//------------------------------// // Two weddings and a Party! // Story: Live While we're Young // by The Blue EM2 //------------------------------// It rapidly turned out that getting the decorations and invitations out would prove to be the least of their problems. Owing to a bizarre timetabling mishap, caused by a faulty magic system and confusion between the twelve and twenty four hour clocks, the weddings of Sandbar and Ocellus, and Gallus and Silverstream, had not only been timetabled for the exact same day, but for the exact same time. Quite who caused this blunder to occur is unknown, but they had to work with it as best they could as it was too late a schedule a different date. And so, the preparations were done at a feverish rate. The flowers and suchlike were arranged by Rarity and Mistmane, the latter being the last word on Equestrian floral arrangement, and much of the catering was handled by the Apples. "This is gonna be a massive logistical exercise," Applejack said to Big Mac, as she dragged another table over. "We're not only preparin' fer two weddin's worth o' guests, we're preparin fer four completely differen't cultures." "Eeyup," Big Mac replied. "Sugar Belle was complainin' about the smell of all that fish. Griffons sure like eatin' smelly food." "Ah imagine they find of our customs weird," Applejack replied, setting a table into place piled high with snacks. "Now, where is Pinkie?" "SURPRISE!" the party mare shouted, and suddenly appeared with several batteries of party cannons. "What are those filled with?" Applejack asked. "Oh, I just stuffed them full of confetti," Pinkie Pie replied. "The first two cannons will be triggered when the first couple exits. The second set will be triggered when the second couple exits. Speaking of which, which couple is exiting first?" "Ah dunno," Applejack replied. "Yer guess is as good as mine." She went back to setting up tables. "You deliverin' the weddin' cakes? Plural?" "Of course I've got the wedding cakes! They're at the reception venue, where they should be. No point putting them in a place where an errant colt or small griffon could knock them over." For once, Pinkie's logic actually made sense, and Applejack took notice of this. "Well, this sure is gonna be a swell day, at least on the food front. Now, Ah wonder how everycreature else is gettin' on..." "Hey! Gabby! Stop being so excitable!" Gilda snapped, as she helped adjust Gallus' suit. "I can't help it!" Gabby replied, bouncing up and down. "My own cousin is getting married, and it's amazing! He's the first griffon to get married to a non griffon!" "How can you prove it?" Gallus asked. "Griffonstone is incredibly unreliable when it comes to record keeping. They haven't conducted a census in decades!" "I imagine if there was another griffon out there married to a hippogriff, we'd know," Gilda replied. "And it's unlikely as hippogriffs were only recently discovered. Anyways, looking forward to it?" "If I'm gonna be honest, I'm actually pretty nervous," Gallus said. "We all are at times, and I imagine it's especially tough when it's the first time." Gallus looked confused. "I've been nervous lots of times." "No, getting married," Gilda replied. "I've never been married. Never found a griffon who'd keep still for long enough to stop insulting one another." "I imagine there's one out there for you!" Gabby called. "Here's Rarity!" "Hello darlings," Rarity said. "I'm just checking on the costume fittings. Doing the floral arrangements as well would have been very tough, so I'm so happy that Mistmane could take time out of her busy schedule to do them for this occasion. How do you feel, Gallus?" "Oh, not again," the griffon muttered under his breath. "I'm nervous, OK, and I've been nervous before, but never married before. I kinda want to see Silverstream." "Oh, no no no no!" Rarity exclaimed. "You can't see the bride before the wedding! It's bad luck!" Gallus looked confused, and then a lightbulb illuminated above his head. "Ohh, that explains why Silverstream spent the night in Seaquestria. But griffons don't have a custom like that." "We don't have a lot of customs," Gilda said. "Speaking of which, Grandpa Gruff couldn't be bothered to show up for the wedding." "Eh, stuff him," Gallus replied. "He took no interest in any of us. Why should I care if he turns up or not? It's not as if he was in any way a father figure to me." Meanwhile, Ocellus seemed a little jumpy. She seemed worried at all the things that could go wrong. "I hope everything will go OK!" she said, sounding concerned. "I'm certain it will," Ommatidia reassured her daughter, making some adjustments to her dress. "Now now, I imagine it'll all be fine. After all, you're the first Changeling to marry a non-Changeling." "Even more reason for everything go right! This is a pretty big leap in Changeling pony relations, and I think it wouldn't reflect well if it was an utter mess!" "Dear," Ommatidia replied, "I was an absolute bundle of nerves when I married your father. Even though we already knew each other incredibly well in the Hive, ours was still one of the first as Chrysalis had prohibited marriage for various reasons." "How'd it go?" "Very well," Ommatidia smiled. "Now I wonder where that husband of mine is? I imagine he's helping Sandbar..." "Cozy, could you please stop buzzing in my face?" asked Aristate. "It's very hard to concentrate when there's something flying about in your peripheral vision. That's one of the upsides of fixing machines. They don't move suddenly..." "What's peri- periph- periphera-" "Peripheral vision," Sandbar replied. "Edge of your vision. I certainly appreciate the help, but could you perhaps do it from the ground? Flying about is perhaps not a good idea in a room full of breakable objects." "Oh." Cozy touched down and folded her wings in. "I just want to help ensure your wedding is the bestest ever!" "I thought I'd taught you the importance of proper grammar," said a grumpy stallion with a green coat and darker blue curled mane. "It's 'best', not 'bestest'." "Dad, go easy on her!" Sandbar protested. "She only little." "There's no excuse for incorrect grammar," the stallion sighed. "Next she'll be saying 'could of' instead of 'could have'." "The matter of grammer is nowt our priority," Aristate said. "I'm from the Changeling lands, I should know. Now then, Sandbar, I think you're ready to go. I've never seen a double wedding before, so this ought to be interesting." "I think Rarity made an error," Silverstream pouted, as she felt back along the dress. "There's no space for my wings to fit through." "I don't think there's meant to be one," Ocean Flow replied. "The entire point of a wedding is to stay on the ground and not fidget about. Your father had enough difficulty keeping still during ours." "You do know I can hear you, right?" said Sky Beak. "Yes. Just remember to stay focused. I know you're excited-" "When is that ever gonna change?" Terramar asked rhetorically, as he checked over the fitting of the neckline. "-But please stay focused and don't get distracted." "I don't get distrac- OOOH! SHINY!" Sky Beak clawpalmed. "This is gonna be a long day, isn't it?" Despite all the chaos backstage, the weddings themselves went off without a hitch. Everything was timed perfectly to the second; the decorations, the vows, the various best creatures and bridesmaids being in the right places (even if Smoulder did make it very hard to see with all that smoke), and even the party cannons triggered correctly. At the right times. Not a dry eye was left in the place afterward, as it hit home to all that their little ones really had grown up and moved on in the world. And move on they would, in the most remarkable ways possible.