Barrier groaned in relief as his casts were split and removed, followed by the bandages. Experimentally, he tested his weight on each leg and did a few quick pushups before smiling in satisfaction. It had been a very long two weeks during which Twilight had grilled him on everything he knew, from the formations used by the guards one thousand years ago, to everything he knew about armor and weapon enchantments and the princesses. It had been tiring as he’d been able to do little else but sleep, eat, and be interrogated. Today however, things would change with the removal of his cast.
As the doctor droned on and on about being careful and other things, he mentally went over his schedule.
First and foremost would be a job-hunt.
Thinking back to Rarity’s suggestions, Barrier decided to stop by the bakery first. Of the jobs she suggested, the bakery had been the recommendation that most surprised him, since he knew little to nothing about cooking. He could bake bread or meats in a pinch, but that was about the extent of his culinary skills. Regardless, she had assured him that the Cakes would be more than glad to show him the ropes and hire him on.
***
“Oh no, that’s okay dearie, we can show ya’ what you need to know. It’s really simple once you get the hang of it!” Mrs. Cake reassured him.
“Gods yield to thee for this opportunity, Goodwife Cake. Thou wouldst not believe the importance this opportunity holdeth to me.” Barrier bowed his head in thanks, vaguely registering that the mare wasn’t staring him in the eye.
“It’s no problem, hun’,” the mare reassured, walking past the unicorn and towards the kitchen, her tail flicking upward and just missing his muzzle and unfortunately giving the unprepared stallion a peek at what lay below. Just an accident, he mentally prayed.
“Alrighty, we’ll start with our most basic treat, cupcakes.” Barrier felt a shiver run up his spine followed by him subconsciously readying his horn. “Now what you do is preheat the oven to three-hundred and seventy-five degrees. While that’s heating up, you want to take one of these muffin trays and line it with these papers here,” the mare went through the motions with practiced movements.
“After that’s done, you take your mixing bowl and cream butter and sugar together. Then you add your eggs one at a time,” the mare carefully cracked an egg into the bowl and began to beat it into the mixture with a whisk, “now let that set for a moment…” Mrs. Cake kneeled over, her tail flicking out of the way once more, causing Barrier to avert his gaze. “And this is our honeypot,” she pulled a metal jar out from under the counter.
“It’s a special mixture we put into all of our sweets.” She sat it on the stove and flicked the burner on. “Now, you take a pinch of salt, some baking powder and some flour,” as the plump mare spoke she poured the ingredients into a separate bowl, “and mix those up,” a quick whisking later she combined the two bowls, “and then you mix them up and add them to the muffin-tray.”
She poured the mixture into the pan and turned to stare at the stallion with half-lidded eyes. “After that, you check the honeypot…” there was a slight purr in her tone, causing Barrier to shift uncomfortably, “you want the honey pot to boil over just a little bit,” she spoke, tone lowering just slightly only to be cut off by the sound of the door opening.
“Don’t go anywhere,” she smiled at the stallion, shifting her gaze towards his backside once more, “when I get back, I’ll show you how to properly cover a cake in cream,” the mare stated lustily as she turned towards the kitchen door, tail rising to give Barrier the full view, until she departed the kitchen.
…run like the north wind! Barrier’s mind screamed at him. Glancing around the kitchen, he noted a large window and began to make his way towards it, only for another voice to stop him, this one a stallion.
“You must be Mr. Barrier,” the lanky yellow stallion called out. “Pinkie Pie’s told me and my wife a lot about you…uh, is everything okay?”
Barrier glanced back at Mr. Cake, one-hoof out the window. With a nervous chuckle, Barrier climbed back inside. “My apologies, Sir Cake. I simply…required some air…” Barrier shifted nervously as his prospective employer’s eyes roved over him with the same hungry expression as his wife.
“I apologize if I offend thee with this news, Sir Cake, but I believe thy wife is a-trying to…” Barrier hesitated slightly, unsure if this would cause offense, “seduce me. She hath been very open about her desire…”
“Is it working?” Mr. Cake smiled at the stallion, head craning to the side to better see his flank.
