Shortly after his leave, Fluttershy’s friends left and she went outside to care for the animals. Meer himself wasn’t tired and seemed to be functioning just fine. He left the bedroom and went down to see if Fluttershy needed anything. She sent him into town to get a few things which he wrote down to save his memory. The first stop was Applejack’s farm, Sweet Apple Acres.
“Hey, uh, Applejack,” he began when he found her, “Fluttershy needs a few apples for her…for some animals,” he said.
“Oh, sure thing, sugarcube,” Applejack said, “You just hang tight right there while I go and get some for ‘er. Maybe Big Macintosh can keep ya ennertained?”
“Oh, sure,” Meer said. He looked behind him when he heard the massive barn door open, and a behemoth emerged. Big Mac stood at least six feet, seven inches, dwarfing Meer’s normally tall six-foot stature. He was not thin like Meer or Ozean, but rather extremely built: he had massive muscles on his biceps and forearms, and even his fingers seemed muscular. He had blonde hair and a piece of straw sticking out of his mouth. He wore a red shirt and blue jeans with tall cowboy boots. “Hi,” Meer said as he kept his intimidation well hidden, “Nice day today, isn’t it?”
“Eeyup,” Big Mac replied. He clearly wasn’t much for conversation it seemed.
“Yeah, it’s…it’s a bit drier than home, but it’s much warmer,” Meer said remarking the unusually warm autumn, “Does it get humid here?”
“Nope,” Big Mac replied.
“Well that’s good,” Meer replied. Suddenly, he heard a sound coming from the house. Applejack emerged and was bringing a big bag of apples.
“Here y’are, sugarcube,” she said handing Meer the bag.
“Thank you,” he said and walked off quickly. He had a lot of other things to get done, but Applejack misinterpreted his pacing.
“See, now ya scared ‘im off,” she said to Big Mac, “You probly talked too much.”
Big Mac simply rolled his eyes at that comment, and went back into the barn without a word.
* * *
Meer eventually found his way to the library, and checked the list again. “Books on birds,” the note said.
“Well,” Meer thought to himself, “I guess that means every book in the library on birds. Fluttershy needs to make herself more specific.” Before he went in, he heard a voice calling him.
“Meer,” the voice called.
“Ozean,” Meer said as he turned around. He watched Ozean catch up to him. “What got you out of bed?”
“I got enough sleep,” Ozean replied, “Fluttershy said you were out doing errands and pointed me in the direction.”
“I bet you would’ve preferred to stay and try to have your way with her?” Meer asked him.
“Well,” Ozean began, “Yes, and no.”
“Why’s that?” Meer asked him.
“Well I barely know her,” Ozean said, “Plus she said we should try to get accustomed to this place. She also said Rarity had invited us to the spa whenever I woke up.”
“The spa?” Meer asked, “Well perhaps, I mean her books can probably wait an hour or so, but isn’t the spa more for girls?”
“Probably,” Ozean said, “But we’re being invited, so it would be rude not to appear.”
“You’re right,” Meer replied, “We better go.” Even though Meer wasn’t completely comfortable with going to spas, he did find the idea of a massage appealing. He and Ozean found their way to the town square where they found the spa. As they went in, they were greeted by two very similar-looking women; identical except for their hair and dress colors. One had pink hair and a blue dress, while the other had blue hair and a pink dress.
“Good afternoon,” the blue haired girl said, “I’m Aloe. How can I help you two?”
“Well,” Ozean said, “We’re looking for Rarity.”
“Oh,” Aloe said, “Well, right this way.” Meer set his things down and followed Ozean and Aloe. Ozean himself was noticeably excited and Meer simply looked at him and shook his head.
“Well here’s where I’ll leave you two for a few minutes,” Aloe said as she stood in front of a large hot tub. “Just call me if you need anything,” she said as she winked before she left the room.
Meer found what seemed to be a type of swimsuit and he went into a separate room and changed. When he emerged, he found that Ozean had done the same. “So,” he asked Ozean, “What do you think?”
“I think Rarity was reading my mind,” Ozean replied, “Aloe is clearly an eleven.”
“Yeah, remember why we’re here,” Meer replied, “And where is Rarity anyway?”
“Good question,” Ozean replied as he got into the warm water, “Damn, this is really nice.”
Meer raised an eyebrow at his friend before getting into the hot tub as well. A few seconds later, Aloe appeared, but Meer soon realized it wasn’t her. This one’s hair was pink.
“How are you two doing?” she asked, “I’m Lotus, and Aloe said you’ve been invited by Rarity?”
“That’s right,” Meer said.
