//------------------------------// // Chapter 100 - Mark's World // Story: Off The Mark // by Goldfur //------------------------------// I inadvertently started a tradition. It began simply enough from the desire to spend a Saturday morning with my entire family before several inevitably left to pursue their other plans for the weekend. The weather was scheduled to be sunny and clear with only a slight breeze – perfect flying weather. It took a little convincing to get a couple of the kids to come along, but after a bit of persuasion from their mothers, they joined in. Chrysalis thought it was pointless. However, when the senior wife told her that she had to be there, Sally conceded with good grace. It turned out to be even more fun than I thought. We surprised the Royal Guard by not announcing our intentions beforehand and all simply taking off together from a balcony. However, with Gallus and Penumbra among our number, we did not lack for some official security. Pearl was very adept at her levitation by now and flew under her own power. Allura was our only child who was flightless but we adults took turns carrying her. We had been doing this since she was a foal and she had no fear of falling whatsoever. We did a circuit of the city, startling the citizens with the unexpected royal procession. Then we headed west down the valley that led away from Mount Canterhorn, eventually swinging around White Tail Woods to head towards Ponyville. Along the way, we danced with the wind and played with the foals. When we reached the township, we stopped at Sugar Cube Corner for a drink and snacks before taking the portal back to Canterlot. The consensus was that it had been so much fun, we would do it again in a few weeks. What started as just a small family outing began to grow. Initially, we had Trixie, Penny, Sally, Gemini, Pearl, Allura, Lacewing, Gallus, Diadem, Verdant, and Spotlight. After hearing about the event from Gallus, Smolder asked to join. Regis was next. He was my wife’s grandson, so he certainly belonged. Twilight chose to accompany him. I smirked and told my daughter-in-law to behave herself. She razzed me. Kids! Thorax merely grinned at both of us. Nyx invited herself and then brought along Scootaloo next time. Cutie Mark Crusaders forever! I invited my best pony friend, Steady Flight, to participate and he gladly accepted. Rarity joined in this time with the same glorious butterfly wings that flew her to the Anticyclone. The following month, Cadance turned up with Shiny Button, Flurry Heart, and Skyla. They wanted in on the fun and they were in-laws too, after all. Then one of our now monthly events coincided with a visit from Phil, Rosa, and Yolanda. Phil had been intending to sit it out but Rosa simply picked him up and put him on her back. He protested a bit but she ignored him. The big griffoness had no trouble carrying her husband for the entire trip although she did refrain from the more acrobatic stunts, much to Phil’s relief. Not everyone could attend every month due to various commitments, but they were still large events and the Captain of the Royal Guard wouldn’t let us continue to do them without some forewarning after the first time. This meant little more than some beefed-up security at first. When our monthly outings began to be noticed, she had to start planning crowd control. Then, after a reporter from a syndicated newspaper wrote an article on our family forays, the congregation’s numbers exploded. To take advantage of the extra customers, stalls sprang up every first Saturday of the month in the castle forecourt. The Royal Guard Brass Band entertained the throng and also served to build excitement for the moment. They even composed our own special processional theme which gave us our cue to depart. The Canterlot Weather Service scheduled perfect conditions for those days many months in advance. Thanks to Rainbow Dash not taking no for an answer, the Wonderbolts started putting on a short display before our departure. I quickly came to an understanding of how the royal pomp and ceremony back on Earth had grown. It had very little to do with us; it was the citizens, castle staff, and friends that wanted it to be bigger and better every time. And if it made the citizens happy, why not roll with it? And that’s how the Royal Equestrian Aerial Pageant began. I insisted on constraining the number of guardsponies to keep this a more family-oriented occasion. The Captain of the Guard was equally adamant that it was her job to ensure our security. Chrysalis offered a compromise. Several of her drones who had trained as soldiers would provide protection. As they were also my children, they were part of the family, so that satisfied both of us. About half of them took on pegasus or griffon guises though to avoid the appearance of being swarmed by changelings. # # # Today was a special day. The entire family was present for this Saturday’s pageant. It would be the last time we could all be together for a long while. Gallus was not Captain of the Guard yet, but he was well on the way to achieving that goal. However, to qualify for the next promotion, he needed to attend some training and special courses that would occupy his time for a few months. After that, he would be stationed all around Equus, both in Equestria and abroad to get more experience. Allura and Lacy were headed off to university in Fillydelphia. Gemini and Button signed up to do some exploring of far lands with Celestia. But, for now, we were all gathered for the grand foray. Lacewing and Allura got ready by doing something that had revolutionized the Royal Guard and was slowly being introduced into the military. It had started with Pearl passing on her love of comics to her sister. However, instead of a character like Supergirl, Allura and Lacy fixated on Iron Man. They were fascinated by the movies with him too (thanks, Phil!). This resulted in an epiphany on Lacy’s part. She climbed onto Allura’s back and activated her magic. Her changeling form flowed around the unicorn’s body, creating a red and gold chitin shell around her barrel, legs, and hooves, and sprouting wings with translucent feathers tinted to match the pony’s coat. Although they could form a helmet as well, they normally left that part off. Two glowing gems below the front of the neck armoring were Lacy’s eyes. The partners were now a harmonious unit that allowed Allura to fly like a pegasus while she supplied love to sustain the changeling. They had effectively created an armored mentally-linked pegacorn identity which they called Iron Mare, of course. The technique had been adapted for use by those Royal Guards who had acquired a