CRISIS: Equestria - Bonus Chapters

by GanonFLCL

CRISIS: Equestria - Chapter 40.6

CRISIS: Equestria

Chapter Forty-and-Six-Tenths: Inamorato

Two Months Later

Hope’s Point’s surface repairs had been completed at last, and work was underway to begin expanding the city out along the coast; the changes to the world’s environment in only a few months had brought with it an influx of ponies from New Pandemonium over the land route, as the land itself was slowly starting to heal. The threat of the Gargantuans throughout the Wasteland had very suddenly dropped to such a rarity that ponies were wondering if they’d completely disappeared.

The defense shield was still taking a backseat in the repair process; it was fixed enough to be deployed in an emergency, but the process of totally repairing it was particularly rough. The saboteurs had torn apart and removed several key components that allowed the shield to go up and stay up with minimal power drain, and getting replacements wasn’t going to be easy with Pandemonium in its new, particularly paranoid state of being. Their Beacon collapsing and taking out Pandora Tower with it, only to reveal the real sky up above, had shaken things up quite a lot.

The city itself was in a particularly celebratory mood today, and most ponies had tuned in to the local news station to watch the coverage of the royal wedding. On every television screen in the city, just about, the citizens of Hope’s Point could see a news anchor—a peach earth pony mare with a purple mane wearing a snappy dress jacket—seated behind a desk addressing viewers with a big, friendly smile.

“The royal palace is booming with activity today as Her Royal Highness, Queen Blackburn, is due to be wed to her fiance, soon-to-be-King Lockwood,” the anchor said. “While Her Majesty has expressed a desire for a private ceremony, we have been allowed to provide limited coverage of the event, including a brief visit from the Queen and her new husband to show off their wedding attire and take photos before retiring to the reception.

“We go now to our stallion in the field, Brick Road. Brick?”

The image on the screen shifted to that of a dark red earth pony stallion situated at the gates of the royal palace, which were closed to the public, though that didn’t stop a cheering crowd from gathering to catch some glimpse of anything that was going on inside. The statue of Gadget and Crossfire had been decorated with white flowers, and nopony climbed on it to get a better view.

“Thank you, Peach Fuzz,” said Brick Road, the field reporter. He gestured to the crowd outside the gate. “As you can see, a large crowd has formed here at the royal palace as everypony tries to bear witness to anything or anypony they can that might be involved with the royal wedding before the ceremony begins.”

“And has anypony caught sight of anything yet, Brick?” asked Peach Fuzz, genuinely curious.

“A few witnesses say they’ve seen some guests arriving via the hidden side entrances to the palace, including members of the council, but we have no confirmation as of yet on these claims. But as you can see, Peach, the crowd is quite lively as we look forward to word that the wedding ceremony has concluded so we can get that look at Her Majesty’s wedding dress and the first public appearance of our new King.”

“Speaking of our new King, what seems to be the word on the street there about what’s happening inside? Are the ponies there as excited as we are for our Queen?”

“Well, Peach, I’ve talked to a few of these ponies and the general consensus is one of excitement and approval of Her Majesty and her choice in a husband. After news came to light of his role in helping Her Majesty with improving our city during her time spent infiltrating New Pandemonium before she took the throne, Soon-to-be-King Lockwood seems to have been met with unanimous praise and love.”

“That’s wonderful news, Brick. Keep us updated on any developments there at the royal palace.”

“Will do, Peach. Back to you in the studio.”

The image shifted back to Peach Fuzz behind a desk. “Stay tuned here folks for further news on the royal wedding as it happens. In the meantime—”

*****

The royal wedding chapel was exquisitely decorated with whites, blues, and purples. Hundreds of flowers of varying kinds lined the aisle and scented candles sat at the edges of the room, all combining to give the chapel the smell of a pleasant spring afternoon. All of the pews were packed tight with guests—friends and family only, which for somepony like Lockwood was actually quite a lot—and not a single camera crew.

The groom, Lockwood stood proud and confident as he waited for the ceremony to begin. Lockwood’s tuxedo a high collar decorated in the reds and golds of Hope’s Point, and a particularly fancy eyepatch. He didn’t wear a hat, though; he didn’t wear them in public anymore since there was no need to protect from acid rain. These days he only wore a hat when Blackburn asked while they were engaged in more… personal activities.

