> School Year Relief
>  by nobody495
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> At the Hooves of the Swedish Massage
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The School of Friendship. The site where species all over Equestria would come to learn about friendship, and learn how to coexist amongst each other. Headed by the once bearers of the Elements of Harmony, this school is far from normal, and seems to invite all sorts of bizarre happenings. They usually consist of wacky shenanigans of varying levels of severity, but they usually turn out well in the end. And unfortunately, six groups of friends happen to be in some way involved with quite a few of the issues. Them being the easygoing earth pony Sandbar, the well-meaning yet clumsy yak Yona, the hyperactive seapony Silverstream, the sarcastic griffon Gallus, the shy changeling Ocellus, and the abrasive dragon Smolder.
Sans Sandbar, they were sent as representatives of their respective species, and would come to learn the importance of friendship across the species. And, fortunately, these 6 would come to become close to each other as they’d continue to learn. Though, starting today, they might end up getting a little too close. And it’d center around Smolder, Ocellus, and a certain, dumb book. Well, dumb for Smolder, at least.
“You want to do what?” Smolder asked one day, having been approached by Ocellus. At her clear discomfort, the changeling shrank away, shivering a little and her wings buzzing in surprise. 
“S-sorry, Smolder,” she said. “I-I was checking out a few books in the library, and looking for something to help build up bonds. Something that required a little, well… a little less talking… A-and, I heard about person-to-person contact that could help out, so I looked into the library f-for…” Smolder’s eyes hadn’t stopped narrowing after Ocellus’ suggestion. Even as the changeling talked. 
“For… massages?” Smolder asked, finishing Ocellus’ sentence. The changeling then timidly nodded while rubbing a foreleg. “And you went to me… why?”
“Well, it’s just… Well, I’m not sure about reaching out to a lot of others about this,” Ocellus said. “I wanted to test out what I learned on someone I was already friends with. And, well, since it’s meant to work out the tough spot of those muscles, I figured, n-no offense, that your hard hide might make for good practice.” Smolder rose a brow again.
“You wanted to practice squeezing those hard muscles out… on my natural hard scales?” Smolder asked for clarification. Ocellus seemed to shrink even more than before, and had started backing up a little.
“Y-yeah, I guess it’s a little silly…” Ocellus admitted. “I-If I can admit, I know there are better test subjects. But, you… well, you kind of helped me come out a little more…” At that, Smolder’s narrow gaze lessened a little as she recalled back to the whole Tree of Harmony incident, where Ocellus was faced with her deepest fear, a certain super villain who’d forced her race to live as monsters for a long time. “And, well, I thought maybe you could help me with this again?” Smolder sighed. She might’ve been a bit too defensive with the first impression of the question. And, well, unfortunately, it seemed like she was a slight crutch for her. She supposed if she didn’t lend her the chance, she wouldn’t keep up with this quest. Then again, should she…?
Smolder closed her eyes and sighed again.
“Ok, let’s,” she said. Ocellus seemed to get more upright. Smolder then erected a finger commandingly. “Let’s… let’s try it. We’ll see how good you are, and then we’ll carefully consider who else you should put your hooves on. Sound good?” Ocellus didn’t seem to be completely confident still, so she gave a meek nod. “Good. Now, let’s go somewhere private. Classes are out, anyways.” Ocellus nodded again, and then the duo began walking down the halls.
After plenty of walking, they’d arrive at their dorms, and specifically at Smolder’s room. The duo were in, and the dragon made sure to lock the door, testing it a little to make sure it didn’t open. 
“I think we should be safe,” Smolder said. And then, she turned toward Ocellus. “So, how’re we doing this?”
“W-well, first you’ll have to lie down there,” Ocellus said, motioning towards the bed in the room. Smolder nodded, and then went over to it, where she lied down. She crossed her arms and rested her chin on top of them, spreading her wings and keeping her tail nice and straight. At the same time, the changeling approached from behind, where she got up on top of it, and she hovered just above her. Before they started, Ocellus put a hoof up to her ear, then the other.
“Sounds nice and quiet,” Ocellus said. “A good environment for one of these.” She then scooted her hooves towards Smolder’s shoulders, her rolling her eyes as the changeling seemed to be trying to assess the situation before she bothered with the massage. “This is good for first timers. Just make sure you’re nice and loose… and you won’t have to worry about moving. If you let me, I’ll move you around.”
Smolder rose a brow at that. The idea of this girl moving her body however she wished felt kind of fishy to her. Though, she had to admit, Ocellus was helping to set the mood. On top of making sure everything was nice and quiet, her naturally meek voice made sure to be soothing on the ears. 
“I’m going to start soon, don’t be startled when you feel my hooves,” Ocellus warned. She brought up said hooves, and then settled them on her mid-back. She pressed down just gently enough, the bit of pressure squishing Smolder’s back and causing her eyes to widen a little. Then, the changeling began rocking her hooves forwards and back, rubbing forwards and backwards on this small patch of her scaly flesh. 
“Nnnnn…” Smolder muttered. She curled her toes a little. It felt a little funky, having her hooves trying to squeeze her back. She’d always figured those things would be absolute hell on anyone that ended up underneath one of those equines. She couldn’t help but feel slightly intimidated under those hooves, even if they belonged to meek little Ocellus. Eventually, the changeling changed from rocking to instead spreading her hooves. She moved them up her spine, just below the base of her wings, before spreading them in a circle, curling around her ribs, before closing the circle just under her tail, brushing her hooves.
Smolder clenched her hands a little at the trip up her spine. She could feel the tension build slightly as her hooves traveled up. Then, as if she were pouring warm water down her scales, the gentle, circular motion of her hooves helped to squeeze that tension away, pushing her worries away from her back and out to the sides. She closed her eyes defensively, feeling funny as those hooves not only moved in their circle, but also as they brushed her hips.
She repeated the circles a couple of times, before bringing her hooves up between the base of her wings, brushing  her hooves along her back such that they never left. Once up to her wings, she began rubbing around said bases, which was just the kind of spot Smolder needed hit. She was always using her wings, which meant she was always using those muscles there. So, of course, there was a lot of room for Ocellus to work with. 
“Oh my, you’re really stiff up here,” she noted as she pawed around at her shoulder area. She rubbed in circles, which then turned to her spreading her hooves outwards, as if squeezing the tension to the sides.
“M-mmm~!” Smolder moaned at that motion. The dragon didn’t realize what she’d done, until she realized Ocellus had paused for a moment. “Wh-what?”
“O-oh, I-I just didn’t expect…” Ocellus started. “Sorry, I didn’t expect to hear you make that kind of noise…” Smolder pondered what she meant… before realizing what she just did. The dragon then blushed furiously with the realization. 
“Y-You better not bring that up again!” Smolder demanded. She just lied back in place, waiting for the changeling to continue. 
“I mean, if you’re uncomfortable with that kind of stuff, we could stop-“ 
“No!” Smolder interrupted. Ocellus shrank away at her sudden shout. “…We decided we wanted to go through with this. So we’ll go through with this! Ok?”
“…Ok.” Ocellus affirmed with a nod. She leaned forwards again, and replaced her hooves on her shoulders. “I don’t think I got this quite enough…” Upon touchdown, Smolder could already feel the soothing touch of her pressure upon her weary wing flapping muscles.
“Oh definitely~” Smolder said, ushering her towards the shoulders. Ocellus seemed slightly uneasy, but she understood that her friend still felt she needed this. So, she repeated the circular motions again, followed by spreading to the side. The difference: She made sure the circles she rubbed steadily increased in radius, and she made sure she was brushing to the sides with different angles, trying her hardest to make sure she’s not touching the same spot too much. As she rubbed, Smolder fought back any noises, clamping her jaws shut. 
“You’re looking tense,” Ocellus said as she looked at the back of Smolder’s head. “This is supposed to be a moment of relaxation.” The changeling then scooted forwards, and lowered herself such that she was straddling her back. She wanted to get close enough, where she’d gently plant her hooves on either side of her head. Smolder glanced either way curiously at that. And then, Ocellus began running her hooves in circular motions around her temples. Smolder felt the exact opposite of a headache as a gentle pleasure ran through her cranium. She was soon forced to shut her eyes to enjoy the sensation fully. She didn’t even bother locking her jaws tight, and let out a shuddery moan. 
She had to admit, for how aggro she’s been for a while, her head was especially a big source of pain. But now, her massaging was working that stress out of her head. She wriggled her toes a little in response, and began leaning forwards more, forcing Ocellus to scoot forwards a little more to keep rubbing at her temples. 
“M-mm~ Just like that~” Smolder cooed. Ocellus felt the color rise to her cheeks, and she felt the urge to glance away from the dragon. But she still had a job to do. After rubbing her temples a little more, she brought them back to the back of her head, where she’d rub up and down to tend to both her neck and the back of her head. She let out a gentle coo at the careful touches. After that, she went from her neck, and to her shoulders, just under her wings, so that she could press on those too. She started by pressing on both evenly, which seemed to issue more toe-curling joy from the dragon. And then, she’d tend to either shoulder with both hooves, making sure she could hit at those tense parts with multiple angles.
“Nnnnnmmm~ Are you sure this is the first time you’ve done this?” Smolder moaned as she tended to her shoulders. 
“P-positive,” Ocellus said. “I guess it’s pretty easy to find your stress…” After tending to the shoulders, she hooked her arms with her hooves, and carefully spread them so that Smolder was no longer laying on them. This was so she could tend to the rest of her arms, where she began by pressing down into the biceps and squeezing them against the bed. Then, she dragged them forwards, squeezing first her biceps, then to her shoulders, and then to her upper arms, each in a single motion. As she pushed forwards, Smolder bit her lip, grunting a little at that movement.
“Oh yeah~!” Smolder moaned. Ocellus blushed harder at that sound, now starting to feel like she was dipping into something she probably shouldn’t.
“I think I got your upper body handled,” Ocellus said. “I could get to everything below the waistline. Sound good?” Smolder, meanwhile, was still reeling from that last attack. She panted a little, her eyes rolled into the back of her head as she lied there. It took her a couple of seconds to realize what Ocellus was asking.
“H-hm…?” Her ears seemed to perk up at what the changeling was suggesting. “O-oh yes! Work on it already!” she demanded indignantly. Ocellus blushed at that statement, nervously glancing side to side, before scooting backwards a little to give her legs a little room to tend to. And then, it was to the kneading. She carefully reached down and grasped one calf… and noticed that the dragon was shivering slightly in her grip. 
“Are you doing ok?” Ocellus asked.
“Just fine, just fine,” Smolder said. “Just continue.” Ocellus still seemed confused. Though, she couldn’t help but admit, there was something… endearing about the way she shivered. She almost wanted to feel it a little longer. But, she still had work. So, she began by squeezing on her thigh. “MMMN~!” Smolder grunted and tensed. The way those hooves put the pressure on her legs made her almost gasp with pleasure, but she wanted desperately to fight that urge.
Ocellus made sure to adjust her squeezes, making sure to change the angle of the attack to make sure she squeezed at each tense part of her thighs. And with each squeeze, Smolder shuddered, her toes curling painfully tight. She even began to claw at her bed to try and find a proper handhold. It was like if she didn’t find something to hold onto, she would end up falling somewhere. Soon, her forehooves got lower and lower, soon carefully grasping at her knees, where she’d knead at the joint.
“Mmm~ Yes~” Smolder moaned at the touch. Ocellus’ normally blue face was beat red with embarrassment. Almost done, almost done, she was nearing the end. Just had to get down to the feet, and this’d all be over. But first… Her hooves rested on the calves, aligning perpendicular from their straight legs. Again, Smolder’s shivers returned. Ocellus grit her teeth in worry, before she pressed down on her legs. “Ogh!” Smolder gasped at that. She was unable to fight back her bliss! She was subjected to her wandering hooves! Unfortunately, it’d come to an end.
“Get ready,” Ocellus said, angling Smolder’s feet. As she did, she held a hoof threateningly over them. “We’re at the finally…” At that, she could swear she felt the dragon deflate a little, as if with disappointment. 
“Fine then,” she said. “Get it over with.” But her spirits seemed to lift when she felt her hoof gently press her sole, not enough to massage, but enough to remind her what she’s about to feel. The changeling seemed to pause for some reason, maybe at feeling her get excited. Whatever the reason, Ocellus was blushing, and ready to get this over with. So, she took her hoof back… and then pressed it forwards.
