Brave Soul

Brave Soul

In the beginning, there was one. In the end, there were *thousands***.

Celestia, while looking upon her reflection, brushed her hair. It was a beautiful morning. A first night of perfect rest after a while. Things have finally been looking up after the horrid week long storm that tormented Canterlot endlessly. Her sun finally bared its warmth and light upon Canterlot once again. Celestia placed her brush down onto the dresser, satisfied with her mane. She walked across her room to the balcony, opening the doors to invite the warmth she much needed after the many cold days the storm provided. Immediately, she felt the morning breeze rush inside her room, disheveling her mane.

"Oh, you must be kidding me." Celestia muttered as she turned around towards her mirror again. Levitating the brush in her direction, she gave a glance at her reflection; amused by her cotton-like disheveled mane. Celestia smirked, wondering how the infamous party pony can pull off such a look. A few gentle knocks were then heard from her maplewood door.

"Who is it?" Celestia chimed as she began to comb her mane.

"May I come in, princess?" A mare replied delicately on the other side.

"Come in, please."

The maid made her way in, revealing her light cream colored coat, along with her light brown mane which was tied in a bun. She was dressed in the typical maid's outfit. Immediately, she began tidying the alicorn's room. The mare started with the bed sheets.

"Well. It's a relief that the storm was finally dealt with by the weather team, isn't it? That was a terrible storm! They couldn't handle it until it finally died down yesterday, could you believe that?" The mare shook her head in disbelief. She finished the bedsheets, and moved towards the bookstand across the room. The maid then began to organize the shelves, dusting it as she did so.

"It was better that the weather team didn't act until the storm was manageable, otherwise they could have possibly suffered injuries, or even worse, lost a team member." Celestia shook her head. "Although, that horrid storm didn't let me sleep, true. I'm just happy they took care of it before night. I was able to sleep like a filly once again. A princess needs her beauty sleep, you know?" Celestia joked. They both shared a giggle.

"Oh, princess, please. You're beautiful even on your so-called 'bad days'." The maid wagged her hoof at Celestia with a playful scowl. "More beautiful than I ever will be, that's for sure." The maid sighed. Celestia stopped brushing for a moment, staring at the maid through the reflection before she continued brushing. The mare held a slightly gloomy face, organizing the shelves at a slower pace.

"Thank you, Mellow. Your words are kind, truly... but please, don't base your beauty simply on your appearances." Both mares turned to look at each other. "You, for example, are one of the most selfless mares I have had the pleasure and luck to stumble across. And take my word for it, I've seen alot of ponies in my life. I'm older than I look, you know?" Celestia gave a wink, causing the both to chuckle.

"Your kindness always warms my heart, and always has from the start, Mellow." Said Celestia in her maternal tone. Mellow blinked a few times, then smiled shyly.

"Thank you.. princess."

"It's only the truth." Celestia returned the smile. Content with her mane, she levitated the brush back to the dresser, and trotted slowly towards Mellow. The alicorn lowered her head slightly to eye level with the mare, staring observantly as mellow stared back with curiosity. After what seemed like endless moments, their faces began to get uncomfortably close by the second. The mare gulped, her cheeks getting warm, her emerald colored eyes widening out of shock and confusion. Finally, the alicorn's lips slowly parted, her eyes now half lidded. The poor mare was washed away in a flurry of thoughts, time seemingly slowing down for her.

'What on earth is she doing? Why? W-What-'

"You have uhh... a very small smudge of dust your nose." Celestia interrupted her mental hurricane, gently blowing on Mellow's nose.

There was a small moment of silence. Mellow blushed madly out of embarrassment as soon as her mind processed what just happened. Celestia, her face now bright with playfulness, waited patiently for her to say something.

"I don't swing like that." Mellow pouted. The two then chuckled.

"Oh, don't lie to yourself!" Celestia scrunched her nose jokingly.

"Princess," Mellow monotoned. "I love joking around, and I have fun doing it, I really do. But that was a little-" Mellow looked to her side, the embarrassment still clearly on her cheeks. "...Extreme."

Celestia looked at her worryingly, taking a few moments to put her words together.

"I'm sorry, I meant no harm... If you'd like, I could stop it all?"

Mellow smiled, ease showing its way back to her.

"No no, that's not what I mean! It's ok to have fun, princess!" She giggled, but then pointed a hoof. "But seriously, I don't swing like that."

Celestia chuckled again, giving a nod. Shortly after, her grin fell slightly.

"I'm sorry. I'm just not... accustomed to having such a friendly relationship with somepony. I have trouble sometimes when it comes to learning... um...  when 'to draw the line', so to speak." Celestia made air quotes with her hooves.

