Morning Preparations
"Twi-Lee! Twi-Lee! C'Mon, wake up!!!”
"I'm up! I'm up! I'm up! I'm up!" Twilight shot up from her bed wide-eyed, thinking something terrible had happened but was only met by Shining Armor’s face hanging above her. That was odd; usually she was the one waking him up so something was definitely up.
"C'Mon, sis, time to get ready. We're meeting Cadance at the castle to help prepare for the celebration," explained Shining Armor with a smile big enough to match the smiley faces on Twilight's pillows.
"Oooooooh, any plans for Cadance, Mr. Casanova?” Twilight teased, already anticipating the plan she and Cadance had concocted last night.
"Yup, I'm finally gonna tell her how I feel!” Shining declared, raising a forehoof in the air like somepony out of a comic.
Usually, Twilight would ignore declarations involving Cadance that came from Shining Armor on the account that every time he made one, he fell extremely short of his goal, miserably and usually hilariously. However, there was something in Shining Armor's eyes this time that actually shocked Twilight beyond belief. He actually looked like he meant it; he really was going to tell Cadance how he felt.
"Oh my Celestia, you're actually gonna do it..." Twilight whispered in disbelief of her brother’s determination.
"I am, Twi-Lee, I really am!" Shining Armor replied with no hesitance whatsoever.
'This is great, both of them are gonna do it. They're gonna get together! I'm getting a sister!' thought Twilight as a huge smile made its way onto her face.
Shining dropped his dramatic pose and took on a more serious expression. "C'Mon, get ready, we've got a big day ahead of us. I already woke Spike up and made breakfast... so chop, chop!” said Shining Armor as he clopped his hooves together.
"Okay, Shining," Twilight replied as she got up and headed downstairs to eat. Shining Armor stayed in Twilight's room to make her bed and pick up whatever mess lingered.
"I'm really gonna do it," he said to himself as he finished picking up and headed downstairs to meet Twilight and Spike, who were already digging into their plates of dandelion omelets.
Shining Armor took his seat and started munching away at his breakfast almost faster than the baby dragon still tearing away at his omelet.
It only took two minutes for both Shining Armor and Spike to finish their omelets and upon finishing, Shining Armor, in a nearly cartoon fashion, jolted upstairs to get ready for the day.
Twilight was left at the table with Spike and a surprised expression after seeing her brother in that big of a rush to get ready. He was usually never that energetic in the mornings.
A gargle and spitting noise was heard from the bathroom followed by Shining Armor's hasty gallop towards his room to collect whatever supplies he needed for the day. In a matter of minutes, Shining Armor was back in the kitchen carrying a new saddlebag full of tools and shattered turquoise.
"C'Mon, sis, we gotta get a move on," said Shining Armor as he levitated all the dishes into the sink, completely ignoring the fact that half of Twilight's omelet was still on her plate.
"Hey! I wasn't done ye—" Twilight was cut short as she and Spike were encased in a light purple aura and brought upstairs alongside Shining Armor towards the bathroom.
"We need to hurry, I don't wanna keep Cadance waiting," explained Shining Armor as he set Twilight and Spike on the ground of the bathroom floor.
"We still have an h—"
"Brush your teeth, guys," ordered Shining Armor as he magically shoved toothbrushes in the unicorn and dragon's mouths.
With the brush already in her mouth, Twilight didn't even fight him; she knew how eager he was to get to the castle. After all, when would he ever gather so much confidence again?
After finishing up, Twilight moved on to help the struggling infant dragon with brushing his tiny fangs.
"That's good enough," ruled Shining Armor as he pulled the brush away from Spike's mouth with his magic after two minutes. "Clean him off and meet me downstairs."
"Shining Armor we still have—" Twilight tried to explain before Shining Armor bolted back to his room to finish gathering supplies.
"UGH!" Twilight sighed loudly as she washed the leftover toothpaste off of Spike's face.
Seconds later, Shining Armor stood in the bathroom door carrying another saddlebag in his light purple aura. "Here you go, Twi; you’re carrying Spike this time," he explained as he magically attached the saddlebag to her body. "Now let's get going," Shining panicked as he lifted Spike into his sister's saddlebag pouch.
"Shining Armor, we still have... HEY!" Twilight was again interrupted and encased in her brother's magic and soon found herself by her brother who was running downstairs at record speeds.