“Ahhhh-AHHHHHH~!” Smolder squealed at the sudden pressure. This was the kind of touch she’d needed for so long! She squeezed her poor foot, pressing out the stress. She grit her teeth and pounded the bed, before sighing and going completely limp, her tongue lulling out. Ocellus, meanwhile, was left with a panting, blushing dragon, who was limp on the bed before her.
“O-oh my…” Ocellus muttered.
…
“I didn’t realize how much I needed that,” Smolder said as she stretched her body. Ocellus, meanwhile, was seated on the bed and nervously wringing her hooves. 
“G-good to know it did well…” Ocellus said. Smolder finished her stretching, and then got up off the bed.
“So, how’re you feeling about that gift of yours?” Smolder asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, you’re obviously very good with it. And you got as far as you got with me,” Smolder said. “Think you’ll want to try that out with somepony else?”
“O-oh, I don’t know…” Ocellus admitted. “I would probably do it with you again, but my heart was racing the whole time…”
“I guess you just need some more practice…” Smolder said. She blushed as she considered her next words. “Maybe we can schedule that another time?”
“Y-yeah, I guess we can…” Ocellus said. She then followed Smolder up off the bed. “Maybe next…”
“Let’s give it 3 days,” Smolder said. “That’ll give me time to get upset and for you to work your magic.”
“Sounds good,” Ocellus said. “Suppose I’ll meet you here in 3 days.”
“See you then!” Smolder said cheerfully. With that, the two headed out of Smolder’s room.
> In the Grip of Reflexology
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was after school! And coming to the dorms was a certain, bubbly pony. She bore soft-pink fur with a sea blue mane and tail, while also bearing Pegasus-like wings. At least on land she was like that. She also had the unique ability to morph in the water, where she’d adopt the lower half of a fish tail, her wings would transform into fins, and she bore flippers instead of forelegs. This was Silverstream, the representative of the Hippogriffs, and cousin to their princess. She was among the six group of friends, and was more than happy to learn more about the above-sea world, having lived underwater her whole life.
She was at her dome tonight. She’d spent so much time checking out the world, she sort of exhausted herself. She walked into the house and approached her own dorm, when she began hearing something.
“Nnnnn…” she heard. It sounded kind of like…
“Smolder?” she muttered out. Curious, she turned around and approached the dragon’s room, walking with the care of a cat. She neared the door, and leaned in. And there, she heard all sorts of weird noises.
“Are you doing ok?” an Ocellus sounding voice said.
“Just fine, just fine,” Smolder said. “Just continue.” Then, there was a slight pause. “Mmm~ Yes~” Silverstream blushed terribly hard at that exchange. She drew back and covered her muzzle, her eyes wide with shock and embarrassment. She feels like she’s just stumbled upon an open diary, now living with a secret she can’t ever know! And yet, Smolder… It felt as sweet as candy listening to her, and she couldn’t explain why. Something about her gentle enjoyment made her heart beat faster and faster. And yet, if they were doing what she feared…
Silverstream skidded away from the room, bounding across the floor as she raced in the opposite direction and out of there. She’d rush into her own room, trying to hide away from any and all potential subjects to what she’d just witnessed under her bedsheets…
Eventually, she could hear them begin to leave their room. They stepped by her room, and were talking about how they’re going to do that again. They appeared to be plotting to do that stuff in their dorm all over again. Silverstream felt her heart race again. Should she just stay quiet, listen to those dragon noises again? No, someone else might hear them and come check them out in the act, removing the one barrier she herself had. Only she had what it took to continue on with what she learned. So, she began to get out of bed.
She opened her door a crack, and saw the two going down the hall, seeming to head towards the front door. She followed, and saw Ocellus wave of Smolder, who was walking out the door. Ocellus shut the door, and turned around, to be greeted by…
“What was that?!” Silverstream shouted the moment their eyes met. Ocellus yelped out in shock, her wings taking her off the ground as she leapt up in surprise, before she doubled backwards, shrinking away. Upon realizing who it was, her defensive stance lessened as she approached.
“Silverstream? O-oh dear, could you please not sneak up on me like that?” she asked.
“I didn’t know the two of you were THAT close!” Silverstream declared, ignoring Ocellus’ distress. Ocellus rose a brow, before blushing.
“O-oh, y-you saw that?” Ocellus said. The hippogriff nodded.
“Heard ya right through the door!” she explained. Ocellus’ ears and wings drooped with discomfort as her words sunk in.
“I-I didn’t want you to find out like this…” she said.
“Suppose you should’ve picked a more private spot,” Silverstream suggested.
“Y-yeah, I guess…” Ocellus said. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you wanted that first…”
“What?” Silverstream asked. “N-no, you and Smolder… That kind of thing’s special…”
“Really?” Silverstream nodded in affirmation. “O-oh, I didn’t realize massages were that serious…”
“Yeah, you really ought to consider everything before you-“ Silverstream started, before her eyes widened at what she said. “Uh… what was that about massages?”
…
Smolder finished up yet another day of classes. Once again, it was stressful, especially when her mind wandered to that day with Ocellus. She thought about how her hooves felt on her, and found herself drooling a little even at the memory. It took her a lot to hide her embarrassing elation from the classes, but she thought she managed to avoid getting detected. So, she’d eventually come to the dorm to relax. Though, on the way back she couldn’t help but chastise herself for putting so much of a pause between massages.
“’3 days’? Good going, Smolder,” she said. “Why did nopony tell me the next day would be this annoying!” She sighed before opening up the door to the dorm, entering. She decided that the best thing for her right now would be to lie down on some bed and sleep up. She walked over to her respective room, and opened up her door. She neared her bed in the corner, where she flopped down on it, not taking much of the room into account as she approached. Including the hippogriff in the corner.
Silverstream was watching the dragon enter, and watching her head towards her bed. And once there, she climbed up onto it, and flopped down onto the mattress. Seeing her lay down, the hippogriff decided to work her magic. She carefully approached Smolder as she lied down, the dragon blissfully unaware of her presence. And then, once she was before the bed, she got into a low stance, shaking her butt like a cat about to pounce, and then leapt up on the mattress, landing on top of Smolder.
“WAH!” the dragon shouted in surprise at the sudden pressure planted on top of her. Faster than Silverstream could act, Smolder wriggled about under her, thrashing violently before hurling the hippogriff off of her. She suddenly shot to her feet to glare down at the sudden assailant, before softening slightly at the reveal of the rando in her room. “Darn it, Silverstream!” she shouted.
“Hi there!” she cheered from the floor. She then shot up onto her feet, never minding Smolder’s intense scowl. “I was waiting for you to show up!”
“Inside my room?!” Smolder spat out.
“Well duh! Where else could I wait for you?”
“Literally anywhere else!” Smolder shouted as she flung her arms into the air. “Why are you even waiting for me anyways?” 
“Oh, I spoke to Ocellus earlier! And she told me about this really cool thing the two of you were doing, and I wanted to-!”
“Ok, pause,” Smolder said. She paused herself to process the information. “Ok, spoke to Ocellus… really cool thing… That changeling sold me out!” she muttered to herself.
“Did we pause enough?” Silverstream asked. “Cause I really wanna do the thing. I even asked Ocellus to show me a different way to do the thing!” Smolder rose a brow in curiosity.
“What do you mean a different way?” she asked. She’d pretty much already figured what the ‘thing’ was, but now she’s talking about being able to do the same thing a different way?
“Yep! Apparently she was just doing one of those things. She was gonna try a different one two days from now, but I said I wanted to try it, so she’s letting me!” Two days… it would’ve been three one day ago, which meant that would’ve been the scheduled day for the massage. Smolder rolled her eyes at the thought of that being taken over by this sea pony. But, she figured there could be worse ponies to find out about what she’s doing.
“Alright, I guess we can try it,” Smolder said. “You’re lucky today was a rotten day.” Silverstream clapped her forehooves together happily, a certain twinkle in her eye. The dragon then began to lie down. “But if it gets weird, I reserve the right to kick your butt!” Silverstream nodded, her happy expression never faltering. With that, the dragon was on her back again, lying on top of her wrists as she crossed her arms. Silverstream, meanwhile, climbed up on top of her.
The hippogriff brought up her hands, and hovered over to her arms.
“I’ll need full access to those,” she said. Smolder grunted and lifted off of those arms, at which the sea pony grabbed one of them by the wrist, before lifting them out towards her side. “And can you please leave the other arm mirroring this one?” Smolder huffed again, and set her other arm on the other side of her. And once both hands were laid down parallel to her body, Silverstream picked up her right hand.
There, she wrapped all but her thumbs around the back of it to lift it, where she’d bring up her thumbs, and begin by pressing them into her palm.
“Hm?” Smolder muttered, unsure about the technique. And then, she increased her pressure, pressing into a section of her palms. “M-mmmm~” she moaned at the sudden pressure. That was already pretty nice, she’d used her hands an awful lot today. And then, she began alternating where she pressed, opting to press into different upon different part of her palm. “A-ah~” she cooed as she kept on pressing down on that palm.
Silverstream would move her hands and palms around just right so that she could knead a new part of Smolder’s palm. And as she did, she couldn’t help but feel a certain joy from Smolder’s moans. This reminded her so much of when she passed by her dorm and heard her. Except now she was responsible for them. How nice. She kept on kneading, going from the finger half to the wrist half, especially that fat wrist half. That part seemed to carry a lot of attention. 
After enough of that, she removed her hands and placed her’s on the bed below her, before moving over to the other side. There, she gripped her hand, and began a similar technique. Either half of her palm she worked, from the joint to the wrist. And as she did, the dragon’s eyes fluttered with pleasure.
“O-oh woah~” she moaned. “Oh yeah, keep doing that~” Silverstream felt her heart quiver at Smolder’s sheer pleasure. She sighed and kept on kneading at it, altering where she presses with her thumbs. Upper half, lower half, upper half, lower half… She’d even try to massage her digits a little, which seemed to get Smolder kicking with pleasure. Silverstream could swear she was blushing too. Eventually, she stopped that massage, and gently patted her hands.
“Ok, I’ll be going down to your feet, are you ticklish?” Silverstream warned. Smolder, meanwhile, seemed to still be reeling from the assault on her palms. And then she registered the question.
“H-huh? …Oh yeah, no, I’m good,” Smolder said. Silverstream nodded in affirmation, not that the dragon could see her. So, the hippogriff approached the other end of the bed, where she’d have full access to those feet. So, she reached under them, before gently picking them up. There, she started by wrapping her non-thumbs around the foot to prop it and her sole up. And then, she brought up her thumbs, gently hovering them over her. Smolder could feel the gentle heat of her thumbs near her soles, the dragon literally shaking with anticipation. 
She felt like getting on with it, but part of Silverstream felt a sort of power. Here Smolder was, shaking, begging for the moment of relief. And she’d be the only one to deliver upon her. Eventually, the dragon huffed.
“Just do it already, ya furball!” she shouted. Silverstream took that as pause enough. So, she brought up her thumbs, before thrusting them sharply into the middle of her sole. “AAAAHH!” Smolder squealed in pleasure, her body arcing from the attack. The dragon kept herself positioned upright as Silverstream poked into her sole. And then, those thumbs began moving around the rest of her foot. “MMMMAH! OOOOH YES!” Smolder kept shouting as she rubbed her foot. She began banging the mattress beneath her, gritting her teeth with pleasure as an intense blush forms on her face.
Silverstream could practically feel her friend’s elation course through her, as if she herself was feeling the massage she was giving. She made sure to alternate between each foot, each gentle press of her thumbs squeezing out more tension and causing the dragon to writhe about in sheer pleasure. Soon, her thumbs began to dig right at the toe joints, which cause Smolder’s jaw to drop.
“Oh Celestia! Right there!!!” she howled. Hearing that, Silverstream was bright red in the face. She kept on rubbing there, feeling a grin creep onto her face. She kept on rubbing and rubbing those joints, eliciting more mattress punches from the dragon. She couldn’t believe how much she was enjoying this. More and more she rubbed, to the point that Smolder couldn’t even fight anymore. Soon, she was left lying on the bed, gasping and heaving. 
“Ok, I may’ve went too far…” Silverstream admitted upon looking over her form, the hippogriff still blushing. She felt the need to glance left and right, before coming up and climbing over her form. “This should be more calming than stimulating.” Smolder glanced up curiously, before her massager’s hands gripped her ear fins.
