The next day came quickly, almost a little too fast for Crystal Note. In the morning, she helped Granny Smith in the farmhouse so the elderly matron wouldn’t have to overwork herself. Granny Smith kept her mind busy with stories from the last Apple family reunion, so the time just flew by. Before she even noticed, it was noon and time for her to leave for the spa.
Usually, she liked playing in the spa very much. Aloe and Lotus Blossom were wonderful ponies and appreciated her music a lot. Immediately after she had first played in their spa, they had asked if she could come again. Soon, every Wednesday she would visit the spa and play her violin for the costumers. The ponies enjoyed it, Crystal Note enjoyed it and Aloe and Lotus got something no other spa in Equestria could offer. They paid her graciously and even offered her free treatments after her work was over. Crystal Note always declined of course, since there was always the risk that she had to take off her bandana.
Their kindness didn’t stop just with that, though. When Lotus Blossom heard from Rarity that she was saving bits for a trip to visit a friend in Vanhoover, Aloe had asked Crystal Note the very next day if she could play more than once a week.
Crystal Note took the route through the park as usual and smiled friendly to every pony who greeted her on the way. The ponies of Ponyville were used to having a crystal pony around by now, so her trip through town seemed completely normal. Only a few noticed that Crystal Note seemed a little tense today, and even fewer saw that her coat didn’t seem quite as sparkly today.
In front of the spa, Octavia was already waiting for her. She wasn’t a regular like Rarity and Fluttershy and so she didn’t feel like just walking in all by herself. Just moments after Octavia and Crystal Note had greeted each other, Lyra and Bon Bon arrived as well, the former looking a little grumpy
“I can’t believe you talked me into this, Bon Bon.”
“Oh, be quiet. You know as much as I do that you like going to the spa.”
“I’ll never admit that in public.”
“… You just did.”
They all chuckled as Lyra facehoofed in overly dramatic fashion. Before she started acting like she was dying from embarrassment, Bon Bon caught her ear with her teeth and dragged her inside, mumbling something about ‘oversized foals’. Lyra just winked to Crystal Note as they passed by.
Crystal Note couldn’t stop giggling for a while and when she looked back at Octavia, most of the tension she had felt was gone. She could always count on Lyra to find a way to cheer her up. Octavia looked pleased as well, especially when she saw two more ponies approach from a different direction.
“Darling, I’m so glad you could make it.”
Rarity pulled Octavia into a hug and the grey earth pony replied in the same fashion
“Why, of course Love. A lady never backs out on a promise. How could I not come today?”
Crystal Note hid a giggle as both of them kept going. This gave Fluttershy a chance to slip next to Crystal Note and whisper
“Don’t worry, Rarity and I came up with a plan in case you need to get out suddenly.”
Fluttershy cleared her throat and pointed at something in the distance with her hoof
“Oh no, look everypony! A swarm of parasprites, and it’s coming right at us! Whatever shall we do?”
Fluttershy raised her hoof to her forehead in a classic ‘damsel-in-distress’-pose, trying to get her face form a terrified expression. All while her voice was so even and flat that there was absolutely no way anypony couldn’t tell how fake it was.
Crystal Note just burst into giggles and had to sit down so she could hold her sides.
Fluttershy completely missed her friend’s reaction and instead turned to Rarity, now with a voice full of distress
“Oh Rarity, I don’t think I can do this! What if there’s somepony who’s really scared of parasprites and gets a panic attack? Or worse, what if there is a swarm of parasprites for real and ponies start chasing them away? Oh, I could never forgive myself if any of the poor little sweeties got hurt!”
Crystal Note couldn’t stop giggling and it didn’t help that Octavia joined in as well.
Rarity seemed to get the severity of the whole situation and rush to Fluttershy’s side
“Fluttershy, Darling, listen! There are no parasprites and there won’t be. It’s only a backup strategy in case something goes wrong! Which will absolutely not happen, Darling!”
“Oh, I don’t know Rarity…”
“Darling, trust me, nothing bad will happen!”
Even though Rarity was talking to Fluttershy, she looked at Crystal Note instead. Octavia put her hoof on her shoulder
“Shall we go in, then?”
Crystal Note took a deep breath and nodded to her three friends
“Let’s go.”
Once inside, Crystal Note found herself on her own far quicker than she expected. Aloe and Lotus only had time for a quick hug before they fussed around Rarity who was one of their best clients. When Rarity announced she needed ‘the usual’ for all five of her friends, Lotus Blossom immediately prepared a session in the steam room for them while Aloe rushed off to get more helpers.