At Lockwood’s side were his three groomsmen: his Best Stallion and adopted brother, Thickhoof—they both knew it should’ve been Flathoof, but circumstances had certainly changed—seated in a wheelchair; Stouthoof, his adoptive father, was an obvious choice as well; Virtuoso, naturally, was there as well, seeing as he was Lockwood’s close personal friend who was pretty much responsible for bringing the bride and groom together. They were all dressed in crisp black tuxedos just like Lockwood, though without the high collars.

While Blackburn was not yet present yet, her bridesmaids were. Tick Tock was there, of course, as the lead bridesmaid; she and Lockwood had become good friends in their journey together, and naturally that meant Blackburn wanted to be good friends with her too. Ivory Charm of course was another obvious choice, for much the same reasons that Virtuoso was on Lockwood’s side. Lyrica was the third, and clearly was rather surprised and nervous to be up there, but Blackburn had few friends and clearly considered Lyrica close enough to be here. The latter two were dressed in pretty gold dresses, though Ivory’s was just a little bigger to accommodate her slightly larger belly; Tick Tock was dressed in a formal version of her uniform.

The other guests present included all the ponies that could make it here that had helped shape the lives of the royal couple over the years: an aging Solarian; Paramour—her husband and daughter were strangely absent; the entire council—Spark Plug, Avalanche, Moonglass, Cherry Tart, Lightning Flash, Stellar Storm, Concord—and their families; Cookie Dough and her husband; Doctor Heartthrob; Evening Glitz and her husband; Sweet Cream—already showing that her pregnancy was progressing along just like Ivory’s; the Tea Sisters; and Keeneye.

Shroud, who sat near the back to monitor things during the ceremony, was there as well. Blackburn had confirmed with her about what had happened and didn’t blame her for very nearly killing her; that had been Silvertongue’s doing, and with Silvertongue dead, his mental conditioning on her was effectively broken for good. The unicorn had indeed proven an astounding asset to have; Blackburn couldn’t resist stealing her from Concord, but promised the latter to find a good replacement.

There were a few guards present as well, though they were inconspicuous, hardly noticeable at all unless you knew they were beforehand.

Then, at last, the traditional Bridal Chorus played, and the crowd’s attention turned towards the chapel entrance. Tick Tock drew out her Timekeeper, flipped a small dial, and then held it up in front of her face towards the entrance; it glowed a dull green as she started recording the ceremony, expressly for her friends on Equestria-IV, who hadn’t been able to attend.

Entering the room first was the ring bearer, Shorthoof, who carried a little purple pillow with two small gold, diamond-studded earrings. He was dressed in a tight-fitting tuxedo just like his brother and father, though he was clearly just a little uncomfortable in it. Following Shorthoof were the flower fillies, Crown Jewel and Crystal Heart, each dressed in an adorable, flower-patterned gold-and-pink dress. They sprinkled flowers of every color imaginable along the path up to the altar.

Following them was the bride herself, Queen Blackburn, accompanied by Shining Steel, the only pony she had left that she could consider a father figure. Lockwood smiled brightly as the two approached the altar; Blackburn’s mouth curled in a little grin as she approached him in turn. Her wedding dress was elaborate, white-and-gold with a crown-like veil topped with various flowers; it had been designed by Haute Couture himself, though he had declined to be at the wedding—he didn’t do crowds, he said.

Once Blackburn reached the altar and Shining Steel took his seat, the music stopped and the officiator addressed the crowd. “Friends, family, and compatriots, we are gathered here today to bear witness to the union between these two, Queen Blackburn and Lockwood, in matrimony. If anypony can show just cause why these two should not be lawfully joined together, let them speak now or forever hold their peace.”

Neither Blackburn or Lockwood expected a single peep out the crowd in attendance.

So naturally, they were very surprised when two figures stepped in through the chapel entrance and made a commotion.

“I object!” yelled one of the two.

Blackburn immediately turned. She knew that voice anywhere. “No…”

“So do I!” yelled the other.

Lockwood turned as well, recognizing the second voice just as instantly. “What the—”

To the surprise of everypony in the crowd—except for Tick Tock, who had a wide, mischievous smile on her face; Shroud, who merely tilted her head knowingly then turned her attention back to her datapad; and Stellar Storm, who winked at Tick Tock—turned and gaped at the new arrivals:

Briarthorn and Flathoof, respectively.

