Derpy walked towards the wedding hall, still feeling dazed at the thought of being surrounded by royalty on all sides. Four alicorn princesses, all coming to attend her wedding. Twilight wasn’t as big a deal. She had started out as a unicorn, and Derpy had seen her often enough. Her personality hadn’t changed after her ascension, and she mostly asked everyone to treat her like any other pony, uncomfortable with the thought of others bowing down to her. However, having the rulers of the entire continent be there, the ones who controlled the celestial bodies of the cosmos, was mind boggling.

They only saw a few scattered ponies on their way, the majority of them already at the wedding hall. Derpy tried to make conversation, but every time she opened her mouth nothing came out. She was too intimidated at saying the wrong thing, so she just said nothing.

Arriving at the hall Derpy and Twilight went in first. The entrance hall was empty of ponies with the exception of one of the staff and Dinky, dressed up in her flower girl dress. “Mom!” Dinky said happily, running over to her and hugging her. “You look so pretty. Like amazingly pretty.”

Not being in the presence of the other alicorns she finally found her voice again. “Are you saying I don’t usually look pretty?”

“Oh, you’re always pretty to me.” She nuzzled her mom. “So what took you so long to get here?”

Derpy felt her throat getting tight again. She hugged Dinky back, saying, “Twilight arranged for a few extra wedding guests.”

Dinky glanced over at Twilight. In a whisper she said, “I know she’s a princess, but isn’t it pretty rude to just invite guests to your wedding?”

“W-well, they’re the kind of guests that you wouldn’t dare refuse.”

Dinky got a sour look. “Like who?”

While they had been talking Twilight told the staff member to go inform them that Derpy was there. Once he left she gestured, the other princesses walking in.

“Like THEM.” She pointed with her hoof.

Dinky looked over, and her anger evaporated, her eyes going wide. “W-w-whoa! Mom! How did you score such high class guests? No wonder you wouldn’t say no. Cool!”

Twilight said, “Well, I’ve got to go. I’m going to start the ceremony. I’ll call you in soon.”

Going through the door Twilight walked up to the podium, addressing the crowd of ponies. “Quiet, please. Quiet.” When the noise settled down Twilight said, “We are here today to celebrate the wedding of Doctor Hooves and Derpy Doo. However, before we begin the ceremony proper I have an announcement and some things I need to say. We have a few extra guests that I brought along to celebrate this celebration of harmony and friendship.” Gesturing with her hoof she continued, “Please come in.”

As one the three alicorns walked into the hall, eliciting gasps of surprise. Everyone rushed to bow down as they walked up, none of them rising until they had completed their trip to the podium, standing on either side of Twilight.

“Please rise, everyone,” Twilight said. When they complied she could see the awe and surprise still filling them up. It gave Twilight a sense of satisfaction, but not out of smugness. She knew this would leave a lasting impression on the townsponies, and so much the better for Derpy.

“I’m sure you all are wondering why Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Princess Cadence are here for this wedding. I invited them all here, as a favor to a dear friend. We may not be the bestest of best friends, but I’d like to say a few words and speak my mind. I know that some of this I already said at my coronation, but it has no less value now than it did then.

“As you’ll remember, when I first came to Ponyville I was a brat. The only thing I was interested in was my studies. I was arrogant, smug. I was dismissive of others, only feeling true respect for Princess Celestia. Being not only raised in Canterlot, but personally taught by the most powerful pony in Equestria as well as royalty gave me a swelled head, and I only saw other pony’s as below me. Of course at the time I wouldn’t have said it quite that way, or been willing to acknowledge it.

“I first came to Ponyville to help prepare for the Summer Sun Celebration, the thousandth one since Nightmare Moon had been sealed away in the moon. Princess Luna felt sad that her night was shunned and ponies slept through it, as though the night was unimportant.

"Letting that jealously and despair overcome her she succumbed to a dark force, transforming into Nightmare Moon. Claiming that she would make the night last forever the two fought for supremacy. With no other course of options available she was forced to use the Elements of Harmony on her sister, sealing her away in the moon for one thousand years. I can’t personally speak for Princess Celestia feelings, but in a way Nightmare Moon succeeded in her objective.”

Both Princess Luna and Princess Celestia looked at her, curiosity on their faces. “I can only imagine the pain both of them suffered through those thousand years. How must Celestia have felt every night, doing the job her sister should have been doing? Being forced to move the object of her sister’s banishment every single night for the lifespan of ten ponies. For her, I’m sure it must have felt like every night DID last forever, alone without your closest sibling by your side.”

Celestia looked over at Luna, a tear coming down her eye.

“Facing down Nightmare Moon by myself, the Elements of Harmony seemingly shattered and broken, I lost all hope, sure that Equestria was about to fall into her hooves. But then I heard the voices. The voices of my friends. That ignited the spark of friendship inside me, and hope and joy filled me up, restoring the power of the Elements and allowing us to dispel Nightmare Moon’s power, turning her back into Princess Luna. And for the first time I got to see Princess Celestia cry. Following their long separation the two of them embraced, love and harmony restored between them.”

