Writing is Magic

To the esteemed gentlecolt Mr. Art Colter,

Prince Arabica of Saddle Arabia hereby invites you to his court as a special guest at the wedding of his daughter, Zaira. The people of Saddle Arabia, including the Prince himself, think very highly of your work. You are more than welcome to bring one additional guest of your own. Included with this letter are two train tickets. The Prince wishes to meet you as soon as possible.

          “A royal wedding,” Rarity exclaimed after I had read the letter, “Oh dear, what do I pack?”

          “Who said you’re going? Who said I’m going?”

          “Of course you have to go; it would be terribly rude of you not to. And it would also be terrible to waste a train ticket.”

          …

          The region of Saddle Arabia is mostly desert, and the ponies who live there are very hardy creatures. Unlike in Equestria, where there is a mix of Earth ponies, Unicorns, and Pegasi, only Arabians, a kind of pony which is closely related to Earth ponies, are allowed to be citizens. Of course, this doesn’t mean that they have anything against the other types of ponies, only that Unicorns and Pegasi aren’t native to the land.

          We two unicorns were met at the train station by an ambassador of the Prince. It was a good thing, because Rarity, as usual, had over-packed for the occasion. It took four stallions just to haul her luggage. I tried to apologize, but the representative hushed me.

          “Don’t worry about it,” he said, “anything to make our guests feel welcome.”

          He led us through the capital city toward the palace. The palace wasn’t like the one in Canterlot, but certainly nothing to sneeze at. Rarity and I were soon separated, taken into different rooms to get dressed for our audience with the Prince. Fashion in Saddle Arabia is very simple and practical, with a lot of silk, which I knew Rarity would appreciate.

          “So how was your trip,” Prince Arabica asked after we had all been seated at a rather large table.

          “It was fine,” I replied, “though Saddle Arabia is a bit further than I initially thought.”

          “A common complaint from those traveling from Equestria. But such is life.”

          “We’re very flattered that you would invite Art to this ceremony,” Rarity spoke up, “But I would have thought there would be a lot more ponies here.”

          “There are not that many guests from outside Arabia, and of those there are, you two are the first to arrive.”

          An Arabian mare came up to the table, said a few words to the Prince, then turned to us.

          “Miss Rarity,” she asked, “would you be interested in viewing the crown jewels of Saddle Arabia?”

          “Would I,” the unicorn said, her eyes lighting up, she then regained her composure, “I would be honored to, if that’s alright.”

          “It’s more than alright,” the Prince said.

          The two mares went off somewhere.

          “Interesting choice of accompaniment,” the Prince quipped.

          “And what do you mean by that,” I replied.

          “Oh nothing, I just assumed when I allowed you to bring a guest that you would bring a good stallion friend of yours.”

          “Well she was there when I received the letter, and she can’t resist a royal wedding, or anything royal for that matter. Speaking of the wedding, the letter failed to mention who you are marrying your daughter to. Someone I know, perhaps?”

          “You could say that. You could say that because my daughter is being married to you, Mr. Colter.”

          “What!? Excuse me, your highness, but while I am honored by the suggestion, I cannot possibly marry your daughter.”

          “Of course you can. Unless, of course, you’re married to your escort.”

          “I would be careful with your use of the word ‘escort.’ And no, we’re not married, but she is still the reason I can’t marry Zaira.”

          “You misunderstand. I’m asking you as a favor to both me and my kingdom.”

          “You sure sound desperate. Wouldn’t have thought it would be that hard to find a worthy stallion for a young princess.”

          “It’s not. But I want you specifically. Tell me, Mr. Colter, have you ever heard of any authors from Saddle Arabia?”

          “The only one I can think of lived and died long ago.”

          “Precisely. My goal is to make Arabia more interwoven with other pony states, such as Equestria. One of those ways is to make Arabic art and culture more widely known. However, there are precious few artists in my kingdom who have farther-reaching appeal.”

          “So you invited me here under false pretense in order to persuade me to marry your daughter, not for her benefit, but to boost your own artistic ego. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go find Rarity and we will leave.”

          But as I got up to do just that, I was cut off by two guards.

          “I plead with you to reconsider,” the prince said.

          “And I’m asking you to not do something you will regret. I have many friends in high places, you know.”

          Prince Arabica smiled.

          “Who are you?”

