It's been many, many years since Nightmare Moon's banishment. Seeking to fill the hole in her heart, Celestia adopts six little fillies. Little does she know that they'll do much more than that.
991 years. That's how long it's been since Nightmare Moon took over Luna and was banished. Every single year, Celestia has tried and failed to abate her pain over the incident. Finally, she has had enough of the hole in her heart and seeks to fill it, even if only temporarily. Becoming a mother to six seems like the best course of action to that end, doesn't it?
A little idea I had that I hadn't seen done before. Proofread and reviewed by Azure5555.
Princess Celestia, Monarch of Equestria and the force that drives the sun, took a sip of tea. She looked over the forms as she drank, idly pondering her decision. Oh, if only Luna were here. Maybe she could provide some reason why. Smiling, she signed the adoption forms.
One week prior…
“Dash! I thought I told you to make your bed!” Twilight Sparkle irritatedly shouted at her for what had to have been the 8th time that month alone.
“Relax, Twi, I’ll make it later,” Came the laid-back reply of Rainbow Dash, lying around the lofts of the orphanage.
“No you won’t, you’ll just procrastinate until it’s bedtime again, like you always do!”
“It’s a hopeless venture, Twilight. It’s better to just let her keep her bed a mess,” Came the sophisticated voice of Rarity Belle, patting a hoof across her withers.
“Yeah, Dashie doesn’t like cleaning, do you?” The ever jubilant voice that carried to both belonged to Pinkie Pie, pronking around the kitchen.
“Nope! I’d rather be flying through the clouds, practicing my tricks for when oneday I become a Wonderbolt!” RD spread her hooves wide as she exclaimed it, mirth lighting her eyes despite none of the other being able to see them.
“Oh, please, everyone stop fighting… I’ll make your bed if you want me to, Rainbow,” Was the ever quiet voice of Fluttershy, cutting through the loud voices despite her voice carrying like a whisper.
“Rainbow Dash, if Fluttershy makes your bed, you ain’t getting any of the apple soup!” Applejack’s rustic and southern accent shocked Dash, she wouldn’t really do that, would she?
“You aren’t serious, are you, AJ?”
“I’m perfectly serious, sugarcube. Make your bed or else you aren’t getting any soup.” The orange earth pony didn’t even turn around, hiding her smirk.
The sky blue pegasus stared at her sister for a moment before dashing towards the orphanage’s shared bedrooms. Applejack chuckled, stirring the soup for dinner later. While the sounds of Dash making her bed wafted throughout the halls, the others went through the process of preparing dinner for all of the colts and fillies at their shared home. Twilight running through a checklist of various things that needed to be done, Rarity and Pinkie working together to make the room look bright and cheerful, Fluttershy setting out the silverware and utensils needed for dinner, and AJ making the food. The giant pot easily held more than enough soup for all of the children still living at the orphanage, including the six that were making the dinner.
None of them had memories of their parents or any family, aside each other. From what Sunny Days, the caretaker of Better Days Orphanage, had said, each of them had arrived when they were foals, and strangely enough, all at the same time. A large basket with six fillies and a card saying that whoever it was would never be able to take care of them. It held the names of the fillies and how sorry whoever it was couldn’t take care of them, but did still wish them a better home. Even before the revelation, they had always felt close, and with the note and basket, they started to officially call each other their sisters. While they were lucky the note also held their birthdays, they didn’t celebrate them. The six celebrated the day they came to the orphanage as their birthdays, all at once.
They took care of the younger kids, working together like a family only could. Despite none of them being past age 10, they still worked as hard as they could to lighten the load for Sunny Days, especially as she was getting on in years. Maybe not enough to retire, but enough that some things were just simply out of her ability. She couldn’t quite do the laundry as efficiently as she used to, the dinner for each day had always taken much more time than she had, and helping monitor the young ones all by herself took so much out of her, even now. Despite it all though, she still did whatever she could, handling paperwork and the foals, and trying everyday to get homes for the little colts and fillies she felt so motherly over.
