Chapter 64- Apples Together
Applejack happily hummed to herself as she walked over to the barn with a spring in her step. After the few hours she and the others spent interacting with her deceased parents a week ago, Applejack felt as though a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders, and had now been replaced with an unexplainable lightness. Then again, that could also be because Big Mac finally decided to ask Dark to be his best stallion for his and Cheerilee's wedding today, and thus having everything that they needed for the wedding.
Looking back to that night with a smile, Applejack walked up to the door and slowly opened it, squeaking on its hinges as it did. Once it was opened enough for her to peek inside, she quietly chuckled to herself and shook her head at the sight inside. Walking in to get a better look, she withheld her laughter as she saw Dark passed out upside down on a pile of hay with his wings and the upper-half of his body hanging off the side of the bale, Big Mac on the floor with a lampshade covering his head, Caramel under an overturned table, Cousin Braeburn (who came early to be with his cousin before the wedding) under a pile of empty apple cider bottles with only his rear hooves and tail sticking out, and Discord, who too was passed out as he swayed upside down with his tail somehow stuck between the beams in the rafters, and a bottle clutched in his paw.
Glancing around at the passed out males in the room, Applejack suddenly had a mischievous and somewhat mean idea come to mind. Quietly making her way out of the barn, she went back to the house to grab something. When she returned, she did so with the family's triangle and hung it up on a nail. Holding the metal stick that came with it into her mouth, she smirked before she began to relentlessly ring it, causing each of the males to groan in pain and slam their hooves, claws, and paw over their ears to relieve them of the unholy racket.
However, this also caused for some of them to have another addition to their rude awakening. While Dark began flailing his arms by the sudden sound, this also caused him to slide off the hay bale he'd been asleep on and land head-first onto the ground, burying his horn into it in the process. Discord didn't fair much better as he jerked his tail in surprise and fell head-first fifteen feet into the ground where his horn and antler both got stuck in the ground. And while Big Mac and Braeburn where alright, Caramel bolted his head up and knocked his muzzle against the wooden table he'd fallen asleep under.
"Time ta wake up, everypony!" Applejack shouted. "Breakfast is ready!"
"Applejaaaaaack. Not so loud," Dark whined.
"It's too early ta get up, and my head's killin' me," Big Mac groaned.
"What? Y'all can't be asleep now, Big Mac! It's your weddin' day, and we gotta finish gettin' everythin' set up before everypony gets here," Applejack told them.
Feeling like she'd done enough to wake them up, Applejack left the barn to let the guys get themselves up.
"Wow-wee. What was in that stuff?" Braeburn asked, his mind still foggy from last night.
"I don't know, but I've never had anything that strong before," Caramel spoke, rubbing his temples.
"Discord?" Dark called, popping his horn out of the ground before falling on his rump.
"Yeah?" he grumbled, trying to pull his horn and antler out of the ground.
"What was that stuff you gave us? I remember chugged a few bottles of Applejack's hard cider last night without getting even a little bit tipsy from them, but I don't remember anything beyond that."
Teleporting himself free, Discord wobbled around for a few moments before leaning up against the wall to support himself and looking to the bottle he was holding.
"Hmmm. The label says 'Eris' Golden Apple Cider'. Huh. Interesting."
"Where'd ya get it from?" Big Mac wondered, tossing the lampshade off of his head.
"I have no idea," Discord shrugged as he took a closer look at the bottle, "but what I can tell you is that it doesn't belong here."
"How so?" Braeburn asked. "Ah mean, it's just a bottle of cider."
"A bottle of cider, yes, but not one that belongs in our world. Sad thing is that I don't remember a thing about what happened last night."
Caramel shakily stood up. "Hey. Didn't we record what happened last night on some recording gem?"
"Oh, yeah!" Dark exclaimed, causing him and the others to wince and reach for their ears at the volume of his voice. "Sorry. But you're right, we did."
"Gotta remember ta thank Prince Shinin' Armor and Princess Cadence for the gift," Big Mac said. "Too bad they couldn't make it ta the weddin'."
"Twilight told me a few days ago that her niece will be having her birthday next week, so if you want, I can thank them for you when we go up to visit."
"Ah wouldn't mind that one bit. Thanks, Dark."
"You're welcome," Dark replied. Once he felt stable enough to walk, he made his way over to the crystal and picked it up while the others gathered around him. "Now, let's see what happened exactly."
Using his magic to activate the gem, Dark sat it down in front of them and watched as a projection screen appeared above it. Moments later, it showed them all having fun at the bachelor party.
"Okay," Discord nodded, "I remember this part. Anypony else?"
"Eeyup," Big Mac and Braeburn replied.
"I do," Caramel answered.
"Okay then," Dark nodded. "In that case, let's fast-forward it."
Doing just that, Dark paused and played it at another time.
"Bah! Hey, Dark, did you get anything stronger than this?" Discord asked, tossing the emptied bottle of hard apple cider off onto a pile. "It's alright, but it's not really that great."
"Hey now," Big Mac huffed, "it ain't polite ta go and insult somepony's drink like that."
"Well I'm sorry, but I just don't find myself getting drunk off of it is all."
"Me neither," Dark agreed, "but that's not exactly a bad thing, is it?"
"You're suppose to get wasted at bachelor parties, and we're not!" Discord complained.
"But you're the Lord of Chaos, right?" Braeburn questioned. "So, couldn't ya just use that fancy magic of yours and get somethin' that'll get y'all drunk that way?"
