“Jaqueline Apple, will you marry me?” I can’t control myself, I’m practically shaking and my heart is beating so fast that I’m having trouble breathing. There I was, kneeling in the graveyard with her and waiting to hear her answer. She’d been so… quiet this whole time, I wasn’t sure what was wrong. She’s never like this. Why is she like this now?
“Goose… Ah’m not sure now is the right time.” My whole body stopped. Frozen in place. Not the right time? Not the right time?
“W-what do you mean?” You know what that means. She sighed and turned away.
“A lot has happened. Ah don’t know if Ah said what Ah did because Ah was hopped up on emotions, or maybe bein’ so horny all the time and havin’ a place ta let it go has made my head clear, but… maybe we ain’t right together, ya know? Ah mean, it’s only been a month and and a half, right? Do Ah really know ya? Is this all ya are, or are ya hidin’ somethin’ from me? Ah’m not sure. Ah think we should wait.” Crack. I got up and held her shoulders, making sure I could look her in the eyes. Her green emeralds were cold, unfriendly, unapologetic, apathetic. She shook her head and looked away.
“Y-you can’t mean that, right? We… every day for a week! I love you! You’re the only pony that’s ever made me feel this way, why…?” She came back and stared me down, this time, there was no shine in her eyes.
“No, Goose. Not now.” She pushed me off and started to leave the garden. I went to chase after her, but my powers weren’t working and the distance between us was growing. I ran and ran and ran, but I never got any closer. I took another step and tried to call out her name, but there was nothing below me and I fell.
The darkness grew all around me as I fell deeper, deeper, deeper… When the black subsided, I was standing in a ruined red city. Fire and blood ran in rivers between the streets, molten buildings glazed in burning red liquids and white hot metals. Bodies lined the streets, charred statues of ponies trying to run in every direction. Where is she? I turned every which way until I heard a loud boom behind me. I ran up the ruined street, the dark skies looming over me and panic started to take over.
“Applejack!? Applejack! Where are you!?” The horrors all around were nothing to me, she was all that mattered. That was until I stopped and I saw a bleeding Pulse, her lower half seared off by something. “Pulse!” Her deadened eyes reached out to me before she coughed and what little blood she had left started to leak out.
“Goose? W-where were you? We… needed… you…” her torso went limp in my legs.
“No, no, NO!” Another loud crash, this time closer.
“Get back here!” It’s her! I have to help her! I closed Pulse’s eyes and left her body there. I’m sorry, I’ll come back for you when this is all over. I ran for the intersection, and there they crossed at an insane speed, Applejack and some stallion in a black suit. He had a mirror on his chest, one completely unlike mine that had a strange shine to it, almost as if it were six colors overlaid on top of each other to form the chrome reflection. Is that The Mirror? The old villain? She slammed a hoof into his chest as he blocked and sent him flying into another destroyed building, the fires all around wavered feeling her blow. She spotted me and shot her cable by my side.
“What in the hell are ya still doin’ here!? Get outta here, y’all can’t handle this! He’s too strong!” What? No, that can’t be right, we’re better together.
“Applejack, what happened? The city is a mess, ponies are dead, you can’t tell me he did all this!” I heard the start of a camera whine and turned in time to see The Mirror behind me pointing a glowing hoof at me. I was punched very hard in the side, and suddenly Applejack was in my place. She smiled with tears in her eyes. Her lips mouthed the words
“Ah’m sorry,” and a bright white light cut through her chest. No. The beam landed in the remains of a building behind her and exploded, sending rubble and flames and melted metal into the air like a cloud of smoke. I ran to her side. She wasn’t breathing.
“No, no, no, no! Don’t do this to me, you were my everything! Applejack!!!”
I sat straight up from bed and gasped for air. My body was shaking, and I’d been sweating like a pig. I checked everywhere in the dark, and when I felt something touch my side, I looked down to see her there. She was still asleep, breathing peacefully like there wasn’t a care in her world. I took a deep breath and threw my hind legs off the bed. I felt something wet drop on my lap, and only then did I realize I was crying. Good goddess, what in the hell is wrong with me?
I wiped at my face and just sat there to breathe for a while. What was that? I couldn’t think straight. The feeling of her limp body in my hooves was still lingering from the dream. It couldn’t have been real. It could never be real. I will never let it happen. I kept telling myself that over and over again, but the images in the dream wouldn’t leave my head. Eventually I left the bed and went to the kitchen.
It’s Sunday morning. October 6th, the day of the fourth Kaiju. Yesterday… went poorly. So poorly that I almost came home and cried in front of her. I can just hear dad in the back of my head now, “What are you, some kind of bitch? Pick yourself up and be a man, you worthless sniveling rat!” Yeah, that’s how he’d say it. He was a real stallion, the guy could stare down anypony and make them nervous. Never failed an intimidation check, that’s for sure. Me? I put all my points in charisma, I didn’t want to scare ponies.
But here I am, and now half the gang’s been turned against me because I pissed off the two ‘moms’ of the group without realizing where they stood with everypony now. Not a single venue in crystal didn’t know who I am after they left, and now I can’t get anything up there. So much for that plan. What a shitty day today is going to be. I shook my head and checked the fridge. There wasn’t anything in here, we only ever cooked for ourselves which meant there were never any leftovers. Some peppers, which I hate, eggs, some raw fish, milk, cheese, every condiment under the sun, pickles, and of course, a few apples.
I snagged one of the apples out of the bottom drawer and then leaned back on the closed fridge door. What am I going to do? What if she says no? Can I even get everything ready by Tuesday? Her pendant isn’t done, her dress needs to be checked for size so who knows how I’ll get that done without spoiling the surprise, I still need music picked out and she always gets me all worked up before I can accomplish anything here, and… Ugh, I still haven’t bought any condoms. At this point that’s probably an effort in futility anyways. Don’t worry Aurora, you won’t be alone, probably.
I took a chunk out of the apple and looked around my old house. It looked lived in for the first time in almost five years. I even cleaned up dad’s study. I’d barely been in there since he died, and now… it’s almost like she’s brought a little light back into this dusty old house. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad… to raise a family here. I took another bite of the sweet and juicy fruit and stared at it. Hereditary cutiemarks… Am I trying to move things along too fast here? Was the dream right? Damn it! I scratched at my head and sank to the floor against the fridge door.
I need to talk to somepony. Anypony who’ll listen. Somepony who won’t immediately spread what I tell them, so… none of my girls, and that’s not a smart decision right now anyways. I still have a fight today, and we’re down Twilight. So, not her. I can’t tell Applejack, she’s the subject and the reason. Besides, what good would worrying her about this more do when she needs to be focused? I haven’t even asked her what’s on her mind yet… of course, if it’s not me, then what else could it be? I still feel awful about not telling her, but… she just doesn’t need to know yet. Pinkie won’t get it, and Rainbow… I don’t know well enough to trust with this.
