//------------------------------// // chapter1.2 // Story: My little pony:Adventure of Seresia // by Dreamy //------------------------------// Following the address shown on the coupon, Twilight and Spike arrived in front of a store with grand neon signs hanging in front of it, casting colorful light into the street. Upon the sign was the silhouetted bust of a smiling filly, lying on its back at the edge of a pool lined by an array of blue lights. one hoof bobbed up and down, as if it were inviting all to join in. "Are you sure this is the right place? This place doesn't look like a massage parlor at all." "Um... This should be the right address?" Spike said as he picked up the coupon in his paw again, looking it over it several times somewhat sheepishly. Twilight and Spike stared at up the neon array for a moment, then down at the front entrance where the line was forming, before finally looking at each other again. Hesitantly, they decided to take a closer look. "Hello? Excuse me..." Spike walked up to a stone-faced security guard in a gray shirt, intending to inquire about the parlor. He was greeted by a quick "Get in the back of the line." from the guard, who felt no need to even look at him. "I just want to-" "Line up... Line up!!!" The security guard barked. Seeing that his tone hadn't shaken Spike, he put down the notepad in his hoof, revealing a light blue face with sunglasses. Although Spike couldn't see his eyes directly, he could feel that the pony beneath the sunglasses meant business. "Hello", Spike said in a friendly voice, "we just wanted to come by to make sure the address on this coupon was this place. And, if it isn't – could you do us a favor and point us in the right direction?" Twilight, seeing how tough the security guard was, stretched out her own wings to corral Spike behind her. Using her magic, she took take the coupon in Spike’s claws and brought it to the guard to show him. "What u-" he muttered as vision was suddenly blocked by a large purple feather. He looked up angrily, ready to show whoever was responsible what he was made of. His vision fixated on the pony in front of him and he soon realized he wasn’t looking at just your everyday pony. In shock, he took off his sunglasses doing a double take before his attitude suddenly shifted. "Princess Twilight!!!" His excitement was accompanied by a loud squeal that perked the ears of many colts on the sidelines. "Oh my gosh! It's Princess Twilight!!!" "Does she come to this store for massages too?!" "Can you take a picture with me Princess Twilight!!!?" The crowd that was originally lining up orderly all congregated around Twilight, quickly causing a stir. The security guard, in order to maintain order, yelled and drove the foals back into the queue, "All of you, line up properly! The princess came here to experience our impeccable service! If you want autographs you'll have to wait until the princess has time and is willing!" "You come to this store for a massage too princess? What do you think of it?” "Does the princess like the service here?!" "Let's just go in first... The colts are so enthusiastic, it’s not too late, you can always come out and give them autographs after you're rested." Spike softly reassured Twilight, who tried to keep a smile on her face. She waved her hooves to greet the foal folk as she walked by, even though she was feeling exhausted by now, and was guided into the store by spike. Entering the establishment, a receptionist greeted them warmly, "It's Princess Twilight! Welcome to the shop!" the filly said as she handed over a list of items in her hooves. "What services would the princess like to experience in our store? We have a cozy aromatherapy spa to relieve fatigue, or maybe you want a professional massage master give you a full body massage to sweep away the aches and pains?" "Uh... We have two coupons, I don't actually know what we can redeem." "Oh! Please let me see them then." The receptionist smiled, receiving the coupons from Twilight. The receptionist examined them carefully for a moment, then took the coupons and walked over to the side counter and showed the ticket coupons to a colt. Twilight could see the colt bend down and disappear for a moment before rearing back up, picking up two beautifully crafted cards and handing them to the receptionist. Accompanied by the colt, the receptionist trotted back to Twilight. "These two coupons are good for one free visit to our one-stop service. Please take the cards and follow me." The receptionist said, handing the cards to Twilight and Spike before leading them both inside. "This is it, Princess Twilight." Pushing the door open, the first thing that caught her eye was a mural of a mountainous outcrop, followed shortly by the fake tree planted in the center of the spa. Underneath it was a recessed and irregularly shaped pool of water. The water surface was covered with flower petals with steam rising from all parts of the pool, permeating the room with the scent of the flowers. The room, although far from the real thing real, was a good enough to imitation of a naturally occurring mountain hot spring. Below Twilight was a floor made entirely of plastic and wood with the exception of a cobblestone path leading from the doorway to the pool. "Ha, It smells good!" Twilight closed her eyes and took a deep breath, enjoying the refreshing feeling and comfort that the floral scent brought to her lungs. "This is one of our store's exclusive imported incense. you're just in time my Princess, you wouldn’t have been able to see it if you had come a few days later. So, please take your time and enjoy it! Feel free to call me if you need me." She curtsied the princess and retreated to the door, closing it behind her, leaving Twilight and Spike inside. "Woo-hoo! Dragon Leap!" Spike shouted, couldn’t wait to slam into the pool, causing a great splash in all directions. Twilight stepped back and rushed to block it with her wings, narrowly avoiding getting her coat soaked as petals and water rained down on her. "Heh…" Twilight smiled. "Twilight get down here! The water's just warm enough!" Spike swam on his back through the pool before suddenly slapping the surface of the water sharply as if he were a colt who couldn't swim. "Save... Save me... Cramp... Cramp!!" He flailed a few times before sinking and disappearing into the water below. Twilight, shocked, without hesitation jumped into the water and began calling out Spike's name as she searched for him everywhere. "What are you looking for?" "I'm looking for you Spike! You're not drowning today!" Twilight stumbled, answering the familiar voice from the sidelines. She remained standing in the water anxiously searching, but when she looked up, she saw Spike across the pool with a stifled grin on his face. Panicked and confused, it took her a second to realize that it was all just a prank from Spike. Displeased, she shot her hoof across the water surface, sending a splash at him. Spike, not wanting to be outdone, reciprocated and began an all-out pony vs dragon water fight in the pool. "Ooooohhhh, You can't even imagine how much I miss soaking in hot water." Twilight said gently after getting tired of fighting. She found a comfortable position to lie down in and spoke again, "The last time I took a bath like this was with our old friends from ponyville... We all got together to talk as much as we could..." Her mind fantasized about pleasant scenes with her friends as they chatted together, but when she opened her eyes the only thing in front of her was Spike and the steamy room. She couldn't help but feel a little sad as she leaned back and looked up at the ceiling for a while. "Hey, I know you miss them terribly… Canterlot isn't all that far from Ponyville you know, it's not like we'll never see them again. We could go back to Ponyville and see them again if we have time right?" "Well..." Twilight sighed, still looking at the ceiling, her tone filled with loss. "Well– Why don't we invite them all over to Canterlot? We could have a get-together this weekend! How about we invite them to come along and experience this sauna? I could go talk to the administrator about booking us a room or something." Spike chirped, thinking for a moment. "There's no need to go to all that trouble Spike, I think I can hold on my own." "You're kidding right? You think I don't know what you're thinking?" Spike crossed his paws over his chest and narrowed his eyes at the Twilight. She stopped her preening to put on another forced smile, but she quickly sighed in defeat as the smile slipped away from her lips. "Well... You caught me." Twilight flashed her tongue out and smiled lightly, "I do want to get together with my pals, I haven't seen them in over a month… Please record this for me: This weekend I'm going to invite them to come along to Canterlot for a get together, maybe have a meal together or something." "Right, that's more like it."