Princess Luna flopped over on her bed as she watched Lady Spearmint, a homely-looking and crippled pegasus with odd pink legs, fold her purple cape. “You know, I heard they’re bringing in some famous player for the gala this year.” She mused. “What do you think, can she make as big of a ruckus as those Ponyville fillies did last time around?”
Spearmint shrugged, moving onto the headdresses. “Who knows, maybe it might even be fun this time around.”
“Right.” The Princess admired the elaborate chandelier she had had added to her room a few weeks back. “Fun. Sister parading around all queen-like even though it’s all meant to fall apart for her sick sort of entertainment anyway, me hidden in one of the turrets, high-class ponies being high-class, chaos ensuing--wait, no, the chaos is the only fun part.”
Spearmint laughed.
“Hey, Mint, would you be a dear and make sure to leave out my sapphire tiara?”
Lady Spearmint knew that friends wouldn’t usually make friends clean out their closets, but she was Luna’s maid, and her only real friend anyway--so what did Luna know about friendship? Luna was ditzy and sometimes cruel and believed with all her heart that she was superior to others, but Spearmint couldn’t blame her for it.
Princess Celestia’s newest gangly and awkward messenger poked her pretty teal head into the room and cleared her throat, pulling a scroll from her saddlebag.
“An official summons from her Highness, Princess Celestia.” She began in a sweet sing-song voice. “For...Lady Spearmint of Balledieri, maid to Luna.” Spearmint flinched instinctively at her family name, and Luna rolled her eyes at her untitled name. “Please make your way immediately to the Welcome Hall.”
Spearmint looked toward Luna, who shrugged. “Might as well.”
The messenger stood in the room for a moment longer, then scurried off.
***
“Hello, Spearmint. And Luna.” Celestia smiled down at the two fillies.
Spearmint wanted to ask why they were there, but the Princess shushed her. “Our guest entertainment has arrived.”
Luna snickered. “Oooh, so she can blow up the castle a few weeks earlier than planned.”
“Now, sister, don’t go spoiling the Gala’s grand finale for Cherry Coke here.” Celestia’s eyes twinkled. “She has yet to attend a Gala.
“Besides which, the castle wasn’t blown up. There was only severe property damage.”
“I do specialize in property damage.” A young unicorn, pink and pigtailed, stepped out from behind a pillar.
Luna smirked at the common pony and flounced back off to her rooms, but Spearmint greeted Cherry Coke happily. “I hear you’ll be performing.”
“Six shows! And I’ll be writing them as I go.” Cherry Coke smiled brightly. “What’s up with her?”
Spearmint looked over her shoulder to where Luna had previously stood. “Oh. Well...” Cherry raised an eyebrow.
“She’s the princess.” Spearmint continued on before Cherry Coke could say anything. “Yes, yes, Nightmare Moon and all that, I know. She’s a sweet filly, she just has a bit of a...uh...superiority complex.”
Cherry rolled her eyes. “Of course. So you’re her maid?” Spearmint straightened up at this, nodding.
“Head maid.” Celestia answered for her, beaming proudly down at Spearmint. “She’s been working for us since she was just a young foal.”
Cherry Coke nodded, processing this. Spearmint nudged her a little before starting to head to the guest wing. “Follow me, alright?”
“So, if you’re a maid, why are you titled?” Cherry bombarded her with questions as they trotted towards her room. “Ooh, I love the spiral staircase. What is it like, living here? Why do you live here, actually? What happened to your wings? Has your family always--oh!”
Spearmint stopped short at the last question, Cherry Coke skidding into her. “Don’t ask about my family. Or my wings, for that matter.”
“Why? Is there a story? A good one? Is it a tragedy? Dramatic?” Spearmint continued on, but sent a withering glare back in Cherry Coke’s direction. “Oh, fine. I’ll shush up.”
“Well, here we are.” Spearmint nodded and backed away from the doorway for Cherry to enter first.
“Wow!” Cherry Coke gasped in awe. Spearmint suppressed the urge to giggle.
“Oh, this isn’t even as good as it gets.”
Cherry galloped as fast as she could to the bed, and made a flying leap onto it. “This is so cool!”
Spearmint shook her head, amused. Cherry Coke lay back for a moment before looking up at the strange-colored pony.
“You don’t have a Cutie Mark.” Spearmint flinched at her bewildered tone. “Why’s that?”
