Chapter 28 – Where We Have Left Off

Slowly but surely, Ford’s dozy eyes begin to open from his extensively well-earned rest. Drowsily, he sits himself up as his hazy eyes and senses verify his surroundings. His body rests on a very plushy bed, which features thick, comfy sheets and fluffy pillows. It’s been so long since he experienced this level of luxurious comfort after having to sleep on hard bedrock for a couple of weeks straight. The vast royal suite consists of softly warm, heavenly colors such as orange and yellow. And outside from his window with the silky curtains opened, Ford can hear the birds happily chirping away as if spring has just arrived while ponies are bustling with renewed, cheerful spirits as they go about with their busy lives.

As he turned his head to the joyful noise outside, there is something that catches his attention immediately as his eyes become fully awake. Staring with disbelief is a simple jewelry box with purple velvet covering the surface, but to Ford, he would recognizable that box from anywhere. And next to it is an envelope with neat cursive writing that has his name written on there.

He is just about to reach for the box and letter, but his left fore hoof is caught in a snag by a familiar grasp. Turning to his left side, he smiles warmly at the sight of his beloved. Rainbow Dash is still asleep in an ever-so cutesy manner as she bears a contented smile while she is subconsciously possessive of Ford’s foreleg.

Carefully, Ford reaches out for his items as he doesn’t want to stir Rainbow out of her sleep as well as to ruin his surprise for her. With the jewelry box set closely beside him, Ford takes the time to quietly open the envelope and read the letter to himself.

Dear Ford Mustang,

I certainly hope that this reaches you once you wake up before she does. I’m sure you know what to do with your precious gift from there! Anyway, I expect to hear more from you and Rainbow Dash soon once everything is official! Take care of yourself and good luck!

Sincerely,

Princess Celestia

Afterwards, Ford breaks into a soft, chuckling smile over Celestia’s words before he tucks the letter away. Then, with barely contained anticipation, he lifts the lid of the box and beholds the magnificent sight of his missing ring! Smiling widely, he dives into a mesmerized state over the return of his one-of-a-kind engagement bracelet, one of Hindel’s parting gifts to Ford: the Prismatic Diamond Ring!

Distracted by the colorful sight of the hoof ring, Ford almost fails to notice that Rainbow Dash is rousing from her own slumber. Frantically, he closes the ring’s box and hides it underneath his pillow before he resumes his previous sleeping position just so his eye level matches that with hers. After she briefly opens her eyes, they are shot wide open once she sees the bright, welcoming smile of her coltfriend. Gradually, her awakened eyes lessen into a softer expression as her lazy smile mirrors that with Ford’s.

“Hey.” he greets her simply.

“Hey.”

“How long was I out?”

“About a day. So how do you feel right now?”

“Honestly, it’s the best sleep I ever had in a long time!” he answers joyfully as he gives his back and forelegs a nice morning stretch. Then, he pulls Rainbow Dash closely as he adds with a giggling smile, “Of course, it’s even better when I have my favorite cuddle buddy to snuggle up to!”

Despite flustering from having to endure the sappiest of her lover, she lets it slide as she openly embraces the over-abundance of cuteness while rubbing her smiling muzzle into Ford’s fuzzy coat. He smiles greatly over the adorableness from the way his marefriend nuzzles his chest as it’s been so long since they get to unwind like this.

Once they settle down with their forelegs wrapped around each other, Ford asks her, “By the way, where’s everypony else?”

“They’re probably having some breakfast right now. While you were sleeping, we spent some time yesterday tending to the wounded and patching up Canterlot.”

“Sorry if I missed out on anything.”

“Nah, don’t sweat about it. In fact, Pinkie Pie vowed to hold off of all her planned parties until you finally wake up.”

“That’s… quite commendable of her.”

“Yeah, you wouldn’t believe the list of parties she has in mind! There’s the ‘Ford-Is-Awake’ party, the ‘We-Just-Kicked-Arrogon’s-Flank’ party, the ‘We-Saved-the-World’ party, and of course, we can’t celebrate your new Cutie Mark without your very own Cuteceñera!"

“Please tell me that all these parties aren’t all wrapped into one!” he cringes on that thought. “Because no offense to Pinkie, but I'm not fully recovered yet for something like that!”

“I’m sure we can work something out with her.” she rests his worries with a casual, chuckling smile.

“Ah, good!” he sighs with relief as he reclines back on his side of the queen size bed.

As Rainbow gets cozy while laying her head on Ford’s chest, he puts his right fore hoof behind his head while his other foreleg wraps around her wings and shoulders. With his right fore hoof slightly underneath his pillow, he can feel the jewelry box’s surface he tucked away earlier and realizes that now would be a good time to pop the ultimate question to her.

