At the bakery of Sugarcube Corner, Pinkie Pie was staring at a suitcase, which was currently empty as she looked around at everything that she should take with her on the trip. "Let's see..." He grabbed a set of party balloons, which she stuffed into the case. She then packed several funny hats, an ironing board, tea kettle, tall lamp, skateboard and several weeks' worth of marshmallows. And once it was all packed, she closed the lid and had to use her earth pony strength to force it shut. Luckily, once it was closed, the lock kept it shut and she was able to place it on her back.
"Ready to go, Gummy?" She turned to her pet alligator, who was dressed in a hawaiian shirt with sunglasses, and a suitcase hanging from his tail. "Great. Let's get going." She picked the aligator up and placed him on her back, then headed downstairs.
When she arrived at the bakery, she saw Mr. and Mrs. Cake working hard to fill out an order. "Pinkie," Mrs. Cake smiled, "You ready for your vacation?"
"Yup," Pinkie nodded back, "Just gotta wait for Wild to arrive." She then saw how hard the pair were working while also trying to keep the twins entertained. "Are you two sure you got everything handled here?"
"Absolutely," Mr. Cake nodded, "Don't even think about staying to help. When was the last time you took a vacation?" Pinkie opened her mouth at this, but nothing came out. Instead, Mr. Cake added, "We'll be fine."
"Besides," Mrs. Cake continued, "It's not every day you're invited to your boyfriend's family vacation. You'll finally get to meet Wild's family." Pinkie smiled at this, being very excited for that. Despite being with Wild for a long time, she had never gotten to meet his family. Wild had tried on a few occasions to set up a meeting between them, but his parents were always super busy or a big world ending threat would occur.
"Ding dong," Wild's voice called out, Pinkie spinning around to see the stallion carrying his own suitcase while his puppets were each carrying a case that was tied to them. "Hey!" he waved at her, "ready to go?"
"Give me one more second!" Pinkie replied before giving the Cake Twins one last hug and belly button blow, then hugged their parents before rushing up to him. "Okay. Let's get going!"
"Alright," Wild laughed, "Hope you brought something to do. It's a long train ride to Silver Shoals." Pinkie nodded back, Wild saying bye to the Cakes before the duo left. It wasn't long till they got to the station, both waiting on the train.
"So...which of your family is gonna be there?"
"All of them," Wild responded, "This is one of the few times everypony's able to make it. My parents, all my dad's siblings, and my cousins will be there."
Pinkie nodded again, not needing to ask about his mother's family. Wild had long since told her about how his mother had been raised by her aunt after her parents died in an airship accident. Her aunt had died not long after Wild was born, getting sick and having complications. Luckily, his father's family had been happy to welcome her into their clan so she never felt alone during it.
The train arrived a little while later and the pair climbed aboard. The ponies all the train were a little worried about an alligator being aboard, but Pinkie was able to stop their worries by showing his toothless mouth. As such, the pair enjoyed their time together as the train rolled down the tracks. It was a long trip, but they were able to pass the time playing eye spy, tic-tac-toe, and other fun games. The food trolley also arrived several times and they were able to help themselves to whatever treats and goodies it held.
And as the afternoon grew late, the train announcer spoke up that they would soon be arriving at the station the two were waiting for. They quickly grabbed their luggage and headed for the exit as the train pulled into the place. As they stepped out, along with several other ponies that appeared to also be going to Silver Shoals, Pinkie let out a cheer, "We're here!" Wild chuckled at this while Gummy held onto her tail by his mouth. She glanced around at this, only to find nothing as the station blocked the view of everything.
Wild smirked as he also looked around, "Huh. They said they'd meet us here." Pinkie turned to him with a raised an eyebrow, only for a voice to speak up.
"Wild!" They spun around to see two ponies stepping out of the train's steam. One was a thin blue unicorn mare, with a red mane and tail that was up in a bun. The other was a green earth pony stallion with the same black and gray mane and tail Wild had. The mare had a bunch of cookies for a cutie mark and the stallion's cutie mark showed a pipe.
"Mom! Dad!" He ran over and hugged the pair, who quickly embraced him back.
The three then pulled away, the mare looking Wild over. "Oh, honey. You're practically skin and bones. We'll need to make sure you get some good meals when we get to the hotel." Wild rolled his eyes at this, then turned to Pinkie as his parents followed his hoof.
"Mom, dad. This is Pinkie."
"Hi there!" Pinkie waved excitedly, the mare bouncing over to them. "It's really nice to meet you!"