The two stallions were dressed in snappy tuxedos that matched those of the other groomsmen, and approached the altar with smug smiles. The former looked healthier than Blackburn remembered him being; the redness in his eyes was practically gone and he walked with a certain sobriety she hadn’t seen since they were very young. The latter filled out his tuxedo tightly, like he’d been poured into it; apparently the tux had been made on his old measurements and he’d gained some muscle since then and hadn’t told anpony.

Murmurs spread through the crowd at the surprise; this had to be an illusion, or something along those lines. Right?

The officiator cleared his throat to quiet the crowd. “Ahem? And what is your objection, sirs?”

Flathoof made to speak, but Briarthorn beat him to the punch, natch. “Pshaw, everypony knows these two lovebirds can’t just go through a wedding, tie the knot, or, for that matter, get hitched all willy-nilly-like. Not without us here, they can’t, no sir! But now, we’re here, so now, the show can go on!” He turned to Flathoof for approval. “Right?”

Flathoof rolled his eyes. “Right.” He looked briefly to Lockwood. “We’ll talk after you’re King Lockwood, eh?”

Lockwood nodded, a dumb smile on his face. “Yeah… yeah, sure.”

Blackburn shot a look at Tick Tock, whose shit-eating grin was easily noticeable. “You… you did this. Explain. Now.”

Tick Tock tilted her head out from behind her Timekeeper, giving Blackburn a coy wink. “Hey, listen, I know wedding presents are supposed to be saved for after the ceremony, but there was no bloody way I was gonna make these two wait that long.”

“But what are they doing here?”

“Oh, I called in a little favor with Time Turner. Since these two are originally from this world anyway, I was able to get them a temporary ‘vacation’, we’ll call it, so they could attend your wedding. Couldn’t do the same with Twilight and company, obviously, hence why I’m recording this. Smile, by the way.”

The Timekeeper gave a little flash of green light and made a loud CLICK.

Blackburn snorted, then turned to Briarthorn and Flathoof. “Well? Don’t just stand there, take some seats!”

The two saluted and, in unison, said, “Right away, Your Majesty!” They then moved down to find the seats that had been set aside for them near the front—Blackburn hadn’t noticed the empty seats until just now.

The officiator cleared his throat again. “May we get back to business, fillies and gentlecolts?”

Blackburn turned to him and nodded. “Get on with it, then.”

“Right. So… from the top. Ahem! Friends, family, and compatriots, we are gathered here today to bear witness to the union between these two, Queen Blackburn and Lockwood, in matrimony. If anypony can show just cause why these two should not be lawfully joined together, let them speak now or forever hold their peace.”

Nopony said anything this time.

The officiator then turned to the couple.
“Let me not to the marriage of true minds

Admit impediments. Love is not love

Which alters when it alteration finds,

Or bends with the remover to remove.

O no! it is an ever-fixed mark

That looks on tempests and is never shaken;

It is the star to every wand’ring bark,

Whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken.

Love's not Time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks

Within his bending sickle’s compass come;

Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,

But bears it out even to the edge of doom.

If this be error and upon me prov’d,

I never writ, nor no pony ever lov’d.”

He then turned to Blackburn. “I understand the two of you wrote your own vows?”

“We did,” Blackburn said with a nod.

“Then you may read them now.”

Blackburn cleared her throat looking deep into Lockwood’s good eye, and recited from memory: “It is clear to me now that everything in my life has led me to you. I think back on all my choices and consider even the bad ones blessed, because if I had done even one thing differently, I might never have met you and become entwined in your life. As we join our lives together let us vow to live in truth, to always communicate fully, to hold each other against the wind, to feel our hearts joined as one. To you I give myself and everything I will ever be.”

Lockwood smiled, then took a breath of his own as he, too, gazed into Blackburn’s eyes as he recited from memory: “Sometimes I watch just the smallest things you do and think I am the luckiest stallion alive. From you I've learned how to dream and what it is to have a loving partner who supports your dreams. I vow to help you in your dreams and desires; to watch over your city, to guide your flock and to create a life, a family, and a loving home as your husband. As your husband, I am yours, and I tenderly deliver you my heart and soul.”

