Changeling Princess Final Chapter[4]

by Moondrip

Epilogue

Several nights later….

Cloudsdale Stadium roars with a full crowd as techno colored fireworks burst in the night sky, on purpose this time.

Five Wonderbolts screech through the air in a V formation. Each Wonderbolt leaves a different colored glittering trail that combines into a rainbow. As the formation flies over the stadium’s center, a firework mortar explodes into innumerable pyrotechnic stars. The crowd gives a standing ovation as the sparkling embers fall around them.

High above the crowd, a private booth overlooks the stadium. It’s walls are covered with Wonderbolts’ paraphernalia. An unused sports bar sits in the back. In the front near it’s large sliding glass door overlooking a private balcony, rests Pupa Tinea, in her pony form, and Feather Wild. Tinea wears a light pink dress while Wild wears a tuxedo with an unbuckled collar.

“One plus to having a father in the Wonderbolts is you get the best seats,” Wild says before chewing on some snacks from they table.

“I suppose,” Tinea says while observing the sold out seats in the stadium. “I’m still surprised the games went on after everything that happened.”

Wild shrugs.

“Well, I suppose you’re still new. I wasn’t joking when I told you catastrophes are fairly regular in Equestria.”

A knock shakes the room’s door, and Wild and Tinea jump. They peer around nervously as the door bursts open. Peregrine & Star Shot enter the booth. The bat pony mare wears a dark blue, formal military dress covered with metals. And Star Shot wears a tux with only one visible burn mark.

Star Shot eagerly slides between Wild & Tinea, and violently shakes both their hooves at the same time.

“Tinea, Wild. Pleasure to bump into you tonight.”

Tinea and Wild awkwardly glance to each other, and then to Wild’s mom still silently observing them all in the background. Her face void of emotion.

Star Shot follows their gaze to his wife. He snaps his hoofs, and wraps a legs around Wild’s neck as he drags Wild over to the empty bar. He whispers into his son’s ear.

“Now, don’t worry I’ve talked to her about the…”

The conversation quickly leaves Tinea’s ear shot. She steps closer to them, but is stopped by Peregruine’s hoof on her shoulder. A shiver runs through her spine.

Peregrine nods towards the balcony.

“We need to talk, princess.”

---

Peregrine and Tinea step onto a large cloud balcony where the calm night sky contrasts with the rowdy stadium below. Tinea walks over to the edge, and looks over to the opening ceremonies. Her hooves grip the soft railing unnecessarily firmly. Unfortunately, the hundreds of ponies marching around the track with their town and city flags on display didn’t distract her, from her fears much.

Peregrine slides the glass door shut behind them, and canters over to Tinea . Her composure cold as ice.

Sweat rolls down Tinea’s brow as she grips the cloud railing even more firmly, as she attempts to hide her trembling.

“I, wonder what Wild and Star Shot are talking about.”

“I imagine my approval of his academic pursuits.”

Tinea relaxes her grip on the guard rail. Her gaze remains on the stadium’s field, but her mind is somewhere else as she warmly smiles.

“Oh? That’s good to hear.”

Peregrine glances back at her son and husband, and rolls her eyes.

“Believe to or not, I don’t have an issue with what field he pursues as an adult. Just so long as he fully puts is heart and mind into, and stops goofing off… Well, some illegal exceptions withstanding.”

Tinea sighs, and turns to Peregrine.

“I never meant to get Wild—”

—Peregrine holds up a hoof to silence Tinea.

“Don’t waste my time stating the obvious facts of this situation.”

Tinea sulks like a sad puppy. She hovers slightly off the ground, and raises her front hoofs like they are already in shackles.

Peregrine raises an eyebrow.

“I’m not here to arrest you.”

Tinea’s wings stop, and she clumsy thuds to the ground.

“If I was, I’d have brought guards. I don’t need them, but it’s the standard procedure.”

Tinea rubs her head as she stands.

“Then… why did you stop by here tonight?”

Peregrine sighs.

“Do you know how I got my position as General of the Night?”

Tinea shakes her head.

“Oh? Well, I’ll keep it short then.”

Peregrine coughs into her hoof.

“As a young foal, I got it into my head to join the royal guards. I honestly don’t know what gave me the idea, but that ear worm stuck, no matter how many lectures I got from my parents about the foolish endeavor.”

Peregrine stares past Tinea, into the stadium. She notices one Wonderbolt trip out of step behind the Cloudsdale flag bearers. They wave to the crowd trying to hide their error. Peregrine frowns as she takes a mental note for later.

“Anyway, once I was a cadet, my fairy tale met reality. I found myself despised, and distrusted by my fellow cadets. Even the instructors.”

Peregrine grins a fang at Tinea.

“Any guesses why?”

Tinea gulps, “Your, your intimidating aura.”

Peregrine lets out, what some might describe as a chuckle.

“Correct, albeit vague.”

Peregrine stretches out out her bat like wings. Their shadows stretches over the balcony & Tinea.

“My kind have a rather infamous reputation amongst other ponies.”

Peregrine lowers, and tucks her wings away.

“We’re, kindly, referred to as Moon sympathizers.”

