//------------------------------// // Chapter 30 – Announcements, Ceremonies, and Farewells // Story: The Epic Quest of Ford Mustang // by RoyalRainbow //------------------------------// Chapter 30 – Announcements, Ceremonies, and Farewells The next day, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna once again invites the Elements of Harmony for breakfast along with Spike, Princess Cadance, Shining Armor, Queen Chrysalis, Gilda, Big Macintosh, Vinyl Scratch, and Octavia. The lengthy table is piled with countless, delicious items including fresh fruits, various pastries, and a breakfast casserole made up of eggs, onions, potatoes, cheese and peppers. Everyone is waiting for two of its missing guests before they can dig in on this latest feast. Of course, that didn’t stop the greedy changeling queen from chowing down before everyone else. “Ugh, Chrysalis!” Cadance scolds next to her in a motherly tone. “Must you eat like that? You could have just waited until everypony else is present!” In the midst of stuffing her face, Chrysalis breaks into a toothy smile with her lips and cheeks covered in powdered sugar and jelly as she responds in a chuckle, “You’re just jealous because what I eat doesn’t go straight to my flanks, unlike a certain pink princess that I know of!” “Hmph! I can manage my weight just fine!” the Alicorn retorts touchily. “Sure, tell that to those jelly donuts you devoured yesterday!” “It was… just a couple of them, that’s all!” the pink pony lies in an embarrassing blush. Puzzlingly, Shining Armor then states obliviously, “Really? I thought you only had six of them.” Fumingly, Cadance glares with dagger eyes at her petrified husband while Chrysalis does her best to repress her devious laughter at the white Unicorn being put on the hot seat. Hastily, he restates himself with a nervous smile, “Not that they would affect your gorgeous figure or anything like that, of course!” Meanwhile, Princess Celestia hears a deplorable groan and realizes that the sickly sound is coming beside her. Turning her attention to the source, she sees poor Discord lying on a couch with a bloated tummy, his long tongue hanging out from the side of his mouth, and an ice pack on top of his head. “Is everything alright, Discord?” she asks of him sweetly. “You’re looking quite pale this morning.” “Perhaps he has bitten off more than he could chew.” Princess Luna comments with an all-knowing smirk. “Well… I wouldn’t know about that!” Pinkie Pie intervenes as perky as ever. “After all, he made a pretty good competitor regarding with all of our food challenges last night!” Recalling on the cause of his discomforting predicament, Discord moans in response, “Please… no… more… Pie…!” “Oh don’t be silly, Discord!” Pinkie reassures cheerfully. “We never had any pie in any one of our challenges! But if you like, maybe we can have one some other time, hmm?” As the groaning Discord curls himself into a ball, the majority of guests break into subtle giggles. But then, their giggling stops when a set of doors open for the two anticipated ponies. With their wings laid over each other’s backs and their tails intertwined with one and another, Ford Mustang and Rainbow Dash are practically glowing with their subtle blushes and irrepressible smiles beaming across their faces. The seated guests immediately take notice of this once the two giddy Pegasi enter the dining room. “Good morning, Rainbow Dash!” Rarity greets with a very warm smile. “You’re looking positively radiant this morn--!” Suddenly, she stops herself as she notices something different about Rainbow. Other then noticing on how more openly affectionate than she usually is, something else catches Rarity’s eyes as she sees a sparkling accessory attached to her left foreleg. The shimmering colors of that one-of-a-kind ring seize everyone else’s attention as the seamstress begins to figure out of its familiarity. “Wait a second… that ring! Gasp! Does this mean…?!” Rarity inquires with an uncontrollable smile. Unable to contain her giddiness, Rainbow leaps in the air as she proudly announces in an overly excited voice, “I’m getting married!” For a brief second, the room becomes absolutely quiet as everyone is speechless by this exciting news, but then, the rest of the Elements of Harmony shriek ecstatically in high-pitched unison as they all at once rush over to congratulate the two blushing Pegasi, along with Spike, Big Mac, and Gilda. “Oh my stars! Darling, I can’t believe we forgot all about that!” Rarity exclaims in overwhelming joy. “You sly, little daredevils!” Gilda grins as she playfully punches Ford in the shoulder. “So that’s what you two have been up to last night!” “And it’s about time too if ya asked me!” Applejack comments with a smirk. “Eeyup!” Big Mac nods. “This is just simply wonderful!” Fluttershy says with a soft, warm smile as she hugs Rainbow Dash. “I’m so happy for both of you!” “Yeah, I’m so excited! This calls for another par--!” Abruptly, Pinkie Pie shifts from irresistible excitement to sheer horror as she recalls something important to her. “Oh no! I missed the perfect opportunity for Musty and Dashie’s engagement party! I was so busy with all the games, rides and food that Discord was providing for--!” But she didn’t finish her sentence as she freezes in place with a shocked expression as she realizes on why Discord was so insistent on giving her the night of her life. Then, she sharply twists around, sprints to the pale trickster, and jumps on his overstuffed belly, which causes Discord to deflate like a whoopee cushion. “YOU!” she screeches with a scowling face. “You