: Months after Chapter 19 :
The autumn air was nice and cold, the smell of pinecones and sour apples was ever present as the town readied for the wedding of Tattered Moon and Midnight Bite. The moon was bright in the sky on this November night. In the Royal Garden sat the event in its full glory. White with a few strands of dark pink was the color scheme of the event. Night walked around and checked the decorations and food that was available. She wore a simple white dress with her mane in a bun. Rose and Thorn were walking around with her, mostly to check out the food that was available. A few guards who knew Midnight and Tattered well stood guard at the entrance, but instead of wearing their usual armor, they wore black suits with thin plates of steel sewed into it. Prim, however, was with the bride herself, along with the seamstress. They were getting her ready for her big day.
Birch Tree had finally groomed Midnight’s mane and was just now putting down the comb. Midnight's mind was buzzing with excitement but other emotions, such as nervousness, lingered inside it. It was her dream to marry somepony, one who cared about everything she cared about. Somepony who could handle her, keep up with her. She remembered the first-day Tattered Moon signed up for the job. He was nervous, soft-spoken, but a good stallion looking to defend his home. She didn’t really take that much notice of him, he didn’t seem to be the type that would get into too much trouble. To her enjoyment, he grew tougher and tougher every day and one day, she felt a longing for him. She couldn’t place it, but it felt like she found the one for her. Today reflects on that, and she could finally feel her heart be complete.
She sighed dreamily(something that isn’t normal for her) and gave a small goofy grin. Her mind was in a place of peace and joy for once, but Fate, being a cruel mistress, caused her to snap out of it at the giggling of the other mares in the room. Midnight looked back to see the two mares giggling at something.
“Um... whats so funny?” Midnight asked as she turned to her body to face them.
“Nothing really,” Prim said with another giggle,” It’s just your so cute when you think about Tattered Moon today~.”
“She is quite right, princess,” Birch Tree said as she held a hoof to her mouth.
“First off, Birch, you don’t have to call me princess in here, we’re friends. Second, I am not, an I repeat, I am not cute!” Midnight said crossly.
“But you are~!” Prim complained softly.
“Aye, you be careful with what you say today, missy~! I may do the same for your and Flare’s wedding~,” Midnight said with a large grin.
*Squeak*”W-what?” Prim asked as her face started to turn red.
“My prin-,” Birch started but stopped as she saw an annoyed look on Midnight’s face. She cleared her throat and said again,” Prim Bite, it’s really no secret that you and Flare have been going on a few more dates, and your talk of marriage is no secret either.”
“O-oh... at least the paparazzi doesn’t know!” Prim said as she closed her eyes and gave an awkward smile.
“Yeah well, there’s a bunch that is going to show up to this event so I would be careful if you don’t want it to be known.” Midnight said.
“Yes, I would advise against giving those meat heads any form of attention. Besides, if the news knew, some would be against the idea, others would be in the middle, and some, thank the moon, would be excited and happy with it!” Birch said. She then turned to Midnight and looked her over. She felt that the dress was missing something, so she turned to Prim and asked with a sly smile,” Do you think we should put a pretty pink bow in her mane~?”
Prim smiled widely and looked over at her sister. She giggled as a thought came to mind,” Yes, I do think so, maybe a nice purple one to show her soon-to-be husband that she isn’t all rough and tough~.”
“NO.” Midnight said flatly.
“You sure, sis~?” Prim asked with a smug grin, a grin Midnight knew she got from Flare.
“Yes, I am SURE!” Midnight said crossly.
The two other mares giggled, both of them knew well that Midnight hated bows and ribbons. Prim even more so because when she was a little kid, Midnight was playing with a very large bow and then got tied up in it. The memory of this made Prim giggle, causing the already annoyed Midnight to be more annoyed. Midnight shook her head and rolled her eyes. She wondered how Tattered Moon was doing.
“So... how do I look now?” Tattered said as he adjusted the cuffs on his suit for the hundredth time.
“Keep adjusting your cuffs and they might as well be made of metal,” Flare replied with a smirk.
Tattered Moon deadpanned,” Well, at least I’m not walking a rut in the floor!”
Flare shrugged,” You’re right, I already stopped that from happening, but seriously, stop adjusting your cuffs.”
“Ugh, fine...” Tattered removed his hoof from the cuff of his suit.
