Fallout: Lavender Wastelander

The lights were turned down low as Twilight slowly crept into the map room in an attempt to not disrupt the meeting taking place. The papers in her saddlebag had already been sextuple-checked to make sure nothing had been left out. Triple checked after the first draft, then triple checked again after making several additions at Fluttershy’s and Daniel’s behest. The map was turned on, the light from the projection of Equestria on the magic table framing the several dozen faces with an underglow against the low lights from above. It was like looking at the leering faces telling ghost stories around a campfire on a full moon night. Twilight’s joy from finding a way back so easily and organizing so effectively died as she knew that the horror stories told around this light source were all too real.

She hoped Grand General Tempest was in a sharing mood. The supplies she needed had all been commandeered by the Equestrian War Department. The military had already seized any camping related goods, a fact that Twilight had learned after spending nearly an hour going around town to every store she could before they closed for the night.

In the end, she had to come and ask the military for supplies. That was something that Twilight had wanted to avoid, as it would put her in their debt. She wasn’t naive to believe ponies wouldn’t try to curry favor with her. She was next in line to rule the entirety of Equestria, and even if that wasn’t the case, she was still a princess. It wouldn’t be the first time that her title attracted ponies with less than selfless intentions.

The thought of one day having to manage all of Equestria pressed down onto her shoulders like a backpack full of bricks. She looked to Daniel for support, but was quickly reminded that he wasn’t by her side. The meeting she had entered was private. Her title of princess was the only reason she was allowed in.

She pushed the door closed behind her with her good leg, and as the heavy door slid closed and clicked shut, the crowd around the table stared at her expectantly. She gave a weak smile and motioned for them to continue as they were.

“As I was saying,” one mare said from her place on Applejack’s throne. The light glittered off her gleaming silver royal guard armor, which was trimmed with purple. Twilight didn’t know the mare by voice, but the uniform was that of the captain of the royal guard. “Prioritizing retraining the royal guards with guns would be an effective stop-gap while civilians attend basic training. I know that the royal guards have been useless in the past, but what happened to Luna has shaken us to the core. We will not fail Equestria again.”

Twilight had already known that a new Equestrian military was coming. One didn’t need an entire Detrot factory to equip the royal guards. Or every tent, canteen, and sleeping bag in Ponyville. The royal guards had their own stocks. Tempest was going for something on a much larger scale.

“I’ll take that into consideration,” Tempest said in a low hum. Her dark fur and black armor refused to reflect even a glint of light. She was a black hole within the room. Her dark opal eyes were the sole exception, cutting through the dark room like the light of an oncoming train. “Has anyone received any reports of attacks since this afternoon?”

“Nothing violent to report from my Wonderbolts,” Spitfire replied, her commanding voice echoing throughout the chamber. She was sitting on Rainbow Dash’s throne, dressed in a sky blue uniform shirt. The stormcloud gray lapels sported a single silver sun which framed a shield with a sword crossing over it. It was the rank pin of an Equestrian general. “We seemed to have caught a lucky break with several very confused but friendly wastelanders. The ones who want citizenship are going through immigration, which is of course most of them.”

“About time we didn't get a raider, feral wingless dragon, or kill-crazy machine,” a unicorn stallion said. His lapels sported the silver twin-tailed phoenix denoting a colonel.

So many officers. There were generals, colonels, lieutenants—no one was under the rank of a captain. Twilight wondered just what kind of military matters she was about to overhear. She craned her neck as she looked around the room, searching for anyone not in uniform, only to see that she was the only outlier.

“Now,” Grand General Tempest clopped a hoof onto the table, grabbing Twilight’s attention. “I think we should take a break. I haven’t had the chance to see Twilight all afternoon because of these endless meetings. We’ll rejourn tomorrow morning at oh-eight-hundred.”

Almost all the high-ranking ponies gave nods of approval or a small ‘here-here’ before everyone but Tempest shuffled from their seats to leave. As they all rose, the map table blipped off, and the room lights brightened, sending everyone wincing as their eyes adjusted. Once they recovered, many regarded Twilight with a small wave, nod, or brief hello as they passed.

Twilight reached the table and took a seat at her old throne. Across the table from her was Tempest, who had not taken a throne for herself. Twilight wondered if Tempest was making some sort of statement, or if it was the literal crystal-hard furniture that was the dealbreaker.

With her haunches already sore, Twilight figured it was likely the latter. Two century old barstools from the Wasteland had been more comfortable. The next time she was back, she would be investing in cushions.

