Fredrick would rarely have to make a trip to the Castle’s Sorting Bureau for his mail, because a specially designated mailpony would often drop off anything that came his way.

That was, of course, until he and Stella became more than mere acquaintances—she had a habit of bringing over any post that was marked for him. What had started as her just being nice, sort of morphed into a wordless tradition every time she came over (which was usually most days) … a tradition that persisted to this day.

Which was why on this particular instance, he went to great lengths to ensure that she wasn’t the one to snag this particular delivery up from the front.

In fact, once he was told the day the fateful package would arrive, Fredrick requested a special, scheduled delivery after Stella had retired for the evening. To that end, he enlisted Luna’s help in assigning (and swearing to secrecy) a guard whose character she personally vouched for to sign out the package from the front and hold it until then.

And now, all he had to do was play the waiting game.

Laying back wordlessly on his bed, Fredrick rested his eyes. He blissfully took in and processed the day’s events, which were much like any other. Stella had the previous evening off, so she stayed the night, which was full of food and drink that was ordered in along with terrible movies.

Par for the course.

And come the entire day of sleeping in and one last—rather fantastic—blowjob courtesy of that experienced batpony mouth of hers, she was back to work for a nightshift of commanding the troops. Fredrick giggled at that thought… how many, if any, of her troops even remotely suspected her of taking a phat load down her gullet right before she was out there screaming at the lieutenants. After all, it was entirely her fault that he damn-near repainted her pink mouth flesh white every time she worked that thestral magic on him.

He figured she would at least brush her teeth beforehand. Stella wasn’t a goddamn savage, after all.

Fredrick found himself just on the edge of a cat nap and about to fall into a comfortable sleep when his eyes shot open at the sound of three knocks at his room door.

While he normally would’ve been mildly peeved at someone tearing him away from the embrace of sleep, a rush of excitement suddenly surged through his system. He smiled eagerly.

It begins…

Fredrick swung his legs over the side of his bed and stood up into a massive stretch. Arms overhead and doing his best to un-crease his shirt, he strode over to the door. He then spared a glance over his shoulder and out towards the open balcony window—Stella could be anywhere, and it was not exactly unheard of for her to drop in on him suddenly to scare the shit out of him.

All part of ‘her charm,’ after all.

Fred turned the doorknob and creaked his door open inward. Poking his head out, he found exactly…

…not who he was expecting.

Fredrick blinked so hard he probably pulled a muscle in his forehead… and he rubbed his eyes of the evening fatigue just to be sure that he was still seeing those same bright, emerald eyes staring back at him.

“Fucking… Midnight?!”

The amazoness pony of a mare glanced down both ends of the corridor before she quickly moved to push herself inside—and past Fredrick, too.

All the while, her words were calm and stoic with just the right amount of accented, teasing lilt:

“Let’s get the fuck inside and shut the door, silly!” she said.

Fredrick hadn’t the time to register whom Luna had, apparently, anointed for this extremely important and secret task—he closed and locked the door behind them.

He then turned to his guest in his room—a fully-armored up Midnight Song—in all her tall, built, pique-death-by-snu-snu likeness and glory. He hadn’t seen her in full armor since the first time he met her all that time ago, and in the passing moment, he was offered a proper look at her.

In becoming with her armored state, her sword was dutifully attached to her left hip. Even more than that, there also appeared to be a holstered, massive hand-cannon of a pistol directly adjacent to her sword’s sheath. To top it all off, a dagger was also sheathed on her right hip.

That’s when he remembered that Midnight was one of the Guard’s finest—an Honor Guard for Celestia herself. She was as arguably as well-trained, if not more so, than Stella. Ergo, this was standard equipment for her. Still, the dichotomy between her personality and her profession, much like Schneeblume, was displayed on a massive theater keynote.

Fredrick spoke up after a couple good seconds passed… especially when he noticed one last thing: an onyx-black box of sorts cradled securely in her left arm. It looked roughly the size of a shoebox and was further tucked away by her gauntlet-clad hands.

“Well then, ummm… hey, Midnight!” he finally greeted.

The Honor Guard leveled a rather lopsided smile at him. She practically shat out knowing sarcasm onto his pristine floor.

“Aww… you don’t look so excited to see me, Freddie! I’m hurt! Were you truly expecting somepony else?”

