Halfling

by Dee Pad

Epilogue Part 3: Rehearsal

Halfling
By Dee Pad
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Epilogue Part 3: Rehearsal

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There were only a few days left until the wedding now, and the anxiety was beginning to reach its apex. But in which direction that anxiousness was weighted was entirely dependent on the person. For people like Autumn Maple and Rarity, they couldn't be more excited, awaiting the day with the impatience of a child whose birthday was coming up. And unexpected to most was the fact that Winter—the bride-to-be—was also in that camp. Most of her friends and family had expected her to be a nervous wreck about what was not only one the most important days of her life, but a very significant day for Equestria itself. But Winter was absolutely giddy, which only became more apparent as the big day crept closer.

But, of course, there was the flip-side of the coin. Some individuals were actually quite stressed out about the whole thing. Chamella had had the title of maid of honor thrust upon her and had been actively—perhaps over-actively—trying to make sure she earned it. Thankfully, in the last couple of weeks, she'd managed to level her head a little, though still always seemed a tad pensive, admitting that she was nervous, but when asked why by Rarity, or Shade and Winter, would always be vague and never give a specific reason.

Shade himself didn't seem to lean one way or the other. When anypony would ask him how he was feeling about the wedding, he'd usually say he felt a mix of nervousness and excitement. He had been told before that this was more so Winter's day than anypony else's, but being a changeling meant getting a fair share of the attention himself, so that was a bit worrisome.

However, one person that nopony really expected to be anxious was Twilight Sparkle. Although Winter had chosen the resident alicorn to be one of her bridesmaids, it wasn't that title that had concerned Twilight. The princess had taken it upon herself to make sure that this wedding was special, and had volunteered to assist Pinkie Pie with the planning of the event. But while Pinkie had been handling things like catering and seating arrangements for the reception, Twilight was focused more on the actual ceremony, overseeing its preparation and staging the rehearsal. But Winter had noticed that, over the weeks leading up to the wedding, the lavender alicorn had gotten increasingly stressed, and that may have had something to do with a special request she had put in for the wedding, which would come up at the rehearsal.

And the rehearsal was what Shade and Winter were currently on their way to attend.

A day as clear and as serene as this day was perfect for the wedding rehearsal, especially considering it was to be an outdoor wedding. The set for the wedding should have currently been under construction in a clearing near Sweet Apple Acres, the farm's proprietors kindly offering to build it for them free of charge. If Shade and Winter had to guess, Applejack and Big Macintosh were probably working on it at this very moment as the couple-soon-to-be-wed walked the dirt path to the farm.

Once the recognizable, large, red barn came into view from between the surrounding trees, it didn't take long for the changeling and pegasus to spot the site of their wedding. Not far from the barn—but far enough to ensure the smell of the barnyard animals wouldn't be detected—was a square, wooden stage placed upon the vibrant, green grass of a flat meadow. Upon the stage was a large, white arch of lattice. As soon as Winter saw it, a smile crept onto her lips. She knew that in a few days time, she'd be standing underneath that arch, tying the knot with the changeling walking beside her. The ivory pegasus had to take a long, shaky breath to prevent herself from squealing excitedly, an effort that didn't go unnoticed by Shade, who grinned himself at her enthusiasm.

As they approached the site, the two lovebirds took notice of who was present at the time. As anticipated, Applejack and Big Macintosh were busy piecing everything together, but from the looks of things, it was nearly finished. However, it appeared that they had enlisted Rainbow Dash to help out, who was stringing up vines and flowers along the lattice of the arch. Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Spike, and Chamella were present as well, each participating in setting up the many folding chairs where the guests were going to sit.

Considering they were supposed to be holding the rehearsal here soon, Shade and Winter were expecting there to be more people there already. Twilight wasn't present yet, which was surprising considering her aversion to tardiness, and Winter was also expecting her parents to be there, too. Nimbus and Autumn had taken their grandson out for a stroll some time ago, and Winter figured they would just end up at Sweet Apple Acres for the rehearsal, but apparently they were still out and about somewhere.

Once the pair were close enough, they were privy to a conversation going on between Rainbow Dash and Applejack. Though perhaps "argument" was more accurate.

"Come on, just picture it: they say 'I do,' then there's a huge rainbow filling up the sky! It'd be totally awesome!" exclaimed the cyan pegasus as she fluttered above.

"You'll shake the whole dang place to pieces!" the orange earth pony argued. "And this close to the farm, too. Ah ain't keen on the idea of havin' ta rebuild the barn again. Right, Big Mac?" she said, turning to the large, red stallion just off the platform.

Big Macintosh nodded his head, giving Rainbow Dash a similar disapproving glare. "Not unless she's offerin' ta help."

Dash scoffed, flicking her hoof dismissively. "You guys are such buzzkills." As she was rolling her magenta eyes at the two siblings, she happened to spot Shade and Winter approaching. She put on a confident smile before quickly flying down towards them, though remained airborne. "Hey, look, they're here now, so we can ask them." Dash looked at the two of them excitedly, though there was an almost pleading look in her eyes as well. "What do you guys think about letting me do a sonic rainboom at the end of the wedding? You two say 'I do,' you kiss, and then BOOM! Rainbows streak across the sky! That'll make your wedding a real spectacle, don't ya think?"

Winter's eyes widened with whimsy. "A rainboom? You'd really be willing to do that?"

Dash gave a modest flick of her hoof, though her self-satisfied smirk belied that attempt at modesty. "Psh, you say that like it's difficult."

Winter tapped her chin as she thought about it. "Hmm... I haven't really thought about, like, effects and stuff. A sonic rainboom would look pretty cool."

It was all Rainbow Dash could do to hold herself back from celebrating openly. Instead, she opted to rub it in Applejack's face. "Ha! Hear that?"

Applejack hopped down off of the wooden platform with a stern expression. "Now, don't go lettin' her sell ya something ya don't need. The shock wave from a sonic rainboom'll not only ruin the stage we're buildin' here, but our barn, maybe our house..."

