//------------------------------// // Tomorrow is another day // Story: Pretty in Pink // by Sarcastic Brony //------------------------------// It’s been awhile, hasn’t it? I can feel a bit of guilt over how long it’s been since my last entry but there’s been so much happening that I’ve been too busy to find the time to sit down and write down my thoughts. Sorry, there’s just been so much going on but I’m sure you’ll be happy to hear all about it, right? I gather my thoughts for a second as I dip my quill one more time before writing. I’m sure you’re interested in hearing about what happened with Celestia’s announcement. We can start from there but there’s plenty more where that came from. Don’t worry, I won’t disappearing on you, I have the time right now to tell you everything. “Are you sure you’re ready for this?” Twilight asks with concern. “I’m sure the Princess will understand if you decide to postpone this.” I shake my head at that. “She took the time to set this all up. I can’t back down now. Whether I’m ready or not doesn’t matter, it’s something that needs to be done.” Twilight, Pinkie and I are on a train headed for Canterlot. It’s the day for Celestia to announce my existence to all of Equestria. We’re all rather nervous, how could we not be? There’s so much that’s going on and plenty of things to worry about. I’ve been lucky for the most part, enjoying the newfound splendors of living with my marefriend. Even now during this trying time I feel more at ease with her by my side. Maybe it’s the fact, that should things go wrong, I’ll still be going home with Pinkie in the end. “Everything is going to be fine.” Pinkie tries to calm Twilight. I guess it’s kinda funny in a way that Twilight is the most nervous here. Perhaps it has something to do with everything she saw during our trip to Cloudsdale or maybe she’s just worrying because that’s the type of mare she is? She’s always been kind, worrying about her friends over how she’s doing. I appreciate her taking the time to come with us and caring so much about what may happen. “Pinkie’s right, Twi. No need to worry so much. I’m sure the Princess has everything under control.” Twilight takes a few breaths to calm her nerves. “Yeah, you’re right. I just want everything to work out in the end.” “It will, just you watch!” Pinkie comes in with enthusiasm. I can see a small smile on Twilight’s face at hearing that. “Thank you two for cheering me up.” She chuckles a bit. “I shouldn’t be the one that’s nervous here.” “It’s no problem.” I look out the window to see we’re approaching Canterlot soon. “Almost there. We heading straight for the castle?” Twilight nods. “A guard escort will be waiting for us at the station.” I nod as I go back to looking out the window, just enjoying the scenery while I can. I can feel Pinkie lean against me, so I rest my arm on her withers as I gently stroke her fur. No worries. As long as I have Pinkie by my side, I know I can face anything that’s ahead of me. We made it to Canterlot in once piece. As soon as we stepped out of the train we were greeted by a small regiment of guards waiting for us. A single guard breaks formation and walks towards Twilight. “Ms.Sparkle. Your group is to follow me.” No other words are exchanged as the guard turns on his hooves and starts walking towards the castle. Twilight looks back to us and gives a wave of her hoof to follow and we do so without question. As we start to follow him the other guards take their place around us, forming a box of sorts with us in the center. This drew a lot of attention but what I found off is that most ponies didn’t really give us a second glance. They all looked to be rather busy with something. Ponies would look but then quickly go about their business. I can only assume this has something to do with what Celestia has planned. As we get closer to the castle, I notice a large gathering by the gate. It looks like ponies are already waiting for the announcement from Celestia. Thanks to the guard we easily get past the crown and enter into the castle. The guards lead us all the way to the throne room and quickly show us in. As we enter, I notice that both sisters are talking to each other by the throne. “Princess, your guests have arrived.” The lead guard speaks. The two of them look over to us as the guard from before gives a salute. Luna looks at me with a noticeable smile and Celestia still has that same old motherly type smile. Twilight, Pinkie and I walk up to the throne. Luna walks straight up to me and takes me into an embrace, which is a bit surprising but one that I don’t deny her. “It’s been awhile.” She says. “Not that long.” I say with a chuckle. “We’re happy to see you. Today’s the day.” We break from our hug as she takes a few steps back to line up with her sister, who is now standing before us. “Sure is.” I say before looking over to Celestia. “So, anything we should know about how this entire thing is going to work?” “It