Ending C
1 month later
The sun was setting over Canterlot, and while most ponies were either settling down or preparing for the night, a fuchsia mare sat alone in front of a cafe.
The mare didn’t mind, of course, she had been warned that her date might be late, but to be left waiting until sunset was later than she had anticipated.
She gave a small chuckle to herself, it was hard to imagine that it had been only 6 months since they’d first met, yet, it had only been one month since that day.
***********
Silence fell over the pair, as Cheerilee collected herself after pouring her heart out, she focused on Sunny to try and read her reaction. Sunny’s eyes were wide in shock, and while a hoof was hiding the fact her mouth was agape, she did not manage to prevent her winds from shooting out in shock.
Sunny sighed, “I- I owe you an apology and an explanation.”
The Pegasus was lost in thought when a series of knocks came from the front door.
“Hello? Cheerilee? It’s Twilight, are you there? We couldn’t find Sunny so we decided to come here.”
With a sigh, Sunny Skies left the table and began to walk towards the entrance, “but it seems I should speak with Lady Sparkle first.”
Cheerilee reached out with a hoof, desperate to stop the other mare, but was too slow. She could only watch in horror as the one she’d just confessed to walked away from her, towards a unicorn who might take her away forever.
“Hello Lady Sparkle, it’s a pleasure to meet you, I am Sunny Skies, I believe you’ve been looking for me?”
“Ah hello, and yes, but is Cheerilee here? She wasn’t at Pinkies party so I was wondering if she’d returned home..”
At the mention of her name by Twilight, Cheerilee snapped back to reality. In a desperate attempt to reach the other ponies, Cheerilee fell out of her chair with a clatter.
“I’m here, coming!” Said Cheerilee, as she scrambled back to her hooves and towards the others. As she entered the living room, she saw Sunny and Twilight in the doorway, and true to Twilight’s word, both Rainbow Dash and Applejack were with the unicorn, both of whom seemed ready to jump Sunny at a moment's notice. Behind them, Cheerilee could just make out Rarity who was nervously hiding behind Applejack.
Looking towards Twilight, she was surprised to see the unicorn smiling calmly, in contrast to the other ponies with her.
“Ah, hi Cheerilee, are you alright?” Twilight asked, with a concerned tone to her voice.
“Yes, perfect, nothing wrong, I'm fine, certainly not Changeling- Changing my mind about anything
Applejack and Rainbow’s eyes narrowed at her accidental mixup, but before anyone could reach, Sunny spoke up.
“Could I invite you in for some Banana cake Lady Sparkle, it’s fresh from Manehatten.”
“Wh… what?” Spluttered Twilight in surprise,
“I also have Red Velvet if that is more your preference.”
Cheerilee was mortified, They didn’t have any cake, what was Sunny thinking? Wait, was she trying to lure them inside? Is she thinking about fighting Twilight and her friends? Had she cooked two cakes along with the pancakes while she was out?
Applejack and Rainbow were both caught off guard, they’d been expecting to find a Changeling after all, not an invitation to cake, but it was Twilight who reacted first.
“Re-Red V-Velvet? But that means… And you…” Twilight paled with each passing word, and even took a step back until Sunny leaned in and whispered something in Twilight's ear.
Whatever was said, made the unicorn's eyes widen in horror.
“She’s safe, let go girls.” Spluttered Twilight, and before any pony else could react, she’d turned round and fled the scene.
With the local “Changeling expert” gone, that left Cheerilee, Sunny Skies, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity standing around awkwardly. With a mutual nod, Applejack and Rainbow ran after the retreating dust cloud, leaving a very confused Rarity.
“Well, it’s, erm, lovely to meet you, Darling, Cheerilee has told me so much about you, but I’d best go after Twilight, are we still on for the Spa on Wednesday Cheeri?”
It took a moment to realise that she’d been addressed but as a white feather booped her nose, Cheerilee snapped back to reality, “Yes, of course, sorry for the trouble.”
With a smile and a wave, Rarity began to trot after her long-gone friends, leaving only Cheerilee and Sunny Skies.
With a sigh, Sunny closed the door and made her way to the sofa.
“I think, we need to talk.”
And there it was Cheerilee thought to herself, she had been short-sighted, foolish, and an all-round terrible pony. Sunny had journeyed here battered and bruised, and Cheerilee had accused her of being a Changeling.
“Cheerilee, I’m a Changeling.” Confessed Sunny Skies.
***********
The Sun had almost set now, and Cheerilee was glad that the snack she ordered had arrived, and judging by the galloping hoof steps approaching her, if her snack had been any later she wouldn’t have been able to get revenge for being left alone so long.
Circling the table and planting herself down on the opposite chair, Sunny Skies joined Cheerilee, 3 hours later than they’d planned.
“I’m so sorry, I was stuck, and there was this stuck up… is that a Quasadia?”
Cheerilee giggled to herself, “Yup, I’ve been craving them all month, want one?”
Sunny flinched, “Oh Celestia no, there just so..”
“Cheesy?”
Sunny gulped and simply nodded her head.
“Well,” said Cheerilee, “What happened?”
A wicked smile grew on Sunny’s face. “Oh, you’re going to love this.”
***********
A few hours earlier, a very tense situation had developed in the Canterlot Castle throne room. For most ponies, an audience with Princess Celestia, and a squadron of Royal Guards would be terrifying, however, it was the guards who were terrified, while the petitioner continued his speech, none the wiser to his potential danger.