“Hello, Twilight,” Tempest said once Twilight had settled down. Tempest didn’t smile, but she didn’t brush Twilight off as she maintained a neutral expression.

“I would greet you back with your name, but I don’t know which one to use,” Twilight said, her voice tense as she held her own neutral expression. If Tempest was back to using her old name, then she could also be back to her old ways. Twilight glanced down at the table, hoping to hide her discomfort at the thought by distracting herself. There were papers left on the table.

“For you, Twilight,” Tempest said slowly. Twilight looked up long enough to see a small smile had spread on Tempest’s face. “Fizzlepop will be fine. I only use Tempest around the soldiers to keep them from laughing.”

Twilight wanted to smile back. But as she looked back to the papers, she knew there was a problem that was about to trample her mood into a curb with all four hooves. The colonel who had been using her throne had terrible operational security.

Skimming the documents which had been left on the table, the hairs on the back of Twilight’s neck rose when she saw projections for expected recruitment numbers, weapon and armor production rates, and the research and development reports. However the last paper that Twilight saw wasn’t the final paper on the table, just the only one out of the group that held her attention. The title of the document was all she needed to see.

A report on the factions of the Wasteland and estimated likelihood of engaging Equestrian troops sent into Washington D.C. - Colonel Pike Ironhorn

“We’re not just preparing a defensive army, are we,” Twilight growled, leaving no room to confuse what she said was a question. She shifted her eyes without moving her head to glare across the table at Tempest.

“No,” Tempest said, narrowing her eyes at the papers in front of Twilight. She leaned forwards in her seat, her forehooves pressed together. “We’re planning on rescuing any Equestrian lost to the other side by any means necessary. With what the Wasteland has sent our way, we’re preparing to overmatch anything we encounter to ensure that they either negotiate with us, or are so irrelevant that we can defeat them with minimal risk to ourselves.”

Twilight’s head spun as dozens of scenarios flashed through her mind. Equestrians with the brutal efficiency of Tempest as their commander. The Storm King had been a power hungry buffoon. Tempest had been the one organizing the army. Now she had an army with guns. Twilight leapt from her seat before she could control herself.

“Are you crazy!?” Twilight shouted. “A show of force like that could provoke a war! Celestia would never approve!”

“Who approved my budget and chose me for this job!?” Tempest shot back, leaping up from her chair and slamming both forehooves on the table. “Twilight, the wastelanders aren’t like the Storm King. You’ve been to the other side.” She shook her head. “How many towns have you been to where you haven’t been shot at or nearly assaulted? Megaton and Rivet City? What about that school right on Megaton’s outskirts?”

Twilight jerked back. Had Celestia told Tempest everything that Daniel and Twilight had told her? Twilight raised a hoof to speak, but Tempest cut her off.

“We aren’t invading to seek a war or to annex the Wasteland,” Tempest said. “We’re only making sure we have enough soldiers to keep Equestria safe while reducing the Wasteland’s threat to us.”

Twilight’s stomach rolled into a knot. Everything had changed for the worse, and it was all out of her control. Celestia approved of what Tempest was doing, Twilight had already known that, but she still didn’t want to accept it. Celestia had even told Twilight herself that she wasn’t going to stop gun production.

Twilight collapsed into the back of her throne, throwing her front hooves over her eyes. How much was Celestia not telling her? What else had Celestia done behind her back?

“I-I’m gone for almost three weeks,” Twilight said, her breath hitching in her throat. “And when I get back, I find out Luna was nearly killed, my home and my school are military bases, and now ponies are gearing up for war. I just want things to go back to normal.”

“I do too, Twilight, I really do,” Tempest said, sitting back down in her seat. “But Celestia entrusted me to protect Equestria. If I have to send troops to the Wasteland to clear every raider nest I find to protect our people, I will do so.” She gestured with a hoof to wave at the whole room. “If it helps, we’re only occupying your school while a military base is being built. Same with the castle. Ground in Canterlot has already been broken for the real Equestrian War Department’s headquarters.”

It did help. But only just a little. Sighing heavily, Twilight shook her head.

“Any idea when Celestia will be back?” Twilight asked. She reached into her saddlebag and pulled out the checklist. “I have a few additions to what I want to bring. That’s why I came to see you—I need to get supplies before I go back.”

