1 – Under the Everton Sun

Chapter One

Under The Everton Sun

Mornings were not Twilight Velvet's favorite.
In fact, she hated waking up early for anything! Even if this was for her daughter's future, she still wore a grimace the whole drive over. The sun hadn't even risen when she left the house, but with each mile the mountains to the east started glowing brighter and brighter. Maybe by the time she found this Canterlot High School, the morning sun could shed some light on Twilight's sudden change of schooling! At least there was a bus schedule that her daughter could use to get to school on time, which allowed Velvet to drive her own car to CHS ahead of time to see what all the fuss was about.

Crystal Prep had been perfect for so long, being so close to where they lived and laying down the foundation for Twilight's college career. But after the most recent Friendship Games, suddenly Principal Cinch resigned, Cadence was promoted from Dean to Principal to take over in her stead, and Twilight started telling Velvet all about this public high school in Everton. Granted, it wasn't too far from the Independent Study program Twilight had her eyes on for the longest time, but the drive was far longer than Velvet would have liked!

The morning sun still had not emerged from behind the mountains to the east by the time Twilight Velvet arrived at CHS, parking on the opposite side of the street from the school. When she got out of her car and began walking towards the front entrance, Velvet found that the campus didn't seem like much; it had a tidy lawn, architecture that was a bit too ambitious, and a nice exterior color scheme featuring a lovely shade of... pale burgundy. But, where one might put a statue, there was just this square pedestal in the middle of the walkway leading into the U-shaped building. It was so painfully out-of-place that it demanded her attention.

Velvet slowed down and gave it a momentary glance, enough time for the mirrored sides of the pedestal to catch her attention. Enough time to see her tired, critical blue eyes peering out from under poorly brushed purple and white hair. Her skin was more grey than usual and her face was unwelcoming, a stark contrast from her pressed mauve blazer and matching wrinkle-free pencil skirt. Her eyes were as weary as she felt, and her grumpiness was visibly obvious, as well as the fact that she did not want to be awake at this hour. While highly approachable and friendly after nine o’clock, Velvet didn't look like the kind of woman she'd want to have a meeting with at five-thirty in the morning. She could have waited and risen with Twilight, driven her daughter to the school, and given the campus a chance through eager eyes…

‘But I would be just as grumpy and more open to persuasion. I need to see this place at face value, and see if I fall in love with it on my own.’ She reminded herself.

Velvet frowned at her reflection in the immaculate, yet unimpressive cube of marble, turning instead towards the school she wished to scrutinize. After that first impression, it shouldn’t be too hard to critically assess the campus, unclouded by her daughter’s amorous enthusiasm.

After a long walk, she finally reached the glass doors and wandered inside. She had almost expected the green and beige color palette. It was all straight out of a Saturday morning cartoon: lockers lining the hallways, a glass trophy case or two, collages of students that were having fun. While it was less sterile and more welcoming than Crystal Prep, Velvet was nowhere near falling in love with CHS just yet.

Looking to the right, she saw a sign hanging above the first door in the hallway.

Principal's Office

Composing herself and mustering a polite smile, Velvet walked to the door and knocked twice.

"Come in!" A cheerful voice called out.

Velvet opened the door and stepped inside. A woman with near-white pink skin sat at her desk, which was covered with tidy stacks of paperwork. She wore a tan blazer over a papal purple dress shirt and matching slacks. Her prismatic hair was long and thick, almost glittering in the fluorescent light. Two magenta eyes looked up from their paperwork, falling upon Velvet and coaxing a warm smile that lit up the room. She spoke gracefully and with a welcoming voice as she rose from her chair and presented her hand to Velvet. "You must be Mrs. Twilight Velvet! A pleasure to meet you!"

Groggy as she was, Velvet couldn't help but feel a little lighter looking at that smile. "I am, but please, call me Velvet. I take it you're this Principal Celestia that I keep hearing about?"

The principal proudly proclaimed, “Indeed I am! Please, sit down; I’ll make us some tea.”

Velvet seated herself in the lightly padded chair as Celestia grabbed the thermos sitting on her desk and walked over to a cabinet. Within seconds, she produced two teacups and filled them with steaming hot tea.