"Not ta mention shaking all o' the apples outta the orchard," added Big Macintosh.

"It's dangerous, and it ain't practical," Applejack said with a firm stomp on the grass.

As appealing as the idea sounded on paper, Winter had to admit that Applejack had a point. She shook her head to clear the thought from her mind. "Okay, you're right, you're right. It might be a little much. Sorry, Rainbow Dash, but I'm gonna have to decline."

Dash let out a disappointed sigh, lowering her head slightly. "Alright, fine. No rainboom. We could make you're wedding even more awesome, but if you're okay with an average wedding, that's your decision."

"Don't go tryin' ta sway her; she said 'no,'" Applejack scolded.

"So how are things going around here?" Shade interjected, wanting to change the subject.

Finally, Applejack managed a smile, tipping the brim of her hat up proudly. "Smooth as Granny Smith's zap apple jam. The alter's comin' along just dandy, as you can clearly see," she boasted as she gestured to the arch upon the platform.

Winter tilted her head slightly as she scrutinized the structure. "It's a bit on the simplistic side, isn't it?"

Whereas that comment might have taken the wind out of somepony else's sails, Applejack received it graciously. "That's the beauty of it. Ah know this wedding's a big deal 'n' all, but that don't mean you gotta make it all extravagant. It'd be too distracting when you two are supposed ta be the centerpiece."

Winter lolled her head back and forth for a moment to think about it. "Mmm, yeah, I guess. I'll trust you on that."

Applejack couldn't help but detect a hint of disappointment, her confident smile fading. "What? It ain't good enough? Ah mean, Ah guess we can gussy it up a touch. Maybe we could ask Rarity fer a little—"

"Advice?"

Applejack nearly jumped out of her skin when the unicorn in question sidled up beside her, fluttering her long, mascaraed eyelashes expectantly. "Land's sake, Rarity, don't go sneakin' up on us like that."

"Sorry, darling, but I couldn't help but overhear your conversation. If décor is what you need help with, then you've come to the right mare. I could show you one hundred and one ways to make this alter fabulous!"

Applejack grimaced a little at the offer, but grinned regardless. "Just two or three'll be fine. But that'll probably have to wait until later. We ain't really got time for any more additions right now."

"When are we gonna start this rehearsal anyway?" asked Shade.

"We're still missing a few people," Winter noted, having a quick look around. "Mom and Dad are still out with Snow, and Twilight's not around. Where is she anyway?"

"Off to escort our 'special guests,' I believe she said," Rarity answered with a coy grin. "I trust she'll be back shortly."

"So what exactly do we do at a wedding rehearsal?" came another voice to join the conversation as Chamella walked up alongside Shade.

"Exactly as it sounds, darling; we practice what we're going to be doing at the wedding," Rarity explained. "You know, making sure everypony knows where their places are, what to say and when—although that's more for the bride and groom, as well as the officiant—and just to make sure everypony's familiar with how everything works. There isn't much to it, so you needn't worry."

"So it's kind of like a pretend wedding before the real wedding?" Chamella surmised.

Winter gave her a nod and a shrug. "Pretty much."

A small smile creased Chamella's fanged lips. "It actually sounds kind of fun."

"And that's a good attitude to have," Rarity told her with a smile of her own. "As the maid of honor, you don't have to do much during the ceremony itself other than stand behind Winter with the other bridesmaids. Normally, your duties would come during the reception dinner, but I know you've decided to not give a speech or anything, so there's not really anything for you to memorize except where to stand."

Chamella's smile dropped for a second, and she broke eye contact. "Um, right..."

"Speaking of the reception..." Winter interjected. "Is the town hall all ready for us?"

"You betcha!"

The sudden sound of a high-pitched voice jumping in startled the lot of them as Pinkie Pie hopped over to answer the question.

Applejack held a hoof to her chest and let out a long, exasperated sigh. "Alright, Ah'm headin' back to work on the alter before somepony ends up givin' me a heart attack. Come on, Big Mac. You, too, Dash."

Big Macintosh and Rainbow Dash didn't argue, following the stetson-wearing mare back over to the alter to finish their work.

"Anyway..." Pinkie continued. "Me and Twilight made sure that everything was all set up and ready to go this morning, so once this wedding rehearsal is donezo, we can skip on over for the practice reception."

Winter gave the pink pony a pleased smile. "Great. Sounds like everything's coming together pretty well." She once again took a brief glance around the area, scowling slightly. "But Mom and Dad need to pick up the pace. Mom's supposed to be one of my bridesmaids, and I'm not walking down the aisle without Dad, even if this is just a rehearsal."

"Not to mention Twilight," Shade reminded her.

Out of the corner of her eye, Pinkie Pie spotted something flying in from the distance, pointing it out to the others. "Well, speak of the alicorn, here she comes now."

Following the pink, pointing hoof, they did indeed spot Twilight Sparkle coming towards them from the sky. However, she was not alone, and for that matter, she was not the only alicorn on the way. Tagging along with her were none other than the two rulers of Equestria themselves: Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. But the presence of the two majestic mares was not a surprise to anypony present. As an offer to make this special wedding even more special, Twilight had offered to request one of the princesses to be the officiant, an offer to which the two royal sisters quickly agreed. They simply needed to decide which of them would be given the job, while the other agreed to attend the wedding as a guest. As of right now, nopony knew which of them it would be, but chances were they'd find out shortly.

The three alicorns touched down on the grass near where the group was conversing. Celestia and Luna landed quite gracefully, their presence always eliciting smiles from those nearby, or, in the case of those who were more rarely offered the opportunity to meet the princesses, awe. To punctuate their majesty, the rays of Celestia's own sun reflected beautifully off of the golden regalia she wore, and even the jet black pieces worn by Princess Luna. The two always carried themselves well, standing tall with their perfectly-preened wings extended and their magical manes flowing gently and almost hypnotically.

