“Princess Marklestia has the morning session of Day Court.”
I mulled that over as I ate my breakfast and concluded that my wife was wrong. Marklestia was the nickname for the fun alter-ego that I had been using for years – useful in battle, great for flying and socializing with the mares, and of course as Rarity’s clothes horse. However, since my very recent awakening to the fullness of my marehood, I realized that it did not fit me anymore. There were still things that I would need to learn about my female self, but I knew that she was not just a feminine version of my stallion form. It was time to make a fresh start and establish that, when I chose to be, I was Princess Mark Wells.
I looked over to Steady Flight. “Hurry up with your breakfast – I’ll be needing your help.”
My newest herdmate raised an eyebrow but nodded.
I did not linger over coffee and neither did Steady. After giving Trixie a peck on the cheek, I exited the dining room with my stallion hot on my hocks, not to mention my ever-present bodyguard wife.
“What’s up, Mark?” he asked as he drew level with me.
I sped up to a brisk trot. I would have gone faster but, as Trixie had pointed out to me on several occasions, it was undignified of a triarch to be seen rushing. I had not really cared as a stallion, but it resonated much more with my mare self. “We’ve got to get me ready for Day Court, and there are going to be some changes.” I looked at him and smirked. “And it’s all your fault.”
He chuckled. “Sorry, not sorry.”
I took him to my private room and asked Penny to stay outside. Obviously disappointed, she took station on the other side of the door from the permanent guard to my room. After closing the door, I said, “I’m pretty sure you know exactly where every one of my outfits is located. Find me the one from the most recent show that Rarity called ‘The Young Princess’.”
Steady nodded. “I know where to lay my hooves on it.” He headed into the much-enlarged wardrobe while I parked myself in front of a full-length mirror.
I gazed at my reflection, unsatisfied with what I saw. Despite the slightly smaller mane, I still resembled Celestia too much. I needed something that better fitted my new self-image. I started off with my small pink-maned form that I had used to date Steady, but that was even further from what I wanted. Now that I understood how my transformation worked, instead of flicking from one age to another to select a look, I tried rolling my age forward constantly. It worked, and I watched myself grow as my mane lengthened and then on occasion shortened. Apparently, Celestia had opted for a mane-cut once in a while. That was hardly surprising considering that half of it would have been dragging on the ground due to her lengthy lifespan, and it had not reached its nebulous state as yet. Then, it abruptly switched from pink to her current auroral colors and I briefly wondered what event had precipitated the conversion. I stopped the changes soon after that point, satisfied with the length of my mane. I reckoned that I was now around Loopy’s size, perhaps a tad smaller. I’d have to compare later.
I turned away from the mirror to see Steady watching me as he held an outfit in his wings. “You like?” I asked.
He nodded enthusiastically. “You look perfect, and at a cuddlier size.”
I giggled. “Yeah, I thought we’d both appreciate that. This is going to be my default look from now on. The full Marklestia I’ll reserve for Rarity’s fashion shows or other special reasons, and the smaller pink-maned version for when we want to do stuff anonymously again. And now you see why I asked for that particular outfit.”
Steady laid everything on the bed. “You’ve never cared for dressing up much for the Court before.”
“Correction – Mark Wells the stallion doesn’t care, but Mark Wells the mare has different ideas. Oh, I’m still not going overboard – I haven’t changed that much. But I want to impress on everypony that I am serious about the changes that will be made. I need to show them that Princess Mark Wells is not just me playing around as a mare. I have to make a good first impression. So, let’s get me dressed.”
The outfit was simple enough – a modified cape made from a gauzy light-blue cloth. Gold embroidery adorned every edge, and broad swaths crossed my chest. They were fastened at my sternum with a brooch sporting a large lavender sapphire matching my eye color. Large slits on either side allowed my wings to pass through and move freely, and the cape ended short of covering my cutie mark, one of the reasons for my choice. Next came the jewel-encrusted hoofshoes – more like slippers than Celestia’s with their large shin guards. The final touch was the tiara which Rarity had cunningly designed to incorporate my normal circlet with its enchanted gem.
