The spa. The spa. Could I get a job there? Most ponies have never felt human hands before... what if they all react the same way Applejack did? I mean, they probably will; ponies in this town love being touched!
My hands, these things, could become revolutionary!
These are the thoughts manifesting at high energy inside my head, and I'm willing to bet they will do so for the entire duration of this night. Good timing, because Phase 3, the career phase, is due to begin tomorrow. The excitement of these two things on top of each other will likely reduce my number of sleep hours tonight, so big thanks to whoever discovered caffeine!
As for what will go down with the spa thing, well, the only way to find out is to test it, right?
Day 11 in Equestria - June 21, 2016 (Tuesday)
Which I get to do in the sunrise hours of the morning. Right after we finish breakfast, Applejack calls me up into her bedroom for more human hand work, which I agree to follow. In that dark brown room, two more feel-good techniques get added to the list. In addition to a repeat of the ear and chin scratching from last night, Applejack brought out the debuts of belly rubs and mane strokes. The former included her muttering "Now I know why Winona likes it so much...", which put a smile on my face. That's what I thought she'd say!
She also let out a few giggles and squirms during that part, showing her ticklishness, which, well, that info has been around for a long time. Refer to the episode "Magic Duel", released over three years ago from today in June 2016. I wasn't caught off guard by it.
When we moved over to mane stroking, Applejack reiterated the claim that she felt like she was in the spa, which she then added on to by telling me I should apply there.
"Your hands are paradise, pardner. The spa is a perfect place for ya.", she whispers.
Yep, "paradise" and "perfect place for me", referring to the spa. I had been expecting, and hoping, that ponies would melt under these fingers I have; doing this to them was something I found myself thinking magical thoughts about all through last night, and I still thought that comment was a bit off the deep end.
Plus, why would I even have a chance at getting to work at the spa? I ain't got jack of prior experience in the industry. I've never undergone an ounce of training to be a massage therapist. The furthest I ever went back at home was petting a dog or cat.
Well, if I keep doing this to ponies, I will get better at it...
And I sure do love doing this, I think as I continue to stroke my fingers through Applejack's golden-colored mane. Between the draping across my lap, dreamy smiles, and giggling, her behavior during this session is top-tier adorable; like, I can feel my heart succumbing.
And then, to give it a tasteful ending, AJ sits up, stretches out her forelegs, and falls onto me for a hug.
It couldn't get any cuter? I guess not. Apparently, cuteness doesn't have a maximum capacity.
However, I didn't quite pass out from an overload of it, so I'm able to reciprocate, marking the first ever hug Applejack and I have had, which is a statistic I didn't even realize until now. "Beautiful" is all I can describe this moment as. And I find myself enjoying the hug, which really is uncharacteristic. I avoided hugs back on Earth.
After the touch session ends, I tell Applejack that I am open to working at the spa, but that I think my touch skills still need a lot of work, and that I'd like to perform it on other ponies in casual settings, to get myself eased into it. The professional aspect is on too far away of a step right now, I insisted.
"Well then, how 'bout Lyra? You know her fairly well.", Applejack says almost instantly.
And so does the word "instantly" apply to my reaction. Oh yeah; this makes 100% sense. Lyra is the human-curious pony, and has been spending a great deal of time with me to begin with. In fact, if I were to make a list of "most likely future friends", she would probably be at #1.
So her and Bon Bon's house is where I head off to; a place I'm making my third overall trip too, but first with Applejack.
On the ride there, what my brain works on thinking is the fact that this is not the start to Phase 3 I was looking at back when this phase was in the future, but it is a good start, because it's so dang adorable.
Does it continue to rightfully have that label? Absolutely. Lyra, like Applejack, practically melted at the first few seconds of ear scratching, and responded to chin scratching with "Human hands are even better than I thought they would be, and that's coming from me, the human-obsessed pony! Everypony should try getting scritched by these. Ahh...". Then she flops onto her back.
And here came the cuteness overload bug trying to knock me out again, when that happening would stop the ponies from receiving the scritching... must... resist!
Think about football for a bit!
Phew, I succeeded. Thinking about another topic for a spell did seem to have its power.
Bon Bon, who asked for a session too, didn't dive quite as deeply with number of areas affected, but she does go for ear scratches and mane strokes, which, when I gave to her, she muttered out "Oh yeah. Now I get why Lyra finds them so interesting." I couldn't help but giggle at that.
