OpalAmore has a minion!

Zephyr Petals the Vincale

Story by PiplupMagby34
background by colourlovers.com

It was going to be a beautiful wedding. Everyone would make sure of it.

Subetans were constantly adjusting flower arrangements and decoration. The chefs were test-tasting the refreshments and the cake. The hustle and bustle was something you would typically expect during wedding preparations. And just who was the lucky couple this time around?

The handsome Valiant Amie, a zasaba well-known for his magic prowess, was tying the knot with his true love. The groom smiled as beautiful lilies were presented to him by the wedding planner. The bride hesitated for a few seconds and then said, “Yes, those flowers are lovely.” Soon the best man came in, requesting to chat with the groom about something. As they left, the bride gave a deep sigh. It was all so beautiful…and yet she knew…

The one thing out of place in this beautiful wedding…

Was her.

This day is going to be perfect
The kind of day of which I dreamed since I was small
Everyone will gather round
Say I look lovely in my gown
What they don't know is that I have fooled them all...

The shocking truth was, the bride-to-be really wasn’t the bride at all. Her true name was OpalAmore, a minion to the Queen Ostent Diamond. The queen and her followers lived in relative peace in their land until the Luminous Tree, which was the source of all of their magic, began to run dry. In order to avert the crisis, the zasaba had been forced to seek other sources of raw magic that could be used to replenish the tree. OpalAmore had been greatly shocked when she received the word that she had been selected to carry out an important mission to save her land and her fellow zasaba. Her apprehension grew when she heard the details of the mission: she was to pose as the love of a magical being and drain enough magic from him to replenish the lost magic from the Luminous Tree.

The queen was confident that OpalAmore was the best choice for this mission because OpalAmore had the capability to change her form into whatever she wished. Of course, in order for this ruse to work the real bride had to be out of the picture. OpalAmore was assured that the actual bride of Valiant Amie would be kept occupied until she had gathered enough magical energy from Valiant to help restore the Luminious Tree. Despite OpalAmore’s fears, she dared not disobey her queen because doing so could have severe consequences. In order to ensure the mission was a success, Opal was given training in being dainty and princess-like. She was also given an artifact that would allow her to drain the magic from the unsuspecting groom. The artifact, which was an ancient amulet, had another ability. If OpalAmore worried that someone might be catching unto her, she could sing a song that clouded the memories of anyone who heard it. With her shapeshifting powers, her magical amulet, and her training in being lady-like, OpalAmore was sure to succeed.

Under the cover of a stormy night, OpalAmore changed into the form of a gold zasaba and began to walk to the hotel where Valiant was staying. When she arrived and knocked on the door to Valiant’s room, Valiant expressed his concern about her walk in the rain and his fears that she might catch cold. Valiant urged his “fiancée” to come in and warm up.

The next few weeks consisted of meeting with Valiant’s family, the wedding planner, the caterers, the florists, and OpalAmore’s “friends” (they actually were friends of the real bride). OpalAmore’s friends were ooohing and ahhing over the dresses, flowers, and cake options she was offered. They constantly chatted about what choices they were going to make for their weddings. OpalAmore personally felt overwhelmed by all the choices due to never actually participating in a wedding like this. She had simply seen couples stand before the podium, exchange vows and say “I do.” Reminded of her training, OpalAmore tried to be as pleasant as possible.

One day OpalAmore asked Valiant what he wanted for the wedding. He gave her a surprised look and laughed. “Well, aren’t you an interesting one!” he stated with a smile, “normally the groom doesn’t have much participation in the wedding planning!” OpalAmore felt all the color rush into her cheeks. Since she was so inexperienced when it came to wedding planning, she had assumed that both the bride and groom had a role in the wedding planning. Weddings were created when two people decided to spend their lives together, after all. Valiant Amie sensed OpalAmore’s surprise and embarrassment and reassured her that he wasn’t offended at all by what she had said.

