//------------------------------// // The wedding. // Story: Commander Thorn in Equestria. // by SolidArc5542 //------------------------------// "Brother!" "Brother, I am an unworthy apprentice. I'm not like you, I never was." Savage Opress's final words to Darth Maul. ------------- "Mares and Gentle colts, we are gathered here today not only to celebrate the union of the real Princess Mi Amore Cadenza--." "Princess Cadence is fine." Cadence said, cutting Celestia off. Celestia nodded knowingly and smiled. "The union of Princess Cadence and Shining Armor. I'd also a like to introduce a new hero. A hero, who not only saved the wedding, but also all of Equestria." Celestia said. 'That's my que.' Thorn thought while making his way to the wedding. His wounds had been treated by Fluttershy, his armor wasn't as damaged as he thought; the armor on his right arm had four small holes in it. One of them was from the Changeling that had attacked him. The others were where Chrysalis bit him. Because her fangs were longer than any of the Changelings, she did slightly more damage to his arm. But Thorn had been through worse, heck he had literally died. The doors (that had been recently fixed, thanks to magic) of the wedding room opened and revealed two solar guards that flanked a strange bipedal creature that all walked through it. All of the ponies gasped when they saw what the two guards were escorting. "My little ponies, may I introduce you to the hero who saved all of Equestria: Commander Thorn of The Galactic Republic." Celestia announced. Thorn walked up to where the wedding altar was and stood behind Cadence and Shining Armor. He turned around and spoke up. "My name is Commander Thorn, before you ask; yes I am an alien, but I am not here to hurt anybody. I am part of an army made up of millions of clone troopers who all look exactly like me. I do not know how I ended up on your planet, but I am afraid I'm *sigh* stuck here." Thorn said. Celestia gave Thorn a curious look. "Thorn, please stand beside me; I think Cadence and Shining Armor have something to tell you." Thorn nodded then walked up to where Celestia was standing. He was taller than any of the ponies. (yes even Celestia, but not by much.) So when he stood beside Celestia; he towered over Cadence, Shining Armor, and all of the other ponies. Cadence had to look up to even get a glance at his helmet. "Commander Thorn, even if you are an alien; I can't thank you enough for the things you have done. From what I've seen; you are a courageous, heroic, and an amazing alien being. I am happy you were on our side and not on Chrysalis's." Thorn stood up straight and gave her a respectful salute. "Just doing what I was bred to do." Thorn said while going back to parade rest. "And I would like to thank you as well; all of Equestria is in your debt." Shining Armor said while giving Thorn a bow. To Thorn's surprise; all of the ponies bowed to him, even Celestia. 'I've never gotten this much gratitude from anyone, normally it would just be a thank you and a smile, but never something like this.' Thorn thought while looking out at the crowd of ponies. "Now we shall continue the wedding." Celestia said. "May we have the rings please?" Spike walked up with the two rings on a small pillow, the rings were covered in a golden aura and levitated over towards Cadence and Shining Armor. They put the rings onto each others horns. Cadence and Shining Armor smiled at each other. "I now pronounce you: mare and colt." Celestia announced. "Whoooo!" All of the ponies in the wedding room started cheering for the recently married couple. Cadence and Shining Armor walked towards the balcony. They stood outside and looked at the city of Canterlot below them. All of the ponies on the streets started cheering for them. Thorn started towards the exit of the wedding room. 'I've seen enough, I'm not good at these things anyway.' Thorn thought while walking towards the exit, only to be stopped by a certain yellow pony. "Where are you going?" Fluttershy asked. "Weddings aren't really my thing. I'm just not used to this kind of, celebration." Thorn replied. 'I'm only used to war.' "Rainbow Dash, That's your que." Celestia said. Rainbow Dash nodded in response and literally flew out of her dress. With an amazing speed she performed her sonic rain boom high above Canterlot. "Best. Wedding. Ever!" "But why won't you stay? I'm sure you'd like it." Fluttershy said. "Listen, I appreciate you trying to help me, "blend in" with everyone, but I need some time alone to think." Thorn said. Fluttershy looked at Thorn defeated but nodded. "I understand, sorry if I offended you in some way." Fluttershy said. "You didn't, if anyone asks were I went, just tell them that I've gone to my quarters." Thorn said while heading out the doors. Fluttershy looked at Thorn. She felt sorry for him. He was an alien on an unknown planet, he stood up for her and everypony else; he didn't even known them and still he fought against the Changelings. "Thank you Commander Thorn, and I will do something in return for you. That I can promise you." Fluttershy whispered. "Hey