A couple hours after Spike had written letters to Twilight's friends, they all arrived at the castle.
"So, Spike...where exactly is Twilight?" Rarity asked.
Spike replied, "She was in her room last time I saw her, she maybe somewhere else by now, though."
"Well, better safe than sorry. Come on, y'all." Applejack said.
They all walked down the hall, including Spike, towards Twilight's bedroom.
Fluttershy spoke, "She's not in here."
"Maybe she's in the kitchen?" Pinkie Pie jumped up, "Everypony is having lunch right about now!"
After that being said, they all decided to try the kitchen. "Agh! She's not in here either!" Rainbow Dash spat.
"Maybe she's in her library? Twilight does love to read." Fluttershy suggested.
Spike snapped his claw, "That's right! Twilight does afternoon reading!"
Applejack glared at Spike, "How on Earth did you not know where Twilight was if you know her schedule?"
"Hehehe...everypony makes mistakes?" Spike nervously smiled.
Rarity interrupted, "It doesn't matter, Twilight needs our help, so let's go!"
They all ran down the hallway into her library, which increased in size since her last home. Twilight was found reading a book, with several piled up next to her. However, Twilight didn't look as happy as she normally did when reading books.
"Twilight, are you okay, sugarcube?" Applejack asked.
Twilight looked up from her book, "Not really, but...don't worry about it."
"Now, Twilight. We are your friends, and whatever it is bothering you, we can help you through it." Rarity promised.
"I don't think you can help me this time, girls. I don't even know what to do myself." Twilight admitted.
Pinkie Pie gasped, "Is it because you missed brunch?! Sometimes ponies can get cranky because they missed brunch!"
"Pinkie, brunch isn't even a necessary meal." Applejack stated.
Rainbow growled, "Just what is up, Twilight?! There is clearly something bothering you!"
"Rainbow! That is no way to speak to her!" Fluttershy sternly said.
Twilight sighed, "No...Rainbow Dash is right, Fluttershy. You all deserve to hear what's happening."
"And...?" Spike added.
"I have to get married to Prince Talon." Twilight said.
The Mane Five all exchanged glances. Rarity cleared her throat, "And um...who is that?"
Twilight rolled her eyes, not feeling like wanting to explain the long and terrible story. "Maybe this will be easier." Twilight said, levitating a book off the shelf. "It's the newest book written by a librarian in Griffonstone. I just got it in the mail about two hours ago. Didn't have time to read it. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go back to studying my magic."
Rarity levitated the book, opening it up and flipping through the pages as they all sat down at a table, not with Twilight.
"Well, what does it say?" Rainbow Dash questioned.
"It's written in...griffon?" Rarity was confused.
Pinkie Pie smiled, "Ohh! Ohh! I can read griffon! Let me see!" Rarity levitated the book over to Pinkie, and she opened it up to the first page. She started to read it, "Long ago, we were ruled by a noble and wise king known as King Guto. He was the last king we griffons had. About five years before he passed away, King Guto had a son, Prince Talon. Prince Talon was kidnapped for ransom by the yaks of Yakyakistan. About three weeks after the pink pony and the blue-winged pony showed us the way of friendship, Prince Talon was discovered in a cave in the mountains. Prince Talon was indeed kidnapped, but while on an expedition searching for gold with a few other griffons. He did not return like the others did, but he is now home and wants revenge on Equestria. Why you may ask? Because the ponies and griffons have a bad history of battling and wars, after being defeated several times in the past, the griffons now want to avenge their ancestors and win for once."
"That is truly awful!" Rarity gasped.
Applejack was puzzled, "What I don't understand is, why does he want to marry Twilight?"
"Keep reading, Pinkie. " Fluttershy said.
"Okie dokie lokie!" Pinkie Pie smiled, "Now where was I? Oh, here!" she cleared her throat, "Prince Talon agreed only to take a wife in exchange for peace between the lands of Griffonstone and Equestria. Why would he want a pony bride when we have such an awful backstory with them? That is simple. He wishes to learn the way of friendship himself, and to learn that maybe ponies aren't so bad. Plus, he would gain a beautiful wife in the process. The future bride he wishes for is Princess Twilight Sparkle of Equestria?!" Pinkie Pie dropped the book.
"WHAT?!" they all shouted and gasped, including Spike.
Twilight turned and faced them, closing her book she had been reading. "It isn't my choice to do this."
"What do you mean?! You should have a choice! If you are engaged to him, shouldn't you be able to give him a yes or a no?!" Rarity demanded to know.
