For the longest time after I lost Carla, I NEVER believed that I would ever find love again. Huh? What's that? What about my first wife Ell, and my third wife Lilly? Why didn't I talk about them at all in the last chapter? Well........remember what I said about tying to bury certain aspects of the past, and never......*sniff*.....never.......bring them up again? Well......*starts sobbing* I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT ELL AND LILLY!!!!"

What was I trying to talk about? Oh yeah, Rainbow Dash. As I was starting to say, after I lost Carla, I was beginning to believe that I would NEVER find true love again. However, all of that was about to change. Soon I would find the love of my life, and it would all start by the Battleship Express leaving Earth, and winding up in Equestria.

The first time that I ever saw Dash, at least in person, was when she and the rest of the Wonderbolts were the ones who attacked the Battleship Express when it first arrived, believing it to have been stolen by the Imperial Alliance, and being used to further invade Equestria. Dash, Soarin, and a few others on their team were the ones who attacked the cab, and fought with myself, Alex and Todd for control of the train.

Dash was the one who grabbed me from behind, and eventually I was able to twist myself around and face my opponent.

"Oh no you don't Missy! Wait.......RAINBOW DASH!?!?!?!?!"

She was equally shocked. "What the?! HOW DO YOU KNOW MY NAME?!?!?!?!"

Before we could really discuss this too much further though, Todd yelled to the rest of us that the boiler gauges were almost past the red line. In record time, Alex and I were able to swing into action, and after shutting off steam, as well as opening a series of valves to let more steam release safely, I slammed on the brakes!

The train came to a stop outside of Ponyville Station, and with steam surrounding us, all of us in the cab blacked out.

Eventually, I did manage to regain consciousness. When I did, I saw that I was lying at the base of the backhead, right next to the engineer's bench.

"Gosh.....what....happened?" I muttered. I could see Alex and Todd, as well as those who'd attacked them, and to my shock, now that I saw them in the light of day, I could see that they weren't Futas at all!

"They're......P-Ponies! Wonderbolts if my eyes do not deceive me!" And indeed they were. They were anthros, wearing their Wonderbolt jumpsuits, and I was able to identify them as Soarin, Misty Fly, Echo Fleetfoot, High Winds, and even Rainbow Dash!

"This is.....too weird!" I then got up fully, and I looked out of the cab window to the train's right. What I saw equally shocked me. There was a small train station, and beyond it I saw a town. All about were other Ponies, and they were all staring, pointing at the train, and seemingly all talking at once. I also spotted Don talking with a group of them.

"Ok, so, assuming that I'm not crazy, hallucinating, dreaming, or dead, the Battleship Express is currently sitting outside of Ponyville Station, in the town of Ponyville! And if this is Ponyville, then that means that.....!!!!!" My brain couldn't even accept us being in Equestria as even being a faint possibility.

"IT'S NOT POSSIBLE!!!!" I then began to climb out of the cab, and down to the ground below. I saw that the engine had overshot the station by a good 100 feet or so, although as I was climbing down, the others began to regain consciousness as well.

I saw Dash start to get up, and when she did, she looked directly at me! Even though I was still wearing my Kitsune mask, I could see her magenta eyes were locked onto my blue ones.

"Who......are you? And better still, WHAT are you?!"

"We're Humans. And as for who I am, I'm just a nobody from nowhere." I then finished exiting the cab, and once I was on the ground again, I began to walk towards the front of the train.

As I was walking though, I heard something hit the ground behind me, and I half-turned to see Rainbow Dash following along behind me.

"Where are you going?"

I sighed. "Up to the front."

"Why?"

No answer.

"Hey, if you're still sore about me attacking you in the cab, I'm REALLY sorry about that! I thought that you guys were the Imperial Alliance, so I was just doing what I was supposed to do!"

I still didn't answer.

"And why do you wear that freaky fox mask? Was your face damaged or something?"

"Yes. I got burned in an accident."

"Whoa! What happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it!" Once I reached the front of the train, I climbed up onto it, and once I reached the roof of the pillbox, I sat down on it, and seemed to be staring off into space.

Dash then sat beside me, and tried to continue her conversation. "So why won't you talk to me?"

"Because I don't talk too much."

"Come on, I said that I was sorry for attacking you. We can be friends, right?"

I didn't answer.

"You're really mean!"

I sighed, before turning a bit to face her. "I'm not mean, I'm just a Tsundere."

Before Dash could ask what that meant though, Don and Twilight came up to the front, and Don informed us that the Princesses would be arriving shortly.

Over the course of the next couple of hours, all of us in Battalion 4009 learned of the Caribou and the Zebras, as well as what their plans for Equestria were.

I was with Don when the Princesses revealed their story to us, and I was outraged. "How can these....MONSTERS be allowed to exist?! If I had to guess, they're just the Futas that we killed in WW6.....reincarnated as males!"

When we informed the rest of the crew about the situation at hand, not only were they equally outraged, but they also wanted the Zebras and Caribou to be mounted to a wall as well.

