//------------------------------//
// Chapter 3 
// Story: Sisters of Harmony 
// by Armyidiot 
//------------------------------//

6 months later…



Applejack woke up that morning feeling strangely stiff and compressed. She learned why when she figured out that both Fluttershy and Rarity had fallen asleep on top of her. While the large cuddle pile was, for the most part, generally comfortable, the orange earth pony did need to use the little fillies’ room. Very gently extricating herself from her two sisters and replacing herself with Rainbow Dash, AJ made her way towards the bathroom. 

Finishing with that morning task, the earth pony looked around the shared room, picking up random items and trinkets that lay about the floor. As she got closer to the couch set in the fillies’ room, she finally noticed that they had a visitor. Or rather, a visitor had stayed over. Princess Mi Amore Cadenza or, as she preferred to be called, Cadance. 

Applejack smiled at the sight of their foalsitter hanging her head over the hoofrest of the couch, drooling slightly. Gently shaking her awake, AJ quietly said, “Cadance… Cadance, get up!”

The pink mare violently jolted awake, looking around for a moment while shaking the sleep out of her eyes. After seeing the pile of fillies on the bed, the alicorn took notice of who had awoken her. “Applejack? What are you doing up right now?” She yawned.

“I normally wake up at this hour. I almost always wake up before anypony else, though Rarity’ll be up soon enough.” The filly supported her foalsitter as she stood up, stretching some very stiff legs. “Why’d you stay over though? I thought ya were going back to your own room.”

Cadance yawned again, showing off her pearly white teeth. “Twilight woke me up in the middle of the night. She said she had a bad dream.”

“A bad dream?” The earth filly questioned. “Whenever one of us has a bad dream, we wake each other up and talk about it. We’ve all had plenty bad dreams, but we stick through ‘em together.” AJ held a confused, questioning look for a moment before gaining one of surprise and revelation. 

“What is it, Applejack?” Cadance asked.

“Twilight didn’t have a bad dream, she just wanted you to be here when she woke up!” The apple loving filly laughed at the reasoning for a moment, talking through the mirth, “I think somepony has a fan!”

The alicorn awkwardly chuckled, throwing a glance towards the purple filly still in the bed. “I’ll need to talk to her at some point. Make sure this isn’t some huge misunderstanding.”

Applejack wiped away an errant tear, concluding her laughter. “It’ll still be a bit before they’ll all be up. Wanna get some breakfast?” She asked the foalsitter.

“You know what?” Cadance asked. “That would be simply splendid right now.”



Fluttershy slowly woke up, feeling buried but only lightly whilst also holding something. Her eyes fluttered open, seeing rainbow hair and blue fur with wings. She came to the realization that not only was she cuddling with Rainbow Dash, she was also under several pillows. She quietly “Eep!”ed at her position, before very carefully replacing herself with a pillow.

A few minutes and many readjustments later, and Fluttershy was free from the clutches of her sister. She took a moment to stretch her limbs and wings out, feeling the almost stale air currents in the room before jumping into the air and slowly flying around the bed which still also held Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie, cuddling closely. Settling lightly upon the floor, she took care of her morning ablutions, preening her yellow wings. A few minutes later, she was ready to face the day. That is, if she wasn’t so drowsy. AJ may be a morning pony, but her sisters could never figure out how she always woke up so early and rested. That group included Fluttershy who weakly rubbed her eyes.

The butter-filly slowly opened the door, stepping outside of the shared room and closing the door just as softly as she opened it. She blearily took a look around, noting the two guards that were always on duty in the halls near the door. Fluffing herself, Fluttershy casually walked down the hall she had traveled many times before for nearly six months. Of course, by now she had memorized the route to travel and could almost do it in her sleep, thankfully for her tired state this morning. 

