Rainbow Dash rolled around on the floor laughing her head off. Rarity and Applejack were squabbling for what felt like the tenth time since they had left Ponyville that morning.
"Oh I just feel so naked without any clothes on!" Rarity complained. Applejack walked over to her, chuckling.
"That's because you are naked, sugarcube." She quipped.
"Applejack please, don't stare!" Rarity said, covering herself up with her forelegs.
"Aw, don't worry Rare. I think you look darn pretty when you're naked." The Earth pony smiled at her friend. Rarity smiled back, blushing a little.
"And I think it's amazing what a simple brushing can do for a pony's appearance. You look absolutely beautiful, darling." The two ponies shared an awkward glance before averting their eyes.
"... um, for once." Rarity added quickly. They both turned away from each other abruptly, the farm pony making her way toward Twilight.
"So, Twilight." She began rather loudly. "I haven't seen you all week. How are you?"
Twilight was gazing out the window, watching the countryside go by. She ignored Applejack's question, blinking at her a few times. "What was that all about?" She asked, tilting her head quizzically.
"Oh that? That was uhhhh... nothing! Nothing at all. No siree!"
"Uh huh." Twilight said skeptically. The unicorn raised an eyebrow as she watched her friend's eyes dart back and forth. Applejack tried a big smile, but that didn't work either.
"Well..." She relented. "I dared Rarity to go to Canterlot without wearing her fancy clothes like she always does. I guess I wanted her to look like one of us, you know? She's not one of those snobby Canterlot types. She agreed, but only if I promised to brush my mane and leave my stetson in the hotel room." Twilight couldn't help but giggle. "Your mane does look nice that way AJ."
"I think you two will look wonderful together." She assured. Applejack looked aghast for a second, then tried to change the subject with a frantic wave of her hoof.
"We haven't had a chance to catch up this week Twi. How are things?" It was Twilight's turn to chuckle uncomfortably.
"Oh it's fine. It's all been fine!"
"Twilight, you've been holed up in that library all week. You've been sending Spike to do all your errands, and if I didn't know better I'd swear this is the first ray of sunshine you've seen since we got back from the wedding. Now what's going on?" Applejack gave her friend a stern look.
Twilight sighed. "Spike said something, didn't he?" She jumped a little when AJ stomped her hoof angrily.
"Shucks Twilight! No I did not talk to Spike! I don't need to be told when something's wrong with my best friend. Now come on sugarcube, what's going on?"
"Sorry. It's just that ever since the wedding I've been feeling... sad, I suppose. I keep thinking; what if I was wrong about Cadence? What if I had ruined my relationship with Shining Armor for real? And not only that!" Twilight said, becoming agitated. "You all walked out on me! You never even stopped to consider that I might be right! You're supposed to be my friends, and you sided with somepony you'd only just met instead of me! Why can't you-"
Twilight caught herself. Her ears flopped, and she looked up at Applejack apologetically. "Sorry. I just haven't gotten over it yet."
"You're still angry with us for what we did?"
"Well... yes."
"Good."
"Huh?!"
"I said good. Twilight, sometimes I think you forgive far too easily. You can't get past this by sealing it up in a cider barrel. If you still feel something, then by all means talk to us about it, okay?" Twilight looked up. Her friends had heard her outburst, and were standing around her. They exchanged a few uncomfortable glances, not saying anything for a few long seconds. Rainbow walked over and sat down next to Twilight, breaking the silence.
"We talked after the rehearsal. We didn't realize that Princess Celestia was going to walk out on you as well, and when we saw her coming out after us, we knew it was bad. We were going to apologize, but we couldn't find you. Then I think we all forgot about it until after the reception so we didn't ruin the wedding for anypony. And... I guess it never came up after that. The couple of times I came over to take out the next Daring Do, you never wanted to talk. Rarity thought you might need some time alone, so we gave it a rest."
"You know what my element is. And what you were just saying about us choosing Cadence instead of you? You're right. I've failed you as a friend." Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie gasped. Twilight stared at her technicolor friend.
"Rainbow..."
"No Twilight. I should have stuck by you. I'm sorry." Rainbow leaned over and nuzzled Twilight gently. She gasped, and the others just stared. It was rare to see Rainbow bare her soul and confront her emotions, but being affectionate?
"I forgive you. Of course I forgive you Rainbow." She turned to address her friends. "Even though we're the Elements of Harmony, we're not perfect. We're bound to make mistakes, but we can get past them. Friends stick together no matter what, right?" Twilight finished. They all nodded.
"Every time something of this nature has occurred you've always been right, darling." Rarity began. "I think I can safely speak for all of us when I say that we're going to place our absolute trust in you from now on. We should have done so a long time ago, in fact." The others agreed without hesitation.
They spent the last ten minutes of the journey talking amongst themselves excitedly. It almost felt like the Grand Galloping Gala all over again. Twilight felt much better now that the air had been cleared, and all six of them were in high spirits as the Friendship Express trundled into the station.
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Twilight and her friends stood before Canterlot castle, brimming with anticipation as they gazed up at the regal structure. Rarity was on the verge of leaping around and squealing happily; she'd never been invited to a social function with royalty before. Even Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were optimistic about the day to come. They all smiled when the guards let them enter without so much as a glance, and they didn't even have to get out their invitations when they got to the ballroom where the function was being held. They all recognized it instantly: it was the same room that Celestia had so graciously provided for Twilight's birthday. Ornate decorations adorned the walls, and there were tables and chairs everywhere. A flock of caterers were busily rushing around the tables, but other than that, the only pony there was Princess Luna. She hadn't seen them enter, and was busy sampling some of the hors d'oeuvres.
