//------------------------------// // The Wedding: Part 1 // Story: The Wayfaring Strangers // by BiasedAmerican //------------------------------// Before Soviet left, he had mistakingly gave Ewok Army Blue dress. And instead gave him the Pink and Greens, with Soviet pulling out a briefcase and placing the Blue dress in it. Minutes later.. Ewok heard laughs and talking in the other cart, he didn't know who else was with Soviet. Soviet ran into the back cart, fully dressed in US Army Pink and Greens, and he came to check Ewok. "Alright, how's it going?" He said as he patted Ewok around his body to tidy him up. "Pretty good, now, what am I getting arrested for?" He jokingly said. Soviet laughed, "Yeah yeah, so. We're headed to a wedding and we're security. This country is at the brink of war and me, Tankery, and some other person is at the forefront of it. Especially me and Tank. I've managed to make a human unit in their military. Guess the name." Soviet said as he backed away and inspected his M9. "Unit 731? UNSC? The fucking Marine Corps? Mobile Task Force?" He guessed as Soviet nodded no, but the MTF caught his attention. "Like MACV, but instead of Vietnam, it's Equestria. So it's MACE, but MTF Teams can work too. Us two and Tank and Tim as 2 teams?" Soviet suggested. "Sounds like a plan. And where are they?" He looked around. "Forgor to mention." He said as he got hit by Ewok's slap on the hat. "No forgor!" He jokingly yelled. They both laughed. "Shit, that reminds me. Here." He handed two white gloves, Ewok puts them on. "We have a M3A3, fully functional. We haven't fired a single round with it, but I have a feeling we might use it today." Ewok slapped Soviet, "No fucking way.." "Yeah fucking way. And also me and tank can spawn weapons and uniforms. So, you'll be sticking with...?" Soviet asked. "Whatever your wearing." He answered. "Alright, you know how to use that gun?" Soviet asked. "Dude, I have an arsenal, you know this already." Ewok replied. "Oh shit yeah, it's been a while. So, your favorite weapon?" Soviet said as he pulled out a MP5 then switched it to a P90. "MP-7, it's compact and good fire rate. But anyways, what song is going to be played at the end of the wedding?" Ewok asked. "No clue. But I bet it'll be cringe but still good. But, at least we'll look menacing but vibin." Soviet said. "Fair enough. But, any reason why we're packing heat to a wedding? I mean, unless a riot happens." Ewok asked. "There's going to be an attack from the bugs. I'm gonna need you to help me set up. We need this wedding to continue, so we can have another country support us." Soviet said as he checked his uniform to clean it. "Okay... But I'll just stick with you. I'm not so good in public." Ewok said. "Makes sense, and also. We can't have anyone looking at our faces, only a few select people can." Soviet spawned 2 aviator sunglasses. "Wear 'em, so they don't know who is who." "Understandable, but we won't be able to tell any of our guys apart?" He asked. "Name tags or ranks. Probably name tags because it's easier." Soviet answered. "Fair enough. But how about personal insignias on our arms?" He asked. "Yeah... That sounds better than what I was thinking actually. What do you want yours to be?" Soviet asked. "Actually, I'll need a different uniform. SS Officer Uniform. You know what I want my insignia to be." Ewok answered. Soviet laughed, "Yeah yeah, should've known. Guess I'll be changing mine too." Soviet chuckled as he got excited. Soviet then handed Ewok his requested uniform and Soviet spawned a Marine Corps blue dress uniform with MACV and CIA logo patches. He put them in FILBE assault packs. And he spawned 2 Marine Corps woodland camo assault uniforms with equipment. "Since we're going to be staying here for a while, we still need to exercise. No pain, no gain. Put these on." He handed Ewok's pair. Soviet with a click of a finger, immediately switched into the same outfit he gave Ewok. Soviet pulled his hand held radio and spoke to Tankery, "Tankery. I have an idea." Meanwhile in the other cart... "Why the long face sugarcube?" AJ asked as she walked up to a sad Twilight looking out the window. "I'm just thinking about Shining Armor. Ever since I moved to Ponyville we've been seeing each other less and less." She turns around and says, "And now that he's making a new family with Princess Mi Amore Calm- what's her name?" She got angry and clapped her hooves together. "We'll probably never see each other." She tried to reason with her, "Come on now. You're his sister. He'll always make time for you." She