Sunset in Ponyville

by Fangren

First Impressions - Spa Day

The day after the tour, I ended up with a so-called 'spa date' with Rarity as an apology for her cat mauling me. Normally spas aren't my thing when I don't have some big event or some other reason to look my absolute best for, but Rarity was incredibly insistent. And, more importantly, asked me to be treated by her in front of Twilight. Who, naturally, thought it was a splendid idea.

Even though she herself wasn't interested in coming with us. Oh no, not when she still had loads of research to catch up on. Research that she'd missed the chance to do because she'd taken it upon herself to give me the tour.

Yeah.

Safe to say I had some... mixed feelings about the whole situation. On one hoof the more optimistic parts of me were saying that Twilight was just being as oblivious as usual, and really did just want to catch up on her research. Plus the spa was just as much a 'sometimes' thing for her as it was for me.

On the other hoof, the (much louder) pessimistic/paranoid parts of me were convinced she was purposely ditching me to get out of something she didn't want to do. Or that she was pushing me away, that she'd gotten tired of spending time with me again and was foisting me off on one of her friends.

The first hoof was right, obviously, but... But, well, regardless of her intent I still went through with it. Hoping, again, to get back in her good books or stay out of her bad ones.

---

“Okay, I'm leaving now,” Sunset told Twilight and Spike, who were occupying their early afternoon cross-referencing a variant shape-changing spell Twilight had found while studying the book they'd found Jewelmane's Sculpting in. The sullenness in her voice, hidden behind a weak smile, was lost on them.

Mostly, anyway. “Have fun, Sunset!” Twilight replied with a bright and genuine smile of her own. “I know Rarity can seem an awful lot like some of the ponies back in Canterlot, but she really is wonderful once you get to know her.”

Sunset bit back a reply that if Rarity was so wonderful then why wasn't Twilight coming too, knowing it was pointless. At most it would just inspire Spike to spend five minutes gushing about how beautiful Rarity was and so on, and Sunset had gotten her fill of that at lunch.

“Really wonderful,” Spike chimed in with a dreamy stare as if to prove her point.

“I'll... keep that in mind,” Sunset replied, keeping her tone as noncommittal as possible. “See you in a couple hours.”

She made for the door, Twilight and Spike giving her a parting “Bye!” before returning to their research.

With a heavy sigh and one last parting glance into the library behind her, Sunset closed the door and resigned herself to an afternoon of veritable torture. Gossip, social posturing, rumormongering; all of it Sunset had taken pride in once upon a time. Then she'd met Twilight, and slowly but surely it all turned to boring tedium. Boring tedium she was still good at, granted, but boring tedium all the same.

“Well, better get this over with,” she muttered, trudging off towards her appointment.

---

The Ponyville Day Spa was one of several buildings in town that sat isolated from the other buildings. Between that and its unique design, it certainly stood out – just like every other building with a similar position.

This particular edifice had spent most of its creativity in its roof – high peaks in the middle, lower peaks along the edge, and plenty of swooping in between. Hearts and diamonds and fleurs-de-lis and a variety of curls adorned the walls and spires, and over the front entrance hung a heart-shaped sign depicting a mare with luxuriously long, flowing mane and tail.

Nopony was around in more than a general sense, not even Rarity, and as Sunset stared up at the highest peak of the remarkably large building she debated whether she should stick around outside or head through the door. Or even just leave, despite the consequences she knew it would inevitably bring. Eventually she decided that going inside was the best option; Rarity had said to meet her there, after all.

Sunset opened the door, and was assaulted by a bouquet of smells both fruity and flowery. The waiting room, decorated in various shades and hues of purple, was gleaming; a single older mare was reading a copy of Manehattan Manes on a sofa, and more importantly the pony she was looking for was talking to the receptionist.

“...and so I really want you to be open for anything, you understand. I want her to have a good time here regardless of her preferences.”

“Yes, I understand Miss Rarity,” replied the receptionist in an accent that Sunset placed as being so far to the northwest she was surprised she'd made it out of the mountains alive. “Our service shall be perfect, as always.”

The receptionist noticed Sunset first; Rarity was halfway through thanking her before spotting the shift in her gaze. “Oh! Sunset! I didn't notice you arrive!” she said quickly, her eyes and ears alike perking up.

“Well, I didn't exactly announce it to the world,” Sunset said for lack of better replies.

“This is Sunset Shimmer, the friend I was talking about, Lavender,” Rarity told the receptionist. “As you may well know she's new in town, and I thought that no Ponyville welcome could truly be complete without a day at the spa.”

The few scratches on Sunset's legs and muzzle that hadn't fully healed yet begged to differ, but Sunset didn't voice the objection.

“Yes, of course, I understand,” said the receptionist Lavender. She picked up a bell with her mouth and gave it a ring, and with frightening quickness a new pair of earth mares arrived from a nearby open doorway.

“Lotus! Aloe! So good to see you, darlings,” Rarity immediately greeted the two, hugging each one in turn as though they were old and dear friends.

“So good to see you, Miss Rarity,” said the one with pink coat and blue hair, also in a northwestern accent.

“We will begin with your usual steam bath,” added the one with blue coat and pink hair. “Come right this way.”

The pair – Sunset was confident they were twins, though she could never quite peg down which one was Lotus and which was Aloe – turned and led them back through the doorway into a long hall. A few other ponies were in it; patrons with fluffy white towels around their manes and fluffy white bathrobes around their shoulders walking from one service to the next, employees dressed in fresh whites or extra-soft pastels.

“Let's see...,” said the pink one, who had produced a clipboard at some point while Sunset was admiring the décor, “steam first, yes?”

“That's right!” Rarity said in a happy singsong. “Followed afterward by facials, a massage, and, of course, a hooficure. As well as anything else Sunset would like,” she finished with a knowing wink at Sunset.

The spa ponies looked at Sunset, then back at the clipboard. “Yes, of course.” They reached a slender door adorned with a flower petal design and the blue one opened it, revealing it to be a linen closet. Towels and bathrobes were procured for Rarity and Sunset both, and once everything was on and comfortable the group moved onwards.

