Symphony of Life

by CrackedInkWell

1st Movement

There was a knock on Color’s door that interrupted his painting what was outside of his window. At first he was annoyed due to the late summer’s heat and being interrupted from his creative flow. His head turned, the unicorn lit up his horn to unlock the door. There in the doorway was somepony who turned his annoyed mood into a pleasant one.

“Harmonic, how are you?” he asked.

The alicorn smiled, “You do know what day it is right?”

“Yeah I know, I know, it’s your birthday. Now don’t worry, I have your present ready.”

“Aw Color, you do know you don-”

“Too late, I already did. Now, aren’t ya going to come in?”

The Prince stepped inside the apartment, closing the door behind him, he went up to his consort and nuzzled him.

“I like the painting,” he said.

The artist shrugged, “It’s not quite done yet. Just need to touch up on the sky over here. So is there any reason you’re here?”

“Hmm… Not really. I just got done doing a few errands for mom for tonight and I’m done with them. So with nothing to do for the next hour or so, I thought, perhaps, I might come by for a wee bit.”

Color smiled, “Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten the time. I know about the whole party thing. So is there anypony in particular that’s coming?”

“Other than our parents?” Color nodded. “Well, Twilight and her friends are coming over. Cadence said that she might make it but not Shining because he got his hooves tied as it is. Now who else? Oh! And my music teacher is coming too.”

“Octavia?”

“Yeah.”

“And what about her wife?”

“Couldn’t make it this time. She said that she’s in Manehattan right now doing a gig; which is kinda disappointing though, those two are fun to talk to.”

“Agreed. And how you’ve been doing lately?”

“Oh nothing other than the usual.”

“Let me guess, pop music is doing poorly, movies are trying to come up with something original, Lightning Quill come out with an another book, and Prince Blueblood has dumped another mare again?”

Harmonic nodded. Color rolled his eyes: “I wonder what that guy’s problem is?”

“Maybe I need to tell him sometime that it’s okay for him to come out of the closet any century now.”

Color immediately busted out laughing with Harmonic following right behind him.

“Right on!” Color said giving him a brohoof.

_*_

In the back of the ballroom, there was a banner that read: “Happy 21st Birthday Prince Harmonic!” All around the room were the guests, a few members of the Royal Family, all of the Elements of Harmony, and some of the most talented musicians that played a newly discovered type of music. Something discovered by the Prince of Inspiration by accident while on a trip to Manehattan once. A kind of music that was so new, that they invented a word that describes the wild yet catchy melodies that come from the top of these musicians’ heads who improvised on a melody. A kind of music called Jazz.

In this party, ponies talked amongst each other out of earshot of the Royal couple. This wasn’t much of a surprise considering the gossip of Harmonic and Color in the time that they’ve dated. Rumors amongst Canterlot’s upper class were as colorful as the artist the Prince himself was dating. As of any other rumors, some were true, some were not, and then there was some that leaves one wondering.

For instance, there was a question that floated around since the previous year, the question of will the two make the ultimate commitment since they’re so close.

But for the moment, Harmonic and Color were enjoying themselves at the party. While the Prince was using his violin to join in with the band, Color had been talking with his father, Golden Cash.

“Just wait until after he blows out the candles, then you go ahead,” his father said.

“B-But what if he says 'no'?”

“So what? You two have been good to each other for this long, you’ve gotten to know one another and you enjoy just being with him right?”

Color nodded.

“Look, I know how it is. And believe me; I was nervous when I asked your mother too. And like her, he may not say 'yes' right away, but I can see in him that seems to be unlikely right?”

“I… I suppose so.”

“Just remember, do so only when you’re ready. Got it?”

Color nodded.

About fifteen minutes later, the cake in the shape of a violin with twenty-one candles wheeled into the room by the hyperactively mad pink mare.

One song later, Pinkie said to Harmonic: “Wait! You gotta make a wish first.”

At first, Harmonic hesitated, looking down at the cake, he was impressed in the work that went into it for a moment. On a square block of frosting was a replica of his Trotivarius made entirely out of cake and rich frosting on a stand. On the block with twenty-one lit candles were the words, “Happy Birthday Harmonic.”

The Prince didn’t have to think about what kind of wish to make. He closed his eyes for a moment and blew out the candles.

While the cake was getting cut, Color went over to the alicorn, trying his best to hide his nervousness.

“Um, H-Harmonic?” Color asked.

“Hm? Oh! Hey Color, look, can I talk to you for a moment?”

“Uh, sure I guess.”

