffled groans from the other side of the door, Bubble stood outside their room with a patient smile in wait. From the other end of the hall, Dusk Shine and the rest of Berry’s friends appeared and trotted towards the room as well; since the hall was so thin, Dusk and Starshine were in the front while Butterscotch and Barb followed behind. “Oh, there you are!” shouted Dusk with a relieved smile. “We were wondering where you went off to after the show ended.”

“Well, somepony had to get the winners some celebratory cakes for making it to the Las Pegasus rounds!” Bubble Berry lifted up his flat pastry box with a hoof before adding with a confident smile, “and this cookie-cake has Blitz and Elusive’s names written all over it!”

He then lifted the lid of the box to show the massive treat inside, which literally had Elusive and Blitz’s names written in multiple places with blue and white frosting. “See?”

Starshine huffed with a bemused smile on the stallion. “Wow, you actually went to that bakery down the street, and back here before any of us got off the elevator? How are you not a runner in the Equestria Games or something?”

“Oh, please!” scoffed Berry with a roll of his eyes. “Since when have the Equestria Games ever had a ‘Run From The Bakery To A Hotel With A Bunch Of Baked Goods’ competition? I mean, could you even imagine that? It would be suuuuuuper-duper silly!”

Starshine blinked a few times repeatedly while hearing Dusk and the others snickering beside him. The unicorn eventually sighed and shrugged his shoulders in understanding. “You know what? You have a point there.”

Behind the beaming Bubble, the door opened a tiny bit to reveal Elusive’s face. At seeing who was outside, the unicorn stuck his head out through the crack with a soft look of apprehension behind his smile. “Oh, hello guys,” said the unicorn with a tired-sounding tone of voice. “Sorry for leaving so hastily after the show. I had to chase down Rainbow as he ran up here.”

Bubble Berry leaned in towards the door slowly, looking around before asking in a cautious whisper, “Did you hurt his peepee again?”

“No, I did NOT!” shouted Elusive with great offense.

A muffled, but still very audible groan came from inside the hotel room to make Elusive sigh with his smile dropping in an instant. The group also overheard Blitz’s voice in a pained mutter, “Uuuugghhhh… Why couldn’t we have gotten Hip-Hop?”

After breathing out deeply with his eyes closed, Elusive looked back at his friends in the hall with a defeated expression. “I’m sorry, guys. He’s just really upset about our dance choice.”

“What, you mean disco?” asked Dusk with a slightly puzzled look on his face. “What for? You guys could totally kill that in Las Pegasus!”

Elusive seemed less than enthusiastic with a worried bite of his bottom lip. “Well, Blitz considers it a death sentence because according to him, only dorks like disco.”

The unicorn hated using a term so juvenile, but Dusk didn’t seem to mind with a dismissive wave of his hoof. “Oh, come on! Disco isn’t for dorks! Heck, I enjoy disco from time to time!”

Blitz yelled out from inside the room, “SEE?!?”

Dusk’s smile instantly dropped to a bitter scowl, which wasn’t helped by hearing his student and assistant struggling not to giggle.

“Don’t worry, Duskie!” piped Bubble Berry with a chipper hop of his hooves. He put down his pastry box before pulling a boombox out from his poofy mane. “I know just the song to cheer Blitzie up and turn that frown upside-down!”

“Berry, PLEASE don--” Unfortunately, Elusive’s words were cut off when the pink stallion hopped over him and somehow slid in through the tiny crack of the door. The others could hear the boombox turn on to begin a jaunty tune inside the room.

“Heeeeeyyyy, Blitzie won’t you get on up an--AIEEEE!!!”

Bubble shot out from the crack like the room had a bomb inside of it. After landing on his butt in the hall with a squeak, Berry sat wide-eyed with his face slightly white. He blinked a couple times and said, “Wow… That was one super angry glare.”

