Angels and Demons 2: Timelock

by lunabrony

A Day for a Glorious Wedding (Bonus 1)

Trumpets were sounding all over Evodia. Novaria, true to character, was making an exceptionally large deal over the wedding that was to take place in only an hours time. Celebrations were being held in homes all over the province, and the streets had been cleared for a procession. Princess or not, she was still royal heritage. It was Silvers first trip to Evodia, an enormous island (obviously) surrounded by water. His only regret was that he could not have shared the trip with Angel, whom he had not seen since yesterday afternoon. She had an entire novel of preparations to make, and didn't want him to see her until her arrival during the ceremony. Silver stood in a reserved room of the castle which had been set aside just for him, while Novaria fussed over him. Her eyes were red from tears. "Oh, look at you, such a fine young stallion. I can't believe you're- stop FIDGETING, Silver- finally getting married!"

He was wearing a appropriate tux. Which meant it had been tailor made for him, and would probably only be used for this wedding. It almost made him awkward to see such a motherly side from the usually adamant Novaria. "We haven't always seen eye to eye," Their second meeting had left her with orders for him to leave Equestria permanently. "I promise you I won't leave your daughter unfulfilled, I'll do my best to keep her on her toes, so to speak." He was nervous. They had been engaged, but after this ceremony it would be official. The excitement was putting him on edge. He couldn't wait to get it over with. Realizing that once he was married there would be no more questions about their relationship. There would be arguments, there would be disagreements about what's and whiches, but not about whether they were married.

Novaria had indeed once despised him, but he had grown on her and earned her trust. Nowhere had that been more evident than by his promotion to her personal advisor. A position which, upon entering, would allow him to see much more of Evodia. "I'm not worried about that, you're good to her." She said. "From what you tell me, you've already saved her life once, even if it was in an alternate dimension." She rolled her eyes, he was never quite fully clear on if she believed him or not about that. "Do you know you're all she ever talks about?. How handsome you are, and how good you are with puzzles, and how much she enjoys being with you. I've never seen her so happy."

"Reward me with wings and I'll keep her that for a thousand years." He joked, looking at himself in the mirror, standing in her shadow. The nightmare of the timelock was behind him, he didn't want to think too much about it anymore. It hadn't happened in some sense. And though he hadn't been rewarded for it, thankfully no scars had followed him. His horn was whole again, and his relationship to Angel had been restored. "Angel is capable of happiness on her own. I'm just there to increase it. your highness."

Novaria placed her hoof on his shoulder. "As far as I'm concerned, from this moment forward, you are my son. From the very moment she first saw you, as she tends to do, Angel saw the good in you, and has never let go of that. You may come from a terrible place, but you are far from a terrible pony." She said. "You are deserving of my daughter, and I give you my blessing. Just please, for the love of Celestia, be good to her. She may not be a princess now, but if something terrible should happen to me, the need for a ruler will promote you both by default. I hope you understand that."

"Shining Armor rose to the task, and I think I'll be ready if I continue in the capacity of being your advisor. Three years ago I said I would keep both ears open and both eyes ready. I've learned a lot. You don't have to rely on second hoof or Celestia's mouth to know about her movements anymore." It was a secure room, there was no need to bother about secrecy. "The weaponization is proceeding, and the secret project is nearing fruition. If I stick around when you make royal decisions I'll pick up on that as well." It was all puzzle solving on various scales.

Novaria frowned. "I must remind you, as I'm sure you already know, not to tell Angel about this. It is extremely important she doesn't find out. While I detest holding things from my daughter, she is small minded. Her exit from princess training means she doesn't quite see the picture, and I'm not sure she'd fully understand the importance of the project. She'd see it as betrayal, if not by me, then by you." She explained. "Do your best to keep it under wraps. In the meantime, I believe you have a mare to get married to." She cracked a smile.

They separated, she to get the bride and he to proceed to the only colleague he could find to be a best man. His ties to his families had been severed on pain of Luna's orders. He wouldn't try to contact them, and they wouldn't try to contact him. "Iron Jaw." He nodded to the stout earth pony. They'd known each other through the initials stretches of weapons testing. A no nonsense sergeant, but outside of the corp, a pal if you needed one. "They say you're supposed to get cold hooves right around now. I say they don't know what they're talking about." He had come a long way since moving to Equestria, moving in with Angel, and now they'd finally cement the bonds. She wouldn't simple be a mare he loved, she would be his wife, and he would be her husband. They would have claim on each other till the end of time.

He had been informed that pony weddings were short, but emotional. Iron Jaw saluted Silver, and cracked a grin. "Wouldn't miss it for the world." He said faithfully. A middle aged stallion by the name of Steel Beams approached them.

"Silver, we're ready when you are." He said. "Just make your way to the altar when you can."

Silver took a deep breath. The moment of truth had arrived. And he didn't doubt his actions. There were many decisions he regretted in various way, and mistakes he had made. However walking up this aisle would never be something he considered a mistake. He entered between the rows of seated pews, looking ahead to the altar. Walking with the appropriate dignity he had been instructed in. His heart pounding quickly inside his chest.

