Despite Shining Armor's insistence that they don't need to train for a confrontation with the sirens, Mop Head thought otherwise and that they should try to do some combat training in the morning. So early the morning after they started their new routines, the mares were all out in the courtyard practicing drills, training spears into dummies, and going over various combat techniques. Mop Head then noticed that some guards were coming over to laugh at us. One dark grey unicorn came over with a smirk as he commented, "Wow, you are all so hot. I didn't expect the worst guards to turn as hot as you guys."
Mop Head glared back at the soldier and saw it was one of Amber's former posse, seeing he was a maid. She turned towards him and said, "Sorry, did you need something? We're quite busy?"
"Yeah, I can see that; how about you come over and clean my pipe, huh? Put that mouth of yours to good use."
Many of the mares glared back, annoyed but hesitant to say or do anything in response. Surprisingly, Amber came forward and then shoved a hoof into her chase, "Buck off, Iron Heart, we seriously don't need your bullshit right now."
"Or what, Blazing!? You and the rest of these maids are such a joke. Do you seriously think even if Princess Celestia turns you back, you're going to be the laughingstock of the entire Royal Guard? You all should adjust to stay as sexy-ass maids."
Amber was going to tackle the guard, but Silky quickly came over and dragged Amber away before anything happened. Seeing these guards insulting her fellow maids, Mop Head then trotted over, got right into Itron Heart's face, and said, "When was the last time the royal guard did anything right!? We let Princess Celestia get kidnapped three times! We allowed an army of Changelings to invade Equestria!? If anything, we have failed so much, which probably concerns that massive ego you're compensating for. So how about you leave and let us save Equestria while you go stand somewhere acting like you're doing something important."
Iron Heart started to seethe in anger and snapped, "Easy for you to say!? We were all doing our duties even when Celestia and Luna were kidnapped! But how about we see who is better? How about we face off tonight."
"Tonight!?"
"Yeah, tonight here at midnight, you and your mares face of me and few other guards; if we win, you get to spend an evening serving us."
The rest of the mares gagged in disgust as Mop Head scoffed. She wasn't keen on risking such humiliation, especially for the maids who wanted to turn back to stallions. But she couldn't let these soldiers pick on her and her other maids. Then she said, "And if we win, you all have to wear maid uniforms and do our duties for an entire day."
This time, the soldiers all stepped back, looking somewhat surprised and abit unsure of this "bet," but Iron Heart gritted his teeth, held out a hoof, and snapped, "Fine, it's a deal!"
They shook hooves, and then the soldiers left as Mop Head and her fellow maids went back to practicing, seeming to be more focused as they now had about to prepare for the night's bout.
After practice, the maids were all having lunch together in the dining hall. Still, it was relatively quiet, with it being a rather tense atmosphere. Amber got into my face and shouted, "Are you serious? Why would you just accept a bet like that!?"
Mop Head turned to her and then the rest of her maids and said, "Because I believe in you, every one of you has been doing so well with their training. Consider this a test of your capabilities. But I was rash with my decision. We can always back down and forget all of this, but if we do, I fear we'll always be teased regardless of whether you decide to change back to stallions."
Most of the maids seemed unsure of what to say at that moment; after a long pause, Sea Star rose up then asked, "No offense, but even if we were stallions, we're going to get our flanks beaten; there's no way we can take on seven royal guards!"
"Yes, we can," Mop Head replied quite sternly; she then got up and continued, "Don't you see what our biggest problem was and why we've failed Equestria?"
They all looked at each other as Mop Head continued, "Ego, our ego thinking we're these macho stallions who can take on anything, and we end up with egg on our face when Twilight and her friends do our job for us. We were once like those guards picking on us or, worse, just cowards scared of our own shadows. This time as maids has made you vulnerable but allowed us to see our potential to improve."
The unicorn paused and saw her words stung, seeing the angry and hurt expressions on her fellow maids. Hence, she continued, "Ever since being a maid, I thought this was some detriment to our ability to defend Equestria, yet we're not only embracing ourselves but trying to stop an invasion of sirens on our own."
This got a rise from the other mares, who all seemed to look much more hopeful; Silky then got up and said, "Look, I hate to admit it, but Mop Head is right. When the changelings invaded, almost every guard ran! Ran! When we return to royal guards, we must change how we act and operate."
