Arrival in Canterlot

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“I can‘t believe it has already been four months since you and Twilight started dating. My, how time flies when you’re in love.” Rarity sighed out loud after finishing her statement.

“But Rarity, me and Twilight are the ones who are dating. It would make sense that time flies for us, but why would it affect you?” Rainbow questioned down to Rarity as she flew up to hang a banner on Town Hall.

“Well yes, it is true that I’m not involved in any romances at the moment, however, Twilight and yourself are two of my very best friends, and you two being happily in love makes me so very happy myself.” Rarity said while she picked out some ribbons to tie to the posts on Town Hall.

Rainbow Dash pushed the nail into the wooden post that held up the third floor balcony. She gave the banner a light tug to test its sturdiness. She then looked over at Derpy, who was hanging up the other side of the banner. Derpy smiled a big toothy smile at Rainbow Dash and waved to let her know that she had finished her part.

Rainbow flew back a few feet to check if the banner was straight. Derpy flew up next to her, also checking to see if her work was satisfactory. Both pegasi nodded at each other when they decided that the banner was hung to their liking.

“Thanks Derpy.” Rainbow said while she shook Derpy’s hoof.

“No problem Rainbow Dash! I’m happy to help.” Derpy said joyfully.

Derpy looked at the banner, then back to Rainbow Dash and added, “Congratulations on the engagement, by the way. I’m so happy for you and Twilight. You two make a great couple!”

Rainbow Dash blushed, and swallowed nervously. She rubbed the back of her neck with her hoof and said “Thanks.”

Derpy smiled even bigger before she flew off to see if anypony else needed any help.

Rainbow watched Derpy fly away before sighing in relief. They managed to get things done here without any damage.

Rainbow flew back down to Rarity and looked around at her work. Everything was looking great. Of course, Rarity was the one making the decorations, and she was also the one in charge of the decorating, so naturally, everything would look good.

“There. That should do it.” Rarity said as she tied one more bow to another post.

Rarity nodded at her work before looking up at the banner she had designed. It depicted Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash smiling at each other with two wedding bands overlapping one another in between the two mares.

“It all looks magnificent, doesn’t it Darling.” Rarity boasted in a lady like tone.

“Yeah. It all looks great.” Rainbow said as she looked up at the banner.

“Rainbow Dash, are you sure that you wouldn’t rather be at Canterlot, helping Twilight with the wedding preparations? I’m sure that Applejack, Spike and myself can handle things here.” Rarity questioned.

“It’s alright. Twilight and Pinkie Pie wanted me to stay here and help with Pinkie’s after-the-wedding party.” Rainbow informed Rarity. “I think that Twilight, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy can handle everything in Canterlot.”

“Well, if you say so.” Rarity said, accepting her friend’s decisions.

Just then, Spike and Applejack came walking up. Spike checked off a few items on the list that Twilight helped Pinkie Pie make for the party preparations before saying, “Wow! This place looks amazing! I bet it’s probably better than how Twilight would have imagined.”

“Woo-Wee. Spike's right! Everything is comin together real nice.” Applejack added, excitedly.

“I take it by that comment that Sweet Apple Acres is ready then?” Rarity asked in a sing-song voice.

“Yes ma’am! Sweet Apple Acres is all ready to go. All that’s left is all the Apples’ home cookin. But that’ll have to wait until closer to time for this here party. We want fresh food after all!” Applejack answered as she pointed a hoof at Spike’s clipboard.

“So Spike, any letters from Twilight?” Rainbow asked Spike. She sounded somewhat nervous.

“Nope. Nothing yet.” Spike answered.

Rarity noticed the nervous tone in Rainbow’s voice and said, “Rainbow Dash, are you all right dear? Are you worried about something?”

“Huh? Me, worried? No way! I’m as calm as could be. I’m not nervous. Not even a little. Why would I be nervous?” Rainbow explained to Rarity trying to sound as cool as possible.

“Well, I suppose you wouldn’t be. You are the one who proposed to Twilight after all.” Rarity said as she brought her hoof to her chin and remembered back to the story of Rainbow’s proposal that Twilight had told her.

It was an interesting story. Twilight described the date night over tea less than a fortnight ago. The two love birds were enjoying a romantic dinner that Rainbow Dash had invited her to. Twilight said that Rainbow was acting rather odd the whole night. Then, out of the blue, she just blurted out, rather loudly, the question ‘Would you marry me?’

Twilight explained how she was somewhat caught off guard by Rainbow’s sudden proposal, but it didn’t take her long to say ‘Yes!’ So here they all were now, preparing for a wedding.

“Ya know, I wasn’t really expecting you to be the one proposin, Rainbow. The whole deal that went down a few months ago with Twilight confessing to you, I thought that she would have been the one askin you ta marry her.” Applejack said while thinking back to that day.

“Well ya know, this isn’t a one sided relationship, Applejack. I love Twilight as much as she loves me.” Rainbow said defensively.

“Ah know, ah know. I didn’t mean to imply that you don’t love Twilight.” Applejack explained.

“Yeah, I know. Sorry.” Rainbow said when she realized how snappy she was being toward her friend. “I guess I know what you mean. I didn’t even take my feelings for Twilight seriously until that day when we confessed to each other.”

“You told Twilight a few day after that that you had always felt something special for her, right?” Spike said.

“Yeah, I never really thought about it that much. Most of the time, I just told myself that it was nothing. But when Twilight confessed to me, I decided that my feelings had to be real, and that I really wanted to be with her. I haven’t regretted a day since then.” Rainbow said as she reminisced her time spent with Twilight.

After a few moments of silence, Spike looked at his clipboard and said, “Well, everything seems to be taken care of on this end. Maybe we could all head up to Canterlot now.”

“Well, if everything truly is ready here, then I would love to join the others.” Rarity said, cheerfully.

“We got everything ready here early.” Applejack added. “Pinkie Pie wanted this party’s preparations finished early so it would be ready when we got back. But since it’s all ready to go, I don’t see why we couldn’t go an join everyone else in Canterlot.”

“I bet that they would all be really happy to see us.” Rainbow said, excitedly.

“Well alright! Let’s go get ourselves some train tickets.” Applejack whooped as she trotted off toward the train station.

The four of them went off to get on the next train to Canterlot. During the trip, Rainbow Dash kept fidgeting as she sat impatiently in her seat. She hadn’t seen Twilight since she had left the day before, and she was excited to be reunited with her fiancé. But as they approached Canterlot, Rainbow felt a twinge in her gut, and the closer they got, the stronger it grew.

They decided against sending a heads up letter to Twilight, because they wanted to surprise their friends. They figured that everyone would be happy to see their friends ahead of schedule, and learn that the Ponyville party preparations were finished.

They each exited the train after it made its stop at the Canterlot train station. Rainbow Dash darted out of the door in a hurry to find Twilight and the rest of her friends. Next, Applejack came trotting out followed by Rarity. Spike came out last carrying only a few bags for Rarity. She had decided to pack very light because they were all excited and in a hurry to get to Canterlot. However, Rarity had also made all of the dresses that Twilight, Rainbow, she and the rest of her friends would be wearing.

These clothes were in other suitcases, and Rarity had also brought along some of her sewing supplies from home in order to finish them, and also make some adjustments if need be. She only had about a week to make the outfits, and still needed time to finish and perfect them, after all. So really, Spike still had a few more things to carry.

After they all started their walk to the castle, where they were sure that their friends would be, they were met with a very pleasant sight. It seemed that all of Canterlot was working hard to prepare for the latest royal wedding.

Everypony seemed to be doing something around the city. Shop owners were either cleaning their stores, or decorating their shops in one way or another. Ponies were out in the streets cleaning and decorating said streets. Even the upper classes were out and about seemingly preparing, though, they were probably only thinking of their own status while they got ready.

