Thawing Hooves of Ice

by Cloperella

Rating: everyone
Tags: Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia, Slice of Life, Princess Luna, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Romance
Length: 5720

Short (and late) birthday present, a story focusing on the lead up and beginning of Celestia and Twilight's wedding ceremony.

On the most important day of Princess Celestia and Twilight Sparkle's lives, Princess Luna finds herself as busy as ever making sure all of the arrangements go according to plan. The last thing she needs to worry about is one of the brides having second thoughts about the decision looming around the corner. After some words of guidance from the princess of the night, the mare in question knows what she needs to do. But will she be able to walk down the aisle if her hooves are still too cold?
Written as a (late) birthday present for the lovely and talented artist bri-sta, who is also the artist of the image I'm using as a cover, since it's what I used as inspiration for this little story.

Published 2015-05-18 06:20:01 UTC
Last updated 2015-05-18 06:20:01 UTC

Thawing Hooves of Ice

Thawing Hooves of Ice

Sunday. Typically regarded as a day of rest for most of Equestria. And while a majority of ponies in Canterlot certainly wouldn't be working today, there wasn't a single pony in the town resting at this moment. Since the morning dawned over the prestigious capital of Equestria, everypony in town rushed to Canterlot Castle as quickly as they could. A line of ponies outside of the castle doors slowly inched inside, waiting for the chummy freckle-faced orange mare to let them in one at a time. She took a moment's pause from shaking hooves with the attendants, and took the time to straighten the white pearls and reddish blue flowers wrapped across her bright blonde mane.

Some of the guests were commoners from all over Equestria, who had relation to one of the mares involved with today’s event. The others were various nobles, who had dropped a great deal of money to make an appearance in the castle today. Those without a way to gain entry into the castle remained outside of the gates, looking upwards at an empty magenta balcony jutting out from the white wall. The ponies all craned their necks upward in anticipation, as if all their hopes and dreams were tied to the marble surface jutting out of the building. At some point, the two most important ponies of the day would step out and wave to them, mere moments after they had been bound in pony matrimony.

Unseen by the crowd outside its walls, the interior of the castle was adorned with a variety of lacy decor. Chandeliers of stars and orbs shaped from purple and white glass hung from the ceiling, reflecting the soft candlelight at their center, and casting a faint glimmer across the walls and floor. Silk robes of cerulean and heliotrope were draped across the walls and the doorways leading into adjoining rooms.

The halls themselves bustled with activity. Ponies dressed in ceremonial suits and dresses scurried about from place to place, arranging decorations and table placements in their proper fashion. Trays of exquisite foods were brought from the kitchen to the dining hall, the chefs who prepared them barking orders about how the slightest error in carriage might spoil the entire meal. And among all of the commotion, a large ice sculpture of two alicorns flying beside one another (one of them noticeably taller than the other) bobbed uneasily through the crowd. The two ponies carrying it managed to safely place it on a table without so much as a single chip in its form, and breathed a sigh of relief at a job well done.

“Now why in Equestria did you bring that out so soon?” A deep feminine voice questioned them. The two stallions turned to see a dark purple alicorn, dressed in a gallant dress of blue, lavender and white. “The ceremony itself won’t begin for another thirty minutes. By the time anypony sees this work of art, it will already have begun to melt. Take it back to the freezer, please.”

The two stallions begrudgingly placed their snouts underneath its base and heaved it up off the table, retracing their steps away from the alicorn. The mare herself stepped from place to place in the sanctuary of the castle, making sure everything within the vicinity of the ceremony was in its proper place. She had been awake for far longer than she was used to, and hadn't a moment to herself for as long as she could remember. But she was driven by the significance of the day (as well as a decent helping of caffeinated beverages) to stay alert for absolutely every detail that was related to the castle. Taking to the air in the altar room, she looked down below and watched as guests entered and took their appropriate seats. By her watch, she was happy to say that everything was going according to plan, without even the slightest hitch.

