//------------------------------// // Prologue: The Meanest Girls // Story: Being Juniper Montage // by Bookish Delight //------------------------------// A young girl trudged up one of Canterlot Park's hills, narrating to herself with imaginative purpose. "Daring Do scales the grass-splotched incline with skill and grace! Normally, this would be child's play for the intrepid adventurer, but today, she's carrying precious cargo which cannot afford to withstand a single harsh impact!" As she narrated, her mind's eye gradually projected the scene in front of her. Golden bricks, frayed and cracked by the ravages of time, lined the imaginary trail she walked. Harsh, thick jungle vines littered her field of view. As she made hacking motions with her arm, and swishing sounds with her mouth, her cutlass paved the way cleanly for her advance. The girl smiled wide, excited by the challenge. She'd get the relic to the summit temple or die trying. She was Daring Do, after all. She took more labored steps forward, planting her feet as solidly into the ground as she could. "So, she takes it slow. Slow and steady. Slow, and steady, and—" "Montage!" A voice called from ahead of her. "We can still hear you back there! What did we discuss?" The vines and bricks disappeared. Canterlot Cliffs rematerialized, the path upwards now grassy, mossy, and clear as day. Juniper Montage sighed. The world was normal again. The world was boring again. She hid her disappointment through a chipper reply. "O-oh! Sorry, Suri! I'll be quieter." Ceasing her speeches for the time being, Juniper could hear three of her classmates talking amongst themselves. Juniper also noticed their outfits. While she herself was wearing suitable beige hiking gear for the trip—along with her official Daring Do Adventurer's Hat, of course—their garments were more elaborate, more suited for a frivolous day on the town than strenuous nature walks. Clearly only the most fashionable shirts, skirts and flares would satisfy those three. Juniper felt it was odd, but she wasn't about to object. Fleur, Suri, and Upper Crust were her closest friends—by which she meant, they tolerated her presence. Usually. Certainly not enough to invite her to their parties, but they did often allow her to carry their books between classes! Even that small of a privilege was more than she'd ever been able to hope for growing up. Juniper would truly miss them when the four inevitably parted for different high schools next year. She made a mental note to ask them in the near future what their next schools were, so they could all keep in touch. "Ugh," Juniper heard Fleur saying. "I can't believe even our fathers couldn't get us out of this idiotic nature trip." She saw Upper Crust nod in agreement. "Pfft. At least you two had a chance at that." Suri Polomare rolled her eyes. "My dad's always 'entrepreneur spirit' this and 'bootstraps' that. Meanwhile I've come up with three new designs this week and I can't show any of them off because I'm too busy wearing this brick of an outfit." Suri stomped her designer boot as the three reached the hill's peak. "Well, let's get this over with." "Hey, wait up, girls!" Juniper called, gasping for breath. "I'm almost there!" She knew she couldn't fall behind. Not as an official Daring Do Apprentice! The official badge she was wearing right now was direct from the A.K. Yearling Foundation, and she was determined to live up to its standards! The three girls looked behind themselves, and down the hill. "Ugh. And here comes the Cringe Queen," Juniper heard Suri mutter. Juniper wasn't offended—she admitted her own tendencies were a little silly. However, they were for greater causes! Movie stars were always eccentric. She was just accepting her lot in life early. At last, Juniper reached the top of the hill. She dusted her hands, joined the other three, and dug into her bag. "Victory!" she said, taking out her video camera. "And now, the spoils." "Oh my god, Montage," Upper Crust said, "tell me you did not bring that thing with you here." "Of course, I did!" Juniper said, doing her best not to outright squeal from excitement. "Shots like these only come around once a year! This was the perfect day to come to Canterlot Cliffs!" "Right, of course. On the brightest, hottest day of the summer," Fleur said, running a hand through her hair. "You know it!" Juniper bounced. "That just makes today an authentic adventure right out of Daring Do and the Light of Justice! Have you read it? It's the best installment yet!" "Sorry, I wouldn't know," Suri replied, with a smirk. "Oh, but my four-year-old