Mordecai had taken the cart and left the party, choosing not to spoil Twilight's day as the new Princess of Equestria. The lingering question Skips asked him before he left sits in the back of his mind as he sees Twilight as the new princess. After exiting the party, Shining Armor planned on calling Mordecai out based on what he had overheard from the other park workers, but he didn't get the chance to, seeing that he was already gone. Twilight saw Shining Armor leave the party and followed after him. She noticed that Mordecai was missing, knowing that he enjoys the parties she's brought him to and finding it odd he wasn't around. She finds Shining Armor and asks, "Where's Mordecai?" Not wanting to spoil Twilight's day, Shining Armor thought of an excuse and said, "He said that he was tired and didn't want to spoil your day. He said he'll be in touch later." Twilight said, "Oh, yeah. He did seem tired last night. I wanted to announce our engagement to Equestria, but there's no rush. I don't want to do it without him."
Hearing what Twilight said, Shining Armor turned to her and said, "Wait, what?" Twilight laughed sheepishly and showed him the engagement ring on her horn. Twilight says, "Sorry, I was planning on surprising you with this with Mordecai, but now is as good a time as any. Mordecai has already asked me to marry him, and I said yes." Shining Armor's eye twitched at the revelation, not expecting to hear that his little sister was already engaged. From what he heard and understood, he thought Mordecai planned to ask her to marry him at the party. He asked in disbelief, "He already asked you to marry him?" Twilight nodded her head with a bashful smile. Shining Armor, his surprise evident, smiled and said, "I'm so happy for you, Twily. Congratulations on the engagement." Happy to hear this, Twilight hugged him, oblivious to the forced smile he had, and said, "Thank you, B.B.B.F.F., I knew you'd be happy to hear this."
Unbeknownst to the siblings, a guard had silently witnessed their conversation. He had overheard their words and seen their reactions. As soon as the coronation party ended, he wasted no time spreading the news of Twilight's engagement to his fellow guards, setting in motion a chain of events that would soon unfold.
The next day, word spread like wildfire over the news of Mordecai and Twilight Sparkles' engagement throughout the Park and Equestria. Rumors had started small the day Mordecai bought his engagement ring for Twilight, but no one took the news seriously until they heard the engagement was official. Word reached out into the Crystal Empire and Princess Cadence, surprising her as she heard the news from one of the guards. It also made her smile as she heard that her favorite foal, now sister-in-law, was engaged. The guard spread the word to the others and ended with the arrival of a brand-new recruit. This recruit, a yellow pegasus with a blue mane and tail, brought a fresh energy to the scene. He finished unpacking his things after he was assigned to be one of the guards in the Crystal Empire.
He hears a commotion among the other guards and listens to their conversation. One of the guards said to the group around him, "You heard the news?" Another guard said, "I heard from Shining Armor and Twilight themselves. He seems happy, but I can spot a fake smile from a mile away." The third guard said, "Can you blame him? It's his sister, after all." The yellow pegasus, familiar with Shining Armor, was surprised to hear this, and he said to himself in shock, "Sister?!" He falls over and catches the attention of the other guards. One of the guards says, "Who are you?" The leader among them said, "Don't overreact, everypony. He's the new guy." The pegasus gets up and introduces himself, "Yes, I'm Flash Sentry, and today's my first day here."
The leader wrapped a foreleg around the pegasus and said, "It's nice to meet you, Flash. Let's go introduce you to Princess Cadence and Shining Armor." Flash and the rest of the guards left to introduce him to the rulers of the Crystal Empire.
Back in Ponyville, Twilight had awoken from her sleep after a busy coronation day. She enjoyed her breakfast from Spike and was ready to start another day. She opens the door to the Golden Oak Library and is instantly bombarded by the paparazzi crowding the entrance of her home.
"Princess Twilight. Is it true that you are already engaged?"
"Princess, when were you planning to announce this for all of Equestria to hear?"
They flashed their cameras, taking pictures of a stunned Twilight Sparkle, confusing her from how they had heard about her engagement. Spike intervened and pushed the ponies aside, saying to them, "That's enough from you, ponies. Princess Twilight doesn't need to answer anything to you at this time. Do everyone a favor and get lost!"
He slammed the door on them and closed the shades on the windows to keep them from spying on them. Twilight shook her head at how Spike handled the situation and said, "You could have handled that better, Spike." He sighed and said, "I know Twilight, but this is annoying, and you know it. Day one, as the new princess, and they bombard you with information about your personal life? That's beyond rude in my book." Twilight says, "I can handle answering questions. What bothers me is how they heard about my engagement. Outside of you and the rest of my friends, Shining Armor knows about it, and I don't see him telling anypony about the engagement without my knowledge."