“Well, unfortunately Rarity had to leave for a few minutes, but she’ll be back soon. In the meantime, why don’t you two dry off and join Aloe and me over by those tables?” Lotus suggested.
“Alright,” Ozean replied quickly. He got out of the hot tub as Lotus was leaving and he picked up a towel from nearby, making his face change into a grin that Meer had only seen a few times before. “The towels are heated,” Ozean said as though he was high on some drug.
Meer looked at him slack-jawed and a questioning gaze.
“What?” Ozean asked him.
“Nothing,” Meer replied as he got out of the water. When he grabbed a towel, he found out they were indeed heated, and the warmth was extremely relaxing. “I love this place,” he thought to himself. “Equestria doesn’t burn?” he casually asked Ozean in their Germane language
“Equestria doesn’t burn,” Ozean confirmed in Germane. The two walked over to Lotus and Aloe who were waiting by two massage tables.
As Ozean lay down, he heard Lotus’ voice. “What’s this scar you’ve got on your back?” she asked him. He could feel her tracing it with her finger, trying to figure out why such a vicious scar would be on his back.
“Oh, it’s a claw mark,” Ozean replied.
“Really?” Lotus asked, “I don’t know of any animals that only have one claw.”
“It was a stroke of luck,” Ozean explained, “I was far enough away that the animal could only get me with one claw. I don’t really remember the specifics; it was a very long time ago.”
“Oh, well alright,” Lotus said. She poured some kind of oil on her hands and began to massage his back.
Meer turned his head to his left; coincidentally Ozean was to his left as well.
“Well,” Aloe said to Ozean, “don’t you have such a muscular back under this scar?”
“Yeah, it’s from my time in the military,” he said obviously enjoying himself.
The two flirted for a little while longer; Meer looked up at Lotus and they exchanged looks that said the same thing. After a little while, Lotus’ massage became something of a fairy tale, and Meer was soon on the edge of sleep. He had noticed Ozean was sleeping soundly by this point.
Meer closed his eyes but stayed awake; he was afraid the two girls would bill them for their time, and he know he and Ozean would sleep for several hours. He soon felt Lotus’ hands leave his back and he heard the two sisters walk away into another room. He opened his eyes and rested himself on his right arm and used his left arm to awaken Ozean.
“Ozean, buddy,” he said, “Time to wake up, I think they might be billing us for the time we’re asleep.”
“What?” Ozean asked as he awoke, “Where’d Aloe go?”
“Never mind that,” Meer said, “I need you to get up so we can wait for Rarity without the possibility of being billed.”
“Ach, you and money,” Ozean replied crankily as he sat up on the table.
Meer copied his actions and after a quick stretch-their muscles had been extremely relaxed-they were about to stand up. Rarity finally appeared, but she wasn’t alone. Twilight was with them, as well as Aloe and Lotus.
“Oh good, you’re here,” Ozean said noticing this.
“But we weren’t expecting you,” Meer questioned Twilight.
“No, I know,” Twilight replied, “But I figured it would be best if I joined you.” She turned to Lotus and quietly said “I thought you put them to sleep?”
Lotus shrugged but said nothing.
“Why?” Meer asked, “What’s going on?”
“I know you two aren’t Germanes,” she said, “Your dialect isn’t Germane, and neither of you look like Germanes.”
“OK, then what’s a Germane look like?” Ozean asked her with confidence.
“Much like an Equestrian; not tall and slender like you two,” Twilight said, “Germanes have hair like ours; much more colorful than yours.”
“Alright, alright,” Meer said as he stood up, “You caught us, but I’m just gonna pay Aloe and Lotus and we’ll come quietly.” He went to his clothes and took several hundred bits, all of the money he took with him, out of his pocket.
“That’s kind of…unorthodox, but alright,” Twilight said trying to keep force in her voice.
“Oh, by the way,” Ozean said as Meer got the money, “If we’re not Germanes, then what are we?”
“Probably Discordian spies,” Twilight said, “Crystalines don’t have one color in their hair either; only Discord’s people might have such a trait.”
“Interesting observation,” Meer said to Twilight then he turned to Aloe and Lotus. “Here you are,” he said handing them at least three hundred dollars.
“But the rate is only fifty dollars per person,” Lotus said confused.
“I know, but we figured this will also cover the window,” Meer replied.
“Window?” Aloe asked as she and Lotus looked at each other. Suddenly, there was a loud crack; Ozean had broken one of the windows with a chair and he and Meer climbed out of it before anyone could do anything.
“Now what?” Meer asked Ozean as they emerged from the spa.