Time passed, as time did.
For Fluttershy, it seemed all too short. For two weeks she woke up every morning with the love of her life, they’d spent time together in her home, having breakfast and feeding her animals. Then they’d both made their way in town to the Boutique.
Each day, they got a little bit more of the dress order done, all the while talking and laughing as best friends (and lovers) do while Rarity’s Boutique was rebuilt into a liveable space once more. And at night they went back to her cozy bed with its brand new quilt that they’d made together, and enjoyed each other’s company in a different, but no less wonderful way.
It felt like a honeymoon, even if the actual wedding hadn’t happened yet. In her mind, the ceremony was a formality. Their hearts and lives were joined already.
It was idyllic, almost dreamlike, even if life intruded every now and again.
Lady Starlight visited as promised (well before they’d completed the order) which made Rarity very nervous, but her worries were proven entirely needless. The Lady’s first question to Rarity wasn’t about the dresses at all, but whether everything was okay, since she’d seen the state of the Boutique when it was whole when she’d originally placed her order.
“Well, there was a freak storm.” Rarity said, wincing. “I should be grateful, I suppose, that it wasn’t some rampaging beast this time, as it could have been far worse. But it’s been remarkably difficult to get repairs done since so many ponies needed them at once.”
“Did you upset a weather pony?” the lady asked, looking confused.
“No, in fact one of my best friends heads the Weather Team. She stopped the fire from consuming my whole home. No, this was a storm that formed all on its own. Dreadful business. At least with the Weather Team you get a little notice as long as you watch the schedule.”
“Weather that just forms on its own?” Lady Starlight asked incredulously. “How on Equestria does such a thing happen?”
“The Everfree Forest is a very strange place.” Rarity replied. “A storm is hardly the most dangerous thing to come out of it.”
“It’s not quite so bad.” Fluttershy chimed in. “You just have to know what to expect. Many of the animals from there are very nice.”
The Lady just shook her head. “Well, that’s horrid. Forgive me for saying this but I am very glad I don’t live here.”
“It’s actually quite pleasant, when everything isn’t going wrong at once.” Rarity said, giggling into a hoof. “But I understand. Baltimare must be nicer.”
“Baltimare is dirty, smelly, and absolutely uncivilized,” Lady Starlight said with a grimace. “Its one redeeming quality is that my husband came from there, not much else to recommend it. Oh, except that they make lovely ships, and my husband makes scads of bits because of them. And money means it doesn’t really matter where you call home.”
“That’s one way to think of it, I suppose.” Rarity replied with a nod.
“So, obviously you’re a bit delayed.” The Lady observed. “When should I expect shipment?”
“Well, I wasn’t as delayed as I might have been. I lost a little over a week, but we’ve been finishing them up as best we can. I can actually fulfill part of the order now, since you wanted duplicates.”
The Lady seemed surprised that they’d gotten as much done as they had, and promised to send some ponies by to pick up what was done. Rarity assured her the remainder would be ready in another week, assuming her shop wasn’t demolished by some rampaging beast in the interim.
Eventually, the Boutique was put into good-as-new condition, and Rarity had an absolute ball redecorating Sweetie’s bedroom (new wallpaper meant new curtains and bedding and carpet, or so Rarity insisted), followed by Rarity’s own bedroom which required all-new everything, and of course the kitchen, which mostly just needed a brand-new sprinkler system (Rarity was very insistent on it being top of the line) and a fresh coat of paint.
It was bittersweet for Fluttershy, as she was happy for Rarity, but it did mean an end to both of them sleeping at her cottage each night. Still, visiting Rarity was nice too, and even Fluttershy had to admit the large bed Rarity had picked was very comfy. Although she didn’t sleep very well the first week or so, missing all the normal sounds of her nighttime friends.
The first few nights she didn’t notice at all, since they did very little sleeping.
The bed was nice.
True to her word, Rarity had the rest of the dresses finished within the following week and shipped them off to Baltimare. And true to hers, Lady Starlight sent along her payment, which Rarity took to the bank with a huge smile.
That payment had caused a small argument between them, as Rarity insisted on paying Fluttershy for her labor, and no amount of pointing out the incredibly obvious fact that Fluttershy still had more money than she had any idea what to do with (and had more coming, as the checks had never stopped) would dissuade her. In the end, Fluttershy agreed, resolving to take Rarity out to dinner a few times as a way of spending it.
Then she looked at the amount Rarity had paid her, sighed, and amended her estimate to more like ten to twenty times. She wasn’t entirely unhappy about that, as taking Rarity out to dinner was fun, and let Fluttershy experience foods she’d never heard of before.
