Paranoia

by Valorousspectre

Hydrophobia

Chapter two:Hydrophobia

The sun was setting. Darkness was creeping around them, the night promising chills if the wind was any indication. The six ponies were restless, but the solid wall of fur, claws and teeth around them in the form of the motionless manticores strongly discouraged them from moving. Rainbow however, always needing more space to fly and used to the open air, was tapping a hoof in frustrated impatience. Pinkie, for once, was quiet. But then, she had decided to curl up and sleep. Big Mac sat patiently, unfazed. Applejack looked worried, and so did Rarity. Twilight, on her part, was trying to not remember any of the particularly nastier creatures she’d read about in ‘Roamer’s Read for Roaming Roamers: Dangerous Creatures’. Many of them were small enough to fit in the clubhouse, although the majority of them didn’t live anywhere near Ponyville. She sat quietly and observed Applejack whispering worriedly into Rarity’s ear before Rarity shook her head.

“No Darling, I’m sure she’ll be fine. You know how good Fluttershy is with animals.”

“What if it isn’t an animal?”

Rarity fell silent, unsure how to answer that question. Big Mac sat next to his sister, seemingly unfazed.

But then, Big Mac always seemed to be unfazed.

Truth was, he was just as worried, if not more so, than the others. Big Mac wasn’t known very well by any other ponies, except perhaps the one pony within the confines of the treehouse right now.

It wasn’t widely known, but when they were younger Big Macintosh and Fluttershy had, for quite some time, dated. She was the one and only pony that Applejack had relented and hadn’t tried to force away. The two had gotten on well. Nopony in the Apple family save for Big Mac knew why they broke up. Big Mac and Fluttershy were the only two who knew. One thing that had been revealed though was that it was mutual and no hard feelings had been fostered between them.
As a result, he was potentially the most worried of all six ponies there.

But he sat quietly, barely moving and not speaking. Applejack nudged him gently.

“Ya alright Mac?”

Big Mac nodded slowly.

“Eeyup. Little worried, but Ah’m alright.”

“Ya sure? Ah know ya an’ Shy had some time where ya were close.”

Big Mac looked at her, the picture of calm.

“Ah’m fine AJ. Ah am worried ‘bout Shy a little, but Ah’ll be alright. So long as we don’t go get attacked by manticores.”

It was at that moment the door to the club house opened and Fluttershy stepped out, followed by a series of grunts, growls and snarls. The ponies looked on in surprise as the manticores looked at each other before another barking command was given and the group of manticores, at varying speeds, left the area. The last to go was a younger looking female, who glanced back at the clubhouse before leaving slowly. Fluttershy smiled at her friends before looking over her shoulder into the clubhouse, looking at something.

Then a dirty brown hoof stepped hesitantly out into the pale moonlight.

The pony that stepped out was scruffy. His mane was tangled wildly, falling over one side of his face. The single visible eye was purple, almost luminously so. His tail was just as wild and tangled, the same dirt brown as the rest of him. He seemed hesitant, and he held himself low to the ground, like one ashamed or a dog that knows it’s done something wrong. Applejack had seen the same look on his face on her pet Wynona, although not very often. Wynona had always tried to impress Applejack; she’d never been terribly rebellious.

Slowly, coaxing the stallion the entire way, Fluttershy led the brown stallion over closer to the six other ponies in the glade. She then nodded over to Big Macintosh and Applejack. The closer he got, the clearer it became that he was a Pegasus. However his wings were scruffy and looked to be in bad condition, in horrible need of preening. They were the same muddy brown of his coat, mane and tail.

“I…”

He sat before Applejack, head held low in deference. Applejack looked down at him sternly, but a faint glow of surprise was still evident.

“I’m sorry… Miss… I… I didn’t know that… I wasn’t sure where…”

He felt a hoof tap his shoulder gently.

“It’s alright Sugarcube. Ain’t nothin’ for ya to be like that about. Long as ya prepared to work off ya debt. Theft is a rather major offense sugar, more so in a little town like this one.”

The dirt brown stallion nodded slowly, then his attention turned to Big Macintosh, who showed himself to be, as per usual, completely unfazed. He kept his head held low. If anything, he lowered it further. Fluttershy and Applejack watched in complete shock, Twilight as well. The others simply did so in confusion.

