Rainbow Dash and the other mares made their way out of the castle, ready to share their picks with their humans. All of them smiles and prances... except for Twilight.

Twilight was mulling over her hasty decision to let her ego push her into the bet. But how good could a human hand be? They couldn't possibly give the same kind of pressure and precision as a well-placed hoof or the soft pressing and molding of a ponies frogs. However, they've done nothing but impress her the whole time they've been there.

Worse comes to worst; she always looks good in a dress. And only a hundred bits? She could afford that.

When the girls got back, however, the humans seemed to have thinned out.

"Uhh?" Twilight stared at Benny and Cerb lounging in the foldout chairs, each with a beer in their hand. "Where are the others?"

Cerb sat up first.

"After talking when y'all dipped out, we realized there were some things we had to take care of for tonight." He held up his hands to ward off any concern. "Nothing bad. We just had some things that needed to be properly arranged, and some pre-emptive damage controls."

"Damage controls?" Applejack asked, sounding alarmed. "What could possibly go wrong at a Pinkie Pie party that requires—why am I even asking?"

"Hey!" Pinkie shouted. "I'm getting better!... Aren't I?"

"But I already know how to dance," Derpy explained.

Shining Armor, Becky, and Sniff with Dinky on his shoulders smiled, hoping for the best.

"We know you can dance," Becky explained, but it's different when dancing with a human."

"Yeah," Sniff pointed to his feet. "We only have two legs. We can't really move well on all fours. But somehow, you ponies can do both, so we need to make sure you know how to do our dance moves. We'll play you some of our music and see what you got for dance moves first. That way, we know what we're working with."

Derpy gleamed with joy.

"Oh, do you know the Pony Prance?"

"Never even heard of it," Sniff answered. "I'll start the music, and you show us your moves."

Sniff pulled out his phone and pressed play on the first song he left in the queue. Krewella - Come And Get It (Razihel Remix)) Displayed on the screen.

"Wow! This sounds awesome!" Derpy chirped.

Sniff pushed Becky back, slighting, being told briefly about the walking disaster this mare could be. Shining readied his horn to bring up a shield if need be, given the same warning and another reminder of how fragile Becky could be.

Derpy listened to the music for a moment, trying to catch the beat. After bobbing her head a few times, she closed her eyes and started thrashing her head up and down like a drinky bird, rearing up on her hind legs and flapping her wings. Every other bob she would alternate either raising a foreleg in or jutting it out to the side. Then she started moving around the floor. Sniff immediately tapped Shining on the shoulder, and Becky brought out her phone.

As the light aura of a magic shield started to glow around those not dancing, Derpy thrashed around the post office. Her smile and giddy laughs, along with the music, masked the chaos and destruction the pegasus created. Her butt toppled over a barrel full of letters, her wing flapped as she reared up, tossing a postage scale into the cash register, and one of her back legs kicked a small chair into a glass display window.

"Whoopsie!" The loud crash was finally enough to snap Derpy out of her accidental rampage.

She looked around the silent room. The damage and mess in her wake was an instant reminder of her long history of accidents. Then she realized the shield held up by the prince and the expectation of her inevitable failure they were waiting for. As the shield lowered, now that her warpath had ended, she could see all their faces more clearly.

Shining looked almost frightened. Becky wore a fake smile, while Sniff held his hand over his chin like he was deep in thought. But over his head sat Dinky, smiling brightly; innocent of the knowledge that her mother knew.

"I... I'm sorry..." Derpy's voice cracked. "I don't know..."

Sniff clapped his hands together loudly, making Derpy cringe.

"Alright. So, now that I've seen what we're working with, we can get started on this."

"Started?" Derpy asked, certain just a moment prior that she must have disqualified herself. "You're not gonna—"

"Derpy, please," Sniff played it cool with an honest smile. "Do I look like the kinda guy who came here to tell you that you are going to be dancing with Chris tonight, just to pull you aside and then tell you no?"

"But I—"

Sniff stopped her before she could point out the mess she made.

"Yes, Derpy. I know. I was told something like this could happen before I told you that you were dancing with Chris tonight."

"But—"

Sniff stepped in front of Derpy, lowered himself down to one knee, and laid both hands on her shoulders.

"I didn't lie to any of my friends when I said I'd get you out on the dance floor tonight and that you'd have a great time. And I didn't lie to you about making sure everything would work out. Becky has a video to show what all happened with your dance moves, so you understand where your steps got mixed up. Then we're going to help you find a new way to work past those mistakes."

He pulled back his right hand from her shoulder and held it out at chest level with her.

"I'm pretty sure Dinky would like to see you on the dance floor with her when she's dancing with Becky, so do we have a deal?"

Derpy looked back over to Becky, who was holding Dinky in her arms.

"Come on!" Dinky giggled. "Say yes!"

Chris rubbed his hands over his face.

"I feel like a total ass right now."

Lumberman unlocked Chris's phone and started scrolling through the music.

"Yeah, well, you're gonna look like a total dick if you can't get your act together and figure out how to dance with a pony without accidentally throwing a knee in her face or Mike Tyson-ing her into a stretcher."

Oven Fresh's eyes widened.

"You wouldn't hurt somepony like that, would you?"

"With Chris?" Kelly asked rhetorically. "Nah. He's all about you, ponies. I mean, we all are since we got here. But he's been a fan of your little town and princesses for a while now. Right, Big Mac?"

"Euyup."

Lumberman never took his eyes off the phone.

"What I mean is, if he's not careful, he'll accidentally hit somepony," he corrected himself. "Not bad, but still, don't want any y'all getting bobbed on the head... And thanks again for agreeing to help us."

"Oh, think nothing of it," Oven Fresh said with a blush she tried to hide. "Anything for my favorite customer."

Lumberman looked up with doubt, then turned to Chris.

"Here, I don't know any of those songs in there. It's all pony music and death metal. Find something we can dance to." He turned back to Oven Fresh. "I thought Sniff didn't buy anything from you?"

"Oh? Well... Technically, no, he didn't buy anything from me." Oven Fresh answered with a forced smile. "But that doesn't mean he still can't be my favorite customer."

"Good, god," Chris lamented over that explanation. "Everywhere he goes. It never changes."

"Will you stop your weeny whining and play the music already?" Kelly complained.

"Yeah, yeah. Keep your shirt on, Kel," Chris grumbled back. "Here. Let's try this."

Chris pressed play and tossed his phone to Kelly. As the music started to play, she looked at the screen, not recognizing the name of the artist or who the pony in the cover art was supposed to be.

