Chapter 6: An Unexpected Wedding

"Twilight, I'm happy for your brother, and I understand you're upset. But seriously, why do I have to go to the wedding?" I nagged at Twilight after telling me about her brother, Shining Armor's, upcoming wedding.

"Well first, I'm your best friend, so I'm telling you to," she glared at me, "And all of us were invited, and you're in charge of looking after the girls."

I didn't mind that part, I had babysat for Scootaloo and the gang for a few of their 'Cutie Mark Crusader' sleepovers.

"But I don't even know your brother! Why was I invited?" I exclaimed, still trying to fight it to no avail as she ignored me.

She kept on ranting to herself about how her brother hadn't invited her in person, which was understandable.

"I just can't believe Shining Armor wouldn't tell me about his wedding; I'm his sister!" she continued.

"Twi, I'm sure he had a good reason, you said Captain of the Royal Guard correct? That's a huge job!" I said, trying to calm her down.

She had none of that, "So? One hour away from Canterlot would hurt absolutely nothing!"

I gave up trying to calm my friend down.

"Alright Twi, alright. Well we had better go then, the train is about to arrive," I finally said.

She gave me a annoyed huff and we to the train station to join the others.

Well, I had decided to myself that I hated trains. This thing rocked at every turn and was beyond loud; I really wish I still had my hover board.

"Maybe I could talk to someone about that..." I thought to myself until Scootaloo jumped onto my lap.

"I can't believe I have to be a frilly little flower girl! Ugh," she grumbled.

Applebloom and Sweetie Belle were very much more excited as they bounced around the train cart.

"C'mon Scoot it won't be so bad, you'll look cute," I told her.

Her big eyes remained grumpy as she said, "I don't want to look cute! I want to look cool."

I laughed as the words left her mouth, definitely Tamra.

"You look cool at everything you do squirt. Trust me, you'll be okay. And I have to wear a tuxedo..do you know how long it's been since I've worn one?" I assured her.

She looked at me, now curious.

"How long?" she asked.

"Never!" I laughed, which made her also, "Alright, let me go talk to the girls okay? I gotta go over whats going on."

She dropped down and went over to play with the two other fillies.

I walked over to Applejack who just came from talking to Twilight.

"Hey A.J, is she still freaking out?" I asked.

"Hey there Evan; yeah she is. I tried to calm her down but she's more upset than a snake in the snow," she said in her country drawl.

I laughed at the comparison.

"Don't worry, I'll go talk to her. Keep an eye on the girls for me would ya?" I said as I walked over to Twilight.

"Sure thing Sugarcube, good luck with that one." she chuckled as she went to watch the trio.

Twilight was just staring angrily out of the window, directly at Canterlot.

"Hey Twi, do you wanna talk about it some more?" I asked her.

She glanced at me then back out the window.

"Actually," she started, "When we arrive at Canterlot I'm going to go have a talk with my brother. And you're coming with me."

"Wait what? I mean, sure I'll go with you. But why?" I asked confused.

"Well you want to know why you were invited, and I want to know why it was just an invitation sent to me instead of him in person. So, you're coming with me." she ordered.

I just put my hands up and said, "Alright alright Twi, I'll go."

There was no sense in arguing with her so I just walked back and sat with Applejack and the girls and waited for the train to stop.

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As Twilight lead me through the maze of gardens in Canterlot, we had finally reached the main guard barracks. I really didn't care why I was invited, and Twilight knew that also, so I expected she just wanted to introduce me or just have me along. As she walked ahead, I looked at the large barrier around the whole city.

"Wow, whoever did this has to be feeling the effects. That takes a lot of magic, a lot of strain," I said to Twilight, but she was trotting ahead angrily not paying attention.

I shook my head and continued, hoping that Pinkie could keep a good eye on the girls while I was away.

"You've got a lot of explaining to do Mister!" Twilight shouted ahead of me.

I looked up to see a large white unicorn colt, with a mane that sort of looked like Twilight's but with shades of blue, that had to be her brother.

"Twily!" the colt said excitedly as he ran down the stairs to greet her, "It's so good to see y-"

He paused noticing her anger.

"Hey. what's wrong with you?" he asked.

Twilight then explained, and he finally looked up to see me after.

"Well hey there, you must be Evan! I've heard a lot about you," he said, putting out a hoof.

I shook his hoof and offered a smile.

"Yeah that's me, and I've..heard about you also," I said, unsure as Twilight glared at me.

"Thanks for coming on such short notice. When I heard my sister befriended a human, I had to invite you, can't leave anyone out right?" he chuckled.

I saw Twilight's face agape, and so did he. She was about to go off again but he quickly calmed her and explained why he couldn't come in person. Apparently a threat was made against Canterlot and Shining Armor powered the force field by himself, which Twilight finally accepted.

