//------------------------------// // Hey, Look! It's Poorly Put Together, Too(Two) // Story: Sunshine // by xXLostChangelingsXx //------------------------------// "I'm going to tell her, because she's going to find out eventually, and it's best that she finds out at the dinner table." We're sitting at our new table in our refurbished kitchen, which is much nicer than what it was before Sunny trashed it. "Know what?" I ask, suddenly confused. My ears twitch. "Sunset Shine, your father and I are getting a divorce. We decided it's for the best, and you've been given the choice which one of us you'd rather stay with. Me, or Light Source," Sunny says, looking directly at our daughter, not even giving me a glance, a twitch of her ears, anything. It's like the papers have been completely filled out already, even though we still need Sunset's signature on the last couple of papers, her forms. It hurts a little, though. Even for a changeling with no feelings of attachment to the pony divorcing. "W-wait, what? Is this because of all the fighting lately?" "It just isn't working out. It's been going downhill for years, sweetie," I say, poking at the fruit on my plate. I have a sudden craving for fish, something Sunny never bought for me to eat. I guess that's one good thing; I get to eat fish. "But.... You've been married for fifteen years!" "Yes, shocking. But it's just getting worse. We're divorcing, and all we need is for you to decide who you would rather stay with. You can switch at any time, but the court would prefer you stay with one of us or the other, to make us easier to keep track of, I suppose." "I'm not forcing you to choose anything, Sunset," I interject. "If you'd rather stay with your mother, I understand. If you come with me, then I'll admittedly be rather surprised, but you choose what you want." "Daddy.... Are you sure? I mean...." Sunset stops talking, looking down at her hooves as they rest on the tabletop. "Will you be leaving town?" "I might. Your mother is staying here. And I am not staying with her." "Oh.... C-can I get back to you on this...?" I nod, but her mother shakes her head. "No! You need to decide between me and him, now!" "But, Mom, you've just barely told me I need to make a choice between two of the most important ponies in my life, and I can't make a choice like that in seconds!" "How can he possibly be one of the most important ponies in your life?? He--" "I spent more time with her as a foal than you did, Sunny Day. I, for one, want her to make whatever choice she's comfortable with. Even if it takes a year or two. Or three. Or you don't choose. I don't care. Just whatever makes you happy, okay?" "That was a really changeling thing to say, Daddy." I smile a little bit at her. "Well, it's also a very fatherly thing to say. Besides, if I'm moving out, I just might go to Ponyville. I hear there's some homes for sale, and there's quite a few changelings living openly there." "You're just saying that!" Sunset says with an awed smile. "You're trying to cajole her into going with you! No bribery, the judge said!" Sunny Day complains, her true nature starting to leak out. "No, I'm not. I have an old friend in Ponyville, and she said she could help me get back on my hooves after leaving here. So I took the offer, and it turns out there's a lot of changelings there, and also homes for sale." I stand up and take my dish to the sink, leaving it there instead of cleaning it like I normally would. Since it's Sunny Day's I'll leave her to clean her own dishes. "So I'll wait and let my little filly choose what makes her the happiest. Good night." Sunset stops me before I leave the house. "Wait, where are you going?" "Over to One Spot's place. He offered to let me take his couch." "But...." "Divorcing. Now, why don't you sleep on it? If your mother forces you to choose, don't worry. I'm going to take you to sign the forms next week, so you don't really need to choose before that, okay?" She nods, smiling faintly at me. To her, I'll always be her dad, the one who loves her with all his heart, no matter what she decides. It's always been like that. I'm hoping it'll always be like that. "Yeah, Daddy. Good night." I walk into the night, hoping that One Shot really will let me stay over, or if I just made that up on an empty hope. It really is quite late to be bothering him about something like this. All the same, I head over to his place, seeing lights on in the rooms on the main level, the public area of his home. So I knock on his door, and hope for the best. "Oh, hey, Light Source. What's up?" the stallion asks, shifting his weight a little to the side. I can sense a mare in there, so I tilt my head a little, vaguely curious. She isn't much different than all the others he finds. "Just need a place to bunk for a while. Sunny won't let me stay in the house any longer. We broke the news to Sunset, who took it quite well," I say, straightening to look at One Shot. "Well, I'm glad you're still alive. You can take the couch, if you'd like. I certainly don't use it." I give him a slightly nervous smile. For some reason, I doubted there wasn't a piece of furniture in his house he hadn't bucked a mare on. Yet. Maybe. "Thanks, buddy." "No