Author's Note

Per democracy on a blog post yesterday, the final chapter now becomes two, and the first section is ready to go! I think this is all I can do to it... and if I hold onto it forever because it's not perfect, it'll never be ready.

So... here you go! I hope it's at least a fraction magical for y'all as it was for me writing this. Then, I'll have done my job.

Now excuse me while I finish up part 2 + the epilogue hehe

31. Union | Part 1 | Gold

[Some Time Later…]

His visitor was in some manner expected… yet wholly unexpected at the same time. He knew exactly who it was when he had his back turned, and heard his bedroom doors thrown open unceremoniously with the force of a breaching charge.

Fredrick smirked and swiveled on his dress-shoe-clad heels to face his most-welcome intruder with a sly, angled smile.

“You know we’re not supposed to see each other before the ceremony… apparently. Right?”

All dolled up herself, Stella shrugged.

“Oh, aye… but everypony else can fuckin’ smoke a fuckin’ fat one off me mingelips. If it were up to me, we wouldn’t even have the fuckin’ ceremony in the first place. I’d just skip right tae the celebration!”

Chuckling, Fredrick was quick to point out the rather obvious:

“Hehe don’t lie to me, girl! You wanna have the ceremony. You just don’t wanna deal with the effort to prepare for it, you lazy fuck.”

Stella’s faux pout was one for the ages.

“Mate, how fuckin’ dare ye call me out on me own bullshit while I grace ye with me divine fuckin’ presence?” she then gesticulated to herself marvelously.

“Oh I’m sure not complaining about seeing you.”

“I knew ye wouldn’t object~. So, I buggered off when they went tae grab more makeup. They’ll be comin’ fer me. Sooooooon.”

“Guess we better make the most of it, then!”

Her demeanor was as standard as a test, and her self-confidence and assuredness was as high as your best friend who swore he wasn’t high after a phat fuckin’ boof. Par for the course. Hell, it was these qualities that were somewhere right at the top of the list of things Fredrick found attractive about her.

…aside from dat badonkadonk… and those lovely bat milkers, of course.

But today—as the two held fast and stared at one another from across the room--things were a little different for the two of them. And how Stella presented herself on this visit was something he wished to ingrain onto his mind for the rest of his life.

Because instead of his marefriend booting his bedroom door open to whisk him away on a night adventure full of magic, shenanigans, and wonder…

...there stood before him the very aura of regality. His eyes couldn’t not wander over her form… a form that was encased beautifully—no, molded—within her choice of dress.

Jet-black. That was the first thing that struck him… a blackness so inky it reminded him of the OLED screen on his phone. True to a military fashion, it was long-sleeved, and covered her from her neck down to the ‘robe skirt-like’ bottoms. Said ‘robe skirt’ from her belt-line down, veiled her legs completely as she strode towards him… a black fog rolling, floating over a quiet lake as it meandered towards its final destination.

The lack of any provocative features, like any form of neckline or slits in the thighs—much unlike Stella’s personal style—was more than made up for by the sheer perfection in which the dress hugged all her curves, hills, valleys, and plateaus.

And to top it all off, the black was frosted with gold accents and patterns, from her cufflinks, her collar, horizontal strips across her chest, and the periphery of her skirt. All of this was brought together with pristine, alabaster-white gloves over her hands.

Art by my friend Fubuki!

In comparison to his own rather standard black tuxedo getup with a golden bowtie, this mare put him to shame.

In laser-etching her very appearance onto his brain-matter, he had apparently been forgetting to breathe for the last few seconds, and he exhaled deeply. His heart…

Mah heart… mah soul…

It beat so strongly in his chest. There was literally no better place to lay his gaze upon, and as such, the lightness in his core inflated and ascended him into the stratosphere like a blow-up doll getting raptured by the Lord himself. It was one of the few times where the sheer sight of something nearly made him shed tears of joy.

She was Stella—his marefriend of a little over three years.

His bride-to-be.

With her right in front of him now, he just… admired. His cheeks hurt with how hard he was smiling, his eyes were probably glinting in the early-evening moonlight along with the magical torches that lit his room.

And much like she had always been keen on, she was more than attuned to his staring. She smirked knowingly. Both knew they were having a moment.