When the four fresh from Ponyville finally got through all of the bustle on the streets and made it to the castle, they were first met by, or rather they first met, Shining Armor and Cadence. The two ponies from The Crystal Empire saw the four friends and happily greeted them.

“Well hello you four! It’s so good to see you.” Cadence chimed her greeting.

“Hey. It’s nice to see you all again.” Shining Armor said after his wife.

The four friends bowed to the prince and princess before giving their own greetings.

“Howdy y’all!” Applejack replied.

“Well hello. It’s wonderful to see you two.” Rarity said.

“Hi!” Spike said, gleefully.

“Hey. How’s it goin?” Rainbow Dash said lastly.

“It’s going well.” Shining Armor replied to Rainbow. “So, Rainbow Dash, you’ll be marrying my sister in a couple of days.”

“Yeah, I sure will.” Rainbow started out sounding confident, but she got a little nervous as her fiancé’s older brother stood before her with a serious expression. Rainbow gulped and laughed nervously in the looming presence of Shining Armor.

Shining noticed how tense Rainbow Dash was and he chuckled. Then he smiled and said heartily, “You don’t have to be nervous around me. I couldn’t be happier for the two of you. I think that Twily found a great partner in you.”

Rainbow breathed out a sigh of relief. It was good to hear that Shining Armor approved of her in person, instead of just from some letters. Duties in The Crystal Empire had kept him and Cadence from visiting, and Twilight and Rainbow decided that they shouldn’t disturb them with a personal visit. Twilight had gotten upset with Shining Armor for not telling her about his own wedding until the invitations were sent out, so she wrote him a few letters telling him about her new relationship with Rainbow Dash and about the upcoming wedding. She didn’t want to be a hypocrite after all.

“Thanks. That’s a relief.” Rainbow Dash said.

Cadence giggled and said “Were both so happy for the two of you, falling in love, and now getting married. I’m so excited to be here to see you two start a wonderful new chapter in your lives together.”

Rainbow blushed a little and smiled. She liked receiving attention, but this kind of attention was a little embarrassing.

“Yeah, marriage is an exciting new step for a couple, and I bet Twilight is a lot more excited about her wedding than she’s been letting on. If I know my sister, she probably stops and jumps for joy every chance she gets.” Shining Armor said while he chuckled to himself.

“Oh yeah. She may be acting calm and cool, but I can see in her eyes that she is just ecstatic.” Cadence added.

“She’s really taking this that well? Ah suppose that sounds about right though. She usually gets a little over excited about these things. But she has gotten better since we’ve known her.” Applejack said.

“I can only imagine the stress that she must be going through. This is her big day were talking about. I know that she is going to want it to be the best day ever.” Rarity said after Applejack.

Rainbow thought about Twilight and what she might be doing right now. She was getting impatient to go and find her fiancé. That, and despite the fact that Shining had basically just given his blessing, Rainbow still felt a little uncomfortable with him standing over her.

“So, do you know where Twilight is?” Rainbow asked.

“She’s in the throne room with Princess Celestia. I think they are preparing the rehearsal, so your timing couldn’t be better.” Cadence answered. She turned her head around and looked toward the stairs that would take them to the room in question.

“Thanks. See ya later.” Rainbow quickly said before she tried to dash off to the throne room. But before she could get past him, Shining Armor stopped her.

Rainbow looked down at the hoof that blocked her way and then up to the unicorn it belonged to. Rainbow was getting even more nervous now.

Shining Armor was still smiling when he lowered his head and loudly whispered, “I’m happy for the two of you, but don’t you go breaking my little Twily’s heart, alright.”

Rainbow gulped and smiled awkwardly. She was already feeling uneasy, but now that Shining said that, she had to force herself not to shiver.

“Yeah… sure thing!” Rainbow managed to say with as little of a shaky voice as she could manage.

Shining Armor lowered his hoof and let Rainbow pass. She took the opportunity and trotted off as quickly as she could without full out running away. Her wings weren’t really working with her, and she didn’t want to let on that she was nearly terrified of Shining Armor.

Cadence nudged Shining’s side and gave him a stern look. He smiled apologetically at his wife and chuckled. Shining Armor didn’t realize that his joke didn’t reach Rainbow Dash the way that he intended, but Cadence did notice her nervous demeanor.

“Well it’s nice seein y’all here. We’ll see ya later.” Applejack said to Cadence and Shining.

The three left behind by Rainbow Dash bowed their heads and trotted off to catch up with her. Shining and Cadence bowed their heads and waved good bye to Applejack, Rarity and Spike.

The three almost caught up to Rainbow Dash when they saw Pinkie Pie bouncing along. She saw Rainbow Dash and quickly ran up and tackled her to the ground. Pinkie joyfully bounced around the fazed pegasus who was now lying on the ground.

“Rainbow Dash! You’re here! You’re here!” Pinkie sang at the top of her lungs. “You’re just in time too! We were just about to-“

Pinkie saw the rest of her friends and stopped mid-sentence. She gasped excitedly and jumped at them, but she suddenly stopped midair and said “Wait a minute!” She then fell to the ground and landed flat on her face. Pinkie looked up at her friends from the ground and said “What are all of you doing here?! Don’t you have a town to be getting ready for a party for?!”

“We already finished with all of the preparations Pinkie. So we decided to come here to Canterlot. We thought that we might be of some help here.” Rarity said as she helped Pinkie to her hooves.

“Wow! Really? You’re already done? That has to be some kind of record!” Pinkie Pie said enthusiastically. “I don’t think that I could have been that fast if I tried.”

Applejack helped Rainbow to her hooves before saying, “We had the help of everypony in town. They were all so excited about the weddin that they all insisted on helpin out.”

“Wowee! This is great news! Now you’re all here and we can start with the rehearsal! Twilight and Princess Celestia are getting things ready for it in the throne room! I bet they’re probably writing a letter to Spike right now!” Pinkie Pie turned and looked at Spike with a huge expecting grin.

Spike looked around and back at Pinkie. He put a claw up to his chin and turned his eyes to his right. He waited a bit, but looked at Pinkie and said “Nope. Sorry, I got noth-“ Just then his cheeks blew up and he burped out a cloud of green fire and smoke. A letter materialized and fell to the ground.

Pinkie squeed and quickly picked up the letter. Everyone else looked at each other with slight confusion, but quickly brushed it off. They all looked at Pinkie and waited for her to read the letter.

Pinkie Pie quickly opened up the letter and read it silently to herself. Her eyes moved back and forth over the letter at a speed that was impossible to actually read at. She squeed again and tossed the letter into the air. She then proceeded to jump around and laugh.

Spike caught the letter and decided to read it out loud himself.

“Dear Spike, please gather all of our friends and tell them that we here in Canterlot are ready for you all to come over. The preparations are nearly complete, and we only need everyone to come and help with the fine details that are left. If the preparations in Ponyville are complete, then we would greatly appreciate it if you all would come here as quickly as possible. Sincerely, Twilight Sparkle.”

“Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh! This is perfect! They won’t be expecting you for some time now! But you’re all already here! AAAHH! I’ll go tell Twilight now!” Pinkie shouted as she jumped into the air and started to ‘fly’ off to the throne room where Twilight was waiting.

Just then, Rainbow flew up and caught Pinkie’s tail in her mouth and said through her closed teeth, “Hold on hinkie hie!”

Pinkie froze in midair. Her neck was stretched out and her legs were stopped in various positions as she was just ‘running’ in the air. She looked back at Rainbow Dash with only her eyes, not turning her head or changing the facial expression she had. Her mouth was open in a big smile and her eyes were wide open as well.

Rainbow spit Pinkie’s tail out and watched in confusion as she just floated in the air, still frozen in place. “How are you..? Never mind. Pinkie Pie, I actually want to surprise Twilight. She isn’t expecting us just yet, so maybe you could wait until after I sneak up on her, ok?”

