Chapter 30C: Mourning, and Celebration

Gearhead awoke two days later to discover that other than those others who had been exhausted in battle, there was not a single idle hoof in Canterlot: Everypony was making ready for the real wedding, having decided that it was not in itself part of Chrysalis’s plot.

On the first day, Princess Celestia had ordered all of the City Guard and Royal Guard to perform a thorough search of the city, the cavern system below it, and the caves of Canterlot Mountain for any Changelings that might have escaped their ejection from the city. Midnight called in reinforcements from the Conclave to ensure each patrol group had at least one member who could detect a Changeling’s green magic.

The search of the caves revealed, once again, the brutality with which the Jackrabbits and Goblins had been killed. Once the search of the city was completed, Princess Celestia had the Guard clean the bodies, preparing them for burial under Luna’s supervision.

Shining Armour, Cadence, and the Elemental Six, meanwhile, worked on helping to clean and repair the city, which had suffered some damage during the Changeling invasion. Once the harder stuff was done, however, the ponies on the construction teams banned the heroes from even walking onto, or flying too closely over, the construction sites, insisting that they leave the work to the professionals. They joined Lemony Gems, Diamond Rose, 8-bit, Gaffer, and Gizmo in pulling the wedding decorations back together instead.

Gearhead found Princess Celestia in the halls outside the Throne Room, which was still under repairs. She was wearing a simple black dress, as was appropriate for a funeral. “Ah, good timing. I was just about to send somepony to get you. I was wondering if you might want to help... with the send-off.”

“I shall do what I can,” Gearhead said.

The first funeral site was the main square in the Jackrabbit town. The Guards had set the bodies in plain wooden boxes, ready to be lowered into their waiting graves. They had even carved some tombstones to mark the graves, out of stones that used to be part of the houses. The gathering was small, since only traders, merchants, and politicians had known about the colonies’ existence from the start. The sisters, the Elemental Six, King, and Gearhead were all present, but that was it.

Nopony knew what the Jackrabbit funeral rites or rituals were, so the princesses decided to keep it simple. “We commend these souls to the Afterlife,” they said in unison, and then the coffins were lowered into their graves. Everypony went from grave to grave to shovel in some of the dirt, until the coffins were all completely covered. From there, a team of Earth Ponies and Pegasi took over, moving in large stone slabs to put into place, making the graves flush.

The small procession took their leave then, and walked slowly and somberly down to what had once been the Great Hall of the Goblin Pony Kingdom. Besides cleaning the bodies and setting the coffins in which they lay in rows, the Guards had also set about cleaning the structures of the town up a bit. They had done a good job, whitewashing over many of the signs of struggle the Changelings had left due to their wild fighting. The others were waiting for the first group to get there: Midnight and Nightstar, Aerial and Prism, and even Father and Big Sister Ivy had arrived. Snowbelle was with Dawn back at the castle. Even Cadence and Shining Armour were present.

Here, King wanted Gearhead to perform the burial, but other than that he wanted to observe his own rites, or at least that had been King’s intention. The moments passed as King stared at the rows of his dead. He fell to his knees, and his voice rising to the cavern ceiling in lament, started to sing. He was horribly off-key, but then the Goblins had not struck Gearhead as being particularly spiritual before now.

“Here I am, Father and Mother of all that is under the sky.” Here Father and Big Sister Ivy, Midnight and Nightstar, Aerial, Prism, and Gearhead himself answered with the phrase “blessed are Your names.” King paused to recollect himself, evidently not having expected anypony to answer according to the ancient customs. “Although I am unworthy, I petition You on behalf of my people: I have, in great hubris and greed, sinned against You, against Your children, and against my people. I have turned my back on all that is good, and at my own will, done great evil. Although I have sinned, I ask that You, in your great compassion, loving kindness, and mercy, do not measure the deeds of my people using me as the yardstick, for my sins are not the sins of my people.

“O Father and Mother of all that is under the sky,”

“Blessed are Your names,”

“In Your loving kindness, great wisdom, and mercy I humbly petition you to ease the heavy decree upon my people, who have passed before their rightful times. I beg that You speed their souls’ passage to Your side, that they should know peace according to their measure. I request that should they be worthy of passing along the Wheel of Reincarnation that they be given the measure of their full lives, wherein to seek fulfillment as they have been unable to do in this life. All this I humbly request, although I am not worthy.”

“Ah-mein,”

“O Father and Mother of Heaven and Earth,”

“Blessed are Your names,”

“I ask that you look upon those assembled today with loving kindness, for although they are not of my people, they have stood beside me during this time of great tragedy, and are my people. I humbly ask that You, in Your great wisdom, grant them Your blessing of peace for their full measure, all the days and all the nights of their lives. This I ask, although I am not worthy.”

