Lotus Blossom was going over the day's list of appointments on her clipboard when something caught her attention. There was the tell-tale jingling sound that signaled the spa's front door opening, and then something smelled funny. Not funny like an especially-talented clown might smell, but funny like cabbage would smell in a chocolate factory. When her eyes moved away from the clipboard, she discovered where the smell was coming from.
It was a pony she'd rarely seen around town, and even more rarely had she smelled him. She had heard of him, however. After all, nopony so consistently smelly lives in a small town without getting a reputation for it.
Lotus gagged slightly as she drew in a breath before saying as politely as she could, "How may I help you?"
Ponyville's smelliest resident only looked over his shoulder as a second stallion entered the spa. Big Macintosh smiled at Lotus as he spoke. "Miss Blossom, we have ourselves a spa emergency." He turned to the smelly pony, his smile disappearing. "Pigpen here's got himself a date with a very special mare tonight, and I don't think I have to explain why he can't show up like he is now. Make 'em shine, will ya girls?"
Lotus gave a little salute, suppressing another gag. "We will do our very best, Big Mac."
Mac's smile returned. "I knew I could count on ya. When can ya fit 'em in?"
Lotus smiled sweetly at Big Mac as his pleasant cologne started to mix with the most-definitely unpleasant scents coming from Pigpen. "For you, Big Macintosh, I'll clear our schedule for the day. I have a feeling this may take a bit longer than most treatments, anyway."
"Thank ya kindly, Miss Blossom. Just let me know when he's done." Big Mac seated himself and picked up a fashion magazine, most likely for the articles.
Lotus made her way around the reception desk. "If you'll come with me," she said to the smelly pony. She led him out of the waiting room quickly, eager to get some shampoo on his coat. "So, who's the lucky mare?"
"Lemony Gem," the exceptionally-pungent pony replied.
"How lovely," Lotus commented. She was quiet for a moment, but her curiosity got the better of her pretty soon. "How did you meet?"
"Well, actually," Pigpen said slowly, "we haven't gotten together yet. We've written back and forth a lot, but tonight will be the first time we meet face-to-face."
"Oh, I see." That certainly explained a bit. Lotus had been wondering what would drive a mare to such desperation that she'd be willing to date a pony whose scent had been known to drive off Timberwolves. If the mare in question had never actually smelled him, though, then it wouldn't be an issue.
Aloe looked up as her sister entered the room, but her eyes soon moved to the pony behind her. "Oooh, a newcomer. Welcome to the Ponyville—" Aloe found herself unable to finish her sentence as the smell hit her, and instead flew into a fit of coughs.
Lotus put on a smile. "Oh, is that, uh, new conditioner still getting to you?"
Aloe squinted up at Lotus, then glanced to Pigpen. She smiled sheepishly as she stood up straight. "Umm... yes, it is. I'm afraid I might have a small allergy. So, who do we have here?"
Lotus pointed a hoof at the smelly pony as she explained, "This is Pigpen, our very special customer today. Big Mac brought him in because he has a date tonight with a very special mare, and he, ehh, needs to look his best, yes?"
Pigpen nodded, and Aloe hummed thoughtfully. After looking the pony up and down, she clapped her hooves together. "Well, let's get started, shall we?"
With only the slightest hesitation (and who could blame them), the two sisters grabbed onto the smelly pony and pulled him over to the nearest bathtub. The first step, of course, was getting him cleaned up. But when Lotus went to turn on the water to fill the tub, she found that she couldn't let go of the pony. She pulled, tugged, and even wrenched, but her hooves were stuck in his brown coat.
"Um, Aloe?" Lotus raised her head up to look over Pigpen's back, and found her sister struggling to free herself as well. "Oh dear...."
"Is everything okay?" Pigpen asked, turning around to look at the two ponies that were tugging at his coat. He winced suddenly as Aloe put her rear hooves against the edge of the tub and pulled herself free, taking two tufts of Pigpen's coat with her. "Ow! What—"
"How did you do that?" Lotus asked, still struggling to free herself from the sticky substance that was soaked into Pigpen's fur. She copied her sister's movements, pushing against the tub and leaning back.
"Ow! Hey!" Pigpen shouted as a few more hairs came free.
"Almost— ah!" Lotus suddenly found her hooves free of the sticky mess, and then found her back slamming into a shelf of hair care products. The tall shelf wobbled a little, and then tipped over. A multicolored cascade of bottles rained down on Lotus, followed by the wooden rack itself. Lotus's vision was already going dark as her sister came running up to her.
"Lotus? Are you alright? Lotus? Lotus!" Aloe shook her sister in her sticky hooves. "Don't leave me with him! I can't do this alone!"
Then everything went black.
* * * *
Brilliant blue eyes. That was the first thing that Lotus noticed when she awoke. In fact, it took her a few seconds to realize that the eyes weren't just floating in empty space, which she thought seemed pretty weird. No, they were definitely part of a face, and it was a face she knew very well.
"Oh, thank goodness that you're finally awake. I was so worried," the pink face said.
