Maud stepped out of the train, breathing in the fresh air of Ponyville. Ponyville has always had a pleasant scent and feel to her. It's always been a treat for her to visit. She then heard a voice breaking the silence.
"Maud!" She turned to find Limestone waving her over, a small smile on her face. Maud nodded and walked over. Limestone got a bit closer to her stoic sister and flashed a somewhat teasing look. "Where's that coltfriend of yours?" She asked as Maud blinked, though a small smile became present.
"He's still in the Empire. He wouldn't be able to help with the preparations anyway."
Limestone nodded. "Right." She then looked around her. "Speaking of stallions, where did Lightning go?"
Maud shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. I just got here."
Limestone grunted and walked away. "Maud, watch for Marble, mom, dad, or Pinkie! Pinkie's late, and everyone else is coming on another train!" She yelled back before trotting away, her eyes scanning. Maud watched her walk away before glancing back to the train station.
She suddenly felt a poke at her back. As soon as she turned her head, confetti was blasted into her face. "Surprise!" Pinkie yelled. "Wait... where did Limestone go?"
"She went to look for Lightning. She put me on lookout for everyone else."
Pinkie nodded. "Ah, okay." She then took a bottle of water out of nowhere and started drinking. "Lightning probably walked over to everypony else or something. Limestone's other bridesmaids were in town square, so maybe Lightning forgot that he was the groom and not a maid. I dunno." She replied as she downed the water, tossing the drink behind her and making it into the trashcan nearby.
Maud nodded as another train rolled into the station, coming to a stop. It opened, and ponies stepped out. In an instant, Maud and Pinkie spotted their sister, Marble, carrying luggage for staying overnight. She caught sight of her sisters and offered a pleasant smile.
"Marble!" Pinkie exclaimed as she hugged her sister. Marble returned it. The two then parted as Igneous Rock and Cloudy Quartz emerged from the train.
"Maud, where's your stallion?" Cloudy asked as soon as she saw her daughter. Maud's ear flicked.
"He's still in the Crystal Empire. We deduced that there wouldn't be much for him to do here, considering I will be wedding planning the whole time."
Cloudy pouted. "Darn. I wanted to meet him." She said with a light chuckle.
Pinkie smiled at her mother. "Mom, you seem more... cheery and light-hearted than normal!"
Cloudy nodded, not able to resist a smile. "Of course. I've always wanted to help a daughter of mine with her wedding. Now that the moment's finally here, it's... got me excited, to say the least."
Igneous smiled as well as he nuzzled his wife's mane. "I agree." Cloudy looked up, and her eyes brightened at what she saw.
"There's our soon-to-be-married daughter!" She exclaimed as she saw Limestone walking over, who now wore a blush on her cheeks.
"Oh! Uh... hi!" Limestone greeted as her family all waved to her. Lightning smiled at the Pies. Flying next to her were Sapphire and Speed, awkwardly waving. "You all already know Lightning," she said, gesturing to the stallion. She then moved her hoof to the female pegasi. "These are my other brides maids: Sapphire and Speed Blast. They will also be walking around with us, making some decisions."
Cloudy smiled. "As would be expected, dear. Now... where are we starting?"
Limestone shrugged her shoulders as Pinkie jumped in front of her mother.
"Rarity's boutique, of course!" She piped, a bright grin spreading across her face. "We need to put in a request for the dresses!"
Limestone playfully jabbed Lightning in the side. "That's your cue to leave. This is a mare thing."
Igneous walked up to Lightning. "Say, I'll spend the time with my son-in-law, if that is alright with you." He said as Lightning nodded.
"It would be a pleasure, sir," he replied as Cloudy waved to the two stallions, who seemed to be looking for a place to eat.
Pinkie jumped in front of the mares, smiling. "I'll show you to the boutique! It's not far from here!" She replied as she bounded away, everypony else following. Marble walked a bit closer to Pinkie.
"Pinkie... will your friend be alright with us making requests like these? I mean... I know this is not my wedding, but-"
Pinkie cut her off with a snort. "Are you kidding me?! Rarity loves being a wedding tailor! Did I ever tell you that she tailored for Shining Armor and Princess Cadance's wedding a few years back?"
