Applejack headed to her train with Granny Smith. She had already waved goodbye to her other family members and headed off. It was too bad her brother, Big Macintosh couldn't come with her, but her new school, filly to mare, was strictly girls only. She looked around the station at all the excited chattering ponies who all seemed to know where they were going. After all, she was coming a term late. Everypony else in her class had started about three months ago. Another pony saw her worried expression and dashed over, her rainbow mane seeming to fly behind her. The pegasus quickly reached Applejack. She was a light cyan colour with a rainbow mane and tail, bright purple eyes and a rainbow lightning bolt as her cutie mark. Applejack herself had not yet found her cutie mark, but was hoping to get it soon!
"The name's Rainbow Dash!" the pegasus declared, "and I'm in charge of getting the new girls to their carriages." Applejack looked around in search of other new girls, but of course, she didn't know any of them so she couldn't determine any new ones. Rainbow Dash took out a list and checked off Applejack's name.
"let's see..." she muttered, "that's one out of three new girls." Rainbow looked around and called out, "Is there a Twilight Sparkle here?" A small purple unicorn walked up to Rainbow, seeming to have no expression on her face at all. Applejack was getting the impression that Rainbow Dash was very talkative, and this 'Twilight Sparkle' wouldn't be very popular among the class.
"I'm here." said Twilight briskly.
"Alright," said Rainbow Dash, "where are your parents?" Applejack quickly responded, saying,
"My parents aren't here, but my Granny Smith has come to wave me off!" Rainbow told her, "Get your Granny Smith to go to our house mistress, Mrs. Cake and get all the details sorted." After all was settled, the three ponies jumped on the train. Rainbow took them down to the third cart. Rainbow explained,
"There are four towers in the school. The north tower (unicorns only). The south tower (for every type of pony). The west tower (pegasus only). The east tower (earth ponies only)" she paused to take a breath, then went on, "We are all going to be boarding in South tower. This carriage is for South tower girls only.
Another filly boarded the train, her light blue mane dangling under a purple star wizards hat. She also wore a matching purple cape, fastened by a blue gem at her neck. She was a pretty blue unicorn filly, but looked a little over-confident. "Stop and stare young foals, for you have been graced by the presence of The Great and Powerful Trixie!" she announced at the top of her voice. Rainbow looked down at her list of new girls in South tower. She sighed as she realised Trixie's name was there, and lazily crossed it off. It seemed that Trixie would be boarding in South tower with them. Trixie went on, "Watch as the Great and Powerful Trixie performs feats beyond imagination!" And with that, a steady red beam flew out of her horn, lighting the room with fireworks. She then summoned a blue beam, which formed the shape of a star in mid-air. A green beam then shot from her tiny horn, clashing into the blue star and making a wonderful sparkling effect around it. The fireworks twinkled down past the star making it look amazing. By the time everything had cleared, everypony clapped and cheered. A yellow unicorn in third year shouted, "Yay! Do some more! Oh please do!" Trixie happily lapped up this praise and said boastfuly, "Well, if you insist." She was just about to start, when an adult unicorn that looked like Trixie, but older raced in. "Mother!" shouted Trixie, running over to say goodbye before the train left. Trixie and her mother wept as they said their farewells, while the other ponies stuffed their hooves in their mouths to stop themselves laughing uncontrollably.
When Trixie returned to the others, her eyes were red from tears. "Now," she declared, "Be amazed at the magic of Trixie!" At this, everypony just laughed at her. Trixie wondered what she had done. "Has my mane become tangled? Is my hat lopsided?" she asked in a frenzy. This only made the other ponies laugh more. Trixie had to be in the limelight somehow. She waited until the train set off, then moaned and groaned for all she was worth. "Ohhh! I feel so awfully sick." most ponies ignored her, but some stared at her. She realised this wasn't getting her anywhere, so she decided a lie might impress them. "I happen to be a descendant of Princess Platinum, who, according to equestrian history, was once the leader of the unicorns," she lied. Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Twilight didn't believe her. But a timid looking yellow pegasus with a long pink mane looked stunned. "Wow," she said shyly, "I thought it was amazing being the decendant of Private Pansy was amazing, but Princess Platinum is much better." Trixie of course was stunned. She had been lying, but this pony was telling the truth! This pegasus really was the decendant of Private Pansy. Everypony knew this timid little pony couldn't be lying, for in equestrian history, Private Pansy was also very timid. Everypony gathered around her, begging to know her name. "I'm Fluttershy..." she answered. She quickly ran out of the crowd over to another pony. This pegasus was grey, with a blonde mane and a wall eyed expression. "I'm sorry everypony, but ditzy doo is my best friend," Fluttershy apologised. "More like Derpy Hooves," mocked Trixie. Ditzy Doo seemed very upset by this, for her eyes teared up and she started to sniffle. Rainbow Dash was angry with the smug little Trixie. She stomped right up to her and declared, "Trixie, you are so mean. You need to be taken down a few pegs."
Applejack secretly thought this was a horrid start to her first term, but what she didn't know was that things were about to pick up!
The train was soon far away from the station. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Twilight, Fluttershy and ditzy doo happily chatted and told funny family stories while Trixie pouted in the other side of the carriage.