tried to cheer Twilight up. "Couldn't seem to make time to tell me he was getting married." Twilight refuted as she closed the blinds on the window she was looking out of. The train approached Canterlot and it's shield protecting the city, as well as the two guards... guarding the train tracks entering the city. Soviet and Ewok can hear Pinkie scream excitingly, "We're here! We're here!" Soviet and Ewok stuck their heads out of the windows of the train and saw the bubble that was apparently a shield. "The fuck is that?" Ewok asked. "It's a shield. Changelings are going to attack." Soviet answered. As they entered through the shield, they all felt weird and uncomfortable. Especially the humans who had layers of protection, but they had to shrug it off. The train stopped. The Equestrian Royal Guardsman were protecting the station, which was a surprise for the ponies but Soviet knew what was going to happen. Rainbow Dash spoke, "Woah! What's with all the guards?" "I'm sure they're just taking the necessary precautions." Rarity answered. "Royal weddings do bring out the strangest ponies." She added as they got out of the train. Pinkie Pie sneezed confetti... and then casually walked through the train station. "Now let's get going, we've got work to do!" Rarity said. "And you've got a brig brother to go congratulate." Applejack reminded an angry Twilight. "Yeah. Congratulate." Twilight mocked in an angry voice as she walked through the two guards. "And give him a piece of my mind." The two guards became worried and confused as they overheard her. Which wasn't a good idea for Twilight to say that in the first place, but oh well. As the two humans ran off in combat gear. Twilight was confused because she thought she saw Soviet and Tankery run off in Ponyville. But now she was confused, but she didn't have time to clear it up because she was still angry at her brother. Soviet and Ewok, followed by the CMC's jogged to the main road that leads into Canterlot. The Bradley stopped in front of Soviet and Ewok and the two humans commandeering it got out dressed in the same uniforms and equipment Soviet was wearing. "Wait, there's four or y'all now?!" Applebloom asked. "With the power of magic. Yes. Now, you three drive the Bradley behind us. At our place, got it?" Soviet asked as he leaned over them. The three nodded and said, "You have our word." They said with big smiles. "Alright, me, Ewok, Tankery, Tim. That's the order. Now, form up while they start moving the Bradley!" Soviet yelled in a drill instructor type voice. As they got into a line, the Bradley revved and they started moving once Soviet yelled, "Double Time, MARCH!" "What is he saying?" Scootaloo asked as she readied her hooves on the pedals. "Don't know, they're movin'." Applebloom said. Scootaloo then pressed slightly on the pedal to stay on pace with the squad in front of them. Soviet then began to sing a Marine Corps Cadence as they jogged through Canterlot. Many ponies were looking at the creatures as they sang in a weird way while running. Soviet shouted the main words as the three just repeated, "Marine Corps!". They jogged through the streets of Canterlot while yelling the Cadence, with the Bradley following behind them and with many eyes staring at them, with some ponies following them at a distance because they were very curious. Rarity heard something strange, almost like yelling. "Anyone else hear that?" She looked around. The rest of the group looked around, "Yeah, I hear it." Rainbow Dash answered. Once they saw them, they were shocked. There were now 4 humans approaching them. Until now they only knew 2, and who was steering the Bradley? The group thought. Applejack was about to approach them but the group had to split up from one side of the street to another to make way for the humans. She ran up and asked, "Where'd ya get more-" she was cut off and jumped a bit by Soviet yelling. "Ho Chi Minh is a sonnova bitch!" "Ho Chi Minh is a sonnova bitch!" The other 3 yelled. "He's got blue balls and a seven year itch!" "He's got blue balls and a seven year itch!" The rest copied. They yelled as they marched straight through the Mane 6, who were confused and scared. "Where did the others come from?!" Rainbow Dash asked. "Don't know, probably a duplicating spell?" Twilight questioned. But they couldn't get a word through to the humans as they were yelling louder than them. They jogged through Canterlot, with civilians and the Royal Guard looking at them in curiosity. But eventually they just started following Twilight to the castle. Celestia was seen