"Aloe?" Lotus sat up, and immediately regretted it. Her head felt like it was loaded with enough pudding to fill a water tower; not a city water tower, though, just one of those little water towers that really tall buildings sometimes have.
"Headache?" came a voice from somewhere nearby. Lotus nodded, and a tan stallion came into view. He had a spiffy lab coat on and a stethoscope around his neck, as well as a comically-small pair of glasses perched near the end of his muzzle. Lotus assumed him to be a doctor, although one could have easily assembled the outfit from a costume shop. "I'd have been more surprised if you didn't have some pain. You took a nasty hit to the head. Here." The stallion pulled out a little bottle, popped off the lid, and tossed two small pills onto a bedside table. "Take these and try to lie still until they take effect."
"Will she be alright, doctor?" Aloe asked as her sister popped the white pills into her mouth and grabbed a nearby glass of water.
The doctor rolled his eyes. "I already told you that, but I suppose I should say it again now that she's awake. Yes, Lotus, you're going to be fine."
The good news didn't make Lotus's head feel any better. She settled back as the doctor said something about keeping her for observation for a short while. She found it hard to concentrate on paying attention while her head still hurt so much. Her eyes slid shut slowly, only to pop back open when she felt a hoof against her shoulder.
Aloe looked down at her sister with a little smile. "I should get back to the spa. Big Mac's latest client is still waiting. Will you be okay?"
Lotus nodded a little, finding that such slight movements didn't aggravate her headache too much. "Yeah, go on ahead. I'll be alright."
Aloe's smile widened, and she briefly rested her head against her sister's. Then she trotted out the door with a, "Get well soon."
Lotus closed her eyes again, trying to ignore the pain in her cranium until the painkillers kicked in. Her eyes snapped open again as she felt something bump into her bed. To her surprise, her vision was a little blurry and her head didn't hurt. Had she fallen asleep?
Upon sitting up, she found that her head no longer felt as though it were filled with pudding, but with some sort of gas. Perhaps helium. It felt as though her body were a moving a step ahead of her senses, as though she were slightly disconnected from the reality she knew and the signals were on a delay. Wow, those are some good pills, she thought to herself, hoping she might be able to take a few home with her.
As her vision cleared, her eyes settled on a snow-white Earth pony with a pale pink mane. The was a red cross with little hearts in the corners on the pony's flank, which Lotus caught herself staring at for a little too long just before the pony turned around. That's when Lotus caught sight of the mare's pale, icy blue eyes. Everything about the pony reminded Lotus of the beautiful winter scape that could so often be seen back in her hometown across the sea. And, just as the snowy scene often did back home, the sight of this wintry pony took Lotus's breath away.
"Hello, Miss Blossom," the snowy pony said softly, "I'll be your nurse for your stay at Ponyville Hospital. How are you feeling?"
Lotus just stared straight ahead, unable to unlock her gaze from the nurse. It took her a moment to stutter out a response. "I-I... uh-uhmmm...." Well, at least she tried.
The nurse reached out with a tissue and dabbed away at the saliva that was starting to drip from Lotus's mouth. "Gosh, you must have gotten hit really hard." She tossed the tissue into a trash can.
Lotus finally managed to take back control of her mind through the haze of the analgesic and emotions flooding through her. "H-hi. I'm Lotus."
"Mmmhmm," the nurse replied, "I know your name. It wouldn't be very nurse-like of me to forget the names of my patients. I understand that a shelf full of hair care products fell over on you and gave you a bit of a concussion, but the doctors tell me that you're going to be fine. Are you feeling alright?"
Lotus just nodded, mostly unaware of the goofy grin cemented on her face.
"Great! Well, here's your lunch." The nurse pointed a hoof at the cart that Lotus hadn't even noticed, even though it had bumped into her bed and woken her up. Upon the cart was a plate, and on that plate was what would erroneously be called "food" by most ponies.
Lotus paid the "lunch" no mind, instead focusing on the other pony. Her mind raced as fast as it could through the fog of a prescription-strength painkiller. What should she say next? Should she say anything? It seemed awfully quiet, after all.
The nurse smiled one last time before turning and walking away. "Call if you need anything," she chirped from the doorway before disappearing through it.
Lotus drew in a breath and let it out slowly, her mind having trouble comprehending what was happening. She felt strange, almost euphoric. She was so distracted by her own thoughts that she barely even noticed what the "food" tasted like as she ate it, which was actually rather fortunate. She rested her helium-filled head against the pillow, trying to focus her racing thoughts. She didn't manage to get much thinking done before she fell asleep again, sadly.
She awoke to the sound of somepony singing her name, and her eyes opened slowly. It took her a moment to focus, but not nearly as long as the last time she woke up. There was the probably-a-doctor, standing there and smiling at her. Lotus sat up a little, relieved to feel that her head no longer hurt.
The lab-coated stallion adjusted his glasses. "Good morning, Lotus Blossom. How are you feeling?"
Lotus nodded a little, replying, "Much better, thank you."
"That's great to hear, because we're checking you out of the hospital."
Lotus quirked an eyebrow. "Right now?"
