Chapter 2: Solar's New Place
Back at the orphanage, Sweet Hooves was doing some paperwork when Celestia entered. He was very surprised to see Celestia back again.
"Back so soon, Your Majesty?" he asked.
"Yes." said Celestia. "Where is Solar Eclipse?"
"He's playing outside with some of the other foals." Sweet Hooves replied. "Why did you ask?"
"Because I'd like to take him home with me." Celestia replied.
Sweet Hooves was even more surprised, yet also very happy.
"Of course!" he said. "Just sit tight and I'll get you a form."
"Splendid." smiled Celestia.
Soon, Celestia was filling out an adoption form. As she was, Sweet Hooves saw a mare coming out of the bathroom.
"Bubblegum, can you go tell Solar Eclipse to come to the lobby?" he asked.
"Sure, Sweet." said Bubblegum.
Outside, Solar Eclipse was playing ball with two other foals when Bubblegum approached him.
"Solar, sweetie, Sweet Hooves wants you to come to the lobby." she said.
"Okay." nodded Solar.
Solar then went inside the building and saw Celestia finishing with filling out the adoption form. The minute Solar's eyes caught Celestia, his mouth widened with amazement from ear to ear.
"Is it really happening?!" he asked himself.
Soon, Celestia was finished with filling out the document.
"There." she said. "All finished."
Sweet Hooves himself then signed the document to finalize it.
"He's all yours, Your Majesty." he told the princess.
When Solar heard those words leave Sweet Hooves' mouth, he immediately ran to the dormitory, where he gathered his things with the help of another mare, then met with his new mother in the lobby. Sweet Hooves then called all the other foals in the orphanage to the main hall, where he gave them the news. It should go without saying that all the foals were both sad to see him go, but happy at the same time that he was being taken to a new home, especially when they learned who was adopting him.
"Man, you're so lucky, Solar!" said a colt.
"Yeah, being adopted by Princess Celestia herself." added a filly.
"That's a huge honor." finished a second colt.
"I know." said Solar. "Boy, I sure am gonna miss you guys."
Solar then said goodbye to all the other foals and staff members of the orphanage. Afterwards, he looked up at Celestia.
"I'm ready to go now." he said.
"Alright." nodded Celestia. "Come along, then."
With that, Celestia left with her newly adopted son while everypony else sang "For He's A Jolly Good Fellow". Soon, they were beyond the orphanage door and were walking down the street towards Canterlot Castle. They soon arrived, and Solar gasped when he saw it.
"Wow!" he said. "It looks way bigger than in the pictures!"
Luna then came outside and approached her sister.
"Hello, sister." said Celestia. "How are the preparations going?"
"They're going quite well." said Luna. "We finished the cleaning process, and Sawdust and his crew are about to start building the furniture for the room while Brush Stroke and his crew paint the walls."
"Excellent." said Celestia.
Luna then spotted her new nephew.
"I asume this is the foal?" she asked.
"Yes." her sister nodded. "Solar, this is your Aunt Luna."
"Hello." Solar greeted.
"Hey there." Luna replied as she got down to Solar at eye level. "I'm really looking forward to playing some video games with you later."
"You and your games." Tia giggled as she rolled her eyes.
Just then, two unicorn stallions approached. Both were wearing overalls, except one was wearing a blue pair and the other a white pair with paint splotches on them. The stallion with the blue overalls was holding some wooden boards that were each a different type of wood in his magic while the one with the white overalls was holding some cans of paint from the local hardware store in his. Celestia didn't want Solar to see what she and her sister were doing, so she asked Luna to take Solar away from the castle for a little bit.
"What is it, Sawdust and Brush Stroke?" Celestia asked.
The two stallions looked at each other.
"You wanna go first, Sawdust?" asked Brush Stroke.
"You can go first if you want." replied Sawdust.
"Are you sure?" Brush Stroke prodded. "I mean, you can go first if you want."
"No, I insist, you go first." said Sawdust. "Your job will take less time than mine. I don't mind."
"Alright." said Brush Stroke.
Brush Stroke then stepped towards Celestia.
"What color should I use for the walls?" he asked.
Brush Stroke then held up the three paint cans he was carrying. The labels each identified Benjamane Moore* as the company that manufactured the paint. It was also clear that each color was a different shade of blue.
