The surroundings you find yourself in on this quiet and sunny afternoon were of a pristine, almost clinical white in appearance. A small room at the front of a modestly-sized building on one of Canterlot's many street corners. This was the Canterlot Spa, a frequent spot for many of the town's female residents. Clad in the standard white uniform of other workers here, it was clear to all that you were one of this place's employees, though your younger-than-average age for the job might have been a surprise to many of the spa's clientele. Looking around, you note how calm and uneventful things seemed to be today. No hustle and bustle of customers, nor even many other workers. It was a slow day to say the least, though your attention was drawn to the sound of footsteps behind you.

Turning, you gaze upon a young woman in her mid-twenties, her hair a bright pink and held back with a white band. Her skin a pale blue. You recognise her immediately as one of your employers, Aloe. Or possibly her sister, Lotus. In truth, you'd never managed to remember which one was meant to be which, though that was something you'd often kept to yourself, lest you accidentally insult them. She approached you with a smile, which you promptly return, before looking out at the empty front room of the spa, hands on her hips, and letting out a sigh.

"Slow today, my friend?"

Her voice had the hint of an accent to it, though you'd often found it hard to figure out exactly where it was from. Regardless, you nodded in response to her, looking out through the front windows.

"Yeah."

There was a moment of quiet between you before, to your surprise, you found her hand on your shoulder, gaining your attention as you turn to look at her. A small smile appears on her face as she speaks.

"I just wanted to say how grateful my sister and I are for all the work you've been doing around here."

A blush threatens to appear on your cheeks as you let out a chuckle, puffing out your chest a little in a vain attempt to make this whole thing seem like no big deal.

"It's fine, really. I've enjoyed working here. Though..."

Your tone of confidence fades a little as you look at her.

"...I do appreciate that you've been keeping all this quiet. If my classmates found out, well..."

She says nothing in response, but gives an assuring nod. In truth, you were only working here part-time. After all, you were, at the end of the day, still a student of Canterlot High, and that took up the majority of your time most days. Still, the extra cash for working in this place was always nice. Although, as your words to Aloe made clear you still didn't like the thought of your employment here becoming public knowledge. You could almost see the looks of mockery on your classmates faces if they ever found out about this. All the guys poking fun while the girls all giggled at your expense. It was something you desperately wanted to avoid, even if you did ultimately enjoy this work. In spite of your obvious discomfort with the notion of people discovering your line of work, Aloe gives her same smile as before, giving a silent nod and letting you know that your secret was safe, at least with her.

Smiling back, you watch as she begins to walk away from you, and instead moves towards the front desk where the day's book for scheduling lay. She flipped through a few of the pages to read all of the appointments for the day, placing a finger on one in particular before turning to look at you.

"I wanted you to know that it was quite handy that you were able to work here this afternoon."

You shrug your shoulders at that.

"Don't thank me. The school never planned having a half-day like this. But after they got in that order of spoiled cider from...who was it...Flam-Flims or something? Well, after that they had so many students with stomach problems they didn't have much choice but to send everyone home."

Aloe chuckled at that.

"Oh dear. Well, I hope your classmates make a full recovery."

You had no doubt of that. Once it was discovered that those brothers had sold them bad drinks, the schools lunch lady had gone on a rampage. They said she'd gone straight to the brothers themselves to sort things out. You hadn't heard any details about what happened afterwards, but it seemed as though the brothers had offered to pay for any medical bills suffered by the students after that. Whatever that lunch lady had done, you didn't want to know. But then, she was from the Apple family, and those guys were as tough as they came. Still, you couldn't deny that having the afternoon off was pretty handy, even if it did mean getting so little action today it seemed.

However, your attention was then drawn to Aloe once more, as she looked a little uncertain about something as she looked down to the book in front of her before looking back at you.

"Actually...I wanted to let you know something."

Your curiosity piqued, you raise an eyebrow as she approaches you and spoke up again.

"It's just...my sister and I have to go off for a couple of hours to pick up an important delivery of new oils. There was a problem with their delivery trucks so they can't bring them over. So...you'll be needed to stay here."

Your eyes widen as you hear that.

"What...by myself? I mean...I'm only a part-timer. Can I really be allowed to do that?"

Aloe shakes her head a little.

"If circumstances were different, I wouldn't put you in this position. But, needs must."

You nod after hearing that. It wasn't as if you only did a few things here and there at this spa, after all, you'd been charged with more than a few treatments of real customers in the past. But even so, to watch the whole place was a responsibility you hadn't known at this point, and you were more than a little hesitant to undergo it. Aloe must have seen the nervous look on your face, as she gave another of her reassuring smiles."