Marble's pupils widened. "Really?"
Pinkie nodded. "Mmhm!" She then blinked. "Wait... when did you learn to say that much at one time?"
Marble cocked her head. "What do you mean?"
Pinkie poked Marble in the shoulder. "You're always responding with one word answers. Did mom and dad train you or something?"
A light flush heated up Marble's cheeks. "Well... they wanted me to be able to talk more before using the Choosing Stone. They say that I can't be shy to approach and talk to my soulmate. I then started preparing myself a bit more by talking more, which is not something I've done in years."
Pinkie nodded before raising an eyebrow. "I've always been confused about this... why do you never really talk?"
Marble's eyes scanned the ground below her. "Well... As I grew older, I realized there's not much that needs to be said. We do the same routine day in and day out at home. So, I started to not talk so much, and then got into a bad habit of only saying a few words. That, and I'm constantly afraid of saying the wrong thing."
Pinkie scanned Marble. "Oh... well... you'll try to talk more, right? It's been a while since we've had a nice, sisterly conversation."
Marble slightly smiled. "I know... it's been a while. I will definitely try."
Pinkie flashed Marble a smile before turning to look in front of her. "We're here!"
Sure enough, everypony set sights on a large, purple and pink building, which looked quite fabulous. Instead of politely knocking on the door, Pinkie slammed it open like it is her own home.
"Rarity! We're here!" She announced loudly as she trotted into the building. The other mares followed behind, Cloudy harboring a stern glare.
"Pinkamena! I thought your father and I taught you manners!" She scolded.
"She's perfectly fine, dear," a voice said from the stairs. All eyes turned to an elegant, white unicorn descending the stairs.
"She's hot," Sapphire whispered, though it was audible to everypony except Rarity. Speed giggled, even though she tried her hardest to be serious.
Rarity's deep, blue eyes locked with Limestone's golden ones. A smile climbed her face in an instant. "Ooh! Are you the lucky bride I've been hearing about?" Rarity asked as she fluttered her eyelashes. Limestone nodded her head.
"Uh... yeah..." she replied as Rarity lifted her head up.
"Well, are you ready to be fitted for your dress? It must be perfect!" Rarity asked as Limestone nodded.
"I guess..."
Rarity tugged the mare forward with her magic. "Great!" She then turned to the other mares. "Is everypony else here bride's maids?"
Everypony nodded their heads except for Cloudy.
"I'll be in the audience watching my daughter," she said.
"Oh, well, okay. While I'm with Limestone, everypony check out dresses in the shop. Bride's maids, make sure your dresses are... similar in some way or another. I will be out soon enough after I get Limestone measured and take her order for her dress." She cheerily responded as she dragged Limestone to the fitting room, who looked less than happy to be associated with dresses.
Pinkie giggled as she turned to Marble. "See, Marble? I told you she's excited!"
Marble smiled. "It appears so."
Maud then walked over to the dresses that were hanging all around the boutique. She took a quick scan before seeing a dark blue dress which faded into black near the bottom. "I like this one." She said as she held it out.
Pinkie nervously laughed. "Uh... I think that may be a bit of a problem..."
Maud blinked. "Why is that?" She asked as Pinkie held up a dress which was on the rack next to her.
"Because... I was really digging this dress..." She said as she held it up. It was a beautiful mix of pink, green, and yellow, but didn't look anything similar to Maud's.
Maud looked between the two dresses, unsure. "Oh... but Rarity said our dresses should coordinate..."
Limestone stood perfectly still as Rarity measured her body dimensions, carefully looking at the tape measurer with red framed glasses. She wrote down her measurements. After a few minutes, just about every section of Limestone had been measured, which was surprising to the earth pony. She had never seen a pony measure that fast in her life.
Rarity looked back up to her, now levitating a new piece of parchment and a quill. "Now, darling... what do you want your dress to look like?"
Limestone thought. "Well... I dunno. What all can you do?"
