“Okay… okay. Thirty seconds,” Twilight muttered to herself, her eyes squeezed closed. “Actually, less than thirty second, what with the yelling, and the talking to myself now. Which is worrisome, but something I’ll deal with later.” She spun suddenly, staring wildly at Applejack. “Applejack, you and I are the only sane ones left. I need you to buck Rarity, right now!” Her pupils had shrunk to pinpricks as she gave the order. “Buck her so she can’t see straight! Even better, buck her so she passes out!”
“Uh, Twilight, two things. First, Ah’m not entirely comfortable with your assessment of your own sanity right now, just lettin’ you know,” Applejack said slowly, stepping away from Twilight as she once again considered the relative sanity of her friends. “Second, Ah’m not sure that me buckin’ Rarity is gonna be all that helpful in this situation. And that isn’t even considerin’ the possibility that Ah might accidentally kill her, bucking her like that. Ah’m not especially inclined to take that chance.”
“Oh, come on! All you need to do is kick her just hard enough to knock her out, then I can teleport us to safety and leave the rest of them to their fate. We can dye our coats, dye and restyle our manes, and find a small village far, far away from here where we can live safely, pretending to be lovers.” She shot Applejack a smile. A vaguely unsettling, horribly twitchy smile.
Applejack pressed a hoof against her forehead. “Again, Twi, two things. One, what Ah’m trying to say is that if I kick Rarity in the head hard enough to knock her out, Ah’m liable to cave her skull in, or break her neck, or somethin’. So if you want your magic back that badly, you should just kill her yourself. Two, if mah options are livin’ the rest of mah life as a fugitive pretendin’ to be involved with another mare, or livin’ mah life married to another mare who happens to be a princess… why the hay would I go with the first choice?” She sighed sadly. “I mean, sure, Ah agree with Fluttershy, and Ah’d rather we had a third option, but when you get down to it, Luna wasn’t that bad last night, in the grand scheme of things. Aside from the yellin’ and spiders, at least.”
“Right… right, Applejack’s gone over to the other side,” Twilight observed to herself, falling to her haunches dejectedly as she began to tick off a mental checklist of the other beings in the room. “So, my friends are varying degrees of fine with this arrangement, Sweetie Belle is happy so long as her sister is happy, the three guards are looking at me nervously, and Spike isn’t helping, and without my magic he’s no longer a viable projectile against the… guards… who are… in the room with us… right now.” Her head twitched to the side as she considered the bat-themed soldiers. “Why are the guards in the room with us?”
“Because doors are expensive, Twilight,” Rarity explained dryly, “and I’d rather not have to explain to our darling princess that mine needs to be replaced because we were hiding from the handsome young soldiers she sent to retrieve us.” She flashed the trio of guards a winning smile before turning back to Twilight. “So, I let them in while you were trying to convince Applejack to buck me harder than I’d ever been bucked, which I must say is rather rude. I intend to wear white on my wedding day, and I’d hardly have been able to if she’d done as you’d asked. The bruises would have clashed terribly.” She leveled a cool gaze at her friend, then brightened considerably. “Really, though, I suppose you can’t be blamed for your current state. I’ve certainly fitted mares driven to far worse bouts of madness by pre-wedding jitters, believe me.” She patted her friend gently on her back, trying to reassure Twilight as she tucked her forelegs beneath her body and lay defeated on the floor.
The sergeant looked at his two subordinates quizzically, uncertain what to make of the current situation. The transformed pegasus and unicorn simply shrugged, equally perplexed. “I do apologize for that, ma’am,” he said carefully, quite certain he didn’t want to offend any of the future royal consorts. “Really, I think somepony somewhere up the chain of command just grabbed the standard apprehension orders and changed some of the words before they sent us to pick you lot up.” He saluted, careful to keep his eyes up and straight ahead lest he see something he may or may not be meant to see.