To Color’s surprise and catching everypony within sight, the Prince sat down on his hunches, “Sit with me, please.”

Around the room, there was the rising sound of “Ooh!”

“Shut up,” Harmonic deadpanned. Color sat down in front of him. “Color, look… We’ve been with each other for – what? Four years right?”

Color nodded.

“And during that time since we’ve been paired up and all, we’ve spent some time together to get to know each other on our good days, bad days, and days that were painful to sit though right?”

“Yeah…”

“So… Because we’ve been seeing each other for so long, despite a few fights here and there, and somewhat degree of troubled pasts – Oh! And the fact your younger sis is a wee bit crazy, uh no offence.”

Color chuckled, “None taken.”

“The point is, that despite all of the bad days we had while being together, we’ve managed to work things out and being honest with each other that in the end, we forgive so we can move on right?”

“Harmonic, what are you trying to say here?”

“I’m getting to that. You see lately, I’ve been thinking. That no matter what life throws at us, we’ve always found a way to make us laugh in the end. That we’ve inspired one another and being with you is something that I look forward to.”

Color blushed, “Ha, oh please, you’re too kind.”

“To me Color, out of all the ponies that I’ve ever known, I want to be by your side because, well, to me you are happiness in the flesh. You were always there when I needed you the most, even if you didn’t want to but your mind knows that it was needed. This is why I want to ask you a tiny little question to ya.”

“W-Wait! Are you asking what I think you’re asking?”

The only response Harmonic made was that his horn glowed and with a ‘pop!’ a golden ring was right in front of Color.

“Color Spectrum, would you please marry me?”

Color blinked a few times, and then, his surprise gave way into laughter. Hard Laughter. Harmonic was mortified, did he do it wrong?

“Ha-ha-hahahaha-ha! Oh this is way too funny! Ha-ha! S-Sorry! I’m r-really am! Ha-ha-ha! T-Th-This is too m-much of a c-coincidence!”

“Huh?”

Color’s horn glowed, and out of his suit pocket, a small box wrapped in wrapping paper levitated over to the prince and urged him to open it. Curious, the alicorn took the box into his own aura and unwrapped the present. When he opened the box, his eyes widen: “You’ve got to be joking!” He said, being stunned for a moment to see a ring in the box.

It took one look at each other before both of them collapsed to the ground with laughter, dropping their rings along with them. The guests in the room started to laugh along side them for the funny coincidence that had been unfolded before them.

The two of them eventually caught their breaths and sat back on their hunches, Harmonic took hold of his ring and Color with the box.

“Okay, okay!” Color said after getting his steady speech back. “Let's just do this again.” He cleared his throat, “Prince Harmonic, will you be mad enough to marry me?”

“Hmm…That depends,” Harmonic said with a smirk, “Will you?”

_*_

“Would that be all you’d be needing this evening?” the waiter asked.

“I think this’ll be fine,” Color said. The waiter bowed and left the private dining room, leaving the engaged couple, the two Princesses and a Banker.

“Well Color, we’re all here,” Golden Cash said, picking up his cup of white wine. “So what should we talk about?”

“Well,” Harmonic began, “I think it’s best if we get straight to the point.”

“And that being?” Luna inquired.

“We need help,” the Prince explained, “Now that we’re engaged, so naturally we would need to plan out the whole wedding.”

“Of course,” Celestia nodded, “But what’s the problem?”

“It’s all too much,” Color said, “I had no idea that there was so much to think about! Like where to have the wedding, who should serve the food, what clothes to wear, there’s just so many details to consider.”

“And that’s nothing close to planning the uh… honeymoon,” Harmonic blushed, but continued, “I mean, neither of us could settle down where to go. We’ve got the entire world in our hooves to choose from. Yet there’s just so many places to consider with all it’s pro’s and cons that we don’t know that we’ll be able to come to it by the time we plan out the wedding.”

“So I guess...” Color started.

“If it’s possible...” Harmonic added.

“Could you guys help us plan the honeymoon?” they both asked in unison.

All three parents blinked, “Huh,” the Banker spoke out his thoughts, “This is new.”

“What is your reason in choosing us?” Celestia asked, picking up some of her pasta with her fork.

“We figured that if we could take care of the wedding while somepony worked on the honeymoon,” Harmonic explained, “That way, we’d both would focus on one thing, with some ponies to help us while someone else would work on where we’ll go, so that we can divide the workloads.”

“In other words,” Luna said, cutting her crapes, “While you two figure out the details of your wedding, we would figure out where you’re going after the wedding, correct?”

