//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 // Story: Portals Are Sometimes Fun // by Delta //------------------------------// I lazily sat up, head hurting, and back aching. I looked around the room and saw balloons everywhere. Stickers on the turquoise colored wallpaper. I found her clock and noticed the time. 6:00! Are you serious!? Well, at least I can go see if the spa is open. I looked all over the place and finally found Pinkie lying next to me, hair straight down. I got up and walked to her bedroom's bathroom. I looked in the mirror, or what I could look in it. She had even more stickers plastered all over it. She shaped it to be her exact height and her exact look, as if she stood in front of it. Probably to make sure her hair was perfectly poofy. I stared at myself through the mirror, thinking. Aww crap. I went to bed too early to even get a chance to hang out with the girls. They're probably pissed at me I finally noticed my hair was a complete mess. I looked around the counter and couldn't find a brush. I didn't want to go through her stuff, in case if she had some personal items. I felt guilty having to wake up a peaceful pony. I nudged her until she woke up. "Huh? Oh, good morning, Justin. Did you sleep well enough?" "Yeah, thanks for keeping me company. I do have a question, though." I said as she stood up. Her hair was completely straightened and not poofy at all. "Do you have a brush I could borrow?" "I don't own one." "Then, how do you make your hair so perfectly curly and poofy?" "Like this," she said as she pointed her hoof at her hair. I looked at it for a minute, and suddenly *POOF*. Her hair went exactly the way it always is. "Okay, it is too early in the morning to try and figure out how you did that." I went back to the bathroom to try and straighten my hair with my fingers. When I got my hair as straight as I could get it to be, I opened her bedroom door. "Where ya going?" I looked behind me and saw Pinkie picking up her pillow. "I'm gonna go to the spa and see if I can be a masseur. I figured since now that I live here, I might as well get a job." I turned to get out the bedroom, but Pinkie appeared in front of me. I turned back and forth, trying to figure out how she did that. "If you didn't know, humans can't walk through ponies. Could you move, please." She shook her head, frantically. "Nope. I am not going to let you go until you take a shower. You smell." I turned around, walked to the door and shut it. "Pinkie, where are the towels?" "In the cabinet, under the sink." I knelt down and grabbed a towel and laid it out. At least I can now get the fur out of my hair. **************************************************************************************************** Pinkie walked downstairs and started to clean up the shop.That is, until a knock came to her door. She walked over to the door and opened it. Her friends were all there, ready to help her clean up. She noticed with all of the garbage bags. "You guys don't have to help me. I can do it on my own." "No can do, sugarcube. We attended this party. We're gonna help ya' clean up." "Thanks, you guys are the bestest friends a pony could have." "Darling? Where's Justin. I got done with his garments after I got home." "He's in my bathroom, taking a shower. It's a good thing you got him some new clothes. His original ones looked very dirty." Rarity walked up stairs into Pinkie's bedroom. She levitated Justin's clothes out from her saddle bag and put them on the floor, next to his jacket. She walked out the bedroom and closed the door returning to her friends to help them clean up. **************************************************************************************************** I got out of the shower and stepped on the towel to dry off. I was a little mad that I had to make my hair straight again. I put my clothes back on and walked out of the bathroom. I went to pick up my jacket when I noticed more clothes on the floor. I picked them up and looked at them. The shirt was red and it had an amazing design on it. It showed my MP4 at the bottom and the earphone wires going from it to the neck hole. And a little to the right, it showed my glasses hanging off the neck hole, as well. I put it on and set my other shirt on the floor. I saw the pair of jeans she made for me. They were green. I put them on and grabbed my old clothes. I started to walk out the bedroom and into the living room to find all the girls, except for Rainbow Dash, cleaning up. "I see you guys are having fun." I said sarcastically. "Good morning, Justin. Do you like the clothes I made for you?" "Are you kidding me!? You know my style better than my own mother. Thank you so much. How can I repay you for these amazing clothes?" "You don't need to do that. The first pair are on me." She said with a smile. "Twilight, can you wash these for me?" "Sure." I gave her the clothes and my jacket. I walked over to Vinyl's turntable and found her on the floor, holding my MP4 still. I picked it up and picked her up. The girls all stared at me, as if they thought I was gonna do something bad. I walked to the kitchen, hoping that there was one more sleeping bag. The one where I put the aqua pony in, was empty. I guess she left early. I put Vinyl in the sleeping bag and zipped it up. Her hair was straight and messy. How DID she make her hair all spikey like that. It's like she just.....defied gravity by doing so. I walked out the kitchen and into the main room. "Do you girls want me to help clean up?" "No, you go and get your job. We can take