A Canterlot Wedding, part 3

[no_vampires_plz]

So. It turns out Shining Armor had a good excuse not to break the news about his wedding in person. And his bride-to-be is someone Twilight actually knows.

...no, not knows. Knew. She's not convinced she knows Cadance anymore.

How could she not remember me, after all the time we spent together as fillies? And what was with that look she gave me? It doesn't make sense...

It's nagging at the back of her mind even as she and Apple Jack go down the checklist for the catering.

"Cake, check. Ice sculpture, check. Best darn bite-sized apple fritter you ever tasted..." Apple Jack shoves one of the fritters into Twilight's mouth without any prompting.

"Mmm, check!" Twilight brightens a little. Nothing like one of Apple Jack's treats to cheer a pony up.

Comments

[nponyc]

The cooks, of course, aren't about to complain; they immediately drop what they're doing and turn to bow to approaching royalty.

"Hiya, Princess!" chirps Apple Jack.

[nponyc]

"Please, call me Princess Mi Amore Cadenza."

What's the point of having an impressive name if nopony uses it?

[no_vampires_plz]

Twilight rolls her eyes. Fortunately for all concerned, Cadance Princess Mi Amore Cadenza doesn't notice.

[nponyc]

"Hiya, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza!" says Apple Jack affably. "You come to check out what's on the menu for yer big day?"

[nponyc]

"I have!" says the princess brightly. Nopony notices that the big smile she gives Applejack completely disappears when the latter turns away, right?

[no_vampires_plz]

Oh, somepony notices, all right.

Meanwhile, Apple Jack holds out a tray of her bite-sized apple fritters for the Princess to sample.

[nponyc]

Bite-sized they may be, but the bite Cadance takes certainly doesn't include all of a fritter. "Delicious!" she proclaims. "I love, love, love them!"

Odd, though, it doesn't quite sound like her heart's in it.

[nponyc]

"Aw, shucks, why don'cha take a few to go?" Apple Jack scoops a dozen fritters into a paper bag and offers it to the Princess. "I know how you brides can be--so busy you forget to get a li'l somethin' in yer belly..."

[nponyc]

Cadance takes the bag quite amiably. But on her way out the door, after a quick glance to see if anypony's watching, she tosses it into a nearby wastebasket. Then she continues out of the kitchen as if nothing had happened. She even shuts the door behind herself.

[no_vampires_plz]

But, again, somepony notices.

"Did--did you see what she--?"

But Apple Jack is back to work already. Twilight scowls and heads off to continue her rounds.

* * * * * *

The next stop is at Rarity's apartment-slash-studio, to check on how the dresses are progressing. And by 'check on how the dresses are progressing,' we mean 'rant at Rarity while she sews hemlines.'

"Oh, you should have seen how she acted back there. I don't know when she changed, but she changed." Twilight paces back and forth across the carpet. "'Please,'" she says in a mocking imitation of Cadance's tone, "'call me Princess Mi Amore Cadenza...'"

[nponyc]

"Did I hear someone say my name?"

Would you look who's here! It's Princess Mi Amore Cadenza herself, accompanied (at a respectful distance) by three bridesmaids.

[yestothedress]

Oh. OH! Oh goodness, it's the princess in the flesh. Cue big smile! "Your highness!" Trotting over now~. "Let me just start by saying what an honor it is to play a role in such a momentous occasion." And yet the nervous laugh comes anyway.

[nponyc]

You know which princess this isn't? Princess Celestia. That one would probably say something friendly and reassuring, perhaps about how glad she was to have Rarity helping out.

Princess Cadance Mi Amore Cadenza, on the other hand, simply says "Uh-huh." Then, heading over to the forms where Rarity was just working, she asks, "Is my dress ready?"

[nponyc]

"Oh--uh, yes, of course." Rarity darts over to show off the wedding gown. "I've been working on it ever since I was given the assignment, and I think you'll be pleased with the results!" Another big smile.

[nponyc]

Sadly, the bride doesn't seem all that pleased.

"I was hoping for something with more beading and a longer train," she says.

[nponyc]

"...oh." Rarity is disappointed, but trying not to show it as she scribbles down a note. "Yes. Of course."

[nponyc]

"And those should be a longer color," Cadance adds, nodding to the bridesmaids' dresses.

The bridesmaids themselves, with their gentle protestations of "I think they're lovely," "Me, too," and "I love them," don't seem to agree with this highly specific and useful advice.

Rarity may not notice the glare Cadance turns on her bridesmaids, but they certainly do. Once she feels that they're sufficiently cowed, she turns back to Rarity and reaffirms, "Make them a different color." Then she turns and leaves the room, with the bridesmaids following a moment later.

