//------------------------------// // Nothing Suspected // Story: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic -- Off The Record // by The King of Hearts //------------------------------// //// Nothing Suspected //// “Well, I’m glad to hear that, Discord.” Alpha said, having just gone over what the god of chaos would be doing during the ceremony, which was due to start in a few minutes, “The last thing Cadence wants is a big show.” “She’s already made her expectations very clear. No magic!” Discord frowned, clearly not too happy with the rules he had been forced to follow, “You needn’t remind me. I’ll be on my best behavior!” “I’m glad to hear it, and… sorry about the nagging,” Alpha said, before pausing for a moment, “What’s all this business with the castle being threatened? Should I be worried about anything?” “I have no idea what’s been going on with all of that,” Discord shrugged, clearly disinterested in the topic, “All I know is that everypony’s been so stressed about it, that I’ve had zero fun over the past few weeks!” “I’m sorry to hear that,” Alpha chuckled, secretly rejoicing that he wasn’t on high alert, “Well, I need to get to the main hall for the ceremony. I’ll see you down there.” Walking past him, Alpha gave him a friendly pat where his feathers met his scales, separating his middle from his bottom third. “Hopefully it’ll be over and done with, so I can finally get back to enjoying myself!” Discord said, completely unaware that he had just been tagged with one of Alpha’s magic cancelling devices, “Have fun running more errands for the demanding princess.” “I’m used to it,” Alpha responded passingly, before stopping and looking over his shoulder, “I do live with Twilight after all.” Discord laughed at the rude humor, as he gave the changeling a nod of approval, “We should spend more time together, Alpha. We have so much in common!” Alpha only laughed as he walked away. “I’ll come visit when all this is over! Maybe spend some time with Twixie too!” He called, again laughing at his intentional mispronunciation of the name, “Oh Discord, why can’t everypony have your sense of humor?” //// Twilight stood next to Princess Celestia in the main hall, lost in her own world, as she stared at the floor. It was clear to anypony that looked her way that she was extremely troubled. Her teacher had been involved in a conversation with a dignitary from the zebra nation when she first noticed it, and decided that she should excuse herself, for her student’s sake. “My, how the time has passed by me today… The wedding will be starting soon, Ms. Prime Minister,” Celestia said politely, as she gestured for one of her ushers to join her, “Let my staff show you to your seat. We can continue our discussion after the reception.” The zebra only nodded politely, as she turned and followed the stallion as he showed her to her chair on the floor. Turning away from the dignitary, Celestia gave Twilight a soft bump with the side of her head, “Are you alright, my student?” “Oh, Princess! …I’m- I’m sorry.” Twilight apologized, as Celestia gave her a confused, but amused look. “Whatever do you have to apologize for?” She asked, her concern growing as Twilight continued to avoid eye contact, “Has something happened?” “Oh, well, it’s nothing you need to concern yourself with.” Twilight shook her head, trying to quell any fear she might be creating in her teacher. “Twilight, if something worries you, then it worries me too.” She said softly, placing her hoof on Twilight’s chin, and lifting her face so their gazes would meet, “You shouldn’t be so upset on your brother’s wedding day. Are you sure you want to keep this to yourself? I don’t want to make you uncomfortable, however.” Twilight opened her mouth for a moment, as she considered how Celestia would take what she had to say. “I... told Alpha that I’d like to get closer to him,” Twilight finally blurted out, as Celestia’s soft expression remained unwavering, “And he shot me down.” Celestia’s soft smile grew a fraction of an inch, as she silently pitied her student for her first failure in the school of love. “You know Twilight,” Celestia began, thinking back to her own experiences in this department, “Over a thousand years ago, before I was ever a princess… I cared for a colt named Red.” Twilight listened silently, extremely interested in this particular topic. “He was chased after by every girl in town,” Celestia smiled, remembering how hard it was to even get a minute alone with him, “But, somehow, he chose me over all of the other girls. Even Luna.” “You and Luna fought over guys?!” Twilight asked, a smile finally growing on her face at the strange thought. “We did.” Celestia nodded, before continuing in her reminiscence, “But, Luna was much more mature than me in those days. He liked that I was so carefree, and loose.” “Loose?” Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow and stifling a smirk. “Oh, hush. You know what I meant.” Celestia giggled, having not considered her use of the word, “So over the course of a few months, I began to see him in secret… at his insistence. Because, well, He was confident those other girls in town would beat me up if they knew about us.” Twilight moved past that odd comment, more concerned with where this story was going to take it’s sharp turn, “So, what happened to him?” “Well, shortly after we started seeing one another, our town was hit with a terrible swarm of parasprites, courtesy of Discord.” Celestia explained, her expression darkening for a moment at the thought, “It was after they destroyed half of our town, that Luna and I decided that we needed to remove him from power.” Twilight listened silently. “But, that’s not what we’re talking about,” Celestia shook her head, thinking back to Red, “So, after the storm, and Luna and I decided