After a brief but violent skirmish with a scouting force, we all knew that the war had come to Ponyville, and that we would have to fight!

The Battle of Ponyville, which took place that very same night, was the high water mark of the Imperial Alliance. While I was out fighting, Dash, and the other Element Bearers, who were still present at the time, were all taking shelter on the train. Dash was in the Secondary Command Center, while the others were in the Primary Command Center.

While her friends were taking shelter, Dash was able to pick up a gun and use it to fight back. Though she was only able to notch 11 kills, her contributions were later found to have been life-saving. While we were searching the battlefield later, we found the bodies of 2 Caribou who were holding a fully-armed rocket launcher. The launcher had been pointed at the train, and with cold logic, we realized that if Dash hadn't killed those 2, then they easily could have blown up the engine!

When I told Dash about this later, all she did was blush a bit. "Aww, shucks Stud, I was just doing my job to protect Ponyville! If I saved your train, then that's just a bonus!"

I sighed. "Well, bonus or not, you saved lives, as well as property, and for that I offer you my greatest thanks."

She shrugged. "Well, you're welcome Stud!"

We all then began to plan out our next battle.

After the turning point that was the Battle of Las Pegasus, never again would the Caribou have the strength to seriously threaten Equestria again. Also, the few Diamond Dogs who survived the battle, as well as Minotaurs, did surrender to Equestria. This just left the Griffons, and a number of Dragons as well.

Still to this day, it well and truly baffles me as to why the Imperial Alliance didn't field the Dragons against us more. They could have EASILY brought severe hurt to us, but yet we rarely ever saw them in combat.

As General Stuggs said later when interrogated, "We wanted to, and believe me, had the Imperial Alliance lasted until Baltimare had been attacked, you WOULD have faced more Dragons! However, due to the fiasco that happened to the Zebras in Appaloosa and Dodge City, our invasion of Baltimare was cancelled. We all fell back to the Caribou Empire, where we would remain for the rest of the duration of the war."

"But what of the Dragons though? Why didn't we face them in places like Carlon, Donneth, or even other cities?"

"You did. However, you all figured out that not only can your.....um, what were those radioactive bullets called again?"

"Um, do you mean depleted uranium? If so, then it's not radioactive."

"Yeah, those. You all figured out that they can be used to take down not only War Beasts, but Dragons as well. As more and more Dragons fell, others began to desert the Caribou, or flee elsewhere. The remainder of them and the Griffons all died along with the Caribou at Bryerton. They're all dead."

Not all of them were though. Those who survived left with Danin and his band, and were now in the Undiscovered West.

The REAL turning point in the war though was what went down during the Battle of Appaloosa. During that battle, the train that carried the 4 Element Bearers, as well as wounded soldiers back to Ponyville, was attacked, derailed, and all onboard who didn't die in the crash were captured. All of those who were considered unimportant to the Zebras were later liberated during the course of the battle, but those who WERE considered important were all packaged away to the Zebra Empire.

When Zakia revealed to Don, Alex, and I what he was doing to our marefriends, that was it. He had just signed the death warrant for his entire nation, and he didn't even realize it.

While others were angry, NONE of them had the spirit of King Sombra inside of them, and because I had him with me as well, I was more than just angry; I was borderline Super-Sayan!

I vowed that I would never rest until Dash was safe, and that those responsible for taking her were wiped from existence. My anger fueled an almost animalistic rage inside of me, and this rage helped to give Sombra strength, and to make him more and more powerful.

"Soon", He thought to himself "Soon I'll be strong enough to leave Leopard behind, and once I have my full powers back, I will be unstoppable!"

The campaign through the Zebra Empire was one of mass casualties on our enemies, and a battle every few days, with at least a raid nightly. The Zebras had no clue where we were at any given time, and as such we were able to take FULL advantage of that! Most of the battles were fought at night, or began at Dawn, and since the enemy had no night-vision capabilities, they were unable to spot us in the dark.

The Zebras dropped like flies, and those precious few that we did capture were largely female. A few officers were taken in for interrogation, while a few others were used to send messages to Zakia that not only were we coming, but no mercy would be shown when we did.

The biggest battle of the first half of the campaign was the Battle of Zandia, overseen by General Tarrath. We took Zandia by storm, and although the battle began at Dawn, it took a number of hours to complete the drive. I did get injured by Tarrath, although I hit him with 3 shotgun blasts, which did kill him.

Due to the effects of Tarrath's gun, I did have to have Bat-Pony DNA added to my own, so as to help balance out the damage to my genetics. Initial estimates put my total genetics as 50% Human, 45% Bat-Pony, and 5% wolf, however, later tests showed it to actually be closer to 55% Bat-Pony, 40% Human, and 5% wolf. I had a bit more Bat-Pony in me than Human! With this process being complete though, it was time to get on the rails again; destination Zebrica!