I ask all three ponies on what scale quality my touching is at and how much improvement it would take for me to reach spa-tier levels. Their overall response was "None I can think of. It already feels amazing." Which I still wasn't buying into, to be honest. It's the spa, y'all...
I guess I should talk about this: Do I like the idea of working at the spa? Oh yes, for sure! I get to give pets and scritches to these adorable ponies all day long; count me in!
However, I can't just flat-out say "yes" to the prospect right now. I must reconcile it with my other job aspirations of music and data entry at Sweet Apple Acres.
To give Phase 3 a proper introduction, here's what I wrote on my paper for it last night, before I used my hands on Applejack for the first time:
- Wait for the result of my Sweet Apple Acres application
- Decide how you want to start your music career
As I ride back to the farm, the first thing on my mind's to-do list is that I must add "hone your skills at affectionate touching of ponies and apply to Ponyville Day Spa" and "Figure out a balance between all of this" to Phase 3's entry.
Yeah, um... which one do I shoot at first? For the application result at Sweet Apple Acres, that one is in waiting, so I can't engage with it right now, but the beginning of my music career is a beginning I do have control over. So, what should I put on the agenda for today; music or massaging? And how do I create a balanced split of them for the following days?
My brain did go on a wild run there, however, I get it to chill when I arrive home. I continue to whip out the always-helpful protocol of letting things come to me. If what's in my current desires is doing music, I'll be doing music. If an affection session is in the cards, I'm headed there. The activities drive their own cars.
As of this 11:00 AM hour, nopony else has requested a touch session, so I'm bringing my guitar out. Yes, I do have one. After another lovely music meeting we played yesterday, Applejack gifted me two specific guitars, one electric and one acoustic, for me to use. She even said they would continue to be mine if I were to move out of the farm. How sweet!
Nothing too noteworthy (no pun intended) comes out of this guitar session. I just jammed out random guitar sounds. No new songs or any specific-activity upcoming plans on the horizon right now.
Downstairs at the Apple lunch table, when food and chatting are the things I'm honing in focus on, with no planned appearances from anything else, a feature of a previous day comes back for another visit: a letter from Twilight.
"Another one?", I say, pausing my eating in surprise.
I set my fork down and get straight to rolling open the letter, really curious as to why it's here. It's um... for sure something.
Dear Player 4,
It has come to notice of Ponyville that, according to Lyra, human hands are wonderful and you should consider volunteering to get touched by them. She successfully brought it to the newspaper, after claiming she experienced the hands themselves. And since you're the only human around these parts... well, you're caught, P4. Hehe!
Anyway, so a bunch of ponies have said they really wanted a session from you, and they agreed to not swarm you and let only a handful of ponies get the first slots, so would you be so kind as to come to each of their houses and let them experience your hands? And um... can I, uh, have a session too?
- Twlight Sparkle
Applejack, who had moved two chairs over and sat behind me to read the letter with me, instantly got on board with Twilight, bringing up both the spa opportunity and the ability to make a bunch of ponies happy.
To which, I fully agree with her. I absolutely will do this. It should be awesome, to go to ponies' individual houses and make them feel comfort. The fact that they get to do it in their homes should add to the comfort, or at least that's what I think.
So I'm ready to go as soon as lunch finishes, but then I notice a problem. Twilight was the only pony specifically pointed out who wanted a session, who else was I to give it to?
As I'm thinking this, a second letter shows up. I hope this is the list of ponies.
Letter:
Forgot about this: Here's which ponies are waiting for you and your hands today:
- Berry Punch
- Golden Harvest
- Sprinkle Medley
- Sea Swirl
- Amethyst Star
By the way, my session will have to wait until tomorrow, I'm too busy today, but I'll have lots of free time tomorrow, so that's prime time for what you've got!
- Twilight
"Good. Now I know which ponies want it.", I say to my friend behind me. "And this is a great list, too! I get to see all these ponies again!"
"Ya sure do, pardner! Those five are amazin' ponies, and I know you've been wanting to come back to 'em."
"Oh yeah!", I exclaim, in conjunction response to both statements. "I'll get started as soon as we finish lunch here."
"I agree, pardner. Go use those hands!", Applejack responds, moving back to her chair.
