//------------------------------// // Chapter 34 - Proposals // Story: Further Tales From Day Court // by Blade Star //------------------------------// We all have hopes and dreams in our lives, be they big or small, simple or complex. Me, well, I’m a pretty simple guy. I’d just like it if we could go one year without Equestria almost being destroyed. That would be nice. In contrast, Margaret’s dream is infinitely more complex, although it appears simple on the surface. She wants grand-kids. Bones and Lizzie were both getting towards their twenties when we ended up here, and now both are getting to that point in their lives where they would settle down and start a family. At first she expected Bones to be first, having gotten into a relationship, albeit quite an odd one, with Applejack. But after almost five years together, there’s been no sound of wedding bells, never mind kids. I think it’s partly to do with his asexuality and partly because I don’t think either of them want kids. At least not yet. So instead, she turned to Lizzie. Her relationship with Dewdrop is much younger, but that doesn’t stop my wife from hoping and eagerly waiting, never mind occasional ‘prompting’. Still, so far, no grand-kids, and no marriage for either of them so far. Both of them seem to be at that point, but neither is ready to take the proverbial plunge. Now, normally, this is just something that’s quietly bubbling away behind the scenes in Margaret’s mind. But every now and then, something happens to bring it to the forefront and she turns into Sunburst’s mother (by all accounts, the two are disturbingly similar, and poor Sunburst is in a similar situation, poor chap). And this time, it was to be me who accidentally set the power keg off. It all started when I dropped by to see Bones. I always make a point of visiting the kids whenever I can, either with their mother or on my own. It’s nice to just touch base, even if they have both long since flown the nest. Plus I do like to visit Sweet Apple Acres, it gives me a chance to see Big Mac outside of Guys’ Night if nothing else. Walking up the path, I caught sight of Bones’ grey coat between the trees, along with a splash of yellow and red; he was with Apple Bloom. Bones was never particularly good with kids back on Earth. He never was much of a kid himself, even when he was very young. But with Apple Bloom, he’s really bonding, sharing dad duties at times with Big Mac. It does make me smile seeing that, and as Rarity put it, in the eyes of many mares, it makes him ‘husband material’. And while he’s never going to outshine Big Mac in that department, I know for a fact that more than a couple of the gals in town are sweet on him. Not that he ever notices mind. He was lying down, leaning against an apple tree, with Apple Bloom sat next to him, with Winona opposite. He was chatting with her, apparently telling her a story. And nearby, hovering the air, held in his magic, was that old Lunar Guard sabre Luna had given him for Hearth’s Warming a few years ago. As I walked up, I heard what he was saying to her. “Oh, the Force is what gives a Jedi his power,” he was saying, in a very Sir Alec Guinness type tone. “It’s an energy field created by all living things; it surrounds us, penetrates us, and it binds the galaxy together. And if Ah’m right, this spell should let me copy their signature weapon.” “Bones, that sword is dangerous enough as it is, never mind turning it into a laser sword,” I said. “And I don’t care how good you are with magic. Even Twilight can’t reattach severed limbs.” “Oh, hey, Dad,” Bones said as he clocked me. “It’s not really a lightsabre. Ah’m just gonna run my magic through it. If Ah’m right, it should make the blade way tougher.” “Ah wanna see it too,” Apple Bloom chimed in. “Bones reckons that if it works on this old sword, he can use it on other stuff like axes and ploughs. That’ll make some work on the farm a lot easier..” Holding the sword steady, Bones powered up his magic. His signature dark blue aura was currently only surrounding the handle. Actually, now that I have a moment, why do ponies even have swords that are designed for use by beings with fingers and opposable thumbs? Anyway, concentrating, he pushed some of his magic into the blade. There was a humming sound for a moment and then, with the easily recognisable sound, the sabre ignited. A blue beam, much lighter in colour than his aura ran up along the swords length and continued to emit that same low hum, which changed tone and pitch as Bones slowly moved it around. “An elegant weapon, from a more civilised age,” he said to himself with a smile. After a moment, he powered down his new spell again and the sword returned to its normal state. “So, what brings ya down here anyway?” he asked me, pushing his stetson back a little on his head. “What? I can’t drop in to see my own son from time to time?” I asked with mock