“Ah-mein,”

“O Father and Mother Above and Below,”

“Blessed are Your names,”

“Although I have sinned in hubris and greed, although I have turned my back on my people, I humbly ask You for guidance in a time of great need, for I am lost, and adrift without purpose. Although I am unworthy, I ask You for the strength to forgive all those who have transgressed against me and my people, yea even those who have done us grievous harm.”

This request startled Gearhead, since if anyone had a reason to want to seek revenge against Chrysalis and her Changelings, it was King, the sole survivor of an unprovoked massacre. After all, he had come out of the caverns seeking revenge. Maybe, in the intervening days, he had found something more important than evening the score. The Earth Pony glanced at Princess Celestia, and at Cadence and Shining Armour, and saw similar shock reflected on the latter two’s faces. But like Princess Celestia and Luna, they soon showed understanding.

“This I ask, although I am unworthy,”

“Ah-mein,”

“Blessed are You, O Father and Mother, who made the World and all the plants and minerals and peoples, great and small, who call it Home. Blessed are You in Your great mercy, loving kindness, and compassion, for You have given us our strength, our intelligence, our curiosity, and the opportunity to use all these things. All of Your creations sing Your praises in their lives, and indeed in life supported by all those who came before. Praised are you, Father and Mother.”

“Ah-ah-ah, Ah-mein!”

After a moment of silence, King nodded to Gearhead. With a little focus, Gearhead spread the warm turquoise light of his magic over the ground between the mourners and the caskets, and slowly lowered them into the earth. The glow did not fade until all of them were justly buried, and headstones were raised for each of the graves. “Thank you,” King said to each of the others in turn.

During the walk back to Canterlot Castle, Gearhead sidled up to King. “Why did you ask for the power to forgive?”

“It seemed right. I mean, I still would not be happy to see a Changeling again, but at least I think it would be a good thing to end the current cycle of violence. Even if Chrysalis doesn’t appreciate what I did out there.”

“I do not see her congratulating you on it, no.”

“I don’t know whether we would resume fighting on-sight, but I do know two things: that I don’t feel any better regardless of having taken down hundreds of soldiers on that shield, and that regardless of how many I fought, it would never bring back the dead, nor satisfy them or make them happy.”

“True,”

“In fact, I felt more satisfied after that first response. I didn’t know there were still ponies who use that form of prayer.”

“Herd Verdant, the Third Conclave of Flowing Shadows, and the Azure Wing are all ancient Houses, thousands of years old. I would say the surprise is just as much on the other horseshoe.”

Before Gearhead could ask where King had learned the prayer, Princess Celestia drew up on King’s other side. “Since it seems my current Captain will soon be married, I could certainly use somepony of your stature and experience to fill his large horseshoes. What do you say, King?”

“It is an honour, but...”

“Remember: it was you who asked for guidance. Remember, too, that you are worthy.”

King glanced at Shining Armour, who smiled and nodded.

“My armour is in a most unusual size,” King said.

“I imagine we will manage. Right, Gearhead.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Speaking of highnesses, I feel awkward keeping my title as my name. If only I could remember what I was called before, but that was so long ago!”

“Stalwart Shield,” Princess Celestia said.

Shield stared. “How did you..?”

“I have a long memory,” the elder Alicorn smiled.

“I shall try to remember that.”

Princess Celestia gave the construction crews three days to complete repairs, and for Twilight to complete the wedding preparations. There was little for Gearhead to do while he waited for Rarity to mend his formal blacks and, he designed armour for Stalwart Shield, but he could not avoid certain conversations for very long.

It was not long after all the funeral rights before Princess Celestia called Gearhead to the training room. Luna, Twilight, and Shining Armour were all waiting with Princess Celestia when he got there.

“Thank you for responding to my request so quickly,” Princess Celestia said. “Twilight and Shining Armour are here to hear your response on behalf of the rest of your friends.” She paused. “Where is Snowbelle?”

“I know she is not comfortable being left on her own,” Luna explained.

“It is fine: I left her with Fluttershy.”

“So you’re no longer avoiding each other?” Twilight asked, pleased.

“No, I still have not spoken to Fluttershy yet. But when Snowbelle’s mother died, Fluttershy was the one to come to her side.”

“And that’s when the barriers fell?” Princess Celestia asked.

“Yes. Snowbelle’s mother asked to use our link, so she knew the instant she passed, and why she passed then. I was not with Snowbelle, so the only thing I could do was to take on her anger, but I left her with all the sorrow. I am grateful that Fluttershy was able to be there for her, but I wish I had been there myself.”