Zebrica was the last major battle of our Zebra Empire campaign, and it was the one that shattered what little was left of them.

At Dawn, we attacked Zebrica, with our destination being the Imperial Palace where we knew that the hostages were being held. Using our bulldozers, loaders, and tractors, we hauled troops into Zebrica once the Battleship Express took down the walls, and then we fought our way through the city.

It got so bad that most of the Zebras that we faced were absolutely suicidal. "It was really bad", I recalled later. "Even though we were inside of our construction machines that had been given armor and bulletproof glass, as well as additional roll-cages, we were still getting hammered hard by bullets. We did have to call in the gunship, and thanks to Lt. Hughes and his troops, they were able to give us the room that we needed to push onward. Thank God for Lt. Hughes!"

Eventually, we did manage to breach the Imperial Palace, and after a series of brutal firefights, we reached the throne room where the hostages were being held. A team sent to the basement were able to secure the remaining medical staff who had been taken hostage, and after creating a diversion, we breached the throne room.

In short order, all of the defenders were killed, and Zakia was taken prisoner to be held onboard the train until further notice. Unfortunately though, only half of the hostages were present. We saved Dan, Applejack and Twilight, but Dash, Cole and Pinkie were sent off to the Caribou Empire.

After failed negotiations, we all saw the truth; the Caribou Empire would have to be invaded as well.

"Just hang in there a little bit longer Dash", I thought to myself, "I'll be there soon, and when I arrive, there will be HELL TO PAY!!!!"

After nuking the rest of the Zebra Empire, we were on our way again. Little did we suspect at the time though that our campaign against the Caribou Empire would be the toughest fight of the entire war. The Caribous were masters of war, as they were a warrior race. They were well armed, and well defended by mountains, forests, and rivers. Their seasons were all wonky, and even though we invaded in July, Winter fell upon us! We were facing severe blizzards and snowstorms, to say nothing of freezing temperatures, and aside from the battles in Marrow, Dock Town, and Lake Town, and Bryerton, the entire campaign was fought in the snow.

We fought bravely on, but yet it was one small blunder on our part that would prove to be the greatest asset of our entire campaign. Just after the Battle of Rendale, we were on our way to Donneth on a treacherous stretch of rail line that ran through the Highland Mountains. This was the most treacherous section of the tracks, and we were running it at Dawn in a snowstorm! One misstep could have gotten all of us killed!

In the end, we made it through the mountains, before crashing into a huge series of snowbanks at the bottom that almost completely buried our train. Enemy search teams were sent out to see if they could find us, but thanks to us using the snow to hide ourselves, they never did.

Because the enemy thought that we were dead, we were able to use the greatest psychological warfare tactics that had ever been witnessed. First, 9 of us, dressed in tattered uniforms and enhanced with Magic, as well as disguised with makeup, became the "Undead Harbingers", and attacked the town of Hilden, completely wiping out the town.

Next, we used the Battleship Express itself, and after disguising it to look like it had been destroyed a long time ago, we turned it into a "ghost train", and were able to use it to terrorize the Caribou.

Finally, it was down to just the last 4 cities in the Empire, Carlon, Danton, the capital city, Donneth, and one more city, Bryerton. With the fall of those cities, the sun would set on the Caribou Empire for the last time.

It was decided that Carlon and Danton would fall in the night, and after a short 15 minute break, we would attack Donneth. By this point, more reinforcements from Equestria had also arrived as, and we were all ready to go. Little did we know though just how impacting the battles ahead were going to be.

I was overseeing the attack on Carlon, while General Shining Armor and his forces took on Danton. At 2am, with 25 degree temperatures, and light snow falling, the battles began.

Both of these cities were major military hubs, as well as breeding farms and training centers for War Beasts. The attacks began without a hitch, and although we did have to wipe out a number of airships, not to mention their home base, we were able to press on.

Eventually, my team made it to one of the military academies, which also housed a LOT of War Beasts! We were attacked, although we did discover that depleted uranium bullets could kill the War Beasts. However, while my group was trying to hold off a War Beast stampede, Sombra took control of me again, and he showed me how to tame a War Beast. It was during this battle that I was introduced to Argus, the Alpha-War Beast that I tamed with Sombra's magic, and used as my mount for the rest of the war.

Eventually, Carlon and Danton were ours, and the Battle for Donneth began. Donneth was HANDS DOWN the TOUGHEST campaign of the entire Imperial War! We'd NEVER seen this amount of suicidal resistance! The enemy came at us in such waves that 2 hours after the battle began, we'd barely managed to move 150 yards from where we'd breached the city's walls!

However, our gunship "cut down" some of our odds, and we pressed onward. After some of our men were killed by a fatally wounded Caribou with a rocket launcher though, I completely snapped. I let Sombra dictate my actions, and from that moment, until my final battle in the throne room, Sombra and I were one and the same!