“Mmm~” Smolder mumbled happily. She sighed and laid flat against the ground, enjoying the way her fingers danced over her ear fins, from the tip to the base. It wasn’t as intense a feeling as what she did with her feet, but it was still very nice. It wasn’t the intense storm of pleasure, it was like floating in a calming hot tub. Silverstream’d carefully scrub either side of the ear fin while traveling up and down it. Smolder sighed, not needing to make any grand gestures of her bliss with this part of the massage. Up and down, up and down…
After a bit of rubbing, Silverstream sighed before removing her hands from her ear fins. Smolder sighed, and was left lying down.
“Mmm~ Oh, that was amazing, Silverstream~” Smolder said.
“So I heard~” Silverstream said, thinking back to those noises. “Mmm~ Maybe this is why Ocellus had me learn about Reflexology. Got the fingers for it after all.” As she spoke the latter portion of her statement, she wiggled her fingers a little.
“Mmm~ Yeah you do~” Smolder muttered. She sighed again.
“…Should I leave you here, or…?” Silverstream asked.
“Yeah, I’ll just lie here a little while,” Smolder said. “Don’t wanna disturb what you’ve accomplished.”
“Fair enough,” Silverstream said. She gave a little salute, before heading out to the door out of Smolder’s room. “See you later!”
“See you later~” Smolder said. Then, she leaned down, deciding to rest.
> Thai's Pull
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gallus sighed after a long day. He was a griffon, which were notorious for typically being an abrasive sort, and he was no exception. When he first arrived, he just found friendship a silly idea. Though his time with Sandbar, Yona, Ocellus, Smolder, and Silverstream helped him to open up to it, he’s still very nonchalant and he still loves to tease. Still, he does have his moments every now and then…
Right now, though, he was stretching his back out after a long day with classes. Somehow, those days always felt like lame weights on his lame back, pounding it into submission while he sits through each lame lecture. At least now he could lay down on some lame bed and rest the rest of the day away. So, he walked to the dorms, intent on reaching his own room. He entered, already eagerly waiting for the soft embrace of his mattress.
However, his walk was interrupted by a soft moan coming from deeper in the dorm.
“What the…?” Gallus thought to himself. He was confused by that sound, it appearing in this dorm and all. So what could the possible source of that be…? Curious, Gallus marched along the halls, and towards the direction of that sound. Deeper and deeper he went, soon coming towards… Smolder’s room? The closer he got, the more those noises started to sound like that dragon. Of all the creatures he’d expect that noise to come from, she was one of the last…
And yet, another moan ushered forth. And, what a powerful, sensual moan. 
“What the heck…?” Gallus pondered once more as he kept listening. Despite his usual demeanor, he couldn’t help but feel like he was crossing some sort of line here. Yet at the same time… He couldn’t help but wonder the full details. Who’s the stallion putting the moves on her? So, he decided to sit back. And unfortunately, he’d have to listen to more of those noises. And the more he’d listen, the more he felt… funny. It was like he was looking at some kind of cookie jar that was supposed to be out of his grip. Her moans began to usher drool down his cheeks as he kept on listening. He almost felt like he were being rocked to sleep by how pleasant those moans sounded.
And then, he heard her squeal. His eyes widened, and his tail and wings went stiff. He felt like he was hit with a sudden jolt of pleasure at that squeal! And then, like that, she’d stopped. They seemed quiet, and it seemed like she was spent. 
“Guess that was her final cry,” Gallus remarked. They were talking about something, and he felt tempted to lean in to listen. However, he began to hear some movement inside, specifically coming in the direction for the door. Realizing that, Gallus quickly doubled back, getting out of view and instead around the corner. And once there, he heard the door open up.
“Fair enough,” Silverstream’s voice said. And at that, Gallus’ ears perked up. He couldn’t believe his ears! He glanced around the corner to try and see if his ears were playing tricks on him. And there, he saw the hippogriff herself. “See you later!” 
“No way…” Gallus said to himself. However, Silverstream began to approach, forcing the griffon to duck away. There, the door soon closed behind Silverstream, Smolder apparently staying behind. Gallus was sure he wasn’t missing anything, that was two of his close friends sharing a very intimate moment together. What the heck was happening? Gallus peeked out of the corner, only to see a distinct lack of Silverstream. “What the-?”
“Whatcha doing?” Silverstream suddenly asked him from behind. At that, the griffon suddenly ascended, his wings flailing out in shock as he ascended. Then, he realized what was happening, and gently lowered down onto the ground.
“How did you…?” he started. He sighed and shook his head. “What are you doing inside Smolder’s room like that?”
“Oh, it was just a massage!” Silverstream said. Gallus rose a brow. “Yeah, I was kind of in your hooves yesterday when I passed by her room and heard her and Ocellus, but there’s nothing weird going on. She was just getting a massage!” Gallus’ brow remained risen despite her explanation. Gallus opened his beak as if to say something, though he couldn’t quite verbalize his next words. He kept up his confused gaze, before bringing up a foreleg, lifting an index finger inquisitively.
“Why… why were you and Ocellus… why were you two doing that?” Gallus asked.
“Apparently Ocellus wanted to try it out to get closer,” Silverstream said. “I thought it sounded fun, so I wanted to try it out. And, well, yeah! It was super fun~!” Gallus’ brow remained risen, though that was more because he was taking a moment to process the information. He kept his index finger upright, and turned his eyes upwards to keep on considering the information. His aw was still lowered, and he eventually thought of something to say.
“So, that stuff’s fun?” Gallus asked. Silverstream nodded. “…Then, think I can see how fun one of your massages are?”
…
“You too?” Smolder asked.
“Yeah, it might not sound totally believable, but, well… I wanna try it,” Gallus admitted. The griffon and dragon were hanging out after one of their classes. Gallus had approached her, and admitted he was talking to Ocellus recently.
“Should’ve known that silly seapony wouldn’t keep her yap shut…” Smolder sighed and faced Gallus. “So, how do you expect me to believe that you just want to massage?”
“What do you meant?”
“You’re you,” Smolder pointed out. “I don’t know if you forgot or not, but you hardly ever do friendly stuff, ‘just because’.”
“C’mon, we’re friends, aren’t we?” Gallus argued.
“Yeah, and that’s precisely why I’m skeptical,” Smolder said. “I know you.” Gallus sighed and nervously patted at the ground below him.
“To be honest, Silverstream talked like it was this super fun thing to massage you,” Gallus said. “Heck, even Ocellus admitted it was kinda nice. So, don’t think I’m just doing this for your sake.” Smolder kept a cautious look at her griffon friend, still judging him, as if trying to ascertain how truthful this story is.
“So, you think it’ll be fun if you do that stuff with me?”
“Yeah, way to take what I said and regurgitate it!” Gallus answered. Smolder grunted in annoyance and rolled her eyes.
“How do I know if you’ll be good at it?” Smolder asked.
“Come on, you never let that stop Ocellus and Silverstream,” Gallus argued. “Look, if I do anything you don’t like, you’re free to do whatever you want to me.” Unknown to Smolder, he decided to cross his fingers behind his back. Smolder, meanwhile, kept on studying him.
“Oh, if you make me regret this, I’ll make sure that you can’t sit without it hurting for a week!” Smolder promised, assertively pushing forwards and jutting a finger out towards his chest. This forced Gallus to back up defensively, his eyes widening at the threat.
“O-ok…” Gallus said wearily. Smolder nodded in understanding, so she began to go past him, heading towards the dorms yet again. Only now she had a griffon in tow. She approached the building, and neared her own room.
“I hope you’ve got something to spice this up, cause Silverstream really blew it out of the park yesterday,” Smolder warned.
“Oh, I’ve got something in mind,” Gallus said. Soon, Smolder opened up the door to her room, and went inside, Gallus following behind her. Smolder climbed up onto her bed, and then laid down on it, assuming the position she had with Silverstream, lying on her belly with her limbs spread out. And then, Gallus followed suit, nearing the bed she was on. Gallus came up, and loomed over her.
“Before I start, how flexible do you feel right now?” Gallus asked.
“What’re you getting at?” Smolder asked wearily. 
“I’d rather not spoil.” With that, Gallus then went back. He stood his legs between Smolder’s, and he spread them apart just enough to leave himself space. Once there, he took up his forelegs, and placed those claws onto her lower back. He began by carefully pressing down on her scales, squishing into her back. Then, he patted up along her spine and towards her shoulder blades. Smolder merely lied down, and rolled her eyes at the patting.
“Is that the best you got?” Smolder asked. 
“Relax, this is just a warm up,” Gallus assured. He kept on going low, even daring to press against her glutes. However, Smolder’s tail suddenly came up and smacked him in the chest, startling him. He sheepishly moved away from them, and instead focused on rubbing into her midback and shoulders. Despite her teasing, Smolder had to admit that it felt relaxing. She sighed as he kept on tending to her back, though a part of her mused the idea that with as much attention as she’s received, they’ll probably rub her back raw.
And then, Gallus’ fore-claws moved away from her back, and instead towards her left thigh. He grasped around it with both claws, her thumbs seeming to hover over it as if searching for specific points. And then, down they went, pressing into specific points of her leg.
“M-mn~” Smolder grunted at that touch. This felt sort of similar to what Silverstream did, except instead of her hands and feet, he was tending to her leg. From the thigh, down towards the back of her knee, and then to her calves. She felt a similar level of pleasure, both when he tended to that leg and the other, pressing various specific points. After pressing into the length of her legs, Gallus reached back, and grabbed either ankle. Smolder was expecting him to press against the front side of her legs, which is weird, cause she figured that’d be akin to thumbing the bone. However, instead Gallus held either leg, and began to stretch them forwards, bending them far, far, and farther.
“H-huh? What’re you-?” Smolder pondered out loud. But the more he stretched them, the more she felt it. It was a slight pain, but it quickly subsided to this feeling of relief washing over them. It sort of felt like he was wringing out a towel, except instead of drops of water coming out of it, stress was. “A-ah~” And at that, Gallus felt the blood rush to his cheeks. There was that sweet moan he heard earlier. Gallus’ heart was racing now.
After holding the pose for a little, he pulled the legs back, Smolder seeming to sigh longingly. Now, Gallus laid one leg down, and instead held one up, bending the knee so that her foot seemed to rise up perpendicular to the bed. And once it was lifted up, Gallus’ claws went up towards said foot, his fingers starting to press into the sole. His claws seemed to move about carefully all over that foot, as if seeking out just the right spots to press into.
Smolder felt color rise to her cheeks, while her lips quivered with pleasure. Oh, this reminded her so much of how Silverstream treated her. And then, Gallus’ claws wrapped around her foot and ankle carefully. And then, he began stretching it around, twisting it forwards and backwards. Smolder’s eyes widened as he put her flexibility to the test. 
“A-ah~! AH~!” Smolder grunted at the movements. Gallus was blushing harder as she did so. True, he was hoping to experience those noises himself. But still, being the one responsible for them felt… a little intense for him. He bent the foot back far, extending the hell and working out a few kinks Smolder didn’t even realize she had. And then, after that, he bent the whole leg forwards to once again extend the knee, her heel tapping against her backside thanks to his stretch. And that really did something for her. “AH~! Oh yes~!”
Gallus’ eyes went wide at that sudden declaration, and Smolder too seemed embarrassed. She buried her face into the mattress. Gallus decided that he needed more… He did the same thing to her other leg, and was greeted with more of her alluring moans. He may’ve been growing as a person here, but deep down, he was still greedy. Now, instead of setting that leg down like the other one, he crossed it behind her other leg. Then crossed the other one.
Smolder was confused about what he was down, now that her legs were awkwardly crossed over themselves. Not that she was entirely opposed to it, Gallus had been true to his word so far. And, sure enough, he used her legs like a pair of handles, and began twisting them to and fro, moving around her legs and waistline while exhibiting similar stretching to their limits. Smolder felt her tongue lull out, and she found herself beating a fist against the mattress below her. And the griffon seemed to be enjoying it. 
After a bit of that, he stopped and unwrapped her legs, laying them down. Smolder sighed and craned her head up.
“Is… is that all…?” she asked.
“Oh, I think I can fit in one more trick~” Gallus mused. 