Big Mac quirked an eyebrow before tapping the underside of the stallion’s chin with his hoof. The stallion flinched away and Big Mac rolled his eyes, forcibly making him sit up straight, head held high. It was at this point it became clear just how big the stallion was. Whilst his hunching had made him appear small, he was heavy set, and tall. Easily as tall, or rather just shy of being as tall, of Big Mac himself. He seemed uneasy standing straight, or rather sitting straight backed and his wings fluttered nervously. A few feathers fell out of his wings as he did so.

The big Pegasus smiled briefly, nervously and thankfully. Big Mac nodded in return.

Rarity leaned closer to Fluttershy.

“Darling, I hate to ask but… what was all that about?”

Fluttershy took a moment before responding.

“It… was a dominance thing. Animals do it all the time to show deference to another’s superiority in the pack… I guess being with Manticores had some influence on him.”

~*~

“Now, we got a spare room upstairs, so ya can have that one. Kitchen’s over there, but it’s mostly just used by Granny Smith. Applebloom’s room is next to mine and Mac’s is on the first floor, he’s next to Granny Smith. Now Ah ain’t gonna tell ya any more than once, ya need to be awake early if ya want to work off your debt. If Ah hafta wake ya up early every morning to work Ah’m gon’ be mighty upset. Ya understand?”

The big Pegasus, who had identified himself as ‘Demonheart’, was trying to keep up with his host’s words. He’d told her he’d be much happier in the barn, but she wouldn’t hear a word of it. She’d insisted he stay in the house in a bed. In no position to argue, he’d gone with her.

“I understand Miss Applejack.”

Applejack cringed. He’d been calling her that since they’d left the clubhouse. She’d asked him to stop, but he’d refused. Said it was a sign of respect and that he’d wronged her. It frustrated her. Badly. Wasn’t much she could do about it at the moment though, so she supposed he would eventually get over it. If he didn’t…

Ah’ll cross that bridge when we get there.

“Welp, now that that’s all settled, Ah guess Ah’ll be wishin’ ya goodnight. Lots to do in the morning and ya should get some sleep too. Otherwise ya’ll be like death in the morning.”

Applejack retired, waving a final goodbye to Demonheart as she entered her room. He watched her as she left. Looking to the door to ‘his’ room, he walked in slowly, hesitantly, and then shut and locked the door.

~*~

Applejack had a hard time sleeping that night. She tried, Luna knows she tried. But through the cracks in the walls, miniscule as they were and not enough to see through, lent her plenty of insight into hearing her new guest/worker. The sound of thrashing limbs on sheets and dark mumbles and mutters made it difficult for her to sleep. She did eventually sleep, but not before beginning to wonder just what she’d gotten herself into.

~*~

“Alrighty. Now ya listen an’ ya’ll be fine. What we do is simple ‘nuff. We get the apples down from the trees. This is where the applebuck comes in.”

Demonheart sat attentively, watching Big Macintosh. Applejack had risen at her regular time, although she seemed tired and moody. Demonheart seemed fine, although to be truthful that’d be a long shot, since they didn’t really know what he was like yet.

“Now ya gotta be careful with this sort of thing. Cain’t kick hard enough to leave any permanent damage, cain’t kick too soft or nothin’ll happen. It’s precise, an’ that comes with practice. ‘Fraid we don’t got time to teach ya how to do so with the bales we used to learn when we were foals, so Ah’m afraid ya gunna hafta learn on the job.”

AJ, despite her moody temperament, found it surprising that Big Macintosh was taking such an interest in Demonheart, especially to hear him say so much to somepony he barely knew. Most times he only spoke when he found it necessary and even then only one or two words. It was rare he spoke to anypony else aside from the family, and even rarer still that he showed that he wasn’t some dumb country hick. He was right of course, Applebucking was a very precise art, especially for one as strong as Big Mac, who could fairly easily permanently damage, maybe even knock down, one of their apple trees in a single kick. Given the heavier set build of this Pegasus, in time he might be capable of doing so as well.

If he works here that long. Ah don’t like havin’ any more help here, even if it is free. Don’t feel right.

AJ knew she shouldn’t think like that, but it was part of her nature. It’s not like denying it would do anything anyway. She also wasn’t sure if she trusted him yet. His ramblings that had kept her up most of the previous night worried her, not sure if he was talking to himself or dreaming. His voice never rose above a whisper though, so she left it.

“ya got it all?”

The murky brown stallion nodded slowly.

“I… think so.”

“Give it a try then.”

Demonheart trotted hesitantly up to a tree and turned around, lining himself up with the trunk. This was an important part of the procedure, because if you misaimed and ended up kicking empty air you’d fall over and wind yourself. But if you aimed wrong and ended up being too close?

