• Published 25th Oct 2020
  • 2,317 Views, 513 Comments

Acts of Love - Krickis



Morning Glisten isn't really a good filly. She fights with other foals, and she doesn't really trust adults. So when three Princesses take an interest in adopting her, she'll need to become someone else to win their love.

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11 – Old Family and New

Chapter Eleven
Old Family and New


There weren’t many things that scared Sunset Shimmer, but today, she was terrified. She hid it well, of course, but her wives knew, of course. They’d stuck by her side all day, at least one of them always within a foreleg’s reach.

Currently, it was Fluttershy. She was sitting beside Sunset on the sofa with her hoof on her wife’s. They were listening to Rainbow Dash tell a story about the trip she recently took with Pinkie to watch her friend Windfall race.

“And then whoosh! Windfall took the lead!”

Fluttershy gave her a knowing look. “Did he really?”

“Well… no. But he took fourth place!” Rainbow grinned for a moment, but then it faded a little bit. “Then he dropped to sixth by the end of the race.”

“That’s still pretty good,” Twilight said. “This is his first year in the professional scene, right?”

Rainbow shrugged. “Yeah, but you know. He raced against me back in the day, so he’s already gone head to head with the best. He’ll be taking first place soon!”

“Of course,” Fluttershy said. “Did you and Pinkie get the chance to talk to him?”

“Yeah! You should’ve seen his face, it was priceless!”

“Uhm, is that the pony we cheered on?” Morning asked.

“That’s right,” Fluttershy said. “He was a friend of ours when Rainbow and I lived in Cloudsdale, but we haven’t seen him in a very long time.”

“It was pretty cool,” Rainbow said. “He couldn’t really stay and talk, but we’re meeting up on Wednesday to catch up.”

“That’s so nice,” Twilight said. “It’s too bad we’ll be in Canterlot, so Fluttershy won’t be able to see him again.”

“It’s okay, he was always closer with Dashie anyway.” Fluttershy smiled. “Although I would like to catch up with him sometime.”

“Yeah, for sure,” Rainbow said. “We’re meeting up in Cloudsdale this time, but I’ll have him stop by Ponyville sometime and we can all hang out.”

Fluttershy nodded. “Sounds good.”

Morning frowned. “Do I have to meet him?”

That cracked through Sunset’s concerns to get a smile on her face. “No, you don’t need to meet all of our friends. Rainbow, Fluttershy, and Windfall will probably go out to eat or something whenever he comes around, and Twilight and I will stay home with you.”

“Oh. Okay then.”

“But hey, if you want to come out to a race sometime, I can bring you!” Rainbow said. She struck a proud pose. “I am your guide mother now after all.”

That was why Rainbow was over. They had decided each of them would pick different guide parents for Morning, and Fluttershy had predictably chosen Rainbow. Twilight had chosen Shining Armor and Cadance, and she would be asking them when they went to Canterlot in a couple days.

Sunset had also made a choice, and they were going to ask her very soon.

They let Rainbow keep telling stories and making plans with Morning, which seemed to be her chosen method of showing affection to her guide daughter. She really was very excited about being chosen, even though everyone else seemed to take it as a given. Sunset just hoped she didn’t try to spoil Morning too much.

As Rainbow switched to a story about one of the times she helped save Equestria, they were interrupted by a vibrating sound. All heads turned to look at the journal, which Sunset levitated over. She felt Fluttershy’s wing on her back as she did.

Sunset opened the book to the last page with writing on it and read the short message. “She’s ready. It’s time to go.”

Although Sunset was filled with dread, Morning jumped up and beamed at her. “Really? We’re really going to another world?”

Sunset forced a smile. “That’s right, kiddo. Sorry, Rainbow, maybe you can finish the story next time.”

“Yeah, of course. I’ll catch you later.” Rainbow flew over to Morning and patted her on the head. “See ya later, squirt!”

Rainbow flew off, leaving Morning to fix her mane. Fluttershy helped her, and then they left the sitting room to head upstairs.

“Now, Morning,” Twilight said once they reached the library, “do you remember the most important thing?”

“Uhm, stay close to you three.”

Twilight nodded. “Good. As long as you stick with us, everything will be alright.”

Morning frowned as they walked up to the mirror. She’d been so excited about it when they told her she’d get to see a whole other world, but now that it was upon her, she didn’t look so sure. “It’s safe, right?”

“It’s safe,” Fluttershy said, and Sunset was left hoping she was right. “But you don’t understand that world, so we need you to stick with us.”

