Twilight stared for a second at the pink hoof stretched out before her, her mind stuck in a state of slow comprehension. She looked back up at the gently smiling face of her marefriend, before making an unsure decision: "O-okay."

She stood and took the hoof, looking vaguely around at the room before her eyes set on the centre: a circular patch of bare floor that had appeared there in less than a minute. Behind the makeshift dance floor there was a stand, which also hadn't caught her attention before, and a few olive and tan stallions, Itailian in look, were setting up a drum set, strummed cello, and microphone.

All of it seemed so impromptu. Was this really intentional? She couldn't help but wonder briefly whether it was another fantastic scheme pulled off perfectly by Pinkie. It stopped being illogical soon after she met Pinkie - she just seemed to have that ability. But whether it was or not, by the time she was deep in the slowly-growing group forming in the dance ring, she didn't care.

The first song began to play before she felt herself ready. It wasn't the type of song to lead her slowly into dancing, either. All of a sudden, the beat swelled and Twilight hung onto her partner for dear life as she was led through the mosh of strange ponies beginning to dance around them.

Despite of herself, she took a few looks at Pinkie's excited face periodically and smiled, starting to really get into everything. And when the lyrics began, her adrenalin had already reached the stars.

She felt a sudden pull on her hoof, and an unintelligible shout to the crowd, which parted quickly to form a small, claustrophobia-inducing circle. Twilight looked up at her marefriend, one of her hooves still clutching her shoulder. Pinkie's grin grew as Twilight broke out into frenzied whispers. "Pinkie, what are you doing? I can't do anything - I mean, I don't want to be in - this is kind of uncomf-"

"Just follow my lead, Twi. If you don't want to move, don't."

"What do you-"

She was cut off as Pinkie grasped her midsection and spun to the left, the first disorienting move in a series of many to come. Twilight yelped as she was being slid in every direction to the metre of the music, without even the slightest of pauses in-between to let her catch her breath. At least Pinkie seemed to know what she was doing... hopefully.

Meanwhile, she could feel her marefriend's body against her own as she clung to her to keep from being flung away. It wasn't entirely personal, of course, considering more often than not she was trying to follow Pinkie's leads without falling over or otherwise making a fool of herself. But there was still... something there. They were kinda dancing together, and it was sorta their first dance... Twilight wasn't sure what that really meant, but it was excellent for the time being.

The music swelled to a drumless bridge, drawing the song to a close. Pinkie leaned in quickly and whispered, "Hold on to me."

"Wh-"

Twilight was given no time to react. She was able to hear Pinkie, but just barely, and interlocked her hooves with hers - before the finale. She was swung freely into the air, just for a moment in which she felt totally weightless. What kind of magic -

She was brought down through a graceful arc to the old wooden floor, standing and leaning against one of Pinkie's forelegs as she struck a bold, dramatic pose. She closed her eyes and sighed as the crowd began cheering and stomping their hooves. That was too much all at once, especially for somepony like her.

Finally, the crowd began to disperse and dance again as the next song began to play. She looked up at Pinkie with a stern look and a soft twinkle in her eye. "Was - was that it?" she asked, surprised at her loss of breath. "Can we - can we go?"

Pinkie smiled, releasing her hoof and accidentally letting Twilight fall to the floor. "Sorry," she said, chuckling nervously and offering a hoof. "We can't go yet, though, Twi - there's still other dances to try, and -"

"Well," Twilight interrupted, "maybe we should try one that isn't so active next."

Pinkie shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Fine. Whatever you want."

"Can - can I sit down, at least?"

"I can't stop you," Pinkie replied, bouncing onto her hooves, "but if you need me I'll be on the dance floor."

Twilight looked down at the empty table, still slightly short of breath. She put a hoof to her head, sighing quietly. For a first dance between them, it was a bit much. She felt her stomach churn. So much abrupt action at once, and just after she'd finished eating. It didn't bode well. And the smell of the kitchen wasn't helping.

She looked around the room. It reminded her of something, but she couldn't quite remember what. It seemed quite quaint for a restaurant in the city. Suddenly, she caught the brief gaze of the announcer. She couldn't tell from the second of eye contact, but he almost seemed angry. He probably wasn't looking her way anyways.

She glanced over to the dance floor again. There was some sort of syncopated dance going on by that point, with, of course, Pinkie leading the group. Alliteration. Perfectly pink party pony passionately - um - passes - no. Passes... uh...