"I don't have that option. The options I have here are to marry Prince Talon and become the new griffon-pony queen, or see Equestria suffer through decades of war." Twilight sighed, "And I won't be able to see any of you ever again..."
"DOUBLE WHAT?!" Pinkie screamed. She started crying and hugged Twilight's legs. "WHY?!?! DON'T LEAVE US, TWILIGHT! PLEASE?!"
Rarity levitated Pinkie away from Twilight and sat her down next to herself and Rainbow Dash. "Why ever not?" Rarity asked.
Twilight replied, "I can only write to you, but coming home, even for a visit, would mean breaking the treaty. Which would also mean the griffons could attack us and there would be nothing or no pony to stop it."
"We're really sorry, Twilight. We'll miss you, but if this is really what you want to do..." Applejack trailed off.
"Well, I have a dinner date I have to get ready for tonight. In Canterlot I'm supposed to be meeting King Talon there. They feel like we should get to know each other a little before we actually get married. Not that it would really make a difference." Twilight looked upset.
Applejack asked, "How about you meet us for breakfast tomorrow in Canterlot then? The gals and I can take a train up there to meet ya."
Spike replied, "I'll come, too...wait a minute, Twilight. I just realized...if you have to live in Griffonstone for the rest of your life, where do I go?"
Twilight face-hoofed herself, "I never even thought of that...I'll ask Princess Cadance if you can stay in the Empire with her."
"I guess that's fair enough..." Spike answered.
"Good, now I need to get ready as I said. I'll see you all tomorrow morning." Twilight waved, and then flew off to Canterlot. She was supposed to be getting dressed up there. Two mane-stylist did her mane. A professional royal tailor made her a stunning blue dress. After her mane was up and her dress was on, along with the white shoes that went with it, she waited in a suite saved for her when visiting Canterlot. She looked into the vanity, and then looked at her crown on the counter. Twilight levitated her tiara on her head, then managed a small smile to herself after looking into the mirror again.
"Twilight, Prince Talon is waiting for you in the dining room." Princess Cadance said, "Celestia and Luna asked that I escort you."
As they were walking towards the dining room, Cadance noticed that Twilight was either nervous, upset, or both. She smiled down at her and stopped walking, "I can tell you are a bit anxious, but I promise you, we all talked to him before dinner once he arrived, he seems very friendly. We're surprised he even wants to possibly start a war."
"Thanks, Cadance..." Twilight grinned. "Makes me feel a little bit better."
"No problem." Cadance began walking again and Twilight remembered something.
"Oh, Cadance! Once I leave with Prince Talon, could Spike go to live with you and Shining Armor in the Crystal Empire? Somepony needs to look after him." Twilight stated.
Cadance looked down at her, "I'd be glad to, and I'm sure Shining wouldn't mind. It's always nice to see the little guy." they reached the dining room doors. "Are you sure you want to go through with this, Twilight? Once you go in there, there is no backing out of the deal."
Twilight gulped then let out a deep breath, "I will do it for Equestria."
"That's my sister-in-law I know. Doing what's right. Good luck, Twilight. Try to have fun." Cadance waved and walked away.
Twilight waved and nodded, then took another deep breath. "Stay calm...what's the worse that could happen?" she opened the doors and forced a smile. Prince Talon had been sitting at one end of a table, greeting her with a smile.
"Hello, my dear. You must be Princess Twilight." he said. Surprisingly, he didn't have a gruff and deep voice like the other griffons as Twilight had thought. It was more calming and soothing than anything, kind of a soft tone. Not as gentle as Fluttershy's or quiet, but not sounding scary or rude. "Won't you take a seat?" Talon politely asked. He flew up and pulled out her chair for her to take a seat in.
"Thank you." Twilight smiled.
Prince Talon also grinned, "Anything for my future wife." he flew back to his seat and noticed Twilight frowning. "Was that unsettling? I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable."
"No, no. It's fine, I mean, you're right. I am going to be your future wife soon..." Twilight trailed off, not knowing what else to say. She felt like an imbecile and very nervous. She didn't even have feelings for this griffon, so why did she act like this?
Prince Talon was trying to think of something to say, he was just as nervous as Twilight was. "Uh, that's a lovely dress you're wearing."
"Thanks. Your bowtie isn't bad either." Twilight tried to go along with the small-talk, but she wasn't exactly good at flirting, nor did she want to do it. But if this was the creature she had to marry for the rest of her days, maybe as well try to enjoy it. Or at least fake it. Come on, Twilight. Make an effort. she thought to herself.
