Dawn peered through the deep red curtains, of the farmhouse on Sweet Apple Acres, not only carrying the smell of fresh, ripe apples in a small breeze, but also casting a ray of bright sunlight on top of a sleeping orange earth pony. The pony flicked her ear, and raised her head, blinking her green eyes drearily, adjusting to the bright morning sun. The pony gave her blonde mane a shake and stood up out of bed, pulling the curtains back tiredly. She trotted over to her mirror and tied her mane and tail back at the tips with two bright red hair-ties. She pulled a deep brown Stetson hat off the rack in the corner of her room and trotted downstairs.
The pale orange pony touched the base of the oak stairs to see a familiar scene; her big brother and Granny sitting at the kitchen table, munching on some Red Gala apples for breakfast. The old, pale green mare was wearing her pink bunny suit, and lifted her head and pricked her ears.
"Why g'morning Applejack." she said as Applejack trotted up to the table and took her seat.
"Morning Granny. Big Mac." she said, and placed her brown hat on the table next to her. Applejack picked up a bright red apple and took a bite, savoring the sweet juicy flavor of a freshly picked apple. The orange pony looked across the table, where her pale yellow sister Applebloom should've been sitting.
But the chair was empty, which was unusual because Applejack knew that Applebloom would never, EVER skip breakfast, let alone preparations for the upcoming Zap Apple harvest.
"Hey Big Mac, have you seen Applebloom this mornin'?" she said, and looked into her red brothers big, green eyes.
"Eenope." he said, shaking his mighty head, causing his red-orange mane to swing from side to side. The big draft had always been a stallion of little words, and today was no exception.
How strange... Applejack thought, and finished her apple. As she slid out of the chair, Applejack placed her brown hat onto her head and headed out without a word to find her sister, who was probably in the only place where she ever was;
The Cutie Mark Crusader clubhouse.
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"So what're we gonna do today, Applebloom?"
The pale yellow earth pony scratched her head, making her bright pink bow shake slightly in her bright red mane. There was silence, giving Applebloom a bit of time to think. She noticed as her best Pegasus friend, a small orange filly named Scootaloo, trotted over to the light bulb in the corner of the tree house and pulled the switch.
"I have an idea!" she said, and Applebloom trotted over to her, a small white unicorn trotting behind her.
"What is it, Scootaloo?" the unicorn asked.
"Rainbow Dash was telling me about this thing the other day called genetic engineering, where you take two species and cross them together very carefully."
"Like a Pegasus and a unicorn?"
Applebloom watched Scootaloo roll her pale lavender eyes, and gave a slight chuckle of amusement. Sweetie Belle was always a bit...slower at processing things than the other fillies, and it may be because of her big sister Rarity never playing with her the way Applejack did with Applebloom or Rainbow Dash did with Scootaloo. But this didn't mean that the white unicorn couldn't have friends.
"No, Sweetie, that's an Alicorn. Like taking a frog and an alligator and crossing them together." Scootaloo said paitently, and Sweetie Belle nodded, making her pale pink and purple mane bouce slightly as her pale green eyes flickered in wonder.
"Anyway, I was thinking; what if we took a chicken and crossed it with a rabbit? Maybe this is how we could get our Cutie Marks!" the Pegasus cried excitedly, and bounced up and down, reminding Applebloom of a bright pink pony named Pinkie Pie, who always got around Ponyville but jumping like that. Applebloom exchanged a glance with Sweetie Belle and sighed. They had had no other ideas that morning, and this was just as good as anything.
"Well, I dunno how yer gonna pull that off Scoots, but it's well worth a try." the pale pony said, and Scootaloo trotted out of the clubhouse to her scooter.
"Great! Come on girls! I know just the place to go!" the orange Pegasus cried, and pulled her blue-and-white helmet over her maroon mane. Applebloom cautiously followed, Sweetie Belle close behind.
"Alright, lets go." The filly said as she pulled on her helmet, and Scootaloo's small wings began buzzing as they started zipping through the apple orchard, sun beating on her pink bow that bounced in her mane as Scootaloo went faster and faster through the vibrant trees.
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A turquoise filly gently fluttered her wings as she landed on top of the icy cliff next to a white alicorn.
"It's nice of you to finally join me, Feather Note" the alicorn said. Feather looked up. The snow-white alicorn's emerald green eyes were focused ahead, staring off into the distance. The early morning sun reflected off of her carefully braided blue-and-black mane and tail. Feather looked ahead.
"You know I wouldn't miss one of our meetings, sister." she said, and the tall pony next to her nodded.
"I know."
"So why did you call me here?" The turquoise Pegasus asked, and stretched out her wings.
"Princess Luna wanted me to give you a message."
"Oh?" Feather said, ears pricking up at the mention of her mentor.
"Yes. She wants you to head to Canterlot as soon as possible."
