“Mama,” said Garlic in a soft subdued voice that sounded as though it was filled with awkward embarrassment. He looked down at Red Onion Pie and his eyes became more than a little misty. He offered his mother a weak wavering smile.
Sweet Onion Pie and Pearl Onion Pie both looked up at Garlic, then at Fogwalker, than at Sunrise Surprise, and finally, they spent some time starting at Chert. Meanwhile, Red Onion Pie only had eyes for one pony in the room.
“Get down here,” Red Onion Pie commanded, her brows furrowing.
Obediently, Garlic dropped his head down low. He winced as his mother spat upon her folded fetlock and then began scrubbing away invisible dirt from his face, applying a lot of pressure, which caused the skin of his face to stretch around and make comical expressions.
“How could you embarrass me so? In front of a princess… your face is filthy!” Red murmured in a flustered voice as she scrubbed away.
“I’m sorry mama,” Garlic said apologetically, feeling his cheeks burn when he saw Fogwalker and Sunrise exchange a glance and begin to giggle at him.
“And hold still! Stop moving!” Red Onion Pie demanded of her son, who was not moving at all while she scrubbed at the non-existent dirt upon his face.
“Red, be a good girl and stop embarrassing your poor colt in front of the princess,” Pearl Onion Pie said to her daughter in voice that was thoroughly filled with amusement.
“He hasn’t been a colt for a long time,” Sweet Onion Pie said to her mother Pearl Onion Pie. “He’s grown up to become a fine stallion.”
“Because he had three good mares to raise him gently and brought him up as a good pony, the kind of pony that can be trusted with a princess,” Sunrise Surprise said, her nasal lisp causing her to sputter at a few points.
Hearing these words, Red Onion Pie began to silently cry and she backed away from Garlic. She did nothing to hide the tears flowing down her cheeks. She stood there sniffling, looking up at her tall son, and began to bask in the feeling of pride that a mother that knows she has done well feels.
“There is such a big todo over everything that has taken place,” Sweet Onion said in a worried voice. “We wanted you to know, Garlic, we approve of your coming marriage to Fogwalker.”
“Um…” Garlic hummed, looking just a bit apprehensive as he did so.
“You two were always so sweet together when you were little. You played soldier and you went off following after her, obeying her orders, trying to march in step with her stubby little legs, and you were always so adorable when you took naps together in some sunny patch of grass,” Pearl Onion Pie said, closing her eyes and reminiscing as she spoke.
Garlic wickered and rolled his eyes, looking painfully embarrassed. His eyes closed a moment later and his lips pressed into a straight thin line.
“Garlic grew up in a stone cottage with a sod roof and a dirt floor… now look at him,” Sweet Onion Pie said, looking at her sister and then at her mother. “We don’t care that you’ve been court martialed or whatever it was. You’ve been asked to guard a princess. We’re very proud of you.”
“He was found on the edge of the county, along the far western edge. He’s been raving a bit, he doesn’t seem well. We don’t know what has been done to him,” the unicorn physician explained in a low voice to Princess Celestia.
“But Discord is alive,” Princess Celestia said in a voice filled with relief.
“Very much so, but he seems near death,” the physician responded, looking very worried.
Pushing past the unicorn, Princess Celestia opened the door to Discord’s room and entered. Standing in the doorway, she looked upon her former rival, her former foe, her former enemy, and she felt pity. One eye was swollen shut, the other was only opened in a mere slit. His face was lumpy and malformed. Patches of hair were gone and his griffon leg was wrapped entirely in bandages.
“Captain Goodguy?” Princess Celestia breathed, her mouth falling open.
“He stole my magic… my power… the magic that I swore that I’d use for random acts of kindness, good deeds, and saving fluffy kittens… he took it… almost all of it,” Discord said in a pained raspy voice as he looked up at Celestia.
“Sombra?” Princess Celestia asked.
“YES!” Discord shouted fearfully.
“How?” Princess Celestia questioned as she stepped closer to the bed.
“He’s mad… he’s evil… he monologued at me,” Discord whispered in a fear-filled utterance, the one eye he had open now closing.
“Discord… please, try to tell me what happened,” Princess Celestia begged, now becoming more than a little afraid.