Morning nodded.

“What are the other rules?” Twilight asked.

“Uhm, don’t tell anyone we’re ponies or about Equestria.”

“That’s right, except for Applejack and Pinkie Pie. They already know.”

“And… and don’t go into the road unless I’m holding someone’s hoof.”

“They’re called hands over there,” Fluttershy said. “You’ll see.”

Morning nodded. “And only walk on two legs, and uhm, keep my clothes on.”

Sunset smirked a little. “Yeah, that’s an important one over there.”

“And… I forget, are there any more?”

Fluttershy put a wing around Morning. “That’s good enough. Just remember to stay close to us, that’s the main one.”

“I’ll go first,” Twilight said as she levitated the journal into the slot for the machine. “You wait and go through with Sunset, then Fluttershy will come through after us.”

“Okay.”

Twilight stepped forward into the mirror and disappeared.

“Whoa!” Morning blinked as she watched the place where Twilight had been.

“Pretty cool, right?” Sunset asked in an attempt at keeping her own nerves down.

“Yeah! But uhm, it doesn’t hurt, does it?”

“No, it doesn’t hurt,” Sunset said. “It does feel weird though. It’s not a very nice feeling, and you’ll probably be dizzy afterwards. But it isn’t that bad.”

“Oh…”

Fluttershy nudged Morning a little closer to the mirror. “It’ll be okay. We’ll be right there with you.”

“You ready?” Sunset asked, almost hoping Morning would say she changed her mind and she didn’t want to go.

But she just nodded. “I’m ready.”

Sunset guided Morning forward and nodded to her. “We’ll go together on the count of three. Okay?”

“Okay.”

Sunset thought about everything that could go wrong. When Sunset had gone through the portal, she had grown twelve years younger. What if something like that happened to Morning?

“One.”

Of course, it had been Sunset who wanted to show Morning the human world. She had wanted Morning to have that as part of her heritage, because it was important to Sunset. And she wanted to show Morning something else important to her, too.

“Two.”

But what if she was being too impatient? What if this was something they needed to wait for? What if something terrible happened when Morning went through the portal?

“Three!”

Sunset hesitated just a moment, too scared to move. Morning, however, did not. She ran right into the mirror and disappeared.

That got Sunset moving in an instant. She dove in, determined to catch up with her daughter. Oh dear sweet Celestia, why had she decided to do this? So what if all her tests with Twilight showed that things should be fine, so much could still go wrong!

She tumbled through the familiar yet still sickening dimension between the worlds, being pulled and prodded in all directions. Then it came to a stop, and she caught herself before falling face-first on the other side.

She looked around wildly. Applejack and Twilight were there, but they weren’t what she was looking for. But half a moment later, she saw a small child, with pink skin and a yellow streak through her rose-colored mane. She was wearing a sundress with a hat.

Sunset fell to her knees and embraced Morning, knocking her hat off in the process. “Oh thank God you’re okay. How do you feel? Are you hurt?”

“I’m okay! But, uhm, I dropped my hat, and I’m not supposed to take any clothes off.”

Sunset laughed. Without thinking about what she was doing, she stood up and picked Morning up with her. “It’s okay. You can take your hat off.”

Her hat soon forgotten, Morning wrapped one arm around Sunset and looked around at everyone. “Everything looks so weird!”

“It’s like the photos we showed you,” Twilight said. “Remember, we’re humans in this world.”

Morning looked down at her hand, taking note of how strange that was too, no doubt.

As she was looking around, Fluttershy came through the portal. She fell to her hands and knees, so Twilight helped her up. She looked around and took note of Sunset with Morning, and she smiled. “See? Everything worked out just fine.”

Even though Sunset knew her wife was talking to her, Morning was the one who answered. “I know, I wasn’t scared.”

Twilight giggled. “Not at all?”

“No!”

“Aww, she’s just like her mom.” Applejack walked over to Morning and beamed. “Ain’t you just the cutest thing!”

“You look like the Applejack in our world, but different,” Morning said.

“Yeah, it’ll take some getting used to.” Applejack gestured for them to follow her. “Come on, let’s get used to it somewhere a bit more private.”

Sunset followed Applejack, not letting go of Morning. She never wanted to let go of her. Twilight scooped up Morning’s hat, then she and Fluttershy followed along behind.

They made it to the road, then Morning asked, “Do I still have to hold your hoof?”

Sunset laughed, finally feeling good enough to let out some genuine happiness. “No, I think this has you covered just as well. It’d be a little awkward to hold your hand while I’m holding you, after all.”

