A Not-So-Royal Las Pegasus Wedding

Rarity hummed to herself as she threaded a long, white silk ribbon across the wooden rafters of the ceiling of the Ponylaggio’s Chapel of Love, taking pride in the fact that Starlight put her in charge of the decorations. After all, only her refined sense of fabulosity would suffice for such a grand occasion!

The sound of approaching hoofsteps caught Rarity’s attention. Pinkie Pie skipped into the chapel, smiling as always.

“I brought you balloons like you asked, Rarity!”

“Thank you, dar-Wa-ha-haaa!” Rarity’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped as Pinkie pranced up, holding a large cluster of balloons in every color of the rainbow with no white to be found whatsoever.

“Pinkie, this is not a birthday party. This is a wedding!”

“Indeedily! That’s why I brought extra!”

“Those are an eyesore! When you decorate for a wedding, you must strictly abide by the bride and groom’s desired color scheme. Two or three– at most, four– soft colors that don’t clash. They’ve requested the traditional white, lavender for Starlight and-”

Pinkie Pie, having let go of the balloons, dunked her head into Rarity’s box of decorations and came back up with a tangerine streamer draped across her nose. “Orange for Sunburst?”

“Actually, Pinkie, that shade is called tangerine.”

Cocking her head, Pinkie held the streamer in front of her face. “Looks like plain old orange to me. Ooh! I’m gonna call it ‘tangerorange!”

A sudden loud pop rang in Rarity’s ears. She looked up and saw that Pinkie’s balloons had come to rest at the ceiling and one of them had burst upon touching it. Rarity cleared her throat and pointed upward.

“Oops,” Pinkie offered.

Rarity sighed to compose herself and smiled as she grabbed the balloons with her magic. “Pinkie, dearest, will you please remove this garish rainbow of balloons from the room? They’re breaking my focus.”

“Did somepony say my name?” Rainbow Dash asked as she flew into the chapel.

“Oh. Greetings, Rainbow Dash,” Rarity said.

“Hiya, Dashie!”

“Hey, Rarity. Pinkie.” Rainbow paused to look around the room. “Um, Rarity, these aren’t all the colors you’re going to use, are they? I mean, there’s no rainbow and not enough dash.”

“Oh, not you, too…” Rarity mumbled. “If you two are here simply to criticize my artistic sense, you might as well–”

A sound like chirping birds interrupted Rarity in mid-sentence. She looked to the main door and saw that’s precisely what it was: Fluttershy had arrived with a full choir of her feathered friends.

Rarity gritted her teeth and swallowed the growing frustration, replacing it with a smile. “Fluttershy, darling, do you really think it’s appropriate to have birds in a wedding chapel?”

A cardinal came to rest on Fluttershy’s hoof and tweeted. “Starlight asked me to have these sweethearts provide music for the wedding. Don’t worry, you’ll hardly even notice them.”

“Wedding music must be played on a piano or organ, not chirped out by birds. I can’t have them getting their dirty feathers all over the decorations.”

A note of worried protest entered Fluttershy's voice. “But… Starlight requested them! And they’re not dirty, Rarity. I made sure they all had baths this morning.”

“Very well,” Rarity sighed. “I do trust your judgment, and I respect Starlight’s decision, but if they get any bird droppings on my wedding dress—”

“That’s not your dress,” Rainbow said.

“I designed it!”

Pinkie edged up to Rarity. “Um, do you remember the time we went to Appleloosa and the buffalo and ponies were going to fight and I sang a song?”

Rarity's eyes grew wide. “You wouldn't!”

“Will if you don't apologize and play nice!” Pinkie replied, half singing that last word.

Rarity sighed. “Very well. Apologies all around.”

Pinkie closed her eyes and smiled. “And Rainbow's right, it's not your wedding, it’s Starlight’s! Speaking of which, I should probably get started on the cake.”

“You mean you haven’t even begun?!” Rarity asked. Though she was talking to Pinkie Pie. That inscrutable pony could probably finish a wedding cake in less than an hour.

The doors flew open, pulling Rarity’s attention away from Pinkie Pie and to Sunburst charging into the room, a look of alarm on his face. “Red alert! Red alert! My mother’s on her way to check out the chapel. Right now!”

Rarity smiled. There were few things as endearing as the bond between mother and son. “Oh, that’s splendid news. I’ll be delighted to meet her.”

“You don’t understand. My mom is the nitpickiest pony I know. She’ll criticize everything you do! Fluttershy, hide those birds! She'll say they’re dirty!”

Fluttershy nodded, sending a satisfied glance Rarity's way as she ordered them out of view into the rafters.

It wouldn’t be the first time Rarity had her work critiqued, and she knew it wouldn’t be the last. It was part of being an artist. “Well, mothers are like that, darling. Don’t worry, I have everything well in hoof.”

An auburn, middle-aged unicorn mare appeared and took a moment to look around the chapel before letting out a disappointed sigh. “You see, Sunburst? This is why I told you not to put somepony else in charge of the decorations. They’re not even half-finished yet. And white is so old-fashioned.” She reached out with her magic and tore down one of the white ribbons Rarity had threaded across the ceiling. A feather from one of Fluttershy’s blue jays floated down with it, which Sunburst’s mother eyed with an expression of disgust. “And look, a filthy feather. They don’t even keep this chapel clean of birds. Not that I’d expect any better from Las Pegasus.”

