//------------------------------// // The Competition Is Fierce // Story: Little Stars // by Shadowmane PX-41 //------------------------------// "Attention, students. May I have your attention please?" Principal Celestia took a hold of the microphone as the entire audience turned to face her and Vice Principal Luna. "I am very glad to see that so many of you chose to come to this year's Fall Formal. Especially after the last couple of years we've had..." She was met with a blank silence for a few seconds, with one person letting out a small cough. "B-But enough about the past. Now, we need to look forward to the future, and that future is deciding who gets to wear the crown for this year's Fall Formal!" "So, may I ask that all of this year's participants please step up to the stage now?" Luna swiftly snatched the micrphone from Celestia. "We wouldn't want to keep your audience waiting now, would we?" "That's our cue," said Applebloom. "C'mon, girls. Let's do this." The CMCs, Diamond and Silver, as well as a few other contestants came up to the stage, all dressed up for the contest. They had the looks, they had learned the acts, and now was the time for them to bring it all together underneath a sea of stars, with a crowd of watchful students piercing into them every step of the way in the hopes of winning the crown. Applebloom was about to wave at the crowd, when someone on the stage caught her eye. One of the contestants looked well over her twenties, and wore what looked like a wedding dress and gown. A small little flower hairpin could be seen hanging just behind her face, and she had a tender smile on her face. "Ms. Cheerilee?!" Applebloom's eyes went wide when she finally put all of the pieces together. "Why are you in this contest as well? Ain't it supposed to be fer the students?" "Oh, Applebloom. This isn't just a game for teenagers you know." Cheerilee couldn't help but let a small chuckle slide from her lips. "Plus, I'll have you know that I've seen a couple of strapping young men who are really into this sort of thing these days. Almost like it's a bit of a second life for them. I think they called it... LARPing, was it?" "LARPing?" Applebloom scratched her chin. "It stands for Live-Action Roleplaying, Applebloom." Sweetie Belle tugged on Applebloom's shoulders and whispered softly. "Button Mash taught me about it when he invited some of his buddies over for a game of Ogre and Oubliettes a few weeks back." "Still, that's Ms. Cheerilee! She's way older than us and she's competing in a contest for teens!" Applebloom threw her hands in front of her and the others. "Shouldn't Celestia and Luna have a rule against this?" "Yeah! We should go up to them right now and tell on her!" Scootaloo tightened her right hand into a fist. "It doesn't matter how good she is, it's still unfair to have one of our own teachers playing against the students." "Actually, you three, Celestia and Luna pulled a lot of strings this year to get me in on the contest this year. In fact, they said that the contest was open to anyone this year." She gave the girls a wink and blew them a kiss. "Don't worry. I'll be sure to go easy on you." The crusaders just hung their mouths open as Cheerilee smiled and fluttered her lashes at them. Of all the things they had been expecting tonight, none of them could have predicted in a million years that they would be in a cosplay competition against their own teacher. "Now, I know that some of you are new to the concept of cosplaying, but we don't want any of you to feel worried or intimidated by any of this," said Celestia, regaining control of the microphone. "In fact, I hope that tonight's Fall Formal is a great induction for you all into this exciting new world. Maybe after this, some of your own passions for this kind of stuff will be ignited." "Celestia, a moment of your time?" Luna grabbed Celestia's shoulder. "I think we still need to have a discussion about this whole thing." "Luna. You always do this." Celestia's smile melted into a small frown as she turned towards her sister. "Every year when the Fall Formal begins and we get our competitors, you always want to steal the show while I'm telling everyone how it works. Don't you have your own business to attend to?" "I still think that it's a very outlandish idea to have cosplaying be the main theme of the Fall Formal this year." Luna lowered her brows. "You know as well as I do just how weird this idea is; having people make their best recreations of their favourite movie, video game, or animated characters. It's like this place is more of a Fall Casual with the way you've decided to go about it." "Luna!" Celestia quietly growled. "Can't you just have a little fun for once in your life?" "I have to spend the entire evening organizing the papers you neglect to finish, as well as making sure that Canterlot High's stock is all safe and secure in the event that we get burgled. And only then, when all my own paperwork is finished am I allowed to lock up." Luna took a step forward and pressed her chest against Celestia. "So, no, Celestia. I can't have any fun. And neither should you. We are principals. Are we really just throwing our namesakes to the ground like this?" "Luna!" Celestia's voice grew louder, and it reverbated on the microphone to the entire audience. Now, all eyes were on them, and it wasn't in a good way. Both of the adults were bathed in a spotlight and their faces quickly contorted to looks of surprise as they turned to the crowd again. In a flash, they stood upright and sweated, forcing large grins. "Uh... I think we'll let the contestants get ready now. In the meantime, I'll hand you back over to our resident DJ, Vinyl Scratch." And they both stormed off backstage. As the music started up again, Applebloom took the other crusaders behind the curtains with the others following suit. Cheerilee, Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, and the others all gathered by the two ends of the stage, standing right by the doors as they waited further instruction. "Hey. Is it just me or did Celestia and Luna seem a little bit off tonight?" Applebloom watched the two principals trudge down the hall mere split seconds before the door closed. "Ya think somethin' might've happened to them?" "Oh, don't worry about them, Applebloom." Scootaloo shook her head. "People argue all the time. I'm sure they'll work things out eventually." "Yes. But instead of focusing on them, you should focus more on winning the contest." Diamond Tiara gave the crusaders