Is my marefriend a Changeling?

by Aether Nexus

4 months later

Days turned into weeks, which eventually turned into four months of dating, and Cheerilee couldn’t be happier. While her weekdays had mostly stayed the same, though tea or a spa trip with Rarty had become a weekly feature, her weekends were by far the highlight. Not every weekend of course, but most would involve Cheerilee traveling to Canterlot to visit Sunny Skies. At least that was all she would admit had changed, if you asked Derpy, who squealed for joy the loudest when the morning's post arrived, that answer had recently changed.

At least, Cheerilees was happy, while the two had been in regular contact, and she had been enjoying the time they shared, she had begun to wonder what exactly they were, while they were certainly a little bit past regular friendship, neither of them had brought the matter of commitment.

However, Cheerilee hadn’t heard from Sunny in over a week, and while Sunny’s last letter apologised that she’d be busy till the weekend, and probably wouldn’t have time to write, Cheerilee had begun to worry, especially after she heard about the Changeling attack. That was almost a week ago, yet Cheerilee still hadn’t heard from the mare who made her heartache.

She’d confided in Rarity during their weekly meet-up, a quiet tea party due to Rarity’s backlog of work, but Cheerilee was shocked to hear the unicorn, along with her friends had also been in Canterlot during the invasion, the unicorn had even seen their leader, Queen Crysalis banished from the city along with her army by Princess Cadenza and Prince Consort Shining Armors magic. Eventually, Cheerilee asked the question that had been worming at the back of her mind.

“Rarity, di … Did anypony … get seriously h-hurt during the invasion?”

“I’m afraid so darling, certainly among the guard, but the fighting was in the city as well, I heard that the castle infirmary was opened up to the public when the hospitals began to overfill.”

“And, was there any …” Cheerilee couldn’t finish her sentence, perhaps if she didn’t ask, it wouldn’t become a reality, perhaps Shrodingneigh’s cat would allow both to exist as long as she didn’t find out.

“The changelings wanted to capture as many ponies as possible, they needed us alive I believe, but I did note the Canter Bugle’s headline claimed some had occurred after the weekend.”

And there it was, it was only a possibility of course, but rational thought didn’t listen to reason like that. The rest of the tea party passed in relative silence, Rarity not managing to find the words of comfort, or successfully rekindle the conversation, and Cheerilee too deep in thought to manage it herself. After a pensive walk home, and after a sleepless night, Cheerilee went to work pretending everything was alright, at least that’s what she told the foals who asked if she was alright, fortunately, it had been the last school day before the weekend.

Cheerilee decided to take the long way home after school, passing through the market for some fresh vegetables, preparing a proper meal was beyond her ability that night and this was better than ordering takeout. The only stop she visited was Sugarcube Corner, and it wasn’t long until she opened the gate leading to her front door with a bag of Pinkies muffins dangling in her mouth. Salad along with two ice cream cupcakes might not be the best dinner, but Pinkie added two Banana Cupcakes as well, while she didn’t argue against the party mare much, she couldn’t help but wonder which Sunny would have preferred, hopefully, the banana would be healthy enough to justify calling them breakfast.

Cheerilee walked up the path to her house in a daze, she didn’t even notice the pony who was currently sitting patiently to the side of the door. It wasn’t until Cheerilee opened the door that she was startled by a quiet cough.

“Hello Cheerilee, h-how are you?”

That voice.

“I-I know I haven’t written to you in a while.”

Cheerilee looked to her side, and currently raising to her hooves, all be it slowly, was Sunny Skies.

“And I am so very sorry- “

The muffin bag began falling to the ground, forgotten as Cheerilee’s mouth was left agape at the unexpected visitor.

“It’s just-”

Sunny was cut off as a fuchsia blur dove into her, by the time the muffins hit the floor, Sunny found herself once again, pinned to the floor by the Earth Pony.

“Oh, Sunny! You're alive!” Cheerilee squealed as she wrapped Sunny in a tight hug.

*Hiiiisss* “Ow, not so hard please, I seem to be rather tender”

Realising she was hurting the pegasus, Cheerilee immediately let go and jumped several hoof lengths away, “Oh I’m so sorry.” With the revelation that Sunny was hurt, she took a look over the mare.