problem. Me and Silver Ribbon are going upstairs soon, anyway. Make yourself at home," he says, leading me in. "Bathroom's down the hall. I bet you can find which door it is." "Yeah, I think I could do that. Miss Ribbon," I add, nodding politely to the silver mare. She blushes a little, then whispers something to One Shot as they start heading up the stairs. Whatever it is makes him laugh, and his laugh makes me look up from readjusting pillows on the couch. "Oh, he just divorced his wife. About time, too, huh, Source?" "Haha, yeah, about time," I chuckle. Shot only seems to be amused, and maybe a bit concerned. About me, maybe? "Which means you're available." "Don't start now, Shot. I've just gotten kicked out, I don't think I want to start that so soon." He just laughs, shakes his head, and continues up the stairs. I shake myself out, and lay down on the couch after turning off the lights, so everypony knows that Shot's doing business. I can't hear it, but I can definitely taste most of the emotions, and sense the others. It makes for a rough night, but I manage to fall asleep at some point. A miracle in Shot's house, apparently.... "Hey, One Shot, is Dad here?" Yawning, I sit up on the couch, knowing my mane's a mess and sensing the lack of an unfamiliar mare presence. Did Silver Ribbon hurry off so soon? "Yep, he's on the couch, I'll go get him." Hoofsteps approach, and I open my eyes tiredly. Shot's staring right at me from the end of the couch, near my hooves. That sure wakes me up in a rush. "What is it, Shot?" "Your kid's here. I'm pretty sure she wants to talk with you about something pretty serious. That's the face she's wearing." "Oh." I stand up and walk to the door, shaking my head to just make my mane look tousled, not like a bed head. "Hey, Sunset. What's up?" "Mom managed to get a dart through every single eye on that wall. And several foreheads. Just thought I'd let you know." I wince. "Thanks. I'll keep an eye out for sharp objects hurtling towards me aiming for bodily harm." She laughs dryly. "Yeah, but that's not all that I came to talk to you about. Could we walk and talk?" "Could I fix my bed head first?" Smiling, she nods. She's still waiting there when I return, looking much more presentable to the public. "Okay, let's go." We wander for the first few minutes in silence. I know that she should be in school right now, but I don't want her to get in trouble. She looks like she spent all night thinking. Maybe Sunny was pressuring her before bed to make the right choice; aka "choose me" and not "choose whoever you want." "Mom wanted me to choose last night. It helped speed up my choice, though. Even if it won't be very easy for me to leave my friends behind, but I'm sure I can visit." "Wait, what?" "I'm going to stay with you. Mom's been unraveling over the past few years, and I don't think she really has my best interests in mind right now. But I know that you do. Even though you don't really like it, you let me go to my club meetings. I'm going to miss that, but I'm not really going to miss Mom as much as those meetings after school." I turn my head to look at the teenager. She looks so determined it matches her feelings well. "And you're absolutely sure? You can come visit your friends, of course, but do you really want to leave behind everypony you know?" "Yes. I'm sure of it. I might be making new friends wherever you end up settling us, but I know I can do it. I'm ready to leave to sign the papers whenever you are." I stop. Sunset stops as well. And so does Zixle, even though he doesn't know I know he's there. "You're absolutely, positively sure? They don't have a club to get to know changelings in any other places in Equestria, I'm pretty sure." She nods, looking like the strong mare I know she'll grow up to be, then turns to face me directly. "Daddy, I've always known that one day I'd have to make a choice whether or not to stay where I've always been or leave and live somewhere totally strange. I'm ready to go wherever you go, just so long as I get to visit my friends." How did I end up getting the best daughter out of a horrible non-marriage? I can't help but just stare at her, absolutely stunned. That's when Zixle shows he's there. He just steps up and starts talking, snapping me out of my thoughts. "So you're leaving, then? With your suspected-changeling father?" "Yeah, Zixle. I've thought this through, and I've even got my bags packed and out of the house, since I don't want Mom to know I'm skipping school to talk to Dad about this." "Smart. Light Source?" The changeling stares at me as I look back at him warily. "Yes?" "This is a good pony. You keep her safe out there, and she'll become something great, and, if you really are a changeling, you might even get to see her achieve that greatness." "Wait, if I'm a changeling?" Sunset giggles. "Dad doesn't know anything about changelings, and, if he was one, he's really good at playing dumb. Could we just go, now?" she adds, looking at me with enthusiasm. "Well, I don't see why not. I don't have work, and you're already skipping school, so we might as well make a day of it. To the train station!" LATER THAT NIGHT (after a bunch of boring legal things)