Adventures of Copper Strikesby DwhitetheGamerChaptersThe ChildhoodA New beginningThe Best Night EverThe ChildhoodAuthor's Note This chapter's second portion takes place exactly a week before the Equestria-famous Sonic Rainboom, which was shown in the MLP FiM episode: Cutie Mark Chronicles. The third and final portion of this chapter takes place three days after the events of the two part episode: Friendship is Magic. The Childhood There was a town, deep south of Central Equestria, where everypony could party like there was no tomorrow. Literally, they party until they can't anymore. This town was called Appaloosa, but at the moment, the town was quiet. Too quiet, considering that they party too much. There was nopony to be seen, because it was night time, and all were asleep... well, not all of the them, really. There was a hospital in the center of Appaloosa, where three ponies, mother, father, and son, Earth Pony and Unicorns respectively, were in a single medical room. The mother had just finished giving birth to a foal, and she was breathing heavily because of it. She held the foal in her hooves with the most loving embrace she could ever give for a foal, with her husband and son close to her, mesmerized by this event. The father had tears down his cheeks in the joy of having another foal in the family. "Honey," he started, "this is just like when we gave birth to little Lightning Shield." This made the white-furred, yellow maned stallion blush in embarrassment. "I know, hubby," the mother replied. "I really hope he can grow up to be a proper stallion, just like we wished of Lightning." The father of this new Earth Pony nodded. It had been fun partying and whatnot, but it was time to handle responsibility for a child, and this new pony was no different. "What should we name him?" The mare looked at her husband before looking back at her son, contemplating on the name. "That blue coat of his generally means he might be a fast pony, yet his brown eyes remind me of my grandfather, who also had brown eyes. What does Copper sound to you?" "Inspiration from your grandfather," Copper's father smiled. "I'm really fine with that name." He looked at his son's mane, which looked spiky. "Watch his mane, it may be sharp," he joked. The mare giggled, knowing his husband was joking around. It may look sharp, but she knew it wouldn't hurt her. Which gave her the idea of his last name. "Copper... Strikes!" she exclaimed. "That should fit. What do you think?" His father nodded. "That sounds fitting." Copper craned his neck, looking at the husband, before reaching out with his hooves, wanting to be picked up by his father. The stallion complied, picking up his son gently and rocking him as such. "He's such a cute pony," the stallion said, booping the baby's muzzle gently. The baby colt scrunched his muzzle and looked at his father confusingly, before the father booped him again. The colt blinked several times before he let out adorable baby laughs. He seemed to like the boops his father gave him, and he noticed that as well. He booped the baby one more time before he made him boop his muzzle. "He's loving the boops, hun." the father said to his wife. A few years into his colthood, Copper trotted down the streets of Appaloosa with his mother, father, and older brother by the name of Lightning Shield. Lightning was a Unicorn, just like his mother, and he had a pretty short yellow mane and a medium-sized yellow tail. He was solidly built, and seemed to be working out a lot, and it's with good reason. He had dreamed of becoming a member of Princess Celestia's Royal Guard, and he's taking all the precautions to make it happen. At first, Copper was skeptical about this because he thought that Canterlot was full of noble snobs and didn't care about anyone other than themselves, excluding Celestia. However, he was happy that his brother was willing to work for the Princess, and he didn't want to stop his brother's dreams. Both of them knew it will be tough, but Copper also knew from experience of being with his brother that Lightning would never give up his dreams. Lightning already has his cutie mark, which was two swords crossed over a shield that had a lightning on it, a clear indication that he was going to try out for the Royal Guard. Copper, however, hasn't gotten his yet, but he was running a lot, and I do mean a lot, and it seemed the more he ran, the faster he would go. His family saw this and wondered how fast he'll go until he hits his peak speed, but they knew that his cutie mark would be a focus on speed. They made it to a large park called the Appaloosa Fair, and Copper was getting nervous. He entered himself to a race with other fillies and colts, and the race was a yearly thing, one that would determine who the fastest young pony was for that year. The winning family would earn a large amount of bits, and the stakes were pretty high. When the family got their tickets, and Copper with a signed form that he was participating, they went in the fair. The track itself was small, about 200 meters in total, with a few twists, turns, and a couple of easy jumps for the fillies and colts. After turning his form in for the race, Copper trotted to where all the racers were and started stretching to loosen himself up. There were a large group of fillies and colts talking normally to each other, some were stretching, and some others seemed to be talking trash to each other. The blue stallion chuckled to himself. He was taught to be a good sport and be respectful to his opponents, but he also knew it didn't hurt to talk a little bit of smack. A mare with a cap on her head told the fillies and colts that the race is almost starting, so they all took off to their respective positions. Out of the twenty ponies that have made it to the starting line, Copper was in the middle-right at the fifth spot. He and the others got themselves ready for the race, with a stallion at the far end of Copper's left. "On your marks..." the stallion stated, and after the ponies got into their ready stance, "...get set..." He took out a whistle and blew it, signifying the start of the race. The twenty ponies took off from the start, with the whole crowd cheering on their fillies and colts respectively. Some of the ponies, one from the left side, three from the middle, and two from the far right, were faster than the other ponies and got into a leading pack, with Copper and two others chasing them. The rest were either struggling to catch up, or ended up flopping to the ground. Some of the fallen ponies quickly got up and took off in the track, but the others who fell ended up being tended to by medical ponies, therefore out of the race. Copper and the other two ponies, who were a mare and a stallion, looked at each other, and by unspoken communication, they made a single file line together, putting a little bit of distance between each other. This strategy would be helpful in drafting off of each other, so that they could save their stamina as best as they could, since the six ponies ahead were getting further away. Every ten seconds of drafting, the lead pony would break off, making the pony in the middle, who happened to be Copper, take the lead between the three. They continued this for thirty seconds until a section was in their sight requiring them to jump. Copper barely cleared the jump section, but the other two who were behind him did not, tripping on each other and both getting hurt. Copper stopped on a dime when he looked back, and hurried to help them up, but the mare shouted, "Keep going!" "Win this for us!" the stallion insisted. "We'll be okay!" Copper nodded hesitantly, then took off back into the race, going as fast as he could. The other two were now being treated