Formalities
Chapter 1
Objection! I Love You
I will never admit it to anypony, but I'm close to crying right now. It happened months ago, but I just can't get it out of my mind. I can't get her out of my head. If the way she's looking at me is any indication, she hasn't forgotten or moved on either.
“Mares and Gentlecolts,” Celestia begins, her regal tone flowing out smoothly, bathing the room in her elegant voice. The very same room Shining Armor and Princess Cadence got married in. I can feel Rarity beside me, practically vibrating with excitement. My wings are twitching nervously; I don't want to see this.
“We are gathered here today in the presence of friends and loved ones, to celebrate one of life’s greatest moments, to give recognition to the worth and beauty of love, and to add our best wishes and blessings to the words which shall unite Princess Twilight Sparkle and Silver Bit in holy matrimony,” Celestia continues, oblivious to the fact that Twilight's eyes have yet to leave my own. Neither of us wanted it, but it had to be done. I'm barely keeping my wings closed at this point, and I'm fidgeting in my chair.
“Marriage is a most honorable estate, created and Instituted by the Princesses of Equestria, signifying unto us the mystical union, which also rests between The Princesses and Equestria; so too may this marriage be adorned by true and abiding love.”
“True love; what a joke,” I think bitterly. But I keep up my smile, just as fake as it was when I walked into this brightly decorated room. Just as fake as it has been since the day I found out about this. I can't stand it anymore; I slip back, back into my memories. Anywhere is better than here. Unfortunately, I fall right back into the beginning of this entire mess.
-_-_-_-
“What's up?” I asked casually, trotting into the door held open by a magical glow.
“We... need to talk, Rainbow,” Twilight answered shakily, closing the door behind me as I entered the main room of her library. It was late; the sun was just beginning to set below the horizon as I took a seat on one of the cushions spread about the sitting room.
I frowned when I heard the tremor in her voice. “What's wrong, Twi?”
The unicorn took a seat next to me on the same cushion, her wings rustling nervously against mine. My frown deepened when she remained quietly. “If this is about telling the girls about us, we don't have to until you're-”
“We have to break up,” Twilight interjected suddenly, cutting me off. My jaw fell slack against my best attempts to keep it closed.
“W-what?” Was all I could stutter out so soon after such a revelation.
Twilight sighed, hanging her head low to the ground and hiding her face behind her bangs, even as I tried to catch her eye. “I'm sorry, Rainbow. I don't want to,” she whispered quietly.
My mind was still struggling to comprehend the original statement. Questions whirred around in my head faster than even I could fly. I didn’t know what to think, and I sure as hay didn't know what to feel. Eventually, her second sentence managed to worm its way into my head, and I looked at her curiously. “Then why...?”
“Because I'm getting married!” She blurted loudly, only adding to the confusion swimming in my mind. I could feel her physically shaking now, and there was the distinct sound of quiet sniffles coming from under her bangs.
Taking a deep breath and putting my own questions and feelings in the back of my mind, I extended my wing and gently wrapped it around her shoulders. She flinched away from it, but I held fast and in mere moments her resistance was broken. Twilight leaned her full weight against my side, rubbing her face into my neck just beneath my chin as she started audibly crying, the heart wrenching sound filling the room.
I forced myself to remain silent as I comforted my marefriend of three weeks. It wasn't a process I was used to, to be perfectly honest, but in this case I did what I could. Gently rubbing her back with my wing, even adding my foreleg to the wing around her shoulders. I did anything and everything I could to stop her from crying. I hated seeing ponies cry, her most of all. Slowly, after a couple minutes, the crying slowed and eventually stopped, replaced only by deep breathing and the occasional sniffle.
When I was sure she was at least a little better than she had been, I asked timidly, “So, you wanna explain to me what's going on?”
I felt Twilight nod against my neck, but she didn't remove herself. “I got a letter from Celestia last week, asking me to go to Canterlot...”