Twilight began to busy herself with mind games as she stared out at the dance floor, her eyes locked on bright pink. Wherever Pinkie learned to dance must have been professional - she was excellent at it. From set dances to just dancing from the soul, she could handle it perfectly.

She was too caught up in her thoughts to notice the gradual change in music - and definitely didn't notice the sudden absence of her marefriend from the dance floor. By the time she realized Pinkie wasn't there anymore, she already felt a hoof on her shoulder.

She turned around, gasping. "Pinkie, you scared me," she complained lightheartedly.

"I tend to do that," she replied, a huge grin on her face. "They're going slower now," she mentioned, her face becoming serious again as she motioned at the band. She motioned again at the dance floor, the hint of a smile on her lips. "You ready?"

"Of course," Twilight replied, smiling and following her marefriend to the dance floor. There was a nice, jazzy, rimshot-filled song playing, a low cello and standing bass wavering in the background. The hall was files only with the yellow, dim light of the lanterns and the pale blue moonlight illuminating the corners of the room.

Pinkie brought her to her back hooves and clasped her left hoof in her own. Twilight looked up at her marefriend and blushed softly. Pinkie wasn't being herself too much today. Almost everything seemed so romantic - it really felt like their own special night, their own special dance, all to themselves.

Pinkie's blue eyes glittered in the moonlight as she led them both nearer to the windows. Twilight felt Pinkie's hoof on her back pull her just a bit closer. She giggled quietly, despite herself, and tried momentarily to take control of the dance before they both stumbled.

"Just let me do the dancing, okay?" Pinkie said with a laugh. "This is, like, my area of expertise."

"That's true, I suppose," Twilight muttered in reply, unable to break her gaze with her marefriend. She smiled, before looking down at her hooves nervously.

"Don't trip," Pinkie said, letting her grip on Twilight go momentarily before laughing and pulling her back towards herself.

"P-Pinkie!" Twilight stuttered, grasping at her marefriend's hoof and lamely recovering from her stumble. "Don't - don't do that!"

"Heh. Sorry."

Twilight began slowly to feel the music. Each little jazzy note and syncopated triangle tinkle made her begin to feel closer to the pink mare she was dancing with. This feeling was only elevated when she felt Pinkie's hoof against the back of her head, pressing her to her shoulder for a warm embrace.

Twilight felt her face flush. She hugged back, a smile spreading across her features. She momentarily forgot exactly where she was; the room spun out of focus. All of her concentration began to funnel into this close, personal dance.

Pinkie giggled quietly into her ear. "It's hard to dance slow."

"Hm? Why?" Twilight replied subconsciously.

"I dunno. I have too much energy to just stand here and move around all slow, I guess. Sometimes I just wanna -"

"What? Swing me around again?"

"Maybe."

Twilight smiled. "Just let me have a minute or two more."

"Don't get me wrong," Pinkie said, pulling away and looking at her, "we can dance as long as you want. I'm just saying. I'm the party pony, remember?"

"Yeah, I know," Twilight replied. She glanced over Pinkie's shoulder and noticed they weren't dancing in the circle anymore. They'd somehow gravitated to the corner. "Hey, I think we got a little off-center," she commented, turning back to her marefriend. "Can -"

Pinkie had a familiar mischievous smile on her face. Suddenly, Twilight felt herself being backed up against one of the tables. She felt the deep blush return. Pinkie, there are still all kinds of ponies here - don't do anything too embarrassing - she thought, but couldn't find the words to speak.

As she felt Pinkie lean closer, her eyes began to close. It was almost involuntary. Pinkie still had a hoof around her, supporting her - it did nothing but invest her further into the feeling. "P-Pinkie, this..." she trailed off, before -

"Nope. Out."

Both mares jumped, and Twilight could feel her heart jump into her throat. "Wh-what -" She turned around to see the old announcer stallion standing nearby, a stern look on his face.

Pinkie smiled. "Sorry...?" she said, backing up from the table and letting Twilight fall back to her hooves. "W-we, uh..."

"I can see what you were doing," the stallion replied, "but that doesn't mean everypony here wants to. You two need to get a room," he finished icily, beginning to walk them backwards towards the door. "Doesn't matter where you go, but you can't stay here."

"Wait - why are you - can you - you can't do that!" Pinkie stuttered defensively. "We're still customers, right?"

"I'm the owner," the stallion said. "Right to refuse service?" He opened the door and pointed out. "Night, ma'am."

"B-" was all Twilight was able to reply in protest before the door shut in front of them. She turned around, sill bewildered, and turned back to the door. "... What was that about?"

