Formalities
Chapter 2
Cleaning Up the Mess
Silence. Nopony speaks. Nopony moves. Nopony even breathes. I am seriously starting to regret this, but the look Twilight's giving me holds me still, even under the looks of everypony in the room. Some ponies are glaring at me, even. Especially Silver Bit, but he doesn't matter to me right now. Nothing matters to me right now. Nothing, except the lavender unicorn still staring at me. She doesn't seem to fully comprehend what I've just done.
“What are you doing?” Rarity hisses next to me, but I just ignore her. I can see a genuine smile spreading through Twilight's face, and I won't trade that away for anything.
Even Celestia seems truly stunned. Her eternal mask of calmness is all but shattered under the revelation. The Princess's jaw is hanging open, and her eyes are wide – staring between me and Twilight.
Everypony's waiting for Twilight to say something in response, including me. She doesn't. Instead, she lights her horn, and in a blinding flash of light I'm moved from my position in the audience to the stage directly in front of her. She doesn't hesitate. Without taking a second or a breath she wraps me in a fierce hug and presses her lips onto mine.
Yet another gasp rings through the room. If it's possible, Celestia's jaw drops even further. I don't pay it any mind, and neither does Twilight as we both rise up onto our rear hooves, wrapping our hooves around the others' neck and deepening our kiss as our mouths open in sink, allowing our tongues to meet and entwine. I moan throatily into the kiss, the vibrations making Twilight do the same.
And then it's just over after an eternity of mere moments as we both pull back, panting lightliy with matching scarlet blushes. Nopony present knows what to do. I can feel Silver Bit glaring holes through the back of my skull. Silence reigns supreme for an unknown amount of time after that. I don't care; I'm too busy being lost in Twilight's eyes, and from the dopey grin on her face she's doing the same to me. Time isn't a thing to us anymore. Neither are all the ponies watching.
Celestia clears her throat, regaining her mask of calmness. “What?”
I laugh a little inside; that would be my reaction too if I were in her position. Nopony ever found out about our relationship before all of this, so as far as they're aware this came out of the blue. For us, though, it's been coming for a long time.
Twilight grins eagerly, releasing me and falling back onto all four hooves as I follow suit. “The wedding's off!” She calls joyfully, turning and smiling out across the crowd. Nopony says anything. She turns to a very shocked and angry Silver Bit. “You can go home.”
The stallion doesn't have a response for that. When he doesn't say or do anything, Twilight glares at him and her horn flares to life, encasing him in a magic glow. In an instant he's lifted from the floor and carried out of the room, being tossed out the doors unceremoniously. His family and friends follow quickly behind him, some tossing nasty looks over their shoulders at Twilight and I as they leave. She doesn't seem to care or even notice.
Celestia leans her head down next to Twilight, whispering so that nopony else can hear her. Thanks to my proximity I hear her say, “Are you sure about this, Twilight? You only have two months left before you lose your throne, and the nobles won't let me change the law.”
Twilight smiles gently at Celestia. “I know, and I'm sorry, but... I'm not going to marry some random noble to keep my throne when I love somepony else,” she says before grinning at me. My blush grows a few shades brighter, if it's possible.
Celestia nods in understanding, giving us a small smile before raising her head back up and projecting her voice across the remaining crowd. “The wedding is off. You're welcome to enjoy the buffet and cake before returning home. I apologize for any inconveniences this may have caused you.”
Had any of the nobles still been in the room, they'd have been mad. But they all left when Twilight threw Silver Bit out, so all that remains is Twilight's family and our friends, along with a few random guests. All of whom seemed very surprised. And rightly so.
Twilight and I walk down from the stage slowly, approaching our friends. None of them say anything, and Twilight's family is off to the side, not understanding why she'd canceled her own wedding after some seemingly random pegasus confessed her seemingly random love for her. I don't mind though; they'll catch up soon enough. The other guests are either leaving, or practically tackling the buffet tables. We can tell which ones are from Ponyville and which are from Canterlot.
Our friends, however, are all looking at us expectantly.
“I think y'all have some explanations to hand out,” Applejack says, breaking the silence that had fallen over the room. Suddenly it's abuzz with questions from our friends. Twilight's family finally breaks out of their stupor and rushes over, offering their own barrage of questions.
“Alright, alright!” Twilight shouts above the noise. The ponies surrounding us slowly begin to quiet down. “We'll tell you the story, just calm down.”
The reaction is instant; they all quiet completely and look expectantly between us, like little foals at story time. I roll my eyes at the grin Rarity is giving us, her mind no doubt feeding off of some sappy romance novel she'd read. Well, I suppose I did give her quite a bit of fuel, so I'll let her imagination run wild for a bit.
Twilight sits back on her haunches and I mirror her, as does the rest of the gathered crowd. I can see Cadence grinning almost as much as Rarity. I guess even the Princess of Love likes a good romance story from time to time. Luna and Celestia both come and sit a little ways behind us, watching the scene unfold from a distance, though still curious as to where this all came from.
Clearing her throat, Twilight begins the story, starting all those months ago when I had first asked her out. Celestia helps her explain the stupid law a bit better, and Cadence clarifies it a bit. Our friends all have about the same reaction I did to Twilight being a noble – though her family is a bit surprised they didn't know yet. I add my two bits from time to time, but for the most part it's Twilight telling the tale.
