//------------------------------// // Chapter One: Arrival // Story: Canterlot Wedding Remix // by chronicLurker //------------------------------// “We’re here, we’re here!” Pinkie chanted excitedly as the train to Canterlot approached the last guard checkpoint. Her friends perked up just in time to see a pink wall of magic racing at them as it passed through the car. They were all startled, but none more than Twilight, who cringed as if anticipating a blow. She looked moderately surprised when nothing happened. Huddled in on herself, Fluttershy anxiously asked, “What was that?” “I’m not sure,” Twilight admitted, raising a hoof to her chest. “I mean, it was a semi-permeable, inclusive shield, but-” “Oh, please don’t let her get going,” Spike muttered quietly. Twilight gave him a sour look. “Well, it didn’t hurt none so never mind,” Applejack said briskly as the train slowed to a stop. “We’re pulling into the station.” Eager to stretch their legs after the long ride, the six Ponyville friends, their belongings slung across their backs in saddlebags, disembarked from their car and stopped short. The familiar Canterlot station hadn’t changed a bit, but there seemed to be a full squad of Celestia’s finest unicorn soldiers on duty at the station. They crowded the platform and lined the violet roof, all standing at attention. With their identical grey coats and golden armor, they were virtually indistinguishable from one another. “Woah,” Dash said, looking around in puzzlement. “What’s with all the guards?” “I’m sure it’s just a precaution for the wedding,” Rarity stated dismissively. The others looked to Twilight, but she could only shrug, not having any other explanation. In any case, she was a bit distracted, flicking her gaze around as she searched the faces of the guards. “That’s odd,” she murmured, “I don’t recognize anypony.” “Me either,” Spike concurred from his familiar spot atop the unicorn’s back. “I’m sure ya’ll don’t know all of the guards,” Applejack replied. She nudged Twilight toward the station. “Come on, now, no dilly-dallying.” Twilight frowned but trotted ahead. The soldiers didn’t even acknowledge the mares as they passed through the building and onto the streets of Canterlot beyond. “Wow.” Pinkie stood on her back hooves and raised a foreleg to shade her eyes. “Do you think all these ponies are here for the wedding, too?” Canterlot was a city of ostentation and spectacle, the glimmering capitol crown jewel of the realm. It boasted the third-highest population in all of Equestria and was always a hub of tourist activity. That said, it was usually possible to stroll down the major streets without bumping into anypony else. That was no longer the case. The streets were full to bursting with ponies, many of them dressed in the most fashionable and expensive of finery, and it seemed that almost everypony was out on a date. Couples stared into each other’s eyes lovingly as they sat at little bistros or meandered down the lane. Many had simply stopped in the middle of the street to nuzzle or talk. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy took to the air while their ground-bound friends began to wind through the crowd slowly, skirting citizens who were too wrapped up in their own business to make way. Twilight and the others did their best to stay close, a task made easier by the fact that few other ponies were going anywhere. Following close on Twilight’s tail, Applejack ventured, "Was Canterlot always this crowded?" “No way,” Spike replied, standing up on his mount and bracing his claws on the back of Twilight’s head. “I’ve never seen it like this!” "It does seem like the streets are rather full compared to our previous visits," Rarity agreed from behind her, stepping around a stallion who was lost in his marefriend’s eyes. In her wake, Pinkie bounced along with a broad smile, chattering to herself about something called a ‘mosh’. “It should clear up when we get closer to the castle,” Twilight said. She shrugged a bit, unbalancing Spike and forcing him to sit back down. “Hey, come this way,” Rainbow called from above, drifting to the right. “There’s kind of a path.” It took a while to reach their destination, even with the pegasi guiding them, but eventually they reached the palace grounds. As Twilight had suggested, it was a veritable ghost town compared to the city proper – if one disregarded the numerous guards who seemed to be on maneuvers. Most were unicorns, but a few white-coated pegasi patrolled the airspace in small formations. “Halt!” One of the unicorn guards called. He and four others approached the Ponyvillians briskly, looking rather unfriendly. “The castle is off-limits to the public until after the royal wedding. Turn around and leave the premises now.” Twilight’s jaw dropped as her friends grouped up behind her. “B-but that’s why we’re here! My brother is in the wedding. I mean, it’s my brother’s wedding!” “Your brother?” The guard narrowed his eyes. “I’m Twilight Sparkle,” she explained nervously. “Shining Armor’s little sister? And these are my friends. Um, I have an invitation…” She jerked her head toward Spike, who started rummaging around in