Fluttershy! You comin?!" Applejack asked. "Coming." Fluttershy replied. With that said; the wedding party had officially begun, everypony was celebrating and congratulating the bride and groom. On the balcony of Canterlot Castle; Cadence and Shining armor looked into each others eyes, they hugged each other tightly. "Hello everypony, did I miss anything important?" Princess Luna asked while landing beside her sister. The mane six, and Princess Celestia looked at eachother with small knowing smikes planted on their muzzles; Rarity had tears of happiness in her eyes. Pinkie Pie looked at Twilight, Twilight nodded and Pinkie Pie smiled with joy and made a little squeal. She trotted over towards the DJ stand and somehow grabbed Vinyl Scratch out from behind it. (Don't ask.) "Let's get this party started!" Pinkie said while grabbing a microphone with her mouth and throwing it over towards Twilight. Twilight caught the microphone with her magic and started singing. Love is in bloom A beautiful bride, A handsome groom Two hearts, becoming one A bond that cannot be undone Because love is in bloom A beautiful bride, a handsome groom I said love is in bloom They're starting a life and making room for us Love is in bloom, A beautiful bride, a handsome groom I said, love is in bloom They're starting a life and making room for us For us, For us. Everypony started dancing; Cadence and Shining Armor were the first ones on the dance floor to do the opening dance. Everypony was happy, but not everybody. --------------- Location: Equestria Current location: Temporary chambers Weapon status: Z6 rotary blaster cannon fully operational, DC15 dual blaster pistols fully operational. Explosives: 3 Thermal Detonators, 2 Electronics Counter Detonators, 2 Sonic Detonators. Armor status: Fully operational, slight damage. Status CC-4254: Alive. (Continue reading with this on the background) Thorn sat down onto the bed and because of his unusual stature the bed made some uncomfortable cracking sounds. But it didn't bother him. Thorn was deep in thought about The Republic, the war, and his friends. In the background, Thorn could hear singing and cheering. He got up from the bed and looked out the widow. He could see Princess Cadence, Shining Armor, the mane six, and Princess Celestia; along with other ponies smiling and dancing. He smiled underneath his helmet. 'Looks like they're having fun.' Thorn thought while watching the scene. Suddenly Thorn got a flashback from his first deployment. His first real battle. "My leg!" "Clankers on your right!" "It's been an honor sir." "Stay alive!" Those words echoed in Thorn's mind. 'After all I've been through, every single battle, I still died. But that's what a clone is meant to do; fight and die for The Republic. That's why we were created in the first place. We were never meant to live peacefully, we were bred for war. And that's the only thing I know: War. But these ponies are peaceful; they even thanked me for what I did. Heck, their ruler even bowed to me. But it's still hard to believe I'm still alive even though I know I died. The more I think about it the more it confuses me.''I broke my promise to Rex, he must be devastated. The things we have gone through, the things we've seen, things that no clone should have seen.' "Help me! Gaaaaaaah! Stay alive!" The screams of terror replayed again in Thorn's mind, the death of his brothers, his family, his friends. "For the Republic!" "We were meant as expandable, we clones are just soldiers, if one of us dies; no one would care, we were just one out of millions. But I'm happy that I met you out of all those millions. I'm happy that I can call you: My brother." Thorn repeated the chant, thinking back at his many battles. "It's a mad galaxy out there, but I'm happy that I met you too Rex. Stay alive brother, stay alive." Thorn removed his helmet, the soothing wind blowing against his exposed face. He lifted his hand up touching the burned side of his face. The battle of Geonosis, the first battle were he had seen his brothers die. Even though clones were trained to ignore their fallen brothers and continue fighting; they still had the feelings of remorse. "When will the war end? Will it ever end?" The war has done a lot of things to every clone; some even had mental breakdowns for some reason. When something would go wrong in the cloning process or if a clone wasn't fit for battle; he would have to stay on Kamino and work in the clean-up crew. Just like clone trooper 99. General Kenobi once told me: "You clones are the perfect soldiers, you are loyal, you would fight until the end, and you would give your life for The Republic. But you are still a normal man, you aren't a machine. You have something that those battle droids don't have: A heart." "The Jedi treated me with respect, not like most of the senators I had to escort. I still respect every Jedi I've served under." "My little ponies, may I introduce you to the hero who saved all of Equestria." Celestia's words echoed in his mind. Thorn took a look at his helmet. 