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// Chapter Five: Sea Star's Tea Time 
// Story: Maids of Honor 
// by Foal Star 
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Mop Head was slowly waking up one morning, stretching her limbs and giving a cute yawn. She took her time climbing out of bed and decided to head toward the bathroom. She saw that both Amber and Silky were helping each other get ready for the day. The unicorn couldn't help but smile, watching the two fuss over their looks and the state of their uniforms when only a few days ago, they were still whining about being mares and being girly. But now, they seem to be much more active and having fun with their gender swap.

Amber was going about tying an apron around Silky's waist with the gray-coated maid. The unicorn maid watched with a smile on her face, but she happened to look over at a clock nearby and groaned, seeing that she was going to be late. The unicorn maid stretched and yawned more as she made her way to their shared bathroom. There she trotted over to the shower, brushed her mane and tail, and applied light makeup to her face. When she finished sprucing up, the mare flashed her eyes at the mirror, admiring her new body. But then she turned around and saw Silky was now preening Amber as she looked like she was in heaven. 

"My goodness, you two look like you might be enjoying being a maid a little too much," Mop Head snickered as she trotted over towards them with a smile. 

Amber turned her head and threw her mane over her Head as she scoffed, "Oh, shut it!" 

Silky snickered behind a hoof with a blush growing on her face as she got up and hugged Moppy, then whispered, "Maybe just a little." They then trotted off, with Amber slowly walking behind them as she cursed under her breath.







With the maids in Princess Celestia's room, Amber went to work grooming Philomena while ensuring she had food and water in her bowls. The phoenix flapped and chirped rather happily as Amber nuzzled the bird. She enjoyed being Philomeinia's caretaker and loved how happy the little phoenix was. The pegasus scratched under her chin as she cooed, "oh, aren't you just a cutie."

She scratched the bird under her beak and then cleaned up Celestia's room for abit. Amber realized how relaxing things were and how she loved being around Princess Celestia's pet phoenix. The princess was humming a tune as she went about her chores while Silky was trotting through the door with a trolley and a lovely silver platter. Amber couldn't help but turn her head around and admire her trotting over, shaking her cute little black dress around her body. Amber just watched as Silky bent down right in front of her while accidentally raising her fluffy light blue and white tail right in front of her. The pegasus's wings shot up, seeing her friend's rump on full display. Despite being a mare and having issues liking mares while still being the opposite sex, she couldn't help but turn away. Amber brushed her bright red mane and continued to pet philomena trying to pretend she didn't notice Silky coming in.

"Hey Amber, how are you?"

The pegasus squeaked as she heard her name, turned to Silky, and said, "I… I'm doing good; how about you?"

"I'm doing good as well, thank you!" The unicorn chirped back as she settled across from her on Princess Celestia's bed. She then smoothed her maid's dress out with her hooves. The maid then looked over with a smile and asked, "how are you holding up? I mean…you look different than when you were a stallion."

Amber felt even more subconscious about herself as she lowered her gaze. A lot was on her mind, and she couldn't help but admit, "Well... I've been thinking since becoming a mare, I've been regretting a lot of the things I've done. I'm not...well... I'm not a good pony, and I'm so sorry for bullying you and others…."

Silky blinked, being somewhat surprised by Amber. "Wow, where is all of this coming from?"

"I don't know!? Maybe I'm not the same pony I was a week ago. I want to change and be better…ya know…." Amber grumbled rather irritably, being a bit peeved she was admitting all of this. 

Silky was smiling at her, and she wiped a tear from her eye as she said, "that's wonderful to hear." Amber was surprised that her fellow maid was getting all emotional! W…why is she even sharing her feelings like this!? Is this just because she was a mare, or is it something else? 

"I…I have to admit I am just not thinking straight…."

Silky rolled her eyes as she got up from the bed, "Amber, listen, I have been having those same thoughts. We aren't like Mop Head, but…you must admit we are finally seeing how the horseshoe fits on the other hoof, as they say."

The pegasus gave a slight nod, getting what her fellow maid was saying; she was indeed starting to understand her feelings better as a mare, having endured similar treatment she had with other mares. All of the objectifying and making her feel like she was just something stallions wanted to buck. The mare burst into tears and hugged Silky as she hugged her friend close and they held each other for sometime.

While Silky and Amber had a tear-filled hug, Mop Head assisted Princess Celestia in grooming her mane. Mop Head was instead honored to be grooming the princess's long flowing mane and loved how the silky strands brushed against her body; it was rather lovely sitting next to her and smelling the sweet scent of cake and morning dew mingling together. As Mop Head continued to groom, she was curious as to what was going inside the princess's head. At the same time, she was somewhat nervous as she asked, "so…Princess Celestia?"

"Yes?" the alicorn asked with a yawn escaping her, seeing she was still getting up.

Mop Head adjusted about in her outfit and then asked, "well…I just have to ask? Are you having any thoughts of turning any stallions into maids today?"

