Ch. 29: "Royal Canterlot Wedding"
Chapter Twenty-Nine
“Royal Canterlot Wedding”
The next morning was a flurry of activity as everyone got into place for the wedding.
I actually had to go pry Applejack away from the kitchens and get her to the changing rooms so that she could be put into the bridesmaid dress Rarity had made for her (I did it by abducting her hat and running like a bat out of Hell through the castle ‘AJ’s gonna beat your ass later for that.’ Hey Nica, feeling better? ‘You say that as though I was sick… but yes, I’m back to one hundred percent functionality; my snark launchers are active and waiting, Commander.’ Glad you’re back, Nica, it’s been too quiet around here).
Anyway, it was approaching time for the wedding and ponies began filing in. As I was waiting to be shown where to go, I saw Twilight approaching me and my jaw dropped at her appearance ‘I thought we were done with the whole jaw-dropping schtick’.
She was wearing a sleeve-less, regal red dress with a green leaf-like frill at the neck and a shining red and pink star was pinned to the front of it, a wide pink silk ribbon was tied around her hips with a bow at her left side. On her head was a ring of polished mint-green stones held together by a piece that looked like three green flowers with small polished pink stones set in the middle of each and on her hooves was a pair of silver shoes that sparkled in the sunlight. Her mane had been styled in such a way as to retain the same basic shape she always kept it, but curled much like her mother’s. Make-up had once again been applied in such a way as to draw attention to her beautiful amethyst eyes.
She stopped in front of me and I felt as if nothing else existed at that moment apart from the two of us.
“Wow, Twi…” I breathed, staring at her in awe “You look… so beautiful.”
“Thank you, Leon.” She replied, blushing slightly but smiling “And you look very handsome in your suit.”
“This old thing?” I say with a coy smile and a shrug “It’s just something I had laying around the house.”
“You’re hilarious.” She laughed, then leaned forward and we kissed briefly before she whispered in my ear “But I can see the ‘R’ Rarity embroidered on the jacket and I also saw it in her room yesterday.”
“Heh, nothing escapes your notice, does it?” I replied, also whispering into her ear, which twitched at my proximity “Except for when it’s painfully and hilariously obvious.”
“Oh, you.” She said, shoving me lightly, but also leaning in for another quick kiss.
Shining Armor showed up at that point with his and Twilight’s parents, who both greeted me warmly and thanked me for saving their daughter’s life, along with a few of his friends, who all shot me dirty glances because I’d taken the front spot.
We took our positions up near the end of the chapel, with the other Elements and Terra (whom Cadence had graciously named a Bridesmaid and who was looking absolutely stunning in a light-purple gown and had her hair done in a loose tail that fell over her left shoulder, with a lilac inserted just above her right ear, and light purple shoes on her feet that had a slight heel to them. She caught me looking at her, blushed, and gave me an embarrassed smile) taking their positions opposite the Groomsmen with Shining Armor and Twilight taking their spots in front with a waiting Princess Celestia.
Soon enough, Fluttershy had her bird choir start singing the bridal music and the doors to the chapel opened and the CMC skipped out, casting flower petals around them as they went, with Cadence following shortly after in her gorgeous bridal gown, the train being carried aloft by more of Fluttershy’s birds.
I heard Twilight begin whispering something to her brother, but I didn’t pay attention to what they were talking about; it wasn’t my business. I instead directed my attention to the bridesmaids and saw Rarity close her eyes in tears and Applejack, seeing that Rarity was no longer paying attention, reach behind her to pull her Stetson out… and watched with amusement as her face fell in horror when she discovered it was not there.
Her eyes glanced around frantically until they settled on me as I pulled the headpiece out and plopped it on my own head with a sly wink, having stolen it earlier with my magic when no one had been paying attention.
If looks could kill, I’dve been a pile of ash, but it was so worth it and I could hear Nica roaring with laughter in my head and I noticed Celestia had a carefully neutral expression on her face, though she winked at me when I glanced at her. Twilight, however, was not amused and yanked the Stetson off my head and hid it somewhere on her person. Fortunately, Nica managed to get her laughter under control before Cadence got too close. The Princess of Love ascended the steps and stopped next to Shining Armor just as the bridal chorus ended.
“Ladies and Gentlecolts.” Princess Celestia began “We are gathered here today to celebrate the union of the real Princess Mi Amore Cadenza-”
“Please, ‘Princess Cadence’ is fine.” Cadence interrupted her with a smile, which Celestia returned with a nod.