“Hey, Dashie?”

“Yeah?”

“Remember on what I wanted to tell you once all this is over?”

After Rainbow answers with a silent nod, Ford continues with slight nervousness creeping up on him, “Well… it’s something I’ve been meaning to ask of you since the night of our anniversary. You know, before we were thrown into this mess.”

She takes a moment to think back on their uncompleted anniversary date and remembered that there was something Ford wanted to ask her originally. As she ponders on what that question could be, a certain possibility comes to mind as it leaves her thunderstruck while she blushes like mad. Something she should have seen since their night together out in the open fields from where they first met.

But before she can confirm this, Ford grasps her fore hooves with his and looks into her stunned, magenta eyes as he carries on tenderly, “Rainbow, I can’t tell you on how much you mean to me right now! I mean, I always love you, but after all of this, I just can’t imagine my life without you! Which is why I want to ask you this one important question that I’ve been holding on to for so long!”

With uncontainable excitement over what’s to come, she hastily urges him, “Well go on, ask me away!”

“Rainbow Dash… will you--?”

“HEY EVERYPONY! FORD’S AWAKE! FORD’S AWAKE!”

DAMMIT! the two Pegasi curse simultaneously to themselves before they sharply turn to their attention to the source of their untimely interruption.

Standing in the doorway is the pink, overjoyed mare responsible for that high-pitched shriek, Pinkie Pie. And eventually, all of their friends crowd and enter the room as they surround the flustered couple, including the rest of the Elements of Harmony, Spike, Big Macintosh, Vinyl Scratch, Octavia, Gilda, Chrysalis, Cadance, Shining Armor, Celestia, Luna, and Discord.

“Aww, would you look at that!” Gilda teases the Pegasus couple with a cheeky grin. “Just as soon as he wakes up, you two turtledoves are already getting cozy in your own little love nest!”

Embarrassed from being gawked at by others, especially those who chuckle alongside with Gilda, Rainbow blushes heavily as she retorts to her griffon friend, “Sh-shut up Gilda!”

“Oh, are we interrupting something?” Fluttershy says meekly. “I’m sorry.”

“If that’s the case, mind if I join you two?” Queen Chrysalis inquires while displaying a tempting, hungry smile. “I haven’t had a chance to indulge myself since our first time together, Ford!” As the teasing changeling licks her chaps, Rainbow looks at the discomforting Mustang with a deadpan stare as she expects a good answer from him.

Frantically, Ford restates what the queen meant by that to his cross-examining marefriend, “Emotional love! She’s talking about emotional love! I swear!” Satisfied on Ford’s honesty and uneasiness, Rainbow reassures him by breaking into a giggling smile before she nestles his neck softly.

“What? Was our love not good enough for you, Chrysalis?” Princess Cadance kids.

“Eh, your love’s kind of stale compared to theirs.” The rival matriarch shrugs with a playful grin.

As Cadance rolls her eyes, her husband expresses his bewilderment, “I’m not sure if that was supposed to be a compliment or an insult.”

“Well anyway, we’re just thankful to see that you’re alive and well, darling.” Rarity states to Ford with a comforting smile.

“And you’re just in time for breakfast too!” Applejack adds. “Pinkie Pie here just came by to see if RD wants anything to eat from us!”

Excited as always, Pinkie Pie jumps on the bed as she bounces repeatedly while she says to everyone present, “Yeah! And now that Ford’s wide awake, we can turn this into a ‘Ford-Is-Awake-So-Let’s-Have-A-Big-Extravagant-Breakfast’ party!”

Suddenly, a very loud rumble is heard within the room as the company perplexes on where that growling noise came from. But soon enough, they turn their attention to Ford as he blushes greatly while looking down at his immensely grumbling stomach.

Sheepishly, he accepts Pinkie’s first of many invitations to come, “When you put it like that, I could really go for a big, hearty breakfast right about now.”

Happily, Pinkie jumps off the bed as she springs out of the door. “Great! I’ll go ahead and get the kitchen staff ready! See you guys in a bit!”

Hesitantly, Ford asks for something else before he gets out of bed, “Actually… if it’s alright with Celestia, Luna, & Discord, I would like to talk with them first before I head out.”

Puzzled by this request, everyone looks at Celestia, Luna, and Discord while the almighty trio look at each other in silent consideration. Speaking for all three of them, Princess Celestia addresses their answer to the small crowd, “Of course you may, Ford. We’ll see you all shortly.”

