Peach Pit trotted through the halls of the palace, hopelessly lost. Today was her first day at her new job as a maid, not easy work for an earth pony, and she had gotten separated from her trainer. What was worse, there was something she was warned to avoid at all costs, but she could not remember what that was, no matter how hard she tried. All she could remember was that it involved someone high ranking and somewhere on the grounds at a certain time of year. That was something she was going to have to figure out, right after she figured out where she was.
One week ago
“Well, Miss Pit,” Scrollwork started.
“Please, call me Peach. If you don’t mind”
“Peach, I see here that you are applying to be a maid here at the palace. Is that correct?”
“Y-yes, Ma’am.”
“No need to be bashful, Peach. I may be the head of staff, but I’m not a mean pony. I’m certainly not the prince.”
“You mean the Monster Prince? …What?”
Scrollwork stared back at Peach with pinprick pupils, ears flat, and color rapidly draining from her face. Scrollwork leapt from her chair, closed and locked the window and drew the curtains before parting them and frantically looking left and right and tying the blinds shut again. She then sprung over the desk, checked the hallway then slammed the door shut, bolting it tight. She then grabbed Peach Pit by her shoulders and locked bloodshot eyes with turquoise ones.
“Never. Use. That. Word!” Scrollwork shook Peach with each word for emphasis. “Not even Chrysalis says that and she once killed him. If Luna or, Creator forbid, Celestia heard you call the prince that… well, you would save a lot of money on your funeral.”
Peach stared, unblinking, into the terrified face of Scrollwork. “I-I-I understand. I won’t say it again.”
Scrollwork calmed down and released Peach. “Good. Go~od. Good! That’s good.” She walked back behind her desk and dropped back into her chair, suddenly exhausted. “Alright, your reference’s check out and your work history, while short, supports your career choice. So you know, there are almost no maids here that are earth ponies, it being so difficult to keep up with the work without magic, this might make it difficult to fit in at first. Just remember that my door is always open and Pony Resources is always there to help. Oh, you don’t have trouble with changelings do you?”
“No, why?”
“We have several working here on the staff, plus Queen Chrysalis stops in from time to time.”
“Oh. No, I went to school with some changelings. I have no problem with them or any other race for that matter.”
“Good, because we get them all here.” Scrollwork sat back in her chair, let out a deep sigh, and rubbed her temples. “Okay, you got the job. Come back Wednesday for orientation, dress nice ‘cause you’re going to meet at least one princess. Monday will be your first day of training. In the meantime, I suggest you get your uniforms and lodging in order, then get to know the area a little better. There’s a pub near the palace walls that a lot of the staff have been using for the past few centuries, it might be a good place to meet some new ponies. Other than that, do you have any questions for me?”
“Just one. I, um, I won’t be assigned to the prince will I? I mean, I know he’s helped a lot of ponies in the past, but I’ve heard he’s become…”
“Mean?” Scrollwork offered. Peach nodded. “Well, firstly, nopony gets assigned to the prince. It’s been the same family working directly for him since he was just a colt. Second, the prince can be a little cold at times, but he’s nothing to worry about. Though, this time of year, it’s best to stay out of his way.”
Present
“I swear I’ve passed that window four times already.” Peach Stopped for a moment to look up at one of the most famous stained glass windows in all of Equestria. It was the one that depicted the defeat of Nightmare Moon by the Elements of Harmony some four hundred years ago. “I should probably just ask somepony.”
Peach Pit went down one hallway after another, inexplicably finding nopony. She was at a total loss as to how such a normally lively place could be so empty. It wasn’t until she stumbled upon the throne room that she finally found a guard.
“Ma’am, the princess is not seeing any visitors today. You will have to return the way you came.”
“I-I’m sorry to disturb you, but… I don’t know where I came from. I was being shown around and got lost. Can you give me directions back to the kitchens? If it’s not too much trouble, that is.”
“Ah, yes, of course.”
Twenty minutes later, and Peach was still no nearer to her goal. In fact, she was pretty sure she was only one janitor’s closet away from being off the grounds completely.
She approached a thick, wooden door and steeled herself to open it. She knew she had to keep looking or else give up and take up residence in the next flower pot she saw. At least in a flower pot, she might get to see some butterflies or some other cute critter.
