To Serve a Prince...ess (Open, see OOC)

[Blueblood]

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It was a common joke, among the other cities, that Canterlot was so full of snobs that the local maids would look down their nose at the servantry from other cities.  There was a half-truth in there; many a family butler had as long and, to him, as proud a lineage as his master or mistress.  They were proud of their positions of service, and most were really elite in their class.  But this below-stairs aristocracy, like most nobility, made up but a fraction of the necessary staff of the Great Houses.  And thus, from time to time, those houses must look for ponies to do the work within...

 

House Blueblood was long overdue for such a renewal of employment, not the least of which because the current sole member had recently undergone an involuntary gender-swap.  The domestic routine had not gone undisturbed by the change...

 

"What do you mean, 'we are out of coffee'?"  Princess Bluebelle asked, somewhat bleary-eyed and rather displeased, over a breakfast.

 

"Well, things have rather been... crazy, lately, what with you traveling about.  One hardly knows how to plan when the mas-, er, mistress, is always out, and taking half the staff!"  The Kitchen maid was clearly not intimidated, and rebutted the mare's demands with a tone starched stiff with propriety.

 

"You might have stocked extra..."  Bluebelle attempted to protest, but trailed off.  It wasn't so much that the staff had grown insubordinate, so much that the Head of the House no longer possessed the force to order them about.  This was due to personal discombobulation and distraction, along with a growing consciousness that a lot of work was now being put on a small group.  Hopefully, today would alleviate that.

 

Today, the round of applications sent out via post would bring in their harvest, along with one or two personal conversations.  In an hour or two, the first ponies would start arriving to fill up vacancies, shore up morale, and hopefully get the pantry re-stocked...

[SteelEagle]

Valencia studied herself in the mirror, taking a deep breath as she studied herself. This was going to be a highly unusual, if educational, time in her life. Just two weeks ago she never would have imagined this happening, whether as a dream or a nightmare or some ironic combination of the two. But here she was, a house servant in Princess Bluebelle's manor and for...a rather indeterminate time, at that. Luckily it was during the summer or else ponies would ask many questions and even for a pony used to answering uncomfortable questions and the misdirection that came with her answers, it would be hard to explain this away. Losing all that academy time that some ponies yearned for in the summer was one thing when you were just a normal student, but the only son of one of the leading business families of Manehattan was expected to put the work in!

And she did, but not as a son. Her real name was Valen Orange and she was many things. Only son of the Oranges. Top in her class dancer and essayist (well, not that it was difficult mind you). Filly fashion supermodel Gilded Lilly. Beloved celebrity and celebrated nopony and everything in between. She had always been a little strange to her parents, but it was his friendship with Miss Rarity and the modeling career that came along that turned everything upside down. She spent more time as Gilded than Valen some months, and found she rather enjoyed much of it. Her head swam with possibilities, some of them far too deep for a pony like her to contemplate. So she had sought out the advice of Equestria's newest Princess, most well known Prince, and pony with the most experience with such questions. The answers weren't forthcoming, but an opportunity did. An opportunity fraught with as much trepidation, to the degree that Valen had needed pushing.

In the end, Valen was indeed pushed to the side and Valencia was now here. She was to become a new servant of Princess Blueblood, where for an extended duration Bluebelle would help Valencia discover who she was. The most likely possibility was that she was a colt just going through some normal confusion, amplified by lifestyle. No matter what the answer, the only way Bluebelle had thought likely to find it was to dive deep into the warm waters of mystery and be somepony else. And not in the way that Valen was Gilded. Gilded was always in many ways an act. A diva attitude, a restless spirit yearning against restraints. None of these things were Valen. The voice would still need work, but that was easy enough. A simple locket hung across her neck, enchanted by a specialist doctor in Seaddle. It changed her voice- she sounded like a filly, and with small amounts of work she could change her accent. It had a twenty four hour charge, meaning if it was removed the magic would wear off after twenty four hours. That was easy. Part of the exercise was mental- she instead of he, even internally. See if it felt good. If it wanted to stick against the glue-walls of her burgeoning id.
 

The physical part was easy. She was, after all, in some quarters, a super model. Valencia made a concerted effort to not go for the same wild-maned, wild-child sort of physicality that came with that, however. She carried herself with some rigidity but not too much, as befit a high class pony who wasn't entirely stiff backed and wooden in manner. Her mane was put in a bun professionally. She had been given a large credit line by the Princess to take care of matters, and part of that had been on high quality, long lasting, great endurance tail extensions. Nothing dramatic, but enough to be then be braided and oiled together, falling and curling in such a fashion as to aid her more feminine appearance. She had washed and washed and washed again with not only the highest quality of materials from the modeling circuit, but from some royal care service materials as well.

Her pelt was soft, unearthly so. Over the past few days even a light breeze had sent goosebumps up and down her back. In modeling this was called the gilded mile, and it was terrible at first. Distracting, not fun. But after you got past it, the feeling was wonderful- every sensation of fabric and feeling seemed heightened. There was some scientific mumbo jumbo about accumulated oils and dirt on the pelt caused nerves to respond less aggressively to sensation and after you cleaned it all away, it was like experiencing all anew. Maybe that was true. She had also made a big move. Since she couldn't count on doing this at the Manor often, she had used a somewhat enchanted form as given to her by a zebra friend. Two hours soak, one hour rub, but then not drying it off- it dried on her, and then sealed it as if she was doing it for the next three months. Big move, but not the only one. The important thing was getting used to it, even if it still felt wonderful. In the past few days she had begun, and hopefully completed, this process.
 

This meant clothes. But not just normal clothes, clothes fit for service. She had seen servants at Bluebelle's Manor before and sought to emulate them. She had used the credit line offered to purchase three sets of the same general uniform, and one set of more generic clothing. The service uniforms were standard. A black with white trim one-piece dress with a full skirt slight below knee length on the back legs, and halfway down the forearm of the front legs. A ruffled white apron. A lace headpiece that fit snugly. White stockings with frills. High class Mary Janes. Yes, she did look the part.