watching over Canterlot in a tower with a telescope. The guards knew who they were, and especially Shining Armor. He only saw them for a bit but once the Bradley parked on the side as the humans passed the guards, Twilight's rage bursted out as she yelled, "I've got something to say to you mister!" The guards raised their weapons to protect their captain from what seems to be an intruder. Until Shining Armor lowered their weapons by taking off his helmet and saying, "Twily!" in excitement. He rushed over to greet her. "I've missed you, kid. How was the train ride, I-" He was cut off by Twilight. "How dare you not tell me in person that you were getting married!" She backed away as he was going to hug her. "I'm your sister for pony's sake!" The humans just stood by with the guards, overlooking the anger Twilight was showing. They felt awkward and one of the guards looked at Soviet and he shrugged. They all watched Twilight argue with her older brother. Shining Armor replied, "It's not my fault! Princess Celestia has requested a major increase in security." "Including us!" The four humans yelled in the background to catch Twilight's and Shining Armor's attention for a bit, making him chuckle slightly. "Didn't you see all the guards at the train station?" Shining Armor asked as he pointed in the other direction. "Yeah, there's a big wedding coming up. Maybe you heard about it?" Twilight sarcastically asked as she walked to a puddle. The humans let out a "Oooooooof." As they knew that hit hard. Shining Armor approached, "It has nothing to do with the wedding. A threat has been made against Canterlot. We don't know who's responsible for it, but Princess Celestia asked that I provide additional protection. That's why she invited MACE, or mainly known as the Humans. This, you need to see." Shining Armor raised Twilight's head. He charged up his horn, emanating a purple pinkish light around it. He fired a beam onto the shield to strengthen it. "The burden of keeping Canterlot safe and secure rests squarely on my shoulders. Staying at the task at hand has been my top priority." He said as Twilight followed him back up the stairs, as both the Royal Guard and Humans saluted him as they passed by. Twilight started to feel bad as they walked onto a bride, and under it, armed Royal Guards with spears marching across. With the humans splitting into two groups and hearing them scream about anti-air defense. "Okay, okay I get it." Twilight apologized as she rested onto the ledge. "You've got a really important job protecting all of Canterlot. With a force field only you can conjure up. But still... how could you not tell me about something this big as your wedding?" She asked. "Am I not that important to you anymore?" She asked. "Hey. You're my little sister. Of course you're important to me. But I'd understand if you didn't want to be my best mare now." He said with a face waiting to see her reaction. "You want me to be your best mare?" Twilight pointed to herself. "Well... yeah." "I'd be honored!" She bowed down. They both hugged. Twilight pushed him away, "But I'm still pretty ticked you're marrying somepony I don't even know! When did you meet this, 'Princess Mi Amore Cadenza'?" She mocked her name as she tried to pronounce it. "Twily, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza is Cadance." Shining Armor answered. "Your old foalsitter." Twilight tried to remember who she was... until she did and immediately began to become curious and onto being excited. "Cadance? As in THE Cadance?" She shook her head, "As in the greatest foalsitter in all the history of foalsitters?!" Shining Armor chuckled, "You tell me, she was your foalsitter." Twilight looked over the edge and screamed in excitement, "Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!" Twilight then had flashbacks of when her old foalsitter, was foalsitting a young Twilight. "Cadance is only the most amazing pony ever! She's beautiful, she's caring, she's kind..." She then remembered their little... pony version of a handshake. "How many unicorns can just spread love wherever they go? I only know of one! And you're marrying her!" Twilight began to jump around her brother repeating, "You're marrying Cadance, you're marrying Cadance!" Twilight stopped in her tracks as a pink tall alicorn stood in her way. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything important." She said in an annoyed tone. "Cadance!" Twilight excitingly said as she was finally going to reunite with her old foalsitter. Twilight did their... handshake, dance? She did anyways, "Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake, clap your hooves and do a little shake!" But to her disappointment, Cadance did not do the same. "What are you doing?" Cadance asked. Twilight was confused so she tried to remind her, "Cadance, it's me, Twilight!" Cadance only passed by with her only response being, "Uhuh.." Twilight smiled at her, trying to get her to remember. But to no avail. Cadance approached Shining Armor and he put his hoof over her shoulder. Shining Armor remembered, "I've gotta get back to my station. But Cadance will be checking in with all of you to see how things are going. I think I speak for both of us when I say we couldn't be more excited to have you here. Right, dear?" He looked at his future bride. "Absolutely." She said with a malicious look and tone. Twilight looked confused. "Well, we'll let you get to it." Her brother said as Cadance and him walked away. A few minutes later, Twilight is sitting down on a pillar as she watched Applejack lead a group in preparing the feast and most importantly, the cake for the wedding. Applejack was on a ladder to finish the cake, and told Twilight, "Cake, check." Which she then marked it down. She ran across the room, "Ice sculpture, check." Twilight marked it down. "Best darn bitesize apple fritter you ever tasted..." AJ pulled it out of the oven and shoved one into Twilight's mouth. "Check." Twilight answered. Spike was playing with the small figurines of the Bride and Groom that were supposed to be on the cake. Twilight then used her magic to take it from his hands. The doors opened. "Hiya Princess!" Applejack spoke. "Please, call me Princess Mi Amore Cadenza." Cadance entered... royally. Everyone bowed down their heads, besides Twilight, who rolled her eyes. "Hiya, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. You comet to check out what's on the menu for your big day?" Applejack asked. "I have!" She responded. Applejack then proceeded to hand her a bag of one of the items of the menu for her to try. But once she turned away, Cadance had an annoyed face following Applejack. Which Twilight noticed. Applejack handed her a few to try and she ate one of them, a very clearly fake voice said, "I love love love them!" Cadance said. Applejack handed her a bag of the fritters. She walked off with it as Applejack continued to speak, "I know how you brides can be. So busy, you forget to get a little somethin' in your belly." Cadance stopped and threw the bag into the trash can. Twilight of course saw this and gasped. "Did... You see what she..." Twilight couldn't finish her sentence as she started to angrily walk out of the door. Another few minutes later, Twilight was complaining to Rarity about Cadance's behavior as Rarity continued working on the dresses. "Oh you should have seen how she acted back there. I don't know when she changed, but she changed!" Twilight stomped her hoof down. She began to mock Cadance, "Please, call me Princess Mi Amore Cadenza." Tim taking a break from setting up defenses was in the tower too, listening to Twilight's rant. "I mean, people cha-" He was cut off as the door opened. "Did I hear someone call my name?" Cadance barged in with 3 other unicorns. Rarity dashed in front of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, "Your highness! Let me just start by saying what an honor it is to play a role in such a momentous occasion." Rarity bowed down. Tim walked and stopped on the side of Rarity to introduce himself, "And what an honor it is to be the security for your special day, your highness." He saluted. Cadenza then looked at him in disgust saying, "Is it necessary that these.. humans attend the wedding ceremony?" She asked. Tim took offense to that but couldn't say anything. "Why yes your highness. Princess Celestia herself ordered for them to provide security." Rarity answered. "Uh huh, is my dress ready?" Cadenza asked to change the subject. Twilight walked closer to them as Tim backed away to Twilight. Cadenza walked over to the dresses as Rarity followed, "Oh why yes, of course. I've been working on it ever since I was given the assignment. And I think you'll be pleased with the results!" Rarity smiled in excitement. With Tim, not knowing much about what world he landed in, he can still agree that the dress was beautiful. "I was hoping for something with more beading and a longer train." Cadenza interrupted. Rarity pulled out her notebook and said, "Oh, yes of course." "And those should be a different color." Cadenza ordered. "I think they're lovely." One of Cadenza's