Maids of Honor

by Foal Star

Chapter Thirteen: A Date to Remember

Princess Cadance was enjoying breakfast in her room along with Mop Head and Soapy that morning, listening to them as they discussed their idea about getting Silky and Amber together. She couldn't help but burst out laughing as Mop Head and Soapy both explained their idea to get Amber and Silky and getting them together.

Cadance couldn't stop laughing, paused, and then said, "Ok, so let me get this straight. Do you want to get the two "lovebirds" together? After hanging out with them for the past two days, it's pretty clear that Amber will have more difficulty showing her true feelings. Also, we have to consider their gender identity. They both have been mares for a while. At this point, they might only like each other because they are both mares. The second one of them, most likely Amber, turns back into a stallion; the relationship could fall apart."

Mop Head let out an annoyed sigh, "We know, but it wouldn't hurt to try and see what happens; if everything goes well tomorrow and we stop the sirens, they'll turn back to stallions, and if that happens, they might lose interest with each other completely. I just think we should do this now before that happens."

Princess Cadance nodded along, then said, "Well, I guess we got some work to do; first, let's separate the two and then set up a date for all of you, but have your friends leave abit at a time. Then, they'll be alone by the time everyone is gone."

Soapy tapped a hoof to her chin and then exclaimed, "I see! That does sound like a good idea!"

The princess of love then added with abit more serious tone. "Also, to be clear, this should feel natural. You don't want to try forcing two ponies together; that never works. Remember, you shouldn't force them to be in a relationship if they don't want to be together."

"Yes, princess," the two chimed in unison.

"Well, you two better start booking a place in Restaurant Row."

"Good idea! We better go out now! Come on, Soapy," Moppy then took her marefriend by the hoof and led her out the door as Princess Cadance sat back with a smirk.

---

After the two returned from their breakfast with Princess Cadance, they met with Orange and Silky in the dining hall. They told them about their plan to get Amber and Silky together. Orange couldn't help but squeal, "Oh, that does sound like fun! But how should we do it without them figuring out what we're planning?"

"That's easy. Just get them away from each other for the day. Soapy and I will handle dealing with the reservations. We're thinking of a nice, lovely pasta restaurant."

Soapy nodded, "definitely going to need the extra carbs for tomorrow. Also, it just sounds like the perfect romantic evening for the two."

The moody grey-coated pegasus raised a hoof and said, "Well, count me in; that sounds like a great idea. So how would we get the two alone?"

Orange blushed, then explained, "I've been meaning to get Silky to come on and get a dress; she keeps asking where I got mine so we can spend some time at Carousel Boutique."

Stormy nodded, "I'll take Amber to get preened; I know a place with a nice little cafe and spa. We can hang out until we meet up for dinner tonight."

"Wonderful! So we have a plan: Stormy is going to get preened with Amber, and Orange pick out dresses with Silky," Mop Head chirped just then as the four went their separate ways. Two pegasus mares in cute black and white maid uniforms flew over with scowls on their faces as they landed and snapped in unison, "Did you forget about us!?"

Mop Head was somewhat surprised to see the mares and then asked, "Well, no, I just, um…who are you two?"

The pegasus on the right placed a hoof on her chest and then said. "My name is Sword Feather."

The one on the left did the same and said, "Shield Wing."

Mop Head eyed them, then her eyes widened, remembering the two pegasi turning into maids the week previously, and asked, "You two were turned into maids last week, right?"

Sword Feather cried, "Yes, and we've been told to go the maid's quarters for the past week, but we realized we were being pranked!"

Shield Wing then gave a cute pout and said, "Yes, and then we're told by Sea Star that you are planning on saving Equestria without us!"

"Yes, we want to help; please give us anything we can do?"

Soapy whispered into Mop Head's ear, and then she gave a nod. "Well, it seems we have something we need you to do: tail Celestia and make sure she doesn't accidentally turn anypony else into a maid."

"Yes, try to keep her distracted, please."

"Yes, mam!" the two chimed, then trotted off as Mop Head sighed and said, "Well, that takes care of that."

"Good thing, too; now we can get going!" Orange chirped, and the maids all went off in different directions.

---

An hour after breakfast, Silky was confused as she was out suddenly, out of nowhere, taken by the hoof of Orange Julius and was now being escorted through the streets of Canterlot. She was somewhat surprised as they were making their way toward it. Even though they had a day off, the usually shy earth pony came out of nowhere, insisting they should go shopping for a dress. Suspicious of what was going on, she asked, "So Orange, where are we going again?"

