//------------------------------//
// Family 
// Story: The Apple of White's Eye 
// by DraconequusMaximus 
//------------------------------//

White & Braeburn didn't leave the restaurant for over an hour after they had promised to live their lives together because they were finishing that bottle of wine & another in celebration. They decided to take the empty bottle as a keepsake to look back on down the road. The two were much closer to drunk than they were sober as they walked back to Sweet Apple Acres one with a wing wrapped around the other. White every now & again check his ear to make sure the symbol of their love remained in position, he never wanted to take it off if he could help it. 
It was quite late when the pair managed to get back to the farm. They snuck into the house as quietly as they could & made their way to the guest room. In the morning they would share the news with the rest of the Apples in the house before having to return to Apploosa. They fell asleep quickly thanks to their inebriated state & slept soundly for the rest of the night.
All was calm in the room & the happy couple was sleeping like the dead. This was obviously tempting fate, as it was interrupted by Applebloom bursting through the door. 
"Hey sleepy stallions! Y'all overslept! Breakfast is waitin' for ya!" She yelled causing the "sleepy stallions" to fall to the floor in surprise. Applebloom, noticing she had caused some distress put on a nervous smile & exited the room as quickly as she had come.
"Ugh, I'd be tempted to scold her if I could raise my voice that much, but this hangover is kicking my flank." Braeburn stated groggily.
"Give her a break Brae, she doesn't understand being hammered. It's an adult thing." White stated with a wave of a hoof.
"How are ya not upset about this? Ya drank more than me & you have super hearin!" Braeburn said in a state of confusion as he rubbed his temple.
"Thestrals metabolize alcohol better & I'm a bartender, I make & try dozens of drinks to perfect my technique. I've built up a tolerance." White stated smugly.
"You do remember last night right?" White asked slightly less cheery. 
"I don't think either of could forget how special that night was if we tried." Braeburn stated with the best smile he could muster through the pounding headache. The two kissed briefly before getting up with Brae leaning on White as they slowly made their way down the stairs. They found every member of the household already eating their breakfast. Applejack noticed Braeburn's dilapidated appearance & said:
"Well you look like you got run over by a train, musta been one hay of a night."
White couldn't contain himself much longer & turned his head to give Applejack & the family a good view at his new earring before saying:
"You tell me." As all eyes widened at the couple. 
"Y'all really are getting hitched!" Cried out Applebloom. As everypony else was still speechless for the moment. 
"Well It ain't how we did it in my day, but as long as y'all are happy I cain't complain. & White's a good pony even if I think he could use some sun. Sides, it's high time one'a you youngins found somepony." Granny Smith stated from the end of the table as she said the last part the eldest Apple siblings visibly began shifting glances away from the speaker. After a moment, 
"Welcome to the family White." was heard.
Every pony stared at Big Mac a tad surprised at the sudden complete sentence. 
"Um, thank you Big Mac, It means a lot to me. I never had much of a family growing up & now I've got the royal sisters & the Apple clan in my life. I really never thought things would go so well for me. But I'm more happy than I've ever been now." White said as he began to tear up with a smile upon his face.
The entire room was filled with similar expressions as they all took this as cue for a group hug. The hug lasted for over a minute. Afterward more words of congratulations were offered but before long the couple had a train to catch. Luckily the car in which they had met was still available. The stallions reminisced over all that had happened between them in the last 6 months. They knew that didn't seem like very long but they had become irreplaceable parts of each other quickly & didn't care what anypony else thought of it. 
The train had to make an unscheduled stop in Canterlot due to engine difficulties. The pair were not panicked by this as they knew the royal sisters would put them up until they could return home, they decided it was for the best anyway as now they could tell the princesses of their engagement in person. Getting to the castle was relatively easy & getting in was no trouble at all as White only needed show his sign of rank to the solar guards outside the gate. Upon entering the castle they saw the day court being held by Celestia who noticed them & motioned for them to head to Luna's part of the castle while the current petitioner was busy looking at a paper.
The two slipped past the bickering noble ponies without incident & arrived at the enormous silver door leading to Luna's personal rooms. They knocked upon the door to which they received an annoyed, 
"It is open!"  The stallions looked at each other & shrugged before Braeburn pushed the door open with some difficulty.