offence. Bones smiled. “Sure,” he replied. “AB and Ah were just about to head back for lunch anyhow. Y’all are welcome to join us.” “Thanks,” I replied. And so the three of us headed up to the farmhouse. On the way, Bones explained that Applejack had spent most of the morning tinkering with the cider press, which was acting up, while Big Mac had been busy ploughing one of the fields. Bones had been working on one of his many little projects as part of his new role at Twilight’s school. After Cozy’s arrest, he was brought on as something of an associate professor. He gets to use the school’s resources for his own experiments, including his interest in dark magic, and takes a few lessons off of his marefriend too. He’d gone out to clear his head and been joined by AB and Winona, the latter of whom was now excitedly bounding around us, and I’d arrived just as he came to test his theory. The three of us headed back along the path and soon found ourselves back at the farmhouse. Leading us in through the back door, we found ourselves in the kitchen. The other members of the Apple family were already here. Granny Smith, the ancient Apple matriarch, was putting the finishing touches on lunch, while Applejack and her older brother were both sat at the table. Big Mac looked a little uneasy as we walked in, his eyes darting about nervously. “Mind settin’ another place, Granny?” Bones asked as he walked in. “Dad’s stopped by to say hi.” Granny Smith turned from the stove and smiled up at me. “Well sure,” she said obligingly. “There’s plenty of vittles to go around Ah reckon. Nice to see ya again, Roger.” “You too, Granny,” I replied. I used to call her Mrs. Smith when we were first introduced, but she much prefers if everypony calls her Granny. I always wonder if, given that she shares her name with a variety of apples, if that was always her name. Must have been an interesting childhood growing up as Granny. But hey, pony names can be weird. They don’t seem to really have family names, or any real naming conventions like humans do. It’s one of the few things that set our two societies apart. Sitting at the table was a bit of a faff, given that I had to make do with the pony sized table. Then again, it was good enough for Big Mac, who’s about my height if he gets up on his hind legs. After we were all settled, Granny served the meal and we all began to chat amongst ourselves. Bones quickly found himself monopolised by Apple Bloom who proceeded to grill him heavily on Star Wars mythos, leaving the rest of the Apples and myself to talk. “So how have things been going then here on Sweet Apple Acres?” I asked them all. “Bones was telling me you were having a spot of bother with the cider press, Applejack.” Applejack nodded in agreement. “Yeah, the darn thing’s been real finicky ever since that whole business with Flim and Flam the first time round. We really pushed it hard to outpace those varmits. Still, Ah reckon Ah’ll have it runnin’ in time for cider season.” And how about you, Big Mac?” I asked, turning to my fellow O&O player. “How goes ploughing?” Big Mac now looked up with a start. “Oh...erm...” he said, going a shade of red under his already fairly red coat. “Ahm almost halfway done Ah think.” “Macintosh Apple!” Granny Smith chided. “Y’all have been going at that there field all mornin’. How can ya still not be done?” “Sorry, Granny,” he said apologetically. “Ah’ve been workin’ on some other stuff as well.” “It wouldn’t have anythin’ to do with Sugar Belle bein’ in town, now would it?” Apple Bloom asked, leaping on the opportunity to tease her big brother. “Nnope!” he said quite unconvincingly. He’s almost as bad a liar as his sister. “C’mon, Mac,” Bones said, jumping on the bandwagon. “Ah’ve seen her round town the last couple of days. You guys goin’ on another date?” Mac’s blush intensified. Luckily, Applejack was there to play peacemaker. “Oh, stop teasin’ the poor feller, the both of ya,” she said in a faux stern voice. “Ain’t none of your business.” After that, the conversation returned to more neutral topics. I filled Bones in on a couple of cases he was curious about, the coming and goings in Canterlot Castle, and how Lizzie and his mum were keeping. After an excellent lunch with the Apples, I prepared to head back home to catch up on a few files that needed sorting over the weekend. Blueblood had just gotten his name back on the Civil List and seemed to have been quite humbled by the experience, and there was still that ongoing investigation into the break-in at the castle archives. However, before I headed off, while AJ and Bones headed out to make a start on applebucking their way through the north orchard (take from that what you will), and Apple Bloom trotted off to meet up with her friends at their clubhouse to see a new client, Big Mac came up to me for a word as I stepped out into the farmyard. “Hey, Roger,” he said in