“My aide informed me of Celestia’s arrival about thirty minutes ago,” Tempest said, standing up. She shook her head slowly, eyes lingering on Twilight’s broken horn with a heavy frown. “I’ll go get her for you. Least I can do for another unicorn who lost their horn.”

“Thanks, Tempest,” Twilight said somberly. “I hope she can get me what I need on short notice.”

If everything was going topsy-turvy and Equestria was preparing for war, then Twilight would follow Fluttershy’s example and prepare the Wasteland for peace.

<>~<>~<>

The spell testing room was another one of the few rooms of her castle left to its original purpose despite the building being commandeered as the temporary Equestrian War Department. With the magic and science division in the basement, it made sense that they would keep the heavily reinforced, nearly barren room mostly unchanged.

The walls were the only real change. They had been additionally reinforced with the same magic-absorbing alloy that Tempest had used in the cage she had put Twilight in, back when Tempest was the evil right-hoof mare of the Storm King.

The meeting with Celestia had gone far better than seeing Tempest. There had been no shouting, and Celestia had loved her idea. The extra weight in Twilight’s new hiking backpack reassured her she was doing the right thing as she stood in front of Starswirl the Bearded. The tubular metal frame and padding of the backpack helped evenly distribute all of the weight that she carried. Twilight wasn’t even carrying all that much since Daniel had overloaded himself when he had volunteered to take more supplies than he could reasonably carry.

She inclined her head slightly. Daniel stood next to her, and she chuckled as his four legs trembled. His backpack was swollen like a well-fed tick.

“It’s not too late for me to start carrying our stuff more evenly,” Twilight said, absentmindedly brushing a hoof against the chestplate of the camouflage-painted royal guard armor that she wore over her Vault suit. Her new leg brace was enchanted to help assist her movement, rather than hinder it, so she could manage a bit more weight than before.

“Until your leg heals, I can carry a little–” He winced, almost buckling under the bulk of his overloaded pack, “extra.”

“Alright, goofball,” Twilight said with a smile. If he was determined to be a gentlecolt and ended up as a pancake under his backpack, that was his prerogative. She’d wait to insist on redistributing their packs when they made camp, which wouldn’t be long after getting to the other side. An overloaded backpack would slow Daniel down if he needed to run, and there were too many critical supplies to ditch and leave behind.

Twilight did have some spares of what Daniel carried, but not everything was available to double up on. Especially with Fluttershy choosing to bring back two raiders instead of just one. Five going back was a lot to pack two of everything for.

Fluttershy and the raiders she was bringing were off to the side in their own group standing closely to one another. Fluttershy had chosen to be sent back with Kerri and Slim Joe. They all had their own backpacks, with Fluttershy carrying the smallest backpack to make room for the powerful Equestrian relay antenna that she was lugging around on loan from DJ Pon-3. It would be easier for Three Dog to hook up at his radio station, rather than putting another dish back on the Washington Monument where the first one had been shot to pieces. Not to mention Three Dog wasn’t even sure if the dish he had seen in the museum would still be there. If the museum was occupied by super mutants, then the dish Fluttershy and Daniel had been going after was likely smashed apart or pulled off the mounting to be used as a super mutant’s shield.

Kerri burst into laughter and drew Twilight’s attention away from her thoughts. Kerri merrily continued whatever joke had led to her outburst with Fluttershy, laughing and smiling the entire time. Twilight wanted to tell Fluttershy to bring the other raiders, rather than the two she had chosen, but sighed as she recalled Fluttershy’s reasoning.

Paul had only killed one man in a drunken brawl which had got him kicked out of Rivet City. He had been the newest to the raider group, so his rap sheet was the cleanest. Ethan was the second best of the worst. Discord was going to try to handle reforming both of them.

That left Kerri and Slim Joe, one was addicted to so many chems that she didn’t remember half of what she had done, while the other was old enough to have a list of crimes longer than Twilight’s average checklist. Fluttershy wanted to personally care for Kerri, while Slim Joe freely admitted he was too soaked in evil to stay in Equestria.

And both of them were going back with Fluttershy. It sent Twilight’s fur crawling like ants were under her skin. She shifted her eyes to Discord, who stood behind a red line painted on the floor. His apprehensive expression was a mirror of Twilight’s own. Fluttershy was the type of person to dive headfirst into a fire if it meant saving an animal.

Twilight hoped her friend wasn’t going to get burned. When it came to Slim Joe, that might even be literal.

“Is everypony ready?” Starswirl asked. He lit up his horn, charging a spell.