Also true to her fashion in being the most confident foray into any situation, she broke their pleasant silence:

“Heh, see somethin’ you like, ya fuckin’ oaf?” she dared ask.

Fredrick shook his head.

“Nope. But I see something I friggin’ love! Like… holy shit, you’re just…”

Fredrick considered himself a smart man—a fairly smart man if he took into account some of his more recent achievements in his postings as a Junior Minister in the Princess’ government. But even with his degree, and his training, and hell… his vocabulary…

...he was coming up empty with words.

But really, said feelings went even deeper than her face, her figure, and her wedding dress.

“You’re so gorgeous, Stella. I…” Fredrick pursed his lips, trying to jog his head for anything else he could say in the moment.

There was nothing else, especially when the rest of his brain was being devoted to keeping his eyes trained right on Stella.

“I got nothing else. You’re just… perfect,” he said.

To Stella’s credit, she returned to him a rather warm smile. Devoid of any chastising that was often elicited by Fredrick’s incessant and targeted compliments.

“You always know what tae say, aye?”

He returned that warm smile happily as Stella spoke once more, and Fredrick only noticed that mischievous spark in her eye when it was too late:

“Even if that’s gay! Fuckin’ GAAAAAAAAAY!” she exclaimed, then exaggeratedly pointed right at his face as if she was uncovering a deep dark secret of his for the entire world to see.

Fredrick pursed his lips, though he found it difficult to not smile at the display.

Ahhh, there it is!

“You know me! Gay for you and you alone! A raging homosexual for that vagina, lemme tell ya,” he joked, earning a giggle from his mare.

Chuckling, he took Stella in his arms and kissed her forehead, then promptly led her out onto the balcony with his arm around her waist. Dressed their best, Fredrick felt there was something… regal about the two of them—all dolled up and waiting for the main event to kick off—standing on a balcony on a castle. That, and it was also an excuse for fresh air.

And to just… exist with one another for a little while.

The gentle breeze of the early twilight air ruffled a few strands of Fred’s combed hair out of place, but that didn’t bother him much. A sideways glance at a rather blissful-looking Stella got a bright smirk outta him when he found her, eyes closed, gentle simper, and enjoying the breeze against her face.

God she’s so perfect.

He cleared his throat lightly.

“You ready for tonight?” he asked.

Stella opened her eyes and gazed back at him. Fredrick saw the last vestiges of the sun’s rays falling on her golden orbs—quickly being replaced by moonlight—and reflecting all the love she had for him.

She nodded once.

“Aye. But fuckin’ hell, love… hard tae believe we’re gettin’ fuckin’ married, innit?” she asked, turning back towards the priceless view before them.

Stella scoffed, a bright smile still on her face as her eyes glinted with the light of an impending innuendo.

“I mean… being bonded tae you under the holiest honors in my culture, and letting ya rawdog me every night? What’s not tae look forward to?” she asked rhetorically.

Fredrick blinked, never feeling his bright features dimming.

“But… I already rawdog you essentially every night!”

Stella turned to him with that knowing, shit-eating smirk on her face.

“Oh aye! Ya do! Hell yeah, motherfucker!”

The two high-fived.

All of that sent them into a combined giggle fit, which ended with Fredrick taking Stella into his arms and resting his head atop hers. He just held her like that, letting the tender, early-evening breeze sway their bodies and their heart’s just a little. It was certainly one way to get his own heart to calm down from all the excitement to come.

After all, tonight wasn’t just the ceremony that officially bound them together. In their dual opinion, that was merely for formalities and to appease Stella’s clan and culture.

The real celebration was technically the ‘after-party,’ which was scheduled to be held right after the ceremonies. While the wedding itself would be held in the throne room per Celestia’s and Luna’s insistence, the after-party—where there would also be a… significantly less-formal exchanging of the vows—would be held in the grand courtyard.

Tonight was gonna be such a blast… the experience of a lifetime. Fredrick could not wait!

He kissed her forehead.

“You know… this is essentially our last hangout as boyfriend and marefriend. Wanna stay here until we need to get to our positions?” he asked.

Stella met his gaze with humor scrawled all over hers.

“That’d be lovely, mate… buuuut like I said before, I technically wasn’t done with my preparation when I headed over here. I snuck away, actually,” she giggled.