No more French restaurants, she thought with a pained wince. Those poor frogs and snails... She fed her carnivore friends fish on occasion, but she could actually talk to frogs, it was different. She didn’t think she’d be able to forget seeing what that griffon couple had ordered for a long time.
Canterlot was also a good place to get special things for Angel, which made him happy. And when Angel was happy, he caused fewer problems for her.
She loved her little Angel bunny, but there were times, just for moments, that she wished she’d maybe chosen a different pet. These were usually followed by her finding him and snuggling him, all the while assuring herself that she didn’t really mean it.
It was a vicious cycle.
The shop being fixed meant Sweetie Belle could not only visit, but spend the night as well. It was nice to see Rarity and her sister happy again, even if sometimes that meant Rarity getting irritated with Sweetie. She supposed it was very hard to love everything about another pony, even if you loved the pony themselves very much.
Realizing that made it just a little easier to love her parents, despite their flaws.
Sweetie staying with them did mean that their nights together while at the Boutique had to be entirely chaste (or, at the very least, very very quiet, which was Fluttershy’s specialty, though in Rarity’s case it required creative uses of scarves), however. That was nice too. Making love was wonderful, but just having Rarity by her side snuggled close made Fluttershy happy in a way she’d never quite experienced before.
Their lives continued in this way for weeks more, developing into a comfortable routine. Then, while in Canterlot on a dinner date of no particular significance, Rarity stood up, looking Fluttershy firmly in the eyes, and proceeded to drop low in an odd sort of bow Fluttershy had never seen her do before, holding out a little open box balanced on the flats of her hoof.
Fluttershy imagined she likely made the other patrons deaf with her answer, but the immediate positive reaction from the crowd was very loud as well, so she couldn’t be sure.
“Twilight, did the flower shipment come—”
“Yes, Rarity, they’ve been arranged like you wanted.” Twilight answered, letting out a little yawn afterwards.
“Maybe we should check the fittings on your bridesmaid dresses? Are the colors all right? I could probably whip up something new—”
“Rarity, sit down and let the poor hairdresser do her job!”
Rarity sat in the chair and pouted. “Well, excuse me for being thorough!”
Twilight took a deep, cleansing breath, then pulled a very large scroll out of her satchel and shook it at Rarity. “There are one hundred forty-seven items on this list. We’ve gone over them at least twenty times by now. And while I am fine with making that twenty-one, I’m fairly certain that qualifies as ‘thorough’.”
“I just want everything to be perfect,” Rarity replied sullenly. “I recognize a random fashionista from a small town and a former model who quit very quickly into her career aren’t as high profile as a princess and the Captain of the Guard, but the wedding is still being held in Canterlot and officiated by Princess Luna herself! If something went wrong—”
“Nothing will go wrong,” Twilight said firmly. “Now that we know the changelings got in through the caverns, there is no way for them to infiltrate, and the guards have been on high alert since Pinkie made it all the way to the Court without being caught.”
“Oh, goodness, I hadn’t even thought of changelings—”
“Also we’ve tripled the guard around Discord, and placed static magical fields all around the garden to soothe nerves and dissuade arguments. Nothing,” Twilight said while staring Rarity firmly in the eye, “Will. Go. Wrong.”
Rarity nodded after a moment, noting how the scroll shook in Twilight’s magic. “All right. Have you heard from Pinkie about Fluttershy’s preparations?”
“Not in the last five minutes, but when I saw her last she said that Fluttershy was fine and not driving her crazy with constant worrying at all.”
Rarity crossed both forehooves in front of her and stuck her tongue out at Twilight. “You’re absolutely the worst!”
On a nearby equiniquin, her wedding dress sat waiting. She’d finally relented to Fluttershy’s wishes, only insisting that Fluttershy’s dress include a veil that she could lift. It was a silly thing, but she wanted to be the one initiating the kiss that sealed the union, since Fluttershy had been the one to give the kiss that began the relationship properly.
It was difficult to entirely break with tradition, disregarding how many others she’d broken.
Another little detail she’d insisted on was, of course, not allowing herself to see Fluttershy during the preparation before the wedding, though they had shared breakfast that very morning, so it was no great chore to do. She was well aware that most wedding superstitions were simply old mares tales, but if Granny Smith was anything to judge by, old mares could be quite wise and should not be ignored lightly.
Besides, she wanted to be surprised along with the rest of the crowd when Fluttershy walked down the aisle. The dress had been designed, sewn, and fitted entirely without Fluttershy having ever worn it in Rarity’s presence.
