Bluebelleby Chrome MasqueradeChaptersChapter 1: Confrontation and ReformationChapter 2: The PreparationChapter 3: CautionChapter 4: Dress RehearsalChapter 5: Humility and ForgivenessChapter 6 - Belle of the BallChapter 7 - Bring Yourself to Work DayChapter 1: Confrontation and ReformationIt was a fine Summer's day and Celestia was feeling good. There wasn't a single cloud in the visible sky. Suddenly, she heard a familiar snobbish voice. 'Spoke too soon. There seems to be one cloud, at least' There it was, her nephew Blueblood, giving the castle staff an undeserved tongue-lashing, as usual. He really was a jerk, most of the time. "Watch where you're going, wench!" the stuck up Pony said. The maid considered a witty rejoinder, but thought better of it, instead going with, "I'm sorry! It won't happen again, sir!" At breakfast with Luna, Celestia discussed the finer points of what they should do about their nephew's bad attitude. Eventually, Luna had a brilliant idea. She whispered to her sister, and a grin slowly formed on Celestia's face. They knew just the thing. Waking up in the morning as per usual, Prince Blueblood noticed a letter on his nightstand. Picking it up, he read it. Dear Nephew. We've decided that it's high time to give you some new responsibilities. Come to see us at your earliest convenience. -Your aunts "Finally!" Blueblood said with a smug smirk. "They see my natural talent was squandered as it was." He hurrried in getting one of his best outfits and dashed to the throne room. "I'm here, auntieeees~!" he said in a sing-song manner. Luna opened pleasantly. "Why, nephew! How good of thee to come!" she said, as if it was a surprise that he'd graced them with his presence. "I'm answering your summons, aunties! I understand that this is important?" "Why, yes! VERY important!" Celestia replied. "We think that it's a good time to give you a bit more responsibility, since you've handled the tasks that you've undertaken so well." she added, with a subtle bit of sarcasm. "I'm glad that you considered the task worthy of me. What is it?" "We think it's time that you were recognized as official royalty. Nothing huge as of yet, just a small event. After that we'll tell you of the task ahead." Blueblood smiled, clearly looking forward to what would come. "However, there's a caveat that thou should'st knoweth of." Luna said. "Yes." Celestia put in, "For as long as we've ruled, there have been some Alicorn sightings - aside from us. You may have seen one or two yourself?" "Can't say I have." Blueblood said, somewhat puzzled. He had no idea what was about to come. "Yes. One in Manehattan. Two in Mustangeles. One in Trottingham. One or two in Vanhoover, even! Do you know what they all had in common?" "No. What might that be?" the hapless prince queried. "All of them have been female. As almost all Alicorns (about 75% of the Pony population in general, for that matter) happen to be." "Where are you going with this, auntie?" Blueblood asked, tilting his head slightly. "Thou shalt see'th where in a moment." Luna said. Unceremoniously, the two sisters blasted the prince with a jolt of magic. Immediately, Blueblood began to shrink somewhat. The muscle that he'd managed to put on started to diminish as well. His snout rounded off and his mane and tail started to stretch out. His coat became more glossy and smooth as bumps started to form on his back. His throat itched as his voice-box started to change. As if on cue he said, "What did you do to meeeee?!" "Don't think we haven't noticed how you treat the staff around here. What we've done is give you an opportunity to have a taste of what a mare's life is like." Celestia said with a smug smirk. "Now just relax; it'll make the change easier on you." Just then, some of the maids came through the entrance. They'd been called for by the Princesses and arrived just in time to catch some of Blueblood's transformation. Bluebloood was still feeling it hard. He started trying to run, but that only made the change more painful! As his groin started to itch, so did his underbelly and his backside. "No, no, no, no!" he exclaimed, swiftly becoming a she instead. As his penis finished withdrawing, it was replaced by a set of teats and feminine folds. As female hormones flooded her system, the bumps on her back were growing larger by the seond, swiftly becoming full fledged angelic wings. Feathers began to grow on the new appendages and her horn lengthened, developing even more rings than the previous shape. Her clothes also started to shift, becoming less dress suit and more dress like. The tie she'd added while she'd been male started to migrate to the back of her head, becoming a large cornflower blue bow. Luna said, "Thou did'st bringeth this upon thyself, niece. Maybe it shall teacheth thee to appreciate the fairer sex, since thou shalt be among them for the forseeable future. Furthermore, thy first heat shalt kicketh in soon. Good luck avoiding the attentions of stallions that passeth by." she added. Sure enough. Bluelood felt heat spread through her system. She started to feel the urge to find a handsome stallion and- 'Nope! Nope!' She tried her best to block out those thoughts, attempting to run back to her room. As she ran, she attracted the attention of several passing males, which only spurred her transformation further, causing her to develop enlarged hips; foal-bearing hips. In her mind she could still hear the voice of her azure aunt. 'Did'st thou thinketh that running off would'st alloweth thee to escape thy fate? If so, thou were't mistaken.' Her mane curled into a new style, becoming twin naturally coiffed 'tails'. Also, her cutie mark began to change, becoming one depicting iconic blue dangling flowers with a golden stem and every second one sporting gold and blue petals on the outside. As she entered her room and slammed the door shut, she felt her teats begin to fill with fluid, a distinctly odd feeling. Then they started to slowly drip, the pure white milk dribbling on the floor. She scrambled to find some bottles to store the excess fluid, to avoid making more of a mess. 'Don't worry. Thou shalt only needeth to do that once a day. For now, at least. Some extra bottles shall be sent to thy room. We hath at least that amount of couth.' Finally finding some vacant bottles, she sat down to allow her to empty herself of the lactose laden liquid. Thus began the newly minted mare's new life. Gone was Prince Blueblood. In his place was princess Bluebelle. Chapter 2: The PreparationPrincess Bluebelle was moping in her room, rather nervous about what she'd have to do about her business life. She had a couple of businesses in her nonexistent pockets and would eventually have to make an appearance. A cameo, at least. Furthermore, her aunts would likely want to make the announcement of her ascension. And soon! "What am I gonna do?" she wondered nervously. "I'm never gonna get any respect again, looking like THIS!" Suddenly, there was a knock at her door. "Come in." she sighed. A guard stepped in. As it turned out, a female one. "Princess? Are you alright?" Bluebelle considered snapping at the dumb question, but realized that this situation was her own fault. She went with just saying, "No. I'm not. And the worst part is that I have nopony to blame but myself. So. What did you want?" "Well, I'm Silver Hawk (call me Silver if you like), your majesty." she said, fanning out her wings, which oddly had a metallic sheen to them. "Your aunts told several of us that you'd need support at this time. So they sectioned off some of the Royal Guard and made a separate unit called the Blood Guard." "Considerate of them, but that won't help with my personal life. My business partners will eat me alive when they see me like this!" "Perhaps you should look on the bright side." "What." Bluebelle said flatly. "What I mean is that there are several advantages to being a mare, let alone being an Alicorn." "Oh? Such as?" "Well, for example, you'll have greater agility and average intelligence, you think faster, you'll have a significant magic boost, new privileges, your opponents underestimate you more easily, you have a body that can take a beating better than the average mare -the average stallion, for that matter- and -if you play your cards right- potentially eternal life, or at least a pretty long one. And that's for starters. Don't let 'em see you sweat! Stay confident and believe in yourself. Becoming a Princess isn't the end for you. Think of it as a... new beginning!" Bluebelle was smiling by this point. "You know, I feel better. Thanks for the pep talk." Silver saluted. "It's part of my talent, ma'am. Came with the silver wings. Okay, not really." Bluebelle quirked an eyebrow. "I have to ask: Why do you have silver wings anyway?" "Well, if you must know, I was born with these (for whatever reason). I have the ability to absorb silver and incorporate that into my body, as well." (1) "Fascinating." Bluebelle said, definitely interested. "Oh, yes. I graduated from the academy on the honour roll, with some of the highest marks. So I'm to be the captain of the newly formed Blood Guard, as I've mentioned. It's an honour, your grace." she said, bowing at the end. "Anyway, I came to tell you that your official coronation is going to happen tomorrow. It won't have as much fanfare as Princess Twilight's coronation, but that doesn't mean that it should be treated with any less care. So, first you'll want to get gussied up for the occasion." "Well, what should I do?" "First stop is the spa. Follow me." Arriving at the local spa, titled "Blue Tone's Luxury Spa and Beauty Salon", the two entered. Bluebelle looked around, amazed at the atmosphere. "Wow!" she said, "If i'd known that such a place existed in Canterlot... I'd have come before!" The lobby was practically sparkling, being so clean. Silver Hawk stepped up to the counter, ringing the small bell on the counter. A blue Pony with a Cutie Mark of a saxophone emitting blue notes came up. "Welcome to Blue Tone's! The only five star spa in town! Can I help you?" "Actually," Silver said, "It's the princess here who'll need the deluxe treatment. My treat." "So let's see... that means a scented bath, a deep tissue massage, horn filing, hoof filing, a preening, a beauty mask and a spell in the sauna. This way, please!" "Enjoy, Princess!" Silver said, waving. Bluebelle was led into the back to a large