Books and Branches Library

Darkness. Nothing but darkness all around her. There's a chill in the air and bare stone under her belly. Twilight casts a light spell, but the glow from her horn barely penetrates the gloom.

"Hello?"

Her voice echoes for quite a long time. Wherever she is, it's both enclosed and absolutely massive.

"Is anyone there?" Hesitantly, she stands and trots forward, only to bump face-first into the smooth surface of a giant cave crystal. Her own reflection, fragmented and multiplied in the crystal's many facets, stares back at her.

She could swear she hears mocking laughter echoing from somewhere in the far distance. "Where am I?" Twilight murmurs to the empty air.

The trip to Canterlot isn't a hardship, at least; Princess Celestia was thoughtful enough to reserve a private train car for the seven of them. The six ponies and one dragon are free to talk back and forth without disturbing anypony else.

"A sonic rainboom? At a wedding?" Rainbow Dash beams. "Can you say 'best wedding ever'?"

"Best wedding ever!" whoops Pinkie Pie.

Spike looks smug. "So you all get to help with the big fancy wedding, but I'm the one who gets to host the bachelor party!" A beat. "I have just one question. What's a bachelor party?"

One pony, however, isn't participating in the discussion. Twilight Sparkle is sitting at the far end of the car, looking mournfully at the landscape as it passes by.

Eventually, Apple Jack breaks off from the rest of the group to go see her. "Why the long face, sugarcube?"

"I'm just thinking about Shining Armor," Twilight replies, not looking away from the window. "Ever since I moved to Ponyville, we've been seeing each other less and less. And now that he's starting a new family with this Princess Mi Amore Cal-whatshername, we'll probably never see each other."

"Come on, now. You're his sister," reassures Apple Jack. "He'll always make time for you."

Twilight sulks harder. "Couldn't seem to make time to tell me he was getting married."

---

"We're here, we're here!" Pinkie Pie bounces up and down in her seat as the train approaches the outskirts of Canterlot. Twilight doesn't even acknowledge her.

What she does acknowledge, however, is the ripple of magical energy that passes over the whole train and everyone in it. Looking out the window, she realizes it's a protection spell, one that covers the entire city. What in the world would they need a force field like that for? And why did it feel so familiar as it passed over?

The train pulls up to the platform, which is flanked by a dozen armored stallions. "Whoa, what's with all the guards?" remarks Rainbow Dash as she pokes her head out the door.

"I'm sure they're just taking the necessary precautions," says Rarity with a dismissive wave of her hoof. "Royal weddings do bring out the strangest ponies." (As if to drive the point home, Pinkie sneezes confetti onto the platform.) "Now let's get going, we've got work to do!"

"And you've got a big brother to go congratulate," says Apple Jack with a knowing nod toward Twilight.

"Yeah, 'congratulate,'" Twilight mutters sourly. "And then give him a piece of my mind."