Royal Intervention

by Chocovich

Chapters

• Prologue: Celestia's Plans
• Chapter 1: Rarity's Stallion(?)
• Chapter 2: Sweet Apple Pie
• Chapter 3: An Apple in the Sky
• Chapter 4: Flowers and Butterflies
• Chapter 5: Between Bakers
• Chapter 6: Behind the Bookshelf
• Chapter 7: To Canterlot We Go!
• Chapter 8: Confronting Celestia
• Chapter 9: Date Night!
• Chapter 10: Time Alone

Prologue: Celestia's Plans

Prologue: Celestia's Plans

After another boring day in the royal court the Princess of the Sun, Celestia, calmly makes her way to her tower so she may overlook Canterlot as another day comes to a close. While on her way to her tower she sees Shining Armor and Princess Cadance arguing with each other in one of the castle's many courtyards. Celestia's curiosity gets the better of her and she moves closer to the pair, eager to hear what could be causing the young couple to fight.

"-why don't you just use your love spell to make it happen?" Shining Armor asked, his voice sounding desperate and urgent. Celestia peered around a corner, just as Cadance decided to speak up.

"My love spell shouldn't be used for personal gain, nor to force people to love one another" Cadance said, obviously tired of arguing with her husband. How long have then been at it for? Celestia thought, knowing that their arguments usually end quickly, and never make the two of them upset with each other.

"But Twily is getting to that age, and should have a special somepony, but she can't find a single stallion that would put up with her" Shining Armor pleaded, surprising Celestia. She knew he cared deeply about Twilight, but begging his wife for something involving her...

"Ahem" Celestia coughed, deciding to come out of the shadows to find out exactly what was going on, and how Twilight was involved. When the couple saw Celestia walking towards them they froze, Shining Armor's eyes widening in fear. He tried to calm down, but he was too afraid, and ended up stumbling over his words.

"Evening Aunt, I mean, Princess, Celestia" Shining said quickly, "How can we, I mean, I, help you?". Shining Armor nervously looked at Cadance, receiving a look that was a mixture of embarrassment, surprise, and suppressed laughter. Celestia shook her head so she could clear her mind, his reaction making her want to laugh as well.

"Captain Armor, I see you are having marital trouble" Celestia said, a small smile creeping across her face as she looked over to see Cadance's laughter disappear. Her eyes darted between Shining and Celestia before she let out a loud sigh, knowing that Celestia wouldn't give up until she knew what was going on between the two of them.

"My lovely husband here," Cadance said, shooting Shining a glare, "is worried that Twilight might not find a special somepony for herself before it's too late"

"Why would she not find a special somepony, every mare does" Celestia said, not familiar with the concept of mares not finding their perfect match.

"She's too nitpick-y about it, and won't try to date any stallion that doesn't meet her standards" Shining said, defeated. The last thing he had wanted to do was tell Celestia about her student's issues, knowing she would want to help as much as possible.

"What about the others?" Celestia asked innocently, "What about her friends, wouldn't they help her?"

"They would, but none of them have a special somepony either due to their own dream stallions being hard to find" Cadance said, having extensive knowledge of each of the mares dream stallion thanks to their talks after the wedding. She knew that Twilight wanted someone as smart as her. Rarity wanted someone who would do anything she asked. Fluttershy wanted someone who was kind, caring and gentle towards her and her animals. Rainbow Dash wanted a Wonderbolt who was strong and caring, dropping Soarin's name quite a few times during the conversations. Applejack wanted someone with good work ethic and could carry his own weight around the farm, and Pinkie Pie wanted someone who loved to party and sweets.

"Well then, care to fill me in on their dream stallions?" Celestia asked, a devious plan forming inside her head. She was familiar with an old law that has long since been forgotten about that would give her the power to find these special someponies for them with ease. After a quick nod from Cadance, and a whimper from Shining Armor, the two Alicorns made their way up through the castle towards Celestia's tower.

Her plan was about to be set in motion...

Chapter 1: Rarity's Stallion(?)

Chapter 1: Rarity's Stallion (?)

"UGH!" Rarity cried as she looked at her jewel chest, terrified by how empty it had become over the past week. She had been given an order to create several dresses, each defined by their own unique gem. After hours of tireless work she was finished, sending off the dresses just that morning, and as she went to create a new dress for herself, she realized just how many jewels she had used.

"I need to go get Spike!" Rarity said quickly, preparing herself for a jewel hunt. Ever since the Diamond Dog incident she has been taking Spike with her when she went to find her jewels, as a form of protection. At first it was to make the dragon happy, but now, with his latest growth spurt having made him a formidable opponent to anypony courageous enough to try and steal her jewels, he was actually there to protect her. As she left she thought about their last trip for jewels, remembering how Spike risked his own life for her safety...

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"Rarity, get out of here!" Spike shouted as he wrestled the Manticore that had began to attack them. It was unusual to see one so far from the Everfree forest, but it could have been looking for food when it spotted Spike and Rarity. When it had charged towards them Spike dropped the jewels and shoved the Manticore to the side, causing it to hit a rock instead. The Manticore spun around quickly, and charged at Spike, but thanks to his new size and strength he was able to hold it back, but just barely. Spike was loosing ground quickly, and if he couldn't get away soon the Manticore was going to use him as a toy.

"RARITY JUST RUN!" Spike shouted, his arms starting to burn from holding back the Manticore. Rarity watched for a few more seconds, leaving just as the Manticore threw Spike to the ground. As she ran she could hear Spike being thrown around, the Manticore growling happily as Spike let out cries of pain. When she finally got home she climbed onto her bed, and cried. Even though she always seemed to ignore Spike, she did care for him, but it wasn't until recently that she had began to think more of him. Later that night Twilight sent Rarity a message, telling her that Spike was in the hospital and wanted to know she was okay, despite his fractured bones and concussion.

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Rarity sighed dreamily, still thinking about how heroic Spike had been when she made it to the library, hearing a heated conversation going on inside between Spike and Twilight.

"What is Celestia thinking?!" Spike cried, making Rarity worry slightly. He hasn't whined like this since before Shining Armor and Cadance's wedding, something must be really bothering him to make him whine like that, Rarity thought as moved to knock on the door.

Knock, Knock

"I'll get it" Spike grunted, annoyed by Twilight's sudden silence. From the outside Rarity could only guess at what was going on inside, but she still smiled as the door opened. When she heard a surprised gasp from the other side, followed by quick shuffling noises she opened her eyes, which had been shut so she could look happy as can be while smiling.

"Hello?" Rarity asked worriedly, knowing that it had been Spike that had opened the door. He was the only one who would scurry away when she showed up while he and Twilight were arguing. Rarity slowly walked into the library, looking around for any sign of Twilight or Spike. Only finding a white Unicorn sitting at the main table. He smiled at Rarity before pointing a hoof at the bookshelf behind her. When she turned around she found Spike plastered up against the wall, looking at Rarity nervously.

"Uh, hi Rarity" Spike said nervously, giving her a worried smile. He pushed himself off of the wall and laughed nervously.

"What's going on Spike?" Rarity asked sweetly, accompanied by a cute smile.

"Nothing, it's just, uh..." Spike said, looking at the other Unicorn quickly, "You need help finding jewels?"

"Yes, of course Spike, but what was going on?" Rarity asked, giving the Unicorn a look. He smiled and shrugged, making Rarity turn back to Spike with an eyebrow raised. Spike shrugged as well, and started to make his way out of the library. Rarity quickly followed after him, watching him carefully the entire afternoon.

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"We got a lot of jewels today" Spike said while sitting down on Rarity's couch, his legs tired from carrying all of the jewels back to the Carousel Boutique. He groaned as he laid back across the couch, but Rarity's silence worried him.

"Something wrong Rarity?" Spike asked as he sat up, looking over at the Unicorn to find her looking at her jewels sadly. Rarity turned around slowly, looking at Spike with her big sad eyes.

"What happened this morning?" Rarity pouted, trying to use her charms on Spike, knowing they usually get him to speak. When Spike laid back down Rarity walked over to him, worried that something might have changed him, but when she got closer she heard him mumbling to himself.

"How do I tell her what Celestia told me?"

"What did Celestia tell you sweetie?" Rarity asked, putting a hoof on Spike's shoulder, making the dragon jump. He looked over at Rarity, a worried and sad look plastered across his face. Spike suddenly pulled Rarity into a hug, making her gasp in surprise.

"Spike?" Rarity asked worriedly, knowing Spike only does that when something is really bothering him. He pulled back and looked Rarity right in the eyes.

"This morning, well, uh..." Spike said, pausing, but Rarity's smile made him continue, "Celestia sent us a letter saying the six of you were going to get arranged marriages"

"What?" Rarity asked in surprise, "How could she do that?"