tub. Stepping in slowly, Bluebelle sank into the hot water, which smelled faintly of roses. Just then she realized that she wouldn't have noticed that back when she was a stallion. After that, she was led to a flat bed, a large stallion coming over and beginning to work her muscles expertly (and only slightly painfully), after which she was feeling relaxed, enough that she fell asleep. While she was asleep, another specialist came in and filed her horn and hooves, being careful not to awaken her. Once she woke up, it was on to a Pegasus mare who applied a beauty mask and the iconic couple of cucumber slices, followed by a preening of Bluebelle's wings, which had a surprising number of broken quills for somepony who had just grown wings that very day. After 15 minutes in the sauna, she was brought to the front again, feeling like a million bits. "Thanks for that!" she said to Blue Tone, "I've never felt so relaxed! I'm definitely coming back." "If I had a bit for every time i've heard that." Blue Tone said, rolling her eyes. After Silver paid the required sum, she led Bluebelle to another shop. "Welcome to Canterlot Boutique!" a familiar voice said. "Oh, no." Bluebelle said, her ears drooping. Oh, yes. Author's Note 1: She's a bit like Colossus in that regard. Somehow I thought up a new chapter. Go figure. Thanks to all of you who've been enjoying the story so far. If only some of my other stories got these ratings... Chapter 3: CautionRarity looked at Bluebelle, who was shaking nervously. "I must say, I don't think we've met, darling. What's your name?" The nervous mare found one side of her mouth not working. "Blueblood" she mumbled, in a nervous sweat. "Pardon me?" Rarity queried. "I didn't quite hear that." Clearly she had, and didn't like what she thought she heard.(1) After a gulp, the response came. "I mean I'm... Bluebelle! I was, uh... recently unofficially coronated? Blueblood is my, uh... cousin! I doubt he'd ever show his mug around here, considering what he said happened at the Gala!" Bluebelle's wings were instinctively rising with her nervousness. Silver Hawk was silently shaking with mirth, a goofy smile on her face. Clearly she'd likely get a well-deserved tongue lashing later, but it was more than worth it. She was quickly thinking up an elaborate excuse for that time. "Oh! You're an Alicorn too, eh? I was wondering what you meant by 'coronated'." "Uh, yeah! And i'm getting to be a... second time debutante, you might say. And I kinda... need some new dresses?" Bluebelle grinned (hopefully convincingly). "First time you got a fitting, darling? No need to be nervous. I'll be gentle. Let me get my things and we'll take your measurements." As Rarity trotted away, Bluebelle let out a sigh of relief. Turning and glaring at Silver Hawk, she silently queried through her teeth, her left eye twitching, "Why." She was clearly ticked off but didn't dare say more than that. (2) Just as quietly, Silver responded, "If it worked out, you'd be able to avoid meeting your doom and hopefully get her to even like you. If not, it would at least be funny and Rarity would release some stress and besides, since you're an Alicorn you can take it. She could probably pound you for an hour and you'd be a little warm, but not at all astonished. Everypony wins!" Bluebelle sighed. "Fair point. Just then, Rarity returned with her measuring tape and an array of different implements (Including some rather sharp-looking needles) and an aray of colourful cloths and threads. "Now, stay still, would you, dear?" Rarity said. "While I'm making your dress we can talk about how much of a jackass your cousin is." turning to the side, looking out a nearby window, she said, "No offense!" "None taken." the slightly distant reply came. One side of Bluebelle's mouth twitched. Clearly she'd still have to be careful. "Anyway, where were we? Right, your cousin." she said, swirling the measuring tape around Bluebelle's body quickly, making notes on a notepad also levitating in her psychokinetic grasp. "So. It was the beginning of the night and I was looking forward to meeting the prince. It's always been my dream to get into the clique, you might say." Being careful to move as little as possible, Bluebelle said, "Oh?" "Why, yes! As much as i adore Ponyville, it's a little bit of -as much as it hurts to say it- a... one horse town, you might say?" she chuckled at the irony of the pun "Rather behind the times. Well, not entirely-" She stopped briefly to look the stock-still mare at eye level. "Did you know that we have an arcade, a bowling alley... but very few washing machines? The spa has some, naturally, and a certain rather Spoiled family I could name, but many of us don't. To be fair, many of us don't wear clothes. There are other things to note, but I believe you get the picture. Anyway... - So you can imagine that I'm looking forward to meeting him... only for the niggard(3) to make me to feel like a paper-bag princess the entire night! At one point he presented a rose to me. I thought he was going to give it to me... only to put it on himself! And no matter what he says, that shade of red does not go with his eyes." "Rather churlish of him!" Bluebelle said, trying to get into the spirit of it. At least she could laugh at the brute she once was. "Yes! Yes. That's it exactly!" Rarity exclaimed. "He insisted that I open the door for him, that I pick up after him- you see where I'm going with this?" As the process went on, Bluebelle found it easier to laugh at her former self. Within a half hour, Rarity had several outfits for her client to try on. Bluebelle somehow felt downright comfortable wearing each! For a modest extra sum, Rarity threw in a pair of saddlebags with a Holding enchantment to put them all in. Eventually, Bluebelle was near to prancing out the door, beyond happy with the purchase. "Feel free to come again next time you're in town. Maybe get Pinkie to arrange a party for you. She's opened a branch of her own, you know." Before Bluebelle stepped out the door fully, Rarity said something that caused her to freeze in place for a moment. "Considering the mare you are now, I'd be willing to forgive you for all that, you know." After a pause, Bluebelle sighed and said, "That makes one of us." Closing the door, she and Silver prepared to return to the castle. Author's Note 1: https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/4bff962a-dd2e-4c26-adc8-92d32d41a5e8 2: (for story purposes) Years of being in high society would teach one to be careful with their words. Hence another reason that the Gala would be one of her less proud moments. 3: A selfish person who's unwilling to give or spend. Chapter 4: Dress RehearsalLeaving Rarity's property, the two Ponies travelled back through the town. As luck would have it, they moved by a sweet shop. Bluebelle paused and backpedaled. As an Alicorn, she required several hundred more calories a day to maintain her current weight. (1) So when she smelled the sweetness within the store, she couldn't help being at least a little curious. Giving a glance to Silver, (receiving a nod in return) Bluebelle entered the store. As she entered, a bell rang. A perky voice replied, "Bon Bon's Bon-Bons! (2) What can I do for you?" "i'll tell you when I figure it out." Bluebelle said. Looking at the sheer size of the selections, Bluebelle was astounded. There were candies of all sorts. Chocolates, brownies, Swedish Berries, 22 kinds of Licorice (black oddly not being among them), a long freezer full of ice cream, saltwater taffy, gumballs, four kinds of mints, gobstoppers, jelly beans and gummies of various kinds, and much more! "Ooh, I just can't decide! I'm spoiled for choice!" Bluebelle exclaimed in excitement, her wings extending slightly. Not being the kind of mare to miss a trick, the store's owner made a note of this, but remained on topic. "Well, I'd suggest one of these containers of gourmet jelly beans." "I'll take three!" Bon Bon smiled. This one would be a big spender, and she always liked to see Ponies with a sweet tooth -or in the case of Alicorns, judging by how often Twilight (and Princess Celestia especially) stopped by, sweet teeth-. "Also, the saltwater taffy is always nice, and I highly recommend the licorice..." "I'll take some of all of those too! How much?" After paying for her selections, Bluebelle fairly skipped out of the store, the bag holding all of the candy she'd purchased held in her magical grasp. This also had an enchantment to be extra deep. Silver (waiting for her charge to get a fair distance away first) smiled and shook her head before following. (Later) As Bluebelle returned to her room with her "purchases", she laid the dresses out on her bed; Being a shrewd businessmare, Rarity had sold the bespelled mare several dresses of varying kinds, each made to fit their owner perfectly. (2) The first dress was a deep blue chiffon evening gown with white lace at the ends. Being a dress to be worn behind closed doors, it was free of gems of any kind. The second was a cornflower blue ballgown with sapphires along the bottom and a blue diamond at the neck. It was enchanted so its wearer wouldn't be encumbered by it at all. This gown had another special function.... but we'll get to that eventually.