“Do you think it was a mistake to be with Snowbelle’s mother when she died?” Luna asked.

“I do not know,”

“I don’t think it was,” Armour said. “Just like I don’t think it was a mistake to grant the mother’s request, to take all the anger, or to let Snowbelle feel the grief. They were all natural choices, and I doubt anyone could have chosen better in those moments.”

“Especially since Snowbelle’s mother made it clear that she did not want Snowbelle to see her in her weakened state,” Princess Celestia said. “Dragons have always been a proud race, so I am sure she was thankful for your willingness to fulfill all of her wishes on Snowbelle’s behalf. Including, I am sure, the future time when you take her to see her home.”

“Thank you,”

“As glad as I am to hear that your relationships are going to be on the mend, I asked you here for the explanation you promised about your Alicorn Engine’s second mode.”

“The explanation is simple: the core system is able to reconfigure the rings to produce energy that is closer in nature to that of its inspiration, and therefore, its source. The closer to the source, the more pure and concentrated the particles become. But at that higher potency, the whole rig has a lower operational limit. That is one reason none of these other configurations are used as the default.”

“’Configurations?’ Plural?” Twilight asked.

“Yes. Config-2 produces the blue-silver particles from both cores. Config-3 produces gold particles, also from both. Config-4 is the one I used against Chrysalis, because it is the most powerful setting I can use without the stabilizer.”

“There’s more?” Armour asked.

“White particles,” Gearhead said. He could not keep the sliver of a grin from his face.

Looks of fascination, and then horror passed over the others’ faces. “So what you’re telling us is that you didn’t just invent a way to create Alicorn magic, but Discord’s as well?” Princess Celestia said. “How? Why?”

“At first it was just to see if I could do it, but then, when Discord reappeared, I saw that there could be a need to apply such power. And when the single-core prototype proved to be insufficient, I had to do what I could to create a more powerful core system, in case Equestria ever faced a similar threat.”

“There are no similar threats to Discord,” Luna said. “When did this all start? How did you duplicate our magical signatures as completely as you did?”

“First, it is impossible to recreate anyone’s magical signature with full fidelity.”

“You got pretty close,” Princess Celestia said, “even if it is less powerful. But go on.”

Gearhead nodded. “It all began with your visit to Ponyville, when you inspected my daggers and the Fireheart Gemstone.”

“Eh?” Twilight asked.

“It was also when Philomena played those pranks on you and Fluttershy.”

“Ah,” Twilight nodded. “Wait, all the way back then?”

“Why are you so surprised? It took time to complete it. I barely had it ready in time to use it against Discord at all. And from there, it took until about a week ago to complete the Twin Engine.”

“You’re persistent, alright,” Armour said. “When did you get Discord’s signature?”

“What are you talking about? It was all over the place when he got loose.”

“You said that it was as thick as milk in places,” Twilight said, remembering. “You even tried to absorb it into the Geargem Dagger, but there was too much. And then the clean-up afterwards... you had more than enough samples.”

“It is not as though the settings based on Discord’s magic will do what his magic does, nor do the gold or blue particles do what you do: it is more about the power level, because it seems to me that Discord is more powerful than both princesses combined.”

“How did you arrive at that conclusion?” Luna asked.

“Because you had to use the Elements of Harmony to defeat him, which means you could not do it on your own power.”

“In retrospect, it is pretty obvious,” Princess Celestia said. “So, the question is ‘what are you going to do with all this power?’”

“I will, of course, continue to use it to protect the beings of this land, whenever the situation calls for it.”

“’The beings of this land?’ Not ‘Equestria?’”

“Princess Celestia, although I am the Black Sheep, I am still a Verdant. We serve the beings within our reach, above all. And thanks to my Engine, my reach goes further than normal. The same goes for the rest of the Defence Alliance, of which I am now a representative and employee.”

“So it’s not just the Alliance anymore?” Luna asked.

“You know about it?” Twilight asked, surprised.

“We do,” Luna nodded to her sister. “I am more surprised that he told you about it, considering the Alliance always operated behind the shield of anonymity before.”

“The Alliance’s old anonymity is about to become a whole lot thinner,” Gearhead said.

“Your defensive array.” Princess Celestia said.

“The Alliance Council realized that even if it was distantly, the first Array’s activation might be seen as a declaration of sorts by any who would attack Equestria’s cities: we will do our utmost to defend, and we can no longer be content with being in the shadows. That is one of the reasons for the change in policy, as I understand it.”

“The Skybolts aren’t exactly ‘low-profile,’” Armour said.

“But nopony, except perhaps the princesses, probably linked them to the Shadows or the Verdant. This changes everything, so the Alliance changed its stance first. It is incredibly forward-thinking of them, considering the Array is not even in final testing yet. I even have new data to incorporate thanks to the battles with the Changelings.”