So that laves Rarity and Fluttershy, and if I tell one, the other will know later. The real question is who would react better if I just showed up? Rarity has her own place and lives with her little sister, so some guy she doesn’t know just showing up in the middle of the night is likely to scare her, and if I remember correctly, Applejack told me she has fire powers she can’t control well, so that’s a poor decision. Fluttershy it is then.
I finished my apple, and then went back into the bedroom to kiss my apple before I left. She’d moved, but not woken. As per usual, she’s splayed out over the bed and breathing with her mouth open, drool leaking out the side. It made me smile to know that even asleep, she’s still herself. I kissed her cheek and fixed the blankets back over her, then warped.
“Hey” I said before turning the lights on. I heard a snout start sniffing, and in the dark, I saw red eyes stare at me before they turned blue. She turned on a light herself, and through squinting tired eyes she glared at me.
“D-dude, what the fuck?” she moaned. I sighed and shook my head.
“I’m sorry, I just needed somepony to talk to and you’re the only one I could think of.” The butter cream Pegasus sat up in bed and rubbed at her eyes. I’d taken residence in her chair in front of the TV just to make sure I didn’t get stabbed. Applejack told me about how she went to wake her last week, and nearly died trying. It’s best to be cautious when the monster inside is only loosely caged.
“O-okay, whatever. G-get me some coffee and then we can talk.” After the half hour it took to get that and let Shy return from the dead, she finally finished her mug and was awake enough to be apart of the world of the living.
“W-what’s wrong with you?” she finally asked. I set my own mug down and stared at the ceiling.
“I’m afraid, Shy.” She blinked slowly and frowned.
“G-great, can I go back to sleep now?” I rolled my eyes.
“Can you be serious here? I came to you specifically because I thought you would listen!” the tired Pegasus leaned back against the wall and sighed.
“F-fine, talk. W-we still have shit to do today, a-and I’m the one with the gun. I-I want to be rested for this.” Taking that as the best I was going to get when she’s slightly pissed off about being awake now, I leaned forward and recalled the nightmare.
“Well, I had a dream this morning. First thing that happened was my proposal. We were in the garden just like I wanted, and it was really nice out like it’s supposed to be, but when I proposed, she said no. She told me we should wait. And then-” The yellow mare held a hoof up.
“L-let me just stop you right there. F-false. That was clearly a dream because that w-would not happen.” She leaned forward and took a few sniffs in my direction. “You guys fucked last night, right?” Well, that’s super awkward.
“I mean…”
“Uh-huh. Y-yeah, sure. Anyways, since I know y-you’re a huge pussy, A-applejack initiates and you usually don’t do much to stop her, n-not that you don’t like it or anything. F-for a while there, she was more shy about how she feels than I am, a-and ‘Shy’ is my last name. I-it’s a thing in my family, w-we’re notoriously bad communicators. P-points is, if she is screwing you of her own volition, I r-really don’t think she would reject you.” Okay, hitting a little too close to home here.
“So maybe I’m paranoid, but that doesn’t mean-”
“G-goose, please. T-this is Applejack. B-be real.” Well, strike one. You lose, move on.
“Alright fine, I am paranoid and I’m worried over nothing. But the next part was still valid even if the first part wasn’t. I dreamt that after she said no, I was dropped into today’s fight. The city was burning, and all kinds of ponies were caught up in the crossfire. The dead were everywhere, charred into statues and not a building was left standing. Pulse was cut in half and told me I wasn’t there when she needed me, and then I saw Applejack fighting the Mirror. She’d made everypony evacuate and because I was distracting her… she took a beam for me. S-she… she died in my hooves.” I could still feel the phantom feeling of her body going limp in my hooves. I was still shaking just trying to recall it. I never… Fluttershy rubbed at her temples and grumbled under her breath.
“G-good goddess, I can’t believe you w-woke me up for this shit.” She took a deep breath and then looked me in the eyes. “D-do you remember what we did the week before the Sachiel fight?” I scratched at my beard.
“Well, we trained like hell until Applejack finally blew up and talked to everypony.” She nodded.
“A-and why exactly was Applejack so desperate to be prepared for that particular fight?” I thought back and tried to recall. Geez, that was only like four weeks ago, it feels like months have passed since then.
“Uh, it was because she was having these awful night-” Oh.
“Y-yep. G-good goddess, you two were made for each other, I swear. A-are we good now? C-can I go back to sleep?” Ah, yes, this is what they call irony, isn’t it? I laughed and shook my head.
“Yeah, sure, I… Ah, man, I can’t believe I just did that. I was the one who talked her down when she did the exact same thing.” Did I really just have a break down over a nightmare? Some stallion you are. Dad would’ve kicked our ass for something stupid like this. “Thanks, Shy, I-” Hold the fuck up. “Did you say your last name is ‘Shy’?” She rolled her eyes and held a hoof toward me.
“Y-yes! We went over this while… o-oh, right, you weren’t there. I-I have an unfortunate set of names that tend to f-flow well together, so when they would c-call for me in school, they would say my full name l-like one word. I-I was never just ‘Flutter’ anywhere but at home.” Today I learned. Well, if nothing else I feel better now.
“That tangent aside, thanks for listening. I just… needed to talk my thoughts out I guess.” She nodded.
“I-it is a helpful practice. I-I used to talk to myself to keep stable. S-some days, you just need to hear it out loud, a-and others you need to hear from somepony else.” Huh. Shy giving solid advice today. Alright, as long as she’s doing that, I might as well let her in.
“Okay, so, that’s not quite all that’s going on with me.” She raised a brow and straightened her lips.
“I-I’m not getting back to sleep, am I?” I shrugged. She sighed and rolled her eyes, then took her personal Click out of its dock and turned it on.
“Maybe? Look, here’s the deal. I want to propose on Tuesday.” She lowered her brows and paused starting up her game.
“W-wait, really?”
“Really. Even further, I’d like to get married on Wednesday if she says yes.”
“W-which she will.”
“You don’t know that!”
“I-I do know that! Keep going, what else?”
“Fine! I need some stuff done before I can go through with my plans, but I can’t take her around and do this crap myself. I have tried on numerous occasions but… as you might have predicted, all it takes is a touch in the right place and suddenly the previous activity is forgotten.” She chuckled and started up a title on the device.
