Reflectance

by AshleyH713

Rating: everyone
Tags: Princess Celestia, Slice of Life, Sad, Princess Luna, Drama, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Twilight Sparkle
Length: 2720

This short story follows Galaxy Star, a unicorn who became Twilight's student, but not before undergoing various hardships.

This short story follows Galaxy Star, a unicorn who became Twilight's student, but not before undergoing various hardships. Short prequel story to my audio drama series Remembrance

Critique is fine but please be gentle. This story is very personal to me.

Published 2018-10-20 06:40:01 UTC
Last updated 2018-10-23 05:35:31 UTC

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

When the letter came in the mail Galaxy Star and her parents were thrilled. It wasn’t every day that a filly was chosen to take the test at Celestia’s school for gifted unicorns.

After weeks and weeks of practicing and waiting the moment had finally arrived. She was finally going to leave her old town in Van Hoover and finally see something new, something waiting for her to discover, Canterlot.

Taking cautious steps, they stepped off the train and saw the tall peaks of the castle in the distance.

Galaxy squeed in joy as they rounded the corner and gasped at the sights before her. Rows and rows of important looking ponies walked the streets while various random sales ponies lined the aisles with a mission to sell there unknown product. “Whoa, this is incredible!”

Her parents laughed at her excitement and watched her wander around the area, her nose crunching up every once in awhile to show her uncontainable excitement.

After some more random wandering, it was finally time to meet with the leaders of the school for her audition.

Taking her hoof in hers Galaxy’s mother smiled softly and pulled her close before whispering. “Now go on, make us proud.”

Smiling back Galaxy hugged her mother with great force and nodded her head aggressively. “I will Mommy.”

Unfortunately this audition was something that she had to face all on her own. Certain rules rejected parents or guardians from watching because of distractions to the audition process.

Opening the door to the school she gulped when she saw nothing in the empty space. She at least expected a couple students but to her surprise the halls were free of any filles or teachers.

Galaxy turned her head and found a large door with the name “Auditions” on it and decided that was a good place to start.

Creaking the door open she slowly stepped inside and found what she was looking for. Sitting at the desk was one older looking ponies who was busy writing down something which Gal assumed it was important.

She moved forward and looked at the older pony whose eyes were now on hers. “Hello, I’m here for my audition. My name is Galaxy Star.”

The mare seemed to be bothered by her question though as she just looked back to her book before muttering. “Through there.”

After a moment of uncertainty Galaxy nodded her head and moved to where the pony had said where she found a bunch of older colts discussing something.

Jumping slightly, the oldest colt spoke first. “Galaxy Star?”

Nodding her head once, Gal took a step forward. “Yes, that’s me.”

The atmosphere in the room seemed very unwanted, like she was bothering them in unspoken way. It honestly made her a bit uncomfortable.

The second colt pulled out a large stack of papers before pointing to a large flower pot next to her and stated. “Your task is to turn this seed into a large flower, like the packet stated. Begin.”

Galaxy smiled slightly at their instructions and thought about the spell she had practiced over and over again. She certainly was confident.

Beginning her spell she pointed her horn towards the flower and a small spark of magic appeared, zapping the pot.

The object lifted up as the pot shook before creating a large beautiful lily.

Breathing heavily Galaxy looked up at instructors in apprehension. She was pretty confident on her work but was slowly dashed when she saw the look on their faces.

They looked somehow unimpressed by her work even though she had done exactly what they had asked.

After a brief moment of silence the oldest colt stood and talked down to her. “Miss Star was it? You do know the assignment was to turn the pot into a sunflower. Why is it a lily?”

Looking at them in shock Galaxy took a step back and thought about the words in her instruction packet over and over. She couldn’t remember anything that said the flower had to be a sunflower, but maybe she was mistaken?

Stuttering a bit she answered their question. “I didn’t read anything about a sunflower. I thought it was just a flower.”

The instructors shook their heads before pointing to the door halfheartedly. “Could you give us a moment?”

Not really having a choice, Galaxy stepped out of the room but moved next to the door since the room wasn’t that large to begin with.

Thinking about what could've wrong she begin to hear the muffled sounds of the instructors discussing everything that she had feared, her.

The voices carried through the frosted window as she made out the voice of the oldest colt. “I don’t think we can accept her.”