We kept up the attack, and eventually the Imperial Palace was breached. With Argus by my side, and more soldiers trailing along behind us, we were able to make our way up to the throne room, where not only did I slaughter the remaining Caribou guards, but I also fought Prince Dactyl in a quick duel, before I defeated and almost killed him. Dash and Pinkie were saved, and the Battle of Donneth was over.

"I'm SO glad that you saved me Stud!" Dash whispered as we rode Argus out of the palace.

I sighed. "It was my pleasure Dash. You mean EVERYTHING to me, so it was something that I HAD to do!"

"Well, I'm just glad that you did, and that not only did you save us, but you also almost ended the Imperial War as well!"

"Well, yes and no Dash. Yes, I helped, but no, it wasn't just me: it was a team effort. We ALL did our part to help topple the Zebras, as well as most of the Caribou. The final battle of this war will be in Bryerton, and then the war will FINALLY be over!"

"And then we can go home?"

I nodded. "Yep, and then we can go home, and begin our new lives."

Dash hugged me from behind, all while leaning her head on my shoulder. "Hmm, yeah, our new lives. You and I, with Spitfire too, all getting married at some point, before settling down to raise a family of foals. At a future date of course, I'm NOT ready for foals just yet!"

I laughed a bit. "Neither am I Dashie, neither am I!"

We continued to talk about this the rest of the way back to the Battleship Express.

From Donneth, once the occupation forces moved in, the Battleship Express began her journey to her last battle, the Battle of Bryerton. She never had to fire a single shot, as Bryerton was entirely a ground operation. Once the city fell, (and I was treated for getting hit in the helmet with flying debris!) We all fell back to Donneth, as the last of the occupation forces moved in.

The next morning, Dactyl, Stuggs, and Rodin signed the surrender documents, bringing the Imperial War to a conclusion. We all then prepared for our trip from Donneth back to Ponyville, where we'd started from nearly 2 months prior.

Once we were back in town, we were treated to a hero's welcome. All who stepped off the train were swarmed by a mixture of family, friends and fans, and for a good long while afterwards, nobody could really get more than a few feet away from the train!

The victory ball was scheduled for that Saturday, and one by one, we all began to try and settle into our new lives.

In the aftermath of the ball, not to mention getting roughed up by both Windy Whistles and Stormy Flare for sleeping with their daughters, we also had to deal with building the Imperial War Museum, and the constant controversy with Spoiled Rich over it.

However, I had managed to make a new life for myself, as well as Aurora. After moving back into Dash's house, all 3 of us began work on making it a home.

Just like I'd originally thought, Dash was more than happy to let me display a few of my war trophies around the house. Eventually, I planned on building a trophy room once we expanded onto Dash's house at some point, but for the time being, I made do with what I had.

On the walls I hung a few guns, as well as a few Caribou and Zebra heads, pictures of the battles, while Caribou and Zebra fur rugs adorned a few floors, and I even had some Griffon battle armor as well. The highlights of my collection though were in 3 glass display cases on the second floor, in a spare room that I turned into an office.

In the first case was Aurora's battle armor that she'd worn for almost a year during WW6, as well as all throughout the Imperial War. With that armor, she'd killed countless Caribou and Zebras, and even a few Griffons! Aurora was VERY proud of her armor, and she waited for the day that it would be placed in the war museum with other war relics.

The second case was perhaps the most interesting, if not the most morbid. It was the taxidermied body of General Tarrath, complete with the armor that he was wearing when I killed him! He still looked just as fierce behind glass as he did the day that I pumped him full of lead.

"Just keep standing there Tarrath", I muttered as I sat down at my desk, "You're still the pride of my collection!" Also sitting on my desk was my famous Kitsune mask that I'd worn from the day that Face tried to destroy the Big Boy, until the end of the Imperial War. I removed it a few times in between, but for the most part I never removed it, and now it adorned my desk.

However, the last display case was the most interesting. Inside it was a mannequin, but on the mannequin was Sombra's full armor, complete with the cape, and his staff/weapon as well! On the helmet was a replica of Sombra's horn, but the original horn I kept safely locked away.

"With great power, comes great responsibility." I kept telling myself. Even though I could still use Sombra's powers, I chose not to, and instead I kept his horn locked safely away in a secret compartment in my safe.

As I was sitting there though, looking over all of my war trophies, Dash walked in. "Hey Stud!"

I went over and hugged her. "Hey Dashie."

Dash then turned her head a bit, and looked over at the case containing Sombra's armor. "Hey Stud, why don't you use Sombra's magic more? I know that you can."

I sighed. "I don't, because it causes migraines, as well as nose-bleeds, and other severe pain for me. My body wasn't meant to use magic like that on a regular basis, so that's why I just don't."

Dash then turned a bit to look up at me. "Well, even though you don't, I still love you all the same." She then kissed me gently.

I kissed her back. "Yeah, I know Dashie, you tell me that all the time!"

She giggled. "Well, I just love you that much Stud!"

"I know Dash. And I love you too. You are my marefriend after all."

I then got back to work on what I was doing, while Dash went to report for Weather Duty.