"Well I'm still ticked that you're marrying someone I don't know! Who is this Princess Mi Amore Cadenza anyway?" she asked.

The colt chuckled as he answered, "Twilight, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza is Cadence! Your old foal sitter!"

Twilight's face went to shock but then happily started bouncing around excitedly. I was just standing silently, quietly hoping to myself no one said this Cadence's full name anymore, as the door next to me slammed open.

"Hope I'm not interrupting anything?" a very demanding voice said, followed by a pink alicorn with a mane of many colors.

That had to be this princess, which it was as Twilight turned around excitedly.

"Cadence!" she exclaimed and hopped over to her and playfully sung her childhood rhyme, "Sunshine sunshine, lady bugs awake, clap your hooves and do a little shake!"

Cadence just looked at her with a smug frown and said "What are you doing?"

Twilight looked confused but still smiled.

"Cadence it's me! Twilight!" she squeed, only to get an 'Uh-huh' as the princess walked past her.

That kind of set me off; I already wasn't too fond of the royalty here but this princess was pushing it. She walked over to Shining Armor and noticed me leaning against a wall.

"What is a human doing here? Shouldn't you be fighting that war in the wasteland you call a country?" she said bluntly.

Twilight and Shining both looked completely stunned, and I felt rage run through my blood as my hands suddenly lit up in flames.

"Who in the krifing hell do you think you're talking to?" I shouted, my eyes now aglow with my cyan aura, and my hands an inferno.

I felt Twilight put a hoof on my arm.

"Evan, it's okay calm down," she said quietly.

I looked back over to the pair and Shining Armor spoke up.

"Hey I'm sorry, its okay Evan. She didn't mean a word of that, did you hun?" he said, glaring at Cadence.

"No, I didn't. I apologize, I've just been stressing out lately and it got the better of me," she said, still smug.

I was still furious, but Twilight always calmed me down when rage took over, so I extinguished my hands and my eyes went back to normal. I simply stood there, beating down the alicorn with a hateful stare.

"Well uh, we need to wrap some stuff up with the wedding, so, it was great to see you again Twily, and nice meeting you Evan. I'll see the both of you later," Shining Armor said.

"Likewise," added Cadence, as they went off, leaving Twilight and me.

"What in Equestria was that all about?" Twilight almost yelled, "That wasn't the Cadence I remembered. She would have never said those things, and it seemed like she didn't even recognize me!"

"Well. I already don't like her," I simply said, "but we have other things to worry about then some stuck up bride to be."

Twilight still seemed upset but nodded and said, "Yeah lets go, I have to go see how everyone is doing and you have to watch the girls."

As we made our way to our destinations I made on last look up at the force field above us and something caught my eye. It was a tiny black spot which seemed to be flying around just above the barrier. I shrugged it off as a bird who was curious and continued on my way.

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After a long day of helping Scootaloo and the other two fillies rehearse their roles, I was invited to go out and relax with the gang. I made it to the quaint cafe and sat down in between Applejack and Rainbow Dash and ordered myself some tea.

"Well hey there hot shot," Dash said, "didn't think you'd make it in time, now that you're filly sittin'."

I gave her a smirk and retorted jokingly, "Yeah, but I kinda like it. Especially now that Scoot doesn't view you as her idol anymore; that's been thrown onto me."

A spot of jealously formed on her face but quickly turned to laughter as she realized I was joking.

"So, anybody seen Twilight? Is she still stressing out?" I asked the group.

"Yup, here she is now!" Applejack said as Twilight walked over and joined us.

Everyone could tell she was still upset as she sat down.

"Hey Twi, how are you feeling?" I asked her.

I knew how she felt, but I had to ask.

She just looked at me with stressed eyes and exclaimed, "Terrible! I don't know what happened to her but Cadence turned into such a jerk!"

"Oh darling, what are you saying? The Princess is such a gem!" Rarity piped in.

I turned to her and glared a hole through her head and she went silent.

"How can you think she's so great? I told you what she said to Evan!" she said glancing at me with a caring face.

I sat there and waited for a response, just to see what anyone would say. Rainbow Dash was the first one to comment about it.

"Yeah that was a bit harsh. But honestly," she paused looking at me with a face that said 'no offense', as I just stared and added, "Think about the shock and stress mix as she suddenly sees a human at her wedding. I'm sure that was just it guys."

I just turned my head away from her.

She started to say, "Evan, c'mon I didn-"

I cut her off and snapped, "Stop Dash. Just. Stop. It's funny how you think it's completely okay for her to insult everything I am and then try to defend her. I really appreciate that Element of Loyalty."

Her eyes widened with hurt, the others staring at me in shock except for Twilight, who was on my side.

"Evan...you know I'm not-" Rainbow Dash tried to continue but I cut her off once again.

