Snowfall and Pathfinder in The Greatest Adventure Part One: Marriage at the Grand Celestial! (Open- OOC signup)

[Pretzelparty]

Snowfall's observations on her current situation brought a smile to her face. Love was always such a splendid thing to behold and here about. The mare's expression changed to one like she'd recieved a sharp punch in the gut upon the mention of her ex-coltfriend's name. Merlot... there was a name that brought up a bunch of awkward memories, all of which dissipated as quickly as they arrived as she heard a commotion outside that gave her a hint that her plus one may have made his appearance. 

 

 

"Awesooome~" trilled the exciteable artist upon hearing the prince(ss)'s approval. "I'll have to look at ya from a few angles so I can get the best idea of which best catches your essence, is that okay?" Getting a little ahead of herself she stepped to the side and tilted her head a bit, narrowing her eyes slightly before the opening of the doors to the room brought her out of her little artist's trance.

 

That thing being a hug and kiss from her special somepony. The mare grinned widely and hugged the coffee-scented stalllion and kissed him right back, "No problem, luv! I'm just glad ya made it here in one piece." she said in a playful tone. After that she laid her eyes on someone who made them go wide, "Bloomin' 'ay! is that princess Cadence and princess Celestia?" The mare smiled and waved to princess celestia with a smile.

 

Upon hearing Bluebelle's little warning to Java, Pressy had to stifle a fit of laughter. "That's a good one, Princess." She walked over and nuzzled into java's cheek sweetly, "I don't think either of us is really mature enough fer marriage... or have lost our constant love of travel so I don't think settling down is gonna happen soon... though I do admit my imagination is acting up a bit." she chuckled softly before telekinetically straightening java's tie for him when he wasn't looking.

[brianblackberry]

Trixie glared after Whooves as the blasted stallion went and ignored her like that.  As if a Changeling could possibly be more interesting than the Great and Powerful Trixie!  Him and his 'Science', as if it could ever match up to magic.  Nonetheless, it was Trixie's choice to cut off this conversation, not Whooves!  It was time to change to something more formal!  She finalized the decision by throwing down a smoke bomb from under her magnificent hat, masking her mysterious exit.  She was most of the way out the window as the smoke cleared, just trying to navigate for a safe landing... she slipped and fell into the bushes outside, and hurried around the building to where Whooves had left his cart.

She carefully unwrapped her formal gown and donned it, little touches of magic speeding things along.  It was a magnificent piece, the lavendar fabric setting off her azure coat, and covered in all sorts of subtle, mysterious little patterns.  The revealed panel of the underskirt was a purple so deep as to be almost black, marked with the pink outline of little stars, and all tied over with the frills of a lovely pink overskirt.  Lacy white stockings, lovely dangly earrings, and her mane done up in a loose bun finished off the garment to an elegant and magnificent portrait of class and culture.

She admired herself in the mirror ... and upon re-entering the ballroom, she posed just inside the door, one hoof up, head tossed fetchingly, to let all and sundry admire the Stylish and Noble Trixie's haute couture.  Surely, near every eye in the entire ballroom must be upon her splendor!  Upon generously granting them all an ample time to gaze upon her wonder, she moved on to investigate this lovely 'Princess Bluebelle' - surely the only other pony in this room of similar worth to Trixie herself - and then only in nobility, not in magical magnificence.

She overheard the stray tail end of conversation, revealing "Bluebelle's" true identity - as she suspected, a scion of the house of Platinum.  But also, another one of those ponies no longer in their own body ... she remembered how Twilight had faked that spell as a height of unicorn magic... and the intensely powerful magic which had done the same to Whooves, not long ago... if the magic affecting Bluebelle was anywhere near the same level...

Well.  Trixie would allow Bluebelle to appreciate her own magnificence for a time, while Trixie ferreted out the source of this powerful spell.  Not that she would want to ruin her magnificence by changing to a stallion, perish the thought, but all magic was of interest to Trixie.  Let it not be said she could not brilliantly combine pleasure and professionalism!  And it was also a curiosity why one of Platinum's line would do this to themselves...

Only one way to find out, through charm! "Greetings fair and noble princess, I am the mare of magic, the Great and beautiful Trixie!  It is such a delight to meet somepony such as your self from the royal unicorn dynasties of old!  What brings you to this fine celebration?  Oh... Hey there too, uhh Presteza!"  Ahh yes, the artist unicorn Trixie met from that island 'adventure' where a strange creature of powerful magic found it humorous to swap their cutie marks and thus abilities, how could she forget anypony mixed up with her in that insane situation, especially one who was pretty darn cute herself.

[RarityDash]

Snowfall smiled at the response she found from Bluebelle. What the pegasus had intended as a playful push to embrace her new self, it seemed Equestria's newest princess might have instead taken as a slight. It was an amusing sight, and Snowfall had to say that, accidental or not, feminity seemed to come natural to the former prince.

At the more serious talk ot Caribou and IMAGINE's dealings with them, Snowfall's smile evened out and she gave a respectful nod. I see. Well, do keep me informed," she said.

Just then, a stallion approached them as they spoke and introduced himself as Voronoi Fractal. Snowfall knew the name well enough, but she couldn't say she had ever met the pony before. She was curious, however, expecially knowing from what Presteza had told her that this was the stallion she was currently dating.

The white pegasus mare smiled at her guest. "Well met, Java. I thank you for attending my wedding today. I am, Snowfall and I must say that Presteza here has told me mu--" She cut herself off as she spied something rather alarming and it left her mind numb. It was none other than Princess Celestia herself striding toward them. "Do please excuse me a moment..."

She took a few steps from the others at that and met the Princess in her approach, collecting her slackened jaw in the process. She couldn't understand it. The ruler of all Equestria just didn't show up to one's wedding unannounced. Had her mother invited Celestia? Sure, Crystal did like to brag about knowing the princess.. but would Celestia really come just because she asked? Snowfall truly doubted it.

"I-I... er... thank you, Your Majesty, for that all too kind words, but my appearance is nothing compared to your eternal beauty," Snowfall said, somewhat vacantly, having no clue what to say. I'm just not sure I understand... why are you h--

Again, Snowfall's words were interrupted, though this time not by her own volition, but by the sweet tone of another interjecting. Another princess, more specifically.