Over the course of the next month, Dash and I really began to grow closer and closer together. I knew that we were made for each other, and even her mom, once she'd gotten over her anger, saw that we were a loving couple as well. However, there was at least one other who was not convinced; Don.

I went to talk to him one day about marrying Dash.

"So you want to marry Rainbow Dash, do you?"

"Yes Sir, I do."

"And are you SURE that she's the right mare for you Leopard?"

"As sure as I can be Sir. I risked life and limb to save her, and we both love each other very much. We have great chemistry, and I think that God's calling me to marry her."

Don sat back in his chair. "I still don't know Leopard, but yet if you are certain, then I won't stop you. HOWEVER, I see the need for the tradition to continue."

I looked at him confused. "Um, what tradition?"

"Remember? The 'Transfer Ceremony'. Required for all train crew marrying outside of the battalion."

I knew what that meant. "Well, if you feel that it's necessary Don, I won't object to it." I began to leave.

"And when exactly were you looking on proposing to Rainbow Dash?"

I sighed. "Soon. My plan was to take her on a picnic to the Rainbow Waterfall at sunset, before proposing to her in front of it."

Don nodded. "Sounds interesting Leopard. Well, I wish you the best of luck with it."

"Thanks Don." I then left to head back to work with the museum.

Sure enough, by the end of that week, with help from those who knew how, I'd taken a piece from the Big Boy that was going to be scrapped, and had it remade into an engagement ring. I then gathered a few friends, and to them I laid out my plan.......

"Wow Stud, this picnic is awesome! I've ALWAYS wanted to see the Rainbow Waterfall at night!" She and I were walking down the trail to the waterfall. Behind us came Todd and Fred, as well as Spitfire, and even Dash's mom Windy was there as well. Todd and Fred were filming, and Windy wanted to capture the moment that I proposed to Dash as well.

Eventually, we reached our destination. "Wow! This is AMAZING!!!"

I was equally impressed. Even in the light of the setting sun, the waterfall was indeed impressive, and you could still see a rainbow in the mist from it if you looked at it at just the right angle.

I then took a deep breath. "Hey Dash?"

"Yeah Stud?"

"You wanna......wade out to the base of the falls for a picture? I REALLY want to capture this moment!"

She nodded. "Sure Stud, I'm even wearing my swimsuit!"

"As am I Dash." We both then stripped down to our swimsuits, and then, holding each other's hand, we waded out into the pool at the base of the falls. (What we were doing was perfectly legal, and swimming was actually encouraged there, as it helped to keep algae at bay).

The water was a little bit deeper than I thought that it was going to be, and it easily came up to our waists. "Uh oh", I thought. "Will I be able to propose to her while still keeping my head above water?"

We both then turned around, and after wrapping our arms and wings around each other, Dash leaned her head on my shoulder a bit, and we both smiled for the cameras of Fred and Windy.

"Is....he about to propose to her?" Spitfire asked softly.

"I think so", Todd answered. "He wanted a picture at the base of the falls, and then he was going to propose."

All 4 of them continued to watch, waiting for the signs that I was about to propose.

In all actuality, I was PETRIFIED! I hadn't ever done anything like this before, and I didn't know how to react! Eventually though, I was able to find my courage, and I then gave Todd the signal before turning to face Dash.

"Hey Dash?"

"Yeah Stud?"

"Before we wade back, I just have one thing to say. Ever since the first time we met, even though I was a little bit of a jerk, you still seemed to like me. Over time, I did begin to grow rather fond of you as well. However, once you were taken away from me, I vowed to NEVER rest until I had hunted down those who had taken you! In the end, I did get my mare back, the same mare that I'm talking to right now, as well as the same mare that I pledged to marry one day....."

Dash was starting to get the feeling that I was about to propose to her. However, she wanted to hear the end of my speech, so she decided to wait it out and see what I said next.

".....And finally, that brings us to this moment. Dash, I love you, and I want us to be together forever. Which brings me to my final question." I then reached my hand into the pocket of my swimsuit, before pulling something out, and after taking Dash by the hand, I kneeled down in water that came up to my chin, leaving only my head, arms, and the tops of my wings above the water!

I then revealed that the object in my hand was a small, black box. I then opened the box, and revealed the engagement ring.

"Dash, will you marry me?"

When Dash heard me say that, she immediately slammed her hands over her mouth, and began to blush deeply. Eventually though, she looked at me with tears in her eyes. After removing her hands from her mouth, she pulled me back to my paws.

"YES!!!! OH MY GOSH! OH MY GOSH! OH MY GOSH! OH MY GOSH!!!! YES!!!!! THIS IS SO AWESOME STUD!!!!" She then pulled me close to her and kissed me deeply.

"Aww!" Windy was all goo-goo eyed over what she was seeing.

"Lucky bastard", Fred muttered.

"Eh, I dunno Fred. Your time could come soon too, ESPECIALLY with Lyra, am I right?"