“Girls,” Called out a familiar motherly voice from down the hall, “How is dinner coming?”
“Everything is going according to plan, Mother Sunny!” Twilight called back.
“That's wonderful,” Sunny Days said as she walked in. Her coat was a bright, sunny yellow while her mane was colored a light sky blue. Dark blue eyes looked over kindly of her charges. Some wrinkles and grey patches gave her a more aged appearance, though they didn't slow her spryness. “If all goes well, we should have a few visitors come after supper. There was even one mare who showed interest in you six. So I want you all to be on your best behavior, alright?”
“Yes, Mother Sunny,” Echoed five young voices.
The older mare mentally counted the number of fillies in the room before coming to the conclusion that one was missing. “Where's Rainbow Dash?”
Applejack chuckled before answering, “She's makin’ her bed.”
The caretaker slyly grinned, but still felt surprised. “And how ever in the world did you manage that?”
“I have my ways, Mother Sunny.”
Sunny Days shook her head in amusement. “See to it that your ways don't get you in any trouble, young missy.”
“Yes ma’am.”
Princess Celestia followed the orphanage’s caretaker down the hall, marvelling at the many pictures of bright, smiling colts and fillies who all had at one point called this place their home. She could only hope to make whoever she adopted smile just as wide as these did.
“Here we are, Princess,” Sunny Days suddenly said. “I know you said that you would rather adopt more than one, and I’ve got a group here as inseparable as can be. They all came here on the same night and haven’t left each other since. Frankly, I think they only way to get them out of here is to take them all in one batch.”
The solar monarch hummed in response, thinking of what could possibly make them so. “I know that look, Princess. That’s the look of one that isn’t expecting six fillies all at once.”
“Excuse me, six fillies?”
“Yes. I’m not sure of the story behind them, just that they came in a large basket all together with this card.” She showed Celestia the card that came with the foals, having held onto it for this.
-I’m sorry. I wish that I could care for these beautiful fillies, but I know that trying would only bring them a sad upbringing. They deserve so much more than that, and I truly hope that they can find better homes with better families. The lavender unicorn is Twilight Sparkle. The bright white unicorn is Rarity Belle. The sky blue pegasus is Rainbow Dash. The butter yellow pegasus is Fluttershy. The orange earth pony is Applejack. The bubblegum pink earth pony is Pinkie Pie. Please, I beg you, care for them as if they were your own foals. They have such a bright future together.
-LM
When Celestia saw the initials, she couldn’t possibly believe her eyes. She hadn’t seen those letters in that context for close to ten centuries. It should be logically impossible for her to have done something like this!
“Princess?”
Celestia had to avert her eyes and control her breathing to avoid losing control. “I-I’m fine, Sunny Days.” The alicorn breathed in, controlling herself. “If you would be so kind, I would like to see the six fillies.”
“As you wish, madam.” The sunny pony opened a plain door in front of them, leading to a small room with a table in the center and six fillies all behind it, looking nervous.
“Hello there, my little ponies,” Celestia greeted. A few gasps were heard before each bowed in turn to her. “Please, you don’t have to bow. Today I am not just the Princess, I am looking to be a mother.”
“A mother?” The lavender unicorn the note said was Twilight Sparkle asked.
“Yes. I am looking to adopt somepony, and you six have all caught my eye. Am I to understand that you’re all fantastic friends?”
“You’re wrong.” The impetulant voice came from Rainbow Dash, her mane an actual rainbow.
“Dash!” Twilight hissed at her, trying to reign her in.
“We’re not friends.” Her voice was full of confidence and trust in the others. “We’re family.”
Celestia ohed in surprise, looking at each of them in a new light. “So would it be too much to assume that I could only have one of you?”
“With all due respect, Princess,” Applejack threw a harsh glare at the confidently frowning Rainbow, “We’d much rather stay here than be seperated.”
“Yeah! Besides, we need to help out Mother Sunny as much as we can!” The light, bubbly voice came from Pinkie Pie, looking as if she was about to burst from excitement.
