Chapter 10
Rehearsal
The Princess was delighted that we accepted her offer, and promised to be in Ponyville three days prior to the wedding for the rehearsal. The two months since we first received word from them flew by. Everypony’s attire had been completed, Wild Flower promised that the newly grown flowers looked gorgeous, and Applejack had stocked up a surplus of apples that was more than adequate to cover the wedding’s catering needs.
I had been excited for the wedding up until now. It wasn’t dread per say, but nervousness was putting me on edge. Perhaps that was why I looked up at the royal chariot with an emotion close to loathing on the day their highnesses had appointed for their arrival. I was wondering if I could slip back inside my house and pretend I didn’t notice their approach when the horns blew. The royal guardsponies were making sure nopony could ignore this grand entrance. I let out an audible sigh. With Torchwood out with Mr. Cake and Blaze and Spike out with visiting Nova, I was left to shamble down the road myself.
Fortunately, I wasn’t alone. As usual, Twilight was the first to arrive to greet her mentor, and beat me there.
“Princess Celestia!” she cried, practically leaping at the Princess. Celestia accepted her into a warm embrace.
“Princess Twilight, it is so good to see you again!”
“Princess Luna!”
“Greetings, Princess Twilight,” the moon princess thrummed. “It is good to be with you and your friends for this momentous occasion.”
“Where is the bride-to-be?” Celestia questioned. I picked up my pace, the resulting hoofbeats attracting their attention.
“Here, your highness,” I bowed.
“There is no need for such formality,” Celestia chuckled. “It is your special day that brought us here today, after all.” I righted myself at this, looking slightly baffled. I didn’t think our wedding entitled me to special privileges. In fact, it shouldn’t have. Were they still trying to make up for their actions concerning the thestrals?
A crowd of townsponies had formed to greet the Princesses. Torchwood soon pushed his way to the front of the swarm with the three young dragons.
“Your majesty,” he bowed in greeting. “We are so glad you could make it!”
“It is good to be here, Torchwood. Sister and I greatly appreciate being invited to your wedding,” Luna smiled.
“I must say, young Blaze, you have become quite a talented secretary,” Celestia complimented, turning to my young friend.
“Me?” he blushed.
“And you have done an excellent job of teaching him, Spike,” she went on.
“Aw, thanks, Princess!”
“Now, who is this?” Luna moved a few paces forward to stand beside her sister.
“I’m Nova,” the blue dragon introduced.
“He’s my sister’s dragon friend,” I explained.
“I would very much like to make her acquaintance,” Luna commented.
“You will soon enough,” I promised. “She’s my mare of honor.”
“Splendid!”
“Now, where are all your other friends?”
“Right here, your Highnesses!” AJ called, leading the rest of our troop through the gathered swarm.
“And your sister?”
“Back at her house, still preparing the flowers,” I rolled my eyes. “She refuses to even pick them until the day before, insisting that they’ll wilt overnight.”
“She must be very dedicated to her plants.”
“That’s an understatement.”
“Well, come on, everypony. We have a wedding to rehearse.” Celestia and Luna took the lead, accompanied by Twilight. I joined up with Torchwood, but we soon scrambled to the front to direct them to the site chosen for the ceremony.
We ended up in Ponyville Park, where Torchwood had taken me out on our first date. The pews had already been arranged, thanks to Big Mac, and the archway and stage had been erected. They still lacked Wild Flower’s trademark blooms, of course. Tall poles lined the outer edge of the pews, each topped with a bowl of kindling we would ignite with our fire before the ceremony. Rarity had taken in upon herself to line the flower boxes and pews with magnificent shimmering, silky ribbon. Some had been left over for the archway, but they would be added later, so long as there was still room after the flowers were installed. Two ‘changing rooms’ had been set up a fair distance from the stage in rather large tents. I had objected to setting up so early until the pegasi promised to reschedule the rainy weather for after the wedding.
“Will your sister not be along for rehearsal?” Luna questioned. I couldn’t help but note her persistence on the subject.
“I thought she was coming. Did she say anything to you, Nova?”
“She was still coming, the last I heard,” the dragon offered.
“Graphite Sketch and Cedar promised to be here, too,” Torchwood added, brow furrowed in worry.
“Wild Flower and Cedar will probably arrive together.”
“We didn’t give anypony a set time. Maybe they’re still on their way?”
“The sun has not even reached its peak. There is still time,” Celestia commented.
“I’m sorry to make you wait, Princess,” Twilight sighed with a slight grumble. “I thought we’d be a bit more organized than this.”
“It is quite alright, Princess Twilight. I hope you do not mind, Acrylic and Torchwood,” Celestia went on, “but we have invited guests of our own. They have not yet arrived, either.”
