//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: Join the Club... // Story: The Canterlot Chronicles: Life and Turmoils of Starburst // by ThatUnknownPony //------------------------------// A long week of classes had passed, and there was nothing Starburst desired more than the weekend to come and spend it on Sweet Apple Acres taking some well needed fresh air. The only thing between her and the soft grass of the farm was the clock taunting her, as she waited for the last class of the day to be over. Laying her head on the desk, she just kept looking at the clock, without paying any attention to what the teacher said. “...Miss Starburst?” professor Turner noticed her getting distracted, and tried to call her attention loudly clapping his hands. “Miss Starburst, are you listening?” Startled, Star turned to look at her teacher, slightly embarrassed. “My apologies, I’m listening,” she answered politely, despite the chuckles of the rest of the classroom. “Well, with all of you paying attention, “ the Doctor proceeded, giving a concerned look to Starburst, “I was told by our dear Principal Illusion to remind you that next monday is Club Registration day, so anyone interested can sign up today.” Many of the students cheered in delight, with a handful of them just rolling their eyes, Star included. “Just a reminder: this is entirely optional and if you can’t join there is no problem and you can go home after class.” “I wish I could join one club,” Anthea said, “but my mother doesn’t want me to arrive late.” “It’s okay, Anthea. There’s always next year for that,” the Doc said kindly to his student. “So what about you, Nidra? “I think that’s a little too obvious, teacher,” she answered with her regal, yet slightly boastful, tone. “Don’t you remember that I was given already a position?” “Great wickering stallions, I forgot! Ehem… Students, something I forgot to mention about our dear miss D’Luna is that, per order of her mother the Princess, she’s our new president for the student council.” Many of the students were in clear disapproval of such thing, whispering annoyed about the news. “Talk about nepotism, right Star?” Sunray murmured to her friend. “I’m not really surprised. Nidra has been like that ever since the last time we met,” Star replied quietly. “The life of royalty really got into her head.” The professor proceeded to ask the rest of the classroom what club they wanted to be a part of and writing them down in a list, while Sunray tried to control a little bit of her excitement. “Man, there is so much to choose from, I might as well join them all! Well, if mom wasn't so... special.” “Speak for yourself, Sunray.” Star said with a slightly annoyed tone. “I can’t even choose a club I can be interested.” “Well, how about joining our soccer team?” To Starburst’s surprise, the professor was standing right next to her. “Principal Illusion told me a little bit about your dream of being in the Royal Guard, and he suggested that maybe joining the Wondercolts could be a great help for you.” “The Wonder… what now?” “Wait, you really have never heard of the Wondercolts? “ Sunray nearly shrieked in disbelief. “They’re one of the best soccer teams in Equestria, the pride and honor of Canterlot High!” Suddenly, a small but noticeable chuckled called their attention. “Pride and honor? You’ve gotta be kidding me!” Nidra exclaimed trying to hold her laughter, much to Sunray’s annoyance. “They’ve never won a single trophy in twenty years! Sure, they reach the finals every year, but they always lose!” “Are you being serious?” Star asked in utter confusion, not buying what Nidra said. “Well, that's certainly not a lie,” the professor said with a concerned look on his face, which quickly changed into a more optimistic one. “But I’m sure this will be the year for the school, or at least that was what Principal Illusion says.” Starburst thought about it for a couple of seconds, and while slightly surprised the principal knew that about her, she decided to give it a try. “Well… I might try out and see if I get in the team.” “Alright!” He said as the Doc wrote down on his list. “You should meet with coach Soarin next monday after class. Now, miss Sunray, I can’t help but notice you’re a little bit...” “Excited? Nervous? Confused? All three?” She exclaimed, clearly struggling to contain herself. “Sorry Doc, it’s just… There’s so much to choose, but I can’t decide what club to join!” The professor noticed how she was staggering on her seat, with a grin that expressed both excitement and utter nervousness, so he quickly responded. “Well… wasn’t your mother part of the Wondercolts team?” he said to the surprise of the student. “I recall noticing her in a photo or two in the annuaries.” “Uhm, yeah, she used to be. It’s… not something she’s proud of,” Sunray scratched the back of her head nervously at the thought of her mother being reminded of that. “Why do you ask?” “You see, I was thinking about it, and maybe I have the perfect club and position for you.” The young student gleefully smiled, wondering what did her teacher had in mind. -------- “CHEER