Celestia looked behind her at a smiling Sunny Days, a light blush coloring her cheeks. “They just started calling me that one day. I can’t find it in my heart to tell them no.”
“Well,” The white alicorn said, a hoof holding her chin while being propped up by the other, looking thoughtfully to the ceiling, “What if I got some help for Mother Sunny? Would you be willing to come with me then?”
“And live in the palace like a noble?” The inquisitively proper voice was Rarity’s, her eyes starting to twinkle at the idea.
“Yes, you’ll all live with me in the castle. There you’ll be able to get the best education and never have a want for anything that you couldn’t have.”
Each of the fillies’ eyes lit up at the prospect, thinking of what their futures could hold as princesses. Fluttershy, though, held a doubt she voiced. “What would happen to Mother Sunny?”
Sunny Days walked in, stepping behind the foals. “I’ll still be here, running the orphanage if any of you ever want to come and visit me.” She gave a hug to the filly who was scared of leaving her. “I promise, you’ll always have a home with me even if nopony else would give you one.” The other fillies gathered around for a group hug. One big happy family, as strange as it is, Celestia thought.
The hug went on just long enough for it to be awkward, and although they did separate soon after, the motherly mare stayed behind the fillies, providing comfort and reassurance. Twilight cleared her throat and said, “What do you say, Princess?”
“Yeah,” Came the scratchy, tomboyish voice of Rainbow Dash, “Think you can handle us?”
“I’ll give you a fair warning, we can be rather difficult at times,” Was the ever sophisticated voice of Rarity.
“It’s either all or nothing with us,” Said the rustic voice of Applejack.
“We’ll try not to cause too much trouble, but I can’t promise anything…” The so quiet and timid voice of Fluttershy cut through the air.
“It’s gonna be a party from start to end!” Pinkie Pie’s ever high pitched and happy voice came through.
Princess Celestia rose from her seat, flaring out her wings as she lifted each of the fillies onto her back. “I think I’ll be taking these now,” She said to Sunny Days as the foals whooped and cheered. The white alicorn, now saddled with six overactive foals, ran out of the orphanage, taking to the skies and giving the foals a wide view of Canterlot and the orphanage.
For the first time in all of 991 years, Celestia genuinely smiled.
“What about your Wonderbolt posters and figurines?”
The rainbow maned filly’s eyes flashed open in realization. From her usual perch on the beams of the orphanage’s ceiling rafters, she dropped down, flaring her wings out to slow her descent enough that she wouldn’t break her hooves upon landing. “I forgot.”
Applejack looked over at the scene, curiosity and questioning coloring her features. She looked over to Rarity, who was currently packing her many sewing items and cloths, and asked, “Ya wouldn’t think she’d forget about that stuff, would you?”
“AJ, I’ve come to expect many strange things from this family. Between Twilight’s obsession with books, Dash’s laziness, and Pinkie being Pinkie, it doesn’t surprise me anymore.” Rarity continued to pack her items, not paying attention to Rainbow Dash in a massive hurry, trying desperately to pack all of her Wonderbolt paraphernalia, or Pinkie Pie leaving the room. “Besides, have you seen a family of six orphans try to pack for being adopted by Princess Celestia herself?” She regarded her rustic earth pony sister with a satirical look.
AJ smirked at Rarity’s sarcasm, knowing it was simply banter between family. “I can’t say I have, Rarity. I suppose some things might be forgotten in the rush.”
The group continued with the packing, silence reigning over for a moment. Until, that is, Twilight opened the door, a list in purple magic. “Fluttershy’s packed, Pinkie’s packed, who else here is done packing?”
Rarity placed a final sewing needle in a case before closing it and softly zipping closed the pocket which held it. “I’m finished, Twilight.”
The lavender unicorn ticked a box on the sheet, before repeating, “Who else has finished?”
The earth pony in the room placed a small journal in her suitcase, answering, “I’m almost done, sugarcube! Just a few more things and I should be all good.”
“Alright then, AJ. Is Rainbow done?”
“No!” They all heard a scratchy, tomboyish voice from down the hall.
