Weddings and Trials

“Daddy! Hurry up!” Rainbow Dancer called, stopping briefly in her hurry to get to Sugarcube Corner for her breakfast.

“Okay, I’m coming kiddo! Hold your horses.” I replied, silently admiring her energy at this time in the morning. I always bought her a treat from Sugarcube Corner on Friday mornings if she had been a good girl during the week, and it seemed to ensure that she would behave herself. She knew that she had her father wrapped around her hoof though. Even if she had been naughty at some point, I would still buy her a treat. She always galloped ahead, but never left my sight until she darted through the door of the shop to see her favourite pony in Ponyville.

“Hey Pinkie!” She almost shouted as she rushed to the counter, shattering the peaceful state that was Sugarcube Corner in the morning.

“Well hello there Rainbow Dancer, have you been a good filly this week?” Pinkie replied leaning over the counter. She always got the same answer, and as always her small bag of sweets was ready, hidden below the counter.

“Yes I have! Daddy, can I have something different this week?” She turned to me, a small gleam in her eyes and her wings fluttered excitedly.

“Well what would you like then?” I replied, crouching down to her level to view whatever sugar filled treat she desired.

“That one!” She pointed her hoof towards a pink cupcake, covered in sprinkles and multi-coloured icing. I sighed, and turned to look at the filly, who was now silently pleading me to buy it for her, and as always she got her way.

“I suppose you can, only because you’ve been very good this week though.” I reached into my saddlebags and fished out a few bits from my change pocket as Pinkie wrapped the cupcake carefully and I tucked it safely into my bag.

“You can have it when we get home, okay? Now, say thank you to Pinkie, and you can help me with the shopping.” I knew I said the same thing every week, but I wanted to raise a good mannered foal. Celestia knows I had encountered my fair share of ill-mannered ponies during my nights playing shows in night clubs, and I didn’t want her to become like them.

“Thank you, Pinkie Pie!” The excited foal called out as she trotted out of the door.

“You’re welcome Rainbow Dancer. See you next week.” Pinkie replied, and I gave her a wave before she disappeared into the other room in a blur. I pulled the shopping list that Rainbow Dash had prepared for me earlier, and I sighed while browsing the items that were hastily scribbled on the scrap of paper.

The morning passed quickly as Rainbow Dancer and I slowly completed our shopping, and before long my saddlebags were bulging with items. After making my final purchases from Big Mac, I scooped Rainbow Dancer onto my back and took to the air, heading for home. She always enjoyed riding on my back as I flew, and I could tell that she would be an avid flier when she was older. I had caught her trying to fly a couple of times before, and after she became upset when she couldn’t, I had to explain to her that flying takes time, and that before she knew it, she would be in the air by herself.

We arrived at the house after our short flight, and after placing Rainbow Dancer down, I trotted through into the kitchen.

“Nice to see you’re finally up.” I said mockingly to Scootaloo, who I knew had been up almost all night working on her scooter. She simply groaned in response, slumped over her breakfast. It was difficult to get conversation from her, but I kept trying while I put the groceries away, but it was to no success.

After giving Rainbow Dancer her treat, I made my way into my studio. I had been procrastinating a lot recently, and I had a lot of half-finished songs that needed to be completed for the release of my new album. I let out a sigh as I closed the sound-proof door, and slumped into my chair in front of the mixer. I placed the headphones on, and flicked the switch, activating my speakers and decks. I had been lacking inspiration recently, hence why I was dodging working on the tracks, but the album release was next month and I needed to get it done.

As I worked away on the decks, I found myself distracted once more. I lacked the focus and drive that I needed to put the tracks together. I quickly became frustrated and thumped the desk with my hoof, causing the records to skip. I ripped the headphones from my head and slammed them down. There was a lot of hype around this album and I couldn’t disappoint my fans. I thought back to when I lived in the human world. I had endless inspiration then it seemed, there was always something that was either going wrong or going right, and here everything was going right. I had no wrong to complain of and that was my problem. It hit me like a tonne of bricks at that moment what my next move in my career was.