that low baritone of his. “Can Ah see ya for a minute?” I smiled down at my friend. “Sure, Mac. What’s up?” I asked. The red stallion gestured for me to follow him and led me around to the other side of the barn; away from prying eyes. We were both standing in the shadow of the large building, and this whole side of the farm seemed noticeably quieter. Mac looked around conspiratorially before explaining himself. “It’s about Sugar Belle,” he said. “Ah’m gonna ask her to marry me.” “Mac! That’s great!” I said with a grin, giving him a solid pat on the back. “Margaret always said you two were good together.” Mac however, was a bit more hesitant. “It’s just that...well, ya know Ah don’t talk much,” he went on. I shrugged my shoulders. “Nothing wrong with that,” I replied. “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool and all that.” Mac is very careful with his words, although I’m told he used to wax quite lyrical back in the day when he was a younger colt, and that given how that often got him into trouble, he’s now much more reticent. Having said that though, a lot of the mares, who would no doubt soon go into a state of mourning when they heard the news, like the strong silent type. “Ah just want to show her how much she means to me,” Mac continued. “If Ah’m gonna propose to her, Ah want it to be real special, and Ah’m havin’ a real hard time comin’ up with the right ideas. Shoot, Ah can’t even find her a nice ring.” It saddened me a little to see him down like that. I tell you, if he got down on one knee to Sugar Belle, there’s a snowball’s chance in Hell that she’d say no. I mean, okay, I don’t know exactly what women want, but I do know that Mac ticks most of the boxes in both the physical and emotional departments. His only fault really is that he can sometimes be real stubborn, like any of the Apples, and sometimes has a hard time sharing his own feelings and troubles. But when you consider that Princess Luna and Princess Celestia have both ‘noticed’ him when they visited Ponyville, you know he’s far from ugly. And as I said, it’s not just looks either. Everypony knows him to be kind, gentle, dependable, and good with kids. Just like Bones, Rarity has marked Big Mac as ‘husband material’. “Well then,” I said. “How about your best mate helps you out with that? Call it an early wedding present.” I find it a little odd that ponies also practice the tradition of engagement rings. While I suppose it makes sense for unicorns, it doesn’t really work for other species, given their lack of anything resembling fingers. Sure t makes sense to have something to symbolise the engagement and marriage, but it has always puzzled me why that more human tradition has been exactly copied in Equestria. Still, it is a rite of passage for all bachelors to go through; purchasing a ring for the women they hope to marry. I’d been there myself when it came to Margaret. I’d first met her when I was barely scraping by working as a driver for the store, and while we might have fallen in love then, neither of us were considering marriage until much later, for financial reasons if nothing else. Margaret was studying to be a teacher, and was going back to school myself to study law. It wasn’t until I’d graduated and was working my first job as a solicitor, though long before I was a partner in my own firm, that I considered asking her to marry me. For one thing, I needed the extra money to be able to buy her a decent ring. Thank you very much De Beers for artificially creating scarcity in the diamond market. I’d spent months saving up enough cash, and almost as long looking to find the right cut, the right ring, the right stone, for the woman I wanted to marry. I know, at the end of the day, it’s just a thing, but I wanted to put some effort into it and ensure I got her the perfect ring. It was very much the same for Big Mac. The stallion is a firm believer in the notion that actions speak louder than words. And while he wasn’t looking to wow Sugar Belle with a fancy diamond and gold ring, he was looking to get something that would be special to her. He also wanted the proposal itself to be special. It would be in private of course. He’s both a fairly private pony himself, and he knows that Sugar Belle wouldn’t want to be put on the spot like that in public. But he wanted it to be truly special and memorable. And so the two of us headed off to the local jewellers; just up the road from Doc Hooves’ shop. There’s a modest shop in Ponyville that deals mostly in gems. Rarity buys from there a fair bit, using gems to accentuate her latests designs, as well as selling the surplus that she finds when she goes gem hunting with Spike. The little dragon himself is also a fairly regular customer, although he treats it more like going to the grocery store than anything else, given that dragons primary diet is gems. But aside from those, he also sold earrings