Flare stared at the lieutenant, normally, this wouldn’t get under his skin, but this was a big day for him. It also didn’t help that the paparazzi and news stations were here to watch the whole thing unfold. It didn’t help as well that this was the fifth suit he had put on. H3e sighed, he needed to get Tattered’s mind off of it right now.
“So....” Flare said, catching Tattered’s attention,” Midnight really wants kids.”
“Yeah... she really does. She says she’s ready for motherhood,” Tattered said with a chuckle.
“Well, are you ready for mot-fatherhood?” Flare asked.
“Well... Midnight thinks I am. I’ve said that after we are married, that whenever she wants a kid, to just tell me...” Tattered Moon said, wearing an awkward smile.
“My friend, my brother! You have sealed your doom!” Flare said with a smile.
“Oh ha ha!” Tattered shot back.
“Well, when you’re in the bedroom, I hope that you survive the night,” Flare said with a smile,” and when you’re limping in the morning, I’m going to be worried about your health and see if you need to be checked into the doctor.”
“I...” Tattered Moon looked at Flare with a deadpan look, his mind confused by what the blue jokester stallion just said,” I... that... that wasn’t what I expected you to say... Okay, who are you and what did you do with Lunar Flarion?”
“He’s right here, looking at you,” Flare replied back.
“Okay... so what time is it?” Tattered Moon asked.
Flare lifted up his watch and smiled,” 14 divided by 7 and 23 times 1.”
“... what,” Tattered’s head leaned to the side.
“It’s 2: 23 pm, you have an hour and seven minutes before you walk out there and kiss the bride.”
“Geez... that long?”
“Well, that is what ya get for having Night plan it, she will give you time to enjoy yourself before you get married,” Flare said.
“Well... it gives me time to collect myself... and try on another suit-,”
The door to the changing room glowed blue then slammed shut. Tattered looked back at Flare whose eyes were replaced by his giant red one.
“Two lettersN.O.” Flare said with a dark grin.
“Okay, okay!” Tattered Moon replied quickly,” So... what do you want to do in the meantime?”
“Hm... wanna play some War? I got a deck of cards!” Flare said with a smirk.
“You’re on! I never lost a game of 24!” Tattered said with a cocky smile.
“I’m going to make you eat those words!”
‘Flare had that 5 of spades up his sleeve, I know it!’ Tattered thought as he waited for Midnight to walk down the aisle. He stood underneath the old ivory covered archway, one that the royal family has used for years. The royal garden and its many colors created the perfect picturesque scene for all to enjoy.
Tattered Moon stood next to the altar. Blood Moon stood in the center while Night stood next to him as the mare of honor. A song now filled the air as Tattered Moon turned his head to look down the aisle. The white figure walked slowly down the aisle, her head held high as her eyes scan the crowd for familiar faces. Each face she found made her feel less nervous and happier. She reached her destination in higher spirits than when she started the small walk. She looked at Tattered Moon with a smile that she tried to hide. Tattered returned her smile with one of his own. The crowd gathered there looked on in happiness and the news stations rolled the cameras as their king began to speak.
“Citizens of the Vampony Kingdom, we are all gathered here today to celebrate the wedding of Princess Midnight Bite and Lieutenant Tattered Moon. Today, they combine their souls in harmony to live together from now, till the end of time.” Blood Moon’s voice echoed over the citizens as he let it sit. Once he believed that the words have sunk in, he continued,” Today, these two will share their futures, and make a new one for those to come!”
Blood Moon’s gaze landed on Tattered Moon. Tattered Moon didn’t know what to feel when the crimson eyes of the king fell on him, so all he did was listen,” Tattered Grey Moon, do you take Midnight Rosetta Bite as your lawfully wedded wife?”
Tattered Moon stared into the eyes of the king and said happily,” I do.”
Blood Moon nodded and looked over at his daughter with the same stare. Though she stared back with the same stare as her father said,” Midnight Rosetta Bite do you take Tattered Grey Moon as your lawfully wedded husband?”
Midnight didn’t waste a second, she stated proudly,” I do!”
Blood Moon nodded once more and called out,” Bring down the necklaces!”
