Chapter 50

11-1-14, 1:27 P.M.

Jeremy woke up to find his roommate gone, presumably off to whatever it was they did all day. He checked the clock, and groaned – the entire morning, gone. Oh well, that’s what he got when he stayed up until 4 A.M. Rolling out of bed, he hastily got dressed, and headed off through the portal.

Celestia was running day court, and Luna was most likely sleeping in. Waving to Celestia as he passed by, Jeremy headed over to the office, wondering if that changeling had returned yet. Entering, he bumped into Chrysalis, who looked as though she had been about to leave herself.

“Oh! Hello, Jeremy,” Chrysalis greeted.

“Hey, what’s up?” Jeremy replied jovially.

“I was just about to check on Anatase – it’s not like her to take this long…” Chrysalis worried.

Jeremy shrugged, unsure of how to respond. They traveled back into the hive to wait.

It was only a few minutes before Anatase came flying in, plastic-bagged tuxedo carefully held between her fangs.

“Nice work,” Jeremy complimented, and Anatase gave him a tired smile before buzzing over to the love machine to chat with some other changelings.

“Well, that was convenient,” Chrysalis noted before once again picking up her things.

“Wait, where are you going now?” Jeremy asked. Chrysalis looked at him.

“Haven’t you heard? Princess Cadance arrived just this morning to go over the final plan for the wedding, and requests that we all attend.”

Jeremy raised an eyebrow. “I hadn’t heard, actually, so I guess I’ll join you.” With that, the two set off, the hive buzzing with activity behind them as they left.

The main square in Canterlot had been decorated anew with posters detailing the upcoming marriage, so much so that Jeremy had to refrain from bursting into embarrassed laugher every time he saw one.

“What’s up with you?” Chrysalis asked curiously.

“I didn’t expect this wedding to be so… advertised,” Jeremy haltingly responded.

“Of course it would be – it’s a royal wedding, idiot. Cadance’s went much the same way,” Chrysalis informed him.

Jeremy grimaced. “I just hope I can do the ceremony without breaking down like an imbecile halfway through,” he muttered.

When they entered the castle, Jeremy was surprised to find that day court had been suspended, and Celestia was nowhere to be found. Once again, there was a letter on Celestia’s throne for Jeremy, and Jeremy read it over before turning around.

“They’re in the garden, practicing,” he explained to Chrysalis, and she nodded as she smartly turned to follow him once more.

Jeremy stepped out into the garden, enjoying the fall air.

“Oh yeah, the garden’s kind of gigantic,” he remembered as he gazed out at the maze of hedges.

Chrysalis rolled her eyes, and lit up her horn. “That way,” she proclaimed a moment later, and confidently strode off along the path, Jeremy perplexedly following.

Surprisingly, Chrysalis found the others easily, and both of them were surprised to see Celestia’s attire, as well as Luna being wide awake and dressed as well. Both were in wedding gowns with trains that spread quite a few feet behind them, dragging along the grass but somehow never quite getting stained – Jeremy supposed magic was at work. Princess Cadance was with them, and appeared to be coaching them on what would happen – Jeremy found this strange given the age gap, as surely Luna and Celestia were both far more experienced than her. Queen Chrysalis approached, examining the dresses with what appeared to be a practiced eye.

“If I had known this was a dress rehearsal, I would have had something made,” she commented, and Cadance looked up. For a second, she was completely silent, and it occurred to Jeremy that their issues with each other might not have entirely disappeared.

“We were unsure whether you wanted something made,” Cadance cautiously responded.

“Fair enough,” Chrysalis casually responded, and trotted over to examine Princess Cadance’s wedding plans.

Cadance flinched as Chrysalis got close, and Chrysalis stopped and looked at her sternly.

“Hey. Listen. I’ve already got my own romance going, okay? I don’t need yours anymore. Relax already,” Chrysalis asserted.

Princess Cadance stared at her for a moment, then gave a smile. “Of course,” she replied cheerfully, and Jeremy caught the slightest relieved slump of Cadance’s shoulders as Chrysalis turned back to the documents.

Celestia and Luna were watching the whole exchange with a hint of trepidation, but Jeremy could’ve sworn he saw approval in their eyes as well as it finished.

They spent the rest of the afternoon going over the different parts of the wedding – the opening, ceremonies, vows, closing, and afterparty. Jeremy asked about rings, only to find that Cadance had already had them made – she promised he would enjoy them.

“You seem awfully at ease with all of this formality,” Princess Cadance remarked to Jeremy after a few hours had passed.

“I’ve been to a few formal ceremonies before, this isn’t too new,” Jeremy answered, and Cadance gave him a surprised smile. It was true – when his family had been alive, his cousins had had a few weddings of their own, and the same general style was also reflected in some of the Scouting ceremonies he had attended, including his own Eagle Court of Honor.

Finally, it was 6 P.M., and the two elder alicorns had to go lower the sun and raise the moon, leaving Princess Cadance, Queen Chrysalis and Jeremy behind.

“Anyone else ready for dinner?” Jeremy asked, and both mares nodded.

