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A Productive Day4,658 words
Donuts and Lost Ships6,520 words
The Most Well Laid Plans...*5,939 words
It Just Isn't My Day1,503 words
Discovery1,403 words
Discovery (Part Two)353 words
Crash Landing467 words
Escape1,706 words
Mercy1,065 words
Dreams1,933 words
Surrender1,694 words
Identity3,025 words
Hostage2,763 words
Home?2,092 words
Residence2,409 words
Work2,523 words
'Club' Night2,044 words
Joyride2,081 words
The Nights Love4,468 words
Encounter3,794 words
Revelations4,003 words
Duty2,635 words
Half a Ton of Diplomacy8,223 words
Ha Ha Ha, Nope!5,546 words
Here Be Dragons3,558 words
Rainbows, Sonic Booms, and Malicious Intents 2,335 words
Lost Chapter I - Flying Fortress3,398 words
Two Dawns11,695 words
Epilogue3,878 words

Epilogue

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6 MONTHS LATER…

Ale looked himself over in the bedrooms mirror nervously. He pulled at the collar of his black dress jacket uncomfortably. It wasn’t that the suit was irritating him, Rarity proving to be an excellent seamstress with how amazing the suit felt on Ale, but instead was sweating bullets as he thought his situation over and how it had occurred so fast. He remembered the night he came back to Canterlot after he had returned from the hive. The night princess was so happy to see him and they had simply stayed in each other’s company, refusing to let the other out of their sight. The rest of Equestria was also surprised when the thought dead alien returned from the massive explosion they had seen in the distance. Celestia surprised Ale with how much she seemed to care about his return and learned that she had made him a national hero while he was gone.

Things had calmed down after that and he moved into the castle where he could be closer to Luna. He still had a different room however as he was still uncomfortable with the notion of a relationship. He never had much social contact before crashing into Equestria after all.

His thoughts were interrupted by a series of knocks on the door. “Coming,” Ale called. He looked towards the corner of his room and stared at his pile of armor, feeling naked and vulnerable without it on. With a deep breath he strolled over to the door and opened it. A rainbow blur tackled him to the ground, Ale letting out a huff of air. He stared up into a pair of magenta eyes that were uncomfortably close to his face.

“Huh, so that’s what you look like.”

“Rainbow, you’re sitting on me.”

Rainbow sported a playful smile. “What? You don’t like mares sitting on you?”

“… Only when they weigh as much as you.”

Dash’s smile broke as she huffed at him. “Are you calling me fat!?”

Ale suddenly realized that might not have been the best thing to say as he saw Rainbows eyes glint with murder.

“Uh, well… you see… I mean that…” Ale struggled to come up with an appeasing answer as he knew he had to dig out of the very deep hole he had just created for himself. It didn’t help that Dash had started to growl lowly and one of her hooves was unnervingly close to a very sensitive part.

“You… you have really nice hair today?”

Rainbow snorted loudly before leaning away from him a bit. She looked cross eyed at her hair before huffing again. “Nice save. But you’re lucky this time.”

Ale sighed in relief before he heard the clip clop of a ponies hooves on the marble hallways leading to his room. He turned his head to see Rarity step into the doorway.

“I hope you don’t mind my intrusion but I-“ She stopped when she saw Ale lying on the floor with Rainbow straddling him. Her eyes were a bit wide before narrowing. “Now Ale, while I am completely familiar with the customs of a wedding I am still disappointed that you would still participate in the activities a bachelor would, much less on the actual day of the wedding and with one of your closest friends!”

Ale shook his head. “Rarity, it’s not what it looks like.”

“It’s exactly what it looks like,” Rainbow said while smirking playfully at Ale. Ale rolled his eyes as he pushed RD off of him and stood up, brushing his suit off as he checked it for any damage.

“You’re a pervert you know that?”

Rainbow pushed him a bit with her hoof. “You know you like it.” Ale tossed his hands into the air before turning to Rarity. She was smiling, no doubt knowing that it was a misunderstanding.

“What did you want to tell me?”

“Everypony is ready for you and the ceremony is about to begin.”

Ale nodded, watching as the two mares stepped out of his room and waited for him patiently. Letting out a breath Ale shook his arms a bit before standing tall and breathing deeply. He stepped forward and walked with the two mares, the girls patting him comfortingly on his legs. The sounds of hooves and his shoes kept them company as they walked towards the back courtyard where the ceremony was being held. Two guards opened the large wood doors that led outside, Ale temporarily blinded by the bright sunset. When his vision returned he saw a modest crowd made up of nobles and some residents from Ponyville watching him with a mixture of awe, curiosity, and suppressed excitement. He breathed deeply again as he willed his nerves away and stepped forward. He had just cleared the doorway before a loud sound erupted from a stage a small distance away from the gathering and almost caused Ale to jump a mile high into the sky due to his heightened nerves anyways.