Crystal Note was used to this, the two earth ponies who ran the spa very rarely had free time during work. She walked through the large main area to her usual spot, next to the massage tables and near the baths. As always, she checked once more that her bandana was in place and wouldn’t fall off when she played, then she took out her violin from its case.
This violin was the only thing she brought with her from the Crystal Empire and had been given to her by her mother when she was only a small filly. With utmost care, she tuned her trusted instrument and softly stroked the bow over the strings, satisfied with the gentle sound.
Finally, she closed her eyes and started to play.
She started with her favourite songs and a few she had put together with the help from Lyra and Octavia. Before long though, she was simply weaving notes and tones together to create a gentle and slow melody, picking up the overall atmosphere of calmness and relaxation that always filled the spa and turning it into song. The ponies around her listened more or less attentively, but that didn’t matter to Crystal Note. This wasn’t like her performances in the park or in town, where she tried to entertain a crowd. Today, she only contributed her part to help the ponies relax and having a good time, just like every other pony who worked in the spa. In many ways, Crystal Note enjoyed playing like this a lot more, as it meant she wouldn’t be in the centre of attention but could still make ponies smile with her music.
Playing like this felt so natural to her that she even started singing along under her breath from time to time, something she wouldn’t do in the park in front of ponies or even with Lyra and Octavia.
After she had been playing a while, her ears perked up and she noticed a few familiar voices nearby. While she kept playing her violin, she opened her eyes and smiled to her friends. They were large enough of a group that they had one of the big baths for them. Rarity and Bon Bon were discussing the qualities of different bath supplements for their coat while Lyra tried her best to look like she didn’t enjoy herself, and failed.
Octavia and Fluttershy smiled back to her, though Crystal Note could almost feel the gentle nudge Octavia sent along with her smile. Of course she knew that Octavia only meant well, but Crystal Note could feel all the nervousness from before return, so much that she almost had to put down her violin as her hooves began to shiver.
Fluttershy seemed to pick up the little signs, since her eyes immediately found hers. Crystal Note saw how the gentle smile only grew wider and the kind pegasus nodded to encourage her.
Crystal Note took a deep, slow breath like she learned from Princess Luna. Then she abruptly stopped playing and put down her violin.
A few ponies noticed and looked up when the music suddenly stopped, but most barely even noticed. Those who did look up saw that Crystal Note reached up with her hooves and tucked at the bandana she always wore. The accessory slipped down and revealed a mass of yellow mane with curly ends. Crystal Note still had her eyes closed and shook her head a little so her mane would untangle and flow down to her shoulders. She held her breath when she realized that her horn would be clearly visible now.
She held still for a couple of moments, then another few. Nopony was screaming, that was a good sign. She didn’t hear the mumbles and whispers she expected either. After a minute of waiting, she carefully opened her eyes and looked around.
Only to see, nothing.
Nopony seemed to care much about her. She glanced around and some of the regulars waved or smiled in her direction. No hooves pointed at her, no frowns or glares. Only a few surprised expressions that vanished quickly.
Her head darted around to look at her friends. Rarity and Fluttershy smiled brightly, Octavia with a knowing nod. Lyra gave her a hoof up and Bon Bon’s smirk said it all. Told you so.
Still somewhat dazed, Crystal Note reached for her violin once more and picked up the last tune she had played. Her eyes kept darting around, but even though more ponies looked her way again, still no signs of distress.
Until she saw Aloe.
The earth pony stared at her with an expression of terror and covered her mouth with a hoof. Their eyes met and Crystal Note lowered her head in shame. She tried to keep her breathing even, tried to keep her emotions in check so she wouldn’t completely break apart in the middle of the spa.
Maybe she could sneak out before…
“Oh no, look what you’ve done!”
Crystal Note flinched and backed away as Aloe rushed towards her. She kept her eyes clenched shut and whispered some words of apology. She could almost feel the stares of the other ponies now and just waited for somepony to strike her down.
She never expected what happened next.
As soon as Aloe reached her, Crystal Note felt hooves brushing through her mane. She dared a glance and saw Aloe standing next to her in near panic as she worked through the mess of hair
“Oh, just look at this! A mane with that much volume and natural spring and stuffed under a scarf! No, that I can’t let go. Come!”
