Bumbling through my Education

Chapter 20: A Wedding, Reveal, and Acceptable Terms

*****Canterlot Palace - Lunar Hall*****

Organizing a huge wedding was something that should have been a piece of cake. After all, Princess Celestia specifically asked her to help organize the wedding, and she asked the most capable pony she knew to help plan a royal wedding, that was happening in a week. Pinkie Pie had declared that she had the plans already done, and Twilight was looking at Celestia’s favorite type of cake, her favorite dishes, Bumble’s favorite food, Luna’s favorite food, and so now she was helping to build off of what Pinkie already knew, and was adding more in for each of Bumble’s herdmates.

Somehow Pinkie Pie was able to get the Germaneigh, find out what kind of cake and food Aryanne liked, and return within only a day or so. Twilight had long since stopped asking the questions of how, or why, and simply accepted that this was part of Pinkie being Pinkie. She wasn’t lost on the fact that they would need help, and so asking her friends for their help came to light. Unlike Shining Armor and Cadence’s wedding there wasn’t any suspect of an incursion. Instead everything seemed fine. Or it did until Twilight learned that currently Bumble was being held under house arrest.

And that was where she was at the moment. In the Palace, looking at her former student, and trying desperately to figure out what went wrong.

“What happened?”

He looked away from her, “I really don’t want to talk about it.”

She neared him, slowly, “Bumble, please. They’ve told me that you hurt a pony.”

He glanced at her, “He slapped my wife.”

She flinched at that. Bumble was raised like a Pegasus. Derpy was an amazing mare, but she didn’t know the first thing about teaching Bumble how to keep his magic in check. How to keep his emotions from taking over and possibly doing some real harm. Twilight had started teaching him control, but she knew that without those early safeguards that all little unicorns are supposed to be taught, well, it was fortunate that Bumble had only managed to break the former noble’s right arm and two ribs.

If he would have been at full strength there was a chance he could have done worse. On top of that Luna used the most archaic interpretation of the law in order to disband most of the nobility. Currently Celestia was trying to smooth things over, and placate some of them, but others… Twilight would be the first to acknowledge that some of the nobility was corrupt, and did some very shady dealings. She knew that the Health Care system in place was the biggest corruption ever created, and she knew that Gleaming Bit’s grandfather had put it into place with the original intention of actually helping ponies. Once that poor stallion died, Gleaming’s father, and Gleaming himself, turned what was meant to help into a massive business that was there to separate ponies from their bits, and at the same time make the House of Twinkle Shine, Gleaming’s ancestor, wealthier.

Of course Blueblood helped, in his own special way, by releasing all of the information on every corrupt dealing, that any of the nobility that had been stripped of their power. It was out there for everypony to know, and even if they returned to power, they would be stripped again. Silently, she was thankful that her mother and father were more progressive toward change. The last thing she wanted was for the House of Clover to be disbanded and her parents tossed out of their ancestral home.

Sighing, she looked at Bumble. The nobility that was stripped of power now were held in treason, but they were able to use the same laws their ancestors created to mark Bumble’s own actions, warranted as they may have been, to ensure that the Prince Consort was painted in an ill light.

“You have to set things right between Gleaming bit, his family, and yourself.”

He looked at her, “He hit my wife. He slapped her.”

She sighed, “I know, I get that, but Bumble, if you don’t fix this… Everything you’ve worked for will be gone. This is part of being royalty. We have to make concessions that nopony wants to make. I don’t like it, not in the slightest, but I have to do it all of the time. So does Big Mac and Rainbow now.

He sighed, looked at her, and then scrunched up his muzzle. “So, he gets to get away with slapping Luna?”

Twilight shook her head, “No, he doesn’t,” she smiled, “Blueblood has released every dirty secret that he’s ever had. There’s more than enough to sentence him for treason. The fact that he’s worked against Equestria’s own good toward his own ends. Things he’s done, Bumble, he’s not going to get away with anything. Even if he’s forgiven for what he did, he’ll never be a noble again.

Bumble nodded, “What do I have to do?”

She breathed out a sigh of relief and grinned, “You’ve got to do something that I’m sure you are not going to like,” she held his hand, “Bumble, you need to make a movement to forgive Gleaming for some of the greater crimes he’s committed.”

He looked at her like she had just hit him, “What?!”

She shook her head, “I know, I know, but Bumble, this needs to be done. His lesser crimes are enough to keep him from reclaiming his nobility.”

He grumbled, “If I don’t?”

She looked at the floor, “Bumble, if you don’t do this. Then the public will see you as just as petty as those members of the nobility. Anything you ever go to do will be marred with that image.”

He leaned over, “Fine, I’ll do it, but what kind of punishment will he receive?”

Twilight leaned forward, resting her forehead against his own, their horns just barely touching.

“The other crimes he’s committed require that he be forced to work for the biggest family he’s harmed as a noble. That means either working for the Apples or the Pickled Clan.”

He looked at her, “He’d have to work for Pinchy and Pina?”

She grinned, “Actually, he’d have to work for the eldest member of the Pickled Clan, and since I know that Barley Hopps would have no use for a snooty former noble, he’d most likely send him to work for his great grandniece, Berry Punch, or send him to his great granddaughter Pinot Noir. Either way he’d be forced to work for an Earth Pony, and I’m pretty sure that’s worse than anything else we could do to him.

He sighed, “What about his wife, his daughters, what happens to them?”

She shuffled her hoof, “Naturally, Gleaming’s wife, Posh Propers, would also be forced to serve. She knowingly allowed her husband to continue with the dealings that he did, but their daughters are another story.”

She looked at Bumble, “Both of them are young enough that it could be possible for their lives to be turned around. I think that their being admitted to Celestia’s school for foals their age would do them a world of good. It might be enough to help them realize their true potential. And with any luck at all they’ll end up being much better ponies than their parents.”

He looked complacent for a moment, and then he nodded, “It makes sense.”

She watched as he leaned forward, “When did things get so complicated?” his golden eyes looked at her own lavender ones, “Princess Twilight, when did life change so much?”