“Won’t this also change your standing with the Verdant?” Princess Celestia asked.

“Other than being an employee connected to all three Houses, no.”

“How can you still be a Black Sheep after helping to save Canterlot the way you did?” Twilight asked.

“Do you want me to speak on your behalf?” Princess Celestia asked.

“Please, I beg you, do not do that,” Gearhead said, looking pained. “I have already been accused of being too closely tied to the Crown.”

“Is that a bad thing?” Luna asked.

“One of the reasons the Verdant serves the beings within a land instead of the ruling body is in case that ruling body falls. The traditionalists believe that if the Crown should fall, the Verdant should be able to adapt quickly to fulfill ponies’ needs on the ground until a new government can be established.”

“That’s saying the princesses will fail!” Twilight said.

“Even the Alliance is thousands of years old,” Princess Celestia said. “As an entity, they have seen the fall of empires and kingdoms. Although I wish they could be persuaded to commit more fully, I understand their stance.”

“Then will they not be afraid that supporting your array program will paint a target on them?” Luna asked.

“What would the Defence Alliance need to fear, being protected by the Arrays themselves?”

“And if it doesn’t work?” Armour asked.

“Then nopony need attack, and there is nothing to fear anyway.”

“Well, given your close duplication of so many powerful magicks, it is no wonder you have chosen to layer so many safeguards into the system. No one can steal or copy it?” Luna said.

“Even if someone knew exactly what she or he was doing, any copy would likely be incomplete, and even after getting it to run, it is impossible to bypass all the safeguards. I would never let it be used against us.”

“Thank you, Gearhead. That is all.”

Gearhead found Fluttershy playing with Snowbelle in the former’s rooms, just as he had expected: while there were preparations going on, Fluttershy still was not completely comfortable being around others, especially ponies she did not know well, and she probably did not want to be concerned about how she was acting while she played with the baby Dragoness.

Gearhead could feel Snowbelle’s happiness as he approached the door, so he knew that she and Fluttershy knew he had arrived even before he actually had. He was not surprised, therefore, when he stepped in front of the door only to have it open up for him. Snowbelle pounced on him to give him a hug, managing her size just enough to knock him off balance. “It is good to see you too,” he said, laughing.

“Um... if it’s alright with you, could I tag along for a little longer?” Fluttershy asked, as Snowbelle shrunk herself so she could perch on Gearhead’s back.

“Actually, I wanted to talk with you for a bit. It would probably be better if we spoke inside?”

“Oh, okay. Please do come in.” Fluttershy stood aside, inside the doorway, to make room while the stallion came in. The room was, with the exception of the things with which the mare and the Dragon had been playing, quite neat. Even though it was in the palace interior, unlike Rarity’s suite, there were still some birds and other small animals perched on lintels and sills. Gearhead nodded to Fluttershy, and she closed the door.

Once they were lying on the room’s long couch, Snowbelle stretched out between them, Gearhead began. “I want to thank you for being there for Snowbelle. For helping her through her grief when I was unable to be here.”

“You don’t need to thank me,” Fluttershy said, blushing and waving the gratitude off. “I only did what I could, and I wanted to do it. So rewarding me for that seems unfair. If anypony should be thankful, it’s me: you dealt with the harder emotion. And... I can’t help but feel that part of it might be my fault.” She became downcast.

“Why would that be?”

“Because you were so angry when you fought Chrysalis. I thought that maybe part of that was from me being unable to muster the courage to talk to you and Snowbelle.”

“In that case, I am sorry too: I thought I could muster the patience to wait until you felt comfortable. I did not realize I was feeling frustrated until just then.”

“No, you don’t need to apologize to me, since I was taking so long... no, I mean...” Fluttershy swallowed, breathed deeply. “Thank you,” she said, looking past her bangs and blushing.

“You are welcome,” Gearhead gave her his best reassuring smile, even though the look on her face made his heart skip a beat. Sometimes the way Fluttershy acted made him think that she might not be good for his health, but then he liked her too well to avoid her entirely, and so did Snowbelle.

“Do you want to continue to help looking after Snowbelle?” Gearhead asked.

Fluttershy perked right up. “Can I?!”

“I do not want to make you feel like you have to. I do think we both know how much she would like it if you did.” Snowbelle purred.

“I want to, really!” Fluttershy said, hugging the Dragon, who wrapped her wings around the mare in turn.

“To be clear, I am not asking you to try to replace her mother. Just to do what you can and want to do. That is all.”

“Why would that be all?” Fluttershy said, peeking out from behind a near-white wing. “I love her so!”