Crystal Note squeaked in surprise as the earth pony gripped her hoof and dragged her away from the baths and towards the beauty section of the spa.
She turned around to her friends and reached out for help. Bon Bon had jumped out of the bath as soon as she heard the loud call, but now she was giggling along with the others. Only Fluttershy looked somewhat sympathetic, but even she hid her grin behind her wing.
The next moment, Aloe had her seated in front of a big mirror while Lotus Blossom wheeled over a cart with various assortments of brushes, scissors and bottles with lotions. Before she could protest, one of the sisters blocked her vision with something that looked like a slice of cucumber.
“What…?”
“No talking now!”
Crystal Note felt a brush work through her mane and somepony gently applied something cool and half-liquid on her face
“Just relax, darling, let us do our work! Just lean back and let Aloe and me take care of you.”
Lotus Blossom finished applying the beauty mask while her soothing voice worked on Crystal Note’s nerves. Finally, the crystal mare took a deep breath and settled back as told.
She could hear the two sisters discuss over something with hushed voices, but she tried to block it out and not worry. Neither of them had mentioned her horn so far and she willed herself to take that as a good sign.
The temperature in the spa always was a little higher, so the costumers could relax but the coolness of the mask on her face felt nice and refreshing. Despite their sudden urgency, Aloe worked very gently as she first brushed Crystal Note’s mane, then applied something that smelled like strawberry, probably shampoo. Crystal Note enjoyed the soft rubbing on her mane and the sensation when Aloe rinsed with warm, clean water. The noises in the background blurred into a single hum and the soothing scents of the spa helped Crystal Note stay calm and relaxed.
Aloe and Lotus Blossom worked diligently and efficiently. After the shampoo, they used different conditioners as well. Aloe nodded when she noticed that Crystal Note had stopped fidgeting and went right to work. With a few snips of her scissors, she did some minor adjustments to accentuate the natural curls even further, fluffing up the mane here and there. When she was finished, she circled around the mare with critical eyes, before she shared a big smile with Lotus Blossom.
“Alright darling, take a look and tell me what you think.”
Aloe removed the mask of the mare’s face with a soft washcloth and stepped to the side so Crystal Note could look at herself in the big mirror. Crystal Note gasped and her eyes opened wide.
Her mane looked like she had never seen it before. What used to be a tangled mess now fell down her back like an elegant wave of golden silk. To both sides, her curly locks bounced softly as she turned and tilted her head. With her hoof, she carefully touched her mane that now also felt as soft as silk and sparkled in the light. Behind her, Lotus Blossom held up a smaller mirror so Crystal Note could see her new manestyle from every direction
“Aloe, it’s, it’s…”
“I know! And to think you hide this under a headscarf all the time.”
Crystal Note ignored the giggling from Lotus Blossom and looked at herself again before she realized she had not even looked at her horn yet. It was still there of course, and Aloe had not tried to hide it at all. It was just that, for the first time ever, the horn that poked out between her mane looked like it belonged to her. Instead of a foreign structure that stood out, the horn just looked natural. For the first time, she could look at herself and not immediately feel like she had to cover up.
“Well?”
Aloe and Lotus watched her expectantly and Crystal Note simply pulled the closest of them into a hug
“Thank you so much!”
The two mare beamed and returned the hug as Crystal Note switched between the two sisters. They didn’t need much more, since Crystal Note started to glitter and sparkle all over and told them all they needed to know.
“Ah, and just in time. Your friends are finished with their baths, so you can join in now. Come!”
For the second time in less than an hour, Crystal Note was dragged through the spa by her hoof, only this time she tried to protest
“But, I’m here to work! I’ve barely played at all for you today.”
“Nonsense, darling, you can play every day you like, but today all your friends are here for you.”
Aloe ushered her to sit down on a massage table between Rarity and Lyra who just smirked at her. Across from her, Octavia, Bon Bon and Fluttershy were already enjoying their massages, so Rarity was the first to comment on her new manestyle, marvelling both at her mane and Aloe’s expertise to coiffure. Lyra was less colourful about it than Rarity, but just as positive overall
“I’m not a mare for fancy manedos, but you can totally wear this, Crissy.”
Crystal Note started to blush, which made them all giggle, then Aloe, Lotus and a third pony returned to them.
Lyra smiled and eagerly laid down her head on the pillow in front of her, as did Rarity next to her. Crystal Note expected they would get massages now, like the other three of their friends, but she froze in place when Aloe instead picked up a long file and started to work on Lyra’s horn. Crystal Note shivered involuntarily at the sound, but Lyra sighed happily
“Oh yeah, that’s heaven.”