In contrast, Twilight's landing was noticeably less dainty, touching down with the audible thumps of her hooves on the ground, followed by an exhausted sigh. Also unlike the other two princesses, her mane and feathers were looking a little unkempt, and she didn't manage to meet her friends with a smile upon arriving. She didn't exactly exude the same air of sophistication and majesty as the other alicorns accompanying her.

As was the norm for when an average citizen was given the privilege to stand before Princesses Celestia and Luna, Winter instinctively bowed courteously. It wasn't the first time she'd been given the honor of meeting them, but it didn't get any less amazing. Even more so, she knew they were here because they would not just be attending her wedding, but one of them will be performing the marriage.

"Your Majesties, hi." Winter stood up quickly when she realized how dumb her greeting sounded, only punctuated by a nervous voice crack as she said it. "Oh, sorry! Um, i-it's an honor to see you both again!"

Celestia chuckled quietly, amused by the pegasus's anxiousness. "There's no need to be so formal. We're your guests. Just treat us as you'd like to be treated, Miss Maple."

"Soon to be Mrs. Maple," Pinkie corrected.

Both Celestia's words and Pinkie's point caused the alabaster pegasus to blush bashfully, having to force back a goofy grin.

"It has been quite some time since we've seen one another," Luna stated, looking at Shade and Chamella. "I trust you're doing well."

Shade gave the princess of the night an amicable smile. "Yeah, great."

Chamella added to that with a nod. "Mm-hm. It's nice to see you again, Princesses."

Celestia looked around curiously as though she had expected to see something that wasn't there. "Hm, I was hoping to see your foal. Do you not have him with you?"

Winter shook her head. "He's with my parents right now. They'll be here soon. I hope..."

"I'm quite looking forward to finally seeing the colt," Luna stated with an eager smile. "Equestria's first... Er, what was it you called him, Twilight?"

"Halfling," the lavender alicorn answered tersely. "And are they really not here yet? I explicitly stated that the rehearsal was at two p.m. It's not that complicated."

"You're being unusually testy, Twilight," Rarity said, noting her friend's scowl and rather disgruntled tone. "Perhaps you've been working a little too hard, hm?"

"I have to work hard!" Twilight argued defensively. "This wedding is a very important moment in Equestrian history. We should all be doing our part to make sure this goes perfectly."

Winter gave the clearly taxed alicorn a concerned frown. "Twilight, you really don't have to go to such lengths for us. Even getting Princess Celestia or Princess Luna to officiate our wedding is way more than enough." The smile that appeared on her face once she said that out loud threatened to tear her cheeks. She looked up at the two alicorns in question. "Oh, that's right! Did you decide who'll be performing the ceremony?"

Luna held her head up proudly, placing a hoof against her black, metal chest piece. "We have indeed, and you'll be pleased to hear that I will be your officiant."

Winter's smile faltered slightly. "Oh. Great, then. Thank you so much."

Luna paused for a moment, staring at the pegasus with mild displeasure. "Do I detect disappointment? Oh, I see. You were hoping that Celestia would do it, weren't you?"

Winter shrunk back at the accusation. Although she'd never say it out loud, that was what she was thinking. Now she had already received the ire of one of the princesses, and attempted desperately to backpedal. "Wh-What?! N-No, of course not!" she claimed with a forced and shaky smile. "It's just as much an honor to have you marry us, Princess Luna. Really."

Luna continued to glare at her askance, making the pegasus feel quite guilty and embarrassed.

"Statistically speaking, events hosted by, or featuring Princess Celestia tend to receive more attention in the media," Twilight explained. "Although that may be attributed to the public's familiarity with her and your one thousand year absence."

The midnight blue alicorn thrust her nose up with a huff. "Well, I assure you that anything my dear sister can do, I can do just as well, if not better."

"And this is your chance to prove it," Celestia said with an almost challenging tone and provocative smirk. "We agreed that Luna would act as officiant as she claimed it was her 'turn,' considering that I did so for Shining Armor and Cadance."

"And you're really okay with doing this?" Shade asked Princess Luna. "I know you're probably pretty busy, and it's not like we're royalty or anything, like Shining Armor and Cadance."

Luna waved off the changeling's concern with a hearty laugh. "Ha! Nonsense. As Twilight said, this is a most prodigious occasion, and one which will likely be written of in history texts. Had Twilight not requested it, I would have offered to take part regardless upon discovering you two planned to wed."

"Really?" Winter responded with a pleasantly surprised smile. "That's very considerate of you, Your Highness. I'm sorry if I seemed ungrateful before. It really is an honor to have you." She sugarcoated her apology with a respectful bow.

"Do not concern yourself. I promise to make your wedding most memorable," Luna told her with a confident smirk, though casting the expression sidelong toward her sister, as well.

Shade and Winter gave the princess of the night grateful smiles, the pegasus visibly having to hold back her excitement at having Princess Luna perform her wedding ceremony.

"Alright, so if everypony is satisfied with the situation, I'm going to check up with Applejack about the alter while we wait for Winter's parents to show up," Twilight insisted impatiently.

Rarity offered a concerned and somewhat scolding look toward the purple alicorn. "You know, with the way you're acting, you'd think you were the maid of honor, not just one of the bridesmaids."

The comment caused Twilight to stop in her tracks, taking another look around. "Speaking of which, where's Derpy? She's a bridesmaid, too, right?"

Winter rubbed her neck awkwardly. "Oh, right, forgot to mention that. She's a little busy today, so she couldn't make it."

Twilight didn't respond, but her eye visibly twitched. There was a moment where her friends thought that that was the straw that broke the camel's back. However, Twilight closed her eyes, placed a hoof upon her chest, took a deep breath, and extended her hoof outward as she exhaled. "That's fine. We can continue without her. I'll just give her a brief rundown on the day of the wedding. No biggie. Now, if you'll excuse me..."

With that, Twilight headed over toward the alter. Even though she had managed to keep her cool, it was evident that the stress was getting to her.

