//------------------------------// // Chapter 47: Plans And Preparations // Story: My Little Pony, Friendship is Magic: Stallion Edition // by SuperPinkBrony12 //------------------------------// "That's the last of em!" Shining Armor said to himself, as the final batch of invintations were sent out. Soon, he was going to be a married stallion. Despite the increased security in and around Canterlot, Princess Cadence was determined to go through with the wedding. And if Shining Armor didn't love her so much, he would not have agreed. But there was little he could do now. It was his wedding, and he had to trust that the royal guards he had helped to train would be up to the task of protecting Equestria's capital city. "If all else fails, my signature shield spell should keep any unwanted guests out." he thought to himself. as he gently touched a hoof to his horn. The stress of casting the spell so often was giving him headaches again, despite his best efforts to keep the useage of said spell to a minimum. So far, his head wasn't bothering him, for it had been days since he last fired up the spell. But he knew he would need to maintain the spell again upon arriving in Canterlot, and quickly made a mental note to see about purchasing some headache medicine, just in case. Shining Armor looked at the clock on the wall, the train for Canterlot wasn't due to depart for about another half hour. "That should be plently of time to make some final arrangements," he smiled, as he departed the Golden Oaks Library, marveling at the beautiful spring day "The guys are going to be very surprised, but what good does it do to be royalty if you can't pull a few strings every now and then? Besides, few know me better than them." Shining Armor found all of his friends, and his sister, sitting on a blanket, and enjoying a fine picnic lunch. They were enjoying the fine spring weather as well, as was evidenced by the bright smiles on their faces. Shining Armor cleared his throat, attracting everyone's attention. "Well guys, the big day is almost upon us!" he said eagerly "In just a few days, I will offically be a prince!" "We know, you've been talkin' 'bout it ever since winter wrapped up about a month ago," Big Macintosh replied "It's a shame only Soarin, Fancy Pants, Fleur, and Miss. Rarity are gonna get to help out with the weddin' fesitivities." "Actually, that's what I wanted to talk to you all about," Shining Armor said, flashing a massive smile, as he pulled out a huge scroll "Twily, do the honors please." "With pleasure, B.B.B.F.F," Twilight replied happily, and read what was printed on the scroll "I, Princess Celestia, hereby give my royal approval to the friends and family of the groom to be to assist with the wedding preparations and the wedding reception. Thunderlane, you and Fluttershy will manage the song bird choir that will be present at the wedding. Rumble can help too." "Oh, thank you, Shining Armor! This is a big honor for Fluttershy! It'll be just the publicity her animal shelter needs." Thunderlane said happily. "I'm looking forward to working with you, Thunderlane," Fluttershy smiled, turning towards her long time partner and close friend "And you too, Rumble. I'm going to need all the help I can get to keep the song birds in line." "Don't worry, with me around, those song birds will know better than to try any funny business!" Rumble said eagerly "Just wait til Mom and Dad hear about this!" "Now, Rumble, let's not get carried away," Thunderlane cautioned "This is a very important responsibility for all three of us, but Fluttershy knows more about the song birds than we do. We should try to listen to her." "As long as you're not making googly eyes at her." Rumble teased, making Thunderlane and Fluttershy blush slightly. Twilight ignored the blushing, and went on reading "Big Macintosh and Applejack, you two will manage the catering for the wedding, including the cake. I know you two live on an apple farm, but please try not to make all the dishes apple themed." "Just because we live on an apple farm doesn't mean we only eat apples." Applejack said crossly, she was proud of being an apple farmer and hated being teased for it. "Princess Celestia's just messin' with us," Big Macintosh reassured her, then he turned to Shining Armor "We'll make a cake that'll rival even The MMM, you can be sure of that!" "Hey, The Cakes worked long and hard on that cake!" Pinkie Pie complained. "That brings me to the next subject on this list," Twilight spoke up, effectively silencing Pinkie Pie's angry speech before it could start "Pinkie Pie, while I would've loved to have you and Braeburn work on the cake, I can't think of anyponies more qualified than you to plan the wedding reception in the castle courtyard." "Oh, Shining Armor, you shouldn't have! But I'm glad you did!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear "We'll show those Canterlot ponies what a REAL party's like! Won't we, Braeburn?!" "You bet your boots we will!" Braeburn cheered "But we'll be sure not to go overboard. I don't think anyone wants a repeat of The Gala, myself included. " "Well, what about me?" Rainbow Dash asked "You didn't forget me, did you, Shining Armor?" "Of course he didn't," Twilight replied, and went on reading "Rainbow Dash, Shining Armor has requested that you teach Soarin what kind of tricks can go well with a Sonic Rainboom, because you'll be performing one when the bride and goom exchange their vows and kiss." "A Sonic Rainboom eh? It's been a while since I've had a reason to bust that bad boy out, but I'll see what I can do." Rainbow Dash promised. "This time, hopefully, I'll actually get to see it." Soarin commented, remembering the incident during the Best Younger Flyers competition that he'd been involved in. Twilight read further down the scroll "Fancy Pants, Fleur, Rarity, in addition to designing the dresses for the bride and her bridesmaids, Shining Armor has requested that you help to fix up the suit he'll be wearing to the wedding. It'll require a lot of tlc, but he's certain you three are up to the task." "Dresses and a suit? You're asking a lot from us, Shining Armor," Fancy Pants said seriously, before a smile crossed his lips "But we can handle it, can't we, my darling Fleur?" "You bet we can," Fleur said cheerfully "This is already bringing back fond memories of our own wedding." Rarity, for her part, said nothing. She had fainted from the realization of how much publicity she would draw to her and Fancy Pants' business when word gout out who was responsible for the wedding dress of the bride, and the suit of the groom. "Spike will serve as the ring bearer, The Cutie Mark Crusaders will be Cadence's flower girls and flower boy," Twilight read "And Twilight, you will have the most important role of all. You will not only be supervising the wedding preparations to make sure everything is okay, but you will also be Shining Armor's best mare. Wait, best mare?!" she exclaimed, and reread the line to make sure she hadn't misinterpreted it. "You didn't think I was going to leave my little sister out of my own wedding, did you?" Shining Armor teased "You're part of the reason why Cadence and I got to know each other in the first place." Twilight dropped the scroll, and tackled Shining Armor into a full body huy "Thank you, B.B.B.F.F! Thank you SO much for making me your best mare! I won't let you down, I promise!" "I know you won't, Twily," Shining Armor smiled "Now, could you get off me please? We need to get going, or we'll miss the train to Canterlot." "We certainly don't want to miss that," Spike said, as he woke up Rarity "Come on everyone, let's get moving!" And with that, Twilight, Spike, her friends, and Shining Armor's friends all set off, with Shining Armor leading the way. But as Shining Armor walked to the train station, his thoughts turned to the unknown threat that had been made against Canterlot a few weeks ago "Whoever or whatever made that threat better stay away from my wedding," he thought to himself "If anything happens to my friends, my family, or Cadence, I don't know what I'll do. Besides, it would be nice to have an important event go off without a hitch for once."