To respect Mischief’s space, Flurry ate her meal apart from him while keeping him in her sight. How could she not have seen the signs? How could she not have seen that he was doubting himself and whether he was good enough for her? She thought that they were content as a couple, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized that it was what she thought of the whole thing. She didn’t even think of asking Mischief about how he felt about the wedding and their future. He seemed so sure when he had proposed to her that enchanted evening…
They had just completed another mission provided by the Cutie Map. This time, it was just the two of them in Mischief’s hometown of Hollow Shades. They had to defeat miners who wanted to mine a vein of rare crystals on behalf of their evil sorceress boss. All through the mission, Mischief had seemed fidgety, like he wanted to say or do something. They had exhausted all possible options until Mischief finally lost patience and went wolf on the miners. Thankfully, he didn’t attack them; he only scared them and their sorceress friend enough to surrender.
When they went to a restaurant that night, Mischief didn’t seem to be happy. If anything, he looked…ashamed.
Flurry asked calmly, “Mischief, what’s wrong?”
Mischief sighed in both shame and defeat, “I really wish you didn’t see what happened this afternoon.”
“With you turning into a wolf?”
He nodded sadly, “Yeah. I get like that sometimes, whenever I get really angry or someone I care about gets threatened. It’s like pure animal instinct takes over. I wanted to tell you first, but I was afraid you…”
“Wouldn’t like it?”
He nodded again.
She touched his hooves in comfort, “Mischief, what matters is that we’re honest with each other. We need to say these things so they don’t come out so…unexpectedly.”
“So, how did you react when I turned into a wolf?”
“Truthfully, I was surprised to see you so angry and aggressive.” When she saw him hang his head in shame, she lifted his chin so she could see his eyes, “But that doesn’t mean I love you any less. I want to be with you through thick and thin, through rough times and smooth times. I want to be with you no matter what you transform into. I don’t care if you turn into a wolf or a bear or even a frog. I love you, Mischief, and that’s all that matters.”
She gave him a kiss to reassure him. His smile returned to his face and the sparkle came back into his green eyes.
He then softly said, “You know, there was a very good reason why I acted the way I did. Not just when I transformed into a wolf, but my agitation and impatience before it happened.” He stood up as he dug into his jagged mane. He chuckled, “I actually had a whole speech prepped, but I think you already said what I wanted to say, so now I just need to do this.”
Her heart fluttered as he got down on one knee and pulled out a ring box from inside his mane. When he opened it to reveal a diamond ring inside, she almost covered her wide smile with her hooves.
He said with hope in his warm eyes, “Princess Flurry Heart of the Crystal Empire, will you marry me?”
She wrapped her arms tightly around her beloved as she ecstatically answered, “Yes! Yes! A thousand times yes!”
They embraced and shared a passionate kiss before they heard clapping and cheering around them. They looked to see the gleeful crowd offering their hearty congratulations.
Mischief chuckled, “Right. I forgot we were in a restaurant.”
A teary-eyed Cauldron Bubbles then said happily as she held a camera, “Not to mention your ever-loving mother captured the perfect moment.”
Mischief playfully rolled his eyes as he pretended to whine, “Mo-om!”
Flurry giggled softly at the happy memory. When she opened her eyes again, she saw that Mischief was heading deeper into the woods. She got up from the ground and quietly followed him until he reached a waterfall surrounded by small pools of water. She kept a short distance between her and Mischief and watched for anything he might do.
Mischief didn’t know what to do now. He made such a mess of things that he wasn’t even sure Flurry still wanted to marry him. Everything had been so right when he had proposed to her that night and then planned their wedding during the months that followed. Where did everything go so wrong? He looked at his reflection in the pool closest to him and remembered what Silver Tongue said to him last night.
“Even if you don’t go animal, you still lose your princess because – to put it plainly - you’re just not princely material…”
The prince was right. All Mischief could see was a beastly pony who was not fit for the royal life, would never be fit for the royal life. He scowled at his own face before stomping his hooves into the pool. He continued smashing his reflection for a few moments before mud splattered onto his face. He looked at his reflection again to see the glop of mud on his muzzle.
Fine! Let them see a monster, then! I don’t care!
He grabbed more mud from the bottom of the shallow pool and smeared it all over his face and much of his chest. As quickly as he had started, he stopped what he was doing, feeling dissatisfied with his actions.
“Mischief?”
His breath caught when he heard his fiancée’s voice and turned to see her standing behind him.
“What are you doing?”
He thought he knew the answer to her question, but so many responses bounced in his head. “I don’t know.”
Flurry quipped to lighten the mood, “Well, do you know you’re dirty?” In a flash of yellow light, a handkerchief enveloped in her magic aura appeared. “Let’s clean you off.”
As she started to wipe the mud off his face, Mischief scoffed, “What does it matter? It doesn’t change who I am. Nothing will. Not a royal title, not a knighthood. I’m always going to be me: a pony/beast hybrid.”