“That’s pretty much the idea,” Color nodded.

The Night Princess thought for a moment, “You know, I believe that is both an excellent and amusing idea. Yes… In fact, before I continue, have either of you figured out what your wedding is going to be like?”

They shook their heads.

“Sister, Golden Cash, how about we have some fun with this.”

“How so Your Grace?” Color’s father asks.

“How about we do plan out their honeymoon while they plan the actual wedding, but, we keep it a secret from the other. Just so it’ll be a surprise once it’s revealed.”

“I… I kinda like the idea,” Harmonic admitted.

“Yeah,” the Artist tilted his head to the side, “I’m rather curious in what you three might come up with.”

Celestia and Golden Cash agreed. For the rest of their dinner, each of them asked some questions to the other to develop some kind of idea of what to do. In the coming months, however, those ideas evolved into a plan.

_*_

Eventually, both Harmonic and Color agreed on a particular theme. It was inspired on the season that it was to be taken place, Autumn. Harmonic agreed that he’ll work with Pinkie with a party set up, Rainbow for the entertainment, and Fluttershy with ideas for the music; while Color worked with Applejack to oversee the food, Rarity for designs on clothing and Twilight to help organize invitations, schedule and security (considering the last time a Royal wedding was held).

It was decided, for safety reasons, that the event should be private so it would be easier to take care in case something went wrong.

Then in early October, the sun rose on that day long awaited. The preparations were ready and waiting to go, along with the ponies that ran last moment errands for the upcoming ceremony and after party.

On that morning in two different parts of the capital, two nervous stallions were waiting in their homes.

_*_

“I know everything’s going to be fine dad,” Color said with his dad and Rarity in his apartment. The reason why Rarity was there at all was because she wanted to make sure that the suit she tailored for the unicorn was absolutely perfect.

“And yet you’re sweating,” Golden pointed out. “Color, what’s wrong really?”

“Is it about the future darling?” Rarity asked as she snipped at a loose thread. Color looked at her in surprise.

“How did-”

“Color dear, this isn’t the first time I’ve made any clothing for either bride or groom. And most of the time, they start second-guessing themselves if they really want to spend the rest of one’s life with.”

“Well… I would be lying if I said no.”

Golden chuckled, “Son, this isn’t that uncommon as you think. Trust me; I was married once too you know.”

“Yeah, but…” Color trailed off. “But this time this is completely different.”

“How so dear?” Rarity asked as she reviewed her work for the last time.

“Look, it’s not that I don’t love ‘em or anything. Heck, that’s why we’re getting hitched anyway; I really do love him and all. It’s just that with him, well – I’m just worried.”

It didn’t take long for the other two ponies to figure out what he’s talking about. “It’s about Harmonic never dying isn’t it?” his father asked.

_*_

“How did you two deal with it?” Harmonic asked as he was looking out the window of his room. Behind him were Princess Cadence and her husband Shining. Cadence asked what he was talking about.

“You both know that Cadence will far outlive you right?” he asked Shining.

“Yeah, we know,” The Prince of the Crystal Empire replied, straightening out his sash.

“So how do you deal with the fact that you’ll watch the one you love grow old and one day dies, whereas you’ll only grow a little taller in all that time and that’s it? Cadence, how do you deal with something like that?”

Cadence put a hoof to her muzzle in thought. “You know, even before the whole changeling fiasco, I thought about the exact same thing.”

“Same here,” Shining said, “Even when we were dating, I didn’t exactly want to talk to her about it at first. Look, we get it, it’s something that nopony wants to even think about.”

“I don’t think we’ve even talked about it until, what? The month before we got married wasn’t it?”

“Uh, yeah.”

“Anyway, I went to Auntie Celestia about this, that I’m in love with this handsome stallion, but I know that I’ll end up losing him in the end.”

“What’d she say?” Harmonic asked.

“She told me that yes; there will come a point where my Shining will be getting old while I stayed like this for a very long time. That if I do in fact, love him, why should it matter how old he’ll get? There will be complications later on, and one day, he’ll no longer be with me anymore. But it’s okay, I learned that the one you love is truly precious to you, and that you should spend each day with them while you still can.” At this point, Cadence gave her husband a quick kiss.

“A bit of advice though,” Shining added, “I think Color is probably as worried about this as you are. So it’ll be best to talk about this sooner rather than later.”

Harmonic nodded. He looked at the clock on the fireplace mantel, it read 10:49. Taking a deep breath, he turned to the couple, “I… I think I’m ready.”