unicorns that were following her said. "Me too." "I love them." The other stated. Cadenza looked back at them in disgust. They backed down and looked in separate directions to not feel so awkward. "Make them a different color." Cadenza ordered as she walked out of the tower. Twilight watched as she walked out, "Gee, mayber he name should be 'Princess Demandy-pants." This made Tim laugh. He leaned on Twilight, "Yea no, I see what you mean. She really is a bitch." He said as he immediately thought of her as a friend, which in his definition, means no boundaries. Twilight then began spying on Cadenza as she began insulting her friends' preparations for her wedding. Meanwhile, Luna flew onto the tower Celestia was on to take over her shift as overwatch which at the same time Soviet arrived on top of the tower via the staircase. As Luna landed, Soviet nodded to Luna and Luna did the same to greet each other. "Rest, my sister. As always, I will guard the night." No response from Celestia as she was still looking through the telescope. "Sister?" Luna tried getting her attention. No response, but Celestia's mouth began to open and drool dropped from her mouth as she began to snore. Soviet was confused and was curious enough not to bother. Luna looked back at him and started moving her head to tell Soviet to do something. Soviet shrugged. "Sister!" Celestia jumped. "Were you asleep?" Luna questioned as Celestia tried to provide an answer. "I'll give you my dessert for one month." Celestia offered. "Deal." Luna accepted her bribe. Celestia walked down the staircase past Soviet where they also nodded. Soviet then got some binoculars and an M14 EBR with an 8x scope to assist in Luna's night time watch. While at the same time, the Mane 6 were hanging out at a fruitshake store and Twilight came out with a strawberry shake, "Bet I can guess what you're all thinking! Cadance is the absolute worst bride-to-be ever." They all looked at her in shock, especially Tankery and Ewok who tagged along because they had nothing better to do. Tim was there too but he agreed with Twilight but didn't say anything. "Twilight, whatever are you talking about?" Rarity asked. Cadance is an absolute gem!" Rarity responded. "Rarity, she was so demanding!" Twilight retorted. "Well of course she was! Why shouldn't she expect the very best on her wedding day?" "Applejack, did you even know that after she told you how much she just 'love-love-loved' your hors-d'oeuvres, she threw them in the trash?" Twilight asked. "Aw, she was probably just trying to spare my feelings." "Noo, she was just being fake, and totally insincere!" Twilight argued. Making the entire group feel awkward. "She did raise her voice at one of my birds during rehearsal." Fluttershy pointed out. "See? Rude!" Twilight pointed to Fluttershy. "But... he was singing really off-key." Fluttershy added. The bird began to... "sing". Or rather sound like the dying cat parade at 16th Avenue Chicago. Twilight tried to ignore this, "Pinkie Pie, you had to have noticed how Cadance treated-" Pinkie Pie didn't pay attention since she was playing with Spike with the cake figurines. The 3 humans who didn't say a thing but just continued drinking their shakes as they watched the two play with the figurines. "Nevermind." Twilight refrained. "Rainbow Dash, you're with me, right?" she asked. "Sorry Twi, been too busy prepping for my sonic rainboom to pay much attention to the bride's bad attitude." Rainbow said as she stretched her wings and hooves. Twilight groaned. Rarity approached and put her hoof on her shoulder saying, "The Princess is about to get married. I'm sure any negative behavior she might be displaying is simply the result of nerves." Twilight stood up and slammed her hoof on the table. Causing the 3 stooges to slowly move back. "And I'm sure it's the result of being an awful pony who doesn't even know Shining Armor let alone marry him!" She yelled. "Think maybe you're being a tiny bit possessive of your brother?" Applejack suggested. The rest of the group nodded. "Probably is, but that's reasonable. But we'll take note on the Princesses' behavior. No promises though." Tankery added. "Thank you Tankery, but I am not being possessive! And I am not taking out Cadance! You're all just too caught up in your wedding planning to notice there shouldn't even be a wedding!" She slammed her hoof so hard on the table it knocked everyone's drinks down. Except for the humans, and especially Soviet's whom his was apple flavored, and had a second one for Luna. Twilight stormed out from the group who were