She'd heard about it from Rarity who'd heard about it from Roseluck, who'd heard about it from... well, you get the idea.
The Parlor.
It was a fairly innocuous, nondescript building - the third of its kind, no less - just down a side-alley near the Ponyville Spa.
According to rumor and hearsay, she'd expected it to be the sort of establishment wherein one might find all-manner of disgusting debauchery between her kind and humans. What she didn't expect to see was the interior of an old-fashioned cottage, all wood, brass, and iron. The place... it's atmosphere felt warm, and safe. It felt like home.
When she stepped through the door from the outside - and it closed behind her - the sound from out there was silenced as a fair-skinned, brunette women looked at her from behind the counter and smiled gently. "Come on in, sweetheart, don't be shy," she said. "This is your first time here, yes?"
Swallowing nervously, Twilight Sparkle nodded shakily as she approached the counter to hoof over a small bag of bits. "I--" the lavender pony mare stalled, then started again. "Rarity told me about this place," she stated as the woman went about carefully counting the money she'd deposited, "but I still don't understand what it is that you do here..."
"Not many ponies do," the woman stated as she continued to count. A moment later, she finished counting Twilight's bits, then placed the money securely into the cash register upon the counter. "Congratulations," the woman stated, "you've paid enough for an entire day here! Come on, I'll take you through..." With that, the woman came out from behind the counter and gently coaxed a very nervous Twilight Sparkle down a short corridor that ended in a pair of enormous oaken doors with brass handles. With a smile, the woman opened the doors... and then Twilight gasped as she beheld what lay within.
Before the lavender pony mare stretched an enormous room. Bookshelves filled with all manner of books lined the walls, and a soft carpet - which felt like heaven upon her hooves - covered the floor. Magically enchanted lanterns and chandeliers situated upon the walls and ceiling bathed the room with a gentle glow--but as her eyes adjusted to the room, Twilight Sparkle gasped, her eyes widening in awe... for she realized she wasn't alone. All-manner of futons, sleeping bags, mattresses, beds, bean bags, recliners, and sofas filled the room--occupied by all-manner of ponies... being petted by humans? Some of the room's furniture was occupied solely by humans - who were waiting for ponies to join them she realized - and there were other things of interest within the room as well.
A shaky sigh escaping her, Twilight began to feel her stress and anxiety dissipate. 'I'm not sure what I expected to find here,' she thought, 'but it certainly wasn't anything like this...' As the woman who'd escorted her inside gently closed the doors behind her with a whispered, "See you later," emboldened, Twilight moved further into the room to investigate. In front of an open fire - thankfully covered by a fireguard - various groups of little colts and fillies chatted quietly as they laid upon small mattresses, or dozed and rested upon others, or cuddled with male and female humans whom held them close and stroked their coats and manes. Away from them, an elderly woman rocked gently within a rocking chair as she held a small, sleeping colt in her arms. Further back, a full-grown pony mare perhaps a little younger than Twilight herself sighed contentedly within a bed as she nestled gently against the sleepwear-clad human she snuggled with.
Away from them, a familiar red earth pony stallion - freed from his yoke - groaned softly as a human woman caressed him and massaged his aching muscles. Then, Twilight goggled as she espied a very familiar cyan-furred, rainbow-maned pegasus mare. Stretched out on her front upon a mattress on the floor, Rainbow Dash nearly napped, lazily shifting this way and that way as the human man attending her roamed his hands over her mane, coat, wings and tail. Whimpering softly, Twilight pulled her attention away to glance over at a corner where two bookshelves intersected; therein she saw a woman reading a book aloud to a brown unicorn stallion as they nestled together in bed.
On the other side of the room, sleeping ponies were gathered about an elderly human man whom sat cross-legged amidst them. Around the man were various bowls and he would strike them occasionally, creating an unusual soothing sound that - even from here - Twilight could feel resonate through her and harmonize with her magic... Further away the little pony mare espied a small kitchen wherein a human chef appeared to be making the most wonderful salads, as well as hot soup and other vegetarian dishes which made her mouth water; she could smell them from where she stood.
