"Hope I'm not interrupting anything important."
Twilight tried to blink back a small batch of tears as her mind ran through the words for the fifth time. First Words were unique and absolute. Even if they seemed like an incredibly common phrase, the magic behind them would prevent anyone from saying exactly that phrase to you until after you'd met your twin soul. Centuries of research had shown that to be the case. Plus, the words had to be said to you, rather than simply spoken.
Said to you...
Twilight brought her hoof to her chest, breathing in and out slowly as she calmed herself. That had to be it. Cadance wasn't speaking those words to her, she was speaking them to Shining Armor. That had to be it. Pure happenstance that she chose those words, but not entirely outside the realm of possibilities, right?
"Are you OK, Twilie?" Shining Armor looked at her with concern. "Your panic attacks are getting worse, aren't they? It took you longer than usual to break out of that one."
"Sorry, Big Brother Best Friend Forever. I just..." She turned to look at Cadance. "I thought I'd heard my First Words. But, that's impossible. Cadance was teas-"
The mare in question cleared her throat. "That's Princess Mi Amore Cadenza."
Twilight looked confused for a moment. Hadn't Cadance told her all those years ago she hated using that name?
"Please forgive my sister, love. She's still working herself out of a panic attack."
"Spend some time with your sister, Shining. I will be in my quarters for the time being." Cadance simply turned to walk away. As she left, Twilight was absolutely certain she could make out a slight hiss.
"I'm sorry about Cadance, Twilie. Between the wedding as well as the threats against us, as well as offering up more than a small portion of her magic to help fuel the shield spell, she's been rather cranky of late." Shining and the Element Bearers walked down the hallway of Canterlot Castle towards the rooms they would be staying in over the weekend. "Most of her day has been spent in her room of late. I'm sure once everything passes, she'll be back to the mare you remember. But, enough of that! I'm sure everypony knows what will be expected of them, yes?"
Rainbow Dash was the first to chime in. "One Sonic Rainbow for the ceremony. No problem at all!"
"Food ain't gonna be a problem fer us, Yer Highness. Just need ta find the kitchen and git them chefs ta work."
Rarity smiled gently. "I took the liberty of renting a small boutique here in Canterlot just for this. There won't be any problems with preparing your wedding attire, Your Highness. I promise you that."
Fluttershy hid at the back of the group, her voice wavering slightly. "The... The animals will all be ready to sing."
Twilight just looked around nervously. "You need to answer!" She really hadn't been given much to do in terms of the wedding, so she wasn't sure what would be expected of her. Just as she was about to voice that, however, Pinkie Pie spoke up softly.
"Y-Yeah, the deserts and entertainment for the party will be ready. No need to worry."
"Wonderful news! I trust you will keep everyone to task, right Twilie?"
"Me?"
"Of course!" Shining chuckled. "Isn't it the responsibility of the Mare of Honor to make sure things run smoothly?
Twilight simply beamed. This was something she could do.
"As always, it is wonderful to see you again, my most faithful student. And your friends, as well. I hope you will bring the same level of joy to this wedding that you did for the last Grand Galloping Gala." Celestia smiled down at the girls with a slight glint in her eyes as they all shuffled their front hooves slightly. Shining Armor had insisted that it wasn't necessary for them to bother the Princess with questions about the security of the city, but Twilight had insisted one seeing her old mentor before they started any serious wedding preparations.
"O-Of course not, Princess Celestia. We'll be making sure my brother's wedding goes off perfectly."
"I'm sure you will, Twilight. There's no need to worry about that. However, I must let you know of one small change to the guest list."
"What's that? Who's coming now? How many more cakes do we need?" Pinkie Pie burst in, obviously already planning what she'd need to add in.
"Not add, I'm afraid. My sister won't be able to attend."
The six mares looked at her in confusion.
"While Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Shining Armor are both adamant that the shield and added guard presence will be enough to protect them from any threats, my sister simply was not convinced. She insisted on taking what few loyal guard ponies she has managed to train to defend the city from outside the shield."
"Is the threat really that serious?"
Celestia simply shook her head. "I cannot say for certain. However, I heard of it from a trusted source, which leaves me little doubt that it is possible somepony is at least planning to attack the royal wedding."
Rainbow Dash stood tall, hoof to her chest. "No sweat, Princess. Anypony tries something, and we'll stop 'em."
Celestia concealed a small chuckle behind her hoof. "I am certain you will. But, for now, go about getting ready for the wedding."
Twilight was locked in a mental debate as her hoofs moved her forward of their own will, her brow furrowed deeply. She knew her friends would need some time to get settled in and prepare for a visit from Cadance and herself to finalize plans for tomorrow's wedding. That meant she would have more than enough time to try to look into how she could have heard her First Words from someone she'd spoken with for years. It just didn't fit with everything she had learned about a Soul Mark. Obviously the library would be the best option for where to go in order to do some research, but which was the better option? Should she go to the city library in Canterlot? Or should she try her luck with the Palace Archives?
"Lady Twilight?"
The called-out unicorn looked up to see a pegasus guardspony blocking her path. Behind said pegasus was the forbidden section of the archives. Apparently her own body has decided her course for her, even as her mind tried to piece things together.
"Y-Yes?"
The guardspony cleared their throat, apparently somewhat nervous for some reason. "I... I'm afraid I cannot let you in without Princess Celestia present. Her orders, I'm afraid. D-Don't know anything more than that. You'd have to ask her yourself." "Calm down, Blitz."
Adding to her confusion, Twilight just looked at the guard for a moment. "That's quite alright. Just, got a little lost in thought. I doubt what I needed would be in there anyways. C-Carry on."
"Yes ma'am!"
With a slight shake of her head, Twilight turned around and made her way back to the front desk of the palace archive. Trying to figure out why a guard was nervous around her of any pony would just have to be added to the growing list of odd things to research today.
"We need to make our move, before it's too late!"
A collection of roughly thirty ponies stood under the deep shadows of one of Canterlot city's ledges, speaking among themselves in hushed tones.
"Too late?" One of the ponies, a thestral, laughed at the words. "My friend, we were too late the moment that shield spell was cast. There's no entry for us now, I'm afraid. The Princess will just have to make due with the assets she has available on the inside, should the time comes."
Yet another pony, this one a light purple unicorn, spoke up in response. "Will they be enough?"
"They'll have to be." A new voice chimed in. "We have no other choice."
Every pony in the group turned to face the new voice, before instantly dropping in a bow.
Author's Note
"You said it'd be 1800 words!"
"You said it still have more to be added last Saturday!"
"You said it would be out Saturday morning!"
Yeah... yeah, I know... Sorry all. It's a bit shorter than I had planned. Thing is, the next two chapters revolve around Twilight's interactions with the rest of the Mane 6 in preparation for the wedding. I had another 500 or so words that I wanted to add in to this chapter, but doing so was proving to be a real hang-up until I realize that their proper place was at the beginning of the next chapter. Once I moved them over, this chapter just felt 'done'. So, I figured, 'what the hay' and did an early release.