to go after Discord, I asked Red to come with us. I was completely confident that he’d head out with us. I mean, I had given him everything a mare could give a stallion.” “But he didn’t.” Twilight guessed, as Celestia nodded once. “Well, it turned out, that I wasn’t the only mare he had been seeing in secret,” Celestia explained as Twilight gasped quietly, “He told me that I was crazy to go after Discord, and that our ‘connection’ was nothing more than me being a needy mare.” Twilight winced at the story, as Celestia gave her a reassuring smile. “Don’t feel bad, I’ve gotten over it.” Celestia chuckled, “But, let me tell you, I was feeling pretty terrible at that moment. And I’m sure it’s along the lines of how you’re feeling right now.” Twilight was silent for a moment, before she looked gave Celestia a confused look, “So, why did you tell me all this?” “Because, Twilight.” Celestia began, as she looked to her left to all of the ponies seated, waiting for the ceremony to begin, “I’m the goddess of Equestria. The being everypony looks up to, as some kind of beacon of virtue. But, the truth is, I’m a mare, that’s had her heart broken, just like any other pony in the world.” Twilight nodded, now understanding the point of the story. “Everypony has some measure of heartbreak in their repertoire,” Celestia said, smiling to her student once again, “We’re defined by every experience in life, negative or positive. This is just a stepping stone to you becoming great.” Twilight shook her head, and looked away from Celestia, “How do you always manage to be so… wise?” “A thousand years will give you plenty of experience.” Celestia laughed, as the music on the piano began to play, signaling the beginning of the ceremony, “But, if you’d like to talk about something a little more specific to Alpha, than… well, what I just said, feel free to find me after the reception, and we can work through the individual feelings you’re experiencing.” The two walked over to the altar, and joined the rest of Twilight’s friends, as they waited for the seating to finish. “Thank you Princess,” She said, planning on taking her up on that offer, before another thought popped in to her head, “What happened to Red after the truth came out about him and all those other mares?” “Well, let’s just say that he had to stop calling himself ‘Red,’ and start calling himself ‘Hot Pink.’” Celestia whispered, still finding Luna’s reaction to his cheating on her hilarious, “Besides. I came out on top anyway.” “How’s that?” Twilight asked quietly. “I’m not dead right now.” She answered simply, with a sharp edge on her on her tone. Twilight frowned instantly, as Celestia cracked up. “Oh, don’t be so serious!” Celestia laughed, as Twilight’s expression softened a bit, “It’s just a joke!” “What’s Celestia laughing at?” Dash asked Applejack across the aisle, as the farm mare gave her a shrug. They instantly silenced as Shining Armor approached the altar, and stood between the two groups, obviously anxious at what was going to happening in a few minutes. The group of friends has been split up somewhat, as Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie stood on the side of the bride, while Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Alex stood across from them. It was a bit of a surprise when they all found out how close Shining Armor and Rainbow Dash had been during her time as a Captain in the guard. Apparently, he had been a shoulder for her to cry on. But was strictly nothing more. They both emphasized that to their respective lovers. “Good luck!” Dash whispered to the groom, as he looked back to her and laced his hoof to his lips. “Shh!” Shining Armor returned, before looking back and forth quickly and smiling, “Thanks though!” She only laughed as he got back in to position, and waited for the doors to open. “Didn’t Shining have other picks for his grooms-stallions?” Alex asked Dash, as she leaned back over to his ear. “They were all transferred to the Crystal Kingdom when he began spending most of his time there,” Dash explained, “But this wedding was announced too late for them to make it, and be a part of this ceremony.” “That sucks.” Alex muttered, as Dash shook her head to him with a positive look. “They’re having a second ceremony in the Crystal Kingdom for the ponies there,” She explained, “Since Cadence is more or less the Queen of the empire, having her be unified with a king will be good for the stability of the region.” “Geez,” Alex laughed, “You’re pretty serious about this stuff, huh?” Their attention was pulled away from one another, as Alpha ran his way up the aisle and joined Alex at the grooms side of the wedding party. “Sorry I’m late,” He muttered, raising his hoof, and patting Alex on the back, leaving behind his anti-magic device, “I wouldn’t want to miss all the fun.” “You and I have very different definitions of fun,” Alex laughed, completely unaware of his lack of ability to use magic. Alpha said nothing else, as he took his place at the bottom of the stairs, and looked around the room, at the various ponies he had already taken care of. Alex, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Discord, Princess Luna, and Trixie had all been dealt with. The only remaining pony with any measure of power was Celestia. Chrysalis changed her mind, and asked that her magic not be cut off. It would be a terrible blow to the overall morale of Equestria, if their beloved Princess were to be beaten by the leader of another nation. The only pony who remained to be cut off was Twilight. He would take care of her when the moment came. Suddenly, everypony’s gaze was pulled back, as the main doors opened, and revealed princess Cadence in her dress, a soft smile across her face. The music began, and she walked down the aisle, humming an aria to herself.