Trouble Brewing
Rarity hummed to herself as she sewed the final dress together. One might have thought she was happy, but those that knew her would identify it as simply a working habit. Music drowned out the world around her, and it helped her concentrate.
As she added the collar, the door to her workroom opened, and Prince Blueblood trotted in. His face was of firm defiance.
"Are you almost finished?"
"Yes."
Blueblood faltered. He had expected a dressing down for his curt reply; being a prince meant nothing to this mare, but he steeled himself and went on. "Good. We'll be leaving in the morning. And I don't want to hear another word about my personal affairs."
"You won't."
"I don't want to..." Blueblood trailed off as his brain registered Rarity's words. He looked at her, watching as she continued her work as if her jailer wasn't in the room with her. "You... aren't? You really are going to just drop it?"
At that, Rarity truly did stop, though she still didn't look at him. After a moment, she spoke. "I... I let the gossip in me get out. For that, I truly am sorry. You're right, it's really none of my business. I'm just going to do as I'm told and get this over with."
Blueblood blinked. Of all the reactions she had been expecting, this was the absolute last one. “Really? That’s it?”
She nodded. “Unless you ask me for help, yes. Now then, if you don’t mind, I have so much to do. If there’s nothing else, I’d like to get back to work.”
There was a pregnant pause.
“...Sure. Um... keep up the work.” Blueblood turned to go. “Oh, I almost forgot: no dinner together tonight. It’s unnecessary. Well, if you want to, I can arrange something.”
“Whatever you think is for the best,” Rarity said, turning back to her work.
Blueblood lingered a bit before he turned and trotted out of the room. As the door closed, she let out a breath. It was painful, seeing him go. He was somepony who was hiding something, somepony who needed help, and she was just walking away. But what could she do? He had made it clear he didn't want her help.
Sighing, she continued her work. It helped her think.
Blueblood didn't even realize he was back into his office until he was sitting behind his desk. He was disappointed. Of course he was. He loved shutting ponies down. Whether they be politicians who dismissed him as a boorish drunk, or mares who thought they'd be the ones to tame him.
But Rarity hadn't been shut down, at least not by him. She had walked away before his chance came, a situation he wasn't used to. Either mares were too thick to give up, or they were decent enough not to try the fanfilly routine on him.
Then again, Rarity was a special case, wasn't she? She had been successfully chased off, only to have their paths cross again. He had hoped the hatred she had for him would keep her distance, but she had tried anyhow.
She was taking herself away. That only left...
He shuddered at the attempt to get his attention at the restaurant. They were trying again. Luckily, he wasn't going out for the next few days. Not until after Rarity left.
Blueblood couldn't help but cringe at that.
He reached for his scotch. He needed a drink.
The griffon embassy was not a welcoming place, but the ponies visiting were confident it would end well.
They had gotten their interview with Gilda, and despite being even less cooperative than the Flim Flam Brothers, they had gotten their questions answered. She had been on duty the last few weeks, with no time to pull off anything. A pony liaison managed to confirm her story. Another dead end.
They gave Gilda a pleasant goodbye. Gilda told them where they could stick their goodbyes before storming off. The ponies didn't fire back.
"Well, that was pleasant," Applejack muttered as the pair left the embassy. "We've been all over Equestria and accomplished nothing."
"Don't remind me," Twilight said. "This means it has to be Chrysalis, and there's no way we can even find her." Then, after a pause, said. "So we might as well enjoy our night. How about dinner?"
Applejack nearly had a heart attack. "D-Do somethin'? Like a date?"
Twilight blinked. "Um... not really. We always do stuff together. It's just right now we'll do it without the others."
Applejack blushed. "Uh, right. Heh. Sorry, Twi. Guess everythin's gettin' to me."
Twilight smiled. "I don't blame you. My knees are still shaking from what my family must be thinking right now."
Applejack was confused for a moment, but she understood. Thanks to Flim and Flam's antics, their relationship was all over Equestria. Likely Twilight's family had found out by now that they had a new in-law.
"I bet Mom's freaking out right now. And Dad... they're probably ashamed."
"Twi, don't be like that," Applejack said. She put a foreleg around her friend and pulled her close. "You always got a way of makin' things sound worse than they really are. I'm sure yer parents an' Shiny won't think anything less of ya. You just made a mistake. I'm sure they aren't doin' anythin' less than wantin' to meet me." Applejack stopped,. then shuddered. "I wonder what they'll think of me."
"Relax, Applejack. I'm sure my family will love you."