Ale looked towards a familiar white unicorn with a blue mane. She waved at him as she hollered, “I got your back!”

Ale smiled and pointed to her in a bro like acknowledgement before continuing his walk forward, picturing himself walking in an epic slow motion. The ponies gawked at him, furthering his false belief that he looked as awesome as he thought. Pinkie didn’t have the heart to tell him that he could never hope to look as good as those who starred in Hollywood movies. No matter, his thoughts still proved to calm him as he approached Celestia at the altar. She was wearing her normal regalia and had an honest smile. Ale stood next to her and observed her eyeing him up, a wink being his confirmation that she liked what she could see. Ale mentally face palmed, well aware when Luna pointed out to him that many mares actually found his form attractive. No doubt his actual form retaining the same effects as he was well sculpted. He felt a nudge on his leg and looked down. Spike, his best ‘man’, was smiling widely up at him while nudging him with his arm.

Yeah, Twilight wasn’t too happy about Spike picking up some things from Ale. The Spartan on the other hand only smiled as he knew Spike would eventually grow up and Twilight would no longer be responsible for his well being.

Celestia glanced over to Vinyl and nodded at her. The DJ noticeably calmed down and switched off the music that Ale had given to her previously. She then put on a much more familiar song. A second after it began playing the doors to the castle that Ale had walked through opened. A familiar orange pegasus with a purple mane walked out, throwing flower pedals along the path to the altar. Following her was a pony that took Ales breath away. Luna was wearing a pure white dress that flowed with her body, rippling gently in a non-existent breeze. The edges seemed to disappear in thin air only to reappear, like a specter. A short train followed her; it was also acting as if it didn’t exist as Ale noticed a distinct lack of dragging sounds. The dress was held together by a large circular clip that sported her cutie mark on her chest. Her face was uncovered with a silver leaf crown perched on her head. Her eyes captured Ales, the sapphire depths pulling Ales very being in as he drowned in her gaze. She made her way to the altar and stood across from Ale. She looked at Ale with a very large smile.

Celestia looked at both of them with a very large smile. “Are you ready?” Both Ale and Luna nodded. “Very well.”

“We gather her today to unite two beings in holy matrimony. The charming, wise, and loyal care taker of the night, Princess Luna,” Celestia swayed her head towards Luna before continuing. “And the watchful, noble, and heroic guardian of Equestria, Spartan II 02-05 Chief Petty Officer and Shadow Guard of the Lunar Guard Corps, Ale. Quite a lengthy title.”

The crowd giggled at Celestia’s comment. “Let us get on with the vows. As always, lady’s first.”

Luna stepped forward and looked straight into Ale’s eyes. “While I have wedded many couples in my lifetime I must admit that I never thought I’d be the one to be wedded. Many have tried to capture my affection, all failing as they did not love me for the right reasons. I despaired, saddened at the prospect of never finding one to be complete with. I fell into darkness and suffered greatly while creating great grief among my beloved subjects.”

She smiled wider as her voice cracked slightly. “But then you came, a great warrior from distant lands, suffering just as much as I. At first you were a simple curiosity, a passing oddity. But then, as I got to know you I was surprised greatly. You treated me not like royalty, but as one of the ponies, giving the same amount of respect and friendship as you received. Sure, we had some rough patches but every time we overcame them I found myself growing closer and closer to you. Finally I saw you one day and knew that you were the one. The one that I could share my life with and spend every waking hour with. I can only hope that I can give you the same as which I desire. I love you.”

Faint sniffles could be heard from the crowd as her sentimental words breached their defenses. Ale gently smiled at her, rubbing her cheek briefly as he acknowledged her words. When he took his hand back she levitated a silver ring that seemed to glow a deep blue ever so slightly. Luna slipped the finger on his left ring finger as Ale had told her that was a custom in human weddings. She stepped back, signaling Ale to take his place. With another deep breath of many that day he stepped forward and began speaking.

“I have to agree with you when I say that I never thought I would be standing in this situation. I wish I could say that I know what I’m doing but I have never witnessed a wedding before.”

Ale cleared his throat as he realized he should probably move along. “I remember the first time I saw you. It was in a dark hallway in a non-operational ship. I was checking for intruders when the greatest surprise of my life appeared. Two horse things were in the ship with me. In zero vacuum with no environment suits and still breathing. At first you frightened me. My training dictating that you were danger and that I needed to evade. After which you eventually demanded my cooperation and surrender. After a rough few days of questioning I gained a new found respect for you. This only increased after the attempted assassination. I found myself eventually opening up to you. That is when you finally did something that no other person that I know of did. You cracked open the cold hard exterior of a super soldier and allowed him to feel new experiences. Friendship, trust, love. You introduced me to a new world of emotion. A particular foreign sensation kept bugging me every time I came in contact with you. It took me a while to figure it out but I eventually found out that it was love. I was nervous, afraid of a relationship when you started to return the feelings. But after sharing many experiences with you I can say for certain now that I love you. I promise to do everything in my power and beyond to protect you and love you for eternity.”

