[8:30 a.m.]

… Okay, now this feeling’s a little strange compared to others before. It’s… Similar compared to a previous morning, but doubled? I’m basically feeling like a sandwich.

I’m also holding something, which is slightly bigger compared to the last time while whatever’s behind me is trapping me as well. What’s strange though is that I feel like my face is pressed against something soft, squishy, but slightly firm, and was thumping at a beat.

I groggily opened my eyes, and my vision was blocked by some kind of mass. Gaining some senses back, that pressing feeling I had clarified that my face was being surrounded by two large mounds covered by some kind of cloth. I looked up, and noticed a familiar mare, despite my lack vision without my glasses. It was hard to tell from little lighting, but I could make out the colors were purple and blue in a lighter, almost paler shade.

Like déjà vu, my tiredness turned to horror, but in a higher degree as my senses are coming back to me. I noticed my hands were on something, and I gave a little test squeeze to see if I was awake.

“Mm~, getting a little frisky now aren’t you?” Shining giggled before she pulled me in tighter, making my face press more against what I could conclude were her breasts before sounds of sleeping were heard once more.

My heart raced when I realized that I had just groped Shining’s ass (which was quite firm I might add), and judging by the recognizable white arms wrapped around my waist, and a slightly smaller pair of soft mounds were pressed against my back, I could only conclude that Fleur was right behind me.

… Okay Ozzy, if you thought what happened with Fleur before was bad, I think you’re about to get literally screwed once Shining sees the situation you’re in. Try to calm down now, remember your breathing techniques… Alright, try to recall what happened last night. Let’s see… I was watching a movie with the girls last night, I already had finished my pizza by the time we got to the second movie, and at some point, I think I might have fallen asleep… Sounds reasonable, but I had my glasses still on when I zoned out right? Where did they go?

Well in any case, if I don’t find a way to slip myself out of this, I might get myself into something worse than I thought when I found Fleur in my arms. Now let’s see, what should I do first? Probably get one of Fleur’s arms off me first.

I then did what I suggested as I moved my top arm from Shining’s to my own, where I carefully picked up one of Fleur’s to set it behind her.

Alright, good, now to release Shining’s hold… God she’s got quite the grip on me, damn earth pony strength, and I can’t just slip out of it because my face is too deep in her rack. I got to find a way to loosen her grip on me.

I tried to feel my way around to find some solution while trying to avoid touching Shining or Fleur. My hand stumbled onto one of the pillows where there was something poking out of the cloth. I tried pulling it out, and saw that it was a feather.

Perfect! Just what I need!

I then reached the feather over to Shining’s nose, and tickled it. Her muzzle scrunched from irritation (which was quite adorable I might add), and unconsciously moved one of her hands to get the itch.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, I quickly, yet carefully sat up from the bed, and out of the mare sandwich. I stepped out of the bed, and fist pumped in the air in victory of escaping another meeting with death.

Yes! Another close call! Now to get my glasses and… Then what? Should probably see what time it is. Now where are my… Oh there they are.

I picked up my glasses on the night stand that were next to Shining’s. I gave my lenses a quick clean with my shirt before putting them on.

Funny, I don’t remember taking them off last night. Did Shining or Fleur somehow took them off for me while I was out? I’ll have to ask once I know the time.

I picked up my phone that was plugged into my charger, and found that it was 8:45 a.m.

Looks like it’s about breakfast time. I’ll just change into some clothes for the day, and wake up the girls… Should I tell them how I woke up this morning? Despite the awkwardness with Fleur on my bed last time, things went somewhat okay… Besides Shining looking like she wanted to beat me to a pulp for groping Fleur’s breasts.

I sighed silently while rubbing my eyes.

Why do I keep thinking like she’s going to hurt me at some point? I know she’s working hard to get along with other guys, despite how brash she would get towards some, but at the end of the day, she’s a pretty okay mare. I mean despite her diet and possible discomfort, she went out of the way to get me a freakin’ pepperoni pizza last night (and sweet Celestia was that the best pizza I ever had). Not to mention she’s kind of cute too once you look past her business-like, tough girl mask. We even promised to be more honest with each other, and though I’m not sure if I’m ready to tell her and Fleur about my nightmares yet, I need to trust them more. I better change, and wake up Shining first so I can break things off with her as soon as I can. Better to rip the bandage off quickly than pulling it slowly.