The earth pony looked worried, then quickly said, "Oh yes, we need to get you a dress."

"Um, you know…you might need one for tonight."'

"Tonight!? Why tonight!?"

Orange nervously replied, "Well, the other girls and I were talking, and before the big banquet tomorrow, we're going to have a get-together in Restaurant Row, and I think you'll look great in a dress."

Silky's cheeks flushed pink, then said, "Seriously? You don't mean that."

"I do…I mean…" She paused and then whispered, "I mean, you're going to stay as a mare, right?"

Silky squeaked being, shocked at the question; the mare has indeed thought a lot about her gender identity, and for some reason, she has been feeling much more natural as a mare, more so than a stallion, and said, "Well, I thought about it for some time, and yeah I thought about it, and I think I might stay as a mare."

"Well, me too…" She then pushed her mane and said, "In fact… I've been wearing dresses long before I turned into a mare."

Silky was shocked at this sudden revelation and squeaked, "Really!?"

"Yes, and I…I…" tears came to her eyes, "I've been loving every day. I just thought everypony would laugh at me."

The grey coated unicorn slowly trotted over and hugged her, "I'm sorry before I turned into a mare. I may have been one of your bullies…now…now, I regret everything I did. If you stay like this, I'll help get you reinstated as a royal guard."

The earth pony asked, looking up with tears in her eyes, and asked, "You mean it?"

"Yes, you know we have mares in the royal guard!"

The mare gulped, blinked, laughed, and said, "Right, we do…. It makes you wonder if we could've just been soldiers since the start?"

"Who knows, we can be super spies as maids; no one would ever expect us to be badasses. It's the perfect cover."

Orange laughed, "Sure, that sounds like a great idea;…thank you for being so understanding. Now, come on, let's get going!" The mare then dragged her into the Canterlot boutique with a bounce to her step. Upon entering the building, Silky was blown away by the dresses on display, all lined up and looking absolutely gorgeous. The amazing part was that they all had different designs, all equally beautiful in their own way. As they came through the main showroom, they came upon a tall, light blue unicorn with a flowing orange and yellow striped mane with a pair of stunning orange eyes. She turned towards them with a smile upon seeing the two. "Oh, a returning customer!?"

The earth pony waved a hoof and then chirped, "Hello, Sassy, I came to pick up some bows, but..." Orange pulled Silky over and said, "My friend here came for a dress tonight for a da- I mean a dinner!"

"Splendid! Today's been rather slow, so I'll personally find a dress for your friend," Sassy hopped over and started looking over Silky as she held out a hoof, "I'm Sassy Saddles, manager of Canterlot Boutique."

"Oh uh, I'm Silky, Silky Apron," the unicorn chimed back; they then shook each other's hooves.

"Oh!? What a lovely name! Do you have any idea of what kind of dress you like?"

The mare's cheeks flushed pink, and she said, "Not really? I never tried on a dress before."

"I see," she bent down and whispered, "You're one of those poor guards who was turned into a maid."

Silky bowed her head and then said, "Yes, that's true."

"Well, don't worry, we shall pick something out that'll make you stand out. Now come on."

Sassy then took Silky to the back of the boutique, where she had her try on dozens of different gowns. Silky tried on various different kinds, but nothing really stood out. Then Sassy picked out a beautiful dress clearly inspired by Princess Luna with her cutie mark emblazoned in the chest area and said, "How about this? Rarity designed it herself and named it "Over the Moon."

The grey-coated unicorn gasped in shock at how beautiful the gown looked and saw how she admired the dark purple with the lighter purple making up the skirt, along with the dazzling teal gems at the end of the gown. It was so beautiful she was utterly speechless. She adjusted the sleeves of her dress and then whispered, "It's beautiful."

"Well, it is one of the big hits here; now, how about you try it on and see how it fits."

Sassy then helped drape the dress over her, tapped the shoes over her hooves, and looked at a mirror, seeing how the dark, shady blue colors matched her grey coat rather well.

"Ah yes, what do you think?"

She looked at her reflection, twirled about, and then, with a smile, replied, "This is so beautiful, I'll take it!"

Orange trotted over and asked, "So, is this the one!?"

Silky hopped off the pedestal and giggled, "Yes, it is!"

