Some more time passed and a lot had changed. Knuckles continued to have dates with Twilight as frequently as he could and every time they went, their bond grew stronger as time went on. There were some struggles along the way, but they were able to get past it every time so far. Today in particular though was special. Knuckles was ready to make the big move and he prayed in his head that it would not end in disaster like it did for Maddi.

He never got the chance to ask for Maddi's hand all those years ago and he certainly did not want to be unable to ask Twilight's hoof as well. He was walking down the stairs near the cave and Twilight was following right behind. She asked him "What exactly are we doing down here?"

Knuckles said without turning around "There is something that I need to look for in here that I may have forgotten a few years ago. Plus, I wanted to examine the Tree of Harmony a little bit more since it does sort of fascinate me." The two of them made it to the cave and Knuckles looked around to get a close up look of the Tree of Harmony. He said "Tell me Twilight, do you know how this tree came into existence?"

Twilight shrugged and said "I unfortunately do not know how it appeared. I didn't even know it existed until the Everfree Forest invasion a few years ago. How it got here is beyond me, but I know that however got here, it must have happened through some sort of magical way."

Knuckles nodded and said "I see. I would try to investigate, but I have more important things to worry about right now. Now, where did I put that thing?" He began searching through the cave to see if he could find the Master Diamond and sure enough, he was able to find it exactly where he had hid it.

Twilight was mind blown at this artifact and she asked "What in Celestia's name is that? I have never seen something like that before."

Knuckles sighed and said "This is the Ultimate Power or formally known as the Master Diamond. But, I have something more important I must do first." He set down the Diamond and stood in front of Twilight. He said "Twilight, when I first encountered you, I thought that you would be a pain in my side, considering how much s[BLEEP] I've gotten through over the years. I thought you would be like everyone else. But you weren't. You treated me like an actual human being and not some piece of white trash. You disciplined me whenever necessary, but you never once insulted me or degrade me as something less and nothing I do would ever fully express my gratitude for that. I thought after I lost Maddi, I would never be able love anyone at all again, but you proved me wrong. You showed me how to love again and I thank you for that."

As Knuckles was speaking, Twilight started to feel touched and continued wondering where he was going with this. Knuckles said "There's still a lot of uncertainty with all of this and I fear that the worst may still happen, but I will do everything in my power to prevent that from happening." He got down on one knee and pulled out the engagement ring. He said "Princess Twilight Sparkle, will you marry me?"

Twilight now had tears in her eyes and she had her hoof over her mouth. When she saw that ring, she stared at it for a few seconds. After Knuckles asked the question, she said yes and tackled him to the ground. She gave him a passionate kiss and hugged him. She said "I will gladly marry you Knuckles, or rather, Caleb Brody. Nothing would make me happier. I promise to be the best spouse that I can be to you."

Knuckles said with a serious tone "Only you can call me that. No one else can. I have a reputation to uphold." Twilight giggled and said she would do so. He put the engagement ring on her horn and they kissed again. They soon got interrupted by Twilight's friends clearing their throats and they stopped what they were doing.

Knuckles was quite embarrassed and said with slight anger "Were you spying on us?! That is very rude and an invasion of privacy on my part. You all should be ashamed of yourselves."

Rainbow rolled her eyes and said "We get it loverboy. No need to freak out on us." The rest of them expressed their enthusiasm for the two of them and Knuckles simply grunted at Rainbow's remark. He picked up the Master Diamond again and all of them were shocked to see that artifact. He told them what it was and Rainbow asked "What does it do?"

Knuckles pulled it away and said "I've already compromised myself enough just by showing and telling you what this artifact is, I'm not doing it any further by explaining its properties. My tribe would be furious with me at this point, but I'm the only one here, so whatever. However, that doesn't mean I can't uphold their values. It's nothing personal, it's just for your own safety. This is anything far beyond you could comprehend and if I told you what it does, it could put you all at great risk, so I must not tell you for the safety of everyone here. Maybe one day, I could tell you, but until that time comes, I have to keep it a secret."

They understood what he was saying and they decided to not press further. Knuckles said "After my grandparents lost this artifact, I thought I would never find it again. I've been searching for this my entire life and I finally have it. Now we have it. Now what? What comes next?"