“O-oh please, I-I was in that house, I-I could smell it from literally miles away. T-that’s how we tracked you down. Stallion fluids h-have a very strong and unique scent. I-if you got off in the castle, I-I knew about it.” Ah. That explains that. Another thing to add to the list of things not to do around her anymore.
“Oh-kay. Things I didn’t need to know. Point is, I need somepony to find out what kind of cake she wants, what music she wants to dance to, and have her try on her dress, but without knowing it’s her dress. I want this to be a surprise. Do you think you could make up some excuse to get her to take you to her tailor’s place? All she has to do is go and Star will take over from there, but if you can get her to walk around with you or something, you might even be able to get the rest of it taken care of.” She put an elbow on her knee and a hoof under her chin and stared at me with a blank face.
“S-so… you guys screwed trying to bake a cake?” I let out a shallow breath and tapped my hoof on her desk repeatedly.
“It was one time, okay?” Fluttershy burst out laughing, and I sat at her desk with indignation on my face. Why am I answering questions about my sex life? I shouldn’t have to tell her any of this. She doesn’t need to know. Good goddess, she is just like the other girls.
“O-okay, I’ll… I’ll do it, j-just… Ha! Y-you have no idea how ironic that is.” Ironic? Why would that be ironic?
“What’s ironic about it?” She shook her head.
“N-nothing, don’t worry about it.” She sighed. “T-talking to myself, that’s all…” I sighed.
“Whatever. I did some scouting a while back and I found out that that bakery Pinkie lived in and I was thinking of ordering the cake from them. If I can get you to take her there, I can arrange the owners to be looking for you. It’s over on the east side on 314th, just a few blocks away from Star Apparel.” Shy nodded.
“O-okay, I’ll keep that in mind. A-are you trying to kill two b-birds with one stone here?” I shook my head.
“Well, not initially, but after the other day, I figure Pinkie needs some extra pushing to get her to do things. If I set it up that she just happens to come across that couple again, then she’ll have to deal with them. On the other hoof, I also sell some of their cakes in my shops around Manehattan, so this is also good for business relations. They really are good at their craft.” She sighed and laid back in her bed.
“L-look at you. J-just taking care of everything all at once. S-she’s lucky to have you. I-if she does… no, that won’t happen. W-whatever, I have the details, so go away so I can sleep.” I rolled my eyes.
“Okay, okay. And you swear that you’ll take care of her for me?” she sat back up and scowled at me.
“I-I said I would, d-didn’t I? N-nothing would make me happier t-than to see this go through. I-I’ll do everything I can t-to get what you need, okay?” I scratched at the side of my face and then sighed in relief.
“Thanks. You’re a better friend than some ponies I know, that’s for sure.” She put her Click down. Ah damn it. Shouldn’t have said that.
“A-and why is that? D-did something happen? Y-you know, you look like shit.” Again, I shook my head.
“Yeah. Not everypony took it well. There were fights and… and I said some things I regret, and now I’m not sure I’ll ever see some of them again. All the venues I tried to book in Crystal were closed, and after I pissed off my used-to-be friends, the few places I didn’t think to try first outright rejected me because they knew who I was. So now I don’t know what to do. At least I don’t need anything large anymore. It might just be you guys and a hoofful of my old friends that still like me.” I rested my cheek on my hoof and stared at the floor.
‘I’m only telling you because I feel like I wouldn’t be worthy of her if I didn’t.’ What an ass. How self-centered am I that that came out of my mouth? I’m telling you because you’re my friends and I believe you should know! Just because I love her doesn’t mean I need to cut ties with everypony I used to know! Goddess, what was I thinking? I sat there in silence until it became uncomfortable and then I noticed Fluttershy’s eyes kinda… looking left and right like she was talking to two ponies that weren’t here.
“Uh… you okay over there?” She shook herself and blinked until she nodded.
“U-um yes… I’m fine.” After a long pause, she said, “oh! T-that could work…” I lowered my brows.
“Huh? What could work?” A smile of the dangerous variety started to form on Shy’s face, and I wasn’t sure I liked it.
“W-well, it’s simple. W-we just need to ask the big boss.” She started to tap a hoof to her lips and nodded. “Y-yes, that should do nicely…”
“And that means…?” She turned her Click back on started her game again.
“Celestia. I-I have a few… s-strings I can pull, I can g-get you a place in the castle.” Now that would be one hell of a place to have the wedding.
“Really?” She nodded.
“Mmhmm. Y-you just go back and g-get your little sharky butt b-back to your mare and get ready for today. I-I’ll arrange an audience, and we’ll get this taken care of.” Well, their relationship has always seemed weird to me, so maybe she really does have some leverage here.
“Alright, I’ll leave it to you. Thanks for doing this for me, Shy. I really appreciate it.” She rolled her eyes and shooed me away with a hoof. With that, I warped.
Monday, October 7th, 2030
“I’m too tired for this.”
“Well, too bad. I’m still busy until later today. I simply cannot understand what it is about her uncle that makes you so afraid to speak to him,” Celestia echoed in my head. After I got Applejack out of the house this morning, to the detriment of my ability to walk, I made my way to her apartment building, but ended up just standing outside it instead of heading in. there was some kind of trepidation about it, and I didn’t know why.
“No, I mean I’m like, actually too tired for this. Do you know what I had to do to get her out of the house this morning?”
“Clearly I don’t, but if I had to guess, I would think it was either a bribe, a touch, or a combination of the two. You aren’t having trouble walking are you? I know back when I was married, there were days he simply couldn’t get out of bed. Could you imagine being pent up for centuries? I lived like that. I don’t know how Luna does it.” I blinked and shook my head.
“Do uh… do you know if you’re physically stronger than she is? Applejack, I mean, not your sister.” I had to know.
“Applejack no, Luna yes, but I’m simply bigger than my sister. For comparison, we did a hoof wrestling contest the other day while I had her, and she beat me. Thankfully, before I got too competitive. I’m almost certain you have it worse than my poor husband did, though maybe not since you two have similar powers, and for all intents and purposes, he was essentially a normal unicorn. I may or may not have had to repair him on more than one occasion. I know I was bad when I was her age, but that was a different time. Be glad you’re a stallion, heat warps the mind, even at my age.” I stood up from my seat on the concrete and had finally worked up my resolve to go talk to mister Orange.
“Wow, okay! I definitely needed that information. I’m going to go do this just so you stop telling me things I definitely need to know.” Celestia laughed through the line.
“But of course. You asked, though, remember that. Good luck and be clear on your intent. Based on the things I’ve heard about this stallion, I suspect he will know why you’re here. I will let you know when I’ve made arrangements and am free to speak with you in person.” And with that, the link when cold. I stared at the apartment complex lobby door and sighed. Well, here goes nothing.