“And then, well, you all saw what happened today...” Twilight trails off with a blush, glancing over at me. I give her a small smile as the group around us lets the story soak in.
“Well that's... quite a story...” Rarity says after a couple moments of silence.
“Wait... you gave up bein' a princess for that feather-brain?” Applejack asks jokingly towards me, but there's an honest question buried underneath.
Twilight shrugs, wrapping a wing around my back and drawing me close to her side. I let out a surprised squeak as she does so and blush as I hear barely-suppressed chuckles at the noise. “Well she didn't give me much choice, did she?” She asks with a smirk.
“Hey, you asked me to do it!” I defend quickly, giving her a glare. She raises a curious eyebrow.
“I never asked you to do anything.”
I snort a short chuckle, turning my head away and crossing my forelegs over my chest. “Yeah right. I saw the way you were looking at me. You were practically begging me to do something.”
She doesn't say anything in response to that; we both know I'm right. She just won't admit it. “S-shut up...” she whispers, flustered even more than I am. I can't suppress my laughter at it.
“I am sorry, Twilight,” Celestia speaks up suddenly, making everypony turn to her. To be honest, I'd almost forgotten she was there at all, sitting silently behind me. “Had I known about this sooner...”
Twilight gives her a small smile. “What could you have done, though? The nobles will never let you take the law out, especially now that they know ponies can ascend, and I'm pretty sure Rainbow would have asked me out no matter what you did about it.”
“Right as always, Twilight. Still, I wish I could do something for you...” Celestia trails off sadly, and we all take a moment of silence, thinking about what could have been if just a few things were different. Suddenly, Celestia lifts her head, her saddened demeanor replaced by a tentative smile. “I might have a way to fix things... although, it might be a bit sudden...”
I look to Celestia curiously, not sure what she could be thinking of. Twilight does the same, as does everypony else present. Celestia turns to me and clears her throat, regaining her regal composure. “Nobility is a funny thing. In the old days before the original Hearth's Warming it was reserved for those who owned land and governed over settlements. When the tribes united, the noble families more often than not lost their land to the ponies actually living on it, but they kept their titles. Today, nobility is passed down through families, and is nothing more than a title.”
“Right, and how does knowing this fix things?” I ask sceptically.
Celestia grins, taking off her mask for a split second as she says, “Rainbow Dash, how would you like to be the Duchess of Ponyville?”
If it could, my jaw would have hit the floor with what the Princess was implying. I'm pretty sure Twi has an equally surprised look on her face. Celestia regains her regal composure in a heartbeat and walks a little closer to us, sitting down right next to the group.
“Nobility is nothing but a title, a title Luna and I have the ability to bestow upon ponies. The nobles in Canterlot won't like it, but there's nothing they can do about it. The law states a new princess or prince must marry a noble, but there is nothing that defines who the noble must be,” she explains. “It's just a formal title; you won't have any responsibilities or anything – much like the rest of the nobles - but you'll have the social stature. It will make you nobility, and you will fit the law's requirements.”
Twilight and I share a look, unsure of how to proceed. To be honest, when I asked her out I never really thought this far down the road, but I'd be lying if I said it never entered my mind. From the blush on Twilight’s cheeks, she’s thinking the same thing I am. Sudden is an understatement. But... it would let Twi stay a princess and...
“If you wanted to, I'd be willing,” I say with a small smile, turning to look at Twilight. My blush brightens as Twilight's eyes widen. Her gaze flicks between my own, Celestia, and the group of family and friends around her. We're all waiting for an answer; it's up to her now. I'm on board with the idea, as long as Twilight gets to stay a princess. Besides, I'd be getting something pretty awesome too.
Our friends are all looking at her eagerly, and even her family has happy – if a bit surprised – smiles. Eventually, Twilight takes a breath, and looks back to me. “I think that will work perfectly.”
My mind just shuts down at that. Sure, I was half expecting that to be her answer, but actually hearing it? That's a whole different story. I mean, she's just practically proposed to me. Well, I said I'd do it first, so... she just said yes to me proposing to her! I can't do anything about the grin spread across my face or the burning blush covering my face. But I don't want to. Instead, I laugh. I laugh hard because, at the end of the day, somepony has to appreciate the absurdity of the whole situation, and it may as well be me.
I very nearly double over from the force of my laughing, but the lavender wing still around my back holds me up. I can see the odd looks I'm getting, but that only adds to my laughter. When it's clear nopony else is getting it, I struggle to stop my mirth, eventually succeeding in getting a few deep breaths into my lungs.
“S-sorry,” I chuckle, “But... this morning I woke up to go to Twi's wedding, and now I'm gonna end up marrying her myself!” I break down laughing half way through my statement, but it's clear enough that everypony else heard it. They seem to understand; they're all sharing their own quiet chuckles and giggles with my uproarious laughter. I can feel Twilight start to laugh too, her body shaking ever so slightly as she joins me.
Even Celestia lets loose a few regal chuckles. It's just been one of those days, I suppose.
Eventually, growing tired of my laughter, Twilight ends it by planting a kiss firmly on my lips. I don't object; I just return it eagerly.
It's just been one of those days where nothing makes sense. I got some pretty good deals out of it, though. Apparently I get to be a noble, and I'm going to marry both a princess and the pony I love.
I bring my hooves up and wrap them around Twilight's neck, deepening and prolonging our kiss.
It's just been one of those days where everything works out in the end.