One month after their engagement, Twilight takes on more responsibility as the new princess of Equestria. She feels terrible that she hasn't talked to Mordecai about their wedding plans and what she has come up with. The paparazzi have also hounded her nonstop, trying to get answers about her engagement and who she's engaged to, and they have confirmed it with Equestria based on rumors of who her fiancé was. Twilight does everything she can not to answer this, wanting to talk about it with Mordecai present.
Back at the Park, things have gotten crazy during their time apart. The Park workers dealt with a Timenado that brought Skips' younger self to the present day; they dealt with a bunch of full-grown geese that tried to take over the Park; Benson destroyed a signed guitar by Bruce Rock, and he needed Mordecai and Rigby's help to replace it; the Crash Pit was filled up as well as many crazy shenanigans between Mordecai and Rigby. After painting a new portrait of Benson that Rigby messed up, Mordecai takes the Cart to drive to Ponyville.
He had meant to go over for a while, but with how hectic things had gotten, he didn't have the time to make the trip. He was also thinking about Twilight's status as a princess then, and he felt this would be as good of a time to talk with her about it now that he had time to process all of this. He arrived in Ponyville and saw Twilight and the rest of her friends at the Golden Oak Library. They heard the cart and saw Mordecai. Twilight didn't hesitate as she flew to Mordecai and hugged him, showing how much she missed him. He smiled and hugged her back. They leave the cart, and Twilight tells Mordecai to follow her and her friends to the train station.
After filling each other in on what had been happening in their lives, they arrived at the train station, ready to send Fluttershy off to observe the Breezies, as she had told Twilight earlier in the day. After Fluttershy leaves on the train, another train arrives; this one is made out of crystals, signaling that it came from the Crystal Empire. After the train arrives, three trumpets shout as Princess Cadence exits the train with two guards: a crystal pegasus pony and an orange pegasus, Flash Sentry. After a formal bow, Cadence giggles, assuring that as sisters-in-law, she and Twilight don't need to be so formal with each other. Cadence sees the blue jay and goes to him. She smiles at him and says, "So, you must be the one I've been hearing about."
Mordecai realized he hadn't properly talked with her in the past, nor did he remember if he had spoken with her during Twilight's coronation. He nervously chuckled and said, "Yeah, I guess I am." Without missing a beat, Cadence hugs Mordecai, surprising him with her sudden action. She says, "It's nice to meet the one who's been making my sister-in-law so happy." Mordecai breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that nothing terrible was coming from her. He says, "I do my best; my job has kept me busy, but I look forward to spending more time with her now." Realization struck Twilight as he said this, and she said, "Actually, Mordecai, I think we'll have to catch up later." Surprised to hear this, Mordecai turns to her and says, "What? But you said you have some time now." Twilight says, "Yes, and I also had made plans to spend time with Cadence. We haven't spent time together without having some crazy situation that puts all of Equestria in danger." After hearing this, Mordecai understood what Twilight meant by that, remembering her talking about what happened during the wedding and what she told him about what happened at the Crystal Empire sometime later. He nods to this and says, "I get it. I won't get in the way if you already have plans with Cadence."
Twilight smiled at him and hugged him. She said, "Thank you for understanding, Mordecai." He hugged her and said, "No problem, Twilight. You told me how much Cadence means to you." Seeing this display, Cadence had an idea and said, "Mordecai, since Twilight and I are going to spend some sisterly time together, why don't you spend some quality time with Shining Armor?"
Hearing this, Mordecai says in confusion, "Huh?" Twilight's eyes shined brightly, and she said, "That's a great idea, Cadence! It will give them the chance to get to know each other better!" Mordecai laughed nervously and said, "Yeah, I'm sure we'll get along." He was about to board the train, but Twilight stopped him, declaring, "Hold on." Mordecai looked at her in confusion, but before he could ask anything, she activated her horn and teleported a soda box in front of him. She said, "You left this case of soda last time. I'm sure Shining Armor won't mind having some with you." Mordecai picked up the case and said, "Thanks, Twilight." Mordecai gets on the train with the guards, and the train leaves for the Crystal Empire.
The train ride to the Crystal Empire was quiet for the most part. Mordecai's only company was the crystal pegasus guard and the orange pegasus guard; he was sitting across from Mordecai, reading a book. To pass the time, Mordecai talked with the guard. He said, "That's an interesting book you have there." The pegasus looked up and looked at him in curiosity. He stated, "Oh, thank you. I've been reading it when I have free time. Princess Twilight told me about it recently in the Crystal Empire."