The doctor nodded as two nurses pushed a wheelchair into the room. Lotus's heart fluttered for half a moment before she realized that the snowy pony she'd met earlier wasn't among the staff present. "Umm, where is the other nurse? The one that took care of me before?" Lotus asked as she was disrobed and tossed into the wheeled chair.
The doctor walked ahead of the nurses as they wheeled Lotus down the hallway. "Oh, she couldn't make it into work today. Temporary leave of absence on account of a family emergency, I'm afraid."
"Oh." It was all she could really think of to say as she was literally thrown out of the hospital and skidded to a halt on the dirt road outside. She sat there for a few minutes, looking over at the building occasionally. Then she stood up and started making her way back to her home, feeling a little more than slightly depressed.
* * * *
"I'm telling you, Aloe, it was truly incredible," Lotus said, reiterating what she'd already told her sister four times. "I'd never felt anything quite like it." She took in a breath and let it out slowly, cycling through the hazy memories of the beautiful nurse she'd had the briefest of encounters with. That pony just made her feel so amazing that she could barely describe it. Or was it just the drugs?
"It was probably just the drugs they had you on," Aloe said simply. "Hospitals have some pretty powerful painkillers on hoof; knock you right on your rump if you're not used to them."
Lotus shook her head. "I don't think that was it. This was real, Aloe. I... I think I might...."
Aloe gently placed a hoof to Lotus's lips. "Careful, sister. You barely know this pony."
Lotus gently pushed her sister's hoof away. "I know, I know. I'm probably getting ahead of myself." She turned away, looking at a blank stretch of wall. "I just can't get my mind off her, that's all."
"So, go talk to her," Aloe said.
Lotus bit her lower lip. "I kind of don't know where she lives. Or her name." Lotus took a quick glance at her sister. "Or anything else about her, really."
"Well, why don't you just ask Big Macintosh to set you up with her? I'm sure he could get the information and help you out. It's what he does, after all."
Lotus shook her head. "I've heard that he doesn't.... Ehh, how do I say this? I've heard he has a thing against mares dating mares. I've heard that the whole Apple family is like that."
Aloe looked over at Lotus, her muzzle all scrunched up. "Where did you hear that?"
"Well, it was just gossip, really, but what if he really does hate that sort of thing?" Lotus brought her gaze to the floor, though there really wasn't anything to look at down there.
"Aloe," Lotus whispered, putting a hoof under her sister's chin, "never be ashamed of who you are and never be afraid to be yourself."
Lotus shook her head. "It's not that. I just wouldn't want to drive him away from our business because he does not care for my—"
"If Big Mac is really that shallow and prejudiced," Aloe cut her off, "then he can find someplace else to take his clients. We'll manage without his business."
Lotus smiled at hearing that, though her eyes were on the floor— not literally, of course. "Still, I'd rather not risk stirring up the conflict."
Aloe just shrugged and hoofed over a box of shampoo bottles. "If you insist. Stock these, will you?"
Lotus nodded, placed the box on her own back, and made her way over to the new shelf. Though her hooves and muzzle were sorting through the box, her mind wasn't on the task at all. She had to find a way to see that stunning nurse again, but how?
Once she was done stocking the shelf, she picked up the empty box in her mouth and trotted off to find a place to flatten and stow it. Unfortunately, Aloe had missed just a bit of conditioner on the floor during the last clean up. Even less fortunate was the fact that Lotus stepped right in the tiny puddle. Her hoof slid out from under her, sending her body to the floor and crushing the box beneath it.
"Careful, Lotus," Aloe said, trotting over and helping her sister to stand. "You will end up right back in the hospital if you don't watch yourself."
"Back in the hospital?" Lotus said slowly, her hoof moving up to rub at her chin. "That's it!" she gasped, "I can find her at the hospital! All I have to do is find a reason to go back."
"I wish you luck," Aloe said with a huff, "Dr. Horse isn't known for letting ponies hang around the hospital without a good reason for it."
"Yes, that's true...." Lotus hummed thoughtfully to herself, her blue eyes taking in the room around them. "I would need a very good reason to be back in the hospital."
"Oh, I don't like the sound of that," Aloe said, her eyes narrowing. "Lotus?"
"Don't worry, sister," Lotus said with confidence, "I'm not an idiot."
Aloe opened her mouth to speak, but then just shut it again.
"I'll just fake a little injury, get back into the hospital, and then figure out some way to learn her name." Lotus clapped her hooves together a little. "Maybe I could sneak a look at their records or something."
"And then what, Lotus? Stalk the unsuspecting mare?"
Lotus dropped her hooves back to the floor, her expression going blank. "Oh, right. That's probably a terrible idea."
"Only probably?" Aloe said with a smirk.
Lotus just stared at the floor, losing herself in thoughts and schemes. "I have to see her again, if only for closure. Maybe what I'm feeling is just the result of drugs messing with my mind, but I can't know unless I explore this further."
Aloe nodded slowly. "I understand that, Lotus. What I don't understand is how you plan to do it. You know nothing about this mare other than where she works, and you can't just loiter around the hospital until she appears."