“And she you, it looks like.” Snowbelle trilled. That made Fluttershy try to hide her blush back behind the wing.

“Wait,” Fluttershy peeked back out. “You’re not reading her mind?”

“Why would I? She can tell me whatever she wants to tell me, so I do not intrude. And neither does she.”

“Oh, so you don’t always use the link,”

“Out of respect,”

“Well then...” Fluttershy turned the little Dragon around so she was looking her right in her blue and green eyes. “If you will have me, I will help take care of you.”

“Of course!” Snowbelle chirped. She wiggled out of Fluttershy’s gentle grasp to wrap her in a full embrace, which involved wings, legs, and even her tail.

Minutes later, Gearhead was finally able to help untangle Snowbelle from Fluttershy, the Dragon having fallen asleep. “By the way, what is this about something you found?”

“Oh, that’s right,” Fluttershy said quietly. She helped to shift Snowbelle so she was lying on Gearhead’s belly as he lay on the couch. Then she went to the chest at the end of her bed and brought back a nondescript sack. Gearhead looked inside. “What are they, exactly?” Fluttershy asked.

“Only the rarest, most valuable gems in Equestria. After all, it would be incredibly difficult to get a baby Dragon to cry and leave these under normal circumstances. These are from back then?”

“Yes,”

“We have to be incredibly careful with these: not only do they have a high price, but magic loaded into them can become incredibly potent, at least according to what I read in the Hidden Library. We absolutely cannot let any of them be stolen.”

“Then it’s a good thing we kept them hidden from the Changelings?”

“An incredibly good thing,” Gearhead said. He did not like to think that, provided Chrysalis knew how to use them, she could have completed her invasion. “Fortunately there are secure places we can keep them. And they shall be a secret between the three of us.”

Fluttershy nodded, and Gearhead watched as she put the sack away. He had thought about giving one to Cadence and Armour as a wedding gift, but not giving a set of two would seem strange, and he was not certain he liked the idea of having two Baby Dragon Tears on the loose, even if they were in the possession of two very good friends. Also, unless Gearhead did not explain their true nature, who knew if they would be kept as secure as they should be, and if he did that it would no longer be a secret of three.

“You did good out there,”

Prism stopped and turned at the voice from down the hallway. “Captain Spitfire, it’s an honour.” She, Rook, and Contrail saluted, and Spitfire saluted back.

“The honour’s mine. After all, you saw lots more action than we did.”

“You’re being too kind,”

“Wait and see how kind I’m really being, Prism: I’m inviting the three of you to train at Wonderbolts Academy, effective in the start of the new season. Interested?”

Prism, Rook, and Contrail exchanged glances and grins. “This is great!” Contrail said.

“What about Gearhead?” Rook asked Prism. “Didn’t you want to be on the team sent to Ponyville?”

“Well, of course, but we could start training with the ‘Bolts already!”

“I’m surprised you want to keep that old promise and train, rather than actually being with him, but hey, I’m all for it,” Contrail said.

“Hm, I guess that’s true,”

“Why not accept?”

“Wing Commander!” Even Spitfire was saluting, but then Windwalker and Aerial had trained her and the rest of her squad. “It’s truly an honour, sir. Ma’am.”

“At ease,” Aerial said.

“What do you mean, ‘why not accept?’” Prism asked.

“Your mother and I were thinking about when it’d be a good time to get your training with the Wonderbolts started, since you’re old enough and ready. We know you want to help Gearhead at his shop, but that’s more about your feelings than your reason, isn’t it? Your training is about using emotion and reason together, after all.”

“That’s why we figured it would be better to send Spring Flight to help Gearhead, while your Flight goes to train with the Wonderbolts and you fulfill your promise to Gearhead. You won’t have to worry about anything, with Spring, Radar, and Torrent at Gearhead’s back. They’re younger, and versatile. Anything they pick up could be useful to the Wing,” Aerial said.

“I suppose that’s true, but... can I think about it for awhile?” Prism asked Spitfire.

“Fair enough,” she said. “I’ll give you two months, and then send somepony with the official documents. Just remember that if you don’t accept this time around, you’ll need to wait until next season just to apply, and no guarantees next time.”

“Understood, Captain,” Prism said, and she and Contrail and Rook saluted her. They watched Spitfire walk away. “I’m sorry, but I want to think about this.”

“No, we’re very proud of you,” Aerial said, hugging her eldest daughter.

“You’re not normally so careful. I’d take this as a good sign,” Windwalker said, smiling as he, too, embraced his eldest – and then drew the others in for a group hug. “C’mere, you!”