"I dunno, but I don't think we can get back in," Pinkie replied, knocking on the door twice. "That's never happened to me before..."

Twilight could sense the drop of peppiness in her voice, and tried to remedy the situation. "Well... have you ever tried to kiss anypony else in public before?"

"... You're right. That was still rude, though. I didn't even get a warning or anything."

Pinkie seemed relatively satisfied with Twilight's explanation and turned to walk away, still mumbling to herself. "...scared me more than anything else, if you think about it - I mean, the dude came out of nowhere and just..."

Twilight wasn't entirely sure about herself, though, and trotted to catch up with Pinkie, a few nagging doubts still floating around her mind. That didn't seem normal at all. Was he being so unforgiving because we're both... no. Well, maybe, but that's so...

She put her head down disappointedly. Pinkie looked over at her. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing at all, Pinkie," Twilight responded sarcastically.

Pinkie giggled. "I realized how stupid that was after I said it. Seriously, though, that makes me mad. Can't we, like, sue or something? That was just wrong."

"Technically, no," Twilight began, picking up her head and perking up her ears, smiling despite herself. "That brings up matters of private establishments and private law which is comparable to public domain and public law, but a case against the assertion of nonessential law in a private domain wouldn't hold its water in... court..." she trailed off seeing the look on Pinkie's face. "Sorry," she said embarrassedly.

Pinkie giggled again. "I'm trying to be mad, but I can't now." She began laughing, and leaned over to Twilight to give her a quick nuzzle. "You're so cute."

"Thanks...?"

"That's not the kind of thing you say thanks to." She paused. "You want to go anywhere else? The night is still young. Well, more middle-aged."

Twilight chuckled. "Pun. Clever. And, nah, I'd rather just go home about now." She yawned. "The night might still be 'middle-aged', but I'm tired."

There was a moment of quiet, which, of course, didn't survive very long. Pinkie's snorting giggles filled the air.

"What?"

"We didn't pay," she replied, snorting again before dissolving into laughter.

Twilight smiled despite of herself. "That's just wrong."

"Oh, come on. It's not like we were given the bill. It was kinda his fault."

"I know, but I'm still trying to contain my laughter."

"Don't do that! Let it run free, Twi!"

Twilight giggled, shaking her head. "Element of Laughter. Right." She turned away and looked off into the city before them. A quarter of the city had always been cut off from the rest by the Clearwater River, and the short bridge that they were nearing was one of the oldest pieces of architecture in Equestria. And in the moonlight, it was as beautiful now as it was thousands of years ago.

She glanced at Pinkie, who was staring up at the bright, starry sky. She turned away before hearing Pinkie again: "Hey, Twi."

"Hm?"

Pinkie was standing right at the edge of the bridge, the moonlight dramatizing the twinkle in her eye. She winked and stepped onto the ledge. "See ya," she said before disappearing over the edge.

Twilight gasped. "Pinkie!" she shouted, galloping over to the edge and scanning the water below desperately. "Pinkie! Are you okay?!"

She let out a sigh of relief as her marefriend surfaced, fountaining water from her mouth and grinning broadly. "Cone on in, the water's only a little bit cold!"

Twilight sighed again, and scowled. "That's not funny, Pinkie!" she replied. "That scared me!"

"Did you really think that I had no idea what I was doing?"

"... Maybe?"

"Get down here."

Twilight shivered as Pinkie began swimming short circles around her. "A 'little' c-cold? You're c-c-crazy, Pinkie."

"Yup!" she replied, surfacing in front of her. "But that's never a bad thing. Well, every once in a while. Well, most of the time."

"I guess you're an ex-exception. Kinda," Twilight replied as Pinkie fell back into the water again.

Suddenly, Twilight felt a pressure on her back. She hurriedly lifted a wave up out of the river in front of her with her magic, and clicked her tongue when she saw Pinkie hanging onto her. "Pinkie, stop scaring me. It's already dark enough outside."

"Oh. Sorry."

"I'm still a bit upset about how whimsical this is," she chastised, lifting Pinkie into the air and placing her in front of herself. "What if the river was only, like, a foot deep? You could've hurt yourself."

"But it's five feet, eleven and three-quarters inches deep," she replied, pointing over to the nearby bridge.

Twilight shook her head. "There's no way you could..." she trailed off. "... Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

Twilight remained silent, standing in the water and letting Pinkie swim around her giggling. "Come on, Twi, do something!" she insisted. "Swim around or do something magical and stuff. Tell me all about the constellations. I'll have to splash you if you don't. That's an obligation. And if I remember last summer right, you're not too fond of s- oh."

