Fighting Freedom

I woke up rather late the next morning, and my stomach wasn't feeling any better. I got out of the bed, and scratched my head. When he heard noises from the room, Rivet trotted inside.

"Good to see you're awake sir. Shall I fetch something from the kitchens?"

"That would be appreciated. Something light if you would."

Rivet nodded and said,

"May I suggest using the shower sir? Today is a rather special day if you recall."

Right the so called ceremony. I waved Rivet off, and he left me alone. Regardless of how I felt, I decided that a shower would be for the best. There was a door to the side of my bed that I had not noticed before, and I went through it. I was rewarded with a very large pool in the floor. At one end of the pool, several spouts went out at different heights. I stripped off my clothes, and stepped into the pool. It was delightfully warm, and I felt all my stress from the past few days melt away. I could've laid in there forever, but I decided that wasn't the best idea.

After one of the most refreshing showers I have ever had, I went back into my room. The next time I looked, the door to the pool had disappeared. Rivet had put a plate of biscuits and cheese on the bed, and I ate them greedily. The food did nothing to calm my stomach though, and it was starting to get on my nerves. Rivet came back into the room and said,

"The ceremony will begin soon sir. I would advise getting dressed."

I did so, and I felt very posh in my tux. I wasn't a very big fan of it though. It was restricting, and I felt like I was being squeezed. Especially in certain lower areas. I always preferred loose clothing, but not the kind that would hang past my body. I looked myself over in the mirror, and was disappointed. The formal look never suited me. It would have to do though, seeing as I didn't have a razor. When I was done, Rivet led me out of the room.

We descended the stairs and walked through a labyrinth of passageways. Rivet seemed to be staying closer than usual, almost as if he expected something to happen. Then again, after the way I acted yesterday, he was probably on edge. We walked into a small room and Rivet turned to face me.

"We shall wait here sir. The reception begins in 15 minutes. After that the ceremony will begin. It would please me sir if you allowed me to be by your side for the entire day."

I merely nodded at him and took a seat on a bench. Rivet stood still in front of me as we waited. I didn't really have much of a plan for this. I had merely planned on how to get Rarity inside the castle. Then again, I wasn't sure if there was a right way to do this. I tried to keep my mind off stressful things as I waited. By the end of the 15 minutes my head was in my hands. Rivet nudged me with a hoof when it was time for me to get up.

I walked through a door and into the main hall. The normally empty room was now packed with furniture. The throne had been taken away, and several large tables were pushed against the wall. Benches went in rows leaving an isle down the middle. A ridiculous amount of food was on the tables. From plain apples to éclairs. I don't think there is a treat that wasn't on the tables. The biggest one by far, was a huge whit cake. It had 5 layers and towered above me. I couldn't even see the top of the thing. I assumed that it was the wedding cake.

And that was when it hit me. I should've noticed it earlier, but somehow I had missed it. The ceremony that I had been hearing about was a wedding. The mares in town had mentioned a cake, and the masseurs had been talking about me, wondering if I was ready. That could only mean that I was marrying someone today. Surprise!

I think I would've taken it better if there had been someone to jump out and say that. I wasn't freaking out too much though. I think I handled it very well actually. The only problem was why there was a wedding in the first place. My brain was starting to hurt trying to figure everything out. I nearly just gave up and grabbed something to drink. Why would someone need me to get married? It just didn't make any sense. I was also quite curious as to who I was apparently making very lucky.

Rivet was still standing close to me, but far enough away to give me some space. He really was on edge today. His eyes kept shifting all over the room, watching bakers place things on the table. I thought his neck was going to crack because he was moving it so much. I walked right next to him and whispered,

"So the wedding huh?"

"What about it sir?"

"Just wondering about your opinion."

"Well I offer my congratulations sir. We all knew this was a long time coming though sir. After all your father has wanted this for quite some time."

An arranged marriage then? Well a fake arranged marriage. This web of confusingness was starting to become too big.

"So what do you think of her?"

I assumed it was a her anyway. I mean I can't say for sure, but I wasn't aware of the whole same sex thing in Equestria. I doubted they were against it, but you never know.

"Well honestly sir? She's beautiful in my eyes, but I'm not sure about you. After all you aren't the same species. I personally wouldn't partake in such a relation, but I have no judgment to pass. Although on a side note, if I'm to be honest, the physical differences seem a bit much."

"Well the right equipment seems to be there. I mean kids are most likely a no, but adoption is always an option."