You could break your leg and nopony wants that.

There was a healthy ‘thud’ as Demonheart’s hind hooves struck the tree trunk followed by a rain of apples. AJ noted with some satisfaction that there were still a few hanging from the branches, although that may have just been because of her mood and how tired she was. Demonheart looked up at the tree, then over at Big Mac, unsure. The workhorse was smiling and nodding.

“Ain’t bad for a first try. ‘Fact it’s mighty good. Better Ah reckon than AJ’s first try, though she was just a filly at the time.”
AJ felt a stab of annoyance at Big Mac’s words and glared back when Demon glanced at her. He recoiled visibly and lowered his head. Big Mac looked back at his sister and fixed her with an accusatory glare. A glare that spoke volumes and AJ looked away, not wanting to meet his eye.

“Don’t pay no mind to AJ, she’s just bein’ surly. Now let’s get ya workin’. Ya got a few trees worth of apples to pay off.”

~*~

AJ’s hooves slammed into the apple tree with excessive force, leaving two large dents in the bark of the trunk. She’d moved through her lot of trees for the day with alarming speed, a thunderous scowl on her face the entire time. Sweat streamed down her brow. It was a hot day, and yesterday’s breeze seemed nonexistent. She’d already taken back four carts worth of full apple baskets and was well on her way to a fifth when she heard the call of possibly the one pony she really didn’t want to talk to other than her new ‘farmhand’.

“Applejack! Darling, wherever are you?”

AJ rolled her eyes in annoyance.

“Great. Now comes the next annoyance.” She muttered softly to herself. “Ah’m over here Rarity!”

The pristinely white fashionista unicorn found AJ in short order after her call and shook herself off indignantly.

“Honestly, all this dirt! It’s terrible for my hooves.”

AJ rolled her eyes exasperatedly.

“Honestly Rare, ya reckon even a blade of grass can somehow be bad for ya and we eat the stuff. Now what is it ya want?”

Rarity harrumphed softly and sniffed.

“If you must know, I was looking for that scruffy stallion you took in to work your farm. He’s not with you?”

Applejack shook her head almost violently.

“No, he ain’t. He’s over in the other field with Big Mac. Ya want to do somethin’ with him, ya gunna hafta take it up with Big Mac. He’s practically takin’ care of him.”

Rarity sighed theatrically.

“Oh dear, more walking in the dirt. Well, thank you anyway darling; don’t work yourself too hard alright?”

AJ grunted in reply as Rarity left and promptly kicked another tree.

~*~

Rarity pranced along, the prospect of spending time, even if only a tiny bit, of time with Ponyville’s most eligible bachelor, or rather the most sought after, pleased her immensely. So much so she actually almost forgot why she was going there in the first place.

Rarity was many things. She was a designer, seamstress, element of harmony. But she was also vain, sometimes manipulative and expected much more out of life than was really plausible. For example the not so long ago fiasco at the Grand Galloping Gala with Prince Blueblood, the supposed ‘perfect prince’ of her dreams now seemed a little farfetched for her and she’d lowered her standards substantially. Big Macintosh made the top of her list for many reasons.

He was kind, gentle. He was also handsome, strong, large and honest, sometimes brutally so. She also knew he possessed more intelligence than he let on. But first and foremost on her mind was that he was, without a doubt, the most wanted stallion in Ponyville and it would please her to be watched enviously for more than her dress making and designing skills. And having Big Mac all to herself would certainly entice envy.

She slowed down as she started hearing the distinct sound of hind hooves striking wood and she took a deep breath, fixing her mane.

Okay Rarity. Showtime!

She stepped out from the last few lines of trees to see her quarry, and his helper of course. The sheen of sweat across his coat normally would have repulsed Rarity, but Big Mac seemed to make it work. It accentuated his muscles an-

“Can Ah help ya Miss Rarity?”

Rarity snapped out her reverie and smiled at Big Mac.

“Oh, excuse me darling, the heat got to me a little.”

She took a moment to realise that it wasn’t just Big Mac looking at her, but Demonheart as well, his single visible purple eye curious, and shy.

“It’s about your helper Mac. Fluttershy and I have our spa date today and I wanted him to come along.”

Big Mac frowned darkly.

“We’re workin’ Rarity. Ain’t no point in goin’ to no spa when yer workin’.”

Rarity pouted.

“Oh don’t be silly. One must always look their best.”

“An’ on a hot day like this one, ain’t gonna look yer best for long when yer workin’ as hard as we are. Ah repeat, it ain’t worth it.”