It was this image that she studied in the mirror in front of her in the hotel not far from Bluebelle's manor. For two weeks she had been in this room, venturing out to get materials and clothes. It had allowed her to prepare herself, physically and mentally, for the journey. It was smart to do this. She couldn't have done this in Manehattan. She knew too many ponies. In Canterlot, she was alone. A nopony. She could be Valencia and nopony would be all the wiser.

Still, now that the day was here, she was scared a little. Even here in the safety of her room she had struggled thinking of herself as Valencia and not Valen. It seemed a minor thing but it was the crux of the matter. If Valencia were to discover her true self, she needed to be willing to commit entirely. And once she left this room, she had to. No second guesses. No taking it back. She didn't even know of the others knew. Perhaps Bluebelle had told everypony, and they would all help. Or hinder. Or she'd be led down one path and would believe that was the answer. Maybe none of them knew. Maybe they knew and she would be tested, or maybe they didn't know and seeing how she worked with them was the test.

 

Valencia sighed, rubbing the earrings she had been given by a friend in Ponyville. Whenever she rubbed them, just a pair of basic silver earrings without studs or any extravagant markings she felt calmer. As if something was speaking to her. Made her feel more confident. “Get yourself together, Valencia. This is a big day for you!” She said to herself, a smile breaking out after a while. Today was indeed going to be big, one way or another. Valencia got dressed and turned her locket, adjusting the accent until it was just right- and then, with a gulp knowing it wouldn't go away for a long while, set it.

She then packed everything up. It didn't take long. Valencia had come to Canterlot with absolutely nothing. Bluebelle had provided many documents for Valencia, and those were already at her place of employment save basic identification in case she was asked for it. Everything else fit in two suitcases. One for the clothes, another for the materials. With a nervous sigh, Valencia exited the hotel and made her way to the Manor, which wasn't far at all.

Knock knock knock.

[Arcus]

In the Royal Equestrian Army's large, complex barracks, you would find the resident guards doing many, many things. Groups of new recruits, fresh from their initial briefings on military life, streamed through the imposing front doors regularly. There were the enlisted guards, either sitting down to rest from training, or getting up to start. The officers, both warrant and commissioned, rushing around to do paperwork, start training exercises, and help manage the lives of their soldiers in general. The barracks was like a well-oiled machine, every pony inside an essential part in making it run.

But now, imagine that a certain part needed to break off, to help in running another machine. What would happen then? Well, in one of the many officer quarters, we'd soon find out...

"... Is this enough? Should I pack more? Ugh..." Arcus' sigh rang through the sparsely decorated room, his piercing gaze currently directed at a half-packed saddlebag, its contents spilling out the top.

There wasn't much to see in this particular guard's quarters. Just a collection of random paperwork stacked on a bedside table, polishing rags and an armor stand littered in one corner, and of course, a large closet. After all, why bring what wasn't necessary? Arcus had always believed in that. It sure helped him in designing his room! Now, if only that same motto would help him in packing...

His packing was abruptly interrupted, however, by a loud, seemingly practiced knock upon the door. Well, Arcus would definitely know that. He had taught the new recruits in basic for some time, after all. After a few seconds, however, he was surprised to find that the door made no other sound, nor did it swing open. Rolling his eyes, and chuckling internally, Arcus left his saddlebags on the floor, quickly trotting to the door. Rude to keep someone waiting, after all.

Opening it, he found a quite frazzled-looking silver pegasus stallion. Much shorter than him, as most ponies were, Arcus raised an eyebrow, his unintentionally intense gaze seemingly drilling into the other, causing him to momentarily lose the power of speech.

"I- uh, sir..." The stallion stuttered, visibly in fright. He'd literally just gone through the front gates, fresh from his briefing, and he'd already been ordered to take a message to a officer! Normally, he'd be quite screwed, having to bring over a message to a officer who he didn't know at all, but luckily, this was LTC. Arcus, and he was known for cutting newbies some slack. He'd been one once, after all...

"At ease, soldier, and permission to enter granted. New recruit?" Arcus chuckled, doing an about-face, and trotting back into his room. "Close the door behind you, by the way. General etiquette."

The stallion was quite understandably, confused. Why wasn't he being given a hundred-decibel loud verbal knockdown right now? Did he somehow reach, like, the accounting office, or something? He definitely knew that he was doing things wrong, but apparently, so did this officer.

He just got lucky. Yeah, that must be it!

"Sir, yes sir! Also, sir, um, logistics asks if you're done packing, sir." He blurted out, somewhat more relaxed, but still quite on his guard. After all, these officers could do anything...

"Ah, getting impatient already, I see. Well, tell them that I'll be out in a bit. Just a few bits and bobs to clear up..." Arcus replied, pausing for a moment, before shaking his head, scribbling something, perhaps a note, on a piece of paper. Turning his gaze back to the stallion, he took a step forward, hoofing the paper over to the stallion.

"On second thought, just give the logistics office this. I guess I'm ready to go." Arcus sighed, turning one last time, and zipping up his saddlebags. "Now, Private... D'Angelo? Did I read that right?" He squinted, staring at the other's name patch.

"Sir, yes sir!" D'Angelo replied, looking much more confident. At least he wasn't getting punished! And he'd actually delivered the message!

"You'd better hurry along to initial training. You have a lot to learn, soldier." Arcus chuckled, hefting the sizable saddlebags onto his back. Indeed, this soldier had a lot to learn. He would face many hardships, rise about numerous challenges, and test the strength of his will. Arcus had faced those obstacles before, of course. And like many other officers, he put his faith in the recruits that they may overcome these challenges as well. But for today... "Permission to leave, granted. You may go."

"Sir, thank you, sir!" The private hastily replied, rushing out the door, and back to wherever he had run from. Huh, didn't even salute, or close the door, but he'd learn. Eventually, anyway. Giving his room a last fleeting look of goodbye, Arcus sighed. He knew that it would be hard, like any other time he had to leave for an assignment, to do so. He practically... Well, scratch that, he did live here. He'd spent many nights in these halls, under these roofs, on these pristine floors. And no matter how many times he'd say goodbye...

It would always hurt. A little, anyway. It dulls, once you've gone through the amount of missions he has. But it'd always be there.

"I'll be back soon, I promise. No matter how long soon might be." Arcus chuckled, trotting out the door, and pulling it closed as he did so. Turning to lock it, the keys jangled in his hooves, before they went back into a compartment in his saddlebags. Now, to find the deployment office... Oh.