The situation’s dire, a full retreat is needed…
Magic Barrier vanished in a pop of magic, leaving behind only the faint smell of ozone.
“Now then, where were we… Barrier?” Mrs. Cake asked as she trotted back into the kitchen, noting that only her husband remained in the room.
“Shoot, and he had the perfect flank…” the stallion observed with a sigh. “Well, maybe Crescent will take his place for the night…”
***
Barrier appeared in the library with a loud crack, followed by him landing painfully on one of the reading-tables.
“Who’s there?” a voice yelled from upstairs, followed by the sound of hoofsteps.
“‘Tis simply I, Twilight. There was a…” he thought for a moment, “false alarm, and instincts drove me to teleport to a location I know to be safe.”
“Is everything okay?’ Twilight asked, worry lacing her voice,
“I am fine…however…” Barrier bit his lip, “canst thou inform Miss Pie that I would prefer the party she keepeth a-going on about to be anywhere but Sugarcube Corner?”
“Uh…sure, but why?” Twilight furrowed her brows in thought.
“I don’t believe I need to state a reason. Now then, if thou wilt excuse me, I’m off to the spa for mine interview.” Barrier vanished with another pop of magic before he could be questioned further.
***
The spa was surprisingly simple; a counter, a number of cushions and chairs along with a solitary bench and the light smell of lilac. Resting in a pair of chairs behind the counter, two mares were softly conversing with each other, falling silent as the bell rang, signalling they had a guest. The pair of them turned to greet Barrier at the exact same time, smiles perching on each of their faces.
“You must be Magic Barrier,” a light cerulean pony with a pink mane and tail and a lotus-blossom on her flank smiled warmly.
“Miss Rarity told us you were coming,” a near palette-swap of the first pony finished.
“My name is Lotus,” the first pony started,
“And I’m Aloe,” the second pony finished…that was a trip. “and it’s a pleasure to meet you,” both ponies stated in unison.
“Hail and well met, Mistress Lotus, Mistress Aloe” Barrier kneeled and gave each mare a quick peck on the hoof, getting a giggle from both of them.
“Come right this way and we can start your interview.” Aloe motioned towards a door in the back of the room.
“Miss Rarity said you had experience as a masseuse?” Lotus asked, walking behind Barrier with her sister in front. As Barrier started to respond, her eyes drifted from the back of his head towards his flank and the mare smiled slightly before returning her gaze to the unicorn.
“I trow. During my time in the guard, 'twas not uncommon for us to massage our comrades’ backs, shoulders, and legs,” Barrier explained, eyes roaming over the plain beige walls of the hallway, noting the locations of each door. “A long day of strenuous physical activity would often causeth knots and strains. Some of us became quite skilled at massages after a time.” The trio arrived at the end of the hall where Lotus nosed one of the many doors open, revealing a baby-blue room with a massage table in the center and a number of cushions scattered throughout the room.
"Part of your interview will be to give one of us a short massage. We have to test your capabilities, yes? Now then, which of us would you prefer to...massage," Aloe almost purred towards the end, causing Barrier to turn around and face the pink mare.
The purr in her voice set off a string of alarms in his mind, all relating to an event with another mare he had met earlier in the day who had a near-identical purr in her tone. There is no way out of this, but which one of them shall you anger…?
“Uh…” Barrier hesitated, chuckling nervously; both mares tittered in response.
“Why don’t you handle this one, Lotus?” Aloe offered, much to the stallion’s relief. “I’ll observe.”
The cerulean mare nodded and gracefully climbed onto the massage table, her head resting gently in the hole, hooves tucked neatly under her. “Whenever you’re ready, Mr. Barrier.”