She knew Fluttershy’s curves so well she could have done the thing blindfolded.
The dress was green, inspired by an untouched forest glade they’d found after getting a bit lost on the way to Zecora’s one afternoon. It was long and flowing, mimicking the moss that had covered a singular tree in the middle of it all.
Fluttershy had liked the tree. Rarity had liked the kiss they’d shared under it.
Rarity’s own dress was understated by comparison. It was a red dress (to compliment and contrast with Fluttershy’s green) and where Fluttershy’s was all frills and floral designs meant to evoke the forest (similar to her gala dress in base design, as it was hard to improve on perfection) with a long train and veil, Rarity’s dress was short, but not so short as to be provocative (or not very, at least) It’s design was based around the idea of a tuxedo, with smart lines and edges, but form-fitting and feminine, and accented with shades of pink.
She had also made a top hat to go with it, because she loved hats.
The more traditional colors of white and black were briefly considered when she had begun designing the dresses, but white against Fluttershy’s already pale coat didn’t suit her very well, she looked best in the colors of nature. On the other side of things, black on Rarity could be stunning in a formal gown, but she tended to favor her pinks and purples and reds as they stood out nicely against her coat and complimented her mane.
In the end she chose what they would both be happiest with, throwing tradition out the window. It was their wedding, after all.
“There! Now you are perfect!” A voice proclaimed, shaking Rarity from her reverie.
She blinked, and beheld her own face in a mirror as it was shoved into her field of view. She had to admit she did look lovely. “Right! I... I suppose that’s it then? It’s time?”
“Not even close.” Twilight said. “We still have to touch up your makeup and get you into your dress. Don’t worry, I’ll let you know when it is.”
“And you’ve left enough time for you to get into your dress as well?” Rarity asked, sagging back into the chair to allow the beautician to begin her work.
“I have it all planned down to the minute, with enough leeway for five minor disasters and three major ones. Everything will be fine.”
Rarity nodded, closing her eyes as the eyeshadow was applied. Twilight was right, of course. It was exactly for her meticulous attention to detail that Rarity had asked her to be her Best Mare, and because she was Twilight, she’d also immediately seized the job of wedding planner as well.
Everything will be fine. she repeated in her head.
With enough repetition, she might have even begun to believe it, just a little.
Pinkie Pie was on the verge of exploding.
It was a familiar feeling, but not an unwelcome one. She lived in a constant state of joyful excitement, except for the dark times. But she tried not to think about those because there was so much wonderful in the world.
Today, two of her bestest friends were getting married, and that was why she felt full of happiness to the point where it was like it was going to burst out of her in a cloud of confetti and cotton candy. She was trying really hard not to let that happen. It would mess up the dress Rarity had made for her, and it was such a nice dress.
Oddly, though, Fluttershy didn’t seem as excited. The whole time the hairdresser and makeup ponies had been helping her get ready she hadn’t said a word.
Now, being quiet was not unusual for a Fluttershy. In Pinkie’s experience, Fluttershy’s natural state was quiet. It was why she tried to make sure to herd her party crowds away from at least one corner whenever Fluttershy was present, just to give her friend a spot to retreat to when she was feeling overwhelmed, which happened at least once per party.
But this was a different kind of quiet. Today she just looked kinda... tense. Like really tense. Pinkie waited until after the other ponies had left before trying to ask her friend about it, just in case it was the presence of those same ponies causing the tenseness. But when everypony else was gone, the quiet remained. Finally, Pinkie tentatively put her hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder as her friend stood in front of a mirror, and watched as she rocked gently on her hooves, swaying like a tree in the wind.
“You okay, Shy-Shy?” Pinkie asked gently.
Gently was not something that came easily to Pinkie. She tended more towards excited and bombastic. But when Fluttershy had asked her to be her Mare of Honor, she’d immediately known that it was Serious Business time. That meant doing things the Fluttershy way, which was mostly a very quiet and reserved and trying-not-to-startle-Fluttershy way.
But she was worried about the silence in the room. It was quiet even for Fluttershy, which was pretty impressive.
Fluttershy looked away from the mirror, giving Pinkie a shaky but nevertheless real smile. “Yes, it’s just... it’s happening. And I’m in the dress, and we’ll walk down the aisle to her soon, and it’s all just a little bit too much.”
Pinkie gasped. “You’re not getting cold-hooves, are you? Quick! I’ll get you some warm water to soak them in!”
