//------------------------------// // First Day // Story: The Way of the Play // by PonyPixel //------------------------------// The next day, the students were once again on stage. It is the start of the rehearsals. Everything needs to be done in time, like creating props, costume making, advertising, stage performing, sounds, lights, etc. Since this is day one, there’s no need to rush. Starlight, Sunburst, and the professors were there helping to set things up. "Okay everyone," Starlight spoke in front of the students on stage, "we have a lot of things to prepare before the play begins. Everything needs to be done. The props, outfits, posters, the list goes on. Therefore, we would like it if some of you helped up." "I can help with the props," Rusty Wrench said, raising his hoof up. "That's good," Applejack responded. "Anyone else who wanted to volunteer?" Some students like Terry, a young minotaur, rose their appendages, volunteering to help set the play up. Some students wanted to help prepare the outfits and students to hang posters around town, which left the students that were actors. Each actor and actress was given a sheet of the script. For each student, their roles and lines were highlighted. "Okay, for the actors," Starlight continued, "you all take a minute to read your lines before we begin the rehearsals." The students each started reading their script. They could see their lines highlighted and Diamond Shine was already complaining. She showed her lines to Coral. "Look at this," the crystal pony complained. "I've only got like eight lines in the entire show." "And I'm just in the background," Coral responded. "You've got a better part than me." "Well, look at how many parts Silver's going to get." She flipped through several pages that the happy hippogriff would be reading. "She's practically in 70% of the play." Pyther had overheard the conversation. Given the tone, she had to join in. "You know, you couldn't have gotten a better role," she spoke. The dragoness showed the parts she had highlighted, which looked fewer and far between them than Diamond's parts. "It's our first play just like everycreature else." “Exactly,” Coral added. "Yeah, for you two. I've been in stage plays before. I have more experience than you." Both dragoness and hippogriff looked at each other as they began to feel like Diamond wasn't going to listen to them. Gallus had read ahead of the script taking a look at all of his highlighted parts. Nearing the end, he saw something that surprised him. He wouldn’t believe it. “Psst… Sandbar,” he whispered, and Sandbar turned to his griffon friend. “Private talk.” The two walked off stage so they could go somewhere to talk in private. “What's wrong?” the colt asked. Gallus sighed. "It's the concluding part," Gallus informed. “Here, take a look.” He handed Sandbar the script, and he took a closer look at the paragraph his friend was looking at. Goldie and the reformed prince embraced each other happy that the curse was finally broken. The prince wiped away the mare's tears as they both leaned closer so they could kiss. Sandbar picked up why his friend was suddenly in a panic. Gallus and Silverstream were playing monster and Golden Aura, respectively, so they would do those actions. "Hmm, I can see the problem," he commented with a surprised tone. “No kidding,” Gallus grumbled. “Silver and I have never had the kind of relationship like you and Yona had. How are we supposed to do something like this?” "Calm down,” Sandbar said to him, “I'm sure there's a way we can get through this." Both stood there in silence waiting for the other one to suggest an idea. After about a minute, Gallus spoke. "You have no clue, do you?" "No.… Maybe we could ask Headmare Starlight to see if… Maybe we can have your parts swapped." "Sounds good to me." The boys soon walked back to the stage, where they could find Rarity taking the measurements of some of the students. "Are you sure that I've got the right part?" Pate questioned. "I'm pretty sure we're going to fit it like gloves," Moss spoke. "You are more of a follower." "Well, you and Bronze have egos the size of a dragon," Pyther joked. Moss felt a little offended, but Rarity kept him in place. Partly to keep a fight from breaking out and also for keeping him still for the outfit. Starlight was still observing everything when Sandbar and Gallus returned. "Um, Headmare Starlight," Gallus said giving her the attention, and Starlight turned to see them standing beside her. "I have a bit of a… personal problem with the ending." The unicorn was a little puzzled. "What do you mean?" Gallus just simply showed the ending part of the script that he was worried about. "I see," she commented. Diamond Shine overheard their conversation and started eavesdropping. "I'm not sure if I'm comfortable doing this. It's nothing against Silverstream." "I