Chapter One: To Canterlot!
GDocs version here.
Solaris:
Celestial Origins
Twilight Sparkle trotted to the train station, luggage in telekinesis. It was Princess Celestia’s birthday today, and Twilight had intended to go. She was actually going to go alone, but when a certain pink party pony caught on to her plan, the rest of her friends came along. Rainbow Dash went to see the Wonderbolts, Rarity wanted to see the “decor,” Applejack for, clearly, fun, and Pinkie… well, we all know what Pinkie wants. Fluttershy would have gone, too, but she had been assigned to a small base in the White Tail Woods to study the local flora and fauna.
“Rarity, don’t ya think ya packed a bit much?” Applejack asked.
“Applejack, my dear, one must be prepared for any situation!” Rarity replied.
Twilight and Applejack looked behind them, and there was Rarity’s luggage: a giant pile being held up by Spike (who was straining, of course). It always baffled Twilight how Spike was able to carry it all. Pinkie popped out of the top part, which made Spike drop everything.
“Oh, that’s why it was so heavy!” Spike picked everything back up, carrying them with ease on one hand, the other holding a half-eaten gemstone.
They continued to the train station, conversing about many topics, including Twilight’s castle’s interior designs, cloud collisions, and the objective quality of baked goods, something Pinkie was heavily invested in.
Rainbow Dash argued, “Muffins don’t need frosting, Pinkie.”
Pinkie Pie put on a slight frown, and was about to say something back when Twilight broke up the discussion, “Girls, we’re here.”
“Twi, we’ve been here for the past ten minutes.” Applejack said flatly.
“We have?”
“Yep.”
“Well, let’s get on the train!”
The five friends loaded their things on the train, and took off to Canterlot.
“Hey Twilight, remember that one time when Scootaloo and the her friends asked about our cutie marks?” Rainbow said, trying to start a conversation.
Twilight, too had that plan, “Oh yeah, that was fun. Applejack’s was pretty interesting. Applejack, what was it like in Manehattan?”
Applejack turned her attention from the view and responded, “Oh, it was a bustlin’ city. Sharp dressed ponies everywhere, rings and those glass eye things.”
Rarity joined in, “I find Fluttershy’s story very ironic. A pegasus who found her cutie mark on the ground with animals.”
All of them, in one way or another, agreed.
Twilight wondered, “I wonder… how did the Princesses get theirs?”
“Good question...” Applejack remarked.
“Maybe the ponies chose them when they realized both of them had wings and horns.” Rainbow said.
“I don’t think so,” Twilight inspected her own wings, then went to the window. “It’s very unlikely a pony is born as an alicorn. I think they were unicorns, but then magically gained wings like I did.”
“It’s a good theory,” Rarity added.
The ponies sat in silence for around two minutes, until the conductor broke the silence and announced the arrival.
“We’re here. Come on, girls.” Twilight and her friends went out the door and grabbed their luggage.
“Let’s ask Princess Celestia later,” Rainbow suggested.
The five arrived at the party, about an hour early.
“Twily, you’re here!” Shining Armor exclaimed.
Princess Cadance took notice and came towards them.
“So many balloons!” Pinkie shouts in excitement and runs off, zooming to every party supply nearby.
“Twilight! I didn’t think you would come this early.” Cadance levitates over a plate of assorted nuts and fruit, and sets it on a small table nearby.
“Come on, Twily,” Shining takes a seat at the table, and nibbles on an apple slice. Being her natural self, Applejack picks up a slice and closely inspects it.
“It looks pretty young,” she observes. Applejack bites half of it, and spits it all out in no less than 3 seconds.
“That bad?” Cadance chuckles.
“No offense, but these seem like they’re from a sewer pipe.”
“They probably are…” Shining mumbles.
“Well, I’m glad I brought some.” Applejack unties a medium-sized bag and Twilight magically dumps out all the apples.
“We got them from a farm in Appleloosa. I didn’t want to burden you with supplying apples this time around.” Cadance explains.
“Oh, you didn’t have to,” Cadance says.
“Clearly, I do, Princess,”
Cadance looks at Twilight, whose eyes carry the message, “Applejack’s right.”
“I suppose. I’ll fetch the kitchen staff. Daybreak! We have new apples!” Cadance went into the kitchen, took a knife, and started slicing. A mare with a coffee cutie mark came to her assistance.
"Well, guys, there's not much to do until later, so might as well chillax." Shining Armor got up and went to a more comfortable couch. Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow followed suit to other seats, and "chillaxed." Twilight went to help with the apples, and Pinkie continued stalking the balloons.
