//------------------------------// // Book 3 - Chapter LXVI // Story: The Sunset Trilogy // by ocalhoun //------------------------------// Book 3: Equestria Abides Chapter 32 “But Twilight, won't you just listen to me?” Spike's voice rumbled from above. “I said no Spike!” Twilight wasn't taking any of it – she was not going to profane her memories that way. The big purple dragon just rolled his eyes. “But Twilight,” he pleaded, “It gives ponies out there hope to think that there is a princess again.” She knew that; it wasn't the first time they had been through this, of course. She knew all about Spike's story now, of how he had fled, then been unable to find her for years... until he began to hear rumors of 'Princess Twilight' living near Las Pegasus. It irked Twilight that ponies somewhere were already calling her a princess. She was not a princess! Celestia and Luna... they had been princesses. To call an ordinary pony like Twilight 'princess' would be to belittle their memory! Why couldn't Spike see that? The phoenix roosting on his head spines called out, looking minuscule still, despite being fully grown now. “Come on Twilight, it won't hurt anything, and it's for the best!” Spike obviously still couldn't see the problem. “I said NO!” Twilight called up her magic, the extra power boost from being an alicorn thankfully giving her enough juice to summon a door gargantuan enough to slam in a dragon's face. She stomped back through the fortress gates, leaving Spike to brood outside. He had pretty much taken up living just outside the gates; it was too crowded now in the courtyard, even if he didn't still abjectly terrify half the ponies inside. As much as she missed her old number one assistant, he could still be a real bonehead sometimes. She didn't care what happened, she was not going to be accepting any royal titles just because she managed to grow a pair of wings! * * * “Apollo!” Twilight called out, still looking for that infuriating blue pegasus. “Apollo! Why do these wedding invitations say 'royal wedding' on them!?!” ... She looked around suspiciously... Sunny and Trigger had said that he went here, but she couldn't see him anywhere in the dining hall. She threw her head back in frustration, resorting – probably a little too soon – to using magic to locate the wayward pegasus. She concentrated on him, mixing in a little bit of teleportation spell... and pop! A very surprised-looking Apollo suddenly appeared, complete with a sizable amount of sudsy bath water, right in the middle of the dining hall, quickly splashing down onto the hard floor. The sight of him utterly shocked and confused, sitting there in the middle of a large puddle, drenched with water and bubbles would have brought a smile to her face if she hadn't already been infuriated. He shook his head, sending water flying and freeing his grey mane up to billow as it normally did now. “What?” He asked, not much, but surprisingly coherent given the circumstances. Again – and more productively this time – Twilight asked, “Apollo, why do the wedding invitations say 'royal wedding'?” “They say what?” He quickly levitated the slip of paper Twilight had been holding over to himself so he could read it. “Well, I'll be a donkey's uncle, they do say it!” Twilight just continued to stare intensely, tapping her front hoof impatiently. Apollo sighed. “Okay, Twilight, I did not tell them to put that on there – I just asked them to make invitations and told them the names!” “This is completely unacceptable!” Twilight insisted, “We are not royalty!” “Um... Twilight... have you talked to the average ponies in town about that?” He glanced toward the window, getting up and shaking off more water. “You know most of them are assuming the opposite, no matter what we say, right?” She just hissed in frustration. “Oh... and one more important little detail... These things have already been mailed out and delivered.” Twilight's expression quickly faded from frustration to horror. This was bad... really, really bad! Her mind started going a mile a minute, trying to figure out a way to undo the damage, but she was getting nowhere. “Twilight?” She looked at him desperately. “Twilight... I know it means a lot to you, and I know why you don't want it... but there's really nothing we can do.” That was not what she wanted to hear! “Can you accept that for the good of the ponies out there?” He pointed at the window. “They all think that having a princess back in charge will help the world get back to normal... and you know I feel responsible for them. I want to do whatever I can to help them.” He walked up and laid a still-soggy hoof on her back. “So can you do it for them... and for me?” “But... but the memory of the princesses...” Twilight stuttered. She knew it might sound a little weak, but it was important! “Twilight... just because you become a princess doesn't make the title any less valued on its own. If you don't think you're worthy of it, then make yourself worthy of it – live up to the expectations... make your life good enough to be a tribute to them.” He looked thoughtful for a moment. “How about this? I'll accept the whole royalty thing, and then you can just be a princess by marriage... that's no