I took the stairs for once in my life since I put this mirror on, and figured I’d try to think out what to say. Of course, nothing really came to me other than ‘I’d like to marry your sister/niece’ and creating reactions for them to have, like shock or anger or confusion, though I’m 100% certain they thought we were having sex before we actually even started doing that, so… I don’t even know what I’m concerned about. If we find out there’s a foal in the next month, I would hope at least that would say just maybe we like each other a little.
And then there’s that. I know I was telling Aurora the truth, but I don’t think it had sunk in yet. Almost once a day or more since Monday, completely unprotected? Who am I kidding, I’ll be lucky if there’s not two. Has she been in heat this whole time? Oh goddess, what if she hasn’t? I can’t survive that! Even more on my mind now, I shook my head and knocked on the apartment door. The more I think the harder this is going to be, so I might as well get it over with.
“Oh, hey. Come on in,” Mac answered the door. I tentatively walked in the little apartment, and her sister and uncle were both sitting on the couch in front of the TV, watching as I entered. Her eyes are almost a darker orange than mine are, but those blood red rings staring at me were like cutting through my soul. The spines on my back were fighting to stand straight up and I tried my hardest to keep them down. Goddess, he’s just a guy! Chill out.
“Hello, Goose.” The stallion said. I swallowed.
“Hey. How are you doing?” He shrugged.
“Fine, I suppose. Why don’t you come have a seat and tell me why you’re here?” Gah, that voice and those eyes! I swear, it’s like talking to dad. Compelled, I did as I was told and was offered the recliner to their right. Mac sat down at the other end of the couch, and then we kinda sat there while I tried to avoid those red eyes and twiddled my hooves.
“You seem nervous.”
Yeah, hi, can you like, not? I thought you were busy.
“I have documents to sign. Nopony can match my reading speed. Of course, time spells get dangerous very quickly, so I can’t speed up the process of actually signing or vetoing these things, so I have ‘time’ per say, but I really don’t have time either. Well, go on, do what you came here for. Do the deed, raise the kid. At least let them know that you love her before she turns up with child.”
We don’t know that! It might not happen, she might not even be fertile!
“Goose, did you know that every single mare in the apple family up until now has had at least two foals over her lifetime?” I swallowed.
Ya know, I think I did know that.
“Yes, every single one. I was actually checking that record again just to clear up a few things. It’s astonishing that there are so many fraternal twins in that family, but apparently the mares are ferocious, as you have learned. In the same vein of thinking that says she’ll reject you, she is also very infertile.” And that’s another cold splash of reality in my face. Finally finding the courage to look the stallion in the eye, I took a breath and said,
“I would like to marry your niece.” Applebloom squealed and clapped.
“Ooh, Ah knew it! Y’all are fuckin’! Ha! Scoots owes me two silvers!” I blinked and held my hooves out.
“What, that’s your concern? You took a bet!?” Mac rolled his eyes.
“Oh, come on, we knew this was comin’. The way y’all were the other day, I’m just surprised this happened first instead of y’all tellin’ us she was pregnant. Our relatives are like damn rabbits. If Ma’s brother didn’t die in service overseas, we’d probably have a whole buncha first cousins. Hell, we still might, ain’t no pony knows what he managed ta get done before he got blown up.” Blood shook his head.
“I never knew him, so I can’t say. But based on the things Citrus had told me, I would believe that’s the truth. Anyways, now that the obvious is out of the way, what are your plans? Do you have documents ready? A wedding date in mind? A when and a where? Invitations? Do you have family left? I wouldn’t think she’d want to invite any of hers aside from us, but in that case, it’ll be up to you to decide how big this thing is.” I scrunched up my face.
Good goddess, it’s like I’m talking to male you or something.
“I’ll say. He almost rattled off my exact questions one after another. Hmm. I’ve decided. I want to meet this stallion, you will have your ballroom. I will even officiate.”
I suppose that makes this easy then.
“Documents are ready to go, but I need to talk to her about her last name after I ask, provided she says yes, then-” The entire family raised an eyebrow.
“You/Ya really think she’ll say no?” they said in unison. I groaned.
“It could happen! Goddess, it’s like the deal is ready done with you ponies, I swear!” Blood looked down his snout at me.
“Mmhmm. I have reason to believe that the Apple mares are known to ‘mate for life’ as it were, so if seeds have been spilled, as I suspected Friday, you’re stuck with her.” I squinted. ‘Seeds have been spilled?’
“That’s a new one. Here I am, two-thousand years old, bored to death telling these idiots no because I actually read the things they draft, and I still haven’t heard everything.” I opened my mouth to respond, but I was so struck by that phrase that I just couldn’t find the words.
“Uncle, did ya come up with that just now? Ah’ve heard a lotta those, specially in my line of work, but Ah ain’t never heard that one,” Mac said. Blood frowned.
“What? That was totally normal back home. Come on, I’m not that old, right?” Applebloom shook her head.
“Nah, Ah hear some pretty colorful euphemisms around the high school, and Lt. Gray Scale has some… unique ones of his own, but Ah’ve never heard that one.” Blood frowned and considered that but then threw his hooves up in defeat.
“Maybe I am getting old.” I finally found my voice and answered him.
“Uh, so, I want to do this Wednesday provided I can get everything else I need done. As long as she doesn’t mind me saying…”
“Go ahead, tell them, I give you permission.” Goddess, she sounds bored.
“The Princess has offered to host it at Canterlot Castle.” Jaws dropped.
“Ah’m sorry?” Mac asked. I nodded.
“She also wants to officiate too, so there’s that.” Applebloom clapped her hooves again.
“She’s gonna be there!?”
“My sister too.”
“As will be the other one, I’m told.” Blood frowned.
“That’s a high profile wedding if I’ve ever heard of it, both princesses attending and one officiating. Do you know them well?” I found the ceiling very interesting at this particular moment.
“Oh, you know, it’s almost Celestia is in my head sometimes.”
“Snrk.”
“Interesting… so, has this been in the works for a while now, or…? It seems as if you have quite a bit ready. What about travel? On such short notice, I could only imagine-” I blinked next to him on the couch.
“Ya know, I just don’t think that’ll be an issue.” Blood nodded.
“Right. So, that out of the way, any particular reason you’re pulling the trigger on this now? I’m not sure how long you’ve been together, but this feels… short, doesn’t it?”
Goddess, you are just peas in a pod.
“You’re telling me. Talk about a smart guy. This makes their muddy genes even more interesting.”
“Well, here’s the deal. You know who we are and what we do, so… I want to do this just in case something happens. Last week was a miracle, and this week we escaped because of an ace in the hole that I’m not sure we can use again. There’s still two more of these things, and if… if something goes wrong, I don’t want to have missed my chance to… know that she’s mine.”
