//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: Morning Glory // by MorningGlory //------------------------------// The sun rose above Sweet Apple Acres, an orange glow sliding between the trees before setting on the large red barn. In Applejack's room lay a tan-colored pony with long, light-yellow mane and tail, curled up in a ball. Her cutie mark- an apple with the sun shining around it- lay bare for the sun to sparkle on. The pony's name was Morning Glory, cousin of Applejack. And speaking of that pony… "Hey, Mornin'!" Applejack called while trotting into the room. Morning Glory mumbled but didn't move. "C'mon you. Get yer flank up," she said as she pounced on her cousin. A loud squeak came from Morning Glory before she bolted out from underneath the laughing AJ. "Dang it AJ!" She cried, a southern twang in her voice as well. "Can't a filly enjoy some sleep? Geesh, I've been here one day and I haven't been able to sleep yet." As Morning Glory trotted with her cousin and best friend, she remembered her youth. She lived on the outskirts of Phillydelphia. The Apple family was pretty large. But Morning Glory and AJ had always been together and always had gotten along. That was why Morning chose to live with them. Apple Bloom was excited to have her big cousin there, and Big Mac was just as pleased. "Mornin' Mornin'!" Apple Bloom cried happily as she trotted over to the girls. Morning nuzzled the young filly and smiled. "Morning Apple Bloom." The rest of the Apple family greeted her cheerfully as she settled down to eat. Today, AJ was going to take her around Equestria and introduce her to the ponies Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and AJ's girlfriend, Rainbow Dash. She felt nervous at meeting new fillies. But it would be worth it, right? "You're gonna love them Mornin'," AJ said as they trotted along after breakfast. Morning still couldn't believe they had eaten as much as they had. And to believe that AJ was able to move without being sluggish! "'Specially Dashie. Stubborn one, but she's alright," AJ soothed her. "Oh. Alright then." Morning felt nervous again. "Uhm, AJ?" "Yeah?" "What if… Well, what if they aren't so… nice… to me?" "Aw, Mornin'!" AJ shook her head, her mane swaying side to side. "I ain't gonna let them be mean to you. They wouldn't be anyway. They ain't that sort. The only two you ought to worry about is Pinkie Pie and Rarity. Pinkie because… well, she's Pinkie. And Rarity is a fashion filly." Morning cringed. "Exactly." It was no secret that AJ was as fashionable as a rock. And Morning was no different. When she saw photos of AJ in her dress at the Grand Galloping Gala, she about died laughing. So to imagine herself in the same position… well, it was terrifying. While the pair trotted along, talking animatedly of Granny Smith falling asleep mid-meal this morning, a pink pony with equally pink mane and tail trotted- rather bounced- over to them. "Hi AJ!" She greeted happily as she hopped up and down. Morning had a hard time following the obviously excited pony. "Who's this? Huh, huh, huh?" "Pinkie Pie, this is my cousin Mornin' Glory. Mornin', this here's Pinkie Pie," AJ said with a smile. Before Morning could even greet her, Pinkie let out a long and loud gasp. Fearing she had done something wrong, she took a step back. But Pinkie recovered fast. "Ohmygosh! Are you new to Ponyville? Well, of course you're new! I know every pony here! Oh! You know what this means? We need to throw a party! I'll go start the cake and send out the invitations and blow up the balloons and-" "Whoa there Pinkie!" AJ said, holding up a hoof to stop the rambling. "Don't overwhelm the poor filly." "No, no, it's okay AJ," Morning said with a grin. She liked this pink pony. She was hyper but so cheerful. "I think a party would be a good idea. I mean, what other way would other pony folk get together and meet new ponies?" This seemed to make Pinkie Pie bounce higher as she began to ramble on again about things she needed to gather for the party. AJ nudged Morning on the flank and edged her around the still-rambling pony. "I dunno where she gets her energy," AJ said with mild annoyance. "But I'd love some around applebuckin' season." Morning giggled as she trotted beside her cousin. Maybe she was wrong about these ponies. They seemed to be right up her alley. Before long, they reached the home of Rarity. Just the home made Morning nervous. It was a two story home with a boutique- Carrousel Boutique to be exact- as the main floor. And it was very, very girly. A groan escaped her, causing AJ to giggle. "Don't let this frilly frou-frou house getcha. Rarity's a great filly." They walked inside the boutique and Morning saw a white unicorn with beautiful purple hair. So this was Rarity? Dang… "Applejack darling!" Rarity sang as she trotted gracefully over to the fillies. "Marvelous to see you! I was sure you'd be w- Oh!" She seemed to finally spot Morning. "And who's this?" "Howdy. I'm Morning Glory. I'm AJ's cousin," she said with a grin. "Oh darling! Your mane is gorgeous! I know the perfect outfit to-" Rarity rushed off in a gallop in mid-sentence. "Uh oh. I guess her sense o' fashion ain't out of style after all," AJ remarked with a grin. She cleared her throat and shouted loudly to Rarity. "We ain't gonna be here for long. I just wanted to introduce you to Mornin'. Pinkie's gonna have a party for her later. Hope you'll be there!" "Of course I will be! What would a party be without the lovely Rarity?" AJ motioned for Morning to leave. "See you there Rarity! It was nice meeting you!" With that, the two fillies fled before Rarity could play dress up. "Well, she sure has one lovely house," Morning remarked with honesty. So far, all the ponies she met were outstanding. "Ah, it's not somethin' I would live in," AJ responded with a shake of