Discord blinked a few times as he processed it before showing them a toothy grin.
"You know what? You're right! I can!"
Flexing his claw, Discord ripped open a portal, and without looking, reached an arm inside. Shuffling around in it, he finally grabbed onto a bottleneck and pulled it out. When he did, the portal sealed itself up behind him as he looked over the bottle.
"Huh. Interesting."
"What's that?" Caramel asked, walking up to take a look at the bottle with a picture of a golden apple. "'Eris' Golden Apple Cider'? Never heard of that brand before."
"Me neither," Big Mac said, looking at it too. "Ah don't know of anypony who makes this kind of cider."
"Well, it did come from a different dimension," Discord reminded them before conjuring a few mugs and popping the cork to fill them. Once full, he passed them out to everyone and held his mug up high. "Bottoms up!"
Tilting their heads back, they all gulped down their drinks until they were emptied. One by one, they each slammed their empty mugs onto the table with a loud belch.
"Ahhh. Now that's the stuff," Discord said with a satisfactory grin before hiccupping.
"Heheh. Sounds like it did the job in getting you drunk," Dark chuckled before hiccupping too.
The picture went to black after that, leaving Dark and the other to mull this over. After a few minutes of silence had passed, Discord was the first to speak.
"Okay, so Dark and I managed to get ourselves drunk, which I must admit is a first for me."
"Me too," Dark nodded.
"And if we got drunk off of it and couldn't remember anything, then you three definitely got wasted on it."
Big Mac gulped. "Ya know, Ah'm not sure if Ah wanna know what happened anymore."
"Me neither, cousin," Braeburn agreed. "Ah mean, who knows what happened when we were-"
Braeburn went silent as he heard a loud snoring coming from behind the stack of hay bales near the back of the barn. Looking at each other in confusion, the five guys quietly walked over to the stack and peeked behind it. As they did, they all froze when they saw Luna laying flat on her back, passed out and wearing a party hat with empty cider bottles scattered all around her.
"Uhhhh... what's Princess Luna doing here?" Caramel quietly asked.
Too shocked and confused to answer, they all rushed back over to the crystal and turned it back on... and what they saw only made things worse.
Several hundred feet up in the air, a one hundred and thirty foot long pirate ship was somehow soaring across the skies, its sails open and its black flag marked with a skull and crossbones surrounded by green apples. And while the sight of the flying pirate ship was a strange sight, its crew was far more so.
Standing on the bow of the ship was its captain, Big Macintosh, as he wore a brown trench coat, an eyepatch, belts, and a captain's hat, all embroidered with his cutie mark. And on the deck below him was his crew. Braeburn, having switched out his brown vest and hat for tattered black ones, stood alongside Caramel, who was now wearing a weathered white shirt and had piercings on both of his ears.
Back behind them, probably the most questionable of them all, were Discord, Dark, and a set of instruments with a pair of ten-foot speakers. While Discord wore a white shirt and a black vest, pants, and boots, his mane had grown out and styled into dreadlocks that was being held back by a red bandana, while his goatee too had grown out and was now braided, all the while sitting on a chair behind a drum set as he spun the drumsticks in his claw and paw. And while Discord looked somewhat like himself, Dark was completely different. Wearing a tattered black robe that hid his body from sight, Dark stood, hunched over as he held a scythe-shaped guitar in his bony claws while a pair of glowing red eyes showed beneath his hood.
With a smile on his face, Big Mac turned around towards his crew. "Tonight, we plunder the castle!"
A roar of cheers echoed from his words, most voices normal while Dark's voice was cold and haunting with a slight echo to it. Satisfied with their response, Big Mack walked up to the mic stand near Dark and Discord, stood up on his back hooves, and took the mic in his hooves. With a nod, they began playing a jolly song as they traveled to the castle.
As the ship continued to fly closer towards Canterlot, they continued to sing, never stopping even as they got closer to the castle. Smirking, Big Mac sang as the ship flew towards the castle and crashed into a specific room. Once the dust and debris settled, Braeburn and Caramel jumped off of the ship and bagged the startled mare in a magic proof bag before returning to the ship.
"Captain! We've got the wench!" Caramel shouted.
Big Mac nodded. "Then set sail ye scurvy dogs! Our next headin' be home!"
Cheering for their success, they backed ship the up as it blared with an annoying beeping sound while a pair of red lights on the back of it flashed on and off. Once pulled back enough, the ship sailed back into the night sky towards Ponyville, its crew singing merrily as they flew away from the sirens and searchlights from Canterlot.
The screen cutting out, the five guys all looked at the blank screen with shrunken pupils and slacked jaws as they processed what they'd just seen themselves do.
"Wow... did that really happen?" Caramel asked, finally breaking the silence.
Discord looked at the bottle he was still holding. "For us to do something like that, this must've been some pretty powerful stuff."
"Wow, cousin," Braeburn spoke, "Ah can't believe those pipes ya got. That was some mighty fine singin' ya did there."
"Ah can't believe Ah broke my country accent for a pirate one," Big Mac said in disbelief.
"Oh my Celestia!" Dark shouted in a panic. "Guys! We ponynapped Princess Luna!"
"... aren't you more curious about why you were all skeletal-like?" Discord questioned. "Or how you suddenly learned how to use an instrument that we've never been seen in Equestria before?"