and rings, as well as bracelets. Heading inside, the small bell above the door chimed softly. The owner was out back at the moment, inspecting his newest intake, but there was plenty on show in the display cases. So the two of us started browsing. It was actually a lot tougher than you might expect. While diamonds were reasonably common on Earth, they were typically small little things. In Equestria, it’s perfectly common to come across sapphires and diamonds the size of your fist. I’m sure if De Beers showed this place their finest wares, he be decidedly unimpressed. For Celestia’s sake, most of the little trinkets on display here would put even the famed Koh-i-Noor to shame. Mac was right when he lamented the commonality of precious stones. Aside from being used in fashion and as food for dragons, lesser stones can even be used as pocket change. More than once I’ve tipped a cabbie with a gem or two rather than bits. The upshot was that, despite the fairly impressive range on offer for a jewellery store out in the sticks, there wasn’t anything that leapt out at Mac, nothing that would be good enough for Sugar Belle. While there were plenty of beautiful gems on show, he could not find the right one. I too had been on an equally difficult search to find the right stone for Margaret all those years ago. Leaving the store, we tried to come up with other ideas. “How about this,” I suggested. “I’ve got a free tomorrow. How about the two of us head up to Canterlot. My tailor, Elusive, knows almost as much about gems as he does suits. He might be able to give us a line on something.” Mac was about to reply, when we were joined by somepony else. “Yeah, you could do that,” Pinkie Pie said, seeming to just materialise between us. “Or you could go and ask Maude. She knows more about minerals and precious stones than almost anypony I know.” “Pinkie!” I exclaimed in fright. “Where the devil did you come from?” The pink earth pony looked nonplussed. “Sugarcube Corner’s just over there,” she replied, pointing to the bakery. “I’m on break!” She beamed at us both excitably. “So when are you going to ask Sugar Belle, Big Mac?” she asked. Mac’s eyes went wide in fright. “How the...” he exclaimed, but Pinkie cut him off. “Oh, right. I’m not supposed to know about that yet, am I?” she whispered conspiratorially. “Don’t worry Big Mac, you’re secret is safe with me.” I suppose I should add that Pinkie once had to keep the fact that Cadence was pregnant during the scavenger hunt she and Shining took Twilight on. Pinkie Pie almost went bananas...well, more bananas, from keeping quiet. Still, there was little to be done about it now. On the flip side, she did make a good suggestion. Pinkie’s big sister Maud, while a little odd at a first glance, is the mineral expert. Growing up with Pinkie, Limestone, Marble and her parents on their rock farm (which is an actual thing, quite separate from mining), she’d gone to college and gained her PhD in the subject. Not long after, she’d moved to Ponyville, setting up shop in a large cavern that is absolutely stock to the gills with all sorts of minerals for her to study and catalogue. She now lives there, along with feller, the deeply irritating and pedantic Mud Briar. “Pinkie does make a good point Mac,” I conceded. “If there’s anypony who can help you find and craft the right stone for Sugar Belle’s engagement ring, it’d be her.” “Eeyup,” Mac agreed with a nod. “Well,” Pinkie said with a satisfied air. “My work here is done. Onward to the next mildly interesting story that needs my presence to move the narrative forward!” And with that, she bounced off. Like everypony else in Ponyville, I’ve learn to just accept that Pinkie Pie is Pinkie Pie, and leave it at that. Maud’s cavern as I’ll call it wasn’t too far from where that damned dangerous mirror pool was. You step into that thing and you create a clone of yourself. Twilight had the place sealed up after Pinkie found her way in there and used it a few hundred times. I just thank God that we didn’t find ourselves in Equestria until about eight months later. I don’t think I could stay sane around so many Pinkie Pies. Luckily, Maud is a great deal more sensible and is far more interested in the rock formations in the caves than dangerous magical anomalies. While she doesn’t exactly welcome guests with open arms, she isn’t anti-social either, and is always willing to offer help and advice when she can, particularly when it comes to the subject of, and I’m not joking here, her rocktorate. Descending down into the gem cave, we both peered around in the dim light, looking for the mare. “Maud?” I called out, my voice echoing in the open chamber. “Are you about? It’s Roger and Big Macintosh.” There was some sounds from deeper in the cave, in what I guess is Maud’s workshop or study. A few moments later, the mare herself appeared. She’s got a coat colour similar to Bones, although