//------------------------------// // Auditions // Story: The Way of the Play // by PonyPixel //------------------------------// Being a part of a theatrical play is fun. You get to be very creative with the works, wearing elegant costumes, get to be confident on stage, and more. It tells the audience a tale that they heard or not heard of. Sometimes, being part of a play is a tough job. Memorizing the lines of the role you’re playing, practicing choreography, lights & sound management, etc. It’s a very hard job. She did an impressive job for one pony, but her choice of the role is something that she complains about. One bright sunny day in Ponyville, three creatures were walking down the pavement. There was a crystal pony that had violet fur and curly blue mane that matches her eyes. The second was a hippogriff that had orange feathers and a crimson red mane. The third was a tall dragoness with red and orange scales and short horns, with another one on her snout. These creatures were respectively known as Diamond Shine, Coral, and Pyther. They were each carrying their own bags with them and they all stopped outside of the Ponyville Dance School, which they’ll be taught to do ballet. “I still can't believe I'm doing this,” Pyther sighed. “What are you talking about?” Coral asked. “I mean, my parents are going to be all over this. My mom loves it when I try new things, but I wish she didn't have to make it look like I'm the next Dragon Lord.” Pyther and Coral stopped their tracks for a while. “She doesn't really have that many places where they could get a good view. Besides, this is our first time here.” “Yeah, you’re right.” The hippogriff and dragoness looked to see Diamond Shine had already walked inside of the school. “C’mon, let’s go.” Following her inside, the crystal pony had already taken out her leotard, tutu, and slippers, all of which were colored pink. Pyther and Coral did the same thing as well. Coral's ballet uniform was gold while Pyther's was black. While they’re waiting for their dance teacher to come, they stretch their arms and back as a little warm-up to them. The ballet students were a little surprised to see foreign creatures were here trying ballet for the first time, especially Pyther since she’s a dragon. After doing some stretching, their dance teacher walked into the room. She eyed the two non-pony students, something she wasn't used to. Still, she focused on the other students and spoke up. "Good afternoon everypony," she said, standing in front of her students. "I understand that this is your first time that you are here to learn ballet. You've done some stretching and now it's time we learn the basics. I'd like to see how good your senses of balance are." The students were instructed to hold onto the rail attached to the wall. Many of the ponies there had a bit of struggle to keep their balance, and so was Coral. "Come on," she muttered. She held out her hind leg and she wobbled a bit. Pyther appeared to be having an easier time than the hippogriff, who had a theory of this. "You're lucky you only walk on twos." "I'm having a hard time too," Pyther stated. "Don't you have to keep a good balance to fly?" Both girls turned to Diamond Shine, who didn't look to be wobbling at all. She had more experience than the rest of them. "How does she make it look so easy?" Pyther tightened her grip on the railing, which gave a low groaning sound. Letting go, she saw that she had bent the railing. “Hehe. Whoops,” she chuckled with guilt. The teacher and students looked at the damage that the dragoness had caused. Pyther felt very embarrassed and the teacher was far from pleased. On the walk home, Pyther wasn't feeling too happy. Coral and Diamond Shine could see she was still down so they decided to help cheer her up. “Don’t feel bad, Pyther,” Coral stated, wrapping her arm around her waist. “It was just a railing. It's not like you broke the wall.” "I know," Pyther responded. "I still felt bad though. I don't see how Diamond Shine could make those moves look so simple." "I've been doing ballet for more than a year," the crystal pony explained. "I don't think the teacher can even think of other creatures aside from ponies doing pony activities." The dragoness felt a little bit better as she began thinking about other things related to non-pony creatures. "That got me thinking. What do you think that dragons would do if they were to try working here in Ponyville?" "Oh, uhh… I think they'd be good for heavy-lifting jobs," Coral guessed, "like in construction working, they can carry a ton of cement bricks, steel poles, chains, and so much