High Society Stylin' with Country Profilin' (Sweet Apple Acres. Open; PM for Invite)

[SteelEagle]

They should network? Well, that wouldn't be bad, Valen supposed. He was sure that his family wouldn't mind some business dealings with her family but what the hay did she mean by network in this situation? Unless she didn't know what it meant...nah. Of course she did! She was a smart filly. Probably. And her sister was definitely smart and knew the constellation of terms when it came to high society. It would stand to reason that she too would know what it meant. She meant something mysterious. Fillies would were mysterious! Valen smiled and was about to respond when Psmith took part in the conversation, his humor making the transition easier. He smiled and poured a few cups of punch for the trio.

"Well, I'm not much of a social butterfly. Far more of a social...uhh, cat? I prowl," He took a sip, recovering from his own bad joke, "but we can still network. Uhh, families, anyway. For now, let's dance. Do you have a preference?" Valen asked, leaving it up to Sweetie. It was proper to either take her hoof into a dance or ask her to lead the way, and with Rarity right there he didn't want to seem presumptious. And did she even like dancing? Once again, fillies were mysterious creatures. Less mysterious was Applejack, who didn't have a clue as to what games or activities the high class partook in. Well, he could hopefully nudge her in the right direction. Celestia help him.

"Well Cousin Applejack, as I am sure you are aware, most soirees have dancing- to fine[i/] music- and other light events. I am sure you have quite the stock in hoof. However, often parties will swirl about based on the whims and fantasy of the one it is held, so if Sweetie Belle has any desires..." Valen left off, hoping that either Applejack would take the hint and start a nice dance or Sweetie Belle would tip her ever so cleverly hidden hand. At the same time, new guests arrived. One was a filly wearing a dress that nopony with any fashion sense would be caught buried in, let alone dead in, while the other showed a finer sensibility. A grey dress with pink lining on a grey filly in glasses. The first one had more of a look about her while the second had a set of penetrating eyes. They wouldn't be as easily amused as others, it seemed. A third filly was there as well, and she had Fet Loch flavor for days. Of course it was hard to make out their accents through the half-open door, but it didn't matter. Valen knew he'd have to play the part of host to help out Applejack who seemed a little out of her element.

"Welcome to Sweet Apple Acres, ladies. I am Valen Orange and we are delighted to have you!"

[Blueblood]

Psmith's humor seemed to have made Valen slightly less nervous about dealing with Sweetie Belle, which pleased the lavender unicorn very much. The older schoolcolt felt the sort of pleasure an uncle feels in giving his nephews and nieces help in navigating the world. It really was a pity he had no siblings; he rather fancied himself as a beloved Uncle. Oh well, it wasn't as if that would stop him from his self-imposed commission to spread sweetness and light.

Speaking of which, new guests were arriving, at the same time that chaperones were departing. Three new fillies, who would need a dancing partner if Valen's suggestion was taken. Best to introduce himself. A relatively straightforward business, but Psmith wouldn't be Psmith if he didn't take a rambling attitude towards the whole business. "Hark! What visions of beauty enter by yonder gates?" He stepped forward to get a better look at the tableau. There were two fillies, apparently friends, one of whom was wearing a dress of startling simplicity. Coming up behind them came a silver filly who was just the picture of elegance. The whole business put a brilliant idea into the lavender unicorn's head, and he acted upon it with alacrity.

With all the grace of a Canterlot Aristocrat, he bowed over the younger Sunrise's hoof and kissed it. "A true honor to make your acquaintance, Comrade. It is gratifying to know that even in the country seats, the principles of beauty and simplicity in fashion have not been pasted over with flashy vulgarity." His own dark suit, and serious tone of voice made it impossible to believe he was sarcastic, which was good, because he wasn't, really. "I only wish some fillies had your sense," And here he gave a significant look towards Silver Spoon, more in sorrow than in anger, "But really, what can one expect? In any case, if you will give me your names, I may present you to our hostess. I believe there may be dancing later..."

[Hippo]

It could have been guessed from fifteen minutes ago that Applejack was among strangers. Inside all of these ponies at the barn wearing their different attires, even the ponies Applejack knew seemed like completely different ponies on this particular day. It was important to Applejack that the young ponies were having fun. After all, it was for them anyways. She just didn't know how to respond to the fanciness that seemed to come out of the woodwork the moment the ponies would talk to each other. All of the talk from Psmith about the game ideas made Applejack nervous. Not only did it sound dangerous, but it seemed like the kind of game that is fun to spectate and not be apart of. Applejack loved to play games, but it wouldn't be the same if she was playing a game for everypony to laugh at. It didn't seem right, not at all.

Applejack rested the thought of it though, and tried to give it a chance. She, dressed in a kitchen apron, mingled a little longer to hear the conversation between the stallion and Sweetie Belle. Valen had thrown Applejack a clue to play music. It was time to dance. And just seen outside, Sunrise was coming into view, wearing what Applejack even remembers as Twilight's old dress for the gala--the one she never wore. Right away, Psmith was seen making fun of the dress, in a non-confrontational silly way, as if to say, 'welcome to the not-so-fancy-after-all' party.

