Background Pony #3AB6
Awww, alternate Rarity is so cute
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Twilight Sparkle
When Twilight failed her magic test, Princess Celestia felt bad for the young filly and sent her and her family away early to go make some friends in Ponyville. Because of this, she never went to the magic school for gifted students, nor was Shining Armor put into training to be a royal guard — thus, neither of them ever met Princess Cadence, and Queen Chrysalis was never invited into the Crystal Empire. However, Twilight’s failure also meant that Spike wasn’t born via magic, and lived his life as a normal dragon when Princess Celestia returned the little purple egg back to its nest. After Twilight graduated high school, Celestia sent her a note with a recommendation of several college classes willing to send her on the path to becoming a teacher for Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Students.
The first of the Mane Five Twilight met was Rarity due to her curiosity toward the jewelry store, ultimately leading her to meeting Jackie and Pinkamena Pie as well. Little did she know, she was slowly bonding with the three ponies, and Princess Celestia sent a letter to her encouraging her to quit her job as a teacher and become a librarian so, and I quote, “her friends could interact with her more often and she could be brought out of her shell”. Of course, the idea of friendship outraged Twilight, and after a few minutes of sulking, she remembered how rational she was and decided to list off the pros and cons of having friends. After sending her reply back to the princess telling her about her emotional roller coaster, she decided to take her advice into consideration and ultimately quit her job as a teacher.
Briefly after quitting, she discovered a small orphanage in Ponyville that was home to many abandoned foals and other creatures. Something drew her to it and she decided to walk in. To her surprise, a small, purple dragon immediately clung to her hooves. It was then that Twilight knew it must have been the dragon that was inside of the egg during her test at Celestia's school. Assuming it must have been fate for them to meet again, Twilight adopted the dragon herself, who she discovered was named Spike. Spike would end up being the closest thing Twilight would have to a first true friend due to her fear of friendship, but since she didn't know the first thing about friendship and kindness, Spike was treated more like a slave than a friend.
Rainbow Dash soon heard of Twilight's connection to Princess Celestia, and thus the two of them met. After gushing over Celestia, Rainbow decided to introduce Twilight to her friends, including Fluttershy.
Fluttershy
Fluttershy ended up getting in Rainbow Dash’s way right at the start of the infamous race, knocking both of them off the cloud far below. On instinct, Rainbow grabbed onto Fluttershy and flew down to the ground with a safe landing in a small field full of hiding animals. Not wanting to be seen near "a bunch of wimpy butterflies", she flew away, leaving Fluttershy to interact with her new animal friends. Although she cared immensely for them and always showed kindness, she never found out that she had a truly special talent, and thus never earned her original cutie mark. Rainbow Dash was often seen standing up for her fellow blank flank, but to make sure she was never picked on, she decided that instead of the sky, her place was on the ground.
At the age of 11, Fluttershy's love for animals inspired her to train to become a veterinarian when she got to college. This very decision earned her her cutie mark, and she managed to convince her parents to let her have her first pet: a baby white rabbit in which she named Angel. Both she and Rainbow Dash met up the following weekend to discuss their recent successes, and from then on out, the two pegasi became one another’s biggest fans.
Both families of Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy soon moved to Ponyville to make the two of them feel more comfortable. Fluttershy's attachment to the ground kept Mr. Shy away from his cloud collection, so he decided to pick up the hobby of art. Zephyr Breeze too liked the idea of painting, but he found it more of a game than a project, often splattering the walls of his childhood bedroom in vibrant colors. This inspired him to become a children's book illustrator so he could create crazy backgrounds for money, but since he just couldn't become committed, he would just commission ponies to buy his abstract art. Occasionally, he would prank weather ponies by carelessly painting clouds, getting the idea from Rainbow Dash. In fact, Rainbow and Fluttershy were so close, they saw one another as sisters, Zephyr often bugging the two fillies and pranking them as well.
Applejack
Never being inspired to go back home, Applejack ended up staying in Manehattan with her Aunt and Uncle Orange. Rather than growing up alongside Apple Bloom and Big Macintosh, she was soon adopted by her new caretakers, and instead of being nicknamed “Applejack” by her father, she was nicknamed "Jackie" by her aunt and uncle. She began to lose all contact with her immediate family aside from letters, at least up until the day her parents were reported deceased. By then, she was a preteen and Apple Bloom was a toddler. Jackie hadn't seen her biological parents in years, but the news devastated her, and she begged her adoptive parents to move to Sweet Apple Acres.
Eventually, they agreed to move to Canterlot so they could still live the sophisticated life, but live closer to their family. Because of this, their Manehattan accents slowly morphed into one similar to Rarity's, but not one of them ever gained the familiar country accent. By then, Rarity's recent jewelry business began to grow more and more popular. Eventually, she decided to hand her business over to her childhood friend Pinkamena Pie and open up a new business in Ponyville, attracting Jackie to the little town all the way from Canterlot. Due to their love of the sophisticated life, they soon hit it off, Jackie telling Rarity all about Sweet Apple Acres, Manehattan, and Canterlot, and Rarity telling Jackie all about Rock Country and what all she knew about Ponyville.
Since Applejack wasn't there to wear her signature cowboy hat and ponytails, her siblings were forced to take her place. Thus, Big Macintosh and Apple Bloom formed a much stronger bond with one another. However, until she met her biological sister, Apple Bloom grew up thinking she was the only child of Big Macintosh and a mysterious mare that had died during childbirth, having no idea about Bright Mac and Buttercup. When Jackie returned, Granny Smith decided to start being honest with her grandchildren and tell them their real biological relationships, including what fates their real parents suffered.
Bases (all belong to SelenaEde, as well as any extra resources used, such as Twilight's glasses)
Twilight: www.deviantart.com/selenaede/a…
Pinkie Pie: www.deviantart.com/selenaede/a…
Fluttershy: www.deviantart.com/selenaede/a…
Rainbow Dash: www.deviantart.com/selenaede/a…
Applejack: www.deviantart.com/selenaede/a…
Rarity: www.deviantart.com/selenaede/a…