Dance Dance Reprobation

[magicademymods]

The Twilight Ball Arrival The Promenade has been transformed. Literally. With Modification. Ha ha. Cough. Crickets. Toad familiars eat the crickets. Circle of life. Animals bow before singing lions. You get the idea. Neither tree nor stone form the Promenade now. It is instead a long bridge over a shallow and brilliant pool, the gentle ripples of which catch the afternoon sun and scatter it into a million highlights that play over the Great Hall, the bridge, and those who walk down it. There is no formal receiving line, merely a gentle procession of people across the bridge at whatever speed feels comfortable, slowly making their way to the Great Hall. The Great Hall itself has been enchanted to be completely invisible while one is inside it, save for the outline of doors so people can actually find their way out through means other than smacking their noses into the invisible walls till they find a place with no resistance. Thus the twilight for which the ball is named will show all around the dancers, while they are protected from any errant breezes, faint hints of rain, or slime monsters that might otherwise threaten the festivity. Come in. Find your date and get comfortable. The fun is just beginning. Let the Revels Begin After Headmaster Birony welcomes everyone with a speech about she's going to get on her boat, go upriver, and kick that sonuvabitch Bison's ass so HORDT that the next Bison-wannabe is gonna feel it, the dance formally begins with a peppy number designed to get people out and moving. The orchestra here comprises some of the finest players available anywhere in the world, thanks to the whole Valhudor shtick and graduates of said house, and the music is infectious as it drifts through the slowly-darkening air. But as the dance progresses, they play something for everyone. Martial waltzes and slow dance ballroom numbers. Powerful tunes to lose yourself in, and gentle melodies that slip beneath conversation and encourage intimacy and closeness. Professors Trammel and King treat everyone to an exhibition of what an Earth resident might call 'swing dancing on amphetamines' and many students do call 'the closest I have ever come to death'. No pause for speeches, no announcements or interruptions -- just a steady stream of music, bringing dates and lovers together in dance, as the sun sets and casts the room into gentle and romantic twilight. Also a dolphin and a whale are swimming through the floor and they, too, are unmistakably dancing. If this is the weirdest thing you've seen all night, you need your eyes checked. "Food! One of the food tables has been discreetly slid against a wall, where it positively shudders under the weight of a massive buffet open to everyone. The food here tends towards the light, such as fish and vegetables, cucumber sandwiches and thin-sliced meats. Things that will give you energy without weighing you down, so you can keep dancing till the dawn comes. At one end of the table, an owl the size of a cupboard sits on a perch, serenely watching the varied drinks laid out for consumption. 'Spiking the punch' is so cliche that no one is going to pretend it won't happen or the students will behave on their honor, so here you get a chaperone. Even so, this whole area is a popular gathering spot for those between dances or partners, drawing steady attention throughout the night. Meanwhile, Elsewhere Shockingly, not everyone has found that loving feeling, asked out an attractive someone, and gone to the dance with romance on their minds. The rest of the campus, and of course Anastara itself, remain open as normal... and perhaps even less-minded than normal. The faculty, the familiars, the cleaning golems -- almost all attention is on the dance itself. If there's mischief to manage, now would be the perfect time... or just something else besides wallflowering and missing out. Wait, Wasn't There a Ghost Dragon and an Off-Brand Shoggoth? Professor King managed to find a way around the protoplasmic ooze's resistance to magic and splatted it (with no small amount of help from students and faculty!). The dragon disappeared into the caverns beneath the Magicademy. That certainly isn't ominous and won't inspire anyone to go down there, will it? Don't fall in the river down there. Please don't fall in the river.

Comments

[woo_oo]

"Get along? Nay - they were mortal enemies! It was Tango that challenged Ballet in the first place."

Back to the story proper...

"Fluttershy, to who dear Ballet belonged to, was thrust into panic, searching for her familiar! We teamed up trying to locate the beasts, and found them just as Tango had delivered a devastating blow! We took out our wands, ready to fight back... but it became clear that we could not interfere. To make matters worse, Tango suddenly thrust at us a letter we couldn't decipher! What were we to do!"

[areasontohope]

"Mortal enemies?" He's even more lost now but is more than willing to hear this story to the end.

And as the story went on, the one thing that stuck out in his mind was that Ballet was Fluttershy's. And while he's not sure that he understands this story or if it's even real, he had to ask.

"What happened next?"

[woo_oo]

"All hope seemed lost. It was if everything we did only made Tango angrier and angrier... until Fluttershy came up with a brilliant idea - spell of communication, so she could translate all the chirps and squeaks! I was ready to defend her, in case of trouble, but with one flawless work of the wand, she heard every word..."

A triumphant flourish, and big spin!

"... Turns out Tango wanted to ask Ballet to this dance."