This is beginning to seem like one of those poorly scrawled erotic novels I would frequently find the cadets reading…
Taking a deep breath, Barrier reared up onto his hind legs and balanced himself on the edge of the table. With practiced movements - by guard standards, anyways - Barrier lightly trailed his hooves along her back, pressing occasionally and noting how the muscles reacted. With his cursory exploration complete, he carefully placed both hooves on her withers and lit his horn; all at once, two hooves and two small balls of pressure set to work on her back and sides, with extra emphasis on the areas that had tensed up earlier. Barrier mostly lost himself to the monotony of the exercise until a groan broke him out of his trance. Slowing his hooves slightly, he noticed Lotus had both eyes closed and her mouth slightly parted. Thinking nothing more of it, he set back to work, carefully making his way down her back, utilizing his entire forelegs, occasionally earning another groan of satisfaction from the blue mare. Only now did he notice that she had begun to pant slightly.
“Miss Lotus, art thou in good standings?” Barrier asked, removing his hooves and magic.
“I’m fine,” the mare gasped out, “you’re doing great, just keep going,”
In the back of his mind, he heard Aloe titter softly as he went back to work, horn flaring once more.
Rather than settling into the routine, Barrier sniffed the air as a new smell tickled his nose. What is it that is causing that strong fragrance? I pray this is the scent of flowers… he asked himself almost absentmindedly as he began work on her hips and the base of her tail, being careful not to overstep his bounds with her flanks and cutie marks. By now, her groans had turned into muted moans and it began to dawn on Barrier what the smell most likely was. Eyes widening slightly, Barrier removed his hooves and his horn died out. “Apologies, Miss Lotus, however my foreleg is still somewhat sore. The cast that had covered it for many a day had been removed just hours ago.” You are a terrible liar…
As his hooves left, the mare groaned out in dissatisfaction and propped herself up on the table. “That’s okay, Barrier, you did wonderfully.” Lotus glanced at Aloe who was snickering into a hoof, before her gaze focused back on Magic Barrier.
“I hope your hoof can hold out just a little bit longer. You’ve got one final test. We need to know that you’re capable of massaging a stallion with more bulk and muscle than my sister and I. Aloe, be a darling and go fetch Bulk Biceps would you? I’m afraid I need to…use the facilities.”
Aloe smiled knowingly and yelled out loudly, “Bulk, come into massage room number two!”
Barrier winced slightly as the mare raised her voice and turned to watch Lotus walk awkwardly out of the room. As she left he found his eyes lingering on her tail. Had her tail always been that dark?
“Yeah...?” a deep, masculine voice replied.
Barrier’s eyes turned as another pony replaced Lotus in the room. Zacherel, give me strength… Barrier’s eyes widened as the massive pegasus walked in and joined them. Barrier was a big stallion, near-giant by unicorn standards, outclassed by the princesses and the occasional earth-pony, but Bulk Biceps was big.
“Would you be a dear and lie down on the table? We’re conducting an interview.”
Bulk Biceps nodded and did as asked, the table creaking slightly under his bulk.
“Alright Mr. Barrier, whenever you’re ready…” Aloe grinned lasciviously at the black stallion, eyes going half-lidded.
I believe that I shall partake in some powerful spirits after this concludes… Barrier thought as his hooves and magic once more got to work, applying significantly more pressure to the living muscle.
***
“Oh…” Bulk groaned out after a solid ten minutes of massage, “he’s good. You and Lotus are great, but he can really put some pressure on some spots.”
The only good thing to come out of this, Barrier reasoned, was that before where his magic had to keep pressure on Lotus as well as subdue his ‘inner barrier’, he had no such issue with Bulk Biceps. Almost immediately after the first groan, he had one less thing to worry about.
As they approached the fifteen minute mark, Bulk smiled slightly. “Go for the flanks.”
Glancing uncertainly at Aloe and back to Bulk, Barrier inwardly sighed and shifted his magic lower. As soon as he reached the area in question, a wet sound reached his ears; rather akin to a bottle of lotion squirting its contents. Almost dreading what he would find, Barrier’s backed up slightly, his gaze falling under the table.
“I do not believe this is the proper career for me, Mistress Aloe…”