Interlude - Enter Cherry Red
Cherry stares at her reflection critically, before adjusting the ribbon in her mane for possibly the fifteenth time.
Cherry Red is a decidedly average mare with a grey coat and lilac mane, her most remarkable feature being her bright cherry red eyes, where her name came from.
“Cherry, honey, are you still in there? It’s getting close to sundown, you better hurry. you don’t want to be late for your first day… I mean night of work after all.”
“Right mom, thanks!” Cherry says, making one more last minute adjustment before grabbing her purse, then running out of her room and downstairs. She walks into the living room, to where her mom is waiting.
“Look at you, my little filly, off to her first ever job, at the castle no less, I can’t tell you how proud I am,” says Cherry's mom, engulfing her in a hug.
“I’m just a night maid, Mom,” says Cherry, blushing.
“Don’t give me that, you know better than I do that the princess picks all her serving staff herself,” says Mom. “That means that she took one look at you and said, ‘Yes, her, I want her.’”
‘I wonder why?’ thinks Cherry as she leaves the house. She had applied for the job as soon as she saw the advert about the castle hiring new night staff due to the return of the princess's sister. But from Cherry’s recollection, she was a nervous wreck for most of the interview, stuttering and mixing up her words, and at one point having one of her famous mini freakouts when the princess asked a slightly too personal question. All in all she was hoping for polite refusal by the end, and was shocked to find out she was hired. the princess saying she was perfect for the job, it was all she could do not to faint on the spot.
Still, Cherry holds her head high in determination and pride, and makes her way to the castle.
“Well, what time do you call this?”
Cherry’s determination wilts slightly in front of the disapproving gaze of Glenda, the donkey head maid.
“I was told to arrive half an hour before moonrise,” Cherry mumbles in her defense.
“And you think that excuses you? A maid must be ready and on call at all times, above and beyond the call of duty. I expect you here half an hour earlier,” says the jenny unrelentingly.
“Alright Glenda, that will do, I think you've frightened the new staff member enough,” says Raven Ink, Princess Celestia’s personal assistant. “If you don’t mind, let her get ready and in uniform, I have been tasked to bring her to Celestia for assignment the moment she clocks in.”
Glenda huffed. “Very well, far be it from me to get in the way of the princess's business, although if you ask me, it is much too early for such a new member of staff to be getting assignments from the princess herself, it will fill her head with ideas above her station, you mark my words.”
Raven Ink sighs. “Noted, Glenda. Now, if you don’t mind?”
After the jenny leaves, Raven turns to Cherry. “Now that that's out of the way, please get dressed, quickly if possible, I don’t like keeping the princess waiting.”
With that Cherry quickly gets into her cute maid uniform and falls in behind Raven as they walk through the castle corridors.
After a minute of walking Raven speaks. “I feel as if I might have to pre-emptively apologise on her majesty's behalf.”
“I’m sorry?” says Cherry, confused.
Raven sighs. “Would it surprise you to know that all the other new night staff were interviewed by Princess Luna, not Celestia?”
“They were?” Cherry says.
“And you are the only one receiving your assignment directly from her... I fear that the princess has involved you in one of her schemes. For whatever reason I feel your life may become slightly more difficult than you might reasonably expect... which is why I feel like I need to apologise, because if there is one thing I know about the princess, is she rarely ever feels the need to say she’s sorry.” Raven stops in front of the doors to Celestia's study. “We are here, wait exactly half a minute before entering while I announce your presence, try to compose yourself.”
Raven enters the room, leaving Cherry to her fretting, her rapidly deteriorating determination, and trying to remember how to count to 30. After she she feels half a minute has passed she trots in nervously.
“Ahh, Miss Red, glad to see you again,” says the princess graciously, as if she was an old friend, even though they had only met yesterday. “I hope this evening finds you well.”
“Errm, maybe? Yes, kind of, that is…” Cherry says, fumbling over her words while she tries to remember how to speak.
“Try to relax my little pony, it's only natural to be nervous on your first day,” laughs Celestia, a laugh so crystal clear that it some how manages to calm down the nervous wreck of a mare.