I do exactly that, going on a run around Ponyville to the front doors of each listed pony one-by-one, and the results end up in perfect harmony with my predictions. Whether it be ear scratches, belly rubs, mane pets, or any of the others, everypony looked utterly in bliss as my hands touched them; continuous smiles, happy hums, deep breaths, you name it.
They then described their aftermath feelings as "super relaxed", "drained of every worry", among other things, tagged my hands with the word "amazing" and, with support to my dream-chasing, "revolutionary." After I broke the news that I was considering a job at the spa, they all agreed I should launch the consideration into action.
On my mind back home was the insane, mind-boggling thought that something I did could truly become revolutionary. Me, out of what number of people and what low number of chance. I mean, I have been shooting for those stars my whole life, but this old, uninvited (though I guess important) thing called "realism" of course kept making itself heard.
I was immune to it this time, though; all I see in my future goggles is success. I make my first priority upon getting home to send off a letter to Twilight about the results of today and ask the when and how of applying to the spa.
And yet, here comes another walk on the balancing bar as music wants to put itself on the schedule. In fact, when I sat with my guitar for the second time today, this session featured the dawn of a really cool new riff, when I didn't even have songwriting on my plans today! I just fretted on the neck and picked one of my strings, and the note I received from the randomness led to me reaching for another note that complimented the first, and everything else flowed out like a waterfall.
I really like this riff and want to develop it further. So, hmm...
The way things are going, it would seem that affection is my job destiny. But I really like this song in the making, and the result for the farm job is still pending.
I think I can sense a split coming.
And that's pretty much what I think about through the rest of Day 11. Music wasn't on my immediate horizon earlier today, but now, it is...
I have a split pathway coming for me, I think many times from now until bedtime.
Day 12 in Equestria - June 22, 2016 (Wednesday)
Twilight's affection session ended up getting postponed to this day due to work commitments, and she requests my visit to come in the morning, so it's the first thing I run towards after the traditional home morning things pass themselves by.
The new, overarching theme on my mind while trekking over there is how crazily fast the events of this whole thing have happened. I've gone to a new world in a new universe, made a friend, gotten much used to the culture and have eased into my routine, and now am working to get a job... all in only 12 days? Wow.
I wonder if things naturally progress faster in Equestria. Maybe it's just the way the place is.
Whatever the speed, I was eager for the reveal on how much progress would be added by me using my hands on Twilight. It stood to reason that she liked being touched, otherwise, why would she have requested a session? But there is always the awkwardness of doing something like this to a member of royalty, especially when it's something so intimate.
Although, I reckon I'm just falling for the trap of forgetting that they are individual creatures just like you and me. In fact, I recently caught wind to the knowledge that Princess Luna likes to cuddle. Plus, maybe the "respect for monarchs" standards are more loose in Equestria. I mean, I have seen Twilight herself request no formality, as she did with me back on Day 2.
Wow, that was ten days ago.
I arrive at the large doors of Twilight's castle, and she opens them solo to squeal with excitement.
"Player 4! You're here!", she says. "Oh, I can't wait to see what human hands are like. I've been needing relaxation too, so it couldn't have come at a better time!"
That is lucky timing, I must say.
"By the way, Four, I think that your session with me is the determining factor. If I like what you do here, then I'd say you should apply to the spa."
Already?
"Uh, but I don't think I'm qualified yet.", I say. "Like, I literally just started petting the ponies here the night before the last, so that's like, two days. Don't ponies need decades of experience before becoming good at spa practices?"
"Well," Twilight responds. "It might be different on your world, but here, remember that ponies get their cutie marks when they're still really young. Them having their marks shows they've already gotten a lot of experience, and of course that continues into adulthood. Most ponies here land their dream jobs straight out of high school, or even in high school.
"In fact, you can look at the age of the ponies for the spa specifically; Aloe and Lotus are considered spa veterans and they're only 26 years old. As you might expect, most of the other workers there are younger."
That is indeed miles away from my world. I used to hear all the time from the Internet about how you shouldn't expect to have your life together by your early 20s. Well, I guess that's the norm in Ponyville. And she is right; most of the ponies in the CMCs' classroom already have their cutie marks, and they're in elementary school.
But I mean, there's still a massive time difference. They do wait until they're adults to actually apply for the spa job, so that's still a long time of honing their craft.