(3) The third dress was a mostly white Midi with bands of blue lace every few inches along its length. It had minor gems in between the bands of lace. The next was a sea blue Maxi with images along it that seemed to be constantly shifting as the wearer moved, making the whole dress seem like an underwater scene. Finally was her coronation gown, which Rarity had pulled out all the stops for. It was of a unique, patented material. At the will of its wearer (and a special keyword) it would change colour. The inside was a layer of material that would make it as comfortable as cashmere. The whole dress was durable, weatherproof, would repel dust, dirt, mud and all staining substances and was insulated, yet would be flexible and breathed like the finest cotton. Needles to say, a bolt of this material would cost thousands of bits, on the regular. Once donned, the dress would become unique to its first wearer; only by its intended one would its full effect be realized. Anypony else wearing it would look drab and plain, would be generally uncomfortable. As you could imagine, this wasn't just a red carpet material, as a single dress would be exorbitant! Any mare would be incredibly lucky to own one of these. This dress was also free of gems. That would be gilding the lily, as it were. Bluebelle smiled smugly. She'd have to thank Rarity for letting her be (probably) the first to have one of these. It would make her the talk of the town on her special day. Naturally, she'd already put it on the first time. It took the longest to put on of any of the dresses, to say nothing of making it, but by Celestia, it was worth it! Which was good, because that day would be coming soon. She hoped that she'd be ready when the time came. Author's Note 1: Such is my headcanon. It explains why Celestia supposedly likes cake so much. 2: I had to look up dres types for this next bit. If you want to follow along, look here. Just imagine each of these being modified to Pony form. 3: Hopefully. Chapter 5: Humility and ForgivenessThe very next day, the entirety of the castle's complement of maids had been gathered. Honey Oat, Lemon Fresh, Neat Ness, Steel Wool, Shoeshine, Spic, Span, just to name a select few. They'd been told that the Princess wanted to speak to all of them; that it was something very important. Naturally, they'd never turn Celestia or Luna down like that, so they'd assembled ASAP. They were waiting for a short while, long enough for whispers to go back and forth. At length, Princess Celestia made her entrance, striding in gracefully with her -recently preened- alabaster wings raised for dramatic effect. Immediately, the maids went into a deep, respectful bow. "At ease, my little Ponies." she said gently. "You might be wondering why you've all been called here. As it turns out, I was not the Princess that had called for you. But had I not implied so, would you have actually come? I digress. The one who did request this gathering is our newest Princess. I ask that you hear her out before making any judgments." Then Bluebelle stepped out, a mite nervous, but determined to do this. She took a deep breath, to steel herself a bit. It... kind of helped? "Hello everypony. Please, hear me out, here. As some of you might know, or have guessed, I was once that self-absorbed, crude, arrogant, ignorant... just plain awful fool, prince Blueblood." she said, self-deprecatingly. "Back then I was unreasonable at best and cruel at my worst. But thanks to my aunts, I've been given a new perspective of things. I've seen how much harm the way I'd acted inflicted upon others. How much my arrogance hurt all of you." she was beginning to tear up, by this point. "I know that I made all of you miserable -You know, a few times I've heard some of your number saying "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here" when coming to my bedroom door?- and you've probably been enjoying this breather for the past few days. Without me around... For the past couple of days, I've been getting a small taste of the mare's life. I know that it's nothing -NOTHING- compared to what I put all of you through, though." She sniffed once before continuing. "I know that I don't deserve it, and you probably can't forgive me for how I acted, and I can't say that I blame you. But I wanted you all to know... I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry!!" At that, she lost her composure completely and broke down in tears. Celestia looked on, with a sad smile. After a moment, she went to her niece and lifted her head with one hoof. Opening her eyes, Bluebelle inadvertently gave her a rather impressive puppy-dog-eyed expression. "I'm proud of you." she said. "It takes a lot of courage to own up to one's wrongs; to have a slice of humble pie, as it were. However things go from here, know that you did what you could to salvage that." Lemon Fresh stepped up to them with a small smile. "One of my specialties is being able to tell when someone really feels what they say. I'm a really good judge of character. I can tell that you've really turned over a new leaf. In other words, I forgive you." Bluebelle looked surprised. Shoeshine stepped up next. "Lemon's right. You've earned yourself a second chance, as far as I'm concerned." One by one, each of the maids came and forgave her for her wrongdoings. A few just snorted and walked away, but that's to be expected. Still crying, Bluebelle gave a small smile of her own. "Thank you... all of you. I must make this up to you. Alright; As of now, you'll all be receiving a 60% raise. Out of my own coffers; I can easily afford it. Also..." Turning to one side, she whistled twice, cuing her bodyguard to enter with a bag. Opening it, he revealed that it had several slips of paper. Bluebelle explained: "I also decided -this time in advance- to give each of you a coupon for the local spa. A free full treatment of your choice. Goodness knows I used to put you all through the wringer. It's the least I can do." As the maids cheered and generally celebrated, Celestia said, "That must have cost a small fortune." "It's a small price to pay for their forgiveness. Besides, no matter what, my accounts will keep accruing wealth. As auntie Luna once said, "Gold is far too soft to do anything practical with. But it's also too hard to swim in. So why let it pool so?"." Celestia chuckled at that. "Still, that was very generous of you, Bluebelle. It's clear that you've learned from your mistakes. I'm so very proud." she said, nuzzling her niece. Bluebelle leaned into her aunt's embrace. She was the happiest she'd been since months before she stopped being Blueblood. Things seemed to be looking up, for sure. "Now, come on." Celestia said, "The ball is tonight. You need to prepare." After a pause, she said, "Also, you'll need to... unload." Looking down, Bluebelle noticed that she was beginning to fill up again. Her ears drooped. "Right. I forgot that was a thing. Better hurry, then!" Suiting words to action, she dashed off for her room. Celestia chuckled lightly before heading for her own room. She had to get ready too. Chapter 6 - Belle of the BallThat night, the place was buzzing with excitement. Much of the nobility had gathered in the large -VERY large- meeting hall of Canterlot castle. They'd heard that a newly crowned Princess was about to be introduced to society; A debutante+, some said. At that point, Princess Luna made her entrance. The first portion of her horn was glowing subtly, releasing enough energy to attract the attentions of every Unicorn in the room and, by proxy, any others who wouldn't otherwise be paying attention. The announcer took a deep breath and called out, "Presenting her Eternal Majesty, Princess Luna! Mistress of the Stars and Moon, Bringer of the Night, Matriarch of the Night Ponies, Destroyer of Nightmares, Dreamwarden, and co-ruler of Equestria and all of their Other Realms and Territories." "We bid thee good eve'n, Our subjects. We hope thou art enjoying the party thus far? Good! Good." She was wearing a long dress that was blue (two shades), white and grape purple. There were silvery moon patterns along the skirt portion, and at her midsection. She was also wearing her crown and hoofguards, naturally. In her dress were also miniature diamonds, which shimmered as she moved, giving the entire dress a sort of night sky pattern, appropriately. She went to her throne and sat down. Then Princess Celestia made her entrance. She took the last sip of a large cup of coffee, then teleported the mug away. This was typically when she'd be sleeping, but in a case like this, she'd make an exception. Taking another deep breath, the announcer called, "Also presenting Her Eternal Majesty, Princess Celestia! Mistress of the Invincible and Unconquered Sun (Celestia Sol Invicta), Bringer of the Dawn, Destroyer of Monsters, Bane of Evil, Guiding Hoof of the Realm and co-ruler of Equestria and all of their Other Realms and Territories." Finishing that announcement, he slumped to the floor, quite out of breath. Celestia was wearing a counterpoint to Luna's dress. Hers was golden, red and had portions of day-glow orange. The patterns along her skirt were, of course, small suns. The patterns in her dress flowed across the dress, like the molten sun's surface. But with less heat. She went and sat down as well. A replacement announcer came out. "Aaaaand, announcing Her Highnes, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza! Guardian of the Heart, Fearslayer, Bane of Darkness, Mistress of Love, Ruler of the Crystal Ponies and the Crystal Empire." Cadence stepped onto the scene as well. It was sad that she had to leave her husband behind this time, but with little Flurry Heart still too young to leave alone for too long... there really wasn't much she could have done. One of them had to stay home. Anyway, her dress was a tri-tone pink. It had heart patterns that occasionally swirled about her dress, as if chasing each other. Another impromptu throne had been brought in for her and the next arrival. "And lastly, announcing Her Royal Highness, Princess Twilight Sparkle! Princess of Friendship, Mistress and Bearer of Magic, Saviour of Equestria, Liberator of the Crystal Empire, Arch Magus... And several titles besides. With her are her friends, Lady Rarity Belle, Bearer of Generosity, Benefactor; Lady Applejack, Bearer of Homesty, Truthseeker; Lady Pinkame-" "You can just call me Pinkie Pie, you know! It's SO much easier." "(Ahem). Lady Pinkie Pie, Bearer of Laughter, Joybringer; Lady Fluttershy, Bearer of Kindness, Forestkin; and Lady Rainbow Dash, Bearer of Loyalty; Oathkeeper." As if Twilight would come without inviting her friends! She was wearing a fairly plain-looking dress, compared to the elaborate ones that the elder Princesses wore. But the traine eye would see that it was just as finely made as all of the ones of her elders. Rarity was wearing an azure blue and white Maxi with pearls laced around the length of it in a swirling pattern. They each sparkled when the light hit them just right. Applejack was wearing what one might call 'country chic'. It was a pear green, russet brown and apple red (aptly representing three of her main characteristics) Midi with apple-shaped rubies in a necklace (1), along with a similar larger one at the center. In the middle of that was a shape that looked like a pear tree on one side and an apple tree on the other. But that was just ridiculous. Right? Pinkie Pie's was, of course, three different shades of pink. It looked rather similar to Applejack's dress, with a similar necklace. She was pronking in her typical manner, whereas the others were walking. Occasionally she'd stop long enough to wave at some of the onlookers. Fluttershy was wearing a Maxi that was honey yellow and emerald green. Instead of any adornments at all, she was trailed by a small kaleidoscope(2) of butterflies, at least 30 of them, each a different colour! she was focused on following her friends, ad not on the group of watchers. Nevertheless, she had a light blush on her face as she tried to tune the cheers out. Lastly, Rainbow Dash was wearing a rather shorter dress. It was mostly cherry red and cerulean blue. Every now and then, if you were watching, a coil of lightning would loop around her in seemingly random patterns. This was, of course, merely an ephemera; an illusion, of sorts. As they were walking along, Rainbow stopped to strike a pose, cameras going off, as if on cue. She chuckled and continued to follow her friends. Either way, Twilight took her spot, her friends assembling beside her. Another Pony came over to the announcer and whispered something to the announcer, whose ears perked. He cleared his throat before saying, "And NOW lastly, our lady of honour today, our newest Princess, Lady Bluebelle Stardream Snowdrop Platinum. Esquiress!" And then Bluebelle came onto the scene. She was holding herself rather admirably, but a careful viewer would notice that she was distinctly uncomfortable. Still she held her ground (albeit a touch shakily) and followed the others. 