“Yep!” Kerri shouted while she let out a cackling giggle. “I still can’t get over all the horse puns.” She flung a leg over Slim Joe, pulling him into a headlock before locking forelegs with Fluttershy. “Send us back, oh Gandalf the Grey!”

“See you soon, Discord,” Fluttershy said before she nodded to Starswirl. The old mage shot out a bolt of magic. There was no flash as it hit Fluttershy, or a slow fade away, just a sudden brain-bending absence of an entire group of people.

“That was smoother than expected,” Starswirl said, scratching his beard. “They were the ones who all came through the same portal, correct?”

“They did,” Daniel said. “It was Twilight who got pulled back by Celestia, and I arrived through the same portal Fluttershy went through. Why?”

“It means she might have ended up close to her intended destination. The additional outsider could have also assisted the spell sending her back to the other world.” Starswirl swished his mouth from side to side, still scratching his chin under his beard. “We’re so deep into the theoretical here that I didn’t even know if the spell was going to take effect. Unfortunately, with the added variables of you both leaving the Wasteland through different portals, I assume this will not be as smooth as Fluttershy’s return.”

He charged his horn for another spell.

“Ready?” He asked cautiously. “It’s not too late to try and find a safer way for you to get back.”

Twilight frowned. She could wait, but Starswirl had volumes and volumes of tomes to sort through. With her own personal library pillaged by the court mages in the basement, her own resources were unavailable. It could take days to track down every book and sort through them. Days Twilight couldn’t waste by waiting.

And besides her missing friends, she had the clock of the Equestrian military’s arrival ticking down.

“No time,” Twilight said as she hugged herself against Daniel, looping a leg through one of the straps of his backpack while Daniel did the same. They shared a nod, and Twilight turned her gaze to Celestia, who waved her goodbye from where she stood behind Starswirl.

“Ready,” Twilight and Daniel said in unison.

Twilight was not ready for what followed.

<>~<>~<>

The foul muddy soup Twilight had landed in grew even fouler as she collapsed onto her elbows and knees and retched once again. Another stream of vomit splattered onto the mud, quickly washed away by the torrential rain pouring down onto her.

It was dark, she was disoriented, but could hear Daniel moaning in pain near her. She crawled through the mud towards where she had heard him.

“Owww,” Daniel groaned loud enough to be heard over the rain. Twilight found him curled into a fetal position, his body changed just like hers into a human-pony mix. He groaned again before he retched into the mud.

Twilight tore her gaze away from the sight before she joined him in mutual agony. They needed to get out of this rain. She blinked fat raindrops out of her eyes, squinting to peer through the torrent. A light in the distance cut through the darkness like a beacon.

They had landed between a chain link fence and a ditch next to a cracked and sinking asphalt road. Luckily they hadn’t landed within the waterlogged ditch.

“Come on,” Twilight said. “We have to get moving. I see a light down the road.”

She reached a trembling hand to Daniel, who took her purple-furred hand with his brown-furred one. They stumbled together, helping one another stand with the nearby chain-link fence. Without it, Twilight doubted either of them could stand with the weight of their backpacks. Especially Daniel’s.

Twilight regretted not splitting the load before they had left. At least both of their backpacks were enchanted to be waterproof.

“Fuck,” Daniel cursed almost too quiet to hear over the rain. Pain pulled his features back into a grimace. “Next trip between realms is going to be the slow way, agreed?”

“Agreed,” Twilight said, before she clamped her mouth shut, bile tickling the back of her throat. She swallowed several times, thankfully fighting the oncoming rush back down.

Rough was an understatement to describe the dizzying transition back into the human world. It was an experience Twilight didn’t want to repeat.

She swallowed a few more times to make sure the sickness was well and truly fought off, using her hand on the fence to pull herself along it. Daniel took the lead in front of her.

Step by step, one hoof in front of the other, the pair shakily traveled towards the light.

“W-what time is it?” Twilight asked, drawing in ragged breaths. The spell had taken a lot out of her. She was glad to stop behind Daniel as he leaned against the chain link fence on one shoulder so could check his Pip-Boy.

“Ten fifteen P.M, September 2nd, 2277, Sunday,” Daniel read out, the light from the screen glinting off his new horn. “Same day as we left.”

It had been around ten P.M. when they had left Equestria. The date and day of the week were different from Equestria, but that was to be expected since Equestria had different names for the months and days.

“Good, no timey-wimey nonsense to deal with,” Twilight groaned.