Crystal Note stared at her friend and then at Lotus Blossom who now stood in front of her with a file as well
“A-are you sure that’s a good idea?”
She eyed the file as if it was a weapon of some kind and her body tensed up, ready to flee if it came closer. An hour ago, she had been terrified by the thought of somepony just seeing her horn, and now she should let somepony touch it?
A white hoof reached out and touched hers. Crystal Note turned her head and Rarity smiled reassuringly at her
“Darling, trust me, nothing bad will happen.”
Crystal Note remembered that Rarity had said those exact same words before they had entered the spa, and so far, she was proven true. Lotus Blossom had a kind and patient smile for her, professional but at the same time warm and infectious
“Just rest your head and close your eyes if you want, let me take care of everything else.”
Crystal Note took a deep breath and nodded. Her head on the pillow and her eyes closed tightly, she waited for the hard impact that never came.
Lotus Blossom knew very well how to approach her nervous friend and started with some soft touches, until she saw Crystal Note’s hooves relax on the table and her eyes close more naturally, only then did she start to file with a little more pressure.
To Crystal Note, the sensation was indescribable. Since she only had had a horn for a short while, it was utterly new, like tasting a new and exotic dish for the very first time. At the same time, there was something eerily familiar to the feeling of the file as it removed the tiny deposits from the small grooves of her horn. The closest thing Crystal Note had for comparison was the feeling of a soft bristled brush on her coat, just like her mom had brushed her with when she was a filly.
Like before, she simply relaxed and let the voices around her fade into the background as she enjoyed the feeling. Lotus Blossom was very gentle and knew exactly what to do, so Crystal Note didn’t even feel a tinge of worry at any moment.
She was so relaxed in fact, that she barely noticed how somepony had started with a massage on her shoulders while Lotus was finishing on the tip of her horn. Instead of arguing, she just let it happen this time. After so many years of struggling every day and months of hiding and keeping a distance from everypony, it felt incredible to have somepony take such care of you. She felt how the hooves helped her loosen up knots and tensions that she barely even realized were there to begin with. When the mare was finished, Crystal Note felt wonderfully relaxed from head to tail.
She felt a little dizzy when she got up from the table and stood on wobbly hooves for a few moments, but the other girls just giggled gently and kept up their easy chatting. Unspoken, they took Crystal Note into their middle as the six of them slowly moved towards the entrance now that their spa session was finished. Crystal Note tried to argue when she saw that Rarity levitated a bag of bits to the counter to pay for all of them, but a poke to her muzzle from both Lyra and Bon Bon made her stop and called out another round of giggles. The same happened when Aloe insisted on paying Crystal Note even if she only played a couple of hours today.
Thanks to her friends keeping her distracted, Crystal Note didn’t notice she was getting a lot of looks from the other ponies at the spa. None of them were scared or threatening, only curious and friendly as at some point during the massage, Crystal Note had started to glimmer from a light that seemed to come from within herself. Even now, her natural sparkles still danced over her coat and her mane positively glowed.
Crystal Note, after losing both arguments to her friends, turned around to the spa again. Her violin was still at her spot, packed safely into its case. Thanks to how great her day had been Crystal Note felt bold enough to push a little further even. Instead of walking through the spa, she closed her eyes for a moment and channelled her magic. With a soft glow of her horn, the violin case floated towards her through the spa in between the ponies still enjoying their pampering. Some ponies noticed, but except for a stallion who moved out of the way, nopony even dropped their conversations as they witnessed Crystal Note’s use of magic. Only Bon Bon and Lyra noticed and shared a proud smile.
With some waves and promises to return soon, the group of friends left the spa late afternoon. Fluttershy excused herself right away and took flight to return to her cottage and her critters, but Rarity and Octavia followed Bon Bon’s invitation to the Sweet Shop for a cup of tea and a snack. Again, her friends kept Crystal Note in their middle, but she didn't even think of putting her bandana back on and spoil Aloe's work on her mane. Some ponies turned around to watch as the usual group walked through town, but at this point Crystal Note didn't worry anymore, she felt save with her friends at her side as they entered Bon Bon's shop.
Rarity looked around the interior curiously and admitted with a blush that she hadn’t been here in ages. Thanks to her close friendship with Pinkie Pie, she always found herself at Sugarcube Corner for something sweet.