were distracting me on purpose, weren’t you?!” “Aww… don’t be like that, Pinkie.” Discord replies with a faint smile. “After all, I did everything you asked for last night. Remember how we became actual game pieces and were part of fully animated board games?” … “Or how about the time we went on every single, crazy carnival ride we could imagine?” … "Or that cumulonimbus of chocolate rain with hot fudge, sprinkles, whipped cream, and a cherry on top?" No matter what he does to sway her, it didn’t help dismiss that judgmental frown of hers. She just keeps glaring at him in a motionless stare-off as Discord is becoming rather uneasy by the disturbing silence from his former playmate. “Umm, a little help here, please?” Discord pleads weakly. Rushing to the Draconequus’s aid, Ford apologizes to the overly stern Earth Pony, “Look, Pinkie Pie… I’m really sorry! It was my idea from asking Discord’s aid last night!” Once Pinkie Pie faces him, Ford is certain that she will be angry with him as well. But instead, she expresses a cheerless, pouty look on her face. “Why?” she inquires with her big, baby blue eyes holding back her overwhelming tears exaggeratedly. “Don’t you like my parties?” “Well of course I do, Pinkie!” Mustang comforts her greatly with a reassuring smile. “Your parties are the best, no matter how spontaneous they can be! We just… wanted some time for ourselves, that’s all!” Composing herself, Pinkie eyes retracts her overbearing tears back into their ducts as Ford sees this as a promising improvement before he continues. “We’ll make it up to you! I swear! We can still have that engagement party once we get back to Ponyville!” Adding to that, Rainbow Dash concurs with a winning grin of hers, “Yeah, and we can’t have Ford’s Cuteceñera without our very own super duper party pony!” After the Pegasi’s attempt to compromise, Pinkie takes a moment to think about this with a deadpan expression. But in a flash, she breaks into a comforting, cheerful smile as she says perkily, “Okie Dokie Lokie! I understand if you two needed to spend some quality time together!” After Ford and Rainbow sigh in relief over this, Twilight goes up to them and asks, “So, have you two figured out a date for the wedding?” “Mmm… Not yet.” Ford answers uncertainly. “But we were hoping to have ours within a month at least.” SLAM! “I OBJECT!” Unexpectedly, somepony slams the grand table really hard as the loud noise startles everyone present, including the godly princesses. Turning to the source of the quaking noise, they are shocked to see that the cause of this interruption happens to be one of Ford and Rainbow’s friends: Vinyl Scratch! With her forelegs firmly holding her stern posture, Vinyl’s fiery, red eyes continue to glare piercingly at Ford and Rainbow as their faces display a mixture of alarm and confusion. Meanwhile, Octavia, who is sitting next to DJ-PON-3, is just as shook up as everyone else by the Unicorn mare’s spontaneous outburst. Eventually, the cellist is the first to break out of her daze as she scolds her marefriend. “Vinyl, I can’t believe you! After everything Ford has done for us, how could you object to their marriage like that?!” Surprised by Octavia’s angry response, Vinyl blinks speechlessly before she grins knowingly over this misunderstanding with a wave of her hoof, “Oh no no no no! I’m not saying that they shouldn't get married at all. I’m just objecting to the fact that they should get married first.” “Shouldn’t get married first?” Ford perplexes on this before he smiles widely on a possible realization in mind, “Wait… does that mean you and Octavia are…?” Without giving it away, the grinning disk jockey asks her Earth Pony companion, “Tavi, care to do the honors for us?” With a heavy blush and a small smile, Octavia grasps hooves with the smirking pony as she announces softly, “We’ve… decided to get married as well.” Just like with Ford and Rainbow’s announcement, the room is filled with brief silence, but eventually, it is filled with numerous shrieks of excitement over the musicians’ engagement. After the hollering is kept to a minimum, Dash is the first one to express her joy over the blushingly smiling couple. “That’s so cool! Congratulations, you two!” Ford then asks with vast amazement, “Yeah, when did all of this happen?” Vinyl’s grin stretches widely across her muzzle as she gladly answers that question for him, “Well…” --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A couple days earlier in the aftermath of their battle against Arrogon… “So… it’s finally over.” Octavia stated with a smile of relief. “Yeah, it is.” Vinyl Scratch confirmed with a subtle nod. On one side of the battlefield, the two nuzzling mares were observing their cheering comrades from afar as the allies were celebrating their grand victory over Arrogon’s defeat thanks to the heroism of Ford Mustang, who was brought back to safety thanks to the return of Celestia, Luna, and Discord. All of a sudden, Vinyl was distracted by something as she turned her head around and looked behind her. Soon enough, Octavia took notice of her marefriend’s diverted attention as she asked with concern, “Vinyl, what’s wrong?” Instead of answering right away, Vinyl slowly walks away from the concerning cellist as she stared at the remains of her bass cannon tank. With her unhappy, ruby eyes fixated on the pile of her latest, technological masterpiece, she said with a sad sigh, “I just… can’t believe that it’s completely trashed. After all the amount of work we put into this.” Despite her earlier disapproval over the idea of making it into a obnoxiously loud