“So, what do you think?” I asked as I posed for my stallion.
“It looks even better on you than the first time you wore it,” he replied as his gaze lingered on me. “Probably because both our attitudes have changed.”
“Agreed. And now it’s time to go show it off.” I started heading for the door, only to be held up by Steady.
“Nope! If you’re going to go to this much trouble, you had better finish the job. We need to brush your mane and tail first. Your flanks could do with a bit of a touch-up too.”
I smirked at him. “You just want to get hold of my gorgeous bod.”
“That too, but I’m serious about the brushing,” he said as he walked over to the dressing table. He brought back both a mane brush and a currying brush. “You get your mane and tail into shape while I work on the gorgeous bod.”
I snickered. “You’re going to make us late to Day Court, you know?” I said as I started tending to my mane with the brush held in my magic.
“So what? They can’t start without you, can they?”
I couldn’t argue with that, nor with the results of our efforts. When I stepped out of my room some minutes later, I elicited an appreciative whistle from Penny. I smiled and nodded in acknowledgment before setting off at a brisk trot once more.
As we headed down the hallway, I asked Steady, “Do you want to keep our relationship hushed up?”
He shook his head. “I’ve thought about that, and while I would prefer to keep this within the herd, you and I both know that the truth will leak out sooner or later; probably much sooner. If we announce it now, we can head off the rumors and speculation.”
“My thoughts too. Okay, stick around for the beginning of Day Court.”
I arrived at the throne room only about three minutes late. I had a word with the Sergeant-at-Arms briefly before heading for the dais with Penny. While I had spiced up Court a few times as a mare previously, this time it would be slightly different.
“All rise for Day Court!” bellowed the Sergeant-at-Arms. “Princess Mark Wells presiding!”
I always admired the lungs on that stallion, but this time I also took pride in his announcement of my name. I stood regally in front of the throne while I smiled and nodded at my subjects. “Thank you, everyone. Today, I stand before you as your princess rather than as your prince because a great and wonderful change has happened. Gaining the ability to change into female form did not immediately make me fully a mare, but I have been learning about my alternate self over the years. This weekend gone by, I made the final step to become the princess you see before you. My heart was won by a stallion and I declare before you all my love for him. He has now joined my herd with the approval of my wife and herd-mares. Citizens of Equestria, I present to you Steady Flight of Herd Wells!”
A murmur of comment grew, but it was quickly overwhelmed by applause as a blushing Steady walked up the dais to stand by my side. I leaned down and kissed him on the cheek before he returned the favor. I then faced the audience and waited until the applause died down.
“In the future, I will be holding Court as your Princess at least one day a week. I hope to serve you even better now that my female side has been fully awakened.”
“When are you having a foal?” somepony called from the audience.
Although I could see the Sergeant-at-Arms giving the excited mare the stink-eye, I merely smiled and said, “Patience, My Little Pony – we haven’t even had the honeymoon yet!”
There was some laughter from the audience which I allowed to run its course before I continued, “All things will happen in due course and when they’re most auspicious. Meanwhile, the normal business of the Court will resume. Thank you for joining me here, my love,” I said as I turned to Steady Flight once more, this time kissing him on the lips. He returned the kiss enthusiastically before taking the cue to walk off the dais. Chrysalis passed him on the way and smirked at me as I settled onto the throne.
“I see you dressed for the occasion, husband.”
“As Her Royal Highness should, my dear,” I replied.
“Already speaking in Third Person, are we?” Chrysalis smiled openly now.
I felt my cheeks grow warm but didn't respond, instead nodding to the Sergeant-at-Arms.
“Let the first petitioner approach!” the stallion bellowed.
The happiness I was feeling then helped carry me through the rest of the morning session.
All my herdmates had been discreetly watching my announcement courtesy of Trixie’s magic, so I had nothing to tell about that at lunchtime. I was, however, able to point out some changes in the attitudes of some of the petitioners in light of that. I’m pretty sure that most of my herdmates would have been satisfied with me just holding court as a mare and resuming my stallion form after that, but I had already committed myself to being a mare for the rest of the day. I went to work in my office still dressed in my Court outfit.