After seeing the content look on his face, Mordecai didn't say anything else, figuring he was enjoying the book and didn't want to interrupt him. Unknown to the blue jay, Flash was looking at the portrait of one of the characters in the book.
He arrived in the Crystal Empire, and both guards led him to the Crystal Castle. Mordecai knocked on the door and waited for someone to open it. After a few moments of waiting, the door opened, revealing Shining Armor. The guards saluted him, and they entered the castle; Mordecai, however, was standing in fear as Shining Armor glared at him. He then looks at the case in Mordecai's hand. Catching this, Mordecai said, "I brought soda." Shining Armor turned and said, "Good man. Come inside." Mordecai breathed a sigh of relief and entered the castle.
Mordecai was speechless as he entered the Crystal Castle for the first time. The sight left him amazed. Upon reaching the throne room, Shining Armor was already seated on the throne, and Mordecai joined him. He opened the case of soda and took a can out. He offered it to Shining Armor and said, "This place is awesome." Shining Armor smiled at Mordecai and took the can with his magic. Mordecai grabbed another can and opened it. The two drink their cans.
After taking his drink, Shining Armor said, "So, what brings you over, Mordecai?" Mordecai said, "It was Cadence's idea after Twilight told me she planned a day for the two of them." Shining Armor nodded to this and drank his soda. Mordecai said, "So, what has happened since the Crystal Empire returned?" Shining Armor said, "Well, we've been getting everyone acquainted with today's time. After being sealed away for a thousand years, they have much catching up to do." An idea crossed Shining Armor's mind as he smirked, "That also includes training them for the upcoming Equestria Games." Mordecai looked confused by this and asked, "The Equestria Games?" Shining Armor said, "Yeah, and I'm coaching the team for the event. Come on, I'll show you." The two left the throne room, and Shining Armor led Mordecai to the training grounds where his teams were gathered for training.
Getting into the stadium, Mordecai was amazed at how large it was. Seeing the look on his face, Shining Armor said, "We're in talks to having the Crystal Empire host the Equestria Games. Hosting one after it has been gone for so long would be nice." Mordecai said, "Hopefully, that works out for the Crystal Empire." Mordecai watches Shining Armor train his team in many of the events in the Equestria Games. While doing the training sessions, Mordecai got bored sitting in the stands, something Shining Armor took notice of. He said, "Hey Mordecai, come on down for this event. Have a little fun."
Mordecai goes down to the field and wonders what they will do next. Shining Armor then put a suit of armor on Mordecai, confusing him. He said, "What's going on here?" Shining Armor said, "I'm training the team on doing some jousting, and I thought you'd have some fun with this one." Hearing this, Mordecai said, "Jousting?!" Shining Armor gave him a lance and said, "All you have to do is hit the other pony on their shield, and if you manage to take them down, you win the round." Mordecai felt slightly uncomfortable, considering the ponies were using the lance. He turned to Shining Armor and said, "So, I just charge at my opponent with the lance?" Shining Armor said, "Yeah, that's it."
Mordecai gulped as he remembered some key differences in the jousting he had seen, but rather than request to ride another pony, he'd do the jousting as is in Equestria. He takes his position, and one of the crystal ponies does the same. After giving the signal to start the joust, Mordecai ran as fast as he could, holding his lance up as his opponent did. Once they got close, Mordecai thrust his lance hard and hit his opponent in the shield, and to Shining Armor's surprise, he sent his opponent flying. He said in amazement, "How the…?" The crystal ponies were impressed with his strength, and they all surrounded him, asking him questions ranging from whether he was a former competitor to tips on what he had just done.
With Mordecai's help, the crystal ponies felt very confident in their jousting abilities, and their training for the Equestria Games had ended for the day. They left the stadium, leaving only Mordecai and Shining Armor alone. Mordecai took his helmet off and wiped the sweat off his head. He said, "Phew, that was fun." Shining Armor turns to him and says, "How did you do that?" Mordecai turned to him and asked, "Do what?" Shining Armor said, "How did you manage to knock out all of the members of the jousting team?" Mordecai said, "Well, let's say that I have dealt with many problems at the Park, and I did tackle Death Bear in one of those incidents."
Shining Armor said, "Death Bear? I think Twilight mentioned that before; I thought it sounded ridiculous. You actually did that?" Mordecai said, "Yeah, I was saving a friend." Shining Armor said, "You're girlfriend?" Mordecai said, "No, my best friend's girlfriend." Shining Armor was surprised to hear this but smiled at Mordecai's selfless behavior.