Well, Applejack would have none of that. She trotted over to the music player and looked into her box of records. This morning, Applejack was able to borrow a record from another pony in Ponyville. The pony had said it wasn't her style but that it would be 'up her alley' for a party like this one. On the record, it said, 'Beethooven'. She placed the record on the spindle and moved the arm into place.

https://soundcloud.com/vahe-ghukasyan/beethoven-5th-symphony

She then ran into the kitchen. She couldn't stop thinking about the attitude Psmith had about the party. She felt that she was letting Valen down because of it. This needed to be a real fancy party. "I'll prove to them that good ol' Sweet Apple Acres can throw a fancy 'nough party for them. They wont know what hit 'em." Applejack grabbed a tray of the crackers to bring out to the party. The cracks each had a mixture of applesauce and cream cheese, a fancy hors d'oeuvre Applejack learned called chutney. Applejack would approach the ponies and offer the treat.

​

[Bramble Rose]

Sweetie Belle

Sweetie Belle was a bit confused about the question of nets... she didn't think networking was done with actual nets, but she supposed it was possible. She faltered for a response, but face brightened up considerably at Valen's suggestion. "Ooooo!" she squealed in excitement, "Yes, let's dance!" Her cheeks reddened as she realized she'd just been indiscreet. "I mean, um ... yes, sir, a dance sounds most invigorating! And I do like a fine bit of music!"

Ooooo, it wasn't only a fancy party, it was a fancy party with DANCING! Sweetie Belle was so excited! Her skirts swished as her little tail-end wriggled in enthusiasm. Music music music! And the choice of music! How *very* fancy! She extended her hoof delicately for Valen to take, her chin held high as she kept herself in control. It helped that the music was very delicate to start.

And then the strings hit three strong chords, and Sweetie Belle took the lead, tossing Valen to one side, holding onto his hoof with her other forehoof above her head... then to the other side, swapping hooves, then back to her, dipping him backwards at the third burst of enthusiastic strings. And as the strings raced on with vigorous music, she swirled Valen around in sweeping circles around the barn, a brilliant smile on her little muzzle.

​

Purple Haze

Purple bristled as Diamond Tiara's snide little comment, and what was no doubt a sarcastic jibe by Psmith. These fancy ponies with their wierd accents never said what they seemed to. Still, kicking one or both of them in the face wouldn't help matters any. Not yet. Maybe if the party got boring and they hadn't stopped, later. Besides, there was the perfect retort! Oooo.

"Aye, tha's a right proper set a' skirts," she nodded to Psmith. "An' winnae? It was given by a proper princess, wasn't it? Height a' fashion, t'be given a frock by royalty!"

She offered her own hoof to the colt. "Purple Haze, a' Fet Loch! Roit chuffed t'meet ye!" Her grip was firm, even a bit crushing, as she shook his hoof swiftly and at length.

​

[brianblackberry]

Sunrise Beach sighed, Purple was trying her best to make Sunrise feel better, but one didn’t have to be a fashionista to know the dress was anything but stylish; the fact it even clashed with her coat just made the turquoise filly look, and feel even more awkward.

At least Silver Spoon wasn’t curt with her remarks when it came to Sunrise's frumpy outfit. Maybe the silver maned filly was simply too shocked by what she saw, or maybe she wasn’t nearly as mean without her tiara wearing bestie, or perhaps, just perhaps, she really isn’t all that bad of a pony. At least her dress was really nice. Sunrise decided to throw out the olive branch in the hope that being nice would keep at least some teasing at bay, “oh hey Silver Spoon, like that is like, a totally righteous dress you have on!”

Before she could say more, an older colt came up to the pair; his odd speech and mannerisms really made him stand out. It wasn’t she couldn’t understand his individual words, they came out in the somewhat familiar pattern of what her mom deemed “fancy Canterlot”, just his dialog was pretty difficult to follow, but that was true of all those upper-crust Canterlot types. Sunrise wasn’t sure what to make of him, she didn't have the experience to "see through" such ponies' words to their real meaning like Martini Paradise did.

What really caught the turquoise unicorn filly off-guard though was this colt’s immediate focus on her! At first Sunrise though he was referring to all three fillies with his ornamental words, or at least to Silver Spoon and Purple Haze. She just looked confused and unsure as he kissed her hoof, and heaped platitudes on her. Platitudes, or condescending, backhoof mockery, it was impossible for Sunrise to tell, which only made her feel leery, but also stupid. Still she couldn’t just stand there and look dumbfounded forever, so she just went with the simplest answer, "ummmm….. like, er, thanks?”

At least her bestie defended her dress, which told Sunrise that maybe the older colt was being demeaning after all. Her mom was right when she told Sunrise that ponies of Canterlot do sometimes insult you in the most polite way possible. Still the normally feisty Sunrise Beach was in no mood to attempt a comeback, she felt far too humiliated now, “umm, like, can we just go inside Purple, please?”

It can’t possibly get any worse could it?