“Would you like any sugar, cream, or honey?”
“Some honey and a spoonful of sugar would be delightful!”
‘"Delightful?" Where had that come from?’ Velvet wondered. She suddenly realized she was more chipper than she was when she had assumed her plastic smile outside the office!
At any rate, Velvet soon found herself accepting a piping cup of tea as Principal Celestia returned to her desk with a cup of her own. They both took a cautious sip from their respective cups, the principal choosing to speak first. “Twilight told me a bit about Night Light, would he happen to be joining us soon?”

Velvet shook her head and answered, “I’m afraid not; my husband works late hours at the Observatory, so he usually doesn’t wake up until the early afternoon. My daughter is usually the early-riser of the family, but I wanted to come here early to see what the fuss is all about.”

Celestia nodded, smile still bright and welcoming as she stated, “Your daughter certainly is passionate about the prospect of transferring to CHS. Principal Cadence has been faxing over all the necessary transcript paperwork to accommodate her current GPA into our curriculum. She’s already set to be top of the class here as a Canterlot Wondercolt; it just falls on the two of us to determine whether she transfers or not. I know you must have some reservations about the matter, since this is your daughter’s future at stake.”

“I do have some thoughts, as a matter of fact! I think it’s very odd that my daughter wanted to switch schools at the same time that Principal Cinch resigned from Crystal Prep. I find it confusing why she and Cadence are so intent on her attending a public high school outside of the city, over the private school into which my husband and I have invested so much time and money toward our daughter’s education and our son’s before her. And I think that maybe this is a rather drastic, impulsive move for her. I love her and I want to see that she has everything she needs to be successful, but this school…”

“If I may interrupt..." Celestia interjected politely, "I know that CHS is not as impressive as Crystal Prep, but from what I have seen, I think it might be a healthier environment for Twilight. I was recently made aware of the fact that the Crystal Prep students–while highly intelligent and academically talented–are not the best when it comes to…” The otherwise perfectly composed woman cleared her throat and made the gentle accusation, “Shall we say, ‘getting along with others’?”

Rather earnestly, Velvet admitted, “I know how awful some of the CPA students can be. Most of those trust-fund brats have shot me dirty looks for wearing a jacket that’s five years old! I assure you, Night Light and I have not been encouraging that behavior in Twilight or her brother Shining Armor. We tried to raise them better than those snobbish kids at CPA. We may be an upper-middle class household now, but Night Light and I at least can recall a time when we weren’t so well-off.”

“Oh, I didn’t mean to insinuate anything about Twilight because of her peers! She’s a very kind and remarkable young woman, especially coming from Crystal Prep. I actually meant to address the fact that she claimed not to have any friends at her current school.”

Velvet nodded and cleared her throat. “Oh… Yes, I am aware of that too. To be honest, that's why I have encouraged her to seek out an independent study program. I started realizing that maybe the student body was doing more harm than the education was worth."

With a sympathetic gaze, Celestia suggested, "Would you... like to talk about it? Just so I understand Twilight's situation better?"

After a moment's hesitation, Velvet explained, "There have been days where I’ve had to comfort her after a particularly rough day of class. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to hold her tight after a group of classmates berated her by calling her a homophobic slur, or calling our household a 'welfare family', or making fun of her for being single. I remember teenagers being awful when I was in high school, but these private school kids are something else. Any time I’ve brought it up to Principal Cinch, she had only ever been an apathetic bureaucrat, even when disciplinary measures were taken against the student responsible! But Twilight always preferred to work alone, which is why I supported her decision to apply for the Everton Independent Study Program. At least it would get her away from those rotten kids.”

“While I can speak very highly of EISP, I’m not sure it's what she needs right now. And I think Twilight and Cadence can see that too. This year’s Friendship Games have certainly brought a lot of things out in the open.”

“Like that whole magic business?”

Celestia froze for a moment, sipped her tea, set it down on her desk, and calmly asked, “I take it Twilight told you about that whole fiasco?”

Nodding, Velvet confirmed, “She has indeed. I’ve heard everything, from the six magic CHS students to Principal Cinch blackmailing her for her own purposes. Which is exactly why it’s best that I get Twilight out of CPA and into a school where she won’t be bullied and exploited for anybody’s personal gain.”

“I can assure you, Velvet, nothing of the sort will ever happen here at CHS.”

“I’m just worried that this is just another school where she’ll drift from class to class never making any friends and continuing to suffer in her–…”

“Has she told you about her new friends?”

This time it was Velvet who froze. After a few blinks, she asked, “Twilight made friends?”

“Six of our brightest Wondercolts! She’s really taken by them, and it’s so wonderful to see how magical friendship can be!”

