Truthfully, the day was still quite young, so all of us were allowed to spend the day in Canterlot, checking out various sights and scenes. This Twilight gave us all a grand tour of the place, allowing us to see parts of the Castle that were generally off limits to outsiders, and some that were off limits even to the Element Bearers themselves. I thought I knew how big the Castle was, but I had to admit to great ignorance as to its grand scale. The other Twilight and Diane just continued to gawk at everything they saw, Twilight's mind racing as she tried to take mental notes of everything. I saw Trixie taking mental notes of the Castle as well, something that I found a little troubling. "I hope she's not planning on doing something reckless," I thought. Diane enjoyed flying as much as Rainbow did, so they both flew around us as we continued the tour. We made our way outside the Castle and took a quick tour of the Royal Gardens, admiring the statues, although not so much the one of Discord.
"Ugh, so that's what he looks like," the other Twilight said in disgust. "How hard was he to defeat?"
This Twilight went into the story of how he had messed around with their minds, getting them to distrust each other and how it was that Celestia had returned her friendship reports so she could read them, thus strengthening her resolve to save her friends and bring Discord to an ultimate defeat. The other Twilight and Diane smiled in amazement at the story.
"Trixie could have defeated him by herself!" she boasted.
"I seriously doubt that, Trixie," Twilight said. "He corrupted our thoughts and our friendship -- and he would have done the same to you. In the end, it was nothing less than the true magic of friendship which defeated him, and I'm quite certain that your abilities would have been no match for his."
"Trixie wants a chance at him!"
"No you don't! And we don't want to have to face him again, either!" Twilight admonished sternly.
"Whatever. The Great and Powerful Trixie would show you!"
"Don't make me remind everypony about that Ursa Minor incident," Twilight grinned.
"Oh. Well, Trixie was unprepared for that," she said sullenly.
"I have a feeling Discord's still on the loose in our universe," the other Twilight said glumly.
"Trixie will help you defeat him!"
"Now you're learning," Twilight grinned.
"Well, one problem at a time, ladies," I said optimistically. "Hey, Rarity, is there a spa here in Canterlot? I think we all could use some freshening up before our little jaunt tomorrow. What say?"
"Michael, darling, that's the best suggestion I've heard all day! There is indeed a spa here in Canterlot, and it's not far at all from the Castle! Is everypony here up for a trip to the spa? Nothing like being pampered, I must say!" she beamed.
"How are we supposed to pay for that if we don't have any money?" asked the other Twilight.
"They don't call me the Element of Generosity for nothing, girls! This one's on me!" Rarity stated proudly.
"You have my thanks, Rarity, I will have to find some way of making it up to you," I offered.
"I feel it's the least I can do for you, Michael -- I hope the spa treatments will help you feel better, darling!"
"I can't wait to see what this is like -- I've never been to a spa for that sort of treatment before," I said.
"Oh, you're in for a real treat then, darling! They know how to treat you right!" giggled the fashionista.
The others expressed their agreement on the spa trip and just a short while later we entered the Canterlot Spa Royale, their motto: "Where we treat you like a Princess!"
"I certainly hope so -- Rarity's spending an awful lot for all of us," I thought.
Almost as if to read my thoughts, Rarity spoke up. "Okay, ladies, if you're worrying about how much I'm spending, remember my special gift is finding gems -- I have enough bits to last my entire lifetime, so this expenditure is petty cash for me! I hope every pony enjoys themselves thoroughly! I want to see smiles on all your faces!"
Nearly in unison, we all said, "Thank you so much, Rarity!" She smiled in return. We were led to separate rooms to receive our treatments -- being pampered in such style was indeed the best treatment I had EVER received! The massage relaxed me, the pedicures on the hooves, the hot tub -- well, there were three of us to a tub, so I shared my tub with Trixie and Diane -- I don't know why I got paired up with them, but we chatted for awhile. Trixie was quite keen on finding out more about the other universe, but Diane tried to keep her answers short. In fact, the most common answer Diane gave was, "Don't wanna talk 'bout it, Trix." I swear she said that at least a dozen times! Diane, on the other hoof, was quite a bit interested in MY universe, the human one. I couldn't believe she would have so many questions, but I answered them as best I could. After our time in the hot tub was over, we broke for lunch.