Pinkie gently fell back to the floor and landed on her tip hooves. She gasped and laughed excitedly. “Oh! My! Gosh! That’s a great idea! She would be so happy to see you. She has been missing you since we left yesterday. Ooooo! This is so exciting!”

Rainbow sighed in relief and wiped the sweat from her forehead. She looked down to her friends and motioned to them to follow her and said, “Well, come on. Let’s get going then.”

Everyone smiled and started following Rainbow down the corridor. They all talked and laughed along the way, catching up with each other. After a few minutes of walking, flying and talking, they finally made it to the closed doors of the throne room. Standing in front of the doors, about to knock and go in was Fluttershy.

Rainbow Dash quietly shouted to her saying, “Fluttershy! Wait!”

Fluttershy jumped slightly and turned her head to see where the voice came from. She smiled and turned around to greet her friends that had just arrived behind her.

“Oh my. I didn’t see you all there. Hello.” Fluttershy said, happily.

“Howdy Fluttershy.” Applejack greeted first.

“Hello dear.” Rarity said next.

“Hi!” Pinkie Pie chirped.

“Hey.” Spike said next.

And lastly came Rainbow Dash who said “Hey Fluttershy. I’m glad we caught you.”

“I was just about to go and see if Twilight or Princess Celestia needed my help with anything else since my song birds are done practicing for today. But I wasn’t expecting to see you all here so soon.” Fluttershy explained.

“Well like Rainbow Dash said, we're glad we caught you before you went inside. You see, we all wanted to surprise Twilight with our presence, since we only just received a letter from Twilight asking us to come to Canterlot a few minutes ago.” Rarity informed Fluttershy.

“Yeah. I wanted to sneak up on her and surprise her. I wonder how exactly she‘ll react when she sees us?” Rainbow said as she landed next to Fluttershy, grinning mischievously.

“Oh I bet she’ll be really happy to see all of us here. Especially you, Rainbow Dash.” Fluttershy said. “But I guess since you’re all here already, that you all finished with everything in Ponyville?”

“Eeyup. Everything’s all ready to go.” Applejack said, proudly.

“Well then, we should go in and surprise Twilight. Oh my, I’m a little excited.” Fluttershy giggled.

“Alright. Here we go.” Rainbow whispered as she turned around to face the door.

Rainbow Dash slowly pushed open the door. She peeked her head in and looked around the room. She almost got caught up on how great the room looked. Twilight was obviously working hard to make sure the wedding was coming together perfectly. But Rainbow didn’t let herself be distracted for too long. She looked down the long room and saw her target.

Twilight was standing in the center of the throne room, facing away from the doors. She was talking to Princess Celestia, who was facing toward Twilight and the double door entrance. They were talking about the rehearsal when Celestia saw movement over and behind Twilight.

Rainbow Dash was stalking closer and closer towards them, like a wild cat hunting through tall grass. Behind her were the rest of Twilight’s friends, slowly and quietly sneaking up to them. Rainbow Dash noticed that Celestia had spotted them and motioned to her that she keep quiet. Celestia’s smile grew slightly, and she looked back down to Twilight, who was oblivious to what was about to happen.

Rainbow continued sneaking across the room until she was just behind Twilight. She smiled to herself and had to keep from laughing out loud so as not to blow her cover. She stood up and looked at Celestia one last time. Celestia saw an opening and quickly winked. Rainbow’s smile grew wider as she raised her front right hoof. She tapped on Twilight’s flank and waited with anticipation.

Twilight jumped and turned around to see who had just tapped her flank. Once she was completely turned, she gasped and her expression quickly changed from inquisitive to overjoyed. Rainbow Dash was standing right behind her, smiling and waving her raised hoof.

Twilight burst into excited laughter and threw her fore legs around Rainbow Dash’s neck. Rainbow started laughing and wrapped her own fore legs around Twilight’s neck. As they laughed and hugged, Twilight saw her other friends standing behind Rainbow Dash. They broke their embrace and she smiled at her friends. They all gathered around the gleeful couple and started with their happy greetings.

They all talked and laughed together for a few minutes. They each explained their own parts of the story of why they were here so soon. They each also told Twilight about the finished preparations in Ponyville and how everypony there helped and said that they couldn’t wait for the big day.

After a few minutes of catching up, the group of friends looked to Celestia. They each bowed to the princess, except for Twilight, who was told a few times before that she did not have to bow to her. Celestia smiled and bowed her head to Twilight’s friends, showing her own respects for the ponies before her.

Pinkie Pie was the first to speak, “So now that were all here, well accept for Shining Armor and Princess Cadence who are probably gonna come later anyway, we can start with the wedding rehearsal, right?” Pinkie smiled at Princess Celestia expectantly.

Celestia chuckled before answering Pinkie’s question. “No, the rehearsal isn’t until later tomorrow. The big day isn’t until the day after tomorrow after all.”

Pinkie frowned and said with a disappointed tone, “Aaawww.”

“It is pretty late and besides, the rehearsal is supposed to be the day before the wedding.” Twilight added, trying to comfort her friend.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. Not much point in rehearsing now. Especially since all of us only just got together today. I just can’t wait though. I’m just so excited!” Pinkie said as she cheered up again.

“Yeah, but I’m pretty beat after all the work we did today.” Spike said while he stretched and yawned.

“Well, how would all of you like to join us for dinner?” Celestia asked.

“That sounds great!” Pinkie said, accepting Celestia’s invitation.

“Oh. I hope that we won’t be a bother.” Fluttershy said shyly.

“Oh, don’t worry. You’re not a bother. I’m sure Luna and Shining Armor and Cadence would love it if all of you joined us.” Celestia reassured Fluttershy.

Celestia looked over at Twilight and added, “And I’m sure that your parents and Nyx would enjoy having dinner with all of us as well.”

Twilight smiled and nodded her head in agreement. Celestia nodded back and said, “Then I’ll send someone to their room and invite them down.”

They all followed Celestia as she walked over to the door. All except Rainbow Dash and Twilight.

Rainbow was about to take off and fly after her friends, when she noticed that Twilight wasn’t coming. She stopped and watched as Twilight looked around the room at all of the decorations. Twilight was checking everything over again, probably for the umpteenth time.

Rainbow smiled as she watched Twilight. One of the things she both loved and found kind of annoying about Twilight was her somewhat neurotic attention to detail. Standing here, looking at the mare she was going to be married to in a few days, it filled Rainbow’s heart with joy.

Twilight turned back to face Rainbow Dash after a few seconds of checking everything to make sure that it was all In place. She was watching her with her usual happy expression. Twilight smiled back at Rainbow Dash, but noticed that her other friends were a little ways ahead.

“Sorry, we can go now.” Twilight apologized.

Rainbow just smiled and laughed. Then she put her wing over Twilight’s back and nuzzled her muzzle to Twilight’s muzzle. Twilight smiled and nuzzled back. After they finished nuzzling, Twilight gave Rainbow Dash a quick peck on the lips.

Rainbow smiled and kissed her back before they started off after everyone else. She was feeling pretty blissful as they walked out of the throne room. However, as they were leaving, Rainbow glanced over at some of the decorations that hung from the walls. At first, she smiled to herself as she thought about the upcoming day, however, the more she thought about it, the more she remembered just how nervous she was really feeling.

The big day was coming very soon, and Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but feel a little scared.

The Day Before

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Twilight Sparkle was sitting at the vanity brushing her hair. She watched herself in the mirror while the brush straightened out her mane. She had a pleasant smile on her face. As she finished up with her brushing, she glanced over slightly to see the reflection of Rainbow Dash still lying on the bed.

Rainbow watched as Twilight was sprucing herself up in the mirror. It was a morning routine that had become regular ever since they had started spending their nights together. In the morning, Twilight would get up and get herself ready for the day. Rainbow would lazily lie in bed and watch before she got up herself. Watching Twilight in the morning had become something that Rainbow Dash enjoyed very much.

