Celestia sighed on her throne with her sister looking at her in sympathy.
"I'm sure it won't be long now…" Luna said in comfort, "Your daughters will return with their champions and everything will return to normal. Except, perhaps, your daughters will be free to marry whoever they want now."
The elder sister gave her a small smile, "Yes… it's the least I can do for them after everything they've been through…"
Luna nodded in agreement. Suddenly, a guard rushed in, "Your Highnesses!"
"Yes?" both sisters said in concern.
He bowed before them saying, "They're back…"
Celestia gasped and got up from her throne, going to the middle of the room, "Send them in at once!"
The guard nodded and ran out.
The royal sisters exchanged glances, hoping that what the guard said was true. A few moments later, they saw the doors opening and there they were, all six of them…
The girls slowly walked in as they approached their mother. There was an awkward silence until both the queen and princesses found themselves bursting with tears and embracing each other in a family hug.
"Oh, my darlings… can you ever forgive me…?"
"There's nothing to forgive…" Twilight spoke.
"We understand why you did it…" Rarity said.
"And to be honest, we're quite grateful, even if we didn't know it at the time…" said Fluttershy.
"Still, I should've told you the truth…"
"Yeah, then we wouldn't have believed you what with our forgotten memories." Rainbow pointed out.
"And the fact we would have lived in fear knowing something was to come for us." Applejack gestured.
"But is it over? She's gone?"
"Yup, we totally defeated her!" Pinkie gleefully said.
"Oh, girls, this is the most wonderful news I've heard in a long time!" Then, she saw the guys hanging near the doorway, "You can come in, gentlemen. I would after all like to reward you for restoring my daughters to me."
"Oh, for goodness sakes, Celestia! We don't need a reward!" Discord motioned.
The other guys did random agreements.
"Just knowing the girls are home is reward enough for us…" said Spike.
"Courageous and honorable; you girls certainly chose well." Luna smirked.
The princesses couldn't help but giggle to their aunt's comment.
And then, Luna noticed what was on Twilight's back, "What's this? Can it be that you have wings now?!" she said in a tone that was a cross of happiness and shock.
Twilight opened them to show, "Yes, it would seem so." she beamed.
"Oh, Twilight, I had hoped that one day you would be given wings to rule. But when the threat was made, I knew I would have had to give up on the idea… But it does please me to see that you had true love's kiss, after all…" Celestia looked between her and Flash, which caused both of them to blush a deep crimson.
"We must celebrate your return and the defeat of the evil queen!" Luna said spontaneously.
"Actually, you might want to hold off celebrating just yet…" said Applejack.
"Aw, but I had the cake and the balloons already to go!" Pinkie whined.
"Just wait, Pinkie." said Twilight as she asked their mother, "Are you ready for a surprise?" she smiled with everyone else smiling with her.
"Surprise?" Celestia questioned, "What do you mean? I am already surprised of all of you returning home and you have gained your wings. What else could there be?"
"You'll see." Rainbow grinned as they looked towards the opened doors.
Celestia and Luna both were confused as they looked to the entrance and suddenly, their eyes widened to the sight that came into view. Sombra had appeared before them and was gradually walking in.
"Sombra…?" Celestia could barely speak.
He smiled straight at her, replying, "Hello… my dear sweet Celestia…"
She gasped, "It is you!" She rushed to him as they enjoyed a long warm embrace. With tears streaming down their faces, she whispered, "I missed you so much…"
"I thought about you every day…"
"But… how? How did you get rid of the curse?"
He pointed at the girls, "Our daughters… By saying that they took me as I was, they freed me from the darkness that held me prisoner."
"An act of true love…" Celestia breathed.
"I thought it wasn't possible, but they proved me wrong…"
"And we meant every word, Daddy…" said Fluttershy.
"I know… and that's what made it even more special…" he held out his arms as they embraced him and had Celestia join in, even Luna. Then, the royal family looked over to the guys standing there.