Well, that definitely didn't take long.

A short while later, Arcus found himself in front of a large, round desk, filling up paperwork yet again.

Dear Celestia, would the paper ever end?

It did, eventually, however, and after filling out the forms in triplicate, Arcus hoofed them over to the mare at the desk with a sigh of relief. Finally, finally he'd be able to leave. But to leave where, you ask?

Well, he'd found that a deployment request had entered the offices by post. A deployment request for an Honor Guard, for none other than Prince Blueblood himself. Understandably, the privates all wanted to do so. After all, it was to honor to be... well, an Honor Guard. Anything that would look amazing on their service record, oh, they'd definitely take. Since the applications for the positions were to be reviewed, the deployment office was swarmed with dozens upon dozens of quickly written, haphazardly arranged applications. Among them, however, were some applications almost lost in the surge, but eventually, found and taken. Applications under the names of "Crusader", "Revenir", and a couple of others. The deployment office was honestly, quite surprised to see an officer apply. After all, didn't they have many other things to manage? However, that didn't really apply in this particular case, because in Arcus' own words...

"Well, the 'Guardians' are more than capable of organizing themselves. And there's always help, if needed!"

And indeed, they were. Letting the unit be scrambled to another officer, Arcus quickly found that his track record let him pass the requirements extraordinarily quickly, and after another wave of paperwork, meetings and the like, he found himself where he was now.

Trotting out the barracks gates, with his deployment orders in his hooves. You didn't normally see many guards openly trotting out in the streets, but hey, it sure cleared the crowds!

Under his orders, Arcus was to report directly to House Blueblood, which he found quite quickly. After all, you cannot just simply ignore the houses that belonged to nobility. And, as he came in view of the front door, the stares from ponies all around confirmed the fact that he too, was quite hard to ignore. After all, you don't always see fully-armored and fully-armed guardsponies everyday... Unless you were one, of course!

Coming to the door itself, Arcus was quite surprised to find himself standing behind a peculiarly dressed filly, who was in the process of knocking on the manor's door. Huh. Turning his eyes back to his deployment orders, Arcus shrugged, and started silently rereading them for the umpteenth time. Well, as silently as a metal-clad guard could.

Can't be too sure, after all.

Plus, what kind of guard would he be to disturb somepony else's business?

Maybe she had something important to do inside, who knows?

Time to play the waiting game, I guess...

[Lyipheoryia]

Starry sighed as she closed her eyes.  Her hoof smoothed over the soft fabric, and she wondered what colour the dress was.  Her eyes sparkled in the light, it's dark hue like an ebony stone.  Three sets of apparel were levitated in front of her, and she knew that choosing the right one could make all the difference.  The first set was called "Moonlight Essence".  It had been sold to her on a hot market day in Ponyville by a young designer.  The dress was long and layered in gradients of blue, small pearls and tiny specks of diamond trimming the edges.  The hoofbag that accompanied it was petit and high class, its faux leather and faux fur soft and warm against her touch.  The white gold horseshoes were one of the best she had ever felt-the design careful and precise.  She had bought the set for an incredible amount of bits-including a gold necklace with an infinity sign and two dangling pearl earnings.  She remembered that hot sunny day...it was the day she had known of the offer.

 

The offer had been simple: Join part of Princess Bluebelle's staff; the application process had been much harder.  It took her weeks to decide whether or not she wanted to join the staff-to take a break from her current position at the Royal Canterlot Observatory as the Astrophysicist in Infrared Astronomy.  She had just started maintaining a schedule, her life suddenly ordered and calm.  She had to admit-she had missed the craziness and sudden way things had always turned out.  She missed the crazy crowds and the popular game.  She missed the gossip news and royal galas.  She missed the invitations and discussions with those in fellow likeness as herself-intelligent ponies.  She missed the running and the movement of the day and the life and the crowds and the business and...she missed being unique.  But then-she had hesitated when she heard of the offer.  Because, despite all the excitement she had hoped for, part of her wanted to establish a schedule, a routine.  Part of her wanted to stay the "good filly" to her father for a while, if even for a little bit.  Part of her wanted to forget the offer and to just pretend things were as they were a few moments ago. 

 

The seconds set of apparel was nicknamed "Feminine Formal" by her.  It was a pink business suit, strict and formal.  The pink horseshoes that came with it had a bit of a heel, clattering when she walked.  The simple rose stud and lack of necklace hadn't been her first choice, but her father had insisted she buy something formal for format get-togethers with fellow intellectuals.  After years of being apart from her father, she didn't mind buying one or two hideous clothing items "for" him.  She didn't really want to wear this-but it was a formal occasion.  And it was a formal meeting with fellow intellects: a meeting with the Princess. 

 

The application process had gotten much simpler after she sorted through her wishes and decided she wanted to join the staff.  All she had to do was fill in a small form on her credentials, the position she wished to offer, and her experience.  She had asked her best friend, Lyi, to help her write it as she dictated.  Most ponies there thought of it with a simple explanation-Lyi had better hoofwriting than she did.  It was true-or not.  She had never seen her own hoofwriting before, much less actually written anything with her hoof.  Some ponies thought she was too much of a noob to dirty her hooves or magic with the black ink.  Others thought she had just been lazy.  No, they were all wrong.  The truth was-she couldn't write.  Not with her hoof.  It was a problem that came with being blind.

 

The third set was her favourite-but slightly inappropriate for a formal meeting.  It was eccentric and sharp-just like her!  The white cloth dress was loose and informal, billowing in whatever breeze it could find.  It had a V-neck and draped in skeletal strips of canvas cloth across her back.  The dress itself wasn't eccentric, but what it accompanied was.  The dress worked wonders pared with all her earrings on, and especially with some punk jewelry and spikes.  The dress wasn't long like the "Moonlight Essence", and stopped just above her knees.  Her rings of tattoos sparkled in the sun.  With her mane braided to the side, she looked like an abstract painting-beautiful in the eyes of those that saw it the way she did.  And she didn't see it.  In fact-she couldn't see.  She relied purely on what Lyi told her-and she trusted her best friend very much.