Sea Star was the next to get up and add, "Yeah, I agree; we really should try to step up our game and do more."
Stormy got up, slammed a hoof, and said, "I agree. I vote we do this bout and buck those jerks up!"
Looking the most squeamish, Orange Julius shook her head, "Sorry, but I don't. This was dumb, and I don't want to be a part of this."
Amber raised a hoof. "I vote yes! There's no way I'm letting Iron Heart walk all over us!"
Silky nuzzled Amber and added, "I agree; there's no way I'm letting those jerks get away with what they said to you." the pegasus nudged the unicorn away bashfully.
"We're in!" Sea Star and Lemon Heart replied in unison.
Mop Head turned to Orange, who looked downward and then said, "Well, we're all in agreement except for Orange; listen, you don't have to come. We can work with six."
"No, if you're all sticking your necks out…I..I can, too!" Orange cried, squeaking as she hid her face behind a hoof. Stormy nuzzled her face and then whispered something in her ear. Mop Head felt a little bad for putting Orange in this, as she clearly didn't want to fight. Still, it seemed they were unanimous in having this bout with Iron Heart's group, so she cleared her throat and said, "It's settled. Then, after we eat and do our other training and usual duties, we'll meet with Iron Heart's group tonight, agreed?"
They all nodded in agreement and then went their separate ways to go off and do their various training and assigned duties for the day.
After a long day of training and work, the maids all went out of the castle at the stroke of midnight, and Mop Head led the rest of the maids through towards the courtyard. A few lanterns were lit up around a circle drawn in the middle of it with Iron Heart, and several other guards were there, all waiting with smirks on their faces. Iron Heart then trotted over as he toward above the mares and said, "There you all are; thought you chickened out?"
Mop Head scoffed, rolling her eyes, then said, "Sorry to disappoint, now, how will this go exactly?"
"It's simple; we will have one-on-one bouts in the ring. You will only use the training spear to knock your opponent out of the circle. Pegasi can use their wings to fight or fly, and hover unicorns can levitate your spear. Are the rules clear?"
The mares all saluted and said together, "Understood."
Iron Heart then stepped back, threw up a hoof, and said, "There are seven of you and seven of us; whoever gets the most victories wins."
Mop Head looked to the other maids, who all reluctantly gave nods. The head maid turned towards Iron Heart, saying, "We accept these terms."
The stallion laughed and then asked, "So whose first?"
The other maids looked at each other, and then Silky hopped forward. "I'll go first."
Silky was nervous thinking about what Mop Head said before made sense as she had become a much better pony since being a maid, once nothing more than a lackey to Blazing Saddles and his misogyny. She was much more capable and knowledgeable of her faults. So she finally agreed and slowly trotted forward into the ring with a determined look on her face, levitating a training spear with her magic and giving a deep breath; she got on her hind legs, levitated her spear, and then eyed the stallion. She was facing. The soldier in question was a stocky-looking earth pony with a training spear between his teeth. She gulped, feeling abit underprepared for what would happen, but she then went in for the attack and tried to knock him out; as they clashed, he started to beat her pretty severely with his strikes, packing a bigger punch than she expected. He was clearly much stronger, so Silky decided to keep him at a distance and try to see an opening. But she was losing hope by the second, unable to see a way to take him down or strike back. She stood there shaking, and then, out of nowhere, the mare heard.
"Come on, Silky, don't let this wannabe guard beat you!" Amber shouted.
Silky turned to Amber with her beautiful teal eyes glaring at her, which made the mare tingle in excitement. Somehow, that was all the motivation she needed, and then she said, "Don't worry, I won't."
Silky then dodged another swing and thought things over as she continued to evade; there was no way she could beat him head-on. Then she shrieked as she was hit and fell across the ring, making the other mares gasp. The unicorn mare then saw her apron torn and thought for a second with a plan formulating in her mind. She threw the spear aside, ripped off her apron, stood up with her torn piece of cloth, and levitated above her.
The buff stallion then laughed, "Do you seriously think you beat me with that."
"I sure can; come on and do your worst!"
The stallion ran at her at full speed, preparing to give her a whack with his spear, but Silky could use it to wrap around the other weapons and then throw it aside. Then he looked over to see the mare bucking him in the face and sending him flying out of the ring. She turned around and waved a hoof at her friends, who all started cheering her on as she skipped over to join them.