“Personally,” Valiant began, “I hope our wedding includes one of my family’s special traditions. First, the bride and groom each choose a small tree that represents their personality and place the trees next to each other at the wedding altar. Then everyone in my family places flowers around the trees to serve as a symbol of accepting the new couple as full-fledged family member. After the bride and groom pledge their love for each other via their vows, a branch from each of the two trees is removed and placed on the other tree to symbolize the bride and groom coming together as one. If you want, we could include your family in the tradition as well. We can pick one flower to represent my family and another to represent yours.”

OpalAmore was intrigued to hear about the tradition that Valiant had just mentioned. It reminded her of how zasaba laid their eggs at the base of a tree and the eggs would hatch during springtime. She acknowledged that Valiant’s idea was a good one, so over the next few weeks the couple researched the meaning of different types of flowers and notified their families of the tradition that was to take place. This tradition, however, was where OpalAmore hit some bumps in the road with her ruse. While she had been adequately trained to behave in a lady like manner, her training did not include the little nuances in the bonds that Valiant’s bride had with her family. She could not recall specific memories that the bride’s family shared with the original bride, and as a result OpalAmore was forced to use her memory-clouding song a few times to keep them from foiling her mission. As she used this power to deal with these hiccups, OpalAmore sometimes worried whether she might encounter a situation where her memory-clouding song would be useless and she would have to deal with the fallout of one of her mistakes.

OpalAmore sighed a breath of relief as she shut the door behind her. Finally some privacy and time to think clearly! The night had almost taken a sharp turn for the worse when OpalAmore found herself undergoing an intervention conducted by the groom’s aunt and sisters! The accusations that they had raised had shocked the zasaba. Apparently the real bride had made some bizarre requests to the bridal party and Valiant's family. She had asked her bridemaids to dye their hair to match the exact shade of the flowers she had picked. She had also asked the aunt to lose a few pounds so she wouldn’t look pudgy in the group photo. The biggest shock came from a request that the bride had asked her future sister-in-law. Two months before the wedding preparations began, the groom’s sister had torn a ligament on her left leg and needed to be on crutches for six months. However, the bride had asked her future sister-in-law not to wear the crutches when the group photo was being taken because they looked ugly! OpalAmore could still hear the stern words of Valiant's aunt in her head concerning this request.

“What on earth are you THINKING?! It’s totally ridiculous! Poor Lucille could make her injury worse by doing that! I know a bride wants everything right for her wedding day, but seriously there are limits!”

Lucille, the sister with the injured leg, had confusion and worry written all over her face. OpalAmore had seen some of her fellow zasaba suffer injuries similar to Lucille’s, and OpalAmore actually knew someone who had worsened their injury and as a result was put on bedrest until they fully recovered. OpalAmore felt sorry for Lucille, and she reassured everyone that Lucille could wear her crutches for the group photo. As the intervention adjourned, Valiant's aunt stated how relieved she was that the meeting had gone so well. She had seriously begun to question whether Valiant should go on with marrying such a demanding bride!

The whole thing was an ordeal Opal had never expected during wedding planning! Even though Valiant’s disgruntled family members hesitantly accepted Opal’s apologies and promises to be more reasonable in the wedding planning, the apprehensive zasaba “bride” considered using her memory-clouding song in order to prevent any potential fallout from the recent incident. However, after a period of thought the zasaba realized that option was futile. The intervention had resulted after months of wedding preparation done by the bride before Opal had taken her place, so she’d be unable to erase the memories of frustration that Valiant’s family had. In addition, losing the memory of the intervention itself meant that Valiant’s family would simply repeat the event again. And OpalAmore did not have the emotional strength or endurance to go through such an unnerving experience twice.

OpalAmore had never thought her nerves could be racked so much while making preparations for one wedding. And the concerns that her crazy obsession over the wedding details might mean that she and Valiant weren’t tying the knot for the right reasons also reminded OpalAmore of her ulterior motives. Would she actually be able to perform the duties of a devoted wife when her goal was simply to gain energy for her land and people?

Vows, can I really truly say
That through any kind of weather
I’ll want us to be together
The truth is I don’t know this guy at all!
Do I actually love the groom
In my heart can I make room?
Is this the one whom I wish to share my life?

-reworking of an excerpt from "This Day Aria"

The wedding day finally came.

