Growing Up Glimmer

by Lord Camembert

Flying at Night

A few weeks had passed, and though murmurs about the kite on the performing arts spire continued to ripple throughout the campus, no one outside of Starlight’s friends seemed to have any idea who the perpetrator could be. Starlight and Midnight leisurely walked toward Solar Hall, talking along the way.

“Is it just going to be us, then?”

“No, Sugar Belle said Night Glider’d be there too.” Starlight quickly glanced at her hair as she mentioned the pegasus’s name: it was beaniless.

“Oh yeah! She was interesting, wasn’t she?”

“Yeah, I definitely didn’t expect to get roasted over my headwear choices.”

Midnight snorted. “Ah, lighten up, Star. I’ve teased you worse than that.”

Starlight rolled her eyes, but smiled regardless. “Fair. ”

Solar Hall stood out among the faux classical architecture of the surrounding dorms, a mixture of concrete, glass, and steel seven stories tall, towering above the smaller residence halls surrounding it. A thin, pyramidal glass spire tinged with gold and capped with a golden starburst topped the building, and shined brightly in the midday sun. As Midnight passed through the entrance, she read aloud the plaque which hung on the foyer wall.

"Constructed in honor of the 1000th Summer Sun Celebration." She added, "Seems a little weird to dedicate the building two years early."

"Probably just wanted to be sure it wouldn't be finished late."

The two walked the marble staircase in the center of the building, eventually making their way to Sugar Belle's room. A conversation carried through the door.

"Can we please not do the tournament? The frats always win those things."

"Oh, come on, Night Glider, it'll be fun! I'll make team cupcakes."

"What the hay is a 'team cupcake?'"

"It's a normal cupcake, but–"

Starlight knocked on the door. Sugar Belle's answered, her expression cheery as she beckoned the two inside. Starlight continued the conversation.

"So, 'team cupcakes?' What are we making a team for?"

Night Glider huffed. "Sugar Belle wants us to join some sports tournament."

"What sport?"

"Flydisc. It's a game with throwing discs. Only big rules are that unicorns can't use anything other than telekinesis and that pegasi have to remain within a leg length of the ground." Sugar Belle produced a pamphlet which Midnight took in her magical grasp. It was colorful, with photos of ponies of all colors and races in the middle of a game. The cover text mentioned an intramural tournament happening that same day. Starlight could make out a mountain of text underneath the section titled "Rules." Midnight hurriedly returned the pamphlet.

"What do you think? Wanna enter? We need a team of at least four ponies."

"Sure, why not? And Starlight's definitely in."

"What? No, I’ve never even–”

"Come on, you spend all your time cooped up in our room studying. This'll be fun!"

Starlight sighed. "Fine. I'm in if Midnight's in."

"Great! That just leaves…" added Sugar Belle. All eyes fell on Night Glider.

"Alright, fine! I'll join the stupid team."

---

The newly formed flydisc team arrived at the intramural sports fields at the outer edge of campus a few hours before sundown. Groups of ponies, some wearing matching uniforms, waited and talked by a table where a number of ponies were taking down team information.

Sugar Belle craned her neck, trying to see over the crowd. "Oh, looks like we need a name. Any ideas?"

"'We Don't Want To Be Here.'"

"Any good ideas?"

Starlight shrugged. "Don't look at me, I'm terrible at naming things."

"Why don't you come up with something?"

Sugar Belle thought for a moment, then offered, "How about… 'Creamy Surprise?'"

Night Glider's hoof met her forehead as Starlight stifled a laugh. While Starlight recovered, the pegasus looked around before asking, “Where did Midnight go?”

"Right here!"

Midnight returned to the team carrying several jerseys. Each bore a piece of tape with "The Kite Flyers" in neat hornwriting on the back.

“Alright, we’re all registered!”

Starlight’s brows raised at the sight of the jerseys. “You didn’t seriously put that down as our name, did you?”

Night Glider snorted, snarking, “Maybe we can put some of these ponies off their game if they think we capped the spire.”

Starlight deadpanned, “And you’re seriously not going to let me live that down, are you?”

“Not a chance.”

Sugar Belle’s admonishment came with a smile. “I should be annoyed at you for picking without us… but that’s a pretty good name.”

The first round started soon after. The team was up against Kappa Alfalfa, who seemed to consist of nothing but earth ponies. No one scored in the first half. Between Starlight’s levitation, Night Glider’s ability to hover just barely within the reach of the opposing team, and Sugar Belle’s surprisingly high athleticism, they were able to prevent the Alf Squad from scoring, despite a clear experience gap.

However, their own score was also zero. While the Alf Squad had no real counter for their magic and flight, they had a major advantage: they knew the rules. The referee’s whistle rang harshly in the Kite Flyers’ ears.

“Offsides!”

“Illegal unicorn-to-pegasus slingshot pass!”

“No celebration dances!”

“Poor sportsponyship!”