“N-no!” Fluttershy said quickly, throwing out one wing to block Pinkie from leaving the room. “No, my hooves are fine, I’m just nervous. Rarity’s been looking forward to this for so long, and I want everything to go just right.”
“Oh!” Pinkie wiped a forehoof over her forehead, wicking away beads of sweat onto the floor. “Well, I know Twi-Twi’s got this, so it’ll be fine!”
“I’m not worried about Twilight’s planning, Pinkie. I’m worried I’m going to trip, or mess up the vows, or not smile right when the cameras go off, or hit somepony in the face with the bouquet—”
“Oh, that would be kinda funny.” Pinkie said, laying a single hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder. “Or you could miss on the kiss and plant one on Luna instead! Ooo, or you could get wrapped up in your train and end up like a Flutterrito!” Pinkie’s stomach grumbled loudly, making her blush. “What do you suppose a Flutterrito would taste like? I bet you’d have to use lots of butter, and it would need to be sweet, I think... with bean curds and raspberry jelly? No, strawberry, definitely strawberry—”
Fluttershy let out a little giggle, seemingly surprised by it.
“Hey, that’s more like it!” Pinkie said, pulling Fluttershy in for a quick hug. “This is a happy day. I mean, it’s whatever kind of day you want, because it’s your day. But I think it’s happy?”
“It’s very happy, Pinkie. It’s also worrisome. But—”
Twilight chose that moment to poke her head into the room, scanning it quickly. “Oh, good, you’re ready. I just wanted to check before I went on ahead and had them start the music.”
“Um... just about, Twilight. I... I just need a moment.” Fluttershy replied.
“Okay! I’ll tell your father to meet you down the hall. Everything is going just fine and there is definitely no reason to worry—” Her ears flattened as Rarity’s voice faintly called for her from the other dressing room down the hall. “Uh, let me just check on that. Just... come out when the march starts.”
She glanced at Pinkie, smiling, and blew her a kiss before ducking back outside and closing the door.
Fluttershy took a deep breath, exhaling it slowly. “It’s going to be fine. It’s going to be fine.”
“Yeah!” Pinkie said, trying to pack her own worries away. It was funny how that worked, before Fluttershy had told her about what worried her, she hadn’t been worried at all. Now they pranced around in her head like naughty foals that needed a timeout. “I mean, yeah, things could go wrong, but if they do, we’ll all be there to make it right again.
Fluttershy nodded, smiling with a little more confidence. “You’re right. I’m not going to let worries stop me. Not today.”
“Yeah! You show those worries!” Pinkie said, giving Fluttershy an extra little squeeze before letting her go.
From outside their little dressing room, music began to swell. Fluttershy reared up as she heard it, her eyes and wings wide as if she’d seen a ghost. “Oh,” she said after taking a moment to compose herself. “That’s... that’s the wedding march, isn’t it?”
Pinkie nodded. “Are you ready?”
Fluttershy nodded hurriedly, swiveling slowly to face the door. She stared at it, her wings slowly rising as her face became set into a determined expression. Without even looking back, she said: “Pinkie?”
“Yeah?”
“I need a push.”
Pinkie gamely got behind Fluttershy’s rump, nudging her along with the top of her head until Fluttershy’s feet got the message that they were moving and began walking in time to the beat of the march. A little ways down the hallway, a towering mass of pegasus waited. Pinkie might have mistaken it for a statue until it gently cleared its throat.
“Hello, Shy-Shy,” a deep voice said.
Fluttershy looked up, giving the pegasus a smile. “Hi, daddy.”
“Are you ready?”
Pinkie looked back and forth between the two of them, trying to reconcile what she was seeing. This mountain of pony was Fluttershy’s dad?
He looked past Fluttershy, spotting her, and waved. “Hello.”
“Hello!” Pinkie chirped in reply.
“I’m Silver Lining,” he said in that voice that sounded like a pile of rocks shifting. “And you have to be Pinkie Pie, because you don’t look like an Applejack.”
“Yeah!” she exclaimed, still staring upwards. “I mean, I don’t have to be, but I am!”
He blinked, seemingly taken aback at her response. It was a reaction she was used to seeing. “Well, thank you for taking care of my daughter on her special day.”
“Oh!” she replied, giving him her most polished smile. “No problemo!”
He held out a single hoof to Fluttershy, glancing down the hall then back to her. “Let’s go, your bride is waiting.”
Pinkie Pie watched them go for a long moment, then scrambled after them. She was supposed to be up front with the rest of the girls, after all.