"And you," the mare smiled, "My name is Ginger Snap."
"And you can call me Cistern," the stallion replied. "So, you're the mare that's been keeping our son from visiting home so often." Pinkie suddenly gulped at this, only for the stallion to add, "I can see why. You're certainly a pretty little thing."
Ginger moved up and pinched her face, "Such a beautiful face. And I love how wild your mane is. Almost like candy floss." Pinkie laughed at the pinching, trying to stop herself from going 'ow'. "I'm sure the rest of the family are looking forward to meeting you as well." She then noticed the reptile on Pinkie's tail. "And is this the Gummy that Wild told us about."
"Yup," Pinkie pulled away and unhinged the alligator from her tail. "This is Gummy. Say hi Gummy." The reptile stared at them for a moment before blinking. The duo just chuckled at the sight.
"It's nice to meet you too," Cistern laughed. "Well, we should get going. We have reservations at the hotel restaurant." They nodded before heading out of the station.
And when they stepped out onto the street, Pinkie could now see the sights of Silver Shoals. They were currently on a hill, looking out at a small town that was running down it. At the bottom was a beach, which had a bunch of large hotels lining it. "Oooh," she whispered, "Which one are we gonna be going to?"
"The best one," Ginger replied, "You'll love it. You'll be rooming with Wild's cousins, so you'll get to have a lot of girl talk." Pinkie turned to them with wide eyes, as she had thought she and Wild would be sharing a room. "Though if we don't hurry, the others might end up going to dinner without us."
They soon made their way down, finding it was a very steep hill, all having a hard time not tripping over themselves as they walked. It was then that Pinkie had an idea, the mare putting down her suitcase and opening it up carefully so everything inside wouldn't fly out. Reaching in, she pulled out a skateboard and several balloons before shutting the case again. "This'll get use there faster." The parents raised an eyebrow at this, leaning back as they then saw her pull a can of helium out of her mane and used it to blow up several of the balloons. And once they were all blown up, she tied them around the three ponies.
"What are you DOING?!" Cistern yelped out as he, Ginger and Wild were lifted into the air. Pinkie had also tied some rope to them, allowing her to weigh them down as she leapt onto the skateboard. The next thing they all knew, Pinkie was racing down the street and pulling the three floating ponies behind her.
"I can't believe this!" Ginger cried, "Where did she get this idea...and that helium?"
Wild laughed as he held onto his puppets. "It's Pinkie Pie, don't question it." His parents both stared at him as Pinkie swerved around a corner. She laughed as they reached the bottom of the hill and jumped off the ground with her skateboard. This led to the four of them floating in the air as the momentum pushed them through the street.
"There's our hotel," Cistern announced as he pointed at a large building beside the beach. Pinkie smiled and stretched her body down to the ground, retracting the top half as soon as the bottom half touched down and pulling the three down after her. She quickly untied the balloons from around them and retied them all to a nearby railing between where the street turned into the beach.
Wild's parents shook at this, Pinkie giggling as she put her skateboard back into her suitcase. "Let's go!" She began bouncing away at this, the parents watching her with wide eyes.
"This girl is...sane, right?" Ginger turned to her son, who slightly glared back at her.
"She's just as sane as I am," he replied with his puppets saying 'just as sane' over and over.
"That's what worries us," Cistern laughed as they headed into the hotel after Pinkie. Once inside, they saw it was something out of this world compared to Ponyville. Marble floors and columns leading up to the ceiling, comfy couches lining the walls, and a large fish tank in the very center of the room that had a bunch of tropical fish within it. Several bellhops were pushing things around while vacationing ponies were sitting around, looking through pamphlets explaining everything they could do in the resort.
"Ooh," Pinkie whistled, "Fancy. Rarity would love this."
"No kidding." Wild added as they began walking through the lobby. "I wonder if-"
"WILD!" the stallion spun around at this, just in time to see a young colt tackle him to the ground. The pony was a pale blue earth pony around the CMC's age that had a green mane and tail. "You're finally here!"
"Wick," Wild laughed as he pulled the colt off of him and placed him on the ground. "Pinkie, this is Candle Wick. My cousin."
"Hi," Pinkie waved, only for the colt to instantly look away, making the mare almost flinch.
"This is great!" Wick exclaimed as he hugged Wild, "It's been ages since we've seen each other and now, we get to spend our whole vacation hanging out!" Wild glanced over at Pinkie, seeing the mare stare at him before looking back down at his cousin and slowly pried himself away from the hug.
