Chapter the Prologue
"Sister?" Luna's voice called from behind the door followed by a knock. "I have the preparations-" Luna walked into Celestia's room carrying within her magic a folio. Her eyes scanned the empty bedroom. Her eyebrows leveled in determination. She had a lot of buisness to discuss with her sister. In truth, she'd rather be in her chambers being waited on and served by her harem right now, especially Mr. Ed. The way that stallion talks...
Shaking her head of the image, she concentrated on thetask at hand. Work first, and then play. "Sister?" she called out once more. The bathroom door wasn't shut, and the interior was lacking the white alicorn mare of the sun. She then trotted over to a door, and opening it to reveal the sitting room of her sister. Inside was a divan, and large chairs of wicker. Despite her best efforts, Luna could not find Celestia.
"Celestia?" Luna called out with irritation. She approached a closet door and made the mistake of opening it. Immediately, Luna was hit by an avalanche of micellaneous stuff spearheaded by a banana with a sultry gaze and a black plush mustache. The lunar princess' eyes went wide. She did not think once about escaping having been caught by the suspicious banana. Before the alicorn knew it, she was trapped under a pile of junk.
"Ugh... Tia?" She called out in vain once more, having crawled out of the stuff. She still managed to hold onto the folio and, after making sure nothing within was lost, continued her search. She made a mental note to ask about the plush fruit later. She trotted back into the bedroom and saw a folded piece of parchment with a very delicate C on it. Luna spent no time in opening it and reading the message inside. The alicorn sighed and massaged her temples.
"Tia..." she groaned and dropped the folio on the vanity. "If dost thou ask of us to help plan, then why not take it seriously?" Her eyes wondered over to a framed photo sitting nearby. Celestia and a grey wall-eyed mare held each other in a hug. They were in a park, and behind them sat a whimsical castle of sorts, or more whimsical than the castle within Canterlot.
"Featherbrain," Luna stated with fondness. "Thou has it bad." Written upon the note was a very brief message.
Gone to Derpy's. See you whenever.
Celestia
"Rub-a-dub dub," Derpy sang to herself while washing a few dishes in the sink. "Soak the plates in the suds." This lyric was followed by a piece of very fine Neighpalese set being dunked into soapy water. It was soon scrubbed by a rough piece of steel wool.
"When all's said and done," Derpy said once more. "Let 'em dry in the sun." She then removed the plate placed it rather roughly against a pile of cutlery resting on the kitchen counter. After doing this, Derpy pulled the plug to drain the water from the sink.
"Hmm..." Derpy hummed in thought. "Where do they get steel wool anyways...?" She scutinized the piece of rough metal. She wondered idly if there were iron sheep. They must be quite strong to carry the stuff. Metal is really heavy, like pianos. Maybe they should form a union to get money for their wool to pay for the visits to the back doctor. Her thrilling and deep train of thought was derailed by a knock at her door. Tosing the cleaning tool haphazardly against the stak of plates, she made her way over to the door.
"I'm coming!" Derpy called out. She paused before her small living room. Before her lied a glass coffee table which she eyed cautiously. The box it came in said unbreakable, but Derpy wasn't so sure... She could find a way if she wanted tried. She slowly edged her way around it, before continuing her happy gait. She reached the door and opened it. Her expression immediately brightened.
"Celestia!" she exclaimed. The grey mare nearly leapt up and hugged the alicorn, but manage to contain her excitable nature. "Come in! Come in! Make yourself at home."
"Hello Derpy," Celestia greeted without the regalia of her princess persona. She wore no gilded slippers and her golden tiara was not adorned upon her head. Here eyes were tired, and the alicorn's beautiful and vibrant mane that flowed and ebbed in an invisible breeze hung limply, and lacked the life it normally held. She entered cautiously, careful not to chip her elongated horn. "It's so good to see you- I'm sorry I didn't send word of my arrival sooner."
"Balderdash!" Derpy exclaimed much to Celestia's surprise. The grey mare guided the alicorn over to her loveseeat, and prompted her to sit down. "No marefriend of mine will ever be unwelcome at my house. Now, would you like anything to drink?"
"Oh, Derpy..." Celestia sighed, allowing herself to let go. The stress as of late was killing her. "Do you still ave that minty tea?"
"Iced or regular?" Derpy asked politely before leaving to her kitchen.
"Um... regular," she replied. She directed her attention to her wing. She had cleverly hidden a small parcel within it, and hoped the Derpy didn't see it.
"What brings you here?" Derpy asked innocently from the other room.
"Just a long day," Celestia sighed, admiring the simplicity of the home she visited frequently. While some may criticize the rural and architectural look of the place when comparing it to the castle of Canterlot, Celestia found it to be incredibly refreshing and relaxing. "That, and I wanted to see how my marefriend was doing."
"You came a few days ago fo the same reason," Derpy stated just as the kettle's whistle tweeted at a high pitch. The sounds of cutlery clattered about, ending just as the grey pegasus returned with a tea tray. "It's not like I'm gonna burn the house down for the umpteenth time..." she coughed at the end.