by the nurses, meaning they were out. The blue Earth Pony saw the leading mini-pack of ponies far ahead of him, clearing another jump. He thought that he wouldn't be able to win this race, until he started to focus. He felt himself going faster bit by bit, and he was grinding his teeth slightly as he kept running. He cleared the last jump easily before galloping after the leading pack, who were in a tight race with each other save for two who have broken off of the other four. At this point, Copper's heart was pounding, he was really sweaty, and it seemed like he was gonna collapse at any moment, but he didn't looked phased. In fact, he was going faster, slowly but surely catching up to the mini-pack. Eventually he caught up with and passed the four ponies, not directing his focus on the two in front of him. He again managed to catch up to them and passed them mere seconds before the finish line, and then he crossed it with almost a second to spare. The crowd erupted in cheers, especially his parents and brother, who came out of the crowd quickly to embrace the pony. Unfortunately, he flopped to the ground, breathing heavily for a few seconds before a nurse got to him with a bottle of water. After drinking the water, Copper still was breathing hard, but nowhere near as hard as before. By then, Lightning went to him and hugged the blue speedster. "I'm proud of ya, squirt. I knew you could do it." He then stepped back because he saw Copper's flank glowing, and when the glow died, everyone saw a yellow streak on him. Copper went wide-eyed, then he jumped up and down in joy and excitement. The crowd cheered for the blue pony since he got his cutie mark, and this was the happiest day of his life, one that he'll more than likely never forget. Ten years after him getting his cutie mark, Copper waved good bye to his parents before the carrier that he was in started to go. The Earth Pony was old enough and had enough experience to live on his own, and he was ready to take the next step. Before he left, though, he had hugged his parents for one last time. "I'm gonna miss you two," he said with tears on his face. "I'll never forget what you both have taught me, and I sure as hay won't forget being with you." "We'll miss you too, Cops," his father replied. "Can you remember to write to us whenever you get the chance?" "I will, father, I will," Copper said. His mother was crying as well. She was getting older, as can be told with some wrinkles on her face, but that meant nothing. "I'm so glad we raised you to be a proper stallion," the unicorn stated. "I can just picture you doing well in your time at Ponyville." "I hope I'll be okay," Copper said before hugging them both. He then trotted to the carrier with the last stuff he needed, putting the package in the carrier before going in. During the move to Ponyville, Copper looked at an old picture of his family, one that had him as a young colt after he got his cutie mark, his brother, and his parents. His brother already moved out to Canterlot and got his Royal Guard job, and the family was very proud of him. He shed one single tear of joy for his family, but looked ahead as the town of Ponyville. He looked ready to start a new life, one that he hoped that would bring lots of fun and adventure into his spirit, and possibly more experience as he goes on. A New beginningAuthor's Note This chapter, like the third portion of the last chapter, is three days after the very first two episodes of MLP FiM. The second portion is just after the episode "Suited for Success." If you couldn't tell by now, chapters in the story will be before, during, or after episodes of the main series. A New beginning Chapter 2: A New Beginning. The Carrier pulled into the town of Ponyville, and a few ponies came forward to see who it was. One of them, a lavender unicorn, was confused as to who the newcomer would be. Seconds later, the door opened, and Copper came out of the carrier. He looked at the Lavender mare and smiled. "Hello, there," he said. "Hello," the mare replied. "Welcome to Ponyville, mister. I'm Twilight Sparkle. What's your name?" "I'm Copper Strikes," he greeted as they shook hooves. "I need a bit of help, right now. Not only do I need help carrying my bags to a house, I need to find one. I have enough bits to buy one with some left over." "If you want, you can stay in my house," Twilight offered, gesturing to the Ponyville Library. "Well, it's technically a house, but it's also a library where ponies can buy books." Copper shook his head. "No thanks. But I can visit your house/library sometime. Also, I don't know if my stuff can fit in your house anyways." He pointed to the five large packages that need to be carried. "Oh," she said, looking at them. She shrugged afterwards. "Well, I'm more than happy to help out with your finding a home. I heard there was a house that's near a place called Sugarcube Corner that's open. I think you can find that place to be your new home." "Thank you very much," he said before looking around. He spotted a carriage that looked sturdy enough to hold three of the five packages, and he trotted over to meet the pony who had it. "Hello, ma'am. I'd like to borrow your carriage for a tiny bit, because I've just moved here and I'm looking to find a house." "That's okay, dear," the mare said, whose mane was rose-colored and had a cutie mark of a rose. "I was just finished with bringing some roses to my house. You can use it, but I would like five bits in return." "Sure thing," he said, taking out five bits from one of his saddlebags and hoofing them over to her. Then the two guided the carriage back to the packages and Twilight before the mare trotted back to her house. "That was nice of her," Twilight said. "Be sure to give her carriage back, because she does need it." "I will, Twilight," he said with kindness. Then, the two picked up three of the heaviest packages one by one and placed them on the carriage before Twilight used her magic to pick up the last two. After that, the two made their way to the specified house. There was a mare outside the house who looked over to the two, and had a smile on her as she said, "Welcome to Ponyville, mister, if I assume correctly and you just moved here." "Indeed I did," he replied. "I'm looking to buy a house, and from what Twilight has told me, this house was available." "Yes it is," the mare said. "Sadly, it's not in the best shape, but with some remodeling, the value will go back up." "I don't mind," Copper stated. "I'm not going to ask for much out of a house, so long as it has the basic things to live and sleep in." "How many bits do you have?" she asked. He blinked, then he fumbled in his saddlebags for the total amount. "Over 900, miss," "Perfect," she said. "The value is about 800, so if..." she stopped as she saw him hoof over the 800 bits immediately after she said it. "...okay, then. Did you want a tour of the house?" "No thanks," he said while shaking his head. "I think I can find my way around." "Well, thank you regardless, my dear." She took the 800 bits and put them in her saddlebags. "The house is all yours now." She trotted to the sign on the edge of the front yard and put up the "Sold" sign over it, but not before giving Copper the key to the house After that, Copper and Twilight went inside of his new home after unlocking it. Looking around, they could see that the mare was right about the house not being in the best shape, as far as this room is concerned. The walls looked a little yellow now, the nearest couch had some issues with it, and the fireplace looked like it hadn't been cleaned for a few weeks. "Hmm," Twilight pondered. "Is this okay to you, Copper?" "It's fine," he replied. "Like I said, I'm not asking for much. I