> Two Parties.
>  by LightOfTriumph
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Two Parties
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was going to be hard for the two of them to spend even a night apart.

It really was the best kind of love. Cadence and Shining Armor had started out as very good friends. They met when she was foal sitting for his sister Twilight. They practically grew up together. One thing lead to another, and now two days from tonight they would be getting married. In front of the sun and everybody. 

Their friends had insisted that they needed a night apart, and had conspired with each other to seperate them for the night. Spitfire and Fleur de Lis had come to keep Cadence company, and Fancy Pants and Flash Sentry had come to take Shining Armor out for drinks.

Shining and Cadence had spent the last five minutes frenching on the castle steps.

"Yo!" called Flash from a few feet away. "Cap, we're burning moonlight here!"

"Indeed old man," called Fancy Pants. "We truly must be going."

The couple stopped kissing. "I have to go now...," Shining sighed. "I love you."

"I love you too," Cadence sighed back. "Take care of yourself."

"It truly is very sweet...," Fleur de Lis smiled. 

"Sweet but counterproductive," Spitfire laughed. "We're supposed to be giving them one last night of being alone..." She began to pull Cadence back into the house. "Alright honey, come on. I got a night planned..."

"As do we," Fancy smiled. "Come along, old chap."

Shining Armor reluctantly walked to his friends. "Alright, guys," Shining smiled. "You got me for the night. Do with me as you will."

"Fancy!" called Fleur de Lis. "Make sure that both he and you stay faithful tonight! You better both come back one mare stallions!"

"Yes darling," Fancy laughed.

"Does that apply to me Lady de Lis?" Flash asked.

"No Flash!" Fleur smiled. "Have fun."

"I'll see you tomorrow Shining Armor!" Cadence called as the stallions walked down the road. "I love you!" The three mares closed the door behind them. 

Shining Armor stared at the door and sighed.

"Well my good man," Fancy Pants smiled. "The night is ours. What would you like to do?"

"Go home to my smoking hot fiancée?" Shining suggested.

"Oh for hoofs sake!" Flash cried. "Come on, Cap! This is going to be one of your last nights alone! Consider this your Bachelor Party! And the tradition for a Bachelor Party is that we hit a strip-"

"No," Fancy said firmly.

"Dammit..." Flash muttered.

"But I do agree," Fancy Pants continued. "I say we find a place that can provide us with some fine spirits and partake in some manly converse."

Flash and Shining stared at Fancy Pants blankly. "I think that was Trottingham for 'Let's get drunk and act like idiots'..."

Fancy nodded.

"I can live with this plan," Shining Armor shrugged.





"Oh! This is nice," Fleur de Lis smiled. "When was the last time we had a girl's night like this?"

"Uh... Never," Spitfire said, admiring the bed curtains. "We've never done this before.... Silk. This is just straight up silk."

"Well we should more often!" Fleur de Lis protested. 

"I could be down with that...," Spitfire said distracted. "The sheets are silk too. Damn... I know this is sort of redundant but Royal Apartments are nice. What isn't wrapped in silk is dipped in gold... I could never sleep in this room. I would be afraid I'd break something."

"You could break anything you like!" Fleur smiled.  "It would be your room..."

"Yeah," Spitfire laughed. "Payed for by the Equestrian taxpayer. Because that's fair."

Cadence was staring solemnly out the window, dead silent.

"Oh come on, C," Spitfire laughed. "I was only teasing..."

"Do you think he's doing what Fleur said?" Cadence said finally. "I mean Shining Armor would never be unfaithful..."

"Oh!" Fleur de Lis sat next to Cadence. "Of course he wouldn't darling, he loves you more than life itself!"

"And the point of this little excursion is to get your mind off Shining Armor for a night, remember?" Spitfire sighed. "Alright! That isn't happening on it's own! Where's the Liquor cabinet?"

"How do you know there's a Liquor cabinet?" Fleur asked.

"She's aristocracy," Spitfire smiled. "Of course there's a Liquor cabinet."

"It's over there," Cadence pointed at a cabinet near the door. "I'm not sure if there's anything good in there though, I've never looked..."

Spitfire rushed over and opened the cupboard. "Oh..." She pulled out a bottle and three shot glasses. "Fifty year old Edinburro whiskey. Unopened. This is perfect. Alright ladies, the bachelorette party begins now. 

"I don't normally drink...," Cadence said meekly.

