The Royal Canterlot Family

by CartoonNerd12

Secret Marriage

Author's Note:

Time skip! Time skip!

Twilight had her checklist at the ready as she examined the ballroom. The large room was being prepped up for the dinner that she was giving for the Wonderbolts as they prepared to perform the royal garden opening. According to her sister, Fluttershy, the gardens were extra lush this year and should be shared with the rest of their subjects.

Chef Gustave had his chefs give Twilight samples of the food he was planning to serve at the dinner, but she felt unsure if this was the right food to serve Wonderbolts, so she called in for an expert's opinion.

Soarin' and Rainbow Dash arrived a few minutes later as they looked over and taste-tested the food.

"Careful. I don't think you want to ruin your appetites for the dinner." Twilight told them.

"Relax, Twi. We wouldn't dream of ruining Soarin's chances of not being able to perform if he gets a stomachache."

"But if that was the case, we always have a Reserve as a backup."

"Because Wonderbolts always follow that famous saying: 'The show must go on'!" Rainbow proudly said.

Soarin' smiled, "We sure do. And our most promising Reserve happens to be Spitfire's daughter Sky Blitz."

"I'm surprised that Spitfire hasn't made her own daughter a Wonderbolt yet." mentioned Twilight.

Soarin' pointed, "In the Wonderbolts, even our children have to work hard to make the cut. And Sky has been working all her life, so she'll be a Wonderbolt before you know it."

Twilight said, "Isn't she also dating Whirl Wind?"

Rainbow beamed, "She sure is."

"Can we expect wedding bells anytime soon?" her sister slyly asked.

RD answered, "Whirl said they were going to wait until she becomes a Wonderbolt."

Soarin' shrugged, "So who knows how long that will be?"

---

Outside, Whirl and Sky were lying on a cloud resting from the racing they did this morning. Husband and wife cuddled close to each other and Whirl had his arms wrapped around her.

She sighed in content.

Whirl smiled at the sight and asked, "Excited about tomorrow?"

"Am I ever! But like you, I'll be watching. After all, I may be the Reserve on call, but that doesn't guarantee I'll get to perform."

"Hey, you never know. A Wonderbolt could come down with the Feather Flu or break their wing by accident, or both!"

She giggled, "Oh, Whirl, you're horrible!"

"I'm just giving you some possibilities. After all, it's a husband's job to make sure his wife is happy."

"And it's the wife's job to do the same for her husband. When I married you, I expected us to be equal partners."

"Of course, honey. You are, after all, my princess."

"Ugh, don't remind me." She mocked in a high-pitched voice, "Princess Sky Blitz…" She said in her regular voice, "It just sounds so girly…"

He chuckled, "It does, doesn't it?"

"I don't know how your cousins can handle it. Oh, yeah, have you heard anything from them? Shortly after Starling, Cotton, and Jewel left on their honeymoons, the others kind of went their separate ways, but you stayed put and so did Screwball and Dignity."

"Well, Gem went to Manehattan to purchase a penthouse so she can be closer to her coltfriend, Seam. Fire Spark went back to the Everfree Castle to pack up his things and is officially moving back here. He is planning to open up his own laboratory while Dawn still runs the library with her mom. Dignity and Mauve are still dating, though I think it won't be long until he proposes to her. Screwy is still helping Mothball getting used to his new surroundings. I, on the other hoof, am staying close to you as much as possible."

"I'm sorry we couldn't have a honeymoon like your other cousins."

"It's fine. After all, when some pony elopes, you have to make it seem nothing happened. Even if that means you have to give up certain pleasures that you could have."

"And it's too risky to try the next level, anyway. Can you imagine how our parents would react if I became pregnant all of a sudden?"

"I can think of a few things…" he grimly said.

"I hate waiting, but this is my one chance to be a Wonderbolt without making it seem like I had any help."

"I know… And you have my full support in your decision."

