Maid of Honor

by sniper125

Act I

"Time to rise my princess!"

The royal ruler of the night let out a loud yawn and shrugged her bed's heavy comforter off from her shoulders. She turned to the source of the voice; a small blue unicorn stood at her bedside with a cheerful smile that complimented her glowing purple eyes.

"Aah, a good evening to you Sapphire. Has my sister retired to her quarters?" The small servant nodded her head as she waited for the Princess to arise from bed.

"Yes, she sends her apologies but she felt the need to turn in early today. She hopes you understand." Luna shrugged but smiled at Sapphire and started towards the other side of her room.

"It is alright Sapphire I'm sure it must be hard on my sister working with the brunt of the problems through the day." She was about to open the door when Sapphire appeared in front of her.

"Allow me my princess." She swung the door open to reveal a large bathroom. Black tiles covered the floor and went up the wall but slowly transitioned into white as it reached the middle of the wall.

Luna thanked her and walked up to a small sink across from the doorway and examined her face through a tall mirror that hung on the wall. She examined her face closely and sighed when she noticed small circles underneath her eyes.

"You seem stressed, would you prefer to use the bathhouse this evening?"

"Yes, that sounds nice..."

The pair's horns suddenly glowed and they both found themselves in a dimly lit chamber carved out of stone. Sapphire's horn glowed once more and candles that surrounded the room lit on their own with a bright blue hue that revealed an enormous rock formation.

Water flowed down the black stone and collected in a pool at the bottom. Steam rose and left droplets on Luna's fur as she waited for Sapphire to begin preparing everything for her bath.

It didn't feel like it, but this had become rather regular routine. Sapphire would wake Luna and start the process of preparing her for the royal court. Said process began with the royal bath followed by manestyling and helping her dress.

Luna never really thought it necessary for Sapphire to go through so much work just for her but the thought of having somepony there to care for her made her burden a little easier to bear.

It hadn't always been that way though. Ever since her return almost a month ago, the population had been rather reluctant to accept her into their lives. They had spent all of their lives with one ruler and the idea of having the subject of old horror stories returning to power didn't sound to encouraging it seemed.

Luna would have passed it off as a simple transition phase if it wasn't for the behavior of her staff. Almost every servant, maid, even the guards would avoid eye contact at all costs and shrivel in fear if they had done something wrong in her presence. It had almost destroyed her hopes of returning to the status she once held until a certain day that her usual servant had taken ill. Her replacement was a tiny mare younger than who she thought would qualify to serve the princess directly.

She had expected the unicorn to wilt at the mere sight of her like all of her other subjects but was shocked to see the pony stand by her side without a hint of nervousness but confidence instead. After a few days of her service Luna had asked what it was that made Sapphire so brave...

One Month Ago...

"Brave? I wouldn't say that your highness. I just don't see what there is to be so scared about that's all." Luna simply gawked at her servant who stifled a giggle.

"But has thou not heard stories of our past? The apparent reign of Nightmare Moon who crushed those who opposed her dream of endless night!"

"Of course I've heard the stories Princess. But I don't see any Nightmare Moon roaming this castle, just Princess Luna. I think you have focused so much on what the childish population thinks of you that you've convinced yourself that everypony fears you!" Luna sat on her bed and thought about what her assistant had said.

"Thou has shown great wisdom. We thank thou for speaking with us."

"It was my pleasure Princess. If you want to talk I'd be more than happy to chat." Sapphire gave Luna a small smile which the princess shared.

"Thank you Ms. Sapphire, we would like that..."

Present Day...

Luna sighed in relief as she slowly slid into the steaming water of the hot spring. As she rested Sapphire approached from behind with a small basket of various mane-care products designed especially for Luna's celestial mane.

She squirted a small amount of shampoo into her hoof and began to gently lather the soap into the princess' mane. Sapphire then began to massage Luna's scalp which elicited a soft moan from her lips. Luna brought a hoof to her mouth after she heard the sound but was too late as Sapphire giggled lightly.

"You... didn't hear that Sapphire."

"Here what? I haven't heard anything." Luna glanced back at the smirking unicorn and sighed as water poured over her head.

"Alright Princess, we better finish up before the courts begin!" At that Luna stood and stepped out of the bath. She then made her way to a small wooden bench and a rack with white towels draped over it.

With a little magic Luna lifted two towels off the rack and proceeded to wrap one around her waste and one around the top of her head. She then took a seat on the bench as Sapphire approached from behind with a dark blue brush that glowed purple.

"Can't I just do it myself this time?" Luna moaned as Sapphire began to slide the brush through her mane.

"Now now Princess, I'd much rather do it myself."

"But don't you think this is a little far? It's strange having somepony taking care of me after all this time." Luna was caught off guard when she heard a sigh coming from Sapphire.

"Well, maybe that's why you deserve to be taken care of now." They both sat there silently as Sapphire continued to brush.

"Sapphire..."

"Yes, Princess?"

"Why did you become my assistant?"

"What do you mean Princess? I did it because I wanted to spend time with you and help you!"

"But why? I can't imagine being the assistant to the Princess of Darkness makes you sound very peasant to be around."

"True, but I don't really care what other ponies think about me."

"But why?" Luna turned to look at Sapphire who was silent for a moment.

"Because it means I get to spend time with you..."