That was the problem, he reflected, with serving a being who generally presented herself as a virginal goddess, and more recently her semi-reclusive sister: nopony trained you on the etiquette involved in harem retrieval. He was, at present, relying on old Saddle Arabian folk stories; stories which occasionally involved guards subjected to horrific fates if they were caught admiring certain royal assets.
He wasn’t sure about his two subordinates, but he had no intention of ending up gelded.
“Oh, it really isn’t a problem in the slightest, my good fellow,” Rarity reassured the stallion as she trotted over to begin taking the newly docile Twilight’s measurements. “Though, and I do so apologize for this, I’m afraid there might be a snag in our leaving. You see, my little sister is under my supervision at the moment, and I can’t very well abandon her here." She gestured towards Sweetie Belle, who smiled happily at the attention. “And, since she has school later, I can’t very well bring her with us to Canterlot. Now, my Mother and Father should be along to retrieve her fairly soon… might we postpone our departure until then? No more than an hour, I assure you, and possibly far sooner.”
“Uh… one moment, please, ma'am. I'll have to consult the orders.” He quickly turned and huddled in with the other two guards. “Poison, you still have the scroll, right?” He looked to the unicorn, his voice low.
“Right here, Snake,” he replied, levitating the scroll from a compartment fitted inside his armor and unfurling it for his superior to read over.
“Alright, what’ve we got here. ‘Attention… marital bliss… lethal force…’ Alright, here we go: ‘every effort is to be made ensure that the execution of these orders are accomplished according to the laws and customs of Equestria, save in such circumstances as obedience to said laws would place any citizen in undue risk of harm.’ Okay… yeah, that works,” he muttered, turning back around. “As it happens, ma’am, since leaving your sister alone would violate several laws regarding foal abandonment, we’re obligated to wait.” His face remained stoic as he returned to his high, forward facing stare, though inwardly he was quite pleased with himself.
Rarity smiled appreciatively at White Snake. “Fantastic. And, so you aren’t bored while you wait…” She turned her smile to her sister. “Sweetie Belle, could you take these fine stallions to the basement fabric storage? I’ll need several bolts of silks, satins, laces, and brocades in the purest whites I have.” She paused, briefly considering the color scheme of the princess all of them were meant to share. “Better have them bring some of the blues, as well. Focus on the darker shades, especially midnight. And all the cloth of gold and cloth of silver I have in stock for the accents.”
“Gotcha, sis!” Sweetie Belle replied happily, as she beckoned the significantly less pleased sergeant and his subordinates to follow her to the basement, baby dragon shaking his head ruefully, pitying the poor, poor stallions.
“Oh, and Sweetie, have them bring the crate with my… special supplies, as well.” Rarity blushed as she called out the final instruction.
“You mean the one with the elastics, lace, and see-through silk I’m not supposed to know about until I’m older, and I’m never ever supposed to tell anypony about, especially not Mom and Dad?” the filly asked innocently, still smiling, suddenly catching the undivided attention of every male in the room. The three in armor reflexively pressed their hindlegs together, as though they felt the gelding iron behind them. Rarity simply nodded in embarrassed agreement, and watched as the filly led the way down the stairs.
“Really, Rarity?” Dash asked as a small claw pulled the door shut. “I mean, I can understand the dresses; I’m not happy about ‘em, but I know it’s just what you do. But that…” She shrugged, unimpressed. “Always seemed like that’d just slow things down later on. Not really my style.” She grinned hungrily. “Sooner we start the race, the longer we can keep flying, you know?”
“Then you may forego yours, Rainbow Crass,” Rarity retorted, equal parts offended by her friend’s debasing of her glorious romantic fantasy and pleased with the nickname. “Besides which, I was more concerned with ensuring we had stockings which would complement the gowns, and the traditional garter belts. Though, upon thinking of it, I do wonder how that tradition will be executed without a groom present.” She paused and considered the logistics a moment before shaking her head. She’d leave that for somepony else to worry about.
