Chapter 2 – Music is Magic, part 1
The Friendship Express.
A means for ponies in Equestria to travel from place to place. It was currently in motion, setting a course for a far-off town. Not too many ponies were on board. However, one in particular was sitting at the back of the train.
"Never thought I'd see the day, but I'm finally starting fresh," thought Alto. "I owe it all to her..."
Flashback
Alto was standing before the Princess in the throne room.
"You summoned me, Princess Celestia?" Alto asked.
"That is correct, Alto," Princess Celestia answered, "I've been thinking about you and how hard your stay in Canterlot has been for you."
Alto looked down to the ground. "Well... yeah... it's not that I don't like living under your care, your Majesty, but... with the way almost everypony here has been treating me, I just don't know if Canterlot is where I want to be anymore. I wish there were someplace in Equestria where I could share my talent. A place where I could..." A tear started falling from his eye. "...make a friend."
This last statement caused Princess Celestia to smile. "Are you absolutely certain that friendship is what you desire?"
"If having a friend means having the chance to be the pony I want to be... then yes." Alto replied.
"Then I know of a place in Equestria that will allow you to do that."
At that, Alto's eyes widened. "R-Really? Where?"
Princess Celestia walked up to Alto and placed a hoof on his shoulder. "I have made arrangements for you to be well settled in a town called Ponyville."
"Ponyville..."
End Flashback
"Ponyville, huh?" Alto thought to himself. He pulled up his green saddlebag, opened it up and pulled out a piece of paper. It had a rough sketch of the house he would be moving into. He looked out the train window. "If this town really is as she said... I'll have to trust her judgment. Especially if what I'm looking for will really be there."
Eventually, the Friendship Express arrived at its destination. As the ponies started getting up and out, Alto strapped on his saddlebag and kept the paper in view with his magic, a light gold aura surrounding it. He proceeded to get out of the train.
"Ok, first things first," said Alto, "I need to find the house arranged for me, settle in, and then ask the right-"
Suddenly, Alto stumbled from the step of the train and collided into something...or rather, somepony.
"Hey!"
Alto groaned as he opened his eyes. He then widened them as he noticed the pony in front of him. She had a lilac coat, a purple and teal mane and tail, and a cutie mark of a purple and white star with two blue glimmering streams. Alto immediately got back on his hooves.
"Oh, man, I-I-I-I'm so sorry," he cried anxiously, "L-Lemme help you." Alto then proceeded to help the lilac pony up on her hooves and place her teal saddlebag back on as well.
"Uh, thank y-" Before the lilac pony could finish, he had started bolting round to the corner of the station. "Hey, wait!" She went after him.
Alto stopped and planted himself on the ground.
"Ugh, Alto, you've done it again!" Alto began ranting to himself. "Another mistake added to the list. You come to a new town to start over, only to make an enemy! Great, just great..."
"Uh, are you okay?"
Alto perked up and looked behind to see the lilac pony he had helped earlier staring at him with a concerned look on her face. "Gah!" He knelt in front of her, trembling and placing his forehooves over his eyes. "I know what you're here to say to me, so just say it already! I know that an apology from me won't cut it for you, just like it hasn't for everypony else I've met!" Tears started falling from his eyes. "Go ahead, insult me and I'll stay outta your way!"
"Whoa, whoa, just calm down!" the lilac pony replied. "I'm not here to insult you. I... actually wanted to say thank you. For helping me out."
"R-Really?" asked Alto, slowly opening his eyes.
"Of course! Besides, stumbling into other ponies... it's happened to me too." she sheepishly added.
Alto took a deep breath. "Well... I-I guess one thing I can apologize for is being so quick to assume the worst of somepony I've only just met."
"Did you just arrive here in Ponyville?"
"Well, yeah. How 'bout you?"
"Yep."
The two ponies chuckled sheepishly. Alto stood up and stuck out his hoof toward the lilac pony. "Alto. Alto Eclipse."
"Starlight. Starlight Glimmer." she responded, accepting his hoofshake. "It's uh, nice to meet you."
"A pleasure to meet you too," Alto said with a smile. "So, um, should we start heading to the town?" Starlight nodded with a small grin.
It wasn't long before the two ponies were walking along the path to Ponyville, engaged in conversation.
"So, you came here from Canterlot?" Starlight said in a surprised tone.
"Yeah..." replied Alto in a rather despondent tone. "I understand if you resent me for living under the care of a princess..."
"N-no, no!" Starlight assured. "I don't! Not at all! If anything, I'm just curious as to why you'd leave the capital city to come here."
There was a short silence before Alto softly said, "That's a story for a later time. Let's just say I'm hoping that Ponyville will give me a chance to do what I love."
"Oh... I see," said Starlight. As the two ponies reached the center of the town, they were taken aback by the atmosphere. It certainly felt different from what they expected. Ponies were going about their daily lives with smiles on their faces.
"Say, somepony's coming this way!" Alto pointed ahead, where a pink pony was bouncing towards them wearing a big grin. She had a pink mane and tail in the style of cotton candy.