She then trotted to the cash register and was about to pay for it, but Orange shook her head, took out her purse, and purchased it along with some bows. Silky was surprised by the gesture and, as they walked out of the boutique, asked, "Why did you do that?"

"Just paying it forward. Now, come on, we have to show that gown off to the rest of the girls!" Orange chirped as the two headed through the streets of Canterlot.

---

Meanwhile, Amber was being pulled by the hoof through the streets of Canterlot, looking somewhat confused as she was pulled by the hoof by Stormy almost seemingly out of nowhere. The grey-coated mare dragged her as she shouted, "ok, what's going on here!?"

The pegasus threw her mane out and said, "Nothing's happening. I just thought you could use a preening."

"That's it a preening?"

"Yeah, a preening come on."

"We're only going to be stallions again in two days. We might as well enjoy the time we have as mares."

"Yeah, like we can't get preenings as stallions."

"True, but will you be able to?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, considering how we were…"

"We aren't going back to how we were… I'm not even sure if I could ever even be a tenth of how I was."

Stormy looked over and said, "All I'm saying is that we really should consider that how we feel now may change when we turn back to stallions."

Amber started to feel self-conscious about that and replied, "Well, in any case, we can worry about that later, so why preening? Not a hooficure or anything else?"

Stormy blushed and explained, "Well, we pegasi should be getting preened. More often than we do, especially us stallions."

"So there's no other reason for dragging me out here?"

The grey-coated pegasus scoffed, "Of course not! Just you know, filling in some time before we save Equestria tomorrow?"

Amber was still suspicious; there was obviously a reason almost out of the blue. Stormy had dragged her out here for what felt like no reason. But despite her suspicion of the mare and reasoning to drag her to a preening, she didn't care. The scary part about what she was reconciling with was that she was slowly enjoying her new life, feeling like it was a new leaf. But she was too scared to admit it and proud to say it. So, for now, she'll enjoy today and take a hoof towards enjoying herself before making a decision she wasn't sure of. They continued towards a beautiful-looking blue building with the cover in the shape of clouds. Amber was astounded as Stormy pushed open the doors. In the lobby, the ground was covered in clouds, making the pegasus squeak, seeing how fluffy and soft it was. Stormy laughed, "You've never been to Cloudesdale, have you?"

"What!? no…I haven't."

"Figures, you see pegasi, who immigrated here, created this place to make it feel like Cloudesdale, and well, I come here often."

She then led Amber to the cashier; a friendly blue-coated pegasus waved a hoof, "Hello! How may I help you?"

"We need two professional preenings, please; thank you."

"Of course, names."

"Storm Cloud."

"Storm Cloud!?

The stallion rose up, "So it's true!? You really did get turned into a mare!?"

The grey-coated pegasus threw her mane back and said, "So what?"

"So what I mean…wow, I am just surprised, is all."

"Yeah, I'm a mare. Can we skip to the part where we get our wings preened?"

"Of course!" the stallion exclaimed as he led them to two pegasus mares who both gasped and asked together, "Storm Cloud, is that you!?"

The mare lowered her head and mumbled, "Yeah, it's me."

The two then flocked over Stormy, admiring her as they commented on her mane and wings, making those grey cheeks turn a shade of red. Amber couldn't help but snicker and then asked, "So, uh, about that preening?"

"Preening, right? Let's get to that, shall we!"

The two pegasi then took the two to benches, which were laid out. Then, one of the mares whispered, "Spread your wings out, please."

Amber did as she was asked and spread her wings out as instructed. Then, two pegasi went to work, going over her wings and clearing out the bent feathers and the dirt between them. Amber remembered years ago, her own mother preening her as a child. She cried a little as it felt so nice, and she realized how much care she had lost and how she had been a jerk before. After the preening, Amber and Stormy were taken to a comfy cafe where the seats were also made of clouds.

Stormy then sat down across from Amber as they enjoyed some small deli sandwiches and cups of coffee. Then, as Amber stared at her reflection, she sighed, "Stormy, don't tell the others, but I…I think I might stay as a mare."

The grey-coated pegasus looked up and asked, "Any particular reason? I mean, out of everyone, I thought you would certainly turn back."

"I…I think it's well… it's grown on me, but I want to…I think I want to be the royal preener."

"Well, if you insist, nopony's stopping you. Still can't believe you're blazing saddles; you sure you're not a changeling or a siren?"