more. If the yaks were working there, they would just break things they're supposed to move." "Yeah, they may be prideful and strong, but they’re not the smartest creatures," Diamond Shine admitted. "Still, some of them may surprise us," Pyther commented. "I mean, did you expect Smolder to have a liking for dresses?" Coral just simply shook her head as this thought still was surprising to her. When they had returned to school, the three girls could hear some conversations down the hall. Investigating, they could see plenty of students surrounding the bulletin board. Getting a closer look, they could sign up with some heading reading, "The Mare & The Monster." "Sweet, they're starting auditions?" Coral asked. "Yeah. Looks like it," Silverstream confirmed. "You wanna sign up? I bet you’ll be good there on stage" Pyther and Coral were about to sign up if it wasn't for Diamond Shine pushing her way through to the bulletin board. She signed up, taking up two lines, making the students a little irritated. "I'd say yes," Pyther said. "It should help knock someone down with a peg." She and Coral managed to get through the crowd in a much nicer way than the crystal pony and signed up for auditions. They took a look at some of the other names that had signed up. Some of which were surprising. Coral took a closer look at the names, and she saw Yona’s name there, which makes her feel surprised. “Hold on,” she exclaimed. “Yona signed up as well?” "I know," Silverstream admitted. "I signed up too." “Nice.” She pointed to her name but some of the students weren't able to get to the sheet and sign up. Pyther and the hippogriffs got out of the way and began talking about what the play was even going to be about. "So, what's The Mare & The Monster about?" Pyther asked. “It's about a prince who gets cursed into a horrible monster,” Silverstream explained. “The only way to break it is to get a kiss from a beautiful mare.” "Sounds kind of simple," Coral admitted. "Well, so does did the school of Friendship," Pyther chuckled. "Then, we get buried under a mountain of homework. I'd rather get a thrashing from the Dragon Lord. Or even my dad." "It's still going to be fun," Silverstream noted. "Our parents will be here to see that." "How will the dragons get a good view? Our parents were as enormous as a castle in Canterlot." “I'm sure our professors will find a way,” Silverstream said in a positive mood. “Anyways, how was your first ballet class?” Coral and Pyther looked at each other feeling a little embarrassed. "Ehhh… It could've gone better," Coral admitted with an embarrassed chuckle. "Still, you could say that Diamond was a show-off," Pyther whispered. Both girls giggled a bit as Silverstream was just a little confused. A few days later, the students were minding their business until the P.A. was turned on. "Attention all students," Starlight announced. "Auditions for the Mare & the Monster will be held later this afternoon. Those who have signed up meet me outside in front of the school. We're very happy for all of you who’ve signed up to show off your talents, and we'll also be happy to see what you can do." After hearing that, the students were getting excited. "It's about time," Coral commented with a grin. "I know," Pyther agreed. "I can't wait to see what it's like to be in a pony play." “Me too. I always wanted to show off in front of an audience.” Both girls looked over to Diamond Shine, who was walking over to them. "You're going to love it," the crystal pony said. "We've had plenty of shows back in the Crystal Empire. I am a natural in them." "How do you think we're going to do?" Coral asked. "I'm sure that you'll be great. Still, there are a lot of students in this school. I recommend something that makes you stand out." This got the dragoness and hippogriff thinking. While they thought about standing out, other students that had signed up were talking about the auditions. Grace, Gleaming Pearl, and Frida, a griffon, hippogriff, and yak respectively were chatting about it. "I'm really curious about this story," Pearl spoke. "So am I," Grace agreed. "We never had good nor interesting stories like that back in Griffonstone." "Yak wants to see if pony stories as good as yak stories," Frida spoke. "Yaks have plenty of stories to tell." "I’d love to hear them." The girls walked past Pate, a blue and yellow changeling, who was walking with his girlfriend Shimmy Shake. "You really think I'd be a good actor?" the changeling questioned. "I'm sure you will," Shimmy Shake reassured. "I'm sure acting is in a changeling's blood. I mean, you shapeshift all of the time." This managed