“Oh?” Smolder asked curiously. Next thing she knew, Gallus was standing on her thighs. And then, he wrapped his fore-claws around her wrists. And then, he began pulling. “Now what are you…?” she began. But then, with his pulling, her back was starting to get stretched out! She’d never put it to the levels he was trying to push it towards, and it was amazing. He was putting to work feelings that’d laid dormant in her muscles, forcing formerly stagnant feelings to get to work.
Pull, pull, pull, her back was getting fixed up and enjoying the activity. Smolder was gasping with enjoyment, amazed over the assault on her senses. After pulling there, Gallus’ hands went up to her shoulder, and continued pulling, somehow forcing her back to stretch even more!
“Oh Celestia~! Yes~! YES~!” Smolder declared. Gallus held the pose and kept her feeling the intense loosening of her muscles. After enough pulling, Smolder was gasping and her tongue was lulled out past her lips. And eventually, Gallus released, leaving Smolder to flop onto the mattress, somehow even more limp than before. Seeing that, Gallus’ cheeks were still red, burning through his feathers. He felt like he’d just done something he’ll never forget. His heart was pumping, and he’d swear it was pounding against his chest. 
He sighed and backed off of the bed. 
“Better than you expected, eh?” Gallus asked with a definite teasing tone. Smolder couldn’t even bring herself to show contempt with him right now, she was still enduring the pleasure he’d just put her body through. 
“Y-yeah, you were right…” Smolder grunted. Despite being the one giving it, Gallus himself felt the need to pant. “You may be a jerk, but you give a good massage…” Gallus nodded triumphantly. 
“And how soon can I expect to see you begging for more?”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself…” Smolder sighed. “Just let me lie here for a little while. I’ll get back to you on that…” Gallus sighed, and nodded. 
“Don’t keep me waiting too long~” he said. And with that, he headed out the door, leaving Smolder to rest off what he’d done to her.
> Trip to the Deep Tissue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Smolder sat in class, resting on her cheek sleepily. She was in the middle of a class with Fluttershy, who’d apparently decided to teach the attendees a little about dragons. Suppose it’d help others get to know her kind, but she didn’t need to spend more time learning about her own body. What else is there for her to learn, after all? So, she tapped her fingers on her desk at a constant rhythm as she barely paid attention to Fluttershy’s lesson. 
“And that’s the process of a dragon growing from youth into what most ponies would figure as their teen-years,” she explained. “And, well, um, around here is when dragons tend to seek out a mate. And, after an, um, awkward moment with a dragon of our own, we’d come to suspect that dragons have grown to become dependent on mates, to the point of attracting multiple, as the pleasured noises of one such dragon seems to draw in any and all that hear them. For some reason, it seems like dragons have developed their sounds of pleasure to make those that hear want more, sort of like how when you have sugar, you decide you want more.” 
Smolder raised a brow at that. She may not’ve been paying much attention, but she definitely noticed that. She never noticed anything like that… Or did she? No, no she didn’t. Her friends just wanted to massage her for some unknown reason. Or did they? …She began to think back, thinking back to how some of them blushed while they worked. She herself felt the color rise to her cheeks, and she sunk away. She felt this weird embarrassment in her throughout the rest of the lesson. 
Soon, it was over. 
“O-ok everypony” Fluttershy said. “Class is out. Enjoy the rest of your day, if you don’t mind.” With that, everypony stood up, and began to leave in droves, Smolder following the crowd. She tried to shake off that particularly weird part noted in class, and instead tried to keep on heading to her dorm. Fluttershy’s was the last class today, so she’d just relax after everything. Soon enough, she came to the door of her dorm, where her friends also hung out at.
The door opened wide, and she stepped inside. Once she was past the threshold, she noticed, there in the lobby, were… each friend. Ocellus was hiding behind Silverstream, and beside her was Gallus. And next to them were the two other major friends. One was a yak with a soft green blanket over her back and some hair with pigtails, pink ribbons right at the top of said tails. She was named Yona, a yak from Yakyakistan. And beside her was the earth pony of the group, having a yellow-green body with a soft blue, unkempt mane with a matching tail. 
It was definitely far from unusual for her friends to be together at the same time, but Smolder definitely couldn’t help but note the strange atmosphere. It wasn’t quite friendly, but it wasn’t threatening either. Rather, it seemed like everypony was… awkward. Smolder’s eyes scanned the row of friends, and though many were better at hiding it besides Ocellus, each friend seemed to have some form of discomfort. Except for Yona, she seemed pretty giddy for some reason. Silverstream also seemed her usual excited self, though she had a notable uneasiness in her eyes.
“Uh… what’s going on?” Smolder asked. The ponies seemed weirdly quiet, until Silverstream waved one of her legs to get the dragon’s attention. Once the dragon faced her, Silverstream moved away just enough to reveal Ocellus, who’d still shied away into herself. 
“Sorry…” she said. Smolder’s eyes then narrowed, before she began massaging the bridge of her nose.
“Ugh… are you all here because of that stupid thing?” she asked. “…Are you the only ones than know?” At that, the collective group of friends nod in affirmation. She let out a relieved sigh. “So, what are you guys gonna do about it? Shoo me away or something?”
“Well…” Silverstream began. “You know, most of our friends have been able to do that with you… Well, I wouldn’t mind having another go~” Sandbar gave Silverstream a look. “But I can wait…” Smolder looked at Sandbar curiously. Stopping her like that? 
“Wait, are you next on the block?” Smolder asked Sandbar. 
“Not quite…” the earth pony admitted, before glancing over at Yona. At that, Smolder’s eyes widened.
“Oh, this has got to be a joke!” Smolder spat out. “You expect that to be pleasant?!”
“Now now, I know it looks scary…” Sandbar started, waving her hooves in an attempt to wave down the dragon’s fear.
“She’ll crush me!” Smolder declared.
“No worries! Yona read Ocellus’ book!” Yona tried to comfort. “I know the massage!”
“Y-you shouldn’t have to worry…” Ocellus said. “Deep tissue massages need more pressure. Yona’s actually the only one here that probably could do that.”
“B-b-but…” Smolder stuttered. She then grunted in annoyance and slumped down. “How did all of you even get into this idea?”
“Well, those three seemed to like it already,” Sandbar said. “Gallus had this weird, dreamy look on his face earlier, and Yona apparently asked him.” Smolder glanced towards the griffon.
“Hey, gimme a break, I didn’t realize who I was talking to!” Gallus defended. 
“And, through Gallus, we found out other ponies did it!” Yona explained. “Yona wanted to do what rest of friends were doing!”
“Look, some of you are better built for it than others,” Smolder tried to argue. “I’m sorry, but that’s fact!”
“Yona promises to be good at massaging!” Yona promised. “Even do one of those Pinkie Promises if have to!” Smolder groaned and buried her face in her palms. She rubbed at her face, as if trying to work out the tension, before she brought her head up.
“Are you really gonna pursue this?” Smolder asked.
“C’mon, it’ll be fun!” Silverstream said while skipping in place. 
“Not like they’ll let me do anything until they get a turn,” Gallus grumbled. The rest of the group looked on her eagerly, save for Ocellus, who still felt like hiding away. Smolder glanced among every onlooking face, and could feel the pressure building. She shut her eyes and groaned.
“Fine!” she said. “But if I get crushed, I’ll knock your blocks off!” The other friends backed away, while Yona stood still, looking up at her expectantly. The dragon began walking past her. “C’mon, let’s get this over with…” Yona nodded in understanding, and followed her towards her room. Soon, they arrived, where Smolder opened the door up, and walked in, the yak following suit and hitting the door closed with her hip. 
“So, you lie on bed, right?” Yona asked.
“That’s how it’s usually been,” Smolder answered as she walked towards the bed. There, she climbed onto it, before lying belly-first on it and spreading her limbs out. She made sure to be as limp as she usually was, and began wondering if this could possibly be any better than anything she’s gone through before. Yona, meanwhile, walked over towards the bed and leaned in close, before she hopped up and placed her hooves on either side of her, making sure to save her from the brunt of the impact of her descent. 
Once there, she looked over her back, Smolder just shifting a little in place. After a bit, she brought up her hooves, and brought them up towards her shoulder blades. First, Yona made a downwards stroke, squeezing down her as she went towards her backside. It was a nice motion, but far from anything Smolder hadn’t encountered already. Then, her hooves slid up her back to tend to her neck, Smolder wriggling a little at the movements. It felt pretty nice. 
After that, she brought her hooves back to her shoulders, where she’d bring both hooves together to squeeze down while she slowly slid her hooves down her back. A very simple motion, but there was far more weight to it than anypony else that’d tended to her. This made it feel like her masseuse was now tending deeper into her muscles than any of her other friends were able to, despite their attempts. 
Her hooves moved around her back, gently squeezing the edge between her sides and her back. The more she moved her hooves, the more her hefty mass pushed down on Smolder, the dragon beginning to enjoy it more and more. She let out a content sigh as she kept on rubbing, wriggling against the mattress as her hefty hooves pressed deeeep into her. After a bit of that, Yona stretched forwards, resting her forelegs on her instead of her hooves. 
“H-hm? Now what?” Smolder asked. But then, Yona began shoving her legs into her, as if trying to use it like a mortar and pestle. Smolder’s eyes widened at her technique, her pupils seeming to dilate as Yona squeezed. She lifted her head and clutched the mattress as the yak ground into her, her toes curling. “O-oh wow~! WOW!” Hearing those noises, Yona, the normally naïve member of the group, felt funny. Her own heart was starting to race. 
Yona alternated between rubbing her legs over her like they were rolling pins, and then caressing her back with her hooves. She repeated this motion, Smolder closing her eyes as she enjoyed the sensation going through her body. Slowly, her motions were faster and faster, and she began moving her whole body around Smolder to rub her at various different angles. From her back to her sides, she grabbed at her and rubbed passionately, the heavy hooves seeming to squeeze her like one’d squeezing juice out of fruit. 
After a bit of aimless grabbing, Yona was soon at the head of the bed, her legs meeting together and resting just behind Smolder’s neck, ready for the next step of the massage. She opted to bring her hooves together while laying her legs between Smolder’s shoulder blades. And then, while pressing down hard, she pushed her forelegs forwards, squeezing down on Smolder’s back more, the dragon biting her lip at that sensation, her eye twitching from the pleasure. After that, she spread her legs, instead rubbing her hooves in a circular motion before bringing them back to her shoulders. 
After that motion, she goes around to Smolder’s sigh, continuing the rubbing motion. It may not’ve been an intense touch like that one motion, but the dragon was sure a bit of calm between storms was necessary. After all, if she felt too much of that, her heart’d probably give out from all the pumping. At least, that’s what she thought.
After a few strokes, Yona laid her whole leg across her back, perpendicular to her spine. She planted her other hoof on it so that she was pressing it against her, before she began pushing the arm up her back, as if steam-rolling her. 
“A-ah~!” Smolder yelped out at the sensation. She took hold of the mattress, as if some force were threatening to whisk her away from it were she to let go, and she arched her back in sheer pleasure, amazed by it. She was worried about being crushed under her or something, but her pressure only seemed to squeeze her muscles deeper than anypony else! It felt so gooood~! Meanwhile, Yona felt herself blushing harder at Smolder’s sheer pleasure.
She reached her shoulders, before retreating back to the bottom of her back, and doing the same motion, eliciting another yelp from the dragon. More and more, her leg seemed to roll across her back and squeeze out the stress none else were able to get. Smolder had practically ascended to another dimension from the effort Yona was putting her through. After a bit of that, Yona stopped her rolling, instead rubbing the small of her back with her hooves, a nice little break from what she’d just put her through. Smolder sighed and went back to laying down straight, shutting her eyes to enjoy.
“H-How is friend Smolder doing?” Yona asked.
“Mmm~ Just fine~” Smolder answered. 
“Yeah, Yona good at squeezing.”
“Veeeeeery good~”
“But Yona think she should wrap up soon. Don’t want to keep friends waiting~” At that, Smolder opened her eyes and glanced over at the yak curiously over her shoulder. And when she did, she saw Yona bending her leg, the bend of her knee jutting out, and seeming to aim at her back. And then, down it went. Smolder yelled out once her knee dug into her back, the sharp point bearing the Yona’s weight, a single point focusing down on her body!
“Oh, Yona!” Smolder shouted out at that. She figured that something like this should’ve been excruciatingly painful, the weight, even a fraction of it, of a yak focus onto a single point of her back! And, don’t get Smolder wrong, it did hurt. But Yona was practically mining for the pleasure spots and squeezing out her pressure. Yona moved her knee around, and though the dragon winced at the pain, she had nothing but pure elation for the joy that her leg did bring her. 