Last Wednesday
“Wait, if you love animals so much, then why didn’t you apply to work in the gardens?” Purity Cinders, a unicorn with snow white fur and a flame styled mane, asked. Purity was also here to be a maid. There were cooks, butlers, and even a few guards.
“I know everypony probably thinks that I should do something in that line because I’m an earth pony, but I just always liked cleaning. I like the feeling I get from making everything as beautiful as it was meant to be. I came here because what could be more beautiful than Canterlot Castle?”
“I’m glad you approve,” a motherly voice from behind the mares said. “I also think the palace is quite lovely.”
Peach was frozen in place. Every other pony and changeling was bowing in her direction and she knew it wasn’t for her. Slowly, Peach turned around and looked directly into the barrel of somepony very white and very tall. She looked almost straight up into the face of the Sun Princess. Thankfully, she had a smile on said face. Peach quickly dropped to the floor in a bow.
“Please, everypony, rise. I wish to look upon the eager faces of all my new diligent workers.” Once all the new employees were back to their full heights, a smile spread on Celestia’s face. “There now, that’s better. My little ponies, I’m sorry to say that I must keep this brief. I would like to begin by welcoming you all into my home. You are no longer merely subjects, you are family. I must go, as I have other duties to attend to. I look forward to seeing you all again in the future. Captain Crystal Shield,” Crystal Shield was the current captain of the guard and a direct descendant of a previous one, “please help our new friends group up into their appropriate divisions.”
“Yes, your highness.” Crystal Shield stepped forward, filled her lungs, and summoned generations of military service. “Alright, listen up! All maids will report to Miss Dustpan! Butlers are to join Cufflink! Everyone who thinks they have what it takes to be a guard, you answer to me from now on! Now form up and move out!”
Purity leaned in and whispered to Peach, “I’m glad we’re not gonna be guards.”
“Me too,” Peach replied.
“*Ahem* Ladies, a maid is seen but not heard,” Dustpan scolded.
“Yes, Miss Dustpan,” they replied in unison.
Present
“How did I wind up in the gardens?” Peach muttered to herself.
Peach Pit had heard stories of how beautiful the Royal Gardens were, but she still could not believe her eyes. There were roses of every variety and tulips of every color. The air was filled with the sweet scent of all the blooms, despite it being the middle of winter. There was even animals scurrying everywhere. Oddly, there was one section that was fenced off with a sign warning trespassers against entering. Peach Pit couldn’t figure out what was so important about some simple morning glory vines.
She also couldn’t figure out why there were no gardeners or animal care takers anywhere to be found. No matter how hard she looked, she was alone. Even worse than being alone, she was alone and even more lost.
After desperately trying to find her way back, she found something that most inhabitants of Equus had only seen pictures of, The Elemental Memorial. Although, from where she was, she could only see the huge cherry tree in the middle, the rest of her view was blocked by hedges that rose just above her head.
Slowly, Peach walked along the stone pathway that encircled the memorial. When she came to an archway, she peeked her head around and was stunned by the beauty before her eyes. There was a circular enclosure with white marble going all the way around. In the center was a replica of the round table in the Castle of the Friendship Princess, complete with magic map displaying all of Equestria as it was at the time of their passing. Surrounding the table, instead of the thrones, there was planters shaped like there cutie marks with flowers that matched their fur and manes, Rainbow Dash’s was the most trying for the gardeners. The cherry tree, which was surrounded by buttercups, leaned over and shaded the entire memorial.
There were secrets to the memorial that no one knew about except for the royal family. For one thing, in each of the planters, there was a small amount of ashes from each Element Bearer so they could always be close to each other. Another closely guarded secret, the cherry tree is a living gravestone. When Princess Fluttershy passed, a cherry sapling was planted within her ashes, simultaneously nourishing the tree and allowing Fluttershy to live on through it. Another thing kept hidden from the public; on the anniversary of Princess Fluttershy’s death, the prince would spend those entire days in the shade of the tree, alone. Not even Celestia dared to intrude upon his solitude on this day. The only exceptions were a family of flying squirrels in the tree, white rabbits in the hedge, Equestria’s only resident draconequus (not that he would listen if anyone told him to stay out anyway).
