Wow, it has been forever since I last updated here, hasn't it? Well, I've been so busy on other sites that I nearly forgot I had an account there. :P But anyway, I'm back here with a story I've been working on for at least sixteen months on DeviantArt. It's related to My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and the Equestria Girls spinoff, but it's in a completely different universe. Without further delays, here's the debut of Art of a Sun's Love on this website!
Art of a Sun's Love Volume I
Series Created by Zack Wanzer
Based upon My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic by Lauren Faust, My Little Pony Equestria Girls by Meghan McCarthy, and the music of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr
Sub-Volume 1 - Blast to Our Past
Chapter 1 - Let 'Em In (McCartney, 1976)
Written by Zack Wanzer and James Riddle
People sometimes say that it's Love that really conquers all. Partner up Love with Trust and Friendship, and you're able to have Happiness. All three elements were very important to bringing peace in the lives of eight people - two brothers, their respective girlfriends, and four other lifelong friends from grade school.
The city of Canterlot was a big, bustling place with ivory buildings lined with golden spires, and people of all sorts of classes and races lived peacefully. It didn't matter if you were poor or wealthy; people would accept you for who you were regardless of social status. Canterlot also had a library, an observatory, coffee shops, a restaurant, a theater, an art gallery, and even a train station.
Every year, Canterlot held a Summer Sun Celebration, and it was always held on summer solstice in June. In the spring, it hosted a gala held inside the restored castle that formerly belonged to the legendary King Bullion and his daughter Princess Platinum some time during the 17th century. Canterlot also held a garden party in autumn on the castle grounds, and during the same season at Canterlot High School, a Fall Formal was held. The city also held various events like rodeos and baking competitions; they were often held at the high school ever since it was founded in 1960.
It was now the year 2038; technology had advanced in the last twenty years or so, but Canterlot still held on to its heritage and traditions. It was raining heavily on this early August afternoon, and many people without umbrellas were rushing to get inside, away from the pouring rain.
Amid the grayness of the atmosphere, there was a flash of color - a young girl at the age of seventeen was walking on the streets of Canterlot, not taking much notice to her surroundings. She had crimson hair with sky blue streaks, and sapphire blue eyes. She also had blue ear piercings and brown tennis shoes, and underneath her red jacket was a sleeveless white shirt and dark blue jeans.
The girl was wearing her hood over her head, and wasn't in any particular rush as she entered the nearest cafe. Not much activity was going on in the cafe; there must've been around eight customers at their tables - some were actually talking to one another, whilst a few were on their phones or laptops.
Taking off her hood and wiping her shoes on the mat, the girl briefly took in her surroundings before walking up to the counter. "One slice of iced lemon pound cake, please," she told the server. He nodded, and placed a slice of said serving in a small paper bag, and handed it to the girl, who promptly paid what he asked for.
The girl sat down at a table close to a window. As she took her first bite, she looked outside noticing a few cars drive by, splashing up rainwater as they did so. At that moment, the door opened and three women stepped inside. The first woman, obviously the leader, had large, curly vivid orange hair with yellow streaks and raspberry eyes. The second woman had moderate purple hair with light aquamarine streaks in two pigtails, mulberry eyes, and a frown that almost looked like an unwelcoming scowl. The last woman had light arctic blue hair with persian blue streaks in a ponytail and raspberry eyes like the first woman. In contrast to the second woman, the third seemed to be constantly smiling. All three were in their late fifties to early sixties, but to some, they could've easily passed for thirty, and appeared to have an ageless look about them.
The three made their way over to the counter. "Three tacos with a lemonade each," said the orange-haired woman.
"Make that six tacos," said the pony tailed woman. This caused the other two to give her a look. "What? I love tacos."
The woman with pigtails just groaned. "Even after all these years, Sonata, I'll never understand you..."
"Shut up, Aria," muttered Sonata.
"Why don't you both shut up?" interrupted the orange haired woman, exasperated. "You're acting like children."
"Oh, butt out, Adagio," said Aria.
"Um, do you mind?" the girl asked, not looking up from where she sat. "Some of us are trying to enjoy our food and we'd appreciate it if you would stop your arguing."
"Who do you think you are barging in on our conversation?" demanded Adagio.
"Hey, wait a minute," said Sonata. "You wouldn't happen to be Dawn Spark would you?"
"Um, yeah," the teenage girl replied. "That's my name."
"I was a friend of your parents," Sonata explained.
"You were?"
"They met years ago in high school," explained Aria.
"My parents met in high school?" Dawn didn't understand if that was what Aria meant.