Butterscotch winced painfully. “Oh dear…”

Elusive just sighed with a hoof over his eyes. “That’s what I was trying to warn you about! He’s really agitated, and I’m trying to calm him down.”

Even with his ears dropped in worry, Dusk Shine still kept an optimistic tone in his voice while looking back to his friends. “Well, I suppose we can understand the reason why.” He then turned back at Elusive and added with a smile, “But still, we just wanted to give you guys our congratulations for moving forward! I mean, you’re going to the Quarter Finals! In Las Pegasus even!”

Elusive smiled at that reminder after a quick sigh. “Yes, I know. And believe me, I do appreciate the sentiment.” The unicorn then pulled his head away from the door to say in an inflected tone inside the room, “I just wish certain other ponies would appreciate going to Las Pegasus too!”

“Not if it’s to bucking DISCO!”

“Disco can work, and watch your language! Barb is outside!”

Starshine looked like he was getting fed up, and walked up to the door before knocking to grab their attention. “Blitz, come on! That’s not the worst dance style you guys could’ve gotten, and you know it! That one couple got ballet, remember?”

“Yeah,” replied Blitz in a testy tone, “but at least Ballet has DIGNITY! If somepony said they were a world-class ballet dancer, they would be respected for that! But if somepony came up to me and said ‘Hey, I’m a world-class disco dancer,’ I’d probably just laugh at them!”

Starshine had to pause briefly, unsure how to respond to a point like that. A couple seconds passed before Barb shuffled past Dusk Shine and interjected with a raised claw. “Uhhh… he kinda has a point there, Starshine.”

“No he doesn’t!” said Dusk as he went up to the door as well. Not wanting his friend to stay this upset over something as menial as Disco, the Prince used his magic to undo the chain lock from the other side of the door and let it open up fully. He was the first one to walk into the hotel room, which was surprisingly roomy for a one-bed setup. While Elusive was staring at him in surprise for just barging in, Blitz was lying face-down on the middle of the king-sized bed like a teenage mare who hadn’t been invited to a high-school dance. Despite the muffled groan the pegasus gave off, which almost sounded like a warning growl, Dusk Shine still spoke to him bluntly:

“Rainbow, come on! I know you’re upset, but are you really going to let this undermine winning a trip to Las Pegasus!? This is a really big accomplishment, and you should be proud of yourself!”

“Yeah!” added Starshine as he followed Dusk into the room. “Besides, now you have a proper excuse to drink!” The stallion smiled proudly with that added comment, despite the disapproving stare his mentor gave him.

Barb was the next to go into the hotel room, and hopped up on the bed to say to Blitz, “Dude, you got in the top five out of eleven! And considering you’re the only team of two guys, that’s pretty awesome!”

After a deep and prolonged exhale, Blitz slowly rolled his face away from his pillow to glance up at the dragoness. His stare was as flat as a board, but at least he didn’t look angry. Butterscotch, who snuck into the room unnoticed, stood at the side of the bed and said with a positive shrug. “You know, you don’t have to dance to a disco song, right? Elusive would probably give you full reign on the song choice this week.”

“He’s absolutely right!” chimed Elusive with a thankful nod to the yellow pegasus. Of course, he also looked back at Blitz and added preemptively, “That is, as long as it isn’t profane or inappropriate or anything. But still!”

“Ooh!” Starshine’s brows raised like he just got a brilliant idea. “I know that a lot of rock artists made dance-oriented stuff back when Disco was huge. I’m sure you have some songs from back then you could use!”

Due to all the different statements being made from his friends, Blitz had to roll onto his back and lean up against the back of the bed to let everything sink in. It was also at that moment that Bubble Berry hopped up on the bed beside Barb and chirped excitedly, “Besides! You should see something like this as a challenge! Right now, you have the opportunity to make a silly dance style cool!”