understand, Gallus. You’re just friends with her. I'm sure she's going to feel the same way as you are. Do you still want to do this part or not?" “I mean… I'm not sure.” “Okay then. I'll see what I can do. Notify me if you want to swap roles, I’ll give further notice." Gallus simply nodded as he and Sandbar went back to check their lines. Diamond Shine liked what she was hearing. "Huh. Does this mean that Silverstream will have to have her part changed?" she asked herself. “I better check it out.” Curious, she went to find the hippogriff. Silverstream was slowly reading through her lines as the crystal pony walked over to her. "Hey, Silverstream,” she called. Silverstream turned to see her standing in front of her. “Hi, Diamond,” she greeted, still reading the script. “You know what I just remembered?” "What is it?" Silverstream asked. The crystal pony flipped a couple of pages until they got to the part that Gallus was worried about. The hippogriff read the paragraph and her eyes widened. "You mean...?" "Yep. You and Gallus are having a ‘special scene’ together." "I... I thought we'd just be dancing and…” “It is a play about romance,” Diamond said, interrupting her. “You really didn’t think that kissing would be involved.” Silverstream gave a nervous shrug. “I think that our headmare could probably change some of your parts.” “Um... I think... Maybe...” “Acting isn’t for everybody. Maybe if you have a smaller role, you won’t feel so awkward.” “Diamond!” called a voice. Rarity was waving to the crystal pony. “I need some help with the color choices for the costumes.” “Be right there!” Diamond Shine quickly turned back to Silverstream. “If you don’t want to go through it, you and I could always trade.” She walked away assist Rarity, leaving the hippogriff to think about herself and Gallus. Rusty and Terry were already hard at work, preparing the backdrops. This involved painting them and sawing them into the right size. They also had to build some props that the students would be interacting with, such as bits of furniture. Some of the backdrops also had doors, so those had to be cut out too. For the costumes, Rarity had brought her sewing materials to the stage so she wouldn’t have to take the outfits all the way from her boutique to the stage. Like Applejack, she had some of the students helping her. One of the most surprising to some was Yona. “How come you’re helping with the dresses?” Coral questioned. “Rare pony helped Yona before,” the yak answered. “And Yona wants to help show creativity.” She then saw Silverstream approaching her, still looking a little worried about what Diamond Shine said to her. “Why Silverstream upset?” “It’s... Uh... Kind of personal,” she admitted. “Can we talk about it in private?” Yona nodded as Smolder and Ocellus had overheard what she had said. “What’s wrong?” the changeling asked. “To backstage. Private chat.” Silverstream just led her friends back to the school, where there weren’t as many students around. “Are we alone?” Smolder doubled by looking around the corners. “Yeah, I think so.” “Great. Now, there’s a scene where after the curse is broken, Golden Aura and the prince hold each other while they kiss.” “Uh-huh,” Yona commented. “What’s wrong with that?” It took a minute for the three friends to remember that Silverstream and Gallus played those two characters and then realized the problem. “Oh, wait,” Smolder perked up, “You and Gallus were the main roles, and you were about to kiss Gallus at the end, right?” Silverstream nodded with an embarrassed look and a slightly visible blush on her cheek. "Ooh, that's... Tricky," Ocellus commented. "What do I do?" Silverstream asked. “I and Gallus have never had this kind of relationship like Sandbar and Yona. I never kissed him.” "It's not too late for you to swap out for somebody else," Smolder suggested. "That's what Diamond Shine suggested. I'm not sure if I'd want to force this on Gallus." "Yona would like to have Silver's part," Yona proclaimed. "Maybe Sandbar could have Gallus's." "Yeah. That sounds like a good idea," the hippogriff commented. "I'm sure you two would be cute as the lead roles." This made the yak feel proud. Silverstream handed her friend her script and Yona quickly started reading. Gallus, meanwhile, was still going back and forth about whether he should drop out of the play or not. Sandbar could see he was still worried. “You know,” Sandbar spoke up, which made Gallus stopped his tracks, “Yona and I could be the lead roles.” the colt guessed. "You'd really do that?" the griffon asked. "We have a closer relationship than you and Silver. No offense." Gallus didn't mind this, though Sandbar was a little curious. "I know this is a weird question, but… have you… ever had feelings for Silverstream." Gallus looked to be a little offended by this question. However, his stuttering implied