"Trust me, I think this is right…"

---

Later that evening, the maids gathered together at Restaurant Row, enjoying themselves and having a good time at a fancy pasta restaurant with a massive plate of spaghetti and drinking copious amounts of wine. Silky was somewhat nervous, blushing in her new gown, but the other mares were just complimenting her and enjoying their time with her. She couldn't help but feel great showing off her new outfit. Orange Julius was also wearing the cute dress, and the two just gushed over how fabulous the Carousel Boutique in Canterlot is and how great Sassy Sadles was picking out their dresses. Then, as they continued their conversation, Silky turned to see Amber wearing nothing. She just trotted over and plopped down, showing off her wings, "how do I look?"

Silky's mouth dropped upon seeing Amber's wings as she flashed them. She wasn't wearing anything, seeming to embrace her natural beauty as she trotted over and whispered, you're so "Beautiful!"

"Thanks, it took forever to get my wings done."

"No, they look gorgeous," Mop Head chirped as she settled in.

Amber then turned her attention to Sea Star and Lemon Heart and asked, "So how was dealing with the jerks from last night."

"Oh, they did a decent job as maids," Sea Star laughed.

"Oh yes, they did such an amazing job."

"And they are still stallions, right?" Mop Head asked as she turned her attention to the two newcomers.

Sword Feather rose and saluted, saying, "Yes, Princess Celestia was in her room for most of the day, so we kept her company and had somepony to talk to."

"Yes, she had a raging headache, so we gave her soothing teas, massaged her, and preened her." Shield Wing replied.

"Well, that's good. Hopefully, she feels better for tomorrow," Mop Head mumbled, looking worried, "but for now, we all have our tasks for tomorrow."

"Except us!" Shield Wing snapped.

"Well, you two can accompany Orange Julius and Stormy to guard the castle and ensure no sirens come out to attack."

"Understood!" The two shouted.

The maids then went about chatting and drinking, with the crowd slowly dispersing over time, and soon, the only two were there with a plate of spaghetti. Amber and Silky were quite drunk and had a plate of spaghetti. Slurping up noddles and looking at each other with bashful expressions.

"You look beautiful," Silky squeaked as she gulped down her wine. Amber flushed red, then said, "You look stunning yourself…"

"So I think you should know since it might be quite obvious, but if everything goes well tomorrow, I want to stay as a mare."

"Ok, any reason why?" Amber asked; then Silky continued, "Because I…I like who I am as a mare, I like baking, and after this, I want to open my own bakery."

"And you think you can't do that as a stallion? You know Donut Joe is a guy, right?"

Silky blinked, then slammed a hoof into her face, seeing how stupid that sounded, then said, "I know, it's more than that; it feels natural for me, and I enjoyed being like this. As a stallion, it felt like I was just going through the motions and being a jerk because I was too scared to say what I wanted to say."

"And that is?"

"That I admire you."

"And why do you like me so much?"

"Because…because I see that you're so much better, so much stronger than how you were and your transformation to the asshole to this kind loving mare…but…"

"You think I'll go back to being a jerk if I turn back."

"I'm not certain…But we might lose whatever we feel if that happens."

Amber laughed drunkenly as she looked up with a sheepish grin. "Well, lucky for you, I think that's not something you'll have to worry about." she then came up and said. "I'm planning to stay this way as well and work as a preener."

The grey-coated unicorn spat out her wine and then cried, "Seriously!?"

Amber threw her wings over her face and whispered, "Yes, as long as you're ok with it…"

"Of course! I'm just surprised, is all! How!? why!?"

The brown-coated pegasus just looked stunned even at her own statement, then added, "I don't know…maybe fate's hoof decided that this is how we can be…:

Silky's heart was a flutter; maybe she was just drunk, but she was thrilled to hear Blazing was going to stay a mare. "Well, seeing that we're both set…and just admitted we like each other…"

"Want to be my marefriend?" the two asked in unison; without hesitation, they both kissed and gave each other a longing look. The two threw a bag of bits on the table and quickly trotted off somewhere private.

Comments

[Chrome Masquerade]

"Good idea! We better go out now! Come on, Soapy," Soapy then took her marefriend by the hoof and led her out the door as Princess Cadance sat back with a smirk.

Wait, what? Is she talking to herself?

[Chrome Masquerade]

"I see," she bent down and whispered, "You're one of those poor guards who was turned into a maid."

Sharp, this one!

[AvoidingFever17]

Nice