Prim Bite with a small pillow in her mouth brought forth the two necklaces, one a deep, beautiful purple that could rival the nebula in space, the other a fiery orange that could rival that of a roaring fire. Tattered Moon picked up his necklace and Midnight followed his lead. The two looked at each other as they put their necklaces over their lover's neck. Prim backed away and went to find her seat next to Flare. The only thing left to seal their souls together was a kiss. The two leaned forward and their lips connected for a few seconds. The sound of vamponies cheering echoed throughout the town, the after party was now started as the newly wedded couple kiss broke.
Near the maze was a dance area for all those who enjoyed the music to enjoy dancing. Next to it was the food table and next to that stood Flare and Prim. Both Prim and Flare had been asked to dance by many vamponies, each time they denied them, much to the other ponies disappointment. The two stood there and talked about both the wedding and themselves. The news stations were more focused on the new bride and groom than they were them, which worked to their favor. They could talk in relative peace, but they still had to talk quietly about more personal things.
“I’m still surprised that I was asked to dance,” Flare said as he shook his head.
“Still, I don’t like those mares, they look prettier than me,” Prim huffed.
“Aw, don’t be like that, I still love you~,” Flare said silently.
*Purr~*” I know~,” Prim cooed softly, she looked around to see if anypony was looking at them. When she thought nopony was she leaned forward and kissed his cheek.
*SNAP!* Unbeknownst to them a worker for a well known and loved news station snapped a picture of the scene. The mare giggled as she looked down at the photo. She turned to leave but ran into the chest of something very large. She looked up into two glowing yellow eyes of a stallion that looked similar to the one she just took a picture of. The things that were different were that his coat color was gold and so was his mane.
“I’ll take that~,” the stallion’s voice was deep but calm,” We wouldn’t want this little thing to spread~.”
“H-hey!” the news mare complained as the stallion pulled the photo out of her grasp. She scrunched up her nose and looked the stallion directly into his glowing golden eyes. She reached for the photo but her red dress prevented her from doing so.
She watched in horror and anger as the stallion lite the photo on fire in a golden glow. She growled at him angrily,” No! Don’t you know what that could’ve done for my career?!”
“Yes, I do. Did you also now that once that photo gets out that Flare over there will be hunted down by angry anti-monster groups?” the golden stallion said,” Listen, I know that you don’t want to ruin another ponies life, so I did this to prevent that.”
The voice he used was calm, caring, and full of worry. She didn’t know why but she soon felt sad that she took the picture, she had a feeling deep down that, that may happen but she didn’t listen to it. Now, it was as if the stallion of gold opened her eyes and showed how much damage could be done by it. She shook her head and replied soft,” I-I’m sorry... I didn’t know that was going to happen...”
“It’s okay, just be careful of things like this... also, don’t be that guy who takes a picture and ruins another’s life since they wanted to keep it secret,” he said calmly. This whole situation gave her a weird feeling that this shouldn’t be happening, but she couldn’t pin it down as to why.
“Thanks, mister...?” she asked, hoping to get his name.
“Names Alpha, be careful of what you do in the future.” Alpha winked and in the blink of an eye, he disappeared.
The mare blinked rapidly, feeling as if she was supposed to do something important, she looked down at the camera she held and quickly remembered. The sadness she felt was replaced by anger as she turned to see if the two were still there. To her disappointment, they weren’t, now nopony was going to believe her. She took in a deep breath and decided to continue on with her mission to snap pictures, then return home and sleep with her own husband.
Midnight and Tattered Moon now headed back to their room, Midnight enjoying the little piggyback ride that her husband gave her. The two laughed and talked the whole way to their room, both in a carefree state of mind. However, Midnight’s mind was now dead focused on one thing as they neared their room.
The door creaked open and closed as Midnight slid off of Tattered’s back. As Tattered took off his tuxedo, he noticed that Midnight had a strange look on her muzzle and a strange, yet oddly sweet smell was faintly present. Tattered grew suspicious as Midnight got out of her dress completely. She sauntered over to him and pressed her muzzle rather forcefully against his. He felt Midnight’s hoof move up his chest and stopped right under his chin. At this point, the strange smell was getting stronger and Tattered wondered if Midnight was the one giving off the smell. It was at this moment, Tattered knew what he had gotten himself into.
...
*In the Werepony Kingdom*
“Captain, when is the invasion ready to launch?” King Fang asked
“My Liege, it will be ready tomorrow,” she said
“Good, then those vamponies will finally give us what we want!” The king looked back at the captain and dismissed her. Tonight, they rest, tomorrow, they take the land!