"I said Stop," I said sharply.

My eyes glowed from anger as I yelled at the pegasus. I got up and started walking back to my room, hearing Twilight yell this time behind me, and she walked off in the other direction towards her brother's house. I took one look back and saw everyone looking either at me or Twilight walking away, and then I saw the look on Dash's face, scrunched up in hurt and a few tears forming. I just turned around and put my jacket's hood over my head and let them deal with my anger.

As I made it to my room, my anger still boiled my blood.

"There was no excuse for that, no defense for outright insulting me," I thought to myself, still bitter over what Dash had tried to do.

I decided I'd try to sleep it off but stopped mid-thought as I opened my door. I heard something in my room, like the sound of someone snoring. I walked over to my bed and gently lit a small ball of fire in my hand. As I did, I realized it was Scootaloo. I don't even know how she knew what room was mine but I didn't move her, of course. She had kicked off the sheets in her sleep and her little body was shaking in the cool night air. I carefully covered her up and sat on a padded armchair next to the bed. My anger subsided a bit, but not by much,  and I rested my head against the wall and finally fell asleep.

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I woke up the next morning to the sound of crash, which made me shoot out of my chair, ready for anything. Instead of anything malevolent, I saw Scootaloo standing next to the large dresser in the room, with a shattered vase at her feet. She grinned at me in guilt and gave me a nervous chuckle.

"Well..I guess I can cross off a cutie mark for room service, huh hehe.." she said.

I rolled my eyes at the filly and levitated the broken pieces into the trash can.

"I don't think you'd like that kind of special talent anyway, huh?" I said, finally giving her a smile.

"So, can you tell me why I found you here last night? Obstructing me from a comfortable nights rest you little squirt," I kidded with her.

"Well," she started.

"You could have gotten into bed still, so that's your fault, dork," she shot back.

I put up my hands in pretend defeat and laughed.

"And Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle had rooms with their sisters and then there was me, so maybe I snuck in here and fell asleep!" she said matter-o-factly.

"Well alright, you little punk, go get ready for the wedding rehearsal, okay? I gotta bring you three there soon." I said.

She nodded and ran out of the room, leaving me alone to get ready for the day.

As the trio of fillies and I walked through the enormous castle, I gazed around me, learning the twists and turns as we had almost gotten ourselves lost several times. Finally, we had arrived at the main hall and the girls trotted up to where they were directed, leaving me to just sit and watch as the rehearsal went on.

"Perfect girls, no need to rush," Princess Celestia was saying to my friends.

For some reason or another they had replaced the old bridesmaids but I didn't really know how weddings went on so I stopped caring after about a minute.

"And then of course Cadence enter's the room," Celestia said, as the shrew pony princess entered the room.

As I watched the procedure , Rainbow Dash glanced at me, which I met with complete anger. She looked away after that and hung her head slightly.

"Then I'll say a few words, you two will exchange your vows, and Shining Armor will receive the rings from his best mare," Celestia finished.

At that point everyone looked to where Twilight was supposed to stand, but she was nowhere to be seen.

"Hey, has anypony seen Twilight?" Shining Armor asked.

I began to get nervous, but then the huge main doors burst open. Twilight stood there her face determined.

"Oh no. This isn't going to be good," I thought to myself as I stood up in preparation for whatever what was about to happen.

"I'm right here!" she yelled, "And I'm not standing next to her, and neither should you!"

Oh yes, this was going to be very bad. Shining Armor and everyone else's faces went into complete shock as Twilight went on.

"Because she's evil! I saw her cast a spell on him that made his eyes go all," she said as she made her eyes swivel around in circles, kinda like Derpy, "And she has been mistreating my friends and obviously done something with her bridesmaids!"

Twilight backed Cadence into a wall. Cadence looked around and started crying.

"Why are you doing this to me?" she cried as she ran out of the room.

Shining Armor then stepped up and yelled at Twilight, explaining everything that Cadence had done and why she had done it. It made sense what he was saying, but I still hadn't forgiven her.

"Now, if you'll excuse me I have to comfort my bride, and you can forget about being my best mare. In fact, don't even bother showing up to the wedding," he said, stomping out of the room.

I saw Twilight's heart shatter at that point; she was devastated. Applejack and the rest of the group got up and trotted past her.

"C'mon y'all. Lets go check on the Princess," she said, not stopping for a second.

Princess Celestia then passed by.

"You have got a lot to think about," was the only thing she said.

Twilight then looked over to me, her face covered in tears, and just cried. I had no clue what to do as I watched my best friend nearly be destroyed in front of me. So I walked over to her and put a hand on her head, rubbing her mane.

"I'm sorry Twi. Come by my room later okay? We'll talk then," I said.

Then I turned and walked away, leaving the large room with Twilight by herself and shut the doors with a flick of my hand behind me.