"Yeah, we'll hang out Wick. But not the whole vacation. I wanna help Pinkie get to know the rest of the family." Wick heard this and spun around, now seeing the mare waving again, only for him to glare at her, making her wave come to a stop.
But before anything could be said, a bunch more ponies walked up at this. Most were earth ponies, Pinkie guessing they were Cistern's brothers and sisters, with a few pegasi and unicorns of the opposite gender next to them. The younger ponies were a good mix of earth ponies, pegasi and unicorns. Pinkie also noticed the oldest of these ponies was only in his late teens, making her remember how Wild had told her that he was ten years above his oldest cousin.
"Wild!" One of the older earth ponies yelled, "About time you showed up! We were worried we'd have to have dinner without you." They then all turned to Pinkie, "Is this the little lady we heard about?"
"Yup," Wild pulled Pinkie to him in his magic, "Pinkamena Diane Pie." Pinkie shot him a glare, the unicorn knowing she hated her full name.
"Call me Pinkie," she stated as the ponies all introduced themselves. If Pinkie wasn't so good at remembering names, the number of them might have been tricky to sort through.
"Is that an alligator?" One of the younger ponies asked, seeing Gummy still holding onto Pinkie's tail. The adults turned to him and gasped at seeing him blink, revealing he wasn't just an accessory.
Pinkie laughed at their terrified expressions, the mare pulling him off her tail and showing his toothless mouth. "See? He's totally safe. Had him for years and never had a problem with him once. Wanna pet him?" The younger ponies rushed up and started doing so before the adults could stop. And after a few minutes, the adults decided to pet him as well and were amazed by how calm he was.
"Alright," Ginger returned from the check-in desk. "Wild, you'll be with the colts in room two five three." She gave him a keycard, "You'll be in charge of keeping this safe. If anypony needs to go into their room-"
"I gotta let them in," Wild replied, "I know mom." He took the keycard as Ginger turned to Pinkie.
"You'll be rooming with the rest of the girls in the room next door," she gave her another keycard. "I know it's a lot to ask, given you're our guest, but could you-"
"Look after the keycard so the girls can get in," Pinkie took the card. "No problem." She planted the card into her mane, surprising the adults and making the younger ponies laugh. Pinkie put Gummy on her back, wrapped her tail around her suitcase and started making her way towards the elevator. "So, the rooms are on the second floor, right?" The adults nodded as Pinkie laughed, "I'll be back in a feeeeeew."
Wild laughed as he picked up his own suitcase, "I'll be with her." He walked with Pinkie and the two disappeared into the elevator.
Once they were gone, the family started talking. "That mare's a little...odd," one of Cistern's sisters pointed out.
"What did you expect?" One of his brothers spoke up, "Somepony that dates Wild's hardly going to be normal. He has a bunch of souls in puppets that follow him around. What sane pony would wanna date that?" Cistern glared at his brother, Ginger grimacing at that.
As Pinkie and Wild rode the elevator, Wild let out a moan, "Can't believe I'm stuck in the kiddie room again." He turned to Pinkie, "I'm sorry. I was hoping we could share a room."
"It's okay," she told him as the elevator came to a stop. "We'll just have to spend as much time as possible during the day to make up for not being together at night." Wild nodded as they stepped out into the hallway, making their way down until they found the two rooms that were right across from one another.
Using their keycards, the pair walked in and found they were full of multiple beds. Both placing their cases down, Pinkie took some food and a bowl out of her mane to feed Gummy with. She then ran a cold bath that was deep enough for the alligator to touch the bottom of. "There you go. Just enjoy yourself until I get back." She gave Gummy a kiss before dropping him in the water, she and Wild heading back downstairs.
She was determined that during this trip, she would bond with Wild's family.
When they returned to the lobby, only Ginger and Cistern were there waiting for them, as the rest of the family had gone off to the resort's restaurant. Once the four met up, they all went to the restaurant and found the family seated around a large and long table. Pinkie and Wild were sat at one end with the kids as a waitress came around and started taking their orders.
Once they were taken, the family turned their attention to the new arrival. "So, Pinkie." A mare that was Wild's aunt spoke up, "What do you do for a living?"
"Oh, lots of things. I mostly work at this amazing bakery in Ponyville, but I'm also a party planner." The adults raised eyebrows at this, all knowing from experience that throwing parties was never easy. "I'm also a teacher."
"Wait, what?" An earth pony stallion pushed his glasses up his nose, "You work at a school?" Pinkie nodded, as Wild leaned over.