"Hellooo Princess!" Pinkie Pie yelled. Luna jumped, and one of the caterers dropped a fork. Whirling around to face the sudden noise, she smiled when she saw the six friends there.
"Twilight Sparkle and her friends! How wonderful to see you all again."
"Hello Princess Luna." Twilight exclaimed, bowing politely. Her friends followed suit, and Pinkie Pie bounced over to offer her a hoofpump, which she returned gracefully.
"I trust your journey was safe?"
"It was, thank you princess." Twilight replied. Luna smiled.
"I'm sure you're looking for the happy couple, yes?" She inquired. "They're out in the gardens." Twilight ran off to go find them, and her friends followed her lazily. They were happy to just walk around the gardens and talk.
Twilight found Shining Armor and Cadence strolling around together, pointing out various flora and fauna. They looked so happy and peaceful, a far cry from how they had appeared not more than a week ago. How idyllic. Twilight thought. They both turned and smiled when she called out to them, and the first thing they did was share a hug.
"Twily! It's great to see you again!" Her brother said, ruffling her mane. "How are you Twilight? Did you have a good trip up here?" Cadence smiled warmly.
"Hi Cadence! The trip up? It was good. So how was your honeymoon?! What did you do? You have to tell me all about it!" Twilight exclaimed, hopping up and down excitedly.
"Well you're here pretty early, so we should have plenty of time to talk about it." Shining Armor said, grinning at her.
"Early? The invitation said that the party's at midday. It's midday now." Twilight explained confusedly. Shining Armor and Cadence just chuckled. "The honeymoon was amazing..."
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About half an hour later, almost all of the guests had arrived. Shining Armor had shown the mane 6 their room and given them time to freshen up before the party started. Because she didn't have any clothes to fuss over, Rarity had a lot more time to assist her friends with their appearances. She spared a few moments to help Pinkie Pie, but spent the majority of the time chasing Rainbow around the room with her manebrush. The ballroom was packed when they returned. Every member of the Royal Guard had been invited, as well as a select few members of the Canterlot elite - they were probably friends of the happy couple.
Twilight and her friends got a big round table all to themselves, right up front next to the main table where Shining Armor, Cadence, Celestia, and Luna sat. Shining Armor had apologized multiple times for not being able to seat them all at the one table, but there was simply no table big enough to accommodate them all. Twilight was sitting next to Rainbow Dash, who was laughing into her hoof, trying and failing to stay quiet.
"I didn't even see her there!" Twilight explained to the pegasus. "She was right on the other side of the door when I ran through, and I nearly bowled her over! And then when I moved away, I got tangled in her mane, and we both ended up on the floor." The unicorn was laughing now. Sure, clumsily knocking down Princess Celestia was funny in hindsight, but seeing Rainbow snorting into the tablecloth with tears running down her face was pretty hilarious too. She waited a few moments for Rainbow to calm down before she continued.
"She wasn't angry, thankfully. She laughed too. You know how her mane undulates naturally? Instead of getting messed up, it started swinging around for some reason. It took her three tries to clearly tell me not to worry, because her mane kept flapping around her face!" When she finished speaking, Rainbow smiled at her. Not an amused smile though; a warm, friendly one. She hugged Twilight.
"What was that for?" Rainbow blushed a little, fiddling with her hooves.
"It's just really awesome to see you smiling for once Twilight. You've been all mopey ever since the wedding. After what happened, I was a little worried." She admitted, shrugging. Twilight smiled inwardly. It was times like this that made her glad to be Rainbow's friend. Few ponies ever saw this side of her.
Twilight looked over at Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. They had been sitting in the corner talking during the trip up, and had stuck together all day. Twilight elbowed Rainbow, glancing sideways at her.
"Psst! What do you think they're talking about?" She whispered.
"I dunno. They've been hanging out all the time lately." Rainbow replied. Pinkie noticed that they were talking about her.
"What we're talking about is none of your business!" She told them curtly. A second later, she grinned.
"Twilight! Did you find out what the announcement is?"
"No, I didn't. It's a pretty big secret, not even Shining Armor knows what it is!"
"Whoo..." Pinkie said, eyes wide.
"Wait a second." Applejack said, raising a hoof. "Y'all don't think that Cadence is...?"
"I hardly think so." Rarity exclaimed.
"Well not yet, but you could definitely tell. That girl's as thin as a rake." Applejack reasoned.
"Applejack!" Twilight shot, glaring at her.
"It would be pretty big news though." Rainbow ventured. "Right? New member of the royal family, that kinda stuff?"
"We'll just have to wait and see." Rarity mused.
The meal was amazing. Three courses were served, including dessert. Much to the confusion of Twilight, Rainbow, and Applejack, a second wine was served after dessert. Rarity had to explain that it was a dessert wine, which was something that Pinkie and Fluttershy somehow already knew. Once everypony was finished, Cadence called for attention.
"Thank you all for coming. Before I reveal my announcement I'd like to propose a toast." She said, raising her wine glass. Everypony followed suit.
"Oh Fluttershy!" Rarity exclaimed in a hushed tone. The pegasus was holding up a glass of water sheepishly.
"Aww come on Fluttershy! Just this once?" Pinkie coaxed. The pegasus shook her head.
"Girls, you know I don't drink." She stated.
"-to friends, family, and our good health!" Cadence finished. They could all drink to that.