She sat down next to him, her wing extending and covering him, much like she did when he was a much younger pony. He’d been older than she was when she was accepted as Celestia’s student, but he was still young enough that she looked up to her like an older sister. Of course it made her feel happy that he had that connection with her, and she gently nuzzled his cheek.

“First, Bumble please just call me Twilight. You’re a member of the royalty now, and it will be official at the end of the week,” she grinned at him, “And the moment you stepped into the adult world it became different. Things always get more complicated, and trust me, I have a ton of experience with that.”

She laughed, “But there’s a lot of good stuff, great stuff, that I know you’ve gotten to experience. It’s that kind of thing that makes this life worth living,” she smiled, “P, err, Celestia tried very hard to get me to learn that early on. I wish that I would have figured out what she meant.”

Bumble sighed, “When should I make the suggestion, or motion, to forgive Gleaming Bit?”

Happy that her former student was at least entertaining her suggestion she slowly lifted away from him, letting her wings fold back behind her, “You should make the motion today. We can arrange to have Gleaming brought before either the Night, or Day court. While he’s going to be forgiven for some of the bigger things, Bumble there is another side to this.”

He looked at her, “You will get to help settle the decision on his punishment. It means that he, and Posh Propers, will be sentenced by a majority vote of us Royals. Luna, Celestia, Cadence, Blueblood, you, Big Mac, Rainbow Dash, and myself.”

She sighed, “Big Mac is going to want him to know what it’s like to work, but I doubt that he wants him out at the Apple’s farm. So it is very likely to come down to him going to either Berry or Pinot,” a faint smile crossed her face, “And I’m certain that Big Mac would want to have him fairly close so that he could be watched.”

“What about the other nobles?”

Twilight gave a sad smile, “They’re going to face some serious charges. Not all of them for treason, but most certainly worthy of losing their titles, lands, and holdings.”

Bumble considered what that meant. Capital punishment hadn’t been used in Equestria since before Luna’s banishment. He certainly didn’t want anypony to have to sentence anypony to death. Looking at her, and realizing just how complicated things had become, he cleared his throat.

“Is… is there anyway we can get the rest of them in the same kind of deal?”

Twilight grinned, “Absolutely, and I was hoping that you’d want to suggest that,” she looked at Bumble with the same kind of nearly motherly eyes she had when he was a younger pony, “Bumble, what we’re going to do is to well, we’re going to have to do something that is going to upset your mother a little bit.”

He looked confused, “Why would it upset mom?”

Twilight brought a book up from a bag she had carried in with her. The book looked ancient, truly old, and she opened it. What Bumble saw was a picture of his mother dressed as Private Pansy. Except her eyes were normal. He looked at Twilight completely confused. She smiled softly.

“You’re mother is a direct descendant of Private Pansy and General Hurricane. General Hurricane married Private Pansy shortly after unification, and their line has eventually lead to your mother, your sisters, and you. Bumble, you are Cloudsdale Nobility, and specifically you, because you acted to save your mate, would be the title of armiger. In Cloudsdale nobility, the first noble to act to preserve a flock member, or a mate, is given that title.”

He looked at her, “Why is mom going to be upset?”

She sighed, “Because your grandmare, she denounced the line. She cut herself, and all of you, away from that line. Your mother was brought up without the influence of nobility, and in order to do what we need to do you’re going to have to claim that line, and that means that your mother is going to be forced to take up the mantle.”

He looked confused, “It means that your mother is going to be forced to attend some very boring meetings, and more specifically, she’s going to be required to consider courtship from either Cloudsdale or Canterlot nobility.”

He realized exactly what Twilight meant. His mother, as far as he knew, didn’t see a whole lot of ponies, except for Berry Punch, Carrot Top, and Written Script. He knew that his mother wanted them all to think that she wasn’t getting diddled, but he kind of knew better, especially now. He knew how much she loved his father, but Silent Victory had been gone for several years now, and his mother was only a pony. She had needs, itches that had to be scratched, and he knew that if he was his father he wouldn’t be mad about her seeing to her needs.

Then again, he really didn’t want to see his mother ending up with some snooty noble that only married her because of her line and not because of who she was. She deserved to have somepony that would love her for who she was. He looked at her, “She can deny the suitors right?”

Twilight nodded, “She can, especially since she already has foals to carry the line, but Bumble, eventually she will have to give specific reasons.”

He smiled, “What if she wanted to join a herd?”

She looked a little concerned, “No, no, not mine, but a herd with a good friend?”

Twilight adjusted her seat, “I suppose that would be fine, as long as her friend was somehow associated with somepony important.”

Grinning he thought of something that Pina had told him a long while back, “Berry Punch, she’s from the Pickled Clan, just like you said, and the Pickled Clan is currently the ones in charge of the Shetland Isles.”

A bright smile crossed her face, “Bumble, that’s brilliant! It solidifies our alliance with the Shetland Isles, and at the same time, if your mother is okay with it, it gives her somepony she’d trust to be a relationship with.”

He nodded, “Is there anything specific I can do as Armiger?”

Twilight nodded, “As Armiger it is your responsibility to administer justice to those that fall under your care…. Bumble what are you thinking?”

He thought back to school, what he learned about pre-unification, and how the Pegasi would sometimes capture Unicorns and Earth Ponies. Those poor Ponies would become the lowest members of that Pegasus’ line. It was a dirty trick, a horrible thing to even consider, but the law was never removed.

“Can I invoke the law of my line on them? Since it was one of my own that basically captured them?”

Twilight’s eyes widened, “Bumble, you realize what you’re doing right? This… This really tricky. Those laws still exist, but they haven’t been enforced in well over a thousand years!”

He nodded, “I know, but I think that it’s the only way that I can make sure that none of them are killed.”

She breathed out, “If you do this, Bumble, I’m not going to lie, it’s going to change everything. The old laws will end up getting re-written.”

He nodded, “And they need to be. Look what they tried to do to Luna, to Celestia, and to all of us. Those laws need to change.”