party mobile, Octavia became regretful over Vinyl’s heartache over her ruined invention. Once she approached the grief-stricken Unicorn from behind, the gray Earth Pony laid a gentle fore hoof on Vinyl’s shoulder as she offered her condolences. “It will be alright, sweetie.” she said with a soft, reassuring smile. “We can always build another someday.” “It’s not just that, Tavi.” Vinyl replied in an unusually trembling voice. “It’s just that… we’ve spent so much time on this project… together. Sure, I’ve came up with the design for this thing, but if it wasn’t for your assistance, we may never have finished this in time.” Turning around, Vinyl’s warm, scarlet eyes were locked on Octavia’s violet eyes as the DJ continued with a tender smile. “You’ve been a great help towards me, Octavia. The very best partner I could have asked for in so many ways.” Startled and touched by the Unicorn’s unforeseen sincerity, Octavia started to get really emotional as she responded with a hoof over her face, “Oh, Vinyl… I never knew this meant so much to you--!” In one felt swoop, Vinyl swept Octavia off her feet as the light-colored Unicorn held on to her marefriend tightly while she expressed a soft, loving expression to the stunned, blushing Earth Pony. “Marry me.” Vinyl asked boldly. “Wh-what?” “Marry me, Octavia.” she repeated herself as her crimson eyes began to pour soft, heartfelt tears out of them. “You are everything that I want as a part of our duet. The better half of my musical soul. The one pony I want to spend with for the rest of my life. I know I can be a bit of a screw-up sometimes, but if you become my wife, I promise to get better as the years go--!” Unable to contain herself with Vinyl’s sentimentality, Octavia quickly pulled the affectionate mare in and delivered a very deep kiss for her. Surprised at first, Vinyl melts in the cellist’s tugging embrace as she returned the favor in full force. After sometime with their undisturbed make-out session, their lips slowly pulled away from each other’s. While Vinyl Scratch was dazed in the afterglow of their recent kiss, Octavia smirked at her marefriend’s speechless reaction before she lightly teased her. “Having to put up with you for so long, I don’t see how that would make any difference in our relationship.” With a very wide, hopeful grin, Vinyl inquired, “Soooo… does this mean you’ll marry me?” In a giggling smile, Octavia answered before giving the grinning pony another kiss, “Yes, you silly filly! Of course I will!” --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Not the ideal place for a proposal if you asked me.” Octavia nitpicks slightly. “Hey come on!” Vinyl responds with her winning grin. “It was romantically apocalyptic and you know it!” “Sigh… only you can make an incomprehensible term like ‘romantically apocalyptic’ sound so appealing, Vinyl.” she shakes her head in a mocking groan before she smiles lovingly and gives her astonished fiancée a rewarding kiss on the cheek. “But yes, it was very romantic none of the less.” After composing her bashful smile, Vinyl Scratch gets more serious as she points a fore hoof at the other engaged couple to get back on the original matter beforehand. “So you see! Since we are the ones who got engaged first before you did, we should be the ones to get married first as well!” Competitive as always, Rainbow Dash slams her own hooves on the table as she snaps back at the stern DJ, “Oh yeah? Well… we’ll get married in less than a month before you do!” “Ha! We can have everything ready within three weeks top!” Vinyl retorts with a smirk matching that with Rainbow’s. Gradually, the two arguing mares lean closer to each other as their smirks shift into scowls. “Two weeks!” “One week!” “Tomorrow!” “Tonight!” Overwhelmed on how impractical it will be to have such short span of time from planning their wedding, Ford wants to steps forward and end this ridiculousness as peacefully as possible. But Octavia beats him to it as she pulls Vinyl back into her seat before she firmly chastises her. “Vinyl Scratch! That’s enough! This isn’t a race to see on who’s going to get married first!” Stubborn as a foal, Vinyl crosses her forelegs as she pouts greatly, “I’m not budging until we get something from those two!” After Ford gently pulls an assertive Rainbow Dash back into her seat and gives her a soothing pat on her back, she takes a heavy breath before attempting to negotiate in a softer tone, “Alright, well what do you want exactly?” Feeling overwhelmed with the new authority given to her, Vinyl makes her request in an over-the-top voice, “We demand to be in charge of the music for your wedding, and we’re not taking ‘no’ for an--!” “Sure.” Ford and Rainbow respond simultaneously in casual tones. Flabbergasted, Vinyl simply states to them with a blank stare, “Wait, huh? Really?” Yeah, we’ve already consider that thought.” Ford concurs with a pleasant smile. “And we think you’ll be perfect regarding with our music. We can have Octavia be in charge of the ceremony’s…” “And DJ-PON-3 can have full reins over the reception's!” Rainbow adds excitedly. “Ooo! Ooo! Can I be in charge of reception party!” Pinkie Pie asks as she rapidly waves her foreleg in the air like a kid trying to answer a teacher’s question. “Can I? Can I?” Rainbow chuckles at her friend’s predictable reaction as she replies with grinning approval, “It wouldn’t be a party if it’s not endorsed by our Pinkie Pie!” “Yaaaaay!” “Okay well… that doesn’t count if you’ve already planned that for us!” Vinyl reassumes her assertiveness as she decides on an alternative. “In that case, we