"Hmm, invitations sent... check. Decorations and chairs arranged, check. Catering?"
Twilight stepped over to the wedding buffet table, seeing all the dishes and treats, and especially the wedding cake, with the topper of herself and her husband-to-be, and smiled as she confirmed checklist, "Double-check!"
"Only you would be check-listing her own wedding ceremony before it begins."
Twilight turned around and saw, coming up the wedding aisle, "Auntie Faerie Tail!"
She met Faerie Tail halfway and they embraced warmly as the older mare sighed nostalgically, "I can still remember the first time you asked me to read to you. It made me wonder if that was what it was like to have a daughter."
Twilight smiled warmly at her surrogate aunt and imminent mother-in-law before asking, "So, what brings you out here?"
The ceremony was to be held in Ponyville Public Park, and it felt like a long-time coming. Today, when Winter was officially here (in Ponyville) she would wed her Midnight, and then they would be off to enjoy their honeymoon in Manehatten, as Twilight hoped to see the museums and even catch a performance on Bridleway.
"Actually, Rarity asked me to come find you," Faerie Tail answered, "She wants you at the boutique for a last-minute fitting into your wedding dress. She wants for your special day to be absolutely perfect, er, dress-code-wise, that is."
Twilight giggled, "I want for this day to go well, too, but... You know, Faerie Tail. I'm strangely calm about all this."
"What do you mean?" Faerie Tail asked as they walked back down the aisle towards the sidewalk.
"Well, I'll admit, I can be... fussy over details," Twilight admitted in a light manner, "but today? I just can't help but feel that everything is going to work out. Oh, I'm prepared for any bumps or mishaps- In fact, I wouldn't at all be surprised if something came up, but... instead of worrying about it, I'm just going to take whatever happens, work through it, and I know it'll all be worth it when I finally get to say 'I do'."
Faerie Tail smiled proudly and hugged Twilight again, "Your Uncle Iggy would be proud to hear you say that."
Meanwhile, Soarin had flown high above Ponyville, and was satisfied to see Cloudsdale on the approach, with weather ponies already towing in clouds that would bring in the first snow of winter for Ponyville. Ever since getting his degree, Soarin had worked extra hard in the Ponyville Weather Office that he was now the Weather Captain, as Rainbow Dash had stepepd down to focus on her Wonderbolt training while Thunderlane was still preparing for Midnight's own elite flying team.
Still hasn't told me the name of that team, but whatever, Soarin thought. He'd accepted Midnight's offer to be second-in-command of the team after he officially brought the team forward into the public eye but until their training was complete he was being kept in the dark.
But then he noticed his Dashie flying about excitedly, and Tank was with her, hovering with his Mystech motorized rotors, much like a helicopter. Rainbow seemed excited about the coming winter and seemed to be trying to get the tortoise equally psyched, but Soarin noticed Tank yawning.
He flew over, asking, "Hey Dashie!"
"Soarin!" Rainbow Dash happily nuzzled cheeks with him but then he pointed at Tank.
"I was just waiting for the Weather Factory Ponies to bring in the snow clouds, but I noticed Tank seems a little off today."
Tank was hovering in place and yawned, proving Soarin's point.
"Yeah... I've been trying to get him excited about all the great stuff we're gonna do for our first winter," Rainbow Dash noted, "Extreme sledding, ice hockey, but... Tank just keeps yawning and nodding off."
"Hmm, well... I don't think you have anything to worry about, Dash," Soarin assured, "Tank's probably just getting ready to hibernate."
The look Rainbow Dash gave him instantly made Soarin wary.
"You do realize he's not a bear, right?"
"Ha-ha, Dash," Soarin gestured her to sit with him on a cloud though Rainbow made sure to hold Tank so he wouldn't hover off aimlessly, "Lots of animals experience hibernation, including reptiles like Tank and Skye. Because reptiles are cold-blooded, when the weather gets colder their bodies do too, so they hibernate in order to conserve energy and body-warmth.
"Once winter is over and the spring sun warms the weather back up, Tank will wake up fresh as a daisy."
"Wait... so, you're saying hibernation is sleeping the whole winter?!" Rainbow Dash looked anxiously between her stallion and her pet.
"He'll wake up again Spring, Dashie," Soarin said kindly, "no need to worry."
"Tortoises don't hibernate," Rainbow Dash scoffed as she flapped up, holding Tank, "obviously, you got your info from a bad source."
"Dash, Tank needs to hibernate," Soarin gently insisted, "otherwise, he could get some serious health problems."
"Whatever! C'mon, Tank," Rainbow Dash flew off.
"Where are you going?!" Soarin called after her.
"To talk to Fluttershy, a real animal expert!"