The walls around her came crashing down as a hot ball grabbed onto her throat and squeezed it. This couldn’t be. She thought about her parents just outside, awaiting the words of her acceptance.

The other colt replied with a low “I know, I don’t believe she belongs here.”

Choosing not to listen to the rest of the conversation Galaxy closed her eyes in pain when a soft clicking could be heard and the door began to open.

They gestured her to come in at she faced her judgement. “Galaxy, we’ve been talking and we don’t believe this school is the right fit for you.”

Cutting them off Galaxy raced forward and spoke loudly. “No please, I can do it. I’ve been practicing for years. I know I belong here.”

Looking between each other the colts nodded their heads and handed her a piece of paper. “The most we can do is offer you a trial spot in the program and at the end of the year you can take the test again. If you pass after that then you will be fully accepted.”

Not liking the compromise but knowing this was the only option she had, she accepted it. They all came to an agreement and soon she was alone again.

Standing in those dark hallways, her mind her running at a billion miles per minute. She was certain that she would be accepted as part of the school and now, she had to go out there and tell her awaiting parents that she failed.

Even though the school had allowed her to be in a program on a trial period, it still felt like she wasn’t wanted, like she didn’t belong.

But as soon as those feelings came, she tried to make them disappear quickly. She loved magic and she certainly wasn’t going to let those teachers make her feel terrible. She would show them that they had made the wrong call. She would show them that she belonged.

Author's Note

This is really hard for me to post for reasons I will reveal later. Hope you enjoy.

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Reflectance

Galaxy walked up the stone steps into the dormitory where she would be staying with slight fear in her chest. She really wanted to make a good impression for her new roommate.

They had sent letters back and forth between them a couple times but Scorch lived all the way in Saddle Arabia which made it difficult to connect with on a personal level.

Reaching the door, Galaxy used her magic to give it a slight push and she came face to face with the pony she’d be living with for the next four years, Scorch.

Scorch’s coat was a light orange color with matching light and dark orange in her hair. Although she was a pegasus, she was allowed to practice potions here at the academy.

A couple years ago Princess Twilight declared across Equestria that everypony should be given the chance to pursue magic, even if they weren’t born of unicorn decent.

These made Galaxy extremely happy as a couple of her friends in Van Hoover were also pegasi but dreamed of studying magic along with her. And now, they finally could.

Scorch turned at her arrival and gave a friendly smile. She strolled forward and reached out her hoof in welcome. “You must be Galaxy. It’s very nice to finally meet face to face. I’m Scroch, but you probably already know that.”

Galaxy let off a tiny bit of laughter as she met the pegasuses hoof in acceptance. “Yes, I think so too! It’s nice to meet you Scorch.”

Nodding her head, Scorch then pointed to the empty bed in the corner and stated. “You can put your things there. And if you need any help, feel free to ask me. This is already my third year here so I’m somewhat of a pro about this school.”

The unicorn followed her directions and placed the heavy suitcase on the bed, thinking about the sentence her roommate had said.

She didn’t know that this was Scorch’s third year at the school. Well, she supposed that may be helpful in the future as she didn’t know where anything was.

After she had finished her task, the pegasus just smiled and her and moved towards the door in question. “Now, how would you feel about a tour? Classes don’t start till tomorrow and I think it might be important if you know your way around.”
Galaxy nodded her head in excitement, eager to explore her new home. “Ahh yes! I would love that!”

Scorch just nodded her head and let her through the door and onto the grounds of the school.

Leading each other through the halls, Galaxy couldn't believe what she was seeing. She had always earned to study at Princess Celestia’s school but now, it was actually happening.

She was stepping foot in the same place that the Princess of Friendship studied. It was all a mix of excitement and overwhelming feelings for her.

Galaxy paused when she saw Scorch run up to a couple other ponies that were studying along the side of the garden. They all looked at her each other and started talking about some unknown topic. It seemed like they knew each other.

Turning her head, Scorch then pointed to Galaxy and stated. “Ah Galaxy. These are my friends. They are also third years like me. Please meet, Rose, Blossomforth and Dusk. Guys, this is my new roommate, Galaxy Star.”

The three ponies glazed at Gal and gave a friendly enough response. “Oh, nice to meet you Galaxy. We were just about to have some lunch. Wanna join?”