insist that the reception has a bar!” Ford then comments matter-of-factly, “Well of course it will have a bar--!” “An open bar!” Vinyl restates with a devious grin. Ford is about to counter that, but his gaping mouth couldn’t produce any words as he ponders on the possible expenses regarding with the complimentary drinks. Especially if most of those drinks are ordered by Vinyl Scratch. Turning to Rainbow Dash, he whispers to her, “Do you think we can manage that within our budget?” But before Dash can offer her own opinion to Vinyl’s latest suggestion, Princess Celestia tenderly cuts in the couples’ conversation, “If I may interject, perhaps I might be able to lend hoof in this matter.” “What do you mean, Princess?” Ford asks humbly. With a caring smile, Celestia carries on, “Well… considering that we are indebted for what you and your friends have done for all of us, we figured that it will be only fair if my sister and I repay for your valiant services. So with that in mind, we will be more than happy to pay off both of the parties’ wedding expenses, just like how we took care of Fluttershy and Big Macintosh’s wedding as our gift to them.” Staggered by this generous offer, Octavia stammers with overwhelming gratitude, “I… I don’t know what say! Th-thank you, your Majesties! This is truly a tremendous honor!” Then, she snaps her head towards her startled fiancée as she coldly stares at her to make sure that she doesn’t mess this up for them. “Right, Vinyl?” Petrified by the coldhearted stare of her respective partner, Vinyl makes a difficult gulp in her nervous throat before she decides to give in with a subtle grump, “Yeah… I guess so.” But just as she is about to finally give up much to Octavia’s relief, Vinyl then reverts back to her huffy resolve, “Whoa, wait a minute! If they’re getting the same treatment as us, that doesn’t change anything! I’m not gonna let them have first dibs on a wedding date unless they give us something in return first!” Tiresomely, Octavia lets out an aggravating sigh as she gives herself a facehoof. “Can you please just let it go already?” “NEVER!” Vinyl screams overdramatically. As Ford thinks it over and how he can appeal Vinyl, he seems to recall on how impressed she was when she witnessed his Draconian Magic firsthand. With a broad smile, he offers this as a suggestion to the stubborn Unicorn, “Okay, how about this. Remember how you wanna talked to me about doing some laser shows for you?” With a deadpan expression, she cocks an eyebrow as she replies, “Yeah, and…?” “So, if I perform a spectacular fireworks show for you and Octavia’s wedding, will that be a fair enough trade if you allow me and Rainbow Dash to have our wedding first?” he asks with a pleading smile as he extends a foreleg. Taking her sweet time, the Vinyl rubs her chin with a fore hoof as she narrowly stares at the uneasy Mustang with his extended foreleg hanging in the air. At last, the disc jockey grins wildly before she gives Ford a firm hoofshake. “Deal!” After reclining back to her seat with a victorious smirk on her face and her forelegs crossed behind her head, Vinyl boasts to her unimpressed fiancée, “See that Tavi? Am I good or what?” “Sigh… my future wife, everypony.” Octavia announces in a sarcastic voice. “By the way, where’s Wagner?” Ford wonders. “I haven’t seen him or the other dragons all day long.” “They’re here in Canterlot along with Gilda’s griffons and Queen Chrysalis’s changelings.” Celestia answers. “Right now, the dragons are probably lodging in the underground caves and are permitted to eat as many unrefined gems as they like. They’ve been treated here as honorary guests for their contributions against Arrogon.” “Hey Chrysalis, what’s going happen now that it’s all over?” Ford asks in a soft tone when he turns toward the changeling matriarch. “I kind of hate for us to be enemies after all we’ve been through.” Speechless at first, Chrysalis grins amusingly as she playfully chides the considerate stallion, “Why Ford! I’m surprised by you! Do you really think I’m that shallow to go back and do something as pitiful as vengeance? Well, sorry to disappoint you, but I am refined enough to handle peaceful terms with my former adversaries!” “What kind of terms?” Ford asks with curiosity. “Well… we haven’t finalized anything just yet, but we’ve been brainstorming some ideas on how to provide love to the changelings.” Princess Cadance adds with a bright smile. “For example, there’s a promising idea on establishing a drive where those who donate their emotional energy will receive a small compensation from some of Chrysalis’ own mines.” “To make a long story short: give us your energy or we’ll invade your country again!” the dark queen states with a mischievous chuckle. “Subtle as always.” Cadance scowls sarcastically. “That reminds me, we have something we would like to discuss with you, Ford Mustang.” Celestia says to him. “With me?” “Why yes!” Princess Luna responds with an ecstatic smile. “Considering that it was you who has helped establish better relations with changelings and dragons as well as restoring harmony back to our world by vanquishing the Destroyer, a proper reward must be in order!” With a nod from the elder sister, Princess Celestia makes this offer to him, “Perhaps a position within our royal courts might interest you.” After careful contemplation on this, he provides his answer in a most humble and respectful manner, “Thank you for your consideration, your Majesties, but I never had any interest in politics. I’m afraid I’ll be of poor use to you if you give me such a privilege like that.” Then, he