"No," Lotus said with a shake of her head. "I mean, yes, I'll have to be there long enough to meet her face-to-face again. If I want to get into the hospital, though, I'm going to need a reason." Lotus's eyes moved over to the broken shelf in the corner that was still waiting to be taken to the trash. "A real reason...."
* * * *
"For the record, I don't agree with this," Aloe said from her spot near a brick wall.
"Don't worry, Aloe," Lotus said in reply, "I've got this all figured out." She took a quick peek out of the alley way to make sure nopony was nearby before turning back to her sister. "Just try not to overdo it okay?"
"Lotus," Aloe said in a scolding tone, "I would never let that happen. By Celestia, I don't even want to do this in the first place, but you just won't shut up about it, so I guess we have to do something." She sighed for a moment, shifting on her hooves a little. "Are you ready?"
Lotus nodded, and Aloe promptly punched her in the face. Lotus stifled a squeak, holding up a hoof in front of her. She rubbed at she side of her face, asking, "Can you see anything?"
"Your hoof is in the way, but I don't think it's going to show up unless we shave your face."
"Dang," Lotus said simply, dropping her hoof. "It has to be visible, or they won't even give me a second glance."
Aloe shrugged and punched Lotus right in the nose. This time, Lotus did squeal, recoiling from the blow and grabbing her muzzle in her hooves. "That better?" Aloe said.
Lotus pulled one hoof away from her face. For the first time in her life, she was disappointed to not see any blood. "No, not quite enough." She got another hoof to the snout before she could say anything further. Droplets of red splattered onto the dirt, and Lotus held up a hoof to stop her sister again. "Okay, that's good." She groaned a little. "Okay, it's not good, but it might work."
"Come on, then," Aloe said, putting a hoof across her sister's back and leading her out of the alley. A couple of ponies asked concerned questions as they traveled, but none caused any delay. It wasn't long before they arrived at the hospital and walked right in through the front doors.
"Goodness," the blue-coated mare at the reception desk said as they entered, "what happened?"
"Got in a fight," Aloe said. "Can we have a little help, please?"
The receptionist smiled. "Sure thing." She then slid a clipboard across the desk toward the sisters. "Just fill these out and somepony will be right with you."
Lotus frowned down at the paperwork, but Aloe just picked it up and trotted over to one of the seats that lined the walls. Lotus joined her after a moment. They sat for a few minutes, filling out the forms together with the little pen that came attached to the clipboard. Once the paperwork was done, Aloe slid the clipboard back onto the desk.
The receptionist looked over the forms for a few seconds before putting them off to one side of the desk and smiling over at Lotus. "Somepony will be with you shortly."
Surprisingly, the receptionist actually meant it. Within four minutes, a light blue unicorn pony stepped out into the waiting room. She picked up the clipboard, looked at it, and then called out, "Lotus Blossom?"
Lotus stood up, clutching her still-bleeding nose, and walked over to the mare. "Are you the one to treat me?"
"No, I'm just an orderly," the blue mare responded. "Come on back and I'll have somepony get a look at that nose." With that, she turned and left the waiting room.
Lotus walked down the hallway after the orderly, too distracted by her own thoughts to take in the scenery of the hospital. She had several ideas about what she was going to say to the nurse she could barely get her mind off of, and had just about settled on the right course of action as she was led into a small room. She sat down on the little bed, the sanitary paper crinkling under her rump.
"Somepony will be with you in a moment," the orderly commented, slipping back into the hallway and out of sight.
Lotus let out a slow breath, going over the plan in her mind. Even Aloe had agreed that it was a good idea. Whether the nurse asked or not, Lotus would say that she got in a fight with somepony when she made a comment about mares dating other mares. She would be vague enough that the nurse wouldn't know which way she swung, and her reaction would tell Lotus how the nurse felt about the issue. Lotus was so clever.
Her heart rate spiked as the door opened, then slowed again as an unfamiliar nurse stepped into the room. "Hello, Miss Blossom. I understand that you got into a bit of a tussle," the nurse said from behind her clipboard. She lowered it, and a look of sudden comprehension spread across her yellow face. "Oh, I remember you. You were just here yesterday. Couldn't wait to see us again, huh?"
"You could say that," Lotus said, her voice dripping with disappointment and her eyes downcast.
"Well, let's have a look at that nose, shall we?" The nurse stepped over to Lotus, putting a hoof to the spa worker's chin and holding her snout up as she dabbed away some of the blood. "Hmm, it doesn't look too bad. On a scale of one-to-ten, with one being mild discomfort and ten being the worst pain ever, how much does it hurt?"
Lotus looked up at the ceiling for a moment, contemplating her answer. "I think about a four or a five, probably."
"Well, your nose probably isn't broken, but let's take a closer look to be sure." The nurse spent several minutes examining Lotus's nose, finally concluding with the words, "I think you'll be fine. You probably didn't even need to come in here."
Lotus shrugged. "Better safe than sorry, yes?"
