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// Chapter Fifteen: Maids for Days 
// Story: Maids of Honor 
// by Foal Star 
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A month had passed since the sirens' plans to take over Equestria were squashed by the Maids of Honor. In honor of their heroic efforts, the Maids were given an extended vacation and most of the mares left to enjoy their newfound lives. However, one maid, Amber, decided to stay behind. She looked rather distraught as she was busy preening the princess' beautiful wings. The mare had gotten rather good at it, practicing on Philomena and working part-time. The princess was laid out on her bed, wings outward as Amber delicately went over them with precision, ensuring that any hint of dirt was gone, taking out any bent feathers and smoothing them. The princess of the sun was in ecstasy as she moaned, "My, you've gotten so good at this."

"Thank you. I've had a lot of practice," Amber winked at Philomenia, who winked back. The pegasus continued to finish the preening, being extra careful as she brushed over the princess' feathers. Once the preening was completed, Princess Celestia yawned and stretched, "Seeing I have no meetings until noon, do you wish to have breakfast with me in the gardens?"

Amber was stunned at the request, somewhat reluctant to reply, "Of course, that sounds wonderful."

 The two then sat down for a light breakfast outside in the palace gardens, mainly fruit parfaits with tea. As they dined, Princess Celestia eyed her maid and said, "Amber, I have to ask why you decided to stay here while everyone else is on vacation?"

Amber paused. She had been avoiding that question for the past few weeks, and at this point, it was clear the princess wanted to make sure she was doing well. She then courageously said, "Well, the truth is I needed time alone. There is a lot to work on considering my past."

 The princess chuckled and said, "Amber, I still can't believe you wish to stay like this. You were determined to continue your ways a few weeks ago and even threatened me."

The mare winced, remembering how she acted, and said, "That's the reason why I wanted to stay like this.  Recently, we had a fight with some royal guards, and seeing how they acted like me showed we needed to change; I needed to really change. I want us to be better, and being a mare has made me better."

"Well, that doesn't mean you need to stay as a mare?"

Amber nodded in agreement and added, "You're right, but as much as I hate to admit it out loud, I enjoyed my life as a mare much more than I ever had as a stallion."

"I see. I don't mean to pry, but how are things going for you and Silky?"

"Better… it's getting really good, and I can't believe I never saw her like this. I mean, I've heard of ponies being transgender before, but I was always disgusted by the notion…Silky truly was always meant to be a mare."

Princess Celestia nodded in agreement and continued, "Well, it seems maybe my subconscious may have chosen stallions who either needed to see a mare's point of view or who are transgender."

Amber couldn't help but laugh at the thought and said, "Maybe I'm just glad you're back to normal."

"Me too. I know my mind wasn't mine, but I still feel awful for turning my guards into maids. Even now, I feel uneasy in the ranks."

"It will take time for your soldiers to trust you fully. But I'm certain over time, things will mull over. I bet they'll be joking about this whole experience in a few weeks."

The princess laughed, saying, "I can't say I feel the same, but that gives me hope."

"Now, enough about me. How is your dating life?" 

The princess paused, then looked out and said, "It's not something I like to discuss openly, but I had a special somepony. But he and I might never be together."

"I'm sorry that was brash of me."

The alicorn shook her head and contemplated for a few moments as she sipped her tea and took a few bites of cake, then continued with a sullen smile. "The truth is I was as brash and brazen as you when I was younger, and it got me into a lot of trouble. I fell in love with somepony from another dimension, but if we were to ever stay together, it could mean the downfall for both of our worlds. So we are forced apart for all of eternity."

"That… that's awful."

"And even though I know going to him could lead to disaster, it would mean the destruction of this world. I have half a mind to go and see him even now. Don't wait; go to Silky and embrace your love for each other."

"I…I will thank you for sharing that."

Just then, a pegasus soldier flew over and bowed, "Princess, I have the information from your informant about Queen Novo's whereabouts as requested."

The messenger hoofed Princess Celestia a letter, which she unfurled with her magic. Then her eyes lit up as she read it, gasping, and dropped it. "Urgent news! We need the maids of honor this instant!"

"But most are out on their vacations!?"

Princess Celestia paused but shook her head and continued, "I know, but we need to call them back; this can't wait."

She then started getting out parchment, writing down her messages, and sending them to Philomenia, who flew out the window in a stream of flame. 






Meanwhile, Sea Star and Lemon Heart were in their family's home, a small, cozy house with bright yellow walls covered in framed pictures. The sisters were in the middle of baking cupcakes and brewing tea as their mother, a portly yellow-coated earth pony mare with a massive mop of blue and teal striped mane, thick glasses, and wearing a cute pink apron, was happily chatting with her daughter. Despite their mother's acceptance of their gender change, the two yellow-coated mares looked somewhat embarrassed, considering their situation and knowing their mother would cross boundaries.

"I can't believe I'm having breakfast with my so—I mean daughters. Celestia still can't believe your mares still."

