Bright and Early
"What a glorious morning. Get it? Like morning glory! It's a sex thing!"
Integrals
***
Tragic is the story of the rooster. It didn't ask for its job. It was blind misfortune that granted it its ability to wake before the sun without fail. Those around it simply decided for it. "You'll be awake, right? Wake me up too, will you?"
But there's a difference between "awake" and "ready to start the day". The rooster cannot simply bounce off of its bed as though the previous night's sleep was a trampoline. No no no. It has to will itself out of bed, brush its beak under the harsh light of the bathroom, and sit down to a cold and bland bowl of cereal without any company with which to share its misery. Only then does it find a nice vantage point and stare blankly at the horizon awaiting the sun's irregular arrival.
There it waits. Pondering its lot in life. What does it gain from this service? What is its payment for this opening shift of rural ponies' lives? Food? Lodging? No, that comes from its day job. This is a favor. Passed down from its ancestors who presumably inherited it from theirs. Perhaps somewhere down the line, there existed a primordial rooster who was happy to aid its fellow animals in not sleeping the day away. But that one had retired long ago.
There it was. Just above the trees. The first rays of sunshine so many poets love to admire. Of course they would. Seeing that was probably all they'd have to do that day. They'd scribble down some verse and go right back to their rest. Bastards.
There's one small consolation to all this. One those ponies still hadn't figured out. The rooster's choice of words every morning is not random. It's not merely the product of a species that cared little about developing language. In fact, chicken's have a very robust structure in the "bok bok"s those ponies like to mimic so poorly. The rooster's morning cry is chosen very deliberately. It's the first thing many hear as they wake.
I won't spoil it for you, but "cockadoodledoo" doesn't exactly mean "good morning".
...
AJ's eyes fluttered open at the sound of the local rooster. The morning's first rays of sunlight began to illuminate his bedroom, adding bits of yellow and orange to the blue and gray shadows of the night. Life was flowing back into Equestria for the day.
But not into AJ. Despite having risen quickly and perkily to the day's tasks countless times, he desired nothing more than to remain laying there.
Actually, it's my first morning, he thought. Y'know what? Ah don't care. Ah lived those years too, even if it wasn't really me.
The stallion rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling as one does when not quite awake.
Makin a real good impression here, sleepin' late.
Indeed. A whole five minutes. At that point, he might as well have gone back to sleep until tomorrow.
Alright. Come on. Up and at 'em.
With all the energy of a tranquilized sloth, AJ rolled back onto his stomach.
Only to find Applejack's wry smile greeting him instead of his pillow.
"Mornin' Loverboy," she teased. "'Bout ready to get up?"
The stallion blinked and took a closer look at his surroundings. He lay beneath an apple-emblazoned comforter in a well decorated bedroom. He could see a couple blue ribbons hung upon the walls along with a framed portrait of who he recognized as the extended apple family.
"This ain't the guest room," he so astutely observed.
Applejack nodded in agreement. "Sure ain't. As a matter of fact, it looks a lot like mah room. How 'bout that?"
"How'd I get here?"
One of the mare's eyebrows climbed higher on her forehead. "I reckon you walked, sugar cube. Unless you've learned how to fly since yesterday-"
"That ain't what I meant," he grunted, rolling off of his hostess. "I don't remember coming here."
"You gonna tell me you didn't stumble on in here and plop down next to me in the middle of the night?"
AJ scowled, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "I'm sayin' I don't remember doin' that."
"Guess that's a relief," Applejack said, not seeming too nervous to begin with. "So instead of invitin' some kinda predator into mah home, I invited a sleepwalkin' snuggler!"
The mare chuckled to herself while her companion still covered his eyes.
"I'm makin' a great impression, ain't I?"
"Why are ya so broken up 'bout this? Nothin' happened."
"'cause you ain't supposed to snuggle somepony without askin'! It's rude!"