one of her saddlebags in search of the letter. His eyes had widened at the sound of her name, and he and his compatriots took a step back from her, looking tense and flustered. “Oh,” the guard forced out. He seemed to be sweating rather fiercely all of a sudden. “M-my apologies, uh, ma’am. I didn’t recognize you. You’re early.” “Well, yes,” Twilight agreed, still uneasy but beginning to calm. “I wanted to spend some time with Shining Armor before the wedding.” She glanced around and gestured at the profusion of soldiers practically bristling out of every nook and cranny. “Is something wrong here?” “No!” The stallion shook his head vigorously. “Nothing to worry about, ma’am! We, the Royal Guard, have the situation well in hoof!” One of his fellows leaned in to whisper urgently in his ear, and the guard coughed. Composing himself, he put on a stern face and said, “I will take you to her majesty immediately. Please follow me.” Frowning, Twilight opened her mouth to respond, but he wheeled around and trotted off before she could get a word out. She looked back over her shoulder at the others, who shrugged helplessly. With no other options, they followed their escort into the palace. The trip through the halls of the castle was brisk, the group of guards hurrying the mares along at a brisk pace. Along the way, they saw many more guards but no servants or other civilians. Rather than being led to the throne room, they were taken to the north wing and to a short but impressively grand hall on the ground floor. A pair of guards stood at the mouth of the corridor, casting curious looks at the Ponyvillians as they were led past, but not budging from their stations. The colonnaded hall led to a pair of oversized doors inlaid with lapis lazuli. Halfway there, the escort stopped. “We’ll leave you here,” the leader of the guards said curtly. With no further explanation, he and his compatriots left as quickly as they could without running away. “Well,” Pinkie Pie observed, “that was weird.” “Yes, and quite rude,” Rarity concurred with a sniff as she studied their surroundings. “The decor in this part of the castle is rather different, isn’t it? I wonder if they call this the blue wing.” “I’m not sure,” Twilight replied. “I’ve never been in this part of the palace before.” “It’s very pretty,” Fluttershy said. “It looks peaceful.” “Never mind that,” Dash interjected, continuing down the hall toward the ornate doors. “What’s through there?” Spike suggested, “Princess Celestia?” “Guess we won’t know ‘til we go in,” Applejack observed, following the pegasus. The rest of their friends trailed after with varying levels of enthusiasm until they all stood in a line in front of the imposing portal. Apprehensively, Twilight lit her horn to open the large doors and led her friends into the room beyond. The ballroom was unusually dim for the sun-lit Canterlot palace, illuminated only by pale white globes of mage light held in delicate silver sconces. Periwinkle walls accented with midnight blue, mirrored silver, and sapphires gave the large chamber a mysterious, dreamy feel. The large windows were high on the walls and covered in elaborate black-out curtains. One look at the ceiling – nearly black, studded with glittering diamonds, and dominated by an enormous circle of inlaid moonstone – made it clear who the ballroom had been designed for, but Princess Luna wasn’t present. In the center of the silvery marble floor, a score of guards clustered around a stunning pink winged unicorn with a flowing, wavy mane of pink, purple, and blond. Her jewelry and hoofguards were gold and accented with purple gems. She seemed to be giving instructions to the guards, but she cut off in mid-sentence as Twilight and the others entered. Her expression as cold and threatening as a thundercloud, she strode toward the young mares and demanded, "What do you think you’re doing, bursting in here? Who are you?" "C-cadance, it's me, Twilight," Twilight said uncertainly, taking a step back. She received a haughtily raised eyebrow and a look of disdain in return. Trying again, the unicorn prompted, "Twilight Sparkle?" The winged unicorn's eyes widened comically for a moment before her expression turned to the happiest, most pleasant one possible. Her smile was almost painfully wide. "Ohhh, Twilight Sparkle! Of course, I'm so, so sorry! I'm just so caught up in the wedding preparations that I wasn't thinking! Oh, can you ever forgive me?" Relaxing a little, Twilight smiled back and opened her mouth to reply, but the princess went on briskly, "I didn't expect you and the other Elements so soon. They didn't forget to print the date on your invitation, did they?" Twilight blinked at the harsh undercurrent in Cadance's last sentence. "No, nothing like that," she said quickly, not wanting to get anyone into trouble. "We came as soon as we received the letter. Um, it's just that I was hoping to talk to my brother..." "Your- Oh, yes, of course. Silly me." Cadance flipped her mane casually, still smiling with all her teeth at her sister-in-law-to-be. "Well, he's rather tied up, but I'm sure we can arrange something. For now, I'll have the guards show