“Aww.”
“Aww. That’s so sweet. How did she find somepony like y’all? Why aren’t you like this? Ya coulda had a family by now if ya actually formed a real relationship with one of them sluts ya banged.” Applebloom complained at Mac. The red stallion put a hoof on his chest., aghast at the accusation.
“Excuse me. Ah thought it mighta worked out at least once by now, but thin’s just move real fast and don’t always do that. Maybe Ah’ll find somepony someday who don’t rip my damn pants off as soon as we’re alone!” Applebloom raised an eyebrow.
“Ya know, ya can say no.” I raised a hoof.
“In his defense, saying no doesn’t always result in not doing the deed.” Mac nodded.
“Lemme tell ya, some mares are like damn jackrabbits. When ya get older and ya push some stallion around like yer sister apparently does, give him a break every now and again. The mind is willin’, but the body is soft and bruises easily.” I nodded and put a hoof on his shoulder as he did mine.
“She tried to break me this morning. She even said she did it on purpose.” I sniffed and wiped at my eyes. Mac bowed his head.
“Thank the goddess fer yer powers, without ‘em, ya’d be just as broke as she wants ya. Oh, speakin’ of, Ah keep condoms in my wallet since the last scare had me worried Ah was gonna be a dad. What about y’all? Been safe about it?” I sighed and shook my head.
“No, it was… a surprise the first time, and I keep forgetting.” That brought the volume down to zero.
“Oh. Well, that confirms her story. It’s not that I should expect grandfoals in the next year, but by August, no?” I leaned back on the couch and covered my face with my hooves.
“Ah. So… kids in the very near future, got it,” Blood noted. I threw my hooves up.
“Why does every pony assume things have already happened!?” He shrugged.
“Mac was born shortly after his mother was popped for the first time. If there is anything we’ve learned about the Apples, it is that they are extremely fertile. My brother only ever consummated with his wife when they were planning on having another child because her mother was the same way. Dew and I were married for nearly a decade before we finally decided to try for a foal, but even in her thirties, we knew she’d quickened just two weeks later. It doesn’t always take much effort. If it did, life on the planet wouldn’t be so numerous.”
“In my own case, I was also very quick to take. Of course, I was most certainly in heat at the time, and as I said, it warps the mind. That poor stallion. That was one of my longest phases in a very long time. I’m almost certain knowing he was there for me did something to make it that way, but he didn’t stand a chance.”
“None of you are making this any easier for me.” I shook my head and warped back to the recliner. Blood leaned forward and rested his snout on his hooves.
“Well, if nothing else, I can’t say I’m even upset at this development. Applejack has been… a much happier pony as of late, and if you’re why, then I couldn’t possibly object to the two of you getting married. But this fighting you’re still doing, and the both of you being enlisted does worry me. The political climate makes me think that a war is on the horizon in the next few years. What happens to the supposed foal if you both get shipped out?”
Anything chief?
“Hmm… An outside observer saying that concerns me. Either he knows more than he lets on, or he’s made a very intelligent guess. Yes, there will be a long conversation with this one. No, I will not send a mare with a newborn off to war. Maternity leave lasts for the first three months, and she will do no fighting until she is back to full strength and has somewhere for her foal to be watched over.
Your case is special, however. Royal guards, which is your formal designation, are to remain at the assigned princess’ side (Princess 3 in the legal text) and within so many miles of her in the event something arises. Fluttershy is also effectively disabled now, so those plans went right out the window too until I can get her a new leg. As it stands, you and your prospective spouse will not be leaving the country, even if a war does break out, that is unless I deem a super soldier-esque force necessary to deal with the threat, at which point I will talk to you directly. Of course, that decision in and of itself will be a weighty one, so… let’s just say that’s very unlikely at this time.”
Uh… okay? I have questions about that, but I’ll ask later.
“I don’t think we’ll have to worry about that. Our job is… special as far as the military goes, and as such, we have different priorities than the rest of the armed forces in the event of a war.” Blood nodded and then reclined on the couch.
“Well then, I think that’s… never mind. Can she dance? You do plan to dance with your new bride at the reception, don’t you?” Aw, shit. I brought a hoof to my mouth and then began furiously tapping my lips.
Does she remember? We used to do that all the time, she made me teach her for hours on end when we were little. Will we have time to practice? No, not unless she can get her vows written in a timely manner tomorrow, provided she says yes.
“Will you stop saying that? Be confident.”
No! I will be skeptical and remain skeptical until I hear the words come out of her mouth!
“Telling me no? That’s bold of you. Well, based on how she moves when she fights, I am certain at least a little of what you taught her was ingrained in her body. I always found it strange that she had such amazing balance on two hooves, but if she spent a lot of time learning to ballroom dance, then that would explain that. Don’t you have ponies that could find out? Rarity knows how to dance.” I clapped my hooves together.
“Maybe! A friend of mine can, and I taught Applejack how when we were little.” Mac nodded.
“Oh yeah, Ah remember that. She’d drag ya ta the park after school every day and make ya practice with her. Geez, how long ago was that? 2015? 2016? Like a decade and a half at this point.” Applebloom scrunched up her face.
“She wanted to learn how ta dance?” I nodded.
“Yeah, mom used to toss me around whenever she got particularly into a song back in the day. Applejack always wanted to try but never had the hoof work down, so she had me teach her. She managed to spin around with mom once or twice after a while, but who knows if she still remembers any of that. I’ll have to make a call after this.”
“Well, Ah’m happy about it. A weddin’ in the castle, Applejack finally findin’ herself a stallion, and y’all turned out ta be a pretty good guy as far as Ah can tell, so Ah just hope it works out,” Applebloom affirmed. Mac sighed and laid back on the couch.
“Ah figured this would happen someday, but Ah never realized it might happen so fast. Ah’m sure y’all will make a good couple and all, but Ah feel like Ah’ve not even been part of the family fer the past few months. When did we get so fragmented that Ah only now learn what my sister does fer a livin’? And now you’re takin her away ta go start some new family… where did the time go?” Blood sighed and leaned back on the couch himself.
“Mac…” He shook his head.
“Nah, don’t worry about it. Ah guess… really this is just a little eye openin’. What else have Ah not been payin’ attention ta all this time? She’s movin’ on and startin’ a life already, five years younger than Ah am, so what have Ah been doin’ all this time? Ah don’t even know why Ah do what Ah do anymore. Ah think… it’s about time Ah sit down and reevaluate life here. Ah don’t have much goin’ on, maybe Ah should… just go somewhere after all this is over.” Blood put a hoof on his shoulder and nodded.
