Chapter 2: An Invitation...
After what she was considering one of the freakiest encounters of her life, Starburst ran across the halls of Canterlot High towards the cafeteria, still carrying the book she was just given. Just as she was turning on a corner near her destination, she overheard a couple of familiar voices.
"...I'm sorry, but I have absolutely no interest in brutes like you."
"BRUTE?!"
"Now what is all that buzz about?" Starburst glanced around the corner, and noticed Nidra was talking with a curious boy: a scar above his nose, short rainbow-colored hair and a very athletic complexion. Yet Nidra was far from impressed.
"I know those of your kind" she said to him. "Just because they practice sports and their parents are famous, they feel the world is in their hands."
"Oh, wow wow wow! My mom might be captain of the Wonderbolts, but that doesn't mean I'm not less good than her!" He tried to pose and at least save face, but the rejection was more than clear.
"Sorry honey, but you're still not good enough for me." The poor guy saw in disbelief as Nidra departed with all the sassiness of royalty.
"Hey, wait a..." but it was too late, and the princess had already left. "Darn it! And I thought that could impress her."
"I doubt a princess could be interested in a jerky show-off."
The boy let out a small shriek of surprise when he noticed Starburst approaching him.
"STARBURST?! W-What are you doing here in Canterlot High?!"
"Well duh! Studying perhaps?" she said in a very sarcastic voice.
"You know what I mean, Star. I thought your mom ran a High School back in Ponyville."
"Yeah, but she kinda knew I could try to get some favoritism if I went there, so here I am."
"Hmmm, fair enough." the guy stretched his arms showcasing his muscles, and Starburst caught notice of it.
"Can't you pass a single minute without showing off, Prism?"
"What? I'm just stretching!" He said in defense, but just to bother her, Prism stretched once again, this time actually teasing her "Like what you see, shorty?"
The next thing he saw was a Star's fist flying towards his face.
"What have I told you about calling me short, you idiot?" She said with the most tranquil fury one could possibly imagine.
"Ouch, sorry!" Prism apologized as he rubbed his cheek. "Oww, you pack quite the punch, Star."
"Thank you." she responded with a smug grin. "You're so lucky I'm one year younger than you."
"You say that now, but I know that deep inside, you want to see this face all day long." He teased her.
"In your dreams, maybe." She responded while pushing him, if only to try disimulate her sudden blush.
"Woah! Didn't know you could also read my mind! Tell me what else do I dream of?" he said joking, and almost got his ass kicked.
"Go away, Prism." She said with a playful smile "Try flirting with someone else, but not me."
"Okay, okay! Geez, you're kind of a buzzkill sometimes." Prism walked away still smiling, leaving Starburst who took a moment before going into the cafeteria, at least until her cheeks stopped blushing.
"...if only you weren't too much of a jerk." She said to herself. "Such a pretty face for a silly jerk."
Later that day, after a very exhausting class of math, Starburst left the classroom alongside the rest of her classmates.
"Uugh! That was so tedious!" she exclaimed. "How is that you understand any of that?"
"Tell me about it." Nidra said, standing beside her. "I swear, if it was for me, I could've fallen asleep like you did, Star."
"Hey! I was trying to concentrate."
"Yeah, you did a magnificent job, Starburst." she mocked her.
"Shut up, Nidra! Sorry for not being like Sunray, understanding everything the teacher said." She turned her head, but in that moment she realized something. "Wait, where did Sunray go?"
"Wow, I saw you sleeping, but didn't think it was THAT deep." Anthea approached her friend guided by Turquoise, snarky but without malice.
"Principal Illusion told her to go to his office near the end of the class."
"So the principal just came and called her?" Star was wondering why could her friend be called to the principal's office. She was one of the nicest, smartest girls she knew. "Did he even say why?"
"No, he just came into the classroom and told the teacher he needed to speak with her." Turquoise responded, holding Anthea close to him.
"Hmm, that's weird." she said, still wondering in thoughts. "Do you think she's still there?"
"Honestly, I don't think so." Anthea responded. "She's probably on her way home right now."
"Maybe, but it doesn't hurt if I take a look." Starburst responded as she left her partners wondering why she was so eager to know.
Once she arrived at the principal's office, she couldn't help but notice how the door was slightly open, yet she heard nothing coming out from there. Filled with curiosity, she approached the office's door, and slowly opened it.
