Princess Celestia, princess of the sun and the older sovereign of Equestria, was winding down another very busy day. Between trade agreements with the Griffon Nations to the north and disputes over a rising industrial nation to the east, Celestia was about ready to lower the sun and retire for the night.
When the last appointment for the day was led out of the throne room, Celestia stood and stretched just as a swirl of green smoke drifted in front of her and coalesced into a scroll. Celestia grabbed it with her magic before it could fall and unfurled it as she sat down.
‘I wonder if Dusk or Twilight sent this one,’ Celestia thought to herself. The thought of Twilight’s ‘other self’ lingered on Celestia’s mind. It had been a pretty normal day when Dusk Shine and his friends suddenly popped into existence in Twilight’s library. Such events happened every now and again, the most recent being when Starswirl the Bearded encountered a female Starswirl. Letters were sent, formalities exchanged, and (with some magical guesswork from Dusk, Twilight, Celestia, and Luna) the colt’s home dimension was pinpointed. Yet for a reason they wouldn’t divulge, the colts had decided to stay here.
Celestia checked the signature to see it was from Twilight before moving to the top of the letter to read it in full.
Dear Princess Celestia,
Recently my study into the magic of friendship has taken a rather… dramatic turn. If you recall in some of my previous letters, my friends and I have befriended out male counterparts. I believe I have already stated my… growing fondness for Dusk Shine in particular.
About a day ago, all thirteen of us, Spike included, were enjoying a picnic on the outskirts of Ponyville when [insert overjoyed scream here]
Celestia was rather bemused by the crossed out section. Apparently Spike had written the letter proper and Twilight made him cross that part out. The next part of the letter showed why.
Dusk proposed to me! All of them, Rainbow Blitz to Rainbow Dash, Butterscotch to Fluttershy, Elusive to Rarity, Applejack to… AJ, and Berry Bubble to Pinkie Pie, they all proposed!
‘Well, that explains why they didn’t go back.’
While we haven’t decided on a proper date, we have all agreed that it would most likely be held within a month or two. I’ll send you another letter with the date once it’s been decided. I wonder if we should have a group wedding. There’s so much to work out!
Sincerely,
Twilight Sparkle.
Celestia had to reread the letter a couple more times before the situation sank in: Twilight and her friends were going to marry their colt selves. Celestia, if she were to be honest, didn’t know how to take this. On the one hoof, she was happy for her student and friends for finding love, but on the other there was the possibility of ‘self-breeding’.
“Something like this has never happened before,” Celestia whispered and rolled up the scroll. After a minute of thinking she got up and made her way out of the throne room, through several long hallways, and finally to her room. Once she was inside with the door locked, Celestia took off her crown and glanced at a full length mirror in the corner of her room. “I’m going to need a second opinion,” she said and walked to the mirror.
“Rainbow Dash, will you please stop fidgeting? I can’t finish measuring if you can’t stop moving.” Despite Rarity’s pleas, Rainbow Dash continued to fidget ever so slightly and cast a quick glance at the other girls waiting on the sidelines.
“I can’t stand getting fitted for dresses. Why do I have to do this?” Rainbow asked annoyed.
“Because you’re getting married!” Rarity answered with just the slightest tinge of anger leaking through as she tightened a strap around Rainbow’s waist, forcing the air out of the pegasus, “It simply wouldn’t be proper for you to do so without a wedding dress.”
“Blitz wouldn’t care.”
“I assure you Elusive is doing the exact same thing to him. Stop squirming Rainbow Dash! This is why you’re the worst out of all of us to fit.”
“How am I worse than Pinkie Pie?!” Rainbow asked pointing a wing to Pinkie Pie and tried to ignore the measuring tape squeezing around her chest.
“There are ways to keep her still. I will admit that it is a bit of a close call between you and Applejack.”
“Ah’m worse than Pinkie?!” Applejack shouted.
“Like I said, there are ways to keep her still.” Rarity moved the measuring tape and made one last measurement, “and you’re done.”
“Oh thank Celestia!” Rainbow all but yelled and started flying away, only for Rarity to grab her tail magically.
“I’m still going to need you for something later, so you’re going to need to stay here.”
“AAAAAARGH!” was Rainbow’s response before she sulked over to the group and sat next to Twilight.
“Do you want to read a book?” Twilight asked levitating a book next to Rainbow Dash. Rainbow just looked angrily at her before sulking a little more.
“Applejack, you’re next!” Rarity exclaimed happily.
“Alright, let’s get this over with,” Applejack said and took Rainbow’s place next to Rarity.