Applejack stifled a yawn, doing her best to maintain appearances.
She and Rainbow were waiting patiently by the dais where Princess Luna would be officiating the ceremony, and had been for what seemed like an hour. If Applejack had known it was going to take this long, she would have let Rainbow spend some more time at the snack table that Pinkie had set up.
“I would have done a whole routine if they’d let me.” Rainbow grumbled.
Snacks would have had the added benefit of distracting Dash from her irritation at not being asked to do a Rainboom at the end of this particular wedding. “Sugarcube, sometimes all you gotta be is here. Rarity and Shy don’t need no flashy tricks to celebrate. They already turned down Pinkie’s offer for the fireworks display.”
“I’m way better than fireworks!” Rainbow protested hotly. “I can make the sky explode! I mean, how awesome is that?”
“Pretty danged awesome.” Applejack admitted. “It’s also the kinda thing that draws eyes away, and Rarity wants those eyes on Fluttershy.”
“Yeah... well...” Rainbow trailed off, looking sullenly at the floor as if it was the floor’s fault that she was upset.
“Exactly.” Applejack said, gently rubbing Rainbow’s shoulder. “I know you like to be in the spotlight, but this one’s for them.”
Rainbow sighed heavily. “Fine. I just... I wanted to do something special.”
“Ya are. You’re here, with her, helping to celebrate. You know Shy ain’t so much about the flashy stuff.”
Rainbow flashed her an annoyed look, then glanced down the aisle. “They should be up here any minute now, right?”
“Your guess is as good as mine, sug.” Applejack replied, following Rainbow’s gaze with her own. On either side guests were packed in, Rarity’s mostly consisting of her family, various business contacts, and several friends from Ponyville. Fluttershy’s side was composed of Fluttershy’s mom and dad (a very stern looking mare dressed up in a fancy military uniform called Posey, and a great big stallion that had introduced himself as Silver), a fair percentage of the off-duty guard members (Applejack didn’t know why, but friends of Fluttershy were welcome), a large amount of birds rodents and bats who seemed to have invited themselves, and of course Angel Bunny and Harry the bear, who had been invited specifically.
The critters all been herded to their own little corner, but Applejack didn’t want to even think about what the floor was gonna look like if they had to wait much longer. Critters weren’t much for toilet niceties in her experience. She had no idea how Fluttershy kept her place from smelling like an outhouse, but she did know that the plants and trees all around her little cottage grew especially well with very little tending, so she guessed it’d probably be all right.
Applejack could only wish her cows and pigs were so polite.
Just when Applejack was about to go check on matters herself, Twilight came up the aisle at a quick canter, which was basically as fast as she could go without getting tripped up in the dress Rarity had made for her. “Everypony, I’m so sorry for the delay, although by my estimates we’re still well within my margin for error! Ms. Scratch, if you could start the music please?”
Over the loudspeakers, the wedding march began to play. Shortly after it began, Rarity and her father Hondo walked down the aisle, Rarity smiling and waving the whole time as if she was on a parade float.
Pinkie scrambled down the aisle next, skidding to a stop just before destroying the floral arrangements, making Twilight’s left eye twitch.
With everyone else more or less assembled, Luna would soon be taking her place on the dais. She was waiting off to the side for her cue, looking very official in her ceremonial gown. Seeing Applejack look her way, Luna waved with a big grin, which Applejack returned in kind.
Back when Rarity and Fluttershy had told them all the good news, Applejack had figured Princess Celestia would be the one doing the ceremony. Actually, to hear Pinkie talk about it, the Princess had assumed as much herself. But while Rarity would have loved the idea, when the six of them had talked it over with Celestia and Luna at the inevitable party Pinkie had thrown, they had all come to the unfortunate conclusion that if she returned to Canterlot for any reason (even just to attend the wedding), ponies would assume she was back in charge.
While she was recovering pretty quick, she wasn’t ready to deal with her day to day stress quite yet. Even knowing this, it had taken Luna pulling rank to convince her to stay in Ponyville, and only then with Twilight’s assurances that she would share the memories when she and Pinkie returned.
When Luna had been asked to perform the ceremony, after much gushing over how honored she felt, she’d asked for a favor from Rarity and Fluttershy: that they make a trip to the old castle to retrieve Luna’s old clothes. Even if they knew the Everfree pretty well by now, Applejack had gone along just to be sure her friends would be safe. It had been pretty amazing to see what could survive a couple of thousand years. Luna had been pretty happy to see this one in particular, saying she hadn’t been asked to perform a marriage in just over fifteen hundred years, and that she wanted to do it properly.