“Now then, Twilight, dear, if you could stand back up, I’ll finish taking your measurements.” She smiled brightly as the other mare slowly stood, and began to collect the relevant measurements as she allowed the glow to vanish from around Twilight’s horn, satisfied her friend’s panic had broken. “Oh, come, come, darling. You should have the most reason of us all to be happy. It’s hardly a secret that you’ve been all but formally betrothed to Princess Celestia for… how long now? It’s been most of your life, hasn’t it?”
“Yeah, Twilight, cheer up,” Pinkie Pie agreed, abandoning the seemingly undiminished supply of pastries to bounce over to her friend. “Everypony knows your wedding day is supposed to be the happiest day of your life, and you get to marry two ponies. I mean, if one wedding is supposed to be one hundred percent happy, then you should be two hundred percent happy!” She blithely ignored the impossibility of her statement as she idly wondered what the unit of measurement for happiness might be.
Twilight shook her head sadly. “You don’t understand, girls. It’s just…” She sighed as the floating tape measure wrapped itself around her midsection. “My family isn’t great at keeping secrets, apparently, so everypony knows Celestia said she’d marry me. And that's... that's amazing, really. But it was supposed to be when I was ready, and I’m not sure I am yet. Just look at this morning: the first thing she asks me to do after our engagement is formally announced, and I mess it up. That’s not exactly a good start, you know?” She shook her head as her friends listened attentively. “And on top of that, we’re all getting married to Luna, too? I mean… okay, you know me. You know I’m not exactly… open, with other ponies. I never thought I’d need to be, because.” She paused, trying to calm herself. “Because I knew Celestia wouldn’t care about that; that she’d love me for me. And she’d… teach me what I needed to know.” She blushed as certain remembered scenarios jumped to mind, and a tiny, underappreciated part of her demanded she ask Rarity if she could have a white blouse, pleated plaid skirt, and matching tie ready before the wedding.
“But with Luna… alright, let’s ignore the fact that I’m not crazy about the idea in the first place. She’ll be judging me compared to the rest of of you. I’m feeling a bit inadequate in certain regards. Certain physical regards, if you know what I mean. Especially compared to you, Dash.” Dash nodded and grinned, satisfied with herself despite that statement’s dubious standing as a compliment.
“So, you wish you’d, what, slept around a bit? Oh, really now, Twilight, you expect Princess Luna, the divine Mistress of the Moon, to be interested in marriage for such a base reason?” Rarity rolledher eyes as she held the tape to Twilight’s legs. “She’s an immortal goddess, after all. What makes you think she’d be interested in something so mortal?” She laughed airily at her Twilight’s concerns, waving a hoof as if to shoo the very notion away.
“Rarity, one of Luna’s official titles is ‘Princess of Passion,’” Twilight retorted, her head hung low.
Rarity blinked. “I… see.” She considered that for a moment, digesting the new bit of information. “Maybe it’s meant in the innocent sense? Such as how you have a passion for books, or I’ve a passion for fashion?” The excuse rang false to her even as she offered it.
“Come on, Twi,” Dash added, trying to be helpful, “she’s been gone for a thousand years, and last night proves she hasn’t gotten out much since she got back. I mean, maybe the stories I’ve heard weren’t true, but back then, didn’t they…”
“That’s actually a good point, Dash,” Twilight replied, perking up slightly at the suggestion. “It’s disputed how many mares actually did ‘keep themselves pure’ so to speak, but it was definitely the ideal before Luna’s banishment.” She smiled weakly for a moment. “So that’s something, I guess.”
Dash shrugged in response. “Oh, yeah, that. Forgot about that, actually. I was more thinking about the stories where ponies would offer up virgin sacrifices in exchange for power. I was kind of thinking that maybe you could make a special kind of sacrifice or something, Twi.” Rainbow Dash snickered to herself as Twilight scowled at her.