After a few short minutes that she knew she would forget about, Fluttershy eventually happened upon the dining room doors. From what Celestia had told the fillies, and what little she understood, while the doors were certainly large, it was only a size increasing enchantment that made it that way. The doors themselves were rather light, and easy enough for any of the fillies to push open. It was always this part of her morning that gave Fluttershy trouble to remember, since the doors looked so large and imposing. On most mornings, she would mindlessly scratch at the door like a cat would until either one of the guards opened it, or some other occupant of the room. This morning was no different, as the tired filly stood on her hind legs, pawing at the door with her hooves. 

She managed to make out a couple voices behind the doors, yet it was one closeby that alerted her to stand back. “I can take care of it myself, Lieutenant.” One of the doors was enclosed in a bright sunny golden glow, that gently opened it to the sight of one butter yellow filly sitting patiently outside looking up to the sun’s bringer. “Ah, Fluttershy!” Celestia said with the warmth of the day, “I was wondering when you would wake up.”

The filly walked up to her mother’s foreleg and tried to clamber up it, only vainly jumping up and around Celestia’s foreleg. “Up!” She whisper-shouted, sounding more like a foal than a filly.

Smirking, the princess knelt down on her heels, letting Fluttershy crawl up and onto her head. “Happy with your position, young filly?” The butter-filly just purred in content, letting her throat vibrations express her content to her mother. Celestia chuckled, standing back up and walking back to the table, where sat Applejack, Cadance, and Rarity, and Blueblood, all enjoying breakfast.

“Ah, so she’s awake, is she?” Came the ever arrogant and stiff voice of Bluey (as Fluttershy always called him). 

“Yes, though I don’t think she is entirely aware of where she is right now though,” Responded her adoptive mother’s voice. 

“We’re… we’re in the-thuh kitchen… right…?” Flutters weakly asked, her voice still ever so quiet, especially so with her tired state in the morning. 

“Scratch that, Auntie, I think she understands you,” Came Cadance’s ever careful and cadenced voice.

“I doubt for long though,” Said Rarity, her voice a tad more piano than usual, “She already seems to be falling back asleep already.”

And it was so, as Fluttershy could already feel the warming embrace of sleep prying her tired mind from reality. She felt Celestia titter under her, seemingly in amusement. “I don’t suppose anypony would object to my new hat, would they?” As Fluttershy fell back asleep, simultaneously tightening her grip around her mother’s head, she could faintly hear the other ponies around the table laughing.



Pinkie Pie opened the door to the dining room in the castle, the family’s place of gathering in the mornings, to see three of her sisters up and about already. Well, two of her sisters were up and about, with the third being Fluttershy who was still asleep her their adoptive mother’s head. Giggling, Pinkie came up to her new mom and hugged her as hard as she could, loudly saying, “Good morning, mommy!” 

Princess Celestia, for her part, responded as she usually did, turning towards the source of the sound and grabbing ahold of the pink earth pony, warmly hugging and smiling towards her as she in turn said, “And good morning to you too, Pinkie.” The pink filly went around the table, doing much the same to her sisters and relatives. 

With the exception of Blueblood, who did not turn and reciprocate the hug, Pinkie hugged everypony around the table, even climbing onto the table and giving Fluttershy, still atop Celestia’s head, a soft hug and a quiet, “Good morning, sis!” Now done with her morning mission, Pinkie Pie moved to her spot around the dining table, sitting aside Applejack with Rarity on the other side of AJ. 

Happy with her seating, the pink sister pulled a cupcake from somewhere behind her mane, looking at it longingly. She opened her mouth and closed her eyes, lunging forward to take a large bite out of the delicious treat, only to smack her teeth in open air. Opening her eyes in confusion, Pinkie looked around the room for a moment before seeing her foster mom licking some crumbs from her lips, and her sisters holding in some chuckles. Her expression of confusion turned into a competitive grin, narrowing her eyes at the Princess. 

Celestia looked to her pink daughter with an almost smug expression, letting the cupcake wrapper fall to the table. Pinkie Pie grabbed two more cupcakes from behind her mane again, cocking them at her sides and holding them ready. Tittering, the Princess levitated Fluttershy from her spot on her head towards her seat, sitting on Rarity’s opposite side of Applejack. Both mother and daughter stood from the table, readying themselves for a near war of bakery foods and splattered walls and tapestries. 