They weren’t in a rush today, as no one had anything planned until noon. So Twilight took her time getting ready for the day, and Rainbow just lie there in bed. After she was done getting ready however, Twilight turned her attention to the pegasus lying on the bed. She walked over and smiled at Rainbow Dash.

“Come on, lazy, it’s time to get up.” Twilight said in a teasing manner.

“Aww, come on, Twi, we don’t have anywhere to be right now. Couldn’t we just relax for a bit longer?” Rainbow asked as she flopped on her side.

Twilight chuckled in her throat before answering, “I guess we can be lazy for a while, but it’s still time to get out of bed. Come on.”

Rainbow moaned with a playfully annoyed tone before saying, “All right, I’ll get up.”

She crawled over to the edge of the bed where Twilight stood, and gave her a little nuzzle on her cheek. Twilight smiled and accepted the playful nuzzle. Just then, a knock came at the door that adjoined the room they were in with the one right next to it.

Twilight knew who was knocking and said “Come in.” She then used her magic to open the door. As the door opened, a little head popped in.

Nyx looked around the room and spotted the two mares at the bed. She smiled and walked into the room. She was awake and ready to see her mother and Rainbow Dash.

“Good morning!” Nyx greeted, cheerfully.

“Good morning, Nyx.” Twilight said in a motherly tone.

“Morning, kid.” Rainbow said as she got off of the bed and stood next to Twilight.

“Did you sleep well?” Twilight asked after she and Nyx hugged.

Nyx looked up to her mother and chirped a happy “Yep!” She then walked over to Rainbow and smiled up to her.

Rainbow tussled Nyx’s hair before scooping up the filly and hugging her. After she put her down, Nyx smoothed her hair with her hoof and giggled.

“So is Spike awake yet, or…” Twilight asked already knowing the answer.

“No. He’s still asleep.” Nyx answered.

Twilight and Rainbow both rolled their eyes and smiled to each other before the three of them started laughing. They were soon interrupted by Spike however.

Spike yawned before asking, “Hey. What’s everyone laughing at?”

The three ponies stopped laughing for a moment, looked at each other, and started laughing even harder. Spike watched on in confusion as his three friends continued to laugh, merrily. They finally calmed down enough to give Spike an answer.

“Oh, nothing. We were just sharing a good laugh together, that’s all.” Twilight said with a bubbly voice after laughing so much. The other two smiled and nodded their heads in agreement.

Spike shrugged his shoulders and walked into the room.

“Well anyway, today is the day of the big wedding rehearsal. You two ready?” Spike said, pointing at the two mares.

“Yep! We’re all ready to go. When the time comes, I mean. Right Rainbow?” Twilight looked to Rainbow Dash with a smile.

Rainbow smiled back and nodded her head. Though, as she did, she felt her nerves start to rise. She didn’t want to worry anyone or disappoint Twilight, so she kept quiet about it.

“Well, it’s not for a few more hours, but why don’t you two go get ready. When you’re done, we can all head out for some breakfast.” Twilight said to Spike and Nyx.

The two young ones ran back to their room to get ready. The whole time, Nyx giggled to herself, and Spike smiled excitedly.

Rainbow watched the two of them disappear into the room next door. She was about to walk over to the mirror when she heard Spike say, “Hey Nyx, have you ever thought about how when Twilight and Rainbow Dash get married, Rainbow will become, like, your new mom?”

Nyx’s excitement was clearly heard in her voice when she responded. “Yeah! It’s so exciting! I’ll get to have two parents. I can’t wait!”

Rainbow listened to the conversation, and began to feel uneasy. She was a little excited herself about technically becoming Nyx’s second mother, but now, the day before the wedding, she was starting to worry.

The morning passed quickly for everypony in the castle, despite some waiting impatiently for the events of later that day. Noon came around and all who needed to be in the throne room were present. All but one.

Pinkie Pie was almost bouncing off the walls, she was so excited.

“Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! I’m so excited!”

“Pinkie, please. I’m excited as well, but you should really calm down. Today is only the wedding rehearsal, not the actual wedding itself.” Rarity said while watching Pinkie bounce up and down.

“I know, I know. But it’s still exciting. Today is like the second best part of a wedding, because we get to practice it. It’s almost like we get to have the wedding twice! That’s why I’m so excited.” Pinkie explained, cheerfully.

Rarity smiled and shook her head in response to Pinkie. She looked around at the decorations that had been organized and set up by Twilight and said to her, “This all looks marvelous, Twilight.”

“Oh, thank you Rarity. I’m glad you approve. I tried to keep your advice about aesthetics in mind while Princess Celestia and I arranged the decor.” Twilight said to her friend.

“It looks wonderful, Darling. I’m happy you took my advice, but still kept to your own style. It is your wedding after all. Your big day as well as Rainbow Dash’s, of course.” Rarity smiled approvingly to Twilight, who beamed her pride at the fashionista’s approval.

Applejack glanced around the small crowd and noticed that somepony was missing. “Hey, where’s Rainbow Dash?”

Everyone looked around and saw that she was indeed missing. They all looked first to Rainbow’s parents, who shook their heads at the questioning ponies. Then they all looked to Twilight who said, “I thought she was right behind us. I’m not sure where she is.”

“Maybe she got distracted.” Spike guessed.

“I’ll go look for her. She probably just… well, I don’t really know what could be keeping her. I hope she’s alright.” Fluttershy said as she began to fly off in search of the missing mare.

Just then, Rainbow Dash came around a corner and shouted over to her friends, “I’m here!”

She flew over and landed near the group. She smiled awkwardly at the inquisitive looks she was getting from them.

“I was, uh… I was… fixing a loose banner! Yeah. That’s it. I was fixing a loose banner that had fallen down.” Rainbow explained.

“Which banner? There were only hanging ribbons in the halls.” Twilight asked while thinking back to the path they had taken through the castle.

“Ribbon! I meant ribbon.” Rainbow nervously corrected. She rubbed the back of her neck with her hoof and flicked her tail. Her wings seemed to be twitching slightly, and she lifted her back right hoof up, then quickly back down.

She was actually hanging back on purpose. Rainbow was looking at the decor on the way, and she let her nerves get the best of her. She had stopped before the last corner and waited. Thinking about why they were headed to the throne room had made her legs heavy and her heart race. She was listening to her friends from around the corner, and what they said only made her even more nervous.

“Well, now that we are all here, shall we proceed with today’s plans?” Celestia asked.

Everyone agreed vocally to Celestia’s suggestion. Everyone, except Rainbow Dash, who just swallowed loudly.

Nyx was standing the closest to Rainbow Dash, and was the only one who seemed to notice her nervous mannerisms. She wondered to herself why Rainbow was acting like this. Nyx had never seen Rainbow act this way.

The group all headed in through the throne room doors to where they would practice for the upcoming ceremony. They all walked in while Rainbow Dash slowly followed along next to Nyx. The little filly watched Rainbow the entire way. As she did, she began to get suspicious feelings about the pegasus.

The group had gone through the rehearsal in full, and they were now enjoying the remainder of the day together, for the most part.

Twilight had been doing well up until now. However, she was staring to worry about everything, like she does. It wasn’t bad, but Rainbow Dash wasn’t being much help to her fiancé at the moment. She just sat on a cushion and stared into space. This left the job of calming Twilight down to the other ponies.

While Twilight was being calmed by her friends, Rainbow Dash tuned everything out while she sat and thought. She thought about her relationship with Twilight. She was amazing in Rainbow’s eyes. Everything about the purple alicorn was perfect. Sure, they got on each other’s nerves from time to time, but that just made Rainbow’s feelings grow stronger.

‘Twilight Sparkle is the best thing that could have happened to me,’ she thought.