"Is this human music?" Oven Fresh asked, already liking it.

"Sorta," Chris answered. "There's a lot of fans of Ponies where I come from. This is a song inspired by them."

Oven Fresh was excited to try this out.

"Well, we can certainly dance to it. Let's start out with something simple. Let me show you the Pony Prance."

She started with a simple bobbing of the head. That lead to her rearing up and alternating her forelegs. She quickly got more elaborate with it by shaking her flank and sidestepping.

"You just got to let the music move you."

Chris started to follow suit, though he couldn't seem to match the moves on two legs as easily. He also seemed a little discoordinated and stiff.

"Okay, not bad," Oven Fresh watched his moves. "But you need to loosen up a little more.

"Yo, Oven Fresh," Lumberman stood up and moved behind Chris. "His dance partner is going to learn how to dance on her back legs. Can you try that? And Chris, I'm gonna help you find your groove."

Oven Fresh pushed herself up on her hind legs and continued with her dance steps. She was a little off-balance at first but quickly found her center and was back in motion.

Lumberman walked behind Chris and brought his chest to Chris's back.

"Just relax, bruh. I ain't getting fresh on ya."

"Not in public, right?"

"Swear ta God, I'll throat punch you."

As goofy as it was for both of them, Lumberman started to guide Chris through some basic motions while Oven Fresh tried to match their pace and mimic their dance moves.

"Alright," Kelly spoke up behind the dancing mare. "Let me help you out, honey."

Kelly put down the phone and took a long chug from a bottle of vodka before capping it.

"Are you gonna be okay to do this, Mrs. Kelly?" Big Mac asked, not sure how well her leg was going to hold up.

"It just hurts a little, I might have to lean on Misses Fresh a bit." She placed a hand on Oven Fresh's shoulder from behind. "That gonna be okay?"

"Sure," Oven Fresh answered with a big smile. "Anything for a friend of Peter."

"Oh," Kelly said loudly with surprise. "You're on a first-name basis with him, I see."

The dancing pony giggled.

"He said that was his real name, but I kinda like Sniff."

Kelly did the same as Lumberman, getting close against the mare and locking her hands around Oven Fresh's fetlocks.

"Yeah, usually we call him Sniff. He goes by Peter everywhere else. But let's focus on this dancing right now... Damn, gurl. You can really swing those hips, can't ya?"

Oven Fresh giggled again.

"Well, yeah. That's all part of dancing, right?"

"Hell, yeah," Kelly continued. "Now, let's try getting low for a minute. Then we can add in some moves from the clubs I go to."

"Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!" Pinkie Pie's voice could be heard shouting over her megaphone. "Place your nominations here! One pony! One vote! No voting for yourself because meany pants Starlight said I couldn't nominate myself to dance with my BenBen. Which is super-duper dumb because he should dance with me! He gives me cookies and plays-Ack! No! Stop it! This is my megaphone, Dashie!"

The sounds of banging and crackles in the speaker muffled the voice of an angry Rainbow Dash.

"And we told you to stop whiny, or we'd take it away!"

The crackles and arguments cut out as the megaphone was either turned off or broken in their tussle, but the ponies still flocked to the table.

Over at the table, Twilight and Applejack were left to tend to the collection of nominations. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie still quarreling over the announcements that should or should not be made. Fluttershy and Rarity on the other hoof were trading turns watching over Cerb to ensure no other mares tried to get too familiar with their stud. Starlight had gone back into the castle to secure the booze for the night.

After some time of collecting and sorting the nominations, the flow of ponies tapered off and the two mares had a moment to breathe. Twilight took a moment to better assess the success rate of her foolish wager.

"Applejack, can I get your honest opinion on the bet between Rainbow Dash and me?"

"Sure thing, Twilight. What'cha wanna know?"

She sheepishly fiddled with her hooves, creating another stack for nominations for Sniff.

"Well... I—"

"You should have listened to Fluttershy," Applejack answered abruptly, not even letting the obvious question be asked. "Now had ya gone 'en specified that 'ol Sniffy wasn't better than Aloe and Lotus, you might 'uh stood a chance. But ya done left it open for any of 'em."

Twilight grumbled angrily before gathering her thoughts. "What kind of techniques do they use that makes them so effective?"

"I don't think it's much of a technique as much as—" Applejack paused, thinking about how she should phrase it, but all she could think about was laying next to Lumberman with his hands caressing her again. "Hmph... I can't explain it. They're just better."

"That doesn't make any—" Twilight's scientific mind wouldn't accept such an empty answer and sought out an explanation. "Were you drinking any of their alcohol when you had your massage? Because we don't fully understand its effects on pony physiology. Could it be that maybe you only thought it felt better under the effects of alcohol?"

Applejack smiled and tried not to laugh.

"Had you asked me that the morning Kelly woke up, I'd uh had to question it muh self. But I've had dem hands on my without drinking none. And... hmm... well, ya might have something there. Cus the first time I felt it, I had more than just a few sips with Woody. And it was a lot more intense that night."

"It?" Twilight asked, sensing Applejack was leaving out some crucial details.

"It?" Applejack suddenly worried she might have misspoken and left herself open to interrogation. "Twi, I—"

Applejack huffed, not wanting to lie about it.

"It's like I said. I can't explain it. Them hands of his... once they get uh moving over ya—" She lowered her posture and looked to as if she just willingly surrendered to her fate. "You know how it feels when some pony uses their magic to pic ya up and hold ya in the air?"

"Yeah..."

Applejack's expression softened like she was in remission of a fond memory, a faint twinkle in her eyes.

"It's kinda like that, only it's warmer and seeps down into your skin. And then it keeps on going deeper and deeper inta yer whole body, and it feels wonderful... It's so easy to ferget your worries and..." Some of that heavy feeling in her gut started to sink in, and she wasn't sure if it was a feeling of guilt or if she was feeling lonely thinking about him not being with her again. "I... I-I-I'm sorry, Twilight... Yer just gonna have to go and find out for yerself."

"Applejack," Twilight suddenly looked concerned. "Are you okay?"

"I dunno, Sugar Cube," Applejack huffed. "I've been all mixed up ever since them jerks came in muh house and—" Her breathing became deeper and more labored, and a rush of anger and regret started to well up inside her. "I just can't figure it all out."

