The irritating bell on the door jingled as I walked in. In spite of my sunglasses, I drew attention. I expected as much; I am a glorious specimen of stallionhood. Heaving a sigh, I went to speak to my psuedo-employer, Pony Joe. The next three months would consist of trying to please him and my Aunt Luna.
Nose aloft, I ignored the glances and whispers. I kept my face neutral, but inwardly I despised these common, gossipping nags. My mood soured. Not that having to come here to satisfy my dear Aunt's judgment had me in a good mood anyway.
"Nice shades, Blueby. Ditch 'em in a locker and suit up quick. I'll need you in the back,” Joe said.
Pleasing him would be a taller task than I anticipated. Just who in Equestria did he think he was to call me Blueby?
"The back?" I asked, frowning. My good looks would no doubt impress fillies and gentlecolts into buying more at the counter. "I thought I was selling donuts."
He snorted rudely. "Are you kidding me? With that sour mug? I don't know which would go bad first, the donuts or the customers,” He asserted. "It's not a good time of the week to teach you the counter. I trust you can sort out a few donuts. Hope you've got good levitation practice."
The thought gave me pause. I hadn't actually exercised levitation since I was a foal. Just the thought of how much magic it would take to fill box upon box of donuts was daunting.
I trotted to the back and found an empty locker quickly. There was a uniform, with my name on it even, hanging up inside. After I changed, I spent some time ensuring it fit me right. Satisfied that I could at least accomplish that much, I turned around and bumped right into Joe.
"Ow." I said eloquently. "What, were you watching me change?"
Joe rubbed his head and rolled his eyes. "I just came to see what was taking you so long."
"What in tartarus are you talking about? I just got my uniform on." I posed a bit to show off the white outfit.
"All right, you clothes-horse, let's get to work already." Joe ordered, pointing the way to the kitchen.
As he spoke, he pointed things out. "I've laid out my kitchen so it makes sense. What you gotta do is take them from the racks and put em in a box, tissues below, between and on top. You have your powdered, iced, glazed, twists, sprinkled, rings, bars, and donut holes. Pay close attention to the filled; there's a hole that shows what's inside if you absolutely have no clue. Then we got ursa claws, crullers, churros, and conchas. Cinnamon buns come regular, iced, sugared and with raisins. Donut holes go in one of these special boxes and then they go in the big box if they're part of a bigger order."
He turned to me. "Do I still have you so far?"
A trifle overwhelmed, I concluded, "You sell donuts."
Joe smiled and patted my shoulder. "We'll make a baker out of you yet. I love the sense of humor."
He grabbed a slip from the counter. "Here's the order sheet. I only have eight for you to do so that you can get a good idea of where everything is."
"Last but not least." Joe whipped something off of the counter nearby and had it on my head before I could blink. "Health code says you have to keep your mane covered. I trust you get brushed well enough to keep from shedding. Also, wash your forehooves and wear the plastic gloves before touching anything with your hooves."
"I thought I would just levitate everything." I said.
Joe shrugged. "It's a lot of donuts. If you last, great. If not, the gloves."
"What if I'm not done by the end of our time?" I asked, expecting the worst.
He shrugged. His nonchalance was beyond irritating. "Work to the best of your ability. And I do mean the best. Your Aunt Luna wants a report from me as often as possible and I intend to have nothing but glowing praise for you as long as you deserve it."
I huffed. "What are you getting out of this? Why use a special favor from the Princesses just to have me work in your bakery?"
"I hope I can tell you soon." He said enigmatically. "Now get to work."
"Yes sir." I said, sarcastically.
***
Halfway through and one headache later, I washed my forehooves and grabbed the gloves. I nearly had the fifth box complete when it happened. I grabbed a jelly-filled donut a little too quickly and...
SPLORCH
The cursed pastry shot a hearty helping of jelly directly onto my apron. My magic kept me from getting hit before this, so the red stain was even more prominent on the otherwise spotless apron. In surprise, I dropped the donut.
Heading to the sink, I heard my old tutor’s voice in my head. 'A Prince must never suffer a single stain. How unsightly! You must be careful! I shoved the voice aside as I wiped most of the jelly off...and made a bigger stain in the process. Hooves shaking, I took a deep breath and tried again, making sure to use cold water. The stain faded, but the spot was still pinkish.