The nurse nodded, cleaning off more blood and sliding two balls of cotton into Lotus's nostrils. "Just keep these in for about an hour or so. If they're still bleeding when you take them out, put two more in. If the bleeding persists for more than four hours, come back here straightaway, alright?"
Lotus nodded, and was quickly escorted back to the waiting room. Lotus waved goodbye to the nurse as she left, turned, and spotted her sister looking up from a magazine and raising an eyebrow. Aloe stood after a moment, approaching Lotus with the same quizzical expression.
"Goodness, you must have really been out of it," Aloe commented. "That nurse didn't look anything like you talked about."
Lotus sighed. "That wasn't her. I'm not sure why I thought she would be the one to treat me, now that I think about it."
Aloe nodded, and the two sisters headed for the exit, one looking decidedly dejected. But Lotus stopped as the double doors slid open, and turned around. Aloe stopped after a moment as well. "What is it?"
Thinking fast, Lotus trotted back to the reception desk. "Excuse me, but do you know which nurse looked after me when I was last here? I checked out yesterday and was brought in the day before. I, uh, just wanted to thank her for her hospitality."
"Well, hospitality is kind of our job here," the receptionist said with a wink as she sorted through some papers. "Lotus Blossom, was it? Let me check.... Ah, yes, Nurse Redheart was the one tending to you, by the look of it."
Lotus had to bite her tongue to keep her excitement in check. She knew her name! And what a name it was, too. "Is she around? I was hoping to thank her face-to-face."
"I think she had a break coming up soon, actually. If you can wait right here, I'll let her know that she has a visitor waiting for her."
"Thank you," Lotus breathed shakily, stepping back from the desk and finding a seat.
Aloe sat down next to her. "Ah, I see. I don't know why you didn't think of that earlier," she whispered.
Lotus laughed a little. "Me neither," Lotus whispered back. "I probably won't get to spend much time with her, but I can at least meet her when I'm sober."
A crooked grin came into being on Aloe's face. "And this plan doesn't require you to get punched in the face."
Lotus brought a hoof up to her snout, wincing at the soreness as she touched it. "Yes, I really should have thought of this before. So much simpler." Lotus looked away for a little while, but turned back to her sister soon enough. "Hey, did you hear about how Pigpen's big date went?"
Aloe shook her head. "No, I didn't. How was it?"
"I don't know, that's why I was asking you." The sound of hoofsteps on the tiled floor brought Lotus's attention away, and she sucked in a sharp breath as a familiar pony came into view. Nurse Redheart, that was her name. Even without the benefit of potent painkillers, the nurse still brought to mind a beautiful, snow-covered landscape. "That's her," Lotus whispered to her sister.
"Oooh," Aloe whispered back. "Not bad."
The nurse placed some papers onto the desk and had a quiet exchange with the receptionist. Lotus waved a hoof excitedly as Redheart turned towards her. The nurse smiled and trotted over, saying, "Oh, hello again, Lotus."
First name basis! Lotus's mind squealed. She did her best to steady her own breathing as Redheart stopped in front of her. If anything, the nurse was even more beautiful now that she was sober. "Hello. Redheart, was it?"
"Indeed it was," the nurse replied. "Still is, in fact. Nosebleed?"
"She got into a fight," Aloe answered. "Some stallion took offense to a comment she made about mares dating other mares."
Lotus cast a quick glance at her sister, giving her a little smile before turning back to the nurse as she scoffed.
"Some ponies are so bigoted these days," Redheart said, her voice carrying touches of mild disgust.
"I take it you don't have a problem with it, then?" Lotus asked, unable to keep the sly smile off her own face.
Redheart rolled her eyes. "Of course not. There's nothing wrong with it, medically or biologically. Aside from an inability to reproduce, of course, but that just helps orphaned foals find homes. How isn't that a good thing?" Redheart's warm smile faded slowly as she looked from Lotus to Aloe and then back again. "Wait a moment, aren't you two... aren't you sisters?"
Lotus nodded, smiling. It took a moment, but her grin transformed into a look of mild confusion and then one of horror as the realization came to her. "No, wait, we're not like that!"
"Oh gosh, no!" Aloe added. "That would be...." Aloe shuddered a little and scooted away from Lotus just a bit.
"Oh," Redheart said, chuckling a little with an uneasy smile. "I, uh.... Sorry, it just.... Gosh, I-I really should be getting back to work now."
"Wait!" Lotus called out, stopping the mare halfway across the room. "I just wanted to say thank you. You're a wonderful nurse, and you were really great at, um, bringing me lunch?" Lotus stopped, unsure of where to take the remainder of the conversation. Luckily, Redheart didn't dwell on her odd choice of words.
"You're quite welcome, Lotus, and you were a wonderful patient. But I really should get on with my break so I can grab a bite to eat before I get back to work. Bye for now." With that, Redheart turned and trotted from the waiting room.
Aloe got up first, with Lotus following her example after a moment. The two headed back out into the midday sunlight.
"Aloe," Lotus sighed, "it wasn't just the drugs."
* * * *
"Lotus," Aloe sighed, "would you stop moping around?"