Rarity made a sound that resembled beatboxing as she rolled her eyes. "Limestone, dear, I can make anything! Plus, this is your wedding! Whatever you want, I will definitely be able to comply. Don't worry. I tailored for the wedding of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza; I think I can make you a dress." Rarity proudly responded, raising her eyebrows.
Limestone nodded her head. "Alright. Then... I want a standard white dress... not too long. I want it pretty short. I want it to cascade to gray at my hooves, and..." she thought. She had imagined herself in a wedding dress many times before, even though she absolutely hates admitting it. "Um... if you can... can you have pebbles attached to the bottom of it? Like... they're draping the ground, but they're so small that they won't be a problem?"
Rarity wrote everything down and smiled brightly at Limestone. "Of course I can! Though..." She perked up even more, showing that an amazing idea had come into her head. "Ooh! Instead of just any old pebbles... how about small, polished geodes? If I could find somepony that could make a shiny casing around the geode, it would be absolutely gorgeous!"
Limestone raised a hoof. "Maud's stallionfriend specializes in geodes! Maybe you can ask her?"
Rarity beamed as she rushed towards the door and slammed it open.
"Maud?"
Maud looked up to Rarity in surprise, her attention averting from the dress situation. "Yes?"
"Limestone tells me that your little stallionfriend specializes in geodes. Is this correct?"
Maud nodded. "Yes."
Rarity gave her eyelashes a flutter. "Do you think he'll mind if I commission him to make small, polished geodes to hang from the bottom of Limestone's dress?"
Everypony else gave "ooh's" at the idea. Maud gently smiled. "He won't mind. I'm sure he'll do a wonderful job with it."
Rarity smiled brightly. "Wonderful! Just make sure to tell him once you get back to the Empire. Oh, and actually, can you write his address on a piece of paper for me? I'll send a request and bits in myself."
Maud nodded as she found a piece of paper and pencil. "Sure." She then started writing the mailing address as Rarity closed the door and focused her attention to Limestone.
"Maud's going to get... urgh... pardon me, what is his name again?"
"Crystal Geode."
Rarity bobbed her head. "Right. Maud says that sir Crystal Geode will be fine with making some very small, polished geodes for you."
Limestone smiled. "That sounds nice. Thanks."
Rarity beamed. "No problem! I shall have your dress ready in... a few weeks!"
Limestone started to go through her saddlebag. "Should I pay you now?"
Rarity shook her head. "Oh, no no no. When I have it ready, you can pay then, darling." She smiled before opening the door. "Now, I must see how everypony else is doing."
The two stepped into the main room, where each mare had a beautiful dress in their hooves. Maud was holding the one she had before, Pinkie had one that was a jade color with splotches of pink and blue, Sapphire had an orange and blue dress, Speed Blast had a dark blue one which faded into light blue near the bottom, and Marble had a dress which was a brilliant mix of purple and blue. It was obvious to see the similarity: blue. Rarity then wrote another note on her paper.
"I need to request Crystal Geode to polish off blue geodes..." She silently said, mainly to herself. She then turned to the mares. "Those dresses have a very complimentary shade of blue! Wondrous choices, girls!" She said before looking to Cloudy Quartz, who had a golden dress which faded into black. "And a wonderful choice for you, miss..."
"Cloudy Quartz."
"Cloudy Quartz! That dress will compliment you very well!" She turned to the bride's maids. "And those dresses will compliment all of you very nicely. Great choices!" She then walked over to a register. "You may pay here."
Cloudy stepped up. "Before anypony else pays, don't. I will pay for all of your dresses."
Sapphire's wings spread open. "Really? Mrs. Quartz, you don't have to do that!"
Cloudy turned around to the Pegasus. "But I want to do this. This is my daughter's wedding, and I want to pay for her and her maids." She then sat a sack of bits on the table as Rarity gawked.
"My... Mrs. Cloudy Quartz, this is much more than I would've charged!"
Cloudy smiled. "Nothing's too much when you are making my daughter's wedding beautiful, Miss Rarity. Thank you."
Rarity was a bit taken aback by that compliement. She gave a sincere smile. "Thanks... that means a lot."
