The Perfect Partner

by HAKDurbin

Chapter 5

By the time Tempest and Tenderhoof finished exploring, and decided to go back to the surface, it was almost four in the afternoon. Airships and boats were taking party members to one more ride for the day while food stands and games at the dock were closing down. The two ponies followed the other creatures back to the top of the mountain, where a crowd was gathering in front of the royal palace. Queen Novo, Skystar, and Twilight were standing in front of the entrance with a large pile of wood behind them.

"Hey, you two," Twilight greeted as she walked over to her friends. "Are you having fun?"

"Oh, we've been having a great time," Trenderhoof said happily. "But what is with all of the wood?"

"Oh, well, that’s for the bonfire for what Queen Novo is calling the Dance of Unity," Twilight explained. "Everyone is going to dance together in front of a bonfire."

"Ah, what a marvelous idea," Tenderhoof said. "So, you arranged all of the other activities below to end in time for everyone to be here together."

"Exactly," Twilight said before adding proudly. "It's some of my more cunning work as an organizer."

Tempest rolled her eyes and smirked at her friend's boasting. Just then, the hippogriffs were blowing their trumpets again, and the crowd went quiet as Twilight walked back to Skystar and Queen Novo, who cleared her throat.

"Welcome my friends to the final events of this great festival. It warms my heart to have watched all of you celebrate today," she said. "Now, I invite you all to join us as we start our bonfire and dance together in friendship."

The crowd cheered as Queen Novo and Twilight lit up torches and placed them at the bottom of the pile of wood. Within seconds, the fire began to spread until it covered the top of the pile, and the crowd cheered. Queen Novo then signaled the musicians, and they began to play upbeat music. Every creature cheered again in excitement and started to dance. Some of the hippogriffs flew up and started dancing high in the air with other creatures who could fly. Twilight soon joined in, dancing off-beat with glee, not noticing the looks she was getting. Trenderhoof beamed and took a step to participate in the fun until he saw Tempest standing still.

"Aren't you going to dance?" He asked.

"Oh, no. I don't dance," Tempest said.

"You mean you don't want to or you never learned?" Trenderhoof asked.

Tempest looked away from her date to hide her pink cheeks and answered, "It's been a long time, Trend."

Trenderhoof smiled, finding it cute that the mare was embarrassed in front of him. He walked in front of her and gently moved her head to face him with his hoof, making her blush grow.

"If you can quickly learn to swim as a seapony, you can dance," he said as he took a bow and held up his hoof.

Tempest sighed and took Trenderhoof's hoof, knowing by now that he wouldn't take no for an answer. The stallion guided her to a spot near where everyone else was dancing and started moving his hooves back and forth while counting the beat to the music. Tempest observed Trenderhoof until she felt ready to try and mimic what Trenderhoof was doing. Her steps felt awkward at first, but after a minute, she slowly started to get into the rhythm, and the two ponies were moving in sync. Trenderhoof grinned and decided to make things harder by moving his hooves at a random order while still in rhythm. Tempest grew nervous again as she struggled to copy what her dance partner was doing. Trenderhoof cackled over his partner's struggle until a mischievous smirk emerged from Tempest's face, and her steps became faster and more unpredictable. The stallion bit his lip and tried to catch up until he tripped on his front legs and fell face forward only for Tempest to catch him just in the nick of time.

"I'm a fast learner, buddy boy" She boasted.

Trenderhoof blushed and chuckled as Tempest helped him back up. The song soon ended, and Trenderhoof and Tempest applauded with the crowd. Then, the band started playing their instruments at a faster tempo, and everyone cheered before they formed in pairs and started dancing in circles. Before long, everyone started switching partners while nonparticipants were coming together in a circle and clapping or stomping in rhythm. It took a while before Tempest began to get used to switching partners, but once she did, she started laughing as she was having fun. Trenderhoof smiled as he watched Tempest enjoy herself while dancing from partner to partner. By the time the two of them were able to be each other's partner again, the music had ended, and everyone was cheering.