Twilight Velvet and Night Light were dealing with conflicting emotions. They had heard that their daughter had gotten married, a ridiculous notion that simply had to be a tabloid rumor. However almost immediately after they decided this a chariot arrived to summon them to the palace, saying that the Princesses had something to discuss with them.
After spending the entire ride there trying to convince themselves it was a coincidence, they had arrived at the Palace only to be brought not to the throne room, but to Princess Celestia's private chambers.
They had simply been shown a video. Throughout it, thoughts of horror, disgust, anger, and shock passed through them at the sight they were seeing. However, eventually, one emotion won out.
"Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!"
The pair hit the floor laughing, trying to get air in their lungs. Celestia, used to this routine by now, simply waited for them to finish.
After the final chuckles came out, Twilight Velvet turned serious. "How could you not tell us about this?"
"I assumed Twilight would tell you when she was ready," the Princess answered. "She's a grown mare, you know. She doesn't need you constantly watching over her."
"Still, you don't think we deserved to know this?"
"Whether you did or didn't, this is Twilight's business... and mine, since I'm running damage control."
"Damage control?" Velvet demanded.
Night Light spoke up. "What damage control?"
Celestia poured tea for her two guests. "The fact that they got married drunk can't be allowed to get out," she said, offering the cups. "Twilight and Applejack are public figures, and this could be a blow to our credibility. So I've devised a cover story. For the next few weeks, we'll be telling everypony they simply dated and married in secret because they wanted to keep everything private."
"And then what?" Velvet hadn't taken the cup, though her husband had. "What's going to happen when she gets this annulled?"
"Then we hold a public wedding for them. We’ll claim it’s something ceremonial for the citizens to celebrate.”
“And what will that accomplish?”
Celestia looked at Twilight Velvet. “If you’ll let me finish, I’ll tell you.” Celestia took a sip while Velvet gave an annoyed growl. “After another week, we’ll announce that the whole thing was a ruse, an attempt to lure the Changelings out by staging another Royal Wedding. We’ll act sad that it failed.”
Velvet bristled. “And what if the Changelings do attack the wedding?”
“Then a plan succeeds that we never even intended.” Celestia took a sip.
“But you’ll be putting our daughter in danger!”
“As opposed to anything else?” Celestia said. “Your daughter is a Bearer of an Element of Harmony. She’s in danger by default.”
“And whose fault is that?”
Night Light tensed up. While he was angry at Celestia for what had happened, yelling at the Princess seemed to be a recipe for disaster. “Um, dear...”
“You told us you’d be making Twilight your student, not a soldier!”
“And why do you think I wanted a pony with that much raw power? Do you really think I’d have her simply studying all day?"
"Yes! We wanted her to be a great scholar! Not risking her life on your orders!"
"But you're fine with your son doing so?"
"Shiny knew what he was signing on for!"
"Dear?"
Finally Night Light's voice carried over the mares that were just seconds from a shouting match. He squeaked a bit at both looking at him, but he went on. "Perhaps we should be asking if Twilight knew what she was getting into?"
Velvet glared at her husband, but eventually turned back to Celestia and remained silent. The princess took it as an invitation to speak.
"I never forced your daughter into anything. I might have set her on a path, but she made the decision to stand up to NightMare Moon, and she has never hesitated when I've asked her to do anything else. I would let your daughter walk away from everything if she chose, but I know she won't.
"And may I remind you, your daughter made the decision to get drunk. Actions have consequences, and we can only thank the Creator that we can turn this to our advantage."
"...Twilight never even drank before..." Velvet mumbled.
Celestia chuckled. "Indeed. That's why I'm not too disappointed in her. The fact that she stayed sober throughout her studies is a miracle. You should be proud."
Velvet gave a smile. "I am."
Applejack squirmed, feeling uncomfortable. Twilight had decided a fancy meal at the town's fanciest restaurant was a good way to celebrate, which meant a fancy dress and no hat, which made her uncomfortable enough. But the fact that Twilight was across from her, looking absolutely stunning, was too much.
Twilight has packed formal wear in what Applejack first credited to her tendency to over prepare, but what she now realized was simply preparing for the possibility of eating at a nice restaurant in one of three big cities.
Applejack could tell the food was good even as she barely tasted it. Made it a shame it was being wasted on somepony who was currently incapable of enjoying it.
"I appreciate you coming here. I wanted to try this place. I know it's not your thing..."
Applejack waved a hoof. "Ain't no trouble, Twi. I owe you more than I can say..."