it’s mostly hidden under the navy blue tunic she wears, while her mane is a light lilac done in bangs not too dissimilar to Twilight. Spotting us on the stairs, she regarded us with the same look of mild disinterest a cat might give to its owner who has lavished attention and affection on it for years. “Hello, Roger. Hello, Big Mac,” she said in that slightly unsettling monotone of hers. “Come in, please. It’s always nice to have visitors. I don’t get many living so far away from Ponyville.” Nothing against Maud, but I was really looking for the exits now. It wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest if she turned out to be a serial killer. I’m joking of course. She takes some getting used to, but I could just make out the friendly demeanour in her greeting. I quickly explained the reason for our visit, bringing her in on the secret. “Big Mac’s planning to propose to Sugar Belle, and we’re trying to find a decent diamond for the wedding ring. I thought you might be able to give us some help.” Maud blinked slowly in a very cat like way. “I have plenty of diamonds that I’m currently studying,” she said serenely. “Most are uncut though. I can easily arrange something for you though, depending on the type of cut and clarity you’re looking for.” Maud led us over to a small workbench she had set up, covered in enough scientific equipment to make Twilight take notice. There were several fairly small diamonds and other precious stones undergoing examination. Maud showed Mac several cuts of diamonds, but there was one thing that bothered him. “Ah want this diamond to show Sugar Belle how much Ah care about her,” he said to Maud. “It seems mighty unfair to give her one that’s been cut and re-cut so many times in its life.” “Big Macintosh,” Maud said, with a vague undertone of annoyance. “The average diamond is older that Equestria, and even pony civilisation as we know it. You can’t just have ‘new diamond’. They are all still just carbon, and need to undergo years of heat and compression.” That was when an idea came to me. Many moons ago, in the aftermath of Starlight little sojourn across time and space, I’d gone down to visit Sombra for what I had at the point thought was the last time. For a change, Celestia had joined me, and, after a brief verbal sparring match, she had goaded Sombra into losing his cool. At that point, he didn’t have access to his magic, and the only thing he could do was throw rocks from his cell at her. I remember quite vividly how she grabbed one of these, aimed at her head, in her magic, and using her alicorn magic, had compressed it into a diamond in a matter of moments as a display of her power. Well, if Mac wanted a new diamond, that would be cut especially for Sugar Belle, perhaps my employer might be able to lend a hoof. I floated the idea to Maud. “If I could lay my hands on a new, uncut diamond, would you be willing to work on it for, Mac?” “Of course,” Maud replied with a slow nod, her more friendly, neutral tone returning. “I’d be happy to help. You can take this too if you like.” She passed Mac a beautiful looking geode. The both of us marvelled at the sight. “Consider this my own early wedding present,” she added with a small smile. And so, the next day, I headed up to Canterlot as usual, but with a very unusual request. The morning was fairly quiet for a change, with not too many petitioners coming up to the castle, giving Celestia a chance to catch up on her own work as well. Remember, just like Twilight, she has her own school to look after, and occasionally teach at. I went over a few files ,but there was nothing really major on the books. As such, when lunch rolled around and Celestia stopped by to invite me to join her and Luna for our usual session of Mornington Crescent, I decided to put my request to her. “Say, Tia,” I said, as the two of us walked side by side along the corridor to her dining room. “Any chance I could ask you a favour?” Celestia turned to me with a maternal smile. “Of course, Roger,” she replied kindly. “You know I’m always happy to help a friend.” Time to bring her in on the secret. Well, one of them at any rate. I still felt like such a cad for keeping quiet about the Tree and Discord’s mind bogglingly stupid plan. “It’s about Big Mac; Applejack’s brother.” Celestia nodded. “Ah yes,” she said, a gleam coming into her eye. Apparently not even Celestia is immune to Big Mac’s...shall we say allure. “What of him?” “Well, he’s planning on asking his girlfriend to marry him,” I began. However a moment later, I realised the steady beat of Celestia’s ornate horseshoes had stopped. Turning around, I found that Celestia had suddenly stopped where she was. She seemed to be rooted to the spot. “Er, Tia?” I asked curiously. It was a little perplexing to see the alicorn frozen in place like that. A moment later, she moved again, her princess mask slipping, replaced