With a gleeful shout, Celestia and Pinkie Pie leapt into action.



“Rainbow Dash… Wake up…” The prismatic pegasus groaned in her sleep, turning the other direction from where the source of sound was. “Rainbow, wake up!” Suddenly, the blanket she was using was ripped away from her, leaving the sky blue pegasus cold and desperately reaching for her cover. 

“Hold on, let me wake her up.” 

With that phrase, Rainbow Dash bolted out of bed and into the air, seeing Twilight Sparkle dispel the magic she had gathered, a smug grin on her muzzle. “Do you really have to use that spell every time you wake me up?!” The pegasus shouted at her sister. While the unicorn laughed with Rarity about the circumstance, Dash flew over to the couch in their shared room, flopping down on it and groaning. From her position with her face still in the couch, Rainbow shouted, “Twilight, I hope you know you suck!”

As her sister continued laughing for a moment longer, Twilight managed to respond, “You know you love me!” 

The pegasus started thinking of a suitable come-back when she had a rather devilish idea. “Yeah, Twilight, I do love you!” Rainbow got up from the couch and opened the door into the hallway from their room. “In fact, let me show you just how much I love you!”

It was half an hour later that Princess Celestia walked into the library alone and found Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash up in the rafters of the castle’s library. While Twilight sat exceedingly still in a windowsill near the ceiling with a book and blanket, Dash meanwhile appeared to be napping in a separate windowsill away from her sister, letting the unicorn ponder her decisions that led to that point. 

Stifling a visible chuckle, Celestia flew up to the windowsill that held Twilight and gently guided her back down to the ground. While the poor unicorn was shaking while she was still on the ground, all gathered could hear suppressed giggles coming from a certain pegasus. “Happy with yourself, are you?” Celestia called out. 

“Have you seen how she wakes me up? She deserved that!”

Curiously, Celestia looked to her purple daughter, asking an unvocalized question of what had she done. With a shy grin, Twilight answered, “I summon a small bolt of lightning and zap her wings with it. From what she said, it’s like waking up to a bucket of ice water except it’s hot, smells like ozone, and leaves her wings paralyzed for a few minutes.”

Rainbow Dash flew down then, throwing an annoyed grin her way. “Yeah, and it hurts! A lot!”

Stepping between the two before they started to fight, Celestia held them back with her large wings. “Both of you are at fault here,” She diplomatically, yet motherly. “Twilight, a spell like that if done incorrectly could leave lasting damage on your sister’s wings. Rainbow, a stunt like that could have lead to Twilight being seriously injured.” She looked at both sternly, causing them to turn their gaze away from her and to the floor. “While I know neither of you meant any harm, that Twilight would never purposefully overcharge her spell and that Rainbow would never let you actually fall,” She looked to both opposites as she scolded them, “What you both did was reckless and dangerous. I won’t punish either of you this time as I have the feeling that it originates from your time at the orphanage, but if I find you both doing it again, there will be consequences. Am I understood?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Said Twilight.

Rainbow Dash sighed before irritatedly answering, “Got it, mom.”

Princess Celestia lowered her wings at her children’s words, nodding to both. When she did, they both came up to each other, apologized, and hugged it out. “Now,” Said the motherly alicorn, grinning as she did, “The others are currently in the garden, awaiting us. Remember the activity we did, a few weeks ago?” Both sisters smiled almost evilly at the idea. “Well, I asked the staff to gather up any particularly disgusting trash that they came across. This time, I think our activity will be both much more disgusting, and much more fun.”



Rarity had to admit. Hurling garbage at noble ponies was far more fun than she had initially thought it would be.

Of course, that didn’t mean she wanted to be the one actually throwing the garbage. She was more than content to let her sisters do it and simply watch the results. Though, having Applejack call her courage into question for not throwing a single one did manage to bring her away from the sidelines long enough to throw a single bag into the streets of Canterlot. 