Lotus Blossom was lying prone on her bed, batting at a feather that was poking halfway out of her pillow. It had been three days since she'd learned the name of the pony of her dreams (literally), but she'd done nothing further to get to know the nurse any better. She'd had a few ideas, but Aloe had made it quite clear that she wouldn't allow Lotus to injure herself just to get sent to the hospital, despite how minor and temporary such damages may end up being. She was uncomfortable enough with the "got in a fight" stunt, and she said that she wouldn't let such schemes go any further.
Lotus opened her mouth to whine, but she just let it go after a second thought and simply moaned a little instead. She'd asked her sister what to do at least seventeen times, and she was fairly certain that Aloe would relay any new ideas to her without having to be asked.
Aloe stared down at Lotus, her expression blank. "Alright, you leave me no choice." She turned, trotting toward the bedroom door. "If you're just going to lie there, then I'll have to do something myself."
"Mmmmm," Lotus moaned. "Like what?"
"I'm calling in some professional help."
At that, Lotus sat up. "You don't mean...?"
Aloe nodded, her eyes determined. "The stallion that knows mares better than most know themselves."
"Aloe, I already told you that I—" Lotus found a hoof pressed to her lips.
"And I refuse to watch you sit around depressed any longer. I'm sending for Big Macintosh and that's final."
Lotus prodded at the loose feather again. "But he brings in so much business. I wouldn't want to lose him because he doesn't approve of love between two mares."
"I don't have a slightest idea where ya heard that, Miss Blossom," Big Mac said only an hour later, "but I assure you that it just ain't true. Love is love. Don't matter who it's comin' from or who it's goin' to, it's a beautiful thing no matter what."
Lotus blushed harder than she had in years, and Big Mac put a hoof across her withers. "And right now, Miss Blossom, I'd like to help you make that love you're feelin' mutual."
"Mr. Macintosh," Lotus started, "you can't just make somepony fall in love."
"Well, actually...." Big Mac trailed off, then shook his head a little. "Don't you worry about that. A mare as beautiful and wonderful as you only needs to sit down and spend a few minutes with that pretty nurse, and she'll be all yours."
"Oh, I don't know about that," Lotus said, her blush deepening.
"No?" Big Mac raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Have I ever told you just how many stallions come to me lookin' for advice on how to approach a certain spa therapist?" Big Mac's smirk widened as Lotus looked at him with wide eyes. "More than I can count off the top of my head. I had to tell 'em it wasn't gonna work out, of course, on account of you not swingin' that way."
"Goodness, Big Macintosh," Aloe said through her giggles, "if you keep that up, poor Lotus might just burst right into flames."
Lotus's face was as red as Big Mac's. "I-I.... How did you know about that?"
"Miss Blossom, it's my job to know the mares around Ponyville." He gave her a wink. "Now, what do ya say to my offer?"
"I don't know what to say. H-How much?"
Big Mac slid his hoof from her back. "How much will it cost ya?" He gave a short laugh. "You two've been real good to me and my clients over the years, so let's just call this a friendly little favor. No cost, no charge, no problem."
"Consider it a deal," Aloe said, and she and Big Mac bumped hooves a moment later. "So, what's your plan?"
* * * *
Two days later, Lotus fidgeted from her spot on the floor, rubbing her forehooves against one another and shuffling them against the off-white carpet. The plan was good, of course; she had expected no less from Big Macintosh. And yet, she couldn't shake her anxiety. It was almost time, and she wasn't completely sure that she was really ready for this.
She could hear the little bell above the front door ring, signaling somepony's entrance, and she sat up a little. She leaned sideways, straining slightly to hear the conversation in the waiting room. She could only make out a few words, but she could recognize both voices. One voice she'd known all her life, and the other voice she wanted to know for the rest of her life. Lotus stood up as the voices grew louder.
Aloe Blossom came into view shortly, and she wasn't alone. Something looked different about the nurse, however, and it took a moment for Lotus to realize just what it was. She hadn't really paid much attention to the little white hat that the snow-colored pony had been wearing at the hospital, but now she noticed a distinct lack of said hat. Not only that, but Redheart's mane was hanging loose as opposed to the bun it had been kept in previously. To Lotus, though, neither of these differences detracted from her loveliness. Quite the opposite, in fact.
Lotus drew in a breath, ready to recite her lines like she did with every newcomer. "Welcome to—"
"Hey, Lotus," Redheart cut in. "I didn't know you and your sister owned the spa here in town."
Lotus fought to keep control of herself as Redheart's voice resonated within her mind. Something about the way she said her name was borderline intoxicating to Lotus. "Why, yes, we do. What brings you here, Miss Redheart?"
"Well, honestly, a coupon. I received one in the mail the day before yesterday and I thought, 'What the hay? I could use a massage after that ordeal with Lucky.' So I booked an appointment and, well, ran into you two again. Kinda funny how much we're seeing each other lately, huh?"
"Heh heh. Yes, it is a little funny." Lotus could feel the anxiety creeping up her spine. What if she suspected the ruse? What if she figured out it had all been engineered? What if she—
"Are you feeling alright?" Redheart asked.