_*_

In a part of the royal gardens, there is a place where there’s a grove, in this grove where the trees had its leaves turned into reds, yellows, browns, pale greens and gold were ponies that have gathered there for a very special occasion.

Sitting in the chairs on one side was some of Color’s family and a few friends, in the other were the Elements and the royal family. And standing up were some of the guards who stood at attention, as well as Princess Celestia.

Behind the crowd were a few musicians or a hoofful of journalists; amongst them was Octavia with her cello at the ready. She can see her wife’s mane in front of her, Vinyl sat there, waiting for the ceremony to start.

A Guard came up and nodded at the musicians to begin. Now getting everypony’s attention, the first ones to come down the aisle were the Prince being led by Luna. Even for a Prince, his suit was surprisingly modest. Over a white shirt with a scarlet tie, the alicorn had on a suit of white with the sleeves, pockets, and even coattails had on the image of the Autumn red leaves. Not to say that it was plainly obvious that Harmonic was trying to keep as calm as possible, though his nervousness still showed from his shaking front hooves and the sweat going down the back of his neck.

“Um… Auntie,” the Prince whispered, “A-Are you sure that I haven’t fallen asleep?”

The Princess of the Night giggled, “I assure you Harmonic, that you are truly awake and alert.” She whispered back, “You’re not too nervous, aren’t you?”

“Answer me this, am I really making the right decision here? Will Color be happy if we go through with this?”

“Of course, thy union with Color will strengthen from here on out. Being married shouldn’t be the end of one’s relationship, but the beginning of something new. For the only way for thy love to be enriched is to work together as one. Which I have complete faith in both of you will accomplish.”

When they reached Celestia, Luna took her place beside her and watched as Color came up to them with his father, followed by his little sister, Sugar Sweet, carrying a pillow of the rings on her back. Harmonic couldn’t help but give a relieved smile that his husband-to-be hooves were shaking as well. In an odd way, it showed that the Artist was as nervous as he was, but he too has the courage to go through it with him.

Color Spectrum, like the Prince, had on a golden vest that was over his white shirt and orange tie. The suit was also like Harmonic’s in that being that it was also white, but the leaves on his were aged orange.

After giving a nod, Golden Cash left his son in front of Harmonic and took his seat.

The couple looked at each other, both of them trying to figure out what to say to the other, but in a moment like this, the only thing Color could come up with was: “Hey.”

Harmonic nodded, “Afternoon.”

“You look great.”

“Likewise,” the Prince smiled, “So then,” he lifted a wing, pointing at the Sun Princess. “Shall we?”

With a simple nod, Color and Harmonic approached Celestia side by side.

The Princess of the Day cleared her throat, “Fellow friends, family members and acquaintances,” Celestia began. “We have gathered here today to witness the marriage of my son, Prince Harmonic Trotivari Everfree, and his dear companion Color Spectrum. I don’t believe there’s even a word, or a phrase to express my pride and astonishment in what Harmonic has done within the past five years since his adoption. I and my sister have seen him turned from a frighten colt, to bloom into the gentlecolt you see today. And the fact that he is here to be wed to the pony that he would had thought to be unreachable is now becoming a reality. For Harmonic it is the realization of the hopes and dreams of ponies that have long sought for long ago, to be given the same opportunity that marriage can provide, to the pony who you care deeply about, no matter the gender.

“We are also here for Color Spectrum, who with his patience, wisdom, and kindness have made our son the stallion we know today. He has been his greatest teacher where he taught him the lesson of accepting one’s self, and that there’s no shame in being authentic before the world. Color has given my son the happiness that Harmonic was long denied, and showed him that even he can be loved.

“So, with all that in mind, if there is any reason why these two should not be wed, speak now, or forever hold your peace.”

Celestia waited for a moment. There were a few creaks from the chairs as well as the rustle of leaves in the gentle breeze, and nothing else. The Sun Princess instructed the exchanging of rings.

When that was done, she said to them: “Color Spectrum, do you take my son, Prince Harmonic Trotivari Everfree to be your lawful wedded spouse: to willingly give him comfort when there is pain; to give love when there is fear; to give him happiness when there is misery; to give your life, to protect his; to give your voice, to hear his; to give your mind, to understand his; and to be give your body, to him?”

“As long as I live, I do.”

She then turned towards her adopted son, “And do you take Color Spectrum also to be your lawful wedded spouse: to willingly give him comfort when there is pain; to give love when there is fear; to give him happiness when there is misery; to give your life, to protect his; to give your voice, to hear his; to give your mind, to understand his; and to be give your body, to him?”