“The union of Princess Cadence and Shining Armor.” Celestia continued “The strength of their commitment is clear; the power of their Love, undeniable.”
“Do you, Princess Cadence, take Shining Armor to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, to love and cherish until Death do you part?” Celestia asked.
“I do.” Cadence replied and Celestia turned to Shining Armor.
“And do you, Shining Armor, take Princess Cadence to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, to love and cherish until Death do you part?”
“I do.” He replied.
She turned to Spike, who’d been standing just behind Twilight “May we have the rings, please?”
Spike nodded and presented the cushion that had the golden bands on it. They were levitated off and slid upon Cadence and Shining Armor’s ring fingers.
“I now pronounce you Husband and Wife; please head on to the balcony and greet your new subjects.” Celestia said as a pair of side doors were opened and the newly-weds walked out to the roaring cheers of a huge crowd of ponies, where they began to wave at them.
“This day does not belong only to them, Twilight Sparkle.” Celestia said after a moment, and we all turned our attention to her “You persevered in the face of doubt and through your actions, you were able to find and return the real Princess Cadence to us.”
“Were it only me, Princess, I would gladly accept your praise.” Twilight responded, before sliding her arm through mine and looking at me affectionately “But it was Leon who told me what I needed to do in order to find her; without him, Chrysalis might’ve won.”
“I doubt that, Twi.” I say, rubbing the back of my head in embarrassment “You still would’ve figured it out on your own, all I did was show you support when the others couldn’t see past the lie.”
There was sound behind me like several ponies shuffling their hooves nervously while Celestia gave me a warm smile.
“Do not sell yourself short, Leon.” She said, approaching me and placing her hand on my shoulder “My sister has told me that the unique defense of the city was entirely your idea. Without your response team, there would have been many casualties. And let’s not forget you risked your life to save Twilight Sparkle, whom many here care about dearly. I wish to honor you for everything you’ve done for us.”
“Oh that won’t be necessary; I’m content knowing everything has turned out for the best.” I say, feeling a blush rise on my face.
“Your modesty, nobility and conviction are also things I wish to honor you for.” She replied with a giggle, and then presented a badge to me shaped to look like a pair of Alicorns (the actual horse version not the anthro-pony) bearing the royal crest of the Diarchy.
I glanced at it curiously, then looked at Celestia, who stared calmly back at me.
“This badge has not been seen in Equestria for a very long time. It comes from a time before my sister and I created the Elements and was worn by select ponies who displayed characteristics of True Valor.” She said her eyes boring into my own, which had widened slightly.
“You mean-” I murmured quietly and she cut me off before I could continue.
“As Regent of Equestria, it is with great honor that I bestow upon thee the title ‘Paladin of Dawn’. And since Veronica is your counterpart, I am also granting her the title ‘Paladin of Dusk’.” She says and smiles at me “Allow me to be the first to congratulate you both on this tremendous accomplishment, Sir Leon.”
“Your Majesty, I-I don’t know what to say….” I said as my mind reeled “I… I thought there’d be more ceremony than this.”
“My sister and I thought it would be prudent to not distract the masses from the wedding.” She replies, giggling “Plus, you didn’t actually want all of the bells and whistles to go with a full Knighthood Ceremony, did you?”
‘Hell no.’“Not particularly.” I chuckle, but my face grew solemn “What about the response team?”
“Luna is handling that part, as the plan was created by the two of you.”
I stare at the badge before pinning it to my chest and Celestia nods approvingly.
“Whenever you wear this badge, ponies everywhere will know that you are an individual of tremendous honor and nobility and they will recognize that you carry the favor of myself and my sister.” She says and I bow respectfully.
After which, we all turn back to the balcony just in time to see Shining Armor and Cadence exchange their first kiss as a married couple.
“This is your que.” Celestia says to Dash, who promptly shrugs her dress off to reveal a flight suit underneath and shoots off into the sky, creating a Sonic Rainboom on her way up.
“I gotta admit.” I say as Twilight takes my arm again and leans her head on my shoulder “That Rainboom is something else.”
“Yep.” Twilight replies “It sure is…”
Once it fades, we all depart the chapel and head to the ball room for the reception, to fully celebrate the union of Cadence and Shining Armor.
Sakura greeted us warmly at the entrance to the ballroom, giving me a brief hug before turning to the security guard next to her, who was also the first bouncer we’d met when Twilight and I had our first date at Aurora Hall.