“Excessive sportsponyship!”

At the break, Starlight was indignant. “How is anypony supposed to understand these rules?!”

Night Glider suggested, “Maybe we should read them.”

Midnight was watching the referee, who blew his whistle. “I don’t think we have time. We gotta get back in there.”

Thanks to a lucky between-the-hooves throw from Midnight and some fast footwork from Sugar Belle, the girls were able to score a single point in the second half. Despite their experience, Alf Squad hadn’t been able to overcome the Kite Flyers’ aerial advantage.

The following two games went similarly. Few teams had both unicorns and pegasi, and neither of the teams the Flyers played against did. They had, somehow, made it into the finals. Looking at their competition did nothing for their spirits, however.

“Are they wearing… protective padding?” asked Starlight.

Sugar Belle pulled out her copy of the rules pamphlet. The ponies on the cover were wearing similar equipment. “It must be pro equipment. I guess they take this game super seriously.”

“But this is a no-contact spo–”

A referee called out from the edge of the field. “Next up: Kite Flyers versus the Canterlot Cannibals! Game starts in five.”

Night Glider was hovering, her forelegs crossed. “The Canterlot Cannibals.”

At the other end of the field, the nearly set sun cast long shadows in front of the Kite Flyers’ padded opponents. Midnight covered her eyes from the sun, squinting at the opposing team.

“They’re wearing mouth guards… shaped like shark teeth?”

Starlight could see two of the team hovering in the air, and could just barely make out a horn topping the largest pony’s head. One of the ponies was walking over. “Looks like it. They’ve also got every type of pony.” She looked to Midnight. “Maybe we should save ourselves the embarrassment and give up now?”

Midnight didn’t respond, giving her only a sidelong glance. The lone earth pony from the Cannibals had apparently overheard.

“Good idea. Fine ladies such as yourselves shouldn’t tangle with us… on the field, at least.” He waggled his eyebrows, staring straight at Starlight. Starlight fought the urge to gag; Night Glider lost that same fight. “Just give up now and we’ll throw in an invite to one of our post-game parties.”

Starlight’s horn began to glow as her expression darkened when Night Glider called the team into a huddle.

“There’s no way we can give up now!”

Sugar Belle replied, “But how are we supposed to beat them? Maybe Starlight had the right–”

“No way. We’re going to destroy them. I want them to rue the day they picked a fight with me!”

“Midnight, what about you?”

Midnight was too busy laughing at Starlight’s outburst to reply. Night Glider reassured Sugar Belle, “Look, the sun’s almost completely down. By the time the second half starts, it’ll be dark. They might have experience, but nopony outflies me after dark. If the rest of you can keep doing what you’ve been doing the rest of the tournament, we can win this!”

“Wow. You really came around on this tournament, huh?”

“Oh, no, I still think it’s dumb. I’m just with Starlight on this one.” She turned to face the Cannibals’ side of the field. “Time to win this.”

---

Despite their determination, the Kite Flyers were dramatically outplayed in the first half. The padding Starlight had thought would be useless proved effective when the Cannibals' pegasi acted as a springboard to launch their earth pony friend towards the touchdown zone. While the game of keepaway the Flyers used in the previous three games still worked, the Cannibals were able to use the exact same strategy to maintain a forty point lead going into the halftime break.

“Seriously, how does the scoring system in this game work?” asked Midnight. Starlight consulted with Sugar Belle and her rules pamphlet for a while, then made an announcement.

“Ok, I think we’ve got this. We just have to score three more goals and one more touchdown, and we’ll win by three points.”

“I’m gonna pretend that made sense.”

Night Glider stared at the horizon. “Ok. I hope it’s dark enough now…”

Starlight’s voice was hesitant. “You sure you’ve got this?”

"Please. I actually get to use my talent for once." Night Glider stretched her wings. "They're going down."

The second half started similarly to the first, but the Cannibals, despite the experience lead, were unable to score.

The pegasi prepared the same trick they'd used in the first half to score, launching their friend. This time, however, Night Glider was ready. As the earth pony kicked off from his friends' shoulders, Night Glider darted forward, folding in her wings as she grabbed the flying disc between her teeth. Gravity brought her to the ground as she wrenched the disc out of the earth pony's mouth, but she didn't remain their long. She launched herself back into the air, her momentum carrying her forward as she threw herself into a tight spin, slipping between the pegasi before they could react.

Once she passed the pegasi, all that remained between her and the touchdown zone was the Cannibal's single unicorn. Starlight and Sugar Belle ran forward, fanning out towards the sides of the field and creating a wide V behind their agile friend.

The opposing unicorn was surprised; it seemed he had been expecting the second half to go the same as the first. He tried to pry the flying disc from Night Glider’s grip, but she threw it toward Starlight, who overpowered the unicorn’s telekinetic grasp. Starlight waited for the Cannibal defender to get close before sneaking the disc under his legs, tossing it to Sugar Belle who carried it into the endzone. The remainder of the Cannibals finally caught up as the referee blew his whistle, while the scorekeeper narrowed the gap between the teams.