Her horn began to glow, and her memory of that event played. Celestia leaning down and offering her friendship again, Luna jumping to her and apologizing.

“I’m so sorry! I missed you so much, big sister.”

“I missed you too.”

As the memory faded she continued, “I know some of you may be wondering, “Well, what does this have to do with a wedding?” I know it may feel in bad taste to bring up bad memories, but the point is that no night lasts forever. Though darkness may cloud the land, though we may all go through rough times, the day will always come, sunshine bursting through the blackness and bringing the light of hope.

"As with the royal sisters we saw that very well with Princess Cadence, who faced back to back threats both from the Changelings as well as King Sombra. When things were bleak and all seemed lost it was the strength of their love that gave Cadence and my brother the strength to banish Queen Chrysalis from Canterlot, and the spark of hope from finding the Crystal Heart that gave the crystal ponies the strength to power it and banish King Sombra. Now she is living peacefully with her husband, ruling over her land benevolently.

“When Discord escaped from his stone prison he corrupted all of my friends in an effort to break me and render the Elements of Harmony useless. It was only through Princess Celestia sending my friendship letters back and reminding me of all that I had learned that inspired me to persevere and reminded me never to give up, on myself or my friends.

“Each and every time disaster has struck it was the power of togetherness, of friendship, that has allowed us to prevail. Even the Elements of Harmony themselves rely on the power and strengths of multiple ponies to be used to their full effect.

“So now we come down to what all of this is leading up to. Just because the fate of Equestria isn’t lying in the balance on Derpy’s actions, just because she isn’t an alicorn princess or fighting the greatest threats that Equestria has to offer… it doesn’t make her problems inconsequential. Ponies may not bow at her hooves when she walks by, or ask her for autographs, but she is a great asset to Ponyville despite her faults.

“I wasn’t there when Doctor Hooves proposed to Derpy, but what I heard of that event filled me both with joy and happiness as well as sadness and despair. For those few who might not have heard the story, when Derpy was still in high school she had a coltfriend who pretended to love her, when all he really wanted was her body.

"Once he got what he wanted he threw her away, leaving her to raise the child they bared all alone. One doesn’t have to be a princess or have a ton of friends to understand the kind of mental devastation such an event would cause.” Her throat felt tight, and her voice quivered a bit as she continued. “It’s not that I am extremely close with Derpy, but I’ve seen her from afar, and I’ve heard of her plights. I know there have been some accidents, and I can only imagine the pain and hardship she’s had to go through since that time.

“There is nothing sadder than someone who doesn’t know the joys of true friendship. I’ve been there myself. Looking at myself I’m ashamed of the egotistical snob I used to be. But today I’m not that mare. I’ve grown since then and I have a bunch of friends.” Her eyes began watering, and she wiped them away before more tears formed.

“That is why her story touched my soul and hurt so much. It sounded like she lost the ability to trust others, locking herself away. After all, if the one you gave your whole heart to could callously discard you like it was nothing, the one who got your pregnant and you expected to spend your life with, than how could you trust anyone else with less emotional impact. I had no idea how much she was suffering inside, or I, and most definitely Pinkie Pie, would have been there to help her.”

A warm smile came to her face. “But just like all the tales before this story doesn’t end there. The night didn’t last forever. A stallion came forward who was ready to bear the brunt of her pain, who was sturdy enough to take all the yelling and shouting and reluctance and forge through, pushing through the barriers in her heart one by one. By showcasing his determination and love by making a public declaration he ensured that his words had the weight they needed to break through that final barrier, to let the light in on a heart that had long expected nothing but darkness.”

Her smile grew bigger as she looked out upon the audience of ponies, a few more tears coming down. “Even though we didn’t know all the pain she hid inside until now, we all made up for it in spades, didn’t we? I feel honored that I didn’t ever have to suggest it. Each of you in some way helped to contribute to her wedding, whether it be by arranging for music or food or decorations.

"All of you used your own special talents, in the hopes that today would turn out perfectly for her, to help set off her new life on the right hoof, because just like you we all value our Derpy. That is why I invited my fellow princesses here, and why it likely will only be a one time occurrence: because after all she’s gone through, Derpy needs a little bit more help than most.

“After being abandoned in such a heartless way it seems she’s been questioning her worth as a pony for a long time. So now I call out to you, my fellow Ponyvillians, to help show Derpy how we all REALLY feel about her. Let us all show her how much we really care, and welcome her into this hall with a fanfare worthy of a princess, our hero of the day. Because she is special, and she is loved, so let your heart reach out to hers. Let’s show her how many friends she really has here in the town of Ponyville, so she never has to wonder again how much value she really has!”

A deafening noise went throughout the crowd, all the ponies cheering and whistling and whooping and stomping their hooves.

“Well said, Twilight,” said Princess Celestia, putting a hoof on her shoulder.

Twilight just grinned

Derpy was sobbing her heart out, overwhelmed by the show of support. Dinky was rubbing her neck comfortingly, grinning as well.

“T-t-thank you, T-T-Twilight,” Derpy stuttered out, feeling the light of love flooding through her being.