Tinea glances up towards the Mare in the Moon.

“Though factually, and historically, incorrect, the rumor persists to this day.”

Peregrine paces back and forth before Tinea.

“Naturally, when this, sympathizer, signed up to guard Celestia, it raised a lot of eyebrows. I thought I could counter this by simply outshining every other cadet , and crush academy records.”

Peregrine shrugs nonchalantly.

“That task turned out easier than expect, but unfortunately had the opposite effect… Why is the bat trying so hard? What’s it up to?”

Peregrine scowls.

“It got to the point I couldn’t even pretend to be ignorant of it anymore.”

Tinea gulps, and asks, “So… How did it stop.”

Peregrine turns to face Tinea, and peers down at her.

“On the day of graduation, Celestia visited our academy, and quickly overheard the whispers.”

“So, she punished them?”

“No. She gave me a position as her personal day guard. Where ever, and when ever she traveled I’d be her ever present shadow.”

Tinea’s face lights up.

“Right where everypony can see you!”

Peregrine raises an eyebrow.

“It’s good to see your intelligence wasn’t merely another one of my son’s hyperboles,” Peregrine says with a dry tone.

Tinea blushes, and looks down at her hooves.

“Still, I don’t get why you are telling me this story.”

Peregrine shakes her head slightly disappointed as she reaches under a flap in her dress, and pulls out a scroll with Celestia’s seal on it.

“You’ll find, being General of the Night has it’s benefits.”

She shoves the scroll into Tinea’s hoofs, and walks towards the glass doorway.

“Celestia’s chance, her kindness was all I needed to get to where I am today,” Peregrine says over her shoulder.

Tinea glances down to the sealed scroll, and breaks it open. The title reads, “Decree for Equestrian Citizenship.”Tinea’s eyes bolt up to Peregrine as she leaves the balcony.

“I’m giving you your chance.”

Peregrine shuts the glass door behind her.

Tinea opens the scroll and carefully reads every line. Her gaze getting stuck on Celestia’s signature at the bottom.

“What ya reading?” Feather Wild asks.

Tinea jumps at the question. She lowers the scroll to find a curios Wild on the other side.

“Nothing, I mean. Nothing to worry about”

Tinea tucks the scroll under her wing.

“Right…”

Wild points behind himself.

“Well, my folks just left for the E.U.P. ball, so it’s just us again. ”

Tinea relaxes a little.

“Oh?”

Wild glances behind Tinea, and leaps to the balcony’s edge. He hangs dangerously over the side, at least, it would be dangerous for any non-pegasi pony. Wild sees the flag bearers are on the stadiums last stretch. Tinea barely raises an eyebrow at Wild’s eccentric behavior.

​“Shoot, we missed most of the beginning,” Wild says as he hangs over the railing.

Wild sulks back from the balcony’s edge, and turns to Tinea solemn. His mode proceeds to take a 180 when he meets Tinea’s gaze.

“So, what did mum speak to you about?”

“I told you, nothing to worry about.”

Wild rolls his eyes.

“Girls and their secrets.”

Tinea chuckles.

“We talked about her approving of your studies.”

Wild fist bumps the air.

“I know, isn’t that the greatest news!”

Behind the pair, the flag bearer’s in the stadium come to a stop, and a pony with a torch in it’s mouth runs towards the stadium’s repaired center.

“And, she covered the illegal alien, citizenship issue for me.”

Tinea partially lifts the scroll in her wings, and Wild’s jaw drops. He prepares to leap into the air, freezes mid leap, and takes a formal posture.

“I can say, I certainly did not see that coming.”

Below them, the torch pony runs up a spiraling staircase surrounding a massive cloud torch in the stadium’s center. The runner tosses their torch into the larger one, and fire erupts. The whole stadium cheers.

The giant torch’s light casts a warm glow over Tinea and Wild’s faces as they pause to observe the celebration.

“Well, we might have missed most of the opening ceremonies, but this is only the beginning,” Tinea says with a faint, but growing smile.

“Yeah, I suppose that’s true,” Wild says, as he returns Tinea’s smile.

Wild kisses Tinea’s cheek, and her face turns beet red. The changeling princess faints onto the soft cloud ground as Wild looks down confused, but amused.

---

Cadmean rests on a small nimbus cloud overlooking Tinea and Wild’s balcony.

“Don’t you just love happy endings?”

Cadmean grins mischievously.

“So ripe for future conflicts in the sequel.”

Cadmean hears a growl next to her, and she turns pale.She slowly turns to the sound, and finds an angry Laelaps hovering next to her.

Cadmean sulks.

“Bats.”

Comments

[Starlight Nova]

The proceeding episodes 1-3 of the audio drama that leads into this final chapter can be found here:

Why not make those into stories as well?

[Moondrip]

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The audio drama & scripts for this came first, but as voice actor availability changed, the only way to add closure was to recast key characters, and delay, or convert into a regular story. I took the story route. I don't have plans to convert the others yet, as I found while doing this, turning it into a short story from a script was a lot more tedious and time consuming than I expected(I thought it would take a week, took over a month). Or, to TLDR it, finishing the story started in the audio drama part took top priority.