//------------------------------//
// Chapter 1 
// Story: Why not? Sure. I'll Marry You. 
// by HAKDurbin 
//------------------------------//

When it was announced that there would be a royal wedding at Zephyr Heights, ponies all over Equestria were delirious with happiness. Ponies in Zephyr Heights, Bridlewood and Maretime Bay, talked about the wedding as though it were a national holiday. All the celebrities and ponies of high significance were invited, and tickets for other ponies to celebrate in the royal castle were sold out. But while the vast majority were excited, other ponies were firmly against such happiness between earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi.
For many moons, the three races lived apart from each other. Then, things changed for the better when earth pony, Sunny Starscout went on a journey to see the unicorns and the pegasi in hopes of bringing friendship between all three pony kinds like in the olden days. Many unicorns and pegasi were contemptuous to see Sunny, but with the help of her new unicorn friend, Izzy Moonbow, Sunny discovered that not only were the stories against unicorns and pegasi untrue, but neither of them had magic. The only exceptions were the royal family in Zepher Heights, and neither Queen Haven nor her daughters flew anywhere outside their castle or posed any threat. 
When Sunny shared her discoveries with the ponies of Maretime Bay, many thought Sunny was talking nonsense like her father, Argyle Starshine, before her. Others were curious, however, and decided to go to Bridlewood and Zephyr Heights to see for themselves. They backed up Sunny's claims, and as time passed, all three pony kinds got to know each other better and found everything they were taught to be nonsense. Ultimately, earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi officially made peace, much to the joy of Sunny, who dreamed of every pony becoming friends all her life. 
But not everypony accepted change with open hooves. Some closed themselves off from ponies of different races becoming friends. Some earth ponies, in particular, were suspicious that unicorns and pegasi were only pretending to have no magic and planned to attack them when all of Maretime Bay least expected it. 
But several moons had passed, and there were no attacks to speak of. In fact, some ponies began developing romantic relationships with ponies outside of their race. Of all the interracial relationships, the most beloved and celebrated was the love between the pegasus princess, Pipp Petals, second in line to the throne of Zephyr Heights, and a unicorn pop star named Presto Tetrachord. At first, their relationship was professional - simply admiring each other’s music and performing a single together if the studio demanded it. But as time went by, Pipp and Presto began spending time together outside of making music, and before anypony knew it, they were deeply in love.   Presto was allowed to visit Pipp at the royal palace whenever he wanted and was treated by Queen Haven and Pipp's sister, Zipp, as though he was part of the family. 
And then, one night after performing a concert, Presto surprised everypony by proposing to Pipp onstage. Pipp teared up as she said yes, much to the joy of their fans. And so, the royal wedding between Pipp Petals and Presto Tetrachord was announced, exciting fans and non-fans alike. Many thought a public wedding between a unicorn and a pegasus was a wonderful way to strengthen the diversity in Equestria. Sunny Starscout, more than anypony, was on cloud nine, seeing the dream she shared with her father further come true. 
But none of that mattered to the bride. All Pipp thought about was that she would be united in wedlock with the stallion of her dreams. Her mother was more than happy to officiate the ceremony, and after much begging, Zipp agreed to be her Best Mare. When she wasn't on social media or helping prepare for the wedding, Pipp secretly wrote a song she planned to sing at the wedding reception to express her love for Presto. She imagined her husband falling deeper in love with her after singing her new song. 
Pipp was in her bedroom in Zephyr Heights Castle practicing her song with her keyboard.  It was a large room with her canopy queen-size bed, a disco ball hanging from the ceiling, a pony-sized mirror with lights in the corner by the bed, and a wide golden dresser. On top of the dresser was a large mirror with two smaller mirrors attached to its golden frame. The walls were made of marble and decorated with golden plaques. A room fitting for royalty and a pop star at work. 
As Pipp practiced, there was a knock on the door. She put her music paper in a dresser drawer and took out her phone to pretend she was on it for hours. 
