The train ride to Canterlot was full of anticipation. From Rainbow Dash boasting about her Sonic Rainboom, to Spike wanting to know what a bachelor party was, everypony had something to talk about.
And yet, Twilight couldn't help but sulk as the city of Canterlot loomed in the distance. She sighed, her breath fogging up a small patch of the window in front of her.
"Why the long face, sugarcube?" Applejack questioned, staring at Twilight with concern.
The unicorn bit her lip, almost as if she didn't want to answer her friend, but she also didn't want her to get even more worried.
"I'm just thinking about Shining Armor. Ever since I moved to Ponyville, we've been seeing each other less and less. And now that he's starting a new family with this "Princess Mi Amore Ca-whatshername", we'll probably never see each other." She stared at her reflection, which disappeared as more fog clouded the glass.
Applejack waved a dismissive hoof. "Come on, now. You're his sister. He'll always make time for you."
Twilight scoffed.
"Couldn't seem to make time to tell me he was getting married."
She then lent Applejack an apologetic smile. She knew none of it was her fault, so why take any frustration out on her?
Lyon let out a shrug, walking over to Twilight and leaning against the wall of the car.
"Well, he is a captain. And he's getting married to royalty. I'm sure he just had a lot on his plate and couldn't get around to telling you before the letter came."
At first, Twilight looked at Lyon with somewhat of a hopeful gleam in her eye, pondering on his words. But the shine faded as quick as it appeared, and she shook her head briefly.
"Still," she said hesitantly, "even a small word of mention would've been fine. Not great, but not terrible, either."
Lyon scrunched his cheeks.
"Well... in any case, I'm sure he's got a good reason why he didn't tell you."
"Then I'll do my best to get it."
For a brief moment, Lyon placed a hoof gently upon Twilight's shoulder. She went back to looking out the window, just as the train finally reached Canterlot.
They all noticed it initially in the morning, but it didn't occur to them until now to ask why there was a massive purple bubble surrounding the entire city. As soon as she felt it course through her body, Twilight knew it to be a type of force field; and considering it covered the entirety of Canterlot, the spell was far greater than anything she had conjured up in the past.
Lyon shivered as he went through, though not by a drop in temperature, he noticed. As soon as it passed, the feeling was gone. The others didn't seem all that affected—just him. It was odd, for sure, but he didn't let it get to him. He always had a personal pet peeve against magic. Just the feeling of being around any kind of long lasting spell-casting made him feel uneasy. Who knows what could go wrong?
As the train pulled into the station, Rainbow Dash couldn't help but note the vast increase of royal guards, from those standing at the station itself, to those lining the streets leading up to the palace.
"I'm sure they're just taking the necessary precautions," Rarity suggested, observing the diverse range of guards on stand. "Royal weddings do bring out the strangest ponies."
And almost on cue, Pinkie let out a sneeze of confetti. Literal confetti. Despite their wide-eyed stares of disbelief, it seemed to be business as usual for her.
"Now, let's get going!" she added. "We've got work to do!"
And you've got a big brother to go congratulate," Applejack added, turning to Twilight with a grin.
The unicorn only glared toward the palace, her mouth moving as if licking her teeth.
"Yeah. Congratulate," she mumbled frustratedly. "And then give him a piece of my mind."
A couple of the girls eyed the royal guards around them, who no doubt heard Twilight speak her frustration aloud. Even they looked back and forth at one another, wondering what to do. Surely they knew who she was?
Before any of them could call out to Twilight, she was gone.
"I'm sure she'll be just fine," Rarity mentioned after a silent moment. "Twilight's not one to overreact too badly... right?"
Despite their hesitation, they knew the guards would be foolish to actually attack their captain's sister—even if they were technically doing their job.
Applejack nodded. "We should head on, then. Shouldn't take long to git settled. We can catch up with Twilight later."
The group nodded their heads firmly, making their way down a road parallel to the one Twilight went down. Applejack couldn't help but make an occasional glance at the increasingly shrinking lavender blob until it disappeared behind a corner.
It'd been the Grand Galloping Gala since Lyon had been to Canterlot, and not once did he miss it, especially after that night.
But damn, if its builders didn't do a superb job crafting it from bottom to top. He never got a chance to really admire the architecture of the place! From courthouses to even a simple coffee shop, everything here was unique and original! Granted, it didn't feel as diverse in some spots, but even a place like Canterlot had its charm.
Regardless, he wondered how someone like Princess Celestia could stand folks like this potentially bothering her during a busy day and complaining about whatever made them upset.
Ugh, Mister BellBuckle stole my tie and I DEMAND I have it back post-haste!
I believe I ordered SIX pies, not FIVE. And yet these hooligans refuse to give me a refund!
His clothing is absolutely DRAB! I can't be allowed to let my eyes burn any further!
And judging by the way the ponies looked at him and his friends... he wouldn't put it past them to waste her time.
Then again, the same thing happens to Mayor Mare every other day, so he heard. He laughed to himself as he wondered what happened behind those doors.
"Now," Rarity began, levitating a map in front of her, "with a bit of wiggle room, we should be able to make a quick trip to a particular clothing shop nearby."
Already, Rainbow was gagging. "Ugh. We're here for a wedding, not a fashion show."
Rarity rolled her eyes.
"Yes, and if I'm going to be making a perfect dress for the bride, I need a little bit of inspiration. I can't exactly do that surrounded by a couple of simple curtains and drywall, now can I?"