that he didn't have a straight answer. "I... There were times I worried about her... But... We all did... So... uhhh… I'm getting a drink." The griffon promptly flew away, leaving his friend slightly puzzled. A little while, the students were getting into place for one of the scenes in the play. Yona was about to go on stage, but Silverstream spoke to her first. "Yona, I think I've been having second thoughts about you taking my part, but I think I should still try it," the hippogriff said. "Friend sure?" the yak asked, tilting her head. "Maybe. Gallus and I can… find a workaround to… that scene." Yona handed her friend back the script and Silverstream walked onto the stage. Moss was also there, reading his lines before they started. "Okay, you know your lines?" the changeling asked. "I think so." Silverstream skimmed through her lines before she heard Starlight speak up. She was sitting on the bleachers with Sunburst. "Alright, now, Moss are you ready?" the headmare asked, with her megaphone on. The changeling nodded before he placed his script out of the way. Silverstream was still looking for her part until Moss pointed it out for her. She read what she needed to say then placed her script out of the way. Both of them confirmed that they were ready. Moss walked to the other side of the stage and Silverstream pretended to be attending to something. “Places, everycreature… and… action!” The changeling walked back and stomped his hoof on the ground, mimicking the sound of knocking on the door. "Oh, Goldie," he called. Silverstream turned around and pretended to open the door and looked surprised to see changeling, who let himself in. "Bronze. I didn't expect... To see you," she spoke, stumbling over her lines. "What are you doing here?" "I was thinking about since I'd be staying in this humble town, I thought I could use a loyal wife." Moss walked around as Silverstream just stood and watched. "Then, I saw you. A lovely griff. Beautiful, simply beautiful." "Eh, that's nice of you to offer Bronze, but I'm not looking for anybody at the moment." "Just think about it, Goldie. Me, a mighty changeling defending you from everything. Plus, there isn't a girl in town who would love to be in your shoes." Moss moved around a little bit, making his acting a little hammy. Silverstream did the same, trying to get Moss to move to the imaginary door. "Not mention the kids, playing with the dogs. We'll have six." "Dogs?" "No, kids." "I imagine that." "What do you think?" "I'm... speechless." Moss hovered over Silverstream and held his hooves up, making it look like he was leaning on the door. While he did that, the hippogriff reached for the non-existent doorknob. "But... I just don't deserve you." With that, the pretend door flung open and Moss went sailing forward before it closed again. However, an unplanned crash could be heard followed by some shocked cries and a few angry ones. "Watch it, will ya!" cried a voice that sounded like it belongs to Terry. "Hey, I don't see you giving a performance." Silverstream and the unicorns went to investigate. They found Moss had crashed into a cart loaded with some wood, tools, and cans of paint. Thankfully, they hadn't spilled. "Moss, I appreciate you giving this your best," Starlight said. "Just... be more careful next time." "Will do," the changeling groaned. He was left pretty bruised after he flew off the stage. "Do I have time before my next scene?" "How about we practice with some other characters?" Sunburst suggested. Moss and Starlight both agreed to this before they helped clean up the mess. "Though, I did like what you two did with the door. That would be good to see." This helped make Moss feel better. Diamond Shine, who was sitting nearby, didn't like the sound of Silverstream getting praised for her acting. "I thought she would stop," she muttered. She groaned as she walked off to complain while Gallus, who had watched the scene from afar, was thinking. "Silver's really doing this," he sighed. He looked down at the script he was still carrying. He was wondering whether he should stay in the play or not when he could hear the grumbling from Diamond Shine. Curious, he flew down to investigate. The crystal grumbled as she could see the blue griffon flying down to her. "What do you want?" she questioned. "Why are you so mad?" he asked. "It's... How is Silverstream such a natural? I've been doing plays before she ever came to Ponyville." The griffon gave a low brow before he landed in front of Diamond Shine, stopping her in her tracks. "Hold up a minute. Are you jealous of her?" The crystal pony seemed kind of offended. "So what if I am? I would've been a better choice for Golden Aura." Gallus was rather annoyed until he thought about this. "You can't be Golden Aura, because that's who's Silver's playing. Is that right?" Diamond nodded. "You know, I'm meant to