Even though Bubble Berry’s grin was a bit too wide for Blitz’s taste, that point actually made his jagged brows raise slightly. Dusk Shine, who looked equally as happy with the pink stallion’s interjection, decided to add optimistically, “Bubble’s right, Rainbow Blitz. If anypony is able to make disco dancing cool, it would be you.”

Despite still feeling upset about his predicament, that assurance was enough to make Blitz smirk a little. “You really think so?” he asked with a small huff.

“Well, despite being a dork who doesn’t mind disco,” replied the Prince with wide-eyed emphasis on that term to make Blitz cringe, “I do think that you and Elusive can make it work.”

While avoiding looking at Dusk for his previous statement, Blitz saw that the rest of his friends all nodded in agreement. Blitz was still apprehensive, but it was hard to feel so negative when he saw the looks of encouragement around the room. With his smile growing slowly, it wasn’t long before the stunt-pony sighed in defeat. “Oh, alright,” he admitted with a roll of his eyes. “I mean, this still sucks, buuuut... I wouldn’t mind getting some drinks in.”

“That’s the spirit!” With a refreshed smile on his muzzle, Elusive helped his dancing partner off the bed and gave him a slap on the back. “Come on, I saw a lovely little pub down the block that we can go to to celebrate!”

Keeping a foreleg around Blitz’s back, Elusive lead him out of the hotel room while keeping smiles on both their faces. The others began to leave as well, but Barb paused as she looked around the room. Before going to leave, she blinked a couple times before asking herself, “Ummm… am I the only one who noticed they only have one bed in here?”

With her question falling on deaf ears, the drake shrugged and made her exit as well.

---

Due to the high volume of attendees for the show, the Baltimare pub Elusive was referring to (which was unfortunately named McCloppy’s) was absolutely packed by the time he and Blitz arrived. Fortunately, the presence of the two got more than enough positive attention to ensure they wouldn’t be left out in the cold. While their friends got a corner booth that just opened up, the two stallions were bombarded by excited ponies who wanted to either buy them drinks or ask for autographs.

For Elusive, being asked to sign napkins or random sheets of paper from dozens of ponies left him in a slightly frazzled situation at first. Even though his accomplishments as an Element of Harmony left him to occasionally sign autographs or take pictures, the unicorn never experienced such a massive volume of requests at once. For Rainbow Blitz however, he just kept a cheeky smirk from the beginning and signed whatever was given to him. Due to his time as both an Element and a Wonderbolt, the pegasus always made sure to keep a couple felt pens on him whenever he had something to carry them in.

Of course, it wasn’t long before both stallions noticed a recurring theme with each pony they shook hooves with or autographed something for. Almost all of the ponies who came up to Blitz and Elusive were stallions; and more than that, a large majority of them had a rather… feminine vibe. Despite being told of their fanbase by Twinkle Toes’ parents, actually meeting them face-to-face was a bit of a jarring moment for the two. Fortunately, due to Elusive’s background in fashion, being around so many gay guys actually helped him become more comfortable after being greeted by the third couple who wanted pictures with them.

Rainbow Blitz was starting to feel a little awkward as he shook the hooves of multiple stallions, mostly because most of them were able to note that the stunt-pony had a hooficure recently as well. Luckily, a couple complimentary shots offered by fans was enough to keep him from feeling too uneasy in the sea of femmy guys. When he glanced back at his partner, he was surprised to see how well Elusive was getting along with them. Not only was he chatting with couples like a pure socialite, but he was even answering questions some of them asked about techniques or dancing tips. Blitz may have been better with handling fans, but he had to admit that his friend could schmooze the buck out of ponies without batting an eye.

By the time their friends got all their drinks and food back to the booth, Elusive and Blitz were just about finished conversing with the last few ponies. After a few final hoof-shakes, as well as a couple more complimentary drinks, the two finally began to make their trek through the crowded bar to meet up with the others. As they walked, Elusive was the first to sigh in relief while shooting his friend a befuddled smile. “Blitz, I have to ask, how on Earth do you manage to handle giant crowds like that?”