[SteelEagle]

The two fillies were entirely pre-occupied with what Psmith had said and had therefore completely ignored what Valen had said. He wasn't offended in all actuality, as he was used to being ignored by fillies. He always assumed that it was because of his annoying voice or his really bad coat color, and there was the fact that Psmith talked fast and smooth and ran over him like a two ton freight cart. Just as well! They obviously had other priorities than him. both were rather fetching but he had somepony whom he was charged with, and she wasn't ignoring him at all. He'd try and be sociable later- they seemed to be a bit defensive over Psmith's kind words that in his own peculiar accent came off more condescending than he meant. Knowing how to speak to your audience was mofre important than speaking well.

Good thing about speaking well and to your audience was that Sweetie Belle had a sense of class that didn't interfere with her innate charm like those who tried too hard. She seemed to have an ear for good music, Beathoofen's 5th playing in the background. It shocked Valen that Applejack had such music laying about but he wasn't going to question good taste. What did catch him off guard was how aggressively and successfully Sweetie Belle danced, assuming the dominant position through her energy. Valen found himself twirled and tossed, bent over and caught under her energetic twang. It took him a few moments to gather himself and he allowed her to remain on the dominant position until they hit one of the slower beats early on, where he assumed a more traditional ballroom stance and slowed it down.

"That was fast. You dance very well, Madame Belle. Any training or just lots of experience?" Valen asked as the gentler tones rose and he assumed a more commanding position, One hoof on the inner side of her left fore-shoulder blade, the other in hers as they relied on one another for leverage as they danced across the barn floor.

[Blueblood]

"Oh!" Psmith gave a quick cry as Purple Haze seized and shook his hoof. The outside observer might have assumed that this was resulting from the pain of her crushing grip, but not so. "I detect from your tone that you doubt the sincerity of my compliment; you wound me, comrade Haze! To doubt the honor and honesty of a gentlecolt is a serious accusation." He extricated his hoof, leaning into a more relaxed pose as he settled into his subject. "This suspicious attitude of yours, while commendable while used in defense of your friends, is not in itself creditable, and may prove destructive to potential comradeship if left unchecked. In any case, I think it unbecoming to a lady. We are rather old-fashioned, we Psmiths."

And that was, in fact, true. There weren't many among the Canterlot aristocracy who were willing to talk so finely so long, whether it was out of politeness, reticence, or simply because they didn't think other ponies worth the effort. The long-winded lord was a pony one was more likely to meet in books than in real life, yet here he was, in the flesh. However, for all his highfaluting fancy piffle, Wordsworth Psmith was not fundamentally mean-spirited or snobbish, and didn't even mind being misunderstood, as it gave him an opportunity to explain himself. At great length.

He offered his hoof to the despondent-looking Sunrise. "I apologize, comrade, if my compliments did not quite come off, I am unused to the rustic courtesies. In any case, I do admire the bold coloration, and its eminent suitability for dancing; more trailing garments tend to trip one up." He spoke, oddly enough, as one who had personal experience in the matter. "On that note, would you be so kind to grant me the first dance, once we are inside?"

Psmith's dancing was plainer, and less overwhelming, than his speech. He would lead, gradually at first, testing the filly's abilities and gradually moving up in complexity of maneuver, careful not to embarrass her by going beyond her skills.

[AlisonRose]

-Silver Spoon-

Silver looked around at the party-goers and wondered to herself if she was really that strange to be seen mingling with blank flanks and other astute pony folk.

"Oh yes, Sunrise! Thank you very much. I actually bought it on one of our family outings. It was rather a good buy if I might say. I brought an extra one in case I get a stain on it, but if you want to change into it instead of...you know...that one? I wouldn't mind to lend it to you." Silver nodded to her bags, inside of the saddlebag was folded very /very/ neatly the exact copy of the dress she was wearing except in a more blue hue of color. Surely it would look good on Sunrise if she ever even tried it on.

"Oh and if you do even try it on you must come out and do a model for us! I'm sure it will look stunning on you." Silver was trying to not be the same bully she was to these ponies at school but she couldn't block out all of her mental reflexes as she looked around and saw the other Fillies and Colts looking at her with these strange expressions on their face.

Inside the barn she saw a few more ponies she recognized and tried to keep a big bright smile on her face.

[Hippo]

Applejack didn't seem to have any immediate takers on her apple chutney, which made her think she might have to advertise them in front of them, and maybe give them a little taste test. No one could refuse an apple treat on Sweet Apple Acres. Just as Applejack was about to approach somepony, the record ran out of time. Applejack hurried over to the record, and quickly put on the next readily available, not really paying any attention to what it was. When she turned it back on and set it to the beginning, she picked the tray back up on her head and trotted quickly to Valen and Sweetie Belle, who to Applejack's surprised were dancing fairly fancy.