Sighing, Soarin watched his mare leave, worried not just for Tank's health but also for Rainbow, "Oh Dash..."
To Midnight, being a prince wasn't just about being a leader. It was also being a servant to the ponies of Equestria. He served them not only by protecting them, but also by working alongside them. He had volunteered to help the Weather Ponies in distributing the snow clouds from Cloudsdale's weather factory to make sure every inch of Ponyville and the lands surrounding it would soon be blanketed with fresh and pure snow.
He knew working alongside the ponies that were supposed to be his subjects served to set an example as well as to inspire. It would have been easy to use his magic to bring winter to Ponyville, but where would the lesson be in that?
"Slow and steady..." Thunderlane said as he helped Midnight move one of the clouds to where it needed to be. "I gotta say, Midnight, I'd think you'd be more concerned about your big day then making sure winter comes to Ponyville."
"But the wedding is winter-themed," Midnight pointed out, "and we can't have a winter-themed wedding without winter being here. Besides, Twily will make sure everything's in place, the wedding guests will arrive before noon, and once winter has officially arrived in Ponyville, the ceremony will begin."
Then Thunderlane heard Midnight sigh heavily, "Nervous?"
"Kinda, yeah. There we are," Midnight admitted just before the cloud was in its proper place and he gestured Thunderlane to follow him so they could get another one, "Something's gonna happen to waylay things, I'm all but certain of that, and although Twilight assured me whatever happens we'll work through it to make it to the altar, I just hope all end's well."
"DON'T SAY THAT WORD!!!"
The two stallions looked and saw Rainbow Dash giving Pinkie Pie a real stink eye while clutching Tank.
"Which one? Snuggly? Wuggly? Tanky? Hiber-"
"THAT ONE. "Rainbow Dash stopped Pinkie Pie from finishing that word by pushing her hoof against the party pony's mouth.
"I was just saying how cute he loo-" Pinkie tried to say, only for Rainbow to get up in her face.
"If you think hiber- You know, that napping thing is soo cute, why don't you go do it?!"
Then she pushed Pinkie along, yelling, "Somewhere far away from here!"
Then the rainbow pegasus noticed Midnight, Thunderlane, Soarin, Big Mac, Fluttershy, Applejack, Blueblood, and Cheese Sandwich all giving her looks that varied from concerned, confused, and weirded out.
"What are you all looking at?! Pinkie Pie and I are just having a conversation!"
"Look, Dash, we know that you're not happy about Tank hiber-" Soarin tried to say, only for Pinkie to rush up and shush him.
"Don't say that word! That's what started this all!"
Soarin amended, "We know how upset you are about Tank, but you shouldn't take your anger out on your friends."
"Who said anything about anger?! I didn't say anything about anger!! I'm not upset!!! And I am not ANGRY!!!" Rainbow shouted before demanding, "DO I LOOK ANGRY?!?!"
"YES. You do!" Midnight stepped in, sternly scolding, "And unless you don't want to be a part of the wedding today, I suggest you do that something about that anger and calm the heck down!"
"RRRRGH!!!" Rainbow growled, "Whatever! C'mon, Tank! Let's get outta here!"
As Rainbow Dash flew off with Tank, the friends all shared troubled looks of concern.
Faerie Tail made sure the rows of chairs were ready, the altar was properly set up, and looked to see the Cakes were looking over the buffet table and wedding cake while Pinkie and Cheese kept the Cake Twins entertained. The guests were already arriving, and Blueblood was acting as usher and greeter, welcoming every attendee and directing them to their seats.
Already, the Royal Sisters, Prince Sombra, Prince Shining Armor, Princess Cadance, and Night Light & Velvet had arrived, and couldn't wait for things to get started. So the ceremony would be comfortable for the attendees, a Thermal Barrier had been cast over the park, a preserving charm upon the wedding buffet so the food wouldn't go bad, all an' all, things seemed to be coming along nicely.
"Should we go ahead and get dressed?" Thunderlane asked Midnight as they stood at the sidelines, along with Big Mac and Cheese Sandwich.
"I suppose," Midnight looked around, "But... has anypony seen Soarin? And the girls?"
"Fluttershy's talkin' with some geese tha' somehow wound up goin' th' wrong way," Macintosh answered, "tellin'em they're spos'd t' be goin' south, like every year."
"Applejack's helping gather some leaves that somehow got back up in the trees," Cheese added, "and Pinkie's looking into some ponds and lakes that are supposed to be freezing up."
"And I think Soarin is still looking for Rainbow Dash," Thunderlane confirmed, "and of course Rarity is still with Twilight, getting her ready."
"Hey! Where'd our fluffy clouds go?"
They looked up to see a few pegasi talking in some oddly open clear skies as one of them pointed, "Fluffy Clouds? He's over there!"