“Oh?” I stiffened. Torchwood was a little on edge at this, but didn’t let the Princesses know.
“Who?” he politely inquired.
“We’re so sorry for being late,” a rushed voice puffed. I almost jumped. That voice was all too familiar. We all turned to face Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, or Cadence, as she liked to be called, along with her husband Shining Armor.
“Princess!” Our respectful bows to the High Princesses had been denied the first time, so nopony even tried now. The newcomers received nods of acknowledgement and warm smiles from all around instead.
“Cadence! Shining Armor!” Twilight bounded up to greet her brother and sister-and-law.
“Twily!” Shining Armor grinned, hugging his sister.
“Your Highness,” I nodded, stepping forward with Torch to greet our guests.
“Please, call me Cadence,” she warmly corrected.
“Because Princess Cadence and Shining Armor were also recently married, I thought that perhaps they could provide you with advice, if you so wish,” Celestia spoke up.
“I would be happy to!” Cadence exclaimed.
“Believe me, it’s not as hard as it looks,” Shining Armor chuckled to Torchwood. The way he grinned back told me that they would hit it off well.
“It looks like we’ll have plenty of time before the last of our company arrives,” Celestia noted. “Shall we meet back here at three o’ clock? That should give them plenty of time.”
“As you wish, Princess.” Everypony dispersed, most following the Princesses. Shining Armor headed out with Torch, the girls followed either Celestia or Luna, and even the dragons took it upon themselves to look for our missing members. Finally, Cadence and I were the only two left. She smiled back at me, and I found my cheeks growing hot with embarrassment in the ensuing awkward silence. The last time I saw Cadence was on her wedding day, when Chrysalis tried to take over and I exposed the thestral race. That had been a mess.
“I don’t think I got the chance to congratulate you personally,” she finally spoke up.
“Oh! Thank you, your Highness,” I stuttered, finally blushing. She noticed this, and softly giggled.
“You know, you don’t have to be so formal with me,” she said, turning and walking down the road. I dashed to catch up. “In fact, I’m honored to be able to attend.”
“You are?” I exclaimed. That stopped her in her tracks.
“Of course! Is that so surprising?”
“Well... the last time I was at your wedding, I kind of... crashed it...”
“Don’t be silly! Chrysalis did that all on her own. But you were so brave, to stand up to her the way you did. I was actually quite disappointed when you couldn’t make the real wedding.”
“Even though I’m a thestral?”
“What difference does it make what kind of pony you are?”
“Well... none anymore, I guess...”
“Look, I heard what happened before, with the whole transformation fiasco. For what it’s worth, I vouched for you from the beginning. You couldn’t help what kind of pony breed you were, but you could choose what kind of pony you are inside. I only saw goodness in you. When Princess Celestia passed her sentence, I know she wasn’t passing her sentence on you. All she could see were the evil thestrals she fought in the past, but not you. You did well- even my husband thinks so, and he’s the captain of the royal guard!”
“Thank you, Princess,” I sniffled.
“Oh, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to make you cry!”
“No, no, it’s good,” I chuckled through watery eyes. “It’s happy crying.” I wasn’t sure if I was allowed to hug royalty, but it didn’t matter when she wrapped a hoof around me first. I laughed off the tears, taking care not to let any fall onto her coat. It was embarrassing enough to have an emotional breakdown in front of the Princess.
“Wait, where are we going?” I wondered, realizing that we’d stopped in the middle of the road.
“I hoped you knew,” Cadence laughed.
“You took the lead!” I protested with a giggle.
“Well, why don’t you take me back to your house? I’d love to see more of your paintings. If that’s alright with you, of course. I don’t want to impose.”
“I’d be happy to! This way.”
After that, Cadence and I became fast friends. Torchwood and Shining Armor got along splendidly as well. This was much to the Princesses’ delight, of course.
Graphite arrived at Ponyville Inn around noon, but we eventually had to send Rainbow out after Wild Flower. She was the fastest of us all, and I was needed to stay back and clear up last minute details, or I’d have gone out with her. My frazzled sister was finally dragged back, still complaining about how the flowers needed to be misted with water again in half an hour. Cedar, as I had guessed, came with her, still trying to assure her that the blooms would be fine. Otherwise, rehearsal went smoothly. Even I had to admit that it did help to alleviate a few of the knots in my stomach.
Graphite Sketch and Torchwood got to catch up after rehearsal, and Torch dragged Cedar along to introduce everypony. Shining Armor wasn’t about to miss out, and tagged along. As soon as we were finished, Wild Flower zoomed back off to Baltimare, grumbling about how the flowers would surely be wilted by the time she got back. Luna, especially, seemed rather disappointed at her sudden disappearance. I knew there would be no holding my sister back once she had her mind set on something. I did, however, assure the Princess that if she was willing to put up with my sister and possibly be set to work in the greenhouse, she was welcome to follow her. Cadence, on the other hoof, wanted in on helping to plan the bachelorette party, and got together with the rest of the girls.