"Darn. I was hoping we could be partners again," Tempest said.

"Then it's a good thing there's going to be more than two songs," Trenderhoof said.

Tempest smiled at her date, just as the band was starting another song, and said, "Then let's see what you've got."

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For the next three hours, the dancing went on with Tempest learning different forms of dancing with each song. Halfway through the event, the two ponies decided to take a break and ate dinner at a nearby hayburger stand. Trenderhoof was amused by how much Tempest enjoyed the greasy food that she had not had since she was a filly. By the time the dancing was over, Tempest and Tenderhoof felt their legs aching from the dancing.

"So, do you usually dance this much at all the parties you go to?" Tempest asked.

"Not really," Trenderhoof answered. "Most of the festivals I go to have more ballroom-type dancing than anything else."

"Ah, so not as fun," Tempest assumed.

"Oh, I don't know about that," Trenderhoof said. "I think it all comes down to having the perfect partner."

Tempest smiled, not minding that her cheeks were heating up this time. Trenderhoof smiled back, finding Tempest's blush to be cute. As they were staring at each other, a cheerful Twilight was walking over to them.

"Hey, did you guys have fun?" she asked. "I don't know about you, but I was having a blast."

"Oh, you looked like you were enjoying yourself, alright," Tempest said, trying not to laugh.

Trenderhoof covered his mouth to hide a snicker and said, "We had a great time."

"I'm glad to hear it," Twilight said. "Anyway, it's time for the final event, Tempest. I hope you're ready."

Tempest smiled and nodded while Trenderhoof looked at her, confused, and asked. "What is she talking about?"

"Remember when I said I have an opportunity to show more of what I can do?" Tempest asked before Trenderhoof nodded. "That's what I'm going to do for the final event."

"Yup. So, I'm gonna have to borrow your date for a while, Trenderhoof," Twilight said. "Try not to miss her too much."

"Twilight!" Tempest rebuked while blushing.

"I shall put up a brave face while my lady carries out her duty," Trenderhoof replied.

Twilight smiled, satisfied with his answer before she turned around and walked away. Tempest sighed and turned to her date, saying, "Well, I better get going."

Trenderhoof smiled and said, "Give it everything you have, Tempest."

Tempest smiled back, appreciative of the support before she walked away. A large crowd was forming, and the remains of the bonfire had been cleared up. A hippogriff choir and orchestra were setting up while Queen Novo, Skystar, Twilight, and Tempest were standing in front of them. Once they were all in position, the trumpets were heard a final time, and the village was silent.

"And now, my friends, I wish to conclude our new holiday with this final event," Queen Novo announced. "Our very own orchestra and choir have prepared a song of joy and unity while our dear friend, Tempest Shadow, performs a firework show for us.

The crowd murmured to each other, curious about the firework show. Trenderhoof, on the other hand, was instantly excited to see what the dark orchid mare was going to do.

"So, to that end, I present to you the Hippogriff grand choir and orchestra performing a song called "Freedom Everlasting,'" Queen Novo said.

Every creature exclaimed words of excitement, immediately invested in the concept behind the song. The music conductor then tapped his baton stick against his music stand, and everyone quieted down. The conductor held his arm for a moment, waiting to make sure that the orchestra was ready before he began waving his hand, and the music started. The drummers began the symphony by beating their instruments loudly, taking their audience aback. The rest of the orchestra soon followed just as strong before the conductor signaled the choir, who sang in an ancient language with their head up high. Even though the audience didn't know the language, they understood what was being expressed from the way the choir sang triumphantly. Trenderhoof looked around to find many creatures shedding tears, overwhelmed by the passion behind the music.

Then, Queen Novo gave Tempest a nod, and the dark orchid mare closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Suddenly, all eyes were on her as large bolts of electricity were coming out of her broken horn, shining in bright shades of blue, red, yellow, green, and purple. Every creature was wondering how such a thing was possible until Tempest gathered the electricity into a massive orb on top of her head and shot it up towards the night sky. The orb ignited, causing a giant purple explosion. Trenderhoof's mouth dropped as a beam of electricity zoomed above the crowd and created a blue explosion. The beam continued to move in random directions like a fly, creating explosions in many colors as it went. Tempest smiled as she watched every creature watch her work in a trance. She then noticed Trenderhoof watching the fireworks with a bright smile as though he was a colt on Hearth's Warming, which made her giggle.