"There's an old law from before Luna was banished that lets her put people together" Spike said sadly, looking at Rarity with despair.

"Then..." Rarity started, pausing so she could compose herself, "Who was I put with?"

"Me..." Spike said sadly, shrinking away from Rarity's gaze. Rarity laughed quietly, making Spike look up at her. She just smiled back at him, a faint blush appearing across her cheeks.

"Well, maybe it wouldn't be all that bad..." Rarity said, giving Spike a shy look, "If I'm with you"

"Really?!" Spike shouted, jumping to his feet in front of Rarity.

"Yes sweetie" Rarity said, moving forwards to nuzzle Spike. He laughed nervously as she did, deciding to rub her mane in return, eliciting a moan from her as he rubbed by her ear. Rarity quickly pushed him back onto the couch, and then took her place next to him, resting her head on his lap.

"I love you Rarity" Spike said quietly as her eyes closed, making Rarity sit up.

"And I you" Rarity said, moving forwards to give Spike a kiss on the cheek, closing her eyes as she did so. Although what she wasn't expecting was Spike reacting to her without freaking out. Instead of trying to look away he moved towards her as well, puckering up his lips as he did...

Smooch

Chapter 2: Sweet Apple Pie

Chapter 2: Sweet Apple Pie

As the rooster crowed in the early hours of the morning Applejack dragged herself out of bed. Despite being the working pony that she is she always found it hard to wake up at the crack of dawn. After she got out of her bed she headed downstairs, being drawn to the kitchen by the smell of fresh oatmeal.

"Ooh, boy, that smells good" Applejack moaned as she sat down at the table, the smell of Granny's special apple cinnamon oatmeal making her mouth water. As Applejack prepared to dig in there was a knock at the door, getting everypony's attention.

Knock

"Who in tarnation would show up this early in the mornin'?" Applejack asked, annoyed that who ever it was stopped her from digging into her oatmeal. After giving her a shrug Big Mac stood up, making his way to the door. When he opened it he got a hoof right in the face, obviously opening it right as the pony outside went to knock.

"Oh, sorry about that..." a stallion said from outside, "Big Mac, is it?"

"How do you know my name, and what are you doin' here?" Big Mac grumbled as he rubbed his nose slowly because of the hit. He watched as the strange stallion walked into the house, passing a scroll to him. Big Mac grabbed the scroll and opened it, his eyes widening as he did.

"She can't be serious" Big Mac said in a surprised, yet worried, voice.

"She is, and we have to along with or else" the stallion said, "So where's Applejack?"

"I'm right here" Applejack said as she walked up to Big Mac, turning to see who he was talking to. When she looked she was surprised, since it was none other than Soarin of the Wonderbolts. Applejack may not be interested in the Wonderbolts, but thanks to Rainbow Dash constantly talking to her about them she knew who they were.

"What do you need me for?" Applejack asked, trying to look at the note Soarin had given to Big Mac. Big Mac kept moving the note away, and eventually she gave up, looking flatly at Soarin.

"I'm, uh, here on Princess Celestia's orders" Soarin said, a small blush coming to his cheeks.

"Why did she send you?" Applejack asked, raising an eyebrow to the blue Pegasus when he handed her a scroll with his name on it. She opened it up and started to read it...

By the order of Princess Celestia, you are to become wed to the Element of Honesty, Applejack, a local farmer from Ponyville. You are not able to object to this or you may face jail time as this is being enacted under the Engagement Act from 64 BNMM. You must go arrive in Ponyville by tomorrow evening or you will be persecuted

Royal Equestrian Guard

"What does this mean?" Applejack asked, looking at Soarin confusedly. He sighed before taking the scroll back.

"I have to marry you or I could be stuck in jail for the next ten years" Soarin said, sighing sadly. It was obvious that he didn't want to be forced to marry her.

"When was 64 BNMM?" Applebloom asked, having come out of the kitchen after Applejack didn't return.

"It was 64 years before Luna became Nightmare Moon," Soarin said in a sincere voice, "So, BNMM means, Before Nightmare Moon"

"Huh, that's cool" Applebloom said, her attention focused on the note now, "What's that?"

"It's nothing you need to worry about Applebloom, go back and finish your breakfast" Big Mac said, nodding towards the kitchen table, but Applebloom just pouted.

"But I wanna know what it is" Applebloom pouted, but Big Mac just stared at her. After a few seconds she gave up and went back to the table and started to finish off her oatmeal. When Big Mac looked back at Soarin he was gone, and so was Applejack. He looked around for them, and saw them walking off towards the barn, and knowing that he couldn't do anything about, whatever, they were going to go do he decided to go and get ready for his job...

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Applejack led Soarin into the barn, wanting to talk to him alone without anypony interrupting them while they talked about the order. Soarin didn't know what was going on, but it was quiet clear that he didn't want to go into the barn alone with her. When they finally got into the barn Applejack turned around, looking at Soarin.

"So, is this serious?" Applejack asked, nodding at the scroll Soarin had on his back. He looked back at it and then looked at her.

"Sadly, a royal guard brought it to me this morning with Celestia's seal on it" Soarin said sadly, "They also gave me your brother's orders"

"So does this mean he's going to be forced to marry somepony as well?" Applejack asked, looking back at the house worriedly. After a few moments she saw Big Mac making his way out of the house, his hair cleaned up and brushed nicely. She watched him worriedly as he slowly trotted towards Ponyville, looking up at the sky the entire time.

"Yeah, sadly" Soarin said, having been following Applejack's gaze the entire time.

"Do you know who he's going to get put with?" Applejack asked worriedly.

"I was told that if I opened the letter I'd get put in jail for 5 years, and still have to marry you" Soarin said, thinking back to what the guard had told him at his house. He shivered as he remembered everything about the conversation they had, ending on the guard describing some of the weird things that happen in the Canterlot jail...

"Hey, you okay?" Applejack asked, putting a hoof on Soarin's shoulder. He looked up slowly and smiled sweetly.

"Yeah, I'm okay, thanks for worrying about me" Soarin said, putting a hoof on her shoulder. They stared at each other tentatively before embracing in a hug, surprising each with how nice it felt. After a few long seconds they broke apart and smiled at each other.

"That wasn't that bad, right?" Soarin asked while winking at Applejack.

"Eenope" Applejack said back, giving him a wink back. Before they could do anything else Granny Smith went out of the porch.

"Applejack and whoever you are, I have some apple pie in here that needs to be eaten today!" Granny yelled, making Soarin's ears perk up.

"Did she just say apple pie?" Soarin asked, sounding like a foal on their birthday.

"Eeyup" Applejack said happily, "This is some left over from last night though". In a split second Soarin was gone, flying into the house and was ready and waiting for his pie. Applejack laughed and started walking towards the house herself, and when she looked back into Ponyville she could have sworn she saw her brother flying towards Rainbow's cloud house...

"Applejack get in here, she won't give me pie if you're outside!" Soarin shouted from the kitchen, snapping Applejack back to reality, and she quickly made her way inside and sat next to Soarin, laughing as he devoured his piece of pie. After she finished her pie the two of them headed outside. Applejack was going to get to work on bucking the trees, and Soarin was in charge of taking Applebloom to school today. As Soarin and Applebloom said their goodbyes Applejack pulled Soarin away, giving him a quick kiss before she ran off to the orchard.

"She tasted like apple pie..." Soarin mumbled as he watched her run off, being pulled back into reality when Applebloom poked him in the ribs. They quickly ran off towards the school house, the entire time Soarin was thinking of how Applejack tasted...

Chapter 3: An Apple in the Sky

Chapter 3: An Apple in the Sky

As the sun came over the horizon most mares, except for Applejack were asleep, and Rainbow Dash was no exception. Being the athletic pony she is, she needs her sleep, although even she knew she slept a small bit too much. As Rainbow struggled to stay asleep despite the sunlight washing over her from the window.

"Ugh..." Rainbow moaned as she got up to close her curtains, but something caught her eye. It almost looked like Big Mac was, nah, couldn't be him, he can't fly...

"RAINBOW HELP!" Big Mac shouted from outside, making Rainbow pull her curtains open so hard she nearly ripped them off the wall. Her jaw nearly went through her floor as she watched the large stallion flail through the air. He would occasionally yelp as he started to look at the ground. Rainbow started laughing as she continued to watch Big Mac spiral through the air, slowly floating towards Rainbow's front door.

"I SAID HELP!" Big Mac cried, as he noticed how close he was getting to Rainbow's door. She quickly ran downstairs to pull him in, opening the door seconds before his face collided with it. He rolled through her house until hitting a wall, crumpling at the foot of it. Rainbow laughed as the stallion's tongue lolled out of his mouth as he saw stars circling his head.

