//------------------------------// // 10 - Sparing // Story: A Penny for your thought // by Damaged //------------------------------// As we entered the main area of the spa two mares dashed in and shooed us toward lounges. "Lets get you settled and get those hooves looked at." It was just as I was turned around to get up on the lounge that I felt a slight draft. Divested of saddlebags and shawl in short order there was a collective gasp. "You don't have your cutie mark yet!" Rarity had been the first to find voice and the scandal in her voice made me shrink a little. It was Aloe that gave the white unicorn a tempering look as she eased me back and to lay down. "Guess you want the story?" It took a few deep breaths to get to it but finally I was ready to begin, eager faces, some already covered with an exfoliating pack, gazed on. "Well, it all started when a good friend of mine went missing. We had been, well, not close as many would think it, but we were practically brot… sisters." I managed the save without too much trouble. "Life became a whole lot less without my friend to share it with and I found myself barely half a pony." There were some nods to this, friendship these ponies knew. "When at last I was about as low as I thought I could get, a strange thing came to me, asking where I wanted to go." "What was it?" Twilight, ever curious, couldn't keep quiet, getting a few 'shhhs'. I lifted a hoof to ward back the sounds. "I did exactly what I wanted, I told it I wanted to be with my friend again." The mares were eating this up, a story about friendship lost? It was bread and butter to them. "I was also asked if I wanted to bring something with me and, like a filly, I asked for a simple thing. Apparently it was because of that I wasn't immediately rushed to my friend." Twilight's wings ruffled in excitement, thankfully one of the spa ponies had just put a face-pack on her and she couldn't talk for fear of wearing it in places other than her face. She knew though, I could tell, maybe she had done work with other ponies… humans, affected? "There was a complication, you see I was not well and two great and clever ponies came to see me, to work out how to help me feel better. Both eventually understood the problem but only one could see a way to help me." Twilight was practically vibrating like an excited Pinkie now. She knew. "It was Princesses Celestia and Luna who were able to help me, in the end." "Byron!?!" Facial mask and two circles of zucchini went flying, thankfully landing clear of anypony. I flashed a grin to the alicorn. "Oh, that explains your flank!" Any hope the spa ponies had of keeping Twilight Sparkle from rushing over to me were lost as, wings flared, she teleported right beside me. "How are you? Does it still hurt? Did it work? Who was your friend?" A notebook and pencil appeared from somewhere, blinking much like the princess had. "If I promise to answer the other questions later, can I just give you the last one for now?" My offering got an eager nod as it seemed like the cutest earth ponies you ever saw guided Twilight, sans notebook, back to her couch. "Okay, so. Here I was, lost in Canterlot, not even sure if my friend was there or if something strange had happened… well, something strange had happened, but that is part and parcel of things." Stick reached a hoof over, while another was getting a gentle filing, rubbing my shoulder with it and smiling. "So, I didn't want to just survive, I needed to really live. I owed it to Celestia and Luna at least." This got a nod from everypony there. "So I started repairing an old shop, doing some work on the side to get food. I made some little trinkets from broken stones only to have an amazing mare walk in," Rarity knew this was her part, grinning and fluffing herself a little, "and offered me a job, she needed a whole lot of those little trinkets." "I thought it would take you a month, darling." I nodded. "Me too! But then a pony came to me, asking if they could work for food too." My leg reached out so that Stick and I were just brushing hooves. "The similarity to my earlier position was not lost and so I took a chance, I gained a new friend." There was a chorus of 'awws', which I let play out almost to their end before continuing. "Now, picture us, standing on the train platform, waiting nervously to begin our trip to here when a young-looking unicorn stallion and a lunar pegasus introduced themselves." "Was she fast?" Rainbow Dash's question got a round of giggles, they all knew their friend well. "She was fast." I nodded only to get one of my back-hooves lifted and a scratchy file start to work around the edge. "But I don't think I know anypony as fast as you, Rainbow Dash." That got a laugh and a pose from the pegasus in question. "So, we chatted and it turned out this little unicorn was just the stallion that Celestia herself had put in charge of taking care of humans." "Like Jake?" Dash cut in again, the only human she knew much about coming to mind. "I think ah know where this is goin'," Applejack said under her breath. I nodded to her. "Yeah, I was a human before. I really do owe Celestia and Luna my life. But I digress. That little unicorn turned out to be my friend, also once a human!" "I knew it!" Dash and Pinkie exclaimed together, giving a cute hoof-clop. It was Fluttershy that tilted her head, one wing spread wide to her side with a mare carefully picking through it. "But you said you were sisters, wasn't he was a stallion?" "Yeah I was… I was trying to make it easier to think about but-" I was trying to explain it as easily as I could but Twilight cut in. "She was a male human." Her wings flew up in the air, the special tail-wash she had just gotten soaked in suddenly flew in a high arc. "It makes sense but, why did Princess Celestia and Princess Luna make you into a mare?" This was another question and although I had told her I would answer questions later, I wanted to. "My… aura thingy-" "Aetheric Net." Twilight cut in helpfully. "Yeah, that. I am a little different to most ponies. Some like stallions, some mares. Some feel they are stallions, others mares." I gave a sigh as I relaxed, telling one of my deepest secrets to these mares felt a little liberating. "I just don't. It isn't that I don't like ponies, but I like them for being who they are, not what they are." A few confused looks changed as I explained, most of the ponies looking thoughtful by the end. Stick's hoof left mine as the mare had to surrender it to be worked on. Myself, I