Cadance looked at Chrysalis suspiciously. “You eat actual food?” she queried.

Chrysalis smirked. “I can, but I was thinking of a different kind…”

Springing forward, she tackled Jeremy to the ground, giggling as she inhaled the odd pink mist that supposedly represented his love for her. Princess Cadance looked on in shock, but Jeremy stood up, dusted himself off, and wrapped an arm around Chrysalis so she could stay balanced as he moved around.

“My suit,” he complained, trying to twist around to see if it was grass-stained.

Chrysalis laughed and lit up her horn. “All clean,” she explained a moment later, ceasing her magic.

Jeremy rolled his eyes. “With you around, who needs washing machines?” he joked.

Princess Cadance had been watching the whole time, her initial expression fading to that of amusement.

“Does that… happen a lot?” she queried after a moment.

Jeremy chuckled. “Yeah, you could say that,” he answered, smirking at Chrysalis.

With that, the trio headed off to find a more physical source of food.

Heading back from dinner, Princess Cadance requested they follow her to the throne room, and Jeremy and Chrysalis nonchalantly did so. There they found Celestia and Twilight, deep in conversation.

“Sup, Sparkle?” Jeremy casually greeted once an appropriate break in the conversation was reached.

“Oh, hey Jeremy,” Twilight greeted.

“Princess Twilight is here to oversee the night court as preparation for her eventual royal duties… and also so Princess Luna can get her sleep before the wedding tomorrow,” Celestia explained by way of greeting.

Jeremy nodded in interest. “Have fun, then – I think I’ll go to bed soon myself,” he replied.

“Stop by Ethan’s cell first, it’s been a few days since he’s seen you,” Celestia reminded him, and he nodded, changing his direction towards the dungeon.

As he left, he heard Princess Cadance ask “Who’s Ethan?” and he cringed.

Ethan himself was laying in his cot, staring up at the ceiling.

“Hey,” Jeremy casually greeted.

“Sup,” Ethan returned.

“Do anything for Nightmare Night?” Jeremy asked curiously.

Ethan made a disparaged grunt. “Nah, they don’t let the prisoners participate. Plus, I was never one for costumes.”

They made small talk for a few minutes more, and Jeremy excused himself, heading back up through the portal to bed.

11-2-14, 11:42 A.M.

Jeremy attempted to scrub the tired out of his eyes as he walked back through the portal, tuxedo on and a nervous grin on his face. Today was the day he got serious, after all. Heading over to the royal cafeteria, he picked up lunch and set about mentally preparing himself for the next few hours.

Celestia came in not long afterwards, during her own lunch break.

“Good morning, Jeremy,” she called out, and abandoned her usual position at the head of the table to converse with him.

“Hey, how’s it going?” Jeremy asked, knowing he sounded slightly nervous.

“Absolutely fine, thank you,” Celestia answered. “Princess Twilight did excellently in night court – Luna’s considering requesting her presence for a few more,” she joked, and Jeremy laughed.

“How is Luna, by the way?” he asked. Celestia frowned in concern.

“She has not had to adjust her sleep schedule so drastically before, so… she’s taking it a bit hard.” True to form, Luna walked in, circles under her eyes to match Jeremy’s permanent ones and a generally haggard look to her. She brightened when she saw him, however, and made a beeline for Jeremy as well.

“Art thou ready?” she asked. Jeremy gave a single nod, before giving her a concerned once-over.

“What about you? You look like you could use more than a few pick-me-ups,” he commented.

Luna shook her head. “We shall be fine after a few cups of that distasteful ‘coffee’,” she declared, and trotted off to obtain some.

Laughing, Jeremy shook his head, and turned back to Celestia. “So, I get to become near-immortal today, huh? Not exactly the best body for it, but what can you do,” Jeremy remarked.

Celestia chuckled. “Believe me, your fitness is still something to worry about when you ascend like this – I made that mistake before, and paid the price.” Jeremy looked at her in confusion, and Celestia laughed. “Never mind. Just take care of your body, and it’ll take care of you.” Jeremy shrugged, and went back to eating his lunch.

A few hours later, everything was ready to go. The guests, the count of which easily numbered in the hundreds, filed into the massive space in the royal gardens, each taking a chair and talking excitedly. Chrysalis’ whole hive was seemingly in attendance, and chatting animatedly with the Canterlot guests – now that some time had passed, Jeremy supposed that international relations had gotten a whole lot better. Jeremy, Luna, Celestia and Chrysalis hung back in a separate section, hidden from the guests by a hedge. Jeremy looked over their attire: He was wearing his dark tuxedo and a light blue tie with white undershirt, Celestia and Luna were wearing their gowns from earlier, and Chrysalis had somehow managed to obtain a shimmering, translucent black dress with bright green stones woven into it.

Finally, it was time for Jeremy to take his place, and he slowly walked down the aisle, almost coming to a stop when he saw Ethan in a suit of his own. Jeremy considered what he had learned from Cadance, and discerned that Ethan was standing where the “best man” should be – this confused Jeremy greatly, but he wasn’t about to stop the wedding because of it. Jeremy also noticed that Twilight and her friends were in the front row seats, and ignored them, facing straight ahead as he walked forward. He took his place at the center of the stage, and waited with a patient smile, trying to hide his shaking nerves.