CAPTAIN?! STARBURST, CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!” Sunray couldn’t help but scream as she walked along with her friend. “Yeah, yeah. You’ve been repeating the same thing for about five minutes,” said Starburst unenthusiastically. “Sorry, sorry. It’s just this is so… This is so…” “Obnoxious? Insulting? Terrible in all senses?” Star couldn’t help but snark a little at her friend’s reaction, who simply didn’t mind. “THIS IS SO PERFECT! I can inspire the team while at the same time show my talent to all the school!” her friend couldn’t help but notice how she was skipping with joy as the walked through the halls of the college. “Geez, and here I thought Cotton Candy was cheerful.” “Oh, sorry. It’s just...” Sunray couldn’t help but giggle in a really squeaky voice. “This is just so exciting! Just wait until mom knoooooope!” The orange-haired girl stopped right on her tracks at the realization, as her cheerfulness turned into panic. “Oh no, what am I gonna do?!” she started saying with fear. “I can’t tell her I’m part of the cheering team, much less the captain! Do you know how could she react?!” “I can certainly imagine,” if there was something Starburst knew better from Sunray was that her mother didn’t like anything related to Canterlot High, and being the cheer captain of the soccer team was certainly a very colorful position, “but come on, you don’t have to tell her. Just… come up with an excuse!” “Just like you with your book you haven’t read all week?” “Again with that?” Starburst replied in annoyance. “I showed you, the whole book is scribbled all over it with that ‘legend’ trash.” “And can’t you not change it? Here–” suddenly Starburst felt as Sunray grabbed her from her shirt. “–we’re changing that book right now.” “Wait, what?!” Starburst yelled in shock, surprised at her friend’s reaction. “Let me go! It’s not necessary!” “Oh, yes it is,” she replied. “I’m not gonna resort to excuses, and neither do you, missy.” “Can you please stop acting like my mom?” Star tried with all her strength, but was dragged anyways into the library. Finding herself literally dragged into it, Starburst just crossed her arms unamused, as Sunray spoke with the old librarian. “Weird, she says that this book was actually donated by your own mom, Starburst,” her friend told her, carrying the old copy of “Daring Do and the Sapphire Statue”. “She even says that it was in perfect conditions when it was left here, and that is the only copy of it they have.” “Well, crap. You’re telling me I need to find another book?” Star groaned in annoyance, thinking about the last moment she had to search for a book that was appealing enough to read. “On one hand, yes.” Rolling her eyes, Starburst signed in resignation, as Sunray proceeded. “But on the other, didn’t you say that a strange girl gave this book to you?” “Well yeah, but I really doubt I will ever find her–” the young girl stopped talking as she noticed something around the corner of a bookshelf. “–nevermind. I think I found her.” Starburst rushed towards the bookshelf, hoping to find the same girl that gave her the scribbled book, but her friend was just caught by the surprise. “Wait, Starburst! Where are you going?” To her own good luck, as she approached Star recognized the same girl from that day, again wearing the odd hoodie covering her head. She was quick in her intention and called her attention immediately. “Hey, you!” The odd girl reacted in surprise by lowering her hoodie even more, covering her hair perfectly. “WHA–UHM–ME?!” She mumbled in surprise before turning and noticing the girl she gave the book to. “Oh, it’s you… Eeeh…” “Starburst.” “Oh right! Sorry, it’s just…” the strange girl tried to recover her composure, as Sunray catched up with her friend. “There you are. Star. What is going–” Sunray then noticed the girl in front of her, and quickly comprehended what was happening. “–Oh. So, is it her?” “Yup, her name is Moonshine Twinkle, or so she said,” the sole mention of her name cause Sunray to burst into laughter, although she tried to contain herself. “Y-yeah, I get it’s a… very embarrassing name.” the odd girl responded, looking a bit nervous. “Sorry, it’s just it took me by surprise.” the orange-haired girl tried her best to not giggle, so she changed subject in an attempt to repress it. “So, Star told me you gave her a book, right?” “Oh yes! It was that copy of “Daring Do and the Sapphire Statue”, right?” she started speaking, expecting a positive reaction with a huge grin. “So, did you enjoy it?” “Well, maybe I could have… if it was all scribbled.” Starburst took out the book from her backpack and showed it to her, opening it in a random page full of the encrypted messages. She was expecting for the girl to either react nervous, or surprised, but she certainly didn’t expect a major breakdown. “WHAT?! WHOWHENHOW… WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS?!” she screamed, prompting the librarian to shush them from a distance. The curious girl, “Moonshine” as she claimed to be named, lowered her voice but remained in shock. “W-What does it even say? Who in his sane mind could scribble over a first-edition print of