"If we get there on time, I can tell her right away, but maybe showing a little late will make it easier to do. NO! I should get there earlier so I can tell her sooner, but maybe I'll seem too eager and scare her off if she even considers me," Shining argued with himself out loud, still heading downstairs.
"Shining," Twilight tried to say.
"Early? Late? On time?"
"Shining."
"Late. No early! No, on time!"
"SHINING ARMOR!!!!" Twilight boomed, pulling her brother's mind out of his thoughts as he stood at the front door. "It's only 8:30. We have an hour and a half!"
Shining Armor took on a quizzical look before opening the front door to see the clock tower a few streets away from him. Twilight was right; it was 8:30 and they still had an hour and a half before meeting up with Cadance and Stardust at the castle.
"Oh," choked out the white unicorn as he set Twilight back on the ground.
"Yea, 'OH!'" retorted the annoyed filly.
"Sorry, sis. I guess I got a little carried away back there," chuckled Shining Armor as he scratched the back of his head nervously and a shade of red made its way across Shining Armor's face.
Twilight let out another sigh before continuing on, "It's fine. Just try to relax before we get to the castle."
"Good advice," Shining Armor choked out.
"Well, we got an hour and a half, and I really don't wanna wait around the house that long. So what should we do, Shining?"
"Hmmmmm," pondered Shining Armor as he put a hoof to his chin. "Wanna go see Stardust? We were supposed to meet her at the castle but we can walk with her instead."
"Okay. At least now I can see how she teases you today," laughed Twilight as she gave her brother a playful shove.
"Ha ha," Shining Armor dully laughed while thinking about what kind of friendly abuse he would have to deal with.
'Well, Cadance, hope you’re ready to hear this,' thought Shining Armor as he closed the door behind him and started his way to Stardust's house with Twilight by his side.
'Today's the day.'
***************
Fruits and plates of eggs, omelets, and various breads were spread along a table as Princess Celestia awaited her niece and nephew to join her for breakfast.
"Good morning, Aunt Celestia!" a cheery voice piped from one of the hallways that led into the dining hall.
"Ah, good morning, Cadance," belled Celestia as she turned to face her niece. Cadance took her seat at the long table and hungrily eyed her breakfast.
"Hold on, Cadance, we need to wait for your cousin. Family meeting," explained Celestia as she magically pulled the plate away from Cadance.
"About what?" inquired Cadance with a pouty face.
"Preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration. This is Blueblood's first one with us and since you volunteered last night, I figured we should prepare as a family."
"Are you sure he'd even want to help? He barely lifts a hoof around here..." replied Cadance with a quizzing tone.
"He will help and he will like it!" declared the sun goddess as she put a hoof down on the table.
"I will like what?" asked a voice from the hallway opposite of Cadance's entry.
"Ah, Blueblood," said Celestia as she saw her nephew enter the dining hall and take his seat at the table. "I was talking about preparations for the celebration tomorrow and how ALL THREE OF US are going to help out," explained Celestia.
"Shouldn't the help be preparing this? That's why they're the help in the first place!" retorted Blueblood as he put his nose in the air snobbishly.
"Come on, BlueBlue, don't you want to make family memories with your Auntie? You'll make me very sad if I can't spend this day with my family," Celestia replied with a fake pout as she made her magenta eyes wider to make a mother-like puppy dog face.
Blueblood couldn't argue anymore; although he was relatively new to the family, he had grown a deep family love for his aunt. "UGH! Fine, Aunt Celestia, I'll help. Just please stop calling me BlueBlue."
"Okay, BlueBlue," teased Celestia.
"Auntie!" Blueblood nearly yelped back as a shade of red made itself very visible on his white-furred face.
Celestia finished her little laughing fit before she turned to face Cadance who was doing her best to not laugh at her reddened cousin. "And speaking of preparations... Cadance."
"Yes, Aunt Celestia?" asked Cadance as she kept trying to hold back her laughter.
"You said something about Shining Armor last night when you came home, correct?"
"Oh yeah, I invited him to come and help out with the celebration. Is that alright?"
"Yes my dear. Any plans for him today?" Celestia teased as she raised an eyebrow playfully at her niece.
"Actually yes, yes I do," declared Cadance with confidence.
"Oh?" replied the confused white alicorn.
"Yup, I'm gonna talk to him about something that may or may not result in us having a date in a few days," explained Cadance with a huge smile spread across her face.
