I wanted to draw romance, so I return to the characters who were originally created because I felt like drawing romance
1. Meeting the family! Well, the sister at least. Thundercloud Rainbowstorm (…nee just Thundercloud, she added to it to be more dramatic) is about five years older than Lightning Strike, living in Canterlot while working as an commissioned artist (often to nobles who wish to flaunt their wealth by giant portraits of themselves and their estates) and …free-lancing as a more or less legal street artist. Her work can be found on the walls of mansions and the walls of alleyways. The police so far hasn't found her, beause why would they suspect the respectable, well earning artist who paints nobles and scenery all day?
Thundercloud is the only family Light has left; their father passed away before Light was old enough to remember him, and their mother passed just a few months before Light was legally an adult. That's the entire reason he joined the guard as soon as legally possible and accepted one of the most remote positions available.
Thunder understands, but has really missed her baby brother. They sent letters to each others, but it's just not the same. So she's delighted that he's visiting -not only that, but bringing with him a coltfriend! On the inside, she's incredibly relieved that he's found someone, and seems to be in a much better state than he was when he left. But on the outside, she's afraid she has to tease him mercilessly. That's her job as big sister after all.
2. Meeting the family! The entire family. Northen Skies is from a very traditional chiropterasi household, with all of his extended family living in several large houses clustered close together, far away from any other families or settlements, practically in the center of a forest. They own a giant swatch of said forest, which they maintain and earn money from via hunting and selling meat/leather/etc.
His family is… nice. His niblings seems very interested in Light's feathered wings, including… pulling out the feathers… And his grandpa seems, uh, very protective of his grandson, trying to ensure that Light is good enough for North. And his aunts give very good advice on things Light don't ever want advice on from strangers. And look, how nice, North's mom thinks Light is too thin and should eat some more… grilled rabbit. And, oh no, Light doesn't have any opinion on the political debate going on betwen North's cousins, thank you for asking.
…Light can see why North decided to leave to become a guard at one of the most remote outposts available.
3. Chiropterasi hearing is quite good. Lightning now has things to be self-conscious about he never even considered before, thank you North.
4. North and Lightning's relationship is somewhat open? They are always together, but they also often have, I believe the term is, a unicorn? Though that doesn't work very well in the mlp universe… A third person who they are both involved with. Sometimes just as friends with benefits, sometimes as a romantic partner. Depicted here is somene Light originally met when he was training to join the guard, who for several years was their friend with benefits and on again off again girlfriend. Until she was assigned to another city and they went to just being pen-pals.
5. When your boyfriend gives the incorrect response to your flirting, you have to fight dirty.
6. North and Light had the cheesiest wedding you can imagine. A sunny spring day, under cherry trees as the blossoms slowly difted down around them. Light was wearing a suit matched to North's colors, while North's family had made him an extremely fine fur coat in Light's colors.
The band is a chiropterasi tradition, which they're supposed to keep on until the ceremony ends and then take of together; a symbol of them then not needing it any longer as their new marrige still binds them together.
For their wedding "rings", Light gave North a silver crown which had been passed down his family for generations (crowns are a traditional earth pony/pegasus adaption to match a unicorn's horn ring. So someone of Light's ancestors probably was/married a unicorn), replacing its ruby with a sapphire. Technically it originally went to Thundercloud as the oldest, but she wanted Light to have and give it to North.
North wanted them to match, so he'd had a golden crown made for Light which was supposed to look like tree-branches. Since Light gave him something from Light's family, North wanted his crown to have connections to North's family, who define themselves by the forest they live in.
North also wrote a beautiful speech as his wedding vow, which everyone in the audience agreed sounded very sincere and beautiful, even if they could only understand half the words.
…Did I just really overthink a wedding between two colorful tiny horses? The answer is yes, and would definently do it again.