I quickly mixed together a couple of beats, just simple ones at first, but then added harmonics and fills to break up the repetitive sequence. It was coming together, but it still lacked something which I would begin work on immediately. Lyrics.

I grabbed a pen, and thought back to my previous life, all of my worries and woes came flooding back and the pen seemed to endlessly spew words onto the paper in front of me, and before long I had enough to splice together and I spun the record with the beat recorded onto it and made my way into the booth. The booth was a simple set up, it had a button to begin recording, as I usually worked alone, and a microphone stood isolated in the centre, accompanied with a set of headphones which allowed you to hear yourself as you sang, or in this case spoke.

I zoned out for what seemed like hours, just rapping verses over beats, hoping that I would like some of them enough to present them to my manager. I was interrupted though, by a knocking on the glass of the booth and Bryan gave me a smile and a wave. Placing the headphones down, and wondering how he got up to my house, I opened the door to the booth and greeted him.

“Sounding really good, can’t wait to hear the finished product.” He said, with a smile on his face that meant he was probably teasing me for the terrible sound quality at this stage in the recording.

“Thanks man, so what brings you up here?” I asked trotting to the mini-fridge under my decks and pulling out a bottle of water.

“I just thought we could hang out for a while. Haven’t seen you in so long and it would be cool to have a proper catch up.” I mulled over his offer for a moment, and I thought it was rather rude not to agree, so I shut all my equipment down and made my way through to tell Rainbow Dash our plans. We then headed out, making our way to the Horse and Hare pub.

The bar hadn’t changed much, still had the same green felt bar stools and chairs, fireplace roaring in the corner surrounded by sofas. I ordered a couple of beers and paid the barman, once he had served them. Before long Matt also joined us, he must of came looking and thought I would probably choose this pub to hang out in.

The next few hours were filled with stories from back home and I shared just as many from my side of the portal. I mainly informed Bryan of how Rainbow Dash and I had met. He found it hilarious that I had gotten drunk and woken up next to her, with no recollection of the night before. I sighed, thinking back to the early days of our relationship. The perfect moments of peace as we relaxed on a cloud after Rainbow Dash had taught me how to fly properly, and not to mention the more passionate moments. They all seemed too few now. We never seemed to have any time for romance or just having fun anymore, but we had responsibilities as parents now, and I wasn’t going to fail my children.

It began to grow dark, and I took my leave. I gave Matt forty bits to buy some groceries for their cottage, and took off into the night’s sky. I arrived home, just as Rainbow Dash was serving dinner, and I had to say, it smelt good for her cooking. Trotting through to the kitchen, and remembering back to my thoughts at the bar, I decided to be a little spontaneous. As silently as I could, I made my way up behind the mare who was stirring a pot on the cooker. Before she had the chance to turn around, I grabbed her and dipped her down, planting my lips firmly on hers. Slightly shocked, she put up a little resistance, but then relaxed and returned the kiss with as much vigour as I was putting in.

“Well somepony’s in a good mood.” She said, smiling after I had returned her to her four hooves.

“I am in a great mood. I got some music recorded, had a few pints with my friends at the bar, and I get to come home to this beautiful mare.” I replied, nuzzling into her neck, causing her to rest her head on mine.

“So, it’s the alcohol speaking then.” She mocked slightly, before the sound of hooves alerted us that we were no longer alone.

“Ugh, do you two have to be so, sappy? Please remember that there are other ponies in the house.” Scootaloo almost sighed from the doorway.

“Hey, there’s nothing wrong with a little love being shown every now and again.” I retorted, causing her to moan with embarrassment.

“Anyway, I came through to ask if it would be okay for me to stay at Applebloom’s tonight. She’s throwing a small party and I said I would be there.” Her tone changed quickly as she mentioned her plans, now sounding happy and hopeful.

“Hmm, I don’t know, what do you think Rainbow?” I turned to my partner, who was now giving me a disapproving look.

“Don’t tease her. Yes it’s fine for you to go, just remember, no drinking and Robbie will deal with any colts you decide to date.” Scootaloo’s face lit up and she shot across the kitchen and gave Rainbow Dash a hug.