"Come in," she said in a singing voice. 
The door opened to reveal six royal guards, led by Zoom Zephyrwing and Thunder Flap, who entered and bowed before the princess. 
"Your Highness, we come bringing wedding gifts," Zoom announced. 
"Wedding gifts? But the wedding is still five days away," Pipp said. 
"Apparently, some ponies didn't want to wait until then, or they sent their gifts from Maretime Bay or Bridlewood, and they arrived early," Zoom said. "Where would you like us to put them?"
"Oh, um, just put them in the empty space," Pipp said hesitantly.
Zoom and Thunder nodded and left the room for a moment to bring the gifts. There were wheeled garment racks, each one carrying dozens of outfits. Pipp's face lit up, and she ran to the rack to look at the outfits, loving each outfit more than the last. The outfits were followed by poly box trucks overflowing with wrapped presents of various shapes and sizes. Before Pipp knew it, half of her spacious room was filled with wedding gifts. Against her better judgment, Pipp decided to open a few of the smaller presents. There were necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and the like. It was fair to speculate that some ponies spent much of their savings just to give Pipp such fancy gifts. 
Zipp came into her sister's room bewildered as the guards kept bringing gifts. She squeezed her way through the towers of presents to find Pipp taking pictures of her opened gifts and uploading them online. Pipp flapped her wings and squealed as she proceeded to open another present. 
"Pipp, shouldn't you be waiting until after the wedding to open wedding presents with Presto?" Zipp asked. 
"I am waiting…waiting to open the bigger presents with Presto that might be for both of us," Pipp said. "Though, I doubt some of these ponies brought dresses and purses with Presto in mind."
"Still, it's ridiculous how many ponies are giving you gifts you don't need," Zipp said as she picked up a box. "Look at this. A diamond phone case? You already have eight of them."
"But this one has aquamarine diamonds, and that's, like, my sixth favorite color," Pipp chirped. "How could any pony know I love that color?"
Zipp raised her eyebrow. She didn't follow her sister on social media, but every pony in Equestria knew Pipp loved to share just about everything about herself. Zipp would bet anything Pipp had shared the Pippsqueaks her list of favorite colors. Maybe more than once. 
Pipp continued going through the presents, not paying attention to Zipp. She then stopped upon seeing an unusual-looking present. It was wrapped with torn pieces of wrapping paper in different colors, and the wrapping paper and the bow were covered in glitter. Pipp and Zipp looked at the present curiously, finding it strange yet pretty to look at. Pipp took a picture before unwrapping it and gasped. Inside were two small pony figurines, one resembling Pipp and the other of a well-built, British tan stallion with blue-black hair tied to a ponytail and a short boxed beard. The figurines were made of recycled plastic and other odds and ends. Pipp put her hoof on her heart before she picked up the figurines.
"Oh, these are the cutest things ever!" she squealed. 
"I gotta admit, those are pretty cool," Zipp said. "Is there a tag or something that says who this is from?"
"There is a card inside," Pipp said as she took out the card. "It says, 'May your luminescence shine as bright as your love - Izzy Moonbow.' What a cute wedding wish. Where have I heard the name Izzy Moonbow?"
Zipp thought for a moment and said, "I think that's the name of the unicorn that met with Mom with Sunny Starscout."
Pipp gasped loudly and asked, "You mean she's one of the ponies that brought Earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns together so I could meet my Prestie?"
Zipp resisted the urge to show she did not like Pipp's nickname for her fiancée. 
"I guess you can look at it that way," she said.
"Awww! Now I love these figurines even more," Pipp said. "Are they going to the wedding?"
"I don't think so. I haven't seen their names on the guest list," Zipp said.
Pipp gasped again as though she had unwittingly insulted a pony. 
"We have to fix that! Let's send them invitations right away!" She shouted.
"Pipp, we sent all the invitations months ago, and tickets are all sold out," Zipp said. 
