Night at the Spring Dance Hall

by Split Scimitar

Prelude: Student Association Pitch

“Good morning Principal Cadance, distinguished faculty and staff, and Captain Scimitar. The student association of Crystal Prep Academy requests your collaborative effort and cooperation for this year’s Spring Dance. As most of you are aware, our Maritime theme last year was very successful. This year, we believe that we can exceed expectations of our fellow students as well as our fellow administrators by venturing to… Hawaii! Our fellow students have expressed a considerable interest in a long-distance spring dance venue, and the connection, local knowledge, and expertise of both Principal Cadance and Captain Scimitar are among the best we have available at our disposal.”

“As per our venue choice,” another student begins, “our tentative theme is tropical. We would very much appreciate being able to have an island-themed event in the islands. Following the previous tradition of Spring Dances past, dinner and a social hour would not be excluded, nor would we fail to acknowledge the dance itself. While we understand there may be some logistical bumps, Captain Scimitar is one of the most experienced pilots available with an advantageous knowledge and familiarity with this travel corridor. As such, we believe that with his help and your backing, we can make this formidable task a reality.”

“Mr. Scimitar,” a third student then asks me as part of their presentation, “may we present some questions pertaining to your knowledge of such a flight?”

“Please save those for the end.” A member of staff responds.

“Yes ma’am.”

“Miss Echelon, your cabinet has presented very excellently and I believe I speak for everyone when I say that we unanimously approve of this undertaking.” Cadance calls. “All in favor of this proposal say ‘aye.’”

“Aye.” All but one member of staff call with a raise of the hand.

“I hesitate to approve on the grounds of, as you mentioned, the logistical challenges. What kinds of challenges could we encounter and how may we solve them?”

“If I may,” I interject by standing up and raising my hand, “one such issue I have my own curiosities about is the availability of local salons and personal care businesses for those who want to use them particularly the day of the event. Now, I may answer that question by proposing we depart the mainland later in the morning but consequently return late in the night.”

“Mr. Scimitar,” the second presenter responds, “that does sound like a good idea, and I believe it is possible, to avoid any confusion, for those who wish to visit places such as salons, if they run the risk of not being able to schedule appointments, or even making them and getting them completed in a timely manner. If I’m reading you correctly, it is generally okay to get nails at least done the day before.”

“Thank you for your question, Mr. Bohr.” Echelon responds back. “It has been a point of contention for us, but such logistical challenges can easily be conquered by ensuring that fellow students who want to visit those places be forewarned. Immediately upon the approval of this proposal, we shall disseminate pertinent and necessary information related to making such appointments. Additionally, if any short-notice problems should occur, all information related to it shall be made available immediately.”

“Mr. Scimitar,” Mr. Bohr asks almost immediately after. “Principal Cadance has been vocal of her confidence in you. How can the rest of us trust you?”

“I have extensive experience operating in the Hawaii-West Coast corridor. It was my specialty. I have operated every possible combination of available routes in that corridor. I know the routes I fly backwards, forwards, inside and out. I realize that the opportunity to prove it may not exist for all staff until the day of the event, but I can proudly state that you can trust me as much as you would any other carrier. Principal Cadance is a woman of her word, and I hope that I can prove that when the day comes.”

“I personally am not a nervous flyer, so as such I trust this event will serve as a possible opportunity to become the school-approved means of aerial transportation.”

“It would be my honor to carry that endorsement. I hope that however I may be utilized for this event, regardless of where we go, I may prove myself worthy.”

“And I look forward to flying with you. Aye.”

“With that final vote of confidence, the proposal to have our Spring Dance in Hawaii is officially approved!”

Applause rings throughout the room as everyone goes around shaking hands.

As I leave the room amongst a crowd going to the cafeteria, Cadance invites me to enjoy the school’s lunch offerings on her ticket, since she has a guest pass.

Helping myself to the main line special and a couple of a la carte dishes along with a Squirt to drink. The two of us take a table in a far corner, away from most of the student body.

“Do you have A and B lunch slots?” I ask noticing a much smaller crowd than I would’ve expected.

“Yes. This is the A lunch time.”

“Okay. About how big is your student body?”

“100 or so scattered over the four classes.”

“Nice. You have a much more manageable size of student body. My own high school class itself was 104.”

“Wow. You had a big class.”

“That was about average.”

“Thank you for coming. I think you just being there helped ease a lot of nerves for the faculty who may have been skeptical.”

“I for one agree wholeheartedly.” Mr. Bohr says as he sits down next to Cadance.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Scimitar. How are you enjoying the finest of Crystal Prep’s cuisine?”

“I can’t complain.” I say chuckling. “I appreciate your involvement with the presentation. I’m genuinely excited to be able to contend for the hire list for all your aerial transportation needs.”

“As am I, though once we’ve completed at least one trip with you, it’ll definitely be easier.”

“Thank you for taking a chance with me. I’m honored to carry your trust.”

When the time comes to head back to the office, Cadance asks me to join her for one last order of business, and that’s to prepare a tentative invoice.

“Well, given that I’ve been in the process of hub expansion, I think I may be able to apply some discounts that should start to pay off the more regularly, I use that loosely, you hire me. For your liability’s sake as well as my own, the actual flight to Hawaii will be the make-or-break, but obviously since we’ll have to go venue hunting, I imagine I can at least prove myself to the SA cabinet.”

“Indeed.”

Comments

[The Blue EM2]

Interesting you put Canterlot as a suburb of Sacramento. I also have it in California, but situated 200 miles north of LA, putting it in striking range of some good beaches (as the beaches in the show closely resemble Oregon ones).

[Split Scimitar]

10181947
Ironically, the choice of Sacramento came mostly from the flow of the river in the map. The flow of the Sacramento River through the city is *almost* a mirror image. Plus, I always imagined the beaches to be at least an hour and a half to two hours away.

[The Blue EM2]

10182024
I'm no expert in Sacramento's geography, but I'll give it a look.