//------------------------------// // A Canterlot Wedding, Part 1.3 // Story: Mrs. and Mrs. Dash // by LoriLoud //------------------------------// A week (and a mystery on the Friendship Express) later, and Twilight still couldn’t take her mind off both her brother’s wedding and her friends’ ongoing marriage. Her intrusive thoughts had a nightmarish (yet extremely orderly) rotation between Shining’s wife-to-be, whatever Rarity and Rainbow Dash do off-screen, and her own loneliness. That last one just popped up randomly. It didn’t have to do with her brother tying the knot with a peg-legged, one-eyed, crusty-beared mare (which was the current iteration of what Mrs. Armor looked like in her mind), or the fact that two of her best friends, both around the same age as her, were eating each other’s faces without her knowledge. Not at all. “Why the long face, sugarcube? Yer brother still on yer mind?” Applejack asked politely, scooting closer to her on their train seat. “Among other things. He never even told me he was dating somepony, let alone that he was engaged. And now he’s getting married? It just…” Twilight sighed. “It feels like we’re drifting apart, sometimes. I just hope I don’t drift apart from you girls, either.” “From us? Aw, phooey.” Applejack chuckled. “We done saved the world together a couple a’ times, didn’t we? Pretty big barn-buildin’ exercise, right there.” “You would think! But a third of the save-the-world team was married and I didn’t even know.” Twilight grumbled wistfully, her eyes flickering over to the other compartment. The rooms were made for four, so Applejack, Twilight, and Spike were in one compartment, while the rest of their friends were in the other: including the Dashes. Thankfully, Spike had dozed off and was asleep by the windowsill. Applejack huffed, leaning her weight on her flanks as she sat upright. Twilight pondered the ergonomics of an equine resting their weight on their spine, but her eyes came back to Applejack’s face when the cowpony blushed. Huh, was it hot in here? “Look, we don’t know everything ‘bout each other. That’s just a fact of life. It ain’t the end of the world. Truth be told, Twi,” The farmer mare cleared her throat, eyes averting, “Ah feel like I could stand to learn a lil’ more about you. Spend some time together, an’ all…?” “You’re right,” the book horse said, obliviously, “I did fail to mention my brother at all. I swear he came up in conversation, but I guess not.” “Sure, uh, stuff like that,” Applejack waved off. Twilight wasn’t sure why she looked mildly put off. Maybe it was one of those social cues that Princess Celestia always hinted about. Well, in any case, it would be a friendship problem for later. The conductor had announced that they’d be in Canterlot in less than a filly’s whinny. Which, in Equestrian time, translated to about five minutes. Twilight triple-checked that her bags were all in order as Canterlot’s alabaster walls came into view. Canterlot was cool. The big city. The cream of the crop! Every time Rainbow Dash visited, she always imagined herself flying between carriages and through the big, spiraling towers of Equestria’s capital, maybe even setting the record of going from the gates to the mountaintop and back. But the biggest daydream of all was what it would be like when, not if, when both she and her life made it big-time. They’d live in one of the luxury spires, with Rainbow Dash kissing her wife every morning before kicking flank as a Wonderbolt, while Rarity’s face was sprawled over every billboard in the central square. And the rest of the girls would visit all the time, and her parents would be chill about everything for once, and they’d have statues and music videos and movies dedicated to the awesomeness of the Dashter. “Rainbow Dash: Never Say Never” had a great ring to it. This would be just another stepping stone to greatness! Helping plan the royal wedding of a princess had to score brownie points with the big shots around town. Or, at the very least, look good on a resume. Or was it a CV? What did CV mean again? Cirrocumulus… Vuitar? Whatever, she’d ask Twilight later. As the train came to a stop, everypony started disembarking. Ever the gentlemare, Rainbow Dash stretched her wings and flew up to the overhead baggage storage. “Alrighty, here we go… there’s my bag, and… there’s… HRK!” Her attempt to lift the bedazzled faux-leather brand-name suitcase was foiled by what felt like a boulder. Feeling her front hooves strain immensely, Rainbow Dash grunted and tried to look tough lifting it, but honestly, she was gonna blow a gasket. “Rares… babygirl… sweet thang… help!” “Oh, you baby. I’ve got it, I’ve got it.” The silky-smooth sensation of her wife’s magic took over the suitcase. Rainbow Dash unclenched her teeth and let out a huge breath of relief as Rarity levitated the luggage without issue. “What’d you pack, rocks?” “They’re not rocks, they’re gems. And a few yards of fabric, and my good scissors, and my sewing machine, and various other necessities.” Rainbow Dash groaned. Not this again. “You don’t have to make the dress on the spot like you did last time.” “Honey, please, I won’t be making my dress, that’s already packed. This is just in case of a fashion emergency. It’s a royal wedding, after all!” Knowing exactly how this argument would end if she went down the logical route she wanted to go down, the pegasus laid down a hard objection to that horrific ending. Instead, Rainbow Dash blinked and answered like a well-trained spouse. “Alright, you probably know what’s best.” Rarity smirked, her eyes half-lidded. Rainbow could feel all her ancestors in Ancient Pegathens and Spartasus cheering her on as she made the right call. “That’s right, I do. Just leave the hard part to me, dear.” Rarity’s well-coifed tail brushed under Rainbow’s chin as she walked past her, and the unga-bunga part of her brain went wild. Clouds and blue skies above, she loved her wife. Leaving the train and catching up with her friends, Rainbow Dash was met with what was probably a buckton of guards, all stationed at the station. Scratching her head, she craned her neck to make sure, looking left, right, and up. Definitely a buckton. “What’s with all the guards?” “I'm sure they're just taking the necessary precautions. Royal weddings do bring out the strangest ponies.” “Achoo!” Pinkie Pie sneezed out confetti, a trumpet noise, and maybe a few mini-balloons, and Rainbow Dash conceded the point. As Princess Celestia looked down upon her glimmering city (with a telescope, which Rarity found mildly creepy, but she ultimately chalked it up to part of the increased security), their eager sixsome made a beeline towards the main barbican of the Royal Castle, where the Captain of the Guard would be found at this hour. In the past, Rarity always enjoyed visiting the palace. Canterlot was beautiful, but the castle was its magnum opus. Ah, to live in magnificent marble walls like these… Gazing upon the architecture and taking in the stunning greenery of the outer lawn was, however, thoroughly trounced by Twilight Sparkle making a scene. “Twily! I missed you! How was the train ride? I…!” “Train ride?! How… You…!” Twilight started angrily, before her eyes flickered back to her friends. The bookworm snorted, and Rarity could immediately tell she was holding back. “It’s nice to see you as well, Shiny, but come on, you couldn’t have told me in person? You didn’t even tell me about the engagement? Not even a letter about that?!” “Ah, about that…” At this, the intrepid Captain looked sheepish, and Rarity leaned in to hear more. “We kind of decided to skip the whole fiancé part. Sorry, I know, it’s shortsighted –” “So, not only is this a shotgun wedding with royalty, you decided to up and get married without telling me?” “Twilight, 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 help provide additional protection.” Oooh, there’s his serious face. He looks rather smart with his armor on, with a strong jawline. Rarity’s eyes went to Rainbow Dash. And now she’s imagining that Commander Hurricane outfit during the pageant, but touched up and… reoutfitted. Oh my. Rarity stood back at attention when Shining Armor reinforced the city-wide protection spell, before clarifying that such a spell relied on him and him only. He pulled Twilight into a private family conversation, and Applejack motioned to the rest of the girls to give them time. As good a time as any for she and her wife to perform their wedding tasks. Hopefully, that entire "I alone can protect Equestria" thing didn’t come up later.