“Wait for it…” Said her sister, Rainbow Dash. The pegasus was hovering in the air, watching a certain pair of nobles who insulted Rarity’s mane come into perfect angle to have a bag of trash dropped on them. The ever prim and proper unicorn held onto a large black bag of garbage, holding it in the crook of an oversized and stretched slingshot, angled perfectly to impact the walking pair of nobles. 

“NOW!” Finally releasing her magic hold on the bag, Rarity watched the garbage sail into the air before it started dropping at precisely the point they had agreed on. Racing to the banister overlooking the streets of Canterlot, the six sisters and their mother watched the bag nail both pompous unicorns, splattering them with food waste, soiled papers, and many other random detritus. 

The family in the garden cheered and laughed at the successful impact, thankfully far away enough from the nobles to not let them know that it was their Princess and her daughters that were waging a trashy war on the nobles of Canterlot. Rarity looked at the nobles again, seeing their reactions to being, as Rainbow Dash had so eloquently put it, ‘completely trashed.’ As the pair walked away from the site, a guard silently bounded out of a nearby bush, cleaning the area and making it seem as if nothing had happened on the particular walkway. The guard moved back to his hiding spot, putting the trash into a conveniently placed dumpster nearby. 

Wiping away a tear of mirth, Rarity looked ahead of the path, looking for more nobles to fire upon. With restrained glee, she looked to a particular pair of nobles wandering down the path. The unicorn announced to her family then, “Get the next one, here comes another pair!”

“Who’s the unlucky customer?” Asked Twilight, already selecting a bag and loading it into the slingshot. 

“It’s Jet Set and Upper Crust!” Rarity announced with enthusiasm.

“You mean the same nobles who tried to get mom to take us back to the orphanage?” Questioned Applejack, not even attempting to hide her smile at the idea of bombarding the pair. 

Princess Celestia looked over the railing, noting that it was indeed the pair who had dared to suggest such a thing. “It is.” The alicorn confirmed. She grew an evil smile, using her magic to replace the bag Twilight had randomly grabbed with another set off to the side. The black garbage bag sloshed with unknown materials, proving too heavy for any of the fillies to lift. “The one thing those two need to learn, is that of all the wrongs they may commit,” She loaded the bag in the slingshot and pulled it back with her hooves manually, “Of every little annoyance they make of themselves,” She aimed the slingshot, waiting for Dash to now give her a signal, “Of all the things that they could do…” 

“NOW!” 

Celestia released the bag, letting it fly. “You do not attack my family.”

SPLAT!



Twilight Sparkle sat in the castle library, thankfully this time not in a windowsill. She was currently reading a rather interesting novel, one about something called the Elements of Harmony. Princess Celestia was also in the library, letting her daughter use her as a makeshift pillow, also reading a book, this one a previous favorite of hers. She had warned Twilight about the book, saying to, “Not put stock in fairy tales,” whatever that would mean.

It was some hours after the event of throwing trash, which Twilight remembered fondly, especially the ever satisfying comeuppance to Jet Set and Upper Crust. The time of day had naturally progressed to afternoon, which each member of the family used to do something of their own. Twilight had naturally wandered to the library to continue her studies and read more of the castle’s stock of literature. 

Applejack and Fluttershy had went to the castle gardens, AJ for her apple trees, and Fluttershy for the many animals there. Rarity had returned to the fillies’ room, working on something that she didn’t divulge to mother or sisters. Rainbow Dash had meandered to the guard barracks, both for flight training and to marvel at the many pegasi training there. Pinkie Pie had disappeared, to where nopony knew. None tried to find her, for the sake of their own sanity and because they knew she wouldn’t be found that easily.

After a pleasant period of simply reading and enjoying the silence of the library with her mother, Twilight felt Celestia close her book and put it back on the adjacent shelf it had come from. Following suit, the lavender filly did much the same, starting to feel her mother stand up. 

“Well Twilight,” Celestia said, looking to her adopted progeny, “Are you ready to go?”