They crossed the street, where Applejack’s truck was parked. She got into the driver’s seat, and Sunset folded the passenger seat down so they could get in the back.

“You’ll sit in the back with us,” Twilight said. “Sunset can sit in the front.”

“What is this thing?” Morning asked as Twilight got in.

Sunset helped Morning into the truck, and Twilight got her buckled into the middle seat and put her hat back on her. Fluttershy climbed in afterwards, then Sunset folded back the seat so she could get in.

“It’s called a truck,” Twilight explained. “It’s a kind of automobile, or vehicle.”

“What’s that mean?”

Sunset buckled herself into the seat. “You’ll see what it does in just a moment. You ready?”

“I guess so.”

Sunset nodded to Applejack. “AJ, if you’d do the honors.”

“With pleasure.” Applejack turned the key in the ignition, and the truck came to life.

Morning gasped in disbelief, which caused the adults to laugh. “Just you wait,” Sunset said. This trip is going to be interesting.

As soon as Applejack started backing up, Morning got scared. “Are we supposed to be moving!?”

Fluttershy wrapped an arm around her. “Yes, we are. It’ll be okay. That’s what this thing does, it moves us around. It goes very fast too, which is why we’re wearing these seatbelts.”

“Can you see out the window?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah.”

Twilight started pointing out different vehicles, teaching Morning the words for car, truck, and van using examples of what they saw on the road. Morning looked around at everything in wonder as they drove.

Everyone else’s attention was on Twilight and Morning. Sunset barely took notice of anything else, she was just so overcome with relief that her fears hadn’t come true. Although she knew better, Sunset hadn’t been able to shake the idea that Morning could have come through as a baby, or worse, could have vanished in the flow between the worlds.

The trip to Sweet Apple Acres flew by in a blur, and before she knew it, Sunset was getting out and folding down the seat so the others could get out. Sunset helped Morning out again, and this time she set Morning on the ground.

Since Sunset had carried her before, Morning took a few steps and promptly fell to the ground. Sunset couldn’t help but smile a little as she helped Morning up. “Here, hold my hand and try again.”

“Mine too.” Fluttershy took Morning’s other hand, and the three of them walked a few steps.

Morning laughed loudly. “This is so weird!”

Before anyone could say anything, they were interrupted by a squeal that could only come from Pinkie Pie. “Oh my gosh!”

Pinkie ran over to them, and Morning took a step back. She almost fell, but Sunset and Fluttershy caught her.

“Easy, Pinkie,” Applejack said. “Remember how new all this is to her.”

“Oh, right.” Pinkie kneeled down to be on Morning’s level. “Hi there! My name’s Pinkie Pie.”

Morning looked up at Fluttershy, who nodded encouragingly. “Say hello.”

“Hi,” Morning said shyly. “I, uhm, I know you from our world.”

“Oh, that’s a different Pinkie Pie,” Pinkie said with a wave of her hand. “She’s a good friend of mine, though!”

“Really?” Morning cocked her head to the side.

“Really,” Sunset said. “Pinkie’s come to visit Equestria a few times before. One of these days you’ll see, there will be two Pinkies and two Applejacks hanging out together.”

Applejack stepped in front of them, walking backwards so she could face them as she walked away. “Come on, we got a little shindig set up in the barn.”

“Want to try walking on your own?” Sunset asked.

“Okay. I think I can do it now.”

Sunset and Fluttershy let go of Morning’s hands, and she took a few shaky steps towards the barn. “I’m doing it! See, I can do it!”

“Good job,” Fluttershy said.

“The first time I came through, I tried running on all fours,” Twilight said with a giggle.

“Me too,” Sunset admitted. “So you’re doing better than us.”

They made their way to the barn, where they wouldn’t be interrupted by the other Apples. They could always make an excuse about Morning being a relative of Twilight’s or something, but none of them wanted to pretend she wasn’t their daughter. Not to mention that the human Fluttershy had been spending some time around Sweet Apple Acres, and she looked noticeably different than the pony one these days.

Applejack opened the door to the barn, and they all went inside. There were a few tables set up with food and drinks, and some party games that Pinkie had brought. Not wanting to overwhelm Morning too much, they had agreed to only use non-electronic games.

There was someone else waiting for them when they got there. Winona let out a bark, then went running up to them. She stopped just before getting to Morning, sniffing the new person.

“That’s Winona,” Applejack said. “Be nice to her, she’s gettin’ up there in her years. Course she’s really just a big puppy at heart.”