Blitz stared back at his friend with a surprised look on his face. “Wait, me? You were chatting up those guys like you were gonna sell them a dozen suits each!” He then looked back ahead with a shake of his head and added, “And honestly, I bet you could’ve.”

“Well, yes,” admitted the unicorn with a shrug, “I eventually was able to warm up to the fans, but I was still taken aback at first. But you just handled it like a pro as soon as that crowd appeared!”

“Umm, because I’m a Wonderbolt?” asked Blitz sarcastically with a coy grin. “It’s sorta essential to know how to work crowds in an instant. Why did you think I kept those pens in my mane?”

“Honestly? Before today, I thought that was just how you kept your spikes upright.”

Blitz laughed at that remark, remembering how pissed his friend was getting about his mane’s stubbornness. “Okay, yeah! I can see your point there.” He looked back at Elusive with a smile and said, “But seriously though, you took that crowd just as easily as I did. Heck, you didn’t even look a bit freaked out by the end there.”

“Well, I suppose my conversational skills take some time to get warmed up, that’s all.” Thinking about what his friend said, Elusive raised a brow at the pegasus. “But what do you mean by ‘freaked out’?”

“U-Ummm… Well…” Realizing how that description may have sounded after Elusive repeated it, Blitz rubbed the back of his head uncomfortably and tried to think of the right words. “I mean, like, uhhh… I’ve just never been around that many guys at once who were, like… you know...”

Blitz didn’t want to say the word “gay” out-loud, even though he knew it wasn’t like trying to say a slur or anything. But despite his hesitance, he still paused and made a motion with his head back to the bar where a lot of the stallions were seated. It took Elusive a second before getting what his friend meant, but quickly sighed as he looked back at him with both brows raised. “Seriously, Blitz?”

“Y-You know what I mean!” blurted Rainbow as he continued scratching his neck with a small blush on his cheeks. “It’s just kinda… unexpected, that’s all.”

“Oh, come on!” Elusive rolled his eyes and went back to walking ahead of his friend. “They’re just ponies, Rainbow! Like you or me!”

Blitz took that comment with offense as he followed. “I’m not saying otherwise, dude! I’m not a homophobe or anything!”

“So why would it be something to ‘Freak Out’ over?”

“Ugh, I didn’t mean it like that! It was a poor choice of words!” The pegasus huffed and caught up with Elusive to clarify, “I just mean, like… I don’t know that many gay ponies, okay? It’s not something I’m as used to as you are.”

Elusive stopped and sighed before turning around to face Blitz. “Well, you handled yourself fairly well yesterday when we met Twinkle’s parents.”

“Yeah, but that was only two of them! It’s not exactly the same as a whole friggin crowd.” Rainbow stopped and groaned with a hoof over his face, knowing that his words were just digging him into a deeper hole. “Ughhh… I’m just… It wasn’t something I was prepared for alright?”

Before Elusive could shoot him any judgemental looks, Blitz put his hoof down and added while pointing at him, “Like, remember back when Dusk Shine moved to Ponyville, and all of us avoided Zicoro whenever he came into town?”

Despite not understanding the relation from that moment to this, Elusive still sucked some air through his teeth with a pained wince pointed away from his partner. While the unicorn always prided himself on his generous nature and attitude towards others, his behavior towards the zebra back then was far from acceptable in retrospect. But even with his ears folded down, Elusive still heard Blitz continue with, “See? Even after we got everything settled out, it took all of us a little while before things were cool, remember? Now, that doesn’t make us specist, does it?”

Elusive wanted to comply with the Pegasus’ point, but he still shrugged uncomfortably and answered honestly, “Well, maybe not voluntarily…”

Blitz sighed briefly and responded with, “Yeah, but still! It’s the same sorta thing here. Just because I’m not used to something doesn’t mean I’m against it! I’m just not as familiar with that as you are, that’s all.”

