So there I was, a maid in training in Orange Manor, unsure of where my future would lead. What I did know was that I had a job that would at least stay steady, even if the uniform I had to wear was more than a little embarrassing. Still though, it was a paycheck, and I could put up with the hit to my dignity… plus, I totally rocked the outfit, which I had to admit, was definitely comfy and cute. As cute as it looked the dress was still a massive hassle to put on, so as much as it was embarrassing to do, I found myself wearing it more than I ever thought I would have to.
This wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be though, turns out that when you wear cute outfits around town you tend to pick up more attention and compliments than you normally might. Needless to say, what I thought would wind up being incredibly embarrassing and mortifying wound up giving me an unintentional confidence boost. Sure, it wasn’t always the attention I wanted to get, but being told you rocked an outfit and looked cute really did wonders for your own self image.
So what was the training itself like? Simple mundane boring stuff mainly, though I got plenty of odd looks and laughs from the mares I worked with on that first day. By the second they had all mellowed out, and it was business as usual, or rather, I guessed it was business as usual. I still didn’t really know what my day to day life here would entail, but that’s what I was here to learn. And that’s what I was doing tonight with Satin Ribbon, my new boss who was proving to be a surprisingly kind and casual pony. Not that I expected her to be harsh or anything, but she was the head maid in a prestigious manor, so the fact that she was so… friendly… stood out to be— in a very good way.
“So Star, what brought you here anyways?” Satin Ribbon asked me as we gathered up the dinnerware from the now empty dining room, “I know you applied as a butler and not a maid, but the question still stands.”
I smiled, “It’s a long story, but basically I’m a graphic designer that’s stuck doing freelance work whenever I can, which doesn’t really pay the bills,” I lifted a few plates off the counter and into the cart we had pulled along, “Didn’t have much luck finding work in an actual place, which basically meant I had to either find anything or go move elsewhere, and I didn’t want to have to do that… again.”
“So you chose maid— I mean, butler service? Why not something… you were more qualified for?”
I shrugged, “Well, my option there was basically go work in the sewers or go run errands for a bunch of rich ponies at night… which you know, I figured was the far better alternative.”
Her face scrunched into a frown as she sorted through the utensils, “Yeah… I can see why you chose this place.”
“Uh huh, and why I stayed with it.”
“I didn’t realize that that was your alternative, and I can really see why,” She waved me over to the end of the table, “Alright, you grab one end, I’ll grab the other, and we’ll pull this over and fold it up. We bring the dishes to the kitchen for cleaning, and then bring the linen to the laundry room next door for washing.”
I nodded, “And we have to do both?”
She shook her head, “No, that’s somepony else’s job. You might eventually cycle into that position, but for now we’re the ones that tidy up rooms and get them into a presentable shape. You’ll also dress the tables before every meal, though in your case that’s just for breakfast at the end of your shift.”
I nodded, pulling my end of the table cloth over to the edge of the table, “And then I can either head back home or go spend time in my quarters?”
She nodded, “It’s your choice. You won’t be allowed to roam the manor itself, but if you’re feeling tired or just don’t want to fly all the way back to your apartment then you’re free to go rest your head in your room. It’s nothing fancy, but it’ll give you a place to rest after work.”
“Now you said this was all taken out of my salary. Say that I don't want to use that, is that something I can opt out of, or no?”
“Whether you use it or not is up to you, but it’s included in your employment. Sleep in it, take your breaks there, hang out after work, whatever you want, as long as you keep it tidy and don’t trash it.”
“Do you live in yours? Or do you have your own place elsewhere? I don’t know if that’s weird to ask or not, just curious.”
“It’s not as weird as you’d think. A lot of the new hires ask that, believe me, you’re far from the first,” She finished folding the table cloth and began to push the cart toward the door, waving me along, “To answer your question, I’ve got my own place about five blocks away. I still stay there, but if I’m pulling a late shift or just feeling lazy I go hang in my room here. It’s pretty much like my private study, and there’s a few others that do the same.”
“Guess that makes a lot of sense actually. So any dos and don'ts I need to know about it?”
“Uh huh,” She trotted over to the kitchen and began to unload the cart, “Do use it as a place to relax in, do not use it as a place to hide from work in. Trust me, it seems pretty straightforward, but we’ve had some maids in the past that thought they could just go hang out there whenever they wanted to while on the clock. It’s on property, but as long as you’re on the clock and not on break, I don’t want to see you spending time in the servants quarters.”
“What if I have a friend I want to bring over? Or a special somepony? How does that work?”
“In that case you go check them in with that nice gatekeeper you met yesterday. He’ll add them to the list of ponies allowed in the servants quarters and staff common areas, but you’ll be responsible for anything they do here.”
“Meaning that if they break something, I buy it?”
“Mhmm,” She cheerfully nodded as we unloaded the rest of the dishes, “If they wander into the manor itself, or step away from the staff grounds then it’ll reflect back on you. So just keep that in mind. Also make sure they won’t distract you from your work, we’ve had that happen on more than one occasion too.”
I nodded as we moved into the adjacent laundry room, “Gotcha, keep whoever I bring over in line and make sure they don’t do anything bad otherwise I’m one hundred percent responsible for them.”
“Uh huh, you got it,” She opened up one of the large washing machines, “Now this part’s a little tricky, you have to find the right machine for the type of linen you have. This one here is what we wash all the table cloths and other dressings in.”
“I thought we weren’t in charge of this?”
She shook her head, “We’re not in charge of drying, pressing, or folding the laundry, but we do start the machines,” She pointed to a row of machines, “Those are for other things, like clothing, uniforms, napkins from the table… you get the idea. Each machine’s all set up for the specific linen and all we have to do is load them and press start, the other staff will take over from there.”
I helped lift the small bundle of linen we had taken from the dining room into the machine and paused, waiting for her instruction.
“Alright, now see that big green button?”
“Uh huh,” I replied, looking at the button in question.
“Go ahead and give it a press, and then follow me. We’re going to go grab clean linen and dress the table for breakfast. They won’t be dining for another hour, but it takes some time to get everything set up, and once we’re done with that then you’ll be done for the night.”
“Sounds great,” I paused, “So one last question, am I going to be doing this on my own eventually, or do you pair maids up for their shifts?”
She grabbed the required clean linen and smiled, “Good question. You’ll be working with another maid once you’re all trained and I’m confident that you’ve got a good grasp of your duties. I don’t think that’s going to take long at all with you, and if you’re ready to move on I can show you how we set the table.”
I smiled, “That sounds great, thanks Satin.”
So far, so good. This was only my second day on the job and I was already falling into a good routine, and seemed to be doing better than I ever could have imagined doing in this job. Truth be told, I wasn’t keen on this job before, but it was starting to grow on me, and I knew that I had made the right decision in the long run.
The only thought left in my mind was how I was going to explain all of this to my new friend on our not date in the morning…