to bring a smile to the changeling's face. "Thanks. That does make me feel better." "That's what a cheerleader does best." She planted a kiss on her boyfriend's cheek, making the changeling blush. "Besides, it'll help you come out of your shell. No pun intended." “I get it.” The two chuckle for a bit and carried on down the hall as there was another group of friends talking about the play. Sandbar was surprised by what Gallus had to say. "You signed up?" the colt questioned. "Yep," the blue griffon shrugged. "I don't see why I shouldn't try out." "Okay... I mean... Silverstream signed up too. Maybe you two could get the lead roles." This got Gallus thinking about it. "That... She'd probably like it. I mean, she was obsessed with stairs. You think we're going to dress up as furniture?" "Probably." "How will that even work?" "I heard that somepony dressed up like a disco ball." This sentence made Gallus speechless before he erupted into laughter. "Yeah, I know." Later that day, students who’ve signed up were brought up to a stage. Starlight, Sunburst, and Rarity were sitting in front of the stage and had a list of the students' signatures and one containing the different characters in the play. They would have the students read off a line of fiction of their choice or just come up with something on their own. Each students were at the off right wing of the stage and would go in alphabetical order, starting with Coral, since she starts with a C. "You think I can do this?" the hippogriff asked, feeling a bit agitated. "You'll be fine," Diamond Shine reassured. "Now, break a leg." Coral took a deep breath before she walked onto the stage and looked at her professor and head ponies. “Good afternoon,” she greeted. "Alright, Coral," Starlight said, " You’re the first one here. Do you have something that you could reenact?" "I know about this story. I've heard it back in Hippogriffa." "Okay, you remember the lines?" "I think so." "Alright. Whenever you're ready." Coral took a deep breath and cleared her throat. “The storm looks like it's clearing up. We can still make it.” She then took some steps back as her expression changed from excited to scared. “Oh no. Hard to starboard!” She started stumbling to indicate that the metaphorical boat was losing control. With a jump, she singled that she went overboard and fainted. After a couple of seconds, she got back up and looked at the three ponies. “How was that.” "That was impressive," Starlight commented. “You did pretty well, especially with the emotions.” Sunburst wrote down some notes as Rarity looked at the character sheet. The hippogriff smiled and then walked off the stage. Diamond Shine was happy for her friend as she went next. "Hello," the crystal pony said. "Hi, Diamond," Starlight said. "Okay, I've taken a look at the script and I think I've got it down." "Very well. Just start when you're ready." Diamond Shine nodded before she started acting, or more accurately singing. “Little town. A quiet village. Every day, like the one before.” The students at the right wing were surprised by her starting with a bang. “She really wants a good part,” Gallus guessed. “Am I right.” "No doubt about it," Pyther agreed. They just stood back and watched as Diamond sang her heart out. The three unicorns were admittedly impressed. Singing while dancing to her own voice, the crystal pony soon came to a stop at the end of her song. She simply took a bow then walked off the stage. "Break a leg you guys," she said. Silverstream, who didn't fully understand the stage term, was confused. "Why is she wanting us to get injured?" she questioned. "It's an expression," Shimmy Shake stated. "It's a stage term for good luck." "Why don't they just say 'good luck"?" The cheerleader pony simply shrugged. Diamond Shine sat down with Coral, who had decided to watch the rest of the auditions. "How do you think the others are going to do?" the hippogriff asked. "Hmm, I'm sure they'll do alright," the crystal pony shrugged. She just stood back and was curious to see how the other students were preform. There were some who could act, some that needed a little more practice, and in the case of the yaks, some got carried away. Such as when Frida's Yakyakistan stomp knocked a trap door open and she fell right in it. It was a mixed reaction from most of the creatures. Some laughed, most of them were worried, but the yak was fine. Soon, Gallus was up. However, he and Sandbar wanted to do their audition together. Sunburst thought about this. "There isn't anything saying that students can't audition together," he noted. Sandbar and Gallus smiled as