"Cadance, is Shining Armor the colt with the blue mane we saw at the library yesterday?" Blueblood asked, trying to get into the family loop.
"Yeah, why do you ask?"
"Just to see exactly who I might need to send the guards after in case he tries something funny."
"That won't be necessary, Blueblood; Shining Armor’s completely harmless," laughed Cadance as she pictured the idea of guards kicking Shining Armor out on his flank. "But I’m glad to see your looking out for me, Blueblood."
"We're family, Cadance, it's one of the few jobs I feel I need to abide to," replied Blueblood honestly and yet somehow annoyingly.
"Well then, why don't we finish our breakfast as a family as well?" suggested the regal white alicorn.
"Yes, Aunt Celestia," replied the royal cousins as they started to dig into their breakfast.
***************
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
"Stardust?"
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
"Stardust?"
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
"Stard—"
"Shiny, wut are ya doin' here? I thought we were meeting up at the castle?" asked Stardust after opening the door to see Shining Armor, Twilight, and Spike at her front door.
"Ugh, funny story... you see I kind of got a little bit carried away this morning... and, ugh..." Shining Armor tried to describe the events of the morning without coming off as too eager or looking like an idiot.
"He got up too early and nearly dragged me and Spike against our wills to the castle at 8:30 in the morning to meet Cadance at the castle when he had an hour and a half left!" interrupted the annoyed filly by Shining Armor's side.
"Twi!?!" cracked Shining Armor with a quick turn to his sister.
Stardust busted out laughing just thinking about the short story of Shining Armor's frantic morning. "Sorry, Shiny, but that is just so you to do somethin’ like that when it comes to Cadance." Stardust continued to cackle a bit while Shining Armor stood there with a pathetic look plastered on his face.
"Okay, I'm done, I'm done. Oh boy," said Stardust through breaths as she started to compose herself. "Come in guys, we still got a good hour ‘till we need to be at the castle," said Stardust as she motioned for Shining Armor and Twilight to enter.
"Thanks, Star," replied Shining Armor as he led Twilight into Stardust's house.
"Oh, Shiny, I gotta show you and Twi somethin' I learned last night," said Stardust with much enthusiasm.
"What is it?" inquired Shining Armor as he and Twilight were being led upstairs into Stardust's room.
"Somethin' I learned on my guitar," answered Stardust already opening the door to her room.
In Stardust's room, there hung many posters of various musicians throughout Equestria. Most of them were of rock or alternative bands and other well-known guitar players ranging from Colt Cobain, Flank 182, S!nc, Revolvers & Tulips, Taylor Swiftheart, Flash, Rod Harley, and many others.
Stardust's floor was littered with sheet music and lyric notes and her bed was barely visible under mountains of guitar picks and guitar care materials. It's no wonder Stardust's cutie mark depicted a guitar.
"Looks like your room, Twi-Lee," joked Shining Armor to his sister after remembering the many books and scrolls that usually littered Twilight's room.
"Ha ha," Twilight sarcastically laughed before turning her attention to Stardust, who was grabbing her guitar and a pick.
"Okay, guys, prepare to get blown away."
Stardust began showing off her talent, each strum sounding more magical than the last. She kept strumming and strumming, completely in tune and hitting all the right notes without a single mistake.
Stardust started to really get into the music, making faces at certain notes, rocking her body as she played, and even letting out certain squeals at some parts.
Shining Armor and Twilight stood there in awe as they watched the blue unicorn strum away. Stardust was sounding like a true musician, the kind that you would hope to see playing in arenas one day. Neither Twilight nor Shining Armor knew what song she was playing, but they did know that she sounded amazing.
"Wooooo," yelled Stardust as she finished up the song. She looked up to see her audience clopping their hooves together.
"Wow, Star, you've been getting better and better..." said Shining Armor still in awe.
"You were awesome!" cheered Twilight who was still clapping her hooves.
"Ah ha ha yay!” cheered the baby drake from within Twilight's saddlebag in whatever sounds of joy that could be uttered from a baby.
"What was that song, anyway?" inquired Shining Armor.
"It was part of a Colt Cobain solo, blessed be his name," responded Stardust as she looked up to the ceiling at the last part of her answer.
"You did great!" beamed Twilight, still in shock of the talent Stardust possessed.