She only rolled her eyes and moved to her dresser to tie up her ponytail. Although still reeling from embarrassment, AJ couldn't help but sneak a few peeks at her freed mane before she so cruelly confined it to those ties.
Who am I kiddin'? 's nice either way.
"Say, did ya have any more dreams last night?" she asked, interrupting his ogling. "I mean, besides climbin' in bed with me."
"I said I was sorry!"
"Jus' messin with ya, sugar cube. Now come on an' get up. Ya don't wanna be last in line for the bathroom."
The stallion emerged from the mess of blankets to follow his hostess into the hall.
"I promise it won't happen again, Applejack."
"Still with this? It's okay partner. Jus' ask next time."
"Okay," he mumbled, head still hanging slightly. "Wait. 'Next time'? Whaddya mean by-"
The bathroom door closed in his face before he could finish. The subsequent sound of running water would have washed out any further inquiry.
So there AJ sat, dazed and speechless in the Apple House's narrow halls while the other Apple's rose as well. Soon enough, a yawning mass of red hair and muscle plodded from his own bedroom into the queue.
"G' mornin'" Big Mac droned with even less energy than usual.
AJ acknowledged him with a nod but kept his eyes on the door.
"Yeah. I guess it was, huh?"
...
Not good. Not good. Not good at all.
Rarity held the magazine to her nose as though she could read at a time like this. It's fine. The spa never had any worthwhile reading material in the first place. And that was when it was new. Those rags must have been months old at this point. Surely one of those sisters could spare a trip to a newsstand for something written within the month, right?
But why would they bother? One wasn't expected to wait for long, anyhow. This place ran like clockwork even when it was busy. Yet here the white unicorn sat in the empty waiting room beside her, well...
Oh what even are we? Are we friends? Are we even friends? I had one, maybe two meaningful conversations with the stallion before he sequestered himself in my sewing room for the night.
The stallion sitting by her seemed a bit less perturbed by their predicament, his face buried in his magazine much like hers moments ago. Although, she suspected he was actually reading the thing. It was news to him, after all. With no memories, anything would be news.
There's that to worry about as well. Is he going to pass out on me? Oh, where in Equestria is Fluttershy!? The one time I show up promptly to our gathering, she decides to sleep in.
Rarity glanced out the bay window that let all that morning sunlight into the lobby. No sign of two shy yellow pegasi.
Who am I trying to fool? She must be having even more trouble than I am.
...
The alarm clock never had to work quite this hard before. Normally, it would scarcely take a single ring to send that little pegasus flying out of her bed in shock. But now? She put it on snooze. Snooze! What kind of supernatural calm could have taken her last night that she would not only ignore the loud ringing, but invite it back again in five to ten minutes?
But the alarm clock had no eyes to see its owner. It only had legs by extension when that little rabbit moved it from the bedroom to the living room floor where it would be heard. Such a shame. It was missing such a cute sight.
What appeared to be a single ball of pink and yellow fur under a blanket was in fact two balls of pink and yellow. Their eyes remained closed but their occasional fidgeting suggested that they were no longer asleep.
Fluttershy hugged her companion's shoulder, never going long without giving it a nuzzle. Butterscotch responded by doing the same to her ear.
Bliss wouldn't last forever if the alarm had anything to say about it. Shrill ringing disturbed the snoozing angels, their eyes fluttering open fully this time.
"Good morning," they said softly in unison, followed by a light giggle.
"Did you sleep well?" Butterscotch asked.
Fluttershy hummed an affirmative hum and reached for the clock, turning the alarm off this time. She propped herself up on her side to yawn only to return to the cuddle immediately.
"Too well," she added. "I don't want to get up."
"What do you need? I can do it."
"Thank you, but I don't need anything. My spa day with Rarity is today, is all. I'll need to leave soon."
"Today?"
"Mhm."
Again, the mare made no move to act on those plans. Butterscotch shifted away from her, thinking he might be blocking her somehow. However, she closed the gap as soon as he made it.
