The Pros and Cons of Being Famous

When the group of mares reached the Dining Hall, everypony but Celestia and Luna were confused when they did not go in immediately. Tia and Luna shared a knowing smile, as Luna watched Twilight with bated breath. As they waited for another minute, Rainbow grumbled that she was hungry, but Rarity smacked her gently with her fan. A few more seconds, and--

"I'm so sorry, Aunties! I nearly forgot that we were all having dinner together, because I was with -- oh, dear, there are quite a few ponies joining us!"

Twilight froze, slowly turning her head to the familiar, loving voice. A pink alicorn with a tricolor mane and tail stood in front of the group. Her hair colors were purple, pink, and a faded gold, and her wings slowly turned into purple at the tips. She had beautiful light purple eyes that seemed to sparkle, and her horn shone with a light blue aura as she fixed her mane. The alicorn's eyes widened as she recognized Twilight.

"CADANCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"TWILIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

The two rushed at each other, gushing about how they had missed each other. They hugged, Twilight crying out of pure joy. Everypony else (besides Tia, Luna, and Spike of course) looked even more confused. Tia simply smiled as the reunion she had planned worked exceptionally well. Luna lightly tapped the floor with a silver clad hoof.

"Although it is wonderful to see you two reunited, I believe that some others are hungry and do not know your history." Luna emphasized the "hungry," and she barely gestured to herself.

Cadance lightly pushed Twilight off. "Of course. I am hungry too!" She giggled, as did Twilight. They both wore look of extreme happiness, and Twilight looked as if she never wanted Cadance to ever leave her sight again. The ten mares and Spike all trotted into the large hall, with Tia and Luna at either end of the polished, wooden table. Cadance sat to Celestia's left, with Twilight right next to her. Lily sat closer to Luna, with Flutershy and Rarity across the table from her, with Spike on Rarity's left. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie took the remaining seats, just as the servers came out with the salad course.

"So," Cadance said after swallowing a mouthful of salad, "you all want to know mine and Twilight's history?" The six girls nodded eagerly, and all leaned in slightly. "Well," she began, "it all started when Auntie Celestia told me that one of her court officials needed a foalsitter..."

////\\

"...and then Shining, well..."

Cadance blushed as she recounted her first Hearts and Hooves Day with Shining Armor. Rarity and Fluttershy eagerly listening, as they fantasized about finding their own true love. Rainbow rolled her eyes, pretending to gag, but she was interested as well. Twilight and Spike giggled at the old memory, remembering how Twi had rigged the whole trap to get the couple to share their first kiss.

"By the way, whatever happened to you two?" Twilight asked earnestly. "The last time I saw you guys together was a few days before I left for Ponyville."

Cadance giggled excitedly. "WWeeeeeelll, let's just say I'm hoping that he'll, y'know, pop the question sometime soon..."

Rarity, Fluttershy, and Twilight let out ear-splitting shrieks so high-pitched, that everypony in the vicinity had to cover their own ears. When their "little" freak out concluded, Fluttershy blushed and smiled apologetically at the annoyed looks. Rarity immediately asked (more like pestered) Cadance if she could please, please, PLEASE design the dresses and tuxedoes. Twilight nearly jumped over the table in an attempt to hug the life out Cadance.

"Land sakes, Princess Cadance! It sure is swell that yer gettin' hitched!" Applejack pulled her hat off of her ears, and looked at Pinkie Pie for her reaction. Pinkie was nearly shaking from her excitement. As soon as Twilight and Rarity were done, she immediately asked if she could plan the bachelorette party, the wedding, and the wedding party.

Luna glanced at Lily, who was also excited for such a big event. How exciting for a little filly, Luna thought, to be able to see such an auspicious occasion. A royal wedding, and to be a special guest! Lily turned her head to see what Luna's rection about her niece's wedding was. As she caught her eye, Luna smiled warmly at her. Lily smiled back, and Luna felt a warmth in her chest.

How strange it feels that I become so happy because of a smile...