She looked at the floor, “So much will end up changing, and maybe it’s for the best. Okay, I’ll help set things into motion for this to happen. Bumble, you realize that the trial is going to happen before the wedding right?”

He nodded, “Yeah?”

She sighed, “The next day, seriously, the very next day you’re going to be marrying your entire herd. That includes both Luna and Celestia. Bumble, I’m just saying this because of how long I’ve known Celestia, but you’re going to want to smooth things over before the wedding. She’s already stretched pretty thin with trying to get this all settled.”

He nodded, “I will. I’ll do whatever I can to make her happy.”

She sighed and nodded, “Okay, then get ready. I’ll be back in a few hours. If everything goes according to plan, well, the wedding should be fine, and there will be a massive chance in the laws.”

*****The Wonderbolt’s home*****

Derpy did not even pretend to be okay with what was happening. Her colt was being held from her, from his mares, and she was one step from stomping right up to where they were holding him and making a scene. Her wings twitched as she stomped around the kitchen. Something moved, and she reached out for it before the form could get too far. She squeezed the form close to her, hugging them for all she was worth. Majira resided herself to be hugged by a very huggy Pegasus that was very close to having a breakdown. She hugged Derpy back and felt her new mother nuzzle her cheek against her own. There was no breaking free, there was no chance of being released, but instead Majira had learned that when a huggy Pegasus got ahold of you the only thing to do was ride it out.

She heard hoofsteps and soon another body was brought in and pulled up close.

“I just wanted a muffin…”

Majira laughed at the sound of her sister wife. She knew that Pavi was getting treated to the same hug. She wanted to warn her sister wife that there was no escape, but instead she decided to let her figure that out on her own. Instead Majira simply allowed Derpy to continue to hug her while she let out a concerned nicker. It was a good couple of hours before Derpy finally calmed down enough to not get all huggy.

Instead of hugging she went to her next mode of dealing with things, and that was to bake. The scent of muffins began to fill the house, and she kept going. There was guards there, guards that said that they would help, and so far they were going to a little grocery store that was on the corner and getting what she needed to make more muffins. What began as a few muffins had quickly turned into six dozen. The six dozen was becoming eight, and Derpy was running low on everything again. The guard that had been running to the grocery simply nodded, taking the same list he had been given earlier, and left.

“Mom, I think that’s enough muffins.”

She looked to see her youngest. Dinky was looking at the muffins, then she glanced at her mother. She knew why her mother was so worried. The moment Bumble was taken into custody, and put on house arrest, well, it was stressful. Add to the fact that they wouldn’t let anypony except for royalty speak to him. Celestia had explained that what happened was a collection of older laws that had been made after Luna’s banishment, and while Luna was basically clear to retaliate against Gleaming Bit for striking her, Bumble was not.

Even though Bumble was tentatively a member of the royal family he was still subject to the laws in place. Dinky knew that her mother was smart, exceptionally so, but she also knew that the long drawn out explanation wasn’t what Derpy wanted to hear. She wanted to know when her son would be allowed to come home. Over the course of the last two days her mother had been flighty, huggy, brooding, and now in a baking everything mood.

It wasn’t that she was upset. She knew that her mother had more than enough reasons to do what she was doing. But at the same this was a little excessive. She moved to sit down, and Dinky found a plate with six muffins, all different kinds, sitting in front of her.

“Mom, I’m…” she looked to see Derpy looking at her with her good eye squinting and her bad one closed, “I’m glad that you decided to give me these muffins.”

Nodding Derpy went back to making the last batch of muffins that she could with what was left, and Dinky took a bite of a banana and walnut muffin. The muffin tasted fine, but it was getting cold. She realized that it was certainly one of the first batches her mother had done. She watched as Bumble’s herd came down stairs, and she looked at all of her new sisters, all all except for Luna and Celestia.

Aryanne had been something of a surprise, but the blond maned Earth Pony mare was actually fairly polite, and she seemed to get along well enough. She bit into the muffin in front of her as her new sisters began to get served their muffins. Within a few moments a guard ran in, “Lady Hooves, you, Prince Bumble’s brides, and your other foals are to come with me.”

Derpy looked at him, “Lady Hooves?”

He bowed, “Yes ma’am. Your place in Cloudsdale Nobility has been restored.”

Derpy’s muzzle scrunched up, “Fine, Dinky, go get Amethyst and her coltfriend.”

“Actually ma’am,” the guard started before she glared at him, “No, it should be fine.”

*****Canterlot Palace - Lunar Wing - Night Court Room*****

Derpy looked on at the group of miserable looking ponies. Ponies that she’d delivered some mail to before, and none of them were ever very happy, but right now they all looked incredibly miserable. The most miserable one had his chest bandaged up, his arm in a sling, and he was refusing to look at anypony. She then watched as Bumble stepped out near them.

“The early law, not yet removed, stated that any house captured or imprisoned, by another noble house became members of the capturing house. Members of the lowest kind. As I’m sure you’ve all been made aware of I am the Armiger of the house of Hurricane,” he looked at each of them, “Which means that I invoke the power of my position as Armiger to claim all of you as members of the house of Hurricane. As such, since this is now a civil disruption between high and low members of our house I have decided on a fitting punishment.”

Gleaming Bit looked at the floor. He was obviously resided himself to death, at least it would be quick and mostly painless. But he never heard the words he expected. Instead he heard that they would be sentenced to life, working for the families their deeds had harmed the most. Those families were the Apple Clan, and the Pickled Clan. They would be forced to work for Earth Ponies.

“Wait! You can’t mean that we have to… Work with mud ponies!” Upper Crust cried, “I’m above such nonsense!”

Bumble looked at Big Mac, “Do you want to claim her?”

“Eeeyup,” he grinned.

“You know she comes with a husband,” Luna stated, “It could very well mean two potentially worthless farm hands.”

“F..FARM?!”

Upper Crust looked like she was about to pass out.

“Cousin Braeburn been talkin’ bout how they need extra ponies to help with harvest. Couple of Unicorns might help quite a bit.”