It was an odd thing that Fluttershy experienced in that moment. She was, of course, well acquainted with fear, and had as a result developed a range of coping techniques; running, hiding, running and hiding, fainting, barely controlled rage, freezing up, and more besides. Those tactics had served her well for most of her life. In the face of Dash’s suggestion, however, there seemed not to be a proper response to it. She simply stared at her brash friend’s smiling face, uttered a quiet sound best described as a ‘meep,’ and did nothing at all. It wasn’t that she wasn’t paralyzed by her fear anymore. She retained full control of her body and was actively choosing to take no action. It was fascinating, from her perspective, to not act on her fear, and she found herself wondering if she had simply reached some sort of fear saturation point after everything else that had happened that morning, or if the amount of terror present in that one thought was enough on its own, but it seemed to have pushed her into a state of perfect calm and complete clarity. The path before her was obvious.
“Umm… Rarity? If, you know, it isn’t too much trouble, could you maybe ask the guards to come back upstairs?” Her voice was a squeaking whisper with an eerily calm tone behind it. “I… I think I need them to take care of something for me.” She stopped for a second to think. “Oh, and, um… could we maybe borrow your bedroom? I… I don’t think it will take that long…”
Rarity pressed a forehoof against her forehead, silently cursing Rainbow Dash. “No, Fluttershy, I will not call the guards, who have been sent to escort us to our wedding, up from my basement and allow you to use my bedroom to take care of what I can only assume to be your current concern.
“Oh, I understand, Rarity.” Fluttershy nodded, still strangely calm. “Applejack, I know your brother had a busy night last night, but do you think he might…?” Her voice trailed off as she saw the tired annoyance on Applejack's face, but the question was still there.
“No, Fluttershy,” was the weary reply, “But thanks. Thanks for remindin’ me about that, and for putting the mental image of you and my brother in my head. Because this mornin’ hasn’t been uncomfortable enough already for me.”
“S-sorry, Applejack.” She turned quickly so she wouldn’t have to face Applejack any longer. “Twilight, I know Spike is still a little young, but do you think–”
“Fluttershy, stop. Nopony is getting sacrificed, so you can stop worrying about that. And Dash, I’m never letting you read another graphic novel if I can help it.” Twilight glared at Dash as she tried to reassure Fluttershy of her safety. “Ponies never actually performed virgin sacrifices, Dash, and especially not to Luna. The griffons and minotaurs used to, and some ponies claimed Nightmare Moon did after the fact to make her look more monstrous, just like the cannibalism legends.” She began to relax, the act of lecturing having a calming effect on her. “Though if you make enough comments like that around Luna, she might just change her mind and lash you to a slab in the dungeon.” She considered what she’d just said, and to whom she had said it. “And not in a way you’d enjoy, either.”
Dash continued to chuckle. “Oh, lighten up, Twilight. Even I’m not that clueless.” She tilted her head to the side, lips pinched together in thought. “But, you’re sure that hailing her as the Dreamer Awakened and pledging my soul to her service won’t…” An angry glare silenced her train of thought. “Right, right, message received.” She sighed. “Oh, and sorry if I freaked you out there, Fluttershy.” She felt a twinge of genuine remorse as she looked at Fluttershy, who merely nodded, enjoying the strange calm that still washed over her.
Applejack, meanwhile, had reached a grim conclusion of her own. “Hang on just a darn minute. Did Ah miss something, or is everypony gettin’ used to this idea now?” She shook her head in disbelief. “All six of us are supposed to marry the same mare, Twi is gettin’ hitched to two mares, and suddenly nopony else has a problem with this anymore?” She looked at each of her friends in turn. “Look, Ah’m not sure why nopony else seems to be thinkin’ about this, but… Luna’s a mare.” She paused, letting the statement hang in the air. “Ah wouldn’t expect it to be a problem for Dash, or apparently Twilight, and Ah don't have anything against it on principle, but Ah’m not fine with it for myself.” She turned Rarity. “And Rarity, after all these times we’ve heard you go on about finding your prince, and falling in love with the stallion of your dreams, and all that romantic stuff…” She leveled a piercing look at the other mare. “You really mean to tell us you’d’ve been fine with a mare this whole time? Even knowin’ how dang judgmental high society ponies can be about that kinda thing?”