Cherry takes a deep breath, and manages to speak clearly. “I am doing… alright, Princess… all things considered.”
Celestia smiles warmly. “That is good to hear. I take you are ready for your first assignment then?” Celestia gets up and walks to the window, beckoning Cherry to follow. “It is nothing too strenuous, just a little warm up job before we start you on your regular duties. Do you see that tower out there?”
Cherry looks out over the grounds, to a solitary tower, one of the tallest, only connected to the rest of the castle by a large buttress about halfway up its height.
“It is referred to as the western watchtower, in the days of old it served as a guardroom for the flying members of the guard, although it has been a long time since it last fulfilled that role… But that is not important right now, as it is currently serving as an abode for a very old friend of mine.”
There was a pause, which Cherry doesn’t know if she’s supposed to fill, she looks to Raven for support but she is looking at the princess with a look of mild uncertainty. Thankfully Celestia starts speaking again, saving Cherry from having to comment.
“She goes by the name of Mare, and she is very dear to me. My sister and I recently restarted an old tradition of ours, where we share a private supper together before I turn in for the night, and she takes over courtly duties. Although normally it is a sacred tradition between us as siblings, myself and Luna wish to invite Mare to join us. Your first assignment of the night will simply be to fetch her and bring her to the private dining room, as I do not think she will know the way.”
“That is all?” says Cherry, with all Raven was going on earlier, she was expecting worse.
“That is all, she is staying in the tower room,” confirms Celestia. “Do not worry about time, we will start when you and she arrive, although if I had to make a recommendation, I would wait until dark before entering her room. She does not like to be disturbed while the sun is up.”
Cherry gives a hurried curtsy. “I will get on it immediately!” With her head held high, and brimming with new confidence, she trots out the door.
Celestia smiles and goes to sit at her desk, and she notices her assistant giving her a frown. “Is there something wrong, Raven?”
“I don’t recall there being anyone lodging in the western tower, much less by the name of ‘Mare’,” she states.
Celestia smiles her most cryptic smiles. “She was moved in yesterday evening.”
The wording was not lost on Raven, but she chooses a different line of approach. “The same day you hired Miss Cherry?”
“Nothing gets past you, does it?” Celestia says, her smile unmoved.
Raven waits to see if an explanation was coming, before sighing at Celestia's silence. “Very well, if you have no further need of me I shall retire to my chambers.”
“I wouldn’t dream of keeping you,” says Celestia fondly.
Cherry’s butterflies return, as she stands outside the door to the tower room, the sun had set moments before, all she has to do is open the door.
Cherry wonders what kind of pony this ‘Mare’ is, or even what kind of name is Mare in the first place. She also wonders why she was given this job, simple as it might have been, why did the princess go out of her way to send a new maid to do it? Is this Mare perhaps so impossible to deal with that she has scared off every maid ever come in contact with her? Is she some sort of eldritch horror that the other staff refuse to go near? Cherry’s mind is abuzz with unhelpful thought after unhelpful thought, maybe it isn’t too late to back out…
Then she remembers how proud her mother was of her getting a job at the castle. So, taking a deep breath, she knocks on the door.
After a minute, a muffled voice replies, “Come in?”
Cherry is surprised, the voice sounds like a filly, not at all what she had been expecting. Nevertheless she opens the door.
In the middle of the well furnished bedroom, sitting cross legged on a large shiny rock, is possibly the strangest creature Cherry has ever seen, who stares impassively with deep yellow eyes, as if waiting to see what she will do.
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When I read that, I almost read "night raid!"
My brother can take his anime somewhere else.
Well so far so good.
Love it spesialy the sexy maid thing
So did anyone else compare this to the fairly odd parents theme? I'm mean, come on. "Cherry's just an average mare with grey coat and lilac mane, her most remarkable feature being her bright cherry eyes!" It syncs up fairly well to the tune.
8126879
I do not notice
8126879
YOU'RE RIGHT! Also I had to read your comment several times before I remembered the show... been a while.
8126503
i hate that anime
The mayor of Ponyville is also named Mare it's not wierd just uncommon.