Twilight said "Throughout history, it has been speculated that there were two orders of heroes who protected the Diamond from evil."

Knuckles said "But all of them passed onto the great battleground of the skies."

Twilight then suggested "Then we start a new world order. The seven of us together. Using our powers and magic to defend the universe." The rest of them agreed and were on board.

Knuckles said "This is no light task. We must declare a vow that we will use our powers only for defense and never for evil. To watch out for each other. Our new tribe."

Pinkie said "Oh, I know! A hoof bump!"

Knuckles raised a brow in confusion and asked "A hoof bump? What's that?"

Twilight said "It's like a fist bump, but only with hooves instead. It's an Equestrian custom. It means an unbreakable promise."

Knuckles seemed satisfied with that and said "Very well. A hoof bump it is."

All of them did a hoof bump and it was promised on that they would do whatever it takes to protect the Diamond. Speaking of which, Knuckles had returned it back home to his mansion where it had belonged. He hid it in a special place inside his house that he had designated in case he ever found the Master Diamond during his time here on this Earth.

Within the next few weeks and months, everyone was pitching in to help prepare for this wedding. The news eventually reached all of Equestria that Princess Twilight Sparkle was marrying the supernatural human being, Knuckles. It even reached the Crystal Empire and when Shining Armor had heard about the news, he was less than thrilled about it to say the least. Cadence reminded him that this was probably how Twilight felt when she found out he was getting married through a letter from Celestia.

Knuckles even had to meet with Twilight's parents since it was tradition and that meant he also had to ask for her father's blessing, which made him incredibly nervous. He really didn't understand why that was a thing, but he knew it was part of tradition to do that and he could not disobey his tribe on this one because a man that does not ask for the father's blessing to marry his wife, then he has no honor and shall be forever cursed. NightLight could tell that Knuckles was nervous and after messing with him a little bit, he said that he'll gladly give his blessing to marry his daughter since he had heard about everything that went wrong in his life and thought he was a good man that simply had a bad past. When that happened, he felt a lot better, but something still bothered him.

Knuckles was still nervous about all of this because he never thought he had to tell so many ponies about it and he would never have privacy again. He knew that he had to face the music about eventually coming out into the spotlight, but he tried to delay it as long as possible. However, he couldn't hide this forever because when you're marrying one of the alicorn princesses of Equestria, everyone is going to know about it since it's very large news. Everypony in Equestria had that marked on their calendars and make sure to clear their schedules so they could attend this event which made him even more stressed.

He was never in the spotlight before and now that he was, he absolutely had no idea what to do. At least his future wife had an idea to it since she was a princess and she was used to it, but he was a simple commoner who happens to have supernatural powers and has a lot of secrets that would put the country in danger. The day of the wedding had come and it was definitely a high stakes event.

When Knuckles had heard how many ponies were coming to this thing, his eyes shrunk down to pinpricks and he hid under the nearest bed he could find. He was visiting from Baltimare because all royal weddings traditionally were done in Canterlot and Twilight wanted to stick with the tradition which didn't exactly make Knuckles incredibly happy. But he wasn't going to fight with his future wife on that because he knew he would lose the argument very quickly.

Eventually, his disappearance was eventually known and a search party had to go find him. They eventually found him hiding under the bed in one of the rooms and Spike asked him "Why are you hiding under the bed? That seems like the most random place to hide."

Knuckles grunted with slight anger and said "Why do you think I'm here?! I had never had to deal with massive crowds in my entire life and now they are all here for probably the biggest moment in my entire existence! I can't go out there!"

Big Mac asked "Why not?"

Knuckles said "I'll make an absolute fool out of myself! I can't go out there looking like this! It would just be an impending disaster waiting to happen. Twilight will probably be relieved after seeing the mess I am!"

Spike was confused and asked "How can you say such a thing?!"

Knuckles looked at him with a glare and said "Well, just look at me! Here Twilight is looking as eloquent and beautiful as ever like an angel and I'm just the same old dirtbag I have been for my entire life. Even if I changed personality wise, I'm still that s[BLEEP] awful mess of a supernatural human being that so desperately deserves to die after everything I have done."