Companion changeling, but only after that changeling completed guard training. The living armor also provided a heightened awareness to the wearers as well as protection, and it was self-repairing. Changelings were energized by their intimate bond with their companions and were empowered by it so much that their chitin became stronger than the armor that they replaced. As for Pearl, she never grew out of her love of comics and her Supermare alter ego had become a part of our pageant. Rarity had created new versions of her costume as the filly had grown and the latest certainly flattered my second daughter’s grown-up body. Like most mares in the anthro pony universe, Pearl had big breasts and her costume was hard pushed to contain them. However, the young mare was delighted with her comic book appearance and invariably wore her outfit on all these occasions. I designated her to be our herald. Much to my relief, Pearl was well-loved by her classmates and the castle staff. Thanks to the Triarchy’s immigration and recruiting efforts, encountering an anthro pony was now a commonplace occurrence. My wives gathered around me, Penumbra taking her usual protective station in the lead. I had grown to match my batpony wife’s height by now, but she delighted in telling me my stallion form would never match her wingspan. She could still wipe the floor with me in a fair fight, and by that, I mean not throwing lightning or spires of rock at her. At the appointed time, we could hear the band outside reach its crescendo. I nodded to Gallus who gave the order for our escort to take flight to form the guard of honor outside the castle. On the final note, Pearl took off, her glowing horn the only evidence that magic was in use. She had learned to conceal the luminous side-effect around her body. She launched herself up into the sky, striking a pose for the audience. Damn! I never got tired of seeing my daughter like that. She had very effectively turned her extraordinary natural form into something amazing in the eyes of the general populace. Then Pearl used a voice amplifying spell to address the crowd. “Citizens and visitors from lands far and wide, the Royal Family of Equestria greets you all on this fine day and wishes you and your loved ones the best. We are honored to present to you this month’s Royal Equestrian Aerial Pageant!” There was a roar from the crowd which was our cue to emerge from the castle. My wives and I were the first to take flight, closely followed by our children and family. Our routine had changed a lot from the first time. It involved legs over the main streets of the city, looping around to give a better view to more of the onlookers who didn’t have a prime position to watch. Some of us performed aerial maneuvers to make it more interesting. It was all part of the fun of the event. Altogether, we did five circuits of the city, the last of which ended with us heading south over the cliffs and into the open skies. As everyone left Canterlot airspace, we settled down to the real reason for our monthly flights – bonding with our family. We played, and we talked. We practiced our flying skills. Heaven knows I was far better than I used to be. Nowhere near as good as my Marklestia form yet, but my alter ego didn’t participate in these flights anyway. I watched as Gemini cavorted with Button who had taken female form and wondered which of them would choose to have a foal one day. Not that I was in a hurry to have grandkids. I was just happy that my first child had found someone to love who loved them back. Maybe my adopted son would beat them; Smolder had been making hints lately that even I had managed to pick up on. I wondered what the cross between a dragon and a griffon would be like. No matter – my family was happy, harmonious, and loved. No clearer indication could be seen than with Sally whose whole body fairly glistened with the love and joy she was imbibing on our flight. Just this morning, I teased Chrysalis about the inevitability of rolling out of bed one morning looking like rainbow sherbet. My changeling queen laughed, patted me on the head, and told me not to get my hopes up. Right now, she caught my eye and winked, licking her lips. I grinned back before I inverted my flight to glide underneath Rarity as she fluttered along with my other wives. She smiled and lowered her head to steal a swift kiss. I chuckled and slipped to the side and brought myself beside Penny to pass on the kiss. She smirked and slapped me on the butt with a wing. I laughed and flapped a little harder to catch up and get ahead of my first wife. Turning, I held my forehooves apart and she flew into my embrace. Then we showed our co-mates how to do a proper kiss even as we drifted downwards due to not paying attention to flying. We parted a bit out of breath, gazing at each other affectionately. Then we flew hoof in hoof for a while, watching our family enjoying themselves. I took a few moments to play with Yolanda while her parents looked on proudly. She was truly a child of two worlds now, as much a part of our family as Phil’s. I recalled how my best friend’s parents had treated me as a brother to their son and I was delighted to carry on that tradition. I loved these times. No pretensions. No courtly manners. No machinations of nobles vying for power and influence. Just enjoying the freedom of the air in the relaxed presence of those I loved. I spotted a small fluffy cloud and alighted upon it. Folding my wings, I looked about me at the world that I had come to call home. It was heart-wrenchingly beautiful, and the knowledge that I ruled over it and protected it was both humbling and uplifting. I had come a long way from that pegasus stallion who first stumbled into this dimension. I could hardly wait to see what the years ahead would bring me. I murmured, “Thank you, Harmony. Thanks for bringing this silly former human into this world and showing him how he could be so much more.” Trixie landed next to me and said, “Getting introspective again, Dowser?” I chuckled and nodded. “Yeah.” She rolled her eyes. “You’re hopeless. Trixie will have to redouble her efforts to fix you.” Her smile belied her words. “Come on – we have a feast waiting for us in Ponyville.” She then playfully pushed me off the cloud with a burst of her magic. I let myself tumble for a moment before looking back up to her with a grin. Then I extended my wings and called out for the world to hear, “I am Mark Wells, Prince of the Equestrian Empire, conqueror of its many foes, husband to four of the best mares in the world, father of my many beloved foals, and my story has only just begun!” # # # # # # # # # The End… for now.