Rarity began making her way over to where she was as well, giving a brief glance over her shoulder to Winter. "I'll make sure she's... stable."

With that, everypony continued to set up for the rehearsal, or simply chat with the two princesses while they waited for Winter's parents to arrive so they could begin.

But unbeknownst to those who were already present, Nimbus and Autumn were already nearing the farm, though still taking their time and taking in the beautiful scenery as they casually pushed their grandson along in his stroller down the dirt path to Sweet Apple Acres.

The closer they got to the farm, the more antsy Autumn seemed to get, grinning widely and walking with a noticeable spring in her step. She turned her giddy grin to her husband. "This is so exciting, isn't it?"

Nimbus didn't share his wife's enthusiasm, though not from displeasure or lack of caring. "It's just the rehearsal, Autumn. The wedding is still a few days away."

The crimson mare groaned impatiently. "Oh, I know. It's brutal. I don't know how much longer I can take this."

Nimbus discreetly let out an exasperated sigh, shaking his head slightly. Lately it became difficult to distinguish Autumn from Winter; the two were endlessly excited about the wedding and acting like a couple of exuberant fillies. At the very least, he was happy to see that his daughter wasn't stressing out about parenting anymore, or the recent unpleasantness in the Changeling Kingdom.

"Excuse me!"

The married couple stopped, looking over their shoulders to see a beige, unicorn mare galloping towards them. They didn't recognize her, but she stood out with her professional-looking, black blazer and matching satchel slung over her shoulder.

After quickly catching up to the pair, the mare stopped to catch her breath for a moment before greeting Nimbus and Autumn with a friendly smile. "Hi. Sorry to bother you, but you wouldn't happen to be Winter Maple's parents, would you?"

"That's right," Autumn replied with a curious expression.

The mare nodded, maneuvering around them to see the halfling colt sitting in his stroller. "I thought so. I saw you walking with little Snowflake, so I figured it was a safe assumption."

Nimbus eyed up the unfamiliar mare suspiciously as she tousled the small tuft of green hair on his grandson's head. He noticed her cutie mark—a microphone with a scoop of ice cream on it—and didn't take long to come to a conclusion of his own. "You must be the journalist that interviewed Shade and Winter."

The unicorn placed a hoof on her chest proudly. "Daily Scoop. It's nice to meet you."

"You, too," Autumn greeted back with an amicable smile. "I'm Autumn Maple, and this is my husband Nimbus."

Nimbus simply greeted her with a quick nod and a short grunt.

"So, are you going to check out the rehearsal, then?" asked Autumn as the three began walking together towards Sweet Apple Acres.

A quizzical and somewhat surprised expression appeared on Daily's face. "The rehearsal? Is that where you're going?"

"I assume that's a 'no,'" said Nimbus.

"I didn't realize that was happening today. Well, if they let me hang around, that'd be great," Daily responded with an eager grin. "But in actuality, I wanted to talk to the two of you."

"Is that right? Why us?" Autumn inquired.

"Your daughter is about to marry a changeling," Daily answered matter-of-factly. "I'd like to get your input on their relationship. For example, I'd like to know how you reacted when you found out your daughter was dating a changeling."

Autumn chuckled amusedly. "Well, actually, we didn't know he was a changeling when we met him."

"He was disguised as a pony during our first meeting," added Nimbus.

Given everything she'd already learned about Shade, Daily was surprised to hear that. "Really? It's my understanding that he doesn't really like to deceive people with shape-shifting."

"Oh, he didn't want to," Autumn explained. "Winter made him because she was worried about how we'd react. Or, specifically, how he'd react." She pointed to Nimbus when she said that, who only grumbled quietly and rolled his eyes.

Daily found herself unable to suppress her interested smile, but managed to fight back the urge to pull out her pad and pencil. "And how did you react?"

"Oh, we were shocked, to be sure," Autumn answered with a chuckle as she recalled the day she met Shade. "And, honestly, if Nimbus hadn't continuously antagonized him, Shade probably wouldn't have bothered to reveal himself."

"So Nimbus disliked him even before finding out he was a changeling?"

"He was... a little more judgmental back then," the older mare told her. "Shade made the mistake of disguising himself as a unicorn."

Nimbus continued to grumble, still not making eye contact with Daily. However, there was a distinct look of shame on his grimacing face, and even a slight hint of a blush on his dull blue cheeks.

Daily caught on to Autumn's meaning, but judging by the look on Nimbus's face, she decided it was probably better to avoid certain buzzwords. "I see," was all she said in response, staring at the ashamed Nimbus.

"Don't be offended, Miss Scoop," Autumn said with a soft smile. "He's come a long way since then, I assure you. I mean, back then he probably would have said something about you being a unicorn moments after meeting you."

"Autumn, that's quite enough," Nimbus interrupted gruffly, his blush now equal parts shame and frustration. He then glanced at Daily with a begrudgingly apologetic expression, but said nothing before facing forward again.

"Anyway, what about Shade?" Daily said, choosing to get back on topic for the stallion's sake. "Did it take you long to get used to the idea of your daughter dating a changeling?"

"Not as long as you might think," Autumn said with a quiet giggle. "He was quite friendly and well-mannered, so it didn't take much for me to warm up to him. Nimbus took a little longer, of course, and he's still a little critical of him, but that's only because he wants what's best for Winter and Snowflake."

Daily nodded in understanding, but there was a note of impatience in her expression. She was eager to get to the real reason for chatting up Winter's parents. "So... Does Shade often visit his homeland? Does he miss the place at all?"

"I can't imagine he does," Autumn replied. "He doesn't exactly speak fondly of the Changeling Kingdom considering how difficult life was for him there."

Daily actually already knew that, but found it a good segue to her next inquiry. "Really? Well, I heard from somepony that he went back to the Changeling Kingdom fairly recently. You wouldn't know why, would you?"