“Begging your pardon, princess Luna?” the alicorn heard a refined and cultivated female voice ring out from below her. She looked to see the form of a white unicorn looking up at her, waving a hoof to beckon her presence. Luna recognized the wavy shape of Rarity’s purple mane to one side of her horn. Luna dropped from the air in front of the unicorn. Upon closer inspection, she noticed the mare had the middle of her hairdo in smooth fringes, and the back of it done up in a small bun. The new style splendidly matched the crest shaped dress of teal and pearl over her form. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but…” Luna’s eyes darted back to Rarity’s face when she realized the unicorn’s expression was one filled with worry.

Princess Luna felt the bottom of her left eye twitch. Her teeth clenched together in agitation. She had been galloping around the castle without a moment’s pause to ensure everything on the agenda for today went off without a hitch. She wasn't sure what issue had arisen so suddenly, but she lamented the fact that it had made itself apparent when things were so close to getting started.

Taking a slow, collected breath, Luna gathered her thoughts. It was foolish of her to think that things would go so smoothly for her. With the large amount of procedures being incorporated into today, it was only natural that at least one thing would go wrong. Now calm and composed, Luna offered a half smile at the unicorn.

“What seems to be the problem, Rarity?” Luna asked, in a calm and controlled tone of voice.

“It’s the bride. It appears as if she’s developed a case of cold hooves.”

“Which bride?”

Rarity’s eyes darted from side to side, and she winced nervously. “Your sister.”

“Oh no.” Luna muttered, finding it difficult to keep the dread from rising in her voice. Luna brought her hoof against her face, a muffled growl escaping her lips. “Oh for heaven's sake, she was fine this morning! What happened?”

“I’m not quite certain myself. I was only made aware of the situation, when I happened to pass by her room. I heard quite a bit of commotion between them, and then Cadance opened the door and saw me- well I wasn't anywhere near the door, mind you!” Rarity assured her hastily, when Luna raised an eyebrow at her explanation. “I mean, who wouldn't have heard them at the volume they were speaking?”

“Right, I understand, I’m on my way. Do you think you could look over things in my stead?”

“I most certainly shall, your majesty.” Rarity replied with a polite curtsy of her head. Luna nodded and took off with a gallop out of the sanctuary and down the hall, making her way towards princess Celestia's bedroom, a pair of guards trotting hurriedly to keep up with her.

A trek up a flight of stairs later, and Luna was outside of Celestia's room. Before the guards outside her door could react, Luna's hoof tapped against the door.

“Please tell me that's you, Luna.” A voice delicate as glass called out to her through the doors.

“It's me Cadance.” Luna called through the doors.

“Thank goodness. Come in.”

The guards wordlessly pushed the doors in, and allowed Luna to pass. As she walked through, she found herself stepping through a large magical bubble, which made the hairs of her coat stand on end as it swept across her body.

“Thank you so much for coming.” Cadance greeted her as she approached them. “I didn't want to put up a protection spell, but after aunt Celestia tried to escape the window, I didn't see much of a choice.”

Cadance’s pink form was adorned with an elegant but simple dress of blue with golden lining at the bottom. She stood in front of the large mattress in the room, where her sister Celestia, an alicorn much larger than the both of them, sat with her head in her hooves. The mare was dressed in a large flowery gown, as pure and white as her very own coat. Her large glimmering mane was brought up into an opulent set of curls draped against her lengthy neck.

When Celestia took note of Luna's presence, she sat upright in an instant. She flashed her a smile that Luna found to be suspiciously wide and cheery. Luna had expected there to be a mess of smeared eye shadow and running mascara on her face, but her make up was from what she could see still very much intact.

“That’s not true, sister.” Celestia scoffed, and her eyebrows sunk in offense. “I was not trying to escape! I was merely going to stretch my wings for a bit, in this lovely sunlight that I've cast for everypony.”

Cadance leaned in towards Luna and lowered her voice. “She was bolting for it; I actually had to tackle her and pull her back.”

“I heard that.” Celestia muttered, eliciting a startled look from Cadance.