shouldn’t be too difficult.” Celestia speaks. “I’ll give my speech, once that is done I will ask you to join me on stage. From there I want you to tell everypony something about yourself. Once that’s all done, I’ll say a few more words. Nothing complicated.” “Seems easy enough.” I admit. “It needs to be.” Celestia states. “If things were complicated then it could lead to trouble.” “So when’s this happening?” “In a few hours. I still have a lot to prepare before we take the stage. I suggest you and your friends rest until I call for you.” We all give her a nod but before we can turn to leave Celestia speaks out once more. “Actually. Twilight, would you please accompany me?” “Sure!” Twilight answers with a large smile. “What would you have me do?” Luna asks. Celestia gives her sister a smile. “I know it’s been awhile since you and Anon have spent some time together. Show him and his mate around.” Luna nods at that, then looks over to Pinkie and me with a smile. “Please, follow me.” We gives Twilight a wave as we go our separate ways for the time being. Luna leads us out of the throne room and towards a direction I’m not familiar with. “So, where we headed?” I ask curious as to where she’s taking us. “It’s been some time since we’ve shared a meal. I wish to know how your life is treating you.” “Well, there’s certainly a lot to talk about.” I admit. “That’s good to hear. What about you, Laughter?” “Oh, there’s tons of stuff to talk about!” She says with a little skip. “Anon and I recently moved in together!” I notice Luna almost trip at hearing that but she’s quick to catch herself as she continues to walk towards what I can only assume is the dining hall. “It’s always nice to hear how your relationship is flourishing, Anon.” “Yeah, I can’t complain.” I say. Things fall silent as Luna keeps leading us. Despite feeling calm about everything that’s happening, I do feel worry start to set in as I come to terms with why I’m here. “Do you think this meeting will end well?” I ask. Luna seems to take notice of the worry in my tone. “Worry not, Anon. My sister could talk a manticore into accepting you, if given the chance.” That puts a smile on my face. “Yeah, you’re right. Just feeling a bit nervous.” I feel something settle on my leg and see Pinkie has her hoof there. She’s looking up at me with a calm smile. I don’t say anything as I rest my hand on her hoof and give it a light squeeze. “We’re finally here.” Luna speaks. Pinkie and I break from our gaze as we enter into the dining hall. The place is huge, mostly because Celestia throws parties here every so often. Luna, Pinkie and I take our seats and a waiter is there ready to take our orders. I decided to go with something light, as the butterflies in my stomach are still there and I don’t want to end up vomiting because of my nerves. For the most part Luna and I talked about random things that have been happening. Pinkie even came in with some things of her own too. It was oddly normal in a way. We’d just talk about how things are going in our life and even joke about some stuff too. It actually helped a lot with calming me down. “I’m glad to see you’re feeling better.” A new voice calls out. The three of us turn around to see Celestia and Twilight standing there at the door. “Is it time?” I ask. She shakes her head. “Not yet. Twilight and I just thought we’d join you three. I hope you don’t mind?” “Not at all.” I say waving to the many open seats at the table. The two of them take their seats and also join in the conversation. This entire situation is odd, mostly because I’ve never really casually spoken with Celestia, except that one time. So it’s just a bit weird for me. Though that doesn’t stick as we all get back to sharing various stories. It’s actually nice to see everyone acting so calm despite what is ahead of us. I just know in the end everything will be alright. Everything went better than expected. Not much else was noteworthy about the announcement itself. It went just as Celestia planned. All the ponies knew about me and after that day I noticed many of them treated me with at least some level of respect. Though I’m not too sure how ponies in other places would treat me, I was content with those around me at least being nicer. I feel myself pause for a moment as I think about what happened next. I let out a small sigh as I dip my quill again. I guess I should tell you about the day Rainbow came back. I’d like to tell you that everything was fine and dandy but that’d be a lie. However, it turned out as well as I expected it to. I come here often after everything that’s happened. I lean against the same tree and look out at the lake. My mind thinks about her. Did I do the right thing? It’s been so long since Rainbow and I have talked and she for the most part has gone off the grid. No one know’s where she is or what she’s doing but I hope she’s alright. I know I can’t make everyone happy but I don’t want her to be hurt either. I