by a look of deep irritation. “Dammit, I knew I’d waited too long,” she muttered to herself before turning her attention back to me. “Sorry, Roger. Yes, you were saying?” I’ve dug into my boss’ love life enough as it is, so I decided not to press her on what just happened. “Well,” I went on. “I’ve offered to help him out with the engagement ring, and we’ve been having a hell of a time trying to find the right stone. Pinkie’s sister Maud is willing to cut a stone for him, but Mac wants to have it all done special for Sugar Belle. Remember the last time you were in Tartarus?” I specifically avoided mentioning Sombra’s name so as not to drag up too many bad memories. After all, that was the last time the two met before his ‘death’. I was honestly dreading that part of the story the most; telling her that mockery of her lost love was still alive. Celestia however, seemed more interested in where I was going with this and nodded. “Well, I remembered how you used your magic to turn that rock into a diamond in a few moments.” “Perks of being the pony who moved the sun,” she replied with a grin. “I take it you’d like me to produce a new diamond for Big Macintosh?” I smiled back. “I thought you said you couldn’t read minds?” I said jokingly. Celestia laughed. “Let’s have lunch and play the next round of the game,” Celestia suggested. “And I’ll do it before I head back to court.” And so, after lunch and our concluding session of Mornington Crescent, which I won for a change, Celestia turned her attention to my little request. The alicorn briefly teleported down to the crystal caverns underneath Canterlot, returning a moment later with a lump of rock. It didn’t look particularly different to any other stone. But with a little bit of alicorn magic, it would soon be something quite different. Holding the small rock, which about the size of Boulder, Maud’s pet rock, in her magic, Celestia focused and powered up her horn. “You might want to shield your eyes, Roger,” she cautioned. I remembered the last time I saw this it was really flipping bright. Focussing on the rock, Celestia first created a bubble around it, using her magic to heat up the air inside. In a matter of moments, the rock was glowing white hot, almost turning to liquid. Raising my hand, I did my best to shield my eyes from the glare, and I had to take a step back due to the heat. Celestia however, seemed unaffected. She then began to make the sphere surrounding all this incrementally smaller, applying more and more pressure, thereby creating the same conditions that you’d find deep under the planet’s surface. Obviously, it would normally take a long time for the atoms to coalesce in the way they needed to, forming the necessary geometric patterns and sharing the right number of atoms. But in this case, the process was accelerated by Celestia’s magic. Eventually, the heat and light began to die away and I was able to lower my hand and see what Celestia had done. Where there had once been a lump of rock about the size of my fist, there was now a much smaller, and very beautiful, diamond. Steam was still coming off it as Celestia set it down, allowing it to cool after the intense process. It shone and sparkled magnificently; a flawless clear diamond. “Did I ever tell you you’re amazing, Tia?” I asked, my voice hushed. Celestia smiled softly. “Once or twice, yes,” she replied. “I take it then that this is satisfactory?” Satisfactory would be the understatement of the century. This was no small favour on her part. It had clearly taken a fair amount of her magic to pull off, and she’d done it simply because I asked, neither expecting nor demanding anything in return. Thanking my friend for her kindness, I carefully took the diamond and deposited it in the pocket inside my jacket for safe keeping. And the rest, as they say, is history. After finishing work for the day, I returned to Ponyville by train and stopped by Maud’s place on my way home. I gave her the as yet uncut diamond, which more than impressed her. According to Pinkie and that annoying twit Mud Briar, she spent the next few hours studying the mineral, before slowly fashioning it into something suitable for an engagement ring. Mac had a brilliant and wonderfully romantic plan for how to propose to Sugar Belle. Somewhat reverting to stereotype, the gentle giant is a big softie really and devised a clever way to slowly lead Sugar Belle to a small hill, overlooking Sweet Apple Acres at sunset, where he would propose to her. No grand gestures, no big party and reveal, just the two lovebirds. It was all going to be perfect. Of course, that was before my psychotic best friend got involved. Discord is good friends with Big Mac too. Mac told him on the day that he was going to propose to Sugar Belle. Of course, Discord trumpeted this all across Equestria. Fortunately, Sugar Belle didn’t get wind of things, but dozens more