confused, but Tankery said, "Come on, we need to make sure she doesn't do anything stupid. You guys continue doing... whatever, Ewok Tim. On me." Tankery said as he began to silently follow Twilight. The 2 followed Tankery. Rainbow dash pointed out, "Wait, I just remembered that they now have an extra two! Where did they come from?" She asked. Rarity rubbed her chin and said, "I guess we've been so busy we forgot that they mysteriously arrived. Anyways, where is Soviet?" She asked. "He's in the tower with Luna, he brought a smoothie for her too. He's up there to help her watch over Canterlot." Fluttershy answered. "Well ain't that romantic." Applejack added. Fluttershy remembered, "Well... uhm.... I think that was his plan." "Wait, what?" Applejack asked. "They're kind of... dating." Fluttershy answered. "They're what?!" Rainbow Dash, Spike, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie yelled at the same time. Rarity and Fluttershy laughed awkwardly. Shining Armor was in a red formal uniform with a white webbing and a Equestrian Royal Guard insignia in front of his uniform. He heard knocking on the door so he went to open it. He was excited to see who was waiting at the door, he greeted, "Twily! Your big brother's looking pretty good, don't you think?" He said as he flexed his uniform and equipment. She looked up at him with a sad face. So he asked, "Everything okay?" "We need to talk." Twilight said in a serious tone. "I think you're making a big-" She was cut off by Cadenza clearing her throat to get their attention. "Oh, uh hi, sweetie." Shining Armor greeted. "She sure has a way of sneaking up on people." Twilight muttered. Speaking of sneaking up, Tankery Ewok and Tim attached NVG's to their helmets as they spied on Twilight from the surrounding buildings. "Could I speak to you for a moment, dear?" Cadenza spoke to Shining Armor. "Better see what she wants" Shining Armor said as they walked into a room. Twilight had a worried face as she overheard their conversation, as if she wasn't the only one overhearing everything they say. "Look, we need to talk." Cadenza said. "I'm here to talk." "Look, she's okay-" "Just listen to me." "I'm listening, I'm listening..." "I thought I made it perfectly clear I didn't want you to wear that." Twilight peaked into the room. "This was my favorite uncle's." "And...?" "And we think it looks great you ungrateful bitch." Tim said on the radio, making Tankery and Ewok laugh. "Yeah yeah, it looks great. Now shut up, I wasn't joking it looks great, should we wear red at the ceremony?" "Probably not, Soviet's going to get mad at us, he'll think we're redcoats." Ewok replied. "True true. We'll probably use US Formals or something. Hopefully Marine formals though." Tankery hoped. "And I think I should wear it." Shining Armor replied. "Are you disagreeing with me?" "I guess I am!" Shining Armor replied as he began to feel pain in his horn, causing him to feel weak. "Oh dear, are you getting one of your headaches?" Cadenza asked. She charged her horn and began blasting it onto Shining Armor, making him feel dizzy but he wasn't screaming. This made Twilight think Cadenza was controlling her brother. "Oh shit you seeing this?" Tim exclaimed on the radio. "Of course we are! Stand by, it might be a healing spell." Tankery ordered. "Feeling better?" Cadenza asked as Shining Armor got back up, looking a bit doozy. He nodded as he gained back control. "She isn't pleasant and rude, she's downright evil!" Twilight stated as she ran out of the house. With the two coming out of the room also. "Twilight!" Shining Armor called out but with no response. "Let her go." Cadenza ordered as she began to cuddle Shining Armor. "Huh, it seemed like she had something else she wanted to tell me." Shining Armor wondered. "Welp, guess nothing happened. But it looks like Twilight might've gotten the wrong message. But we'll let her be, let's see what happens. I'm tired, I call dibs on bunking wherever Soviet is." Tankery said. With the other two agreeing. Meanwhile across the city, Soviet has a feeling that suddenly struck him, causing him to jolt up, catching the attention of a now worried Luna. "Everything alright?" She asked. "Yeah, just felt like something dumb was about to happen. It's weird, I haven't felt that since one of my friends was going to do a backflip off of a 3 story building into a pool on the base floor. They'll never get rid of the shit stains around that pool, he pooped mid-air. Luckily landed into the pool." Soviet said as Luna tried to hold in her laughter. He looked at her