          The two guards picked me up quite easily and carried me down into the basement of the castle and tossed me into a kind of cell. After closing the heavy wooden door behind me, I could hear the prince snickering.

          “Perhaps a few days in there will change your mind.”

          “This is ponynapping,” I shouted, “Princess Celestia will have your head.”

          “The only two Equestrians who know you are here are in my palace.”

          With that he left. I immediately sat down and began to work on how to escape my predicament. After a few hours, by my guess, I heard the hoofsteps of some ponies returning to the dungeon. I heard the prince, and I heard Rarity.

          “Let go of me, you ruffian,” she screamed at them, “This is a most disrespectful way to treat a guest.”

          They tossed her into the cell next to mine.

          “You’ll stay put until Art is married.”

          “Hey prince,” I yelled, “I have a deal for you.”

          “You’re not really in a position to be making deals, but I’m listening.”

          “I’ll marry your daughter and everything under one condition.”

          “Art, you wouldn’t,” Rarity screamed at me.

          “Hush, Rarity. Like I was saying, one condition.”

          “And what would that be,” the prince asked, intrigued.

          “I’ll marry your daughter, if you invite two other distinguished guests from Equestria. Princess Twilight Sparkle and Prince Blueblood.”

          “I don’t know. That’s awful risky.”

          “It’s either that, or you’re daughter will be a widow after one day.”

          Prince Arabica bought my bluff. He yelled at the guards to send the two invitations out. Phase one, buying myself a couple of days, had been successful.

          The next day, when I was sure that the prince had done what I had told him to, I got an unexpected visitor: Zaira, the Princess of Saddle Arabia.

          “My father says you are going to marry me,” she said.

          “That may be the case,” I answered, still firmly inside the cell, “If your father does what I have asked of him.”

          “Not if I have anything to say about it,” Rarity shouted.

          “The reason I came all the way down here is because I felt very uneasy about marrying some stallion whom I had never met before.”

          “At least you and I agree on one point,” I said, “but that doesn’t change much.”

          “However, there is one other problem. You see, I have no want to marry you.”

          At this, I perked right up.

          “You don’t?”

          “No. The truth of the matter is that I thought my father was marrying me off to some prince, perhaps a prince of Equestria. But when he told me you were instead the most famous author in Equestria, I was disappointed. When I asked him if you were rich in addition to famous, his answer did not please me.”

          “So you’re more impressed by personal wealth.”

          “Yes. It’s nothing against you, I assure you. It’s just that when one is a princess, you come to expect certain things. And to the mare in the next cell, are you related to Mr. Colter?”

          “I’m his marefriend,” Rarity answered, most annoyed.

          “And I wish that relationship many blessings. But what are we supposed to do to make sure we are all happy?”

          “Princess Zaira, have no fear. I already have it covered.”

          The next day was the wedding. Princess Zaira, Rarity, and I went through the motions, as if it was really going to happen. Prince Arabica had allowed Rarity to help the princess with her finery, and he also showed me proof that Twilight and Blueblood were there. Everything was going according to plan.

          When Prince Arabica left my presence, I sneaked off and found Prince Blueblood myself who seemed quite shocked to see me.

          “Normally,” the Equestrian prince scoffed, “I would offer my congratulations, but really, I can’t congratulate you. If this wedding goes through, Lady Rarity will be all mine.”

          “Forget it. Do you remember how she told you that someday you would find the right pony? Well I believe I have found the one. Come with me.”

          The two of us got around the royal guards and to where Princess Zaira was getting prepared. Rarity knew that I was making this happen, and she got us past the last few guards. When we were in the princess’ presence, I had to admit that she was the most beautiful Arabian mare I’d ever seen. And Prince Blueblood obviously thought the same way, since he quickly made his way across the room and introduced himself. She, in turn, was quite taken by him, just as I had hoped and just as I had promised her.

          As the two young royals were conversing, Prince Arabica burst into the room, followed by some guards, and Twilight.

          “Zaira, daughter,” he said, “what is the meaning of this?”

          “If I didn’t know better,” I observed, “I would say that the two of them enjoy each other’s company. You might get a son-in-law after all. It just won’t be today, and it won’t be me.”

          I left the room, followed by Rarity and Twilight, as I walked between my two friends; I sung a line from a popular play.

          “Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match, find me a find, catch me a catch.”