Twilight eased herself into the mud bath as an attendant slipped cucumber slices over her eyes. In the next tub over, Rarity was sighing contentedly.

“Ah, Twilight darling, Fluttershy will be glad to know that I wasn’t left alone, that you stood in for her.”

“You two have a regular appointment here, huh?”

“Yes, but this week she has another one of her animals in trouble, so she had to cancel. Or was it house-sitting for Harry the vacationing bear again? Perhaps she just didn’t want to come and made an excuse.”

“She shouldn’t lie just to get out of a date.”

“But that’s just her nature, dear. Better to be kind than admit she doesn’t always want to see me. I don’t know that I could be like that.”

The two unicorns just relaxed and let their pores open without speaking for a few minutes, then Twilight asked, “And how are things going at Carousel Boutique?”

“Well, you know how it goes, one line drifts out of fashion, another slides in. Everything in flux, never any time to catch one’s breath. And you? How goes it at the library?”

“The library’s fine, Spike’s cleaning it as we speak. Though last night I had a terrible bad dream—“

“Ah, ah, ah, we do not talk about our bad dreams in the spa. Feel free to prattle about any idle subject you like, but no seriousness or unsettling talk.”

“All right, I guess.”

“So then tell me, any new books on fashion come in? Or, ooh, have you come up with any new spells?”

“Actually—“

“Oh, Twilight, darling, this is just what I hoped for today, a chance to catch up with you. We really don’t talk enough.”

“No, it’s true, we—“

“I mean, I see Fluttershy every week, but to have someone fresh to talk to is just divine.”

“I can certainly see where—“

“And to have another unicorn around, well, I mean there are just certain things you can’t discuss with a pegasus, you know.”

Twilight was starting to get frustrated. “There’s not a whole lot I can discuss either if you won’t let me get a word in edgewise”

“Of course, forgive me, I’m so sorry. The floor is yours.”

“Thanks. So as I was saying—“ Twilight began, but was cut off this time by an alarm clock dinging.

“Oops,” said Rarity, “Time to get out and shower this mud off! Once we’re on the tanning beds we can get back to this.”

“Tanning? I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m fairly dark as is.”

“Well, yes, but this is simply the order of treatments here at the spa.”

“But if I don’t want to—“

“Now, now, none of that. Remember when you held the sleep-over with Applejack and me? You had a book that told you everything to do. Well, for spas that book is in my head. Now, into the shower with you and then let’s bake.”

Twilight could see Rarity’s point, as the white unicorn certainly had more experience than her. She stepped into the shower and enjoyed the feel of the water sluicing off the mud. After using her magic to towel herself dry, she stepped toward the tanning bed to find Rarity already ensconced in hers.

“Get in, now, dear, there’s a good girl.”

Twilight put on the dark goggles and laid down. She could see the appeal as the bright ultraviolet lights warmed her, but she thought that it would be nicer just to be out in the sun.

She turned her head to look over at Rarity. “I really can’t be comfortable in this bed having read all the reports of what these things do. I think I’ve actually had enough. As I said, my coat’s already fairly dark, and—“

Rarity sighed, somewhat irritated. “Twilight Sparkle, you will stay in that bed until the timer dings and not one second less! Rules of the house, you know!”

Twilight laid back, huddling close to herself as if to provide a smaller target for the high-frequency light assaulting her body. She counted seconds in her head, before realizing that she didn’t know how long the timer was set for anyway.

After a short eternity, she finally heard the bell ding. She slithered out, thinking to herself that she was sure to have a sunburn and would be peeling for the next week. Rarity on the other hoof had acquired a beautiful sheen to her coat and a perfect dark tinge to her otherwise pristine whiteness. She primped and posed for a moment, then said, “All right, time for the steam treatment!”

This I can get into, thought Twilight. She gleefully stepped into the small sauna and sat down on a bench. “Ah, this kind of heat is much gentler,” she said.

“Gentler? Are you sure it’s even on?” Rarity went to the control and magically turned the dial up. “There, now you’re on your way.”

Twilight immediately broke out into a sweat. “Are you sure that isn’t just a touch too hot?”

“Too hot? This was just getting you acclimated. Once you’re used to this, we’ll set it to the right temperature.” And her horn glowed and more steam entered the little room, making it hard for Twilight to breathe.

“Rarity, please, ease it down a little.”

“Twilight, I’ve tried to be patient with you, but you can’t have a proper, relaxing spa experience if you’re going to be so recalcitrant.”

“I’m willing to go along, but at this point I’m not enjoying this very much.”

“That’s probably because you take every step so reluctantly. Now sit down and breathe the steam.” For the third time, Rarity used her magic to turn the sauna’s dial up, this time by a significant amount. Twilight was sweating profusely now and was openly panting.

“It’s way too hot. I’m getting out.”

“Twilight, you have to stay in there.”

“I don’t have to do anything, and I don’t see why you’re being so bossy about it.”

“Bossy?! Perhaps it’s because I know how to do this and what’s best for you. Now sit back down.”

“No! I’m not enjoying this and I’m not comfortable” And she stood up and walked back into the main floor of the spa.

“Twilight, you’ve ruined everything! Why did you disobey? Now you have to start the entire treatment over again, starting with the mud bath!”

“I don’t have to do that, because I’m leaving!”

“Get into that mud right now!”

“I won’t!”

Rarity clicked her hooves together and called out, “Attendants!” Two ponies in the white uniform of the spa joined her to form a triangle around Twilight. Steadily they closed the triangle around her until, grabbing her with their hooves, they plunged her back into the mud.

“Let me go!” cried Twilight.

“This is for your own good, darling.” Rarity began pushing Twilight’s head deeper into the mud bath. Twilight bucked and kicked, but couldn’t escape the grip of her three assailants. She got sucked under and started suffocating. Struggling with all her might, she clawed to the surface and stuck her head out, taking a deep breath of the still-steamy air. . .

Only to find herself back in her bed, on a hot night, with the sheets and blanket tangled around her hooves and body from her having tossed and turned so much.

It was still dark out, the gibbous moon shining through the window of the library. Twilight was covered in sweat, and, stepping out of bed used her horn to open the window, letting in a cool night breeze. She then turned back to the bed and flattened out the covers. From the window she saw the town clock again. It was three o’clock in the morning.

Whoa, she thought. Scary dreams two nights running. She had been to the spa with Rarity, and had had a lovely time. Neither one of them had used the tanning beds or the sauna, the treatments had been far more simple. Why had her subconscious made that cruel caricature of the unicorn she was closest to?

Don’t let it bother you, Twilight. Just go back to bed. And she slid back under the covers, but she couldn’t get the dream out of her head, and could not fall asleep again either. A few hours later she saw dawn breaking outside.