Lotus refocused on the mare, wiping away the pained expression on her own face and smiling politely again. "Yes, I'm fine. I just, um, remembered... something unpleasant. But anyway, let's get started shall we?" She tapped her hooves together, turning to her sister. "What has Miss Redheart ordered for her treatment today?"
Aloe opened her mouth, but it was Redheart who spoke first. "Oh, just a simple massage and some time in the sauna for me, I think."
"Very well, then," Lotus said, walking over to Redheart and only stumbling once. "Which will it be first?" Lotus watched as the nurse held a hoof under her chin, presumably considering her options. "Might I suggest a trip to the sauna first? It's what most ponies do."
Lotus tilted her head down the hall as Redheart shrugged, and soon she was leading the customer away. Aloe gave her a wink just before heading back to the reception desk. After a short journey, the two stepped from the hallway's carpet onto a wooden floor.
"This is our steam room." Lotus gestured at the wooden walls and to the hot coals situated on one side of the room. "Would you like a towel? Most ponies sit on one for sanitary purposes, but I assure you that the seats are regularly cleaned anyway."
"Umm, a towel sounds good, yeah." Redheart gazed around the room, leaning over the pit of coals a little. She took the towel once it was delivered and tossed it down onto one of the benches. She then planted her rump down on the towel and waited.
After what was probably an uncomfortably-long time, Lotus wrenched her eyes away from Redheart and shut the door. She hopped up to her usual spot next to the bed of coals, hoisting a bucket up with her. She dipped a ladle into the bucket, scooped out some water, and poured it carefully on the coals, producing a cloud of steam on contact. A few more sessions of this, and the room was nice and steamy.
Lotus sat back, watching Redheart. The nurse was sitting still, eyes closed and breathing deep. Her expression seemed neutral, really, and Lotus decided to break the silence after a few minutes. "How are you doing over there?"
"Hmmm, I'm alright," Redheart said in reply. "The air's a little tight in here, but I've never been in a sauna before, so it's probably nothing."
"Mmmhmm," Lotus nodded, starting to feel a touch bolder. "How has work been lately?"
Redheart waved a hoof dismissively. "It's been work as usual. Nothing too bad, really." There was quiet for a few moments before Redheart added, "Although, there was that bit of weirdness when Lucky came in recently."
"Lucky?" The previous mention of the name hadn't been missed by Lotus's ears.
"He's a friend of mine from way back." She chuckled a bit, looking over at Lotus. "He got himself a new girlfriend last week, but he couldn't remember a darn thing about how he got her, or anything else after Pinkie Pie's last party. Total blackout. Guy never could hold his cider."
"What 'bit of weirdness' did he cause when he came in?"
"Well, I probably shouldn't talk too much about it, but rumor has it that he got beaten up by Prince Shining Armor." Redheart shook her head, looking at the floor. "That's actually the most normal aspect of his recent visits, though. The poor stallion seems to be a magnet for craziness lately." She looked back up at Lotus and smiled again. "But anyway, how about you? How's your business doing?"
The two chatted on for some time, with Lotus occasionally refreshing the steam in the room. Lotus was getting quite comfortable by the time their steam session was over. The two stepped not into the hallway, but into a little room adjacent to the sauna, and Lotus led the way over to a small pool of water.
"What's this for?" Redheart inquired.
"This is our cooling pool. The idea is to wait a few more moments after you finish your time in the sauna, then slowly step into the pool."
The nurse hummed to herself a little as she reached a hoof down to touch the water. She drew it back quickly with a gasp. "That water is freezing! I'm supposed to get into that?! Are you crazy?"
"Actually, it should be about room temperature," Lotus corrected. "But it's your choice, of course."
Redheart reached toward the little pool, but jerked her hoof back again as soon as it touched the water. "I think I'll pass on it, thanks. Can I get a fresh towel? I'm sweatier than I've ever been."
Lotus nodded and quickly fetched one for her, watching as she dried herself off. Nurse Redheart's pale mane hung limply from her head, thoroughly soaked from her stint in the perpetual cloud of steam.
Nurse Redheart hoofed the towel back, asking, "So, massage is next, then?"
Lotus nodded silently, tossing the used towel into a basket and trotting from the room. They reached the circular massage room soon enough, and Lotus directed a hoof toward an empty table. Redheart climbed atop the table wordlessly, settling into a prone position.
Lotus began the massage quickly, gently pressing her hooves into Redheart's back with practiced precision. She quickly increased the pressure as she moved her hooves around her back, eliciting a quiet moan from the prone pony that brought a smile to Lotus. The tension that had filled Lotus's nerves was almost entirely gone, as though she herself were getting a posh spa treatment.
It wasn't long, however, before Redheart broke the silence in the room. "You know, I didn't think that this spa ever sent out coupons."
Lotus paused the massage for half a second, but quickly recovered. "Business has been a little slow, so we thought we'd send out some incentives to remind Ponyville that we're still here and that we cater to all types of ponies."
"Ponies like Big Macintosh?"
Lotus stopped entirely, her blood turning to ice and her heart seeming to cease its beating.
