Chapter 100 - Mark's World
I inadvertently started a tradition.
It began simply enough from the desire to spend a Saturday morning with my entire family before several inevitably left to pursue their other plans for the weekend. The weather was scheduled to be sunny and clear with only a slight breeze – perfect flying weather. It took a little convincing to get a couple of the kids to come along, but after a bit of persuasion from their mothers, they joined in. Chrysalis thought it was pointless. However, when the senior wife told her that she had to be there, Sally conceded with good grace.
It turned out to be even more fun than I thought. We surprised the Royal Guard by not announcing our intentions beforehand and all simply taking off together from a balcony. However, with Gallus and Penumbra among our number, we did not lack for some official security. Pearl was very adept at her levitation by now and flew under her own power. Allura was our only child who was flightless but we adults took turns carrying her. We had been doing this since she was a foal and she had no fear of falling whatsoever. We did a circuit of the city, startling the citizens with the unexpected royal procession. Then we headed west down the valley that led away from Mount Canterhorn, eventually swinging around White Tail Woods to head towards Ponyville. Along the way, we danced with the wind and played with the foals. When we reached the township, we stopped at Sugar Cube Corner for a drink and snacks before taking the portal back to Canterlot. The consensus was that it had been so much fun, we would do it again in a few weeks.
What started as just a small family outing began to grow. Initially, we had Trixie, Penny, Sally, Gemini, Pearl, Allura, Lacewing, Gallus, Diadem, Verdant, and Spotlight. After hearing about the event from Gallus, Smolder asked to join. Regis was next. He was my wife’s grandson, so he certainly belonged. Twilight chose to accompany him. I smirked and told my daughter-in-law to behave herself. She razzed me. Kids! Thorax merely grinned at both of us. Nyx invited herself and then brought along Scootaloo next time. Cutie Mark Crusaders forever! I invited my best pony friend, Steady Flight, to participate and he gladly accepted. Rarity joined in this time with the same glorious butterfly wings that flew her to the Anticyclone.
The following month, Cadance turned up with Shiny Button, Flurry Heart, and Skyla. They wanted in on the fun and they were in-laws too, after all. Then one of our now monthly events coincided with a visit from Phil, Rosa, and Yolanda. Phil had been intending to sit it out but Rosa simply picked him up and put him on her back. He protested a bit but she ignored him. The big griffoness had no trouble carrying her husband for the entire trip although she did refrain from the more acrobatic stunts, much to Phil’s relief.
Not everyone could attend every month due to various commitments, but they were still large events and the Captain of the Royal Guard wouldn’t let us continue to do them without some forewarning after the first time. This meant little more than some beefed-up security at first. When our monthly outings began to be noticed, she had to start planning crowd control. Then, after a reporter from a syndicated newspaper wrote an article on our family forays, the congregation’s numbers exploded. To take advantage of the extra customers, stalls sprang up every first Saturday of the month in the castle forecourt. The Royal Guard Brass Band entertained the throng and also served to build excitement for the moment. They even composed our own special processional theme which gave us our cue to depart. The Canterlot Weather Service scheduled perfect conditions for those days many months in advance. Thanks to Rainbow Dash not taking no for an answer, the Wonderbolts started putting on a short display before our departure. I quickly came to an understanding of how the royal pomp and ceremony back on Earth had grown. It had very little to do with us; it was the citizens, castle staff, and friends that wanted it to be bigger and better every time. And if it made the citizens happy, why not roll with it?
And that’s how the Royal Equestrian Aerial Pageant began. I insisted on constraining the number of guardsponies to keep this a more family-oriented occasion. The Captain of the Guard was equally adamant that it was her job to ensure our security. Chrysalis offered a compromise. Several of her drones who had trained as soldiers would provide protection. As they were also my children, they were part of the family, so that satisfied both of us. About half of them took on pegasus or griffon guises though to avoid the appearance of being swarmed by changelings.
# # #
Today was a special day. The entire family was present for this Saturday’s pageant. It would be the last time we could all be together for a long while. Gallus was not Captain of the Guard yet, but he was well on the way to achieving that goal. However, to qualify for the next promotion, he needed to attend some training and special courses that would occupy his time for a few months. After that, he would be stationed all around Equus, both in Equestria and abroad to get more experience. Allura and Lacy were headed off to university in Fillydelphia. Gemini and Button signed up to do some exploring of far lands with Celestia. But, for now, we were all gathered for the grand foray.
