MLP: A Canterlot Wedding (Revised Edition)
Chapter 2: 2. Meet & Greet, Preparations & Revelations
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Chapter 2: Meetings and Greetings, Preparations and Revelations
A few hours later, they were on the train, heading towards Canterlot. Rainbow Dash exclaimed excitedly, "A sonic rainboom? At a wedding?! Can you say "best wedding ever"?!"
Pinkie Pie gasped, stuck her head out the window, and as the train entered a tunnel, yelled, "Best wedding ever!" It echoed several times as the train emerged from the tunnel.
Spike looked at them. "So you all get to help with the big fancy wedding, but I'm the one who gets to host the bachelor party! I have just one question. What's a bachelor party?" Everyone, except Twilight, laughed.
Applejack stopped laughing when as she noticed Twilight staring glumly out the window. "Why the long face, sugarcube?"
"I'm just thinking about Shining Armor. Ever since I moved to Ponyville, we've been seeing each other less and less. And now that he's starting a new family with this "Princess Mi Amore Ca-what'shername", we'll probably never see each other!"
"C'mon now. You're his sister. He'll always make time for you." Applejack said comfortingly.
"Couldn't seem to make time to tell me he was getting married!" Twilight snapped as she pulled down the window shade.
After awhile, the train pulled up to the edge of Canterlot, passing through a sparkly magenta barrier. "We're here, we're here!" Pinkie exclaimed happily.
"Whoa, what's with all the guards?" Rainbow Dash asked, seeing the many guards everywhere.
"I'm sure they're just taking the necessary precautions. Royal weddings do bring out the strangest ponies, you know." Rarity said as the train pulled to a stop.
Just then, Applejack saw a pale blue unicorn mare waiting on the platform. She had gentle purple eyes and a medium-length blue mane that had streaks of navy blue. A purple flower (the same shade as her eyes) was tucked behind her left ear. Around her neck was a strand of black pearls, and four golden bracelets circled her upper legs. The front two had a pink gem in the center while the back two had purple gems. Her cutie mark was a purple flower with a blue gem in the center that had flames rising from it.
No doubt: she was a noblemare.
"Hey…who's that?" Applejack asked, pointing her out to the others.
"I dunno." Rainbow Dash said as they all got off. The strange mare walked towards them. Now they could see that she was taller than they were by a head, but she walked with an easy grace.
She stopped in front of them. "Are you Twilight Sparkle and her friends?"
"Yes, we are." Twilight nodded. "Not to seem rude…but who the hoof are you?"
"I'm Lady Catania, a close friend of the bride and groom. In fact, I'm the mare of honor. Princess Celestia wanted me to greet you since everyone else is…well, in a tizzy about the wedding." The mare said. "And other things," she added under her breath.
"Y-you…ooh…mare of…ohhh!" Rarity swooned again.
Catania looked at her strangely. "Does…does she do this a lot?"
"Since she was asked to design the dresses for this wedding? Oh, yeah." Rainbow Dash said, now flying a few feet from the ground.
Catania smiled. "So she is the one designing our dresses. Princess Celestia spoke highly of her skills." She looked at Applejack. "Help her up. The princesses wanted me to show you to where you'll be working. After all, you do have a lot to do, and not much time to do it in." She turned to Twilight. "And you, as I understand, have an older brother to congratulate."
Twilight scoffed. "Yeah. Congratulate." She walked past all of them. As she passed two guards who uncrossed their spears for her, smiling, she added in a mutter, "And then give him a piece of my mind." That caused said guards to give her mildly freaked out looks.
Catania giggled as she turned her head to the others. "Come along now," she said, beginning to go after Twilight. The others followed, Applejack supporting the still-woozy Rarity.
Twilight marched across the courtyard to where her brother, who was on one of the castle's walkways, was directing guards to their stations. He looked down, startled, when Twilight said, "I've got something to say to you, mister!"
Despite her tone, his facial expression shifted from startled to delighted as he took off his helmet, smiling. Placing it on the ground, he exclaimed happily, "Twily!" Going down the steps, he said, "Ah, I've missed, you, kid. How was the train ride? I–" But when he reached out to touch her, she shoved his hoof away.