"If this is about what happened to Kelly—"

"It's not just that," Applejack snapped. "Well, part of it is. But... why are they really here, Twilight? How did they get here? Why does so many terrible things keep happening to hurt'em so much?... Why did Kelly have to get... fuck'n stabbed in front of me?"

She brought her hooves to her hat, tugging down on it in a fit of frustration. Tears started forming as she grappled with the stresses of these past few days.

"Everything happens for a reason, ya know?"

Twilight scooted closer to her friend and laid a hoof over her shoulder.

"Applejack, you need to calm down. Everything is fine now."

"AJ?" Big Mac's voice came from the side of the table, surprising the two mares. "What's wrong, sis? You okay?"

Lumberman was just a few steps behind and sped up to see what was happening as soon as he heard the distress in Big Mac's voice.

"Hey, what's going on?"

"I dunno?" Twilight was looking back and forth between the Applejack and the others. "We were just talking about a stupid bet, and then she started talking about what happened to Kelly, and then she—"

Lumberman was already on top of Applejack before Twilight could finish explaining.

"Hey. Hey." He got down low and came up close to her face, placing one hand on her back and the other holding her hoof. "Apple Hat, come on."

Lumberman forced a smile and did his best to speak sweetly to her.

"What you doing crying at a party for?"

"I ain't doing no crying, Woody," Applejack answered back, doing her best to pull back on her emotions that were overwhelming her and wiping away another tear.

"Damn, girl," Lumberman wiped his thumb over Applejack's cheek, removing a tear she missed. "I step away for five minutes, and I come back to you breaking down just so you can lure me in close for another kiss? You gotta find a new way to try ‘n embarrass me, or I'm gonna start looking forward to 'em."

Applejack couldn't help but cough up a smile.

"That ain't at all what I'm doing." She was now caught in a three-way struggle of the sad feelings tugging at her heart, the anger of Lumberman getting the best of her again by making her embarrassed and fighting the smile she couldn't hold back. She raised a hoof up to push his face away. "And you were gone a lot longer than five minutes, ya jackass."

"Eyyyy, looker there," Lumberman reached out and gently pinched Applejack's lips, giving them a tug and playfully wiggling them. "A clean smile on a dirty mouth. Why ya gotta go and be so cute, Apple Hat?"

"Would you stop that!" Applejack shouted as she slapped his hands away, laughing the whole time. Her smile had won out, and its size matched how beat red her face was glowing.

"Okay, Party Pooper. Let me make it up to, ya." Lumberman offered, wrapping his arms around her and picking her up, and carrying her back to where they were lounging earlier. "It's tequila time. We're doing shots."

"What are you—" Applejack's mental state had flipped so fast she didn't know what hit her. But she could care less if it meant she was getting some more tequila. "Heh-heh-heh. I'm glad yer back, Woody. Starlight was hoard'n all the bottles... Trifling bitch."

Lumberman laughed so hard that he almost dropped Applejack.

"Awe, shit, Apples. Yer gonna get me in trouble for all the shit yer repeat'n." He turned to face the mass of ponies still carrying on with the festivities. "Hey! Everypony! We're gonna pregame the dance party with free drinks! Exotic drinks from the human world! Just follow the laughing Applejack!"

"The Laughing Applejack?" Applejack tried to look him in the eye, not sure why he would call her that. "Why am I all of sudden Laughing Apple-Ahhhhhh! Ah! "

She suddenly fell into a fit of uncontrollable laughter as Lumberman's fingers tickled her belly and sides. She wiggled and squirmed while trying to hold his hands at bay but couldn't escape his grip or move fast enough to keep his fingers away.

"Stop! Ahh! Woody! Ya, big jerk! Haa! Ah! Ha-ha! Big Mac!" Her plea for help was drowned out by her laughs momentarily. "Do something, ya big red idiot! Twilight! Anypony!"

"Awe," Kelly cooed, still sitting atop Big Mac's back. "They're so cute together."

Twilight suddenly concluded that she and her friends might be losing their minds. "What is wrong with everypony!"

"Don't worry too much, Twilight," Kelly said, trying to calm down the irate Princess. "Applejack is having a hard time because of what happened to me. Lumberman's been taking care of her ever since then. Just like how Mackie here's been taking care of me."

"Euyup," Big Mac confirmed with a nod.

"Woah, there, Big Guy," Kelly joked. "Don't be overloading the Princess with yer long-winded explanations. Give her mind time to breathe."

Big Mac tilted his head back, and rolled his eyes, making a goofy face to address Kelly with.

"Yer just jealous I can convey so much knowledge and wisdom with so few words."

Chris finally appeared, walking up with a tray of funnel cakes. "Hey, I got your food, guys.... Where's Lumberman?"

Big Mac turned his head to the side, craning his neck and took a bite out of the funnel cake on what he was sure was his plate.

"He's taking care of AJ, again." He answered while chewing. "I think we need tuh have a talk with her."

"Oh... damn..." Chris looked out in front of him and quickly found Lumberman carrying Applejack in his arms. "Yeah... she looks miserable."

Just after he finished saying that, everyone could hear her laughing again. Sounded like she was just told a joke and loved the punchline.

"Who should we invite to the intervention?" Chris feigned a voice of disconcerting.

Kelly reached out and took the plate for herself and Big Mac and scoffed over a laugh.

"Don't be an ass, Chris. You know how good Lumberman can be at taking care of people. We'll let her enjoy the night, and we can talk to her later." She turned to face forward, ready to join the others. "Come on, Mac. It's tequila time."

"Euyup."

Kelly chuckled through her bemusement.

"I'm going to break you of that or break my foot off in your ass. You like the sound of that?"

"Nope."

"If you weren't so likable you'd be carrying your funnel cake in your hair right now."

"Heh, heh." Big Mac couldn't help but laugh as he started off towards the group. "Then I'd just have to eat yours."

"Chris," Twilight softly spoke. "Could you sit with me for a moment? I could use your insight about us."

"Really?"

A violet aura encased the chair next to Twilight, pulling it out for him.

"Please. Have a seat."

Confused but also happy to finally have a one-on-one conversation with Twilight, Chris joined her at the table.

"So, what's up?" He asked, unsure of where this impromptu chat would lead him.

Twilight cleared a space for Chris to sit his food down and started to speak as calmly as she could.

"It's very clear that you know more about us than any of your other friends. Maybe even more than some of us ponies know ourselves. So, I need to ask if you've noticed anything out of character with my friends."

Chris darted his eyes back and forth before he acknowledged that he didn't know what she was talking about.