Fredrick pursed his lips, holding back the tide of laughter that was born from the James Bond-tier shenanigans she pulled on her family to stealthily slip away. He could feel his eyes widening nonetheless.

Apparently he had already forgotten about that little detail.

“Fucking… you what?” he dared to ask.

Stella continued her cute giggling fit, but brought forth a rather incredulously raised eyebrow.

“Aye! I mean… I already fuckin’ told ye! Even then, how the fuck didn’t ye figure that one out? Have ya seen me eyelashes? I’ve only got mascara on one eye, mate!” she said.

And then she pointed to her left eye which, upon further examination by Fredrick, indeed lacked the thicc-ness of the other. The realization made the dams of his restraint break a little bit as he twittered in his own chuckle fit. Upon looking closer than that, he could see some bit of coloring on her right cheek, but not her left.

“Oh my god you’re not friggin’ joking… you’re literally half-ready right now!”

Stella hissed in laughter through her teeth.

“Right?! So let’s enjoy our our last few moments right now… because they’ll be comin’ fer me real soon like I said, just ye wait!”

Fredrick shook his head, softly laughing the entire time as he pulled Stella into his embrace, wrapping his arms around her fully. He shut his eyes, and pressed his face into the top of her mane—the smell of night lilies tickled his nostrils just the way he liked it, and he had few qualms with taking a much deeper inhale of her fresh scent.

“I love you so much, Stella,” he finally said, and planted a wet one on her forehead.

And from that, he was happy to see that Stella didn’t need artificial blush for her cheeks to color.

“I love you too, Fred… so much more than ye know,” she replied.

Fredrick couldn’t exactly resist much beyond that point, so with gentle encouragement from the side of his index finger, he angled Stella’s chin upward. Smiling warmly at her, he then pressed his lips to hers, and let his arms fall around her once again.

He immediately heard and felt her hum against his lips, and the sudden slack in her posture was all he needed to know that she melted like ice cream in summer. But that was all well and good—he adored Stella when she just… let go once in a while. And that ‘once in a while’ had become much more often ever since that fateful talk about her dream.

And during their silence post-kiss as they held each other, both sets of eyes pleasantly closed, Fredrick’s mind kicked into high gear.

He suddenly shot his eyes in realization.

That was the moment.

The moment.

That was the moment he knew deep down that he was going to spend the rest of his life with this mare. There were already inklings of an idea formed by that point that just maybe he would… and hell, they were friggin’ planned to be wed!

But only now did he truly accept that that was the pivotal moment.

He smiled. Widely. And goddamn his cheeks were hurting again.

The gorgeous reverie was obliterated with four secret-police-intensity knocks at his bedroom door. Fred could feel Stella smiling against his chest.

“Heh, told ya!”

Fredrick chuckled and called towards the door from the balcony:

“Door’s open! Come on in!”

And boy did that door open. The inside doorknob slammed against the stopper on the wall as if a mighty gale blew it open. Fredrick released Stella from his hold, and the two of them turned towards the bedroom and found Schiavona and Sveta standing in the doorway. Both were identically stony-faced.

Schiavona stepped in and said bluntly:

“We’ve come for the cunt.”

Sveta followed up with:

“Return the slag… or suffer me curse.”

Fredrick shared a moment’s glance with Stella, and then decided to address the newcomers rather cordially despite their previous words:

“Hey Vona! Hey Sveta! How’s it going? LOVE the dresses, by the way,” he said, drawing attention to their dresses.

Both wore rather conservative black dresses with only small hints of golden accents. Vona’s was a classy sleeveless dress with the rest of her shoulders and collarbone covered completely. Sveta’s was strapless and sleeveless, but somehow through modern magic did not show a hint of her massive cleavage that lay underneath. Her curves came through nicely, though.

Stella joined in the greeting with a bright smile and an underlying tone that just dripped liquid snark all over the pristine floor:

“Hey mum! Hey Svet’! I see ya knew where tae find me~,” she said.

Sveta didn’t seem particularly pleased with the greeting, if Fredrick seeing her eyes burn brighter as her ‘bollocking face’ made itself known:

“You,” she pointed to her sister. “Get the FUCK back tae the dressin’ room right now or there will be fuckin’ consequences!”

It was Stella’s turn to not be impressed.