Lemon Heart looked rather anxious and didn't know how to respond. Meanwhile, Sea Star spoke up."I'm sorry we didn't tell you earlier. It's just that we weren't on board turning back to stallions," as she poured her mother a cup of tea.

Lemon Heart blushed as she was feeling abit nervous as she was busy baking them some pastries. "Yes, we had a long conversation about this and decided that we both always felt we were meant to be mares."

Feeling the most squeamish, Sea Star bowed and said, "I'm sorry that we didn't tell you earlier. We weren't sure that we wanted to stay like this permanently and wanted to make sure we had a decision before telling you."

Their mother was quite surprised by their response: "Girls, please, it's alright! You don't owe me any apologies. I couldn't care less. If you two want to transition into mares, I will support you  every step of the way!"

The two mares blushed and lowered their heads, happy that their mother was so accepting but embarrassed at her eccentricity. Sea Star added, "Well, to be clear, we both are taking this slowly, so don't expect grand foals any time soon."

"Of course not. Please take your time. I can wait, but minus the gender swap, are you two having any other problems? 

Lemon Heart slammed a hoof over her face, being too embarrassed. Sea Star gulped and said, "Well, it's not all bad, except we have the same problem you had when you had us…"

Their mother eyed them as they both looked at each other with worried looks on their faces and then the mare replied, "You know.." she then showed off her flank.

Then Ocean Breeze's eyes widened. "Oh, right. That's why you're here. I apologize." She then rushed upstairs and heard some banging. Their mother came down with a bunch of bras, helped them try them on, and sighed, "Oh, you two look so cute. Now, let's have some girl talk."

They then all sat around and began to chat, having a lengthy conversation. Then, as the mares got up to leave, their mother bowed her head a little and started t tear up as she said, "I know you have to go but please come back, and if you do get pregnant, please let me know."

"Mom!"

"I'm just saying your girls now."

"Doesn't mean we want to be pregnant," Sea Star grumbled.

"But you know you can always ask for advice if that does happen; you're going to be in heat now, and you never know."

"Mom!" the mares shouted as they both rose angrily. 

Then before the maids' mother could emberass them any further Philomena flew through the window and dropped a letter on them just then. Sea Star took it and read it, gaping in surprise, "Lemon Heart, we have a mission from Princess Celestia!"

Sea Star took the opportunity to break off the awkward position she and her sister were in and said, "Right, uh, sorry we have to cut our breakfast short, but we got to get going!" 

Lemon Heart nodded as their mother threw them into a hug, squeezing them tightly."Oh, we can always discuss this another time. Now go save Equestria and be safe!"

"Yes, Mom!" The two sisters chimed as they ran off together as fast as they could.





Meanwhile, Stormy, Orange, and Silky were with Rarity on a spa date, all sitting in a massive hot tub with face masks. There seemed to be some tension in the air, but overall, they were having a good time and were in high spirits. Silky looked a bit awkward as she mulled over things. Her relationship with Amber has dramatically improved since they decided to stay as mares. She was nervous about proposing to her and how serious she was, and she needed a bit of time to figure this out. The mare then turned to Rarity and asked, "So, Rarity, I need to ask you something."

"Yes, dear?"

"I need your help with uh…" she looked around, and attempting not to draw attention to herself, she tried to whisper under her breath, "a wedding dress."

Despite her trying to be inconspicuous, the rest of the mares gasped in surprise, and then Stormy shouted, "Wait, that's why you're here!?"

"You and Amber are getting married!?" Orange cried.

Silky was getting more nervous by the second, then said, "Please, I don't mean to alarm anyone. But Amber and I are getting more serious, and I really want Rarity to design our dresses."

"Well, darling, I would be thrilled to make your dress! Do you want me to make one for Amber as well?"

"Of course, as long as it's not too much work."

Rarity scoffed and threw a hoof. " Please, darling. It's no big deal at all. I can gladly make you and your future wife wedding dresses."

 "Do you think I'm being too presumptuous?

"Of course not!" everypony chimed at once. 

Orange laughed, then said, "Well, you love each other, don't you?"

"Yeah, but it feels like I'm rushing things."

Stormy scoffed, "As if you two have been at it for weeks, we can barely get any sleep every time you guys have se-"

"Stormy!" Orange slammed a hoof over her friend's mouth. "What my friend here is trying to say is that you two are clearly meant for each other and should get married."

"Yeah, I think so too."

Just then, Philomena flew through an open window, dropped a note as Rarity caught it, and read, "Well, girls, it seems you three have to go."

They read together as Silky groaned, "Seriously, I was going to get my hooves done!"

Stormy got up. "Come on, we can do that anytime. This is our first big mission! Let's not keep the princess waiting!"

Orange came over and whispered to Rarity, who nodded, "Right before you go! Let's get you outfitted! You can't have an audience with the princess without proper attire!"

After the mares dried up and removed their face masks, the fashionista dressed the maids in their flashy custom maid uniforms. After a few minutes of adjustments and light makeup, the mares emerged from the spa, spotting a chariot waiting for them. They started to get on, and then Silky came forward and hugged Rarity, who hugged her back, whispering, "Thank you."