Fred glared at him a bit. "I don't know Todd. Part of me says yes, while the rest of me says no."

Spitfire was equally happy. "One day soon, that'll be ME instead of Dash! Soon we'll BOTH be sharing Leopard until death does us part!"

Dash and I stayed out a little bit longer until we both headed back to shore.

Soon, Dash and I were planning for our wedding. We locked in the date to be September 15th, 2029, which was just 11 days shy of my 25th birthday.

Dash wanted the wedding to be in Cloudsdale, but yet I knew that we couldn't do that, because of how most of my friends couldn't walk on clouds. Spitfire offered to let us use a section of Wonderbolt Academy, but I quietly reminded her that WE were going to have to use that for our second wedding, as polygamy was still HIGHLY frowned upon!

Eventually though we were able to come to a compromise. In Cloudsdale, there was an area that was used for weddings between mixed couples who wanted to have their wedding in Cloudsdale, but only one of them could fly. It was open to the air, but yet fully covered as well. Dash would have her wedding in the sky, which was her domain, and I would be able to invite those who couldn't fly, as it would just be a simple matter of docking an airship or balloon close to the building.

One night though, about a week before the wedding, I was walking back towards the Big Boy, when all of a sudden, Todd came running up to me.

"Hey Leopard?"

"Yeah Todd?"

"I was just up in the cab, and there seems to be something wrong with one of the boiler gauges. I tried to find Alex, or one of the other firemen, but I couldn't. Could you come look at it? It was showing a higher reading than the other gauges."

I nodded. "Sure thing Todd." I then followed him back to the engine.

When I arrived, I climbed up into the cab, but when I checked the gauges, nothing seemed to be wrong. "Um, Todd, are you sure that you were looking at the pressure gauges? I don't see anything wrong!"

"I'm sorry Leopard."

"Huh? Sorry for what?"

"There's nothing wrong with the gauges. They just told me to lure you out here, and I went along with it. Please don't hate me!"

"Wait WHAT?!?!"

Before I could really react further though, a hood was suddenly thrown over my head, and I was dragged out of the cab, and away from the train!

Eventually, I felt myself get sat down in a chair, before the hood was removed.

"SURPRISE LEOPARD!!!!!"

I looked, and to my shock, I realized that I'd just been kidnapped for my bachelor's party! I was sitting in the locker room of the Wonderbolt Academy, surrounded by both male Wonderbolts, as well as a few Battleship Express crew, including Alex, Andy, Fred and Todd too.

"DARN IT YOU GUYS!!!!! What were you trying to do, GIVE ME A F@#KING HEART ATTACK?!?!?!"

Soarin laughed a bit. "Nah, we were just trying to get you up here for your Bachelor's Party! And from what I just heard, Spitfire's just kidnapped Dash for her Bachelorette Party as well!"

I just put my hands over my face. "This is NUTS!!!! And now I'm scared, because at some point in the future, you'll probably do this AGAIN for when it's my turn with Spitfire!"

Soarin smirked a bit. "Heh, you know it Buddy! But come on, Bachelor Party!"

I rolled my eyes, but yet it WAS a party, so I complied. It was a mixture of drinking, dancing, playing cards, karaoke, arm-wrestling contests, and other all-guy activities, including a......no. On second thought, let's NOT talk about THAT contest!

Anyway, It was a fun night, we all enjoyed ourselves; even though I did slap Soarin across the face when he kissed me, but I did that out of panic. I don't know what his deal was, but I was sitting there, and he sat in my lap, and kissed me! I freaked out and slapped him.

"OWW!!! What the heck Bro?!" He then flew out to a balcony close by. After thinking about it for a bit, I did go and apologize.

"Hey, Soarin?"

"What?" He was still holding his face.

"I'm SOOO sorry for slapping you like that. It was just an instinct-response. You kissed me, and I freaked out and slapped you!"

"So, you're sorry?"

I gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "Yep, I'm sorry!"

Soarin blushed really hard, but he didn't say anything at first.

"Oh, and for the record Soarin", I then whispered in his ear, "Out of all of the guys in the Wonderbolts, I think you're the cutest!"

"Wait, do you really mean that?"

I kissed him on the nose. "Yes, yes I do!"

He smirked at me. "Well then, you'd better watch yourself Cutie. Your next Bachelor's Party could just be a private one with me and you in my bedroom!"

"Ooh, you're a naughty stallion, aren't you?"

He smirked at me. "And can I PLEASE get one more kiss before we have to call it a night?"

I looked up at him. "For you Soarin, sure." I then rubbed his sore cheek a bit, before leaning in and kissing him. I will not lie, Soarin was actually a pretty good kisser!

Suddenly though, I heard a *click!*. I turned, and to my horror, there stood Alex! He was holding his camera, and he was smirking.

"Oh! Just WAIT till Rainbow Dash get's a load of this! Her future HUSBAND is kissing on of her MALE teammates!" He then began to laugh.