“Applejack, dear, let me put it this way.” Rarity smiled demurely at the troubled mare. “You know me. You know I prize discretion, dignity, composure, and charm. I have spent a significant portion of my life cultivating my own reputation as a sophisticated, high-class designer of high-class fashions.” Her smile turned sultry. “If, in some alternate world, Prince Blueblood hadn’t proven himself a completely uncultured beast at the Gala, if the night had went as I had dreamed, if he had, in a grand romantic gesture, proposed to me, and bade Princess Celestia to marry us on the spot, and she had agreed…” Her grin grew downright wicked and, Twilight thought, more than a touch deranged, though the dignity of her voice never once faltered. “If, after all that had happened, my new husband had asked, politely, and with the proper grace and poise, to mount me on the spot and rut me senseless in front of Celestia, the nobility, and everypony else… there is a distinct possibility I should have agreed to the request. Because I would be a princess, and being a princess means that nopony gets to look down on me.”
The other five looked at her in shock as she tossed her mane. “I’m merely pragmatic about these things, dears. I wish to have my faerie tale ending: the royal marriage I’ve dreamed of since I was a filly to a pony who loves me.” She considered that statement. “Or at least one with suitably romantic inclination from which love can then blossom. With regards to the… baser matters, certain tasks go along with marriage, regardless of who one marries. Such is the price of realizing one’s dreams. I’m simply flexible with regards to who that price is paid.” She tittered slightly at her inadvertent double entendre.
“Well… that’s… that’s… at least I’m not picturin’ Big Mac with Fluttershy anymore. So thanks for that, Rares,” Applejack said, taking a slow step back as she once again reevaluated her friends’ relative mental stability.
“Oh, come on, AJ!” Pinkie exclaimed as she threw her forelegs around the other earth pony. “I mean, you have to know what married ponies do. Your mom and dad must’ve done it at least three times, and Granny Smith must’ve at least twice… though I always kind of figured it’d have to be more than that, given how few options for fun there must’ve been around here back when she was young and the town was just starting up. I mean, when you think about it, what else were they going to do every night except each other?” Pinkie frowned thoughtfully at her own statement. “Too bad Luna isn’t a stallion, actually. If she was, I bet we could ask Granny Smith for some tips. She’s probably gotten really good, what with all that practice she must’ve had.”
The mental images refused to be denied, and closing her eyes only served to make the visions worse. Visions played through her mind of her parents, of her grandparents, of her brother and, to hear him tell it, a significant portion of the female population of town. Applejack was glad she hadn’t had time for a proper breakfast before the madness had begun, as she was fairly certain that that breakfast would have found its way back out and onto the floor of the boutique. As it was, she fell to her haunches, barely controlling the impulse to dry heave as the scarring scenes played out in her mind again and again.
"Oh, Pinkie, maybe talking to Applejack about her parents and grandparents mating isn’t the best idea right now? Or ever?” Fluttershy, noticing that their normally orange friend was taking on a distinctly greenish hue, looked at Pinkie. “I mean, I know I wouldn’t want to think about my parents doing… that.” She began to blush as she forced herself to think of bunnies, rather than her parents; willfully ignoring that the three mental bunnies had tiny wings, and fur that matched the coats of her father, her mother, and their mutual "special marefriend."
“I’m with Fluttershy on that,” Twilight agreed, feeling slightly queasy herself. “New rule: for the good of everypony’s sanity, nopony reminds anypony else that she didn’t appear as the result of parthenogenesis. Agreed?” She was answered by five confused looks, and sighed. “Reproduction without sexual intercourse.” That was met with five ‘ah’s’ of comprehension, followed by five nods of agreement. “Excellent. In that case, let’s get back to the issue at hoof: the marriage… s.” She nodded at the still slightly green Applejack. “Applejack, as far as it goes… look, we can’t run away, not now. The guards would tell Luna that we’d run off after they found us, meaning we’d rejected her, and, well, I’m not sure about you, but I really, really don’t want to be responsible for prompting one of my fiancées to embrace her evil side, plunge the world into unending night, and try to kill my other fiancée.”
