"Mmmmmmmmm..." Rarity's voice could be heard cooing from across the lusciously-furnished salon. The upper city establishment was draped in fine velvets, and the air was ripe with fruity lotions and spicey incense. "Ohhhhhh this is positively divine. Thank you, Twilight, darling, for suggesting this magnificent place."
"Mmmmmhmmmm..." Twilight laid on her belly as a mare in white lightly massaged her back and flank. "I figured you would like it."
"It's so relaxing, isn't it, Pinkie Pie?" Fluttershy smiled at Pinkie Pie while a pair of ponies gently kneaded the pegasus' shoulders and wing muscles. "Just like Aloe and Lotus' Spa back at home."
"Yeah! But this place is higher!" Pinkie chirped.
"'Higher?'" Fluttershy squinted.
"Yeah! Y'know... cuz of the mountains n'such? It takes more effort to sigh in relaxation!" Pinkie mused aloud. "You lose more body weight in moisture that way!"
"I... I never thought of it that way," Fluttershy murmured.
"Funny! Cuz you're a pegasus! Heehee! Figured you'd be used to getting high!" Pinkie paused to bark at the no-less-than four ponies hammering away at her spine. "HARDER!"
"Now now—no shouting, Pinkie," Rarity said as a mare gently polished her hooves. "We do not wish to insult Twilight's friends here. I'm sure they miss her company greatly."
"Oh, I never got a hooficure or massage here before," Twilight said.
Rarity nearly fell off the table. "You h-haven't?!"
"No. My mother came here all the time." Twilight smiled bashfully. "I... uh... would hang out in the lobby and do my homework first thing after school." She closed her eyes, relaxing. "But I love the smell of this place. Smells like getting my manecut."
"Oh, Twilight..." Rarity rolled her eyes, nevertheless smirking. "Whatever are we going to do with you?"
"Mmmmmmmmmmm... a horn-shine would be n-nice," Twilight cooed. She then opened one eye, sternly. "I'd rather a mare do it, please. Thank you."
"Where's Applejack and Rainbow Dash?" Fluttershy asked, craning her neck.
"Mrmmmff... where else?" Rarity droned.
"Don't they wanna get all shiny and—" Pinkie Pie spoke into her hard massage. "—ree-ee-ee-l-aa-aa-aa-aa-aa-xeddd?" Her eyes rolled back momentarily. "Phw-ee-ee-ee-ee..."
"You'd have to ask them, I suppose." Twilight hummed, enjoying a hoof-rub. "Knowing them, they're probably finding their own fun with Spike right now."
"Rocks... papers... scissors... shoot!" Spike hollered. He held his scaley palm out flat against Applejack's hoof. "Hah! Paper beats rock! I win again!"
"Ehh... heh... way to go, Spike..." Applejack squirmed awkwardly in her chair in the salon's lobby. She sat on her haunches with her blonde tail curled about her. A table full of disheveled magazines lay a few spaces over. "Yer on a roll!"
"Hah! You bet I am!" Spike grinned. "Best game ever invented to pass the time! Wanna go again?"
"I dunno, Spike... yer whoopin' me somethin' fierce."
"Oh come on! It's only an eighteen to zero deficit! You can come back!"
"Any chance ya might choose 'scissors' one of these turns?"
"Pfft! No way!" Spike folded his arms. "I'm not one to throw a match!"
"No, I reckon not."
"Maybe Rainbow will wanna try a few rounds with me?"
Applejack calmly looked over her shoulder.
"Zzzzzzzz-zhhhhhhhzzzhkkt..." Rainbow Dash was slumped back in her chair, snoring directly into an open fashion magazine draped upside down over her drooling mall. "Snnkkkt-zzzzzzzzhnorrrrrr..."
"Mmmmmm... I dunno, Spike..." Applejack adjusted her hat and exhaled. "Seems she's a mite bit... distracted."
"'Bored' is more like it." Spike pouted. "Yeesh. I woulda figured this trip to Canterlot would have been more fun for you gals."
"It's not that Canterlot is borin' us, Spike. It's just..." Applejack leaned back in her chair. "I-I think Rainbow and I were hoping for somethin' a bit less shiny and somethin' more... passionate..."
"Passionate?"
"Er..." Applejack blushed slightly. "I'm talkin' of drinks, Spike. We was hankerin' to hit the local waterin' holes. See how Canterlot measures up to local Ponyville cider and the like."
"Ohhhhhhhhhhhh..." Spike nodded. "The Diamond District."
"Come again?"
"All the best bars are in the Diamond District!" Spike said, flailing his forelimbs. "Night Light goes there all the time!"
"Twilight's Pa? For real?"
"Yeah. Heh... he and his buddies like to hang out and chew the fat after a long week at work. They don't get utterly sloshed, though. Twilight Velvet wouldn't allow it... or else she'd be sloshed too."
"Heh... sounds like this Diamond District place is the bee's knees."
"Oh, it is! Just... some places are more expensive than others."
"You... uh..." Applejack fidgeted. "Wouldn't happen to know which ones are slightly more affordable."
Spike shrugged. "I'unno." He brightened. "Hey! Wanna see me make fire bubbles out my nose?" He proceeded to inhale wildly.
"Hold up, Spike..." Applejack hopped down from her chair and trotted across the salon. "I... uh... gotta tend to somethin'."
"Oh, sure thing, Applejack! Your loss!"
"The Diamond District?" Twilight Sparkle asked.
"Eeyup." Applejack nodded, standing a few respectful feet away from the massage tables. She craned her neck to look past the bodies of those tending ot her best friends. "Apparently it's some sort of fancy schmancy place where ponies can go to... go to... uhhhh—"
"You're thirsting for cider, huh?"
"Heh... ya caught me." Applejack took her hat off and fanned herself. "And I'm certain Rainbow's thirstin' for some too." She blinked at the frilly surroundings. "Or else... she's thirstin' for something that ain't this."
"Awwwwwwww..." Twilight hummed as her shoulder was squeezed and kneaded. "Why didn't you say something sooner?"
"Didn't wanna impose. Plus..." Applejack cleared her throat. "Spike let slip about this so-called 'Diamond District' just now."
"Poor girls. You two must have been absolutely miserable."
"Nothin' that a few nips won't hurt." Applejack winked. "If you catch my drift."
"I'm not nearly as much into cider as the two of you. But if you both wanna get a head start on the local bar scene this week, then nothing's stopping you!"
"Ya sure ya dun mind, Twilight? We dun mean to be rude guests."
Twilight tilted her head to look at the other three mares. "Girls? Do you mind if Applejack and Rainbow Dash trot off to check out the Diamond District?"
"Heeeeeeeeeee!"
"Brush my tail, darling. Yessssssssss... just like that..."
"I think I can see stars!"
Twilight rolled her eyes and winked back at Applejack. "Better make a run for it. Just tell Spike to stay here. He's too young for cider."
"You betcha." Applejack plopped her hat back on, bowed slightly, and turned tail. "Yer the best, Twilight."
"Hmmmmmmm..." Twilight's eyes rolled back as she surrendered to the gentle massage. "I knowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww..."