17. Union

"Ohh, I just can't wait any longer!" Rarity's pacing had become rather bothersome to Twilight as she tried her best to concentrate. Given that this wedding was, by request of Rainbow Dash, rather more personal and close, details became that much more important. This time she was Rarity's mare of honour, Fluttershy being the best mare. Of course, that left her with what felt like the nightmarish task of helping Rarity with her own dress.

"Just calm down Rarity, the wedding's a few days away anyway. There's still a lot of things that need to be done, including a few new precautions. Wouldn't want another Changeling incident now would we?" Rarity continued to pace all the same. Between looking at the near finished dress and the window facing out over the landscape, excitement and apprehension were warring it out inside her head.

Applejack was far less bothered by the repetitive movement, taking the time on the train to sleep. Pinkie Pie would be helping with the catering too this time around, but that was no excuse to be slack in her work. "Twi, just let the mare pace okay? If it lets her use up all that built up energy, then why interfere?" Refusing to open her eyes on the chance that she wouldn't be able to return to sleeping left her reliant on what she heard alone.

"Yes yes, I know there's a lot of tasks that I must perform, but... I just feel overwhelmed by emotion. It is something that seems to be only really understood when experienced." Twilight hummed in agreement, bringing the book up a little bit more over her face. Provide emotional support. She glanced up at Rarity again as she read the passage, adopting a more sympathetic and open tone.

"That's a good thing actually; well at least that's what my brother says. It's a good sign that you're feeling so mixed up, because if you weren't, then there wouldn't be that great feeling of relief and joy when you finally make the commitment. It'd be pretty straightforward, and that isn't much fun at all." She wasn't actually sure if any of that was true at all, but if it did what it was supposed to do in making Rarity more comfortable, then it was worth saying.

Rarity finally settled down from her pacing into a more casual stride, sitting down at last on her bed to think about what Twilight had said. It made sense, she often had a great feeling of accomplishment whenever finishing an important commission. This was just something a little different in action, but not so much in principle. Looking at Applejack, still occupied with sleeping the trip off, she decided to do the same herself. Too much activity and not enough pondering.

*

The second train car on the other hand was somewhat less quiet, not exactly to Fluttershy's pleasure. But it came with her very special role and duty to Rainbow Dash. Tempting as it was to visit the other ponies for the quiet that they were enjoying, Dash was her friend, and she would never abandon her friend for her own wishes. Taking a pillow to the face in the ensuing pillow fight between Dash and Pinkie Pie stretched that dedication somewhat.

"And take that!" The pillow rushed by her face, knocking Pinkie Pie clear over. Recovery for her however was swift, a volley of three pillows flying right back at Dash as she hid on the upper bed. The first caught against her outstretched wing, bringing her face into the path of the second. Pushed out of the way of the third anyway, she quickly waved her tail in defeat. The one thing worse than surrender would probably be losing to Pinkie Pie.

"Aww! I was having lots of fun! Fun fun fun!" Now that Pinkie had nothing to do for the moment, the options were to either ask Fluttershy, or look into the other car. "I wonder what they're doing." All she could see was the three of them lying on their beds when she pressed her face into the window. "Eh, boooring!" The scene in her own car didn't look much better; both of them were lying in bed.

It began to feel like everything was suddenly determined to leave her bored. Canterlot Castle had been repaired since the battle, and now gleamed in the sunlight. But it was still some distance away, and with everyone settling down for late morning naps, that left her alone to entertain herself. Gummy was with Spike since he took such great care of them last time, and while her Party Cannon was within easy reach, it would clearly upset the others to use it.

"Fine, I'll just go chat with the train driver then." Pinkie definitely wasn't impressed with the other ponies as she made her way forward to the front of the train. Fluttershy looked out from her blanket once she was gone in slight worry. The wedding in itself was intimidating enough, especially when it was for two of her close friends. Surely, Pinkie would realize how important it was to take things nice and slow.

