Little Stars

by Shadowmane PX-41

The Big Night

Stars twinkled above the sky as cars rolled up to Canterlot High, dropping students off one by one. They were all dressed up in smart attire, with some extra clothes in bags on their backs, or hanging on their arms. All of them walked up through the doors, down through the corridors, and straight into the gym.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders walked up to the school, still with their special hairstyles, but with a different set of clothes. Their Dazzlings outfits were tucked away in sticker-coated backpacks, zipped up tightly. They now wore white, pink, and aquamarine dresses, with little gemstones weaved into the fabric.

"Well, girls. This is it." Applebloom passed the remains of the statue. "The big night of the Fall Formal."

"I still can't believe we made it this far." Scootaloo put her hands to her hips. "I thought for sure that this wasn't gonna work sometimes. Especially with how Applejack blew a fuse with you, Applebloom."

"Yeah. I thought for sure that Applejack or Granny Smith would've grounded you for dressing up like Adagio." Sweetie Belle tipped her hand.

"Well, ah don't really wanna talk about that right now, girls." Applebloom shook her head. "Ah don't want the night to be ruined before it even starts. That'd be even worse than being embarrassed at the Fall Formal."

The girls walked up the steps and through the doors, trailing behind some of the older students as they passed through the darkened corridors towards the sound of bass, echoing throughout the building. Almost every beat vibrated through the walls and ground. The louder it got, the closer the CMCs got to the Fall Formal.

"Hey, have you got any idea on a strategy for the Fall Formal?" Scootaloo tapped on Sweetie Belle's shoulders. "I mean, we look the part, but without something to back it up, we might come in last place."

"Well, we've got the outfits, we've got the dress, and we've got the act. I don't think there's much more that we need." Sweetie Belle took a deep breath. "Plus, miss Adagio was pretty nice to give us a little warm-up. I think she really cares about us."

"Or she might be trying to seduce us." Applebloom cocked a brow. "Convincing or not, something in the back of my mind is still telling me that we can't trust the Dazzlings, or that this'll even work at all."

"C'mon, Applebloom. I thought we were past that." Scootaloo grinned and slid her arm across Applebloom's shoulders. "We've got this in the bag."

"You don't know that, Scootaloo," said Sweetie Belle. "The most terrifying thing about cosplaying is that you never know who's gonna win. It might be the most complicated or the most simple act of all. Heck, even Derpy could enter the contest and win!" She threw her arms out. "We've just gotta make sure that we win the crowd over the most."

"Good luck with that."

Behind the Cutie Mark Crusaders, a pair of teenage girls around their size and age approached. One had pink hair with white stripes and wore little tiara-shaped earclips, while the other had grey skin and hair and a pair of blue glasses on her face. They were both dressed up like royalty, with gem-encrusted dresses, gloves, and high-heeled shoes.

"Of all of the nights..." Scootaloo slapped her face and groaned. "Diamond, Silver, what are you doing here?"

"What do you think we're doing?" Silver Spoon asked. "Going to the library at the middle of the night? Get real."

"This year, the Fall Formal's open to all, now that Sunset's more of a goody horseshoes." Diamond Tiara smirked. "Which means it's the perfect time for us to take the crown." She patted her pink backpack. "And trust me, girls. We've been practicing way before the Formal was even announced. And with the upcoming anime convention hitting Canterlot in a few days' time, why not kill two birds with one stone?"

"Speaking of which, who are you going as?" Silver eyed up the crusaders' bags. "Not that it'll matter once you see our outfits."

"C'mon, girls. Let's just get a move on." Applebloom picked up the pace and pulled her friends along with her, running to the doors of the dancefloor. "And before you two say anything, we're not runnin' scared! We're just gonna have a little fun before the contest!"

"Suit yourself." Diamond smirked. "Have fun while you can. Because come the contest, we're gonna win the crown easy-peasy lemon-squeezy." She shared a little giggle with Silver Spoon before coming to the doors of the hall.

---

All the students in Canterlot High were dressed up smartly for the Fall Formal. Every jock, nerd, fashionista, drama class student, and every other stereotypical kind of student the CMCs could think off were all wearing ties, dresses, and anything that made them look high-class. Even the teachers were taking part in the festivities, garbed in white dresses, with bright lipstick and eyeliner on their faces, with the faintest hints of mascara on their lashes.

