Author's Notes:

Thought I'd throw this little piece into the story for kicks and giggles. May or may not be considered "canon" to the story, but who knows? Could've happened within the three-day time skip between S3E7 and S3E8, I guess.

It has been a harsh journey for our heroes so far. With the aid of multiple townspeople, however, their journey has been, without a doubt, easier than it would've been without them.

Every now and again, however, a hero must take a break. And what better place to take a break... than a bathhouse inside the Poseidon?

Gilded sighed in relief as he sat in the huge boiling tub with his towel directly behind his back. He stretched his talons out, closed his eyes, and smiled warmly at the relieving sensation that his entire body was feeling.

Around him in clockwise order, most of the other males of the group (so far) were relaxing in the water as well; Stealth Paws, Zero Gravity, Thor'lok, Swift Justice, Topaz Claw, and Heavenly Quill. Software Patch, however, stood in the sidelines, as his lower half was primarily robotic.

"Ah... this is the life, huh?" Gilded asked nobody in particular.

Topaz nodded his head before replying, "Indeed it is... much more relaxing than the coldness of The Highlands, that's for sure!"

Swift chuckled before turning towards Topaz. "Yeah, well considering you're a Diamond Dog, can't your fur naturally keep you warmer than usual?"

Topaz nodded his head before replying, "Of course, but it takes time! And not just that, but it tends to shed more quickly after sudden changes in temperature, so I've been forced to take less baths and showers than usual."

Quill turned towards him before sliding a couple feet away from him. Swift did the same on the other side.

Thor'lok hummed before turning towards the entrance. "Thor'lok wonder why this place empty, though."

Zero, however, popped his neck a couple times before spreading his wings out across the stone corner of the tub. "Didn't you hear, big guy? These two baths were reserved by orders of, and I quote, 'President Maud Pie of Atlantis'. And since Justin figured we've been going through a lot, he gave us the thumbs-up to take a break in here!"

Quill scratched his chin in thought. "Speaking of which... has anyone seen him anywhere?"

Stealth shrugged his shoulders before replying, "Not sure, mate. Last I heard, he was on his way here!"

Gilded sighed before closing his eyes again. "Eh, I'm sure he's fine. What could go wrong?"

Swift, however, scratched the back of his hair in thought. "I don't know, Gilded... does he even know how to read Atlantic yet, let alone speak it?"

Gilded hummed and thought for a moment before turning towards Swift with a confused expression on his face. "Now that ya mention it... I'm not entirely sure!"

Justin sighed in relief as he entered the room while covered by a white towel. Out of unspoken shyness, he kept the towel on most of the way up to the steam-infested tub and removed it after his feet were around halfway into the water, only to quickly sink into the water completely mere seconds after removing the towel.

He leaned back on the towel and sighed at the soothing feeling that the water gave his aching bones and muscles. His eyes slowly opened up when he heard the sound of someone whistling on the other side of the tub... but then his eyes shot open even wider when he heard Gilda speaking. "Well, what have we here?"

When he looked towards the other side of the tub, he was able to see none other than an unconscious Pinkie Pie (with bloody nostrils and a dopey smile), Gilda, Zula, Sand Barrier, Storm Light, Maud Pie, Limestone Pie, and Marble Pie; all of which with their arms crossed over their chests, but with a mix of confused and slightly amused expressions on their faces.

Justin's entire face turned red at that point. Then, without saying anything, he gripped his towel, plopped it inside the tub to cover himself, stood up with the wet towel around his waist, and began heading towards the entrance... only for Ruby to appear standing in front of the door with a towel around her entire body. Her expression turned from curiosity to an unamused deadpan.

"Daddy? What are you doing in the girls' tub?"

"... Shit."