After a shower from all of the training, Mordecai and Shining Armor were back in the Throne Room. The two had a can of soda each and took their drinks, just relaxing after a hard day's work. Mordecai said, "What do you think Twilight and Cadence are up to?" Shining Armor said, "Knowing Twily, I would say…"
Before he could say anything, Shining Armor felt something hit him as if he were being questioned on a personal level. Mordecai noticed this and asked, "Is everything all right, dude?" Shining Armor said, "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine." He made a mental note to talk with Cadence once she returned home. Mordecai shrugged it off and said, "Whatever they're doing, I'm sure they must have enjoyed their sister day together." Shining Armor nods to this and drinks his soda.
Shining Armor focuses on Mordecai and says, "So, Twily has told me you had a previous girlfriend before you two got together." Surprised to hear this, Mordecai says, "What? She talked about that with you?" Shining Armor said, "Yeah, trust me, she was going through a very emotional time knowing you were in a relationship. She told me she was happy you got with this other girl, but I know her well enough to say that it tore her up inside." Mordecai felt terrible hearing about Twilight's feelings about his old relationship with Margaret.
He takes a deep breath and says, "Margaret was never my girlfriend. We dated, yes, but we were never an official couple." Shining Armor stays quiet, knowing that this subject is sensitive, but he wants to gauge Mordecai's real feelings between him and his sister. Mordecai says, "In the past, Twilight had always given me support, and she encouraged me to try and hook up with Margaret when no one else would; not even my best friend Rigby could do that. After I did, I figured she would have wanted to hear how things were going between us. I didn't know it bothered her."
Shining Armor said, "So if you and Margaret weren't a couple, what happened?" Mordecai said, "I had made plans to make things official between me and Margaret, and I was all in. I asked her if she could be my girlfriend, but that same day, she told me she was accepted into her dream college. She gave me the news on our date, and after telling me she got accepted, she said she couldn't be my girlfriend. She ran out crying on our date after that." Shining Armor said, "That must have been rough." Mordecai softly smiles and says, "It was at first, and it really messed me up at the time, but thankfully, Twilight helped me get past it."
Shining Armor smiled and said, "That's Twily for you; she's always willing to help a friend in need." Mordecai smiled sadly as he said this, something Shining Armor takes notice of. He says, "Is something wrong, Mordecai?" Mordecai says, "Sometimes I wonder if Twilight made a mistake." Confused, Shining Armor asks, "What do you mean by that?" Mordecai says, "Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for Twilight and her new position as an alicorn, but compared to you, I'm nothing special." Shining Armor is surprised to hear Mordecai's answer.
Mordecai continues, "I was fortunate enough to call her my girlfriend, and even then, I felt like I didn't deserve her after ignoring my true feelings for so long, especially now that you told me I was hurting her feelings from my old relationship. Now that she's become a princess, I feel like I'm nothing and might be holding her back. How would an average guy like me be able to live up to her?" Shining Armor initially thought Mordecai was a flaker and felt he was the worst kind of person Twilight could ever be with. After spending time with him, he found him to be great to be around; he has a selfless demeanor, and he's stronger than he looks, so he knows that if his sister needed help, he could trust Mordecai to protect her, and after hearing him doubt his worthiness, he truly started seeing Mordecai differently.
He then remembers the countless times Twilight talked to him about Mordecai, highlighting his positives and saying he would get along with him. He stated, "Mordecai, I know this must be a lot to handle, but you're emphasizing the whole royalty thing a little too much." Mordecai rolled his eyes at this and thought as he drank the rest of his soda, "Says the captain of the royal guard." Shining Armor said, "The truth is that when I asked Cadence to marry me, she didn't care if I was a member of the Royal Guard, let alone the captain. She was probably more excited to have Twilight as her sister-in-law than anything."
Hearing this, Mordecai looks at him in confusion and asks, "Seriously? That's the reason?" Shining Armor said, "I know it might sound weird, but it did give me a one-up on all the stallions that were eyeing her back then." Mordecai says, "In all the times Twilight talks about you, she never mentioned that part to me." Shining Armor said, "Yeah, that's what I told her after we handled the Changeling invasion." Shining Armor sits beside Mordecai and says, "Twily talks about you non-stop, Mordecai. Outside of her friends, I haven't seen her as happy as she was before she met you. You have made her happier than most ponies, especially when she went through an old, heart-breaking moment with her first crush. You are someone who thinks about her more than you think about yourself. You make her happy, and I know you would risk everything to keep her safe." Mordecai smiles as he remembers everything he and Twilight have been through. Shining Armor says with a knowing smile, "You were with her before she became an alicorn. If anything, you're very worthy of being with her, Mordecai."