"Besides," Mellow added. "It's not everyday that anypony gets to be flattered in such a way by the princess herself. Thank you." She did a quick curtsy, playfully smiling afterwards. Celestia grinned, waving a hoof dismissively as she rolled her eyes.

"I'm off now for breakfast. Would you like me to make you anything?"

"Oh, please, not again princess. It's not worth troubling yourse-" Mellow was interrupted by the sound of hooves shuffling.

"I insist, and will." The alicorn winked, and disappeared out through the door.

"Oh no you-" The maid galloped out the room, and looked both ways in the hallway. Celestia was gone in a blink, as always.

"...don't."

Mellow chuckled as she rolled her eyes, trotting back into Celestia's room to finish organizing the book shelves. She gazed mindlessly at a book cover as she levitated it, almost as if she was in a momentary trance. After she finished dusting it, she frowned.

"...Curses. If I wasn't so caught up in the moment, I could've gave her a peck. Then I would've had the last laugh."

Finally signing her name onto the last line, she placed the sheet of paper on top of the stack of pages as she levitated the quill back into the ink jar. She raised her head up, a few cracks and pops being made as she did so.

"How these advisers manage to find me up to the most trivial things to work on is beyond me." She rubbed her eyes with her hooves, and levitated a random sheet from the pile to read over again. After scanning the sheet for a moment, she slipped it back in the pile, furrowing her eyebrows.

"...Unbelievable. They don't know whether to hire a plumber or not to fix the lobby bathroom, so they appoint it to me. Definitely a hard choice." She muttered the last part with sarcasm. Celestia stood up from her chair, giving each leg an individual stretch. She took in a few deep breaths, exhaling slowly after each one. After a minute or so of doing this, she ended it with a short sigh.

"I understand. They're afraid of touching our reserves for small things like that. But it's not like I would behead them if they went over the limit by a few utlity bills!" She gently shook her head, and made her way out of her office along with the stack of papers levitating by her side. Just as she turned around after locking the door behind her, she bumped into a mare, causing her to lose concentration on the levitation spell. The papers flew madly in the air, spilling across a good twenty feet across the large corridor floors.

"Oh- darnit! Terribly sorry! Here, let me hel-" The mare turned to look at the princess, her eyes widening the very second she recognized just who she bumped into. Celestia looked back at the mare, although taking a few extra seconds to recognize just who it was.

"Oh- Mellow! I didn't see who you were for a second! And... why do you look different?" Celestia joked, seeing Mellow in her casual attire; a dark blue scarf with a winter hat to match. Her mane was also let loose, slightly combed over to partially float over her right eye. It seemed to have some lighter shades of brown, which stuck out brightly from her already light brown mane. The hairstyle however, definitely misled one into thinking that she seemed like a shy pony, obviously far from what she really was. With Celestia's usual humor brightening the situation, it eased any tension that there was, causing the two to share a laugh.

"Oh ha ha, princess. Maid uniform isn't the only thing I wear you know?" Mellow said sarcastically as she began to pickup the mess of papers. Celestia quickly joined in with the cleanup.

"Really? I always thought it was a kink of yours, wearing a maids outfit." Celestia stifled a laugh.

"Hmph. On the contrary, princess. I thought it was a kink of yours, seeing me in a maids outfit." Mellow smirked at her clever comeback. Celestia bit her lip, playfully smiling at the same time as she began to crumple up one of the sheets of paper, quickly throwing the paper ball at the other mare. Mellow giggled madly as she tried galloping away before it hit her, but was pegged by it nonetheless. She levitated the paper ball up, straightening it out back to new with her magic. After a minute or so, they finally organized the small stack together. Celestia levitated it back up to her side, and turned to face Mellow.

"Thank you for the help, Mellow!" She smiled as she began to trot away.

"Not a pro- oh, hold on. Are those going to the advisers?" Mellow asked. Celestia turned, stopping in her tracks. She nodded, humming a small 'mhm'.

"Here, I'll drop it to them on the way out!" Mellow smiled as she levitated the papers from Celestia to her side.

"Oh, thank you very much, truly." Celestia smiled. A small part of Mellow's sentence then processed in the alicorn's mind at the last second. She then cocked an eyebrow. "You're heading out early today?"

"Hm? Oh, no, it's Saturday, princess." Mellow grinned. "Time flew over your head that fast?"

"Oh, goodness. It did." Celestia chuckled. Mellow's eyes widened a bit, her mouth hanging a bit.

"...Hooold on. Time flew over my head too. Now's a good time to mention this! I almost forgot, I'm not going to be working thirty hours weekly anymore. I made sure to talk to Fenil, got my schedule changed, so now my schedule's going to be pretty much part time."