Pinkie waved her hoof, "Well, what are you waiting for?! Join in!"
They exchange glances before giving in and it was all one big group pile, hugging and embracing loved ones.
When the hugging was done, Luna declared, "Now this calls for a real celebration!"
"Almost, sister. There's something I would like to do first… Spike, a letter, if you please."
Spike had out a paper and quill at the ready.
"I, Queen Celestia of Equestria, hereby revoke the marriage law of the princesses as they may wed whoever they choose."
The girls' eyes widened as their mother had changed the proclamation before them and ran into the arms of their beloveds. Some of them actually tackled them and started kissing them.
Sombra sighed; he was happy, but sad at the same time. He had to miss so much while he was under the curse and saw that his daughters were already grown up and were ready to move on into a new life. He wished he could have been there to see it all.
Celestia noticed this and said, "I find it unfair myself that you couldn't have been there for them… but I had made sure to keep track of everything you had missed while you were gone…"
"I figured you did, but still, I wished I could have been there myself to see before my very eyes." they touched horns in comfort.
Applejack had actually overheard their conversation and beckoned two of her sisters, "Dash, Rarity."
"Yes, Applejack?" Rarity went to her.
"What's up?" Rainbow questioned.
"I just overheard Mom and Dad, and he hates the fact that he had to miss out on us growing up. So, I figure that we could give them a second chance of raising daughters together."
"How do you suggest that?" pointed Rainbow, "Twilight doing an aging spell on us? No offense, AJ, but I don't want to relive a second childhood."
"I quite agree. For too long, we've been young mares as tragic as it is that we couldn't have Father. The sad truth is we must let things be…"
"Sheesh, you two, I know that and they know that… What I'm saying is, we give them girls that are our age when the curse happened… get it?"
"Oh…" the both realized.
"And think: who do we know who is our age during that time?"
They pondered for a bit until it struck them and had smiles spread across their faces.
The fillies clung on to the princesses with whom they each worked for as they moved in the hallway to get to the throne room. Soarin', Spike, and Fancy Pants were with them for moral support.
"But… what if they don't like us…?" Sweetie Belle whimpered.
"And banish us to the Everfree Forest?!" Scootaloo gestured.
"And we'll never see any pony again!" Apple Bloom panicked.
"Would you three calm down?!" Applejack said, "They're not like that, okay?"
"Right, so you can just chillax." Rainbow said coolly.
"You have nothing to afraid of, darlings. They will like you…" Rarity said in a soothing voice.
"Besides," Spike went to the yellow filly with red hair, "We have you to thank, Apple Bloom."
"Thank… me? For what?"
"For getting me and AJ together. If you hadn't told me that she had a crush on me, I don't know where our relationship would be at now. I probably would still be going after Rarity, only to discover my heart would have been broken."
"Spike, I…" Rarity started to say, but he just raised his claw to stop her.
"It's okay. It doesn't matter anymore. I'm just glad how things did turn out…" He stared at his very special pony and she returned the glance.
"You can say that again." Soarin' put his hoof around Rainbow.
"I most certainly agree." Fancy did the same to Rarity.
They stopped at their destination and the fillies gulped in fear. The doors opened for them as the bigger ponies went in first, with the fillies cowering right behind.
Celestia and Sombra sat in their thrones with the other princesses and their mates standing by to watch of how this was going to go.
"Come here, little ones…" Celestia spoke in a soft, gentle tone.
The trio slowly gained confidence when they heard the queen's voice, but they were given an extra nudge by Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow. They were shaking as they made their way up to the royals.
Celestia spoke again, "I understand from my daughters that you are young servants of the castle and that you have no family to go to for support?"
The fillies still shaking nodded their heads.
Sombra and Celestia gave each other looks and faced the girls again.
He spoke up this time, "Not anymore, you do… Because we're your family now…" he smiled brightly at them.