Mordecai takes what he says to heart, thankful to hear it from Shining Armor himself. After hearing him point out that he and Twilight started dating before her alicorn transformation, he remembers his promise to her when they became a couple: "You'll never lose me, Twilight. I promise." He smiles and says, "Thank you, Shining Armor." Shining Armor smiles and says, "You're welcome, brother."
To say Mordecai was surprised to hear Shining Armor calling him 'brother' would be an understatement. However, before anything else could be said between them, Twilight and Cadance arrived and entered the castle. Behind them was Discord in a magic bubble, green and covered in spots. Mordecai said, "What's Discord doing here, and why does he look sick?" Twilight had an annoyed look on her face and said, "It's a long story." Discord laughed nervously at the remark and sneezed in the bubble.
With it being so late in the day and Discord faking his illness earlier, Twilight was too tired to return to Ponyville; Mordecai, having some time off work, chose to stay and keep Twilight company. Shining Armor and Cadence offered one of the rooms for them to stay the night, which they happily accepted. After the stunt he pulled, Discord was placed in another room. Twilight was not in any mood to talk to him. He tried to protest his sleeping arrangement, but Twilight gave him a glare that scared Discord so he wouldn't protest. Mordecai was also reeling from the glare she still had as she slammed the door to Discord's room. After closing the door to their room, Twilight sits on the bed and rubs her head. She says, "He faked being sick and ruined my day with Cadence."
Mordecai sat beside her and said, "I'm sorry to hear that Twilight." Twilight sighed and said, "Cadence insists that she still had a good time, but I'm not sure if she said that just to get under Discord's skin." Mordecai thought it over and said, "I can see that; he'd deserve it with the stunt he pulled, but has Cadence ever been known to lie to you?" Twilight said, "Well, no." Mordecai said, "Then she enjoyed her time with you. I know you enjoy making plans and sticking with them no matter what, but sometimes, it's good not to have a plan. I wasn't expecting to spend time with Shining Armor, but I still had a good time." Twilight smiled at this, thankful that Mordecai had a good day. She wrapped her forelegs around him and said, "Thank you, Mordecai."
He smiled and wrapped his arms around her. The two started nodding off with how relaxed they felt, their busy days catching up with them. They lay in bed together and fell asleep, embracing each other.
Twilight and Mordecai woke up the following day and were ready to return to Ponyville. Twilight used her teleportation spell on Discord's magic bubble to send him back to Ponyville. Shining Armor showed them out of the castle, and Twilight took notice and asked, "Where's Cadence? I wanted to tell her goodbye before leaving." Shining Armor said, "Don't worry about Cadence; she's…very tired, but I'll tell her for you, Twily." Twilight missed the context and said, "She did have to use an anti-sickness barrier most of the day yesterday. It would make sense." The tidbit might have flown over Twilight's head, but because of his friendship with Muscle Man, Mordecai caught what Shining Armor was saying, knowing full well that he and Cadence had their own "plans" the previous night.
Before the moment could get awkward, the train heading to Ponyville had arrived. Twilight and Shining Armor hugged each other, with him saying, "I'll see you at your wedding, Twily." She smiled and said, "We'll see you then, B.B.B.F.F." They separated from the hug, and she boarded the train, waiting for Mordecai. He said, "It's been great hanging out with you, Shining Armor; we'll be..." Shining Armor hugged him before he could finish his sentence, catching Mordecai off guard. Shining Armor said, "Take care of her, brother." He smiled and returned the hug, declaring, "You know I will, brother. We'll see you at the wedding." After separating from the hug, he boarded the train, and he and Twilight gave Shining Armor a final wave as the train departed for Ponyville.
The train ride back home was quiet between the couple, Twilight was still bummed that her day with Cadence didn't go according to her plans, but she smiled, knowing that, despite Discord's shenanigans, she still enjoyed the day. She rested her head on Mordecai's shoulder, still emotionally tired and silently enjoying the ride. Eyes closed, she asks, "So you and Shining Armor had a good time yesterday?" Mordecai said, "Yeah, we had a great time." She smiles from hearing this and says, "I'm glad the two of you got along. It means so much to me that you did."
Mordecai smiles as she says this, and he sees she has fallen asleep on his shoulder. He wraps his arm around her, not saying anything, as he rests his head on hers and falls asleep. He knows the train ride will take time, and he is too comfortable to stay awake.