a classic novel?!” “Well I don’t know, but it might as well been a prankster or perhaps some delusional fool,” she explained as she flipped the pages back to the beginning of the scribbles, “who probably found it funny to hide this “Legends of Canterlot High” in the book.” “But why did they had to pick…” suddenly, “Moonshine” came to a realization. “W-What did you just say? Did you mention something about some ‘legends’?” “Yeah, she did,” answered Sunray in curiosity. “Have you heard from them before?” “Actually, yes…” Moonshine looked at the cryptic message in the book, now aware of what it was. She then turned to look at Starburst, with an oddly serious look on her face. “...could it be ok if I keep the book for the weekend?” “Uhm, yeah, sure? I mean, I don’t mind.” “Thank you!” Moonshine approached to her, and somehow Star felt something familiar with her. “I’m sure we’ll meet each other a lot, Starburst.” Leaving in a rush, Moonshine left both Star and Sunray perplexed and confused about the strange girl in the hoodie. “Okay, I think I understand now what you mean when you described her as ‘interesting.’” the orange-haired girl said, while her partner was more concerned in her own thoughts. “She kinda is, but I still feel like there’s more to her… I really hope we do meet again soon.” Like a blessing from the skies, the weekend arrived and Star was more than thankful for that. She had woken up as early as she could just to begin exercising at the fields of Sweet Apple Acres, owned by the Apple family, including her closest friend: Golden Delicious, a large, buff farmer boy. As son of Applejack, he had a couple of freckles below his eyes, and brown hair with blonde stripes all over it. He was the first to notice her doing push-ups in the fields, wearing sports gear and with a ribbon on her head holding her hair. “What a surprise catchin’ ya here, Star,” he said, startling the young girl, “it’s been a while, isn’t it?” Starburst fell to the floor surprised, looking at her dearest friend. “Del! Didn’t expect you this early here.” “Same goes for you, Star,” Del responded with a smile. “I thought you could be resting more after your first week of High School.” Star frowned and looked directly at his eyes, something that actually made him snicker a little. “You know me pretty well already to know that THIS is my way of resting.” “I know, I know,” Del replied, still trying not to laugh, “but it is still surprising to see someone who finds intense exercise relaxing.” Star inflated her cheeks a little, and Del could help but giggle as he sat near his friend. “So, how’s High School going, Star?” “Well, just what I expected,” Starburst answered, “Can barely understand a word of what the teachers say, focusing on what they write on the blackboard is hard enough, and don’t get me started on the books. I still can’t understand why you say it was easy for you.” Del shrugged in response, before proceeding to say: “I'm kinda surprised too, since y’know, your mother is…” “Please let’s not bring mom into this,” Star said, her voice sounding really annoyed at the topic. “Everyone points that out and… You could easily be her son more than me!” Del noticed the frustration on her voice, and quickly approached her, embracing Starburst in a friendly hug. “Come on, Star, don’t say that. You know that isn’t true.” “But it feels like! Just… “ Starburst groaned in frustration, looking at her friend. “Sometimes I envy how well you and your mom get along.” “Heh, then you’d be surprised if you knew how we got along when I was younger,” he said, trying to cheer her up. “I know it’s been hard for you since your dad left, but…” “I think that’s something I don’t wanna touch either,” Starburst sounded slightly more alarmed than annoyed at his comment, and quickly changed the subject. “Sorry, it’s been a hard week already, Del. Can we speak of something else?” “For me it’s fine,” Del said as supportive as he could. “Is there anything else you wanna talk about? Maybe something that happened in school?” “Well, I suppose I can tell you about how I was recommended for the tryouts to join the Wondercolts.” “That’s awesome, Star!” he responded, almost lifting her up, but Starburst's death stare was enough reminder that it was a bad idea. “It should be a great honor if you ended up becoming part of the team.” “Yeah, but I still need to see if I qualify to join them.” Standing up again, Starburst walked towards an apple tree as she continued to speak. “I heard they are somewhat strict with what players they choose to join.” “I’m sure you’ll do fine, Star,” Del once again complimented his friend.”They could be making a great mistake rejecting you.” Noticing the support of her friend, Star smiled a little, feeling all tingly inside and with a bit more of energies. “If that’s the case, guess I should keep on training.” “Then I suppose it won’t hurt if you give me a hand with the harvest?” Del pointed to the apple orchard, all the trees blossoming with apples on their branches. Star was now the one who giggled in response. “I suppose it won’t hurt,” she said, although Del was probably thinking the opposite, what