Rarity stomped her hoof theatrically.

“Darling! I simply cannot let him walk around like that!”

“He ain’t walkin’ round, he’s workin an’ he’s workin’ hard.”

Rarity frowned.

Alright then, time to change tactic.

“Well, has he worked hard?”

Big Mac looked at her guardedly. Bored with the conversation, or perhaps simply too uncomfortable to continue listening, the brown Pegasus went back to bucking the trees to get the sweet fruit from their branches.

“Ah’d say so. If he wasn’t he’d know it.”

Rarity smiled smugly.

“Well wouldn’t it be right to give him a bit of a reward then?”

Big Mac’s look turned incredulous.

“He’s only been workin’ for a couple hours Miss Rarity, Ah hardly think goin’ to some place to get prettied up is a reward for a hard workin’ stallion. A cold Cider and a hot meal maybe, but ain’t nothing to do with looks.”

“He’s been working most of the day,” She corrected archly, “And his feathers are ridiculous. It’s unhealthy to have one’s wings in such a state.”

Flipping her mane triumphantly she smiled and let out her last resort, guaranteed winning line.

“Besides. Fluttershy wants him to come.”

The brown Pegasus looked over back at the conversation as he heard Fluttershy’s name, ears pricking up, suddenly interested. Big Mac groaned inwardly. Rarity knew that Big Mac wouldn’t refuse Fluttershy anything, and this wasn’t the first time Rarity had used said excuse. And not once had she lied about it to his knowledge. He groaned.

“Fine. Take ‘im. But don’t come cryin’ to me when ya see him next sweaty an’ dirty.”

He looked over at the curious stallion and gestured him over.

“Now ya listen here. Don’t know if ya remember, but this here’s Rarity. She’s goin’ to take ya down to the local spa. Ain’t much Ah know about the spa, but enjoy it whilst ya can. Ya get back to work tomorrow.”

Demonheart nodded and Rarity smiled pleasantly at Big Mac as he shot her one last, slightly amused look. Big Mac liked Rarity. She wasn’t afraid of him and she didn’t ever back down. Rarity turned her pleasant smile to the scruffy, untidy and just plain dirty pony before her.

“Let’s go get you cleaned up shall we?”

~*~

“The usual please for us girls. But we’re not alone this time, so I wanted to ask you for an opinion.”

Rarity sat at the desk for the Healing Waters Spa to book her and Fluttershy’s treatment. The spa twins who ran the spa, Aloe and Lotus, always had time for Rarity and Fluttershy and quite often Rarity found her prices drastically reduced and, other times, nonexistent. Something she simply hated but, no matter how she argued, the pair always seemed to know what to say to turn her away. Demonheart looked extremely uncomfortable in such a pristinely clean setting, seeming to shrink as he sat behind the pony he knew best there, Fluttershy, who was quite surprised. Aloe, with a coat of Pink and mane of blue, smiled at Rarity.

“Of course Rarity! Anything for our best customers. And who is this you have with you then? Species? Gender?”

It took a good five minutes for Fluttershy to coax Demon out from behind her and Aloe almost immediately recoiled.

“Darling! What in the world have you been doing?”

Demon looked at his hooves and mumbled something softly, tears in his eyes. Rarity sighed.

“Aloe, dear, you really must be a little nicer. You and Lotus, I know, are going to have a field day on the poor colt. Now, what do you recommend?”

Aloe pursed her lips in thought before holding up a hoof in a sign of requesting her company to wait before yelling out.

“LOOOTUUUSS!”

Almost instantly, another pony stepped into the room. She was a mirror image of her twin, but her coat was blue and her mane pink. They both shared the same blue eyes however.

“What is it Aloe? I was almost finished cleaning up after our last customer, he left the bath in such a… state…”

She trailed off as she noticed Demonheart, who tried to shrink behind Fluttershy again only to be pulled back out by Rarity.

“Sister, Rarity and Fluttershy brought a friend. Male, Pegasus. Recommendations?”

Lotus pursed her lips in much the same way as Aloe had earlier before shrugging.

“The works. Go get Vera, she can help me with Rarity and Fluttershy. You can tend to our last customer. This is going to take some time.”

~*~

Ten minutes, a closed sign and an attempt to pluck a loose feather out of Demonheart’s wing later, he found himself being pushed towards a large bath. Various bath salts sat by the edge and steam was gently wafting from the water. Almost instantly he seized up, pushing back. He easily overpowered the earth pony mare, rushing towards the door, only to find it locked. He sat at it trembling whilst Aloe fixed her mane.