Between the shoulder blades, down the spine, on either side of her back, the small of her back, her knee tended to her poor back and seemed to fix her up. And Smolder’s squeals got Yona nice and red in the face. After tending to her back, the dragon flopped down, as if no longer able to physically support her body. The dragon was left sighing, her sure that her back was raw now. 
With that, Yona pulled away from her back, lightly rubbing her calves with both her hooves and her legs. And though it didn’t match the intensity of Yona’s earlier rub, Smolder couldn’t help but enjoy the feeling of her legs de-stressing. It was short, but she definitely enjoyed it.
After tending to the legs, Yona pulled back and took a few steps away from the bed.
“I-is Smolder happy?” Yona asked.
“Very~” Smolder answered. Yona grinned widely. 
“Oh that is very good! I should get Sandbar now-“
“Hang on,” Smolder interrupted. “I need some time. Let me stress here, then send Sandbar.”
“O-ok, earth pony can wait.” With that, Yona nodded, and headed out of the room. And so, Smolder was left lying on that bed, now having to figure out what could possibly work her muscles into a knot fast enough to enjoy whatever Sandbar had planned.
“Shouldn’t be too hard,” Smolder muttered to herself. “I seem to get worked up just fine just sitting around…”
> Sandy Aromatherapy
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Smolder sat around and kicked her legs, waiting. Waiting. Waiting. She sighed and rested on both of her hands, them squishing into her cheeks. She’d known waiting could be boring, but goodness gracious she never imagined it’d get this boring! Maybe it was because she was waiting for something she’d actually be looking forwards to, but whatever. Knowing that this’d all culminate in something good didn’t make her any less bored. 
Smolder sighed and hopped down, starting to pace around her room.
“One of those guys should’ve been here by now!” she grumbled to herself. “Ugh, I can feel all of Yona’s work go to waste already!” On the plus side, that’d make it easier to massage her later. But with her friends relieving her of this tension, she longed for the periods when her muscles were nice and loose. And, of course, that just made her more impatient. And her being impatient just made her more stressed out.
She kept on pacing, though now she was at the point where she was stamping into the ground, as if trying to create treads wherever she walked. However, after enough walking, she’d hear a knock at her door, followed by that earth pony’s voice. 
“Hey, Smolder?” Sandbar asked. “Think you’re ready for the next massage?”
“I’ve been ready!” Smolder declared. “Now come on in! And this better be worth the wait!”
“A-actually…” Sandbar said. “We’ll have to go to another room to do this one…” Smolder rose a brow at that. 
“Seriously?”
“Seriously.” Smolder mulled it over, but sighed.
“Oh, you better hope this is amazing!” Smolder said before opening up her door and stepping out, Sandbar just outside.
“A-alright, now follow me,” he said. And with that, the earth pony began walking out of that hall, and instead towards what Smolder would recognize as his room. 
“Uh, are you sure about this?” Smolder asked.
“Yeah, my session requires me to set up some things for the massage,” Sandbar answered. “And I can’t just set up all of that stuff in somepony else’s room.” 
“I mean, I guess…” Smolder muttered. They kept on walking, until Sandbar reached his door, where he gripped the handle. 
“Now, this might be a bit different than what you’re used to,” he warned.
“Trust me, this whole thing has been a very eye-opening experiment,” Smolder assured. “As long as this is just for massage purposes, you don’t have to worry about your fragile little head.” Sandbar nodded in understanding. With that, he spread the door open, the inside looking… oddly dark… Smolder shot Sandbar an accusatory look.
“This is all part of the massage!” he assured. Smolder kept her eyes trained on him as she walked through the door, before looking out at whatever he did to his place. Her eyes widened when she registered what she was looking at, what she was hearing, and what she was smelling. The entire room was lit only in candlelight, the whole room dim as if it were stuck in some low sunset. And they were scented candles, exuding some sort of almost sickly sweet smell all around the room! And she could hear some weird, hippy guitar being played in the corner, it sounded like it’s being played from a machine. 
“All part of the massage?” Smolder repeated in a questioning tone. Sandbar nodded enthusiastically. Smolder looked into the dim room, pausing to try and understand what was going on. The scented candles smelled sickeningly sweet, though seemed to threaten to lull her into a malaise. Still, she felt like her mental faculties would defend her. She snapped her head towards Sandbar accusatorily. “Just. The massage.” Sandbar, feeling a bit nervous about Smolder’s repeated defensive stance, nodded in assurance.
With that, Smolder walked over towards the bed, where she’d climb up on it, and lie down to match the pose she adopted multiple times this week: only now her back was down, limbs splayed out, limp as a wet noodle. The dragon was splayed out, and she began to hear Sandbar approach from behind. 
“I will pound you to a pulp if you try anything funny,” Smolder said as he got near.
“I understand,” Sandbar answered. He reached under the bed, and pulled forth a tray with various vials on it, each containing a different kind of oil. He lifted one of those, before pouring them on one hoof, and then rubbing it into his other hoof. Once both hooves were nice and lathered, he took a hold of Smolder’s left leg, before pulling it away from the other, making sure it was nice and isolated from the rest of her. Once spread, he brought his hooves down, wrapping them around her thigh. 
And then, he stroked them down the length of her leg, it slick against her thanks to the oil. They ran down her thigh, before wrapping around to the front of her leg upon crossing her knee, stroking down her calf. Then, up her leg those hooves went, rubbing back up to the top of her thighs. Then, he repeated this motion a few times, squeezing the sides of her thighs before curling around towards the front of her calf and on her foot.
“Mmn~” Smolder muttered as he rubbed her leg. “You’ll have to do a little better than that.”
“Oh, it’ll get better,” Sandbar explained. “That oil’s not just for making my hooves run through you better. This here’s a muscle relaxer. Once it settles in, they’ll be nice and tender for the rest of the technique.”
“Hm?” Smolder pondered. After Sandbar’s pause to explain himself, he brought both hooves up to her thigh, where he began to press down on her leg. “M-mm!” Smolder grunted at the pressure. It was weird, she felt a definite tension in her leg, yet with that push, there was little resistance. Her muscles were stiff like a tree earlier, but now it felt as if Sandbar were pushing down in a vat of yogurt, seeming to press even deeper than any massage she’d experienced earlier. 
After that press, Sandbar’s hooves curled around to the sides of her legs, squeezing down on them as they curled around to her front, just above her knee. Once there, they pressed down, one hoof behind the other, before they squeezed forwards, Smolder’s body jolting from the press down while her eyes widened and she let out a silent gasp. She clutched at the bed beneath her, and her legs rocked side to side in response to Sandbar’s deep touch. From the front, down around to the back of her thigh, Sandbar’s hooves rubbed deeply. 
“O-oh Sandbar~ I gotta get some of that oil sometime~” Smolder said. She sighed deeply as he continued his assault, now going down to her calf and rubbing at it. All the while, the pony’s heart was pounding with… excitement? He was doing this solely for Smolder’s benefit, but her moans seemed to shake something within his being. He felt the blood rush to his cheeks while he rubbed circles into her leg. After a bit of that, she moved over to the other leg, and rubbed at it, smothering it with oil. 
After enough rubbing it into her, Sandbar’s hooves were once again doing similar motions to the untouched leg, squeezing deeply into the loosened leg. From squeezing both hooves into her and rubbing forwards, to circling around to the back to rub her from multiple angles, to even grinding into her heel like a mortar and pestle. His wandering hooves were relentless in pelting her poor legs with intense pleasure. Smolder was outright panting, and she couldn’t stop the color from coming to her cheeks. 
All the while, Sandbar’s heart was pumping. Seeing her rendered so enthralled by his motions… Part of him felt guilty for feeling this way. This was supposed to be innocent, he certainly didn’t mean to feel like he was doing this for some kind of self gratification. And yet here he was, Smolder’s moans tickling his system. The pony physically shivered at each of the dragon’s pleasured noises. After a bit of that, Sandbar had tended to her whole leg, him brushing at it before lifting either foreleg off of her. 
“How was that?” Sandbar asked. 
“Oh, have you done this before?” Smolder asked. The pony shook his head. “Wow~ Who knew my friends were such natural masseuses.”
“Yeah, who’d have guessed?” Sandbar remarked. “Now, I’ll be moving onto your abdomen, so hope you’re not ticklish.” He once again lathered his hooves with oil, before bringing them towards her belly. His slick hooves were upon her, and began rubbing the stuff into her, drenching her scales with the muscle-loosener. It felt weird having someone rub her like this, it was always upon her back before. She felt the tingle of a beginning tickle, and she had to fight to keep herself from spasming out. However, it wasn’t long until her abdomen was slick like a stone in a river. 
After applying the oil, Sandbar took up both hooves, and hovered them above Smolder’s belly. And then, he made brushing motions with them, brushing across her abdomen while pressing down just enough to apply a wee bit of pressure. After a bit of that, he planted both hooves just above what would be her navel, before spreading them out towards her sides, pressing down on her as he moved. Smolder shuddered as his hooves seemed to glide upon her, them aided by the slick oil. Sandbar’s hooves slithered over the surface of her belly, slid down to her sides, and squeezed a little upon reaching her back, before retreating back to their starting point. 
Once reaching there, he squeezed his hooves forwards, before squeezing down towards her waistline, then rubbing back up to the starting point before crossing said line. This time, his hooves traveled up to just beneath her chest, before going back towards the navel and wrapping around her back to rub. Smolder was now half-lidded, her tongue lulled out in sheer enthrallment, and she was now beginning to take handfuls of the bed behind her. She couldn’t cease the wriggling of her legs, especially now that it seemed like he wouldn’t be focusing on those anymore.
After a bit of that, Sandbar brought both hooves to one of her sides, and made brushing motions from that back, towards her other side. He repeated this motion several times, and blushed deeply as he witnessed how elated his patron was. 
“Geez, you make it seem like this is your first time~” Sandbar spoke in a tone just above a whisper. Smolder was still panting and still clutching. She tried to lean her head up to look her masseuse in the eye, only for the pony to brush at the opposite side. Now, the dragon was forced to shut her eyes as more untouched muscles were rendered mush to his touch. Pleasure seemed to explode and threatened to eek out a scream from her belly. She really should’ve gotten this touched up earlier. 
After a bit of that, he began brushing from that side down to below her navel area, before he placed both hooves on top of her, and squeezed at her abs. He seemed to crawl around her belly, squeezing at various parts, the loosened muscles ensuring that his assault was striking her deeply.
“Oh thank you~ Oh thank you~ Oh thank you~” Smolder muttered as he kept on squeezing. 
“Heh~ No problem,” Sandbar said as he kept on rubbing. “I probably won’t be much longer. Is there any place in particular you’d like me to tend to?” As he spoke, he was up at her chest line, and rubbing right at the ridge. 
“H-hm…” Smolder pondered. “Well… Nopony’s ever touched my face. I don’t think that’ll do anything, but today’s been full of surprises.” At that, Sandbar nodded in understanding. So, he moved around the bed to get behind her, sitting behind her head. Once there, he brought his hooves up, and rubbed them together, slathering the oil all over them. Then, he brought them down, patting either of her shoulders. 
“Oh, I’ll get those facial muscles dealt with~” Sandbar said. While on her shoulders, Sandbar’s hooves slithered up the sides of her neck, and then around her cheeks. After that single motion, he rubbed from one shoulder to the other, before gliding up the back of her neck, then around to her chin. He stroked it, Smolder sighing happily while a blush once again returned to her cheeks.
“Mmm~ You got magic hooves~” Smolder cooed as the pony stroked from her chin to her cheeks. After a bit of that, he got to the upper part of her cheeks, and rubbed at them, nudging dangerously close to her snout. As he did, he could feel her slight embarrassment burning on her cheeks, which prompted Sandbar to blush moreso. He wasn’t sure who was more flustered: Smolder for feeling all of this pleasure, or himself for incurring these feelings. 
He kept on rubbing, rounding up to her forehead, conjuring a sigh from the dragon. From her snout to her forehead. From her brow-ridge, to her temples, he repeated his motions.
“We’re gonna have to discuss an awful lot after I do this,” Sandbar admitted. “The rest of our friends have been discussing potentially scheduling more days to do stuff like this.”