He finished it off by getting down and performing their special gesture. Blackburn smiled back at him, taking his offered wing with her own.

The officiator nodded, then turned towards Shorthoof. “May we now have the rings?”

Shorthoof hurried forward between the couple, who each took one earring with a hoof.

The officiator turned to Lockwood first. “Lockwood, as you place the ring on Blackburn’s ear, please repeat after me: I give you this ring to wear—”

Lockwood reached up and began affixing the earring to Blackburn’s ear. “I give you this ring to wear—”

“—as a symbol of my abiding love—”

“—as a symbol of my abiding love—”

“—my eternal faith, and my undying devotion—”

“—my eternal faith, and my undying devotion—”

“—it is an outward reminder of our inner unity.”

“—it is an outward reminder of our inner unity.”

The officiator then turned to Blackburn, and asked her to do the same for Lockwood: “Your Majesty Queen Blackburn, as you place the ring on Lockwood’s ear, please repeat after me—”

She followed along exactly as Lockwood had done, and now the two each had a gold-and-diamond earring in their ears.

The officiator then smiled. “Then, by the authority vested in me by the city of Hope’s Point, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Your Majesty King Lockwood, you may kiss the bride.”

Lockwood smirked, and stepped forward to wrap Blackburn in a hug as he kissed her lovingly.

*****

Once the wedding ceremony had completed and the King and Queen made their first, albeit brief, public appearance as a married couple, the reception began immediately in the royal palace’s grand dining hall, which was decorated for the occasion much as the chapel had been: in whites, blues, and purples. Several dozen round tables had been set up for the guests and their friends and families; the seating arrangements had naturally been adjusted—without Blackburn or Lockwood’s knowledge, of course—to allow the newest surprise guests a seat at the bride and groom’s table.

Food and drink was of course provided, and the royal coffers had been generously used to provide options for everypony present in multiple varieties. For some ponies here, this would be their first chance to try Baroque, Newhaven, or Utopian cuisine; Blackburn had even arranged for some zebra cuisine to be present, having enjoyed it during the brief stay she and Lockwood had tried while in Zeb’ra’den. There was food enough for everypony, and the leftovers were helpfully being donated to the city’s charity efforts.

Blackburn very carefully had things arranged so that she wouldn’t be served any alcohol, but that the guests would think she was. Simply placing non-alcoholic drinks into alcoholic bottles that were marked specifically for her consumption was easy enough to do.

Blackburn and Lockwood’s table consisted of the two of them seated together; on Blackburn’s left were, in order, Briarthorn, then Tick Tock; on Lockwood’s right were, in order, Flathoof, then Pewter. Their table had only been originally intended to be for four: the royal couple with Tick Tock and Pewter, who had no other guests to share a table with; it had been a kind gesture of the royal couple’s part, making sure their friends weren’t left out.

Naturally, however, most of the time the royal couple used was conversing with their two friends back for today and today only, rather than enjoying the meals provided or conversing with Tick Tock and Pewter; there’d be time for that another day.

“Still can’t believe this,” Blackburn mumbled, shaking her head. “Hate surprises, Tick Tock, you know that.”

Lockwood smirked and leaned back in his seat. “Yeah, same. Y’know, of all the things that were going to happen today, this was one thing I did not expect. It wasn’t even on my list of a hundred-and-one things that could happen, and that’s bad or good stuff.”

Tick Tock scuffed her hoof against her vest, obviously pleased with herself. “Yeah, I figured you’d like my wedding present, Your Majesty. It took some planning and a lot of sneakiness, what with having to secretly get in contact with your security teams and personal secretary so that neither of you would know, and so nopony, y’know, bloody well shot these two goofballs when they came barging in.”

Briarthon scoffed. “Please, Tickity, the guards around here surely recognized my gorgeous face from a mile away.”

Tick Tock blinked. “So, like I said, I had to make sure you didn’t get shot.”

“Oof, ouch, that stings,” Briarthorn chortled, hoof over his heart. “Admit it, my sublimey limey, you miss having me around.”

Tick Tock shared a brief look with Pewter. “Sorry, Briarthorn, I’ve already got a stallion in my life. You’re not even my second choice. Or my third. Or fourth.”

