The Marriage of Twilight Sparkle
By: The_Incredible_Blunderbolt
Twilight Sparkle marveled at her reflection in the mirror. She hadn’t been able to get a real, proper dress for the occasion, but the one the Rarity had made suited her needs perfectly. It was plain and white, with decorative trim around the edges. Her veil was folded behind her head, ready to cover her face when the time came.
Rarity hurried about the room, gathering her supplies and occasionally stopping to fix some minor detail about her fellow unicorn’s appearance. “I can’t believe we’re finally doing this!” she would squeal happily every few minutes. The white pony was wearing a dress of her own, one matching Twilight’s nearly perfectly, though not as decorative and lacking a veil.
Twilight nodded in agreement, glancing up at the clock; five minutes to twelve. It was almost time. Her heart thumped in her chest, giddiness and excitement coursing through her veins. She smiled, happily anticipating how much fun her and her friends would be having very soon.
As the clock struck twelve, Rarity led Twilight through the hallway and to a large wooden door. Before going through it though, Rarity gave Twilight a final once-over. “Oops!” the white unicorn exclaimed. “How did I miss that?” She reached a hoof forward, adjusted something on Twilight’s head and stood back, admiring her work. “There!” she proclaimed proudly. “Perfect! Now let’s get out there and have some fun!”
The first thing Twilight noticed was the sun; it was bright and hot, as if Celestia had warmed it specifically for this day. The next thing she saw were all of her friends lined up along the lawn, sitting on the beautiful green grass. There were Lyra and Bon Bon; over there, next to Derpy were Octavia and Vinyl Scratch, their respective instruments at the ready; and at the very end of them all, dressed up in a hastily thrown together suit stood a cyan pegasus, beside her was an Earth pony in a Stetson. Another pegasus, this one yellow, stood behind a small podium.
Octavia held up her bow and slowly pulled it across the strings of her instrument, issuing a lovely set of notes that were soon overshadowed by a chorus of electronic beats. “Here Comes the Bride” was played in several separate octaves as Twilight and Rarity made their way to the group in the middle.
Twilight looked around once more and noted the empty areas where her other friends would be, like her brother, if not for the changeling infestation. Most of the colts had decided to assist in ridding Equestria of their enemy, forgoing the events planned for today. Regrettably so, Twilight thought. Shining Armor had to miss this occasion due to outside commitments, but she understood. Not many colts liked the idea of marriage anyway; at least, opposed to the thrill of chasing down dangerous enemies.
Rarity walked Twilight up to their friends and took their places. As Twilight’s Mare of Honor, Rarity would be positioned to Twilight’s left. The same would go for Rainbow Dash, the exception being that Rainbow’s Best Mare, Applejack, would mirror Rarity by standing on Rainbow’s right.
Twilight blushed a bit, seeing Rainbow Dash all dressed up; albeit in signature style- her hair was still a chaotic mess, her jacket ruffled and her collar half-popped, but Twilight had to admit the look gave the pegasus a certain... je ne sais quoi? Rainbow gave Twilight a quick look of boredom mixed with mild amusement before turning to face Fluttershy.
The buttercup yellow pegasus was dressed up in robes, the podium propping her book open. “Um... Fillies and Gentlecolts...” she said softly.
“Uh, yah gotta speak up, ‘Shy,” Rainbow coaxed, speaking softly, so as not to call out the meek pony in front of everypony present.
“Um... We are gathered here today to, um...” Fluttershy looked down at her book briefly, studying the words on the page. Twilight shifted her weight, but was unsure whether it was due to impatience, or nervousness.
“C’mon, Fluttershy!” Rainbow groaned. “Nopony can hear you!”
“Um,” Fluttershy continued, a bit louder this time. “To unite these two ponies in holy, um...” Again, Fluttershy studied her paper intently. “Matrimony. If anypony has any reason these two ponies should not be married, speak now; or forever hold your peace. Um, that is... i-if you want to...”
The area was filled with sounds. The sounds of silence, that is. Nopony objected, or raised a hoof, or anything of the like, they simply watched patiently as Fluttershy continued down her passage.
“Rainbow Dash, do you promise to love Twilight Sparkle forever and ever and never do anything mean to her or hurt her feelings?”
“Yep.” Rainbow said, nonchalantly nodding her head.
“Twilight Sparkle, do you promise to love Rainbow Dash forever and ever and never do anything mean to her or hurt her feelings?”
“Yes!” Twilight said happily, her large grin emphasizing her vows.