“You'd best leave her with me.” Luna advised the youngest alicorn in the room. Cadance nodded and trotted toward the doors leading to the hallway. Before stepping out of the magical containment field, she turned back to look at them a moment.

“I'm still keeping the shield up.” She declared, to which Luna nodded. Celestia rolled her eyes as Cadance stepped through, and closed the door behind her.

“Honestly, I don't know where she's getting ideas like these from.” Celestia said, shaking her head in frustration. “I was the one who proposed, after all. Why on Earth would I start regretting what I myself set in motion?” She asked Luna, reapplying the same smile she'd used when she had first walked in.

Luna inspected her closely. Though the look on her face might have fooled anypony else, Luna had known her older sister for quite literally her entire life. She had seen that smile many times since they were foals: it was the same one she used when she was nervous, or hiding something, in an effort to try and keep others from becoming suspicious of her.

“I am not sure, sister.” Luna said, stepping around Celestia and hoisting herself up on the mattress in order to sit right next to her. “Why would you have any second thoughts about marrying Twilight?”

“I'm not having second thoughts about Twilight.” Celestia replied. “Twilight is a wonderful pony; she's smart, she's beautiful, she never shies away from a task and she's always dedicated to her work.” Celestia’s eyes wandered down, away from Luna. Her voice softened as she continued speaking. “She’s a smart mare Luna, smarter than I am. She could recite passages and equations from books to the punctuation in the text. I’m surprised her head isn’t weighing her down from all the knowledge she’s holding.” A gentle sigh escaped her nostrils. “I admire her so much. There's not a day that goes by that I don't reflect on how wonderful she is in every way and how proud I am of her. She's the perfect mare, Luna.”

Luna kept her eyes focused on her sister as she spoke. She saw a glimmer twinkle in her pupils as she recounted all of the qualities of her bride-to-be. She was speaking honestly about her feelings for Twilight, without even a shred of deceit.

But even then, Luna still detected that Celestia wasn't settled. Something told her that if Cadance were to lower the shield right now, Celestia would still try to jump out the window and fly away to who knows where. Luna scooted closer to Celestia and sat on the knees of her hindlegs to face her more fully.

“However...” Luna prompted her accusingly.

“However?” Celestia replied with an innocent tone, leaning back and away from her sister’s glare.

“There's a however hidden within you, sister.” Luna said, pointing a dark hoof at her. “And I am not leaving this room until I coax it out of you.” She cleared her throat before she continued. “Now then: Twilight is the perfect mare for you. However...” Celestia's chest rose as she took in a deep breath, her eyes moving away from Luna.

Studying Celestia’s posture, she could see a great deal of tension building up in her. She had done well to keep the truth of the matter buried inside of her, locked away perhaps even from herself for who knows how long. But on the day of their wedding, and with time drawing nearer to the moment of their union, her true feelings had grown restless and attempted to make themselves known. Celestia was still doing what she could to keep them chained up, preventing them from breaching the surface. But as long as Luna was her sister, she would not let those feelings linger within, and drive her sister from the happiness she and her loved one deserved. The younger mare's brows furrowed as she leaned in towards Celestia. “However!” she said with more sternness.

“However...” Celestia's teeth clenched in uneasiness. She gulped loudly before she spoke. “I don't know if I'm the right one for her.”

An ominous silence hung in the air between the two royal sisters. While Luna felt a touch of relief from at last hearing the truth, it brought with it a new problem before her.

“Sister, what is this?” She asked delicately. “Why do you think you're not the right mare for Twilight? Surely you're not suggesting that she doesn't love you? I've seen the way she behaves when you talk to her; why, she hangs onto every word that you speak.”

“I KNOW Luna; that's the problem.” Celestia groaned. She only received a puzzled look from Luna in response. “I've been guiding Twilight for her entire life, ever since she was a filly. I was the one who sent in that egg that she hatched Spike out of. And after she gained her cutie mark, I immediately made her my protege. I spent countless years teaching her so much, and I could see that she absolutely adored me. As she grew into a mare, she would question me less and less. I could tell her to do anything Luna, and she would do it without a thought.” Celestia brought her hooves up to her face, a vain attempt to hide from the bedroom she was confined to at the moment.