Velvet couldn’t believe her ears! “Twilight hasn’t had a friend since elementary school! This is so wonderful to hear!”

“She hasn’t told you about Sunset Shimmer and her friends?”

Velvet's mind raced as she poured through all of the conversations between her and Twilight. Parsing through every detail she could remember, she came up empty. She hadn't realized the six girls involved in the fiasco were friends with her daughter. “Well, she said a great deal about six magical girls and a device that caused some havoc, but I didn’t know she had become friends with anybody from this school! This is quite the surprise!”

“I think you’ll find that there are more than a few surprises about this school, especially when it comes to this year’s class of Wondercolts.”

Velvet slowly finished her tea as she thought for a moment, Celestia picking her own cup back up to do the same. When Velvet emptied her teacup, she nervously asked, “I don’t suppose you have time to show me around the campus, do you?”

Celestia’s smile lit the room back up like the rising sun. “I’d be happy to, Velvet!”

“I’m astonished how impressive the campus is, Principal Celestia.” Velvet complimented.

“Well, it took a few years to allocate the funds, but once I became the principal of CHS, I saw to it that the arts and sports departments were given the much-needed funding they deserve!" There was nothing snobbish or arrogant about Celestia’s words; proud as she was, the beaming principal was leagues more approachable Cinch had ever been, due to the latter's overbearing superiority complex.

While Velvet marveled at the stark contrast from the former CPA principal, Celestia continued, "To think that in the years between my sister’s graduation and my appointment to this school, the music department had almost been completely shuttered! With the help of my sister–Vice Principal Luna–the Theater, Music, Fitness, and Foreign Language departments have gone from the lowest in the district to second-best in the state!”

“Well, Crystal Prep may have more expensive equipment, but your school certainly does seem to be doing a fine job of arming students with what they need to succeed! I mean, that art room was so impressive that I almost forgot that this is a public school!”

Celestia beamed, "A great many of our alumni go on to be some of the best creatives. Does the name 'Canter Zoom' ring any bells?"

Velvet blinked and incredulously asked, "No kidding? He’s a CHS alumni?"

With a proud smile, Celestia answered, "Indeed he is! My old drama teacher was the one who told me that Canter Zoom was a student director for every single play performed during his four years here."

“Well, it seems I owe this school an apology for all my pre-conceived notions."

Celestia smiled and chuckled at that remark, and pushed open the front door for Velvet. "_

Velvet stepped outside to see the morning sun shine its light upon CHS, causing the school courtyard to glitter like a diamond in a jewelry store. Given what she had just seen with the tour, it was surprising that this was the most spectacular thing she had seen about this campus! Velvet stood there for a moment, getting lost in the twinkling of the dew and the lush, verdant grass, marveling at the most beautiful sunrise she had seen in years!

“It’s quite a sight, isn’t it, Velvet?" Velvet was unable to answer, still admiring the picturesque scene laid out before her. Celestia continued, "This is my favorite part of the job; watching the sun shine on the front lawn before the first students start arriving. It gives me a moment to admire the beauty of this school and remind myself of why I’m a proud Wondercolt.”

If Twilight Velvet saw such a sight every time she started the day, she would definitely feel a great deal of pride too. Hell, a sight like this might even make her wake up early every day!

Maybe.

“You know, Velvet, there is one job I would enjoy more than this one…” Velvet turned to look at Celestia’s face as she continued, “Sometimes I wish I could be the one in charge of raising the Sun. I know it’s silly, but I think there could be no better feeling than being in charge of every sunrise and every sunset.”

Velvet returned her gaze to the glistening lawn and responded, "I don't think it's silly at all; I think that would be an amazing responsibility to have. If any of us mere mortals were ever given that opportunity, that is."

Across the courtyard over by the marble pedestal, Velvet saw Twilight walking towards the front entrance with six other girls. Beyond them, she saw Cadence's station wagon drive away from the school, piecing together that Shining Armor must have dropped his sister off. Cadence must have conspired to excuse Twilight for the day at CPA, somehow knowing that Velvet would cave and agree to the transfer. Velvet would have to have a talk with her daughter-in-law about that cheeky move the next time she saw her.

The six girls walking with Twilight seemed to be the most interesting combination of girls from several different cliques, making it all the more reassuring that so many unique personalities were looking out for her daughter. Nothing about them seemed magical at first glance. As far as Twilight Velvet could tell, they were just six ordinary friends who were welcoming their seventh addition to their group.