Spike sighed and said "Look Knuckles, I'll admit that I didn't always have the most favorable view of you, but Twilight was able to show me why she believed in you so much. You were able to prove that you were capable of change and not let your past consume you. Plus, you sacrificed yourself against Tirek to save all of Equestria when most of us still hated you. Everypony remembers that. They know about your past, but that act you did made everything else completely forgotten. Twilight loves you with all her heart. I have never seen her this happy in my life. So, don't you think she would want to marry you if she saw through those flaws?"

Knuckles tried to come up with a counterargument, but he could find none, so he sighed and said "I guess you are right Spike. I don't know what's going on. I have been one of the toughest creatures Equestria has ever seen and here I am acting like a complete fool on my wedding day. I don't know how it would have gone if Maddi were still around, but at least I know it would have been better with crowds compared to this."

Spike said "It's perfectly understandable, man. I don't think most could handle the pressure of all of Equestria being at an event like this without having some sort of anxiety. I've put up with Twilight for so many years with much smaller issues, so I'm used to it. I know you will do fine."

Knuckles sighed and said "Thank you Spike. I appreciate it." He gave Spike a hug and he walked out into the room where the wedding was taking place. He saw all of these ponies sitting in their seats and it made him sweat nervously. But, he persisted on anyways and tried not to focus on the massive crowds that were here. He made it up to the platform and waited for the ceremony to begin.

He looked around to see who has attended and he noticed everyone staring at him which made him sweat nervously even more. He just was about ready to faint, but Discord slapped him across the back and said "Get your act together! You're worse than Celestia during a major crisis."

Knuckles growled at Discord and said "Don't even compare me to that! You have no idea how I feel about this! It's not everyday that you're standing in the capital city of a foreign country getting ready to have the biggest moment of my life in marrying an alicorn princess and everyone and his mom is here watching you. I was just a simple commoner over the last 30+ years working a government job in a city that smelled worse than an actual swamp when it came to people's attitude, and now I'm getting ready to marry royalty! I have no idea how to handle that!"

Celestia overheard some of the conversation and asked "You're not getting cold feet, are you?"

Knuckles thought that was absolutely ridiculous and said "Cold feet? HA! That's the stupidest thing I have ever heard. Of course I'm not getting cold feet. Who do you think I am? A coward? I am one of the strongest individuals that Equestria has ever seen and you think I would throw that all out the window because I'm getting married?! I don't think so! Everything is perfectly fine!"

Celestia rolled her eyes and said "If you say so." She turned her head away and looked towards the crowds. Knuckles sighed and stared out the window.

He was fidgeting with his thumbs and darting his eyes around nervously because of the high stress levels he was currently experiencing. He asked himself "You don't think she bailed out yet, do you?"

Rainbow said "She's not late. The ceremony doesn't start until 3:00."

Knuckles' eyes went wide and he said "3:00?! What the heck are we waiting for?! I've been standing here forever!"

Applejack gave him a deadpan stare and said "Ya been standing there for five minutes. It's only 2:30 right now."

Knuckles didn't like that and said "But everyone's already here! Shouldn't we start by now?"

Discord was not having any of it and slapped him again against the back. He said "Will you cut it out?! It hasn't even been that long! Relax. You'll be fine."

Knuckles hissed in pain and said "Quit doing that! You're gonna kill me at this point by doing that! I might have incredible strength, but that doesn't mean I can't feel pain. Can someone at least open a window?! It's hot in here!"

He pulled out a fan and that made him relax a lot more. Discord rolled his eyes and said "We have literally been standing here for ten minutes at this point. It's not that long. You're only making it that long!"

Knuckles did not agree and said "Ten minutes?! It has felt like an eternity! You should know how that feels. You spent that entire time in stone!"

The music started playing and Discord told Knuckles "Put that fan away! It's starting!" Knuckles grunted about it, but he did so anyway.

Some of the important figures during a wedding went by and that made Knuckles question why he was here. He said in his head "Why am I even here? I should be safe in my house back in Baltimare where I have privacy and not standing with a bunch of ponies around. Maybe if I bail now..." Before he could even finish that thought, everyone gasped in awe and Knuckles wondered what was going on.