 

She gave her infrared clock an infrared look with her infrared spell, gasping at the time it displayed.  By the Sun!  She was going to be late!  She jumped into her designated choice of clothing, before hurrying out the door.  She knew where she had to report-the Princess's House.  She remembered how Lyi had described it to her, and envisioned it in her mind.  POP!  She teleported herself beside two ponies, and cast her infrared spell to "check them out".  A young filly, a fully-armoured guard...where do I fit in?  Her white dress truly did make her feel unique.

[Blueblood]

After breakfast and as many cups of tea as she felt would fortify her nerves, Princess Bluebelle approached the drawing room, where the applicants would be shown in.  Time was, not so very long ago, that they would have been firmly redirected to the servant's entrance, but in recent times it had become increasingly clear that such high-horse tendencies were neither in vogue for royalty, nor likely to make a comeback anytime soon.  Which was frankly a bit of a relief for the royal mare, since that would have made put least two out of the four of her new applicants on the wrong foot immediately.  After all, once you've come in through the front door, it is a personal slight to be directed to a lesser portal.

 

There were only three, however, upon her arrival, which was unfortunate but not worth getting irritated over.  After all, Dunder always did have problems with authority, though that begged the question of why he applied in the first place.  She'd have to ask about that...

 

"Ah, welcome!"  She made sure to smile for all of them, to help in putting them at their ease.  Given the positions they were applying for, the last thing Bluebelle wanted to do was start on the wrong hoof.  "Thank you all for coming.  I've read over your applications, so we needn't go over anything there for my sake.  But I don't think any of you know each other...?"  At least, the background checks hadn't uncovered anything.  Still, giving them time to introduce themselves to each other would give her time to refresh her own memory about them all, and to get a good first impression of them in pony.

 

Of course, this wasn't technically the first time Bluebelle had met Valencia.  The young Valen Orange had sought her out after learning of her involuntary transformation, seeking some advice, or perhaps just empathy, to sort through his own confusions.  Psychologically, of course, their cases weren't really all that similar; with Blueblood having been transformed and dealing with it as best he could, and Valen considering a kind of transformation, and being in turmoil about it.  Bluebelle had suggested a trial run (something she hadn't had the luxury of) to test the young colt'd desires, and now the result stood before her.

The Princess had to admit, it was a very convincing get-up.  She'd provided the documentation, of course, but that would have been worth nothing if the pony him-herself hadn't been up to the task.  "I'm glad to see you made it alright.  The journey wasn't too difficult, I hope?"  She said to the prospective maid, offering a question with more than its superficial meaning.  After all, if this all turned out to be a disaster, the resulting trauma it would rather be her fault...

 

Best not dwell on that too much.  After all, Valencia had come here specifically because the spotlight wouldn't be on her all the time.  Onto applicant number 2, Arcus.  At least this was straightforward, if a little beyond her competency.  "Captain Star Crusader is currently patrolling; she'll be the one doing your evaluation when she returns.  From what I have read, however, I have full confidence you will do well." 

 

And that left applicant number three.  Starry Requiem was, in her own way, a celebrity of sorts, and today she'd dressed to look the part.  White dress, cut perfectly to show off both tattoos and piercings.  Nopony looking at her would even begin to think that she had applied for a position in the oldest and most prestigious household in Canterlot!  Bluebelle looked her up and down, twice, before venturing to speak.  "I see... that you have decided not to hide any facts about yourself.  I suppose that's somewhat promising, considering the position that you are applying for."  The Prince had long been in need of remedial magical tutoring, and the fact that he had suddenly been changed into a Princess only reinforced this fact.  Given her unusual circumstances, therefore, it was hardly odd that Starry would herself be unusual...

[SteelEagle]

Valencia had seen more than a few guardsponies in her day and didn't thnk twice at first when out of the corner of her eye she saw one approach. But she did start to think that perhaps this was something she should devote at least some worry to as the guard drew closer and closer, heavier hoofsteps sending fine echoes of metallic hustle and bustle to and fro. And then the heavy hoofsteps came to a stop behind her, and she finally allowed herself some worry. Why would the guard just be there? Bluebelle's guards were already inside. Right? Who just walked about in their armor as if they were counting on the average citizens of Canterlot to start something that required a fully armored guard to settle? It didn't feel right. For lack of a better word, it was unsettling, and she was worried he was here for her. For some strange reason. The nervousness didn't go away without some fight, after all.

Her thoughts on the matter were shortchanged quickly by the sudden and inevitable crazyness of some Equestrian magic, in this case that rarer breed called teleportation, that zapped a trendy looking mare nearby. This caused the filly to jump a little and give a more nervous laugh, this time out of her comfort zone. Guard was one thing, it was strange but not unheard of. But teleporting mares was another thing! And now there were two strangers around Valencia in front of Bluebelle's mansion. Well, one was enough to make her ask a question and two were enough for her to answer it. They were likely all hear to serve the same general goal, though Valencia had a hard time seeing the guard clean and the tattoo'd mare follow any of Bluebelle's orders.

The mare herself made her smiling face known not long after, after they had been allowed into the drawing room. Unusual, Valencia had always heard that servants were to be directed through the servant's entrance. No matter. This was good. The others followed- yes, they were here for the same reason. That was a goodish sign, right? It was always pleasant to see others making the same choice as you. Bluebelle greeted them, made the observation that it was unlikely they knew one another or had met, and then asked Valencia how her travel had been. Depending on one's definition of a journey it was either short and fine, harrowing but promising, or tumultuous and ongoing. The last two answers were not necessarily appropriate however, so Valencia decided to head down the more pleasant path.

“Aw'm hahppy to report that aw mahde it juss fine, no problems on the way,” Valencia said, happy that the accent she had chosen seemed to work out fine. It would have taken her years to perfect it otherwise. “And aw doan think we've meeachothah quite yeh, ma'am,” She continued, looking at her compatriots.  

[Arcus]

Do you know what it feels like to have a mare suddenly appear right beside you, exactly when you least expect it?

 

Oh, wait, you probably do, if you've ever lived with your mom...

 

Anyway! 

 

Arcus was surprised when exactly that happened, as he waited along with the little filly. A tattooed mare, dressed in a simple, yet elegant white dress, appearing out of absolutely nowhere, and managing to surprise even him, a feeling apparently shared by the filly, as she gave off a nervous laugh of her own. Huh. Was she here for... Oh, yeah, she was.