“If that’s what you feel you need to do, then we can discuss it after you’ve thought this over.” Mac nodded.
“Thanks, uncle.” Then he picked his eyes up and pointed a hoof at me.
“Y’all take care of my sister, alright? Ah could never be my dad, and as much as Ah tried, Ah just… never found a role Ah wanted. If… if she sees ya as somepony that she could give herself ta, then ya’ve done a better job than Ah did at bein’ there fer her. As long as ya never make her cry, then Ah’m alright with this. And uh… keep me in the loop, Ah uh… Ah want ta be included, this time.” Mac curled up his hoof to bump, and I got up and bumped it.
“You got it man.” Applebloom got up and joined the hoof bump.
“By this time next week, it’ll probably be okay ta call ya brother!” she said with a smile. Finally, Blood joined, and for once, I wasn’t intimidated by those red eyes.
“I’m not her father, no, he was a better stallion than I. But you remind me of him, and I think that alone would be enough to trust you with my niece. However, a mistake I made with my wife was trying to start a family too late. Life is unpredictable, and sometimes, our time is up before we realize it. As the goddess once commanded, ‘Go forth and fill the earth.’ One day, you might realize you were too late to try. Take it to heart, and may your lives be filled with joy.”
“I feel like I should say something, but he kind of took the words out of my mouth. So uh… yeah, do that. I’ve lost two lovers in my two millennia, and with any luck, I won’t suffer another loss for very long time. Keep yours alive and you’ll live a happy life.” I nodded and pulled my hoof back.
“I’ll do my best. Thank you.”
“Alright, so where are we doing this thing?” I asked after I arrived next to the white mare at the Castle gate.
“You are going to scare the other guards. Please refrain from warping out in the open in the future.” I tilted my head as I studied her face. Her gold flecked violet eyes were the dead giveaway, but if anypony else were to see her, they might think she was an unassuming pegasus. White coat, blonde mane, still Celestia shaped, but half as tall. I poked her shoulder, and when she felt like a normal mare, I clapped my hooves.
“That’s how the logistics worked!” She rolled her eyes and pulled me into a guard tower.
“I can’t believe you’re still thinking about that. It’s been two days Goose.” I shrugged.
“It’s hard for me to forget things. Catering to two heads, remember?” She laughed and shook her head.
“Uh-huh. Come on, let’s be quick about this. I don’t need my guards figuring out my favorite disguise.” I bowed.
“But of course.” Through marble tunnels lit by fluorescent lights, we walked for a while until we reached the surface again, and Celestia suddenly doubled in size.
“Geez!” The large mare leaned down and raised a brow at me.
“Come now, you knew who I was from the beginning. Anyways, it’s down this hall and to the left.” Celestia turned right, and we entered a giant, sunlit hall made of white marble arches with hanging violet flowers and crystal chandeliers as far as the eye could see. There were courtyards on either side with big fountains and walkways that formed intricate designs, and everything was just so bright.
“Damn. That’s impressive.” Celestia nodded and brought a hoof to her chest as we walked.
“Isn’t it? I had this castle built in 1357 and it took nearly a decade to complete. My little mountain fortress has been standing for almost seven centuries now, and it is one of my favorite things. This side of course was built later when travel was starting to become easier as more roads started to be paved during the 1800’s. I can honestly say that trains changed the world when they were invented. The steam engine was brilliant, and I knew these would become important once we could lay down enough rail to link the country together.”
“Huh. You know, there are times I forget how old you really are.” Celestia nodded.
“Oh, that’s normal for anypony who spends enough time around us. Luna and I might be discussing something with one of the senators, and something will be mentioned and I’ll recall the actual event and Luna and I will talk like it happened yesterday, and the senator will remind us that that was three or four hundred years ago. Of course, that would be easier to do if I could even remotely be in the same room as her without almost losing my temper again right now.” Celestia shook her head and shoved a giant door open.
“Uh, are you going to be okay on Wednesday if this works?” She tilted her head and puffed air out her nose.
“I should be fine as long as I’m not alone with her. The senators are still freaking out about the attack yesterday, as most ponies would be, and some of them are taking advantage of the panic trying to get things they want passed into federal law. Most of the things I vetoed today fell in that vein. I think I approved maybe one document this morning, and that was a relatively harmless change to what kind of patients must be accepted into hospitals. There’s been a push lately to make it so ponies can deny service to mutant and hybrid type power ponies, and if the business is private of course, they have every right to do that.
It will ruin their business in the end, but that’s not my problem. Hospitals denying treatment, however, does fall into the realm of my problem and the victims of the attack that survived are almost all new power ponies. The small towns that were hit are already beginning to recover, but Cantermore, or my backyard, is still struggling. I would never tell you what to think, but ponies have the potential to be so deluded with their own thoughts of self worth that they deem others who disagree with them as evil. In truth, many hybrids and mutants do become criminals in the long run, but that usually stems from the family, not society. Now then, this would be your ballroom.”
Inside the giant gold and violet decorated stone door was a large empty room that looked identical to the hall we were just in. Marble columns started at the floor and rose to the ceiling, and I was certain you might could fit a pegasus race track in here. The floor was one ring of white marble around the edges and a darker, clay red color that made the center. It was so smooth and flat that I could only imagine magic was used when this was polished. There was a stage made of the marble at one and, and it looked like somepony had come back later and added electrical outlets all around the walls. The lights above were from a massive chandelier that quite possibly had more glass on it alone than the giant windows all around that made it look like there weren’t any walls in this place in the first place. I whistled.
“Double damn. How did you do this three hundred years ago?” She took a few steps into the giant empty room and threw a wing out as her magic turned the chandelier on.
“Skilled craftsmen, of course. Tell a pony the royal coffers are open to him if he can make me a twenty by thirty meter clay rectangle, and he’ll do it. It might not happen for a few months, but it will get done. The thing that has changed the most with the times is how fast you can get something done and how easily you can find a pony with the right talent.” I eyed the chandelier and nodded.
“Well, cool. So, how fast can we get this ready for a wedding?” Celestia looked away.
“About that…” I frowned.
“Uh-huh.”
“I… don’t actually have the staff to make this work right now. I can get you furnishings and we can use decorations the castle has for this sort of event, but… I am understaffed.” I sighed.
“Well. Shit.” She nodded.
“Yeah, that was my biggest concern when Fluttershy came to me about this yesterday, and after getting it arranged, it came true. The castle can cater the event since my kitchens are always fired for something going on, but I’ve recently been on a tirade about the budget around this place and got rid of some superfluous positions. This part of the castle needs to be polished and cleaned only once or twice between gala seasons, so having several ponies around to do that daily was just unnecessary.” I sat and thought about that.