"Out of character, how? Like one of them might be a changeling or Pinkie Pie saying that 'laughing is overrated,' kind of out of character?"

"No," Twilight wasn't sure how to be more specific with her question. "I've never seen Applejack act so..."

"Traumatized?"

A soft sigh escaped Twilight's lips.

"I don't know if that's the right word, but she sure isn't her strong, confident self as of late. Then Fluttershy and Rarity are way too clingy on Cerb for my liking. Then Rainbow Dash and Starlight got into a fight. Even Big Mac is talking more than usual. Doesn't any of this strike you as unusual?"

Those were good points that Chris had to think about, but not very hard.

"If I was on the outside looking in from your point of view, not knowing my friends like I do, I would certainly think so. And in some ways, I want to agree with you. But, at the same time... it all kinda fits."

"Could you elaborate?"

"Applejack is strong and confident but watched Kelly get stabbed in her own house. That would traumatize even the strongest of people. Just look at Cerb, who had a friend die in his arms. That stuff still haunts him. Then consider that Fluttershy and Rarity are the elements of kindness and generosity. They're doing everything they can to try and help him through his trauma, and from what he told us today, they're actually helping him in ways we haven't been able to for however many years we've been trying."

Twilight was following along and having a hard time refuting his claims.

"Then Rainbow Dash and Starlight." Chris scratched his head anxiously. "That is partially due to them both having strong and aggressive personalities that came to a head when trying to protect me and Becky from each other. Rainbow Dash isn't one to back down from a challenge, and let's face it. She's loyal to a fault. Then for Starlight... I think she's doing everything she can to impress you and try to get a handle on friendship and what it means to be a good friend. As for Big Mac talking, he doesn't talk a lot, but it's not like he can't. He's taken a shining to Kelly, who just so happens to have that effect on guys. Just like Sniff does with the ladies."

"So... you don't think anything crazy is happening that we should be concerned about?"

"You and your friends?" Chris shook his head. "Nothing that I've seen so far. My friends have been the only ones with stuff to worry about. Have I asked you if you think Discord was involved with us being here or if he's been messing with us?"

Twilight shook her head.

"I thought the same thing at first. But I spoke with him briefly. I don't think he's had anything to do with you being brought here. And I don't think his type of magic would work on you because of where you come from... Why do you ask?"

"Something strange has been happening to my friends. Not all of us, but it's happened more than once."

"Strange... how?"

"It's really only happened to Benny, Cerb, and Lumberman. Maybe Becky, but not in the same way." Chris tried his best to remember how they all described it. "Benny, Cerb, and Lumberman all described it as losing control of what they would say. Either saying things they didn't want to or didn't mean to and then getting light-headed or sick to their stomach. Well, Benny said he felt drunk. Becky just threw up and got light-headed."

Those were concerning events Twilight would have to look into later.

"What do you think might have happened?"

Chris made an odd expression with his eyes, thinking of how to describe what he put together.

"Well, Lumberman and Becky both were drinking when it happened to them. But all four of them were really banged up when we crashed here. So... something from head trauma, maybe? Perhaps some type of bad reaction to being exposed to magic? But to be honest, I don't know. We all got slammed pretty hard in the crash, and we all were exposed to magic at the same time. And not even the alcohol factors in for all of us."

"So you haven't experienced anything like that since you've been here?" Twilight asked, fishing for any more clues he could provide.

"Egh," Chris shrugged. "Closest I could say is when I got super drunk with Starlight. But that's to be expected after chugging a whole bottle of vodka. And whatever amount between the other two bottles."

That explanation didn't line up with how Lumberman and Applejack had described how they found them.

"Hold on. I thought you drank two bottles of vodka?"

Chris chuckled.

"Nah. Starlight was drinking way too much, way too fast. So, when she wasn't looking or teleported off to grab something else for us to mess around with, I would dump some of the vodka out. But... even still. Eventually, I got so drunk I wasn't keeping track of how much I had drank. Maybe a bottle and a half at most. But certainly not two bottles. That definitely would have killed me."

"But, your blackout and odd behavior was still normal for being that drunk?"

"Oh, yeah. I'm a goofy drunk on vodka."

This conversation was a treasure trove of knowledge, but something else was attacking her attention.

"Could I ask another favor of you? And you don't have to if you think it sounds too strange or makes you feel uncomfortable, but... could you massage my back for a moment?"

"What?" Chris was shocked by the request coming completely out of left field.

Twilight couldn't believe she was requesting this here and now, but she had to know if she was going to lose the bet or not.

"I'm sorry, it's just that, I'm still not fully used to having these wings. And so I tend to get a little sore where they meet my back. I can always go to Aloe and Lotus later and have them work on it, but I understand if, given our previous misunderstandings, that... I'm sorry. That was stupid of me to ask you."

"That's right, Twilight, play the pity card," She thought to herself. "Chris already thinks you're attractive. Why wouldn't he want to get closer to you? You're a Princess for crying out loud. What pony wouldn't' want to-—

"I don't think I should," Chris finally answered. "I've never really given a massage before. And I wouldn't even know how to do it on your muscles. I'd hate to make it worse. That and... we're kinda out in the open... So it would look super weird, and you'd have ponies starting rumors or something, probably."

"Oh, right," Twilight agreed, faking a smile and kicking herself mentally.

"Plus," Chris motioned with his head back towards the group that was gathering a large crowd of ponies. "Celestia forbid that Starlight saw us and got jealous or something... She already beat you once."

"Woah. Hold on a second. She didn't beat—"

"Hey!" Chris instantly knew he just fucked up and stood out of his chair, grabbing his plate. "I'm gonna just grab this funnel and go get some tequila!"

He started back to the group in an aggressive speed walk.

"Good talk, though. Sorry about your back being sore. Good talk."

Twilight was awestruck and now sitting alone at the table. Rejected by the one human who only a few days ago said she was more attractive as a pony than a human. Not only that, he had the audacity to try and reason that it would be a bad idea because Starlight would be a threat if she got jealous.

"What is he talking about? I totally beat Starlight. She's my pupil now."

"Excuse me, Princess Twilight," Came a voice of Berry Punch with two other mares approaching the table. "We have three votes for Cream Heart to dance with Chris. Unless we can vote for ourselves."

Berry Punch turned to her friends, Miss Cheerilee and Prim Posy, with an ecstatic smile.

"Did you see how good he was with the foals? I know he's not a pony, but Button Mash could use a father figure like that in his household."

Miss Cheerilee giggled.