“Oh what fuckin’ consequences, lass? You gonna fuckin’ make me head back there? Fuckin’ hilarious. What’re ya gonna do, cuntpipe? Smother me in yer tits?”

Sveta thumbed towards Schiavona.

“Nae, but she’ll drag yer ass back,” said Sveta, and from what Fredrick could see of Vona’s closed off, steely, arms-crossed demeanor, she’d have zero issue twisting Stella’s ear to get shit done.

And Fredrick saw Stella’s front waver in front of her mom, but true to her nature—and demonstrating that she had not changed in the slightest—started a rather defiant mini-tirade:

“Oh fuckin’ of course ya gotta drag mum intae this shit ya wee fuckin’ clipe. We’ve been at it FOR FUCKIN’ HOURS, mate! How much shit do ya gotta pile on me face, ya fuckin’ narrow-faced weapon?!”

“As much as it fuckin’ takes tae fix up yer ugly vagina face, bitch! You asked me tae do this for ye as yer fuckin’ maiden of honor or whatever!”

Stella rolled her eyes and gestured animatedly with her hands, which made Fredrick think there was some Italian in her, or whatever this planet’s equivalent was.

“Oh fuck right off please, lass! If I wanted tae laugh I’d put me ear up tae mum’s twat because clearly the last thing that fell out of there was a fuckin’ joke,” Stella declared.

Fredrick nearly had to relocate at that. What made him stay was when he could’ve sworn Schiavona was trying not to cackle at that. The days of awkwardly standing off to the side while the verbal slugfests went on in this family were long gone, and he was actively, excitedly betting on who would be winning.

It was Sveta’s turn to roll her eyes, and she twirled her hands as she further stepped up to Stella.

“Aye, aye, and so on and so forth. Lemme get somethin’ real fuckin’ not-gay here,” she said, and thrust her index finger right in front of Stella’s face.

“We’re finishin’ yer fuckin’ makeup—this is not fuckin’ negotiable. Yer not marryin’ Fredrick in front of everypony lookin’ like a fuckin’ drugged-up sow that ye normally do, ya fuckin’ scrote-faced pisser!”

“I’ll fuckin’ look like however the fuck I wanna look tae the world, cunt! Did Celestia fuckin’ have a massive stroke and left ye princess? Who the fuck made ye Sombra?! I vote fer no fuckin’ confidence by way of ‘ye suck a fat cock!’”

“Uhhh… you did when ye asked me tae be yer fuckin maid of honor ya dumb fuckin’ tardnugget! And as yer sister I’ll hoist this burden on my shoulders fer yer own sake and—IT’S JUST FUCKIN’ MAKEUP, LASS! QUIT BEIN’ A FUCKIN’ NYAFFY BABY ABOUT IT, YOU SWOLLEN CUNT!”

Stella grandiosely threw her arms out and rolled her entire upper torso with how unimpressed she was.

“Oh give me a fuckin’ break with yer fuckin’ ‘burden,’ arse-queef. When the time comes tae be yer maid of honor I c’n lift that fuckin’ ‘burden’ with the end of me clit!”

Schiavona decided to interject right there:

“That’s enough, Stella,” she said coolly, shutting up any further rebuttals between the two of them.

And when it looked like Stella was about to argue with her, it was now Vona’s turn to level the almighty index finger at her face.

“Get the fuck back tae barracks right fuckin’ now, or I’ll circumcise yer fuckin’ turdcutter, aye? Fuckin’ ‘mon then! Piss off!” she thumbed towards the door.

Stella grumbled, but her resistance faltered completely under Vona’s threatening gaze, and she trudged past Sveta. Before she was dragged out the door by her sister, Stella gazed over her shoulder back at Fredrick, leveling some rather hilarious-looking puppy-dog eyes—eyes that were pleading with him to save her from a fate worse than death.

As much as those eyes had an effect on him, Schiavona was the first one to shut that shit down:

“Oi! Don’t fuckin’ look at ‘im, cunt! Just fuckin’ get it done! And Sveta? If she gives ye any fuckin’ trouble, have dad put her through the fuckin’ wall, aye?”

Sveta grinned evilly.

“With fuckin’ pleasure, mum!” she said, and yanked Stella out of sight of the doorway.