“Okay, here you go,” said the blue pony once they'd reached the threshold of a much larger room, or at least a larger door. There was a little semicircular window cut into the door with a colored dial behind it that currently red 'OPEN' in white letters against a green background. “We will come back when your time is up, or when you call for us, yes?”

“But of course,” Rarity replied, heading inside the steam room with confidence.

Sunset lingered behind, looking from Rarity to the spa ponies. “Enjoy your steam!” one of them told her with a wide smile.

“I will, thanks,” Sunset said automatically, finally entering as well. The door was closed behind her.

Rarity was already tending to the coals smoldering in the basin at the center of the room, slowly pouring a ladle full of water onto them and filling the room with more steam. She sighed dreamily as Sunset walked over, and sat down on the bench that lined the circular room. Sunset took a seat as well, several feet away from Rarity.

“Oh, come now, there's no need to be shy!” Rarity told her immediately and with a bright smile, patting the seat beside her. “We're all friends here, Sunset Shimmer!”

“Uh, right...,” Sunset murmured, reluctantly scooting over a few inches. Offering Rarity a bashful smile, fake though it was, she added “Sorry, just... I don't normally do things like this with other ponies.”

“Mm-hmm,” Rarity replied, her tone and the way she pursed her lips suggesting she didn't quite believe Sunset. “Well, the only way to get used to it is to do it, I always say.”

Sunset doubted that she'd ever uttered the phrase before in her life.

“So, Sunset,” Rarity continued once she was satisfied with the seating arrangement, “now that you've gotten settled, what do you think of our quiet little town?”

“It's... nice,” Sunset said, already seeing where the conversation was headed and wondering whether and for how long she should dance around what Rarity wanted to know. “It's certainly different from what I expected. Busier. More...” She rolled her hoof, genuinely trying to put to words everything she'd felt in her short time in Ponyville that had to do with the town itself rather than the reason she was there. “I don't know. Not exciting, just... Novel, I guess. The outdoor markets, the seeing the same faces again and again, the informality of everything... It's a lot to get used to.”

“Oh, yes, I suppose so,” Rarity said, fidgeting idly with the end of the towel wrapped around her mane. “Personally, I find it all dreadfully droll. But I am used to it, after all.” She adjusted how she was sitting, reorienting to face Sunset more directly. “But don't get me wrong,” she smiled, “your perspective is intriguing. I can't imagine how different Ponyville is from Canterlot.”

On a whim, Sunset decided to ignore the hook that Rarity had laid down. So it was with a subdued yet impish smile that she asked “Oh? You've never been, Rarity?”

That seemed to fluster her. “Oh, well, you know how it is. A trip here and there, always on business. I've never really gotten the chance to take in all the culture.”

Sunset smelled a lie, and it amused her. “Oh? What kind of business, exactly?”

“Ah, w-well, you know,” Rarity stammered, taken off guard once again. “Fashion shows and... and such.”

Then she sighed, and leaned back against the bench to stare at the ceiling. It, and the walls, had been painted to look like a cloudy – though purple – sky. “To be perfectly honest, it's been something of a... a dream of mine since I was a filly to own a boutique in Canterlot. And my boutique here in Ponyville is doing well, but I'm afraid I'm still quite a ways off from the funds I'll need to open up a second shop. I've been hoping that some of my designs would attract the attention of the Canterlot fashion scene and increase the number of high-profile jobs I receive, but alas it seems breaks like that simply don't happen much out here in Ponyville...”

Rarity had closed her eyes during her monologue, and Sunset was unsurprised to see her open them just a smidge at the end to give her a coy look.

Once again, it was obvious what she wanted. And having expected as such, Sunset had already decided upon her response. She sighed. “Well, good luck with that. I'm sure you already know from Twilight that we weren't exactly big in the fashion scene, so I doubt either of us could get somepony important to it to come out here just by asking.”

She didn't take as much joy from the deflated look in Rarity's eyes as she might have years ago, but Sunset didn't regret it. She'd met a few of Canterlot's Best Dressed at galas and garden parties and such, of course, but whatever bonds may have been forged back then had since been left to rot as Sunset's attention had been consumed by her studies with Twilight.

“Oh. Well. I suppose that's... how things are,” Rarity said, clearly trying to hide her disappointment and not doing a particularly good job of it. “I'm grateful for your consideration, Sunset Shimmer.”

The lull that followed lasted only long enough for Sunset to decide how exactly she wanted to keep the conversation pointed where she wanted it – at Rarity rather than herself. The decision came quickly. “Well, if all your work is at the level of what I saw in your boutique the other day,” she said, adding a bit more water to the coals, “I'm sure you'll get the attention you need the moment some bigwig comes out here for some inspiration or a photoshoot or something. You really are talented at what you do.”

Which was true enough, though Sunset's only means of judging dresses was whether or not she could see herself wearing it somewhere formal without being embarrassed. She left comparative fashion to the ponies who cared about it, like Rarity.

“Thank you, Sunset,” Rarity said, smiling again small though it was.

“So, how long have you been in the fashion business?” Sunset asked just as she sensed Rarity raring up a question of her own.

“Hmm? Oh, well,” Rarity said quickly, yet followed by a pause that told Sunset she was gathering her thoughts to answer the unexpected query. “For several years now. I suppose I started before I'd even gotten my cutie mark,” she mused, hoof on her chin as she stared up at the steam and ceiling, “designing costumes for school plays and festivals such, but my first real job was as an assistant to Bobbin Lace.

“She was Ponyville's top seamstress, you see,” she said, glancing at Sunset for just a moment. “I learned... well, not everything from her, but quite a bit. And when she retired, she gave the Carousel Boutique to me. I've been running it all on my own ever since,” she finished with a puff of pride.

Sunset chuckled. “Well, sounds like you've done a good job with it.”

A more bitter laugh from Rarity. “True, but, as I've said, I'd like to see it go even further. I want to share my designs with the world, Sunset Shimmer,” she declared, raising a hoof towards the ceiling as though grasping for something just out of reach. “And I can't do that while I'm stuck here in Ponyville.”

Another silence followed, though it was shorter than the last. “To be honest, I'm kinda surprised there hasn't been too much attention on Ponyville after what happened at the Summer Sun Celebration.”