faces Rainbow Dash to wrap a wing around her as he adds with a warm smile, “Besides, I have my own royal duties to attend to back at home.” With a subtle giggle over Ford’s usually touching sappiness, Rainbow gives him a quick peck while most of the mares awe over his sentimentality. Slightly surprised from how he turns down a position of a lifetime, the Alicorn sisters smile reasonably over Ford’s refusal before Luna offers this alteration in place of their initial offer. “In that case, how would you like to be an honorary knight instead?” “M-m-me?!” he stammers to a great extent with wide-eyed surprise. “A knight?! Really?! B-but aren’t knights supposed to be of royal bloodline or something like that?!” “Most of them do inherit that title through lineage.” Celestia explains matter-of-factly. “But other ponies can also be knighted by those of royalty such as myself or my sister. Ford is still shocked by this rare honor he was given. Never in his life before he was transformed into a pony would he be given an opportunity to be just like the ones in fabled tales or general RPG games. With a very bashful smile, he asks the princesses in a childish manner, “So… if I accept this… does that mean… I get my very own suit of armor?” “Custom-made and fit to your specifications!” Luna answers with pride. “And… my very own sword as well?” “Absolutely!” Unable to contain his inner fanboy anymore, Ford smiles to his full extent as his fore hooves press his cheeks mildly until they start to get puffy. As he does this, his exaggeratingly gaping smile lets out an unusually high-pitched gasp as this inaudible noise he makes is his way of expressing how overexcited he is on becoming a knight. As funny as it is to see Ford reacting like this, Rainbow Dash is a bit worried by his seemingly never-ending reaction, so she tries to nudge him out of his self-induced trance as she says, “Uh, Ford… you okay there?” After a couple of nudges from his fiancée, Ford catches his breath as he pants out in response with an embarrassing blush, “I’m fine, Rainbow. Just… had a bit of a fanboy moment there, that’s all.” After giggling to herself over the stallion’s shenanigans, Luna asks of him with an all-knowing grin, “So… I assume we can take that as a ‘yes’ then?” --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Fillies, gentlecolts, and those who come from other nations, we welcome you all here to witness a momentous occasion here in Canterlot! As most of you know, Equestria had to deal with a recent crisis with the oppression of Arrogon the Destroyer! At that time, myself and our well-known associates were unable to thwart this new face of evil ourselves! However, despite our absence, Equestria has miraculously persevered thanks to a very special individual who we are honoring today…” As Princess Celestia carries on with her grand, inspirational speech right next to Princess Luna, Ford Mustang peaks out of a curtain as he gets good glimpse of the crowd that the elder sister is address to. All of his allies are there in an event that is dedicated to him, much to his rising uneasiness of this. He originally thought that his knighting will be a private ceremony, but no, much to his disappointment, it is made into a public one. On the ground below the ceremonial balcony is a vast mixture of ponies, changelings, and griffons. As for the dragons along with their leader, Wagner, most of them are clinging to the rooftops of the castle’s keep since there is a lot of space for them to take up compared to the ground. After swallowing a heavy gulp, Ford closes the curtain and reflects on how he put himself in this predicament. After breakfast, he was immediately sent to the armory so that he can get his very own suit of armor and his personalized sword. After listing out his specifications as well as his measurements, the blacksmiths from the forge made quick and efficient work out of his order right away. After lunchtime, his completed armor and weapon were delivered to him as several royal attendents suited him up properly. Now, in the middle of the afternoon, Ford Mustang is pacing around nervously as he wears his pristine armor, which is surprisingly lighter than he expected. His finished suit is composed of polished, silver, metallic plates. The cloth underneath his saddle has a rich, blue color matching that with his hair and tail. The chestplate has a shield emblem that depicts his dragon-like Cutie Mark. And the helmet placed on his head causes his mane to shape like the feathery plumes of those Greco-Roman helmets. Strapped to his right side is his personally crafted sword, which is secured in its respective sheath. The sword’s hilt is colored in a cerulean blue with a golden yellow crystal placed right between the guard and the blade. His sword may be originally made for ceremonial purpose, but its polished and sharpened blade is not something one should take lightly of. Even though he was thoroughly impressed with the sword and armor’s top-notched quality, it didn’t help him enough to ease his worries, even though his friends are there to give him their encouraging support. “How did I get myself rope into this?!” he sighs as he frantically continues his trot around room behind the curtained balcony. “I have to admit, Celestia and Luna got you good!” Rainbow remarks with a giggling smile. “Besides, why are you so nervous about all this? This what you really wanted, right? To be seen as a hero towards others!” “Well yeah… it’s definitely a dream come true for me to be just like a superhero, but nopony told me that I had to make up a hero’s speech once