Redheart curled around a little, looking up at Lotus with a sly grin. "Such an odd coincidence that you just happened to get into a fight the day after you were released from the hospital, causing you to be right there when my break hits so you can talk to me. And then, by an even stranger coincidence, I get a coupon in the mail for a spa service run by two ponies, one of whom happened to be that same pony I'd already met twice in one week. Curious, isn't it?"
Lotus shut her rapidly-moistening eyes, willing herself to calm down, but it wasn't working very well. Everything she'd been hoping for was crashing down around her. The plan had failed. She looked at the nurse as she tried to speak, to come up with some explanation, but her nerves were now devastated. "I-I... I couldn't..." she squeaked. Should she really do it? Should she really just pour her heart out right here in the spa?
Redheart's voice was soft, barely above a whisper. "It's okay, honey. You can say it."
That opened the floodgates for Lotus. "My gosh, I'm so sorry! I didn't want to lead you on like this, really. It was Aloe and Big Mac's idea, but... but I just didn't know how to approach you."
The white pony nodded, prompting Lotus to continue.
"When I first saw you, I... well, I got loopy. More loopy than I was from the drugs, I mean." Lotus was already on the verge of tears. There was no going back, now. "Oh, by Celestia, I couldn't stop thinking about you. I had Aloe give me a bloody nose so I could see you again, but then that didn't work and so I asked about you and... and...." She took in a deep, shuddering breath. "And I didn't know what else to do. So I asked Big Macintosh if he could set us up, and, well...."
Nurse Redheart sat up on the little table and wrapped her forelegs around Lotus's neck, and the shuddering, blue-coated pony held her right back. They stayed like that for a few minutes, Lotus quietly letting her emotions run out of her, until Redheart patted her on the back and whispered into her ear, "It's okay, Lotus. These things happen."
Lotus pulled back, looking Redheart right in the eyes. "W-what do you mean?"
Redheart looked at her pityingly, almost patronizingly. "Don't worry, I'm not upset with you. This is a common occurrence among medical staff."
No.... Did she mean what Lotus thought she meant?
"A patient finds themselves under the care of somepony, and they mistake the care and attention that the nurse or doctor gives them for real affection. It happens quite a lot, really." Redheart continued to look at Lotus with that sickeningly-sweet smile. "But now that you're aware of it, you can start to move on."
"No!" Lotus shouted pleadingly, considerably louder than she intended. "That's not what happened! I thought it might be the drugs at first, but... but I still feel it. And I'm sober! Days have passed and I still...."
The nurse put a hoof on Lotus's shoulder. "It may take some time, but you can get over it."
"I don't want to," Lotus choked out, tears flowing freely from her face.
"Lotus, honey—"
"Stop it! Can't you hear me? Can't you see?" Lotus found her legs turning to oatmeal beneath her, and she collapsed to the floor in a sobbing mass. Why couldn't she see that what Lotus felt was real?
It was real, wasn't it?
Nurse Redheart knelt down beside the weeping pony, putting a foreleg around her back. "It'll be alright, Lotus. It'll turn out alright."
"I don't want it to turn out alright," Lotus sobbed, "I want to be with you."
Redheart leaned in next to Lotus and softly whispered, "You can't."
* * * *
Lotus Blossom sat behind her reception desk, looking over the list of the day's clients. Her eyes moved away from the clipboard as the bell above the door jingled and Big Macintosh stepped into the spa. On his back sat a little purple dragon. Lotus smiled politely at them. "Who have we here, Big Macintosh?"
Big Mac looked back at the little dragon. "This here is my little buddy Spike. He's about to go on his very first date ever, and it's with one of the classiest mares in Ponyville. Ain't that right, Spike?"
"You betcha!" Spike agreed, hopping down from his back.
"Heh heh. Why don't you head on back, I think you know the way. Just tell Aloe what we talked about, okay?" Big Mac waited until the dragon was out of sight before taking a seat in the waiting room.
Lotus felt it again, pressing in on her chest. Tugging at her mind and making her whole body feel heavier. "Um, Roxie?" she called out.
In short order, a purple-maned Earth pony stepped into view. "Yeah?"
"I'm going to take a break, can you cover the desk for a bit?"
Roxie stepped over, nodding. "Yeah, sure, go on ahead."
Lotus moved out from behind the desk and straight through the front door, giving Big Mac a nod as she passed him. She took a deep breath once she was on the street, leaning her side against the spa's front wall. She shut her eyes, trying to push away that feeling that gripped her every now and again, though she knew she couldn't really fight it. At least not on the inside.
It had been six months since Nurse Redheart had given her over to a therapist. Six months of lying on a couch and taking a few different drugs. Six months, and they'd finally declared her cured and perfectly fine again.
Six months, and her heart still ached whenever she thought about that beautiful nurse. Nopony may have believed it, given the circumstances, but Lotus knew it to be true. She would never stop loving that snowy mare, no matter how many times she lied about it and no matter who told her that her love wasn't real. Because it was real, she could feel it.
Sometimes, though, she wished it weren't.