Chapter 4
It was decided that the wedding would be held the day after winter’s first snow fall, meaning the wedding would be held in two weeks' time. It didn't take long for the news of the wedding to be spread throughout Ponyville. Rarity had made a fuss about the suddenness of the date, but Rainbow explained that after her Wonderbolts audition she wanted to spend every possible moment with Fluttershy before she went off to her training. This seemed to pacify Rarity and Rainbow left for her audition the next morning.
For the small town of Ponyville weddings weren't that common despite the amount of relationships the town seemed to harbor. It seemed most ponies enjoyed the simple dating scene over making that final step of commitment, but whenever a couple did make that decision it was news the whole town heard about. You could be certain everypony who could show up was going to.
The moment Pinkie knew the wedding was confirmed she'd set in motion to prepare for it. She'd been going all around town gathering materials and decorations they would need. She also said she was going to take care of the music, saying she'd already sent a letter to her sister Octavia to provide some proper classical music. The dance music would have to be saved for the reception.
Applejack had taken it into her hooves to provide the buffet and refreshments for the wedding. Pinkie Pie had been insistent on doing that as well, but Applejack had convinced her that they all wanted a part in the wedding of their closest friends and she was already taking care of most of the partying. Pinkie was saddened by this, but Applejack promised that she could help bake the big wedding cake, which cheered Pinkie right up.
Twilight took charge of organizing the event, making sure they would have everything they would need. Since this was the first wedding she ever had attended, let alone was in charge of organization for, she wanted to make sure everything would go absolutely perfectly. She even took a short break from her studies to read up on weddings and how they were meant to play out. With her at the helm, there was no doubt this would be a picture-perfect wedding… at least she desperately hoped.
This left Rarity with the ever so essential task of fitting Fluttershy with the best possible wedding dress she could manage.
"Hmmmm…" Rarity tapped her hoof to her chin in thought as she carefully measured and re-measured as much of Fluttershy's body as she could possibly wrap her measuring tape around. "No no no, this simply won't do." Rarity said levitating the white fabric from Fluttershy's back, "Your dress must make you look simply divine, after all this is going to be THE most important day of your LIFE! I will not have you looking like a fashion faux pas!"
"I trust you Rarity, I know you'll have me looking my-mph!" Fluttershy squeaked softly as the measuring tape tightened around a tender spot, "-looking my best." She smiled softly.
"Oh absolutely darling. I haven't had the opportunity to design a true wedding dress just yet, so this is going to take most of my…no, ALL of my cunning! Everything has to be just right! Not a seam or stitch out of place! Everything about this dress must shine! You will be a radiant angel once I'm done with you!" Rarity bemused with herself as she sorted through her various assortment of white fabrics. Each one had a different, intricate pattern or was made out of various fine materials. Each one seemed to have slightly different woven patterns, as Rarity had gone all out with her fabric choices this time around.
"Well, I'm sure it'll be lovely." Fluttershy smiled as she looked into the mirror she stood before. Rarity had already started on the undermost layer of the dress, giving each of her legs special stockings. They each had a beautifully ornate flower decoration embroidered into the silk. They felt wonderful on her legs; Rarity truly knew the right materials to use.
"Ah-hah, these will be perfect!" Rarity almost purred with a devious tone causing Fluttershy to raise an eyebrow curiously. She suddenly felt her flank being surrounded by magic as it was rather quickly lifted into the air. A blush crawled onto her face as she felt something both frilly and silky soft slip up her haunches.
"O-Oh my…" Fluttershy blushed harder as she saw the fabric Rarity had placed onto her in the mirror. They were some rather risqué undergarments. "I-Is that really necessary Rarity?"
"Oh but of course." Rarity said giving her a devilish eye once more that seemed to sparkle, "After all the undergarments aren't for the company of the crowd to see, they're for… after the wedding." Rarity chuckled and turned to grab more material. "And you want to look your best for everything." Fluttershy felt her whole face turn red at Rarity's word, causing her to gently tap her hoof against the ground.
"Now do hold still dear, I need to figure out the perfect design for your dress." Rarity amused herself further, gently laying some lengthy patterned silk onto her back that flowed well past her legs, lying against the floor. Rarity quickly went to work piling different patterns and styles of cloth onto her back, lining up several pieces in preparation of sewing them together. She kept glancing at several different sketches of possible dress ideas as she worked, making absolutely sure they would look fabulous on Fluttershy.