“Actually yeah,” said Fredrick. “I honestly expected some Lunar Guard I didn’t fucking know, considering I asked Luna specifically for help on this. Didn’t really expect her to tap resources ‘across the aisle,’ if that makes sense.”

Midnight giggled, and Fredrick could practically taste the naturally flirtatious tone that dripped off her pristine fangs when she smiled and talked:

“Well…” she said, and began to casually sashay around Fredrick, circling him like a predator would prey.

“Believe it or not, ‘Her Royal Highness Princess Luna, Ruler of Equestria’s Night and Realm of Dreams’ and I have a rather special relationship. I am the last defender of her sister, after all~.”

Fredrick thought about that for a moment and bobbed his head in acknowledgement.

“Well, when you put it that way, yeah this actually makes a fuckload of sense now. Alright… then I guess that means I can rely on you keep this super-secret?” he asked.

Midnight completed her circle back in front of him and cocked her head… less than impressed.

“And just why would I want to spoil the surprise? Especially one as massive as this? Shame on me to deny you the honor of proposing to Stella. And I didn’t get to where I was without being a mare of my word,” she said.

With that, she presented the mystery box to him, gripped securely in her left hand, and grinned.

“Package for you, my handsome human friend.”

Fredrick glanced directly at it… and then flicked his gaze back up at the imposing pony, who only lowered her eyelids and smiled teasingly at him. That further placated any residual doubt he might’ve had. Midnight was a mare of her word, after all—he had absolutely no reason to distrust her otherwise. And she was right on one front: what would she gain from ruining the surprise?

He smiled back gratefully and reached out with both hands to securely take possession of what he had been all jittery in looking forward to. With the now-clearly wooden box in his grasp, he gently pulled back.

Midnight did not let go… and actually tightened her grip on it.

Fredrick blinked and flicked his eyes back up to meet hers, and that same teasing expression was painted on her face.

And in that infuriating tone of hers, she added:

“One condition~.”

Fredrick rolled his eyes but smiled back, nonetheless. He knew something like this was gonna happen, but he also knew Midnight wouldn’t request anything beyond reason…

…he hoped. She was still kind of a wildcard from his experience.

“And what would that be? I’m not dropping my pants.”

Midnight threw her head back and genuinely laughed.

“Oh, I see you still have very little faith in me… but no, my condition is: when you decide to go through with this, please let me know ahead of time? I’d like to be there for the occasion~,” she said.

Fredrick smiled at the thought. He’d be honored if she was. It would be an extra bit of moral support, as well.

He beamed back up at her.

“You got it, Middy. I’d honestly love it if you were there!”

And just like that, she released the box, and Fredrick took full control and ownership over it. Bringing it close to his chest, he ran his thumb over the smooth, straight-up-black, furnished wooden box top. What stood out immediately was the engraving of a simple, barely coded message in golden, gorgeous cursive.

FCH to SFS

He could hazard a solitary guess what that meant, but it was still a lovely gesture, nonetheless.

Fredrick spared a look back up when he heard an inquiry-laden clearing of one’s throat.

“You uhhh… gonna open it?” she asked.

“You fuckin’ know it! Come check it out with me!”

Midnight beamed as she fell into step right behind him.

Fredrick sailed over towards his bed and set the box right on top of his neatly made and pressed comforter. The next step was figuring out how to open the damn thing, but thankfully, it looked like there were two small latches on the rectangular box’ shorter sides that securely held the top in place. It was easy enough to unlatch and then delicately set the top aside—he sure as hell was keeping this box for posterity.

The object, which was to be of his affections, was not visible quite yet… obscured on top by a neatly folded note with a single sentence written in beautiful cursive:

Fredrick flipped the paper open with his thumb so he could read the—also, beautifully handwritten—message within. Midnight peered over from behind, which he didn’t mind.

Fredrick,

Enclosed within this box is the custom-built dagger and sheath for Stella that you commissioned. As discussed earlier, all materials requested have been used and sourced from the finest ores, cast in the finest foundries, and encrusted with the purest minerals.

I have personally forged this beautifully unique blade with extreme precision and care—and the pieces I could not manufacture personally were overseen in forges and smithies that I would trust with my life.

In my personal opinion, you have chosen very well. I would be delighted to have you present this to my daughter.

Before you go doing so, Sheathing the Blade requires specific gesturing, and key words to be spoken. I’ve enclosed such a guide as well, deeper within the package. You’d do well to familiarize yourself if you want to achieve maximum panty points and infinite suck jobs during your future lifetime together.