"You'll come with us, right?" she asked. "I'm sure Elusive will be there too. You don't need to, uh, get your hooves polished or anything but-"
"I'd love to!" the stallion shouted relative to his normal whisper. "Oh, um, I mean I'd love to."
"Great! We can go get these twigs out of our manes."
"So that's what this is," he giggled, nuzzling a small stick out of the mare's mane. "Sounds like fun."
Fluttershy tossed the dislodged twig into her extinguished fireplace and looked to the stallion next to her. He stared contentedly at nothing in particular until he noticed her, at which point he stared contentedly at her. Not the juvenile "quick glance and pretend I'm just looking around" thing she'd used in the past. Just a normal, friendly look at one another.
"You know," she began, not hesitant but rather still finding the words. "I-uh- Rarity and I don't normally go to the spa today."
Butterscotch responded with a noncommittal "Oh."
"I asked her yesterday, before all of this," she gestured at the two of them, "if we could change it to today."
The stallion looked at her with confusion. "You mean you knew we'd be running around in the woods?"
"W-what?"
"How did you know?"
"I didn't!" she laughed. "Pinkie could do that. No, I was worried about meeting you and the others."
"Oh," he said again.
Not really much to say in response to that. I mean, what can you say? "Sorry you thought I'd be an asshole"? But Butterscotch wasn't the type to be so crass.
"Sorry," he added in the following silence.
"No no no. It's not you. I've never been good at, you know, meeting ponies."
"But you were so nice to me yesterday. And all those other girls are your friends, right?"
"I didn't need to meet all of them at once though. Rainbow Dash came to me first and I met everypony else later. Usually with her." Fluttershy laid her head back on the stallion's shoulder. "But five new ponies in a day?"
"I think I would be panicking," Butterscotch admitted. "I think I did."
"So I thought we'd need help from Rarity or anypony, really. But you're not scary at all."
The pink-maned, butter-yellow, lanky pegasus couldn't help but nod in agreement. "I don't think you're scary either."
They burst into giggles again before settling back into their cuddle. But not too settled. Although off, Fluttershy's alarm clocked still emitted its ticks and tocks to remind her of the passage of time.
"Should we get up?" Butterscotch asked reluctantly.
Fluttershy eyed the timepiece and considered her options. Leave the warm, cozy cuddle to go let somepony massage her too hard or be late for the spa day to which Rarity would probably be late as well?
"Five more minutes."
...
"Honestly, I don't know what's keeping them."
Rarity huffed and glared at the clock above the receptionist's window. Having abandoned worrying about her future and that awful magazine, the unicorn had little more to do than sit pretty and pouty. And nopony sat prettier than her.
"Perhaps they overslept," offered Elusive. "It's not that late, is it?"
Oh, are we talking now? the mare thought, sending a sideways glance to her companion. A shoddy attempt at journalism still occupied his attention, so Rarity's not-so-subtle hints at her mood went unnoticed.
"Not quite," she admitted reluctantly. In truth, it was only a few minutes past the agreed upon time. Was this how Fluttershy felt all those times she'd arrived early? "It's just so unlike her. I hope nothing happened to them last night."
"What do you mean?" Elusive inquired. "I was under the impression that we all just went home."
"If it were anypony else, I wouldn't be worried. But I know Fluttershy." She paused and pursed her lips. "You would too if you let me talk you through some memories."
Elusive paused his reading, but had yet to look up. "I'll make time for it soon."
Rarity rolled her eyes. "Anyway, between the shock of meeting you stallions and last night's storm, she might be too frightened to leave her cottage. That's why we're here today, you know."
For whatever reason, that seemed to snap the stallion out of his reading. "For them?" he asked, turning to look at his companion.
Only to see the well-styled back of her mane. She'd returned to clock-watching.
"Yes. Fluttershy told me she was nervous about, well, everything yesterday. So I moved our spa day so I could talk her through any panic attacks she may be having."