'A hero huh? Hmpf, I'm no hero, never was, never will be; I'm nothing more than a number. Clones are meant to be..Expendable.' Thorn thought while putting his helmet back on. "A beautiful bride, a handsome groom" Thorn was snapped out of his reverie by Twilight Sparkle's singing. 'They really like to sing don't they?' Thorn thought. "But why won't you stay? I'm sure you'd like it." Thorn recalling Fluttershy's kind words. 'Ehh, blast it!' Thorn thought while heading towards the door that led to the Canterlot castle halls. He grabbed the doorknob and twisted it. The door opened with a resounding *click*. "I'll leave you here." Thorn said while pointing at his Z6 rotary blaster cannon. "But I'm taking you two with me." Thorn said while patting his holsters that held his DC15 blasted pistols Thorn walked outside of his room and closed the door behind him. He walked down the hallways and down the stairs, he couldn't really find his way through the castle, it was bigger than he had first anticipated. Thorn decided to follow the music. He stood in front of two doors, he reached for the doorknob; only to abruptly stop with his hand still on the knob. 'Should I really do this?' Thorn thought. Thorn hesitated a bit before sighing and turning back around. 'Maybe another time.' Thorn thought while heading back towards the set of stairs. "For the Republic!" That line, that single line kept haunting Thorn the entire walk black to his chamber. "For the Republic." Thorn said while opening the door to his room. He sighed once more and sat down on the bed. "When will it end?" ----------- Meanwhile on the streets of Canterlot, where Twilight and her friends, Cadence, Shining Armor, and many other ponies still celebrating the wedding. A royal chariot had arrived to take tho bride and groom away. Twilight opened the door with her magic and bowed, Cadence was the first one to enter; Shining Armor was about to enter before he stopped and looked at his little sister. "Twilight! None of this would have been possible without you little sis. Love ya Twilight." Shining Armor said while smiling. Twilight smiled back. "Love you to BBBFF." Twilight then hugged her brother, which he returned. Shining Armor stepped into the royal chariot. "Ready to go?" Shining asked Cadence. "Oh I almost forgot." Cadence said while standing on the couch of the chariot and throwing the bouquet of flowers out towards the crowd of ponies. Some mares tried to catch it; only for Rarity to push them aside to catch the bouquet of flowers with her magic. "It's mine!"Rarity screamed. The mares all looked at her with angry expressions. "Heheheheh." Rarity laughed nervously. The royal chariot left, carrying away the Princess and her new Prince. "Now this was a great wedding." Twilight said while watching the chariot fly away. "Oh yeah? Just wait and see what I have planned for the bachelor party." Spike said. Spike and the others laughed while Twilight held her hoof to her face from embarrassment, but eventually she laughed as well. **** It was late at night. Everypony was asleep; but not everybody. Thorn was looking out the window. He could see the city of Canterlot, it didn't even look like it was even attacked a few hours ago. Thorn let out a sigh and took of his helmet. He set his helmet on the ground and poked his head out of the window. 'If I just jumped, would I die and go back to Scipio?' Thorn thought. Thorn quickly shook the thought out of his head. 'No, I'd probably stay dead.' Thorn let out a small yawn. "I'll go to bed, when I feel like it." Thorn said while closing his eyes. "For the Republic! " Thorn eyes snapped open. "Blast! What is wrong with me, I've died; so what? It shouldn't bother me so much......Right? Clones were meant to be expendable. That's what the Mainland told us. We were meant to die." "And I died." Thorn kept thinking and thinking, he didn't notice that the sun was starting to rise. 'I've been up all night, no need for me to sleep.' Thorn thought while picking his helmet up. He put his helmet on and walked towards the door. He grabbed the doorknob and twisted it; the door opened and Thorn stepped out of his room closing the door behind him. 'Guess I could go for a walk.' Thorn thought while silently walking down the stairs. When he reached the final set of stairs; he saw a blue pony heading up them. "Excuse me miss!" Thorn said while walking towards the blue pony. "Do you know were I could find the exit from this castle? I would like to get some fresh air." Thorn said. "Yes, we do. Art thou the alien that saved niece Cadence and Shining Armor?" The blue pony asked. "Yes ma'am. The name's Thorn." Thorn said. "Greetings Thorn, We are Princess Luna." Princess Luna said. "Princess? You're a Princess to?" Thorn asked confused. "Yes We are. But thou can call us Luna." Luna said. "Very well. But about the exit." Thorn said. "Walk down these stairs and you'll see two giant doors, tell the guards that you have permission of Princess Luna to go outside. But don't head into the city, just stay in the castle gardens." Luna said. "Yes ma'am." Thorn replied. Luna nodded in response and resumed her walk up the stairs. Thorn did the