He laughed his unoffended, easy laugh. “Well then, what do you figure my place in line actually is?””

Tick Tock shook her head in gentle exasperation. “Like a distant… distant five-hundredth.”

To no one’s surprise, Briarthorn waggled his eyebrows. “So you’re saying there’s a chance?”

Tick Tock rolled her eyes tolerantly, and let the roll drift over to Pewter.

Briarthorn followed her gaze to look at Pewter now, a curious smile on his face. “Aha, choice number one. So, you’re Obsidian’s son, eh? You certainly have the look… though you’re not as big as I remember the old mountain stallion being described. You’re like… mountain-lite. Diet mountain. Would that be a hill? Are hills diet mountains?”

Pewter shrugged. “I think if you actually knew my father, you’d know that he wasn’t really as big as everypony says he was. Bigger than your everyday average stallion, sure, but not ‘big as a house’ big. Big drinker though, I’ll say that much. Maybe that’s where the rumors started? Ponies figured somepony that could outdrink Kings Flashfire and Stormchaser must be a giant or something?”

“Hmm.. maybe.” Briarthorn leaned in, his smile widening. “So… you and Tick Tock, huh? How’s that working out for you two?”

Pewter made to speak, but Tick Tock spoke first: “It’s working out great, but you’re not here to talk about my love life, featherbrain.” She gestured towards Blackburn and Lockwood. “You’re here for them, eh?”

Briarthorn chuckled and shrugged. “Fair enough!”

Blackburn turned to Flathoof first. “Enjoying time with Applejack, I take it?”

“Definitely,” Flathoof said with a small grin. “Y’know, I finally got a chance to try apples over there? They’re… well, they’re probably the best thing I’ve ever tasted. Applejack knows every kind of different apple dish, too. Let’s see if I can remember.”

He looked at the ceiling and closed his eyes. “There’s apple pie, apple tarts, apple juice, apple fritters, caramel apples, candied apples, apple cider—”

Briarthorn gestured grandly when Flathoof mentioned the cider. “Oooh! Yes yes yes, the apple cider. Queenie, I know you’ve never tried it before, and neither had I, but like… hear me out, okay? I don’t know if it’s just the new lifestyle talking or what, but I’ve found myself a new drink.”

Blackburn eyed him suspiciously. “Really? Is it that good?”

“Like heaven in a mug, my sweet, sweet Blackburn, like heaven in a mug. Now, I’ve tried lots of brands, too, but AJ’s family makes the best. Nothing helps me unwind after a long day than a nice mug of Apple Clan apple cider, no sir. Listen to me, I’m advertising for them to somepony that’ll never get a chance to try it. That’s how good it is.”

“Huh… well, just don’t overdo it. No need to drink to excess anymore.”

“Oh no, of course not. I’m slowly weening myself off the harder stuff and even cutting down on the weaker stuff, too, but a mug at night to soothe the nerves is a perfectly acceptable, appropriate, and dare I say commendable amount of progress.”

“And you drink to relax after work? What do you do now?”

“Just a couple of part-time gigs,” Briarthorn said with a smile. “I’m officially on Rainbow’s little weather team, but only when she needs reserves for big-time storms and stuff. Otherwise, I signed up with the Wonderbolts as an instructor, just waiting on a reply. I always did have a knack for teaching, right?”

“Rainbow always made them sound like a pretty exclusive club,” Lockwood noted. “I take it she can’t get you any pull?”

“Well she’s not exactly a member of the team or anything, just a cadet at this point. Still don’t get that, by the by,” Briarthorn said, shaking his head. “I’ve seen that mare fly and boy howdy, let me tell ya, she’s a shoe-in if I’ve ever saw one. I mean, she’s no Blue Blitz, but I think your mom would’ve liked her.”

“Hmmm, well, don’t expect trouble for you,” Blackburn said with a nod. She turned back to Flathoof. “So, you work with Applejack on her farm, I take it? Your figure has improved from last we saw you; farmwork does wonders for your physique.”

“I’ll say,” Lockwood whistled, poking Flathoof’s muscled barrel. “You’ve always been a big guy, but sheesh, Flathoof, you look like you’ve put on about twenty pounds of muscle. I’m impressed.”

