Sweetie and Scootaloo were back from the resort and met with their friends before going in to take the next test. As expected, Button was worried for Sweetie since he couldn't find out much about the next test, but Sweetie reassured him, even though she was slightly worried herself. They both agreed if she did failed the test, then they would reveal their relationship and fight for Button's right to marry her. However, Sweetie wanted to see if she could pass the remaining tests first, but would resort to that plan as a backup.
"Truffle and I had a great time while you were gone." said Twist interrupting Sweetie's thoughts.
"Oh, really? What did you do?" she asked.
"Since the royal family was out, it gave us a chance to go around the castle and talk. We really enjoyed each other's company…"
"That's so great to hear!" said Dinky.
Babs turned to the sisters, "How do you think Apple Bloom is doing?"
"I checked from her bedroom door and she's still sleeping." said Scootaloo.
"She must have a really bad cold…" pointed Sweetie.
"We'll check on her after the test." gestured Scoots.
"So did anything happen to you and the prince?" Dinky asked Sweetie with hopeful eyes.
"Oh, um…" Sweetie blushed.
"Are you kidding?! They stuck together like glue while we were there!" Scootaloo pointed out.
Sweetie glared at her, mentally saying, Well, so did you and Rumble… she grinned and then said smoothly, "By the way, how are you and Rumble?"
Scootaloo stiffened, causing the other girls to give her funny looks. She unsteadily said, "Wha… what do you mean? I have… no idea what you're talking about!" she tried to keep herself together.
"I've noticed the way you look at each other…" Sweetie started to tease, "Scootaloo and Rumble sitting in a tree…" She was then silenced by her sister's hoof.
"There's nothing going on between us!" Oh, how that pained her to say that…
"You're lying."
They turned to face Babs.
"How… how do you know?" Worry was etched over her face.
"It's in your eyes. They sparkle at the mention of him and you're shaking, so it's obvious…"
She gulped.
"You love him…"
There was awkward silence as they kept staring at her. Scootaloo's lips began to tremble till she shouted out, "Yes! I love him! There, happy?"
Sweetie Belle squealed, "I knew it! I knew it!" She got her in a tight hug, "I'm so happy for you!"
Scootaloo smiled and then nervously chuckled, "Say, uh… this is completely off-topic, but can an adopted princess marry some pony by herself?"
There was confusion spread across their faces until Sweetie shrugged and said, "Gosh, Scoots… I don't know. It was one thing when our parents and Aunt Luna married our sisters, but a princess, and an adopted princess at that…"
Twist and Dinky shrugged too, and then Babs said, "It should work."
"Really?!" they all said to her.
"Yeah, I've studied every royal protocol book and they state through marriage or legal matters, a princess has the power to issue any order to her subjects and, yes, they also have the power to wed ponies."
"So our marriage is real…" Scootaloo said under her breath.
"Huh?" Sweetie said.
"Uh, that it is very cool that we can do that!"
"I guess." shrugged Babs, "But that's how we are. So why did you want to know?"
"Oh, I was… just wondering. It seemed something interesting to figure out." she shrugged while giving a cheesy grin. They shrugged, too, and began talking about other things, like what the next test was.
Only Scoots didn't join in on the conversation. All she could think about was what Babs said. So if she and Rumble really were married, what would they do now? Then she remembered what he said on their wedding night about doing what married couples do except taking it to the next level… She blushed at that fact and stared off into the abyss, thinking about her husband. He was all she could think about now: his grey coat, his hair, his wings, his muscles, and his eyes… When she looked into them, she was lost in them.
Just finally confessing her love made her realize how much she loved him… The question now is how much did he love her?
"Scoots?" she felt a nudge that snapped her out of her daydreaming.
Sweetie pointed to the throne room where the others had gone in, "Let's go." she was about to go in.
"Actually…" Scootaloo rubbed her head.
"What's wrong?"
"Is it necessary for me and AB to be in the tests anymore?"
"You want to drop?"
"It's just… this is your fight. I don't love Button and neither does AB. But you do…"
She nodded, "Well, luckily, you'll be able to stay. You will stay, right?"
"Of course. But it's all up to you now…"
"I'll see you after the test then?"
"Meet you at Apple Bloom's room."
Scootaloo turned to go as Sweetie went into the throne room. Once the doors closed behind her, Scootaloo rushed to go find Rumble.
Sweetie Belle watched as the queen addressed them.
"Ladies, so far, you had passed the first two tests, but can you pass this next one? We shall see… I will ask a simple question and then you must go find an object that means something with the question. Are you ready?"
The princesses nodded their heads.
"Here it is: what do you think it means to be a queen?"
Sweetie's eyes widened and thought, Oh, boy…
"You'll have an hour to search around the castle to find something that goes with your definition of what it means to be queen. Good luck."
The girls slowly went out and some started worrying.
"Wow," said Twist, "This one's going to be tricky."
"I don't think I'll find anything that matches what it's like to be a queen." said Dinky.
"And we can't help each other without having the same item and meaning…" pointed Babs.
"Looks like we were really on our own…" Sweetie softly said.
The four of them exchanged looks and went separate ways in castle.
Scootaloo finally tracked down Rumble in the gym with Button and the other guys, minus Pip. He was in the midst of swordfighting Snips when Scoots called out to him, "Rumble!"
Distracted, the sword flew out of Rumble's mouth and Snips cheered.
"That doesn't count!" Rumble objected as he went to Scootaloo, "What's wrong, Scoots?"