"Hi there! Are you new to Ponyville?" the pink pony asked.
"Uh...yes?" Starlight responded sheepishly.
"I just love, love, love meeting new ponies!" the pink pony said. "The name's Pinkie Pie, and I'd be honored to make you two feel welcome here!"
"W-Well, we'd sure appreciate it, Pinkie," said Alto, a smile forming on his face. "I'm Alto Eclipse, and this is Starlight Glimmer." Starlight smiled.
"It's so great to meet you! How about a treat from my favorite shop to start off your morning?" Pinkie offered. It was then that Alto and Starlight's stomachs started to rumble.
"Heh, yes please," Alto said on their behalf. Before long, the three ponies arrived at a building that resembled a gingerbread house.
"Welcome to Sugarcube Corner!" Pinkie exclaimed. Alto took a deep sniff.
"Ooh, something smells really good! You picking it up, Starlight?" Starlight sniffed the air as well.
"Yeah, that smells delicious," she agreed. Pinkie opened the door and the three went inside. Just ahead of them were a group of ponies gathered together: A white unicorn with an indigo mane, a yellow pegasus with a pink mane and an orange Earth pony wearing a cowboy hat.
"Hi, girls!" Pinkie greeted the three ponies, catching their attention. "Guess what? We have new ponies in town!" She stretched her hoof towards Alto and Starlight. "Say hello to Alto Eclipse and Starlight Glimmer!" Pinkie then went into the kitchen.
"Well, this is quite a surprise," the orange pony said, walking up to them. "My name's Applejack. Mighty pleased to meet y'all!"
"Applejack," Alto repeated. "Umm...pleasure's mine."
"And mine too," said Starlight. The white unicorn stepped up next.
"Oh, it is such a delight to make your acquaintance! I'm Rarity."
"I'm, um, Fluttershy," The yellow pegasus shyly introduced herself last.
"Rarity and Fluttershy. Nice to meet you both," said Starlight. It was then that Pinkie came back carrying a tray with two muffins on her back.
"Here ya go!" said Pinkie, presenting the tray. "And don't worry, it's on the house!" Alto and Starlight grabbed the muffins and dug in.
"Oh. Oh, wow!" Starlight said in surprise.
"Pinkie, this is amazing!" Alto said in pure bliss. "Really, food like this isn't always easy for me to come by."
"Why's that, sugarcube?" Applejack asked.
"Well... you know...Most ponies would rather enjoy the more 'sophisticated' kinds of food these days..." Alto muttered.
"That may be true, darling," Rarity responded, "Even I prefer the suave cuisine more often than not, but I'm still open to what places like this have to offer."
"She's right," Fluttershy added. "It never hurts to try something new."
"Couldn't agree more!" Alto enthusiastically replied, leading to laughter among the six ponies. Alto and Starlight stuck around for a little while to get to know the other ponies. Eventually they had to leave so Alto could get settled in his new home.
"Those ponies seemed like fun to be with," Starlight said as they were walking along.
"Yeah... They seem worth taking a chance on." Alto somewhat agreed. "I only hope they're not just trying to-" Starlight suddenly widened her eyes.
"Look out!" she exclaimed. Alto looked ahead and noticed a blue blur speeding towards them. The two ponies jumped to the side as a blue pegasus with a rainbow mane zoomed by.
"Whoa, the hay was that?!" Alto yelled in surprise. They then looked up to see the blue pony doing some aerial tricks. She caught sight of the two and landed before them.
"Heh, sorry about that," the blue pony said. "Just practicing my flying."
"Oh, uh, n-no problem," replied Starlight, a little frazzled.
"Say, are you guys new in town?"
"Yeah, that's right," said Alto.
"Awesome! The name's Rainbow Dash. Welcome to Ponyvile!"
"Thanks, I'm Starlight Glimmer, and this is Alto Eclipse," Starlight introduced for them both. "Those were some... pretty impressive moves."
Rainbow Dash chuckled. "Well, they have to be if I'm gonna join the Wonderbolts someday."
"Ah," Alto nodded.
"Uh, pardon me for asking this, but... what's a Wonderbolt?" Starlight inquired.
Rainbow then gasped. "You've never heard of the Wonderbolts?!" said Rainbow in shock.
"I don't know too much about them," Alto said to Starlight, "Just that they're a group of elite Pegasus ponies that demonstrate their flying skills."
"That's them, alright!" Rainbow said, pointing at Alto. "I can just see it now, me living the dream with my lifelong heroes!"
"'Living the dream, huh...?" Alto said, his mood slowly declining. "Must be nice..."
"Well, from what we saw, I think you totally have what it takes!" Starlight stated.
"Haha, thanks," Rainbow replied. "Well, better get back to it!" She then took to the skies. "Catch ya later!"
Alto and Starlight watched as she flew off. "She's pretty cool, don't you think?" Starlight asked Alto.