"Maybe we should have voted for each other. I hope he stays around long enough to see if he would help around the schoolhouse. I could use the help with the foals, myself."

"Oh, please," Prim Posy jested. "You've been on a dry spell with the stallions since Big Mac. Not that I've done much better. But let me tell you one thing. Those nubby things he has for hooves. Oh! They are fantastic. When Chris got to the part of the story where Sloth came to the rescue near the end and saved the other kids, one of the foals cheered so hard she splashed her ice cream cone on my chest. Well, he was nice enough to clean it off and—"

She shuttered with a euphoric look on her fac.

"His fingers gave me more chills than the ice cream."

Twilight collapsed on the table, her hooves covering her head as she realized all the ponies were losing their minds and she was going to lose the bet.

"It's spreading. Everypony they come in contact with.. and I'll lose, without ever knowing how good they are, because not even Chris will touch me."

"Uh, Twilight," Miss Cheerilee could see just how distraught Twilight was acting. "Is everything alright? We're not causing a problem by bringing in our nominations so late, are we?"

"No!" Twilight shouted as she shot up straight in her seat. "I'm fine! You're fine! Just... leave your nominations on the table while I got get some tequila... Lots and lots of tequila."

Without any further explanation, Twilight teleported over to the group.

"Hey, girls," Bon Bon's voice spoke behind the three mares. "Dropping off some votes?"

"Hey! There she is!" Lumberman announced as soon as Twilight popped in. "Alright."

Lumberman shifted Applejack's weight to rest more on his hip.

"I'd like to apologize for all us dipping in and out of our own welcome party. But—"

Sniff stood up next to Lumberman and stole the spotlight.

"But we wouldn't want to cut you off in the middle of such a prestigious event."

Lumberman shook his head.

"Man, if I didn't have an apple horse in one hand and a shot of tequila in the other, I'd slap the taste outta your mouth right now. And uh—" He suddenly noticed Twilight dropping her now empty shot glass and grabbing another shot out of the wing from a pegasus with light red hair. "Hey, can one uh y'all pour Jetstream another shot and inform Twilight that having a social drink doesn't mean taking the drink of a pony you're trying to be social with?"

Before anypony could react, the air chilled slightly as a breeze steadily picked up.

"Hey... Twiggels?" Sniff looked up to the darkening skies above. "Does the sky always get dark and ominous when you start getting blitzed?"

"Uhhh," Twilight dropped her second empty shot glass and looked up to the gathering clouds overhead. "Pinkie Pie, when you sent out the invitations, did you also invite—"

"GREETINGS, CITIZENS!" A royal Canterlot voice boomed from above.

Twilight sighed.

"Ya did... You totally did."

A dark silhouette shrouded in shadows descended mere feet from the edge of the gathering masses.

"WE HATH RE- I mean... We received an invitation to a 'Welcome Welcome To Ponyville party."

"Princess Luna! You made it just in time for the human pony dance party part of the night!" Pinkie shouted gleefully before dashing over with a shot glass and two arm fulls of booze. "And you're just in time for the dance party pregame. We have vodka, gin, three kinds of whiskey, oou and two more kinds of vodka, and-oops just a second vodka, this mason jar with the cherries in it is a moonshine. You wanna try that?"

"We, umm... yes?"

Cerb started laughing. Lowly at first, but it quickly rose to the point of drawing every pony's attention to see him laughing and looking directly at Sniff.

"Don't say it," Sniff asked threateningly.

Cerb lowered into a snicker.

"Sniff, they're not in season."

"Dude."

"If the game warden catches you."

Sniff was fighting a grin and blush, knowing what was coming. "I swear on Twiggel's crown that she may or may not wear, I will ninja kick you in the ding-ding."

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Cerb apologized as he rose to his feet and downed his shot.

"Don't! We're trying to make a good impression here."

"But Princess Poaching is highly frowned upon in these parts—" Cerb made a sharp turn, dove over several ponies to a clearing where he tucked and rolled, breaking off into a sprint.

"Justin!" Sniff ran through a gap the ponies made for him as he approached. "I don't care how big you are! Get back here!"

The slew of ponies watched the two fools run through festival booths, not sure if they should intervene or take cover. That was at least until they heard the remaining humans starting to laugh.

"Okay, fillies and colts," Lumberman tried to salvage the moment. "I apologize for my friends... They're just dumb. Completely harmless, I swear."

Another yell from Sniff reached everyponie's ears.

"I'm gonna tell Pinkie where to find your lever!"

Pinkie gasped.

"I knew it! Princess, hold these!"

Luna had to act fast with her magic to catch all the bottles that Pinkie dropped. She even managed to catch her shot glass of Cherry Moonshine.

Rarity gasped.

"Fluttershy! Your bet with Justin!"

"Oh, no!" Fluttershy just remembered her promise and turned to apologize to Lumberman. "I remember the new rule, but I'm sorry. This is an emergency."

Luna stood by, utterly perplexed as she watched Fluttershy take off into flight dramatically faster than she remembered her flying before.

"Should we, perhaps... stop... them?"

"Where is it!" Pinkie's voice shrieked excitedly before fear and disappointment came through in her voice. "Fluttershy! No!"

Twilight hung her head in defeat.

"No... They'll just come back as better friends." A loud crash of wood breaking and metal clanging together didn't even phase Twilight as she stole another shot of some blue drink in a shot glass from a pony she didn't even bother to look at. "To the first humans of Equestria," She toasted with subpar enthusiasm.

"To the first humans of Equestria!" Luna shouted with renewed excitement, causing the rest of the ponies to follow suit with similar volume and energy.

"By my sister's flanks." Luna eyed her now empty shot glass. "What in Equestria is this drink?"

Twilight stepped closer, feeling a little better after her third shot.

"Princess Luna, this is alcohol. Let me introduce you to the humans it comes with."

"Why you so mad all of a sudden?" Sniff asked Twilight, worried he might have upset her. "I wasn't actually going to hit'em."

"Then why did you chase after like some kind of crazy pony person?" Twilight shrieked.

Sniff's eyes slowly searched their surroundings before landing back onto her.

"Because we were both a little drunk and thought it would be funny?"

"Seriously?"

"Twiggels? Seriously... look at Cerb, and then look at me. You really think I could take him? Because lemme tell ya. Tried that once. Didn't go well."

"How drunk were you for that?" Twilight scoffed.

"We weren't," Sniff answered with a twinge of hurt in his voice. "I was still a teenager and just lost the first and last woman I ever loved."