Nimbus, and even Autumn, looked at Daily with raised eyebrows, casting suspicion on her. Daily reacted to the looks with an awkward grin. Clearly her intentions had been figured out.

"Sorry, but Shade and Winter think that now's not exactly the time to talk about that," Autumn explained with an apologetic frown.

Daily breathed a disappointed sigh. There wasn't really much point in being coy now. "Figures. I actually already asked them about it, but got nothing. Sorry for trying to probe you guys for information, but you have to understand that the two resident changelings going back to their home and hiding the reason why is going to raise concerns."

In response to that, Autumn smiled dismissively. "Oh, you don't have anything to worry about. After all, it's not like it was just Shade and Chamella. If it makes you feel any better about it, Princess Twilight and her friends were also there with them."

Daily's eyes widened in surprise. "Seriously? Huh. Well, if that's the case, I guess I can give them the benefit of the doubt. If Princess Twilight was there, then there must have been a good reason." She let out a somewhat annoyed groan. "You know, if they'd just said that from the start, I wouldn't have had to keep pestering them about it."

"Well, you can apologize in a minute," Autumn told her as she pointed forward.

Sure enough, during their conversation, the three adults and one tot had made it to Sweet Apple Acres. Autumn was specifically pointing to where Twilight was standing: upon the white stage, seemingly giving instructions to Applejack, Big Macintosh, and Rainbow Dash as they continued their work on the alter.

Autumn took a second to view the scene from a distance, a wistful smile on her face. "Oh, Nimbus, isn't it beautiful! It reminds me of our wedding." She snuggled up to her husband fondly as she reminisced.

"Replace the grass with clouds and I suppose so," he agreed, unable to keep a small smile from appearing on his lips.

But while the two pegasi were admiring the set where their daughter was to be married in just a few days, Daily's eyes were transfixed elsewhere. Even though Autumn had previously pointed out Twilight Sparkle, the journalist's focus was instead on the other alicorn princesses present. She was willing to admit that they were the last people she was expecting to see today. And what was more, they appeared to be engaged in casual conversation with the subjects of the article Daily was intending to publish.

"Is that... Princess Celestia and Princess Luna?" Daily asked incredulously, her mouth slightly agape.

Autumn nodded, a hint of amazement on her own face as this would be her and Nimbus's first time meeting them as well. "Mm-hm. I heard they might be here. Oh, this is exciting, isn't it? Actually, Miss Scoop, I believe one of them is supposed to be—oh, she's gone..."

Sure enough, Daily's own curiosity had lead to her already leaving the married couple behind and making a beeline for the princesses. Admittedly, Autumn was also quite eager to meet them, so she and Nimbus headed over as well.

"So, since I'll be performing my own duties, it falls on you to procure a gift for the bride and groom, Sister," Luna finished explaining.

"I think I can handle a simple gift-giving, Little Sister," Celestia retorted with a roll of her eyes.

The midnight blue alicorn scowled slightly at Celestia's purposeful choice of words, but chose to be the bigger mare—figuratively, of course—and not retaliate.

"Your Highnesses!"

The two princesses, as well as Shade, Winter, and Chamella, looked to see Daily Scoop hurriedly trotting towards them, an enormous and ecstatic grin on her face. Daily stopped in front of the regal mares—who stared in mild confusion at her—and gave a brief, respectful bow before quickly straightening up and instinctively removing her pad and pencil from her satchel.

"It is such an honor to meet you! I've been trying for years to get an interview with the royal sisters, but I never dreamed I'd just randomly bump into you two just out and about."

Celestia continued to stare at the unfamiliar mare, still a little caught off guard and befuddled. She turned to Shade and Winter. "Is this a friend of yours?"

Winter smiled awkwardly with a shrug. "Uh, more like an acquaintance. She's writing an article about us."

Panic suddenly overcame Daily as she suddenly realized the grievous error she'd made. "Oh, crap! I mean, shoot! I-I mean..." She frantically stowed her belongings back into her bag and bowed again, remaining in that position for longer than half a second this time. "I-I'm sorry, Your Majesties! I should have introduced myself first! My name is Daily Scoop. I'm a freelance journalist."

Luna gave Shade and Winter a vexed look. "You invited a journalist to the wedding rehearsal?"

Winter turned to Daily, letting out a sigh. "No, we didn't. We gave her permission to cover the wedding, but we didn't say anything about the rehearsal."

Daily suddenly felt sweat forming on her neck and swallowed nervously. She definitely felt like she wasn't making a good first impression with the princesses. "I-I wound up here completely by accident, I swear. I was just chatting with your parents while they were on their way here, that's all. I had no idea the princesses would be here, or that you were even holding the rehearsal here today."

At the mention of her parents, Winter finally noticed the two older pegasi making their way over with her son in tow, although, Autumn and Nimbus alternated between looking toward their daughter and the two alicorns with them.

"Well, at least they're finally here," Winter said with a relieved sigh. "We can get ready to start this thing soon, then. And I guess you can stick around if you want, Daily."

The beige unicorn grinned widely at having received permission—and by extension, forgiveness for her accidental intrusion.

Once Autumn and Nimbus had caught up, they offered respectful bows of their own to the princesses. "It's an honor to meet you, Your Highnesses," Nimbus said calmly.

Autumn and her husband stood up again, the mare smiling excitedly to be in the presence of the royal sisters. "I'm Autumn Maple, and this is my husband Nimbus. We're Winter's parents."

Celestia giggled quietly, amused by the child-like eagerness in the mare's voice and expression. "Lovely to meet you."

Autumn had to force back the urge to giggle gleefully like a schoolfilly, wanting to maintain some dignity in front of the two alicorns.

"So, if I might ask," Daily started, unable to hold back her curiosity. "What brings you two here today?"

Winter stepped in to answer the question in their stead, wanting to brag a little about the circumstances. "Actually, Princess Luna is going to be performing the ceremony for us, so they need to be here for the rehearsal."