“You know? That sounds prime,” Smolder said as Sandbar rubbed her cheeks again. Sandbar reached under her chin, and rubbed against it, the dragon sighing as he did. 
“Oh, that’ll be great,” Sandbar said as he rubbed behind her earfins. And then, they went up to her scalp, and stroked and pressed into it. Smolder sighed happily and leaned into his hooves, wriggling her head a little bit. They settled near her sides, not quite on top, but not on the complete sides of her head either. Smolder sighed and shut her eyes as he kept on stroking.
“Oh thank you~ Thank… you…” She was getting limper… limper… Before long, she went totally limp. Lulled to rest by Sandbar’s techniques. She was asleep. Upon hearing her snore, Sandbar backed away, and exhaled a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. He scooted towards the edge of the bed, and climbed down onto the floor. 
“Didn’t know my own strength,” Sandbar noted to himself. “Well, I should get you out of here.” So, he picked her up, laying her over his back, before leaving his room. 
…
Once outside, he was greeted by the rest of their friends, them looking at the two of them with mixed reactions. 
“Ok, I think we’ve all been in this awkward position before, from when where we think something untoward’s transpired, only for it to realistically be nothing.” 
“She’s resting on your back after you dragged her to your candle-lit room,” Gallus pointed out.
“Yona don’t remember being in anything like this,” Yona said. 
“She’s just a little tuckered out from the massage,” Sandbar said. “She said she wants to talk about scheduling future massages. Though, she’ll probably be out for a few.” There was another pause among the six friends.
“So, uh, d-did you feel something?” Ocellus asked. “Y-you know, when she… you know…” At that, Sandbar blushed and nervously rubbed his mane.
“Y-you mean you felt that stuff too?” Sandbar asked. “I thought I was… Yeah, I felt weird about how happy she got. Not that it was weird how much she liked it, I just felt weird when she made her noises…”
“Y-yeah…” Gallus remarked. “It was k-kinda fun…” Once more there was a distinct pause among the crowd. A few drew their hooves to fill out the awkwardness of the silence.
“But we’re just doing this to help her out,” Sandbar said.
“Oh yeah.”
“Yona agree.”
“Yeah, no ulterior motive.”
“S-sure…”
After that, they paused again. For now, they’ll have to wait for her to wake, so that they may one day resume tending to her poor muscles.
> A Steamy Hot Rock Session
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It’d been a while since Smolder’s friend first started their massages, and since then, they’d set up sessions amongst each other to force out the dragon’s stress. From Ocellus’ gentle touch, to Silverstream’s precise fingers, to Gallus’ tight stretches, to Yona’s rough technique, to Sandbar’s defense-lowering maneuvers, they’d make sure she was nice and relaxed. They’d have to take about a week’s break between a set of sessions in order to make sure it doesn’t get too arduous, but it was all for the better. 
Holidays were coming up, so Smolder’s friends were heading elsewhere to hang out. She’d be heading to the Dragonlands to relax herself. After a flight, she’d arrive at the ashy landscape, right near the border, and would be reintroduced to the gentle heat of the area. She stretched out her arms and wings after the long trip, before sighing out and retracting them. 
“Goodness, I forgot how long it takes to get here,” she said. After the stretch, she felt slight discomfort, and rubbed at her wing stems. “I think I’m developing some sorta massage dependence. I didn’t feel this sore from a trip beforehand, did I?” She grunted after a bit of rubbing and shook her body. So, she kept on moving. As she did, she noticed a strange sight.
Crossing the border was a trio, one very purple, one very white, and one with purple and green on them. She’d recognize those figures… Out of curiosity, she decided to approach. She flew a bit, and was reminded of that soreness. She got in closer and closer, wincing as she flapped, before coming down to a glide near the figures. And sure enough, upon seeing them closer, they were a few friends she met at the school. The purple one was Twilight Sparkle, the white one was Rarity, and the purple and green one was Spike. 
“Oh hey!” Smolder said. “What’re you guys doing over here, aren’t holidays nearing?” 
“Oh hi Smolder!” Twilight greeted.
“Hi Smolder!” Spike repeated, waving his hand. Rarity was also waving hello to the dragon girl. 
“Yeah, we know,” Twilight said. “But Ember requested Spike come over, so we’re hear to make sure he has a safe trip over.”
“Spike? I mean no offense, but what’d she want Spike over for?” Smolder asked. At that, the dragon shrugged.
“Unsure, she said this was something she’d specifically trust Spikey-Wikey with,” Rarity chimed in. “We tried asking him what she could mean, but he couldn’t think of anything.”
“Yeah, we hadn’t spoken in a while,” Spike said, shrugging his shoulders. At that, Smolder stroked her chin curiously. 
“You know, now I want to know,” Smolder said. “How about I join you guys on the trip over?”
“Oh! If you have the spare time, that’d be darling!” Rarity said. 
“Yeah, come along!” Twilight said. Smolder nodded, and then began to follow the group as they continued forwards. Rarity and Twilight took the front, while both dragons were in the back, able to converse among each other.
“How’ve those wings been treating you, bud?” Smolder asked Spike. 
“Oh, it’s taken me a bit of getting used to,” Spike admitted. “But I think I’m starting to get used to them.”
“In that case, why’re you walking?” Smolder asked. 
“Oh, it’s a ways away from Ponyville to Ember’s,” Spike admitted. “IT really puts the strain on my wings, and I usually need to nurse them for a while until I’m able to fly again.”
“Oh, I know that feeling,” Smolder said. “You probably got some ponies to help ya out when your muscles are all spent.”
“Well…” Spike muttered, glancing off in the distance contemplatively. “A while ago I had some soreness issues, and we checked out a local spa to rub it out. But then that led to some weird drama among the friend group, now Twilight’s in charge of when I get a massage… it’s a long story.” 
“Oh dang,” Smolder muttered. “Hate to hear. A good massage does wonders to guys like us I learned.” Spike sighed.
“Oh I know it,” the young dragon admitted. “You’ve probably been separated from some great massagers when you were away from the Dragonlands.”
“Actually, funny story about that,” Smolder said. “My friends randomly got into massaging, or at the very least into massaging me.”
“Really?” 
“Really. Ocellus started, then everyone got involved.”
“Kinda reminds me of my time. Rarity heard me, she wanted to do that stuff, then so on and so forth. According to Fluttershy, I helped her come to a discovery about dragons, something about moaning being addictive?”
“Yeah, I was there for that lecture…” There was a pause between the dragons there, notable uncertainty among them. And during it, Spike noticed her nursing her wings.
“Uh, hey. How’s your wing doing?” Spike asked.
“Oh, a little sore,” Smolder answered. “I’ve been flying for a long time.”
“Do you think you need a little help with that?”
“…What kind of help?”
“I mean, like your friends probably did. I haven’t done much massaging, but I can probably arrange something.” At that, Smolder’s eyes seemed to light up.
“Well I’ve been surprised an awful lot,” Smolder said. “If you really think you can do something, I’m game!” 
“Alright! Hey, Twilight? Rouge?” Spike asked out to the ponies ahead. “Think we can stop for a moment? The two of us gotta relax a little.”
“Oh, feel free, you two!” Twilight said. “We’ll wait here!” At that, the two dragons nodded, before walking away. The two mares waved them off as they walked away, until Rarity turned towards Twilight. 
“I take it you heard them, too?” Rarity asked.
“Oh yeah,” Twilight answered. There was another pause, this time among the two of them. 
“So, you want to…?”
“F-from a distance, gotta make sure they’re safe.”
“But of course!”
…
The two dragons had gone out into the more barren lands, the two of them scanning around.
“Suppose it was a bit silly to look for something comfy to lay on around here,” Spike admitted. 
“I think any old stone surface should be fine,” Smolder said. “Got thick scales and all.”
“Maybe…” Spike said. “Say, what stuff have you done before? With the friends massaging, I mean.”
“Practically everything,” Smolder said.
“Oh. Maybe I should try something different…” Spike muttered as he stroked his chin and looked about. “Ah ha!” He suddenly went forwards, before picking up a bundle of stones as black as cold, and as smooth as marble. “You do anything with stones before?”
“Uh, not yet,” Smolder said. “What can you do with a some stones that fingers and palms can’t?”
“Apparently the spa ponies use these things in some of their massages,” Spike said. I guess heat’s good at relieving stress, and I guess applying it directly helps exemplify that? I’m kinda green at it, but it sounds doable.” Smolder’s brow was raised at his whole explanation. She mulled over what he said. 
“I-I mean, I guess heat shouldn’t be so painful, me being a dragon and all,” Smolder said. “You know, I guess I’ll try it. Just know that I can pound you like a pancake if this turns out to be the opposite of helpful.” Spike nodded, a certain stiffness to his movement as fear crept over him. Smolder stepped past him, before kneeling down and lying flat upon the ground, wings, tail, and limbs relaxed. Seeing her laid out, Spike looked over the smooth stones in his hands.
“Hm, now to get this hot enough for a dragon…” he muttered as he weighed the stones in his hands. “Oh, duh!” He lifted one of the stones up in front of it, took in a deep breath, and blew forth green fire, enveloping the stone in that hand. In the same breath, he swept his breath over to the other stone, engulfing it as well. After that, the two stones were glowing green with heat. Spike grinned to himself at his problem solving skills, before his eyes widened as he began to feel the fruits of his labor. 
“Ow-ow!” Smolder heard Spike gasp. She looked over her shoulder, and saw the small dragon juggling them from hand to hand, notable discomfort written all over his face as he appeared to be trying to cool off. 
“Uh, are you sure you should go through with this?” Smolder asked. Partially for her own sake, seeing how Spike was in trouble with these stones.
“I-I assure you, this’ll be ready soon!” Spike said. After a bit of juggling, he clutched those stones and blew on them. After a bit of that, they seemed to cool down, though the purple dragon could feel a distinct warmth from them. Just too cool to hurt, but just warm enough for him to register significant heat. He sighed once he no longer had to worry about the hot stones. “Yeah, these feel massage-ready, I think…” 
“You think?”
“Come on, you can tell me if this is too bad, right?” Spike said as he approached her back. Smolder could feel him kneel down, straddling her thighs as he looked over his back, stone in either hand. Smolder heard him take in a deep breath, before exhaling. The orange dragon wriggled a bit in discomfort as doubt began to fill her, until she felt Spike’s hands hover just slightly over her waistline. And with them, she felt the heat radiating from either stone. There was a bit of pause, as if Spike was still judging, before he brought them down, planting either stone upon the upper half of either glute. 
“A-ah!” Smolder spat out, her whole form tensing up. 
“Now, it might sting a bit,” Spike said. “But it’ll feel nice after a while, I’m sure of it.” Spike released his grip of the stones, before planting his palms on her midback, and rubbing. 
“M-mm,” Smolder grunted as he rubbed. As interested as she was in this technique, she couldn’t help but admit that the classics worked. Spike made a simple stroking motion from her midback to her shoulders, a very basic technique. After a bit of that, his hands returned to those stones, and lifted them up. And immediately, Smolder felt her body cool down, akin to when you leave a hot tub and are greeted with the chilling air. Somehow, it was more uncomfortable than it was when those stones rested on her first.
Spike then extended his arms across her back, and he felt those stones hover over her shoulder blades. And then, a split second later, he pressed those stones down, pressing them into back. And when that warmth returned, it certainly didn’t sting. Smolder’s eyes widened as she felt this weirdly, comforting warmth fill her. It almost made her think of being wrapped up in a blanket, and she could feel the rest of her body respond in kind, relaxing underneath those stones. 
And then, he squeezed them through her shoulders, scrubbing towards her spine, before stroking downwards, going around her wing stems and down towards her waistline. And when he did that, Smolder moaned out, a shiver radiating through her form. Though it was one of pleasure. The heat was like some sort of natural muscle relaxer, without worrying about wetting her back with oil. The orange dragon was surprised at how quickly it took her to enjoy the feeling of these burning stones. 
Meanwhile, Spike felt himself stop for a moment upon hearing her moan. His eyes widened, and a blush bore upon his cheeks. He leaned back and covered up his muzzle, feeling butterflies dance in his belly for some reason. 
“N-nng… Spike?”
“O-oh yeah, sorry,” Spike said, shaking himself back to his senses. He moved those stones back to the bottom of her spine, Smolder wriggling in pleasure and sighing happily. And then, he scrubbed those stones, this time around to her sides, before curling up towards the middle of her back. Then rub down her spine, around the sides, to the middle. And all the while, Smolder felt amazed. She dug her claws through the soil beneath her and clenched her teeth tightly. 