I picked up my change of clothes, went to the bathroom, and came back out with a purple t-shirt and blue jeans a few minutes later. I walked over to Shining’s side of the bed, and shook her shoulder a little.

“Psst! Shining, can you wake up?” I whispered.

“Mmmgh… Oz? What time is it?” Shining grumbled.

“It’s ten ‘til nine. Can I talk to you something in private?”

“… Hand me my glasses, and meet me out in the hallway please. I’ll be out there in a few.”

I picked up Shining’s glasses, and handed it to her. I then grabbed the hotel room key before I grabbed my jacket and glasses case, and walked out of the room.

I leaned against the wall next to the door while I waited, coming up with a way to explain myself to her.

What should I say? ‘Hey Shining, I woke up being sandwiched between you and Fleur, and I had to squeeze your butt to make sure I wasn’t dreaming?’ That’s pathetic, and a one way ticket to the moon by a buck on the ass. ‘So I woke up in your chest puppies, and I wanted to get out before you killed me?’ That’s kind of hurtful, and would still get me sent to the moon. *sigh* I’ll just have to try and put it straight to her, no questions asked. Heck, from how I did with her this morning, I wouldn’t be surprised if she did want to bruise me up a little. I’d have to give her that much.

A moment later, Shining walked out of the hotel room with a yellow, slim-fitted top, black jeans, and her mane and tail brushed. She closed the door quietly, probably to try and not wake up Fleur who was still sleeping, before she turned to me.

She cleared her throat, and fixed her glasses before speaking. “So you have something important to talk to me about Oz?”

“Yes, and I’ll admit, you may not like hearing it,” I replied, making Shining raise an eyebrow. “Whatever happens after that is up to you, and I won’t hold anything against whatever you decide to do.”

“… Alright,” Shining said with a patient expression.

I took a deep breath to try and calm myself down, coming up with the right words to say first before looking into her eyes, and speaking to her. “So… I wasn’t sure how it turned out the way it did, but when I woke up this morning… I was sleeping between you and Fleur in bed.”

Dead silence filled the hallway a little before Shining spoke, keeping her patient expression mask on. “And?”

“To be more specific, I wasn’t sure where I was at first, as it was too dark to see,” I explained. “I just noticed I was being pressed on both sides, with my face pressed against something soft, and my hands were holding something I was wrapping around.”

“… Okay.”

“When my eyes adjusted enough, I could have sworn I was in some kind of dream with the… Awkward position I was in, so I gave whatever I was holding a little squeeze to see if it was real, and I got embraced tighter in reaction… Long story short… I realized my face was pressed against your chest, and I just kind of… Squeezed your butt.”

Silence dawned on us once more as Shining drank in the information she just heard. She looked like she tried not to overreact, but her irises shrank while her cheeks blushed a little as she looked to the side. “Well… That explains the dried up drool on me when I woke up.”

I drooled on her?! Oh god, that just makes things so much worse!

“So what happened after that?” She asked as she tried to retain herself while looking back to me.

“I didn’t want to wake you up in shock,” I continued. “So I carefully, and successfully got myself out of Fleur’s and your hold on me, put on my glasses, changed, and woke you up so I could come clean. I wanted to do this in private because I know Fleur would try to barge in to reason, and I can understand how you can be pissed about stallions in your personal space like that. So, I decided to just get on with it, and brace for anything that comes instead of waiting for it to blow up on me.” I took off my glasses, folded them up, and put them in my case before stuffing it in my jacket pocket. I then took a deep breath to calm myself, closed my eyes, and waited for my fate… Which was getting awkward as it seemed to take longer than what I had imagined.

“… What are you doing?” Shining finally spoke.

“Waiting for a beat down,” I replied.

“Why would you think I wanted to hit you?” She asked.

