Birthday Bios: Orchard Soil · 2:44pm Apr 7th, 2016
Boy, if I ever get around to this story, I'm going to have to be careful. I hear alicorn OCs are tricky to pull off.
Not to mention even though my first aim in a story is usually humor, I always end up wanting to look at the more serious side of things. I'm going to have to come up with a bit more material than "how the heck did Applejack have an alicorn kid" to make it work.
This one's short since I have few ideas in regards to him. Maybe I'll return to this at a later date to add anything else I can come up with.
Orchard Soil was born to the Apple Family on Sweet Apple Acres. It's an understatement to say that the family and their friends were shocked when he came out an alicorn. Applejack had to touch the additional appendages to make sure they were real and that she wasn't delirious from a hard labor.
Twilight went through several books in order to find a possible explanation. The claim that Applejack's connection with her Element was shot down due to Pinkie Pie's twins being earth ponies (and later others of the Mane Six having relatively normal foals). Some theorized that he was the reincarnation of a earth-themed alicorn from long ago, but others found that silly. The princesses were little help, since if they couldn't explain Flurry Heart, who at least made a little more sense with an alicorn parent, how the hay would they explain Orchard coming from a purely earth pony family? Everypony has settled on it having to do with magic somehow, though exactly what is still contested.
Aside from the usual magic surges that randomly had plants sprouting and experiments with flying (which had him crashing into trees), Orchard was a fairly easygoing baby. He enjoyed playing with Auntie Apple Bloom, his cousins, and Applejack's friends' children, such as Pizza Pockets and Fudge Fondue. He loved to play in the mud, which usually led to a patch of grass growing there after he was done. And once when he sneezed, some flowers ended up growing in Granny Smith's hair.
Growing up, he was often sent to Twilight in order to learn how to control his unicorn magic, while Rainbow Dash taught him how to fly. In between those times, he often had chores to do on the farm, which Applejack made sure to taught him the earth pony way (you never know when he'd be depowered, after all). He often had to work together with his younger siblings, all earth ponies, making sure that he didn't do anything to make them resent him more than they already were. Usually when he was done, he was off to play with friends.
He didn't like the attention that he got at school. As a pony who was only there to learn, it annoyed him that everypony was so fixated on his alicorn status and kept on calling him a "Prince" (since the other alicorns were royalty). Some questioned what he even was the prince of, to which he replied that he was not a prince, and alicorns don't have to automatically equal royalty. He usually stuck with those that never cared that he was an alicorn.
One day, he was fed up with everypony pestering him and he summoned thorny vines in order to create a cocoon around himself to keep them out, destroying the schoolyard in the process. His mother had to come talk him out of it and convince him to fix the schoolyard. Not only did he do it, but he also managed to create an entirely new playground out of trees, vines and other plants, which were incredibly sturdy. That act had him earning a cutie mark of a large, fruitful apple tree.
He continued to lead a very simple life, aside from learning more about alicorn magic from each of the princesses. He figures that there's no room for him in the realm of royalty and politics, and sticks with farming. After all, he feels more at home with the earth than in any castle.
Still, he still does want an explanation for the why of his alicorn status.
Orchard may not be a prince, but he certainly sounds noble in the most meaningful sense. I find myself hoping that he'll open an academy for earth pony magic.
Here's hoping you think of something to do with him.