The remainder of the second half was a bloodbath. The Kite Flyers, with their newfound advantage, dominated the field, taking the forty point gap they had at halftime and turning it into a forty point lead. When the referee blew the final whistle, the Cannibals spat out their mouthguards and started shouting, stomping the guards into the ground. The Flyers huddled on their side of the field.

"Night Glider, that was awesome!" said Starlight, throwing her forehooves in the air.

"Yeah! You did great for the girl who kept calling this tournament stupid."

Midnight came up to the group, but her attention was focused on the other team. She squinted, but didn't speak.

"Well, my talent never comes in handy for anything else." She added, with a smirk, "At least I can use it to win some stupid tournament."

“I knew it!”

The girls turned, all but Midnight surprised to see the earth pony who had attempted flirting at them earlier standing with a referee. His face was a mix of humiliation and anger.

“You heard them! Article X, Section 23, Subsection (a), Paragraph iv of the rules makes it very clear! No special talents.”

Night Glider was apoplectic with rage. “Are you motherfucking kidding me?!”

“Look! Her cutie mark! A moon and feathers. See?”

The referee rolled his eyes, sighing heavily before asking, “Young filly, mind telling me what your special talent is?” Night Glider’s jaw dropped.

“Seriously?!”

The referee gave the earth pony a sidelong glance. “We normally don’t ask because this is an intramural tournament and we’re usually pretty lax on the rules… because this is an intramural tournament… but the Cannibals insisted.”

“Fine! Yes! I’m a great flyer at night! That’s what you want to hear, isn’t it?”

The earth pony pumped his hoof and hollered in victory.

“Sorry. We’re gonna have to disqualify the Kite Flyers.”

“So ladies… about my offer from earlier?” The earth pony waggled his eyebrows at Night Glider.

---

“I still think you shoulda let me pound him.”

The Kite Flyers returned to Sugar Belle’s dorm. Sugar Belle tossed out the pamphlet as the girls swore to never play the game again.

All except Night Glider, who merely swore. Starlight had wrapped the pegasus in her aura as the team walked away from the field, stopping her from soundly thrashing the earth pony who had called in the refs. The unicorn refused to let her go until they returned to Solar Hall. Sugar Belle blocked the window to her room, while Midnight guarded the door. Starlight let Night Glider go free.

“You can relax, I’m not gonna jump out the window to beat the guy up,” she said, muttering the rest under her breath, “even if he deserves it.”

“Yeah, that was kind of a disaster.”

“It’s fine,” rebutted Midnight, “we know who really won that game.”

Sugar Belle walked out of the room, looking over her shoulder to add, “Well, I did hear a lot of booing when the referees announced the results.”

“Where are you going?”

“Oh! I put some cupcakes in the oven when we got back.”

“Sweet! Need some help icing those?”

“You just want to eat the leftover buttercream, don’t you?”

“No,” singsonged Midnight, following her out.

A loud and boisterous silence filled the air. Night Glider silently fumed while Starlight awkwardly fidgeted to the side. Several minutes passed before Starlight spoke.

“Hey… you doing ok?”

“I get to do something useful with the one thing I’m good at, and I don’t even get to keep that!”

“Ok, silly question.”

“And this stupid game! Thank Celestia my talent isn’t in flydisc, or I wouldn’t even be able to play it!”

Starlight scratched the back of her head, grimacing, but unable to think of anything to say.

“You know what the dumbest part is? This whole stupid obsession with cutie marks only started in the last millenium.”

“What?”

“Yeah. Yeah. Look up pre-Equestrian history sometime, you’ll see it. It’s fucking bullshit.” Night Glider pawed at the carpet, restraining herself from stomping on the floor.

“Wait, what do you–”

Starlight was interrupted by the return of Midnight and Sugar Belle, each carrying a tray of cupcakes coated in decadent-looking icing. The smell was overwhelmingly and delightfully sweet, rich with chocolate.

“Cupcake time!” said the two simultaneously.

“Finally.” Night Glider seemed to calm down as she bit into one of the fresh confections.

“Sounded like we were interrupting something?” asked Midnight as she sat by Starlight, eating her own cupcake. It was covered with substantially more icing than the others on the tray.

“No, nothing, I guess.” Starlight looked pensive. She slowly ate a cupcake as the conversation continued.

It was nearly morning when she and Midnight made it back to their dorm.

Comments

[Gay For Gadot]

“Ok, I think we’ve got this. We just have to score three more goals and one more touchdown, and we’ll win by three points.”

“I’m gonna pretend that made sense.”

I'm headcanoning that this "flydisc" game is basically Calvinball. It makes just about as much sense.

Oooh, Night Glider's planting some seeds in Starlight's brain that really aren't gonna grow like she intended...