“I know, it's dreadful!” Rarity said immediately, flushing when she realized how overdramatic she'd sounded. “I mean... a quiet life is all well and good, but I'd thought the press would be more interested in the ponies responsible for finding the Elements of Harmony and saving Princess Luna from, well, herself! But all we've had is one interview the day of the celebration, and it didn't focus at all on our personal histories! How is Equestria supposed to know who we are if nopony even asks?”

Sunset couldn't give her more than a shrug in answer. She strongly suspected that Princess Celestia had a hoof in the lack of news coverage; it was very much like her to want Twilight, Rarity, and the others to continue leading peaceful lives after their one-time act of heroism. Sunset's own feelings on the matter were uncertain; years ago she would have thrived on the attention such publicity would bring, but nowadays Sunset had little patience for ponies seeking to know her every thought and move. And that wasn't even taking her relocation to Ponyville into consideration. And, of course, she knew for a fact that Twilight would never want to face a pack of reporters if she didn't have to.

Her thoughts drifted to the fact that she was currently indulging Rarity, who was quite like the ponies she had no patience for. Briefly she wondered why, but her mind soon dismissed the matter as unimportant.

She realized the conversation was going in circles. Rarity was focusing on the attention, or lack thereof, that her boutique was getting, and Sunset had no real intention of trying to help her out despite what the fashionista so obviously wanted. She needed to steer the discussion into more interesting waters.

“Well, I'm sure you'll get what you need soon enough,” she said. “But anyway, what is there to do around here? Besides the spa, I mean. A girl can't do research and practice her spellwork all the time.”

“Hmm...,” Rarity mused, tapping her chin again. “Well, aside from my weekly spa visits my free time is typically spent reading romance novels or going to one of Pinkie's parties. Though I suspect you were seeking to hear about more, ah, community-oriented events, yes?”

“Yeah, pretty much,” Sunset allowed herself to chuckle.

Rarity sighed. “Well, I doubt our array of festivals and such can hold a candle to what goes on in Canterlot, but very well. Let's see... the school had its end-of-year Talent Contest the other day.”

“Oh yeah, I heard about that from Twilight,” Sunset said, smiling. “I was too busy to come myself,” due to making work for herself the moment she'd heard she would have to watch a schoolfilly talent show for four hours if she didn't, “but I heard your sister was in it.”

“Oh, yes, Sweetie Belle and her little friends did wonderfully even if their song-and-dance number wasn't quite befitting of what I suspect their talents are,” Rarity said with a distinct matter-of-factness in her voice. “I do worry about some of the things they get up to, but I suppose their journey towards discovering their special talents is their own.”

Sunset laughed. “Yeah, totally,” she said for lack of better things to say.

“Anyway, where was I...” More chin-tapping from Rarity. “Ah, yes. If I'm not mistaken the next major town event should be the Summer Harvest Parade.”

“Parade?” Sunset repeated, brow raised skeptically.

“Yes, that's correct,” Rarity nodded. “The whole town goes all-out for it. Nearly every farming family builds a float to advertise their goods, and recently several other groups have entered floats as well. They aren't always fashionable, but I can't deny they're a loving celebration of the town's heritage.”

“Wow, I can't wait to see it,” Sunset said with a smile even as a part of her imagined Twilight obsessively building her own float to enter and dragging Sunset in to help. It left her with an odd mix of dread and adoration.

“Well, you won't have to wait very long,” Rarity told her. “If memory serves, it should be a little over a week away. “There's always an announcement two months prior, you see, so that the townsponies have time to register and build their floats.”

“Right, right,” Sunset nodded, filing the information – both general and specific – away for later.

“There'll be a few minor celebrations after that as different harvests start to come in,” Rarity continued, “as well as historic dates and such. And that will basically go through the fall up until Nightmare Night. Hmm...” A troubled look on her muzzle, Rarity cast a far-off look at the smoldering coals. “I do wonder how that particular day will proceed now that Nightmare Moon has returned and been defeated? I can't even begin to imagine what Princess Luna will think of the whole thing...”

Sunset frowned, her brow furrowed in thought. “Good point. I'm sure Princess Celestia has figured out how to break it to her sister that there's a holiday practically celebrating her evil alter-ego, but... Maybe I should ask her about it later.” Despite her professed confidence in the Princess, Sunset also thought herself to know Celestia better than most ponies. And with how busy she had been after Luna's return, Sunset really did wonder if Princess Celestia had gotten around to telling her about Nightmare Night yet or if it was just being... put off.

“Oh?” said Rarity with an impish note in her voice that cut through Sunset's inner thoughts, bringing her attention – and mild dread – back to the present. “Are you talking about Spike, or dare I presume that you have a direct line to the Princess?”

Sunset couldn't do much but laugh awkwardly. “Uh, yeah, I do. It's no big deal, really. Just a pair of linked journals. She gave me mine when I became her student so we could communicate even when she was off on diplomatic missions or whatever.” Or when Sunset had come up with something late at night, or anywhere really, and she couldn't be bothered to go find the Princess herself.

“How fascinating,” Rarity said, looking at Sunset with an unnervingly wide-eyed stare. “Even knowing Twilight I can't even fathom what living in the Palace under Princess Celestia's tutelage must have been like.”

More hesitant laughter as Sunset cursed herself for letting the conversation get directed back towards herself. “Well, technically neither of us lived in the Palace,” she said. “Anyway, are all the festivals and events in town announced months in advance?” It was a somewhat feeble attempt at getting things back on a track that wouldn't force her to wade back into the annoying politics of Equestria's capital.

“Oh, yes, yes,” Rarity said with a quick wave of her hoof, her stare unrelenting. “Flyers, usually, or simply word of mouth. The Express typically reprints the announcements as well. But anyway,” she shifted her posture, orienting towards Sunset even more as her excitement renewed, “you simply must tell me more about Canterlot.”

Sunset tried to hide her sigh. “Well, what's there to know?” she said with a smile that felt more forced than she would have liked.

Rarity drew herself up, no doubt in preparation for a slew of long-held questions, but before she could launch them she was interrupted by a knock at the steam room door.