'THIS is a small event?' she thought, a touch huffily. Her coronation gown was (currently) cornflower blue and chiffon white. It had alternating navy blue and Arabian gold starry patterns along it. It was, as previously stated, free of gems. As she strode forward, a chorus sang of her taking the next step in life's journey, of future opportunities and righting wrongs. Of how proud she should feel. She stepped up to the thrones, where the most important Ponies in the land all stood, ready to welcome her. Celestia and Luna stood to their full height. "Lady Bluebelle, stand before us." Bluebelle did as commanded, kneeling and bowing her head. Celestia summoned her weapon of office, called Flarebright. A greatsword of flame that would only burn if she desired it so. Luna summoned a similar weapon, but this one looked to be a piece of the night sky. This was Eveningtide. Placing the flat of the blades on Bluebelle's withers -one on the left, one on the right-, Celestia announced, "We hereby do entitle thee as Equestria's newest Princess! Heavens above, will you accept another among our number?" At that, they raised their blades and brought them together. When the light hit them, a respective light shone upon the newly coronated mare. It made a coruscating kaleidoscope of colours around Bluebelle. And when it was over, Bluebelle was still kneeling, her eyes closed. As the light disappeared, a crown appeared on her head, oddly not falling off. "And so it is blessed!" the sisters spoke in unison. "Rise! Rise and take your rightful place among us." Bluebelle arose and said, "Before I do that, I would like to say a few things to our... audience here." Celestia raised an eyebrow and asked, quietly enough that only Bluebelle could hear, "Are you sure about this?" Bluebelle replied, "Well, no. But the longer I put it off, the more it'll hurt to reveal." "Fair enough. Granted." Bluebelle turned around. She took a breath, let it out slowly and said, "Hello everypony.I would just like to say a few things. First of all, as some of you might have surmised, I was once the much-disliked prince Blueblood Platinum." Whispers began to spread throughout the audience. "BUT." she continued, "After all of this, I've really changed my outlook on things. From now on, you'll see no more of that jerk. Here before you stands a changed Pony - literally and figuratively." There were some chuckles at that. "I've had a good experience as a mare thus far, and I have these mares and my guard, Silver Hawk to thank for the opportunity. I don't know what will come from here, but it is my solemn promise that I shall do my level best to make Equestria a safe and happy place for all of her citizens. Thank you." At this, a chorus of cheering occurred, Ponies applauding in the typical way; by stamping their hooves on the floor. "Now, as I understand, there's food coming and I get hungry when I'm nervous, soooo..." she added, half jokingly, to a few chuckles. As if on cue, several maids strode in carrying large platters of food. Some guardstallions pushed in long tables, which the platters were then set upon. There was more mundane fare, such as five kinds of salad (seven kinds of dressing available), vegetable slices and mixed fruit, onion rings, pancakes, potatoes cooked in five different methods (scalloped, Prench fried, baked, perogie'd and boiled), rice and more besides, but there were also more... unique dishes, such as fish (including salmon, catfish, and tilapia) and seafood - including but not nearly limited to shrimp, crab, mussels and scallops (which had many of the Pegasi salivating already-, devilled eggs, corn bread, calzones (Cadence's suggestion, something she'd picked up on a trip to another country), even a platter of bacon, for those who enjoyed that. And, again, more besides. Celestia whispered to Bluebelle, "As an Alicorn's, you'll not only require more food than before, you'll also need to be a bit less choosy about your sources of protein." "So that's what all the meat is for?" she queried. "That and some Ponies -especially Pegasi- enjoy those sorts of things. Have as much of whatever as you like. The cooks are still cooking, too." Further to the back was the dessert table. It also had a slew of dishes, such as donuts, cupcakes and muffins (care of Sugarcube Corner's own party planner), brownies, strudel (oddly enough), and the piece de resistance, a three tiered chocolate cake. It also had chocolate frosting, ganache, sprinkles and candles! There was a sign on top that read, "HAPPY CORONATION DAY!" There was enough for all, and to spare. Evrypony left full and content. Later on there was music and dancing -fast and slow alike- and the party went on long into the night. Bluebelle returned to her room, taking her dress off carefully and placing it on a nearby rack. She was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow, and she had nothing but sweet dreams that night. Author's Note 1: That's not the word I'm looking for, but it's the only one I can think of for it right yet. 2: Apparently a group of butterflies is called a kaleidoscope. Chapter 7 - Bring Yourself to Work DayBluebelle knew that she was going to have to do this sooner or later. She'd just hoped for it to be later. She was going to need to make an appearance at work. Specifically, the construction company that worked on "his" behalf. The late Prince Blueblood received a good chunk of the profit. He found relatively consistent work for them. Ponyville practically needed them every other Tuesday! Either way, she would need to see the stallions there eventually. Thus, here she was, in her blue ballgown. Rememember the "special function"? It's that time. She decided to make an entrance. Literal or metaphysical, she only had one shot. "Well," she thought aloud, "like my grandfather used to say, 'there is no kill like overkill'." She lit up her horn. She focused on emitting as much energy as possible. Without hurting herself, anyway. As an Alicorn, she could easily do that. After a moment, she set her mind to making a sort of aura that every Pony in the area would feel. Long before she actually entered. With that, she began entering. Inside, the workers were setting to their various tasks. Suddenly, they all -especially the Unicorns- felt an oppressive aura; a storm of pure Mana. But not painful at all. One thing was for sure: whoever was coming in was incredibly powerful. Suddenly, they saw the newest Alicorn entering. Immediately, one of the workers -a Pegasus, this one- raised a hoof. "Iron Wing?" The stallion seemed to be pleased that she remembered his name. "Uh, your grace-" "You all know very well who I am. Please speak as you normally would." She interrupted. After a moment, the stallion asked, "Was that really necessary?" Bluebelle's eyes widened briefly. She was beginning to fill up again. 'Of all the times...' She'd only get a short moment here before she would have to leave. "Tell me, Iron Wing; if I had come in complaining about what I am going through, how painful it often is, how much my heat pains me, how scared I was to be here, would you still respect me?" "Well..." "You wouldn't, would you? Instead, I decided to show you all just how serious I am. To remind you all of what I am now." "We all know who you are, ma'am." "Then you had better refresh everypony's memory." Iron Wing took a deep breath. "You are... Prince Blueblood (now Princess Bluebelle) Platinum. First heir of the house of Platinum, bearer of the new crown, niece to the Alicorn Sisters. And, more pertinently, our secondary boss." There were a few chuckles at that. "You're damned right I am! I might have been that pathetic puling princely punk previously, but I am different now!" She stepped forward, grabbing one of the steel girders and lifting it with one hoof. Then added another. And another. And another. Shortly she had a pile of ten held with one hoof. "I'm stronger, tougher and generally better than he ever was by any metric you care to go by." She then looked upward. "Armour up!" In an instant, her ballgown had transformed into a veritable suit of armour, made of mithril scale plating. Complete with a Romane style helmet. It would also increase her abilities by more than double their baseline. "And better equipped to boot. So no matter who or what I am, you will treat me with respect." She said with a modicum of force. "If not, then you can file your resignation and find work elsewhere or something. I don't give a flying feather. Alternatively, kindly piss off. Is that clear?!" A chorus of cheers rose. "You're Celestia Damned right! Now get back to it!" The workers did so with gusto. Using her magic, Bluebelle teleported to her room. She swayed dizzily for a moment, but regained her balance. Acting quickly, she went to empty herself. Just In time. If she had taken much longer, she would have started leaking. Overall, the day was productive.