Twilight deadpanned. “She forgot her Wonderbolt stuff, didn’t she?”
Rarity chuckled. “You’d think that as much as she goes on and on about them, she would take better care of her things.”
Twilight returned the chuckle. “Tell that to the journal I got her for Hearth’s Warming.”
Applejack smiled, amused at her sisters’ antics. “We all have some bad habits.” She casually walked up to Twilight, throwing a hoof around her neck. “We keep each other in check, that’s what makes us family, ain’t it?”
“That and we have enough dirt on each other to bury us together eighteen times over,” Twilight casually added.
“That too,” Rarity observed.
Princess Celestia, with her small entourage of guards, numbering only two, approached Better Days Orphanage, established in Canterlot. Despite having known of it since the founding, she rarely took notice of the orphanage, as there were several factors that simply prevented her from having a closer look.
One such thing was that it was established near the edge of town, away from the palace. Not far enough that it would take an obscene amount of walking to arrive there, but far enough that one had to be rather high in the castle before they could see it. A simple building, it was brown with some tan stripes along its walls, but down near the foundation was a pure whitewash, having been painted on by many foals, fillies, and colts. Several designs were on there, from childish drawings of Sunny Days and the other foals, to simple scenery paintings and even some more professional looking pieces along it. The sheer amount of them made Celestia ponder how many children had been here.
Refocusing her objectives, the Princess of the Sun continued on her path, resolve coloring her features. She approached the door, noticing once again the paintings done by the many surely wonderful colts and fillies to have been here. The white alicorn knocked, ordering her guards to stay outside. Being the faithful, if pointless, guards they were, both took positions beside the door, forming a sort of restriction by presence. Restraining a few giggles, Celestia turned to the opening door and the bright smile of Sunny Days, caretaker of the orphanage.
“Hello Princess! The girls are almost ready.”
“I would hope so. How are they?”
“They’re doing good. A little… forlorn to be leaving, but they’re happy.” The mare waved the Princess inside, saying, “Come in, come in! I’m certain they’ll be happy to see you.”
The alicorn calmly walked inside, marvelling once again at the many portraits of colts and fillies decorating the walls. Both enjoyed some small talk, going along the halls until it opened into a large foyer. Inside of it were a small pile of packed bags and suitcases that evidently belonged to the six Celestia had come for, while said six were entertaining and saying their goodbyes to some of the other orphans that came to say farewell.
All except Twilight Sparkle. She sat near the pile of belongings, reading what appeared to be a journal, smiling and wiping away a few tears. Sunny Days walked over to her, sitting beside her and wrapping a hoof around the filly. In response, she turned and tightly gripped the mare, hugging her warmly. “Mother Sunny,” Said the tearing filly, “Thank you for everything. I promise I’ll never forget you.”
“And I won’t forget you either, Twilight. I’ll always have your smiling picture to come to and look at.” The lavender unicorn let go, holding onto the journal thoughtfully. Then without warning, pressed it into her caretaker’s hooves. “Twilight, I can’t take this,” Said Sunny. “I know what it is, it’s the diary you’ve kept ever since I got you it. You’ve written in it everyday, and it holds many precious memories. Memories you should keep.”
Twilight took the diary back when the mare offered it. Setting it on top of the pile of items from her sisters and herself, she turned back around and hugged the caretaker again. Voice shaking and tears flowing freely, she said, “I love you Mother Sunny.”
Sunny Days couldn’t hold back the tear that came with the phrase. And while she had prepared for a hard goodbye, what the mare didn’t prepare for was the rest of the sisters coming into the hug. In almost perfect unison, she could hear, “I love you Mother Sunny,” from each of the fillies. Unable to hold back the tears, she expanded the hug to wrap around each of them,
“I love each of you so, so much. I promise, if you ever need me again, just send me a letter. I’ll be there as quick as I can.”