“Yay!” Fluttershy sighed happily. “Now, Applejack, Rarity, we just need the rings.” Both ponies stepped forward and produced ornate little bracelets. Fluttershy grasped them gently in her mouth and placed them on the podium.
Twilight suppressed a giggle of excitement; the big event was coming soon. It had taken so long to convince Rainbow Dash to do this with her, but it would totally be worth it; She knew that for sure, she just had to be patient, her prize would come soon.
Fluttershy gave one of the bracelets to Rainbow Dash. “Repeat after me,” she said.
“Okay,” came Rainbow’s half-hearted response.
“With this ring, I... um... marry you...”
“With this ring, I marry you.” As soon as she finished, Rainbow quickly slid the bracelet around Twilight’s hoof and secured it on her fetlock.
A shudder of warmth filled Twilight as Rainbow locked the bracelet into place. The pegasus smelled of warmth and air; smells Twilight didn’t even know existed until she met Rainbow. Rainbow’s hooves gently slid down Twilight’s foreleg, landing back on the ground. Twilight almost pouted, she wished it would have lasted a little longer, a minute or two, at least.
When Rainbow was done, Fluttershy gave Twilight Rainbow’s ring and asked her to repeat the same lines. “With this ring, I marry you, Rainbow.” she said. Twilight gently slid the bracelet up Rainbow’s foreleg, carefully avoiding her hoof- she didn’t want to make things awkward among everypony, including Rainbow Dash.
With this last task complete, Fluttershy closed her book and said; “You may now kiss the bride!”
This was it; the moment she’d been waiting for. Twilight happily closed her eyes, waiting for the climax to the greatest fifteen minutes of her life, but no pressure came. She could feel somepony nearby, but when they spoke, she grew concerned.
“Wait, Twily!” a concerned voice hollered out.
Twilight opened her eyes just in time to watch her older brother knock Rainbow off her hooves and onto the ground. Shining Armor held her down, struggling slightly at the pegasus’s surprising strength. Big Macintosh and Caramel ran in behind him, identical swords raised high.
The farmers charged up to Rainbow and held their weapons to her throat. The pegasus quickly acknowledged the presence of blades near her neck and broke her efforts to free herself from Shining’s grasp.
“Shining!” Twilight exclaimed furiously. “Get off of Rainbow Dash!”
“You don’t understand, Twily!” Shining Armor countered. “She’s really a changeling!”
“What?” came Rainbow’s indignant cries from under her brother. “That’s stupid! Lemme go! Lemme go!”
“Quiet, changeling scum!” Shining ordered. “You’re not gonna marry my sister! We’ll kill you first!” Shining continued holding Rainbow down on the ground as Big Macintosh raised his sword, preparing for his final motion.
“Ahh!” A pink blur flew into the red colt and knocked him off his hooves. Big Macintosh flew backwards, tumbling to the ground with a furious Pinkie Pie continually bashing his head with a bag of candy.
“Another one!” Big Mac cried, futilely attempting to cover his face with his hooves.
Shining gasped in shock and took a few steps away from Rainbow, letting her go in the process. Caramel noticed this and tried to make up for lack of Shining’s strength. He was, however, no match for Rainbow, who threw him off of her and rolled back onto her hooves.
The colts surrounded Rainbow, ready to fight, yet still unsure of what exactly to do. Pinkie Pie jumped into their circle, taking a defensive stance between them and Rainbow Dash. They growled at each other for a few menacing moments, each trying to stare the other group down.
Twilight was furious. In a huff, she trotted up behind her brother and swatted his sword from his mouth. “Enough!” she exclaimed. “Rainbow Dash is not a changeling! And neither is Pinkie Pie!” There was no possible way Rainbow Dash, her Rainbow Dash, could be a changeling! Changelings were black and ugly and mean; Rainbow was the opposite, the best friend a pony could have!
“Actually, Twi,” Rainbow’s raspy voice said quietly. “That’s where you’re wrong...” In a flash, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie sprung into action. Pinkie ran into Caramel, sending them tumbling into Big Mac, and they rolled away in a scuffle. Rainbow leaped at Twilight’s disarmed brother, knocking him to the ground. She picked up Shining’s dropped sword and brought it down onto him.
“No!” the older colt cried. Twilight reared back in shock, was her brother... Shining... no... Rainbow Dash... she didn’t... she couldn’t! But she did, Rainbow slowly got off of Shining Armor and pulled her sword back up triumphantly.