think it looks fine right now, but it won't hurt for some remodeling. Let's check out the rest of the house." They placed the packages inside of the living room one at a time before moving deeper in the house. The kitchen, where they first took a look, was surprisingly crystal clean for the new pony. It seemed most of the renovations were more recent, because there was a new counter top, a new sink, and a more updated refrigerator. The cabinets looked a bit outdated, but that didn't concern Copper at the moment. Moving on, they went to a room which looked like a guest room to both. Seeing that nothing needed to be said, they moved on. They checked the bath area and another guest room, and besides some small comments, nothing much was said about how it looked. Then they headed upstairs, where they went to the master bedroom. The bedroom itself was cleaned out of any pictures, decorations, and the like, but it would look absolutely beautiful. "I think it's safe to say I got my bits worth," Copper said to Twilight. "Thanks for helping me out, Twilight. I really appreciate it." "You're very welcome," was Twilight's response. "I hope to see you again sometime, unless you want me to help you with getting your things out of the boxes." "That would be much appreciated," he said, and then the two went back down to get out the accessories and other things to decorate his new home. Weeks later, Copper had settled into his new home, and was ready to take on whatever was thrown at him. What he didn't expect to be thrown at him, like at all, was a letter and a ticket to a VERY special event in his mail. The letter in question, as soon as he opened it, read, "Greetings, citizen of Ponyville. As ruler of Equestria, I have given you the chance to join us for a very special, once a year event, named the Grand Galloping Gala. I hope to see you in this event, and that you are lucky enough to participate in the event next year! Your Princess, Celestia." Copper was wide-eyed, yet he looked extremely happy. He was shocked that he was able to participate in this event, let alone the princess personally inviting him. He could not for the life of him think about what he did that caught the Princess' attention, plus he doubted that the Princess even knew about him. He shook his head with a smile, though. He's getting to participate in the event, and he was more than happy for it. After grabbing his saddlebags and placing the letter inside of it, he went out to talk to Twilight, who happened to be talking to a couple of her friends. He approached them and said, "Hello, Twilight!" "Hi, Copper," Twilight responded happily. "You seemed to be in a very good mood today." "Indeed I am, and this is why." He opened a saddlebag and showed off the Gala ticket. "A ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala?" she said with a bright smile. "Congratulations!" "How wonderful!" the white furred mare, named Rarity, exclaimed. "That's awesome!" Rainbow Dash, the cyan furred rainbow maned Pegasus said. "Thank you all," he said. "And for this special occasion, I'm going to need a vest." "I shall help you, dear," Rarity offered. She then remembered the incident about the dress-making disaster that was four days ago and she gulped. "Um... what are you specifically looking for?" "Not much," Copper replied simply. "Maybe a rose or something to make it more elegant, but really I just need something simple, and that's all." The three mares were surprised at the the blue Earth Pony, especially Rarity. He was legitimately giving the fashionista a much easier job for her than what Twilight and her best friends had her do for them. "Oh," she said. "Are you sure you don't want something to make it look sparking?" "Nope," he stated. "Just a rose will do." "Well then," Rarity looked far more confident now. "I shall get to work for you, my dear. It should take me a half an hour at the least to make your vest. Please come with me so I can measure you properly... not like that, though." she added VERY quickly as soon as she realized what she said. All that got was a raised eyebrow from Copper, but he shrugged, and then the two trotted together to the Carousel Boutique. He knew what she meant by it, but he refused to say anything about it. At the Carousel Boutique, Rarity quickly went to work, measuring the blue Earth Pony from his waist and upper arm of his fore-hoof. After keeping track of the numbers, she started working on the vest, while Copper headed out to kill some time. As she worked, she noticed that, indeed, it was far easier and quicker to work on his vest than her best friends' dresses, and with good reason. She figured that Copper was following the philosophy of not asking for much, and that anything extra would just take more time. "It would have been nice for my friends to not ask for much, but I guess they didn't know," she said to herself in a calm demeanor. Over a half an hour later, the work was finished, and Rarity called Copper to join her to see the vest. Twilight and Spike came with him to the boutique to see the vest for themselves. The end result of her work was a simple purple vest with a complimentary bowtie and a scarlet rose for added delight. "What do you think, dear?" Rarity asked him. Copper took a few seconds to look over the vest. Afterwards, he turned to her with a big smile on his face. "I love it, Rarity!" he stated. "It's exactly what I wanted! And even your kitty thinks so too!" he added after looking at her cat, who was giving a lot of praising for the simplistic work. She looked at her cat, then smiled brightly. "Thank you, dear. I'm so glad you like it.... Is there anything else I can add to it?" she added with a hint of a concerned voice. Twilight wasn't very happy with how it turned out for Copper, so she said, "I think that it needs some sparkling..." "It's fine, Rarity," Copper interrupted. "I'm not going to ask for any special needs for it. I'm good with how it's made." Twilight blinked several times, then saw the cat nod at her, looking pretty mean. Rarity smiled again. "Well, then I am glad to be of service," she said, breathing a sigh of relief afterwards. "Really, I'm so glad you said that, because I seriously don't want to go through what happened a few days ago." "You must have gotten pressured," he stated. "That's why I didn't ask for much. I'd take a simple vest over something that's far too fancy." "Spike, take a note," Twilight said to her assistant, and he took out a scroll-type paper with a ink quill and began to write what Twilight wanted. "Dear Princess Celestia," she started. "Today, I have learned that some ponies like more simplistic vests and dresses other than more complicated ones. The more simple it is, the easier it is for somepony to work on, and the less pressure being put on the worker. A pony named Copper Strikes has done this for my friend Rarity, and I assume he can't wait to show it off in the Grand Galloping Gala, as he is invited because of you. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle." After finishing, Spike rolled up the paper and breathed green fire on it to send to the Princess. Copper was utterly confused. "I had no idea you're Princess Celestia's student," he stated. "I'll tell you the story later," Twilight replied. Just then, Spike burped, and out came a similar paper to what he wrote on. "A letter from the Princess," Twilight stated. Spike opened the letter and read its' contents. "My faithful student Twilight," he started. "I don't know why you didn't learn that lesson earlier, but also, I'm content with even the most simple vests and dresses. Taking a shot in the dark, I assume you and your friends pressured Rarity into making complicated dresses, which isn't good for her. I do hope to see your new friend, Copper Strikes, in the Gala, though." he rolled up the paper after reading it while Copper blinked. "Huh, so not only are you Princess Celestia's student, but you both send letters to each other. Wild guess here, you're her adopted daughter," he added with a laugh. This made Twilight, Rarity and Spike laugh with him. "No, silly. I'm not her daughter. But she does treat me like one, though. Really, I've been sent here to Ponyville to learn about friendship and to give those lessons to her." "That's nice," he replied. "I'm sure you'll have lots of lessons in the future. But for now, I'll take my vest home." he added to Rarity. She nodded and took the vest off of the mannequin she used the vest for, folded it very neatly before putting it in a basket, and hoofed it to Copper. How much do I owe you?" he asked her. "For you, I'll do twenty bits," she replied. He nodded and gave her the twenty bits. "Thank you, dear." "You're very welcome," he said before taking the basket. He waved good-bye for now to the three, to which they waved back, and departed the Boutique and to his house. The Best Night EverAuthor's Note Gonna do a time-skip on this chapter. This takes place during the episode of the same name. At this point I'm going to mention that all of the ending portions of the episodes, Copper has seen them, but has taken no action to fix the issues. I want to keep the story true to itself in FiM, but also show that Copper was present in the episodes, but was never seen. The Best Night Ever Chapter 3: The Best Night Ever Copper Strikes walked down the paved walkway to the Canterlot Castle, feeling so happy for himself that he was able to partake in the Grand Galloping Gala. He heard music coming from the Mane Six and he sung along with everypony else, his mane waving when he danced a bit. His mane, just before making it to the Gala, was straightened to the point where it hung down to a side of his head, his usual "quills" as you call it, not being present at the moment. He knew it would take a while to get his quills back, but for now, he was content with his mane. After the song was finished, he was seen talking to a group of ponies in the main hall. "Eh, you sure look nice, squirt," came a stallion's voice as he came closer to the group with Copper. "I'm surprised the Princess gave you an invitation to the Gala." Copper turned around, and had a gigantic smile on his face when he recognized his big brother when Lightning took off his helmet. "Lighty!" he said, and they both embraced each other. "So glad to see you again, big bro! And congrats on making it to the Royal Guard, as well!" "Was there ever any doubt?" Lightning asked. "All that hard work paid off for me, and I can't wait to see how far I can go from here." The other ponies who were with Copper smiled and congratulated Lightning, giving praises for being a strong pony that he was. Copper took the time and looked over his brother, and he could see that he was working out. His muscles were more tone and refined than when he was younger, and he sounded more deeper, partly because of him growing up. Both Copper and Lightning let go of each other before Lightning asked, "So how did you get a ticket, Coppy? Did Princess Celestia show up at your home in Appaloosa?" "Nope, and you're far off from my home," Copper replied. When Lightning raised an eyebrow from confusion, he elaborated. "I now live closer to you, in a town called Ponyville. And Princess Celestia ended up randomly giving me a ticket to the Gala. I dunno if she had tickets to spare or what, but I'm happy to get one." "So you're the one whom Twilight was talking about," said a mare's voice. Copper, Lightning, and the four ponies with them turned to see Princess Celestia coming to them. Copper, Lightning and the four other ponies instinctively bowed to her in respect. "You may rise," she added to them all. When they did, Celestia smiled at Copper. "I have heard of you from Twilight's friendship lesson about not asking for much out of other ponies working for you." "Indeed," was his response. "I was taught to never ask for too much, otherwise I would not only look lazy, but I would stress out other ponies." Celestia smiled, then turned to her guard, Lightning. "You have a nice brother, Lightning Shield. I'm going to assume that he did annoy you sometimes, no?" Lightning laughed. "No sibling is perfect, Princess. He was an annoyance a few times growing up, but overall he was, and still is, my favorite squirt, and I wouldn't have it any other way." He put his hoof around his little brother, making him blush. Minutes later, during the Gala, Copper, Lightning, and Celestia talked among themselves of what had been happening, mostly between Lightning and Copper. Lightning told Copper that he was living an excellent life despite the hard work that was being in the Royal Guard. He made a few friends and even a couple of rivals, but overall he had a pleasant experience. When it was Copper's turn, he told Lightning about what happened before the Gala, with some additional tidbits. He was now working for the Ponyville Mail Service, and was tasked with delivering mail to all the residents in the small town. Then, out of nowhere, the main doors burst open, with the animals running for their lives. A yellow furred, pink maned Pegasus, who Copper recognized as Fluttershy, yelled, "YOU'RE GOING TO LOVE ME!" at the animals. By then, it was total chaos in the hall. Everything was falling apart, the music became just plain terrible from Pinkie Pie, and so on and so forth. Celestia gave Lightning a worried glance, and he almost immediately nodded, putting on his helmet and galloping to right in the middle of the scene to take care of everything. "Uh..." Copper stated, moving up to the Princess moments after everypony had left the Gala, with some guards cleaning up. "I assume that this just became a disaster?" "Actually..." Celestia replied, "...this Gala was a lot more fun just because of this." "It was?" he asked. "Yep. Every Grand Galloping Gala before this one was really boring, and I'm actually glad things... fell apart, if you would say. It won't surprise me if Twilight and her friends feel bad about what they did." "Well I guess Lightning was right," Copper said. "I beg your pardon?" Celestia asked with a confused tone. "Lightning told me when I was younger that you didn't like the same old thing all the time," he explained, "And he said that you'd prefer... as we modern ponies say it, to spice things up once in a while." Celestia couldn't help but chuckle. "Yes, that is true," she admitted. "I want to have a more modern style of life, just to keep up with today's standards. But it doesn't hurt to bring things from the past as well." "True," he said. "Well, I guess I'll be headed off, then." "Fare thee well, my little pony," Celestia said before Copper took off out of the castle. Back in Ponyville after the Grand Galloping Gala, Copper took some time to think about what had happened previously. "Hmm," he said to himself as he fixed his mane back to where it originally was. "What exactly happened that made my friends act that way?" After some thought he came up with a conclusion. "I get it. They must have thought that the Gala was boring and they wanted to make it fun for everyone." He chuckled and shook his head after he finished with the combing. "I hope they're okay with Princess Celestia telling them about her being fine with it. I don't think they'd ever forgive themselves after what happened." He shrugged and yawned. "Boy, it's been a long day," he stated to himself. "I deserve a good night's sleep after everything that happened." He trotted to his master bedroom, climbed onto the bed before he shut off the nearby lamp, and went to sleep, snoring softly to his content.