"No problem, darling. You're going to look gorgeous in a wedding dress. While you're saving Equestria, I'll pick out some designs for you to choose from."

"thank you!" Silky couldn't help but squeal in delight as she skipped to the chariot and flew off into the air. 





Mop Head stirred as she felt something shift beside her. She turned to see that Soapy was lying next to her beneath the sheets, snoring peacefully. The sun rose, and she saw birds chirping as they flew by. It was a rather beautiful start to her first day. But she couldn't nuzzle her. She slowly climbed out of bed, and they got ready for the day, going through their morning routine. Then Soapy turned, "I still can't believe we have a whole week off!"

"Yeah, I still don't know what we'll do?"

"Well, today, I thought we could start by spending the whole day at the spa. Then we can go to Fluttershy's cottage and help feed her bunnies, and maybe go catch a Wondebolt show…"

Mop Head laughed, getting up, "Yes, that does sound amazing,"

Just as they got up, Philomena flew over and dropped a scroll. The two looked confused as Mop Head picked it up and read it over. "Huh, it seems like Princess Celestia needs an urgent meeting with the Maids of Honor."

"Seriously!?"

Mop Head blushed then said,"well it must be serious; she even apologized."

"Why can't Twilight and her friends handle it?"

"I think it might be something more covert, but regardless, we can't ignore the princess' summons."

She kissed her marefriend on the cheek and ran off to see a chariot waiting for her to get on. Then, she was whisked back to Canterlot.





The mares were now all in the grand hall, looking quite annoyed that they had been pulled from their vacations. Princess Celestia trotted towards them, followed by Amber, who had a tired phoenix on her back and looked utterly exhausted. The princess bowed before them and said, "I apologize for disturbing your vacation. I wouldn't have, except this is of the utmost importance."

Silky pouted but grumbled, "It's understandable."

"Well, you saved us from a rather awkward conversation with our mom," Sea Star and Lemon Heart chimed.

"I was looking forward to getting my hooves done," Orange mumbled.

"Rarity and I were talking about we- I mean dresses, we can do that anytime."

"Sure, as long as that's all you're talking about."

"Amber, are you accusing me of cheating!"

"Wait, no, I didn't mean to say that out loud!"

"Girls!" 

"Yes," the mares all turned towards a rather angry-looking Mop Head. "Please let the princess speak."

"Yes, Mop Head," the mares all grumbled. 

They then turned toward the princess, who cleared her throat and said, "As I said before, I have an urgent mission for you, but first, let me introduce you to Captain Celaeno!"

They heard the doors open behind them, and they all looked behind themselves. They were surprised to see a massive parrot come in and eye them. "These are your elite warrior's, maids!?"

"That's Maids of Honor to you!" Amber snapped.

Princess Celestia held a hoof. "Now, these mares just saved Equestria and are perfect for the assignment." She then turned to address the maids and continued, "Now, if you remember, the sirens' news of this Storm King sounded urgent, and it's not the first time I've heard of him. So I looked into his whereabouts and learned he may be connected to the disappearance of the hippogriffs. You must go to the land of the hippogriffs and Find my old friend Queen Novo."

"Yes, princess!" the maids all saluted and exclaimed.

She then turned to Captain Celaeno and said, "I hired you to escort them and ensure they find my old friend and make sure she and the rest of the hippogriffs are safe. From there, we will start deliberating on a strategy to take down the Storm King."

"I'm not a fan of the Storm King and don't mind teaming up to take him down, but are you sure these are your finest warriors?"

Princess Celestia bent her head toward the mares and bowed. "I assure you these are our finest warriors. Now go with my blessing, and on your return, I promise I'll make sure you can rest for as long as you like.

"Yes, princess!" they all chimed and saluted. They all trotted off, with Captain Celaeno leading them, looking rather irritated and grumbling, "I can't believe  the princess is having me babysit a bunch of her maids."

Amber was getting furious as she shouted, "Didn't you hear a word she said? We're not just maids! We took down the sirens and saved Equestria, so how about showing us some Faust Da-"

Silky placed a hoof over her finance's mouth and said, "What Amber means is we are highly trained and skilled in combat, and we can handle ourselves."

Mop Head thought the pirate would be angry, but she just smirked and asked, "Sure, I like your spunk, but who is your leader?"

Mop Head came forward and added, "That would be me, and I look forward to cooperating with a pirate. I have to ask, are you part griffin?"

"Griffin!? Please no. We come from the islands in the south, but the Storm King has invaded the area, and I and my crew have been holding his ships ever since."

"Saying about your ship, are we going to the ocean? We can ha-" Before Mop Head could finish, her mouth dropped upon seeing a massive airship outside the palace. And Captain Celaeno ruffled her mane, "We're not going by sea, little one."

The maids all gathered on the massive pirate ship. They were impressed as they went aboard and were seen by the many other enormous parrot pirates going about their business. The mares hugged each other as the ship started rising into the air all being and it sailed off into the sky onto their next big adventure.