Chapter 10

Six months later...

Checking yourself in the mirror one last time, running a hoof through your mane and straightening the tie around your neck, you’re ready for what tonight has in store. Calmly, despite what feels like thousands of butterflies in your stomach, you walk down the stairs from your room, to see the pub busier than it had ever been.

Looking out into the busy ground floor of your fully renovated public house, you smile. The money from the royal funds had paid for everything, and now that the business was back on it’s hooves you had been able to quickly pay back all of the bits that Luna and Celestia had given. The royal sisters had refused to accept the money at first, but you had insisted that they use the cash to help other ponies in similar situations.

Things with Berry had had their ups and downs, mostly after an incident involving a pepper pot left her hesitant to be anywhere near the usually harmless table top items; this had eventually sorted itself out with time and patience. Your only really big argument with her had been over money - she still refused to take payment for working at the bar, and so you had started a secret account for making the occasional grand romantic gesture, such as the one you had planned for tonight. Not knowing what else the future could bring, you also started putting money away for Ruby, should she ever decide to go to university, something that after a discussion with Cheerilee was completely possible.

Tonight, you were celebrating the end of yet another successful winter wrap-up, and the pub was full to capacity. Trotting past the bar itself, you see Berry smile and blow a kiss your way, before returning to Pinkie Pie, who had been explaining to Rainbow Dash, her voice heavily slurring, that “Fwiendsh don’t let fwiendsh fly dwunk”. Dash laughs, and asks Pinkie if she wants to take her wings home with her for the night.

“Evenin’ Ditzy, Macintosh,” you say, stopping briefly at the table at which the relatively new couple were sat,

“Good evening Paddock” Ditzy responds, using her mock-Cloplin accent as usual, “I hear you helped out with preparing the fields for replanting today?”

“He sure did, never seen such a short stallion handle a plough like that, got some muscle behind him!” Macintosh chimes in, giving you slightly-too-hard nudge, causing Ditzy to look at him a little sternly, making him quietly add that he won’t be having anything more to drink tonight.

Smiling, you promise to talk to them a little further later on, before walking between the tables full of ponies. Getting close to the door, Snapshot appears, flanked by a couple more off-duty guards, and they weave their way to the last free table whilst Snapshot walks over to his wife. A waitress appears from the newly built kitchen, several plates levitated above her head as she dodges between patrons, and she gracefully places them in front of waiting customers before wandering back through the still-swinging door.

Nearing the stage, you use your horn to draw the microphone close as you climb the steps, and address the customers for the night.

“Good Evening, everypony, and welcome to The Alicorn’s Wings. For those of you who are visiting us for the first time tonight, I’m Paddock, the owner. I’ve got something of an announcement to make; I came to this town with little more than an idea and a run down pub to refurnish. I met a mare soon after, and she and her little foal soon became everything to me. Berry, sweetheart, could you come up here and join me?”

Berry blushes at the mention of her name, and then begins to make her own way through the crowd.

“Now, Berry and me, we’ve had a wonderful year together, and I’ve quickly been realising a lot of things about my life,” you start, and then help Berry onto the stage, “I’m finally ready to settle myself down, and become a family stallion, and well, Berry, my love, I’d like to do that with you.”

You kneel before her, your magic levitating a small box from the rafters above. Berry’s eyes grow huge as she begins to catch on, gasping as you remove the lid.

“Berry Punch, will you marry me?”

Her eyes fill with tears as the beautiful mare nods. You levitate the diamond-studded anklet out of it’s box and secure it around her left foreleg, and then rise and kiss her as the crowd applaud.

Once the applause had died down, the two of you make your way back to the bar and begin working again, congratulated by everypony you walked past, you even receive a pat on the back from Needles, the dragon you had met what felt like far more than a year ago.

After closing time that night, you and Berry creep quietly up the stairs to the room above the pub, the two of you watching Ruby sleep for a few minutes. Gently, you levitate the sleeping foal onto her mother's back, wrapping the blanket around her, reclaiming your flat cap from her head.

It was another beautifully clear night out tonight with the stars and moon shining down upon you, as normal shortly after winter wrap-up, and after locking the pub up for the night you bid farewell to the waitress and chef. Trotting back to your fiancée's home with your new family, you couldn't be happier.

The End.

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