To tell you the story of our entire wedding would be utterly impossible, for a variety of reasons.
Firstly, the whole thing flew by far too fast. I remember some small moments from the evening, like photos in my mind's eye…
The night before the wedding, Vinyl and I spent the traditional night apart. This was gloriously interrupted when one of Vinyl's favorite musical artists released a new single, and she came running to my door so we could listen together. I didn't mind.
Vinyl's vows came in the form of a poem, one which caused me to break down in gleeful tears at the alter and bring the ceremony to a grinding halt.
On the way from Canterlot Palace to a local club for the reception, Vinyl's family became hopelessly lost, and the two of us had to search the city for them.
Pinkie Pie tried to give a toast, which quickly devolved into a re-telling of one of her own romantic misadventures (of which we were previously unaware).
Fluttershy then bravely jumped in to save it, only to quickly begin crying.
Et cetera, et cetera.
Anyway.
Secondly, the wedding was of the royal variety, and overall not what I would've planned for myself.
What would I have planned, you ask?
I would have eloped.
Rather than telling you the whole story, I'd much rather tell you one of the snapshots I remember with perfect clarity. I'm not sure why I remember this moment so perfectly and completely… but, even now, all of these years later, I can play it back for myself word for word.
Perhaps an hour into the reception, after our first dance had passed and the cake had been sliced, I was exhausted.
My dress, while pretty, was an uncomfortable mess of satin and lace. I had danced my heart out, and I needed a breather.
I collapsed unceremoniously into my chair. Nopony talks about how much you sweat in your wedding gown.
Vinyl was still dancing with unbridled energy, clearly less encumbered by her suit than I was by my dress. She was on the floor with her friends--Lyra, BonBon, and Ditzy--all of whom had gotten close with our group as well. Our massive joint game nights were truly something to behold; Lyra's stubbornness almost rivaled Applejack's, and BonBon was surprisingly good at holding her liquor.
After a moment or two, Vinyl locked eyes with me. I waved to her, not intending to call her over, though she was at my side almost instantly.
"Hey, Twi. You okay?" she asked, out of breath.
"I'm fine!" I said with a laugh. "Just… tired and sweaty. Go on, keep dancing!"
Vinyl shook her head. "Are you kidding? No way. I'm gonna sit with my sweaty, stinky wife."
I glared at her. "Gee, thanks."
"Your words, Twi. Not mine," Vinyl teased. "No worries. I love you even at your sweaty-stinkiest."
I looked down and blushed. "I love you, too."
"Aw, even at my sweaty-stinkiest?" Vinyl asked, nuzzling my cheek affectionately.
I giggled. "Yes, even then," I said, feigning frustration (and not very well).
"Even when I'm all sick and gross?" Vinyl asked. "With that really nasty phlegmy cough?"
"Yes, Vi."
"Well, that's a relief," Vi said, collapsing back in her chair. "You forgot to put that part in your vows, y'know. About all the bodily fluids involved in loving me forever."
"Wow. How could I be so blind?" I muttered, casting Vinyl a snide grin.
Vinyl nickered. "I dunno, Twi. I hope you have somepony checking your lesson plans."
I snorted, but said nothing.
A silence fell between the two of us. We looked out at the room of friends and family, watching our worlds collide in a way that really couldn't be conceived of before now. Childhood friends of mine were meeting Vinyl's family. Work acquaintances of Vinyl's were meeting the princesses of Equestria.
There was a palpable energy of warmth and love permeating the room. That magic was weaving itself into the lives of everycreature here; some shifted towards Cadance's pink, and some closer to my own lavender hue. I could see the smoky tendrils of it swirling about every table, cloying to the hides of every guest. I watched them breathe it in, and speak it to those who stood around them.
I wish I could have taken credit for it, but the magic of friendship and love is a beast all its own. You can guide it, nurture it, help it to grow; but it will do so in the strangest of places. Like a dandelion pushing through the cracks in the sidewalk.
“I still can’t quite believe she came,” I said softly.
Vinyl turned to me. "Who?"
I nodded over to a table in the corner.
Vinyl looked where I had gestured, then chuckled. "Why wouldn't she?"
I shrugged. My dress restricted the motion in a small way I hadn't expected, and I made a small sound of discomfort.
"I told you you were gonna regret the dress," Vinyl commented wryly.
I stomped my hoof. "And I told you that I wanted to look like a princess." I held my head high and smiled sneakily.
Vinyl took my hoof in hers. "Twilight, you literally always look like a princess. And that's not even a line."
I snorted and gave Vinyl a playful shove. "Be serious."
"I am serious, you dope!" Vinyl shoved me back. "Now, stop worrying about Octavia, would you? She seems perfectly happy to me."
As Vinyl said this, a high and cutting bout of Bittish laughter was heard over the general ruckus of the reception. I looked across the room, past the tables filled with friends and family, to see Octavia laughing wildly, none other than Flash Sentry on her arm.
I didn't really know the whole story, I'll admit to that-- but apparently the two of them had got to talking after our little… incident, and hit it off. It turned out the two of them had had remarkably similar childhoods filled with unnecessary pressure and direction, and finding each other had allowed both of them to let loose in some… well, healthier ways then they had previously expressed. The pair of them had been spotted all across Canterlot, looking almost like everypony else.