Angel was not there yet, she'd be coming soon. Silver was under the impression that Princess Novaria would be presiding over the ceremony today, but he was shocked to see none other than Princess Luna standing in front of an enormous bouquet of flowers. She held her head up high, starry mane flowing even though there wasn't any wind. "You've come a long way, Silver. We're all very proud of you. Ready to get started?"

This felt like an affirmation of his decision, and that he was welcomed now to stay in Equestria. Not as someone suspect, but as a pony on the same level as anypony else. It was not appropriate to genuflect in this circumstances, so he did the graceful head nod as he was instructed. "Yes, Luna, I'm ready." He didn't know how much longer he could abide.

Luna raised her hoof, and the band began to play. There was no Fluttershy here, not in Evodia. A chorus of birds was exceptionally hard, if not impossible to find. The back doors opened, and Angel entered, her name had never been more fitting. She had elected not to wear the traditional white, although she had not told Silver this, because it clashed with her already white coat. No, her dress was completely silver. It wrapped around the base of her neck and forelegs, draped over her back and down her flank to trail on the floor. The majority of the garment was adorned with intricate patterns. Her mane was perfectly styled and pulled up out of her eyes, decorated with flowers of all colors. But most notable were her wings. Completely extended, her feathers had been giving the most severe treatment, cleaned and tended to with hours of preparation, and were now stretched out as far as they would go, with gold lace trickling down towards her shoulders.

She saw Silver's eyes widen in awe, as he took in her majestic form. Visible he swallowed a lump of spittle. She stood as regally as any princess, wings wide, making her seem larger than she was. His lips seemed to mouth some words, but he remembered formality again. It was almost making his slip up. His legs shuffled a little. Thankfully she wasn't giving off any scents that could be interpreted wrongly, he wasn't going to embarrass himself on the wedding floor. It had been quite a while since she had last extended them like this. It wasn't like the take off position, which was only held for a moment, this was constantly holding them out. If she hadn't had attendants hold her wing arms, she would have a cramp by now. As she approached he positively shivered. Silver was livid, he knew how difficult this must have been for her, but she did it for him! This is all I have, Silver, and I don't like doing this, but I'm showing you it all now. That's how much I love you.

She approached the altar on a path of flowers which had already been laid out. They had been unable to decide on flower fillies, and so had opted to save some bits and not use them, with the petals already waiting for her. Angel stopped at the altar, and it wasn't until she was stationary again that her wings folded. Oh, the things Silver could have done to her right there and then. Princess Luna coughed. "Mares and Gentlecolts, we are today gathered in this place of reverence to join together two hearts as one, Angel Wing and Silver Key. As we prepare to celebrate their life together, let anyone with an objections come forward, or forever be prepared to remain silent." Angel looked into Silvers eyes. Not a single pony moved.

I'm going to wake up next to you, excited, tired, sleep deprived, fresh, lazy, energy, argumentative or serene, and whatever it is good or bad I'll weather it with you. I'm officially yours soon, as you are mine. He promised her with his eyes if possible, barely paying attention to his surroundings. He would be liable to shoot a bolt of lightning at the first pony who'd dare suggest that they shouldn't get married. He waited for the vows he was supposed to speak to her. All the glitter around them were trivial. They could have done it in sackcloth and it would have been the same.

Princess Luna waited for a few seconds, before continuing. A baby dragon who Silver recognized immediately as Flint, the first dragon he'd ever seen whom Angel had brought to him in the human hospital, approached carrying the rings. Another surprise he hadn't expected, the first creature who had truly begun to convince him that Equestria wasn't a hallucination. "As we prepare the rings which shall bind these two together, let us hear the vows which each have prepared for the other. Silver Key, if you would grace us with your recital." She asked gently.

It was nice to see Flint again, unfortunately coming to Equestria had sent him and Angel to Canterlot where they had forged a new life together. Telekinetically he levitated the rings in the air between them. "Angel Wings. I've known you know for three years. I don't know what the future holds, but we've both walked through fire and worse to get here. I can't promise you that your lives will be smooth sailing to the end, but I'll weather it steadfast together with you."

One ring levitated in front of Silver as he spoke, the other in front of Angel. When they had both spoken, each would place the ring on each others horn. Angel looked nearly ready to cry and hug him right there on the altar. Luna smiled. "And Miss Wing, yours?" Angel looked at him. "Silver, when I first met you, how could I have known this would be where we'd end up? So much has changed since then. I knew when I first found you that you were special, but of all the things you changed, I never guessed that my life would be one of them. You're sweet, and kind, and truly a remarkable stallion. We have been through many things, some of them not so easy. Some of them I still debate even happened. But what I know for sure is I am yours, and I always will be." Luna sniffed. "You may place the rings, as so many couples before you have done, and will continue to do. A symbol of your union."

There wasn't much to say for his part. He felt completed. As he finished the ritual by gently slid the circular band down her horn. Married. It felt like a great calm coming down over him. It was the affirmation of their love for each other. That they were ready to pursue a life together, with foals as the end goal. Seeking each other's happiness.

There was cheering lots of cheering. Angel kissed him, and the cheering got even louder. Novaria was standing off to the side, tears running down her face and trying to wipe them away before anypony saw. A whole new life in Equestria was waiting for him.