Fredrick was left snickering, and he shook his head at the display—he could only hope shenanigans like this continued beyond the wedding and into marriage. He was gently tugged back into reality when he remembered that Vona was still in the room with him.

He then watched as she stepped forward and took the liberty of silently flattening out the lapels of his dress shirt, as well as the ends of his bowtie. She did so with such a motherly touch that Fredrick briefly had flashbacks to his high school senior prom night, when his mom helped sort him out before the festivities.

She smiled warmly.

“Perfect,” she said, nodding up at him. “Yer lookin’ quite dapper, mate!”

It still amazed him how, despite Vona’s smaller stature, her overbearing personality and aura still made him feel so much shorter after all this time.

He smirked right back, feeling his cheeks heat up at the genuine compliment from her.

“Heh, thanks Vona. You look lovely as well!” he replied.

“Ye ready?”

“I honestly couldn’t be more ready! Are you ready? There’s still time to escape with Stella out the back door, you know,” he joked.

Fredrick fully expected for Vona to come back with something witty, a playful insult about his human features, or something else that he would deem as ‘normal.’ Instead of that, however, Fred was a little stunned to see that her demeanor hadn’t changed to the more whimsical. Rather, her features had only grown much… warmer.

“You know good and well I don’t wanna see ya fuckin’ go anywhere,” she said.

Fred cocked his head.

“Oh really?”

She nodded, then tenderly reached up to his face and cupped his cheek with the most maternal touch Fredrick could describe.

“Because—quite frankly—I feel you’re the son I never had.”

Those words.

Fredrick never knew he needed to hear those words… or to feel another ‘maternal’ presence in his life. It had been years since he had seen his own mom for the last time. And in quick recollection over the last few years, it had become readily apparent that, in many ways, Schiavona helped fill a void he either didn’t realize, or that he didn’t want to admit existed.

Further, Fredrick just… couldn’t find a way to properly reply to that. His chest swelled, and an almost young, boyish feeling within him began to well up within his core. And much like the mother she was, Vona seemed to be able to read him like a damn book, because she made it quite clear he didn’t need to respond to that.

She simply embraced him, wrapping her arms around him as best as she could—it was a hug that Fredrick never found himself so eager to return. It was… comforting. Even though Vona was shorter and petite, Fredrick could feel a familiar security in her embrace.

He missed it so much.

Fredrick took a deep breath, and exhaled all his remaining fears and troubles that weighed on his mind and heart.

“Thanks, Vona. For everything.”

“Nah, son—thank you fer marryin’ Stella because fuck me I dunno what the fuck I was gonna do with her!”

[Throne Room | Soon After…]

As the twilight gave way to the proper night, all curtains and veils within the massive throne room were discarded, as to let the full moon’s cascading light bathe the interior. The extra-bright moon—courtesy of Luna—shone prominently through the windows and stained glass, lighting up what was an indigo rug aisle. Said aisle led from the throne room entrance, right up to the altar threshold.

And right in front of Fredrick.

As he observed the ambiance that the Princesses helped coordinate for such a ‘traditional’ Northern Batpony wedding, he came away blinded by the lengths they actually went to. Taking pictures with his phone was not exactly in good taste right now, so he opted to just scan every inch of his surroundings for good measure, and imprint them onto his brain.

Magical torches burning blue flames lined all the windows to further augment the moonlight that shone through. This further brought attention to the aisle itself, where on either side of the indigo rug, from entrance to threshold, armored up Royal Lunar Guards stood at attention, facing one another.

Fredrick was graciously enlightened that Stella’s former platoon volunteered to provide an honor guard service, and see off their Captain on her special day. Their dark gray armor certainly added to the allure of the atmosphere, in Fredrick’s eyes... especially when the light struck their plating at specific angles. But it had to say something about Stella that, after all the grief she gives her soldiers, they willingly wished to be a part of the ceremony.

It was moving, in some sense.

Stella’s extended family was invited for the occasion, as well as any guests that were approved. He had met many of them over the years, though Fredrick did note a few faces that didn’t look familiar in the crowd. Since Fredrick did not have any family to bring over, Vampir made sure to have both sides of the aisle populated with the Sabre family and their guests… in a sense, symbolizing that they were his family, too.