be playing the prince and the monster too." Diamond Shine wasn't too happy that she and Gallus would be acting together, given how they've been talking so far, but she was confused why he brought it up. "Where are you going with this?" "I'm saying that maybe having the lead roles won’t be too bad if it shows creatures how the world works.” “…What are you talking about?” “I mean, the audience will love a star that gets excited over common architecture instead of one who gets angry sometimes gets more time on stage than her.” Diamond Shine started to pick up something, but she wasn’t too sure. “Are you saying…?” “Yep. I’m going to help Silverstream with her acting, so you don’t have to be in the play for so long. She’s my friend! And I’m not wanting to see her struggle.” With this spiteful information given, Gallus flew back to the stage to see if it was his turn yet. Diamond Shine sieved. “Great. I already have an actress that's doing better than me now I have an actor who's against me.” A little while later, they were ready for the scene with the prince and his staff was talking about Golden Aura, who was now being held in their castle. Sandbar was playing the role of Light Touch, who like the rest of the castle staff had been cursed into a living object. Ocellus, who was playing as Sweet Tea, was still going over her lines as she had only been in one play before. She wasn't ready when she heard Starlight call out, "Okay students, places!" The changeling nearly jumped when she heard the headmare's voice. The boys had already put their script to the side while the changeling was still reading. "Ocellus, do you need a minute." "Hold on," she responded in a panicked tone. She took one last look at her lines before she set her script down. “I think I'm ready now.” “Action!” With that, the colt and changeling got into the background as Gallus pacing back in front of them. "What's taking so long?" he grumbled. "Why isn't she here yet?!" His friends were surprised by how much effort he was putting into his character. "Try to be patient sir," Ocellus spoke. "It's... Only been one day." Sandbar, having a concerned yet supporting look, spoke up. "Have you ever wondered if she is the one who can break the spell?" he asked. "Of course I have!" The changeling and colt jumped back from this outburst before the griffon growled. "I was a fool." Smolder and Silverstream, who were some of the students watching from backstage were surprised how serious Gallus was taking his part. "He does know that this is a play right?" the dragoness questioned. "Maybe he wants to look good for the audience," Silverstream guessed. They tried to go back and help Rarity with her designs, but they couldn't help but watch Gallus's performance. "She's absolutely beautiful and... Well, look at me!" he cried. Sandbar and Ocellus both looked at each other, with the colt simply shrugging. Ocellus sighed before talking to the griffon playing the monster. "You must help her see past that," she reassured. Gallus sighed. "I don't know how," he muttered. Ocellus tried to put on a stern face, but the next line seemed blurry. "...Ugh... Um..." Sandbar took notice and whispered, "Did you forget your lines?" he asked. The changeling simply nodded and grabbed her script. "I don't understand how I couldn't," she groaned loudly. "It's okay Ocellus," Sunburst reassured. "This is only the first day. We'll get there eventually. Take a minute to read your script before we do this again." The changeling nodded before going somewhere to sit down and read her lines again. While she did that, Gallus decided to look around for Gus. The grumpy griffon was checking a list before he and Ravi, a buffalo from Appleloosa, headed into town to grab some more supplies before he saw the blue junior year student. "Gallus, hey," Gus called, "How are you doing?" "Much better than I was doing before," the blue griffon responded. "You think you can pick me something up from town?" "Of course. Need any more steel rope or a pickaxe?" "None of that stuff. Actually, I just need you to pick me up some breath mints." This was a little jarring for Gus. "Why breath mints?" Gallus looked around and could see the other students were busy with something else to listen to them. Just in case, he whispered his plan into Gus's ear, which nearly made him burst into laughter. "So that's why you putting in so much effort. I like the way you think, bud. Just to show up that crystalized brat, the mints are on the house." "Great. Thanks, Gus." The two shared a fist bump before Gallus walked back to the stage while Ravi was a little confused. "What are you guys talking about?" the buffalo asked. "I'll explain on the way to town." The griffon chuckled as he explained to the fellow freshman about Gallus's plan. Meanwhile, Rarity and Yona were getting started on the outfits, which was making