"Uncle Booker works at a school too. Ancient Languages teacher."
"Oh," Pinkie shined a big grin, "Nice to meet you, fellow educator. I teach at the School of Friendship."
"What?!" One of the older teens called out, "The school of friendship?" Stars appeared in their eyes, "The one ran by the Princess of Friendship?" Pinkie nodded back, "No way! I've wanted to go there since it opened. How did you get a teaching position there?"
Pinkie giggled at this, the family clearly not knowing who she really was. The mare reached into her mane and took out a photo, which showed her and the rest of the Mane Seven together. She passed it over to the young filly, who gasped at the sight of it.
Wild also smirked, since he had only ever told his parents too finer details of who Pinkie really was. He was looking forward to seeing the rest of his family's reaction. "Hey!" One of his older cousins yelped, "Isn't that Flash Sentry?! The Royal Knight that's saved Equestria a bunch of times?!"
"Yup," Pinkie grinned, "We go way back. Before he was even a knight."
"And that's Princess Twilight..." the school loving filly whispered. "You're friends with the Princess of Friendship?" Pinkie nodded again, "And you work at her school." Pinkie nodded for a third time, "Wow."
"Pinkie's more than just a teacher at the school," Wild chimed in, "She's one of the ponies that taught Twilight everything she needed to know to become a princess." Everypony went wide-eyed at this, "She's also the Element of Laughter and a member of the Friendship Council. She helped save Equestria from Nightmare Moon, Discord, the Changeling and a bunch more threats."
"There's no way all of that is true," Wild's uncle waved his hoof as the waitress returned with their food.
"It is," Pinkie giggled, "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!" When her food came, she licked her lips at the sight, glad this place wasn't like restaurant row, the earth pony remembering how boring and stale that place was. The family began to dig into their food at this, Pinkie now telling them about some of her adventure with her friends. The younger ponies were amazed while the adults all looked unsure about whether or not she was telling the truth. By the time she got to the parts involving the yaks, they were pretty sure she was making some of this stuff up.
"Wow," one of the fillies whispered. "Wait...so when did you meet Wild? With all the insane stuff that happened to you, how did the two of you even meet?"
"Oh, we met during the Battle of Canterlot." The adults all went wide-eyed at this, Wild flinching as she continued, "Yeah, we met when he was fighting and-"
"We just happened to run into one another," Wild interruped, "But we didn't really interact until afterwards. One day I was making my way through Ponyville, then stopped off at the bakery she worked at. Her employers put her in charge of babysitting a pair of twins and she needed a ton of help figuring it out. Ever since then, we hung out until we eventually got together."
Pinkie turned to him with a raised eyebrow, but the others seemed to accept this. The meal then came to an end and the family decided to spend the rest of the evening doing separate things. The younger ponies had a few more hours before their bedtime, so Pinkie and Wild were able to stay downstairs a little longer. As such, the pair walked out into a large pooled balcony that overlooked the beach. Pinkie had been hoping to see the sun set over the ocean's horizon, but only now did she realize the beach was pointing to the east.
As they looked out at the ocean, Pinkie turned to her boyfriend. "You haven't told them about what really happened during the Battle of Canterlot, have you?" Wild sighed and looked away, his puppets nodding at this, "Why?"
"I'm...not proud of that time," Wild replied, "And my family's never exactly been understanding of me." Pinkie tilted her head at this, "My cousins have always looked up to me, but my aunts and uncles don't exactly see me as role model material. Ever since I was a colt and started hearing the voices in my head, they've always thought I was strange."
"I'm sure that's not true."
"They don't admit it, but I know they think I'm completely insane sometimes. And if I told them what really happened at the Battle of Canterlot, they might never want me to be part of their family again." Pinkie frowned at this, placing her head on his shoulder. Wild smiled at wrapped his leg around the mare. He knew he was lucky to have this pony. And he never wanted to have her be away from him.
The next day...
As soon as the sun was up, the younger ponies were instantly awake, ready to have fun. The adults, being adults, wanted to sleep in, but thanks Pinkie and Wild being still children at heart, were also up around the same time as the kids. This meant the adults could enjoy their morning sleep as Pinkie and Wild had the children downstairs for breakfast, then the nine rushed out into the beach.
"Wee!" Pinkie exclaimed as she ran with Gummy on her tail and bounced into the air. "Cannonball!" She splashed into the water, somehow sinking below the surface despite this section of it only supposed to being a foot or so deep at most. The rest of the children also began playing, Wild staying on the beach with those that wanted to build sand structures while Pinkie was with those wanting to swim.