"It's probably either another Lord of Death thing or the alcohol, but that's not important right now! What're gonna do about Princess Luna?!"
Quickly and quietly, they all ran back over to see Luna still zonked out.
"Judgin' by how she looks, Ah'd say that she actually enjoyed herself last night," Big Mac commented.
"So, who's going to wake her?" Caramel wondered, getting a quick round of "not it" from everyone but Discord.
"What?! Why do I have to do it?" he complained.
"You didn't say 'not it'," Dark answered. "That, and you were the one who gave us cider from another dimension."
Grumbling beneath his breath, Discord walked up to Luan and began poking her.
"Mmmm. Five more minutes, Tia," she muttered, rolling onto her side and hugging an empty cider bottle to her chest.
"Time to wake up, Moonbutt."
With a groan, Luna cracked an eye open and saw Discord standing beside her.
"Discord, you have five seconds to tell me what you're doing in my chambers before I throw you out."
Discord smirked. "Well, that would be a compelling threat if we were actually in your chambers right now."
Opening her other eye, Luna looked around to see that she was laying in the middle of a collection of empty cider bottles. With another look, she saw the barn she was in, along with Big Mac, Dark, Braeburn, and Caramel, all of whom were looking nervously at her. Now recalling the events of last night, Luna felt herself blush as she stood up and cleared her throat.
"Well now," she began, trying to regain some of her composure, "that was quite the party we had, was it not?"
"Uhhhhh."
"Actually, Princess, besides what we saw on our gem recording, we don't actually remember anything that happened last night," Dark explained.
"Ah. Well then, that would explain why you all were so... what's the word ponies use these days? 'Hammered'?"
"Eeyup," Big Mac confirmed.
"Well it was fun either way," Luna shrugged. "Oh, and don't worry about what happened last night. I told Tia about what happened and she called off the guards that were pursuing your, ahem, flying pirate ship."
"Soooo, we're not in trouble?" Dark cautiously asked.
"Not at all. Actually, if nothing else, I should be thanking you for ponynapping me. I needed a break from all of that paperwork I was piled with."
With a collective sigh of relief, the guys all sat down to relax themselves from the stressfulness of worrying about what they unintentionally did. However, Luna noticed this and decided to mess with them.
"Although," she smirked, "if I am to completely forget about what you five did, then I shall need something in return."
Immediately, they all froze in fear.
"A-A-And that would be?" Big Mac inquired.
Luna walked around for a while, enjoying the looks they were giving her before deciding to end her little game.
"I've heard of the food that your family cooks, Big Macintosh, and of how good it is. In return for my forgetting about last night, what I wish for is to partake in such a breakfast."
Big Mac blinked. "That's it?"
"That is all," Luna confirmed, walking past them and towards the barn doors.
Once she was outside and out of earshot, Discord groaned in annoyance and facepalmed.
"Something up?" Dark asked.
"Considering that she wore a party hat and had so many cider bottles with her, I doubt that she would've gone through with turning us in if we'd declined."
"So what? She played us for a free meal?"
"Just about, though I can't exactly blame her. Those Apples really do make great food."
"It's about time y'all showed up," Applejack huffed before pointing at the table, "and what's Princess Luna doin' here?"
As one, everyone looked directly at Dark, seeing as how he was responsible for the bachelor party that had later involved Luna.
"Uhh... she joined the party last night?" Dark meekly answered, earing a fierce blush from Applejack.
"She what?!"
"It's not what you think!" he quickly said. "Discord got us some... strong cider that got us all super drunk. After that, we apparently went to Canterlot where Luna joined us."
Applejack glared at Dark. "You're hidin' somethin'."
With a nervous gulp, Big Mac walked up with the crystal in his hoof. "This here'll show ya everythin' that happened last night."
Taking the crystal from him, Applejack looked it over before placing it on a coffee stand.
"Ah'll take a look later," she said. "Right now, y'all need ta get somethin' ta eat before we finish settin' up for the weddin'." She took a few sniffs and recoiled. "And y'all better get rid of that bad breath too."
While they other groaned, Dark smirked as he walked outside to use his fire breath, sanitizing his mouth from the flames and ridding him of his bad breath. Breathing out a small stream of steam, Dark returned with a smug look on his face.
"There, all done," he happily said, getting an approving nod from Applejack after she smelt his breath, which oddly enough smelled like cooked apples.
Joining Luna, Dark waited for the others to rid themselves of their own bad breath. After almost ten minutes had passed by, the other guys made their way back and took a seat around the table before digging in. Once they were finished with their breakfast, they split up with Discord going to take care of Fluttershy's animal friends, the rest of the guys helping set everything up for the wedding, and Applejack and Luna leaving to check on the mares. What the guys didn't know, though, was that Applejack took the recording gem with her to show them.
Three hours later in the Apple's back yard, Dark placed another chair down and looked at the work they'd done with a low whistle.
"Wow. That's a lot of chairs," he commented.
"Eeyup," Big Mac nodded, walking up alongside him.
"I know that your family is very respected here in Ponyville, but are you sure that we need this many chairs?"
"Hmmm... eenope."
"Oh, thank Celest-"
"We're gonna need more."
"... say what?"
"Those chairs are for the ponies from Ponyville who're comin' ta the weddin'. We're gonna need a lot more for when the other Apples get here."
"... and how many Apples are we talking about?"
"Well," Granny began as she walked up to them, "from the replies that Ah got, we're gonna have most of the Apple clan here for this here weddin'."
