Weddings and Trials

“So what’s the plan again?” I said to Robbie as we trotted towards the cottage.

“Well, I altered your portal gun slightly so that you could choose the location on Earth and Equestria you want to go to. So we can open a portal in Bryan’s bedroom and snatch him from there, assuming of course that he’s there.” He replied with a glint in his eyes that could only be described as that of an evil genius about to carry out some villainous plot.

“Do you think he’ll be okay with us just snatching him like this?” I asked him after taking a moment to ponder the insane situation I had once again found myself in.

“Yeah I’m sure it will be fine.” He replied flatly while opening the gate and making his way to the door. Upon entering, I took the time to look around and it became obvious that nopony lived here anymore. All the furniture was in the same place, but it seemed, greyer, for some reason. Dust had settled on the shelves and counters, and everything seemed empty. It took Robbie a moment of fiddling with the settings on the portal gun to get everything set up, but before long he was ready.

“Just so you know, I’ve never tested this before, so this could go horribly wrong.” He warned before firing the gun at the wall. The blue oval once again appeared and Robbie took a deep breath.

“Moment of truth.” He said, plunging halfway through the portal he seemed to begin struggling with something. In a moment of panic, I grabbed his back legs and pulled with all my might. It worked, as we both tumbled back onto the floor in a heap, and a light green Pegasus fell to the floor in front of us. With a groan I stood back up, rubbing my head where I had bumped it slightly on one of Robbie’s hooves and observed as Robbie took a step towards the Pegasus, who was now looking around, obviously very confused.

“Hey Bryan, it’s Robbie man!” He said in the most cheery voice he could put on. He received a confused and worried look as Bryan sat up.

“Where am I?” Bryan eventually said, looking around the room and at the ponies standing in front of him, “And why haven’t you been online in months?” He asked Robbie. Slightly taken aback that that was the only thing he had to say, Robbie trotted off and dragged a mirror in front of Bryan.

“Welcome to Equestria dude!” He said proudly, as Bryan came to terms with his new form. He was a slightly larger build than Robbie and I, with a light green coat and dark brown mane. A film reel occupied his flank and when he finally stood, it became apparent that he was, not only a larger build, but taller than us too.

“Hey Bryan,” I finally chimed in to the conversation, “It’s Matt, we used to chat a lot on skype.” He looked over at me and I shifted nervously as he assessed the situation he had now found himself in.

“So, let me get this straight, you dragged me through a portal somehow, after not speaking to me in almost a year, to bring me to a land of magical ponies?” He said to Robbie, who was also standing rather awkwardly.

“Yeah, that’s pretty much it, but it is for a good reason.” Robbie replied, appearing rather nervous at his friends dull statement.

“Cool, what’s up guys!” A smile erupted across his face, and he bro-hoofed both Robbie and I, before we had a catch up chat in the kitchen. It was mostly stories from high school, where Robbie and Bryan had met, but they were all entertaining and although I hadn’t been there, I could still laugh along at the detail they both went into in reminiscing.

“Oh! Also guys, you both won’t be able to stay with Rainbow Dash and me, but I kept the cottage here so you two could stay here. It isn’t the best, and could use a little TLC, but I’m sure it will be fine!” Robbie announced from the other side of the table. I certainly didn’t mind staying here, I would have my old room back and I would have the freedom to do as I pleased around Ponyville. Bryan didn’t seem to mind either, and before long Robbie decided that it was time to announce the news to Bryan.

“Hey Bryan, the reason I haven’t been online in the past, year was it? Well anyway, I haven’t been online in so long because I became a permanent resident here in Ponyville. I fell in love with a mare named Rainbow Dash, who you may remember me talking about a few times, and we’re getting married in a couple of weeks.” Robbie allowed a moment for this to sink in and Bryan’s face was plastered with a look that could only be described as bewilderment.

“Well congratulations man, didn’t think I’d be seeing you getting married anytime soon!” He walked around the table and shook Robbie’s hoof, “So when do I get to meet the lucky gal then?” He nudged Robbie, inducing a slight reddish colour to appear in his face.

“Well I suppose we can go now,” Robbie replied standing and leading the way to the front door, closely followed by Bryan and I. The streets seemed relatively quiet, for this time of day as the three of us made our way out towards Robbie’s cloud house. We bantered light-heartedly about the wedding plans, and what our rolls would be during the ceremony. I was to bear the rings and stand as a witness to the proceedings, and Bryan was to be a groomsman. It then dawned on me that I would maybe have to throw Robbie a bachelor party, but I would plan that in secret with Bryan when we were back at the cottage for the night.

I was drawn out of my thoughts by Robbie announcing that I would have to climb onto his back to be carried up to his house once more. It was an odd experience flying, but not one that was unpleasant. He dropped me onto the cloud and flew down to collect Bryan next. With the size difference between the two of them, it was hard to see how Robbie would be able to carry him up, but soon enough Bryan was also placed on the cloud.

