She noticed immediately that the white pony in front was shivering even with the thick coat that was normal in this country. A little smile formed in her face. She knew that he was afraid and not cold. Many stallions fear this day. It was the same a thousand years ago and apparently it hasn't changed since then.
"Princess. It is an honour that you came." a female voice stated from behind the alicorn. Luna turned around and saw the mayor standing in front of the church gates. "I think you want to see the bride before the wedding. She certainly would be happy to see you since she lost her only relative and sees you as the mother she never had." Luna's smile grew bigger and her cheeks began to lighten. She felt the same as the bride. A daughter she will never have.
"That would certainly be a pleasure. Is she in her grandmother's house or is she prepared in another place?" Luna replied warmly. As she spoke she noticed the attire the mayor wore. It was a festive mantle made of ice-blue silk. The fabric was unlike anything the princess had ever seen. It looked old, almost ancient, and the care it had been handled with until now was clearly visible.
"She is indeed in her grandmother's house. Two girls from the village are accompanying her and helping her to get ready for the wedding. Both of them are already married and know what they are doing." the mayor answered, her pride slightly showing through.
"Good. I will go soon. I have one question I would like you to answer before I go. The mantle you are wearing, what is it's meaning?" the alicorn asked. The mayor's look told her that her question came rather unexpected.
"The mantle?" she asked and looked at her flank. Soon she began to giggle. Luna's annoyed look let her stop almost immediately. "Excuse me princess. I forgot for a moment that you were absent over a long period of time. This mantle is used for any ceremonial events in Westbrucke. It was a present from the kings of Icewind and had been a symbol of the bound between our cities.
It is a rather special artefact. It is made of ice-silk, a special material won from the remains of ice-spider webs. Even though the webs are hundred of years old when they are looted, the silk made from those webs remains like this over multiple centuries. Well, at least in normal occasions. This mantle is made out of silk from a fresh web the king had looted himself. Because it is made of fresh silk it looks as if it was just made. It's value might be as high as everything else in this town even though it has almost no practical uses. We teach our children the symbolic significance and we use it at least once a year. For us it is a common part of our daily lives. That is why I forgot myself for a moment. I ask you for your forgiveness my princess."
Luna looked at the worried face of the mayor and smiled. "I forgive you my dear." she said. "And I am grateful that you answered my questions so thoroughly. It looks indeed very valuable and you shouldn't underestimate it's practical use. It looks pretty sturdy and it might even stop the blade of a Saddle Arabian sword. And I don't think that anyone has tried to hit it with a blade before."
The mayor's confused look was an answer in itself. "Indeed princess. Nobody has ever dared to do so. And honestly I am not willing to be the first one."
Luna smiled. "I understand.Hopefully there is no need to ever test it. I will be going now. I will see you at the ceremony."
The mayor replied with a goodbye as the princess was walking towards the church gates and left. She turned towards the village centre and walked straight to the house she had visited once before. Upon her arrival a female voice was shouting inside the house.
"The princess. Moony, the princess has arrived. Whatshouldwedo whatshouldwedo whatshouldwedo what.." was the only thing the princess could understand as the voice was fading towards the back of the house. Yet another smile appeared on her face and she approached the door to knock. Just after one knock the door was torn open and a surprisingly young, brown unicorn mare in grey attire stood in front of her.
"H-h-h-hello majesty. Moony, ehm, Moonprayer is in her room the. It is the one up the stairs, first door to the right. If you wish I get you some water or..."
The princess was still smiling and shook her head. "I am fine, thank you dear. But I'd like to know your name."
"My name, princess?" she asked. Luna nodded. Her smile grew wider as she saw the mare's reaction. "My name is Lily, princess. Lily Flora. My sister is called Orchid Flora. She is with Moonprayer."
"Thank you Lily. Will you accompany me to Moonprayer and your sister?"
Lily's face began to shine. "Sure, if you wish so. Follow me princess." And with this she dashed away from the door to the bottom of the stairs. Luna entered and the door was closed behind her. As she approached the stairs Lily walked up the stairs where she looked back and waited for the princess.
The princess walked up the stairs. She noticed the picture of Moonprayer's grandmother and what seemed to be her parents. The three were smiling in front of a cradle. Luna guessed that Moonprayer was in there. She turned her head back to where Lily stood and noticed that she was gone. When she reached the top she saw an open door to her right. Hushes came out through the door as Luna walked towards it. When she entered her astonishment must have been visible due to the mare she hadn't yet met saying "The dress has to be amazing when even a princess has this look on it."
"ORCHID" her sister hissed through her forced smile. "Excuse her princess. She is still young and hadn't much contact with royals. Well, neither of us have, but that doesn't excuse such behaviour."
"It is all right Lily." Luna replied. "She is right. I have rarely seen a dress as beautiful as this." Luna turned towards the mare they were talking about. "Really Moonprayer. You look like a princess in this dress. With this you might steal all the attention at one of the great festivals that take place in Canterlot. It is a dress worthy of a royal wedding."
Moonprayer blushed. "Thank you princess. It is an honour to hear that from you."