Flathoof sheepishly rubbed his chin. “Yeah, well, I’m still nothing compared to AJ’s big brother, Macintosh. That guy’s got me beat like you wouldn’t believe.”

“Yeah, ol’ Big Mac is built like a house,” Briarthorn chimed in. “Probably had to eat a dang house to get that big. And a barn, too, roof and all.”

“Yeah, so… life’s going pretty well where we are,” Flathoof said, scratching his chin. “But how about you two? Besides the wedding, of course, how are things going? I heard the city got trashed during that attack, but it looks like you’ve got everything all rebuilt.”

“We have,” Blackburn said with a polite nod, not smiling. “Would rather not talk further on subject. This is a happy occasion.”

“Right, right, of course.” Flathoof looked between the two, then smiled. “So hey… we never really had a chance to talk about how you two got together.”

“It’s a… rather long story,” Lockwood said with a smirk. “But without Twilight here I don’t think we can really go over the whole thing in the time you have left—”

“Plus these two lovebirds need to get going on their honeymoon,” Briarthorn added. “Y’know, get working on that heir we were talking about. The heir your budding monarchy needs, right, Queenie? Heir today, gone tomorrow? Gotta get a handle on that love, you feel me?” His voice was light, but he locked eyes with Blackburn.

Lockwood gripped Blackburn’s hoof under the table. They hadn’t told anyone that they were already progressing well along that front; Blackburn began to roll her eyes at her odd friend, but she stopped when she saw him staring deep into her eyes with genuine happiness. It was for her and Lockwood.

A sudden realization swept through her mind as the pieces clicked into place. A trainer for the Wonderbolts. The one-pony smuggler team. Aerodynamics were his life, even now. He’d had an eye for flight, and an eye for pony figures, pegasus or not. She thought she’d fit her wedding dress just right to hide the burgeoning proof that she was already expecting: nopony else had noticed, she was sure of that. Just as she was sure now that Briarthorn definitely knew. And, rather than confront her on her secret, he’d done what he did best and hid his insight under that lothario mask she’d given him all those years ago.

Blackburn shook her head, breaking the moment before it went on too long. “Change is hard for you, isn’t it, Briar?” Her shoulders shrugged, her grin was wry, but she let her eyes show Briarthorn her elation.

He chuckled. “Hard like the cider I need to stop drinking. Not impossible. But it’s damn good cider.”

Tick Tock cleared her throat.

Briarthorn sighed theatrically. “Right, memories. You got a fix, Tickety?”

Her voice edged on a slow pride. “Well, I might not be Twilight Sparkle, but I learned a thing or two over the six years I was trapped in a time loop trying to save all your bloody arses. It’s not as precise, but I think I can do it to a rather simple degree.”

“How simple are we talking here?” Lockwood asked.

“Well, when Twilight did it, it was a total memory transfer, everything that happened to her and her friends from the moment she started on the path of coming to our world from theirs. And I do mean everything: private thoughts, emotions, dreams, all of it. Gryphon magic is quite powerful, and Twilight isn’t exactly a slouch. Now, I don’t quite have that kind of precision power, but I can let you share a few key moments, if you’d like.”

“So… they’d see what, exactly?”

“Well, they’d have a sort of… let’s say ‘objective’ viewpoint. They’d be seeing it like an outsider, not like they’re really there. And they’d only see the moments that you deem necessary to show, so no violations of privacy.”

Blackburn pondered this, then nodded. “Acceptable. Proceed.”

“Unicorn magic really is convenient, isn’t it?” Lockwood chuckled. “Saves us a lot of talking.”

Tick Tock lit her horn briefly, and enshrouded Blackburn, Lockwood, Briarthorn, and Flathoof in a dim green glow; their eyes glowed a very dull white for all of a few seconds. Then, the spell was done, and they returned to normal.

Flathoof gave Lockwood a very stern look, then reached over and wrapped Lockwood in a stiff headlock. “You jerk!”

“Wha-hey!” Lockwood exclaimed. “Flathoof, what—”

“You had me running around the damn city for months looking for the ponies that mugged you, you colossal ass. Was that really the best excuse you could come up with? Huh? Muggers?”

“In my defense, it wasn’t my idea,” Lockwood said, holding up his hooves defensively as he struggled in Flathoof’s grip. “That was all Virtuoso’s idea. He didn’t know you were a cop-in-training and would actually try to do something about it, y’know? I couldn’t exactly tell him that about you.”