Four chefs poured out of the kitchen. Three had food platters, and another one a match. He lit the three candles in between the two and Twilight felt even more uncomfortable. A romantic candle-lit dinner for two? Are you kidding me? Twilight told herself. The other chefs put out plates in front of them. One plate had a biscuit with butter, another had a salad, and the last one had a oats in a bowl. Then water was served in glasses for their drink.
"Bon appetit." a chef said before walking away after bowing.
Twilight levitated the fork and scooped up some salad, taking a bite. "So, I've heard you are into books?" Talon brought up.
"Oh, yes. I love to read." Twilight replied, levitating a few oats and eating them.
After Talon swallowed a bite of salad, he continued, "What are your favorite kind of books to read?"
"I'm really into mystery stories, sometimes it's really entertaining!" Twilight smiled. She thought she was sounding a lot like a nerd, however.
"I love a good mystery novel every now and again, too. Have you ever heard of "The Missing Ruby--" Talon and Twilight finished in unison, "of the Saddle Arabian Forest!"
Twilight gasped, "It's only my favorite book!"
"Really? Mine, too!" Talon smiled.
Twilight was happy they had a lot in common. They both loved to read, they both loved plays, they also liked the Daring Do series. After the long conversation, they had eaten all their dinner. The chefs came out to take the dishes back into the kitchen. Talon and Twilight decided to go out onto the balcony for a while to look at the stars.
"Wait, wait, you really made a hole in Celestia's Gifted Unicorn Academy?!" Talon laughed.
Twilight chuckled, "Well, I got into the school, and as Princess Celestia's prized prodigy."
"That's amazing! I never thought unicorns at that age could cast such powerful magic." Talon stated.
"Neither did I, but apparently it is possible." Twilight smiled, "I actually would never had gotten my cutiemark if it weren't for my friend Rainbow Dash..." she frowned remembering she would never see her friends again in three more days.
Talon looked at her, "Why so upset all the sudden?"
"It's just...once I marry you, I'll never see my friends again...it would break the treaty and I would bring war on Equestria. I'm doing this for my country, after all..." Twilight sighed.
Talon was heart-broken, "So...you don't love me?"
Twilight stuttered, "I-I-I never said that, but I mean, all of this treaty-business just blew up in my face this morning...I don't think I'm ready." she wondered if she really had fallen in love with Talon. No, no. It's nothing but infatuation, Twilight. she said in her mind.
"I understand, but don't think of it as a treaty deal. I mean, am I really all that bad? You'll notice I'm not as mean and aggressive as those other griffons." Talon mentioned. He had a point, but Twilight still wasn't sure. She was torn up inside, and wasn't sure how to mend it.
"I'm actually getting really tired." Twilight yawned fakely, "Do you think we could call it a night?"
"Of course. I'll see you tomorrow morning at breakfast." Talon kissed her cheek, and then flew off. Twilight's face flushed red. Then she went to her suite.
"I cannot believe he kissed my cheek! We only met like two hours ago!" Twilight was disgusted, but a delighted at the same time. She didn't think anypony cared for her as much as Talon did. Not even Shining Armor or Cadance, and they had only knew each other a few short hours. "Maybe I am in love with him, maybe I'm not...I can't just leave my friends, though..." she undid her mane and got undressed, and set her crown down on her nightstand by the bed. She noticed Princess Celestia walking by her door. "Oh, princess!" Twilight stopped her.
"Oh, hello, Twilight. So how was dinner with Prince Talon?" she asked.
"It was...interesting. However, I can't exactly have breakfast with him tomorrow..." Twilight chuckled nervously.
Princess Celestia glared at her, "Whatever do you mean?"
"You see, I promised my friends I would have breakfast with them since I'm only going to be in Equestria for three more days. Do you think maybe Prince Talon and I could have tea tomorrow afternoon instead? We have to get ready for the wedding in two days, anyway." Twilight reminded.
Celestia didn't want to risk any chance of the treaty breaking, but she sighed, "Alright, Twilight. I understand you wish to see your friends for breakfast, and you may. Just be back before tomorrow at twelve. You must keep your promise for an afternoon tea."
Twilight hugged her mentor, "Thank you, princess! I won't let you down."
"I know you won't." she smiled, "Now why don't you go get some rest? I'll see you tomorrow afternoon at the garden gazebo."
Twilight grinned, and then went back into her room. "I'm upset I won't be able to see my friends ever again once the wedding is over, but maybe something will work out..." she sighed and then laid in her bed and went to sleep.