Iron Heart scoffed, "Fine, one point for the maids of honor. Who's up next?"
Silky turned to Amber and whispered, "Thanks, I couldn't have done that without you."
"No problem, now it's time to show you how we maids get things done," the brown-coated pegasus replied with a nuzzle, making Silky's cheeks turn pink. Amber turned towards the stallions and snapped, "Alright, it's my turn!"
Amber slowly stomped towards the ring; she took up a training spear and flared her wings as she went straight into the ring and slammed her spear down. "Bring out whoever you want!"
Iron Heart laughed, "Well then, let's bring out the Crusher."
The guards started to chant, "Crusher! Crusher! Cusher!"
A much bigger black-coated earth pony stallion stomped forward towards the ring with a smug look on his face, taking a training spear and hoisting it into the air.
The brown-coated mare glared as she eyed Crusher, the most giant bruiser in the royal guard. He was a dimwit, but nopony could match his strength.
"Alright, let's do this!" the mare then took out her training spear and flared out her wings, preparing for anything. This soldier was much more trained than Silky's, being able to block her more aggressive attacks, and every hit with the staff felt like being smacked by a ton of bricks. She was then smashed into her chest and then hit near the outer circle. Crusher smirked, then said, "I remember you, Blazing, man; who would have thought this is how you would turn out, especially considering how you treated mares."
The mare spat, "Shut it. I changed."
"Have you!? You're still trying so hard to show how masculine you are!" Crusher laughed and then lunged for an attack, but Amber could block it with her wings. She cried at the pain and then shouted, "Shut up!"
"I mean, you know most of us knew that you were a blowhard jerk; in fact, it's rather poetic you're getting a taste of your own medicine."
"I said shut it!" Amber threw her spear aside and then rammed her entire body into the stallion, trying to shove him out of the circle. Still, Crusher barely nudged abit and took the opportunity to whack her, throwing her out of the ring and into some sandbags. The rest of the maids then
The mare got up, seeing the rest of the stallions laughing, and then shut, but Silky held her back, "Stop."
"I can't. I gotta get them!"
"You will, but not right now. We have to beat them fairly."
"Who cares about that!?" Amber cried with tears in her eyes.
"please, we'll get them back, but you must calm down."
Amber looked at Silky's pleading expression realizing she was just making a fool of herself, having played into Crusher's plan to piss her off, and she lost. "Fine, I'll simmer down…for now."
Silky led her away as Iron Heart smirked and said, "So the score is one-to-one."
Mop Head turned to face. "Sure, but you haven't seen anything yet. Stormy, you're up!"
Stormy nodded and flew into the ring, slamming down into it and kicking up a cloud of dust around her as she tilted her head up and snapped, "Oh, you have no idea how long I've been waiting to hear that!"
Stormy was getting up with blowing her mane from her eyes, seeing how these punks humiliated Amber and pissed her off. So she was ready to throw down and show that the maids of honor were not to be messed with. She got up, twirled a spare about, and pointed at the stallion coming forward; he was a quiet, somber, grey-coated pegasus and seemed more patient than the last two combatants.
Stormy eyed her opponent, who then went at her. She dodged and whacked him back, unfurled her wings and hoped over, and then readjusted her stance as the stallion soon were both going at it with a flurry of wings and spear clacking and whisking; it was hard to keep track of what was going on; with pure instinct kicking in. She did her best to remember her training and keep her cool, not letting her anger take over like what happened with Amber. Then, as the battle continued, a dust cloud appeared around them, making her cough and wheeze. Still, Silky kept up the attack, dodging weave and strike, and eventually, the stallion was beneath her hooves, knocked out cold. With a smirk, She stood up and asked, "So what was that about kicking our flanks?"
Iron Heart stomped a hoof, then said, "Alright, send in the next fighter!"
Stormy flew off as she gave Orange Julius a tap on the shoulder. The earth pony seemed nervous, but she then slowly came forward and said, "I guess I'll go next."
Orange was nervous despite being more battle-ready than most of her "sisters." She needed to be more confident and prepared for a battle, especially in front of her fellow maids. Then she saw her opponent, a dorky-looking dark blue-coated unicorn with a spear, come forward, looking just as nervous as she was. They both slowly entered the ring and gulped as they stood there for some time. Orange looked up and asked, "So, uh, what's your name?"
