//------------------------------//
// Chapter 5: Are You My Soulmate? 
// Story: Snippet of Messages 
// by PinkieHD 
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	Princess Celestia stared at the ceiling for a second before returning her focus on Twilight "Don't worry, my little one. All your questions would be answered. I know this is all confusing but please bear with me for a minute."

Celestia looked behind Twilight and smiled a little "After everypony else regains their consciousness, of course."

Twilight raised an eyebrow "Everypony else? I thought my friends were awake."

Before Princess Celestia could answer, groans could be heard behind the confused purple unicorn. When she turned around, instead of just three mares there was an additional number ponies with them.  

Four stallions in fact.

Twilight gaped in shock as her eyes fell on a certain purple stallion. 

A certain purple stallion unicorn to be more precised.

A certain purple stallion unicorn with a giant six star cutie mark with white, smaller stars surrounding it.

"Ugh" the stallion groaned, who had a light voice for a colt, and rubbed his hooves on his temples. "Did Barry use his party cannon on my face again or did Applejack mistook my head for an apple tree?"

"Um... princess?" Twilight's left eye was twitching while she wore a cheeky grin "Who's that... um... stallion and why does he have my cutie mark?"

Princess Celestia was able to produce an amused smile as she also gazed on the groggy stallion who was now standing on his hooves. "Twilight Sparkle, I introduce you to Dusk Shine. He is, shall we say, you as a colt."

Twilight raised an eyebrow and looked at the princess oddly "As a colt?" She gazed back at the stallion who was now shaking his head in effortlessly trying to remove his headache "Let's pretend that I understood what you said. I mean, I could've sworn I would be, you know, sturdier looking."

Dusk Shine was a purple stallion unicorn with a dark purple mane and tail with light purple streaks on them. He had a fair build like most stallions from Ponyville with the obvious exception from his friends. One of the obvious difference he had with Twilight Sparkle, except for his gender and height, was his snout and eyes. While he had the same eye color with his counterpart, his eyes were sharper. And he also possessed a light voice for a colt.

Celestia just shook her head "I'll tell you the specifics after everypony is back on their feet"

Twilight nodded as she walked towards her other friends noticing that they were already cured from their headaches.

"Hey! Since when did the prince become a mare?! Dusk! Hey Dusk! Check this out!" shouted a pink stallion towards the purple one, who was finally known as Dusk. This pink stallion had a huge smile on his and he was also stomping on the ground. One could feel the throne room shaking from the impact since he was a head taller than the purple one, he was also bulky for somepony so pink. "I mean, never ever ever ever ever ever in my wildest dreams have I ever thought that the prince was actually a princess!" He was a pink stallion with a fluffy mane and tail, which were also pink. Nopony ever made fun of this colt, not because of his size but because of his unique ability of annoying the living hell out of you. Solaris forbid he would use that to his advantage.

"Ugh! Could you keep it down Bubs! I have a raging headache and your shouting is just making it worse!" Said a cyan stallion who shook his whole body to get rid of the grogginess. This stallion, unlike the pink one, was just as tall as the purple one. This one both had a rainbow mane and tail. He had features that looked like lightning bolts for eyebrows and a tail. It was also to be noted that the cyan stallion had blue wings.

"Uhmm... guys? If it's alright with you, can you please be a little more quiet? I mean, I don't want to come out as rude but-" Another colt, this time a yellow pegasus, trailed off as he rubbed his hoof on the floor slowly. Unlike the other colts there, this one could be mistaken as a mare because of his pink flowing mane and the way he handled himself if it wasn't for the fact that he was as tall as the pink one if he stood to his full height. It was also to be noted that this colt's tail was as flowing and pink as his mane. "The princess might mistake us as colts with no manners..."

"Oops! Sorry Guys!" shouted the pink stallion, completely forgetting that shouting was prohibited at the moment. He looked back at the princess and then at the other occupants in the room. He noticed all of them were mares sans his friends and he looked at each of them. His face went on a series of emotions from happiness, surprise and acceptance. He then let his gaze fall on a certain mare that made his mouth fall to the floor and his eyes bugged out. For all of the history of Equestria, nopony has ever made the pink colt stop in his tracks and left speechless, that is, until to this day.

Blitz glared at the pink stallion for shouting again and was about to voice his thoughts when he noticed the latter staring slack jawed at something. The cyan pegasus raised an eyebrow as he lazily floated towards his pink friend.

"Yoh Bubs! What the hay are you staring at?! And why are you gaping like that?! Did you forget to throw a 'Be Quiet' party or something?" he snicked to himself, obviously amused by his own joke.

The pink stallion didn't even register what the pegasus said. All he cared about was the pink mare in front of him. The mare in-question had an equally pink poofy mane and striking blue eyes. He also noticed that her cutie mark on her flank, which made him blush even more, were three baloons, one yellow and two blue ones. Most ponies might think that the only things in the stallion's mind would only be about parties and cakes but they were obviously wrong.