I will never ever want kids. Never. Of course at the time, I wasn't really sure what I wanted. I only knew what Rarity had told me. I couldn't remember much of anything anymore. All I had left was some information. I was pretty much a blank slate, I didn't know what I wanted.

"Well sir, to say as you said, your equipment may not be sufficient."

"I take offense to that, I think."

"Sir, I think I just want to avoid thinking about it."

"Good point Rivet."

We were standing at the back of the room, simply watching ponies walk around the room. Bakers would place food on the table, and then walk through a side door. I wondered what they had been told about the wedding. After all I was the groom, and I had no idea.

While we waited, a mare baker walked up to the table and placed some regular apples down. Her coat was a very striking red, and her mane a bright orange. She looked around, spotted me, and walked up to me. Rivet stood in between us and said,

"Yes ma'am?"

She looked at me and said, "Silver it's me."

Her mane was very similar to Rarity's, but deciding that there was never a time to not tease, I said,

"Well hello me, I'm Silver, but you already knew that."

She huffed at me and turned around. I chuckled a little as I pushed pass Rivet and put a hand on her back.

"I was only teasing. I thought your illusions wouldn't fool the princesses."

She examined her tail with sadness in her eyes and said,

"This is no illusion. I had no choice but to dye my coat a new color."

"I'd say it fits you… but that would be a lie. You don't have the temper to be so fiery."

She just glared at me and said,

"I thought you would appreciate me getting in here like this. If we weren't at a wedding darling, I would show you just how fiery my temper can be.”

"That sounds like a challenge."

Rivet got my attention and said,

"Sorry sir, but you need to get on the podium now. The ceremony will soon begin."

I looked back at Rarity and said,

"If something goes wrong…"

"I'm not going to leave a friend dear."

"What? No. I want you to grab me, and get out of here."

She just huffed, walked away, and said nothing else. She walked through a door that the rest of the bakers had went through. Rivet walked with me towards the front of the main hall while saying,

"Remember sir, if something should catch your attention, do not hesitate to leave. If you think your safety is in danger, then get me. I shall be right next to you the entire time. I'm sure your father will understand if the ceremony goes wrong."

"Calm down man. If you're all stressed out, how are you going to enjoy this?"

"I'll enjoy it when it's over sir."

"Been a pleasure knowing you Rivet."

"Sir?"

"Marriage changes a man Rivet. Some more than others."

"Sir while life will be very busy for you from now on, I'm sure you'll find a way to be you."

We reached the podium, and I stood there with a grim look on my face.

"I'm not so sure."

I waited on the podium with Rivet close at hand. If things went bad, it would be nice to have him with me. I really wanted to sit down myself, my stomach would just not settle down. I was also tempted to grab some food really quick. Finally some fanfare started up, but at that point I was really only half there. I had made the mistake of looking at the food tables, and I was stuck looking at them. Rivet poked me with a hoof, and pushed my head forward. In comparison to all that food, I wasn't impressed.

Down the aisle came the two princesses. Celestia was draped in a gold and white dress, and Luna was in a dark blue and silver dress. They walked towards me, Celestia smiling slightly at everyone. Luna was the embodiment of stoicism. He face did not change at all, but was left in a frown. When they reached me, they both walked to the other side of the podium.

Celestia stood across from me, with Luna behind her. An ancient stallion stood between us and coughed loudly.

"As the elder scribe, it pleases me to announce this unification. Princess Celestia, daughter of King Terra, and Prince Silver, son of King Solaris."

I stood there and braced myself for the long speech. As he listed off names and titles I became sleepy. All these things had no meaning to the man who had no memory. They sounded impressive sure, but what of them?

"If at this time the rings could be presented."

Rivet walked out with a box in one hoof. After he nudged me, I took it from him. I opened it, revealing two golden bracelets. One lifted out of the box via Celestia's magic. I took the other out, and the box was taken from me. I held the bracelet in my hand, and examined it closely. It just seemed to be a golden loop, not even any engravings. I already had a bracelet on my left arm, and no matter what I did, it wouldn't come off.

The ancient stallion continued to drone on, and I was getting even more tired. Eventually I was able to pull off a special technique of mine. At the time I was unaware I had a skill for it, but it worked just the same. I fell asleep standing, with my eyes open. Of course, closer inspection would reveal my state easily. I was awoken from my state by something grabbing my arm. I looked down to see Celestia holding my arm up, and slipping the bracelet on. When she was finished, Rivet nudged me again. I picked up her right foreleg, and slipped the loop on. She put her leg back down and the bracelet surprisingly stayed on.