Princess Cadance was the princess of Equestria to whom Snowfall was most acquainted... save perhaps maybe Bluebelle now, she supposed. Ever since the reappearance of the Crystal Empire, NSI had been making strides to establish a foothold there, which meant several ventures to the city and a number of meetings with its ruler. Snowfall had come to know Cadance as a sweet, intelligent and true leader and had in turn developed a rather favorable opinion of her. When time for her wedding had come, it had seemed only natural to ask her, the princess of love, if she might officiate for the proceedings.

Cadance too seemed shocked by Celestia being there, but quickly turned toward Snowfall with compliments. Snow smiled for them and nodded. "It's our pleasure that you would agree to preside over our joyous celebration, Princess," she smirked. "Though if the news I've heard is true, you have your own happy occasion coming. You and Shining Armor have my congratulations."

The news of the coming royal foal was certainly one to get excited over, though in part it just brought with it anxious thoughts about the big steps she herself was taking. It was not so long ago, afterall, that it was Cadance's marriage which was the news.

"I suppose it is best we get things moving," Snow eventually said, nodding. "Pathfinder is probably running circles into the floor being forced to wait so long."

Snowfall turned her head then and in doing so remembered that the ruler of all Equestria was still standing there. She looked back toward her again and smiled. "It is a surprise for certain and if you were on my mother's invite list, I do wish she would have kept me informed of such things... but I must thank you humbly all the same for deciding to be here, Your Majesty."

​

Crystal gave a slight smirk. "Well, it's the ring, you see." She closed her eyes. "For the longest time, I've truly been content to assume all of that ponies unceasing stories as pure fantasies or at least exaggerations... but that ring she gave my daughter... it's something which cannot be explained. The quality, the detail. As you know, I'm a connoisseur of jewels, and yet I've never seen anything quite like it. I can only conclude that the story is true then... and that pony did stumble into a lost and buried, crystalized city, untouched for ages..."

Crystal took a deep breath and nodded, "And if it is so, the thought of what could be down there, waiting to be unearthed is simply staggering." She looked down and then back up at the stallion. "But going back to what you were saying before.... You've been having trouble with a thied of late?"

She scoffed loudly. "Degenerate scum. It's been a while since the last attempted to break into my vault, though it's just as well. It's doubtful a more secure place exists in Stalliongrad."

​

[Bramble Rose]

Doctor Whooves let out a snort of laughter.  "Well, of course you don't put love under a microscope!  It's a completely inadequate tool for the job.  Which is why I invented the Love Value Extrapolation Meter!  Or LVE Meter for short."  He pulled out a small box-like contraption with two little arms on either side, and a dial for output in the center.  "If my theories are correct, I'll be able to measure the love output of this particular wedding while it's happening!"  He waved the widget over Kahz's drink, and the little arms wavered and started to glow faintly, lifting up just a tiny little bit.  "You see?  I've done some preliminary work already, but just need a good, predictable source of a lot of love in order to give it a good solid test."

He listened carefully to Kahz's descriptions, and took careful notes.  "Hue... Saturation ... intensity ..." he murmured.  "Fascinating.  Makes sense, makes sense... I am going to have to make some modifications to the device when I get home."  He waved the LVE meter close to Kahz's guitar excitedly, looking quite *delighted* as he anticipated the music.  "My main problem," he said, "With this device, is that I can't get consistant values.  It always seems to get higher readings the further I get into the studies, and it keeps going off near my cart.  Can't figure out why."

​

[SteelEagle]

 

Pathfinder had never known a changeling who wanted to look like a griffon. It seemed like griffons had less love to give. They were too busy trying to eat ponies to try and emulate all that love and harmony. A bad meal in the end was a meal that could provide you little nourishment and a lot of biting and clawing and other forms of beak and talonwork. But this changeling trying to pass itself as Gilda could have gone ahead and tried to emulate the personality a little better so far. Did well at first but geez, this wasn't Pathfinder's friend! Gilda was a super cool griffon. They read stories, stole stuff, adventured, and Gilda even betrayed Pathfinder once! It was the best friendship that wasn't romantic ever! Well, that and Daring Do. But that was waaaaaaay more than ever romance!

“Wow, that's...different. But not bad! Just not exciting. But we can fix that. Not that you still can't be a nice griffon and have friends that are all nice, even I have one like that and its okay to have one don't get me wrong, but a griffon like Gilda needs to be pretty badflank! Unless you're a changeling, in which case I guess none of this matters...but...so, yeah! Griffonstone! I heard about the Idol. Ya know, if I thought it was that important I could have gotten it. You could take the Caverns of Coraca, use some tools to break into the side of the abyss. Not too hard. I saw it once and thought about it but I knew what it was and everygriffon in griffonstone had been really mean. What you say is true about things changing and stuff, but I now the Gillysaurus I adventured with. It is a part of you still! You're just taking a mental sabbatical which is totally cool. And when you're ready to adventure, gimme a ring. My wife will want to join us and while she may not have our talent, skill, or experience, she could probably buy some sweet gear!” She sighed, “but...you should probably get out there, get your seat. I think the ceremony starts soon.”

[starswirlthebearded]

Celestia expected to see Cadence, after all the Crystal Empire and Snowfall's company have done much together, still having all the guests seated as Cadence said made Celestia realize quickly what had happened. This was an interesting position to be in. Snowfall graciously greeted the princess and thanked her for coming and started to ask why she had come. Naturally Celestia was not on the guest list as she was requested to officiate the wedding by Crystal Snowflake, whom she had figured told her daughter. Apparently this was not so. 

 

As both Cadence and Snowfall were surprised Celestia who had already figured things out began to giggle at the situation. Really what are the chances? Usually the parents set things up for the wedding, but that was just like Snowfall. "I must confess your mother did not invite me, which is probably why I did not appear on your guest list..." Celestia gave a pause calm now after she had figured it out and having a bit of a laugh. "I suppose you did not know because she wanted it to be a surprise, and did not figure you would ask my niece the same, but she had originally asked me to officiate, probably as a surprise to you." Celestia looked at Cadence who was clearly ready to take the helm. "I do not believe I have had the chance to personally congratulate you either Cady. I look forward to having a grandniece." Celestia said with a playful wink. "As for the matter of why I am here, I shall leave it to you. Though I'm not sure how your mother will feel if I sit out, it is not her wedding. Still, I am at your disposal. Whether you wish Cadence to take the lead or myself, I shall respect your decision." Celestia marveled at how both have grown. She had seen each start out so young and now they both were strong mares, one preparing to be a mother. 