"Hey, it wouldn't hurt to try," Rainbow joked, only receiving a glare from the unicorn in return. Despite this, Rarity couldn't help but at least agree a little bit. Some have had far better success with far less in mind.
With the wedding only a couple days away, it was no surprise that the city streets were crowded with ponies eager to join in on the celebration. Thankfully, nopony seemed too interested in them at the moment, and hopefully it'd stay that way, at least until after the wedding.
"Y'all smell that?" Applejack brought up, sniffing the air around her like a hound dog. "Smells like... whooey! That smells like apple stroganoff!"
Rainbow recoiled. "... Did... did you just say—"
"I know what you're thinking. Blegh, that's gross, utter disgusting, deude!"
"First off, I don't say "utter" like that in a sentence. Also, YES, that sounds gross!" Rainbow retorted, waving her hooves about and looking at the farm mare like she had gone crazy... and she most likely had.
"Oh yeah? Well, remember last month when we had that party on the orchard? That dessert you ate that you said was "really yummy"?"
"Duh—" Dash paused. "Oh."
"Uh huh. Not so gross now, ain't it?"
"W... Well, why did they have to call it apple stroganoff? Why not something like..."
As the two mares bickered about the name of the particular apple treat, Lyon quietly chuckled to himself and lingered behind the group for a bit. The further on they went, the closer the royal palace became. It was only a matter of time before they were at the gates.
"Um... isn't that Twilight up there?" Fluttershy pointed up to a balcony that overlooked what seemed to be a garden, Lyon had recalled. There, they could see Twilight and presumably her brother Shining Armor exchanging words, but they were too far away to be heard, even if everyone in Canterlot decided to stop talking at this very moment.
"Oh boy," Rainbow groaned, "I can only imagine the earful that guy must be getting."
Rarity turned to her friend. "Well, he did tell everyone but Twilight about his wedding. Poor darling has at least the right to be upset."
Lyon looked up toward the balcony and continued to watch the two siblings. Not once did he see any major frown or scowl from his friend. Of course, there was at least a little frown here and there, but nothing of any concern.
"Guess they made up already," he said.
"That's a relief," Rarity sighed. "It wouldn't exactly be a good thing to have some sibling rivalry right before a special day, wouldn't it?"
"Good thing I never had to learn that from experience," Lyon joked.
The stallion watched the balcony again, just as Twilight and her brother disappeared behind the ledge, seemingly drawn to something obstructed. He sighed as soon as she was gone.
He had become so focused on the moment, he didn't notice the stranger in front of him until he bumped into him.
"I'm sorry, sir," Lyon was quick to apologize. "I didn't see you there, I..."
The stranger, a stallion dressed in similar Canterlot attire, said nothing in response. He stared instead, and in just that one single moment, the way he looked at him felt off. There was something about his eyes, the way they looked back at his own, that made this feeling bubble up from the pit of Lyon's stomach.
"Sir? Are you alri—"
Before he could finish asking, the stallion flung one of his fore hooves straight at Lyon's face. He was quick to dodge the attempted hit, only nicked on the side of the head, but the sudden attack was hard enough to knock Lyon to the ground. The others turned to see the sudden scuffle and immediately ran to his aid.
Before they could reach him, three royal guards swooped down and were quick to restrain the attacker, who struggled against their grip, but ultimately failed to break free.
"Lyon!" Applejack yelled, kneeling down to the stallion. "Are you okay?"
Lyon, however, was too struck with confusion to answer right away.
"I just bumped into him," he eventually said. "I didn't even mean to, it was an accident. He didn't even give me a chance to say sorry."
By now, a small crowd had formed around the group and still-struggling stallion. Applejack helped Lyon to his hooves, and they watched as the royal guardsponies began dragging the stranger away.
And the entire time they did, not once did he take his eyes off Lyon. They pierced into his own, and they seemed cold. His growls were animalistic, like a zombie hungered for blood.
But the way he spoke—what he spoke—chilled Lyon to his very core.
"Traitor! You'll get what you deserve, you traitor!"
Traitor.
Traitor.
Applejack had to shake him just to get him to finally breathe again. He hadn't even realized he stopped. By now, the stranger was gone, but his voice echoed to the sky.
"Look at me," she demanded. "Are you okay?"
"I... yeah. Yeah, I'm okay."
Lyon lied. Of course he lied, he didn't want them to worry! Not now! Not after what he just said! Do they know what the dreams told him? Did he ever tell them? What would Twilight think? What would she have done if she was here?
"Did he hurt you?"
He shook his head. "No, he just clipped me. I'm okay, I promise."
It should've been made clear earlier that Lyon had an awful poker face, at least sometimes. Applejack was in no way convinced, and yet she didn't want to make the situation any worse than it already was.
"How about we just cancel the clothing plan and get to the palace first?" Rarity suggested with a worried tone. "We should get you checked out, just in case."
"I... okay," Lyon replied, despite initially insisting it wasn't necessary. He felt perfectly fine, but he didn't want to upset any of them. Plus, he did at least want to be sure it wasn't going to shape up into anything more than a quick nick.
The crowds gradually dispersed as quick as they formed. Lyon followed behind the others, while Applejack walked beside him, giving him an occasional glance, ready in case the stallion suddenly fell over. Concussions were no joke.
And yet, concussions were the last thing on Lyon's mind.
Traitor! You'll get what you deserve, you traitor!
Suddenly, everything was uneasy again.