"How dare you not tell me in person that you were getting married! I'm your sister, for pony's sake!" Twilight snapped angrily.
"It's not my fault! Princess Celestia has requested a major increase in security. Didn't you see all the guards at the train station?" Shining Armor protested.
"Yeah, there's a big wedding coming up. Maybe you heard about it?" She retorted sarcastically.
"It has nothing to do with the wedding. A threat has been made against Canterlot. We don't know who's responsible for it, but Princess Celestia asked that I help provide additional protection." He lifted her chin. "This, you need to see." He stood back a few feet and closed his eyes. Suddenly, his horn powered up. It emitted a blinding magenta-white light, which shot upward into the magical barrier surrounding Canterlot. As the light died away, Shining Armor appeared to suffer a headache. Shaking his head, he gasped for breath. Once he was composed again, he walked back to the walkway he had been on, Twilight following him. "The burden of keeping Canterlot safe and secure rests squarely on my shoulders. Staying focused on the task at hand has been my top priority."
They went to a higher walkway. Looking down at the rows of guards passing by below, Twilight sighed and said, "Okay, okay, I get it. You've got a really important job protecting all of Canterlot with a force field only you can conjure up. But still... how could you not tell me about something as big as your wedding? Am I not that important to you anymore?"
"Hey. You're my little sister. Of course, you're important to me. But I'd understand if you didn't want to be my best mare now." Shining Armor said that last part teasingly.
"You want me to be your best mare?" Twilight asked, as if she didn't believe what she was hearing.
"Well... yeah." He said, smiling.
"I'd be honored!" She said, as they hugged. But in the next second, Twilight pushed him away. "But I'm still pretty ticked you're marrying somepony I don't even know! When did you even meet this "Princess Mi Amore Cadenza"?"
"Twily, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza is Cadance, your old foalsitter." Shining said, smiling.
"Cadance? As in the Cadance? As in the greatest foalsitter in all the history of foalsitters?!" Twilight said in a mixture of disbelief and delight.
Shining Armor chuckled. "You tell me. She was your foalsitter."
"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh! Cadance is only the most amazing pony ever! She's beautiful, she's caring, she's kind...How many unicorns can just spread love wherever they go? I only know of one! And you're marrying her!" Twilight babbled happily. She began to jump around her brother as he reared, saying in a singsong voice, "You're marrying Cadance! You're marrying Cadance!"
She looked up just in time to stop before crashing into Catania and a pink alicorn with a gold/pink/purple mane and tail. "I hope we're not interrupting anything important." The pink alicorn said.
"Cadance! Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!" Twilight said, doing the dance that went with the rhyme.
Princess Cadance looked unimpressed. Raising an eyebrow, she asked "What are you doing?"
"Cadance, it's me, Twilight!"
"Uh-huh." She said, uninterested as she walked over to Shining Armor, who put a hoof around her, pulling her close to him.
"I've gotta get back to my station, but Cadance and her mare of honor, Lady Catania, will be checking in with all of you to see how things are going. I think I speak for both of us when I say we couldn't be more excited to have you here. Right, dear?" Shining said.
"Absolutely." Cadance said, shooting a slightly nasty look at Twilight, who looked hurt.
"By the way, Catania, where are Twily's friends?" Shining looked at the blue unicorn.
"At their designated workspaces, whether it be the kitchen, a dressing room, the grand hall, or what have you." She said. "And may I ask where is my husband, Captain?"
"Onyx Armor? I think he should be getting off duty right about now." Shining said.
"Right you are, Captain." A masculine voice sounded from behind Catania. They all turned to see a black unicorn stallion with dark blue eyes, a two-toned gray mane, and his armor, helmet included, still on. His armor, while still gold, was different in that instead of having blue accents, he had purple, showing his status as Shining Armor's second-in-command.
Catania smiled and walked over to him as Shining said, "Well, we've kept you long enough, Twily. We'll let you get to it." With that, he and his fiancée walked away, with Twilight looking after them, slightly upset.