The ChildhoodAuthor's Note This chapter's second portion takes place exactly a week before the Equestria-famous Sonic Rainboom, which was shown in the MLP FiM episode: Cutie Mark Chronicles. The third and final portion of this chapter takes place three days after the events of the two part episode: Friendship is Magic. The Childhood There was a town, deep south of Central Equestria, where everypony could party like there was no tomorrow. Literally, they party until they can't anymore. This town was called Appaloosa, but at the moment, the town was quiet. Too quiet, considering that they party too much. There was nopony to be seen, because it was night time, and all were asleep... well, not all of the them, really. There was a hospital in the center of Appaloosa, where three ponies, mother, father, and son, Earth Pony and Unicorns respectively, were in a single medical room. The mother had just finished giving birth to a foal, and she was breathing heavily because of it. She held the foal in her hooves with the most loving embrace she could ever give for a foal, with her husband and son close to her, mesmerized by this event. The father had tears down his cheeks in the joy of having another foal in the family. "Honey," he started, "this is just like when we gave birth to little Lightning Shield." This made the white-furred, yellow maned stallion blush in embarrassment. "I know, hubby," the mother replied. "I really hope he can grow up to be a proper stallion, just like we wished of Lightning." The father of this new Earth Pony nodded. It had been fun partying and whatnot, but it was time to handle responsibility for a child, and this new pony was no different. "What should we name him?" The mare looked at her husband before looking back at her son, contemplating on the name. "That blue coat of his generally means he might be a fast pony, yet his brown eyes remind me of my grandfather, who also had brown eyes. What does Copper sound to you?" "Inspiration from your grandfather," Copper's father smiled. "I'm really fine with that name." He looked at his son's mane, which looked spiky. "Watch his mane, it may be sharp," he joked. The mare giggled, knowing his husband was joking around. It may look sharp, but she knew it wouldn't hurt her. Which gave her the idea of his last name. "Copper... Strikes!" she exclaimed. "That should fit. What do you think?" His father nodded. "That sounds fitting." Copper craned his neck, looking at the husband, before reaching out with his hooves, wanting to be picked up by his father. The stallion complied, picking up his son gently and rocking him as such. "He's such a cute pony," the stallion said, booping the baby's muzzle gently. The baby colt scrunched his muzzle and looked at his father confusingly, before the father booped him again. The colt blinked several times before he let out adorable baby laughs. He seemed to like the boops his father gave him, and he noticed that as well. He booped the baby one more time before he made him boop his muzzle. "He's loving the boops, hun." the father said to his wife. A few years into his colthood, Copper trotted down the streets of Appaloosa with his mother, father, and older brother by the name of Lightning Shield. Lightning was a Unicorn, just like his mother, and he had a pretty short yellow mane and a medium-sized yellow tail. He was solidly built, and seemed to be working out a lot, and it's with good reason. He had dreamed of becoming a member of Princess Celestia's Royal Guard, and he's taking all the precautions to make it happen. At first, Copper was skeptical about this because he thought that Canterlot was full of noble snobs and didn't care about anyone other than themselves, excluding Celestia. However, he was happy that his brother was willing to work for the Princess, and he didn't want to stop his brother's dreams. Both of them knew it will be tough, but Copper also knew from experience of being with his brother that Lightning would never give up his dreams. Lightning already has his cutie mark, which was two swords crossed over a shield that had a lightning on it, a clear indication that he was going to try out for the Royal Guard. Copper, however, hasn't gotten his yet, but he was running a lot, and I do mean a lot, and it seemed the more he ran, the faster he would go. His family saw this and wondered how fast he'll go until he hits his peak speed, but they knew that his cutie mark would be a focus on speed. They made it to a large park called the Appaloosa Fair, and Copper was getting nervous. He entered himself to a race with other fillies and colts, and the race was a yearly thing, one that would determine who the fastest young pony was for that year. The winning family would earn a large amount of bits, and the stakes were pretty high. When the family got their tickets, and Copper with a signed form that he was participating, they went in the fair. The track itself was small, about 200 meters in total, with a few twists, turns, and a couple of easy jumps for the fillies and colts. After turning his form in for the race, Copper trotted to where all the racers were and started stretching to loosen himself up. There were a large group of fillies and colts talking normally to each other, some were stretching, and some others seemed to be talking trash to each other. The blue stallion chuckled to himself. He was taught to be a good sport and be respectful to his opponents, but he also knew it didn't hurt to talk a little bit of smack. A mare with a cap on her head told the fillies and colts that the race is almost starting, so they all took off to their respective positions. Out of the twenty ponies that have made it to the starting line, Copper was in the middle-right at the fifth spot. He and the others got themselves ready for the race, with a stallion at the far end of Copper's left. "On your marks..." the stallion stated, and after the ponies got into their ready stance, "...get set..." He took out a whistle and blew it, signifying the start of the race. The twenty ponies took off from the start, with the whole crowd cheering on their fillies and colts respectively. Some of the ponies, one from the left side, three from the middle, and two from the far right, were faster than the other ponies and got into a leading pack, with Copper and two others chasing them. The rest were either struggling to catch up, or ended up flopping to the ground. Some of the fallen ponies quickly got up and took off in the track, but the others who fell ended up being tended to by medical ponies, therefore out of the race. Copper and the other two ponies, who were a mare and a stallion, looked at each other, and by unspoken communication, they made a single file line together, putting a little bit of distance between each other. This strategy would be helpful in drafting off of each other, so that they could save their stamina as best as they could, since the six ponies ahead were getting further away. Every ten seconds of drafting, the lead pony would break off, making the pony in the middle, who happened to be Copper, take the lead between the three. They continued this for thirty seconds until a section was in their sight requiring them to jump. Copper barely cleared the jump section, but the other two who were behind him did not, tripping on each other and both getting hurt. Copper stopped on a dime when he looked back, and hurried to help them up, but the mare shouted, "Keep going!" "Win this for us!" the stallion insisted. "We'll be okay!" Copper nodded hesitantly, then took off back into the race, going as fast as he could. The other two were now being treated by the nurses, meaning they were out. The blue Earth