"Thanks, guys," blushed Stardust as she packed her guitar up. "Oh, Shiny, you never filled me in on that note from last night. What was on it?" asked Stardust with deep curiosity.
"Oh yeah, Cadance invited us to help out and I figured that would be the perfect time and place to tell her how I feel about her."
"Heeeey, good for you, Shiny," congratulated Stardust.
"Thanks, Star. I'm hoping that she doesn't get scared off after I tell her, though."
"Hey, don't worry right now, just focus on your goal," Stardust ordered with a stern look.
"Will do," replied Shining Armor with a new amount of confidence.
GURGLE GURGLE GURGLE
"Ah ha ha ha," Twilight nervously laughed after her stomach let out very audible grumbles.
"Hungry, Twi?" asked Stardust.
"Guess so," responded Twilight as she grabbed her stomach with a forehoof.
"We had breakfast less than an hour ago," said Shining Armor in disbelief.
"Yes, except that a certain frantic unicorn threw out half my omelet in the sink before I got to finish it this morning!" retorted Twilight with an 'as a matter a fact' tone.
Red was starting to color Shining Armor's face upon realizing that he was starving his little sister.
"Oh yeah."
"Why don't we head to Joe's Donuts? We still have an hour to kill," suggested Stardust as she made her way to the door of her room.
"Ooooh, can we, Shining Armor?" pleaded the lavender filly as she widened her purple eyes.
"Sure thing, Twi-Lee," answered Shining Armor as he guided Twilight towards the door.
"Yay!" cheered the little filly.
GURGLE GURGLE GURGLE
Upon this second wave of stomach growls, the little dragon in Twilight's saddlebag began to let out his own fits of growls at Twilight's stomach.
"Let's hurry before Spike gets in a fight with your stomach," joked Shining Armor as he, Twilight, and Stardust made their way downstairs and out of the house on their way to Joe's Donuts.
***************
"That goes over there, mister."
"No, not there, over there."
"Put that higher over the gates... a little more... a little more."
"Where is the pedestal?"
"Get the food."
Directions were being tossed around like crazy from the outskirts of the castle as ponies were preparing the grounds for the Summer Sun Celebration. In the center of the grounds stood Princess Celestia, Cadance, and Blueblood.
"Are you two ready?" asked Celestia standing in between the two regal cousins.
"Ready," the two replied in unison.
All of their horns started to glow; Celestia's a light golden-yellow, and Cadance and Blueblood's a light blue. Together, their magic lifted up the golden Summer Sun statue that Celestia would soon use to show the rising of the summer sun.
"Thank you, Blueblood. Thank you, Cadance," said Celestia with a smile at her niece and nephew after viewing the finished result.
"You're welcome, Aunt Celestia," responded the two cousins.
"So, Blueblood, is preparing the celebration as bad as you thought?" asked Celestia with a sly smile.
Even though Blueblood hated all of the work, and would rather be in the castle posing in the mirror with his new tuxedo, he didn't want to disappoint his aunt.
"No, Aunt Celestia, it's actually kind of fun," Blueblood lied.
"See." Celestia turned to see her niece checking the clock tower a few blocks away, again.
"Cadance, do you have somewhere to be?" inquired the sun goddess with a questionable look.
"Huh?" said Cadance as she turned around to face her aunt. "Oh, no, I was just expecting Shining Armor to be here at 10:00 and I just wanted to see what time it is," explained Cadance rather quickly.
"You've been checking that clock a lot since we came out here, dear, and you're starting to look nervous," said Celestia with a worried tone.
"I'm not nervous," denied the now even more nervous pink alicorn.
Celestia knew there was no point in arguing so she rolled her magenta eyes and calmly told Cadence, "Why don't we all take a break? Cadance, you can go wait for Shining Armor if you want t—"
"THANK YOU, AUNT CELESTIA!" yelled Cadance who was now meters away from her aunt and cousin.
"—to," Celestia finished wide eyed as she watched her niece gallop away at record speeds. Celestia sighed and rolled her eyes, "Teenagers."
***************
"Thanks for payin' for the donuts, Shiny," said Stardust with a mouthful of glazed donut in her mouth.
"Yeah, thanks bro," beamed Twilight as she swallowed hers.
"No problem, guys. Gotta practice being a gentlecolt if Cadance says ‘yes’ to me," said Shining Armor as the thought of him and Cadance on a date crossed his mind.
"Hey, look, I can see the castle," exclaimed Twilight as she pointed a hoof in the direction they were walking in.
