“Don’t I usually have to make an appointment first?”

Twilight stood confused at the Ponyville Spa’s reception, where a smiling Aloe dismissed her fears.

“No no, it’s an honour to have Your Highness visit our humble spa; we couldn’t possibly turn you away!” the masseuse insisted.

“Oh come on Aloe,” Twilight argued, a blush forming on her cheeks at the use of her title; ”you don’t need to call me that, I came here plenty of times before I was a princess; we’re friends!”

“Oh but we pride ourselves on our service, we want to show that even royalty will be treated to a blissful afternoon at our spa! Please, enjoy the full package!”

“Ah... thank you,” Twilight conceded, choosing to accept her host’s generosity rather than argue further.

“Please, go right ahead in,” Aloe motioned to the door to her left. “Be sure to grab a complimentary robe from the rack on your way!”

Twilight grabbed a robe from the wooden hanger by the door and pushed through to the familiar bathing room, where a large wooden pool of steaming water lay ahead of her. She climbed up the stairs and approached the water.

Twilight released a satisfied sigh as she lowered herself into the steaming waters of the bath, its salted waters tingling as it washed over her coat. As she inhaled, eyes closed, the thick fragrance of the salts travelled down her nose, leaving their pleasant scent behind in her nostrils. The hot water seeped into her pores, relaxing her taut muscles. The water sat just over her shoulders, soothing the tightly knit muscles in her neck. She unfurled her two wings from behind her back to better allow the tendons there to melt away like the rest of her body. A peaceful silence hung over the bath in Ponyville spa that morning, and the young princess relished it.

“WHAT?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!”

Twilight cringed as a loud voice shattered the idyllic surroundings she only had moments to enjoy, its source emanating from the reception hall she had just entered from.

“This business of yours is a joke! I made an appointment days ago!”

Twilight recognised the voice complaining almost instantly, but she could only hear the muffled tones of Aloe trying to calm her.

“Fine, whatever, I’ll share it then, but there is no way I’m paying the full price!”

With that last announcement, the door to the bathing room swung open, revealing a disgruntled blue unicorn wrapped in a thick, fluffy, purple robe. She was muttering to herself as she approached the bath, her head hung low, eyes locked on the ground below her. Twilight could only catch snippets of her irritated mumbling.

“Stupid spa… nothing works in this town… special guest…”

So intent on her irritation, Trixie was entirely oblivious to the fact that she was not alone in the room. Even after climbing the stairs up to the tub, removing her robe and slipping into the bath, she still made no acknowledgement of the princess sitting across from her, perhaps due to the fact that she closed her eyes upon slipping into the tranquil waters of the tub, her anger momentarily subsided by its soothing liquid.

“I wonder who this important guest is,” she grumbled to herself, eyes still closed.

Twilight held a hoof to her mouth, unsure whether to announce herself or let Trixie make the discovery on her own.

“So important that they override paying customers… bah!”

Trixie swung a hoof in frustration, sending ripples across the bath and causing some of the scented salts to swirl around the air. They now passed Twilights nose, and a particularly heavy batch attacked her nostrils, causing them to tingle.

Uh oh… Twilight thought as she felt the tingling build in her nose.

“Ah… AH… CHOO!”

Twilight released a loud, forceful sneeze as her nose dispelled the salts. She groaned and rubbed her face, and now looked forward to see two bewildered eyes staring back at her.

“YOU!” Trixie yelled. “You’re the special guest that ruined my private bath?!”

“Uhh… I guess so, but I had no idea I was ruining anyone’s bath when I came in,” Twilight grinned sheepishly, scratching the back of her neck where the fur had begun to stand on end.

“Why is it that you seem to turn up and ruin whatever plans I have in this town?”

“Coincidence?” Twilight offered, raising her hooves in an unknowing gesture.

Trixie only grunted in response, folding her fore-hooves across her chest and looking away from Twilight. After a few moments she spoke up again.

“What makes you such a special guest anyway?”

“Uhh…” Twilight spread her wings nervously, their top halves breaching the water’s surface.

Trixie’s eyes narrowed as they focused on tips of Twilight’s new limbs peeking out of the steamy water.

“Oh! So now that you have a pair of wings suddenly you're better than everypony else?!” Trixie raised an angry hoof in the air after making her assumption.

“Hey! I don’t think that!” Twilight rebutted, her tone defensive. “I told you I had no idea I was intruding, I just came in here a few minutes ago and they ushered me inside…”

“Bah, whatever…” Trixie sulked, folding her hooves across her chest and falling silent once again.

The two sat in silence for a few moments, Trixie fuming on the far side of the tub and Twilight fidgeting nervously across from her. After a time, Trixie spoke up again.

“You don’t even seem like the spa type anyway,” she observed.

“Wh- whats that supposed to mean?”

“You just don’t strike me as a pony too concerned with her appearance.”

“Excuse me?!” Twilight’s voice raised.