Twilight stood up, looking to her mother, saying, “Yep! I can’t wait to see her!”

“And I believe she you too. Let’s go.”

And so the two went, managing to find and collect each other sister until the group had grown to its normal size of seven. With the group now back together, Celestia led the charge to the gates of the castle, her normal three guards following the group, two behind and one walking just beside the Princess. Twilight and her sisters sat atop their mother’s back, sans Rainbow Dash who was flying just beside them and Pinkie Pie who was pronking along with them, in between Celestia and the guard. Sunset was near but not quite yet there, a few hours just before the day began its transition to night.

“How do you think she’ll react? I bet she’s gonna be so happy to see us!” Asked Pinkie, who had somehow not tired of pronking such a distance from the castle.

“Considering that she was expecting us yesterday,” Replied Rarity, “I wouldn’t hesitate to say her reaction will be one of surprise.”

“I said I was sorry!” Came their adoptive mother’s offended yet guilty voice. “I got so hung up yesterday with paperwork and appointments that when I remembered about our visit you six were already asleep!”

“That’s something you’ll just have to tell her, mom.” Applejack shook her head in feign disappointment, wryly grinning slightly. “Can’t hardly believe you’d forget.”

“I didn’t forget, I just got… sidetracked. Yeah, that’s the word. Sidetracked.”

The sisters all laughed at her deflection, now used to the rigors of having a princess for a mother. Though it did come with a few disappointments, those disappointments were rarely not followed by a greater joyous surprise or gift to make up for it. Almost the entirety of Equestria as a whole had adapted to the change as well, now knowing of the Princess’ adoption and almost all supporting her decision to raise her own children, certain groups in particular absolutely praising her decision to adopt instead of having a child of her own, and had begun a slight trend of adopting foals as well, leading to many more happy families across the country and orphanages not having to spread their supplies so thinly. While admittedly there was a small minority that did not support her decision, instead believing that she, as a Princess, had a duty to Equestria first and foremost, they were fortunately a silent majority, with those stupid enough to become vocal about their opinions near instantly being shut down by the good ponies that wholeheartedly supported Celestia and her decision.

The orphanage that Celestia had adopted the six from, Better Days Orphanage, in particular had been the recipient of many new enterprising parents now looking to adopt as well. An unfortunate number of them had been nobles with the only goal of theirs following the trend set by the Princess, but fortunately Sunny Days always ran background checks into each pony wanting to adopt and either matching them with a foal that would either enjoy the distance between the parent and child or manage to turn the noble’s thoughts towards a kinder, more openhearted route, and if neither seemed feasible she would outright deny the adoption, fully acting in the interest of the foals she cared for. As a result, a large majority of nobles in Canterlot now had a child to look after and had turned their greedy wantings into simply wanting a better future for their foal and now becoming an active and thriving community. The local public school now managing to not only need to not rely on the government for funding but also thriving with extra donations leading to a better budget for teachers, desks, materials, and the cafeteria in particular receiving a rather large upgrade. While the group of foals Celestia had adopted unfortunately couldn’t go to the school as it simply wouldn’t be a feasible option, what with the six now essentially becoming super-celebrities in a sense, the school happily supplied two teachers to come and privately tutor the sisters, ensuring they were well taught and had a good education. 

Twilight returned her thoughts to her immediate surroundings, now seeing her and her sisters much closer to their destination. “Ooh, look! I can see it just over there!” Pinkie almost shouted, ecstatic at finally being there.

“Yes Pinkie,” Their mother stated, also seeming relieved to finally be there as well, “We can all see it. Are you all ready?” She asked her children.

There, just but a city block in front of them, lay Better Days Orphanage.



Princess Celestia sat at a table, Sunny Days sitting across from her. The alicorn took a small sip from a cup holding a special blend of tea that the orphanage’s caretaker had made herself, watching a large group of fillies and colts playing, some roughhousing and some playing smaller, more gentle games. Mother Sunny, as the ones who the Princess had adopted named her, could clearly and without a doubt see the pure love and motherly admiration in the eyes of the alicorn. 