"Principal Illusion? Sunray? Am I interrupting?" But just like she supposed, the office was all empty, so she just walked inside. There, she couldn't help but notice the somewhat chaotic decorations: Paintings depicting distorted landscapes with checkerboard floors, decorations on the ceiling resembling cotton candy clouds, and the figurine of an odd pony with swirly eyes and a helicopter beanie standing asides the single frame of a young Illusion and his mother, the late Princess Celestia.
"Freaky." Starburst thought as she inspected the area. Aside of a bunch of papers scattered all over the desk, there was nothing that she could consider "unusual" beyond the decorations. She was just about to leave, when she heard a voice from behind her.
"Looking for something, little one?"
Startled, the young student turned in surprise, just to find herself in front of the principal: With his black, well-combed hair, omnious red eyes, and a facial and corporal complexion more befitting of an artist or movie star, Illusion was far different from what one could imagine judging by his office.
"Principal! I-I was just looking for a friend, that's all."
The principal, who looked around his 20's simply smiled and laughed.
"Calm down, I'm not gonna expell you just for peeking on my office." He said as he took his place on his chair. "Just as long as this doesn't become something regular."
"I'm sorry." Starburst said, slightly ashamed. "I was just looking for my friend Sunray. I heard you were talking with her and..."
"Miss Sunray, you said?" Illusion let a small friendly giggle. "Yeah, I was just telling her about a very special surprise I need her assistance with. She already went home anyways."
Starburst let out a small sigh of disappointment.
"Well, guess I'm going home myself." She thought as she was already turning around, just to be stopped by the words of the principal.
"This reminds me, I think I have something for you..."
Taking a small envelop out from his desk, Illusion looked directly to Starburst, who quickly approached him staring at the card.
"If I'm not mistaken," he proceeded, "you're the daughter of dear Miss Twilight Sparkle, is that correct?"
"Well, yeah sir."
"Then you should know how close she was with my late mother" Illusion handled the envelop to the young girl, who still had no clue what it was. "So I'm sure she will accept this invitation for a special event in her honor."
Starburst examined the envelop carefully, noticing the Canterlot High School logo on it.
"Well it isn't the Annual Grand Galloping Gala for sure."
"I could give you more details, but I think you just want to get home, right Miss Starburst?" Illusion grinned friendly to her. Not wanting to reject his kindness, Star simply nodded.
"Thanks, Principal Illusion."
"Oh calm down, just call me Illusion like everyone else."
The two of them smiled friendly, and Star left the principal alone with all his paperwork, as he took another peek at the envelop, wondering about its content.
Putting the envelop on her backpack, Starburst was about to head home, but a familiar voice stopped her right before she reached the exit.
“STARBURST! I CAN’T BELIEVE IT!”
“Huh? What in the…” she was quickly interrupted when a curious girl with pink fluffy hair tackled her. “Ouch! Supposed it was you, Candy.”
“Were you surprised? Were you? Were you?” while just slightly taller than her, the young girl hugging Starburst was definitely more energetic and cheerful. “It’s so amazing you’re here in Canterlot High School!” Oh, you just wait until I tell everyone that you’re…”
“Candy, please, calm down a little.” Star said with her usual deadpan voice. “It’s not a big deal. Besides, everyone else already knows I’m here.”
Candy gasped in surprise, not expecting that answer.
“Wait,really?!” She said in disbelief. ”But, how about Sunray?”
“First one to know.”
“And Turquoise?”
“Found out alongside Anthea.”
“Even Prism knows?”
“Met him at lunch break.”
Candy let out a groan of disappointment, realizing she was the last one to know the news.
“Really? Was I the only one who didn’t know?!” Her whole face turned red as she inflated her cheeks in pure frustration, almost like a little kid. “That’s not fair!”
“Geez, calm down. It almost feels like I’m the older of the two of us.”
“Oh, sorry Star”, she apologized, her face now with a cute blush. “I just wanted to tell everyone so badly about this. You know how much I love being the first one to know about the news.”
“Guess this wasn’t one of those times.” Starburst said as they walked to the exit.
“Can you at least tell me how was your day, Star? Please?” Candy said with enthusiasm, much to Starburst annoyance.
“Sorry, it’s been quite a long day,” Starburst apologized, “and I just want to get home for dinner. I don’t want to get too distracted.”
“Oh, come on, friend!” Candy tried to hug her as she spoke, but the gaze of her eyes was enough to tell her not to do so. “We can talk about while we go home. Besides, isn’t it better to go with some company?”.