Light streamed all across the room, both being reflected on the glitterball and shooting out from the ceiling lights in a vast array of different colours. Many of the students were captivated by the lights, awestruck by their beauty and radiance. Smiles were plastered on all of their faces as they danced, twirled, and laughed underneath the deafening sounds of the DJ's turntables and the glimmering light splattering around every corner of the dancefloor.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders found the cloakroom and put their bags away in it, making sure to mark them with their names scribbled down onto adhesive notes, making extra-double sure that they hadn't mixed one of their bags with someone else's. Once they had finished with that, they shut the cloakroom door and went off to the dancefloor.

The next song began, and almost immediately, the lyrics were distorted or blurred out by the excessive amounts of bass. But that didn't stop people from enjoying the song for what it was. They danced as much as they could, mostly keeping in rhythm with the heavy hits of every bass barrage blasting out of the speakers.

The dancing went on and on until at last, the Cutie Mark Crusaders saw the Rainbooms walk into the venue. Sunset Shimmer, Twilight Sparkle, and all of the others clamoured in, all dressed up in bright, expressive, and colourful dance attire. Everyone smiled at first, but when Applejack saw Applebloom, she couldn't help but drop her grin by a tiny margin.

"Girls! Why, it's ever so nice to see you!" Rarity approached the crusaders and gave Sweetie a small hug. "I do apologize for us being here a little late, but I had a realization that I looked much better in this new dress and I simply couldn't stop myself," she stifled a chuckle behind her mouth. "So? How are you enjoying the Fall Formal?"

"Rarity, we only just got here." Sweetie Belle pushed herself out of Rarity's hold. "But thanks anyway for making us these dresses. I don't know what we would've done without 'em."

"Yeah. Ah'm no fan of pretty clothes, but these do make me feel pretty fancy." Applebloom blushed as she gave her dress a small twirl. "Kinda like Princess Twilight back there in Equestria."

"I gotta agree with ya there, kid." Rainbow Dash nodded. "I'm no fan of dressing up like this, but it is called the Fall Formal for a reason. Though, I wouldn't mind if it was called the Fall Casual."

"I wouldn't mind, either! It'd be the perfect time for me to dress up in a candy dress!" Pinkie squealed. "Just like the one Countess Coloratura used for her last tour! She didn't stay in it the whole show, though, but I'm sure that she used real candy and that it tastes delicious!"

The girls all shared a small chuckle before Fluttershy tugged on Pinkie's shoulders. "Oh, I don't think it'd be all that delicious," she whispered. "It might've gotten dirty being stuck to the fabric like that. Oh, and I don't even want to imagine what kind of stuff would've been on it if the dress was just candy and nothing else..."

"Oookay. I did not need to hear that tonight." Twilight blushed once she knew what Fluttershy meant.

"Anyway..." Sunset rolled her eyes. "I'm pretty excited to see who's gonna be in the contest for the crown. Granted, me and the girls aren't in it because, well, it's kinda obvious at this point. But still. I'm looking forward to it."

"Sunset? You mean you don't know that the CMCs are in the Fall Formal contest this year?" Rarity asked.

"No. But I guess I do now." Sunset smiled down at the three teens and put her hands on their chests. "Just don't get stage fright. That kinda stuff won't be good for your performance."

"Oh, we don't have any confuddled stage fright." Applebloom crossed her arms. "We took part in the Battle of the Bands, didn't we?"

"Yes. Yes you did." Rarity's complexion almost shattered upon recalling the memories. She quickly shook her head and snapped out of it. "Sorry. I'd prefer not to remember that. When Sweetie Belle came home the night before the finals against the Dazzlings, she was so mad that she ended up crying and punching my chest like a little toddler."

"RARITY!" Sweetie Belle cried. "You TOLD THEM?!"

"Well, to be fair, you were brainwashed by three evil sirens and drove away everyone else who was in the tournament back then. I thought you wouldn't remember that part," said Rarity. "Still, though, you were pretty angry back then. I thought for sure that you were going to run away."

"Ta be fair though, Applebloom did the same thing." Applejack crossed her arms. "She threw at least a hundred apples at me in spite when I got home ta Sweet Apple Acres."

"Ah threw a hundred?" Applebloom tilted her head. "Sounds like a lotta wasted apples. Ten would've been enough if ah were mad at ya, sis. Man. Guess them sirens really did a number on our heads..."