*

Twilight just barely managed to take deep and calming breaths in a desperate attempt to avoid reacting to Rarity's sudden impulse to be fussy, by bursting into flames. "Rarity! Do you not get the point of bridesmaids? The idea is that they don't take too much attention away from the bride, in this case you. I'm not going to be terribly concerned if there's a tiny detail out of place. No-one is meant to take that much notice to me anyway!"

Rarity was mostly oblivious to Twilight's outburst in her concern with making the final adjustments to the hem of her dress. "Now now, I know what I'm doing. Rainbow Dash wants this to be perfect, and I will support her in that decision." A groan came from Twilight as her attempt to make the bride see reason failed completely. It was over an hour now that she had been standing there, and the stress forming in her legs was quickly becoming painful.

"Can I at least take this off then while you work?" She managed to calm herself down again; Rarity was under a lot of stress too. "Rarity, it's perfect. I like it the way it is, could you at least fuss over your own dress? At least I won't feel bad about taking up all your time." Appealing to concerns other than her own seemed to have some effect; at the very least, the seamstress paused in her work long enough for Twilight to remove the dress.

"Very well, if you really truly believe that it is ready. I made the final touches to my dress last night anyway, and Applejack is at the throne room right now. I just felt it necessary to ensure that the maid of honour was looked after." Rarity's walk towards the balcony window caused Twilight to roll her eyes. She was offended by the rejection of her help, and was now going to make a point about it.

"Fine! You can work on it all you like, but I need to get down there as well you know. The wedding is this afternoon if you haven't forgotten." Taking the chance to leave, she didn't look back until the courtyard surrounded her. Rarity was gazing out over the valley, probably looking at Ponyville. Twilight shook her head again; stress was to be expected from such events. Right now, the best thing all of them could do was focus on the important jobs remaining, like ensuring that Pinkie Pie's 'accident' with the invitations remained under control.

As she entered the throne room however, the stress seemed to be piling high. There were far more ponies there than on yesterday's 'revised' list. More surprising was that Rainbow Dash of all ponies was guiding the new arrivals around. She after all had been the one insistent on the low-key status of the event. At least Fluttershy's mood had improved to the point she was comfortable with conducting the choir ponies who would be joining her birds.

It took some time for Twilight to get Dash's attention in between her organizing, encouraging her to a quieter part of the room. "Rarity's having another moody, and I've gotta perform the Changeling check again. Celestia's really concerned for everypony's well-being and she's worried they'll try a far less obvious approach. Disguise as one of the guests for example." Rainbow Dash nodded in agreement with the notion of extra precautions.

"Yeah, I'll go talk to her once I'm done. Honestly, I'm pretty sure that the Changelings won't try again; we beat them back pretty hard after all. And nopony messes with Dash on her wedding day!" Jumping into the air with a punch, she quickly came down again before anypony else noticed her odd behaviour. "Applejack's in the kitchen with Pinkie, apparently somepony got a little out of control while taste testing the cupcakes. She's probably guarding the wedding cake itself knowing Pinkie."

Twilight shrugged before she lowered her head to focus the magic of her horn. A bright purple beam of light scanned the pegasus from mane to hoof, vanishing again with a flash. "One down, three to go." Leaving Rainbow Dash to tend to the other ponies, Twilight made her way over to the choir. Fluttershy's assertiveness had improved quite a bit, a sight that made Twilight smile to herself.

"You're doing great with the performance Fluttershy, I'm rather sorry I have to pull you away from it for a few moments." Nodding to acknowledge Twilight's message, Fluttershy finished the song off before setting down. She looked rather stunning in the new dress that Rarity had made for this event in particular.

"Oh of course, I wouldn't want to keep you waiting after all. Just to be really sure, this doesn't hurt at all, does it?" A soft laugh between the two followed, ending with the scan itself. Fluttershy tilted her head to the side briefly in slight embarrassment as she shuddered from the scan passing over. "It feels weird. Thanks anyway Twilight, sometimes I'm so nervous, I'm afraid I'm a changeling without even realizing it."