“Thank’s Rainbow Dash, and Robbie, you don’t have to worry, I’m not seeing any colt at the moment.” She gave me a smile, and I tousled her mane a little before she galloped out of the door. The front door slammed shut a few moments later and Rainbow turned to face me.

“So, it would appear that Rainbow Dancer is now in bed, and Scoots is out for the night,” She gave me a suggestive look, and I wasn’t going to turn down a night of passion. I kissed her once more and sank into the bliss of the night, knowing that tomorrow was going to be a great day.

I awoke in the morning feeling refreshed and inspired. Rolling over I found myself slightly restrained in my movement, before I noticed that Rainbow Dash was curled into my chest, snoring lightly. Her mane was a complete mess, but I still found that look adorable after all this time. Checking the alarm clock, it was still early, so I decided to try and get some more sleep before I was forced to get up by Rainbow Dancer. I sighed, sinking back down into the sheets, causing Rainbow Dash to stir slightly, and her eyes opened groggily and fixed on me.

“Morning.” She yawned, before planting a kiss on my lips. I held the kiss longer than I normally would, given the amazing night we had had, and I was surprised as she pulled herself closer. I wrapped my forelegs around her to bring her as close as possible. This was bliss. I was cuddling the mare that I loved, I had my friends here to witness our marriage in less than two weeks, and I had regained my inspiration with my music. Things were certainly falling into place.

I was torn from the perfection of the moment as I heard small hooves galloping down the hallway. Rainbow Dancer must be up, so giving a final kiss to Rainbow Dash and pulled my objecting body from the bed. The day’s chaos had already begun as I arrived downstairs. The small filly had managed to open the fridge and was now relentlessly raiding through the contents to find something she desired. It was the same most mornings, and I had begun to wonder how she even managed to get the fridge open.

“Ready for today?” Rainbow Dash groaned, as she dragged her hooves into the kitchen. She definitely wasn’t a morning pony, and in all honesty I had forgotten all about our plans for today.

“That depends,” I started, briefly taking a swig of apple juice before continuing, “By ready, do you mean, ready to have your friends hooves shoved in uncomfortable areas of your body so you can look good at the wedding?” Rainbow Dash simply gave me a glare in response to this, and I smiled to try and lighten up the mood. She seemed to lighten up, and we began our search for a suitable breakfast. I managed to find a spare muffin in the back of the cupboard, and Rainbow opted for something a lot healthier.

“Rainbow Dancer! Are you ready to go?” I shouted up the stairs after clearing up the kitchen. The patter of small hooves drew closer as she rounded the corner and galloped down the stairs.

“You bet!” She squealed excitedly, as she hopped onto my back. Rainbow Dash soon joined us with Scootaloo, who looked rather bedraggled from the party, and we began our short flight to Carousel Boutique. It was pleasant out today, not too hot, but at the same time it wasn’t chilly in the slightest. The streets below us were bustling with life, and the crisp morning air felt fantastic under my wings. The flight was all too brief though, as we landed at the Boutique. A slight sense of nerves overcame me now. I was never the best at having measurements taken, and Rarity was also in charge of decorations for the wedding, so it was likely to be a long visit.

A small bell chimed merrily as we entered the shop, and the fashionista immediately appeared from behind a curtain. She greeted us, and promptly produced a bulging folder from beneath the counter. I silently hoped that this wasn’t just for our wedding. The image of an empty bank account flashed before my eyes, I would have to start touring again to afford a wedding that large. My fears were laid to rest, when I was informed it was the catalogue for everything wedding related. Within the folder were countless more magazines, some for bridal gowns, some for suits, and some for decorations. I lazily flipped through a suit magazine, although I already knew I was going to ask for a new kilt for the ceremony. Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Rainbow Dancer were all excitedly highlighting gowns and dresses for the bridesmaids and flower-fillies. Scoots, however, had disappeared, probably to find Sweetie Belle.