Briarthorn laughed. “So it was our own Secretary of Commerce and Trade that was the mob boss you were bamboozling all that time, Queenie? Color me surprised, I thought we just lucked out to get somepony that knew a thing or two about money matters and happened to be a friend of yours. But a former mob boss? Wow. Just wow.”

“For what it’s worth, though… I’m glad to see that all the lies really were for a good reason, little bro,” Flathoof sighed, releasing the headlock and putting a hoof to Lockwood’s shoulder. “I mean, after seeing you two together I knew there was a real connection there, but… well, I’m glad to see just how deep that connection goes.”

“I didn’t know you’d been so close with… Gadget and Crossfire,” Briarthorn said, his expression souring a little. “I’ll admit, we were friends, but really that’s just because me and Queenie were dating. You were friends with them before you and her got together…” He turned to Blackburn and gave her a small, sad smile. “Still… I’m glad to see that at least part of your motivation for what you did to me—and I do forgive you, Queenie—was because you found Lockwood.”

Blackburn nodded stiffly. “Never meant to hurt you, Briar. Couldn’t justify my feelings for Lockwood while with you… wish I’d made a different choice, sometimes… but—”

“Please, Blackburn, it’s all in the past now. I’ve got my life back on track now, someplace where I can relax and enjoy it for longer than I would have ever had here, even without the Diffusion deal.”

Blackburn smiled very slightly. “I’m happy that it worked out that way…”

This time, Lockwood saw the look Blackburn and Briarthorn were sharing, and he bowed his head slightly with his always enviable sincerity. For a moment, Blackburn could have sworn she saw the pinprick of tears in the goldenrod pegasus’ eyes even as he was smiling with real warmth.

Then he inhaled deeply. “So!” he said with an all-too-familiar flourish. “Sooo! I noticed that you skipped the juicy details,” Briarthorn huffed, hooves behind his head, the conspiratorial grin he always shared while making a public ass of himself sitting wide and fake on his face. “C’mon, Queenie, I think if anypony deserves to know—”

Blackburn made a show of kicking him under the table, loudly stretching and thumping the underside of the table as she made the barest contact with his leg. A fake effort to distance himself deserved an equally fake show of punishment.

He grabbed his own leg dramatically. “Ow! Sheesh, Queenie, are you trying to break my leg or something here? Geez laweez—”

“If I were any closer, I’d kick you too,” Flathoof snorted. “I love my brother, but I don’t need to have a mental image of him and my sister-in-law in bed together, thanks.”

“C’mon now, that’s not what I meant, pshaw,” Briarthorn dismissed, waving his hoof. “I meant more like, even the things involving me were fairly tame and Blackburn could tell you—”

Now he needed real incentive to shut up. Blackburn kicked him again. This time for real, and hard. “Ahem!”

He yelped and grabbed at his leg no less dramatically, but actively winced this time. “Yeowch! Sorry! Sorry. Still getting my mind-gutters clean. It’s not all out of my system. Yet. Ow. Sorry.”

“He knows Twilight’s not into that kind of stuff so he’s trying to bring himself ‘down’, so to speak,” Flathoof noted with a grin. “I’m still saying he’s barking up the wrong tree. Twilight’s one-and-only love is a good book as far as I’ve seen.”

“Speaking of, how are Twilight and the others?” Lockwood asked.

“Not a lot new to discuss, actually. Rainbow’s still training to be a Wonderbolt, Fluttershy’s still got her veterinarian service…” Flathoof grinned and leaned over to Lockwood. “She’s over you, by the way. I think she’s got eyes for somepony else now, but nopony knows who, except maybe Rarity.”

“Huh, well… that makes me feel better,” Lockwood said with a nod.

“Rarity’s working on a bunch of new designs inspired by her trip here… visits Zecora a lot these days. Pinkie’s still… Pinkie, heh.”

“And Twilight’s on some sort of super secret assignment from Princess Celestia,” Briarthorn said with a proud smile. “Something about her idol Starswirl or something. She’s gonna start working on it over the weekend. By the way, did she ever tell you guys she has a dragon for a personal assistant?”