 

Celestia turned back to Cadence as she awaited Snowfall's ultimate decision, "No matter what Snowfall's decision, you are pregnant, so if you feel unwell, please let me know so that I may be able to assist you."

[Bellosh]

 

As much as Dr. Merlot drooled over the prospect of revealing to the world this fabled crystal city that Crystal Snowflake described (folklore identified this place as the Crystal Caverns), the lady seemed rather interested in discussing the thief matter as well. “It will pain you to hear this, but the criminal I speak of is a pony that you are unhappily familiar with as well.” The gentlecolt turned his gaze to sneer at the altar; “And we will be seeing our mutual fiend soon enough.....”

 

 

Princess Cadence meanwhile was busy being doted upon by the bride of the hour. The alicorn expected this of course, now that it was public knowledge that she was expecting. “Oh, thank you Snowfall,” Cadence joyously returned the compliment; “Shining and I are just over the moon with our new bundle of joy coming!” Lightly rubbing her stomach, the beaming Cady just barely managed to suppress the urge to squee like a little schoolfilly right then (she had already done plenty of that two weeks ago when her pregnancy test came out positive).

 

However, Princess Cadence’s jaw dropped ever so slightly upon hearing that her Auntie Celestia was asked by Snowfall’s mother to perform the officiating duties. Cadence did her best at staying calm though. If there was one thing Tia taught her niece very well, it was how to maintain composure whenever a snafu happened. Cady really did admire how her mentor remained serene in nearly all situations; oftentimes finding humor from those occasions. It’s hard to find a more worthy example to live up to.

 

Celestia also reminded Cadence of one detail; that Cadence was not pregnant at the time Snowfall asked her to officiate at this wedding. “I’m fine Tia,” the younger alicorn reassured with a; “I got plenty of sleep last night, so I won’t be getting tired up on the altar.” Thankfully, Cadence thus far had only to contend with fatigue as her major pregnancy-induced inconvenience. Yet, a nagging feeling told the pregnant Crystal Princess that for her own sake, perhaps she should-

 

“Everypony on the guest list has arrived,” interrupted a sharply-dressed mare with a thick local accent who had just walked into the room. This pony was the Event Planner employed at the Grand Celestial Hotel. “The wedding officiator is ready to begin the ceremony, yes?”

​

[Blueblood]

Social Skills and Survival Skills were one and the same thing, as far as changelings were concerned.  If you couldn't read a pony, know what sort of situations encouraged love in them, what displays of love they were sensitive to, and what would leverage more love out of them... you didn't eat.  This went doubly so for Kahz, as his small form and brittle chitin did not allow for the acquisition of any more rough-and-tumble abilities.

 

All of which was to say that he found himself baffled and bemused that anyone, even the eccentric doctor Whooves, would need a machine to measure that which by all rights ought to come naturally.  Especially as the pony's natural sense of Love seemed to be particularly dull... "Well, if you don't recognize love when you see it, I don't see what good some widget that spits out a number is going to do you."  Although he was impressed that it could pick up the slight amount in the drink...

 

The 'ling perked up, suddenly.  A couple of very familiar auras had just entered the room, strong in love, and other magics... *The Princesses.*  Kahz fought down a momentary surge of panic.  After all, it wasn't as if his presence was without  legal precedent.  And if he didn't cause trouble, they wouldn't banish to a hard landing in the Leota, hopefully.  He gulped down the rest of his drink.  "In any case, I think you may have a chance to interview another expert in the field pretty soon.  I believe a certain Princess Mi Amore Cadenza was invited to this wedding..."

​

 

~

 

Speaking of Princesses, Equestria's newest was pleasantly surprised at just how easily she was able to slip back into social life after her sudden change.  For a couple of weeks after being transformed into Bluebelle, she had been rather nervous about how her friends would take the change.  And while some meetings had gone better than others, overall she had been welcomed as usual.

 

"Oh, so you two don't travel a lot together?"  Bluebelle asked, as Pressy stated why she wouldn't be putting Java under pressure anytime soon.  "I suppose you two have different commitments and interests; running a company probably brings more schedule ties than being a painter."  And if they hadn't figured out how to resolve the inevitable priority conflicts... yeah, probably best to wait on that.

 

Speaking of waiting, the pair of brides today seemed to be rather done with dealing with anticipation, but it seemed that Snowfall would have one last issue to resolve before the ceremony.  Apparently, both Auntie Celestia and Cousin Cadence had been asked to officiate!  Bluebelle was just glad to not be a part of this royal mix-up, for once.  "Just wait," She said, half jokingly, "Pathfinder will probably have asked Auntie Luna to officiate!  I'd be willing to bet a hundred bits that she's your bride's favorite."

 

Giggling, she flipped her golden mane back over her shoulder and made to return to the guest area, when she was confronted by another mare.  The Royal's practiced eye took in her appearance, natural colorations in light blue, dress chosen to highlight her natural form and draw attention, and of course, proper grooming all observed.  All told, Bluebelle had to acknowledge that she was a rather good-looking pony... and from the look on the other mare's face, the acknowledgement was mutual.

 

Oh dear.  This was going to be another one of those, wasn't it?  Blueblood had been no stranger to random mares or otherwise coming up to him to ply their affections upon him, and it was in some degree comforting to see that a gender swap had not changed his life so much in this respect.  Well, this time at least, she would attempt to extricate herself with a minimum of bad behavior...

 

"Oh yes, I came here to congratulate my friend."  Bluebelle replied, in a much more low-key and graceful tone, gesturing back towards Snowfall.  "Let nopony say that her celebration went ungraced by the brightest stars in Equestria... but I must confess, I'm not quite so familiar with you as I am with some of the other guests.  What should I know you from?"  For the royal, this was in fact a very polite way of saying she didn't know Trixie from Faust.  But there was no guarantee that the vain showmare would take it that way...