A second later it was opened, and one of the spa ponies stuck her head in. “Excuse me, Miss Rarity? I am so sorry for interrupting...”

“Oh my, is it that time already?” Rarity asked, looking aghast.

“Ah, yes, it is,” said the spa pony.

Rarity let out a surprisingly delighted sigh. “Oh well, I suppose it's a mark of good quality when a steam bath makes the time just fly by,” she said, getting off the bench. “Come, Sunset Shimmer,” she beckoned to Sunset, who slid off the bench as well, “it's time for a facial of a lifetime!”

Sunset couldn't help but smile and shake her head a bit at the drama she put into such an inane comment.

---

Out the door and down the hall, Sunset followed Rarity and the pink-coated spa pony to a larger room Sunset guessed was typically used for larger parties. A hot tub was the dominant fixture in the room, with several sunloungers and massage tables circled around it. A variety of potted plants both hanging and freestanding dotted the room, and a long, ornate water feature behind the hot tub provided ambiance.

It was empty save for the four of them, leading Sunset to believe that Rarity had either gotten lucky or gotten it reserved. She wasn't certain which, but felt that the fashionista would undoubtedly prefer to avoid the company of patrons besides the one she was trying to cozy up to. Briefly she wondered how much reserving the room had cost, and whether or not some of Rarity's business woes could be attributed to such infrugal spending.

But such thoughts left her head the moment she was directed to remove her bathrobe and lay on one of the chairs. She did just that, and the facial she was then given was remarkable in how similar it was to the scant other facials she'd been given in her life. Rarity's coos and delighted sighs became background noise to Sunset as she wondered whether or not there was some common technique or family of techniques between the Ponyville Day Spa and the spas back in Canterlot.

What ponies had come up with the idea of rubbing creams and lotions and the like on faces and muzzles for the sake of increasing skin health? Sunset had nothing more than a vague inclination it had come from the same mountainous regions as Aloe and Lotus, but didn’t feel certain about it. The obvious gap in her knowledge bothered her, and she resolved to at least try and fit in a cursory bit of research once she was back at the library.

And then she realized how like Twilight that entire train of thought was, and chuckled.

Rarity took quick notice, and though Sunset's eyes were covered with cucumber slices she still felt certain the other mare was 'looking' at her again. “Hm? I did I miss something funny?” she asked.

“Oh, no,” Sunset said, waving her hoof. “Just... reminded myself of something about Twilight. That's all.”

“Mm-hmm,” Rarity replied. “Well, I'm glad you're enjoying yourself. Perhaps we could turn this into a weekly thing?”

Sunset paused, deciding how best to word her dismissal. “...I don't know, maybe,” she finally said. “I'm not really a 'weekly spa trip' kind of girl. But I can see myself coming back here every once in a while, yeah.” Alone or with Twilight, preferably. Not that she'd tell Rarity that.

Rarity let out a forlorn sigh. “Very well, I understand. You know, I've been trying for some time to get the others to come here with me on a regular basis, but aside from Fluttershy none of them have taken me up on the offer.”

That wasn't surprising at all to Sunset. Twilight declining was obvious, though she expected her to agree eventually once the stars aligned with her schedule and interests. Applejack and Rainbow Dash didn't seem like they'd ever be caught dead in a place like the Ponyville Day Spa, and Pinkie Pie... Well, she seemed to Sunset more the type who would be politely escorted from the premises after making a scene or breaking something, at least if the spa ponies operated at all like the ponies back in Canterlot.

“Well, I suppose that's just how it is,” she told Rarity.

Another sigh. “Yes, I suppose.”

Sunset quickly filled the lull in the conversation. “So... how did you and Fluttershy and all the others become friends, exactly? No offense, but you all seem so... different.”

“Hmm? Oh, yes, I suppose we do, don't we?” Rarity said offhoofedly. “Well, you know how things are. You just find yourself sort of... gravitating towards other ponies over the years. We all just sort of... clicked, especially once Twilight was in the picture.”

“Huh,” Sunset murmured, a conversation she'd had with Princess Celestia shortly after the Summer Sun Celebration echoing in her ears. She wondered how much the six of them had really 'clicked', and how much of it was the magic of their apparent destiny as bearers of the Elements. It certainly seemed to be the latter to her, even if Rarity had no awareness of the matter.

“Well... how did you all meet?” she decided to ask next.

She heard Rarity give a vague sort of shrug. “Applejack and I have known each other since we were fillies, even if we weren't much more than casual acquaintances during our school years. Pinkie Pie just sort of... showed up one day when we were all little. I'm still not certain where she came from, exactly, or where her family is, but I do recall her throwing herself a welcome party that brought out the entire town. She's been our resident 'Party Pony' ever since.

“As for Fluttershy...” Rarity paused for a moment that Sunset took for thinking. “I suppose she just showed up one day as well, but as you can imagine it wasn't nearly a spectacle like Pinkie's was. As I recall, I ran into her at market one day. She looked completely lost, but once I finally got her talking I found out she'd been coming for weeks trying to work up the courage to buy food!”

“Wow,” Sunset said, nearly stunned as she imagined the scene in her head. She spent a moment wondering if Fluttershy had been living on her own tending animals even then. But she dismissed it as an idle question she didn't really need an answer for, and kept the conversation moving. “And what about Rainbow Dash?”

“Oh, well, she and Fluttershy were old friends from Cloudsdale Flight School, if you can believe that. A few years back Fluttershy invited her to have her birthday party in Ponyville, since that was around the time that Pinkie Pie's reputation as a top-notch party planner had been established. Rainbow Dash agreed, and the party was such a success that Rainbow Dash agreed to move to Ponyville on the spot.”

“Huh, must have been some party,” Sunset said, now legitimately stunned. “I take it she must've already been in the market for a job and place to live if she moved here just like that.”

“I believe so, yes,” Rarity replied in a tone that Sunset thought was growing awfully too mischievous for her liking. “As I recall she took up an open weatherpony position shortly after the move, though she brought that cloud home of hers with her. But more to the point,” she heard Rarity shift in her seat a little and what might have been her lifting the cucumber slices from her eyes, “she's not the only pony in town who's made such a dare I say impulsive decision regarding her place of residence.”