they took their places. The griffon pretended that his wing was injured as the colt pretended to look across the horizon. "We should be able to catch up with them if we cut across the river," Sandbar said. "And how do you expect me to do that?" Gallus asked. He pointed to his wing, which was "dislocated." "They're too tough for us. Let's just try and find someplace to hide out until this blows over." "Blows over? We can't let them get away with this." "And what do you think I can do?! I'm a homeless griffon who grew up in a village where it's everyone for themselves. Those three have the power to make a tornado by blinking!" "And if we just gave up, then what?" "We'd probably get out alive." "Or we could end up getting caught if we just hide. Either we hide and get a disturbing punishment, or we get our flanks kicked trying to knock them down a peg. What's the difference?" Gallus looked at his wings and moved it around to make it look like it was being pushed back into the socket. "Okay. Let's kick some flanks!" The two shared a fist bump before running off stage. Then soon came back to see the unicorns writing things down. "How was that?" Sandbar asked. "Very good," Rarity commented. "You two will do great." The two boys smiled before getting off the stage for the next student to audition. After a few hours, Starlight spoke up. "Okay, I think that's everyone," she announced. "We'll let you all know who will be playing which character in the Mare and the Monster." The Headmare, Sunburst, and Rarity soon walked away, talking between each other about the auditions. The students began to disband as they began talking about what they went through. Gallus was one of these students. "You really think we're going to get lead roles?" Gallus questioned. "We were great up there," Sandbar reminded. "Besides, we did a lot at this school, we should get good parts." Gallus was just in deep thought about what kind of parts were available. There were plenty of students that were excited and Silverstream was no exception. She was walking with Yona, Smolder, and Ocellus, each giving their opinions. "There are so many characters I could be," Silverstream spoke. "Which ones do you think we'll be." "Yona wants to know more about mother pot," Yona admitted. "What, you mean the kettle?" Smolder asked. "I think she and her son will have a good dynamic," Ocellus commented. "She also gives good advice to Golden Aura." The changeling's friends were a little confused about the unknown name. "She's the main protagonist." "Oh, right," Silverstream commented. "Maybe you should check the source material before we start acting." "Good idea," Smolder agreed. They were a little concerned, but there was one student who didn't have a care in the world at the moment. Diamond Shine trotted downtown with Coral and Pyther by her side. "You think we'll get good roles?" Pyther questioned. "Did you see my performance?" Diamond Shine asked. "I have this in the bag. They'd have to be crazy not to have me as Golden Aura." The aragonite pony trotted along with her friends getting a little sick of her boasting. The next day, another sheet had been hung up on the bulletin board. It contained a list of the students' and the play characters' names. The students all crowded around it to see who would be playing who. Pate took a look and could see he was marked as a character named "Thick Block." "Which character is that again?" he whispered to Shimmy Shake. "That's Bronze Shield's sidekick," the cheerleader answered. "Then who's playing Bronze?" They took another look and could see that part would be played by Moss, who looked to be rather pleased by this part. As for Gallus, he was surprised by his role. "I'm playing as the monster?" he questioned. "The prince actually," Sandbar noted. "And I see Golden Aura is played by..." "Me!" Silverstream announced excitedly. Gallus was surprised by this and someone was very annoyed. "She's the lead role?" Diamond Shine questioned. "Who am I playing?" She pushed over students to the side so she could look at the sheet. She couldn't see her name until she found it. "The old mare? But she's only in the first minutes of the story." "And there's a problem with that?" Pyther asked. "I was trying to be Golden Aura. She has the most important part of this play." "Well, Silverstream has the part now, so that’s tough." Diamond Shine huffed as she couldn't accept that. She walked off to find Starlight to complain. Pyther and Coral just stayed behind to see if they got any good parts. “I wonder what our roles are?” Coral said to herself, taking a closer look together with Pyther.