Dark's eyes widened. "A-And how many would that be?"
Granny hummed to herself in thought before shrugging. "Ah'd say about another hundred and fifty, give or take a few dozen."
Dark looked back over towards the wagons they used to transport them.
"Where are we gonna get that many more chairs?"
"Town hall should have plenty more ta spare."
Taking that as their cue, Dark and Big Mac went over to the wagons and got themselves strapped up. Ready to go, they were about to run down the road when Applejack, Twilight, and Luna suddenly teleported in front of them.
"Hold it right there, Big Mac," Applejack said, holding up a hoof to him. "You can't be goin' off now. We gotta get ya ready for your weddin'."
"But the seats-"
"Dark can do it by himself," Twilight interrupted, glancing from Big Mac to Dark with a stern glare, "isn't that right, honey?"
"All one hundred and fifty of them?" he whined.
"Consider it punishment for you ponynapping Princess Luna last night."
"But that wasn't us!"
"Hey, it's your own fault that you got yourself drunk off of alcohol that Discord grabbed from another dimension. Now you have to deal with the consequences. And since Princess Luna all but gave you a pass for it, I will be the one to take over. Oh, and by the way, I'll also be expecting a full-body massage from you tonight, and a hoof massage the next three nights."
Leaving it at that, Twilight teleported herself and Luna back to where Cheerilee was. With a small sigh, Dark trudged down the dirt road back to town, leaving Applejack and Big Mac standing there watching him.
"Wow. That was somethin'," Applejack commented. "Whaddya think was up with Twilight? Ah mean, yeah she was in the right ta chew Dark out for you guys ponynapping Princess Luna, but Ah didn't think that she'd be so..."
"Bitchy?"
Jumping in surprise, Applejack and Big Mac turned around to see Granny standing directly behind them.
"Granny! That's no way ta talk about Twilight!"
"What?" she innocently questioned. "Ah'm just statin' the facts here. Ah don't know what's goin' on between her and Dark, but Ah doubt that she needed ta be so moody about it."
Watching as Granny left for the house, Applejack and Big Mac shared look, both silently wonding the same question before Applejack spoke it.
"You don't think that Twilight's actually..."
"It's either that, or she's actually that upset with Dark about what happened last night," Big Mac shrugged, not knowing which one to think.
"Either way, Ah better get back ta Sugarcube Corner and help Pinkie and the Cakes with the caterin'."
"Umm, AJ?"
"Hmm?"
"How's Cheerilee doin'?"
Applejack smirked. "Other than that she's over at Rarity's Boutique, ya know that Ah can't tell ya, Big Mac."
"Ah know."
Applejack turned around and ran down the dirt road with a smile on her face. But if Ah had ta tell ya, Ah've never seen her more excited in my life.
A little over an hour later, Dark got the new chairs back and set them in place. Wiping the sweat off his brow, he made his way over to the house where Braeburn and Caramel were helping Big Mac with his suit. Sparing a quick glance, Dark smirked at seeing that they were busy at the moment, earning him the time he needed to go get one of Big Mac's wedding gifts.
Flying over to a certain area, Dark got his present ready and returned back to the house to see that Big Mac was all dressed up in his black tuxedo, which was complimented by a magenta-colored rose and bowtie.
"Looking good," Dark complimented from the doorway.
"Thanks," Big Mac said, trying to keep his cool from the thought of being married in a few hours.
"You look nervous."
Big Mac gulped. "E-Eeyup."
"Well then," Dark smiled, "perhaps you'd like to have one of your wedding gifts now?"
This caught everypony's attention.
"Really?" Big Mac questioned. "Isn't it a little early?"
"Not for this one." Dark walked in and stepped off to the side. "Alright, you can come over now."
Upon seeing his early wedding present, Big Mac found himself in gawking disbelief with Braeburn as they saw his father and mother walking into the house.
"B-Bu... ya said that ya didn't know when ya could do it again," he stammered.
"Yeah, I didn't," Dark admitted, "but as it turned out, the spell got a lot easier for me after casting it a few more times."
"Sorry to interrupt," Caramel interrupted, "but who are those two?"
Walking up to them, Big Mac pulled his parents into a big hug while Braeburn shook his head clear and answered for him.
"They're his Ma and Pa," he answered confusingly. "But they're suppose ta be..."
"Have you two forgotten already?" Dark chuckled. "And by the way, don't tell anypony about what I am, alright? I don't want too many ponies to know."
"Right, right. The whole Lord of Death thin'," Braeburn remembered. "Don't worry none, Dark. Ya seem like a good pony, so Ah promise not ta tell anypony."
"Me neither," Caramel agreed, though probably more out of fear than anything.
"Good," Dark nodded, "otherwise it'll be a nightmare for me, and by extension, Twilight, if ponies found out that I can briefly bring the spirits of the dead back like this."
"How long will ya and Ma be here for, Pa?" Big Mac wondered.
"We have until a few hours after sunset," he answered. "And by the way, congratulations on gettin' married."
"Cheerilee seems like a very nice mare," his mother spoke. "I'm sure that you'll both make each other very happy."
"Thank ya both," Big Mac thanked, giving them an extra squeeze before letting them go.
"So," Mr. Apple began, "what can we do ta help?"