With the time checked, they resumed their plodding trudge towards the light. It was so close yet so far away. Twilight only knew they were getting closer because the light was growing in size, and the building the bulb protruded from came into better view.

It was a tall brick building, with a steeply-arched A-framed roof. It was flanked by two small towers jutting halfway out of the front corners of the building, the towers themselves topped with domes. More details came into focus as they grew closer. Small stained-glass arched mosaic windows were evenly spaced around the building. The windows not boarded over were arranged into figures and scenery Twilight couldn’t make out due to the rain.

Twilight could only tell the windows were there because of the light from inside the building.

“Do you know what kind of building that is?” Twilight asked. They were so close, maybe fifty paces, but the chain-link fence had come to an end. They would have to make the rest of the trip without its help.

“I can’t see in the dark as well as you,” Daniel said. He took a shaky step away from the fence. Then another. A small wooden footbridge the length and width of a shopping cart spanned the ditch. Daniel tested the strength of the boards by putting his full weight on the first plank.

It creaked, but held. Slowly, he made his way to the other side. The short distance was almost enough to lose sight of him with his gray combat armor and muddy-brown fur. Twilight knew he couldn’t see her. She took several steps away from the fence towards the bridge. Even after a few unsupported steps she was almost ready to fall over.

She hadn’t even crossed the bridge yet.

Taking a deep breath, Twilight took the first step onto the bridge. Then another. The wood creaked under her meager weight, but if it had held Daniel with all the gear he was lugging, then it could hold her. As her hoof touched the ground on the other side of the bridge, her hoof sank into the mud. The sudden shift sent her falling into Daniel’s arms, the impact sending Daniel down with her.

They lay groaning in the muddy road crossing in front of the building, rain beating down on their fur as they had collapsed only a few dozen paces from the brick steps leading to the double doors.

They lay there for several moments before the doors opened. Framed in the light was an older man wearing a black set of pants and dress shirt. A tight white collar pressed into his adam's apple. His skin was deep brown, almost like Lucas Simms.

He wasn’t looking at them. Instead, he had pressed his back against the door. He shook the hand of the first of many humans about to exit the large building.

“H-hey!” Twilight called out, her throat dry and scratchy despite all of the rain. She rolled onto her hands and knees, the sight of people giving her the strength to force herself back up to stand.

Once she was up, she leaned down and held out a hand for Daniel to try and pull himself up. He grabbed the outstretched hand, but it only ended with her weakened legs buckling. She fell back down with a splash of muddy water, nearly landing atop Daniel, who grimaced in pain.

Twilight’s gaze shot back to the open door of the building. The black-dressed man had raced down the steps towards where Twilight and Daniel lay.

“Hello?” he asked, his voice apprehensive, but hidden underneath a thin layer wavering calm. “By the good lord, you poor things.”

He reached a hand out to both of them.

“Come inside and dry off,” the man said as he pulled Twilight and Daniel to their hooves. He took one of their arms each and pulled them over his shoulders, allowing them both to lean on him as he plodded towards the double doors. “You poor souls are welcome in my Father’s house.”

“Your father?” Twilight asked, blinking rainwater and mud out of her eyes. “Will he let us stay for the night?”

With the man’s assistance, they made great pace towards the doors. The humans who had been about to leave the building had instead waited just past the threshold. Dozens of curious faces watched them as they approached.

“It would be against His nature to turn away world-weary travelers,” The man said. “‘For in the day of trouble He will keep me safe in his dwelling; He will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock.’”

“That sounds like one of the psalms,” Daniel said from the other side of the man. They had reached the steps and began to climb. An awning over the porch kept the rain off them as they stepped into the light.

“It is,” the man said. Several of the humans beyond the door gasped as they saw Twilight and Daniel, but the man supporting them didn’t balk as the light illuminated them. “Are you a practitioner of the faith?”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. Faith? So the man was a priest, and his father was metaphorical. They were about to enter a church. Twilight waited patiently for Daniel’s reply, but was worried he wouldn’t answer the man as he maintained a long pause.

A pause long enough for them to pass the threshold into the building. It was far, far larger than Twilight had been able to see from the rainstorm. The interior was well lit, and consisted of what Twilight could see to be almost entirely one massive room. A large stage was at the back, while between it and the door were dozens of benches flanking either side of a long red carpet.

The space was kept warm by large braziers made from metal barrels cut in half and set on tripods. The raging fires within chased away the dampness soaking Twilight through.