"Nice landing there Biggy" Rainbow laughed, poking him in the stomach as she did. Big Mac shook his head and got to his feet, looking around lazily before his sights settled on Rainbow Dash.

"Good morning Rainbow" Big Mac said, still shaken up from his crash landing. He shook his head one last time, a small pendant falling out of his mane to hang from his neck off of a silver chain.

"What's this?" Rainbow asked, pointing at the pendant, watching as it glowed with a faint purple light.

"Twilight gave it to me so I could up here, and fly," Big Mac said, wincing as he looked outside, "You saw how well that went". Rainbow laughed as Mac looked down at the ground in shame, feeling embarrassed that the best flier in Ponyville had seen his pitiful attempt. Big Mac coughed as he reached up towards his yoke, pulling out the scroll that Soarin had handed him, which got Rainbow's attention.

"What's this for?" she asked, grabbing the scroll from Mac, getting little resistance out of him. He watched silently as she read over the scroll, her eyes getting as wide as the moon the further she read. When she reached the bottom of the scroll she threw it to the ground, dropping it through the floor of her house by accident.

"There's no way Celestia can do this!" Rainbow shouted, looking Mac down like it was his fault, "How could she do something like this?!"

"I don't know Rainbow, but apparently it's law, so we have to do it" Big Mac said flatly, moving towards one of Rainbow's windows, stumbling a bit as he got used to the height, "If I go to jail, what'll happen to the farm?". Rainbow could see that even though he was a usually easy going person, even he didn't want to jump into something like this because Celestia said so. Mac looked down at Sweet Apple Acres for a long time, being left alone by Rainbow as she tried to come to terms with it herself.

"Rainbow?" Mac asked quietly, still looking out over the farm. Rainbow slowly walked over to him, looking over the farm along side him for a little while before Mac leaned into her.

"What are you doing?" Rainbow asked, not liking the fact that he had suddenly invaded her personal space, but when she saw how green he was she knew what to do. Withing moments Mac had his head in a bucket, loosing last night's dinner the hard way. After a few minutes of retching he stood up, looking at Rainbow with a beat down look on his face.

"Feeling any better?" Rainbow asked sweetly, giving Mac a small smile. He smiled and nodded back before making his way towards her couch with her not far behind. They sat down in silence for a few seconds before they both tried to speak up.

"So about this-"

"What do you-"

"How are we-"

The two ponies gave each other shy smiles before Mac nodded, signalling Rainbow to go first. Rainbow opened her mouth to say something, but she forget it as soon as her lips parted. She smiled sheepishly back at Big Mac, and after getting to his feet Big Mac coughed.

"So, now that Celestia has ordered us to get married, what happens now?" Big Mac asked softly, knowing that this was a touchy subject for any mare, especially a mare like Rainbow.

"I don't know" Rainbow said quietly, looking at the floor as she did, "The Wonderbolts wouldn't accept me if I'm pregnant right?"

"I wouldn't know, but I'm sure Applejack could ask Soarin for you" Big Mac said, an angry look passing over his face as he thought about his sister and Soarin getting married. As far as Mac was concerned, no rich pony like him knew how to run a farm right, and he probably wouldn't be very much help with his Wonderbolts schedule taking up most of his time...

"Mac, I don't know what to do" Rainbow said slowly. The more she thought about marrying Big Mac the sadder she got. He was her best friend's brother after all, and how would the Wonderbolts react to her betting married so soon in life. Rainbow looked up to see if Mac had left, but instead found him sitting in front of her looking up at her, a hint of sadness in his eyes.

"Rainbow, I know it's strange, but of all the ponies that she could have forced me to marry," Mac said, a sad, yet determined look on his face, "I'm happy it was you"

"Really? Who would want to marry me?" Rainbow said, his words throwing her off guard, "I'm lazy and care only about getting into the Wonderbolts, I'm not wife material"

"You left out how loyal you are, and how much you care about other ponies' safety" Mac said, a small blush hidden among his red coat. Rainbow laughed quietly before patting Mac on the head, making him look up. When their eyes met there was a brief moment where almost seemed like the world had stopped. It wasn't until then that Mac had realized that he had always been watching Rainbow perform her stunts over the farm during his lunch breaks, being constantly amazed by the things she could do. For Rainbow, she realized that Mac was just what she needed in life, somepony to keep her grounded to her ideals and morals.

"Rainbow Dash..." Mac whispered, looking at Rainbow, nearly breathless. Right now, as the sun shone in through an open window her mane seemed to glow with every color, like a real rainbow. Before anything else could be said the two ponies embraced, each of them wrapping their legs around the other, not wanting to let go. They rolled around for a little bit, only stopping when they were interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Um, hi, is this Rainbow Dash's house?" a small voice said from the other side. Rainbow quickly opened it, her mane rustled up from rolling around with Big Mac, and found a small green Pegasus with a pink mane standing on the other side.

"Yeah, how can I help you?" Rainbow asked, her voice a bit off due to having rolled with Mac.

"Can you show me where Fluttershy lives, I'm on orders from Celestia to go see her" the tiny Pegasus said, trying to avoid eye contact with Rainbow. She turned around and shrugged at Big Mac before hopping out of her house so she could show the small stallion where to go. As she flew away she heard Mac think out loud to himself.

"How do I get down from here...?"

Chapter 4: Flowers and Butterflies

Chapter 4: Flowers and Butterflies

As the sun rose above the trees of the Everfree, a small yellow Pegasus is found surrounded by animals of all shapes and sizes. Fluttershy's morning routine usually consisted of feeding any and all animals that came to her cottage, and on some days, like today, she would even have some of the animals from the Everfree forest come for breakfast. This morning she had a family of Manticores waiting outside her fence for their food, the two cubs playfully rolling around on the ground as she walked to the fence.

"Who's ready for their breakfast?" Fluttershy asked sweetly as she opened the gate, carefully balancing four bowls of food along her wings and back. When she shut the gate behind her the two cubs sat up, looking at her happily as their tails wagged behind them.

"Here you are my little balls of fur" Fluttershy said quietly as she carefully placed the bowls down in front of the cubs and their parents. She smiled and laughed slightly as the cubs jumped at their food as if it was a moving animal, and then headed back inside her fence, where Angel was tapping his foot angrily.

"Oh, what is it Angel bunny?" Fluttershy asked, looking down at Angel as he ran towards the backdoor of her cottage, pointing at it rapidly. Fluttershy cocked her head to the side and was about to ask what the problem was when she saw Rainbow Dash fly over her house.

"Morning Fluttershy" Rainbow said, in a somewhat cheerful way, a hint of annoyance in her voice, "You have a visitor"

"Oh, I do?!" Fluttershy said quickly, flying up and over her cottage in a flash. When she landed she looked around, and when she saw nopony standing around but her she looked up at Rainbow Dash worriedly.

"Did they leave because I took too long to greet them?" Fluttershy asked, just as a bush behind her shook, causing her to jump.

"Nope, that, would be him" Rainbow said, flying into the bush. After some struggling she managed to pull a green Pegasus out of the bush, despite his best efforts to go back in. Fluttershy backed away slowly when she looked at the stallions face. To her, the stallion was handsome, probably almost as handsome as Fancypants...

"Hi..." Fluttershy mumbled while looking away from the stallion, covering her face with her mane so he wouldn't think she was ugly.

"Uh, hi..." the stallion replied, even quieter than Fluttershy had been, eliciting a groan from Rainbow Dash. After some whispering between him and Rainbow, Fluttershy looked up to see him looking down at the ground as well, his wings outstretched, and with Rainbow holding a scroll in her hooves.

"Read this" Rainbow said quickly as she put the scroll in Fluttershy's hoof, "I have better things to do right now." Rainbow quickly took off and flew towards Ponyville as fast as she could, being followed by both Fluttershy and the stallion's eyes until she went over the horizon. The two Pegasi looked at each other for a second before shooting their heads down so they could stare at the ground. Fluttershy decided to open the scroll, and quickly read over it before the other Pegasus could say anything.

"Celestia wants us to..." Fluttershy said quietly to herself in surprise, stealing a glance of the Pegasus, who's name she now knew was Summer Skyline, making her face turn bright red. She stumbled backwards and slipped on a rock, falling hard on her flank. Before she could get up Summer was at her side, pulling her to her hooves.

"Are you okay?" Summer asked quickly, quickly blushing as he realized how close he had gotten to Fluttershy. He let go and shuffled away, his green face now a dark red. Fluttershy smiled sweetly before extending a hoof towards him. Just before she touched him she pulled back, looking at the scroll one more time, hoping that the knowledge that she was under Celestia's orders would help her muster up the courage to talk to him. The two of them stood their for a long time, the silence being broken when Angel came stomping around the cottage, looking at Fluttershy angrily.