After several minutes, the choir and orchestra finished the symphony, holding the last note proudly while the firework display ended with many explosions happening at once. When it was over, the audience roared in applause. Trenderhoof was still staring at the sky before he cheered louder than everyone else. Tempest giggled again at her date's energy before she, the orchestra, and the choir took a bow.

"And so concludes the first-ever Festival of the Free Creatures," Queen Novo announced as she stood in front of the crowd again. "I want to thank every one of you who has made this wonderful festival possible. I hope that we will celebrate this holiday for years to come. Until then, sleep well, and for those of you from other lands, please have a safe journey to your homes."

Every creature clapped their hands/claws and stomped their feet a final time before they dispersed. Twilight summoned a large roll of parchment with her magic and flew over to supervise the clean-up crew. It wasn't long before Trenderhoof made his way to Tempest, still beaming.

"That was magnificent!" He praised. "I've never seen such a firework show in my life!"

"You're just saying that because I'm your date," Tempest said.

"Nonsense. Every creature loved it, and you know it," Trenderhoof said. "Are you happy with how you did out there?"

Tempest smiled and looked at the sky as she said, "Yeah, I am. It feels like I accomplished showing everyone what I can do with creatures from all over the world witnessing me. It makes me feel complete."

"I'm happy to hear that," Trenderhoof said with a warm smile.

Tempest smiled back, touched that Trenderhoof was happy for her. The two of them were silent for a moment before Tempest scratched her head and looked away from the stallion.

"So, um, thank you for taking me out today," she said. "It was fun."

"It was my honor, my lady," Trenderhoof said with a bow.

Tempest covered her mouth to hide another giggle, and decided to bow back to the passionate pony. Silence took over between them again until she cleared her throat and said, "Well, good night." As she turned around, Trenderhoof frowned, not wishing to end the night with the mare he liked that way. He thought about all the fun things they did together and how he felt when he watched her explore the ocean earlier. He didn't want her to stop being happy that way, nor did he want to be apart from her. His sad look turned into one of determination as he knew what he had to do.

"Wait," he said.

Tempest stopped walking and turned around as Trenderhoof walked over to her. The scrawny stallion took a moment to think of how to put his feelings into words before he spoke again.

"Listen, I don't want to stop spending time with you," he confessed. "I enjoyed everything we did today, and I know you had a lot of fun. We make a good team, and it doesn't seem right that we should only do this for one day."

Tempest looked at Trenderhoof, confused, and asked, "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying I want you to travel with me," Trenderhoof answered.

"What?" Tempest asked, taken aback.

"Think about it. It's perfect," Trenderhoof claimed. "After all, we're both travelers, and we enjoy discovering new things and having fun. There are all sorts of festivals and holidays and other occasions all over Equestria, and I can't think of anypony else that I would want to experience all of those things with than you. So, what do you say?"

Tempest stared at Trenderhoof, speechless. Her cheeks went from pink to crimson red as he made his request. For a brief moment, the corners of her lips began to curl up, but then she frowned and gave Trenderhoof an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry, Trend, but I don't think I can do that," Tempest said. "I had fun with you. I won't deny it, but I don't think I can spend my life going to parties all over Equestria. It's just not for me."

Trenderhoof looked at the mare he liked crushed. He wanted to think of a way to change her mind, but her words cut him too deep.

"O-okay. I understand," he said, hanging his head in defeat. "I guess I will see you around then."

Tempest winced as Trenderhoof turned around and walked away glumly. She reached out to him as though she was about to tell him to wait, but she stopped herself, knowing that there was no way she could soften the blow. Tempest sighed in defeat and walked back to the royal palace with her head hung low. She didn't sleep well for the rest of the night.