The girls stopped shaking and glanced at them in shock. They couldn't be saying what they were saying, could they?
Both the king and queen held out their arms, with the queen saying, "Welcome… daughters…"
Joy ran through the fillies and all three jumped to the closest parent they were near to.
The entire room was now shedding liquid pride of this touching moment.
When it was over, Pinkie asked, "Now can we party?!"
Twilight said, "Yes, Pinkie, now we can party…"
"Whoo-hoo! Cheese! Bring out the party cannon, cause we're going to be celebrating all night long!"
"You got it!" he jumped.
Before they knew it, the whole place was decorated for revelry. The party ponies even had Vinyl Scratch doing the music. Every pony in that room started dancing away, as there was nothing but great joy and happiness surrounding them…
*Two months later*
The moment was at hoof. The girls were getting ready for the biggest wedding that Equestria has ever seen, considering it was a six-way wedding. They knew it would have taken them too long and too much work if they married one at a time. They figured since they all found love around the same time, they might as well get married at the same time.
The grooms stood on a long platform with Luna, Sombra, and Celestia presiding over the ceremony. Each of them would take two couples to wed. The girls were outside the room in their birth order, with their younger sisters being the flower girls to go in first.
"This is it, girls," said Twilight, "The day that changes everything…"
"No matter what, we'll always be sisters." said Applejack, holding out her hoof.
"Sisters forever!" Rarity put her hoof on AJ's hoof.
"Sisters for always!" Rainbow was next.
"Best sisters for life!" Pinkie put her hoof in.
"Sisters together!" Fluttershy did hers next.
"Sisters and best friends everlasting…" Twilight did the final hoof.
Then, they looked over to the little fillies, gesturing them to join the circle, which they were happy to do.
The wedding march sounded off inside and the girls got back into their positions. The doors swung open and the trio bounced up and down, throwing the flowers. Fluttershy gracefully walked in, with Discord gawking at the sight and Fancy having to nudge him to snap out of it. Once she made it up to the altar to her groom, they beamed at each other before turning back to see Rarity elegantly making her entrance.
When she made it to the altar, she and her groom also smiled to each other. Spike looked back and saw his lovely bride making it down. She beamed at him just as he beamed to her when she came by his side. Rainbow was strutting her stuff when getting to her stud-muffin. They looked into the audience, seeing Spitfire and Fleetfoot giving looks of approval. Pinkie found herself bouncing up and down the aisle and making it to her groom. She playfully nudged his top hat. Everyone turned to see the last bride coming down. Flash could see she was glowing in his eyes just he was glowing in hers.
Once she came at his side, the march came to a halt and Celestia addressed the guests.
"Mares and gentlecolts! Today, we're not only celebrating one union, but six! My daughters, the princesses, have chosen their future husbands out of love, not by some trick of politics. Even when they knew shouldn't have, they persisted to fight their way for love and in turn… the love they shared saved them… It was because of this I was reunited with my own true love, King Sombra…" She gave him a loving glance. He gave one in return as she continued, "To make the ceremony easier, my husband, my sister, and I shall take turns uniting the princesses with their true loves… My darlings, are you ready?"
"Ready." they all replied.
"Then let us begin…" She turned towards Luna.
Luna was next to Discord and Fluttershy and Rarity and Fancy Pants; she started with the oldest, "Do you, Fluttershy take Discord to be your husband?"
Fluttershy held on to him, looking straight at him, "I do…"
"Do you, Discord, take Fluttershy to be your wife?"
"I do…" he looked straight back at her.
"I now pronounce you mare and draconequus. You may kiss the bride…"
Discord didn't waste a second as he snatched her up to kiss her. When they were done, Luna turned towards the next couple.
"Do you, Rarity, take Fancy Pants to be your husband?"
"I do!"
"And do you, Fancy Pants, take Rarity to be your wife?"
"I do."
"I pronounce this couple mare and colt. You may kiss."