"Okay, but that's still years of experience, from when they got their marks to when they graduate high school. I'm literally in my third day of massaging ponies.", I say.
"Well, did you have pets back at home? Did you pet them?", Twilight asks.
"Not a lot, but I did.", I respond, not really buying into what she's saying yet. Petting a pet and massaging another sapient being are on different ends of the spectrum.
"And do you not have hand dexterity for other things?"
...
"Well, no.", I say. "In fact, I might have more than usual because I play the guitar and worked an office job where I was typing a lot."
Twilight is beginning to see me as a target for her wisdom. "Okay. Yeah!", she says. "And then, you did this to all those other ponies and they loved it, right?"
Um, well, yeah...
"Yeah, they did. I regularly get my pets and scratches described as 'paradise' and such.", I say.
Here goes Twilight, in for the gusto.
"Well, that clearly shows you already have the natural skill, don't you?", she says.
...
The results don't lie, dude...
"I... I guess I do, but it doesn't make sense! Again, two days."
Twilight wants to respond to this, but what I came here for in the first place comes to her mind, and she sighs this whole thing off, realizing it's causing a delay in her touch pleasure.
"I propose this be something we do research on later.", she says. "Right now, I'd just like to have my touch session, if you're alright with that, Four. Sorry for speaking up."
Oh shoot. Right. I'm delaying that, aren't I?
"Oh, yeah, we can go ahead and do that. I uh... didn't realize how deep we were diving into this suddenly-appearing topic. Sorry about delaying your hand experience."
"It is a good topic, and I hope you can find time to research it with me after we have the touch session.", Twilight says. "No need to apologize; you seem to be someone who goes into deep thinking a lot."
Heh, that is true. I wonder if Twilight caught that by what happened on the photoshoot day.
"Sure!", I say. "Thanks for understanding; I do go into deep thought. Like, all the time. My brain is an active place."
"So is mine!", Twilight responds. "That's why I think you'd be good at research. But anyway, let's go do the hand session now."
"Yes.", I say. "Let's."
I head into the Castle of Friendship for the third time in my Equestrian journey; I've begun to remember the entry room pretty well.
"By the way," Twilight says, as she closes the door to the room for our session, "don't worry about the delicacy or whatever of performing physical touch on a princess. Believe me, I don't give an ounce of care about my status when in a comfort zone. Just do it to me how you would any other pony."
"Thumbs-up to that", I say, simultaneously performing said gesture as I sit down on the couch in this mini-library. This is a room I haven't been in before; it wasn't the same library as where I researched that stuff about space and such back on that picture day.
How long ago was that?
I can't remember, but it feels like quite a while ago...
I don't have time to think about this right now though, as Twilight sits to my right side on the couch in a dog-or-cat-like sitting position. She's ready to start, with the technique I started this whole thing on.
"Can we start with ear scratches?", Twilight says.
"Of course.", I respond. My brain did pick up on the fact that I was about to scratch the ear of a royalty member, but Twilight's calm nature and persuasion that she's no different from anypony else in this situation pushes me over the edge.
Like most other ponies receiving an ear scratch for the first time (it was what I usually started with), Twilight takes a few seconds to register the sensation, then when she does, the soothing nature sends her face in a relaxed downward direction.
"Aww yeah... I know why ponies love it so much.", she mutters out.
She does indeed look super relaxed; I hope I am draining her of all that work stress from yesterday that led to this session being a part of Day 12, rather than 11.
I move my finger over to her right ear, to which she responds "That feels soooo good..."
That feeling also extends to my side. It really does feel good to make someone else feel good, especially when the technique you use is something you've always wanted to do.
I take the next step in moving my hand down to scratch under her chin. When my nails hit that area, Twilight flops herself against the back of the couch, still sitting upright, but absolutely possessed by the scratching.
However, she does retain enough consciousness to turn to the side and drape herself across my lap on her back, for a familiar sight. Out of the seven ponies I've used my hands on so far, belly rubs are the only technique to make an appearance in every session.
It was also the technique to hold the most power in revealing the different body figures in these ponies. Looking at them in regular settings, it would appear that the mares and stallions respectively have identical figures to the others in their gender, and to an extent, they do, but, like humans, some are more thick than others, such as Twilight, who has a more pudgy stomach compared to Golden Harvest and Sea Swirl.