The group hug lasted several heart-shattering moments, enough for Celestia to bear witness to a few of her own tears. Soon enough, it broke up, each of the mares wiping away their tears. Wordlessly, the fillies started getting their items, gearing up for their adoption. They each passed through to the other orphans, saying goodbyes, sharing hoof bumps, and giving hugs. Soon enough, Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie were lined up in front of Celestia, tears still gracing their eyes but smiles and hope reigning their expressions.
The Princess of the Sun had to fight back her own objections to separating them but had to say something, lest her own heart start to fight her. “I know that I may never measure up to what Mother Sunny has given you all,” She said, trying to maintain a stable voice, “But if you truly wish to stay here with her, I will not force any of you to come with me. I will do the best I can to provide for each of you, and I would love you like any mother would. It would hurt me more to see you sad than it would make me happy to call each of you my own children.”
The sisters looked to one another for a moment, looking for assurance, when they all had the same thought. Each of them nodded before putting down their bags, readying into a pouncing position, and jumping onto Princess Celestia, pinning her to the floor while being cuddled by six fillies. Sunny Days came up to her, smiling. “I think that should answer that.”
Princess Celestia, flanked by her newly adopted fillies and her two guards, led the way towards Canterlot Castle. Upon reaching the gates, the guards stationed in front bowed to her before opening the wrought iron fence. Nodding her head, the alicorn continued onwards to the castle, going at a slow enough so as for the children to marvel at the scenery. Many “Oohs!” and “Ahs!” were heard behind her, bringing yet another smile to her face.
Eventually, the group reached large double doors carved with many designs of previous battles and wars, enough to be a story in and of itself. Celestia stepped to the side of the group, allowing the six a fair chance to marvel at it before encasing the massive wooden constructions in her golden glow, slowly opening them for dramatic effect. “Welcome to Castle Canterlot.”
Beyond the door was a large entrance hall, opening up enough for even a pegasus to fly around comfortably. Many grand marble pillars lined the entrance and the walls, along with several large stained glass windows. Guards, their golden armor glinting in the light, were stationed throughout the room, some patrolling through the air, others walking behind the pillars. A golden-amber light flowed through the windows, creating an air of royalty and wealth.
Celestia stepped in front of the fillies, seeing the shared expression of a dropped jaw and wide eyes. She smirked lightly, asking, “Impressed? We have quite a bit more to go through, my little ponies.”
The tour of the castle went smoothly, the six adopted sisters seeing the throne room, the kitchens, the guard barracks, the gardens, and even the royal quarters.
“And this is my room,” Celestia said, opening the door. Inside was a sparsely decorated room, a desk sitting near the front with a large, queen size canopy bed at the back. A few bookshelves sat opposite of the desk, farther from the door. Many different sized tomes and scrolls alike were held in the shelves, some as dusty as if they came from ruins. Twilight gasped in joy at the sight of the bookshelves and immediately ran to them, grabbing three at random and opening them, flipping through the pages with both delicacy and speed.
“She’s a bit of a book enthusiast,” Rarity supplemented.
“Yep. You set a book in front of that filly, she’ll read it,” Applejack added.
Celestia hummed in thought for a moment. “That might be useful to know.”
Twilight kept flipping through them, an expression of utter glee and excitement upon her muzzle, until a golden capped hoof bumped her on the withers. Blushing, the lavender unicorn turned around, seeing the amused grin of her new foster mother. “Sorry…” The embarrassed filly said.
Celestia only smiled more. “Just wait until you see the royal library.”
“There’s a library here?!” The ecstatic filly asked, bouncing.
“Yes, and we’ll go there next. But first,” She said, motioning for the others to gather closely, “Let’s lay a few rules down. I’m not sure how Mother Sunny let you act, but here you will behave. Firstly,” The alicorn said, looking directly at Twilight, “You will ask for anything you wish to play with or look at. If I’m not around, look for a responsible grownup to ask. Secondly, before entering any room that is closed, knock first. You will respect the privacy of any and all who are here.”
“Yes ma’am,” The fillies said in unison.