​

[brianblackberry]

Trixie was taken aback, here this new princess spoke of how the wedding had the brightest stars of Equestria, and yet she did not realize who such a prominent and well regarded pony Trixie was?  Well alright, perhaps not all that well regarded, but certainly famous none the less!  Truly such ignorance couldn’t be allowed to continue, she was a mare of enlightenment after all!  "You have not heard of the Renowned and Elegant Trixie?!  Scholar of conjuration, doer of deeds, finder of the arcane and mystical, discoverer of legends?  One of the greatest manipulators of magic? Why once, the Great and Powerful Trixie matched Princess Twilight herself spell for spell!  And, of course, the most magnificent and fantastic showmare in all of Equestria!"  With that, her horn flashed, and a shower of blue, purple, and silver sparks that perfectly accented her elegant gown erupted from behind her.

 

Of course, to be fair this evening was the first time Trixie had heard of princess Bluebell, and she was far more curious than insulted; besides this mare was pretty stunning, and it never hurt to learn more about an attractive mare.  "And yet, despite the Learned and Scholarly Trixie's studies of the lineage of unicorn nobility all the way back to Princess Platinum, she has not heard of a Princess Bluebelle before.  So now that you know who Trixie is, perhaps you could tell more about yourself?”

[Bramble Rose]

Doctor Whooves frowned.  "Don't be ridiculous.  Of course I can recognize love when I see it!  I'm a very observant individual!  It's simply a matter of observing the number of glances per minute over the course of time, minus the rolled eyes, multipled by the expression on the face when the other enters the room, and compare that to the the annoyance factor minus the compiled interest of shared experiences ... it's all quite simple.  Right now I've got the equation down to 9.7x - 6.4i > 3( 2.3x - 6u ) ... but I'm still working on the constants.  And of course, that three multiplier is only if the expression on their face is correct.  That can vary.  But it's a start.  Of course, any of that, through mere observation, is just quantitative.  In science, we're interested in *qualitative*, and that's what this little baby is for!"  He patted the LVE meter happily.  What he hadn't noticed is how the little meter had started to glow a little more, it's indicator arms raising up, as he started to enthuse over the numbers and theory of the science behind magic.  "You simply CANNOT have good science without accurate numbers!"

And then he turned around at Kahz's gesturing to see Cadence.  "Yes!  Of course!  Brilliant chap, yes, let's go say hello, shall we?"

He trotted up to Cadence and Celestia.  "Celestia!  How wonderful!  I haven't seen you since somewhere in the deep sub-sub-sub-sub basement of the castles, after that interesting little bit of exploring with the missing guards and the manasprites.  I see that Luna's been looking quite well since then.  Quite proud of her.  Well, actually, I *saw* you several times since then - most recently at the wedding in Ponyville.  Just haven't had a chance to talk.  This is Kahz, a new friend of mine.  Capital fellow, very friendly.  Why not introduce me to your friend, here?"  While talking to Celestia, however, he waved the LVE meter towards Cadence, and was DELIGHTED to see the numbers going off the scale!  "Magnificent!" he said, staring at the LVE meter instead of the princess as he exclaimed, "You are a beautiful creature, your loveness!"  With his other forehoof, he waved the flameless firework in Cadence's general vicinity ... nothing, alas.  But the readings were so high!  It must be one of those 'hue/saturation' issues Kahz had mentioned instead of just intensity...

​

[Imagination]

 

 

 

It was tremendously out of character for Trailblazer to be in a tuxedo, but at the same time he would never be caught dead at a formal event without the finest of wares. That, and what better place to dazzle ladies than a wedding?

 

It's the same. Weddings are the place where the mares harbor fantasies of when it will be 'their turn' and how wonderful the ceremony would be. Things they'd do the same, things they'd do different, talking about dresses and decorations and music and hors d'oeuvres. At least Pathfinder's taste in mares is expensive. This promised to be quite the event! Of course, one could imagine his surprise when he got an invite at his private island doorstep. Poor mailpony, he didn't stand a chance against his watermelon seed-spitting monkey guards. But, as repulsive as Pathfinder was, perhaps this was a good time to play nice and bury the hatchet. Afterall, a tied down Pathfinder would prove less annoying on his future endeavors. 

 

Speaking of, he decided to bring one of his most trusted guards, Sergeant Bubbles, with him as his +1. 

 

Mostly because he convinced Trailblazer to go in the first place. And bring a gift. 

 

"I can't believe I let an ape talk me into attending this overpriced circus..."

The ape in question, holding a large wrapped gift under his tuxedo'd arm just gave the stallion's ear a sassy tug, riding on his back into the wedding. 

 

Surprise surprise, he didn't know anypony here, though that's alright. 

 

Wait, strike that, he did see a couple he recognized, like Miss Trixie among the performers. Though he thought it might be better to avoid her for now. He wanted to get the unfortunately necessary pleasantries out of the way first and foremost. A soft howl in Trailblazer's ear from his guest caused him to flinch. "Fashionably late, Bubbles. Let's just give her the book and get ready for the trainwreck..." Bubbles just tilted his head, arching a brow. "Oh come, it's Pathfinder we're talking about. That cretin could make getting dressed a national emergency... When something goes wrong, I'm going to be- no, we are going to be there. And I'm gonna laugh."

 

At this he got a slap to the back of the head, to which Trailblazer sighed. "Yes yes, momentous and joyous day, hurrah hurrah et cetera et cetera..." he droned out, making his way ever closer to one of the brides to be, though she seemed to busy talking to somepony... or something. Either way, he approached the two and, not wanting to waste time- "*Ahem!*" he cleared his throat, hoping to 1. Interrupt and 2. Hurry this along. He even wore a big smile and everything. "Pathyyyy~!" he greeted, doing his best to hold back the gag reflex.

 

Sgt. Bubbles quickly jumped off his master's back and stood by his side, being quiet and polite, holding their gift close as if to guard it from anypony that isn't Pathfinder. 

[Blueblood]

Bluebelle continued to gaze at Trixie with an expression of barely-veiled puzzlement, until she mentioned Princess Twilight.  The association of the two names suddenly triggered a memory in her, and recognition began to dawn.  "Wait... you wouldn't happen to be the same Trixie who put Ponyville under that dome a year or two ago?"  There was now a visible sense of unease about her as the showmare continued to inquire as to her lineage.

 

"Well... I am actually descended from Princess Platinum, the same as Prince Blueblood.  In fact, I am Blueblood.  Or was.  Still am.  Gah!"  The mixing of her gender was beginning to tangle her tongue.  "Magical accident."  She explained, blushing a bit at her verbal stumblings, here eyes still casting about for a good excuse to take her leave from the no-doubt crazy mare in front of her...