"No," corrected Aria, "what I meant was that Sonata met your parents when they were high school. I didn't get too close to them. Adagio, on the other hand…"
"Did you know how my parents' love for each other got so strong?" Dawn asked.
"Sounds like story time!" Sonata chirped gleefully. Adagio slapped a hand to her head in annoyance at Sonata's goofiness.
"Excuse me, ladies," said the server. "I have your food and drinks ready."
"Yay, tacos!" Sonata cheered.
"Gee, Sonata," said Aria in a deadpan snark. "I'm surprised all those tacos haven't gone to your thighs by now."
"Hey!" Sonata shouted in offence. "Are you saying I have a big butt?"
"No, I'm saying you're as thin as a pencil," Aria replied in a sarcastic tone.
"That will do," Adagio said sternly, silencing her friends almost immediately. Then she turned back to Dawn.
"If we're going to tell you this story, kid," she said, "then we'll do it in style."
"Erm, what do you mean, in style?" Dawn didn't understand what the middle-aged woman was on about.
"First off, this story actually starts before your parents were born," said Aria.
"But then how would you know if you hadn't been born either?" asked Dawn.
"We were around back then," said Sonata, "and we were all sprightly teenage girls looking for boyfriends, wearing these fancy clothes like you kids wear today, and we were in a band of our own..."
"Alright, Sonata, we get it," said Adagio, putting her hand over Sonata's mouth.
"We're also going to be using songs to tell certain parts of the story," Aria added.
Dawn looked puzzled. "Songs to tell stories?"
"Yup," said Sonata. "It makes it more fun."
"We will first begin our story," said Adagio, "with somebody else who played a very important role in the lives of your parents."
"Who's that?"
"Celestia Faust McCraken..."
JUNE 1994
A long time ago, not too far from Canterlot, there was a little town called Rainbow Falls. It was a lively little town known for its famous waterfall - in fact, the town received its name for the rainbows that matter in its mist during the summer days.
Rainbow Falls was founded in 1868 by a woman known as Waterfall Prism. One day, she came across the famed waterfall after a severe rainstorm and was separated from her crew. She said she found a rainbow and thought it looked so serene it inspired her to build a town close to the waterfall.
The town started off with simple crop growth, which was taken control of by the Apple-Smith family; by the turn of the century, they built a farm to live in on the outskirts of Rainbow Falls, and it became known as Sweet Apple Acres for two reasons - the people living there were very friendly, and their primary crops were apples and sold apple-related foods across the country, some traveling beyond Rainbow Falls towards Canterlot.
Nowadays, Sweet Apple Acres is owned by a woman named Lady Annie Smith, and not too long ago, she had become a grandmother to a baby boy called Macintosh.
However, this story does not focus on the Apple-Smith family. Our main heroine for this story is a young woman at twenty-three by the name of Celestia Faust.
Celestia was born to Artemus and Harmony Faust on the morning of February 22, 1971; she has heliotrope eyes and mulberry hair. Her family owned a mansion in Canterlot, but she was very frequently seen in Rainbow Falls, and gained a reputation for her positive, upbeat nature, as well as her sense of humor. Celestia was almost like a big sister to those who needed help and guidance, and she was always willing to help in any way she could.
Speaking of being a big sister, Celestia had one sibling that was younger than her; Luna. She was born on the night of October 31, 1978; she has opal eyes, pale, light grayish persian blue hair, and pale light grayish magenta eyeshadow. She looked up to Celestia as all younger siblings do, but what made Luna different to her sister was that she was a little more serious about getting her duties done, even at the age of fifteen.
On this fine spring weekend, the two sisters were headed towards a store to pick out a wedding dress for Celestia. With them was their mother Harmony, a woman well into her late forties with long reddish-brown hair and teal eyes.
"I still can't believe it," said Harmony. "My baby's getting married next month. They grow up so fast."
"It's not fair," Luna pouted. "Why can't I get married too? Plus, I thought I was the baby of the family."
"Oh, Luna," Harmony chuckled, rustling her younger daughter's hair. "You are still a teenager. Much too young to even think about getting married."
Harmony and her daughters soon came to the bridal store.
"Good afternoon," said the store manager. "How may I help you ladies today?"
"I'm getting married soon," said Celestia. "We're here to pick out a wedding dress for me."
"Well then, you've come to the right place."
The three went around the store looking at many different types of dresses.
"How about this one?" asked Celestia, holding up a dress.
"No good," said Luna cheekily. "Your butt's too big."
Celestia just at stared her sister indignantly.
"Not funny, Luna," she scolded.
"Oh, come now, Celie," giggled Luna. "Where's your sense of humor?"
"How about this one?" asked Harmony, showing Celestia another dress.