“She mentioned it a few times, yeah,” Lockwood said, quirking an eyebrow. “How’s that work anyway? Her place must be huge to hold a dragon in it.”

“No no no, Spike’s like a baby dragon. Or more like a... kid? Foal? ‘Cause he’s not like in diapers or anything. He’s a pretty cool little guy, actually.”

The reception continued as was to be expected: wedding gifts were given; toasts were made; the cake was cut; and, of course, Blackburn tossed her bouquet; Tick Tock caught it, giving Pewter a fairly obvious wink in the process, though everypony was rather unconcerned though amused that she’d clearly cheated with her magic to do so—most of the other mares present were already married, after all, or weren’t even dating anypony. After that, everypony said their goodbyes.

Briarthorn was easy enough, giving both Blackburn and Lockwood big, friendly hugs and reminding them of the promise they’d made to him before he left to Twilight’s world all those months ago. Again, the royal couple shared discreet, knowing glances at one another, glad that they’d kept their night in Zeb’ra’den a secret from him; he’d never let them hear the end of it if they did.

Flathoof, as far as the royal couple was concerned, was also a simple affair, but he then had to take a good portion of time to say proper goodbyes to his family, as he hadn’t been able to before. It served to give him, and them, proper closure.

He was glad to hear that, thanks to Hope’s Point’s advances with prosthetics, Thickhoof was scheduled to have surgery to repair his legs; he’d be able to walk again by the end of the year.

He was thrilled to hear that Pattycake was training under somepony to become a proper baker—strongly implied to be Cookie Dough herself—and would eventually try to open her own business. Cookie Dough had made the wedding cake, after all, and had done so with her new apprentice’s help.

Shortcake and Shorthoof were particularly clingy on him as he was getting ready to leave. His mother fussed with him about his new fillyfriend and nagged him about not being able to meet her grandchildren; Flathoof tactfully declined to answer whether he and Applejack were even considering such a thing, and easily deflected the question towards Lockwood, who was actually married now; Lockwood, of course, assured them it wouldn’t be long.

Shorthoof, of course, was not ready to say goodbye to his oldest brother, but did so with as much tact and togetherness as he could muster.

Stouthoof, as expected, gave his son a grunt and a hoofshake, wished him luck, and said little else, and Flathoof did the same right back. Anypony who knew them knew that it was a prime display of the love they had together; they didn’t need more than that.

Tick Tock, before Flathoof left, made sure to entrust to him a little device that, she explained, would let Twilight and her friends view the recording she’d taken. Her instructions were a little complicated, but she assured him that Time Turner could help make sure it was done properly; since Flathoof and Time Turner were on good terms—the latter took it upon himself to maintain Flathoof’s prosthetic limb—it wouldn’t be difficult to manage.

Photographers—both official ones for the event and Tick Tock, for her personal collection—took a few opportune moments to capture the royal couple and their guests, of course; a wedding without wedding photos wasn't a real wedding, after all.

And, once the last of the guests had left, Blackburn and Lockwood were allowed to be alone, and were allowed to head up to the royal bedchambers to, in Briarthorn’s words, “consummate their marriage”. On that, they hadn’t denied anything.

Comments

[So_Many_Wonders]

Ok but who is Virtuoso my mind is drawing blanks.

[GanonFLCL]

10669416
Looks to me like you must've missed the prequel story! While not strictly required reading by any means, it does introduce that particular character.

[My name is R]

He didn’t wear a hat, though; he didn’t wear them in public anymore since there was no need to protect from acid rain.

Aw. No more fedora?

Blackburn very carefully had things arranged so that she wouldn’t be served any alcohol, but that the guests would think she was.

That's a bit odd. Is there a specific reason, or just to keep up appearances? Cause it seems a bit much.

reminding them of the promise they’d made to him before he left to Twilight’s world all those months ago.

Ah yes, all three of them.

It's been bothering me. I recognize Blackburn, Lockwood, Flathoof and Ticker, but who's the unicorn stallion? And the yellow pegasus for that matter?

[GanonFLCL]

11435791
The unicorn is Pewter, from Goldridge; the pegasus is Briarthorn.

[My name is R]

11435808
Okay. I thought it might be Pewter, but I wasn't sure. And since I thought the yellow pegasus was a mare I never considered Briar.