Celestia shook her head and said, "no, it's been quite some time since I have had an urge to do so? I believe that maybe this mania of mine is finally over."

Mop Head gave a nod as she brushed through Celestia's mane, and admiring her lovely white-coated back, she admired how beautiful her wings were as she used her magic to fix them up abit, pulling out loose feathers and getting out the dirt between the individual feathers. As she used her magic to delicately preen Celestia, the princess gave little "mmph" sounds as she did so and seemed to instead enjoy the grooming process altogether. She was indeed in bliss, and Mop Head was just in the moment admiring this goddess of beauty. Despite all that's happened, she knew Celestia wasn't at fault for turning herself and her fellow soldiers into mares. But she has to admit that she did love that she was a mare and a maid to the princess and didn't regret or have any hard feelings towards her. After the preening was finished, she adjusted the princess's regalia, making sure it clamped together. She then settled the sparkling gold tiara right on Princess Celestia's head. Mop Head couldn't help but look into Celestia's light pink-colored eyes and admire her beauty. Her eyelashes flashed her soft white coat and how majestic she looked. There was a sense of weariness in her seeing the years of being a princess weighing on her.

"Um, Mop Head, are you ok?"

"I... I'm fine…we should get going," the maid stammered as she looked away; she then escorted the alicorn princess back into the bedroom. There she turned to Amber and admired her for taking care of her Philomena and ensuring she was ok. The princess then turned her attention to Silky, who wheeled in a platter and opened it, revealing a piece of cake, some eggs, veggie bacon, and a cup of coffee and tea. 

"A wholesome breakfast just for you," Silky chirped as she stood by and did a clumsy curtsy. Princess Celestia then enjoyed eating her food, scarfing it, and drinking her drinks. Overall she seemed pleased except for the tea, which she sipped and blinked. Silky looked over with a somewhat worried look and asked, "what's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing…it just seems a bit off…."

"Oh dear, I never made tea before," Silky squeaked out of fear. 

Amber, however, got rather pissed as she stomped a hoof on the ground and snapped, "princess, don't be so harsh!? Silky did her best!"

Mop Head wanted to scold Amber for shouting at Princess Celestia. But the princess held up a hoof and said, "I apologize. I didn't mean to say it's terrible," she then went and drank the rest of the tea and added. "It's just not my cup of tea, as they say."

"I understand, princess," Silky whispered meekly as she performed a curtsy.

"Shall we go down to meet your fellow guards?" Princess Celestia asked.

Mop Head was somewhat cautious as she slowly trotted over and said, "yes, and you are in control? No feelings of turning your guards into maids?"

Princess Celestia paused to think things over, then shook her head. "None at all; let's go together."

"Yes, princess." all three maids chimed as they performed curtsies. They then trotted off with the princess out of her room and towards the grand hall.







Sea Star was a yellow-coated earth pony with a teal-colored mane and eyes running out of the barracks, freaking out as he was running late for their uniform inspection. The stallion was gasping and wheezing as he entered the grand hall. The stallion finally made it to the formation, squeezing himself into line among the rest of his fellow guards. Some started rolling their eyes while some snickered behind their hooves. Sea Star felt so stupid and ashamed that he forgot his armor; his mane was a mess.

On top of that, he was all out of sorts and seemed unable to maintain the position of attention. He watched as the maids followed Princess Celestia downstairs to the grand hall, where the guards inspected their uniforms. The alicorn princess looked over each pony as she crossed over them, inspecting their armor, making sure it was fitted right, and they were adequately groomed. Sea Star, however, was a mess and knew he would get reamed for forgetting his armor. Worst off, hearing what happened over the past week, he might be turned into a maid! 

Sea Star looked over and felt somewhat worried seeing the guards turned into maids. He was concerned he'll be next, making him even more nervous. The stallion waited impatiently for her to inspect him, and princess alicorn eyed him looking him over and seeming to have this rather annoyed look on her face. 

"So, private Sea Star, where is your armor?" the princess asked rather bluntly. 

"I…um…uh.. don't remember," the stallion stammered sheepishly as he looked down rather awkwardly.

Then suddenly, without relaxing, he felt a cloth-like material from around his body, he looked down and saw that a silky black dress was now around his body along with some white socks dressed over his legs. He squeaked a little like an apron tied around his waist, and a little maid's cap settled on his head. The stallion gulped as he held his salute, seeing little black shoes on each of his hooves. He stood there silently as Celestia gave a smirk as he knew that would happen. He saw the other maids trying to stop her from shouting at her. The light gray maid nearby tried to shout at her telling her to stop. But it was too late. It was rather sudden with Sea Star's body-transforming under the uniform, his body feeling lighter and feeeling his face becoming rounded, eyelashes elongated, his mane and tail grew out, and he groaned, feeling his bones and insides morph and feeling his body shift all around him. As the strange feelings dissipated the stallion blinked, looking over to see other guards standing around him snickering behind their hooves and jeering at him. He didn't have a mirror in any way to see his reflection but he could feel that the one thing that made him a stallion was gone. all Sea Star could do was stand there fuming as Princess Celestia trotted off as she said, "take care not to replace it."