She caressed his face, "That's all a wife could ask from her husband." They went into a deep passionate kiss.

---

The dinner for the Wonderbolts was underway as Soarin' was in his uniform with the rest of his fellow Wonderbolts while Sky wore nothing. Whirl was with his mother as they stayed close to his dad. At that moment, he wished he could be next to his wife, but they had to keep their distance without causing suspicion from the other ponies. They already told their families they wanted to keep their relationship a secret so no pony could think Sky didn't earn being a Wonderbolt if she was dating a prince and they respected that. The reason they didn't tell them about the marriage was because they couldn't risk it going public since a royal marriage was always a big deal to ponies.

Sky saw her mom talking with Queen Twilight and Flash Sentry until some pony came up to her and tapped her shoulder. She turned and to her surprise, she shouted out, "Grandma!" She hugged Stormy Flare.

"Hello, dear." she smiled.

"What are you doing here?"

"Your mother invited me. She wanted to surprise you."

"Well, I sure am surprised! I didn't think I would see you until Hearth's Warming."

"And miss the chance to see my daughter and granddaughter perform together?"

"Grandma, you know I'm only a Reserve, so you'll be seeing Mom perform."

"Don't lose heart. I'm sure you get your chance soon enough."

"I hope so. I really hope so." She saw Whirl coming over.

Stormy saw him, too. "Prince Whirl Wind, Your Highness," she bowed before him.

"Please, none of that. I can see from the remarkable resemblance that you are related to Sky Blitz in some way."

Sky smiled, "Whirl, this is my grandma. Grandma, this is my hu- coltfriend! He's my coltfriend." She gave a cheesy grin.

"But we would appreciate it if you kept it to yourself about that." said Whirl.

"Certainly." Stormy smiled.

"Thanks, Grandma. That means a lot to me."

"Oh, I can see your mother is waving me over. We'll talk some more later, dear." She went on.

Whirl whispered, "That was a close one."

Sky whispered, "Sorry about that. It's easy to hide things from my mom, but with my grandma, I can be open to her. You know?"

"I understand. I could tell you had something special with your grandma."

"I feel guilty for lying to her like that… Grandma was always there for me whenever I needed her. In fact, she gave me what my mom couldn't sometimes… the feeling of being loved…"

Whirl gave a small smile.

Sky looked around, "You better get going. We don't want some reporter getting the right idea about us and running a story to get the whole town talking."

"Right." He stared at her lips, using all his willpower not to kiss them and Sky was feeling the same way. He lingered for a bit before going on.

---

It was late at night as Whirl lied in his bed, but he stared at the window as he waited for his beloved to come. Just then, a figure flapped up and opened the window. She flew in and landed on the bed.

She smirked, "Missed me?"

"Always…" he lowered her face so he could kiss it.

Suddenly, there was a knock at his door. The two had looks of worry as he said, "Quick, hide!"

She quickly went under the bed as he made himself look tired. He went to the door to open it, revealing Dignity.

Whirl gave a pretend yawn, "Dignity? What's up?"

"I was just coming in from my date with Mauve when I heard something coming from your room." He tilted his head to the side as he tried to look in the room.

Whirl, however, blocked him, "Geez, Dig. I was in bed the whole time. There's no way you could have heard something. Maybe you're just tired because you came in so late."

Dignity touched his chin, "Maybe you're right. It was an exciting night."

"Really?" Whirl smirked, "So things are really warming up for the two of you?"

Dignity blushed and stammered, "That's… that's none of your concern!"

Whirl couldn't help but laugh.

"Well, what about you and Sky? I don't see you proposing!"

Whirl shook his head, "We already told you, we're waiting until she finally makes it as a Wonderbolt. Then we'll have an official ceremony for the whole family."

"All right, then, let's make a deal. You stay out of my love life and I stay out of yours."

"Deal." he spit on his hoof.

Dignity cringed at the sight, "Look, you have my word as a gentlecolt. Good night." He rushed on.