“We are gathered here today to witness the marriage between Shining Armour and the real Princess Cadence,” Princess Celestia began. This time definitely felt different from the first attempt. For one thing, Gearhead was not poised to stall while Twilight made her way out of the underground labyrinth with Cadence – although he still wore his Twin Engine underneath his formal blacks, just in case there were any interruptions.

Gearhead was not the only one who was prepared to protect the congregants this time either: the Wonderbolts, Prism Flight, the Elemental Six, and Midnight’s party were all prepared, with their formalwear modified as tear-aways in case a battle erupted. The City Guard and the Royal Guard were also prepared for the worst, although everypony expected the best. Stalwart Shield had not officially taken command of the Royal Guard, but he, too, was highly visible, with his new custom armour and the greatsword strapped to his back.

Gearhead had wanted to be seated near the back of the Throne Room, so he could be invisible but do crowd control if necessary. None of the princesses would hear of it, however, pulling him into the wedding party along with the Elemental Six. At least they allowed him to sit in the pews with his friends from Ponyville. Snowbelle was balanced between him and Fluttershy, attentively watching the ceremony with her head nestled between theirs. The crowd did not seem the least bit put-off by the sight of the Dragon perched on the ponies’ backs, slowly swishing her tail from side to side.

Part of the reason for the others’ ease might be Spike’s presence on the dais. Come to think of it, while he was the only other Dragon Gearhead remembered as part of Equestrian society, Canterlot’s residents were used to seeing him here from the years Twilight studied under Princess Celestia. After that, Ponyville’s residents had quickly become accustomed to the young Dragon’s presence, not to mention his usefulness. Today Spike was the Ringbearer, holding two bejeweled rings. One was sized for Cadence’s horn, and the other for Shining Armour’s.

While Twilight retained her original role as her brother’s ‘Best Mare,’ Armour’s best friends – Gaffer, 8-bit, and Gizmo – had also joined them on the dais. Each wore a tuxedo that sufficiently expressed his own personality, from quirky to geeky. Lemony Gems and Diamond Rose had also rejoined the wedding party as the bridesmaids, both sharing the post of Maid of Honour. Despite no longer being bridesmaids, Cadence had agreed to let the Elemental Six use the dresses that Rarity had made for them: it would have been a waste otherwise.

Gearhead tried to look around the congregation as discretely as possible. There were Twilight’s and Armour’s parents, Twilight Velvet and Nite Light, looking proud and pleased, and not the least bit surprised. They would have known about the budding relationship between their son and Cadence from the beginning. Further down his row, Father winked across at Gearhead, and Big Sister Ivy smiled.

Luna sent a warning buzz to Gearhead, to look behind him and to the right side of the room. There, he found Prism giving him a joking warning glare to turn his attention back to the ceremony. Across the room, Dusk merely winked, having watched it all. Gearhead might have imagined it, but did Dawn have a little tear in her eye? Well, she could be a delicate lady when she wanted to, even though she had stomped more than her fair share of Changelings during the invasion.

Gearhead turned fully back to the ceremony. Princess Celestia was taking the rings from Spike, and when she held them in front of the bride and the groom, they both took control of one ring, and slipped it onto the other’s horn, until it sat snugly. The couple did not need any prompting to kiss, after what their love had brought them through. Dash, on the other hoof, needed a small reminder from Princess Celestia, before she launched into her Sonic Rainboom, as promised. It was especially impressive since she did it ascending instead of descending or level.

Soon the celebration moved outside, where the newlyweds got the dancing starting, with a little help from Pinkie Pie and Vinyl Scratch. Other couples quickly joined in the fun, including Midnight and Nightstar and Windwalker and Aerial. Father mixed it up a bit, dancing with Big Sister Ivy, but no one went quite so far as Spike, who danced with Sweetie Belle. As long as they are having fun, Gearhead thought. And wondered if he would have had such a thought before his time as Dusty. A grin snuck its way onto his face.

Gearhead turned to Fluttershy, and bowed, holding out one hoof to her. “Would you do me the honour?” He asked.

“Oh my,” Fluttershy gushed. “I don’t really know how to...”

“Then I shall lead, I suppose,” Gearhead said.

“Do you really know how to dance?”

“Well, Big Sister Ivy taught me a little when we were younger.”

Fluttershy giggled, despite being embarrassed.

“If you won’t take him, then I will,” Prism said, coming up behind the two of them.

“Oh, well I –“

“Go on already,” Prism said, bumping Fluttershy closer to Gearhead. “It’s just a dance.”

“True,” Contrail said, “so come on.”

“Alright already, Con,” Prism said, following the others onto the dance floor.

“They are right, you know,” Snowbelle said, quietly enough so that only Gearhead and Fluttershy could hear her.

