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

[shiningkindness]

"Actually, Tango has been around a lot more. He'd left for a little while after that day when they worked it out, but he came back and has been hanging around ever since. He's even been helping me a bit, like Ballet does."

[talkyourwayout]

"So you have two awesome familiars, and I have exactly one rat," Louie commented. "Yeah, that seems fair."

He was only playing around, though. He was starting to grow really fond of Cash.

[shiningkindness]

She can only shrug to that. "Well, it helps that Tango and Ballet are...dating now?"

She wasn't entirely sure how courtship between familiars work. Do they date like people do?

"Though I really wish he'd stop stealing wine..."

[talkyourwayout]

Louie echoed the gesture. "Yeah, but come on, I th- Wait, he steals wine?" That was... Weird. "Huh, well, at least he's stealthy? That'll probably come in handy."

[shiningkindness]

"I mean, I suppose...I'm still trying to get him to stop doing that, though. Even if he really likes wine, it's no excuse for stealing."

[talkyourwayout]

Have you met my brother yet? I think you two would get along.

[Seriously, why does everyone with the cool familiars think there's a problem with what makes them so cool?]

[shiningkindness]

Oh, you mean Huey? Yes, we've met. We're actually housemates.

[talkyourwayout]

Oh, I guess you guys would be, yeah.

[Fluttershy's usually in those blue robes, too.

He's totally not jealous that she's in a house with his brother. Nope. Shut up.]

[shiningkindness]

Uh huh. Though we actually first met when we were both taking part in the research, and that's when we found out we're in the same house.

[Which is strange, because you'd think she'd notice a duck person in the same common room or something.]

[talkyourwayout]

Oh, gotcha. [Louie sighed, which was pretty much his reflex to the mention of "the research" by now. At least it hadn't been risky this month, though.] Oh man, you were asking Huey questions and stuff? You must've heard a lot.

[shiningkindness]

[She nods.]

I did hear quite a bit! [Not that she sounds like she minds all that much.] But he also asked quite some questions about my world too. He was really interested hearing about the magic from my world.

[talkyourwayout]

Yeah, he's like that. Huey's really into knowing everything about, well, everything.

[Louie doesn't get it, but it's fine. To each their own, as long as he isn't dragged into it too much.]

[shiningkindness]

I have a friend back home who loves to learn about all kinds of things too, and is really smart. She and Huey might really get along.

[talkyourwayout]

[He gives amused snort.]

Yeah, that sounds like the kind of person he'd love to hang out with.

[shiningkindness]

[She can't help a small giggle.]

I bet they'd spend a lot of time studying.

[talkyourwayout]

Oh, definitely. And reading for fun.

[shiningkindness]

And making checklists for the books they want to read.

[talkyourwayout]

Definitely. Huey makes a checklist whenever anything needs to happen; it's kind of crazy.

[shiningkindness]

[Fluttershy giggles.]

Twilight can be like that too, especially when she's a bit stressed.

Once, she made a checklist for all the different lists she needed to make.

[talkyourwayout]

Oh, Huey kind of just breaks when he gets too stressed.

[shiningkindness]

Poor Huey. Does he get stressed easily?

[talkyourwayout]

[Hmm, how to put it?]

I guess so? But he tries to stop himself. Huey's kind of the adult in the family.

[Technically, he means out of the three brothers, but even counting Donald and Scrooge, sometimes...]

[shiningkindness]

Oh, I see. That's a lot of pressure to have.

[She knows a bit about taking care of younger siblings, being the oldest one herself. So she understands how difficult it can be sometimes.]