Chapter 1: Confrontation and ReformationIt was a fine Summer's day and Celestia was feeling good. There wasn't a single cloud in the visible sky. Suddenly, she heard a familiar snobbish voice. 'Spoke too soon. There seems to be one cloud, at least' There it was, her nephew Blueblood, giving the castle staff an undeserved tongue-lashing, as usual. He really was a jerk, most of the time. "Watch where you're going, wench!" the stuck up Pony said. The maid considered a witty rejoinder, but thought better of it, instead going with, "I'm sorry! It won't happen again, sir!" At breakfast with Luna, Celestia discussed the finer points of what they should do about their nephew's bad attitude. Eventually, Luna had a brilliant idea. She whispered to her sister, and a grin slowly formed on Celestia's face. They knew just the thing. Waking up in the morning as per usual, Prince Blueblood noticed a letter on his nightstand. Picking it up, he read it. Dear Nephew. We've decided that it's high time to give you some new responsibilities. Come to see us at your earliest convenience. -Your aunts "Finally!" Blueblood said with a smug smirk. "They see my natural talent was squandered as it was." He hurrried in getting one of his best outfits and dashed to the throne room. "I'm here, auntieeees~!" he said in a sing-song manner. Luna opened pleasantly. "Why, nephew! How good of thee to come!" she said, as if it was a surprise that he'd graced them with his presence. "I'm answering your summons, aunties! I understand that this is important?" "Why, yes! VERY important!" Celestia replied. "We think that it's a good time to give you a bit more responsibility, since you've handled the tasks that you've undertaken so well." she added, with a subtle bit of sarcasm. "I'm glad that you considered the task worthy of me. What is it?" "We think it's time that you were recognized as official royalty. Nothing huge as of yet, just a small event. After that we'll tell you of the task ahead." Blueblood smiled, clearly looking forward to what would come. "However, there's a caveat that thou should'st knoweth of." Luna said. "Yes." Celestia put in, "For as long as we've ruled, there have been some Alicorn sightings - aside from us. You may have seen one or two yourself?" "Can't say I have." Blueblood said, somewhat puzzled. He had no idea what was about to come. "Yes. One in Manehattan. Two in Mustangeles. One in Trottingham. One or two in Vanhoover, even! Do you know what they all had in common?" "No. What might that be?" the hapless prince queried. "All of them have been female. As almost all Alicorns (about 75% of the Pony population in general, for that matter) happen to be." "Where are you going with this, auntie?" Blueblood asked, tilting his head slightly. "Thou shalt see'th where in a moment." Luna said. Unceremoniously, the two sisters blasted the prince with a jolt of magic. Immediately, Blueblood began to shrink somewhat. The muscle that he'd managed to put on started to diminish as well. His snout rounded off and his mane and tail started to stretch out. His coat became more glossy and smooth as bumps started to form on his back. His throat itched as his voice-box started to change. As if on cue he said, "What did you do to meeeee?!" "Don't think we haven't noticed how you treat the staff around here. What we've done is give you an opportunity to have a taste of what a mare's life is like." Celestia said with a smug smirk. "Now just relax; it'll make the change easier on you." Just then, some of the maids came through the entrance. They'd been called for by the Princesses and arrived just in time to catch some of Blueblood's transformation. Bluebloood was still feeling it hard. He started trying to run, but that only made the change more painful! As his groin started to itch, so did his underbelly and his backside. "No, no, no, no!" he exclaimed, swiftly becoming a she instead. As his penis finished withdrawing, it was replaced by a set of teats and feminine folds. As female hormones flooded her system, the bumps on her back were growing larger by the seond, swiftly becoming full fledged angelic wings. Feathers began to grow on the new appendages and her horn lengthened, developing even more rings than the previous shape. Her clothes also started to shift, becoming less dress suit and more dress like. The tie she'd added while she'd been male started to migrate to the back of her head, becoming a large cornflower blue bow. Luna said, "Thou did'st bringeth this upon thyself, niece. Maybe it shall teacheth thee to appreciate the fairer sex, since thou shalt be among them for the forseeable future. Furthermore, thy first heat shalt kicketh in soon. Good luck avoiding the attentions of stallions that passeth by." she added. Sure enough. Bluelood felt heat spread through her system. She started to feel the urge to find a handsome stallion and- 'Nope! Nope!' She tried her best to block out those thoughts, attempting to run back to her room. As she ran, she attracted the attention of several passing males, which only spurred her transformation further, causing her to develop enlarged hips; foal-bearing hips. In her mind she could still hear the voice of her azure aunt. 'Did'st thou thinketh that running off would'st alloweth thee to escape thy fate? If so, thou were't mistaken.' Her mane curled into a new style, becoming twin naturally coiffed 'tails'. Also, her cutie mark began to change, becoming one depicting iconic blue dangling flowers with a golden stem and every second one sporting gold and blue petals on the outside. As she entered her room and slammed the door shut, she felt her teats begin to fill with fluid, a distinctly odd feeling. Then they started to slowly drip, the pure white milk dribbling on the floor. She scrambled to find some bottles to store the excess fluid, to avoid making more of a mess. 'Don't worry. Thou shalt only needeth to do that once a day. For now, at least. Some extra bottles shall be sent to thy room. We hath at least that amount of couth.' Finally finding some vacant bottles, she sat down to allow her to empty herself of the lactose laden liquid. Thus began the newly minted mare's new life. Gone was Prince Blueblood. In his place was princess Bluebelle.
Chapter 2: The PreparationPrincess Bluebelle was moping in her room, rather nervous about what she'd have to do about her business life. She had a couple of businesses in her nonexistent pockets and would eventually have to make an appearance. A cameo, at least. Furthermore, her aunts would likely want to make the announcement of her ascension. And soon! "What am I gonna do?" she wondered nervously. "I'm never gonna get any respect again, looking like THIS!" Suddenly, there was a knock at her door. "Come in." she sighed. A guard stepped in. As it turned out, a female one. "Princess? Are you alright?" Bluebelle considered snapping at the dumb question, but realized that this situation was her own fault. She went with just saying, "No. I'm not. And the worst part is that I have nopony to blame but myself. So. What did you want?" "Well, I'm Silver Hawk (call me Silver if you like), your majesty." she said, fanning out her wings, which oddly had a metallic sheen to them. "Your aunts told several of us that you'd need support at this time. So they sectioned off some of the Royal Guard and made a separate unit called the Blood Guard." "Considerate of them, but that won't help with my personal life. My business partners will eat me alive when they see me like this!" "Perhaps you should look on the bright side." "What." Bluebelle said flatly. "What I mean is that there are several advantages to being a mare, let alone being an Alicorn." "Oh? Such as?" "Well, for example, you'll have greater agility and average intelligence, you think faster, you'll have a significant magic boost, new privileges, your opponents underestimate you more easily, you have a body that can take a beating better than the average mare -the average stallion, for that matter- and -if you play your cards right- potentially eternal life, or at least a pretty long one. And that's for starters. Don't let 'em see you sweat! Stay confident and believe in yourself. Becoming a Princess isn't the end for you. Think of it as a... new beginning!" Bluebelle was smiling by this point. "You know, I feel better. Thanks for the pep talk." Silver saluted. "It's part of my talent, ma'am. Came with the silver wings. Okay, not really." Bluebelle quirked an eyebrow. "I have to ask: Why do you have silver wings anyway?" "Well, if you must know, I was born with these (for whatever reason). I have the ability to absorb silver and incorporate that into my body, as well." (1) "Fascinating." Bluebelle said, definitely interested. "Oh, yes. I graduated from the academy on the honour roll, with some of the highest marks. So I'm to be the captain of the newly formed Blood Guard, as I've mentioned. It's an honour, your grace." she said, bowing at the end. "Anyway, I came to tell you that your official coronation is going to happen tomorrow. It won't have as much fanfare as Princess Twilight's coronation, but that doesn't mean that it should be treated with any less care. So, first you'll want to get gussied up for the occasion." "Well, what should I do?" "First stop is the spa. Follow me." Arriving at the local spa, titled "Blue Tone's Luxury Spa and Beauty Salon", the two entered. Bluebelle looked around, amazed at the atmosphere. "Wow!" she said, "If i'd known that such a place existed in Canterlot... I'd have come before!" The lobby was practically sparkling, being so clean. Silver Hawk stepped up to the counter, ringing the small bell on the counter. A blue Pony with a Cutie Mark of a saxophone emitting blue notes came up. "Welcome to Blue Tone's! The only five star spa in town! Can I help you?" "Actually," Silver said, "It's the princess here who'll need the deluxe treatment. My treat." "So let's see... that means a scented bath, a deep tissue massage, horn filing, hoof filing, a preening, a beauty mask and a spell in the sauna. This way, please!" "Enjoy, Princess!" Silver said, waving. Bluebelle was led into the back to a large tub. Stepping in slowly, Bluebelle sank into the hot water, which smelled faintly of roses. Just then she realized that she wouldn't have noticed that back when she was a stallion. After that, she was led to a flat bed, a large stallion coming over and beginning to work her muscles expertly (and only slightly painfully), after which she was feeling relaxed, enough that she fell asleep. While she was asleep, another specialist came in and filed her horn and hooves, being careful not to awaken her. Once she woke up, it was on to a Pegasus mare who applied a beauty mask and the iconic couple of cucumber slices, followed by a preening of Bluebelle's wings, which had a surprising number of broken quills for somepony who had just grown wings that very day. After 15 minutes in the sauna, she was brought to the front again, feeling like a million bits. "Thanks for that!" she said to Blue Tone, "I've never felt so relaxed! I'm definitely coming back." "If I had a bit for every time i've heard that." Blue Tone said, rolling her eyes. After Silver paid the required sum, she led Bluebelle to another shop. "Welcome to Canterlot Boutique!" a familiar voice said. "Oh, no." Bluebelle said, her ears drooping. Oh, yes. Author's Note 1: She's a bit like Colossus in that regard. Somehow I thought up a new chapter. Go figure. Thanks to all of you who've been enjoying the story so far. If only some of my other stories got these ratings...