"Aha, just the right size," Luna joked.
"It's about two sizes too big," said Celestia.
"Until you partake of the cake."
"Luna!"
"What?"
Harmony just chuckled at her daughters' bickering. At last, Celestia came across a dress that suited her perfectly. It had golden stripes and the sun was embroiled on it.
"That's the one," she said.
"Quite a fitting look," said Luna.
After dress shopping, the trio went to purchase a wedding cake. While they were browsing, Celestia bumped into another woman around her age. The other woman's hair was in five shades of purple, and she also had grayish fuchsia eyes, pale light grayish blue violet eyeshadow, moderate raspberry lipstick, and a beauty mark next to the left side of her mouth. This was Abacus Cinch, an old classmate of Celestia's.
"Watch it!"
"Oh! So sorry, miss... Wait, it's you, Abacas!"
"Well, who were you expecting - Imelda Staunton?"
"May I ask what you are doing here?" asked Celestia.
"My great uncle died last week, and we're holding his funeral in London," Abacus explained. "I'm looking for the right cake for the funeral."
"Sorry to hear about your loss," said Harmony.
"We are here to find a cake for Celie's wedding," said Luna.
"You sure it's for a wedding and not another personal snack?" Abacus insinuated, poking Celestia in the ribs.
"I just can't help myself and my love for cake..."
"Neither can your backside," said Abacus. "It's a wonder your dress didn't tear during that Fall Formal from '88."
Luna snickered, but she soon quieted when Celestia shot her a glare.
"If you have nothing better to do than tease me, Abby," she said, "then be off with you." Abby was Celestia's nickname for Abacus, and she didn't like it very much. Abacus Cinch kept with her dignity and walked away.
"Now I know why you never got along with her," commented Harmony.
"I'm just glad I wasn't in the same class as her," added Luna.
After a few minutes of browsing for cakes, at last they finally came across one that would do.
"Huzzah!" cheered Luna. "At last a most fitting cake for my sister's wedding." It was a large chocolate cake decorated with white frosting and each layer was topped with different frosting colors of blue, green, and pink.
"Good find, Luna," Celestia complimented.
"And hopefully it will survive until the wedding," Luna smirked.
"...seriously?"
Luna couldn't help but chuckle.
When all the arrangements were made, the last thing that needed to be done was to fill out the invitations.
"Let's see," said Harmony, arranging the invites a few days later. "There's the nice librarian from across the street."
"You mean Pen Headnote?" asked Celestia.
"That's the one," said Harmony. "She's been a good friend of the family for years."
"How about Dusty Bristle the chimney sweep?" asked Celestia.
"Not if you want him to spoil your dress," joked Luna. "It's hard to keep white clean."
"What about that rich family that moved in some time ago?"
"Absolutely not!" said Luna. "The last thing we need is a bunch of rich snobs criticizing every little thing about us on Celestia's special day."
"They're not all bad," said Celestia.
"Oh yes they are," snorted Luna. "They were born snobs, they grew up as snobs, and they're sure to die as snobs."
"Now Luna," said Harmony, "you'll have to realize that the world is not all black and white - there are shades of gray as well."
Just then, the doorbell rang.
"Who could that be?" asked Celestia.
"I wouldn't bother opening it," snorted Luna. "It's probably those rich snobs coming over here just to boast at how they're richer than us."
"Oh, come now, girls," said Harmony. "Let's not be like that."
"What if it's someone of our family?" asked Celestia, but then she heard the sound of the door being knocked again. "I'll get it," she said, standing up.
Celestia turned the door knob and it slowly opened. "It's so great to see all of you," she said, welcoming her guests inside.
"Hello, Celestia," said Lullaby Strings happily. She had blue hair with pink streaks, and sapphire blue eyes. She was a bubbly music teacher at twenty-three and was married to Flame Barrier; he had dark blue hair and dark green eyes. He was twenty-five years of age and worked as a police officer.
"Been quite a while since we seen you," said Flame Barrier. "How you been?"
"I've been alright," said Celestia. "Had to keep this little troublemaker out of mischief." She playfully messed with Luna's hair, who promptly rolled her eyes.
Before anymore could be said, the doorbell rang again. "Looks like we got more company," said Harmony, opening the door.
"Oh! It's so wonderful to see you again, Charity," said Harmony. Charity Kindheart had grayish azure hair with arctic blue streaks and persian blue eyes which where covered by red eyeglasses.
"Hello, Harmony," she said cheerfully, hugging her friend. "I'm so glad I could make it. The plays have been so much fun for everybody. How's the family?"
"We've been rather well, thank you," answered Harmony. "Celestia's getting married in a few days."