“Ow…you could have been a little less forceful dear. What’s wrong?”

She looked over at the terrified Pegasus and felt a wave of sympathy. She didn’t know why, but she wanted to comfort the big pony. She trotted over to him and nudged him gently with her nose.

“Hey, what’s wrong? You can talk to me; I promise I won’t tell anypony.”

Due to the nature of the spa, male and female occupants were separated whilst being treated. There was a communal bath, of course, but treatments were separate. Aloe heard a very quiet, gravelly voice and she frowned.

“I’m sorry? Could you please repeat that?”

Demonheart shuddered and drew in a deep breath.

“I… had a bad experience w..with w..water.”

Aloe smiled softly.

“It’s okay. I’ll be with you every step of the way okay? I’ll even come in with you if it’d help.”

Demonheart sniffed and looked at her shyly.

“Y..You’d do that?”

“Yes, I would. Now come on, we need to get you cleaned up.”

~*~

Rarity and Fluttershy were very close friends. The pair had been quite close since they’d first met really, but the events leading up to Nightmare Moon’s reappearance and later defeat had brought them closer than before. They were still just friends mind, Rarity was quite strictly straight, as, she had been told by her friend, was Fluttershy. They simply didn’t keep any secrets from one another.

And so in the steam room that made up the first fifteen minutes of their treatment, Rarity and Fluttershy chatted. They often chatted at this point of the treatment. Well, to be honest they chatted through most of it, more of Fluttershy listening and Rarity speaking, but it varied. They spoke about any number of things. Today marked the peak of a topic that piqued the white unicorn’s interest with the new arrival, and having to talk him away from Big Macintosh.

“Darling, I don’t mean to pry and you know that I won’t push you should you feel uncomfortable, but I am dying to ask you. Whatever happened to you and Big Macintosh?”

Fluttershy shrugged gently. She was a shy Pegasus of yellow colouration with soft pink hair making up her mane and tail and her green eyes belied a gentle soul underneath. That’s not to say she didn’t have the steel to stand up for herself, but she rarely did so.

“Oh, it wasn’t anything bad. It was mutual, we sort of agreed to it and we’ve stayed good friends since.”

Rarity waved a hoof dismissively.

“Yes yes, I know that part darling. But what actually happened?”

“Oh! We were too busy for each other.”

Rarity frowned.

“I’m sorry?”

Again, Fluttershy shrugged gently.

“Well, he was always at the farm and I was always down with the animals. And when I could visit he was always busy. He approached me and told me what he thought and I agreed. So we called it quits and remained friends. He’ll find somepony someday. He’s too nice not to. And AJ can’t control who he sees forever.”

Rarity found herself a little bewildered at the sensible approach the pair had taken. At the time they had been a few years younger after all, and young love was often reckless love, most times leading to and ending in heartbreak.

“Well, I’m proud of you darling. You two handled it well.”

She giggled softly.

“But I’m afraid that little number won’t work on me~ You’ll see, I’ll court Big Mac eventually.”

Fluttershy sent a demure smile to her friend.

Oh, I doubt it. He’s almost as against fanciness as Applejack is.

~*~

“Oh my.” Aloe stated simply, brush in hoof.

She was partially submerged in the water of the heated pool beside Demonheart. Several bath salts had been added, creating a naturally relaxing sort of scent around them. The smell seemed to have climbed into Demonheart’s nostrils headily and was quite potent on the poor stallion. He had a hard time thinking at that moment as Aloe finished scrubbing his neck and face.

The water slipping by Aloe was now muddied and brown and she frowned.

“I’m going to have to use the running water mode. That’ll cost Rarity extra.”

She sighed and nuzzled Demonheart softly on his now clean coat before whispering softly to him. She’d found he reacted well to quiet words and affection, so she’d used it to her advantage.

“I’ll be back in just a moment okay? You stay right here and wait for me.”

~*~

“So Darling. I was talking to Filthy Rich the other day and he said that his little filly, Diamond Tiara, needed some new clothes but she didn’t see any of the outfits at the store as suitable. I told him I’d be happy to make him some to purchase if he got back to me on what she wanted. Hopefully I’ll be able to design the whole wardrobe, then I’ll get a decent pay and I’ll be able to buy the rest of that cashmere I need to finish your dress. I’m so sorry I ran out.”