////\\

Cadance and Twilight continued to chat excitedly after dinner, as Rarity took her measurements for a dress.

"Oh, I just can't wait until he actually proposes to you, Cadie," Twilight said. "He just better choose me as his Best Mare..." She grinned sheepishly at the two other mares.

Cadance and Rarity giggled, the former saying, "Well, I'll try to convince, and if that doesn't work, I'll make him do it anyways!" Rarity giggled again, as Twilight slyly said,

"Oh, and how will you do that?"

"Well, I have my ways."

"And what ways would those be?"

Cadance blushed at Twi's insinuation, as Twilight and Rarity laughed hysterically, the white unicorn nearly dropping her measuring tape, sketchpad, and pencil. After the two mares calmed down, Rarity quickly jotted down a few notes in her sketchpad. Her measuring tape vanished in a small puff of smoke, being sent back to her bags. She looked up from her sketchpad, looked at Cadance for a while, and quickly drew a design for a wedding dress.

"Something like this, Cadance?" Rarity levitated the pad of sketching paper over to Cadance, who looked it over. After a few anxious minutes, she announced her verdict.

"This looks AMAZING, Rarity!!"

Rarity sighed with relief. Suddenly, Cadance flipped to the page before it, which held Lily's dress design. It was a small vest with a collar folded down, and a light gray ribbon separating the vest from the skirt. The skirt was shaded in black, with thin white streaks in it, like music bars. It was silver at the bottom, with two eighth notes on it. The shoes were also black, and the straps crossed on the front and back.

Twilight looked over Cadance's shoulder, and she admired the dress. "I like it, Rarity! From the notes you've written, it looks like it'll go well with Lily's colors."

Rarity blushed slightly, saying, "Oh, Twilight, do not flatter me. The vest part needs some tweaking, and I also need to add some accessories! And perhaps I should get rid of the white lines in the skirt..."

Twilight giggled. "I'm just surprised at how simple it is, or at least concerning you. The dresses that you made for us for the Gala were stunning, and they fit our personalities perfectly."

"I thought I told you to stop flattering me, Twilight!" Rarity smiled apologetically at Cadance. "Forgive me, Cadance, I almost forgot that you were here."

Cadance raised a hoof. "Oh, it's fine. I guess that you made the dress a bit simpler because Lily isn't from an upperclass living situation?"

Rarity nodded. "I will admit, I wish that I could make the dress stand out a bit more with some gems or something. It seems like it would make her uncomfortable, though. I mean, to go from rags and poverty to riches and silk within minutes? To say that it would be a bit of a culture shock would be an understatement!"

////\\

"...and I'll plan you the BESTEST 'WELCOME TO PONYVILLE' PARTY EVER if my name isn't Pinkamena Diane Pie!!!"

Pinkie smiled widely, as Lily stared incredulously at the bubbly pink mare. How on Equestria could she say so much on such a short breath?! Suddenly, Pinkie frowned.

"Hey, wait a second! I never found out when your birthday is!!!!!!!!!" She gained a sad, puppy-eyed dog expression, one that made everypony in the room suddenly feel very guilty.

"Well, um... I think it's on May 15? Ms. Attention said that she found me then when I was very young."

Spike raised an eyebrow. "'Ms. Attention?' What kind of name is that?"

"Her name is Rapt Attention. She's the caretaker of Sunny Smiles Orphanage. Except that we never had any 'sunny smiles.'"

"...today's February 6, so your birthday is in.............. 105 days!!!" Pinkie smiled widely, as the others looked at her with varying degrees of confusion, since she had just calculated that in her head.

"Um, Pinkie Pie, how exactly did you--" Luna was cut off as Rainbow just held up a hoof to shush her, slowly shaking her head.

"Just gonna say that it's Pinkie being Pinkie, and leave it at that." Rainbow giggled slightly at the confused looks on Luna's and Lily's faces. "Yeah, she's almost as bad as Discord in terms of weirdness, but at least she's got her heart in the right place."