with her history of overworking herself into exhaustion. Before she knew it, it was Monday again, and what a day it was going to be for Starburst. All day she couldn’t help but think of the tryouts after the classes were over, making it harder for her to concentrate. Her whole mindset was focused on what was going to happen at the end of the day. After hearing the bell ring for the last time of the day, Starburst quickly grabbed all her stuff and rushed to the soccer fields, her heart beating with determination. “I’m going to qualify for the team”, she said to herself, “I trained enough for this, I’m sure I’ll make it.” But once she finally reached the fields, she was surprised in more than one way when she was stopped dead in her tracks by a familiar face. “STARBURST, THERE YOU ARE!” “Gah, Candy!” she exclaimed in shock. “W-What are you doing here?” “Organizing the newcomers, of course!” she said with pride. “I always give a hand helping organize events here at the school.” Before Starburst could even say anything, her friend immediately brought a pair of shorts and a sport shirt with the school’s coat, looking really excited about it. “By the way, here’s your uniform,” Candy said as she handed it to Star. “And don’t worry, I already know your size, it won’t feel shorter or larger. Now go changed, that the coach will be here in five minutes.” “Uhm, okay? But how do you–” “Go change, I said!” Candy said in a more desperate tone. “The tryouts must not be delayed not even by one second!” “Alright alright, I get it!” Starburst remembered how obsessive Candy was with order, and the least she wanted was to make her friend stress over a delay, so she rushed to the locker rooms and changed into the soccer uniform as fast as she could, and got back to the fields right on time, where other draftees were waiting in line. At the expected time, the couch walked towards the fields, followed by none other than Prism Bolt. Coach Soarin was a man in his 50’s, and while still showcasing an athletic body, his age was really noticeable especially on his face. The visible eye bags and a slight trail of gray hairs were a sign of that. “Alright then, what do we have here?” he said in an authoritarian, yet nice, tone of voice, as he looked over the students, all looking both excited and nervous at the same time. “So, all of you want to be part of the Wondercolts, right? Well I have two news for you. Care to tell them, Prism?” The boy with rainbow hair cleared his throat and looked at them with the same authoritarian tone of the coach. “Okay, listen up! The bad news is not all of you will enter the team, so don’t celebrate ahead of time!” as he spoke, Prism walked in front of the line, looking directly to the eyes of everyone of them, stopping for a moment in front of Starburst. “The good news is… if you have what’s required for the team, I don’t think you have anything to fear.” Star couldn’t help but notice the way he was looking at her, feeling like he was also trying to hit on her. She rolled her eyes in response, and the coach realized it. “I think you’re putting too much attention in this draftee, Prism,” Coach Soarin said, completely unamused. “Alright then, show us what you got!” The coach then proceeded to separate the students into two teams, hoping to see them in play and evaluate them. As he was sorting them out, Starburst looked over the stands, where she noticed that Cotton Candy was speaking with Sunray, who was already wearing the special “attire” that distinguished the Cheering Team: a circlet resembling a pair of pony ears and a belt that simulated a horse tail. Noticing her friend looking at them, Sunray waved at her, wishing Starburst good luck. Just then she felt someone else was looking at her, and when she turned her head, she found again face to face with Prism. “So, what was that about not wanting to watch my face?” As much as she wanted to respond with a punch, Star simply limited herself to talk. “Believe me, this has absolutely nothing to do with you, Prism.” “Are you sure? You probably knew already that my dad was coach of the team, that I was chosen as their captain and…” in that moment, the boy noticed something quite odd in Star, and was quick to take advantage from it. “...and why are you still staring directly at my eyes?” Trying her best to hide the blush in her cheeks, Starburst replied simulating annoyance, hoping he fell for it. “It’s called intimidation. Just making sure you know who you’re going to be dealing with the rest of the year.” “Maybe you’re right,” he replied, with a smug smile on his face, “but you first have to show me that you’re Wondercolt material.” “Trust me, I’m sure I’ll show you that and more.” Star said with a confident voice, and managed to catch Prism off guard, who blushed a bright shade of red. “T-That depends on what you mean with ‘more’.” was all he could said with a nervous smile, but was almost completely ignored as Star ran over her place in the field. Prism stared at her for a moment, a silly idea appearing on his mind, but that he quickly shook away. “Come on, man, you know she’s not into you. But if only she was…”