Daily's jaw dropped in awe as she turned to the princess of the night, who was standing proudly. "Are you serious? That's unbelievable! Married by one of the royal sisters?! Talk about a scoop!"

Luna shot a haughty smirk up at Celestia. "Hear that, Sister? I'm a scoop."

Celestia simply responded with a roll of her eyes and a small, amused smile. Her soft, pink eyes then fell upon the quiet, little colt in the stroller Nimbus and Autumn had brought with them. The jet black foal was staring back up at her, his bright green eyes full of wonder and curiosity as he observed the tall, majestic mare. "So, this must be little... Snowflake, was it?"

Eager to introduce her halfling son to the princesses, Winter unfastened the stroller straps and picked up the tot, giving Celestia and Luna a clearer view of his thin, translucent wings. "Yep. Say hi to the princesses, sweetie."

Obviously, Snowflake didn't, simply continuing to stare at them instead.

"This is quite fascinating," Luna stated, leaning in to look him over more closely, specifically his wings. "You've essentially introduced a new race of pony into our society. Perhaps one day, if our relationship with the changelings ever improves, these 'halflings' will become just as plentiful as the other races."

"Wishful thinking at this point," Shade said with a forlorn sigh. However, he managed a small smile. "But I guess we can't know what the future holds."

"Regardless, he is certainly adorable," Luna commented with a friendly grin, giving Snowflake a light tap on his tiny muzzle. The tyke responded with an amused giggle, then reached his hooves out and grabbed the moon princess by the cheeks. "I fink he likesh me."

"Okay, Snow, let go of the princess now," Winter said to her son, gently pulling him away until his grip on her face loosened. "Well, I guess since everypony's here now, we can get started with the rehearsal."

"Just what I was about to suggest," came Twilight's voice as she trotted over to them. "We're running a little late, but I think we should still be able to wrap this up in time for the rehearsal dinner. So, if everypony would be so kind as to take their places, we can get this thing underway. Shade, you and Spike wait up at the alter. Bridesmaids, do likewise."

Daily leaned over to Winter, whispering to her. "She's really got all this wrapped up in a neat, little bow, doesn't she?"

Winter shrugged with a quiet sigh. "Personally, I think she's taking it a little too seriously, but that's Twilight for you."

Twilight then turned in Winter's direction. "Winter, you and Nimbus take your places opposite the alter while you wait to walk down the aisle."

Winter nodded with an eager grin, hooking her foreleg around her father's as she enthusiastically lead him to their designated posts.

"Everypony else, just take a seat. Princess Luna, come with me, if you please." Twilight gestured for Luna to follow her towards the alter.

With their orders given, everypony found their assigned spots, or took a seat upon one of the white, folding chairs at the front if they didn't have a specific role. Autumn left Snowflake with Rarity while she and Chamella took their positions on the left side of the alter, while Shade and Spike stood at the right side. Twilight and Luna soon joined them, with the blue alicorn standing between the two pairs.

"Seeing as how you haven't done this before, Princess, I've taken the liberty of writing up some flashcards with everything you need to say during the ceremony," Twilight explained, producing a small stack of cards with her magic and passing them to Luna.

Luna took the cards, giving them a brief look over. "And I'm to memorize this before the wedding, then?"

Twilight shook her head. "No, no, you can use them during the ceremony if you want. Nopony would blame you."

"I never needed flashcards," Celestia called out from her seat in the front row, flashing her sister a playful smirk.

Luna grimaced at the other alicorn's goading, but was interrupted by Twilight before she could retaliate.

"As strange as it is for me to say this, don't listen to Princess Celestia. It'll be fine." Twilight cast a glance over her shoulder at the white alicorn, her own expression a mixture of displeasure and shock at how childish her mentor was being. Celestia, meanwhile, was smiling innocently, as if she hadn't done anything.

Luna straightened up, composing herself and clearing her throat. "Very well. Shall we start, then?"

Twilight nodded, stepping aside and joining Autumn and Chamella. She then lifted her hoof into the air, gesturing to Winter and Nimbus at the opposite end of the set to begin walking down the aisle.

Winter nodded, unable to get the gleeful smile off her lips as she joined forelegs with her father. Despite the fact that this was merely the rehearsal, Nimbus also found himself smiling fondly at his daughter as they began walking down the aisle.

A shaky smile appeared on Autumn's face as she watched her daughter hoof-in-hoof with her husband as they approached. Emotional tears began to well up in her eyes, and it was all she could do to not start bawling.

Winter rolled her eyes with a grin as she watched her mother attempt to wipe the tears away. "It's just the rehearsal, Mom. Calm down."

"Better she get it out of her system now than at the actual wedding," Nimbus said with a shake of his head.

"Oh, trust me, I'll be crying at the wedding, too," Autumn retorted shakily as she rubbed her tears into the fur of her fetlock.

Once Winter and Nimbus climbed the short set of stairs up to the alter, the stallion gave his daughter another proud smile before letting her take her place next to her husband-to-be. Nimbus himself stood behind the changeling as one of his groomsmen; something to which Shade was surprised to hear him agree when he asked.

Shade and Winter gazed into each other's eyes. Even though this wasn't the real thing just yet, it still felt pretty real to the both of them, smiling lovingly at one another as they thought about how the big moment was actually fast approaching.

Princess Luna received a silent gesture from Twilight, and nodded in understanding. The midnight blue alicorn cleared her throat, holding up her flashcards and inhaling deeply. "I now pronounce you—oh, wait, that's not right..."

Twilight let out a quiet groan, holding a hoof to her face in exasperation. She could quite clearly hear the amused snickering of the sun princess from the seats, but chose to ignore her. "The cards are numbered, Princess."

"Hm? Ah, so they are." Luna began rearranging the cards, shifting them around and taking a little longer than was good for Twilight's nerves. Finally, with a grin, Luna finished arranging and cleared her throat once more. "There were are. Now then... Dearly beloved! We are gathered here—"

"Princess!" Twilight had to stop herself for a moment to compose herself as she interrupted Luna, taking a deep breath to calm her nerves. "You don't need to use the Royal Canterlot Voice. Just speak normally, please."