“Okay then.” Twilight Sprinkle agrees. “We’ll go on ahead and get breakfast ready.”

Following Twilight’s lead, they leave the room one-by-one. Unwillingly, Rainbow looks into Ford’s turquoise eyes as she hopes to stay beside him as well as to wait on him for that highly anticipated question of his.

With a soft smile, Ford says to her with a wink, “Don’t worry, I won’t take longer. Just be sure to save a seat for me, okay?”

With Rainbow almost reluctant to leave, Gilda helps her out of bed by egging her competiveness with a playful nudge from her elbow, “Come on, Dash! I’ll race you to the dining room!”

Predictably, Rainbow accepts the challenge as she response with a bold grin, “You’re on, Gilda!”

At once, Rainbow and Gilda race down the hallways as the emptier bedroom is now reduced to four. Silently, they wait a little bit longer to make sure that everyone else has left for sure before Ford is ready to discuss with the three Equestrian entities.

“Well now, what would you like to talk about?” Celestia inquires sweetly.

“Well first off, I want to thank you for securing this ring for me.” Ford answers with a gratifying smile as he pulls out the engagement hoof-ring underneath his pillow. “I never thought I would ever see this again!”

“Actually, you should thank my sister here.” the older sister points it out to Princess Luna next to her. “She was the one who found it in the first place.” In confirmation with her sister’s response, Princess Luna nods with a humble smile.

Surprised by this fact, Mustang asks Princess Luna, “How did manage find it anyway?”

“When I was visiting Ponyville to help out in anyway I can, I spotted that box sitting out in the open fields.” Luna answers with a hint of pride to her deed. “With my own powers, I could visually see the memories attached to your engagement bracelet and sought to bring this right back to you.”

“Thank you, Princess Luna!”

“Ahem! Uh, what about me?” Discord harrumphs as he expects his share of gratitude. “I was the one who managed to sneak this in without disturbing anyone!”

With a chuckling grin and a roll of his eyes, Ford addresses to the trickster, “Yes, you’re right! Thank you as well, Discord!”

“I suppose there is something else you want to discuss with us?” Celestia asks Ford with an all-knowing grin.

“Yes there is. I just want to clarify that because of me, I managed to save Equestria.”

“Yes of course, and we are truly grateful for what you have done for all of us and all of Equestria.” Celestia states as she and her colleagues express their appreciation by bowing lightly before Ford.

“So if it weren’t for me, all three of you would still be trapped in Arrogon’s amulet, am I right?” Ford inquires with a raised eyebrow.

Giving it some thought, Luna answers uneasily, “Yes, I suppose that would be true.”

“Which is fair to say that each of you owes me a favor, correct?” Ford adds as his devious grin widens on this inquiry.

“Oh, I can see where this is going!” Discord exclaims with a bored expression as he finally understands Ford’s intention. “Okay, so what’s it going to be? A national holiday named after you?”

As if on cue, a purple shirt magically appears out of nowhere as it attaches itself on to the startled Mustang. On the shirt, it says in bold, yellow letters: “Happy Ford Mustang Day!” It even features a cute picture of Ford’s Cutie Mark with its iconic dragon smiling and winking.

“Having your very own kingdom?”

Next up, a golden scepter flashes in Ford’s left fore hoof, which has a replica of his head on top. Along with that, a purple cloak with fuzzy lining wraps around his shoulders and a tacky crown resting on top of his head.

“Or becoming an all-powerful Alicorn? That’s always a popular trend to consider!” Discord smirks all-knowingly as he displays one last item with a snap of his magic fingers.

After a flash of light, the latest fashion accessory appears on Ford’s forehead. Using his shiny scepter, he gets a better look of himself through its reflection. Plastered to his head is a horn just like a Unicorn’s. Only, instead of a real thing, it’s just a poorly rendered copy of a horn made out of cheap, colored paper and a piece of string wrapped underneath his chin. Unamused by this, Ford frowns at his unnecessary attire.

“None of that sort!” Ford restates himself as he aggravatingly casts his needless clothes and accessories aside. “Just help me coordinate this one thing for me, and I’ll consider us even!”

“And what do you have in mind for us exactly?” Celestia smiles broadly even though she has a pretty good idea on what Ford has in store for them.

With a grin reminiscent to his dragon master, Ford answers simply, “…To help me finish what I’ve started!”

Author's Notes:

Not much to say regarding with this chapter. Just want to give my thanks for those who've been very patience with the previous two chapters I worked on for nearly two months! I also want to thank those who showed their appreciation and support through their comments! Hopefully, I'll update this story with a new chapter on a weekly basis.