Cloudy smiled back. "No problem. Oh, and may we leave the dresses here until we leave Ponyville tomorrow?"
Rarity nodded, her smile still bright. "Of course you may! I'll put them in the back! And Pinkie, I'll keep yours here as well, like I did before the Gala."
Pinkie nodded, smiling. "Okie dokie!"
Limestone stepped towards the door. "Thank you, Rarity!"
Rarity waved. "No problem, dears! I'll see you all later!" She replied as each mare left.
Pinkie bounced up in front of the group as she turned around, walking backwards. "Now... we go to Sweet Apple Acres for catering! Oh, and you all can try their amazing apple treats!"
Speed smiled at this. "That sounds great! Man, am I hungry!"
"Same!" Limestone agreed. "Their zap apple sandwiches sound great right now."
Speed's ear flicked. "Zap apple sandwiches? I've never had one of those."
Limestone nudged her. "Well, now you'll try one. They're really good." She thought. "Well, if it's zap apple season. Hopefully it is."
Speed nodded. "Okay."
Everypony now stepped into the large orchard, admiring the large abundance of trees. Once they got up to the barn, Pinkie knocked on the door before poking her head in.
"Hey, Apples!" She greeted as she flashed a smile. Applejack smiled at the sight of her friend.
"Pinkie! It's mighty fine seein' ya!" She then swiveled her head to see the other mares. "Oh, and is it time ta plan Limestone's weddin'?"
Limestone stepped inside the barn and nodded. "Yeah. We're coming here for catering."
Applejack smiled brightly and threw a hoof around Limestone. "Ah know. We've already got everythin' out! Why don't ya'll come to the dinin' room and check it all out?" She said as everypony followed her, smiles on their faces.
When they reached the dining room, they were all greeted with the welcoming smell of apple treats. Speed hovered into the air, scanning the table.
"Are there zap apple sandwiches?" She asked. Big Mac, who was standing at the opposite side of the table, looked up to the Pegasus and nodded.
"Eeyup." He answered as he pointed to a plate with the sandwiches. Speed descended next to the plate, taking a bite of the sandwich. A bright smile appeared on her face.
"Man! These are good!" She said as she ate more.
"Feel free to eat whatever you like, dearies," Granny Smith said. "I highly recommend the apple pie. Apple Bloom and I made it together. Isn't that right, little whippersnapper?" Granny looked down to Apple Bloom, who proudly beamed.
"Yep! It's really good!"
Everypony took a small bite of pie, smiling at the taste.
Limestone looked up to the Apples. "Lightning and I are totally going to hire you for catering. Speaking of which..." She turned. "Where is Lightning?"
Cloudy shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. I told Igneous to come here after they finished whatever they were doing."
At this, a knock came from the door.
"Ooh! That must be them!" Pinkie said as she bounded over to the door, throwing it open. She saw, just like she predicted, Lightning and Igneous standing in the doorway. "There you are! Follow me to the dining room; that's where all the food is!"
The stallions followed her and smiled once they reached the dining room. Lightning walked over to Limestone.
"Hey, Limestone," he greeted as he gave her a kiss on the cheek. Limestone instantly turned red and swatted at him.
"Please, not around everypony else!" She said, turning away.
"Oh, come on, Limestone! Deflate your ego a bit, will ya?" Pinkie asked as she got in Limestone's face. Limestone pushed her away.
"I don't have an ego to deflate."
"But-"
"Pinkamena, Limestone, let's stop this silliness and talk to the Apples." Cloudy instructed as the two sisters stopped bickering.
Before anything else can be said, Lightning devoured an apple fritter in front of him. "Oh my goodness! This is amazing!" He turned to Limestone. "We are totally hiring the Apples for catering."
Limestone smiled. "Funny. That's literally exactly what I said."
Pinkie gasped. "It's a sign!"
Limestone looked back to her sister, an eyebrow raised. "A sign of what?"
Pinkie wrapped a hoof around Limestone. "That you two are meant to be together!"