Please examine the final product and let me know if anything is out of place.

Don’t fuck this up, Freddie. ;-)

Lots of love,

—V

Fredrick giggled breathily through his nose at that last, rather important detail: ‘Don’t fuck this up.’ Schiavona certainly had a habit of instilling a morale boost in the best of ways. It was continually reinforced that the apple—Stella—didn’t fall far from the tree. In fact, it fell right at the fuckin’ base of said tree.

He shook his head, smiling. But as he set the note to the side, his chest and core were being molested in all the right ways of excitedness. A single barrier of really thin paper separated his touch and sight from the finished dagger, and all that remained was just to cast that aside in one fateful pull.

Fred glanced up and behind him towards a rather vested, inquisitive Midnight… who glanced right back at him. Her eyes made her seem even more excited for this than he was, which seemed like a physical and theoretical impossibility.

“Well? Go on! I wanna see this too!” she said.

He didn’t need any further encouragement, and with that, Fredrick cast aside the last paper barrier with bated breath…

…and slowly exhaled in awe when he saw what lay nestled within.

Both weapon and sheath were comfortably kept in their own little warrens, parallel to one another and angled at forty-five degrees. And as Fredrick tentatively held a hand out to touch, he remarked internally how it looked like he was looking at his drawing, come to life. The feeling of when he first commissioned art back on Earth, and seeing it come to life beyond his expectations was immediately recalled…

…but this? This was something different altogether.

This actually meant something for the near future. This was a dream that was coming to life in front of him.

With a delicateness that he would show a baby rabbit, Fredrick picked up the sheath and brought it into view where both he and Midnight could see it clearly in the evening, magic candlelight. He smiled widely at what greeted him, when examining it at all angles:

The sheath itself—much like Schiavona had detailed to him—was supposed to be a representation of him and what he brought to their relationship, figuratively. As for the base material, he took inspiration from the magically treated faux leather that Schiavona had on hers but opted for a different color: a deep brown that matched his hair… hair that Stella just loved to run her hands through.

To him, this was passion. Passion and love, especially for her, their relationship, and everything it stood for.

Right in the middle on either side was placed a circular-cut emerald, which matched the color of his eyes. From those midpoints emanated a simple rhomboid, tessellating pattern that covered the entire surface area… linking his eyes to a sense of order amongst the chaos.

He couldn’t count on all his extremities how many times he had been able to figuratively ‘put the safety’ on Stella’s hair-trigger temper. He had learned—just by looking at her—to bring order back to her mind, and calm any and all of her nerves when she needed it… even if she never asked (even if not doing so would be goddamn hilarious).

He felt this sheath adequately represented all of that… and possibly then some. He smiled warmly. And perhaps most importantly was the concept of a sheath itself: to protect, guard, and cradle.

“Perfect.”

Fredrick carefully set it aside on his bed, and then switched his full attention to the real star of the show: the dagger itself.

He retrieved the dagger from its parallel entrenchment and carefully held it up by the hilt. He was immediately—like the first time he handled Schiavona’s—struck by the sheer weight. Still usable with one hand for sure… but the dimensions belied the materials used and the sheer quality of the actual construction.

For the most obvious portion, the blade, Fredrick took Vona’s suggestion on the material, and wished it sourced from the finest, magically reinforced steel, formed into a standard dagger blade. Even more than that, Fredrick requested that the steel be chemically (and magically) colored a brilliant gold to match Stella’s eyes... as her eyes were often the most captivating, and beautifully deadly, thing about her.

Furthermore, he felt he would’ve been more than okay with the expense of forging the blade out of real gold, but Schiavona politely let him know that... not only would it be abominably expensive, but gold was a ‘soft’ metal and would not stand the test of time for a dagger beyond just looking at the damn thing.

Ergo, he ultimately decided against that level of extravagance.

The navy blue crossguard was quite pronounced yet proportional to the blade length—Stella’s overly-defensive nature on display to protect the wielder’s hand... or those she loved. Both ends of the crossguard tapered off into a flat edge that could also be used offensively in a pinch. Stella’s fierce loyalty was a dangerous weapon in and of itself.

The handle was the grayish, oddly-blue-at-specific-light-and-angle color of Stella’s coat that Fredrick always fancied. He wasn’t sure how Vona was able to pull the look off, but when he explained it to her (poorly) he vividly recalled her stopping him and saying ‘I know exactly what you’re talking about—I think I know what to do.’