“I… am gonna have to make some calls.” Celestia nodded.
“Yes, yes you are. I have some more things to attend to, but you are free to come and go from this area as you please while you work on this. I will let the guards know you’re here.” I am gonna need Pulse for this. Hell, I might even need the gang for this. Money aside, what company is going to be willing to set up a ballroom for a wedding with one day to get it done? I need reinforcements.
“Actually, can you tell them there might be a lot of ponies in this area?” She tilted her head.
“Oh? And why is that?” I sat down and started to tap my snout with my hoof.
“I have an idea, but I’ll need some help. Are the decorations you have nearby? Or can you have them brought here?” Celestia nodded.
“Both.” I clapped my hooves.
“Perfect! I’ll be back later”
“Gah! Geez Goose, what the hell?” Pulse exclaimed from the shop office. I arrived in their room just as Pulse was rising from her bed. I turned the light on and took a seat at the desk.
“Huh? Wazzat? Oh, hi Goose,” Aurora said sleepily. I rolled my eyes.
“Guys, it’s like, eleven, why isn’t the shop ready?” Pulse rubbed at her eyes and blinked a few times.
“We needed a break after Saturday, so we’re taking the beginning of the week off. Why are you here? Did something happen? We saw the attack on the broadcast, we don’t have a Carcha in any of those places, do we?” I shook my head.
“No, Cantermore would’ve been the only candidate for that, and ponies from there can just go to the one ten miles away in Canterlot. I’ve already had Alto start a campaign for relief efforts, but that’s not why I’m here.” Aurora draped herself over Pulse and nodded.
“Uh-huh. So…” she yawned, “What are you here for?” I crossed my hooves.
“Well, here’s the situation. I have a place now.” Pulse blinked.
“Already? That was quick. I thought you were screwed when nothing worked Saturday. Where at?”
“Canterlot castle.” Mouths dropped, and Aurora clambered to the edge of the bed beside Pulse.
“Canterlot castle!?” I nodded.
“Yeah, I’m actually friends with the Princess, and she offered it to me… more or less for her own reasons, but I’m not about to turn her down. The issues is, I need ponies to set up and decorate. I also kinda need a mover, and I definitely need you because I have some stuff and some ponies I need help getting to and from Canterlot.” Pulse put her hooves together.
“I’m sorry, you, a gangster from an established family, are personal friends with the Princess?” Pulse asked. I sighed.
“It is a long story. And I also legally cannot tell you about it, so you just have to deal. Are you going to help me or what?” She took a deep breath and shook her head.
“I don’t know Goose, we’re uh… we’re not the kinda ponies that should be hanging around the ponies that want us in jail, ya know?” I let my head droop to the side.
“Oh, come on, don’t you think the Princess knows who I am? I’m trying to marry a high-ranking officer! I am a high-ranking officer!” They both shook their heads and blinked.
“What?” I went digging in my back pocket and threw my badge at them. If not for that thing with Rainbow’s dad the other day, I doubt I would’ve even thought to add this to the things I put in my pockets every morning. Aurora inspected the badge and flipped it around.
“Good goddess, this is real. Who did you kill for this?” I groaned.
“It has my name on it! Unless somepony died of a wound that I don’t know about, I haven’t killed anypony since that thing with the Rockets. Er, provided Knots and the kaiju don’t count. Never mind. Point is, this is happening, accept reality and help me.” Pulse gave my badge back and shrugged.
“’Aight, whatever. I’ve always wanted to see the castle, so I guess it won’t be so bad. How much help do you need here? I can probably get a few of the guys, and maybe even some of the girls to help you out, but don’t expect like, the full force of the gang. Whirl and Volt still won’t talk to me.” I sighed and slouched in the chair.
“Yeah, I figured. If you can get like, ten ponies, I have a few other ponies I can get in touch with, but I still need to go talk to them. As a matter of fact… I’ll have you meet them later, and we can get what we can get anything else we need in Manehattan. Go see who you can get to help, and then come talk to me. I can get you a picture of the room we’ll be using, and you can just open a permanent portal there. As a matter of fact, we can set up a chain of portals so you have access to everywhere I need you to take ponies… however, there are probably gonna be some special cases where you have to make a portal because I can’t make that kinda jump quickly.” I shook my head. “But, we can worry about that later. Go get the guys, I have ponies I need to talk to.” Before either of them could object, I warped.
“How’d you get the castle? Isn’t that like, super expensive?” Rainbow asked.
“I-I pulled some strings.” Pinkie and Scootaloo stared at her with Rainbow, then shrugged.
“Okay… Uh, anyways, you guys wanna help me decorate?” I asked. Pinkie shrugged.
“I guess, but what are we gonna be doing?” I brought a hoof to my chin.
“Setting up chairs and banners, getting flowers, moving some stuff I want there on site, things like that.” Rainbow stuck her tongue out.
“Bleh, do I have to? I don’t know anything about this kinda crap.”
“Would free food from the castle make it for you?” Scootaloo nodded.
“That would make it for me. Deal.” Rainbow rolled her eyes.
“You know, you could go for a little more than that, kid. I mean, he came to us because actually getting somepony to do this for him on such short notice would be super expensive, right?” I scratched at my beard.
“I mean… you could be an ass and not help your friend, no big deal.” She crossed her hooves.
“I can also be a good friend and expect to be compensated for it.” I scowled at her.
“You… have no idea what being a good friend is, do you?” Shy shook her head.
“S-she doesn’t, t-that’s why she’s so fucked up. T-they’ll do it, y-you don’t have to pay them. I-is that all that they’re doing? I-it’s almost noon, A-applejack and Twilight will be back soon,” Fluttershy dictated. Rainbow scowled at her.
“Hey! That’s not cool, I was trying to get my parents invited, geez!” Pinkie rolled her eyes.
“If that’s all you wanted, then why didn’t you ask?” I reared my head back.
“Yeah, I don’t care if your parents come. Hell, I can even get them there and back the day of.” Rainbow put her hooves in her lap and looked down.
“Oh. I don’t know, I just expected…” Scoots put a hoof on her shoulder.
“Don’t worry about it dude, she’s still figuring out how to ‘friends.’ Speaking of, can I invite mine? I haven’t been out of the castle much since we moved in and I still haven’t seen them yet…” I shrugged.
“I mean… don’t see why not? They’re already gonna be there though, Applebloom will kinda be my sister-in-law at that point, and Rarity talked me into using Sweetie as the flower filly, so… yeah. As a matter of fact, you two should see if your families want to come. The pews are gonna be pretty empty at the moment since uh… some stuff happened on my side, so there’ll be room.” Fluttershy shrugged and Pinkie crossed her hooves.