Starburst felt like she already knew about Sunray leaving early, and rolled her eyes in resignation.
“Ok, ok. But just because Sunray went home already.”
“Yay!” Candy exclaimed in excitement. “Oh, maybe I can tell you how the classes are here at Canterlot High! Or perhaps tell you about your teachers, or the clubs you can join and…”
“I think just telling how our day was is enough.” Starburst said, a drop of sweat coming from her forehead, as they walked all the way to her home.
But they hadn’t even walked 10 feets away from school when suddenly Star felt something, like if someone was staring at her. She turned around and checked on some bushes, noticing nothing unusual, even though she swore noticing something.
“Is everything ok, Starburst?” Candy said, noticing how she suddenly stopped.
“Yeah, well at least I suppose.” She answered, turning around again to the bushes, which remained the same as before. “It’s probably just my head. I really need to rest a bit.”
“Oh, alright then!” Candy said, as they walked across the road, telling each other how their day was, despite Starburst lack of enthusiasm.
Back at her home, Starburst was greeted by the familiar face of her mother already serving dinner.
"Starburst, my dear!" she said happily as she served soup on a couple of bowls. "How was your first day at school?"
"Oh hey mom." Star said as he dropped her stuff in the living room. "It was an interesting day, I admit."
"I told you Canterlot High was a great place" her mother said as she placed the soup bowls on the table. "I'm sure you'll make good friend there."
"You say that because you're aware my only friends go there." she remarked as she walked into the dining room. "That's kind of cheating, you know?."
"Well, I knew that Sunset inscribed her daughter there," her mother explained, taking her place in the table alongside her daughter. "Although I didn't expect the other girls to have their children go there too."
"Still sounds to me like you planned it." Starburst took a taste of the hot soup, while staring at her moment: Her purple hair with lavender stripes was losing a bit of its color, and her complexion was definitively bulkier than in her youth. Starburst knew better than anyone how she recently was under a lot of stress, and it was reflecting on her appearance. "Busy day, I guess, right?"
"Oh yeah. It was pretty exhausting, my dear." She responded calmly. "You know how it is: school business as usual. Need to sign this, prepare for this meeting, planificate the scholar plan... You know it isn't easy."
Star couldn't help but give her mom a warm smile.
"Come on mom, I know it's nothing impossible for you." Twilight returned the kind smile to her daughter, happy for her support.
"Thank you, my dear. You know that since your dad... Well..."
"I know, I know..." Neither Starburst nor her mom wanted to talk about it, and instead followed enjoying their supper for a while, at least until Twilight spoke again.
"Did you do what I asked you this morning?"
Starburst rolled her eyes before responding. "Yes, yes. Got a book to read, mom."
"Now, now. It's for your own good, sweetheart. Just read a couple of pages and I'm sure you'll love it."
"Really doubt it." She murmured, finishing her soup. "Delicious as always."
Twilight smiled at her daughter in delight, while she returned to the living room to pick up her stuff. It was then she remembered the envelop the principal gave to her.
"Almost forgot! Here, mom." Starburst gave her the envelope, while she looked at it with curiosity.
"From Principal Illusion? Let's see..." Twilight opened the envelop, and retrieved the curious looking card inside it. "Ehem... Dear Ms. Sparkle: It is a honor for me to formally invite you to the Canterlot High School 4th-Gen. Student Reunion the month of December as our M.C..."
Twilight gasped in joy at the news while her daughter just rolled her eyes.
"Master of Ceremonies! And everyone will be there! All my friends and classmates together again and..."
"Mom, calm down! It's still months away." Starburst said as she picked the letter and finished reading it. "...I'll send invitations to all the former students, so you and your children can come to celebrate. I'll be waiting for you that day. Sincerely, Principal Illusion." It didn't take long for Starburst to realize what that meant. "Oh no... Do I really have to be involved in..."
"Yes, my dear." Twilight said with maternal authority. "This is a very special occasion, your first year in Canterlot High and now you'll participate in such a great event!"
But despite Twilight's enthusiasm, her daughter just wasn't fond of the idea.
"I don't really care, mom. Sorry." She proceeded to pick her backpack and go upstairs to her room. Upset at her answer, Twilight delivered the one question she knew could make her change her mind.
"Is that the behavior of someone who wants to become a Royal Guard? What would your father say if he heard you?"