let out a sigh as I close my eyes and try to let my thoughts drift away. “Hey, Anon.” I feel my heart hitch as that voice enters into my ears. I’m almost too afraid to open my eyes, wondering if my mind is just playing tricks on me. However, I steady my nerves and open my eyes. Standing there, only a few feet away, is Rainbow. She’s actually there. “Rainbow? Is that really you?” I ask unsure if what I’m looking at is real. She chuckles nervously. “Yeah, it’s me.” We both fall into silence. I’m still in shock that she’s actually here right now and I don’t know what to say now that she’s here. I had all these things from before I wanted to say and yet none of it is coming out. In fact, I don’t even realise it until I’ve already done it. I’m holding Rainbow now, probably in one of the strongest embraces I’ve ever given anyone. I don’t know why, but this feels right. “I’ve been worried.” I say with a slight choke in my voice. I can feel my eyes starting to water some. I don’t know why I feel like crying but I can’t help the flood of emotions i’m feeling. I can feel Rainbow frozen in my hold but soon she relaxes and pats my back some. “Sorry about that. I just had a lot on my mind I had to get straight.” I pull away from Rainbow a bit so I can face her. “No, I’m sorry, Rainbow. This is all my fault.” I let go of her as I look away ashamed.  “This never would’ve happened if I was stronger... If I...” I clenched my teeth some. “wasn’t afraid of losing you. Yet in the end that’s what happened. Not only that but I hurt you.” The silence once against comes back. I’ve been trying to live my life but Rainbow has always been on my mind. I feel guilty after everything that’s happened. “Are you done?” She asks. I turn back to face her and see that she looks rather annoyed. “I don’t blame this on you.” She says. “Not all of it, at least. We both could’ve done things differently but that’s in the past now. I’ve taken a lot of time to think and while I traveled all around Equestria I ended up finding something I lost a long time ago.” “What did you find?” I ask surprised to hear how confident Rainbow is speaking. She smiles a bit. “Well, it’s complicated. There was this friend I had a long time ago and we didn’t end things well between us. She found me in Las Pegasus and we got to talking. Anyways, it got pretty sappy and in the end I realised I didn’t want the same thing to happen between us. You’re my friend and I always stick by my friends, no matter what.” Really? After all this time Rainbow has worked through everything that’s happened? “So, you’re fine?” I ask still a bit dazed. She shakes her head. “Of course not. Just being near you hurts but I’ve found someone willing to help me through it all. In a way you can’t help me.” Wait, is Rainbow says what I think she’s saying? “You and this friend are together?” I ask. She chuckles a bit nervously. “Well, nothing official... We’re kinda just testing the waters. A lot happened between us, let’s just keep it at that.” “That’s um... That’s great.” I say unsure how to take all this information. “There’s a reason I came back, Anon.” Rainbow says looking rather sad. “I don’t think I’m ready to come back to Ponyville just yet and I want you to tell my friends I’m doing fine.” “Why me? Why not send them another letter?” I ask. I can see her eyes glisten some. “Because, I wanted to give you this myself.” Rainbow sits on her rump and takes off the crystal prism that was still on her neck. She looks at it in her hooves one last time and hands it over to me. I feel my heart hitch again. “I... I see.” Is all I can say. “Time for me to move on, Anon.” Rainbow says. “I’ll be back later once I have this all figured out. No worries.” I can only sit there with the necklace in my hands as I watch Rainbow getting ready to fly off. “Hey.” She stops and turns back to face me. I know I’m crying but even so I force myself to smile. “Good luck, Skittles.” She lets out a small chuckles as she too starts to shed tears. “Good Luck with Pinkie, Knucklehead.” She doesn’t say anything else as she quickly flies away. Once she’s gone, do I stop holding myself back. I cried in that spot for a while but eventually I was all cried out. I let out a shaky sigh as I try to reel my emotions back in. Rainbow is sending messages to her friends again. I haven’t gotten a single letter but I feel that everything that needed to be said was shared that day. From what I hear, she’s having a great time with this old friend of hers. I guess her name is Gilda and they’ve grown pretty close since the last letter we got. I tap my quill absent mindedly as I look at the necklace sitting at the corner of my desk. I don’t know what to do with it but I feel that one day, when Rainbow comes back, I’ll give it to her but as an actual present from a friend. I don’t know. I shake these feels away as I bring my mind come back to reality. It’s not all bad. In fact, I know you’ll love this next part. To be