Luna giggled. The reaction of the other three made her giggle even more. All three had their eyes wide open. Never had they thought that a princess would giggle. In their eyes it seemed unfitting. Nonetheless was there a blue alicorn which did just this. "You may call me Luna. Soon you will rule yourself, and then we will be equal." Luna made a step towards Moonprayer and hugged her. She herself didn't know why she did so. It just felt right to her.
And it felt good for all of them. For Luna to feel the warmth of somepony else, for Moonprayer to receive something like motherly love and for the Flora-sisters to see a princess in one of her more private moments. In this warm embrace, Moonprayer whispered "Thank you mother." A moment later she had pushed Luna back, tears in her eyes. All four stood still.
"Could you two leave?" Luna asked the sisters. They nodded and left. As soon as the door was shut behind them Luna sat on the floor. "Why did you call me mother?"
Moonprayer was hurt. More by her own stupidity than by Luna's question. "I... I don't know. It felt so familiar and I.." Moonprayer couldn't say anymore. She lay sobbing on her bed, afraid what punishment awaited her. She didn't expect the next embrace that came.
"Hush my little pony. A bride shouldn't cry on her wedding day. You did nothing wrong. In contrary. Your feelings for me are something I will cherish for a long time." Moonprayer looked up and saw the teary eyes of the princess which noticed the gaze of the priestess on her. "We alicorns are incapable of becoming pregnant and therefore will never be able to have children on our own. Sadly this is solely based on the fact that there are no male alicorns. Not anymore."
A tear dropped on Moonprayers forehead. The priestess herself was shocked that the princess opened herself to her, a mere commoner. But the warmth the princess gave her made her forget the current situation for a moment. A few moments later she was drifting into sleep. A small bump from the princess made her open her eyes and yawn. Somehow she had the urge to excuse herself. "I wasn't sleeping."
The princess giggled. "You were about to. I can see dreams, don't you forget that." The priestess blushed. She snuggled deeper into the princess embrace. "Don't you need to prepare your dress?" was the princess reply. Moonprayer shook her head before she jumped up.
"You are right." she almost shouted. She ran through her room and gathered some of the things she had prepared. A brush was flying simultaneously with a lipstick. She was about to ruin her face when she noticed she had lost grasp of the brush. In the mirror she saw the princess approach her with a smile and sitting down behind her. For a minute they sat there until Moonprayer came to ask the princess: "Would you mind to be my bridesmother?"
"Bridesmother?" the princess asked. "What is a bridesmother?"
Moonprayer had just finished her make-up and was looking deeply into the mirror to find errors in it. "A bridesmother is normally the bride's real mother or grandmother. They just accompany the bride in front of the altar as does the groomsfather. A tradition that had been necessary in the past due to many ponies fleeing with their loved ones to the south." She kept silent. The princess saw the sadness in Moonprayers eyes.
"And since you lost your mother and your grandmother, you wish that I accompany you there?" she asked with her voice lowered. Moonprayer nodded, a tear running down her cheek. The memory of her lost grandmother was still hurtful. The princess levitated a napkin and cleaned the priestess face. "I will do it if you really want me to."
"As if I didn't want you to." Moonprayer blurted out. She blushed immediately as she realised how childish she had been in front of the princess. The princess herself just smiled and embraced her again. Both were sitting there for another minute when Lily knocked at the door.
"It is time to go Moony." Luna and Moonprayer looked at each other investigative to check the others make up and nodded that everything was all right. Then they left the room and, together with Lily and Orchid, went to the church.
The wedding itself was a spectacle. Nobody expected the princess to be the priestess bridesmother. And even the king shed a tear when his son said the words: "Yes, I want to take this beautiful mare to be my wife until death departs us."
The party afterwards was less interesting. The princess had to leave earlier due to her responsibilities in Canterlot. But she didn't leave without promising Moonprayer a gift the next time she returned. Luna had two things in mind. One was the crown she intended to give her either way. The other was a special gem that was so rare that one would have been able to buy the city of Canterlot. The gem itself wasn't very appealing, but the low number as well as the fact that it possessed the ability of the princess made it so worthy. Due to it's nature, it was called "Luna's Sight".
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A few days had passed and Conglatius IV had just woken up when he felt a strange sensation. At first he thought it was the anxiety of departing towards a grand battle. But it only got worse and then he remembered what his slightly mad uncle had said before he had died. The feeling matched the description frighteningly and Conglatius IV realised one thing. He would die soon.
"Why does it have to be this way." he asked himself while preparing his armour. "I wanted to see my son grow up a bit more. At least it is reassuring that his capabilities of ruling a country are well above my own. And he has a wife at his side that loves him." A few moments after this thoughts, a light in his eye appeared that had been gone for a minute. "I shouldn't think like this. If I do, I am dead for sure. I will fight with the assurance that there is a tomorrow."
The newly lit flame in his eyes gave his men strength, and even though they didn't understand where it came from, they were happy enough that their liege was still as courageous and knightly as was told he was in his younger years. An hour later the marching sound of the army roared through the town and Moonprayer looked towards the leading ponies. Her father-in-law and her husband were both there. She just hoped that they returned healthy.