Rainbow couldn’t help but feel elated by the thoughts that floated around her head. But as each good memory and happy thought lingered in her mind, her fears only grew stronger. The mare of her dreams was just that, the mare of her dreams. ‘She deserves the best. Can I give that to her? Maybe I…’

Rainbow’s train of thought was interrupted by the excited voice of Rarity.

“Hello? Rainbow Dash, are you listening?”

Rainbow shook her head and came back to the outside world. The others were doing other things around the room, except for Rarity and Nyx, who were waiting for Rainbow Dash to respond to them.

“Huh? What did you say? I wasn’t listening.” Rainbow asked in response to the two in front of her.

“I said, ‘have you ever thought about what will happen once you are married to Twilight?’” Rarity repeated.

“What do you mean?” Rainbow asked.

“What she means is, have you ever thought about how you will become a princess after you marry my mom?” Nyx explained.

“I’ll be a princess!?” Rainbow asked, feeling somewhat surprised.

“Technically, you will. Not the same as Twilight, or Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, but you would still gain the title in an honorary way. Like how Shining Armor is now technically a prince because he's married to Princess Cadence.” Rarity explained.

Rainbow had never thought about that. She hadn’t considered what marrying a princess would mean. She only ever thought of marrying Twilight as marrying the pony that she loved.

Rainbow Dash was even more nervous now. Thoughts about this new piece of information began to zoom through her head. ‘A Princess? Me? What does that even mean? Will I have to do princessy things? Why have I never thought about this before?’

Rainbow’s composure was beginning to falter. Her fright was beginning to show, and Rarity quickly picked up on it.

“Rainbow Dash, are you feeling nervous?”

“Huh? What?” Rainbow asked as she was pulled out from her mind yet again.

“Nervous, Darling. Are you feeling nervous?” Rarity repeated. She was showing concern on her face. She was also trying to be soothing in order to calm her ailing friend.

“I’m not nervous! Who says I’m nervous?” Rainbow exclaimed. Her attempt to convince Rarity of this statement proved to be in vain, however.

Rarity chuckled and got closer to Rainbow Dash. She put a hoof on her shoulder and smiled warmly at her nervous friend.

“I understand that this is a very big event, Rainbow. Anyone would be nervous when it comes to such an important step in a relationship. It’s natural to feel even just a little frightened, especially when the big day brings even more to a pony’s life than the average marriage does.”

Rainbow listened to her friend’s words and considered what she was saying.

“This is a very big step. It will defiantly change some things about your life, as well as Twilight’s, but I know that you two will be happy together.” Rarity finished comforting Rainbow with a smile.

Rainbow thought about those last words, ‘happy together.’ Rainbow turned her head and looked over to the rest of her friends, who were talking and laughing together. She looked at Twilight and watched for a moment as she smiled and laughed.

Rainbow loved to see her friends happy, and she loved to see Twilight happy. Rarity’s words struck at Rainbow’s heart, and she calmed down. She regained her composer and looked back at Rarity.

“Thanks, Rarity. I’m feeling better now.” Rainbow said, softly.

Rarity smiled and took her hoof from Rainbow’s shoulder. “I’m glad I could help.” She said still using her most soothing voice. “Pre-wedding jitters are completely natural.”

Rarity looked out a window and took notice of how late it must have been. The sun had been gone from the sky for at least an hour now. She turned toward her friends and said, “Everypony, I believe that we should all be heading off to bed now. We have a long day tomorrow, and we should get to bed early if we want to be ready for it.”

Everyone noticed the time, and agreed. They began to head off to their guest rooms. Once they each arrived at their own rooms, they said goodnight to each other and went inside to go to sleep. Before Twilight, Spike, Nyx and Rainbow could enter their room however, Rarity suddenly stopped them.

“Wait! Rainbow Dash, you must come with me. You’ll be staying with me tonight.” She said as she began to trot off to her own room.

“Huh? Why?” Rainbow said, confused.

“Why? Because, it’s bad luck for the bride and, well, the other bride to see each other before the wedding.” Rarity explained.

Pinkie Pie, who was still with the group, added “Yeah. The brides to be can’t see each other until the ceremony begins, or the marriage might not work out.”

“Well, I wouldn’t really go that far, but still…” Rarity trailed off in response to Pinkie’s rather ‘over-the-top’ explanation.

Rainbow Dash looked to Twilight with an inquisitive expression, who looked back with the same look. Neither of them where very superstitious, but Twilight seemed to agree with the suggestion, though somewhat reluctantly.

Rainbow caught on to Twilight’s thoughts before she could even speak. Rainbow didn’t like the idea of not getting to stay with Twilight, but they knew their friends. It was easier to just give in and go along with it. It was only for a night and half a day anyway, they figured that they could manage.

The five remaining ponies and the one dragon all said their goodnights to each other before heading off to bed. Rainbow Dash and Twilight kissed and hugged each other for a minute. After the hug, Rainbow kissed Twilight one last time, before following Rarity to her room.

Rainbow looked back over her shoulder at Twilight, who was watching her leave. They had spent times apart that lasted much longer, of course, but tonight felt different. They knew that they would definitely miss each other a lot more tonight.

As Rainbow lie in bed that night, she thought about the events of the day. She thought about everything that had been bothering her. She remembered all the days she had spent with Twilight as a couple, and she thought about how blissfully happy they had been.

Then Rainbow thought about tomorrow, and about the wedding. The thoughts of the following days were making her feel uneasy. For whatever reason, she just couldn’t stop feeling scared. She worried about what the future would hold for her. She worried about what would happen to her life. She worried about the ponies whose live would be changing besides her own. But all of this paled in comparison to her biggest concern, 'Twilight.'

The thoughts in her head made her feel queasy. Normally, she could roll over, and there Twilight would be. She could cuddle up to her and all of the world’s problems would seemingly just slip away, and Rainbow Dash would feel just fine. But tonight, she was alone.

Rainbow looked into the darkness, and she missed Twilight. Tonight was going to be a long night.

The Big Day

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Rainbow Dash stood at the mirrors in Rarity’s room, staring at herself in the dress that Rarity had made. She had her hair styled for the special day, and was nearly ready for the big event. Now she stood there and waited for Rarity to finish up her final adjustments to the dress.

“There. Finished. You’re ready now.” Rarity said as she stood next to Rainbow, looking at her in the mirrors. “You look fantastic, dear. Don’t you agree?”

“Yeah. Thanks. It looks great.” Rainbow said as she examined herself in the mirror. She was really impressed with the dress. As usual, Rarity had out done herself.

They admired Rainbow Dash in the mirror for a few moments more, then Rarity broke the silence. “Oh! I better go and see how Twilight’s ensemble is coming along.” She turned around and started walking toward the door. “You’ll be fine here until it’s time, won’t you dear?”

Rainbow smiled and nodded in response. She was smiling, but underneath, she wasn’t feeling very confident.

Rarity smiled back and continued out the door. As she was leaving, she said “This is going to be the best wedding I’ve ever attended! Two of my best friends, starting a wonderful new chapter together. Oh, they’ll be so happy together! Oooo! It’s just so exciting, I…”

Rainbow could hear Rarity talking to herself all the way down the hall until the door to the room closed. Normally, she would find it funny, but Rarity’s words only made Rainbow’s mind fall further into its dark train of thought.

Rainbow stood in the quiet of the empty room and pondered her situation. Deep down, she wanted to be happy, but all she could feel was worry.

Rainbow moved over to the bed that she had slept in that night and crawled up on it. She sighed out loud and curled up, being careful not to ruin her hair or her dress. She stared at the mirrors on the other side of the room, reflecting on the mare she saw staring back at her. Her reflection was hardly even recognizable to her any more.

Rainbow knew that she was not herself at all, but she just couldn’t bring herself back from depression and anxiety. In her mind, everything was wrong, and yet, she couldn’t fathom why. She loved Twilight to death and she wanted to be with her, more than anything right now. But everything just felt wrong.