Nodding her head once, she followed the students into the cafeteria and decided to have some hayburgers.

Galaxy looked around at her friends and thought to herself. This is where she belonged. She was really going to love it here, she knew it.

Classes started the day after and they were certainly challenging to say the least. She was instructed to learn various types of magic that she wasn’t overly confident in but tried her best in leaning them.

The amount of classes were nothing to sneeze at either. Galaxy had to take her normal school lessons along with her magic lesson which totaled to about 13 classes, and that didn’t even count practice time. This curriculum was clearly at a professional level and she silently thought she had to prove herself. Yes, she would prove herself.

Days and days past and Galaxy completely through herself into her work and was always found at the practice rooms, trying to learn though new learning techniques. The workload kept pouring on but Gal tried to remain positive through it all.

One day though, she had slipped up and forgotten to practice in favor of a test in her general studies but Gal knew that her private instructor would understand. She had been fully dedicated for months, surely they would understand that she was indeed just a filly.

Galaxy walked into the practice room and greeted her instructor, Siarah Spell, who was waiting for her for the past couple minutes.

Stepping into the room, Galaxy smiled kindly at the pony. “Good morning Miss Spell. How are you today?”

But she didn’t get the reaction she wanted, instead what greeted her was a grunt and a mutter saying. “Yes, fine. Let’s begin. Your homework was to levitate that stack of books.”

Galaxy looked at the books before her and started the spell in her mind, struggling a tiny bit but still remaining strong.

She was able to get the books a couple inches from the ground before having to drop them in a heavy thud. Sure they weren’t as high as she would've liked, but she was just learning this particular spell and tried not to sweat it.

But it didn’t seem that Siarah felt the same as she just looked down on the filly, her glasses falling off her face with a look of disappointment. “They need to be higher.”

Galaxy tried to laugh it off and explain her situation to the pony. “Yes, I know. But I had three large tests yesterday but didn’t have time to practice like usual. Just give me until tomorrow and I will be able to lift them higher. I promise.”

The mare just frowned and pointed to the books in question. “But your assignment was to lift the books today. Your fellow peers had the same amount of work and yet they were able to complete the task. I don’t see how you can’t.”

Hanging her head down, Galaxy thought about the other students. The ones she had talked too already had multiple years of experience with this type of magic when she did not. It seemed almost unfair to compare them.

She tried to voice her thoughts to the mare respectful. “But I started learning this type of magic recently. I’m trying my best.”

The mare just brought her chin up, sticking her nose up into the air and replied. “I don’t think you are. And if you aren’t going to take your lessons seriously, than maybe you shouldn’t be at this school.”

The teachers words stunned Galaxy to a complete silence. Of course she was trying. She had dedicated months to studying to learn this new form of magic. It almost seemed insulting for the mare to call her lazy.

Hot tears burned her eyes but she refused to cry in front of her teacher. She was supposed to be a professional after all.

Siarah took her silence as an answer and started to pack her up things, to Galaxy’s surprise. “Now, since you aren’t going to take this seriously, I’m going to dedicate my time to those who do.”

She then pointed to the door and stared at the filly, expecting her to leave right away. All Galaxy could do in that moment was comply. She quietly walked out of the office, only to have the door shut roughly behind her.

Clutching the books in her hoofs, she closed her eyes in utter devastation. A wave of self loathing came through her as she replayed the instructors words in her head over and over. She was trying.

Just then that cruel voice came back and crept into the inside of her ear. I don’t think you are.

------------------

Walking back to her room, Galaxy wasn’t surprised to find that Scorch was nowhere to be seen. She was kind of a social butterfly and was probably out with her friends again.

Placing her books on the bed, she stepped when she noticed a scroll on her bed.

Carefully picking it up, she read the words carefully. It was a letter from her parents.

Galaxy just looked at the words and knew they would be waiting her reply. The letter was filled with words of encouragement, telling her about how proud they were and about how hard she was working.

She didn’t know how to reply. Somewhere deep down she knew that if she told them of her troubles then that moment of pride would be gone. As she wasn’t the best student in Van Hoover, she wanted to prove to them that sending her to this school was worth it, they even paid for a huge amount of it.

Galaxy just ignored the wet stream falling onto her face and wiped a single tear from her eyes and begin to write back. I”m doing fine.