​

 

Meanwhile, across the room, Kahz was also finding himself in a circumstance of distress.

 

The changeling had been beginning to wonder if there was any real point to trying to get ideas past the enthusiastic pre-conceptions of Doctor Whooves.  Did the stallion really think that he could math it out?  Or that he ought to?  That formula of his woudl cause a big laugh back at the Hive, when Kahz told them about it...

 

Having pointed out the Princess to the doctor, he had been planning to use the opportunity to leave and set up back stage.  Instead, he found himself suddenly dragged along by the stallion, and deposited, in full changeling form, before both the ruler of Equestria and the Princess of Love, both of whom had been involved with extremely negative interactions with his kind before.

 

"Ehehe...."  He gave a little, nervous laugh as Doctor Whooves introduced his, gulping in nervousness.  *Easy now, Kahz, just relax.  You've been preparing yourself for things like this your whole life.  Be genuine, winsome, and winning.  Put more confidence into that smile.  And for the Hive's sake, bow in respect!*

 

Taking a deep breath, the changeling obeyed his inner monologue, bowing to Celestia and Cadence in turn.  "Your majesties..."  He began, voice steadying out as he went on.  "I do hope my presence does not cause distress.  I had been invited by the bride to her wedding, as we'd met before, and I offered to lend my services as a musician."

​

[brianblackberry]

Trixie blanched a bit at Bluebelle's remembrance.  "Oh, well.  Yes, Trixie did do that.  And no, Trixie is not proud of that.  That foul amulet made the Tricked and Defenseless Trixie to do all manner of cruel things!  She does not like dwelling on the time such mistakes were made..."  She hung her head, hoping Bluebelle would take the hint.  Ugh.  That blasted bit of cheap costume jewelry had been so wonderfully powerful ... but at the cost of her own personality?  It was no point being Great and Powerful if she was no longer Trixie!

Still, the princess went on to explain it was an accident, which disappointed Trixie greatly.  Still, though she had no desire to change her gender, powerful magic was powerful magic, and one never knew when it would come in useful.  "The scholarly and mystical Trixie, however, is verrrry interested in how that happened, and would be verrrry happy if you would tell her the story!  If you are seeking the cure, perhaps the Benevolant and Heroic Trixie may be able to aid you?  Her assistant seems very experienced in curses and magical mishaps, and of course the Great and Powerful Trixie can overcome any limit!"

[RarityDash]

Gilda wasn't sure what she was expect, but Pathfinder's response nevertheless gave her pause. Here she was growing up, pushing past the stubbornness of her pride and becoming someone better than she was and yet Pathfinder almost seemed to reject it on impulse. Here Pathfinder was taking this big, game changing step and getting married, but it was hard to deny that she was the same pony she had been when Gilda had met her. It made Gilda appreciate how far she had come in such a short time. She might have once been quick to label Pathfinder as an idiot in the past, but she had not truly been so different. A static creature, unwilling to learn from her frequent mistakes.

The griffon puffed up her feathers, not backing away even as Pathfinder tried to urge her away.  "Listen here, I didn't say I had hung up my adventuring hat for good, you dweeb. It's Ms Nothing Matters but Myself, Gilda the trick flyer which is done for. I'll gladly still risk my tail on some crazy, feather-brained scheme if I get the inkling to, only it won't be just for me anymore. Way I see it, changing Griffonstone, making it great again, that'll be a true adventure in itself..."

She gave a bit of a huff. "And you know, I may have convinced myself it isn't what truly matters anymore... but if you did have a scheme in that head of yours to make another grab for that stupid idol, I'd be ears... just out of spite for what the cursed thing put me through alone..." she added.

it was then that some stallion came up to them all of a sudden with an ape and greeted Pathfinder. "Who's this clown?" Gilda commented wryly, barely bothering to lower her voice.

​

Crystal's eyes widened slightly than went dull.

"Honestly I cannot fathom any of this farce. I knew she was a ne'er-do-well of the worst order, wasting her time on nonsense, blithely ignorant of anything approaching reason--but I wasn't aware her witless pursuits crossed intro the territory of actual crime."

She scoffed bitterly in disgust. "Tell me, how might it be possible if she has committed such grand larceny, that she is here today marrying my daughter and not locked away in the padded cell where she belongs?"

​

Snowfall grimaced awkwardly at the confusing situation she had been presented with.

It was definitely true that her and her mother lacked for proper communication. She had, with Pathfinder's input, planned most of the wedding herself... but she had left her mother entirely in charge of the high society invite list. She hadn't taken that to mean her mother would see fit to choose the officiator as well... though given her mother's pride in knowing Celestia at all, she supposed she could see how the situation had arisen.

It was Snowfall's fault for not verifying anything ultimately. She had asked Cadance early on but had never actually told her mother of it and when later into the planning her mother had started constantly reminding her that the wedding was going to be officiated by the princess, she had just assumed that someone had let it slip to her, not that she had taken it upon herself to invite a different princess herself. There was also the possibility that her mother did know and had invited the princess anyway, just to force Snowfall into an uncomfortable and potentially embarrassing position.

She smiled at Cadance calmly. "It's wonderful news. I'm glad to see you in such high spirits, Princess," she said. "Though it does seem like we've stumbled into a rather awkward situation."

"And I fear it is my fault entirely. I truly should have kept a better handle on things, but you know first hoof how the stress gets for things," she said. She offered her best smile. "If it is no issue or insult with you, Cadance, I would have you sit and attend my wedding as my friend and guest while Princess Celestia acts as the officiator."

It really was the only decision to be made as Snow saw it. She wasn't going to tell the ruler of all Equestria that she made her trip for nothing.

At Bluebelle's comment, Snowfall chuckled. "Wouldn't that be a laugh if we had yet another princess shove her ways through those gates," she said. "But no, Pathfinder and I discussed everything for the wedding together."

A few moments later, more interesting characters approached, intent to greet the princesses...something Snowfall could very much understand. The first was a rather dapper looking earth pony stallion in a tie. From the words he spoke to Celestia, of which there were a lot, he definitely seemed the interesting sort and the peculiar device he kept pointing around only strengthened this impression.

"A pleasure meeting you, sir," she said, nodding. "I'm Snowfall, one of the brides of the hour. Are you perhaps one of Pathfinder's friends?" Her eyes then went to the device. Being who she was, CEO of one of Equestria leading technological enterprises, she most assuredly had an interest in such things. "What is that curious implement of yours? it looks intriguing."