“I pretty much just did the same thing with Fleur the other morning onto you, even though it was by accident,” I explained with my eyes still closed. “You looked ready to beat me to a pulp after I came out, and I just thought—“

My explanation came to a halt as my whole body shivered from the sudden touch on my face, making me tense up all the more to take on Shining’s attack.

“… Oz… Open your eyes… Please?” Shining asked.

I squinted one of my eyes to peek before I opened both, revealing a guilty Shining with ears folded. One of her hands were still on my face, which felt more comforting than threatening once I calmed down.

“Oz… Remember what I promised when I wanted us to be more honest with each other?” She asked.

I looked up in thought, trying to recall the conversation I had with her that included the promise made about a week ago, but was drawing blanks on what it was. “… I’m sorry, I only remember about the being honest part,” I apologized.

“While we try to be honest with each other, I promised that I would try not to lash out, whether that be with harsh language or violence, against you,” Shining explained before she pulled her hand back, hugged her arms, and looked to the side with guilt. “I’m sorry that I looked like I was going to hurt you that morning. Looking back on it now, I guess it would be concerning to go from angry to happy that quickly before you knew about my mood swings. I didn’t realize how scared you were of me before then, and I…” Tears then started to well up in her eyes before she sniffled, and hugged herself tighter.

Aw man… I didn’t think she’d get like this. I didn’t even want her to get like this.

Tentative I first, I walked up, and wrapped my arms around her in comfort. She returned the gesture while gripping my jacket tight, as she sobbed into my shoulder. “I’m s-so sorry Oz… I d-didn’t—“

“Shhh… It’s okay Shining,” I whispered as I rubbed her back. “Just let it out, and breathe. Just relax a little before speaking, alright?”

I stood and waited for Shining to calm down as she sobbed against my shoulder while holding the embrace. It took her a few minutes before she pulled back, and rubbed her eyes under her glasses. I took an initiative to slip them off her muzzle, used a cloth I kept in my case to wipe off any grime on the lenses clean, and put it back on her face.

“Th-thank you,” she sniveled, and I nodded in response. She took a breath to calm herself down, and fixed her glasses in place before continuing. “I just want you to know Oz that I’d never try to hurt my friends in any way. I wouldn’t even be here with Fleur right now if I did. I know I look scary when I’m pissed, but I would never intentionally harm you like you were afraid of.” She placed a hand on my chest while looking into my eyes with a sad smile. “You’re a good stallion Oz, and you don’t deserve such treatment from somepony like me. I appreciate you came up front with me about this, and while there may be times I’ll be a little strict depending on what you confess, you can be sure that I’m not trying to be too harsh on you, physically and emotionally.” She then pulled my case out of my pocket, took off my glasses, and gave them a quick clean before putting them back on my face. “Is that reasonable?”

“That sounds good,” I replied with a small smile before I opened my arms for one more hug, and she happily accepted. What made this cute was that Shining wagged her tail happily like a dog while we were in the embrace. “So you aren’t mad about what happened?”

“… Nah, not really.” Shining then pulled back, and fixed her glasses once more before smiling contently. “Like you said, it was a weird accident that happened, and I won’t hold it against you like what happened with Fleur.”

“That’s a relief,” I sighed.

“Anything else I should know about?” Shining asked.

I looked up in thought, and there were a few things that came to mind. “Just a few things. First, did you take off my glasses last night after I was out?”

“Actually… No,” she answered. “I think I’m on the same boat as you. I dozed off after a while, and I don’t remember taking off my glasses before I fell asleep.”

Well that narrows one suspect down, which leaves only one culprit that I’ll have to confront later.

“Second thing, has Fleur ever told you that you talk in your sleep?” I asked.

“… Not that I recall. Why?” She asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Well after I… Squeezed your butt,” I explained with a slight blush while looking to the side, and scratching the back of my head. “You mentioned how I, or whoever you were talking to in your dream, was ‘getting a little frisky’ before you pulled me in tighter, and went back to sleep.”

It was Shining’s turn to blush then before looking to the side. “D-did something like that happen before?”