He looked at the list, checked our names off and allowed us to pass, though he gave me a formal bow at the sight of my Knight’s Badge. I merely patted his shoulder in the same way I did when we first met and continued onward.
As we stepped into the ball room, there was already a large group of ponies around, with Spectra’s employees expertly weaving through them holding trays of drinks and snacks. What amazed me was that none of the guests seemed to mind the presence of wolves and foxes serving the food or the burly Minotaurs and lean Gryphons standing guard at strategic points of the room.
Shining Armor and Cadence were scheduled to be “fashionably late” to give the guests time to arrive at the reception, so Twilight and I had to endure many fancy ponies walking up to us, bowing and then talking about my new title; apparently receiving an Equestrian Knighthood was a big deal and they all wanted to get to know me, for one reason or another.
It wasn’t all bad. We met up with Spitfire and Soarin’, who were there representing the Wonderbolts, and they both saluted me sharply when they saw my badge, afterwards we chatted for a little bit. Once that was done, we parted with the Wonderbolts and made our way to the DJ booth, where Vinyl immediately came out and the two of us gave our traditional greeting while Twilight giggled.
Vinyl was incredibly excited when I told her of my Knighthood and explained that while most ponies may not know exactly what my new title was, they would recognize the badge as a sign of favor from the Princesses and that it immediately made me the “type of pony everypony should know”. Octavia showed up as the DJ finished explaining, gave me a formal bow but also our usual light hug with me telling her she did not have to bow to me, as she was my friend first and foremost.
Spectra also managed to track me down with his secretary at his side (who was wearing an elegant, glittery blue dress that accented her eyes very well, which were still very stern. I wondered why Spectra would elect to bring his secretary as his date, but then figured there might be more to that story than meets the eye… and also that it was probably none of my business). The two of them congratulated me on my Knighthood, bowing respectfully before bidding Twilight and I farewell and heading into the gaggle of ponies, who were also queuing up to try and speak to the recently-emerged alicorn.
Eventually, Shining Armor and Cadence arrived, and the ponies gathered all began to clap for the newly-weds. They waved at them all, but made their way over to where Twilight and I stood and Shining Armor was about to speak, but he froze when he saw the badge on my chest.
“Don’t even think about bowing, saluting, or paying me any respect in any way, shape or form, other than an exchange between friends.” I say immediately, bowing before them myself “Today is for you, and as such no one shall receive more attention than the two of you.”
“Then I must say much the same to you, Leon.” Cadence replies with a warm smile “You have done so much for Equestria, and for us. I believe I speak for all of us when I say that you bow to no pony.”
“Thank you, Cadence, you are too kind.” I reply and the two of them head to the dance floor to share the first dance to a slow melody that Vinyl had begun to play while the rest of us watched them.
“Greetings, everypony.” Luna says, landing next to me “Have I missed anything?”
I glance at her and tap the badge on my chest. Her mouth opens in surprise, but it quickly turns into an approving smile, and she bows her head slightly in respect. Just as I turn back to my marefriend, I see her nod at Pinkie, who gave a huge smile and shot off towards the DJ booth, knocking Vinyl over in the process and slapping the DJ’s headphones over her own head.
“Let’s get this party started!” She cries out as she pulls Vinyl back up, with the DJ immediately taking a new record and putting it on the turntable while Pinkie tossed a mic over to Twilight, who’d maneuvered herself over to the dance floor.
Twilight caught it, and began to sing the song that apparently all the bronies back in the world I came from love (I never really cared for it much myself, but then again I was converted to bronyism after discovering Vinyl Scratch so I may have a eschewed taste in music in regards to that).
As she sang, everyone began to dance excitedly as the party began in earnest, with some pony wandering around taking pictures of all of us. I was caught dancing with Scootaloo, who wasn’t really good at it but was making a spirited attempt to mimic my moves, which weren’t exactly the best either (my dancing is passable enough, but I’m not gonna win any competitions with it).
Once she finished her song, we all clapped for her and she came over to join me, but Vinyl seemed to have other plans.
“Hey, Sir Brony!” The DJ called out, and I face-palmed “Get yer flank up here and sing us a song, wouldja?”
“Absolutely not, Vinyl!” I retorted with an embarrassed smile.
“Song, song, song, song!” Vinyl began to chant and clap with everyone else joining in, even Twilight, who actually nudged me forward a bit. After a minute of chanting I held up my hands in defeat.