“Whoa…” Peach stepped through the archway and slowly walked up to the round table. She reached out and placed her hoof on it and pointed to a spot north of Canterlot. “Look at that, Vanhoover. This must have been what it looked like a long time ago.” Peach Pit slowly made her way around the table, closely observing the map and smelling the flowers, completely missing her companion.
There it sat, at the base of the cherry tree with huge white wings with blue tips wrapped around its body, hiding it from the world. Beneath those wings, a singular creature sat in silence with flying squirrels and rabbits on its shoulders and in its lap. In one hand, it held something just as unique as it was. It was a flower with gold and silver petals and a heart shaped turquois in its center. There was just enough light coming through the wings to hit the gem and activate its magic. A small butterfly appeared on the stone and flapped its translucent wings.
“You’re new here, aren’t you?” a growl came from within the wings.
Peach yelped in surprise and looked around frantically before she spotted the mound of feathers. She couldn’t see inside, but she could tell that whoever owned those feathers must be very large. Also, though the feathers themselves were quite handsome, she could tell that they hadn’t been properly cared for in a while. Slowly and timidly, she approached the speaker.
“Um, yes, uh, sir. I-I just started today,” Peach Pit answered in a voice just above a whisper.
“I see. Did they not tell you that this area was off limits on this date?”
“It is? Oh no.” Peach started to shrink and tried to hide behind her mane. “I’m going to be in trouble. And on my first day, too.”
A white rabbit hopped over and stopped in front of Peach. It stood up on its hind legs, sniffed, and tilted its head, its ears flopping to one side. Peach looked at it, concern plastered on her face, as if begging the tiny creature for help.
The rabbit turned back to the folded wings and in a surprisingly deep voice said, “It seems as though she’s truly just lost.” The rabbit hopped back over to his companion before it suddenly changed into the most bizarre creature Peach had ever seen.
“What do you know about being honest, Discord?”
Discord chuckled, the sound chilling Peach Pit to her core. “I guess you’re right.” Discord then transformed into a serpent. “After all, I have always been a snake in the grass.” Laughing, he slithered away.
The mysterious, winged mourner laughed, “That you have, old friend.”
Peach Pit watched the strange creature slither off in unblinking wonder. “W-was that the Discord? As in ‘Master of Chaos’ Discord?”
“Yeah. He normally stick to his own pocket dimension, but he always comes here on this date. Now, what about you?”
“Me? Oh, well, my name is Peach Pit and I just started today, like I said before. I’m a new maid.”
“Really? But-”
“I know, almost all the maids here are unicorns and earth ponies normally work in the gardens. I just always liked the feeling of making at least a small part of the world better. Why are you laughing?”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you. It’s just that you remind me of a friend of mine from when I was younger.”
“Hmph, okay. What about you? Do you work here in the palace?”
“Me? No, I work down in Ponyville at the Princess Fluttershy Critter Care Center. I’m just here to visit the Memorial to the Bearers of Harmony.”
“Oh how I wish I could have met the Bearers of the Elements. I’ve read all about them in the history books, but they can’t ever do justice to the real ponies.”
“Well, you could always talk to Spike. He was there, almost every step of the way. He was raised by Princess Twilight right here in the palace and went with her when she moved to Ponyville. He’s the only dragon to stay small his whole life, and he did it on purpose. He controlled his greed and stayed small enough to easily fit inside pony buildings.
“Do you know him? Personally I mean?”
Peach Pit had always wanted to meet the famous drake. She didn’t realize that Spike was always willing to share his story. He enjoyed talking about himself, but he would always say that he was just sharing knowledge like his mom would have wanted. He had taken to calling Twilight his mother around the time his wings grew in. Sadly, that was only a few years before the memorial was needed.
“Yeah, I know ‘im. There’s not a pony in Ponyville that doesn’t.”
“Could you introduce me?” Her volume, which had been barely audible up until now, jumped several octaves. “Oh, I’m probably being too forward, aren’t I?” She not only dropped her voice, but she also tried to hide in her mane.
“I’m curious, do you have a favorite Element Bearer?” the mourner asked.
“A favorite?” Peach scratched her chin. “I mean, they’re all so amazing…”
“There’s no arguing that point,” he chuckled.