Sunset felt herself flush, and though she couldn't see Rarity's no-doubt-piercing gaze she looked away anyway. “W-well,” she said, “that's...”

Struggling to excuse herself from the unexpected question, she again allowed Rarity an opportunity. “That's what, exactly? I know you told us when you moved here that it was to be with your best friend and that you didn't have much in Canterlot tying you down, but forgive me for being skeptical! The journey isn't that long by train ride, and I'd expect that most best friends would be just fine taking different directions in their lives!”

Before she knew it, Sunset felt herself bristling. “Well, most ponies didn't have their best friend be sent off to oversee a ceremony,” she said through clenched teeth, “only for it to turn out that she was actually sent there to prevent the whole world from being taken over, and when she succeeds she decides to stay and not send any letters because she's too busy getting to know all her new f-”

She only just caught herself, but was quite certain she'd covered her mouth too late.

The room was quiet for what felt like ages after that, with only the burbling of the water features to be heard.

Then, finally, Rarity uttered a meek “Ah.” A few silent moments later, she added in a distinctly higher voice “I apologize for striking an unexpected chord with you, Sunset Shimmer. I hadn't... expected... Although obviously in hindsight... Perhaps we should...”

Sunset sighed. “No, no, I shouldn't have snapped at you like that, it wasn't your fault.”

“Have... pardon my asking, but have you... talked to Twilight about...?” Rarity asked, voice thick with hesitation.

“Not... really,” Sunset reluctantly answered, shaking her head. “Not since, like, the day she came back to Canterlot.”

“Ah,” was seemingly all Rarity could say for a good long while. It left Sunset with the impression that she had been wholly unprepared for their spa day to take such a direction, which in turn left Sunset with mixed feelings about the mare. What, exactly, had she expected from such probing, personal questions?

“Well,” the dressmaker finally said, “you really ought to. I can't imagine it's healthy keeping those sorts of feelings bottled up inside.”

Sunset sighed again, deeper and longer. “Yeah, I guess,” she said, having no notion in her head to actually do so.

“Hmm.” It didn't sound to Sunset like Rarity was satisfied by her response, but fortunately it wasn't pressed. “Well at any rate, I am glad that despite any, ah, ill feelings you may have had towards our little group you've still seen fit to spend time with all of us.”

A noncommittal grunt was all Sunset had in her to reply with, and the room went quiet again.

“You know what I think will cheer you up?” Rarity asked with conviction Sunset felt was misguided. “A good massage. The masseuses here are absolutely divine, Sunset Shimmer, they'll work all that tension out of your body lickety-split.”

“If you say so,” Sunset replied.

She imagined that Rarity gave her a piercing look of some sort, because there was an unusually long pause before she called out “Aloe! Lotus! We're ready for our massages!”

This was answered so swiftly by the opening of a door that Sunset could only assume the spa ponies had been lying in wait this whole time. Her heart sank a bit, and she dearly hoped that nopony had heard what she'd said to Rarity.

“Right away Miss Rarity!” the two spa ponies chorused, and the room fell silent again.

“Err... for the record...,” Sunset spoke up after a moment.

“Yes?” Rarity replied all too eagerly.

“I would... appreciate it if you kept what we talked about between us.”

There was a pause before Rarity replied. “Why, but of course! I would never betray your confidence like that!”

Sunset had difficulty believing her; just trying to trust her at all left a sour taste in her mouth. Yet she felt she had no choice; blackmail and the like had been off her proverbial table for quite some time now. Not that she had anything she could use as leverage against Rarity anyway. All she could do was give her a half-hearted “Thanks...”

It was a thankfully short time after that the masseuses arrived. Or the first one anyway. Sunset lifted one of her cucumber slices to get a look at her, though she had to squint at first as her eyes readjusted. She was about the same as the rest of the staff: vaguely purple and dressed in pastels.

“Ah, hello Miss Rarity, Miss Sunset,” she said in a surprisingly local accent, and Sunset quickly noticed how tense she was. The way her eyes kept flicking towards the door or wall, how she seemed to almost creep forward as though something was about to jump out and scare her... It made Sunset herself tense just to watch. But she couldn't figure out for the life of her why the mare was so on edge in a spa of all places.

A glance at Rarity showed her looking similarly which only unnerved Sunset more; their eyes met, and in that moment they were absolutely united in their worry.

And then the door opened again, which oddly seemed to take the first masseuse off-guard. The pony that came through – with great difficulty – took Sunset off hers.

She was no stranger to large ponies. She'd spent most of her life under the tutelage of Princess Celestia, who was easily the tallest (and most graceful, and most beautiful) pony in the world. She'd met Big Mac and countless other similarly-large earth stallions, built tall and strong for the hardest of physical labor.

The stallion who'd just entered the room, grinning ear to ear and decked out in the finest of pale gray-blue spa scrubs, wasn't like either of those body types. For one thing he seemed to be about 98% muscle, and the rough size and shape of a large shipping container laying on its side. He was also albino, or nearabouts; white coat, red eyes, blonde mane and tail though it could have been dyed. His cutie mark was a dumbbell, and Sunset was simultaneously unsurprised and terrified that he was apparently a masseuse.

“YEAH! Who's ready for a MASSAGE?” he said with an enthusiasm and volume that nearly blew away Sunset's facial mask.

“Uhh...” was all Sunset could manage by way of reply. She looked at Rarity, who seemed to be working herself up to ask a question.

The first masseuse, who had apparently recovered from the shock of her coworker's entrance, cut her off. “Ah, yeah. Hello. I'm Almond Oil, and this is... Bulk Biceps.” She looked like she was trying not to wince as she said the stallion's name. Bulk, for his part, seemed happily oblivious.

“Yup, that's me,” he said with a chuckle, giving his chest a good thump.

“Ah,” Rarity said, the word short and crisp as she finally found a moment to speak up. “Pardon me. Are you, perhaps, new to the spa, Mr, ah, Biceps was it? Because I can't quite recall ever seeing you in this context before.”

Bulk puffed himself up with pride, and even rubbed the end of his muzzle. “Just started last week.”