In any case, Twilight appeared to be falling asleep as I stroked around her belly. She, again, seemed possessed by the touch. Maybe that's a sign it is effective enough for the spa?
Twilight, who claimed that she was about to fall asleep but tried not to because she didn't want to delay the rolling ball of progress here, sits back up in her original place and position.
"That. Was. Amazing.", she says. "I don't know if I've ever felt that relaxed, and that's coming from a pony who's been cuddled by Princess Celestia!"
Wow. I took first place in Twilight's "comfort tier" ahead of a pony Twilight's known her whole life? Shoot! I honestly didn't think I held that much power.
"So Celestia likes to cuddle?", I say, in response to the second part of Twilight's sentence.
"Oh yes!", Twilight says. "She says she wants to do it more, and that it's a drawback of royal duties, to not be able to ask for cuddles without it being awkward, simply because you're a monarch."
"In fact, when she has the time, I can bet that Celestia would like one of your sessions. She loves touch."
Okay, so that would be even more awkward, to do it on the ruler of Equestria, but I did it with Twilight, I'm sure I could manage it, and... wait a minute.
Pointer finger up...
"Twilight, it's just occurred to me that I haven't met Princess Celestia yet. I probably should do that, since I'm a new species and all."
"You're right. I think you should too, not just because of your species, but also because the princesses are lovely to talk to. I would know.", she says. "But don't worry about scheduling right now; Celestia and I can handle all that, and we'll be too busy to do it anytime in the next few days. You just go about what you wanted to do for now."
My eyes shoot open.
"Wow. You'll really do that for me? Just handle the whole thing?"
"Yep.", Twilight responds. "It's the least I could do after you did all that for me."
True, that does make sense.
"In fact, if you choose to apply to the spa, I'll handle all the technical stuff and everything. You just work your hands."
Wow! Again!
"Also, I'm going to send you a surprise soon. You'll get it from Spike's magic, like you have before."
"Good.", I say.
"Now, what was it you wanted to talk to me about again?", Twilight asks.
"It's the timing of all this. Like, why would I want to apply to a spa when I've been doing this for literally two days? I know about the built-in dexterity thing, but that still seems really short. And even if ponies do get their cutie marks when they're kids, they still have a long way to go before they get to their career out of high school.", I say.
"Well, maybe they do in terms of making a full-time living from it and not having school to juggle it, but believe me, Aloe and Lotus have told anecdotes about how they successfully gave ponies massages when they were still fillies.", Twilight responds. "One of them even said 'I bet you'd be starting a spa business now if you were old enough.' So it was in the cards well before the Ponyville Spa existed."
Hmm. Okay...
"And then we must note the progress of other ponies. Let's take your friend Applejack. She couldn't always buck trees like she does now, but it only took her about a week to successfully do it without feeling pain and get at least a few apples down."
"Then for Rainbow Dash, remember that she did a Sonic Rainboom when she was a filly."
"Back to you, I'd like to point that your relaxation methods are really simple. It's not like you're doing deep-skin kneading or anything like that. You're just handing out a few pets and scratches. It's not complicated technique."
There is a lot of truth to what she's saying here...
"And the results don't lie. Everypony you've done this to, including me, has loved it. Not a single one of us felt any technique problems or physical discomfort. That's exactly what a spa would be looking for. The results don't lie."
That is true. They don't.
"So it doesn't matter that I'm only two days in?", I ask.
"I don't think so. Between the way ponies develop their skills a lot in their youth, the fact that you have built-in extra hand dexterity thanks to computers and guitars, and using really simple techniques, I think you're ready.", Twilight responds.
...Alright. I guess so!
"Okay. So when do you think I should apply?", I say,
"I'll work on getting your application set up after you leave the castle, for starters. Then I'd advise you to look at your schedule. What works best for you?"
"I can't really say," I respond. "My days are rather random; sometimes a desire to do something just pops out."
"Hmm. Okay, how about this. After Aloe and Lotus are ready for you to come, I'll ask them what date you should come, then I'll write you a letter."
"Okay.", I say. "I can managed one scheduled thing; in fact, I was doing it before. The first time I saw you, that whole day was operated by a schedule.
"Nice!", Twilight says. "Alright, good. We'll do that. And try not to stress too much about when it will be time for you to come to the spa. The day will come when it comes."