Wild was a little worried, since some of the younger ponies had gone out swimming as the tide could be strong, but Pinkie appeared from under the water and Wild noticed something around her waist. The mare had somehow tied a rope to the younger colts and fillies that she also tried to herself. The rope was long enough that the ponies could swim about without issue, but still short enough for Pinkie to reel in before anything bad happened.
The unicorn laughed at her abilities and focused on the sand playing ponies, helping them build castles and others structures. They played like this for several hours, Pinkie and the swimmers all staying in the shallows and splashing about while Wild and the others made their sandy creations. And as the parents woke up and came out, they found their children were all safe and having a really good time.
They made their way down to the beach and saw that Wild was being asked by the younger ponies which sand formation was the best. Wild clearly didn't want to pick one over the other, so the unicorn found himself stuck between a rock and a hard place.
"Um...they all looked great."
"But which is the best?" Wick asked, showing his candle sculpture that was just a big tube made of sand. He had tried to make a fiery top, but the sand wouldn't remain in the shape he wanted. Wild grimaced at this, the parents having a feeling one of them was gonna have to take over and be the one to upset the others.
That is, till Pinkie appeared along with all the swimming ponies. "I have an idea. Instead of Wild picking, why don't you all pick?" The ponies all turned to her with confused expressions, "Each of you pick the sculpture that you like the most, which isn't yours, and whoever's creation gets the most votes wins."
The group soon caught on, the adults glad that the colts and fillies probably couldn't get angry at that. They and the swimming ponies all began to stare at the sand sculptures, the seven examining the four creations. Then, one by one, they each picked one they liked the most. Two of them picked one that looked like a mere-pony laying on the ground, while another two really liked a castle that was star-shaped with several stinks acting as flags. The last three picked a nicely designed castle covered in shells.
"Yeah!" The filly that created the castle cheered, the others all applauding while Candle Wick frowned since nopony had picked his.
"I really like this one." He looked over at his sculpture and saw Pinkie staring at it with a smile. "Nice candlestick. Birthday or reading?"
"Um..." Wick blinked at her, "I don't know."
Pinkie continued to smile as she looked up at the top. "Oh, but somepony's blown it out." She zipped off and returned with a bucket of water, Wick unsure where that bucket had come from, which she used to wet the ground and allow he to start shaping the sand. "Here you go. There's a trick to making fire out of sand." She showed him the flame and Wick went wide-eyed. "Wild, can you put this on Wick's candle? I'd probably knock it down."
"Sure," Wild smirked as he used his magic to lift the sand flame up and carefully placed it on the top of the candle. Wick smiled at the sight before turning to Pinkie.
"Thank you!" Pinkie gave him a toothy grin back, the adults all watching the exchange. For all the strangeness this mare exhibited, she certainly knew how to handle young ponies.
Now that the adults were awake and ready for the day, the family all headed into town to check out the stores and other fun activities. It wasn't just the beach that was Silver Shoal's main attraction, as there was also a small fun fair on one of the piers with a ferris wheel and several roller coasters. There was also a water park full of different slides and pools, and a mini golf course.
The family soon found themselves on a street full of different food stores, all splitting up, but were still able to see one another as they ate their lunch. A little while later, they found an arcade that the younger ponies had a blast with, Wild's parents accepting babysitting duty, so the others could look around. Pinkie and Wild went exploring, the pair smirking when they discovered a large stone with a strange series of symbols and images on it.
"What's this?" She asked, trying to decipher the stone as somepony walked by.
"Oh," she smiled, "That's our town's greatest attraction. The whole reason it's even named Silver Shoals."
"It's not made of silver," Wild pointed out as his puppets repeated the statement. Pinkie then licked the rock and frowned before spitting onto the ground.
"Definitely not silver. Plain old granite."
The mare raised an eyebrow at this, "Um...yeah. That's not the reason it's called Silver Shoals. That's a treasure map." Those two words got the pair interested as she continued, "It's said that a pirate once buried a bunch of silver somewhere around here and carved the clue to find it on this rock. Ponies who heard about it came to try and find the treasure, but nopony ever did. Eventually, most of the ponies that wanted to find it stayed and created this little town."
"So the treasure's never been found?" Pinkie asked, the mare nodding.
"Many ponies think it doesn't exist. And if it does, the pirate that made it intentionally marked the wrong place so nopony could find it."
She walked off and the couple smiled at one another, both glancing back at the rock. They stared at it for some time, only for Wild to shake his head, "I have no idea what this means."