She acted like she was going to do something and then her nullifier kicked in knocking on her her rump.

“Course, Ah might mention that he let them there nullifiers stay on their horns.”

“Surely you can’t mean to send us out to… do Earth Pony work!”

Bumble looked toward the voice, “I not only mean to do it, I do it with a glad heart. Those of you who stand here today do so because you have made your fortunes from the suffering of your fellow ponies. You’ve watched them suffer and toil, and yet you did nothing to aid them. This is your chance to repay them for all you’ve done to them.”

One of the nobles pushed past the group, she fell to her knees, her eyes cast down at the floor.

“Please, I beg you, please don’t make us to do this. Don’t make me do this. The indignity, the humiliation, it’s too great for me to bare. I’ll… I’ll become your herd member. You can use me for whatever you want…”

She felt herself lifted, placed back on her hooves, and it wasn’t Bumble who looked at her, but rather it was Luna.

“You will be fine. There is no humiliation in what must come to pass. It is merely something that must happen.”

The entire ordeal didn’t last nearly as long as one would think. Once it was declared what their sentencing would be the matter was fairly well distributed. As a representative of the Apple Clan Big Mac helped decide on the groups that would be going to the various Apple Families. The rest were going to the Pickled Clan. Bumble looked at his brides as they came into the room. There was no doubt in his mind that they had heard the entire thing. That all of them were very well aware of what was going on. He looked at Pina and Pinchy, and he knew that they would be most likely on the same page as himself when it came to Gleaming Bit.

“Pina, Pinchy, these ponies are sentenced to serve the Pickled Clan, and this Pony is Gleaming Bit. How do you feel about him and his wife going to help your mom on the vineyard?”

Pina walked toward him, grabbing him by his jaw, forcing him to open his mouth, making a show of checking his teeth, his gums, and then checking his legs. She snorted.

“He’s going to need to go on a diet, doubt that he’s going to be able to carry much, Mom will have fits getting him into shape, but she won’t stop until he’s able to pull a wine wagon on his own.”

“Now see here!”

Bumble glared at him and Gleaming quickly quieted down.

“Very well. As the oldest member of the Pickled Clan, we’ll call on Barley Hopps to place the rest of them.”

“Beloved, do you think it wise? Barley Hopps is quite old.”

Bumble looked toward Twilight who nodded, “Yes, I believe that Barley will make certain that these ponies go on to help those in the Pickled Clan who need them the most.”

She nodded, “Very well Beloved. I just know that it is likely that he will send over half of them to the Shetland Isles.”

At that several of the former nobles passed out.

*****House of Nobles*****

Twilight Velvet stood before the collection of nobility left. The House of Clover, the House of Dusk, and the House of Wishes were the three most progressive houses out of the full nobility, and currently they were the only part of the still existing nobility that was willing to step forward and take the reigns and attempt to fix things.

“We need a vote. There’s so much that has to be fixed, and no one is going to abstain from this. So, instead of simply going through each issue that has been trumped up over the last several generations, I make a motion to re-evaluate all of Equestria - and her protectorates - laws. As we go through we fix what was obviously put in place to give more power to the nobility, and take that power from the common pony. Those in favor?”

To her surprise more than the three normally progressive houses raised their hands. Actually, all but one did.

“Opposed?”

The one raised their hands.

“Very well, Ladies and Gentlestallions, this will not be an easy task. For that reason I believe that we may need some outside help. I’ve contacted a few of the lawyers the nobility keeps on retainer. They’re going to help cover the gaps we can’t get to.”

Somepony stood, “What about our positions?”

She looked at him, “What do you mean?”

The older mare sighed, “We both know what I mean. We’re nobility. We’ve become accustomed to a certain level of life, of living. What happens to our positions? What becomes of us?”

Twilight Velvet grinned, “We learn to live without a few creature comforts. It will take some getting used to, but in order to make Equestria better, to give everypony a chance, I think it’s worth it. No, I know it’s worth it. We’re not talking about a band-aid, or some quick fix. We’re going to be repairing a lot of damage. Tons of damage, and to be honest, each and everyone of our houses had some to do with it. Either from direct influence, or abstaining from voting. Gleaming, and the others called out, they, and their ancestors, were most responsible. It’s up to us to make up for it.”

*****Canterlot Palace - Kitchen*****

Applejack heard what happened, and she personally agreed with Princess Luna. More than likely both of those Unicorns were going to be about as worthless as a weasel guarding a hen house. But it would be a good deal of fun to watch them try to work. As it was, she was getting some much needed food prepared for the wedding. Since it was going to happen, and since Twilight helped guide Bumble into getting it changed from an attack on a noble house to a dispute between house members.

She didn’t know exactly what it meant, but if it was anything like Clan politics then it meant it went from two of the big Clans being angry at each other to them letting it get settled between two of their foals. It wasn’t that common anymore, but there was more than a few members of the Apple Family in the Pickled Clan, and vise versa. Sometimes those old insults just ended up hanging around. Nothing cured those up faster than a good hard rut.

She laughed at the idea of some of the Canterlot Nobility having to deal with things the way the Clans had set down. She could see some of those Snooty Noble Mares, mouths hanging open, eyes wide, taking a right good dicking up the tailhole. It was one of the reasons why the clans were so big. Settling things like that tended to make things a might easier. She pulled away from her thoughts, looked at the Apple Family treats she had already made, and then she looked at what was Bumble’s favorite meal.

She wasn’t sure why she expected something different, maybe because even though he acted like an Earth Pony Bumble was a Unicorn. Instead of something fancy Bumble’s favorite food was just a Hayburger, Fries, and a shake. It would be insanely easy to make. She knew that most likely he liked them from the Hayburger, and they could certainly have the Hayburger cater. She’d met a younger Zebra stallion working at the local Hayburger. He was a little off, but he was friendly, and he certainly told her about how good their burgers, shakes, fries, and everything else they had was.