I give her a hoof-bump.
Over the course of the rest of Day 12 and into Day 13, my hands still get put to use for affection, though what they're put more to use for is guitar. That song I talked about has gone really far down its journey; I even have a possible title for it that is likely nearing confirmation, and the rough writing is solid enough that I consider it ready to be taken into a studio. I'm sure I can find one eventually; music gets recorded in this nation, after all.
Needless to say, there's a large case to unpack here. What I see in my future goggles needing to pay rent for a studio, which is further down the timeline. That starter pack of bits isn't going to get even close to cutting it, and Equestria, unsurprisingly, lacks the home studio technology I was always told about at home, so it stands to reason that I'll need to be working a day job before I start recording.
So it would stand to reason that music starts later, but I don't want it to.
The thing is, going to record in a studio isn't the only way to start doing music as a career. I've been wanting to find a path where the beginning could be for free. Like, get myself out there somehow without having any proper recordings yet. I have no idea what kind of thing would fit under that description, so that's why I want to look.
Plus, music is clearly on the rise in terms of prominence in my Equestrian life. Through these past few days, started by that jam with Applejack on Day 6 and my work with this original song, and in fact, a few more that I'm beginning to have bubbling up and will probably create an EP out of, I'm beginning to feel really excited for my music prospect. And of course, I still want to talk to Applejack about starting a band with her. There are already two music projects in my future goggles.
And pairing that with the Sweet Apple Acres and spa jobs if I get one of them, or both, much less? Yeah, I'm having trouble envisioning myself successfully juggling all of that. Like, what happens if I get an offer to play a concert and get hired to the farm on the same day? What do I do there? Would my job at the spa be adversely affected if I can't go every day?
And I don't even know yet which one will get its debut project first.
Well, I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
In this waiting period, I hadn't been thinking about the spa, really. In the rare instance it jumped to my mind, I just shrugged and said "It will happen when it happens", and targeted my daily routine towards the job prospects of music and data at the farm. Having thinking sessions about what their timelines could look like. What recognition I could gain from them.
On my 14th day in Equestria, Friday, June 24, 2016, it's the final day of Week 2, and while I'm celebrating that by eating lunch in the Apple family barn, another air letter with initial flaming shows up. What it probably is immediately jumps to my mind.
"That must be about the spa thing!", Applejack says from across the table.
"Let's hope it is!", I say as I open the letter.
Dear Player 4,
I am super proud to announce that Aloe and Lotus have accepted your application, and would like you to perform your hand techniques on them for a final verdict.
The time they will be looking for you is 15:00 today.
- Twilight Sparkle
My reading of this letter was a wave cycle of emotions. First came the emergence of an elation wave that my application got accepted. That I'd get to actually go to the spa and have a shot at proving myself. But then there came the crash of knowing, that I, someone who's been in this affection business for still only four days, would have to perform a spa treatment on the owners themselves. Ponies who are seasoned pros at helping others relax.
I mean, yeah, I know what Twilight said, but still...
"It's gonna be really hard for me to do it, Applejack.", I say. "I mean, I have to perform it on the spa ponies themselves..."
She sits there silent for a fair bit, looking to be at a loss for words. I wasn't surprised; I didn't think my concern had an answer either.
However, she eventually sounds off with the perfect response.
"Yup, you will have to perform it on them, but, and I know this because I've been to the spa a lot, that's what everypony who does massage practices there has to go through. Makin' the spa ponies happy with your practice is the determinin' factor in landin' the job. And if nopony had overcome the embarrassment and done it; then nopony except Lotus and Aloe would be doin' the nice touchin.' And I can bet ya that if that were the case, that spa would be hard to run, with so many customers and so few workers."
Well, she is right. Yeah, imagine a spa like that, with only Aloe and Lotus available for massage practices. The only other workers would be the laundry pony and such, and it would definitely be chaotic. That spa is popular.
Then, yeah, if Aloe and Lotus receiving the touch themselves is how to get hired there, then that's what everypony else had to do too. I'm not alone.
I'm not alone...
Maybe if there's another worker besides Aloe and Lotus, I could ask them to give me some support...
I clap my hands together, feeling another successful push over the edge by a wonderful pony friend. They were truly amazing at handling my hesitation.