honest, it’s going to be a challenge to put it into words, so I hope you can bear with me. It’s been awhile since I last saw Rainbow and talked to her friends. Things have settled down once again but during this time I had other things on my mind. Right now, Pinkie and I are at the very restaurant where we had our date all those months ago. I’m watching her eating pasta with a large smile on her face. I know she enjoys these dates we have every so often. I can’t help myself as I too feel myself smile while watching her. She takes notice of this as she looks up at me. “What is it? Do I have something on my face?” “Just thinking about how much I love you.” I say honestly. I can see her face cover in a blush as she looks down at her plate. “Come on, Anon. You’re embarrassing me.” She says with a smile. This is it. It’s the moment I’ve been waiting for. I could feel it deep down in my very soul that no moment would ever be as perfect as this one.  My heart is pounding in my chest and I can feel my hands start to shake as I reach into my jacket pocket. I get up from my seat and Pinkie eyes me curious as to what I’m doing. Slowly I walk to her side and take a knee next to her. Her eyes slowly widen as she looks at me kneeling before her. “W-What are you doing?” She asks in shock. I smile at her as I show her the small box that was in my pocket. As I look at her I can feel my heart stop beating rapidly. It’s like I hit a state of enlightenment. I knew what I wanted and she is right in front of me. “Pinkie,” “Oh, what is happening?” I hear her whisper to herself. “I have been on this rock for a very long time.” “This can’t be happening.” She continues to mutter. “Ever since we met I knew there was something special about you. Even if our first meeting wasn’t the best, you tried your hardest to make up for that. You became my friend, Pinkie. And slowly, you because more than that to me. You are my marefriend but now I want something more from you.” I pause for a moment to center my thoughts. “Pinkie, I love you. I can’t live without you and I want to spend every single day with you. I want us to grow old together and have fun together. I want you to be by my side until the very end of time.” I slowly open the box to reveal the one thing I spent all my bits on. The one true gift I pray she’ll accept. “Pinkie, will you marry me?” I ask. I didn’t notice it at the time but all the chatter in the restaurant had fallen silent since I started talking. Everyone in the place was on edge just like me, as they wait to hear her answer. “T-This isn’t a joke?” She asks in disbelief. “Never.” I answer. I see her eyes start to tear up. “Yes! Yes, I will marry you!” She screams. I feel everything settle for me as I take out the necklace and ring from the box and clasp it around her neck. That was all I could manage before she pulled me into one of the deepest kisses we have ever shared. All around us I could hear ponies clopping their hooves together. Slowly we break apart but Pinkie seems to be lost in her own thoughts now. “I-I’m getting married.” She says in shock. “I know.” I chuckles a bit at her reaction, though on the inside I fared no better. “I gotta make plans! I-I need to organize the party and everything!” She says looking really nervous. I pull her close once again and it helps calm her a bit as she rests her head against my chest. “We have all the time in the world to worry about that stuff later.” I say honestly. “For now, how about we head on back home and get some rest? Then tomorrow, we can tell our friends the good news.” I can feel her giggling now as I hold her. “Of course!” That’s right. I asked her to marry me! Are you just as happy as I am? I swear, when she said yes, I felt as if I could take on the world! You want to hear about the wedding too, right? Well, don’t worry. I won’t leave you hanging. I quickly dip my quill as I start to feel my excitement coming back at the memory of that day. It’s finally the day. Everything is ready and there’s nothing else I can do other than wait. I’m dressed in one of the finest suits I’ve ever seen Rarity make. No fabric was spared in the creation of it. It wasn’t even a few hours ago she was helping me put it on, fussing over some of the smallest things. Once she was done with me she left to go check on Pinkie. Which I’m sure she’s getting the same treatment. Though Rarity isn’t the only friend to be on edge right now. Twilight spent a few weeks constantly going over the various plans we had. Making sure deliveries were on time and food was on schedule. It took Pinkie and I some force to make her sleep before the wedding but at least she looked a lot better when I last saw her. Fluttershy has also been working hard to make sure her animal friends were ready for the music and Applejack also made sure everything was ready with the food. Even going out of her comfort zone to make dishes that were more appropriate for a wedding in Canterlot. That’s where we