Limestone rolled her eyes and pushed Pinkie's hoof away. "Pinkie, I knew we were meant to be together the first day I met him."
Pinkie nodded. "Oh yeah."
Cloudy put a hoof on the table. "Apples, is it okay if you cater for my daughter's wedding?"
Applejack smiled brightly at Cloudy. "Why, of course! We were hopin' you would choose us!" She said. "We look forward to it! When is the wedding?"
"The 29th of Frost's End," Limestone said. Applejack's pupils shrunk.
"Goodness! That's only... less than three months from today!" She turned to her family. "Now, we must come up with our arrangement. We need ta make this perfect."
The three saluted as they all disappeared from the kitchen. Applejack turned back to everypony else.
"Well, enjoy this here food while I prepare with the other Apples," she said before happily swishing her tail and disappearing into the other room.
Limestone felt her knees shake.
Currently, she was looking the Princess Twilight Sparkle in the eye, attempting to start up a conversation. Typically, it's easy for her. It's a lot harder when talking to a pony who is one of the most important in all of Equestria.
Everypony else was standing behind, confident in Limestone. Limestone wanted to be the one to talk to the princess. Maud and Pinkie volunteered, but Limestone decided to take responsibility.
"Uh... hi, Princess-"
"Please, just Twilight is fine. I'm still not that comfortable with formal greetings," Twilight interrupted, smiling.
Limestone gave her best smile in return. "Of course, Twilight. And... are you... okay with being the one who weds me and Lightning?"
Twilight giggled. "Limestone, of course I'm fine with it! You're the sister of one of my best friends; I would never turn down your request!"
Limestone gawked. "Really? But... you're a-"
Twilight waved a hoof. "I know I'm a princess. But that doesn't mean anything. I'm actually not that busy the week of your wedding." A sly smile inched its way up her cheeks. "Now... about the ceremony... I'm assisting with something? Pinkie mentioned you needed me to do something rather important."
Limestone looked around before whispering into Twilight's ear. A smile tugged at Twilight's lips.
"Of course! I've used that spell before; I can definitely help you with that!"
Limestone smiled back. "Thanks."
Lightning raised an eyebrow. "What?"
Limestone flicked her tail in his face. "It's a surprise."
Twilight gave them all another smile. "I'll see you the day of the wedding! Good luck with the rest of the preparations!"
"Thanks!" Limestone replied before waving goodbye to the princess.
Pinkie ate five cupcakes in one bite, chewing happily. Everypony else looked at their cupcakes, ready to dig in.
They were all at Sugarcube Corner to wrap up the day. The cupcakes just looked so good - and they tasted just as good as they looked.
Limestone happily chewed and swallowed her cupcake, a smile climbing her face.
"So, Limestone, dear, are you all finished preparing?" Cloudy asked.
Limestone looked to her mother. "Well... here, yes. Lightning and I still need to go over the guest list, and then Pinkie has to come out to Vanhoover and set up the party and decorations."
Pinkie happily nodded. "Mmhm!"
Cloudy smiled at them. "Well, I'm getting tired. I think we all should get to sleep soon."
Pinkie yawned. "Same with me!" She then turned to Speed and Sapphire. "Where are you two staying? Everypony else is staying here with me."
"Well, we got a hotel room at the other side of town," Sapphire started, "and it's pretty nice. We plan to leave quite early tomorrow morning."
Pinkie nodded. "Well, okay! If I don't see you tomorrow, then I'll see you at the wedding!" She said before stepping up from the table. "Come on, everypony!" She bounded up the stairs, and doors were heard opening.
The Pies and Lightning waved to the two pegasi and made their way upstairs.
Limestone bounced onto the soft bed and spread out. "We're almost ready, Lightning."
Lightning climbed into bed next to her, pulling the blanket over the both of them. "I know. I'm excited."
"Same here." She said as she pulled him closer to her. "Hey, have you been lifting the past week?"
Lightning blinked. "Uh... yeah..."
Limestone giggled. "Well, I can tell. You're even more muscular and sexy. Keep doing what you're doing."
Lighting put a hoof around her. "Yes, ma'am."