"Hey mom!" Twilight called out as she waved.

"Good morning, Twilight!" Velvet greeted as her daughter and her six friends came closer to the bottom steps.

"That's something I haven't heard from you in a long time!" Twilight giggled.

"Well, I suppose you can start getting used to it. I think earlier mornings are just one of many changes yet to come."

Twilight met Velvet at the top of the steps, pulling her mother into a one-armed hug.

The pink girl with messy hair ran up and shook Velvet's hand with such vigor that Velvet felt her entire skeletal system vibrate inside her body! "Hi-ya, Twilight's mom! I'm Pinkie Pie, and I'm super-duper excited to meet you!"

While Velvet recovered from the full-body earthquake, athletic blue girl with rainbow hair gushed at the very disoriented woman. Velvet didn't hear any of it, her mind still reeling from the overstimulation, both from the handshake and from the two young women who had just introduced themselves.

A cotton-white young woman with an elegant voice gently pushed past her energetic friends, shaking Velvet's hand daintily while she blinked and tried to regain her wits. "You’ll have to forgive Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie. They can be a tad much for some. I’m Rarity, a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Velvet, and I must say your ensemble is rather fetching! The pale lilac perfectly complements your skin tone, and the stitch work clearly shows that you have eye for quality! If you ever stop by Carousel Boutique, I’m sure I could find some time to make you something divine! Free of charge, of course, being a mother to such a wonderful friend!” Rarity pulled Twilight in for a sideways hug.

“Why thank you. It’s nice to meet you as well, Rarity... And you as well Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash. But please, just call me 'Velvet'.”

The girl with the cowboy hat and boots stepped forward and presented her hand next. When Velvet returned the handshake, she found that she could scarcely recall having received one so firm from a woman. "It's great to meet ya, Velvet. I'm Applejack, and this here's Fluttershy and Sunset Shimmer." She gestured to the pink haired girl and the girl in the leather jacket respectively.

Fluttershy timidly walked up and waved as she said, barely above a whisper “Hi.”

Sunset Shimmer walked up to Velvet as Applejack stepped back. With a deeper, more mature voice, she greeted, "It's nice to finally meet you, Velvet."

“Likewise; I’ve heard so much about you, Miss Shimmer.”

“I swear, it’s all lies…” Sunset said jokingly.

Velvet raised her eyebrow, affecting her voice with a tone of disbelief as she queried, “All of it?”

Sheepishly, Sunset corrected, “Well, most of the bad stuff is probably true!”

“Funny, Twilight has only spoken highly of you.” Velvet commented.

A look of surprise overtook Sunset's face, whether genuine or part of her bit. “Wait, really? Twilight, I’m flattered!”

“Should I be worried?” Velvet asked, to nobody in particular.

“Honestly ma’am..." Applejack answered, throwing her arm around Sunset's shoulder. "I’d say this one’s more trouble than she’s worth half the time! Well, uhh… more than half the time I suppose.”

Sunset simply continued her schtick, “I may not have the best grades in calculus, but ‘all the time’ is more than ‘half the time’, right?”

After a moment of thought, Applejack added, “Eeyup, I’d say that’s about right! I don’t need to know much about the derivative of a function to know that this one’s trouble incarnate any day of the week and twice on Sundays!”

Pinkie appeared behind Sunset and Applejack, pulling them both into a hug as she remarked, “Oh don't worry, Velvet, they’re just being silly!”

Celestia steped forward to comment, “As a matter of fact, Sunset Shimmer has done quite a lot of remarkable things this past school year. She’s easily one of our most accomplished Wondercolts!”

Sunset shied away and batted a hand in the general direction of the principal. “Aww, c’mon now, don’t make an orange girl blush!”

Velvet mustered up the most polite thing she could think to say, “Well, suffice it to say, you’re the most interesting people Twilight has ever been friends with!”

Rainbow Dash streched nonchalantly and agreed, “Yeah, we’re pretty awesome like that!”

"You could say that there is something quite magical about the friendship that these girls share." Celestia added with a knowing smile.

Velvet found the smile to be infectious, as it spread to her own face. “Yes, well, there certainly seems to be quite a few magical things about this place, and I would be lying if I didn't say that I'm thoroughly impressed with what I've seen."

Twilight's eyes lit up with hope as she asked her mother, “Does that mean I can transfer to CHS?”

