chapter 6 - Girly Business Talk
Upon arrival, one of the owners of the spa, a blue coated, straight pink mane earth mare wearing a simple white sheath dress and headband, was quick to greet Rarity in an eastern european accent.
“Oi! Missus Rarity! Ve were not expecting you today. Are you here for ze usual then?”
The white unicorn knew her greeter as Lotus Blossom, the calmer and more restrained of the two owners to the Ponyville spa. Lotus shared ownership of the establishment with her sister of inverted color, Aloe Blossom, who could be heard rustling around in what rarity assumed to be a storage room beyond the foyer. The pink coated, blue mane spa associate was focused on two jars she was holding as she entered the lobby through a doorless entryway. She spoke while maintaining her attention on the containers.
“Lotus? Do you think we could just use dis melted butter as massage oi-oh Why hello Missus Rarity! Pleasure to see you here today!”
Aloe straightened her posture and donned an innocent smile while moving her occupied hands behind her back. Rarity politely returned the smile while pretending to have not hear the information that she was going to not bring up while chatting with the flower sisters. The white unicorn put her hands together in anticipation and replied to Lotus’s earlier inquiry.
“Well I hope It’s not too unexpected but I’ve been a bit on edge recently..”
Lotus was quick to step up to Rarity with a concerned look and replied, “Oh my, Let us take care of you right away! We can’t have you developing any stress wrinkles!”
The fashionista shuddered at the thought as she was guided further into the spa main bathing room by the blue earth mare. This room was similar to the lobby in decoration, a variety of soft purples accented with pastel yellows and browns, with large curved columns flaring out at the top lined the edges of the round room. There were many different granite counters that were set near the wall which supported various bottles, plants, vanity mirrors, a sink or two, and various brushes, files, and scissors. The remaining furnishings consisted of several massage tables, several bathtubs, a mudbath and a large wooden spa tub that dominated one side of the room.
Lotus’s pink counterpart was quick to show up after absconding to return the ‘massage oil’. With speed she pulled up a dress screen and a fluffy white towel embroidered with a curvy cursive R. Between the two spa ponies, Rarity was gently shoved behind the screen by one while the other was quick to assist in attire removal. A blue tube top, black vest, and trendy jeans were thrown out into the air over the privacy partition (along with a few other black lacy garments) followed by one of the spa ponies whisking away the paper screen.
The smooth white unicorn was revealed, clad in nothing but a fluffy white towel embroidered with a fancy cursive R. The top of the towel held in place by firm, orange sized squishables and the bottom edge of the towel ending a few inches above the white unicorn’s knees. Any male onlooker would have sworn that time slowed down and a spotlight from nowhere had shined onto the pristine beauty once she was revealed. But Discord’s antics aside, the serene look that briefly graced Rarity’s face was shifted into surprise as Aloe effectively and gracefully spun the unicorn into the large spa tub, unraveling the towel but managing to maintain a censored modesty until the curvy purple mane mare was in the bubbly water.
Rarity took a moment to adjust her seating in the warm water filled basin while Lotus adjusted the temperature up a little higher and poured a pink foamy bubble bath into the water. Jets of hot effervescence soon caressed the now wet maned mare from all sides, and she exhaled a pleased coo while sinking deeper into the pink bubbly pool.
Aloe leaned up near the edge of the tub, brushing back her straight shiny blue mane to avoid touching the water. She asked the soaking Rarity, “Is ze water to your liking?”
An indecipherable “Uuhhhh” emanated from the lochness resident of the pink bubbly spa tub. Aloe looked across the tub to her pink mane sister and they both giggled at their current customer’s satisfied state. But one mustn’t dally when there are customers to take care of. Luckily Rarity was the only customer at the spa at this moment, so taking a moment to slow down wasn’t too far fetched.
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“..But now, I wouldn’t trade Sweetie for anything in the world.”