“Not for a while,” Daniel finally said. “But my mother was until she died. Are you Catholic?”

“I am what my Father needs me to be,” the man replied back quickly. “Dividing the flock into denominations is a needless frivolity. We have enough to argue and fight over in this life, so we might as well not argue over something that doesn’t matter.” He set them both down onto a bench at the back of the first row. “We all go to one place or the other in the end.”

He stepped back from Twilight and Daniel, looking over them both with a friendly smile. The other humans looked at them with mixtures of curiosity or worry.

“Thank you for the hospitality,” Twilight said, leaning forwards in the seat to rest her elbows on her knees. “I’m Twilight Sparkle, this is Daniel Neeson. What should I call you?”

“You can call me Reverend Josiah Smith, or just reverend, preacher, whatever is fine,” Reverend Smith said, dismissively waving his hand. “Now, I hope I don’t sound too presumptive, but you two look like mercenaries.”

Both Twilight’s and Daniel’s armor and bodies were caked in mud, and she looked like a manticore’s chew toy. It was an easy assumption to make.

“Looks that way,” Twilight said, stretching the truth. She’d just met these people, and despite them being hospitable, Twilight wasn’t going to tell them everything until she learned more about them. For all she knew they had skeletons in every closet. “Are you offering us work?”

Reverend Smith nodded.

“We can discuss the details in the morning. I have something I need armed mercenaries to ensure that it reaches where it needs to go, but for now, I’m going to go grab you two towels.” He turned and pointed to two doors. “There is a guest room right through that door, and that door.”

“Separate rooms?” Twilight asked, her body going rigid. “I-Is there a chance Daniel and I could share a room?”

Daniel placed a hand on her shoulder, reminding her to breathe.

“No offense, Reverend,” Daniel said, “I know what the good book says about sleeping together when we’re not married, but splitting apart from one another in a new place is a dealbreaker.”

Reverend Smith shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Then you should know I can’t let sin, even well meaning sin, happen on my watch in this house of God. You can either sleep separately here, or find somewhere else to stay. That decision is final.”

A strong wind buffeted the roof, rain pounded the shingles to echo through the church like a constant drumbeat. There would be no pitching the two-person tent that they brought in this weather.

“Does anyone else have a place we can stay?” Twilight asked, turning her head. She gawked at the crowd, desperately hoping her wide eyes and expression were enough pleading without having to resort to begging.

Her gaze fell on each individual in the crowd one after the other, until finally one person stepped forwards. A man, dressed in a shirt and pants that had been patched and repaired so many times his clothing looked like quilts.

“What if you marry ‘em together right ‘ere an’ now, Rev?” The man asked, his accent thicker than Applejack’s. “I don’t see how’d it be a sin then, if’n they were husband and wife. Ain’t nonna us else gonna’ house em’, cause we don’t wanna risk catching whatever mutation gave ‘em fur all over everythin’.” He shook his head. “And if you think it through, Rev, it would be safer an’ cheaper for the town. Only one mattress we’d ‘av to burn after they leave, and only one room we’d ‘av to keep an eye on.”

Twilight faced Revered Smith. He stared at the man with the quilt-like clothes for several long moments before he sighed heavily, slumped his shoulders, and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“I’ll go get the bible,” Reverend Smith said defeatedly.

“Alright everyone, who wants to walk through the rain or watch a weddin’?” The quilt-wearing man nearly shouted as he walked towards the pews at the front of the room. Several members of the crowd muttered to each other before they turned and followed behind.

“What’s going on?” Twilight asked, watching the humans find seats and sit down.

“I think our first kiss will be after we say ‘I do’,” Daniel groaned under his breath.

Twilight blinked several times. Her brain was trying to catch up with what had happened.

“So is this really happening?” Twilight asked. “We’re about to get married on a whim? The idea was to take things slower… this is–”

“Absolutely crazy,” Daniel said with an exasperated chuckle. “I know.” He leaned close to Twilight and whispered. “This is only to get a warm place to sleep tonight, we can take things as slow or fast as we’re comfortable with. This ‘wedding’ doesn't really have to mean we’re married. We don’t even have rings.”

Twilight didn’t have a dress either. Or her best friends as bridesmaids. Spike could even be the ring bearer. He had loved being the ring bearer for Shining and Cadence’s wedding.

As Twilight sat there with Daniel, both of them still covered in mud, she wondered how her other friends were faring. She hoped they were doing better than she was at the moment.