“I-I’ll let them know, I guess. T-they’ll probably be happy to s-see Mr. and Mrs. Flare again.”
“I uh… my parents… w-well, I guess there’s no harm in inviting them, right? Dad was a fan of you guys, so m-maybe mom will come too? Oh, geez, this is gonna be awkward.” Suddenly, Fluttershy raised her snout.
“They’re back.”
“Oh, crap! Bring it in, I’ll take you to Pulse, we have to go!” The girls scrambled to their hooves and then put a hoof on me somewhere. “I’ll see you later, keep me updated.” Shy nodded, and then we warped.
“Goose, are you busy?” Celestia echoed in my head. I was picking up a vase in dad’s store house, but stopped.
“Not particularly? We’re just getting some things I want for the reception. The others are just getting started on the ballroom.”
“Good, because this is important. The musicians I had on staff are all on vacation this week, so I don’t have music available” I let out a breath and groaned.
“Oh, well that’s just perfect. Even the organ guy?”
“Even the organ guy. The castle’s chapel is still good to go, but I only just found out about this a minute ago.” I put the vase down and scratched at the side of my head.
“Gah, always with the more shit to take care of… Do you think I could convince Rarity to be the player? Eh, she doesn’t have a role as of yet, so probably. I bet we could get some speakers and have somepony DJ to that end, but now I have to buy speakers… and, maybe even an audio mixer. Just because I have it doesn’t mean I want to spend the money on this. Ugh. Thanks, I’ll get it taken care of. Are you doing stuff, or are you monitoring them?”
“Yes.” I straightened my lips.
“Okay. How is it going over there then?”
“Well enough. Your little crew is setting up the reception area, and Rainbow and the prostitute are hanging up the banners. Did you clean out a florist for this? The flowers just keep coming, and I’m honestly impressed that you managed to get crystal roses.”
“Her name is Aurora Veil, thank you. Unless you’re talking about somepony else, at which point I don’t know, there are a few of them and I know at least three have wings.”
“That is… information I have now? There are only twelve ponies from your camp Goose, how much of your fortune was made off of sex?”
“More than I’d like. Shy was supposed to visit a shop today, I’ll see where she is.”
“Okay. Before I go though, what is attendance looking like? I don’t need to have rooms prepared, do I?” I shook my head as if I wasn’t alone gathering stuff to take back to the house for Pulse to grab.
“So far, it’s just those at the castle and the immediate families of Harmony. I don’t think we’ll need rooms, I kinda expected to have to work on Thursday.” Celestia sighed across the line.
“So much for keeping this relationship a secret. That’s fine I suppose. Keep me updated.”
“Yes ma’am.” The line went cold again, and I took my phone out of my pocket. After the ringer went on for a minute, the line picked up.
“Hey, do you have a minute?” The three-legged pegasus fumbled with the device for a second, then answered,
“G-geez, I need to get a headset. D-do you know how hard t-things are with one foreleg?” I shook my head on the other end.
“Of course I don’t. look, I’m sorry that happened, but I need another favor.” Shy giggled on her end.
“K-kek. I’m just screwing w-with you. Y-yeah, what’s up? T-the dress fits, and in an odd turn of e-events, she liked the pumpkin spice cake t-the best.” I bought a hoof to my mouth.
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Wow. I’m going to have to stop by and try that. And maybe scale the wedding cake down and get something more normal to go with it, I… huh. You would think-”
“Y-yes, yes you would. W-what do you want? W-we’re at the music store and she’s over in the c-classical aisle with Rarity.”
“Huh. Can you get Rarity to find out if she still remembers how to dance?”
“H-how to dance?”
“How to dance. I taught her how to ballroom dance back when we were kids, and now that it’s relevant, her uncle reminded me that that’s a thing ponies do at wedding receptions. I don’t know if she still remembers how to do it.” Fluttershy groaned.
“Ugh, m-more shit to do. L-let me talk to- Hmm. Oh. Huh. W-well, you’re in luck, i-it looks like she remembers.”
“It looks like?”
“A-apparently Rarity had the same idea and n-now they’re spinning around the speaker displays. I-I knew she was flexible, b-but that’s impressive.”
“Oh, you have no idea. Uh, anyways, that’s good to know.”
“L-looks like Twilight wants to learn. I-I guess we’re going to go back and p-practice at the castle soon.”
“Ooh, that’s perfect! Okay, here’s the deal, I need a DJ and a sound system for the reception, and a pianist for the wedding. I think I could get a DJ out of the guys I have putting the ballroom together, but I need to know if Rarity can play for me, and I need you to buy speakers and an Audio mixer while you’re there.”
“Uh… y-you know that I already h-have a mix table, right?”
“I do now?”
“O-okay. Y-you get to pay for the speakers though, a-and I’ll be keeping them.” I let out a breath and rolled my eyes.
“Yeah, sure whatever. I’ll reimburse you, just save the receipt.” Shy clicked her tongue.
“Y-yeah, I can do that. O-okay, I’ll see you later.”
“Cool.”
“B-bye.”
After about eight more hours of work, the reception hall was finally ready to go, and provided she says yes, which everypony tells me she will, then this should be a lively place Wednesday.
“Ya know, I think we did good.” I said as I looked over our work. Some of the vases from dad’s collection were filled with red and crystal roses all around the hall sitting on white columns with lamps just above them. There were white and violet banners lined around the ceiling that paired well with the black and red velvet drapes in this big hall that made for a colorful ribbon all the way around the room. The stage was waiting for the audio equipment to be brought over, and Scratch offered to DJ for me while we were setting that table up.
There were enough tables and chairs for everypony we expected to be here and more in the event we have unexpected guests, and just about everything was just the way I wanted it. Getting the cakes done should be easy, and as soon as we get confirmation from everypony on who all is coming, everything will be ready. Pulse nodded.
“I think we did too. I’m excited to see her face when she sees this. I’m happy for ya, Goose.”
“Thanks.” I checked my phone and the time read nine fifty PM. “Are you guys gonna head out soon? It’s kinda late.” Aurora came by and wrapped a wing around the black unicorn.
“Nah. The shop’s closed till Thursday anyways, so we figured we’d take the opportunity to hang out around Canterlot, see the sights and all that. The princess offered us a room, so there’s really no reason not to.” Huh. I guess she did have rooms ready.
“Alright, cool. Well, I’ll give you a call tomorrow after I get answer.” Aurora held out a hoof.
“Good luck, Goose. See ya on the other side.” I bumped it back and gave them both a hug.
“You guys mean a lot to me. Even though things will be different, don’t forget that, alright? You’ll always be my friends.”