Everything just seemed to fall into place. OpalAmore, Valiant, their bridal party and their guests arrived to the wedding venue without much incident. Eventually it was time for the bride to walk down the aisle and stand beside the groom so the couple could recite their vows and begin their new life together. OpalAmore’s emotions were split. On one hand, she felt like a princess as she began to walk down the aisle. On the other hand, she was going to pledge to spend the rest of her life to someone she still didn’t know much about. Valiant was a nice guy, though. His eyes had sparkled when OpalAmore told him that she wanted to include the family wedding custom he had mentioned to her several weeks earlier. Behind Valiant Amie, OpalAmore could see two small trees placed next to each other. There were also two large vases filled with lavender (for Valiant’s family) and buttercups (for OpalAmore’s family). These flowers were to be placed around the two trees after the bride and groom had recited their vows. Admittedly, OpalAmore was somewhat agreeable to the idea of being in Valiant’s family. Most of his family members were just as nice as Valiant. Maybe things would…

“STOP!!!!”

OpalAmore stopped halfway in her walk down the aisle. Everyone turned in the direction of the shout. And OpalAmore’s heart sank once she saw who had caused the disturbance.

At the door of the castle stood the true bride of Valiant Amie, with a disheveled and disturbed countenance.

This day was going to be perfect
The kind of day of which I dreamed since I was small
But instead of having cake
With all my friends to celebrate
My wedding bells may not ring for me at all….

“HOW…DARE…YOU!”

The words came out of the mouth of Valiant Amie’s real bride with disgust and anger.

“I have been dragged into the shadows by monsters, trapped in a musty cave located who knows where, forced to walk miles through woods and rugged terrain in order to get to MY wedding on time..and THIS IS HOW I’M REWARDED? With everyone carrying on as if everything’s hunky-dory and the man I’m engaged to marrying a poser?!”

People were gasping at the ghastly sight of the bride covered in mosquito bites, tree sap and scratches and wearing torn clothing.

OpalAmore hung her head in shame as the true bride, PsudeCharmy, walked down the aisle while continuing her harsh bellowing.

A stunned Valiant Amie rushed down the aisle and did a quick glance and OpalAmore and PsudeCharmy, completely baffled by this turn of events.

“What…what is this?? How can this be???” gasped Valiant.

“I’ll tell you how….” PsudeCharmy hissed. “You’re an IDIOT who can’t tell two females apart!”

“Valiant …” OpalAmore began.

Valiant Amie turned to OpalAmore, his face still lined with confusion and dismay.

“I’m…I’m sorry…”

OpalAmore threw down the bouquet and changed into her true form, an angel zasaba.

The crowd gasped at the spectacle, wondering how this all could have happened.

They didn’t wonder for long, however.

All of a sudden everyone heard the sound of windows breaking, which was followed by wisps of blue smoke covering the room.

Screams of panic were heard as Valiant braced himself for attack, PsudeCharmy ducked behind one of the pews for cover, and OpalAmore used the distraction as an opportunity to get away.

---------------

OpalAmore had never been so heartbroken in all her life when she was exposed at the wedding. And this heartbreak had hardly decreased in the six months that had passed since then.

After escaping the wedding, OpalAmore learned that some of her fellow zasaba had been stationed to spy on the wedding proceedings in order to sneak OpalAmore away once she had gathered enough magic from the wizard. But once OpalAmore had been exposed, the zasaba spies were forced to make a surprise attack in order to divert attention away from OpalAmore so she could get out safely. Valiant Amie had tried to fight off the wedding invaders, but he quickly found out that thanks to OpalAmore’s draining of his magic he was not at the top of his game. When Valiant’s relatives attempted to come to his aid, OpalAmore’s allies had retaliated by using special weapons to drain the magic of Valiant Amie’s relatives as well. As a result, Valiant and several of his relatives sustained serious injuries. OpalAmore had grown to like Valiant Amie, and she felt guilty that he had suffered due to her actions.

But what came afterwards was an even bitterer pill to swallow.