Her eyes left this fellow to go then to the other who approached them, who as it turned out, was quite an interesting sight. He was a changeling. Snowfall was immediately intrigued. "So... you're the musician Pathfinder selected?" she started, immediately amused by the fact. "I can't say I've had an opportunity to make the acquaintance of a changeling before. Thank you for coming all this way to play at my wedding."

​

[moonshineTheleocat]

The stallion blushed at the topic the Prince…er… princess(?) had mentioned. He wasn’t entirely where to even BEGIN to answer that one. Luckily his marefriend was quick to provide a response. And a good one at that. Whew… it’s good to see that Pressy was a really down to earth mare when it came to life long decisions. He couldn’t even remember what his highest educational degree actually was! Is he a Doctor now? Or a master? ERGH! A terrible husband indeed!

 

“Y-yeah… that’s… a thought for later…” The stallion mumbled, with a hoof softly rubbing his neck. He seemed to not notice his tie being straightened by the magical glow. Instead his mind was busy trying to find a way to change the conversational topic! He tried to talk to Snowfall, one of the starmaidens of this wedding it seems. But when he glanced towards her… she seemed to have been spirited away to another area. But it seems the Princess was courteous enough to help a friend out! Sort of…

 

“We have done some traveling together, and as well as some adventures. Not as often as what we did when we were foals however,” Java hummed softly. He began to wonder if he should go on more adventures. It definitely would be fun to have another big cat creature try to carve his belly open again.

 

The stallion then sighed, “Unfortunately my work keeps me on the mountains, and her next muse beckons her from across the seas.” Once the stallion finished… he heard a familiar melady on his ears. A harbringer of good times and discovery. MATH!

The stallion’s head was quickly to turn to the far distance to another brown stallion. His mind rewinded all the background noises… and played it back again… repeating a sentence before hand… an equation on love? Egad! Of course that equation hasn’t seen any progress! He’s operating under the wrong assumptions.


“Excuse me for a moment~” The stallion hummed to his current group, before suddenly springing off to go join a like minded individual.

“Excuse me good sir! Sorry to interject, but I’m a buck of science as well. I couldn’t help but to over hear the equation you are working on and…” Java trailed off… just as he pulled a large blackboard on wheels out of absolutely no where.

His hoof tapped on a piece of chalk and he began to write away on the board. “.. you are on the right track! But if you are going to use a pony’s expressions and emotions in your math, then you must also consider what space you are operating under! R to the power of N my friend!”

The pony began to draw a pony’s face on the board, drawn of hundres of planes with tiny arrows pointing off of the vertices! “Expressions have intensity! Volume! Edges and sharp turns! You can’t just use a standard integer! You need the area under the curve~” He chimed as he derived an equation based on the volume and structure of the pony’s face using splines and vector algebra “If we project the face onto a cube, we can approximate the surface area and it’s intensity by integration! So that might “not be a constant all together, but the constant might just very well be a function of T(x,y,z)!

[starswirlthebearded]

Celestia nodded at the event planner when she announced that all the guests had arrived and it was time for the wedding officiator was to start. She didn't do anything as she still awaited the response of the mare of the hour, Snowfall. At Cadence's word that she was fine, she was still hesitant. Getting rest was good, but that was not all that there was to it, pregnancy was not so easy on the body and Celestia knew this, but she did not push the issue since Snowfall chimed in shortly thereafter settling the issue, stating that she preferred Cadence there as a friend rather than an officiator. "It is settled. It will be my honour to officiate your wedding Snowfall, and I'm sure your mother will be happy that her contribution to your special day did not get wasted." Celestia said with a wink. 

"Bluebelle, I'm sure my sister would have loved to officiate, but I'm not sure what say you would have had in somepony else's wedding planning." Celestia replied to Bluebelle's joke playfully. "Unless there is something you haven't told me..." 

Before she could reply to the event organizer an acquaintance of hers came through, Doctor Whooves, with a strange friend. A friend that put Celestia on her guard rather quickly, though she did not make a display of that. "Your friend is rather interesting Doctor Whooves. I'm sure you already know of our previous encounter. However if you claim they are a 'stand up fellow' then I have no reason to doubt." Celestia paused for a moment and looked at Kahz whom seemed rather nervous and not unlike anything she had seen before in her previous encounters with changelings and thought it nothing to get worried about. "As for my sister, I too am rather proud of her. She has come a long way indeed." Celestia said with a smile as Kahz introduced himself. 

"Well it is a pleasure to meet you Kahz. You need not feel apprehensive. The only way you would cause distress is to cause a scene by attacking a pony." Celestia said playfully, though she was still on guard, since she did not exactly have a pleasant experience last time she encountered changelings. Still she saw no need to act rude or give any ill will towards Kahz, as he seemed rather earnest. "I look forward to hearing your music." Celestia gave a startling pause as she glanced up at the clock. "I do believe it is time to listen to the event organizer and start the ceremony, Snowfall if you don't mind I'll be taking my leave, and I suggest everyone else do the same so that we may not lose any further time." Celestia smiled as she exited the room to the main hall to begin preparations to start the ceremony.

[Bellosh]

 

Merlot gave Crystal Snowflake a maniacal grin, as he felt there was only one proper way for the question to be answered. “I have brought the matter to Princess Celestia’s personal attention some time ago. I’m sure she will be more than happy to answer your inquiries when she emerges to being the ceremonies.” Word had reached Merlot’s ears that Mrs. Snowflake used her influence to convince the all-divine Princess to officiate the wedding. How dreadfully amusing it was for the gentlecolt to speculate how much Snowfall’s mother was now regretting her decision.

 

 

So it was decided. By Snowfall’s decree, Celestia would be running the show today, which Cadence would get to enjoy as a spectator. Not finding fault with the reasoning of the other mares, the Crystal Princess took this change of plans in stride; “I suppose I should get seated then. Have a lovely day Snowfall, and hope things don’t end up as 'exciting' as my-”

Woops, spoke too soon. Cadence wasn’t if her sudden sense of queasiness was triggered by pregnancy side-effects or the sight of an unmasked changeling in the room. Unlike her Auntie Celestia, the pink alicorn had virtually no post-wedding encounters with changelings that enabled her to see that species in a new-found positive light. Hence did Cadence regard the apparent musician with visible apprehension, although observing everypony else’s passive acceptance of Kahz, the mare spoke not a word.