most of the students look like furniture. Smolder was one of the students who would be playing a character under the curse. "You think it's going to be weird that I'm playing a wardrobe?" the dragoness questioned. "I think it's really fitting for you," Silverstream commented. “Yona not sure how to make doors work on Smolder’s outfit, ” Yona admitted. She looked at Rarity’s sketches, which showed Smolder looking like a wardrobe. The sketch made it look like she was in a wardrobe instead of dressed like one. “Don't stress too much about this, darling,” Rarity reassured. “There's still plenty of time before we perform in front of an audience. Now, could you cut out some gloves for Sandbar?” The yak nodded and walked off to get the white fabric when she could hear someone talking. “You think that’s a good idea?” a girl asked. “We’re supposed to look identical,” another added. “No offense, but you're going to stick out like a sore claw.” “You have a point.” Investigating, Yona could see Pyther talking with Emerald and Peridot, the dragoness twin. They could see the yak approaching them. “Oh, hi Yona,” Emerald said. “What dragons doing?” Yona asked. “We’re going to be playing the triplets that are fawning over Bronze,” Pyther explained. “However, they're also identical. Emma and Perri have this in the bag, but I stick out like a sore claw.” “Then what does Pyther do?” “A theory was that we could cover my scales in something green.” “Like with some powder?” “That could work,” Peridot commented. “Yona!” Rarity called, “Where did you go?” Yona looked back as she had almost forgotten about the fabric. “Yak must go now,” she proclaimed. “Do what you have to do,” Emerald said. “We’ll figure out our problem.” Yona grinned and ran back to do her job, leaving the dragons to find some green things to grind up. Later that day, Ravi and Gus had returned with some more supplies. They were surprised to see many of the students leaving the stage. "What's going on?" Ravi asked. Sandbar walked over to the confused buffalo and happily explained. "We're done for the day," the colt informed. "Some of them are just practicing one more scene before they're done." "Then what do we do with this stuff?" Gus questioned, pointing to the items they picked up in the cart. "Professor Applejack should still be behind the stage. Just leave the cart with her and she'll handle it." The griffon and buffalo nodded and walked to the back of the stage. While they did that, Moss and Pate were practicing their last seen before they were finished for the day. "Come on Bronze," Pate said to Moss, "You'll do better." "What's the point?" Moss groaned. He rested his head on the floor as he was rather depressed from Golden Arua's rejection. Pate was about to speak again, but he paused as like Ocellus did, he forgot his lines. He gave a frustrated groan as Moss gave a low brow to the headmare. "Can we take five now?" "I think that's a good idea," Starlight confirmed. She could tell Pate wasn't the only one who was frustrated. The students on stage disburse as Shimmy Shake walked over to her upset boyfriend. "I don't get it," Pate spoke. "Why can't I remember what to say?" "It's only the first day," the cheerleader reassured. "You'll get it eventually. How about we get something to drink?" "Sure. My throat does feel a little dry. Thanks," he smiled The two walked away as Gus found Gallus to give him the breath mints. "Thanks, Gus," the blue griffon called. Gallus would use his mints later and be about to go off to do something fun when he could see Diamond Shine approach him. "And how's the number two actress doing?" "Don't call me that," the crystal pony ordered. "It's more true than you think it is. Silver and I are doing better. Besides, you don't really deserve the lead role. Anyways, I'm going to see if I can find my friends and hang out. You have fun sulking." The smug griffon flew away as Diamond Shine's blood began to boil. Meanwhile, Silverstream had met up with Yona, Smolder, and Ocellus again. "I think we did pretty well," Ocellus admitted. "Little shaky, but still a good first day." "It's got to be better than our first play," Smolder shrugged. "Definitely. I have no idea how we weren't more injured from the crystal ball." "It did feel a little weird being dressed like a pony," Silverstream added. "By the way, you think that Gallus and I can make that scene work?" The hippogriff's friends stopped looked between each other. Silverstream didn't have that much experience in dating compared to them. "Maybe friend talk to Gallus," Yona suggested. "You sure about that?" Smolder questioned. "It works for you and Ocellus." "She's not wrong," the changeling commented. "I'm up for that," Silverstream added. "I don't want to make Gallus do something he doesn't want to." This was something the girls could agree on as they carried on with their day.