“Yeah I mean, just look at your mane.”

“What’s wrong with my mane?” Twilight cried, throwing her hooves over her head.

“That style… it’s just so last decade, and those stripes, what are you supposed to be, a race cart?” Trixie giggled.

Twilight’s eyes opened wide at the barrage of insults, before drooping half shut, her lips curling into a pout as she stared down at the bath water.

“Geez… why do you have to be so mean…” she responded quietly.

Trixie observed the depressed face that Twilight had just taken on, her head turned down to the water, glaring mournfully into its reflective surface. The grin dropped slowly from her face as she realised she had genuinely hurt the princess’s feelings. The dejected look on her face did not bring the satisfaction she had expected it would.

“Oh come on Sparkle, no need to take it so seriously, are you really so soft that you can’t take a jibe? Don’t any of your friends ever make fun of you, or are they all just so perfect and nice?”

“Well… they do sometimes but, with them I know they are kidding,” she answered, still looking down at the water.

“Sure, so why would the words of some stranger bother you so much?”

Twilight raised her head at the question.

“I… I’m not sure…” she pondered. “Besides, you’re not that much of a stranger Trixie… not in the traditional sense.”

“I guess technically not but… I still…” Trixie struggled for words, a frown forming on her face. “Wow you even make arguing complicated… look, forget it.” Trixie dismissed the discussion with a hoof. “Anyway, I’m starting to wrinkle up in this tub anyway, I’m heading to the grooming room. Were you just here for the bath or did you get the full package as well?”

“Um… the full package?” Twilight answered with a nervous grin.

“Of course…” Trixie rolled her eyes. “Come on then.”

“You… want me to come with you?” Twilight questioned.

“Well there’s only one grooming room, you’re going to be in there eventually. If I’m going to be stuck with you for a while I may as well get it over with.”

Twilight sighed as Trixie managed to make a potentially friendly gesture into an insult once again with deft skill.

The pair hopped out of the bath, dried themselves and donned their bath robes, Twilight wearing a deep blue robe that matched Trixie’s coat, and Trixie’s purple robe resembling Twilight’s.

“Hey… we kinda match,” Twilight observed with a giggle.

“Your right… I need to buy a new one of these now.” Trixie replied as they walked towards the grooming room.

“Wow… do you really hate me that much?”

“Ah… I only hate you a little. It’s not the sort of, I’d wish death upon your family kind of hate, but more of a, I’d like to see you fall over, kinda hate.”

“Gee thanks…” Twilight mumbled, sorry that she asked.

*

“Ah! Darn it!” Twilight frowned as the feathers of her right wing ensnared the small preening comb again, having lost count of how many times its had gotten stuck in the last twenty minutes, each failed attempt forcing her to painfully remove the utensil from the tangled feathers.

Trixie rolled her eyes as she watched from her lounge chair, combing her mane with much less suffering. The ordeal of Twilight failing to preen herself had been amusing at first, but had now become irritating to watch. When the princess released another cry of pain as the comb got caught again, Trixie jumped off her seat.

“Here, give it to me, you’re doing it all wrong.”

Trixie snatched the comb in her magical aura, levitating it gently out of its feathered prison, eliciting a small yelp from Twilight as it left her wing.

“Honestly, you’d think this was complicated or something, aren’t you supposed to be smart? Don’t you like, live in a library?”

“Hey, it’s harder than it looks ok…” Twilight threw back feebly.

“It’s simple, you need to angle the comb like this,” Trixie demonstrated, inserting the comb in between a knot of ruffled feathers and sliding it through them, straightening them out. Twilight watched as the comb slid unburdened through her wing. The feeling was quite pleasant, her sensitive feathers picking up each stroke. Twilight was unsure if it felt nice because it was finally being done properly, or if Trixie just had good technique. She blushed slightly at the thought, but felt compelled to question it.

“Wow, how do you know so much about wing care?”

“Haven’t you ever dated a Pegasus?” Trixie asked with a grin.

“Can’t say I have.”

“Not your type?”

“It’s not that… I… I haven’t dated anyone before really…”

Trixie released a snort of laughter

“Seriously? Like… how old are you?” she giggled. “Guess you spent all your time with your head in those books?” she continued her amused laughter.

Twilight’s head dropped again, and her face adopted the same defeated expression that it had in the bath earlier. Trixie only noticed this moments later, and responded with an irritable sigh.

“Are you really getting all depressed again? Jeez, learn to lighten up Sparkle.”

With no response from the unicorn, Trixie just shook her head and continued to preen her feathers with the comb.

“There, I hope you managed to pay some attention to that, because I’m not doing the other one as well,” Trixie tossed the comb back to Twilight.

“I want to say thanks but… I’m not sure it’s appropriate after all the insults.” Twilight responded in a low voice, picking up the comb in her magic.