Sunny Days' entire coat seemed to be dishevelled as if it hadn’t been brushed in several days, her right wing seemed to have fewer feathers than her left wing, though both her wings seemed to be notably less fluffy than usual, and in desperate need of preening. The worst damage Cheerilee could see was to Sunny’s mane, in patches it seemed to be slightly shorter, notably more split ends, though that paled compared to what she could hear, it was fain, but years as a school teacher trying to pick up on whispered conversations picked up on Sunny’s breathing, it was faint, but the pegasus was wheezing as she breathed.

“By Celestia, Sunny what happened to you?”

Instead of answering, Sunny blushed and averted her eyes, she began to shift uneasily and became very interested in her hooves, Cheerilee couldn’t help but think of the CMC after one of their crusades, the look of a very guilty pony.

“Well, the thing is … The tru … You see …” Sunny tried to speak, but couldn’t find the words she was looking for, before taking a deep breath “I’ve been … busy?” Sunny said, flashing a nervous smile.

Years of teaching steeled resolve and hardened her response. Ponies spoke of Fluttershy’s “The Stare” however the glare of a school teacher who knew you weren’t speaking the truth could get even the most stubborn of foals to speak, Sunny faired no better.

“I may have been attacked during the Canterlot invasion.” Said a defeated Sunny.

“And the doctors let you walk around in your condition?”

With a nervous smile, Sunny replied “They didn’t stop me walking around like this.”

Cheerilee doubled down on her glare, “And what DID the doctor say?”

“Well, erm, I may have … not asked one.”

An eerie silence filled the porch of Cheerilees house, as neither mare wanted to disrupt the moment, but Sunny continued, crumbling under the pressure of Cheerilee’s disapproving stare.

“Everyone was busy after the attack, at the time, I honestly didn’t think I was too bad, so I never asked a doctor.”

“But you’re a mess! How has no pony told you to see a doctor!”

Sunny nervously fluttered her wings, “Well, I guess, no one noticed?”

“Oh Sunny, I'm so sorry, but what are you doing here? You should be in bed resting!”

“Well, that's not an option right now, I was sort of kicked out, but I’ll be able to go back in a few days, so, I was just wondering, if I could maybe stay here for the weekend?” Sunny asked nervously,

“Oh, of course, come in, let's get you inside,” Cheerilee said.

She moved aside and ushered Sunny inside. As the pegasus entered, she began to look around, almost in awe, Cheerilee couldn’t help but be reminded of the foals who entered her schoolhouse for the first time, seeing the fascination in the pegasus’s eyes almost made her laugh.

“Get settled on the couch, I’ll get a fire and kettle going, I’m assuming you’d like some tea?” Cheerilee said as she trotted past Sunny, making her way to the kitchen.

“Oh err, if you don’t mind, I would love some.”

With a task in mind, Cheerilee set about preparing a pot of tea and some biscuits, though she needn’t have bothered, by the time she returned to the living room, Sunny Skies was fast asleep, snoring away, seemingly without a care in the world.

The sight was adorable, and while Cheerilee wished she could take a picture of how cute the mare was being, she also noticed, just how tired Sunny looked.

***********

As Sunny Skies stirred awake, she was able to gather a few things, first, everything hurt, while nothing too new, her terrible sleeping position had not helped, and she could also smell something sweet in the air, how long had it been since she had woken up to the scent of brewing tea?

Opening her eyes, she began to piece together why she had allowed herself to sleep in such a bad position, she was in a house she’d never seen before, and while the blanket was slightly unexpected, it was by no means unwelcome. Two distinct sounds filled the room, the most notable was the crackly of an open fire, which also had a kettle resting above it, the second noise came from a pony who had taken more of her thoughts as of late than she would admit. Scratching away at a pile of papers, was Cheerilee, oblivious to the now awake Sunny Skies.

Looking out the window, Sunny saw that her namesake had begun to set, last she remembered it was late afternoon, had she really slept for that long? But who could blame her, she had been stretched far too thin following the aftermath of Chrysalis’s failed invasion, foolish question, she could write a list of who could and would blame her, she truly didn’t deserve to be resting in such a tranquil space.

Turning her attention back to Cheerilee, Sunny noticed that the schoolteacher was currently glaring holes into a piece of work, she even began to emit a disgruntled growl as she turned her head from side to side, attempting to understand what was currently in front of her. It was just too cute a moment, and before she knew it, Sunny had begun to giggle.

Startled by the noise, Cheerilee almost jumped out of her coat as she spun to look at the now-awake Pegasus.

“Sorry to disturb you, but has anyone told you how adorable you are when you’re trying to work something out?” Said Sunny.