“But if I had to pick a favorite, I would have to say I always liked Princess Fluttershy.”
“Heh, she was always my favorite, too,” he stage whispered. “May I ask why her?”
“It’s just that, I’ve learned that she was really shy, like me, and yet she did so many amazing things.”
“That she did. Did you know she was picked on mercilessly when she was a little filly?”
“Yes. I read that the Element of Loyalty always came to her defense and shoed the bullies away.”
“True, but did you know that Rainbow Dash, Loyalty, was also picked on by those same bullies? It’s true. But she always stood up for Fluttershy first. Performed her first Sonic Rainboom during a race for just that reason.
“That’s amazing. But how do you know so much about them? If you don’t mind me asking, that is.”
The mourner was about to answer when there was a sudden clattering of hooves on stone. “Peach Pit! Please tell me she didn’t come out here. Not today of all days. Peach Pit!”
Peach turned to look back out the archway, exposing her cutie mark to the mourner. It was a single, pink butterfly overlaying a simple buttercup. The mourner froze upon seeing it. “Could it be?” he whispered.
“I’m over here, Dustbin!”
Dustbin peered nervously around the hedge. “Peach, we have to get out of here. Right now. There’s no telling how much trouble… we’ll…” Dustbin’s voice failed as she saw who else was within the grove. Anypony who saw those wings once would never mistake them for belonging to anyone else.
Peach Pit looked at Dustbin curiously before taking a tentative step forward. “Uh, Dustbin? Are you alright?”
Before she could answer, a stern, motherly tone came from behind the hedges. “Miss Dustbin. What is going on here? You know full well nopony is to be here, on this date, without my expressed permission.” Dustbin didn’t, couldn’t respond. The full wrath of the Princess was nothing compared to what punishment her mind was creating for itself. Celestia was not used to being ignored. She stepped into the archway and gasped upon seeing Peach Pit, her wings splayed in anger. “What is the meaning of this?!”
Peach Pit couldn’t answer. She couldn’t even move. Luckily for her, there was someone there to help her.
“It’s alright.” The wings started to unfold, revealing the one beneath as he rose to his feet. “She wandered in on accident. No harm done. Please calm down, Mom.”
“Mom?” Peach Pit looked back, then up. Before her stood a strange biped with fur only on his head and face. The streaks of gray gave him a distinguished look that under other circumstances she would appreciate more. Right now, though, she was too shocked. “*Gasp* The Monster Prince.”
There was a gasp of horror from Dustbin. Celestia gasped too, but for a different reason. The Sun Princess’s maned began to resemble a blazing rainbow, her eyes began to glow and her huge wings stood at full extension and a challenging posture. However, before she could vent her rage, she was stalled by the sound of laughter.
“It’s been a long, long time since I’ve heard that name. Where do they still call me that? No, wait, don’t tell me here. Mom might wipe it off the map.” Christopher approached the mares and knelt down near Peach Pit, who flinched slightly as he patted her. She was confused as to why he did so on her hip and gasped at the contact, though she wasn’t offended by the gesture. “Relax, I won’t let her do anything to you about this. Miss Dustbin, would you kindly take Miss Peach Pit with you and continue her training?”
“Yes, my Prince, and I’m sorry for the disturbance.” Dustbin began to push Peach Pit out of the Memorial, whispering death threats as they left.
Celestia stepped next to her most beloved, adopted, and only son. “So, why is it that she can come here and I cannot?”
Chris wrapped his arms around her neck and happily nuzzled her lovingly. “It’s not the same and you know it.”
“I just want to be there for you, Honey. I understand you want to be alone on these days, but I hate to see you hurting.”
“I know, Mom. I know. Today was different though. I… I think I finally found her again.”
Chris had turned his head to watch the two maids walk off while Celestia looked between the maids and her son with confusion on her face.
Meanwhile, across the gardens.
“I can’t believe you, Peach,” Dustbin growled in a hushed tone. “What were you thinking? You could not have said a dumber thing in a worse place on a worse day around worse ponies.”
Peach Pit didn’t answer at first, she just hung her head. She was deep in thought. Something weird had happened back there when the prince touched her. The moment his strange paws hit her cutie mark, she felt… warm… safe. Like nothing could hurt her.