Even though he disliked being reminded of past mistakes, Elusive could see what Blitz was trying to say. Not wanting to press things any further, the unicorn sighed and nodded in understanding before saying, “Okay, fine. I can see your point, Blitz. I won’t chastise you or anything, just as long as you see this as a growing point.”

Blitz wanted to say something about how patronizing that last part sounded, but instead he sighed and nodded in agreement. “Y-Yeah. Thank you.”

By the time their conversation was over, the two were within sight of the corner booth their friends were at. However, Elusive’s eyes widened when he saw his parents (as well as Silver Bell and Scootaroll), who had pulled over a separate table to sit next to the group. The white mare with a frizzy brown mane, who Elusive’s friends knew as Magness, was leaning in towards the other group and saying something, but it was impossible to tell what from the noises from other ponies and music blaring in the crowded bar. When Blitz looked over at his partner, he saw that Elusive’s bottom lip was spread wide in utter fear before he bolted off. “Hey, wait!” shouted the pegasus before running after him.

When they got within hearing distance of the table, Elusive’s mother was just getting to the end of her story. “... but just as I was about to leave for the social, I saw little Elusive running down the stairs in one of my dresses, as well as in full makeup! I didn’t know what to say when he ran up to me and said, ‘Mommy, look! Now I can go to the party with you!’”

Elusive screamed with both hooves over his mouth, but it was completely unheard alongside the roar of laughter from his friends. Even Rainbow Blitz had to look away from him with a restrained snicker. Next to Magness was a pale pink unicorn stallion with a greying purple mane. While laughing alongside his wife, he took notice of Elusive’s appalled look and piped happily, “Hey, speak of the devil! Where’ve you been, Lucy?”

Staring at his parents wide-eyed, Elusive looked like he was going to strangle them both while speaking through gritted teeth. “Well… apparently I should’ve been here sooner…”

Noticing how upset the unicorn looked, Dusk Shine was able to stop giggling soon enough to reply towards him, “Hey, come on, Elusive! I know for a fact that my parents told embarrassing stories about me to you guys!”

“Yeah!” added Bubble Berry while wiping some tears from his eyes. “Besides, who hasn’t worn drag as a kid?”

Everyone else at the table paused momentarily to stare at Bubble without anything to say. Meanwhile, Elusive groaned and went to sit at the end of the bench. Even though he just picked the only available spot, the fact that it was next to Barb was enough to make the drake beam in her seat. Rainbow Blitz decided to sit in a vacant chair at the other table next to Scootaroll, and snagged a couple of fries from basket. “Hey, get your own fries!” griped the orange colt with a pout.

“What? I’m hungry!” Since he barely had much to eat since breakfast, all that hoof-full of fries did was make Rainbow Blitz’s stomach groan in dire need for more sustenance. The pegasus gripped at his stomach with an uncomfortable groan and winced. “Urghhh… Man, I could kill for a hayburger right now.”

“Our cheat day is tomorrow, Blitz,” stated his partner while pouring himself a glass from the pitcher of lager at the booth. He also lit his horn to pick up a menu to scan the healthier food options for himself and Blitz. “Liquids are fine for tonight, but we shouldn’t go overboard before we go back to Ponyville.”

“Oh, come on!” whined Rainbow while looking back at him. “I think I deserve a friggin’ sandwich!”

Fortunately, it seemed that Blitz wasn’t the only pony who shared that sentiment. Elusive’s dad, who Blitz knew as Cookie Crumble, decided to lean back in his chair and speak up for his son’s friend. “Oh, it’s just one sandwich! I think you guys burned more than enough calories on the dance floor today to make up for that.”

“Dad,” retorted Elusive, “you know how strict a diet regimen has to be! If it’s off by even a day, his body could poorly react to the changes and--MOM!”