The swollen eye opened, just a slit, and Discord peered up at Princess Celestia, his breathing ragged. “Sombra has been peering into other worlds. He has seen the fate of many, including himself. He’s gone completely mad. He peered into another realm and saw a centaur creature named Tirek… Sombra learned that magic can be stolen. He captured me when I took off after him after he fled Canterlot. He tortured me, he tried to figure out how to steal magic… I watched him murder Twilight Sparkle! She said something about how foolish it was to abandon Canterlot… he went mad with rage… he killed her by sucking all of the magic out of her and then slamming her repeatedly into a wall,” Discord said, each word coming out slow and pained.
“Oh my,” Princess Celestia said fearfully, shaking her head.
“Not long after, he sucked me almost dry. Then he gave me a message and tossed me out, telling me to come and bring a message to you,” Discord said, his lip quivering as he looked up at Celestia.
“What is the message?” Princess Celestia inquired.
“Surrender the sun. Give me the moon. Give them willingly or I shall take them forcefully,” Discord recited, speaking the message he had been given.
Feeling her blood go cold, Princess Celestia found she could say nothing. Even during her most evil of moments, she never used her power over the sun as a weapon, knowing how important it was to life overall. She shook her head, not walking to believe what she had just heard from Discord.
“Do you know where Sombra has gone?” Princess Celestia inquired, lowering her head closer to Discord. “Can you tell me anything?”
“Sombra told me he was going to Tartarus… he didn’t say why… he kept muttering that two must become one and that he needed powerful magic,” Discord answered, lifting up his battered and scabbed over lion paw. He touched Celestia’s cheek. “I’m sorry we fought… are we friends now?” he feebly asked.
“Yes… of course. We are friends,” Celestia replied, feeling strangely comforted by the paw upon her cheek. “Rest now. You are safe… you will be looked after.”
In a small chapel created where one might ponder the many virtues, the Virtues themselves were gathered together, discussing the fate of one of the other ponies present in the room. Before them was Garlic Van der Grease, his mother, Red Onion Pie, his aunt, Sweet Onion Pie, and his grandmare, Pearl Onion Pie. Also present was Fogwalker Fetlocks, Rampart Rusher Fetlocks, Princess Sunrise Surprise, and Chert.
“All of us come from humble beginnings,” Flam stated, looking around the chapel at the stained glass windows that showed the various Virtues.
“Some of us were even criminal,” Flim added, looking at his brother. “Bad sorts… grifters! Shysters, hucksters, smooth confidence artists.”
“Some of us were public annoyances,” Trixie said, a soft smile upon her lips and a merry twinkle in her eye as she gave a wink to Garlic.
“Some of us are bookworms that have transcended into living legends for whatever odd reason,” Derpy announced, looking at her companions with an affectionate smile.
“But all of us were lifted to our position by the good king Sombra, who saw in us our potential for good in society. Alas, Sombra is no longer here. A new hero is needed for these times,” Chrysalis said in a melodic voice as she addressed the whole of the chapel, taking a moment to look at each and every occupant.
“With no more good King Sombra to raise up new Virtues,” Flim said, looking directly at Garlic as he spoke.
“We are forced to do this task ourselves,” Flam stated, nodding his head.
“With the help of his daughter of course,” Chrysalis added, offering a sheepish glance at Sunrise Surprise.
“And so it is with great joy that we, the Virtues, do proclaim Garlic Van der Grease our champion. Our soldier. We claim this humble earth pony as our initiate,” Trixie said, smiling at Garlic.
“With the idea that one day, he will earn the title ‘The Virtue of Steadfastness’ and join our ranks,” Derpy said, bowing her head slightly at Garlic.
“Oooh! Go on!” Red Onion Pie cried, prodding her son. “Tell the nice ponies and the bug pony that you accept! Tell them! My sweet little colt is going to be a Virtue!” she said excitedly, bouncing around as she continued to prod Garlic, trying to get some kind of response out of him.
Blinking away a few tears, Garlic looked around the room. Sweet Onion Pie was weeping, his grandmare was doing much the same, his mother was still bouncing around beside him, poking him in the ribs, all of his friends and companions were looking at him, except for Fogwalker, who approached him slowly.
“Stinky… er, um, Garlic… I’d like to take this chance to be the one to say that I was the first to see your potential. I became your friend at an early age. I really did see something in you even then. I stood by you because the older I got and the more I understood about the world, the more I saw something in you. You’re my best friend,” Fogwalker said as she stood before Garlic. Lifting her head high and stretching her neck, the pegasus mare kissed the earth pony on the corner of his mouth, her wings fluttering as she gave him a brief sweet peck.
“I accept,” Garlic said, a part of him wishing that the kiss had lasted a little longer.
“Very good,” Flim said, looking very pleased.