They were immediately bombarded with the sounds of futuristic weapons firing & ponies screaming threats & insults or simply screaming. White immediately tried to shield them with his wings on instinct but found himself looking silly, as it turns out Luna was merely playing a loud video game on a truly huge television that would have felt at home in a theater. Luna herself was sitting on a sofa in the middle of the room surrounded by more junk food wrappers & empty cider bottles than either bothered to even attempt to count. Luna seemingly had heard them come in as the game paused itself & Luna placed the controller aside with her magic. Turning to see the ones who had interrupted her playtime her expression changed from deathly serious to one of joy as she discovered their identities. 
"White Night & Braeburn! Thou have come for a visit!" At this she momentarily returned to her game to save her progress & switched of her console. 
"It is good to see our favorite couple, but why did you not send word of your arrival?" She asked upon finishing. To which the stallions explained their reason for being away for home & the train's technical difficulties, though they left out an important detail.
"We see, it is unfortunate that the railway is down. Would you like me to return you to your home?"
"Actually we had another reason for stopping by instead of getting a hotel room until the train is fixed." White explained failing to contain his smile. Luna then examined him closely at his words & he wiggled his ear garnering her interest. Her eyes widened just as the Apple's eyes had. The stallions had no time to react before they were swept up into an embrace that could turn coal to diamond & then crush them.
"Oh most joyous of times! When is the event?  Will there be entertainment? Will there be a bar? Are you registered?" This line of questioning went on for until White was forced to kick her to signal that they were running out of air. Luna dropped them with a guilty expression.
"We apologize, our excitement took hold of us. We are very happy for thee. Has a date been set or plans drafted?" She said with a smaller but noticeable smile.
"Nah *cough* we just got engaged last night. We ain't got anythin planned just yet." Braeburn replied.
"I suggest you hold the affair here, as a member of royalty you are allowed the grand chapel & I would gladly front the bill as a wedding present."  Luna said with a bright expression. The stallions seriously considered this but decided to withhold their answer until they had more time to think. Luna consented that this was a reasonable decision before saying: 
"We do not wish to heighten the stress of the day but this will be a major day in pony history, this will be the very first gay marriage of a thestral as well as the first ever gay marriage of a noble in over 2000 years of Equestrian history." "Suck it Blueblood!" White thought to himself as Luna said her spiel with complete seriousness. Months ago this would have shaken White to the core, but now it barely fazed him as long as he had Braeburn beside him. After a moment of talking amongst themselves considering the new information they decided they would accept Luna's offer & notify her when they came to a decision about the date. Luna was overjoyed at this & ushered them to follow her out into the hall.
They followed her all the way to the throne room where Celestia was finishing with the last of the petitioners. Luna made a spectacle of herself behind the nobles so that she would speed it up. Celestia rolled her eyes & adjourned court for the day. She waited for the nobles to leave before walking over to the trio.
"What was so important that couldn't wai-"
"White&Braeburnaregettingmarried!" Luna interrupted with astonishing speed to Celestia's surprise & the couple's dismay.
"Luna don't ya think that we shoulda told her?" Braeburn asked in an annoyed tone. To which Luna only chuckled awkwardly.
"Well this is an interesting development, this will be the fi-"
"We've been through the significance already, but thank you Celestia." White said to the solar princess who had obviously become perturbed at being interrupted again. She opened her mouth to speak but White cut her off,
"Luna also offered us the grand chapel & assistance with the wedding bill." To which the only response was a sigh.
"I'm very happy for you two, would you like me to preside over the service?" Celestia asked finally having the upper hoof on her sister. The stallions looked at each other & nodded.
"That would be wonderful Celestia, don't worry about a gift. It's enough that you're both being so supportive." White said to which Braeburn nodded. The group took the next couple hours of conversation to the dining hall over coffee (coffee liqueur in Luna's case). The group talked of wedding plans & the couples time in Ponyville for several hours but no definite plans were made. As the hour grew to the time the train would have seen them home Luna instead magicked them directly into their living room.
The stallions had many things running through their heads but neither voiced any of their concerns. They merely went upstairs & joined each other in bed. For the first time in a week the stallions were alone in their home & decided to do something to celebrate all that had transpired & relax their nerves. Something that felt all the more right now that they had promised themselves to one another. There was definitely lust present in the room but above all there was love. After all was said & done the only thing left to be said as they embraced each other was:
"I love you Angel."
"I love you too Sweetie."
With that the cuddled couple drifted off to sleep oblivious to anything other than the warmth shared between them.