“I beg your pardon, madam!” Rarity said, anger welling in her chest as she looked Sunburst’s mother in the eyes. “I am the one in charge of decorations. Who are you to barge in here and belittle and destroy my hard work, and without even properly introducing yourself?”

“Oh, you must be Rarity. I’m Stellar Flare. Pleasure to meet you, and I appreciate the effort, but what this really needs is a mother’s touch. Sunburst, dear, do you have everything planned out for tomorrow?”

“Mom,” Sunburst butted in, “please don’t start already. Starlight and I have everything under control.”

“That doesn’t mean your mother can’t help,” Stellar Flare said, pushing Rarity away. “Step aside, dear. I say instead of boring old white, why not something more contemporary? I’m thinking… sparkling gold.”

Rarity felt her cheeks flare and she grunted her frustration as she stepped back in front of Stellar. “I'll have you know I've overseen Princess Cadence's wedding in Canterlot and have the full confidence of Princess Celestia. Now pardon me, but you’re being quite rude. Starlight and Sunburst trusted me with the decor, and I’ll not have my work insulted by the likes of you!”

Stellar scowled and went nose-to-nose with Rarity. “Now see here, I want my Sunburst to have a wedding worthy of the smart, successful, hardworking stallion he is! All I’m doing is offering my opinion.”

Rarity matched Stellar’s glare. “What you are doing is marching in here, giving orders and impeding my work. At this rate, I’ll never have the chapel decorated!”

“With your aesthetic sense, it might as well not be!”

The insult jarred Rarity and she gasped, pulling her head back. “Wh-wh-what?! Now you listen here; I don’t care if you are the mother of the groom. If you want flash and flair, go decorate for a fashion show or the circus!”

With a gasp of her own, Stellar Flare turned her back to Rarity, holding her nose high in indignation. “Well, I never! If that’s the way it’s going to be, then let’s let Sunburst decide. Your choice, sweetie: Your mother or some stuffed-up prima-donna?”

Another backfire welled up in Rarity’s throat. She decided to hold it in long enough for Sunburst to choose.

Sunburst sighed his exasperation. “Mom, Rarity knows what she’s doing; Starlight and I trust her. And we don’t want a flashy, bombastic wedding, just something small and simple.”

Rarity allowed the insult to come out as a sigh of relief and she puffed out her chest in superiority. Sunburst picking her side was victory enough.

“Well, you can cross ‘break mother’s heart’ off of your to-do list,” Stellar Flare sighed. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going back to my room. I’ll need a hot bath before tonight’s rehearsal dinner.” With that, she stepped out of the chapel, nose in the air.

“Thank you, Sunburst,” Rarity said. “What nerve…”

“Yeah!” Rainbow butted in. “Who does that old crone think she is?!”

“That ‘old crone’ is my mom,” Sunburst flatly reminded her.

Rainbow offered Sunburst an awkward smile, knowing she may have crossed a line. “Hey, sorry.”

“Not totally unwarranted,” Sunburst answered. He turned for the main doors. “Rehearsal dinner’s in one hour, at the Tartarus’ Kitchen restaurant. Starlight's already there, I'm going to meet up with her. Don't be late!”

Rarity allowed herself a breath of relief when Sunburst left. “Well, if I could be allowed to work without any more—”

“Is there a Miss Rarity in here?” came a male voice that Rarity didn’t recognize.

“What now?!” Rarity shouted, her voice a mix of a hiss and scream.

A delivery stallion walked up to the altar pulling a small cart stacked with boxes. “Just here to deliver the party favors that the bride and groom ordered, ma’am.”

Rarity sighed, her expression softening as the stallion unhitched his cart. “I apologize for snapping at you. Thank you, darling. You’re a peach.”

The delivery pony’s cheeks reddened as he scratched the back of his head. Without another word, he trotted out of the chapel.

“He’s not a peach, silly, he’s a pony!” Pinkie said. “This is a peach!”

Pinkie grabbed a fresh peach from her mane, stuffed the whole fruit into her mouth, and swallowed it in one gulp. “Mmm, yummy!”

Rarity didn’t bother asking where or how Pinkie got that peach; she’d decided years ago when it came to her pink friend, she was better off not knowing.

“Pinkie, darling,” Rarity huffed, “don’t you have a cake to bake?”

Pinkie drew a gasp with such force that it suspended her in midair. In a pink blur she vanished from the chapel.

Rarity took another deep breath of relief. “Finally, some peace and—”

Birds began chirping harmoniously as Fluttershy led them in practice for the wedding. Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash, through her vigorous flapping, somehow managed to snag one of the white ribbons on a loose nail sticking from the ceiling’s wooden beams.

The sound ripping fabric pierced the air as Rainbow tried to pry the ribbon loose. Rarity’s eye twitched as she watched the same ribbon flutter to the ground in two separate pieces.

Take a deep breath now, Rarity. They’re your friends. They mean no harm, but these distractions just won’t do!

Rarity cleared her throat and regarded them with a smile. “Fluttershy, Rainbow, you know you are both so very dear to me, so please don’t take what I’m about to say personally.”

Their faces both silently asked the same question.

“Out, out, out!” Rarity jumped between each word. “Everypony out!”

Fluttershy’s birds followed as she and Rainbow Dash flew out of the cathedral. Rarity glanced around to be sure she was alone and picked up the white streamer Stellar Flare had torn down.

“Okay, Rarity. Let’s make this chapel look fabulous!”