"Is it Sweetie Belle?!" Button had panic in his voice.
"Or Babs?" Featherweight voiced in concern.
The others looked at him with confusion until Scootaloo said, "No, no, everything's fine, but I need to talk to you, Rumble…"
"Uh, alright?" he nodded his head to the guys to keep doing what they were doing and followed after Scootaloo. They went into his guest room, where Rumble asked, "What's going on?"
"We're married."
"What?"
"Yes, I found out it was enough. We are legally husband and wife…"
He was speechless for a moment and then said, "So… I'm your husband and you're my wife?"
"Pretty much…"
"Whoa…" he slightly chuckled, "I was joking at the resort, but I now I wish we did have a honeymoon suite…"
She smirked, "That reminds me…" she slowly flapped her wings and her eyes met his, "You said something about the next level on our wedding night…"
He gulped and stammered, "Oh, that was… it was just…"
"How would you feel if we had a real wedding night…?" she winked.
"A… real wedding night…?" he gaped.
"Hm-mm…" she kept smirking and her lips made contact to his.
He grabbed hold of her and they started kissing behind their open wings. Once they broke apart, Rumble said breathlessly and in a daze, "Oh, Scoots… I wanted to do that since I saw you dancing in that stunning outfit of yours…"
"Just what I wanted to hear…" They stare at each other lovingly, "See you tonight in this room?"
"Whatever you what… I'll see you then…" he kissed her forehead.
She kissed his cheek that eventually led to another kiss on the lips before they slowly departed ways.
Sweetie made it back to her room and looked through her trunk to find anything. Suddenly, the clam shell with her engagement ring fell out. She picked up the ring and look at it with sadness, I can't fail this test… I have to prove my worth… for Button… for us… Wait… worth…? The queen's words came to her, 'What do you think it means to be queen?' What do I think it means to be queen…? She thought back to her mother, Queen Celestia, a wise and kind ruler. There was one thing she always admired about her mother and Twilight, who would inherit their mother's throne, was that both of them were humble…
If she was going to be Button's queen, then that would be the kind of queen she wanted to be: a humble one, just like her mother and sister. Now the question was how was she going to find something that meant being queen that also meant being humble? Then she stared back at the clam shell…
Dinky and Twist met up with Babs, who was wearing a red cape.
"Did you guys find anything?"
Twist shook her head, "I don't really understand what the queen is getting at, since I won't be a queen and I don't think I can be one…"
"Me, too. I have an older sister who will be a queen, so I don't have to learn to be one. I'll always be a princess until I become something else when I get married. There's another thing: it's clear that Prince Button likes Sweetie Belle since he was close to her when they were at the resort, so there is no need for me to be in the running…"
"You're lucky. I still have to be in this for my folks and I have to know what a queen has to do."
"Is that why you're wearing the cape?" ask Twist.
"It is. A queen has to have a legacy and wearing something like a cape shows how long you can keep a legacy."
"That's really clever!" Dinky complimented.
"Thanks." Then she looked around, "Hey, where's Sweetie Belle?"
They shrugged until they heard a voice calling out, "Here! I'm right here!" she rushed to them and caught her breath, "I was… outside the castle…"
"What were you doing out there?" Twist questioned.
"Looking for something. It wasn't easy, but I managed to find one…"
"Find what?" Dinky asked.
"You'll see." she gave a small smile.
Queen Love Tap looked over Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon's objects: a tiara and a scepter.
Diamond Tiara explained, "A queen holds power in her hooves that she takes pride in, being the leader that she is."
Sliver Spoon added, "And she does it with dignity."
"Very good, girls. I am impressed by your choices, but these are obvious status symbols. However, your words are true and you may proceed to the next test."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." they both said, then giggled as they passed Babs and Sweetie.
Babs presented her object and stated what she told Dinky and Twist.
The queen nodded, "Yes, Princess Babs. A queen will leave a legacy that her descendants will try to follow as example so that they can be as great a ruler as their ancestor. Well done. You shall continue to the next test."
Babs bowed her head and waited on the sidelines to watch Sweetie's turn.
The queen asked, "And what do you have for me, Princess Sweetie Belle?"
Sweetie used her magic to take out a white gleaming pearl and placed it in front of the queen.
Love Tap looked at it in confusion until Sweetie explained, "That pearl came from a simple clam shell that no pony would believe that a beautiful pearl came from it. But it shows that beauty comes from within. A queen may be beautiful on the outside, but she should also be beautiful on the inside. I believe a queen means being humble to your subjects and to yourself…"
There was silence in the ballroom, and just when Diamond Tiara was about to laugh to break it, the queen suddenly spoke.
"My dear, that is one of the most important insights a queen should have… Princess Sweetie Belle, you have a gift to look beyond what others cannot see. You will move on to the next test."
Sweetie and Babs both grinned widely while two other princesses were gritting their teeth. In a huff, Diamond Tiara moved to the other side of the room, away from nearby ears. Silver Spoon followed her.
"Every time I thought she would fail the test, she manages to pass it! I thought it was dumb luck the first two times, but now she managed to impress the queen with her namby-pamby speech about finding the beauty within when we all know that looking beautiful is the only thing matters in this world!"
"What can we do about it?"
"Hopefully this time, her luck has run out and she will fail the next test. I'm not going to let some fake princess get the chance to be queen! That would be a disgrace for all us real princesses who deserve it!"
"And if she actually wins the contest?"
"Then, I'll just have to take matters into my own hooves…" her eyes slit, giving off a dark and sinister mood…