 

His questions were quickly answered, as the odd trio was led into what appeared to be the mansion's drawing room. Now he wouldn't really say it out loud, being basically on duty, and all, but he thought the mansion was quite... beautiful, to say the least. It made him question what he expected, though. This was still House Bluebl-... Ah. Right.

 

Y'know, it was a good thing she was here immediately, or Arcus might've forgotten about that one, teeny, weeny bit of info...

 

Prince Blueblood got turned into a mare. 

 

Mhmm.

 

Even after being briefed on the matter, it was still quite different, seeing it for himself. Even being a pegasus, Arcus was still quite interested in the magical feats of his unicorn compatriots, and it looked like this was the result of quite a advanced one. After all, one does not simply change gender because of some random acci-

 

... Hmm? What was that? It was an accident?

 

Oh, yeah, I guess that bit, he did forget... But it somehow only made it all the more impressive to him. 

 

Equally as impressive, however, were the words he caught Princess Bluebelle speaking, as she addressed him. Captain Star Crusader? He didn't really recognize the name, for she probably didn't belong to his unit, but the rank, he definitely did. Working with a fellow officer, huh? This definitely wasn't the first time Arcus had done so, being in the guard for as long as he is, but still, it gave him quite the relief to know that he would be working for someone he could trust. 

 

"Thank you, ma'am." Arcus replied, nodding respectfully in response to Bluebelle's words. 

 

Hey, he- she! She was still royalty! Ugh, this would take some time...

 

It looks like he would get the mentioned time, however, as Princess Bluebelle mentioned something about "knowing each other". Something that caused the filly to glance curiously over as she spoke in that accent of hers, both at him, and the mare... Oh, wait, introductions.

 

Something that definitely hasn't happened between the three...

 

"Yes, we don't really... know each other. I just arrived here myself, ma'am." He added, looking over at his two companions. From their looks, he could already feel that they had much more interesting things to tell about themselves....

 

And so, he held his tongue, and decided to wait. After all, he managed other ponies half his time...

 

What harm would there be in letting others go first, sometime?

[Lyipheoryia]

She stood there, sensing the others beside her.  There was a stallion-presumably a royal guard based on the heavy clatter of his hoofsteps.  He had been surprised to see her sudden appear, but he hid his shock well.  The filly beside was not from around, lacking the Canterlite scent of magic spells and heavy Prench perfume.  She had not bothered to hide her shock, giving a little cry and a little laugh to accompany it.  Starry didn't mind that-it was a hundred times better than some other reactions she had received in the past.  They stood in silence, and her hoof brushed the white dress that she wore.

 

Most ponies wouldn't give a second thought about their clothes, much less a simple white dress.  But-to a blind mare-looks were more than deceiving; they were reputation, they were her life.  Without the ability of her sight to give her the grand entrance she deserved, she relied on looks.  The white dress was something she was comfortable wearing.  It revealed all of her, hiding nothing.  Canterlite's were easily fooled: wear Moonlight Essence, and they would have called her a high-class social mare; wear Feminine Formal, and they would know she was all business in a girly, mare-ish sort of way.  But this-it was...odd.  Like her.  Eccentric.  The dress had been custom ordered from the designer Duchess le Chandelier.  The designer herself was mute and deaf, and the two had instantly became friends.  Canterlite's could be fooled-but family?  Never.  She and the Princess weren't truly cousins, but they both had royal blood within them.  The last things she would want to do is to wear a fraud's cloak, an actress's dress, or a liar's horseshoes.  This dress was all her.  Fully, without doubt, her.

 

The Princess extended her welcomes to each one of them, presenting her insights on their individual's covers.  It had not been something she had expected.  She seemed to know the filly well from before, and looked towards her with warm hooves.  To the stallion, she was a bit colder.  She presented the fact and showed her expectations.  Simple.  Clean.  Very good for Royal Guards.  To her, though-it was almost all opinion.  Of course, the words weren't meant to sting-but they did anyways.  The tone in her voice, the way she presented the words.  It was...almost as if she was judging her.  Like all the others.

 

Would you like to know what it's like to be blind?  To have ponies judging you all the time?

What's wrong with her?

Eww...her eyes are like-so weird.

You're creepy.

Why are your eyes all black?

Can you see me?

What are you-blind?  Oh wait-sorry.  Not.

Did you do your mane today?

Do you know what you're wearing?

What colour is the sky today?

 

Some of the word hurt.  Some of them weren't meant to hurt.  But they hurt anyways.  And having a Princess tell you: "that you have decided not to hide any facts about yourself," borderlined on offensive.  All of the other ponies replied in the most thoughtful, royalty-deserving ways of speech.  She looked at him straight in the eye, removing her beloved shades and opening the dark abyss that lay behind them-"You look nice,".  They were simple words, not meant to address royalty.  They were strange and unfamiliar, ironic to her.  If this Princess wanted her to teach her well-she was going to start looking after her words more often.

[Blueblood]

Over the years in the public spotlight, Prince Blueblood had developed a reputation for saying, and doing, things beyond the pale of etiquette.  Sometimes these were slip-ups, other times they were deliberate snubs.  Very few ponies, however, had called him out on his behavior, until a certain mare at a certain Gala told him in no uncertain terms that such behavior was not to be tolerated.  Since then, he (and now she) had been working to improve their public persona and behavior.

 

This long experience told Princess Bluebelle that, somehow, she'd said the wrong thing to Starry.  The mare's reaction had all the signs of one cooly tamping down on ticked-off emotions, though the Princess was darned if she knew what exactly had gone wrong.  New concerns for right behavior warred with the social norms within her.  Really, what did she expect Bluebelle's reaction to be to her punk stylings?  When combined with the fact that she was still smarting from an earlier confrontation with her maids, she was much less inclined to take this lying down.  Even the pure black eyes staring back at her failed to intimidate.