pressure, right?” Twilight plopped down, sitting and staring at the floor. Apollo was right, she supposed. There was nothing she could do to stop it, and it was for the best... She would just have to live up to it... if she could. * * * Apollo rummaged through the third supply room he had been in today, still looking for those cursed tablecloths. Why did weddings have to be so much trouble anyway? It wasn't like anypony there would particularly care about tablecloths, right? He stopped moving for a moment though when he heard something coming from the back corner of the room. Suspicious and stealthy now, he crept over towards the source of the sound... it seemed to be coming from behind a few large boxes... It sounded like... wait, what? It sounded like a pony crying. Who would be hiding in here crying? They all had their own rooms, after all, and there were plenty of more comfortable places, right? With a few final steps, he rounded the corner, finally able to see past the crates... but he wasn't at all prepared for what he saw. Splints was a mess, tear-streaked eyes clamped tightly shut, mane even more bedraggled than usual, and huddled together in the corner of the room, right on top of certain tablecloths. “Splints! Are you okay?” Apollo asked in mixed shock and concern. A low, drawn-out moan was his only answer... He got the distinct impression that he was the last pony she wanted to see right now. “What's wrong?” That seemed to break her out of it. Her face now a mixture of grief and anger, she turned on him, shouting, “How can you be so blind? How can you be so stupid!?!” “Wha–” was all Apollo could get out in return before she continued. “Twelve years we've been together, and you don't know what's wrong!?!” “Splints... I don't know what you're–” Tears were streaking down her face again as she pressed closer, “Twelve Years, and now you're going to go off and marry that stupid bookworm hussy?” “Wait...” The pieces were starting to fall together, but it still didn't make any sense... Splints was... jealous? “But you always seemed like you hated–” The normally fierce earth pony collapsed again, bawling. “It's all my fault! Of course I acted like I hated you! I couldn't let anypony know! But... but my act was too good...” She looked up at him again, and he could see the desperation in her eyes. She stood up, slowly moving closer, her face pleading with him... and suddenly she struck. She wrapped a hoof around the back of his neck pulling him in for a hard kiss. On one side of the kiss was desperate passion... and on the other, only stunned shock. After a moment, Splints dropped back away from the unrequited kiss, looking as if she had just been stabbed in the back by her best friend. Before Apollo could say anything, she ran out of the storage room, tears streaming down once again. Slowly overcoming his shock, Apollo gathered up the tablecloths he had been looking for, still unable come to grips with what just happened. He shook his head and let out an exasperated sigh. “Mares.” * * * Twilight Sparkle breathed deeply, trying to calm her nerves... but it didn't seem to help much. She kept reverting to shallow breaths, and she was sure she was beginning to sweat on her dress. Was she really doing this? She looked down at her white gown, and then at Shimmer Spell next to her, looking unnaturally calm. Yes, this was it... not another rehearsal, not another dream... she was really really getting married... right now! The curtains in front of her enveloped her whole attention. They stood tall in front of her, like arbiters of her fate... when they opened, it would be happening – everypony would be watching her, watching her walk up and... She gulped. Was she really ready for this? It had all gone so fast, and she still wasn't sure about the whole 'royalty' thing... Her heartbeat grew just an iota more rapid with the thought of yet another thing to worry about... and what if she messed something up? What if something went wrong? Her worries must have begun to show on her face. “Shush, there now,” a voice came from next to her, “Shimmer was nervous before her wedding, too.” She nudged twilight's face back up with a gentle hoof. “but she carried on anyway... because she had somepony there with her!” She nudged Twilight, reminding her that she had done the same thing for the blue unicorn. “And it was the best day she ever had. You're going to do fine, and you're going to have a wonderful time.” She calmed down just a little. Maybe she would be fine... things could go perfectly, couldn't they? With a flare of music, the curtains in front of her opened, and her nerves returned tenfold... but Shimmer Spell released her, the traditional gesture of 'giving away' Twilight... and she gave Twilight an invisible little nudge forward, at the same time, ensuring she got started. She began walking as the music continued, with only a quick glance back at Shimmer – as her 'oldest friend' not otherwise involved in the ceremony, she had been given the honor of giving Twilight away, even though the start of their relationship hadn't been all that friendly. The next one to catch her eye – perhaps because he stood out so much in the crowd – was the griffon ambassador, Gozwin, who