Twilight stopped and turned back to Sniff. Her expression changed from annoyed to sympathetic. Yet, she did not speak.

Sniff mentally retracted from the conversation and winced as he took a step back, raising a hand to gesture an apology and request for distance.

"Sorry... That was a loaded response. Forget I said it. We're here to have a good time. Just... Look, I'm sorry the joke didn't land the way we thought it would. That gag of us chasing after one of the others usually kills it."

Twilight hung her head low.

"No, I'm sorry. I have my hooves full and a head full of unanswered questions surrounding you and your friends that are driving me crazy… And I'm pretty sure I'm going to lose a bet with Rainbow Dash—"

"Did you make a bet about us?" Sniff asked, not sure if he should be concerned or offended.

"No, no, no... Well... Sort of... Yes." Twilight doubled back on her answer. "It's nothing bad. It's actually pretty stupid, and I don't know why I took it."

Sniff looked around their general area. Most of the ponies had gathered around the dance floor to discuss who they thought was going to win the nominations. His friends were still at their original lounging area and were getting more face time with the Princess of the Night and Cadence. So, at least, he knew the coast was clear.

"What was the bet?"

“If humans can give a better massage than a pony, essentially,” Twilight painfully admitted.

“Well,” Sniff smirked. “At least we have some common ground in acting stupid.”

“Ugh,” Twilight groaned. “Please don’t say that.”

Sniff chuckled.

“Hey, I’m just saying. It’s a stupid bet to take. You ponies are all magical and shit. How we gonna beat that?”

Sniff’s point caused Twilight’s ears to perk up. “You think so?”

Sniff grinned, holding back some inappropriate thoughts.

“Okay, so there’s a lot of jokes about having ‘the magic touch’ or ‘magic fingers,’ but those are all just figures of speech. You all have actual magic.”

Twilight smiled warmly at the vote of confidence.

Sniff returned the gesture before turning back to join his friends.

“Now come on. We’re gonna announce the first dance partners you girls all picked for us. I hope you picked someone good for me.”

Within a few short minutes, the rest of the party booths were shut down as nearly all of Ponyville had gathered around a large dance floor laid out in the open space at the center of town. Pinkie Pie took the stage with Princess Luna and Cadance and Shining to announce the first picks.

Pinkie Pie was bouncing with excitement on a small stage with the other royals, waiting for the fun to begin. Finally, with a nod from Luna, she was given the go-ahead.

”Okay, everypony!" Pinkie called out through her megaphone. "Princess Luna will raise the moon to signal the start of the dance party, which is probably the coolest way to start a dance party! Woo! Once the moon is up, the music will start, and our first carefully chosen ponies can begin to dance. This dance will be for just our selected ponies and their human dance partners.”

Cadence stepped up to the center. “After the first dance, we will finish counting the votes you have all provided. The dance floor will be open for everypony and every human. So, if you’re lucky, you might be able to sneak a dance in. At nine o'clock, we will announce the winners and empty the dance floor for our lucky ponies.”

Luna stepped up next.

“I have been informed that as a show of goodwill, our new guest has decided to let the good ponies of Ponyville open up their hearts, as well as their bags of bits, for an auction for one last dance. To keep things fair, Princess Twilight Sparkle and the other elements have decided not to participate, as they are already overseeing the well-being of our new stranded friends and wanted to give everypony else a chance to meet our new guest. We wish you all the best of luck.”

Shining Armor stepped up for the last big announcement. “I don’t have much else to say about the dance. But Becky and her friends wanted me to let you all know that to help keep things lively tonight; they will be offering free drinks from their private stash of alc-uh… - “ He looked down from the stage to Sniff - “What’s it called again?”

“Alcohol!” Sniff shouted, raising a bottle of Hypnotic. “Free booze for Ponyville!”

The crowd erupted in cheers, most of them not knowing what they were even being offered, but it sounded exciting.

Twilight looked up to Sniff with concern. “Is that really the best idea?”

Sniff looked down with a confident smile.

“We think we know how much you ponies can tolerate. We won’t be making the drinks so strong that we have another Starlight situation on our hands… hooves.“ He smiled and closed his eyes, getting lost in the humor of it all. “We got this. Don’t worry about it. But you should probably slow down and lighten up a bit more.”

Twilight huffed, wanting to trust him. Her concerns were pushed out of her mind unexpectedly when Sniff laid a hand down on her neck just under her jaw. He rubbed her neck gently, probably trying to comfort her, but she could instantly feel the warmth and odd sensation that was resigned down through her skin and permeated down even further. Magic fingers, indeed.

Suddenly words. Words being spoken. Suddenly her name. She snapped back to reality as she realized Sniff’s hand had been removed and he was talking to her.

“You hear me, Twilight?” Sniff asked, giving her a perplexed look.

“It’s the alcohol!” She shouted out as a reflex.

“Yes…” Sniff slowly nodded. “It’s the alcohol that will get you drunk if you keep slamming shots like were. Just slow it down, and you’ll be fine.”

“Right!” Twilight agreed, trying to hide her embarrassment from her sudden outburst, but at least relieved to know that her response matched the context of what he was talking about.”

“Aight. Cool.” Sniff shot her a goofy grin while pulling his bottle out of her view. “Well, we’re heading to the dance floor. Keeping up appearances and all that.” He said with a wink.

Twilight followed Sniff with her eyes as he pushed past the sea of ponies until Rainbow Dash came into view. A shit-eating grin smeared across her face.

Rainbow Dash propped up with a tall stance.

“So… does Rarity still have your measurements, or will she need to—”

“This proves nothing!” Twilight shouted before teleporting to the stage in front of the dance floor.

In front of the stage, all the humans lined up. They all looked happy to be there, although it was clear that Kelly was favoring her left leg.

Sniff took notice and passed her his bottle.

“Funny. Usually, it’s Becky needing to liquor up to stay dancing.”

“Who said I ain’t doing that now?” Becky grinned, shaking a red solo cup knock-off, the ice and the pink fluid sloshing together.

“Alright, everypony,” Twilight announced to the crowd. We will now be announcing the first ponies to join our guests for the first dance. Our first pick for the host of much of today's events, Sniff, will be Spring Forward.

A cheer erupted from the crowd as Spring Forward pranced her way to the dance floor.

“Oh, my gosh! I can’t believe it!“ She suddenly stumbled as a disgruntled mare tripped her as she passed.

Spring Forward stumbled but caught herself and turned back with a death glare, and pointed a hoof at the assailant.