Just as strange was Kahz’s companion; an earth pony Doctor who complimented Princess Cadence’s beauty while focusing his gaze upon some sort of scientific contraption. “Ummm, thank you?” the alicorn tepidly replied, who really nothing more than to find her seat. Perhaps then, her nausea would subside; “Excuse me everypony.” Cautiously walking away from the others towards the room's exit, Cadence couldn’t bring herself to say anything to Kahz. Admittedly, the changeling seemed like a nice enough fellow, and it was unfortunate to have brushed him off when he only meant the best. Still, old memories of captivity and invasion died hard.....

​

[Blueblood]

 

Bluebelle eyeballed the blanching magician, but it seemed evident that Trixie's remorse was sincere.  The Princess wasn't in a position to throw stones, really, living herself in something of a glass palace, with all flaws and errors on display live, and on the front pages of the papers the next day.  Still, that left the stallion-turned-mare undecided on whether or not she approved of Trixie as she was now.  

As a professional magician, though, Bluebelle supposed she had a legitimate interest in her... predicament.  And after all, an offer of help was an offer of help.  "Well... I'm afraid I can't really communicate the technical details.  But basically, I had fallen very ill after... a trip with my Auntie Luna, and Princess Twilight graciously agreed to assist with a healing spell.  Or, perhaps 'bodily restoration' might be more accurate, as I did wake up in a healthy body... just a female one."  She shrugged.  "I... just don't know what went wrong!"

And that was about all she could tell.  Truth be told, she didn't have much confidence that Trixie would be able to offer anything useful in the way of a cure.  But a mare/stallion could always hope...

~

 

Meanwhile, Kahz was having a much more intense conversation, fielding responses from no less than three mares of import!  Not that it got him down, oh no!  Like a graceful flyer, he took the headwinds and let them carry him into the sky! 

He decided to take them in order of precedence, turning his sunny smile first upon the Sunny Princess.  "Thank you, your majesty.  I'll play all the better knowing you'll be there to listen."  It was true that the presence of pretty mares was a musical inspiration to him.  This was partly because it was his best means of really charming them, since his diminutive and somewhat bent-out-of-shape form wasn't going to win any prize for looks.  He wasn't physically capable of being a bully, so he'd been forced to get his way through kindness.  And it proved to work surprisingly well...

Ooh, speaking of which, better get ready.  See ya after the vows!"nowfall, before taking a quick glance at the clock.  ""  He gave a wink at SThe maths of love, ha!  I don't know about you, but I never thought that you could reduce it to an equation.  A song, maybe.  I've written a couple for you and Pathfinder specially for today. He jerked a hoof over his shoulder to indicate the two earth ponies dueling sticks of chalk on slate.  "that." I would have liked to talk to her, at least long enough to get her professional opinion on "  He gave an apologetic shrug to the bride now addressing him.  "Um.  Well.  I guess I can't blame her for that.... though not miraculously, as he observed Princess Cadence take her leave quickly.  "

 

[brianblackberry]

 

This Bluebelle was certainly pretentious, 'Auntie Luna'?  Really??  Just because this unicorn descended from the royal unicorn bloodlines of old doesn't make one a relative of the royal sisters!  Whatever, as much as Trixie wanted to give this arrogant aristocrat a good lecture on humility, of which Trixie was, of course, an expert, she kept up her attentive and helpful smile in hopes of getting some useful tidbit of information on such transformative magic.

Unfortunately for Trixie, the white unicorn mare didn't have any useful information on how she came to become female.  What made the azure unicorn cringe, though, was the mentioning of Twilight Sparkle.  That unicorn... Alicorn was always one step ahead of poor Trixie, and ever since Twilight became a princess, there was no way for Trixie to catch up.  "Er, well, like Trixie said, her humble assistant may have some information from his many travels far and wide throughout Equestria!  He is just an earth pony though, but fortunately you also have the magical prowess of the Great and Powerful Trixie at your disposal!  Trixie will generously inquire for you right now, in fact!"

It was doubtful the Whooves actually had any knowledge whatsoever in regards to a gender changing spell, but it was possible.  She just wanted to extradite herself from the conversation before it was revealed once again how her magic just didn't measure up compared to Twilight's.  "Trixie shall return!  No need to wait though, Trixie will find you in good time"  Without another word she quickly trotted towards the far side of the room where Whooves hopefully would be.  Right now Trixie felt vulnerable, and being next to Whooves brought the stability of familiarity, even if she would never tell him that.  That sort of inflation was the last thing the earth pony's ego needed!

 

[Bramble Rose]

 

Doctor Whooves blinked as all the ponies around him just suddenly took their leaves, standing all by himself in the middle of the area.  The glowing sway-arms on each side of the device stopped glowing, and dropped back down to nothing.  Trixie came up behind him, and without even looking, he sighed and leaned against her side just a little bit, trusting she would be there as he bumped his head against her shoulder.  "They all left!" he complained quietly.  "I had the princess of love right there, and I blew it.  I can't research the science of love if they all leave!  I'm relatively certain that the love I'm trying to study requires at least two individuals."  

He smirked fondly a bit as he looked up to Trixie.  "Unless it's you and a mirror, of course," he said in a familiar, oft-told joke sort of way.  "It seems the ceremony will be starting soon."  He offered his hoof to her.  "Shall we go in?  Allon-zy!"

 

[Pretzelparty]

"That's about the size o' it" Said the painter with an cheesy, embarrassed grin on her face, "On the adventures and dates we do go on... well... It can get kinda crazy in regards to the weird stuff we somehow find ourselves in. S'been that way since we were little actually, once got away from out mums and somehow found our selves in a cave network full of giant crystalline spiders."

While Presteza responded to the now princess, it seemed that Java saw the second love of his life had in fact attended a party:Mathematics. Presteza chuckled as her mate's eyes lit up and he took off for his comfort zone. "So, have you been lookin' for a special somepony, Princess?" She asked with a curious look on her face. 

Then came a familiar voice from a mare she recognized! "Trixie!" Said the mare in a peppy tone, "How have things been since the... uh swapping incident? The doctor doin' okay?" She knew she didn't really have to elaborate further. that was... quite an event.