"Okay Fluttershy, I'm going to do some sewing with the cloth still on you. I'd normally use a dummy for this, but I want to make sure everything is absolutely perfect so I can minimize how much I have to redo. Wedding dresses use absolutely precious materials and I can't afford to waste too much. So I'm going to be as delicate as I can and we might be here for a while, is that alright?" Rarity asked levitating up her needle and thread.
"I understand. Do as you need to." Fluttershy smiled as Rarity pushed her glasses closer to her face and prepared to thread the needle with thread and begin her delicate work.
"NO AH WANNA BE THE BRACELET BEARER!"
"You can't be the bracelet bearer! I have to be the bracelet bearer!"
"Can't you both be the bracelet bearer?"
"NO!"
Rarity instantly halted her advances with the needle as three familiar young fillies burst into the room, apparently arguing over their roles in the wedding.
"Listen, Rainbow Dash is MY idol here! I HAVE to be the bracelet bearer!" Scootaloo's argument was flawless.
"So!? The bracelet bearer is THE MOST important job in the wedding! And ah want to have it!" Applebloom's retort was just as flawless.
"You guys can just share the role! That way you both get to do it!" Sweetie Bell rolled her eyes with the amazing nugget of wisdom she provided.
"NO!" Applebloom and Scootaloo fired back with their amazingly well thought out retorts.
"Girls, girls, girls, whatever is the matter here?" Rarity asked gently placing down her materials before walking over to the bickering crusaders.
"Applebloom's trying to take my job as the bracelet bearer!" Scootaloo pointed an accusatory hoof at the offender.
"Take it!? Ah am not! The job rightfully belongs to me! Ah'm the only one here who can pull off the bracelet bearer's job correctly!" Applebloom stuck her nose up in the air defiantly.
"Are not!" Scootaloo yelled pressing her nose comically against Applebloom's.
"Ah'm too!" Applebloom pressed back.
"Are not!"
"Ah'm too!"
"Are not!"
"Ah'm too!"
"Okay, okay, break it up girls." Rarity said pushing them apart, "There's plenty of roles in the wedding for each of you. And they're ALL important. A wedding is about the love being shared between the two, about the elegance and grace of the entire event." Rarity poised her body in emphasis, "Everyone who is part of the ceremony plays a key role. Everything must go perfectly and that includes your roles."
"Even the flower girl?" Sweetie Bell asked looking quite happy at this.
"But of course Sweetie Bell, and you'll make a fantastic flower girl." Rarity smiled.
"Well…okay, but who gets to be the bracelet bearer then?" Scootaloo asked, looking at Rarity curiously.
"Oh, that's not up for me to decide. Fluttershy darling, who do you think the bracelet bearer should be?" Rarity asked turning to her friend who still stood before the mirror, doing her best to not move with the materials still draped around her.
"Oh…uh well…" Fluttershy turned her head to look at the two little fillies that were looking up at her with pleading eyes, "Well…" Fluttershy looked back at the long piece of cloth that was lying against the floor behind her, before thinking about the jobs she could give each of them during the wedding. A light bulb appeared in her head.
"Oh, I know. Scootaloo, since you are Rainbow's number one fan and it's mainly her ring, I'm going to let you be the ring bearer." Fluttershy smiled.
"Yes!" Scootaloo pumped her hoof into the air.
"Awwww…" Applebloom said dejectedly.
"And Applebloom, I need you to do a job just as important for me." Fluttershy smiled, perking the young fillies curiosity, "As you can see, my dress is going to be really long once its finished. So I'm going to need you to hold my dress to keep it from dragging as I walk down the aisle. How does that sound?"
"Ah'd love to!" Applebloom perked up happily, "That sounds super important!"
"Oh and it is. I don't want to trip and fall on my dress during the wedding after all." She gave a kind smile.
"Alright! We all have our jobs for the wedding!" Applebloom said excitedly turning to the others.
"We've got to make sure we can perform them flawlessly!" Scootaloo said excitedly.
"This is going to be the best wedding ever!" Sweetie Bell said excitedly.