Whirl smirked as he closed the door behind him, "I knew that would get rid of him." He looked at the bed, seeing his wife already on it waiting for him. He rushed onto it.

---

It was early in the morning, and Sky knew she had to leave before the servants woke up the rest of the royals. She looked down at her sleeping husband and gave him a kiss on the cheek. She sighed.

She muttered, "Another day to keep the secret. Just once, I would like to wake up the same time as you and live as any spouse would." With another sigh, she flew out the window.

Whirl - in his sleep - moved his hoof to the other side of bed, but then woke up with a start, realizing it was empty. He saw the sun was starting to rise and he knew that his wife had to leave, though he wished it hadn't been so soon. He felt a pang of envy toward the cousins who did get married and thought about how lucky they were to have their spouse by their side. They did not have to worry about hiding anything from anyone.

It was his fault for wanting the elopement in the first place, but everything he said to Sky was true. He couldn't live without her and he certainly didn't want to lose her the way his parents almost lost each other.

Sky made it to the dressing room of the derby, but right away, she noticed the somber mood when she entered. Spitfire had a grim expression on her face while Soarin' and the other Wonderbolts were trying to comfort her.

"Mom? What's going on?"

Spitfire looked up and sadly said, "It's your grandma, Sky. She has… Pegasitis…"

She gasped and looked at the other Wonderbolts, who hung their heads.

Her mom continued, "And the only known cure is the ice iris in the Crystal mountains, which means I'll be gone all day. You'll need to take my place in the aerial display."

Sky gaped. This was her big chance to be in the show, but at the same time… how could she perform knowing her grandmother was very ill? With a determined look, she proclaimed, "No."

Her mom, Soarin', and the others were taken aback by this.

"No?" Spitfire questioned.

"That's right, no. Because I'll be going after that ice iris instead while you do the show."

"Are you sure?" Soarin' inquired. "Ice irises are hard to find this time of year and who knows how long it may take you?"

"I want to." Sky stood her ground. "This is my grandma. I have to do something."

Spitfire had tears welling in her eyes. She was seeing her daughter in a whole new light now. "Sky, never had I been more proud to be your mother…" She saluted and the rest of the Wonderbolts did the same.

Sky was amazed by the scene and felt her own tears welling as she faced her mom. "Thanks, Mom…" She went in for a hug, which Spitfire was happy to return. Then she gave her mom one last salute before flying out of there.

---

Moments later, Soarin' had returned to the castle for lunch and told the family what happened. Whirl Wind was especially worried about his wife.

"And you just let her go by herself?!" he told his dad.

"She wanted to look for the ice iris herself." he replied.

Without asking to be excused, Whirl left the dining table and the room.

Rainbow mentioned, "I've never seen him like this…"

Screw Ball pointed out, "Ever since we came back from fixing the timeline, he's been acting strange and surprisingly mature."

Dignity had his suspicions, but kept it to himself as he had to honor his word to his cousin. Instead, he said, "But didn't we all technically mature since then?"

"Well, sure, but he's acting way more mature like he's upholding a vow or something."

"Perhaps so, but what kind of vow, I do not know." He thought to himself, But I have some idea…

---

As Sky was getting closer to the mountain, she heard a shout from behind.

"Hey! Wait up!"

She looked back to find her favorite colt, who was flying at a fast rate to catch up to her. She went on a cloud, so when he got there, he flopped onto it as he was catching his breath.

"Didn't… think… I… was… going… to… let you… do this by yourself!"

She smirked, "Loyal to the end."

"What can I say? It's one of my mom's best traits that I inherited from."

She gave a sad face, "So, you heard about my grandma?"

"I did…" He stood up to face her, "I'm sorry she got sick."

"Well, if we can find that ice iris, she won't be sick anymore."

He gave a nod.

They combed the entire snowy area, hoping to find any sign of the flower.