"With these never-ending bands, a never-ending promise is made. If there is anything to be said, now is the time."
The bracelets glowed a slight gold, before settling down. I held up a hand and said,

"I would actually like to say something."

Both Luna's and Celestia's eyes narrowed and stared at me. I motioned for Celestia to come closer, and I put my mouth next to her ear.

"Are you the one who wiped my mind?"

Her eyes got even narrower, but she nodded slightly. I felt a slight energy building above my head, and I pulled away from her. I smiled at the stallion and said,

"I'm good now."

He nodded at me and then said,

"If noone else wishes to speak out, then you may make good on the promise."

I looked at Celestia for one last time. She looked back at me, her eyes sparkling. Looking deeply into them, I could swear I could see something in her pupils. A small diamond enclosed in a golden circle. However, before I could get distracted, I acted. I felt the energy cease to build, and assumed it reached its max. As the energy dispersed, I lunged forward and kissed the princess deeply. I felt the energy disperse, and I mentally grinned as it passed by me.

Kissing Celestia was a lot weirder than kissing Rarity. Rarity's lips were at least somewhat shaped like mine, and contact could easily be established and maintained. Celestia on the other hand was much bigger than Rarity. Her head was elongated, and her mouth was too. Her lips were much bigger than mine and were pretty much non-compatible. There was no tongue action, but the action of just kissing the princess felt weird enough.

The kiss only lasted a few seconds, but apparently Celestia's breath had been taken away. As I had hoped, she seemed to have forgotten all about her misfired spell. As we pulled away, Celestia looked at me through satisfied eyes. There was some clopping in the background, but it wasn't very loud. Made sense as there was only 5 people in the room, well 1 person and 4 ponies. Rivet was watching all the doors anxiously, and Luna still wore a frown. The ancient stallion seemed to be smiling, but his white hair covered his face. All in all, it was a pretty shitty ceremony. I couldn't really bring myself to care though, because all the food came next.

Celestia pulled me aside and we walked down the aisle of empty benches.

"I know we didn't get to have a big ceremony, but as you know, circumstances were against us. However, I was thinking that we save the reception for another time. We can have more guests, and a proper ceremony."

Rivet was a few feet behind us, but he followed regardless.

"Would that mean missing the food?"

Celestia let out a twinkling laugh.

"Stomach first as usual Silver?"

"You know me."

I said that, and I meant it literally. She really did know me better than I did. Especially if she thought her newest spell had made contact.

"Well we won't get to dine on this special feast, but I'll have something from the kitchens sent up later."

That was disappointing to hear. I was really hungry, and my stomach was making that fact known painfully. We walked through a few doors and corridors, but I hadn't been paying attention. Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I had been seeing a fiery pony shadowing us. Celestia walked through a final door, but Rivet held me back.

"As the final part of the wedding, I shall remain outside this door. If anything bad should happen, just call me. If you think you are in danger, just shout."

"Why aren't you coming with me?"

"Because its the final part sir. That would be indecent."

"What exactly is the last part of the wedding?"

"Well as tradition goes, the newlyweds copulate."

My eyebrows shot up and I exclaimed,

"WHAT?"

Rivet just pushed me through the door and slammed it closed. I looked ahead at the room and gulped. In the silence, the sound of my throat was rather loud. I was looking at a small square room, with only a few pieces of furniture in it. The first thing I noticed was a rather large bed against the wall. The next thing I noticed was a folding curtain thing on one side of the room. Celestia's dress was hung up over it. I assumed she was changing behind there, and I looked for an escape route. There was a window covered by shades, but a look outside of it made my face droop. There was nothing to land on below it except for the far away lake.

I turned around to see a thin white thread going through the door towards the folded curtain. I investigated it, but I was pushed back when I tried to look.

A twinkling laugh came from behind it and she said,

"No peeking. Why don't you just lie on the bed and wait?"

Seeing as I had no other options, I did just that. I laid back on the bed, surprised at how comfortable it was. Just the right medium between firm and soft. I waited there for a little bit, and might have even fell asleep.

"Oooh Silver."

Celestia cooed my name, and I raised my head. Once again my eyebrows shot up in surprise. Celestia was wearing fishnets up all of her legs. She even had some weird looking lingerie on her flank. I can't really judge attractiveness myself, but I assumed a regular pony would think she was sexy.

"Yes?"

She moved smoothly towards the bed, and climbed up on it. I couldn't help but chuckle a bit when the bed groaned from the weight. She gave me a disapproving look, and laid down next to me. She was indeed, taller than me if we both laid down, by quite a bit too. I said nothing to her, and she rolled over me. She grinned down at me, but I gave her a frown.