“Well, Princess?”

Celestia started, shaken from her near reverie at the sight of the foals playing. “Oh, I’m sorry Sunny, I was distracted. What was the question?”

Sunny Days laughed a small amount, understanding the situation. “Don’t worry, Your Highness, I sometimes get distracted just watching them as well. I was asking how the tea was.”

“Oh!” Said Celestia, now aware. “It’s a splendid blend, the nutmeg mixes excellently with the honey. I was perchance wondering if I might be able to get the recipe?”

“Sorry, but this recipe has been in my family for generations,” Replied the earth pony. “It would take a lot more than whatever you’d offer me to give it up.”

To which the Princess raised a sly eyebrow and grinned, not saying a word. “Please don’t,” Came the now bashful voice of the caretaker, placing her hooves in her lap, “I’d be happy to make a few batches and send them to the palace.”

Celestia laughed then, her amusement palpable. “I’m merely joking, don’t worry. I can understand it being a family recipe and that it would hold great sentiment to you.”

Sunny Days chuckled nervously, taking a sip of her own cup of tea. Her expression brightened then, remembrance sprawled across her features. “Oh, Princess! I just remembered, we have some paperwork to take care of!”

The alicorn groaned, her head lowering until her snoot booped against the table they both sat at. “Please, no more paperwork. I was so distracted by my mountain of papers yesterday that I completely forgot about our visit here until the end of the night, and by then the girls had all fallen asleep.” She levelled her head, now laying it against the wood. “Can we please do it later?”

The brightly colored mare tittered, shaking her head in apparent amusement. “If you had arrived yesterday, you wouldn’t have to do them today!” She said in an almost infuriatingly chiding voice, as if she was chastising a foal for not doing their homework. “Besides, it’ll just be a few questions and one sheet for a survey. Should only take a few minutes.”

“Ugh,” Said Celestia, “Alright, let’s get it over with.”

“Okay,” The orphanage caretaker almost excitedly said, pulling out a few sheafs of paper. “First off, how are you and the girls getting along?”

The Princess brightened up at the question, sitting back up. “Fantastically! Each of the girls have been enjoying their time at the palace and I’ve certainly been enjoying looking forward to something besides just more paperwork after Day Court. Twilight Sparkle has been a delight to teach, she’s easily one of, if not the best student I’ve ever had. Rainbow Dash has managed to get me into a small morning routine, shaping up all this rump here.” She shook her posterior for emphasis, now a great deal more toned than when she had adopted the six. “Pinkie Pie has managed to brighten up so many rooms and so many ponies in the castle that she’s become one of the most popular residents it has seen for some time. 

Celestia took a small sip of tea and cleared her throat before continuing, “Rarity has given much of the staff a great outlet to express their opinions and complaints, and even managed to turn quite a bit of that gossip into positive advice around the palace. Dare I say, she’s been doing a better job of therapist than the one I professionally hired! Fluttershy has been a great sight around the palace, managing to worm her way into almost every single one of the staff’s hearts. I almost believe that if she asked, they’d revolt against me at just her word! Quite a sight, believe me. And Applejack has been a wonderful help in the kitchens and gardens, I don’t remember a time before now that the foliage around the palace has ever been greener and the food any tastier.”

“I take it that they’ve changed your life since you adopted them?”

“Oh, so much more than I think anypony had ever imagined.” Celestia would have smiled brighter at the comment if she wasn’t already beaming.

“That’s great to hear, Princess,” Said Sunny Days. “Secondly, do you fully believe that you can care for each of them until they are old enough to take care of themselves?”

The Princess seemed smug at the question, a wry grin on her face as she answered, “I’d be a terrible monarch if I wasn’t able to. If I can take care of a country for a thousand years alone, six foals are nothing. The only real trouble is doing both at the same time, so I’ve been having to divide my time carefully so neither are neglected. Fortunately, the girls are independent enough so that when my time can’t be divided, they aren’t going without.”

