Flare of Hope

And when the immortal son binds eternally with the one who can move the stars, the calming winds of happier days shall give him the strength to stand tall...

The entire nation was buzzing with the biggest news since the marriage of Princess Cadance and Shining Armor. Word spread like wildfire throughout Equestria, once it got out into the upper echelons of the Canterlot nobles that everypony's prince was to be wed. Since his arrival in Equestria, Flare's lovable "Average Joe" demeanor had won the hearts of everypony from the rich, to the common working pony. Of course, the citizens of Equestria would be ecstatic over the news. The only thing they didn't know was who was to be the bride.

Flare, and Skybreaker were taking a casual stroll through the market district of Canterlot, as Flare normally did. "Wow. Everypony seems really happy, lately. I wonder why."

"Dude, you're getting married, that's why!"

Flare laughed, as he waved to the nearest shopkeeper. "Oh, come on, bro. I'm not that special. I'm just regular old Flare."

"Yeah, but you're still a prince! And your subjects freakin love you!"

"If you say so, bro. Sorry things didn't work out between you, and Cloudchaser."

Skybreaker shrugged, as they continued trotting down the street. "Yeah, she didn't like the idea of moving to Canterlot. Something about not wanting to leave her sister behind. Besides, there's all different kinds of hot tail to chase, in Canterlot."

"Uh huh. If you say so. I wonder what Star's up to."

"Oh, what was I thinking?! I'm not cut out to be a PRINCESS!" Princess-to-be Falling Star paced nervously around her chamber in the castle tower. "Where's that paper bag!"

Cadance retrieved the small paper bag from atop the dresser, and handed it to the nervous alicorn. "Star, relax. I'm sure everypony will love to call you their princess. I know I would. Besides, you love Flare, don't you?"

Star immediately took the bag, and placed it over her muzzle, inhaling and exhaling quickly. After a few seconds, she finally calmed down. "Thanks, Cadance. I really needed that. Yes, I do love Flare. With all my heart, in fact. I just wish that marrying him didn't mean becoming a p-p-princess!" And with that one word, the hysterics returned. Star tried breathing into the paper bag again, but to no avail. "CADANCE, THE BAG ISN'T WORKING!"

"I'm sure she's fine, Flare. She's with your cousin."

"If you say so, buddy. Hey. I've got an idea! Let's find you a date to the wedding."

Skybreaker raised an eyebrow at Flare. "How do you plan on doing that?"

Flare grinned wickedly at his old buddy. "Don't worry about that."

"Oh, I'm worried about it... why do you want to find me a date right now? The wedding isn't for another wee-OOF!" Skybreaker, the mighty hero of the ponies was cut short by a powerful bump that sent him hurdling directly toward a hat stand. He attempted to use his wings to shift direction, and barely managed to miss the hat stand by a few mere centimeters, and land on the ground right next to it in a tangled pile of hooves. "That wasn't funny!"

Flare laughed, as the guard that was accompanying them trotted over to give the quirky pegasus a helping hoof. As chance would have it, the guard that was accompanying them happened to be one of the Knight twins, Glimmersteel, the Adorable (as Skybreaker had once called her in private conversation). "Here, Sir. Let me help you up."

Skybreaker didn't even notice the guard approaching, but only heard her. He had managed to get himself halfway up, when he looked back, and blushed, upon realizing that he almost lost the opportunity to flirt with Glim. Thinking quickly, he faked a slip, and fell back down, rolling, so he landed on his back, smiling goofily at the guard, and laughed awkwardly. "Well, if you really want to..."

The mare giggled and blushed, as she extended a hoof to the stallion. As he took her hoof, he was pulled to his hooves. "Thanks, Glim."

The mare's blush still showed under her armor. "It was nothing, Sir. We should really catch up with Fla-" her blush quickly faded, as she realized what the prince had just pulled on the two ponies.

"Oh no... he pulled the distract-and-dip-out again, didn't he?"

"Again? He's done this before?"

"Oh yeah. He's done it plenty of times. Normally when he's cooking up some plot."

"Uh... what kind of plot?" The guardsmare began to blush nervously, again.

"Well, before he shoved me toward that hat stand, he said something about trying to find me a date for the wed-" Skybreaker cut himself off, mid-sentence, and looked at the mare before him, as he too began to blush. "Hey, Glim?"

The mare blinked, looking back at the stallion, speaking much more casually, now that the prince was gone. "Yeah, Sky?"

"Um, would you like to be my date for the wedding?"

The mare smiled adorably, the blush in her golden yellow cheeks intensifying. "Of course I would."

"Hey, ladies. Everything okay in here?" The chaos of the frantic bride-to-be had quickly become too much for the young princess to handle on her own, which forced her to call in the big guns. Flare looked around the room, seeing his mother and his cousin lifting the unconscious mare to the bed. "Um, what happened here?"