Rarity had just finished telling the story of how when she was young, she traded away her baby sister to a troll for a magic hair brush. The curvy unicorn was currently reclined in a spa salon chair in a white fluffy robe (embroidered of course). Her mane was being washed and shampooed in a sink by Lotus, and her hooves and nails being carefully filed by Aloe. The various spa treatments combined with the conversation provided by the pink and blue beauty specialists had helped the previously anxious unicorn to momentarily forget her worries.
Lotus took a moment to laugh behind her blue furry hand at the conclusion of Rarity's story. Being an experienced professional at helping ponies become relieved of their stresses, Lotus Blossom was hoping the pampered unicorn would soon open up about whatever it was that prompted her visit. She knew that talking about your worries was a good start to overcoming emotional duress, but the blue pony didn’t want to press the issue and cause any undue agitation. Lotus was subtle, using polite nuances and careful finesse to encourage the perfect situation in which her charge would willingly profess their concerns.
Except her sister Aloe was a bit more, let’s say oblivious to the intricacies of being subtle. She blatantly asked, “So Missus Rarity, Vhat has got your tail in such a tizzy today?”
Lotus glanced toward her sister with a mortified expression which was unnoticed by their relaxed charge, and while Aloe returned the look with a raised eyebrow, Rarity let out a despondent sigh. She answered Aloe’s blunt inquiry.
“Well, recently I’ve been having trouble uhm, undressing one of my models.”
“Oh, can she not undress herself?” asked Aloe.
“Erm, not that kind of model, I mean a manne-”
“Oh! You mean like a stallion model?” interrupted the pink mare, carefully examining her filework on Rarity’s hooves.
Lotus spoke up saying, “You has a stallion modeling for you now? This is certainly new! Is he, how you say, fit? Attractive?”
Rarity sputtered a moment before speaking, “W-wha? I-I uhm! You misunderstand, it’s just-”
“Well of course he must be sister. He wouldn’t be a model otherwise.”
"Ja, I can see how dat would be distracting. Whenever a handsome stallion comes into ze spa I cannot wait to get my hands on him."
Lotus's last comment prompted stares from her sister and her client. With slight offense the blue earth mare said, "I mean dat in a professional sense."
Aloe spoke, "What my sister means is, is dat you need not be apprehensive about doing your job with those you verk with, when your job is to verk WITH them."
Rarity considered the pink mare's words as the blue sister finished rinsing her hair. As the hair dryers and curling irons were brought out and the salon chair brought back to its vertical and upright position, Rarity responded with a hint of questioning realization.
"So what you are saying is, is that I should treat my manne- I mean model! I should just treat him, my *cough* model, less like a.. foreign stranger and more like my own employee?"
Rarity placed a perfectly manicured finger on her chin before continuing.
"Why Aloe, Lotus, that makes everything so much clearer! He isn't just a pretty face on a chitinous body. He is working for me! Which makes me his boss."
Rarity smiled in relief as the spa sisters blow dried then curled her mane and tail. This new frame of mind certainly alleviated her concerns, and she was glad that once again, going to the spa solved her problems.
Take that Rainbow Dash! she thought as she inwardly high fived herself.
"Thank you soo much, both of you! I wasn't sure how I was going to handle this.. this situation."
"Poor Missus Rarity, I can understand how it could be difficult working with such an attractive new employee!”
“Ja, I’m glad we could help!”
The last of the curls at the tip of Rarity’s tail had been coiled into a perfect ringlet by Aloe. Lotus then brought out a large hand mirror to allow the pampered unicorn to inspect her coiffure. A beauteous white face smiled back at the seated fashionista and she took a moment to admire and fluff her hair with her right hand. The blue faced Lotus peeked around the mirror and spoke.
“Shall I proceed with your massage?”
Rarity nodded with a smile.
Aloe clapped her hands and added, “Then I shall get ze butter!”
In the hand mirror, an apprehensive Rarity reflection glanced at Aloe, followed by a nonplussed look from her sister still holding the mirror.
"Vat?" Aloe questioned. She looked from her sister to her client, then after a brief pause she said, "Can nopony take a joke?"