The court had been about to end, when Blueblood walked in, and announced that a distant relative of his had requested a meeting, and much to everypony’s displeasure, Princess Celestia accepted the last-minute request. What walked in was an older Stallion wearing a sharp black three-piece suit, ending at the front of his barrel. The Stallion’s coat was mostly a faded grey, with a splattering of black patches, and on his flank was a dark grey shield cutie mark, with a pouch of bits at its centre, the guards silently groaned as the dreaded Count L.Morals took to the floor.
That was the start of a very long hour, and the guards had endured the Count’s ramblings about the bits spent in the reconstruction efforts around Canterlot. That led into a spiel about how the traumatised upper class needed a new environment to relax and spend their bits and was followed by the usual buttering up of Princess Celestia, stating that a new gallery should be commissioned to remind everypony how great she was.
And of course, he didn’t fail to mention, “If we give the upper class an opportunity, the bits they spend will flow down to the less fortunate,” every few minutes. The guard had been switching between, bored, annoyed, and angry throughout the proposition, however, that all changed when Count L. Morals said something stupid.
“And so, I believe that the currently damaged, however unquestionably radiant, and historically unique Solar Progenium should be converted into a gallery and Gentlepony’s Club. Such a venue would be excellent for hosting charity gala’s, and the view over the planes of Canterlot is second only to your Majesty's castle, truly no nobler spot for your very important ponies.”
The Solar Progenium, or as most ponies born within the last 200 years knew it, the Canterlot Orphanage. Any anger the guard felt towards the stallion instantly evaporated and was replaced with terror, as one by one, as subtly as possible, the guards looked towards their Solar Diarch, as they wondered, what the Alicorn renowned for her generosity towards orphans, would do to the Count.
Sunny Skies, however, was not Celestia, despite the wings, horn, ethereal mane and replica regalia that was a near-perfect match for the original, just much lighter, Changelings shouldn’t be as strong as Alicorns after all. Regardless, it was currently Sunny Skies who sat upon the Solar throne, looking down at the terrified guards, the oblivious Count L.Morals and a very annoyed Blueblood, she was going to have to ask that stallion for a raise after this.
The Celestia-approved response would be to: acknowledge the stallion's input, and send him on his way with the belief that Celestia would consider his idea, though she, along with all but one pony in this room knew that Princess Celestia probably wouldn’t have taken that route this time. Since Queen Chrysalis’s invasion, Celestia had been working almost none stop overseeing the rebuilding of Canterlot, along with developing new anti-Changeling security measures, updating security protocols across Equestria, rebalancing the budget to accommodate re-construction and increased guard spending, and somehow, still found time to make public appearances across the country to reassure her ponies.
Fortunately for Count L. Morals, Celestia was currently in exile. After an overly dramatic display, involving Princess Luna, the Night Guard, half the Royal Guard, and 5 of the Elements of Harmony stormed Celestia’s study. With Celestia captured, her power sealed, and coerced into a shapeshifting enchantment, Celestia was now on holiday. If the terms of the ‘surrender’ Luna had imposed upon Celestia were being followed, ‘Sunrise Apple’ should be in the middle of a Pinkie Pie Party.
This left the minor detail of hiding Princess Celestia's disappearance from Canterlot, fortunately, the ‘Canterlot Hive’ had been providing Celestia’s body doubles for generations, unfortunately, of the 5 trained Changeling body doubles, only one had any actuarial experience in said role.
So while it was fortunate for Count L. Morals that he was not at the receiving end ‘Daybreaker Breaker’ sponsored trip to the sun, it did mean that Sunny Skies was late to her 6 month anniversary.
“An interesting suggestion Count Low Morals, one of which has opened my eyes, and I do believe that the usage of the reconstructed Solar Progenium should be set aside for a new purpose.” Sunny could feel the confusion radiating from the guards, the happiness from the Count, and the concern that Blueblood was directing towards her.
“However, the Solar Court does not have the available funding, as you mentioned previously, so I shall have the paperwork completed, and if you could please return in, 4 hours, the Night Court will be able to push through your request in record timing.”
***********
“YOU DID WHAT!” Shouted Cheerilee.
“I completed all the paperwork, in triplicate, with my authority as ‘Celestia for the weekend’, and sent it to Night Court”
“But, but, the orphanage, the orphans, why?”
Sunny smiled “Well, the building was getting a bit worn down, and Celestia probably would have had to make some kind of reparation towards the Stallion, you know, if she didn’t send him to the sun, so I sent him to some pony who would put him in his place without maiming him, probably.”
“What do you mean?”
“Have you heard who’s currently housing the orphanage's foals? ”
***********
Meanwhile- In Night Court
Luna looked between the paperwork, and the stallion before her, the Count clearly had less witt than Discord’s statue, and while she would happily allow her guards to rip the pompous oaf to ribbons, however, she remembered something she could use to advantage, especially since Celestia wouldn’t be able to overturn ‘Celestia’ in time. She would have to arrange an appropriate boon for Sunny Skies later.
“We see your proposition Count, and we agree, the Solar Progenium shall be reclaimed for the arts as you suggest.”
The Count looked elated, but before he could speak, Luna continued.
“We hath noted the population of Canterlot has grown significantly in recent years, causing certain sectors to struggle, along with the declining number of orphans, as such, The Solar Progenium is indeed no longer fit for such a purpose. So, we shall transform it into a new school, with a specialisation in the arts! A school to rival the prestige of Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, but all ponies shall be welcome!”
Count L. Morals was dumbfounded, while Blueblood, who was observing the session had to force down a laugh.
“INDEED, AND AS FOR THE ORPHANAGE, THE CASTLE’S NIGHT WING, WILL REMAIN ITS REPLACEMENT, FOREVER!”
Fin!