[areasontohope]

"She's..really that good?" And the day that Fluttershy had basically saved him from that plant flashed through the silver-haired mind. It was the day he was just going out for a walk and hadn't thought to pack his wand. He had no idea that the plants had suddenly come alive and were on the prowl.

Yuki had just tried to wrestle the thing because that's all he had to keep it from bothering Fluttershy, but she'd pulled out her wand and helped him out a lot.

So his head turned towards the swimming pair after Webby did her spin. He was certainly glad he didn't have to go through all of that to ask Fluttershy to this dance.

Turning back to Webby, he tried a smile. "At least their story seems to have a happy ending."

[woo_oo]

"Yep! We explained that Tango could just ask Ballet normally, Ballet accepted, and there they are."

A happily ever after, in the strangest way.

"It's the perfect love story. Dancing, love letters, and swords!"

[areasontohope]

Yuki paused, thinking about Fluttershy. He'd had no idea she was such a great wizard already, but then how could he have known?

"A perfect love story involves swords?" This is strange to him but here in this place where just about everything was strange, maybe Webby was onto something here.

[woo_oo]

"It does in my humble opinion." Webby said with a sweet little smile, as if she hadn't said anything weird at all. "If you ask me, every proposal should be with a sharp weapon instead of a ring. That's much more useful!"

[areasontohope]

It was something he'd never thought of, but a sword instead of a ring? That really might depend on the people involved, so he's not sure about that. He could see both but not a sword over a ring.

"Is..that how they do things where you're from?"

[woo_oo]

"Nah, they still use rings." Said with a little shrug. "Which I guess is nice, but commitment means sacrifice and if you ask me, nothing says sacrifice like a ceremonial dagger."

[areasontohope]

At this point, Yuki almost choked on the bit about sacrifice and daggers. This sounded like something Hanajima would say so maybe he shouldn't have been all that surprised to hear something like this in another world.

Webby hadn't had that effect on him yet though, and for that he was grateful. He looked back at Tango and Ballet for a moment and then back to his companion.

"You never know, you might find someone like that here."

[woo_oo]

Now it was Webby's turn to be completely thrown off. She blinked wildly, confused.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

[areasontohope]

Turning back to Webby, he shook his head.

"I'm sorry that I wasn't clear. I meant that you might find someone who thinks as you do."

After all, everyone got pulled from their homes and ended up here.

[woo_oo]

"Oh!" That made more sense, but she gave a half shrug. "Maybe. I... know I can be pretty weird. I'm still learning how to... act normal around people."

[areasontohope]

"Well, some might consider it pretty weird to be in another world."

And at least (or he didn't think she did) she couldn't turn into something else if hugged.

[woo_oo]

"Actually, this isn't the first time I've done that either." That's just the Duck family way at this point.

[areasontohope]

He couldn't help but stare at her for a few moments while trying to digest this information. Webby's freshly spoken words swirled around in his head for a few moments before he could come up with something to say.

"It..it's not?"

[woo_oo]

"Oh, no way. Going on adventures with Uncle Scrooge means never staying on one place for too long, and sometimes that includes your own dimension, like the time we played mystical golf and were followed by murder ponies."

She says casually, as if all they were doing was discussing the weather.

[areasontohope]

"Your own..dimension?" Really he's trying to absorb all of this but being able to do such a thing and not being out of sorts is totally throwing Yuki off here. Even the Tango and Ballet story seemed tame compared to this.

"Mystical golf and murder ponies?" Somehow he's pretty sure that he's heard it all now.

[woo_oo]

Well, if it's another story he wants...

"Uncle Scrooge and his business rival, Flintheart Glomgold were playing against each other, and we all got teleported to another realm where if we didn't finish the course, we'd all be turned into stone."

[areasontohope]

Yuki wasn't looking for another story. But it would be rude to not listen to Webby and so he did.

"So you finished the game and went back home."

At least he's figuring that's how the story ended.

[woo_oo]

Aw, but he cut out the best parts! Oh well.

"Yep, and we got a really neat trophy for it! And Uncle Scrooge and Dewey got to bond, that was nice."

[areasontohope]

"I'm glad you got home safe. But traveling to other worlds doesn't bother you?"

In his eyes, Webby had to be pretty resilient and brave if something like this didn't faze her like it didn't seem to.

[woo_oo]

"Why would it? Adventures like that are the best! I want to travel to every single world there is!"

Just talking about it makes her so excited she begins bouncing on her heels.

[areasontohope]

"Well now that you put it that way, I wonder how many there are."

A moment passed before he had a thought.

"I suppose we can always look at the library."

[woo_oo]

Oh boy. She seized onto that idea - and his hands - right away.

"Do you want to study in the library together?"