The train pulls into Ponyville, waking up Mordecai and Twilight as they feel the train come to a stop. After waking up and stretching, they got off their seat and exited the train. As soon as they were off the train, the paparazzi started taking pictures of the couple, and they bombarded them with questions about the engagement. Hearing them repeat their questions, Mordecai got mad as they made Twilight uncomfortable. He intervenes and says, "Yes, Twilight is engaged, and I am her fiancé." He shows his wedding band to them to confirm the rumors they have heard.
Despite the confirmed rumor, some of these paparazzi ponies asked more questions, some relating to the wedding date, while some would ask personal questions about their love life. These questions made Mordecai blush, and he said, "That's none of your business, and we won't be taking any more questions from you." They continued to push questions, but to his word, Mordecai refused to answer any of them. Twilight activates her horn and teleports them away from the paparazzi. They returned to the Golden Oak Library and slammed the door on the paparazzi as they continued to follow them.
While the paparazzi continue to harass Mordecai and Twilight, Discord appears behind the group of ponies and says, "What's all this about?" The ponies turned to the source of the voice and saw the ill-ridden draconequus. He says, "I'm pretty sure they just answered your questions, so you should write what you already have rather than hound them for more questions they don't want to answer. It would be best to leave them alone before…before…" Discord tries to finish what he wants to say, but instead, he sneezes on some of the ponies, and they catch his illness, causing the unaffected ponies to run away as fast as they can. Mordecai and Twilight see this through the window, and he says, "Consider that as my apology for yesterday." Twilight says, "Apology accepted. Now go back to Fluttershy before you get another pony sick."
He nods in response and immediately disappears, returning to Fluttershy for treatment. Mordecai says, "He can be very annoying most of the time, but he can be a good friend when needed." Twilight says, "Yeah, most of the time." The two go to the living room and sit down together. Mordecai notices all of the dates and wedding ideas circled. He scratches the back of his head and says, "Oh yeah, we still haven't figured this out just yet." Twilight blushes as she realizes she forgot to put these away before heading out for her day with Cadence. She said, "I'm sorry, Mordecai, I did a lot of the planning and talked with Rarity about the wedding dress, the catering, and everything." Mordecai said, "You're fine, Twilight; I had a feeling you would do a lot of the planning."
Twilight says, "The only thing I didn't figure out was the date for our wedding." Mordecai looks at her in surprise as she reveals this to him. He thinks it over himself, knowing that they didn't have a chance to talk about it, but he is willing to throw an idea out that he thought would be a good idea. He said, "Well…what if we did the wedding on Hearts and Hooves Day?" Twilight looked at him in confusion and asked, "Why Hearts and Hooves Day?" A thought crosses her mind as a sly grin appears on her face. She teases him, saying, "Is it because you want a day you won't forget our anniversary?"
Mordecai blushes as he realizes that and says, "Not exactly. It was around that time when we first met." Twilight's grin was wiped off her face as he said this, and she looked at him, wondering where he was going with this. He continues, "Remember when you saved Rigby and me from those unicorns?" She nods her head in response, not saying a word. He says, "A lot of things changed for me that day. I no longer had any issues with unicorns. I made a new friend, and shortly after, it was Valentine's Day for us, and I got you a gift." Twilight smiled as she remembered his gift, a simple box of chocolates and a necklace, but it was the first Valentine's Day gift she had gotten. Mordecai smiles as he sees her blushing face and continues, "The moment I saw your smile, I knew I had fallen for you."
Twilight couldn't help but cry as she remembered that day. The thought of that being the day he started loving her hit her so hard emotionally. She wipes her tears, thinking, "How did I get so lucky to have such a wonderful fiancé like you, Mordecai?" Twilight kisses him on the cheek and says, "Hearts & Hooves Day is the perfect day for our wedding." He smiles at her answer and says, "Alright, I'll go back to the Park and tell everyone we have a date set."
After saying their goodbyes, Mordecai takes the Golf Cart and leaves Ponyville, making his return to the Park.
Time passed as Mordecai and Twilight were getting things ready for their wedding, and the hustle and bustle of the holidays had come up. Rigby tells Mordecai about a Christmas party Eileen was throwing at her place. Seeing nothing wrong with the idea at first, Mordecai agrees to go to the party. He saw a hesitant look on Eileen's face as if she had something else to add. Curiosity getting the better of him, Mordecai asks, "Is something wrong, Eileen?" She said, "The second thing I wanted to tell you was that Margaret will be there."
