The Broken One

The next week and a half passed as expected considering a royal wedding was going to occur. The glee on Rarity’s face was priceless when she appeared the day after our orgy to answer my summons. She began muttering to herself about details and measurements as she dazedly trotted from the throne room.

The next pair to answer my summons was Octavia Melody and Vinyl Scratch. They seemed hesitant at first to perform for the ceremony and reception but they finally agreed. They discussed something quietly before Octavia turned her eyes back to me.

“Your Highness I apologize if we are out of line, but would our time be compensated monetarily”, she asked quietly.

“Of course”, I beamed. “What’s your standard rate?”

“Normally one hundred fifty bits on such short notice”, she cringed slightly.

“Make it two hundred”, I smiled and nodded to Cindra. “See the treasurer before you leave but enjoy what hospitality we can offer.”

“Thank you, your Highness”, they both bowed and followed Cindra from the throne room.

The rest of that day had consisted of napping on the throne, tossing summoned pebbles at servants that snickered when they caught him sleeping and granting a certain zebra access to the medicinal books in the library. Shadow and I made our way to the dining room later that afternoon to meet with Cindra and see what she had been up to after she disappeared. Turned out she had spent hours listening to music that Octavia and Vinyl had made. She gushed enthusiastically about the blending of dubtrot and classical music.

After dinner we retired to our chambers to get some much needed sleep. The rest of the week flew by with the standard staffing issues and patrols reporting in. the only thing that had been worth noting was a very inebriated Cindra stumbling around the castle singing off key about a lovely bunch of coconuts. That was the result of the changeling finding my barrels of griffin mead which was more potent than the Equestria variety.

Nothing else of note happened but eventually the day of the wedding arrived. I woke to only one pony beside me and sighed before I slid from the bed. The motion woke Cindra and she hopped out of bed right after me. We showered together to save time, keeping everything calm as we helped each other wash the hard to reach spots. A heated tornado dried us almost instantly but left us both frizzy. We shared a laugh as we brushed ourselves and got dressed.

“You look handsome”, she smiled as her lip trembled.

“Thank you”, I smiled and cradled her cheek. “You’re quite beautiful as well.”

I turned her attention to the full length mirror and grinned. Rarity had outdone herself yet again. The flowing lines of her dress hugged her waist and flared out over her hips to cascade to the floor in a silver and mint green vision of loveliness. The silver comb that held her mane back glinted in the light.

“That is a beautiful mare”, I smiled at her reflection.

“That’s a handsome human”, she smiled back. She hugged me tightly and kissed my cheek before she pulled away.

I adjusted the white sash across my chest and trailed my fingers over the black and gold trim. In less than an hour I would be standing at an altar waiting for a certain vampony to walk up the aisle. I felt little butterflies fluttering around in my stomach as we made our way to the throne room.

“I’m really happy for you two”, she smiled tearfully.

“Before long it will be your big day”, I smiled back and kissed her cheek.

We continued walking in happy silence and in no time we stood outside of the throne room. I hugged Cindra again and joined my mother in the adjoining banquet hall to go over any last minute details. I grinned and waved as Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo all cavorted around me as I entered the room.

“Hey, girls”, I smiled and knelt down. “You three excited to be royal flower fillies?”

“We sure are”, Applebloom drawled as her pink bow bounced. “Thank ya fer this honor, Prince Jackson!”

I laughed and patted her head before I stood up. As I turned around I was engulfed by white wings as my mother hugged me with tears in her eyes. We went over a few last details and before we knew it the time to start was upon us. My mother hugged me one last time before drying her eyes and taking her place on the dais.

“Regalia suits you”, my aunt said warmly from behind me.

“Thank you”, I replied as I spun and hugged her. For some reason it felt a little awkward but I ignored it. “How was Nightmare Night? I’m sorry I missed it.”

“It started shakily but everything turned out alright”, she smiled. “It turns out that my nightmare powers are quite useful for scaring the young ones. Pinkie Pie enjoys my scares as well.”

“Pinkie’s gonna Pinkie”, I grinned.

I spotted Shining and Silver and excused myself to go speak to the groomsmen. I thanked them both and hugged them, which seemed to bother Silver for some reason. We spoke for a few minutes but before long it was time for us to take our places at the dais.

My mother spoke for a few minutes then another alicorn made her way to the dais. Her pink coat shone brightly in the light that flowed through the windows and her pink, purple and yellow mane flowed over her shoulder. She smiled warmly at me as she took her place before a sweet melody rang through the air. Everypony rose to their hooves and I turned to the opening doorway as pure radiance stepped out.

My face felt like it would split from smiling so wide as my heart tried to beat its way out of my chest. At the back of the room was the most beautiful mare I had ever seen. A flowing white dress of the finest silk graced her delicate form contrasting beautifully with her dark wings. Her yellow eyes glistened beneath a delicate lace veil and the train draped down her back and followed her up the aisle.

She seemed to glow in the sunshine that streamed in and I quietly complimented her on that effect.

“Real vamponies don’t sparkle”, she whispered with a smile before we turned our attention to the pink princess.

“Love is a powerful thing”, she smiled out over the assembled ponies. “Love can take the coldest heart and fill it with warmth and compassion. The love between Prince Jackson and Shadow Bloom has grown from a single spark to the raging inferno we see before us! As the Princess of Love, I give this union my blessing and hope all of us can find the love within to accept others as they are.”

A beaming smile shone on her face as she turned to us.

“The two of you are about to take your first steps into a great and glorious journey”, she smiled brightly as tears shone in her eyes. “Prince Jackson, I knew there was something special about you when I first felt a spark of love in your heart. You look nothing like us, yet you have opened your heart to so many already.”

She wiped a tear from her eye as she turned to Shadow.

“Shadow Bloom, your journey down the path of love has been a remarkable one”, she smiled. “I knew this day would come when the flame for Prince Jackson burst into existence in your heart. I see the true love before me and it makes my heart soar. I will be watching your relationship’s development closely.”

She turned back to the crowd and closed her eyes for a moment. She opened her eyes and threw back her head as two red jets of magic floated out of her horn and circled around me and Shadow. The magic looped around my left hand and Shadow’s left fore hoof pulled us closer together as her hoof slid into my hand.

“The magic of love has joined this couple in matrimony”, Cadence exclaimed happily. “What magic has ordained let nopony tear asunder! Citizens of Equestria, please rise as I present Prince Jackson and Princess Shadow Bloom of Everfree! I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

Cheers erupted throughout the castle as our lips met in a chaste kiss. We made our way down the aisle amidst laughter and happy tears but out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw Discord shaking his head. I looked again but there was nopony there. I shrugged it off just as Dash dumped an entire bag of bird seed over our heads.

“Dash”, I said with a laughing groan.

“What”, she shrugged. “They wouldn’t let me throw rice.”

I chuckled as we made our way to the banquet hall for the reception and I was greeted by a teary eyed Applejack and a sobbing Pinkie Pie. We hugged them both and chatted about the glorious food they had prepared. However, the wedding cake alone was the main thing that caught my attention. I could spend ages trying to find the right words but still wouldn’t be able to describe the beauty of it.

The guests began filing in and seating themselves as I nodded to Vinyl. A slow pulsing beat floated from her speakers that seemed to reach your very heart. Seconds later the tones of a cello joined in to make a beautiful melody. Everything was going perfectly and everypony was happy. Then it happened.

“Where is the fake prince”, a voice shouted through the hall.

“Well, fuck.”