Chapter 3: CautionRarity looked at Bluebelle, who was shaking nervously. "I must say, I don't think we've met, darling. What's your name?" The nervous mare found one side of her mouth not working. "Blueblood" she mumbled, in a nervous sweat. "Pardon me?" Rarity queried. "I didn't quite hear that." Clearly she had, and didn't like what she thought she heard.(1) After a gulp, the response came. "I mean I'm... Bluebelle! I was, uh... recently unofficially coronated? Blueblood is my, uh... cousin! I doubt he'd ever show his mug around here, considering what he said happened at the Gala!" Bluebelle's wings were instinctively rising with her nervousness. Silver Hawk was silently shaking with mirth, a goofy smile on her face. Clearly she'd likely get a well-deserved tongue lashing later, but it was more than worth it. She was quickly thinking up an elaborate excuse for that time. "Oh! You're an Alicorn too, eh? I was wondering what you meant by 'coronated'." "Uh, yeah! And i'm getting to be a... second time debutante, you might say. And I kinda... need some new dresses?" Bluebelle grinned (hopefully convincingly). "First time you got a fitting, darling? No need to be nervous. I'll be gentle. Let me get my things and we'll take your measurements." As Rarity trotted away, Bluebelle let out a sigh of relief. Turning and glaring at Silver Hawk, she silently queried through her teeth, her left eye twitching, "Why." She was clearly ticked off but didn't dare say more than that. (2) Just as quietly, Silver responded, "If it worked out, you'd be able to avoid meeting your doom and hopefully get her to even like you. If not, it would at least be funny and Rarity would release some stress and besides, since you're an Alicorn you can take it. She could probably pound you for an hour and you'd be a little warm, but not at all astonished. Everypony wins!" Bluebelle sighed. "Fair point. Just then, Rarity returned with her measuring tape and an array of different implements (Including some rather sharp-looking needles) and an aray of colourful cloths and threads. "Now, stay still, would you, dear?" Rarity said. "While I'm making your dress we can talk about how much of a jackass your cousin is." turning to the side, looking out a nearby window, she said, "No offense!" "None taken." the slightly distant reply came. One side of Bluebelle's mouth twitched. Clearly she'd still have to be careful. "Anyway, where were we? Right, your cousin." she said, swirling the measuring tape around Bluebelle's body quickly, making notes on a notepad also levitating in her psychokinetic grasp. "So. It was the beginning of the night and I was looking forward to meeting the prince. It's always been my dream to get into the clique, you might say." Being careful to move as little as possible, Bluebelle said, "Oh?" "Why, yes! As much as i adore Ponyville, it's a little bit of -as much as it hurts to say it- a... one horse town, you might say?" she chuckled at the irony of the pun "Rather behind the times. Well, not entirely-" She stopped briefly to look the stock-still mare at eye level. "Did you know that we have an arcade, a bowling alley... but very few washing machines? The spa has some, naturally, and a certain rather Spoiled family I could name, but many of us don't. To be fair, many of us don't wear clothes. There are other things to note, but I believe you get the picture. Anyway... - So you can imagine that I'm looking forward to meeting him... only for the niggard(3) to make me to feel like a paper-bag princess the entire night! At one point he presented a rose to me. I thought he was going to give it to me... only to put it on himself! And no matter what he says, that shade of red does not go with his eyes." "Rather churlish of him!" Bluebelle said, trying to get into the spirit of it. At least she could laugh at the brute she once was. "Yes! Yes. That's it exactly!" Rarity exclaimed. "He insisted that I open the door for him, that I pick up after him- you see where I'm going with this?" As the process went on, Bluebelle found it easier to laugh at her former self. Within a half hour, Rarity had several outfits for her client to try on. Bluebelle somehow felt downright comfortable wearing each! For a modest extra sum, Rarity threw in a pair of saddlebags with a Holding enchantment to put them all in. Eventually, Bluebelle was near to prancing out the door, beyond happy with the purchase. "Feel free to come again next time you're in town. Maybe get Pinkie to arrange a party for you. She's opened a branch of her own, you know." Before Bluebelle stepped out the door fully, Rarity said something that caused her to freeze in place for a moment. "Considering the mare you are now, I'd be willing to forgive you for all that, you know." After a pause, Bluebelle sighed and said, "That makes one of us." Closing the door, she and Silver prepared to return to the castle. Author's Note 1: https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/4bff962a-dd2e-4c26-adc8-92d32d41a5e8 2: (for story purposes) Years of being in high society would teach one to be careful with their words. Hence another reason that the Gala would be one of her less proud moments. 3: A selfish person who's unwilling to give or spend.
Chapter 4: Dress RehearsalLeaving Rarity's property, the two Ponies travelled back through the town. As luck would have it, they moved by a sweet shop. Bluebelle paused and backpedaled. As an Alicorn, she required several hundred more calories a day to maintain her current weight. (1) So when she smelled the sweetness within the store, she couldn't help being at least a little curious. Giving a glance to Silver, (receiving a nod in return) Bluebelle entered the store. As she entered, a bell rang. A perky voice replied, "Bon Bon's Bon-Bons! (2) What can I do for you?" "i'll tell you when I figure it out." Bluebelle said. Looking at the sheer size of the selections, Bluebelle was astounded. There were candies of all sorts. Chocolates, brownies, Swedish Berries, 22 kinds of Licorice (black oddly not being among them), a long freezer full of ice cream, saltwater taffy, gumballs, four kinds of mints, gobstoppers, jelly beans and gummies of various kinds, and much more! "Ooh, I just can't decide! I'm spoiled for choice!" Bluebelle exclaimed in excitement, her wings extending slightly. Not being the kind of mare to miss a trick, the store's owner made a note of this, but remained on topic. "Well, I'd suggest one of these containers of gourmet jelly beans." "I'll take three!" Bon Bon smiled. This one would be a big spender, and she always liked to see Ponies with a sweet tooth -or in the case of Alicorns, judging by how often Twilight (and Princess Celestia especially) stopped by, sweet teeth-. "Also, the saltwater taffy is always nice, and I highly recommend the licorice..." "I'll take some of all of those too! How much?" After paying for her selections, Bluebelle fairly skipped out of the store, the bag holding all of the candy she'd purchased held in her magical grasp. This also had an enchantment to be extra deep. Silver (waiting for her charge to get a fair distance away first) smiled and shook her head before following. (Later) As Bluebelle returned to her room with her "purchases", she laid the dresses out on her bed; Being a shrewd businessmare, Rarity had sold the bespelled mare several dresses of varying kinds, each made to fit their owner perfectly. (2) The first dress was a deep blue chiffon evening gown with white lace at the ends. Being a dress to be worn behind closed doors, it was free of gems of any kind. The second was a cornflower blue ballgown with sapphires along the bottom and a blue diamond at the neck. It was enchanted so its wearer wouldn't be encumbered by it at all. This gown had another special function.... but we'll get to that eventually.(3) The third dress was a mostly white Midi with bands of blue lace every few inches along its length. It had minor gems in between the bands of lace. The next was a sea blue Maxi with images along it that seemed to be constantly shifting as the wearer moved, making the whole dress seem like an underwater scene. Finally was her coronation gown, which Rarity had pulled out all the stops for. It was of a unique, patented material. At the will of its wearer (and a special keyword) it would change colour. The inside was a layer of material that would make it as comfortable as cashmere. The whole dress was durable, weatherproof, would repel dust, dirt, mud and all staining substances and was insulated, yet would be flexible and breathed like the finest cotton. Needles to say, a bolt of this material would cost thousands of bits, on the regular. Once donned, the dress would become unique to its first wearer; only by its intended one would its full effect be realized. Anypony else wearing it would look drab and plain, would be generally uncomfortable. As you could imagine, this wasn't just a red carpet material, as a single dress would be exorbitant! Any mare would be incredibly lucky to own one of these. This dress was also free of gems. That would be gilding the lily, as it were. Bluebelle smiled smugly. She'd have to thank Rarity for letting her be (probably) the first to have one of these. It would make her the talk of the town on her special day. Naturally, she'd already put it on the first time. It took the longest to put on of any of the dresses, to say nothing of making it, but by Celestia, it was worth it! Which was good, because that day would be coming soon. She hoped that she'd be ready when the time came. Author's Note 1: Such is my headcanon. It explains why Celestia supposedly likes cake so much. 2: I had to look up dres types for this next bit. If you want to follow along, look here. Just imagine each of these being modified to Pony form. 3: Hopefully.