Hearing this, Mordecai's old feelings for Margaret flooded his memories. He started to panic over the news. Rigby sees this and shakes his head, "Mordecai! What's with you?" Mordecai says, "Margaret is going to the party." Not seeing why it's a problem, Rigby says, "So?" Mordecai looks at him dumbfounded and says, "What if something happens?" Rigby rolls his eyes at this and says, "You're making a bigger deal out of this than you need to. Isn't Twilight going to be there?" Mordecai says, "No, she's doing the Heath's Warming Eve play with her friends. I told her I'd be over once I was done with Christmas here."
Rigby sees the problem now, saying, "Oh, that's not good. But even if she were here, you know you're engaged to her, and anything with Margaret shouldn't matter anymore." Mordecai says, "I know, it's just, remember when I said I don't have feelings for her anymore, but I do in a way?" Rigby says, "Yeah, I remember you saying that." Mordecai says, "It's not romantic feelings; it's just a part of me that still remembers those days, and, well… it's hard for me to describe."
Hearing what Mordecai said, Eileen understood what he was trying to say and said, "It sounds like you want closure with Margaret." Mordecai and Rigby look at her in surprise, forgetting she is still there. Eileen says, "Sorry for eavesdropping, but I know what you're going through, and it's unresolved feelings, Mordecai. If you want to get past this, you must talk things out with Margaret, and you'll feel better about yourself. If you don't, this could carry over into your other relationships, and if you're engaged, that's the last thing you need to put your partner through."
Mordecai lets what Eileen says sink in, knowing that deep down, he wants closure over his past relationship, especially since they never stayed in touch after they broke up. He says, "You're right, Eileen; I'll talk with her tonight and put this away for good."
After their break at the coffee shop, the rest of the day seemed to drag on, making it feel longer than Mordecai would have liked. His nerves got to him as he thought about how he would talk with Margaret, but no matter how much he thought about it, the worst-case scenario would always pop up with something happening to where the wedding with Twilight would be called off. He thought about not attending the party with each thought that crossed his mind and fear of losing Twilight.
Rigby sees Mordecai having a nervous breakdown and rolls his eyes at him. He goes into the bathroom and slaps Mordecai across the face. Surprised by this, he says, "Dude! What was that for?!" Rigby says, "For Twilighting!" Not expecting to hear that, Mordecai looks at Rigby in confusion and says, "Wait, what?" Rigby says, "You know how you 'Pull a Mordecai'? Twilighting is pretty much in the same context. With how you two overreact to the smallest things, it's easy to say that you were made for each other." Hearing this and feeling insulted, Mordecai said, "I don't know if I should take that as a compliment or an insult."
Rigby says, "Take it however you want, but you're obviously overlooking something important. You love Twilight, don't you?" Mordecai said, "Of course I do." Rigby interrupted him, saying, "Then you should know that you need to man up and get that closure with Margaret that Eileen was talking about. The last thing you need is "what ifs" at the altar with Twilight."
Mordecai let what Rigby says sink in. The thought of having those doubts at the altar, or worse yet, saying the wrong name, would surely ruin the wedding. He leaves the bathroom and says, "Thanks, Rigby, I needed that." Rigby said with a smirk, "Hmm-hmm."
As Eileen told them to dress in, Mordecai and Rigby arrived at the party dressed in ugly Christmas sweaters. The party was good at first. Mordecai was having fun with his friends and getting congratulations on his engagement after the guests took notice of his engagement ring. After a while of partying, Margaret arrived at the party, and Mordecai's nervousness kicked in. He tries to avoid eye contact with her, but to no avail, as she spotted him immediately.
Mordecai does everything he can to avoid Margaret, feeling as though the time isn't right to talk with her, but deep down, he knows he is delaying the inevitable. The disco ball Eileen had for the party started to malfunction as one of the partygoers accidentally knocked it over and into the punch bowl. Mordecai tries to fix it, but he sees Margaret's hand reaching for the disco ball, making the moment awkward between them. Before Mordecai could retreat, he stopped himself and thought, "No! It's now or never. Talk with her and get this over with." He turned toward Margaret and said, "Hey, Margaret." She smiled and said, "Hey, Mordecai."
The two cleaned off the disco ball as best as possible but unknowingly turned the lights on. It was so bright that Mordecai and Margaret shielded their eyes from the brightness, dropping the ball, and the reflection setting went off. Seeing multiple reflections of Margaret, Mordecai takes the disco ball to a different room and tries to turn off the setting. While he is trying to fix the disco ball, Margaret goes into the room with Mordecai and says, "Mordecai, do you have a minute?" He says, "Not now, Margaret, I'm trying to take care of something." She says, "Mordecai, please. It feels like you have been avoiding me the whole time." Mordecai stopped working on the disco ball as she said this and said, "Can you blame me? The last time we talked, you broke up with me."
