Chapter 1
When the letter came in the mail Galaxy Star and her parents were thrilled. It wasn’t every day that a filly was chosen to take the test at Celestia’s school for gifted unicorns.
After weeks and weeks of practicing and waiting the moment had finally arrived. She was finally going to leave her old town in Van Hoover and finally see something new, something waiting for her to discover, Canterlot.
Taking cautious steps, they stepped off the train and saw the tall peaks of the castle in the distance.
Galaxy squeed in joy as they rounded the corner and gasped at the sights before her. Rows and rows of important looking ponies walked the streets while various random sales ponies lined the aisles with a mission to sell there unknown product. “Whoa, this is incredible!”
Her parents laughed at her excitement and watched her wander around the area, her nose crunching up every once in awhile to show her uncontainable excitement.
After some more random wandering, it was finally time to meet with the leaders of the school for her audition.
Taking her hoof in hers Galaxy’s mother smiled softly and pulled her close before whispering. “Now go on, make us proud.”
Smiling back Galaxy hugged her mother with great force and nodded her head aggressively. “I will Mommy.”
Unfortunately this audition was something that she had to face all on her own. Certain rules rejected parents or guardians from watching because of distractions to the audition process.
Opening the door to the school she gulped when she saw nothing in the empty space. She at least expected a couple students but to her surprise the halls were free of any filles or teachers.
Galaxy turned her head and found a large door with the name “Auditions” on it and decided that was a good place to start.
Creaking the door open she slowly stepped inside and found what she was looking for. Sitting at the desk was one older looking ponies who was busy writing down something which Gal assumed it was important.
She moved forward and looked at the older pony whose eyes were now on hers. “Hello, I’m here for my audition. My name is Galaxy Star.”
The mare seemed to be bothered by her question though as she just looked back to her book before muttering. “Through there.”
After a moment of uncertainty Galaxy nodded her head and moved to where the pony had said where she found a bunch of older colts discussing something.
Jumping slightly, the oldest colt spoke first. “Galaxy Star?”
Nodding her head once, Gal took a step forward. “Yes, that’s me.”
The atmosphere in the room seemed very unwanted, like she was bothering them in unspoken way. It honestly made her a bit uncomfortable.
The second colt pulled out a large stack of papers before pointing to a large flower pot next to her and stated. “Your task is to turn this seed into a large flower, like the packet stated. Begin.”
Galaxy smiled slightly at their instructions and thought about the spell she had practiced over and over again. She certainly was confident.
Beginning her spell she pointed her horn towards the flower and a small spark of magic appeared, zapping the pot.
The object lifted up as the pot shook before creating a large beautiful lily.
Breathing heavily Galaxy looked up at instructors in apprehension. She was pretty confident on her work but was slowly dashed when she saw the look on their faces.
They looked somehow unimpressed by her work even though she had done exactly what they had asked.
After a brief moment of silence the oldest colt stood and talked down to her. “Miss Star was it? You do know the assignment was to turn the pot into a sunflower. Why is it a lily?”
Looking at them in shock Galaxy took a step back and thought about the words in her instruction packet over and over. She couldn’t remember anything that said the flower had to be a sunflower, but maybe she was mistaken?
Stuttering a bit she answered their question. “I didn’t read anything about a sunflower. I thought it was just a flower.”
The instructors shook their heads before pointing to the door halfheartedly. “Could you give us a moment?”
Not really having a choice, Galaxy stepped out of the room but moved next to the door since the room wasn’t that large to begin with.
Thinking about what could've wrong she begin to hear the muffled sounds of the instructors discussing everything that she had feared, her.
The voices carried through the frosted window as she made out the voice of the oldest colt. “I don’t think we can accept her.”
The walls around her came crashing down as a hot ball grabbed onto her throat and squeezed it. This couldn’t be. She thought about her parents just outside, awaiting the words of her acceptance.
The other colt replied with a low “I know, I don’t believe she belongs here.”
Choosing not to listen to the rest of the conversation Galaxy closed her eyes in pain when a soft clicking could be heard and the door began to open.
They gestured her to come in at she faced her judgement. “Galaxy, we’ve been talking and we don’t believe this school is the right fit for you.”
Cutting them off Galaxy raced forward and spoke loudly. “No please, I can do it. I’ve been practicing for years. I know I belong here.”
Looking between each other the colts nodded their heads and handed her a piece of paper. “The most we can do is offer you a trial spot in the program and at the end of the year you can take the test again. If you pass after that then you will be fully accepted.”
Not liking the compromise but knowing this was the only option she had, she accepted it. They all came to an agreement and soon she was alone again.
Standing in those dark hallways, her mind her running at a billion miles per minute. She was certain that she would be accepted as part of the school and now, she had to go out there and tell her awaiting parents that she failed.
Even though the school had allowed her to be in a program on a trial period, it still felt like she wasn’t wanted, like she didn’t belong.
But as soon as those feelings came, she tried to make them disappear quickly. She loved magic and she certainly wasn’t going to let those teachers make her feel terrible. She would show them that they had made the wrong call. She would show them that she belonged.