you and your friends to the guest quarters so you can freshen up from the trip." She stamped one hoof and half a dozen guards stepped forward briskly. "I should say hello to Princess Celestia before-" "All in good time, my dear," Cadance cooed. "Off you go, now." She turned away in obvious dismissal and walked back toward the rest of the guards. Nothing much was said while the Ponyvillians were led to their rooms. Twilight was lost in her thoughts and the others were simply lost in the labyrinthine corridors, their attention focused on trying to memorize the route along which they were taken. In a surprisingly short time, they reached their destination in a remote tower and entered a circular sitting room with plush reclining couches and large pillows. Seven doors were arrayed along the walls at equal distances. One was the entrance to the chamber and led only to the short hallway which connected the chamber to the rest of the castle. The other doors were already open, revealing splendidly appointed multi-story suites beyond, each with its own balcony. “Your quarters,” one of the guards said crisply, addressing himself to Twilight. “We will be just outside this room should any of you request to be escorted to another part of the castle. Do you require anything, miss?” Coming out of her daze, Twilight confirmed, “There is one thing. Is there something going on in Canterlot besides the wedding?” “I’m not at liberty to say, miss,” he replied coolly. “Please ask if there is anything you need.” Saluting, he retreated to the hall. “Soooo,” Pinkie drawled, looking around at her friends. She vanished in a blur, streaking toward the room with the southern exposure and shouting, “Thisone’smine!” “Hey!” Dash popped up off the floor in a rush of indignation. “No fair, Pinkie!” She disappeared into the room between Pinkie’s and the chamber’s exit, leaving a rainbow trail that lingered for an instant in the air. Rarity rolled her eyes, declaring, “Honestly, there’s no need to be so immature about it.” Despite her words, she wasted no time in trotting to the room of her choice – the one furthest from Dash and Pinkie’s. Fluttershy said nothing as she crept swiftly to one of the remaining suites. “Well, we might as well get settled in,” Applejack said. “Which room would you like, Twi?” “Huh?” The distracted unicorn glanced up and seemed surprised to find herself alone with Spike and the earth pony. “Where did they-?” “We’ll take that one,” Spike decided for her, pointing to the room between Pinkie’s and Fluttershy’s. “Come on, Twilight.” A bit later, after everypony had unpacked their belongings and had a wash, the friends gathered in Twilight’s room to talk. The first story of her suite, like the others, was dominated by a large fireplace looming over a large rug in shades of gold. Rarity had settled down on a cushion, but the others were content to lie on the rug. “I know you said she was a princess, but I didn’t think you meant a Princess princess,” Rainbow Dash said. “Isn’t it weird for her to be marrying your brother?” “Well, it is unusual for a royal to marry a commoner,” Twilight acknowledged, “but it isn’t unheard of. Actually, it’s happened seven times since the beginning of the Classical Era. The first was Prince Star Shard the Second, who married a pegasus named-“ “No, no,” Dash interrupted, cutting off the history lesson before Twilight could kick ‘lecture mode’ into high gear. “I mean because she’s going to live like forever. How old is this princess anyway?” Rarity rolled her eyes and fielded the question. “Oh, Rainbow Dash,” she said, “Don’t you know anything about the royal family? This Princess is a member of the mortal branch. She’s probably not much older than we are.” “But she has a horn and wings,” Pinkie objected. “Unless the wings are fake. Are the wings fake?” “No, Pinkie,” Spike interjected. “Princess Cadance is a unicorn with wings, but she’s not like Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. They have earth pony magic, too. Rarity is right, Cadance is pretty much a normal pony.” “And how do you know that?” Applejack asked the little dragon. He looked affronted. “Why does everyone forget that I’m from Canterlot, too? Besides, unlike some ponies, I actually had a social life in this town.” Twilight eyed him crossly, but didn’t refute his statement. “In any case,” she said, “I think that we should be more concerned about what’s going on around here. Does anyone else feel a little confined?” “Not really,” Fluttershy said softly. “Actually, it’s kind of comforting that there’s so much security. Um, I think.” “I dunno,” Applejack mused. “I think Twi might be onto something, but-“ A knock at the door interrupted her. The friends shared a look before Twilight stood and called, “Come in.” The doorknob glowed green and turned, the door swinging open to reveal the unicorn guard who’d escorted them to their rooms earlier. “Twilight Sparkle, your brother will see you now. I will show you the way to his office.” Twilight hesitated nervously for an instant, looking down when she felt a hoof on her foreleg. “Go on, sugar cube,” AJ told her. “We’ll be right here when you get back.”