OpalAmore accidently discovered that her queen Ostent Diamond had been stealing magic from the Luminous Tree in order to keep herself looking beautiful for all eternity. The queen’s beauty obsession was so great that she had used the magic that OpalAmore had collected to maintain her beauty instead of restoring the Luminous Tree to its full power. OpalAmore was distraught by this discovery and she decided that she could no longer stay in her homeland for fear that someone would discover that she knew the queen’s secret. OpalAmore wandered Subeta until she found a job as an assistant at the Shengui Guo bathhouse. While she dutifully did her tasks of tending to the bathhouse pools and the bath towels, her mind would keep wandering to the time she had spent with Valiant …and the crushing despair she felt from being exposed.

One day OpalAmore was checking the towels to see which ones could be kept and which should be thrown away when a bumbus came in and struck up a conservation with her. The bumbus happened to be a caterer who had served at many venues, and she had gained many tales from her commissions.

“…And boy, that irion had packed away so much food , we couldn’t believe it! Oh, but that’s nothing compared to the wedding disaster six months ago….”

OpalAmore lost her composure and nearly dropped the towel she was carrying.

“Whoa there! Are you all right honeybunch?” asked the bumbus.

“It’s…It’s nothing,” OpalAmore replied hastily.

“Okey dokey then. Well, apparently the famed wizard Valiant Amie was getting married to PsudeCharmy. It was one of the most anticipated weddings of the year! But boy, the wedding preparations were something else. Valiant himself seemed nice enough, but you wouldn’t believe how difficult it was at first to satisfy PsudeCharmy! Surprisingly, she mellowed out during the last few weeks of preparation and became one of the best customers we ever worked with. At least that’s what we thought until the wedding day…”

OpalAmore braced herself as the bumbus caterer continued.

“And what a shock it was! The wizard almost married someone disguised as PsudeCharmy! I mean, me and my fellow caterers were taken aback like everyone else. But as time went on, we realized there were some indications that things weren’t what they seemed. Well, the wizard and PsudeCharmy are currently rescheduling their wedding…and PsudeCharmy seems to be her old difficult self again. A fellow caterer of mine is in charge of the wedding food, and she’s vented to me for days about how PsudeCharmy is driving her and everyone else involved with the wedding preparations crazy!”

The bumbus leaned close to the counter and motioned for OpalAmore to come closer. OpalAmore obliged, wondering what secret the bumbus was trying to tell.

“But my friend became friends with the florist, and the florist told my friend she has a theory on why PsudeCharmy is so taxing about everything being perfect. The florist overheard PsudeCharmy mention that she was going to do everything in her power to make her wedding to Valiant ‘better than anything that poser could ever dream of.’ She’s madder than a peeved bumbus about how that other zasaba nearly ruined her wedding. I can understand her frustration, but me and my friend agree that she’s trying way too hard. Goodness honeybunch, you look a little pale.”

It was true. OpalAmore’s face indicated that she was having difficulty keeping her emotions in check after hearing what had happened since her hasty departure.

“My, my, I know these bathhouse attendants work hard, but I sometimes wonder if they ever take time to rest themselves! I know, my friends are having a little get together and I think you should come.” The bumbus patted OpalAmore’s hand and told her, “I’ll give you the place and the time. And when you come, just tell them that June invited you.”

OpalAmore went to June’s get together and made such a good impression that June and the others asked her to come back. Soon OpalAmore was hanging out with June and her friends regularly and got to learn more about them. Many of the members had become friends after they discovered that they had all been involved with Valiant’s and PsudeCharmy’s wedding disaster. They all shook their head at what they had to go through while PsudeCharmy had been holding the reins on the wedding preparations. Their comments on the fake bride, OpalAmore, were strikingly different. They admired her quiet and gentle spirit and appreciated the fact that while she made her own suggestions, she was willing to accept an expert opinion on what to serve and what flowers should be arranged. Eventually OpalAmore gained the courage to tell June and the others about her true identity, why she had posed as Valiant’s bride, and what had happened to her after the failed wedding. Everyone was obviously shocked by the revelation but sympathized with OpalAmore’s situation. June took OpalAmore aside and told her that she needed to tell Valiant about the queen because the queen needed to be stopped from stealing any more magic.