Pony saw the leading mini-pack of ponies far ahead of him, clearing another jump. He thought that he wouldn't be able to win this race, until he started to focus. He felt himself going faster bit by bit, and he was grinding his teeth slightly as he kept running. He cleared the last jump easily before galloping after the leading pack, who were in a tight race with each other save for two who have broken off of the other four. At this point, Copper's heart was pounding, he was really sweaty, and it seemed like he was gonna collapse at any moment, but he didn't looked phased. In fact, he was going faster, slowly but surely catching up to the mini-pack. Eventually he caught up with and passed the four ponies, not directing his focus on the two in front of him. He again managed to catch up to them and passed them mere seconds before the finish line, and then he crossed it with almost a second to spare. The crowd erupted in cheers, especially his parents and brother, who came out of the crowd quickly to embrace the pony. Unfortunately, he flopped to the ground, breathing heavily for a few seconds before a nurse got to him with a bottle of water. After drinking the water, Copper still was breathing hard, but nowhere near as hard as before. By then, Lightning went to him and hugged the blue speedster. "I'm proud of ya, squirt. I knew you could do it." He then stepped back because he saw Copper's flank glowing, and when the glow died, everyone saw a yellow streak on him. Copper went wide-eyed, then he jumped up and down in joy and excitement. The crowd cheered for the blue pony since he got his cutie mark, and this was the happiest day of his life, one that he'll more than likely never forget. Ten years after him getting his cutie mark, Copper waved good bye to his parents before the carrier that he was in started to go. The Earth Pony was old enough and had enough experience to live on his own, and he was ready to take the next step. Before he left, though, he had hugged his parents for one last time. "I'm gonna miss you two," he said with tears on his face. "I'll never forget what you both have taught me, and I sure as hay won't forget being with you." "We'll miss you too, Cops," his father replied. "Can you remember to write to us whenever you get the chance?" "I will, father, I will," Copper said. His mother was crying as well. She was getting older, as can be told with some wrinkles on her face, but that meant nothing. "I'm so glad we raised you to be a proper stallion," the unicorn stated. "I can just picture you doing well in your time at Ponyville." "I hope I'll be okay," Copper said before hugging them both. He then trotted to the carrier with the last stuff he needed, putting the package in the carrier before going in. During the move to Ponyville, Copper looked at an old picture of his family, one that had him as a young colt after he got his cutie mark, his brother, and his parents. His brother already moved out to Canterlot and got his Royal Guard job, and the family was very proud of him. He shed one single tear of joy for his family, but looked ahead as the town of Ponyville. He looked ready to start a new life, one that he hoped that would bring lots of fun and adventure into his spirit, and possibly more experience as he goes on.
A New beginningAuthor's Note This chapter, like the third portion of the last chapter, is three days after the very first two episodes of MLP FiM. The second portion is just after the episode "Suited for Success." If you couldn't tell by now, chapters in the story will be before, during, or after episodes of the main series. A New beginning Chapter 2: A New Beginning. The Carrier pulled into the town of Ponyville, and a few ponies came forward to see who it was. One of them, a lavender unicorn, was confused as to who the newcomer would be. Seconds later, the door opened, and Copper came out of the carrier. He looked at the Lavender mare and smiled. "Hello, there," he said. "Hello," the mare replied. "Welcome to Ponyville, mister. I'm Twilight Sparkle. What's your name?" "I'm Copper Strikes," he greeted as they shook hooves. "I need a bit of help, right now. Not only do I need help carrying my bags to a house, I need to find one. I have enough bits to buy one with some left over." "If you want, you can stay in my house," Twilight offered, gesturing to the Ponyville Library. "Well, it's technically a house, but it's also a library where ponies can buy books." Copper shook his head. "No thanks. But I can visit your house/library sometime. Also, I don't know if my stuff can fit in your house anyways." He pointed to the five large packages that need to be carried. "Oh," she said, looking at them. She shrugged afterwards. "Well, I'm more than happy to help out with your finding a home. I heard there was a house that's near a place called Sugarcube Corner that's open. I think you can find that place to be your new home." "Thank you very much," he said before looking around. He spotted a carriage that looked sturdy enough to hold three of the five packages, and he trotted over to meet the pony who had it. "Hello, ma'am. I'd like to borrow your carriage for a tiny bit, because I've just moved here and I'm looking to find a house." "That's okay, dear," the mare said, whose mane was rose-colored and had a cutie mark of a rose. "I was just finished with bringing some roses to my house. You can use it, but I would like five bits in return." "Sure thing," he said, taking out five bits from one of his saddlebags and hoofing them over to her. Then the two guided the carriage back to the packages and Twilight before the mare trotted back to her house. "That was nice of her," Twilight said. "Be sure to give her carriage back, because she does need it." "I will, Twilight," he said with kindness. Then, the two picked up three of the heaviest packages one by one and placed them on the carriage before Twilight used her magic to pick up the last two. After that, the two made their way to the specified house. There was a mare outside the house who looked over to the two, and had a smile on her as she said, "Welcome to Ponyville, mister, if I assume correctly and you just moved here." "Indeed I did," he replied. "I'm looking to buy a house, and from what Twilight has told me, this house was available." "Yes it is," the mare said. "Sadly, it's not in the best shape, but with some remodeling, the value will go back up." "I don't mind," Copper stated. "I'm not going to ask for much out of a house, so long as it has the basic things to live and sleep in." "How many bits do you have?" she asked. He blinked, then he fumbled in his saddlebags for the total amount. "Over 900, miss," "Perfect," she said. "The value is about 800, so if..." she stopped as she saw him hoof over the 800 bits immediately after she said it. "...okay, then. Did you want a tour of the house?" "No thanks," he said while shaking his head. "I think I can find my way around." "Well, thank you regardless, my dear." She took the 800 bits and put them in her saddlebags. "The house is all yours now." She trotted to the sign on the edge of the front yard and put up the "Sold" sign over it, but not before giving Copper the key to the house After that, Copper and Twilight went inside of his new home after unlocking it. Looking around, they could see that the mare was right about the house not being in the best shape, as far as this room is concerned. The walls looked a little yellow now, the nearest couch had some issues with it, and the fireplace looked like it hadn't been cleaned for a few weeks. "Hmm," Twilight pondered. "Is this okay to you, Copper?" "It's fine," he replied. "Like I said, I'm not asking for much. I think it looks fine right now, but it won't hurt for