"That was nice of you."
"It's what friends do, darling. Speaking of which, I wouldn't be surprised if that Butterscotch was having similar troubles. So I was thinking we could split up at some point in the treatment- perhaps you two could decline a hooficure- to give us each some time alone."
"Divide and conquer," Elusive mused. "Or perhaps reassure. Well, I would like to give my hooves some attention, but no price is too great for friendship."
"That's the idea here in Ponyville. Although," Rarity sighed. "I can't imagine a short talk will so solve anything. We may need to- huh?"
A white hoof tapped her shoulder to halt her monologue. She turned to see Elusive's face finally free of that damned magazine and smiling at something.
"Sorry to interrupt, but that happy chatting couple outside wouldn't happen to be them, would it?"
Rarity followed her clone's other hoof to the bay window outside, where her shy friend Fluttershy was walking, talking, and laughing with the stallion she'd met the previous afternoon.
Said stallion pushed open the spa's doorway and held it for his companion. In walked Fluttershy accompanied by the bell attached to the doorway.
"Well that was easy," Elusive remarked under his breath. He stood up, grinned, and strutted over to greet the rest of their party.
Rarity could only watch in awe as her old friend conducted herself with something akin to confidence of all things. Maybe comfort would be a better term. In any case, it was something Rarity decidedly lacked at that moment.
"Good morning!" came Fluttershy's greeting with a glowing smile.
Her lookalike filed in beside her. Directly beside her. "I hope you weren't waiting long."
Elusive waved a hoof dismissively. "Not at all. I had to catch up on some current events anyhow."
"Oh my," the pegasus mare said, eyeing the magazines. "You didn't take those too seriously did you?"
The unicorn stallion's visage faltered for the briefest moment. "Er-no. Of course not. I can recognize sensationalism when I see it."
"That's good. We wouldn't want you learning anything wrong if you haven't gotten any memories back yet."
"Yes. Well, I'd meant to get to that last night but I didn't sleep well with the storm going on anyhow."
Both pegasi tilted their heads in confustion. "Storm?" They asked in unison.
Rarity's eyes nearly popped out of her head. What in heaven's name do you mean 'Storm?' What were you two doing that could have possibly distracted you from all that?
Those thoughts would have to remain thoughts. As much as she would have liked to act shocked, this was a quiet establishment.
"In any case," the unicorn mare said, rising to her hooves. "I'm glad you two could make it. Now, what say we show our new friends around our favorite spot in town?"
...
The spa party was spared a wait for the sauna, much to Rarity's surprise. This was one of the few days of the week when she didn't have some treatment or other. She'd merely assumed they would pull in business today as well.
The pleasantly scorching environment didn't lend itself well to conversation. Just as well. Rarity hadn't a clue what she might say to the pegasus duo or her own counterpart for that matter. So she settled for observing. Fluttershy and Butterscotch sat beside one another, backs against the wooden wall and clad in white robes. If either one was feeling uncomfortable or uneasy, they weren't showing it.
Then there was Rarity's own counterpart sitting catercorner to everypony else. He once again hid his face from her, this time with a towel draped over his eyes. She would have thought he was asleep if she didn't know herself better. One had to be careful of getting too much steam.
And that leaves me, the pony that manages to be a nervous wreck on a spa day with her friends. Rarity glanced at her companions once again. First the pegasi, then her fellow unicorn. Why haven't we hit it off that well? How come Fluttershy always gets to- no! Stop that, Rarity! We've been over this. Green isn't your color. Be happy for her.
And she was, truly. That is, if she was as happy as she seemed with her situation.
I wonder if we should still split up to talk. If something was indeed wrong, Fluttershy is the type to hide it for fear of inconveniencing us.
A knock drew the mare out of her rumination. Had it been that long already?
The group lethargically strolled out of the sauna in a cloud of steam, breathing in the relatively cool air outside.