“Hi, Winona,” Morning said, holding out a hand. Winona licked it, and Morning laughed.

Rather than any of the part games, they just let Morning play with Winona for a little bit. It probably was a good way for her to get used to her new body.

It also gave Sunset the chance she needed to step away. “Hey, AJ.” Sunset jerked her head toward the door. “Got something to ask you.”

Applejack nodded, and the two of them walked back outside. Sunset led them far away enough so that they wouldn’t be overheard, then stopped and scratched at her neck awkwardly.

“This about you bein’ scared of Morning comin’ here?” Applejack asked.

Sunset let out a nervous laugh. “Oh fuck, I was so terrified, AJ. Twilight and I did some experiments on the portal to make sure it would work, but all we really had is theoretical data.”

“Guess I can understand not wantin’ the same thing that happened to you to happen to her.”

“We knew it wouldn’t. Or well, it shouldn’t. We finally think we cracked how the age thing works.”

“Oh yeah?”

“You know how I told you I saw that video of the other Sunset?”

Applejack nodded. “The arsonist, I remember.”

“Yeah, that’s what got the gears in my head going. She was the same age as me. As I am here, I mean.”

“Yeah? So?”

Sunset shook her head. “Well we didn’t know for sure until we started looking into it, but when you go through the portal, you’re the same age as your double. So you’re actually a few years older in Equestria, you just never noticed because by the time you went through, a few years didn’t matter so much.”

“Huh. So you’re younger here because the other Sunset is younger than you?”

“That’s right.” Sunset bowed her head. “We still don’t understand why all our doubles synced up to be in the same grade of high school, but at least we can figure out how old someone is gonna be when they go through the portal.”

“So what, you knew that Morning would be the same age?”

“She’s seven.” Sunset looked at Applejack. “She’s a year older here. We found the human Morning, or at least a record from a few years ago that had her age. Dunno where she is now, but three years ago she had a small career as a child model. She was on a pamphlet for a preschool on the other side of the country, and we found her resume. I had her name and her picture, I knew it was her, but until I saw her on this side of the portal…”

Applejack put a hand on Sunset’s shoulder. “Hey, it all worked out now.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Sunset smiled. “Anyway, that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about.”

“Oh yeah? What else is on your mind?”

“It is about Morning, though.” Sunset shifted her weight. “I can count on you to help us raise her, right?”

Applejack arched an eyebrow. “Shoot, ya don’t even gotta ask that. You know I’m always there for my family.”

Sunset smiled. “That’s kind of what this is about. Family.”

“Whatcha mean?”

“Well…” Sunset looked back at the barn. “I was thinking… would you maybe want to be one of Morning’s guide mothers?”

“Guide mothers?”

“Yeah, you know. Like godmother, but without the god part.”

“Sunset, I’m honored.” Applejack pulled Sunset in for a hug. “You know I am, and I’d love to, but…” They pulled apart, but Applejack kept an arm on either side of Sunset. “Is that a good idea? I mean, I’m not even Equestrian, and if anything happened to you…”

“Then she’d stay with Twilight’s parents and Spike,” Sunset explained. “We’ve been clear on that with everyone. We think that would be the smallest upset to her life, she could stay in the castle with the ponies she already lives with.”

“So then what’s the whole guide mother thing?”

“Well, it means…” Sunset sighed. “It means I want you to be her family. Like, formally. We’re picking guide parents that we want to take a more direct role in helping to raise her. Fluttershy picked Rainbow, Twilight’s picking her brother and sister-in-law, and I’m picking you.”

“I don’t know what to say.” Applejack shook her head and grinned. “What am I saying? Of course I do! Yes, I’d love to be her guide mother.”

Applejack wrapped an arm around Sunset in a half hug. “You know I’d see her as family one way or the other, right?”

“I know. We’ve been family for a long time. But… I’m kind of glad it’s official now.” Sunset laughed a little. “I didn’t even have a backup plan if you said no.”

Applejack clapped Sunset on the back. “ ‘Cause ya knew I would never say no! Apple Bloom’s gonna be so jealous.”

“How’s AB doing?” Sunset was kind of hoping to see her, but they decided to limit it to just Applejack and Pinkie to keep Morning from getting overwhelmed.

“She’s alright. She’s off on a date right now.”

“Nice. Glad things are still working out with them.”

“Working a mite too well, actually.” Applejack frowned. “She’s pregnant.”

