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// Chapter 12: The Final Countdown 
// Story: Spike vs Bridezilla, Destoroyah of Marriages 
// by TheMessenger 
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Despite being beneath an arch and there being plenty of shady clouds in the sky, Spike couldn’t help but feel as though he was being cooked by the sun’s heat. He nervously reached for his tie to loosen it only to watch as his claw, weighed down by a magical purple glow that enveloped the appendage, was forcefully lowered. 

He shot a quick glance behind him, to where the officiant stood. Princess Twilight Sparkle wore an elegant gown of light lavender, the color of a dawn sky, with sashes of dark, sparkling blue rolling from her shoulders and overlapping over her front that were held in place by a pin in the form of a six tipped star of violet. No crown adorned the princess’s head today, no tiara of gold or circlet of silver. Instead, the only accessory she wore in her flowing mane was a single white lily right beneath her right ear.

The same flower sat in the manes of the other seven mares who stood to the right of Spike and Twilight, each of whom wore a dress that shared a similar structure to the princess’s but with enough deviations in form, color, and decorative stitchings that they appeared to be unique tailored to their respective wearers. Joining Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Sweetie Belle were an amber gray earth pony mare whose light cyan and opal mane retained its subdued straight and simple styling and a noticeably taller, gracefully slender unicorn wearing her fiery mane in braids. Across from them, on Spike’s left, stood Big McIntosh, Shining Armor, and Discord, each wearing a vastly different suit, from Big Mac’s standard if slightly faded shirt and jacket combination to Shining’s red military dress uniform with all its tassels and polished brass buttons to Discord’s brown and blue checked waistcoat and wide brimmed hat with a feather stuck into it. 

Spike's claw again rose to the collar of his dress shirt, and again Twilight's horn lit up as she forced his hand back down. "Stop messing with your tie," she hissed. "At this rate, you're going to end up making it crooked."

"Sorry, sorry." Spike cleared his throat and let his arms swing at his sides. His feet tapped against the grassy ground to some random and frantic rhythm in his head.

"Nervous?" Twilight whispered.

"Yeah," Spike squeaked out as his voice suddenly cracked. He quickly cleared his throat again. "How'd you tell?"

Twilight smirked and opened her mouth to speak, but a wave at the opposite end of the aisle they stood before interrupted the formation of her next snarky comment. Her expression became more serious, her smile losing much of its playfulness as it was replaced by something more sentimental, supportive, and even a little maternal. “It’s time, Spike.”

The dragon’s entire body went rigid as he turned to face the aisle’s end. “R-right. Um. Okay.”

“Spike.”

“H-hm?”

“Relax. Breathe. You’ll be fine.”

Spike took in Twilight’s advice along with a nice deep breath. His shoulders lowered slightly as a bit of tension left them. “Alright,” he whispered. “I’m ready.”

Twilight nodded and motioned to Fluttershy who stood at the end of the line of bridesmaids. At the signal, Fluttershy turned to the collection of posts and the choir perched upon them. The bright and cheery melody of a flock of songbirds filled the air as Rarity took her first step down the aisle. 

As wonderfully made as the bridesmaids dresses had been, in Spike’s eyes, even combined the other mares couldn’t approach the beauty of the bride. Rarity’s blue white gown seemed to shimmer in the sunlight, the diamond patterns sparkling as if the actual gemstones had been embedded into the fabric. The single strap from the original design remained, with additional layers of silk tied over it and arranged into the shape of a flower, the same flower that Rarity’s bridesmaids were all wearing in their hair. 

A large, familiar red ruby shaped like a heart hung against her neck, held in place by a golden clasp.

The eyes of so many, of friends and close business partners, of ponies from every tribe and status, from aspiring apprentices to experienced tailors to high end models to famed entertainers and celebrities, watched on as Rarity continued her approach, guided by a suited stallion whose mustache was quivering as he fought to contain his tears. 

Representatives of every nation and species could be seen seated in the audience, adding their vastly varied eyes to the collective gaze following Rarity. There, awkwardly patting Thorax’s back as the changeling sovereign sniffed at the air hungrily, was Dragon Lord Ember. The queen of the hippogriffs sat a couple of rows behind along with officers from the seapony navy. A couple of members from the relatively recent Griffonstone council sat stoically by with their faces set without any apparent emotion, a stark contrast to one other particular griffon who watched Rarity with the largest grin on her arctic gray blue feathered face as she bounced excitedly in her seat. There were buffalo in ceremonial headdresses, yaks with their horns decked in gold, kirins on the brink of becoming niriks, zebras wearing large expressive wooden masks over their faces, and in one section a pair of diamond dogs delegates occasionally eyed their Abyssinian feline counterparts uneasily.

And of course, a few members of the School of Friendship’s first graduating class could be spotted in the audience, including the ones who had brought the dress Rarity was wearing so well into existence.