"North Star."
"North star, well, I have to say that it's nice to meet you…um…look, I was never really on board with this whole fight. Why don't we both step out of the ring?"
"Sorry, no can do, you can, but I'm staying."
Orange Julius groaned. Seeing she had no choice, she placed her training spear in her teeth and then went for the attack. At first, she seemed to think she had the upper advantage, being more aggressive and putting her opponent on the defensive.
But then she saw the unicorn smirking, whacking her with his spear, and knocking her about left and right. At the same time, he dodged nearly every oncoming attack she was throwing at him. It was like he was reading her every move, and she fell right into his trap!"
He then hit her left and right, nagging and insulting her attacks, "Come on, I've seen baby foals fight better!"
"Shut it!" the mare snapped. She may have the same anger rising in her, seeing how North Star tricked her into thinking he was weak. Orange tried to remain focused, but with every attack, every swing and dodge, she could feel her teeth losing grip on her spear and her body aching. Being out of breath, it didn't take much for North Star to thrust his spear into her, knocking Orange out of the ring.
The dark orange-coated mare groaned in pain and frustration but was helped by Stormy and Silky, who brushed the dirt off her. North Star gave them a playful smirk as he trotted out of the ring.
Iron Heart laughed and stared at Mop Head as he gloated, "Two for two."
Mop Head growled, then turned to see that Sea Star and Lemon Heart both started to trot towards the ring.
The two yellow-coated mares came forward. Sea Star looked to Lemon Heart, who nodded as she rose a hoof and asked, "Lemon Heart and I have a question: could we do a two-on-two bout and fight together?"
Iron Heart tapped a hoof to his chin and pondered for a second, "Well…We can make that work as long as you agree that if you both lose, it will count towards two losses, meaning the match is over, and we win."
"Same goes for you, Iron Heart!" Mop Head shouted, "Whoever wins this match will have their side declared the winner!"
"Agreed, let's end this! Thunder Snap, Lightning Crash, show these mares their places!"
Two dark grey pegasus stallions flew into the wing, unfurling their wings and twirling their spears in unison.
Sea Star and Lemon Heart came forward, holding their spears up close and preparing to fight.
The two sisters did their best to hold off on their own, with the two pegasus twins crashing and smacking into them and the two mares doing their best to hold their own, protecting each other and being more defensive.
Sea Star was doing her best to keep up but could see Lemon Heart was taking some hits. Sea Star wheezed, "We need to think of something fast!"
"Yeah, thinking outside the box, right?" Lemon Heart smirked, taking some small cakes from her apron and throwing some to her sister, who caught them.
Without a word, the two nodded, knowing what they had in mind. As the two stallions swooped in for a final assault, the two sisters were pushed back to the edge of the circle. The two mares threw the cake into their eyes as they both cried out and crashed into the mares, who all crashed into sandbags together in a massive clump of ponies. The maids and soldiers went over to help their respective team members as Iron Heart stamped a hoof, "That doesn't count! Your mares cheated!"
Mop Head scoffed, "As if you ever said they couldn't use pastries as weapons!"
"Like I needed to! You played dirty; we won those bouts."
"Last I recall, you said they lose if a pony stepped out of the ring. All four members went out of the ring simultaneously, so technically, there were no winners or losers for either team, leaving only us."
Iron Heart stepped forward into the ring, taking a training spear into his mouth, and growled, "Finally, I get to shut you up myself."
Mop Head placed the yellow-coated mares down and whispered, "Thank you for all your effort now; leave the rest to me." She then hopped into the ring and levitated a training spear as she readied herself for the bout.
Mop Head came forward into the ring, eyes narrowing at Iron Heart, willing to give it her all, and snapped, "Honestly, you and the rest of your posse were pissing me off so much; I can't wait to see how you all look in black and white."
"We'll see how great you are at showing your ass, Spear Point!" Iron Heart roared and went for the attack; he tried to knock Mop Head off balance with his staff but seemed unable to keep up with the maid, who blocked and weaved. Somehow, she remembered all her training when she was a royal guard and was using every trick she learned. But Iron Heart was a much better-trained fighter, which kept her from landing any blows while being bruised and beaten.
"Come on, Moppy!"