Chapter 5: Humility and ForgivenessThe very next day, the entirety of the castle's complement of maids had been gathered. Honey Oat, Lemon Fresh, Neat Ness, Steel Wool, Shoeshine, Spic, Span, just to name a select few. They'd been told that the Princess wanted to speak to all of them; that it was something very important. Naturally, they'd never turn Celestia or Luna down like that, so they'd assembled ASAP. They were waiting for a short while, long enough for whispers to go back and forth. At length, Princess Celestia made her entrance, striding in gracefully with her -recently preened- alabaster wings raised for dramatic effect. Immediately, the maids went into a deep, respectful bow. "At ease, my little Ponies." she said gently. "You might be wondering why you've all been called here. As it turns out, I was not the Princess that had called for you. But had I not implied so, would you have actually come? I digress. The one who did request this gathering is our newest Princess. I ask that you hear her out before making any judgments." Then Bluebelle stepped out, a mite nervous, but determined to do this. She took a deep breath, to steel herself a bit. It... kind of helped? "Hello everypony. Please, hear me out, here. As some of you might know, or have guessed, I was once that self-absorbed, crude, arrogant, ignorant... just plain awful fool, prince Blueblood." she said, self-deprecatingly. "Back then I was unreasonable at best and cruel at my worst. But thanks to my aunts, I've been given a new perspective of things. I've seen how much harm the way I'd acted inflicted upon others. How much my arrogance hurt all of you." she was beginning to tear up, by this point. "I know that I made all of you miserable -You know, a few times I've heard some of your number saying "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here" when coming to my bedroom door?- and you've probably been enjoying this breather for the past few days. Without me around... For the past couple of days, I've been getting a small taste of the mare's life. I know that it's nothing -NOTHING- compared to what I put all of you through, though." She sniffed once before continuing. "I know that I don't deserve it, and you probably can't forgive me for how I acted, and I can't say that I blame you. But I wanted you all to know... I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry!!" At that, she lost her composure completely and broke down in tears. Celestia looked on, with a sad smile. After a moment, she went to her niece and lifted her head with one hoof. Opening her eyes, Bluebelle inadvertently gave her a rather impressive puppy-dog-eyed expression. "I'm proud of you." she said. "It takes a lot of courage to own up to one's wrongs; to have a slice of humble pie, as it were. However things go from here, know that you did what you could to salvage that." Lemon Fresh stepped up to them with a small smile. "One of my specialties is being able to tell when someone really feels what they say. I'm a really good judge of character. I can tell that you've really turned over a new leaf. In other words, I forgive you." Bluebelle looked surprised. Shoeshine stepped up next. "Lemon's right. You've earned yourself a second chance, as far as I'm concerned." One by one, each of the maids came and forgave her for her wrongdoings. A few just snorted and walked away, but that's to be expected. Still crying, Bluebelle gave a small smile of her own. "Thank you... all of you. I must make this up to you. Alright; As of now, you'll all be receiving a 60% raise. Out of my own coffers; I can easily afford it. Also..." Turning to one side, she whistled twice, cuing her bodyguard to enter with a bag. Opening it, he revealed that it had several slips of paper. Bluebelle explained: "I also decided -this time in advance- to give each of you a coupon for the local spa. A free full treatment of your choice. Goodness knows I used to put you all through the wringer. It's the least I can do." As the maids cheered and generally celebrated, Celestia said, "That must have cost a small fortune." "It's a small price to pay for their forgiveness. Besides, no matter what, my accounts will keep accruing wealth. As auntie Luna once said, "Gold is far too soft to do anything practical with. But it's also too hard to swim in. So why let it pool so?"." Celestia chuckled at that. "Still, that was very generous of you, Bluebelle. It's clear that you've learned from your mistakes. I'm so very proud." she said, nuzzling her niece. Bluebelle leaned into her aunt's embrace. She was the happiest she'd been since months before she stopped being Blueblood. Things seemed to be looking up, for sure. "Now, come on." Celestia said, "The ball is tonight. You need to prepare." After a pause, she said, "Also, you'll need to... unload." Looking down, Bluebelle noticed that she was beginning to fill up again. Her ears drooped. "Right. I forgot that was a thing. Better hurry, then!" Suiting words to action, she dashed off for her room. Celestia chuckled lightly before heading for her own room. She had to get ready too.
Chapter 6 - Belle of the BallThat night, the place was buzzing with excitement. Much of the nobility had gathered in the large -VERY large- meeting hall of Canterlot castle. They'd heard that a newly crowned Princess was about to be introduced to society; A debutante+, some said. At that point, Princess Luna made her entrance. The first portion of her horn was glowing subtly, releasing enough energy to attract the attentions of every Unicorn in the room and, by proxy, any others who wouldn't otherwise be paying attention. The announcer took a deep breath and called out, "Presenting her Eternal Majesty, Princess Luna! Mistress of the Stars and Moon, Bringer of the Night, Matriarch of the Night Ponies, Destroyer of Nightmares, Dreamwarden, and co-ruler of Equestria and all of their Other Realms and Territories." "We bid thee good eve'n, Our subjects. We hope thou art enjoying the party thus far? Good! Good." She was wearing a long dress that was blue (two shades), white and grape purple. There were silvery moon patterns along the skirt portion, and at her midsection. She was also wearing her crown and hoofguards, naturally. In her dress were also miniature diamonds, which shimmered as she moved, giving the entire dress a sort of night sky pattern, appropriately. She went to her throne and sat down. Then Princess Celestia made her entrance. She took the last sip of a large cup of coffee, then teleported the mug away. This was typically when she'd be sleeping, but in a case like this, she'd make an exception. Taking another deep breath, the announcer called, "Also presenting Her Eternal Majesty, Princess Celestia! Mistress of the Invincible and Unconquered Sun (Celestia Sol Invicta), Bringer of the Dawn, Destroyer of Monsters, Bane of Evil, Guiding Hoof of the Realm and co-ruler of Equestria and all of their Other Realms and Territories." Finishing that announcement, he slumped to the floor, quite out of breath. Celestia was wearing a counterpoint to Luna's dress. Hers was golden, red and had portions of day-glow orange. The patterns along her skirt were, of course, small suns. The patterns in her dress flowed across the dress, like the molten sun's surface. But with less heat. She went and sat down as well. A replacement announcer came out. "Aaaaand, announcing Her Highnes, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza! Guardian of the Heart, Fearslayer, Bane of Darkness, Mistress of Love, Ruler of the Crystal Ponies and the Crystal Empire." Cadence stepped onto the scene as well. It was sad that she had to leave her husband behind this time, but with little Flurry Heart still too young to leave alone for too long... there really wasn't much she could have done. One of them had to stay home. Anyway, her dress was a tri-tone pink. It had heart patterns that occasionally swirled about her dress, as if chasing each other. Another impromptu throne had been brought in for her and the next arrival. "And lastly, announcing Her Royal Highness, Princess Twilight Sparkle! Princess of Friendship, Mistress and Bearer of Magic, Saviour of Equestria, Liberator of the Crystal Empire, Arch Magus... And several titles besides. With her are her friends, Lady Rarity Belle, Bearer of Generosity, Benefactor; Lady Applejack, Bearer of Homesty, Truthseeker; Lady Pinkame-" "You can just call me Pinkie Pie, you know! It's SO much easier." "(Ahem). Lady Pinkie Pie, Bearer of Laughter, Joybringer; Lady Fluttershy, Bearer of Kindness, Forestkin; and Lady Rainbow Dash, Bearer of Loyalty; Oathkeeper." As if Twilight would come without inviting her friends! She was wearing a fairly plain-looking dress, compared to the elaborate ones that the elder Princesses wore. But the traine eye would see that it was just as finely made as all of the ones of her elders. Rarity was wearing an azure blue and white Maxi with pearls laced around the length of it in a swirling pattern. They each sparkled when the light hit them just right. Applejack was wearing what one might call 'country chic'. It was a pear green, russet brown and apple red (aptly representing three of her main characteristics) Midi with apple-shaped rubies in a necklace (1), along with a similar larger one at the center. In the middle of that was a shape that looked like a pear tree on one side and an apple tree on the other. But that was just ridiculous. Right? Pinkie Pie's was, of course, three different shades of pink. It looked rather similar to Applejack's dress, with a similar necklace. She was pronking in her typical manner, whereas the others were walking. Occasionally she'd stop long enough to wave at some of the onlookers. Fluttershy was wearing a Maxi that was honey yellow and emerald green. Instead of any adornments at all, she was trailed by a small kaleidoscope(2) of butterflies, at least 30 of them, each a different colour! she was focused on following her friends, ad not on the group of watchers. Nevertheless, she had a light blush on her face as she tried to tune the cheers out. Lastly, Rainbow Dash was wearing a rather shorter dress. It was mostly cherry red and cerulean blue. Every now and then, if you were watching, a coil of lightning would loop around her in seemingly random patterns. This was, of course, merely an ephemera; an illusion, of sorts. As they were walking along, Rainbow stopped to strike a pose, cameras going off, as if on cue. She chuckled and continued to follow her friends. Either way, Twilight took her spot, her friends assembling beside her. Another Pony came over to the announcer and whispered something to the announcer, whose ears perked. He cleared his throat before saying, "And NOW lastly, our lady of honour today, our newest Princess, Lady Bluebelle Stardream Snowdrop Platinum. Esquiress!" And then Bluebelle came onto the scene. She was holding herself rather admirably, but a careful viewer would notice that she was distinctly uncomfortable. Still she held her ground (albeit a touch shakily) and followed the others. 