He still had no idea how she was able to achieve that, and had zero intention of asking.

Design-wise, it was more bulbous towards the center to better, and more comfortably, accommodate a hand around the hilt. Fred felt this subtle meaning was a bit more cheeky on his part... namely that when one was able to get the appropriate ‘grip’ on Stella, she was more controllable to wield. What that ‘grip’ was, was something Fredrick couldn’t really explain until he had to invoke it.

He admired the dagger, awestruck, as he flexed his fingers and molded his hand around the handle. It was a little small for him, but that was to be expected—Stella had smaller hands. It was meant to be a ‘fit’ for her, not him, naturally.

A gentle, thrilled, gorgeous voice over his shoulder snapped him back into reality:

“Wow~! It’s gorgeous! You came up with this?” Midnight exclaimed. Fredrick could practically see the twinkle in her wide eyes.

He beamed right back at her.

“Yeah! And thanks! I think maybe it’s a fantastic twist of fate that you were the one to deliver this to me,” he said, then moved to pick up the sheath from his bed.

He held both weapon and sheath in either hand, and flicked his gaze between both of them.

Fred sighed, relieved.

“Some instantaneous feedback from a third-party mare sure as hell has done wonders for my confidence in my choices thus far,” he admitted.

Midnight placed a seemingly offended hand to her armored chest, scoffing before her exaggerated emotions and gesticulations began in earnest:

“Oh so the ooooonly thing I’m good for is feedback? Freddie! TWICE in one night you rip my heart into pieces!” she said.

Fred was quick to the rebuttal with an infantilized tone to boot.

“Ooooh oookay Midnight,” he joked with the ever appropriate jerk-off motion.

But in so doing, he confirmed that he never learned to not give ammo to the Midnight.

“I mean... we could do that but you sure Stella won’t mind?”

“Oh for fuck’s sake...”

Her cackling ensued.

“Now all I need to do is grab a nice ring for her, and then figure out how I actually wanna go about this.”

“I might have a couple ideas for you if you’re interested…~”

Stella, under normal circumstances, would never want to be caught dead roaming around the Solar sections of the castle while the sun was still up and the Solar Guard still active. In fact, she could precisely count on one hand the times she ever had to wander these halls during the waking hours over her entire years-long tenure as a lunar guard in any capacity.

But, as she leaned against the stone wall just on the periphery of the office door... clad in casual clothes as to keep the lowest profile she could, she understood that these were unprecedented times.

And such times called for unprecedented action on her part.

The door she leaned next to opened up, and Stella smirked at the punctuality.

Right on time...

An alabaster face with an ethereally flowing, multicolored mane peeked out from around the open door.

“Good afternoon, Captain Sabre! This is a most welcome surprise!” Princess Celestia exclaimed, then made her way out fully to shut the door behind her.

She still smiled warmly at her, and Stella was struck as to how that warm feeling physically permeated her core and chest. It seemed like the effect she had on ponies around her was true, and she never noticed it on the few times she had been in close, private contact with the Solar Princess. She owed Fredrick fifty bits.

The princess continued excitedly before Stella could speak up:

“When I got your message, the... unusual request for an audience from an esteemed member of Luna’s Finest, and Fredrick’s love, I couldn’t help but move things around!” she said, closing the distance between them.

She then put her hands together and simply asked:

“To what do I owe the pleasure?”

Stella smiled back brightly and genuinely... but the fact that Celestia had a few inches on her, plus the nature in which she wanted to see the Solar Princess made her feel suddenly much smaller.

“Princess! Thank you so much fer meetin’ me on such short notice—I realize how busy yer schedule is so I just want to ensure you know how much I umm… appreciate yer time,” Stella replied.

And much to her chagrin, it appeared that Celestia could easily read that very unease and uncharacteristic lack of confidence.

“Oh don’t you worry about a single thing, Stella! I need some fresh air anyway—walk with me to the courtyard?” she said, and gestured down the hall.

Stella beamed, and quickly fell into step on her right.

“Of course!”

The walk there was fraught with what Stella felt was an almost uncomfortable silence while the princess led the way, but that quickly evaporated when the two of them entered into the beautiful sunlit day. Especially so when Celestia slowed their pace to a pleasant meander down the steps and towards the central fountain.