*

Flying up to the balcony was the main intention of Dash; how she did it however would be something unique. Already she could tell that her bride was not in her usual positive mood, as Twilight had informed her, and that would clearly put a damp on the coolness of the wedding. With that in mind, she silently landed on the roof of the tower in which Rarity was staying, waiting for the right moment before jumping down beside her.

"Come on Rarity, you shouldn't be sad like this. In a few hours, we'll be together, just like you wanted. And you know, you did the right thing in the end by pushing me to give this a try. Kinda helps to get over the icky stuff when you've got somepony constantly encouraging you to keep going" Her hooves settled down on the railing beside Rarity, closing the distance between them to keep her warm.

At first, Rarity was surprised by the unexpected visit, but quickly relieved to see who it was of course. The words that came brought much needed comfort. Twilight had opened the eyes to her overbearing personality that seemed to become strong at times like this. Now she felt terrible for giving her maid of honour silence in response to her attempt to help.

"Thank you, Dashie. It is quite a relief to hear such kind words. But I feel like such a fool for being rude to Twilight. And everypony else for that matter, I'm surprised you've stayed with me in fact." She smiled softly as Rainbow Dash rested her hoof around her shoulders. She could be very touching and supportive, when she chose to be of course. But more often than not, she was the sweet and caring pony that she loved.

"It's no problem. Besides, I still haven't thanked you enough for helping me out on the night the branch got me. I probably wouldn't have ever taken off again if you hadn't." Rarity chuckled softly; humour was a great relief to her troubled mind. They had joked on many occasions about the magic of Equestria having something to do with bringing them together. Such a simple and otherwise bleak incident had caused bonds to begin forming. Now more than ever those bonds were showing in their full strength.

At that moment, both ponies looked up to see a griffon fly down to meet them, landing in the space that the two made for her arrival. Rainbow Dash recognised her former friend Gilda immediately. "Hey Gilda, haven't seen you in a long while. How ya been?" There was still a level of uncertainty about her, given what had happened last time, so she glanced at Rarity in search of an explanation.

"Oh, I felt it was only appropriate to invite her, especially after the apology she wished to deliver. I hope you don't mind Dashie, especially since my habit of inviting ponies got a bit, out of control." Yet another thing that she admired, that her mare hadn't been upset with the influx of guests. Before she could continue to list the endless qualities of Rainbow Dash to herself, Gilda finally spoke.

"Yeah, it was pretty stupid to get worked up over something like that. But that's all in the past, right? I wouldn't want to miss your special day, though I figured it'd be entering the Wonderbolts if anything. I mean, last thing either of us expected was that we'd actually get married." The air of confidence that Gilda had portrayed faded, as Rainbow Dash's face remained serious. Rarity felt just as concerned as the griffon, she hadn't at all expected that Dash would hold the past against her friend, even now.

As the pink eyes slid between the two, a snigger gave away her real motive. "Of course! I'm glad you're here too, why wouldn't I be? Just let me explain to Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie first though. They might feel a little awkward otherwise, you understand." Watching as Gilda nodded before taking off down towards the palace, it reminded Dash of her special plan for the ceremony. "I'd feel kinda bad for saying this'd be the best wedding ever, but does coolest work?"

*

"Simmer down Pinkie Pie; this ain't the time for being silly y'know." Applejack had assumed a defensive position between the wedding cake and Pinkie Pie. She seemed to be still wound up from the trip, and preparing the reception hadn't helped to undo that at all. Unfortunately, for the rest of the ponies in the kitchen, that meant having to work around her overly eccentric mood.

"Come on! What if there's something wrong with the icing? What if Rarity gets sick?! That's no fun at all!" Applejack continued to hold her ground, despite Pinkie Pie attempts to take a sample of the cake. Twilight entering the room provided the perfect distraction for the defending pony, desperate to get her attention since Pinkie was already bouncing over to plead. "Please please please can I just make sure the cake is okay?"