“And he's been doing very good with the deep tissue massages,” Almond explained before shifting into a more apologetic tone. “But with Soft Taps on vacation, we've had to pull him in for some of the more-” she cast a quick glance at an oblivious Bulk and wince- “delicate treatments. I hope that won't be a problem, Miss Rarity.”

“Oh no, not at all!” Rarity replied, but Sunset thought her smile was rather forced. “Ah...” Her eyes met Sunset's, and Sunset quickly got an inkling of what she wanted to ask.

And before she knew it, she made a decision. “Alright big guy, you can do me,” she said, flipping over out of the chair she'd been lying in. Oddly, she didn't feel any real misgivings as to what she'd just volunteered to do; she wasn't exactly looking forward to it and she had every intention of making Rarity repay the favor at a later date, but Sunset didn't feel a trace of bitterness. If anything she just saw it akin to a chore to be completed, similar to so many other things she'd had to do lately because of Twilight and her new friends.

“Alright,” Bulk said, muscles still bulging with enthusiasm. He led Sunset to the nearest massage table while Almond Oil did the same for Rarity, and the two mares quickly got situated.

The first hoof jabbing into her back produced a jolt of pain that caused her entire body to spasm.

Bulk laughed. “Whoops, sorry about that. Guess I don't know my own strength.”

The second jab was much softer, and to Sunset's surprise she found the pain slowly fading as the massage progressed. Every so often there was a touch that was a bit too hard or not quite in the right place, but for the most part Sunset found herself begin to relax. And if the sound of her enraptured moans were anything to go by, Rarity was feeling quite relaxed herself.

Of course, lying silently on her belly wasn't Sunset's style. Neither was making smalltalk with the ponies servicing her, typically, but with them in the room she felt less comfortable trying to resume her chat with Rarity less it get steered in a personal direction again. So, her boredom ruled, striking up a conversation with the slab of meat that was currently tenderizing her back was the way to go.

“So, Bulk, what makes a big guy like you get into massage?” she asked, the first idle question that came to her mind.

Based on the pause that followed she guessed he hadn't expected the question. Then he chuckled and answered, “Hey, a guy's gotta pay the bills somehow! Plus, like, massage is mostly just hitting stuff and being good with your hooves. And I figured,” to Sunset's dismay Bulk's divided focus meant a definitively harder massage, and her pained grunts went unheard, “hey! I'm good with my hooves, and also at hitting stuff!”

“I like to think there's a little bit more to it myself,” Almond Oil chimed in. “But, well, ponies with the most relevant talents are hard to come by...”

Bulk laughed again. “Totally,” he said, the veiled insult apparently lost on him. “Ponies with massage cutie marks must be almost as rare as ponies with weightlifting cutie marks!” Or perhaps not.

“Hmm, true,” Rarity murmured from her nearby table. “I can't say I recall seeing another pony with a cutie mark quite like yours, Bulk.”

“There's a few of us,” Bulk said, “but we only really get together for the annual Equestrian Weightlifting Championship.”

“There's an annual weightlifting championship?” Sunset asked, her skepticism thick. In all her years at Princess Celestia's side, she'd never heard so much as a peep about any weightlifting competitions. She didn't even think they were an event in the Equestria Games!

“Oh yeah, totally,” Bulk answered without interrupting the massage. “There's, like, twelve of us. We get together in a big clearing and take turns lifting as much as we can. Winner gets to keep the Equestrian Weightlifting Association's trophy for the whole year. I've only won it once, but, I'm feeling confident about my chances this year. My mom won it, like, five years in a row, so it runs in the family.”

A thought had occurred to Sunset soon into his explanation, but Rarity was the first to ask the natural question. “Ah, pardon, but I can't help but notice how... unofficial it seems.” A beat, and she hastily added “Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course.”

Bulk was silent for a few seconds. “Huh,” he finally said. “I guess I can sorta see why you'd think that. But nah, we've been doing it for decades, it's as official as anything!”

“Well, if you say so,” Sunset said, not caring enough to bring up any number of details she felt would dispute what he was saying. Like permits, or the Board of Athletics Associations, or actual records of the alleged Weightlifting Association's members and rules and so on. And probably some other things, too. Sunset was rusty on some of the specifics of Equestrian civil law.

“Anyway,” Bulk said, voice full of casual confidence that quickly petered out into a noticeable pause. “Uh, what was I saying again?”

“I believe we were discussing the, well, rarity of ponies with marks similar to yours before that little championship diversion,” Rarity said.

“Oh, yeah, right,” Bulk said, confidence returning and causing him to hit a pressure point in Sunset's croup that produced a surge of pain, in turn causing her to kick backwards with one leg. It hit Bulk in the stomach, and it felt to Sunset like kicking a brick wall. He didn't seem to notice. “So yeah, not a lotta weightlifting competitions going on means I gotta find work where I can. Like here!”

“Yup,” Almond Oil chimed in awkwardly.

“You know,” Sunset said after a moment once she'd relaxed again, “you could probably apply for a stipend. The Princess has loads of money set aside for ponies like you who can't find cutie mark-related work.”

“There is?” Bulk said with a distinct note of confusion, even pausing in his massage efforts.

“Yup,”Sunset answered. “Princess Celestia isn't about to let ponies go hungry because they can't find work. Or, you know, at all, but that's beside the point.”

“Huh...” said Bulk. He went silent again, and more importantly to Sunset did not resume her massage. It got to the point that Sunset actually propped herself up on one leg and sent an annoyed look back over her shoulder, but she stopped when she saw the almost cross-eyed look of deep thought on his muzzle.

She waited another moment, then perked a brow. “Uh, Bulk? You still there big guy?”

That got his attention, and he quickly shook away whatever was in his head. “Yeah, sorry,” he said, resuming the massage as Sunset laid back down. “Just thinking about the whole stipend thing. I don't think it's for me. I kinda like working here!”

“But... it would give you more time to, uh, practice lifting dumbbells!” Almond said, and if Sunset hadn't already pegged her opinion of Bulk the spa pony may as well have shouted it. “And maybe branch out into other, uh, things related to lifting dumbbells.”

Bulk laughed. “Like I need to! I got loads of dumbbells to lift in Ponyville, I don't think I'll ever run out!”