Whirl exclaimed, "This is tougher than that fight Dignity, Fire Spark, and I were in after that race we had!" He paused for a moment, "By the way, what happened to those friends of yours?"

Sky pointed out, "They weren't friends anymore once I saw what happened to the three of you, so I gave them the boot and told them to never come near me again."

He smiled, "Good one!"

She smiled back when she saw something popping from the snow…

---

Spitfire looked on with sadness as she saw her mother so terminally ill in bed.

"It's almost time for me to go perform, but I hate leaving you like this…"

Stormy Flare gave a small smile as she took her daughter's hoof, "Spitfire, you know me better than that…I'm stronger than most ponies give me credit for. And you'd be surprised how strong your daughter is, too…"

Spitfire couldn't help but smile, "I do know that, Mom. Sky is every inch a Wonderbolt, especially since she was determined to get that ice iris instead of me. She was willing to forfeit her chances of performing just so you can get better."

"Such a sweet girl…"

"I love my daughter, you know I do. And I've been wanting to make her a Wonderbolt for a long time now, but like her, I'm afraid ponies will judge that she didn't earn it like the other Wonderbolts have…"

"Because you are the captain and if ponies ever found out about her relationship to the prince…"

"Exactly, and it's not fair. My daughter is worthy of being a Wonderbolt by herself. And she deserves to have an open relationship with the stallion she loves."

"She certainly does…" She thought back to the dinner when Sky almost gave away the fact she was married. She caught herself in time, but Stormy could tell from the look in their eyes that they were more than coltfriend and marefriend.

"She is so close, Mom. It'll just be a matter of time."

But how much time? Sky won't be able to keep her marriage a secret forever… She and her husband are having a hard time as it is when restricting themselves.

---

Soarin' and Rainbow were walking down the hallway.

"Dash, I've been thinking…" he started.

"Yeah?"

"We're getting on in our years, and Whirl Wind is a grown stallion now."

"What are you saying?" she inquired, feeling confused about what her husband was getting at.

"I will never forget how you helped me achieve my dreams, but now it's time to help some pony else achieve that dream…"

Rainbow's eyes slowly widened as she realized what he was saying.

---

Sky and Whirl made it just in time to give Stormy Flare the ice iris. In no time, she was better! They got to the royal garden opening as they waited for the Wonderbolts to start the aerial display, but to their surprise, Spitfire addressed the crowd.

"Hello, mares and gentlecolts! We, the Wonderbolts, have an important announcement to make! One of our best flyers has made a last-second decision and I speak on behalf of the rest of the Wonderbolts that he will be missed. Soarin' has decided to retire."

There was a gasp from the crowd, including from Whirl and Sky as they glanced at each other. She asked, "Did you know about this?"

Whirl shook his head, "No! I wasn't even aware Dad was planning to retire at all!"

Spitfire continued speaking, "As such, he won't be performing the aerial flower formation with us, which means our Reserve - who is now a Wonderbolt - will be doing it instead…" She found her daughter in the crowd and gave a wink.

Sky was overwhelmed by the whole thing and with great joy, she flew up feeling so happy. Whirl watched on with happiness, knowing now they could finally step out of the shadows…

They were back at the castle as they met with their parents and Stormy Flare.

"I can't believe you retired just like that, Dad!" Whirl said in awe.

"Well, son, your mother and I had been thinking of taking some time off. I'm not as young as I used to be so…it seemed right. Sky will do a great job as a Wonderbolt."

Sky could feel the tears welling as Whirl took her hoof.

Spitfire smirked, "And now you two can have that wedding."

"We certainly can." he said.

"A wedding for the whole family." Sky smiled.

Stormy smiled as she thought, And this time, I'll get an invitation…

The couple looked at each other as if thinking the same thing, We did it. We kept it a secret…

Comments

[Godslittleprincess]

[Godslittleprincess]

This story is eerily similar to Moana in a way, and I know that it can't possibly be based off of Moana because this was published way before that movie even released.