“Luna, what if she's just following orders?” Celestia lamented, her voice beginning to tremble. “What if she's just too intimidated to say no to me? What's going to happen if we get married, and then she figures out she's not happy with me, and then-!”

“Oh, Tia...” Luna crawled across the mattress, so she was eye level with her sister. Staring into Luna’s eyes caused the dam holding back her emotions to crack. Her eyelids squinted and she let out a soft whine. Celestia broke into a deep sob and threw her head into Luna's chest. The dark alicorn carefully pulled her sister against her body, wrapping her forelegs around her in a gentle hug. “Ssh, it's okay. It's okay.” The fortitude of her voice dropped considerably, uttering soothing ministrations to her sisters ears. With her forelegs still around her white shoulders, Luna gently rocked Celestia from side to side as she continued to wail into her chest. “I know, sister. It’s a very stressful day for you, I know."

"I don't know what to do, Luna!" Celestia cried pitifully, coughing slightly in between breaths. "I'm so scared! I should be happy, but I can't stop worrying! I'm so sorry!"

"You have nothing to apologize for, sister. It's understandable to have second thoughts. It means you're taking this all very seriously. It's nothing to be ashamed of." Celestia continued to cry, while Luna kept her held securely in her hooves. "Just try to breathe for me, best you can.” Her sobs began to peter out into a whimper, her chest rising up and down with each intake of air.

After a moment, the noises from Celestia's throat diminished. She pulled her head away and laid back against her mattress, staring up toward the ceiling. Her eyes remained closed, as damp mascara stained her cheeks. She struggled to breathe through her nose, and her body still trembled noticeably.

“Do you feel any better?” Luna asked feebly, stroking the mare’s shoulder. Celestia shook her head. “Sister, I have a story for you about Twilight that I think will change your mind.” She prompted, gently wiping the tears from the corners of Celestia's eyes. “But I'm going to need you to promise me that you won't get mad.”

Celestia's brows furrowed as she stared skeptically at Luna, who replied with an uneasy smile. “Just tell it.” She demanded flatly. Luna heaved herself up, leaning on her right foreleg so she could look down at Celestia, whose forelegs hung in front of her helplessly. She cleared her throat before she began.

“Several years ago, shortly after my first Nightmare Night, I went on a... date with Twilight Sparkle.” Luna watched as Celestia took a deep breath while keeping her eyes locked on the mare looking down at her. She could tell that Celestia wasn't comfortable with the thought of her sister in an intimate setting with the purple mare she was so in love with. But Celestia did well to keep herself composed, if only to see where Luna was going with this story of her. “I say date in this way because I was not successful, as you can imagine. I remember it so well: it was shortly after you had gone to sleep, I had invited her to come fly with me out to the top of Canterlot Mountain, where the lights of the city could be escaped for a moment. It was there that we could be surrounded by the soft glow of fireflies, and the stars could be seen in their brightest glory. Oh, it was so wonderful.” Luna sighed as she reminisced. “There we were, the stars lighting up the sky, dark and purple as the streaks of her mane-”

“Luna.” Celestia cut her off, sounding rather unamused at the thought of her sister spending a moonlit night of intimacy with the mare she was about to marry.

“Right, point!” Luna exclaimed in a fluster. “While we certainly did enjoy each others company, and had much to talk about, guess who's name kept coming up?” she asked, while Celestia wore a perplexed expression. Luna reached towards her nose and tapped it gingerly with the bottom of her hoof. “You, silly one. Most everything out of her mouth began or ended with your name.”

Celestia remained silent for a few seconds, processing what she had just been told. “Did it really...?” Celestia asked, her voice softening.