"Yeah, I guess," Alto answered half-heartedly.
Before Starlight could ask why Alto was being moody, she spotted a giant hollowed tree ahead of them, with a book sign at the front.
"Hey, I think that's a library!" Starlight said. "Let's go check it out!"
"Um, actually Starlight," Alto said, "I need to go check out the house arranged for me. But I'll be over there later. Is... that okay?"
"Oh... I guess so. I'll see you later?"
"Yeah." With that, the two ponies temporarily went their separate ways.
Following the sketch, Alto found the house he would be staying at, quite aways from the library. He opened the door and went inside. The interior of the house was rather straightforward. It had everything one would expect when in a new home.
"Not too little, not too much...just right," Alto commented. "I figured this is how Princess Celestia would go about it." He set down his saddlebag on the table and went up the stairs. He found the bedroom and proceeded to flop onto the bed with a sigh.
"I've only got a taste of what Ponyville is like," said Alto. "Those ponies Starlight and I met... they seemed genuine to us. But how do I know it for sure? Can they really be different from the ponies I've dealt with for years?" He turned to his side, his eyes beginning to feel heavy.
"I have to trust that she made the right decision for me..."
That was the last thing on Alto's mind as he began to slumber.
A few hours later, Alto got up and made his way to the library to meet up with Starlight. He opened the door with his magic and was greeted with a breathtaking sight. Shelves and shelves of books were stacked up. Alto whistled, impressed. He spotted Starlight reading a book nearby.
"Hey, Starlight," he said, walking up to her.
"Oh!" Starlight said, looking up for her book. "Alto! I didn't see you come in. I was pretty caught up in this spellbook." She held the book up with her magic.
"Modern Spellcasting," Alto read. "Pretty cool."
"Yeah," Starlight agreed. "I'm bound to pick up new spells to try out."
"Heh, I look forward to seeing them in action," Alto said. He then looked around the library. "Maybe I'll find some new singing techniques while skimming the book here."
Alto suddenly caught himself on that last statement.
"Singing techniques?" Starlight raised an eyebrow. "You...sing?"
"W-Well, umm..." Alto stammered. Then he sighed. "Yeah...I do. But it's not that big of a deal."
"What do you mean?" Starlight asked. "I bet lots of ponies at Canterlot have enjoyed your singing before."
"Actually... only one..." Alto somberly replied. "Nopony would ever want to listen to someone like me."
"Hey, that's not true!" Starlight assured. "Tell you what, why don't you sing something to me, and I'll give you my honest opinion at the end. Deal?"
Alto pondered about this for a moment, until finally he relented. "Okay, I'll take your word for it."
"Great!" The two ponies went to the center of the library and Starlight sat down in front of him. She nodded for Alto to begin.
"Keep it together Alto," he thought. "It's no different from singing to Celestia. You can do it!" Taking a deep breath, he started to sing.
[Alto - As he sang, he kept his focus on the one pony he was singing to. Starlight grew a smile on her face. Seeing this brightened him up.]
When you're down and troubled
And you need some lovin' care
And nothin', nothin' is goin' right
Close your eyes and think of me
And soon I will be there
To brighten up even your darkest night
[Alto – As he passionately and soulfully belted out the chorus, the tip of his horn lit up, and an outline of a heart faintly appeared on his chest. Starlight was amazed at what she was seeing and hearing in the moment.]
You just call out my name
And you know, wherever I am
I'll come runnin'
To see you again
In winter, spring, summer or fall
All you've got to do is call
And I'll be there
Yeah, yeah, yeah
You've got a friend
As Alto finished the song, his horn stopped lighting and the heart disappeared. He soon heard the sound of applause in front of him, much to his surprise.
"Alto... that was incredible!" Starlight said with a bright smile.
"Huh?" said Alto.
"Your voice is like nothing I've ever heard before," she continued. "It was... magical."
Hearing this truly stunned Alto. "R-Really? You think so?"
"I know so."
Alto remained in his shocked stance until another voice rang out.
"It ain't just her, sugarcube!"
Alto and Starlight turned to the door and saw Applejack, along with Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy standing there with smiles on their faces.
"W-Whoa!" Alto jumped back, his heart skipping a beat. "H-How long have you guys been standing there?!"
"Long enough to listen to a super-duper amazing voice!" said Pinkie.
"So full of heart and soul, darling," added Rarity.
"Yeah, that was awesome!" said Rainbow.
"Your singing is lovely," included Fluttershy.
Alto just kept his eyes widened and his jaw dropped. Were these ponies actually...complimenting him on his talent? He didn't think it would be possible to impress anypony else for years, and now... it finally happened.
Alto continued to be in shock as Starlight and the other ponies waited for his response...
To be continued...
At last, the first part of the story kicks off. I'm sure you can pinpoint the deviations of this story, otherwise I'm glad to point them out.
Starlight is introduced earlier than canon, and Twilight and Spike aren't present...yet.
With this in mind, you can expect some twists and turns in this rewrite.
Adios pony pals!