Spike could practically feel her elation as she quaked under him, which made him more and more nervous. Still, he scooped back, before looping around Smolder’s under-arms, going around her wing stems before arriving upon her shoulders, where he’d pull back to go in between those stems and end up at the shoulders. There, he moved them on top of her shoulders, and scooped around them and upon her neck. 
“Mmn~ Spike~” Smolder moaned, a blush on her face now. Spike’s heart was racing now, and his own legs shivered. 
“Th-this is kinda getting weird, Smolder,” Spike said. 
“Oh, don’t stop,” Smolder said. 
“I-I don’t know…”
“You know, just finish up my back, and that’ll be enough. Ok?” Smolder asked.
“…O-ok…” Spike muttered. He picked up those stones, looking over at their edges, before planting them in the middle of her shoulder blades, where he dug into them, and scooped in opposite directions, digging the stones into her.
“Mn! Spikey~” Smolder moaned. The small dragon felt another shudder, and he kept up this motion, scooping in directions opposite from each other as he pressed down on different parts of her upper back, even bringing the edges down to the front of her neck and scooping up to the back. He’d use those edges to grind at her shoulders, and Smolder’s eyes fluttered from his technique. Then, they went back down to her midback, where he’d rub them in circles around her. “Oh, this is definitely what I needed after this trip~”
“Y-yeah, makes sense…” Spike muttered as he rubbed. He made large, circular motions upon her back, which, rather than those sharp gasps, brought forth soft sighs, as instead of pelting her with intense pleasure, he was instead easing her into an ease. It wasn’t long until he eventually took those stones up and got up. “O-ok, I think we should meet up with Twilight and Rarity again.” Smolder grunted and began to climb up onto her feet. She would’ve loved more of that, but seeing Spike twiddle his feet in the dirt, she could tell he was very uncomfortable about this. 
“Yeah, I think so to,” Smolder said. “Let’s go.” With that, Spike dropped those two stones on the ground while Smolder walked past him, Spike pivoting and following her. After a bit, they soon came to see Twilight and Rarity, a bit further from the trail they were formerly on than usual. They also noticed bright blushes on either of their cheeks, the two of them looking a little guilty. 
“Oh hey! We were just coming to find you girls!” Spike greeted. 
“Y-yeah, thought we’d come make sure you two were alright,” Twilight said. “A-are you done resting?”
“Yeah, I think we’re done here,” Smolder answered. The two ponies nodded in affirmation. 
“Great! It’ll be a bit of a walk, but we should be at Ember’s soon!” The dragons nodded in response, and with that, the group turned around, making their way back to the track to Ember’s place.
> Impressing the Dragon Lord
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was a momentary pause, but nothing too terribly taxing. Smolder and Spike had to take care of some things amongst themselves, and Twilight and Rarity, ahem, made sure they were safe while they did so. At least that’s as far as either of those two were willing to say. Either way, the group was still on the trail towards Ember, Spike on Twilight’s back while Ember walked between her and Rarity. They kept on their trail, and Smolder could swear that whenever she glanced over at Spike, she could still see the red on his cheeks. And on reflection on herself, she realized her own were burning up. And those two ponies seemed similar in condition, three guesses why. 
Anyways, hearts were racing among the travelers, and it seemed to threaten to explode out of them the moment they tried to open their mouths. So, they’ve been quiet amongst each other for an uncomfortable amount of time, which only made the trip up much more unnerving and uncomfortable. Somehow, each member was stuck in the same boat, yet unwilling to expose such a detail to anypony else in the group.
Either way, it seemed like they were approaching Ember’s den, several dragons lying around in nearby pools of lava while Ember herself was surrounded by a few bury looking guys, her lounging against one of their backs. The group let what could be described as a non-verbal sigh as they approached, as in neither of them had the strength to say it, but still felt the relief of exhaling one. At this moment, Twilight decided she’d speak up.
“It looks like we’re here,” Twilight said. At that, Spike climbed off of Twilight’s back, and they as a group walked forwards, carefully side stepping resting dragons and nearing the dragon lord herself. Closer and closer they went, and they kept on sliding past sleeping dragon snouts and over dragon tails. They got closer to Ember, when the burly dragons around them tensed up, glowering at the group. Each member stumbled back as the dragons took a tense stance.
“Stand down, you guys,” Ember said, waving her hand with authority. Each of the dragons around her glanced at her. “They’re here on invite.” At that, the dragons nod in understanding, before they backed away, giving the quad room to approach. They sighed in relief before continuing forwards. “Nice to see you guys again. Although, I count three extra guests than my invitation.”
“Yeah, the two of us decided to follow Spike and make sure he’s safe,” Twilight said. Ember rose a brow at that, at which Twilight felt like she might’ve crossed a line. “N-not that there’s something wrong with the dragon lands. I-it’s just that he’s still kinda small, and the two of us want to be sure he doesn’t get lost or anything.” Spike crossed his arms at that and shot Twilight a look. Ember then glanced over at Rarity and Smolder. 
“Ok. I mean no offense, but of your friends, why her?” Ember said. “And why’s Smolder here? Again, no offense.” 
“I happened to be passing by when Twilight was heading out,” Rarity said. A little too quickly. Rarity even snapped into position a bit quickly, as if she were hiding something. “Y-yes, it’s just a matter of convenience. Ahem.” Ember’s brow was still raised as she looked over the white pony. Regardless of how long the two were watching each other, Rarity didn’t seem willing to divulge further. She let out another cough to fill the awkward pause.
“A-as for myself,” Smolder spoke up. “I happened to be coming here on holiday, when I saw these guys. So I decided to come join them while they were moving. I was curious about what was happening with you and Spike.” Ember seemed to nod in understanding. 
“Fair enough, I guess,” Ember said. “In that case, Spike, will you follow my lead for a moment?” 
“Yes ma’am,” Spike said with a bow. Then, he began walking over to her side. Twilight, Rarity, and Smolder started to approach, only for Ember hold her palm towards them to order them to stop. 
“*Just* Spike,” Ember muttered. The trio rose a brow at that. “This is a very private matter.”
“What do you plan to do to Spikey-Wikey?” Rarity asked accusingly. 
“Relax, it’s all safe,” Ember said. “At least safe among dragons. For some reason, any other species gets these weird reactions when we dragons have our private sessions.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Twilight asked. 
“Ok, now I’m only more curious, what the heck is this?” Smolder asked.
“I really wouldn’t be comfortable with any but Spike being involved.”
“What about from one dragon to another?” Ember glanced over at Smolder, and she began to see blush form on her. 
“Wh-what makes you think that’ll help?” Ember asked. Spike, meanwhile, was wriggling his feet in slight worry as the conversation went on. It felt weird being the center of attention here.
“M-maybe she should come along,” Spike said. “This feels a little weird…” Ember glanced down at him when he said that, feeling slightly betrayed. Meanwhile, the ponies narrowed their gaze at her as she glanced down at Spike. Realizing everyone here was against her, Ember let out a defeated groan.
“L-look, I’ll bring us towards a one way cavern,” Ember said. “If it’ll calm Spike down, Smolder can come too. When we get there, there’s no way out, so I can’t try anything without getting past either of you. Deal?” There was another pause as the ponies mulled over the option. They realized that she was going to be difficult about this, and neither of them want to cause any issue with the dragon lands.
“…Ok…” Twilight said with a firm nod. At that, Smolder stepped forwards to accompany Ember, who began walking. Twilight and Rarity followed her to make sure she doesn’t try anything. There is a notable tension among the group as they walk, until, after a long walk, they arrive at a cavern, the soft glow of magma within. 
“This seems remote enough,” Ember said. “Yeah, I think we can do it here?”
“Hang on,” Twilight said. Ember paused. “5 minutes. That’ll be it. That should be all you need for whatever strange stuff you’re doing, right?”
“Yeah, that should work,” Ember said. She didn’t seem to have any moment to consider, suggesting that she was very legitimate about how her decision. 
“You better stick to the time,” Twilight said.
“And you better come back with Spikey-Wikey and Smolder!” Rarity said. 
“I will! I will!” Ember said defensively. She groaned in annoyance. “Alright, you two, come ‘ere.” Spike and Smolder nodded in understanding, before heading into the tunnel together. The two of them glanced over their shoulder in concern while they kept on following the dragon lord. And they were quiet for as long as Ember was sure the ponies were in ear shot. The blue dragon kept peeking behind her as they continued further and further.
“So, uh, what is this about-?” Smolder started to ask.
“Give it a little…” Ember said. They got deeper and deeper… Until she was sure they were a safe distance away. And so, Ember sighed. “Ok, I’ve got a confession. It’s a little weird what I want. And I approached Spike about it cause after some time together, I trust him more with this than any dragon.”
“Time together?” Smolder asked curiously. 
“Is this about when I gave you the staff?” Spike asked.
“No no, not that,” Ember said, shaking her head. “Well… you remember when that Twilight girl got upset after that bubbly girl cheered about rubbing you down?”
“You what?!” Smolder gasped out. Spike, meanwhile, blushed deeply, realizing what Ember was talking about. He then turned to Smolder to try and wave her down.
“I-it’s a lot more innocent than she makes it sound!” Spike said. “I-It’s just… remember you said you were doing that stuff with your friends?”
“What the heck are you implying-!?” Smolder started out. However, she paused to mull over exactly what was being said, before her eyes widened in understanding. “O-ooooooooh… Ohhhhhhh! You guys are acting dumb over some kinda massage?”
“I-it’s not just that!” Spike muttered out. “There were some kinda weird feelings during that, and I thought we chose to keep that under wraps…” 
“Well, that’s kind of why I wanted to bring you over here,” Ember said to Spike. “I tried getting my soreness massaged out recently. But I couldn’t help but think back to you during future sessions. I felt like I needed to see you or something. Maybe that’d sort out my mind? I don’t know. I can’t exactly tell another dragon about this, else I’d embarrass myself. We just need to complete a session together, and get this over with.” The two dragons watched her intently as she explained herself. Spike felt a blush come to his own face while Smolder seemed skeptical about the situation. 
“So, you got some sort of massage guilt, and now want some sort of old flame to help you through it?” Smolder asked. Ember blushed a bit harder at that breakdown of her situation.
“Y-yeah, you see why I didn’t feel like talking about it?” Ember asked. “It sounds really stupid when you say it out loud!” She huffed with annoyance as the trio kept on walking. “Look, I’m not asking for a lot. I just need five minutes here, and it’ll be over. I just need a thorough foot massage. That’s it.”
“Foot massage?” Spike repeated with a feeling of direness in him. Smolder glanced at him in curiosity, unsure of what the young dragon was worried over. 
“Yeah, that should just about do it,” Ember said. “Or were you hoping those hands’d be all over me?” Spike blushed deeper, and now Smolder was blushing too, a smile threatening to break her face as a small chuckle escaped her belly. 
“L-let’s just stick to the feet!” Spike said in submission. 
“I gotta see this,” Smolder laughed to herself. The trio got deeper and deeper, until they arrived at a closed off chamber, a pool of lava in the corner, and a bunch of marble smooth stone beside it. Ember then stretched out her limbs and extended her wings while she strode over towards said corner, before stepping in. She sighed at feeling the warmth surrounding her. She turned around to make sure she was facing the smaller dragons, before she sat down and leaned back, at which point she brought her feet out of the lava and leaned them up onto the shore. 
The lava pool seemed deep enough for her to lay everything above her thighs in, and she took that opportunity. She was up to her shoulders in the warm liquid while her legs were stretched out towards the dragons. And in the meantime, she brought her arms up and crossed them behind her head, and shut her eyes as the warm pool wrapped around her.
“Mmm~ Please do hurry~” Ember moaned out. Spike’s already red face was even moreso after that, and even Smolder felt a shudder to her heart. She wrung her hands defensively and pondered about what was going on. Meanwhile, Spike took some careful steps towards the lounging dragon lord, before he knelt down in front of them. And there, he held his arms out and looked down carefully, as if contemplating whether to do this or not. And then, after a few breaths to build confidence, Spike’s hands went down and wrapped around Ember’s feet. 
