How had his life come to this? Prince Blueblood sat rather petulantly at the dinner table, looking around at those he was currently keeping company with. Not his usual Canterlot elite by a long shot, truly. The Prince sighed openly, looking around at himself for what had to be the hundredth time that day, still in utter disbelief.
Where his flawless golden locks had once been was a shorter, fluffy mass of strawberry-coloured hair, his once-flowing tail now short-cut and, ugh, hideous. In the place of his perfect pallid hide was now pale ginger-orange fur. No words could express how positively horrible the Prince thought this was, and to make matters worse, his cutie mark had turned into a crimson heart with a black keyhole in it.
Those at the table called him Lockheart the Earth Pony. Yes, Earth Pony. Celestia had deemed it necessary to change him into an accursed Earth Pony and send him to, ugh, Ponyville of all places. She could’ve at least sent him to Trottingham or some such town that still managed to maintain some class.
But no, here he sat having dinner with the Apple family; Blueblood couldn’t help but think them to be an odd bunch, speaking with their boorish southern drawls, smelling of dust and sweat and earth, and each of them bigger and stronger than the last.
“So, Lockheart, how d’ya know the Princess?” Applejack finally asked as she brought the last bowl of food to the table before they started eating. Clearing his throat, he focused on the question instead of thinking of how oddly gentle such a strong young filly could be.
“My parents work in the castle, as did I. But the Princess decided it would be good for me to see how Earth Ponies work elsewhere in Equestria.” He explained as carefully as he could, only hoping that it was a good enough answer; his cousin had expressly told him that he could not give away his true identity.
He couldn’t help but scowl at the thought.
The real reason for his being in Ponyville with a new look and a new name was Celestia’s rage. Apparently she was quite sick of his loafing around and spending more time chasing colts than doing his royal duties. As far as he was concerned, Celestia and Luna could handle the royal duties without him, not to mention Princess Cadence and Shining Armour. But alas, his Ponyville adventure would continue until he learned the true meaning of hard work and passion; like that was going to happen anytime soon.
Having zoned out a little thinking of ways to get back at his cousin, he was startled as he was nudged with Granny Smith’s cane, looking up to see that the family was preparing to say a quick grace of a sort, Applejack grinning as she looked around at her family.
“Good health and good harvests! Lets eat!” Blueblood blinked as the Apple family dove into their food, quite taken aback by their lack of manners and frowning at the idea of having to serve himself. But he managed to avoid the hooves and mouths of the others as he filled his plate and was about to eat when he realized just what dinner consisted of.
Apple dumplings, apple fritters, and a strange stew of some sort which included apples, carrots, and a few other vegetables he couldn’t quite identify.
“Commoner fare! How uncouth!” The stallion promptly pushed his plate away, turning his head to the side and refusing to even look at it. He would not allow common food to touch his lips ever again, not after the Grand Galloping Gala.
The Apples stopped in their eating to look at him, heads cocked to the side and Applejack frowning deeply.
“If you ain’t gunna eat what’s put out, Lockheart, ya’ll kin starve. This ain’t no castle kitchen.” She said with a snort and a glare, and Blueblood merely pushed his plate further away with a huff. “Suit yerself.” Applejack said with a shrug before going back to eating her own dinner. But in retaliation, Blueblood was dragged into the kitchen after dinner to help Applebloom with the dishes.
Seeing the massive pile of dishes in the sink, he recoiled, shaking his head. “Good heavens! I can’t possibly touch those filthy things!” He exclaimed, hardly able to hide his personality despite the drastic change in his looks. Applebloom cocked her head at him, frowning.
“It ain’t so bad mister! It’s fun! Come on!” The young filly pressed against his back legs to shove him forward, effectively doing so until he nearly went nose-first into the sink. “Now, you wash ‘n’ I’ll dry and we’ll be done in no time!”
“Hmph. Young filly, I am not putting my hooves in that water nor will I put them near those dirty dishes.” He said with another humph for emphasis, nose up in the air to boot.
But Applebloom wasn’t so easy to disobey. Jumping up on a stool that was beside the sink just for her use, she huffed and glared up at the stallion fearlessly. “Big sis said ya had ta help with the dishes mister and I ain’t about ta let ya not do yer chores! Now git yer cloth and help me do the dishes!”
Not about to be told off by a mere foal, Blueblood swished his tail and stomped a hoof in annoyance. “I don’t think so.” He said firmly, turning towards the kitchen door only to hear Applebloom shout behind him.
"BIG MACINTOSH!" She shouted and the larger stallion came to the door, effectively blocking Blueblood’s attempted escape. “He ain’t doin’ his chores big brother!”
Blueblood himself was not a small stallion, but Big Macintosh still stood an easy head taller than him, looking down at him with dark green eyes and a stern expression on his features. The stalk of wheat between his lips only seemed to add to the image.
“That true?” Blueblood hesitated a moment, more than a little frightened; without his magic, he could never dream of winning a fight with such a large stallion. Not only that but fighting over mere dishes seemed terribly, well, silly.
“Yes. I refuse to sully my hooves with that filthy dishwater.” Blueblood said firmly, holding his ground and not about to back-down despite the little bit of fear roiling in his stomach.
“That so?” Big Mac moved to walk past Blueblood and, thinking he’d gotten away with it, the changed Prince was about to walk away when he felt a sharp pull on his tail and he was being easily dragged backwards towards the sink. Before he knew it, he was lifted from the ground and dumped into the sink; dishes and dishwater went everywhere, and he was utterly soaked with the filthy water he’d refused to touch. “Well, now ya have. Do yer chores or ge’ out.” Big Mac said with a snort, glaring at a shocked Blueblood before walking out to do one more check of the farm before bedtime.
Blueblood wasn’t just surprised to be suddenly sitting, soaked, in a sink of dirty dishwater, but he was also terribly shocked by the sheer strength of the other male. He’d never seen such a thing before, not even in the royal guards. No pony had ever shown strength like that of Big Macintosh.
“You okay mister?” Applebloom asked as she looked up at him, the question shaking him from his startled state.
“Hm? Oh…yes…I’m fine…” He murmured, silently accepting help out of the sink where he then dripped water on the floor.
“Sorry about that. Big brother’s usually real nice, but ya do have ta do yer chores. ‘N’ the Princess said ta make sure ya do what yer told; it’ll get easier mister. I promise.” Blueblood sighed.
“I do hope you’re right little filly.” He said before picking up a rag from a nearby hanger and grasping a plate between his front hooves, cowed enough to do as he was told in this particular instance anyway. And once they finished with dishes, they cleaned up the mess that had been made when he was deposited in the sink before Applebloom led him to his room and helped him dry off. The stallion promptly collapsed to his bed and went to sleep, exhausted by the emotional day and not even bothering with the blankets.