I nuzzled to top of her head gently. She'd stopped shaking at this point. “I remember, yeah. You were only gone for a day. Though I haven't see much of you since...” I added thoughtfully, more to myself than to Twilight.
“She... she told me that if I wanted to remain a Princess of Equestria I had to marry one of the nobles,” Twilight explained quietly, closing her eyes and breathing deeply the scent of her marefriend.
“What? Twi, that doesn't make any sense,” I said firmly, still trying to wrap my head around the base idea of why Twilight had asked me to come to the library in the first place.
“It was a law they made a long time ago, back when Celestia and Luna first imprisoned Discord and took the throne. It states that any Princess – or Prince – has to marry a noble within a year of taking their throne. Officially it was to ensure the decisions made by the Princesses were made with the well being of their subjects in mind, but really it was just so they could feel powerful. They were made obsolete after Celestia, after all.”
“Wait, what about Cadence? She didn't marry a noble, and she's been a princess for years now,” I asked, confusion taking precedence over my other questions for the time being.
“My brother,” Twilight answered, shrugging her shoulders.
I looked down at her curiously. “You just said that it had to be a noble.”
Twilight, for the first time since I got there, pulled away and looked up at me. Her eyes were red; she had obviously been crying even before I got there, and there were still wet tracks under her eyes from her recent fit. After silently looking at me for a moment, she let out a small chuckle before saying, “I suppose I never told you girls, did I? My family is a noble family. We're one of the smaller ones, and we're nowhere near as snooty as some of the others, but we're all technically nobles.”
For the second time that day my jaw hung open. “You're a noble!?” I gasped, taking my foreleg off of her shoulders. I kept my wing wrapped around her, though. “Why didn't you tell any of us?”
Twilight gave me a deadpan look. “With the reputation nobles have outside Canterlot? I didn't tell you girls initially because I thought you'd assume I was snooty like the rest of them. After you were my friends... it just never came up,” she finished with a simple shrug.
“Huh...” It made sense, honestly. Even growing up in Cloudsdale, everypony heard stories about how the nobles up in Canterlot treated the common pony. To be honest, had Twilight told me about this before I ran into the Everfree with her to find the Elements of Harmony, I likely never would have gone with her, just off of the reputation. To be fair, she was a little snooty that first day too, so I wouldn't have had a hard time believing it. “But Cadence was still a princess long before she married your brother, wasn't she?”
Twilight shook her head in response, once again resting her cheek against my neck. “She was a princess, but she didn't have power yet. She didn't take her throne because she wanted to find a stallion she actually liked, rather than just some random noble. Once she found Shining is when she took her throne.”
I sighed heavily. “Don't suppose there's a way around the law, is there?”
“No... in fact it's even worse for me. Since I ascended to being an alicorn rather than being born one, I was already of age and automatically took my throne. That was five months ago. If I don't marry in seven months, I won't get another chance later. Celestia waited so long to tell me so I could get adjusted to life as a princess before having this dropped on me.”
“Wait a minute! Celestia and Luna aren't married!” I exclaimed suddenly.
“They were, once. A loophole in the law allows a princess to only marry once. Once their partner dies, they don't have to marry again.”
I nodded slowly. “There's no way around this, huh?”
“To be honest... I was considering giving up my throne,” Twilight admitted quietly, giving me pause for thought. She'd really do that? “But... I can't disappoint Celestia like that, not after all she did for me. I mean, she hoof-picked me for this. It's... it's my destiny. I'm sorry, Dash. I love you, but...”
“Don't worry about it,” I assured gently, giving her a comforting squeeze with my wing before slowly pulling it off her back and folding it neatly against my side. “I understand. We can still be friends, at least. Oh, and if the noble you end up marrying does anything to you, just let me know and I'll give him a good buck or two.” She laughed at that. It was an honest laugh, too. Not a forced one to lighten the mood.
She seemed hesitant, but she eventually let go of me and stood up off the cushion. “For what it's worth... if I could, I'd marry you instead of some random noble.”