Spearmint pawed at the ground, avoiding Cherry Coke’s eyes. “Well...”
***
I was eight years old when they, my parents, kicked me out, just barely old enough to work and just barely past when I should have gotten my Cutie Mark.
My own family was ashamed of me. I was a talentless black mark on the family tree. Or no mark--they burned my name off the tree, in fact. They couldn’t throw me out to the wolves, no, but they could send me to work at the palace. It’s what all the cool families were doing with their blank flanks, was it not?
I remember that moment as if it was yesterday.
“No!” She cried plaintively. “You can’t do this to me!”
Spearmint’s younger sister, Violetta, looked on contemptuously as her parents packed Spearmint’s things away. “Yes, foal.” Her father nodded, his eyes vague and expressionless. “We can do whatever we want to you. We’re your parents.”
“You’re not my parents!” She gasped.
Her mother slammed the door in her face, and that was it. Spearmint stared out the rain-soaked window as the carriage pulled her away from her family and toward the palace.
It wasn’t all that strange, you know. Again, plenty of the cool families had blank flanks. It’s what happened in places where everyone was an elitist idiot, Nature punished them for it, with ponies like me.
I just never developed a talent. Violetta, she did, she was a dancer. Our parents were so proud. She was this sweet, innocent little filly and everyone just loved her. Weak, and dumb, though, just like all the rest of them city ponies. I thought sometimes that that was why I was so wrong, because I was bigger and stronger and I asked too many questions.
That’s what all us ponies that got sent away were like. We were sent away, first to be trained, then if by the end of that we didn’t end up like they wanted us to be, all naive and pretty, then we would work for the Princess. And then, when Luna returned, we who weren’t even good enough for Celestia were sent to her.
Five years later and here I am, Princess Luna’s head maid and confidante.
***
Spearmint shook her head, distracted suddenly from her story by a flicker of dark green in a corner of the room, standing out from the light airiness.
Cherry Coke, who had remained suspiciously quiet throughout the speech, widened her eyes and made a slashing motion with her forehoof. The green disappeared immediately.
“What was that? It looked like part of somepony’s mane.”
“Uh, no, I think it was just a trick of the light.” Cherry Coke babbled, shaking her head wildly. “So your sister sounded like a bit of a ditz.”
“Oh, and not only that, she was mean.” Cherry Coke smiled as Spearmint went on, having successfully dropped the topic. “I mean, she was always mocking my pink legs, and my...my wings. And then, when I never got my mark, well, she had a field day then.
“So, uh, what’s it like traveling across the kingdom all alone?”
“Well,” Cherry Coke shuffled her hooves awkwardly. “Not exactly alone."
Midnight Ebony Is Kind Of A Scary Name
Spearmint and Cherry Coke squeezed through the hordes of ponies trying to get through to the Assembly.
“Wow,” Cherry Coke mused. “People must really be interested in what the Princess is going to say. What is she even going to say, anyway?”
Spearmint rolled her eyes. “Uh, she’s going to introduce you. Of course.” Cherry Coke paled at this.
“Do you think she’s even go--nevermind.”
Spearmint shook her head, bemused, and led the filly over to a table near the center.
Princess Luna tapped halfheartedly at the microphone a few times. Celestia rushed over.
“It’s magical, sister, you need not worry.” The Princess nudged Luna on her way before beginning. “I’m sure you all must have heard of Equestria’s own traveling performer, Cherry Coke.” A murmur spread through the crowd at the mention of the entertainer, and Spearmint widened her eyes at Cherry Coke herself, impressed. Celestia continued to ramble for a while before coming to a point.
“So with no further ado, I welcome to the castle--” Celestia smiled wide and a little too satisfied with herself for Spearmint’s tastes. “Cherry Coke herself, and a friend. He goes by the name of...” Celestia looked down at a hovering notepad. “Midnight Ebony, hailing from a faraway land on...official business.”
Spearmint’s jaw dropped as a dark green and black alicorn stepped up to join Cherry Coke on her way to the stage. Midnight barely concealed his grin as Spearmint tumbled out of her chair, trying to catch Cherry Coke’s eye. She, of course, was not as successful, snorting loudly at the sight.
The laughter rang out cruelly in Spearmint’s ears, a high-pitched giggle joining in in her mind. Images flew by before her eyes as she ran away, her twisted wings flapping madly. The images were things of nightmares. Violetta and a dark and mysterious alicorn, pain and fury and eternal darkness.