She considered a bit more. She didn’t have a problem making the burgers by hand, but then again, why not let Bumble have the wedding meal he wanted. And besides, she figured that it would be a good way to see if the nobility could handle things that weren’t all that noble. With that, she got one of Princess Celestia’s assistants and made her way toward the Hayburger.

Applejack was find with the walking they were doing, but she noticed that the Unicorn mare behind her was huffing and puffing quite a bit. She supposed that everypony had different skill sets, but at the same time it seemed a little sad that this mare wasn’t able to a little walk that was maybe about half the distance from Sweet Apple Acres to Ponyville. And that trip was just twelve miles. Still, the moment the stepped into the Hayburger she saw the Zebra stallion.

“Welcome to the Hayburger, home of the Hayburger, can I take your order?”

She smiled and walked toward the counter, “Yes, actually is yer manager here?”

He rubbed his chin, “Actually, Mr. Tasty is out. But I’m the shift leader,” he held up the shiny gold plated name badge, “See? So Maybe I can help.”

She smiled, “Ah think so. We want ta hire the Hayburger to cater for the Royal Wedding.”

“Okay,” he said.

“We need enough hayburgers with cheese, haybacon hayburgers with cheese, and fries for a lot of ponies.”

“So, like ten?”

She smiled, “More.”

“Fifteen?”

The assistant finally caught her breath, “Well over three thousand.”

“Woah, that’s a lot of good hayburgers. Like, sure I can totally do that. Do you want them delivered or…”

Applejack smiled, “We’d actually like for yer crew ta cook them at the palace.”

“They got a Hayburger at the palace?”

A plump Earth Pony walked in and saw the two ponies talking to his employee.

“Ummmm… Can I help?”

“Oh Mr. Tasty, these two ladies want to hire us to cook for the Royal Wedding, They said they’re going to need like three thousand good hayburgers, fries, and well pretty much everything. I guess they got a Hayburger in the Palace somewhere.”

The caramel colored Earth Pony stallion looked at them. He ran his hand through his strawberry blond mane. His blue striped shirt sporting several grease spots, and his dark blue jeans were caked with salt from his sweat and from the salting the fries got. He looked at them both for a moment and smiled.

“Are you two serious?”

Applejack nodded, “Eeeyup. Ah’ve been hired ta do the catering, and the Prince Consort, well, he kinda likes this place. Figure that he’d like ta have ya’ll do the meal cooking.”

He stuck his hand out, “Okay, when do you need us?”

Applejack grinned, “Well, the wedding is tomorrow.”

His eyes bugged out, “Okay, we can do this… Ummm… We need to close the restaurant early tonight, and then we need to check the kitchens. I’m sure they’re nice, but things have to be just right for a perfect Hayburger. Does the kitchen have an industrial fryer?”

The Unicorn mare smiled, “There is one, but it’s never been used. I’m afraid the chefs believe that frying is too common for the Princesses.”

Mr Tasty rolled his hazel colored eyes, “Okay, so it needs to be scrubbed. Ed, can you do that?”

Applejack looked at them a little confused, “What kind of a name is Ed?”

Ed grinned, “My name is Mzuri Mpishi, but it’s a mouthful, and if a pony’s going to have a mouthful I’d rather it be from a good hayburger. So, I told Mr. Tasty to just call me Ed. I like the sound of it. Ed.”

Applejack looked at him for a moment and then nodded, “Okay, Ed. So, y’all won’t mind closing up fer tomorrow right?”

Mr. Tasty nodded, “It won’t be a problem. This… I never dreamed that I’d get a chance to cater for any kind of Royal event, let alone a Royal Wedding! Oh! Rolling, do you mind to contact our supplier? Let them know that we need triple our normal order, by tomorrow morning, and not another second later.”

A young Earth Pony stallion nodded, “Sure thing Mr. Tasty, Ummm… Delivered here or…”

“Have them deliver it to the Royal Kitchen. We need buns, minced hay, Haybacon, Fries, Oh, I want the fixing for Apploosian chili, and lastly I want them to make sure to bring the right Ice Cream!”

“Yes sir Mr. Tasty sir!”

With that Rolling took off out of the store.

“We sure are glad that ya’re taking this upon yourself Mr. Tasty,” Applejack said.

“It’s not a problem! Why, when word gets out that our Hayburger actually catered a Royal Wedding, our business will triple!”

*****Canterlot Boutique - Lobby*****

Sassy Saddles was used to a wide range of clientele, but when Rarity told her that the entire shop needed to closed to all but a select few customers she wasn’t sure what she expected. The Royal Herd, as they were being called in the more trashy tabloids, was standing in the lobby, and she was a bit frazzled on what to do. Thankfully backup, in the form of Coco Pommel happened to be here. Thanks to a favor done for Rarity.

Coco was currently taking measurements from everypony, Rarity was already working on the designs, and Sassy, well she was trying to manage it all as flawlessly as possible. Of course since nopony seemed to mind to be nude, that was the state they currently were in. Sassy quickly realized something. There was a reason why Luna and Celestia were considered goddesses.

Their bodies were a sense of perfection that no mare could ever hope to come close to having. Celestia’s breasts were large, easily cantaloupe sized, yet they disobeyed the simple laws of physics. They were, she dared say, perky. Sassy liked stallions. She loved the way they felt, the way they smelled, how they made her feel, and she loved being with them, but a single look at both of the Royal Sisters, nude as they were, was enough to make her consider the idea of munching on a mare muffin.

She moved from them, continuing to be the manager that Rarity hired, giving them everything they needed, seeing that they were comfortable, and then she saw the Prince Consort. She winced slightly at the sight of his cock. There was a time that she dated an Earth Pony, wonderful stallion, very well endowed, and the Prince Consort made him look like a little colt. She couldn’t help but stare at it, at the size of it, and while she wondered how a mare could handle a cock that size going into her, well.. She felt a little more turned on.

Visions of possibly trying him out, just the tip, and just barely, letting it enter her. She shook her head, getting those visions out of her mind. She was not looking for a mate at the moment. Besides, even if she was interested in him it wasn’t like she would be able to join their herd. And she wasn’t really a mare that liked the idea of sharing her stallion. No, she was too much of a romantic for that.