and walked up to her and jokingly said, "Hey you're not supposed to laugh! You're a princess, you're supposed to be serious." He said as this didn't help Luna's best efforts in trying to hold in her laugh. "What? I'm serious!" He began to hug her as they both laughed out loud. A few minutes later, they finally stopped laughing and got back to their posts. Luna saw movement, "Who goes there?" "Movement, fast mover. Firing a warning shot." Soviet said as he fired a 7.62 round right in front of Twilight. "OH SWEET CELESTIA!" Twilight screamed as she jumped back. "Stay indoors, Twilight Sparkle." Luna ordered. Twilight barged into one of the rooms and exclaimed, "Shining Armor's in real trouble! You have to help-" She cut herself off as the group was wearing the dresses Rarity made for them, as they discussed what the gunshot was. "Dresses? What are you...?" Twilight said in disbelief. "Can you believe it? We're gonna be Princess Mi Amore Cadenza's new bridesmaids!" Fluttershy excitingly said as she flew to Twilight. "New Bridesmaids?" Twilight questioned. "What happened to her old bridesmaids?!" "She didn't say. But she did tell us that she would love love love it if we'd fill in for them." Applejack responded. "Seeing as we've been working hard and everything." Rarity added. "And you had your doubts about her." "Told you she was an absolute gem!" Twilight was still in disbelief, her jaw dropped as she couldn't believe her friends fell for an evil princess. "You sure this is what I should wear?" Rainbow Dash asked as she tried moving around in the dress. "Doesn't seem all that aerodynamic." "Hmm, I'll see what I can do." Rarity walked to the drawing board. AJ Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy huddled next to each other and began talking about how excited they are and how awesome the wedding is going to be. Twilight walked back out into the cold dark... outside. "Looks like I really am on my own." Minutes later, they began rehearsing the wedding. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy were walking down the aisle, with their heads up high and with smiles. "Perfect, girls. There's no need to rush." Celestia said as she was on the pedestal with Shining Armor, waiting for Cadenza to arrive. Rainbow and Rarity tried to hold in their visible excitement when Celestia stated, "Then of course, Cadance will enter." Everyone looked back with excitement as the two guards opened the doors and sure enough there was Cadenza. Shining Armor was in awe. The Mane 6, minus Twilight, were on the side of the steps to the pedestal as Spike was on the other side with Shining Armor. So were Soviet, Tankery, Ewok, and Tim in that order, dressed in US Army Pink and Greens, with the caps. Celestia then explained, "I'll say a few words, and then we'll begin with the vows." Cadenza and Shining Armor then moved closer to each other to touch... horns..? "Shining Armor, you'll get the ring from your Best Mare." Celestia stated. Shining Armor looked behind him to see no one, his ringman was playing with the figurines. While he was distracted, Shining Armor pointed out, "Hey... has anypony seen Twilight?" The doors opened with a furious Twilight barging in. "I'm here!" Twilight yelled. "I'm not gonna stand next to her. And neither should you!" Shining Armor cringed and felt awkward so he looked around while biting his lips. The humans still at ease, looked either downwards or at another direction other than forward, with most of them whistling off-key. Even with their Aviator shades, it couldn't hide the fact that they didn't want to be in this awkward situation. "I'm sorry, I don't know why she's acting like this." Shining Armor tried explaining to Cadenza. "Maybe we should just ignore her." She suggested. "You have to listen to me!" Twilight growled. "Oh goodness! Are you okay?" Fluttershy approached. "I'm fine." "Ya sure about that?" Applejack interrupted. With Twilight promptly responding by lifting Applejack's hat and pushing it on her face, therefore pushing her back. "I've got something to say!" Twilight approached the pedestal. Her friends behind her looked at her with worries in their eyes. Twilight pointed at Cadenza, "She's evil!" Making everyone gasp and making Shining Armor feel insulted, especially Cadenza. Shining Armor stepped in front of Cadenza, everyone's faces' were blank and surprised. They all gasped, throwing questions in the air to figure out their confusion. "She's been horrible to my friends..." Twilight teleported behind Cadenza. "She's obviously done something to her bridesmaids..." Stepping