//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 // Story: The Second Journey: Misunderstandings // by Kaille //------------------------------// ~Chapter 5: Reprieve~ I blearily opened my eyes, suddenly aware of the fact that I had nodded off, and the distinct lack of other bodies on either side of myself. I lifted my head with an expression not unlike that of a drunken stupor, and looked around, hunting for the mares I had collapsed on the bed with. To the right, nearby the window, I spotted Chroma sitting in front of an easal, mounting a canvas atop it and preparing her paint on a palette to her side. She was setting up in the middle of the light spilling from the balcony in an otherwise dim room that was full of colours absorbing what little luminescence permeated the rest of the chamber. Luna was off furthur yet to the right, sitting at a desk that I didn't remember being there before. She had an adorable pair of half-frame reading glasses resting atop the end of her snout, perusing royal documents with a quill suspended in her magic that she occasionally used to mark something down either upon a document itself, or within a heavy black tome to her side. She had an abacus propped up in front of her as well, which would briefly alight with her magic every few seconds running calculations only she was privy to. I dropped my head back down and groaned as I slowly sat up, shaking the last of the drowsiness from my head with a couple quick sideways jerks. Chroma and Luna both looked up at me, smiling. The light from the balcony highlighted all the best features of her face - How cliche is this world that every time that happens? I mused to myself, albeit without any complaint - and Luna had this adorable look from peering over top of the lenses in her glasses. "Well, it recovers from its hibernation." She teased, smile turning to smirk. I rolled my eyes. "Ha. Whats up? Actually, how long was I out, too?" Chroma set aside her palette and trotted over ot me as I dropped from the bed onto my hooves. We shared a quick nuzzle, and broke the short silence. "Only about an hour or two. Luna had some paperwork to attend to, and I have a couple of commisions to catch up on, so we just decided to do some work while waiting on you." She glanced back at her easel quickly, followed by a slight grimace. "I checked, and I have more to do than I thought. I'm going to be at it for a while, so you are free to do whatever anyway. Sorry." I shook my head. "No problem. People have paid for those paintings; I can spend time with you whenever I want. Go ahead." She smiled back and nodded, trotting back over to her supplies with a slight bit more spring in her step. I turned back to Luna and walke dover, looking at the stuff she was working on. She leaned back and huffed, blowing the lock of mane that hovered over her brow up into the air for a second. She settled her quill in the inkwell and pushed her glasses up a bit on her nose before speaking. "How We loath taxes." I laughed. "Having troubles?" She shook her head. "Nay, We simply tire of it. Couldn't this be left to one of Our underlings to deal with? We enjoy mathematics, but only interesting mathematics; not this dry, repetitive, monetary bullshit." This time, I really laughed, drawing a confused look from the diarch. "You certainly seem to be catching up on modern dialect! What have you been reading?" She smirked and rolled her eyes. "Modern literature, from dictionaries to science-fiction." I continued to chuckle. "Well, I suppose if you like, you can take a break from it. You are the ruler, are you not?" She smiled, closing her eyes. "We would greatly appreciate some respite from this hell that is calculation of tariffs." She stood up from her chair, stretching each of her back legs out and leaning back to stretch her forelegs. Upon righting herself again, she twisted her head, releasing a few crackles. She let out a long sigh upon the release, but I couldn't help but notice Chroma shudder in the background at the sound of the princess' vertebrea aligning themselves. I smirked. "Not a fan of cracking joints, hun?" She vigorously shook her head, staring at me wide-eyed. "It sounds horrible. I will leave that job to my chiropractor and masseuse." Luna and I both responded with a chuckle. "Yes, although this 'tis but a temporary relief. We shall attend the Royal Sanitarium in the morrow." I let out a long, drawn-out 'mmm' at the mention of a nearby facility for recovery. "I might be due for a good few cracks under the hooves of a professional as well; after all I have gone through, a bit of stress relief sounds like just the thing I need," Luna nodded. "Mayhaps We can attend to it presently?" SHe turned to Chroma. "What say thee, dear? Care to join us in the spa?" Chroma shook her head as she continued painting. "Thanks, but no. After my painting I will likely attend, though. Work the stiffness out of muscles after holding a brush for hours." Luna nodded. "Very well. Ink, what sayest thou?" I stuck my lower lip out, debating. "Yeah, why not." We said farewell to Chroma and left the Princess' bedroom, my following in her wake as we approached whatever chamber held the 'Royal Sanitarium.' We walked for a few minutes in companionable silence, until we reached the door that apparently housed the room of our desire. Luna strode towards it and pushed the doors open gracefully with her magic as she entered, before stopping. I stepped up to her side and looked in as well, before looking up at my Princess in confusion. She frowned. "I do not recognize this facility. The castle has changed since my millennia-long departure." It was the laundry room. ~ We ended up leaving the room and wandering the castle for another fifteen minutes, asking for directions from the occasional servant we passed, finding ourselves very out of luck. Eventually we had explored the majority of the palace, and gave up just outside of Celestia's room. Luna sat in the middle of the floor with a huff. "How irritating." I chuckled, settling down with her. One guard raised his eyebrow at us, but no other signs of life where shown. "Ah well. We can ask your sister, Princess Celestia, when she finishes court." Her eyes lit up, then narrowed in false hope. "Court proceeds for another six hours." I slouched. ". . . Oh." She grew determined and sprung up. "Nay, We shall ask where the spa is immedietely! Fie the court!" The gaurd swallowed, grabbing our attention. "Pardon your Majesty, but the spa is the room there." He pointed a hoof directly in front of him, at the room opposite Celestia's bedroom. We