And the princess’ motherly tone further soothed her nerves:

“Now, Stella… something tells me you wouldn’t request a direct, private talk just to shoot the breeze… not that that’s a bad thing at all! But nevertheless, it certainly must be important! What’s on your mind, and how can I help you?”

Stella chuckled, as Celestia was right on the money, but the genuine, inviting tone was not lost on her… something that she truly appreciated.

“Heh, well… yer right…” Stella said, and then promptly realized how her words came across.

Times like these were few in a lifetime for her—where she had to clench her asscheeks so hard to prevent her innards from plopping to the ground from how hard her core dropped.

“Emmm… not how I meant that erm… how I… UGH fuck me, mate…”

She caught her cursing too late.

“Fuckin’ shit! I mean… hrm…” Stella pursed her lips and sighed out, defeated.

Thankfully, Celestia seemed like she was about to burst from holding in some mighty laughter at Stella’s expense. Normally this would evoke some primal reactions in her of the explicit variety, but these times were, again, unprecedented—which meant that such joking laughter brought her more than measurable relief.

Even more so when Celestia lay a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

“You’re such a gem, Stella... truly. But there’s no need for formality right now. While you may be one of our greatest commanders, you’re Fredrick’s marefriend. And I feel someone who can win and keep his heart is truly a friend of mine,” she said.

They tread around the fountain, and Stella felt the princess gesture her towards the gardens.

“Now... please continue,” she added with that motherly smile that made Stella feel like she was being cradled securely as a filly.

Stella smiled right back at her, and used some of Celestia’s words as a jumping-off point to help her muddled mind along.

“Cheers, Princess... really, those words mean more than you know. Thank you,” she began, then immediately followed up with:

“But as I’m sure you could guess, it’s indeed about Fredrick. Well, Fredrick and I... maybe... kinda...” she reasoned through her words.

Stella glanced over and up to Celestia’s face, and found her having raised a curious eyebrow back at her.

And she fielded a tentatively cautious tone:

“Oh?” she asked. “Has something... troublesome happened between you two?”

Stella took care to quickly dispel any notion of trouble:

“Oh quite the contrary, Princess! Fredrick and I are... right on the next next step. I really, truly couldn’t ask fer a better coltfriend if I’m bein’ so honest.”

Stella witnessed Celestia’s face light up at those words. Perhaps it was also just a trick of the princess’ own rays of sunlight, but the thestral could’ve sworn that detected a hint of mischievous knowing on her lips.

But, again, likely just a trick of the light.

“Oh? Stella I’m so thrilled to hear that! I don’t know what it is about you two, but somehow you two work just so... perfectly. And I’m being honest, I don’t think Fredrick could be any luckier with you at his side,” said Celestia.

With an extra-reassuring, open-mouthed wink to boot.

First, she made her nervous as all shit... and now Stella found herself on the losing end of a battle to contain her prideful blush.

“Heh... well ehhh, thank you, Princess! Truly. But if we’re both bein’ honest here, I think I’m the luckier one of us,” she replied.

And before they could get more distracted with inflating her ego, Stella made sure to get the topic out:

“And actually, that’s... kinda what I’d like tae speak with you about: Fredrick. And that ummm ‘next step.’”

And again, there was the slightest glimpse of the ‘I know something that you don’t~’ look on her face... Stella couldn’t place it exactly but once again, felt like she was getting punked.

The thought was pushed back to the deepest recesses of her mind when Celestia genuinely—or so it seemed—squeed with a girlish delight that Stella would’ve expected from somepony a fraction of her age...

...and in that briefest period of wordlessness, the lewd part of her mind began firing up again.

Celestia may have looked no older than her late twenties, but Stella wasn’t even sure how many thousands of years old she actually was. And as Celestia composed herself and motioned to respond to the coming conversation, Stella had trouble foregoing what ‘category’ Celestia and Luna would fit in.

Would they be MILFs? GILFs? More like Demi-Goddeses Whose Massive Tits I’d Wanna Bury Me Head Between... DGWMTIWBMHB!

Ayeee~.

Celestia began to speak, which brought Stella back into reality as they continued on their little meander through the courtyard gardens.

“That’s wonderful news, Stella! I’m truly so excited about what the future holds for you two now! Especially so, because I’d like to think Fredrick feels the exact same way about you,” she said.