Rainbow Dash went over everything in her head over and over again, until she came to one conclusion. She shuddered at the thought, but it persisted in her mind. It was the only thing that made sense in her broken state of mind.

A couple of hours later, Rainbow was still lying on the bed, wondering about the choice she felt that she would have to make when a knock came at the door. Rainbow jumped at the sudden noise that broke the dead silence of the room.

She lifted her head and looked at the door. “Who is it?” She asked.

A deep male voice came from the other side of the closed door, “A member of the Royal Guard ma’am. Princess Celestia sent me to inform you that the wedding is starting in half an hour.”

Rainbow quickly looked at the clock and saw the time. She hadn’t realized what time it was until now.

Rainbow quickly got up from the bed and began to panic. She didn’t have much time left and she needed to make her decision soon. She paced around the room mumbling to herself.

“Miss?” The guard said after a while.

Rainbow stopped and looked back at the door. She had almost forgotten that the guard was still out there.

“Oh. Yeah, ok. I’ll be there in a minute.” Rainbow announced loud enough for the guard to hear.

“Yes ma’am.” He said in response. His hoof steps could be heard as he went back to inform Celestia of Rainbow’s response.

Rainbow sighed in relief after she was sure that the guard had left. She glanced around the room and walked over to the mirrors. She checked herself and made sure that her attire was still presentable. After a moment, she nodded and turned toward the door.

She hesitated for a few moments before opening the door. Rainbow turned and started slowly walking down the hall. Along the way, her mind raced through all of the possible outcomes of this day. Everything she was worried about came rushing at her and she was at the tipping point.

She walked along until she came to the cross section of the hall. Rainbow stopped and looked around her. To her left was the hall that led to the throne room, and the wedding. Straight ahead was another hall that led away from the wedding.

Rainbow glanced down each way and she thought to herself, “This is it. It’s time to decide now.” Rainbow glanced down the hall to her left one last time. Her heart was screaming at her and her mind was doing the same.

Rainbow shut her eyes tight and ground her teeth. Her legs were shaking and her wings twitched. Everything came down to this moment for her.

Rainbow took a deep breath, and took off at a gallop. It was done. She made her choice and there was no going back.

“Is everypony ready?” Twilight said after she looked around to see if everyone was accounted for.

Nyx, Twilight’s father and the unicorn guard all nodded their heads.

Twilight took a deep breath and took her place next to her father. They assumed that Rainbow Dash and her father were ready on the other side of the curtain that separated the two parties and nodded to the guard. His horn lit up and the door to the throne room opened.

Nyx, being the flower girl, skipped out the door and began to shake her basket of flower pedals, causing them to spill out onto the floor.

Fluttershy queued her birds to start singing the music, and Twilight Sparkle and her father began their walk down the aisle. But the whispers and murmurs of the crowd began to get their attention.

Twilight’s father noticed that Rainbow Dash and her father were not walking beside them as planned. Instead, there was no one. Twilight turned her head around and saw that Rainbow wasn’t there. The other door was open, but no one came out.

Twilight looked up to her father with a confused expression and he returned her confusion. He turned around and trotted back to the door and peaked around. He was met by Rainbow’s father, who shook his head and looked over at Twilight with worry.

Twilight quickly disregarded the wondering crowd and galloped back to the throne room doors. She was confused and she was wanted to know what was the matter.

Twilight got to the hall and looked around for Rainbow Dash, but she was nowhere to be seen. She looked over to Rainbow’s father, but he just shook his head.

“Oh no. Where could she be? Doesn’t she know what time it is?” At first Twilight was furious, but her anger quickly faded when she began to worry about Rainbow’s safety.

“Is she ok? What if she’s hurt? What if she’s lost?” Twilight was losing her cool and she began to panic. She went on with her worried rant until Celestia and Luna, followed by Twilight’s friends, Nyx and several members of the Royal Guard, came out of the throne room to calm her down.

Celestia nodded her head at Twilight to reassure her that everything was going to be ok. Meanwhile, Luna found the guard that they had sent after Rainbow and began to question him. Twilight’s friends gathered around Twilight and began to offer her their reassurances.

After Twilight had calmed down, Celestia joined her sister, and they began to discuss the possibilities with each other. Twilight joined them and after a few moments of talk, they ordered the guards to head out and try to find the missing Rainbow Dash. Twilight and her friends wanted to join in the search, but the elder Princesses asked that they stay and wait.

“If she comes and we aren’t ready, then the wedding might have to be postponed. Let’s leave the search up to the guards.” Celestia explained.

Everyone agreed, but Twilight still couldn’t settle down entirely. She needed to know if Rainbow was ok. The group began talking and discussing plans and possibilities.

While they talked, Nyx wondered about Rainbow Dash. She thought she had noticed that something was off about her the day before, but she never would have guessed that this would happen.

Nyx thought about Rainbow’s behavior and what it could mean before, but now she was certain that she knew what was going on. Though they had asked that everyone stay put, Nyx decided to sneak away and try to find Rainbow Dash herself.

Rainbow Dash was sitting under a tree in the castle’s garden. A guard had passed by earlier, but he didn’t find her. She knew that he was looking for her, so she hid from him.

Rainbow had been sulking under the tree, thinking about what she had just done. She decided to abandon the wedding and run away. But that was an ‘in the moment’ decision, and she didn’t know what she should do now. All she could think about at that moment was how horrible she felt.

She sighed and let her head fall. She felt alone and hurt, but she couldn’t go back. She couldn’t think right anymore. The fear and worry and pain and regret all clouded her mind and rattled her heart like a terrible storm.

Rainbow was almost on the verge of tears when she heard a little voice, “Rainbow Dash?”

Rainbow quickly looked around to where she heard the voice come from and found Nyx standing there looking up at her.

Rainbow straightened up and considered dashing away, but she gave up before she even started. She let her head fall again and looked back at the filly with a look of shame. Rainbow didn’t speak because she couldn’t think of anything to say. She felt like she didn’t have the right to speak anymore.

Nyx got closer to Rainbow and ducked her head down so she could look her in the eyes.

“Rainbow Dash, what’s wrong?” Nyx asked as soothingly as she could. “Why are you out here?”

Rainbow looked into Nyx’s eyes for a few moments before she turned her head away and closed her eyes. She thought about what she should say to the little filly, but nothing seemed to come to her. Nothing that didn’t sound like a sorry excuse.

She waited for Rainbow to respond, but when she was only met with silence, Nyx decided to try something else. She thought about Rainbow’s situation for a bit and thought about how lonely she must have felt.

Rainbow Dash sat there desperately trying to think of something to say, when she felt a little hoof touch her leg. She turned her head and saw that Nyx was now sitting beside her and was trying to comfort her. Nyx was smiling up at her a comforting smile.

Rainbow looked at the filly for a moment before relaxing a little. She smiled a thankful grin at Nyx before unfurling her wing and wrapping it around her to pull her closer.

They sat there for a few minutes while Rainbow calmed down. She didn’t feel alone anymore, and her head started to clear up.

Though she was starting to feel better, Rainbow was still holding on to all the worries that had been plaguing her mind since she had gotten to Canterlot. But now that she had calmed down, she felt ready to answer for her actions.

Rainbow looked down at Nyx, who was watching her patiently. She sighed and thought about what to say.

“I guess I should explain myself.” Rainbow watched for a response from Nyx before continuing. She just sat there however, waiting patiently for Dash to be ready to talk. So Rainbow decided to explain why she was out in the garden.

“I just… I just feel like… ugh.” Rainbow couldn’t find the right words. Her head was clearer but her heart still raged on. Now that she was calm, she started hating herself even more for what she did.

“Its ok Rainbow Dash, you can tell me.” Nyx said with a reassuring tone.

Rainbow smiled at Nyx and took a deep breath. “You see, I… I feel like I’m… not good enough…” Rainbow flinched at her own words, as if they had stung her.