"You don't owe me..." Twilight began, but she trailed off. She knew it was pointless trying to tell Applejack that. She changed the subject. "Well... I'm not too fond of dressing up either."
"Really? But you're Princess Celestia's student."
"She doesn't like getting dressed up either," she said after taking a bite of salad. "Didn't you notice she was the only one not in a dress at the Grand Galloping Gala?"
Applejack blinked. "I guess I kinda figured she was regal enough already..."
Twilight shook her head. "You remember her saying she thought the Gala was boring? Well, when we were talking that night she told me the only keeps it up because it incapacitates a lot of social climbers."
The cowpony arched her head. "Come again?"
"There are several ponies who don't like Celestia's policies. Usually the elite. They always trying to get in Celestia's good graces because they think they can talk her into their way of thinking. So she holds the Gala as an event where she invites the best, which usually means the ones lobbying for change. As long as they think they can talk her into accepting it, it stops outward rebellion... usually."
"Wow... I never figured there was a lot of backhoofed work in bein' princess."
"That's the breaks." She took another bite. After she swallowed, she continued. "That's why I like Ponyville so much. Do you know why I never made friends in Canterlot?"
Applejack shook her head. "Never did figure. I woulda thought bein' Celestia's student woulda made you popular."
"It did... a little too popular. Everypony was trying to kiss up to me since they figured it would get them in with the princess, or wanted me to do their homework for them. When I refused, they started bullying me."
“...Twi, I had no idea.” She shifted a little. “You said you never had any friends before coming to Ponyville, but I thought you were just a bookworm.”
Twilight smiled. “Well... that was kind of it. Books don’t talk back. Of course, than can be a bad thing too...”
“You had Spike, right?”
Twilight poked her meal with her fork. “Well... to be honest, I don’t think I really had Spike until I moved here. I don’t think I ever really appreciated him until I came here.”
Applejack blinked. “What do you mean?”
"I was never unkind to him... don't get me wrong, I made sure he was taken care of. I read every child psychology book I could find and made the best decisions I thought would help him. But... before I came to Ponyville, he was more like a project. I don't think I realized how much I loved him before you girls came into my life."
"Aww, I think you're too hard for yourself. You're a great mama."
Twilight blushed. "I'm not his mother."
"Really? Could have fooled me. You're such a momma."
"N-no I'm not," she looked embarrassed.
"You are. That's why you're makin' Spike stay with my family. You want him to loosen up so he can grow up better."
Twilight fidgeted. "I... guess... maybe..."
"No maybes. 'Sides, Granny wants great gran'kids, so she'll be happy that we already have one lyin' around."
Twilight turned crimson, then started playing with her food again.
"Hey, come on, I was just teasin'."
Twilight was silent for a moment, but eventually she looked up. "I know. But... I worry about Spike. How... how he'll react if I ever do find somepony."
Applejack tilted her head a bit. "You afraid he'll be clingy?"
"Maybe a little. And what if whoever I find doesn't like him?"
"Who wouldn't like Spike? He's a good boy... not perfect, but honestly I wish Apple Bloom was half as well behaved."
"What? Apple Bloom is nice."
"She's nice, but she's got almost as much energy as Pinkie, and when she's hangin' around those friends of hers, you can hardly get them to sit still. Somethin' breaks nearly every place they try anythin'."
Twilight gave a small smile. “She’s just excited. Have you ever considered that maybe she needs to learn to set aside some time on something that would make her slow down? Maybe get her interested in a book program?”
“What’dya mean?”
“When I was in school, there was a reading program where we had to read a different book every week. Maybe having to sit down and work on something she enjoys will calm her down?”
“I dunno... did it work for Spike?”
Twilight got quiet. She pushed what little food was left on her plate around with her fork. “Spike didn’t need it. I think... I think he was too afraid to spend time away from me. He became my assistant because he was just happy being around me. And I let it happen for so long, he just...”
Applejack was silent for a moment. Then she reached across the table and slowly lifted Twilight’s chin with her hoof.
“I know how you feel. Me an’ Big Mac havin’ ta raise Apple Bloom after our parents died was hard. Sure, Granny Smith was there... but she’s kinda out of touch. And gettin’ on so she can’t keep up. We always worried we weren’t good enough, wishin’ Ma an’ Pa were there. I still worry. So does Big Mac, even though he never shows it. But so far, Apple Bloom hasn’t been killed or gotten arrested, an’ she pretty obedient, so I’d say we're doin’ good.