Stella smiled, and Celestia continued to speak, but with a rather pointed air of cute inquisitiveness:

“But something tells me that there’s going to be... juicier details to follow...”

Stella leveled a cheeky smirk right back at her, more than willing to engage in some light banter given the lighthearted conversational ambience.

“And what makes ye say that, Princess?” she asked.

Celestia giggled, and angled her head towards her with faux incredulity.

“Because I’m most certain that you—a mare of your stature and etiquette—would not waste a head of state’s time telling her something that she already suspected in the first place,” the Solar Alicorn said, and punctuated with a tactical wink.

A wink in which Stella heard ‘spill the beans’ loud and clear. Just as planned.

It was Stella’s turn to chuckle.

“Very true, Yer Highness. Well, the reason I asked tae see you personally... is because of how close of a friend you are with Fredrick. And from workin’ with him every day.

“If we’re gettin’ down tae brass tacks, I wanna be ready tae propose tae him. When the time is right.”

Celestia positively beamed in the sunlight, and then seemed to hold no qualms in reacting with yet another face-spanning smile:

“OOOOH WONDERFUL!”

She balled her tight hands together and shook her entire body elatedly on the tips of her hooves for a single second... and still emitted that heart-attack-inducing squee of pure joy.

Stella had to admit to herself that not even she was immune to the small display, and a genuine, hearty laugh escaped her mouth.

She needed to chat with Celestia a lot more often.

The Sun Princess then quickly composed herself, ran both her hands through her ethereal mane, and took a deep breath before continuing on.

“This is so amazing! Whenever this happens, I can’t wait to hear of your engagement! Now, what can I do to help make this as smooth as possible?” she asked... rather eagerly at that.

Stella found herself not being able to hide her fangy smile at all. She rarely had energetic talks like this with other mares beyond her sister—dare she say, she was enjoying this a lot more than she’d feel comfortable in admitting.

“Well, it’s not so much what you can do, as much as ‘I’d like some advice on how tae approach this with him and not fuck it up,’” said Stella.

“Oh?” Celestia asked. “In what sense?”

“He’s... kinda let me take the initiative on most things with our relationship. Should I let him propose tae me, as that’s how it almost always was on Earth? Or should I just fuckin’ go fer that shit?”

To those words, the alabaster alicorn was much less readily sure and forthcoming.

“That’s... a very good question, actually...” she mused, and began to stroke her lower lip.

She spoke anew:

“If I remember correctly... exchanging rings was the standard back on Earth as it is here, right? So if that’s the case, I think the method question is trivially answered?”

Stella nodded as the two strode around an unidentified statue.

“Aye. That’s not what I’m really... worried about...”

Celestia inquired:

“What is there to worry about, if I may?”

“Well... ummm... I just. Hmph,” Stella began, then pouted.

Her coherence left her as she fought to formulate exactly what she was feeling into a question. She gesticulated randomly with her hands to help her square her thoughts away from the figurative aether. And from the aether, the unknown began to get to her once more, and her insecurities bubbled up with her more concrete thoughts.

“I don’t know how tae make it... special? I’m not even concerned anymore about when I’ll know... but how tae do this just right?” she asked.

Celestia placed a hand on her shoulder, and once again, Stella felt as if a calming aura diffused through her. Just like that, her doubts were washed away in an almost magical sea of self-assurance.

How the fuck does she do that?!

Celestia gestured towards the edge of another small fountain on their path.

“Sit with me, Stella,” she said.

And as they sat together, the thestral caught a glimpse down the top of Celestia’s work dress. The valley of cream-white cleavage that was on display for fractions of a second was goddamn mesmerizing to her. She nearly let a bit of drool fall out of the corner of her mouth.

Holy fuckin’ fjord, mate,… How in the shit did Fredrick not get blood rot from constant erections around this mare?

I REALLY need tae chat with Celestia more...

The Solar Princess continued:

“I think you may be asking the wrong question here... or at least, asking it from the wrong frame of view.”

“Whaddya mean, Princess?”

“There’s really no special recipe for a proposal. Rather, the ‘special’ part of it is you... well... proposing.

“And I have no reason to believe Fredrick would care in the slightest on where you propose, or what you even propose with if I’m being completely honest.”

Stella smirked at the thought.

“Oh aye? So yer sayin’ I don’t even need a ring? Just show up and say ‘I AM the proposal, cunt!’”

That got Celestia damn-near cackling.

