A stream of sunlight filtered in through the curtains and landed on Asada's back. She didn't wake up, since she was very comfortably sleeping with her warm owner.

Well, "owner" may have been a bit of a stretch. Certainly, Asada was Yang's pet, but Yang didn't interact with her very much, since she spent most of her days in the kitchen. To the bear, she was her savior, shelter, and friend. A very busy friend.

Eventually, Yang woke up. "Good morning, Asada," she said with a yawn before scratching that one spot right between the bear's ears. "Hey, could you let me go? I need to use the bathroom."

Asada, being the smart bear she was, took her paw off of Yang's midsection, letting her go. She could add "pillow" to the list of things Yang was to her. The narrow waist certainly helped her keep a hold. Yang was the best pillow around, with the pillows she used as a close second.

The bear was just getting comfortable with one of the still warm pillows when she was tackled and pulled into a bear hug by Yang. "Hey, do you want to see if the spa ponies will let you in?"

Asada nodded. She may not have been able to speak the same way that Yang, the ponies, griffons, and other species did, but she had picked up on non-verbal communication with them easily enough.

"Alright. More sleep for now, though."

As the clutches of Yang relaxed, the clutches of sleep returned, aided by the warm pillow friend at her back. Truly, life was good for the bear.

Eventually, breakfast was served. Asada always sat at the bar when she was present for the meal, and always got very good breakfasts from Yang. This time, it was an omelette with various vegetables in it, placed on top of a bed of steak strips and with a generous side of hash browns.

While Yang ate her breakfast with silverware, Asada couldn't do the same, since her paws couldn't hold the utensils. The fact that the ponies could was very confusing to the bear if she thought about it, so she often didn't. Instead, Asada gently picked up the plate, tipped it back, and let a bit of the warm, delicious food slide into her mouth before chewing it as best she could.

As always, Asada was done first, and went outside to sit and wait for Yang to finish her meal. The weather outside was nice, and in the sky were a few ponies pushing clouds around. While she was waiting, a couple ponies came up and gave her some chin scratches, which she happily accepted. How they did it with hooves, she didn't really care.

Eventually, Yang came out with a bag on her back. "You ready, Asada?" Asada nodded. "Alright. To the spa!"

The spa ponies were a little wary of Asada, but quickly warmed up to the bear when they realized that she, despite being an apex predator, and a bit bigger than them, was friendly and harmless. It only took a few moments before they were willing to give Asada a spa treatment, especially if they could pet her some more. Asada, naturally, had no issues with the arrangement.

At the pool, Asada was quick to get into the water. It was warm, comfortable, and seemed to already be cleaning her fur. It took a bit before Yang joined her, and while Asada did notice the change of clothes, she didn't particularly care about that.

"Ah, this feels good," Yang said as she relaxed against the edge of the pool.

"Miss Xiao Long, which shampoo would you like today?" the blue spa pony asked.

"Strawberry lavender. Same for Asada."

"Of course."

As the spa pony left, Asada noticed that Yang was starting to doze off, so she gave the human's face a lick. "Asada, no." After the halfhearted objection, Yang started falling back asleep.

The pink spa pony came back to find Asada trying to gently shake Yang Awake. "You're worried about her?" Asada nodded at the question. "She's fine. She always falls asleep when she comes in." The pony moved closer to the bear and conspiratorially whispered, "Between you and me, her sleeping through the treatment is a nice change from the gossip around here."

Asada nodded in understanding. She was a smart bear, after all. Now assured that Yang was fine, and that she would be as well, Asada relaxed.

After Yang dried off, put her dress back on, and paid for the relaxing treatment, they left the spa. Asada was feeling so good, she had some trouble walking. "You know Asada, I always thought you were a clean bear," Yang said. "But now, you're a clean, shiny, and soft bear." The ear scratching that followed nearly made Asada collapse, but she stood strong. "You're better than any dog, as far as I'm concerned."

Asada managed to collect herself enough to get away from the ear scratching and pull Yang into a bear hug. "Aww, thanks. Hey, I've got some errands to run, so how about you go do whatever it is you normally do?" Asada nodded, but held the hug for a bit longer. Hugging Yang was always a nice experience.

Asada hung her head in defeat. Every time she played a board game with Angel, he always won. Checkers, Chineighse checkers, chess, Sweets World, Detective, everything. If not for him being in sight of her at all times, she would have suspected him of cheating. This time, the vicious snack sized rabbit had beaten her, a golden retriever, and a cat at the Landlord's Game in under an hour.

After getting an apple from Fluttershy, Asada left the cottage to wander around town to see if she could get any extra snacks from the ponies in town, or maybe even leftovers from someone's Carne Den trip.

Truly, Asada was living the good life.

Author's Notes:

A chapter whose idea came to me from someone who commented. I don't know who it was, and I don't feel like looking into it. It's not my best work for the story, but it's another change of pace, so there.

And you know what? Here's a picture of a frostier Yang. It's cool.