“Well as I walked out of the room during Fleur’s situation, I thought I woke you up after I stubbed my toe on the wall corner,” I continued, cringing a little recalling the pain that followed. “You mentioned something about me grabbing some strawberries from some cake, and you were getting chocolate syrup from some river so we would do something… I figured that was some sort of weird dream you were having. Do you know if we were making some kind of sundae or something in there?”

Somehow that got Shining to flush even harder before stuttering her answer. “Y-yes! We were making sundaes… Sweet… Delicious looking sundaes with whipped cream on top.”

“That does sound delicious,” I agreed. “Think we could make some ourselves some time?”

Shining paused with her irises shrinking, her blush not even close to fading before answering. “S-sure… We can do that… Yeah,” she giggled nervously after that.

What’s up with Shining here? It’s just sundaes. What’s so awkward about them?

Shining then cleared her throat, and fixed her glasses before calming down. “Well, if that’s all, then I have something I’d like to ask myself if that’s alright?”

“Sure, fire away,” I accepted.

“I need you to be absolutely honest with me, and I won’t judge you for your opinion on what I’m about to ask you. Am I clear?”

“Uh, sure.”

Shining then took a breath to relax herself, blushing a little before gazing to the side, too embarrassed to look at me. “Was I… Big?”

I tilted my head to the side in confusion from how vague the question was. “I’m sorry, I don’t think I follow.”

“When you grabbed my… Rear… Was it big? Fat? I-I need to be sure I’m not packing too much back there you know? From what I’ve eaten so far since we got here, I’m… Just worried that—“

“O-oh oh!” I interrupted, with a blush forming on my own cheeks. “N-no no! You’re totally fine Shining!” I shook my hands out front. “Your… Rear’s totally fit, round, firm enough to bounce a bit off of, yet just enough jiggle in there to make it alluring, especially when you walk. Perfect for modelling like you used to do.” I mentally face palmed myself with infinite force after I went overboard with my creepy, pervert-like praise, especially the model part as I realized then that might still be a touchy subject for her.

Silence filled the hallway before a fit of giggles were heard from Shining, which quickly turned to chuckles as she held her gut, and tears were leaking from her eyes as well. She then calmed down a few moments later as she wiped her eyes.

“So my butt’s that great huh? Have you been undressing your own manager with your eyes Oz?” Shining asked with a devious smirk.

“N-no! I haven’t done anything like that!” I defended, my straight face poorly being downplayed by my blush. “I mean you’re attractive, but I wouldn’t—wait, I didn’t mean like it in a way you were ugly I was just—“ Shining just chuckled some more at my poor attempt in trying to explain myself before I went silent.

“Oh relax Oz, I’m just giving ya a hard time, but I do appreciate the praise,” Shining said before she walked past me… And did something unexpected.

SMACK!

“YIPE!”

… I just got spanked by my own manager.

“That was for getting a feel from me, and now we’re even.” Shining smirked before looking at the hand she spanked me with, and gave a few squeezes. “Huh, your butt’s not too bad yourself.”

“I feel so violated,” I said while rubbing the cheek I was smacked as I blushed.

“Now buck up and let’s wake Fleur for breakfast,” Shining said. “I got some things I want to look into before Vogue calls us for an answer.” She then gave me one last hug that was more comforting than the last. "And thank you for this Oz.”

“S-sure… No problem,” I responded as I returned the gesture.

[9:45 a.m.]

“Wait… So that was you?” I asked.

“Guilty~,” Fleur sang with a sheepish smile.

After we woke up Fleur and talked, it turned out that not only was she the one who took off Shining’s and my own glasses off, but she used her magic to get the two of us in that… Awkward position I woke up in.

“And you did that because…” Shining trailed off.

“You two looked so cute the way you were last night! How could I not make the scene any better?” Fleur asked.

“And with you behind me the way you were?” I asked.

“Can’t a mare get some nice cuddles from a good friend every now and then? Besides, I wasn’t going to sleep by myself and leave you two like that. I wanted in on the action at least a little.” Fleur sighed while folding her ears back. “I’m sorry I made things awkward between you two. I thought I would end the night on a good note for the three of us.”

“Well… Though it kind of sort of did, that doesn’t excuse how things turned out this morning,” I argued.