mares, including both princesses went into an odd state of mourning, as Big Macintosh appeared to be disappearing off the market. Mac forgot the old iron rule of Karl von Clausewitz; ‘no battle plan ever survives first contact with the enemy’. His plan was to have several apples, with little riddles written on notes attached to the stems, scattered around Ponyville. These would lead Sugar Belle through town and eventually to Big Mac, who would be waiting on Sweet Apple Acres. But due to a series of unfortunate events, Sugar Belle missed the first apple. Discord, trying to be helpful, for a given value of helpful mind, used his magic to send them to where they were supposed to go. This, naturally, involved bringing them to life and turning them into creepy talking abominations, which fused together when they touched. Long story short, we ended up with a gigantic apple based monstrosity bellowing out a mixture of love poetry and Big Mac’s most important question for all of Ponyville, including Sugar Belle, to hear. But, as in all good love stories, all was not lost. While Big Mac was despondent over his failure to make the perfect proposal, Sugar Belle was far more understanding. She was able to see the funny side, and it would eventually become one of those moments they looked back on fondly with laughter. The key though; she said yes! Big Mac was over the moon. The engagement itself was reasonably short. The pair had been courting for over a year by this point. They decided to get married in the same place Bright Mac and Pear Butter had tied the knot, which was now marked by the fascinating intertwined tree, that symbolised their immortal bond. Mayor Mare, as the local justice of the peace, oversaw the proceedings, and I was honoured to be the Best Man. That job was originally going to be offered to a certain Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony, but Mac wasn’t quite ready to forgive his friend yet for his cock up. It was a wonderful ceremony that moved even the usually stoic Bones. I caught him once or twice dabbing his eyes with a handkerchief. Speaking of Bones though, allow me to return to my original point when I started this little musing. The wedding had the added effect of reminding my wife that she wanted grand children sooner rather than later. And well...Bones happened to be in the line of fire. He’s been dating, cohabiting, courting, or whatever you call it at this point, with Applejack for the better part of three or four years. It took them both long enough to admit they liked each other, but we’d all expected to hear something about marriage by this point. And now Big Mac had come along and done in just over a year what Bones hadn’t in four. I did honestly wonder what the hesitation was. The pair clearly loved each other, even if Bones wasn’t necessarily ‘physical’ with Applejack. And it wasn’t like money was an issue. While the Apples aren’t rich by any stretch of the imagination, they live comfortably enough, particularly as they own the land their farm is built on; another gift from Princess Celestia long ago. As the party was winding down, I decided to go and have a bit of a chin wag with my son. “Always nice to see a wedding, eh, Bones?” I said as I walked up. He’d been standing a little ways off on his own, looking up at the large twisted tree, pondering as he often does. “Sure is,” he agreed looking up at me. “Although Granny Smith is already pesterin’ Big Mac about great grand foals.” I let out a laugh at that. “Well, your mother’s no different,” I replied, causing Bones to chuckle in response. A comfortable silence held for a moment. Around us, the party was in full swing. Big Mac and Sugar Belle were dancing to some soft romantic number as the guests all looked on. You have to give him credit, Mac sure can dance well for someone of his size. “You ever think about it?” I offered. “Tying the knot I mean.” Bones thought for a few moment before speaking. “Ah thought about it, sure,” he replied. “Me and AJ have talked about it a few times.” He trailed off at that. “And?” I prompted. Bones shrugged. “Just that,” he said. “Why?” Now I shrugged. “I always figured you two would be getting hitched before too long, that’s all,” I answered. “Whatever else I might say, I know you two have something very special.” “All things in their own good time,” Bones replied in a philosophical tone. “To tell ya the truth though, this has got me thinkin’ if it might be time. Shoot, we’ve been together so long, at this point it feels like we are married.” “Do I hear wedding bells then?” I asked with a grin. Bones chuckled. “Maybe,” he admitted. With that, the two of us returned to the party at large. Sugar Belle was just about to partake in one of a few traditions that crossed over between humans and ponies as she hurled the bouquet behind her with her magic. Would you believe me if I said Pinkie of all ponies caught it?