With no regard, Applejack was so eager to have Valen be impressed by the chutney that she crammed one of the crackers into Valens mouth from behind. "Hey guys, I made this here treat. It's called chutney. Try it!"

https://soundcloud.com/user1473476-1/the-parts-of-a-pony

​

[brianblackberry]

Judging from Purple Haze’s reaction to the dark purple young stallion’s words, Sunrise beach started to conclude that he was indeed being insulting in a backhoofed way about her dress, and possibly because she currently lived in Ponyville too. Sunrise wasn’t used to humiliation; she was seen as generally pretty, nice, and a great athlete. The one aspect of her life that ponies could easily make fun of, her current struggles to both read and write, she meticulously kept hidden. If Purple wasn’t there, she’d may have already just ran away back to home, no matter how bad it may have looked.

Just as the young filly was feeling her lowest in a while, both Psmithe and Silver Spoon surprised her. For the colt, if he was still being insulting using some complex wordplay that Sunrise couldn’t understand, he sure was being flattering about it. “Umm, like, err… Like, you don’t have to call me comrade, just like, call me Sunrise Beach… Or Sunrise”. Comrade felt like such a strange word, like something stallions of Stalliongrad call each other because they were buddies; not something you would use at a dance; she knew that much at least.

Silver Spoon’s kindness also caught the turquoise filly off guard; offering a spare dress the silver maned filly had in her saddlebag. Sunrise didn’t really know Silver Spoon, and what she did know can mostly from the Cutie Mark Crusaders, who painted Silver as either a bully or an accessory to the bullying of Diamond Tiara. Not that Sunrise had to worry, she was older, and thus bigger than either filly and far more athletic, which definitely gave her a distinct advantage physically, which may explain why she never received any bullying from the pair. Still, it never hurt to try and make more friends; even if it was unlikely the dress would fit. “Oh like, that’s a bodacious dress Silver Spoon, but like I think I will stay with this dress the princess gave me.” She leaned in closer, “like, between you and me, it’s totally lame-o and rather grody, still wouldn’t want to disappoint her.” Truth was, she’s switch if she could.

What finally changed Sunrise’s mood was Psmithe’s offer of a dance. Maybe he was seriously complimenting her after all. Why go through this much trouble just to make fun of another pony, right? Besides, she liked the idea that older colts would find her attractive; she wasn’t some little foal anymore! Sure he wasn’t Soarin’ but he would certainly do for one night, “like er.. I would umm… Would certainly be honored, uhhhh. To have the distinctive company of this dance?” That sounded Canterlot like, didn’t it? Ugh, why was their dialect so complicated!

Surise beach look Psmithe’s hoof and followed him inside; maybe this will turn out alright after all.

[Blueblood]

At last, the dulcet words were having their sweetening effect! Psmith never liked seeing ponies feeling down when social convention was geared towards keeping the mood bright and the countenance happy; it rather spoiled the artistic effect. He continued to pontificate on matters of style, both literary and sartorial, as he and Sunrise made their way into the barn. "Well, Sunrise, if you prefer, I shall endeavor to make the effort. Nonetheless, I do believe there should be a respectful term of address for one's equals, equivalent to the ma'am or sir we give to adults. I am an egalitarian myself, but what cause is that to let politeness slip in value? The crash of that stock would beggar many a socialite, and I shan't be the cause of a social recession."

And that was the thing about the lavender colt; as one would guess from his full name, Wordsworth Psmith, he was much more comfortable with words than most ponies, and therefore could use more of them without clogging his mental processes. This did actually very little for communication, however, as many of his teachers had valiantly tried to point out by marking him down for turning in 14-page essays when only 7 were asked for. In his defense, the brevity and casualness of Sunset's style would have sounded just as jilted and unnatural in his mouth as formal speech did in hers. He was too much of a gentlecolt to point that out, however.

"I should be delighted, com- Sunset." He bowed to kiss her proffered hoof. "Ah, and if I have neglected to mention it before, you may call me Psmith. That is, P-S-M-I-T-H; the P is silent, see also: pterodactyl, ptarmigan, psionic." They entered the barn just as Applejack put on the new record. As they paired up to do their darndest to dance to the song, the unicorn leaned in with an amused expression. "You shall have to lead; I am unfamiliar with the steps to this particular dance."

[Bramble Rose]

Sweetie Belle

Sweetie was grinning like a loon at Valen. "Oh, well, Mister Orange, I thank you for your kind compliment! I have taken some classes, indeed." Not these sort of dancing classes, just ballet, but she enthusiastically made do! "You, yourself, are quite light on your feet, as well!" She rubbed her muzzle against his shoulder in a shy little affection, and then suddenly Applejack was there, interrupting their dance and shoving food into Valen's mouth.

"Um... well, thank you, Applejack!" she said, a bit hurt ... "I'll try a bit of that, as well!" She took a cracker with chutney and took a dainty bite. "Mmmm... as delicious as ever, Applejack! Quite a fancy treat!"

​

Purple Haze

Purple listened carefully... no one seemed to be saying rude things... quite the opposite. But she couldn't help but feel that the other horseshoe must surely be about to fall. Silver Spoon being nice? Mister Fancy over there actually liking Sunrise's dress? Was this some sort of her big brae's alternate-dimension mind-control weirdo stories that he liked?

...