Ale shuffled on his feet nervously as he hoped he had said something correctly. He saw many of the crowd crying quietly in tears of happiness. His soon to be wife was smiling gently at him with a hint of water in her eyes. Spike handed a silver bracelet with a rare purple mythril detail to Ale. He slipped it on Luna's left leg, smiling at Luna all the while. Ale nodded at Celestia, prompting her to continue on with the ceremony.

“Please step forward.” The elegant and silver tongued lady of the night stepped alongside the silent and just armored guardian. Two different beings with an interesting clash of personalities. “Are there any who oppose the bonding of this man and mare?”

An obnoxious voice that Ale remembered from a DJ club a long time ago booed out. Ale watched with a morbid fascination as Luna’s eye twitched and her horn lit up for a very brief second. A moment later a flower pot crashed onto the stallions head, knocking him clean out. A royal guard swiftly appeared next to him and dragged him out, all the while shooting the crowd an apologetic glance. Ale gulped as he realized what he may have just gotten into. Celestia shook her head and continued.

“Do you Luna, take Ale to be your lawfully wedded husband, to love and cherish, in sickness and in health, for the rest of your life?”

She locked eyes with Ale. “I do.”

“Do you Ale, take Luna to be your lawfully wedded wife, to love and cherish, in sickness and in health, for the rest of your life?”

Ale returned her gaze and smiled. “I do.”

“You may now kiss the bride.”

Ale leaned down as Luna reached up. They met halfway in a mind blowing kiss, Ale literally shocked at the sheer amount of emotion he could feel flowing to him through Luna. Just then the sun finally lowered rapidly and the moon rose to take its place, the satellite brighter than ever. The crowd cheered loudly as they watched the couple kiss, sealing their marriage. The new couple broke apart, Ale’s mind desperately searching for something to say.

“Oo-rah!” ‘The boys in green will never forgive me for using that.’

Luna smiled before dragging him in for another kiss. A thundering sobbing sounded throughout the air causing Ale to stop the kiss and search for the source. He was shocked to see a familiar blue dragon perched upon a cloud above the gathering. Huge tear drops fell from the sky, soaking ponies in puddles of water. Fluttershy flew up to Zephyr and began speaking with her in soothing tones. Ale turned his attention back to Luna, the pair smiling at each other. Music began spilling forth from the DJ stand, ponies beginning to dance to the strange music.

Ale and Luna held hand and hoof as they went down to the stage to dance. They held each other close as they danced together, time flying past as they enjoyed the celebration. Ale saw Cadence and Shining Armor approach them, still dancing along the way. With mutual consent, Cadence and Luna swapped places, the pink alicorn leading Ale away.

“Oh I’m so happy for you! How do you feel?”

“Amazing. Nothing like I've ever felt before.”

Cadence nodded, smiling widely. “That’s good. So, looking forward to tonight?”

Ale cocked his head to the side. “What do you mean?”

Cadence gave him a look of disbelief, before studying him closely. After a moment she responded. “Are you sure you don’t know what I mean?” When Ale didn't respond as he was still thinking Cadence’s eyes widened. “Wait, you mean to say that you guys still haven’t done it yet? I thought I talked to Luna already.” A new look of determination appeared on her face.

“Wait, what do you mean ‘it’?” Before Ale could receive an answer her horn flashed and she disappeared, only to be replaced by an extremely confused Shining Armor. The two stood there uncomfortably close to each other before Ale coughed. “Yeah, uh, I’m going to go get some punch now.”

“Yeah, I was just going to get some cake as well.” The two stood there for a few more seconds before Ale responded.

“Well then, I’ll get right on that.”

“Yeah, same here.”

With that, the two split ways and vowed to pretend that never happened.

After a while Ale, Luna, and anypony else that was invited to this specific event sat down at a long table filled with food. Celestia sat at the head while Ale and Luna sat to her right. Conversation filled the air as the clinking of silverware rang out. A loud clinking filled the air as Celestia tapped her fork to her wine glass. Everypony stopped talking and watched her intently as she readied her speech.

“I would just like a moment to say a few things. Luna, Ale, I’m so happy for you two. You both have found someone who cares greatly for the other. Don’t ever let anything stop you two from sharing your love.” She began tearing up a bit. “I’m just so happy that you have something that I have yet to obtain, and I cherish you both and give you my blessing.” With that she raised her glass. “To love.”