Bon Bon happily gave her the grand tour, along with some samples, and soon enough the five mares sat together in the living room, discussing candies and sweets while sipping tea. Eventually, they came to talk about Crystal Note’s new manestyle again, which left the crystal unicorn thoroughly flustered
“Well Darling, I hope you can see now how marvellously your new coiffure will work with your new dress. I hope you shall at least consider.”
Crystal Note nodded quickly, even if it made her blush more
“I will, Rarity. But I don’t think I can pull up something like this on my own every morning.”
“Nonsense, Darling. You just have to get used to it.”
At that, Lyra grinned and quipped in
“And get used to get up two hours earlier so you can fix your mane every morning.”
Rarity huffed in fake indignity as everypony else giggled
“I’ll have you know, Miss Heartstrings, that I’ve never needed more than an hour to prepare myself in the morning.”
“This is still longer than Lyra needs every morning in a whole week!”
Everypony, even Lyra, broke into laughter.
Later that night, after Octavia and Rarity had left as well, Lyra and Crystal Note sat in the living room again while Bon Bon was taking care of the dishes. Since Lyra couldn’t sit still without anything to do for long, they had set up a game of checkers. Lyra was lounging on the easy chair in her usual way and moved her pieces with magic while Crystal Note used her hooves instead.
Lyra was thinking very hard over her next move, so she barely even heard Crystal Note’s soft voice as she whispered in a shy tone
“Lyra, can I ask you something?”
“Huh? Sure, anything. What’s up?”
“Do you think you could teach me some spells?”
Lyra looked up from the checker board, pleasantly surprised
"Sure, but what brought this on so suddenly? I thought you don't like magic."
Crystal Note blushed and mumbled
"It's not like that. It's just very strange."
Lyra knew enough of Crystal Note's past to not go deeper into this and instead, she smile broadly
"I'm sure I can teach you a thing or two. But if you need more advanced stuff, you should ask Princess Twilight. She knows a lot more than me."
Lyra finally a made her move on the board as Crystal Note gave her wry smile
"Only when Princess Twilight talks about magic, I barely understand a word. She's, um..."
"Unable to explain a single spell without reciting at least three great wizards? Yeah, she's been like that since we were fillies. She had to know a book by heart before she would even try out a single spell from it. Though it obviously works for her."
They giggled and Crystal Note tilted her head as she threw a critical glance at the checker board now that is was her turn.
"So, what kind of spell did you have in mind?"
"I have no idea. Something simple, I suppose. So far, I only know levitation."
Lyra nodded and thought about it for a minute
"A light spell is pretty easy. And pretty useful as well. Sounds good?"
"Uh-huh."
Crystal Note made her move and another minute of silence passed before Lyra talked again
"I guess you won't be wearing your bandana as much anymore."
Crystal Note blushed but didn't look up from the game
"I'll try not to. At least not in Ponyville anymore. It felt good not hiding."
"Coulda told ya that one for free."
They giggled together
"I'm glad you don't want to hide anymore. I always feel bad when you do around us."
Crystal Note blinked and tilted her head
"But I don't hide around you or Bon Bon."
"Maybe not your horn, but you're still holding back with us. Sometimes, you get that look and I can tell you have something on your mind but you don't say it. Dunno why."
Crystal Note's head dropped down and her ears flopped back in shame
"Me neither. It's instinct by now."
"Well, you don't need that anymore. No matter how weird it seems, just let it out okay? You'll need a lot of weird to drive Bonnie or me away."
"More than you would believe, Crissy."
Lyra smiled to Bon Bon as she returned from the kitchen at the perfect time to help make her point.
"It's just like in the spa. Sometimes it might seem like a big thing in your head, but it's really not. There's no need to be afraid. okay?"
"Uh-huh."
Crystal Note smiled back to Bon Bon and looked at the checker board in front of her again. Her horn glowed softly and one of her checkers moved to beat three of Lyra's in a single turn
"I win."
Lyra stared at the board in disbelieve, before she mumbled
"You could have made that move three turns ago."
"Uh-huh. But you only told me to stop holding back just now."
Bon Bon laughed heartily while Lyra stared at Crystal Note's serious tone and expression while she said that, only to laugh along
"Hey Crissy, are you still nervous about the Gala?"
"No, not anymore. I'm really excited how it will be."
Both Bon Bon and Lyra smiled proudly at their friend.