As for the more intimately familiar faces of the bunch…

Fredrick glanced to his right, towards the left side of the aisle, and found Sveta standing patiently with her arms folded behind her back. Seemingly feeling his eyes on her, she returned his gaze with a small smirk and a nod. All was well.

Schiavona, ever clad in her lovely dress, stood at the three-fourths mark of the indigo aisle, right in the center… waiting. She occasionally gazed around as the last, final bits of the preparations were squared away. Just by how her right hoof was tapping rhythmically against the floor, she seemed to be filled to the brim with excitement and anxiousness as much as he was!

Lord knows Fred would be developing a twitch from just waiting for this damn thing to start.

Quick movement to his left and behind him drew Fred’s attention, and the unfamiliar, elderly face of a batpony stared stoically at the scene. At the head of the altar, dressed in one of the most legendary black and gold robes that Fredrick had ever seen, was the star of the show other than he and Stella: a batpony Druid.

This bearded, faded-gray-coated stallion would be officiating the ceremony. This Fredrick knew well enough from the couple rehearsals they all had to go through, but this would be the first time that the actual Druid was here to perform the official duties and formally ‘unite’ them.

In the front row of the crowd, Fredrick caught the eye of Celestia and Luna, who were dressed in both their finest white and navy blue formal dresses, respectively. On the other side of the aisle sat Schnee, Midnight, and Highground, who had all kept with the ‘theme’ of black dresses with golden accents. The only difference was that Schnee’s was much frillier and ‘cutesy,’ with little fluffy short sleeves and skirt, while Midnight opted for a more spartan sleeveless one. Highground’s was almost identical to Midnight’s that he could see, save for the placement of the golden accents.

All met his gaze and both waved at him enthusiastically, beaming smiles adorning their faces.

Fredrick had a hard time not reciprocating the emotion—it was a torrent inside his chest. A cocktail of emotions that had him feeling over the moon, accomplished, afraid for his life, and content all at the same time. It almost felt like that one time that Stella nearly sucked his left nut out of his sack from one of her legendary blowjobs.

Well, but like, a billion fucking times more profound, of course. This was their wedding after all… though that was nothing to say about Stella possibly hoovering his right nut out of his sack after the evening drew to a close.

If there was a time to be alive, this was that time to be alive.

A massive, gargantuan ‘clacking’ of the throne room doors echoed throughout the perfectly acoustic-tuned hall.

The white noise of the idle chatter amongst the processions guests and observers was silenced within a couple seconds. Any lingering noise was drowned out entirely when two guards simultaneously drew open both sides of the doors.

Fredrick gulped, and righted his posture. He was so ready for this.

Standing in the entrance was Stella as Fredrick had seen her earlier. Any work that Sveta might’ve done regarding makeup was not easily visible due to just the distance away, but he figured it would become more apparent when she was actually in front of him.

What he could see, however, was Stella holding the ‘sacred dagger’ that he had proposed to her with, to her chest via her left hand, as was customary. Linked in her arm was the arm of Vampir, who Fredrick could see opted for his own ceremonial dress uniform with visor-cap and all. Both stared straight ahead, steely looks adorning their faces.

And then, the opening beat of the traditional wedding march started up. Likewise, Stella and Vampir began marching forward arm-in-arm.

Step by step and in perfect synchronization with the powerful beat, Stella and Vampir kept their gazes forward. Even more moving, with every row of two guards that Stella passed on her way forward, they saluted and turned forward in synchronization.

Fredrick, and likely the rest of the crowd, were completely enraptured by the display. The rather unconventional marching cadence was made that much more epic with the perfect acoustics of the throne room.

Fredrick was already dry in the mouth, having nothing to gulp down as Stella slowly approached him. What made things even more… amazing was that the wedding march seemed almost… fantastical. It grew and grew in intensity as his bride-to-be approached the halfway mark. Perfectly choreographed and tuned to the event.

This was no time to merely gawk, though. The moment Stella and Vampir crossed an unseen line on the way to meeting Schiavona, Fredrick knew he was up.

He glanced once to Sveta, who turned to him in kind. With a shared nod, Fredrick started forward with impeccable timing befitting of a groom of the Sabre clan. Letting the rhythm dictate his own marching cadence as he was told, he strode forward. The only constant was him training his eyes on Stella’s… who was staring right at him as they approached Vona from opposite ends.