I’m knighted! If they gave me some forewarning about that, I would have something prepared right now! Oh, what am I gonna do?! What should I say?! What if I mess up out there and instantly become from hero to zero?! What if--?!” Instantly, his rambling is silenced by a swift, deep kiss from his blue angel, Rainbow Dash. Forgetting on what he was talking about, Ford gives in to this sudden affection as he embraces his compassionate mare. Despite being in a room where their friends awe and blush over this, the two Pegasi pay little mind to their surroundings as they are too drawn in with their breathtaking kiss. However, in the midst of their making out, Ford couldn’t help himself but chuckle to himself from hearing the quick banter between Princess Cadance and Queen Chrysalis. “Chrysalis! Stop that!” the Alicorn scolds the changeling over her unapproved energy absorption. “How can I help myself if they do it right in front of me like that?!” she retorts with an immature whine. Afterwards, Rainbow ends their kiss as she leaves Ford more relaxed than before. With a smirk, she asks of him, “Feeling better?” With a slightly goofy smile on his face, Ford nods in response, “Much better.” “Good. Because if you do your best out there, there will be more where that came from once we get home tonight.” As the fluttering stallion smiles widely over Rainbow’s proposition, Shining Armor taps him on the shoulder to inform me of his cue, “Ford, you’re up!” With most of his anxiety taken care of, Ford takes in a deep breath before he pushes the curtain aside and steps outside. Upon his grand entrance, the armored Mustang is greeted with countless cheers from the multitude of races that have gathered in the royal courtyard. “Please step forward, my little pony!” Celestia instructs him in a caring tone. With an upright posture, Ford walks up to the two princesses of Canterlot before removing his helmet and kneeling before them. Using their magic, the Alicorn sisters remove their ceremonial swords from the sheaths that are held by the respective captains of their royal guards. On Ford’s left side, Princess Celestia levitates a longsword with the an orange and yellow hilt, while on his right side, Princess Luna levitates a similar one with a blue and purple hilt instead. Both of their swords have their personal Cutie Marks right on the guards’ center. As the majestic blades hover above the kneeling Pegasus, Princess Celestia is the first to begin the knighting ceremony. “Ford Mustang, for your heroism against the opposing forces of evil and for dedicating your life by protecting those in our country…” Then, it is Princess Luna’s turn for their collaborated speech. “…we the Princesses of Canterlot would like to honor your valiant actions by giving you a title worthy enough for all of Equestria to recognize as your noble deeds will forever go down in our great nation’s history!” One at a time, the tall Princesses lower their swords as they gentle lay them onto Ford’s shoulders while they continue their royal procedure. “And so, by the Princess of the Sun…” “…and by the Princess of the Moon…” As each of them carefully crosses their swords to lightly tap Ford on the other shoulder, the regal sisters conclude their majestic duties in front of the public. “…we hereby dub thee, Sir Ford Mustang…” “…Knight of Ponyville!” And as a way to complete their royal ceremony, Celestia and Luna clash their swords in the air, which create colorful sparks that shower on the awestricken audience as they wildly applaud over Ford’s new status. Turning around and facing the applauding crowd, Ford gives a couple of waves to them before he hesitantly begins his improvised speech. “Umm… thank you everyone for being out here for me!” he starts it off awkwardly. Once the applause from the crowd dies down, Ford takes his time as he continues with an increasingly uplifting tone, “But this credit doesn’t just go to me! It goes to all those who are present, whether it be ponies, griffons, dragons, or changelings! If it wasn’t for anyone of you, we may never have been able to stop Arrogon and his tyranny for good, no matter what reasons we might have for ourselves! Whether it’s for a fallen comrade, for a friend, for the survival of others…” During his brief pause, Ford looks behind and sees a smiling Rainbow Dash peeking from the curtain. With a broader smile, he finishes his sentence with greater emphasis as his loving eyes are locked on to Rainbow’s, “…or even… for a special loved one!” Once he is given a blushing smile from his rarely shy fiancée, Ford turns his attention back towards his listeners as he wraps it up in a more inspirational manner, “And I am so proud to consider all of you as my fellow comrades, and more importantly… my friends! So, I know for certain that whatever dark times may come our ways, no matter what our differences may be, we can unite as one once more and bring a new age of peace to this magical world of ours once again!” Following up with his conclusion, the spectators respond greatly with uproarious cheers and thunderous applause. Satisfied on his speech’s success, Ford pushes aside the overwhelming attention he is soaking up as he takes another look as the grinning Rainbow behind him, who gives the stallion a knowing wink for a job well-done. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Throughout the rest of the afternoon, everyone was having one heck of a victory party, courtesy of Pinkie Pie, of course. And later that evening, as the sun starts to set, Ford and all of his close friends are outside of the castle’s main entrance to say their final goodbyes to the leaders of the three allied factions. “Well, Dash… it’s been fun, but I better get back to my kingdom.” Gilda says to her. “My friends and I got our own victory party back home.” “Party?! Where?!” Pinkie Pie asks spontaneously as her head sticks out in the background of the small crowd. “You better come to my wedding, Gilda.” Rainbow commands mockingly. “We still got a lot of catching up to do, you know.” With a smirk matching that with Rainbow’s, the griffon responds, “I won’t miss it for anything.” Once she gives the mare a big hug, Gilda then faces her stallion partner and teases him with a grin and a wink. “Hey, Mustang… you better take good care of her. She can be a real firecracker.” Ford chuckles lightly as he proclaims boldly, “Considering on what I’ve been through, I think I can handle her just fine.” After she firmly hugs the Pegasus stallion, Gilda takes flight to catch up with the rest of her griffon comrades as they make the long trip home. Next up is Queen Chrysalis, who already sent Commander Trapjaw to lead her army back home and has just finished her own goodbyes with Princess Cadance and Shining Armor. “So Chrysalis, I guess the next time I will see you, it will be at my wedding, huh?” Ford says to her. Blinking in surprise, the changeling queen responds coyly, “R-really? You really want me to be at your wedding?” “Of course!” he nods with a reassuring smile. “You’re my friend after all! You’ll be able to make it, right?” Her heart nearly melts from hearing the kind invitation from one of the very few ponies she would call her friend. But before her true emotions betray her, she shakes it off as she masks herself with a mischievous grin, “Well yes, of course I would be there! I planned on crashing your wedding anyhow, whether you have invited me or not!” Shaking his head, he responds with an amusing smile, “You never will change, will you?” “Even when I’m good, I’m still bad!” She winks while sticking her tongue in a teasing manner. After sharing a brief laugh together, Chrysalis suddenly becomes more bashful than usual as she says to the Pegasus while gingerly digging her fore hoof into the dirt, “Umm… Ford? I just wanna say… well… thank you… for you know… everything you have done for me and my colony.” “You’re very welcome, your Majesty.” he bows graciously. Then, she hesitantly makes a strange request to Ford, “And… if it’s alright with you… may we… intake some of the guests’ energy during your wedding?” He stares speechlessly at the discomforting changeling, but then, his expression eases with an approving smile as he answers, “Sure, I think we'll have plenty of energy to spare.” Overwhelmed with extreme gratitude, Chrysalis quickly embraces the astonished Mustang as she tightly hugs him. Afterwards, she sheepishly lets him go and retreats back to her underground home. Lastly, Wagner stands aside as he waits his turn before saying his farewells with Ford. Once the blue stallion approaches him, the Inferno Dragon King first addresses an important matter to the smaller individual, “Before we take off, there is some unfinished business that we need to discuss first.” “What it is, Wagner?” “Well… since Hindel doesn’t have any living descendents nor does he have any connections with our clan anymore, we’ve decided it’s fair that we leave all of his treasure to you instead.” As Rarity’s ears perk up automatically upon hearing the word, “treasure”, Ford is greatly surprised by his unexpected inheritance as he questions it in great shock, “All of it… goes to me?” “Mmm-hm.” Wagner acknowledges with a simple nod. “Considering that you now inherit his powers, it would seem fitting that you should inherit his treasure as well.” Quickly, Rarity steps in while her marefriend, Applejack, follows behind as the fashion diva inquires politely, “Umm… pardon me for interrupting your conversation, but out of curiosity, how much treasure are we talking about?” Wagner takes a moment to estimate the amassed wealth before he can answer Rarity’s curiosity, “Mmm… I would have to say… enough to buy a whole castle.” Unable to speak properly after hearing that estimation, the flabbergasted seamstress responds to the best of her abilities by moaning and fainting dramatically with Applejack being there to catch her just like before. As for Ford, he takes into great consideration on this vast fortune he just received. And after silently contemplating on this, Ford looks back at Wagner with a leisurely smile and says to him, “You know what? You keep it. I have no need for all of that.” “WHAT?!” Rarity shrieks in great alarm as she hastily rises up from Applejack’s forelegs. Surprised by this, Wagner has to make sure on the stallion’s decision. “Are you sure about that, Ford? Most ponies would be foolish enough to turn down an offer like that.” “Yes, Mustang! Please reconsider!” Rarity pleads significantly with a sly, persuasive smile. “I know that accepting such a massive amount of wealth can be quite a heavy burden, so maybe you might want to give some of it away to help lighten the load for you, as it were! Perhaps one of your dearest and closest friends, who one of them happens to run a boutique, might be able to put your newly acquired wealth to good use!” As the white Unicorn flashes her fluttering eyelashes with an appealing smile towards the indecisive Mustang, the disapproving Applejack gets her materialistic marefriend’s attention by clearing her throat, “Ahem! Rarity…” Startled by AJ’s judgmental expression, Rarity restates herself with a nervous smile, “Oh, and uh… in addition for a well-known farmpony, of