“To love,” the crowd replied before taking a sip of their drinks. They continued dining until they could no longer cram themselves with the delicious food. Luna and Ale once again went back to the dance floor. The party went well into the night, the stream of ponies leaving growing larger and larger before eventually everyone had left, exhausted from the party. Ale walked up to Vinyl while Luna talked with Celestia.

“Hey Vinyl, thanks for coming out.”

She waved him off. “No problem. I’m just surprised that just about everyone left. It’s not that late, at least not what I’m used to when partying down at the club.”

“Well, I think everypony are a bit tired from such a huge event. The marriage of one of the princesses and an alien is a big deal.”

“I guess you’re right. Well then, I’ll see you later. Stop by Ponyville some time okay? The new club is just about finished.”

“Will do.” Ale turned around and began walking away before Vinyl called out to him.

“Oh and good luck! You’re going to need it!”

Ale stared at her confusedly. “Okay?”

He left the giggling mare behind and approached Celestia and Luna.

“Okay! You don’t need to remind me. I’m not a filly anymore.” Luna looked over and saw Ale. Her cheeks lit up in a massive blush as she hid her face and coughed.

Ale looked at Celestia in confusion. “Uh, is there something wrong?”

“Not at all. I was just leaving for bed.” Celestia turned before talking back to him as she walked away. “Try to keep it down though, okay?”

She disappeared into the palace before Ale could respond. He looked towards Luna and asked, “What is everyone going on about?”

Luna shook her head with a nervous smile. “Oh, nothing.”

Ale shrugged, already giving up on understanding these weird ponies. He did however feel as if he was missing something incredibly obvious as he walked with Luna back towards their rooms. They eventually reached their rooms; Ale’s being directly across from Luna’s. Ale looked at Luna and watched as she seemed to struggle to say something.

“Uh, is there something wrong?”

Luna fidgeted further, Ale seriously considering that she might be having a seizure before she replied with a heavy breath as she hung her head.

“No, nothing’s wrong.”

Ale wiggled his fingers uncertainly. “Well, uh, good night then.”

Luna simply nodded as he walked into his room and shut the door gently behind him. He immediately went straight to his armor and stripped down to his birthday suit. He put on his body suit before placing his armor on rapidly, the process taking a little less than five minutes as Twilight had attached magical anti-grav generators allowing an easier and faster prep time. The second he placed his helmet on he felt a lot more comfortable. His armor was like his second skin to him and he felt safe, invincible really. His musings were interrupted when he heard a solid knock on his door. Wondering who it was he strolled over to the door and opened it.

Luna stood there with a firm look as if she had finally made up her mind about something. “What’s wrong?” Ale asked.

“Nothing. I just need you to come to my room if you please. I have something important for you.”

“Okay?”

Ale followed her out into the hallway and into her room, the doors slamming behind him firmly and the loud sound of obnoxious locking filling the air. Ale felt as if he was in a lot of trouble. He had no idea.

Meanwhile the previously unnoticed guard standing out in the hallway next to Luna’s room was staring straight ahead, shivering uncomfortably here and there. A gold flash appeared and he looked down to see a wrapped package along with a note that simply read, ‘Celestia’.

The guard opened the package and sighed with relief as he placed a large pair of ear muffs over his head, smiling happily at the lack of noise.

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An Unknown Amount Of Time Later…

The guard opened his eyes as he felt a slight breeze go past. He looked to the side to see the armored form of Ale sneaking past him, gently closing the door behind him. The guard removed his ear muffs just as Ale noticed him. Ale stared at him for a second before moving a finger up to his visor.

“Shhhhhh.”

The guard nodded, keeping silent as he watched Ale continue tip toeing to his room. He had almost made it before the doors he was guarding opened wide with a loud creak. Ale stopped dead in his tracks as he prayed that she hadn’t noticed him yet. The universe decided to screw with him however as a voice rang out.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Ale shuddered before looking back at the guard. “Help me,” he whispered.

“Help?” The voice laughed. “Nothing can help you now.”

A dark aura wrapped around Ale’s ankles and yanked him to the floor. He was dragged across the hallway, his fingers digging trenches into the marble.

“NOOOO!!!” Ale screamed as he was dragged into the darkness, the last thing the guard seeing before the doors slammed shut was a pair of cyan reptilian eyes. The guard shuddered before miming a cross on his chest, praying for the poor alien.

He placed the ear muffs back on his head and looked through a window, admiring the late night sky as the moon shuffled ever closer to the horizon. Near by the moon, he spotted a moving speck of light that most had come to know as the ship the warrior, savior of Equestria, and Armored Guardian had arrived on.