"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS PERFECT WEDDING MAKERS! YAY!" The three fillies cried out loudly together before quickly rushing out of the room.
"My, my, my, you do have a way with foals don't you." Rarity chuckled softly before closing the door behind them.
"I never used to think I did… but I suppose I just have a way with small creatures." Fluttershy chuckled softly, happy for the compliment. "I really can't wait to be a mom myself… it's going to be so wonderful." Fluttershy looked up at the ceiling in thought, her eyes sparkling with joy at the thought.
"I know you will make a wonderful mother." Rarity smiled walking over to her friend once again, her magic stirring as she picked up the materials to continue her dress making work, "Have you thought about what you'll name your foal?"
"Oh… well for a boy I was originally thinking of naming him Lance. But Rainbow Dash would have a fit." Fluttershy chuckled to herself.
"Lance… your father's name right?" Rarity looked at her curiously.
"Yes. I was thinking it might be nice to name my child after someone so important in my life, but I think Dash wants a more... original name." It was a bit of a white lie. Although her friends knew who her father was now, Dash was still the only one who knew about her past with him. Fluttershy wanted her other friends to like her father if possible, after all she still loved him despite everything and wanted him to be a part of her life. "So my other choice for a boy was Blitz. I think it's a name Rainbow would like."
"Yes, it does fit her ruffian nature." Rarity chuckled as she carefully levitated a new piece of cloth over as her needle finished sewing up a small section. "What would you name a girl?"
"Serenity." Fluttershy smiled happily.
"That's a beautiful name." Rarity smiled as well.
The room was quiet for a moment as Rarity began to sew away, humming quietly as she worked. Fluttershy watched the mirror carefully as the dress came together on her back. Rarity really was doing what she could to make her look spectacular.
"So… speaking of parents…" Rarity suddenly spoke up as if something came across her mind, Fluttershy's ears perking up, "Are Rainbow Dash's parents going to be attending the wedding? I assume they are, but I haven't heard a word about them for as long as we've been friends." Rarity thought about it as she carefully sewed a particularly difficult seam.
"…Well… actually I don't know either. Even though I was around Rainbow Dash a lot in my foalhood I never went over to her house or saw her parents… and as far as I know, she left them behind like everything else when she left Cloudsdale. And she hasn't said a word about if they are or aren't." Fluttershy explained to Rarity what she knew.
"…You don't think that's a little odd?" Rarity asked, turning to look Fluttershy in the eye, "My parents would kill me if I didn't invite them to my wedding, and aren't yours coming?"
"Well… I sent the invitation to my Dad along with the rest, but I don't know if he'll be coming, he's usually so busy." Fluttershy smiled softly, looking at the mirror.
"What about your mother?" Rarity asked curiously.
"O-Oh… I guess I didn't tell you. I'm sorry." Fluttershy smiled softly, "My mother will be there, I'm sure, but you won't be able to see her." She turned her head to look up at the ceiling, "I'm sure she has a special seat where she'll be watching me, and I'm sure she's proud of my decisions in life." She closed her eyes in remembrance.
"O-Oh… Oh Fluttershy… I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"
"It's okay Rarity." Fluttershy turned to look at her smiling, "You didn't know and I've accepted what's happened in my past. There's no reason to feel sorry."
Rarity put her tools down carefully before giving her friend a hug. Fluttershy blinked curiously, before returning it.
"I know I was doing this already, but now I have even less of a choice." Rarity said letting go, seeming more determined. "I have to ensure that this truly will be a perfect wedding for you!"
"…Thank you Rarity. I know you'll do wonderfully." Fluttershy smiled happily, turning to look at herself in the mirror once more. She could see an adult, yellow mare with pink hair gently laying against her neck. A mare that had a lot happen in her past, from a tormented foalhood, to living on her own after school, to finding so many friends she could enjoy time with, and finding real love. And there she stood, heading into one of the happiest days of her life, alongside the one pony who made her happier than any other pony in the world.
She had come a long way since she was a foal, and one day soon she would have a foal of her own. She could feel her heart swelling as she looked at herself.
'I hope I've made you proud mother. I've lived my life doing my best to be happy and make others happy. And I want to keep making you proud.' Fluttershy closed her eyes, listening to the happy humming of Rarity as she worked.