Finally, at long last, being lead down the aisle by her dad, came Fluttershy.
Normally being in front of a crowd this big would have given Fluttershy a screaming case of the heebie-jeebies, but today she had her eyes fixed on the mare in the red dress waiting to tie the knot with her. Applejack had seen Fluttershy during some happy moments, but the smile she had on her face at that moment managed to rival Pinkie Pie’s day to day expression.
It was a nice look for her.
Thinking about Pinkie made Applejack think about how nice it was to see a smile on her face lately. Even Twilight had been in a danged good mood the last few weeks, although she looked kinda stressed at that moment. Then again, that was pretty normal for Twi, so that was okay too.
Weddings were stressful things to begin with, and the last time they’d all been to one there’d been a changeling invasion. So maybe that was making this one even more stressful remembering that one.
She wondered how many other events in her life might end being colored by weirdness. It had all been so simple once. Now she couldn’t even look at a statue without wondering if it wasn’t some world-destroying thing waiting to bust out.
“Oh wow, here comes Scoots!” Rainbow said in a whisper. “How the heck did Rarity manage to get her into that thing?”
Applejack’s attention shifted from Fluttershy to Apple Bloom Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo trotting down the aisle just ahead of her, tossing flower petals to the left and right. It was pretty danged cute. She did see Rainbow’s point, the dresses were frilly as all get out. Still, Scootaloo didn’t look unhappy, so Applejack supposed it was all fine.
The flowerfilly trio reached the end of the aisle, all of them sitting down together with Rarity’s parents in the front row. Spike took that as his cue to take his place next to Rarity, the ringbox in his claws and ready to present.
Fluttershy took her place in front of the dais with Rarity, and Applejack could swear the whole world hushed up as the march ended.
Rarity’s heart hammered in her chest as if it was going to burst forth and start singing. At least, that’s what she envisioned in her mind. In point of fact she was doing all she could to not yank the seats out from under several of her guests so that she might have a surface to swoon upon. She was accomplishing this only by promising herself that she would swoon after the ceremony, where she would be able to safely land into Fluttershy’s open arms.
Her sense of drama cried about the lack of audience, but propriety would hear none of it.
As Twilight had promised, everything was perfect, and delays aside (mostly from herself, if she was being honest) more or less on schedule. Her sister was beaming up at her from the front row with a smile so bright that it almost hurt her to look at it, and both of her parents looked as proud of her as the day she’d cut the ribbon on her boutique door to an audience of Sweetie Belle, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and them.
That had been a little disappointing, but this was anything but.
She was in Canterlot, surrounded by friends, family, and business acquaintances. Her wedding was in the castle, being officiated by Princess Luna (maybe not the one she’d envisioned performing it when she was younger, nor with the same ‘bride and groom’. But no less impressive, and in some ways, more) and about to marry her best friend turned marefriend and lover. About to marry the mare that she’d been more than a little enraptured with from the moment she’d set eyes on her, and was somehow fortunate enough to have those feelings returned.
All told, it was very satisfactory. As the fulfillment of foalhood dreams went, it was a solid twelve out of ten.
At last Fluttershy stood at her side, and Silver took his seat (He cast a brief glance at Rarity, almost looking as if he was going to say something, then apparently thought better of it and sat down) leaving the two of them standing in front of Luna with Spike and all of their close friends fanned out to either side of them.
Her mouth quirked into a small frown before she put him out of her mind. He was being remarkably well behaved and cooperative (mostly because despite his misgivings about whom Fluttershy was getting married to, it was still his only child’s wedding) but she was going to have to do something about the bad blood between them someday. She wondered idly if she couldn’t get Posey to work on him a bit on her behalf.
“Um... hi,” Fluttershy said from behind the green veil.
Rarity’s attention was swiftly drawn back to her bride to be, and instantly all worries of obstinate future in-laws were lost as she really allowed herself to look at Fluttershy beyond a simple glance to judge how close she was getting.
It was a beautiful dress, Rarity knew this, and she’d been dying to see Fluttershy in it. But all she could see was Fluttershy’s blushing face just behind the veil. “H-hello, sweetness.” Rarity replied, her mouth feeling like it had been stuffed with first cotton then the finest sand, leaving behind a raspy wisp of a voice that sounded like wind coming out of a deep cavern.
“Are you okay?” Fluttershy asked, looking concerned.
“I’m quite possibly feeling better than I have ever felt.” Rarity said, doing her best to will steadiness into her voice. “I’m just a little... overwhelmed by it all.”