Applejack frowned grimly. “You just have to keep bringin’ that up, don’t you? Maybe Luna’d be plenty happy with Dash, Pinkie and Rarity, and wouldn’t miss you and me and ‘Shy?”
Twilight shook her head. “For now, all we can do is go to Canterlot, play along, and hope Princess Celestia has a plan.” She looked at Applejack, her grimace precluding further conversation as the outer door swung open to admit two confused, yet smiling, unicorns.
****
“For the last time, no,” Celestia insisted, “I don’t have any plans!” She squeezed her eyes shut, beginning to lose patience with the mare standing before her.
Cadence simply looked up at the Celestia, unable, or perhaps unwilling, to comprehend. “But auntie, you mean even after more than a decade you haven’t made any plans for, well, anything? The ceremony, the reception, the honeymoon?” She shook her head in disbelief “Not even a gown?” She looked over at her coltfriend. “She doesn’t even have a gown, Shiny! I mean, I’ve had my gown picked out since we started dating, and she proposed years ago and she doesn’t…” She noticed the strange look on the stallion’s face, as joy seemed to war with horror, and blushed slightly. “Oh... forgot I said that. Its not important right now. Her gown!” She was nearly shouting as she pointed at Celestia. “Her gown is important! Not my gown! I don’t even have a gown! Just like she doesn’t have one! No gowns for any princesses! Which is a problem, because she needs a gown! So she can marry your sister! That is the only worrisome thing about the current gown supply!”
Not for the first time in her millennial reign, Celestia cursed her alicorn biology’s resistance to sedatives. ‘Really, this seems like the very sort of situation alcohol was created for.’ The lecture on sexual practices between two mares had been damaging enough to her already strained self-control, and she had nearly unleashed the full power of the sun when Cadence had, despite her pleas and threats, sent for a young mare couple she felt certain would be happy to provide a live demonstration of certain techniques. Her one minor consolation was that her Captain of the Guard had eventually realized he was providing his boss with detailed instruction for how to deflower his younger sister, and fallen into an uncomfortable silence. Very minor, as it had only seemed to send his marefriend into a frenzy of planning while they waited for the couple’s arrival.
“I never intended… that is, I meant to…" She stomped her hoof against the floor, patience finally snapping as her eyes narrowing as she glared at Cadence. "I am the Princess of Equestria, confound it!” Her lip curled back as she slipped into the Royal Voice for the first time in centuries. She blinked as the ponies before her fell to their haunches, eyes wide in astonished obedience. “And, as Princess of Equestria I do not need to make plans!” She frantically tried to retain her newly gained control of the situation. After the morning she’d had it was reassuring to lead again. “When I make plans, those plans are to ensure that my subjects have enough to eat! To ensure that no group ever grows bold enough to threaten their safety! To ensure that, when my evil sister comes back after a thousand years on the moon, there are ponies waiting to stand against her and purge the darkness from her soul! Those are the kinds of plans I make!”
Secretly, she was actually enjoying this. It was no easy task maintaining the air of peace and compassion she projected, and the chance to relieve some stress was welcome. “As you both said, it was to be Twilight’s choice when this day came, not mine.” That seemed to be about the only thing about the entire affair everypony seemed able to agree on. “Now that is has come, there is no need for a plan. Somepony is needed to perform the ceremony? There shall be enough volunteers to fill stadiums vying for that honor. A reception must be planned? Then it shall be planned!” She smiled as a thought occurred to her. “No doubt the Element of Laughter would be up to that task.”
Cadence flinched at the thought. “Wait, auntie, Laughter is the pink one with the curly hair, right? Didn’t she nearly ruin the last Grand Gal…” The question died in her throat as Celestia looked at her, her eyes narrowing once more. “S-sorry.”