Cadance and Luna looked at each other, as if mentally debating whether or not to tell him the truth, before Cadance decided it would be better for her to answer. "Just the jitters." Cadance's already weak resolve toward lying crumbled and fell like a graham cracker castle, under the hammer that was a simple inquisitive eyebrow from her cousin. "I mean full blown hysteria."

Flare looked at the unconscious mare on the bed and laughed. "She always was the nervous type. And with the wedding a week away, it's only going to get funnier."

***

Two days until the wedding. Only five days had passed, yet so much had happened in that small timeframe. The grand courtyard of the castle had been completely decorated for the ceremony, Skybreaker and Glimmersteel had begun dating exclusively, and the aforementioned stallion, along with Shining Armor had decided to throw Flare's bachelor party... only to get outpartied by the prince. All on top of the daily nervous breakdown from Star, which Flare had actually learned to deal with... thanks, of course, to his mother.

Flare was sitting quietly, reading a book on gravity spells, Star passed out in front of the door, as a direct result of her last psychotic episode. Things were quiet for the time being, since Cadance and Shining Armor had been sent up North to deal with some "Crystal Something-or-other." After a few more pages, the door swung open, smacking Star in the head, and catching Flare's immediate attention. "Hey, Mom. What's wrong?"

The princess sat down in a huff. "Tia would rather let Twilight Sparkle handle an issue of great importance than let me deal with it. I am thoroughly offended that she would harbor such a lack of trust in my ab-"

"Mom, I'm sure there was some ulterior motive to her plans. You just have to trust her."

Having calmed down slightly, Princess Luna let out a sigh. "But what if Twilight Sparkle fails this quest? If she does, all of Equestria will be conquered by evil."

Flare placed a reassuring hoof on his mother's shoulder. "If it happens, we'll just have to kick some ass, now won't we?"

****

Meanwhile, in a dark temple, somewhere beneath the surface, a meeting was taking place. "We have already lost two of our siblings to the wretched bastards above."

"We must not lose anymore, or Father will become greatly angered with us."

"What do you suggest we do, Sister Vanity?" The two dark Alicorns looked to the silent mare who had called the small congregation together.

The mare was silent for but a moment before a wicked smile formed on her lips. "We must send a message. They must learn that we will not be trifled with any longer. Soon, our time will come, and when it does, the immortal son shall become one of us."

"But how are we to do that, Sister?"

"Indeed, Sister Seduction attempted to sway him, and now she is no more."

"Then we'll just have to try a different approach. May I suggest something a bit more... motherly?"

The day was finally here, and everyone was in attendance. After the whole Crystal Empire thing, they decided to speed on to their honeymoon. The stage was set for the perfect day for all of Equestria. Flare, Sky, and Shining Armor stood to one side, as the choir rang out their performance of "Here comes the bride," as Princess Luna walked Star down the aisle, trailed by Cadance and Glimmersteel, and led by Scootaloo, who scattered flower petals in her wake. All in all, it was the perfect day. Finally, the group of mares reached the altar, and the two lovers looked deeply into each other's eyes, as Celestia delivered her speech.

"Dearest friends, and loyal subjects. We have all gathered here, today to bear witness to the union of my nephew, Prince Midnight Flare, and Lady Falling Star. Now, the couple has chosen not to recite prewritten vows, but instead to speak true and clear from the heart." She then smiled to Flare, signaling him to speak.

"Star. Ever since the day we met all those years ago, I never imagined that our lives would bring us to where we are now, but looking back at the life that we've led this far, I wouldn't trade our time together for the world. I know that we'll face many more challenges in the years ahead, but I know that with you by my side, we'll barrel through any obstacle that stands in our way."

Star smiled, and took a deep breath. "Flare, I feel like everything we've done has led to this moment. When I came here, I certainly wasn't expecting to ever see you again. And now that we're together again, I won't ever let anything come between us."

Celestia smiled, and looked to her sister, who was wiping a tears away from her cheek. "Lovely words. Now, if anypony knows any reason why these two should not be wed, speak now, or forever hold your peace." Of course, the room went silent, as nopony would dare speak against something so amazing. "Very well. Do you, Prince Midnight Flare, take Princess-to-be Falling Star to be your wife?"

Flare couldn't help but smile, as he looked to Star. "I do."

"And do you, Princess-to-be Falling Star, take Prince Midnight Flare to be your husband."

"I do."

"Then by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you Stallion and Wife. You may kiss the bride."

Without a second of hesitation, Flare and Star locked lips in a passionate kiss, as the crowd cheered behind them. This day was truly perfect.