Fluttershy’s look of concern became more curious, almost disbelieving. “Overwhelmed?”
Rarity nodded minutely, trying not to show outward concern to all of their guests. “I’ll be fine, darling. It’s... it’s just a very big moment for me.”
She felt something brush her right foreleg, and found Fluttershy’s hoof gently reaching out to stroke against it. The contact helped ground her, and she took strength from it as she drew in a calming breath.
“It’s going to be fine.” Fluttershy said in a voice that could have easily calmed a rampaging chimera. “I’m here, you’re here. It’s okay.”
Rarity nodded, giving Fluttershy a shaky but heartfelt smile.
A cloud of dark mist rose up from the dais, coalescing into the shape of a pony when it had reached the proper height. Luna stepped out of the shadowy pony figure with a playful little grin, beaming down at Fluttershy and Rarity and saying: “We have arrived! Let the ceremony commence!”
She looked around the room expectantly, her smile wavering as everypony stared back at her without saying anything. This went on for an uncomfortably long time before Luna blinked and said: “Oh! Yes, We prepared for this!” She said, her horn blazing in dark blue fire. Flashes of light were followed by fluttering papers, and Luna grasped one of them in her magic and read: “Remember this day, little ponies, for it was your last. From this moment forth, the night will last—” She blinked, crumpled the paper into a ball, and set it on fire. “That is not the speech for this occasion, one moment...”
Afters several more flashes, Luna held a stack of notecards up triumphantly. “Ahem! ‘Dearly beloved...’” she paused, adding: “Which is to say of the ponies getting married, not to Ourselves, excluding certain of you... ‘You have been assembled to bear witness to a union of hearts, between this mare...” Luna squinted at the notecard, frowning. “It says ‘and this stallion’ here, but it’s really this other mare. My apologies. ‘Fluttershy, and Rarity....’ ”
She continued scanning the notecard, her frown deepening. “I would have sworn they kissed now... Oh!” she looked up at the crowd, saying: “If anypony can name any reason as to why these two should not wed, speak now, or maintain your silence for all eternity.”
Luna paused for a moment, and during this time Rarity watched Silver Lining like a hawk would a rabbit, waiting for the slightest shift in his posture that might indicate he was going to stand. If he did, she intended to hit him, scandal or no.
He didn’t budge, waiting respectfully while Luna allowed time for a response. But despite his silence, an interruption still rang out over the crowd: “Wait!”
Rarity’s gaze was ripped away from her soon-to-be father-in-law to the source of the disturbance, finding a unicorn stallion making his way through the aisles. Next to him was another unicorn, murmuring apologetically to anypony that so much as glanced in their direction. It took Rarity a moment to recognize who it was, and a moment longer to decide how to feel about it.
“Darling, I apologize in advance, but I may have to commit murder on our wedding day,” she said as she watched Prince Blueblood intently. He oddly hadn’t said anything more beyond his initial outcry, but the very fact that he’d said anything at all during that critical moment was making her blood boil. “Please wait for me, I’m not certain a pardon will mean much in front of so many witnesses.”
Luna, meanwhile, was going through her notecards with a flummoxed look, occasionally glancing up at Blueblood as he waded through the crowd of guards on Fluttershy’s side of the room. “Nephew? What was your objection, exactly?”
Fluttershy shook her head at Rarity, letting out a little giggle. “It’ll be fine.”
“Fine?” Rarity demanded. “He’s making a scene at a wedding he wasn’t even invited to!”
“I... I invited him.” Fluttershy said quietly. “I thought it might be nice for him and his friend Tea to come.”
“There we are!” Blueblood announced as he plopped down in one of a pair of open chairs, his friend finding a seat next to him. High Tea whispered something to him, which caused a brief argument between the two before Blueblood stood up once more, muttering: “I apologize for the disturbance. Carry on!”
“Carry on?” Luna repeated, looking over her notes again.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Rarity hissed back at Fluttershy.
“Because I thought you might say no.” Fluttershy replied in a whisper.
“Well, yes, because it might have been horribly awkward!”
“I think it... just was? But now it’s over?”
“I’m sorry, everypony, I’m not finding anything for how I’m meant to proceed after... whatever just happened.” Luna muttered.
“Princess...” Twilight said from Rarity’s side of the aisle. “I could help—”
Luna gave one last look at the top card in the stack, then flicked the entire stack into the air and sent them somewhere else in a flash of magic, which was followed by a strangled-sounding cry from Twilight.