“Hello, there.” A deep and slow voice cut through the whirling...daymare? “Would this happen to be the mare who took that glorious fall?”
Spearmint spun around on a pink hoof to tell off the stranger, falling flat at the sight of Midnight Ebony himself.
“Are you usually clumsy, or do I just have that effect on you?” Midnight joked dryly as he helped her up. Spearmint merely sniffed in response.
“I never knew I could do that. Might be a nice secret weapon sort of thing. Oh my,” He continued as she scrambled up to face him. “You seem a little ruffled. Problem?”
“Problem, indeed.” Spearmint spoke delicately and controlled. “I’m off to work and somepony is in my way.”
Midnight snickered. “Oh, I thought you were just embarrassed. I’m sure you’re in a hurry to your job of taking care of Luna. Especially since she’s still in there.”
Spearmint whirled around on the spot and began to fly off.
“You know,” The irritating stallion appeared in front of her again. “It’s really no good trying to run from an alicorn.”
“It’s really,” Spearmint huffed back. “Rude trying to chase after me.”
“Oh, who said I was trying?”
Spearmint turned a corner. “You’re not allowed past here.”
“Oh,” He smirked in response. “Don’t worry. I’ve never let that stop me.
“In fact, I quite enjoy a challenge.” He rolled over midair to look up at her. “I’ll take those wings as a hint you used to--”
Spearmint spotted a line in the ceiling, flew upwards, and was through the trapdoor before he could finish his sentence. The last three words came through muffled, as she brushed off her forelegs and restored her wings to their normal, rolled up place.
“Oh, Minty.” Luna sighed. “Escaping too?”
Spearmint turned around, smiling down at her friend. “Pretty much.”
The two looked down at the sound of crashing pillars. “Well. Sounds like the Gala is coming a few weeks early this time around,” Spearmint laughed. “How long d’you think we’ll last before everything comes crashing down?”
“Minty, Minty,” Luna chided jokingly. “We shouldn’t talk like that. I’m sure Cherry Coke is very responsible and will lead us to our first successful gala since--oh, wait. We’ve never had a successful Grand Galloping Gala.”
Midnight Ebony gave up on thumping at the ceiling, and the two waited quietly for a few moments, listening to him flapping away and back to the Assembly before bursting into giggles and snorts.
***
Cherry Coke sat with the maids at meals the rest of the week before her shows began, but Midnight Ebony refused to even go to meals--proving, in Lady Spearmint’s mind, that he was as petty as he had seemed that first day.
“Oh, and you should have seen their faces!” Cherry Coke was telling a story of a show she did in the prissy city of Manehattan. “Canterlot could never be that uptight.”
“Don’t be cruel, Pounce.” She whispered, nudging the pink earth pony she had caught eyeing Flipside, one of the more prim and proper fillies at the table. Pounce,Celestia’s head maid and one of the few ponies among the staff to have a Cutie Mark, wasn’t exactly the most socially correct pony.
“I happen to have experience in both cities,” Contessa Freckles, one of the pegasi waiters spoke as she glided past their table. “And I have to say Cherry Coke is right.”
“They have this thing about not casting out their foals in Manehattan, though.” One of the messengers piped up. “Some say it’s a little bit of a bad thing to do.”
The maids laughed as Freckles dived down to face the messenger. “Don’t I wish it. I happen to be from a family in Manehattan myself, sugarcube.”
“Ah, well, though,” Cherry jumped in again. “You haven’t met Midnight Ebony yet. Man, is he just the epitome of--”
“Beauty? Grace?” Midnight Ebony skidded into a spot next to Cherry for the first time since the Assembly. “Surely those are the only words that could be used to describe me.”
“Ah, yes, graceful yet even with both magic and wings, you still manage to knock somepony over wherever you go.” Spearmint quipped as the alicorn turned to see the tables of angry courtesans calling for the servers to fix the destruction he had left behind him.
Cherry Coke, meanwhile, was trotting off towards a clump of servers propping a table back up, her new plan reeling through her head. “You. The orange one.”
Contessa Freckles looked up, as well as a few others. “Uh, me?”
“How would YOU like,” She paused for dramatic effect. “Being my assistant?”
Freckles nodded happily, pinwheeling throughout the dining hall. Cherry smirked, satisfied. The show could go on. “You’ll be playing...Have you ever met Lady Violetta?”