Well... she wasn't going to let her paranoia get the better from her. She peered uncertainly at Silver Spoon, as she reached out to pick up one of the crackers with Apple Chutney on them, and softly asked, "Why are ye nae bein' a big bully-pants loik ye usual self?"

Then she blinked, looked down at the half-cracker in her hoof, and ate the other half. Her tongue came out to lick over her lips. "Mmmm! This is roit tasty, Applejack! Nae e'er et sommat like it afore. Could use some more spice tae it, but roit tasty! Oi'll need tae get th' recipe from ye!"

​

[RarityDash]

Rarity was hovering about, trying mostly to stay out of the young ones' way while also watching over them as a chaperone. She had lost some faith in the party due to Applejack's somewhat rough way of preparing things for the evening. She was still somewhat anxious about standing behind it to be entirely fair, but she wasn't going to get in the way of anyone's good time, much less her own darling little sister and Valen. As it were, things were going perhaps a little better than expected in the end. Applejack had selected fitting music and was doing a good job of serving the hor d'oeuvres. Maybe things would go acceptably well after all.

It was with those thoughts that a familiar sight caused the unicorn mare's stomach to drop. It was unmistakable. One of the guests, a filly, was wearing Twilight's old, awful red dress. Why? Where had she gotten a hold of that drab thing? Surely Twi would have just thrown that down once Rarity had gifted her with real dresses to wear. Why would a pony be wearing it now? Rarity moved in to hear more, as this pony had an exchange with one of Sweetie's schoolmates, a filly named Silver Spoon. Some words stood out.

​

“Oh like, that’s a bodacious dress Silver Spoon, but like I think I will stay with this dress the princess gave me.”

Rarity felt her heart almost stop. What in the world was that silly pony thinking? Surely Twilight knew better than to implicate poor innocent fillies in such obvious fashion crimes. It just wasn't right. Rarity hated to interfere, but something had to be said. Unfortunately, Rarity was too slow. Before she could react, the poor filly had went off and joined a dance with a familiar colt. She had to admit it was something of a surprise that such an unfashionable dress wouldn't repel all the colts. Maybe it was okay after all. Sure, it stood out like a sore hoof, but... that was fine right. Rarity stumbled back awkwardly, not really sure what she should say or do. It was probably too late to do anything without being rude now. She just gave an odd grimace and turned around. She'd have some words for Twilight later. For now, she'd just drift around, waiting for the complete collapse of the event she felt was evident.

​

[SteelEagle]

Looks like charm school tutors after school were working well for him! Compliments were received well when they were both honest and delivered kindly, not backhooved or with too great an impression. She was certainly light on her hooves too! He wondered what dance training she was referring to. As quick as she moved, he had it narrowed down to jazz or ballet. And seeing as the local music scene wasn't all that inspiring, probably ballet. had she ever seen some of the great ballets? She should. She'd really like them! The ballet organizations in Manehattan were high class. Something he should definitely talk to Rarity about, even if he could just as easily assume that Rarity would approve of her sister's greater cultural awakening.

And his plans weren't made worse by her nuzzling him. Unexpected but definitely not unliked, he smiled broad with a bit of blush. Well, the night was going very well so far. So exceptionally well that by Valen's Law something bad was bound to happen. But after a moment nothing had happened, so he ventured to say something sweet despite her speech being a bit odd.

"Well madame, you-" He began before Applejack stuffed chutney on crackers into his flapping maw, silencing him with deliciousness. He almost choked on it at first, eating it only to prevent his untimely demise. Valen's Law, indeed. He choked it all down and gave a few breaths, giving Applejack a look like, come on, really, I'm with a filly. Like, totally, what, come on now. Seriously. And the music- it was one of those grade-school sing-a-longs. Applejack, stop. Applejack, stoooop.

"That tastes delightful, cousin. Ever have Chutney before, madame Belle?" He said through a cheshire grin, his eyes darting from his cousin to the record. Hopefully she'd get the memo.

[Hippo]

https://soundcloud.com/user1473476-1/the-parts-of-a-pony

As the song continued playing, Applejack couldn't help but notice the look Valen gave her when she had him try the snack. It was almost like he wasn't happy. Was the cracker the wrong kind? Was masking the chutney out of apples too, too- oh, whats the word? Pedestrian? No. Pedantic? Yes, pedantic! Shucks. "Oh uh, sorry. Um I'll just leave ya'll to yer dancing. Here, I'll turn the music up." She walked over to the record player and turned a knob to increase the volume to fill the room. And with everypony coming towards the dancing area, Applejack just couldn't help herself. "Yeehaw!! Everypony getta dancin'!"​

[AlisonRose]

-Silver Spoon-

Silver was taken a bit aback at Purple Haze's remarks.

"Just because I am a school bully during the day time doesn't mean that I don't have other things that I enjoy doing more. For one thing I do love fancy parties and get-to-gethers. I think every filly should go to a formal function as this it would help them see the sort of life that can be oh most exciting." Silver said still with a slight smile on her face. She tipped her head up and looked around for some juice, surely there was some around here. She settled for punch and poured some into her cup and slowly began to sip on it. She would have to take it slow or else she would simply just drink it all, this was some very well made punch.