niece might? My aunt took her to the bookstore on release day. She got to stand in line with all of the other children." "Really? Then I might've seen her around that day." Juniper walked up to Suri, and held out her camera. "Can you help me take footage, Suri? This is the perfect place for capturing some adventure." "Oh, I'm sure," Suri said, taking the camera. "Uh, so, what am I doing with this?" "I'm going to go back down the hill a little. Film me as I come up, track me, and then pan out over the view past the cliffs, okay?" She walked back towards the slope. "Trust me, the footage will be epic!" "Right. Epic," Suri said, as she and the other two girls giggled at each other. Juniper picked up a long branch, went down the hill, then started climbing back up. She used the branch as a makeshift cane, poking the ground with every step. "Daring Do was faced with the most vicious hill she had ever encountered in her entire career," she narrated again. "Not only was it steep, but she found herself surrounded by sun-scorched rock, terrible lizards, and stinging scorpions! Still, she continued, undeterred, for the treasure of Canterlot Cliffs belonged in a museum, not in Dr. Caballeron's grimy hands! Hey, Suri! Are you getting all this?" "Every compelling moment, dear!" she heard Suri call back, amidst more laughter. "Great! Undaunted, she takes it step by step, until she reaches the top!" Juniper said, planting her branch at the summit, then walking towards the cliff which would present a glorious view of Canterlot below. "The world is her oyster, and—" Passing Suri, she stole a glance at the camera, and her eyes went wide. "Hey! What gives?" "Whoops!" Suri said, poking at the black piece of plastic covering the lens. "Looks like you gave the camera to me with the cap on. Understandable rookie mistake." Her sneer showed teeth. "I did not!" Juniper said, hands on hips. "That would be a rookie mistake, and a rookie is the last thing I am!" She pulled off the lens cap and placed it back in its camera-mounted holder. "Geez. Now we're going to have to film it all over." "Oh, don't worry, Juniper, dear," Suri said. "This situation will never come up again. I promise." And with that, Suri let her hands go limp. The camera fell, hitting the ground hard, bouncing off its side, and rolling down the sloped incline. "No!" Juniper cried, helpless as she watched it bounce off several rocks, spinning on the way down. Small parts of plastic, metal and glass flew off it with each impact. The three girls burst into laughter as Juniper scrambled down the hill as quickly as she could. "Grow up, Montage! Drop the little kid stuff!" Suri shouted after her. "If you do, maybe in a few years you can shave off some of your weird creep factor! Except, you know, probably not!" Juniper barely heard Suri's words, or the raucous laughter of the girls. The camera was all that was on her mind, all that she cared about, it was her first camera, it was her only camera, Uncle Canter had given it to her, there was more than just a failed field trip movie on that tape, it had diaries, casual footage, the makings of a demo reel, her life— She made it to the bottom of the hill, whimpering as she pushed rocks aside, looking around for her camera. It didn't take long for her to find it. Or rather, what was left of it. It had had no chance—it was absolutely smashed. She picked it up, and looked inside, hoping against hope that the tape wasn't ruined, but of course, it was. Cracks, snaps, holes, every type of damage she could think of had happened. Her parents weren't going to be happy. Uncle Canter wasn't going to be happy. And they would have to take a number, because right now, she was downright miserable. Why did she think things would have turned out differently? Why did she think those girls would have turned out any differently? I was fooling myself this whole time. They didn't like me either. They never did. No one ever does. She sat at the grassy base of the hill, feeling drops, but not caring as a storm slowly broke out over the city. She cradled the broken camera in her arms, refusing to care, refusing to crack, refusing to cry. Right up until she did all three. I can't do this again. Not anymore. No more 'friends'. It... just never works. And in the midst of her crying, as the rain poured over her she heard a soft, melancholy voice echo through her thoughts: "I deserve better." Juniper looked up to the sky, the rain on her glasses blurring her view. Her hands balled into fists, resting on the muddy pavement. "I deserve to be liked. I deserve to be a star..."