"Oh, I'm so happy to hear that," said Charity. "You must be so happy to be receiving a son-in-law."
"I am," said Harmony, wiping a tear from her eye. "They grow up so fast." Just then, there was a third knock at the door.
"Excuse me, but I hope I'm not interrupting anything, miss."
"Why, not at all, Fancy Pants," said Harmony. "Come right in."
Fancy Pants was a handsome young teenager around the age of fifteen with neatly combed light azure hair and eyes to match; he looked vaguely like a youthful John Cleese.
"How nice of you to come, Fancy," said Celestia.
"Think nothing of it," said Fancy Pants.
"And how are you and Fleur doing?" asked Celestia.
"We are doing rather well," said Fancy Pants. "Thank you for asking."
Suddenly, they heard the melodious hum of a cello playing.
"Octavia," the sisters said together. Octavia Melody was a young cello player at the age of nineteen. She had grayish mulberry eyes and dark gray hair, not quite black, with a lighter tint. Octavia was going to be performing in the wedding band.
"So glad you could make it, Octavia," smiled Celestia.
"Did you really think I would pass up an opportunity to perform in a wedding?" Octavia asked. "I wouldn't miss it for the world!"
At that moment, the doorbell rang yet again. "Now who could that be?" asked Luna, opening the door.
"Hello there - I'm not too late, am I?"
"Why not at all, Filthy Rich," said Celestia. Filthy Rich was one of the few rich people in town that Celestia and Luna could stand. He was in his early twenties with dark gray hair with lighter highlights and light azure eyes. He also wore a fine grayish brown suit with a navy blue vest and red bowtie.
"So glad you could come, Mr. Rich," said Harmony.
"I really am sorry for that rich family that bothers you," said Filthy Rich. "It's people like them that give rich folks a bad name."
"But it's people like you that break that cycle," added Celestia.
"Aren't we forgetting another guest?" asked Harmony. "I only count six."
"Where's that novice photographer?" asked Luna.
"Hold that pose!"
Suddenly in a flash, photo lights were brought up in the house.
"What on earth?" asked Harmony. The person who had spoken up had light gray hair, and underneath her black glasses with mulberry lenses were very dark indigo eyes. She was at the age of eighteen and spoke with a thick German accent. She was now taking pictures faster than you could say "picture perfect".
"I had a feeling you would be up to this, Photo Finish," chuckled Celestia.
"Photo Finish is here to work ze magics," said the young novice photographer.
"You'll do a good job of it while you make pictures at the wedding," said Luna, "provided that you try not to disturb the guests."
"I vill be of no bother to anyone," said Photo Finish.
"What's going on in here?" said a voice, as another figure came into the room. This was Artemus Faust; he was well into his late forties with wavy, moderate sapphire blue hair with a short beard and mustache to go along with it, and dark brown eyes.
"There you are, dear," smiled Harmony. "We thought you got lost on the way home."
"Nah, just had some trouble on the roads - some idiot thought it'd be a good idea to run into a fire hydrant and then he backed up against some bad-tempered fella with a brand new Porsche. And he'd just gotten it a few days ago too!"
"I can guess he wasn't too happy about that," mused Celestia.
"What's that you have in the box?" asked Harmony.
"It's a little surprise for Celestia's wedding," said Artemus.
"What sort of surprise?"
Artemus just smiled. "Wait and see."
FOOTNOTES
Celestia's birthday is the same as her voice actress Nicole Oliver - February 22. Luna's is October 31 because her first major episode, Luna Eclipsed, was set on Nightmare Night. (For the record, I'll be using the likes of Christmas and Halloween in this series; remember, it's an alternate universe.)
Harmony Faust is Lauren's ponysona, Fausticorn, herself! Artemus is based upon Craig McCracken, Lauren's real life husband. I imagine that if Fausticorn were Celestia and Luna's mother, it'd make sense to have Artemus be their father. Also, his colors would be based upon Luna's.
Yes, I'll be using Principal Cinch in the series despite her detestable personality. An idea I've had for it is that she and Celestia are polar opposites - Celestia is very open-minded and welcoming, whilst Cinch is more closed off and scowling, which earned her very few friends in life. Duality is a theme I love utilizing in my writings. You'll see it in later chapters.
Rainbow Falls is partially based on the same village as well as Ponyville. I do actually plan an album based on its 150th anniversary, set in 2018, and Waterfall Prism is an ancestor to one of the main character (not saying who).
In the Equestria Girls films, a majority of the characters appear to be around the same age range; 14-18. For this series, I'm going for variety of ages - for example, Octavia Melody, by 2015, will be a music teacher for Canterlot High.