"...so then my brother tricked his teacher into thinking his tail was gone!" finished RD. The others cracked up at this, but by now Trixie had fallen asleep. Trixie just lay there, dreaming of becoming the most popular filly in the school, how she would get back Fluttershy for not choosing her as a friend and how she would show up all these meek little fillies. However, Applejack was far more strong willed than Trixie thought. She had no intention of doing anything Trixie said. Soon, everypony was to tired to chat anymore. Applejack just sat and stared out the window, now remembering how far away her parents, her granny smith, her little sister Apple Bloom and Big Mac were. She sniffed as she remembered her mother: Pink Lady, and her father: Applebuck. She tried to remember that they were coming to see her at half term. Rainbow heard her sniffling and tried to cheer her up.
"Come on AJ," she comforted, "We're gonna be at school soon!" Applejack soon cheered up seeing as they would be at school soon.
Trixie had now awoken and planned her revenge on Fluttershy. She didn't even notice whenever the train pulled up at the school.
"Wow!" gasped Applejack. The school was like a giant castle, with one tower at each corner. It was simply beautiful in the sunlight.
"The other girls are here!" shouted Rainbow Dash. Some fillies (or mares) traveled the long journey to Canterlot with their parents, by car. RD raced up to a white pegasus with a bouncy blonde mane and three purple balloons as a cutie mark.
"Hey Surprise!" shouted Rainbow.
"Rainbow Dash!" squealed Surprise, "I thought you weren't coming!" Rainbow Dash then proceeded to give Surprise a hug. "Hey look, there's Bon-Bon!" shouted Rainbow. Bon-Bon, a white earth pony with a purple and blue mane, stood beside her best friend Lyra. Lyra was a green unicorn with a green mane. Rainbow introduced Lyra and Bon-Bon to the three new fillies, two happy, one pouting.
"Wait," said Lyra, "Aren't there supposed to be four new fillies?" Rainbow looked down at her list. Yes, there at the very bottom of her list was the name Cheerilee!
"Is there a Cheerilee here?" called Rainbow. A purple filly with light purple hair and no cutie mark trotted in. "Hello," she said, "I'm Cheerilee." Rainbow breathed a sigh of relief. Cheerilee came by car! She wasn't lost after all.
Meanwhile, Applejack was inside, looking at the dorm room, or dormy. There were eight beds, four on each side. Each bed was a deep burgundy colour with the letters FTM (for Filly To Mare) printed on the covers in gold. Each bed
had a burgundy bedside table beside it. There was a velvety deep red pull-around curtain dividing each little room. Again, each pull-around curtain had the letters FTM printed on it. There was a big window, looking out towards the seaside. Just when she was looking out the window, a voice said,
"The view is great, isn't it?" Applejack whisked around to see it was that pegasus, Surprise.
"Hello Surprise," said applejack. Surprise looked around at the eight beds and said,
"The ponies boarding in this dormy are Me, You, Rainbow Dash, Bon-Bon, Lyra, Twilight Sparkle, Cheerilee and unfortunately Trixe." Applejack now knew everypony in her dormy. She was really starting to feel at home. Trixie however, wasn't fitting in at all. Nopony in the dormy wanted to speak to her. Suddenly it hit her. She hadn't a single friend. She was suddenly determined to find somepony grand to be her friend. She looked throughout the crowds of ponies. 'No, too short. Too tall. Perfect!' she thought to herself. She raced over to this wonderful pony.
"Why hello," said Trixie, in a self-confident sort of way, "My name is the Great and Powerful Trixie!" after her little speech, she quickly conjured a loud fanfare, with fireworks to match. The other unicorn looked at her in surprise.
"H-Hi," she stammered, "m-my name is fluer-de-lis." Trixie seized the moment. Fluer-de-lis was going to be her best friend!
Applejack sat at the meal table eating the special first-day dinner Mrs. Cake had prepared fir the new girls. Cupcakes, sugar cubes, apples from sweet apple acres! They made Applejack feel so close to home she accidentally kicked out at her chair! "Oopsy!" she said as she realised what she had done.
"No worries, sugarcube," assured Mrs. Cake, picking up her chair. As the girls finished up, Mrs. Cake brought out a simply enormous chocolate cake! Applejack, Twilight, and Trixie each ate a giant piece, before saying each of them had eaten enough. Twilight and Applejack were soon deeply engrossed in a conversation about cutie marks.
"I've tried juggling, singing, surfing and even digging! But nothing seems to work..." sighed Twilight.
Applejack replied, "Yes, same with me."
Trixie smirked, "Wow. Waiting for your cutie mark is sooo last month."
"And I suppose you have one?" retorted Applejack.
"Why um.... Yes!" stumbled Trixie very quickly.
"Let's see it then?" challenged Twilight.
"Well...um...it's so.....uh.....shiny, it could....uh...blind you. Yes that's it," stammered Trixie. Suddenly, a tall white unicorn with a silky pink mane came to Trixie's defense.
"Well I think Trixie, probably, has a great cutie mark," she said.
"Why, hello, fluer-de-lis," said Trixie, "You were saying?" Fluer-de-lis looked from Trixie to Twilight to Applejack,
"I was saying, that you shouldn't be so mean to Trixie." And with that, she strutted off.
Soon after it was lights out everypony was sleeping. Well almost everypony. Surprise was lying awake, troubled. She tossed and turned but nothing seemed to help her. She screamed into her pillow in frustration. But she couldn't tell anypony about this. NOPONY could know.