Rainbow waited for a moment, not sure what to expect would happen next. She waited with baited breath for Nyx’s response.

Finally Nyx said, “Why would you feel like you’re not good enough? Good enough for what?”

Rainbow didn’t even think twice about her response. She had been keeping all of her troubles to herself, until that moment.

“Well, I mean, I feel like I won’t be a good wife for Twilight. She the most amazing pony I’ve ever met and I love her so much and I want her to be happy, but what if I can’t make her happy? What if she would be happier without me? And what about me being a princess? That’s just crazy! Me, a princess? What would I even have to do as a princess? I’m no good at royal duties and all that. And what about you? I never thought about being a mother before. What if I mess up? You’re too…” Rainbow trailed off when her mind caught up with her mouth. She looked at Nyx, regretting how she had just spilled out all of her emotional problems.

Nyx sat there, somewhat amazed at the long confession she had just heard. She thought for a few minutes and decided what here next words would be. Finally, she broke the silence.

“Rainbow Dash, you don’t have to worry about not making mom… I mean, Twilight happy. She is already so happy with you. She loves you very much, and I know that she always will. And I know that she would sad if she wasn’t with you.” Nyx said, sincerely.

“I think that you would make a great princess. You’re already a good leader, and if you have trouble, then Twilight would be there to help you. Trust me, she’s a good teacher.” Nyx said that last part while thinking back to all of the times that Twilight had helped her and taught her new things.

Nyx paused for a moment before continuing, “Also, I think that you would make a great mother. I’ve been really excited since we started getting ready for the wedding because, not only would Twilight get to be married and be happy with you, but I would also get you as another mom. You defiantly can’t mess up too bad because Twilight will be there for us. She’s always been there, and she always will be.” Nyx finished by hugging Rainbow’s leg and smiling up at her.

Rainbow sat and thought for a while. Nyx was right about all of it. Suddenly, everything seemed to feel right, and now, more than ever, she wanted to marry Twilight Sparkle.

“Your right, Nyx. I am pretty awesome, but, even if I do mess up, Twilight will be there for me, no, for us!” Rainbow said with her usual confidence.

Nyx’s face lit up even brighter when she saw the old Rainbow Dash return. She had been missing the Rainbow who would confidently face the world, and brag about it when she did.

The two ponies jumped up and Rainbow said, “Alright, let’s go…”

She stopped herself when she remembered that she was out in the garden because she had ran away from the wedding.

“Oh, right.” Rainbow said in a disappointed tone.

“What is it?” Nyx asked.

“We’re out here, and not in there. It might too late.” Rainbow explained.

“Oh yeah…” Nyx said sounding melancholy. “But it might not be too late! There’s still time!” She quickly responded feeling hopeful that she was right.

“But what about Twilight? Do you think she’s mad?” Rainbow asked felling concerned when she thought about Twilight getting upset with her.

“Maybe, but I don’t think that she’s too mad. She was worried that you might have gotten hurt more than anything.” Nyx said, trying not to think about how scary Twilight was when she was angry.

Rainbow thought about the same thing. But she dismissed the thought when she decided that she needed to go back anyway.

“Alright, let’s go then.” She said before turning around to run back to the castle. She stopped quickly to pick Nyx up and carry her on her back. ‘They could go quicker that way,’ Rainbow thought.

Rainbow began the run back, thinking that running would be better than flying, seeing as how her dress wasn’t made with quick flights in mind.

While she ran, Rainbow thought up a question for Nyx. “Hey, how did you know where to find me anyway?”

“One time, I was feeling bad, so I went and found a tree where I could be alone to think. But while I was there, a friend of mine found me. At first, I wanted to be alone with my thoughts, but she came along and helped me to feel better. So I thought that you might have needed someone to come and help you feel better, too.” Nyx explained from Rainbow’s back. “It feels bad to be alone.” She said while she thought about her past.

Rainbow thought about what she said, and smiled. Nyx really is a good pony.

Twilight and the others all waited in the throne room for news of Rainbow Dash and Nyx. No one realized when Nyx had disappeared, but now Twilight was nearly frantic with worry. They had all moved to the center of the throne room to try and calm ponies down when they all started to worry about what could be wrong.

Just then, Rainbow came running into the throne room with Nyx on her back. Everyone began to talk and point out that they were here, But Twilight was the loudest when she saw them.

“Rainbow! Nyx!” Twilight shouted in equal parts glee and relief. She began to run in order to meet them, but she hadn’t seen them until they were almost there.

Once Rainbow stopped in front of Twilight, she suddenly found herself in a crushing hug. Twilight hugged Rainbow tightly for a few moments, then she nuzzled Nyx while she was still on Rainbow’s back.

After a few more moments, Twilight pulled away from Rainbow, and Nyx jumped down from her back. Twilight was glad for their safety, but now that that was over with, she began to give Rainbow Dash a confused look.

Twilight picked her words before saying, “Rainbow Dash, what happened? Are you ok?”

Rainbow nodded and smiled weakly at Twilight.

Twilight looked her over and decided that she did indeed look fine. Next, she asked, “Why weren’t you here?” She asked. But when Rainbow Dash was silently looking at her with guilty eyes, she began to suspect. “Did you… Did you run away?” She asked, starting to sound hurt.

Rainbow lowered her head and looked down at the floor. She hesitated for a minute before nodding.

Twilight gave a small gasp and leaned back, like she was suddenly pushed back by Rainbow’s response. She stood there in disbelief before saying, almost whispering, “Why?”

Rainbow’s heart sank when she heard Twilight’s question. She could feel the pain in Twilight’s voice. She knew that she would have to face up to this, and she knew that Twilight would be hurt.

Rainbow winced at the pain in her heart. She had hurt Twilight Sparkle, the love of her life, and that was more painful to her than anything she could have imagined. But now, she needed to make it right. Now was not the time to be scared or worry about herself. She needed to explain herself, in front of everypony.

Rainbow closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She raised her head up and exhaled. She opened her eyes and met Twilight’s gaze.

“Twilight. For the past few days, I’ve been keeping my true feelings to myself. I kept everything bottled up inside and I didn’t think about what that might do. So when the time came for me to come out here, I chose to run away.” Rainbow said in a serious tone. She paused for a moment to think, but quickly continued.

“I was feeling bad for myself. I kept thinking that I wasn’t good enough. I kept thinking that you would be better off without someone as lousy as me.” She paused again to think about what she just said, but she quietly snorted at that statement.

“Now I know how selfish and stupid that was. I want to do things right and I want you to be happy. But I also want to be happy, and I want to be happy with you, Twilight.” Rainbow stopped and watched Twilight’s response. She didn’t know what she expected her to say.

Twilight stood there for a while, completely silent. She just stared at Rainbow, and it was making her feel uneasy.

Rainbow thought for a little bit before saying, “I’m sorry that I left you here and ran away. Can you forgive me, Twilight?”

Twilight stood there for just a moment longer before she took a step toward Rainbow. She raised her right hoof up, paused for a moment, and continued to wrap her hoof around Rainbow’s neck. Twilight pulled her in and hugged her.

“Rainbow Dash, I can’t believe that I never noticed before. You were feeling down and I wasn’t there for you. I was so caught up in the wedding plans that I couldn’t give you the attention that you needed. I should have been a better friend and companion, and I’m sorry that I let you down. Could you ever forgive me?” Twilight said this while embracing Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow wasn’t expecting to hear Twilight say any of that, nor did she expect an apology from her. She felt like arguing that Twilight didn’t need to apologies to her, but she figured that that was an argument she wasn’t going to win. So she pulled back and said, “Yeah, I forgive you, Twilight.”

Twilight smiled and replied, “Thank you. I forgive you as well.” Twilight giggled and continued with, “And from now on, I promise to always be there for you, whenever you need me. I’ll try to be the best wife I can be.”