"That's it?" Feather asked. The alicorn nodded. Feather sighed in disgust.
"Man, if that was it, then why the hay did I have to wake up so early?" she said, and flew in front of her sister.
"Feather Note, you know it's a great honor to be invited to Canterlot."
"I know Lily, I know."
"Very well. Mother and Father are expecting you back at the castle." Lily said, and turned around. Feather began to fly back towards the crystal-like castle in the distance
Author's Note
Well, this is probably the worst chapter I have written in any fanfic, but it'll hopefully get better after this ^~^
Thanks to a good friend of mine for helping me come up with this idea!
Feather Note and Lily belong to me.
Applejack trotted up into the wooden treehouse to find it empty.
"The hay?" she whispered under her breath, noticing the makeshift ruby red CMC capes hanging on their hooks by the door. Applejack knew the three fillies never left to do anything without their capes. The orange earth pony spun on her hooves and trotted out only to be greeted by a douse of rainwater from above. Applejack looked up to see a pair of rosy red eyes peering over a small storm cloud at her playfully.
"Seriously Rainbow?" Applejack said annoyingly, and removed her hat. The cerulean Pegasus fluttered down next to Applejack, and flicked her rainbow tail.
"Sorry AJ, I thought I was going to get Applebloom. Speaking of which, have you seen Scootaloo this morning? I have some new tricks I've been practicing that I want her to see." Rainbow Dash asked, eyes drifting over to the treehouse. Applejack placed her hat back on her soaking wet mane.
"Nope, but we should probably find her soon. Applebloom's missin' and I have a feelin' that they're gonna get in some trouble." she said, and Rainbow nodded. Applejack noticed some scooter tracks leading away from the treehouse.
"Let's start by followin' these here tracks." she said, and galloped down the trail, Dash flying high above.
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"Here we are girls, the laboratory of my parents." Scootaloo said, as she stepped off the scooter in front of the old stone building. Applebloom stepped off behind her, and dropped her helmet onto the ground next to Scootaloo's. The pale filly walked up next to Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle close behind. The orange Pegasus nudged open the ferns that covered the entrance, and walked in, folding her wings at her side.
"My parents..." Scootaloo said, pausing at a picture of two pegasi. The stallion in the photograph was a pale gray with a bright red mane and tail, with lavender eyes that matched Scootaloo's perfectly. The mare at his side was a deep orange, dark gray mane flowing across her wings. A baby Scootaloo sat on her mother's back, smiling happily. Scootaloo picked up the picture and smiled weakly, tears forming at her eyes.
"My parents...I didn't really know them since they died shortly after I was born, but I knew their names; Storm Crier and Mist Catcher. They...they died in an accident a few years ago here at the lab. They police never told me what exactly killed them..." the filly said. She wiped the cobwebs from the image, and her tears fell down her cheeks, staining the dusty floor at their hooves. Applebloom placed her hoof on her friends shoulder, her heart aching for the filly. Scootaloo looked at her, pale lavender eyes sparkling with grief.
"Let's go Scoots. We have a cutie mark to find." she said, and Scootaloo nodded determinedly, placing the picture back where is had been.
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"Mother. Father." Feather said, and bowed at the hooves at the hooves of the two pale Alicorn rulers of Frostmare.
"Feather Note, we sent word of your acceptance to Princess Luna." her father, a pale blue stallion with a bright blue and white mane and tail said, ocean blue eyes flickering with pride. Feather's heart skipped a beat as she stood at the name of her mentor. Ever since she had been found that faithful night so long ago by her parents, abandoned by her true mother at the gates of Frostmare with her little twin sister Rain Flicker, the princes of the night had taken an intrest in her. When she turned a year old, Princess Luna took her as her apprentice to teach her magic, so she could become an Alicorn when she became older. As a reminder of that day, Feather had a black raven's feather braided in her mane that served as her source of magic.
"Father, I don't want to go to Canterlot." she said. Her mother's dark green eyes flickered with confusion.
"Why not?" she asked, flicking her pale blue-and-pale yellow tail.
"Because Ghost Song said she needed some help preparing for her flight test." Feather said quickly. She knew her best friend, Ghost Song, was a perfectly good flyer, and didn't need her help, Feather just needed an excuse to stay in Frostmare. Her mother nodded.
"Very well, but you have to write the letter to Princess Luna explaining why you aren't coming." she said, and Feather nodded. The turquoise filly spun on her hooves and quickly trotted out, nervousness a pit in her stomach about what Luna would say.
Author's Note
Wow. I spent a few days working on this one, and was to lazy to post it xD.
Anyway, hopefully things cleared things up a bit from the last chapter.
Hopefully.
Yes, the rest of the mane six will be introduced. The next chapter will be quite long and eventful, so it'll take a while to write.
Also, critique is always welcome ^~^