“Oh, shit.” Sunset looked at Applejack, who seemed to be wrestling with her own feelings. “Not the planned kind, is it?”

“Nope.”

“She keeping it?”

“She says she don’t know yet, but I know she’s gonna.” Applejack sighed. “Granny wouldn’t be happy if she got rid of it, you know. I made sure she knows it’s her decision and I’ll fight for her if it comes to it, but I think part of her already wants this. And whatever she does, Trail Blazer proposed to her.”

Sunset nodded. “You know, she’s in a good place for this. I mean, I don’t know what their relationship’s like, but it always seems to be going well. They’ve been together for a few years now, and she’ll have the family’s support.”

“Yeah, that’s why I think she’ll keep it. You know I would of wanted this to be the kind of thing she decided to do, and only after she was married. But I guess she’s old enough for a kid if she thinks she’s ready.”

“She’ll do fine.” Sunset nudged her. “You know what I think? You’re just sad your baby sister’s growing up.”

“Yeah, well…” Applejack pushed Sunset back. “Maybe that’s part of it too.”

Sunset took a deep breath. “Everyone’s settling down. Everyone but you.”

“Yeah…”

“You looking for someone?”

Applejack looked at Sunset and smirked. “Who says I ain’t already found someone?”

Sunset lit up. “Really!? Who?”

Applejack laughed. “I’ll let ya know when I decide that’s your business.”

She started walking back to the barn, so Sunset chased after her. This only caused Applejack to start running, with Sunset chasing after her and yelling. “No way, you’re not getting away from it that easily! Applejack!”


It had been a good day. Sure, Sunset had never found out if Applejack seriously had her eye on someone, but that wasn’t what the day had been about. It had been about sharing a part of her youth with Morning, showing her what life on the human side of the mirror was like.

To that end, it had gone very well. Sure, there were a great many things Morning didn’t know about. It would probably be years before they tried explaining the internet to her, for example. But she’d gotten used to her body, and she’d gotten to know Applejack and Pinkie.

And there was one more thing to do before they could head back. They were leaving the barn, but Sunset put a hand on Morning’s shoulder to stop her. “Hey, I’ve got something important to show you.”

Morning looked up at Sunset. “What is it?”

“It’s over here.” Sunset took Morning by the hand and led her away from the barn.

It wasn’t a long walk, but Sunset tried to fill as much of it as she could with plans for what she’d say once they arrived. She couldn’t come up with anything satisfactory.

“Oh,” Morning said once they came to a stop. She looked up at Sunset. “It’s a grave.”

Sunset took a seat on the ground and pulled Morning closer. Morning sat in her lap, and Sunset wrapped her arms around her. “This is my first daughter’s grave. Your sister.”

“Oh.”

They sat in silence for a little while, and Sunset wasn’t sure what to say. She wanted to tell Morning all about Sky, but how could she? Sunset had never known Sky either.

But she’d known Fluttershy. “Before I knew the Fluttershy from Equestria, I knew the one from this world. The two of us, we were going to have a little girl together. Her name was Sky Shimmer.”

“That’s what it says on the grave,” Morning said. “Sky Shimmer.”

Sunset nodded. “That’s right. Sky was everything to us. We were so happy that we were going to be moms. But then there was an accident.”

“Did she die?”

“Yes, she did. Fluttershy – that’s the human Fluttershy, not the one you know – she was still pregnant with Sky at the time. So your sister was never born.”

“But she’s still my sister?”

Sunset hesitated. “No one really knows for sure what happens when we die. And a lot of different people and ponies believe in different things. Sky’s mama, she believes in a place called Heaven. And in that place, everyone we lost, they’re all up there looking down and watching over us. So even though you’ve never met her, and you’ll never be able to, Sky is looking out for you too. Looking out for her sister.”

“Oh. Is she my big sister?”

Sunset thought for a moment. “Actually, she’d be right around your age. She would’ve been born about six years ago now. I think she’d be a few months younger than you.”

“Then I should look out for her.” Morning looked up at Sunset. “The big sister is supposed to look out for the little one.”

Sunset smiled and traced a hand along Morning’s cheek. “Family looks out for family. That’s all there is to it.”

“Sunset? Are you crying?”

“Only a little.”

Morning looked back at Sky’s grave, and they didn’t say anything. They didn’t have to, Sunset had her daughter in her arms, and somewhere up there, maybe Sky was watching over them.

Author's Note:

Someday I'd like to get Pasu to draw this ending scene. Maybe for the print edition whenever I get around to that.