"I've got Cumulus Cotton, Grandma's Sweater, and Big Country Blue." he said.
"It's really your choice, Brush Stroke, not mine." said Celestia. "But if I had to choose, I think Grandma's Sweater would be a good choice for a colt's room."
"Alright, Grandma's Sweater it is." nodded Brush Stroke.
Brush Stroke then left, and Sawdust stepped forward and showed Celestia the boards he was carrying.
"Which would would look good in the kid's room?" he asked. "Ash, birch, cedar, cherry, maple, oak, pine, spruce, or walnut?"
"Birch sounds good to me." said Celestia.
"Got it." acknowledged Sawdust. "Do you want the furniture painted?"
"You can paint them if you want." said Celestia.
"Right." nodded Sawdust. "Thanks for your help."
Sawdust then went back inside, leaving Celestia alone.
"Solar is going to love his new room." she thought.
But then, another thought came to her mind.
"Perhaps it might be a good idea to have a party to celebrate Solar's adoption." she thought. "And I know just who to ask."
She then got on her cell phone and made a call.
"Hello, Pinkie?" she said when the caller picked up. "It's Celestia."
Celestia and the recipient of her call, who was none other than Pinkie Pie, conversed for almost half an hour.
"Alright, I'll see you later." said Celestia.
"You too!" replied Pinkie.
The two ended their call. As Celestia was hanging up, she had another thought.
"I should go see how everything is coming along." she said.
Celestia then went inside the castle and to the room that was being prepared for Solar Eclipse. She soon came to that room and saw Brush Stroke and his team of painters painting the walls and ceiling. Tarps had been placed on the floor to prevent it from being splotched by dripping paint.
"Fine work so far, boys." praised Celestia.
"Thank you, Your Majesty." said Brush Stroke. "I can't wait for the kid to see it."
"He's going to love it." Celestia reassured.
Celestia then went to find Sawdust, and found him with his team of carpenters in the castle's woodworking workshop, along with some finished pieces of furniture; A chest of drawers, a nightstand, a bookshelf, a toy box, and some wall shelves that were all relatively simple in terms of construction and had already been coated with primer. Sawdust and his team were now building a bed. Celestia was quick to notice that the shape of the bed-to-be was that of a train.
"Very interesting choice." said Celestia.
"Thank you, Your Majesty." replied Sawdust. "When your sister said how you told her that the kid likes trains, we thought it would only make sense to build it like this."
"We're basing the design off of this." added another stallion on Sawdust's team.
The stallion then gave Celestia a picture of a small blue train that had three wheels and the number "1" on each side.
"That train looks very familiar..." Celestia pondered to herself as she studied the picture. "I know I've seen it somewhere, and I know what it is, but I just can't put my hoof on it. Oh well, I'm sure it'll come to me at some point."
Soon, the bed was completed and primed, and Celestia used a drying spell to dry it quickly so it can be painted, same with every other piece of furniture that had been built. Once that was done, she went to her quarters, where she tied her mane back in a bun and swapped her royal accessories for a shower cap and a denim apron, then went back to the workshop, where she helped Sawdust and his team paint the furniture, and while the bed was painted in accordance to the colors of the train in the picture, the shelves, toy box, and chest of drawers were all painted a beautiful Patriot Blue to contrast with the Grandma's Sweater-colored walls. Once everything had been painted, Celestia used a drying spell on those as well, then changed back into her accessories while Sawdust nailed the shelves to the walls while a squad of Unicorn Guards helped moved everything in. Soon, the room was ready.
"Well done, everypony." Celestia smiled. "My new son will love it."
Just then, a Pegasus Guard came to Celestia.
"Your Majesty, your sister has returned with the child." he informed Celestia.
"Very good." said Celestia.
Celestia then went to meet with Luna and Solar, the former of whom was carring some shopping bags full of toys and other essentials for a child's bedroom while licking a fudge pop while Solar licked a vanilla ice cream cone.
"I can take those for you, sister." said Celestia as she collected the bags.
"Thank you, sister." Luna replied.
Luna then leaned into Celestia.
"I also bought a mattress protector." she whispered into Celestia's ear. "You know, just in case he wets the bed."
"Good call." nodded Celestia, nodding herself.
Just then, another Pegasus guard approached the Princesses.
"Twilight Sparkle and her friends have arrived in Canterlot and are on their way to the castle." the guard informed.