was keeping a close watch on their friendly changeling queen. She had developed even further now, almost fully looking the part of a queen now, though she still hadn't let anypony give her a name. Twilight was glad that Gozwin was performing the duty she had asked of him diligently – she remembered the events of the last royal wedding she had attended, and even if they all had begun to trust this queenling, she still wanted to take precautions against any repeat of last time! Ahead, Twilight could pick out most of Apollo's crew in the seats on the lawn outside the castle; she smiled at them, but couldn't help but have her attention drawn to the reason the ceremony had to be outside: the ring-bearer. Spike had insisted on taking the same role he was familiar with from the last wedding, and given that he was a humongous dragon now, nopony was overly inclined to argue with him. As Twilight continued to slowly pace forward, his enormous slitted eye winked at her, and his angular face gave a little twitch to the side, motioning for her to move her attention over to... Apollo Dawn. There he stood waiting for her at the end of the isle, looking truly resplendent. Somehow, he had managed to find a tuxedo vest that matched his billowing grey mane perfectly, and his washed-out blue coat had been brushed to a high shine. Albatross at his side, he looked out at her with pride, wings outstretched... it was obvious he had eyes only for her, and it made her blush just a little. Finally reaching the little wooden stage at the end, she stepped up, finally turning to face Apollo... she still could hardly believe that he was about to be her husband... but Shimmer had been right; with all her friends there at her side her nerves were calming down a little, becoming something more akin to excitement than trepidation. * * * Sunny Daze began her carefully memorized speech once Twilight was in position. Having been chosen to preside over the ceremony, she couldn't afford to mess anything up. She was a little envious of her friend, to be honest. Twilight's mane had changed, just like her own... but in what she thought of as a much more dramatic way. While her own had simply grown a bit longer and begun to softly glow, Twilight's had gained a dramatic waving pattern throughout, darkening some and gaining lots of tiny twinkling lights scattered all throughout it. It contrasted wonderfully with the white dress she was wearing. That was only the start though – being jealous of a mane style was awfully petty after all. What Twilight really had that Sunny envied was standing right there at her other side... a handsome colt to have and to hold... 'till death do us part?' They were probably immortal now... why not just say forever? Still... she glanced out at the audience, easily catching sight of the neon orange and yellow pegasus in the front row. He was a full grown stallion now, and she had shared more than a few good times with Trigger... but would he ever propose? She brought her attention back to the ceremony; there would be time for that later... and besides, she had a little plan about giving him a bit of a hint today. Reaching the end of her speech, she nodded towards the dragon crouching behind her, and levitated up the two rings from the single talon he carefully extended out over the stage. Placing one on each horn in front of her, she said the words everypony had been waiting for: “I pronounce you prince and princess! Apollo, you may kiss the bride.” She felt her own heart leap as he did... she could only wonder what they must be feeling. * * * Memories of the moonlit reception party still fresh in his mind, Apollo extended a hoof to help his new bride up onto the strange saddle. Of course they had held the reception outside, up at the top of the tower and under Twilight's stars and his own moon. What else could be more appropriate? She took his hoof, letting him help her on to Spike's back, even though she could have easily flown up herself. “Ready?” She asked, looking forward up at the big dragon's head. He only snorted, a little gout of green flame visible in the dim light. Spike had volunteered to be their honeymoon transportation, and though Apollo still wasn't sure about it – he was more used to fighting and stealing from dragons than riding on them, after all – Twilight seemed to trust him completely... and he had to admit, with the addition of his newly-made riding saddle, the dragon did make for quite an impressive mode of transportation. She tossed her bouquet out to the waiting crowd and was surprised to see Sunny of all ponies jump up and grab it greedily... though the mystery was quickly solved when she saw Sunny, bouquet still in her mouth, giving a very suggestive look in the direction of a certain yellow-and-orange pegasus. With a few flaps of his huge, leathery wings scattering anything not tied down on the rooftop below, the dragon took off, carrying the newlyweds off to their honeymoon destination, an old water spirit temple at the edge of a crystal-clear lake: it would be the perfect place for them to enjoy themselves and... well, 'get to know each other better' before being thrust back into the daily grind of running their little settlement. * * *