“PFFT, honestly... Yes! And I’m only being a teeny bit facetious.

“Sure, a ring would be as lovely as it is customary... especially one that you customize for him. He would wear it with pride! But I don’t think that’s really an important part of this at all... for you two, at least.”

“No?”

Celestia shook her head once, that same confident, assured smile on her face.

“Not at all. You could probably—right now—go find Fredrick and propose to him with a fried hay nugget from the local diner, and it wouldn’t make the slightest bit of difference...

“So long as you spend the rest of your life with him. Again, I’m only slightly playing.”

Stella covered her mouth so she wouldn’t spit all over Celestia from laughing. But even though she was left somewhat in stitches, she still came away with a little more mental clarity and assurance on one front.

“HAH! That’s... fair, honestly. Aye... Fredrick’s never been one for extravagance. Even so, I still think I could do just a wee bit better than a hay nugget. So I’ll get something custom fer him.

“From the heart, y’know?”

Celestia smiled widely and nodded once.

“I think that would be just swell. And as for how to make this all special...”

Stella spoke up to clarify a little bit.

“Aye, like ye said, me bein’ there is what makes it special. But like... what do I even say? Just gettin’ down on a knee and askin’ him tae marry me? I dunno... I just...”

Celestia chuckled softly.

“Nopony said you have to say that. It’s custom, sure. Cliché for certain. But I guarantee you there’ve been countless versions of that same question.”

Stella bobbed her head in consideration, leaned her face on her hands, and stared at the ground pensively. All that Celestia said was true... and she didn’t feel the standard wordage that went with a standard proposal at all. It felt contrived, for her.

But she couldn’t just say nothing... could she?

“But what else can I say? How else can I do this? Princess I’m sorry if this seems like I’m bein’ retarded or somethin’ but I’m not good with words... I just...

“...I just really really want tae make this so special. Fer him. Fredrick’s me everythin’ and he deserves so much more than I can ever give him. I’m not perfect. I’ve never been one fer too much sap.”

She glanced back up at Celestia.

“But I at least wanna get this right, y’know?”

The Princess smiled warmly.

“Are you sure you’re not good with words? What you said and how you said it really demonstrates to me how much you love him.”

Stella felt her cheeks color at his image and thought... and nodded as she returned the warmness.

“I do love him. So fuckin’ much...”

“Which is why I think you’ll already know what to say when the time comes... and how much, or how little to say.

“And even then, while your vocabulary is... heh, legendary, I would still consider you a mare of action over merely words. At the very least, when it comes to Fredrick.”

“Aye?”

Celestia nodded.

“Very much so. Put it this way, Stella—sometimes when I’ve seen you with him... your actions towards him and around him are so loud, I can’t even hear what you say.”

Stella blinked hard... then felt her eyes widen at those words, and her mouth hang slightly agape in a gentle sigh.

“Y-You really mean that, Yer Highness?”

The alicorn nodded, and then smiled so genuinely, so reassuringly, that Stella suddenly felt like she was being comforted by her own mother.

“I do. And—if we’re being honest here—would you like to know something else?”

Stella nodded once.

“I’m always happy to offer my insight to anypony, but especially to the marefriend of one of my closest friends. Thrilled, actually! But based on everything I’ve heard from you today...

“I really don’t think you needed my help!”

“Au contraire, Princess. Thank you—fer settin’ things straight in me head. Now all I need tae do is actually go grab him a ring and then figure out where tae actually do this...” said Stella.

“I might have a couple suggestions...”

Fredrick, he felt, was an ‘average dude.’ Well, average beyond the whole ‘getting tossed into Equestria’ bit.

As a self-proclaimed average and self-aware dude, Fredrick was in tune with his strengths and weaknesses. One of these weaknesses, in his mind, was that he was oblivious as all fuck. He felt this could be decisively proven when it took him as long as he did to even act on his own (and Stella’s) interest in each other, as well as thinking he was in any way sneaky when trying to have a cheeky look down into the holy depths of her cleavage.

And yet, even as such an oblivious, average dude, something seemed incredibly contrived about the sudden situation.

After Fredrick had unboxed the ceremonial dagger that he would present to Stella upon proposing to her, all that was left was to get a suitable ring, and to also find the ‘perfect’ moment to initiate such a proposal.