About a quarter hour after I got stuck into the paperwork, a unicorn mare tapped on my door which was always open except for private meetings. That this pony did so without being held back or announced by Chrysalis first piqued my curiosity. I recognized her as one of Trixie’s attendants.
“Can I help you, Prim Daisy?”
“Princess Trixie has assigned me to be your hoofmaiden, ma’am. I am at your disposal at all times whenever you are a mare,” she replied.
I raised my eyebrows. “No kidding? I don’t really need a hoofmaiden. Between my wives and Steady Flight, I think I’m covered. Steady even helped me get prepared for this morning’s Court session.”
Prim was unmoved. “Princess Trixie said that you would object to the assignment. She said to remind you that a stallion cannot know everything there is to being a mare, let alone a princess. While Mister Flight is accomplished at preparing Prince Mark Wells for Day Court, Her Highness wants to point out that you were late to your duties today.”
“That sounds like my wife, alright. And since her mind is made up, I suppose I will have to accept it. Do you think you’ll be up to dealing with a weird pony like me?”
Prim smiled faintly. “I believe I am up to the challenge, Your Highness.”
I laughed. “We’ll see. Anyway, your services won’t be required while I do this desk work. I’ll see you later, okay?”
Prim nodded. “I’ll expect you in your personal quarters to freshen up before dinner. Have a good afternoon, ma’am.”
I blinked at her retreating form before chuckling. I didn’t think she realized yet exactly what she had gotten herself into. I liked her no-nonsense attitude though, and since I knew she was happily married, there would not be any issues of a more personal nature. Pranks, however – that was an entirely different thing. Time would tell.
I turned back to my paperwork. Being a princess did not help a bit with that, even with a hoofmaiden at my beck and call.
Trixie must have updated Prim Daisy’s permissions because I found her waiting for me in my room after I finished my work for the day. She quickly dismissed Steady’s offer of assistance as she undressed and fussed over me. She did ask him to help familiarize her later with what he knew about me, especially with regard to all my outfits. I think she was a little overwhelmed by the vast collection. I briefly wondered what she would think about the more risqué things among them before shrugging. Probably wouldn’t even bat an eye.
Quicker and more effectively than Steady and I working together, she had me ready to go down and join my wives for dinner. I realized I would have to mare up and admit that getting the services of a hoofmaiden was a good idea after all.
Aside from compliments on my appearance, the meal was fairly normal. I think our children were more intrigued by my changes, but I suppose that was because my wives were already ahead of the curve. Looking at Loopy’s growing belly, I knew that my future progeny would never know a time when their sire was a stallion only. Even our pet timberwolf, Twiggy, seemed to notice something different that evening. He spent a lot of time dividing his attention between me and Steady.
When it was time to retire for the night, I had to urge Steady to join us in the Royal Suite. “You’re not just my stallion, you’re part of the herd, and you get to sleep with the herd. I’m sure you’ll want to be in your own bed when I’m a stallion, but now and whenever I’m female, your mare wants you to share our bed with you.”
That had not been a hard sell. Getting him to make love to me again with all my mares watching was not so easy. Yes, all. While a full complement of my wives was not common, everyone wanted to be present for this occasion. I was quite used to it by now, but the former bachelor was not. However, I was able to gain and keep his full attention soon enough. After we were done, my herdmates gave him a hug and nuzzle before settling down for the night. I played little spoon to his big.
Celestia gave me a mischievous smile and laid down behind him. I heard her whisper in his ear, “Don’t get confused who is who, or you might just wake up on the sun.” I giggled, figuring that my fifth herdmate’s sense of humor might make Steady feel a little… conflicted right then.
I got to cuddle Penny who liked it when I was in mare mode. While Chrysalis retired to her nest at the foot of the bed, the others found themselves a comfortable spot around us.
The royal bed was definitely crowded that night, but that did not matter to me. I had my mares and I had my stallion. I knew I was the happiest pony in Equestria right now. Prove me wrong!
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