"That was nice," Butterscotch remarked, looking like he was half asleep. "What do we do next?"
"We usually go for face masks and mud baths now," Fluttershy answered. "Would you like to do that?"
"I would lo-"
"I'm afraid Butterscotch and I will have to decline," Elusive answered for them both. "We'll head for the massage tables and meet you at the tub. Does that sound good to you?"
He waited for the pegasi's stuttered beginnings of replies before rushing away with his fellow stallion in tow.
Oh, Rarity thought, somewhat dazed from the abrupt exit of their companions. Well that was effective, I suppose.
The pegasus mare wasn't so understanding, instead pouting at their escape. "Why did he do that," she asked.
The unicorn didn't anticipate her friend questioning the split the previous morning. "Uh- well. Er, perhaps Elusive needed a moment to confide in somepony going through the same ordeal. I don't know about Butterscotch, but Elusive was having somewhat of a hard time settling in yesterday."
Fluttershy traded her pout for sympathy. "Oh no. I didn't think he'd be having trouble. I hope he figures everything out."
"Me too, darling," Rarity responded, tugging at the neck of her robe. "Me too."
...
"You've got to help me, man!"
"Um. 'Man'?"
Immediately upon leaving the mares' sights, Elusive thrust Butterscotch to the wall and began pleading in the loudest whisper Butterscotch had ever heard.
"I'm at wit's end!" the unicorn continued. He whipped his head about as though he were being pursued in the empty hallway, all the while violating Butterscotch's prized personal space.
The pegasus calmly removed the hooves that pinned to the wall, sending a distraught Elusive into a pacing fit.
"Please settle down," Butterscotch asked in his 'disarm a wild animal' voice. "What's wrong?"
"What's wrong? What's wrong?! It's my damned luck that's wrong! Putting me in her hooves!"
"Rarity? You don't like her?"
Elusive's pacing grew faster. "What kind of sick, twisted fate delivers a stallion to a bloody goddess and deprives him of his ability to interact with her! Like her?! I am enamored! Stricken! Enraptured! And her work! Her beautiful work! I wept as soon as I left her sight! What service do you give to a master artisan?"
Butterscotch did his best to pick apart his friend's purple prose but found the words without a serious conflict. Certainly nothing that would elicit this type of reaction.
"She all but delivered me from nonexistence and offered me a place in her home," Elusive carried on. A noticeable divot had formed beneath his hooves. "What can one say to that? 'Thank you'?"
"I think that happened to all of us," Butterscotch responded weakly.
The purple-maned, verbose bundle of nerves paused in its efforts to dig through the spa's foundation. "It has? Goodness, man! Why didn't you say so earlier?!"
"I still don't know what 'man' means."
"How did you do it then?"
"Do what?"
"Win your lady's heart! What was it? Gifts? A poem?"
"I didn't 'win her' anything. I, uh, made dinner is all."
Elusive's gaze into his friend's eyes shifted about a thousand yards back. "Dinner...Goodness it's so obvious! It would have been so simple! Oh, but it's too late now."
A less kind pony may have resorted to sarcasm in response to such melodrama. However, thanks to his boundless patience, Butterscotch still managed a genuine response. "Why?"
"Well it's no longer impressive! Surely she must be upset with me after failing to take initiative. Or perhaps I haven't even earned her attention yet." He stroked his chin and resumed pacing once more.
"Why do you need to impress her?"
"Because as far as she knows, I'm a deadbeat with nothing to offer."
"You're a copy of her."
"And what if I'm a bad one? No. I need something better. A grand gesture of my passion! But what?"
Butterscotch feared the rut beneath the other stallion's hooves would soon meet the foundation. That, and it would appear suspicious if they loitered in the halls of the spa instead of receiving treatment.
"Um, can we think about that while we do, you know, spa things."
"Hm? Oh. But of course." Elusive climbed out of his hole and followed their initial course to the massage room. "That is the purpose of this outing, isn't it? Speaking of, how has your time with Fluttershy been?"