exact opposite and walked towards the two doors that led to the gardens. "Halt! Who goes there?" A unicorn guard asked. "Clone Commander CC-4254 of The Grand Army of The Republic." Thorn replied. "The alien? What do you want?" The guard asked. "To go outside. I have permission of Princess Luna to do so." Thorn replied. "Very well." The guard said while opening the doors. "Enjoy your stay in the Canterlot gardens." Thorn nodded as he headed outside. He looked at the morning sky and saw that the sun was almost at it's highest point. Thorn smiled under his helmet and walked through the gardens. The royal gardeners would give him some stares but continued their work nonetheless. Thorn walked through the beautiful gardens. Eventually he found a tree that had beautiful red flowers, he sat down and leaned his back against the tree. Thorn looked up at the sky and closed his eyes. "Die Republic dogs." A droids threat echoed in Thorn's mind. Thorn's eyes shot open and he instantly reached for his blasters. But when he looked around;the only thing he could see was the royal gardens, the gardeners, and a yellow pony. Wait yellow pony? Thorn looked at the pony in front of him; she was shaking in fear and her ears were folded back. "Can I help you?" Thorn asked. "Uhm I-I was just wondering if you would Uhm like to talk.....If that's OK with you of course." The yellow pony said. "Sure, I don't mind." Thorn replied. 'Looks like taking a little nap isn't going to happen.' The yellow pony sat down in front of Thorn and spoke up. "My name is Fluttershy, in case you don't remember; I was one of the ponies in the wedding room yesterday." "I think I remember. How are you?" Thorn asked. "I'm fine thank you. How are your wounds?" Fluttershy asked. "They're good, thanks for fixing me up". Thorn said while giving Fluttershy a pat on he head. "Your w-welcome." Fluttershy replied while blushing a little. "So what did you want to talk about?" Thorn asked. "Oh n-nothing really, I just wanted to say thank you one more time." Fluttershy replied. 'These ponies really appreciate what I did for them.' Thorn thought while holstering his blasters. "I think it would be for the best if we head back to the castle." Thorn said while getting up. Fluttershy also got up and nodded. Thorn started walking towards the castle; Fluttershy walking beside him. 'I wonder what he looks like without his armor.' Fluttershy thought while eying Thorn curiously. Four minutes later they arrived at the castle doors. Thorn was surprised to see Princess Celestia standing outside, along with the other five ponies that were in the wedding room. "Hello Commander." Celestia said with a smile. "Hello Celestia." Thorn replied. Fluttershy quickly trotted over to her friends. "Fluttershy where have you been?" Rarity asked. "Yeah, you had us worried there sugarcube." Applejack added. "I was just, uhm, talking to Thorn." Fluttershy replied. "Really? What did he tell you?" Twilight asked curiously. "I wasn't able to ask him anything, when I found him; he was sleeping against a tree." Fluttershy replied. "Why was he outside in the first place?" Rainbow Dash asked confused. She gave Thorn a quick look. "I don't trust him." "Why not?" Fluttershy asked. "Because he's not even from Equestria." Rainbow Dash replied. "Well he's been very friendly to me, so I like him." Fluttershy replied. "Jeez, Fluttershy, already have feelings for him?" Rainbow Dash asked mockingly. Fluttershy blushed at the remark. "N-No." Fluttershy replied. "Leave her alone Dash." Applejack said. "At least she appreciates the things that fella did fer us." "Twilight, Commander Thorn and I will be heading to the throne room. Do you and your friends want to join us?" Celestia asked. Twilight's ears immediately perked up. "Oh, yes we do!" Twilight said with much excitement. Celestia smiled at her student and motioned them to follow her. They all walked inside and followed Celestia until they reached the throne room. Thorn's mind was, not busy, thinking about what to tell these ponies. No Thorn was still thinking about what general Kenobi said to him. 'You have a heart.' "Commander? Are you coming?" Celestia asked. Thorn snapped out of his thoughts. He just nodded. They walked inside. Thorn took a look around the throne room. In front of him were a set of stairs that led to what appeared to be the throne itself. On the sides of the throne room were different kinds of windows, each with unique pictures in them. Celestia motioned Thorn to follow her towards a big table that was placed in the middle of the throne room. Thorn grabbed a chair and sat down on it. The chair made some uncomfortable cracking but luckily it didn't break. All of the ponies sat down on a chair. Celestia was the first to speak up. "Shall we begin the--." Suddenly a loud boom was heard. Thorn quickly got out of his chair and grabbed his two blaster pistols before speaking up. "Surrender now!" Suddenly a pink blur appeared in front of Thorn. Thorn didn't blink and spoke up. "Arms behind your head and on your knees." "Oh you silly. This is your party!" The pink blur said. ".... What?!"