Later, in the kitchen, Applejack was running from one thing to another, trying to get everything done before Cadance and Catania stopped by.
She squirted on some icing on the five-tiered cake. "Cake, check." She called. Twilight checked it off her list. Applejack chipped at the ice for the heart sculpture. "Ice sculpture, check." Another item checked off Twilight's list. "Best darn bite-size apple fritter you ever tasted..." Applejack said, shoving one into Twilight's mouth.
"Mmm. Check." Twilight mumbled, checking it off.
Just then, the doors opened, revealing Cadance and Catania. "Hiyah, Princess, Catania!" Applejack greeted.
"Please, call me Princess Mi Amore Cadenza." Cadance requested.
"And please, call me Tani." Catania said, smiling.
"Hiya, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, Tani. You come to check out what's on the menu for the big day?"
"I have!" Cadance said, smiling awkwardly. Applejack brought over a tray of her apple fritters. Cadance took a bite. Swallowing, she said, "Delicious! I love-love-love them." She giggled a bit nervously.
"Princess, are you alright? Oh, my, these are good." Catania said, eating one herself.
"Of course, Lady Catania." Cadance said.
Applejack put some more fritters in a bag. "Why don't you take a few to go? I know how you brides can be. So busy, you forget to get a little somethin' in your belly." She said, handing the bag to Cadance.
Catania left, smiling, followed by Cadance, who tossed the bag into the trash as she left, slamming the kitchen doors shut behind her.
Twilight gasped in shock at what Cadance had done. "Did...you see what she..." She turned, only to realize Applejack had not seen. She frowned. Something was off about Cadance…
In the room where Rarity was adding the final touches to Cadance's dress, Twilight paced angrily. "Oh, you should have seen how she acted back there. I don't know when she changed, but she changed!" Her voice became high-pitched as she imitated Cadance. "'Please, call me Princess Mi Amore Cadenza.'"
She was startled when Cadance, Catania, and the three bridesmaids entered. "Did I hear someone say my name?" Cadance asked, sounding bored.
"Your highness! My lady! Let me just start by saying what an honor it is to play a role in such a momentous occasion." Rarity said, bowing. She let out a nervous laugh.
Princess Cadance said unenthusiastically, "Uh-huh. Is my dress ready?"
"Oh, yes, of course. Um, I've been working on it ever since I was given the assignment, and I think you'll be pleased with the results! Mmm!" Rarity said, showing her the dress.
"I was hoping for something with more beading and a longer train." Cadance said after a few moments.
"Oh, yes, of course." Rarity said, writing it down in her notepad.
Cadance looked at Catania's dress. "This is no good. The color's fine, but the design…oh, no. Keep the color, but I want her to wear something more…simple. Simple, yet sophisticated."
"Princess Cadance is right. This dress…I wouldn't be caught dead in it. It's not my style." Catania said. "I love the color and the lilies on the bottom, though."
"Yes, of course, my lady." Rarity said, scribbling it down.
"And those should be a different color." Cadance said, looking at the bridesmaids' dresses.
"I think they're lovely." One of the bridesmaids said.
"Me too!" Another said.
"I love them." The third one said.
They all fell silent when Cadance shot them a glare, looking away. "Make them a different color." She said through gritted teeth. With that, she left, Catania and the bridesmaids following.
"Gee, maybe her name should be "Princess Demandy-pants." Twilight grumbled as Rarity went back to work.
"Okay, let me see. We've been over the games and the dances…" Pinkie Pie said as she rattled some dice and danced briefly. She gasped excitedly. "I think this reception is gonna be perfect! Don't you?"
"Perfect…If we were celebrating a six-year-old's birthday party!" Cadance said as she left, Catania, a frown on her face, following.
Pinkie Pie, oblivious to the insult, gasped, "Thank you!"
All of them were unaware of Twilight watching from behind a pillar.
Later that night, all of the Mane 6 and Spike were at a diner in town. As Twilight approached the table, she said, "Bet I can guess what you're all thinking. Cadance is the absolute worst bride-to-be ever."
"Twilight, whatever are you talking about? Cadance is an absolute gem!" Rarity said, surprised.
