Grace
Changes in Lifestyles
Fluttershy sat on an elegant silver throne. She was draped in a beautiful blue dress that was made by a seamstress from Manehatten. She was also wore a pair a black tights and a pair of light blue flats on her hind legs. She looked like a princess but sure didn’t feel like one.
Fluttershy wasn’t used to castle life; she was just a young mare from the small town of Ponyville, but was now living the life of royalty in Canterlot. Her mother had set up a marriage between her and Prince Blueblood, since the Prince’s role was to produce an heir, and he was entranced by the young mare. Fluttershy had just recently turned 18, and the Prince was ten years older, but most ponies didn’t really care about that.
It had been five days since her marriage to the Prince, and she didn’t think she’d last the rest of her life with him already. She’d had an exhausting day yesterday, and didn’t get much sleep because of the Prince, and his failed attempts of being romantic. After a few minutes of silence, she closed her eyes and laid her head on her front hooves, and fell asleep.
Later, she awoke to find a stallion’s muzzle touching hers. It was Blueblood. She turned her head, blushing hard.
“Oh, don’t be so hard on yourself, Fluttershy!” Blueblood said, laughing. “You don’t need to be shy anymore. We’ve been married for five days already.”
Fluttershy frowned. She wasn’t in the mood to talk. “Blueblood… I’m tired.” Fluttershy said, a slight tone of anger in her voice.
Blueblood was surprised by her slight change in tone. He lifted her chin with his hoof and smiled down at her.
Fluttershy scoffed and got up from the throne. “Did you actually need something, or are you just here to ask me more questions?” She fixed her dress, and began to walk down the stairs leading up to the throne.
“Well, I just needed to tell you I’ll be leaving for Ponyville to meet up with important ponies from the other cities and towns in Equestria. Princess Twilight will be there, some ponies from Appleloosa will be there. There will be many mayors as well.” Blueblood said, walking behind her.
Fluttershy’s eyes widened at the mention of the word Ponyville. She missed that place dearly, even if she was living a normal life there a week ago.
“P-P-Ponyville? D-Do you think I could go with you?”
“Actually…” Blueblood began. “I thought it’d be a good idea if you meet all of the servants. You will be here with me for most of your life, and I know all of the servants, and so shall you.”
Fluttershy sighed. “I-I suppose that’ll be alright.”
The Prince nodded and told one of the guards to tell the servants to prepare some tea and appetizers.
“Your Grace,” A coachstallion called out, “Your carriage is here.”
Blueblood nodded. “Remember Fluttershy, if you need anything, the servants will help you.” Blueblood kissed her on the cheek and walked out of the castle.
Fluttershy sighed. “Thank goodness he’s gone.” she whispered under her breath.
“Your Grace?” An orange Pegasus guard called out. “You may go into the tea room now.”
Fluttershy nodded. “Thank you.” She said, as two unicorn guards opened the doors to the tea room.
Fluttershy stepped into the tea room. It was a beautiful sight: There were beautifully painted teacups, teapots and plates; all having the same theme of roses and other types of flowers, there were vases of flowers, and an assortment of different food. In the corner of the room, there was a record player playing classical music. She was surprised at how fast this was put together.
At the table, there were nine servants in all different shapes and sizes, leaving one chair empty.
To the right of the empty chair, sat a young unicorn filly wearing a simple, but charming blue dress. She had a short, curly light pink and purple mane and had green eyes. She smiled brightly at Fluttershy as she walked over to the empty chair.
Sitting down at the table, she saw all of the servants’ faces. They were all smiling, acting very proud of what they put together for the duchess.
“This looks lovely. Thank you all.” Fluttershy said.
The young unicorn next to her stood up from her chair. “Your Grace, let me introduce you to everypony.”
“I’m Sweetie Belle.”