“Alright, alright, but I get to choose the song!” I say, and Vinyl nods excitedly and whips her device out.
I consider what my options were, eliminating one immediately. I mean, it’s a great love song and it’d be well received by everyone here… except for my friends, who knew what had happened to me two days ago, and especially Twilight. I settle on one I think is appropriate and hurry up to Vinyl and tell her the song. She smiles broadly and nods, selecting the song and making the adjustments on her board while Twilight levitates the mic over to me and I take my place in front of the booth, clearing my throat.
And then the song begins (I Don't Want To Miss A Thing - Aerosmith: Vocals Removed).
As I sang, couples all began to gather on the dance floor and sway gently to the music, while Twilight stared at me with affection in her eyes. The reason I know this is because I’d barely taken my own eyes off of her since I started singing; after all, I’m singing more for her than the bride and groom.
The song ended and everyone clapped for me, with Twilight walking up to me and giving me a kiss, which garnered even more clapping as we hugged. I heard Vinyl clear her throat behind me and I glanced at her curiously as she held up her device with a devious grin on her face.
“One more song, brony, and then I’ll letcha go.” She said and I sighed, but gave her a smile.
“Alright, Vinyl.” I said, then an idea hit me “You wouldn’t happen to know what time it is, would you?”
“Why, I think it’s Nine in the Afternoon, Leon!” She replies and sets the song up to play (Nine In The Afternoon - Panic At The Disco: Vocals Removed), as I hold Twilight close.
And once again, after a bout of high energy dancing, the ponies all clapped for me as I bowed and returned the mic to Vinyl, who patted me on the shoulder and smiled before putting on another, slower paced song. I turned to Twilight and took her hands in mine.
“Would you honor me with a dance, Miss Sparkle?” I ask her and she nods, and I lead her onto the dance floor and pulled her in close, where we began to sway gently to the music.
We did not speak, just closed our eyes and held each other, enjoying the closeness we felt as the rest of the party melted away, leaving only us and the music. It was short-lived, but it was one of those moments I’d treasure forever (especially since the wedding photographer slipped a copy of the photograph he’d taken of us into my pocket). Another slow song began to play, but before Twilight and I could depart the dance floor, Terra approached us with a nervous blush on her face.
“Umm, Twilight?” She asked, and my marefriend gave her a curious look “Would you… mind if I asked Leon to dance with me… just this one time?”
I looked at Twilight, who looked from me to Terra, before nodding her assent with a smile. She left my side, and Terra turned to me, her face red. I said nothing, just bowed and extended my hand, which she took and I pulled her close but not as close as I had with Twilight. I put one arm around her waist and she placed a hand on that arm, while I took her other hand and held it gently to the side and we began to sway to the music, my eyes never leaving hers.
“So…” I say quietly as we dance “What’s on your mind, sweetheart?”
She glances away sadly and I wonder what’s wrong with her, but don’t say anything. After a moment, she looks at me again, her eyes full of sorrow.
“Leon, I…” She begins, her voice little more than a whisper “I’ve asked Celestia to try and find my own world… to send me back. She says it could take a couple of months, but that she’ll make it happen.”
“Why?” I ask her, my tone calm despite the heaviness in my heart.
“Because… I have to go back.” She says quietly, but firmly, her eyes full of conviction “There are people there I have to protect, and I won’t abandon them while they still need me.”
“Are you sure that’s what you want?” I ask her, and she nods.
“Yes, it is. To tell you the truth, I was originally scared of going back… of having to continue fighting. But now…” She replies and smiles at me “I’m not afraid anymore. And it’s thanks to you, Leon. You’ve given me the courage to follow my heart, which is telling me that I must return no matter how much pain it will cause me to do so.”
“Then you’ve done better than me. I’ve chosen to leave my world behind.” I said, glancing towards the ground, but she shakes her head calmly.
“No you didn’t. There was nothing left for you in your old world. Here, you have a future of happiness ahead of you... with Twilight.” She replies with a sweet smile. The song ends and we stop dancing, but I look at her and smile.
“Thanks, Terra.” I say and draw her into a warm hug “I wish you the best of luck and my thoughts will always be with you.”
“Thank you, Leon.” She replies quietly “You’re a great friend… I’ll miss you once I’m gone.”
“I’ll miss you too, sweetheart.” I reply and we break the embrace and return to Twilight, who gave us an approving smile.