"So this was your plan? Just keep erasing my memories and have a fake love?"

Her eyes widened in shock and she got off the bed.

"It seems no matter how many times I try, you keep throwing the spell off."

"Maybe you're just losing your touch."

"Or maybe I'm going about this wrong."

Her horn fired up and started to glow. There wasn't much room to move, and she was between me and the door. Deciding to call for back up, I shouted,

"Rivet!"

"He isn't there. I lifted the veil of memories. He's probably talking with his captain at the moment. Basically you are all alone."

"For a princess of a peaceful land, you sure are a bit-"

The door slammed open, and in charged Rarity. She was still all fiery, and a look of honest confusion spread on Celestia's face. I rolled off the bed, and stood next to Rarity. Celestia looked at Rarity and said,

"Who are you?"

Rarity huffed and said,

"I must say, this is not at all how a princess should act. It's very dirty, not something a royal person should partake in."

My opinion of just how dirty bureaucrats are aside, I thought it was funny that Rarity was scolding the princess.

"And how would a simple baker like you know how a royal person should act?"

"Simple?"

I heard imaginary cat growls, and I backed up just a bit.

"Regardless, I am just protecting my subjects."

"How so?"

I inserted myself into the discussion and said,

"I'm really confused on that too. Was I a dangerous person before all of this?"

Rarity said, "Not at all."

After Rarity finished, Celestia said,

"You had the potential to be. A lone member of a species might be a danger to himself and others. I thought the best action would be to give you a happy life, but also one where I could keep an eye on you."

"So your evil scheme was to make me happy? That seems either doubly twisted, or just nonsensical."

Celestia closed her eyes and said,

"One should solve problems peacefully. Violence isn't ever the answer."

Rarity huffed and said,

"I don't think you should be preaching right now."

I said,

"Besides, without my memories, you might as well have killed the me from before. He has ceased to exist and has been replaced with the new me."

Celestia shook her head and said,

"I didn't erase your memories. I just put a veil over them. I was planning on doing fine tuning later. You would be yourself again, but a safe one."

Rarity offered her opinion on it and said,

"And what gives you the right to mess with his head like that. How do you know he would be happy?"

The two were staring each other down, which was almost funny because of the height difference. It made me think she really did have a fiery temper. If she could forget that she was scolding the princess and nearly challenging her, then I wondered just how mad she really was.

I raised my hands in the air and spoke,

"Philosophy aside, can I just have my memories back?"

"That would erase who you are now though."

"Like I said, philosophy aside. Besides I would remember this me, meaning it would just become a part of the old, but new me."

Celestia looked between us, and sighed.

"Maybe you are right. Solving this issue with you as you are, really isn't solving it. I shall lift the veil from your mind."
Celestia's horn glowed, and a light stream flowed from my head. It flowed back into Celestia's horn, and she shook a little bit.

The fog in my mind lifted, and memories came into picture. They didn't flood me or anything, it's like they just came back into focus. Like if you have ever forgotten a certain detail, and you can't for the life of you remember what it is. Then one day it just clicks in your head. I could remember the past few days as well, including the whole not remembering thing. However, the fake memories I had been given, were now gone. Whatever cover story I had been given, was gone for good.
I shook myself, adjusting to the weirdness of the situation. Now that I knew myself again, it felt like I had been asleep the last few days. Like it had just been a dream that I was going through. However, with Celestia standing before me in such a state of dress, it was kind of hard to deny.

Of course all the important stuff came flying back to me as well. The peace core, my rapidly dying body, and the fact that Jasmine was Peg's daughter. I made a mental note to make fun of him for his real name. I also made a note to make fun of Rarity for kissing me. I also needed to brag about kissing with the princess to anyone who would listen.

I had some serious problems to deal with at the moment though. If my body was in this much pain, it probably meant I didn't have a lot of time. Also, I could assume that Celestia was being influenced in some way by the core. I couldn't really hold her responsible for any of her actions. I also needed to stop thinking of her as Celestia. A lot of people think I'm stupid, and a lot of the time I can be. However, every once in awhile, I'll use some of the intelligence I hide away. If ignorance is bliss, then I don't mind being as ignorant as possible. I clenched my fists a few times and said,

"Feels good to be normal again."

"Shall we continue then?"

Celestia stood before me, with another saucy smile on her face. I looked between the three of us and then said,

"Well it seems to me that it would be rude to do so in front of a guest."