“Sassy, would you mind to get get everypony some more tea?” Coco asked, “Also, would you check to see if Rarity is ready for the next pony?”

Sassy nodded, walked toward the sewing room, and opened it to find Rarity bend over her table. Behind her was Celestia’s adopted son, Spike, pounding away at her. He was larger than he looked before. His clawed hand was over her mouth, keeping her from crying out, and from what she could tell he was going all out on her. She quickly closed the door, walked toward the small kitchen, found the teapot she enchanted, and began making some wonderful Canterlot Blend Tea.

Once that was done she brought out the tray, the cups, and she kept from thinking about her employer, her hands flat on the table, the large Drake behind her ravishing her, and how her employer looked as though she was going to simply orgasm right there. She passed out the cups, finishing two cups with Coco and herself.

“What did Rarity say?”

Sassy cleared her throat, “She’s busy at the moment.”

“Busy?! She should be finished with Spike’s tux already!”

Sassy swallowed a bit of her tea, “Just a few finishing touches. I’m sure she’ll be out in a bit. It’s warm in here? Don’t you feel warm?”

Coco looked at the other mare, “Not really.”

Sassy breathed out, collected herself, and fixed her clothes. She gave a slight smile and her attention went to the door she had opened only moments before. She saw Rarity stepping out. Her employer looked a little flushed, but she was in good spirits. Sassy knew exactly why she was in such good spirits. If she got the kind of dicking that Rarity had gotten she would certainly be on top of the world as well.

As it was Rarity walked toward the Princesses, conversed with them for a moment, and then invited them back toward her sewing/creation room. Sassy took a moment to study Spike. He was back to his normal size. Before he was easily as tall as Celestia, and he looked powerful. Just because of the differences in size alone Rarity had looked almost like a filly that he was rutting. She did take note of his tux. Despite what they did it was flawless. Rarity had created something incredibly special with it.

Coco watched the dragon. She liked Spike, well enough, but she knew the scent of a freshening up spell when she smelled one. It would replace soap and water in a pinch, and it would allow the pony, or apparently dragon, in question to put on a new suit of clothes without ruining them. The only reason to use such a spell would be if Spike came in dirty, but he didn’t She had smelled Rarity’s own Jasmine soap on him. Her eyes widened. She knew that the two of them were dating, well more like engaged, but to do that where she was working on their clothes was so scandalous!

She giggled a bit, and walked toward the sewing room.

“Rarity, would you like me to get started on the Bridesmare’s dresses?” Coco asked.

“Oh, if you don’t mind Coco, that would be a much needed help! I simply don’t know what I would have done if you couldn’t have made it darling!”

Coco smiled, “It’s fine Rarity.”

*****Canterlot - Palace Gardens*****

“I don’t know.”

Fluttershy looked at Discord as he studied the area. There was dozens of statues, and to be honest she felt like Princess Celestia was being just a little mean asking Discord to help set up the reception in the gardens. Not because the gardens weren’t beautiful, but rather because he had been trapped in stone here. In fact where they were standing was where his statue had been, but Discord didn’t seem to be overly bothered.

“That maze throws the entire thing off. It’s fits too… perfectly.”

She leaned against him, enjoying the feeling of being close, “Well, I suppose we could move the maze, or maybe hold the reception in the middle.”

She was kidding of course. Who would want to try to find the reception. Instead Discord’s grin grew, “Yes, yes that would be perfect! We could have the music going, they’d have to walk through the maze, and we could even make it so that it changed every so often! I love it!”

She knew it was him being himself, and obviously that was what Princess Celestia wanted when she asked him to help oversee the reception. She remembered the first time that Discord had attended the Grand Galloping Gala, and Twilight had filled her in on how Princess Celestia invited him so that it wouldn’t be boring. Obviously she didn’t want their reception to be boring either, but at the same time she hated the idea of making anypony get lost.

“Maybe we can make it so that if they follow the music they’ll find their way?”

Discord grinned, “Of course. A little harmony would be fine, but let’s see what I can do!”

With that he began snapping his talons, changing reality, at least with the hedge maze, to fit what he wanted. If she was going to be honest with herself, it was actually something of a turn on watching him. Discord was so outgoing, so random, and yet he could be so soft and caring. He was the best of both worlds, and she loved that. She watched as his magic worked on the maze.

“What about music?” she asked.

He rubbed his chin and thought for a moment. A smile crossed his face and he snapped his talons again. This time two mares that Fluttershy knew from Ponyville appeared. Both mares were currently in a very, revealing position. The gray Earth Pony mare looked around, realizing that she was nude, in a garden, and uncertain of what was going on. The other mare was a white Unicorn. Beside her was a huge box with multiple speakers made into it.

“Vinyl, exactly how much the cannabis did you mix into our brownies?”

The Unicorn shrugged, “Tavi, I don’t know, but if it’s the cannabis, then Neon gave me some good stuff,” she looked around, “Woah, Tavi, we’ve got folks watching. Want to give them a show?”

The Earth Pony froze, “N..NO! Oh Sweet Celestia, what is going on?!”

Discord smiled at them, “Royal Wedding tomorrow, We’d like the two of you to do it. Since you managed to do so well for that one in Ponyville.”

Octavia looked at him, “You mean Cranky and Matilda's Wedding? It was a decent performance, but there was several ponies that said they felt we were pandering.”

“Naw, it was all good Tavi! We totally rocked that place. Sure, we can do the wedding. Like is it here?”

Fluttershy looked at them, “Ummm… It’s going to be in the palace.”

“Cool, hey, while we’re here let’s go meet up with Neon Lights. He can let us crash at his pad tonight!”

“Vinyl, I’m, well bloody well look at me. I’m not decent!”

Vinyl grinned, “Sure you are, besides, didn’t you talk about bringing a stallion in? I know that Neon would be up for it.”

Octavia stood, following Vinyl out of the garden, “I didn’t meant we need to have a threesome tonight!”