Suddenly though, I grabbed his camera, ripped out the SIM card, and then tossed it off over the balcony's ledge! It had a LONG way to fall before it hit the ground.

"Oh, I'm sorry Alex, what were you saying?"

"MY CAMERA!!!! WHY DID YOU DO THAT!?!?!?!?!"

"Well, to get rid of the evidence obviously! Now it's your word against mine an Soarin's, and as we all know, you do NOT have a very good track record!"

Alex then stormed off to go and see if he could find his camera's SIM card, while Soarin and I went back to the party.

Eventually though, the day of the wedding arrived. The weather Pegasai made sure that it was a bright and sunny day. The setup for the wedding in the Cloudsdale pavilion was coming along marvelously. I'd already decided that Todd was going to be my Best Man, and Dash decided that Spitfire was going to be her Mare of Honor. It was also decided that Don would be the ring, bearer, and that Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Applebloom would be the flower girls.

(During the rehearsal, Andy, on a dare from Alex, actually pantsed me! Don yelled at him for doing it, and I vowed to get him back for pulling my pants down like that! And I would, at Alex's wedding......)

In the Bride's ready room, the Bride, her bridesmaids, and a few others were all getting ready for the wedding. Rarity was helping Dash get into her dress. It was a beautiful white dress, with cyan-blue trim, and even a few rainbow-colored bows. Dash had her mane draped over one of her shoulders, and was wearing a broach of her Cutie-Mark in her mane as well.

"You look simply FABULOUS Darling!" Rarity was saying, "This is some of my FINEST work!"

"I still CANNOT believe that I'm a bride! It feels like just yesterday that I first met Stud when he first arrived here in Ponyville, and now we're about to get married!"

Her mom hugged her. "I can't believe that my little Dashie's getting married!"

"Mom, come on, you're embarrassing me!" She did hug her mom back though, and soon the music began to start.

"Uh oh, time to get to our positions!" After pulling down her veil, Dash and the rest of them all of them scurried to do so.

In the other ready room though, it was a whole different ball-game. I was all dressed up in my formal uniform, but I couldn't do it. I was completely freaking out, and hyperventilating into a paper bag!

"Guys, I CAN'T DO THIS!!!!"

"What?! What do you mean you can't do it?!"

"I mean that I CAN'T! I made that vow to Lilly to love her forever, and now I'm about to break that vow!"

Don then grabbed me by my shoulders. "Leopard, look at me! Once again, you're blaming yourself for Lilly's death. There was NOTHING that you could have done! That plane was already shot down and out of control. It hit that weapons car, and Lilly, and 3 of our best technicians and 2 soldiers were lost. There was NOTHING that could have been done! Lilly's death released you from your vow to her. I know that she's up there in Heaven right now, looking down on you and smiling. She's HAPPY that you found love again, so yes, you CAN do this Leopard!"

I then stood up straight and tall. I knew that Don was right. "You're right Don, I CAN do this! So let's go!" We all then left the ready room so that the transfer ceremony could begin.

Once we were in the atrium outside of the wedding hall, Don looked at me. "Are you ready for this Leopard?"

I sighed. "As ready as I'll ever be Don."

"Ok then, name?"

"Captain Leopard."

"No, you're REAL name!"

"Campbell."

"Name of your Beloved?"

"Rainbow Dash."

"And you do love her, do you not?"

"Yes Sir!"

"And do you vow to love her until the bitter end, no matter what?"

"Yes Sir!"

"Ok then, hand please." I then gave him my hand, and sure enough, he poked my finger with a sterile needle enough to draw blood, and under my name at the top of a list, I put a bloody fingerprint just below it. After this the music began, and the wedding got underway.

After some coaxing, Father Charles agreed to perform the wedding ceremony. Once he was ready, he went to the front of the room, and stood just in front of the podium that was up there. Then the wedding began.

First, the groom, Best Man, and his groomsmen walked in, followed by soldiers from Battalion 4009, who stood at intervals along the aisle. Also accompanying me was Aurora. Rarity had made her her own dress for the wedding, and now she was happily trotting at my side on the way up to the front. Once she reached her designated post, she stopped, sat down, and when I walked past her, she saluted me with a paw. I then stepped up to the front next to Father Charles.

Just then, the music changed, and then the bride walked in. When Dash walked down the aisle accompanied by her dad, with her bridesmaids and Mare of Honor behind her, everypony stopped and stared at her. Eventually though, she reached the front of the wedding hall, where she joined her Beloved in front of Father Charles, and she turned to face him, and took his hands gently into her own.

Father Charles then looked at us. "Now then, are both of you ready to begin?"

"Yes Sir, we are!"

"I'm ready Father Charles."

"Ok, good. Now then, the rings please Don." Don brought them up to the front.

Father Charles then turned to me. "Now then, do you, Captain Campbell, take this mare, to be your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold, to love and to cherish, through sickness and in health, from the good times and the bad, to love faithfully, until death do you part?"