are after all. Celestia invited us to use her place for the wedding, as it was a monument of sorts for one of the elements to get married. However, she was surprised when Pinkie and I requested her to be our priestess. I could tell she was happy to have been asked and accepted. Luna is my best mare and for the most part she’s been calm this entire time. Excited to be the best mare but calm nonetheless. As for Pinkie’s best mare. Well, it’s Rainbow. I don’t know how Pinkie did it but she said she wanted all her friends to be here for this moment and that’s what she did. She found Rainbow somehow and got her to come to her wedding, if only for the day. I haven’t seen or talked to Rainbow but all of her friends have and she’s been telling them about all the fun stuff she’s been doing with her friend Gilda. I’m glad she’s here. It wouldn’t be the same without her, despite all that’s happened. “Are you ready?” I jump some as I turn to face Luna who is standing by the door. “Yeah, I’m ready.” She smiles at me and gives a nod. “Five minutes. Good luck.” She doesn’t say anything as she leaves to take her place at the stage. I can feel my heart pounding now but I wouldn’t have it any other way. This moment is what I’ve been waiting for and now I finally get to take the final step with the mare I love. I’m standing at the door that leads into the hall. I can hear the birds Fluttershy brought singing and the doors slowly opening. If my heart was beating any faster it would probably explode at this point. I steel myself over as I close my eyes and take one last steady breath in and let it out. I open my eyes and find they fall onto Pinkie. She’s standing there in her white dress and my heart slows. She’s looking at me with a smile. I feel myself start to walk to the altar but in my mind I don’t know if I’m actually walking. I can’t look away from Pinkie as I make my way all the way up to her. We’re standing side by side and everything is hazy. Even as Celestia speaks I can’t really hear what she’s saying. “I do.” I feel myself say. It’s odd in a way how right now everything feels perfect. “I do.” Pinkie says. “Anon, you had some vows you wished to share?” Celestia asks with some pride in her voice. I nod as I take a knee so that I’m face to face with Pinkie. I look down at myself and chuckle a bit. “This kinda seems familiar doesn’t it?” Pinkie giggles as she nods her head slightly. “I was in this very pose when I asked you to marry me and now I do it again so that I can make my vow to you.” I look into her eyes as they glisten some. “Pinkie. There aren’t really any words I can say right now to truly express what you mean to me. So I would like to ask you to do something with me.” “Do what?” She asks. “Promise me, Pinkie. Pinkie promise that you will never leave. That you will always love me, in sickness and in health. That even though we may argue or fight that we will find a way to work it out. That no matter the obstacle, we will prevail, together. Promise me and I will do the same.” I see her mouth open but I place a finger on her lips. “This promise will be a little different.” She looks at me confused as I take her hoof into my right hand and place it on my chest. I then lay my left hand onto her chest. “We will be making this promise on each others heart.” I clarify. That seems to get a gasp from her and the crowd. Pinkie is in tears as she smiles at me and gives a nod. “I Pinkie promise, Anon.” She crosses my heart as I copy the same motion on her chest. “Cross my heart. Hope to fly.” She then does the flapping with her other arm gently as I copy. “Stick a cupcake in my eye.” She says with tears falling as she gently lays her hoof on my right eye, I doing the same. She drops her hoof and smiles at me. “No one breaks a Pinkie promise.” I says with a smile. That was all I could say before she leaped onto me and pulled me into a deep kiss. “Um... I guess you may kiss the bride!” I hear Celestia say with a giggle. Everyone now started clapping for us as we sat there and let our love be shown for everyone. As we broke our kiss, I remembered that Rainbow was here. As I looked over at her, I could see a happy and genuine smile on her face and that made everything perfect. I stop as I look at the last page in my journal. I smile some as I look over at Pinkie as she rests peacefully on the bed. Well, my friend. I guess it’s time to finally say goodbye. We’ve been through a lot haven’t we? The ups and downs, the good and bad. You’ve been there for it all and I thank you for listening to everything I had to tell you. While you won’t be hearing from me again, don’t worry. The story of my life here in Equestria has only just begun. After all, tomorrow is another day. I close my journal for the last time. I get up from my desk and walk over to the bed and fall next to Pinkie. I pull her close as she nuzzled into my neck. “Love you.” She murmurs in her sleep. “I love you too.” I whisper with a smile.