The rehearsal had gone as perfectly as it could have. That did not come as a surprise to anypony except maybe the couple: it was the fourth one. Had it been any other couple, everypony would have called it excessive. But it was not any other couple, it was Rarity and Twilight Sparkle who were (eventually) getting married here. Two inveterate perfectionists if ever there were any. And that was how Applejack knew they had not been replaced by changelings. So despite the constant edits and refinements to the order of events, everypony gathered at Sweet Apple Acres could have gone through this wedding in their sleep. As perfectly arranged and executed as it could be. Even so, there was a big gap between "as perfect as it can be" and "perfect," and everypony knew it. And everypony knew what was missing. Who, rather. Five friends just could not fill out the stage like six. Rainbow Dash's absence was palpable. The downside to being the best flier in Equestria, was that there was no helping things when a problem came up that only the best could handle. And so as storms raged off the coast, the remaining ponies practiced the motions. Too much had been set in motion to reschedule. The rehearsals had all gone as perfectly as they could, in the certainty of disappointment. The dangerous moment was the real ceremony. If there was any version that would fail it was that one. Because for the date of the real ceremony, unlike the previous days, there was hope that Rainbow might make it. An inevitable disappointment was easy to cope with. Even if every movement through a room was calculated to leave space for a pony who wasn't there, if there was nothing to be done, there was nothing to be done. If an expertly crafted dress, hung unworn from a rack because the pony it was fitted for could not possibly be there, that was unfortunate. It was a short tale, if sad. If she might have been there, but was not, then that was a tragedy. Rarity fretted. She felt exactly as she imagined she would when she first imagined this day so many years ago. All the excitement was there. But her artistic endeavors had early taught her what it felt like to have all her nerves laid raw. She had for all this time been counting on her future lover to calm her, reassure her. Now Twilight Sparkle was a wonderful, beautiful mare, what she was not, was calm in stressful situations. It was a small ceremony, extensively planned, but small. If only because even if they had invited more ponies, the combined neuroticism of the two brides would have driven most of them away. Rarity did not tell her almost-not-quite-but-so-close-for-Celestia's-sake-just-kiss-me-already wife what she had overheard Applejack and Pinkie discussing. A betting pool for whether or not they would actually go through with the plan, or if Celestia would end up officiating the marriage of their sleeping bodies amidst piles of fabric and strewn notes. And she most definitely would not tell her what she had bet. That was a story for their—grandfoals. She heard a bird scratching at the window of Applejack's graciously lent office. She stood up. It was time. As she passed out of the house, she tried to be more disappointed about the bits she had just lost than the dress rack in the corner with its single occupant. The grass was soft under her hooves. She resolved to throw out all her romance novels; they were worthless, failing to capture a thousandth of what she felt. Pinkie Pie fell in with her, as planned. The plan didn't include a desperate scan of the horizon, but they managed to do it without stopping or slowing. Wouldn't want to worry Twilight. The rows of pews in the middle of the orchard came into sight. The only blue visible was the sky. There was a glimpse of holy Purple between two trees. She could hear ponies chattering. Pinkie left her side and took her place. No, then. She raised her leg and softly took the first step onto the path. Her hoof brushed the soil with a thunderous [em]crack[/em] and the sky was full of color. The ceremony began. Rainbow Dash was exhausted, naked, sweating, dirty, and clumsy. It went perfectly.