“Ugh!”
“But Starlight, you know you can’t just stay in your room all night! We’ve had these plans to attend the neighborhood ball for months!”
“Pfft!”
“All your friends are going to be there and you wouldn’t want to disappoint them by not showing up, would you?”
“Heh, friends…” Starlight frowned and crossed her hooves. She was laying on her bed, resting her back against the headrest and as far as she was concerned, she’d stay that way for the rest of the day.
“Yes, your friends!” Starlight’s father remained standing in the doorway, a fierce determination to win this battle written across his face. “You know, the ponies you like to go shopping with and ride skateboards with and stuff.”
“I have no friends,” Starlight murmured. “Not after Lorna Shore betrayed me.”
“Betrayed you?”
“She asked out the colt I wanted to go the dance with before I could!” Starlight screeched out. “She knew I liked Dance and she asked him out just to spite me!”
Her dad rubbed his chin. “Uhh, Dance? I’m not sure I know who you’re speaking of, sweet pea.”
Her jaw dropped. “Yeah, you wouldn’t know any of the cool ponies, would you. His name’s Dance. Gavin Dance. He’s only coolest, most sensitive colt in the town and guess what? He’s going to the party with Lorna so there’s no way in Tartarus I’m going!”
Firelight stomped his hoof into the ground. “Starlight, I understand, but we’re going and that’s final! I’m going to get ready and I expect you to be ready too. We leave in an hour!”
“But!”
“No buts about it, missy! You will be going tonight and that’s final!” He turned around and left the room.
Starlight, for her part, used her magic to slam the door behind him. “Fine! Be that way!”
She immediately burrowed her face into her pillow and let out a groan that would challenge the moodiest of teenagers. She was fifteen years old! She wasn’t a filly anymore. She should be allowed to make her own decisions! But no! Her father would never understand that because he didn’t understand anything about her!
She rolled her body over and turned her eyes to the ceiling. “It’s not fair! He’ll never understand me and what I want! Nopony does…”
She wiped a few stray tears from her eyes before twisting over onto her side and that’s when she saw it.
“Well, I guess some ponies understand…”
Her record player was situated on her dresser off in the corner. If anypony out there knew what she was feeling and how to comfort her, it was her favorite bands. They understood. They spoke to her.
They were her real friends.
She sat up and pushed her straightened mane out of her eyes. Her record collection was in a stack next to her bed so she promptly levitated it onto the mattress next to her. Not just any music would do right now. No. This situation required a special blend of angst and emotion.
“Let’s see here…” She began going through the records one at a time. “Maneday Parade? Nah. Hoofthorn Heights? Not today. Colt-182? Maybe tomorrow.”
As she continued cycling through the records, she couldn’t quite find one that matched what she needed. She wanted something intense. Something aggressive. Rebellious. Something… angry!
If it was possible to snap her hooves, she would because she just through of exactly what she needed. She put all the records back on the floor and instead levitated a box out from under her bed, placing it gingerly next to her.
This box contained all the records she had to hide from her father. Also known as any record that contained profanity or an anti-political message. Again, he was too old to understand true art.
She sifted through the various records once more before finally found her target.
“Rage Against the Princess!” She pulled out the record and took a moment to analyze the beauty of the album art. It was a chalk outline of Princess Celestia with a noose spray painted around her neck and X’s where the eyes should be.
It took her all of five seconds to levitate the record over and begin playing the first track.
She nestled back into her bed, closed her eyes and let the music and message flow through her body like the lifeblood she so desperately needed right now.
“Preach to me, boys. Preach to me.”
Nothing quite said ‘I know how you feel’ like hardened guitar riffs, earth shaking bass and emotionally charged lyrics. When the rest of the world failed her, her favorite bands never did. When her friends left her, her music was there, waiting to cheer her up. When her father insisted on making her life hard, her record collection was there to make everything just a little bit easier.
After just listening for a track or two, she finally worked up the energy to get out of bed and start getting ready. She eventually came to terms with the fact that she’d be having to go this formal party thing, so she may as well get ready, go and get it over with.
She continued to let her music play while she picked out her clothes for the evening. She, of course, went to her standard dress she used for parties like this. It was a black dress comboed with fishnet stockings for her legs. Her dad wasn’t a fan of it which made it all the more enjoyable to wear.
After getting her clothes on, she fixed up her mane the way she liked: Brushed to side, bangs hanging in front of her left eye and hair sprayed into place. To top it off, of course, she grabbed her favorite pink bow, the one with a little skull button in the middle, and put it right behind where her hair was parted.
She smiled at herself in the mirror. If nothing else, she at least got to be herself while she was there… and possibly make Dance jealous in the process.
She was about to walk out the door when instead her father saw fit to thrust the door open himself.
“Starlight, are you read—” He looked over his daughter. “Starlight, do you have to wear that outfit to every event?”
She rolled her eyes. “Dad! You’re supposed to knock before coming in!”
“Fine, fine, fine. I’m sorry.” His ears then perked up for a moment, catching the sound of the music playing. “Starlight? What did I tell you about listening to music like this! It’s so… angry and loud!”
“So? What’s wrong with that?!”
He shook his head. “Do you even know what it’s about? How can you tell from all the yelling?”
“Uh, because I have functioning ears and can hear the real message.”
“And what message would that be?”
“That the system we have isn’t working and an overthrow in favor of an equality-based society is the only answer… obviously!”
He rolled his eyes. “Well, I don’t like you listening to it! But we’ll deal with that later. For now, we need to leave in a few minutes. Please come to living room as soon as you’re done.”
He left again, leaving a grumbling Starlight in his wake.
She groaned and turned off her music before heading out the door. “Pfft, trying to tell me that my music’s message isn’t good. It’s not like the lyrics are actually going to make me change a society or anything…”
Author's Note
After the new episode referencing Starlight's room when she was younger I simply had to write this. I myself was quite the emo teenager.
Hell, I still wear skinny jeans.