“Watch it, sister.”

“Alrighty, everypony. Let’s be nice now. You’ll have another chance,” Twilight tried to calm the crowd. “The next lucky pony to dance with Kelly will be Rare Find.”

More cheers came from the crowd as Rare Find trotted out to Kelly and gave a bow.

Twilight giggled at the display.

“Our next—”

“We shall announce the next winner!” Luna bellowed.

“Oh… um. Okay?” Twilight backed off and whispered something into Luna’s ear before she took center stage. ”We are pleased to announce that the dance partner for thee who is said to be of the wisest of our newest human friends, as well as one who can appreciate the beauty that only a mare can grow into—”

“She’s talking bout you, Chris!” Benny shouted, making Chris turn red and double facepalm.

“Ee… Yes,” Luna recovered awkwardly. “ The dance partner for Chris will be—”

“I’m over here, Princess!” Derpy jumped up, interrupting her own introduction, and flew over the crowd, much to their surprise and cheers.

Luna groaned and lowered her head, soured by the failure to give a proper announcement.

“Derpy Hooves.“ She turned and retook her place next to Cadence, who ushered Shining to the front after whispering two names into his ear.

“Hello, Ponyville," Shining greeted the masses. "I was so pleased to spend some time with my new friend. Maybe as much as Flurry Heart did. And it’s no surprise who she’ll be dancing with tonight since she started this whole idea. Can somepony help Dinky to the dance floor?”

“That’s me! That’s me!” An adorable voice gleefully shouted as it ran through a path of ponies clearing the way for her.

The tiny unicorn was so excited it was a wonder that her poor little heart didn’t explode as she ran across the floor and jumped into Becky’s open arms.

“Thank you, Becky!” She squeed as Becky lifted her up.

The audience awed together at the adorable sight.

Shining motioned for Cadence to make an announcement alongside him. She stepped up, her heart rate picking up for some reason.

Crowds weren't something to make her nervous, but she didn't let it affect her.

"Our next dancer will have the great fortune of being paired off with one whose strength of his heart is matched only by the strength he wielded against the terrors and evils of his world. Justin, tonight you will have the great pleasure of dancing with a pony I'm sure we all know. Minuette, please come dance with my good friend you've all come to know as Mr. Cerberus."

Another cheer erupted, louder than all the others, despite some of the disgusted and disappointed looks of many mares.

"Wow," Twilight went wide-eyed at the roar of the crowd that all but drowned out Cadence's voice. "When did Minuette get so popular?"

Luna leaned over to Twilight.

"I don't know how that pony does it, but she's at nearly every party and is quite popular on the dance floor." She noticed Twilight's expression of doubt. "You'd be surprised what interesting facts you can learn from monitoring so many pony's dreams."

Cadence motioned for Luna to come back up to try her shot at another announcement.

"Very well," Luna begrudgingly moved up to try again. Cadence whispered into her ear the next two with some additional information. "The next couple pleases us, as our next human shares our love of music. Fitting that he will be dancing Ponyville's finest cellist, Miss Octavia."

Luna beamed at finally getting it right and was greeted by cheers.

"It would please us if you would be so kind as to join the head of the Human Embassy, Mr. Benny."

Twilight quickly stepped up, noticing the time, and started the next introduction as Octavia nervously made her way to the dance floor.

"And last but not least, I owe a very big thank you to a person very special to me after seeing just how much compassion and understanding can mean to a friend in need. Lumberman, from the bottom of my heart, even if I'm still confused by just how you're able to do it, thank you. But we can address that later. For now, I hope you can show a thing or two to your first dance partner, Amethyst Star." She let the crowd cheer as Amethyst Star pranced her way to Lumberman. "Now, everypony, let us observe the rising of the moon."

All eyes turned to the horizon, and Luna performed her task. The moon rose with the setting of the sun, painting the sky with a rich lavender that chased away the bright violets and orange of the days passing.

"Alright, everypony!" Vinyl Scratch's voice broke the silence from her DJ booth. "Get ready for some sick beats from the human dance magic masters of another world!"

Bright neon lights lit the dance floor, and Vinyl hit play on the first track Sniff requested. A last-minute change after hearing what Chris had to offer from Lumberman. Archie - Legacy Started to play.

Oven Fresh started bobbing up and down, recognizing the song from helping Chris learn how to dance with a pony.

"Yes! I love this song!"

The crowd watched as seven ponies shared their first dance with a human partner, and everyponies attention was divided.

The first big focus was on Sniff and Lumberman, who easily brought out some of the best moves and flow of the guys. The second biggest focus was from all the stallions watching Becky and Kelly move in ways that tantalized and invoked an attraction the likes they'd never experienced before.

Lumberman and Benny held their fair share of attention from the mares, but within the first minute of the song, Chris and Derpy were slowly taking most of the attention. It wasn't from any spectacular dancing moves from Chris, as he wasn't pulling out any special moves that Sniff or Lumberman could do better. It was mostly due to the fact that Derpy was so easily matched his style and groove.

"I can't believe it," was a common phrase being repeated as they observed the grey mare dance gracefully.

"Say yes!" Dinky shouted.

Derpy turned back to Sniff. She could see something in Sniff's eyes that she couldn't recall receiving. A look she had grown used to seeing given to other mares when ponies didn't notice she was around. His eyes were warm and honest, free of judgment and pitty. It was if he was treating her like she were... normal. Maybe even special.

"Yes! Please!" She took Sniff's hand in her fetlock and shook it vigorously.

"Chirs! It's so nice to dance with you! I'm having a great time!"

"Me, too!"

Derpy stared at the strange device that showed her dance of destruction.

"What went wrong?"

"Alright," Sniff pointed to the screen. "Right off the bat, you didn't take in your surroundings. The barrel, the stool, where the countertop was."

Derpy took a quick sidestep to her right, avoiding Rare Find swinging his forelegs out from losing his balance while trying to dance on two legs. She continued the modified two-leg Pony Prance she practiced and spun fast enough to avoid Rare Find falling a second time, but this time she caught him with her wing before he could topple over and nudged him back to Kelly. Even more impressive was how she had spun herself with her back to Chris. The way she spun had her straddling his right leg between hers and was seamlessly rocking her flank against his hips in rhythm.

Chris went with the flow, laying his right hand over her shoulder and his left on her waist.

"Then you see here, once you hear the music, you close your eyes, and now you have no idea what's going on around you. It's okay to close your eyes while dancing, but only for a second or two. You don't want to do that unless you're with your dance partner and you both know what each other is doing. They're your eyes and eyes when you're not using yours."