Pinkie then pulled a camera out of her mane, which she used to snap a picture of the stone. Once it was printed, she began to bounce down the street, Wild following behind until they found the pony they were looking for. Uncle Booker and his wife had met up with all the other adults and young ponies, Pinkie and Wild being the last of the group to arrive.
"There you are," Cistern spoke up. "What were you two doing?"
"We found a treasure map," Pinkie smirked as the younger ponies' went wide-eyed. Wild explained the rock they found, Pinkie showing them the picture she had taken. The colts and fillies had no idea what the words meant as Pinkie handed to picture to Booker. "Wild said you taught ancient languages. Do you recognize this writing?"
Booker took the picture and looked it over, "Yes...this is an ancient dialect that the ponies of old used to speak. And it looks rather simplistic. You said this was a treasure map?" They all nodded, "I don't see why ponies have had trouble finding this. If any of them were as learned as me, they shouldn't have had any problems-wait." He took a closer look, "Well that's interesting."
"What is?" One of the fillies asked.
"Some of these words are in a different dialect. It's from around the same time period, but its from an entirely different tribe." This made everypony tilt their head, "Before Equestria could be properly settled, multiple different tribes lived across the lands that had no way of communicating with one another. As such, their writings were completely different."
"So most of the map is written in one dialect, but certain words are written in another?" Wild asked, "Why?"
"Maybe the wrong words are a clue," one of the younger ponies suggested.
Booker read it again. "The words in a different dialect are...north, west, south, west..."
"Are they all compass directions?" Pinkie asked, Booker reading through and nodding. As he did, Pinkie crossed her hooves as she let this info sink in. As she did, her head started turning clockwise with a ticking noise that made everypony turn to her and grimace with the exception of Wild. That is, till her head was completely upside down, only for it spin back up and ring like an alarm clock. "I know! The words are meant to be the opposite!"
"Huh?" Wick responded.
"Oh, that's brilliant!" Wild added, "So when the instructions tell you to go north, you're supposed to go south and vice versa."
The others went wide-eyed at this, the younger ponies all getting giddy about finding treasure. "Come on!" Pinkie suddenly vanished and reappeared dressed as a pirate with Gummy on her shoulder. "Let's go find some treasure!" The others cheered as they all headed back toward the stone, the adults laughing at the sight.
And when they returned to the stone, Booker read the writing. "Sixty passes north. So that means we go sixty passes south instead."
"Let's go," Wick began pacing until Wild lifted him up.
"Cous, it's gonna be sixty paces for a full grown pony."
"Full grown pony, full grown pony!" Wick moaned at this, but allowed Wild to start pacing sixty paces south of the rock, soon coming to spot in the middle of the town.
"Now we need to go twenty-five paces west, which means going twenty-five paces east." They would have, but found that a building currently stood between them and their direction.
"I got this," one of the pegasi adults chimed in, stepping up to where Wild was and flew straight up, then moved like he was pacing through the air. Once he reached the other side of the street, he flew straight down and took two more paces to hit twenty five.
"Good," Booker stared when the others reached the street, "Now it's fifteen paces south and thirty west. So fifteen paces north and thirty east."
The group soon marched through town, following the instructions until they hit the final one, "Ninety-seven," Pinkie counted with each pace. "Ninety-eight. Ninety-nine...one hundred." The others caught up and Booker read the final line.
"Alright. Now it's only twenty more paces." He spun around and pointed, "That way." But when they all turned, they found themselves staring at a large old building that was fancily decorated.
"Isn't that the town hall?" Ginger asked, the others nodding as Wick ran up.
"Let's go!" He cheered, only for Wild to pull him back by his tail.
"Hold it. I really doubt they're just gonna let a bunch of random ponies start digging up their town hall." The younger ones all moaned at this as a security guard walked out and spotted the large group.
"Hello?" He moved up to them, "I'm afraid the last tour of the day has already ended. You'll have to come back tomorrow if you want to take it."
"We're not here for the tour," Cistern laughed. "We...were actually following a map." The security guard raised an eyebrow at this, "To the silver treasure that was apparently buried here."
"Really?" He asked, "What makes you think it's here. Everypony in town's tried to follow that map and it never leads them here. Usually, it's on the other side of town."
"Yeah," Wild chuckled, "But we realised you were supposed to go in the opposite direction to what the map said." The security guard went wide-eyed at this and looked back at the town hall, "But I doubt you'll let us dig up some of your town hall in the hopes of finding a long lost treasure."