“As I was saying,” the Princess continued, spreading her wings dramatically. “For the honeymoon, there is no place in all of Equestria which might refuse me. Anywhere my student-bride wishes to visit, so shall we go!” She stood at her full height, summoning a golden coronal aura to surround her body. “And if I need a gown, the greatest designers in the land and beyond would gladly compete for the honor of having their work adorn my frame. So no, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, I have made no plans for this. The plans for this shall be made to conform to my will, and the desires of my bride! For I am Celestia, Princess of the Sun, Diarch of Equestria, and my will is law!” She wasn’t entirely sure that last part hadn't perhaps crossed a line, but it certainly sounded suitably impressive. She willed her aura to flare up around her, dazzling the two ponies momentarily, then dispelled it, folded her wings, and sat down, smiling serenely at her young niece and her Captain.
As the silence began to stretch, she began to wonder if she’d overdone it. She’d been trying to awe Cadence into silence, not terrify the young mare. Shining Armor was staring at her, his mouth open in shock. She nearly flinched as she saw his horn was aglow, worried that she’d made him think her a threat. She then noticed the glowing pillow, strategically placed to conceal what she could only assume was a growing problem for the stallion. ‘Brilliant, Celestia,’ she cursed to herself, ‘arouse your Captain of the Guard with a display of power. It isn’t incestuous enough that a filly you helped to raise is marrying you and your sister. No, you had better make your fiancée’s brother want to get in on the whole thing.’ She clenched her teeth, maintaining her smile, pretending not to notice anything amiss. ‘Maybe he’ll try to get Cadence involved, too. I’m sure Twilight would at least appreciate the efficiency with which we’re violating sexual taboos.’
“Just…go, both of you. Shining Armor, begin preparing the Guard for the influx of ponies who will certainly be coming to Canterlot to witness the marriages, and arrange escorts for the Elements, as well as their families. Military escorts.” She clarified, fixing the stallion with a warning glare. “Cadence, summon all of the city’s florists, caterers, and musicians, that we might begin preparations for the ceremony. And prepare a list of possible destinations for the honeymoons, in case nopony has any thoughts of their own. Try to provide options with a wide appeal to accommodate the Elements’ disparate personalities.” She wearily gestured for the pair to leave. The stallion and mare complied, eager to excuse themselves from her presence. Shining Armor’s telekinesis nearly tore the door from its hinges as he heaved it open, pillow shifted to still conceal his pride and shame from the divine ruler.
“Oh, and Cadence…” she called after them, just as the pair moved to cross the threshold; they froze, Cadence turning back to look nervously at her aunt. “Make sure we have enough of the… accessories you were describing to me earlier.” She shivered as she made the request. “I should hate to have anypony feel let down on her wedding night.”
Cadence nodded, and the couple was through the door, slamming it behind them as they dashed down the hall, away from Celestia’s quarters. Shining looked over at his marefriend in midstride, eyes wide with embarrassment, still holding the pillow behind him. “Cadence, sweetie, I thought we talked about how using your magic on me in front of your aunt was probably a bad idea?” Each step made him painfully aware of the love spell still being channeled into him.
“Sorry, Shiny,” she answered, face flushed. “It was just… I’ve never seen her like that before, and it was a little frightening, and when I get scared, well… you know.” He nodded. He knew very well what happened when she was frightened, and that knowledge went a long way towards explaining the substantial amount of time he’d spent reading up on horror stories. “Do you want me to… take care of it?” She turned her head and looked at him with lop-sided, mischievous smile.
He nearly stumbled as he looked at her again, considering the offer, before reluctantly shaking his head. “I don’t think we have time, sweetie. Guards to rally, security to plan.” He flinched and cursed himself for being so dedicated to his duty. “Still see you tonight, though?” She nodded, and he nodded back, before peeling away, heading full speed to his office, as she headed for her quarters to begin making the necessary arrangements. Including securing enough ’accessories’ to satisfy any urge eight newlywed mares might experience.
‘All in all, a good way to spend a day,’ she thought, grinning.