A wide, blissful smile grew upon the yellow pegasus's face at the thought of her. He took a deep breath, readying a deluge of presumably positive words.
...
"He's wonderful! Just wonderful!"
That appeared to be the consensus. After Rarity's inquiry, Fluttershy suddenly found her voice along with the voices of at least twenty other ponies. The events of the previous night flowed out of her unimpeded by the green goop being slathered on their faces.
There may have been some embellishing. Small stuff, though. I mean, Butterscotch didn't exactly pacify a pack of wild beasts with his voice alone. But he definitely would have!
"He's so kind and gentle and- and just..." the pegasus mare trailed off, hugging her hooves to her chest.
Rarity removed one of the cucumber slices on her eyes to stare at her friend in disbelief. She was swooning! Fluttershy was unabashedly swooning in front of all three ponies in the room!
Okay, maybe that part is fine. But still!
"But I've been talking this whole time," Fluttershy said, releasing her tight hug on her chest. "How are you? How did yesterday go for you?"
Abysmally.
"Just fine," Rarity lied. "We got back to the boutique, I gave him the tour, and then he got to work on his wardrobe."
"Oh! What is he making? How does it look?"
"I wish I knew, darling. He's hidden any and all of his work from me. After he locked himself in my sewing room, I didn't see him again until this morning."
"He's probably just having a hard time adjusting."
"Butterscotch seemed to be doing fine. And, no offense dear, but I think you and him are a bit more timid than myself and Elusive."
"You never know. If it hadn't been for the cub in the forest, last night might not have gone so well. Elusive probably just needs a distraction from his, er..."
Rarity shook her hooves in front of her as though either of them could see through the cucumbers on their eyes. "It's not important right now. Nothing I can't handle. So what are your plans for the rest of the day?"
"Well, I guess we could go to town hall and see if Butterscotch can work with me. That will take care of money and, well, everything I guess."
Fluttershy frowned. Surely there was some other pressing concern.
"That's a good idea," the unicorn said, suddenly pensive. "I wonder if Elusive still wants to work with me."
"Why wouldn't he? He obviously likes making clothes."
"I suppose you're right about that," she lied convincingly.
It's the "with me" part I'm unsure of.
...
Butterscotch had begun to question why he'd come to the spa. The sauna was fine and so was the company, but then most of the company went away. Next he'd been subject to a stranger's hoof on his back at which point he'd abstained entirely from the massage only to watch his companion get his back assaulted. A quick shampooing later, he was settling into the hot tub having skipped nearly everything they had to offer here. His experiences seemed to amount to an expensive public shower, all things considered.
I mean, it was still a nice shower.
Conversation had died down after he and Elusive shared how their night had gone. That was, after all, all they had to share.
"Oh, I almost forgot," Butterscotch said, clapping his hooves.
"Hm?" his friend acknowledged him without opening his eyes.
"Have you had any of those, um, visions we're supposed to get?"
"I hardly understood what that mare was talking about. What's her name? Twilight?" He looked at Butterscotch expectantly. "It's probably Twilight. In any case, I haven't experienced those "visions" either."
"I'm just worried about getting them at a bad time. Rainbow Blitz said we'd get headaches and pass out."
"Take what that stallion says with a grain of salt, Butterscotch."
"You don't think we can trust him?"
"It's not that we shouldn't trust him, per se. He just seems like the mischievous type."
The pegasus nodded thoughtfully. "I had the same impression. But how? Sure he woke us up a little, um, loudly. But I wouldn't be able to tell based on that alone."
"Perhaps that's how these "visions" work. I feel as though I have vague impressions of most of those ponies we met yesterday."
"Could it just be intuition? It would be silly to warn us of passing out if all we'll get is a first impression."
"Who knows? For now, I'm content to take whatever memories come to mind, vague or otherwise. In fact, I already feel comfortable calling you my friend." Elusive smiled across the hot tub.