Pinkie Pie noticed that somepony was staring at her and when she turned to that pony's direction, her eyes doubled in size. The stallion blushed when he was caught staring, which only made him even look redder, and he turned his head away to hide his shame. Pinkie found it cute though. Never in her life did a stallion look at her that way but her friends kept telling her that they did when they thought that she wasn't looking. 

She slowly approached the stallion, completely forgetting about everything else in the room. The stallion noticed her approaching and he gulped the lump in his throat. Ok Berry, you can do this. Remember what the Cakes told you. Always, I mean, never leave the oven on unattended. Wait.... He shook his head and instead followed his guts. He took tentative steps towards the mare.

Everypony there stopped what they were doing and had their focus on the two oblivious pink ponies walking towards each other. The cyan pegasus elbowed Dusk Shine while the latter was gaping at the spectacle in front of him. They watched as the two ponies stood a few feet from the other and just continued to stare at each other's eyes.

"U-uhmm... hi... M-my name is Bubble B-berry" the now identified pony started and his friends had to pinch themselves to see if they were dreaming. Never in their lives did they see their one-pony-disaster friend stutter. Not to mention he was looking very nervous in front of the mare that was two sizes smaller than him.

"Hi B. My name is Pinkie Pie" the pink mare replied softly with a small smile on her face. Unlike the stallions, the mares had knowing looks on their faces. They obviously knew a pony in love if they saw one and that pink stallion got it bad.

"Pinkie Pie" he sighed with half lidded eyes staring at the ceiling  "The best sound I have ever heard i my entire life"

PInkie giggled at his antics and gave him a kiss on his cheek before walking back to her friends who started giggling when she sat next to them. They shared a look towards the pink stallion before having another giggle fit.

"Way to go Bubs! I never knew you had it in ya!" Blitz laughed as he elbowed his huge friend. Said pink stallion didn't even notice his friend next to him. He was still shocked from the kiss and kept staring on space.

"As much as I like romance as the next pony, I think it's time I tell all of you in why I brought you here" Princess Celestia said in her most official voice, even if she wasn't presentable at the moment. The fact that she was trying to hide her joy was an amazing feet, even for her standards.

"That's right!" Dusk Shine gasped as he slowly approached the princess and bowed "I do have a few questions princess... uh?"

"Celestia" Berry whispered, who was finally back from daydreaming. 

Blitz, who was next to him raised an eyebrow and leaned closer to the pink stallion "And you know her name because...?"

Berry just smiled a huge smile and shrugged. Typical Berry.

"Yes, like I said, I need to ask a few questions from you princess Celestia"

Celestia nodded "Go on."

Dusk Shine nodded his head and coughed on his hoof "For starters, how did you summon us to this place?" he waved his hoof around for emphasis. "Don't get me wrong but I clearly remember my mentor being a stallion." he then rubbed his hoof on the floor "Or maybe all these years you were actually a mare and just hid it from everypony else."

There was a long pause as Dusk's statement registered to everypony there.

"Please tell me I'm wrong"

Celestia released a booming laugh which startled everypony there. She continued laughing for a few minutes until she breathed in a huge breath of air to her aching lungs. Celestia wiped a tear from her eye "Ahh it's been years since I laughed like that. Thank you."

Her last statement confused both Twilight and Dusk.

"But princess..."

"Weren't you very happy when you and..."

"Artemis reunited once..."

"Again?"

Both ponies looked at each other as they finished the other's query and blinked.

They both shook their heads, trying to erase the flushes on their faces and pointed a hoof at each other and said "What he/she said"

This cause Celestia to laugh once again. She shook her head and motioned everypony there to follow her as she walked towards one of the barbed windows. "I think you are mistaken my little ones for you see we are in a different place."

Her horn glowed and the reinforcements blocking the window magically disappeared and giving all of them the view outside. Everypony gasped as their eyes gazed at outside. Celestia smiled sadly at the scene and tears rolled down her face. She once again faced the ponies and waved a hoof slowly towards the gray setting.

The land once filled with trees and animals were now populated with scorched weeds, seas as blue as the sky was now as green as any swamp and mountains once filled with snow and nests were now just a fraction of their previous size. And to top it all off, everywhere their eyes could reach, vicious looking weeds and roots covered the lands and forests. It was a sight that made even the pink ponies almost cry. Two yellow pegasi didn't fair any better and were hugging each other as they thought of the animals not having any place to live.  To make it all worse, the sky that was once blue was now blood red as the moon shined brightly at a never ending night.

"Ladies and gentlecolts" Celestia started with a humorless tone "I present to you Equestria, five years from whence you came from to be exact"