I blushed profusely at that; we'd only been going out for three weeks, after all. Now that I think about it, that was the first time she'd said she loved me. I just laughed weakly. Humorlessly.
“If only I was a noble, huh?” I asked jokingly, trying and failing to lighten the depressing mood as I too stood from the cushion. Twilight walked over towards her kitchen.
“Do want some tea?” She asked quietly, still struggling with the news she'd just delivered to me. I was having a hard time with it, too, but I wouldn't let it show. I couldn't let it show. I'd be strong for her for as long as I had to be. For as long as I could be.
I made my way over to the front door rather than following her into the kitchen like I would have normally. Since I'd started dating Twilight I'd acquired a taste for tea, since she practically shoved it down my throat every time I came over for a bit of reading. But that was when we were together, and we couldn't be anymore. “No thanks, Twi. I think... I think I'm just gonna head home.”
She stopped in the doorway to her kitchen, her head hanging a little lower than it had been. She didn't look back, and her voice was just barely above a faint whimper, but I heard her. “I'm sorry...”
I didn't say anything in response to that. I just let out a small, heartbroken sigh and opened her front door, flying out into the dark of night. I would never tell anypony, but I was crying as soon as I left the ground, and continued until I fell asleep that night, curled up in a ball of sorrow on my bed. I think Twilight knew, though; she didn't make any real eye contact with me for about a month after that. She was downright avoiding me for the first week. I couldn't blame her, though.
Then, about two months later, she brought the noble she was going to end up marrying around to meet all our friends. We'd never even told them about us, and now Twilight was getting married. It came as a shock to them, but they were so happy for her. I put on a cheerful smile and a supportive voice and introduced myself to the noble. He was as stuck up as I'd feared he'd be. I could tell he didn't really care about Twi; he just wanted the power and fame that came with marrying a princess.
I nearly bucked him in the face when he said Twilight shouldn't be consorting with “The likes of those ruffians”. I think Twilight nearly did, too; right in the middle of the street. Only, with her magic I was honestly scared for the guy. She dragged him back to her house after that. He never said anything negative about us again. At least, not to our faces.
And now I'm here, watching Twilight get married to some noble named Silver Bit right in front of me. I want to do so many things. I want to change so many things. But I can't. Instead, I turn my head away, breaking eye contact with Twilight to look out across the rows upon rows of filled seats. Seems like everypony in Canterlot is here.
What I wouldn't give for another Changeling invasion...
“Should there be anypony who has cause why this couple should not be united in marriage, they must speak now or forever hold their peace,” Celestia calls out, giving a half-moment pause. Nopony in their right mind would speak out against this. Nopony but the Princesses and I know about the law that's forcing this wedding. I look back up at the altar and catch Twilight's gaze. She's looking right at me, completely ignoring the stallion she's being married to. She almost looks like she's pleading with me about something.
Everything seems to happen in slow motion as I realize this is my only chance to stop this. I hear Celestia suck in a breath to continue the ceremony, but all I'm focused on is the look Twilight's giving me. I'm used to thinking quickly, flying at such high speeds, but my current pace is dizzying even me. I run ideas and scenarios through my mind faster than I can fully comprehend, and there's only one outcome I want.
The look Twilight's giving me changes from pleading to outright begging as Celestia opens her mouth to continue.
I stand up suddenly, knocking my chair to the ground. Everypony turns to look at me curiously as I stand – tall and proud – above the crowd. Celestia pauses in surprise. I see nervousness pass through Twilight's eyes, but I also see just the barest hint of a true smile forming on her face, replacing the fake one she wore for the crowd and her would-be husband.
I open my mouth. It's dry as cotton. My heart beats faster and faster as I realize what I just did. Everypony is looking at me. Everypony. I feel my cheeks flush as I really think about what I'm about to do. But I push through it when I see Twilight turn to face me fully. The nerves are gone from her eyes. Now they contain nothing but hope.