 

"Miss Starry," She began, staring right back.  "The last time I met anypony with that many tattoos, it ended in an absolute debacle of love-potion darts, barrages of jelly-filled pastries, four dozen prematurely launched fireworks, and the personal animosity of the most feared admiral in the Equestrian Airship Fleet.  Not an incident I care to repeat, most especially within my own house."  She let out a huff of breath.  Steady on, don't want to go too far.  "But like I said, you've obviously the confidence that your aptitudes will outweigh that impression, and I appreciate that.  Also..."  She tilted her head slightly, and smiled, though Starry would have to judge her mood by the tone of her voice.  "You have quite lovely eyes.  Very reflective."  *By Celestia, I look gorgeous in a black mirror.  Must remember to commission one.*  "I wish you wouldn't cover them up with those glasses."

 

There, incident resolved.  Hopefully.  Now to the rest of the applicants.  "Well, as none of you yet seem to be willing to give each other your names, I'll handle the introductions.  Arcus, Starry, this is Valencia Orange.  I don't know if you know the family; I have a passing acquaintance with them, and one of them asked if I had a position for their daughter, who wished to move here to Canterlot."  At any rate, that was the cover story she and Valen had come up with together, complete with an artfully written letter.  Just informal enough to not invite scrutiny, and commonplace enough to not trigger it.

"Valencia, Starry, this is... Lieutenant Arcus, if I have the ranking right?  You came recommended by your C.O., as I recall, when you requested this post."  Indeed, a rather lengthy list of accoutrements and accomplishments had been submitted supplementary to the original application.  It spoke well for the quality of his service, unless his unit really wanted to get rid of him.  But Bluebelle was pretty sure her own honor guard would have raised red flags if that were the case.

"And finally, Valencia, Arcus, this is Starry Requiem, something of a... society figure, I suppose you could say."  That was the phrase used for ponies who regularly made the papers for a variety of reasons, or no reason at all.  Starry was, fortunately, the former.  "She's applied for the position of... well, remedial magic tutor."  There was always something... slightly embarrassing for a unicorn to admit the need for something like that.  Still, Blue had faced worse humiliations before.

 

"I'm expecting another as well, but he doesn't seem to have arrived yet."

[SteelEagle]

It was time to meet the others and it was the Princess who provided the introductions, as it was well met to be. First it was Valencia, which was fine by her- get it over quick and easy. She gave a small bow of her head as she was introduced, and then spoke to confirm the cover story. “Yeaw, my family wanted to make sure I got myself the very best experience inallah Cantahlot so here aw am, at Heah Highnesses' beckandcall,” Valencia said with as much class as she could manage, which wasn't much considering she was more than a little nervous still. She finished her bow and stood straight, trying to press into herself the standard of service the Princess was likely to demand. No doubt either way though, she was the least impressive pony here. One was a guard and another some sort of famous one, and here she was, just some schmuck. And that was exactly as she liked it in the end.

The guard was Lieutenant Arcus, and he seemed the polite enough sort which was good news for her. Likely no invasive questions. And anypony who came to work for the princess coming from the Guard outside of her domain could only mean he was well qualified for his job. That was good and all, if a little strange- Valencia had believed this was purely an effort to find house staff, not new guards. Maybe with recent events the needs for guards had become more pronounced. Either way, Valencia smiled. “Nice to meetcha, Mistah Ahcus. Hopefully we doan needtasee whatcha can do, yeaw?” Valencia asked, hoping beyond hope he wasn't some sort of glory hound. That could lead to a lot of trouble and as impressive as it was to see a Guard in action on projector shows, it was likely less fun to see it in-pony.

The last of trio was here as Bluebelle's remedial magic instructor. That didn't strike a colt as too embarrassing, though he had heard snickering in Manehattan when such things were brought up. Magic was such an ethereal, hard to quantify subject that no doubt took time to master. And it seemed something that ponies would need to work on throughout life, so why there was this stigma about remedial magical learning Valencia couldn't tell you. What she could tell you was that this mare certainly didn't seem the type, which meant she had to be qualified to a great degree to get this position despite all of the obvious difficulties culturally. “Nice to meetcha, Missuss Stahhy. Aw'll be happy tosee how cool youse magic is, love myself some wicked cool magic,” She said, being truthful there. Magic was fun to see.

“Hopefully the fawrth comes soon, doanwanna hold it up any.”

[Arcus]

As Bluebelle introduced the others, Arcus had stayed silent, his gaze resting briefly on each individual as they were introduced, except himself, of course, even though the Princess had gotten his rank wrong. Bah, it wouldn't matter, anyway. He was here to serve, and honestly, a rank wouldn't help much in a fight.

 

Moving on to his companions, however, they proved to be quite interesting...

 

Valencia Orange, the filly who seemed to be the most acquainted with the Princess, and of course, the one who was speaking to him...

 

"A pleasure to meet you, Miss Orange." He replied, nodding respectfully towards the filly. Best experience in all of Canterlot, huh? Well, Arcus could testify to that. You couldn't really get a better job than serving under royalty, after all... Or so Arcus thought, at least. Maybe that was just the guard in him talking. Speaking of guarding, actually... What he can do, huh? I guess this filly was just more curious than she looked.

 

"Well, I hope so as well, ma'am. I may be here to protect, but it would be much better if there were no threats at all." He smiled, a rare thing for the normally stoic and silent lieutenant colonel to do. Briefly looking downwards at his hooves, he looked back up, a more determined look now prevalent in his eyes. 

 

"But of course, I would not hesitate to take action against one." He added, before dropping back into his usual silence. As Bluebelle introduced the mare they were with, Arcus couldn't help but wonder. A magic instructor, huh? Arcus had never needed one, of course, being a pegasus and all, but they'd probably be common, he imagined. After all, magic was no joke, being able to do things like... Well, like changing a pony's gender, for one. That was definitely no joke.

 

However, there was mention of a fourth applicant. Huh. Wonder who could that be? They'd better arrive soon, though. Arcus liked having a knowledge of the ponies he would be working with before any assignment, and this was of course, no exception. Besides, they still had to introduce themselves!

 

And so, as the introductions drew on, Arcus fell back into his usual silence, his piercing orange eyes casting their gaze about the room...

[Lyipheoryia]

Her smirk was clear as a response to the Pirncess' comeback.  The Princess might be clever and witty, but she was even more so.  She was clearly going to be in interesting student, and their classes were surely to be very, very eventful.  She tilted her head towards her, her spell scanning his movements.  She had clearly had some less-than-wonderful moments with the last tattooed are she met, but Starry wasn't going to let somepony's past reputation affect her.

