Little Stars

by Shadowmane PX-41

Imitation is the Worst Form of Flattery

The next day, the Cutie Mark Crusaders walked down the sidewalk together, fully dressed in their outfits with their hairs still styled to look like the Dazzlings. As their eyes lazily drifted from one sight to another, they saw that many of the people in the town were staring at them. Some because of their looks, and others with filthy expressions on their faces.

As the air wafted through their hair, the girls had some time to think and reflect on all of the stuff that they had done to make their cosplays look realistic enough. While they couldn't afford gems that had some faint resemblence to that of what the Dazzlings wore around their necks, the wood-crafted emblems that they had made for each other were what they considered to be a good substitution. And the more that they glanced at them, the more comfortable they felt parading around in their outfits.

"So, how bad was it, Applebloom?" Scootaloo put her hands behind her head as she turned to face her. "Did Applejack get mad at you?"

"Yeah, but it wasn't how ah thought it was gonna go down." Applebloom tipped her hand towards Scootaloo as she eyed her up briefly. "Granny Smith came to intervene and gave me a warning about not to copy someone else just to look good. Honestly, ah think that she's right. What point is there in dressing up if you're just gonna mimic someone else?"

"Look, are you still upset about when you tried to dress up as Diamond Tiara just to win the Spring Fling?" Scootaloo leaned in closer and gave Applebloom's shoulders a quick rub. "Because it was totally worth it to see the look on her face. I should've taken a photo."

"Scootaloo!" Sweetie Belle grabbed onto Scootaloo's wrist and gave it a tight twist. She watched her wince as she retracted her arms before turning to Applebloom. "Look, Applebloom, it was fun to do this with you, but after the Fall Formal, I think we should just stick to being ourselves."

"Yeah. There ain't no fun in tryin' ta rip someone off." Applebloom looked up towards the sky, shielding her eyes from the scorching rays of the morning sun. "Especially if it makes yer sister get angry at ya and get both of you in trouble."

"I think you're right about that, Applebloom." Sweetie Belle brushed down the sides of her outfit with the backs of her hands. "There's nothing we can force on you, so if you want to leave this as a one-off, then I'll be fine with that."

"I mean, you were the one who questioned us dressing up like this in the first place when the contest was even announced," said Scootaloo. "Sure, you can drop out after the Fall Formal. We're not gonna stop you."

"Actually, now that I think about it, what if the Dazzlings are still somewhere in this city?" Applebloom's eyes darted around the park. Sweat dripped down her forehead as she considered how the three of them would react to having their styles ripped off by three ordinary first-year CHS students. "They might kill us if they saw us like this! Well, maybe not that blue one, but still, we'd have our guts for garters if they found out!"

"What makes you think that the Dazzlings would still be around, given what happened at Canterlot High with them and the Rainbooms?" Scootaloo raised one of her brows as she also began to examine the area around them. "I would've figured that the three of 'em would've skipped town to start fresh after that humiliating defeat in the Battle of the Bands." She caught up with Applebloom and gently massaged her shoulders. "Chill, Applebloom. Even if they do try to hurt, we'll still be by your side no matter what happens."

"Yeah. We wouldn't leave you because of some little scrap with some older girls—Equestrian monsters or not." Sweetie Belle patted Applebloom's back tenderly, like she was patting down the top of a lump of dough. "We're always gonna be friends. From next year, and the year after that, and even after we graduate! We're never gonna leave you behind."

"Thanks girls. Ya know that I'll always be there for you..." Suddenly, Applebloom's breath grew cold as her eyes landed onto a sight that she hoped that she would never had seen again. "Girls?"

"What? What is..." Scootaloo almost choked on her words as she too saw what Applebloom did. "Sweetie Belle?" She whispered into her ears. "We'd better hide."

"Why? Why do we need to—" As Sweetie Belle turned to see what both of her friends were looking at, her composure immediately shattered as her hands grew shaky "—hide?"

Standing before the Cutie Mark Crusaders were three girls that they knew all too well. The hairstyles and outfits matched that of the ones that they were wearing perfectly, with the colours of the hair being slightly different. There was no mistaking it. These were the Dazzlings in the flesh. The originals that they were ripping off with their cosplays.