Frustrated, I gave up on the apron. Leaning against the counter, I inhaled slowly. I hated staining clothes. Had Joe's apron been dirty? I couldn't recall it being so. Would he be mad that I stained an apron? Surely, somepony could get the stain out. Shaking my head, I took a few more deep breaths and tried to calm myself. When a hot tear slid down my cheek, I realized I wasn't handling this well.
"It's just an apron, damn it." I said to myself, kicking a cabinet foalishly.
"Blue, are you alright?" Joe asked. It was remarkable how bad his timing was. Well, bad for me.
I nodded. "Just got a stain on my apron."
"And your shirt, too." Joe pointed out. I looked down in horror to see that the jelly had, in fact, gone through the apron and onto the shirt. "I've thought about switching to black aprons, but it just doesn't have the same visual appeal as a clean white one."
I rubbed my eyes. A lump was forming in my throat. I had to get a handle on myself before I did something embarrassing. I'd been through worse, like when that purple-maned mare shook her coat off on me. The memory didn’t help; I started shaking more.
"Blue, look at me." Joe said softly. He was close, almost too close but not yet touching me. I did, through teary eyes. "It's okay. I'm not mad about a dirty apron." He gently wiped my cheek.
I groaned. "Ugh! I'm fine! It's just allergies." I pushed his hoof away and headed to the bathroom.
"There's a new shirt on a hook in there; feel free to use it." He offered.
When I returned in the new shirt, I went straight back to filling orders without sparing a look at the donut proprietor. Thankfully, he didn't say anything and went back out to the front. The old apron and fallen donut was nowhere to be seen.
In spite of his outward appearance and rather coarse manners, Joe had a sweet side. It seemed he was not unlike his jelly-filled donuts. I shook my head. Not only was he coarse he was also common. He may have forced me into his world but he didn’t belong in mine. Even if he was nice.
Maybe especially if he was nice.
Setting that thought aside I looked at the rack of jelly donuts. That stain was a ridiculous thing to have gotten worked up about and I picked up another jelly donut and squeezed it. The stain was bigger. My hooves shook for a moment but I willed it away.
Joe poked his head in again at just the wrong time. “You okay? Oh come on! Next one is coming out of your aunt’s order!”
I smiled at him and set the squished pastry aside. “Sorry boss, just a little over-excited to work with such a purveyor of perfect pastries.”
Joe snorted. “Yeah we’ll keep the sweet stuff in the donuts, got it? And get back to work. It’s almost time for you to sit in at Court.
Entering Night Court, I was stuck again by just how empty it was. Aside from Luna’s staff, we had just a hooffull of petitioners.
Luna’s eyes focused on my shirt. “Thou hast a touch of preserves upon thy...”
I waved a hoof impatiently. “Thanks, I know. Baking accident. Can we get this started, please. Uh, Your Royal Highness. Forgive me for the...”
It was her turn to wave me off. “Formalities may be spared for the moment. The start of Night Court is nigh. Allow Us to raise the moon and then thou shouldst address Us properly.” She stood.
I moved to the side of the chamber. Luna looked up and with a flash, opened the skylight so she could soar out. With a flap of her wings she took to the air, circling upwards and outwards. As she lit her horn again, the sky changed. The sun went away as, on the other side of the palace, Celestia ended her Courtly duties. The moon rose in its turn and Luna floated down gracefully.
Shaking my head, I approached the throne. Luna took a few steadying breaths and then turned to me. “What didst thou think?”
“Impressive, Your Royal Highness.” I said flatly. “We need to work on your speech patterns.”
Luna nodded, a twinge of something running through her eyes. For a moment, I felt almost guilty for not complimenting her sincerely. It was just a nightfall, though, and I reasoned with myself that that was all there was to it.
“We-I have yet only begun to modernize Our-my speech. ‘’Tis a learning process.” She motioned to the guards to open the doors.
“I’m sure you will pick it up eventually.” I said, trying for a touch more sincerity in spite of myself.
“Thank you, Nephew.” Luna sat on the throne and motioned to a low-backed chair to her right. “Sit with us and perhaps we might converse with thee about modern speech between matters of business.”
I resisted rolling my eyes by the slimmest of margins. Admittedly, I did get a cheap thrill sitting to the right of the throne again. It was the wrong throne, of course. I’d have much preferred sitting in Celestia’s Court where I belonged.
But this was a start.