"Oh, what is it Angel bunny?" Flutteshy asked quietly while leaning down to face Angel properly. He motioned towards his mouth with his paw and then started to drag Fluttershy towards the house. Summer had been watching and quickly flew over in front of Angel, looking at him angrily.

"Leave her alone" Summer ordered, Angel spitting in his face as a response. He continued to stare at Angel until he started to back down, letting go of Fluttershy's mane. Angel stood their for a moment before turning around and hightailing it towards the backyard, not stopping for anything.

"Oh, um, thank you" Fluttershy said as she kicked the ground lightly, "Do you have the stare too?"

"No, I just, uh, didn't like how he was treating you" Summer admitted, chuckling quietly before looking Fluttershy in the eyes, "You're too beautiful for that"

"Oh, well, I, uh..." Fluttershy stammered, her face bright red again, "Would you, uh, maybe, like to come inside?"

"I'd love to" Summer said, smiling at Fluttershy happily as she led him towards the house, her face still bright red as she let him in. He looked around slowly, his mouth slightly agape as he saw all the animals running around freely. Summer shook his head quickly and moved towards Fluttershy's couch, which was currently occupied by Angel. When Angel looked up and saw Summer standing there he ran, making his way towards the kitchen.

"Oh, hi there Angel, is everything okay?" Fluttershy asked from the kitchen, and after a short pause spoke up again, "Oh he isn't that bad, you're just imagining things". After a few seconds Angel was walking out of the kitchen, defeated and embarrassed. Summer watched as Angel sat in what must be his bed, and relaxed. Meanwhile Fluttershy was in her kitchen looking into a mirror, quietly talking to herself.

"It's okay Fluttershy, you can do this, you have to do this" Fluttershy said, cheering herself on, "He's a handsome stallion, it'll be fine, just be yourself, be confident!". After a few more encouraging lines Fluttershy made her way into the main room, seeing Summer eyeing on of her vases intently. She walked over silently and could hear him commenting on the state of the flowers.

"Well kept and watered, placed in direct sunlight..." Summer muttered, not hearing Fluttershy walk up next to him.

"Um, hello?" Fluttershy said quietly, making Summer jump slightly.

"Oh, uh, hi" Summer said, blushing slightly, "Sorry I was just looking at how well kept your flowers are"

"It's fine, do you, uh, want to sit down?" Fluttershy said sweetly, moving towards her couch quickly. After she sat down she patted the spot next to her, and Summer happily sat down. The two of them were silent for around a minute until Fluttershy decided to speak up.

"So, are you a gardener?" Fluttershy asked quietly, looking at his cutie mark, which was a pair of daisies.

"Uh, oh, yeah" Summer said, having zoned out for a second in an attempt to come up with something to talk about, "I just got hired to work at the castle"

"Oh, cool" Fluttershy said, genuinely interested in his work, "What kind of plants do you deal with?"

"Mostly flowers, but I sometimes trim the hedges" Summer said cheerfully, obviously taking pride in his line of work, "How about you, what do you do?"

"Well..." Fluttershy said, beginning to explain her role as Ponyville's unofficial veterinarian. The two of them continued to talk about their jobs for the rest of the morning, eventually heading into town to get lunch together.

Chapter 5: Between Bakers

Chapter 5: Between Bakers

As the sun poked it's way through Pinkie's window a very audible groan of agony could be heard from Sugar Cube Corner. Since last week the Cake twins, Pound and Pumpkin, have been sick, and through them, Pinkie got sick as well. Today was what seemed to be the last day of the cold, but it wasn't going to go down without a fight. Pinkie slowly got out of her bed, and when she tried to get to her feet she could feel her head get really light.

"Woah..." Pinkie said groggily, her thoughts mixing into a big haze as she stood there, waiting for everything to go back to normal before she continued to make her way towards her bedroom door. As she opened the door the twins went roaring past, nearly throwing Pinkie to the floor.

"Hey, slow down you two!" Mrs Cake shouted as she ran past, chasing after her two children. Pound Cake was flying down the hall with his tiny wings, while his sister, Pumpkin, held onto him with her magic. As the pair whipped around a corner they collided with their father, who was on his way up the stairs to help Mrs Cake with them. There was a loud crash followed by laughter from the twins as their father moaned in agony.

"Oh, are you alright dear?" Mrs Cake asked Pinkie, who was still looking at the top of the stairs.

"Yeah, I'm okay, what about Mr Cake?" Pinkie asked, the moans of Mr Cake still coming up the stairs.

"Oh he'll be fine, this happens every morning" Mrs Cake said calmly, laughing as her husband's moans stopped immediately when the front door opened. Mrs Cake started to make her way downstairs as Pinkie headed for the bathroom, eager to clean her self up as colds make her feel dirty. As she climbed into the shower she could hear Mr Cake talking to a customer, although it was muffled due to the water running over Pinkie's head. Just as she was climbing out of the shower she could hear Mr Cake shouting for her from downstairs.

"Pinkie you have a-!" Mr Cake yelled, stopping as Pinkie suddenly appeared at the bottom of the stairs, still wet and dripping.

"What is it Mr Cake?" Pinkie asked before shaking herself dry, throwing water everywhere. Mr Cake quickly ran over and managed to get all the water before it ruined anything. He let out a loud sigh before continuing.

"This stallion is here for you, apparently he has something he needs to tell you" Mr Cake said, waving a leg at a rather skinny Unicorn stallion standing at the counter. The stallion smiled at Pinkie as Mr Cake was called away to help in the kitchen. For a few moments there was silence, until Pinkie figured out she had never seen this pony before.

"Hiya! I'm Pinkie Pie, what's your name?" Pinkie asked loudly, bouncing up to the cream colored Unicorn. As she got closer she noticed that despite being skinny, he did have rather large muscles, and his puffy purple hair almost reminded her of her own.

"I'm Buttercream" the stallion replied, smiling as he looked around the store, "So this is Sugar Cube Corner, eh?"

"Yup, best bakery in all of Ponyville!" Pinkie said cheerfully, looking at Buttercream's cutie mark. It was a frosted buttercream cake, which raised one important question.

"Are you a baker too?!" Pinkie asked, jumping in front of Buttercream suddenly, making him jump back in surprise. He ended up hitting a chair and fell on his back, making him yelp in pain. When he opened his eyes again he saw Pinkie, her snout pressed firmly up against his. The two of them just sat there in silence for a few moments, until Pinkie's eyes got a mischievous look in them, making Buttercream gasp out of fear. In the split second that Buttercream's mouth was open Pinkie jutted in, giving him a kiss.

"That was fun" Pinkie said slowly as she pulled away, leaving Buttercream to look at her in confusion, his mouth just hanging open. Pinkie licked her lips, and after a quick smile went in for another kiss, but she was pushed away by Buttercream.

"Why did you do that?" Buttercream asked quickly, making Pinkie frown.

"I thought it'd be fun," Pinkie said, pouting, "and I thought you tasted good". Buttercream continued to stare at Pinkie until he remembered the note he had been given the night before. He smiled as he let his arms fall, but Pinkie just looked at him in confusion.

"What is it?" Pinkie asked, seeing a big smirk on his face.

"Well, last night I got this," Buttercream said, using his magic to pull a scroll, which Pinkie hadn't seen before, off the counter, towards them, "From Princess Celestia herself". Pinkie quickly grabbed the scroll before hopping off of Buttercream so she could read it. Her expression went from curious, to confused, and finally, extremely happy.

"So we have to get married?!" Pinkie asked happily as she bounced back onto Buttercream, knocking the air out of his lungs.

"Yeah, sure looks that way" he wheezed. Pinkie quickly jumped off of him and bounced away, making her way into the kitchen. After a few seconds a loud gasp could be heard, followed by a thud as Mrs Cake fainted, completely caught off guard that Pinkie was going to get married. A few seconds after that Pinkie came bouncing out of the kitchen, a happy smile still displayed across her face.

"So, they said you're from Canterlot" Pinkie said cheerfully, "What bakery do you work at?"

"None actually" Buttercream said, pausing to watch as Pinkie stared at him in confusion, "I work for Celestia herself". Pinkie's jaw dropped, making Buttercream laugh. He quickly kissed Pinkie's nose, making her smile again. She giggled quickly before giving him a kiss on the lips, which this time, he happily returned. They continued to kiss until the twins appeared on either side of them, laughing happily.

"Hiya there kiddos" Pinkie said cheerfully, her cheeks a dark red from kissing. The twins laughed louder for a second before looking at Buttercream. They looked at him and Pinkie, they're little heads darting back and forth before Buttercream spoke up.