"No," he agreed, "We won't. I'm sorry, but the town hall will be remaining undug up."
"But there's treasure in there!" Wick cried, the guard laughing.
"I doubt it. That's probably just something the town's founders made up to make our town seem special. Sorry kid, but your treasure hunt ends here."
The young ponies all moaned at this, Pinkie patting them on the shoulders. "Ah, come on everypony. Who cares that we didn't find any treasure? We had fun, following the map, didn't we?" The others all nodded, but were still a little bummed. "Come, let's go back to the hotel. It's almost dinner time." They all headed back at this, leaving the hall and the security guard behind.
The adults smirked at how well Pinkie handled them. "The guard was right," Cistern commented, "The treasure was probably made up by the founders who wanted to town to stand out." If he had looked back, he would have seen the guard run around behind the building and return a moment later with a shovel that he took into the town hall.
And as they walked, the adults watched as Pinkie made the young ponies all laugh and smile. "Alright," one of Wild's uncles spoke up, "I'll admit it. That mare's something alright. Great with kids, has a good career and has apparently saved Equestria a few dozen times." He turned to Wild, "She's a keeper. Try and hang on to her."
Wild nodded back, "I intend to."
They returned to the hotel and headed inside, once again being seated at the large table where they ordered, ate and laughed at something somepony said. Pinkie couldn't not enjoy these events, even if somepony paid her. Wild's family was certainly a fun one, full of different types of ponies that worked off one another in a great way. And when dinner was finished, Wild asked Pinkie if she wanted to go for a walk on the beach just the two of them. Pinkie happily agreed and the pair headed out, the pair trotting down as the sky turned orange with the slowly setting sun. They reached the beach and Pinkie when she felt the sand beneath her hooves.
"I love sand. Glad I didn't stop loving it after our trek through the desert."
"Which trek through the desert?" Wild asked.
"Oh, when the Storm King took over Canterlot. Remember? We told you how we had to travel through the desert without any food or water. Not a fun time."
"Yeah," Wild nodded, "Wasn't a great time back in Canterlot either." They walked down the beach, smiling at one another as they reached the water. Pinkie giggled when the tide washed over their hooves, the pair making their way along the sandy beach as they talked. "You know, I never thought my life would be like this."
"Like this, like this."
"What do you mean?" Pinkie asked as Wild laughed.
"When I was younger, I didn't have any friends. Kind of hard to bond with ponies when you're constantly hearing voices in your head. And when I learned to put my little buddies into my puppets, things didn't exact improve."
"Which is silly," Pinkie giggled, "Who wouldn't wanna be friends with somepony that had a bunch of talking puppets." Wild smirked and nodded as they continued down the beach.
"I thought things would get better when I entered Celestia's School for gifted unicorns, and they did. I got to meet Script and Gorgenia...but I was still an outcast who just happened to be friends with two more outcasts." He picked up a stone and gently tossed it at the ocean, watching it skim three times before sinking. "Then we all met Lightning and he took us under his wing, helping us become stronger. And after years of being in everypony's shadows..."
"You got brainwashed into attacking Canterlot," Pinkie sighed, "But you've made up for that. You're not the same pony that did those things. You've got friends, a great family, and me."
"Yeah," Wild nodded, "Meeting you was the greatest thing that ever happened to me." He turned to look her in the eye, "You showed me that being weird wasn't a bad thing. You helped me make so many connections, and I also ended up being on the forefronts of several insane situations. Since meeting you, my life's been a constant string of insane situations, but you know what?" he pulled her in for a hug. "It's been one heck of a wild ride."
Pinkie smiled and hugged him back, the pair basking in each other's warmth. "I love you, Wild Smile."
"And I love you, Pinkamena Diane Pie." Pinkie laughed at the use of her full name, "More than anything else in the world." He pulled back, "You're the most important pony in my life. You saved me from the darkness of my heart." Pinkie smiled at this, "I know you are who I want to spend the rest of my life with."
This made Pinkie blink at him, "What do you mean?"
Wild took a deep breath and took both her hooves in his. "Pinkie Pie...will you marry me?" Pinkie's eyes went wide as the words sank into her mind. Her heart started beating harder as an incredible amount of joy flowed through her body.
Wild's pink puppet flew down, the back of it opening up and Wild took out a box. He held it up to Pinkie, opening the box to reveal a beautiful engagement ring within. Pinkie stared at it in amazement, wanting nothing more than to say yes. But something stopped her.
"I can't." Wild went wide-eyed at this, "Not yet." She looked Wild right in the eye, "There's something you have to do for me first."