“That’s good. Do keep in mind that if you really need to, I’m happy to take them for a few days so you can get things back in order, alright?” The caretaker placed her papers down for a moment as she looked directly at the alicorn across from her while saying this. 

“Absolutely, I will remember it if I need to. And thank you for the offer, Sunny.” 

“No problem, Princess!” She picked the papers back up and wrote something down for a moment before then seeming to search for something. This continued for a moment until she seemed a tad exasperated and Celestia then noticed it.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, it’s just that a large number of these questions don’t really pertain to you. Things like ‘can you monetarily provide for them,’ ‘can you get assistance in taking care of them if needed,’ ‘if something happened to you, would you have a plan for that,’ stuff like that. Being a nigh immortal demi-goddess of the sun makes a lot of things rather trivial for you, doesn’t it?”

Celestia took the opportunity to look smug at this, replying, “Just a few things, my little pony.”

Sunny Days, for her part, rolled her eyes, “Right…” She drew the word out, letting it die with her breath. She looked over her paper before letting out a silent ah, her mouth hanging open for just a moment. “Do you believe the girls are enjoying their time at the palace?”

Celestia looked slightly pensive at the question but confidently answered, “I do believe so, yes. I’ve been having to kick a few habits that growing up here left them with, but for the most part, yes, they’ve been adapting and enjoying living at the palace. I had to change their rooming situation about a week after they came there because of a few issues with them bunching up into one bed every night, but afterwards we’ve had no trouble.”

“Can you truly say, with the utmost faith and confidence, that they are happy, though?”

The Princess looked at her tea for a moment, then her ears dropped and she hung her head. “I do want to say yes, and I do want to truly believe that they’re happy, but yet I worry what growing up in such an aristocratic and almost forcefully noble place would do to them. From everything I’ve seen, they absolutely are happy, but I can’t realistically answer that without some measure of doubt.” She looked towards the caretaker then. “There have been times where you haven’t noticed something going on here in the orphanage, correct?” At Sunny’s nod, she continued, “Since my time has been divided between my country and my daughters, I’ve learned of a number of things going on just beyond my nose that I didn’t notice until it was too late to do anything or reasonably handle the situation. I worry that something may happen with the girls that I won’t be around to do anything about, and then they’ll come to resent me because I wasn’t there to protect them.”

Sunny Days put her papers down yet again, but this time stood up and walked her way beside Celestia, who was now looking slightly confused at whatever Sunny was doing. With a restrained smug grin, she pat her hoof against Celestia’s shoulder and said, “Congratulations. You’re a mother now.” She moved back to her seat and smiled towards the Princess who looked ever so slightly indignant at her treatment. “I already asked the girls if they were happy at the palace. They -and I quote!- have never been happier in their lives. You’re doing a wonderful job, Celestia, they’re happy, well taken care of, and the few times so far that you have disappointed them, you’ve made up for it tenfold. Dare I say, they’re getting a little spoiled!”

The alicorn brightened up considerably at the praise, turning to look at her adopted daughters just a small pace away, still playing with a few of the foals that remained in the orphanage. 

“I have just one last thing, Princess.” 

“Oh?”

Sunny Days looked apologetic, but said, “Generally, the orphanage has a three month return policy, where if for any reason the parent does not want to keep the foal in question, be it a monetary situation, emotional, a tragic happenstance, or simply a general disconnect between parent and foal, then they can return the foal to the orphanage and we’ll happily accept them back into our custody and help sort the paperwork so that life can return to normal as quickly as possible for both parties.” She did see the Princess purse her lips, but yet remained quiet and smiling. “Considering the uniqueness of the situation with both parties in this circumstance, I decided to raise the length to six months, which ends today. I have no doubt what you’ll do, but I have to offer it anyway. Would you like to return the girls to the orphanage?”

Celestia did not look away from her daughters as she was asked this, instead looking fondly through the memories her and the six had already made in such a short time. Her fears laid to rest, Princess Celestia turned back to Sunny Days.

“No, I don’t believe I will.”