her head. "Dashie and I agree- too-" "What did I agree too?" A voice sounded from the sky. Morning jumped and dived as a blue blur followed by a streak of rainbow ran over her head, a loud squeak escaping her in shock. Rainbow Dash landed gracefully beside AJ, giving her a little nuzzle before giggling at Morning. "Who's this Apples?" "Dashie, this is Mornin' Glory. My cousin. I toldja yesterday she was going to be living with us now," AJ said with a grin, seeming to glow just having Dash there. Morning felt a twinge of jealousy and mild irritation towards Dash. Jealous for two reasons really. First of all- her cousin had a girlfriend, which means yet again Morning was alone. And two- it was a Pegasus. She always had a jealousy for them since she ached to feel the sky. AJ seemed to notice her cousin's train of thought, for she cleared her throat. "Mornin'? You awake over there?" "Huh? Oh! Yeah, I'm here. Sorry. Guess I'm still tired. So you're the infamous Rainbow Dash?" Dash struck a pose. "AJ told me a lot about you. Hope you're treating her right." "Of course. I'm too cool not to treat my girl right," Dash responded in a voice that made Morning cringe and sigh at the same time. "Dashie, Pinkie's gonna have a party for her tonight at Sugarcube Corner. You gonna be there?" AJ tilted her head. "Of course. Like I'd miss my best friend's party," Dash said, rolling her eyes. "Well, I'd like to hang out with you some more Dash," Morning said with an earnestly honest tone. If AJ saw something in this blue filly with the insanely messed up hair- which honestly drove Morning nuts- then maybe there was something to this Pegasus. Dash gave AJ a quick kiss on the cheek, causing the filly to blush, then took off into the sky. "Well… You didn't tell me she was a Pegasus," Morning said calmly. AJ ran her hoof on the ground nervously. "Sorry Mornin'. I-I forgot. I hope it don't-" Morning shook her head with a smile. "It's fine. I love you like a sister AJ. As long as she makes you happy and treats you well, I don't care if she has three heads or crossed eyes." The two giggled at the idea of a three headed pony as they trotted off to the library. Despite the run in with Dash- who she had to admit didn't seem so bad- Morning was pretty sure her new life in Ponyville would be amazing. "Oh Twilight!" AJ called as they walked into the library. "She's upstairs," chided a male voice. The owner of the voice- a small purple dragon with green scales- peeked out from behind a pile of books. Morning was marveling at all of them and almost didn't notice him. "Spike, this here's my cousin Mornin'. Mornin', this is Spike, Twilight Sparkle's assistant," AJ said. "Wow! A new pony!" Spike said with a wide grin as he walked over. "Hi there," Morning said with a wide grin. "It's nice to meet you Spike. I'm Morning Glory." "Spike, where's that book? I need it fo-" A purple unicorn trotted down the circling stairs, purple and pink mane and tail swaying with each step. "Oh! Applejack! Who's this?" "That's Morning Glory, her cousin," Spike chimed in. Oh Morning was starting to like him already. He was adorable. "Oh! Applejack told me about you the other day," the pony said with a wide smile. "I'm Twilight Sparkle." "Wow, the famous Twilight Sparkle. Very nice to meet you. AJ told me all about you," Morning said with a wide grin while Twilight blushed. "I got an invite from Pinkie Pie today," Twilight said as she lead them over to a sitting area, using her magic to pour them each some tea. "I should have known she would have a party in your honor since you're new here." AJ chuckled and nodded. "You shouldn't be so surprised Twi. That pony loves her parties. Speaking of ponies… Mornin' met all but Fluttershy. Where is that silly filly?" Twilight looked off to a corner. Morning followed her gaze. A yellow Pegasus with pink mane and tail was humming as she was cleaning. "Fluttershy?" "Oh, uhm, yes, Twi?" The soft voice that came from the filly soothed Morning. She liked this pony a lot, despite being a Pegasus. "Why don't you come over here and meet Morning Glory?" The filly flew lowly to the ground, head lowered as she landed between Twilight and Morning. "Oh, uhm, hello." "Howdy," Morning said in a soft, comforting tone. "So you're the sweet Fluttershy? It's a pleasure to meet you. You really are a lovely pony," she complimented. There was a soft elegance to her. Fluttershy shuffled her hooves on the ground, mumbling a soft 'thank you'. "I really hope you'll come to my party later tonight. I've heard you've got a lovely singing voice from Apple Blossom," Morning said with a wide grin. AJ and Twi watched the two talk, nervously awaiting Fluttershy to hide away. To their delight, she didn't. "Oh, of course I will," the shy pony whispered. "I don't know about the singing though. I'm… kinda… shy…" "Oh, please. I would love to hear you sing. I haven't slept well since getting here so it would help me sleep," the filly confessed with a sheepish grin. Fluttershy seemed to perk up to that. "Oh! Then I have a lovely lullaby I can sing to you. My mom used to sing it to me all the time." "That sounds wonderful," Morning said with a wide smile. Fluttershy returned it before going quiet. "Well, I guess I ought to get Mornin' back to the farm. Got a big day tomorrow." AJ arose and gave her friends a hug each. To Morning's surprise, she got a hug from Spike and Twilight as well. As they trotted off to the setting sun that was behind the distant farm, AJ looked to Morning. "So, what do you think about 'em?" "I like them. Especially that Pinkie and Fluttershy," Morning said with a grin. "Well, you'll like 'em even more tonight. Or even less," AJ said with a laugh. Morning somehow had the feeling that AJ was going to be wrong. Day one in Ponyville and Morning Glory was already feeling like she was at home.