He looked in front of him and saw that the doors were opened to reveal the bride, Princess Twilight Sparkle. If Knuckles wasn't in awe before with Twilight's occasional style of clothing, he most certainly was now. He felt like he was literally staring at an angel and he had no words to describe it. Twilight began walking down the aisle towards the altar and everyone was blown away by her wedding dress.

Rarity had truly outdone herself and if you thought she did splendid on Cadence's dress, Twilight's basically blew hers out of the water in comparison. It had the finest silk that you could ever find and it was literally whiter than snow, plus the dress had a line of red and purple beads sowed together at the bottom as part of that intertwining of two becoming one flesh. Plus, she was wearing a necklace that Knuckles gave her on one of their dates back several months ago and it added that nice touch to the outfit.

Sweetie Belle had said "It's so romantic." Even though she was getting up there in age for being a flower girl, she still thought the whole thing was pretty amazing.

Apple Bloom expressed concern and said "Ah hope he doesn't go all berserk again." She may not have hung around Knuckles a whole lot, but she remembers the countless times her sister told her about how much of an awful individual he was for a while.

Scootaloo didn't express any doubts and said "He'll be fine. If anypony can handle that creature, it's Twilight." She knew that the alicorn was a strong willed individual and she would not let him fly off the hinges that easily, so there was nothing to worry about.

Twilight reached the altar and looked at Knuckles who was currently wearing a very fine suit. It was almost a tuxedo, but he went with the traditional tie instead of the bowtie. He thought that looked stupid and he wanted to keep his tribe's tradition alive by wearing ties with suits to formal events when it was required. He whispered to Twilight "You look very beautiful."

Twilight smiled and said "You look very handsome yourself." Knuckles smiled back at the remark and both of them turned to face Celestia.

Celestia cleared her throat and said "Ladies and gentlecolts, we are all gathered here today to celebrate the union of Princess Twilight Sparkle and Caleb "Knuckles" Brody." Knuckles didn't exactly want to reveal his real name to the crowds, but Twilight insisted on doing so because she said that most of them wouldn't even remember anyway, so it was fine. Celestia said "Never before in Equestria has there been a love so powerful, so strong, yet it started in the strangest and most unusual of circumstances. These two have proven that love surpasses all differences, all flaws, and all faults. I'll let the bride and groom say their own vows."

Knuckles cleared his throat and said "Twilight, when I came to this nation, I honestly thought that I would live alone for the rest of my life. If you had told me five years ago that a day like today would happen, I would have thought you were nuts. For so long, I was ignored, abandoned, abused, and neglected to the point of no return. I thought that after I lost my first love, I would never be able to recover. Even when I came to this world, the pain had continued, but you treated me different. You treated me with respect and never once insulted me or degraded me into something less. My heart had turned to stone and my words were as cold as ice, but you shattered my stone cold heart and showed me how to love again. Even though she is gone, I know that you will love me the exact same way as my first love did all those years ago."

Twilight wanted to simply cry because of how great it sounded, but she needed to act strong since she was a princess and she needed to be an example. She said "Caleb, I'm beyond words on how much this day means to me. When you first had come into this world, I was quite skeptical of you, but the more time I spent with you, the more I realized that you are just like the rest of us here in this room and across all of Equestria. It made me see that despite our claims to friendship, Equestria was still quite hostile to outsiders such as yourself. Even though I have a long way to go, I will make it my life mission that something like that won't happen again. I know I may never replace your first love, but I will try my best to be the best wife that I can be. I can definitely say that if she were here right now, she would have been proud of you."

Knuckles smiled at that and both of them turned back to Celestia. She cleared her throat and said "Do you, Caleb "Knuckles" Brody, take Princess Twilight Sparkle in marriage to be your lawfully wedded wife, in sickness and in health until death do you part?"

Knuckles had stared at those big beautiful purple orbs that were looking back at him and he couldn't help smiling back at her. Discord nudged him and whispered "That's your cue."