While speaking towards Cookie Crumble, Elusive almost didn’t notice Magness passing Blitz her hoagie. While Rainbow scarfed the sandwich down in three seconds flat, the mare looked back at her son with her hooves raised. “What? They put mustard on it! I wasn’t gonna eat it!”

Elusive sighed bitterly and took a heavy swig of his glass to ignore the throbbing vein on his forehead. Meanwhile, his dad looked back at Blitz with a sudden revelation. “Hey! Since your cheat day is technically tomorrow, how’d you like to join us for dinner at our place? We do it every Sunday as a family thing, and I was itching to make some kebabs on the grill!”

Blitz stopped licking his hooves and paused momentarily. Elusive almost choked on his drink and put his glass down. “Wait, what?!”

“Ooh, that’s a great idea!” piped Magness with a smile as cheerful as her husband’s. “Silver Bell’s friends are coming anyway, so the more the merrier!”

Scootaroll grew a rather excited look on his face as well. “Yeah! And Apple Buck is bringing Twinkle Toes too!”

Elusive was growing more apprehensive by the second, not wanting any of his friends to come over to his house for dinner. He may have loved his family deeply, but he dreaded the thought of them telling countless embarrassing stories to Blitz of all ponies. Unfortunately, it seemed like Rainbow was warming to the idea quite quickly. “Hey, that’s not a bad idea!” said the pegasus with a smile back at Elusive’s parents. “Should I bring anything if I say yes?”

Cookie Crumble replied in a chipper voice, “Well, the only thing you really need to bring is a good appetite! But if you wanted to bring a side dish or some six-packs, I certainly won’t complain.”

“Just don’t try to bring whiskey,” added Magness warningly while raising a brow towards her husband. “Trust me, this guy ends up doing the silliest things after a shot or two.”

Cookie sighed and rolled his eyes away from her. “Oh, here we go again with the Mop Incident.”

Elusive groaned with a hoof over his face, not needing to be reminded of the mop incident. And judging from the muffled giggling he could overhear from his friends (aside from Starshine who looked around confusedly), he was sure none of them needed to be reminded either. Of course, when your father’s shenanigans ends up in the newspaper, it’s not hard to keep him from getting that drunk again. Dusk Shine leaned in towards his student and whispered, “I’ll explain on the train.”

“Hey, don’t worry,” responded Rainbow Blitz with a hoof raised in understanding. “Believe me, the last thing I want to do is tick-off one of my friend’s parents. I’ll just bring some beers.”

Silver Bell perked up and asked, “Hey, wait a minute! Didn’t you make some really good onion things for Scootaroll once? He keeps on saying that was one of the best things he ever ate!”

“OOH, YEAH!” Now looking as hyped-up as ever, Scootaroll was grinning ear-to-ear up to his mentor. He didn’t even notice how the pegasus’ ears were pulled down slightly when he said, “Blitz, you totally should! You still have that deep-fryer back at your place, right?”

In almost a complete one-eighty, Blitz instantly started to look hesitant with his smile turning shaky. “O-Oh, come on,” he muttered while looking away from the colts.

Elusive narrowed his eyes on him confusedly, not sure why his friend turned that way at the mention of a deep fryer. However, what made the unicorn really wary was when Butterscotch tried to speak up from the corner of the booth, “G-Guys,” he piped with a worried tone of voice, “he really doesn’t have to do--”

“Wait, are you talking about one of those ‘blooming onion’ things?” asked Magness with growing interest. “I’ve been trying to cook those for years, and I never got it right! If you know how to cook one, I’m willing to pay you for a recipe!”

“U-Uhhhh…” Blitz was looking even more fretful, and was even fidgeting his hooves under his table while peering his head away. “I-I… I don’t normally cook in front of others…”

“Wait, what?” asked Scootaroll with a puzzled look on him. “But you cooked for me, remember?”

