Finding Your Family

Once Scootaloo was zipped up properly, she turned around to adjust Spike's outfit. "You know, these outfits are coming off as soon as we arrive back at the house. I owe you a romp."

"I don't know about owing it to me," smiled Spike, "But I'll join you, anyway."

They shared a kiss and left the bathroom. They'd already flushed and washed their claws, and now it was time to return to the party.

The carriage was coming along splendidly. There were two of them, now, though. The first was decorated completely, with the train of bells and the words "Just Married" printed on the back and sides. The second was not decorated, as it was just stuffed full of wedding gifts so they could all be transported back.

Barb found them as they entered through the door, rubbing her eyes. "Can we go home, soon?" she groaned. "I'm tired..."

Scootaloo smiled and picked her up, situating her on her hip. "We'll go soon, sweetie. All we have to do is find your siblings and tell everypony goodnight."

As Big Mac walked in behind them, Spike placed a claw on his shoulder. "Thanks for doin' this for us, Big Mac."

"Eeyup."

"Are you sure it's not been too much trouble?"

"Nope."

Looking around, neither Ember nor Alto had made it back to the barn. Cudgel was in the back corner, trying to organise something with Gridline. Gridline's parents had not been invited, because when Scootaloo had gone to ask them, all they wanted to do was complain about marriage being a trap and to not fall into it, which would only lead to a big fight with their ex if they had showed up. Rainbow Slash was riding on Rainbow Dash's shoulders, having also been pretty tired by the day's events.

Spike picked up Barb from Scootaloo's arms and gave her to Big Mac. "I think it's time we head home," he said. "Would you mind putting her in the carriage for us?"

Without a word, Big Mac hoisted her up onto his shoulders and carried her out the door.

Scootaloo made her way over to Rainbow Dash, who had been joined by Soarin now that he'd had time to return. But on his way to pick up Cudgel, Spike was stopped by Twilight and Thorax. "Have you seen Ember?" they asked in a whisper.

"I told her to go back to the castle," he whispered back. Careful if you go see her, though, she has a stallion caller with her, last I checked."

"You mean a dragon?" asked Thorax.

"No, the missing saxophonist."

Twilight and Thorax exchanged surprised looks, then chuckles. "We're going to head back to the castle, ourselves. Don't stay up too late."

"Oh, we're about to head home," smiled Spike. "Kids need to go to bed, and Scoots is really happy that the day went so well. Have a good night."

Giving both of them a big hug, Spike let them move along as he went to pick up Cudgel. It turns out that he was organising a new campaign, and Gridline was trying to do the numbers with his hoof and from memory.

"Time to go, Cudgel," said Spike, dropping down to one knee. "Wrap it up."

"Okay," said Cudgel. "Anyway, the short version is, we find the lost prince and he's actually a Jörmungandr in disguise. Then we fight him."

"Cool," smiled Gridline. "We should probably play up his fake armor a bit, though. Really dig into that scalemail."

"Right. See you later, Grid."

Climbing up onto his dad's shoulders, Cudgel was taken out of the barn and situated in the carriage, and Rainbow Slash wasn't far behind. Spike and Scootaloo hopped in, as well, and with Big Mac pulling the carriage full of dragons and Rainbow Dash and Soarin pulling the wagonload of gifts, they were on their way home right away.

"So, where do we want to go on our honeymoon?" asked Spike. "I know we were mostly focused on the wedding, but I haven't really given it any thought."

"Neither have I," answered Scootaloo. "Honestly, I think we need a vacation after all of this. But I think it might be best if we kept it simple. Something easy."

"Something we can travel to in less than a day and not have to bring a lot of stuff," agreed Spike.

"And most importantly, family friendly." Scootaloo looked across the carriage at their kids, two of which were asleep, with Cudgel still trying to stay awake. "The Crystal Empire?"

"If you want ponies mobbing me all day, sure," snorted Spike. "Appleloosa?"

"Isn't it stampede season?"

Spike thought about it for a moment. "Why don't we just stay in? It doesn't matter to me where we go, as long as we're together. And there's no place nicer to be than right here in Ponyville!"

Scootaloo smiled. "It'd be nice to be able to stay in the house without anything needing to be done."

"Plus, I'm pretty sure Cudgel wouldn't mind sticking around to finish his campaign planning."

They both turned to Cudgel, who had fallen asleep since they'd last checked.

"It's decided, then," smiled Scootaloo, snuggling up under Spike's chin. "A staycation, it shall be."

After arriving home, Big Mac carried Cudgel inside, while Rainbow moved the girls. This freed up Spike's arms so he could carry his bride through the door and up the stairs, lowering her into the bed. He unzipped her dress once again, and their clothes were swiftly discarded and tossed onto the floor and their bodies entangled on the bed.

While it started with Spike climbing on top of Scootaloo, it was mere seconds before she grabbed his wrists and flipped him onto his back, pinning him to the bed. They didn't stop until after midnight, and fell asleep in a crumpled mess on the bed.

But it wasn't just a happy ending for them. Once they made it back to Rainbow's place, she and Soarin took another shower together. Soarin didn't even have a chance to grab a towel before being dragged into bed, and they went to bed dripping. Twilight and Thorax likewise had a romantic evening, and while their lovemaking was slow and sensual, they still went to bed at a reasonable hour.

It was Alto and Ember that were up all night. When Alto snuck out the next morning, he arrived to breakfast with the rest of his band with bites all over his shoulders and hips, scratches all down his back, burns on his chest and a great big smile on his face. He'd had perhaps the best night out of all of them, as he'd finally bedded a dragon, and a royal one, at that.