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Into the Crystal Empire, and the Capital: 11,124 words
An Assignment: 21,087 words

An Assignment: 2

”Welcome to the Royal castle of the Crystal Empire, Nurse. I am Princess Cadance!” she greeted me.

“Greetings, Princess Cadance. It is an honour to be of your service!” I merely responded, in as deep a bow as I could muster in the presence of the Royal Princess.

This is the true Matriarch, a Queen in her full power; she stands taller than any Royal Queen ever could, the Love radiating from her in a manner no mere Queen of Changelings ever could have managed to maintain. In her case, he Love is not mere reflection of what she had consumed and is prepared to share in order to sustain her subjects, it is love in the truest and purest form, actual love from the source of all Love. She is after all the Princess of Love. She is also the reason why I am here, even if that is in a lesser extent.

There is a shift in the mood, and I hastily try to correct my stance and bearing; before I am angering her, trying my best to make it into an honourable retreat, to the stance a loyal subject is maintaining in the presence of her Queen, or in this case, her Princess.

“I do appreciate the Respect you demonstrate, but you don’t need to bow down quite that deep or maintain it longer than a mere second. I certainly am not my predecessor, King Sombra!” she pronounced jovially.

“No, Princess Cadance. It is just such an old and deep habit!” I stammered.

“Since you are the first to apply for the job, you will sleep in the room adjacent to the foals room as the Head Nurse. Your first task is to prepare the room for my first born foal. I expect the room to be ready, at the date of her birth!” she put forth.

As I followed the instructions, I soon found myself in the room that I had been assigned as the Head Nurse. Either the head Nurse is a higher position among Ponies, or their servants are granted more space and luxury than we Changelings could have been afforded. For a moment I am shocked, but the impression will cling to me for much longer than it took me to recover from the initial shock.

I have a large bed to the right of the room with a nightstand, in which I could store a few items. The bed had been embedded with the Royal bed linen in Crystal style and in the Princess’s own colours, which was a smaller surprise than I had been expected. Of course the linen are of high quality and will be quite nice to sleep in, soft and smooth as they are.

On the hoof end of my bed, I found the double doors to two Queen size wardrobes. Naturally the walls are all the same crystal as the castle, as are the doors to all rooms and even the wardrobes. It is after all the Royal castle of the Crystal Empire. What had I been expecting? As good as stone or wood had been looking and feeling to me, but these would have been cheap replacements here.

As the acting Head Nurse, I should not be worried about privacy for myself, more than for any pony else in this wing; that is part of my responsibilities. At least it is how I interpreted it. For now, I am the sole inhabitant in the wing; not just the room in which I deposited my few belongings, including what I had bought or traded for on my way to the castle.

In surprise, I noticed that I had both a shower and a mares’ room. These will be very convenient facilities to me, when ever I need them.

“Maybe a shower wouldn’t be such a bad idea, right now?” I pondered.

“Of course, I do have one; so I could as well try it out, for myself!” I responded.

Just as I had expected: the walls, floor and ceiling is the same crystal as the room outside. Everything is just standard for a shower, just fancier in the Royal Crystal style.

I stepped right in and pushed the controls and enjoyed the warm water raining down from overhead. The water is actually warm, and just about the heat I had expected.

Minute by minute, the air in the room is warming up by all the hot water. As if I had expected anything else, but the air is starting to turn into a thickening fog. I don’t see all that much, but what do I need to see.

The small room is just the same crystal, aside from the few details to control the shower. Nothing much to see here. I may have been freshly changed into the form as a Nurse, but I still do enjoy the privilege of having a warm shower all by myself. Quiet and intimately private. Is this the pony side of me in the form I have taken?

Even if I don’t have any duties calling for my attention at this instant, I can’t stay in the shower forever. I step out, drying myself of with the towel as any Pony would have done. I don’t care if they would have detected my Changeling magic, it is more along the lines of preserving my energy and magic to when I actually need to be expending them on something. As a Pony, it is easier to use a towel and I actually quite enjoy doing it. Maybe it is the Pony in me talking, but I don’t let this get to me.

Knowing that I am alone makes it much easier on me. Trotting around, looking at everything and examining it for myself; all in my own time.

A thought hit me, and I trotted to the door and opened it; before I trotted along the hall to the large wardrobe, where I found what I had expected to see. The uniforms for all the Nurses intended to work here. Strangely, the uniform for the Head Nurse actually is fitting me, and not just close enough to pass.

Once I had slipped into my uniform, I picked up a set of uniforms and carried them back into my room and slipped them into my personal wardrobe. With that; I have accepted my post as the Head Nurse and will be recognized as such, as I move around in the large castle.

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