“Everypony, please!” interrupted Butterscotch with a more pleading look. It was at this point that Elusive was starting to get concerned. “He really shouldn’t have to do it if he…”

Despite his attempts to help, the yellow pegasus stopped when he saw his friend raise a hoof silently. Blitz’s face was away from everyone, so nopony was able to see him trying to collect his thoughts with his eyes tightly shut. After a short breath out, he turned back to the table with a somewhat less fidgety expression. “W-Well… I…”

Elusive stared at his friend cautiously, noting how the pegasus was looking around at the others and their reactions. Scootaroll and Silver Belle, along with Elusive’s parents, all seemed pleasantly curious as to Blitz’s previously unknown skills. Even Dusk Shine and the others were paying attention, most of them never having seen him turn on an oven before. But after a brief sigh, Blitz shrugged in defeat and said in a very apprehensive tone, “I… I guess I could do it…”

“YES!” shouted Scootaroll as he hugged him from the side with a big smile. “Thanks, dude!”

Given how happy the colt looked, as well as Silver Bell and his parents, Blitz smiled with a sigh as he softly hugged him back. Meanwhile, Elusive was concerned with how strongly his partner was forcing that smile for them. Of course, the unicorn’s look wasn’t nearly as upsetting as Butterscotch’s as he sank back in his seat with a pained purse of his lips.

Unfortunately, it seemed like those two stallions were the only ones who knew something was up. While Rainbow went back to conversing with Elusive’s family, Bubble Berry looked between Elusive and Blitz with wide-open eyes and asked, “Wait a minute, Blitz knows how to cook?! Since when?”

“Yeah, really!” added Barb with a slightly offended expression. “He always turned down helping us in the kitchen in the castle because he ‘wasn’t good at it!’”

“Hey, let’s not make any judgements,” said Dusk Shine with a shrug of his head. “Maybe it’s just deep frying that’s his strong suit.”

Starshine nodded in agreement. “That sounds about right. I can’t bake very well without magic, but I can fry up some things kinda decently.” He then turned to Elusive and asked, “You think so?”

“Hm?” Since he was staring at Elusive with a bit lip, the unicorn almost didn’t notice Starshine asked him something. He quickly blurted without hearing what was asked, “O-Oh, yeah! I… I believe so…”

Elusive didn’t say much after that, and went back to stare at Rainbow in thought. Even though he knew it wasn’t proper to pry in on other ponies’ personal lives, there was something about Blitz’s reaction that set off multiple red flags in the unicorn’s conscience. He also saw that Butterscotch noticed it too, although it seemed like he had previous experience with whatever this was. Given that Butterscotch had the longest history with Rainbow, Eusive made a mental note to ask him about it back in Ponyville.

Meanwhile, Bubble Berry and Barb were both looking at Elusive with narrowed eyes, since all the stallion was doing was sitting and staring at Blitz with a half-finished beer in front of him. Bubble grew a naughty smirk before leaning in towards Barb and whispering, “I think Lucy has a crush on him~”

“HE DOES NOT!”

Comments

[CrackedInkWell]

Meanwhile, Bubble Berry and Barb were both looking at Elusive with narrowed eyes, since all the stallion was doing was sitting and staring at Blitz with a half-finished beer in front of him. Bubble grew a naughty smirk before leaning in towards Barb and whispering, “I think Lucy has a crush on him~”

“HE DOES NOT!”

And I hope so, it's about time!

[Milo_Chalks]

I would pay you to use Thriller by Micheal Jackson in the Las Pegasus final!!!

[TheVClaw]

8010653
Hmmm... would that work for a Disco routine? I mean, I love that song too, but it seems more for something like a jazz routine.

[Milo_Chalks]

8010672

I just googled it!!!
It totally is Disco/Pop

[fireflutterpony]

Elusive and Blitz had better break out a tango at some point. Rose and all.

[TheVClaw]

8049796
There are many different dance styles I want to write for the two: rumba, paso doble, contemporary, etc. But don't worry, a tango is definitely up there for them to do before the competition ends.