“Well, you could, uh,” Almond thought quickly, “use the time to, uh, work on achieving your dream!”

“Oh! You have a dream, Bulk?” Rarity asked, and Sunset nearly laughed at how genuinely eager she was.

“Yup,” he said proudly. “I guess it's kinda cliché, but I've always wanted to be a Wonderbolt.”

“A Wonderbolt?” Sunset asked, the words already flowing while her mind was preoccupied wondering whether or not she'd missed something. “Don't you have to be, you know, a pegasus to join?”

The subsequent moment of silence told Sunset she had, in fact, missed something crucial. Even if she still couldn't figure out what.

“Uh, yeah, as far as I know,” Bulk said, sounding completely confused. “What's the problem?”

“Uhhh...,” was all Sunset could say, a certain impossible-sounding possibility occurring to her. Just trying to think about it was enough to make her cheeks become peculiarly warm, and a good portion of her gastrointestinal system had apparently decided it was time to sink away into nothingness. She chanced a glance at Rarity and saw both her and Almond Oil staring with secondhoof horror.

She laid her head back down, and spent a moment just wallowing in the mortification she was experiencing for the first time in... She honestly couldn't remember.

Eventually, she forced herself to say “You... are a pegasus, aren't you?”

“Well, yeah, what else would I be?”

Sunset turned her body just enough to look back at him, and saw him similarly contorted and giving the wings on his back a puzzled look.

“Whoa,” she said, having the presence of mind to at least add “How did I miss those?” no matter how stilted it probably sounded.

It was because they were small. Very, very small. She'd seen bigger wings on foals. They were small enough to give her doubts about his flying ability, and that was before factoring in Bulk's, well, bulk. Without knowing the equations describing pegasus flight off the top of her head, she could only fathom the amount of natural magic that it would take just to get him airborne as 'too much'.

And yet, his dream was apparently to become a Wonderbolt – in other words, one of the best fliers in Equestria. Sunset couldn't see him achieving that dream no matter how hard he tried, and while others would no doubt commend him for his lofty goals it only left a bad taste in Sunset's mouth. She'd pegged him as a bit of a dim light the moment she'd seen him, but talking with him had been amusing enough. But that had been when she'd thought he was an earth pony; knowing that he was a pegasus with actual, ridiculously unattainable ambition just made her uncomfortable at how stupid he apparently was.

She was pulled from her train of thought by the realization that the conversation had proceeded without her input. “...thought of it like that,” she heard Bulk say. “Huh. Come to think of it, most of the other weightlifters are earth ponies. Weird.”

Just glancing at Rarity and Almond Oil told Sunset how little they agreed. But it seemed that none of the three had any heart to break it to Bulk, so they remained silent.

“Well, regardless,” Rarity eventually said, “I'm sure you'll achieve your goal eventually with hard work and proper training.” Sunset couldn't tell if she was lying or honestly believed it.

Either way, she could sense the conversation was drifting too close to an area that would just make Rarity mope about her lack of spectacular business success, so Sunset decided to steer things away. Again.

“So, Almond, tell me about yourself,” Sunset asked, having decided she was good on hearing from Bulk.

Almond replied with a vague grunt, and Sunset thought she saw the mare shrug out of the corner of her eye while continuing to massage Rarity. “What's there to tell? I grew up just down the road from Ponyville, and moved here when the Day Spa opened up. I love my job, and I'm happy with my life.”

“Mm, I'm glad for you,” Rarity said. “Really, I am. It seems that our quiet little town is filled with ponies that are just as perfectly satisfied with their lives as you are.”

Sunset stifled a groan, both about where Rarity was obviously headed again and at her own failure to prevent it.

The dressmaker sighed. “I only wish I felt quite the same way. I mean don't get me wrong, I love Ponyville and my boutique, but I do have my own dreams to fulfill.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean,” Bulk said, and Sunset was grateful to still feel his hooves pressing in to her shoulders. “It's like, there's so much more you wanna do with your life. You know?”

“Oh, absolutely,” Rarity said. “And I don't care what anypony says, there's nothing wrong with dreaming big.”

“Hey, can't argue with that,” Sunset said, a wave of recollection washing over her. Her thoughts drifted back to her own ambitions, the ones she'd had for as long as she could remember. She was going to be great. A unicorn so powerful her name would be known all around the world. Probably a Princess, too, assuming she could prove she deserved it before she was old and gray. Admittedly some of her ambitions had fallen onto the wayside lately, but as far as Sunset was concerned that was solely because she needed to focus on actually gaining the power and skill that powerful unicorns were known for.

There weren't any shortcuts for that kind of thing. Princess Celestia had told her that time and again.

“Oh, and what are your big dreams, Sunset?” Rarity asked, snapping her thoughts back to the present.

Sunset closed her eyes and shrugged while Bulk was preoccupied with reapplying massage oil to her back. “Oh, you know, just the next great unicorn wizard,” she answered, putting just enough cockiness into her voice that the others wouldn't think to delve deeper – sharing her ambition of becoming the next alicorn Princess would only make her seem egotistical. “Should be easy, what with being Princess Celestia's personal student and all.”

“Whoa, you're the student of Princess Celestia?” Bulk said, voice filled with an amount of surprise and awe that took Sunset off her guard.

“Oh my, didn't you know?” Rarity replied, and Sunset could hear her smile slyly. “Came here from Canterlot to live with a close friend of mine not that long ago.”

Sunset didn't know what she hated more, that Rarity was apparently using her position as a means to boost her own status with a pair of masseuses, or herself for practically walking right into it. Between the gossip her artifacts being shipped had generated and Twilight's extensive tour of the town, she hadn't realized that anypony didn't know who she was. But apparently Bulk Biceps was just that oblivious.

“Wow, you musta seen a lot of cool stuff,” Bulk said, still in awe. “Hey, you think you can get me a hoof in the door with the Wonderbolts?”

She spent a moment contemplating just what tone she should take with a pony who was starting to become annoying, but was also in a position to crush her spine. She decided any snippiness probably wasn't worth the risk, and settled for a private eye-roll instead. “Sorry, but I don't really know them well enough,” she told him.