"But alas I didn't bring a dance partner, if only Valen was here I could have danced with him." She lets out a soft sigh before she looks over to see Applejack and Valen. What in the world of Equestria was he doing here, right now, and didn't tell her?

[brianblackberry]

Sunrise beach didn’t have a response to Psmith’s comment on the proper way to refer to her at first, why call her anything else but Sunrise if she said that was what she wanted to be called? What else would he say? Miss Beach? That would sound so ridiculous! His reasoning didn’t make any sense, least of all because she really couldn’t follow what he was saying in his justification; it was just a jumble of fancy speak. Why do Canterlot ponies need to talk Fancy instead of just normal Equestrian anyway?! Despite Sunrise’s lack of understanding she didn’t want to ruin what was shaping up to be a good moment by complaining, instead she gave a broad smile; abet an awkward one born of confusion.

She followed the unicorn colt into the barn as he pronounced his name for her, at least this way she could get it right. What the hay was a pterodactyl or a ptarmigan though? She didn’t want to ask lest she look like a foolish little foal. “Like, cool, well thanks for asking me to dance Smith, er, unless you like, Mr. Smith or some fancy thing.”

They didn’t have to wait long for the music, and Psmithe looked both bemused and unsure as he asked her to lead. Well, why not. The turquoise unicorn filly grinned and started prancing in place, her hooves rapping quickly over the floor, her hips swaying to make the skirts flare out as she shimmied and danced. The music wasn't familiar, but the rapid beat fit in just fine with the island dances they'd used to have out on the beach, in the dim light around a blazing campfire in the sand. Hopefully he would be able to follow without any trouble. “Just like, do what I do Smith and you’ll like, be awesome at it too!”

[Blueblood]

Being an aristocrat means that you are never embarrassed. Having hokey educational songs being blasted into your ears and (rather delicious) apple chutney being forced into his mouth was hardly the most awkward situation Wordsworth Psmith had faced. He fancied himself quite the stoic, and, short of a full-blown changeling invasion, nothing in Equestria had yet been found to faze him.

"Mister? I hardly fancy myself worthy of the title. It's derived from 'Master,' don't you know? It's use brings some rather unfortunate implications. Psmith, the single syllable, will do, if you won't call me 'comrade'." While the 'P' in his name was technically silent, there was a slight inflection in the way he said his name, just to indicate that it was there. He would normally insist on proper pronunciation, but that would not have been in the best taste just about now.

Sunrise began dancing, and Psmith followed her steps and motions as best he could. He could move with a kind of languid grace, once he got the hang of it. "I must say, I am glad we have got beyond gender conventions; I should never have guessed the proper sequence of movements. Non-intuitive, one might almost say avant-garde. Or perhaps I have been rusticating; yes, that must be it. The cry goes 'round the music halls, 'Psmith is a perfect square! His moves are all old news, and his musical knowledge three weeks ago!'" He was having a blast, actually. There was nothing he liked better than to talk, and to talk so fine in unfamiliar circumstances gave him the same pleasure that an explorer on safari would feel if he managed to keep his teatime in the jungle. The civilized had been tested, but not given way to the wild!

Plus, the filly he was dancing with was cute, could dance well, and let him talk as much as he liked. For a night, he asked nothing more.

[Bramble Rose]

Purple Haze

Purple peered at Silver Spoon suspiciously. "Oi dinnae think there was an 'on th' clock' fer bullyin'. A bully's a bully, where oi'm from, an' jes cause ye're nae bullyin' now dinnae mean ponies aren't still hurtin' from what ye've done tae them. If ye're nae here tae bully, then fine, but step outta line..." She let it go unsaid. But Purple Haze wasn't one to tolerate bullying. She could grit her teeth just fine when she, herself, was being bullied, but if Silver started making her friends feel bad...

She pointed her hoof at her eyes, then at Silver, then walked away towards the snack table, to be polite. "Oye, hi there, Applejack! An' Applejack's friend! Purple Haze, nice tae meet ye! Ye've a roit nice lil' bash ye've got on here, aye? Oi hope me skirts are fancy enough! Oi've nae got that much a' wardrobe, jes' th' one dress, but it's good enough fer family, aye?" She smiled brightly as she picked up one of the chutney-covered crackers. It felt so WEIRD not having brought some dish to share, but apparantly one didn't do pot-lucks at fancy parties... she gave a sniff at the chutney, then a bite. "Mmmm! Now that's nae a bad bit a kip, aye?" She tossed the rest into her mouth, along with another two or three crackers that she scooped up. "mmnmmnnn!"

​

Sweetie Belle

Sweetie shook her head to Valen. "I don't believe so, Sir." Oh no, what if that sounded like she wasn't fancy enough? "At least, not such that would compare to this Chutney - other Chutneys hang their heads in shame and change their name when they meet this Chutney!" She let out a soft little delicate laugh.