'This... This is no place of debauchery!' thought Twilight. 'It's... it's a place of relaxation for us...--no, not just for us, for ponies and humans. Ponies like the--the feel of human hands and petting animals relaxes humans--though we're not true animals... oh, hay it doesn't matter...' Even as these thoughts filled her mind, Twilight couldn't help but glance over to a secluded corner where a familiar yellow-furred pegasus slept contentedly upon an old but comfortable looking sofa, her body outstretched and her head upon the lap of a human woman, said woman soothingly brushing her pink mane. Beside them, there rested another sofa, occupied only by a waiting human man, and... and why were her hooves moving her that way?
'No! Stop! I'm supposed to be investigating this place for Princess Celestia! Brain, stop...! I'm not an animal to be petted; I'm not... I... I...' Instinct warred briefly with reason and for a moment, Twilight stopped halfway to the sofa... but then, with a gentle smile the human occupying it tapped his clothed lap in invitation. That lap sure looked like a nice place to rest one's head... and then instinct won; carefully, Twilight made her way over to the sofa, hopped up on it and curled up, resting her head in the human man's lap. A moment later, as a soft, warm blanket covered her body and she stretched beneath it, she blink-blinked, gazing up at the human whom was about to start petting her with glistening eyes. "I-I... this is... but... I'm not an animal..." she whimpered, plaintively.
As the human began to comb his fingers through her mane, he smiled gently. "Of course you're not. We know that. Doesn't mean we can't pet you. Doesn't mean you can't enjoy it. It's alright, sweetheart; the first time here is always the most difficult to grasp and understand. It's okay. What you're doing isn't wrong. No other pony - especially the ponies here - will think less of you for allowing yourself to let go. That's all you have to do. Just let go." The feel of his hands upon her, the sound of his voice so soft and gentle... it was all too much, and in that instant the part of her that was Twilight gently fell away, allowing the primal parts of her that were animal and pony to come to the surface. Nickering softly, Twi nestled into her human's lap, moving closer to him.
Man was warm. Man was safe. Man would care for Twi. A contented sigh escaping her, slowly, gently, the little pony mare closed her eyes...
WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO TO GET A JOB IN THIS WONDERFUL PLACE!
Dear Coranth, can I marry your brain, pretty please?
x_x
ALL THE FEELS, DUDE.
Fuzzy, furry little adorable animals (ok, not really animals, but whatever) that you can pet, rub and cuddle? My hidden inner softie squeals and demands I build a dimensional transfer machine to Equestria RIGHT FUCKING NOW!!!
Or something along those lines, idk.
And thus, the corruption begins... So far, it looks like Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and now Twilight Sparkle have been seduced by the Great Cuddling Conspiracy, so Pinkie Pie (easy pies that one) and Applejack (prolly much more difficult) remains and then all the Elements will have been caught... And then, they will tempt Luna and Celestia into trying it...
AND THEN THE GREAT CUDDLING CONSPIRACY... WILL CUDDLE ALL OF EQUESTRIA!!!!
Oh wow, I must be disturbed in the brain. Bad brain!
...There were not enough belly rubs! We must have MOAR BELLY RUBS!
Just for the novelty of it, please write some more of this. Seriously, plz do!
the petting parlor sounds like the most wonderful place in all of the HIE multiverse now i want to see a whole multi chapter story based on this idea
I wonder if a place along these lines could work in real life...
2847491
We will rub EVERY BELLY!
2849224
Indeed we will! There will not be a single belly left unrubbed!
So adorable. My black heart... can't... take it...
HHNNNGG
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2847510 Feel free to use this snippet as fuel for writing; that's what I post these things for, so you guys can take em and run with them; write your own stories using em! Together... we will pet all the ponies! As with all things, however, there are rules.
All applicants welcome to apply for the position of pony-attendant. Bronies and Pegasisters will be considered first.
Job requirements:
1. You must - above all else - adore ponies so you can love what you're doing in the Parlor, of course! All parlor attendants are given a thorough screening/background check, etc. Standard stuff. If you're just there for the money and don't genuinely enjoy the 'work', you'll have to leave.
2. Whatever the ponies want, they get - coat, mane, tail stroking/petting; ear scritchies, belly rubs, massages, brushing, snuggling with you in bed (pajamas must be worn); stories read aloud to them, etc. but no sex/sex play is permitted, unless a pony specifically requests it. Abuse of our clients' trust is forbidden.