“Ah, okay,” Fluttershy said. As it turned out, she was more than fine with the simple dance steps that Gearhead had in his repertoire. It also turned out that she had a few more complex ones of her own to add.

After a couple of songs, Prism decided to switch partners, so everyone else did too. Rook asked Fluttershy to dance, and she accepted. While Prism danced with Gearhead, she leaned in close. “Hey, what would you say if I told you I was going to go train with the Wonderbolts?”

“Is that not what you always said you would do?”

“Yeah, but I also wanted to be the Wing’s representative to your shop.”

“Please tell me, Prism, what is more important to you: the shop or the Wonderbolts?”

“I don’t know,”

“If you came to my shop you would probably be in sales and gathering resources for more gadgets, and since you are of the Azure, Contrail and Rook would also be along. Do you want to know my opinion?”

“Yes please!”

“I think it would be waste of your skills: You, one of the fastest of your generation, and your entire combat-proven Flight, in sales? I do not believe that is the limit of what you can do.”

“But you leave the shop for things like this wedding,”

“I came here as a friend to the bride and groom, and also as a friend to the Best Mare. These things do not have anything to do with the shop. And while I do see some occasional action, it is not usually anything like what the Azure handles. Not to mention, Prism Flight being on my staff may mean I might leave you in charge of the shop while I go elsewhere.”

“I see where you’re going: it would defeat the purpose of all our training. Unless we went as your escort.”

“Which in turn defeats the purpose of having you on staff. I believe this is a Catch-22 situation.”

“But if I go to Wonderbolt Academy, that means I won’t be able to see you for my whole terms of service.”

“You forget that Dash and I both have standing invitations to train at the Academy.”

“I see: you might come to train during the same term, even though yours might be shorter.”

“Yes. However, if you still feel uncomfortable with your options, give it a serious think-through, and do not forget that you have others with whom to consult.”

“Oh right, this involves Rook and Contrail too. Thank you, Gear. I know what to do now.”

“Good,” Gearhead said, and the song switched again, so Prism went to find Rook.

Gearhead found Dawn standing in front of him next, so he bowed and extended a hoof. She curtsied in reply, and they started to dance. The music this time was slower and more sedate, which suited the smaller Unicorn perfectly – except, Gearhead reminded himself, in battle. Dawn smiled, seeming perfectly content not to lean in close the way Prism had, but watching her expressions as she blushed or looked self-consciously around reminded Gearhead of the way she had been when they first met: full of energy and cute enough to induce heart attacks, but with a side-helping of unexpected seriousness. There was almost no way at all to connect the filly with the mare, but they were indeed the same pony.

Gearhead got to dance with a number of other mares, including Cadence and Luna, but Dusk also made the crowd laugh when he cut in for a dance with the younger stallion. It was fortunate that the song had a faster pace, otherwise Gearhead might have been forced to take it seriously, like the warning Dusk had for him. Despite trusting his sister in battle, he still had something of an overprotective streak: “If you break my sister’s heart, you’ll regret it,” Dusk said.

“Right back at you,” Gearhead said.

“Eh?”

“I have seen the way you look at Big Sister Ivy, you know.”

“Ah. Ha-ha. Then I guess it’s a race, because we both can’t marry into the same family.”

“In that case, I would have to move quite quickly, to get rid of my title first.”

“Seriously, that’s just plain wrong. But... tradition, right?”

“Eiyup,”

“Good luck, then,” Dusk said, and stepped back to allow Big Sister Ivy to step in.

“Father and I am very proud of you,” Big Sister Ivy said, holding Gearhead close.

“Thank you,” Gearhead said, and he let the feeling of well-being that flowed from his sister suffuse his whole being.

After that, Gearhead danced with Fluttershy and Snowbelle. Dusk danced with Big Sister Ivy again, and Prism with Rook. Contrail and Dawn made a slightly out of step couple, but at least they were laughing about their missteps. Somepony like Rarity would have taken such a thing all too seriously.

Everypony gathered in front of the palace as Shining Armour escorted Cadence to their carriage. “We couldn’t have done it without you,” Gearhead heard him tell his little sister as they embraced.

“I’m very proud of you, BBBFF,” Twilight said, then she stepped back to let Cadence get up into the carriage. The Alicorn suddenly stopped in the doorway, and knelt just enough to give herself some room over one shoulder, and out came the bouquet.

Immediately the mares who had been paying attention burst into a flurry of motion as they tried to capture the flowers, only to collide with each other. Gearhead watched in utter fascination as the target bounced off of hooves or muzzles, and even got flicked by tails on reflex.