“I object to this marriage,” I proclaim loudly, bringing a round of shocked gasps from the crowd. Silver Bit seems completely befuddled as to what's going on. I can feel the glare my friends are all giving me. None of them know the truth behind this wedding. None of them. Rarity's tugging on my hoof, and I vaguely hear her whispering to me – begging me to sit back down. I don't really hear it, though; my focus is on one pony and one pony only.
“Because I love you.”
Author's Note
First part of a two part one-shot. I spent half an hour researching wedding vows for this. I hope you people like it. FYI: the wedding speech I went with is a (slightly modified for ponies) tradition Christian wedding ceremony. Basically wherever it had God I put Princesses, and removed one of the strictly-Christian lines.
Next chapter will be up in a day or two. As always, let me know what you think.
Formalities
Chapter 2
Cleaning Up the Mess
Silence. Nopony speaks. Nopony moves. Nopony even breathes. I am seriously starting to regret this, but the look Twilight's giving me holds me still, even under the looks of everypony in the room. Some ponies are glaring at me, even. Especially Silver Bit, but he doesn't matter to me right now. Nothing matters to me right now. Nothing, except the lavender unicorn still staring at me. She doesn't seem to fully comprehend what I've just done.
“What are you doing?” Rarity hisses next to me, but I just ignore her. I can see a genuine smile spreading through Twilight's face, and I won't trade that away for anything.
Even Celestia seems truly stunned. Her eternal mask of calmness is all but shattered under the revelation. The Princess's jaw is hanging open, and her eyes are wide – staring between me and Twilight.
Everypony's waiting for Twilight to say something in response, including me. She doesn't. Instead, she lights her horn, and in a blinding flash of light I'm moved from my position in the audience to the stage directly in front of her. She doesn't hesitate. Without taking a second or a breath she wraps me in a fierce hug and presses her lips onto mine.
Yet another gasp rings through the room. If it's possible, Celestia's jaw drops even further. I don't pay it any mind, and neither does Twilight as we both rise up onto our rear hooves, wrapping our hooves around the others' neck and deepening our kiss as our mouths open in sink, allowing our tongues to meet and entwine. I moan throatily into the kiss, the vibrations making Twilight do the same.
And then it's just over after an eternity of mere moments as we both pull back, panting lightliy with matching scarlet blushes. Nopony present knows what to do. I can feel Silver Bit glaring holes through the back of my skull. Silence reigns supreme for an unknown amount of time after that. I don't care; I'm too busy being lost in Twilight's eyes, and from the dopey grin on her face she's doing the same to me. Time isn't a thing to us anymore. Neither are all the ponies watching.
Celestia clears her throat, regaining her mask of calmness. “What?”
I laugh a little inside; that would be my reaction too if I were in her position. Nopony ever found out about our relationship before all of this, so as far as they're aware this came out of the blue. For us, though, it's been coming for a long time.
Twilight grins eagerly, releasing me and falling back onto all four hooves as I follow suit. “The wedding's off!” She calls joyfully, turning and smiling out across the crowd. Nopony says anything. She turns to a very shocked and angry Silver Bit. “You can go home.”
The stallion doesn't have a response for that. When he doesn't say or do anything, Twilight glares at him and her horn flares to life, encasing him in a magic glow. In an instant he's lifted from the floor and carried out of the room, being tossed out the doors unceremoniously. His family and friends follow quickly behind him, some tossing nasty looks over their shoulders at Twilight and I as they leave. She doesn't seem to care or even notice.
Celestia leans her head down next to Twilight, whispering so that nopony else can hear her. Thanks to my proximity I hear her say, “Are you sure about this, Twilight? You only have two months left before you lose your throne, and the nobles won't let me change the law.”
Twilight smiles gently at Celestia. “I know, and I'm sorry, but... I'm not going to marry some random noble to keep my throne when I love somepony else,” she says before grinning at me. My blush grows a few shades brighter, if it's possible.