Derpy took a moment to close her eyes and focus on enjoying just what she could feel and hear. The crowd was gone in this darkness. The other dancers vanished in the absence of her sight. The beat of the music thumped in rhythm with the rocking motion of Chris's hips against her, letting her know what space she was in and exactly where his body was. She could enjoy this moment as long as his hands were on her. Chris holding her meant he was watching the world around them for her. And those hands, they made her feel so much more alive.

"Derpy," Becky leaned in closer to help guide her on what changes to make. "You're so into the music and the moment that you had no idea where you were going or what you could bump into. Part of dancing is just letting the music move you, but you still need to know where and what is still around you. Even if you're only thinking two seconds ahead. You have to know what you're going before you do it.

Derpy opened her eyes and reached up to caress Chris's face. She moved her hoof slowly and guided it up along his chest, then his neck, until she felt his cheek.

It was just under two minutes into the song, and it died down, slowing the rhythm. She slid away from his leg, making a mental note of how much room she would need when she stepped away to start a different dance move. The music slowly started to pick up again as she panned her eyes around the dance floor until her eyes fell on Chris again. She smiled sweetly, rolling her shoulders and rocking her hips.

Sniff swiped the video away and went to the photos to bring up a picture of Chris.

"This is the guy you'll be dancing with tonight. He's a good guy and one of my best friends. Not really the best dancer, but that means he'll be doing only a few dance moves, and none of them will be too flashy or the kind you can't keep up with. Once we get you dancing on two legs, just watch what he does and use what you know to stay in sync with him. If he gets stuck making the same dance move, give him some space and make him come to you. If he does something new, it will be because he's trying to get back in sync with you. If he doesn't, meet him halfway with something different to force him to change his motions, and you'll get back into the groove together.

As Chris did his own thing and moved closer, she turned her side to him and leaned forward, swiping her tail in exaggerated swipes along with her flank. Chris flashed an open smile and turned shoulder to shoulder with her, copying her dance.

Derpy laughed; she couldn't remember ever being this happy about anything that wasn't related to muffins or Dinky.

"Yeah! Chris! Keep it moving like this."

Chris stayed in swing with her and followed her motions. She arched her back up, standing upright still in swing. As she raised her forehooves and started to swing them opposite of her hips, he did the same with his arms.

She eyed the space to her right before looking back at him.

"Now, follow me."

She turned and backed away, twisting her hips as she continued the same moves with her forearms, but added in steps that matched the Pony Prance. Chris turned and followed her lead, always keeping an eye on her hoof placement and hips to see where she would lead him.

Just as they got down with more coordinated moves, the last thumps of the sound faded out, and the song was over.

Becky swiped the picture away and restarted the song.

As Sniff backed away to the side of the room to begin the new instructions, Becky gave her one last word of encouragement.

"Chris is my friend, too. I've known him for years. So I can tell you a little secret about him." Becky leaned into Derpy's ear with Dinky still close enough to hear. "Chris really likes you and might be a little nervous about the dance tonight. He's normally shy, but if you help him fun with your dance, you'll see just how great of a guy he is."

Derpy was brimming with joy, but she had to know how well she did.

"Chris, did you have fun?" She asked over the cheers of the other ponies.

"Oh, my god!" Chris brought his hands down on his head just to have them explode way. "I've never had this much fun dancing before! You were amazing! I never knew you could dance so well. Thank you! You are literally the best dance partner I have ever had. Hooves down, Derby, you are... so much more than I could have hoped for."

She stared into his eyes. At this moment, he was all she could focus on. Perfectly focused, in fact. Her eyes somehow were properly aligned, and she saw him clearly.

His eyes were just like Sniff's when he looked at her. Granted, Chris's eyes were blue, and Sniff's eyes were brown with flakes of green, but it was how he was looking at her. Actually, there was more to Chris's gaze than with Sniff. Here, there was admiration and appreciation. His expression bore his hidden thoughts of wanting something from her. Maybe even... wanting her.

She couldn't hold it back any longer. She leapt out with her forelegs extended and wrapped them around the back of his neck. She squeezed him tightly and tried her best to cover as much of herself around him.

"Thank you-Thank you-Thank you!"

"Mom! Mom!" Dinky called out from Becky's arms. "Did you see me? Becky danced holding me up the whole time. My hooves never touched the ground!"

"Oh, sweety," Derpy unwrapped herself and dropped down off of Chris. "I saw you a little bit out there. Becky was twirling you around a lot, wasn't she?"

"Yeah!" The filly giggled. "And I saw you dancing! You were beautiful. You dance a lot better now, but I always liked your dancing, mommy."

"Ooooh," Derpy reached up with her wings for Dinky and pulled her down for a hug almost as big and strong as the one she gave Chris. "And I love your dancing, too. Now come on. Let's get you home."

"Awe. Do we have to?" Dinky asked before a yawn exposed her current state. "I'm not that tired."

"Yes, you are," Derpy cooed, and Eskimo kissed Dinky.

Dinky giggled and returned the nuzzle.

"Maybe a little tired." She yawned again.

"This was sooo much fun," Derpy said, turning back to Chris. "I really want to stay and dance more, but Dinky needs to be put to bed."

"Could I walk you home?" Chris word vomited abruptly.

"Thanks, but that's okay," Derpy answered, lifting Dinky and placing the filly on her back. "You and your friends have a whole party to celebrate. And I think you have a lot of fans who want a dance, too," Derpy finished, looking past Chris.

Chris and Becky both turned to see Miss Cherrilee, Prim Posy, Berry Punch, and a mess of other mares staring at him.

Becky chuckled, running her fingers through her hair.

"Oh, my god. Chris, you do your thing. I'm out."

Just as Becky walked back to the others, he turned to Derpy, catching her just as she was walking towards home.

"Hey... You could always come back? I'm... gonna be here all night... I think? Crap. I have no idea when this ends."

Derpy chuckled softly before giving a kind smile in return.

"Hmm. Maybe."

As she walked away, Chris finally realized the music had started up again. He followed every pony's eyes back up to the stage where a conversation had been underway.

"—enjoyed that?" Cadence asked the crowd, to which they all cheered.

Luna nudged Cadance and Shining out of the way, ready to heave the next announcement in the royal Canterlot voice.

"SO, WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, THE DANCE FLOOR IS NOW OPEN TO EVERYPONY!"