Counterclockwise

by AdrianJNovelle


Two Hundred, Twenty-Three

1,849,474

Ambroisa was measuring her waist for the dress.
"Stand still, Honey," she said. "This will only take a moment."
Twilight tried to remain as still as possible. She was successful in her efforts.
"Hmm...same as mine," Ambroisa remarked as she stared at the measuring tape. She put it away with her magic. "So you were saying about Dawn, Honey?"
Twilight had been talking to her friend Ambroisa about Dawn while Ambroisa made her wedding dress. She mainly focused on the difference in their ages, and how that bothered her.
"What about our kids?"
"Kids?" Ambroisa could not help but laugh. "Anxious, are we?"
"Dawn and I have already spoken about kids," Twilight remarked. "And whether or not we have, that doesn't change the fact that my reproductive system is over two hundred and twenty years old. Who knows how well any part of my anatomy still works!"
"Well, you exert the same level of independence now as you did when you were youthful, as you've told me," Ambroisa began. "You're not shaking, experiencing memory loss or any physical defects of any kind. I'd say you're probably as...fertile nowadays as you were back when you were young."
"Thanks," Twilight replied, almost sounding sarcastic.
"I'm sure making children will not be a problem for you."
"It's not making them that's the problem for me, Ambroisa, it's raising them: when you're significantly older than the stallion who agreed to marry you."
"Uh-uh-uh," Ambroisa retorted. "Remember what Princess Aurora said: age is what you make of it."
"Just because I still have the capacity of a forty-two-year-old mare does not change the fact that I am over two hundred years old, Am."
"Honey, you're going in circles! Just relax and don't worry about it. You have proven to be very resourceful and intelligent. If anypony can handle this, Honey, you can." She paused. "Oh, and you can step down now."


"Is something the matter, Twilie?" Dawn asked his bride-to-be, who he noticed was not interested in cuddling or snuggling that night in bed like she usually was.
"It's nothing," she said.
"It can't be nothing," Dawn retorted. "You always wanna cuddle. You say it's the only way you can get to sleep!"
"Then I guess I'm not sleeping." Dawn could not see it from his angle, but Twilight had her arms crossed in a pout.
Dawn sat up in bed. "What's the matter, Twilie?"
"Nothing's the matter," she repeated.
"If it were nothing, you'd feel like cuddling."
Twilight gave a weary sigh and sat up in bed, uncrossing her arms.
"Are you sure this is right?"
"What is? Getting married tomorrow?"
"Yeah."
"Of course! I love you!"
"I love you too, but..."
"Yes?"
"How is it gonna be that I will be two hundred and twenty years older than my own children?"
"What of it?"
"What are they gonna think? What are they gonna say? What-"
Dawn put his hoof to Twilight's mouth.
"Hey...don't worry about that. If there's one thing about family I learned, it's their unconditional love and acceptance. You will be their mother. They will love you no matter what, and you will love them no matter what. They don't care how old you are. In fact, once they grow up and realize how short life is, they might feel optimism because they might think they have a long time to live, too - especially if they're unicorns. Granted, that might lead to a fall when they learn that only applies to you, but it will be a menial drop. And their love for you will not lessen. They will still love you and care about you and respect you as their mother. It's what families do."
Twilight looked down at her blanket which still covered her body down to her hooves and beyond, over the edge of the bed.
"The family I was born into is dead," she mumbled. "I guess I might've forgotten exactly what kind of bonds families form."
Dawn wrapped his arm around Twilight. "Well," he said. "That's why I'm here: I'll help you remember." He rubbed his cheek against hers.
Twilight smiled a sleepy smile, and gave him a kiss on his cheek.
"Goodnight, Dawn," she said, yawning.
"Goodnight, Twilie," Dawn lay down in bed, only to find Twilight scooting over in bed to get closer to him in an affectionate cuddle.
It was then Dawn gave her his kiss in return.


Ambrosia, Fiji, Cloud, Bounce, and Gracie were the bridesmaids at the wedding the following day. Dawn was there in the suit he had picked out: which contrasted nicely with his white-as-snow coat and his golden mane. He looked like a stallion advertising the clothing of a high-end formalwear store. He was on the verge of tears of joy when he saw his bride enter the Great Hall, just moments away from being wedded to her. His eyes glistened with anticipation.
Twilight - decked out in a beautiful, plain-white wedding dress which must've stretched another foot beyond her flank - slowly stepped forward as Gracie's bird friends lifted the end of her dress over the ground as she made her way across the hall, her eyes on her stallion. She at last made it, her eyes already tearing up from the happiness bursting through her anatomy.
"We are gathered here together to honor the marriage of Twilight Sparkle and Dawn La'Mare, as they are united in holy maretrimony for as long as their love binds them." Princess Aurora paused. "Dawn, do you take this mare, to have and hold, to love and to cherish, in sickness and in health, to honor and obey; and to swear your eternal love and loyalty to her, for as long as you both shall live?"
"I do," Dawn replied, a tear of joy running down his cheek.
"Twilight, do you take this stallion, to have and hold, to love and to cherish, in sickness and in health, to honor and obey; and to swear your eternal love and loyalty to him, for as long as you both shall live?"
"I do," Twilight replied, gazing up at Dawn, who was eyeing her, anxious to conclude the ceremony.
"With the power vested in me as Princess of Equestria and the Regeneration of Canterlot Royalty, I hereby pronounce you husband and wife."
Twilight shrieked.
Princess Aurora did not even have to remind Dawn to kiss the bride.
They had already pressed their lips together and commenced their marriage.
It seemed like that kiss would last forever.