“We already have your first task,” Flam announced.
“We need for you to rescue the city of Bridge,” Trixie stated, now beaming.
“Do what we ask, and you will be our champion. We will also give you a keep, make you a landowner with the title of ‘Baron’ and you will have our support as well as our backing,” Derpy offered, her highly polished glasses glinting in the sunlight that was streaming through the windows.
“There is also one more thing we ask of you,” Chrysalis said as Fogwalker quickly took her place at Garlic’s side, a knowing grin upon her face. “We feel that you would embody your attribute of steadfastness if you were married.”
“Would it show more if I resisted and kept saying no?” Garlic objected, now looking more than a little fearful.
“Not in this instance, no,” Trixie responded.
“Is it really so bad? You almost lost her once. Do you want to lose her again?” Chrysalis inquired as she looked at the tall lanky earth pony.
“You listen to your mother! You do what is needed of you! We earth ponies need a champion!” Red Onion Pie commanded, giving her son a stern look. She raised one front hoof and shook it at her son angrily.
Looking at Fogwalker, Garlic dropped his head close to her ear. “It isn’t going to be easy,” he whispered into Fogwalker’s flickering ear.
“I don’t care,” Fogwalker spat and then craned her head around to look at Garlic. “We’ll face this together. With our friends. We have Sunrise and Chert to help us out. Now shut up Stinky and make your mother proud. She deserves it. Do you know the sort of trouble she had birthing you?”
Squeezing his eyes shut, Garlic lifted his head away and shook it. “Ponies keep saying that to make me feel guilty or something. That wasn’t my fault!”
“You came out the size of a yearling,” Sweet Onion said sweetly, fluttering her eyelids.
“You know Foggy, I hope our foal is about that same size,” Garlic said, opening his eyes and grinning wickedly.
“I’m a tough plucky little pegasus. I’m ready. I am not afraid… much,” Fogwalker retorted, sounding almost defiant.
“You say that now,” Red Onion Pie remarked in a deadpan. “Even as a foal, he was steadfast. He steadfastly refused to come out of my womb for days.”
“Foggy, I thought I lost you once… I wanted to die because of that. I’ve learned my lesson. I submit,” Garlic said, bowing his head and cutting his mother off before she could be worked up into a full blown rant about earth pony birthing powers.
“Marriage is a pledge to one another. A special type of oath of service. A promise that you will remain together to face all of life’s troubles as a couple. Do you understand?” Chrysalis asked, looking through her glasses at Garlic and then at Fogwalker.
“Yes,” Garlic replied. “I understand all of that. No more browbeating required. I’ve submitted,” he added in a soft subdued voice.
Leaning over just a little bit, Fogwalker rested her head against Garlic.
“Do you have any promises to make to one another? Any pledges?” Chrysalis inquired.
Clearing her throat, Fogwalker lifted her head. “I am a pegasus. We are proud creatures driven to duty. Duty, devotion, and dedication, these are the virtues that a pegasus tries to live by. I give myself to you completely, holding nothing back. I will be your mate, yours and yours alone, I offer you my service. I will do all that I can be a good mate that is dutiful, devoted, and dedicated,” Fogwalker swore, looking up at Garlic with misty eyes.
Garlic, feeling his breath catch in his throat, looked down at Fogwalker. “I will never send you away ever again. I made that mistake once. Just once, and it was enough for me. I’m never letting you go. I will go where you go, I follow you as your companion, and I uh, will love you steadfastly now and forever,” Garlic promised in a soft scratchy raspy voice.
“Those are the sorts of vows I long to hear,” Chrysalis said as she closed her eyes. She held them closed for a moment, smiling, and then she opened them slowly. “This is the part where you two kiss to seal this spoken contract.”
Leaning his head down, Garlic clumsily pressed his lips against Fogwalker, who turned her head slightly and then pressed back. He could feel her hot breath blowing inside of his mouth. For a brief moment, he could feel the rough texture of her tongue trailing over his lips. He parted his teeth and then felt her curious tongue trailing over the roof of his mouth. He felt his body grow hot, suddenly feeling unbearably warm, and he pulled away suddenly with a wet slobbery slurp sound that sent drool spattering everywhere.
“Oooh I’m gonna be a great grandmare!” Pearl Onion Pie exclaimed.
“That was some kiss!” Sweet Onion Pie shouted.
Fanning herself with her wing, Fogwalker nodded. “Sure was… oh my, it feels warm in here all of a sudden!”