"You don't normally get married either," Spitfire laughed. She poured a shot and downed it. "Damn that's smooth..."

Fleur followed suit. "Oh, this is quite nice," she laughed. "Bit of a burn though."

Cadence shrugged and followed suit, and winced. "Oh...," she gulped. "That really burns doesn't it..."

"If you can still feel that you're still too sober," Spitfire smiled as she refilled the glasses. 

"You don't do this before flights, do you?" Fleur asked. 

"Of course not," Spitfire laughed. "Only afterwards."





The three stallions had found a pub and had ordered a round of beers for the table. They had been drinking for a while when Flash asked the question that needed to be asked. "Any cold hooves?"

"About the wedding?" Shining Armor asked. "Not about getting married. The huge ceremony I'm going to have? Yes. The potential security implications and risks? Yes. The fact that Twily is going to kill me when she finds out me and Cadence got engaged without me telling her? That more than anything."

"Twily?" asked Fancy Pants.

"My sister, you've met her," Shining Armor responded.

"Oh," Fancy Pants smiled. "She's friends with that designer. Rarity. She's quite the charming mare Rarity..."

"You have a sister?" asked Flash Sentry. 

"Yep," Shining responded.

Without thinking Flash asked. "Is she hot?"

"We've all had a few, so I'm going to let that one slide," Shining said sternly. "But remember I can still have you shot for disobeying an order Sentry."

"Yes, Captain," Flash said meekly.

"Alright, Captain Armor," Fancy Pants asked. "Have you thought about foals? Being a father is quite different then being a husband you know..."

Shining Armor nodded. "She wants kids," he said. "And she's too awesome to not be a mom. So yeah, we're going to try for foals. I'd like a little baby daughter. I think I'd be a good dad."

"I agree," Fancy Pants smiled. "I don't think there is anything better in this world then finding the somepony you're meant to be with. I new I had it when I met Fleur... It took me quite a while to realize what I had in her. But I know now. After your wedding, Captain, I think I'll be setting up a much more low key ceremony for me and her."

Shining Armor smiled. "Good on you, man," Shining Armor smiled. "I'll be there."

The two stallions smiled at each other and downed another beer. 

"Do Alicorns lay eggs?" Flash asked loudly out of nowhere whilst staring at a wall.

"Okay," Shining stumbled to his hooves. "I think we had enough..."





The three mares had been taking back shots until half the bottle was gone. Spitfire smiled, confident that she was the drunkest one in the room.

"How is he in bed?" Fleur asked after several minutes of silence.

Spitfire rapidly poured herself another glass. Fleur was winning.

"That's a bit of a direct question," Cadence giggled. 

"It is important," Fleur said. "Not the most important thing, but if you want to build a lasting relationship you should... enjoy his company."

A mischievous smile spread across Cadence's face. "We won't have any problems in that regard, trust me."

"I know that smile..." Spitfire leaned forward. "That's not a 'He's passable' smile..."

Cadence closed her eyes and tilted her head back, smiling as if remembering something enjoyable.

"Oh!" Spitfire laughed hard. "On silk sheets! Damn, that must be nice... Alright, Fleur asked the question I would normally ask. So I guess it's up to me to ask the important one.

"Cadence," Spitfire started. "Are you happy?"

Cadence shot her a soft smile. "More than I've ever been."

"I'll drink to that."





As wasted as they were, Shining Armor somehow made it home alive.

He went to his room and flopped down on the bed. He took a look at his dress uniform. He always hated wearing it. He looked better in armor. Still. This is what he would be getting married in. He would look like a pillock in front of the whole world.

He fell asleep comforted in the knowledge that even though that was the case, he'd be her pillock. And really that was enough for him.



 

Cadence said goodbye to her friends at the room door. She was more sober than the pair of them (it was harder for Alicorns to get drunk) and she was still teetering. There parting words had to do with Spitfire wanting to do a flying trick in that state and Fleur promising to keep her hooves on the ground.

Cadence turned around to be faced with herself.

She was quite confused. She had not put a mirror there. She didn't think anything was wrong until her reflection started to talk to her. 

"You love him more than anything in the world, don't you?" the other her asked. "That's good. It's what I need to fill a hungry populous."

"Who are you?" Cadence asked, suddenly afraid.

Green fire overtook the other Cadence. Revealing a pony with black carapace instead of skin, a long twisted black horn, insectoid wings, and a ratty green mane.

"My name is Chrysalis,"