a snarky look as she took a small red lollipop and plopped it in her mouth. "Because I've got my role in the Fall Formal's contest hands down. This year, the crown belongs to me and Silvs!" "Yeah! You girls haven't got a chance in heck at beating us. We've got this all locked up." She brushed her back against Diamond's and leaned back, lowering her glasses for a brief moment. "But don't feel bad. I'm sure that you'll be in with a chance next year." "Don't count yer chickens before they hatch, Diamond Tiara." Applebloom put her hands on her hip. "Ya'll never know. We could pull it out of the bag this year and ya'll might be in last place." "Uh, that's statistically impossible." Diamond crossed her arms. "Even Trixie agrees with you." A student with silver hair and a purple star hairclip approached the five girls. "You three are dressed up as the Dazzlings; the most infamous people in CHS. Why, Trixie wouldn't be surprised if you three came last place this year." "Well, everyone loves a good villain, right?" Sweetie Bell shrugged and kept the smile on her face. "Plus, it's like Applebloom says. You shouldn't think it's in the bag until the contest ends." "Girls... One day, you're gonna find out that works both ways." Diamond took a lick of her lollipop and put her hands behind her head. "Still, you're really putting yourselves at a disadvantage here with dressing up as the Dazzlings. Good luck in trying to win the contest, though. I won't hold my breath, but it'd be cruel of me not to be a good sport." "If you do win this as the Dazzlings, then I'll be impressed." Silver Spoon nodded. "I mean, it's gonna be pretty hard trying to take their names and do anything good with them after the stunt they pulled here." "Exactly. Silver says it all, girls. You're up a creek without a paddle dressing up like them this year," said Diamond. "This isn't me being mean personally, but I do think that it's one of your worst ideas to date. Even more so than when you tried that career uploading music videos." "Hey! It's not our fault that none of us can afford some of that fancy editing stuff the pros use!" Applebloom stomped. "I would continue this, but then I'd just be wasting my breath for the actual contest." Diamond walked off with Silver close behind her. "Still, though, good luck, girls. You're gonna need it." "Like, REALLY, going to need it," Silver added. Applebloom felt the sweat running down her forehead as Diamond and Silver left her and the others alone. No matter how many times she wanted to deny it, she knew that it was the truth. The three of them had their work cut out for them, and Diamond and Silver had just reminded them how easy it would be for them all to fail. Now, to the three of them, every second of their act mattered. If there were any faults, then it'd just make the gap between winning and losing even harder for all of them. "Don't let it get to you, Applebloom." Scootaloo snapped her out of her trance with a simple pat on the back. "We've already got all the parts we need. The acting, the hairstyles, the attention to detail..." "Now we just need to bring it all together and we should be able to win this easily." Sweetie Belle smiled. "Just don't let the competition get to you before the contest." "True, true. But let us not forget the most important thing with trying to act in a contest such as this. Enjoy it." Trixie smiled as she watched Celestia and Luna return to the stage at last. "For it might be the only chance you have in the limelight. And if you squander it, then you may never get another shot. That is why Trixie will not waste this chance. This time, Trixie will win over the crowd easily, and become one of the most popular students in all of Canterlot High!" "Uh huh, because the Battle of the Bands was such a big break for you, wasn't it?" a nearby student snickered. "Hey! Trixie heard that, Lyra! Don't think that she won't be done with you after this!" Trixie yelled at the student, who was dressed in a full body suit of a green horse. "Ahem. Pardon my little outburst, girls." She turned back to the CMCs. "But Trixie is still determined to get at least some form of fame in this world." "Don't you think that fame is a bit unhealthy for you, Trixie?" Sweetie Belle lifted a brow. "Sure, it might seem good at first, but even some of the big rockstars out there have big issues or scandalous news articles about themselves." "Trixie is aware, and she chooses not to listen." She crossed her arms and gazed out to the crowd of students once again. "It doesn't matter what kind of hardships she might face. When Trixie becomes the winner of the Fall Formal, everyone will have to listen to her. It will be a glorious time for I, the Great and Powerful Trixie!" In her moment of ecstasy, she locked gazes with Sunset Shimmer and the Rainbooms. Then, she hid back behind the curtains. "Well... at least in school hours, that is." "C'mon, Trixie. Suck it up." Scootaloo grinned. "We all know we're never gonna be on Sunset and her friends' level. They've only saved the world, like, four times now! Try topping that." "I'm well aware of Sunset Shimmer's exploits, but let's not forget that she had a rocky past as well." Trixie walked up to the wall and propped her foot up against it. "Honestly, I think she's the perfect example that proves that fame can be good for you, but only if you know how to use it well. Otherwise, it becomes something of a curse, and that's not what Trixie wants at all." "Yeah. Fame can be a bit of a double-edged sword at times." Sweetie Belle sighed and put her fingertips on her forehead. "Behind Countess Coloratura and Sapphire Shores' success, I can only imagine what kind of problems they must have these days... Schedule conflict, family issues, their record deals having trouble with them..." "While Trixie is admittedly a narcissist, she too knows the troubles as well as the pleasures of fame." Trixie tugged at the collar of her red vampire robes. "Still, we must all grin and bear it. You don't want the fans to know that you're unhappy with your fame and prosperity now, do you?" The CMCs were now thinking hard about their position in the contest. Was fame and fortune really all cracked up to be as they believed? Or was there something else hidden deep beneath the surface that they had yet to discover? Regardless of what the answer was, they had allowed doubt to sink back into their minds and knew that they would not have much time left to choose, as the first contender for the Fall Formal's contest took the stage.