"Thank you." nodded Luna.
The guard nodded himself and went inside.
"Who's "Twilight Sparkle"?" Solar asked his new mother and aunt.
"They're just some of Mommy's dear friends." Celestia told Solar. "They're really nice."
"Yeah, you're gonna really like them." added Luna.
"Okay!" grinned Solar.
Soon, Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Starlight Glimmer arrived. With them were a trio of younger fillies known collectively as the "Cutie Mark Crusaders" and consisted of Applejack's younger sister Apple Bloom, Rarity's younger sister Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. Also with them was Spike, a young dragon who was Twilight's personal assistant and roommate. Solar was promptly introduced to each of them.
"Nice to meet all of you." Solar greeted with a smile.
Twilight then picked Solar up and hugged him really tight. This caught everyone off guard, especially Celestia.
"I didn't think she would be that happy to meet him." she whispered to Luna.
"Well, she was your student." Luna whispered back. "What'd you expect?"
"Very good point." agreed Celestia.
Celestia then looked at the four younger foals.
"Why don't you four go around back and play while we set up the party?" she suggested.
Solar and the CMCs agreed, and so they went to play in the courtyard while the Princesses, Spike, and the Mane 7 as well as Pinkie's friend Cheese Sandwich, who had also been invited, began setting up the party, which included decorations, a banner that said "Welcome To The Royal Family, Solar Eclipse!", a cake, ice cream, punch, and other snacks and drinks. Once it was ready, Twilight called the foals back inside, and the party began. During the festivites, an Earth Pony Guard came to Celestia.
"The room is ready." he said.
"Okay." Celestia nodded.
Celestia then tied a blindfold around Solar's eyes.
"Mama, what's going on?" Solar asked.
"Mommy has a surprise for you." Celestia replied.
Celestia and the others then led Solar down the hall towards the room that had been prepared for him.
"Can I take it off now?" asked Solar.
"You can, sweetheart." Celestia replied.
When Solar removed the blindfold, he was surprised and elated when he saw his new room, especially the bed.
"I LOVE MY NEW ROOM!" he squealed. "IT EVEN HAS A THOMAS BED! THAT'S MY MOST FAVORITE SHOW EVER!"
Solar immediately jumped onto his new bed and sprawled over it.
"It's so comfy..." he sighed happily.
Celestia felt very happy to see this.
"I knew he would like it." she said.
Eventually, it started to get late, and the guests went home. Celestia spent the rest of the evening sitting by the fire with her new son.
"You know, Mama, adjusting to life as your son may be a little hard, but I'm sure I'll manage." Solar said to his new mother.
"And I'll help you every step of the way." Celestia replied.
Celestia then had an idea.
"Baby, can you get up for just a second?" she asked.
Solar nodded and complied, and then Tia used that one spell she used on Twilight in Season 3 to turn Solar into an Alicorn just like her.
"Wow!" Solar gasped as he looked at his new wings. "I have wings now!"
"Now you're just like Mama and Auntie Luna." Celestia replied. "And you're now an official member of the Canterlot Royal Family."
Solar then hugged Celestia.
"I love you, Mama." he smiled.
"Aww, Mommy loves you too, baby." Celestia grinned as she hugged him with her wing.
Solar then yawned.
"Sleepy?" Celestia asked.
Solar nodded, and Celestia carried him in her magic to his new room, where she tucked him into his new bed, slipped a plush toy of the very fictional character the bed was built to resemble, and kissed him on the head.
"Good night, my little muffin." she said in a soothing voice.
Solar was already fast asleep, so Celestia quietly crept down the hall to her own quarters. On the way, she noticed Luna back in her gaming room, this time at a gaming PC, playing Overwatch. She smiled and shook her head as she continued on. Once she was back in her room, she sat down in her bed after taking off her shoes and crown, then pulled a book out of a bookshelf, which she began to read as the fire continued to crackle in her personal fireplace. After some time, she decided to call it a night, so she extinguished the fire and got into her bed. As she drifted off to sleep, she felt happy to have given an orphan foal a new home, and Solar felt happy to have a new home himself and a new mother.
"This was the happiest day of my life." he thought as he slept.
End of Chapter 2
* "Benjamane Moore" is an MLP parody of the Benjamin Moore paint manufacutirng company, but I'm sure you figured that out on your own.