“Maybe we didn’t do the best. Maybe you didn’t either. But yer a great mama anyway. I’m sure Spike thinks so.”
Twilight blushed again.
Applejack, apparently realizing what she was doing, pulled away. “Um, well... things are gonna work out. I’m sure Spike is fine, and the only thing yer family is gonna do is laugh an’ move on.”
“Shiny, no!”
Cadance flew down the steps after he husband, who was still moving forward despite several crystal pony guards trying to stop him.
“Shiny, no! No! Please, put down the axe and listen to me.”
“Must... reach... Ponyville.”
“Shiny, come on! Applejack was one of my bridesmaids!”
“She got Twily drunk!”
“But...”
Shiny activated a shield around himself, knocking the guards away.
“Twily!” he yelled, racing to the train station.
Cadance hit her forehead with her hoof. This wasn’t going to be pretty.
"I feel so naked without my hat."
"...Applejack, we usually are naked."
"You know what I mean," the cowpony said. They were now walking through the streets, on there way back to their hotel room. "I wish you didn't make me leave it behind."
"I told you the restaurant didn't allow hats. You wouldn't be allowed to wear it anyway."
"I know but..."
A sudden blur stopped them. A Unicorn, looking dirty and messy was now in front of them. It took them a split second to realize he had come out of the allyway they were passing. His horn, pocking out of the hole in the baseball cap he wore backwards, was glowing, and his magic was holding a knife.
"All right, we'll start with all your bits. Fork 'em over!"
"It's not the same," Applejack muttered, throwing the cap back at the fallen mugger. He had had the misfortune of mugging two powerful ponies with different ideas of self-defense. So while Twilight instantly froze him in place, Applejack delivered a dark buck, leaving him with a broken muzzle and several missing teeth.
"I sent up a medical flare. An ambulance should come for him."
"Ya think we should stay until they get here?"
"I checked his vitals, he'll be fine. They'll be able to find us through my magic signature, and with his word against ours, we'll be believed."
"I guess," Applejack said. "But maybe we should wait an'... Twi?"
Twilight was stopped dead, her eyes wide.
"Twi... wha..."
Twilight moved again, toward a nearby newspaper stand. There she snatched a gossip rag off the stand and gaped at it. Then she opened it and flipped a few pages until she found what she was looking for.
"Aw, no, are we..." she began, but was cut off when Twilight shoved the paper in her face.
"Not that, look at the back-up story."
Applejack looked, and her mouth dropped. She vaguely heard the newspony say he wasn't running a library and Twilight paying a bit before turning back.
There was Rarity and Prince Blueblood, eating dinner together. And if that weren't enough, the headline read "Canterlot's Latest Celebrity Couple."
"What the... has Rare lost her mind?" Applejack said. "What's she thinkin', datin' that..."
"Don't you see?" Twilight said. "It's all coming together now. We're tricked into getting married. The next day Rarity packs up for Canterlot and starts dating somepony she can't stand. And it's somepony important."
"...I'm not sure what you're gettin' at."
"I theorized the Changelings were behind this, and this proves it! They were watching, waiting for us to get drunk. Then they take the opportunity to replace Rarity and force us into getting married. They're trying to set up another Royal Wedding! It would give them another chance at an invasion.
"Then, they have Rarity leave to go to Canterlot and seduce another important pony to replace him! Look, this says they'll be attending the Annual Manehatten Fashion Designer Showoff. I remember Rarity saying she wanted to go but didn't get an invite. Now she does. So many important ponies are going to be there, it would be easy for the Changelings to pick and choose who to replace!"
"That's crazy... but it makes so much sense!"
"I know. Now come on, we have to get to Manehatten. We'll make that Changeling tell us where the real Rarity is, even if we have to beat her to a pulp to do it!"
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Horray! You're not dead!
U HAVE FINALLY RETURNED
I'm so happy.
O I cant wait to c how it goes.
Oh no. No, no, no.
This can only end in tears...
...
...
,,,tears of laughter
No Shiny, don't do it! If AJ gets in a good kick she could be arrested for attacking royalty. Uh-oh.
This is great. Needs more updates.
... This will end 'bout as well as an incomplete bridge...
I almost put it in "no hope for continuation" library. Nice to see it coming back.
Oooh, snap! Dis gon be gud.
Can someone get a lot of popcorn ready? This is why when setting up a scam like this you tell the important players what is going on! AJ and Twi are going to blow Blueblood's mission all to prices because our Princess could not bother to tell them about her plan on getting them off the hook about the marriage cannot wait until the next chapter!