"Rarity, she was so demanding!" Twilight said.
"Well, of course she is! Why shouldn't she expect the very best on her wedding day?" Rarity pointed out.
"Applejack, did you know that after she told you how much she just 'love-love-loved' your hors d'eouvres, she threw them in the trash?" Twilight said.
"Aw, she was probably just trying to spare my feelin's." Applejack said.
"No, she was just being fake and totally insincere!" Twilight snapped.
"She did raise her voice at one of my birds during rehearsal." Fluttershy said quietly.
"See? Rude!" Twilight said.
"But he was singing really off-key." Fluttershy said in defense of the princess.
"Rainbow Dash, you're with me, right?" Twilight asked.
"Sorry, Twi. I've been too busy prepping for my sonic rainboom to pay much attention to the bride's bad attitude." Rainbow Dash said, taking a sip of her drink.
Twilight let out a frustrated growl.
"The princess is about to get married. I'm sure any negative behavior she might be displaying is simply the result of nerves." Rarity said.
Twilight thumped the table. "And I'm sure it's the result of being an awful pony who doesn't deserve to even know Shining Armor, let alone marry him!"
"Think maybe you're bein' just a tiny bit possessive of your brother?" Applejack said cautiously.
"Uh-huh." The others said.
"I am not being possessive, and I am not taking it out on Cadance! You're all just too caught up in your wedding planning to notice that maybe there shouldn't even be a wedding!" Twilight snapped as she left them.
At her brother's house, Twilight knocked the door. Shining Armor opened it, and smiled at her. "Twily!" He let her in. "Your big brother's looking pretty good, don't you think?" He asked, showing off his wedding outfit. She looked up at him with concerned eyes. "Huh. Everything okay?" He asked.
"We need to talk. I think you're making a big–" Twilight was interrupted when Cadance cleared her throat.
Shining Armor said, "Oh, hi, sweetie."
Twilight grumbled, "She sure has a way of sneaking up on ponies."
"Could I speak to you for a moment, dear?" Cadance said, walking into the library.
"Better see what she wants." Shining said as he followed her. The door shut behind him.
Muffled voices sounded. None of it sounded interesting to Twilight. She waited, looking around until Cadance's voice caught her attention.
"Are you disagreeing with me?" Twilight heard the princess say. She crept up to the door and peeked through the keyhole.
"I guess I am– Ah!" Shining began to look as if another headache was beginning.
"Oh, dear. Are you getting another one of your headaches?" Cadance asked in concern. Shining only grunted in pain as Cadance's horn began to emit an eerie green light. She cast a spell on Shining. When he stood up, Princess Cadance asked, "Feeling better?"
"Mm-hmm." Shining grunted.
"She isn't just unpleasant and rude. She's downright evil!" Twilight gasped. She turned and ran from the house.
Her brother emerged from the library, Cadance by his side. Noticing her run off, he called, "Twilight!"
"Let her go." Cadance said, pressing close to him.
"Huh. It seemed like she had something else she wanted to tell me." Shining said to himself.
Twilight burst into Rarity's design room."Shining Armor's in real trouble! You have to help–" She stopped herself as she saw her friends wearing bridesmaid dresses. "Dresses? What are you–?"
"Can you believe it? We're gonna be Princess Mi Amore Cadenza's new bridesmaids!" Fluttershy said, flying close to her.
"New bridesmaids? What happened to her old bridesmaids?" Twilight demanded.
"She didn't say. But she did tell us that she would love-love-love it if we'd fill in for them." Applejack said.
"Seeing as we've been working so hard and everything. Told you she was an absolute gem!" Rarity said, practically squealing.
"You sure this is what I should wear? It doesn't really seem all that aerodynamic." Rainbow Dash said doubtfully.
"Hmm. I'll see what I can do." Rarity said amidst her friends' excited chattering and laughing.
None of them noticed Twilight leaving. "Looks like I really am on my own." Twilight said. An idea struck her. "Or maybe not." She took off for another house, praying that the owners would help her.
Yeah...nine pages in Word. Too much work...hope you enjoyed.