Fluttershy murmured in response, a pleased little sound. The reason she did so was because she was, at that point, quite incapable of answering for she was under the very competent hooves of Lotus, who was quite expertly massaging the pegasus’ back and wings. On the other side, Rarity was under the very capable hooves of Lotus and Aloe’s cousin Vera, who had inherited the same sort of talent as her cousins and had quite happily applied for and now worked at the spa. Rarity cooed softly in delight as the earth pony massaging her hit a tense patch and rubbed at it gently.

“Oh, darling just there. That’s perfect.”

~*~

One Hour later.

“My word darling.”

Aloe had picked up the habit of using that word from being around Rarity so much. She idolized the designer’s style, bearing and practically everything about her, but the word ‘darling’ is pretty much the only thing that really stuck with her. She was staring shamelessly at the now utterly clean Pegasus before her. He was blushing quite heavily.

“I… I’m sorry…”

The amount of dirt Aloe had just washed away from this big stallion was phenomenal. She didn’t even think it was possible to be caked with so much dirt that it appeared your natural colour. Under the dirt, his coat was silky smooth and soft to the touch, as was his mane which was now smooth, straight and smelled quite strongly of lavender. One of Aloe’s favourite scents.

“Well, I’ll tell you what.” Aloe responded, a devilish little smile coming to her face. “Since you’re so handsome, I’ll let Rarity off the extra payment for spending all this time simply washing you for a simple kiss.”

Aloe was thankful her sister was not in the room at that moment. Whilst Lotus was much more reserved about such things, Aloe had a tendency to flirt shamelessly with much of the male clientele to the spa/resort. As a result, there had been rumours of an extra, unlisted option for a ‘happy ending special’ for a few extra bits. There was no such special of course, Aloe never took it that far…

Often.

She was satisfied immensely when the big stallion flushed and looked away, embarrassed, ears splayed flat. It wasn’t often she got a submissive or shy type and she liked to take advantage of them. She scooted closer to him and rubbed her cheek against one muscled shoulder.

Oh, I do like a stallion with muscles~ I wonder if Lotus will let me keep him.

“Come on, pleeeease? It doesn’t even have to take all that long. A quick peck.”

Demonheart turned back to face her, his forehooves pawing at the ground under the water. He’d completely forgotten the fact that he was partially underwater thanks to this new predicament.

“P.. Promise?” Came the gravelly reply. Aloe nodded.

“Mhm. No extra charge, absolutely promise.”

She smiled smugly, giggling softly in the confines of her mind. She was toying with the poor Pegasus and she knew it. She’d apologise to him, after he became too embarrassed to speak.

You can imagine her shock and surprise as he actually kissed her.

It was quick, chaste and nervous, but it was a kiss nonetheless.

Well…. No extra charge I guess.

~*~

Rarity stood outside the spa with Fluttershy awaiting the exit of Demonheart. The two had decided that, since Big Mac obviously wasn’t expecting him to come home for some time they may as well make the most of what they were doing. What they didn’t expect is to be waiting for him to finish in there. Although with a name like ‘The Works’, Rarity supposed she should have expected it. She’d payed what they asked, which was a pittance and no way in Equestria could she have only owed that much, but she’d payed it under protest, much to Lotus’ amusement.

“I wonder what’s taking them so long?”

Fluttershy shrugged nervously, becoming a little more worried with each passing minute.

“I… I hope he’s alright…”

Rarity allowed a small laugh.

“Darling, he’s safe as can be with the sisters, you know that. Aloe wouldn’t allow anything to happen to him and you know it. I’m just hoping it wasn’t too expensive, I don’t have the largest amount of bits on me at the moment.”

Fluttershy giggled softly. She knew what Aloe was like a bit more than Rarity did, mainly since the two had bonded a little better than Aloe had with Rarity. It’s not easy to talk to someone you idolize without seeming a foal after all. She was just hoping she didn’t leave him an emotional wreck.

There came muffled voices from within the spa itself and Aloe trotted out looking quite pleased with herself. Her mane, as usual, was pristine, the only thing marring her otherwise perfect image being the soaking wet fur around her hooves. She turned, as though expecting somepony to follow her and rolled her eyes.

“You can stop worrying darling, they’re out here.”

The door swung open again and the pair of mares who had brought the scruffy, dirt brown Pegasus gasped.

“That can’t be…”

“No way…”

Rarity grinned.

“He’s going to have to beat them off with a stick.”

Fluttershy frowned.

“Huh?”

“The mares darling. He’ll have to beat them off with a stick.”

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[BobtheLurker]

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