Rainbow Dash smiled as well and replied, “And I promise that I’ll talk to you about my problems, and I’ll try my best to help you with yours. And I’ll be the most awesome wife that you could ever want.”

Twilight giggled at Rainbow’s confident promise. Then the crowd awed and cheered for the two mares.

Celestia motioned to the fathers of the two mares. They both walked up beside their daughters and motioned for them to follow. The four then began to walk the rest of the way down the aisle to the altar, where Celestia and Luna where waiting and where their friends had resumed their positions on either side. Nyx skipped ahead with her flower basket and showered peddles onto the carpet.

Once Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash were at their places, their fathers took their leave and joined their wives in the audience. Twilight and Rainbow watched them leave before turning their heads to face Celestia and Luna.

Celestia glanced at each of them before quietly asking, “Are we all ready?”

Twilight and Rainbow both nodded their heads.

“Well then, I…”

“Oh! Wait just one moment!” Rarity suddenly interrupted. She got close to Rainbow Dash and used her magic to fix a few out of place hairs and straighten a crinkled area on her dress.

After she was done, Rarity backed over to her spot and whispered, “Sorry.”

Celestia nodded and announced, “We are gathered here today to celebrate the union of these two ponies, Twilight Sparkle, and Rainbow Dash.”

She looked down at the two standing before her and asked, “You two have already made your vows?”

They both looked at each other, then back to Celestia and said, “Yes” in unison.

Celestia nodded again and continued, “Then may we have the bands?”

Spike presented the pillow that had the two golden bands. Celestia levitated the bands from the pillow and held them in front of her. Twilight and Rainbow Dash both raised their right hoofs and held them up, pointed at each other. Celestia then levitated the bands onto each mare’s raised hoof, and slid them on. Rainbow and Twilight, once each ring was around their hooves, proceeded to touch the ringed hooves together.

Celestia glanced at Luna, who took a step forward and levitated a velvet sash and wrapped it around Twilight’s and Rainbow’s connected hooves. Then, together, Celestia and Luna said, “We now pronounce these two mares, Married.” Luna unwrapped the sash and lifted it up with her magic.

Twilight and Rainbow smiled and came together in a beautiful kiss that was illuminated by the twilight of the sunset that shone through the windows of the grand throne room.

After the kiss ended, the audience all began to cheer for the newlyweds. Twilight and Rainbow turned to face their audience and proceeded to trot out the door. After them, came their friends, followed by Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Finally, the audience began to follow them out to the outdoor area that would serve as the dance floor for the couple’s first dance.

After the dance, the party began to kick into full swing. Everypony was dancing and having a grand time. Rainbow Dash and her friends were all gathered around each other conversing and dancing when a familiar voice came out of nowhere. “Congratulations, friends!” They all stopped what they were doing and looked around for whom the voice belonged too.

Suddenly, there was a flash of light, and Discord appeared out of thin air. He floated in air for a moment with his arms spread open and a big smile on his face, then he touched ground.

“Hello, everyone! It’s so good to finally make an appearance. I was waiting forever to final show my mug again.” A mug appeared in discord’s claw that depicted a big red heart shape surrounding an image of Discord. On the other side it read, ‘World’s Best Draconequus.’

Discord drank something from the mug before snapping his fingers and making the mug disappear. He then slithered around into the air above the ponies and said, “I wanted to make my grand entrance sooner, but there seemed to be some sort of commotion and it just didn’t feel right if nopony was paying any attention.” He slithered a circle around Rainbow Dash before he fell into a moping pile around her.

“But let’s not dwell on that. Today is a happy day, indeed. Two of my best friends are getting married! Huzza!” Discord slithered back up to his ‘feet’ and began to celebrate the occasion by dancing and throwing rice into the air.

Twilight interrupted by saying, “Discord, we just had the wedding.”

Discord froze in the air, and so did the rice he was throwing. Only his head moved when he looked at Twilight and asked, “You did?”

“Yeah, didn’t you know what time it was? We even had the ceremony late.” Twilight said in response.

Suddenly, this rice disappeared and Discord fell down to the ground. He crawled up to Twilight and got in her face and said, “Oh no. Oh no! Have I missed it? Am I too late to the party?”

He disappeared from in front of Twilight and reappeared in front of Rainbow Dash. He picked Rainbow up and squeezed her close.

“Oh woe is me. I missed the big ceremony. How could I forget the time on such an important day?! Ohoho. Woe is me.” Discord fake cried while he held Rainbow with one arm and held the other up to his face and mimicked a dramatic performance of despair.

“Oh! Wait a minute, I didn’t miss the ceremony at all.” Discord dropped Rainbow Dash and pulled a big pocket watch from a coat that just appeared on his person. He threw the watch over his shoulder and continued, “In fact, I was right on time.”

Rainbow sat up from being dropped and said with an annoyed voice, “Then what was with all that ‘woe is me’ stuff.”

“I was expressing my true feelings and what not. I believe it was ‘I’ll talk to you about my problems.’” Discord wrapped his paw around Rainbow Dash and he stretched his claw out and wrapped it around Twilight. Then he pulled them close to himself and said, “Those were some truly touching vows you girls made to each other. Brings a tear to my eye.”

He pulled a tissue out of thin air with his tail and wiped away the tear the formed in his eye. Then Discord disappeared and reappeared a few steps away with big sunglasses, a scarf and a red jacket on. He put his paw up to his forehead, as if to shade the sun from his eyes, and scanned the crowed.

“Well, I think I’ll go mingle now. Tata.”

Just then, Twilight said, “Discord. We’re glad you could make it.”

“Yeah, thanks for coming.” Rainbow said after Twilight.

The rest of the ponies all chimed in their own thanks, following Rainbow.

Discord stood on the ground and lowered his sunglasses to peek over them in surprise. He smiled sincerely at them and waved. Then he regained his ‘composure’ and took off into the crowd.

They all watched him leave while Fluttershy and Nyx both waved after him.

“Bye, Discord.” Nyx shouted.

“Bye.” Fluttershy said after.

They all stood there for a little while longer before Pinkie Pie said, “Hey do you guys think that it’s about time to head back to Ponyville, and get the celebration going there?”

Everyone looked around at Pinkie Pie, then at Twilight and Rainbow Dash. It was about time that they started heading back home.

Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash had gone around and said their farewells. Then they went up to the carriage that would take them home. Twilight watched Nyx climb into the carriage, then she looked around at the crowd and waved one last time before climbing in.

Twilight poked her head out of the carriage and threw her bouquet into the crowd. Some of the mares scrambled around to try and catch it, but it never fell to them. Instead, Discord hovered above with the bouquet in his claw. He smiled, mockingly, down at the ponies and did a little dance in the air.

Next, Rainbow Dash began to climb in, but she stopped and looked up at the castle. She thought about the events of the past few days. She thought about when she first arrived in Canterlot and how much more alive it had seemed. She thought about the rehearsal and about the night she had spent without Twilight. Finally, she thought about the previous hours of the big day. She remembered all of the events of the day and smiled. Though she did some things that she had come to regret, Rainbow knew that she would always hold all of these memories dear.

“Rainbow Dash, are you coming?” Twilight’s voice sounded from the carriage.

Rainbow looked inside at her wife and nodded. She climbed inside and took a seat next to Twilight.

As they watched the carriage leave, Pinkie Pie shouted, “We need to get back to Ponyville, pronto so we can welcome them when they get there.

The five remaining friends all nodded in agreement and ran off to the train station to catch the last train to Ponyville.

In the carriage, Rainbow heard Pinkie Pie shout and now she shuffled in her seat.

Rainbow shouted, “Woo-Hoo! Let’s get back to Ponyville so we can party all night long!”

A Wedding at Twilight

by TheShadou

Arrival in Canterlot

The Day Before

The Big Day