Just as the Earth Pony started to feel sorry for the bouquet because of the beating it was taking, it landed softly in the embrace of one mare who was not embroiled in the rolling quagmire. She had, in fact, been turned halfway away from where everything was happening, and the bouquet happened to come to rest cradled inside of one upraised leg and her chin. The flowers immediately seemed to perk back up, as a result of her magic touch.

“It seems you may win that race,” Gearhead said to Dusk.

“Oh, I don’t believe in such omens,”

“Says the fancy-shmancy Unicorn,”

“What’s that about fancy Unicorns?” Twilight asked from Gearhead’s left.

“Oh yes, I’d like to hear all about this,” Rarity, looking disheveled from her struggles, said.

“Dusk here does not believe in omens,”

“Neither do I,” Twilight said.

“But you believe in Pinkie Sense,” Spike said.

“Everypony believes in Pinkie Sense,”

“Indeed,” Princess Celestia said. “But which omen are we talking about?”

“The bouquet,” Rarity said, pointing to where Big Sister Ivy was still cradling the flowers.

“I see. And what do you think of the match between your sister and the scion of the Shadows?”

“Big Sister Ivy has many admirers, but only one who does not hold her on so high a pedestal that he would approach her. Also, they look good together.”

“Ah, but if they get married, one of us would have to leave our family to get married,” Dawn said, not winking.

“I know how much leaving the Shadows would hurt you,” Gearhead said. “In that eventuality, I believe it would be me.”

“But leaving the Herd would hurt you, too.”

“Excuse me,” Fluttershy said. Rarity backed off, letting the Pegasus in. Snowbelle was sleeping with her head resting on the top of Fluttershy’s mane, her wings limp on both sides, but acting to balance her nicely.

“Thank you,” Gearhead said, whispering an incantation so he could gently take his daughter and transfer her to his own back.

“Are you still going to fulfill that promise?” Princess Celestia asked.

“Of course,”

“And you have a plan to do it without freezing to death,”

“I am me, after all, and I still owe Snowbelle the chance to choose for herself.”

“You really love her,” Dawn said.

“Of course: she is my daughter.”

In a small tavern, Vines slapped the newspaper he was reading down on his table. “He’s done it again,” the eldest Verdant sibling grumbled. The article in question was about the Changeling invasion of Canterlot, and while Gearhead was not specifically mentioned, there was an accompanying photograph.

Somepony had managed to snap a shot of the barrier around the city failing, while bolts of energy flying at odd angles knocked Changelings out of the sky. Near the center of the shot, but distant enough to that his features were not easily seen, was an airborne pony. If he had had wings it would not have been a big deal, but he did not.

The pony in question was surrounded by a cascade of distinctive bright spots, which almost looked like a pair of wings the way they were falling when the picture had been taken. Unfortunately, anypony who had seen a certain race, or watched the recording of it, would know where these particles came from, even if the Engine had changed.

“Is it that bad?” The other pony, one of Vines’s oldest supporters on the Council, asked. It was not that he doubted or opposed Vines, it was that he played the opposite advocate, helping Vines to prepare for opposing arguments.

“The Hoofington F1. The ‘secret’ derby. Now this. Knowing that he’s developed what is undoubtedly a military asset, Gearhead’s making the Herd into a target for reprisals. If he can’t be convinced to stop, we should probably withdraw our support so we don’t get attacked.”

“For millennia we have fed more than Equestria, even in the most dire of situations. That doesn’t make us a target?”

“We did so in the shadows. This is in the open.”

“Isn’t he going to set up those defensive arrays?”

“Which may not work,”

“But if they do, what have we to fear?”

“It would be nice to know in this early stage, wouldn’t it?”

“So what do you want to do, rip up the revised contract? Revert to the old Alliance before the Defence Alliance can really get started?”

“We can’t see the future. For now, maybe it would be prudent to wait and see, while we hold onto the option to withdraw support, if the worst should come to pass. Hopefully, before our depots or farms get attacked.”

“Agreed. We will be patient, as we always have.”

“We must be willing to do what we must, even if that is casting aside one of our single greatest earners. It’s not as if we’re exactly hard-up for funds anyway. For the sake of the Herd.”

“For the sake of the Herd,” the other stallion raised his flagon, and Vines answered in kind. It was not so much a case of ‘if’ Gearhead would make a mistake, as a case of ‘when’ he would make a mistake, especially if he was preoccupied with other things – the daily running of his shop, raising his pet Dragon, even filly troubles, but especially some crisis that demanded he swoop into action.

“We’re farmers, craftsponies, and miners,” Vines said, “not adventurers and heroes.”

“Of course, your brother never set out to be a hero.”

“What, then, is he, if he allows himself to be swept away by the tide, along with the rest of the kingdom?”

“A fool, and a danger to the Herd.”

“And that’s why we must be careful to watch him, always.”