It was unclear to most of us whether or not the two of them were actually an item. However they defined themselves, they were practically inseparable.
"Are you sure you don't wanna say hi to your old boy toy?" Vinyl teased. She poked me gently in the shoulder, my dress ruffling under her hoof. "Huh? Huh?"
"Oh, quit it," I scolded, blushing all the while.
"Nope," Vinyl said simply. "You married me. You knew what you were getting."
"Yeah, yeah…" I muttered.
Vinyl smiled at me for one lingering moment, then slid her chair right up against mine and leaned into me. I wrapped my foreleg around her, squeezing her gently, yet insistently. True to her word, she did not complain about the sweaty sheen on my skin.
"So, what does this mean?" Vinyl asked.
I looked down at her. "What does what mean?"
Vinyl pulled away to look at me. "Well, you're a princess, right? Does that make me a princess, too?" Vinyl flashed a cheesy grin. "Do I get to pick what I'm princess of?"
I shook my head. "Oh, Vi…"
"Does it have to be a relationship?" Vinyl asked, her tone almost worryingly serious. "Can I be princess of work friends? Or-- ooh! Can I be princess of creepy-close cousins? How about princess of nemeses-- like princess of ponies who hate each other?"
"Vinyl, I swear--"
"Come on!" Vinyl tugged at my foreleg. "Come on, let me be princess! It's my wedding, I wanna be a princess!"
"It's my wedding, too!" I reminded her, unable to keep myself from laughing.
"Yeah and, as we've established, you're already a princess," Vinyl reminded me. She added a light scoff, only barely maintaining her facade of seriousness. "I can do time of day, too-- I could be a really good princess of two in the afternoon. Although, I feel like princess of two in the morning might fit me better. Personality-wise."
"How about 'Princess of Leap Day'?" I suggested snidely. "Think you can handle a domain of one day every four years? Or would you prefer an even rarer event?"
Vinyl put a hoof suddenly to her chest, feigning an injury. "Ooh, right through the heart, Twi."
I giggled.
"How did it work with your brother?" Vinyl asked. "He married Cadance-- is he a prince?"
I furrowed my brows, lifting my glass of champagne from the table. "Technically. He doesn't exactly refer to himself as a prince, but the title is his. If he wanted it."
Vinyl drew in a sharp gasp. I nearly spit out my champagne at the suddenness of the sound.
"Does that mean I'm a friendship princess, too?!"
"Technically," I corrected firmly. "That doesn't mean you have any powers, you're a… you're a friendship-princess-in-law."
Vinyl was not deterred. He eyes were sparkling with possibility. It was as if I could see her mentally rummaging about for possible comedic content. "Ohmigosh, ohmigosh-- okay, my first decree as Princess of Friendship--"
"You don't get to make decrees!" I argued, fighting back laughter with everything I had.
"--is to create an international holiday called 'The Fires of Friendship'--"
"Oh, boy…"
"And, on this day, everycreature is encouraged to test the strength and loyalty of their friendships with rigorous physical examinations," Vinyl explained. "This who participate and succeed are awarded with knighthood from you."
Vinyl looked up at me for approval.
I looked back at her an blinked.
She blinked, too.
"How long of you been thinking about this?" I asked.
Vinyl smiled to herself with a strange sort of pride. "I've always got something cooking. You should know that about me by now."
She fell silent, relaxing back into her chair.
For a moment, I tried to think of something to say. Something kinda snappy and silly. But Vinyl was clearly lost in thought… always something cooking, indeed.
As she looked out over the crowd, I could only look at her.
I felt this way often. Whenever Vinyl started to talk about music, I was mesmerized. Whenever she laid on her back, staring up at the ceiling and mouthing along to the words of her favorite song, I couldn't tear my eyes away. Sometimes, late at night, I would startle awake and just watch her, studying the exact texture of her mane, the precise curve of her neck, the ridges of her horn.
Now, as Vinyl surveyed this room full of friends and family, all I could see was the simple silver ring glimmering against her white horn.
Suddenly, she looked back at me. "What are you looking at?"
I smiled. "You."
Vinyl didn't say anything. She just stared back into my eyes.
In those eyes, I saw a hundred visions of the future. I saw the bright and sparkling eyes of newborn foals. I saw mornings together, and mornings apart. I saw late nights spent side by side and fueled by coffee. I saw challenges and monsters and magic.
But, mostly, I just saw her.
The semicolon is an unusual punctuation mark.
Firstly, it is never truly necessary. Unlike the common period, or the stately comma, some fancy grammatical hoofwork can remove the need for a semicolon entirely. Or, if you don’t care about grammar, you can always replace it with a period.
Secondly, those who do use the semicolon are apt to use it incorrectly. This is because, while the semicolon is a recognizable punctuation mark, its point is rarely discussed. It is not simply a long pause, nor it is a differently-shaped colon; it is a mark all on its own, used to describe the relationship between two sentences which are different, yet connected. It says “this sentence is not over, but it’s gone on far long enough. Let’s try something new together.”
Not over; just separate from the beginning.