Shining looked up at Twilight, his eyes full of sadness. This was the most vulnerable Twilight had ever seen her brother, and she hated it. She hated that this had to happen. Why did he have to interfere! She thought furiously. If he didn’t, this wouldn’t have happened!
“Twily...” Shining said weakly, his breathing labored. “Twily... run!”
“No!” Twilight cried angrily. “It’s ruined! Everything’s all wrong!” She looked over to Pinkie Pie, who was currently engaging Big Macintosh and Caramel in a battle; sword against candy. Somehow, the pink pony was managing to put the two larger ponies on the defense with just a lollipop and a few chocolate bars.
Rainbow was laughing wickedly, until the crowd of Twilight’s friends that had been watching the event swarmed her. The pegasus tried to fight back, but the herd was simply too much and they over powered her. Screaming, Rainbow fell onto her back and dropped her sword.
The herd separated until only Rarity and Applejack were holding Rainbow Dash down as Twilight approached. “Why?” the unicorn growled frustratedly. “Why does nothing ever go according to plan with you?”
The pegasus simply roared in frustration. Jerking her legs in an attempt to get free, she cried; “You’re so boring!" she exclaimed. "Always reading or doing some stupid egghead thing; don’t blame us for trying to liven things up a little!”
Twilight felt a sudden pang of despair enter her heart, but it was quickly replaced by her rage. Rainbow thought she was boring? Fine; if she wanted to know how exciting Twilight could be, she’d show her.
Twilight picked the sword up off of the ground with her mouth. She wasn’t used to using items like this, but her anger taught her all she needed to know. She raised the weapon high above her own head, much like she’d seen Big Macintosh do, and prepared to bring it down forcefully. The cheers and roars of approval emanated from Twilight’s friends, unlike the look Rainbow Dash gave her.
Suddenly, the large doors opened up and a huge pink mare peeked her head through. “Okay everypony,” she said cheerfully. “ Come in, it’s time for lunch!”
“Yay!” all of the little ponies cried, quickly abandoning Twilight in favor of food. Soon, only Twilight and her closest friends remained.
“No fair...” Twilight pouted. “I didn’t get to finish!”
“Too bad, egghead!” Rainbow laughed, pushing the unicorn off of her. “Maybe we can finish after lunch?”
Twilight gave her friend a dejected nod. She’d really wanted to finish their first activity, but her stupid brother had to get in the way. Still, she kept her head down so as not to reveal her true thoughts. “Yeah...” she said, finally. “That’d be great...”
Twilight felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around to see her brother standing behind her. “Hey,” he said. “Can I have my sword back?”
“Hey Shining!” Rainbow greeted happily. “Thanks for that! It was getting really boring playing that stupid marrying game!” With that out of the way, the little cyan filly ran back into the house for lunch.
Twilight had to fight to keep her tears within her eyes, but they still burned, and so did her heart. Stupid Rainbow... she thought. Stupid Shining... Grumpily, she tossed Shining’s stupid toy sword on the ground at his hooves.
“Yeah, Shining,” she said, trying her hardest to emphasize the venom in her voice. “Thanks.”
Shining gave his sister a look of genuine concern. “Aw, what’s wrong, Twily?”
“You and your stupid friends ruined my wedding!” Twilight exclaimed, stomping a hoof on the ground. “I was going to marry Rainbow Dash and your stupid game ruined it!”
Her abruptness surprised Shining, who took a careful step back. He gave Twilight a confused look for a moment, before his face conveyed his dawning realization. “Oh, Twily! I’m sorry, I didn’t know! I swear!”
Twilight sat down on the grass, her head hanging low. “It doesn’t matter anyway,” she said sadly. “She thinks I’m just a boring egghead.” A foreleg wrapped around Twilight’s neck and pulled her closed to her brother.
“Twily, don’t worry about it!” he said encouragingly. “I mean, sometimes we like ponies we think won’t like us back, but you’ll never know for sure until you ask, right?”
“Like the way you like Miss Cadence?” she asked, looking up to her brother.
Shining’s face turned red, and he anxiously cleared his throat. “Um... I, uh... don’t know what you’re talking about...”
Twilight gave him a knowing smile, it was common knowledge among all the foals at day-care that her brother had a crush on their babysitter, Miss Cadence. Twilight just liked to push his buttons, it made her feel better when she was sad.
“But, uh, anyway,” Shining continued. “Next time, we won’t get in the way, okay Twily?”
“Okay,” Twilight responded, smiling happily.
Together, brother and sister walked into the house for lunch; and Twilight couldn’t help but smile: She had a wedding to attend after, and this time, she knew she’d get that kiss...