“I forever will.”

Celestia smiled, she and her sister opened her wings in all their glory. “By the powers invested by myself, my sister and the Kingdom of Equestria, I hereby pronounce you, husband and stallion.” She and her sister folded their wings. “The two of you may kiss.”

And with that, the couple leaned in for a kiss. There were cheers and applause, and Celestia shed a tear.

“Sister, art thou crying?” Luna asked.

“No,” Celestia lied. “It’s… Oh, how did Shining Armor best put it?”

“Liquid pride?”

“Ah yes. It’s just a little liquid pride getting out.”

_*_

The newlyweds couldn’t ask for a better afterparty. There was never a dull moment as far as they saw. Pinkie went out of her way to make sure every single pony there was having a good time. Rainbow’s favor she asked the Wonderbolts for have been made into a reality when they made their entrance. Applejack’s catered food was delicious. Rarity did a good job with her work on the clothes that both fitted and suited the grooms well. Twilight invited the right ponies and got one activity going after the next. And Fluttershy had chosen well for the pieces of music to set the right moods where it has to be.

At one point, Twilight instructed for a traditional slow dance for the couple. The Prince called out for his violin to be brought out. When this was done, Harmonic took the violin in his aura along with the bow. Instead of putting it under his chin and playing the Trotivarius by hoof as he usually did, he started to play it with his magic alone.

Harmonic bowed first, and then Color, they stood on their hind legs and took hold of each other with their front legs, and they began to dance. At first, the violin played a rhythm of a waltz, but thanks to his education from Twilight, he combined another spell to make the solo violin sound like the entire string section from an orchestra and a solo piano.

“Always playing from the heart huh?” Color asked.

The alicorn chuckled a little: “Of course. And you do realize how clichéd that sounded right?”

“What? A cliché is called a cliché because it’s always true, no matter how many times you get tired of hearing it.”

“I suppose so.”

“Besides, this is perfect anyway.”

“Agreed,” Harmonic smiled, the two of them didn’t say anything else. They just danced to take at the moment.

_*_

By late afternoon, the party winded down. They already had some lunch along with the cake. Presents for the newlyweds were already given out. All that was left were the couple as well as a few guards.

“What a day,” Color sighed. But then he looked around the garden. “Hold on… Where’s dad?”

Harmonic looked around the garden as well, “And where’d the Princess gone to?”

What the couple didn’t notice was that there was one Guard who was looking at a watch, he looked up to a few other guards and gave a nod. Then four guards quietly went up behind the couple, and with one swift movement, they blindfolded them.

“Hey!” they yelled out.

“Our apologies,” said a Guard, “By Princess Celestia’s orders, we’re to blindfold the both of you to take you two to a specific location.”

“Why?” Color asked.

“Her Highness said it was a surprise, now come on you two, let’s go.”

Despite their protests, they were lead out of the gardens and they were loaded onto a carriage.

“You know what to do,” the Guard said, and with that, they were moving.

Of course, they tried to lift the blindfold off of them, but they found that no matter how hard they tried, using magic or otherwise, the blindfolds would not come off. Harmonic figured that they might be enchanted.

Several minutes passed by, and they noticed that during that time, they did not hear a single pony else other than their driver. Whatever Celestia was planning, she obviously made it out of her way to make sure they stay in the dark.

Then the carriage stopped, they heard new voices that lead them out of the carriage and lead them towards who-knows-where. Then they stopped.

The next thing they knew, their blindfolds came off, and after blinking a few times to adjust to the light, they saw that they were at the train station. Before them (from left to right) they saw Color’s father, Twilight, Shining, Cadence, Luna and Celestia with her horn aglow, holding the blindfolds in her aura.

“Okay,” Color said completely confused. “Why we here and why all of you looking at us like that?”

“You’re going on a little trip,” Twilight said smiling. At this point, they took notice of the locomotive that was connected to four cars. The layout of the train seemed to be made out of carefully casted iron and painted in red and gold. On the second to last car, there seemed to be a kind of catwalk that goes around it.

And then there was the locomotive itself, the machine coincided with the paint scheme as the cars, but this machine had either large jewels or crystals that stood out in certain places. All of which was connected to a wire that linked to the other cars.

“Do you know what this is?” Celestia asked. The couple shook their heads. “This is the very train that Cadence and Shining Armor rode while they were on their honeymoon. And this will be the train that you, along with a few guards and staff, will be riding in for the next week.”

Both the Prince and the Artist looked at each other then back at the Princess.

“Going where?” Harmonic asked.