They were supposed to remain stoic and steely. Unfortunately, Fredrick found this rather impossible, and as they drew closer to one another, he could no longer restrain his painfully powerful grin.

Stella’s own snaggle-fang made itself known in response, as was customary when she smiled.

Fredrick watched Vona peer behind her, and when she spied him right in position behind her, she turned left ninety degrees and stepped back. This allowed an unobstructed view between Stella and Fredrick, as well as Vampir who continued to hold her arm.

Stella glanced down and to her left at Vona, who then brought her daughter’s face down to meet hers in a loving kiss on the cheek.

Fredrick stepped forward three paces. He and Stella were now about a foot apart from each other, and he was allowed to truly gaze into her eyes. Those golden pools of hers radiated pure love for him, and he could feel it warming his body, previously chilled from the anxiousness of the present events. He could only hope that he offered her the same measure of ‘salvation.’

Fredrick observed as Vampir then looked to Stella with that same, steely gaze that was iconic of him… a fateful glance that meant much more to the ceremony than it seemed on the surface. However, even Fred could see that the weight of what everything currently meant had broken some of Vampir’s walls: his lips were pursed, and his sapphire eyes held an extra sheen to them. The human knew well what this step represented.

He knew exactly the silent conversation taking place between father and daughter.

Are… Are you sure?

Stella turned her head to him, smiled widely, and nodded once without a single hitch, nor a moment’s deliberation. And just like that, she had confirmed her fate.

Yes, dad. I’m sure.

Vampir nodded again, smiled pridefully, sniffled once, and then held Stella’s hand out to Fredrick. With the silent approval, he would ‘give’ her to him. And of course, Fredrick gladly accepted. Stella’s hand molded perfectly into his own—he was barely apart from it today and he already missed it so much.

Fred shared a quick glance with Vona, who looked back at him with a wide, prideful grin of her own. She was not shy in the slightest with her damp eyes.

He saw Vampir take a couple steps back, and per his role, Fred stepped into his place by Stella’s side. Vona rejoined Vampir behind them, and as the wedding march entered its final stage, the couple completed their journey to the altar.

The song finally entered its last chord, and the Druid stood tall in front of them... towering higher than he was by virtue of being the last, figurative mountain to summit before salvation. Even so, Fredrick knew from now-on was the easy part of the ‘proper wedding.’ All he had to do was just listen and regurgitate what was customary to say.

Well… apart from one interesting thing that was to come.

Still, the excitement within him refused to abate, as he expected. Fred shared one more glance and giddy, sideways smile with Stella, which definitely helped a bit.

The Druid then cleared his throat, extended his arms out and to the side, and spoke with a booming, monstrous voice in the with a Northern Thestral accent that rivalled Vampir’s for the most manly scotsman:

“In the presence of our kin, and the light of our glorious moon…” he began. “We gather here on the brightest of nights to bear witness to a union…”

Fredrick’s heart was racing right now. Though he kept his gaze forward and as emotionless as possible, he had to take a deep breath and an exhale to keep his bearings straight. His nerves were calmed further when he felt Stella squeeze his left hand reassuringly. They were in this together.

They both wanted this.

This was where it all led to.

The Druid gestured a hand to Stella:

“…between Stellaluna Falchion of Clan Sabre…”

He then gestured open-handed to Fred:

“…and Fredrick Conway of Clan Himmelreich.”

Their officiator’s grandiose gesticulations continued.

“It is said that on Luna’s fullest Moons that miracles will happen. Whether it be victory in battle, salvation from crisis, or—like today—a joining of two hearts and spirits. And a miracle it indeed is!

“For today, our clan expands by one!”

The Druid held his hand out to Stella expectantly.

“Please, present the sacred dagger,” he asked.

Stella, who had dutifully held the sheathed blade to her chest on her entire march here, presented it to their officiator, handle first. Fredrick watched as he then gingerly took into his grasp, pulled the blade from the sheath, and examined it in the moonlight… as if he was studying just how much its gold glinted and glittered.

Seemingly satisfied, he smirked.

“It is beautiful! This dagger…” he began anew and held it high, as if showing it to a class.