"I'm Buttercream, what's your names?" he asked, giving them a cheerful smile. The twins stared at him silently for a few seconds before laughing happily again.

"Buttercream!" the twins said happily, clapping as they laughed, making Pinkie and Buttercream laugh as well. The four of them continued to laugh until Mr and Mrs Cake came out of the kitchen, Mrs Cake looking like she had seen a ghost. Mr and Mrs Cake stopped to watch for a while, smiling as the group started to play with each other, their laughter echoing throughout the bakery.

Chapter 6: Behind the Bookshelf

Chapter 6: Behind the Bookshelf

Twilight woke up at the crack of dawn, like every other morning. After a quick look at her schedule for the day Twilight was off, running around the library in organized chaos. She quickly woke Spike up, needed him to put yesterday's returns into their proper places. As usual Spike was reluctant to get up, so Twilight left him for a few minutes so she could get breakfast ready, knowing he would run downstairs as soon as he could smell the cinnamon in his oatmeal.

Knock, Knock

"Who would come here so early in the morning?" Twilight said quietly before running towards the door, "Coming!". When she opened the door there was a familiar pony standing on the other side.

"Midnight!" Twilight said happily, giving the pony a quick hug, "It's good to see you again"

"You too Twilight" Midnight said back. The Unicorn smiled at Twilight before reaching into his saddlebag, pulling out a scroll with Celestia's mark on it. Twilight followed the scroll with her eyes, watching as he opened it, passing it over to her so she could read it. Her eyes quickly ran down then scroll, her eyes widening in surprise the more she read.

"She can't be serious, right?" Twilight asked worriedly as she looked up at Midnight, who's straight face answered her question immediately. Midnight sighed and then walked inside, moving towards the main table in the room. He sat down and pulled out another scroll, this time addressed to Spike, who happened to be coming down the stairs. He let out a loud yawn and scratched the back of his head before noticing Midnight sitting at the table.

"Hey Midnight, long time no see" Spike said sleepily. He stared at Midnight for a few seconds before noticing the scroll with his name on it sitting on the table.

"What's this?" Spike asked, picking up the scroll and opening it. He quickly read through it, and when he finished he frantically looked up at Twilight.

"Spike..." Twilight said slowly, knowing what he was about to say.

"But Twilight!" Spike whined. Twilight ignored Spike as she made her way to the kitchen, deciding to make breakfast for herself and Midnight rather than argue with Spike for an hour. Spike quickly turned to Midnight, hoping that he would help his case, but Midnight just smiled back, making Spike sigh in despair.

"What is Celestia thinking?!" Spike whined, making Twilight sigh as she heard a knock at the door, followed by some stumbling. She could barely hear what was going on, but she could tell it was Rarity who had knocked on the door. Twilight decided to ignore it and started making oatmeal for herself and Midnight. Apple cinnamon oatmeal, his favourite. After a few minutes their breakfast was done, and Twilight carried it out to her waiting guest.

"Is that apple cinnamon oatmeal I smell?" Midnight said cheerfully, "How did you know?"

"I used to make it all the time after an all-nighter at the library, remember?" Twilight said playfully as she set the bowls down, across the table from each other. The two of them started to eat, remembering the fun times they had back before Twilight left for Ponyville. Midnight had been recently assigned head librarian for the Canterlot Archives, and Twilight had decided to make nice with him since she saw the library as a second home. The first day she went to go see him things got a little out of hoof...

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"This is the history wing of the library" the old librarian, Bookmark, explained as he led Midnight on a tour. Today was the day Bookmark would retire and pass the torch onto Midnight, who had been his assistant for the longest time. As they walked through the Spellbook section they heard quiet mumbling coming from behind one of the bookshelves.

"What's that?" Midnight asked, having rarely been into the Spellbook section due to Bookmark's strict rules.

"That, my friend, is Twilight Sparkle, the personal student of the princess herself" Bookmark said, his voice a mixture of jealousy and happiness. As they continued to walk through the many wings, all Midnight could think about was the mysterious student who was hidden behind a bookshelf in the Spellbook wing. Was she as old as Celestia? What does she look like? I wonder if she's cute..., Midnight thought as the tour came to a close.

"Do you remember everything Midnight Twinkle?" Bookmark asked, laughing as the Unicorn in front of him blushed deep red.

"Don't call me that" Midnight muttered angrily while looking at the floor. As much as he loved his parents, he hated the fact that his name had to be Midnight Twinkle, he thought it made him sound like a girl. Bookmark laughed heartily before roughing up Midnight's mane, making him blush harder.

"I know you're ready for this Midnight," Bookmark said as he looked away, something catching his eye from far away, "I just hope she's ready for you"

"What?" Midnight asked, looking up to see the elderly pony walking way. He looked back at the library, seeing a small purple tail whip around the corner of a bookshelf. What was that?, Midnight asked, starting to chase after the tail himself. As he followed it he saw the tail to continue to whip around corners until they came to the Spellbook wing. Am I following Twilight? Midnight thought as he peeked around another corner, seeing the purple Unicorn sitting at a table, with what seemed to be a bed behind her.

"Uh, hello?" Midnight asked slowly, making the purple pony jump. The pony turned around, making Midnight jump back slightly. The mare in front of him was surprisingly beautiful for a bookworm. She looked back at him and jumped back as well, caught off guard by Midnight watching her.

"Hi..." Twilight mumbled, looking away from Midnight.

"So, you're Twilight...?" Midnight asked slowly, making Twilight yelp slightly.

"Y-yes..." Twilight replied, looking up at Midnight helplessly, "Are you the new librarian?"

"Yeah, I am..." Midnight said slowly, his face bright red, "Wow, she's cute..."

"I'm cute?" Twilight asked shyly, looking up at Midnight with big eyes. He tried to walk away, but his body acted before he could think clearly about it, and reached forwards, pulling her into a hug. Twilight gasped as Midnight continued to hug her, but eventually she hugged back. Eventually they broke apart, and after staring at each other for a few minutes with rosy cheeks Midnight started to walk away, giving Twilight a quick hug before running away.

-------------------------------------------------

"So..." Midnight said quietly, getting Twilight's attention. She quickly looked at him and laughed, blushing slightly because of the memories she had thought about.

"Yeah?" Twilight asked, looking at Midnight with a cheerful smile.

"I, suppose I should tell you now, but, uh..." Midnight said slowly, passing Twilight another scroll from out of his bag. Twilight grabbed it and read it over, her face turning red the further she read on.

"So, does this mean, that you, and me...?" Twilight asked slowly, looking at Midnight, her face almost pure red. Midnight shook his head slowly, blushing as well. Twilight looked at him, small tears forming in her eyes as she thought about what this meant. Midnight quickly moved forwards, giving her a hug before smiling at her happily.

"Are you happy about this?" Midnight asked, giving Twilight a hopeful smile.

"Of course I am..." Twilight said, pulling Midnight into another hug. They continued to hug for another few minutes until a scroll appeared in front of Twilight, from Celestia herself.

"What does it say?" Midnight asked as Twilight picked up the scroll, opening it quickly. Twilight read it as fast as she could, before looking back at Midnight.

"Celestia wants me to go to Canterlot," Twilight said, pausing to look at the scroll again, "today..."

Chapter 7: To Canterlot We Go!

Chapter 7: To Canterlot We Go!

"Are you going to go?" Midnight asked, giving Twilight a worried look. Twilight glared at him for a second before he expression softened with a sigh.

"I can't say no to Celestia" Twilight said quickly, "She's not only the princess, but my teacher as well!"

"Yeah, but, what could she want with you right now?" Midnight asked, making Twilight pause for a second. What would she want with me right now?, Twilight thought, looking at the scroll Midnight had handed to her little while before. After reading it over again she figured out why.

"She wants me to help her plan the weddings..." Twilight said slowly, remembering how well things went with her brother. Thankfully Midnight knew what had happened. Pretty well in fact, since he had actually been able to watch it all from the library's telescope. He moved forwards and put a hoof on Twilight's shoulder, lifting her chin up with his magic.

"Don't worry, things will go fine, trust me" Midnight said sweetly, cautiously moving forwards for a kiss, which Twilight accepted. The two of them kissed for only a moment, but to them it felt like a few hours had passed. They looked into each other's eyes as they broke apart, which helped to calm Twilight down a tiny bit.

"Can you go tell my friends about this, and bring them to Canterlot tomorrow for me?" Twilight asked, looking into Midnight's eyes for help, which he gave with a smile and a nod.

"Of course Twilight, but, you don't have to go yet, right?" Midnight asked, somewhat sheepishly as he looked at Twilight with a light blush on his face.

