Shining Armor and his bodyguard sat on the grassy knoll across from the library. Paramedics were scurrying about across the street, treating Rarity. When the panic started to die down, Twilight Sparkle crossed the street to join them.
“She’s stabilized. It looks like it was just a small aneurysm. She should be fine in a week. Rarity takes her dresses so seriously, but I can’t imagine collapsing like that over them. She needs to relax.”
“Please give her my deepest apologies. I had no idea.” returned Shining Armor.
“I’m sure she’ll perk up when I tell her you gave her rescue breathing.” said Twilight slyly.
“C’mon, I can’t take credit for that. Spike did most of the work.”
Twilight sat down next to her brother. “Let’s talk seriously for a second. Are you ready to get married? This is a big step. I’ve only met her once before at Heart’s Warming Eve dinner with our folks. I don’t really know that much about her.”
“I’m more than ready. Cadence is the light of my life.” said Shining proudly.
“What’s this about a royal wedding?” Twilight was genuinely puzzled.
“Princess Cadence is Princess Celestia’s niece.”
Twilight gasped. “The Princess Cadence? How come you never said anything?!” No wonder she kept her wool cloak on indoors. She was hiding her wings.
“She doesn’t like anypony treating her like a princess. She likes to keep a low profile.”
“What are you talking about? That pony loves being treated like a princess!” Twilight retorted.
Shining rolled his eyes. “Well yes, but not because she IS a princess, she likes being doted on just for being fabulous.”
“You’re marrying her? She hates reading, you two are nothing alike. Is this about getting into the palace?”
“Oh, please. Like you didn’t have a Canterlot Palace playset in your room. Like your door didn’t have posters of the Princess. You’ve been longing to be a part of this life from an early age.” said Shining Armor.
Twilight scowled. “I got where I am through hard work, Shining.”
“Making friends is hard work, Twilight. I was hoping you would have realized that after your experiences here. And for the record, networking is hard work, too. As is leadership. As is motivating a team of people.”
Twilight paused. She couldn’t think of anything to contradict that logic. That still didn’t answer her question, however.
“You have your way of getting into the palace, and I have mine. I don’t see why we have to ruffle each other’s tails over this.” Shining got up and walked over to where Rarity was being treated.
“Do you love her?” Twilight asked.
“Of course I do.”
“Would you be marrying her if she wasn’t a Princess?”
“Marriage and love are overlapping but different things. Would I be marrying her if she was a two-bit trick from down in Whitesaddle? No. But that’s because marriage doesn’t work if one pony needs the other more. Cadence needs me just as much as I need her. You’ll see that when you go to Canterlot.”
Twilight was skeptical, but found that her brother’s arguments were sound as they always were. A little too sound.
At this point, a very tired Fluttershy walked by with a trunk on her back.
“Fluttershy! What are you doing?” Twilight trotted over and lifted the trunk off her back with her magic. “You can’t carry that all the way up to your home in Cloudsdale.” The sad thing was, the trunk wasn’t really that heavy.
“Yeah, I was just trying to get it to the shipping service down the street. I was going to have it shipped up.”
Shining Armor walked over. “Twilight, it this one of your ‘main 5’?”
“Yes, Fluttershy, this is my brother Shining Armor. He’s inviting us all to be in his bridal party. He’s getting married to Princess Cadence in two weeks.”
“Oh, wow.” Fluttershy was awash with fillyhood fantasies of an elaborate wedding. It was enough to distract the fact that she was being asked to stand in front of the whole kingdom. The potential for stage fright wouldn’t hit her until much later that evening.
“We’ll be traveling to the castle the week beforehand to prepare. The ceremony will be in the west chapel, and you’ll all have royal suites to stay in while we prepare and rehearse. Your boyfriend is also invited, but we won’t have space for him in the suites.”
“Oh, that’s ok. I don’t think he’d be able to get that much time off work anyway. He can just come into Canterlot for the ceremony. Congratulations! I can’t wait to meet your bride. I’m sure she’s very excited.”
“You have no idea.”
* * *
A week later, Twilight met her brother yet again at the Ponyville train platform. His bodyguard, Cinnamon Viper, was with him as always. Spike, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were there with their luggage and ready to depart.
“It’s a shame Rarity couldn’t make it.” observed Spike. “The doctors said her heart was still too unstable.”
Twilight sighed. “It wouldn’t be so unstable if she would stop worrying about the royal wedding. Isn’t there anything in Equestria that can make that pony relax?”
Applejack did some quick math. “Say, Shiny! Aren’t there one too many cars on this train?”
Shining Armor smiled. “Wait for it...”
At that exact moment, Rarity came bursting onto the platform. “Don’t leave without me!”
“Rarity!” everyone shouted.
Twilight sparkle stepped forward. “What are you doing here? The doctor said you needed bed rest!”