'THIS is a small event?' she thought, a touch huffily. Her coronation gown was (currently) cornflower blue and chiffon white. It had alternating navy blue and Arabian gold starry patterns along it. It was, as previously stated, free of gems. As she strode forward, a chorus sang of her taking the next step in life's journey, of future opportunities and righting wrongs. Of how proud she should feel. She stepped up to the thrones, where the most important Ponies in the land all stood, ready to welcome her. Celestia and Luna stood to their full height. "Lady Bluebelle, stand before us." Bluebelle did as commanded, kneeling and bowing her head. Celestia summoned her weapon of office, called Flarebright. A greatsword of flame that would only burn if she desired it so. Luna summoned a similar weapon, but this one looked to be a piece of the night sky. This was Eveningtide. Placing the flat of the blades on Bluebelle's withers -one on the left, one on the right-, Celestia announced, "We hereby do entitle thee as Equestria's newest Princess! Heavens above, will you accept another among our number?" At that, they raised their blades and brought them together. When the light hit them, a respective light shone upon the newly coronated mare. It made a coruscating kaleidoscope of colours around Bluebelle. And when it was over, Bluebelle was still kneeling, her eyes closed. As the light disappeared, a crown appeared on her head, oddly not falling off. "And so it is blessed!" the sisters spoke in unison. "Rise! Rise and take your rightful place among us." Bluebelle arose and said, "Before I do that, I would like to say a few things to our... audience here." Celestia raised an eyebrow and asked, quietly enough that only Bluebelle could hear, "Are you sure about this?" Bluebelle replied, "Well, no. But the longer I put it off, the more it'll hurt to reveal." "Fair enough. Granted." Bluebelle turned around. She took a breath, let it out slowly and said, "Hello everypony.I would just like to say a few things. First of all, as some of you might have surmised, I was once the much-disliked prince Blueblood Platinum." Whispers began to spread throughout the audience. "BUT." she continued, "After all of this, I've really changed my outlook on things. From now on, you'll see no more of that jerk. Here before you stands a changed Pony - literally and figuratively." There were some chuckles at that. "I've had a good experience as a mare thus far, and I have these mares and my guard, Silver Hawk to thank for the opportunity. I don't know what will come from here, but it is my solemn promise that I shall do my level best to make Equestria a safe and happy place for all of her citizens. Thank you." At this, a chorus of cheering occurred, Ponies applauding in the typical way; by stamping their hooves on the floor. "Now, as I understand, there's food coming and I get hungry when I'm nervous, soooo..." she added, half jokingly, to a few chuckles. As if on cue, several maids strode in carrying large platters of food. Some guardstallions pushed in long tables, which the platters were then set upon. There was more mundane fare, such as five kinds of salad (seven kinds of dressing available), vegetable slices and mixed fruit, onion rings, pancakes, potatoes cooked in five different methods (scalloped, Prench fried, baked, perogie'd and boiled), rice and more besides, but there were also more... unique dishes, such as fish (including salmon, catfish, and tilapia) and seafood - including but not nearly limited to shrimp, crab, mussels and scallops (which had many of the Pegasi salivating already-, devilled eggs, corn bread, calzones (Cadence's suggestion, something she'd picked up on a trip to another country), even a platter of bacon, for those who enjoyed that. And, again, more besides. Celestia whispered to Bluebelle, "As an Alicorn's, you'll not only require more food than before, you'll also need to be a bit less choosy about your sources of protein." "So that's what all the meat is for?" she queried. "That and some Ponies -especially Pegasi- enjoy those sorts of things. Have as much of whatever as you like. The cooks are still cooking, too." Further to the back was the dessert table. It also had a slew of dishes, such as donuts, cupcakes and muffins (care of Sugarcube Corner's own party planner), brownies, strudel (oddly enough), and the piece de resistance, a three tiered chocolate cake. It also had chocolate frosting, ganache, sprinkles and candles! There was a sign on top that read, "HAPPY CORONATION DAY!" There was enough for all, and to spare. Evrypony left full and content. Later on there was music and dancing -fast and slow alike- and the party went on long into the night. Bluebelle returned to her room, taking her dress off carefully and placing it on a nearby rack. She was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow, and she had nothing but sweet dreams that night. Author's Note 1: That's not the word I'm looking for, but it's the only one I can think of for it right yet. 2: Apparently a group of butterflies is called a kaleidoscope.
Chapter 7 - Bring Yourself to Work DayBluebelle knew that she was going to have to do this sooner or later. She'd just hoped for it to be later. She was going to need to make an appearance at work. Specifically, the construction company that worked on "his" behalf. The late Prince Blueblood received a good chunk of the profit. He found relatively consistent work for them. Ponyville practically needed them every other Tuesday! Either way, she would need to see the stallions there eventually. Thus, here she was, in her blue ballgown. Rememember the "special function"? It's that time. She decided to make an entrance. Literal or metaphysical, she only had one shot. "Well," she thought aloud, "like my grandfather used to say, 'there is no kill like overkill'." She lit up her horn. She focused on emitting as much energy as possible. Without hurting herself, anyway. As an Alicorn, she could easily do that. After a moment, she set her mind to making a sort of aura that every Pony in the area would feel. Long before she actually entered. With that, she began entering. Inside, the workers were setting to their various tasks. Suddenly, they all -especially the Unicorns- felt an oppressive aura; a storm of pure Mana. But not painful at all. One thing was for sure: whoever was coming in was incredibly powerful. Suddenly, they saw the newest Alicorn entering. Immediately, one of the workers -a Pegasus, this one- raised a hoof. "Iron Wing?" The stallion seemed to be pleased that she remembered his name. "Uh, your grace-" "You all know very well who I am. Please speak as you normally would." She interrupted. After a moment, the stallion asked, "Was that really necessary?" Bluebelle's eyes widened briefly. She was beginning to fill up again. 'Of all the times...' She'd only get a short moment here before she would have to leave. "Tell me, Iron Wing; if I had come in complaining about what I am going through, how painful it often is, how much my heat pains me, how scared I was to be here, would you still respect me?" "Well..." "You wouldn't, would you? Instead, I decided to show you all just how serious I am. To remind you all of what I am now." "We all know who you are, ma'am." "Then you had better refresh everypony's memory." Iron Wing took a deep breath. "You are... Prince Blueblood (now Princess Bluebelle) Platinum. First heir of the house of Platinum, bearer of the new crown, niece to the Alicorn Sisters. And, more pertinently, our secondary boss." There were a few chuckles at that. "You're damned right I am! I might have been that pathetic puling princely punk previously, but I am different now!" She stepped forward, grabbing one of the steel girders and lifting it with one hoof. Then added another. And another. And another. Shortly she had a pile of ten held with one hoof. "I'm stronger, tougher and generally better than he ever was by any metric you care to go by." She then looked upward. "Armour up!" In an instant, her ballgown had transformed into a veritable suit of armour, made of mithril scale plating. Complete with a Romane style helmet. It would also increase her abilities by more than double their baseline. "And better equipped to boot. So no matter who or what I am, you will treat me with respect." She said with a modicum of force. "If not, then you can file your resignation and find work elsewhere or something. I don't give a flying feather. Alternatively, kindly piss off. Is that clear?!" A chorus of cheers rose. "You're Celestia Damned right! Now get back to it!" The workers did so with gusto. Using her magic, Bluebelle teleported to her room. She swayed dizzily for a moment, but regained her balance. Acting quickly, she went to empty herself. Just In time. If she had taken much longer, she would have started leaking. Overall, the day was productive.