“Nevermind,” Luna said. “We shall... ‘wing it’, I believe it’s called. Do we have the rings?”
Spike proudly held up a satin pillow with the box nestled into it. “Right here!”
Luna peered down into the open box, frowning. “These are not horn rings...” she said, glancing back at Fluttershy and Rarity. “Ah, of course, pegasus. Well then, ‘ear’ rings instead. Very well. We shall adapt. Rarity, please take the... piece of jewerly for Fluttershy and... attach it to her in some fashion.”
Rarity did as she was told, picking up the earring for Fluttershy, but hesitated before attempting to put it into the piercing in Fluttershy’s ear. She hadn’t minded Luna’s little flubs up till now (She had even found them amusing. Granted, this was mostly due to Fluttershy’s calming presence.) but she really didn’t want anything interfering with the legality of the marriage, and getting something critical wrong struck her as being an issue. She set the band back down inside the box. “I’m almost certain there is a step before this,” she said, looking up at Luna. “Some vows, yes?”
Luna looked at Rarity blankly for a single moment before saying: “Vows! Yes! The kiss comes after the vows and the rings, that was it. Let Us see.... Doest thou, Rarity, take this Fluttershy, to have and to hold, in good times and bad, through frailty and good health, til both of your lives end?”
Rarity hesitated for the barest moment, unsure if that was quite right but deciding it would do just as quickly. “I do, of course!”
“Good, good!” Luna said with a smile. Turning to Fluttershy, she said. “And do you, Fluttershy, take fair Rarity as your bride, to have and to hold, to love and cherish, through fortune good and ill, till you breathe your last?”
“I do!” Fluttershy shouted back, her smile beaming at Luna as she did so.
“Excellent! Now, take the rings, my friends!” Luna turned to Rarity, gesturing to the box in Spike’s outstretched claws. “Rarity, place the loop in Fluttershy’s ear, claiming for all to see that she is your own, and repeat my words: “With this ring, I thee wed!”
Rarity deftly aimed the stud into the small piercing in Fluttershy’s ear. As she pulled away, the gold band flashed in the sunlight shining through the skylights above them, and the simple engravings of a single diamond next to a single butterfly were clearly visible against Fluttershy’s coat. Her voice somehow managed to squeak past her heart as she repeated: “With this ring, I thee wed.”
“Yes!” Luna exclaimed, turning to Fluttershy. “Now... you... Fluttershy...” Luna paused for a moment to watch in silence as Fluttershy nimbly took the earring from the box with her teeth and hooked it into Rarity’s piercing in a single, smooth motion. “Yes, exactly. And now the words—”
“With this ring, I thee wed!” Fluttershy said with all the intensity of a mare who has spent far too many lonely nights dreaming of exactly that moment. Rarity understood completely.
Luna blinked, then nodded hurriedly. “And now the kiss—” she frowned, shaking her head. “Wait, wait, one final detail.”
The room darkened from the corners outward, cloaking the sunlit room in near pitch black. The only sources of light left were Luna’s starry mane and the blindingly white light suddenly coming out of her eyes. From somewhere behind Luna a strong wind blew, making her mane whip around in a frenzy of motion but otherwise not stirring a hair on anypony’s head. Luna opened her mouth, and what they all heard was not merely loud, but carried with it a gravity that Rarity had never heard Luna use. It was as if what emerged was pure Authority in auditory form.
“By the power granted to me by the ponies and other citizens of this nation, and by the will of the moon, stars and sun, I hereby pronounce this couple joined in heart hearth and spirit. Let what is joined not be severed, and let your love grow and flourish for all of your lives!”
The darkness retreated as quickly as it had come before, and Luna (Looking no worse despite having been the conduit for some other force from beyond Rarity’s ken mere moments before) looked at them both expectantly. “Now, for the love of my sister, will you two please kiss?”
Rarity turned to Fluttershy, slowly raising the veil that had separated them, and did exactly that. And while it wasn’t the most passionate kiss they’d shared (that had been the first, which Fluttershy had stolen, kissing like that wasn’t something one did in front of family and friends) it was by far the most satisfactory kiss she’d ever had. She broke it slowly, both of them breathing heavily and blushing.
The crowd cheered, they both turned to face it, and then Fluttershy turned Rarity’s head to face her own and gave her a far less appropriate kiss. It went on for some time, Rarity only being dimly aware of somepony (likely Luna or Twilight) casting a privacy veil over them both.
In some little corner of her mind, a small part of Rarity had to admit Fluttershy had the right idea after all, then it too was subsumed in bliss.