 

 

[starswirlthebearded]

The princess made her way out of the room and found the event organizer and made the necessary arrangements for the start of the ceremony. Celestia made it to the front to start the preparations. Most ponies were still chatting about the hall some were in scattered seats others were in various corners. Celestia made her way to the stage after surveying the hall. She briefly cleared her throat. "Fillies, Gentlecolts, ladies and gentlemen, I thank you so much for coming to share with Snowfall and Pathfinder their special day. Now before we can begin, I must ask everyone to please take their seats so that the procession may begin." 

Celestia noticed all the ponies, and cretures making their way towards their seats, noticing, perhaps more now than ever, the sheer diversity of the crowd. It was truly a marvel... She pondered whose influence it was, the adventurer Pathfinder or the heiress Snowfall. They both had a lot of contact with pretty much every creature in Equestria... As the last pony took their seat, Celestia gave a nod to the organist to start the music to start the ceremony.

[SteelEagle]

It wasn't long before Gilda and her friend moved away and gave Pathfinder time to prepare. The greatest of sighs- this part of the party was less cool but she figured it had to be done. Then she was alone for a while, just her and her thoughts, which was a dangerous crime in most parts of the world. She went over how they had fiest met- a dating service. Pathfinder applied just for the fun of it, but here she was. They'd experienced so much together but that didn't mean that the journey was over. No, it was just starting. She had so many plans in store for her Snowfall that to anypony other than her they'd appear dizzying and confusing and otherwise impractical. But jokes on you because Pathfinder was her and Snowfall was the other, extended version of her, and that meant F-U-N.

First off was going to be a two-pony trip to the deepest, darkest parts of the Braekenwald. She knew this cool zebra historian who said that the old Neighpon colony there was forced out by mind-altering defenses created by the Braekenwald that came from the tomb of the First Unicorn Tribe. Obviously they had to explore that. But that wasn't all! The Pharaoh's Vale had recently been put under total lock-down after some sort of outbreak in the tombs. That sounded cool, especially if the rumors of a massive mummy awakening were true. Then there was the overwhelmingly fun myth of the Kings of the Fillyphines, and what would happen should somepony ever recover all seven of their artifacts! That plus beach time for Snowfall, yay!

The music started up- this was her time to walk out. She took a breath or two and allowed for a pregnant pause because ANTICIPATION, and then trotted out. She waved to those around like she was seeing friends for the first time after a long summer break during her school days, big and dumbly and friendly as her wings tried to burst out of her dress in excitement. She looked good in the dress and the shoes were nice but in the end, all she wanted to do was get married, and she walked down the aisle as the music played and ponies prepared their minds to be blown, more excited about seeing Snowy for the first time that day more than she was by Princesses or anything else, because Snowy was the bees knees, please!
 

[Blueblood]

 

Well!  That was certainly... something.  Bluebelle watched the magician depart with an equal mixture of apprehension and relief.  The company of an egoist is a pleasant thing to have depart, but the Princess was by no means so sure that she had seen the last of Trixie.  After all, who knew what half-baked creation of mad magitech would return with her, after her consultation with this 'Doctor'?  On the third hoof, though, a workable solution to gender issues wouldn't necessarily go awry...

In any case, the ceremony was starting, and it was time for her to find a seat.  Technically, she had come in on Snowfall's invitation, so strict propriety would have her sit on that side of the chamber.  Unfortunately, the only seat available there would place her right next to Dr. Merlot, whom strict propriety would have the butler escort that jumped-up parvenue out the premises via a firm boot to the backside.  Sighing in regret for the passing of her grandfather's day, Bluebelle cast about for an alternative, and found another empty seat on the other side, next to a griffon.  Well, she would be likely be better-tempered, at least.

As the Princess approached, politely asking, "Excuse me, do you mind if I sit here?"  She reflected that the face of the griffon looked familiar... ah, yes!  She had operated the Griffonstone booth back at the Friendship Expo!  Well, wasn't that something?  Blue made a mental note to talk to Gilda later; perhaps there was an opportunity for IMAGINE...

 

~

Kahz, meanwhile, had his own professional part to play.  The guitar was not normally the instrument used to usher in the bride, but pipe organs were hard to commission in a hurry.  Plus, the changeling had never quite mastered the art of operating them, yet.  Give it a month or two.  In the meantime, amplifiers and clever use of acoustics were able to produce a workable substitute; good enough for his former foe, at any rate.

Looking at Pathfinder strut down the aisle... he couldn't help but be struck by the contrast between this beautifully dressed mare, and the dirty, defiant, indefatigable infiltrator he'd had the pleasure of interrogating; a friendlier conversation than one might expect under the circumstances, it had to be said.  He couldn't say whether she deserved to be happy, but if the taste in the air was anything to go by, her love was the genuine article, all right!

[brianblackberry]

 

Trixie actually felt a little bad for Whooves - she knew his experiment was important to him even if it was some strange idea she didn't quite understand.  On the rare occasions Whooves actually explained himself, he went on in some convoluted diatribe that Trixie swiftly lost interest in.  Something, something flameless fireworks blah blah blah magic of love, whatever.  How could he invent something and not know how to use it properly?  It was his own creation for Celestia's sake!  Yet again, such was par for the course with Whooves, it was both frustrating and yet somehow fascinating at the same time. 

Not being sure how to comfort him, Trixie awkwardly patted him in the head, "there... There, Trixie is sure you'll find a solution for those umm, firework things you keep in jars".  She didn't say out-loud what she really felt, how he already had a much better solution in the pony standing right next to him whose magic was especially adept at controlling pyrotechnics!  Why go through the effort of making his own fireworks when he already knew the best performer in all the land?  She probably would have gone into it more if they weren't on their way to their seats.

Still she was willing to help, even after that crack about the mirror.  She wasn't self-obsessed!  She was humble, why she was already planning her her next spectacular tour, the Humble and Repentant Trixie's Great Apology Extravaganza of Magical Wonderment!  The title was a work in progress.

Once they were in the sanctuary where everyone was gathering she supposed they should sit on Pathfinder's side, since it was her invitation that had brought Trixie and Whooves to the event.  She saw some empty chairs towards the front, perfect!  "C'mom Whooves, up here!  This way you'll get the best view of your old flame getting married!  Don't worry, Trixie will be there with a hankie in case you get all misty-eyed!"