Hearing him say this, Margaret knew this would be a sensitive topic, but there was no avoiding it now. She said, "Mordecai, I know things didn't end the way we wanted them to, but we did have good times together. Didn't we?" Mordecai took a deep breath and said, "I know we did, and I knew you wanted to go to college. We talked about that while we were dating. I knew it would happen; I wasn't expecting it to happen when we were getting close to each other." When hearing this, Margaret had a sad smile and said, "For what it's worth, I enjoyed our time together."
After talking with Margaret, Mordecai remembers their time together and feels his leftover emotions from how things were between them. He remembered when they hung out at the coffee shop, inviting her and Eileen to go camping with him and Rigby, going on their dates, and the day they broke up when she got accepted into her dream college. He remembers how hard it was, but he starts thinking about Twilight as she helped him overcome his heartbreak, leaving him with a smile. Margaret initially thought he was reminiscing about their relationship, and as she remembered her feelings for him, she closed her eyes and leaned in to kiss Mordecai.
Mordecai, snapping out of his road down memory lane, sees what Margaret is trying to do, and he stops her from kissing him, catching her by surprise. He was surprised to see Margaret do this, and he felt anger coming to him. He set the disco ball on the table and left the room without saying a word. Seeing the look on his face, Margaret instantly regretted what she had done and started chasing after Mordecai so she could try to talk with him.
Rigby sees Mordecai and says, "Hey Mordecai. Enjoying the party?" Mordecai says, "Yeah, I did. I had so much fun. In fact, I had so much fun, I will be calling it a night right now." He leaves a confused Rigby behind. He starts understanding the situation as he and Eileen see Margaret chase after Mordecai.
Mordecai walks down the street, trying his best to calm himself down. He hears Margaret calling his name and stops as they reach the Park. He turned to her, still angry about what had happened at the party. She said, "Mordecai, I'm sorry. It's just…" Mordecai cuts her off and says, "Did you think I was going to wait for you, Margaret? Do you really think I'm that pathetic?" She quickly says, "No, Mordecai, it's not that. It's just…" She trails off, not knowing what to do in this situation. Mordecai crossed his arms and sharply said, "Just what?" Margaret takes a deep breath and says, "It's just that I still have feelings for you, Mordecai. It has been on my mind since I got to college. I thought about everything we did, all of the things we've been through, and if I had a chance to do things differently, I would. I never intended to hurt you the way I did. The hurt I saw from you has been something I've been keeping to myself this whole time, and it pains me that I'm the one who caused that." She was on the verge of crying as she said this, putting more perspective on Mordecai's situation as he now understands why she didn't talk with him during their time apart.
He calms down from his initial anger and says, "Look, Margaret, I appreciate you being honest with me, and I'm flattered that I left that kind of impression on you, but that time of our lives is in the past. Like I said, I moved on after our breakup, and I'm now engaged." Surprised to hear this, Margaret said, "You're engaged? Now, I feel terrible for trying to make that kind of move." Mordecai waved it off and said, "It's alright; I should have mentioned it sooner." Margaret asks, "Who's the lucky girl?" Mordecai said, "Twilight." Margaret did a double take hearing the name and said, "Twilight? As in Twilight Sparkle?"
Margaret said, "I thought she and Discord were a thing." Mordecai laughed at the comment and said, "No, they're just friends. I was there recently, and he kinda pissed her off with ruining her day with Cadance." Margaret said, "Oh yeah, the princess her brother married." Mordecai said, "Oh yeah, that reminds me, Twilight has also become a new princess in Equestria." Surprised by this, Margaret said, "She is?! How did that happen?" Mordecai said, "Something about her creating new magic. I haven't really figured it out, but because of it, she has become an Alicorn."
Margaret said, "So if you and Twilight get married, wouldn't that make you the new prince of Equestria?" The title never crossed his mind, but he was surprised to have that brought up, and he said, "Oh yeah, I guess it does. I didn't think about that at all." He checked his phone and saw the time. He said, "Shoot! I didn't think it was that late already. I promised Twilight I'd be in Ponyville after I finish Christmas here." Margaret said, "Don't let me keep you waiting. Have a safe trip to Ponyville." He hugged her and said, "Thank you, Margaret." He let her go and went to get the Golf Cart. He leaves the Park and makes his way to Ponyville.
Margaret walks through the snow, feeling better about her talk with Mordecai. She says, "I can't believe he and Twilight will be getting married. I knew he liked her, but that's still surprising." She returns to enjoy the rest of the party and unpacks her belongings at Eileen's house. She realized she forgot to tell Mordecai she was moving in with Eileen but figured she'd tell him another time.