Aloe was a pony of routines, which was to be expected since she ran a very specific type of business. And one of the most important item on her weekends routine, to the point of being even called a tradition, was that every saturday the pegasus Fluttershy will arrive and wait for about an hour for her friend Rarity to come in and they both will get a full treatment.

That was how the routine went but, since the last couple of months, the routine has changed. From waiting an hour to one and a half to two to finally four. Four hours had passed by and still no signs of Rarity. Fluttershy refused to leave her spot however, reading again and again the same magazines and glancing at the clock in the wall every thirty minutes.

Finally, the doorbell rang and Rarity walked in.

“Terribly sorry for my lateness, dear. I came here as soon as the train arrived. As you can see, I didn't even got time to change clothes,” Rarity said, while Aloe helped her remove the dirty armor.

When she took the helmet off, both the spa pony and FLuttershy gasped.

“Your...mane!” FLuttershy said.

“Oh, yes…” Rarity said, rubbing her hoof over what remained of her once long and fabulous mane. “I forgot to mention this on my last letter.”

“What happened? Did some creature attacked you? Did your burn your head on an accident?” FLuttershy inquired, looking terrified as she kept suggesting scenarios.

“No no, dear. I simply cut it for...practical reasons. You must admit my previous style wasn´t quite fit for a helmet so…”

Fluttershy looked like she was about to cry. Aloe could tell she didn´t care about the mane at all but the shock of seen her friend so changed. She cleared her throat loud enough to get their attention and guided them into the hot tubs.

Rarity let go a loud sigh once she finally got into the hot water. She smiled as she washed her arms, not noticing Fluttershy flinching at the sight of her many bruises and cuts.

“Ahh, there´s nothing like a relaxing bath to heal these tired muscles,” Rarity said.

“You do seem a little more...muscular,” Fluttershy commented.

“Do I? Well, I suppose so. All that exercise must paid off somehow. Funny that you mentioned it, Hard Helmet told me something similar after I beat him at a hoff wrestle match,” Rarity said, laughing at the memory.

“Who is Hard Helmet?” Fluttershy asked, sounding a little too harsh on her inquiry.

“Oh, he´s one of my squad partners. I should introduce you two, he has a soft spot for kittens,” Rarity said, giggling.

“He sounds...nice,” Fluttershy murmured.

“Oh, he´s delightful! All the boys at the squad are, such a nice group!”

Rarity got lost on her own world, humming what seemed like a marching song. Fluttershy meanwhile was busy having an argument with herself, fighting to decide if she should say something or not.

Rarity took the lead, mentioning out loud, “Ah, these days are the best. Wish I could stay in Ponyville longer.”

“Then why don´t you?”

“I´m sorry, darling?”

“Why don´t you come back? Why do you have to go back to Canterlot and be sent somewhere far away, a place filled with dangerous monsters and bandits and the like? Why do you have to keep putting yourself in danger?” FLuttershy demanded to know.

“Fluttershy, you know it´s part of my job. When I took the vows…”

“Why do you take them? Why did you have to leave?” Fluttershy yelled, sobbing.

Rarity drew her closer and tried to calm her down. “Fluttershy, you know exactly why. Twilight needs me. She needs me as one of her guards now.”

“I don´t think she wants that,” Fluttershy said, sobbing on her friend's chest.

“Probably. But just like Rainbow told her when we joined the guard, she won't get rid of us so easily,” Rarity joked, trying to get Fluttershy to stop crying.

“You could have stayed. You could have stayed with me and Applejack and…”

“Applejack stayed because she has a family to take care off. Just like you stayed because of your animal friends,” Rarity interrupted her. “You are needed here but I´m needed there. You do understand, right Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy nodded but she said “I don´t want to.”

Aloe considered this the right moment to interrupt. She had been listening for the past five minutes, not because she was spying on them but because she was afraid they were arguing when she overheard Fluttershy raising her voice. She cleared her throat again and asked them if they wanted a massage.

“That sounds lovely. Shall we, Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy wiped her tears and nodded, managing to bring a sincere smile to her face.