it from here." Pinkie said, as she shooed me out. I opened the door and walked out into the open. Ponies were outside, in front of stands waiting for people to buy items from them. Some of them waved at me, and others said 'Hey'. I turned on my MP4 and started listening to my music. After a minute of listening to one song, I started air guitaring. I got weird looks and laughs from pony residents. I just waved to them and continued my journey to the spa. "Looook oUT BELOOOOOWWW!!" I faintly heard the scream and looked up. A grey pegasus carrying a bag was heralding towards me, and I just stood there. Not a moment later, she crashed into me. I was now lying on the dirt ground, while she was on top of me. "O-oh my gosh! I am so sorry, ma'am. Are you okay?" She asked me. "Yeah, I'm okay. More importantly, are you?" "I am, thank you." "Also, I'm a sir. Not a ma'am. What's your name." "Derpy Hooves. Mail carrier and muffin lover." She said as I stood up. I noticed her eyes weren't in there right spots. "Are your eyes okay?" "Yeah, they're always like this. I don't like it." "I do. I think it's adorable and cool. I wish I could do that." "Thank you. But why do you want to have eyes like this." "Well, not like that forever, but to where I could control them. Like whenever my friends are talking to me, I would randomly do it just to piss them off. That would be fun." "Haha. That does sound fun. Bad thing is, I can't control it. It was great meeting you Justin, but I have a lot of mail to deliver. Have a great day. Bye" "You to, Derpy. Good luck with the mail. Good bye." After that, I continued my amazing adventure to the spa. I put my earphones in and started air guitaring again. After about 30 minutes, I finally reached my destination. It was closed. FFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUU-! It opens at 8 o' clock everyday and ends at 7 o' clock. I looked at the clock and it was 7:30 Well, that's not too bad. It's only about........... a lot of hours. I was never good at math. I sat on the ground and waited for the manager to show up. After another 30 minutes of loudness in my ears, two mares were walking towards the spa. One was pink and had her mane was light blue. She had a little wrap of cloth at the top of her head to hold it back. The other pony was the same thing, but the colors were vice versa'd. It finally hit me. They're twins. They both noticed me and looked at me weird. Were that at my party? They got to the door and started to unlock it with a key. I got up and walked towards them. "Hi. My name is Justin. I'm a new resident of Ponyville, and I was wondering if I could get a job here as a masseur." They both looked at each other in almost perfect unison. And they nodded in perfect unison. Twins are scary. They motioned me to follow them. They aren't the much of talkers. The lobby was simple. There was a desk and a couple of chairs and couches with magazines. I followed them down a hallway. They opened a door, and all there was a massage table, candles, a chair, a shelf lined with different lotions, and a radio. The pink one got on the table and laid down. "My name is Aloe. And that is my sister Lotus. For the test to see if you can massage, you are going to massage me." She said with a smile. "Kay." I walked over to the table and placed my hands on her back. She had soft fur, but very tense muscles. I didn't know that being a masseur/masseuse would be stressful. Unless if she does a lot of other stuff outside of work. Or probably because she's a manager. I massaged her for about an hour. It was pretty easy. She lazily got up, and stared at me with half closed eyes and a big smile. "That was amazing. You're definitely hired. Do you think you can work today?" "Sure, I don't care." "Oooh! Oooh! Oooh! I will make the 'New Service' sign." Lotus said, with glee. I just laughed. I walked over to the door and opened it for them. They walked out, I shut the door, then sat in the chair. It had been about twenty-seven minutes before my first customer. It would it be, but Rarity. "Well if it isn't my favorite glamorous mare. Rarity." "Justin!? You work here now?" "No. I just snuck in and am now pretending to be a masseur. Of course I do. Where else would I work at?" "Don't get that attitude with me, mister. I thought you would work at the barber parlor." "Nope. I suck with scissors. Now, to get down to business. How long did you order?" "An hour." "Alright. Get on the massage table, and we'll get started. Do you want any lotion?" "No thank you." She walked over to the table and laid down. I started to massage her. Sweet Jesus! This is the most stressed out mare in the whole world. She felt more tensed than Aloe. I rubbed a little bit harder than before to try and get them out better. I rubbed all of her back and her hind legs until her hour was up. "That was a great massage. Thank you so much." She hands me a gold coin and I just stare at it. "Have a great rest of the day. See you later." "Bye Rarity." She walks out of the room and closes the door. I just stared at the coin for awhile, then put it in my pocket. I just got my first tip........ Awesome!! I sat back down in my chair, waiting for the next customer to arrive. After about a few minutes another mare walks in. She had a sort of white coat and red hair. She had a Cutie Mark of a rose. "Aren't you a different looking pony." "I'm not a pony. I'm a human. I guess you didn't come to the party." "So THAT'S what all that ruckus was. Well, I'm Rose. Oooohhh! Original. it's great to meet you, mister~......?" "Justin. What did you order." "I ordered the thirty minute treatment. With lotion, please." "What lotion?" "Ohay lotion." I walked over to the shelf, and scanned it for any lotion. I found it and walked over to the table. She was already laying down. I put a dab of it and rubbed it on her back. She wasn't as stressed as Rarity or Aloe. I did a little slower than before, so I can rub the lotion in. In what felt like a short time, her thirty minutes were up. She looked at me the same way Aloe did, and gave me two gold coins. As I put the coins in my pocket, she said, "Thank you so much, Justin. It was nice meeting you." "It was great meeting you, Rose." She walked out and I went and sat on the chair. Waiting for my next customer. I looked at the clock on the wall. It was eleven o' clock. This is gonna be a long day. I only got a few more mares after twelve o' clock. They all gave me a gold or a few silver coins. They knew me from the party. I never did get to meet them, because I just sat on the stairs. It was finally seven. I walked out of my massage room to find Aloe and Lotus. They looked at me happily and gave me a sack. I looked in it to find two brown coins, 4 silver coins, and one gold coin. "I'm guessing today is Payday." They nodded in unison. "Saturday is Payday. You only work on Monday to Saturday. So you get the day off tomorrow." "Thank you so much. I will see you girls Monday." I walked towards the door and noticed the sign Lotus made. It said 'New Service' in bright colors. "Mrs. Lotus. Do you mind making the sign say 'New Service, Human Masseur', please." "Whatever you want." She said with a smile. I walked out the door and saw the amazing sun set, down the road. Maybe I should go visit Fluttershy. She is the closest. I made my way to Fluttershy's cottage. I put my earphones in and listen to calm music. The smell around the area was that of nature. It was wonderful and relaxing. After about ten minutes, finally arrived at my destination. I knocked on the door and her bunny answered it. "Is Fluttershy home?" He motioned me to come inside. I complied and sat down on her couch and set the sack of coins on her coffee table.. He brought out a bowl of pretzels for me to eat. I heard her coming down stairs and her mane was a little wet. "Hey Fluttershy." "EEP! Oh, it's you. You scared me a little." "I'm sorry. I just came to visit you." "It's okay. I'm gonna make some dinner. Do you want any?" "Yes, please." She walked into the kitchen, and I followed her. "What are you making?" "Angel's favorite. Salad." "Who's Angel?" "Angel is my pet bunny." "ohhh. So that's his name. Do you need any help?" "Yes. Can you please get the cabbage out of the fridge, please." I walked over to her fridge and grabbed some cabbage. I grabbed some tomatoes and ranch, too. I brought them over to her and she started cutting them up. I looked around in random cabinets for bowls and cups. I found a lot of different kinds of animal food. I found them both in the same cabinet.The utensils drawer was under the cabinet, so I grabbed two forks. I set them all on her kitchen table and walked back to her fridge. She had tea and Carrot juice. "Do you want tea or Carrot juice?" "Tea, please." She said in a soft voice. I grabbed the tea pitcher and set it on the counter. There was only enough for half a cup. I poured the tea in and set it at Fluttershy's bowl. I grabbed the Carrot juice and poured me a glass. I grabbed a smaller cup and poured some in for Angel. I grabbed a bowl for him, as well. I set the bowl and glass on the table. I drank some of the Carrot juice, and almost chugged it all down. It was delicious. I poured me some more and put the pitcher away. I sat at the table awaiting for the food to arrive. After about two minutes, she brought over a big bowl of salad. Angel walked in and sat on the table. I took my fork and grabbed a lot of it. I mixed it up with the ranch and took a bite out of it. It was more delicious than Twilight's salad. Why does everything taste better here than on earth? I swallowed and asked Fluttershy a question. "Hey, Fluttershy. What is the currency in Equestria?" "We call these coins, here, 'bits'. A brown coin is ten bits. A silver coin is fifty bits. And a gold coin is a hundred bits." "Where's Canterlot?" "Did you ever see a big mountain, in the background as you were walking to my house?" "Yea." "On the side of the mountain, Canterlot hangs on it." "It's a good thing I brought my hiking gear." "Oh, no. We ride a train up there." "What IS up there, anyways?" She started telling me about the princess' castle and how enormous it was. She told me about the Castle's Garden and all of the statues. There is, apparently, a university there, too. There are a lot of fancy stores there, too. It was about ten o' clock and we finished our salads. Angel took up the bowls and started cleaning them in the sink. "Alright Fluttershy, *yawn* I'll see you later." I said as I opened the door. "And where do you think you're going at this hour?" "Earth." I said in a smart ass tone. She looked at me unamused. "Oh, no. You're gonna stay here tonight, okay." She said in a motherly demanding way. "Ugh. Whatever you say, mom." I walked over to her couch and laid down. I pulled out my MP4 and started to listen some music. In a few minutes, she brought a blanket and put it over me. And in a second, I fell asleep. **************************************************************************************************** It turns out, we have Spring Break, so here's Chapter 5 and maybe Chapter 6 this week or weekend.