It took a couple months of diligent searching, researching, and casually extracting some information out of Stella… such as the size of her ring finger. He masqueraded the question under the guise of discussing the merits of fingerblasting. Based on that, he was able to procure such a ring.

All that remained was to decide when to actually action this plan, going on some suggestions and advice from Midnight.

And then, out of the blue Stella suddenly invited him out on this evening, and told him to wear casual clothes.

This in and of itself was not in any way unusual—Fredrick could attest to that from the hundreds of times that they’ve invited one another out collectively... some in rather obscure manner. Hell, the two of them had five date nights in the past week alone.

But he was getting some hella red flags right now. And for him to get red flags after everything he had gone through up to this point, that only meant that experience was starting to catch up with him. It had all started with something as innocuous as a little lunch date.

Stella—rather pointedly—interjected that they should continue their lunch date later tonight in the form of a nice dinner. In fact, she had already taken the liberty of inviting Sveta down the previous night, as well as possibly hanging out with any of the other usual suspects. A sudden, spontaneous trip southward for Sveta was never possible, which meant that something was already being planned without his knowledge.

But as Fredrick sat on the edge of his bed, he regarded the gorgeous box that Stella’s dagger arrived in with more than a few passing thoughts. He did not consider himself a dimwit in the slightest—he knew that Stella would definitely attempt to propose to him at some point if left to her own devices, much like Schiavona and he had discussed.

But in his humble opinion, it appeared that she had also ‘accelerated her timeline…’ much like he did.

The whole point of this exercise was for him to take the initiative, and while he wouldn’t mind in the slightest if Stella proposed to him, this whole exercise that he schemed with Schiavona would’ve had slightly less of an effect.

Fredrick stood up, snatched the box from its unassuming enclave, and placed it on his bed. He then opened up the top and retrieved both sheath and dagger.

I’m not losing this race.

He took one last meaningful look at both the exposed blade and the sheath, and then combined them into one to slip into his pocket. He covered the exposed hilt with his shirt. He then reached into his nightstand drawer and placed the velvet-blue ring box in his other pocket.

Fredrick didn’t know when the opportunity when meeting up with Stella would present himself. But, if any of the talks with the princesses, Midnight, etc. were to be believed, he’d know it when he’d see it. But it would have to happen tonight, before Stella made her move.

He’d have to push his observational skills to the max, but the payoff would be worth more than its weight in gold.

Fredrick craned his head back to check the clock. He had fifteen minutes to be where Stella requested him—the Castle Proving Grounds. He figured she was in the final stages of observing and commenting on lessons that Schneeblume was giving her troops.

And that meant he had just enough time to make good on his word.

So it begins. The Grandest Yeet of our time.

Fredrick sprinted down the Solar Quadrant towards Celestia’s bedroom…

…and right on queue, two Royal Solar Honor Guards stepped out of the shadows when he got too close, and intercepted his path towards his best friend’s room.

“Halt—oh! Mr. Himmelreich!” said the unknown mare on the left.

The tall, built mare on the right, however, was just the one that Fredrick wanted to see.

“Freddie!” Midnight exclaimed. “The Princess isn’t in her room at the moment—not sure when she’ll be back, if you’re looking for her.”

Fredrick, catching his breath, just stared into Midnight’s eyes in that specific way… and it seemed that she understood exactly what he meant after a couple seconds of silence.

She blinked.

“Wait… Right now?” she asked, her emerald eyes widening and mouth creasing into a smile.

“Yeah. Proving Grounds. Ten minutes. Stella’s planning something and I’m not taking any chances, so I’m going for it. Can you make it?”

Midnight answered with more than an excited, emphatic nod.

“YES! I’ll be there, and I’ll help you buy the time you need to make sure you can do this shit first,” she offered.

Fred didn’t get a chance to even ask for elaboration to that before she pivoted on her hooves.

“Hey Star? Cover for me please? I gotta deal with the fate of the planet,” Midnight asked.

Thankfully, her comrade seemed more than accommodating.

“You got it! Do what you gotta do!”

“And I know just the thing…” said Midnight.

Fredrick watched her sprint down the hall as she called back.

“I’ll see you there, Freddie!”

Fredrick called back as he turned on his own heels and began to power walk away.

“See you soon!”

He took a deep breath as he set on his next path.

Time to bag me a cute, Scottish, batpony wife.

As you might expect, next chapter is going to be fuck-you level length. It'll be a doozy, but well worth it and necessary. See you then!