"Well, I may just want to hear your wonderous voice and see your beautiful eyes more than once or twice," Celestia said with a small smile just as Derpy carefully set the tray on the glass table. "I can't help if I'm addicted."
"Eh-he-he..." Derpy giggled awkwardly with a deep blush. As soon as the tray had made it onto the table, Derpy flapped roughly onto the couch opposite to the one Celestia sat upon. "So, how was your day?" She asked, attempting to break the awkward tension. Despite being in a relationship for quite a while, the pegasus still found that Celestia could always find a way to make her blush.
"Oh, by the Faust," Celestia graoned. "First my annoying nephew, Blueblood, scheduled an appointment with me just to blather on about politics and noble family squabbles. He isn't even my nephew technically; just a really distant relation. He took up all of my time, making me skip lunch. I then had to advise my council in what ways to run the nation. Some of them are okay, but..." Celestia shook her head. "I can see hunger in their eyes, Derpy. Their like vultures circling me, the lone worm drying up in my own sunlight."
"Well, maybe you should give them a sandwhich," Derpy replied with enthusiasm. "Then, they won't eat you and instead fight over the sandwhich." The alicorn smiled. She could never guess if Derpy was being cute or actually trying to help. Either way, Celestia found it adorable.
"So how was your day?" Celestia asked.
"Well, my neighbor came over saying that he might be out of town for a few days," Derpy began. "But he says that he'll continue to pay for rent and to just check my mailbox for it every once in a while."
"Oh? Where is he going?" Celestia asked with minor interest. The things that mare would say about her neighbor. In reality, Derpy should be calling him a roomate but the way Derpy explained it was very stange. "Are you going to keep his little square clear?"
"He said something about a crisis, but I forget the rest. He talks too fast..." Derpy said with a hoof scratching behind her head. "But I don't think I need to keep his spot clear. His house usually goes with him."
Celestia still did not understand the nature of Derpy's guest. As far as she could tell, the stallion either lived in a trash bin, or a very small cart. He lived on a small patch of the property with his "house." He was very impotant, though. Derpy made sure to express his importance of him. He wasn't a recluse either, as Derpy invited him to afternoon luncheons from time to time. At first, Celestia was concerned about the pegasus' social life, but after a few stories, and explanations, she concluded that the only outcome of these meetings were new nonsense words, like balderdash, to which Derpy would pick up on and nothing more. However, Derpy was not the only mare he knew. Many mares entered his "house." He was probably a nightwalker. She should let Luna know about this stallion... Derpy served the tea quietly, and soon a comfortable silence settled into the room. The only sounds were the occasional sips from their little cups and the creaking of the wooden house. Celestia then decided to get down to the reason of why she was really here.
"Derpy," Celestia began in an inquisitive tone. "Could you come over here for a moment?"
"Sure!" Derpy walked over to Celestia with a happy and trusting smile.
"Sit, and turn around," Celestia said, much to the pegasus' look of confusion. "Go on, and turn around!" Celestia giggled. With a sigh, the mare complied.
"Now, close your eyes..." Derpy did so. There was a small moment of quiet as a small rattlle and shuffling occured within the room.
"We've been together for quite a while, haven't we?" Celestia began to which Derpy nodded. "About a year?" Derpy again nodded. "One year to this day?" Derpy did nod, but Celestia could feel her uncertainty.
"Don't worry, I can't remember either." Derpy sighed, but felt something different. "You may open your eyes."
Derpy opened her eyes to see her reflection in a mirror and a segment of the floorboards. Around her neck was a golden necklace of fine quality with lustrous pearls set into the metal. A gasp escaped her lips as she covered her face in shock. "It's so pretty," she whispered as she spotted Celestia's warm smile in the mirror. "You shouldn't have..."
"Oh, but I must," Celestia whispers back. A wing draped around Derpy and embraced her. "I love morethan anyone else in this world, do you know that?" She asked. Without waiting for a response, Celestia continued. "I've been... thinking about a lot of things Derpy... and, after taling with my coucil and Luna, I have come to a conclusion."
"Derpy, will you make me the happiest mare in the world by joining me at the altar?"
Derpy's eyes widened and a small noise escaped from behind her hooves. A blush was clearly present, and the pegasus was robbed of all speech. With a simple nod, Derpy agreed. Celestia then laid a small and simple kiss upon the smitten mare, beforeholding her in a loving embrace.
After calming down, Derpy finally spoke, "... You know what this calls for?"
"What?" Celestia aked from cloud nine.
"A celebration, silly!" Derpy broke loose from the alicorn's embrace leaving her puzzled. "I have just the thing!" With that, Derpy zipped off to some place else in the house. a series of hooves against wood trailed all around Celestia, making her wonder what exactly she had in mind.
"What do you mean Derpy?" Celestia asked. "Are you getting muffins?"
"Nope! Something way better!" Derpy called from far off. Soon the pegasus returned with a bottle of soap and a bubble wand in her grasp. A very happy expression graced her features to which Celestia found to be infectious.