Realising that she’d been caught in one of her more private habits, Cheerilee spluttered as she tried to compose herself, she’d almost succeeded too, but Sunny thought to herself ‘Where would be the fun in that?’

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this flustered, would you like me to close my eyes so you can compose yourself?”

Taken aback, Cheerilee blushed and sat up straight in shock. She was about to finally retort, but despite Sunny’s raised hoof, Cheerilee could still see the ends of a large grin peeping out from either side of the hoof, so instead, she decided that remain silent, hoping she wouldn’t encourage the pegasus to continue her teasing.

Dashing the School mare’s hopes to retain her dignity, Sunny continued, “Now you’re pouting, you’re so cute, you’ve set my heart a flutter Cheeri.”

“Sunny” Whined Cheerilee who had turned a bright red in embarrassment, “How long have you been awake?”

“Not long enough, but not long. Maybe a minute.”

Cheerilee grumbled in embarrassment, looking at anything else but the pegasus, when her eyes set upon the kettle she perked up.

“I’ve been keeping some tea brewing, it might be a little strong, but nothing some milk and sugar won't fix. Would you like some?”

“Yes please, I’d love some.”

Watching the earth pony prepare some tea, Sunny couldn’t help but feel melancholic, if only she could stay like this forever, but things had to change, she couldn’t keep her secret much longer. The only question was, whether Cheerilee would forgive her.

***********

The rest of the evening went by with small talk, salad, cupcakes and snuggles on the couch. After a while, Sunny even offered to help Cheerilee with her marking. Much to Cheerilee’s surprise, Sunny was a great help, they even had a chuckle together as they came across the works of the CMC, it was a details report of a recent ‘crusade’ as they called it, an adventure to find there cutie marks. Inevitably, Sunny made the mistake of asking where they’d come up with the idea of coating a boutique in apple sauce and tree sap, the pegasus believed that the report was a work of fiction, with clarification, and a long night of explaining the true events that followed the CMC.

Eventually, Cheerilee excused herself, it was late after all, not wanting to throw the pegasus out into the night, she let Sunny settle down for a night on the couch. As Cheerilee climbed the stairs to her room, she couldn’t help thinking to herself.

‘I never thought Sunny would be so good at looking over schoolwork, she might even be a bit better than me, could she work with kids? Does she even work?’

It was as Cheerilee got to her bed that she thought back over her letters and dates with Sunny. Each a beloved and cherished memory, but she realised that each time she’d tried to learn more about the pegasus, Sunny had managed to deflect the conversation. Crawling into her duvet, she could only think of one thing.

‘Do I even know who Sunny Skies really is?’

Author's Note:

Hey all, Aether here,

I'd hoped to finish this in one more chapter, but 4 months without an update is way too long, so I got around to proofreading.

Out of what I have left, I'd say theirs 1 proper chapter, but I might make an alternate ending.

Originally the time skip was going to be 2 months, but since it's been 4 months from the last post, I amended it to 4 months later, felt like an amusing thing/ 4th wall joke that would be funny for a 3 am brain, I really need to stop editing my stories after 1 am.

Comments

[Aiwhisper]

Oh nice an update.

[Xanderfox]

Ahh yes Sunny can't hide she is a teacher from a fellow educator. Honestly I like a bit of Celestia squirming, monsters and politics don't phase her, but intimacy and she as awkward as anyone else. And while we readers know Sunny is Celestia poor Cheerilee has not reason to suspect even the possibility of a her girlfriend being a disguised Alicorn, it's going to break her brain a little

[Bronycommander]

nice to see this updated, better late than never

[The Weaver]

I'd hoped to finish this in one more chapter...

...Out of what I have left, I'd say theirs 1 proper chapter, but I might make an alternate ending.

You could make it two if you are feeling ambitious; a criminally incompetent attempt over in Canterlot trying to piece together Sunny's not-life (as 'she' likely doesn't exist except the few times she is on dates).

If using Cheerilee it'll need to be a weekend... though it brings to my mind what happens if Cheerilee gets sick. Does she have a sub?

[The Weaver]

11877716
The sad things is... the core of the story hasn't even shown up. She doesn't even think Sunny is a changeling. Yet.

[Aether Nexus]

11878220
Yeah, in hindsight a different name would fit better, my original concept was for the story to start when Sunny turned up after the invasion, and have Cheerilee question herself and leed to a few terrible puns, buuut times are a changeling ^^