Luna cleared her throat and tilted her chin up slightly. “''Wow Luna, I just noticed your mane’s changed; now it looks more like Celestia's!'” Luna said, the tone of her voice much higher in an attempt to resemble the energetic and scholarly voice of Twilight Sparkle. “'Ooh, that constellation is Canis Major! Princess Celestia taught me not to confuse it with Canis Minor when I was young. Ooh, the fireflies are so pretty; I remember when I was a filly, Princess Celestia told me that fireflies were bugs that she made herself, out of tiny pieces of sunlight. I believed her for a whole year! Can you believe that? ” Her voice returned to normal. “I realized by the time I brought her back to the library that I didn't stand a chance in Tartarus with that mare. I envied you greatly for winning her affection before I had a chance to.”

Celestia was left speechless. Though no longer crying, her eyes remained glossy as they stared downward, across her white gown and towards the end of the bed she was laying against. Listening to her sister recount her evening with Twilight Sparkle, she was overcome with a tidal wave of new thoughts that she struggled to process.

“Sister, Twilight loves you.” She reassured the mare in white . “Whether it was by your hoof, or by destiny or her own free will, she is in love with you. She wants to spend her life with you, just as you want to spend yours with her.” Luna stroked her hoof gently along Celestia's shoulder, while the mare regained a regular breathing pattern once again. “I know you're frightened that you're not giving her a choice in the matter, but let's say you call this wedding off: wouldn't that be yet another choice you're not giving her?”Celestia winced momentarily, averting her eyes towards the end of her bed, away from Luna. The younger alicorn dropped her head behind Celestia's mane, wrapping her left wing over the side of Celestia. “Please be strong, sister. I know your nerves are getting to you, but please try to get through this. I promise that once things settle down after today, you two are going to have the best life together.”

Celestia's shoulder rose and fell as she took another breath under the comfort of Luna's dark wing. “Do you promise, Luna?”

The dark alicorn nodded. “I would stake the moon itself on it.”

Celestia took a deep breath. and lifted herself to sit upright as she faced Luna. She threw her forelegs around the mare's neck, and rested her chin on her shoulder. “Thank you.” she whispered, as she felt Luna's hooves rubbing her back. “Thank you so much, Luna. I don’t know how I made it a thousand years without you by my side.” Luna smiled sheepishly at her, appreciative of her sentiment, but not entirely certain of how to respond. After a moment of silence, Celestia pulled herself back, and took a deep, stuffy breath through her nose. “Ugh… My make up is ruined isn't it?”

Luna winced as she looked upon the mess on her sister’s face, large blotches of black against her cheeks and her eyeshadow smeared beyond anything worth saving. “Nothing we can’t fix.” she assured her, using her magic to open the oak dresser adjacent to them. She levitated a large handkerchief to Celestia’s nose, who blew into it with a rather loud honk. Luna used the cleaner part of the cloth to wipe off Celestia’s ruined make up, creating a blank canvas for Luna to work with. While a set of facial complexion accessories floated towards them, a sudden knock caught their attention.

“Rarity just told me everypony who's going to be here is here.” Cadance's voice called through the door hurriedly. “I think they're pushing us to get started. You two okay in there?”

Luna looked back at Celestia, whose eyes had widened with distress for only a moment. She took a breath through her nose, and then nodded with a delicate smile.

“Just need a minute.” Luna called back. With impressive speed, Luna brushed the pad against her sisters cheeks and applied a new layer of mascara. She did the same with the brush, adding just a bit of shadow to the top of her eyelids. Once she was finished, Celestia opened her eyes. To her delight, there was no trace of Celestia’s meltdown apparent, save for the bit of redness that had formed in her eyes.

Hoisting herself off of the bed, Luna watched as her sister followed. Celestia's forelegs touched the floor, and with Luna's magic lifting the train of her wedding gown, she pulled her hindlegs down as well.

“Well... here we go.” Celestia proclaimed, forcing her head upright as she advanced forward. Luna kept her dress from dragging as the door to her bedroom opened and allowed her passage into the hall.