*****Canterlot Palace - Main Hall*****

Button Mash adjusted his tie for the second time. It was a little uncommon, but Bumble had a few Groomstallions, and of course his Bestdrake. Button didn’t blame him for giving that honor to Spike. Spike had become a good friend while Twilight, well Princess Twilight, was teaching Bumble. He smiled at Sweetie Belle. His mare… no, his fiancee, was sitting near her sister. Of course there was the little fact that she was going to have his foal that they still needed to tell her parents, and her sister, before too long.

He knew his mom would be fine with it. Love Tap had said several times that she wanted to hear the sound of little hooves running around again. Beside him he saw the new friend Bumble had made up here. The unicorn gave him a grin.

“Going to be a bloody mess, but should be fun.”

Button looked at him, “What do you mean?”

Whet grinned, “Only that my mate up there is marrying more mares than there is days of the week, and he’s just one bloke. Magic cock or not, Bumble’s gonna be a tired lad.”

Button grinned, “No kidding. Sweetie Belle wears me out.”

He pointed toward her.

“Oi, nice going mate. She’s a right keeper. There’s my mare,” he said pointing toward Amethyst.

“You’re dating Bumble’s older sister?”

He nodded.

“Wow, and Derpy hasn’t taught you to fly yet?”

He grinned, “Not yet, but she did tell me that if her little muffin ever cries over me she’ll teach me to fly and explain why I did such a dickish thing.”

Button shook his head, “Wow, just wow… I’m a little surprised.”

Sweetie Belle watched her stallion talking to another Groomstallion. She looked to see Applebloom and Scootaloo walking toward her. She also noticed that Scootaloo had her coltfriend. She grinned as Pip took a seat next to Scoots.

“How’s the weather patrol?”

Scootaloo stretched and yawned, “Hard work, but it’s not too bad. Plus, being able to fly is nice. Makes the work a little easier.”

“Figure that it does… Ya know, Ah plumb figure Ah missed out on somethin’ special.”

Sweetie looked at Applebloom, “Didn’t make that move when you were showing him where the poison joke was huh?”

Applebloom nodded, “Yeah, Ah wasn’t sure if’n Ah really wanted a relationship yet. Now that Ah see all of those happy mares, well, Ah gotta think that Ah missed out.”

Scootaloo shook her head, “Naw, the right one hasn’t come by yet. Sides’ we both know that you’re gonna find a kickass coltfriend, just like we did.”

Applebloom sighed, “Be honest, Ah think Ah’d kinda like ta herd. Makes a lotta sense, and ‘sides, be kind of fun ta plan a little mischief with somepony that’s kinda like a sister, ya know?”

Scoot’s eyes brightened, “Actually, Applebloom, Pip and I have been wanting to talk to you about something.”

The sound of a cello being played while a DJ mixed the sound to give it something special echoed through the hall. Bumble, who had been standing near Princess Cadence, looked to see his mares, all of them, heading toward him. All of them were dressed in white dresses, each dress featured a sapphire that was located right at the cusp of their bosoms. Bumble watched as his mares neared him. All of them, Celestia, Luna, Honeypot, Pina, Pinchy, Bagatelle, Pavi, Aryanne, Cumulus, Moonglow, Flagrante, and Majira were walking toward him, and they were being escorted by his mother, Dinky, Berry, and all of Honeypot’s parents.

Cadence smiled as she looked at the group before her, “Love is something to be treasured, to be worked on, and most importantly to be held up at all costs. Love can be a terrifying thing. If left unchecked, if let to run wild, it can eat everything important in a pony’s life, but if it is worked on, given the attention it needs, and shared, that love can grow to become a beautiful thing.”

She swept her hands in front of her, gesturing toward the group standing there, “What I see here is ponies who have done just that. They’ve taken their love, and they’ve made something wonderful from it,” she giggled, “As a Princess I’m used to gilding the lily when speaking. But this is too important of a day, and too special of an occasion to cheapen with heavy handed words. Instead, I want us to look at one another. All of us that are here have in some way been touched by those who stand together in a declaration of their love. I ask that we observe this wonderful moment for what it is.”

She grinned, “And so, I ask the groom, Bumble Silent Hooves, do you take these mares as your lawfully wedded brides? Do you promise to be loyal to them, to help them, to serve and be served by them, and lastly do you promise to be the kind of pony they deserve?”

Bumble smiled, “I do.”

She looked toward the group, “Do you… Wow, we’re just going to stick with first names, Honepot, Celestia, Luna, Bagatelle, Pina, Berry, Majira, Moonglow, Flagrante, Cumulus, Luciana, and Aryanne promise to love Bumble, to be faithful to him, to help him, raise him up, protect him as he would you, to be the kind of wives he deserves, and the mothers to his foals that his foals deserve?”

There was a nearly uniformed I do from the group standing there.

“Then, by the power entitled to me, I now pronounce you Stallion and Herd. You may kiss your stallion.”

Bumble felt all of them rush him, and he felt their lips on his cheeks, his own lips, and damned near everywhere else. Slowly the wedding began to move toward the gardens and everypony could smell the various treats, and food, but the entire garden had been transformed into a giant hedge maze. The music playing was coming from the center, and Bumble began to follow the sound. It took a little while, in truth about thirty minutes to make it to the center. There in the middle was the single biggest cake that Bumble had ever seen. It easily stood at least two heads taller than Celestia. Each tier looked more than amazing. Their cutie marks were lovingly sculpted into each layer, The icing behind their cutie marks matched their coats. Celestia’s was white, Bumble, Honeypot, and Pavi all three had slightly different shades of gray, Moonglow’s was a cobalt blue, Aryanne’s was like Celestia, Luna’s was a rich violet and royal blue,Majira’s was stripped, Cumulus’ was a sun colored yellow, Pina’s was a dark pink swirled with mulberry, Pinchy’s was more of a light pink with mulberry, Bagatelle’s was a silvery color with a cobalt swirl, and lastly Flagrante’s was a creamy caramel.

And resting on dozens of tables was platters full of hayburgers, fries, and all kinds of Apple family treats.