"No, but why do you ask?" Twilight asked, looking worriedly at Midnight, trying to look into his eyes again, but he moved his head every time she got close. Eventually Twilight got tired of struggling with him, so she used her magic to snap his head forwards, eliciting a small yelp from him.

"What is it Midnight?" Twilight asked, sounding as if she was scolding a child.

"Well, I was, uh, hoping we could maybe, well, you know..." Midnight rambled on, his eyes darting around in his head as he tried to avoid Twilight's gaze. Twilight was able to figure out what he was trying to ask for thanks to his bright red blush and the way he was asking, so she happily obliged. Leaning forwards, Twilight could hear a small squee come from Midnight, who was happy that Twilight had figured him out, and was happy to oblige him.

"Thanks Twilight..." Midnight said quietly after they broke apart. Twilight giggled and moved close to Midnight's ear, making him flinch.

"You can just call me Twily now" Twilight said seductively, making Midnight's face go deep red. She giggled as she pulled back and ran upstairs to collect some of her things. Midnight sat down at the table for a minute before Twilight came running downstairs and out the door, her saddlebags filled with things she thought she would need. Before Midnight could say goodbye she was gone, most likely having decided to magically transport herself there than have to wait for a carriage.

"Well, I better go get the rest of them..." Midnight muttered as he locked the library, using a key Twilight had sitting on the table in front of him. Before he headed off to find the other mares he thought about what was going to happen now, and hoped the other stallions had as much luck as him.

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After running around Ponyville for the entire day just to find the other mares, Midnight finally returned to the library, albeit with five mares and a dragon in tow. As he opened the library the dragon, which he remembered as Spike, ran inside, eager to do, something. The mares on the other hand stayed behind, quietly chatting among themselves. Midnight turned around, something finally getting him to speak up as the mares started to talk louder because they were inside.

"What is making you guys talk so much right now?" Midnight asked, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"Well, we did just get told we had to get married, so..." Rainbow Dash said sarcastically, making the other mares giggle slightly. Well, except for Pinkie Pie, she burst out into a fit of laughter. Midnight sighed as he turned back around to look for Spike, who he had guessed ran upstairs. As he made his way towards the door his guess was confirmed due to the sounds of scratching as Spike looked all around the room, for something...

"Spike?" Midnight asked slowly as he opened the door, Spike's scratching quickly stopping, "Is everything okay?"

"Uh, yea-yeah! Just cleaning some stuff up in here" Spike said, something off about his voice. Midnight decided to go into the room, and when he saw Spike throwing what looked like magazines into the closet he thought it would be fun to grab one and look at it.

"Woah, Playmare issue #385..." Midnight said quietly to himself as he looked at the magazine, "Didn't think Twilight would let you get something like this"

"Wha-" Spike started to ask as he looked up, seeing the magazine hovering in front of Midnight, wide open, "Hey! Don't look at my stuff!"

"Is everything okay up there Spikey Wikey?" Rarity asked sweetly, making Rainbow laugh.

"Is that really what you're going to call him?!" Rainbow laughed loudly, "That's priceless!"

"Oh be quiet, what did Mac ask you to call him?!" Rarity quipped, making Rainbow shut up. Rarity and the others started to giggle as Rainbow's cheeks turned a shade of purple. Taking the opportunity, Spike grabbed the magazine, pulling it from Midnight's magical grasp.

"So, Twilight know about these?" Midnight asked in a hushed tone so none of the mares downstairs could hear him.

"No, and I'd like it to stay that way" Spike grunted angrily as he went back to hiding his magazines. Midnight decided to help him, and picked up all the magazines, putting them all neatly away in the closet.

"Now that your stash is hidden, mind writing a letter to Canterlot for me?" Midnight asked smugly, chuckling quietly as Spike sighed.

"Who or what is this for?" Spike asked flatly.

"Canterlot Taxi" Midnight said, "We're going to need a ride to Canterlot first thing tomorrow morning"

Chapter 8: Confronting Celestia

Chapter 8: Confronting Celestia

"Good morning my faithful student, how was your sleep?" Celestia asked politely as Twilight entered the castle's private dining hall. Twilight didn't respond to Celestia, but instead shot her a glare, making Celestia worry slightly.

"Is everything ok my student?" Celestia asked, watching as Twilight sat down with a thump.

"Celestia, what is the meaning of all this?" Twilight asked seriously, looking Celestia right in the eyes, "Giving us all arranged marriages". Celestia watched as Twilight sat perfectly still, not saying anything as though she was waiting for something. After a loud bang from outside it became clear what Twilight had been waiting for.

"Where are they?!" Rainbow Dash shouted, bursting into the dining hall despite the guards objections. Rainbow looked around, and when her gaze settled on Celestia she shot forwards, only to be pulled back by Twilight's magic. She squirmed around in an attempt to break free, but didn't get anywhere.

"What is going on right now?" Celestia asked, looking from Twilight to Rainbow worriedly. As Rainbow started to calm down she was let go by Twilight, who was now staring Celestia down.

"Why would you set up these marriages for us?" Twilight asked in a serious tone, giving Celestia a deadly stare.

"We would also like to know your reasoning" Rarity said as she elegantly trotted into the hall, followed by the three other mares and Spike, "Not that I don't mind my pairing, but isn't it a little sudden to get married?". Celestia watched as all of the Elements nodded along side Rarity, dropping her head in despair.

"I only did this in order to protect you six" Celestia said sadly, looking up slowly at the mares in front of her. Instead of looking at her angrily, they were worried.

"Protect us from what?" Rainbow Dash asked, "We're the Elements of Harmony, we defeated Discord!"

"That is the issue" Celestia said, looking at all of them individually, "Someone has placed a threat against you all"

"Who would threaten us?" Twilight asked, looking at Celestia in confusion.

"It's not important right now, just know that they are very powerful, and very angry" Celestia said, her voice sounding very authoritative. The six mares looked among themselves worriedly before a door in the back of the room opened, Princess Cadance walking into the room through it.

"Did you tell them about..." Cadance started to say, lowering her voice to a whisper, "it?"

"I'm not going to go into details, but yes" Celestia said, somewhat annoyed that Cadance had entered the room at that moment, drawing attention to what she was trying to hide. Cadance gave Celestia a confused look before taking a seat next to her, smiling at the ponies, and dragon, sitting in front of her.

"What does any of that have to do with us getting married?" Rainbow Dash asked, getting support in the form of a nod from Twilight.

"Well, I think Cadance can explain that one" Celestia said, turning her head towards her niece, who was still smiling confidently.

"As Princess Celestia said, I will be explaining this one," Cadance said, her horn lighting up as she created a moving picture in the middle of the table, "As you girls know, the power of Harmony is very great, and can defeat almost anything, but the power of love, is also strong, as shown by me and my wonderful hu-"

"Cadance"  Celestia interrupted, making Cadance flush red.

"Sorry!" Cadance quickly said, coughing to regain her confidence before continuing, "From what we have guessed, the power of love, combined with the power of Harmony, would be enough to keep everyone in Equestria safe, especially you six. That is why, with my help, Princess Celestia has paired you with somepony, or dragon, who was most appropriate for you"

"But why not let us pick our own stallions?" Twilight asked, noticing one flaw in her plan.

"Because you six where being very indecisive, and there are stallions out there that can seem good on the outside, only to change once you are with them and show who they really are" Celestia explained, taking a sip of tea as she finished.

"Are you saying we aren't capable of picking a good stallion for ourselves?" Applejack asked accusingly, making Rarity gasp.

"Applejack, now you can't be serious, accusing them of something like that" Rarity exclaimed dramatically, making everypony roll their eyes, even Celestia.

"We are just looking out for your best interests, and had hoped to have found the perfect matches," Celestia said, looking at Cadance for confirmation before continuing, "Did we not do that?"

"I'm okay with who I got paired with, he's fun!" Pinkie said happily, starting to bounce around as she started talking about her stallion, Buttercream.

"I'm fine with Spike, but to be married so soon?" Rarity said, sharing a worried look with Spike as he thought about tying the knot so soon after finally being able to tell Rarity how he felt about her.

"Soarin's a nice stallion, but I don't know if he'll be able to help me out at the farm that much" Applejack said, admitting that she did like Soarin, but couldn't see herself being hitched with him anytime soon.

"Yeah, and Big Mac is very family oriented and wants to have kids," Rainbow said arrogantly, "He can't even fly!"

"Midnight's pretty nice, but, I don't know if I want to marry him so soon without a real personal reason" Twilight said, looking up at Celestia sadly. Before long everypony had started to look at Fluttershy, her being the only one who didn't voice an opinion of their stallion.