A company of string musicians filled the air of the room with a soothing, graceful ambiance. All of the pews on either side of the aisle were filled with guests. On one side of the chapel sat a number of ponies all dressed in suits, dresses and accessories that cost more bits than some ponies would earn in an entire years salary. These were the nobles of Canterlot. Since Celestia was bereft of family ties aside from her sister and her adopted niece, the seats on her side were instead occupied by Canterlot’s aristocrats, who were only here due to the staggering amount of money they had dropped in order to make an appearance at such an event. The other side of the room seated a number of less decorative ponies, mostly unicorns with coats of purple or nightfall blue. They were Twilight’s lineage, who had been permitted without question by Celestia to attend and see their Twilight walk down the aisle.

With Celestia, Luna and Cadance at their rightful positions at the altar, the entire room watched three small mares merrily hop their way towards the podium. With each energetic bounce, a flurry of yellow and purple flower petals would escape the confines of the baskets held in their mouths. The petals twirled about as they slowly drifted towards the floor, adding to the beautiful cluster of flowers preceding it.

Celestia watched the young mares reach the end of the aisle, and then take their seats at the front row of pews, each of them looking towards the front. Their cutie marks which had only been acquired a year prior were covered by their small dresses which corresponded to the colors of their manes and coats. They waved excitedly at the group of mares on stage, Twilight’s bridesmaids. Of all of five of them, Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Applejack waved back politely to the girls. After they settled down, Celestia returned her gaze to the back of the room, noticing another young soul beginning his trek down the carpet.

Though Twilight may have been Celestia's most faithful student at one point, she owed her thanks to her number one assistant for so many years, the little mulberry dragon walking down the aisle at this very moment, Spike. Though usually unclothed as most Equestrians were, Spike’s upper body was dressed in a pristine black tuxedo and a bright red bowtie that made him look quite sharp. Celestia instantly recognized it as something born from Rarity’s genius in designer fashion. In his claws, he carried a plush silk pillow, on top of which laid two beautiful rings; one with Celestia's bright yellow sun cutie mark embroidered from spinel, and the other of lapis lazuli in the shape of Twilight's magical spark.

As he approached them, Celestia noticed Spike stood just a bit underneath her chin, much to her surprise. It seemed not so long ago that he was a helpless little thing, sucking the end of his tail without a care in the world. Now, standing in front of her, Celestia wondered if Twilight and the mares she was friends with were just as impressed by his growth as she was, since he easily trumped them in height. Spike reached the end of the walkway, looked to the right of Celestia, and gestured the pillow towards she and Luna. Luna leaned in and used her magic to levitate the rings off of the plush surface.

With a friendly wink at Celestia, Spike stepped off of the stage and sat next to the flower fillies. Once he had taken his seat, the music that had filled the air faded away. Celestia kept her head forward, but looked towards the side to catch a glance at the orchestra. The conductor, a gray Earth pony with dark brown hair, stood impressively still with her wand below her chin. She was waiting. Waiting for far longer than Celestia thought she should have been. The mare lifted her wand and tilted her head upwards. But nothing came. Celestia internally begged her to proceed, lest the tension destroy her from inside out. She knew what song came next. She kept her eyes at the end of the aisle, knowing that when the next song played, the two ponies standing out of view behind the wall would step out to begin the next step in the ceremony.

And with a wave of her wand, the quartet began to play a different song. A song whose lyrics, if there ever were any, had been lost to time. But everypony in Equestria could hum the tune by heart. It was a universal knowledge throughout the land what the melody signified on such an occasion.

The bride was coming.

Twilight Sparkle was coming.

Everypony seated turned their heads back toward the entrance. Celestia’s legs stood rigid as stone pillars while the medley continued to play. And with her eyes still focused on the wall, she at last saw a movement that made her chest tighten.