“Thirdly,” Celestia said, wearing a warm smile, “As I'm certain you all know, I am the princess. While I will make as much time as possible for all you, I will be busy throughout the day. I promise, I won't neglect any of you, and please tell me if you feel like I am, but I am very busy during the day. Unless it's an emergency or if you feel unsafe, please don't come to me for every little thing. The staff can more than take care of anything small, like a snack or if you want to go somewhere.” The alicorn layed down, resting head height with the fillies. “I will be more than available everyday after court and before bed. I will try to spend as much time as I can with each of you.”
“Pinkie Promise?”
Celestia turned to the source of the noise, coming from a stern faced Pinkie Pie. “Excuse me?”
“If you’re really serious, Pinkie Promise!”
“I’m sorry, I don’t know what a Pinkie Promise is.”
Twilight supplemented the answer. “Pinkie made it to, as she says, ‘prove you’re really a friend.’”
“Yeah!” The pink mare added. “Nopony ever breaks a Pinkie Promise!”
Celestia rose from her lying position on the floor, sitting on her haunches and flicking her ear. “And how exactly does one make a ‘Pinkie Promise,’ Pinkie?”
Pinkie Pie rose up on her haunches exactly like her foster mother did, mimicking that actions as she said them. “Cross my heart,” She slashed over her barrel in the area where her heart would be, “Hope to fly,” She rapidly moved her hooves up and down to the sides of her, almost like wings, “Stick a cupcake in my eye!” From somewhere, she pulled out a cupcake and smashed it into her left eye, soon licking it up with an extraordinarily long tongue. “Mmm, blueberry!”
“Don’t worry, you don’t actually have to use a cupcake, just do the motions,” Rainbow Dash added.
Growing a smile, Celestia did as Pinkie had. “Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” Instead of using a cupcake, she softly placed a hoof against a closed eye, removing it soon after.
Each of the girls smiled wide at the Pinkie Promise, happy to be able to trust their princessly mother.
“Now, shall we move to the library?”
“And here is where we will all gather each day for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.”
“Woah.”
“What she said.”
Each of the six fillies looked past the wide double door entrance, seeing a very ornate table and plush cushions set around it. A white table cloth with a pattern of the sun and moon lay atop it, set with flowers in a small vase on top of it. Large stained-glass windows sat near the entrance and at the back of the room, providing some well themed light, seeming like sunset at almost any time of day.
“Again, this is simply astounding!” Rarity said, transfixed by the decor. “Ooh, I can think of so many wonderful ideas to use in my designs!”
“Yeah, Rares, it’ll be named ‘Ode to lunch,’” Rainbow teasingly said.
“No, I will name it, ‘The Rainbow for lunch,’” Rarity snarkily returned.
“Pfft, yeah, like you’d eat me.”
The white unicorn airily waved a hoof around, saying, “No, you would be much too bitter for my tastes. Too gamey.”
“Speaking of gamey,” Celestia input, attempting to stop the inevitable fight before it again, “It is about time for dinner. What would each of you say to having a professionally cooked meal?”
Rainbow Dash was about to refuse when a loud rumbling come from her stomach. “Yeah, I’m pretty hungry. We haven’t eaten since lunch, right?” She asked sheepishly.
“Yeah,” Twilight agreed, “We all had a light lunch, since we couldn’t stay still and didn’t want to lose it on the way here.”
“Well,” The Princess said, grasping a small bell on a table near a door set in the back of the room, “Let’s eat.”
She shook the bell, to which a unicorn maid and an earth pony chef wearing stereotypical attire came out, the maid holding a small notebook and pen in her magic. “What would you like, Your Highness?” The chef asked. Celestia looked to the fillies at the question, smiling warmly, yet curiously.
Rainbow Dash flapped up to the chef, wearing the biggest grin she ever had. “I'll take a Double Triple Bossy Deluxe on a raft, four by four, animal-style, extra shingles with a shimmy and a squeeze, light axle grease, make it cry, burn it, and let it swim.”
Stunned silence floated around the room until Celestia said, smirking lightly, “Just so you all know, it is a very large rule here to not waste your food.” She turned towards the chef in his attire, still smirking. “Chef Ramsay, you have my express permission that if anypony does not finish their meal, you may lock the doors until such time as they have.”