"I'll do anything."
"Tell your family what really happened in the Battle of Canterlot." Wild leaned back at this, "If we get married, they'll be my family. And I can't keep a secret like that from my family. So if you want me to marry you, you have to tell them what happened."
"But...but what if they hate me for what I did?"
"They won't," she instantly replied, "They're your family, and no matter how different you are from them, they won't hate you if you're sincerely sorry for what you did. After all, it was so long ago and you've done so much to make up for it. You even helped save Canterlot a year later." Wild grimaced at this, only for Pinkie to put her hoof on his shoulder, "Wild, you have to do this. They deserve to know the truth."
He sighed, looking down at the sand. "Okay," he nodded before looking her in the eye. "But...if they do end up hating me, I won't be mad at you for making me do this. You're right about them deserving to know. Can...can you just stay out of the conversation? You're right about this needing to be a family thing."
Pinkie nodded, kissing Wild one last time before he turned to walk away. She watched him go and as she did, she screamed in joy. She couldn't believe she was actually going to get married. She thought back to Rainbow's wedding and the awesome party she had planned for her. Now she was gonna be planning her own party...if she could. Were you supposed to plan your own wedding party? She wasn't sure.
She could already see all of her friends reactions when they learned this. She could imagine Rarity talking dresses, Applejack talking food and Twilight talking schedule. It was going to be amazing. And she was so busy imagining the plan that the sun had completely set and she was starting to feel herself getting cold.
She decided to head back to the hotel, hoping that Wild would have been done with his conversation by now. But as she arrived back on the balcony, she looked inside to see Wild surrounded by his entire family. The adults were all looking at him with frowns on their faces while the younger ponies looked shocked. She gulped at this, the thought of regretting her making him do this now rearing its head in her mind.
That is, till Ginger stepped up and hugged her son. Pinkie smiled as Cistern did the same, followed by Wick and several of his other cousins.
"So...you're not angry?" Wild asked as his cousins pulled back.
"No," Ginger shook her head, "Just...disappointed." Wild grimaced at this, "A little at you for doing that, but also disappointed at ourselves." Wild went wide-eyed at this, "We...we knew you didn't have the easiest foalhood. We should have tried to do something to help you, then you might not have done what you did."
Cistern nodded at this, "But what you did is in the past. You said you've worked hard to make up for what you did, haven't you?" Wild nodded back. "Well, that's what really matters. You realized your mistake and you've worked to make up for it. That's all that matters now."
Wild looked around at all his aunts and uncles, the group all saying they understood and didn't hold it against him. "But I don't get it," one of his uncles called out. "Why now? Why'd you keep the secret for so long, only to randomly come out and talk about it now?"
But Wild didn't respond, instead glancing over to a certain somepony standing outside. The others followed his gaze and saw it was Pinkie, who smiled at them all.
"Ah," his uncle chuckled, "That makes more sense."
Ginger smiled at this, "Celestia bless that girl." The others nodded, just as amazed at her as Wild got up to head outside with his puppets. They all watched as the pair met back up and started kissing, the younger stallions all looking sick while the mares went 'aww'. They continued to watch as Wild then turned to his puppet and took something out of it, the older ones gasping when they realized what it was.
Pinkie smiled and threw herself around Wild, happily crying out 'yes' several times. The younger ponies then gasped when they saw Wild take the ring out of the box and tie it around Pinkie's neck, the pair kissing again before the pair headed inside to celebrate.
A little while later...
Wedding music filled Ponyville's town hall as everypony inside stood up. They turned to the doorway, where Pinkie was being led down the aisle by Igneous Rock.
She was dressed in a beautiful wedding dress, her usually stoic father having a smile on his face as he led her to her future husband. And as she made her way down the aisle, she saw many of her friends on her side of the hall and Wild's family on his side.
Her family was at the front row, her mother actually crying while Maud was smiling and Limestone was trying to look tough, but allowed herself to smile. She then saw her friends, all dressed up in their bridesmaid dresses, along with Gorgenia, who Wild had asked her to be part of the bridesmaids, which Pinkie did not mind. And as she saw that, there was also Flash, Lightning and Script, who were all standing beside Wild.
And as she reached the love of her life, who was both him and his puppets were all dressed up nicely, they smiled at one another as Mayor Mare began the ceremony. Pinkie couldn't help but cry as she began her new life with Wild. She would become a part of his family and he a part of hers. And together, they would make sure their lives were always full of laughter and joy.
"I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."