“You two will be stopping at a few places,” Luna said.

“But where?”

Cadence grinned, “You’ll see.”

“Well, thanks for the train I guess.” Color said, “But don’t you’d think we should get packin-”

“Son, that’s already taken care of,” his father said.

The newlyweds blinked. “What?” they both asked.

Shining nodded, “We’ve thought up of everything, and we’ve already got all the things you’ll need in there. So there’s no need to pack, everything from your violin to your paintbrushes is all in there waiting for you. All you’d need to do now is to get on board.”

Cadence nodded, “Trust us when we say this, that it has – everything.” She giggled a little bit while blushing. “Am I right Twilight?”

Twilight blushed and quickly nodded. “Of course. This train has, from the locomotive downwards: the guards and servants barracks car; the dining car; your personal car; and there’s the lounge car in the back. Oh, and don’t worry about the noise, I’ve already put a sound proof spell in each of the cars. And although the train has been installed with new springs, it does tend to shake from time to time, so expect that.”

“So, honeymoon by train?” Color asked, “Okay, I never expected that.”

“And this train is waiting for you two just get on, and we shall tell the engineer to start your trip,” Luna said, still not letting down her smile.

The couple looked at each other, Color let out a hoof towards Harmonic. “After you, Your Highness.”

The Prince smiled as he touched his hoof, “Oh no. You first, Your Highness.”

_*_

When they boarded the train and waved their goodbyes, Luna gave the order to set the train in motion. The very first thing they did as soon as they were on was to check out their private cars.

Inside the car, they found that the very first thing they saw was a bed big enough for both of them in the center of the spacious room. Towards the engine behind a door was a bathroom complete with a sink, toilet, and bathtub with a showerhead. Towards the back, was a closet where they found their clothes, beside the closet was built in drawers that had their personal belongings. Unlike many trains that they’ve road on, they found that the room had hardwood floors, an electric heater, a few nightstands with lamps glued onto them beside the bed, a few small paintings that Color painted in frames, and Harmonic’s violin case on a shelf with a net to prevent it from falling off.

“Nice room,” Color nodded with approval.

“Okay, I admit, this is kinda cool.”

Color snorted, “Kinda? Seriously, besides Cadence and Shining, how many ponies you know had their honeymoon on a train like this?”

“Don’t know,” Harmonic said as he opened the top drawer going downward. He added: “And they weren’t kidding either, this place has got everything. Now what’s in here? Whoa! What’s all this?” Harmonic levitated the note amongst the drawer’s containments. “Is that the right amount of zero’s?” he asked.

“Hey let me see,” Color went over and saw the drawer full of bits. Eyes widen, he looked over to the note. “Well, thank you dad,” he said as he turned his attention towards the bed. Trotting over, he flopped onto the red blanket that covered it. Color moaned, “Oh I can just go to sleep on this thing right now.”

Harmonic smiled, “Yeah, remind me to come and jo-” the Prince stop dead what he was about to say when he opened the last drawer on the very bottom. His eyes widen, cheeks blushed madly and his wings sprung wide open.

Color turned at the sound of the “pomf” sound towards his husband. “Hey, you alright?” he asked as he got off the bed. He went over back to him and peeked over what he was looking at.

“Now what’s in… whoa.” Color also had his eyes widen and blushed furiously. The newlyweds looked at each other, then back to the drawer.

“Um… Are these…?” Color asked.

“Color, I swear to you, none of them are mine. In fact, and I don’t even know what half of this stuff is.”

“What this say?” the artist’s horn glowed and picked up a little pink note from inside the drawer. It simply read:

Have fun boys.

– Cadence.

“Is this supposed to be a joke?” the flustered alicorn asked.

“I don’t think so. And I think she went completely overboard with this stuff. I mean, that one looks like it has the size and thickness of one of my legs!”

“Forget that this one has barbs! I mean seriously, is this supposed to be used for torture or something?”

“And are these…?” Color’s horn lit up to get a closer look at one of the bottles. “They are! And what does this one say? 'Strawberry scented?' Okay why would you have it smell like strawberries when you’re putting it on-”

There was a knock on the door. Quickly, the two of them slammed the drawer shut and threw the bottle under the bed. The door opened up to a mare in a uniform.

“Oh sorry, are you two doing-”

“NOTHING!!” the couple screamed out. The mare jumped a little but kept her composure.

“Okay… So anyway, my name is Server, Server Tray. I’m one of the staff on this train. I was just here to tell Your Majesties that dinner will be served in the dining car at 5:30. Also, is there anything you need?”