Celestia's face didn't change and she said,

"She could join in, I don't mind."

She turned and winked at Rarity, who backed up a bit. Celestia turned and looked at me again.

"Besides, after seeing some of the things in your head, I know what would make this situation more pleasing to you."

Celestia's horn glowed again, and a bright flash went out. I had to cover my eyes to block the light out. When I opened them again, nothing seemed different. I just looked around a little bit, and gave Celestia a questioning look. She didn't say anything, and instead pushed me back on the bed. I was assaulted by her mouth, and tried to push her off. However, regardless of species name, Celestia weighed as much as a normal horse. She pulled herself off of me, and pushed off the bed with her front hooves. She was in a nearly standing position on the ground. I looked at her, and then looked down her body. This time my mouth dropped open in surprise.

I mumbled a few incoherent things, and then pulled myself away from her. I got off the bed and went to the opposite side of the room. When I was able to speak straight again I said,

"This is wrong for so many reason."

Celestia shook her head and said,

"Stop being so finicky. I've been in your head remember?"

"First of all, that's not even the biggest issue… well biggest may be the wrong word."

I shook my head and calmed myself down. After a few seconds of thinking I said,

"Okay, just calm down. Normally you might just be right. I was always a chill guy. I always looked at sex as a physical thing, so why should physical restrictions be put on it right? Even though I didn't indulge myself for other reasons, I hardly cared who or what people had sex with. However, in this position I have to admit to myself, this would take some serious getting used to. That's not the problem here though."

Rarity was stuck staring at Celestia's underside for a long time. It was like she couldn't tear her eyes away.

"You tried to mend my life to your wishes. I don't think we are on good terms at the moment."

Celestia shook her head,

"There is still a problem with you though. I need to be able to keep an eye on you, and the only thing that needs to be done for the wedding to be official is for us to-"

"I don't think I want to get married at just this moment to be honest."

"If you won't comply, then I will make you."

Celestia lunged at me, but water smashed in from the one window, and formed a shield of ice around me. The entire time I had been normal, I had been working on getting some water from the lake below to reach us. Under the assumption Celestia was being influenced, I also assumed things may resort to violence though. However, I was worried that I would be no match for her. After all she was 1000 years old and well versed in magic.

Celestia comically slammed her head into the ice wall, and it cracked loudly. I focused on fixing the ice, but I had to let it splash down. I dropped to my knees, crossing my arms over my chest. I had failed to notice the usage of magic burning up my stomach. I wasn't still sure on how the whole core thing worked, but it seemed it still wanted me dead. I coughed again, and a small amount of blood flew out. Rarity, who had finally looked away, ran towards me.

"Are you alright dear?"

"I'm… well no I'm not."

I was starting to feel faint, and I became aware of the fact that my time had seriously been cut short. In just a few minutes maybe, I would be testing out the bracelet's first function again. I could only hope that this time, my death really wouldn't be the end. I still had a nagging feeling that I was in a coma or something. I don't know how I would handle it if I woke up back on Earth. I just know I would have to tell my friends that I nearly got boned by Celestia. How ironic, before I died I had claimed I could be a bender. Not what I had meant, but still true.

Rarity looked down at me in concern and I said,

"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine in the end. Besides you need to be working on something."

She nodded at me, but didn't cry. That wasn't really surprising though. After everything that had happened, confusion was the biggest thing she was feeling.

"What is it?"

"You need to become a better kisser."

She huffed at me and lightly pushed me.

"Seriously, you've got nothing on Rose."

She laughed a little and said,

"I'll need someone to practice on."

"Don't look at me, and from what you said, I think I might know a few mares that would be willing."

She huffed again while chuckling. She said nothing this time, and it became harder to breath. Looked like that was my last use of magic. I just had to hope coming back was as easy as I thought it would be. I started coughing violently and I said one last thing.

"Rarity, just wait in the city for me."

I coughed more and more, but surprisingly more blood didn't come out. I started seeing sparkled fly past my face, and I looked down in surprise. My arm was starting to disintegrate into dust. I'll be honest, I was scared. I didn't feel it disintegrating, but I couldn't feel my arm any more. I had no idea what would happen when my body or head disintegrated. When would I be officially dead? I bit the inside of my mouth, and waited for something to happen. I nearly flipped when one of my eyes disappeared. I had just lost half of my vision in an instant. No matter how many times I died, I would always be a little scared. One, because of the primal instinct to survive, and two, because I would always wonder if it would be my last death. My other eye began to fade, and the world went black.