Rainbow Dash dropped from her hovering, shyly saying, “I’ll just have a regular hayburger with no tomatoes please. And a Cola.”
Celestia, Mother of Equestria and Princess of the Sun, walked through the halls of Canterlot Castle, humming a small lullaby. Upon her back were six small fillies, cuddled up with one another, holding full tummies and sleeping very contently. Soon after dinner, despite most of them offering up refusals of growing weary, after a short ride from their adoptive mother’s back they had all fallen asleep.
With the hour’s change and the bell’s ringing from across town, Celestia decided it was finally time for the sisters to be put to bed. Fortunate that she had wandered close to it with the time growing ever later, the princess opened up six doors along a hallway, slowly, one-by-one, placing fillies into their beds, laying a blanket across them, and giving each a goodnight kiss. A couple of them were a little reluctant in their sleep to be parted with their new mom, holding onto her despite her own need of sleep. Instead of simply placing them into bed and more forcefully extricating herself, Celestia would hold the filly in question until they had let go, where with a warming spell upon their blankets, she would place them into bed and leave.
It was along this hall that she wandered deep into the night after some restless hours of sleep, gained fitfully and with worry. Worry for herself and how she would now cope with six little bundles of joy, worry for the six sisters and their relative safety along with their coping of coming to a new home, and finally worry for her own sister, and her thousand year stay on the moon.
Worrying herself into a small tizzy, Celestia stopped herself, breathing deeply and with control as she studied her surroundings. She saw six doors, along with some suspicious coloring to each of them. Ah, I’m in the fillies’ hallway. I suppose making sure they’re sleeping fine won’t do any harm, to them or I, She reasoned. With a tentative grip, assuring the door wouldn’t squeak, she opened it to reveal was supposed to be Twilight Sparkle’s room. Only, nopony was inside.
Finding it odd, but looking for a reasonable answer, she opened the next to find the same instance. One of her filly’s room, but with the filly in question gone. Opening the next, Celestia only saw the same. And the next. And the next.
Now in a truly alarmed worry, the princess practically slammed open the final door, Fluttershy’s room, to a most curious sight. A large pile of oddly shaped bumps and appendages was under the covers of the yellow pegasus’ bed, moving only slightly and irregularly at times while what sounded like snoring came from it. Moving quickly yet quietly, Celestia gently peeled off the blanket of the unknown monstrosity to reveal six multicolored fillies, all in a mish-mash pile of wings, horns, hooves, and cuddling.
Gasping loudly at the discovery, Celestia wrapped her own large, voluminous wings around the large pile, feeling her wings’ warmth be pulled into the almost hot pile of fillies, insulating them from the cold. Taking several moments to calm her frantic heart and slow her manic breathing, the motherly alicorn slowly realized what had happened. The girls had grew up together in the orphanage and were always so used to being close to one another. At some point in the night, they had each gotten up and walked to Fluttershy’s room where they all piled up for sleep.
Her heart rate and breathing much more steady, Celestia slowly lifted herself and her wings off of the fillies, looking at the large pile first with relief, then with adoration at the cute display. Until, that is, a few of them started to try taking the others’ tails and wrap them over their body, trying to stay warm. Feeling her heart melting at the sight, the princess decided to do away with the awkwardness and climbed into the bed with them, wrapping her long body and legs around the pile whilst simultaneously placing a large wing over the pile, effectively protecting them from the cold of the night.
Under her wing and against her left foreleg, Celestia felt one of the fillies squirming about, eventually managing to escape the fluffy and winged prison. Yawning widely, Fluttershy looked at her previous place, noticing the large white alicorn forming the barrier. With a wide, dopey smile on her face, and looking so tired, the butter pegasus crawled up to her adoptive mother’s face and hugged it tightly. A very shy, very quiet, and very tired voice met Celestia’s ears then, speaking with the most conviction she had heard from her.
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. Verygently 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.