course! You know… to help support her devoted family and make harvest seasons more productive for her too!” As tempting as that sounds, Applejack isn’t buying that as her emotionless face raises a skeptical eyebrow towards Rarity’s scheming. As for Ford, he takes this into more consideration before he smiles over his final decision. “You do bring up a pretty good point, Rarity.” he says to her, much to her delight and Applejack’s confusion. Then, Ford turns back to the great, red dragon and declares to him, “Wagner, I would like to retract my previous statement. Your clan can keep half of Hindel’s treasure, but the rest of the other half can be divided evenly to other allies, including the griffon and changelings. They each deserve an equal portion of the reward for their contributions.” Behind him, Rarity subtly groans in disappointment while AJ smiles broadly over Ford’s benevolent decision. As for Wagner, he is still baffled by the stallion’s generous nature towards others. “And… you still don’t want a portion for yourself, Ford?” the dragon asks of him. “Thanks, but…” He wraps a gentle wing over Rainbow before he directs his tender words for her, “I already have the greatest treasure in the world right now.” Touched by his tenderness, Rainbow leans in and affectionately nuzzles his face. As for Rarity, she too is touched by Ford’s loving devotion for his fiancée as she reflects on how her own greed got the better of her. Thoroughly impressed by Ford’s thoughtful actions, Rarity seeks to be redeem herself by setting herself as a proper representative of generosity. “You know, on second thought, I would rather give me fair share to somepony else who deserves it even more than myself!” she says with resolve before facing Applejack with a warm smile on her sincere face. “Especially if it’s for an honest, hardworking farmpony that I know of back home!” “Ooh, come here you!” AJ urges with watery, emerald eyes as she pulls Rarity in for a deep, rewarding kiss. Unable to contain his massive stomach with all of this sappiness, Wagner gags to break off the emotional scene, “Ugh! You ponies and your mushiness! Very well, we will leave half of the treasure to you then. And I assume your princesses will take responsibility over this?” “We’ll make sure to divide it up equally to each of our friends.” Twilight Sparkle promises. “Well then, I guess that settles that. Farewell, Sir Ford Mustang.” After a respectful bow to Ford, Wagner flaps his mighty wings and takes his leave while several of his dragon brethrens follow suit. While Wagner and his remaining clan members flight toward the sunset, Ford suddenly realizes that he forget something and hastily asks the dragon leader in a loud voice. “Wait Wagner! You’re gonna come to my wedding too, aren’t you?!” In response to that outburst, Wagner loses focus of his flight pattern and stumbles greatly in midair. After a steady recovery, the crimson dragon turns around and harshly criticizes at the smiling pony down below. “You can’t be serious! How would I even squeeze into those confined buildings of yours?!” “We can figure something out later!” the armored stallion replies with a carefree smile. “For now, will you accept my invitation?” Wagner greatly flabbergasts on the idea of coming to pony’s wedding as his stubbornness takes a grasp on his decision-making. With quivering lips, Ford appeals to the indecisive dragon, “Please, Wagner? I’m sure Hindel would appreciate it if you take his place for him!” Knowing that his honor is at stake on the mention of his old friend, Wagner surprisingly blushes like mad as he snaps his answer out loud in a flustering manner, “Oh, alright! Fine! I’ll do it! But you better provide the most exquisite gemstones to cater our needs there!” Satisfied by the ancient dragon’s reaction, Ford agrees with a chuckling smile, “Done!” --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After what seems to be like a long yet pleasant train ride back to Ponyville, the friends depart to their respective homes. As for Ford and Rainbow, they leisurely fly back to their floating castle in the sky where the evening background has transcended into a gradient of orange and blue colors. Upon their landing, the two Pegasi take a long look at their welcoming home before they enter inside. “Well… home sweet home!” Rainbow comments with a smirk. “Yes… home.” Ford murmurs with a dreamy smile as he rests his head onto hers. As they make their way to the beckoning doorway of their long-awaited home, Ford looks at her and asks with a sly smile, “So Rainbow... if I’m a knight, does that make you my princess?” “Eh, I don’t like the title that much.” she responds with slight disinterest. “I’m a mare of action, not some damsel-in-distress waiting to be rescued!” she boasts as she drums her chest proudly. “I don’t know. Your princesses are pretty active on the line of duty than you give them credit for.” “Hmm, that’s true I guess.” “How about… you become my warrior princess instead?” “Warrior princess, huh?” she ponders for a bit before she grins with approval. “Yeah, I could go with that!” With a simple smile, he grins with satisfaction, “Awesome!” After she opens the door, she faces her knight in shining armor as she extends a foreleg for him while doing an impression based off of Rarity’s aristocratic demeanor, “Well then, Sir Ford… care to escort the young lady to the royal suite upstairs?” Playing along with her, Mustang courteously kneels before his beloved princess, accepts her fore hoof, and kisses it lightly before replying in a chivalrously cliché way. “As you wish, milady.”