She pointed to the yellow earth pony that was sitting next to her. The earth pony had a red mane and slightly poofed bangs. “This is Apple Bloom. She’s been working her as long as I have; five years, when we were both seven.” Apple Bloom was wearing a raggedy old dress, and had a large pink bow in her mane.
Sweetie Belle continued down the table. “This is Scootaloo.” She said as she pointed to the orange Pegasus. Scootaloo had a semi-long purple mane, and wore a stain-covered dress. “She’s been at the castle as far back as she can remember.” Scootaloo smiled meekly.
Reaching the end of the left side of the table, Sweetie Belle stopped in between the chairs of two earth pony mares. “These two are Aloe and Lotus,” She said, pointing a hoof at both ponies. “They both work at the palace spa, but also help around with cleaning.” Aloe and Lotus both wore the same thing: A white long-sleeved top with a white skirt, and a white headband wrapped around their heads.
Next to Aloe and Lotus, at the end of the table, there was a gray unicorn with a short black mane. His horn, unlike a normal unicorn’s, was a different color than his coat. It was a shade of light blue. His eyes were red, and the part of the eye which is normally white, was yellow. He wore an old pair of pants and a shirt. He had a sly grin on his face that made Fluttershy curious on why he was making the expression.
“This is Discord. He’s been here…” Sweetie Belle paused, and looked at him. He shrugged, and she just continued on. “…for a long time.”
Next to Discord there was a pink earth pony mare. Her mane was a hot pink color and was poofed up. She was the perkiest of the bunch; her eyes shining with excitement. She had a flamboyant blue skirt on and a blue pocketed top. “This is Pinkie Pie. She decorated everything in the room. She normally works in the kitchen with Apple Bloom and…”
“Applejack.” Sweetie Belle said standing behind the chair of an orange earth pony. Applejack had a short yellow mane. She wore a red-and-white checkered dress, and cowfilly boots that were falling apart. On the top of her head, she wore a cowfilly hat. Fluttershy thought that was a bit peculiar, since she did live and work in the capital city of Equestria. “She is the main chef at the castle. You’re from Ponyville, right Applejack?”
Applejack nodded her head. Sweetie Belle walked to the last pony. At the end of the table closest to Fluttershy, there was an old green earth pony mare. She had a white mane that was in a bun, and wore a simple yellow dress.
“This is Granny Smith. She’s been here a really long time. She’s basically in charge of us servants.” Sweetie Belle said.
“Well,” Fluttershy said. “It’s very to meet everypony. I’m sure that the food you made is delicious. I’m just not very hungry right now, but some tea will be fine.”
Sweetie Belle sat back down in her chair, and levitated the teapot over to Fluttershy, and poured some tea into the teacup.
“So…” Applejack said, grabbing a biscuit from the platter in front of her, “How do yah like the castle so far?” She bit into the biscuit after asking the question.
“Well, it’s like a giant maze, and the only places I’ve been in so far are the throne room, my bedroom, and the tearoom. Oh, and occasionally the bathroom, of course.” Fluttershy said, picking up her teacup.
Discord mumbled something to himself at the other side of the table.
Fluttershy sipped her tea. “What was that, Discord?”
Discord cleared his throat, his face covered with a deep red blush. “Oh… um I was just saying that I could show you around that castle if you’d like.”
“Oh, of course. I’d like the most help I can get.” Fluttershy smiled proudly. “That…. And I don’t have much to do while Blueblood is gone.”
Discord chuckled. His laugh was low and dark, causing a chill to run down Fluttershy’s spine. What was there more to learn about this strange, but intriguing servant?
Author's Note
I had the impulse to write: "Find out next time on Grace." But I sadly didn't. I've been working on this for almost two weeks. Hope you enjoy!
Grace
Childish
After the gathering for tea, Discord showed Fluttershy around the castle.
“Now, the castle is very big, as you already know. I’ll show you each level one by one, your grace. Do you think you’ll be able to remember anything?” Discord said, leading her back to the throne room.
“I think I will.” Fluttershy said.