“I’m glad I did all of that training with Rainbow Dash now.” Robbie gasped, panting from having to fly two ponies up to the cloud, not something he was really used to. We entered into the main hall and Bryan instantly began to scan the records that were on the walls. The sound of loud video games and fillys experiencing game rage flowed from the living room, and the house was filled with the smell of cooking, which probably meant Robbie had taught Rainbowdash how to cook.
“Rainbowdash! Rainbow Dancer! Scoots! There’s someone I’d like you to meet!” Robbie called out, and the sound of his voice echoed slightly, causing me to wonder just how big this house truly was. Rainbow Dancer and Scootaloo were the first to dash into the hallway, and Rainbow Dash soon emerged from the kitchen.

“Guys, this is Bryan, one of my friends from back home. Bryan, this is Rainbow Dash, the mare that I’m lucky enough to be marrying in a couple of weeks,” He gestured to Rainbowdash, and Bryan quickly shook her hoof, “And this one here,” He continued scooping up Rainbow Dancer, “Is my little Rainbow Dancer, and last but not least, is Scootaloo.” It was weird seeing Scootaloo, she had grown up so much since I had last been in Equestria. She now had her cutie mark, which was a scooter with flames burning a path behind it, no surprise there really. She looked like a teenager now, her mane was longer, she was taller and even her voice seemed different when she introduced herself to Bryan.

With the introductions out of the way, we all made our way into the sitting room. It was large, with comfortable looking sofas all placed in front of a large TV. Windows occupied two of the walls, giving a magnificent view of the lake. There were various toys and other things scattered on the floor, from where Rainbow Dancer had been playing, and I was surprised to see a very expensive looking scooter in pieces on a sheet at one side of the room. Taking a seat on one of the sofas, Robbie gestured for us to sit and I placed myself onto one of the nearest sofas, and Bryan chose a comfortable looking recliner that faced the TV.

“So what have you been doing with yourself Robbie?” Bryan asked, looking around the room and taking in the sight of all the photos and decorations that filled the shelves around the walls.

“Well, Matt last time you were here, I received a letter from GoldenHorn Studio’s offering me a minor deal for two albums. The first one I recorded was an instant hit and I was immediately offered a new contract for a further three albums.” He replied, proudly looking around at some of the pictures, which mainly consisted of him standing with other musicians. The one which stood out the most was a large picture of Robbie on stage, behind a mixer and record decks, playing a set with DJ Pon-3 herself. He had certainly set himself up a great life here.

“Wow, I didn’t realise you had that in you.” I said while still scanning the photographs. He had worked with a lot of famous ponies, he had multiple pictures of himself with DJ Pon-3, Octavia, and Sweetie Belle.

“Hey, why do you have a picture of you and Sweetie Belle up there?” I asked, gesturing towards the picture.

“After Scoots joined our little family, she mentioned to me that Sweetie had an amazing singing voice, and I overheard her singing idly one day when she was playing with Apple Bloom. I knew immediately that she had an amazing talent, so I brought her back here to produce her first album in my studio.” He smiled, before offering us drinks. I accepted the offer, as did Bryan, and he disappeared, to return a moment later with some beer for us all.

I cracked open the bottle and took my first swig. I had taken to drinking a lot more often when Twilight and I had broken up, and my tolerance to alcohol was now much better. I was looking forward to seeing if I could keep up with Robbie, who prided himself on being able to drink me under the table.

“Anyway, I was thinking,” Robbie said after taking a swig of beer, “I think we should have a night out soon, I’m playing a set at Bass Drop in a couple of days and I think we should make a night of it. I haven’t had a proper lads night out since I arrived here.” I mulled over the thought for a moment, it sounded like a good idea, and I would at least be able to test my drinking abilities against Robbie’s if we did.

“Sounds great!” I said, raising my beer and toasting to the plan. Bryan also agreed and it was settled with all of us taking a drink to finalise the evening.

We spent the next hour or so catching up, and we were managing to drink our way through the best part of a crate of beer. Robbie had managed to drink the most so far, but I wasn’t convinced that he was trying. Bryan had begun to discuss video games with the kids, and was now being given a thorough tutorial on how to play Super Mareo Brothers by Scootaloo and Rainbow Dancer. Robbie and I watched as they sat, shouting advice every now and again, and telling him how to defeat bosses. As amusing as it was to watch, I realised that it was getting slightly late and it would probably be best to head back to the cottage and get some sleep. Robbie offered to walk me back, but I knew the way, but I did ask him to fly me down.
We made our way to the front door, Bryan had also decided to walk back with me as he was beginning to get a bit of game rage. Robbie managed to fly us both down safely, and after a brief goodbye we began to walk back to the cottage.

Now was the perfect time to bring up the subject of the bachelor party. Bryan and I discussed possibilities and different venues for the event. But my mind was drawing a blank, the tiredness now creeping over me as we reached the cottage. I briefly showed Bryan to his room, which had once been Robbie’s, before making my way into the familiar bedroom at the end of the landing. I dropped down onto the mattress and squirmed my way into the soft duvet. Letting out a sigh, I turned off the light and rolled onto my side, where sleep overcame me, and I drifted away into my subconscious.