The music from the organ echoed loudly off the castle walls. All eyes in the room were on the numerous pairs of ponies standing in a long row at the front of the room. Princess Celestia, still bound to a wheelchair and sporting more rolls than a bakery, was sluggishly shoved to the podium where she was able to look upon the happy couples before her.
“We are gathered here today to witness the union of several couples…” she began cheerfully.
In the long row of eager couples stood Twilight Sparkle and Derpy Hooves, Applejack and Apple Sparkle, Fluttershy and Trevor Sparkle, Rainbow Dash and Speedy Sparkle, Discord and Discord Sparkle (both wearing matching suit-dresses), Luna and Luna Sparkle, Spike and Vacation Sparkle, Bacon Sparkle and Eggs Sparkle, Shampoo Sparkle and Conditioner Sparkle, Peanut Butter Sparkle and Jam Sparkle, Sparkle Sparkle and her latest edition of “Hairy Plotter and the Search for the Perfect Cup of Coffee”, alongside another exhaustive list of partners that complimented each other nicely.
“Do all one hundred and four of you say ‘I do’?” Celestia asked.
They did.
“And do the other one hundred and four say the same?”
The other half did too.
“Then I now pronounce you pony and clone and book and whatever else may have snuck in while I wasn’t looking. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go eat some ice cream because honestly this whole thing is beyond creepy. Good bye!”
Rarity’s eyes watered, watching the scene unfold from the stands.
Pinkie Pie looked over to her. “Awe! Don’t cry, Rarity. Wedding’s are supposed to be happy fun times, remember?”
“Tears of happiness, Pinkie, nothing more. Times fifty, I guess.”
For a moment, Pinkie Pie stopped bouncing by her side. “Umm… I know you don’t really like talking about it, Rarity, but… what exactly happened to us?”
Rarity turned to her. “Whatever do you mean, darling?”
“I mean, we were a couple for a while, but not really a couple. Only pretending to be one.”
“And what else?” she asked. “We were trying to stop all those clones from interfering with our lives, simple as that. But now that the clone war is over….”
Pinkie frowned. “That means you don’t want be my marefriend anymore?”
“I….” Rarity paused. “I thought you were only pretending, Pinkie. You mean… you actually want us to be a couple?”
“Only if you want to be, I mean. I’m not asking you to marry me or anything like that, but even just pretending to be close to you… I found I really liked it. A lot. Didn’t you, even a little bit?”
Rarity blushed. “I… did. Of course I did. Maybe it’s only a matter of looking at you in a different light—not pretending to be involved, but actually committing to something. I’m not saying you and I will work out in the long term, but…”
“So you’re saying you’ll still be my marefriend and we can snuggle and kiss and watch movies and all that other stuff we were doing before!?” Pinkie started bouncing again.
Rarity smiled. “Sure, Pinkie. All of that. Can’t hurt to try, can it?”
Pinkie Pie wrapped her up in a hug.
Twilight came to greet them. “Am I missing something here?”
“You’ve missed a lot, Twilight,” Rarity admitted. “But I won’t hold that against you. Come up with a solution to all the clones yet? I know all of Nega’s creations were sucked back to Tartarus when she was destroyed—rather convenient, if you ask me—but that still leaves hundreds of clones with no place to call home.”
Twilight nodded. “I’ve been talking with Celestia, and we’ve decided on building a small town outside Ponyville for them—Cloneville, with shops and grocery stores and even a Clone High for anyone that wants to attend. Not saying that clones have to live there, but at least it’s an option for them.”
“Sounds like you have everything well under control,” Rarity told her brightly. “I think that about wraps things up, don’t you?”
“Wait! Wait for me!”
Someone was yelling outside the castle, so Twilight and Rarity trotted to the windows to get a glimpse. Running full-tilt towards the building was a mare dressed in a skintight red-and-black costume with a pair of swords swung around their back. The mask they wore had black circles around their wholly white eyes.
“Who could that be?” Twilight mused.
Rarity shrugged. “I dunno. Not anyone on the guest list.”
The running clone screamed again. “Wait! I have a scene all planned out! It’s gonna be awesome! Don’t cut to the Author’s Notes yet! Don’t you even think about it!”
Rarity turned to Pinkie Pie. “You have any idea what she’s talking about?”
Pinkie nodded. “I’m afraid I do. It means things are about to—”
END