Sweetie's smile grew a bit less so as she realized what she was listening to. This wasn't a fancy song! This was borrowed from Miss Cheerilee or something! She remembered Miss Cheerilee playing this song in class! Fooey. But still, at least there was good food, and ponies seemed to be enjoying themselves, and her dress and Valen's suit were dazzling! As her big sister Rarity sometimes said, fancy parties were about being seen. Or something like that.

She gently took Valen with her. "Well, time to be seen," she said brightly, and nodded to Applejack. "Thank you kindly for hosting us tonight, Miss Applejack! It looks like you've put a lot of effort into this party!" Then she stepped over to where Silver Spoon was standing around, looking a bit ... well ... alone. As much as it made Sweetie's jaw clench that the bully was at this party, the look on her face was... awwww, Sweetie just didn't have it in her to stay mad, even at Silver Spoon. "Hello, Silver!" she said brightly, making an effort to put on a (maybe slightly too big) smile. "Why, I wasn't expecting to see you, tonight! How lovely that you could make it, after all!"

​

[SteelEagle]

The pair continued dancing for a short while, Sweetie Belle taken in well by the wonderful chutney. Applejack was a baker without compare and knew how to soothe the raging fire of a pony's appetite with the sweet taste of her country style. It was delicious and that subtle taste of something new and fresh was great compared to the still high quality Manehattan treats found littering the stores. It helped forestall the mounting disappointment in Sweetie's face as she realized what they were listening. Celestia only knew what was going through Applejack's mind when she started to play this song but Valen knew above all things it was a poor selection. What WAS she thinking?! A quick glance over as she whooped and hollered and dance revealed more about her musical tastes than Valen ever wanted to know. Hopefully Rarity or somepony else brought the musical part of the equation back in line with Equestria before it all went downhill.

But he doubted that could happen with Sweetie Belle as his partner for the night. She had too much energy and excitement! She grabbed him and dragged him along with her, which was a common theme in his relations with fillies and mares.. First they congratulated Applejack, and all was well on that front he supposed if she was having a good time, odd music or not.

"Yes, you're doing a fine job. Uhh, interesting musical arrangement and all, madame," he offered with hidden desperation, hoping against hope that she would catch his meaning. He doubted that however.

Next they came upon a silver filly, and he could feel Sweetie tense up in a subtle fashion for a second. Valen hadn't been in Ponyville for long at all and couldn't quite place the filly at first. She was cute but had a certain air about her of arrogance, and her cutie mark started to match her to what he knew of her cousin's life. Was this Silver Spoon? Ahh, it was. They had met briefly before. For a pony who appeared to be a righteous bully she had not necessarily much trouble for the blank flank from Manehattan. Sweetie was overly nice, so he'd be a bit normal- her huge smile was pretty funny though!

"Welcome to the party, Silver Spoon. Did you bring anypony?" He asked politely, scanning for another colt.

[brianblackberry]

Sunrise Beach, danced and swayed happily, hoping between her rear left and fore right legs down and vise versa. She was actually having an enjoyable time, despite the dress, and despite the music being a bit hokey for her taste. After all, the oldest colt at the party wanted to dance with her, with her! Sure he was really hard to understand, but he seemed to like her so he must be intelligent in all the right ways! Sunrise only felt embarrassment over the fact she struggled to follow what the purple-gray unicorn was saying much of the time, but hey, he didn’t seem to notice, so she figure she could play along and just give him the cutest smiles of approval, her braces clearly showing. “Like, um, I promise not to call you master or comrade, Smiiiith.” You weren’t supposed to use the ‘P’ at all if it was silent, right? That is what she remembered from school at least; why did grammar have to be so hard!

Understanding Psmithe only got harder when he talked about the music. Although he was an alright dancer, at least when it came to chutney, his words only became more confusing. What the hay was an “Advent Garden” anyway? Sunrise wanted to ask but at the same time hesitated because she didn’t want to look stupid in front of the first colt to ever ask her to dance. The life of a filly was truly full of social fraught!

Suddenly the older colt switched subjects; at least Sunrise thought he did, when he began to talk about being a “square” on the dance floor and old news. Finally! She knew what that all meant; sure “square’ was really old talk done by old mares like Abby’s sister and junk, but at least she could finally respond, and with encouragement! “Oh, like, you are dancing fine Smith! Like, this music is just really like, dorky, they like play it at my school sometimes.” Ugh Sunrise, why did you say that? Now it sounded like she went to some little foal’s school, which was kinda true, but she didn’t want him to think that! “Uhh, like I meant when I was younger and junk; they don’t play that er, foalish music for us anymore, we’re waaaaaaay too old for that! Maybe we can ask the chapy-rones to change the music; you must know some really totally tubular ones!”

Smooth!

[AlisonRose]

-Silver Spoon-

Silver gave an odd look to Purple as she stood there and in some foreign language touted about once a bully always a bully but for Silver Spoon there was days off. Sometimes her 'days' off would be more of a five minute commercial break then she would be right back at it and other times she could go a whole week without causing too much trouble.

"Well I am glad that you have nothing better to do at a party then watch me. That makes me feel extra special Purple Haze." She flipped her braid behind her and only had a moment of reprieve before she noticed Vallen coming closer and closer to her.