Celestia nods in understanding, giving us a small smile before raising her head back up and projecting her voice across the remaining crowd. “The wedding is off. You're welcome to enjoy the buffet and cake before returning home. I apologize for any inconveniences this may have caused you.”
Had any of the nobles still been in the room, they'd have been mad. But they all left when Twilight threw Silver Bit out, so all that remains is Twilight's family and our friends, along with a few random guests. All of whom seemed very surprised. And rightly so.
Twilight and I walk down from the stage slowly, approaching our friends. None of them say anything, and Twilight's family is off to the side, not understanding why she'd canceled her own wedding after some seemingly random pegasus confessed her seemingly random love for her. I don't mind though; they'll catch up soon enough. The other guests are either leaving, or practically tackling the buffet tables. We can tell which ones are from Ponyville and which are from Canterlot.
Our friends, however, are all looking at us expectantly.
“I think y'all have some explanations to hand out,” Applejack says, breaking the silence that had fallen over the room. Suddenly it's abuzz with questions from our friends. Twilight's family finally breaks out of their stupor and rushes over, offering their own barrage of questions.
“Alright, alright!” Twilight shouts above the noise. The ponies surrounding us slowly begin to quiet down. “We'll tell you the story, just calm down.”
The reaction is instant; they all quiet completely and look expectantly between us, like little foals at story time. I roll my eyes at the grin Rarity is giving us, her mind no doubt feeding off of some sappy romance novel she'd read. Well, I suppose I did give her quite a bit of fuel, so I'll let her imagination run wild for a bit.
Twilight sits back on her haunches and I mirror her, as does the rest of the gathered crowd. I can see Cadence grinning almost as much as Rarity. I guess even the Princess of Love likes a good romance story from time to time. Luna and Celestia both come and sit a little ways behind us, watching the scene unfold from a distance, though still curious as to where this all came from.
Clearing her throat, Twilight begins the story, starting all those months ago when I had first asked her out. Celestia helps her explain the stupid law a bit better, and Cadence clarifies it a bit. Our friends all have about the same reaction I did to Twilight being a noble – though her family is a bit surprised they didn't know yet. I add my two bits from time to time, but for the most part it's Twilight telling the tale.
“And then, well, you all saw what happened today...” Twilight trails off with a blush, glancing over at me. I give her a small smile as the group around us lets the story soak in.
“Well that's... quite a story...” Rarity says after a couple moments of silence.
“Wait... you gave up bein' a princess for that feather-brain?” Applejack asks jokingly towards me, but there's an honest question buried underneath.
Twilight shrugs, wrapping a wing around my back and drawing me close to her side. I let out a surprised squeak as she does so and blush as I hear barely-suppressed chuckles at the noise. “Well she didn't give me much choice, did she?” She asks with a smirk.
“Hey, you asked me to do it!” I defend quickly, giving her a glare. She raises a curious eyebrow.
“I never asked you to do anything.”
I snort a short chuckle, turning my head away and crossing my forelegs over my chest. “Yeah right. I saw the way you were looking at me. You were practically begging me to do something.”
She doesn't say anything in response to that; we both know I'm right. She just won't admit it. “S-shut up...” she whispers, flustered even more than I am. I can't suppress my laughter at it.
“I am sorry, Twilight,” Celestia speaks up suddenly, making everypony turn to her. To be honest, I'd almost forgotten she was there at all, sitting silently behind me. “Had I known about this sooner...”
Twilight gives her a small smile. “What could you have done, though? The nobles will never let you take the law out, especially now that they know ponies can ascend, and I'm pretty sure Rainbow would have asked me out no matter what you did about it.”
“Right as always, Twilight. Still, I wish I could do something for you...” Celestia trails off sadly, and we all take a moment of silence, thinking about what could have been if just a few things were different. Suddenly, Celestia lifts her head, her saddened demeanor replaced by a tentative smile. “I might have a way to fix things... although, it might be a bit sudden...”