Star froze for a moment, feeling a little chill down her spine. It was true, her father would've liked if she helped her mother with the event.
"P-Please don't involve Dad in this!" She said in hesitation.
"Okay, but just remember he used to go to the same school as you, and imagine if he knew his own daughter refused to help with..."
"ALRIGHT, I'LL HELP!" She shouted with her face all red. "Geez, mom!"
"None of that 'geez, mom', sweetheart." She replied with authority. "Now I want to see you reading your book or there will be trouble."
Star groaned once again and said in resignation:
"Yes, mother..."
It wasn't something she was exactly proud of, but Twilight really wanted the best for her daughter, even if she had to resort to her father's memories. She sighed with certain sadness.
"If only you were home, Flash." Twilight exclaimed as she returned to her home labors.
The night had already fallen over the city, and Starburst was already in her pajamas taking the book out of her backpack. While a part of her refused to read it, on account she could easily find it boring, Star still did her best effort and tried to at least give it a try.
"It's already late anyways, at least it might help me sleep." she thought to herself as she opened the book, at least expecting to find it slightly interesting. What she found however, was probably even more.
"What in the..." To her surprise, written below the original text of the story, there were a bunch of odd looking letters. They weren't part of the book, it appeared like someone doodled between the pages. "This is just great, I was handed a scribbled book. Like if I didn't find this difficult enough."
Starburst tried to ignore the curious glyphs and instead focused on the story, which appeared to focus on the odysseys of this young explorer named Daring Do. But as soon as she flipped the page, she noticed a different doodle written on top of the next two page.
"Oh for crying out loud..." feeling a little bit frustrated, she started flipping the pages, finding on each and every one of them a different set of glyphs. "W-What is even this supposed to be?! It doesn't make any sense!"
She threw away the book in frustration almost hitting a mirror, groaning at her bad luck. Maybe that strange girl did it? Perhaps she gave it to her with the pure intention of pulling a prank on her? She was making herself these questions when she noticed something in the reflection of the mirror, where the novel laid open in one random page. Starburst approached to where she threw her book, and to her surprise noticed that the reflection made the weird scribbles legible: while chaotically written, she could distinguish the words "Canterlot".
"Well ok, this is interesting, at least." She said at her discovery. Star wondered if it was just a coincidence, but as she flipped to random pages while looking at the mirror, Star realized the glyphs were actually words written backwards, like a code or a hidden message, or perhaps...
"Is this some kind of prank or what?!" Star said, still believing it was some kind of joke... Or at least that's what she believed.
Trying to find out what the hell that was, . Starburst quickly picked up a notebook and began writing down the words as she deciphered them, stopping to read the mysterious message.
"'Legends of Canterlot... High'?" she was in complete confusion about what she was reading, but nonetheless extremely interested in knowing what that mean. "Okay then..."
With curiosity, she continued deciphering the odd scribbles in the book, stopping every once in awhile to read what she had completed.
"Alright" She said after finishing a complete paragraph. "Let's see what do we have here..."
Star cleared her throat and began reading out loud.
Legends of Canterlot High.
Not long after the "Days That Never Happened", seven legends spawned among the walls of Canterlot High. Legends that are said to be connected with the last remnant of the World of The Past, the Elements of Harmony...
"Days That Never Happened? Elements of Harmony? What in the hay is that supposed to mean?!" She said out loud, and it appeared her mom heard.
"Sweetie, is everything alright?" she said from across the hall.
"Uh, yes mom! It's just... I-I'm trying to understand what my book says." Star stood silent for a moment, trying to process what she just said, thinking: "Did I really just say that?"
"Really?!" Twilight said loudly "Well don't let me interrupt you! Just remember to sleep on time for tomorrow!"
"I know, I'm ready to go to sleep. Just... Give me five minutes!" Star answered before returning to her lecture:
...The Elements are said to be hidden from the world, waiting for their bearers to carry them once again... These are the legends said to reveal their resting place:
The Lost Crown.
It is said that after the Days That Never Happened, the royal crown destined for the next Princess of the kingdom disappeared. But legend says that it remains hidden inside the school, waiting for its owner...
"Pfft! Yeah, like if that was actually truth.." She said, definitively not taking the text very seriously. "Nice hoax right there."
Dismissing the deciphered message as a mere joke, she decided to go to bed already. Maybe the next day she could return the book to the library, maybe personally give it back to that awkward girl. She turned off all the lights in her bedroom and let sleep bring her into the yard of dreams.