"Well, Summer is really, really nice, and I," Fluttershy paused, swallowing hard before continuing, "love him"

"Well, then it seems we did a good job deciding who you would marry" Celestia said, her voice sounding final, but Cadance quickly pulled her away.

"What if we let them choose for themselves, they obviously like our choices, maybe they'll do it on their own" Cadance whispered, only to get a glare from Celestia.

"But what if they don't and she attacks, they might not be strong enough!" Celestia replied, trying to keep her voice down.

"They'll be fine Auntie, don't worry" Cadance said reassuringly, managing to calm Celestia down.

"Uh, what are you two talking about over there?" Rainbow asked, hovering up over the table to try and listen in on the princesses.

"Oh nothing" Celestia quickly said, coughing before talking in her royal voice, "We have decided to let each of you go along with the stallions of your own accord, but, we will intervene if you take too long to decide on your futures with them". The six mares quickly nodded, taking that as their cue to leave. Before they had completely left Twilight turned around, looking at Celestia.

"Thank you for clearing this up for us your highness" Twilight said, bowing to Celestia.

"It was no problem my student," Celestia said, looking up at the other mares who were still walking away, "Maybe we should have explained ourselves better in the first place"

"Goodbye Princess" Twilight said quickly before running to her friends, who were now calling for her. Celestia and Cadance watched as they made their way down the corridor, and just before they turned the corner a small kiss could be seen being shared between Rarity and Spike, giving Celestia the feeling that things were going to be fine in the end.

Chapter 9: Date Night!

Chapter 9: Date Night!

"So, we're stuck with them, aren't we?" Rainbow asked nopony in particular as she lazily flew above her friends, who were each talking to somepony else, separately. Rarity and Spike were lagging behind the group, talking idly to each each other, probably about their relationship guessing by how red Spike's face was. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were talking happily, with Pinkie occasionally saying something that would make Fluttershy blush, so it was probably inappropriate. Applejack and Twilight were leading the pack, talking about what made their stallions good, so Rainbow decided to join their conversation.

"...Soarin has an amazing flight speed" Twilight said, remembering a chart she had read in a book about the Wonderbolts.

"That isn't going to help with harvests Twi" Applejack said tiredly. From what Rainbow could tell from the tiny bit of their conversation that she heard, Twilight was listing off things about Soarin that she had read in a book.

"He also has a wide wingspan, so he sh-" Twilight started to say, but was cut off by Rainbow's hoof getting stuck in her mouth.

"She doesn't need to know about his wingspan Twilight" Rainbow said, shaking her head slightly as Applejack smiled at her, "I think she cares more about his personality". Twilight looked over to Applejack, and saw her happy smile, which confirmed what Rainbow had said. She let out an embarrassed giggle before Applejack could turn the table on her.

"So, how about Midnight?" Applejack asked, giving Twilight a sly look.

"What about him?" Twilight asked, not understanding what Applejack was asking.

"Is he good?" Rainbow asked, making Twilight step back in surprise. She mumbled to herself for a few minutes before Applejack and Rainbow started laughing, making her look at the two of them.

"What?" Twilight asked, looking at them worriedly.

"We were just messing with you Twi" Applejack said, still giggling to herself, "I'm sure he's a good stallion"

"Yeah, like Buttercream!" Pinkie shouted from behind, making everypony jump.

"Pinkie!" Twilight said angrily, but she was ignored by the bouncing pink mare as she spotted something coming towards them.

"Ooh, look!" Pinkie said happily as she pointed off into the distance. Everypony looked and saw a group of carriages coming towards them, one empty, the rest filled with their stallions. As they landed the guards that were pulling the empty carriage unhitched themselves and stepped forwards.

"By Royal decree, each of you mares will be spending tonight on a date with your stallions" the guard said, coughing to clear his throat before continuing, "Please step into your assigned carriages". The mares all looked at each other worriedly before walking towards their stallions. Applejack was greeted with a nervous hug from Soarin. Fluttershy and Summer just looked at each other, both blushing so much that they were as red as Big Mac. Pinkie met Buttercream with an amorous hug, which he was not entirely expecting, so they both ended up in a heap inside the carriage. Rainbow flew over to Big Mac, who surprised her with his hair being groomed, along with a certain pendant around his neck. Twilight and Midnight met on their carriage in silence, each of them looking at everypony else inquisitively.

"Oh, why thank you for the offer, but me and Spikey Wikey are going to go find fun on our own" Rarity said cheerfully as she pulled a blushing dragon away from the carriages. A few mumbled words could be heard from her as she dragged him away, complimented by a groan from Spike.

"Can't we just go for dinner?" Spike whined, but was ignored by Rarity, who had spotted a nearby clothing store. The rest of the ponies laughed as Spike was dragged towards it, whining helplessly as they got closer. After a few minutes of laughter the remaining ponies said their goodbyes and were each taken to a destination of the stallions choice. Meanwhile up in the towers of the castle, Celestia and Cadance were watching.

"Do you think they'll still go along with it?" Cadance asked, receiving a quick nod from Celestia.

"They have to," Celestia said firmly, "these threats are no laughing matter"

"Who is threatening us Auntie?" Cadance asked, making Celestia look at her quickly.

"Not us Cadance," Celestia said, shooting a glance out the window as the final carriage disappeared from sight, "them"

"But who is it?" Cadance urged, making Celestia sigh before looking at Cadance again.

"You remember the tale of King Sombra, correct?" Celestia asked, her question being answered by a sarcastic look from Cadance, "Well, someone had to have given him the power he possessed. Who do you think it was?"

"Discord?" Cadance asked innocently.

"Discord? No of course not, he was imprisoned at this time," Celestia said, almost laughing at the absurdity of it being Discord that caused this, "No, it was an old friend of me and Luna, who was tempted by the power of hate"

"Then who is it, it can't be Sombra, we defeated him completely, and Chrysalis wasn't around at that time, so..." Cadance said, trailing off as she continued to think about who could have done it. Celestia watched as Cadance thought about every major threat to Equestria in the past thousand years, but was unable to think of anypony other than Sombra who had harnessed the power of hate.

"Can't figure it out?" Celestia asked, almost mockingly.

"No" Cadance replied, sounding like a defeated child.

"It is understandable, the only ponies who ever knew of her were me, Luna, and Starswirl the Bearded," Celestia said, dating the original appearance of this threat back to the early days of Equestria, "Her name is Hysteria"

"I've never heard of her before..." Cadance said slowly, her thoughts trailing off as she tried to think of that name, but nothing came up, "What did she do?"

"After defeating Discord, me, Luna, and her, had to decide how we would control the land," Celestia explained, "It was proposed that me and Luna do as we do now, and Hysteria would be in charge of the weather"

"So, what happened to make her harness hatred against you and Auntie Lulu?" Cadance asked innocently.

"She despised us for giving her such a menial task, and hated the ponies of the land due to their angry thoughts during her winters" Celestia continued, using her horn to create a magical image of a dark blue Alicorn with a wavy brown mane, "She began to make the winters harsher, and had them last longer, she even gave Sombra the power he needed to take over the Crystal Empire. Eventually we had to banish her using the elements, but now she has returned". Cadance watched in slight horror as the Alicorn changed, her features becoming more fearsome and dangerous. Celestia quickly destroyed the image, as it had begun to bring back horrid memories of the past.

"How can we stop her?" Cadance asked worriedly.

"We have to use the elements, which is why they need to stay safe" Celestia said as she turned to look out the window again at Equestria as it entered the twilight hours. Cadance slowly trotted up next to her and looked outside as well, the thought of it in an eternal winter, filled with hatred and anger, terrifying her. The two Alicorns silently prayed for the success of their plans before heading to their bed chambers, each of them tired from the events of the day.

Chapter 10: Time Alone

Chapter 10: Time Alone

Spike&Rarity

Spike crawled along behind Rarity, his claws already filled with bags after going to only one shop so far. He could hear Rarity giggle happily as she found another shop to visit. Forcing his head up Spike saw that it was a dress shop, but when Rarity ran into the doughnut shop next to it Spike's jaw nearly hit the sidewalk.

"Rarity, why are you going in there?" Spike asked as he jogged to catch up to her, stopping her just outside the door.

"I'm hungry, and every girl must eat before going on a shopping spree after all" Rarity said with a flick of her mane. When she looked back Spike was holding the door open for her with a smile on his face. For him a chance to eat alone with Rarity, even though it was a doughnut shop, was a big opportunity, and he was not about to let it pass him by. Once they were inside they were greeted by a familiar face.

"Hey there guys, looking for a table?" Joe asked happily as he trotted over, holding two menus in the air beside him with his magic.

"Pony Joe, this is your place?" Spike asked while looking around, the grand decor surprising him.