As soon as Princess Celestia left the grand hall the former stallion just stood there as the other guards tried to hold their attention; they all burst into laughter pointing hooves at him.

"Hey, shut up! Leave her alone!" Amber shouted; she took Sea Star by a hoof and shivered as she was taken off to Princess Celestia knows where with her uniform swishing around her.







Back in their quarters, the other three maids were standing around shouting at each other about whose fault it was that allowed Celestia to turn another guard into a maid. All the while, Sea Star sat down on a chair, quivering like a leaf. 

"What happened!? Weren't you supposed to stop her from turning more guards into maids!?" Amber shouted at Mop Head.

The unicorn sighed as she threw her hooves in the air and plopped down onto her bed. "I don't know! she just did it without warning. I tried to stop her, but she wasn't listening to me!" 

Silky stepped in Mop Head's defense and said, "she did, we tried to shout at her, but it was like Princess Celestia was possessed, like her eyes went all glassy; it was as if somepony was possessing her."

Then almost out of nowhere, Sea Star was crying into her hooves, and then she turned to see that Mop Head came over and said, "Sea Star, it's ok, we're going to talk to Princess Celestia to get you changed back to normal ok?"

"Uh..o…ok…b..but can I um…" she wiped the tears from her eyes then asked, "can I make some tea?"

The other maids all looked at each other with somewhat confused looks on their faces.

Amber glared at the new maid and asked, "why do you want tea?"

"I…I just like making it, ok? It'll help me calm down," Sea Star mumbled. 

Mop Head shrugged as she said, "sure."

The mare got up, trotted to the small kitchen, and started brewing some water through the tea kettle. She fixed some loose leaf tea over a strainer and poured the hot water through the filter. After that, she put a teaspoon of honey and a slice of lemon, sliding them over each cup. She then trotted over to Princess Celestia; they went to her room, where they found the alicorn crying. The maids were somewhat stunned seeing the princess of Equestria in such a state as they slowly came over to check on her. 

She looked up and said, "oh, Faust! I'm so sorry! I'll turn you back to a stallion."

"It… it's fine, "Sea Star stammered as she trotted over and hoofed her tea; the princess sipped it and smiled, "wow, that's amazing!"

"T..thank you…." the new maid stammered with a surprised look on her face as she felt relieved that the princess liked her tea.

Princess Celestia took another sip and added, "this is a nice brew…and do I detect that a hint of ginger root?"

Sea Star was still feeling rather squeamish, but she didn't want to come out as rude as she curtsied and said, "yes, princess, it's a rather soothing blend, and it's great to have if you're feeling under the weather."

"I have to ask, were you always a guard? You seem new?"

"No, not really; I worked at a cafe' and was fired…I…I became a royal guard as the last-minute job until I got myself back on my hooves," Sea Star admitted rather sweetly. 

The princess looked over at her and said, "Well, I'm glad you're a guard. Well, let's get you back to normal."

Sea Star scratched the back of her mane, seeing this was the first time she felt good about herself. She adjusted her maid's uniform, ensuring her apron was centered before saying, "Actually…I heard the other maids and learned you didn't mean to do this somepony is doing this to you."

Princess Celestia looked downward with a worried look and said, "yes, that is true." 

Sea Star blinked, seeing that this puts her in a relatively good position to get back to being a barista under the princess. So Se Star made up her mind to stay as a maid to help save princess Celestia and said rather sternly, "Then I'm staying like this! I want to help!"

The other maids all looked at her, somewhat surprised by Sea Star's decision. Princess Celestia took another sip of tea and said, "Well, that's fine with me, but you know you can make me tea as a stallion too?"

"I know, but I think remaining undercover as a maid makes sense," Sea Star added. 

Mop Head turned to princess Celestia as she decided to see if she could help get more information from her and asked, "So what happened when you turned Sea Star into a maid? Did you hear a voice or something?"

The princess' alicorn rubbed her Head as she took another sip from her teacup, then said, "I don't know, it's like I blacked out, and then it happens. I don't know what else to say."

"We need to investigate that spa; it's the only lead we have," Mop Head said as she turned to Princess Celestia. "We'll go and have a fake spa trip and see how they control you."

The princess alicorn raised her Head and asked, "You really think it's the spa?" 

"Yes, princess!" all of the maids shouted at once.

Celestia looked somewhat unsure as she sipped her tea slowly and methodically. She then placed the teacup down and said, "Ok, I'll allow it but just be careful. My orders are to go to the spa and see what you can find, but if you are in danger, I order you to leave immediately."

"Yes, princess!" All four maids curtsied and ran off towards their spa trip.