blinked at the door, then turned to him. ". . . Your kidding. Your kidding, right?" Luna said into the silence that followed his proclamation in a flat voice. He nodded. "She wished for the facilites to be nearby her chambers to allow easier access after court before entering her room." Luna facehoofed. "Very well. Thank you, Sir. You may return to your duties." He saluted sharply before returning his hoof to his side, back to his original vigil. We turned to the spa and entered, instantly being greeted by the hot and humid air of the room. Luna sighed immediately, inhaling deeply after. "We feel ourself relaxing already." We strode in to the attendee closest to us, who bowed immediately upon noticing us. "Your Majesty. What would you care for today?" Luna pursed her lips, thinking. "We find ourselves curious as to how these treatments have advanced over time. We will try everything." The attendee blinked, before nodding. "Very well. And for yourself Sir?" Luna waved it off. "He shall be accompanying Us. He shall attend the same." The attendee blinked again. ". . . Very well. Follow me, if you please." ~ The first room we visited was plain, in the vaguely trapezoidal shape of the golden ratio, bearing only four tables used by chiropractors to set the bones of their patients. They were similar to those found on earth, but with minor changes to accomodate the differences of pony frames. The four tables were arranged in the shape of an X from a birds-eye view, pointed towards each other in the center of the room. Two tables, the ones going back towards the two corners at the wide end of the room, were larger and clearly built for the bodies of Alicorns. Sitting in the only standard chairs of the room were two stallion Earth Ponies, chatting amicably as they went over some paperwork. They looked up upon our entrance and smiled before bowing to the Princess. "Your Majesty. How may we help you?" She smiled at them and gestured for them to rise. "We wish to find out what this 'chiropratic' procedure is. Art thou able to assist Us?" They smiled more broadly. "Of course!" The one closest to me turned to meet my gaze. "Likewise for yourself, Sir?" I nodded. "Correct. What health information would you like before we get started?" The Princess and the doctor furthur from me blinked. "Is this not your first time?" I shrugged. "You could say that." I looked at Luna and winked, and she made an 'oh' gesture with her mouth, slowly nodding once, realising I was talking about my time as a human. The doctors watched the byplay in confusion. "Well, we will grab the papers and be back momentarily." They exited the room leaving Luna and I to our own devices. The Diarch turned to me. "What is this information they require of Us?" I shook my head in dismissal. "Just basic health information; any diseases, bone or muscle issues, problem areas of your body that have caused issues before. . . Just general info to let them know what they can and cannot do to us." She cocked her head to the side. "We have none of these issues. Do we not need their help then?" I winked again and grinned. "No, but it feels good. Relieves stress and loosens muscles and joints. Trust me." She nodded, taking my word for it, just as the doctors returned. They each bore a clipboard in their mouth, holding the papers required for us to fill, and a pen was clipped to each board as well. They set their paperwork down on a table each and slid their chairs over to the tables, gesturing for us to have a seat on said tables. We obliged as they took their chairs, and prepared their pens. It took about forty five minutes for them to finish, and when they did, they got us to lay down in the position needed to get started. My having previous knowledge of the system for it did so faster then Luna, and just before the Princess could get into position, she saw the doctor taking care of me pop the first spot in my back, resulting in a pleased grunt. She blinked and recoiled in shock at the way he did so, pressing part of his body weight into his hooves directly on my spine. "What is this?! Art thou attempting to injure Our friend?!" The doctor blinked at her before it dawned on him. "Oh, no, your Majesty! This is what Chiropractic is; we set your bones to release stresses built in the joints." I groaned in relief after he set the next spot of my back. "Trust me, Luna. This feels amazing." She hesitated before nodding, gulping as she mimicked my position. Her doctor stepped up the table and got into position himself, feeling out Luna's back, looking for tnesion. He found the first spot, her lower back just under her wings, and pressed down a couple times, cracking the vertebrea. Once he set that first spot, Luna let out a long, low moan in bliss. "Oh, Faust that feels glorious. Do continue good doctor with thine masterful hooves." He chuckled before setting the second spot, releasing the tension alongside yet another moan, leaving Luna as putty under his hooves while he set her thousands of years of pressure from her joints. ~ We later emerged from the spa, leaning against each other and stumbling. "Too. . . Much. . . Massage. . ." I panted out, legs feeling like jello. Luna simply grunted in response. We blundered down the halls, receiving confused looks from the staff of the castle. Occasionally one of us would lose our balance or footing and faceplant, resulting in the other collapsing sideways atop the already fallen. After a few minutes, we made it back into the Princess' bedroom, and proceeded to crash through onto the floor in a groaning pile of pony flesh. "Eep!" Chroma shrieked, tossing the glass of water and paintbrush she was cleaning into the air. The water from the cup fell back down onto her head, paintbrush dropped into her palette (dirtying itself once more), and glass broke on the ground behind her. She stood there, jaw agape at us and what she did, dripping muddy water. A few seconds passed before one of Luna's hooves shot out and struck the ground, pulling her forward inch by inch. I stuck a hoof over her shoulder and dropped it in front of her neck. She proceeded to slowly pull us forward, ever closer to the bed. We reached it and I stuck my wings out, flopped straight across the sheets, and Luna wrapped herself around me before I used a single burst of energy to push down and back with my wings and launching into the bed. We collapsed into the sheets, passing out instantly. Chroma simply stared, jaw remaining on the floor. After a few more seconds she bolted into the bathroom and slammed the door shut, turning on the water for a shower.