 

Starry stayed at tentative focus as the introductions were gifted out, using her spell to scan each pony in return.  The filly, Valencia Orange, seemed very to be in an  outstanding position with the Princess.  Most ponies thought Starry to be stupid, if not ignorant and oblivious with her blindness.  But, blindness had enhanced her senses and allowed her to 'see' a lot more than other's did.  And she could 'see', quite clearly, that Valencia and the Princess had a much more intriguing backstory than the cover-up. "Pleased to meet you, Orange.  You have a very...interesting history,"  It might not have been the nicest thing to say on a first-day basis, but Starry was known for her blunt personality.  So here it was.

 

Lieutenant Arcus, on the other hoof, was much harder to read. Trained to resist much magical attempts, his head waves were constant and his reactions were cool.  He seemed relatively stiff, though-perhaps his own way of reiterating stress.  She gave a severe nod to him, "Most honoured, Lieutenant.  I pray your feelings come after your actions,"  Another one of her blunt statements.  She couldn't see any irregular heat waves, but something in her tinged that he tended to sort through difference feelings in a matter of seconds.  Just now-see?  Curiosity.

 

She had no interest whatsoever in the fourth pony: he wasn't here, so she didn't care.  It was a harsh way of saying it-but she didn't really care about that, either.

[Dunder]

As fast as his wings would carry him, Dunder shot through the air. Fortunately, there weren't as many pegasi or griffins in Canterlot, so air traffic was allowing Dunder to make up for lost time. Maybe he could claim to be 'fashionably late' to Bluebells. But this was a new job, not a party. And this wasn't a usual job for the royal pony, Dunder's boring job was now his main job for the royal pony. Usually, he wouldn't have been so excited, but cooking for royalty wasn't for anypony. It couldn't be any different from working in a restaurant. Just a lot of ponies to feed, a lot of ponies to potentially disappoint. A house for a noble? that had to be about 20 ponies!

 

Surprisingly, Dunder had also never been to Blueblood's house, and never cared enough to know completely. Any one of the equally loaded houses could be the one. Realizing quickly that coasting along wouldn't get him anywhere, only a search by hoof would do.

As Dunder trotted the streets of Canterlot on hoof, his heavy saddlebags filled to the brim with clanking metal that turned heads as he trotted by. The garnering of unwanted attention only pressured Dunder to find the correct house.

When the address on the letter matched the address on the house, Dunder trotted to the door and gave it a few heavy knocks, refraining from saying anything at the moment.

[Blueblood]

Well, so far, so good.  All three of the applicants seemed to be getting along well enough... well, alright, none of them were at each other's throats yet.  Valencia was as sweet as one could expect, and of course Arcus was professional, but Starry Requiem seemed to be a lady of... direct diction, to say the least.  Not at all what Bluebelle would call a subordinate attitude.  It was just as well that her position would be contract, rather than a permanent posting; the Princess preferred her staff to gel together into one cohesive whole, and Starry's needlings, intentional or otherwise, could upset the delicate social chemistry needed to integrate newcomers.

 

Speaking of newcomers, there was a knock at the door.  "Oh, that'll Dunder, probably."  The unicorn mare said with a relieved sigh.  She turned to Valencia, "Why don't you go and answer the door?  It'll give me a chance to see how you'll handle your new duties."  That would be the key; all the elaborate work Valen and Bluebelle had put into her backstory would be for naught if she proved to be an unhirable maid.  She didn't think Valencia would be, but still.  The whole experiment needed to look natural to proceed...

 

"We'll start the interviews once Valencia has shown in our last candidate."  The Princess addressed the other two.  "There will be a chance for you to ask questions as well.  Your work here will depend as much on how you get along with me and your fellow servants as it will upon your actual work quality, so we may as well understand each other as soon as possible."

[SteelEagle]

Valencia was relieved in great measure by their responses. Neither one seemed to have any great inclination as to the truth. Starry seemed to be the blunt type of pony, as if her sharp edges were the edges everypony were most interested in. The guard was resolute in his mission either way, focused and austere in the manner in which he spoke. Polite, the lot of them- headed of course by the Princess, who while all blunt herself was more or less as a Princess employer should be, by Valencia's reckoning. All in all, it seemed like it should work out. By the good graces of Equestrian good luck, anyway. That and the work Bluebelle had put in alongside Valencia in...ironing out the details of her current employment. What was this about a fourth applicant, however?

Well, whatever that was all about, an opportunity had arrived. There was somepony at the door and oh my, nopony to answer it! Bluebelle asked Valencia to answer the door as a test, which seemed a little silly. She had read the protocol book she had been given to read during her stay at the hotel. She gave a short bow. “Yes, Yah Highness,” she replied quickly, turning quickly and trotting to the door in good order. Oooh, wasn't she so fancy now! Her first royal duty. Granted, not the most exciting. But she wasn't here for an exciting job. She was a maid. That was in the point. Nice and simple so she could focus on figuring herself out with Bluebelle's help. Hopefully it would all go to plan. And along the way, maybe she'd find something besides modeling she was good at!

Valencia straightened herself out and answered the door. In front of her was an impressive stallion. His saddlebags were bulging, with gleaming metal bouncing the rays of the sun off casually. Was he here to help? Maybe he was the fourth. What luck would that be that she was to greet one of her comrades in service for the next few months? “You are at the estate of Heah Highness, Princess Bluebelle. What's youse business here today, sah?” Valencia asked, keeping herself straight with a smile. Friendly but farm, warm and inviting but on message and point!

[Dunder]

The door was answered promptly, much to Dunder's surprise. The brief space of time allowed Dunder to straighten out his mane, making his spikes get sufficient fluff that'd make a certain griffoness proud. Well, maybe not anymore. But that tangent was cut short by the door.

The stallion stared straight ahead, but his gaze was dragged down by the voice of an adolescent, one who had answered the door. "Oh, hello. I'm here 'cause Blueblood--belle needs a chef." He said, the quick correction in his sentence hanging there. "And I've worked with him--her before." Another mistake meant another pause on his end. "Can I come in, please? My saddlebags are heavy." He shuffled his hooves eagerly, and even the light shuffle upset his metal-brimming saddlebags enough to stir some noise out of them.