"Yep. But the Rainbooms had your back, even though you threw food at us, called us names, and told us that we were all pathetic, weak, horrible teenagers that shouldn't be allowed to win at anything including a music competition." Pinkie Pie smiled innocently. "Yeah. I know. Weird." She was about to say something else, but the next song began. "OOH! Is that the newest Sapphire Shores single?! I GOTTA GET ON THAT DANCEFLOOR!" And she ran as fast as she could to the center of the room, leaving a trail of smoke behind her.

"Well... enjoy the Fall Formal anyway, girls." Sunset strolled off towards the nearby buffet table. "I'll be rooting for you in the competition."

"One more thing to remember is just to have fun with it." Twilight patted each of the CMC's shoulders. "When I was in school, I had an awful lot of stage fright when it came to stuff like spelling bees and awards ceremonies. But I gradually overcame that fear, and now, I'm not nervous at all going onto a stage."

"Thanks, Twilight." Applebloom smiled again. "We'll be sure to remember that."

"Good! Now, if you need me, I'll be with Sunset all evening." She looked around. "Oh, and good luck in the Fall Formal contest." And with that, she walked off.

"Bye!" The crusaders all waved Twilight off.

"So, what now?" Sweetie Belle asked as the crusaders all got themselves into a giant group huddle. "Should we get some last minute practice into our act, or should we do a bit of dancing first?"

"Ah vote on dancin' first," said Applebloom. "We don't wanna turn the Fall Formal into just the contest. It's better to dance first, then get ready for the contest as soon as it's ready."

"I dunno..." Scootaloo tapped the tips of her feet on the ground. "Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon are in the competition too, and I don't think they're gonna go easy on us with the crown on the line." She scratched her chin and looked up at the ceiling. "Dance and enjoy it, or practice so we can whoop Diamond and Silver's butts at the contest? Which one's the better option?"

"What do you think, Sweetie Belle?" Applebloom asked. "Ya'll were the one who thought this up, so ah reckon it's only fair that you decide what we do. Dance and enjoy ourselves, or get ourselves ready to put Diamond and Silver in their places?"

"Just because we're in the contest doesn't mean that this isn't a party, girls." Sweetie Belle watched everyone continue to dance. "Plus, we're really only gonna be wearing these dresses for the first half of the Fall Formal, so we might as well strut our stuff in them before we totally trash Diamond and Silver."

"Alright. So that's two for partying." Applebloom turned to Scootaloo. "Looks like we're gonna have fun first, Scoots. Don't worry about practicing. This is gonna be a total cinch for us to win."

"Plus, it'll make the party even better if we both have fun and win at the same time." Sweetie Belle beamed from ear to ear. "Now, come on, crusaders! Let's bust a move and get into the groove!" And she ran towards the dancefloor.

"I don't know if that was a sign that we should start dancing, or if Sweetie Belle's just started making really weird battle cries." Scootaloo shrugged and walked with Applebloom by her side.

Soon enough, all three of the Cutie Mark Crusaders were lost in a tidal wave of laughter, dancing, lyrics drenched in bass, and the many different coloured lights dancing on the ground just as wildly as the other students. After all of the work that they had put into their dresses, they deserved to dance and enjoy the festivities of the Fall Formal, as they knew that the contest would be tough on all of them.

Comments

[FourShadow]

Hopefully the rest of their night goes smoothy...

[Serenade Sketch]

Still worried about the Dazzlings. Why under any circumstances would anyone with at least one functional brain cell ever trust them?

[AyanamiRei]

8325352
Because they lost their powers, and now they are in a rather unfortunate situation. Not only that, but the dazzlings have a lot LESS to lose here if they HELP the CMC, than if they were to backstab them. Adagio is playing the long game in order to better their situation

[Serenade Sketch]

8325428
Ok, you make a good point. But I still have my suspicions.

[Twilight_Shimmer]

I think you have made a mistake. If memory serves me, I though AJ was grounded and not supposed to be going to the Fall Formal? Unless I am forgetting something somewhere.

[AyanamiRei]

8325708
Well it's not like the Sirens are being Altruistic. They certainly have their own agenda. I'm just saying that they are NOT planning on back stabbing the CMC is all, since it's against their own self-interests

[Shadowmane PX-41]

8326115
Granny Smith and Big Mac eavesdropped and watched AJ and AB make up.

[Twilight_Shimmer]

8326522
LOL I do not remember that but ok

[EchoWing]

Why do I feel like this is the calm before the storm...

[Vigriff]

8328006
Most likely because it it.

[Waspinator331]

8326522
Does that mean Granny Smith changed her mind?