Since I had been booted out of the party planning group, I decided to accompany Luna to my sister’s house. Perhaps the tension could be lessened that way. Luna was delighted that I would be going with her, and began to prepare her royal chariot. I declined, saying that I’d rather fly myself. At this, she too abandoned the escort and waited for me to take the lead. I was quite apprehensive about taking the Princess to my sister’s house, mostly because I hadn’t yet been myself. With all the wedding planning, I’d only gotten as far as to keep in touch through letters via dragon mail. How embarrassing it would look when I had to ask for the address of my own sister! Fortunately, I didn’t have to.
I knew she would prefer to live on the outskirts of the city, and the greenhouse stuck out like a sore hoof amongst the other empty fields. The vivid flora surrounding the place was breathtaking. I knew my sister had a way with flowers, but in the Everfree, she’d never been able to come close to accomplishing anything like this.
Flying overhead, I noted the L shape of a simple house with two entrances. Like me, she’d build a shop directly into the rest of her home in the last room of the longer part of the L. Glass doors led directly into the flower shop, while a sturdy wooden one sealed the other entrance. I assumed that was her front door. The whole property was encased in a homely wood fence, a modest gate starting the cobblestone path to the front door but an elegant archway announcing the way to the flower shop. A sign that read ‘Wild Gardens’ was posted at the top. Of course, the flowers around the yard were the crown jewel of the place. Flower trellises were set up along the length of the house, where creeping flowers seemed to wind their way up the walls. The smaller flowers were closest to the paths with the larger, fuller plants flaring out further away. There was every color imaginable displayed here, but still maintaining a beautiful balance.
Luna and I trotted up to the glass doors to her shop, as we saw her already working inside. I knocked on the glass to let her know we were here. She looked up from the watering can, and froze. I started pushing the door open, but she zoomed up and held it open for us. Luna followed me inside.
“Hey, Wild Flower. I’d like you to meet-”
“Acrylic, can I talk to you for a second?” I didn’t get the chance to say anything when she caught me in a headlock and dragged me off.
“What was that for?” I gasped when she finally released me. I’d been deposited in one of the back rooms. It looked like the bedroom.
“WHAT DID YOU BRING HER HERE FOR?!” she quietly seethed.
“What’s wrong?”
“Princess Luna. Is in. MY SHOP!”
“So?”
“Royalty is in my shop!”
“Yes, we’ve established that, thanks.”
“What do I say? What do I do? You couldn’t even give me a head’s up?”
“Wild Flower, it’s just Luna, not a health inspector.”
“Don’t call her by her first name! You’ll get us into so much trouble!”
“But... she likes being called Luna,” I protested. Wild Flower nervously whined, dancing on the spot.
“You know how shy I am,” she whimpered.
“You? Shy?” I almost laughed. “You welcomed yourself to my friends just fine.”
“Yeah, because you were there and I was really giddy and excited. Plus, they were really, really nice. But I’m not usually like that!”
“Would you calm down? Luna has been looking forward to meeting you since the wedding rehearsal, but didn’t get a chance because you ran off so fast. She personally requested that we come.”
“No, no, no,” Wild Flower groaned.
“Stop stressing and get back out there. I’ll introduce you.” I practically had to drag my sister out by her tail, but when we came upon the doors, forced her to her hooves for her dignity’s sake. “Luna, I’d like you to meet my sister, Wild Flower. Wild Flower, Luna.”
“Charmed,” Luna greeted. My sister was petrified. I nudged her.
“Say ‘hi,’ Wild Flower.”
“Hi,” she squeaked.
“You have no reason to fear me, Wild Flower,” Luna warmly beamed. “I am no longer Nightmare Moon.”
“You were NIGHTMARE MOON?!” Wild Flower screeched. I face-hoofed.
“Yes...” Luna softly and uneasily admitted. “But no more. The Elements of Harmony... cleansed me, as it were.”
“I see...” Wild Flower mumbled, still wide-eyed.
“Wild Flower? Why don’t you show us around? I hope the wedding flowers didn’t get too wilted in the whole hour you were gone,” I teasingly prompted.
“Oh! Right! Sure! They’re in the back.” We were promptly whisked through yet another back door I hadn’t noticed and into a garden. We strode across a stone walkway to get to a private greenhouse, separate from the rest of the garden. The flowers I requested for the wedding seemed to be all that was growing here! I was overwhelmed by the surplus of orange, blue and white.
“Oh, Wild Flower, they’re perfect!” I exclaimed.