"Oh?" Celestia cocked her head slightly.

"Mhm. Remember how I got this job in the first place?" Mellow smiled, waiting to see if Celestia could recall. After a short moment, Celestia held a hoof up.

"Oh yes! To pay the debt for your studies, I remember." Celestia then held a hoof to her chin. "Heyy... you were that one temporary that was supposedly going to leave when you found an actual job! Gosh, one whole year later,  and you finally found a job?"

"Yep! It'll be quite a trip though, but definitely worth it. It's at my hometown, so I'll be able to stay at my house again. Thank goodness." Mellow rolled her eyes. "I had no idea how much longer I could live around here until I bucked one of those snooty no-good 'high society' idiots."

Celestia chuckled.

"Well, congratulations! Also, where's your hometown again?"

"Thank you! I just come from a small town you probably never heard of." Mellow joked. The alicorn shook her head with a small grin. "Ponyville, about an hour and half by train." She finished.

"Oh, of course I know that town! Little, sure, but very fun! Although, it's been a while since I've last visited." Celestia placed a hoof on her chin thoughtfully. "Such a hassle to organize a small trip to anywhere though. Even on sundays." She mumbled. Celestia began trotting forwards, motioning for the mare to follow.

"Well, let's get going shall we? We've spent enough time up here gossiping as it is." Celestia and Mellow giggled as they made their way.

As the week went by, Mellow easily slipped back into Ponyville. It was her hometown afterall, so it was a seamless transition back home. Her move into her new job at the Ponyville hospital was just as easy, her talent being that of medical care. It was always second nature to her, and along with her skill refinement as an intern in Canterlot's hospital where only the best doctors resided; she effortlessly got the job. Weeks passed as her employer checked on her performance, and needless to say, she was an absolute natural at it. By the end of the first month, she showed more than enough that she was perfectly capable of her job, and secured her job as doctor. Full time.

As Mellow worked her last day at the castle, she gave the news; personally telling Celestia first of course, being the close friends they were. It was a very joy filled moment, and they even celebrated. It was really only a small party between the two that consisted of a cupcake with a candle, and a small improvised present from Celestia. Regardless, they had fun. With very heavy hearts, they gave each other their last hugs and goodbyes, and parted ways. They agreed to stay in touch however, planning to send each other a few letters whenever they could. It wasn't going to be the same anymore of course, but it was most certainly better than just forgetting a good friend.

Celestia used her magic to dip her quill once more into the ink vial, and signed her name onto the sheet of paper. She read over once more, checking for any errors.

February 5th

Dear Mellow,

Well, cheers for our first letter to each other! To be honest, I don't where to start? Gosh. I'm really proud of you Mellow! Just look at you, already in the big leagues! You deserve it, no doubt. Though, I have to admit... even if it was just a few days since I've last seen you, it feels like it's been weeks already. Melly, I miss you already! I hope everything is going just how you always imagined it would.

I'm going to digress for a second. Remember your first day of work here at the castle? Oh, how fun it was messing with you! Remember how I gave you a notepad, since you were too nervous to remember half the things I said? Ha! Goodness. Imagine, by the end it was just casual bickering back and forth to each other. You were pretty much the first of all the ponies in this castle in many years to have become such a close friend of mine.

Ah, I sigh. I'm not going to lie, Melly. I'll definitely miss you. Your replacement definitely isn't a slacker. She's great. Quick. Impeccable with her work, even. But, like most maids I've ever came across in this castle; simply lifeless when it comes to talking to royalty.

Anyway, take care, darling. Eat your greens, do your homework, don't forget to brush your teeth, and all that poppycock. You know I'm just tugging your leg! Have as much fun as you want, I know you're smarter than most when it comes to taking care of yourself. Stay lovely as always, Mellow.

Much love,

Celestia

With a smile, she slipped it into an envelope, and sealed it off. Celestia then got up from her desk, and prepared to make her way to the mailroom. Just as she stepped out of her room, she spotted her new maid trotting down the corridor.

"Oh, hi Starlet!" She said, grabbing the attention of the new maid. "Think you could deliver this for me to the mailroom?"

The maid simply grinned, nodding as she made her way to Celestia, taking the letter.

"Anything else, your highness?" Said the maid.

Celestia grinned for a moment before she spoke again.

"I'd just like to know, how are you finding your new job? Pleasant, hopefully?" She hoped to keep the conversation going. This was the first time the maid said something other than 'okay' and simply trot off afterwards to do what she was told.

"Oh, uh-... yes. It's... nice."

They stared awkwardly at each other, grinning in the short silence. After looking around even more awkwardly, the maid grinned once more, and left.

It was worth a shot.