She heard the other mares shouting and changing her name. Mop Head knew everything was on the line. The last thing she wanted was to have her and her fellow maids serve these asshole stallions! Then, like a lightbulb going off in her mind, she remembered the spell Twilight had taught her; sensing her opponent was the only way she could get any advantage. She then twirled her spear about and could block Iron Heart's attacks. Being able to sense his movements made him more aggressive. Now, he was making mistakes and getting exhausted. Mop Head smirked as she took advantage of the situation, hitting him in the face and the chest, then pushed him back, and then, with all of her might, smashed her spear into Iron Heart's chest and threw him out of the ring. She raised her spear triumphantly and shouted, "Don't mess with us! We're the maids of honor!"
This got a loud cheer from her fellow maids as they warmed her, all talking about how cool she was, and as Mop Head was bashful from all the praise she was receiving.
She looked up at the stallions, horrified, seeing they had just lost. She breathed, wiped the sweat from her brow, and said, "So now for our reward…"
"Ok, line up!"
The next morning, down in the grand hall, Iron Heart's posse of royal guards was standing in formation, all dressed in maid outfits, with crushers barely fitting on and all, complete with little frills at the end and pristine white aprons and cute black bows in their manes. The mares, upon seeing the soldiers all in their adorable maid outfits, couldn't help but burst out laughing, making them growl and snap in anger. Mop Head then trotted over and shouted, "Stand at attention!"
The stallions all stood up, chins held high as Mop Head and her fellow maids inspected their uniforms, adjusted them, and fixed the bows in their manes, along with the added teasing about how cute they looked. Mop Head then went straight toward Iron Heart and adjusted his bow. "So, how do you like your new outfit?"
"Don't even start Mop Head!" Iron Heart growled.
"Well, for today, I'm in charge, and you'll address me as Madam Mop Head."
"Don't push your luck,"
The mare smirked as she stepped back and then started to address orders, "Now remember you will be doing all our duties today; that means cleaning the entire castle top to bottom, making Princess Luna & Celestia their meals, cleaning their rooms, and making sure that the grand hall is scrubbed clean. Understood!"
"Yes, Moppy!" the stallions all growled.
"It's madam Mop Head! Or should I ask Princess Celestia if she needs more maids for our growing roster?"
"Yes, madam Mop Head!" the stallions all cried in horror.
Mop Head laughed as she would never do that, but she wanted to scare these jerks a little to keep them in line. She then resumed her drill sergeant persona and shouted, "Good! Now, what are you all doing standing around? You all have your assigned duties, and Princess Celestia will need her breakfast ASAP!"
"Yes, madam!" The stallions grumbled and started making breakfast for Princess Celestia, with Sea Star and Lemon Heart showing them how. Meanwhile, the rest of The Maids of Honor went off to relax, all looking rather worn out from last night's fights. Soapy nudged Mop Head and whispered, "Since you mastered Twilight's spell and we have no duties for today, want to go on another date?"
"I was afraid you would never ask," Mop Head chirped in excitment. Soapy then got rather bashful suddenly then asked, "so we only have a few days before the banquet and the showdown…"
"And?"
"And you saw how Silky and Amber were…I think they, you know…"
"Might be a thing?"
Mop Head blinked, then asked, "Yeah, and?"
"Well, they have a few days, and when we defeat the sirens, they might just revert back to stallions."
"So?"
"So? They, well, you know…might be better as mares if they return to stallions. They might lose their love for each other… I'm not saying we interfere, but maybe push them in the right direction?"
"Like set up a date for them?"
"Yeah! It doesn't have to be big,, you know, dinner reservations somewhere quiet where they can be alone…they might not get another chance, and I doubt you want Blazing to return to his old ways."
Mop Head paused to ponder what her mare friend was suggesting and shivered at the idea of dealing with Blazing as he was before, then said, "You're right; if we want to help these two lovebirds alone, we only have today and tomorrow, and we'll be busy tomorrow preparing for the banquet. So if we want any chance of those two becoming marefriends, we need to do something tonight!"
"That's what I'm talking about!" Soapy chirped as she nuzzled the unicorn mare, then asked, "So now we need a plan; how do we make these two finally get with each other?"
Mop Head once again pondered for a moment, then an idea came to her and said, "We have the princess of love, for crying out loud! Come on, she'll know what to do!" she grabbed her marefriend by the hoof as they ran off to find Princess Cadance.