"So? It's not like there will be so many ponies that they'll cover every square inch of the ballroom. We have enough space for two more ponies. Heck, we can give them each a plus one," Zipp said. 
"Even then, the wedding is five days away, and it takes almost two days to travel from here to Bridlewood or Maretime Bay. That means it would take two days for them to get their invitations, find a plus one, get ready, and then take two days just to get here," Zipp said.
"That also means they get an extra day to do the non-traveling stuff," Pipp said. "Besides, they won't be traveling alone. Everypony knows ponies from Bridlewood and Maretime Bay are coming here to watch the wedding outside on the jumbotrons. Better yet, we can find Sunny and Izzy's profiles online and send them invites."
"That's assuming they have profiles. Not everypony has social media or smartphones for that matter, Sis," Izzy said. 
"We could ask online for ponies we know in Bridlewood and Maretime Bay to let Sunny and Izzy know they're invited," Pipp said.
Zipp huffed and asked, "Pipp, don't you think you're getting carried away over two ponies you've never met?"
"I don't care if I haven't met them. I want them to come to my wedding," Pipp said. "Presto is everything to me, Zipp. I love him more than social media and my music. He doesn't see me as a princess or a pop star to win over but as a mare. If I don't try to show gratitude to the ponies who gave Presto and me the chance to meet, I won't forgive myself."
Silence overtook Pipp's bedroom. The guards who had finished delivering gifts quietly left, feeling awkward to be there during an emotional moment between the princesses. Zipp looked away as if everything other than her sister looked interesting before she sighed.
"I'll see what I can do," Zipp said.
Pipp squealed and tackled Zipp to a hug. 
"Oh, thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! You are the greatest Best Mare ever!" Pipp shouted.
Zipp chuckled and hugged Pipp back. Pipp let go and helped Zipp up after a moment, and the sisters smiled until Zipp cleared her throat awkwardly.
"So… Mom sent me to ask you something," She said. "Do you feel ready to have that little talk with Presto after the wedding?"
"What talk?" Pipp asked.
"That we can't fly," Zipp answered.
Pipp's smile faded, and she hung her head.
"I wish I didn't have to, or at the very least, I wish I could tell Presto already. I don't want to hide anything from him," Pipp said. "Do I really have to wait until after we're married? He can keep a secret before then."
"Believe me, Sis, no one hates that we still have to hide that we can't fly more than I do. If it were up to me, I would have told the truth when we started talking to earth ponies and pegasi, but Mom said it would cause an uproar if our citizens find out we've been lying to them for generations," Zipp said. "We must accept that our family has brought this on ourselves and trust that Presto will understand." 
"Yeah, I guess," Pipp said.  
Zipp furrowed her brow, hating how she ruined her sister's mood. She pursed her lips until she glanced at Pipp's dresser and smiled. 
"How's the song coming along?" Zipp asked. 
Pipp smiled slightly, knowing what her sister was doing.
"I'm going to rehearse it with the band after dinner. Presto's going to love it, I know," Pipp said.
"I bet he will," Zipp said. "He is crazy about you too, after all."
Pipp's smile grew, and she turned back to the figurine of her fiancée.
"Yeah," she said with a blissful sigh.
Zipp's smile also grew as she was relieved that she brought back Pipp's happy demeanor. The room was silent for a few seconds before Zipp cleared her throat. 
"Well, I should give Mom your answer before she starts wondering where I am, so I'll let you get you back to rehearsing," Zipp said. 
"Totally. See you at dinner," Pipp said.
"See ya," Pipp said.
Zipp left the room, leaving Pipp alone with her trove of presents. Pipp took the figurines and put them on her keyboard next to the music sheets. Pipp gave the figurine of Presto a sweet look as if she were a school filly staring at a framed picture of her very special somepony. She moved the figurines so their snouts were touching. Pipp studied sighed blissfully before she started practicing again, thinking of the new chapter in her life.