"Alright. Let's go and do it then.", I say.
The wind storm of nervousness hadn't ended, but it was milder now, and on the ride to the spa, I make sure to keep the word tools Twilight gave to me in the front of my head. It's true; I'm not coming in with a complicated massage technique. I'm petting and scritching these ponies with really the same hand work I would use on a dog or cat. The fact that they find my treatment spa-worthy is from their perspective.
With that in mind, I wonder if our dogs find petting from us spa-worthy too, and just can't tell us.
And hey, I can only bet that my practice has a built-in advantage because it's coming from a new species. The ponies have never felt this kind of thing before.
Yeah. These exact things are what push me over the edge even further, helping me fill my comfort tank of performing it on the spa ponies even more. Or so, I think, as negative thinking can and does mutate to its advantage.
But... they're spa ponies. What if they don't think my techniques are worthy? What if they're too simple? I could easily not get this job.
Ah yes. The good old "what if" thinking. Hello, my biggest anxiety problem.
Seeing it as a threat to my performance, I try to smack the what ifs away and remind l myself a quote I love: The odds of succeeding are zero if you don't try. So I must try if I want the job. And again, everypony who has ever applied to my field in this spa had to go through this part.
So I carry this to the infamous building with me as I answer "Yes ma'am", to Aloe's "You are wanting to join the spa?", then get led into a white-coated room where both spa sisters lay on light-blue massage tables for this touch trial with my hands. Believing it would favor the technique's effectiveness and reduction of anxiety, I choose to perform it on one pony at a time, starting with Aloe. No matter how nerve-wracking it very much is to set my hand on a spa pony, I push it, and there it lands at the base of her right ear, where the nail begins to move back and forth, and from there, off goes everything else.
Result: Aloe, to quite my surprise, had the exact same, instantly recognizable reaction I knew from the "ordinary ponies." Her professionalism went on vacation, no doubt. From soft hums, to struggling to even say "This feels good", to flipping over on her back for a belly rub, she loved my hands.
I then move my hands over to Lotus, who, guess what, loved it just as much, and engaged in all the same "unprofessional" (I don't like calling them that) behaviors as her sister. They had requested all of my sub-techniques be tested, so belly rubs were in the cards for her too, then she couldn't help but hum and compliment just like Aloe.
After the trial ends, Aloe is the one to bring out the big sentence.
"Mr. Player 4, your touch is wonderful. It cannot be left out of this spa, and so it won't be. We are proud to offer you the position.", she says.
And there I sat, utterly at a loss for words.
Well, so I did it. I'm an employee at the Ponyville Day Spa, with my unique hands ready for use. Still not really sure what kind of crazy world this is where you can get hired to a spa after four days of your practice existing, but again, the results don't lie, and here we are.
I was about to get caught in the disbelief rumination of failing to process the sentence "I'm an employee at the Ponyville Spa", but Aloe moves another topic to the front of the line.
Here's a question that was bound to come up, but must yield an unusual answer in my case.
"So, when are you thinking you should start?", Aloe asks as we walk back out into the spa's lobby.
"I honestly don't know.", I say. "The thing is, I applied for another job and I'm still waiting for the results on that. Then there's another career I'd like to start pursuing.
"Very well, then.", Aloe replies. "How about this: we do not put you on a schedule until you know when you will be available. However, when you can determine it, we would like you and try and be here as much as possible."
"That's reasonable.", I reply. "Good. I'll make sure to work on things."
If only I knew how to...
"We look forward to having you as a worker here at our spa. Your hands do lovely work.", Lotus says.
"Thanks.", I say. "I'm looking forward to working here too, and I'll make sure to be here as early as I can."
Aloe nods.
As I'm already about to give a mind session what the heck I should do next, I hear the ring of the front door's bell and decide to investigate. For a completely unexpected event, Applejack had come.
"Hey, good news, Player 4!", she says. "I just got the results back from your color apple distribution entry, and it's workin' perfectly! Ponies everywhere are sayin' they're getting the exact number of colors for their desires! You clearly are special with data, and for that, you're hired!"
Now here's another loss-for-words occurrence in this day.
Yeah, that's awesome that I got the farm job, but all I can think about right now is that there are two great jobs in front of me that I just got hired to; within a few minutes of each other. Then there's a third one I want to try for...
What do I do?