“…represents more than the love and trust these two share for one another. It is the essence—the physical manifestation of their bond! And simultaneously, the instrument with which to bind them.”

The Druid addressed Stella first, and publicly asked with all the massive authority he had in his body:

“Do you, Lady Stella, accept this stallion to be your husband? Your love, your defender, your boulder of support and ascension for the rest of your life?”

Fredrick watched with great pride as Stella didn’t even skip a beat in her response, in plain Equestrian with zero slang or iconic innuendos:

“Aye—I accept Fredrick as mine and only mine, forever and always, until I am one with the earth.”

The Druid then turned to him, and Fredrick’s heart rate shot up like an addict on the streets of San Francisco. It was his (small) time to shine!

“And do you, Lord Fredrick, accept this mare to be your wife? Your love, your defender, your boulder of support and ascension for the rest of your life?”

Fredrick beamed at Stella, who made no effort to hide her face bursting with emotion, as he spoke his response:

“Yes—I accept Stella as mine and only mine, forever and always, until I am one with the earth.”

The Druid raised his head high above and looked down upon them with a sincere smile. He nodded once.

“So be it! Present your hands, and let the pact be signed.”

Fredrick presented his right as Stella simultaneously presented her left… though she had the extra step of sliding her white glove off her hand. The rings on their fingers glittered in the moonlight like the armor of the observing Lunar soldiers.

The Druid then reached forward with his free hand and gently grasped Stella’s wrist, holding the tip of her ring finger to the point-end of the golden blade.

Fredrick held his breath, and pursed his lips. His heart was racing once more.

“With this prick of your finger…”

Fredrick saw Stella flinch, catching her breath as the Druid pressed the dagger forward just enough to puncture the tip of her finger. He removed it just as quickly as it entered, and a small rivulet of blood began to slowly slide down her digit, and into her palm.

Fredrick then observed as Druid wiped, then held the blade momentarily in the fire of one of the magical torches adorning the altar. And finally, he grasped Fred’s wrist for the same treatment. He felt the warm tip of the blade press into his ring finger with the tiniest, but certainly noticeable bit of pain.

“…and this prick of your finger…”

Fredrick loosed a tiny, curt gasp when he felt the point puncture into his finger, feeling much like that time he accidentally got stabbed with a pen in high school. The electric, painful jolt left as soon as it was present, and in its place a similar, warm trickle of blood flowed gently in a rivulet down his finger and into his palm.

“…they now join one another in holy union!”

Now was their time to shine. He and Stella didn’t need any more words from the Druid to know their next steps. He locked eyes with the love of his life, and when her golden pools shone back all the love he had for her tenfold, any residual pain from the small, deliberate puncture wound ceased to exist.

His heart beat proudly and powerfully in his chest like a gorilla trying to release itself from its enclosure to have at some succulent ass. With the brightest smile he could muster, he met Stella’s hand in the center.

He pressed his palm against hers, and then let their fingers intertwine, their combined blood smearing together in their palms. Stella’s smile reflected all the light in the room and her love right back at him in the process.

That was it.

“And so it is done. With the authority bestowed upon me by our luminous Moon, I proclaim you both…

“…husband, and wife.”

Fredrick’s smile felt like it was tearing right through the muscles in his cheeks, but if he had to live with Joker scars for the rest of his life, then so be it. He’d have a story to tell, following the words ‘wanna know how I got these scars?’ Stella’s pearly whites shining right back at him…along with two (2) whole tears falling from her eyes (professionals had standards, after all)… sealed the deal for him.

And as the Druid extended his arms out and up to the entire hall to rapturous applause, Fredrick used his free, non-bleeding hand to pull Stella’s face into his. The simple kiss that followed—much like any they had shared, even earlier today—had just felt extra… significant.

The journey led here. But as Fredrick separated from the lips of his now-wife, he knew good and well that it was not over. It was merely the starting point of another phase of the very same journey through life.

He now officially had a Player-2 alongside him.

Fred and Stella turned back towards the crowd, but before they could embrace arm-in-arm, Sveta was quick with her next duty: bandaging both of their fingers and cleaning their hands.

From there, it was a simple matter of Stella getting her dagger holstered back on her waist, and then the two of them leading the entire party out into the Grand Courtyard where the real celebration could begin.