"Hide!" Applebloom's voice was in between that of a shout and a whisper as she looked back at her friends. Then, without any hesitation, they darted down the path and crouched behind a mailbox, newspaper stand, and bulletin board, all holding their breaths as they watched the Dazzlings get closer. "Please walk by, please walk by, please walk by..."

The Dazzlings walked up to where the Cutie Mark Crusaders were hiding and stopped on their path. A faint wind blew past them as Adagio squinted her eyes. She didn't feel safe, as if she was being watched by someone. Looking in front and behind her, she eventually shrugged and led her sisters back down the path.

As Applebloom watched them go off and wiped the sweat off of her forehead, letting out a breath of fresh air. But that relief was soon brought to an end as she watched Adagio turn back, and so she hid herself again.

"I'm not that stupid, girls." Adagio yanked Applebloom out from where she was hiding, before moving on to snatch Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo. Gathering the Crusaders together, she put them against the wall. "If this is some kind of sick joke those snot-nosed brats at Canterlot High invented, it's not funny."

"Aww, lay off them a bit, Dagi." Sonata Dusk pulled Adagio's arm from the girls and freed them from the wall. She gently brushed her hand through their hairs and gave them an innocent smile. "I think that they're great. They look like nicer, less evil, and more kid-friendly versions of us."

"Kid-friendly? What are you even trying to say, Sonata?" Aria raised a brow and crossed her hands as she eyed up the Cutie Mark Crusaders. "That we're just some inappropriate whores that deserve to be in a stripper's joint rather than in high school? You disgust me."

"What? I'm just telling the truth." Sonata whined as she threw her arms down in front of her.

"Well, I hate it when you tell the truth, Sonata." Aria scoffed and brushed her hair back. "Just as much as I hate your love for tacos, your annoyingly childish voice, your stupid obsession with pink things, and most importantly—"

"SILENCE!" Adagio slapped Aria across the face and threw her to the ground, slamming the purple siren against the hardened pavement. "I apologise for Aria's behaviour, you three. She's not really a lady-like character, if you understand."

"Yeah. We could tell." Scootaloo watched Aria snarl and get back onto her feet faster than a bullet being fired from a gun. "That's why I'm dressed up as her. My friends have more manners than I do."

"Watch yourself, runt." Aria came up to Scootaloo's face and tightened her hand into a fist. "After those stupd Rainbooms stripped us of our power, we've had to live off of scraps for a living. Kinda like those talking hyenas in that one movie but less pretty than that. So you'd better watch your mouth, or I'll rip it straight from that puny head of yours."

"Aria! Behave yourself." Adagio snatched Aria's fist and twisted her arm as tightly as she could. "I'm the leader of the Dazzlings. I'll handle this. You just keep your mouth shut and talk with Sonata while I handle business here."

"Really, Adagio?" Aria yanked her arm out of Adagio's and grabbed her by the face. "You're gonna make me sit down and listen to that brain-dead lunatic instead of kick the butts of three fashion theives?" She violently jabbed her finger at Sonata, who was busy scrolling through pictures on her phone. "I would rather die than do that."

"Fine by me. There's a garbage truck just across the street from here." Adagio calmly looked out towards a couple of men handling bins. "Feel free to throw yourself in there if you can't handle talking to Sonata to pass time."

"Adagio, you know as well as I do that something like that can't kill us," said Aria. "We might be stuck in these fleshy meat-suits because of that wizard back home, but we're still strong enough to survive stuff like this. You're just trying to stop the argument, but it's not happening to me, sister."

"And you also know that the more you run your mouth, the more you jeopardise our chances of even getting a fresh start in this miserable hate-filled world." Adagio gritted her teeth and held Aria's mouth shut with both of her hands. "Now would you kindly shut your trap, go towards Sonata, and leave me to deal with this trio of trouble-making teenagers alone?"