“Good.” Discord said. “At the one end of the throne room, you’ll be able to get to the main staircase. At the other end, you’ll be able to get to the gardens, and at the middle of the throne room, you’ll be able to get to the tearoom. The tearoom is also where you and the Prince will normally eat dinner.”
Fluttershy nodded as she made a mental note. In her head, she prayed she wouldn’t get lost, but truly on the inside, she know she would.
“Up the main staircase,” Discord said, opening the doors to the room, “is where you can find the servant area, which is to the left, and of course, your bedroom up the spiral staircase to the right.”
“Do you understand your grace?” Discord said, turning around. Fluttershy was gone, and he didn’t know where she was. The mare was very small, and had to look up at most stallions, and was normally not eye-level, sometimes not even close, to mares her age.
“Your grace? Where did you go?” Discord looked around corners, and into doorways.
Fluttershy was looking a large painting on a wall back near the throne room. The painting was of Blueblood and what it looked like would be his parents. He looked so happy, adorable even. She didn’t know much about his past in the first place, but seeing the painting made her want to actually talk to the Prince.
Discord walked back towards throne room and saw Fluttershy standing in front of the painting. Relief washed over his body. “Your grace?” He said.
Fluttershy snapped out of her trace-like state. She had been wondering about Blueblood since she got lost. “Oh my… I’m sorry; I was just looking at this painting.”
“It’s fine. I… was just worried for a second. Now we must continue the tour.” He grabbed her by the hoof and pulled her next to him, causing Fluttershy to blush.
“Like I was saying before you left, up the staircase to the left in the servant quarters, and to the right is the bedrooms, as you know already.”
Fluttershy nodded in agreement, still embarrassed, her cheeks a deep crimson.
“Do you mind if I show you the servant quarters?” Discord said, pointing to the staircase.
“I suppose that’d be okay.” Fluttershy said.
They walked up the grand staircase, then the stairs leading to the servant quarters.
Discord opened a small door. The servant quarters was a hallway lined with doors, with a door at the end of the hall that lead to a small dining area. The doors themselves had clever designs on them; a picture of their cutie mark. Three of the doors, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo’s doors, were blank.
“Discord?” Fluttershy said.
“Yes, your grace?”
“Can you take me to the gardens? I need some fresh air.” She fanned herself with a hoof. “I’ve been inside for five days straight, and where I used to live, I went outside every day.”
“Of course. Do you remember where it is?” Discord said, smirking slightly.
“No… not exactly.” Fluttershy looked down at her hooves.
“Just follow me.” He grabbed Fluttershy by the hoof again and pulled her behind along back towards the throne room.
Fluttershy muttered under her breath as she was pulled along. She would normally be uncomfortable if Blueblood had grabbed her by the hoof, but for some reason, she was okay with this.
“Here we are. The Canterlot gardens.” Discord said, opening a door, sending sunlight to shine directly onto Fluttershy.
She ran through the doorway, directly to the small animals she saw playing in the grass. Frankly, she looked like a filly. She picked up a squirrel and was cradling it in her arms, like it was as precious as a foal.
Discord was surprised at how excited she was to see an animal. Most duchesses and princesses would scream and run away. Fluttershy, on the other hand, looked content and happy.
Fluttershy put down the squirrel, and smiled as a robin landed on the top of her manestyle. She looked over at Discord, who was smiling at her, and started to blush.
She got up from where she was and lightly swatted away the robin. “I-I’m sorry, that was childish of me. I haven’t seen any animals here like the ones back in Ponyville, until now.”
Discord smiled and walked over to her, letting a bunny sniff his hoof. “Now it’s time for me to do something childish.”
Fluttershy was confused. She didn’t have enough time to process what he said.
“What do you mean-“ Fluttershy said, before she was completely cut off by a kiss. It wasn’t just a peck, or a brush of their lips. Discord had grabbed her by the shoulders and pressed his lips against hers passionately. Fluttershy froze, not sure how to react.