Luna raised an eyebrow. "Is this not an occasion deserving of such a thing?"

"I certainly feel like I don't deserve this right now..." Twilight muttered under her breath.

"Hm?"

The exasperated, purple alicorn shook her head. "Nothing. Just... continue. In your normal voice."

Luna nodded, turning to her flashcards again.

In the front row, the other rehearsal attendees were watching with some concern as Princess Luna finally managed to get started without anymore hiccups. However, it wasn't so much Luna that they were concerned about as it was Twilight, who appeared to be getting more and more frustrated as time went on.

Daily Scoop leaned over to Fluttershy, who was seated to her left. "Princess Twilight seems a little... exhausted. Is she alright?"

"She does seem a bit on edge, doesn't she," Fluttershy agreed with a concerned frown.

From the row behind them, Pinkie Pie leaned over the empty chair beside Fluttershy. "Yeah, she's been running herself ragged to make sure this wedding goes silky smooth. It's actually kinda aggravating," she claimed with a huff. "Winter hired me to plan the wedding, and now Twilight barges in and takes over most of the work. Free of charge even! How's a mare supposed to make a living when somepony else comes in and does the job for free? Doing things out of the goodness of your heart is all well and good, but you can't support a business without a little cash flow. That's just basic economics."

"I think she's more concerned about the... diplomatic implications of the wedding," Rarity chimed in from the seat right of Daily Scoop, baby Snowflake cradled in her hooves. "I'm sure that, as a princess, Twilight feels it's important that anything to do with relations with other kingdoms—even a hostile one like the Changeling Kingdom—should be taken seriously."

Fluttershy looked back up towards the changeling standing at the alter and gazing deeply into Winter's eyes as Princess Luna continued reading out her lines. "I don't think Shade necessarily represents the whole of the Changeling Kingdom, though. He and Chamella aren't really like the other changelings."

"Should somepony maybe talk to Princess Twilight? You know, maybe try to get this rehearsal a little more... streamlined?" Daily suggested.

"I don't think that's necessary," Princess Celestia interjected from the seat beside Rarity. Confusingly, the ivory alicorn had acquired a bucket of popcorn from somewhere and was happily munching away on the buttery treat. "This has already been quite entertaining. Why stop the show short?"

Fluttershy raised a befuddled eyebrow. "Where'd you get popcorn, Princess?"

"Oh, that was me!" Pinkie answered with a grin. "I don't go anywhere without emergency popcorn."

"Emergency popcorn? For what, an impromptu movie night?" the yellow pegasus questioned.

Celestia waved her hoof dismissively. "I wouldn't worry about Twilight. I'm sure things will turn out just fine."

The mares all looked at Twilight again. The lavender mare appeared to be having difficulty just standing up straight, and she did nothing to hide the distraught and exasperated look on her face.

"She doesn't look fine," Fluttershy observed.

Celestia chuckled at the doubt that the other ponies where exhibiting. "Trust me, when you've known Twilight as long as I have, you come to learn that these situations have a way of sorting themselves out, one way or another. So I'd suggest just enjoying the show while it lasts." She punctuated that by scooping a mouthful of popcorn into her waiting maw.

Though still unsure, the mares silently chose to trust the princess and returned their attention to the alter.

Princess Luna paused as she looked over the next card in the stack. "The card says that this is the point where the bride and groom exchange vows."

Winter nodded. "Mm-hm. And Shade and I wrote our own vows, but we're gonna save them for the wedding."

Luna nodded. "Very well. So..." She turned to the next card, then looked out to the crowd, small as it was. "If there is anypony who believes that these two should not be wed, speak now or—"

"Stop!"

Everypony nearly jumped out of their skin when Pinkie Pie suddenly stood up on her chair to loudly interrupt.

"Pinkie, what are you doing?!" Twilight snapped in aggravation, prompting the other bridesmaids to take a step back from her; judging by the look in her eye, she looked like she was about to burst a blood vessel.

Pinkie sat back down and explained matter-of-factly, "I'm making sure everypony's prepared. This is the part where somepony shows up at the last minute to profess their love to either the bride or groom and convince them they're making a mistake."

All eyes briefly turned to the maid of honor. Chamella glanced around, surprised, confused, and a little insulted by the collective insinuation. "Why's everypony looking at me? I'm not gonna do that."

Twilight groaned rather loudly, looking through tired eyes at Luna. "Princess, can you please...?"

Luna nodded, then flipped to the next card, smiling when she saw what was upon it. "And with that, it appears we have come to the conclusion." She cleared her throat. "I now pronounce you—"

However, she was interrupted once more when something gently landed upon her face. A vine had come loose from the arch above her, draping itself over the midnight blue princess's head.

With an awkward grin, Rainbow Dash flew up from her seat, removing the vine from the princess's visage. "Heh heh, uh, sorry about that. Must not have secured it well enough. Give me a sec."

As the cyan pegasus flew up to fix the minor error, Applejack called out to her from the front row. "Now, be careful Rainbow Dash; we still got work to do on that arch."

"Relax, I've been decorating this thing all day. I can handle it." Just to appease the earth pony, Dash gingerly replaced the vine back where it belonged, shooting a mocking grin back at Applejack. "See? No problem."

"Yes, yes, we're all very proud of you, Rainbow Dash," Twilight deadpanned as she ran a hoof through her frazzled mane. "But can we please just get on with it? We still have to get to the rehearsal dinner."

"Wait!"

All eyes suddenly turned skyward towards the new voice, which was quickly hurtling toward them. It happened to be certain grey pegasus careening in their direction while trying to hastily pull off her brown mailmare's uniform on the way.

"Derpy?!" Winter called out in confusion.

"Be right, ugh, there!" the clumsy pegasus called back.