"Okay, girls, we're headed over to this nice little place not far from here," Rarity said. "They have the best Prench cuisine!"
"I'm staying away from the escargot," I said. "I'd ask for Chateaubriand, but that would be too gauche."
"MICHAEL! They don't serve MEAT there!" Rarity chided sharply.
"So what if some Griffons show up?" I chuckled.
"You push your luck, darling. If you don't know what you want, I will explain the items for you. You seem to know a little Prench, so it may make things a little easier for you."
"I would appreciate all the help I can get, Rarity. Thanks again for everything."
"But of course, darling!"
Truthfully, the wait staff helped everypony order something they would find enjoyable, myself included. The food was some of the best I had ever tasted and once again I thanked Rarity for her assistance. I believed she was trying to regain my trust in her. We then took a tour of the bazaar and market, the theatrical districts and various other sections of the city. We caught sight of Fancy Pants escorting a familiar looking pink earth pony around, which drew a gasp from Diane and Pinkie Pie. Diane saw that her cutie mark was different, though, so it wasn't exactly who we thought she might have been. As the day wore on, all this touring was starting to tire us out, so we made our way back to the Castle for dinner and then a good night's sleep.
Pinkie Pie wanted to throw us a party -- and by all rights, she probably should have -- except that Princess Celestia informed us that we needed to be well rested for what lay ahead of us. The Sun Goddess had informed Pinkie Pie that any parties would have to wait until after we had completed our task. A grand dinner had been prepared for us and we ate heartily, sampling the creations of various chefs who had been participating in competitions. All of these were quite impressive -- many different degrees of saltiness, sweetness, sour, strong, spicy -- I wondered which one of them might take top honors as all of them were great in their own right. The others enjoyed their dishes as well, but the more interesting reactions came from Diane and the other Twilight, who had never sampled such dishes before. They expressed amazement and wished for such chefs to visit their particular universe. We left the grand dining hall fully satisfied and made our way to our bedchambers. To say that these were luxury appointments would be the height of understatement -- such lavish ornamentation adorning each room was opulence on a grand scale. The beds were made of solidified cloud, the most comfortable bed I have ever slept on. As I fluffed my pillow, I turned out my room light and laid down, falling asleep very quickly.
---------------------------------------
I felt somepony slide into the bed with me, snuggling up behind me. "I thought I locked that door..." I decided to allow whomever it was to snuggle behind me, curious to know who it was, but not so much as to ask for a name. I didn't have to wait long to find out who it was, though.
"Trixie wanted some company," she cooed softly. I tried to ignore her. "Trixie wanted to give a more persuasive argument as to why you should choose her to be your next wife," she giggled. Again I ignored her. She snuggled even closer and I could feel her breath against the back of my neck. She ran her right fore-hoof up and down my barrel, perhaps in an attempt to arouse me. She felt something unusual and commented on this. "Trixie wants to know why you have this ... scar ... on your body," she said in a puzzled tone of voice.
"What? What are you talking about?" I asked, breaking free from her embrace. I used my magic to lift the cover and turned over on my back.
"Trixie likes this new position you have taken!" she grinned broadly. I scowled at her. I turned on the room light to get a better look at what she was talking about and when I saw it ...
"Aaaaahhh! What ... what ... the ... BUCK ... is ... THIS!!?" I screamed. A long jagged scar ran the length of my underside, just above the neckline all the way down to between my teats, and about halfway up, the scar ran the width of my midsection. A look of abject terror crept across my face, and I couldn't help but scream again. My screaming woke Princess Celestia, who teleported into the room I was sleeping in. She glowered at Trixie, or maybe both of us, but I wasn't sure.
"Trixie, what are you doing in here?"
"Trixie wanted some company -- she does not like sleeping alone," she grinned sheepishly.
"Your Majesty, can you tell me something about this scar? I had a bad dream the other night, and this scar reminds me of that dream," I said, my fear still quite evident.
"Close your eyes, then open them again, Michael," she said softly.
"What? Why?" I asked.
"Just do what I said -- close your eyes and open them again," she reiterated.
I did as she instructed, and was shocked to find that I was laying on my back on a table, my four legs held fast by strong straps. I focused all my strength into trying to break free, thrashing about as wildly as I could.
"Ah, good. You're awake," Rarity chuckled as she gazed at me.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"