A Maid's Pledge

It was the same old boring room it had always been.

The previous master kept it furnished, of course, but he wasn't a reader, so there were no shelves full of interesting books. He wasn't a painter, so there was no art. He was just a spoiled brat, so it was decorated with whatever he felt was expensive. Suits of armor? Sure. Finely upholstered but uncomfortable furniture? Yep. The only feature of the room Crisp had ever liked was the oversized fireplace with its ornate brickwork.

It was now the only light in the room, as the Queen had installed blackout curtains over all of the windows. The roaring fire formed a good backdrop for the imposing form of Queen Chrysalis, who was glaring at Crisp with a gaze that could cut diamond. Crisp gasped, and immediately dropped into a kneel, her head touching the floor. For good measure, she collapsed and let her belly hit the floor. As she laid there, her eyes shut tight, she noticed the room smelled different. It was stale and boring throughout her tenure, but now... the air carried something she couldn't place. It was sweet, but not like any pastry shop she'd visited. The tried to keep herself from hyperventilating.

The Queen seemed to enjoy this, or at least, it made her laugh. The sound was sinister, and made Crisp's heart pound. She could feel the overwhelming presence of the Queen's will turned upon her. If she weren't already prone, she'd certainly be weak in the knees.

"Look at you, little pony! You have done well, selling out your kind that I may enjoy this mansion."

Crisp heard the Queen's hooves approaching, but kept her head down.

"Had you not kept one of my closest servants so... entertained, I might have just eliminated you. But she seemed convinced there is value in the maid staff. I understand you are here to prove that?"

Crisp stayed quiet.

"Ah! She has trained you well. You may speak, little pony, if I ask you a question."

Crisp inhaled slowly, remembering some talks she'd had about this with her changeling... friend?

"Queen Chrysalis, oh great and terrible, as I am head maid, and you are the mistress of this manor now, I... I must make a pledge to you."

"Right, the Maid's Pledge?" Chrysalis snickers. "Do you know how many have pledged themselves to me? Nonetheless, it's always amusing. You won't leave me alone until you've made it, will you?"

"Ah, I cannot. The Maids' Guild would hear of it, and they'd come to investigate. I sense... that would be unacceptable."

"Quite. But I wanted this place as a haven for my brood... ugh. This isn't working. I'm going to get a creak in my neck staring at you on the floor like this. Get up. Gaze upon me."

Crisp quivered. She knew what her next lines were to be, but she just couldn't. Her heart was pounding, and from what she'd felt through the floor Chrysalis must be inches away from her, looming above. Honesty. Surely honesty is worth something?

"I... can't. I'm... afraid of you. I promise I'll just keep up with the manor and never tell anypony, just don't hurt me!"

Laughter was not what Crisp expected, but Chrysalis seemed to be enjoying herself.

"I only enjoy the fear of ponies I wish to crush. I know not what I plan for you yet. Get up, little pony."

Crisp stood, keeping her head bowed low and eyes squinted shut.

"Chin up. Eyes open. If you are going to pledge yourself to me, then take me in."

Crisp knew it was do or die. The Queen was being more charming than she'd imagined. She willed her eyes open and got her first close-up view of Queen Chrysalis, though it was just a pair of shapely forelegs with holes in them. She gasped, having not really believed the whole "holes" thing was real. She'd been told to raise her chin, so she did.

That brought her gaze to the Queen's chest carapace, which was draped with her blue mane. Crisp knew to expect an alicorn-sized body, but being so close made it intimidating. She gulped and kept her head moving, tracing the strangely alluring outline of the Queen's neck to a head that was staring down at her like a mantis considering its prey. The moment her eyes met the Queen's, she shivered.

"There you are," the Queen's voice took on a softer tone, "Am I so bad? Surely I'm not as horrible as you've heard."

Crisp couldn't put her hoof on why, but Chrysalis was right. The pony had seen pictures, and they all made the Queen look terrible. But up close... no, what was she thinking. There was no way this big bug could be... attractive? What was that smell?