Lacewing and Allura got ready by doing something that had revolutionized the Royal Guard and was slowly being introduced into the military. It had started with Pearl passing on her love of comics to her sister. However, instead of a character like Supergirl, Allura and Lacy fixated on Iron Man. They were fascinated by the movies with him too (thanks, Phil!). This resulted in an epiphany on Lacy’s part. She climbed onto Allura’s back and activated her magic. Her changeling form flowed around the unicorn’s body, creating a red and gold chitin shell around her barrel, legs, and hooves, and sprouting wings with translucent feathers tinted to match the pony’s coat. Although they could form a helmet as well, they normally left that part off. Two glowing gems below the front of the neck armoring were Lacy’s eyes. The partners were now a harmonious unit that allowed Allura to fly like a pegasus while she supplied love to sustain the changeling. They had effectively created an armored mentally-linked pegacorn identity which they called Iron Mare, of course. The technique had been adapted for use by those Royal Guards who had acquired a Companion changeling, but only after that changeling completed guard training. The living armor also provided a heightened awareness to the wearers as well as protection, and it was self-repairing. Changelings were energized by their intimate bond with their companions and were empowered by it so much that their chitin became stronger than the armor that they replaced.
As for Pearl, she never grew out of her love of comics and her Supermare alter ego had become a part of our pageant. Rarity had created new versions of her costume as the filly had grown and the latest certainly flattered my second daughter’s grown-up body. Like most mares in the anthro pony universe, Pearl had big breasts and her costume was hard pushed to contain them. However, the young mare was delighted with her comic book appearance and invariably wore her outfit on all these occasions. I designated her to be our herald. Much to my relief, Pearl was well-loved by her classmates and the castle staff. Thanks to the Triarchy’s immigration and recruiting efforts, encountering an anthro pony was now a commonplace occurrence.
My wives gathered around me, Penumbra taking her usual protective station in the lead. I had grown to match my batpony wife’s height by now, but she delighted in telling me my stallion form would never match her wingspan. She could still wipe the floor with me in a fair fight, and by that, I mean not throwing lightning or spires of rock at her. At the appointed time, we could hear the band outside reach its crescendo. I nodded to Gallus who gave the order for our escort to take flight to form the guard of honor outside the castle. On the final note, Pearl took off, her glowing horn the only evidence that magic was in use. She had learned to conceal the luminous side-effect around her body. She launched herself up into the sky, striking a pose for the audience. Damn! I never got tired of seeing my daughter like that. She had very effectively turned her extraordinary natural form into something amazing in the eyes of the general populace.
Then Pearl used a voice amplifying spell to address the crowd. “Citizens and visitors from lands far and wide, the Royal Family of Equestria greets you all on this fine day and wishes you and your loved ones the best. We are honored to present to you this month’s Royal Equestrian Aerial Pageant!”
There was a roar from the crowd which was our cue to emerge from the castle. My wives and I were the first to take flight, closely followed by our children and family. Our routine had changed a lot from the first time. It involved legs over the main streets of the city, looping around to give a better view to more of the onlookers who didn’t have a prime position to watch. Some of us performed aerial maneuvers to make it more interesting. It was all part of the fun of the event. Altogether, we did five circuits of the city, the last of which ended with us heading south over the cliffs and into the open skies.
As everyone left Canterlot airspace, we settled down to the real reason for our monthly flights – bonding with our family. We played, and we talked. We practiced our flying skills. Heaven knows I was far better than I used to be. Nowhere near as good as my Marklestia form yet, but my alter ego didn’t participate in these flights anyway.
I watched as Gemini cavorted with Button who had taken female form and wondered which of them would choose to have a foal one day. Not that I was in a hurry to have grandkids. I was just happy that my first child had found someone to love who loved them back. Maybe my adopted son would beat them; Smolder had been making hints lately that even I had managed to pick up on. I wondered what the cross between a dragon and a griffon would be like. No matter – my family was happy, harmonious, and loved. No clearer indication could be seen than with Sally whose whole body fairly glistened with the love and joy she was imbibing on our flight. Just this morning, I teased Chrysalis about the inevitability of rolling out of bed one morning looking like rainbow sherbet. My changeling queen laughed, patted me on the head, and told me not to get my hopes up. Right now, she caught my eye and winked, licking her lips. I grinned back before I inverted my flight to glide underneath Rarity as she fluttered along with my other wives. She smiled and lowered her head to steal a swift kiss.
I chuckled and slipped to the side and brought myself beside Penny to pass on the kiss. She smirked and slapped me on the butt with a wing. I laughed and flapped a little harder to catch up and get ahead of my first wife. Turning, I held my forehooves apart and she flew into my embrace. Then we showed our co-mates how to do a proper kiss even as we drifted downwards due to not paying attention to flying.