...Canterlot was clearly visible from the cliff she was standing, looking at the city with pride. She took a glance at herself, curiosity feeling her: yes, she was wearing the armor of the royal guards. That had always been her dream, but something about this one felt different, yet she didn't know why... That is, until she felt the urge to jump from that cliff.
While a part of her freaked out, another was moving to the edge, like if it was something natural. She tried to resist, but her body moved on its own... She was falling down the cliff, that part of her terrified of the crash... That was, until a warm sensation invaded her arms. Suddenly, Star felt her arms becoming lighter and softer, almost like...
FEATHERS! Her arms had suddenly become a pair of yellow wings! Star felt how her body started gliding, gaining altitude and soaring away from the cliff. It was a new dream for her, that somehow felt very familiar.
Star soared across the sky, her body moving freely through the wind like a bird, a new sensation of freedom invading her. She could see the entirety of the kingdom from above the skies, looking down at the forest beneath her.
Suddenly, a voice resounded not very far from her, and while it wasn't a voice she could recognize, a feeling of familiarity invaded her.
"Starbuuuurst!" the voice said loud enough for her to hear. "Where are yoooou?"
Feeling her body move on her own, Starburst saw herself heading back to the ground, having no idea of who that voice was or why she knew her except that her body was flying towards it. As she came closer to the ground Star distinguished a young child, probably two or three years younger than her, running in the grass. She wondered if he was the one calling for her, but before she could get her answer, Starburst felt her body pushing even faster towards the kid.
“HEY, GET OUT OF MY…” Despite her attempt at warning the kid, she couldn’t finish her sentence before crashing into him. For a moment Star got terrified of having hurted him, but then was surprised to see him laughing at the floor.
“Star! I’ve told you not to do that!” the boy exclaimed in laughter, clearly not minding what she just did. “Come on, mom and dad are already worried for us.”
“Mom? Dad? What are you talking about? Who are you?” Starburst was so confused, but the young boy seemed to either not pay attention or simply ignored her.
“What’s the matter, sister? Let’s go home.” Those words, while simple, brought a new sort of questions into her mind.
“Sister?! W-What are you talking about! Wait!”
Starburst tried to move, to follow the boy claiming to be his brother, but then everything began to shine brightly, accompanied by a loud buzzing sound…
Star groaned in annoyance, waking up by the screech of her alarm clock. Turning it off, she tried to understand what she just saw. There was no doubt it was a dream, yet she felt there was something odd about it.She couldn’t place what it was, but there was something familiar in it. But her thought were cut short by the voice of her mother.
“Good morning, my dear! I have breakfast ready for when you come down.”
“Yes mom, I’ll go down in a minute!” She responded, raising from her bed and preparing for another school day. What she ignored was that her dream was just the beginning of a chain of events that could change her life forever.
Stats
Page generated in 0.017 seconds
Total duration
974 users online
1,569,958 hits today, 2,782,760 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Starburst is the girl on the right, right? Why does she look older than her mother? ...The girl on the left is Twilight, right?
7301847 Nope. The girl to her left is Sunray, her best friend.
I am waiting for puppy crystal clarity.
Please continue
Okay, so there's some interesting stuff here. The idea of having EQ versions of the kilala97 characters is interesting and one I'm not sure I've seen before. That said, a few of the attempts to transpose things here seem weird; having Celestia actually become an actual princess seems off in this world, as does the idea of a Royal Guard (but maybe it's just a military/police force).
Another suggestion is to look up rules for writing dialogue, as the fic has a number of errors in that department. This link provides invaluable information and honestly just reading that section should cure almost all dialogue punctuation errors.
One other note:
This should be "his." I actually when seeing that was going to comment that Illusion was a male character, but it looks like that was just a one-off error as he's referred to as male in the rest.
7320246 Thanks for your feedback! These are the things that help one improve, and I appreciate them a lot.
You actually nailed it in how the Royal Guard works in this universe: They're more of a military/High Rank police force rather than traditional guards with spears and armor. As for the princesses as principals, it's a similar case to how Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns works, except not exclusive for Unicorns... and without any kind of magic. Or is it?
And thanks for the heads-up. That typo should be already fixed. I'll take that guide in account for a further revisit to the first chapters and the ones to come.
Is Flash dead? And is Night the older brother?