The rapid clicking of camera shutters some distance away might have been heard had it not been for Fluttershy’s birds. Guards stood between the ravenous paparazzi and the rest of the wedding, limiting their coverage.

To Spike, the world had slowed to a crawl as he waited for Rarity to join him. Again, he felt the urge to tug at his collar and tie, but he kept his claws to his side and instead placed his entire focus on the approaching bride. His throat tightened and became dried, and he had to swallow multiple times before feeling had been restored to his throat.

At the last couple of feet, Rarity’s father stopped to brush his lips against her forehead before he joined her mother in the first row of the audience, right next to the former royal sisters. Rarity continued the last stretch of her journey down the aisle alone, and before either of them knew it, Rarity was standing side by side with her groom.

The music slowly tapered off and faded as the attention turned to Twilight who smiled at the mare and dragon in front of her before turning to the gathered audience. “Friends, family, loved ones from near and far,” she said, her voice carrying across the entire meadow, “we are gathered here today to witness the joining of two hearts as one, to celebrate the formation of a bond that is as unbreakable as the love that sustains it. We are here today in support of this union and to share in the joy of Rarity and Spike as they elect to spend their lives together in harmony.

“Rarity, Spike, your marriage today will be a promise,” the alicorn continued, her gaze returning to the couple as she addressed them. “A promise to support the other in their time of need. A promise to share each other’s dreams and hopes, joys and achievements, but also their sorrows and their pains. A promise to comfort, to protect, and at times to rebuke, but above all, a promise to help the other grow. At times you may be called to be the other’s best of friends, their closest of companions. At times, you may be asked to provide something no creature else can.

“There will be times when you will make mistakes, times when you will stumble, but learn to trust your partner to help pick you back up. Life is never perfect, but we are stronger together than we are alone, and I have no doubt that the two of you will be able to overcome anything so long as you have the other by your side.” She looked to the mares on her right, then to the males on the left, then swept her gaze over the audience before returning to Spike and Rarity. “Never forget that you are never truly alone.

“Now Rarity and Spike, please face each other.” The two did as instructed, and Rarity placed her hoof into Spike’s open claw. “Rarity, if you would?”

Rarity, with her blue eyes locked deeply in Spike’s, gave her groom a small, tender smile. “I, Rarity, promise to take you, Spike, as you are. I promise that from this day forward, I shall love you and cherish you as your wife and partner, to be there when you are hurting, to stitch you back together when you are falling apart. To laugh when you laugh and cry when you cry. I promise to treasure you more than any gem, for to me, you are more valuable than all of the world’s diamonds.”

Twilight nodded and turned to Spike. “Spike, if you would?”

Spike’s mouth opened and stayed open for a good long second without anything coming out. He quickly cleared his throat, stretched his tongue, took a deep breath, and this time when he opened his mouth, the words flowed out like water. “I, Spike,” he began, “so do solemnly swear to take you, Rarity, as you are. I swear, on my honor as a dragon and all I hold dear, to treat you with respect, to shower you with love, and to be your shield against the storm. From this day onward, I swear to you that I will love and cherish you as your husband and partner. I offer you my all, my wings, my fire, my very breath, soul, and heart.”

Twilight returned to Rarity. “Then Rarity, do you accept and take Spike to be your husband?”

“I do.”

“And Spike, do you accept and take Rarity to be your wife.”

Spike nodded. “Yes. I do.”

There was another nod from Twilight as a huge grin split across her face. She turned to the suited trio. “Then may we present the rings?”

Big McIntosh stepped forward and reached into his jacket. His eyes grew wide, and he forced his hoof deeper inside. His face painted with panic, the stallion tried the other side before turning the jacket’s exterior pockets inside out as an awkward silence rolled over the ceremony. On the other side, Applejack could be seen planting her face into the center of her hoof.

The draconequus standing next to the struggling stallion coughed, and with a snap of his fingers, he produced a velvet box from his own pocket and handed it off to Twilight before returning to his position. Suddenly finding interest in a cloud above, Discord let out a whistle of innocence as he ignored the glare Big Mac was shooting at him. A couple of chuckles came from the audience that soon quieted as Twilight opened the box and the lid locked in place with an audible snap.

A pair of gold bands floated out of the box. “Let these rings represent the love and the vows upon which your union will be built. Though the gold here will one day decay, may your bonds remain as strong as they are this day, if not stronger.” The first ring found its way around Rarity’s horn as the second encircled one of Spike’s fingers. “Having pledged your hearts to one another before me and all your friends here today, I, by my power and authority, pronounce you husband and wife.”

Before Twilight could start to prompt them, Spike and Rarity were already locking lips. The audience erupted into cheers and applause, but to the newlyweds, the crowd and the noise might as well have been in a different, separate world. In that moment, all that mattered was him, her, and the perfect kiss they shared.



~The End~