//------------------------------// // Chapter Twenty One - Conspirators // Story: The Wooing of Sunset Shimmer // by Rose Quill //------------------------------// “I think the first thing to do is decide on colors,” Twilight Velvet said excitedly. “For what?” Night Light said. “Well, the dresses, of course!” Velvet replied, spreading out a handful of swatches. There were an impressive array of hues and shades. I didn’t even know that many different colors of rose, purple, and gold existed. Cadence leaned forward, a serious look on her face. “Honestly, Shiny and I haven’t even set a date yet, let alone picked out the wedding party. This can all wait.” “Oh, nonsense, sweetheart,” Velvet said, waving her hand dismissively. “It’s never too early to choose these things.” Cadence sighed with exasperation, leaning back on the couch and Shining Armor scrubbed his face with his hands. Twilight pulled me close and whispered in my ear. “See what I mean?” I nodded wordlessly as the couple continued to try and stop the Sparkle parents from making decisions for them without their input. I felt relieved that we had decided not to tell them just yet. To be completely honest, we were still getting used to the idea ourselves. I saw her fidgeting out of the corner of my eye, twisting the ring on her finger as she had been all morning. It was usually followed by looking at the silver filigree cage of the ring for a moment. I reached over and put my right hand over her left, stopping the fidgeting. Leaning back in, I whispered. “Keep playing with that and someone is going to notice,” I warned. She paled for a second, eyes widening as she nodded. Fortunately, nobody else noticed our whispered conversation. After a few more minutes of poking color swatches, Velvet glanced up at the clock and gasped. “Oh dear,” she said. “Nighty, we’re going to be late for the faculty dinner.” Hope sprang up in Cadence’s eyes. “We’ll be back later tonight, dears,” she said after pulling on a coat and fluffing out her hair. “Please make yourselves at home, and if you leave before we get back please do lock up.” A few minutes after they left, Cadence turned to us and asked, her voice weary. “Do you two know of any drive-through chapels nearby?” I was about to laugh until I saw the look in her eyes, the fatigue and frustration. Shining had a similar look. “Not really, no,” I said. Twilight sat up in surprise. “You can’t elope!” “Why not, Twily?” Shining Armor asked. “We’ve barely been engaged three weeks, and they act like the wedding is next week!” He ran his hand through his hair. “We just wanted to have a nice relaxing engagement and a simple wedding.” “They’d be devastated, Shining! You know they’d feel like you don’t value their opinions. They…” I put a finger over her lips, silencing the rant. “Twi,” I said. “Let them speak.” She sat back, cheeks puffing up in frustration. “If the situations were dire, I’d welcome their kind of input,” Cadence said. “But instead of asking to see what we’ve decided so far they’re making choices for us!” The dean leaned forward and ran her hand through the rose-colored tresses in her hair. “Last week they wanted to know when we could be free to go taste cake samples! It's maddening!” An idea sprung to mind, but I didn’t want to do things without Twilight’s support. Trust was a large part of our friendship and it factored into much of our relationship. As Cadence stopped speaking and just hung her head, I turned and looked at Twilight giving a glance down at our clasped hands, and on the ring she wore. As she sighed, I gave her a small bit of my confidence. I felt that this was right, and I saw the moment she agreed when her eyes twinkled a little. She nodded with a soft smile. “Cadence,” I said slowly. “What if we could take some of the pressure off of you?” She glanced up, her brow furrowing at my words. "What do you mean?" I met her eyes as I took my hand off Twilight’s, and the bookworm raised her left hand, displaying the ring that sat there. Cadence and Shining took a moment for the revelation to register, but then they both came over and hugged us. “Congratulations,” Cadence said as she pulled away, a smile on her face. “When did you ask her?” “This morning,” Twilight said, looping her arm into mine as we all sat back down. “Where did you get the ring?” Shining Armor asked, putting his arm across Cadence’s shoulders. “Looks good on you, Twily.” “It was Mom’s,” I said. “One of the things she left me. She told me specifically in a letter it was to not let it just sit around.” “So, this idea of yours,” Cadence said. “How does it work?” “Well, we’re going to Rarity’s New Year's Eve party,” I said. “We had planned to announce it there just for our friends. But, we could let Velvet and Night Light know the next day, if we can get some preparations done in the meantime.” “We know Rarity is going to want to do the gowns, and Pinkie will want to provide the food,” Twilight said. “I see no reason to deny them that right. And, having two weddings to focus on, Mom and Daddy will have to pick their battles a bit more carefully.” “The worse that happens, as I see it,” I said. “Is a double wedding that cannot happen for at least a year. And in that year they would have to divide their enthusiasm between two pairs of headstrong couples.” Cadence laughed and Shining broke out in a wide grin. “So what now?” I stood, pulling my fiancé up with me. “I suggest dinner, personally, and not being here when they get back.” Twilight lit up at the mention of dinner. “Latkes?” she asked hopefully. "There's a deli in downtown that makes great latkes!" I laughed. “Sure,” I said. “That actually sounds good.” Shining Armor frowned. “What’s Latkes?” Twilight smiled while Cadence laughed merrily. “Don’t worry,” she said. “You’ll love them.”