"The Wait"
(TwiPie)
I really, really hope she didn’t bring the party cannon.
Twilight Sparkle waits.
What am I even thinking? Of course she brought the party cannon.
The light is too bright, and the murmurs from the gathered crowd are entirely too loud.
Maybe Rarity managed to stop her, somehow? There’s no way Rarity would let her bring that cannon, if there was a chance of stopping her.
Shining Armor whispers something to her, something soft and low and probably meant to be reassuring, but she doesn’t hear. She can’t quite make out the words over the thundering of her own heart in her ears.
Oh, but she’s tricky. I bet she could’ve hid that darn cannon somewhere or other.
The music starts.
I bet Rainbow Dash helped her, too. I bet Rainbow thinks it’s funny, just the greatest prank ever, but Rainbow Dash isn’t the one who’s going to be banished to the moon for sneaking unauthorized artillery into the palace.
Three little fillies come traipsing down the aisle, all smiles and sunshine. Flower petals get strewn haphazardly along the floor as the girls make their way down. Twilight begins to sweat.
I should have asked Applejack to tie up both of those troublemakers until we were ready to start. Oh, stupid, stupid Twilight! Always forgetting everything important, all those little details, so disorganized ...
Something smooth and warm touches her shoulder. She doesn’t look down, doesn’t need to look down, to know it’s Spike. He’s probably worried about her, too, just like Shining Armor. Twilight can’t help but think that both of her brothers are acting completely silly--treating her like a live grenade instead of the perfectly rational pony she actually is--but she forgives them instantly, as she knows they mean well.
Is it too late to ask Fluttershy to use the Stare on her? I know Fluttershy said she can’t do it on command, but that sneaky little pegasus could have been just holding out on all of us.
Two mares, an earth pony and unicorn, walk down the aisle next, all steadiness and grace, respectively. They are resplendent in their gowns, as perfect and as beautiful as the statues in the palace gardens. The unicorn’s eyes keep darting discreetly to the hat sitting proudly atop the earth pony’s golden mane, disdainful glances which the behatted pony ignores just as discreetly.
I can’t believe this is real. This is real. This is … oh, my gosh, this is really happening. There’s Shining Armor, and Spike, and there are Mom and Dad, and … and … oh, by the moon and sun, I think I’m going to throw up.
After the earth pony and unicorn follow two pegasi, just as beautiful and just as brilliant in their formal attire. But all similarities end there. They are fire and ice, the pegasus mares--the one basking in being the center of attention, preening, head held high, the other practically cringing as she trudges dutifully forward, ducking her head so that her mane obscures her face.
I can’t do this. I haven’t done enough planning. I haven’t read anywhere near enough books, and I didn’t even have time to research the mating customs of the Kyllpon tribe of Griffdonia! I haven’t, I haven’t, I haven’t--
At the end of the long, carpeted aisle stands a pink earth pony wearing her unruly mane swept up in a loose bun, with a few escaped strands framing her face. She is dressed in a gown of the purest white, with accents of blue and gold. The blue in the dress matches perfectly the blue in the pink pony’s eyes.
I … she ...
Those huge blue eyes never leave Twilight’s, not for a second, and in turn Twilight is unable to tear her gaze away from the pony before her. The mare manages to take a few small, restrained steps down the aisle--steps that seem so strange, so awkward--before she gives in and begins bounding forward with all her usual energy and enthusiasm.
As she approaches, the pink pony’s eyes dance and laugh and sing. Silently they sing out, “Twilight, I love you.”
… she’s beautiful.
The princess steps forward, her voice warm and her eyes shining with joy. “We are gathered here today …”
Twilight doesn’t bother to listen. Instead she focuses on how very near the other pony is standing, how she can feel the warmth radiating from that bright pink body, how she can smell the vaguest hints of cocoa and vanilla.
She’s so beautiful.
Pinkie leans in close, her voice a warm whisper in the unicorn’s ear. “Are you okay, Twi? You were all frowny-faced just a second ago.”
“Yeah. Yeah, I ...” Twilight swallows thickly. Glances over at Pinkie from the corner of her eyes, not daring to turn her head, as the princess is still speaking. “I was just thinking about how beautiful you look.”
And then Pinkie smiles, wider and brighter than Twilight Sparkle has ever seen her smile before. The earth pony’s entire face just glows, and it sparks a flame in Twilight’s own chest.
That smile. Oh, by Star Swirl’s beard, that smile. I love that smile. I need that smile.
“Pinkamena Diane Pie, do you take this mare to have and to hold from this day forward, for better and for worse, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until death do you part?”
“Oh, yes! Absolutely!” She turns to beam at Twilight, perfectly happy and utterly unguarded. “I totally, totally do!”
I need that smile. I need her love.
I need her.
“And you, Twilight Sparkle. Do you take this mare to have and to hold from this day forward, for better and for worse, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until death do you part?”
I do.
“I do,” she promises, her voice soft but steady, just a hair above a whisper.
The world is blurry now, as though she’s sitting at the bottom of the ocean looking up at the sky beyond the water, and for a fraction of a second she feels confused. Then she realizes--she’s crying. She sniffles a bit and, for reasons she doesn’t even know, lets out a quiet little laugh. She hears Pinkie laugh in reply. It’s a loud, boisterous laugh. A beautiful laugh. A perfect laugh.
“I now pronounce you …”
And then Pinkie is kissing her, and she’s kissing Pinkie, and the entire crowded hall is cheering wildly. But she finds she can’t focus on anyone or anything but the pony who is now strangely, inexplicably, wonderfully, her wife.
I do. Oh, Pinkie, I do.
Twilight pulls away, blinking away her tears as she does, to find Pinkie still smiling back at her. The unicorn reaches out to tenderly lay a hoof along her beloved’s face. Her hoof barely has grazed Pinkie’s fur, however, when there’s a sudden, deafening explosion that shatters every window in the palace’s hall.
A moment later, festive and brightly-colored confetti comes raining down from the ceiling above.
Of course. Of course she did.
“Pinkie Pie.”
In response, the earth pony gives her a nervous grin, a grin that Twilight knows all too well and sees all too often. “Um. Oopsy daisy?”
Of course she brought the party cannon.