None of the suits in the magazine I was flipping through seemed to catch my eye, so I moved onto the next, but out of the corner of my eye I spotted a pair of ponies who I recognized instantly. I trotted over to the door and poking my head through the frame I shouted out to them.

“Matt, Bryan! Come here.” They turned and looked around, slightly confusedly, before they spotted me and made their way over.

“Hey man, didn’t realise this was your kind of hangout.” Bryan mocked slightly as he approached, “But then again, it is you, so this doesn’t really surprise me.” He added while silently admiring a dress in the window.

“Actually, I need you guys here. We’re choosing suits and dresses for the wedding and I need you two for measurements and also you need to choose what you’re wearing.” I motioned for them to enter, and they stood awkwardly, just inside the door while I fetched the magazines from beside the mares, who were now completely engrossed in the plans.

Bryan and Matt both took a magazine each and began to flick through, occasionally commenting on something they liked, but Bryan mostly mocked some of the more frilly stuff. Matt seemed adamant to just wear a simple suit, like he had worn at the Gala all those years ago, but he could see nothing that really caught his eye as his style.

“Well, I have a few spare bits lying around, if you would like something custom made.” I offered, looking over his shoulder at the simple tux he was admiring.

“Yeah that could be a plan, but I would feel kinda bad.” He replied, flicking the page and immediately turning back as he spotted frills.

“What are you planning on wearing anyway?” Bryan added to the conversation, placing his magazine down on the seat beside him, “Because we could always go with something similar, like most groomsmen do.”

“Well I was planning on wearing a kilt, so I guess you guys could all wear one as well, if you’d be alright with that?” I smiled as both of my friends nodded. Now all I had to do was lure Rarity away from Rainbow Dash and Rainbow Dancer for long enough to explain our idea. I called out to her, and she trotted over promptly, before I introduced her to Bryan and explained Matt’s sudden arrival back in Ponyville.

I spent the next half hour, explaining to Rarity that each individual family has their own tartan, and eventually we got around to actually beginning the designs. My tartan matched the one I had worn to the Grand Galloping Gala, with purple and yellow stripes, on a light blue background. Bryan had opted for a slightly darker version of mine, with red and green stripes. Matt, however, was taking his time deciding what kind of design he wanted. With a little creative persuasion from Rarity, we finally managed to get a colour scheme out of him, and our outfits were set.

“So, when are we heading to Bass Drop tonight?” Matt asked, lazily looking through a decorations catalogue. I had completely forgotten I was playing there tonight.

“Well, my set starts at roughly half eight, so if we get there for half seven, that will give us time to get a few drinks in us and give me time to get set up.” I wondered how I had even managed to forget that, playing live shows was the highlight of any week for me. I guess the wedding planning was throwing me off slightly.

“Should we get pre-drinks? After-drinks?” Bryan suggested, and I was partial to having a few before I arrived at the club, so I agreed.

“Right, well how about this, I’ll stay here and finalize everything once their done talking. You two head out and buy some beer and get me a bottle of whiskey, Matt knows which one.” I reached down, opening my saddlebags and tossed them a few bits to buy enough alcohol. They trotted off into the street, making their way towards the market.

I was now in hell. I had Rainbow Dash talking in one ear, Rarity in the other and Rainbow Dancer was shouting about things she liked from across the table. Either my head was going to explode, or I was going to scream. No-pony seemed to be able to agree on decorations, and I was siding with Rainbow Dash most of the time, as the day was really all about her, but Rarity was showing off some items which would make our wedding day something truly special. It had been this way for close to an hour and a half now, just disagreements and arguing over table plans, ceremonial banners, and everything related. Every time I went to make a suggestion I was cut off or told it wasn’t a good idea because it clashed with the colour of the air particles, or something as equally absurd.

I was close to snapping now, my head was pounding, and she shouting wasn’t making this any better. I quickly excused myself to get a drink, not really being thirsty, more wanting a moments peace. I took a seat at Rarity’s kitchen table, with a glass of orange juice and rested my head on the top of the table. I let out a sigh, before lifting my head and taking a sip. How could this day be any more stressful?