Eventually, the party started to wind down and the newly-weds went over to a nearby carriage, with Shining Armor helping Cadence in before turning to Twilight and I.
“Twilight.” He said, giving his sister a warm smile “None of this would’ve been possible without you, Little Sis. Love you, Twily.”
“Love you too, BBBFF.” She replies and the two hug briefly before Shining turns his attention to me.
“Leon… I still can’t thank you enough for saving my sister.” He says and I nod with a smile “I look forward to hanging out with you in the future.”
“Same here, bro.” I reply and we bump fists. He’s about to climb into the carriage, pauses, then turns suddenly to me and gives me a fierce hug, which made my chest twinge but I returned it none-the-less.
We break the embrace with a pat on each other’s shoulders and he climbs into the carriage.
“Ready to go?” I hear him ask Cadence. There was a moment of silence before I heard Cadence gasp.
“Oh! I almost forgot.” She says, leans out the window and is prepared to throw her bouquet over her shoulder when she sees Twilight and I. She smiles and lightly tosses the bouquet to Twilight, who catches it with a look of surprise on her face, then glances at me and we both blush, smiling at each other.
The Elements, Terra and Seeri, who was wearing a very elegant dress that was once more designed to look like flames, join Twilight and I as we watch the couple depart.
“Now this was a great wedding.” She says as she takes my hand, entwining her fingers in mine and squeezing lightly.
“Oh yeah?” We heard Spike say and we all turned our attention to him “Just wait ‘till you see what I have planned for the Bachelor Party!”
Everyone groans with different variations on “Spike…” and several of us face-palm, though we all began laughing.
Later that evening, Twilight and I departed the party and returned to our room. Twilight was about to begin preparing for bed but I stopped her.
“Hold up, Twi.” I say, and she looks at me curiously “Would you mind joining me on the balcony for a moment? There’s… something I wish to ask you.”
She nods with a smile and heads out while I go over to my coat, which is hanging next to the door and pull the ring out of an interior pocket. I breathe deeply and exhale, my body suddenly shaking from the nerves at what I was about to ask her. Shaking it off, I step out onto the balcony with her and she smiles expectantly at me.
“Twi…” I begin, staring at her carefully “Do you remember what I told you, the night I declared my love for you?”
“Of course I do, Leon…” She replies, her eyes full of love “You told me that coming here was the best thing that ever happened to you because you… met me.”
“Well, to be completely honest…” I say and I give her an affectionate smile “It goes so much further. You’re everything to me, Twilight Sparkle. You’re the air I breathe, the water I drink and the light I see each morning when I wake up. I love you so much, and I can’t imagine my life without you in it, and with that in mind, I’m going to ask you the single most important question of my life… and hopefully yours as well.”
A look of shock appeared on her features and she stared as I got down on one knee and presented the small box to her, opening it up to reveal a silver-gold ring, inlaid with a flawless amethyst and six small diamonds, three set to either side of the main gem. ‘It’s about damn time, Leon, though honestly you were practically married already with the amount of contact you two have had with each other, but hey; details.’
“Twilight Sparkle… will you, who has made me happier than anyone I’ve ever met before, make me even happier by marrying me and becoming my wife?” I ask her and she just stares at me in shock for a moment, her brain trying to process what I just asked her. Sure, she may have known it was coming, but she didn’t know when.
Just as I was beginning to think I’d accidently broken her, her mouth slowly changed from the “O” of surprise to a smile so excited that it could barely be contained to her face.
“Yes! Of course I will!” She exclaims as I slide the ring onto her finger. It was a little loose but we could always get it resized later.
As soon as it was on, she tackled me to the ground and gave me the deepest, most passionate kiss I’d ever received from her. It takes a couple of minutes, but she eventually breaks the kiss for air. She tries to move in for another, a hungry expression on her face, but I stop her.
“Why don’t we continue this inside?” I tell her. She’s hesitant for a moment, but climbs off of me and we head inside, closing the balcony door behind us.
That night, neither of us got much sleep and I was in direct violation of my doctor’s orders of “not exerting” myself.
He can go suck an egg for all I care.
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You did great. I loved it. I was screaming and yelling. Best story EVER!!!!! It was so beautiful!
3152865 Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it! I'm doing my best right now to ensure that the next book will be just as entertaining, with fun new allies and plenty of adventure, not to mention the romance will be just as strong!
That was amazing and is definitely in my top 5 favorite stories. I will be reading more of your stories.
You just got another follower.