He’d started by simply holding them tightly, and Smolder could practically see the gears turning in his head as he thought about what to do. She saw his eyes roll back as he thought on his actions. And then, he brought his thumbs up, before jabbing them into the middle of her feet. And at that, Ember’s toes curled and she shut her eyes.
“N-nng~” she moaned out. Spike and Smolder each felt their legs shake at her noises, Smolder holding her hands together as if trying to find just something to squeeze her frustration into. Spike’d frozen up, and Smolder could see his chest heaving. “Nm? D-don’t stop.”
“U-uh, right,” Spike muttered. He decided to continue his efforts. He pressed his thumb back in, and then began rubbing up and down her sole, at which he shut her eyes and leaned her head back.
“Ah~ Keep on~ Get those heels~” Ember muttered. Spike was blushing harder, so he adjusted his hands such that he could place his thumb tips upon said heels. There, he’d rub circles into it, which got her to let out a pleasured gasp. Now, Smolder’s thighs were rubbing against each other. Was this what her friends must’ve felt? 
“Y-you know, Spike,” Smolder spoke up. “If this is weird to you, I can probably lend a hand. I was an the receiving end of a few of this stuff.”
“Really?” Ember asked. Spike, meanwhile, glanced back curiously. “Well, if you really think that you can do something, I suppose you and Spike can do something.” 
“U-uh, ok…” Spike muttered. He then scooted over and released Ember’s left foot, and was now holding onto her other one with both hands. And so, Smolder came forwards and knelt down next to him, now holding onto the remaining foot. She simply held it like Spike did at first, and so she thought back to Silverstream, how she poked and prodded at just right. As she was contemplating, she realized that Spike was still.
So, she decided to initiate. First, both thumbs went up to just behind Ember’s toes, before pressing into them. And at that, the dragon lord’s eyes fluttered and she grunted. Smolder felt her tense up and her foot try to pull away as her leg pulled. Smolder looked up towards Ember’s face to see her clenching her eyes shut while gritting her teeth. Smolder saw her chest heaving and could hear her huffing and puffing, at which she’d swear her heart skipped a beat. Smolder bit her lip as she kneaded at that area right there.
She saw Ember’s toes curl, but she pressed upwards, forcing her toes open so that she could rub at their bottoms and in between. Ember let out an “oogh~” of bliss at that feeling, which got Smolder panting now. She was half lidded and her cheeks were burning up while she rubbed those little digits. Then, in a single stroking motion, she went from pressing up to the tips, before rubbing down her sole and around her heel. 
“Ah~” Ember grunted at that motion. Smolder could see her arms move out towards her side, and she could practically feel her claws scrape against the lava floor. Meanwhile, Spike seemed to be even worse for wear than Smolder did, maybe due to being smaller than her. He’d practically squeezed the sole into his torso as he embraced it, seeming intent on holding it like he would fall into some abyss if he released. 
Smolder felt like she might follow suit, but if he wasn’t willing to go through with this, then someone had to. So she kept on pressing into the heel, practically digging her claws into it. She heard Ember let out a sligh yelp of pain, only to sigh out once she felt how deep into her muscles Smolder’s thumbs were going. And that sigh only grew into a howl as Smolder rubbed her thumb in circles, scratching all the while. 
“Y-you gotta do something, Spike,” Smolder said. “I can’t do this by myself!”
“I-I-I…” Spike muttered. His eyes were wide and his pupils pin-prick sharp, seeming to be in distress.
“Spike?” Ember pondered. 
“I-I…” he again muttered. He held her tighter, his arms quaking now. His purple face appeared to’ve gone tomato red by now. 
“C-c’mon, I’m putting my neck on the line here,” Smolder said. 
“N-Ng…” he muttered. Then, with wobbly arms, he pried himself free of her, and scooted away. There, he seemed to scoot further away. “M-maybe if I’m a bit further away…” While back away, he lifted up one of his own feet… before shoving it against Ember’s sole. Ember’s eyes widened at him trying that.
“W-wait, do you really think that’ll-? O-oh. Ooooooh~” Ember moaned out. Spike was pressing deep into her sole, using his arms as a good counterweight as he leaned forwards into her, to the point where he was grinding against her foot. It was sort of like how his horse friends would rub him down with their hooves back when he was subjected to that stuff. And it did little to assuage Spike’s reservations, unfortunately. He was still blushing. 
Smolder was alarmed by that technique. She could’ve never imagined something like that could ever work. Now she was curious. So, she leaned back and got back, before lifting up a foot, and she began pressing against Ember’s sole herself. And that got Ember panting more. The two could swear steam exhale from her nose as she did. Her tongue’d lulled out and her toes were curling, her entire body constricting as the two dragons squeezed her pour muscles into submission.
“W-wow~ I underestimated blunt surfaces~” Ember moaned out. “This is greaaaaat~” The two’s chests were heaving as they kept on squeezing and rubbed their foot up and down. They scrubbed into Ember’s heel, before going up and rubbing just below her toes. They’d alternating from pushing their feet into her sole, to grinding into it. Ember was burning up with pleasure. 
The dragon lord was shaking her hips forwards and back in response to their movement. She felt extremely vulnerable to each of them, and could swear her hardened muscles were submitting to their technique. It was like she was getting physically softer against their technique, and not just because they were loosening her muscles. She felt physically vulnerable, like they could easily dig into her and gore her if she let them. And despite that thought creeping up, she was more than happy to lay back and let them do whatever they wanted. 
“Hrng… This is getting pretty tough on my foot,” Smolder said.
“Y-yeah,” Spike said. “I feel like I’m trying to mold a slate of barely wet cement.” At that, the two dragons got their feet off of her, before climbing up into a sitting position. Ember, meanwhile, groans with a sense of longing. 
“You can’t just stop like that,” she whined. 
“Don’t get your wings in a twist,” Smolder said. “This is far from over. Right Spike?” Smolder asked. 
“R-right,” Spike muttered. He looked around, before noticing the rocks. He took them up and held them before them, weighing them a little. And then, he breathed upon them, lighting the smooth rocks up. Soon, they glowed up, but after last time, Spike decided to do this more carefully, making sure he didn’t burn his hands. Now, they were nice and warm, to the point where he can feel the slight warmth of his labor in his palms. Smolder, meanwhile, was on her knees again, and she carefully held the dragon lord’s foot. 
The heat seeped into her sole, which got the dragon lord to sigh. She lied back and extended her toes in response to the pleasant burn of the instruments. Seeing that, Smolder herself felt like following the trend herself. She took up a couple of those stones herself, before burning them with her flame. She held them against her respective sole, them a little hotter than Spike’s. And upon contact, Ember’s eyes widened.
“A-ah!” she sighed out, her toes squeezing tight upon the touch. Both smaller dragons blushed furiously at her sound. They glanced down at the ground, as if trying to evade some sort of eye contact at the blissful dragon lord, or each other. They each panted as they held their stones, Ember continuing to moan. They could each feel her feet shudder under their stones, which only added to their embarrassment. They felt like they were holding down a writhing lady as she moaned to their touch…
“Keep that up~ Keep that up~!” Ember practically squealed. “It’s doing wonders~!” At that, the pair of small dragons carefully glance at each other, feeling slight worry. They exchanged a contemplative glance as they tried to think on what they should do. 
“W-well, she did ask…” Smolder muttered. Spike sighed in response and tried to face the foot his stone was upon. With that, he began making brushing motions, rubbing it from the sole up behind the toes, before going back down to her heel. Smolder repeated the motion herself, though with the pace she was going, she and Spike were pretty much alternating their positions, as in whenever Spike was at her heel, Smolder would be at her toes, and vice versa. They repeated this motion, which kept the dragon lord moaning and squeezing her toes tight. 
They kept on rubbing and rubbing. And as they did, they could feel the heat in their stones giveaway. Smolder feels like it’ll be about time for her to go back to pleasuring her without any of these stones. She looked over at Spike, who seemed to share a similar look towards her. The two dragons nodded in a sort of understanding, and turned their attention back to the dragon lord’s feet, which were still tensing up at the stones. Eventually, the stones were starting to cool down, and Ember let out an almost defeated sigh. 
“P-please tell me there’s more…” she moaned out. The two dragons glanced at each other yet again.
“I-is there more?” Spike asked.
“Well, I think I know a few more tricks,” Smolder said. “I’ll see if I can put a little more elbow grease in here!” The orange dragon lowered the stone she was holding, before clasping Ember’s foot once more. Her sole was warm from the previous assault, and felt… looser? Previously her feet felt hard and coarse and hard to rub out. But now, seemingly with the new heat applied to them, it felt like she could actually squeeze into those things. She now made it a point to squeeze deep into her with her thumbs, jabbing into it with her dagger-like claws.
“A-ah!” Ember gasped out. She stirred in the lava, kicking up flecks of the warm liquid in a blissful flail. “Oh my-! Oh yes! Yes!!!” Both dragons shuddered at her bellows of joy. They each felt their legs quake and they each held tightly to her feet, their fingers clasping tightly onto those like they were some sort of handhold to save themselves. Their hands shook around her feet, which got her to squeeze her toes tightly yet again. 
Both dragons needed to take a few breaths to themselves to try and calm down, else fear… whatever their hearts were telling them to fear. They couldn’t quite understand what the strange feeling was… guilt? Was that it? Whatever it was, they needed to fight through this feeling and give Ember what she wanted. So, they tried to get back upright, and went back to rubbing. Spike was rubbing with the smooth edge of his thumb, while Smolder was scratching into her with her fingertips. Smolder peeked past her feet, and spied her blushing cheeks with her tongue lulling past her lips. 
The duo kept on pressing into her, Spike merely rubbing into it with the smooth edges of his fingers, while Smolder poked and prodded her sole. She remembered the light bite she’d taken during her massages, and figured that she would be able to make the dragon lord feel nice with the slight edge to the pleasure. And, judging by the pants and squeals from her, she was succeeding. The indigo dragon was practically a prisoner before the two of them. 
Smolder might’ve felt guilty, but she couldn’t help but admire how powerful she felt. She orchestrated this moaning dragon’s pleasure. She was thrashing around and panting and breathing, and it was all thanks to her and Spike. The two kept on rubbing and rubbing, biting into her more and more. From her thumbs to her fingers to even her shoulder, she’d squeeze into Ember’s foot, squeezing out any and every part that felt tense. And each one was greeted by an ear-melting moan. All present blushed more and more and more, Ember’s eyes rolled firmly back in her head.
But of course, all things will have to come to an end.
“Blehhhhhh~” she moaned. She’d almost lulled into an almost sleep-like state, before shaking her head and regaining her mental faculties. “W-wait. What time is it?” At that, the two dragons stopped for a moment. 
“Wh—what do you mean?” Smolder asked.
“We were on a time limit,” Ember said. She stirred about and sat up. “Oh, it must be way more than 5 minutes!” She quickly yanked free from the duo’s grip, before rushing out towards the cavern they’d just walked down. The two smaller dragons stood up and ran after her. After a couple of feet, the two stopped when they found Ember had come to a screeching halt just before Twilight and Rarity, who’d apparently wandered deep into the cave. Instead of any anger on either of the ponies, the two mares were… blushing? And the two seemed to be exchanging almost guilty glances between Ember and themselves.
“…Uh…” Twilight started.
“Uh… was I late?” Ember asked.
“N-no, you’re fine,” Rarity said. The two blushed and kept exchanging looks among all present. However, there was a distinct air to the general conversation, making each of them worry about breaking the silence and sticking out.
“…I-I suppose we’re done?” Smolder asked.
“O-oh no! No no no!” Twilight suddenly muttered out as she waved down the question with a hoof. “B-by all means, you can go back and do… that totally innocent and only beneficial stuff the three of you were doing…”
“Really?” Ember asked.
“Y-yes, of course!” Rarity chimed in. “I-in fact, you might want to work out whatever’s left right about now. Like, right now!” Once more, there was a pause.
“O… ok,” Ember said. She began to step away. “I-I guess we’ll see you in five?”
“Five may be ok,” Twilight said.
“O-or ten. Maybe even fifteen!” Rarity suddenly piped in, albeit a little too enthusiastically. Ember and Smolder were tempted to snicker, though held tightly for fear of piercing what felt like a tense atmosphere. Either way, Ember, Spike, and Smolder began to head back to the lava pool deeper in the cave. As they did, Smolder kept mulling over more stuff she could use for Ember.
After being left a writhing mess to so many hooves and claws before, she couldn’t help but get a little excited at getting one at her mercy.