Despite her reassurance, Derpy appeared to have gotten her head stuck in her haphazard attempt to remove her work clothes. With her already impaired eyesight obscured even more by her clothes, the clumsy mare began to lose control, tumbling and spinning as she quickly closed the gap to the ground. However, she didn't quite make it to the ground. Rainbow Dash quickly bolted out of the way as Derpy instead came to an abrupt stop when she crashed into the arch, her body now draped over the top of it with her shirt still messily covering her head.

"Urgh..." she groaned weakly from her new perch.

A loud creaking sound could be heard coming from the base of the arch, but before anypony had a chance to help Derpy out, the whole thing suddenly tilted backwards and collapsed onto the wooden platform with a loud crash. Everypony winced, clenching their eyes shut. When the dust settled, the arch was left in a broken heap with only Derpy's hind legs sticking up from the debris.

"I'm okay..." the accident prone pegasus moaned from the pile of wood and vines.

Applejack let out a sigh of resignation as she rose from her chair. "Get yer tools, Big Mac. We got some work to do."

Her burly brother followed suit, letting out a sigh of his own. "Eeyup."

Everypony else left their seats as well, but more so to help Derpy out of her predicament. Rainbow Dash plucked the clumsy, grey pegasus out of the debris, who then gave the others an embarrassed grin and profusely apologized for the damage she'd caused.

Meanwhile, Twilight could only stare at the carnage, stunned in disbelief at how off-the-rails a simple wedding rehearsal had gone. One of her bloodshot eyes twitched, and she turned to walk away. "Excuse me for a moment," she told those who cared enough to hear her in a surprisingly calm voice.

As most of the people present were either helping Derpy or beginning to clean up the mess she'd made, Winter watched with a concerned frown as Twilight walked away from the platform, and made to follow her. She hopped down from the platform and walked over to a nearby apple tree, where the lavender alicorn was softly and repeatedly pounding her head against its trunk.

"You okay, Twilight?" the pegasus asked.

Twilight let her forehead rest against the bark of the tree. "Does this look like the face of somepony who's okay?"

"What's the problem anyway? Why are you so stressed out?"

Twilight turned to face her, an incredulous look upon her visage as though the question were simply absurd. "Are you kidding? This whole thing has been a complete disaster!" she exclaimed, pointing to the leftovers of the archway. "Derpy said she wasn't going to make it, then shows up and wreaks the set. Princess Luna has no idea what she's doing, and Princess Celestia, of all people, is only making things worse by heckling her. And I know I heard chatting from the guests while Luna was talking."

Winter could see the frustration rising in the alicorn's eyes with each word. "It's just the rehearsal, though. There's no need to get all bent out of shape about it."

"If this is how the rehearsal goes, how well does that bode for the wedding?"

"Relax, Twilight. It's not that big a deal."

"It's a huge deal!" Twilight blurted out in aggravation. "This is the first pony-changeling wedding! It's an incredibly important event for the future of both kinds! How are our people supposed to take our potential relationship with the changelings seriously if it turns out to be a complete farce like this?!"

Hearing that, Winter knit her brow slightly. "Twilight, let me tell you something: that doesn't matter to me."

Twilight's mouth dropped open in surprise. "What? Why? This is your wedding. I'd think you, of all people, would be more concerned about this."

"Exactly. This is my wedding. At no point have I been thinking about what this means for ponies and changelings as a whole. This has always been about me and Shade. And, to be perfectly honest, I'm a little insulted that you've been treating it more like a diplomatic event than a friend's wedding."

Hearing those words, Twilight's ears drooped and her eyes turned away in shame. "Winter... Oh, gosh, you're right. I'm sorry. I've been thinking more about what this means for Equestria rather than what it means for you. It might be an important moment in Equestrian history, but it's also an important moment in your life."

Winter smiled softly, more than willing to forgive her for her behavior. "Don't worry about it. Just promise you'll loosen up a little bit, okay? I don't know if you've noticed, but everypony here seemed like they were having fun except you."

The pegasus looked over her shoulder toward the stage, with Twilight following her gaze. Derpy had been safely removed from the rubble and was laughing with an embarrassed blush. Nopony seemed upset with her, simply hazing her about her clumsiness and sharing in a laugh with her. Additionally, it appeared that Celestia and Luna were exchanging verbals blows once more, the former likely making scathing comments on the latter's performance as officiant, while Luna was actively defending herself with equally scathing retorts. The important detail to take notice of, however, was the smirks on both their faces.

Twilight let out a sigh. "I guess I have been a bit of stick in the mud, huh? But I still don't entirely understand; don't you want you're wedding to be perfect, Winter? It's such a big moment for you."

Winter took a moment to continue staring at the others, particularly focusing on her future husband who was helping Rainbow Dash clean up the broken pieces of lattice from the arch. She then turned back to Twilight, a fond smile creasing her lips. "Sure, it'd be nice if everything went off without a hitch. I'd love it if Princess Luna could read her lines without pausing every few seconds. It'd be really cool if Rainbow Dash could do a sonic rainboom during the kiss. And it'd be nice if Derpy could not destroy the whole set. But all of that stuff would just be fluff. I told Shade that if he doesn't want to get married, we don't have to. We're doing this because we want to, and for no other reason. Our wedding could wind up a complete and utter catastrophe, but it doesn't matter to us. At the end of the day, the only thing that it'll take to make this wedding perfect, is if Shade and I get to say 'I do.'"

Twilight smiled back at her, feeling a little silly for the way she'd been acting. "That does sound nice, doesn't it? So, you wanna give this thing another shot before we head over to town hall?"

Winter raised an eyebrow. "Won't we be late for the dinner?"

The alicorn shrugged with a grin. "What's a few extra minutes gonna make? Or an hour. You know, whatever."

Winter giggled at Twilight's attempt at nonchalance as the two started making their way back to the others. "Is that you 'loosened up'? You don't relax much, do you?"

Comments

[Hooper_Canson]

Twilight

[DezzarTac]

When you're so stressed out that you just get chill.