At first, Celestia could only see the azure unicorn Nightlight, the father of the bride, dressed in a charcoal gray tux with a tie the color of horseradish. But as he as he rounded the corner of the entryway and turned to face the podium, she saw her. Twilight Sparkle, the element of magic, and the princess of friendship. Dressed from head to hoof in white, her dress left the top half of her chest and her neck exposed, to show off a beautiful pearl necklace draped around her. It was a much simpler gown than Celestia's own, but beautiful and appropriate for a mare of her caliber. Her horn radiated with magic as she carried a bouquet of flowers in front of them. Celestia noticed that Twilight's eyes were closed, her left wing stretched out over her father's back as he guided her down the lane towards her destination.

As Twilight neared the podium, Celestia heard a heavy sob emitting from the pews on her right, where Twilight's family and relatives were seated. She looked to the seats in search of the source of the noise, as did Nightlight, and at the end of one of the rows was Twilight's mother, Velvet. The gray unicorn wore a soft smile, and hovered a handkercheif to the corners of her eyes to dab at the tears building up in them. Despite the moisture she was fighting back, she wore a proud smile as she watched her darling daughter walk down the aisle, towards the princess of Equestria.

Her face was not brimming with pride however when another heavy sob broke out next to her, and continued without any reservation. Rolling her eyes, Velvet turned about to wrap a hoof around Shining Armor, her son and Twilight's favorite and only brother. The white stallion bawled heavily, his cries echoing throughout the room as he clung to his handkerchief against his eyes for everything it was worth. She rubbed the shoulder of his red coat in a feeble attempt to comfort the blue maned stallion. Velvet’s cheeks turned red as she realized more ponies in the audience were beginning to stare at them disapprovingly. Celestia heard a groan from behind her, and turned her head just enough to see Cadance using her wings to cover up her face in embarrassment. Keeping her grip on Shining, Velvet gave her husband a look of desperation, to which Nightlight merely shrugged and continued on his trek down the aisle with his daughter.

At last, Twilight and her father reached the podium. Nightlight looked up at Celestia, and the princess herself lowered her head with a polite bow. After nodding appreciatively, he whispered something into Twilight's ear, before leaving to take his seat next to his wife and son, who had barely managed to regain a smidgen of self-control over himself.

As Celestia stared at Twilight, who still had her head down, the rest of the world seemed to disappear around her. So many thoughts were running through Celestia's head all at once, like a swarm of parasprites fighting over themselves. So many reasons why this was the best decision she could make for the both of them, and an equal amount of reasons why it was a mistake. Celestia didn't know which thoughts to trust, but as she continued to hesitate, the harder it would be for her to make any decision at all.

And then it happened. As if waking from a dream, Twilight lifted her head, and her eyes slowly opened. Twilight stared straight ahead at Celestia, and their eyes locked in on each other. Celestia looked upon Twilight, captivated by the sight of her purple mane covered by a thin veil lined with white roses. She found herself transfixed upon those pools of violet. They were shimmering with excitement and wonder, even more so than the night she had discovered what true friendship meant to her. With a single tear rolling from her left eye, Twilight smiled without a word to Celestia, her lips trembling joyfully.

And Celestia remembered Twilight was no longer a student obeying every whim of her teacher. She was a fully grown mare, and though it hadn't been her idea to ask, it was still a decision she had made just as much as Celestia had. The final lingering traces of doubt vanished from Celestia's mind, and a genuine smile appeared, radiating warmth as nurturing as the sun itself. With her head and heart crystal clear, Celestia considered herself the luckiest mare in Equestria knowing she would be able to see that smile for the rest of eternity.

The two mares, confident and ready to proceed with the ceremony, turned to Cadance who cleared her throat before she spoke.

“Dearly beloved...”

Author's Note

As I said before, this story was written for bri-sta, an artistI've been a fan of for so many years. It's been said before, but bri-sta has a way of capturing the tender intimacy of Twilestia like no other artist does. The way the two mares are poised together exudes a kind of beauty that lifts ones heart up in the clouds. in the past year become a dear friend to me and others for allowing us to interact with her so often and let us grow as friends. Apologies that this wasn't finished sooner with most of my attention devoted to the spring semester and final exams. It goes without saying that the story was inspired by the cover story also drawn by her. Hope you enjoy it, ma'am.