New chapter?
*sigh*
Let's see if I can organize the conflicting plans:
Blueblood + Rarity: Hunting Changelings
Shiny + Cadance: Murderfy Applejack/ Prevent Applejack's murder
Twilight + Applejack: Stop the Changeling Invasion at Rarity's wedding
Celestia: Stop the Changeling Invasion at Twilight's (re)wedding
Changelings: Not actually Invading.
img09.deviantart.net/68b1/i/2013/262/c/7/changeling__1_by_zutheskunk-d55d9ar.png
Changeling: "YAY RELENTLESS PARANOIA!"
Darn it Twilight, things were actually winding down.
I stayed up late last night watching one paranoid alicorn screw things up for everypony, this is just too much.
Huh... maybe Cadence is innocent.
Nah. It was totally her. I bet she made up with Chrissy and they've been working together the whole time. She's the Princess of Love, not holding grudges and rightious retribution. That's Celestia’s job.
6202460 When they said the mugger had a baseball cap, I assumed it was Shiny at first.
good... I can see a trainwreck coming.
"after he husband"
"her"
Oh dear. :)
I am strangely ok with Twilight and Applejack beating Rarity
6202602
Wrong on Celestia's plan. Her plan is simply to keep the fact that the Twijack marriage was done while drunk from the public.
This is is still as brilliant as always. I see incoming collisions galore. This is going to be crazy
Update make!
That's got to be the most unlucky mugger ever!
Actually, girls, that one is the real Rarity. She's just done some growing.
Still, feel free to beat up Blueblood. Based on his unhappy thoughts at the start of this chapter, being blamed for something that isn't his fault and having violence inflicted on him because of that would be closer to his normal everyday life.
Well, this is gonna be fun.
Also, I laughed so hard at the Cadence/Shining part. We need more overprotective Shining in Twilight romance stories, lol.
It Lives I so love this story great chapter and cant wait for more
she's
______________
Yay! It's alive, and it's going to be funny seeing Twi and AJ beat the dickens out of Rares only to find out she isn't a changeling. That'll definitely make their friendship, and the use of the EoH rather awkward.
And the chaos will continue. Who will cause the most harm, Twilight's family, a jealous Spike, Twijack or actual Changlings. Lets find out!
Er, Twilight... uuh...
Agh, forget it. *facehoof*
Fair enough.
Poor guy.
Heh.
They'll love you, relax.
Unphased Celestia is Unphased.
I see.
Fair enough.
Uh Celestia, I know you're good at chess, and you're use dot all this, and so is Twilight, but, her parents may not appreciate that.
Oh boy.
He's right.
Enough, please.
Thank you.
Nightmare Moon. Not NightMare.
Daaaw.
What do you mean by that'
How so?
I see.
Those motherbuckers.
What do you mean?
I see.
You're his mother figure.
HAH!
She's a kid, what can you do?
I see.
Agreed.
*sigh*
Oh man, what a moron.
Poor fool.
Oh man, this will not end well.
Well, I'm a bit bummed the FlutterDash storyline wasn't shown in this chapter, but it looks like things are getting interesting. Shinning Armor is on his way to Sweet Apple Acres to clobber Applejack, not knowing she's not there because she and Twilight are about to blow Rarity's cover. Looks like this chapter lived up to its name.
Celestia...this is why you tell the ponies central to the plans what the plans are...
6210939
And the answer is...
All of the above!
Suggestions!
Should be he.
I think this should be had.
Should be They're. Unless Twi's gone gangster on us.
Should be that.
Excellent chapter! Looking forward to more!!
Bwa ha ha ha ha ha!!
Please keep writing, I'll keep reading!
It's really easy to see where Twilight learned how to panic.
6202011 More like this bridge
celebrating200years.noaa.gov/magazine/tct/01_misaligned_bridge_503.jpg
I can see the trains heading for each other already
This what came to mind right after reading this.
uh... you're kinda right, twi... but it's not the changelings planning the wedding.
By the way, i don't think Applejack would refer to Shining Armour and Shiny. Shining, maybe, but she's not close enough to him yet for it to feel believable that she'd call him Shiny
6787506 i hated that comic. it left me feeling uneasy for hours after watching the dub
Commence the ass-kicking!!!
6794179 Same here
7488682
Yup
FYI, it’s “Nightmare Moon,” no capital on mare. This isn’t the first time you spelled it that way, but I could no longer assume it might have been a typo.
Oh god, that's perfect. Here we go!