"Nothing much," Dark answered. "Most of everything has already been taken care of. The guests and the rest of the Apple family should be arriving anytime now, along with-"
Dark paused when a bright light showed from outside the house. Running out, he and the others saw that the food tables that they'd set up had all been filled with foods, drinks, deserts, and a fifteen-layered wedding cake. And there, standing in front of it all were Twilight, Luna, Applejack, and Pinkie.
"Perfect timing."
Hearing his voice, Twilight turning around and walked up to Dark with a guilty frown. "Umm, hey, Dark?"
"Yeah?"
"Look, I'm sorry about how I acted to you earlier today. Applejack talked to me about it, and after I talked with Princess Luna, I now see that I went a little overboard with how I reacted."
"It's fine, Twilight," Dark said, pulling her into a hug. "You were right, I did do something stupid. But I promise you, I won't ever act like that again. After all, that cider doesn't even exist in our world."
While Dark and Twilight were busy, Applejack noticed her parents and immediately bolted over to them with a eager hug.
"Y'all are here!" she happily exclaimed. "But how?! Dark said that he didn't know when he could brin' y'all back again!"
"And like he said," her mother began, "it was his first time casting it on us. He came by a few more times, and with our permission, we allowed for him to use it so that we could actually attend Big Mac's wedding."
"So, you are the Apple parents that I've heard about," Luna spoke as she joined them. "It is a pleasure to finally have the chance to meet you. And... you have my sincere condolences for your untimely passing."
Surprised by Luna showing up and talking to them like this, Mr. and Mrs. Apple politely bowed to her.
"I-It's an honor to have you here, Your Highness," Mrs. Apple said.
"Please, rise," Luna said, raising a hoof and warmly smiling at them. "There is no need for such formalities on a day like today. And besides, even if I wanted to, there's nothing that I can do to you two even if you did somehow upset me."
Mr. Apple gave a light chuckle. "Ah suppose so. Still, though, we're mighty glad ta have ya here, Princess."
"Thank you. After what your children have done for Equestria, both in the farming industry and saving our country, it's the least we can do." She smirked as she glanced back behind them. "Isn't that right, Tia?"
"That it is, Luna," Celestia giggled, causing them to turn around and stare at her with wide eyes as her gaze softened. "It has been a while since I've seen you two. Am I to believe that this is Dark's doing?"
"Umm, y-yes, P-Princess Celestia," Mrs. Apple nervously answered.
With a light laugh, Celestia walked up to them and draped a wing over each of them. "There's no need to be so nervous. Like my sister said, your children have done a marvelous job at keeping Equestria supplied with their apples, along with keeping everypony safe in times of emergencies."
Removing her wings from them, Celestia walked up to Applejack and teleported a wrapped box alongside her.
"Where would I be able to put this, Applejack?"
She smiled as she pointed to an empty table with a pink tablecloth over it.
"Weddin' presents go right over there on that table, Princess."
"Thank you." Celestia glanced over to Luna. "Did you remember yours, sister?"
Sighing in annoyance, Luna teleported her own wrapped box over to her side. "You're never going to let that go, are you?"
"Not after what happened last time. I mean honestly, who leaves the wedding present on the counter?"
"I still say that you were the one who was suppose to bring it."
Chuckling at them for their sisterly behavior, Dark and Twilight watched as they made their way to set down their gifts. Before they did, though, they were distracted by the sound of a thunderous stampede. Turning their attention down towards the road, Dark's jaw dropped as he saw a line of wagons and a few airships coming in, all marked by an emblem depicting some kind of apple. And behind them, some of the ponies from town were following in.
"... I'm guessing that those are Applejack's relatives," Dark guessed.
"Looks like it," Twilight replied before looking herself and Dark over. "We better get dressed. The wedding shouldn't be that long away now."
Almost an hour later, everypony was in their seat, ready for the wedding to begin. With Dark standing beside Big Mac as his best stallion, the other groomsstallion were Braeburn, Caramel, and Discord. And with Celestia preceding, that left Applejack standing on the other side as Cheerilee's best mare, along with Twilight and the rest of their friends acting as the bridesmaids, which left over three hundred ponies sitting in the audience. Of course, with the unexpected ghostly appearance of the two Apple parents, most of the Apple family, and adults in Ponyville who remembered them, were in an uproar. Thankfully, after a somewhat vague yet exceptional explanation from Celestia and Luna, everypony calmed down and returned to their seats to talk amongst themselves while they waited.
"Ugh, this is takin' too long," Big Mac huffed as he nervously pulled on his bowtie. "How much longer until we can begin?"
"Beats me," Dark shrugged. "Hey, Discord, how much longer?"
Discord looked at the watch that had appeared on his wrist. "It should've started a few minutes ago actually."
Big Mac heavily gulped. "Y'all don't think that she decide ta call it off, do ya?"
Catching a flash of light in the corner of his eyes, Dark glanced over and smiled. "Oh, I highly doubt that."
Hearing the music and following Dark's line of sight, Big Mac saw Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo in their peach-colored dresses as they hopped down the isle, spreading flower petals along the floor as they did. When they got to the end and stood off to the side, Cheerilee began making her way down the isle in her white wedding dress as she held a bouquet of red roses in one of her hooves.
As she took her time, Cheerilee kept her eyes on Big Mac, feeling everything else around them vanish as she focused on his green eyes. Finally stepping up beside him, Cheerilee handed the flower bouquet over to Applejack to hold onto as she took Big Mac's hoof and looked up to Celestia.