As the CMCs watched Adagio and Aria argue, a million thoughts ran through their heads. Many of them were about what would happen to them, whether it would be a punch in the face for being copycats, a shake of the hand for how accurate they were to the Dazzlings, or if they should ponder running away while they were given the chance. However, given that either of the three girls could've seen them if they tried to make a break for it, they quickly blotted out their thoughts of escape as they remained stuck to the spots, too unsafe about their options.

"I've had enough of this." Adagio grabbed Aria with one hand and Sonata with the other before taking them across the street and across the street, plopping both of the other Dazzlings down on the bench. "Now you too sit, behave, and don't do anything stupid. I'll have a talk with those three ruffians."

"You're a real jerk, y'know that?!" Aria called from the bench as Adagio walked off, but the elder siren was unfazed by it as she returned to face the Cutie Mark Crusaders herself.

"So... Aria?" Sonata tapped on some buttons on the keypad of her smartphone to spell out the name of a website. With one last tap, it showed a pink background with lots of baby animal pictures laden around it. "Have you see the newest pictures from Babyanimals.com? They're soooo cute!"

"If there is a god in this ape-infested world, I just hope that he lets me die within the next five minutes..." Aria whispered to herself as she facepalmed and slowly slid her fingers down her face.

Adagio Dazzle walked back across the road and came back to the Cutie Mark Crusaders, watching them shudder on the spot. "Thank you for waiting all this time, girls. I would've done this sooner, but my sisters are as educated in being grown-ups as a foal knows how to build a portal. Now then. Let's get back to business..." She gave them a toothy grin as she once again backed them up towards the wall, cracking her knuckles as she stepped closer.

This ain't good... Applebloom could only imagine of the things that Adagio was about to do to her and her friends. And none of them seemed pleasant to her or the other crusaders. As she felt the gold-haired siren get closer to her, she felt her confidence slowly melting away as her entire body shivered from head to toe. Ma? Pa? If yer up there, yer little baby's coming...

Comments

[musicman722]

Well then. This was to be expected. I hope that Adagio only tries to fix up their costumes because if you're gonna cosplay as them ya better do it right

[Solemn Vigil]

Now I'm wondering if the Dazzlings are going to crash the Fall Formal cosplaying the CMC.

[Serenade Sketch]

Well this suddenly escalated quickly.

[CassandraMyOCisBestpony]

Adagio: "I want half of whatever the prize is. Think of it as a royalty payment. What is the prize, anyway?"
Applebloom: "Er, you don't get anythin', you just get to wear a special crown for two weeks."
Adagio: "Very well. Then if you win, you will give us half the crown for one week."
Sweetie: "Wouldn't that be a quarter?"
Scootaloo: "Shush, as long she's happy, we're good."

[OmniFox]

The CMC have one last resort: The Triple Threat Puppy-Eyed Stare 10,000.

[Twilight_Shimmer]

Heh next thing we know, she will give the trio advice, compliment them on their looks, and wish em luck before walking off lol.

[lightningcrash 300]

*raises a shotgun* one....move dagio.....one wrong move...(actually, she's my Fave siren I'm just saying cause if I had to choose between her and the cmc? I'm picking the cmc.)

[RBronyReader446]

7996393 as much as I want to see that, they don't have enough time to pull it off. Especially trying to straighten Adagio's hair enough to get even get close to apple bloom's level, Sweetie Belle to be generous would be a strech

[Foxhelm]

Owohoho... this has gotten intense

[EchoWing]

I feel like I should've seen this coming. And yet, I didn't.

[Purple Pony]

Bloom, you just had to bring it up. THIS IS YOUR FAULT!!!

[FourShadow]

Well, they're dead.

[zalla661]

And the CMCs all died from angry siren. The end.

[Diokno44]

7749235 You unfollowed cause he stopped writing a story?

[mitchboy]

Who want's Sonata Belle?

[AProudMalaysian]

7748621 Curse you and your low level of criticism. That's why writers hate you. You only mocking them and expecting them to find your true intention in those mockery.

[Childish Endeavors]

7748621
You don't need to be so negative. This is a work of fiction by an author who is writing what they want and not what the crowd wants. Not to mention, people can have their own theories and opinions about the movies, not everything needs to be the same.