“Yes, Twilight. I definitely think you belong here far more than Crystal Prep.”

Twilight threw her arms around Velvet and squealed a string of ‘thank you’s as she squeezed with all her might.

Returning the hug, Velvet spoke with pride as she said, “I love you, Twilight. Now hurry up before I make you late for your first day at your new school!”

“I love you too, mom!”
Celestia spoke past Velvet to address Twilight, "Be sure to meet with my secretary, Raven, and she'll assign you a temporary class schedule while we finalize your transfer."

"I will, Principal Celestia! Thank you both so much!"

“You'll not regret this decision, Velvet, I can promise you that!" Rarity declared as she walked past Velvet with Twilight and Pinkie Pie.

“Best Mom EVEEER!!!” Proclaimed the exuberant pink girl.

As she followed them, Rainbow Dash squeaked out the words, “You're so awesome!”

Fluttershy hid behind her bangs and waved to Velvet as she timidly said, “It was really nice meeting you, Velvet.” She excused herself to join the group that was forming around Twilight. Applejack and Sunset also headed for the front entrance, waving at Celestia and Velvet as the seven young women flocked into the building.

Celestia “They really are a great group of friends”

Velvet remarked, lost in thought, “Yes, they sure are…”

"I suppose all that's left to do is finalize her transfer papers."

Velvet narrowed her eyes at Principal Celestia and smirked, theorizing, "You and Cadence knew I'd agree and conspired to have her attend class here today, didn't you two?"

Celestia smiled and replied, "I had a hunch that I would win you over, but yes, Principal Mi Amore Cadenza did insist on Twilight coming here, regardless of whether the official transfer was complete or whether you had said 'yes'. She thought that if you saw how happy Twilight was with her friends, it would erase any doubts you may have. Was she right?"

Velvet chuckled at that and shook her head, but still smiling she admitted, "I suppose she was."

"And just to clarify, it was my sister who conspired with Cadence to pull strings. I preferred to try to convince you through genuine means, but I was aware of their little plot."

Velvet chuckled again and remarked, "Well, you certainly did make a good impression. I was certain I would saw yes when I saw how beautiful this school was."

Celestia tittered and smugly said, "Sound like Cadence and Luna owe me fifty dollars!"

Velvet scoffed and shook her head incredulously, "You three were betting on this?"

"I'm joking, Velvet! I would never do such a thing!"

Velvet blushed and let out a relieved chuckle, "You had me going for a second!" The two women shared a laugh as Celestia pulled Velvet in for a sideways hug. After a moment of awkward silence, Celestia retracted her arm and cleared her throat.
"I suppose we should go over that paperwork now. Shall we?" She gestured over to her office and regained her composure.
Velvet cleared her throat as well. "Yes, I supoose it's time to dot the 't's and cross the 'i's! Err, I mean--!" Embarrassed, she brought her hand to her forehead. She was an award-winning author, why was she fumbling her words?
Celestia merely giggled as she lead them to her office. "I know what you meant, Velvet."

Velvet felt her face heat up as her cheeks turned red. Something inside her was stirring, and she was experiencing a simultaneous anxiety and intense comfort in the presence of the fair skinned principal with prismatic hair.

"I enjoyed our talk, having tea with you, and giving you a tour around the school."
Velvet shook herself out of her embarrassment to smile at the tall, majestic woman. "I enjoyed being here, and you are wonderful company. I haven't had such scintillating conversation in a while."
"If you'd be willing to make the drive out to Everton, I'd love to have tea with you again. Not quite as early, of course. Say, after school hours?"
Velvet felt her face stretching as she her smile got bigger. “I’d like that.”
“Wonderful! I’ll be looking forward to it!”

Author's Note:

I finally put this back up 4.5 years later after a bad breakup with a toxic 8 year long relationship with an abusive fiancée, two moves, 4 jobs, and extensive "hoe chapter" of my own.

Huge thank you to Malbrony for helping with this chapter

The girls on either side of Twilight, Sunset and AJ, to Sunset's left, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. To AJ's right, Rainbow Dash and Rarity. Rainbow, Sunset, and Fluttershy look tired. Rarity looks well-rested and relaxed
Pinkie Pie looked like she was pumped full of sugar. Applejack is an early-riser and more naturally awake than any of the six other girls

Unaddressed Malbrony notes:

Also why is Twilight even there? Doesn't she have to attend her own school?
On a general note: the change in Velvet's view of the school could be shown a bit more.

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