Seeing the tears of happiness that Cheerilee and Big Mac were holding back, Celestia smiled warmly at them before she looked up to address everypony.
"Mares and gentlecolts. We are gathered here today to witness the union of Cheerilee, and Big Macintosh Apple. It's funny how this had all had started out. What was once an act of good intentions during Hearts and Hooves Day by three young fillies, had gone wrong and almost threatened to ruin their friendship. But who would've guessed that instead, their intentions had actually led them to ending up here, even if it was a bit later than what they thought."
"We said we were sorry," Apple Bloom said, causing the audience to chuckle while Celestia smiled and nodded.
"Yes. It may have started out rather unusually, but in the end, it did provide them with what they needed for their feelings to take root. And over time, it grew into something beautiful. Now, who would like to start first?"
Big Mac cleared his throat as he decided to take the lead. "What can Ah say that Ah already haven't? Ah love ya, Cheerilee, and Ah don't care if we end up livin' on the farm, or somewhere far away. As long as Ah'm with ya, that's all that matters ta me." Big Mac took her hoof into his own. "Ah intend ta stay by your side, do good ta ya as your husband, and grow old with ya until the end of our days."
Dark closed his eyes and smiled to himself. That you will, buddy. That you will.
Wiping a few tears from her eyes, Cheerilee spoke next.
"Before your sister and her friends tried to play matchmaker with us, I honestly didn't think that we would end up like this. But after that day, we started spending more time together, and before I knew what was happening, I started falling for you." She blushed as she continued. "I was surprised by it at first, and a little scared to be honest, but that all changed after our first date together. When I first felt your strong hooves gently wrapped around me... I have never felt so safe before then. You're so big and strong, Big Mac, and at the same time, you can be very gentle and caring." Cheerilee brought a hoof up to his cheek. "And while I am happy to know that you'd leave the farm, Big Mac, I also know of how much you love your family. So please, don't you worry about a thing, because I have no intention of separating you from them, or your farm."
Glancing off to her side, Celestia smiled when she saw Applejack shedding a few tears with a sigh of relief. Taking Cheerilee's silence as the end, she nodded in approval to them before she looked over to Dark.
"May we have the rings?"
Using his unicorn magic, Dark reached beneath his suit and provided her with a pair of golden bracelets, one with Big Mac's cutie mark, the other with Cheerilee's.
Taking them into her own magical hold, Celestia brought the bracelet with Cheerilee's mark down and placed it in her hoof.
"Do you, Cheerilee, take Big Macintosh Apple as your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"
Cheerilee smiled as she slipped the bracelet onto Big Mac's foreleg.
"I do."
Satisfied, Celestia turned to Big Mac as she gave him the bracelet with his cutie mark.
"And do you, Big Macintosh Apple, take Cheerilee as your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"
With a big smile on his face, Big Mac slipped the bracelet onto Cheerilee's foreleg.
"Eeyup!"
Celestia chuckled along with the audience at Big Mac's choice of words.
"In that case, by the power vested in me by... well, me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the-"
Before Celestia could finish, Cheerilee leaped up at Big Mac, knocking him over as they shared their first kiss as a married couple.
"... okay, never mind then."
With that kiss, hats were thrown into the air as everypony cheered and stomped their hooves in applause, causing the entire apple orchard to shake under the collective tremors of the Ponyvillians, and the Apple family. And while she whistled and stomped in applause, Applejack couldn't help but smile and happily cry for her brother and new sister-in-law.
Best. Weddin'. Ever.
Not long after the wedding ended, the reception began with everypony either eating at a table, or dancing to the music. It first started off with a slow dance for the newly married couple, but once they had their dance, other couples began to join in as well. Even Spike and the Crusaders all shared a dance together. And while it might've seemed a little awkward at first, everypony found themselves quickly getting used to it, finding it to be rather cute in the end.
Once the couples slow dance was over, the music was replaced with a more lively tune for all to enjoy. One that Mr. Apple used to be able to get to dance with Applejack and Apple Bloom, much to their joy. And though it was bit difficult at first, after being introduced and talking for a while, Soul managed to find himself a new friend and dance partner in Apple Bloom's favorite cousin, Babs Seed. Even despite him turning invisible due to the excess of love and other positive emotions emanating from all around him, he and Babs still continued to dance, even if it looked like she was dancing with a floating suit and top hat.
Agreeing to take a break, Dark and Twilight went over to the buffet table where they each filled up a plate with apple related foods, and a slice of the wedding cake. When they got back to their table where Luna and their friends were sitting and sat down, Dark glanced over, and for the first time, saw what exactly Twilight had stacked onto her plate.
"Are you seriously going to eat all of that, Twilight?" Dark skeptically asked.
"Of course I am," she said matter-of-factly. "I didn't get much to eat during lunch and have been starving ever since."
Dark looked up and down the pile of food and two large slices of wedding cake.
"... Twilight, that's more than even Pyre would be able to eat."
"Speaking of him, why isn't he here?" Rainbow wondered.
"Something about how dragons don't do weddings," Dark replied, eyeing out Twilight's towering food before eating his own.
After taking a few bites, Dark saw Celestia standing off to the side by herself. Excusing himself for a moment, he got up, but was stopped by Luna before he could go. Whispering something in his ear, he chuckled and walked over to her.
"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" he asked once he got close enough and caught her attention.
"Not at all, Dark," she smiled. "Just enjoying the sight is all."
Standing alongside her, Dark looked sideways at her and cocked an eyebrow.