[no_vampires_plz]

"Gee, maybe her name should be 'Princess Demandy-Pants,'" mutters Twilight as she follows at a discreet distance.

---

[havetubawilltravel]

After night's fallen, Pinkie's a bouncy ball of energy, bouncing all around Cadance in excitement.

"Okay, let me see!" she burbles. "We've been over the games!" She scrambles off toward the game corner, where a large pinata, a board game, and a pin-the-tail on the pony game have been set up. Pinkie crouches over the board and shames the dice gleeful before releasing them, then turns toward Candace, grinning and fluttering her lashes in pursuit of approval.

Then she scampers across the room. "The dances!" she starts an old phonograph going, then springs into a version of the funky chicken before enthusiastically getting into Cadance's face.

"I think this reception will be PERFECT, don't you?"

[nponyc]

Cadance puts on the biggest smile she can manage. "Perfect!" she agrees.

Or perhaps not; she immediately drops the smile and continues, "...if we were celebrating a six-year-old's birthday party."

[havetubawilltravel]

And it goes right over her head!

"THANK YOU!"

[no_vampires_plz]

It didn't go over Twilight's head, however.

---

It's well past sundown when the girls all manage to meet up again, in a small cafe in downtown Canterlot. Twilight is the last to arrive and get her drink ordered.

"Bet I can guess what you're all thinking," says Twilight as she sits down at the table. "Cadence is the absolute worst bride-to-be ever."

[nponyc]

Everypony stares at Twilight for a moment. What does she mean, worst ever?

"Who me?" asks Spike in a squeaky voice, wiggling the Cadance-modeled cake topper he's managed to bring with him.

"Spike!" scolds Applejack. "That goes on the cake!" He drops it with a self-effacing giggle.

Rarity, ignoring these antics, asks, "Twilight, what ever are you talking about? Cadance is an absolute gem!"

[no_vampires_plz]

"Rarity, she was so demanding!"

[nponyc]

"Of course she was? Why shouldn't she expect the very best on her wedding day?" Compared to some brides Rarity's dealt with...

[no_vampires_plz]

Well, of course Rarity wouldn't see it as demanding, but...

"Apple Jack, did you know that after she told you how much she just 'love-love-loved' your hors d'oeuvres, she just threw them in the trash?!"

[nponyc]

Evidently AJ didn't, but she recovers quickly. "Aw, she was probably just tryin' to spare my feelings."

[no_vampires_plz]

"No, she was just being fake and totally insincere," Twilight snaps back.

[needs_fern]

The others don't seem to be buying it.

Eventually Fluttershy breaks the silence and volunteers, "She did raise her voice at one of my birds during rehearsal..."

[no_vampires_plz]

"See? Rude!" Twilight looks smug.

[needs_fern]

"... but he was singing really off-key."

As it happens, Fluttershy brought the bird in question with her, and he demonstrates.

'Really off-key' may be a bit of an understatement, in this case.

[no_vampires_plz]

Twilight cringes, but recovers quickly. "Pinkie Pie, you had to have noticed how Cadance treated--"

But Pinkie's not even listening. She's busy playing action figures with Spike. Apparently he 'borrowed' the groom-shaped cake topper too.

"Nevermind. Rainbow Dash," says Twilight, a touch of desperation in her voice, "you're with me, right?"

[nponyc]

"Sorry, Twi," says the pegasus in question, stretching her wings. "Been too busy prepping for my sonic rainboom to pay much attention to the bride's bad attitude."

For what it's worth, she does look contrite.

[no_vampires_plz]

Twilight takes a long drag of her drink and lets out a frustrated growl. Something is wrong here, why can't anypony else see it?!

[nponyc]

Rarity tries again. "The princess is about to get married! I'm sure any negative behavior she might be displaying is simply the result of nerves."

[no_vampires_plz]

Twilight pounds her forehoof on the table, making their drinks rattle. "And I'm sure it's the result of her being an awful pony who doesn't deserve to even know Shining Armor, let alone marry him!"

[nponyc]

"Think maybe you're bein' just a tiny bit possessive of your brother?" asks Applejack. The other ponies nod.

[no_vampires_plz]

"I am not being possessive. And I am not 'taking it out' on Cadance. You're all just too caught up in your wedding planning to notice that maybe there shouldn't even be a wedding!"

Twilight slams her hoof down so hard that all their drinks are spilled across the table, but she scarcely notices the mess as she turns to storm off.

Her friends won't listen to her. But maybe someone else will.