Grace
Changes in Lifestyles
Fluttershy sat on an elegant silver throne. She was draped in a beautiful blue dress that was made by a seamstress from Manehatten. She was also wore a pair a black tights and a pair of light blue flats on her hind legs. She looked like a princess but sure didn’t feel like one.
Fluttershy wasn’t used to castle life; she was just a young mare from the small town of Ponyville, but was now living the life of royalty in Canterlot. Her mother had set up a marriage between her and Prince Blueblood, since the Prince’s role was to produce an heir, and he was entranced by the young mare. Fluttershy had just recently turned 18, and the Prince was ten years older, but most ponies didn’t really care about that.
It had been five days since her marriage to the Prince, and she didn’t think she’d last the rest of her life with him already. She’d had an exhausting day yesterday, and didn’t get much sleep because of the Prince, and his failed attempts of being romantic. After a few minutes of silence, she closed her eyes and laid her head on her front hooves, and fell asleep.
Later, she awoke to find a stallion’s muzzle touching hers. It was Blueblood. She turned her head, blushing hard.
“Oh, don’t be so hard on yourself, Fluttershy!” Blueblood said, laughing. “You don’t need to be shy anymore. We’ve been married for five days already.”
Fluttershy frowned. She wasn’t in the mood to talk. “Blueblood… I’m tired.” Fluttershy said, a slight tone of anger in her voice.
Blueblood was surprised by her slight change in tone. He lifted her chin with his hoof and smiled down at her.
Fluttershy scoffed and got up from the throne. “Did you actually need something, or are you just here to ask me more questions?” She fixed her dress, and began to walk down the stairs leading up to the throne.
“Well, I just needed to tell you I’ll be leaving for Ponyville to meet up with important ponies from the other cities and towns in Equestria. Princess Twilight will be there, some ponies from Appleloosa will be there. There will be many mayors as well.” Blueblood said, walking behind her.
Fluttershy’s eyes widened at the mention of the word Ponyville. She missed that place dearly, even if she was living a normal life there a week ago.
“P-P-Ponyville? D-Do you think I could go with you?”
“Actually…” Blueblood began. “I thought it’d be a good idea if you meet all of the servants. You will be here with me for most of your life, and I know all of the servants, and so shall you.”
Fluttershy sighed. “I-I suppose that’ll be alright.”
The Prince nodded and told one of the guards to tell the servants to prepare some tea and appetizers.
“Your Grace,” A coachstallion called out, “Your carriage is here.”
Blueblood nodded. “Remember Fluttershy, if you need anything, the servants will help you.” Blueblood kissed her on the cheek and walked out of the castle.
Fluttershy sighed. “Thank goodness he’s gone.” she whispered under her breath.
“Your Grace?” An orange Pegasus guard called out. “You may go into the tea room now.”
Fluttershy nodded. “Thank you.” She said, as two unicorn guards opened the doors to the tea room.
Fluttershy stepped into the tea room. It was a beautiful sight: There were beautifully painted teacups, teapots and plates; all having the same theme of roses and other types of flowers, there were vases of flowers, and an assortment of different food. In the corner of the room, there was a record player playing classical music. She was surprised at how fast this was put together.
At the table, there were nine servants in all different shapes and sizes, leaving one chair empty.
To the right of the empty chair, sat a young unicorn filly wearing a simple, but charming blue dress. She had a short, curly light pink and purple mane and had green eyes. She smiled brightly at Fluttershy as she walked over to the empty chair.
Sitting down at the table, she saw all of the servants’ faces. They were all smiling, acting very proud of what they put together for the duchess.
“This looks lovely. Thank you all.” Fluttershy said.
The young unicorn next to her stood up from her chair. “Your Grace, let me introduce you to everypony.”
“I’m Sweetie Belle.”
She pointed to the yellow earth pony that was sitting next to her. The earth pony had a red mane and slightly poofed bangs. “This is Apple Bloom. She’s been working her as long as I have; five years, when we were both seven.” Apple Bloom was wearing a raggedy old dress, and had a large pink bow in her mane.
Sweetie Belle continued down the table. “This is Scootaloo.” She said as she pointed to the orange Pegasus. Scootaloo had a semi-long purple mane, and wore a stain-covered dress. “She’s been at the castle as far back as she can remember.” Scootaloo smiled meekly.
Reaching the end of the left side of the table, Sweetie Belle stopped in between the chairs of two earth pony mares. “These two are Aloe and Lotus,” She said, pointing a hoof at both ponies. “They both work at the palace spa, but also help around with cleaning.” Aloe and Lotus both wore the same thing: A white long-sleeved top with a white skirt, and a white headband wrapped around their heads.
Next to Aloe and Lotus, at the end of the table, there was a gray unicorn with a short black mane. His horn, unlike a normal unicorn’s, was a different color than his coat. It was a shade of light blue. His eyes were red, and the part of the eye which is normally white, was yellow. He wore an old pair of pants and a shirt. He had a sly grin on his face that made Fluttershy curious on why he was making the expression.
“This is Discord. He’s been here…” Sweetie Belle paused, and looked at him. He shrugged, and she just continued on. “…for a long time.”
Next to Discord there was a pink earth pony mare. Her mane was a hot pink color and was poofed up. She was the perkiest of the bunch; her eyes shining with excitement. She had a flamboyant blue skirt on and a blue pocketed top. “This is Pinkie Pie. She decorated everything in the room. She normally works in the kitchen with Apple Bloom and…”
“Applejack.” Sweetie Belle said standing behind the chair of an orange earth pony. Applejack had a short yellow mane. She wore a red-and-white checkered dress, and cowfilly boots that were falling apart. On the top of her head, she wore a cowfilly hat. Fluttershy thought that was a bit peculiar, since she did live and work in the capital city of Equestria. “She is the main chef at the castle. You’re from Ponyville, right Applejack?”
Applejack nodded her head. Sweetie Belle walked to the last pony. At the end of the table closest to Fluttershy, there was an old green earth pony mare. She had a white mane that was in a bun, and wore a simple yellow dress.
“This is Granny Smith. She’s been here a really long time. She’s basically in charge of us servants.” Sweetie Belle said.
“Well,” Fluttershy said. “It’s very to meet everypony. I’m sure that the food you made is delicious. I’m just not very hungry right now, but some tea will be fine.”
Sweetie Belle sat back down in her chair, and levitated the teapot over to Fluttershy, and poured some tea into the teacup.
“So…” Applejack said, grabbing a biscuit from the platter in front of her, “How do yah like the castle so far?” She bit into the biscuit after asking the question.
“Well, it’s like a giant maze, and the only places I’ve been in so far are the throne room, my bedroom, and the tearoom. Oh, and occasionally the bathroom, of course.” Fluttershy said, picking up her teacup.
Discord mumbled something to himself at the other side of the table.
Fluttershy sipped her tea. “What was that, Discord?”
Discord cleared his throat, his face covered with a deep red blush. “Oh… um I was just saying that I could show you around that castle if you’d like.”
“Oh, of course. I’d like the most help I can get.” Fluttershy smiled proudly. “That…. And I don’t have much to do while Blueblood is gone.”
Discord chuckled. His laugh was low and dark, causing a chill to run down Fluttershy’s spine. What was there more to learn about this strange, but intriguing servant?