Flurry was surprised to hear him say that. “Who said you were a pony/beast hybrid?”
“Who do you think?”
When she thought of Silver Tongue, she understood. “Oh. Well, never mind what he says.”
Mischief suddenly drew back from her and raised his voice, “But look at me!”
Though she was taken aback by his abrupt behavior, she said calmly, “I am, Mischief. And do you know what I see?” She wiped her handkerchief on his face again and removed the mud as she said, “I see…two eyes, like mine. And a nose somewhere. Ah! Here.” After the mud was gone from her beloved’s face, she made the handkerchief disappear and playfully said, “Two ears.”
They both chuckled when she touched his ears.
“And let’s see…what else?”
Mischief smiled, “Four hooves?”
She chuckled, “That’s right.”
When they touched hooves, Mischief took joy in her soft touch. She was right: they were similar. When he looked up at her horn, however, he was reminded of how different they were. Unconsciously, he withdrew his hooves and touched his antlers.
Flurry knew that he was worrying again, so she told him, “Okay, let’s try something different. Close your eyes.” After Mischief closed his eyes, Flurry took his hoof as she said, “Now forget what you see.” When she put his hoof on his chest, she asked, “What do you feel?”
He answered in confusion as he opened his eyes with a raised brow, “My heart?”
“Mm-hmm. Now come here.”
She gently pulled his head close to her chest and his ear caught the thrilling sound of her precious heartbeat. He could feel one of his hind legs slightly lift in ecstasy.
He said, “Your heart.”
When he drew his head back and their eyes met again, she smiled, “See? We’re exactly the same. Silver Tongue just can’t see that.”
With confidence slowly returning, he said, “I’ll make him see there’s more to me than just my heritage. I’ll show him that I’ll be the best prince I can be.”
“And do it all just by being you, no matter what anyone says.”
He took her hooves in his and said, “Thank you for reminding me, Flurry. I’m so sorry about how I acted the last few days. I was just so nervous about how you’d feel towards me if I wasn’t who you want me to be.”
She answered, “Like a prince? You’re already a prince in my eyes. You’re strong, compassionate, brave, and honest. I want the you I see, the real you.”
He smiled widely in gratitude and said softly, “I love you so much.”
“I do, too.”
They embraced and locked lips in a romantic kiss.
Sky Stinger hardly touched his food since he was so preoccupied with his own thoughts. Why did he forget who he was back in the grove? He thought he was certain of everything. Well, everything except…His eyes widened as he realized that this particular doubt was the reason he forgot his identity, because he wasn’t sure who he wanted to be anymore.
Vapor came up to him and asked, “Hey, honey? Can we talk for a bit?”
Sky nodded, “Oh, yeah, yeah, sure! In fact, I’ve got something to tell you.”
“Oh, then why don’t you go first?”
“Okay.” He took a deep breath to prepare himself for what he was going to say. “I could’ve died in the elephant stampede this morning. I thought since I was Pony Pan, I could take on anything and I wouldn’t be in any danger. Stupid me, I was so cocky that I didn’t think of what I could lose if anything happened. I mean, is charging headfirst into danger really worth being Pony Pan? Especially if I could lose someone I love or even my own life? Vapor…I don’t think I want to be Pony Pan anymore.”
Vapor was surprised by the development. She breathed, “Sky…I thought this was everything you ever wanted.”
“It was, but I’m not so sure now. Ever since that stampede, I started to question if I could truly be Pony Pan, all carefree and reckless. It’s because of that doubt that I forgot who I was in the mist.”
“Well, if it’s all the same to you, I’ve been having a doubt that made me forget, too.”
“Really? What’s that?”
She was hesitant to say it. “I’m…worried I won’t be a good mother.”
Sky scoffed with a smile, “What? Of course you’re going to be a great mom! You’re going to be the best mom there is! We may not have kids now, but when we do have a family someday, I promise you’re going to be great at…mom stuff.”
She looked to the side as she slowly said, “Well…someday is going to come sooner than you think.”
Sky’s eyes widened as he looked at his wife in surprise. He stammered, “You mean…? You’re…I’m….”
As her husband continued to babble in shock, Vapor was worried that it would all end badly. To her great surprise, he started to laugh ecstatically.
He hugged his beloved as he said in glee, “Oh, my gosh! Vapor! We’re going to be parents!” He pulled back and said confidently, “That settles it! I’ve made my final decision! I’m officially resigning as Pony Pan! We’ve got a family to raise!”
Vapor embraced him gladly as she said, “Oh, Sky, I’m so happy!” She then realized something and asked in concern, “But what about Captain Hoof?”
He shrugged nonchalantly, “What about him? As soon as Lady Draconequus gets us off Paraddock, we can live our lives while Captain Hoof wanders aimlessly here without any Pony Pan to fight.”
Just then, a gruff voice said, “I wouldn’t count on it.”
The couple gasped as they saw parrot pirates holding their swords out.