Rarity chuckled. “Oh, Twilight! This is a royal wedding! Wild horses couldn't keep me from it! (Lord knows they tried) I was released this morning, and I had just enough time to rush home and pack the essentials."
Three porters followed Rarity onto the platform, carrying what amounted to an entire train car of extra luggage.
Shining Armor winked at Applejack.
Applejack was amazed. “How did you know?”
Shining turned to step onto the train. “My sister reads books. I read ponies.”
Twilight Sparkle was still unsure of Rarity. "Are you sure you can do this? Do you promise to relax."
"Twilight darling, I'm going to be a good girl on this trip. No worrying, no designing, no taking charge. I'm just going to stand there and look pretty. If there is any problem, the doctors gave me this."
She took out a small bottle. "They gave me nitroglycerin!"
Cinnamon Viper's ears piqued. "SHE'S GOT A BOMB!" With that, Rarity was tackled to the ground.
* * *
The eight ponies and Spike boarded the wedding express. The riding compartments were technically for two ponies, though Spike squeezed in with the re-frazzled Rarity and Twilight. An ideal situation for him. Applejack took point and dragged Pinkie Pie into a compartment with her. If she hadn’t, Pinkie would be jumping on Twilight for the entire ride. Shining Armor sat with his bodyguard. That left Rainbow Dash sitting with Fluttershy.
* * *
Twilight kept her nose in her book for the majority of the trip. Her copy of “Royal Weddings; A History” was purchased just for this trip, and she wanted to finish it before they pulled into Canterlot. The first time she lifted her nose from the book, Spike was sitting next to her. The second time Spike was sitting next to Rarity. The third time they were having a conversation. The fourth it looked like they were kissing.
What?
Twilight looked up. Spike and Rarity were sitting quietly, watching the landscape pass by. “It must have been my imagination” she said to herself. She continued reading.
* * *
Applejack sat across from Pinkie Pie. Trying to contain Pinkie Pie in a small train compartment was like trying to contain a sonic rainboom in a bushell. Her strong legs helped Applejack keep the sliding door locked in place.
Applejack scratched her newly grown mane. “Not that I like to pry, sugarcube, but you’ve been awfully ornery lately. Why don’t you give poor Twilight a rest. She has a lot on her mind this week.”
Realizing she was trapped for the time being, she collapsed into her seat, defeated. “You weren’t there, Applejack. Kissing Twilight Sparkle is the sweetest thing in the world. It’s sweeter than cupcakes! Sweeter than apples!”
Applejack was stunned and a little hurt. How could her bookish friend be sweeter than apples? Surely the pink pony was exaggerating. Applejack wouldn’t accept such a premise. She growled and spent the rest of the trip in silence.
* * *
Rainbow Dash sat across from Fluttershy. There was an awkward silence between them. While she had said everything was fine, the fact that Fluttershy was living with her dad was eating at Rainbow Dash. The blue pegasus was happy for her friend, but at the same time the resentment and abandonment issues she had with her father were now present every time she gazed at Fluttershy. Did she blame her friend? No, it wasn’t her fault. Their relationship had gone far beyond the point of no return before Fluttershy even knew who she was really dating. Rainbow Dash blamed herself for never introducing her friends to her father, or even describing him.
Rainbow Dash cleared her throat. “So, was my dad invited to this wedding?”
“Yes. He’ll be staying at the Canterlot Grand the night before the ceremony, then flying back with me after it.”
“Hmmm.” Fluttershy would never have flown such a distance before they started dating. “You two are getting along?”
“Oh, yes. He’s been wonderful. It’s like a whole new chapter of my life has begun. I’ve been feeling so confident and energetic ever since I... started... um... exercising regularly.”
Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. “Exercising regularly?”
“Yes. At least three nights a week, often more.” Fluttershy was a little too smug about her cover up.
Rapping her head against the wall violently, Rainbow Dash cursed herself for ever bringing up the topic of her father. She stormed out of the compartment.
“Oh, my.” Fluttershy was floored. She leapt out of the compartment, but Rainbow Dash had already left for who-knows-where. She began peeking into other compartments to talk to other friends, but all trailed down similar destructive paths. Eventually, she poked into Shining Armor’s compartment. Cinnamon Viper left them to speak, but not after giving Fluttershy a thorough pat down.
“Mr. Armor?”
“Please, call me Shining. What can I do you for?”
“Oh, Mr. Shining that’s just it. I have a favor to ask you, but it’s a big thing. Please don’t think me rude.”
Shining Armor put down his financial newspaper and looked at the shy pegasus across from him.
“Any friend of my sister’s is a friend of mine. I am at your service.”
Fluttershy was reassured. She gave a sigh of relief.
“Thank you. I need your help with something. You’re good with ponies, right? You can be a good matchmaker?”
“I do alright for myself.”
“Good. I have a very important favor, something you can do for me while we’re preparing for the wedding.”
“Yes.”
“I need you to get my friends laid.”