She was interrupted by a pair of violet lips on her own. She flushed slightly pinker and closed her eyes, leaning into it. Twilight pulled away momentarily, her eyes still half-closed.

Pinkie exhaled, her eyes opening wide. "What... was that about?"

"You needed to stop talking," Twilight replied, before leaning in again, much to the confusion and delight of her marefriend. Her own cheeks began to redden as she felt Pinkie slowly press up against her, warming her to no extent. This is never going to get old.

Pinkie broke off, her forehead resting on Twilight's. "You know... I'm sorry about tonight. I wasn't really... wasn't really expecting that."

"I don't mind. I mean, I mind a little, but -"

"Don't overthink it," Pinkie interrupted, leaning in for another kiss. "Just let everything happen. Go with the flow. Get it? 'Cause we're in a river, and it's running water -"

Twilight giggled. "Shush."

"But - okay."

Pinkie fell back onto the grassy shore, giggling and snorting and grasping at the air. "Twilight, I'm supposed to start the splashing, not you!" she complained, wiping her eyes with the back of her hoof.

Twilight fell on top of her, giggling and blushing about the same. She paused briefly, looking down at Pinkie. "You know, I don't see your mane down too often."

Pinkie paused as well, losing her train of thought. "Oh. Well, it doesn't usually go down. Not even when it's wet. I'm not entirely sure what the problem is."

"... It looks nice."

"Well, thanks." Pinkie replied, smiling up at her. "Ten bits says it goes back when I stand up."

Twilight chuckled, before closing in for another kiss. Slower now. Pinkie sighed and wrapped her hooves around her neck. She felt less passion and more love. It sent familiar tingles through her. She caught a glimpse of Twilight, just for a second. Her horn was glowing a light pink, which illuminated the rest of her face perfectly. Pinkie could even see the bright pink on her marefriend's cheeks.

"Am I... am I doing it right?"

Pinkie was snapped back to reality by the quiet question. She looked up and smiled. "You're a natural. Haven't I told you that before?"

Twilight returned the smile, her eyes twinkling along with her horn. As they leaned back again, Pinkie was gripped by another mischievous compulsion. She slowly reached up with a hoof and tapped the base of Twilight's horn.

"Ah!" Twilight cried almost immediately, collapsing on Pinkie's chest, her horn briefly glowing brighter before the light died out.

Pinkie stared at her for a moment before dissolving into a panic. "Oh, no, I'm sorry, Twilight! I didn't know what it would do, and I just sorta - did! What was -"

A violet hoof pressed against her lips. Twilight looked up at her, flushed a furious red and panting softly. "It's... okay. It's okay," she whispered, before returning for another kiss.

"Oh, again? Th- okay." I guess... I dunno what to think. I'm okay with it, though.

Pinkie felt a bit disappointed when Twilight pulled away relatively quickly. "What..." she panted again. "What time do you think it is?"

"Uh, I'd say nearing nine or ten. Sometime around there." She paused. "... You ready to go home?"

Twilight looked up, flicking an ear. "Yeah. I didn't mean to stay out this long in the first place. But then you pull this whole swimming thing on me, and..." She trailed off, levitating her and Pinkie to their hooves. "... It was nice, though."

"Yeah. It was, wasn't it?"

"Don't get any ideas," Twilight replied, shaking her mane a little. "Lemme help you dry off."

Pinkie felt that strange pressure on her again as she was almost air-blown in a wave of pink magic. "A convenient... replacement... for towels," she commented, giggling as her mane poofed back into place.

"It really was excellent tonight. I haven't danced that way in... ever," Twilight was saying. The ways to the library and to Pinkie's apartment were separated on Grand and Maple, the one street corner in Ponyville whose streetlight had a reputation for flickering out.

"I kinda figured. That's why I took you to the Gooseberry in the first place."

"So you did plan ahead."

A giggle. "Maybe a little."

"Well, Pinkie," Twilight said in a rather stiff voice, extending a hoof, "until our next meeting."

"Of course, my dear Twilight," Pinkie replied in the same voice, taking the hoof. "I shall count the moments."

"With bated breath?"

"With bated breath." There was a moment of silence, before Pinkie chuckled. "One for the road?"

Twilight sighed, before a bright smile broke across her face. "Alright. You deserve it." She leaned in for a brief kiss, before turning to walk away. "Bye! I'll probably see you tomorrow anyways."

Pinkie waved goodbye before turning away, smiling broadly. She could only think of one objective as she walked home.

Time to start planning for next Saturday.