"Soooo... 'until death do you part'? Really?"
Celestia looked down to him confusingly. "Sorry?"
"That last part that you said."
Beginning to understand where he was coming from now, Celestia chuckled before giving him a sly smirk.
"I see. I suppose that I should remember something different for the next wedding." She tapped her chin as she looked at him. "Perhaps during yours and Twilight's wedding?"
With a blush, Dark looked away and began clawing at the ground. "I-I suppose."
"So, did you get her engagement ring yet?"
Dark turned back to Celestia and nodded. "I placed the order after I was discharged from the castle's medical wing after my fight with Shining in the Coliseum. And I already received it."
"And where would it be now?"
"I put it in my Shadow Storage so that Twilight wouldn't accidentally stumble upon it."
"A good idea," Celestia approved. Looking out at her ponies celebrating, she glanced off to the side and licked her lips. "If you'll excuse me, Dark, I have a slice of cake with my name on it."
Getting up to return to their table, Dark took a step forward before freezing. "Actually, Princess, I was told to tell you something."
"Oh? And what might that be?"
Dark nervously rubbed the back of his head. "Ummm... don't pig out on the cake because it'll go straight to your flanks?"
Celestia glared at Dark. "Excuse me?"
"It was Princess Luna! She told me to tell you that!"
Shaking her head, Celestia let out an exasperated sigh. "I swear, she's never going to get off my back with that. Alright, I won't 'pig out' as she called it."
Deciding that silence would be best, Dark simply nodded while Celestia left for the buffet table. Once she was far enough away, Dark quickly made his way back to the table and took his seat with a sigh of relief. It didn't last, though, as he looked down to see that his plate had been cleared out.
"Wha-? Where did my food go?" he asked, looking at the others sitting with them.
"Sorry, Dark, that was me," Twilight apologized.
Looking at her in disbelief, Dark saw that her own plate was cleared of all traces of food too.
"You didn't..."
"What? I said I was hungry. And to be honest, I actually don't even feel full yet." She turned to look back at the buffet table and levitated up her plate and Dark's. "I'm going to get some more food. And to make it up to you, Dark, I'll go refill your plate too."
When Twilight was out of hearing range, Dark turned his attention back to the others at the table, including Celestia, who just began to sit herself down.
"Okay, did she really just eat everything off my plate during the short time that I was gone?" he asked.
"You bed she did," Rainbow answered, glancing over to see Applejack and her family at one of the other tables. "Boy, if Applejack were here, I'd bet she'd be impressed with Twilight too."
"Well I for one don't envy Twilight in the slightest," Rarity commented. "All of those calories that she's eating are going to do a horrific number on her figure."
"With the amount of magic that she probably uses on a daily basis, I'm sure that she shall burn it off rather quickly," Luna dismissed.
"Maybe," Dark pondered, "but Twilight doesn't normally eat that much."
"Well, like I said before," Twilight spoke, returning to the table with her plate of food and setting down Dark's, "I didn't get much to eat during lunch, so I was extra hungry tonight."
Dark looked skeptically at Twilight. "If you say so. Oh, and thank you for the food, hon."
Sharing a brief kiss with her, Dark was about to dig into his new plateful of food until a voice called out to him.
"Hey, Dark! Ya got a minute?!" Big Mac called.
With a small sigh, Dark got up. "Don't touch my food."
"I won't if you don't take too long," Twilight half-joked.
Making his way through the crowd of ponies, Dark finally met up with Big Mac and Cheerilee.
"I'm sure you're both tired of hearing this by now, but congratulations," Dark smiled.
"Thanks," Big Mac thanked. "Also, thanks for bringin' Ma and Pa here for this."
"You're welcome. But really, Big Mac, like I wouldn't do it after I found out I could."
"Still, we're really grateful that you did this for us, Dark," Cheerilee said. "It also make me feel happy to finally get to meet them in person, instead of talking to their graves."
"That, and how Ma absolutely loves ya," Big Mac added.
"That too."
Reaching a claw out, Dark waited for Big Mac to take it for a shake, but instead, he was surprised when Big Mac brushed it aside and was given a bro hug. With a chuckle, Dark returned it before Big Mac stepped back to be replaced by a thankful hug from Cheerilee. Once released, Dark halted the married pair before they began to return to the party.
"Before I forget, would you two like your second wedding gift?"
Sharing a brief glance, Big Mac nodded. "Sure, what is it?"
"Well... it's optional, actually."
"Oh?" Cheerilee enquired.
"You see, after Big Mac asked me to be his best stallion, I began to work with Nocturne with some more of his death magic. And after a few days, I managed to figure out the spell I wanted."
"Which is?" Big Mac pressed.
"That part Princess Celestia said about 'until death do you part'? If you want, can make that happen."
"How so?"
"I've heard about some married couples who have a hard time continuing on when their spouse dies before them. So, with that in mind, I learned a spell that can link both of your souls together. That way, neither of you will outlive the other."
Both of their eyes widened at the news. After a moment, Cheerilee was the first to recover.
"And what would be the catch?" she cautiously asked.
"No catch. It's exactly as what I said it was. You don't have to choose whether or not you want it now, I can wait. And if you do decline now, but in the future you do decided that you want it, all you have to do is ask."
"... well.. ta be honest with ya, Ah don't know how Ah would be able ta go on without Cheerilee now," Big Mac admitted.
