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// Working Mares 
// Story: Red Strings, White Chains 
// by Undome Tinwe 
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"Is it too late to cancel the wedding and elope to Las Pegasus?"

Celestia looked up from the papers on her desk. "It would be somewhat inconvenient given the preparations already made, but for you, my love, I would shed all decorum and fly you away on my own wings to Honey Heart's Chapel of Love tonight."

Her lips curled up into a small smirk as she rose up from her chair and stalked over towards her bride-to-be. "As long as you don't mind being married by a mare dressed up as Elkvis while I don my most fabulous dress from the era of disco."

Rarity rolled her eyes, but embraced Celestia all the same in an affectionate hug that could only be shared in private. "Hmm, I'm almost tempted to give in to your unfortunately-dated sense of fashion."

Celestia stiffened and quirked an eyebrow as she released Rarity, already lamenting the lack of closeness with the other mare. "Oh? It must be quite serious this time if you don't have a witty repartee at the ready to insult my beautiful ensembles." She kept her tone light, but with an undercurrent of seriousness that told Rarity she was here to listen to her troubles.

A tired sigh slipped out from between Rarity's lips as she trotted over towards a couch and laid down dramatically. "Some loose lips have slipped out the secret that I'm making a dress for Fleur to wear to the wedding, and now I'm absolutely swamped with commission requests from ponies whom I simply cannot reply to with template rejections."

She shot a playful glare with no heat at Celestia. "You know, when I married you for your money, I didn't think I'd actually have to work for it. I must say, I feel very much cheated at the moment."

Celestia snorted. "As I recall, every bit from that commission is going to charity." She settled down next to Rarity on the couch, draping a wing over the smaller pony. "And if you ever thought becoming a princess would allow you to live a life of idle leisure, then I'd say you should have spent more time with Twilight."

"Twilight hardly counts," Rarity retorted. "That mare is physically incapable of not trying to be as helpful as possible."

"And you aren't?" There was still so much work to be done, and Celestia knew she would regret taking this break later, but for now, all she cared about was teasing the sweet little mare she had pressed to her side. "I've had Raven studying you as a case study in time management. If I could do as much as you seem to, I could finally get rid of the parliament and reinstate the absolute monarchy."

"I daresay that parliament is the reason we only ever seem to have stolen moments together." Rarity pressed a small kiss against Celestia's belly. "Though, they do serve the vital purpose of preventing you from spending Equestria's treasury on tea and pastries."

"Ah, necessary evils — the foundation of all politics." Celestia sighed dramatically in the way she had learned from Rarity, masking the genuine melancholy in her voice.

Rarity was far too astute to miss the sincerity in Celestia's tone, however. She frowned, looking up at Celestia in concern. "My love, what's wrong?"

Celestia knew better than to prevaricate. "The Sultan of Saddle Arabia and the Duchess of Maretonia are fighting over that one island between their two nations again."

A wince from Rarity. "And we've invited them both to the wedding, haven't we?"

"Both of them are saying that they won't attend if the other is going to be there." Celestia hung her head in shame. "I don't think I'll be able to sort this out in time, which means I'll need to finesse one of them into turning down the invitation."

"I have no doubt that you'll leave both of them feeling as if they won a minor victory."

"Of course. I just wish it hadn't been necessary." A sad smile formed on Celestia's muzzle. "I'm quite fond of the both of them, and was looking forward to exchanging pleasantries at the wedding."

She paused, taking a moment to break through her hesitation. "And I suppose this incident is just another reminder of just how complex our wedding is going to be."

"It's a Royal Wedding," Rarity said simply. "If there isn't at least one media scandal and one international incident before the end of this, I'd be shocked."

"I know. I warned Cadance of the same thing when she was engaged to Shining Armor. It's just..." Again, Celestia hesitated, then shook her head. "It's silly."

"You can be silly around me." A teasing smile played on Rarity's lips. "I promise I won't laugh unless you need me to."

"Very well." She was right. This was why Celestia was marrying her. "You're not the only one who's had some... fanciful notions regarding romance. It's one of the few indulgences I allowed myself. I never thought I'd ever find love like this, would ever fall so hard for somepony that I would end up wanting to marry them.

"So I let myself dream. Let myself imagine having the perfect, storybook wedding. A pure ritual of love that would confirm my union with my true love, witnessed and celebrated by all my friends and family. Everyone I cared for put down their differences and came together to congratulate us on our marriage, to tease and cry and praise."

"And now that you have what you thought you could only dream of, reality is being quite the pest, yes?" The snide tone in Rarity's voice wasn't mocking, just understanding.

"Dealing with the press is less the subject of an idle fancy, and more the topic du jour in the war room," Celestia remarked dryly. "As naive as it is, part of me had hoped that I would be spending more time picking out flower arrangements with my beautiful bride-to-be than sorting out international geopolitics."

There was no judgment in Rarity's eyes, and Celestia loved her for it. "I have some experience with dreams turning into nightmares," she said, lips quirking up in a small smirk. "It's ironic, I think, that our wildest dreams can hurt us so deeply. Perhaps it's simply the price of ambition."

Celestia snorted. "I thought having to rule Equestria alone for a thousand years was punishment enough for my aspirations."

"No rest for the wicked, as they say," Rarity replied airily before she frowned again. "I'm sorry you couldn't have your perfect wedding, my love. But we can still have our wedding, and hopefully it will be enough. After all, it will involve moi as the bride, and surely that is better than any fantasy you might have had."

A genuine smile found its way onto Celestia's muzzle. "Of course," she replied smoothly. "So many things have exceeded my wildest expectations, thanks to you. I had always mourned the fact that my beloved sister and mentor would never get to see me walk down that aisle, but thanks to you and your friends, Luna and Star Swirl — along with the other Pillars — will be there to see us profess our love to the world."

At this point, Celestia couldn't hold back. She bent down and captured Rarity's muzzle in a kiss, delighting in the mare who had given her more hope in her heart than she'd held for a thousand years.

"All in a day's work," Rarity replied breathlessly as they pulled apart. "I was just doing what had to be done, just like how you'll do whatever it takes to keep Equestria safe and prosperous." She wriggled herself out of Celestia's embrace, leaving behind an empty void in her heart. "Neither of us are prone to idle hooves, after all."

"We certainly are not." Celestia looked over at the stack of papers on her desk. "I suppose I should be returning to these papers. After all, I do work for a living, my love."

"You certainly do." Rarity placed a quick, chaste kiss on Celestia's lips before walking towards the door. "And I simply must finish this commission for Fleur today if I'm to have any hope of staying on schedule for the wedding. I'll see you at dinner?"

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," Celestia replied. "Take care, my love, and let me know if I need to find my disco suit."

"That won't be necessary." Rarity shot Celestia a final smirk before leaving, her eyes glittering with mischief. "I doubt you could figure out where I hid it anyways."

"Wait, you did what?" But Rarity was already gone, leaving Celestia alone with her work and a lighter heart. Even as she read through pages and pages of tedious reports while mourning the loss of that fabulous outfit, a smile crept its way onto her muzzle. No, she wasn't going to have the wedding of her dreams, but dreams were more her sister's domain, anyways.

After all, she was going to marry a working mare, and she had no doubts that their wedding was going to be exactly what they needed.