The stallions shook their heads, eyes still wide and dilated as they tried to keep themselves from blushing.

“If you need us for anything, just push the button over there, it’ll buzz us if you need something. And the one over there is for emergencies when you need the Guards, okay?”

“Yeah. Makes sense,” Color said.

“Oh and one more thing, if you don’t want anypony barging in, just make sure your curtains are drawn and your door locked. Enjoy your trip, Sires.” She bowed and left, closing the door behind her.

“Harmonic? Let’s just promise each other never to mention this ever again.”

“Right ahead of ya.”

_*_

Filled with curiosity, the two newlyweds decided to ask everypony on the train where they were going. To speed up time, they split up. While Color started at the head of the locomotive, Harmonic started from the leisure car. Both of them spent quite some time trying to interview, as well as pry open as to where exactly they were headed towards.

As the sun began to fall below the horizon, the Harmonic entered the dining car. He scanned over the car which had a small mixture of Guards and staff until he caught sight of his husband. Judging by the slouch, the Violinist could assume that he didn’t have any luck either.

“So, anything?” Color asked.

“Absolutely, nothing,” the Prince took a seat across from the Artist. “All I know is we’re headed west, and that’s pretty much it.”

“Where do ya suppose we’re going anyway?”

Harmonic shrugged, “Don’t know. I’m trying to think back for some kind of clue.”

“Same here. Do you suppose we’re heading to Applewood?”

“Why? I’ve already been there. The only thing there are movies, producers, good actors, horrible actors, producers, weirdoes, more producers, and Whinnyland,” here the alicorn shuttered, “That was a weird day.”

Color chuckled, “I know, I remember you talking all about it while being in the fetal position.”

“Shut up,” Harmonic deadpanned.

“Excuse me, Sirs,” One of the three waiters said to them. “Can I get you anything for this evening?”

“Sure,” said Harmonic, “Spaghetti sounds good to me, you? Yeah. Okay, some spaghetti, huckleberry soda-”

“I’ll have cherry,” Color interrupted.

“And as a side or dessert, maybe you can give us a clue as to where we’re going.”

“No can do Sir,” the waiter said, “The food, however, that I can get you. I’ll be back.” With that, he left the two to talk to the chef behind the open bar.

With a defeated sigh, the alicorn rested his front hooves over his eyes.

“You alright?” Color asked.

“Yeah. It’s just it’s been a long day.”

“I know, and we’ve been married for a few hours now.” Color fell silent for a minute until he spoke up again. “Hey Harmonic, since we are married, I think we need to talk about something.”

“What?”

“The future.”

Harmonic looked up from his hooves. “Hm? What about it?”

“Be honest with me when I ask this since alicorns are born immortal, aren’t you afraid of what happens when I die?”

“Oh Color-”

“Aren’t you?” He saw his husband’s ears folded back, looking down, he nodded. “Harmonic, look. It’s okay to be scared. I’m scared too – well, really scared. You see, I’m scared that in the end, I might end up hurting you.”

“Hurting me?”

“Yeah. Since we love each other and all, I can’t help but wonder how you’ll take it when I’m no longer around anymore. Don’t get me wrong, losing somepony like one or both of our parents is one thing, but what about losing the one you’ll easily give your life to?”

Harmonic sat there in silence for a moment. “I don’t know. I honestly don’t know.”

“Harmonic, look when that day does come, you will need to move on.”

“No!”

“Not right now of course. But later, when I’m no longer around. I’m just thinking about the future here. All I want is to be sure that you’ll be happy in the long run. Okay?”

“….Okay.” the Prince said softly.

“It won’t be easy. Nothing is when you think about it. But just because it’s hard, doesn’t mean it can’t be done. We’ll have to work together. And hey, we might as well enjoy what we have when still had it, right?”

Harmonic reached over and nuzzled his husband, “Thanks, I needed that.”

_*_

When Color awoke the next morning, he was made aware that both of his front hooves were still wrapped around his love. Smiling, he lightly kissed one of his ears, which made them twitch.

“Morning,” he said. Harmonic showed signs of waking up.

“Huh? Oh. Morning.” For a moment, Harmonic didn’t move. That was until he sniffed, and sniffed again. Then suddenly he sat right up.

“You smell that?” he asked.

Color sniffed the air, “Is that, sea salt?” By now, they noticed that the train wasn’t moving. Harmonic got out of the bed and went to a window. After drawing the curtains, his eyes widen.

“Hey Color, come here.”

He did, he got up and looked out the window as well.