Butterscotch smiled back. "Me too."
They didn't hug, of course. Fragile masculinity would see to that. Also wet fur on wet fur is gross unless you're real friendly with somepony.
"Hello?" came a voice outside of the hot tub. The stallions turned to the sound to see Fluttershy approaching donning her robe and a towel wrapped on her head. "Oh good. You're already here."
"Yes," the unicorn admitted. "Our treatment was a tad abbreviated."
"But I think this is the best part anyway," Butterscotch added.
Fluttershy shed her robe and slipped into the water next to her clone.
"Ah," she sighed. "I do too."
Elusive smirked at the couple subtly shifting themselves until they were nearly on top of one another. "So what brings you here so early?" he said.
"I, um, don't usually like the massages here. Usually I wait with Rarity, but I assumed you two would be here so I skipped on ahead."
"That sounds familiar. Doesn't it, Butterscotch?"
The pegasus stallion shrugged. "I guess we share a lot with them."
Fluttershy glanced at her companions' smiles happily. Elusive is adjusting just fine, she thought. They both are.
"Well speaking of skipping," Elusive sighed while rising out of the tub. "I'm afraid I'll have to skip out on you two."
The pegasi's heads tilted in identical expressions of disappointment.
"But Rarity isn't even here yet," they protested.
"And I'm terribly sorry to miss her, but I must get to work. Tell Rarity that I apologize. Have a nice day, you two."
And with that, the unicorn draped a towel over his back and left the yellow duo to themselves.
Almost.
"One more thing," Elusive called, poking his head back through the doorway. "Do keep that conversation of ours between us, won't you?"
He then left for real, not waiting for an answer.
Fluttershy cast a curious gaze up at her clone's face. "What did he mean by that?"
"I-I'm not allowed to tell you. I think."
"Oh. Right."
The bubbles streaming of the sides of the tub were the only sound while the duo settled further into a cuddle, thinking of a way to discuss the conversation without betraying their friend.
It wasn't a Pinky promise, but they don't even know what that is, Fluttershy thought. Does that mean it's just as serious?
"Did Rarity say anything about Elusive?" her clone asked. "How he was acting?"
"Just that he was having trouble adjusting. She said he was working all night and wouldn't let her see what he'd made. I don't think they've talked much yet."
Butterscotch brought a hoof to his chin "Hm."
"Is something wrong?"
"Maybe? Elusive said he'd do something about his 'problem'-if you can call it that- but..."
Fluttershy opened her mouth to ask more, but secrecy killed the words in her throat. "Do you think they'll work it out, whatever it is?" she asked instead, choosing the vaguest terms possible.
Butterscotch scowled. "They'll have to if I'm not allowed to talk about it."
The mare brought her hooves to her face to fiddle with her mane, only to remember her mane was imprisoned in the towel atop her head. How was she to think and worry without anything to help her fiddle?
The stallion must have had similar thoughts, his hooves absently finding their way to her shoulders while he pondered what disasters could result from a "grand romantic gesture" from Elusive.
"Oh..." she sighed, head falling against his chest.
"Hm? O-oh sorry. You just said you don't like-"
"Ngh-no. It's okay."
Unconvinced, the stallions hooves hung over her shoulders.
"Could you," she began, chewing her lip. "Could you keep going, please?"
Butterscotch's face flushed ever so slightly. The near scalding water now felt frigid compared to the heat in his chest. Wordlessly, he did as he was told and returned to massaging his companion's shoulders.
And suddenly the problems of two melodramatic unicorns felt a little less important. Oh boo hoo, I don't know if she'll like me. I don't know how to talk to him. Get over it.
Perhaps such rude thoughts weren't going through their heads. More likely nothing was going through their heads. Just the sounds of the bubbles, the gentle caress of hooves on fur, the rise and fall of relaxed breaths.
Peace.