I look to Celestia curiously, not sure what she could be thinking of. Twilight does the same, as does everypony else present. Celestia turns to me and clears her throat, regaining her regal composure. “Nobility is a funny thing. In the old days before the original Hearth's Warming it was reserved for those who owned land and governed over settlements. When the tribes united, the noble families more often than not lost their land to the ponies actually living on it, but they kept their titles. Today, nobility is passed down through families, and is nothing more than a title.”
“Right, and how does knowing this fix things?” I ask sceptically.
Celestia grins, taking off her mask for a split second as she says, “Rainbow Dash, how would you like to be the Duchess of Ponyville?”
If it could, my jaw would have hit the floor with what the Princess was implying. I'm pretty sure Twi has an equally surprised look on her face. Celestia regains her regal composure in a heartbeat and walks a little closer to us, sitting down right next to the group.
“Nobility is nothing but a title, a title Luna and I have the ability to bestow upon ponies. The nobles in Canterlot won't like it, but there's nothing they can do about it. The law states a new princess or prince must marry a noble, but there is nothing that defines who the noble must be,” she explains. “It's just a formal title; you won't have any responsibilities or anything – much like the rest of the nobles - but you'll have the social stature. It will make you nobility, and you will fit the law's requirements.”
Twilight and I share a look, unsure of how to proceed. To be honest, when I asked her out I never really thought this far down the road, but I'd be lying if I said it never entered my mind. From the blush on Twilight’s cheeks, she’s thinking the same thing I am. Sudden is an understatement. But... it would let Twi stay a princess and...
“If you wanted to, I'd be willing,” I say with a small smile, turning to look at Twilight. My blush brightens as Twilight's eyes widen. Her gaze flicks between my own, Celestia, and the group of family and friends around her. We're all waiting for an answer; it's up to her now. I'm on board with the idea, as long as Twilight gets to stay a princess. Besides, I'd be getting something pretty awesome too.
Our friends are all looking at her eagerly, and even her family has happy – if a bit surprised – smiles. Eventually, Twilight takes a breath, and looks back to me. “I think that will work perfectly.”
My mind just shuts down at that. Sure, I was half expecting that to be her answer, but actually hearing it? That's a whole different story. I mean, she's just practically proposed to me. Well, I said I'd do it first, so... she just said yes to me proposing to her! I can't do anything about the grin spread across my face or the burning blush covering my face. But I don't want to. Instead, I laugh. I laugh hard because, at the end of the day, somepony has to appreciate the absurdity of the whole situation, and it may as well be me.
I very nearly double over from the force of my laughing, but the lavender wing still around my back holds me up. I can see the odd looks I'm getting, but that only adds to my laughter. When it's clear nopony else is getting it, I struggle to stop my mirth, eventually succeeding in getting a few deep breaths into my lungs.
“S-sorry,” I chuckle, “But... this morning I woke up to go to Twi's wedding, and now I'm gonna end up marrying her myself!” I break down laughing half way through my statement, but it's clear enough that everypony else heard it. They seem to understand; they're all sharing their own quiet chuckles and giggles with my uproarious laughter. I can feel Twilight start to laugh too, her body shaking ever so slightly as she joins me.
Even Celestia lets loose a few regal chuckles. It's just been one of those days, I suppose.
Eventually, growing tired of my laughter, Twilight ends it by planting a kiss firmly on my lips. I don't object; I just return it eagerly.
It's just been one of those days where nothing makes sense. I got some pretty good deals out of it, though. Apparently I get to be a noble, and I'm going to marry both a princess and the pony I love.
I bring my hooves up and wrap them around Twilight's neck, deepening and prolonging our kiss.
It's just been one of those days where everything works out in the end.
Author's Note
Officially that's the end, but I'll probably do an epilogue with the new wedding in a couple days.
You know the drill; let me know what you think in the box below, and I hope you enjoyed.