“If we agreed to sleep the way we did last night, then maybe it wouldn’t get so awkward,” Shining pointed out. “I think it’s best for future reference that we plan these kinds of things ahead so none of us would freak out the next morning.”

“I guess that’s fair,” Fleur sighed. “So if something like this were to happen again later, without me interfering besides taking off the glasses, would you two be alright with it?”

Shining and I looked at each other, and she raised an eyebrow at me. I shrugged in response, and she returned the gesture before I turned back to Fleur. “I guess so. It would certainly be better for me to just sleep some more instead of getting out of bed almost immediately,” I said.

“Eh, why not?” Shining added in, which made Fleur smile.

“Now why don’t you go change into something comfortable, and we’ll go out to grab breakfast?” I asked.

“Sounds like a plan. I’ll be right back dearies!” Fleur exclaimed before she grabbed her change of clothes, and went to the bathroom.

I then cleaned up the mess of pizza boxes and soda from the table last night as Shining took out what looked like the folder Ms. Winds gave her yesterday, along with a felt tip marker. “You’re bringing that to breakfast?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.

“I probably won’t look into it until after breakfast Oz,” Shining said. “There’s something about this whole interview entirely that has got me thinking, and depending on what I see in these photos, I’ll have to plan my next move accordingly.”

“Well try not to work yourself too hard alright?” I asked while I put my hand on her shoulder. “Though we may be here for Fleur’s gig with Vogue, this is kind of a vacation for all of us as well. We might as well take advantage of our time here while we can right?”

Shining smiled at that while fixing her glasses. “I guess that is true isn’t it? We’ll have to do something special before we head back home then.”

“Definitely,” I agreed with a smile.

[11:50 a.m.]

Fleur came back out with a light purple sundress before the three of us went to a different restaurant for brunch compared to the day before. Since we were all in a better mood than last time, we were able to eat reasonable portions, and enjoyed ourselves. After we were done, Shining decided to go off on her own to look into those pictures Ms. Winds gave her, and suggested I watch over Fleur while she did so.

Fleur and I just went about strolling around the city, thinking about what we could do while we waited for Vogue’s call. Fleur looked like she came up with an idea though as she turned to me.

“Hey Ozzy, have you ever been to a spa before?” She asked.

“Uh… No, I haven’t,” I replied.

“Someplace to get a massage?”

“Nope.”

Fleur looked up in thought to think of something else that may be smaller. “Any kind of service to loosen you up at least a little?”

“Can’t say I remember anything like that,” I admitted.

Fleur then went behind me, and felt up my shoulders. “Sweet Celestia Ozzy! How can you even walk with this much tension?!”

“I kind of pop myself loose sometimes when I find myself stiff.” I demonstrated by popping kinks out of my neck, and twist my torso to loosen up my back.

“… That does it, I’m giving you a full spa treatment stat,” Fleur proclaimed.

“Fleur, you don’t have to do that, I feel—“

“Ah bup bup! I’m not taking no for an answer in this case Ozzy. Your body’s practically begging for proper treatment. TAXI!” Fleur yelled before a taxi carriage quickly pulled up front of us. She then pulled me inside with the help of her magic.

“Where to Miss?” The driver asked.

“Take us to Veiller du Magnifique sir, pronto!” Fleur demanded.

“You got it!” He replied before he quickly shift into full gear, zoomed onto the street, and we were on our way to my first spa trip in my lifetime.

Author's Notes:

Well, it looks like some things got cleared up between Ozzy and Shining, and our favorite secretary doesn't have to be afraid of her... Well, maybe not as much as he used to.

Anyway, what awaits for Ozzy's first spa treatment? Will he handle being one of the few males that goes there, and how will he react when he sees a returning face? Who is this returning face you ask? Well with all the OCs I came up with, it could be anypony, but it's going to be a heck of a time for Ozzy, that's for sure... And no, I'm not giving any hints. You'll just have to wait next chapter to see for yourself, but leave your guess in the comments just for the heck of it. See if you can recall any of the OCs I've introduced from the previous chapters up to now, because honestly I've probably forgotten at least half of them already unless I looked them up myself.

This is Dudeler, signing off.