She pushed Discord away from her. “No. This cannot happen. I’m married to the Prince, and you’re a servant, and shame would be brought down on me.”
Discord smirked. “But it already has happened, your grace.” He reached out and touched her mane, causing her to step back further away.
Fluttershy scoffed, and shook her head. She muttered under her breath, and galloped back inside.
Discord watched as the duchess walked away from him. He sighed and hit himself in the head with his hoof.
‘You've done goofed, Discord! You kissed her! You just had to kiss her!’ Discord thought to himself.
“That really was a childish thing to do.” He muttered under his breath.
A voice from behind him snickered. Applejack walked into the garden, smirking. “Good job, lover boy. “ She said, laughing.
Discord frowned. “Oh, shut it, AJ.”
“I could go send a letter to Blueblood right now, but I wouldn’t want you to get beheaded.”
“Well, thanks for your consideration.” Discord said sarcastically.
Applejack laughed. She liked making him angry, since it was quite humorous and amusing to her. “Well, I’m gonna head back to the kitchen and make dinner with the others. Are you coming along?”
“No thanks, Applejack. I’m going to sit here and regret. Come get me when you’re worried.” Discord’s tone changed from sarcastic to serious.
“Alright...” Applejack exited the garden.
“Man, I’m an idiot.” Discord seeped lower to the ground. “That was probably the stupidest thing I’ve ever done…”
Discord lied down in the garden grass, looking up at the blue sky, a dark cloud directly above him.
Discord suddenly stood up. “Come on. Get yourself together, man.” He ran inside towards the kitchen.
“Idiot…” Fluttershy muttered galloped past Discord. She stopped when she got inside the castle. Fluttershy looked over her shoulder, looking back into the garden. She shook her head and galloped up the spiral staircase up to her bedroom.
Entering her bedroom, Fluttershy sighed and fixed the hem of her dress, which had become frayed when she ran up the stairs.
Fluttershy sat on her bed, putting her hooves in her lap. She sat there in silence. She thought about what had just happened. A deep red blush faintly began to show on her cheeks. She looked over at a mirror across the room, and covered her face with her hooves. She felt like such a filly, as she sat there alone, blushing.
Fluttershy lied down on her bed, her hooves behind her head as she looked up at the ceiling of the bedroom. She smiled slightly, feeling heat rise to her cheeks again.
Her peaceful moment was ruined by a knock at the door.
“Your grace?” Scootaloo’s voice rang out from the hallway. “We’ve prepared you dinner downstairs in the tearoom. Come down when you’re ready.”
Scootaloo walked away, the sound of her hooves faintly vanishing as she walked away.
Fluttershy sighed and sat up. She stretched and hopped off the bed. She fixed her dress, looked into the mirror and smiled. She turned to the door and walked out.
She walked down the main staircase, and over to the entrance toward the throne room.
‘The tearoom is this way…right?’ Fluttershy thought. She continued walking and reached the tearoom.
The guards bowed their heads and opened the two large doors. She walked in silently, and sat down at the table. She wasn’t greeted by the smiling faces of the servants; they were in the kitchen cleaning up.
Fluttershy frowned and looked down at her plate. There was a small salad with a slice of bread on an accompanying plate. She really didn’t feel hungry, but picked up the slice of bread anyways. She took the slice of bread and walked up back to her bedroom, and ate the bread there.
Fluttershy wondered about what she would wear the next day, and opened her closet. There was an array of different dresses on the racks, all different colors of the rainbow. Also in her closet were hats, pins, shoes, drawers of stocking, and other things.
Then there was a knock at the door.
Fluttershy walked out of the closet, closed in, and walked to her bedroom door. Standing in the doorway was Discord. He was levitating a rose with a note attached.
“I’m sorry.” He mumbled.
Fluttershy blushed, taking the rose and the note. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek. “You’re forgiven.”
Author's Note
Sorry this took so long, everyone.