"Yup, after the incident on the Friendship Express I was able to move to a new building," Joe said with a smile on his face as he looked around his new establishment, "I may have let things get slightly out of hoof..." Everypony laughed as Joe led them to their table, which was in the VIP section due to their connection to Joe. He set down the menus and then left, leaving Spike and Rarity all alone.

"So, Spike..." Rarity began to say, but trailed off as she thought about what to say. Spike reached out and put a claw around her hoof, holding it tightly.

"Rarity, I..." Spike began to say, choking on his words before getting it out, "I love you"

"I love you too Spike..." Rarity said dreamily, her eyes glossing over as she looked into Spike's eyes. A knock beside them caught their attention, and Joe was standing there with two cupcakes next to him on plates he was holding up.

"For you," Joe said as he handed a gemstone cupcake to Spike, and he handed a parfait to Rarity, "and for you"

"Thank you, how did you know what we wanted?" Rarity asked as she accepted the dessert.

"Just a hunch," Joe said with a smile as before he went to turn around, "Oh, and it's on the house"

"Really?" Spike asked, his mouth already stuffed with his cupcake.

"Yup, it's my treat for helping me get this amazing place" Joe said, winking at Spike.

"Thanks!" Spike said happily as he finished gobbling down his cupcake, making Rarity grown as some of his cupcake ended up on her hoof. Spike quickly apologized and waited for her to finish her parfait. Once she was completely finished and they had said goodbye to Joe they left, heading to a hat shop across the store. Rarity laughed happily for the rest of the night as she loaded Spike up with her shopping bags.

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Big Mac&Rainbow Dash

After climbing into their carriage Big Mac asked for the Pegasi to take them to one of the hills in the orchard, stopping at the farm house for a moment to grab a picnic blanket and some food. Once they were dropped off Big Mac set up their dinner and invited Rainbow to sit next to him.

"So, what do you think about all this?" Big Mac asked as he picked a bottle of cider out of the basket.

"I hated it at first, but now, I don't know..." Rainbow admitted as Mac cracked open the bottle, offering it to her. She turned it down and he caught on that something was really bothering her, she wouldn't refuse a cider otherwise. He shuffled over slightly and put a hoof on her shoulder, which made her tense up but she quickly relaxed.

"Is everything okay Rainbow?" Big Mac asked, putting the cider down as he moved closer, now wrapping a leg around Rainbow's back.

"I'm just worried about all this..." Rainbow said quietly, "I mean, I like you, but to spend my life with you? I just don't know right now..."

"Rainbow, I'm worried too, and it took until now for me to realize it, but..." Big Mac paused to look away, his cheeks glowing a darker shade of red than his coat, "I love you, Dashie"

"What did you just say?" Rainbow asked, her heart racing as she tried to put together what he said, trying to find out if he was lying or not. When he suddenly pulled her into a hug the words clicked, and Rainbow could feel a strange warmth in her chest.

"I love you Rainbow Dash" Big Mac said as he hugged her tighter, making her gasp slightly as her wings stretched out. Big Mac knew what that meant and laughed as he let her go, her red face rivaling his own. She awkwardly laughed as she tried to get her wings to retract again, which made Mac laugh as well. After a few minutes of laughing they both relaxed, looking each other in the eyes happily.

"I love you too Mac" Rainbow said sweetly as she leaned into Mac, making him blush, "You know, I was angry at first when I was told I wouldn't be Soarin"

"Really?" Big Mac asked, wrapping a leg around Rainbow so they could cuddle.

"Yeah, but now..." Rainbow paused to look up at Mac and give him a kiss on the cheek, "I don't mind" The two of them sat there together in silence before Rainbow's stomach growled.

"So, about that cider..." Rainbow said sheepishly, turning around to look into the basket. Mac laughed and pulled the basket around so it was in front of them, and the two of them began to eat what Mac had brought. Four ciders later and an entire pie down and the two of them laid down, Rainbow nuzzling her head into the crook of Mac's neck ever so slightly. They quickly fell asleep staring at the beautiful night sky that was above the orchard all around them.

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Soarin&Applejack

When given a choice of where to go Soairn asked for them to stop off at his place so he could grab something, and then take them to the farmhouse. Applejack asked why but Soarin avoided the question, and hid whatever he had grabbed from his house from her, which annoyed her quiet a bit. After they touched down they heard Applebloom rapidly talking to Granny about Big Mac and Rainbow Dash.

"Are they on a date?!" Applebloom asked loudly, the sound of hoofsteps suggesting that she was hopping around happily.

"Yes, now go back to your room missy" Granny replied wearily, the bombardment of questions having been going on for a while by the sounds of it. Applejack cracked open the door slightly and was about to call out that she was home when Applebloom ran up to her and latched onto her face.

"Big Mac and Rainbow Dash are on a date sis!" Applebloom said happily, a large smile stretching across her face, until she saw Soarin. Soarin knew she wouldn't like to see somepony with her sister, but the face she was giving him was pretty nasty. Eventually Granny called her out and she ran upstairs, obviously still mad that Soarin was with Applejack. Applejack led Soarin towards the kitchen, the sounds of Granny Smith snoring already echoing throughout the house.

"Care for some apple pie Soarin?" Applejack asked, having seen the stallion eyeing the pie that sat on the counter.

"Would I!" Soarin said quickly, barely keeping quiet enough so he wouldn't wake Granny. Applejack quickly divided the pie into sections, giving Soarin a quarter of the pie for himself, while she only took a small slice. The pie she gave Soarin didn't last very long though, and soon after he was dragging Applejack upstairs, hoping to get a different type of Apple pie. He sat her down on her bed and began to nuzzle her, but she pushed him back.

"What are you doing?" Applejack asked, sounding offended that Soarin was even trying.

"Well, I thought this was a date, and usually at the end of my dates me and the mare, well..." Soarin trailed off, his face turning a dark shade of red. Applejack stared him down as she tried to think of someway to punish him for trying for it on the first date, and eventually something came to mind.

"So I'm just another mare to you?" Applejack asked sternly, but inside she was smiling, knowing that he was caught under her hoof now.

"No, no!" Soarin yelped, raising his hooves defensively, "I just thought maybe we had something special, so..."

"So are you saying you love me?" Applejack asked slowly, and when Soarin nodded she kissed him, "I love you too Soarin"

"Really, even after this?" Soarin asked, waving his hoof around to show that he meant what he had tried to start.

"Well, maybe now we can do that..." Applejack said seductively, making Soarin's wings pop out quickly.

"Really, you mean it?" Soarin asked like a kid in a candy shop, and when Applejack nodded he smiled quickly before pushing him down onto her back, "Now I can try this Apple pie!" Applejack gave him a whack to the side of the head for his stupid pun, but let him continue. After he was finished with the foreplay he set himself up to seal the deal and-

"Sis?!"

Both Soarin and Applejack's necks nearly snapped from how fast their heads turned to look at the door. Applebloom had opened the door to figure out what was going on inside Applejack's room and had seen what they were doing. She ran away to her room, and ended up killing the mood entirely.

"I guess I'll go talk to her..." Applejack said sadly, getting up off the bed to make her way to Applebloom's room. Soarin followed after her, hoping that he could apologize to Applebloom for what must have seemed like him attacking Applejack. When they got to her door they found it cracked open, quiet sobs echoing from inside.

"Applebloom?" Applejack asked slowly, getting back a louder sob from the filly.

"I'm sorry about what you saw in there Applebloom..." Soarin said sadly, his head hanging down as he entered the room after Applejack, "No filly should ever have to see that"

"What were you two doin'?" Applebloom asked, the image stuck in her head of Soarin propped up above his sister, with her legs around his, and...

"Well, when two ponies love each other very much..." Applejack began to explain, looking to Soarin for help explaining the birds and the bees to her sister. Nearly an hour later Applebloom was staring at the two of them with wide eyes, her mouth slightly open as Applejack finished explaining pregnancy.

"That's where foals come from?!" Applebloom shouted when Applejack finished talking. The two ponies in front of her nodded slowly and she curled up into a ball on her bed, thinking about everything she had just learned. Her sister and this new stallion were about to go through the process of making a foal, before marriage and everything, and she had just walked in on them...

"We should leave her alone now" Applejack whispered to Soarin, and he happily agreed. They made their way back to Applejack's room and she pushed him down onto his back this time.

"I should probably punish you for putting my sister through that..." Applejack said seductively, Soarin caught the hint let himself relax into her hooves. Before she went down she asked him if he had brought any protection, and he pulled it out of his wing, admitting with a red face that he had grabbed it from his place earlier. Normally Applejack would have gotten made that even back then he had expected this, but right now she didn't care. She was excited, it was his fault, and he was going to help calm her down...