I nodded, before taking my ring, and putting it on Dash's finger. "I do! I take you Dash, to be my lawfully wedded wife. To have and to hold, to love and to cherish, through sickness and in health, from the good times and the bad, to love faithfully, until death do us part!"

Father Charles then turned to Dash. "And do you, Rainbow Dash, take this man, to be your lawfully wedded husband? To have and to hold, to love and to cherish, through sickness and in health, from the good times and the bad, to love faithfully, until death do you part?"

Dash looked at me with tears in her eyes, before she took her ring, and put it on my finger. "Yes, I do! I take you Stud, to be my lawfully wedded husband! To have and to hold, to love and to cherish, through sickness and in health, from the good times and the bad, to love faithfully, until death do us part!"

Father Charles then turned to the audience. "Now then, do any of you have any objections to this union? If so, speak now, or forever hold your peace!"

Out in the Audience, Zephyr was about to object, but before he could, Jim, who was sitting next to him, pulled him back into his seat. "If you object I'm gonna bust your ass right here! Dash belongs to LEOPARD, and Leopard ALONE!"

"Y-yes Sir!"

Unfortunately however, before Father Charles could pronounce us married, one of the Equestrian soldiers, Len, suddenly got sick and projectile vomited all over the floor!

"Oh, OH GROSS!!! LEN, NOT THIS AGAIN!!!!" (For any who don't remember, Len also got sick during the Battle of Lake Town, and almost gave us away. Now he just did it again at my wedding!)

"Sorry Everypony!" He was then escorted out of the wedding hall, and thanks to a few unicorns who were present, the vomit was quickly cleaned up.

Father Charles then looked a little bit queasy. "Ok, barring things like that, does anyone have any objections to this union? If so, speak now, or forever hold your peace!"

This time nothing happened.

"Nobody? Well ok then! By the power vested in me as presider over this wedding union, I now pronounce you both man and mare! You can kiss the bride Captain!"

I then lifted up Dash's veil, and after she held me close, I kissed her passionately.

The crowd then went wild for us. Once we were out of there, it was time for the reception. After we'd cut and fed each other a slice of cake, everyone and everypony else got a slice, before it was time for the couple's first dance. Our song wasn't the most conventional ever, but it sure did get our point across!

Then, others joined in as well, and we all had a lot of fun dancing. Eventually though, it was time for the wedding couple to leave. Dash and I were only going as far as the Grand Hotel in downtown Cloudsdale, but still, traditions are traditions!

Alex, Todd, and a few others tied up some old utensils to the back of our wedding carriage, and just before we left, it was time to toss the bouquet and the garter.

"Everypony ready?" Dash asked.

"Oh yes!"

"Watch out, here it comes!" Dash tossed it, and to her surprise, it got caught by Scootaloo!

"Wow, great catch Squirt!"

"Thanks Rainbow Dash!"

I then got ready to toss out the garter. "Look out, here it comes!"

"Back up guys, that garter's MINE!!!" In one quick (or rather dick!) move, Soarin grabbed the garter in midair, before proudly showing off his prize.

"Wow, um, nice catch there Soarin. But anyway, Dash and I have somewhere to be!" We both then began to leave for our carriage.

"Alex, Todd, Fred and Andy? You guys take care of the Big Boy until I get back tomorrow, got that?"

They all saluted. "Yes Captain Leopard!"

"Good! Well then, I guess bye for now guys, and I'll see you all tomorrow!" And with that, Dash and I both boarded our wedding carriage, and raced off for the Cloudsdale Grand Hotel. Normally, we would have been racing off to our honeymoon, but Dash and I both decided to wait until AFTER I'd married Spitfire for that, so that the 3 of us could all go together, (and so that we could save money!) For that night though, the Grand Hotel would be all that we would need.

Spitfire watched us pull away. "Soon Stud", she thought to herself, "Just a little bit longer, and then it'll be MY Big Day!" Spitfire then began to day-dream a bit on what her wedding was going to look like.

BOOM! ANOTHER chapter out in record time! Just like I said people, I think that I'm getting back into my old groove! The next chapter might not be up until Wednesday, but still, it'll be worth the wait!

Anyway, I hope that you enjoyed this little chapter about Dash and Leopard! I also finally revealed why I was so mad at Andy, as well as what Len did at my wedding. (I also kind of apologize for the scene where Leopard and Soarin were kissing, as that one I just threw out there because I could. If you liked it, I'll do a little bit more with it in the next chapter, but if not, I won't. Let me know in the comments what you think!)

So now, ALL of the members of the Mane 6 are married, and all that's really left, is the FINAL wedding between Leopard and Spitfire! How will THAT go down? Will it be as big of a hit as the others, or will it go down in flames? Well, you guys know the drill, stay tuned, and I'll tell you!

Meanwhile, as always, comments, feedback, questions, as well as spreading the word about this story, are always appreciated, and I'll see you all in Chapter 14 for the final wedding!

ScarFox out for now!