“I’m a seeing a beach?” Harmonic asks.

“Yep.”

“And it’s completely empty.”

“Yep.”

They went to the door to get a good look outside. They confirm their inner most suspicions that the train had stopped some time ago. All up and down the shoreline, they didn’t see any other sign of civilization except for the tracks through the forest of palms. In front of them, the golden sun had broken through the horizon over the gentle waves. In a way, it was if they were looking at one of those old exploration paintings where sailors hop onto uncharted land for the first time. From the clear waters that hit the light brown sand to the millions of sea shells that dotted the shore, the couple, as far as they could see, were looking at paradise itself.

Then they heard a sound in the direction of the leisure car, it was Serving Tray.

“Oh, good morning Your Highness’,” she said as she respectively bowed. “I figure that you're both wondering where we are.” They both nodded, “Please follow me to the leisure car, everything will be explained.”

Inside the leisure car had a tiny library, a phonograph, a few comfy chairs and sofas, a projector for movies along with a screen that’s attached to the ceiling, some movie reels and records. Serving went over to the phonograph where there was a record already placed on. She cranked it until it starts to move, then placed the needle on it. The newlyweds then heard a familiar voice, it was Celestia’s.

“Good morning my son and my son-in-law.

“At this point of the trip, I can imagine you're both wondering where you are and where you’re going. Although I won’t tell you where you’ll go next, I can tell you, however, that at this moment that this record is playing, you should be in the Bahamares.

“Yes! You hear me right, the Bahamares. And you might be wondering why there are no crowds around. That’s because this slice of land was a gift after settling a local dispute that almost turned violent. Anyway, until dinnertime, this whole beach is yours for the day. And what you two decide to do are completely up to you both, as long as you board the train on time of course.

“Oh! And before I forget, you two might be wondering how did you get from Equestria to an island. That’s because this train you’re on can teleport from certain parts of the world. That means you two will find yourselves in a different part of the world every day. But I still won’t tell you where you’re going next. So for now, enjoy.”

_*_

On the first day, they swam and relaxed underneath the palms of the Bahamares. On the second, they spent the day at the Louvre museum in Paris, Prance. The third day they found themselves with a Zebra tribe on the plains of Zebraca. Fourth they learn (miserably) to ski down the Alps. On the Fifth they were treated to a tea ceremony with the monks of Coltbet. The sixth, Harmonic played his violin at the Sydneigh opera house.

And then, on the seventh day, the couple awakes to the capital the Kingdom of Great Britmare. While the two were walking near the river that ran through the center of the city, Harmonic asked: “Color, can I get your opinion on something?”

“Sure.”

The alicorn took in a deep breath. “Over the past few days when you brought up the subject about the future- wait! Hear me out! I was thinking not so much about the distant future, but rather the near future.”

“Near future?”

“Yeah. And I’ve been playing with an idea, but I want to hear your thoughts on the subject. Color, what would think about starting a family?”

Color seemed to be taken aback. “Whoa whoa whoa there! I know we just got hitched and all, but don’t you think that's a little too soon?”

“What do ya mean?”

“Don’t get me wrong here, but don’t you think early twenties is a little too early for raising any foals?”

“Well, how old is reasonable?”

“I don’t know… Twenty-six? Twenty-seven maybe? As of now, I’m sorry Harmonic, I don’t know if I would make a good dad here.”

“Hey, you’ve got nothin’ to feel sorry about. And to be brutally honest with ya, I don’t exactly feel ready either. But in maybe a few years down the road, I think I might be. And also, I think you’ll be a great dad.”

“Really?” Color asked, raising an eyebrow.

“You’re a good listener and give some sound advice. You’ve proven that you can be gentle or stern when you needed to be. And you’ve shown that you can care for another pony, so why not?”

“I… I don’t know. I just don’t feel ready here.”

Harmonic nodded, “Alright. Thanks for telling me.”

“And speaking of near futures, what are we going to tell the 'Princess of Love' when we get back?”

“Simple. We tell her to keep her snout as far away from our private lives as possible and never give so much as a suggestion to them. Subtle or otherwise.”

Comments

[Golden Flare]

This is a good start, the whole, "both lovers ask for their hand (hoof) in marriage at the same time"? Well played!

Also, I found a typo,

“Simple. We tell her to keep her shout as far away from our privet lives as possible and never give so much as a suggestion to them. Subtle or otherwise.”

Isn't it supposed to be "snout"?

Can't wait to see the rest!

[HarmonyRain]

Oh god that last part was hilarious