Knuckles broke his train of thought and said nervously "Huh? Oh, uhh, uhh, yes! Yes, I most definitely do."

Celestia laughed a bit and said "And do you, Princess Twilight Sparkle, take Caleb "Knuckles" Brody in marriage as your lawfully wedded husband, in sickness and in health until death do you part?"

Twilight stared at Knuckles and said with tears flowing down her face "I do." Knuckles smiled at her and he wiped the tears away and gave her a kiss on the head.

Celestia asked "May we have the rings please?" Spike held out the pillow for the two rings sitting on top and Celestia levitated them over to herself. Knuckles put the ring on Twilight's horn first and then she put the ring on Knuckles' ring finger with her magic. After that was done, Celestia said "With the power invested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride."

Knuckles was about to kiss his new wife, but before he could bend over to do so, Twilight jumped up and gave him the passionate kiss that you would probably ever seen. Knuckles eventually returned it and most looked away because of the crazy shock of what happened. Eventually, there were loud cheers and a loud explosion occurred in the sky. Everyone turned to see what that was, and saw that Rainbow had done a rainboom. Both Knuckles and Twilight smiled at it and gave each other a hug.

Knuckles eventually took Twilight's hoof and they walked outside together on the balcony. They waved to the massive crowds outside and they smiled at them as well. Knuckles couldn't believe he was even doing this, but he didn't exactly care at this moment because now he was married to Twilight. Both of them went back inside and Shining Armor came over to congratulate his sister.

He said "Twily, I'm so proud of you!" Both of them hugged and Knuckles noticed some tears coming down his face. He wanted to point it out, but he figured it would be better to stay quiet and not say anything, so that's what he did.

Twilight did eventually notice the tears and asked "Are you crying?"

Shining quickly wiped the tears away and said in denial "Of course not! Like I said at your coronation several years ago, it's just liquid pride. It's a totally different thing." Knuckles rolled his eyes at that and looked away at the window. Shining turned to Knuckles and said with anger "You better take good care of her or else you're gonna pay for it."

Knuckles gave him a deadpan stare and said "Wouldn't dream of it, "master." I take commitments very seriously and this is no different. My tribe would cast me out if I dishonored their values, so you can relax."

Shining seemed to accept that as an answer and Twilight said "Don't be too hard on him, Shiny. He's had a very tragic life and went through a lot. He doesn't need anymore of that."

Shining sighed and said "Sorry Twily, I'm just only looking out for your safety. I only want what's best for you." Hearing that made Knuckles incredibly angry and he so desperately just wanted to tear into Shining, but he couldn't embarrass himself anymore than he already has by being in a compromising position, so he simply clinched up his fists as a way to contain his anger.

Before it could get any more ugly, Twilight's friends came over and Pinkie said "Best wedding ever!" Knuckles rolled his eyes playfully because he knew that was such a typical thing for Pinkie to say.

Fluttershy said "We love you Twilight."

Twilight smiled and said "I love you too girls." They all did a group hug and Knuckles gave a small smile. Twilight extended her hoof out to Knuckles and she dragged him into the group hug. He was a little surprised at first, but he got over it quickly.

Later on, the reception had begun and many ponies took the time to socialize with one another and talk about life. The chatter soon turned into clapping when they saw the guests of honor walking out. One of the castle staff said "Ladies and Gentlecolts, I present to you, Mr. and Mrs. Caleb "Knuckles" Brody!" The claps got louder and so did the cheers. Both of them walked through the crowds and they threw random flowers and other items in celebration.

They went over to the courtyard to perform their first dance together as a married couple and both of them were definitely happy being in each other's presence. Even Celestia and Luna felt happy for their former student and friend.

Celestia said to Luna "I'm so glad that Knuckles was finally able to find happiness in his life. That horrific past is only something that most of us wished never happen in our lives, but he couldn't help it."

Luna smiled and said "I agree, sister. Twilight was able to shatter Knuckles' ice cold stone heart and show him love and compassion that I have never seen before."

Celestia asked Luna "Hey Luna, how come you never mentioned to me that Twilight told you he had serious emotional problems in his life?"

Luna said "You gave me a second chance, so why not do the same for him?"