“Pfft whatever,” Trixie dismissed. “You’re just way too uptight, learn to shrug off what other ponies say once in a while. I can’t bear to think what you’re going to be like as a princess. Think of the amount of ponies who will be saying stuff about you when all of Equestria knows who you are.”

Twilight’s head sprung up at this revelation.

“Wow… you’re right, I never really thought about that…”

“Exactly, and if you are going to let one pony insulting your mane get you down, you’re not going to get too far.”

“So I need to get used to people being bothersome all the time? Maybe I should hang around with you more often.”

Trixie gasped.

“Was… was that a jibe Twilight Sparkle?” Trixie asked in mock surprise. “Whoever thought you’d be capable!”

A smile began to form on Twilight’s face.

“You know, your company is actually kind of fun Trixie, in a weird, self-deprecating sort of way.”

“What can I say? I’m pretty good at making other ponies feel terrible about themselves, enough to make it fun, why do you think I made a stage show out of it?”

“Because you’re a stuck up brat?” Twilight offered.

“Sure there’s that,” Trixie agreed. “But also for the fun thing.”

“And what about kicking ponies out of their town and enslaving the populace, is that a typical weekend for you?”

A shadow formed across Trixie’s face at the remark.

“I… that was one of my less proud moments I’ll admit.” the magician responded, her tone significantly dejected.

“Oh sorry, wasn’t sure if that was a sore spot,” Twilight apologized.

Trixie rolled her eyes again.

“You’re an idiot Twilight,” she spoke up again, her tone returning to normal.

“Uh, why now?”

“You finally say something that makes me feel bad about myself, and you apologize! That defeats the whole point!”

Twilight laughed at Trixie’s absurd logic.

“How about trying to say stuff that makes each other feel good?”

“Hmm I dunno, it’s a crazy idea…”

“Give it a try, I’ll go first, hmm…” Twilight raised a hoof to her chin as she thought. “I think you have quite a pretty mane Trixie!”

A light blush crept up on Trixie’s cheeks

“Uhh… thank you…” she mumbled, clearly surprised by the genuine compliment.

“Now you go,” Twilight instructed.

“I uhh… you… I guess your mane isn’t totally out of fashion…”

“Hmm, good effort, could use a bit of work though.”

“Whatever, this is dumb.” Trixie stammered. “I’m uhh… going to the sauna.”

“I’ll come along after I finish my wing!” Twilight responded with a smile.

*

The two ponies sat across from each other in the thick heat of the sauna, both silent, the heavy air making even the small effort of speech difficult. Trixie sat with her front and back hooves spread out wide to her sides, her neck slung back over the wooden bench circling the small, steamy room, her eyes closed as her skins pores opened themselves to the hot air.

Twilight sat across from her, slightly dazed from the intense heat and humidity of the room. She wiped some sweat from her forehead, and looked across to the magician’s body in front of her. Her watery eyes became fixated on a bead of sweat that had formed on Trixie’s cheek, and was now sliding down her neck, past her shoulders, making its slow descent down the side of her chest. She followed it as it slid down her midriff and around her curved hips, before disappearing just under her thighs.

“Are you trying to take off in here Sparkle?”

Trixie’s voice snapped Twilight out of her daze.

“Take off…?” she repeated sleepily, before glancing to her sides to find that her new limbs had spread themselves apart, and were now doing their best to reach the ceiling. She released a yelp of embarrassment at the involuntary action of her wings, and quickly withdrew them to her sides.

“It’s ok Twilight, I tend to have that effect on most ponies,” Trixie teased, a sly grin on her face.

“I… I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Twilight stammered, cursing her new appendages.

“It’s ok to like what you see,” Trixie responded with a knowing look.

“I uh… um… I think that’s enough sauna for me!” Twilight jumped off her seat, dashing towards the sauna door, Trixie’s laughter following behind her.

*

Outside the spa building, the heat of a warm summer day greeted the two ponies.

“Well, that was fun. It may come as a surprise but, it was actually kinda nice to see you again Trixie.”

“And you managed to not completely ruin my private spa appointment,” Trixie responded. “So I guess that’s a plus.”

“Still working on the compliments then?”

“Oh of course!”

Twilight shifted nervously before asking her next question.

“So… are you staying around Ponyville for a while or what?”

“I have some more business here, sure.” Trixie answered mysteriously.

“Well, maybe I will see you around again sometime soon?” Twilight suggested, the non-committal phrase requiring a staggering amount of effort to spit out.

“You might, what of it?” Trixie asked with a grin.

“I uh… nothing, I just thought… you…” Twilight tripped over her words, struggling to find the ones she wanted.

“Relax Sparkle, remember what I said about lightening up? I’ll be in Ponyville for a few days, if you have something to say to me, I’m staying in an inn at the centre of town.” Trixie turned on her heels and began to walk away at this announcement.

“But I…” Twilight released a sigh as her embarrassment overtook her, her final words never leaving her mouth.