As if Celestia herself could sense the serenity of the scene, golden rays of sunlight shot down from the skylights and cast a glow on the shimmering fur of the tub's little lovers.
"Aww."
That wasn't the chorus of angels.
Dragged from their quiet minds, the pegasi opened their eyes. The other unicorn in their group was already settled into the tub and watching their PDA for who knows how long.
"Oh don't mind me, darlings. You're just so adorable, I couldn't help myself."
Not to be embarrassed by a hot tub snuggle, neither Fluttershy nor Butterscotch made an effort to move. The touching stopped, though.
"S-sorry Rarity," they sputtered.
"For what? I was the one keeping you."
"Um, how was your massage?" Fluttershy asked.
Rarity raised an eyebrow and proceeded to wiggle it. "I believe I should be asking that, dear."
That may have been the line. The pegasus couple turned red and refused to meet her eyes.
"Relax you two. I'm only teasing." She looked around and back to the door. "I take it Elusive is still taking his time with his mane?"
Now the pegasi met one another's eyes, sharing a grimace.
"What is it? What's wrong?"
"Um," Butterscotch began suddenly wishing he had enough mane of his own to fiddle with. "Elusive left a little bit ago. He said he needed to get to work."
"And he told us to tell you he's sorry he had to leave early," Fluttershy finished.
And there went the conversational advantage along with the feeling that she wasn't third wheeling it in her favorite spa.
She'd begun wordlessly rising back out of the tub, much to her friends' confusion.
"Are you leaving early too?"
"Oh. Yes. I-er- you know I just remembered I had to...check on...ugh something."
Fluttershy was reasonably certain she'd never seen her friend scurry before. But hey, a lot of new stuff was happening today.
A swirly purple tail disappeared out of the room followed by a magically floating towel, leaving the pegasi to their peace once again.
"I'm worried again," Butterscotch admitted, still looking where the unicorn had run away.
Fluttershy nodded. "Me too."
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Wow, I'm so happy to see another chapter of this story. It's fun to see Applejack tease her male counterpart and the irony that Fluttershy/Butterscotch are already so emotionally intimate while Rarity/Ellusove have problems conversing is extremely hilarious. Thanks for the amazing chapter.
So happy to see this story live once more! I shall refrain from further comment until I have refreshed all my memories of it.
So many stories are being brought back to life this month!
Dang it, Elusive! Not leaving an accidental loophole in swearing Butterscotch to secrecy! Now we have a dozen chapters of "Green is not your color: male edition"!
Glad to see an update :) I do enjoy this story quite a lot.
8036926 Don't worry. I'm not that cheesy.
Its barely being 6 months since the last chapter. Normally i wait at least a year before considering a story potentially dead.
Its honestly a bit disgusting how well you nailed Rarity and Elusive's actions.
8037368
On the one hand, the girls have already learned the lesson, so I'd be surprised if Fluttershy doesn't tip off Rarity.
And you're sure you're not that cheesy, Mozzarella?
Elusive is going to make ALL THE CLOTHES isn't he?
And don't worry about the fandom; Evangelion still gets new fanfiction and look at how that franchise has been going lately.
I'm rather curious how well the Apple pair get on in truth. Glad to see this is still going.
Just found, and caught up to , this series. Liven it so far and glad to see it updated!
Don't know why I let this sit as long as I did. Loving the various legels of awkwardness across the board. Looking forward to further romantic shenanigans.
so when do you plan to continue this awesome fic?
It's been over a year. I hope you're okay.
I'm reading this in 2021 now and I'm waiting for the mlp G5 movie that is coming soon so hope this will update ASAP
8991721
Don't worry you guy, I'm totally gonna make a sequel to this story. I'm just gonna do more research before I start.
loving the story the cute is very heart warming. But uhhhh tone of your authors comments last few chapters has me concerned as it seem to indicate an increase in stress or something and I do hope you are okay, considering both this observation and the length since this last chapter.
... Morning glory is a vegetable, mate.