some remodeling. Let's check out the rest of the house." They placed the packages inside of the living room one at a time before moving deeper in the house. The kitchen, where they first took a look, was surprisingly crystal clean for the new pony. It seemed most of the renovations were more recent, because there was a new counter top, a new sink, and a more updated refrigerator. The cabinets looked a bit outdated, but that didn't concern Copper at the moment. Moving on, they went to a room which looked like a guest room to both. Seeing that nothing needed to be said, they moved on. They checked the bath area and another guest room, and besides some small comments, nothing much was said about how it looked. Then they headed upstairs, where they went to the master bedroom. The bedroom itself was cleaned out of any pictures, decorations, and the like, but it would look absolutely beautiful. "I think it's safe to say I got my bits worth," Copper said to Twilight. "Thanks for helping me out, Twilight. I really appreciate it." "You're very welcome," was Twilight's response. "I hope to see you again sometime, unless you want me to help you with getting your things out of the boxes." "That would be much appreciated," he said, and then the two went back down to get out the accessories and other things to decorate his new home. Weeks later, Copper had settled into his new home, and was ready to take on whatever was thrown at him. What he didn't expect to be thrown at him, like at all, was a letter and a ticket to a VERY special event in his mail. The letter in question, as soon as he opened it, read, "Greetings, citizen of Ponyville. As ruler of Equestria, I have given you the chance to join us for a very special, once a year event, named the Grand Galloping Gala. I hope to see you in this event, and that you are lucky enough to participate in the event next year! Your Princess, Celestia." Copper was wide-eyed, yet he looked extremely happy. He was shocked that he was able to participate in this event, let alone the princess personally inviting him. He could not for the life of him think about what he did that caught the Princess' attention, plus he doubted that the Princess even knew about him. He shook his head with a smile, though. He's getting to participate in the event, and he was more than happy for it. After grabbing his saddlebags and placing the letter inside of it, he went out to talk to Twilight, who happened to be talking to a couple of her friends. He approached them and said, "Hello, Twilight!" "Hi, Copper," Twilight responded happily. "You seemed to be in a very good mood today." "Indeed I am, and this is why." He opened a saddlebag and showed off the Gala ticket. "A ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala?" she said with a bright smile. "Congratulations!" "How wonderful!" the white furred mare, named Rarity, exclaimed. "That's awesome!" Rainbow Dash, the cyan furred rainbow maned Pegasus said. "Thank you all," he said. "And for this special occasion, I'm going to need a vest." "I shall help you, dear," Rarity offered. She then remembered the incident about the dress-making disaster that was four days ago and she gulped. "Um... what are you specifically looking for?" "Not much," Copper replied simply. "Maybe a rose or something to make it more elegant, but really I just need something simple, and that's all." The three mares were surprised at the the blue Earth Pony, especially Rarity. He was legitimately giving the fashionista a much easier job for her than what Twilight and her best friends had her do for them. "Oh," she said. "Are you sure you don't want something to make it look sparking?" "Nope," he stated. "Just a rose will do." "Well then," Rarity looked far more confident now. "I shall get to work for you, my dear. It should take me a half an hour at the least to make your vest. Please come with me so I can measure you properly... not like that, though." she added VERY quickly as soon as she realized what she said. All that got was a raised eyebrow from Copper, but he shrugged, and then the two trotted together to the Carousel Boutique. He knew what she meant by it, but he refused to say anything about it. At the Carousel Boutique, Rarity quickly went to work, measuring the blue Earth Pony from his waist and upper arm of his fore-hoof. After keeping track of the numbers, she started working on the vest, while Copper headed out to kill some time. As she worked, she noticed that, indeed, it was far easier and quicker to work on his vest than her best friends' dresses, and with good reason. She figured that Copper was following the philosophy of not asking for much, and that anything extra would just take more time. "It would have been nice for my friends to not ask for much, but I guess they didn't know," she said to herself in a calm demeanor. Over a half an hour later, the work was finished, and Rarity called Copper to join her to see the vest. Twilight and Spike came with him to the boutique to see the vest for themselves. The end result of her work was a simple purple vest with a complimentary bowtie and a scarlet rose for added delight. "What do you think, dear?" Rarity asked him. Copper took a few seconds to look over the vest. Afterwards, he turned to her with a big smile on his face. "I love it, Rarity!" he stated. "It's exactly what I wanted! And even your kitty thinks so too!" he added after looking at her cat, who was giving a lot of praising for the simplistic work. She looked at her cat, then smiled brightly. "Thank you, dear. I'm so glad you like it.... Is there anything else I can add to it?" she added with a hint of a concerned voice. Twilight wasn't very happy with how it turned out for Copper, so she said, "I think that it needs some sparkling..." "It's fine, Rarity," Copper interrupted. "I'm not going to ask for any special needs for it. I'm good with how it's made." Twilight blinked several times, then saw the cat nod at her, looking pretty mean. Rarity smiled again. "Well, then I am glad to be of service," she said, breathing a sigh of relief afterwards. "Really, I'm so glad you said that, because I seriously don't want to go through what happened a few days ago." "You must have gotten pressured," he stated. "That's why I didn't ask for much. I'd take a simple vest over something that's far too fancy." "Spike, take a note," Twilight said to her assistant, and he took out a scroll-type paper with a ink quill and began to write what Twilight wanted. "Dear Princess Celestia," she started. "Today, I have learned that some ponies like more simplistic vests and dresses other than more complicated ones. The more simple it is, the easier it is for somepony to work on, and the less pressure being put on the worker. A pony named Copper Strikes has done this for my friend Rarity, and I assume he can't wait to show it off in the Grand Galloping Gala, as he is invited because of you. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle." After finishing, Spike rolled up the paper and breathed green fire on it to send to the Princess. Copper was utterly confused. "I had no idea you're Princess Celestia's student," he stated. "I'll tell you the story later," Twilight replied. Just then, Spike burped, and out came a similar paper to what he wrote on. "A letter from the Princess," Twilight stated. Spike opened the letter and read its' contents. "My faithful student Twilight," he started. "I don't know why you didn't learn that lesson earlier, but also, I'm content with even the most simple vests and dresses. Taking a shot in the dark, I assume you and your friends pressured Rarity into making complicated dresses, which isn't good for her. I do hope to see your new friend, Copper Strikes, in the Gala, though." he rolled up the paper after reading it while Copper blinked. "Huh, so not only are you Princess Celestia's student, but you both send letters to each other. Wild guess here, you're her adopted daughter," he added with a laugh. This made Twilight, Rarity and Spike laugh with him. "No, silly. I'm not her daughter. But she does treat me like one, though. Really, I've been sent here to Ponyville to learn about friendship and to give those lessons to her." "That's nice," he replied. "I'm sure you'll have lots of lessons in the future. But for now, I'll take my vest home." he added to Rarity. She nodded and took the vest off of the mannequin she used the vest for, folded it very neatly before putting it in a basket, and hoofed it to Copper. How much do I owe you?" he asked her. "For you, I'll do twenty bits," she replied. He nodded and gave her the twenty bits. "Thank you, dear." "You're very welcome," he said before taking the basket. He waved good-bye for now to the three, to which they waved back, and departed the Boutique and to his house.