"Like I said, you don't need to choose now, so take your time in talking this out. And who knows, maybe in time I can create an improved version of it."
"Thank you, Dark," Cheerilee thanked, grateful and slightly disturbed by the offer. "We'll talk about it."
"Okay. And if you do decide to not go for it, then don't worry about it, I won't be upset about it."
Leaving it at that, Dark wished them luck with their new life before making his way back to the table for something to finally eat. But when he got there, he froze in mid-walk as he saw that his plate was empty again while Twilight's face was covered in crumbs. With a pout, Dark took his seat and looked between Twilight and his empty plate.
"I told you not to take too long, Dark."
Several hours later, not long after the sun had set, Luna's moon shown extra brightly in the sky. With the light illuminating everything around them, Big Mac and Cheerilee walked through a sea of ponies to a carriage pulled by a pair of royal guards, courtesy of Celestia. It was quite the surprise and honor when they found out that her gift to them was an all-expenses paid honeymoon vacation to one of their private tropical islands. That, and Luna's gift of an all-expenses paid trip around the world. As for the rest of their gifts, Celestia and Luna already had them being delivered to their suite, with Big Mac and Cheerilee's permission of course.
Reaching the end of the lane they were made, they stopped to see Applejack, Apple Bloom, Granny, and their ghostly parents waiting there for them. Sharing one last hug with them, Big Mac and Cheerilee went up to the carriage where he opened the door for her to hop in.
"Wait! I almost forgot," Cheerilee chuckled. Turning around, she waved at the crowd. "Alright! I want every mare up front and center! Princesses too! Time to see who gets married next!"
After almost a minute later, every unmarried female was crowded up in front of Cheerilee while the males all stood far away from the action. And in terms of fairness, Celestia and Luna decided to cast a spell to shrink themselves down so they wouldn't be tempted to take advantage of their height. Even the Crusaders were participating to get a chance of grabbing the bouquet, deciding to stand on top of each other's backs to make themselves taller.
"Also, before I forget, I don't want there to be any cheating," she told them. "That means no magic, and no wings."
Giggling to herself from hearing some of them groan, Cheerilee turned her back to them, closed her eyes, and tossed her bouquet up high behind her. Looking back, she watched as it fell slowly to the waiting hooves of each unmarried mare that had gathered. At first it looked like Rarity was going to grab it as she leaped up for it, but instead crashed into Rainbow as she tried to do the same thing. After that, the bouquet began to bounce around on top of the sea of hooves as one of them tried to claim it.
Laughing alongside Big Mac at the sight of them, they stopped when the bouquet final fell into the crowd. Unable to see who it was that won, they waited until the mares all parted to reveal Twilight as she looked in shock at the bouquet that had literally fallen into her hooves.
Seeing that Twilight had gotten the bouquet and was now looking at him, Dark blushed heavily and swallowed the large lump in his throat while Discord began laughing and slapping him on the back.
"Ohohohoho my goodness, Dark!" Discord boomed. "I hope you've got something planned, because I think that somepony's going to be expecting you to pop the question pretty soon now."
Ignoring him, Dark kept his eyes locked onto Twilight's as he saw her face blushing and her eyes shimmer in the moonlight. As he did, his claw twitched while his mind drifted towards the ring he had safely hidden away. Shaking himself out of his thoughts, Dark gave Twilight a goofy smile, snapping her out of her own thoughts as she shyly smiled back.
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Fluff ehh...
I have a hunch Twi is probably pregnant. Which I'm honestly looking forward to waaay too much, but not as much as the eventual wedding between Twilight and Dark or the very akward talk Dark is going to have with Twilight's parents and Shinning if they find out that she is pregnant ,and they aren't married yet. Oh I can't wait , bring on the drama!
Blessed be and happy writing ~ TRK
I laughed at when Mac and the others found out what they did while drunk, It. Was. Hilarious!!!!!!!!!!! xD
7430263
Yes, that talk will be amazing.
I'm calling it right now, Twi's pregnant!
7432704 dude its obvious
7430263 yeah, I thought about that too. From what I know, such behavior is one od signs of pregnancy. I'm not going to be shocked when in the next chapters Twi will tell Dark about that. Or he find it himself. For the whole story, great job. It's one of very few stories that made me cry at some points. Do that alone can vote for this story being great story. Hope to see another chapters soon,but don't rush just because someone told you to do. See you later, Razjel
7433844
Yeah. The massive amount of food, mood swings.
Twilight Sparkle! Guilty for pregnancy!
7438825 Thank you. And don't worry, the next chapter is done. Expect it to be up for you guys tomorrow.
Love the Pirate raid on the castle. Best party/raid ever. The treasure....... THE MOOOON HAHAHAHA.
Twilight's pregnant, isn't she? Being extra hungry is supposed to be a side affect, I think.
7750231
7941566 More Pirate Fun!!! Sorry it will have to be links.
https://youtu.be/hqdxrAXFmCU
https://youtu.be/hVKxtIvjLJo
More Adult theme.
https://youtu.be/pMhfbLRoGEw
Pretty sure you mean, line of sight. Because people often use ling as a slang word for changeling.
I think you mean "That means no magic,"
8552895 Yes. Thanks for pointing that out.
Gah, the video that "jolly song" linked to ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXoZsgNHquM ) has been copyright claimed away. Does anyone remember what it was?
9068971 That is a bit of a surprise. Here's the song.
9069315
Thank you.