got a smiling mare that looked almost the twin of Aloe smearing green goop onto my face! "Hold still." Her words were soft but I followed them as a command. Something had caught my nose, however. The mask smelled great! While she turned to fetch some zucchini circles I darted my tongue up. It was delicious! "No no, no eating that dear, it isn't done." The mare was smiling as she applied a little more and gave a gesture. A flick of her hooves had the circles landing over my eyes and I swear, at the same time, something new was pressed to my lips. I opened them, letting somepony feed me the most divinely tasting little crackers I have ever tasted. "Mmmmsgood." My murmur got a giggle from somepony. "Well." Rarity had taken stock of the story and clearly had more plans. "With our new friends in good care, I think we need to discuss something. The way we acted, when poor Stick came out, is likely to be repeated if not in the open then behind closed doors. This won't do." There were murmurs from other ponies. I couldn't see and it was maddening, although my ears were swiveling like mad trying to pick up what was going on. "We could throw them a party!" I am not sure how I sensed the confetti, but it certainly was raining down somewhere in the room. "What about if'n we have a shin-dig, get awl the nearby Apples together, invite tha whole town." "Or a race!" "We could hold a tea party. In the castle." The softest voice was hard to focus on and I almost lost Fluttershy among the others. "Actually, Fluttershy, that sounds like an excellent idea." Twilight's voice faded up and down and I had a sense she was probably getting a massage. "I was thinking a grander plan that that darling. You know I now have a boutique in Canterlot." There were a few noises of assent from the mares present. "Well, with needing to make so many dresses, for so many different ponies, Stick has given me a great idea." I tried to cut in and say something, but every time my mouth opened a gentle hoof would press another delightful cracker in and I was stuck chewing. A blush rose under the mask, that no one would see. "Well it would be wonderful if I could have the pony who needs the dress made to stand around, letting me get the fit just perfect." I tried to keep track of Rarity's plan. "But nopony would pay me to then stand around and do that. So maybe I need to pay them?" Something was happening, there were giggles from the mares. "Imagine it, making a dress for Pinky, or Rainbow Dash. Or even making a suit for that darling little unicorn from the station." Rarity's voice was rising through most of the wind up but now it was quiet. "Or even a night-gown for Luna." There was only gasps from the other ponies present. I had had enough and reached up to lift one of the circles with a hoof. There was a flash of green fire consuming Luna as she sat just to my side. Stick was grinning as she carefully lifted another little cracker, popping it in my open mouth. "Yes, I think I might need to employ a changeling or two." Rarity's last comment sparked more conversation between the six, but I was lost with a happy giggle as, no sooner was my mouth empty than another treat came up. A pony tried to nudge the circle of zucchini back over my eye but I smiled and shook my head. "Having some changelings here would mean you need to feed them, find ponies willing to let themselves be fed." Stick had gained some new resolve, explaining to Rarity the needs of her kind. "Wouldn't need to be many, three to four ponies per changeling, maybe a fifth if you are pushing them to change often. Then there would be no harm to anypony involved." Rarity beamed at this. "Well, if I start with one new employee, would you girls be willing to help?" She gazed around the room at the other Elements. Rainbow Dash looked a little sullen about it, Fluttershy too. "Oh, oh! That sounds like fun… wait, have you been eating me?" How is it one pink pony could always say things that sounded so… dirty. Stick blushed and nodded. "Well I didn't feel a thing, how do I… err, taste?" The blush increased. "Sweet, really sweet. You love your friends a lot, or everypony, I can't tell which." Stick shuffled a hoof. "If I was stuck with only Penny and you, Pinkie, I could probably survive without shifting or using my horn." "Well y'all count me in, ah don't see a problem with it, if'n it don't hurt nopony." "Purely in the interests of science, I would love to investigate this and, if we had a changeling living here, could they spot other changelings?" Twilight was engaged, throwing her not inconsiderable intellect to the idea. "Well, maybe. Most drones can tell when the pony they are feeding on is being fed on by others. I am sorry if I am not as learned on this as you would think. Penny was the first actual pony I fed on, while I was part of Chrysalis' hive we only used pods to feed, and you don't get a good taste from those." It was then Aloe seemed to appear by magic. "You will excuse me, mares and gentledragon, it is time to soak those muscles." Her hoof gestured to big hot tub. "Oh this will be wonderful darlings, you will see." Rarity rose and led the way to the big tub. Slipping into the water, the feeling of weightlessness, was so very soothing. It was warm to the upper edge of comfortable and there were definitely minerals that were soaking our pores. "Soo good." Stick's eyes closed as she buzzed her wings a little in the water. "Hold a sec, Stick." My brain was spinning with the words she had used. "You said I was the first you fed from, did you notice someone else feeding from me?" Stick shook her head. "Just a thing. Since I have been careful in feeding, Queen Fast let me drink lightly of ponies that came in to pay for work done, she seems to prefer that to using the pods." Stick blushed a little, leaning back and pressing into my side. The other ponies in the room were listening with much interest. "If another would feed from them at the same time, I needed to slow down. The last thing the Queen needs is a pony getting injured at the hive." Laying there, Stick pressed to me, I could feel the stress of recent encounters fading. "What, huh?" I splashed a little as I roused. Stick was just in front of me a wide grin on her snout. Apparently I had dozed off. "The others had to leave a little early, something about an emergency or… I don't know. Does this place really actually get exciting?" "Oh, you have no idea Stick." I floated down a little, dunking my whole mane underwater and blowing bubbles out of my mouth.