“Huh,” he said, voice flat. “Guess I'll just have to audition like everypony else. Oh well. Anyway, I'm pretty sure the massage is done.” A beat. “You feel relaxed, right?”

It hadn't occurred to Sunset, but she did. At least her muscles were relaxed anyway; her mind was still worked up over the various conversations. “Yeah, I am. Thanks.”

“Awesome! No problem!” Bulk said, grinning as she sat up on her haunches.

From the next table, Rarity sighed. “My, time flies, doesn't it? Splendid job, though, Almond Oil.”

“Thank you, Miss Rarity,” Almond said with a slight bow. “We'll go get your hooficure artists and tell them that you're ready.”

“YEAH!” Bulk yelled to the shock of all. Almond sighed once she recovered, and the two went back to the door they'd come in through. Almond went first, and for good reason – Bulk got stuck when he tried going through again. “Come... on... you...!” Sunset and Rarity heard him grunt, sharing an astounded look before a mighty crack drew their attention back to the door.

Bulk had finally gotten through, but had taken the door frame – and a few pieces of wall – with him.

Rarity looked back at Sunset, eyes wide. “Oh my.”

“Yeah, I think understand why Almond Oil doesn't like having him around,” Sunset said, eyed glued to the gaping hole where the door used to be.

“Hmm... I suppose she was being more than just supportive of Bulk leaving to pursue his dream...” she replied, hoof on her chin as though she'd somehow only just had the thought.

Sunset sighed, and rested back down on the massage table. “Not the worst massage I've ever had, though, I'll give him that.”

“I'll take your word for it...,” Rarity said, her doubt showing through in the frown she was giving the ex-doorway. “To be honest, I've been having my doubts that you're enjoying our little outing.”

Sunset spent a good few moments thinking over her answer. Then she sighed. “I'll admit it hasn't been the best spa experience I've ever had, but it's had its moments.” She offered the dressmaker a smile. “Though I'll save my final judgment for after the hooficure.”

---

The hooficure ended up going perfectly fine, and despite repeated questions from Rarity about whether I wanted to do anything else at the spa, and assurances that she'd cover the entire bill, and the 'Oh but I'm not quite sure you've had the chance to truly relax yet', we called it a day shortly after that. I told her that I'd had a good enough time that I'd definitely consider returning in the future, but left out that the return was at an unspecified date and that I'd rather not go back with Rarity.

The trip... didn't really do much to change my initial impression of her, to be honest. Gregarious, talkative, concerned very much about her appearance and reputation over basically everything else. Maybe not nearly as power-hungry as I'd expected, but definitely a 'big fish in a small pond' kind of outlook. Her attempts at generosity that day (mostly just genuinely wanting to pay to let me have a good time) struck me more as an attempt to butter me up so I'd help her expand her business into Canterlot.

Never did end up talking much about Canterlot that day, I think. Part of me is proud of that, even though it's stupid. Obviously she was just going to pester me about it some other time. I wonder if even back then I had some subconscious drive to spend more time with her and the others. I don't know, maybe.

That... I feel like I should mention some of that resentment I had welling up in me at that point? I don't know. I'll get to writing about it eventually. I just... gotta get past some other things first. I'm sure there's some kind of cooking metaphor that would describe it. “Watched pot never boils”, that sort of thing.

Anyway. Despite not really befriending Rarity as much as she thought, the day was still pretty important since it's the first time I met Bulk. Strange to think that we're legitimately friends now. Though maybe not that strange, since I'm also friends with Pinkie now. What can I say? At first he ranged between a temporary amusement and a loud annoyance, but the loveable doofus just kinda grows on you. It helps that he's genuinely been there for me several times, along with my other friends.

He's gotten better at massages, which helps. Though I hear the deep tissue stuff is still his strong suit. And I still don't think he has a very good chance of becoming a Wonderbolt, not that I've ever had the heart to break it to him.

So... yeah. First big interaction with Fluttershy, first spa day with Rarity, first time meeting Bulk. Not a bad amount of writing for today, though I should really call it done since I have to go check on the Bowl of Wonders. (later update: for those wondering, I filled it with almond oil and got refried beans! I think I might be onto something!) (later later update: I wasn't.)

For the record, I do intend on keeping with the 'major events' theme for the next few all subsequent entries. Although, uh, I guess 'major' may not be the best descriptor? Important? Notable? Something like that. But mostly right now I wanna follow the trend I set up with these last few stories and share some stuff involving Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie.

And then after that... Well, I guess I won't have any choice left. I'm not looking forward to it.

- Sunset Shimmer

Comments

[Rixec]

Very nice chapter showing Sunset trying to relax as she tried bonding with Rarity. It may be taking her a while to get used to Rarity, but at least it allowed her to vent a little about how she feels, which can be the start of her finally managing to start talking about it healthily. It's intriguing to see she'll even make friends with Bulk; gonna be intriguing to see how it all happens.

[RisingBluePhoenix]

Guess the only ponies left for Sunset to interact with are Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie. Can't wait to see that and Sunset becoming friends with Octavia and Vinyl Scratch!!!

[lazyreader19]

Bowl of wonders? Is that a relative to the Amityville Toaster? :P

[Vaguely Demented]

Rarity is kinda poking a wasp nest with a stick through most of this chapter. I can only imagine what it will be like if she manages to rile Sunset up to full Armageddon mode.

[FanOfMostEverything]

Hmm. I wonder if Spike still has an in with Hoity Toity in this timeline...

In any case, I suspect Sunset exposed more of herself than she realized. The question is what Rarity did with that information. And what event present Sunset is trying to avoid talking about for as long as possible...

[Fangren]

8997534
Every little step counts with friendship. Even the ones you don't notice at the time.

8997612
Yup! You'll get a better understanding of the order it happens in with this coming chapter.

8997719
Well, no. The similarity wasn't intentional.

8997936
Oh yeah. Luckily, I don't really foresee Sunset's mood going quite that south...

8998908
Does Spike have something like that? I'd genuinely forgotten. Hmm. And what indeed did Rarity think, and what indeed is Sunset avoiding....

[Willfire]

After this chapter with Bulk, I think I know why that crystal ball points at that one field. I think some mare enjoyed the view.