Suddenly, Dunder thought that this was some sort of elaborate test from Bluebelle. Of all the households where servants answer the door, this is the first time a filly answered. What other reason could there be. The nature of the test was a mystery, but the princess knew about Dunder's prowess in front of a stove and in a fight. Maybe it was a test about both.

[SteelEagle]

Ah, a cook! She didn't think that the request was for more than house servants and that Bluebelle would have had enough of the other groupings of staff, but well she had seen guards and tutors and now cooks. Maybe she had just misread what the dealio was when she signed up! Either way, good to see somepony who knew how to cook. She had worried that all she'd eat here was hoity toity foods, which she had enough of in Manehattan at home. He seemed big- not fat mind you, but a big, healthy stallion who probably had a big, healthy stallion appetite. Which meant Valencia wasn't going to have to consider half a parsely a full meal.

“Well, right this way, sah,” Valencia said, allowing him in and leading him quickly to the others. It felt pretty cool to be in control, even in this small way. And the shoes were comfortable enough to work out well. She had worn worse for longer, but every time she wore something like it she always worried about whether or not she could do it. And time after time, she was comfortable. Maybe it was time to just worry less. In any case, it didn't take long to bring him to his new employer, and Valencia was happy to see that she didn't have to chase after anypony.

“Yah Highness, youse cook has arrived.”

(OOC- Sorry for delay!)

[Blueblood]

Bluebelle kept a close eye on Valencia as she demonstrated her grasp of her duties as a maid.  Of course, what a maid actually did was widely varied, and new tasks might be asked of one at any moment, depending on the domestic situation at the time.  So, what was really important was to see how well she would adapt to short-notice requests, and the grace with which she carried them through.

 

From what the Princess could tell, her new maid wasn't the sort to crack at the first task.  Who knew what the situation would be a week from now, but currently her position was in no danger.  "Thank you."  She nodded at Valencia, before turning to Dunder, with a considerably degree of interest and curiosity in her eyes.

 

The thing was, Bluebelle had known Dunder ever since she was, well, Blueblood.  And if there was one thing either of them could have laid hoof upon heart and sworn upon, it was that the pegasus was not the sort to take orders easily.  He was excellent for ad-hoc adventuring parties, but permanent subordination to commander and comrades was the last thing the royal would have expected of the cook.  So... why was he applying for a permanent position as her servant?

 

That question would have to wait until later.  For now, the Princess turned to the rest of the group, "Very well, everypony, this is Dunder Blust, applicant for cook, and the last of our expected arrivals."  And now to see how they all got along.  She wondered if Arcus would recognize the pegasus stallion from his brief stint in the REA, though that might have been before the officer's time.

[Lyipheoryia]

She turned towards the new arrival, a smirk on her muzzle, "Welcome to 'The Gang'.  Glad to see you could join us in this cozy little den," 

 

She ran a hoof through her mane, posing for a split-second before turning back to the Princess.  It was strange, on her behalf, to be late to a meeting as royally important as one's job.  It was something she could never imagine herself doing, much less to a princess!  A princess!  From the sound of it, this stallion was here to take the position of chef-with the cling and clanks of his accessories.  She shuddered at such a dying task...to cook!  It was much beyond all her imagination. 

[Dunder]

Dunder was tempted to correct them, he had training after all. Though, the correction was not common knowledge so he just let it slide. He smiled as he approached, trying to be friendly especially since he knew none of the ponies. And even the one pony he knew, Bluebelle, was almost another pony entirely. The maid filly seemed nice enough.

Another mare caught Dunder's eyes. She looked the most out of place, but smiled and struck some sort of pose at the stallion. Dunder winked back at her, "Thanks! I think its pretty cozy in here. Maybe a little colder than I'm used to."

He looked at the last stallion, a soldier no doubt. Little taller than the Dunder, probably beefier. Good for guard duty, nonetheless.

Dunder was caught with a gaze from the mare that confused the pegasus. Like she was gonna ask a question, but she did not.

"Did you want to tell me something?" Dunder asked, legitimately looking conerned. At that moment, his worn saddlebags, stuffed to the brim with metal, finally gave way and crashed to the floor.

All while the pegasus was frozen in shock from the metal clanking hard against the floor. He arched his head down to see the damage. Nothing flew out, just his sword got dislodged. "That thing was ready to break anyway." He apologized, specifically to Bluebelle as he kicked the bags and sword away.

[Blueblood]

(Going to post to keep this moving along)

Now that the gang was indeed all here, Princess Bluebelle felt ready to conduct the first briefing.  "All right, everypony.  Valencia, if you would be so kind as to help Dunder take his things to the kitchen?  After that, I would like to speak with you all in my study."  She didn't want the first briefing to be public, for a very specific reason.  A suspicion concerning her regular staff had been brewing in her mind for some time now, but if she wanted to address it, she would need a cadre of ponies she could absolutely trust...

[SteelEagle]

Well, he was unusually well armed for a cook. Knowing how difficult a position could be to get into there was the possibility that he was from the Guard or some other organization and, as such, was a cook because of applicant logjam than anything else. The Orange Family Farms saw many ponies apply and they hired many who were very overqualified. But that was neither here nor there. Hopefully he would be a good cook. Valencia had tasted nothing but the best, from the finest food in Manehattan to the down-home greatness of Ponyville's Sweet Apple Acres. He had a high bar to pass! It was also somewhat comforting to see that Starry's somewhat off-kilter presence wasn't directed at just Valencia and the Princess.

Speaking of passing, she had a new mission. Help Dunder get his stuff into the kitchen and then prepare for a briefing. Okay, time to move forward. She bowed. "Yes, Yah Highness. Mistah Dundah, if youse doan mind, Aw'll take that saddlebag," she said, politely helping herself to one of his bags and giving a small grunt in the process. And than it was on and it was fine, still a bit heavy for the size of it but nothing she wasn't able to handle. After all, she had spent more than enough time at Sweet Apple Acres to handle this. "This way, Sah," she said before leading the way to the kitchen and, from there, following Dunder's orders on what to put where.