Fancy magically lifted her veil up and they moved into a passionate kiss.
Sombra took over and looked at Applejack and Spike.
"Applejack, do you take Spike as your husband?"
"I do."
"Spike, do you take Applejack as your wife?"
"I do!"
"I pronounce you mare and dragon. You may now kiss."
They didn't waste a minute as she grabbed him in her arms, kissing away.
He smiled as he went to the next one.
"Rainbow Dash, do you take Soarin' as your husband?"
"Do I ever!"
"And do you, Soarin', take Rainbow Dash as your wife?"
"Do I ever!"
"I pronounce you mare and Wonderbolt. Go ahead and kiss."
They did so and with pleasure.
Celestia beamed at her daughters and their new husbands, turning back to the ones that still needed to be wed.
"Pinkie Pie, do you take Cheese Sandwich to be your lawfully wedded husband?"
"I do!"
"Cheese Sandwich, do you take Pinkie Pie as your lawfully wedded wife?"
"I do!"
"No, I do!"
"No, I do more!"
Celestia giggled, "Then I pronounce you mare and colt. You may kiss your bride."
But instead, it was Pinkie who grabbed him up to kiss first.
It all came down to the last couple. Celestia spoke loudly and clearly for all to hear.
"Twilight, repeat after me… I, Twilight Sparkle…"
"I, Twilight Sparkle…"
"Take Flash Sentry…"
"Take Flash Sentry…"
"To be my husband and future king…"
"To be my husband and future king…" she beamed at him.
"Now, for you, Flash… I, Flash Sentry…"
"I, Flash Sentry…"
"Take Twilight Sparkle…"
"Take Twilight Sparkle…"
"To be my wife and future queen…"
"To be my wife and…" he added the word, "beautiful future queen…"
"Now the both of you will say, 'To have and to hold until the rest of our days…'"
They looked at each other and said, "To have and to hold until the rest of our days…"
"I now pronounce you mare and colt… You may all kiss the bride." She told the other couples.
They all didn't need her to repeat that as they were already kissing away. The crowd cheered out and threw rice into the air. As it was tradition, royal newlyweds would go out to the balcony to wave down to the citizens of Equestria. One can imagine the excitement when six newlyweds came out. Rainbow pulled a fast one by performing a sonic rainboom!
The night air filled in the reception at the gardens as each newlywed took a slow dance for their first dance as husbands and wives. When the music stopped, the couples clapped and a microphone sounded off as Sweetie Belle's voice filled the area.
"Heh…hi, every pony! I just wanted to tell you how lucky I am to have such amazing sisters, even if we weren't sisters at first… but Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and I are happy that we are and we just want to thank the princesses and wish them luck in their new lives with their cool new husbands." That got a couple laughs and awes from the crowd, "And to do that, we've been working on a song just for them as a wedding present… Here it goes…" She gave a signal to Vinyl and the latter started the music up.
"Love is in bloom! A beautiful bride, a handsome groom! Two hearts becoming one! A bond that cannot be undone!"
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo joined her, "Because love is in bloom! A beautiful bride, a handsome groom! I said love is in bloom! You're starting a life and making room for us!"
A montage happened of everyone enjoying the party.
Sweetie sang solo, "Your special day, we celebrate now, the pony way! Your friends are all right here, won't let these moments disappear because…"
They sang together, "Love is in bloom! A beautiful bride, a handsome groom, I said love is in bloom! You're starting a life and making room for us… for us… for us…"
The newlyweds each got in a carriage-for Rainbow and Soarin', a chariot-to go on their own honeymoons. Each carriage was going to take a separate direction and as they waved off their fellow couples and they waved up to a balcony that Celestia, Sombra, Luna, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo were on waving goodbye.
Through it all, the magical underground kingdom was still in the room the girls shared for so long. Without it, the girls felt they never would have gotten their happy ending after all and would never forget it and the memories they made with it…