We parted a bit out of breath, gazing at each other affectionately. Then we flew hoof in hoof for a while, watching our family enjoying themselves. I took a few moments to play with Yolanda while her parents looked on proudly. She was truly a child of two worlds now, as much a part of our family as Phil’s. I recalled how my best friend’s parents had treated me as a brother to their son and I was delighted to carry on that tradition.
I loved these times. No pretensions. No courtly manners. No machinations of nobles vying for power and influence. Just enjoying the freedom of the air in the relaxed presence of those I loved.
I spotted a small fluffy cloud and alighted upon it. Folding my wings, I looked about me at the world that I had come to call home. It was heart-wrenchingly beautiful, and the knowledge that I ruled over it and protected it was both humbling and uplifting. I had come a long way from that pegasus stallion who first stumbled into this dimension. I could hardly wait to see what the years ahead would bring me.
I murmured, “Thank you, Harmony. Thanks for bringing this silly former human into this world and showing him how he could be so much more.”
Trixie landed next to me and said, “Getting introspective again, Dowser?”
I chuckled and nodded. “Yeah.”
She rolled her eyes. “You’re hopeless. Trixie will have to redouble her efforts to fix you.” Her smile belied her words. “Come on – we have a feast waiting for us in Ponyville.” She then playfully pushed me off the cloud with a burst of her magic.
I let myself tumble for a moment before looking back up to her with a grin. Then I extended my wings and called out for the world to hear, “I am Mark Wells, Prince of the Equestrian Empire, conqueror of its many foes, husband to four of the best mares in the world, father of my many beloved foals, and my story has only just begun!”
# # # # # # # # #
The End… for now.
End of Book Three
Twenty-seven months and over seven hundred thousand words later, the Off The Mark saga is done. We sincerely hope that you have enjoyed the story. It certainly grew far larger than what I had first envisaged. Originally, I just wanted to re-tell canon events that played out differently from the show. Mark was the foil for the canon characters and the means of introducing humor. Who knew that he had his own story to tell back then?
However, just because this concludes the coverage of the show arc doesn't necessarily mean the last of Mark's tales. As he said, his story has just begun.
From Airy Words:
“Most revered audience, it is because of you that these creations exist. Thank you for the patronage of your attention. We can only hope that this day will live on in your memories, for it is there that true immortality lies.”
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking this journey with us. See you next adventure!
The paperback edition of Book Three is now available. Complete your trilogy! 
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08LN5KSLN
ART CREDITS:
Royal Sisters – Frostykat13
Iron Mare & Supermare – Margony
Butterfly Wings – Xjenn9
Mark Wells, Alicorn in Flight – 1Jaz
Stats
Page generated in 0.043 seconds
Total duration
862 users online
396,952 hits today, 2,244,100 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
This was really nice.
Beautiful Goldfur. And thank you for this story.
A good story, though it went a bit too far with the herding thing for my tastes. Especially the relationship with Chrysalis was a step too far for me.
nice
Great ending for one of the best stories on this page. Can't wait to have it as printed book^^
Awesome
Sad as I am to see this end, it's ending really well.
Awesome
A good ending. A little retrospective on his part, acknowledging just how far he has come.
I really enjoyed this story. I can't wait to see what else you, Goldfur and Airy Words, might have in store for us in the future.
Some absolutely gorgeous art in this final chapter. To happy endings and new beginnings! Hip hip, HUZZAH!
Too bad, as The Merchant from Resident Evil 4 could say
"Not enough cash stranger"
So, I will have to be okay with the digital version downloaded
---------
Great final chapter, even if it's too bad that in the end their family time become a spectacle for everyone... Maybe they could do it next time in Discord home so that they can be alone.
I'm still catching up, but I can say this. I am happy that this is getting an ending, and I don't mean that in a bad way.
From what I have managed to read so far, The Princesses are back, they are dealing with the bad guys. Things seem to be coming to a close if anything.
So I am glad that this story is ending. Mark has had one hell of a journey thus far. And a good ending is always a good thing.
I look forward to reading it to its last chapter, I'm excited to see the conclusion! I am also happy that this story didn't get cancelled or never again continued.
See you at the close!
The most hilarious thing is right before and I mean RIGHT before as in I read a single story before this the two characters of the story was an earth pony and a changeling and they were doing the IRON MARE thing. It's like a cosmic set up.
I'm so freaking happy that this story is finally over.
With attention called to Pearl's bust I admit to being surprised that "Power girl" wasn't used as her super hero reference
Surprised to see this so soon.