“Hat off please.”
“What do you think the guys are doing?” Fluttershy quietly asked Pinkie Pie.
Pinkie hummed loudly for a few moments before shrugging and saying, “I dunno.”
“And you’re done now Applejack!” Elusive said placing his measuring tape around his neck.
“A’right, ah’ll be with the others,” Applejack said flipping his hat back onto his head and walking over to the group.
“Ooh ooh, does that mean it’s my turn?!” Berry Bubble said waving a hoof in the air.
“Yes, it is,” Elusive answered with a nod.
“Hooray!” Berry shouted and bounced over to Elusive. Once on the measuring platform he continued to bounce and monologue about something or other. “This is going to be so much fun! What do you think the girls are doing? Do you think they’re getting fitted for their dresses? What do you think they’ll look like? Am I the only one wondering how weird it is that we’re going to be marrying ourselves? Oh who cares, they’re just too cute!”
“Rainbow Blitz, Dusk Shine, can you help me for a minute?” Elusive asked waving a hoof. Rainbow Blitz and Dusk Shine shared a look before shrugging and walking over to Elusive. The three started whispering among themselves, Butterscotch and Applejack watching them curiously, until Rainbow jerked away from them.
“You can’t be serious!” he yelled.
“It’s worked the last few times I’ve tried it,” Elusive said seriously. Rainbow looked between Elusive and a still monologuing Berry Bubble and face hoofed.
“This is so stupid, but what the hay, let’s do it.”
“Excellent, the plate should be in the kitchen.” Rainbow and Dusk nodded and left the room downstairs.
“It was really nice of Twilight to let us use the library since she and the girls commandeered Carousel Boutique,” Berry added as he started bouncing in a circle, “I wonder what we’re going to do when the wedding date is set. Are we going to have one giant wedding, or six smaller wedding for all of us?” Berry’s sudden question caused Butterscotch to suddenly freeze. Thankfully Blitz and Dusk returned with the latter’s horn lit up and one of the former’s wings extended.
“Hey Berry!” Rainbow shouted.
“Yes Rainbow?” Berry asked. Blitz responded by lowering the wing to reveal a plate of cupcakes held aloft by Dusk Shine, resulting in Berry freezing on the spot to stare at them. “Ooh, cupcakes.”
“Stay!” Elusive shouted at Berry, who did what he was told and looked between Elusive and the cupcakes.
“But…”
“Stay. You can only have the cupcakes when I say you can, so be a dear and stay still until then.”
“Ok.” Dusk Shine took the moment to set plate of cupcakes down, Berry never looking away, and walked back to Applejack and Butterscotch with Rainbow.
“I can’t believe that actually worked,” Rainbow said slightly depressed.
“It’s rather fascinating,” Dusk said, “and Berry does raise a point. How should we plan the weddings?”
“Um, shouldn’t we discuss that with the girls?” Butterscotch said.
“Yeah, we probably should,” Applejack added.
“Hey, do you think this trick works on Pinkie Pie?” Rainbow Blitz asked.
It wouldn’t be until much, much later that that question would be answered with a ‘yes.’
“And that would be the situation I’m in. What do you think?” Celestia looked up at the mirror which, instead of her reflection, showed a reflection of a different sort.
“Yes, that is interesting,” the white alicorn with a magnificent red mane and beard said in the mirror. He stroked his beard slightly and said, “While I have to respectfully disagree with you on some of your concerns, it would likely be the wisest course of action to make sure. It has been a long time since I’ve seen Dusk Shine and his friends, so the trip couldn’t hurt.”
“Yes, I would appreciate any help on this matter. Would tomorrow be a good time?”
“I think I can do that. How is Luna doing by the way? I could ask Artemis to come too if you want.”
“Luna’s fine and I’ll ask her if she wants him to come. She may want to see him after all.”
“Is something on your mind Celestia?”
“It’s nothing important Solaris, I guess I’m just worried about Twilight Sparkle and her friends.”
“Don’t worry, Dusk Shine and his friends are good stallions and they wouldn’t think of hurting anypony. If your concern is for what you spoke to me about, then I have a way to make sure what would happen.”
“I suppose we’ll have to see. Until tomorrow Lord Solaris.” Princess Celestia nodded at her counterpart who returned the nod.
“Until tomorrow Princess Celestia,” Solaris said and placed his horn against the reflection. Celestia mirrored the action and, after a few seconds, the mirror started shimmering until Solaris disappeared leaving only Celestia in the mirror.
Celestia sighed and said, “It’s going to be a long couple of months.”