3. As stated above, sex and or sexual play is permitted but if so then you and the pony you're with will be moved to a private room. Bondage, S&M - any kind of play that causes a pony distress, pain, discomfort - IS FORBIDDEN! Private rooms are under light surveillance at all times. One pony/human pair to a room only; remember that this is a place of relaxation and rest for ponies and humans, not a red light district. The private rooms are unfortunately where most of the nasty rumors about the Parlor come from, even though requests of this nature are handled in a very discreet and professional manner... :(
4. Foalophiles, perverts, and sexual deviants are forbidden from the premises.
2850133 i really wish i could write an entire story based on this but alas i am a terrible writer but im going to try and find a good writer to do this
2850133
Referred here by another user (member?), and I actually enjoyed this little snippet. Not sure how much this idea can be expanded on, since you've already set the scene (parlor) for the story, and the parlor's purpose. Not much mystery, but perhaps there is a larger audience out there, that hasn't caught wind of this short yet.
Even so, I'm truly interested in this idea, and would enjoy working closely with you on developing it into an actual story. Only if you want to, of course. Oh, and I'm following you now. I blend in easily, so you can't see me...
2852228 Eh, I don't know... I'm a hopeless writer, really. I just love ponies and such - and yes, I'm so hopeless the only thing I'm really good at are Author Self-Inserts. Got an awesome one I was working on called "Pandora's Templar"; a cross between the film "Avatar" (yes that movie) and my own story universe, "Dragon of the Sun."
Don't know enough about pony, really, but I can at least write bits... I guess. Prefer reading stories to writing them, really. If you want to read "Pandora's Templar," let me know and I'll send it to an email address, or something. You can tell me whether it was good, or whether it sucked.
Eh, what else?
I'm an archivist. I collect stories. Got an archive of over 8,000. Probably got a few of yours in there...
Creepy.
But as a WH40K fan, that is to be expected...
There's nothing really creepy about this; there's no mind control happening or anything; Twilight has let go and allowed herself to be just a simple animal for a while as she drifts and lets the human pet and tend to her. When she wakes up again she'll be her normal self, but probably feel a hell of a lot better. Effectively, when a pony goes to the Parlor what happens there is a very mild form of non-BSDM 'pet play'; true pet play where a pony knows he/she can let go; surrender the responsibilities of normal pony life and just be petted, cared for, loved, unconditionally. It's an utterly gentle, nurturing treatment, for both ponies and humans. To care and be cared for. For us humans petting those ponies (and other animals, etc in real life of course) is a calming thing to do and a good way to relax and remove stress. For the ponies, well, they love to be petted, massaged etc. If it helps, think of this as a super-light G-Rated version of the Gentlemen for Mares verse; lots of feels, d'awws, hnnngh, and diabeetus!
2856013 Actually, I meant that right there: you really didn't need to emphasize enormous in that sentence. It's enough of an image-filled word that you don't need to emphasize it anymore than it does naturally. Names, of course, can be in italics, but quite a few words in this fic just don't need to be.
In addition, please don't say "said he." It's just "he said," "said he" sounds pretentious and lame as all hell.
But all in all, this is pretty nit-picky stuff atop what is actually very solid writing, my friend. I love the idea here: humans and ponies, no sex, no inter-species violence, just...relaxing together. Just realizing what they have to give to each other, and it's not oral! Very nice.
2856301
This is your opinion.
Do I care about it?
No, I do not.
I word it that way because I find it easier to read aloud without stuttering.
If you do not like my work, there exists a very simple solution to your problem...
STOP READING
2856437 Never said I didn't like your work: quite the opposite in fact. Just a helpful tip, though I probably could have worded it better (yeah, not a tactful person, sorry). Whether or not you take my advice is of no consequence to me.
2856437
Whoa! Steady on friend, he was just giving a tip.
He also said that he enjoyed your writing as well. So just chill
It's a bit of a nit pick, but as readers we're entitled to it. Exploding at your readers will get you in the shitlist so quickly that you won't know it hit you
I enjoy your short shorts, I really do. But don't yell at your readers if you dislike something. Just smile, nod, get on with it and act professional
Works for me anyway, and I've had my share of angry readers
PROOF READ-ING DA-LEK WOULD LIKE TO RE-PORT OF-FEND-ING SNIP-PETS HAVE BEEN ED-IT-ED! CEASE COM-PLAINTS! CEASE COM-PLAINTS!
Silly pretty purple pone. When it comes to sapient equals, humans don't pet the. It's called social grooming.