The Best Night EverAuthor's Note Gonna do a time-skip on this chapter. This takes place during the episode of the same name. At this point I'm going to mention that all of the ending portions of the episodes, Copper has seen them, but has taken no action to fix the issues. I want to keep the story true to itself in FiM, but also show that Copper was present in the episodes, but was never seen. The Best Night Ever Chapter 3: The Best Night Ever Copper Strikes walked down the paved walkway to the Canterlot Castle, feeling so happy for himself that he was able to partake in the Grand Galloping Gala. He heard music coming from the Mane Six and he sung along with everypony else, his mane waving when he danced a bit. His mane, just before making it to the Gala, was straightened to the point where it hung down to a side of his head, his usual "quills" as you call it, not being present at the moment. He knew it would take a while to get his quills back, but for now, he was content with his mane. After the song was finished, he was seen talking to a group of ponies in the main hall. "Eh, you sure look nice, squirt," came a stallion's voice as he came closer to the group with Copper. "I'm surprised the Princess gave you an invitation to the Gala." Copper turned around, and had a gigantic smile on his face when he recognized his big brother when Lightning took off his helmet. "Lighty!" he said, and they both embraced each other. "So glad to see you again, big bro! And congrats on making it to the Royal Guard, as well!" "Was there ever any doubt?" Lightning asked. "All that hard work paid off for me, and I can't wait to see how far I can go from here." The other ponies who were with Copper smiled and congratulated Lightning, giving praises for being a strong pony that he was. Copper took the time and looked over his brother, and he could see that he was working out. His muscles were more tone and refined than when he was younger, and he sounded more deeper, partly because of him growing up. Both Copper and Lightning let go of each other before Lightning asked, "So how did you get a ticket, Coppy? Did Princess Celestia show up at your home in Appaloosa?" "Nope, and you're far off from my home," Copper replied. When Lightning raised an eyebrow from confusion, he elaborated. "I now live closer to you, in a town called Ponyville. And Princess Celestia ended up randomly giving me a ticket to the Gala. I dunno if she had tickets to spare or what, but I'm happy to get one." "So you're the one whom Twilight was talking about," said a mare's voice. Copper, Lightning, and the four ponies with them turned to see Princess Celestia coming to them. Copper, Lightning and the four other ponies instinctively bowed to her in respect. "You may rise," she added to them all. When they did, Celestia smiled at Copper. "I have heard of you from Twilight's friendship lesson about not asking for much out of other ponies working for you." "Indeed," was his response. "I was taught to never ask for too much, otherwise I would not only look lazy, but I would stress out other ponies." Celestia smiled, then turned to her guard, Lightning. "You have a nice brother, Lightning Shield. I'm going to assume that he did annoy you sometimes, no?" Lightning laughed. "No sibling is perfect, Princess. He was an annoyance a few times growing up, but overall he was, and still is, my favorite squirt, and I wouldn't have it any other way." He put his hoof around his little brother, making him blush. Minutes later, during the Gala, Copper, Lightning, and Celestia talked among themselves of what had been happening, mostly between Lightning and Copper. Lightning told Copper that he was living an excellent life despite the hard work that was being in the Royal Guard. He made a few friends and even a couple of rivals, but overall he had a pleasant experience. When it was Copper's turn, he told Lightning about what happened before the Gala, with some additional tidbits. He was now working for the Ponyville Mail Service, and was tasked with delivering mail to all the residents in the small town. Then, out of nowhere, the main doors burst open, with the animals running for their lives. A yellow furred, pink maned Pegasus, who Copper recognized as Fluttershy, yelled, "YOU'RE GOING TO LOVE ME!" at the animals. By then, it was total chaos in the hall. Everything was falling apart, the music became just plain terrible from Pinkie Pie, and so on and so forth. Celestia gave Lightning a worried glance, and he almost immediately nodded, putting on his helmet and galloping to right in the middle of the scene to take care of everything. "Uh..." Copper stated, moving up to the Princess moments after everypony had left the Gala, with some guards cleaning up. "I assume that this just became a disaster?" "Actually..." Celestia replied, "...this Gala was a lot more fun just because of this." "It was?" he asked. "Yep. Every Grand Galloping Gala before this one was really boring, and I'm actually glad things... fell apart, if you would say. It won't surprise me if Twilight and her friends feel bad about what they did." "Well I guess Lightning was right," Copper said. "I beg your pardon?" Celestia asked with a confused tone. "Lightning told me when I was younger that you didn't like the same old thing all the time," he explained, "And he said that you'd prefer... as we modern ponies say it, to spice things up once in a while." Celestia couldn't help but chuckle. "Yes, that is true," she admitted. "I want to have a more modern style of life, just to keep up with today's standards. But it doesn't hurt to bring things from the past as well." "True," he said. "Well, I guess I'll be headed off, then." "Fare thee well, my little pony," Celestia said before Copper took off out of the castle. Back in Ponyville after the Grand Galloping Gala, Copper took some time to think about what had happened previously. "Hmm," he said to himself as he fixed his mane back to where it originally was. "What exactly happened that made my friends act that way?" After some thought he came up with a conclusion. "I get it. They must have thought that the Gala was boring and they wanted to make it fun for everyone." He chuckled and shook his head after he finished with the combing. "I hope they're okay with Princess Celestia telling them about her being fine with it. I don't think they'd ever forgive themselves after what happened." He shrugged and yawned. "Boy, it's been a long day," he stated to himself. "I deserve a good night's sleep after everything that happened." He trotted to his master bedroom, climbed onto the bed before he shut off the nearby lamp, and went to sleep, snoring softly to his content.