Twilight's eyes flicked between the two, AJ's stern face as opposed to Pinkie's begging expression wasn't doing much to help the day at all. "Pinkie, it was finished just a few hours ago; I seriously doubt there's anything wrong with it." The temptation to continue on about the lack of worms and grey-green colour was pretty inviting, but it wouldn't be appreciated by the bakers.

"Look, I just need to perform the changeling detection spell, and then we can begin. The pegasi are almost done with helping everypony find their places, and everything else is ready." Glaring at Pinkie just to be safe, Applejack stepped forward and waited patiently while Twilight performed the spell. The brief moment away from her assumed duty of cake guard was filled with worry and panic.

"Ooh, my turn my turn! Yippee!" Pinkie's attention on the cake had been lost completely, now focused on the bright light that made her body feel funny. Knowing better than to question why Pinkie would look forward to a mere detection spell, Twilight pointed her horn and began the spell. The first moment seemed like any other, until her horn flashed a warning, accompanied by the gasps of everypony in the room. Where pink mare had been standing, a dark, insectoid pony was now staring back at her.

"Pinkie is a changeling!?" Not wasting any time in that moment of panic, Twilight pinned the changeling to the ground. Celestia's precaution had saved the cake from what would probably be some sort of mind control potion. "I've got it, tell the Canterlot Guard that we've..." She was about to subdue the changeling, when much to her surprise it spoke with a voice that wasn't like the changelings at all.

"Oops, I must've forgotten to take this off." Unzipping from the head, Pinkie Pie awkwardly freed herself from the changeling suit before jumping up into one of her poses. "Surprise!" While everypony was in fact surprised, Twilight especially, it was hardly for the reason that Pinkie expected. Silence followed, after which most of the ponies tried to resume their work to forget what had just happened. Applejack had a different idea in mind.

"Pinkie Pie, where the hay did you get a changeling... suit? On second thought don't answer that, but why would you even wear one today, of all days?" Pinkie merely began rolling up the black suit and placed it over her back. The lack of laughter proved to be a real disappointment for her. None of the other ponies were impressed with the whole incident, especially given the security scare.

"I wanted to surprise everyone at the ceremony, duh. Sometimes they can be so boring, and there's been way too much boring lately!" With that, she left the kitchens. Twilight merely at Applejack in complete confusion. In the end, they'd all say that was typical Pinkie, but hardly at the appropriate time. At least the wedding cake was safe from further attack, and all of them could relax again.

"Well, now that everyone's checked, I'd better get ready. You'll be there in time, right AJ?" Applejack nodded in response to her question before checking the cake one last time for any hoofmarks. Satisfied that everything was almost in order, Twilight made her quick return to the throne room for the start of the ceremony.

*

The long walkway that led from the open doors right up to the steps where Rainbow Dash was waiting seemed so clear and simple to Rarity. Her father often wore relaxed, open collar shirts for attire, seeing him in a proper suit made her proud. And it was clear he was proud of her in return.

As Apple Bloom and Scootaloo proceeded onward in the same manner they did for Cadence's wedding, Rarity took her first step down the aisle. It was far less populated compared to the royal wedding, understandable of course. It was rather relieving to not have so many ponies watching her, as she took every single step. All too surreal, yet very well happening, to her.

Fighting back a tear as she ascended the gentle steps, Twilight and Applejack to her left, with Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and of course Rainbow Dash to her right. Looking up at Celestia, shining in the sunlight, she glanced around once more while the princess began their pronunciation of union. Only the three of them knew about Dash's special plan, which seemed fitting.

Making eye contact with Spike made her blush slightly. While he had been cutting it close with his time of arrival, it made her happy that he was there. As her eyes settled on the colourful mane of her future mare, her eyes began to form tears again.

"It's time." The small whisper from Celestia was something Rainbow Dash had been eagerly awaiting the whole time.

Winking at Rarity, she flew up high into the air, still in her dress surprisingly, pausing for a moment to be sure of her path, before flying back down at great speed. "Every wedding needs a sonic rainboom." Feeling the wave of colour emerge as she proceeded to do so, the moment her hooves touched the ground shared the moment her lips met Rarity's.

End of Part Three.