"Ya ready, Shiny?" asked Stardust as she nudged Shining Armor in the torso.
"As ready as I'll ever be."
The three ponies and baby dragon continued their walk towards Canterlot Castle, and after a few minutes, were met with the familiar shimmer of gold, white, and purple that shown brightly from the castle's outer walls. The gates were open and shined just as you would expect gold to shine.
"We’re here!" cheered Twilight with unmatchable glee.
Shining Armor stole a quick glance backwards at the city clock tower to see it was 10:00 on the dot.
"Where's Cadance?" asked Shining Armor to no pony in particular as he shifted his head back and forth trying to look for his crush. Shining Armor's search became more frantic as he paced back and forth trying to look for the pony-tailed mare of his dreams.
"What if that was just a joke? What if she never wanted to invite me in the first place? What if she did want me to come but I look like an idiot when I tell her? What if she never wants to see me again after I tell her?" These were all questions Shining Armor muttered out as he paced back and forth in the same area for a good minute. It was as if all the confidence built up in him from earlier this morning suddenly spilled out of him in a puddle upon arrival at the castle.
"Shining Armor!" Stardust nearly boomed.
Shocked by the sternness in her voice, Shining Armor turned his head quickly to face his blue-furred friend.
Dropping the sternness in her voice, Stardust started her attempt to calm her friend down. "I know you're nervous, and I know that you're scared she'll reject you or that ya might make a foal of yourself, but what I want ya to do is calm down, and take a deep breath," Stardust ordered as she began taking in deep breaths and signaling for Shining Armor to do the same.
Shining Armor reluctantly took Stardust's advice and began to take a few breaths.
“In,” Stardust instructed before slowly taking in a breath. "And out," she followed up before exhaling.
Shining Armor repeated the process a few more times until he was at ease. "In... and out," he thought to himself. "In... and out. In... and out."
"Feelin’ better?" Stardust asked as she took a few paces towards her friend.
Shining Armor let a breath out before answering, “Yeah, I am now."
Shining Armor raised his head to see Stardust's deep green eyes shimmering and full of concern.
"Thanks, Star, I could never get through things like this without you."
"Hey, that's what friends are for. Now be a good friend to me, and go to her. Tell that mare how ya feel and for the love of Celestia, don't chicken out," Stardust somehow comforted and stammered at the same time.
"Alright, Star," chuckled Shining Armor as he rolled his eyes. Before he went off to look for Cadance, Shining Armor did something that completely took Stardust by surprise. Before she knew it, he ran up to her and gave her a hug. Not just one of those quick hugs, but a deep embrace that came out of deep appreciation. Stardust returned the hug and wrapped her forehooves around Shining Armor.
“I’m serious, Star. I never could do these kinds of things without you. You’ve put up with my timidity, you’ve stayed my friend after seeing multiple failures come out of me, and you still continue to encourage me to go after her. You’re a true friend, Star.” Shining Armor broke the hug and saw a small smile on Stardust’s face. She honestly didn’t realize how much she did for him but was nonetheless happy to accept his words of praise.
“Happy to help,” replied Stardust as she tried to stay cool. “Now, C’Mon,” Stardust said as she stood up and opened her forehooves. “Give Star some more love.”
“Okay,” Shining playfully replied as he gave Stardust another hug.
***************
'Dang it, it’s 10:00, I hope he’s not here yet,' thought Cadance as she sprinted her way to the front of the castle to meet Shining Armor. 'Calm yourself Cadance, better late than never. Besides, it’s not like he’ll be here right at 10:00,' she continued to think to herself.
As Cadance rounded a newly set up area for the celebration, she could see the entryway into the castle grounds. Before making herself visible to the front of the gates, she could see ponies by the gates.
'They’re here,' thought Cadance as she saw the ponies more clearly. 'There’s Twilight, and Spike in the saddlebag. Shining Armor’s here too, aaaand….. some other mare?' Cadance thought to herself as she came to a stop and hid behind one of the statues in the near front of the castle.
From her hiding spot she could still make out the three ponies and baby dragon, but something else caught her eye. She saw Shining Armor grab the other mare with a blue body and white and blue mane much to her surprise, and hugged her tightly like she was his…
“MAREFRIEND!” Cadance yelled out, nearly drawing attention to herself from other ponies working on preparations. “Is he with her?!?”