The procession went on, and the bridesmares appeared, taking their places in the wings of the center stage. The ring bearer solemly walked up the aisle, bearing a set of two boxes of ornate red-purple design and roughly equal size. Jeremy stared at the back of the aisles – it was time for the three brides to make their appearance.

Without hesitation, they did so, lined up and synchronized perfectly as they too made the journey down the aisle, lining up opposite him with impeccable choreography. Jeremy swallowed nervously – now came the vows. To his surprise, Cadance walked up the aisle, decorated in a formal dress of her own, and walked around to stand just behind them – Jeremy realized she had taken the position of master of ceremonies. She turned to the three mares, clearing her throat and adopting an official tone.

“Do you, Princess Luna of Equestria, take this human to be your lawfully wedded husband?” she asked.

“I do,” Luna replied, a hint of a smile gracing her face.

Cadance nodded once and proceeded to Celestia, asking the same and receiving the same confirmation.

Finally, she turned to Chrysalis, and began her final question of the mares. “Do you, Queen Chrysalis of the United Changeling Nation - ?” Before she could finish, there was a commotion at the back of the aisle.

Six changeling queens teleported onto the scene, decorated in every shade of the rainbow, and the skies filled so rapidly with changelings of every color except green Jeremy could have sworn Celestia had just lowered the sun.

“Hello, Queen Chrysalis,” one greeted, with a vibrant orange-red shell. She turned to Jeremy. “Hello, Savior.”

Chrysalis turned to face them, outraged. “What is the meaning of this?” she demanded.

The purple one, far bigger than the rest, smirked. “Oh, relax, High Queen. After all – how could we let our queen get married without paying homage?”

And with that, to the shock of everyone in the room, every single changeling landed and bowed as one, their multicolored rainbow of shells sparkling in the sunlight. With that, they took their places between the aisles and seats, quickly filling up the rest of the area. Too stunned to speak for a moment, Cadance turned back to Chrysalis before nervously clearing her throat.

“Where was I… oh, right. Do you, Queen Chrysalis of the United Changeling Nation, take this human to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

Chrysalis looked once back at the other queens, all of whom were nodding furiously, and turned back to stare at Jeremy, a smirk on her face. “I do,” she answered calmly, and the hive queens burst into quickly stifled giggles.

Cadance looked over at them, an exasperated smile on her own face, and turned to Jeremy. “And do you, Jeremy, take these three mares to be your lawfully wedded wives?”

Jeremy looked at them, smiling – he’d waited so long for this. “I do,” he answered, mentally thanking whatever gods existed that his voice had remained steady.

Cadance turned to face the audience. “Then by the power invested in me, I hereby declare these four husband and wives!”

All four blushed slightly as the crowd cheered. Finally, when all had quieted down, the ringbearing mare stepped forward, boxes held out in a red aura of levitation.

Jeremy curiously watched as the two boxes were opened to reveal a set of four rings, three of which he picked out and held, examining them as the three mares each levitated the lone remaining ring, surrounded in a mix of yellow, blue and green aura. Stepping forward once more, he held out Celestia’s ring, easily distinguishable by the bright sunlit orange-yellow, faceted stone in the exact shape of her cutie mark and set onto a gold ring. Celestia bowed her head, and he slipped it onto her horn. Luna was next, her stone being of a deep midnight blue coloration and her crescent-moon shape set in a silver ring. Finally, Chrysalis’s ring was up, consisting of an interestingly simple design of a vitreous green heart outline with half filled in, set into a ring of curiously black metal – Jeremy would have to ask about the composition when he got the chance. He slipped it onto her horn, noting that it fit just above where a hole would have caused it to slide – Princess Cadance had clearly thought of everything.

Finally, it was the mares’ turn, and he held out his left hand. The ring was slipped onto his finger, and Jeremy took note of its design – a bright orange stone cabochon, by far the simplest of the four rings. It was set into a silver metal, though Jeremy didn’t know if it was actually precious or not. Whatever it was, it was heavy for its size, so Jeremy suspected it was something expensive. As soon as he had it on, his whole body flashed a brilliant white for a split second, before fading back down – Jeremy looked around in surprise. He supposed that was the immortality kicking in, although he didn’t feel any different. Cadance looked at the four of them, utmost satisfaction on her face as she uttered the final part of the ceremony.

“Groom, you may now kiss the brides,” she declared, and Jeremy gave Celestia a quick kiss on the lips, doing the same to Luna and Chrysalis.

Cadance turned back to the audience, and Jeremy noticed she was holding back tears. “To the fillies and gentlecolts gathered today, I present to you the newly wedded quartet!”

Fanfare sounded, and this time the applause was raucous and unrestrained. Even Twilight leaped out of her chair and danced with joy.

Next Chapter: Chapter 51 Estimated time remaining: 3 Hours, 38 Minutes