“Welcome to the wedding reception, housted by the Hayburger, home of the hayburger, can I take your order?” the young Zebra stallion with the dreadlocks asked.

“You’re getting to do the reception?!” Bumble asked.

“Yeah, like this mare came and asked if we could shut the restaurant down to do this, and so we did. Wow… There’s a bunch of ponies.”

Bumble looked behind him to see the ponies spilling into the center of the maze. He had noticed how full the hall was, but he had no idea there was this many ponies. He breathed out, not wanting to have a panic attack. There was so many ponies, and he felt a little over whelmed, at least he did until he felt his mares closing in around him. Pina’s wonderfully large breasts pressed against his back. She leaned forward and kissed his neck.

“It’s okay, we’re not going to let the crowd get to you.”

He saw Berry Punch not too far from them. She had Gleaming Bit and his wife Posh Propers with her. Both of them were struggling with a single barrel of Berry’s wine. Berry herself was carrying one on each shoulder. She groaned as she sat it down, and then she smiled at the entire herd.

Berry walked toward them, stopped, and looked at her two helpers.

“Okay, get that last barrel over here, tap them, and then take a break.”

Both of them looked surprised, “But, don’t you want to work us to death?”

Berry rolled her eyes, “Work you to death? Luna’s sweet snatch, what’s wrong with you? What good is it to have helpers if you’re working them to death? I just expect you to do a fair day’s work.”

Gleaming looked at the ground, the defeated look never leaving him, but he did look relieved, “Thank you ma’am.”

She rolled her eyes, “Uh huh. Look the sooner you both get those sticks out of your plot holes the sooner you’re start to enjoy life. Tartarus, maybe you’ll lay the dick to that mare of yours. She’s acting like she ain’t had a good ruttin in a while.”

“I..I…” Posh stuttered.

Berry giggled, “Honey, we’re all ponies, and having good time and getting some good dick is just part of it. Now, finish up, enjoy some wine, and then go find a nice quiet corner and rut each other silly.”

With that she walked toward the herd her daughters were a part of. She grinned at them as she neared the group.

“Girls, all of you, tonight, and tonight only, you’re all old enough to enjoy some wine. If you’re pregnant it’s still early enough that it shouldn’t hurt, just don’t over do it. And Bumble, I’d suggest that you have a couple of glasses. You look like you’re about to freak out, and nopony needs that. Now come on over here and have a sit down with your fam

The reception was both something that was considered perhaps the best reception of the modern age, and also one of the most common. Even Blueblood ate some of the food he had considered beneath him, and he committed that it was actually tasty. Slowly the reception began to slowly end, but as one last gesture Rainbow Dash took to the air, and pulled off a Sonic Rainboom in honor of the wedding that had occurred. Although Twilight and Big Mac both agreed that she most likely did it because she wanted to show off.

Applejack, Princess Cadence, and Shining Armor all three were challenged by Berry Punch to a drinking contest. Let it be known that Alicorns are indeed amazing creatures, but nopony has the built up tolerance of a Sheltlander Earth Pony. Berry out drank the three of them. Cadence, in a less than fully rational mind, thought that she’d help Applejack get home, and performed a drunken long distance teleport on her, Shining Armor, and Applejack.

There were rumors floating around about the sounds of Cadence and Applejack crying out in ecstasy at the Apple family farm in their barn.

As things began to end the newly married herd headed toward the home they were using. Walking up stairs everypony began to undress. Bumble looked at his mares, how beautiful they were, and he knew that this night would be a night of boundless pleasures. He felt Honeypot move toward him, she brought him to the bed. She laid him down, and she looked at her fellow sister wives.

“Tonight is all about you. We decided that earlier.”

He felt somepony kissing his cock and looked to see Pavi. She grinned at him before she took the massive cock into her mouth. He looked to his side and saw Aryanne lying down, her legs spread, Luna between her legs with a strapon buried in her wanting snatch. Celestia straddled her muzzle and he heard Aryanne moan as she began to eat out the solar princess. Luna and Celestia shared a very passionate kiss.

He felt Pina at his side, his hand on one of her wonderful breasts, and he couldn’t help but look to see Majira between Pina’s legs. Her muzzle deep in Pina’s pussy. Behind Majira Pinchy was wearing another strapon, she had it planted inside of Majira’s wonderful snatch. His Zebra bride was making the most wonderful sounds. Her creamy jade eyes were barely open as she ate Pina out.

Moonglow was currently on his other side, she had his hand against her pussy, and he could feel the heat rolling off of it. He slipped a finger into her, and she let out a moan. Honeypot kissed him, and behind her Cumulus was suckling her clit. Behind Cumulus Bagatelle was gently eating her sister wife out as she did the same for Honeypot. He could feel Honeypot’s moan, her wonderful taste filling his mouth. He heard somepony and looked to see Flagrante at the end of the bed, behind Pavi, and he watched as she got down on her knees, she leaned forward, lifting Pavi’s tail, and he could hear the sounds of her licking Pavi’s tailhole. Pavi in turn began to suckle harder on his cock.

Slowly positions were changed, and every single mare got to have Bumble in her their snatch, then another round happened and they had him in their tailholes. For Pavi, she was at the end of the first, since she had not yet gotten the rest of the potion, and instead she got to have a slightly longer time of having her tailhole filled.

The night lasted for quite some time, and when everypony was sated, the herd slept together, a feeling of love and safety surrounded them. For all of them it was the end of a their first night as a truly married herd. It was also the first night with the stallion they loved so dearly.

For two specifically it was something else that was just as special. It was the beginning of a marriage that wasn’t held for political reasons. It was a marriage done out of love, and both of them had hopes that they could savor every last moment of it.

Author's Note

(AN: Wow, so there it is. I decided to shorten the last chapter a little. Honestly, there's going to be more added to the sequel, and yes, there will be an official sequel coming out. I want to thank everybody for reading. Expect one more bonus scene as thank you to all of you that's followed along, liked, and favored this. All of you are Awesome!

RJP)