Valiant was both shocked and intrigued by the information that OpalAmore gave him. The wizard gathered a team together and with OpalAmore leading the way, they managed to infiltrate OpalAmore’s homeland and put an end to the Queen’s designs. Both zasaba were declared heroes and had a party held in their honour. After all the hoopla, Valiant left to discuss matters with the zasaba kingdom they had liberated while OpalAmore returned to her job at the Bathhouse.

Several months passed. OpalAmore’s love of flowers led her to become a florist. Apparently the normal flower vendor for the Bathhouse was out of commission for several weeks. This disruption led to OpalAmore secretly making her own flower arrangements to place around the rooms of the Bathhouse in order to create a comfortable atmosphere for visitors and patrons. Ying, the manager of the Bathhouse, eventually learned that OpalAmore had been placing flower arrangements around the Bathhouse. OpalAmore had feared being reprimanded for her actions, but to her surprise Ying was impressed with the angel zasaba’s taste in floral décor. The aged Shengui Guo resident encouraged OpalAmore to learn and improve her flower arrangement skills. She suggested that OpalAmore go and visit Esther and Emma, two of the best and well-known florists in Subeta. OpalAmore listened to Ying's wise counsel and traveled to Peka Glade to meet Emma, the glade's caretaker.

Valiant Amie called off his upcoming wedding to PsudeCharmy. Many Subetans who did not know the couple were shocked, especially since the couple’s first attempted wedding had ended so terribly. However, many of Valiant's friends and family knew why Valiant had gotten cold feet concerning the wedding. When Valiant was preparing to set off to stop the queen of OpalAmore’s homeland, PsudeCharmy had vehemently protested the idea. Why? Because the length of time it would take to journey to OpalAmore’s homeland and return would take at least several weeks. As a result, the wedding would once again have to be postponed until Valiant Amie returned. Valiant had been pretty miffed at his fiance’s priorities, and this annoyance at her behavior slowly grew into concern. After returning from OpalAmore’s homeland, Valiant found out from his aunt about the “intervention” that they had with OpalAmore.

Valiant’s aunt recalled OpalAmore’s thoughtful behavior towards their concerns and remarked, “I was actually worried that it might not work! I’ve seen some people who act like your fiancé that just don’t listen to reason no matter how hard you try! So when that fake bride reacted so reasonably and calmly, I thought I was seeing a completely different person before my eyes! I had a slight feeling that something was fishy but I left it alone when I saw how mature the other bride was acting.”

After this conversation with his aunt, Valiant began to remember just how PsudeCharmy had acted after OpalAmore was exposed for posing as her. He also remembered how kind and thoughtful OpalAmore had been towards him. After mulling over all this evidence in his head, Valiant concluded that even though OpalAmore had posed as his bride, she ironically had been the truly genuine one all along. His “true” bride, PsudeCharmy was nothing more than a selfish ham who tried to force everyone’s attention towards her.

OpalAmore and Valiant Amie finally encountered each other again while Valiant Amie was on a vacation to Veta Lake. OpalAmore had befriended both Esther and Emma and was currently working as Esther’s assistant at her shop that sold Vesnali-related items. Valiant had entered the shop with his mother and soon recognized OpalAmore, who was tending to some of Esther’s flower arrangements. The two were pleasantly surprised to see each other again and began to talk while Valiant’s mother browsed the wares.

OpalAmore had fallen out of the loop with news concerning the wedding, so she was shocked when Valiant told her that the wedding had been called off. Valiant was quick to reassure her that it wasn’t that big of a deal to him.

When Valiant and his mother left the shop, Valiant promised to visit OpalAmore as soon as his could. And he did visit OpalAmore several times after that encounter. Between visits OpalAmore and Valiant corresponded through letters, and the bond between them deepened.

As far as she was concerned, OpalAmore felt very content. She had made good friends and her work at Esther’s shop was successful. She didn’t believe that could get any ending that was happier than the one she currently had.

Until one day the moment arrived when Valiant Amie asked OpalAmore a very important question…

And OpalAmore became one lucky bride.

Story inspirations:
"A Canterlot Wedding" episode from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Various Bridezilla stories
Song Lyrics from "This Day Aria" from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic; modified by PiplupMagby34


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