"Ah, thank you for your kind welcome. However no I did not bring a guest with me to this function." She dipped her head a bit in a semi-shame. Silver had come all this way to attend the dance with no one to dance with.

[RarityDash]

Rarity continued to make her rounds of the party, practically in a daze. Sure, not everything was going perfectly. There were some definitely unfortunate dress choices, and she still intended to give a certain princess an earful about what she was forcing onto young ponies, but all in all, she supposed it wasn't going horribly just yet. There was nothing too shameful. There was nothing inexcusable happening. It was all unfolding well enough to not offend the dressmakers sensitivities. All was well, or as well as cold be.

Or at least it was until Rarity found herself paying attention to the music selection again. It had been fine before, she was sure of it. Somewhere, somehow, however, it had all gone just horribly wrong. She was aghast at what she was hearing. What even was this? Even Pinkie Pie would have the good sense not to play such a charmless thing trying to pass itself off as music, she was convinced. it was just awful beyond words and if left to fester it stood to engulf the entire occasion whole, leaving not a shred of anything that could legitimately be called fanciness or respectability in tact. it needed to be stopped and it needed to be stopped now.

"Excuse me," Rarity said, as she not so subtlety headed for the record player. not even looking at Applejack, who was no doubt responsible. This needed to be corrected and it needed to be corrected now. There was no time to be particularly civil about it. She stopped the record player mid song and quickly removed the record and tossed it aside.

She began at once to shuffle through the stack of record nearby, but was not especially quick to find something suitable. Violins were an instrument of class in most cases, but when re-branded as "fiddles" and battling for attention with banjos and other such things, the result was hardly something suitable for a formal function. As it were, most of Applejack's records would better soundtrack a barn raising than anything even approaching what this event was supposed to be. The only classical piece she was seeing was the one already played. She couldn't very well play it twice, and they couldn't very well have no music when there was supposed to be dancing all around.

Cautiously, tentatively, she stepped toward Applejack. "Forgive me, Applejack, dear, but is this all the music you have...?" she asked, suddenly more than a little uneasy.

​

[Hippo]

Compliments from Purple and Sweetie Belle reassured Applejack that things were going smoothly. And her snacks she had made special for this occasion did not disappoint at all either. Even Valen was gracious for everything that was going on. He even spouted a quick comment about the interesting music. Interesting music must have been a good thing, Applejack was worried that maybe it wouldn't actually work well, since her collection isn't actually all that extensive, at least for fancy parties.

When Applejack decided to let loose and dance a little, she acted shortly like a crazy mare dancing alone at a couples party, and she hadn't even had any cider. It was all quite amusing until the music stopped with a screech of the record. Applejack stepped a couple dance steps mutely before exclaiming. "He who killed the music?"

After walking over to the record play, Applejack saw that Rarity had removed the record. Was it really that bad? "Oh come on, Rarity, I know it's not your hancy fancy gala music, but it's all I got." Applejack wasn't stupid, she knew her tracks were lacking, but she really had no choice. "Well, there is Big Mac's private collection of his own a cappella solo tracks. But other than that, that's about it. What would you suggest?" Applejack didn't have anymore music. And she would suggest something, like a large collection of family instruments that is kept in the barn's attic, but Applejack would never suggest it knowing rarity would turn it down simply by knowing the location of where it's stored.

​

[Blueblood]

Noble birth was only the first, and least important, aspect of an aristocratic class. The whole culture of nobility was not so much based on blood as culture, a seemingly endless series of passwords and shibboleths designed to weed out the riff-raff, and both would change with the fashions. If the tests remained constant, the commoners might figure them out, after all, and the whole business would be for naught.

The upshot of it was, that even when a pony of the upper class and a pony of the lower class were alike free enough of snobbishness and class-consciousness to enjoy each other, they rarely understood each other. In fact, a lot of what was called snobbishness among the upper crust might be more accurately called shyness; a lack of comfort among ponies whose manners one did not know, and whose language one could not speak.

But if there was one thing Wordsworth Psmith was not, it was shy. He could take any company with equanimity, and was never at a loss for words. "Is that so? If it is dorky, it is at least free of dullness, which is the main charge against the music of my alma mater, Canterbridge. Or rather, should I say, former; my father is sending me to a different school in Manehattan, in an attempt to make his son mix with all classes. This party is, as it were, a way-stop upon my journey into exile at St. Mareson's." He spoke breezily enough, as if it were nothing unusual for a parent to kick their only colt out of the house, with the expectation of not seeing him again for at least a year, and leaving his care and upbringing in the hooves of perfect strangers. But, not every aspect of upper-class life was entirely enviable.

"In any case, let us not embarrass the hostess; one should save backbiting until one is out of range of thrown plates, as some guests of ours at home once learned to their disadvantage." He ended the dance, and bowed the Sunrise. "In any case, thank you for the lovely dance. I believe I shall have to spread my company over the course of the evening, unless your friend would prefer to dance with the filly in Silver?"