"Something stinks here," Midnight muttered to himself before he lit up his horn.
Looking around, Rainbow Dash realized all her efforts to stop winter from coming to Ponyville just weren't working! The pegasi were still bringing in winter clouds, the earth ponies and unicorns were still raking up the leaves and setting up icicles, the lakes and ponds were freezing up, and snow was blanketing everywhere.
"For every hoofstep back, they move three hoofsteps forward!" Rainbow Dash worried as she held Tank on a cloud, overlooking the situation. "What am I gonna do?!"
Then, she began to notice the snowflakes falling and cast her gaze up, past the pegasi knocking the snow out of the clouds, past the pegasi bringing in fresh clouds, all the way to Cloudsdale, where the Weather Factory was distributing new winter clouds to be delivered to Ponyville.
"Cloudsdale... That's it, Tank!" Rainbow Dash lit up as she looked at Tank, "If I can't stop winter in Ponyville, maybe I can stop it at the source!"
Leashing Tank, Rainbow Dash flew up to the Pegasus Capitol, and found her way to the Weather Factory easily. Very carefully, she sneaked onto the premises, making her way to the front courtyard just as the factory whistle blew. Looking out from her hiding place, she saw the workers flow out, and she realized, "Lunch hour, perfect!"
A part of her knew she was interfering with Midnight and Twilight's wedding plans, But they don't need it to be winter so they can get married, she thought to herself.
Sure, maybe she was being a little selfish here, but she was doing this for Tank! Pushing the doubts and guilt down, she flew up to the roof and made her way into the vent system. Making it inside, she found herself in the locker room and almost got caught before she pulled herself and Tank into one of the lockers and waited for a couple of workers to pass by. Exiting, she was garbed in worker uniform (as was Tank) and trotted into the main lobby where the front desk was. She knew her way around, her dad used to bring her to work a lot when she was a filly.
Looking down the hall to the front desk's right, she saw her target - The Cloud Room, and made her way inside... until she felt Tank's leash go taut and heard a slam outside the door. Growling in annoyance, she realized she'd walked in but Tank was still outside. She gave it a couple tugs before yanking Tank in with her, and then turned to look around at, "The Winter Lab! We're in, Tank! Now we just gotta figure out a way to shut it down!"
"Is that what we're doing?"
"YIPE!!" Rainbow Dash looked towards one of the machines and gasped to see, stepping out from behind it, "Midnight!"
"I thought progress for Ponyville's winter was moving rather slowly," Midnight said while boring his eyes into Rainbow Dash's, "but then I used a locator spell to look for you, and color me surprised to find that you were coming to Cloudsdale. I suspected you were up to something, that you were coming here. I was hoping I would be wrong."
Rainbow Dash grunted and said, "Get out of the way, Midnight!"
"Why? So you can sabotage the Weather Factory? Stop the winterizing of Ponyville?" Midnight correctly guessed, noticing Rainbow Dash's wings raising. She was ready to challenge him, if it came down to it.
"Rainbow Dash, I know this is hard to accept... But you're not being fair to Tank."
"I'm doing this for Tank!" Rainbow Dash yelled.
"NO! You're doing this for you!" Midnight raised his own wings and lit up his horn, "Preventing Tank from hibernating will endanger his health, Rainbow Dash, and not just his! The animals that live around Ponyville that need to hibernate as well."
"I... I don't care!" Rainbow Dash refused to tear up, "Tank deserves to experience all the awesome things about winter, and I'm not gonna let him down!"
"But you are letting him down, Rainbow Dash," Midnight argued, "You need to let Tank hibernate, for his sake and the sake of all the other animals. Otherwise, you're being selfish."
"SHUT UP!!" Rainbow Dash lunged towards the machinery, only to feel a pulse of telekinetic power push her back, and she gaped at Midnight, whose stoic expression became unfeeling as his eyes glowed.
"I'm warning you, Midnight...!"
"You leave me no choice," Midnight cast a spell and Rainbow Dash gasped to find herself enclosed within a bubble of mana.
She pounded at it, ripples of force spreading from each point of impact of her hooves, but nothing gave way.
"There's no point trying to break free, Rainbow Dash," Midnight said as he levitated Tank onto his back and started walking out of the lab, the bubble containing Rainbow Dash following him.
"That container spell is reinforced by kinetic energy. Each time you hit it you only make it stronger."
"NOOO!!!" Rainbow Dash screamed as the doors to the winter lab closed and she finally began to cry. "LEMME GO, MIDNIGHT!! I SWEAR, I'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!!"
Midnight felt his heart sink, but betrayed no emotion except, "I'm sorry, Rainbow Dash. Winter is coming."