Meanwhile, Twilight and Knuckles were slow dancing and they were enjoying the music as they danced to it. Knuckles stared in Twilight's eyes and said "Perfect. Absolutely perfect."

Twilight was curious what he meant by that and asked "What's perfect?"

Knuckles chuckled a bit and said "You are. I never knew how much happiness I could feel from something like this. After I lost Maddi, I thought this day would never come in my lifetime, but you proved me wrong, so I'm grateful for that."

Discord cleared his throat and the two of them stopped what they were doing. Knuckles gave him a slight glare and said "Do you have a good explanation for that? I am having some one-on-one time with my wife in case you haven't seen already."

Discord rolled his eyes and said "Relax, man-child. I was just simply coming over here to congratulate you."

That threw Knuckles off guard and he said "Oh? Uh, thanks I guess. I didn't think I would expect that coming from you."

Discord smirked and said to himself "Fluttershy owes me 20 bits now."

Knuckles was highly offended at that statement and said "What?! You placed a bet on my marriage to Twilight?!"

Discord said "Well, me and Fluttershy were simply discussing it over our usual Tuesday Tea and we simply placed a casual bet on the eventual marriage. I said that it would happen after a year of dating and I was correct, so now I get 20 bits."

Knuckles was furious that someone had placed a bet on his marriage to Twilight and he said with anger "Bu-but HOW?! You weren't even there for the proposal and I never made it public until about six months ago! How is this possible?! You can't even read my mind!"

Twilight giggled a bit and said "Does it really matter, honey?" She did find it a little strange to have her marriage get betted on, but with how this country is these days, it doesn't really surprise her in the slightest.

Knuckles sighed and said "I guess not. Just don't make this a regular thing, Discord. You're lucky this time because I have my wife with me, but if you do it again, I won't be so lenient." Knuckles simply grunted and walked away. Some more time passed and after finishing up dinner and dessert, it was time for Knuckles and Twilight to go off on their honeymoon to Las Pegasus.

Spike opened the door to the carriage and bowed before Twilight as a greeting. the two of them hugged and Spike said "Be careful now. Don't get into too much trouble."

Twilight smiled and said "I promise you I won't. I love you, Spike."

Spike smiled back and said "I love you too." Twilight got into the carriage and Knuckles was about to join her. Spike said "You promise to take care of her now, you hear? I care very much about her and I don't want anything happening to her."

Knuckles chuckled with confidence and said "Trust me, nothing will happen to her. I will do everything in my power to protect her from harm. I understand how much you care about her, because that's how I felt about Maddi and still do even though she is gone. I will not let Twilight suffer the same fate. Take care, bro."

Spike smiled and said "Take care too, bro." Knuckles got inside and Spike closed the door.

Knuckles stared at Twilight and asked "Are you ready to go?"

Twilight was about to say yes, but then she remembered that she forgot to do something. She said "There's one more thing to do." She stuck her head out the window and threw the bouquet of flowers towards the bridesmaids. They were trying to catch it when Rarity jumped up and grabbed it like a hawk capturing its prey. The other ponies glared at her and she just laughed nervously.

The carriage started rolling away and all of Twilight's friends waved goodbye. They were now headed off to Las Pegasus to enjoy a wonderful honeymoon before eventually returning to Baltimare. Knuckles never imagined that this day would ever come after the tragic death of Maddi, but after Twilight changed him, it became a reality and he couldn't be happier. Now, he could enjoy the rest of his natural life with Twilight and the two shall get closer.

Author's Note

AN: Well, we've reached the end of the marriage chapter! This one was definitely interesting to write and the next one will definitely be as well. There are only two chapters left to go in this story, but they'll definitely be important ones. Sorry this came out late again, life has just been busy lately and I've been stuck on a writer's block, but hopefully, that will go away. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Next Chapter: A beautiful night! After Twilight and Knuckles arrived to their honeymoon destination in Las Pegasus, they decide to do it on the first night of marriage since they are now married. Of course, neither of them have a ton of experience with this, but they will learn along the way. Will they be able to figure it out, or will it get incredibly awkward?

Until then, my fellow readers