forwards to Cadenza, making her move backwards as Twilight aggressively marched to push her into a corner. "And if that wasn't enough, I saw her put a spell on my brother that made his eyes go all...!" She began to act as if she was dizzy, moving her arms around her head and her eyes moving all around. Everyone's suspicion was now at their peak, especially the Humans. Except Soviet, he's watched the show and doesn't want to interfere before the grand reveal. Cadenza, with the focus on her, tried to smile it off as Twilight had a clear smug on her face, right in front of her face aswell. Tim and Tankery slowly walked onto the pedestal and they stood right next to Celestia, not making a move since they don't know what to do and who to apprehend. Cadenza started to break down in tears as the pressure on her overwhelmed her, "Why are you doing this to me?!" She ran out of the room. "Because you're evil!" Twilight still with a smug face pointed at her as she ran off. She teleported at the door where Cadenza ran off, "Evil! And if I don't stop you, you're going to ruin my brother's life!" Everyone's reaction was that of total surprise, as even Soviet who knew what was happening, still couldn't believe what was happening. Twilight walked back into the room to be knocked down by running into her older brother who looked over her in disappointment. She had an awkward smile. "You want to know why my eyes went all...?" He then proceeded to act dizzy. "Because ever since I started having to perform my protection spell, I've been getting terrible migraines. Cadance hasn't been casting spells on me, she's been using her magic to heal me!" He said as he walked past her. Twilight had a guilty and sorrow face, knowing what she had done. She tried to get a word in but Shining Armor began speaking again, "And she decided to replace her bridesmaids because she found out the only reason they wanted to be in the wedding was so that they can meet Canterlot royalty! And if she hasn't been on her best behavior with your friends, it's because of me being so busy, she's had to make all the decisions about the wedding!" Twilight tried to explain herself, "I was just trying to-" "She's completely stressed out because it's really important to her that her big day be perfect! Something that obviously wasn't important to you." Shining Armor confronted Twilight. Soviet and Ewok then ran to Shining Armor. Soviet extended his arm down the hallway and said, "Go. She ran back to your living quarters, now hurry while you can still catch up with her." "I'll go escort him." Ewok said as he followed Shining Armor down the halls. Soviet looked down on a sitting Twilight, "I think you can forget about being his best mare." Her friends all looked at her in disbelief, and Applejack said, "Come on y'all, let's go check on the princess." She said as she adjusted her hat. The group, including Tim and Tankery walked past her to find Cadenza. As Celestia passed by, Twilight tried to explain, "I was..." "You have a lot to think about." She said as she didn't even look or stop to talk to her. She kept on going, Soviet followed and Twilight held onto his arm. "She tried to-" He hasn't been in this situation before where someone was begging for his help, so he tried to calm her down but still get the point across. He took off his glasses, "Listen, I have to go escort Princess Celestia and go report to Princess Luna. You in the other hand, if you find Mi Amore Cadenza, then I think it's best you try to apologize to her." Soviet then swiftly moved his arm away from Twilight's grasp and got free. He then turned his back and walked away, putting his shades back on. The door closed as the guards left. Twilight held back her tears and said, "Maybe I was being overprotective." She climbed up the steps and said, "I could've gained a sister. But instead... I just lost a brother. Maybe Soviet is right, I need to find and apologize to Cadance." Cadenza approached Twilight and began to pat on her head to comfort her. She seemed calm. "I'm sorry!" Twilight exclaimed as tears ran down her cheeks. Cadenza's eyes flashed green and had an angry face saying, "You will be." Her horn charged and it was emanating green magic, causing a green fire to erupt around Twilight. Soviet then barged into the doors and it still didn't stop Cadenza, he charged towards Twilight to save her, "Twilight!" but he stopped as the fire then erupted around him, and a green bubble surrounded him and Twilight. Moving them under the ground. As the two sank into the ground, Cadenza walked away.