“They are beautiful,” Luna crooned, examining one of the blooms in more detail.
“Thank you, your Highness.”
“Luna,” she reminded.
“Luna,” Wild Flower hastily corrected. “Thank you, Luna. Now, Acrylic? I wanted to run some baby’s breath by you. I know you didn’t request it, but I think it would look really good with some of the arrangements.”
“I, too, have a request to make,” Luna interjected.
“Yes?” Wild Flower and I exchanged glances.
“Sister and I would like to make an announcement at the reception.”
“What kind of announcement?”
“I trust that rumors of a permanent solution to thestrals’ placement have reached Ponyville?”
“Yes,” I admitted, recalling the bit of information relayed to me during one of my conversations with Rarity.
“They are not rumors, but fact.”
“How wonderful!” Wild Flower excitedly squealed, forgetting that she was standing before the moon Princess.
“We would like to announce our plans at your wedding,” she finally concluded.
“How amazing would that be?!” Wild Flower burst. “Everypony would remember your wedding!”
“But they might not remember that it was a wedding,” I pointed out.
“What in Equestria is that supposed to mean? That’s the whole point!”
“I’m just worried that this event is changing from a wedding celebration to a promotional advertisement. First, the Princesses are coming... not that I’m not flattered you could make it. Really, Luna, it’s an honor, but just the fact that you’re attending is attracting attention.”
“I’m afraid I’m not following you,” Luna fretted.
“To put it bluntly, Princess Luna, I want this to be remembered as our wedding, not the Princesses’ big announcement.”
“I see,” Luna coolly stated. As the moon princess, she always spoke in a formal, almost cold tone of voice. Perhaps it was just my imagination, but now her words seemed piercing, almost threatening. As always, her expression remained neutral, providing no other hint as to what she was thinking.
“I do hope you understand,” I timidly added.
“Of course. It is your decision to make,” she nodded. “Although, I hardly believe it is a decision to be made on your own. I do urge you to speak with Torchwood about the matter.”
“I-I will, Princess.”
“Luna,” she corrected yet again with a smile. I shook my head and chided myself.
“Of course, Luna.”
“Are you ready to go?” Princess Cadence called, knocking on the door.
“Just a minute,” I replied. I finished organizing the last of the supplies on the shelf, and opened the door. With a smile, Cadence turned to walk me to the bachelorette party. I shot a tired, crooked grin back.
“Are you alright?” she asked as we headed out.
“Yeah,” I yawned, shaking myself back to alertness. “It’s just all this stress from the wedding. I can’t believe it’s tomorrow! It all happened so fast!”
“I felt the same way with our wedding,” Cadence sighed, recalling the fond memory. Then her brow furrowed. “Of course, until Chrysalis showed up.”
“Right,” I solemnly agreed. Then, Cadence began to laugh.
“Though I’m sure your wedding will go far more smoothly than mine did. Now, cheer up! Tonight, you get to forget about the wedding, and just relax!”
“You make it sound easy,” I chuckled.
“It’ll all fall into place, I promise,” she assured.
“Not everything. I still haven’t gotten used to the idea of royalty attending, and Torch and I still haven’t come to a final decision on Princess Luna’s proposal...”
“Oh? What proposal?” I released a heavy-hearted sigh.
“She wants to make a big announcement at the reception about thestral relocation.”
“How wonderful!” When I didn’t burst into excited clamoring along with her, she added, “It is wonderful, isn’t it?”
“Sure, by itself it’s fantastic news. But I’m not so sure I want it announced at our wedding. I want it to be remembered as a wedding, and not an advertising event, you know?” Cadence’s eyes grew a little wider, seeming to catch on instantly.
“I understand completely.”
“Really?”
“Of course! You’re right, it is a wedding, not a royal conference. You and your husband should be the focus, not some big announcement. I’m sure the Princesses will understand.”
“I’m glad you think so, because when I told that to Luna, she didn’t seem to want to let it go.”
“Well, have you told Princess Celestia?”
“I don’t think I’d have better luck with her, either. We were originally going to have Mayor Mare conduct the ceremony, but Celestia pushed for that, too. Don’t get me wrong; I’m honored they thought of us, but I just feel like they’re planning it for us.”
“They may be royalty, but they can’t take over your wedding for you,” Cadence pointed out. “Why don’t we go clear things up with them tomorrow? I’ll even go with you.”
“Would you, really?”
“Of course! What are friends for?”
“Thank you,” I sighed in relief.
“It’s no problem at all,” she smiled. “Now do you think you can enjoy yourself at the party?”
“It’s possible,” I jokingly winked. It was just in time, for we had already arrived at Sugar Cube Corner, which had been rented out for the event. Cadence held the door open for me, and we both entered the bustling building.