The Queen spoke. "I can see your heart now, Crisp Sheets. It is no different than any other pony's. But you are confused, yes? I'm sure by now you imagined I'd be examining your insides."

Crisp felt a small bit of courage. "A-actually... I thought you'd just steal everything that felt good from me."

"Hmm..." Chrysalis tapped her chin and began to walk around Crisp, who found herself enraptured by the long, slender legs of the changeling queen. "I admit, from time to time, I've had to take without permission. But I have so many mouths to feed, isn't it a shame that so much love goes to waste?"

The Queen had slipped behind Crisp, who decided it would be best not to crane and follow. What was happening. The pony stammered an answer.

"W-well, I never really heard it that way, but now that you say it--"

"Nice tailbow, by the way, it really accentuates your features," the Queen tugged at the bow playfully, "and you're a little pony, but that dress is too little. Was that something... your last master dictated?"

"Ah... er...", Crisp blushed at the tail-tug, "he... dictated it, but nopony ever figured out why? He seemed interested in nothing but himself."

Suddenly, Crisp found herself with a faceful of Queen Chrysalis, who had leapt across her body in a single bound, twisted and landed silently in a crouch to put her head at the level of the pony's, gazing into her eyes again. Crisp shivered.

"Did you want him to be interested in you?"

The smell was her. Somehow, it was like walking into a combination toy store, pastry shop, and one of those Hearth's Warming stores with too many potpourri displays. Crisp was finding it harder and harder to remember her goals.

"He was gross."

"Hmm."

The Queen abruptly broke her gaze, turned, and walked towards the fireplace. She wasn't swinging her tail, but Crisp caught herself craning her neck. From what little she could see, Chrysalis was sporting an ass that rivaled Luna's, though she was ashamed and amazed she was considering it. Shouldn't she be afraid? Or should she reach out and--

"You will think I'm gross. You speak ill of your former master."

Words, Crisp! Words! She struggled to find them. She remembered her maid's oath.

"He mistreated the manor, which broke our pledge."

"How so?" Chrysalis levitated a poker and picked at the fire's embers, sending a shower of sparks upwards. She stayed silent for several moments, then spoke.

Crisp felt bold. "We did our best to make him happy, but he never gave anything back. He never rewarded anypony for good work. He was a miserable wreck of a pony and took it out on us. That is why I thought we'd be better off--"

What was happening to her self-control? Why did she say that? In an instant, Chrysalis was back in her face.

"Better off under me, the great deceiver? Your worst enemy? How am I to accept a pledge from one who has sold out her own kind?"

"I--"

"Don't interrupt me! I see the selfishness in your heart."

The Queen's face, while fearsome, was taking on a new quality to Crisp. She was terrified of what it meant, but felt her self-control slipping away.

"I put on cute dresses, and put up my mane every day, but for what? Nothing! I worked hard to get his attention, and I was going to die alone! I was terrified of that, and I wanted to get him back for it. Yes, I'm terrible! Do what you will to me. Just... let the other maids be. I led them into this."

For the first time Crisp could remember, Chrysalis smiled. It lifted the pony's heart, though the sharp teeth and forked tongue it revealed should have made her feel otherwise.

"So we do see eye to eye. Doesn't it hurt to be unloved?"

"Yes." Crisp did not hesitate.

"Then perhaps we have an understanding."

Crisp's head was spinning. She couldn't tell if she was doing well or if she was doomed. Every breath she took filled her nostrils with that scent, and it made it harder and harder to think. Suddenly, she blurted out a bad idea.

"...you noticed more than my tailbow."

The Queen's lips curled slightly. "And you admired my Queenly ass. You have a choice, little pony."

Chrysalis's horn glowed, and shortly after Crisp heard the doors behind her swing open.

"Walk out, and never cross my path again. Out there, the ponies guide your fate. Or stay, show me you know your place, and see what else they have lied to you about."

It only took Crisp a moment to decide.