"Don't worry. We only have a couple of customers booked for this afternoon. And you should only have to deal with one of them before we get back. It's a three o'clock appointment."

Looking up at her, you start to feel a little bit less nervous at that. Just one customer? You feel that you could probably handle that. Nodding, you return Aloe's smile, but the two of you are interrupted by the sudden arrival of Lotus, who emerges from the back rooms and looks at her sister, pointing at her watch with great fervour. No words are said, but the message is clear. They need to get going quickly. It's a message Aloe picks up on pretty easily, and so you watch as she goes over to the desk once more, reaching over it and grabbing her phone and handbag before turning to face you again.

"Remember, your customer will be getting the full works today. You okay with that?"

The full works. It was rare that they got requests for that, but you had been witness to it on a few occasions. Having customers be given what amounted to every single service the spa provided was no quick visit, but you assure yourself that you'd done enough of the individual parts of that treatment to be able to do it all on one person. So, puffing out your chest in yet another display of false bravado, you give off an air of confidence as you nod to Aloe, who smiles in response. It is a short-lived smile however, as Lotus walks along and grabs her sister by the arm and pretty much drags her out of the spa, with you watching. Now, it is only you, the first time you've been left alone here since you began this job. Needless to say, you were more than a little concerned.

You'd given treatments to customers before, but one of the sisters was always there to help if you were unsure about something. That safety net was no longer there this time. Today, you would simply have to deal with it as it came. Letting out a long sigh, you begin to pace up and down the room, occasionally glancing at one of the many magazines strewn on the nearby tables for customers to read as they waited. Picking one up, you flip through a few of the pages as the minutes rolled by, waiting for this customer, whoever it was. But, you must have lost track of time as you were reading, as you hear the distinct sound of the bell used to alert the staff of the front door opening. Putting the magazine down, you spin around and give you standard greeting.

"Welcome to the Canterlot Spa! How may I...help...you?"

Your slowed-down words are riddled with a shocked tone matched by the look on your face. For the one who now stood before you was no random person off the street, but a woman whose face and name you knew all too well. Taller than most women, she was clad in a sensible, almost business-like suit, her hair a bright assortment of many colours. As you look upon her, you fumble your words.

"Prin...Principal Celestia?"

The Principal looks at you, and her expression mirrors your own. She was no more expecting to see you as you were to see her. However, that look soon turns to one of intrigue as she raises an eyebrow and places a single hand upon her hip.

"Well...I wasn't expecting to see one of my students here. Come for a treatment, I assume?"

There was no mockery in her tone of voice, but a genuine curiosity. However, you find you cannot look her in the eye, and turn away with a bright blush developing on your face. Seeing you in this way, and the distinct white clothes you were wearing, Celestia's eyes begin to widen as she puts the pieces together in her mind. Her eyebrow still raised, a small smile appears on her face as she speaks.

"I see."

Knowing that she's figured it out, your mind begins to conjure all sorts of images on how this revelation on her part might lead to your job here becoming known by the school. It's not as if you suspect Celestia of simply blabbing about it to the students or anything like that. She was far too professional for an act like that. However, you felt you had to say something, and so you put your hands together and you look upon her with a pleading look in your eyes.

"Principal...please...don't tell anyone about this!"

The older woman looks at you, at the expression of worry upon your face, and breaks out into a warm smile, not unlike Aloe's, before placing a hand on your shoulder.

"You don't need to worry about anything. The students won't hear a peep out of me about this."

A great sense of relief washes over you as she says that, as if a great weight has been lifted off your shoulders. You realise that it was silly to think she would do that, but even so, just hearing her say it made you feel so much better about the whole thing. But that relief was soon replaced by curiosity, as you look upon your Principal once more.

"If I may ask, ma'am...why are you here, exactly?"

A look appeared on Celestia's face that made it clear that she'd just remembered why she'd arrived here.

"Well, with all the stuff going on with the school lately, my sister convinced me that I should take some time off, and with the lunchroom incident today, now seemed the best time."

You nodded at that. It was obvious to anyone who knew about the daily goings on of Canterlot High that anyone who found themselves in charge of that place would be under a great deal of stress most of the time. And that's if you didn't take into account all the strange things like she-demons and magical Sirens running about the place. If ever there was a person in need of a day off, it was Celestia. As you continued nodding, she spoke up again.

"So, I decided to book an appointment here at the spa. Haven't had one in years. I think I was set for...about three o'clock."

With those words said, your mind does an all-too-good job of making you well aware of what that meant for you. As your situations sinks in, the colour from your face begins to drain and an expression of dread replaces it, which was echoed in your next words.

"...Ah."