I still think the last chapter was the best for an ending.
A look into the far future of their loved ones and memories past.
People keep saying it's a good ending and I'd agree if it was the end, at least at the time of posting there is no Complete tag yet.
If there is more coming then I can't wait to see what's next.
its a great story i for one look forward to the next arc
Should this still be marked incomplete?
A bit of a bittersweet feeling to see this story end... For now.
We had feared thy ending of this story, tis been quite the enjoyable read over this year. We thank'ith thee for yon work, and look'ith onward to yer next master piece Gold Fur.
10468456
Oh bugger off ya twat, twas a good story and no one need'ith yer thoughts on it this late.
10468572
Mine interest been piqued, could ye please give us a link to this story?
10468646
10468650
Goldfur will get that fixed after he wakes up. He’s on Melbourne, Australia time!
10468678
https://www.fimfiction.net/story/478485/mailed-male-changeling-chainmail-exchange
10468707
Aaaaah, I remember seeing this on the feature page, I'll def give it a read now!~ XD
And here we come, to the concluding chapter, of yet, another, great, work.
Maybe a relative of Spikes could get a job as a naturalist announcer?
D. Flatten Borough?
Been a great ride, will love to see more, but happy with what there is.
Wow, nice timing. Food cooked.
10468696
im in no rush he can take as much time as he wants i was just saying
Loud raucous applause from Utah
Goldfur, you've done it again! a wonderful mix of originality, storytelling and humor all rolled together into one fantastic package. I admit to jealousy, but I applaud your work. Simply Wonderful!
Now, if I can become one-tenth of what you are, I will be content. Damn covid crap in the way, though. Soon enough, I hope.
10468707
Which, much to my sadness is marked "complete".
Nice
Very nice. A fantastic story from start to finish. I look forward to your future plans.
10468640
Sorry, that was me forgetting to change the tag to Complete.
10468585
I seriously considered that, but either Power Filly sounded silly, and Power Mare is also confusing with Power Ponies. Supermare had a better ring to it.
10468572
I read that story too. It came at exactly the time that I was wondering how best to involve Allura in the family flight. Pearl was already the super-levitator. Raugos gave me his blessing to use the concept which I tweaked a bit to suit my story. Now I just need to find an artist who is good with both ponies and armor to do a picture of Iron Mare.
10469198
Darn, was hoping for more to this story. Oh well, just because it's over doesn't mean it wasn't great.
Now my "Can't wait for what's next." can just apply to whatever story comes from your flashy internet word box next.
Well, damn it's over. For now at least, amazing ride friend. Thanks for sharing.
10469523
ok just checking.
Well, it's been real and it's been fun... hey, it's even been really fun! But, even the best stories must come to a close.
So, that leaves one question... where does the next begin?
As will all good things, this book has closed (9 years of MLP:FIM) and who knows when the next will open ...
I'd kill to be able ot buy a hard cover compilation...i already have my copy of FoE, need to get a set of Project horizens now that im thinking about it too.
BOOOOOOOOKKKKSSSS *i am become bookhorse*
this story is just awesome all the way around.. thank you team for all of your righting skills.
This was a great ending to a great story, I have to say. A story with action, comedy, romance, a bit of adventure and a satisfyiing end. With your bonus points, I give this story a 14 on the (patent pending; just kidding.)
itude meter! I look forward to reading what comes next.
Fun story throughout! And such a sweet ending to it.
.
.
.
.
.
And now, the reality sets in, there will be no more chapters to this saga.
I want Trixie to call mark by his name just once
10471330
She did when she made her wedding vows...
... or you could count the time the changeling infiltrator disguised as Trixie used Mark's name. That didn't work out great for that changeling, though.
10471651
I don't remember the wedding vows one. But fair enough. You have beat me good sir
10471330
I think she did so once or twice through the story, but it means that either she really angry at him or something really bad going on and she is as serious as she could be. As I recall changeling which replaced her once made this mistake and called him by his name. And I think Mark likes the name Dowser.
Its been one heck of a ride, that's for sure.
I salute you for putting so much time and dedication into this story and making it one of my favorite stories to read in a long time.
Congrats on the amazing story and I wish you luck in your future endeavors.
Wheee! It's been a blast every step of the way. Thanks for the pony words! 😘
Wow I can't believe it is all over (for now) it has been a wonderful 2+ years, and I can hardly wait to see what comes next in the future! Thanks for giving us such a wonderful story to read, I will miss seeing it show up in my feed.
This has been a very interesting story, it was a treat to read. Thank you for sharing it with us.